Would You Rather Be Married or Happy?
…(And does it have to be mutually exclusive, I wonder?)
Girl’s Guide to Geek Guys
Meeting and dating the elusive and wonderful geek guy. (I found mine at a comic shop…just sayin’. 😀 )
Happiness (image)
One user’s “Happiness Is…” list. I like the Musical Soulmates thingy. ^_^
50Memes
For those of us who love filling out blog memes, here’s 50 you can try! (Already doing this on my Livejournal, woot)
In very involved gaming, whether you’re playing an opponent on the other side of the Internet or on the other side of a table, sometimes communication can break down. Sometimes, you can forget you’re playing against another human being.
As many online gamers can likely tell you, there are some opponents who are so hardcore that they can’t lose a game without cursing you, your mama, the last breath you took, and everything you ate for supper. It’s like they forget they’re not playing a computerized opponent, and take out their frustration on another human being, who will react and remember what they said.
Other times, two gamers simply won’t talk to each other at all. A series of hand gestures (some vague, some rude in several countries) takes the place of verbal communication at a table; a series of acronyms and emoticons takes the place of typed words on a computer screen. Never have I seen the gulf between people widen so much as when they’re either talking heated politics or conducting a tooth-and-nail game.
We as gamers have to remember to treat each other like human beings, and part of that is communicating. To help us all communicate better while we game, I’ve listed some quick tips for improving how we talk to each other, so our games are fun rather than boring or irritating.
Tip #1: Opponents Aren’t Mind-Readers
Whether you’re playing a big game of Magic, an MMO like City of Heroes, or even a game over XBox Live, remember that your opponents (and your allies, for that matter), are not privy to the decision-making process going on in your head. If you want to charge ahead and pwn some bad guys way ahead of the group, that’s great–but no one else will know if you don’t tell them, and you might get everyone into an ambush that no one else is prepared for. If you’re playing your super-epic card or miniatures combo that allows you to win the game if no one else counters it, that’s great…but you have to speak it aloud to give someone else a chance to respond.
I learned this the hard way; a few years ago, I was playing in a giant 8- or 9-person group Magic game at our local gaming shop. I was playing a fairly basic life-gain and prevent-damage deck, as is my wont, while most of the other guys were playing cutthroat beat-butt decks. I had the card Test of Endurance in my deck, which I played on about turn 8; it would let me win the game if I ever reached 50 life at the beginning of my upkeep.
I played my turns quietly and without much comment, as the other guys at the table were busy thrashing each other and countering spells that seemed more important to them than mine. Thus, it was a complete shock to everyone at the table when it came round to my turn and I said, “Okay, I’m at 50 life, I win the game.” One of the guys especially, named Jordan, took special offense to what I’d done. “You didn’t even announce what you were doing every turn!” he said, indignant. “I had no idea what you were doing the whole game!”
Jordan’s rant was half typical-teenage-boy-nerd-rage, half real gripe. He hadn’t been paying attention to my strategy at all because he considered my strategy not worth his time, but I had made no effort to make him pay attention. I had not been communicating effectively, and thus he felt blindsided and cheated out of a good game. The fault lay with both of us, for not communicating or listening effectively.
Tip #2: Let People Know Clearly What You’re Doing
Another time, very recently, I was playing in a Clix tournament against one of my newest Clix buddies, a guy named John. During the game, I was using my Night Nurse character to do several Support rolls to heal up various members of my team, since John’s ranged-damage strategy was quickly ripping holes in my defenses. When it came around to my turn, I was feeling the pressure of the timed tournament round, and did not announce that I was making a Support roll before rolling the dice.
John stopped me as I gestured toward the dice, showing him the result. “Wait a minute, why are you just randomly rolling the dice?” he asked, his voice getting a little more heated.
“I was making a Support roll,” I replied, a little bit more tersely than I should have.
John’s response was to direct a question to my boyfriend, the resident Clix judge seated at the next table. “Can you just roll the dice without calling what you’re doing?” he asked, clearly annoyed.
My boyfriend did agree that I needed to make it clear what I was rolling the dice for before I did anything, but let this instance go in the interest of time. Thereafter, I clearly stated what I intended to do before doing it; John’s irritation, while mild and transitory, did remind me I needed to be better in my in-game communication.
