...this year anyway. Since coming back from China, I haven't had much of an urge to go out and spend thousands of dollars on a vehicle I really wouldn't need most of the time. I got used to getting around without that convenience. Cars cost a lot to acquire them, a lot to feed them, maintenance can be unexpectedly high or unpredictable, and insurance is also a significant cost.
Upon acquiring a new apartment, I set about finding a location in my hometown that was convenient for shopping and getting to most of the major places I would ever need to get to. I now have easy access to the bus system, and can walk to the mall in a half hour. Since we have snowy winters here in Wisconsin, there was only one thing I was waiting on purchasing before my transportation needs were complete.
Finally, the last snowfall occurred a few days ago and the weather has been warming up consistently into the 50s F. This weekend I went to the mall and set about purchasing my wheels - a brand new bike, a pedal bike that is. Complete with lock, pump, and taxes - all for $121. I passed on the offer for insurance (don't you hate those guys at Best Buy that nag about how wonderful their extended warranties are?).
How many of you own a pedal bike? Obviously there are the major drawbacks, namely having no carrying space. I can go to the store and bring home a few light bags of groceries, but that is about it. I certainly can't buy a new furniture set. All I needed was a faster way to get to those places that were really too far to walk, or took several dollars by bus.
I miss my China biking adventures. While it isn't the same here, as the exploration is all sapped up from years of living in this area, as well as the lackluster terrain and sporadic weather, I still enjoy biking when I can.
Showing posts with label About Me. Show all posts
Showing posts with label About Me. Show all posts
Where does the time go?
I'm beginning to slip in keeping this blog series updated. We've been so busy at Quest Online, LLC. that I haven't had much time in thinking about my drifting thoughts. I usually jot them down here in a blog whenever one of them passes across my vision that is of any remote interest. Alright, they are ALL interesting to me since they are my thoughts ;).
I've actually been thinking more about China than this blog, so I really should marry the two once again. I believe the "China" category here is almost as large as the gaming one. I had a fantastic year teaching in China and exploring much of Eastern Asia while doing so. I met so many friends, learned so much, and took away from it a lifetime's worth of experiences and value for yet future experiences.
What was I thinking? Why leave something that I thought was so fantastic and such a valuable experience? Quite simply, for another experience. My firm belief is that in order to grow as a person you must go. You must go to new places and go through new experiences in order to understand the world and be best able to prepare for things that come later in life, especially those that are unexpected and of the moment.
I've spent the last two months as the community manager for Quest Online, LLC. I hope my career continues to move forward, while at the same time being able to travel across the world and gain additional experiences and insight into how the world turns. It's interesting that I strive to build a career around the fictional and fantastical, yet insist on learning about the real world just as much.
I've actually been thinking more about China than this blog, so I really should marry the two once again. I believe the "China" category here is almost as large as the gaming one. I had a fantastic year teaching in China and exploring much of Eastern Asia while doing so. I met so many friends, learned so much, and took away from it a lifetime's worth of experiences and value for yet future experiences.
What was I thinking? Why leave something that I thought was so fantastic and such a valuable experience? Quite simply, for another experience. My firm belief is that in order to grow as a person you must go. You must go to new places and go through new experiences in order to understand the world and be best able to prepare for things that come later in life, especially those that are unexpected and of the moment.
I've spent the last two months as the community manager for Quest Online, LLC. I hope my career continues to move forward, while at the same time being able to travel across the world and gain additional experiences and insight into how the world turns. It's interesting that I strive to build a career around the fictional and fantastical, yet insist on learning about the real world just as much.
My first month as a community manager
I've been a community manager for over seven years now, though everything up to the last month has been with media websites such as Stratics, Vault and Allakhazam. Right now I feel I am at the point where I've near completed that long reach to the top of the roller coaster ride, only to soon entering into the incredible twists and turns that I will undoubtedly experience on the ride.
Stepping back a little bit on my journey, I want to explain the reason I am currently a community manager in the game industry and what decisions I made that ultimately brought me here, or at least the decisions that fate selected for me, if you prefer to think of things that way.
