RTMT: Love at first sight.

This morning's Random Tuesday Morning Thought is brought to you by the Letter G and the Letter Y. In other words, I have Big Bird on my mind, and G is for "grinding" and Y is, wait, it was for Why, but wait, no...anyway. (Better go make my pledge to PBS so I can keep learning things!)

The big word clouds out there all seem to be suggesting the same thing: Mists is about dailies. And more dailies, and have a few more. On one hand, since I still can't get over all lovely characters wanting to play, and still learn new things, I am having, already, kind of a difficult time not being completely overwhelmed. Yes, Soul--I know you told me, 'relax,' and for us Type As, that's like saying, "Go take a nap and let the house fall down on you." Like telling Dorothy to not go after Toto. Like telling Nat Pagle bait doesn' matter. Thems fightin' word, boy.

But being the reigning champion of the title, Duchess of Derpishness, having played no Beta and doing even less research on new things (oh, sure, I see the blog posts, but do I read them thoroughly? Nope. I tend to bookmark and pray), upon turning my somewhat anticlimactic 90 (not sure what I expected...at least some Kool-Aid and "thattagirls," but meh. No big whoop.) I begin to see the big dailies picture.

Editor's Note: Matty apologies for all the parenthetical annotations. (She's really sorry.) (Really.)

So here's what I discovered: True love.

Baby dragon loves me, too.

Blizzard, you got me. You give a woman a little egg with hearts bubbling out of it, and you got me like a fish on a hook, and a baby dragon was the bait. I will do anything for this little guy. You want me to make you fish cakes? I'll go figure out how to make fish cakes. You want me to kill guys that look like they're off of that one Star Trek episode, and go all James Tiberius Kirk on their asses? Sure. (And yes I play the dundundundn dun dunn dundedun soundtrack in my head.)

In the few hours I got a chance to play, in between dinner, and moving a few characters to the Shrine of the Seven Stars (does this place strike anyone else as being owned by the Hilton family? It is itself overwhelming. That place needs bellhops and concierges, not one little overworked restaurant hostess!) I managed to start to do what the Order of the Cloud Serpent, and then discovered that the Anglers are in cahoots with the OCS, too:

http://www.elsanglin.com/mop_cooking.html

Baby dragons need fish cakes, too, so tonight, I know what I'm making for dinner.

The thing is, to me it's cool how they all work together. My alts and their professions are like their own little guild, a family, and it's cool. The factions work together to support your efforts, too. This is a good thing.

Oh, and I went in a heroic dungeon for the first time, and Senor: thank you for those enchants. Without them, I would have died twenty times instead of eighteen.

Theme song: Baby Mine

PS I wrote this before I read Big Bear's post: http://thebigbearbutt.com/2012/10/08/so-much-to-do-so-much-time/ and Confession's: http://www.thegrownupgamer.com/2012/10/spontaneity-and-lbrs.html

Worth fighting for.

I had--truly--an amazing day at work yesterday. It had nothing to do with bosses, or meetings, or or data. It had everything to do with why I do what I do. And if I hadn't had been there, if I hadn't added my own viewpoint on the events of yesterday, I would not have worked with some amazing colleagues who bring so much to the table, and I would have missed out on my own gifts, too. We may have even saved a life.

When I finally did get home and got to continue my time in Pandaria, it felt truly good. I want to go on record right here, right now, because I know there will be glitches, obstacles, and negativity, but seize this moment, that I think the land of Pandaria is Blizzard's masterpiece. This is not to say the other lands are not exquisite and amazing - in fact, if not for those building up to this, I am certain we players would not have the appreciation that many of us do. Well, I speak for myself: my breath is taken away.

I may never catch-up with others. In fact, I know I won't. Others have different schedules and demands, and that is their journey, not mine. Yes, I will do my best to choose wisely and spend my time leveling those characters I want to take raiding, and hope those opportunities are there. But if they never come again, it's okay. I know my time in the real world matters, and I want my time spent in this virtual world to be refreshing and bright. I felt like when I was in there, I was living Chihiro's adventure from Spirited Away. I felt like I was strong again. I felt - well, dare I say it? Balanced.

No guildmates were available to run a new dungeon when I could play, which was fine. I went in with a cracker-jack group from my own realm, and confessed I had not played the Beta, and they hadn't either. It was a blast. And this is a confession of character vanity: I loved watching how Mataoka looks when she's fighting from an front-view perspective. She is amazing. Yes, third-person is completely appropriate here. She was my first character, and still is firmly ensconced as my favorite.

