Okay, a little less sturm and drang around here as I think I've said all I felt like I had to say on the whole OW fiasco and should just move on. Last night, for the first time in the Pathfinder campaign I run I managed to kill a PC. While I don't have to fudge too many rolls with this group, I have in the past once or twice to nerf a death. Why? I like my PCs to be bloody, battered, and knowing they just made it through the battle by the skin of their teeth. It's getting harder to challenge them, which led to this happening.
The wizard in my group is run by a very experienced and savvy player. Is he a bit min/maxxed? Well, yeah. The yin to his yang is his girlfriend's character. She was brand new to gaming so he helped her design it and it addresses every weakness his wizard has - basically her ranger is an engine of destruction that has favored enemies that are the things he can't affect with his conjuration/mind effect spells. At 9th level her damage rolls are routinely in the 30-50 range per strike, and more often than not she's hasted AND equipped with the minor artifact sword that that path provided. So I have to beef up the monsters against them, and last night I rolled two crits from giants who were adding +15 to their damage rolls. I knew she was bloodied, but not in that bad of shape. Usually she comes away nicked up after crushing whatever she's up against in a round or two.
To her credit she took it in stride, which made the couple of fortunate rolls in her favor that got her resurrected seem less of a pandering move. Of course, using something of that power magnitude is going to bring down some unwanted attention . . .
Spring hockey is over and we completed another perfect season - 0-10. We had a great time and really, with 4 rookie defensemen we didn't have lofty expectations. Our last game was against the guys we played with last season, and we lost by a goal. They had a guy way too good for our league, and at one point in the second period he tried to set up in front of my net and we spent a good minute fighting and jockeying for position - it stayed clean, but it was hard-fought. After the game he sought me out and lauded me for that bit. This is why I love hockey.
I also discovered that my shin guards are supposed to be 16" high but the ones I have are only 14", which is my the slapshot I went to my knees to block found unprotected flesh on my thigh and raised a welt that, at its worst, looked like half a softball had been grafted on my leg. It's 5 days later and the bruise is still hard and warm at the center. Yay hockey?
Friday, June 27, 2014
Monday, June 23, 2014
Why and What
Hey there, gang. I miss you all already and probably will miss you more as time goes on, but such is life and the odd twists and turns it takes. I'm not writing this to namecall, accuse, or add any more fuel to a fire that's already giving off an acrid, oily, black smoke. But after reading Brian's eerily polished response that made me feel like it had been culled from the template of the official Yale Response to Sexual Harassment Allegations Letter (because at this point the place is pretty well-versed on the topic, it seems), a pair of questions kept popping up in my mind, enough to make last night's sleep not a sleep at all - Why and What?
Let's go with Why first. Those of you who know Laura are aware that large groups are almost always incredibly difficult for her to process. I say 'almost' because of Otherworld, and the particular type of magic you all helped create. It was one of the few well-populated places on the planet where she not only felt comfortable, but warm, safe, and loved as well. What you all were able to do was amazing. Which brings me back to the question: Why?
Why, as Brian has alleged, would Laura throw away one of her most favorite places and groups of people on something that wasn't true? It was a difficult decision whether to be outraged or just to laugh at the suggestion of 'past trauma' being the motivator (we chose the latter). Slut-shaming is so 2013, so I guess that's something new? Nut-Shaming? Laura has gotten all of the benefits of being a whistleblower - of which there are none - and lost a place, a group of friends, and an organization that she loved with all her heart. That harkens back to our question of Why, since she had no other motivation - because she felt she had to, because of how much love she has for Otherworld and the people who are part of it. She didn't feel it was currently a safe place and took steps to see that it would move in that direction.
Let's shift to What and try to move things along instead of me writing like I'm being paid per word. What was Laura hoping to get out of posting her story, sans the name of the accused? Exactly what has happened - awareness. In April 2013, after six months of soul-searching, Laura steeled herself and met with Kristi to tell her what had happened. Imagine having to have that conversation with a friend you loved - 'Hey, I love OW but your husband has made me so uncomfortable that I'd rather quit than ever see him again.' Would you have that conversation if you weren't sure of what had happened? Would anyone? And how would you feel, twelve months later, when it appeared nothing was being done about it? We began to hear rumors, that a request for an investigation and the suggestion of a recusal was refused. That it 'just needed to go away.' That an email had originally gone out to a chosen few but that for the most part, the staff wasn't aware of what had happened. I feel I need to type that again - most of the staff, which might be you right now reading this, was not deemed 'need to know' about an allegation of sexual harassment within the organization. That's not okay.