Years ago I had a job as a security guard at a paper mill. Every day I would walk the mill and then process truck applications at the security guard shack and associated office locations. There wasn't much to the job other than walking around and ensuring things were in their proper order. I can only count three or four instances that were out of the ordinary in any significant way.
After awhile I seriously began to think about my future. Don't we all do this from time-to-time? I took a good hard look at where I was going, and quite frankly that was nowhere. I had a concern that I would look back on my life and not have done anything extraordinary. I kept wanting to grow as a person and I couldn't do that in any capacity at the security job (except perhaps for weight from the lack of exercise). I had to get a degree and start something that had a future.
I started bringing my laptop so I could explore the Internet between my security security duties. I started to help out in various game forums and do general customer service related things. Most of this was on the Stratics Network in the beginning. A few months went by, where I then decided to apply for a news reporter position at the EverQuest 2 portal. I was accepted. After that, I worked to finish my college degree and look for further interests in community projects.
While working online I moved on to other jobs, some very prominent ones at places like the postal service. The few I took ended up bringing me back to the question of where I wanted to be in the future. Each time I thought about it my mind gravitated back to the game industry and my interests in community management. I started to get what my mind was trying to tell me. I was a community manager and I loved working with the community. It was as simple as that.
Still, it wasn't enough. At this time I hadn't journeyed out of the United States. I needed to explore the world and really understand where my place was in it. I figured I could only do that in the true extreme, by literally going to the other side of the world. A few days or even a month wasn't enough though, so I decided to take a year and go to China to teach English. It was an experience I will never forget. An experience that has changed me forever and set me on a course that ended up bringing me to the career I ultimately wanted; being a community manager.
Now, for what it is like to really be a community manager. I knew the job title was very broad and could mean a lot of different responsibilities between companies. I also already knew that my current position would be a lot different than the media responsibilities I had earlier. There are more challenges, but also more excitement and opportunities. I am now the lead of a community, instead of simply being a supportive part of one.
What will I say six or more months down the road? Those seasoned in the position will probably know exactly what I will be writing about in this blog at that time. But until then I am loving every minute as I learn new things. It is exciting being able to bring together a community that is looking forward to there next game experience. It is a humble experience being in a role that not too long ago I admired and hoped I would someday achieve.
Stepping back a little bit on my journey, I want to explain the reason I am currently a community manager in the game industry and what decisions I made that ultimately brought me here, or at least the decisions that fate selected for me, if you prefer to think of things that way.
Years ago I had a job as a security guard at a paper mill. Every day I would walk the mill and then process truck applications at the security guard shack and associated office locations. There wasn't much to the job other than walking around and ensuring things were in their proper order. I can only count three or four instances that were out of the ordinary in any significant way.
After awhile I seriously began to think about my future. Don't we all do this from time-to-time? I took a good hard look at where I was going, and quite frankly that was nowhere. I had a concern that I would look back on my life and not have done anything extraordinary. I kept wanting to grow as a person and I couldn't do that in any capacity at the security job (except perhaps for weight from the lack of exercise). I had to get a degree and start something that had a future.
I started bringing my laptop so I could explore the Internet between my security security duties. I started to help out in various game forums and do general customer service related things. Most of this was on the Stratics Network in the beginning. A few months went by, where I then decided to apply for a news reporter position at the EverQuest 2 portal. I was accepted. After that, I worked to finish my college degree and look for further interests in community projects.
While working online I moved on to other jobs, some very prominent ones at places like the postal service. The few I took ended up bringing me back to the question of where I wanted to be in the future. Each time I thought about it my mind gravitated back to the game industry and my interests in community management. I started to get what my mind was trying to tell me. I was a community manager and I loved working with the community. It was as simple as that.
