July 30, 2007

  • Wow….

    It’s been a full nine days at John’s place. Eight days of DotA, fast food and multiplayer games, with the ninth evening spent at Gameworks as precursor to a four hour sleep. That was yesterday morning.

    After getting a sleep-deprived morning out of the way, it was a rush to the airport and back home to Glenwood. Parents took me out to eat. I crashed in my bed for 3 hours before dinner.

    Homemade Lasagna never tasted to heavenly. Last night began with page 1 of Harry Potter 7. I finished reading it about thirty minutes ago. I guess it’s only fitting that one of EIU’s most nutty HP fans spent all night of a single night reading all 750-some pages of the last book front to back.

    So following up a congratulatory breakfast from my Mom, who has work off today, I discovered jointly with my parents that I received an A in my International Terrorism class and a B in my difficult Chinese History class. All is well – no pun intended for those who caught the citation.

    So despite me being in probably the happiest mood all year, I have the shadow of a very sleepy consciousness over me. I have not slept more than four hours in the last two days. Fortunately I have nothing better to do this summer than to make movies, sleep, eat, and mow the lawn one last time.

    Rumor is running rampant I’m moving back to the Chicago area with my parents within the year – Elgin, likely. Bringing the John Deer, too, it would appear. Don’t quote me on any of this.

    I return to school on or before August 13 for DEN training – I look forward to a new life with my favorite co-workers.

    Oh yeah, and I have to consult the Better Business Bureau for a $65 infraction / fraud case I made through PayPal on June 11. The goods I’ve ordered – summer clothes and T-shirts – have not arrived yet. Two e-mail warnings / complaints have received no reply, and I will call them in a final warning before taking this to the government. Hopefully something can be done about this scamming of $65 of my dollars.

    I’m tired. REALLY tired. I loved the last book, btw. Ended it perfectly, both from a fan’s view and from a writer’s view. No spoilers to come for many months, when it may be safe to assume the news is out. A word of advice to those not yet reading book 7: read books five and six through and through first. The details called upon in book 7 are spread throughout the previous two. You’ll enjoy it a lot more. Trust me.

    *yawn* To my girlfriend who wishes me to keep my announcing of my professed love for her and concern for her well-being, I give you a reminder of that which you already know.   And to my guildies and former raiding friends, you have not seen the last of me, but my time is becoming too valuable to spend on WoW lately. Finally, to Aidan, whom I have delayed a writing session with for some time while I was at John’s. We will have two weeks now, uninterrupted. E-mail me when you’d like to chat for a good long time.

    ~ CMW / HP

July 16, 2007

  • New forums sig! I’m missing the Viper one, though….

    My WoW sig… (it’s a couple weeks old – I’ve respeccd and gotten more healing)

    Meow!

July 11, 2007

  • ZOMG harry potter 5

    going to john’s place after summer school’s over

    7 days of school left

    quitting wow in a week

    …yeah

May 26, 2007

  • Finished Reading Dark Tower I, ready for book II.

    Finished my perfected Golden Sun 2 file – even with lvl 70 characters and all-out summons, some of the bosses were pretty damn hard. Lost twice before narrowly winning on the third try – and at one point only one party member was alive with 41 hp left! Good times…

    Saw Pirates 3 today – really, REALLY disappointed with the ending. As are my parents. Really not the best plot, fiber or ending. A pirate movie with special effects and not much else. Watch if you’re interested in seeing for yourself or developing a different opinion.

    Headlines going 1, 2, 3… didn’t plan it that way.

    Well, the night is calling! Sweet dreams!

May 21, 2007

  • Lalalalala

    Started reading my first Steven King novel today. I know I know, how could I go this long without reading work from such a notable writer… I had other things keeping me occupied. Like WoW and the first 11 books in the Wheel of Time Series.

    Starcraft 2 announced – looks a lot better than the previews last year. No release date yet, it looks like.

    The WoW forums lost a Community Manager recently (actually about a week ago) – Tseric, the witty and well-spoken titan moderator has disappeared from the forums and Eyonix posted briefly saying Tseric had moved on to bigger and better things. Though I never witnessed a thread being closed by his witty comments, I followed his history and his commentary closely. Such drama – the CM’s still around don’t say much. Rumor has it he was fired.

    Still waiting for a word on the possibility of visiting John’s place after July 24th. Still have a few months, but wanted to check in once in a while.

    DotA patch is coming soon as well as the WoW 2.1.0 patch. A new hero is in the process of being finished and voted on – using the Faerie Dragon model. A new AI map is being worked on as well. I also dug up an April Fools’ map for 2007 – apparently to spook and trick players, IceFrog made a 5-lane map. It works just fine, oddly enough. Kinda weird. Lemme know if you wanna download it.

