The past two weeks have mostly been vacation days for me. I spent four of them at Origins, a huge gaming convention in Columbus OH. When I go to this event, I concentrate on playing rail games (board games that include railway building and commodities delivery). I'm a middling player, and my purpose in playing is simply to have a good time. Rarely if ever do I get into the tournament finals. Since my husband, who also plays these games, almost always plays in the finals, we plan to stay through the last day and the last final.
This year the unusual happened for me. One of the finalists didn't show up for the last game, and by luck of the draw, as a semi-finalist, I found myself playing with the sharks. The sharks in rail gaming are pretty much like sharks in any game. They're the experts; the guys who love not just the game but the competition; who cut no one any slack, and who, despite fictions to the contrary, demand the highest honesty in play. To do otherwise would tarnish the victory and believe me these sharks are all about winning.
As the game began, my expectations were fairly low. The honest truth is that my skill level simply isn't up to shark level. But this was a game with a certain amount of luck, and this year luck was all on my side. I was able to build track at a reasonable cost that connected loads I wanted to deliver with the destinations I wanted to deliver them to and in the process turn a profit. I won my board by a huge margin.
Now to the awards. The finals had five boards of four players each. The tournament winner was determined not by a playoff among the top five players (as is the case for some of the other rail games) but by the difference in the finishing score between the top player at any given board and the second finish player at the same board. The difference between my score and the next highest player at our board was over 90. No other board came close to having a difference that large. I'd won.
I have a beautiful shiny plaque to commemorate the occasion and remind me that playing with the sharks doesn't mean I'll lose. I give luck it's due and don't pretend that at my current skill level, I can consistently win when I play with the sharks, but I will always remember that winning is possible even in the most unlikely circumstances.
Have you played with the sharks? Did you win? Lose? Draw? How did the experience affect you? Leave a comment, and let me know about the challenges (the sharks) in your life.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
I love to travel
There is a mental hum of excitment that starts for me about 12 to 36 hours before I leave on a trip. The intensity of the hum builds from a pleasant buzz to a near unbearable joy. The only downside is that I find sleeping to be difficult right before a trip Simply put, I Love to Travel. Many friends have told me how much they dislike the packing, organizing, planning, the planes, the trains, the traffic. Or they miss the comforts of home. For me all of that is part of the fun.
Although, I can understand and empathize with missing the comforts of home, but for a few days or weeks the excitement and mystery of a journey far outweighs home for me (though I'll do what I can to make certain I'm as comfortable as possible).
Destination doesn't matter. For me it's the journey. The new discoveries--even on the way to the family cabin, where I've been a million and a half times, I discover new sights, sounds, smells etc.
I have a great time whereever I go and am always sad to leave. Don't get me wrong. I love my home, probably more for the time away, but leaving my traveling destination means the end of my travels and the end (for a while) of that hum of excitment. Memory can sometimes recall the hum for a few moments, but nothing buzzes for me like traveling. What buzzes for your? (No drugs please, we're looking for natural highs, thank you.)
Although, I can understand and empathize with missing the comforts of home, but for a few days or weeks the excitement and mystery of a journey far outweighs home for me (though I'll do what I can to make certain I'm as comfortable as possible).
Destination doesn't matter. For me it's the journey. The new discoveries--even on the way to the family cabin, where I've been a million and a half times, I discover new sights, sounds, smells etc.
I have a great time whereever I go and am always sad to leave. Don't get me wrong. I love my home, probably more for the time away, but leaving my traveling destination means the end of my travels and the end (for a while) of that hum of excitment. Memory can sometimes recall the hum for a few moments, but nothing buzzes for me like traveling. What buzzes for your? (No drugs please, we're looking for natural highs, thank you.)
Monday, June 22, 2009
Ordinary Heroes
Tomorrow, I'll be giving an inspirational speech at Toastmasters about heroes and finding the heroic in ourselves. One of the examples I use is my dad, whose influence on my life has been profound. Here's a small sample.
