Bring a friend?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgrEHSWCr1c

Imagine all the draenei...or "Put on a Lupe Face."

Was inspired this morning by Tome of the Ancient's great post about a "what if" scenario. She has photos and everything!

My comment to her was:
This is WONDERFUL - this could be explored so many ways. Gives fan fiction a whole new perspective! Thanks for the inspiration, and the photos are fantastic. I rock my imaginary horns, hooves, and tail every single day, clicking on the rage button when I am most unhappy angry face. If only others could see it, then at least they would be warned. Of my characters, the shaman and paladin are the most similar to me: if they came to visit, the shaman would be putting out her fire totems constantly to keep warm, the paladin would be arresting n'er do wells, the rogue would be looking for silver to pawn (sorry girl, none here), the priest would be reading steamy romance novels, and the hunter would be looking for the woods. 


The reason I posted the comment here I guess is more of a creative place-marker for myself: unfortunately, I don't have time to write this morning. I don't have time to do anything. December is the month for doing: it is a balancing act of somewhat forced cheer, production values, (last year I waited so long to put a tree up the guy at the tree lot gave it to me free...), and transforming the real world into a festival of lights, food, and a few pounds. Last night I went to Firelands for the first time with my new guild. There were some definite game highlights, including a very kind guildmaster who actually led me through the Alysrazor's fire tornadoes. Seriously. My cold, wet wolf nose was so far up her robes... The level of patience and humor I experienced was personally a better fit. Now, unfortunately, and I'm not the only one, though they have downed Rag many times, I experienced some life aggro at a critical moment, and I'll be honest, my stamina for being in a raid for three hours when I've been up since 5am is not...great. Fingers and reflexes get fatigued. But, I did see the fight further than I ever had before, so that's a good thing.

My personal parallels of game play and real life are getting fairly entrenched. Right now, I have a few nagging bosses that need to be downed, and there is some 'trash' in my professional life that loves to throw arrows and spears at my head (well, one co-worker anyway). There is one dart-thrower in every job it seems. The bully who offers nothing positive, no move to change or affect an outcome, save for the negativity and delight in letting you know how wrong you are. I'll have the fall-out of an event from yesterday to deal with today, and am not looking forward to it: those are the moments I put on my paladin persona. "Luperci" is brave, brooks no bullsh*t, and protects the less fortunate and marginalized from harm.

So, off to fight the good fights, once again. They last more than three hours, have way more trash, and there is no RNG boon. But there are cups of hot coffee and smiles. That works.

Bunnies don't play WoW...

http://www.fohguild.org/forums/attachments/screenshots/190271d1323015048-funny-strange-random-pics-3stages.jpg

Loco para dama de rojo...

Oh, my friend - thank you so much -- if both of us don't have nightmares about Jaina and Arthas chasing us through ice tunnels, I'd be surprised. The third time was indeed the charm to get my bow for Haanta, and I scrounged through the sale rack at the Auction House for things she could equip in themes of red:

I am off to dinner, and my friend is off to the fair. Hard to describe that I am truly, simply, just having fun again --and I haven't even gotten a monkey yet.

theme songs: Loco por Juana
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nV4oBy0_q8
Tu Sabes Muy Bien (La Nalga)

You're going to wear THAT?!

Mataoka is still struggling to find just the right thing to wear, but Zep and Lupe have it figured out, at least for now:

Yes, that is the very same petrified bark shield  Lupe got back in the day. She needs to find some different horseshoes, er, footwear, er, hoofwear? Want to get a funky sword for her. Tried to equip the Horseman's, but the specs were varying. Rules for transmog? Dang.

When considering transmogrification, I never intentionally went for one complete look. I've always loved vintage clothing shops and wearing hand-me-downs that are unique and detailed. If I could still fit in the felt-wool skirt with the embroidered applique squirrel my great-grandmother made for me I would. Most of my real life outfits are T-shirts and jeans, but my hand-painted clogs and funky socks are my signature items, not to mention hand-crafted jewelry. So, my approach to transmog is very much the same as my 'fashion' choices in real life, meaning--put on what is clean, comfortable, with a modicum of style.

Zep has taken a more formal approach:

Buying wine, cheese, and catnip in Dalaran

There is so much new content, and yes, the Darkmoon Faire is all I wanted it to be. Feel like a lost boy when I'm there, and getting the Dancing Bear mount is going to take some grinding. Pretty sure most of the carnies have done some time, and most of the games are rigged, but no matter. The new dungeons are easy (which people will complain about), but I for one am NOT: after the trials and tribulations of the Zuls, I need a vacation. Tried the LFR with a few guildmates yesterday, and did all right--not great, but all right. It's not that hard, but with so many, the lag was horrible and my dps wasn't that great, in my opinion.

But now it's time to go see the fashionista himself, Mr. Robot---these girls need new gems and enchants, because as they say, that is what separates us from the animals, the ability to accessorize.

