The Day I Joined the Alliance

The first idea I had of it was bad. I’d heard of marriages going to the pooper because of it, so when my husband started playing World of Warcraft he got an earful from me and tons of wife aggro afterward. That didn’t stop him from playing, though. Then he mentioned I would probably like the game.

I had time to prepare for about a year and a half before I made the decision. I learned the meaning of terms like DPS, DOT, aggro pulling, etc. I also contributed greatly to the wife aggro pool when the husband spent what I considered too much time playing WoW; I even thought about joining the Widows of WoW club a couple of times. Then I decided to give it a try, and the first time I created a character I thought “Well, this is too much work and too much walking.” — Not to mention John was helping with his >60 level character, so it wasn’t much of a challenge for me. The first time I played WoW, it only lasted one evening. And then I decided to really play. I’m sure my husband regrets insisting so much. Hah!

When I loaded the game a couple of days ago, the daily tip was: “Take everything in moderation. Even World of Warcraft.” — Yes, it can get REALLY addictive, and it IS time-consuming. If you have the time to play without getting your life messed up, be grateful. And yes, take it in moderation. World of Warcraft is a beautifully designed game I never thought I would enjoy so much. Being a pacifist, killing things to earn something is not very appealing to me… oh well, you gotta level and get your achievements. I love watching my character(s) light up when I get to a new level, I love looking at my achievements and see how many I’ve gotten. But most of all, I love to explore the game, look at the places, enjoy the colors and discover (there are some places I’ll skip, though — too dark for me).

My main character is a Gnome Warlock named Trizilla who is now level 54 55. Following my husband’s advice to let her rest without having to give up playing, I created alt characters: A Night Elf Druid named Zooks (22), a Gnome Mage named Mafalda (21) and my latest is a Draenei Shaman named Electrolita (14). Trizilla is definitely my favorite; I love my little demons (especially the imp, Zepkin, who gives me attitude all the time), but I’m getting very fond of my shaman.

I’ve met really cool people who have helped me tons (Frotobaggins, Míme, Barek especially deserve a big thank you — and of course Super Logtar/Hollogos, our Guild Master and my lovely husband) and I enjoy the social aspect of the game very much.

People say I’m good at questing (not to mention the game is way easier to play now, but that’s not my fault so don’t hate me — It’s Blizzard’s idea) and I’m always looking for the right dungeon. I’ve discovered I don’t want to heal or tank, but I’ll try my best to give you the best DPS (Damage Per Second) I can. I blame it on my type B personality; I don’t want to be the center of attention or carry the biggest responsibility, I just want to be a great team player.

So yes, I joined the Alliance and I’m loving it. I secretly want to join the Horde, though, just to create a Blood Elf because they’re pretty. ;-)

One more thing: BoondockSaints kick ass!

I Don’t Want to Carry the Weight Anymore

Moving to Chicago meant I had to get a whole new set of doctors. I’ve been lucky enough to find good ones that (seem to) know what they are doing and with very short drives from home. My first visit with the endocrinologist was great and I’ve been taking care of myself, following (almost) all his recommendations. Next appointment was with the OB-GYN to discuss my rather frustrating femaleness and the whole trying to conceive thing; not an easy task for a person like me.

I am not blind to my health issues. I am morbidly obese (that took courage to write down!), I have type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol levels, a poor-functioning thyroid gland and other conditions related to my weight. It annoys me to no end when people talk to me as if they think I have no idea of what I have to deal with. Yet I don’t do enough to change things; or maybe I do but it doesn’t work.

I’ve been chubby all my life. I have tried every single diet in the book. I remember my mom making me drink grapefruit juice and other badly-tasting concoctions every morning when I was a kid. When I was in 5th grade I went to see weight-loss doctor who ended up giving me amphetamines to everyone’s dismay. When I went to college I saw a doctor who was very much in vogue with the Atkins diet. I’ve seen tons of dietitians; I’ve done the Herbalife thing and some others. In 2005 I was able to lose 50% of the weight I need to get rid of all by myself, but once I left the discipline of eating healthy and going to the gym every day I’m back at square one. It happens all the time; people think you have no will power or that you’re lazy. They don’t get that obesity is a chronic disease.

