Chat about the game...

Sounds good Paul, just when you're ready though mate. It can get intense so best make sure you've got what you need in place so as to best enjoy it rather than it be a grind for you as well.

Sj

This weeks rubbish excuses are:

1) Full of steaming cold, drugged up to the eyeballs as I type this, full on aching bones etc. Nice. Man flu clearly the worst affliction to ever affect humanity!
2) The car suffered something of an 'incident' yesterday. Everything was fine till I went to move it 10 feet to go into the garage for the evening and it dumped its coolant all over the drive. Great! Today (see point 1) with nasty head/body cold have been underneath it pulling bits off it to find out what's happened, except - of course - most of the tools I need are... you guessed it, at the new house or in the lock up by now.
3) Early morning/night shifts, combined with complete lack of sleep (see point 1...) meaning my head is barely able to function. Posts where I can.

These things are sent to test and try us, and oh boy, things are very trying right now. This game is about one of the few things I can sit down to relax with and enjoy, in between moving, work, kids, now the car and battling man plague... Aaaaaaaachooooo!!!

Admin wrote:This weeks rubbish excuses are:

1) Full of steaming cold, drugged up to the eyeballs as I type this, full on aching bones etc. Nice. Man flu clearly the worst affliction to ever affect humanity!
2) The car suffered something of an 'incident' yesterday. Everything was fine till I went to move it 10 feet to go into the garage for the evening and it dumped its coolant all over the drive. Great! Today (see point 1) with nasty head/body cold have been underneath it pulling bits off it to find out what's happened, except - of course - most of the tools I need are... you guessed it, at the new house or in the lock up by now.
3) Early morning/night shifts, combined with complete lack of sleep (see point 1...) meaning my head is barely able to function. Posts where I can.

These things are sent to test and try us, and oh boy, things are very trying right now. This game is about one of the few things I can sit down to relax with and enjoy, in between moving, work, kids, now the car and battling man plague... Aaaaaaaachooooo!!!

Oh man that sounds like your rolled a critical miss on the d20 of life. And no saving throw, ugh! Get well mate, I appreciate how you still enjoy us trying to pull apart your best laid plans, and then you laying better plans that make us feel like we wish we had man flu as an excuse to take time off to work out what we do now!

Anyway I hope you get some semblance of sanity in all that. Interesting turn of phrase, given that "things are being sent to test you." I'd ask who sent them and when do you know if you've passed muster?

Laters

Sj

Heh Cheers Dave. I would have uploaded a pic of what's left of the front of the car after I'd attacked it for an afternoon but the phone was flat by then and covered in engine oil. Wonder if Samsung ever considered that eventuality when designing the new one. Doh.

Anyway, today have a work leaving do starting at 2pm so I'll be blotto from about 2.15 I should think given how many tablets I've swallowed to keep the man flu at bay. Might make for a cheap day

Let's see if i can get the update done before I go through the process that can only be described as the 'social MOT', whereby a pass means you don't get someone coming up to you (even complete strangers sometimes...) telling you just how rough you look After a week of lousy night shifts, 0-5 hours sleep a night, man flu, head buried under the car and dealing with the usual house move/kids/general life garbage i will settle for a 'just pass mot with numerous advisories...'

Admin wrote:Heh Cheers Dave. I would have uploaded a pic of what's left of the front of the car after I'd attacked it for an afternoon but the phone was flat by then and covered in engine oil. Wonder if Samsung ever considered that eventuality when designing the new one. Doh.

Anyway, today have a work leaving do starting at 2pm so I'll be blotto from about 2.15 I should think given how many tablets I've swallowed to keep the man flu at bay. Might make for a cheap day

Let's see if i can get the update done before I go through the process that can only be described as the 'social MOT', whereby a pass means you don't get someone coming up to you (even complete strangers sometimes...) telling you just how rough you look   After a week of lousy night shifts, 0-5 hours sleep a night, man flu, head buried under the car and dealing with the usual house move/kids/general life garbage i will settle for a 'just pass mot with numerous advisories...'  

I feel like shouting, "This is Sparta!" Because saying "This is Paul..." Just doesn't have the same ring of defiance in the face of so much to have dealt with this week. Hope you're winning through mate.

Sj

Updates tomorrow (Sunday). Moving day gets every closer, and todays trial/test of my sanity was the toilet deciding to stop working. Again. This is like, 8 weeks after the last time. So, out come the grout removal tools, dig into the innards of the cistern... and it starts working again. Don't know why, but what the heck, right? Just need to grout the tiles back into place. Again. *sigh*

What makes it more fun is that everything is spread out - not much left here, plenty of tools and stuff at new house, some at the lockup (miles away in Doncaster).

