So what's new in your life?

[RollCasket]

Whoa! They put a price on your head?!

Wait...how much? >.>

[ThePaul]

Don't know, I never bothered to ask any of their assassins before I dispatched em.

[Bear]

In any case, I'd be interested to see what you think on the matter, and whether or not you've ever associated your interest in comedy with your interest in human interactions.

Huh, that is an interesting take. I've never really had any distinct interest in comedy at all, meaning I did not value it over other forms of entertainment. In fact, growing up I was really reserved and shy; the complete opposite of a class clown. When I would watch people, such as when my family would get together, I always felt like the wall flower or that I was observing the scene as if I was hovering above it instead of living within it. I would have that feeling pretty often and it often made me feel isolated or secluded from the group. My family is pretty lively but I was just...quietly watching them.

Out of high school and college I was still a lot like that. Working in my late teens and early 20s helped loosen me up from being so reserved, but I took myself way too seriously. I was really driven and valued a strong work ethic because of my dad. My family never had a lot of spare cash, and if I wanted games I had to buy them myself. So that meant working a lot from 12 and on with my dads plumbing business (it was just him and 1 helper). I always worked really really hard to be able to afford the stuff I wanted; I think that led to me not keeping very many friends because I was always working and my friends kinda drifted away.

Loosening up and not being so serious is still something I struggle with, honestly. I always feel like I'm in a race against time and I don't want to die feeling like I didn't "give it my all".

I do love to laugh though and I find a lot of things funny. I would watch my dad get angry at drivers on the road cutting him off or whatever and I would laugh at him. I would ask, "How do you know he isn't in an emergency? Maybe he just had someone pass away and isn't thinking clearly?" If he would get upset at missing a light, I would ask "What if missing the light prevented us from being in a crash later on?". I would always think about these myriad of possibilities and I guess that made me take things lightly.

I think being a guild leader and having a funny grandpa and lively family is what really sparked it in me. I love seeing people in a community laughing and having fun. My greatest memories are from people joking around and having fun. In that sense, I guess it would be easy to connect my interest in comedy to human interactions, because seeing other people laughing and enjoying themselves makes me really happy. I always felt, well, lets make stuff that makes us laugh and have fun and hope other will like it too. The greatest feeling with doing LiA is hearing that people laughed or smiled. Especially coming from a point where the economy sucks and a lot of things can feel shitty, I think being able to laugh, play and enjoy life is what is going to help us pick ourselves up by the bootstraps and work for something better.

[chrisb]

I would watch my dad get angry at drivers on the road cutting him off or whatever and I would laugh at him. I would ask, "How do you know he isn't in an emergency? Maybe he just had someone pass away and isn't thinking clearly?" If he would get upset at missing a light, I would ask "What if missing the light prevented us from being in a crash later on?"

I still do this to myself. Really does help lower road rage.

[TracerBullet]

Hey Bear, any tips from your time being a leader? I ask because I just became the de-facto leader of a new club at the local college in hopes of making an actual game (or a working piece of one). Lord, I hope I know what I'm doing and haven't overscheduled myself again.

Also, got an interview for a summer teaching job lined up this week. In an interesting twist, they want to interview me through a video-chat. Fingers crossed and all that.

[Bear]

Hmm, that's kind of a tough one Tracer. Let's see.

1) Be bold. Be as confident as you can be, but don't be uptight. If you are timid, you won't be taken seriously or people will talk and walk over you.
2) Be easygoing. Try to maintain an approachable demeanor and encourage conversation. Reach out to people and get them to share things about themselves or their thoughts on the project. You don't want to be too serious either.
3) Sense your environment. Get a feel for energy levels, attitudes and group dynamics. This will help a lot for steering the general direction of the groups efforts. Being able to diffuse tension is a huge asset.
4) Check the ego. Even if you KNOW you are right, never assume you are or that it invalidates someones perspective or experience. It's okay to disagree and it's okay for people to be wrong.
5) Don't take it personally. Sometimes people will have unreasonable expectations of you or may be genuinely feeling let down. Be able to see those issues and act to resolve them as best you can; assure them you are giving your all. Learn to be able to take jokes thrown at you or criticism flung your way.
6) Keep your cool. If they bark at you, let them bark and learn not to reciprocate the anger; keep a level head and think of creative solutions to the source of the anger.
7) Wind down. Learn to wind down and start fresh every day / session / meeting. Check old baggage for the day at the end of each day. Find ways to relax and de-stress in your off time (watch a funny movie, take a bath, play a fun game, etc.)

Being a good leader is a lot like being a good host at a party. Make sure everyone is having a fun/good/pleasant time and that the conversation is lively and flowing.

[Fixxxer 117]

I made this wallpaper.

But that is the not the full wallpaper, and it can be many different colours, all in all it took me about six hours to be able to customise it easily.

[Bear]

Haha! That is so awesome Fixxxer! I was telling Pie that she should just send you a completed one because it wouldn't take too long, but she thought giving it to you like a bit of a jigsaw was better so you could alternate colors and set the pattern to match your resolution and what not. It's really cool to see the finished wallpaper, thanks for sharing =)

[Fixxxer 117]

This is what I am using as my wallpaper:



This is just to show the different colour areas.

If anyone would like me to make them one then just tell me your resolution and colour preferences and I will make one for you.

[TracerBullet]

Thanks for the words, Bear. I'll see how it goes when the "official" meeting gets underway.