My Blizzcon Experience: Part 2 – The People

While I didn’t get to meet everyone who was there who I follow on Twitter or through blogs, websites, etc., I got to meet so many amazing people. I only wish there had been more time to spend with each of them because what you need to understand about me is I’m sappy. Like, really sappy. I really LOVE my friends and I get the warm fuzzies when interacting with them. I’m kind of like a gushing 13 year old girl in that way. When I really like someone, I get all crazy excited for any opportunity I have to chat with them. I think sometimes I wear people out because I’m pretty much always excited to talk to them when there are times maybe they don’t feel like talking. But I also have a self esteem issue (again, 13 year old girl) that leaves a bit of doubt in my mind when meeting people in real life if they truly enjoy me or if they are just being polite when we chat online and are secretly rolling their eyes during our conversations. So meeting people was my highest priority for Blizzcon and was also the thing I dreaded the most. Seriously, why are we all such ridiculous basket cases? Humans. Ugh.

Obviously the most exciting ones I would meet would be my guildies. I joined Business Time in January of this year and very quickly felt comfortable and at home there. So seeing some of the people I had been talking to on such a regular basis in game was the most important to me. But as I mentioned above, I was a bit nervous that I wanted to meet them more than they wanted to meet me. That’s not a reflection of them at all, that’s totally my issue. I am a product of my raising. When you spend your childhood hearing you’re worthless and no one ever really wants to be around you it becomes entrenched in your brain, no matter how old you are now or how incorrect you know it is. It created an inner voice that won’t go away. But I am a happy person so I do my best to ignore it and power through my fears. I can usually tell within a few minutes of meeting someone face to face whether they actually think of me as a friend or if they are just someone who’s polite. Reading body language and seeing eye contact is a good indicator. Once I’ve established things are good, I relax and get over my doubts. Of course, I still have the “okay, they like me but am I spending too much time in their space” thing but that’s a whole new can of worms.

Okay, this post wasn’t supposed to be headed this way. Let’s get back on track.

So everyone knows Vidyala and Vosskah are awesome right? Because they totally are. I had gotten all sappy about them a long time ago because they’re just fantastic people. They are also the people who completely eased my worries about meeting them before I actually ever did because this happened:

In ALL CAPS even, which makes it mean even more.

They want to meet me? What? Without me initiating it? What? People don’t do that if they don’t actually want to meet you. Okay, it’s Thursday, I haven’t even made it to the hotel yet and I already know I’m going to be fine. Seriously, that was HUGE. These two… the best. I needed that, I appreciated that and I now totally ❤ them even more than I already did. Kim and I checked into our hotel, Vid and Voss walked over to meet us and we walked somewhere and ate something. BUT MOSTLY I GOT TO HANG OUT WITH VID AND VOSS. Yay!

But of course the day got better because later on we met up in the lobby of the Hilton and were joined by guildies Rhidach and Antigen. We grabbed a table and sat down for some drinks and conversation. Our other guildie who had tickets, Tass (@beartank), didn't arrive until later in the evening but we all got a chance to chill out in Vid's room after the WoW Insider party and the line to pick up our badges. It was awesome. Over the course of the next few days we got to spend more time together as a group, including a small, cozy sushi dinner on Saturday night that was just so fantastic and relaxing.

Because it was all happening so fast and there were so many people and so much stuff going on, I am not even going to try and write down any when and where details for most of the others I met. I likely wouldn't get it right if I tried. But I do have a mostly complete list (I believe) of peeps I got to meet from hanging out in the Hilton and attending the WoW Insider party. I'll use their twitter names to make it easier: @KelistiMMO, @Jasyla, @hestiahdruid, @AppleCiderMage, @Tikari, @orkchop, @MarconinWoW, @Kristin @Jedsblog (meeting him involved much Twitter coordination – yay for Twitter), @beruheals and hubby Brade. I had @AngryOrc and @Sha of Happiness pointed out to me, but they were both swarmed with people and don't know me, so I didn't go over to officially meet them. Though I should have. Just like I should have said hello to Ghostcrawler and Chris Metzen on those occasions when I found myself 2 feet from them. Sigh.