What is worth fighting for? What the Pandaren said. And I will try not to forget it.

Clans of the Panda Bears

"You are going to be very, very busy over the next year."

Okay, okay, so I put my Beta on the back burner, to come to a slow simmer, and now it's time to take those cookies out of the oven, baby! (Wait, was I baking cookies on the stove top? No wonder...Hooray for confusing metaphors! You got your chocolate in my peanut butter!)

Well, it's time to eat those cookies. (Did you know that fortune cookies, like most "Chinese" foods, were created in America? Fact.)

Anyway - in the guild forum were some wisely-timed thoughts on the upcoming changes, and steering myself toward a "new and improved concrete Matty," I thought it was time to take a look at the new faction repuations. It seems that obtaining and keeping a stellar reputation is going to be one of the few avenues to gear and glory. (Man, hope those Pandarians don't see what those goblins wrote on the bathroom wall about me!)

I was wondering, and if any of you who have done your homework would let me cheat off your notes, is one faction 'better' for another class than another? For example, if I take my priest Zep up through the ranks of the Celestials, should she have been a Lotus all along?

http://www.wowjuju.com/

So you may want to visit the Quartermasters to see what they have for your personal cast of characters, and do some list making, etc.:
http://www.wowjuju.com/_/wowarticles/mop-factions-quick-preview-and-quartemasters-l-r209

Current "Mains" (never leave a good Draenei behind)

Mataoka, enhancement and restoration shaman

Luperci: protection and holy paladin

Ceniza: fire mage --that's it--fire, fire!

Zeptepi: holy and shadow priest

Momokawa: restoration druid--not much else at the moment

Haanta: lost hunter

Kellda: up-and-comer warlock, currently demonology and afflication

Heartichoke (who may be going through a big transformation here soon) - Death Knight tank-wannabe

Golden Lotus: At first glance, this seems to be the one my "mains" will all need to go through in order for recipes and especially mail gear for Mataoka and Haanta.

Shado Pan: This looks to be more focused on gear for Zeptepi, Ceniza, and Luperci.

August Celestials: Momokawa and Luperci need to wander over to their neck of the woods, and this group also has everyone's back. But of course, they have some new recipes for Zep, so she'll have to do some kissing-up, too.

The Klaxxii: These good folks look like Luperci's kind of artisans. Many of her blacksmithing recipes are here, and plate wear.

Other factions of note:
The Anglers seem like my kind of folk!
Brewmasters: Obviously.


Did I just color-code this post? Damn right I did. 

(fill in the blank) by proxy

Many days ago, our guild's "expert" on all things MoP was saying the first wave of new content would be coming out August 25-26th, and before that the big release date of September 25 was announced. September 26 is a BIG day for me in real life, so I thought, "Well, gee. Okay." And then my reaction to the late August announcement was more in line with "Oh, sh*t."

Look - some of you know what I do in real life. It really makes no difference to my virtual Azerothian life: if anything, my Azerothian life has pushed more into my real life than the other way around. And I'm not dealing with the push-back well.

I promised no negative posts, and that is an easy promise to keep--this is not about Blizzard, or dates, or real life, or anything. It's about a convergence of factors, things out of my control, and how I'm going to handle it. This is about the natural sighs that accompany any transition -- an end of a summer romance. For those of you who do know more about my personal life than others, I had to take the month of July and heal up. I just did. All the projects, chores, good intentions, etc. had to "stay put" while I sorted out, meditated, and moved some of the puzzle pieces around. It's all good. Bear summed up my feelings perfectly when it comes to how I've been internally negotiating with myself some of the anticipated disappointments I know will happen. I even contemplated asking a very trusted player to play my shaman to get me through the ICC thing at least. (Oh, like you never wanted someone to farm for you or play your character!) But turning of the keys to my shaman is too much for even me to contemplate. Besides, I want to be there when, and if, it happens.

I am going to be visiting my folks tomorrow - my mom needs me, and I miss her and my dad anyway, and am looking forward to it. But it means in terms of the unfinished business of Miss Shammypants that while I will be able to derp around and farm on my laptop, no raiding or dungeons of any kind. This is really bugging me. I have only one final thing to do for the ICC thingy, and three more for dungeon hero (which two of them were SO DAMN CLOSE!). Why is this bugging me so much? Why don't I have time to do them? Well, because I'm doing things once again for everyone else. Like I said, I took July and some of August for myself, because well, I had to. It was either be selfish or find my size with a jacket with wrap-around sleeves.