So, Laura wrote her blog entry.
This - discussion, awareness, and hopefully a policy put in place where others, should something this awful ever happen again, will feel both safe reporting the transgression and confident it won't get swept under the rug no matter the position of the alleged offender - this is all that could be hoped for at this point. I didn't see what happened, but I know what shape Laura was in a few minutes afterward. For the first forty-five minutes of our ride home our usual chattering about the event had been replaced by her silence and obviously distressed state. Whens he finally told me what had happened it was probably a good thing we were so far away, or else I might have done Stupid Things. I'm glad it didn't go that way. At this point, though, that's not the issue. There's no legal moves planned or calls to the media - hell, Laura didn't even name him in her post - yet it seems most people knew whom she was talking about anyway. We've come to discover that Laura is not the only person Brian has said inappropriate things to in the past. Those who have confided asked for anonymity for varying reasons, all of which I will respect and honor. I suppose it's possible Brian isn't even aware that he says and does things he shouldn't -perhaps a sexual harassment awareness class Might help with that. I understand that it's something most people don't want to believe, and if the charge had been leveled by someone else I might be looking at it with a different perspective myself. Or maybe if someone else had been accused it wouldn't have been shunted into the corner. I'm not interested in forcing people to make choices. All I want is for them to be aware and for the possibility of Otherworld taking steps to ensure something like this never happens again.
It flat out kills me to no longer be part of Otherworld, although I noted with wry humor that I was still on the list of invitees. This resolution doesn't seem safe, fair, or cool to me, but Otherworld is bigger than the Yonas and will continue on without us. I will always treasure the memories I had in my time there, and the wonderful people I've met. Maybe we'll still be friends. Maybe you'll find it too awkward to want to hang with me, or bear resentment that my wife (yes, Laura and I have long reconciled. We tried to be quiet about our situation while apart so as not to make others uncomfortable) would accuse someone like Brian. I hope not. We're ready to move on, hopeful that Laura's willingness to share a difficult experience will make OW a safer place. Hopefully OW will be able to do the right thing and thrive as well. In any case, I will miss you all.
Kit
EDIT: It has just come to my attention that the email Brian sent out didn't go to everyone on staff. Once again, people are being cut out of the loop on a sexual harassment issue. I'm stunned and dismayed.
comments welcome. I do not delete, so feel free to speak your mind and know it'll stay up. Or just write TL;DR
Let's go with Why first. Those of you who know Laura are aware that large groups are almost always incredibly difficult for her to process. I say 'almost' because of Otherworld, and the particular type of magic you all helped create. It was one of the few well-populated places on the planet where she not only felt comfortable, but warm, safe, and loved as well. What you all were able to do was amazing. Which brings me back to the question: Why?
Why, as Brian has alleged, would Laura throw away one of her most favorite places and groups of people on something that wasn't true? It was a difficult decision whether to be outraged or just to laugh at the suggestion of 'past trauma' being the motivator (we chose the latter). Slut-shaming is so 2013, so I guess that's something new? Nut-Shaming? Laura has gotten all of the benefits of being a whistleblower - of which there are none - and lost a place, a group of friends, and an organization that she loved with all her heart. That harkens back to our question of Why, since she had no other motivation - because she felt she had to, because of how much love she has for Otherworld and the people who are part of it. She didn't feel it was currently a safe place and took steps to see that it would move in that direction.
Let's shift to What and try to move things along instead of me writing like I'm being paid per word. What was Laura hoping to get out of posting her story, sans the name of the accused? Exactly what has happened - awareness. In April 2013, after six months of soul-searching, Laura steeled herself and met with Kristi to tell her what had happened. Imagine having to have that conversation with a friend you loved - 'Hey, I love OW but your husband has made me so uncomfortable that I'd rather quit than ever see him again.' Would you have that conversation if you weren't sure of what had happened? Would anyone? And how would you feel, twelve months later, when it appeared nothing was being done about it? We began to hear rumors, that a request for an investigation and the suggestion of a recusal was refused. That it 'just needed to go away.' That an email had originally gone out to a chosen few but that for the most part, the staff wasn't aware of what had happened. I feel I need to type that again - most of the staff, which might be you right now reading this, was not deemed 'need to know' about an allegation of sexual harassment within the organization. That's not okay.
So, Laura wrote her blog entry.
This - discussion, awareness, and hopefully a policy put in place where others, should something this awful ever happen again, will feel both safe reporting the transgression and confident it won't get swept under the rug no matter the position of the alleged offender - this is all that could be hoped for at this point. I didn't see what happened, but I know what shape Laura was in a few minutes afterward. For the first forty-five minutes of our ride home our usual chattering about the event had been replaced by her silence and obviously distressed state. Whens he finally told me what had happened it was probably a good thing we were so far away, or else I might have done Stupid Things. I'm glad it didn't go that way. At this point, though, that's not the issue. There's no legal moves planned or calls to the media - hell, Laura didn't even name him in her post - yet it seems most people knew whom she was talking about anyway. We've come to discover that Laura is not the only person Brian has said inappropriate things to in the past. Those who have confided asked for anonymity for varying reasons, all of which I will respect and honor. I suppose it's possible Brian isn't even aware that he says and does things he shouldn't -perhaps a sexual harassment awareness class Might help with that. I understand that it's something most people don't want to believe, and if the charge had been leveled by someone else I might be looking at it with a different perspective myself. Or maybe if someone else had been accused it wouldn't have been shunted into the corner. I'm not interested in forcing people to make choices. All I want is for them to be aware and for the possibility of Otherworld taking steps to ensure something like this never happens again.
It flat out kills me to no longer be part of Otherworld, although I noted with wry humor that I was still on the list of invitees. This resolution doesn't seem safe, fair, or cool to me, but Otherworld is bigger than the Yonas and will continue on without us. I will always treasure the memories I had in my time there, and the wonderful people I've met. Maybe we'll still be friends. Maybe you'll find it too awkward to want to hang with me, or bear resentment that my wife (yes, Laura and I have long reconciled. We tried to be quiet about our situation while apart so as not to make others uncomfortable) would accuse someone like Brian. I hope not. We're ready to move on, hopeful that Laura's willingness to share a difficult experience will make OW a safer place. Hopefully OW will be able to do the right thing and thrive as well. In any case, I will miss you all.
Kit
EDIT: It has just come to my attention that the email Brian sent out didn't go to everyone on staff. Once again, people are being cut out of the loop on a sexual harassment issue. I'm stunned and dismayed.
comments welcome. I do not delete, so feel free to speak your mind and know it'll stay up. Or just write TL;DR
Friday, June 6, 2014
Been Away So Long I Hardly Knew the Place
Yep. been super-busy prepping games for a house con and with life, work, kids, hockey, wife, etc. I'll get back to this soon. Hockey is still fun - we're terrible but it;s a blast. Editing is cruising along - 1/3 done, I think. I had to take this week off to prep games but I'll dive back in next week. Updates that are more interesting (or at least try to be) soon.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Walking Wounded
Right now my right knee is bruised and swollen, there's a spot just below my ribcage that I can't even touch, and the lacebite on my left foot makes me wince with every step I take.
Dammit, I LOVE playing hockey.
Seriously. I had an absolutely blast in our game last night. It was the big 'grudge match,' so to speak, except that I still like most of the guys on the team. We had two new subs show up, a pair of brothers that have been friends with Jeff forever, and they were fantastic. As a team we shook off 14-1 and 8-0 losses and made a tam that was 2-0 work for a 6-3 win. They had a 5-1 lead but we chipped away, getting it to 5-3 before ringing one off the post and having another instance where a rebound just sat in the crease for a good three seconds. So, so close.
In the second period, when we were defending the goal closest to the other team's bench, I heard Tom yelling for his players to dump the puck deep on me. Clearly this was a strategy, as I was perceived as a weakness. How did that work out for them? Well, let's see. For the game I could be cheap and say I was even, but it's technically accurate to give myself a -1. I was on for the first goal of the game, when I managed to keep one of their really good skaters to the outside like I'm supposed to, but he kept going around the net and beat Charlie with a wraparound. The second goal occurred as I had just stepped out on the ice after serving a roughing minor - deserved - and technically I gotta take the rap for that. I was credited with an assist - my first point - on our second goal, which maybe involved me making a 10 foot pass to one of the Lifriere brothers before he skated through the other entire team for a goal. So, -1. I had a slew of blocks, as my injuries indicate, and I just had a great time. Jeff and Ken did well as well, although Jeff is no doubt beating himself up for getting his pocket picked for a goal - it happens to all of us. Especially me. After the game our former goalie Alex - who had a great game and was probably the difference, not that Charlie played badly - said he thought we outplayed his team. I wouldn't go that far, but I'd say it was an evenly matched game with a few of the bounces going their way. Our forwards are starting to get comfortable with one another and we had sustained pressure in their zones numerous times. All in all it was very encouraging and I hope we can keep improving, although we have another good team waiting for us next week. We need our practice to get some forechecking schemes set, working on faceoffs, etc. And I need to not catch slapshots with my ribs.
Ah, who am I kidding? I love blocking pucks and diving to break up plays. No talent, all heart. Although that might be bruised as well.
Writing: edit edit edit. 10 chapters down, 1 eliminated, about 32 to go.
Dammit, I LOVE playing hockey.
Seriously. I had an absolutely blast in our game last night. It was the big 'grudge match,' so to speak, except that I still like most of the guys on the team. We had two new subs show up, a pair of brothers that have been friends with Jeff forever, and they were fantastic. As a team we shook off 14-1 and 8-0 losses and made a tam that was 2-0 work for a 6-3 win. They had a 5-1 lead but we chipped away, getting it to 5-3 before ringing one off the post and having another instance where a rebound just sat in the crease for a good three seconds. So, so close.
In the second period, when we were defending the goal closest to the other team's bench, I heard Tom yelling for his players to dump the puck deep on me. Clearly this was a strategy, as I was perceived as a weakness. How did that work out for them? Well, let's see. For the game I could be cheap and say I was even, but it's technically accurate to give myself a -1. I was on for the first goal of the game, when I managed to keep one of their really good skaters to the outside like I'm supposed to, but he kept going around the net and beat Charlie with a wraparound. The second goal occurred as I had just stepped out on the ice after serving a roughing minor - deserved - and technically I gotta take the rap for that. I was credited with an assist - my first point - on our second goal, which maybe involved me making a 10 foot pass to one of the Lifriere brothers before he skated through the other entire team for a goal. So, -1. I had a slew of blocks, as my injuries indicate, and I just had a great time. Jeff and Ken did well as well, although Jeff is no doubt beating himself up for getting his pocket picked for a goal - it happens to all of us. Especially me. After the game our former goalie Alex - who had a great game and was probably the difference, not that Charlie played badly - said he thought we outplayed his team. I wouldn't go that far, but I'd say it was an evenly matched game with a few of the bounces going their way. Our forwards are starting to get comfortable with one another and we had sustained pressure in their zones numerous times. All in all it was very encouraging and I hope we can keep improving, although we have another good team waiting for us next week. We need our practice to get some forechecking schemes set, working on faceoffs, etc. And I need to not catch slapshots with my ribs.
Ah, who am I kidding? I love blocking pucks and diving to break up plays. No talent, all heart. Although that might be bruised as well.
Writing: edit edit edit. 10 chapters down, 1 eliminated, about 32 to go.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Slash! Hack! Gut! Gore!
Almost 25% through an edit of the book. I just mooshed two chapters into one and cut close to 3K words, which I know is a good thing but it killed me to nuke some of the dialogue. I'm sure later I'd realize it was as self-indulgent as the stuff I cut from the guys playing poker, but I remember how long it took me to settle on six pickup lines to be used (there was a contest. The protagonist and his GF had Met Cute in a bar and taken part in a pick-up line contest that had sprung up. The world will not suffer for it being edited). Such is life. I'm being quite the brutal editor on myself as I wait for authors to work on the comments I gave them on their book so we can move that project along. They haven't looked at it in over a month and I'm wondering if it's professional to give them a nudge or not. Ah, we're working at their schedule.
