So there was a US Presidential Election, a black dude with a funny name won it. The whole shebang nearly passed me by and registered almost zero interest. I have become so cynical and disinterested in politics I barely care about the system (which erks a few folk I know).
Other news its Manchester and Its still raining outside.
Got a classic case of the Blahs. Probably brought on by working hard on getting the Faculty Intranet done at work and yet still not finishing off. Its been an eternity of cutting and pasting and extracting blood from a stone content wise. Not really what I signed up to do when I did my MSc and changed my career, but hopefully this is the last time I will have to do something like this.
In other news Rach is over the cold that has brought her low over the last week. Its nice to see her happy again. Shame that it means that she has to go to work today 😦 But she’s only got seven shifts left and then she goes down to two shifts aweek 🙂 Also she’s applied to be Research Midwife at Manchester Uni which should mean more regular hours and less working at the weekend 🙂
Probably the biggest news this week is that Rach’s mum Elaine is moveing to a bungalow across the road from us. Which is good for her in her advancing years and good for us for various reasons. Its happened bloody quickly though. She looked at the house on Thursday and put an offer in , which was accepted, on Friday!!!
So here it is folks I’m 37 today. Not a stella b’day and by all accounts one of the quiet ones for me. I’m spending it with the family, which involves looking after small child and a flu ridden Rachel, tidying up the house to look for a misplaced baby monitor, with the Black Horse County troop coming round this afternoon for the lastest ‘episode’ of our Battlestar Gallatica game (which rocks on toast!).
I’ve been slightly up and down of late and I came to the conclusion early on that I’m going through my own personal apocalyse (in the occult sense of my own world is changing dramatically). This has brought on the Fear big time. Worries over health, my job and even my core friendships and relationships. The most fearful moments was when I started thinking I was going to lose my marriage and my life due to a heart attack!! Both were more or less all in my head, as a quick heart to heart with Rach on the former confirmed, but might manifest in the long term if I don’t sort myself out now.
I kinda realised that some sort of sort was in order but being in the thick of it couldn’t see the wood for the trees.
Until this morning when Amazon.co.uk sent me an ad for a version of Journey to the West, that I haven’t got.
"China’s most popular traditional novel, "Journey to the West" is the thrilling story of the Monkey King and his epic quest, with his trusted companions, to redeem himself. They face fantastic foes, demons and monsters during their amazing adventures traveling to the Western paradise. No matter what obstacle was put before him, the clever, wily Monkey King always got what he wanted – unimaginable strength, eternal life, even his own position in the Celestial Realm with the gods. More than anything else, though, the Monkey King loved mischief and rule-breaking, and was sure he was the most powerful creature in the world. But after defeat and punishment for his tricks, the Monkey King found himself wanting some things he never expected: to be disciplined and good enough to help the monk Hsuan Zhang on his mission to bring Buddhist Scriptures – and enlightenment – to China."
It struck me my life has paralells with Monkey, when he is just about to be kicked out of heaven. I’ve pretty much got all I want materially and can with a bit of imagination and work get things outside of my current reach. Most of my current ‘problems’ are caused by having an abundance (my weight and having a house stuffed with things are the two most obvious things). What I need to do quite badly is grow up in a ‘spiritual’ sense of the word, else I’m forever going to be burdened and hindered by arrogance, greed and most destressingly Anger. I say ‘Anger’ with a big A, to distiguish the big emotionally draining fits of agression I have which are completly pointless from the more every day irritations that I can easily process and are useful to have to see what is wrong.
Its with this great revelation, and birthday present I move foward into a new Era of Newtness. I have a few resolutions coming out of this, but I’m not going to blog about them. Some of them might be obvious next time you meet me in the flesh. Some might be more subtle. Either way I’m making a consious effort to do what my subconsious has known all along from now on.
Seeing the mass of faces both old and new as I stumbled in from registration and realising that they weren’t going to eat me alive despite registration being a tad chaotic. Thanks folks for bearing with us.
