Once there was an imperfect woman.  She made friends and enemies, but had the strength of character to stay true to herself and her God.  We met in the college speculative fiction club, where she had a leadership possition (which officership I can't recall anymore).  It was there that she introduced me to the World of Darkness, which eventually led to the regular gaming which I have done the rest of my life.  Before that I had done some role playing, but usually those games lasted only a few sessions at max before the game would collapse.  Most games lasted only the one session, even if they stories weren't set up as one shots.  Such were my middle school and high school gaming experiences. 

 

She also helped me search for my first job.  She helped me to look through ads, and occassionally would walk with me to job interviews as emotional support.  She invited me to seminary as have other Morman friends, but I never took her up on the offer.  I had already accepted the offer once in high school and felt I had learned enough about the experience.  I had walked her to seminary once or twice while we chatted, so I knew where it was if I ever changed my mind. 

 

In fact, she used to talk about this SCA gentleman know by the nickname of Figment alot.  She discussed him as a matter of irritation, so for fun once I named one of my vampire characters Figment to play upon that irritation.  My character Figment would eventually grow to be one of the best characters I would have the opportunity to play, and come out from under the shadow of the original Figment who was his namesake. 

 

Eventually she was politically outmaneuvered by another woman who wanted to be the alpha female of the World of Darkness gaming group which had spun out of the Cyberwyer club.  So, while I didn't game with her we still kept in touch on campus until she finished up taking classes.  I think she stopped by the campus one or two times after that.

 

A few weeks back DeAnne mentioned knowing Figment, the same someone who had annoyed this woman back in the day.  So I asked her if she knew my friend, and it turned out that she had married him!  I had asked DeAnne to say, "Hi," for me and to see if my former club mate would be interested in getting back in touch with each other.  Well, yesterday I got the call from DeAnne that my old friend passed away in the morning. 

 

I owe a lot to this woman, and I don't know whether she ever knew how much I appreciated that. 

 

RIP Marcella Chapman, 1973-2004.

 

Well, Ben has asked that I further explain why I voted for Kerry over Bush.  Bush has done some good, and like I said before I voted for him the first time around.  Bush is smart enough to surround himself with people smarter than him to fulfill various knowledge and experience gaps.  Bush doesn't let politics interfere with his regious beliefs (after all Kerry claims to be Catholic, but won't let his politics be influenced by those beliefs).  I'd also like to see Bush have the chance to finish his Iraqi occupation unimpeded. 

 

But what has Bush done wrong?  My federal taxes have raised every year in drastic amounts ever since he started these mythical tax cuts (I know I haven't seen a single cent of tax savings these past four years).  He took the first federal surplus in my lifetime and turned it into the worse federal deficit in my lifetime.  He's signed into law various bills which protect big business from lawsuits.  He wants to destroy Social Security as it exists instead of rolling back the age of retirement benefits as our lifespans get longer.  He wants to protect businesses from having to offer basic benefits such as medical issurance and shift the burden on the consumer.  Will businesses offer their employees another form of compensation for their work?  Almost certainly not, and those that do will almost certainly not give an equal amount of compensation.  So, as people have lost jobs, had their pay dropped or frozen, and/or had extra duties pilled on them without additional compensation he wants to reduce the compensation and increase the cost of living.  He promised to work with President Fox on the illegal immigration issue and has basically failed to do much more than lip service since 11-09 (Patriot Day).  What about these moral issues? 

 

Bush has said that he has no doubts about his War on Terrorism.  So, of course I'd like to see how it plays out.  In fact, I'd have voted for Bush if I thought Kerry would be a viable candidate in four years.  Kerry, as a Vietnam Conflict veteran who protested the Vietnam Conflict, promised to have a more restrained view on how to conduct the War on Terrorism--one more in line with my moderate view point.  After all, despite where Afganistan, Iraq, and Palestine are in four years, I expect the War on Terrorism to still be going strong. 

 

Finally, despite Kerry's decision to let his politics be run by advisor who discouraged him from showing much in the way of emotion or faith, he himself has often seen multiple sides to an issue.  In fact, he'll often discuss the various sides of an issue to the point of confusion to lesser people.  I like someone who can do that, something Bush hasn't shown a capacity for.  Bush's big thing is his ability to connect with individuals, something Kerry hasn't shown a capacity for. 

 

So, like I said, I'm not offended Bush won, however, he didn't earn my vote.  Clear enough?  If not, feel free to ask more specific questions. 

 

 

Well, I should recount the past week.  I left off with last Monday.  Tuesday I got up and went to vote, and was surprised to find an hour wait!  I guess that just goes to show how many more people are moving into the area and chaning it from the out-of-town it was ten years ago when we moved here.  I ended up late for work, which was no big deal as everyone else seemed to be trapped in voting lines rather than out buying maps.  It proved to be a good day for starting my latest work project, updating the products for our Web site.  It's easy but time consuming.  Worse, it hasn't been done in months so I have a backlog of stuff to do. 