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Earth Shaking, Hearts Bleeding

One of the most striking images I’ve seen of the Haiti earthquake’s aftermath is one of a child sitting on the street with this huge fear in his eyes. He can’t be older than 6 or 7 and the desperation on his face makes me cry every time I see it. I feel what that child feels and I want to run there, carry him on my arms and tell him everything is going to be fine; I want to protect him so much. I haven’t been able to find a photo of that child online, but I keep seeing it on TV news. It’s one of those scenes that will be forever engraved in my mind.

A country like Haiti, already hit not only by political turmoil and violence, but a series of hurricanes in a short period of time… you don’t think it can get any worse for the poorest nation of the western hemisphere. And then the earth shakes like it hasn’t in two centuries. You wonder how those people can be on the streets singing hymns. I for one ask myself (or the universe) why do these things happen? Why do people who are already suffering greatly have to go through something so devastating? I guess I have to follow my mom’s advice and don’t ask why.

Some people don’t seem to care much. Others realize this is just another tragedy in the world and choose not to let it get to them. But for me, this is a reason to stop and think what am I really doing to help the world, especially those in need? Sometimes I dream about joining a humanitarian mission and spending sometime in some place where I can make a difference in people’s life. While that may not be realistic sometimes because my life engagements and setting, I always try to help in other ways.

Mashable.com has a great post on Ways You Can Help. Take a look at it and, please, consider helping the people of Haiti.

I don’t make resolutions, but…

This year is a little different. Maybe it’s the numbers, multiples of 5 (it’s 2010 and I just turned 35); maybe it’s because 2010 is the Year of the Tiger and I’m one; or maybe I’m going through some kind of mid-life crisis that is turning out to be more positive than crazy. Whatever the reason is, I feel like I’ll be going through some big changes and I like it.

The biggest project of 2010 for me will be to pro-actively work on trying to conceive. For years I longed for one, it didn’t happen, I was miserable, then I accepted it… and then I gave up. OK, I wouldn’t put it that way; I simply started thinking that if it was God’s will for me not to have children, I would accept it without question. And when I married John, one of the things that I loved the most about him was the fact that, while he would love to have kids, he really didn’t care if we could or not. After all, there is always adoption.

But when I saw my new endocrinologist last week, and he asked me if I wanted to have kids, he could see it in my face… that I gave up. Then he asked the key question, “Have you actively pursued pregnancy? Like with a fertility doctor?” — I really never thought about it, I thought fertility clinics were for women who wanted to have in-vitro fertilization or artificial insemination done. And then I realized that I never really looked into it. Then I came across this book I’m reading called “The Fertility Diet” which has become a jewel because the first thing it’s teaching is that ovulation problems come from a poor carbohydrate metabolism. Hello! Diabetes, anyone?

And there I was, at Doctor Benjamin’s office, thinking that it is going to happen for me. He actually was more excited than I was, but also very realistic of the plethora of things I have to do first in order to give my reproductive system a chance. The biggest one is losing weight and getting my endocrine system in order. And while I got all kinds of props for a normal A1C and good diabetes management, I am not very proud of the weight management. But I am not going to elaborate on that… no point.

I’ll see the dietitian next week and start from there. Then, hopefully with my new job I’ll be able to join the school’s fitness center. And just for laughs, when John told me we could exercise at home and I said “What about cardio?,” he replied “Honey, we’re fat. Any kind of exercise will automatically become cardio for us.” — Now, that’s the spirit. ;-)

And that’s my non-resolution #1. I’ll have others, but they are stories for another time.

2009 Season’s Greetings

See you in 2010. Have a blessed holiday season, don’t worry about the carb intake (unless you’re diabetic!), enjoy your time with family and friends and get ready for a wonderful new year. Oh, stop by and tell me what Santa brings you… I’m curious like that!