Last weeks total disaster (the car) was sorted out satisfactorily. A pig of a job to do without a manual of any kind (haynes don't do 'em for my car) so have half a dozen screws/bolts left over. Am sure they will become painfully clear as to where they should go at some point, but for now the car is fine again. *cross fingers*

So, car fixed, toilet fixed (again). What next?

Anyway, update tomorrow then from Monday I should be in the new place. New start etc. Scary but glad am finally there after this process of separation has taken nearly 4 months.

Admin wrote:So, car fixed, toilet fixed (again). What next?

Anyway, update tomorrow then from Monday I should be in the new place. New start etc. Scary but glad am finally there after this process of separation has taken nearly 4 months.

Hi mate talk about living in momentous times. If they ever turned your life into a book or film they'd call it fiction on account of how much happens. Normal is just so much stranger for you guys, perhaps your attention is being sought.

Anyway as I write this I am on my laptop on our sunny holidays. I think I will be alright to post, however I am not sure if I have brought with me the latests character sheets since the updates. So I might need to be a little hazy in that dept and rely on your DM discretion.

Anyway if I am a bit slow on getting back to you, you know why.

Sj

Quick update, still alive. Will try to update today. The moving process has everything still in boxes. My main PC monitor got promoted to the role of House TV so I ended up with a cast off 32" ancient P.O.S. that came up with some weird resolution my computer wouldn't play with. Nor would a 10 year old box I'd been planning to throw out. Long story short posting from the living room with the main telly as the thing I can see stuff on and need to buy another telly but can use laptops to update. Don't even get me started on BT's 'superfast' broadband. Compared to Virgin Media it's like being back on 33.6 dialup

Try again! Should be fine to update tonight. Am in the Isle of man for the TT, typing from my laptop with internet that works *touch wood* so should be fine to resume. One of our number has already fallen off his bike but he's ok and its just plastic damage. Not a great start to a week in the isle of Man! Could have been much, much worse though...

Finally!

After weeks of back n forth and to and fro, the house completed the sale and we got the wife/kids moved in to their new home today. I had to juggle it in between finishing work (0500 this morning) having 2 hours sleep, hiring a van, moving heavy things (did back, twice. ouch) driving home, another 2 hours sleep, now going to work.

What this should mean however is that the dust can now settle and I can get back to a more relaxed steady rate of posting. Thanks as ever for your patience guys, the last few weeks/months have been a nightmare, no other way to describe it. Hopefully see light at the end of the tunnel now and updates from tomorrow barring any asteroid strikes/zombie apocalypse/collapse of the state in the meantime.

Hope you're both well anyway

Cheers, Paul

Glad to hear that you sorted thing out mate, I know how moving can be so stressful. But as you say, hopefully the pain of the last few months can give way to something a bit more stable and 'normal'. Don't feel you've got to jump back before your ready mate, just enjoy the 'rest' you've earned from the stress of this transition. We'll be here and a few extra days won't make a difference.

Thanks buddy

Dave

Man! I feel bad about my excuses for being late in posting. I got my Roku working again and have been Netflixing and Crunchyrolling for the last couple of weeks - finally saw both Daredevil, both seasons, and Jessica Jones. And going to PT or a doctor 2-3 times a week. July 6th I get an upper GI and that's the last of the medical exam/hospital surgery stuff. Tests came back negative, so I don't have MS, just tight muscles in neck and shoulders and back being main cause of quivering hands, and age, they tell me.

Just had a back evaluation of my lower back today. I have lost so much muscle in my back, legs, arms, chest and stomach that it is ridiculous! That's what happens when you sit around the house for five months and not going outside to exercise.

So PT, stretching, muscle building slowly and taking care of whatever the upper GI shows - some level of acid reflux. Then finally back to work in August - I hope.

And now to go see what the Haunt is facing.

DavidMcMahon wrote:Man!  I feel bad about my excuses for being late in posting.  I got my Roku working again and have been Netflixing and Crunchyrolling for the last couple of weeks - finally saw both Daredevil, both seasons, and Jessica Jones.  And going to PT or a doctor 2-3 times a week.  July 6th I get an upper GI and that's the last of the medical exam/hospital surgery stuff.  Tests came back negative, so I don't have MS, just tight muscles in neck and shoulders and back being main cause of quivering hands, and age, they tell me.

