I just finished reading Nina Kiriki Hoffman’s A Fistful of Sky, which I did not expect to like, but did. I didn’t love it, but I liked it, and it’s reasonably good. Normally, I am not one for coming-of-age stories, but in this case, it’s wrapped in the story of a witch getting her magic. The ending was never in doubt, but the getting there was good, and I liked the characters. Overall, I would consider it second-tier, but at the top of the second tier.
Just to make sure everyone is all caught up on the status of various Ellipses…
Grand Ellipse: Will restart on Monday, with new Times updates, a Progress update, and fresh mayhem.
Lunar Ellipse: Pre-game character development is in progress; some characters are already interacting with each other in order to form teams. Game planning is in advanced stages. I’ll get to work on the website as soon as the Grand Ellipse ends.
Magnificent Seven: I’m working on the initial planning. This’ll be ftf, and therefore something of a departure from the first two games.
I also have several Ellipses that are in what I’ll call a strictly conceptual state. In no particular order, they are GE2, Great Circle I (Equatorial), Great Circle II (Polar), American Ellipse, African Ellipse, Atlantic Ellipse, Pacific Ellipse, Around the Clock (one stop in each time zone), and my personal favorite, the Wrong-Way Rupert Route (TBD).
I have half a desk. Actually, more like a third of a desk, once you allow for room for people to move (hah!), but it is just big enough to hold a working computer (on which I have network access, passwords, the whole lot), and a working phone. I also have half of a shelf and custody of two file drawers. With any luck, I have made my last ten-minute walk to the other building.
Now, all I need is some work.
I had a mundane-yet-bizarre dream last night. I was having lunch with Anthony Edwards (the actor), during which he was telling me about his investment strategy. All around us, there were fish and other asssorted sea creatures swimming through the air. It wasn’t even a seafood restaurant.
Well, I finally managed to get access to a computer at work. Unfortunately, I had to go to another building entirely from where my desk will be. It’s about a 10-minute walk, and while I don’t mind the getting there, it is bloody inconvenient when one forgets something at one’s temporary desk. I had to make four round trips on Friday.
I confirmed the rumor that I had an email account and cleared out all the outdated messages. I’ve also determined that I don’t like Lotus Notes. I can understand why people like it, but the user interface is wretched.
Tomorrow, I will be able to claim my very own half-a-desk, which I’m told already has a phone waiting for me. No word on a computer yet, but possibly later this week. In the mean time…I’ll get plenty of exercise.
My yoga teacher has been away for the last month, for a variety of personal reasons. Last night was my first class in four weeks, which was about five weeks too long without a class. The physical work was not terribly strenuous, but I’ve been so tightly wound that what I really needed was the relaxation. (Yes, me. You can sit down now. You know who you are.) I managed to get the best night’s sleep I’ve had in weeks. Best of all, I am no longer getting on my own nerves…and I was past caring about getting on anyone else’s. I’m even ready to start the Grand Ellipse up again. I will do my utmost to have new Times articles and a player update for Monday. Need I even mention that the sooner we wrap this one, the sooner we can start the Lunar Ellipse? Besides, the suspense is killing me. 
Game WISH #51 asks
What are three genres that you’ve had limited exposure to as a gamer that you’d like to try or play more of?
Hmmm…The common thread that I noticed in everything that sprang to mind is that it’s got a modern or futuristic element. I’ve never had any trouble finding a good high-fantasy campaign, but for some reason, the following three evade me.
1. Superhero games. You’d think that with all the people I know who are so into both comics and gaming, this wouldn’t be a problem. However, my usual band of misfits never seems to get around anything in this genre. Maybe it’s because nobody can find a system that they like. (Both Rob and Doug, the two GMs I play with regularly, are serious game-mechanics.)
2. Science fiction games. Again, the usual band of misfits doesn’t seem to get into this one too much, although whenever Doug wants to knock us for a loop, he throws some element of this into things. (I cannot even begin to describe for you what it’s like to be in regular gaming group with someone who has as amazing a grasp of physics as Doug does. His home-brewed system is impressively realistic.) I did just start in a modern d20 game that is sort of Black Ops/X-Filesish, but I can’t remember the last time I played anything else like it.
3. Cross-genre games. There’s an easy explanation for this one. A good cross-genre game is hard to find. I adore the concept of Weird West, for example, but the game mechanics are cumbersome. Nobody I know is interested in Shadowrun. And Rifts, while it has some interesting ideas, smacks of munchkinism to me.
Great Big Company tells me I’ll be getting half a desk of my very own on the seventeenth. I’ll be sharing a cube the size of a bathroom stall with another technical writer. No word yet on when I’ll have a computer, although I apparently do have email, and I’ll bet the inbox is filling up nicely.
In the mean time, I have the use of a desk in a high-traffic area and a red pen. I’ve been doing what GBC calls a “peer review,” which is simply a fancy way of saying “proofreading with a format-specific checklist”. (I’ve used immense amounts of red ink on some of the documents I’ve seen. One of them looked like the guest of honor at an axe murder.) The problem is, I can’t get into the electronic document control system, so I have to run around and find not only someone who can access the system, but someone with the authority to acquire the document on my behalf. This can involve some sitting and waiting.
But that’s not the good part.
The good part is that I have to sit and do nothing while I am waiting, because if I read Photoshop User magazine while I’m waiting, it looks like I’m doing nothing. Then, there’s a great hue and cry over the fact that I’m doing nothing while there are piles of documents that are more than two weeks overdue. Never mind that I only got there a week and a half ago. Never mind that the people who have custody of the documents I need are in four-hour meetings. Never mind the fact that I’m sitting around waiting because I have finished all my work two days ahead of two of the other new people. And never mind that the person responsible for entering the corrections can’t do it because he doesn’t have a computer either.
And now, some boring minituae of my daily life.
Either Friday night or Saturday morning, I misplaced my engagement ring. Irony points for the fact that I misplaced it because I was trying to keep it from being damaged either in the shower or while doing housework. Finally ‘fessed up to Ed last night, who was a very good sport indeed, helping me look for it for a good half-hour and being very understanding when it didn’t turn up. This morning, I looked down as I was putting on my pants and saw a little glint of gold halfway underneath the dresser on the floor. Was so excited that I damn near fell over picking it up with my pants half-on. I am a danger to myself, and possibly others, before 6:00 AM.
More on my hockey obssession. Feel free to move on.
I cannot deny that the better team won last night. I am rather disappointed that the Ducks didn’t play as well in the last two periods as they did in the first. I’m even more disappointed in the quality of the game, though. I was hoping it would be a tight, one-goal game…sort of like game six, but with a final score of 1-0 or 2-1 maybe. Possibly even some overtime. Alas, it was not to be. When the Devils got their second goal midway through the second period, I looked at Ed and said “Well, that’s the game.”
It was nice to see J-S Giguere win the Conn Smythe (playoff MVP) trophy. He wasn’t the best goalie in Stanley Cup finals, but he did take a relatively young franchise ranked 7th in the conference to a seven-game final series, and that’s certainly noteworthy. I would have liked to see Adam Oates win a championship, though. This is the sixth time he’s been to finals and not won, and at 40, he’s unlikely to get there again.
Oh well. There’s always next season…after what Ed calls the Great Summer Sports Drought. (Baseball is a game, not a sport. Neither of us can be convinced otherwise.)
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