Vidyala's retrospective is great: http://manalicious.wordpress.com/2012/08/16/cinematic-retrospective-a-look-at-warcraft-trailers/ and so is Bear's insight: http://thebigbearbutt.com/2012/08/16/world-of-warcraft-mists-of-pandaria-game-trailer-is-live/

Almost every blogger is excited about the release, and I for one absolutely LOVE the cinematic. It is great. And I know, so what if I don't get those things done? Well, the anticipated disappointment is because I know when the Pandas hit the fan, no one, and I mean no one, is going to want to do any old stuff anymore. It's a reality of gamers. Hell, it's a reality of people. Know how it feels when someone asks you to help them move, or take them to the airport? Yup. They are going on a journey and you're not included in anything but the work part. But hear me clearly: as far as Bear's ICC runs, with him, I know I have a true hero. For real and true. And if I never get that done with that amazing group because of my family obligations, and yeah, I love my family, so it's not a chore at all, maybe when the dust settles someone will want to complete it with me. Maybe some rainy fall day someone will say, "Hey Matty, want to finish up Cata hero?" and I'll say, sure! So when you watch my silly little clip above that is why I cry and laugh. I know it'll be okay, even if the big waves of new content hit the shore just as more tidal waves of real life are going to be crashing down on me.


Theme Song: Grouplove/Itchin' on a Photograph (holy timewarp: does the lead singer remind you of Michael Hutchins, too?)

Oh, and stay tuned: I should have time to write on the blog (gods help you all) I have been feeling this way for a long time, and have some thoughts on Druid, and other classes', healing:
http://www.worldofmatticus.com/how-about-a-training-dummy-for-healers/

Getting closer to Epic...

I am going to take back that coffee maker. Wish me luck.

The other evening, Monday in fact, we tried Firelands again. For some reason, two weeks in a row, some of our key raid team members haven't been logging in. Mondays* are kind of an awkward day for raiding, but Team One takes priority with their standard Tuesday/Thursday (heck, some of those raiders even go as far to construct their work schedule around raiding time--they are committed). We had a fine group together, and started a few bosses in. I was finally awarded the Gatecrasher ax from Baleroc (never too late to have a happy childhood moment) and this really cool dagger from the big bird, all flamey and 'schtuff. One of my team members had connection issues, and we almost got Ragnaros, ALMOST - so close! But it was new content for some, and it does take a while to coordinate efforts. We'll get you, Sir! WE SHALL!

Ahem, sorry.

But la-de-da, raid is over (my GM is a punctual man) he offered to me and anyone who wanted to go to "Get Matty her bear." Ah, those were sweet words, sir.

The stalwart group of heroes whom I had previously aided in getting their own bears from trolls quickly rallied, and away we went, got my bear, and off we rode into the sunset:

It has seat warmers! And a GPS system, and i-Pod dock! Woot!

Speaking of Bears, Big Bear posted another wonderful post about his, his wife's, and his son's epic adventures in playing WoW. It is awesome to see these adventures through a younger child's eyes. They describe how I felt when I first started playing, and am looking forward to again when Mists comes out. I mentioned in a comment that I have a guildmate, a very nice gentleman, who has been enjoying reading all the new information about Mists, and then sharing it on Mumble. I have asked him politely not to, but he likes to share. That's cool. I'll just start singing the Banana Split theme song in Mumble, and maybe, though the Geneva Conventions have firmly stated "Matty shall not sing in Mumble" he'll get the point. One of my pet peeves are movie trailers which use the best lines from a movie, and then when you go see it, you realize the trailer was better. I don't want that to happen in Mists. But I did consider, what if my GM wants us to have some working knowledge from the Beta? What were his goals? He told me he wanted to be surprised too, which was how Xak, my other favorite GM rolled, too. Such nice young men! Still threatening to go all Jewish mother on them and find them "nice girls." I'd like to read the Trade spam on that:

"<Mataoka> Nice Jewish-mother** type, seeking young women for two Guildmasters who bathe, have jobs, and are funny. Must be between 21-31, non-smokers, and not have daddy-issues. Must be able to put up with raiding times. Dowry negotiable."

Hmm. Maybe not.

Anyway, I'm being patient. I read snippets, because it's tough to completely stay away, and I will concede that there are some things I may want to research prior to release. But mostly I want to be surprised. The older I get the more challenging it is to stay surprised and not veer off into the "I told you so" ditch of disaster.