Just had a back evaluation of my lower back today.  I have lost so much muscle in my back, legs, arms, chest and stomach that it is ridiculous!  That's what happens when you sit around the house for five months and not going outside to exercise.  

So PT, stretching, muscle building slowly and taking care of whatever the upper GI shows - some level of acid reflux.  Then finally back to work in August - I hope.

And now to go see what the Haunt is facing.

Oh Dave as I read this I realise I need a glossary for the terms you use here. But I catch the drift that you've been very unwell. Forgive me for I had no idea that this was the case. And hear reading that its been going on for sometime makes me feel more unaware of how things have been. However its great that you've been able to say its turning out better, and are on some kind of recovery. Plus the news about no MS, bonus.

Anyway trust that you continue to feel stronger and life, which at times like these both proves truly fragile and precious let alone throwing up question of eternal significance begins to be one that has new meaning.

Sj.

Your trials make mine look trivial David. Hope you're on the mend anyway as I have had back troubles in the past (mostly slipped discs, sciatica, torn hamstrings and chronic backache) and it's an awful state to be in.

As for my lack of posting I have been juggling work shifts (which have been a bit rubbish - for instance in the middle of an 11 hour night shift as I type) with having met a new lady. So far things have gone well so will see how it goes but it maybe gives me something to look forward to after a year of upheaval. Am actually renting a house with my mother and her partner who go on holiday for 7 months at the end of September and I was facing the prospect of being on my own for the first time in decades, but maybe that won't be the case. It's early days and still have to juggle seeing the kids with work and my new friend, but it's a bit of positive news (even if seeing her during the day then working all night is wearing me out through lack of sleep!!!) Oh and she's a physio, so any back troubles I do get I know who to pester with

Right, will take a look at the posts and update as much as I can right now. Only had one day off in the last 2 weeks (and had kids all day that day) so somewhat behind. Apologies as usual, and thanks for hanging in there!

Cheers, Paul

Admin wrote:Your trials make mine look trivial David. Hope you're on the mend anyway as I have had back troubles in the past (mostly slipped discs, sciatica, torn hamstrings and chronic backache) and it's an awful state to be in.

As for my lack of posting I have been juggling work shifts (which have been a bit rubbish - for instance in the middle of an 11 hour night shift as I type) with having met a new lady. So far things have gone well so will see how it goes but it maybe gives me something to look forward to after a year of upheaval. Am actually renting a house with my mother and her partner who go on holiday for 7 months at the end of September and I was facing the prospect of being on my own for the first time in decades, but maybe that won't be the case. It's early days and still have to juggle seeing the kids with work and my new friend, but it's a bit of positive news (even if seeing her during the day then working all night is wearing me out through lack of sleep!!!) Oh and she's a physio, so any back troubles I do get I know who to pester with

Right, will take a look at the posts and update as much as I can right now. Only had one day off in the last 2 weeks (and had kids all day that day) so somewhat behind. Apologies as usual, and thanks for hanging in there!

Cheers, Paul

It's hard not to want to fill the gaping hole that one feels, after something like this happens. After all being married, having kids etc, is going to leave a big emotional, social, intimate space with...a vacuum. And the thing about a vacuum it sucks! But its up to you to filter what gets drawn in. Several friends of mine have learned this the hard way. One was in a marriage that was awful, abusive and a relief to get out from under. But as soon as she got free she jumped for the first person who took an interest in her. Now looking back, she saw that was a mistake; that can't be taken back, only learned from. At the time her vacuum felt so great she didn't turn down the opportunity to fill it. I'm pleased that you have found someone who can take care of your back problems ;-), but don't switch your brain off, for what its worth (and if you're still politely reading this far) find out if she can take care of your heart, and you hers. You know after all that a relationship is more than just fulfilling one area of need. And as they say, 'An ounce of tact, makes up for a ton of diplomacy later'.

Anyway thanks for the update I hope some level of normal settles down for you. Although I have to admit you're crushing routine doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room for much else. But hey, as long as you're ok, I'm not going far from my computer ;-).

Sj.

Thanks for the wise words Dave - I am wary of diving in, but so is this lady so far and I think a healthy level of scepticism is required until we get to know one another better. We'll see how it goes.