Tip #3: If They Question Your Strategy, Don’t Be Offended
If a Magic opponent wants to read the rules text on a card or miniatures figure and question the validity of your strategy, do NOT (and I repeat, do NOT) take it personally. In order to have a genuine, good game experience, you need to make sure both players are on equal footing rules-wise. Finding out later that someone cheated during a whole game? NOT fun. So, if your opponent wants to see for himself or herself what your strategy is based around, then let them see your gaming materials.
This can go for all other games, too–make sure you’re following the rules of the game whatever you do, otherwise you’ll have some ticked-off opponents. Nobody likes to play against someone who’s cheating at everything; by the same token, you’ll have a better experience if you know for certain that your strategy is valid and it wins genuinely. (Don’t make the mistake I did and include too many copies of an awesome card in your Magic deck by mistake. Nor should you completely misread the rules text of a HeroClix figure, thinking it can move and attack like Hypersonic only to find out mid-game that it can’t. LOL)
Tip #4: If All Else Fails, Call a Judge or Game Official
If you and your opponent simply cannot work out a dispute on your own, it’s important to either look to online rulings resources for your game, or to talk to a judge/game official who knows the rules really well. (My boyfriend is pretty much the “rules guy” in every game he plays, so I often find myself asking him about various rulings that seem like they should work one way, but don’t really.)
Going to the source of information about a rulings dispute is important for resolving a problem–otherwise, the communication between your opponent and you is going to dissolve into a “I-said/you-said” argument. This way, you get a clear and objective vantage point on your disagreement, and you can quickly get back to gaming afterward.
Summary
Gaming together should be fun for you and your opponent, not a minefield of tension and anger. Keeping pleasant, thorough communication going the whole time helps a game feel…well, like a game, and not like work. Try some of these tips at your next gaming session, and feel for yourself how much happier the environment becomes!
John 6:37
37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.
In the midst of the disciples discussing how Jesus is the Bread of Life (spiritual sustenance), Jesus says this comforting but slightly cryptic statement. “All those the Father gives me will come to me”? What does that mean? Does it mean that only a select few people will be saved, and others not? The phrase “All those the Father gives” seems rather selective…
Until you remember that God created us ALL, and is guiding ALL our lives. Then the meaning becomes a little clearer. God, in seeking a reunion between humankind and Himself, guides each of our lives in such a way that we will eventually come to at least hear about Jesus. The final step of accepting Christ as Savior is ours to make or not make as we choose, but the choice is there. Through the efforts of missionaries, Christian relief aid, and good old-fashioned Christian friends, word about God spreads, and word about Jesus as the risen Savior goes right along with it.
It may be hard to accept for some, whose lives have taken such drastically hard turns that they may even doubt there is any God at all. Perhaps you’re one of them. I myself wondered where my life was going more than once, as I spent over a decade outside organized religion entirely, and floundered in trying to worship and pray by myself, not ever feeling like I’d truly connected with God. Sometimes I felt downright lost (like yesterday’s blog post, lol), and wondered “Does this God really know where He’s going?”
But, as you might have guessed, I found that indeed He did know where He was driving me–He was just taking a few unexpected roads. And, moreover, I found that Jesus had never driven me away from Him, keeping the word He said in the second half of this verse. Even when I had packed my junk and left organized faith practice, Jesus had never abandoned me; there was an open door always, just waiting for me to walk through.
That door, standing for salvation and love, exists for everyone who lives on Earth today. This, indeed, IS a comfort!
Yeah, I’m a bit infamous for losing my way, especially when trying to find my way to a place for the first time without knowing what any of the landmarks look like. Street names and numbers are excellent pieces of information on paper, but if I can’t connect those numbers and names to what a physical place looks like, I might just drive up and down the street a few times trying to find the next turnoff.
Before Google Street View existed, there were several epic-fail jaunts I found myself on…let me tell you of them.
Whoops, I Was Supposed to Go West
One Saturday evening a couple of years ago, my boyfriend and I were leaving from the comics and collectibles shop about 40 miles from home, in Gastonia, NC. We went and got something to eat in the downtown area, and from there, I reckoned that we should turn left out of the parking lot onto Franklin Boulevard to get back home.
…But about 45 minutes after turning left, we were driving on into the darkness, and none of the street signs looked familiar. I’d come this way many times, but never this late at night. In desperation, I finally called Dad (our resident navigator); the nearest street sign told me that I was on Highway 74 heading east from Gastonia.
