So tired

The good jobs just doesn't last long enough. I'm so tired of a really long commutes for poor pay to work with unpleasant people. More blog posting will hopefully come with the next job.

Finally, J-I-T (Just in Time)

So, this morning I was having another horrible, awful day that is typical of my days at work now. Called into my Boss' office so he could yell at me, someone had called him and yelled at him accusing me of something and he wasn't interested in hearing anything about it from me. I don't want to go into details of all the petty politicing, rumormongering, lies, and backstabbing which go on at this place. It has the worst office politics by far of all the places I've worked at.

I was fed up and hit the "I don't give a care anymore" breaking point because I knew my superiors didn't care about my performance so much as just trying to forge paperwork to pass an audit next week... which they're almost certain to fail... again.

Well to make this quick after all this and being in a foul mood all through the afternoon I called home this evening. A recruiter had contacted me in my email and was trying to reach me to make me a job offer at a place I'd really like to work at. So this hell job is over and my whole family can go back to living a less stressful and more normal life.

I've been smiling all evening ^_^

Tis' da Suck!

New crazy work schedule and insane work politics is keeping me away from my blog. I've got a 3-day holiday weekend with the 4th of July coming up though and I hope to finally get back to properly posting again and finish a video I've had mostly done for ages.

Hopefully this weekend will bring less whining and more gaming. But it will probably just bring more of both.

The Insanity of it all!

Wow, time has flown. Two weeks ago yesterday I was told I didn't need to come back the rest of the week for my job due to a lack of production. Then I was let go on that wednesday and the same day got an interview for a new job. I had expected to be let go soon and have some unemployment but I got whirlwinded a week ago on monday into a new job. The new job surprised me by having me work 5 back to back days of 12 hour shifts. It is also now a 40 minute commute instead of my old 5 minute commute. So I was expecting to have a ton of time for Anima Tactics week but instead had next to none.

It also just in general sapped me of energy as I'm spending most of my working time on my feet. But the hard part has to be coming home to kids just screaming all the time. Just at the drop of a hat my 3 year old can't do something and decides to act like a 2 year old screaming at the top of her lungs and thrashing on the floor. It feels like I'm a character in the game Arkham Horror failing their sanity check against a Wailing Byakhee and going insane about ready to be committed to the asylum. Now I can understand more what H.P. Lovecraft was writing about with gibbering monsters and bad dreams taking the sanity away from grown men.

Too bad about the employment thing, my sanity could use a vacation I'm not going to be allowed to take.

I want to see more "Intensity"

Okay, I had a total "Office Space" moment with my manager at work today. But first some background on the situation is required to understand it:

I perform my main function very well, am very punctual and in general try to be professional as I always do. The main issue they really have with me is my speed at my secondary tasks, where speed is really all they value. Now I've been a Quality Assurance guy for many years now, I'm professionally certified and excel at those positions. I started at this company as a QA Tech and when I was the #2 pick for the permanent position I got to train my replacement and production decided to take me for my current position. So like anyone else you might know in a QA department I take pride in making my work as flawless as possible... but not as speedy. I've been this way for years and in my next permanent position I'm certain it will be an asset. But when I'm doing secondary tasks rather than my primary function it is clearly a liability and I understand this. I'm also making more as a temp (because my one requirement for agreeing to transfer over was that I keep my pay rate) that most of the permanent workers doing these jobs.

If they let me go yesterday I won't have worried one bit, I rather would have celebrated because the stress level is ridiculous. So when my Manager pulls me aside today I expect some rather legitimate talk either about needing to speed up or him having to let me go or whatever.

Instead I get his talk about how I'm not "Intense" enough about my work as he watches me and how he wants to see more "Intensity" from me. He explains to me that in his long time there he used to invent games out of doing his work to make it more exciting and create new challenges. I think my only puzzled response was "... Intensity???" He went on to talk about it like the job should be some kind of extreme sport (which is Ironic considering he is a GOLF fanatic... how unextreme can you get?)

I realized quickly I wasn't suited for this job after I started it. I'm used to working in casual business attire, button-up shirts and slacks and I'm now working with a crew of T-shirts and slacks. I usually am sitting either in a cubicle or in a lab doing analytical work and now I'm standing all day mostly doing work of a the manual dexterity sort which I just don't have. I've got short, thick fingers that don't play guitar well and aren't good for speedy manual assembly (but I guess I impressed my coworkers by twisting cables with my fingers that I guess everybody has to use pliers for) I'm a "Professional Perfectionist" as my online resume says trying to work in an area where "Blitz speed" should be their motto. I don't think even my Manager has a college degree, let alone anyone else in my department and I've got a Bachelor's in a scientific field. I'm the guy who this morning when one of the computers in our area wouldn't boot up I fixed it before they could even finish finding the phone number to call IT.

