Dan’s Pre-trip Thoughts
Church, choir practice several times, gaming, picking up things at several places, taking care of insurance, getting ready for Easter, seeing friends, biking to places, walking the dog, watched a movie, celebrated my mom’s birthday, drawing, watching bull-riding… sounds like we are really busy doesn’t it. Honestly, this has been one of the most relaxing weeks I’ve ever had. I don’t know if Tim can say the same since he’s the details person on this trip. He is also the main planner. I often ask him what I can do so I feel I’m contributing.
He said “Why don’t you write a blog entry before we leave?”
So here it is.
Blank.
These are a few thoughts running through my mind.
Thought #1: Tim and I celebrated mom’s birthday at their house on Thursday even though on this year her birthday falls on Easter Sunday. Tim had made these cedar outdoor candle holders with citronella candles so that was our gift. But I got to thinking about my parents basement. It has had the furniture and knick knacks in the same place for many years and I knew they would likely remain in those places for quite some time longer unless I offered to rearrange. Both mom and dad liked the idea. So Tim and I changed it around. It took awhile but it looks great. It was a lot of fun to see my parent’s faces after the change. They really liked it.
Thought #2: On Thursday night, it was my last gaming night. Jon had come up with an Aberrant game at my request because I was leaving and I’ve had the game for years and have never played it. To fill people in on what an “aberrant game” is, I’m going to have to use an analogy because unless you play a “paper ‘role-playing-game’”, you will never understand it.
Imagine going to an acting class and the teacher hands you a piece of paper that says a famous actors name on it (let’s say Brad Pitt). Then the teacher says “This is a script for a scene in Brad’s life where he is in an airplane that is being hijacked. Brad is in the 1st class section of the plane, 3rd seat in, next to the window. Brad is not acting in a movie, he is being his normal self in his real life. He has a wallet with $300.00 dollars in it; a cell-phone, and lots of credit cards. There is a screaming/crying woman next to him. The seat next to her is empty. The aisle runs down the middle of the plane; then 3 more seats on the other side with people in them. There are people seated in front of him and in back. The person in back of him is nervously talking quietly into his own cell-phone. One of the hijackers, with an AK-47 automatic assault rifle, is walking up and down the aisle of the 1st class section. The pilots and stewards are tied up sitting in the first 2 rows of the plane.”
“What does Brad do?” the teacher asks you.
At that point, you, who are playing Brad Pitt, look at your script to find out what you are supposed to do or say next. The paper is blank except for Brad’s name. This is free-form impromptu acting. No “official” script. So it is up to you to put yourself in Brad’s shoes and decide what he would likely do in this situation. Does he tell the crying woman to shut-up and then move to the seat next to her so he can tackle the hijacker next time he walks by? Or does he pick up his own cell-phone and call his agent to ask how popular he would be if he just sat there and did nothing? Or does he try to move closer to where a body of hijackers are (he would have to do other things to get to this point) and try to over hear their plans? Or… whatever else you decide he would likely do. Since this is like a script reading, you are not actually getting up and doing any of the things you say Brad Pitt is doing. You are merely telling the teacher what Brad would do. Then the teacher adjusts what the hijacker or hijackers or anyone else involved would do as a response or consequences of Brad’s actions. (if Brad tackled the hijacker, the hijacker wouldn’t just let Brad have his way, he would beat Brad into submission or worse, the screaming woman might faint, the other passengers would move away or maybe even help Brad depending on what the teacher had in mind for the likely end result of this script which could be anything depending on what Brad or some other “actor” does) You, the teacher, and anyone else who has another “actor/actress” on their page would be writing the script as you went along — free-form storytelling or script writing.
A ‘paper’ role-playing-game (not an online role-playing-game which is similar but in my view somewhat limited since I can’t fly my Pegasus to where ever I please [lets say into the upper atmosphere next to the ozone layer] or change him into a tank with my wizard spell abilities [after I create the spell].and run over several of the World of War Craft monsters that stand in my way)is a little more complicated than free-form acting and involves some rules and dice but it is very similar; Social problem solving at its best.
An Aberrant Game is a superhero game that is slightly more sinister than the normal superhero comic book. Jon came up this the storyline (the teacher who creates the scene) and controls what all the non-player-characters (the hijackers, crying woman, cell-phone backseat guy) do before, during, and after whatever we do with our player characters (PCs) (Brad Pitt). The rules state what kind of player characters we can create. With those “PCs”, we can do whatever we want within the scene Jon comes up with.
More than you ever wanted to know about role-playing-games.(smirk;)
Thought #3: Choir practice. I’m a “tenor”. That doesn’t mean I can hit a high “G” in the Halleluiah Chorus and make it sound “good”. As practice goes on, I become a baritone unless I gobble down every Ricola throat lozenge I can find.
Thought #4: Jake, our dog, loves wall to wall carpet. When we had an apartment, we had big rugs and he liked those because it gives his paws and claws something to grip when he lunged after a tennis ball (his favorite toy). We sold the big rugs last fall. He lived and played on the small rugs that were left. Now, at Tim’s parents’ house, he has carpet all over the place. He lounges around in the sunbeam, unless a squirrel, bird, dog or some other event captures his attention out on the back porch which has big windows and a sliding glass door. He can look out all windows, barking at small animals, in a sunny area on carpet, surrounded by no less than 2 tennis balls…DOGGY DREAMS COME TRUE!!!
Anyway, for those that have read this, 2 days left and our trip starts. What a change this is going to be.
Blog you all later,
Dan
Tags: Choir, Jake, Pre-Trip
timdan2
Brad Pitt has a pegasus? Cool.