Friday, October 19, 2012
EXTRA LIFE THIS WEEKEND!
That's right! Last night I finally reached my goal for this year's Extra Life event (and a HUGE THANK YOU to this year's donators! ^_^) and am now prepping for tomorrow's festivities.
Going into my second year, I'll be missing the absence of my partner-in-crime Stealthy as she now lives in a new state, but I have no doubt we'll still connect and play some games together! :) Included I got the best support ever from the Mister who will be joining alongside me for a good portion of the event so be sure to check out the following info below! If you'd like to join me in game, keep your eyes peeled for the following toons and where you can catch all the action while streaming online periodically!
Extra Life 2012 Game of Choice: World of Warcraft
Tentative Schedule *times are subject to change at any point*
12:00am - 6:00amEST - Leveling to 90 on my hunter, Alicara
6:00am - 12:00pmEST - Leveling a Horde Warlock with Loganowitz
12:00pm - 1:00pmEST - LUNCH BREAK (Games on le iPhone)
1:00pm - 7:00pmEST - Leveling a Horde Warlock with Loganowitz
7:00pm - 8:00pmEST - DINNER BREAK (Games on le iPhone)
8:00pm - 12:00amEST - League of Legends and SW:TOR FREE-FOR-ALL ^_^
You can find me in game all day tomorrow on the following toons:
Alicara (BM / MM Hunter on US-Ner'zhul)
Alicara (Demonology Warlock on US-Drenden)
(If you'd like to join in a party on either toon, please shoot an in game whisper or add me on RealID at: Alicara#1678
Plus I hope to get the stream up and running for a bulk of the day so bookmark these streams!
Loganowitz's Twitch Page
Alicara's Twitch Page
Thanks again everyone for your support and contributions this year! Let's have a blast! ^_^
Thursday, October 11, 2012
A Story About A Boy and His Mount
So... I'm not even sure where to start.
Last night following my usual workout I took a quick breather post workout to grab some water and get ready for my shower. As usual I popped on Facebook, but something was off. I kept seeing updates from old high school colleagues saying "Rest In Peace" and "I'm so sorry. You didn't have to do this." Both confused and scared I realized my worries were true. One of my old friends from high school took his own life.
It was about a year and a half ago when we reconnected via Facebook. In high school me, him and our friends were the token geek squad chatting up metal bands and anime while all going to local area shows together. We were misunderstood by the general populous, but it didn't matter to us; we were happy regardless if we were different. So to hear him reach out again after all these years was Nostalgiafest. We laughed over the realization that a fight in Dragonball Z could stretch across 7 episodes, the Undertaker was still 19-0, and we discovered that we both had a new found hobby: WoW.
He was Kounoashi, a Blood Elf Death Knight that loved tackling raid content on Draka. He was an amazing tank that fell in love with his weekly ICC runs, and proudly wore his Kingslayer title for all the work he put into it. He would always poke and make jabs towards my beloved Alicara since I never hid my pride as both a Night Elf Death Knight and a PvPer. So in short? We talked smack about which elf race was the superior Elf race but it was always in good jest. Truly, it made me laugh. It was a shock to hear last night that I lost a friend in both real life and in the Ebon Blade, but when you hear about someone committing suicide so many questions run through your head. "Why did he do it? Didn't he know he could turn to me? Was there something more I could've done?" No matter how much I sobbed on the phone with Logan, I couldn't find comfort.
Then, I saw a message in my Facebook inbox. It was from his guildmate. I left a comment on Kounoashi's page referencing my Death Knight, and so the guildmate put two and two together and reached out. He knew of me and Alicara in hearsay from Kounoashi, and he knew the epic smack talk that would go down on RealID. He didn't know we went to high school together and offered his sympathies. Rather than focusing on what had occurred though and dwelling in sadness, he told me what he knew about him and his life in Azeroth. He shared funny anecdotes about the months they ran through ICC and Kounoashi's bitter hatred for soul reaper and defile in phase 3. He told me about the drawings he would show him of his Death Knight drawn as an anime character. He shared with me the day Kounoashi excitedly got online because after months and months of farming, he finally achieved a landmark in the game and received the Reins of the Raven Lord. It was without a doubt his favorite mount.