So, yeah I'm not exactly a good fit. I'm going to give it my professional best however and try to meet their goals because professional (Not "Intense") is what I consider myself. Furthermore, I couldn't quit if I wanted to because I'd make myself ineligible for my unemployment (from a previous employeer and not them).

So hopefully they'll realize they need to let me go soon and I'll write more blogs about gaming rather than complaining about work. Because if I can't take getting much more "Office Space'd" and keep my sanity.

I Descend!

Got a new game to play with sometime soon!



In other news... work sucks again. I didn't get the permanent position where I was working and was replaced. Luckily or unluckily I was requested for transfer to production where I work. I spend half my time as a Tester, and the other half doing odds and ends no-skill tasks for a lot more than minimum wage. So I spend half the time being appreciated and the other half being constantly too slow and overpaid. So I hate half my job but there isn't much I can do about it right now. The economy isn't picking up THAT much yet that I can tell. I think for sanity's sake I'm going to be trying really hard to find a new job anyways.

Blog forecast: Increasingly posty

Well, the bad news is in. I didn't get the permanent position at the place where I've been temping for several months. Despite having my entire department and the leads of several other departments trying to pressure my manager into hiring me he went with someone else. I don't know why, and I'm not going to sweat over it. I'm disappointed, but I'll survive on unemployment if it comes to it. So if I am indeed back on unemployment next month you can expect a lot more posts and videos from me. I've spent the last couple nights hunting for my lost Anima: Beyond Fantasy RPG book when I'd rather have been making a video. With the prospect of unemployment I can't afford to replace it and losing stuff like that is driving me crazy.

Either way I expect to get my review of Arkham Horror and showing off the two models I painted this month up on youtube.

January Fog

Seems I forgot a few follow-up things. First of all, for those tracking my career. For the big job I really want right now my resume got advanced a tier and has been submitted to a hiring manager who I'm hoping will call for an interview this week. It would be really good news since it looks like now more than ever my job will expire at the end of the month. I've taken a leave of absence from LotRO due to it.

Did I forget to followup my Christmas wish list? Two of the things I wanted I got:

* Ramlar: Lost City of Grynix (available as PDF only)
* Hirst Arts molds for terrain making

and I've been making a lot of major Hirst arts terrain pieces. Expect some big set pictures before summer. I also got the lost city of Grynix, but we're still foraying into D&D 4th edition right now. It is ... interesting. More because of insight into the people that play it, the whole thing is still 90% combat and combat is 80% rolling the dice. It seems like most of the game could play itself. Grynix looks interesting and and seems like a very nice setting for Ramlar. I like how the adventure or campaign setting books add special material for players that isn't in rulebooks. It makes for some nice surprises.

My birthday is coming up in a couple weeks, and we'll see what else I get.

Anyone have any thoughts to post on The World of Darkness? I've never tried it but we're looking at trying the new Changeling RPG at some point. Might this be a decent new game for someone who is a die hard fan of Shadowrun 3?

Not very gaming related

Well, my intent had been to mainly post about Ramlar and do a final review of Card Sharp. My opinion of the adventure hasn't changed much, but I should stress I do still really like many of the mechanics of the game. My group is taking a break from Ramlar and we'll be doing more Arkham Horror and giving D&D 4th edition a shake (I'm not a D&D fan, but others are and it would make an interesting comparison to Ramlar).

Also, a word of warning. I'm applying for a job with a local game development company and if I get the position then my posting about computer games will become heavily curtailed or cease entirely. Wish me luck, I really want the job both because of it being a good gaming company and because my current job runs out soon anyways.

So hmm, can't talk about the RPG I've been playing. Can't talk about the minis game I've been playing, can't talk about computer games. So I'll talk about a recent pet peeve... Data Mining. Some sites have been data mining this blog for my personal info. If I really wanted your company to try and find out who I really am, I'd post that information publicly wouldn't I? On the other hand, my email address Thesallust@gmail.com is not that big a secret, feel free to at least get that part correct with the corporate world's attempts to know everything about us.

Finally, if you don't want to hear about war in the middle east stop reading NOW.