 

Wednesday I was surprised to discover that most of the propositions and candidates went my way.  Usually I have few things for which I vote that I actually get.  For the record I voted:

 

US President:  Kerry

US Senator:  McCain

US Rep Dist 3:  Shadegg

AZ Senator Dist 7:  Waring

AZ Rep Dist 7:  Barnes & Cain

AZ Corp Comm:  Fowlkes, Hatch-Miller, Manoil, and Mundell

Maricopa Attorney:  Thomas

Maricopa Sheriff:  Arpaio

Maricopa Special Healthcare Dist 3:  Williams

PV Unified #69 School Gov Board:  Case, Greenberg, and Skidmore

PV Unified #69 to join West-Mec:  Yes

Central AZ Water Conservation Dist:  Bitter Smith, Bray, Deibel, Hendricks, and Kohloff.

Prop 100:  Yes

Prop 101:  No

Prop 102:  No

Prop 103:  No

Prop 104:  No

Prop 105:  No

Prop 200:  Yes

Prop 300:  No

Prop 400:  Yes

Prop 401:  Yes

 

I also voted to retain all three AZ Supreme Court judges, all eight Court of Appeals Divison 1 judges, and thirty-five of fourty Superior Court judges.  The judges I voted against retaining were Araneta, Contes, McClennen, Steinle, and Trujillo. 

 

The week went by pretty fast.  As I already stated, Friday night's session was canceled and I chose to stay home and organize my neglected house rather than try to join Mer or Bill at the last minute.  Saturday was another session of Steve's FR campaign which I should do recaps of soon.  Sunday Father Milt gave a homily on the modern troubles of identity theft and how our identity as children of God cannot be taken away from us.  It brilliantly wove the readings and gospel together and contrasted the attacks against our identity as God's children against the identity theft fraud.  My grandmother says she missed having Father Milt at her parish. 

 

The office today told me that the economy is so bad that they're going to not have a trash bin for tree and bush trimmings this autumn.  Instead, they'll only have the one for holiday trees in December.  I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. 

 

Anyway, it's time to bid everyone a great week.  God bless!

 

 

Bill called me this week and wanted to go see The Incredibles on opening night because the first Revenge of the Sith trailer is supposed to be attached.  I had to beg off until I have the funds.  I recall this happened when Wing Commander came out, too.  Eventually I got to see the trailer attached to something, I just don't remember what. 

 

Mer called me this week and wanted me to go to First Friday with her and her friends, but I have work early on Saturdays so I turned her down.  Besides, at the time I still thought we had a Friday night at my place.  I feel bad because we never seem to have schedules which match up.  However, I'd have to leave downtown by 21:30 if I wanted to be home in time to get enough sleep for the next day, which wouldn't be enough time to do much.  Sometimes my work schedule can get in the way. 

 

Instead I seized the afternoon cancelation as an opportunity to catch up on stuff at home.  Saturday we still had Steve's FR 3.0 campaign.  However, today I spent the day catching up on more stuff at home.  I haven't had this much time to catch up in ages, and I like it!  I need more me and my house time.  I spend too much of my time with others.  Next up, me and the outdoors time would be nice too. 

 

 

Well, Rusty and Kitty are sick, so it looks like I have some time tonight to catch up.  Four years ago I was undecided in the presidential election, because I thought all of the candidates were not of presidential quality.  It wasn't until I was in the booth that I decided on Bush.  This time around I was undecided until Monday.  While I was working on the yard I decided I'd choose Bush.  I was satisfied with actually having arrived at a decision, but crazily enough when it came time for me to fill out the sample ballot for the next day, I ended up filling in Kerry. 

 

The truth of the matter is that while Bush matches many of my Catholic values, which is what disturbed me the most about Kerry (Catholic in name, but not in practice), Kerry was otherwise better qualified to be our president.  If I thought it was a viable option, I would have the best qualities of Badnarik, Bush, Kerry, and Nader all in one candidate.  But that's just a fantasy.  Oh well, I'm not one of these heart-broken people who think that the world has ended with Bush retaining office for another four years.  I think we're slowly heading towards a time in the history of this country when people will backlash against the bipartisan politics as usual that the Democrats and Republicans offer us.  Maybe we'll never see the multi-party coalitions required to govern the nation as other countries have, but for how long can the moderate majority allow this country to be stretched to its limits by the extremists on the left and the right?

