Thursday 31 January 2013

She Must be Insane Part 2


They say the road to hell was paved with good intentions.

I certainly went into this half of the month with the best of intentions and raked up some numbers with a couple of pirate killing sessions.

My momentum didn't last; however, and I ended up laid out in bed, sick, for nearly a week.

As of today, I'm back in business, and hopefully a couple of serious sit downs and I'll make up for the lost time.

Here's the round up
Booty Bay: Hated 5181
Everlook: Hated 5050
Gadgetzan: Hated 9986
Ratchet: Hated5050
Darkmoon Faire: Friendly 4450
 
Looking forward to getting in those Darkmoon Faire dailies in the upcoming week :)

Wednesday 30 January 2013

20 Days of WoW Blogging - Day 4



Day 4 - My best WoW Memory

Well... that is a loaded question.

I feel like I started to answer this with my Thanksgiving post back in November.

If I had to pick one distinct memory it was on the Lakeshire bridge when a level 40 rogue came up to mine, who was sitting on the bench waiting out rez sickness, and asked if I needed some help and maybe a guild.

This is my favourite because it sparked my first, true WoW friendship. It gave me a guild that I will remember forever. One whose name many of my toons still wear even though all of the members have moved on. Honestly, sometimes I feel like I'm still waiting for them to sign back on even though I know they aren't going to. I know that it's beyond time to move on, but now and then it's lovely to look back and think about the people who made my high school years bearable.

Anyway, I'm still horribly sick, so I'm going to pack this in for tonight. Tune in tomorrow for another installment of my journey to the insane.

Monday 28 January 2013

20 Days of WoW Blogging - Day 3



Quick little update here first. So, I'm still sick and that sucks; however, I now have Supernatural season 5 to keep me company thanks to my roommate, who did not know it's my favourite when he purchased it for me. Also, we had a bake sale for my marketing project and raked in a cool $120 so I'm super pleased with that.

Now, on to question 3. My first day in WoW

I still remember coming home with World of Warcraft. My family had taken a day trip to do some shopping and it was about a two hour drive home. I remember opening the box and reading the manual, thinking about which class I was going to play. I remember my fathers surprise that I had decided to play a rogue and not a hunter. I am a notorious animal lover.

There was anticipation and frustration as I made my account and finally signed in for the first time.

I was hooked from the first hour.

I didn't even make it off Teldrassil, but I did make it to Darnassus where I wandered about for ages, consumed with wonder at just how big Azeroth was. I had no idea that I would still be playing it now but then I was 14 and I didn't have a clue about very much.

Sunday 27 January 2013

20 Days of WoW Blogging - Day 2



Cy got me sick.

I feel awful. I have to finish my bake sale goodies. I have to do our laundry. I have so much stuff to do and only one day off to do all of it and I'm sitting at my computer, blogging because I can't fathom getting up right now.

This sucks.

My everything hurts.

Day 2 - Why I decided to start blogging.

I don't think that there is any one reason why I started blogging. It's more like a culmination lots of smaller factors.

At the time when I started blogging actively WoW had become a really solitary game for me. I had just left my guild because I disagreed with the way our raid was run, and I couldn't stand the thought of being in the same place as our raid leader for one more second. So, I left and joined my fathers alt guild to get some air and make it evident to those in my previous guild that I had moved on because I was too cowardly to tell them why I left. I mean you can't bad mouth the guild leaders girlfriend and get away with it.

So, I was feeling pretty lonely. I've always noticed how tightly knit bloggers tend to be. Regardless of the subject matter bloggers always make friends with other bloggers who write about the same things. I wanted to be part of your community so, I started a blog and hoped that I could stop being an observer and become a participant.

Also, I had some things to say. I'm pretty soft spoken... actually make that I'm really soft spoken. I've never, ever held my own in a fight whether it be with fists or words. I can count on one finger the amount of times I've stood up for myself in game without Cy having to stand up for me. I wanted a forum where I could say what I wanted without having to deal with the players I was angry with and having to read the hateful things they had to say back.

Mix those in with the fact that I've always wanted to have a blog that I actually stuck to writing for regularly and you end up with me here, 4 months in to writing Holy Nova.

Thursday 24 January 2013

20 Days of WoW Blogging



Have I mentioned yet, that I was Navispamed? Wait, I did? Oh. Sorry, still coming down from that.

Now,  the real reason why I brought that up was to cleverly segue into why I'm doing the "20 days of WoW blogging." You see, while I was chatting it up with Navimie, she mentioned that she wanted to visit to get to know me a bit better. I've noticed that, as a recurring theme through the segment. Whether they be readers, writers of blogs she reads, or people she admires in general, she visits them all to get a better idea of who they are, as people.