After we chuckled over the tales and reminiscing on the good times he wanted to let me know that despite the unfortunate news of losing a good friend the questions that keep running through my head will never truly be answered. The wounds are raw and won't heal right away, but remember Kounoashi the way he would have wanted to be remembered. For his friendly disposition and constant willingness to help out others; that's what they'll remember him for and strive to do in his absence. It felt good knowing that guildies---- people who never met him face-to-face and were complete strangers to me see the same kindness that I've known him for for years. He also suggested that while it won't bring him back, but maybe I should start farming for the Raven Lord myself for the mount drop. Maybe working as hard as he did for it, it'll just be a friendly reminder that he'll never be far away. I think it's a good idea as well. When I muster up the confidence to log back in (it's just too hard to do right now) that'll be my challenge.
We exchanged RealID info, and promised to keep in touch. For as big as the WoW community is, I'll never forget that guildmate and his words of encouragement and I thank him so much for going out of his way for someone he barely knows. He, Logan and my close friends back home are really helping me get through this. It won't be better overnight and it'll take some time to fully grieve, but for as long as I remember Kounoashi and the good times we shared, it'll be okay.
Shorel'aran Kounoashi....
Last night following my usual workout I took a quick breather post workout to grab some water and get ready for my shower. As usual I popped on Facebook, but something was off. I kept seeing updates from old high school colleagues saying "Rest In Peace" and "I'm so sorry. You didn't have to do this." Both confused and scared I realized my worries were true. One of my old friends from high school took his own life.
It was about a year and a half ago when we reconnected via Facebook. In high school me, him and our friends were the token geek squad chatting up metal bands and anime while all going to local area shows together. We were misunderstood by the general populous, but it didn't matter to us; we were happy regardless if we were different. So to hear him reach out again after all these years was Nostalgiafest. We laughed over the realization that a fight in Dragonball Z could stretch across 7 episodes, the Undertaker was still 19-0, and we discovered that we both had a new found hobby: WoW.
He was Kounoashi, a Blood Elf Death Knight that loved tackling raid content on Draka. He was an amazing tank that fell in love with his weekly ICC runs, and proudly wore his Kingslayer title for all the work he put into it. He would always poke and make jabs towards my beloved Alicara since I never hid my pride as both a Night Elf Death Knight and a PvPer. So in short? We talked smack about which elf race was the superior Elf race but it was always in good jest. Truly, it made me laugh. It was a shock to hear last night that I lost a friend in both real life and in the Ebon Blade, but when you hear about someone committing suicide so many questions run through your head. "Why did he do it? Didn't he know he could turn to me? Was there something more I could've done?" No matter how much I sobbed on the phone with Logan, I couldn't find comfort.
Then, I saw a message in my Facebook inbox. It was from his guildmate. I left a comment on Kounoashi's page referencing my Death Knight, and so the guildmate put two and two together and reached out. He knew of me and Alicara in hearsay from Kounoashi, and he knew the epic smack talk that would go down on RealID. He didn't know we went to high school together and offered his sympathies. Rather than focusing on what had occurred though and dwelling in sadness, he told me what he knew about him and his life in Azeroth. He shared funny anecdotes about the months they ran through ICC and Kounoashi's bitter hatred for soul reaper and defile in phase 3. He told me about the drawings he would show him of his Death Knight drawn as an anime character. He shared with me the day Kounoashi excitedly got online because after months and months of farming, he finally achieved a landmark in the game and received the Reins of the Raven Lord. It was without a doubt his favorite mount.
After we chuckled over the tales and reminiscing on the good times he wanted to let me know that despite the unfortunate news of losing a good friend the questions that keep running through my head will never truly be answered. The wounds are raw and won't heal right away, but remember Kounoashi the way he would have wanted to be remembered. For his friendly disposition and constant willingness to help out others; that's what they'll remember him for and strive to do in his absence. It felt good knowing that guildies---- people who never met him face-to-face and were complete strangers to me see the same kindness that I've known him for for years. He also suggested that while it won't bring him back, but maybe I should start farming for the Raven Lord myself for the mount drop. Maybe working as hard as he did for it, it'll just be a friendly reminder that he'll never be far away. I think it's a good idea as well. When I muster up the confidence to log back in (it's just too hard to do right now) that'll be my challenge.
