Memories of a Party of Old: Confessions of a Gamer

I think I've mentioned I play World of Warcraft, right? It's not anything I ever expected to get into. I'm rather geeky. I like fantasy/sci-fi. I like anime. I'm a martial artist. I like comic books. I just never really got to do much computer gaming. My brother and Mike started playing WoW when it first came out. I liked to watch but it didn't dawn on me to play until, one night, they were having fun and I was trying to sleep and I went in and announced that I was tired of listening to them having fun without me. So, I tried it out and have played ever since. I even raided during the Lich King expansion, which is something Mike doesn't do! I wouldn't mind raiding this xpac because I like the story. But I am not sure I have the time or the right group of people. That particular time was just perfect for me to be able to do all that! I bet you'll never guess what kind of character I play.

Yup. A warrior. Here she is. Her name is Laina and even though I'm not a role player, I am a nerd. And a writer of sorts. So, she kind of has her own personality and I play her differently from how I play any other characters I have. I've played Laina for seven years now! How crazy is that? I have some vague stories in my head and I was thinking about trying to get them down sometime. So, if I ever write a book about a warrior with a major distaste for the moral grey zones in battle, then you'll know that I'm writing about Laina.

My brother and his wife play with Mike and me, too! They got married almost 3 years ago and we hosted their rehearsal dinner at Mike's parents' house. I decided to do a Warcraft theme! Everyone side eyed me when I told them but, really, no one was weirded out and the whole thing turned out beautifully. I originally thought of the WoW themed dinner because, until Liz suddenly got a job she'd applied for out of state and the date was moved up, several of our raiding friends were going to make the trek out here. Too fun.

This was one of my very first invitations. I've come a long, long way, haven't I?? I used Warcraft fonts and colors but I tried not to make it super overt. Donnie's last name starts with a W so that even worked out great in my wow-inspired Donnie and Liz logo.


Cheri happened to have a chest (Warcraft has treasure chests you can loot) and I made little vials filled with red m&m's and labeled with the same W circle from the invitation. They were meant to imitate the little potions you can take in game to restore life. There's a thing in game called best in slot. It's the absolute best piece of armor you can have for your head, gloves, chest, or whatever. I made a piece for them that says Playing with my friends + Playing with the one I love = Best in Life. I took the screenshot from when we downed the Big Bad Guy of the time (that was a HUGE deal for us!!) for playing with friends. They have wedding dresses and tuxedos as fun items so I got Sisca, Liz's main character, in a white dress with one of Donnie's main characters (a girl, hahaha) in a tuxedo and Laina in a red dress in front of a priest for playing with the one I love. And Best in Life was all of us together. 


The last thing that I got for the Warcraft part of the theme was a cake. A lady who does cakes out of her home made this AMAZING replica of the Alliance (the faction we play--the other is the Horde) banner. I was absolutely floored at how ridiculously good this is.


The rest of the dinner looked like a fall soiree. The weather was beautiful and Lainey and Cheri did an incredible job decorating. They used brown table cloths with orange burlap and autumn leaves for the tables. You might recognize those lanterns from other parties I've thrown. I borrowed them from Lainey for another party and just kind of kept them. :P She said it was okay when I told her I was probably never giving them back, hahaha.


Even the flowers fit the theme! This is so pretty and very Cheri. We served barbecue, fruit, and that kind of thing and a good time was had by all.


So. What brought this trip down memory lane? I completely randomly came across this bit from Jimmy Fallon. I wish I had known! I would have submitted a clip of Autumn and me singing!


And, you should totally check out this cute little flower girl.


By the way, both schools where I teach are closed this week so I get a vacation from teaching! I think I'm going to take a week off of blogging, too, unless I get the urge to FINALLY post Autumn's birthday party photos. Why I am posting a three year old party instead of the one from last month, I will never know.