My father lived in the time of Tom Brokaw's "Greatest Generation," but Dad never saw battle, never looked death in the face during WWII. He was 4F because at the age of nine, a poorly set broken bone withered his right arm and paralyzed his right hand. He survived life with a drunken and neglectful father. In fact he thrived. Dad had the sunniest disposition of anyone I'd ever met. Theft to him meant that someone else had a greater need than he did for the missing item(s).
When many of his generation were fighting WWII, Dad stayed behind and taught at a state home for delinquents in Ohio while completing his education. Later he became a professor, respected but not famous, and author--along with my mother--of an obscure pamphlet on “Teacher Preparation in Trinidad-Tobago.” He was a deacon of his church and an inspiration to his students whose remembered contributions to the human good far outshone my father’s modest efforts. He raised two daughters, giving them the kind of love and protection that he never received from his own father. Dad was and is still, in my eyes, a hero, though I doubt he ever saw himself as one.
It is easy to identify and value the hero who is larger than life. What is not so easy is to see and value the heroes who people our daily lives. Make a comment. Tell me about the ordinary heroes in your life.
My father lived in the time of Tom Brokaw's "Greatest Generation," but Dad never saw battle, never looked death in the face during WWII. He was 4F because at the age of nine, a poorly set broken bone withered his right arm and paralyzed his right hand. He survived life with a drunken and neglectful father. In fact he thrived. Dad had the sunniest disposition of anyone I'd ever met. Theft to him meant that someone else had a greater need than he did for the missing item(s).
When many of his generation were fighting WWII, Dad stayed behind and taught at a state home for delinquents in Ohio while completing his education. Later he became a professor, respected but not famous, and author--along with my mother--of an obscure pamphlet on “Teacher Preparation in Trinidad-Tobago.” He was a deacon of his church and an inspiration to his students whose remembered contributions to the human good far outshone my father’s modest efforts. He raised two daughters, giving them the kind of love and protection that he never received from his own father. Dad was and is still, in my eyes, a hero, though I doubt he ever saw himself as one.
It is easy to identify and value the hero who is larger than life. What is not so easy is to see and value the heroes who people our daily lives. Make a comment. Tell me about the ordinary heroes in your life.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Dinner with friends
Few things please me like dinner with friends. Laughter, tears, surprise, suspense, I get it all from sharing conversation over a good meal. Tonight the restaurant was loud, and occassionally we had to shout to be heard. But the other diners were shouting too. No one cared, for we all politely ignored any conversations save the one at our specific table. The serivce was superior, there when you needed it but otherwise unobtrusive. The food, good for a chain restaurant and moderately priced. All of these contributed to the convivial mood and the sharing of confidences that makes dinner with friends as pleasurable as a good book.
Take tonight's dinner for example. I had an hour drive to get to the restaurant, and like reading the first chapter of a book spent the drive in cheerful anticipation of the laughter and excitment my friends and I would share. Arriving at the restaurant we traded hugs and greetings, akin to the meeting of characters, testing each other out for changes and challenges. We ordered, then got down to the fun and serious business of catching up.
One of us shared stories of a challenged daughter's success in summer school. The mom set the scene with some backstory about previous failures, catching our interest and creating anticipation for the conclusion. Would the daugher succeed or fail? We all cheered the girl's success.
Next we listened to the moving and suspenseful stoy of another mother's son newly stationed in a war zone. We felt her fear for him, laughed at his antics during a phone call home, and soberly witnessed a document that none of us hopes will ever be used.
We commiserated with the friend who told a woeful tale of stress at work and approved her plans for handling that stress in the future. By our mutual support and commentary we revised that story from one of woe to one of hope.
As authors we all empathized with another's saga of submission, rejection and finally acceptance.
Like a good book, dinner was too soon over and done. The drive home was spent savoring the satisfied feelings that sparked anticipation of dinners to come. What new adventures, challenges, woes and hopes will come our way when next we meet?
Leave me a comment. Tell me what you like about dinner (lunch, breakfast, coffee, etc.) with friends?
