Conundrum in Wizard 101

Ok, everybody who is reading this. I could really use some advice here.

First of all, my current favorite game on the internet is a mmorpg called Wizard 101. I won't go into detail about the game. Suffice it to say that it is a family-friendly role-play game, and the game play keeps me coming back. My current favorite character (let's call him LR) is a fire wizard who enjoys adventuring, being with friends, and is an avid gardener. The middle one applies to the real-world me as the only gardening that I do is pull up weeds next to my trailer, and my travels in the world are limited by my budget.

Anyways, my conundrum is thus. My character LR is currently a friend with a young lady wizard of the ice school (remember, this is a G-rated game) who I will call J. Now, J visited my in-game house to say hi and talk. After my gardening, we did talk. J was having a problem with another player. I guess that other player was overly-happy, thus making J sad and mad at the same time. I did remind J that others' feeling need to be considered, but that maybe the other player needed to respect her. (Maybe I said it wrong.) She got even sadder over that, but I then reminded her that I was her friend, and that I would always be there for her.

This is one of those times that I could get to know another player in real-life. I know there are ways to work around the game's censoring software, but this is one person who I feel needs more help than I can provide in-game. I am making it my goal to help her out as best as I can. But there is a limit to what I can do as a character in a game. I feel she needs more help, and a real-life friend could make the difference.

But, then again, I know that this could lead to trouble. After all, I think that I am old enough to be her father.

What to do? I wish I knew. I guess being there for her, even in-game, is better than running and hiding (which was my first thought). This will be a first for me since college. I have to stand up and be a true friend, even if all I am is some character in a game. And isn't that what friends do?

What's in a (nick)name...

I saw this in my list of unpublished posts, and I figured that I really needed to work on this subject. That is,...

How did someone from central Illinois come by the nickname Tobimaro?

Well, there is a story to that. It comes from my history with the internet.

Let's go back many years (not sure how many). Back to the dark, early days of the internet (at least as far as I am concerned). At that time I was living with my parents in a very small community with no cable TV (the cable franchise that fed the next town over did not come from the east [my direction] but from the south). My first internet account was on a kiosk at Kinko's in the big (for me) city on a free net called Prairienet. It was extremely primitive compared to today, as my main interests was reading email lists and catching up on my lists. No web-surfing, as the World Wide Web was in its infancy, plus my time on that kiosk was limited. But then the group behind Prairienet could not get better equipment (for free), so they decided to start charging for using their kiosk. I then decided to get my own computer and a different account.

With no cable available, I started to look at the dial-up services that were available. The only services that I could find were EarthLink and America Online. Since I could find local numbers for AOL, I went with them and set up my account. Then came coming up with my primary name...

Well, I went with my favorite anime "Urusei Yatsura". I figured that there would be some others using the names of the primary characters from that series, as the manga and anime were being released in the US. So I delved into the show a bit further. The latest translated book had a story introducing Mizunokouji Tobimaro, so I decided to use his name for my primary screen name. (I was kinda proud to have a screen name without using numbers.) And I still use the name in various locations.

I know it's not much. But I like the name. I give full credit for the name with Takahashi Rumiko and America Online.

Busy Day Ahead

Well, another post...(I really need to be more regular about these posts)

Today is June 11, and it looks to be a busy day ahead. Couple of items have come together to make this day an important one.

First of all will be a party to celebrate the second birthday of my nephew. I am looking forward to it as I do not see him that often. I do have my present ready, and I hope that his parents like it. I got an idea from a supervisor at work to get a US savings bond (to help with his future education), so I put down $25 for a $50 bond. It's not much, and I expect to do more like that, but it's the thought that counts. I also get to see his new swing set out in the back yard.

I then have to travel to the other side of my town for a cook out at the home of my supervisor. He decided to hold a cookout for the rest of the department, and the rest of the guys did not want to have it on Sunday. So, I am planning on leaving the party around 6 to make it for the cookout. I'll bring my own drinks (and I am not planning on having alcohol as I am driving). The only complication that I foresee is if the party goes late (or if my sister in law has a late meal). I'll talk more either tonight or tomorrow.