Realising that after helping run it from its inception that the unique vision we had for Furnace pretty much runs itself with the help of the attendees (give yourself a pat on the back). Believe me this was an epiphany of no small importance to me and a moment of great joy and relaxation.
Playing HeroQuest 2 Rumble in the Rumble, and finding out that the new system works fine & smooth with Gloranthaphiles both new and old. Another epiphany of no small importance to me which led to a feeling of great joy and relaxation. HeroQuest 2 may still smell of wee for some folk (and to be honest I’m not convinced by 75% of the new edition) but I can run a game of it that I’m happy with and I can successfully entertain people with. Thanks to Doug, Dave, Andy, Jane and a couple of others who I forget presently, for putting up with the Gloranthan wackyness and bad puns and letting me entertain you with one of the most fun scenarios I’ve written in a long time.
Being nearly killed by Demon possessed cows in Reign. Big thanks to Paul Mitchener for expertly guiding us through a system that has intrigued me greatly since I rushed out and pre-ordered it on the strength of the internet buzz
Hearing the reports back from the SimpleQuest game that I wrote ‘Tomb of the Empty Emperor’ which Neil Ford ran. Lots of good feedback that will go into the final game and glad to hear that despite me writing an over-long scenario you had a great time. Big thanks for Neil for running this, Tom, Jane, Nathan, Doug, and Ginger Matt for playing it. I especially liked the idea that rather than using DEX combat order was determined by Social order 
Walking the streets of Serris with the players in Escorting the Goddess. Many thanks to Jane, Otto, Doerte, Doug and Malcolm for vividly bringing to life characters, situations and places that have previously existed in my head!
Thanks to Malcolm, Neil F , Neil G and Andy for giving Monkey yet another glorious outting. One thing I’ve learnt from all the playtest games is that Monkey is really a game that lives or dies (not that it has yet) on the strength of the player’s going for it, and despite it being Sunday afternoon you went for it!!! Neil was nothing short of spectacular for his reprisal of the role of Scribe the Celestial Administrator who downs Tiger Demons with a combination of index card flicking and poetry!
Overall having person after person come up to me and the other committee members and say that Furnace is their favourite con
Provisionally booked in the Garrison 10-11th Oct next year
Personally I can bearly contain my excitement behind a serene laminated exterior.
Got Friday off work so I can drift down. A box of HiG to sell, five copies of Monkey printed off and I’ve just finishedoff the high level death fest that Tomb of the Empty Emperor (think a Dara Happan version of Snake Pipe hollow) for neilf to run. I get to see Ginger Matt which is a rare treat now that he’s down in South Wales, and the rest of the Tavern gang. I’m not running anything Sat morning so I can meet and greet people.
Its going to be ace 🙂
Full games programme is up on the site now
Here’s the listing
My mood has bounced back into violently happy. Alot of this has to do with the fact I had a lovely normal weekend with Rach. That’s right for the first time since she’s been back at work (getting on a good five months) she’s not been put down to work a shift. So we had a lovely little ‘normal’ family weekend. Nothing particularly exciting but it did my mental health a world of good.
Update on the health front, after a visit to the GP last week I’m officallly a fat bastard and now on a diet and have made a solemn and binding pact to increasing my exercise levels. My little scare last week was a form of heartburn (as timgray suggested), but I’m taking it as warning sign I shouldn’t ignore. Heck I’ve been getting warning signs I shouldn’t ignore for years. Now time to do something about it, in a conistant sensible way.
Furnace threatens to suck me into vortex of pre-con stress, since I’m doing to much and have too little tiime to do it. Might have to drop some of the things I’m doing, because I’m now at the time I’ve not got any time to finish them off. I’ll be making a sensible measured decision about this later. Nutter that I am, I’m already mentally making a list of stuff I’m going to work on post-furnace.
