Category Archives: Experiences

I’m usually not an audio book guy but I “listened” to one anyway

The PolyBlog
April 30 2025

I’m going to declare myself right up front. Audio books do not count as reading.

I know, I know; many audio fans want to argue otherwise, primarily because it’s the same content. While J.K. Rowling might be looney toons in many areas, she was right on for the idea that she hates abridged versions. She insisted that the audio version be identical to the reading version, so people could read along. So, if it’s the same text, why isn’t it the same as reading? Because if you went to a play, and they did the exact same version as the text, would you argue that the people in the audience had “read the book” too? No, of course not.

Others want to argue that you’re still processing language (decoding in particular), but so does going to a play. You can still build vocabulary, think critically about the concepts, build emotional attachment, use your imagination, and gain the same knowledge. None of that suggests the same “thing” as reading it. Doing a spelling test might tick some of those boxes too; it doesn’t mean you’ve read a book. One of the funniest sets of arguments I see online is how audio is better — more accessible, builds listening skills, lets you do it while doing chores, builds in multiple types of learning (audio, visual), and teaches pronunciation. Okay, so if I accept that, I ask “how/why” is it better and they say because it’s different. Umm…wasn’t your argument that it was the same as reading?

I like the more holistic arguments that talk about how the written form of storytelling derived itself from the original oral form, and thus, just as written works transformed the oral tradition, an audio version just embraces the original form. In so doing, the narrators bring the text to life like that of the ancient storytellers, with the bards of each era, taking complex works and making them more understandable. And, in the end, they achieve the same goal. Entertaining, building connections and enabling growth.

Yet these arguments cannot get around a simple truth. If you have a kid who cannot read, and you read a book to them, they did not “read” the book. They may have consumed it, sure. But it’s no more “reading” than to say “I read Lord of the Rings” because I’ve watched the movies. Or that you read Romeo and Juliet because you went to a play. Similar, not the same.

Except I really don’t care much about that distinction

If you want to say you read an “audiobook”, I don’t really care. There’s no formal international association of book readers who will take away your headphones and library card. If I want to discuss a book, say The Da Vinci Code, I might care if you watched the movie to the extent that it is very different in content, but if you listened to the same version that I read, we have something to discuss. A common basis. The argument above is that it is the same content. I will not agree that you “read” it, but if you consumed it, we can discuss.

My real aversions to audiobooks, though, are twofold. One is technical and can be easily resolved; the other is lifestyle-related and is more challenging.

From a technical perspective, I usually hate someone else reading aloud. They talk WAY slower than I read. Averages would put it about 30-40% faster to read than listen. But I’m a high-speed reader. I don’t keep track per se, but I do remember one time when I read a novelization of Spider-Man 2, in normal pocket book size, and I read the longer, more in-depth character descriptions faster than the movie would have played out in the theatre. I finished the longer text in 90-100 minutes, and the movie clocked in at 120 minutes. Overall, I estimate I read about 50% faster than the average speaker or narrator of an audiobook, so long as it’s fiction. If it’s a textbook, I bog down. But, as I said, there’s a technical fix for that speed differential…just increase the speed of the audiobook. Most software allows you to increase the speed of the narration to 1.2x or 1.5x, etc.

The lifestyle challenge is the same for audiobooks as it is for music and podcasts. I am rarely sitting doing nothing where I’m able to just “listen”, although that’s only partly true, I confess. I love old-time radio shows, with Arsenic and Old Lace being one of my favourites. But if I’m vegging out, I’m more likely to reach for the TV remote and watch visuals than make the time to listen to an old show, music or a podcast. I also don’t take the bus where I’m sitting for long periods of time, nor am I doing long drives. I cannot listen to much while I’m working. Music is okay in the background, but I can’t have a radio announcer jabbering away. I really have to stop other things if there are lyrics or someone talking. Or I need to stop the background noise altogether and focus on work. There are a lot of podcasts with really great content, and I simply cannot find a lifestyle configuration to facilitate listening to them. I fall asleep too quickly at night, and I don’t engage in many activities during the day that would allow me to catch up. I like the idea of walking and listening, or working out and listening, but I would normally prefer music to pump me up, not narration to engage my brain.