We exchanged RealID info, and promised to keep in touch. For as big as the WoW community is, I'll never forget that guildmate and his words of encouragement and I thank him so much for going out of his way for someone he barely knows. He, Logan and my close friends back home are really helping me get through this. It won't be better overnight and it'll take some time to fully grieve, but for as long as I remember Kounoashi and the good times we shared, it'll be okay.
Shorel'aran Kounoashi....
Friday, September 28, 2012
Channeling my Inner Zen
So to give a quick update since the launch of Mists of Pandaria, let me give you a breakdown of the evening. With snacks in tow, Red Bulls awaiting their duty, and a full blown nap prior to 3:00am EST I was supremely ready to jump right into live once MoP became available. With the Mister giving me the rundown of what was needed for me to begin the power grind to 90 on my hunter, I think it's safe to say that nothing prepared me for the unexpected turn of events that went down those first few hours on live.
Truly as a team, me and the Mister are great. Couple that with THOUSANDS of people rushing to get into Pandaria and that left me with a lot of frustration on myself and no view to take down a Horde ship for a quest. I have to give credit where credit is due though; the beginning of the level grind from 85-86 with Logan was amazing as he has the patience of a saint. He kept behind with me to make sure I got the materials needed for quests, was my knight in shining armor when ganking became a heavy handed issue (oh PvP realms how I both love and loathe you) and was excellent at keeping me motivated to keep going. It just wasn't meant to be though. Countless ganks and tagging competitively to get the credit for the quests took its toll on me, and the white flag came up after about 4 hours. I wanted to enjoy the new expansion, but power grinding levels just wasn't in my heart. Plus when your boyfriend is the raid leader of the guild? Well you don't want to hold him back. He's got to get to 90 and then jump into heroics so he can gear up in time for raid in the coming days. So we made a quick change of plans; I told him to keep going because I knew he had it in him to run 24 hours sans sleep to get what he needs accomplished (and sure enough he leveled to 90 in 26 hours I believe. That's my baby <3). In the meantime I was going to fold for a few hours, nap, and then get right back into the game from another angle.
Fast forward to 6 hours later. I was well rested, and wanted to head right back into the game. I figured maybe I'd use this time to try out the new Monk class and get a closer look at the Pandaren. What I expected and what I realized wound up being two completely different things. Diving head first into Pandaria was very simple from the get go as the sleep gave me a few hours to log into a clear area. Then the scenery? The quests? The storyline? Holy shit did it blow me away. Getting into the lore of the zone and the race really gave me a sincere appreciation for the class and in no way was it cheesed. The breadcrumb quests that dig further into the race's lore was very well executed, and I even had moments where it tugged at my heartstrings and made me misty eyed (Shu.... Shu I LOVE YOU. Playing water games with you stands as my favorite quest in this entire game). Then to be given the opportunity to choose MY destiny as Alliance or Horde? I was skeptical about the concept at first, but in the end? I loved it. It really helped me find my allegiance in this game and where I feel "at home". PLUS I GOT TO KICK VARIAN WRYNN'S ASS. I DID. AND IT FELT SO GOOD.
Now to switch into the class of Monks itself? Holy motherfuck. LOVE IT. It's a struggle in the beginning to grasp the concept behind the class, but once you do? They become supernatural in a sense. Now realistically I've died a few times on my Monk, but overall the mechanics of the class were so well thought out, that I fell in love. When it came time to have to hanker down a spec I did something that was both out of character for me, and turned a few heads.... I'm a healing monk.
Here... let me give you a few seconds to process that.
.... Good? Ok.
No really. When it came time to making my selection I looked closely into each talent spec, it's spells and passives, then settled on my conclusion. Once I dinged 15 I got ballsy and decided to queue into a dungeon. First off let me say that as having played melee / ranged throughout my entire career in the game, I thought I broke the game when I saw my queue pop after a minute. Healers.... Y U NO TELL ME U QUEUE SO FAST?! Then it arrived--- Deadmines. In an all Pandaren PUG (figures) we plowed through the dungeon with the greatest of ease and despite my previous reservations about wanting to keep people alive in a dungeon? I liked it. I liked it a lot. I liked it so much I queued for another one, and then another one. Plus with two heirloom items equipped PLUS the Enlightenment buff Monks receive every ten levels? I'm leveling thrice as fast as expected.
