• Uldaman 7-5-10 (10 Points)
• The Battle For Mount Hyjal 7-5-10 (10 Points)
• Toravon The Ice Watcher [25 Player] 7-6-10 (10 Points)
• Koralon The Flame Watcher [25 Player] 7-6-10 (10 Points)
• Toravon The Ice Watcher [10 Player] 7-6-10 (10 Points)
• Fo’ Grizzle My Shizzle 7-7-10 (10 Points)
• Magtheridon’s Lair 7-7-10 (10 Points)
• Gruul’s Lair 7-7-10 (10 Points)
• Into The Basin 7-8-10 (10 Points)
• Working Day And Night 7-9-10 (10 Points)
• Icecrown: The Final Goal 7-10-10 (10 Points)
• Loremaster Of Northrend 7-10-10 (10 Points)
• Heroic: The Forge Of Souls 7-10-10 (10 Points)
• Zul’Farrak 7-10-10 (10 Points)
• Sous Chef 7-10-10 (10 Points)
• Fish Don’t Leave Footprints 7-10-10 (10 Points)
• Northrend Dungeon Hero 7-10-10 (20 Points)
• Heroic: Ahn’kahet: The Old Kingdom 7-10-10 (10 Points)
• The Cake Is Not A Lie 7-11-10 (10 Points)
• 1500 Quests Completed 8-7-10 (10 Points)
• Split Personality 8-8-10 (10 Points)
• Epic 8-9-10 (25 Points)
• Filling Up The Barn 8-11-10 (10 Points)
• Chasing Marcia 8-11-10 (10 Points)
• Temple Of Ahn’Qiraj 8-11-10 (10 Points)
• Champion Of Gnomeregan 8-12-10 (10 Points)
• It’s Just A Flesh Wound 8-12-10 (10 Points)
• A Silver Confidant 8-12-10 (10 Points)
• The Blood Furnace 8-12-10 (10 Points)
• 10 Dalaran Cooking Awards 8-13-10 (10 Points)
• Our Daily Bread 8-13-10 (10 Points)
• 10 Exalted Reputations 8-15-10 (10 Points)
• 500 Honorable Kills 8-15-10 (10 Points)
• Dinner Impossible 8-16-10 (10 Points)
• The Northrend Gourmet 8-16-10 (10 Points)

And that’s it for an an up to date list since the last post, 325 more points since July 4th, bringing me to 3,395 / 11,675. Still a long way to go, but if I keep it up, maybe I’ll hit 5,000 by the time Cataclysm comes out. Even if I don’t, I’ve found a new love of the game by doing achievements, learning new recipes, trying to get a new fishing pole from the Dalaran Fishing Dailies (Bone Fishing Pole | Jeweled Fishing Pole) which is impossible. Trying to earn exalted status so I can buy enough mounts to get the Albino Drake, as well as enough vanity pets to get the skunk (Reeking Pet Carrier), and a number of other opportunities available in game. I still don’t have my tier 10 gear from frost badges, I’m running around in level 219 – 245 gear when I could have 264 – 277. What I’m saying is there’s still plenty of things to do while waiting for the new expansion, and somehow, I’ve found a new love of the game for which I abandoned for six months!

Note: In part of the first video it sounds like I contradict myself about years, I should have stated after saying five years, that I never crossed that bridge until around five years ago. I’ve been going back in those woods for about nine years now. =)

I see too many people who are worse off then myself, and a lot of times I’m pretty rude to them, just because I think they’re below me in stature, where, in reality, they probably have a better grasp on life then I do. It’s a common thing I think most of us do without realizing it, and I know I’ve complained about people a lot over the years, so I’m no better. As much as I resent the rich, just for having so much, I am truly happy with what I have, so I think I need to show a little compassion towards others. So what am I thankful for you may ask?

I have a beautiful and compassionate wife who takes very good care of me and our furry children, in fact, unlike our early years together, she’s the one who brings in the most money. This isn’t really uncommon nowadays, but still a bit foreign to me as I was raised old fashioned and for the most part have been the one who provided. I have a roof over my head, granted, it’s an apartment, but it’s mine and I enjoy coming home, I just found out someone we know was living in a car for over six months, so at least I have a home to come to. Samaree, with her crazy coupons and price matching always makes sure we have food, so we’re both always nourished, something I know a lot in every community are not. I know our food pantries keep running out of food and it’s something we should all contribute too (Samaree & I, as well as my Mom are giving a box of food to someone we know that really needs it). I have a job, Samaree has a job, and although we’d be classified as poor, we’re pretty well off, we’re not rich by any stretch of the word, but we never really worry about money because we’re smart with it, or I guess I should say, “I’m smart with our money”.  I’m in relatively good health, and Samaree is as well other than her back which she goes to the chiropractor once a month for, something I know a lot of other people aren’t in any position to do so (and no, we don’t have insurance). We have transportation, as old and rusted as it is, that car has, and still gets us around everyday, even long trips, which equates to a thirty minute drive, it doesn’t like it, but it still makes it. We have food for our furry children, Bijou Grace (Dog) and Kamilah Marie (Cat), and we take good care of them. We have cable television, cell phones, and high speed internet (our extravagant’s), as well as computers, three of them, a PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii and two televisions, all of these we don’t need, but have.