Urban warfare is interesting, but I'm very glad I've never experienced it first hand. It isn't gaming related, but this is my blog so I want to bring up some pet peeves as someone who has lived in the Middle East and is sick of current news coverage. The words "Disproportionate attack" are an oxymoron in any real war. What war was ever conducted with the expectation that both sides would fight exactly the same? This isn't some sparring match, war is simply not ever "proportionate". Stop using the words "Amateur Rockets", there is nothing amateur about them. The exact rockets being used are pictured below:

Those amateur rockets come loaded with shrapnel, ball bearings, and carry enough explosive to blow out an office floor.

It seems to me the press has decided not to support Palestinians and not to support Israel but to actively support Hamas.


Hamas has been dropping rockets on Southern Israel for years... ever since they stopped occupying the Gaza strip with settlers in fact. They launched the rockets because they had to further to find Jews to kill and no matter what happens, they will continue reaching out to kill Jews however they can. This organization is worse than Nazis, they just lack the power and effectiveness of them. For the record, the civillian casaulaties while taking out the Nazis % wise and number wise were far, far worse. Hordes of innocent civillian germans lost their lives and they weren't even used as human shields.

Case in point to both, in just the last week Hamas has proudly announced executing over 30 members of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza. The English news isn't covering it, but they've covered it in the Middle East and Palestine and sadly nobody cares. Oh, and Gazans starving to death? it isn't news, Hamas has been starving people and depriving them of food, water, electricity and everything else since they took control. But the press will ignore THAT because Hamas tells them the enemy is -> that way.

There is no freedom of the press in the middle east. Egyptian and Israeli press come the closest, but even they have government censors who can stop things from going to print. The press in Gaza is directly controlled by Hamas, no reported allowed without escort "Stringers" and the PA directly controls all press companies in the West Bank. I would think the press would finally acknowledge their failures from Jenin where they broadcast a fake massacre and faked funerals as fact and we're later caught on film hundreds of deaths when it barely broke double digits. Then just 2.5 years ago faked photographs of Israeli damage in Lebanon. Doesn't anyone remember the photoshopped smoke clouds over Beirut? or the same woman throwing her arms up in anger at having lost her house... the same woman in 12 different regions of Lebanon?

The worst part is Militia "police" executioners that kill dozens of "collaborators" a week. It is why there are so many rockets fired from rooftops and such. If you don't allow them to, then you can be shot as a "collaborator". It also makes it easier for them to get dead bodies for photo shoots of destroyed areas. I recommend the Palestinian directed movie "Paradise Now" which talks about Suicide Bombers. I won't give it away, but it is a great glimpse into Palestinian life and the motivations over there.

But I could fill a library with what westerners don't know about the middle east and I'm not even a native of the region.

I'd like to thank and remember all my friends from over there. I miss my Lebanese floormates who used to play board games on the Sabbath to alleviate the boredom caused by a lack of transportation. You guys gave me wonderful insight and words of wisdom while playing chess... "What we have here is a total seperation between the sexes... (pause) ... it sucks:

To my Palestinian friends, probably still doing guard work on the border. I hope you've learned not to depend on words learned from watching R rated american films. (15 minutes lost trying to figure out how to explain the hilarity without offending some of my readers... don't think I can do it).

To my Israeli friends, sending you some better movies your way from my country this last summer. I really miss getting pulled over and "arrested", but I'm married now as a result of living over there and my wife wouldn't approve. In no other country has getting interrogated by female security/police/military officers been so much fun... in fact it is the only country it has been any fun in at all.

Yes, I spent a lot of time back then being pulled over for long talks with security guards. I developed a nice little nickname on both sides of the security border from my fun (and I'm not using that sarcasticaly) chats to ease the boredom of guards. It still puts a smile on my face that every guard on both sides of the border knew the nickname you gave me.

"Son of Unabomber" out

Gaming, Politics, Working

Woo Hoo!

I'm still unemployed and gaming. I've had one interview and have another one soonish here. Honestly until August is over I don't care if I have a job or not though, it is great just being able to get up in the morning and see my children happy that I'm here and have some time to game or do other things going out and enjoying life.

So in case you haven't noticed, there is a political election going on here in the U.S. Have you been to Game Politics? Apparently the last game Obama played was Pong. I find it amazing that using a crackberry is enough to create generational appeal. But at least all the virulently anti-fun politicians didn't make it through the primaries. No word yet on what the last game McCain played was, the Political Machine wouldn't count though. No, these issues aren't too serious on my list of voting issues but you needed a good distraction from all the regular political news right about now right?