For all that I'm enjoying thus far for the new expansion my uncertainty about the direction I'm going to go in leaves me a little anxious. Prior to launch I had a clear cut plan which I'm still gunning for, but it doesn't excite me as much as playing my Monk does now. It's still very early to tell, but I still intend to max skinning for the guild to have their mats regardless. Dinging 90 on my hunter though just doesn't matter as much to me as I thought. Hmm... we shall see. Until next time though!
Monday, September 24, 2012
Smell You Later Cataclysm!
That--- that feels like an appropriate title to start this post.
So with but only 17 hours left until the live launch of Mists of Pandaria, I took a nostalgic road trip through Cataclysm to give me a clearer sense of what I hope to accomplish.
For myself, this expansion really put me in the thick of things as I leveled not one but TWO (believe me for the altaholic empress, this is a big fuckin' deal) 85 toons, got the chance to see end game content and acquired a metric fuckton of gear to get me through Drunken RBG's (Master Sergeant Alicara here!) as well as Gurthalak for PvE.
In part, one of the biggest things to affect me in both this expansion as well as in real life was... I fell in love with my best friend. With that, I gained two families with a main still in my home guild <Northrend Travel Agency> US-Doomhammer as well as one <Conquest> US-Ner'zhul. Now I get the love of both PvE and PvP freely at my leisure! With that though comes choices.
The first of these being... what the fuck do I plan on doing tonight? Who will I carry in this expansion with me as priority? I had to sit down and think this through. My DK and I---- well we've been two peas in a pod the minute she hit 85. I vividly remember the night into the morning grinding that last level out. It took me to the point of drinking an entire bottle of wine to ding 85, but it was worth it. And with her, I learned how to PvP and Arena recklessly (thank you Xiil) but fell in love with the game and saw Azeroth with new eyes on her. Then comes my hunter who is a newly dinged 85. Heirloom-less like I roll, I expanded my horizons on her and started breaking down the boundaries my fears put up in the first place. On her I grew confidence in dungeons, raids, and even heroics and really sat down to learn the class, gear stat priority, and how to best optimize my damage output to become a valuable resource as both a solo player and in a group setting.
So with that I thought a lot about my frustrations, my excitements, the highs and the lows in both PvE and PvP on each toon and their respected class. After a lot of thinking and deliberation this evening the plan set in stone is that once 3AM hits, I'll log on to my beloved hunter with my beloved and together we're gunna make the grind to 90 as fast as we can. Is this a main change? Yes. Will the DK go into retirement? No----t yet. I made a lot of landmarks on her and have invested so much time and memories on her that she will NEVER get deleted. I think I'm just going to have fun on her. Whore myself for achievements, collaborate some transmog sets on her, RP, get her into a Greyfoo music video (well that's a far fetched one but if he ever needs a Night Elf DK? /wink wink), run some old school raids? All of the above. DK's have a great PvP and Tier set coming up so of course she'll get leveled up to 90 and will run LFR and BGs, she'll just hold a backseat spot while I focus a lot of my energy on my hunter.
What other goals do I hope to memorialize in this coming expansion? Well just a mini bucket list of sorts:
1. Level a Horde side toon to 90. My eyes on the prize? That would be my beautiful Blood Elf Warrior, Alisuna on US-Feathermoon. No rush. Just taking a moment to savor every bit of it. There's an achievement for it too! :)
2. The Pandaren Monk will mark the ONLY alt I make. This one I am extremely serious about. I make a lot of alts that steer my focus away from what I could be doing. They all end up getting deleted anyway so the next course en route to 90 will be a Pandaren Monk. What faction will she go? Well we shall see, won't we? :)
3. 1,000,000 Gold. That's gunna be a big one. But damnit I want so many mounts and things! I'm going to take my time in this expansion to properly educate myself on working the Auction House and really learn how to utilize my professions to generate a solid source of income.
4. The Beloved. That title; I WANT THAT TITLE. Comes with grinding 77 reputations. It reminds me of one of my favorite bands and with that, I'm gunning for that one.