So I’m thankful I’m not living in a tent city like a lot of people, I’m thankful I have a loving wife, a roof over my head and food to eat. I’m thankful for getting to share my life with animals I call my children, who otherwise might have been killed because no one would have adopted them. I’m thankful for my friends, my family, and the life I have. Things may be doom and gloom for a lot of us, but try and remind yourself of what you have and others don’t, when we really sit down and think about it, we’re better off than a lot of others.

But you know what? I’m no better than any of these other people that I’ve treated unfairly, they deserve the same respect I’d expect given to me, so I think I’m going to try and show a little more compassion towards my fellow man. This is just my observation of myself, does this ring true with you as well?

Oh, the only add-ons I’m using are Bagnon, Gearscore, QuestHelper, and Recount.

Back in 1995-1996 I believe it was, seems so long ago now, I was forced to make a decision I didn’t want to make at such a young age. Yes, I was 18-19 then, but still the decision that I had to make wasn’t an easy one any young adult should have to make, especially because it dealt with mistakes your parent made (sorry, I don’t hold this against you, I still Love You). But having made this decision, my life was forever changed, I no longer had the same comforts I was used to, and in a lot of ways was put in an alien situation I had to quickly adopt to which I wasn’t accustomed to at all. That decision was that I moved to my father’s, someone I had only seen off and on for the last 8 years because he was locked up until I was 10. He was in the Army from 18 and did something really dumb that landed him in prison, I won’t get into all the details, but I do love my dad very much, he taught me a lot and I’m thankful for having him so please don’t take this negatively.

As I said, this is something very personal to me, something I don’t share with a lot of people, mostly Samaree and very close friends, but I feel others should read what I have to write. Maybe it will help them, or maybe it will bring to light some of the things that people carry with them forever, and perhaps, it’s an outlet for me (more likely).

When that time came, and I left, moved on, I felt awful, hurt, inside, my heart was aching, I’d no longer be with my mother or my two brothers, the three people who were always there for me. It really screwed with my head, and not being that close to my dad at the time drove me away from my new home. I would seek out shelter in the wilderness, I’d build my own little huts, start small fires, and spend hours alone outdoors, away from people, taking in the comfort of nature. I’d also spend a lot of time talking to God, I’d ask him why things worked out the way they did, why I was put in this situation, and what was I suppose to do. I was raised a Christian, and was always taught God answers your prayers, God answers you when you talk to him, although I was also taught, sometimes you won’t like the answers. At the time I really didn’t understand what that meant, now that I’m older, I do. Because of that, I thought God didn’t even know who I was, I thought I was talking to the wind, the trees, the birds, whatever was around me when I was all alone. And this is where my spirituality changed, to where I am today in my life, older, wiser, and quite honestly, more happy in my spiritual life than I’ve ever been. Because after 2 years with my dad, his wife, three step-children, and me, I couldn’t take it anymore, I moved in with my Grandparents. This was only a couple months before my dad and his family would move to where they were as well, so we weren’t separated for very long, at least distance wise.

When I moved in with my Grandma & Grandpa it was another alien world to me, something I did know I was getting into, but still alien. There was no television, not since 1977, a radio, but only the Christian station was allowed to be on, and I had to take my earrings out upon entering the house. My grandparents were very devoted Christians, and although different, I love them to pieces, they were awesome! My grandpa passed away last year, and because of my job at the time I couldn’t go, my grandma had the funeral taped so I could see it (and although she doesn’t know, I still haven’t got up the nerve to watch it, I don’t think I can handle it). And likewise, the same as with my dad, I took shelter in the wilderness, it was the only place I found peace with myself and my situation, even though I loved my grandparents for taking me in when I couldn’t handle my situation. But I also had a bike, a really nice one in fact, I had saved my money from my fast food job to get one just so I could ride into town to escape when I needed to.

