Setting Up Shop
Posted by Cyn | Filed under NaBloPoMo, Needlework
Plinky asked, “If you were going to open up a shop, what would you sell? Food? Clothing? Books?”
Books and needlework items! My former partner and I used to dream about opening a combination book/stitching/gaming/coffee shop.
Of course, independent bookstores are nearly dead, and even Borders is dead now thanks to Amazon.
Little needlework shops have almost totally disappeared, because they can’t compete with the prices Michael’s and Joann Crafts can offer, or provide the same range of products that internet shops can provide.
I’d need a partner to run the gaming side, and I doubt there’s a whole lot of profit for that. The one gaming shop I ever visited regularly was The Warroom in Norcross, and it is long gone. The people who ran that place certainly seemed to know what they were doing.
Coffee shops have to compete with Starbucks, but that part was less for itself than as an adjunct to the rest. They only seem to have any hope of success if they have some kind of special draw, like live music (which I love anyway)
We talked about combining our passions knowing that any one of those things wouldn’t stand alone, and thinking that perhaps they could make it in combination.
We knew it was a dream, though — just a dream, nothing more. It would take a lot of capital to even start such a thing, much less keep it going. Then there was the little matter of me being 1) disabled, and not up to working even a part-time job, much less putting in the hours it takes to making a go of a small business; and 2) an introvert who doesn’t deal with a lot of people well.
It’s good to have dreams, though.
Cruisin’
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Blogging, Fun, NaBloPoMo
Plinky asks, “Would you ever take a cruise? Why or Why not? Where would you go?”
Sure. I’d love to take a cruise. In fact, that seems like a lovely way to travel to/through the Caribbean or the coast of Alaska. I know people who have done both who recommend both trips highly.
I think I’d enjoy a theme cruise more, though, like gaming (RPG gaming, not gambling gaming) or filking or maybe even an entire SF Con on board a ship. I’m not particular to any one fandom enough to get into anything like a Trek cruise, but a more general fan cruise could be fun. Combine lovely surroundings and pampering with fun? Sure!
Tags: cruises, fandom, Gaming, travel
Good Reads Migration Finished!
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Family, Geekery, Health, Reading, RPGs
That was not painless at all. The import feature is tetchy, at best. I had to go through the entire list of 1300+ books and fix their “bookshelf” assignments, and add some that just didn’t import at all. I had over 1400 books in Now Reading, and I haven’t quite figured out why there are fewer books in Good Reads. Oh well. It’s pretty much done!
The dates I’d read books, my ratings, and my reviews did NOT transfer to Good Reads, which is highly annoying.
I was able to go through and update a bunch of books that I’ve read since NR stopped working, and use the to-read category to request books from the library. As a result, there are 33 books awaiting pickup now, and another 61 pending (mostly books that are really new or not yet available). That doesn’t include the inter-library loan items I requested.1
Sam and I had bonus gaming time tonight. He’s storing up brownie points before Dragon*Con. Katie, unfortunately, couldn’t sleep last night, then slept all day until about 11:30. Now she’s re-hydrating and getting some food now. I hope she can go back to sleep. She’s definitely having a fibro flare. 🙁
1 I’m so tickled that the library added a way to put in ILL requests online!
Tags: Gaming, Good Reads, Katie, library, Now Reading, Sam
My name is Cynthia, and I am a roleplaying addict
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Fun, RPGs
My one and only complaint about gaming with Sam is that I never, ever get enough. He’s just so good, and the stories are so fascinating, that I always want more! I’m just greedy, I guess.
Yep, I flubbed my saving throw against being a geek.
Tags: date night, Gaming, geeks
Fun Day
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Family, Fun, RPGs
I have an SBQ to post, but it’ll have to wait. 🙂
I’m loving having Hope here for a visit. She’s great company, and certainly easy on the eyes. She’s been marvelously patient with my need to sleep so much and the fact that I’m dopey from fibro fogs and medications.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Gaming, Hope Evey, Katie, New York, Primetime Adventures, Sam
TotD: Robin Laws on Roleplaying Games
Posted by Cyn | Filed under RPGs, Thought of the Day
I hadn’t ever thought of it this way, but I think the man is on to something.
“One of my pet theories about the popularity of roleplaying games goes like this. Roleplaying is fantasy shopping for guys. That is, men would, as a group, be more interested in shopping if a) it meant never having to leave the house and b) they were shopping for super-powers. In that case, the typical roleplaying rulebook is like a Nieman-Marcus catalog for super-powers. Depending on the game system and character type, these extraordinary abilities might be called feats, spells, schticks, disciplines, skills, high tech gear, psionics, or whatever. For lack of a a better all-encompassing term, I refer to these things as crunchy bits.”
Robin D. Laws, Robin’s Laws of Good Game Mastering
Tags: Fantasy, Gaming, high tech gear, Robin D. Laws, Robin Laws, roleplayiing, shopping, TotD
Date Night Happiness
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Family, Relationships, RPGs
My sweetie had to run a bunch of errands before he got home last night, which shortened our date a bit. Groceries were needful, though. We had some delicious deli-style sandwiches after he got home, so there wasn’t a kitchen mess to deal with, too.
I think we watched an episode of West Wing while eating. We’re on the fifth season, after Aaron Sorkin left the show, and it just doesn’t compare to the previous seasons at all. I haven’t even bothered to watch all of them, although Sam has. He catches me up on any important plot details I’ve missed between episodes.
The girl went out for her regular Wednesday night fun, which was also nice. It’s easier to have “date night” at home when we know she’s also having fun.
Much of our game was taken up with political stuff, and a nice surprise of 32 new proto-demons that my character’s minions were able to shape into full demons of needful types. She has many minions, which is marvelous. Oh, have I mentioned that she’s the Demon Queen now? Interesting sideline for a high priestess of a good deity.
I would really, really hate to have to do a character sheet for Seauclaire any more. She’d be so multi-classed that it makes my head hurt just to think about it. It’s nice not to deal with such things any more.
Tags: Aaron Sorkin, date night, Gaming, Katie, Sam, West Wing
I Will Try Not to Bore You
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Fun, Geekery, RPGs
But tonight’s game was really, really good, and even though we retconned something and most GMs wouldn’t be as accommodating as Sam, he managed to make a new thing damn near as difficult (or more so than) the old thing, and how is it that he has so much story in there?
Oh! He also brought home calzones, and baked cookies! I’m so lucky!
Tags: date night, Gaming, roleplaying, Will Try
Gary Gygax Died
Posted by Cyn | Filed under News, SBQ
I heard a rumor about this earlier today but couldn’t find confirmation. Now, though, it’s on CNN and most of the other major news sites: Gary Gygax, Dungeons & Dragons creator, dies. The Wired article is slightly different from the AP story everybody else is running.
Tags: CNN, Dungeons and Dragons, Gaming, Gary Gygax
Semester done!
Posted by Cyn | Filed under College, Fun, Geekery, Music, RPGs
I took my project management final tonight, so I’m done with the semester! Now I’m trying to download the textbook files for next semester, but the ebook server is having Issues.
In the meantime, I’m listening to some lovely new music, free and legal, over at TheSixtyOne. I don’t know how Sam found out about the place, but it’s neat.
Tags: brother-in-law, ebook server, Gaming, Love, Music, Sam