5. End Game Before The Nerf. This one is going to prove as my most difficult because the short end of it is--- I am not on a raid team. I may just LFR and try to jump in on random raids with guildies on an off night. I really want to see end game content as it is relevant. That's just going to help me build my awareness as a player and maybe one day I'll apply to a raid team. :)
6. Arenas. I WANT THAT. MUST FIND 3'S and 5's PARTNERS. The 2's spot is already occupied by the Mister. That tradition won't break ever. <3
7. A Legendary Drop. Yes! I have strived and strived for one and I've got my eyes set on Thori'dal. I'm making that run for both the bow and also doing a run on the Swift White Hawkstrider.
And this.... this is a long post. I'll see you guys tonight in Pandaria! :)
xoxo,
Ali
So with but only 17 hours left until the live launch of Mists of Pandaria, I took a nostalgic road trip through Cataclysm to give me a clearer sense of what I hope to accomplish.
For myself, this expansion really put me in the thick of things as I leveled not one but TWO (believe me for the altaholic empress, this is a big fuckin' deal) 85 toons, got the chance to see end game content and acquired a metric fuckton of gear to get me through Drunken RBG's (Master Sergeant Alicara here!) as well as Gurthalak for PvE.
In part, one of the biggest things to affect me in both this expansion as well as in real life was... I fell in love with my best friend. With that, I gained two families with a main still in my home guild <Northrend Travel Agency> US-Doomhammer as well as one <Conquest> US-Ner'zhul. Now I get the love of both PvE and PvP freely at my leisure! With that though comes choices.
The first of these being... what the fuck do I plan on doing tonight? Who will I carry in this expansion with me as priority? I had to sit down and think this through. My DK and I---- well we've been two peas in a pod the minute she hit 85. I vividly remember the night into the morning grinding that last level out. It took me to the point of drinking an entire bottle of wine to ding 85, but it was worth it. And with her, I learned how to PvP and Arena recklessly (thank you Xiil) but fell in love with the game and saw Azeroth with new eyes on her. Then comes my hunter who is a newly dinged 85. Heirloom-less like I roll, I expanded my horizons on her and started breaking down the boundaries my fears put up in the first place. On her I grew confidence in dungeons, raids, and even heroics and really sat down to learn the class, gear stat priority, and how to best optimize my damage output to become a valuable resource as both a solo player and in a group setting.
So with that I thought a lot about my frustrations, my excitements, the highs and the lows in both PvE and PvP on each toon and their respected class. After a lot of thinking and deliberation this evening the plan set in stone is that once 3AM hits, I'll log on to my beloved hunter with my beloved and together we're gunna make the grind to 90 as fast as we can. Is this a main change? Yes. Will the DK go into retirement? No----t yet. I made a lot of landmarks on her and have invested so much time and memories on her that she will NEVER get deleted. I think I'm just going to have fun on her. Whore myself for achievements, collaborate some transmog sets on her, RP, get her into a Greyfoo music video (well that's a far fetched one but if he ever needs a Night Elf DK? /wink wink), run some old school raids? All of the above. DK's have a great PvP and Tier set coming up so of course she'll get leveled up to 90 and will run LFR and BGs, she'll just hold a backseat spot while I focus a lot of my energy on my hunter.
What other goals do I hope to memorialize in this coming expansion? Well just a mini bucket list of sorts:
1. Level a Horde side toon to 90. My eyes on the prize? That would be my beautiful Blood Elf Warrior, Alisuna on US-Feathermoon. No rush. Just taking a moment to savor every bit of it. There's an achievement for it too! :)
2. The Pandaren Monk will mark the ONLY alt I make. This one I am extremely serious about. I make a lot of alts that steer my focus away from what I could be doing. They all end up getting deleted anyway so the next course en route to 90 will be a Pandaren Monk. What faction will she go? Well we shall see, won't we? :)
3. 1,000,000 Gold. That's gunna be a big one. But damnit I want so many mounts and things! I'm going to take my time in this expansion to properly educate myself on working the Auction House and really learn how to utilize my professions to generate a solid source of income.
4. The Beloved. That title; I WANT THAT TITLE. Comes with grinding 77 reputations. It reminds me of one of my favorite bands and with that, I'm gunning for that one.