One day I rode to Barnes & Noble, and I must’ve spent 2 or 3 hours there looking around, reading the backs of books, drinking a coffee no doubt as well. This is when I stumbled into the New Age section and a book caught my eye, The 21 Lessons Of Merlyn by Douglas Monroe (Note: this is not a recommended book now), I had always been fascinated with King Arthur and this book seemed like it was right up my alley. I bought it that day and rode home to start reading, it was amazing to me at the time (in fact I own a copy now just so I can see where I started from), it was as if the book was speaking directly to me. I began to do all the teachings within, remembering verses as best I could, trying to emulate what I had read, and for me it worked, on a very spiritual level. It was a book about Druidry, and I am one, then, today, and always. I still remember the very first part of that book, I could probably recite it to you word for word, but it was to find your blue stone, a stone Merlyn had given Arthur to contact him if ever the occasion arose. I honestly never thought I would, but there was a stream near my grandparents house that I’d sit at for hours and think, about life and whatever else was on my mind, it had become a daily stop for me, a sanctuary of sorts I guess. Well, one day as I sat there thinking, almost drifting off, I caught a glimmer in the stream, something that almost looked like glass, the suns rays were pounding off it, and there when I reached in, was a perfectly flat, perfectly smooth, blue stone. And I still have it, it sits on my desk most days, but when I’m really feeling, well down, or not quite myself, it’s in my pocket to help me throughout my day.

This may seem like a trivial thing to some, but this is what kept me going through those times in my life where I had thought I’d lost it all and would be separated from my family forever. And besides that, it brought me closer to nature, something I still cherish everyday because we’re losing it at a rapid pace and it’s sad.

And I know, it’s at this point my family and perhaps some of my friends are going to start judging me, saying I’m a Pagan, and I worship the devil or some other such nonsense, but I don’t. I still worship Jesus Christ, because Paganism/Druidry doesn’t make you worship some other being, it teaches you things about yourself, about nature, and how to co-exist with it. I consider myself a Christian-Druid, I’m still deeply rooted in the Christian faith, but Druidry brings me closer to Mother Earth and nature, something I think we could all use in this day and age. And just because I feel like I need to, here’s some facts about the Druid faith you may not now, and could possibly be surprised by as well;

• In ancient times, when Druids were a large religion, they served as the Judges, Historians, Doctors, Educators & More. They were highly regarded within society.
• When the council of Nicaea met, with Emperor Constantine, it was met with the Christians and Druids, so they could put aside their differences and create the dates that we now celebrate for Christian holidays. Afterwords, because Christianity became the major religion, the Druids were sought after and killed!
• Jesus wasn’t born on December 25th, the holiday we all celebrate as Christmas (or the birth of Christ). It was the Pagan holiday of Saturnalia, a week of lawlessness between December 17th – 25th, and to keep the Pagans happy it was decided they could still celebrate their day, along with Christians, on December 25th.

I’m not going to go on and on with the messed up dates that Christians celebrate thinking that they’re their own, because they’re not, they all originated somewhere else, mostly with Paganism. If you’re a true Christian, do some research and find out for yourself. I’m not trying to sound rude, but for crying out loud it’s your spiritual life, learn about it!

Look, for anyone wondering, I do technically belong to the Order of Bards, Druids & Ovates in England, the only true place where you can get real teachings about Druidry, but I’m still connected in my Christian faith. I’m not someone different than the person you met when you met me, I just think I’m more spiritually grounded within the earth, I appreciate the world around me, something I feel that is disappearing at an alarming rate. I know some people, very close people who aren’t spiritual at all, and I think, everyone, should have some sort of spiritual life, it will help you, no matter what it is. I may not agree with all of them, but I understand the need for it, and there is something out there for everyone.

I’m 33 years old now, and I shouldn’t have to hide who I am, I’m happy with myself, my life, and how I and my life turned out. I learned a lot from my experiences, and it brought me closer to my spiritual self, and I feel I’m a better person for it. This post is meant for my friends, my family, and anyone else who has been battling with themselves to tell their loved ones, they’re different. We can’t all be the same, and that is what makes this world a better place.

I hope you enjoyed a little something about me…

Here’s where the dumb part comes in, where I’m actually going to complain about the stupidity of Apple’s choices sometimes. When I got my iPhone I did upgrade to the iOS 4 software because there was a pretty painless jailbreak process for it, so that was no big deal. But, when I got home from vacation and plugged it into my iMac, immediately iTunes tells me there is an update for not only iTunes but for my iPhone as well, it’s software update 4.0.1. So knowing that I’ll have to search out an updated jailbreak, if it’s even available, I do a search online to see what exactly the update does, as in, is it worth my time to update. Here’s the update notes;

The iOS 4.0.1 Software Update improves the formula to determine how many bars of signal strength to display on iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 3G. The real signal strength remains the same, but the bars on iPhone will indicate it more precisely.