But I listened to my first full audiobook recently

I’m doing some work on reviewing music, and it made sense to pull Spotify into the mix. And right off the bat, it said, “Hey, congrats, you get a free audiobook this month.” Yawn. Cue all my thoughts above. Plus one other one. It went something like this…

Hey, wait a minute. It is showing me a picture of Tom Selleck in the menu options. Why is Tom Selleck in the audiobook options?

Oh, interesting. Tom Selleck has a book out called “You Never Know”, an autobiography he wrote with Ellis Henican. Well, that could be an interesting read. I am fascinated by the narrators online who share content about making audiobooks, I wonder who the narrator is. Let’s see, doesn’t really say, I’ll click start and see what they sound like.

Wait … that’s TOM SELLECK’S VOICE. Narrating his own autobiography? Well, now THAT’S interesting

I can add a second confession. I like Tom Selleck. I loved him as Magnum, didn’t mind him in the Sackett stories, enjoyed most of Quigley Down Under, enjoyed him in the Jesse Stone series, and have really enjoyed him as the head of the Reagan clan on Blue Bloods. I do not, however, generally enjoy him in comedies. He feels like he’s acting to me, almost breaking the fourth wall as a result. But in Westerns, Magnum and Blue Bloods? Almost letter perfect. Any quibbles I have about Quigley Down Under or Jesse Stone are more about the way the character is written than how he plays him.

So I was IN for listening to him talk about his life. As long as I could do the technical fix. I plan to retire in a few years and do a lot of writing. I do not have time to listen to Tom Selleck tell his life story at Tom Selleck speed. I jacked it up 20%, probably could have gone faster but it seemed a little too Mickey Mouse-like.

I made time to listen. Mostly I listened in the car while driving errands or waiting for people, or later at night for a half-hour in my office before getting ready for bed. I got it for free, so picking up the Kindle version for cheap didn’t seem like double-dipping. At some point, I’ll read through, but I’m really wondering if I’ll hate it. There is a lot of verbiage in the stories, and it works on the audio version because it is Tom talking. Like an extended podcast perhaps. But I don’t know if I’d enjoy reading his cadence.

For content, I don’t know anything about the tabloid news about his first wife and their lives together. But at one point, Tom pointedly says that if listeners came for more crap to feed internet fodder, they would be sorely disappointed. I think there are about 10 passing references to his first wife, another 10 to his adopted son, and only one story that actively involves his son. I don’t care, but it was a bit interesting to see him gloss over some major emotional stuff. I confess, though, that I was MOSTLY interested in hearing the behind-the-scenes stories of how things got made, like Magnum.

Well, Magnum is about 50% of the book. The other 50% is Tom’s early life, high school and college, military service, and getting involved in acting. There is a chapter about each season of Magnum, with examples thrown in. But after about the first 30% of the book, you realize something. Generally speaking, Tom appears to love everyone. They’re all great, highly professional, fabulous people, a delight to work with, he’s so grateful, blah blah blah. He has a few harder words to say about Glen Larson and Don Bellisario, but none that either one would have trouble reading. It feels like a whitewash, unfortunately. Not enought grit.

I enjoyed the stories, to be sure. And I learned a lot about Magnum, and how it was managed, etc. I also learned about Lucas wanting him for Indiana Jones, but it didn’t fit the shooting schedule. No offence, but Raiders of the Lost Ark with TS would have been about as big and sustainable as High Road to China or In and Out. Or even Quigley Down Under. Watchable, sure, but not particularly newsworthy. He owned the TV screen, but I don’t think he had the presence for big movie productions.

I was heavily disappointed, though, that the book ends with the end of Magnum. I don’t know if there’s a sequel planned that will talk about other developments, the Quigley movie, or Blue Bloods. I was amazed how much of the character of Frank Reagan — his pattern of speech, his mannerisms, some of his phrases — are really just Tom. Which I would NOT have realized from the book. Only hearing Tom SAY the phrases in the narration, with the same pattern as in the show, is it clear that Tom invested himself in the character’s mannerisms, as much as he invested in some of his earlier roles.