5. End Game Before The Nerf. This one is going to prove as my most difficult because the short end of it is--- I am not on a raid team. I may just LFR and try to jump in on random raids with guildies on an off night. I really want to see end game content as it is relevant. That's just going to help me build my awareness as a player and maybe one day I'll apply to a raid team. :)
6. Arenas. I WANT THAT. MUST FIND 3'S and 5's PARTNERS. The 2's spot is already occupied by the Mister. That tradition won't break ever. <3
7. A Legendary Drop. Yes! I have strived and strived for one and I've got my eyes set on Thori'dal. I'm making that run for both the bow and also doing a run on the Swift White Hawkstrider.
And this.... this is a long post. I'll see you guys tonight in Pandaria! :)
xoxo,
Ali
Monday, August 20, 2012
I'll never get sick of arts & crafts...
So it's no secret that the Mister and numerous friends of mine are avid Starcraft 2 players. I'll be the first to admit--- I suck at it. Immensely. While it's all about APM, and building units and taking your opponent down all in, I'm THAT PERSON that just bides my time collecting minerals and creating Void Rays so I can "see the pretty things fly."
Hey--- I could've lied and made exaggerated claims about how I was trained by KeSPA kids. Oh they have the prettiest hair...
ANYWAY
Short end of a drawn out tale--- I don't play Starcraft. BUT what if I could put my own angle to it? What if I did something fun with Starcraft for not just the player, but the whole family?
Operation: Pylong, Marine, and Baneline are a go! Well they'll be a go, once I go to the craft store and the supermarket. But you'll see an updated post soonish! (trademark)
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Making my mark.... of the wild
So the house is nice and empty. This Mister is getting ready for dinner with his Pops which leaves me with some free time to catch up on this here blog. What's been going on as of late? Well....
Shazam! I finally leveled a toon complete from 1-85! (That's not to say I didn't do the same on my DK, but she started at 55. ^_^) Little Miss Talicara dinged 85 last weekend with the help of the love, and some awesome folks sticking by me just cheering me on for support. Funny enough, she dinged 85 after she died in a buggy quest in Twilight Highlands, but hey---- I got er' done.
We dived straight into PvP so I could wear my pretty crafted gear set Logan made for me and did a few dungeons as well to rack up some Justice Points for her transmog, as well as pick up some honor to start getting her PvP set into the fold. I still have a ways to go on her but in a weeks' time she's got 4pc Tier 9, the "Starcaller" title, a 10M Ulduar proto drake, a maxed out skinning profession (which I'll explain in detail in a future post), and.... well sheer awesomeness.
I wish I had more to say at the moment which in due time I will, but in the meantime that's what's up with me. What have you been doing to prepare for Mists of Pandaria? :)
Shazam! I finally leveled a toon complete from 1-85! (That's not to say I didn't do the same on my DK, but she started at 55. ^_^) Little Miss Talicara dinged 85 last weekend with the help of the love, and some awesome folks sticking by me just cheering me on for support. Funny enough, she dinged 85 after she died in a buggy quest in Twilight Highlands, but hey---- I got er' done.
We dived straight into PvP so I could wear my pretty crafted gear set Logan made for me and did a few dungeons as well to rack up some Justice Points for her transmog, as well as pick up some honor to start getting her PvP set into the fold. I still have a ways to go on her but in a weeks' time she's got 4pc Tier 9, the "Starcaller" title, a 10M Ulduar proto drake, a maxed out skinning profession (which I'll explain in detail in a future post), and.... well sheer awesomeness.
I wish I had more to say at the moment which in due time I will, but in the meantime that's what's up with me. What have you been doing to prepare for Mists of Pandaria? :)
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Adding a little more Sailor Moon into my world...
If anyone knows me, they know that my life is very much absorbed in Sailor Moon. In a discussion with some guildies I stumbled upon this, and lost my mind. Mind. Lost.
Available for the iPhone, I can now pretend I have a Teletia S of any of the core Sailor Scouts. Feel free to peep them out and a lot of other Sailor Moon iPhone cases HERE!
Available for the iPhone, I can now pretend I have a Teletia S of any of the core Sailor Scouts. Feel free to peep them out and a lot of other Sailor Moon iPhone cases HERE!
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