On another note work has been a nightmare lately for instance todays 7 hour shift turned in 12. I will be able to update tonight though and hopefully this week should see some semblance of continuity starting up again. Just need to manage my time better but it's hard when rosters at work make huge blunders that need to be sorted out or it will cost the company thousands in the short term and possibly millions in the long. Unfortunately that means people like me picking up the baton before it gets dropped *sigh*

Absolutely shattered, but like I say, later on today will update.

Thanks for your patience guys

Cheers, Paul

Admin wrote:Thanks for the wise words Dave - I am wary of diving in, but so is this lady so far and I think a healthy level of scepticism is required until we get to know one another better. We'll see how it goes.

On another note work has been a nightmare lately for instance todays 7 hour shift turned in 12. I will be able to update tonight though and hopefully this week should see some semblance of continuity starting up again. Just need to manage my time better but it's hard when rosters at work make huge blunders that need to be sorted out or it will cost the company thousands in the short term and possibly millions in the long. Unfortunately that means people like me picking up the baton before it gets dropped *sigh*

Absolutely shattered, but like I say, later on today will update.

Thanks for your patience guys

Cheers, Paul

Oh mate, sorry to hear how you're suffering from work rostas not working as they should. Easy mistake for them, big consequences for you. Glad you got to hear my words as I hoped and intended and not any sort of 'I know better' spiel. Anyway we're here when you are mate. But thanks for keeping us clued up.

Sj

Whatever happened to this "new job has shorter hours and will make life easier for me"?

DavidMcMahon wrote:Whatever happened to this "new job has shorter hours and will make life easier for me"?

haha! That's what I'd love to know. In addition they change the roster to suit them meaning whatever plans you make for a certain bunch of days off you can chuck out of the window All to do with 'tough trading conditions' so they scare the life out of us by mumbling redundancies and loss of contracts and the union caves in.

It's not all bad - compared to who I used to work for this lot are angels...

Apologies! Had every intention to update last night seeing as work sent a message saying not required, but they changed their mind and as a result my updating 'window' turned into a 'sleep required' window for a 2am wakeup call Just about to head out for some beer (work do sorted ages ago) but depending on what state I'm in when I get back intend to update. Plus! i have 2 weeks off as of today (should've been yesterday, boo!) so more updates will be forthcoming!

Flip side is my bi annual rules exam I need to swot for (which have been doing this week during the day then working on nights) but I will put that off till the last minute as usual and panic as my exam is due on the day I get back.

Business as usual then. Hope y'all are well, and enjoying what you can of the summer!

Right... beer awaits!

Later!

Cheers, Paul

Just revising for my works rules exam but thought I would pop in They are every 2 years and come around again tomorrow then will be picking things up again here. Been a busy few days with birthday stuff then having to swot up. Hope y'all are well and see you in game

Cheers, Paul

With my rules exam out of the way and (FINALLY!) the kids starting back at school tomorrow I will have less to juggle than usual and fully intend to get back up to speed as my post rate has been abysmal the last few weeks - my apologies. Anyway, as further heads up I will be away for a week from the 24th September as I'll be jetting off to somewhere warm. Hopefully. Not booked it yet. Turkey looks rather cheap and good value at the moment. Can't think why...?

Admin wrote:With my rules exam out of the way and (FINALLY!) the kids starting back at school tomorrow I will have less to juggle than usual and fully intend to get back up to speed as my post rate has been abysmal the last few weeks - my apologies. Anyway, as further heads up I will be away for a week from the 24th September as I'll be jetting off to somewhere warm. Hopefully. Not booked it yet. Turkey looks rather cheap and good value at the moment. Can't think why...?

No worries mate, do as you need to. When I think how long this game has been running its a marvel (No pun intended) that you've been able to stay fresh and creative with it. I DM'd for a few years when Ross was living nearer me, and to be honest I completely burnt out. After that this was the only game I played both before and after till now. Taking time out to refresh, after the difficult year that its been is a must. I know you'll only come back with more fiendish plans. However one thing I would request is don't leave us with a cliffhanger, its bad enough having to wait a few days but if you're off for the best part of 14 days, that could be painful ;-).

Sj

Anyone else find the email alerts for updates is rather hit n miss? Anyway, updates later on today after I catch a couple of hours sleep. Nights shifts. Ugh. Long ones... uhhhh....

Admin wrote:Anyone else find the email alerts for updates is rather hit n miss? Anyway, updates later on today after I catch a couple of hours sleep. Nights shifts. Ugh. Long ones... uhhhh....

very hit and miss miss.. . Sleep well

Sj