One audiobook “completed, not read”

Despite my reservations, I really enjoyed the audiobook. Would I have tried it if it WASN’T Tom reading Tom? I doubt it.

I still feel like I’m more interested in podcasts than audiobooks, though. I’ve started listening to the Smallville podcast, Talkville, although I tried Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum earlier and couldn’t sustain it. I like the snippets I’ve seen of Katee Sackhoff’s video cast, as well as my wife enjoying the West Wing podcast.

I find one thing interesting, though. I won’t “review” the audiobook as an audiobook, no more than this post itself. I feel that I’m talking more about the experience of an audiobook, not the specific recording.

Yet I was just writing a book review, and I have a template that I use for layout, tracking, etc. And right in the middle of it, I tick the box for format for my book reviews. Ebook is an option; hardcover is an option; paperback is an option; and, hey, I put audio as an option even though I never read them. So on SOME level, I put it down as an option. Except I don’t do audiobook reviews. Partly by volume, but partly I don’t feel it’s the same thing.

As I said at the beginning. I’m a reader, not a listener.

What’s next in my life?

The PolyBlog
August 9 2024

Before I talk about that, I want to talk for a moment about my process in writing, particularly the unusual steps for this post.

Most of the time, when I’m contemplating something more substantive/personal than a book review, I think about the topic for a while, composing some of it in my head, and then, eventually, I sit down to write it straight through. While I edit as I go, when I’m done, I frequently go back to the beginning and edit some more. Occasionally, I restructure it quite a bit. Sometimes the whole point of writing it was to figure out what I thought in the first place, I didn’t know the ending until I got there, so then I go back and streamline the prose to that objective. That doesn’t mean I’m ever brief, more just that I often “clean up the digressions”. If I’m writing late at night, and I’m tired, sometimes I just wrap it up and press publish. Other times I leave it until the next day. Rarely do I leave it sit for any length of time before finishing it, unless I’m perhaps rewriting something or potentially deciding that it was too long and breaking it into multiple posts.

For this post, I had no idea where I was going. I was trying to describe a certain degree of indecision, the malaise of spirit or inertia of mind and body that I experienced over the last year or so. A lack of motivation. None of the things on my to-do list seemed enticing or more of a priority than the rest. Heck, I couldn’t even decide on what this post should be titled:

  • PolyWogg 2024?
  • The new me?
  • The Id in Mid?
  • Who I was, who I am, who I want to be?
  • Self-indulgent claptrap, episode 922?

I frequently write about goals and creating a new energy / initiative. But this was different. A different order of magnitude, perhaps.

I had written the post last weekend, and yet left it sitting unpublished all week. I knew it wasn’t what I wanted to say.

I wrote a bit more later in the week, saved it, went upstairs, saw Andrea and Jacob, and had an epiphany. It was indeed a different order of magnitude. I knew what was constraining me.

More than a phase

Backing up a bit, the feeling of “something” had been going on for about 8-10 months. Looking back, it corresponds to when I started actively planning for my retirement (I only realized that tonight while writing, by the way, as it might have been a good clue!). I simply knew that whatever it was, it was bigger than normal. Something more fundamental, almost primal perhaps.

When stuff like this happens, I often go back to the core “me” and review my foundations. See if anything resonates, like a crumbling cornerstone or something. Something that could be making me uncertain, causing the uncertainty or a mental disconnect between the private “me” and the public “me”. Or with the other “me” versions inside.

To aid my mental review, I like to think of my life up until now in three big sections.

My initial life up to age 29 was as a follower (0-13), mostly of my brother; some autonomy in high school (14-19) as I started to figure out the academic side of my life; intimacy in physical, emotional, intellectual sense of choosing friends and a girlfriend (20-23); individuality (24-25) out West deciding about life in government; and finally identity at Foreign Affairs, making new friends, etc. (26-28).

Then there was the 5 years where I field-stripped my psyche, my tadpole status. Recognizing that a lot of stuff that had been built into that first section of life was in fact built by other people. Stuff I often “absorbed” unconsciously, even though it really wasn’t me and not at all how I wanted to live my life. There were directions I would have taken then that I look at now and think, “WTF? How was that even an IDEA let alone a possible path? I would have hated that life.”. I had been existing, not flourishing previously, and it took me from age 29-34 to really understand myself.

The third section is comprised of the extended elements after that which now comprise most of my current life. I wanted a long career with government, wanted to rise to the level of management, have a decent job and income, get married, have kids, establish and maintain relationships with family and friends on terms I was comfortable with, own a decent house without it being insane. Be able to take interesting trips, if not worldwide excursions. Call it age 35-56 aka now.

As I walked upstairs, thinking of my current life, wondering what was “wrong” with it that was bothering me, I realized as I saw Andrea and Jacob what was “wrong”. In short, nothing.

I pretty much have everything that I wanted when I was 34. I’ve achieved almost all of the success that PolyWogg envisioned when he wasn’t a tadpole anymore. Man plans while the gods laugh, but well, that man I used to be had a plan that happened.

Not necessarily as a result of my plan, of course. Andrea and I have Jacob in tow, we’re all still building a life together, twenty-two years later. In that time, a lot has happened. Some good, some bad, some easy, some really f***ing hard. Life, basically. And it is a pretty good life, if I do say so myself. Jacob and Andrea are my heart and soul.

So, what could be wrong?

Nothing or everything?

I’m 56 years old, and starting into the “final third” of my life. I had a mental model that got me to age 29 or so, and the revamped me got me to 56. I don’t know what’s next. What do you get the man who has everything? How about an existential crisis? 🙂

Last year, I set my goals for 60 things to do before I’m 60. And most of the things on the list are things I want to do. They’re valid. But they’re not inspiring me. They are not things where I declare “I’m a (blah)”. They’re not legacy items, just activities. Maybe I’m looking for what would be on my tombstone. We were joking tonight, a bit glib and sarcastic. How about “Started strong and fizzled at the end”? Or our in-house favourite when we’re playing a game of cards, for example, and out of the three of us, Andrea and Jacob are doing well and I’m basically returning the cards. Like in bowling, I’m the ball return, not the bowler. So we call each other Ball Return, although me mostly. Not in a harmful way, just mocking, but it’s a fun metaphor at times. “In the bowling game of life, would you rather be a scorekeeper, bowler, ball return, pin setter, or the guy handing out shoes with sanitizer in them?”. 🙂

Some people think of me as the HR guru, although I haven’t updated my guide in forever.

Others might say I’m an astronomer, but I haven’t used my scopes in 4 years.

Very few would say I’m a writer, although my blogging surpasses well over 2 million words. Hundreds and hundreds of posts. Thousands even. But would people describe me that way? No.

In just under three weeks, I will be THREE YEARS FROM RETIREMENT. I’m at 1100 days and change right now. And to be honest, I don’t really know what retirement looks like for me. I have some books on “Purposeful Retirement”. And I’ve been looking at what others are doing, most of which doesn’t resonate with me.

And once I decide on what I want retirement to look like, have I made the right financial, physical, spiritual, intellectual and emotional investments to live the kind of life I want to enjoy in my “golden years”?

In short, I don’t know.

What’s next?

I’m not field-stripping my psyche again, no existential crisis. I know who I am, I already know what’s important to me. But the exact form or expression of that intent? I need to perhaps figure that out. And just because I achieved my big goals, that hardly means my life is perfect by any stretch of the imagination. There are things that I should be doing and are not; celebrating but not; living but not. There’s lots of room for improvement. Without that “idea” of what I want, it’s hard for me to be motivated about specific goals.