And with a group like my current raid team, I will go out on a limb and predict fun--they are a great group of guys, and so far, so good. Let's go get 'em, whatever or whomever "'em" turns out to be.

*I like our Monday/Wednesday arrangement.
**All mothers are Jewish mothers, Italian mothers, and any other stereotype you can come up with. You look skinny- are you eating enough? Did you brush your teeth? Don't work too hard!

Theme Song: Bear Necessities

What's black and white, and read all over?

 I am trying to keep an open mind. 

Imagine a vault: secure, technologically sound, with state-of-the-art locks. Changing my mind to say "What the hell, I'll get my panda on," is taking every ounce of expertise, self-effacing humor and a large amount of "it'll be okay...it'll be okay...."And I keep getting my mental fingers pinched in the locks as it closes tighter and tighter. Anyone got a crowbar?


Navi's excited.  Tome's excited, and so is Cymre. And I trust those gals. I really do. 


This is a confession: there are some personal reasons why I can't get on board with pet battles and Farmville-esque activities. I just can't. At least, not yet. I know this sounds weird, and I am not at liberty to elaborate, but I have too many negative associations with Farmville especially. Oh, have no doubt, there is room for a panda in my slots. And I'll even start thinking of names, surely the "good ones" have already been claimed. I've mentioned I used to be a busgirl in a Mongolian barbecue owned by a wonderful Taiwanese family when I was about thirteen years old. Perhaps I will pay them homage in my naming process. 


So, Azeroth took me by surprise. I resisted venturing there for years, so the skepticism and relunctance are nothing new for me. Just remind me after a few panda barrell-rolls and finding my happy chi what I said months prior to its release. And then you can proudly say you told me so. 


Postscript:

Amateur Azerothian's Post - very comprehensive!

Bad company.

WoW...Pandas

So. Pandas.

Huh.

First of all, in no way, shape or form am I ungrateful about the chance to go to Blizzcon. But, BUT--just because one gets to meet the Emperor doesn't mean one shouldn't speak up if said emperor is wearing no clothes. Blizzcon had on a lot of great outfits, but there were some nip-slips here and there, too.

Here's what works: 
The opening ceremony.
Chris Metzen's caffeinated rants.  (Rock that soul-patch, bro.)
The forums where they carefully and succinctly describe upcoming class changes.
The introduction of new raid and dungeon content: and let it be known, Blizzard felt that WoW was too dark for too long, and wanted to lighten the mood.

And there is the inherent potential for disaster:

They made the huge mistake of listening to their fans.

And now we have pandas.

Let it also be known that Blizzard came up with Mists of Pandaria long before Kung Fu panda.

The story goes that George Lucas listened to his kids, and we got Jar Jar Binks.

The scenery is beautiful, the addition of a martial-arts monk makes sense, and there are new and fun things to do, such as save a brewery. Nope. Not dark at all.

But, damn.

Jar Jar.

I have been trying to wrap my brain about the potential for explosive cultural stereotypes and fungal-growing racism that may spring from this direction.

Cosplay

Now, I have to admit--though the Blood Elf girls get the attention, I found those who took a different perspective on cosplay far more fascinating.

Night Elf girls should not have visible panty-lines. Jin'do drops epic Spanx.

Worth the price of admission: Draenei in Brewfest costume, 6'6" man, Scottish accent, working the floor. 

Diablo III

It will be released, or in the words of Blizzard, "It's done when it's done." I got to try it out for a bit, and what I liked about Diablo III the best was the figurative artwork of the female barbarian characters. She's not too fat, not too thin, not overly muscle-bound: think Raquel Welch in "One Million Years BC":

You wonder where all those 30,000 critters go when they die?  Now you know.

All in all, I must admit the highlight was the cross-dressing Draenei chica you see above. I plan on forgiving and forgetting about the Pandas for awhile. No other company has done anything like Blizzard has with WoW for as long, and like any big experiment, successful or no, there are bound to be a few miscalculations. Just like fighting in front of a boss.

Theme song: The Animals/House of the Rising Sun

Update: So, today, while sitting in parking lot to pilfer Internet, I got the chance to read a few blogs. And upon reflection, I remembered something my very wonderful friend said about being a panda, and how we could level up some pandas together, and you know what? It's not going to be that bad. Not bad at all.

Panda express.

I took notes, a lot of notes, at Blizzcon. But right now, I'm enjoying a beer, finishing up some Hallows' Eve quests, and enjoying my kitty-cat who wears a hat and flies on a broom next to me. Be patient as a monk, grasshoppers.