Still, it wasn't enough. At this time I hadn't journeyed out of the United States. I needed to explore the world and really understand where my place was in it. I figured I could only do that in the true extreme, by literally going to the other side of the world. A few days or even a month wasn't enough though, so I decided to take a year and go to China to teach English. It was an experience I will never forget. An experience that has changed me forever and set me on a course that ended up bringing me to the career I ultimately wanted; being a community manager.
Now, for what it is like to really be a community manager. I knew the job title was very broad and could mean a lot of different responsibilities between companies. I also already knew that my current position would be a lot different than the media responsibilities I had earlier. There are more challenges, but also more excitement and opportunities. I am now the lead of a community, instead of simply being a supportive part of one.
What will I say six or more months down the road? Those seasoned in the position will probably know exactly what I will be writing about in this blog at that time. But until then I am loving every minute as I learn new things. It is exciting being able to bring together a community that is looking forward to there next game experience. It is a humble experience being in a role that not too long ago I admired and hoped I would someday achieve.
My New Years Resolution
One tends to start out the new year with all sorts of promises, commitments, and explanations for things they plan to do in the year ahead. Everyone plans, but how many commit, and how many more are able to explain their plans and commitments, especially when forced upon by others?
My new years resolutions were numerous, from obtaining level 50 in Warhammer Online to reorganizing my house in Ultima Online. Hey, I said they were numerous, I didn't say they were diverse.
I had eventually whittled away this count each day, down to just one yesterday morning. You are probably thinking right now, "We haven't even entered February yet and this guy has only one left?" Yep, just one. This didn't result out of procrastination, another online game that caught my attention, or any other lame excuse.
I realized that I really only need one. It may sound lame, but my new years resolution is to be happy throughout the year. That's all there is to it. No complications, no formulas, no notes, just a plan for happiness. One might think that this was an obvious "default" shared by all, but sadly this goal seems to be elusive for many in today's society.
I am an avid news reader, from online games to war stories in the Middle East. It is some of these stories, that if one listens to closely enough, tell a lesson to those that are fortunate enough to hear it. We have a special place in this world and must cherish each and every moment as if it were the last. Do not take anything for granted lest ye fall victim to it, by "default".
A lame new years resolution, but the only one you can be certain I will not procrastinate on.
My new years resolutions were numerous, from obtaining level 50 in Warhammer Online to reorganizing my house in Ultima Online. Hey, I said they were numerous, I didn't say they were diverse.
I had eventually whittled away this count each day, down to just one yesterday morning. You are probably thinking right now, "We haven't even entered February yet and this guy has only one left?" Yep, just one. This didn't result out of procrastination, another online game that caught my attention, or any other lame excuse.
I realized that I really only need one. It may sound lame, but my new years resolution is to be happy throughout the year. That's all there is to it. No complications, no formulas, no notes, just a plan for happiness. One might think that this was an obvious "default" shared by all, but sadly this goal seems to be elusive for many in today's society.
I am an avid news reader, from online games to war stories in the Middle East. It is some of these stories, that if one listens to closely enough, tell a lesson to those that are fortunate enough to hear it. We have a special place in this world and must cherish each and every moment as if it were the last. Do not take anything for granted lest ye fall victim to it, by "default".
A lame new years resolution, but the only one you can be certain I will not procrastinate on.
My day job versus my passion
When I was younger I had a mother that encouraged me to participate in every single sport one can imagine. I experienced a year of soccer, a year of basketball, swimming, volleyball, biking, violin playing, chess, and finally baseball. I tried them all, and while I can’t say I hated them all, I didn’t find any fire, soul, energy, will, or passion in them. I actually put my foot down and insisted baseball was the last one after getting slugged in the stomach. No, I’m not a quitter, but the air being knocked out of me for what seemed like an eternity got me thinking about what I liked and didn’t like, and who I didn’t want to be in the future.
After awhile her energies focused on the academic drive. I was sent to bible school to learn about religion and how it intertwined with my education at the public school, forced to attend certain classes at the school in order to get an even more rounded education than the school was already putting on me. As the years passed, I saw kids passing by me with goals, and that fire, soul, energy, will, and passion. You could pick out those that were going somewhere, and most definitely pick out those that were taking the fast track backwards.