Another local player (Scott) and I have been giving VOR the old beatdown. I've certainly had fun playing with some new figures that I haven't been able to play with before. Lately we've been giving vehicles some beat down, you can see one of our vehicle missions pictured. The results of which are over on the bioplazm forums. Between VOR, Anima, and Arkham I've just about given up electronic gaming. I've taken the time to be the latest campaign on the second Galactic Civilizations expansion and created the Pharon and Golem enemy races in honor of VOR.

My wife and I played Shadowrun 4th edition at a game store recently. I've been very critical of it but hadn't given it an actual play. I had fun in that it resembled Shadowrun but I found it full of a lot of unnecessary mechanics changes and downright annoying changes to the story or "fluff" of the game. This next weekend I'm hoping to get a good old game of 3rd edition in, I still keep hearing about other old 3rd edition players who don't like the new edition either.

The reason I expect to be able to play 3rd edition is because I'm going to the Dragon Flight convention in Bellevue, Washington to demo Anima: Tactics. I was going to do it for my friendly local game store, but I also got accepted into Cipher Studious (the manufacturers of Anima: Tactics) program for Free Agents. Which means I'll be helping with demoing the game a lot locally, helping with conventions and tournaments and in exchange I hope to get some interesting little rewards to show off on the blog here someday. Just today I demo'd the game to 3 guys who were in the game store and hope to get a regular game night actively going. This weekend I'll be demoing at the Dragon Flight convention and I'll be having some games at PAX. Since $40-$50 is a full army for this game, there is no reason not to pick it up if you're already playing other war games.

Digital gaming again

So mmorpg.com this weekend gave me a nice trial of Tabula Rasa which I played for 3 days and enjoyed. Reminds me of some of the good days of Half-Life mixed with a little mmo level grind.

If I had time I might sub for a month or two, though I have no delusions about it staying interesting long term. I tried the beta a long time ago and it was too buggy to think about getting at release. Now I just find there weren't enough new people to do any instances and I only teamed twice in many hours of playing. Still it was a nice change of pace.

I also spent a good portion of my memorial weekend working on terrain, and a little bit of it doing painting and basing of Vor miniatures for a Golden Growler contest. The Golden Growler is a trophy that goes to the best figure painted. I look enviously at my wife's Growler Chieftain and I'm sure she must have a decent chance at winning. Myself I just love showing off and so I'll submit something anyways. I really wish doing a lot more social gaming like Arkham Horror or miniatures because the easiest way to game with others these days is definitely from my computer. It just lacks the comraderie and isn't nearly as fun as playing with others in person, but alas I won't fail my responsibilities as a parent.

On an amusing note my boss who just chewed me out for being unreliable didn't show up to work last week, and I guess isn't going to be in this week either. In fact I'm probably going to be temporarily reassigned to work under someone else. The next person I should report to is on the other coast of this continent and they don't want to manage my work remotely... I wouldn't want that job either! So it looks like the next couple weeks will be a little less stressed out for me. But I'll still be looking for new work. Maybe with a little pressure off I'll fit in a game somewhere this week of the face to face kind.

Ah, good old table top gaming. Nothing is a substitute for it!

Seattle bound

Well changes at my place of employment are starting to suck. After being chewed out by a new manager for being too much of a family man despite getting all my assigned projects done [b]ahead[/b] of schedule. I'm "unreliable" by which my current manager means predictability and unambitious is better than an employee who gets results. I like to teams, efficiency and achievable goals, not just punch a clock for 40 hours a week so this is kind of tough for me. So since my wife and I have discussed moving to Seattle this has kind of clinched it and we're definitely planning on making the move back to my northern stomping ground.

So I guess this hopefully means I should have no excuse to miss PAX08 this year! Unfortunately it is too late for Vor 2.0 to be part of the PAX 10. I still look forward to meeting the Turbine crew again and razzing them, free stuff, new games to see, and most of all this year hopefully getting in a good tournament of Anima: Tactics and finding Vor players to play against.

In the meantime I'm hoping to get down and finish up some of the many terrain projects we have floating around. I've finished up most of my models but have way too much terrain in an incomplete state. I hope to get some of it down and have some pictures before my next post. Which is kind of easy since I decide when I will post. Mwa ha ha! Any bets on when?