An Update

 I must have been cursed to make a post only about once every six months. It's surprising that so much time can go by and that my life can change so much during that time. And, to be quite honest, I have not thought about this blog very much in the past year. It's not that I don't want to continue it, it's that I feel like there's never anything important to say. What do I talk about?! There are so many people out there who write better than I do, who are more entertaining, who have more time to... do whatever it is they do to prepare for making blog posts. 

But, this is my blog. Let's get back to this post. I'm not here to rededicate the blog to some purpose, or to expound upon some paradigm-shifting realization I've had. No, I'm just here to talk. Well, write. I like to write. I don't do as much of it as I would like, but I really do like putting my fingers to the keyboard and seeing what shows up on screen.

I recently got a new job after spending six months unemployed. That was the first time I've been unemployed in about thirty years. It was... an unpleasant experience. I did use the time well, after I realized that I wasn't going to be landing a job quickly. I'm finally pursuing a bachelor's degree, which is pretty damn cool. They're online courses, of course, and I'm learning a ton! It's so exciting. It just... feels very good to be in school, learning in a structured way with the singular purpose of graduating with a degree.

That's the update on my life! Regarding my TTRPG addiction, I tried to do a lot of gaming while I was unemployed, and succeeded more or less. I started many play by post games, but ended up having to quickly drop all those endeavors after going back to work, which felt bad. When I started them, I planned on running them for a good long while! But, it was not to be. And given how busy life has gotten with a job and school, I don't believe pbp figures in my foreseeable future. Plus, I'm not sure I actually enjoy it! The idea of it is amazing, intriguing, motivating. The reality is a bit oppressive. There's an expectation that I be available at all hours of the day every day, and I did not deal with that well. Although, that may just be how it is on Discord. The games on forums did not feel that way, and I think that if I ever go back to pbp, it'll be exclusively on forums. The slow nature of pbp is part of the appeal.

The whole process of starting and running play by post games made me realize that I really do love solo role playing games. It scratches a lot of the same itches as play by post, but I don't have to worry about disappointing anyone else because I wasn't able to log in for three days straight, or that I have to censor the direction I would really like the story to go in because of someone else's character. Sometimes, I just want to set a game aside for a bit either because I've gotten bored with the system, or with the character, or I'm just really excited about something else!

I haven't actually done anything with the urge to solo. Every weekend for a month I've had a plan to create a character and start a game but there always seems to be something else that gets in the way. So, that hasn't happened, but it will. Solo is a part of the hobby that's very fulfilling and very easy to indulge in. When I get the chance to do it and have the will, it'll get done. I'll start a game and run it for as long as it's interesting. In fact, that's probably the blog post I'm most excited to make: a solo actual play! I just want to have one run for a long time, and get some readership. I do enjoy sharing things I create with other people. Sometimes I wonder if that might be the force driving me to create! My internal jury is still out on that issue.

It's taken me so long to put this post together that I actually did get a solo game in. I played a 6mm game of Xenos Rampant, pitting giant bugs against human forces in the middle of a ruined city. It didn't go well for the humans, and that's an understatement! I plan to put together a blog post, with photos, for my Shark Bone Alone site. Someday!