I was somewhere in the middle. I certainly wasn’t a troublemaker (although my friends tell me that during Kindergarten I choked a chicken to death, and I mean literally…), but I also didn’t have any fire, soul, energy, will, or passion inside of me, or so I thought at the time. What I didn’t realize is that passion was standing me right in the face, everywhere I went. I couldn’t get away from it. Its power over me was so daunting and so close, that I didn’t realize what it truly was. That distant, yet close relationship with my passion began to change when I entered college.
College was a time of exploration beyond what my parents confined me to do. After getting a chance to work several jobs near my home, dabble in creative elements that I chose for myself, nothing really manifested as an obvious passion. However, what did manifest itself was the fact that my true passion was already there, and simply waiting for me to push aside all of the debris that was in the way of identifying it. And after twenty eight years of existence, I have finally been working towards that passion, which is found to be in game development.
Yawn, stretch, snooze… Who cares about those unimportant toys, right? “You should get a good job, a steady job, work for the rest of your life in a place that ensures you can retire happily knowing someone is wiping your ass for you instead of having to do it for yourself.” My dad said to me once, more or less in that way. It took my mother five years to understand that I wasn’t simply hiding in the basement wasting my time playing computer games, but was actually working online through a company that reported about computer games. “Sorry mom, I’m working right now”, as I watched a blank stare cross her face.
My day job is my passion. How many people in the world have that kind of luxury? Yet here I am, typing in my weekly blog, getting ready for the Penny Arcade Expo 2008 (PAX), and thinking about flying off to Europe in a month or two to see what the European side of the game industry is all about. I’ve already touched upon the Asian industry after spending a year teaching English in China.
I want to see the whole world and understand the passion that hides in the minds of developers and how it manifests itself as 1’s and 0’s on a computer. And most importantly, how I can fit in and work together in a team to show my mother that fire, soul, energy, will, and passion, when present, are to be respected and cared for over simple security. Without these things, what is the point of having any security at all?
The game industry is my security. And I have my mother and family to thank for supporting me on a path that has led to it, despite their initial expectations. I couldn't have done it without them.
After awhile her energies focused on the academic drive. I was sent to bible school to learn about religion and how it intertwined with my education at the public school, forced to attend certain classes at the school in order to get an even more rounded education than the school was already putting on me. As the years passed, I saw kids passing by me with goals, and that fire, soul, energy, will, and passion. You could pick out those that were going somewhere, and most definitely pick out those that were taking the fast track backwards.
I was somewhere in the middle. I certainly wasn’t a troublemaker (although my friends tell me that during Kindergarten I choked a chicken to death, and I mean literally…), but I also didn’t have any fire, soul, energy, will, or passion inside of me, or so I thought at the time. What I didn’t realize is that passion was standing me right in the face, everywhere I went. I couldn’t get away from it. Its power over me was so daunting and so close, that I didn’t realize what it truly was. That distant, yet close relationship with my passion began to change when I entered college.
College was a time of exploration beyond what my parents confined me to do. After getting a chance to work several jobs near my home, dabble in creative elements that I chose for myself, nothing really manifested as an obvious passion. However, what did manifest itself was the fact that my true passion was already there, and simply waiting for me to push aside all of the debris that was in the way of identifying it. And after twenty eight years of existence, I have finally been working towards that passion, which is found to be in game development.
Yawn, stretch, snooze… Who cares about those unimportant toys, right? “You should get a good job, a steady job, work for the rest of your life in a place that ensures you can retire happily knowing someone is wiping your ass for you instead of having to do it for yourself.” My dad said to me once, more or less in that way. It took my mother five years to understand that I wasn’t simply hiding in the basement wasting my time playing computer games, but was actually working online through a company that reported about computer games. “Sorry mom, I’m working right now”, as I watched a blank stare cross her face.
