Finding My Way

As mentioned in my last post I will continue blogging and I'll expand the scope to include other facets to my life and interests. So it is with great pleasure that I invite you to visit my new home on the inter webs: Finding My Way.

I'll continue to blog about RPG related topics and those posts will still be available at RPGBloggers.com. I'll also be sharing posts on movies, TV, music and other thoughts on my mind. As before, I'm doing this first for me as a way to process my thoughts and secondly as a way to dialogue with friends new and old. So if you find something of interest please share your thoughts as well.

Please join me in this in this blog's new home: CinderellaManJJ.blogspot.com


Follow your bliss,
JJ

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

A time for change

As I sit here, in poor man's first class (no one sitting next to me in coach), on my flight home, I'm thinking about what I said in my last post. This blog is me, but it only shows one side of me (and like a d20, I got lots o' sides). I think I'd like to use this blog to explore more of me than just RPGs.

The problem is, how to do that? When I launched this blog I joined RPGBloggers.com. I'm sure there are lots of things about my life that are not of interest to players of RPGs, well, at least that's what I imagine. Still, I don't want to burden their feed with a bunch of personal stuff.

So consider this post a "heads up" that I will probably be doing some housekeeping around here, possibly involving an address change. I apologize in advance for any confusion.


Follow your bliss,
JJ

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Future so bright: 2011

I've been avoiding this blog post. I'm not good at setting goals. That's not true; I'm great at setting goals. Following through? Not so much. So I did what I always do to when I want to avoid something: I read. I could call it "research" since I was reading many posts by other bloggers about New Year's resolutions and goals, but let's call it for what it is: avoiding a troublesome task.

I did enjoy the blogs I read; they were many and varied. Some tackled the New Year with the ferocity of a pit bull, others were calm and serene in their approach. And none helped me figure out what I wanted to do. (However, I did find a more convenient way to keep up on blogs using Twitter and Instapaper for the iPad.)

See, I've been struggling with what to do with this blog. I haven't really been posting lately which really makes me wonder why I'm doing it at all. At first I thought I had something to say, but my voice and focus was never very clear. I'm not an authority on gaming, I can only speak from experience.

Then I thought it was to stay in touch with the friends I met through podcasting. Well, Twitter seems better suited to that. The blog did start some dialogue with others on the interwebs, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for.

I generally have more ideas then I have the time to follow up on and discipline is not my strong suit; OCD is which makes writing a post take twice as long as it should. Family, work and other commitments are all making their demands known.

And then it hits me while I'm typing that last paragraph: this blog is my thing. It is more personal than almost anything else it do. I loves me some RPGs and gaming. I love talking about them, playing them, designing them and reading them. I'm not writing this for anybody but me.

So, no resolutions, no goals - it just is. Chaotic, eclectic and all over the place: that's me.

Follow your bliss,
JJ

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Looking Back 2010

It's that time of year where we take a page from Janus' book and look back at the year that has passed and forward to the next. So I'll cut to the chase and start with my resolutions for this last year and see how I did.

First under New Things:

• Run at least three different games at conventions - a big goose egg there. I only made it to one convention this past year (Origins for 1 day) and I was able to sit in on one game, but not run anything.
• Put together a free RPG to run in libraries - another 0. I had started work on Demigods but was not able to get it to a playable version for testing.
• Development on an Old School campaign - 25%. I started work on Icosa and managed to hammer out the basics, but ran out of steam.
• Run introductory RPG sessions at library - 0. Other than the initial session in 2009 I was not able to get this moving. This failed primarily to my dependance on the second point above.
• Run RPG for children under 10 - fail.
• Illustrating my games/play - nada.

Score: .25 out of 6

On to Improvements:

• Posting an average of 8x/month - 0. I managed to hit that mark 1 out of the last 12 months. I started out strong with 11 posts in January and spiked again in April with 7.
• Posting adventure logs - 0. Didn't happen.
• Games in Libraries Podcast - epic fail. I couldn't get my act together to make it happen.
• Participation in RPG conversations - 25%. I started off strong and once again lost steam.
• Logging my reading with GoodReads - 75%. I did very well with logging, I just had a tough time finishing books.

Score: 1 out of 5

Finally Continuing Items:

• Continued regular play - Yes. I managed to have probably my best gaming year to date (even if I didn't always blog about it).
• Continue exploring my passion - I would have to say Yes on this as well.
• Strive for a balance in my endeavors - Ha! Ok, that was a bit sarcastic. I did strive (begged, pleaded and even groveled at times), but was not always successful. I'll give this one a 50%.

Score: 2.5 out of 3

So looking back this may seem like an awful year. Really, it wasn't. Maybe I was a bit unrealistic on what I was aiming for, but I gave it a shot. I'm not mad, a little disappointed, maybe, but I'm not going to beat myself up over it. So, taking what I've learned and looking ahead, I try to follow Casey Kasem's advice:

"Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars."

So now with this review of the year under my belt (slightly smaller thanks to plus5cha.com & MyFitnessPal.com), I can ponder my course for the next year. For that, check back on the other side of midnight.

Follow your bliss,
JJ

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Time Will Tell

It's been over two months since I posted anything to this blog, and while I use this space to think through some of the gaming-related ideas going through my head, there are a few of you out there in inter-web land that visit this space and interact with me. To those that do, I apologize for my absence.

There has been a serious lack of regular gaming going on in my life, and that has a lot to do with my general mood and lack of posting. I'm getting back into the swing of things with an on-line game of Apocalypse World, my Dresden Files game is shrinking to just be me and my boys, I'm figuring out what to play with my regular face-to-face group, and I may be running some old school fantasy games at a recently opened FLGS. Things seem to be picking up just as we head into the holiday season, when life in the States seems to be at its most hectic.

So what have I been doing with my time? I've been looking inward, using the time for thought and introspection. Another birthday has come and gone, the boys are a year older and one more step closer to moving out of the house, and my wife grows more beautiful with each passing day. I'm looking to see where gaming fits into my life without taking it over completely. I'm looking at the purpose of this blog and whether it has any beneficial impact in the grand scheme of things.

Only time will tell. I promise to keep those of you that do stop by to read my meandering thoughts posted.

Follow Your Bliss,
JJ


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone