When Worlds Collide

Foreward
I have always been a social person. Consequently I also place a lot of value in the quantity and quality of relationships I've been blessed to have established throughout my life thus far. Growing up an Army Brat made developing friendships early in life a difficult and frustrating process. Standard procedure was move to new a place (ususally opposite side of the world), settle down for a couple years, begin to grow roots, get ripped away from it all. By the time I was 12 I had moved 6 times (at least) and had grown weary of the constant turbulence. Getting into my teen years I was ready to start making some lasting relationships. At this time my dad retired from the military and he decided to settle us down in good ol' Texas. This is where the story begins.

Chapter 1
My 7th grade year I met some guys that would begin to help shape who I am today. We shared the same values, faith, interests, and humor, and life with them was really fun. REALLY FUN. After high school we started a band and that was REALLY FUN (for 4 years then life happened). As fate/God (take your pick, i pick Big G) would have it, life with them is STILL REALLY FUN . We've all grown up (wives might say otherwise and be mostly right), most have married, some have had kids and we're all doing our part to be productive in life. We are doing our best to be good men/husbands/fathers. A few have joined the military, done/doing tours in Iraq (we're all proud of you guys!!! I hope you know that even if we aren't always good at communicating it) while others are having their dreams realized (youth ministry/missions). We try to get together when we can (several of us still live in town) but there's always that blasted "life" to work around. Life hasn't stopped and time continues to take its toll, but life has also provided opportunity.

Chapter 2
Some years ago some of these guys started really getting into online games. Some guys did Starcraft, some did Warcraft, and some did Star Wars Galaxies. I'm sure there were some Diablo fans in there as well and likely others more than that. We all grew up playing consoles together so gaming has been a constant in our lives (Golden Eye FTW!!! [for the win]). About two years ago I was finally persuaded to do the 10 day World of Warcraft (WoW) free trial. And that's where the story really picks up. I did a trial, got a toon to level 13 then time ran out. So I did another trial. And another. And anoth...just kidding. I finally bought in at this point. At the time I was such a noob and didn't understand anything about "realms" or any of the technicalities of online gaming. I started the account, was suggested a realm and took it. A little while later I find out my friends were on another realm. Whoops. Not wanting to pay the fee to transfer I was just content to let it be. Eventually my wife started playing as well (one of many marriage highlights for me). We joined a guild, leveled, bought the expansions. And that's the way it's been. I've tried for awhile (not fanatically but made attempts) to get some of the other guys to join the fun and was met with no success. Until now.

Chapter 3
A few weeks ago one of the guys finally took the plunge. Free trial > purchased account. This eventually led to another guy taking the plunge. Free trial > purchased account. Now we're working on one more...your time's coming man, your time's coming. We're on the same realm, our accounts are linked and we're getting 3x more XP than normal (thank you "recruit-a-friend"). The other guys who've been playing heard about this and are now wanting in on the fun as well. A few of them have started toons on the realm and will be transferring some toons over soon. Even one of the dads is coming over. It's an exciting time in WoW life (heck who am i kidding, its a fun time IRL as well). You see, being the social guy that I am I really enjoy spending time with the people I love. As we've grown up and continue to walk our separate paths in life I'm always looking for ways to get us back together. Not for "the good ol' days" (though they were fun), but for the the "good ol' NOW days". Time will march on, so will our lives, but it's nice to have a commonality to share again. We did school. We did the band. We continue to do life. And now we have something new to add to the repertoire.

Look out Azeroth..."beware the 'Ides of March'!"

- L -