    It’s nice to know Aidan and I are still in touch. Wishing him to get well soon over his flu. Instructions for a sketching of one of my favorite dragons will be in order once I hear well of his health.

    Ever notice that more than half of the villains in science fiction, action and children’s movies have MUSTACHES? WTF????

    ~ Chris

May 14, 2007

  • Trip to Chicago

    Yo, J-man

    My parents are thinking about giving me some time to spend with you guys in Chicago right after summer school this July. Looking like five days following July 24th, after which my parents will pick me up and our vacation in the east begins.

    Let me know if visiting you and your family from July 24th till the end of the month will work for you, or if you need time to work things out. We havent chatted in a while, figured if we can’t work something out for the summer at least we can get back to talking.

    Hoping finals are going well for you. Peace.

    P.S. If Aidan reads this, know that I have faith in you and that I won’t forget you and our writing.

May 13, 2007

  • Home

    Homemade food and John Deers
    So I’m home and devouring every bit of food in sight. I’m exercising three days a week at the Y and mowing lawns almost as often. Now it’s about 2-3 acres of open field that needs mowing and I’m doing it all with the familiar John-Deer.

    Strawberry Milk, Peach Milk…. and yes, Root Beer Milk
    Oberweis Milk from Chicago is hard to live without, but a local brand made in half-gallons is turning out just as good. They make a Peach milk and a Strawberry milk too, in addition to white and Chocolate. I guzzle that like my tractor guzzles gas. Good lord this summer’s starting out hot.

    Becoming a diverse gamer
    Playing three nights a week on WoW, starting to finally pull it back. Our guild is at a standstill progression-wise, and people are either getting on each other’s nerves or getting bored with the game. For once, I feel like doing something else for fun instead of playing WoW. DotA and D&D look like nice options now. Since my parents bought me a new iPod and sunglasses, I’m not getting a Wii anytime this year. That means no Smash Brothers this semester. I bought three new sourcebooks for D&D the other day: Races of the Dragon, Dragon Magic and the Player’s Handbook II. Will I ever get a chance to play with other people again? I miss our old Non-Sequitir campaign…

    To be a gaming journalist…
    I found my archived issues of Inquest Gamer again – got to thinking about my dreams of one day working there as an editor of sorts. Never did find out how to apply or find work there, or what kind of internship program hooks up with them. Now that I think of it, it’s because of magazines like Inquest and EGM that I went into the journalism business, thinking that a proficiency in the finer parts of writing, reporting and editing would give me a chance of nailing a spot in a magazine of my choice. Fat chance in today’s world. I play magic and not so much a variety of games as I should. Dropping WoW and picking up my diversity needs to happen this semester. I still think about becoming a Magic-shuffling, D&D-rolling editor some day… can dreams still come true so late in my college career?

    Can I follow Relaeth’s lead?
    Anyway, Aidan’s off to military service for two years in Singapore. I feel like half of my muse has been put to sleep. Fortunately the young man had the determination and faith in me to give me a swift kick in the shins to wake me up…. fuck. I catch myself now because it’s something I have said TIME AND TIME AGAIN. “Don’t worry, I’m finally back, and ready to start writing again.” And every time, nothing’s happened. Well, this fall semester will be so busy with things I will both enjoy and need to do that I won’t have time for occluding activities like Warcraft. I hope that with all my heart. I hope I still have friends after all this time.

    Summer schedule up in the air
    So I have some writing ideas. Later this summer, before the fall semester and after I finish summer school in late July, I’ll be taking a road trip with my parents to Buffalo, NY. We’ll be driving through Chicago, Indianapolis and the cities along the way. I intend to fit a visit with John and Audrey respectively sometime, though I’m not sure when or for how long just yet.

    I don’t know how many people still read this. After all, I’m a hopeless gaming addict who’s lost all his friends and nearly failed all his classes. Who would stick around to stay friends with me after two years of nothing in return? Aidan was more a friend to me than I ever knew. I’d be raiding night after night and postponing our writing sessions, and he never complained. His good friend, Myst, on AIM, had a good point along with others who spoke with me – I wasn’t being a good friend. And Aidan stuck with me through it all, never losing patience or care for me. And now he’s gone for two years.

    I really don’t know what else to say. I’m going to continue writing for a while. Someone still listens, apparently. Might be others. Anyway, I’m hoping I do still have friends, who don’t mind who I am or what I’ve done with my life until now. There are a lot of things yet unsaid about myself that would make good stories, and perhaps I’ll get to those sometime. Maybe post some of my poetry I wrote this last year, or some of the writing I’m trying to get to.