I also had two very exciting meetups on the convention floor; one by accident and one that was a determined wild goose chase. Lol. I came across @Draynee while she was in her amazing costume and I didn't even know it was her. I had stopped to take a picture of her and she totally noticed my custom art badge I had commissioned from Vidyala. She pointed at me and was like "hey, I follow you on twitter". I totally stared at her blankly and said "and you are?". Yep, I'm quite the charmer. But as soon as she told me who she was I was so glad she had recognized my name because I got to say hi and gently steal a hug from her while trying not to mess up the costume in any way. Yay for chance encounters. The wild goose chase involved the wildly popular Navimie. I was determined to meet her before leaving Anaheim so I started tweeting her to try and coordinate locations. We missed each other several times by several minutes each time because so many people wanted to be Navispammed she just didn't stay in one spot very long. But it all worked out and we finally found each other and spent a few minutes gushing at each other. I even got her to pose for a picture which I immediately tweeted out to prove I had been #navispammed irl. Meeting these two was awesome.

Sunday involved a trip to DisneyLand with Kim, Vidyala, BeruHeals and a few others. I’m not actually trying to be secretive in any way about who was there, but I totally never asked them if it was okay for me to blog about it, so I will be cautious and not mention them. There was a group of 8 of us though and it was a really fun day. We rode rides, we watched shows, we ate at The Blue Bayou inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Just a fantastic time. I’m glad it worked out that we could all go together. All of us girls bought ears to wear. I’m such a nerd, I bought R2D2 mouse ears. I love ’em.

I’m sure I’m missing someone or some detail, but suffice it to say the whole people thing was amazing. If I get a chance to go again, I’ll totally go in a bit braver and will be determined to be less shy so that I can add even more people to my list. Of course, I can’t end my Blizzcon posting without saying a big thank you to my friend Kim, who attended with me and was my roomie for the weekend. Kim and I have been friends for almost 8 years now (and co-workers that entire time as well) and I take total credit for getting her started playing WoW. She isn’t in my guild, doesn’t have a Twitter account or follow any blogs too closely, so she didn’t have the same sort of agenda I had yet she patiently (mostly :P) followed me around so that I could meet all these people. I did mouth her about the fact that she didn’t adjust away from her normal sleeping hours so she crashed out hours before I did every night (srsly, like 7 – 8 pm LOL) and got up hours before me (2 – 3am) but that’s because of her work schedule so it’s just a total habit for her. She’d go to bed and I’d wander over to the Hilton. It worked out fine. I was just glad she was there as my security blanket – someone I knew well and could be comfortable around at a time and in a place where I was nervous about everything. I may even allow her to go again if I get tickets next time. Maybe. 😛

This Should Totally Trend On Twitter…

It’s a rather daunting task (thanks to all the gold farmers and hackers who post videos constantly) but I like to type “world of warcraft” into YouTube’s search box about once a month and sort videos by Upload Date to see if there have been any great WoW-based videos recently uploaded. Why do I do it? I like to think it’s because I am the sort of generous soul who willingly devotes a certain amount of time to appreciating the arts and welcomes the chance to expose my audience to the new and wonderful things our fellow human beings create. But let’s be honest, it’s mostly because I am a mediocre blogger and a half-ass WoW player who frequently runs out of post ideas. Yep, it’s because I’m lazy.

No matter the “why” of it all, it’s a glorious thing indeed when I find a real gem and can share it with the 5 of you. Today is one of those times. Not only should everyone watch this video and share it with your friends, we should totally make this a trending topic on Twitter #Shit[insert your race here]NeverSay. Make it happen people.

And now for your viewing pleasure, I proudly present Shit Orcs Never Say

Fun With Twitter: #iwasanoob

I have no idea how it started or who used the hash tag #iwasanoob the first time that day, but on Friday, Oct. 28, my Twitter feed blew up with hilarious confessions of World of Warcraft noobiness. And these weren’t just tweets from players who are currently new to the game; some of the biggest names in the WoW community were sharing tales of foolishness and folly. I happened to be out of town that day and had nothing but my phone for internet access, so the #iwasanoob ball had been rolling for approximately 1 hour before I noticed it. But once I did discover the hashtag was trending, I knew right away I needed to try and preserve some of the fun.

