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Challenge .. my demise

January 23rd, 2011 by Laraeven

When ever I come across a challenge in life I face this determining fear that makes me run away. It has always been like this. In high school I ran because I was afraid to fail. The failure or sense of failure would tear a piece of my soul damaging my existence as a good student. It would become so great that I would start imagining ways to run away from it. A simple lie here (oh I don’t feel well) another lie there (I have this other thing to do right now).. it wouldn’t stop. I would come up with ways to get away from my fear instead of facing it until things became so unbalanced that I would run.

It took me 15 years to come back to the fear of school after I dropped out all together. I like to think that with some encouragement and the right guidance my choices would have been different, but then I feel that I am just lying to myself.

My eyes were opened that I couldn’t live in the existence that I was when I met Jokes(my prince charming). He believed in me when I couldn’t believe in myself. Over and over again I have proven that I am well worth the challenge. I got my GED. I excelled in college with only one B since the beginning of my associates degree. Yet, lingering in the background is this dread that I am not good enough or wise enough to continue. What if I fail? Run. Run and forget about it. Get away from the challenge then you can’t fail. Then, I remember why I am fighting this battle. Jokes, my family, my friends they all believe in me even when I can not believe in myself.

I face a challenge this semester that has my blood screaming for release. It makes me ill to think about what I face. Though with each passing moment I feel failure setting in. I want to succeed but I drag my feet so that things become so difficult that I can barely face them. I must continue.. if not for my sake, for them.

On a Mounts Kick

July 28th, 2010 by Laraeven

Back when I was playing my hunter as my main character I had a goal of obtaining 50 mounts for the Leading the Calvary achievement. I really liked the albino drake that came with gaining that achievement. After gaining all the big city reputations and working Netherwing rep I still had not made the achievement. Then, I left game for a much needed hiatus to straighten out some real life issues.


Just recently I have been reacquainted with my old goal. This time I am playing my priest instead. She has had the advantage of having the Argent Tournament to help her with reputation issues as well as a few new mounts to obtain. This made getting to my goal that much easier. With a little patience and a purse filled with gold I was able to finally get my mount count to my goal of 50 mounts. I could not wait to get to my mailbox to pick up my new Albino Drake, pictured below.



Does this end the madness? Of course not! I am now setting the higher goal of achieving the Mountain o’ Mounts achievement. To complete this I will need 100 mounts. It is certainly doable, but will require a lot more work on my part. I also think I will jump on my hunter to check out how many more mounts (shouldn’t be many) for her to get the Albino Drake. This is all kind of exciting to me since my game play hit a short brick wall. I was running out of things I could do while playing with out a crew of people to tag along with.


On a brief side note: I have been invited on a few occasions now to run Northrend raids along with weekly randoms and adventuring into older places like Karazhan. Many thanks to those that have reached out to me. It is much appreciated.


Back to the mounts topic.. Here is a photo of my favorite flying mount in game that I have acquired. I look forward to trying to top it in the future. I might need a hand or two along the way.. just a warning. /smile

Loot Cards – Another Reason to Play

July 25th, 2010 by Laraeven

Not only am I pushing my limits by doing something that can be potentially social, I have found another reason to play the WoW TCG… Loot Cards!


If you are lucky you can run into some highly coveted loot cards like the Spectral Tiger mount. These loot cards bridge the connection between the World of Warcraft online game and the Trading Card game. The code on your loot card is entered into the loot retrieval system which in turn gives you a code to use in game to recover your prize. You must make sure that you have room in your pack or else you will be forever screwed.


“Tiny” The Ivory Raptor (50 uses) from the loot card given to me.

The loot card the guy gave me was probably left overs from another event they hosted. It was still very nice of them to share. I got the Tiny Ivory Raptor mount which comes with a slight penalty. You can only use it 50 times and then it poofs. Some of the loot cards have those restrictions while there are others that remain permanent.


Loot Cards range from companion pets, mounts, to other fun things such as the Ogre Pinata that gives out bubble gum for your character to chew and blow bubbles with. If you decided not to use a loot card it could be a very valuable trading card or even a means to some monetary profit.