    Thanks for sticking around, guys.
    See you next time,
    ~ Chris

April 25, 2007

  • Rawr – A Brief History of Orim of Dalaran

    Okay so my internet connection here at school has shit out on me
    completely… I’m bored, hungry, thirsty, sleepy, grumpy, happy,
    nostalgic and …. something else I can’t quite describe. However, with
    the end of the semester in sight and nothing else better to do, I
    figured it was time I gave a comprehensive update. Don’t blame me if I
    fall asleep somewhere in between.


    Okay, major recap needed. WoW life. Holy crap. It’s been one year since
    Ordo Eternus was founded, and I’ve been raiding for over 18 months.
    Good God I need a life. In the meantime I’ve found some friends, lost
    some friends, joined and left guilds, and lived to see over a dozen
    fall apart either with me or shortly after I leave. Dalaran is changing
    and I’ve changed a hella lot too.

    OE disbanded in May 2006 after the guild not really being able to run
    anything. The officers and members parted ways and were basically
    spread to the four corners of the server. People stuck to their closest
    friends and no more than three or four people each joined the same
    guild. West, Leslie and Solen joined RS while I was spending a week at
    their place. I joined CVN with Sofe. Andrew and George joined LoG.
    Zanou and Mec joined Eminence. Bobo and the others joined Blurred
    Reality and Legends of WoW. Jun went to Keymasters. Thus was the split
    of Ordo Eternus.

    I quickly grew discontent with CVN, gave them the finger (on this blog,
    no less) and got myself kicked. After finding out that my apologies
    were deleted by the GM of CVN, I proceeded to be emo and cry over
    losing some friends. However, not many knew or cared, so I guess I
    didn’t lose much. Bau and Lothrok, the officers at the time, have since
    been known as the biggest censors and controllers of forums and free
    speech on the server. Turns out several months later, the ditched the
    guild and went to MoS. Yay. Fuckers.

    Anyway, I wound up in the raiding players’ retirement home known as
    Gaia, run by rogue ex-Eminence players Eveyle and Rosalin. Infernum and
    Bluey were also big names in the guild, and were all about bashing on
    Eminence at the time. With Bau and Loth saying bad things about me, it
    was downright impossible to get into any other guild. Eminence gave me
    an offer but I held off, not knowing what to think. After all, both
    rival guilds were saying different things about each other. After a few
    weeks of friendship, I investigated and found out Gaia was not in the
    best standing rep-wise. So I bid them adieu and considered quitting WoW
    right then and there. That could have been the end of my raiding life
    and the beginning of my real life. I even considered transferring
    servers just to start fresh. A naxx guild. Woohoo.

    But Eminence gave me a chance to prove myself amid my bad standing on
    the server, and I quickly found out the joys of raiding hardcore, many
    days a week, in BWL, AQ40 and Naxxramas. Shortly after my initiation, I
    caught onto the boss fights and the guild was starting to get on a
    roll. We were downing more and more new bosses, and I started to think
    that I belonged there. Weeks went by and my membership was concrete.
    More and more weeks by, with more successful new boss kills, and I was
    offered an officer position. Gee, this looks like the old days in OE. I
    accepted. For months until Winter break, I ran the priest team half the
    time and knew all of the hardcore instances and healing assignments
    like the back of my hand. Loot was awesome, friends were abound, life
    was good. Andrew and LoG transferred servers in anticipation of TBC
    queue’s and thought it was for good.

    The rest is history. We downed Patchwerk, Maxxena, and Thaddius in a
    matter of close-together weeks. After getting them all on farm, we work
    on C’Thun and Heigan. TBC comes out and puts a damper on raiding. The
    rush to lvl 70 begins. People whine about not getting into instance
    groups, everyone doesnt level at the same speed, and people cry more.
    After being the only tank the guild would trust, Saraf, our longtime
    guild leader, took a break, being tired of being asked for all the
    groups. It didn’t last long as the demand for a tank continued. He then
    quit the guild out of frustration for all the in-fighting and whining,
    and our Naxx runs ground to a halt, a mere week after downing C’Thun.

    Saraf reformed the guild under people he chose to invite, calling it
    LessQQMorePewPew. Symbolic but ultimately pointless. The people he
    invited were good, and we got new and talented players. Sadly, we ran
    only 1 karazhan group and this eventually took a toll on members’
    patience. We downed Prince and cleared Karazhan except for Nightbane.
    Life seemed tolerable for those who got raid. Then more drama boiled up
    and people whined some more about not getting into karazhan. The guild
    dissolved once more, Saraf giving up on leading.

