Tonight, while Bea was doing her 15-minute potty routine, she asked when fall was. That evolved into a much more elaborate conversation about seasons, and why they exist. So I used the bedside lamp to represent the sun, some balls to represent the planets, and started to explain the solar system.
How Dungeons & Dragons got me through the pandemic. Part 2: For love of the game
The most complex parts of 5E involve fight mechanics and casting spells. When you're not doing that, you're either rolling dice, exploring dungeons, or trying to convince the DM your character is charming enough to sneak past the guards. Most of the game is playing make believe, and no one needs to be taught how to do that. You’re born doing that.
Progress Report III
I have no real progress to report this month, which included the tail end of our Christmas break and a whole mess of viruses in a row. Since starting daycare, Beatrix has enjoyed few weeks without a stuffy nose, cough, or fever, and these symptoms invariably pass through the whole family. This is all normal, unfortunately; just part of her little immune system catching up to the rest of the world.
How Dungeons & Dragons got me through the pandemic. Part 1: How I learned to stop worrying and say goodbye to improv
I cherish the memories of standing on stage with my team and hearing the packed Starlight Theater erupt with laughter, then commandeering the nearest empty table at Goat Hill Tavern and singing Carly Rae Jepsen songs until the beer spilled onto the woodchips at our feet. The faces of Improvinitus changed over the years - Robert, Fernando, Ethan, Leo, Nick, Maddy, Nina, Chris, Casey, Amish, Derek - but our reputation was solid. We made people laugh, and there is little in this life so magical as that. Improvinitus was how I met my wife, and that holds a unique magic of its own.
We can all agree things are nuts right now, right?
On a fundamental level, I do not understand what has happened in this country in the last two years. The reaction to COVID has disturbed me more profoundly than any major event in my life. September 11 was a terrible day, but it was an act of terrorism, and terror is easy to understand. This, the federal government's initial reluctance to respond to COVID, then the willful ignorance of its severity from my fellow Americans, the mass refusal to mask up, the conspiracy theories, the deepening divide between those who will get vaccinated and those who will not, is beyond my understanding.
Progress report II
I’d like to say it feels good to be writing again, but that would need several qualifiers to ring true. Writing with purpose is like the difference between flirting and getting it on. When you flirt, it’s fun and your heart races and she seems to be digging it, but it can all fall apart with one wrong move. When you’re getting it on, you know the score.