Similar to Euchre...

I survived.

They say that Euchre is a hard game to learn, and the general they usually proves right. I learned how to play, but only after several attempts by my father, brother, uncles, and cousins all yelling at me, "Why'd you play that card?!?" It took a while, but I am capable of playing on my own, thank you. (Though my strategy on what card to play when, still provokes the occasional previously quoted statement by my partner, aka my brother).

Enter tonight's Dungeons & Dragons experience.

I had a fun time hanging out with Pizza Boy and my new found friends. They did fit my fears of being surrounded by geekdom, however give geekdom credit. I had a good time laughing about "Glory Days", shrimp & fish milkshakes that are offensive to God, Leviticus being the best book in the Bible and other random comments I found amusing.

However the game itself I found to be lacking, mostly due to the fact that I have no idea how to play. I really have no desire to learn. But this is an excuse you say, a cop-out. Perhaps. But hear my plea. I do not care to be in a game that goes on and on and on (think Monopoly, and I never win at that game). Winning. I like to win. One could argue that players of D&D are virtually guaranteed to win (aka not get killed off), since the DM wants to keep the game going through continuous levels of play. Ok. But who is the winner? When do I get to kick the crap out of everyone and WIN??! Play can also be somewhat slow. Not that slow is always bad, but when it takes 45 plus minutes to kill off one "bad guy," this can be tedious. I want results and I want it now. (Welcome to the me-generation, driven by instant gratitfication. I love American society).
Another complaint of mine is all the rules to remember. Now if I were the type that were more enthusiastic about D&D, I would take the time to attempt to get the bascis down. But I just don't care.

Here enters the quandry I often face in my life (I believe because I am lazy and scared of taking credit for failure). I would rather someone explain it to me than for me to use my brain and figure it out. If someone explains it to me then I have saved time & brain power, conserving both for the future. However, the flaw with that thinking is that I am not learning how to do things for myself, I am constantly depending on someone else.

Ultimately, I swear that I want to be independent, I want to do it on my own. But in the back of my mind I think, if I just ask someone it will probably go a lot easier. I have been taught & believe that the only dumb question is the one not asked.

At what point does asking impede my ability to figure it out on my own?

D & D

I am about to embark on a new journey, into the realm of the imagination. Where dwarves are given mysterious powers to twart evil. Missions are planned by the all-knowing Dungeon Master. An assembly of unlikely heroes take on complex challenges. The list goes on and on.

Welcome to Dungeons & Dragons.

Now I know that this game has been around for a looonng time. I have never really been exposed to it, though I know there are legions of fans everywhere.

Enter Pizza Boy.

This is my neighbor across the hallway (or as I sometimes like to say, "across the street"). He is an avid player. He owns a massive collection of books about D & D. Standing atop his televison set are D & D like figurines. He owns the Clue version of D & D.

Pizza Boy has tried to explain D & D to me, going into great detail about the Ogs & their missions & the different worlds & endless possibilities available. (I'm not sure if there are really Ogs, but I can't remember all the names of the characters there are to choose them. I'm pretty sure if there is such a thing as an og, it would reside in the realm of D & D).

Anyway, tomorrow (or today depending on your time zone), I am entering a new world. I will be attending a game of D&D, compliments of Pizza Boy.

I have explained to Pizza Boy that D & D is not really my thing. Perhaps he cannot see the glazed look in my eye as he goes on and on and on about this gnome or that weapon or this mission or that world. Don't get me wrong, when it comes to D & D, Pizza Boy knows his stuff. However, I can't quite get into it. I'm not really sure I want to get in to it. But I am going to see what all the fuss is about, and maybe even to be social.

Keep your fuzzy Neptune ears open for revealing essays to follow...

for my many fans...

here i am. in WV. good-bye apron strings. hello independence.
hello mountains.
hello traffice, crazy turns and roads that were laid out like i draw on cakes with icing... unplanned, random & messy.
hello new old neighbors. yes the q-tip kind old, white hair and skinny.
hello new job. scary? perhaps, new is often scary. the unknown can be scary.
hello West Virginia Unversity Mountaineers. love the basketball. can't wait for the football.
goodbye Purdue Boilermakers... not really i just said that to make a transition. I will never give up on my Black & Gold.
goodbye flatness & farmland.
goodbye to all that i have known. that's scary.

so what have i got? a computer, phone, and radio. oh yes, the microwave. can't forget the important things. anyway, i don't know where else to go with this, excpet to say...

wish you were here. i just can't stand around all day, talking to my many fans.