well here we are at the end of 2012

was going to ramble on about changes to be made and angst and crap (as I am sometimes wont to do)
but gonna summarise

did well this year what with the weight loss and stuff - but could have done better

didn't get as much done round the flat as I could have done

happier about life in general now than I was this time last year (but I was still ill then so..)

Work sucks and sometimes allowed that to leach into my personal life

So.....

going to take another run at the weight loss (xmas gain first to go)

Starting end of January (payday) with the flat decoration (little room first)

By taking more control over my life I aim to be happier

Work is a neccessary evil that pays my rent. bills, and hobbies and that is all

Also

I am a gamer who collects things - the collecting thing mostly meshes with my gaming and is going to be ongoing during 2013

I am going to be hitting some cons across the country (hopefully)

and some Gigs with Rob and Steve and anyone else that wants alone

and you never know I may even meet someone

Happy New Year

J

well Suse and Alex do this so lets try............

Things to do 2013

1)  Lose more weight - not sure what kind of target to put on this so  5 stone over the year and more if I hit that

2) be a better ref - I thin all refs should try to be better and I'm no exception - need to be more organised, need to take breaks when I feel burnt out like last time, need to be more of a 'DM is right' stance rather then the democratic approach I've been using because that really doesn't work

3) be a better player - just feel I could be more involved

4) carpet the flat - carpet tiles either massive operation one weekend or doing it in parts

5) tart the place up - either some redecoration or wall hanging stuff -make this place look less than a games shop store room

6) travel - to events and stuff at least at first

7) meet more gaming people - not a reflection on the friends I've got but theres loads of stuff I could be doing and people I could meet and I don't cause it woold most likely mean striking out on my own a bit - scary!!! (see point 8)

8) stop letting fear hold me back

9) stop procrastinating ... well maybe later ;)

10) sort out plan (and execute) with regards work - it's terrible and they're keeping the pay freeze in place for at least another year (5th year) - need to get promoted or transferred within the council (don't fancy looking for completely new Job)

It's a start

J

And once more........

Weight loss - going to fall short of target (maths don't lie at the current rate I reckon I'm gonna fall 1 stone short, but there are still 2 weeks to go so who knows) anyhoo happy with what I've done and in the new year I will reset the 5 stone clock and start again :)

Work = Rubbish

Flat - I've got the idea for the whole flat now there will be games and books everywhere (I think I was having problems trying to assign seperate rooms for seperate things like a book room games room etc) but if I think of the flat as a whole 'Julians headspace' thing I think it'll be great when it's done
Going for Carpet Tiles (they're really cheap) and as Rob pointed out you can use double sided tape (apparently it's what it's used for) instead of glue which is really expensive and it'll be grreat - that starts in January

Need a new Washing Machine (old one died last weekend) also in new year

Went to Boyes in Arnold last week and picked up a load of Mantic figs on sale so large scale painting and glueing continues and hopefully start wargaming early next year

Sadly 2 of the 4 events I wanted to go to next year have fell through the Folk festival was going to caost £200 before you get to camping gear and cash for the weekend itself (food, embarassing shirts etc) so me and Rob are looking for an alternative (thought Download but thats about as expensive) so we'll see

and Games day isn't going to happen because Games Workshop have gone off the deep end the prices on the stuff (especially the new Hobbit stuff) is ridculous so I'm siding with Mantic full bore now so need to find a new gaming event to replace that (maybe Paizocon UK)

I was going to put my Christmass tree up on the 19th but as I'm not really feeling it I'm going to put it up on the evening of the 14th after I get home after my works do and I will have White Christmas (yes I still like Bing and Danny Kaye) and perhaps The Box of Delights on TV while I get the tree up

If that doesn't work then I may as well give up ;)

Right I've got to go out to a friends house now to play games (SURPRISE!!!!!) and then tonight gonna scribble and paint etc

So for now seeya

J

The key to what I'm doing is looking backward

Getting back to something approximating my fighting weight

Getting the band back together in that I'm now hanging out and gaming with people I used to well... game with and hang out with back in the day

From here out the plan was to simply continue until I acheive what I wanted to but a couple of things have happend over the last few days

Wizards are reprinting Scourge of the Slavers (1st ed A1-4 plus a bonus adventure and hopefully some stuff that Steve says linked the collected adventures together in the earlier compilation)

They are also reprinting the Realm of Horrors adventures (Tomb of Horrors, Barrier peaks etc) this had me smiling over the weekend (also the celebrity DND game from PAX on Youtube, check em out they're 2hrs plus but they are hilarious but there is some foul language you have been warned - start with 2009)

but last night I found out that some of Gary Gygax's family (plus some others) have bought the TSR name (apparently WOTC abandoned it some time ago) and they are starting up a company that cover sold RPG stuff as well as new games

They're putting out a magazine called Gygax magazine (next month I think) quarterley and the first of their products

I have an idea forming

Until I find out more I don't know where this is going but this is going to be fun

Right gotta go to work now

J

And again...