 

 

Let's see, on Monday the 25th I worked the early schedule at work, then had two more regularly scheduled days after that before World Fantasy.  I had been trying to get a Participant list and the Program schedule for some time before I received an E-mail Wednesday directing me to the Web site.  So instead of enjoying the lunar eclipse, I had to work on generating signs for teh next day.  I received a 30th Annual World Fantasy Convention book bag packed full of free promotional novels, periodicals, excerpt compilations, a Tempe Visitor's Guide, Program Book, pocket program, et cetera.  Coolest of all was a Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events movie promotional given at registration.  Inside the sealed package were three randomly inserted cards from a set of thirteen.  There was one card thirteen in the whole box supplied to the convention, but no one got it so the remaining set is going to TusCon XXXI.  The holder of card thirteen gets to go to the world premiere of the film with transportation and accommodations.  While I didn't win, I was able to eventually get a complete set of twelve before I left on Sunday, which is close enough to winning for me.

 

I took notes for Fred throughout the weekend, most of which are too boring to report here.  However, if there is enough demand I'll do so.  However, I will post a few non-Programming things of note to me.  I missed Paul Cornell's reading (because of my duties) and was disappointed that he chose to not be at the Autograph Reception.  I did get my Books of Lost Swords signed by Fred Saberhagen at the Autograph Reception, which was cool.  I did attend a reading of a short Irene Adler story told in first person letters about her encounters with Count Dracula by Carole Nelson Douglas called Dracula on the Rocks.  She was a gracious reader, and the story had excellent suspense.  I also attended a reading of the first two chapters of a novel under development by Matthew T. Baker.  Wow!  I wanted to buy the book right there, but he and his agent said that the book was probably going to end up around 1500 pages and wouldn't be finished for about five years.  Remember this name and look for this book, it'll be worth it! 

 

Dennis L McKiernan was telling Cassidy and I about some of his future novel ideas as well as the most recent events in the campaign his gaming group is running.  Interestingly enough, their group has this idea called Strategy and Tactics.  Whenever someone calls out for Strategy and Tactics, the in-game clock stops and the group can discuss their characters' strategy.  This is how their group has decided to replicate the role familiarity the characters should have in such a situation.  I kind of like that idea and would love to see how it would work in practice. 

 

Sunday I lectored, but I kept having my practice at-con interrupted so as soon as the banquet started my mom picked me up and I finished practicing at home while she took a nap.  At mass, Father Milt had a homily about how Jesus's mission is to seek out sinners and offer them salvation even when others look on in disgust at that.  Afterwards, Mom and I handed out candy to the trick-or-treaters while she watched The Raven and I fried up some cinnamon sugar doughnuts and some chocolate chip doughnuts.  Mom has a nonstick baking sheet for doughnuts at her house, but that means she doesn't get to have any doughnut holes.  Because I have a doughnut cutter, I do make doughnut holes, of which she seemed grateful. 

 

Monday I did the lawn, fixed my late uncle's bookcase and set up some of my books in it, did some house cleaning, and prepared my Sample Ballot for the next day.  More to come later, I fell asleep at the computer already this evening...

 

The Dias de los Muertos have come and gone, and I thought I'd share with you this interesting article about La Santa Muerte.  Considering how the Dias de los Muertos were moved from mid-August to Halloween, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day when Catholic missionaries began converting the Aztecs, I find it facinating to discover that such an ancient tradition seems to be returning with the festival day for La Santa Muerte being on the 15th of August.  Everything old is new again, eh?

 

Well, I'll do recaps at a later time as its late.  I just wanted to write something here as part of my resolution to write more.  At WFC2004 I was asked if I was a writer, and when I said that I wasn't I was asked why I was even there!  Despite the fact that they were obvious excluding artists, editors, musicians, publishers, and reviewers, they were discounting the fact that fans might be on the staff as well.  I remember a time when I had it all planned out.  I was going to get an AA in Classical Studies, a BA in Regious Studies, an MS in Library Sciences, become a librarian, and eventually start a comic book and graphic novel library (as usually people have to buy comics either new or as back issues, unlike most other periodicals).  My ideas for microfiche comics and the like are unnecessary in the digital age, but for the most part the dream could still happen.  However, I allowed the fact that UofA lost its Library Science accrediation to derail my plans.  I couldn't afford out-of-state tuition, so I kept taking at least one class a semester while I switched to full time employment to keep me in the classwork groove until I figured out what I was going to do.  Then my mother got married, everyone seemed to lose their jobs and I was supporting four people on my own and I quit taking classes.  Now, years later and I'm still in debt from that time, haven't resumed classes, almost never write or sculpt anymore, and seem to have otherwise let my plans for the future go by the wayside. 