With my recent purchase of a Class Starter Deck I received the Sandbox Tiger loot card. It is a toy ride that resembles a spring loaded kiddie park ride. I thought it was hilarious and couldn’t wait to give it to my character. It is kinda like a mini spectral tiger. Although I didn’t get a mount card, I am happy with the learning experience along with the new adventures that still await.


New Horizons to Explore

July 25th, 2010 by Laraeven

Through the grapevine (Twitter) I heard that the WoW TCG game was going to give out Spectral Tiger mounts through a Spectral Safari tournament. After researching it for a short bit I noticed that there was a location within 10 mins of my house that was going to host a Safari. That set the wheels into motion that led me to be at the local gaming shop yesterday 3 hours before the tournament. I have been intrigued with the WoW TCG game, but never really had an “in” to explore that option. The guys down at the gaming shop were doing demos before the tournament. I wasn’t sure what to expect or if it would turn out to be a dead end.


Although we were not openly welcomed upon arrival (only girls around), my daughter and I entered the shop and found where they were doing the demo. Two gentlemen were in the middle of a game so I watched intent on picking up what it was about. It looked like it was all in a foreign language. I totally didn’t have a clue what they were talking about or even who was winning. It did look very intriguing and .. hard! I thought instantly that I should probably just go home and try to strike up a random pug group for the weekly. That in itself would be challenge enough on a Saturday. Even though I wanted to scream and run my feet would not move from their planted location. The guys finished there game. After I was told to have a seat, I decided that I might as well be open about my stupidity and get it over with.


After a brief explanation of the cards and some of the rules involved I refused to play. Instead I offered that they should play again and I watch with a better understanding. I knew then it was something I wanted to learn how to do. The problem was that my social phobia was gaining the best of me. My fight or flight reaction was swallowing me whole. I told the demo guy after the match that I wanted to buy my own starter class set to take home. I knew that once I got home to chill my nerves I could look up the game and learn more on my own. The demo guy had a few loot cards that he let me chose one from. I wasn’t sure if he was supposed to do that so I quickly shoved the card in my pocket being careful not to hurt it. I was then directed to the front counter where I purchased my first set. I told the guys hanging about that either I would get it and come back or they would just never see me again. I was amazed that the demo guy didn’t run off after showing me to the counter. He told me that they play on Thursdays and that I was welcome to join them any time. I explained that I have classes on Thursdays so he then said that I could come on a Saturday to play him.


Is it possible I was making friends? or a possible enemy to battle?

Shadow isn’t Everything

July 11th, 2010 by Laraeven

I have come a long way with my priest. She is now geared up ready to rock n’ roll with raiding groups. I love playing her and have come to think of her as my main character. My husband and I roll randoms with a few friends every night. I have become a pretty well oiled killing machine with my priest. It really does feel like wow’s version of Guitar Hero. I have pretty good timing to execute my damage with very little clipping of active spells, even as a clicker.


Since I am ready for raiding why the heck am I wasting my time with heroic randoms. There is a very easy explanation for that. Heroics are my comfort blanket. I know the fights and where to stand. Even dealing with pugs does not bother me too much. If I were to jump into a random weekly I would feel completely lost and like I was drowning. I haven’t had the opportunity to see nax or any of the NR raiding dungeons past the front entrances. The unknown people surrounding me rushing with no time to do a run down or care if you are new scares the shit out of me. I really would like to find a group of people willing to raid on a regular basis with out being too hard core, however, being socially inept really makes that hard to do. I thought about applying to a raiding guild, but honestly it would have to be a group that needs my husband as well. He would have an easier time getting into a group since he is great as a druid tree. Then I realized .. Shadow isn’t everything.


After a brief moment of time to think it over I dual specced my priest into a bubble master disc. I have already collected a second set of gear, that is actually better then my shadow set. Next, I will need to find some addons to play around with to set up for a bit of practice. What little time I have spent as disc already wets my appetite for more. Pretty soon I will start running my husband’s level 70 pally through some normal NR dungeons for practice. No, I am not turning my back on being a shadow priest. I am just extending my resume. If I don’t get in on the raiding scene this go around I have faith that with Cataclysm there will be a new wave to catch. I really feel like I missed the boat this time. Now to make some new friends to embarrass myself in front of *cough* .. er I mean play with. .