“East?!” Dad spluttered over the phone when I told him this. “Good Lord, honey, you’re halfway to Belmont by now!” Belmont, as you might have gathered by now, is in the total opposite direction of home. We had spent 45 minutes going the wrong dang way, and I, in my bullheaded sense that I knew where I was going, had kept us going past all the unfamiliar scenery as darkness fell.
We easily got turned around and started going west, quickly reaching the outskirts of Gastonia again, and soon we were back in familiar territory. (My boyfriend got to do a well-deserved “I told you so” after this–he had been the one to sound the first warning that something wasn’t right about our route home. I know to listen to him now, as well as to listen to my own doubts and intuitions!)
Can You Tell Me How to Get–How to Get to This Address?
While I was still in college in Greensboro, NC, I had made Internet contact with a really nice guy who went to Furman University down in South Carolina, and we wanted to start dating. Since my home is a hop, skip, and jump from the SC state line, it seemed a simple thing to schedule our first date for a time when I would be home from college for the weekend.
So, on a Friday afternoon, after I had already made the 2 1/2-hour drive back from college to home, I was heading down I-85 South to Greenville, SC, confident that I had correct directions and knew all the twists and turns I needed to take to get to the Furman campus. I took all the exits off the main highways that I needed to, got into the correct lanes, and all of that…except that the college campus was nowhere to be found.
A frantic 1 1/2-hour search for Furman University ensued, as I drove tensely through the thickest portions of inner Greenville, tears working their way out of my eyes as minutes passed with no familiar street names. Somewhere–I wasn’t sure where–I had made a terrible mistake, even though I knew I had taken all the roads I was supposed to according to the directions I’d gotten from Mapquest. Instead of ending up at the college campus, I was lost in suburbia.
I pulled a couple of epic U-turns in this search, pulling onto a deserted four-lane residential road long enough to whoop around in the middle of the street, and even turning around in a business parking lot without even pausing to make it a 3-point turn. (I love my little car’s turning radius. <3) At this point, I had been lost for over an hour, and I was increasingly frightened--even Daddy couldn't tell me where I was, and I was a single girl alone in a strange city. Not to mention that my cell phone signal kept going in and out, making me miss worried calls from my would-be date, who was getting quite concerned by this time. At some point, I finally pulled over into a parking lot in front of a rather dilapidated strip mall, and I went into a barber shop, which happened to be the only business still open at this time of night. After a moment's hesitation, I walked in, realizing how vulnerable I was as I did so--I was a lone female in what didn't look like the best part of town, with darkness falling. Fear bit at me as I opened the door...would I find any help from the five older gentlemen seated inside? But it seemed God had directed me to just the right barbershop. The fatherly owner of the shop, after hearing my tearful explanation of the problem (along the lines of "Can somebody tell me where Furman University is?!"), was able to tell me that the road I was looking for had actually changed names halfway through Greenville, and it was now known as Poinsett Highway out this far. And, as he put it, "Darlin', you ain't too far off from Furman now--you only lack 'bout a mile!" The others agreed, and sought to put my mind at ease. I probably looked a mess, with mascara running down my face, my nose all red from crying, and my eyes all puffed out, but they were sympathetic, and I was grateful for it. They pointed me to continue down the road I had been on, and I saw as I left the building that indeed the road name was Poinsett Highway. (Never been so relieved to see a street sign in my life. LOL) Within a few minutes after getting back in my car and onto the road, I did indeed find the exit that led into Furman University. (My date was standing outside the dorm, and looked so relieved to see me pull up that I think he about fell over. And our date went well, even if it did start two hours later than anticipated. xD)
Random Left Turn of Fail
My boyfriend and I had taken a trip up to Lake Lure, NC, to have a picnic out in the beautiful countryside surrounding the lake. It had been a favorite family destination as a child, and I wanted to share that with my awesome wub. Though the day was a little grayer and chillier than we expected, we still had good food and good conversation outside under the shade of one of the picnic shelters nearby.
When it came time to head back toward home, I threaded my way back through the route around the lake, and made a left at the intersection we had come into the area on, starting our trip back home. Or so I thought.