You guys, I USED A PEN AND PAPER AND WROTE A BUNCH OF THOSE TWEETS DOWN. PHYSICALLY. WROTE. THEM. DOWN. My hand was cramping up so bad by the time I got the .. first one written out. But I pushed on, I hung in there. I was so proud of myself. I had limited resources, yet I tried my damnedest to capture as much of the fun as I could. Would you believe I wrote down a little over 300 tweets before I finally stopped? I did it all for you internet. I wanted to preserve the fun and post them all here to live on forever. But finally, the reality of what I was doing and how it was completely pointless began to sink in as more and more tweets hashtagged #iwasanoob just kept on rolling by. I was never gonna be able to keep up. And I was running out of paper, patience, and the ability to grip my pen.

So yeah, last Friday was the most awesome trending I had ever witnessed on Twitter. I had all these sweet visions of typing up the ones I had copied down and compiling them into an epic blog post to share with the community. People would love me and be amazed that I had the foresight to do such an amazing thing. Until I realized that not only was I fighting a losing battle, but an unnecessary one. As I’m sure you are all already aware of, you can just go to Twitter.com and search for #iwasanoob and look through them there.

But since I did go through all the trouble, I am going to share some of my favorites from Friday afternoon here. In random order.

WoWInsider – I didn’t know about bandages until level 50. #iWasANoob

xvkarbear – I didn’t know about autorun until level 80. #iWasANoob

peapod82 – @WoWInsider I didn’t know when mailing that you could just right click to attach an item(s). 3 yrs later I figured it out! #iWasANoob

Meadhbh – I thought you used the soulstone on someone after they were dead. #IWasANoob

hutchzillious – Didnt spend a talent point till I was lvl34 on my first toon (warlock) #iwasanoob

madsushi – @WoWInsider I bought +1 to healing bracers because I thought they were +1 skills, like in Diablo 2. #iWasANoob

HipsterAssassin – @WoWInsider Spent 25 levels of my first toon in WoW looking at the ground cuz I didn’t know to click and drag to move the camera #iwasanoob

mbuhtz – @WowInsider Until I was in the mid-40s, I thought hunters were supposed to melee with their pets. #iWasANoob

ryanfesko – I didn’t know you could start over with talents, so I deleted 2 lv 30 paladins before sticking with my Ret. #IWasANoob

EmberDione – I thought you could only cast spells from your spec. So my fire mage didn’t train a single frost spell. #iWasANoob

edeesis – I didn’t know that you could eat food to regen your health faster til mid 30s. (I was a Warrior) there was a lot of time sitting. #IWasANoob

Druidis4fite – I died in a campfire and was so confused I cried. #IWasaNOOB

MarcoBratovich – I used to take off my plate armor before swimming not to sink to death… #iWasANoob

Secretbrew – I didn’t know about talent points and trainers until I was level 20. I couldn’t understand why the game was so hard. #IWasaNOOB

JustAlethiar – I had no idea how to use the auction house until I was over level 50. I just vendored everything 😦 #IWasaNOOB

Locktart – I thought banish would dismiss my demons #iwasanoob

Alynndra – I thought I needed to tame a new pet every level.. didn’t realize that pets had their own xp bar back then #iWasANoob

_Reliq – I levelled to 80 on my Paladin with 6 and 8-slot bags. I must have thrown out hundreds of gold worth of drops. #iwasanoob

stoppableforce – I deleted my first character because I was soloing elite mobs outside WC for leather mats and didn’t understand why I kept dying. #iwasanoob

MikeFoxWoW – On my first hunter, in a dungeon, and the tank asked me to turn off growl. I asked ‘What’s Growl?’ I had not even trained on it.#iwasanoob

Baybdoli – I didn’t know I could vendor items in my bag. I spent 25 levels destroying them to make room. #iwasanoob

Dub_stomp – I once tried to whisper zapetta the zepplin master and ask where and what a zepplin was. #IWasANoob

WoWMiri – After playing WoW for a year, I rolled an alt and fell off a building (no surprise here). I asked the mage for a rez. #Iwasanoob

Ari_Says – I leveled balance in TBC and I would stand there and beat mobs with my 2H axe for 5 min before they died. #Iwasanoob

YoBemis – I didn’t know you could eat and drink at the same time until about 2 years ago. #iwasanoob