     Another guild formed in its wake, led by founders of the original guild
    Promise of Power, back in the day. Saraf and a few other key players
    joined, but a majority of our key raiders and veterans were no longer
    with us. It was a small group, with LC being the only priest. Most of
    our officers from Eminence had either quit or joined splinter guilds of
    their own. Acumen, Final Reckoning, The Short Bus Special, Holier Than
    Thou, Moment of Silence… the list goes on. We were split up. Again. I
    joined Khagan, a Windrider’s splinter, thinking I should start fresh.
    Though successful, it didn’t feel the same as running raids with my
    Naxx comrades. I eventually quit before my initiation completed and
    gave thought about returning to Promise of Power with my friends.

     CVN broke up. LoG broke up. Holier Than Thou broke up. Khagan broke up.
    Obscured Reasoning splintered. Windriders splintered. Moment of Silence
    downed Kel’Thuzad and managed to keep from breaking up. Heart of
    Redemption broke up. Lux Socius endured. Friends joined Moment of
    Silence and Downfall, the leading Obscured Reasoning splinter. Downfall
    kills the first Serpentshrine Cavern boss. Badunit returns with George
    and Snipes to the server. Andrew returns to the server. Luana and
    Endrid start playing again. Being membered in PoP has given me the time
    of my life with my friends and the best loot a priest can get. I am the
    only one in the guild with a Light’s Justice
    still. My friends are returning to the server, we’re kicking ass about
    to go to Serpentshrine Cavern, and my lag is preventing me from doing
    anything.



    Well gee, it feels like I’ve gone through just as many friends as
    guilds. Shall I list all the women I’ve known closely during my WoW
    career? Alyssa, the marine, broke up with me after I failed to keep in
    touch with her. Amy, the guild priest who left because of real life
    issues and some personal ones, and who also didn’t end up with me 
    because she was still dealing with being pregnant and her ex-husband.
    Rydavim, who while my age lived in a different state and left the guild
    Eminence backstabbed her. Renazu, who turned out to be married and with
    kids anyway, was also left behind my Eminence drama. Kagehime, who
    while also my age, could not be in a relationship with anyone because
    she lived in NY and was quitting in a month – she has since gone
    missing without a goodbye. Currently I still know Audrey, from
    Indianapolis, and look forward to seeing more of every day. We have not
    met yet, and sometimes I get the feeling she may not be looking forward
    to it.


    DotA DotA DotA. Ricky and John have switched servers on WoW more than
    any other person I know, even Mec, who also knows them through
    Yellowdart. For OE fans, Ricky played Eilistraeen the druid and won the
    ZG raptor mount. And yes, he quit shortly after the guild disbanded.
    *sigh* He and John made an attempted comeback last fall, where they
    eventually stopped playing. Ricky has since made ANOTHER comeback on a
    shaman, but even now he hasn’t been on in a week.

    So we get back to DotA. Defense of the Ancients. The game of the Gods
    and the 50-minute match pitting up to 5 players versus another 5
    players. Over 80 heroes and dozens of items and never the same game
    twice. Hard to pick up and addicting when mastered. Best played with
    friends and not as boring or time-consuming as raiding in WoW. Pity bad
    internet connections discriminate equally. I’ve gotten used to
    virtually any ranged hero, either agility or intelligence. Strength and
    agility heroes that are melee based I haven’t gotten the hang of yet.
    Lalalala. Getting more sleepy by the hour.

    I will post pictures when I don’t feel like typing anymore. How do you get the text wrap to work?


    Orim: lvl 30  /   lvl 40  Pelors   /     lvl 55 Lux Socius       /         lvl 60 Molten Core

    Orim: Ordo Eternus     /             Eminence December           /      Eminence February

    Orim: LessQQ             /     Mid-Karazhan       /        Promise of Power



    That took entirely too much work – getting those pictures in the right order with the captions and text wrap… Ugh. I miss the old xanga editor. Anyway, there it is. This was mostly made for West and Leslie to get them up to speed on the world of Orim. I probably won’t be going back to Keymasters anytime soon, but my farming alt, Daisha, a night elf rogue, is in the guild to keep in touch . Gratz on baby Violet!

    Ew. 2:30 am. I’m done. Ciao!


    ~ Chris Walden 

March 29, 2007

  • Somewhere between tipsy and wasted

    1 shot of Tequila Especiale
    1 cup of Miller Genuine Draft
    1 bottle of Budweiser
    1/2 cup of Apple Sweet
    1 cup of Sex On The Beach
    1 additional cup of Budweiser

    Those last two fucking ounces, man.
    Came out my goddamn nose
    with the rest of my dinner.

    I used to hate Late Night Pizza,
    but now I’ve never been so happy to eat it.

    Abdoulaye, Ricky, Audrey,
    here’s to you on my 21st birthday.
    I have a midterm tomorrow -
    wish me the best of fucking luck.

    ~ Chris