Hockey game against our former teammates this Sunday. Sheq's MS is flaring up - can we postpone the game until he feels well enough to play? Probably not. Rats.
Hockey game against our former teammates this Sunday. Sheq's MS is flaring up - can we postpone the game until he feels well enough to play? Probably not. Rats.
Monday, April 14, 2014
Embracing the Suck
I'm not sure what to make of our new hockey team. We got smoked again last night, although it was a much better team effort and except for a lamentable 5 minute span in the second period in which Things Fell Apart, it wasn't totally horrible. The question is, are we a bunch of players who just need to shake off rust and get used to one another or are we at our maximum talent level already?
I'm leaning toward the former. i mean, it makes sense. We have guys who were on skates for the second time in 20+ years, and it's unreasonable to expect their timing to be back already. On defense I am the most experienced player we have, which speaks volumes about the growing pains we're experiencing. I did sorta okay in a defensive outlook last night - in an 8-0 loss I was only a -2, with one goal being a weird deflection off a blocked pass and the other being me able to dive and hit the puck on a breakaway but not hard enough to get it away from him - but my offensive attempts aren't so great. I stink at keeping the puck in. Practice will help, but meanwhile we'll keep absorbing bad losses. It's still fun and I still enjoy every shift. There's a rumor my wife took pictures and so there will be evidence of my fashion transgressions. I throw myself on the mercy of the court. Or rink. Whatever.
writing: 6 chapters edited, lots and lots to go. Plod plod plod.
I'm leaning toward the former. i mean, it makes sense. We have guys who were on skates for the second time in 20+ years, and it's unreasonable to expect their timing to be back already. On defense I am the most experienced player we have, which speaks volumes about the growing pains we're experiencing. I did sorta okay in a defensive outlook last night - in an 8-0 loss I was only a -2, with one goal being a weird deflection off a blocked pass and the other being me able to dive and hit the puck on a breakaway but not hard enough to get it away from him - but my offensive attempts aren't so great. I stink at keeping the puck in. Practice will help, but meanwhile we'll keep absorbing bad losses. It's still fun and I still enjoy every shift. There's a rumor my wife took pictures and so there will be evidence of my fashion transgressions. I throw myself on the mercy of the court. Or rink. Whatever.
writing: 6 chapters edited, lots and lots to go. Plod plod plod.
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Update - the Sequel! MAXIMUM UPDATING! IN YOUR FACE!
Uhm, yeah. So, chugging along on the novel edit. Should finish Chapter 6 tomorrow, and I figure that somewhere in the 20s I'll hit more recent writing and be able to move more quickly. Started a short story as well for a market I found - I like the premise and the scene, but I have to give it an ending because that seems to be the thing these days, stories with endings. Foo. Still waiting on my authors to go through my edits so I can re-edit, but that'll happen at some point. I need to set up a fancy-pants official 'Kit Yona is a Goddamn Editor' website to see if I can draw in some more work. I just need some more of that, uhm, spare time stuff.
New hockey season, new team, same ugly results. This time the house team was given a bunch of really good players, and a few of them skated roughshod all over us as we tried to find our way having not practiced together yet. Defense is an issue - we need a solid four, and the best skater we had with us belongs at forward, but we'll figure it out. I managed to sew up the arms on the gorilla-length sleeves of my sweater - we not have played well, but we looked good (except for me with my black sweater, bright blue pants and iridescent purple socks I AM A HOCKEY FASHION MAVEN
writing: I'm writing, I'm writing. Female protagonist and all!
New hockey season, new team, same ugly results. This time the house team was given a bunch of really good players, and a few of them skated roughshod all over us as we tried to find our way having not practiced together yet. Defense is an issue - we need a solid four, and the best skater we had with us belongs at forward, but we'll figure it out. I managed to sew up the arms on the gorilla-length sleeves of my sweater - we not have played well, but we looked good (except for me with my black sweater, bright blue pants and iridescent purple socks I AM A HOCKEY FASHION MAVEN
writing: I'm writing, I'm writing. Female protagonist and all!
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