As I figure out some of my legacy, I also want to think a little about rituals. I don’t quite know how to describe that part. While lists, goals, habits, etc., are all good on their own, I have probably not spent enough time in the past on using structure in my day or week to reinforce a goal or facilitate doing it.

Perhaps a simple example would be that I want to go walking more, and not always around Ottawa. So after I retire, and Andrea is still working for a while, maybe I’ll drive her to work every Thursday or something, and then drive myself somewhere on the Quebec side to walk. The Gatineau Hills. Some parks. A waterfall trail. The ritual of driving her to work would reinforce that a) I need to get my ass up and out of the house in time to take her to work, not lollygagging around the house, and b) be up and ready to go do something. Often, others set something up for social interaction to stay in touch with people from work by joining one of the numerous breakfast groups who meet every Friday morning.

In short, rituals use the form to reinforce the function. Maybe it’s a games night, maybe it’s a movie afternoon. I don’t know yet. As I said, I haven’t given it enough thought. But I want to figure that out.

The elephant in the room is that my brother Don just died, and he wasn’t exactly in a happy place when he did. That too is part of the impetus. As is the death of a friend, Jeremy, a couple of years ago. Reminders to me to make the most of the life I lead. To not treat the last third of my life as a simple to-do list, but to actively plan for it to have meaning too.

60 things by 60 will still be part of it, sure. But not the real question. Something deeper.

A Purposeful Retirement sounds like what I want to create, particularly now that I need new “big” life goals. The challenge for me, in part, is that some of those new goals will be shared ones, not only to do but to establish, while others are likely to be more individualistic. Andrea is farther away from retirement so not quite ready for the same type of planning. Fortunately, she’s stuck with me and has to at least share her views on my goals as I come up with them.

Weird. So, the reason I was unhappy is that I already had what I wanted. So, universe…what’s next?

2008 – A year in 18 photos

The PolyBlog
February 25 2024

Wow, what a huge year.

February. The Malcolms visited Roundhay for supper, and Becky’s first baby shower was in Peterborough.

Bruce, Jenn and Paige visiting
Becky's baby shower in Peterborough

March. We had a big snowfall in Ottawa and another baby shower.

Big snowfall in Ottawa
Becky's baby shower in Ottawa

April. Andrea completed her literacy practitioner certificate at Algonquin and Baby G arrived.

Andrea's adult literacy practitioner class at OCDSB
Grace's birth

May. We got to visit with Baby G and Andrea went to Pakistan.

Grace at 3w old for Mother's Day
Pt 4 - Around Islamabad

June. More visiting with Baby Grace.

Grace at 6w

July. Visiting in and around Gatineau Park.

Visit to Gatineau Park

August. A cottage weekend with the next-gen and Pat and Robyn’s wedding.

Cottage weekend
Pat and Robyn's wedding

September. Grace came for a visit, we got married, and we went on our honeymoon.

Grace visiting
Our corner
Napali Coast

October. The big news that we couldn’t share yet and Kate and Matt’s wedding.

Our big news
Kate and Matt's wedding

December. Christmas at Roundhay

Christmas at Roundhay

I’m more interesting than a house fire (D&D musings 002)

The PolyBlog
February 16 2024

Another night of D&D this week, this time with my friend Stephan playing as Mika, a fae-loving cleric (I think). We met in the Green Griffin Inn (franchise pending), and decided to travel together so he could learn skills to help his home area, and I could learn tales to recite as a bard. We set off on our quest towards a mine that was marked on a map that I got last week from the dead goblins.

Along the way, we found a pit with a dead mule that was an obvious trap that had been sprung. Mika and I, Torinn, the silver dragonborn Bard, avoided any issues with the trap but upon investigation, found human tracks mixed with prints of goblins and wolves heading off into the woods. Now, here was a dilemma. We are low-level characters with little power and easily killed. Our compatriots (2 other players) were absent on this night, so we could either risk all to save a human or go to the village and try to bring people back to help. We opted to save the human, which ended up as a small battle with a wolf. A larger wolf had run off, with the goblins gone before that, so we saved a villager. I healed him and we got to the village next to the mine relatively easily after that…we named the mine/village area Stonehaven.