With that in mind, I wanted to find a way to let readers learn a little bit more about me, without having to try and catch me online. So, I've decided to do Spellbound's 20 days of WoW Blogging Challenge. Please, bear in mind that I may not be able to do it 20 days in a row. My schedule is already packed to the brim. I can promise that I will try to do these as expediently as possible.

We start with day 1. Introduce yourself.

Hi, my name is Malkshake, Malk for short. I've been playing WoW since August of 2005. My first character was a rogue, but in late 2007 I decided to change mains and have been priest healing ever since.

I graduated high school in 2008. That's right, I was one of the high school baddies everyone complains about. I took my first year of university toward a BSc, and quit midway through my second year and promptly signed up for pastry school and graduated from the Culinary Institute of Canada in 2010. I'm currently attending college full time in Business Administration and next year I will be specializing in Accounting. Ultimately I'd like to receive my professional designation in a few years and get a cushy job working in the financial sector. In my spare time I like to WoW, write for my blog, and I draw a little too.  At home I have two kitties and a dog who lives with my parents because my dad decided he liked him too much to let him move out with me. To be fair the dog loves my father way more than he ever loved me.

In WoW, I am a level 90 discipline night elf priest. I'm strictly a healer, meaning my secondary spec is holy, and I've been that way since Wrath. I've held multiple positions in a number of hardcore raiding guilds primarily throughout Wrath; however, have taken a more backseat role presently as my schoolwork and job have taken priority. Most of the time these days you'll find me treating WoW as an escape from the real world. In the time that I get to play I'm usually chasing some new mount, pet, or title, most recently the insane. I'll also admit to having been quite the achievement whore in the past. Sometimes, I just like to sit on WoW and write for my blog. I don't know why, but it's always easier to hammer out an article if Hemoglobin is sitting there on the screen.

I have a handful of alts, all of them alliance. The most noteworthy of which are: an 87 resto/enchance shaman, an 87 frost death knight, an 85 resto druid, an 85 assassination/subtlety rogue and a level 80 holy paladin who is currently looking for a Herald of the Titans group both for gearing and ultimately getting the achievement.

I think that is probably enough rambling for now. If you have any questions that aren't likely to be addressed through the 20 days challenge, or if you want to do this with me please drop me a line at my email malkshakevg@gmail.com

Wednesday 23 January 2013

Caught

You'll never guess who caught me online this past Sunday. Navimie, of Daily Frostwolf and Navispam fame.

I should have taken pictures, but I was just so excited that I completely forgot, so for pictures you'll have to head over here and check out her post about the visit. I had a great time getting to chat with her, and for more details check out her post.

Ultimately, I'm just so pleased that she took the time to come out and visit me and more than a little star struck, if I can be honest. And for those of you wondering, yes, it was Navi who gifted me my silkworm.

Wee I got a golden seal :D

Sunday 20 January 2013

Sunday morning minipost

When your time in Warcraft is a measure of how much rep you can grid, how many pirates you can kill, how much closer you can get to reaching a goal, it can be very lonely. The smallest of gestures, a wave, or a "hey, you are you doing" can resonate and and make you feel like you're not alone.

This little silkworm was sent to me, for reasons other than my rep grind earlier this week. I won't reveal the sender, yet, as I haven't had a chance to ask her directly but she knows who she is. While I sent a mail back, it didn't feel like it was enough. So I wanted to just publicly say thank you thank you <3. He's been a great little buddy trudging through the sands and wiggling when I'm standing around checking mail or twitter.

Tuesday 15 January 2013

She Must Be Insane Part 1


Yay, time for the first installment of my Insane journey.

As the first two weeks of this project draw to a close, I am a little bit disappointed in my lack of progress. I'm laying the blame on my /slightly/ obsessive personality, which I honestly thought was going to help me power through this. Apparently, my brain likes obsessing over things that are more fun than killing pirates in Tanaris.


Things like spirit wolf dancing in Karazhan and playing with tiny toy boats.

Honestly though, I've been reading. Yes, reading. You see I got a Kobo e-reader for Christmas from my parents and I bought a snazzy case for it. This one to be specific - 1984. So, I've been walking around town trying to get people to fall for it, because it looks like I'm reading a book, a classic book. They'll think "Oh my, she's so intelligent/cultured/whatever" when I really have 50 shades loaded on it. I've had a great time so far with it, and fooled a couple of classmates all of whom asked me if I've read the real book (No, it's next on my to-buy list when I have some extra cash)

That being said, I did name some progress on the rep front so here are my current totals

Booty Bay: Hated 2665
Everlook: Hated 2665
Gadgetzan: Hated 5340
Ratchet: Hated 2665
Darkmoon Faire: Friendly 4450

All in all definitely not where I wanted to be at this stage, but progress is progress. I will do better next time :)

Thursday 10 January 2013

Blog Azeroth Shared Topic: No Favourites

Blog Azeroth proposes a new topic for bloggers to discuss every week. This week is courtesy of Mataoka of Sugar and Blood.