 

One of the many reasons that I bicycle is that I would never otherwise make time to exercise.  What I need is something similar that would require me to write.  I don't know what it would be, but I would like to get back in the habit of using my creativity for something other than role playing games.  Not that I want to quit doing those, they're my one remaining outlet of creativity.  Instead, I'd just like to compliment that outlet with other forms which may fill other niches of my creativity. 

 

Some people say, "Now I've seen everything!"  Here's something new for them to make such a silly claim. 

 

So I traded my Monday off for Saturday to go to An & Tina's wedding.  Saturday morning I tried to rush to PV Mall to get their present, but I had a few bike difficulties.  Eventually, I made it (passing walkers on the Walk for the Cure along the way), used my Westcor gift certificate I've had since Christmas, and jetted back home (but not before running into a couple of RPGA kids).  I wrapped their gift and my mother's birthday gift (purchased last holiday season), showered, and was barely ready by the time my mom arrived.

 

So, we went to Laveen Baptist Church for the wedding.  It was beautiful.  (They wrote the whole ceremony themselves because they both find traditional weddings too long and boring for attendees.)  Afterwards, we went to Hampton Inn in Goodyear for the reception.  The food was excellent:  roast beef, chicken, honey glazed baby carrots, fiesta-style corn, wild rice, cornbread stuffing, red potatoes, German chocolate for the groom's cake, and the most awesome spice cake bottom, lemon meringue center, nut cake top, and cream frosting bridal cake.  The dances and speaches were beautiful, but the night was cut short when the groom's mother dislocated her hip on the dance floor and had to be rushed to the hospital.  After that, I went with my mom to her house so I could spend her birthday with her without her driving to my side of town too many times in the same weekend.  That's when I made yesterday's entry. 

 

So today we went to mass at the mission in Maricopa she attends.  Father Pete (who comes from the parish in Casa Grande) presided his last mass before transfering to Yuma.  The mass was part English and part Spanish, and the microphones seemed to work only some of the time.  Afterwards they had posole and white cake for Father. 

 

Then Mom and I went back to her place for a game of Disney Trivia (she won for a change) while I baked her an anglefood birthday cake with Halloween chocolate chips.  We had burritos for lunch, watched The Three Doctors while eating her cake, and then had to call it a day. 

 

So here I am, home, and stuck going to work early tomorrow.  Have a great week everyone!

 

Currently Watching The Power of Goodbye By Madonna see related

Secretive and wise, the Mekhet are masters of all things hidden. They hunt from the shadows, preying secretly on victims and unlocking secrets that no one should know. The only common thread linking Mekhet is an affinity for the night itself or some metaphorical darkness, such as a pained soul or a thirst for knowledge. Mekhet are tutored intensely by their sires so that they understand the nature of the clan and its duties. Some prefer to let their progeny discover the Kindred world on their own, but not even these sires stray so far that they cant watch a protgs progress.

What Vampire: the Requiem Vampire clan are you?
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The Ordo Dracul. The Ordo Dracul claims to follow the teachings of Vlad Tepes, Dracula himself. Dracula claimed to have no sire, struck by God with undeath for his abuse of faith. The Dragons, as they are known, comprise one of the youngest major factions of the society of the Damned. Their supposed founder has not been seen in over a century, and his absence further brings the Ordo Dracul into question with some Kindred. The Order teaches that nothing is permanent, that even vampirism can be overcome. The Dragons have developed a number of supernatural paths that lessen the effects of the Curse, paths they call the Coils of the Dragon. Although there is no evidence of any Kindred fully escaping the Requiem through the Dragons' rites, the Order's beliefs still attract Kindred of all types and ages into its ranks. All are welcome, so that their knowledge and experiences of the vampiric condition can be shared. This growing pool of knowledge is one of the Dragons' goals the more they know of the Curse, the better they can act against it.

What Vampire: the Requiem Vampire Covenant are you?
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Humans 1288, Dead 2912, Zombies 0.  It's an interesting idea, and I bet with practice I could get better.  Thanks to Chris for showing me the original Romero-style zombie infection simulation.  Talk about scarey! 

 

Anyway, one of the benefits of having a corner lot with a fire hydrant is that I can be woken up at any time by crews that need to use it.  Like this morning, when at 03:30 hours I could hear the engine of a huge truck running outside my window, people running through my yard saying, "Go!  Go!  Go!" and being able to smell that wet smoke aroma by about 05:30 hours.  Before I left for work I circled around the neighborhood to see how severe the damage was and didn't see any, so my guess is that it was an internal structure fire which never breached the outer walls.  Hopefully, everyone is alright. 

 

The TFLAS meeting was canceled today.  I don't know when the next one is.  That's probably a good thing as I'm already tired thanks to this morning's antics followed by riding against strong winds the whole way home this evening.  See ya around!