aloha / sayonara

In less than twelve hours, I shall be winging away once again.  For seven days and six nights, AnCe and I will be sharking, surfing and shopping in Hawa'i.  Possibly, it will be the most relaxed trip I've ever taken, with pre-booked tours and road trips of less than 120 kilometres.  Then, we jet off to Narita International, where we spend a couple of days in Nikko, before meeting Nish in Tokyo.  Yes, Tokyo.  Three days there, a day for Fuji-san, then four day in Kyoto (with trips to Nara, Kobe, Himeji castle and, maybe Osaka).  We all part ways in Tokyo, with Nish going back to the 'Scar-via-Bangkok, AnCe heading to SFO and I going home via Washington.  I'm sure I'll have many stories upon my return.  Ciao, for now, poppets!

WoW: things i learned from my raid leader

When asked about leadership styles during job interviews, I’m always a little stumped. How can I explain that some of my best lessons were learned while gutting imaginary beasts and demons in some alternate dimension? It’s true.

Before Warcraft, here’s how I dealt with group dynamics:

1. assess strengths and weaknesses of team members
2. divide the work among the capable
3. dismiss those I didn’t see contributing
4. take all presentation responsibilities in order to ensure effective communication of end result

…If there was any dissension amongst the group, I’d just bulldoze over it, because I had no time to try out stupid ideas destined for failure. And Goddess help you if you had to ask the same question twice. See #3.

Raiding in Warcraft is a serious team effort. One person cannot slack or it results in, well, death. Everyone has to come prepared (repaired, stocked up and forged for maximum efficiency) and everyone has to trust in their party to put forth their best effort. It takes a special kind of person to be able to lead a group of people, of differing skill levels and with unique skills to contribute, in the pursuit of one goal.

Having had the privilege of reporting to an amazing Raid Leader, Magnus, here are the things he taught me:

WoW: enough about me

Once I pique my colleague’s curiosity, she’s full of questions about Warcraft and my character. I’ve been playing World of Warcraft since it came out over seven years ago. I’m not very good at it, it’s true, but I do like it. I like that I can be a six foot tall purple elf, with foot-long ears and face tattoos and I’m still considered the “sexy” race. I like that I can pretend to have agility +140, while sneaking up on an enemy and do my best work from behind.

She asks me what my name in the game is. Marpesia. A dagger-winged butterfly named for an Amazon warrior who specialised in poison-tipped arrows. Because, nobody ever suspects the butterfly. Also helps that my weapons of choice are two daggers and throwing knives. Remembering there are different classes, she asks whether I tank or heal, and I say no. I do damage; lots and lots of up-close damage. My skills are things like: garrotte, eviscerate, slice and dice, killing spree and fan of knives. She’s a little shocked by the bloodthirsty nature of it all. I shrug. That’s my class. If I don’t do a lot of damage, my tanks will die over time and my healers will be next. It’s my job to take that boss down as soon as I can, as cleanly as I can. I feel that responsibility keenly.

Is it stressful? It can be. There are times when so many things are happening at once (fire, arrows, steep edges) that one mis-step causes the entire raid to die. It’s important to be alert, committed and patient. So very patient. She laughs and says I must be in-charge; I say no. Emphatically.

WoW: in the beginning...

It’s hard to talk about World of Warcraft to non-WoW people. It’s a little better with other gamers, but non-gamers? Almost a non-starter.

About a year ago, when asked about covering shifts, I said I’d like to avoid Tuesday and Wednesday nights; when pressed, I said it was my Raid Night and I didn’t want to let my guild down. Commence crickets and owl blinks. Later, one of my colleagues, an almost-older adult asked what a “raid” is exactly. I joked whether she had an hour; she very seriously replied that she had 45 minutes, would that do? So, over coffee, I explained it as such:

Warcraft is an MMORPG, massive multiplayer online role playing game. It’s played in real time, it continues playing even when your character is not logged on and it takes place in a fantasy universe. For the most part, you play solo, doing quests for rewards (like weapons, armour or gold). In some instances, you have a hard boss to defeat and you need more than one person. Sometimes you have REALLY hard bosses and you need ten people. These instances are called “raids” and your party must work together. So far, so good.