Weight still coming off

Job still rubbish but doscovered possible promotion oportunity

Christmas shopping nearly all done

Since I started in May to lose the weight and stuff I've been going through other changes as well all good

It's like waking up

I'm realising that a lot has been going on over the years that I've ignored or let happen and some recent changes and comments I have made have reflected that

I'm pushing for promotion at work

I'm going to several things next year including a weekend away with Rob at a music festival in Cambridge

Got rid of a chunk of the games collection to clear dead wood and to generate Amazon credit for xmas shopping

And aknowledging that I had an issue with the Thursday game that has been spoiling it for me, now after some discussions with the guys on Facebook I am on a break until the new year (my idea) and by then I'll have the changes I think will make reffing easier for me and to make it easier for the players as well - so as far as I am concerned that is that, we'll see how things run in 2013

Now for the rest

Still not drinking - will be back with beer in hand 21.12.12 (the day I break up for 2 weeks and the traditional 'mob get together before xmas')

I am jumping on the Mantic wagon (Local Wargames and boardgame firm in Bulwell) they make good stuff that isn't GW (I have to sell my kidney to get the latest figs)  prices and have fantasy, Sci fi (a little 40k) wargames with really good figs and also a 'Blood Bowl' game as well as a board game series

Going to get some of their stuff so I can kick things off in 2013 (still be getting the occasional bit of GW scenery as they're fantastic and mostly not that expensive)

Some other things going on in my new head but some of that I'm keeping to myself and some things aren't fully fleshed out yet

Feeling better and better every day

J

And here we are again

So thngs that have happened

weight is still coming off - almost certainly going to hit target ( and then some)

Going to put my plans for hitting the gym on hold for a while for a couple of reasons

              Firstly I can't really justify it at the moment, I mean I'm still losing weight and I haven't even started on home calesthenics or even walked as far as I can prctically do before or after work - so where is the sens in paying a monthly fee to go to another building across the street to do a load of stuff I can do at home. So got some handles for push ups off Amazon (£6) got that piece of inspiration from Dels Amazon wishlist of all things and Rob is giving me some free weights - Little Room a gym? - and the program goes on

              Secondly I'm concerned abouit my knee (the bad one) sometimes it locks or seems to catch and then release which is a little unbalancing also the hernia (both to be checked in the new year regardless as they are in the way)

Work is crap!!!!!!!!

My job is undoable (in the larger sense) an impossible to do I think normally and we don't have apprpriate resources for it anyway - so I plod along every day going through the motions achieving little and trying to ignore the futility of it all

When I started this plan of mine it wa incredible the buzz you get off changing things for the better and seeing people looking at you differently and feeling better more confident

Now it's calmer and I still have the confidence but I'm more measured and every day become more certain that the path I'm on is right

Gaming

I have some issues (insert obvious joke here)

Not with Sundays thats great

It's Thursdays - I sometimes dread the idea of reffing it and sometimes just spend Friday angry because of it

Last Thursday is a fantastic example - I have 5 players 3 of them I have been gaming with for than 20 years and the other 2 for about 10 maybe

3 of the players don't know all of their character abilities they make assumptions about what they can do and when thats shown to be wrong they take a poke at me for pointing it out

In my opinion the GM is supposed to ref the plot, the NPC's (including Monsters)  and the fights and ride the rules (changing them when that has to be done

The players are responsible for creating, maintaining and playing the characters they bring to the table

some of these players don't and have on occasion said they expect me to monitor their charactesr for them (once they said they wanted me to take notes for them I said no (actually said more words than that and I think some of them were rude))

So anyway Friday was an angry day - and by lunchtime I'd come to the conclusion that I was going to try and compromise and make things better and if things weren't showing signs of improvement in the next 6 months that was it no more campaign and hanging up my reffing boots

On the way home I thought of something, well 2 things actually, I have been roleplaying for over 31 years now and reffing for most of them, now I may not be a brilliant ref (but I think that good refs should always be insecure about it and my players keep turning up so must be doing something right) but no body has the right to force me to give up something I love as much as this game - so they bloody well won't I won't let them

and secondly I used to write out a 'combat pack' a summary of rules stuff and campaign material that is used as a reference tool - the theory was that people learn by doing and by writing out (yes handwriting) the pack I got a better grasp of the rules and reffed better - now 1 of the thursday nighters doesn't own the rules and some of them just don't read the ones they should do so once more the pack is created (this time on the PC thank God) hopefully this will go some way to fixing the problem

Also if some of these slips of theirs happen and cost them I am not going to be cutting them any slack (we'll see if this kicks things back on track)

Christmas is coming and so is my 43rd year of dodging death on this planet

On the 27th December a sect group of people have been invited to the flat to play Talisman (it's my birthday and I'll play Talisman if I want to) after (about 6ish) I think we are going to the Tap and Tumbler - and I will be in my favorite pub for the evening take over the juke box and partyay and stuff - this will also be the start of me spending mre time at the Tap - I realise that it's not everybodys cup of tea but it is mine and some of the old Tap crowd have started drifting back so once a month I will be 'striking out on my own' to reestablish old ties anyone is more than welcome to join but it will be loud and dark and hopefully like the old days)

as for the flat some shelves are up, I'm going to look at carpet tiles early next year and maybe some redecorating (I am getting  alittle sick of white walls everywhere)

oh and got a Kindle Fire HD this week it is by far the coolest thing I have ever owned

That is all

seeya next time

Jules

Not been on for a while so update

Last week I bled again, looks like a 'pile' ruptured (thats what the Doctor said and the way that the bleeding differed from before and the fact that I've already been cleared of Cancer and the like means not terribly worried ...... Now

Last week almost in tears - it scared the hell out of me - hopefully now it's burst and if I'm careful I can avoid it in the future but still

Anyhoo - recent choice to get some holes filled in my Stephen King Collection led me to think about Authors I loved and have stopped reading for no other reason that it was too much hastle to admit I read them at all - what with the moaning that happens well fuck that

I decide what I read and by whom so Eddings, Feist, Jordan, Hamilton, and Herbert (frank that is) all get added to the 'actually buying real books for the shelves' list

So at the end of this month Me and Rob are going to put shelves up and then they are going to get filled :)

Not drinking between now and say the 21/12/12 to help the healing process and with the weight loss

thats it for now

later people

J