About 10 minutes later, we started seeing signs for Asheville, NC, as well as Bat Cave, NC (a real town, I promise!). “Uh-oh,” I said, passing the third of such signs. “I think we might be going the wrong way…”
“Why?” my boyfriend asked.
“‘Cause, um…we’re headed toward Asheville instead of away from it,” I said, sheepishly. “Wish I’d realized this about 5 minutes ago…”
By this time, though, my boyfriend was well aware that I could find a way out of the mess as easily as I found my way into it, and he shrugged. “Well, we’ll just find a place to turn around, and we’ll be good to go–you haven’t made any other turns, so we’ll probably just have to go back to that one intersection we remembered from before,” he said.
But finding a place to turn around on curving mountain roads proved much more difficult. I kept looking for gas stations or parking lots or ANYTHING that I could just whoop into and whoop back around…but the mountainside sloped sharply down away on our left side, and only houses were on the right. Asheville crept closer the farther we looked, and we were gathering quite a crowd of drivers behind us since we were going slowly along the curves.
Finally, we sighted, on the side of the road, a blue-graveled parking lot of sorts, barely even wide enough for one car to park perpendicular to the old building it lay in front of. I darted into it, sighing with relief–and then saw the sheer impossibility of using it to turn around. There was no room to back up and change direction; if I tried to do a 3-point turn, I’d take out a wall of the old building to our right. And yet, the road was narrow. If I tried to do a U-turn, I could end up hitting the guard rail. Not to mention that there was traffic flying from both directions.
After a minute or so of sitting there, the road cleared, and I told my boyfriend, “Hang on.” Then, from a dead stop, I turned the wheel as left as it would go, and slowly, sloooowly, crept onto the road, barely even using any gas. My little car eased gently across the near lane, then slid into the far lane (which became the “right lane” to us), never even so much as grazing the guard rail or dipping its tire off the road. (Have I said how much I love my little car’s turning radius? :D)
I have to give my wub some credit here–he didn’t even flinch as we got close to the other side of the road, though his hand stayed clenched around the armrest. LOL! At last, we were finally pointed in the right direction, and we got back to the fateful intersection, this time making the turn back toward home rather than more unknown territory. (Road signs are wonderful things. Just sayin’.)
Summary
I have been incredibly lucky not to have any major fails (or accidents/dangerous situations) than these–mainly, these stories remind me to pay attention to road signs, double/triple-check my route, and ask for directions if I have to. But they’re also funny stories to tell on myself, because book smarts do not always equal road smarts. 😛
For web designers and developers who are fascinated with particular topics, fan sites are the reason they make websites. I am one such designer, who learned how to design and code websites so that I could make a place to talk about one of my favorite TV shows (and nine years later, here I am! :D).
But what does it take to make a GOOD fansite? Anybody can collect together a few pictures and a few pages of content copied from other sites, but how do you make a fansite that others enjoy, too?
#1: Content, Content, Content
If you want to run a fansite, be it about seahorses or the Harry Potter series, you need to make sure you have a good bit of accurate content about the subject.
For instance, if you’re running a fansite about seahorses, you’d want to have information about where they live, what varieties there are, how they live and breed, what they eat, etc. You’d also want high-quality pictures of seahorses in their natural environments, and maybe some charts and diagrams of various life cycle information. Remember, other seahorse fans would be coming to visit, so you want to provide them with as wide a swath of info as possible.
If you’re making a site about the Harry Potter book series, on the other hand, you’d likely want to have synopses of all 7 books, info about all 8 movies, and lists and descriptions of all the characters. Screencaptures from the various movies, scans of the book covers, and even some samples of music from the series would also be big draws for fans coming to see your site.
As I know from the various fansites I’ve run throughout the years, gathering content can be a challenge, but it’s worth it if you make your site a true repository of information. Then fans know to come to you when they want news, which is admittedly an ego boost as well as a raison d’etre.
#2: Make Sure It Stays Updated
But having a lot of accurate content is not the only challenge to making a fansite; you also have to make sure it stays current. What good is a Harry Potter fansite that stops updating with The Prisoner of Azkaban? Not very, to most current fans. When you make a site, make certain your information is not only accurate, but that it stays accurate with the passage of time.
To stay updated, you need to stay immersed in the culture surrounding the subject. Stay on forums and check official subject-matter sites often; as soon as you find out new information, reference it on your own page so others can know what’s going on.