Upon arrival, we discovered a house was on fire from a goblin attack, so we helped put it out and then I regaled the townsfolk with an impromptu tale of our mighty battle near mule pit. I might have embellished a little, but nevertheless, all the villagers were more interested in us two strangers than they were in the house fire we helped to extinguish. Nice, more interesting than a house fire. It should be on the Yelp reviews of my performance.

We spent the night at the human’s home, entertained the family, Mika helped improve their marriage, everyone loved us. We got some better weapons and lots of information about the mine, some nearby ruins, a village elder, etc. And some rations. We went off to explore the ruins while everyone else went to the mine to dig. The ruins turned out to be magical, with evidence that dwarves and goblins used to live there together, which is odd for mortal enemies. We found an evil altar in a basement, found some magic was active, collected some artefacts, and tried to leave. The two goblins and the wolf were not fond of us being in their basement altar and attacked when we left. A short battle later, and the wolf was dead, with the two goblins trussed up and ready for transport. We ended the night by deciding to haul the goblins to the fae and let them decide what to do with them.

Surprising gameplay elements

I thought most of the story would be created/run by the DM, and most things would unfold as turns. Not so much. For example, as we approached the pit with the mule, we knew it had been a trap but weren’t sure if it was an ambush, too. Mika led the way with us using our stealth to sneak through the adjoining underbrush to get to the pit without being detected. I would never even have thought of it. I just assumed we’d walk over and be presented with several options, some rolls, and then the story would continue.

Even when we started the night, at the Green Griffin Inn (franchise pending still), we did a small role-play where Mika and Torinn met each other and agreed to travel together. It’s all backstory of course, but I wasn’t really expecting that aspect as much. Then later, when we were at the house fire, Mika had some spells to help put out the fire. I had nothing that would help, but the DM asked me what I was doing…umm, I don’t know. What am I supposed to be doing? Oh, I can pretend I’m part of the bucket and sand brigade. Okaaaay. And when it was over, I performed for the crowd with our tale (not really, just said I did…I didn’t act it out or anything). But we were improvising our story more than I expected.

And then later, when we were at the villager’s house, Mika and Torinn were talking about other weapons and Mika decided that Torinn should have a short bow and 40 arrows. So out of nowhere, he just asked Deganar if he knew someone who could make them for us. Apparently, he knows a Fletcher, and thus he arranged it for us for free. Of course, we had saved his live, a friend’s house, and his marriage, while also entertaining his kids AND deciding to buy him a new mule. (Don’t ask; I only helped pay for it, I thought it was a bit over the top, but it sure convinced him to help us for life. I hope he doesn’t get unalived helping us, seems like a good bloke). We had another dilemma after the night’s last battle, which was the goblins were asleep and I wanted to kill them. But Mika doesn’t like to kill sentient beings unless he has to when they’re attacking us. Wuss. 🙂 I wanted to notch an arrow between their eyes. I didn’t even get to use my Thunderwave for the night.

But I did use my new blue dice that are easy to read with my tired eyes. I just need to find a good figurine to be my silver dragon bard. 🙂 With a horn and a lute, and a lyre and a flute!

Sorry, can’t stop to chat right now, we’re off to give the tied up goblins to the fae. Cheerio!

Death to goblins! (D&D musings 001)

The PolyBlog
February 10 2024

I know, I know. You know that I’m nerdy, socially awkward, into fantasy, a bad dresser, and your immediate thought was, “How is it possible that Paul has never played D&D before?”.

Well, never fear! Your expectations have been met. A friend and I were talking at work about video games, fantasy stuff, MtG, and all things related, and I mentioned that I’ve never played D&D but was open to it. A few months later, he’s starting a quest, needs more cannon fodder, err, players, we canvassed some people, and lo and behold, we have a crew!

I had five people in mind to ask if they were interested. One was out of the D&D world these days, mostly into regular board games, but thanked me for the invite. Another apparently has a real life, who knew? Well, I did, but I asked anyway. Another declined because, well, he’s in TWO other games that have been running for more than 5 years. He’s covered.