My day job is my passion. How many people in the world have that kind of luxury? Yet here I am, typing in my weekly blog, getting ready for the Penny Arcade Expo 2008 (PAX), and thinking about flying off to Europe in a month or two to see what the European side of the game industry is all about. I’ve already touched upon the Asian industry after spending a year teaching English in China.
I want to see the whole world and understand the passion that hides in the minds of developers and how it manifests itself as 1’s and 0’s on a computer. And most importantly, how I can fit in and work together in a team to show my mother that fire, soul, energy, will, and passion, when present, are to be respected and cared for over simple security. Without these things, what is the point of having any security at all?
The game industry is my security. And I have my mother and family to thank for supporting me on a path that has led to it, despite their initial expectations. I couldn't have done it without them.
There is no place like home
"There is no place like home", Dorothy Gale said in the Wizard of Oz. She also said something along the lines of, "Where am I? I must be dreaming".
I've said both of those phrases to myself over the past year as I've traveled throughout Asia and taught English in Shenzhen, China. Several times I would be walking down the street and I would see something weird, stupid, funny, strange, or I would simply be walking and suddenly realize really where I am and say quietly to myself, "Where am I again?". It was a nice reminder, a "pinch" on the skin if you will, that I wasn't just dreaming this adventure I seemed to be experiencing.
For the years before I came to China I had a fairly elementary life that was consistent, positive, and most important it was enjoyable. China helped me to grow beyond what I had already accomplished in life beyond my wildest expectations. I've learned a lot and helped others to grow as well, all in the span of one year.
The next question for myself must be, "Where am I going?". Living in the here-and-now is important, as we can't change the past nor can we for sure predict and conquer the future. Still, one must properly prepare and assess as best as they can what the next step should be. That is the stage I am currently at. I am home from China, ready for the next challenge and experience that awaits for my decision to act upon it.
If you are interested in reviewing my adventures you need only read the rest of this blog, view video clips on my YouTube site, photos on my Facebook site, or contact me and ask questions. I have a lot of stories to share so don't be shy!
I've said both of those phrases to myself over the past year as I've traveled throughout Asia and taught English in Shenzhen, China. Several times I would be walking down the street and I would see something weird, stupid, funny, strange, or I would simply be walking and suddenly realize really where I am and say quietly to myself, "Where am I again?". It was a nice reminder, a "pinch" on the skin if you will, that I wasn't just dreaming this adventure I seemed to be experiencing.
For the years before I came to China I had a fairly elementary life that was consistent, positive, and most important it was enjoyable. China helped me to grow beyond what I had already accomplished in life beyond my wildest expectations. I've learned a lot and helped others to grow as well, all in the span of one year.
The next question for myself must be, "Where am I going?". Living in the here-and-now is important, as we can't change the past nor can we for sure predict and conquer the future. Still, one must properly prepare and assess as best as they can what the next step should be. That is the stage I am currently at. I am home from China, ready for the next challenge and experience that awaits for my decision to act upon it.
If you are interested in reviewing my adventures you need only read the rest of this blog, view video clips on my YouTube site, photos on my Facebook site, or contact me and ask questions. I have a lot of stories to share so don't be shy!
The birth of worlds not by gas, dust, nor gravity, but by imagination
When I was in High School I had arranged my schedule as much as possible to include as many study halls as I could. This wasn't because I was lazy and found ways to skip afternoon school hours (although that did happen on occasion), or that I needed more time than most for studying purposes. I spent that time very wisely in my view, by reading as much as I could about anything and everything that I could get my hands on that wasn't necessarily school related itself. While Scientific American magazines and USA Today newspapers fulfilled my appetite for non-fictional news updates, there was another form that I always needed to read that wasn't considered as real or tangible.
It was the stories and lives of fictional characters from a good book. I would read a book every day for hours on end, wanting to find out where the characters adventured to next in their world and what they would encounter there. Fantasy and Science Fiction were my favorite genres. It wasn't the real world I wanted to read about the most, as that is somewhat predictable and more easily defined, but instead it was the fantasy world. My imagination led me on adventures right alongside the heroes and villains I read about. They sometimes were written in such detail that they might as well have been from a real world. Perhaps not our own, but a world out there somewhere in the universe. When I am entrenched in a fictional book you cannot pull me away, for I am living that world, a world that had no beginning nor end but continued on for as long as I wanted it to.