A few weeks ago, I noticed logging onto some characters seemed to be more irksome than others, it dawned on me that there were a few who never, ever seemed to be a chore to play. My question is, (and yes, you need to have more than one character over level 1) which of your characters do you always look forward to “seeing?” But the real question is why? Perhaps think of this from a role playing perspective, that this character has a personality, play style and demeanor that inevitably just works. I’d love to meet them!

 



Wow, this one was so difficult for me. Not because I can't pick a favourite. That part is easy - priest. Hands down. No contest. She's my highest level character, has the most hours played (hours is less embarrassing than days or weeks), the most raid progress, and before they became account wide the largest collection of mounts, pets and achievements on my account. It's safe to say that everything I do on WoW, I do first on my priest.

It's the second part of this topic that I find hard to put into words. Why? It's hard for me to explain the attachment I feel for this particular character, and where I don't roleplay at all I don't see her as a separate entity apart from myself but rather as a part of myself. Telling you why she is my favourite requires introspection, and it's hard to tell you why I feel such an affinity for this particular character. I'm sure that part of it, probably a big part actually, is class.

I can't remember if I've talked about this here yet, but I have not always been a priest. I spent at least my first year, probably closer to two years now that I think about it in Warcraft, as a rogue.


She's changed many times since I created her, but this is actually my original character currently masquerading as a worgen. I actively viewed myself as having a rogue main up until well into Burning Crusade. I had always been curious about a priest alt, but making the transition to healing from melee dps was a big step for me. It was a step I eventually made, and have never looked back, at least not for long.

Fundamentally, I feel like everyone in WoW has a class that resonates with them the most. If not a class, then at least a role. From playing her, I learned than I am a healer. More than that, I am a priest. While I have many alts, that I enjoy playing, I always come back to my priest. She has become for me something like a pair of well loved, perfectly broken in sneakers - I am most at home in Azeroth when I'm playing her.

While I'm sure that class has a great deal to do with why she is my favourite, I know that's not all there is to this. Part of it, I'm certain, is also in her name. I've gone to great lengths to preserve her original name and even when Cy moved servers I stayed behind. I cannot imagine her having any name other than Hemoglobin. It's irrational, I know but it's important to me.

In short, there is no one reason why this is the toon I idle in Stormwind on - I have characters on more active servers that would entertain me in trade much more than Staghelm does. In fact, I am logged in, idling while I write this. The words come more freely if I'm logged in idling while I write.

I'm not sure how to wrap this up... so here is an unrelated picture I drew in Marketing.

For those unfamilliar with Trogdor the Burninator you can check him out here through this link and if you like the doodle, check out my flikr, link on the right.

Tuesday 8 January 2013

Chibi

Yesterday I encountered the chibi maker, via twitter and too fell prey to it. So, if you've got an hour or two to spare I thoroughly recommend clicking this link and playing around with it yourself.

I made a chibi Hemoglobin - it's supposed to be tier 6. I added the wings because I'm atonement spec...


Wednesday 2 January 2013

Insane? She Must Be

Those are lock boxes. Heavy junkboxes to be specific, and the last 85 boxes my rogue will ever pick pocket from LBRS. That's right, I attained exalted status with Ravenholdt last night. I've been working on Ravenholdt for a long time, way longer than I'm willing to admit. Now that I have it, I've decided it's time to seriously work on netting myself the insane title.

 Insane in the Membrane
Bloodsail Buccaneers - Honored
Ravenholdt - Exalted
Everlook - Exalted
Booty Bay - Exalted
Gadgetzan - Exalted
Ratchet - Exalted
Darkmoon Faire - Exalted

So, I'm already a Bloodsail Admiral and I got Ravenholdt last night. I'm moving on to the Cartel now and it's going to be a long, boring journey considering they HATE me and I'm going to over-achieve this bad boy by keeping my bloodsail rep as intact as is humanly possible.

Therein lies the problem. I have a hard time sticking to things like this. Long, boring, tedious grinds are not really my cup of tea.  In the interest of forcing myself to remain committed to putting in the time and effort to net myself the title, I've decided that I'm going to start my first recurring segment, "She Must be Insane" where I will keep all of you up to speed on where I am at in the grind, maybe share some adventures that happen along the way and, if anyone is interested, maybe even host a couple of cross-server grind-a-thons with anyone who wants to join me on my home server of Staghelm.

At this time, I'm still not back in school so I don't have a realistic idea of how frequently I'll be able to run the segment but for right now I feel comfortable setting a bi-monthly posting schedule once on the 15th and once on the 30th of each month. 

I look forward to reporting on my progress from Tanaris. For me, the grind starts tonight.

Current rep
Booty Bay - Hated 87/36000
Everlook - Hated 87/36000
Gadgetzan - Hated 174/36000
Ratchet - 87/36000