On my City of Heroes fansite, for instance, I have to make sure my help articles stay updated with all the new game features and developments. And if I can’t keep it updated myself, I’ve got to make sure I link to official sites who are keeping things updated, so my readers can find the info they want quickly and easily. Remember, as a fansite owner, you’re not only making a place for you, but for others, too–you have a responsibility to your users to make information easy to obtain and understand!
#3: Have Original Content Not Found Anywhere Else
Too often, I’ve seen fansites that could be photocopies of each other on the Internet–the same exact page structure, the same exact content. With subject-matter fansites, it’s easy to fall into the “cookie-cutter trap” when you’re trying to make sure you have a lot of information and it’s all accurate. You want to make sure your site is “complete” with lots of info, but if your info could be found just as easily on another page, who’s going to bother visiting yours?
To combat this, I often include personally-written essays on the subject matter, like my Creative Gaming Advice column on my gaming site. Either that, or I’ll include graphics I’ve made representing the subject matter, or even devise a few humorous lyric parodies a la Weird Al to round out my content. No matter what kind of fansite I’m running, I NEED ways to make my content original, ways to share my unique perspective on various issues. I have to find my “niche,” in other words.
Whenever you’re making a fansite, you’ve GOT to include something that no one else on the Internet is going to have–that special something that will define your “niche” for you. If you don’t, your site is going to fade into the background of sameness…and no webmaster wants that.
#4: Link to Official Sites and Affiliate with Other Fansites
A fansite is, in my opinion, simply never complete without a link list to official sites and other fansites. It’s also not complete without some affiliations between fansites, just to help drive traffic. Even though your sites may be about the same thing, it doesn’t mean that you’re in competition with other people–form an alliance, and you may likely have an Internet buddy for life. On all of my fansites, past and present, I have always enjoyed providing the most comprehensive link list I can put together, for my own reference as well as the greater knowledge of others.
Providing links to official sites helps your users greatly while they search for information, and similarly giving links to other great fansites you know of can make everyone in your network happy. You’re all working toward the same purpose–disseminating info to other fans–and you all have a deep interest in the same topic. Why not join forces and help each other get Internet traffic? Who knows, you might just end up being a big enough network that the official site recognizes you all!
Summary
Fansites are fun ways to exercise one’s web creativity, and when done well, they can establish thriving online communities and great conversation. Try building your own fansite, about whatever you love–you might just find yourself at the head of a new wave of interest in the topic!
Boring songs do not get listeners. And yet, what do I find myself writing when I have such an awesome idea for these lyrics and it’s gonna be totally amazing? Thaaaaat’s right–a boring song.
Or what about when I find a melody that’s just crazily beautiful and I gotta find words to go with it right now or I’m gonna burst? Yup–I end up writing a boring song.
What prevents such awesome lyrics or beautiful melodies from being interesting? Well, I find that when you focus too hard on the lyrics and message of a song, the melody and chords–what really carries the message to your audience’s minds–go by the wayside. Ultimately, you end up with a really weighty song, like a cake that’s dense and chewy instead of light and fluffy (and yummy).
Conversely, when you work really hard at the melody and chords of a song and forget about the lyrics and message, the words of the song seem not to match up to the beauty of the music. It’s like trying to match a lovely, subtle striped pattern with a garish, huge polka-dot pattern; the delicacy of the former is overshadowed by the brightness and boldness of the latter.
Can You Quantify “Boring Music” or “Boring Lyrics?”
Well, I’m not sure, but I’m going to try. Here’s some examples of how a songwriter can bore audiences to death, at least in my opinion:
| Boring Lyrics | Boring Music |
|---|---|
|
|
When your melody/chords sound like they repeat themselves ad nauseum, or the lyrics just don’t sound natural, your audience is going to be turned off (trust me, been there, done that :C ). You can just tell when their minds start to drift away and stop relating to what you’re singing about. Any time your music and lyrics are not in balance, any time they tug against each other for attention rather than supporting each other, your song becomes a drag to listen to.
Well, What Makes “Interesting Lyrics” and “Interesting Music?”