In other news I’ve started a new blog for Hearts in Glorantha, which as well as a preview of next issue has the start of a review of HeroQuest 2. See it here http://heartsinglorantha.ukrpgblogs.net/
Its took me until two this afternoon to get back to my usual cheeky self. Conbination of a panic attack this morning, a fit of anger (mentally aimed at someone who deserves it) and bizarrly a short sharp pain in the chest (don’t worry it only lasted about 30secs), which left me a bit depressed until I bounced back this afternoon. Ho hum.
In other news the weekend was good. On Saturday Operation ‘Clear the Jungle’ was well underway and the back garden is now covered with branches. Sunday was lovely and sunny, but there was a poor turnout at GoPlayManchester and we were last to get a table at Fanboy 3, due to a Magic Convention. Less than happy about this. Looks like our days there are numbered…. Had a good game of Cthulhu Rising, despite it feeling like we were playing in the street.
Only seven places left at this RPGing extravaganza 18th-19th Oct. Just putting together the timetable from the 50 games that people have offered to run over the weekend, these are the systems on offer.
Unknown Armies, Don’t Rest Your Head, Call of Cthulhu, Bleakworlds , Savage Worlds (of many flavours, Pirates, SLA Industries, S.T.A.L.K.E.R, Star Wars), Cthulhu Rising, Fate 3.0, Monkey, Best Friends, Pathfinder (new OGL 3.5 game from publishers of Dungeon/Dragon Magazine), Mythic Russia, Space Ship Zero, D&D 4th Edition, Wordplay, HeroQuest 2nd ed, Duty and Honour (Sharpe the rpg, being released at Furnace), , Lacuna, Continuum, Reign, Posion’d, Trinity, SimpleQuest, Six Bullets for Vengence, A Dirty World, Traveller, Conspiracy of Shadows, Mob Justice, Hot War, Og Unearthed Edition.
We’ve also got four tracks of games,which means you can play one type of game all weekend if you want;
So if you’ve not registered yet and want to get your skates on an pop over to our website, http://rpgfurnace.com
So I’m back from the Newport family invasion of the Cotswolds. A nice time was had by all. Eve is now fully up and walking ran around the cottage and I’m glad we went for the next price bracket up so that she could do so. in fact the cottage, in Bibury, was one of the best we’ve ever stayed in. Nice roomy and comfatble.
Despite this being a ‘chill out and recharge’ holiday we managed to get out every day and do something. A walk round a park here, a visit to a musseum there. All of which was good for the soul, but reminded me with a bang how physically unfit I am these days. Tiredness aside from chasing small child around various tourist attractions, I do feel refreshed and I realise how much sitting at the computer takes it out of me since the holiday was a computer free zone. Also how junky and crap my diet is. So more activity and fresh veg for Mr Newt from here in 🙂
Being away from work gave me chance to reflect on it. Once again I’m falling into a comfatable state of complacency. Its time to step up a gear and get on in life. Working at the Uni on one hand can be an oportunity to take it easy and sit in the slow lane, with bosses and colleagues that will quite happily turn a blind eye, but its also an opportuntiy to really try out some new ideas and run with it. i shall be doing the latter from now on. The part of my brain that glowed with joy when I pushed myself during my masters will do so again.
The big realisation, this being very much a ‘family holiday’ was that I spend far to much time and energy on my RPG nonsense. On holiday I actually engaged with what I was doing with Rach and Eve and had a great time doing it. Some RPG writing did get done, but it was more focused and quick and got the job done in a tenth of the time than my usual meandering work. A lengthy chat with Rach on Saturday evening after we got back confirmed that some times me musing about by RPG nonsense takes me away from what’s really important in my life. Which isn’t fair to anyone. Don’t get me wrong I’m not going to be giving up doing D101games, GoPlayManchester, Furnace and my Sunday group. Its still a big part of what I am and more importantly a bunch of fun. But its just now I have a sense of perspective that its not the most important thing in my life.
Overall a much needed rest with some life changing realisations that I now need to act on.
Maximum Newt 