Other related posts:
http://www.furlinedteacup.com/bibleofdreams/2011/12/transmogrification-validation-for-a-game-lifetime-of-being-a-pack-rat.html

http://tomeoftheancient.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/my-wow-wishlist-drop-box-of-good-stuff-and-hardcore-realms/

and of course, in her terse prose:
http://forthebubbles.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/woe/

and one more:
http://kaliope.crafterstome.com/2011/08/transmogrification-and-leatherworking.html

A Void Storage....

Well, that was a rip-off

Recently, I helped my sister clean out her house for a big move. Ah, the scythe blade of clearing clutter swings deep and wide when it's someone else's trash and treasure, but when it's my own, that is another matter. How can you explain to someone the sentimental value of a broken horse puppet or the half-empty box of thank you cards meant for gifts long gone?

I was looking forward to the Void Storage feature, but now I am not so sure. Once again I didn't read the fine print, and am left with some tough choices to make. The storage states it will basically disenchant items, and will not take unique items. Since I had intended to use this for holiday wear, letters, old sentimental gear, and all those tabards...well, at 25g per item, it's not going to happen. Tabards are unique items, so the 20+ ones I have will stay in the bank. I'm not saying it's a bad idea, but again, am left wondering why Blizzard charges so damn much for something that isn't "real." It's like they relinquished control over those of us who collect the holiday garb, yet punish us for having it by charging so much to store it: in other words, when they said at Blizzcon two years ago, "It's not World of Dresscraft," they acquiesced that indeed, it is, (have you seen some of the amazing configurations trasnmog has generated?) but they are enjoying their usual racketeering and extortion follies.

Not to mention it costs gold to get items back out. The cruel economics of Azeroth once again mystify me. I wish my old guildmaster would explain it to me, because I just don't get it. Just seems a measly and miserly gesture at best.

So, if I get real quiet one afternoon while I'm making those hard choices, don't worry. I'm keeping that letter. And this one. And that one. Maybe not that one.

Reuse, recycle, and reduce. How about I just keep, store, and not spend gold? It is a fantasty game, after all.

Dialect coach.

Okay - so this is a funny coincidence. Last night in guild Vent, I detected an accent that is very uncommon, from the area in question from my barfing beer mug story-- and sure enough, this guildmate has been to that pub many times, and was from that area. I know my accents, at least US ones. 

According to a PBS story, researchers detect or classify the US dialects from three to twenty-four. Three? No way. There are probably twenty-four distinct dialects in the state of Texas alone. And does this count immigrants, and their interpretation of English? And heaven knows I am such a hybrid, having lived from coast-to-coast and everywhere in between, I think any accent has been washed away to generic "woman voice #3.A/456." I know sometimes I've laughed too loud, or asked someone to repeat themselves (can't hear them over the awesomeness), and sometimes my mic has been screwy. I can mumble sometimes, and have been accused of forgetting that there are vowels in the world (Hawaiian and Samoan names are tough ones for me).

In any case, if you get me on Vent, I'll try to be polite. But mostly I'm just listening for you to tell me when to Hero. Unless of course, like last night, the dungeon leader allowed me to think for myself.

Heard that loud and clear.

No regrets.

Nothing like a good old-fashioned night fight...

I have no regrets about not studying for the 4.3 Patch--last night was a blast. Got through most of the new dungeons easy-breezy, and wasn't too distracted by how beautiful they are. I can see how they can become tiresome later, but that is always the way, and not my problem now. Plenty of new content to learn and play. If I have any regrets at all it may be that I did play grasshopper a bit too much when others were being ants, but really, not sure it matters. I don't like to farm, and making a lot of gold doesn't appear to be a big priority for me. I do wish I could have glammed up with some new things I bought, but ya know? In time. It's all about the pacing for me. 


But, thought it was time to review the patch notes. These are the items that are important to my shaman, Mataoka "Please call me Matty and No I won't be an Elemental Shaman but Might Try to Heal You," Zeptepi the Confused Holy/Shadow Priest, Luperci the Reluctant Paladin, Haanta the Hillbilly Huntress, and Magadora "the Gas Tank" Mage. 


Some love:
Enhancement

• Improved Lava Lash now causes Lava Lash to spread a Flame Shock debuff from the target to up to 4 nearby targets. This excludes crowd-controlled targets and those who already have a Flame Shock debuff from the shaman.
• Improved Lava Lash no longer increases base Lava Lash damage by 15/30%. This increase has been rolled into the base Lava Lash skill.
• Mental Quickness has been redesigned. Instead of granting the shaman spell power, Mental Quickness now causes Enhancement shaman spells to behave as though the shaman has spell power equal to 55% of attack power. Enhancement shaman spells no longer benefit from spell power from other sources.
• Maelstrom Weapon can now also proc from fully absorbed melee attacks.

This I probably should have known:


Wind Shear's base cooldown has been adjusted to 15 seconds, up from 6 seconds.
Oops. That would have come in handy during a certain rainbow dinner party fight.


