Blogs take too long to make, just so you all are aware.  The amount of tinkering that goes into making the design work within the functions of a blog is obnoxious at best and downright hernia-creating at worst.  But the fact of the matter is, I like to talk, as most of my friends will tell you.  And I really like to talk about gaming.  Why?  Because, we all have to have an obsession.  Some of us even have to have more than one.

I started my love affair with video games, back in the days of Mario Brothers.  My dad likes to tell me about Pong, but I'm afraid that I missed that era, and it's almost impossible to truly recapture the feeling that he must have experienced when Pong came out.  I liken it to my experience with Mario.  We didn't have much money when I was a kid, so having an actual Nintendo was a real splurge.  My mom was far too addicted to Tetris, and my dad was so pumped about Mario Bros. 3 that he bought the guide, pulled it apart and put it inside plastic sheet protectors in a binder.  It stayed that way until I graduated from highschool.

We had that Nintendo right up until I moved away from home at the prime age of nineteen.  However, one Thanksgiving inbetween I discovered my cousin playing Final Fantasy VII and from there on I was hooked.  It took me a couple years to finally save up for a Playstation of my own, so I bought the game for my computer.  Thank you, Squaresoft, for making at least two of the games in your series for the PC.  Of course, it crashed halfway through and I didn't get to finish the game until I was, again, about nineteen.

When it comes to actual tabletop roleplaying or gasp, LARP, that experience didn't come until college.  The latter, actually, until I moved to Bellingham.  When I was really little, we played with our Barbies in something akin to what I think of roleplaying, but nude plastic dolls don't really cover the experience.  A love of theatre and improvisation really drove it home for me, so when my theatre crew in college invited me to play Dungeons and Dragons with them, I accepted (despite the fact of hearing how evil it was through the course of growing up).  What I actually discovered were the joys of being able to let my imagination fly as an adult, because God forbid that any of us actually have imagination past the age of 11.  If you did, all your schoolmates would make fun of you for still playing with toys.

Let me fill you in on a little secret.  I love toys.  I always have.  I have about 175 My Little Ponies to prove it.

Sadly, I moved away from that group of friends five years ago, although I have many memories and great experiences.  If any of you read this, I think of you at least once a week!  On a happier note, I acquired a new set of friends in Bellingham, that took my experience to the next level: Live Action.

If you're a roleplayer, and you've never tried LARPing, let me tell you: If you like theatre, dressing up like a little kid, and making everyone at the college think that you're a bunch of roving psychos?  This is the way to go for you!

All dramatics aside, playing my handful of characters in LARP (and when I say handful, I mean it, as it is nothing to the amount that either Whimsy or Melbonia have played in their gaming experience) has been a great opportunity.  I know most people say that when they're winning an award, but I'm serious!  I've met great people, have had a lot of laughs, and have gotten to let my imagination go once again.

And now, here I am, writing about it for the rest of the world to see, enjoy, and probably make fun of.

But, seriously again, welcome to Chicks W/ Dice.  Enjoy the show!