I believe the following examples are ways we as songwriters can make our songs more interesting to hear:
| Interesting Lyrics | Interesting Music |
|---|---|
|
|
Wait, This All Looks a Bit Formulaic
I admit, this seems more like a mathematical formula or scientific theory rather than the stereotypically ethereal and beautiful practice of writing music. And I agree, sometimes good songs just form–they pop into existence in minutes, and it feels as if its chords and its words fit perfectly together without any help from you. But sometimes, especially if you’re struggling to write a new song, it’s hard to figure out what will be listened to and what won’t be.
That’s why I started coming up with this listing, as a way to educate myself about the creation of music (especially music that includes lyrics). Songwriting, at least for me, is kind of like speech-writing combined with music performance–you’re trying to get across a verbal message, but at the same time couch it within melodies and chords that are easy on the ear. How do you get someone to listen to a speech? You make it relatable and meaningful without being heavy. Same thing with a song–it must mean something and be memorable.
Summary
Boring songs, suffering from either lyric failure or melody/chord failure, do not have to stay boring! Thankfully, music and lyrics can be rewritten and revised till they both support each other, and an interesting and lovely song emerges. Believe me, it’s possible to make a previously boring song into something magical to listen to!
SoThere.com
A place to let go of guilt and anger…and to get closure through writing.
Problem Gambling
See how a gambler outsmarts both the IRS auditor and his own attorney in this hilarious text joke… xD
Throw Paper!
Throw virtual paper into a virtual wastebasket–kinda like playing golf with a wad of paper, a fan, and a basket, but greener.
List of idioms in the English language
Because it’s handy to know that “kicking the bucket” does not always mean you’re upsetting a bucket full of milk on the farm.
The most recent expansion for the Resident Evil Deck Building Game is called Nightmare, and for good reason–this time around, the characters, weapons, and even some of the actions are a little more cutthroat, a little more battle-hardened.
Below is a selective list of what I consider to be the best new cards out of the Nightmare expansion–lots of new characters, Actions, Weapons, and even Mansion Items and Events! Check them out; I think you’ll find the Nightmare box to be a worthwhile investment if you’re playing the Resident Evil DBG.
Useful New Characters (And Intriguing New Visions of Old Characters)
 The newest Ada rewards you for taking damage at level 1, and sloughs off death at level 2–but good luck getting to 2 if you’ve been taking damage to set off her level 1 ability! |
 The newest Chris only has one level ability, but it’s fairly good–get a damage boost if the zombie he’s fighting has 40 or more health. Always good for amping up a 50-damage weapon to defeat Nemesis (60 health). |
 The newest Leon, at level 1, can mimic the Action card “Parting Ways” automatically when he kills a zombie. At level 2, whenever you Gain a card (whenever you Buy it, basically), you can draw a card. Better than you think! |
 Luis’ level 1 ability is rather opaque and unhelpful, but his level 2 helps you put cards that you’ve Discarded back on the bottom of the deck (and thus, playable much faster). With his level 2 activated, you should never run out of a deck again! |
 This guy is a beast. You can buy weapons for cheaper right away, and at level 2, you deal more damage when you’re wielding weapons of different types. Even giving him a basic Pistol and a Knife means you’re doing 25 damage! |
Best New Weapons
 This simple pistol, doing 10 damage, can really help you in early turns by doing more damage for less ammo investment, but the +1 card and +1 action can be helpful even late-game. |
 Like the Silver Ghost (of which the Punisher is the Special Weapon in the stack), this weapon does just as much damage as its ammo investment, but it also gives you a free Mansion Foyer (+2 cards) and an extra Action. VERY fun–you can easily build chains of Actions to get major card advantage, better weapons, etc. |
 A good weapon for other-player control as well as for a good bit of damage. 30 damage may seem a little low, but it’s strictly better than the Pump-Action Shotgun, and you also get to make another player discard a card. |
 Since this is the Special Weapon in the Single-Shot Rifle stack, the Special Ops Rifle does the regular weapon’s effect plus a little more–it makes all other players discard one card from their hands when you explore. Now just choose Albert Wesker as your Character and you have the game under your (diabolical) control. |
 Paying 30 ammo for 20 damage isn’t fun–until you see that this gun gives you +20 gold for Exploring with it. Save your Buy until after you Explore, and you can get something that’s at least worth 50 gold (the 30 ammo/gold you paid for Exploring plus 20 gold from the weapon itself). |
