This and That: An Update of Sorts

3.1: I can’t be bothered

When last I posted, I mentioned I’d have a post up soon regarding Priest changes in 3.1 Clearly that hasn’t happened, nor will it. Generally I refrain from addressing speculative changes, and in the clear light of day (my link to MMO-Champion in my last post was made well after midnight!), I realized I wasn’t about to change that.

I’m not a QQ’er. Oh, I can bitch with the best of ‘em–in college, my nickname was Lucy Van Pelt–but after 20 years or so of MMORPGing, I’ve come to understand that game developers really don’t hate us–any of us (well, not our classes, anyway, although I am sure there is some strong dislike for certain people; I’m sure you can guess why). So, no 3.1 analysis while it’s in testing, no copying Osprey to the PTR (I’m sure Matt’s group is healer-heavy anyway!), no QQing on the official forums.

Sure, I’ll read blog articles regarding 3.1, and I’ve been following some of the PlusHeal discussion regarding the patch, but I’m not going to concern myself too much with what may or may not change. For example, look at one significant change already known: Originally, dual spec changes were going to require a Lexicon of Power. The patch hits the PTR and Boom! no LoP required. Click a button and presto change-o! Personally, I’m disappointed by that change, but in the long run, it’s not a big deal to me, even though I could make a fairly ranty article about it.

Enough about 3.1: Already three more paragraphs than I’d intended!

Progression

In other news…The Oroborus is working on Heroic Eye of Eternity. We took six shots at Malygos last night and got him under 30 percent. We seem to be spending too much time in phase 1. Healing is not a problem at all, but corralling sparks seems to be. Once that gets ironed out, we should be in much better shape. We still seem to lose too many people in phase 2. I died once, going from full to dead in nothing flat, and I was smack dab in the middle of a dome. One of the scions decided I was George, and that, as they say, was that.

On our last attempt, I healed well and shielded well (Malygos fixed his gaze on me way too many times for my comfort!), and didn’t die till the enrage timer expired. We’ll get there–perhaps as early as tonight.

Blogging and Other Writing

As this article perhaps illustrates, I’ve hit a rut. Or a dead end. I haven’t been inspired to write much the past week. I think part of it has to do with reflecting on some of the changes in the WoW Blogosphere (the demise of Chain Trap, the impending demise of Resto4Life, and Bre’s decision to focus strictly on her non-WoW blog, for example). More and more I am feeling the tug to write about more than "just WoW." I’ve started exploring other interests of late, including creative writing (I really hate that term: it reminds me too much of 11th Grade English).

If you follow Breana’s blog(s), you know I’ve been helping her by editing and proofing her "Fever" serial. That exercise rekindled the smoldering embers of my creative side as well, and I’ve written Chapter 1 of a story that started with a dream. I’ve no idea yet where that story is going: It could be a mystery, a thriller, science-fiction, or a combination of any or all of those. The people who’ve read it have given me a lot of encouragement, so I want to continue that. I also think I should at least try my hand at a short fan-fiction piece; unfortunately, I think my lack of lore-knowledge may prove to be my undoing there. On the other hand, I’m sure I could find someone to help me out in that regard. The big question is, do I have the imagination to truly engage prospective readers? Time will tell.

I’ve also considered, and probably decided, to expand the scope of Kestrel’s Aerie. There is more to (my) life than WoW (although my closest friends may dispute that), and I want to talk about other things that interest me. I still enjoy WoW, don’t get me wrong, and I still enjoy writing about it (current slump notwithstanding). But I am not one-dimensional, so I don’t think I want to write in a single dimension either. Of course, I could start a second blog, and I’ve considered that, but I don’t have the focus of a Tami Moore, for instance, to be able to manage multiple blogs. (You may have noticed I’m too lazy today to even include links! You either know these people anyway, or if you’re interested enough, you’ll Google them. If you do go looking for them, you won’t be disappointed.)

Personal

And now comes the more serious reason for my current fog. As you know, we were in California for a week last month for a family reunion of sorts. Our three sons joined us, as well as my wife’s brother and his wife, at my mother-in-law’s home near San Luis Obispo. Long-time readers may recall my mother-in-law was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last May. Up until late fall or thereabouts, the disease was mostly kept at bay through chemotherapy. Mom’s desire was to maintain her quality of life as high as possible. She’d go down to UCLA Medical Center every couple weeks for treatments, but she didn’t want to move down to my brother-in-law’s home. We all supported that decision: After all, her friends and interests were not in Los Angeles.

Eventually, however, she stopped the chemo: The trips to LA and back were too taxing. My wife spent a couple weeks with her in January, and of course we enjoyed some time with her last month (her 81st birthday was this past weekend). Sunday, her son took her to the hospital, where she was admitted, at least overnight. My wife will probably be flying to California Tuesday or Wednesday. Right now, the prognosis is in terms of weeks; in any event, we all recognize the end is nearer rather than farther. And while we all know Mom has had a pretty full life, that knowledge doesn’t make the current state of affairs any better. Compounding the situation, one of her lifelong friends passed away over the weekend after a lengthy illness, and another, closer friend is not expected to survive the week.

As my wife said the other night, Mom’s not fighting back anymore. She got to see her grandchildren and great-granddaughter again; her children will be near. So now, we wait. Waiting is the hardest part.