My party consists of people from my guild. A guild is a group of people who like playing together and help each other out (with bosses or rewards). So, my party has decided that we will raid together on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. People in my guild are from all over the world: Toronto, Texas, Edinburgh, etc. Our party consists of three type of players: tanks, healers and damage-dealers (DPS, further broken into melee and ranged groups). Tanks wear heavy armour so they take a lot of damage and keep the focus of the boss, but they do very little damage themselves. Healers do almost no damage, wear flimsy armour, can take no hits, but heal everyone else. DPS classes wear light armour, do mega damage from far away (ranged) or right up close (melee), but can’t take more than a hit or two. Together, as a team, they work together to taken down bosses that can take and deal a LOT of damage. The rewards are especially good weapons, armour, gems, etc.

I won’t say she understood all of it, but she did understand that it was a little more than just a game, that if I’m late or don’t show, I let a bunch of people down all around the world. I feel like I did my bit for bridging the generational gap.

Now Playing: Magic Mike

I had every intention of watching DKR again on Sunday night, but was foiled by IMAX reserved seating.  Already at the theatre, so far away from home, decided to catch whatever was playing next.  Enter: Magic Mike.

Honestly, it is what it is.  Badly acted, poorly scripted and chock full of cliches... who really cares?  This movie is about hard-bodied male strippers.  You could watch it on mute.  In fact, I recommend just that.  Frankly, there wasn't enough stripping.  They talked far too much. 

Should you watch it?  Only if you, too, have thirty movie coupons expiring in December and can't get in to see DKR.  Even then, see Brave or Spider-Man first.

1 out of 5 stars.  and the 1 is for all that muscle.  Mm-mm.

Now Playing: Dark Knight Rises

As is tradition, I was at the midnight show for The Dark Knight Rises.  Expectations were running high, as we had just ingested Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. The theatre was, as expected, sold out. What made this so much more civilised was that we had reserved seating, so no eight-hour line-ups were required. Though, in defence of the line-up, it made for a showing of truly hardcore fans. I and four of my boys settled in, with popcorn, M&Ms and moderately-sized drinks; last bathroom break was at 23h45 when, with delicious irony, I breezed in and out and boys had to wait. In line. Oh yes.


In the spoiler-free portion of this review, I will just say that the movie lived up to all my expectations. It was nice to see these characters/actors, in whom we’ve invested for seven years, stretch a little more and get the screen-time they deserve. In a great plot setup, Gotham City has aged eight years and the Batman has passed into legend, disappearing after the events of The Dark Knight have unfolded. The City is ripe for the picking as Bane and Selina Kyle arrive on the scene. Bale is wonderful as the ever-tortured Bruce Wayne and Oldman (the unsung hero of the entire trilogy) is just a fantastically facetted Jim Gordon. The movie highlights how easily society degenerates when rules are overturned and people are pitted against each other.

…a thoroughly satisfying end to the Nolan Batman legacy. Good luck to anyone picking up this mantle. 5 out of 5 stars.

SPOILERS BELOW.

memory

There was this tiny moment in time, once, when I felt truly carefree.  Let's get this straight: if you were going to pick ten words to describe me, "carefree" would not be one of them.  But there I was.

It was late, still bright from the summer sunset.  We could hear the swans quietly trumpeting to each other.  I was a little tipsy, without a drop to drink.  Watching Iago had been an intoxicating experience.  We had to cross the bridge, to what was then an unfamiliar place.  Even in sotto voce, giggles bounced off the church walls.  I tripped.  You caught my elbow so I didn't fall and I think you laughed.  You never laugh.  I lamented that you didn't see the play, that you would have fallen in love too.  I remember the river and the swans.  I remember the dip in the sidewalk and the warm arm I held so tight.  I remember thinking it was the perfect evening for magic and tragedy.  I felt free and young and happy.  So tenuous, it dissipated in the porch light. 

I think my memory is playing tricks on me.  Why did we cross the river when our beds were right next to the theatre?  Did we really walk by the cemetery?  Perhaps I'm remembering it all wrong, putting together a mosaic instead of recalling a picture.  We may have never held each other.  I was drunk after all and the details escape me.