And two more said yes. So we’ve got a core group of 4 plus our DM, and two others who are likely but busy at the moment. We all had to start our quest with character design.

What’s good for a newb?

We’re playing version 5 / 5th edition D&D; I didn’t even know there WERE editions. So, yeah, total newb. They asked what clan / class / character I wanted to be, and I had no idea. So I googled things like “Good characters for newbie”. Inherently, I don’t want to be necessarily “leading” a quest, I’m more like hero support. Which matched well with a bard aka the storyteller. Toss a coin to the witcher, and all that. It kind of resonated with me so entertainer / bard / dragonborn / silver etc. came together relatively easily.

I have a rapier, dagger, and four musical instruments to focus my bardic powers — a horn and a lute, and a lyre and a flute! The lute was automatic, the rest I had some choice, but no real guidance as to which would be better or worse. I got to choose some spells (Thunderwave!), but the book had strong guidance as to which were good combos for first-timers.

Devin (as DM) and Owen aka Timm the Cleric helped me hone my combos, and distribute my points across the six attributes. Vicious mockery sounds like a great weapon to wield constantly. And we calculated a bunch of #s that affect things, but I just went with the numbers they gave me and left the formula to some future consideration if needed.

Putting it to the test

The DM laid out a quick landscape with a bridge, and Timm (the Cleric) and Torinn (the silver dragon Bard) got to fight them. Timm attacked — and missed. I attacked and also missed. The goblins attacked Timm and did a bit of damage. Then they attacked me — and rolled a natural 20. Timm and the DM went, “Oh. Well. We don’t have to count that. This is just practice.” Apparently, a natural 20 against me is not good. They did something else, and I took an 8-point hit when I only had 9. Umm, that seemed bad.

Timm healed me on the next round, attacked and missed again. I gave him a Bardic Inspiration (extra die role for the next time) and did Thunderwave (magic spell) that pushed them back 10 feet and did massive damage but not enough to kill them, apparently. Another round, I did Thunderwave again, and they were dead.

Timm examined the bodies and learned some stuff about maps and types of poor armour / who made it, etc., and got some basic loot. I don’t really understand what any of that meant and whether it would be relevant in the future, but I got a basic feel for the game.

I don’t really understand how time works in the game. 10 rounds equals a minute, and you play for X amount of minutes before rest, etc. It felt like Hagrid’s explanation of currency to Harry Potter that there are 29 Knuts in a Sickle and 17 Sickles in a Galleon, i.e., 493 Knuts in a Galleon. Simple as pie, right?

Anyway, I’m more along for the ride; everyone else has played before, and we can “table talk” / “strategize” out loud, so it’s all good.

What if I die?

When I dropped to one point away from death, my game mortality suddenly seemed super-important. I wanted to know, what happens if I die? Is it just that I’m out? I don’t need to come back next week? Apparently, some games do work that way, particularly in older versions, but this team’s rules basically would have me “respawn” as a new character. Psst…it might be Torinn’s cousin Tarinn with all the same characteristics. Or I could do it randomly by rolling. Worth a consideration at some point, but in the short-term, dying isn’t fatal. Get it? Hehehe

So I killed my first two goblins, cast two spells, gave Bardic Inspiration to my quest team, and swung my rapier and missed. Or was it my dagger and I threw it? Something sharp and pointy that did nothing. I like Magic better, Magic can’t miss.

What’s next?

Three things happen next. First and foremost, we launch the quest together. Seems obvious. Secondly, I decide if I want to get my own dice (I’m leaning towards yes, just so it’s easy to read with my tired eyes). And third, I COULD get myself a silver dragon bard to be my physical character. Yes, I’m geeking out. Hey, I already bought decent large font playing card decks this week…does that have anything to do with D&D? Absolutely not, I just wanted some nice cards to practice some tricks with, but it is equally pretty geeky. A silver dragon ain’t too far off that scale.

Next week? The adventure begins.