Take tonight's dinner for example. I had an hour drive to get to the restaurant, and like reading the first chapter of a book spent the drive in cheerful anticipation of the laughter and excitment my friends and I would share. Arriving at the restaurant we traded hugs and greetings, akin to the meeting of characters, testing each other out for changes and challenges. We ordered, then got down to the fun and serious business of catching up.
One of us shared stories of a challenged daughter's success in summer school. The mom set the scene with some backstory about previous failures, catching our interest and creating anticipation for the conclusion. Would the daugher succeed or fail? We all cheered the girl's success.
Next we listened to the moving and suspenseful stoy of another mother's son newly stationed in a war zone. We felt her fear for him, laughed at his antics during a phone call home, and soberly witnessed a document that none of us hopes will ever be used.
We commiserated with the friend who told a woeful tale of stress at work and approved her plans for handling that stress in the future. By our mutual support and commentary we revised that story from one of woe to one of hope.
As authors we all empathized with another's saga of submission, rejection and finally acceptance.
Like a good book, dinner was too soon over and done. The drive home was spent savoring the satisfied feelings that sparked anticipation of dinners to come. What new adventures, challenges, woes and hopes will come our way when next we meet?
Leave me a comment. Tell me what you like about dinner (lunch, breakfast, coffee, etc.) with friends?
Monday, June 15, 2009
Blood Test
No, this isn't a cool name for a vampire novel or a murder mystery. I'm diabetic and I had my quarterly blood work up today. Doesn't seem to matter how long I've been doing this (about ten years now), I can't stand the blood testing. I hate pricking my fingers with a passion. Yes, I know I can take the sample from my arm, but that's messy--ruins my shirtsleeves. Because it's good for me I put up with it, just like everyone puts up with something becuase it's good for them. I can't help wishing that the days of Star Trek medicine would arrive. All the docs would have to do is wave a sensor at me and they would know my H1C, BG and all the other readings they need to tell me if I'm still healthy or not.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
I like a busy life
The school year ended for me 1.5 months ago, and I've been at loose ends ever since. Oh I've made stabs at updating my course assignments and I've gone through the annual evaluation process. I've even written pages in the current novel and given a few Toastmasters speeches. But each of these has taken weeks to do instead of days. I haven't felt, busy.
For a while, the lack of pressure and bustle was probably a good thing. But a month + is too much. I need to be busy not just working. So like any thoughtful person, I considered my options. I went on retreat (with my critique partners) and I consulted with my career coaching partner. All my thought and consultations came to a head Saturday.
I'm happy to say that I've produced a minimum of five pages per day, and met a large number of goals I set for myself (this blog is one of them). I'm well on my way to having a busy active summer, doing what I love most, writing. Yes, I'll do other things--public speaking, on-line networking, update my course materials, keep house, weed my garden. But no matter what I do, I'll do it at a pace that is meaningful for my life and keeps me from the doldrums.
What about you? What pace do you need for a satisfying life?
For a while, the lack of pressure and bustle was probably a good thing. But a month + is too much. I need to be busy not just working. So like any thoughtful person, I considered my options. I went on retreat (with my critique partners) and I consulted with my career coaching partner. All my thought and consultations came to a head Saturday.
I'm happy to say that I've produced a minimum of five pages per day, and met a large number of goals I set for myself (this blog is one of them). I'm well on my way to having a busy active summer, doing what I love most, writing. Yes, I'll do other things--public speaking, on-line networking, update my course materials, keep house, weed my garden. But no matter what I do, I'll do it at a pace that is meaningful for my life and keeps me from the doldrums.
What about you? What pace do you need for a satisfying life?
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
FLASH!!!!! Lindsay McKenna, Cindy Dees, PC Cast, and Merline Lovelace are offering more than $1,000 in contest prizes to celebrate the launch of TIME RAIDERS, a series conceived by RomVets and published by Silhouette Nocturne.
Boogie on over to right now and sign up for the Time Raiders newsletter! Rules and prizes for each contest will be published via the newsletter in conjunction with the launch of each book.
FLASH!!!!!
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