It always gets worse before it gets better; it always gets better.

It keeps coming back to this. No matter how terrible something is, no matter how far down you think you've come, there's always tomorrow and tomorrow is always brighter.

For those guild and raid leaders out there, don't buckle under the stress of progress. Don't let the guild give up just because you are having recruitment struggles. You can push through those. I have, and it's how I completed my goals....

Ciderhelm

Following my last entry I decided I'd follow up on some of my friends who joined the Marine Corps. I came across this letter written to a newsletter by the father of Jacob Haulman:

...

Ciderhelm

My sister and I agreed long ago we would never attend Brigham Young University, or BYU. In my church community, it was often implicit that good students would apply to the college. Instead, my sister graduated from University of Washington, and it looks as though I will be, too.

Tonight I drove to the SeaTac International Airport to pick my father up. Since he frequently travels to California to help take care of his sister-in-law's children (his brother died of cancer early this year),...

Ciderhelm

It's late morning here. I haven't slept yet. I just finished sending off a lengthy e-mail when I received an unexpected letter in my inbox. My ex-girlfriend.

There's nothing that makes me less happy than finding e-mail from her. The exchange I just finished with her over the last forty-six minutes was one of the worst.

I'm not sure how to explain this. Every part of me knows that I am unhappy with her and we could not have a relationship. Given our past together, and given...

Ciderhelm

"We don't normally play like this." Last night, during the course of a Karazhan raid, I received a half-dozen different tells to this end. "Don't judge us on this run!"

I know. I've been there. I've said that to other people. Don't sweat it.


Before I go too much further with this let me preface it a bit. The run wasn't bad. The biggest problems revolved around healers disconnecting, which is unfortunate, but it's not something to get upset about....

Ciderhelm