Re: The cranky thread
By comparison to the things going on with other people, this is a minor issue, so, I apologize if this seems petty, but I am really angry right now. This requires some setup.
In 1996 I joined a live-action LARP group. Three-day events in the woods took place about 8-10 months a year. I attended most of them until 2001 and then I took a four year break. I had a really simple policy: Real Life was always more important than pretend. I was divorced, so, if I had the kids on a LARP weekend, I didn't LARP. If someone was having a birthday or I had made prior plans, I didn't LARP. After my second divorce, I returned and played from 2006-2010 and then I quit. It wasn't fun to me anymore. Most of my social group still plays and that's fine. I cancel my weekend gaming session when there is a LARP event and Jen and I travel or have an adventure or work on building things in my shop. It's really no big deal.
Over the Dragon*Con weekend (labor Day weekend) some friends got married that live about two hours away. A LARGE number of people asked the couple to reschedule their wedding. W.T.F? Seriously? So, we left Dragon*Con, drove to the wedding, attended, hugged people, and drove back to Atlanta. Because that's what adults do. They put Real Life ahead of other concerns. Yesterday,Jen had (months ago) planned a get together and invited 30 people. After we'd made the plans and people committed, it was decided that there would be a one-night-only LARP event starting late last night. 10 of the 30 people showed up and all of them were gone by 8 pm to go to this LARP event. Mildly irritating, but what the heck.
When I found out about the LARP event, I asked, specifically, if today's game should be canceled and was told: No, we'll all make it. So, I stayed up last night (after the party) putting the final touches on this game, and I slept until 9 am (which is late for me). I woke up to two text messages from people saying that they are not going to make it today due to staying up so late LARPing.
I am so pissed right now. I love my friends, but it's like dealing with a bunch of junkies or cultists. I could keep rambling, but it's kind of pointless. I am ranting to all of you to keep from blowing up on them in a public forum (that they would see), because that's not how adults behave. But, seriously, every time these people, my friends. ask me to do something, and I commit to it, I am there and these ARE my friends, they are good friends, excepting for this one behavior.
I'm through ranting now.