What in the hell does that mean? I mean seriously, what kind of corporate mumbo jumbo is this? Upon further inspection, because of the backlash of users with the new iPhone 4 and it’s horrible signal strength, Apple decided that if they just made the bars on the phone bigger things would seem better. Uh, yeah… No! And besides that, it’s a flippin’ 300MB download! Why on earth would I update my phone, regardless if mine is older or not for my signal bars to be bigger? It’s ludicrous! Is this really how Apple plans on fixing their mistakes? Oh no, of course not, if you bought a new iPhone 4 you also get a free bumper for your phone, this is more in lines with something I like to see, not some stupid nonsensical update to hide what’s wrong.

For the love of God Apple, if you want to keep your loyal customers this is not the way to go, please, please, I’m begging you, don’t become Micros%&$!

For lunch we had tuna sandwiches again because it sounded good, also chips and leftover pasta salad. Then, it was back to the pool to cool off again. After this round of the pool was over we bought ice cream from the store, I got a Snickers Ice Cream Bar and Samaree got a Drumstick, they were delicious! Back at camp, clothes changed, we headed out to gather wood again for our dinner and late night campfire. Gathering this wood every night is more work than it sounds, and certainly makes me appreciate my electric fireplace and furnace at home.

For dinner ….. campfire pizza! This is something we’ve never tried before, but it turned out really good other than the bottom got burnt. It was pepperoni, mushrooms, onion, bell peppers and Italian cheese blend, so good. =)

As the sun was setting and our bellies full, we sat by the fire once more to talk and relax. Tonight we had left out pizza crusts and watermelon cubes for the mama raccoon and her little ones. Shortly after dusk we heard a noise behind us, and upon looking, there was mama on our picnic table! She was trying to get out the tomato sauce that was left from the can Samaree forgot to throw away. I got up and coaxed her away again, telling her we had left food out for her already right on the trail. Eventually she found the scraps, and to our shock, there wasn’t just two young raccoons, but five! It really was amazing to see this family out looking for food together. And as previous nights, we’ll look forward to seeing her tomorrow as well.

For lunch we had Ramen noodles (chicken) and vegetables with dip, just something light because it was already later in the afternoon than we had thought. With our stomachs no longer aching with hunger, we headed back to the pool! It still hadn’t rained yet so why not enjoy it as much as we could. When we finally managed to get out for the day, it was time to gather wood once again for the evening campfire and cooktop. It’s actually one of the really nice things about staying here. As long as you’re not lazy, gathering wood is a lot more cost effective than paying $5 a bundle for it at the store.

For dinner we had barbeque pork chops (dry rub), mashed potatoes and green beans. I’m pretty sure most tent campers don’t eat this well! The rest of the evening was spent relaxing next to the fire and talking. And of course, like the previous night, our raccoon friend was back hoping to score some free food. This time we did leave a pork chop bone out thinking that would be enough to tide it over. It did not, but to our surprise, this was a mama raccoon because we soon saw two more pair of little glowing eyes with her.

Afterwards, we decided it would be a good idea to gather wood for the night so we didn’t have to worry about it later on. About an hour later, a large pile wood and both of us sweating, the pool sounded like an awesome idea. We spent a good hour or so in it cooling off before it was decided we needed lunch. Ham and turkey sandwiches, chips and strawberries were on the menu. When we finished we both wrote in our journals, Samaree read, and I just generally relaxed by the fire. And even though it was in the eighties and nineties every day, there’s something extremely comforting about a camp fire.

As the day wore on it soon became time for dinner, we had hamburgers with applewood bacon cheddar cheese and pasta salad, I love hamburgers over an open fire.

When the night ended with our delicious dinner, we sat in our foldout couch by the campfire to enjoy each others company. As the darkness slowly crept in on us we began to hear the rumblings in the woods, what could be walking about? It was a raccoon, boldly walking right up to us in a way of almost seeing if we’d give it anything to eat. Which of course we did not. I nicely coaxed the raccoon away as we didn’t want any trouble from our woodland neighbor.

I know this is a campground, and people, I’m sure, have given the animals food. But, they’re wild, and by doing such they will not learn naturally to hunt if handed food by us stupid humans.