Later on I discovered the magic of computer games and eventually games that allowed me to play with others from around the world. Even with such an interactive tool at my finger tips, computer games will never completely replace the books I read. Still, the computer brought the visual element into play, which was something books can never do. For the first time I could optically create a creature portrayed in one of the books I read and lead him directly along a path to a great city deep in some magical forest, or guide him through a searing desert on a quest to slay a terrible beast that resides deep underground. I could see my imagination unfolding before me. That experience added just enough of an additional piece of realism to a world that never could be fully realized, but had enough in it to be satisfying.
Bringing the real world and the fantasy worlds together under one community truly began with MMORPGs. While single player games were enough to satisfy a more linear and direct, not to mention lonely experience, it was the MMORPGs that gave me the unpredictable yet controllable experience that you can have when adventuring in a world that is artificial and contains thousands of players just like yourself. It is a world where characters are not controlled by the computer, which just give you static responses that don't have any true meaning. It is a world controlled by humans, and as well all know humans are as unpredictable and chaotic as any creatures we've ever created in our imaginations.
My career, my goals and what is really the heart of all I want to be and have become so far all point to creating the worlds founded from my imagination in the form of interactive media. To be able to imagine something and then to further develop that something into a tangible and positive experience not just for yourself but for hundreds of thousands of others I feel is at the heart of what it is to be human. It doesn't matter if you are creating a new treatment to cure cancer, designing a safer and more fuel efficient automobile, discovering new ways to increase world food output... or creating fictional worlds that raise the inspiration and imagination of others who play them.
It was the stories and lives of fictional characters from a good book. I would read a book every day for hours on end, wanting to find out where the characters adventured to next in their world and what they would encounter there. Fantasy and Science Fiction were my favorite genres. It wasn't the real world I wanted to read about the most, as that is somewhat predictable and more easily defined, but instead it was the fantasy world. My imagination led me on adventures right alongside the heroes and villains I read about. They sometimes were written in such detail that they might as well have been from a real world. Perhaps not our own, but a world out there somewhere in the universe. When I am entrenched in a fictional book you cannot pull me away, for I am living that world, a world that had no beginning nor end but continued on for as long as I wanted it to.
Later on I discovered the magic of computer games and eventually games that allowed me to play with others from around the world. Even with such an interactive tool at my finger tips, computer games will never completely replace the books I read. Still, the computer brought the visual element into play, which was something books can never do. For the first time I could optically create a creature portrayed in one of the books I read and lead him directly along a path to a great city deep in some magical forest, or guide him through a searing desert on a quest to slay a terrible beast that resides deep underground. I could see my imagination unfolding before me. That experience added just enough of an additional piece of realism to a world that never could be fully realized, but had enough in it to be satisfying.
Bringing the real world and the fantasy worlds together under one community truly began with MMORPGs. While single player games were enough to satisfy a more linear and direct, not to mention lonely experience, it was the MMORPGs that gave me the unpredictable yet controllable experience that you can have when adventuring in a world that is artificial and contains thousands of players just like yourself. It is a world where characters are not controlled by the computer, which just give you static responses that don't have any true meaning. It is a world controlled by humans, and as well all know humans are as unpredictable and chaotic as any creatures we've ever created in our imaginations.
My career, my goals and what is really the heart of all I want to be and have become so far all point to creating the worlds founded from my imagination in the form of interactive media. To be able to imagine something and then to further develop that something into a tangible and positive experience not just for yourself but for hundreds of thousands of others I feel is at the heart of what it is to be human. It doesn't matter if you are creating a new treatment to cure cancer, designing a safer and more fuel efficient automobile, discovering new ways to increase world food output... or creating fictional worlds that raise the inspiration and imagination of others who play them.
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