 You know what you do with this Special Weapon, right? Buy every Assault Machine Gun, Russian Assault Rifle, and Machine Pistol in sight, and HAVE FUN. Heehee 😀 |
 The Broken Butterfly rewards you for having more cards in your Inventory, just as the Flamethrower rewards you for having more cards in your Discard Pile. Build accordingly, and you could have a 60-damage weapon for only a 40-ammo investment! |
 Finally, a grenade that’s worth the purchase! It doesn’t damage other Players, and it adds a sweet no-ammo-investment, 20-point damage boost to whatever you’re Exploring with. (And think about using this with the Base Set’s Jill Valentine, a.k.a. “She of Many Explosives.” Mwahaha.) |
Fun New Actions
 This is an excellent way to boost up one of your weapons, especially if you’re already built your deck for a Flamethrower strategy. (This is the official corrected version of the card, by the way–the actual physical card from the Nightmare box read “+1 ammo”, but it’s really supposed to be “+20 ammo”, which makes a whole lot more sense.) |
 If you’ve built up a larger Inventory (and especially if you’re already running the Broken Butterfly weapon strategy), this card is hilarious. Suddenly get +50 ammo and gold for just having 10 cards remaining in your deck? OKAY! This is great with Luis Sera’s level 2 ability (and of course, the extra Action is icing on the cake. :D). |
 I’m sensing a theme of “rewarding those who build bigger Inventories”. Card advantage, especially for larger Inventories, is priceless–and look, you get another Action along with it! Well worth the 70 gold to buy. |
 To complete your Wesker-esque strategy, pick up this little beauty and have the entire table of players hating you in no time. Being able to choose an Action from someone else’s hand, apply it twice to yourself, and then take it out of their hand for the time being? This is just as annoying (and good) as Master of Unlocking. |
 Let’s see, +2 Actions, and you can move up to 2 cards back from your Inventory (or anyone else’s) from Discard. They finally made a Reload that’s not just for Weapons! 😀 Also, you can play this offensively against someone who’s running a Flamethrower strategy to reduce their damage output. 🙂 |
Awesome New Mansion Items and Events
 An item you’ll love to run across, even if it does technically waste your firepower. Hidden Treasure is reason enough to save your Buys until after you Explore, just in case–the +30 gold and +1 Buy is like a free trip to the Merchant. |
 Another item that boosts you tremendously! When you hit the Map, you can attach it to your character and keep it as long as you want, until you feel the need for +3 cards in your hand and +20 Gold to Buy something with. |
 I love this thing–it gives the player with the lowest number of Decorations (roughly, zombie kills) a chance to catch back up, by instantly killing whatever Infected zombie is directly below this card in the Mansion. (Since I usually reserve my Exploring/zombie-killing for the second half of the game, due to deck-building, I often lag behind in Decorations till close to the end of the game, so this event is HAPPY FUN TIME for me. :D) You can even instantly kill the boss zombie and end the game with this little event! |
For More Info
Resident Evil DBG Official Site
Resident Evil DBG: Nightmare @ BoardGameGeek
Images were mostly obtained from scans of my awesome boyfriend’s Nightmare box set, since I couldn’t find large enough images elsewhere. A few cards, though, came from the BoardGameGeek website, and the corrected Lonewolf card came from the official game page.
Esther 8:15-17a
15 When Mordecai left the king’s presence, he was wearing royal garments of blue and white, a large crown of gold and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa held a joyous celebration. 16 For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor. 17 In every province and in every city, wherever the edict of the King went, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating.
All throughout the Book of Esther, people have been threatening the very existence of the Jews; due to the wicked machinations of one of the king’s advisors, the Jews were going to be eradicated by political edict. But Queen Esther, a Jew herself, stepped in for them, at Mordecai’s urging. She talked with King Xerxes about getting the discriminatory edict revoked, and reminds the king that Mordecai was the one who stopped an assassination plot against him.
Now King Xerxes is content to overrule the terrible law, and the day is saved; Mordecai leaves the palace robed in royal colors (blue, white, gold, and purple), and the people rejoice. God had truly come through for them, providing for His people amid political intrigue, subterfuge, and threats; even when the enemy believed he had organized the perfect plot, strange (divinely arranged) circumstances unraveled it right before his eyes.