_Rades – Tried to get to Undercity from Silvermoon through the Plaguelands. At level 11. #iwasanoob

theredworm – I got 1 gold for signing a guild charter, I wanted to stay guildless so I could keep making sweet money just signing charters #iwasanoob

SG_Fred – Used Chain Lightning to start a pull to “help” the tank. #iWasANoob

karethdreams – I didn’t realize there was a boat in Dark Shore & ran through Azshara because it looked like a logical place for a port #iwasanoob

KissMyAlas – Any time I saw a whole area of level 10 mobs all dead, I assumed a leet 60 had just rolled through. #iwasanoob

Sian_Mererid – I right-clicked a flightmaster in a neutral zone,assuming they were all friendly…I was Horde, he was Ally, I was dead. #iwasanoob

Gazimoff – I didn’t spend my first talent point until level 35 #iwasanoob

Achloryn – I legitimately looked for items with higher armor first…… on my mage #Iwasanoob

Meadhbh – I thought you used the soulstone on someone after they were dead. #IWasANoob

geekgirlinky – After failing in Blackrock Depths, everyone dropped group as I was coming back from the gy. I couldn’t find the instance. #iwasanoob

Maeyam – I swam all the way from Barrens to Tanaris, cause I didn’t know where the passage was in Thousand Needles. (no joke) #iwasanoob

KissMyAlas – Fishing stressed me out. I was afraid I’d miss clicking the bobber and have to wait hours for another bite. #iwasanoob

Rioriel – I didn’t know how to dive underwater and swim down until well in the 60s. #iwasanoob My DPS is significantly lower than @_Ritual’s #istillam

Thyanel – I didn’t realize you could level professions past 75 skill points. #iwasanoob

ValenDPower – In my first dungeon run… I had my pet pull aggro from the tank… I didnt want the tank to get hit! #iWasANoob

lunulate – I used to log out in the area I was doing quests in because I thought it was the only way to save my progress. #IWasANoob

sprackraptor – At level 20, I saw a bunch of Alliance raiding Thunder Bluff, and tried to help. #iwasanoob

sillermoon – E’s friend logged in on their lvl 60 & donated 2 gold to each of us. We thought he was SO generous #iwasanoob

_Rades – Used Gnomeregan teleport in Booty Bay out of curiosity, died, rezzed in Dun Morogh graveyard. Ran back to Horde territory.#iwasanoob

gotowell – I got SO LOST in Undercity the first time I was there, I waited a half hour remaining on my hearth cooldown. To go back to Brill. #Iwasanoob

Druidis4fite – I failed the Thunder Bluff Elevator Boss. #Iwasanoob

jaedia – I drowned as an Undead Warlock. #IWasANoob

Achloryn – i’m pretty sure it took me till level 40 to figure out I could use my right mouse button to dive underwater. #iwasanoob

justanna – I tamed a new pet every 5 levels because I couldn’t figure out how to teach them new skills #iwasanoob #waybackinvanilla

esalgado90 – I sold all my armor to get the last bit of gold I needed for my lvl 40 mount back in vanilla #iWasANoob

melme – I heard gathering professions were a good way to make money, so I picked up two and happily vendored everything. #iwasanoob

Lyraat – #iwasanoob I spammed Escape Artist my gnome warr and wondered why it wouldnt work when I wanted it to. “Why is the icon dark?”

karethdreams – I thought I had to equip my skinning knife to skin an animal #iwasanoob

MostlyBlissful – Back in vanilla, when I first started out, I thought the spider cave in the back of night elf starting zone was an instance. #iwasanoob

EmberDione – I couldn’t find a new leveling zone, so I just grinded from 56-60 in Winterspring. #iwasanoob

Jezriyah – I didn’t learn how BC pet training worked until Outland. My level 60 scorpid had Growl 1. #iwasanoob

Esoth – I thought melee weapons were more important because you only got one or two shots before the mob got to melee range anyway #iwasanoob

_Rades – First attempted pet tame: Giraffe. Crushing disappointment. Second attempt: Zhevra. I almost deleted the hunter right there. #iwasanoob

Kotakh – @Achloryn @ILikeBubbles @KissMyAlas I remember Mangling my way to lvl 70. Mangle spam ftw in my first Kara lol #iwasanoob

DruidMain – I only specced balance because I didn’t know there were tabs for other talent trees on the talent window #iwasanoob