Oh, guess I'm not so dumb after all: Mages

• Mages
  • Pyroblast's initial damage has been increased by approximately 26%, and its damage over time has been increased by approximately 100%.
  • Fireball damage has been increased by approximately 17%.
  • Talent Specializations
    • Fire
      • Living Bomb damage over time has been increased by approximately 10%, and explosion damage has been increased by approximately 120%.

Official Hour of Twilight Patch Notes


Blood Diamonds: Dangit, Blizzard. Why'd you have to go and make access to the wealth so much like real life? And with pepper spray, too?


I'm already enhanced. 


Thank you RNGs: 

• Zul'Gurub
  • Players now only have to kill two of the four initial dungeon bosses (High Priest Venoxis, Broodlord Mandokir, High Priestess Kilnara, and Zanzil) to face Jin'do the Godbreaker.
• Zul'Aman
  • Players now only have to kill two of the four Troll avatars before they may face Hex Lord Malacrass.

And a few "What the hells?": (Did I even have these spells? What the heck have I been doing?!)

• • Priest - Holy 
    • Spirit of Redemption has been rebuilt to address a few functionality issues and make it more responsive. Spirit of Redemption otherwise remains unchanged.
    • State of Mind has been redesigned and is now called Heavenly Voice. Heavenly Voice increases the healing done by Divine Hymn by 50/100%, and reduces the cooldown of Divine Hymn by 2.5/5 minutes.
    • Guardian Spirit's healing bonus has been increased to 60%, up from 40%.
    • Holy Word: Serenity now has a cooldown of 10 seconds, down from 15 seconds.

Paladins (I don't think I've ever understood my hammers from my seals...yikes.)

• Holy Radiance now has a 3.0-second cast time, no cooldown, and requires a player target. That target is imbued with Holy Radiance, which heals them and all group members within 10 yards instantly, and continues to heal them by a smaller amount every 1 second for 3 seconds.

• Seal of Insight, when Judged, no longer returns 15% base mana to the paladin. Judging Seal of Insight still causes damage, and melee attacks will still restore 4% of base mana.

• Seal of Truth, when Judged, now benefits from a multiplier of 20% per stack of Censure, up from 10%.

Oh, I know one little dwarf hunter who is going to be PISSED: The achievement Tol Barad Veteran now requires 25 victories in Tol Barad, down from 100.


Here is the cautionary tale: If you begin to grumble about the grind of the game, all you need to do is stop grinding. Goals are wonderful to have, but when they lose their original purpose, they cease to bring happiness. That's right, grasshopper. You just got fabled.


Yes, content of this post liberally borrowed from joystiq.

Aggressively passive.

Oh, the list of things I didn't do to prepare for 4.3 The Hour of Twilight.

• No PTR
• Didn't add up any justice points or valor points to see what or who needed what when or why
• Haven't visited Mr. Robot in a while. He's like the bitchy fashion designer who tells you what to wear, but doesn't give you the credit card.
• Didn't farm anything. Nothing. "Oh, Sir Orc? You want this node? Be my guest, after you..."
• No gold, no materials, emptied out pockets on professions that will probably be worthless soon, like training to be a wheelwright or farrier. (Look them up--you have Google).
• Didn't read notes again, didn't preview squat. I heard there is a rumor about a monkey with a fez, and if that is true, it will be mine. Oh yes...it will be mine.

That would be sho kewl.

Now, what did I do this past week, besides make too much stuffing, enough mashed potatoes to feed all of the Stormwind orphans, and scuttle under the darkness of a northern Pacific coast gloom? I leveled my beautiful mage, Magadora. I realized that when I get the "Explorer" title that may be a bit awkward, so I may have to change her name. In any case, between the heirlooms (shoulders, staff, and chest) and the WoW 7th Anniversary buff, she went from zero to hero in no time flat. She is now level...35? 36? Yes, she is a Fire/Arcane mage. Yes. I know it's wrong to use Fire. I have seen how slow it is, the casting time takes an eternity, especially after having Mataoka wield the weather like she owns it. But, dang: it makes me happy when I see a huge fireball hurtling toward its target, SKABOOM, down. So, on those boss fights, the little mage that could is usually top or second DPS. She is a slow boil, but look out when she's cooking. I have prepared myself to get plenty of gruff from other players, although it hasn't happened yet. So far I've heard "solid group," or "great group" and been asked to re-queue repeatedly.

But the real thanks goes to my partner-in-crime who has the patience of the world with me, and will just grind through older content just to get the cool mace or ax, no hidden agendas or demands.

I asked myself this week, concerning a few issues, "What do I want?" Do I want to be GREAT, or do I want to have fun? I feel that much of Azeroth and real life make these two mutually exclusive, but not always. I have known moments when greatness and fun unite. Maybe that's what we all do: define it for ourselves.

As far as raiding goes, I am not looking forward to LFR especially. As long as I get to bring my monkey, then I guess it'll be okay. 

It's not so bad.

This Monday morning was brought to you by the Krusty Krab: (just click the link - trust me)

http://www.wimp.com/everydaybeach/