We Can Experience This Same Joy
When God comes through for us, we too can feel as if we’re in a royal procession of joy and relief. But unfortunately, many times we get bogged down in praying for help or good news, and we never remember to thank God for answered prayers. We need to remember to celebrate every time we experience a triumph like this.
Don’t think God still does this kind of thing? I know differently. Every time we arrive at our destination safely, that’s a triumph. Every time we get good news from a medical test, that’s a triumph, too. Every time we wake up in the morning, that’s even a triumph (even if it doesn’t feel like it, especially on a Monday, LOL). Knowing the story of the Israelites in the Book of Esther reminds us that God hasn’t stopped doing miracles.
God is always with us, always our staunchest ally, always working to resolve situations in the best possible way, even if it doesn’t look like God is anywhere near the problem. Even in the darkest of times for their people, Mordecai and Esther knew God was with them; we need to know it, too!
After nearly 10 months of doing Zumba classes, I have noticed a definite body change for the better. ^o^
I can FEEL the difference in my body, even though the mean ole scale tells me that I’ve only lost 7 pounds (currently weighing in around 290 pounds instead of 297-298). Despite being faced with a number I still don’t like–a number I’ve been socially PROGRAMMED not to like–I am happy with the results of my exercise routine thus far.
How Much Better AM I Doing?
Not only are people noticing a difference in my looks, but I’m noticing a difference in the way my body functions and feels. I don’t feel quite as heavy and tired as I used to, even though I still look like an uncoordinated duck during most of the Zumba exercises. And even though I still wheeze a little during much of the class, I find that some of the moves that were impossible for me in June 2011 are now attainable and even fun.
Actually Seeing the Inches Lost, in Clothes
The clothing difference has been the most astonishing, for me. I’ve been used to squeezing my body into clothes, dancing and shaking myself into pants rather than just slipping them on (you know the “pants dance,” don’t lie :P). I’ve also been used to the unique pain and suffering brought on by a belly constrained too much by an unforgiving button and zipper.
Imagine, then, what I felt this past Christmas, when I easily put on a dress that had been too small in 2010. Where before the zipper would not even go up my back all the way, now the dress hung off me in becoming folds of fabric, especially around the waist. That was a measurable success–I remember crying in 2010 when I had brought out the dress to wear, only to find that I couldn’t even zip it up all the way. This Christmas, I wore it with pride.
I also have been getting back into other clothes, clothes I haven’t worn since late high school/early college (~2003/2004). I had retired a pair of jeans for being simply too small right after I went to college–the “freshman 15” was more like the “freshman 45” in my case–and in shame, I had packed them away in the laundry room. Upon discovering them in the laundry room about a month ago, I tried them on, more as a private joke to myself than anything. And they FIT. It wasn’t an “almost-kinda-sorta” squeeze-fit, either–they buttoned and zipped comfortably. :O What happened? Zumba happened. Moreover, a lifestyle change happened.
Why the Number of Pounds Does Not Matter
I purposely did not look at a scale for the first seven months I did Zumba, because I didn’t want to be disheartened. I, like most of the women in my extended family, have a very hard time losing pounds, and I refused to be a slave of the scale number. Instead, I focused on inches lost (currently, I have lost HALF A FOOT around my waist alone!), as well as body feeling. Only when I went to the doctor in early January and had to be weighed did I look at the scale.
I have to admit, I was disappointed at the small number of pounds lost. I’d never make it on “The Biggest Loser”, I know that. But my doctor was impressed with my heart rate; knowing the family history of heart attacks, he was worried that my fast and light pulse signaled problems down the road for me. Now, my heart beats slower but stronger–a healthier heart rate. He could also tell a difference in the way I was walking (not so gingerly and carefully anymore), because my left ankle is getting stronger. I count those two improvements as much more important than subtracting 10 from my scale number.
Summary
As much as I’ve worked to even get to 290 pounds, this number is not going to torment me. I know the difference in my body, and I know I’m doing better physically than I was before. I’m toning up, I’m losing inches, and I’m feeling better than I have in years, probably since before I became a “fat girl” in 1996.
So I’m not going to worry that my weight doesn’t match some magical number according to my age, height, socioeconomic status, etc. As long as I continue to feel and function better in my everyday life, I know that it’s a positive lifestyle change. Maybe if all us girls started focusing on how our bodies feel rather than how they look, we might just forget all this super-skinny-fashion mess…well, a girl can dream, can’t she?