Busy, busy!

Just a quick update so you don't all think I've abandoned you.

Last you heard I was traveling with Zak Sabbath all around on his book tour.

We haven't been in LA much.

Presently we are house and dog sitting for a friend in SoHo, New York.

I also took a 12 hour bus ride up to Canada to visit my family. Transferring in Montreal was heart wrenching, I want to live there again so much. Montreal looks like nowhere else I've ever been and I love it. The crumbling overpasses and decrepit looking factories that surround the city, the maples trees and cathedrals, the rusty bridges, the strange buildings and structures that were built for the world fair and the Olympics, it is a beautiful place. The bus drives right by the neighbourhood I grew up in. Not far from LaRonde. I watched the firework competitions from my bedroom window every summer.

I will go home someday.

Anyway, my lil sister came back to New York with me, stayed for a few days. I had to show her around because she'd never been here before, we had to go shopping a lot, of course and we explored places I never bothered to get to when I lived here. (I didn't have any friends that first year so I didn't go out much.)

It's been very, very, busy. We went to the Central Park zoo, we went to Times Square twice, we went to the Met (I adore the Met and so did she, being a second year anthropology and sociology double major, naturally), we wandered all around the east village (that is maybe the only area of NYC I know well, aside from Bushwick), found a rare $80 copy of the original Ogre Battle for the SNES for our lil brother, ate lots of pizza, we participated in the Paping Soap Box Derby that Zak and his friends put on every summer, played lots and lots and lots of Dungeons and Dragons (more about that later), went to Coney Island (where the sis agreed, out of character, to go on the Cyclone with me and then was terrified and tried to hide on me and banged her nose pretty badly as a result of not bracing herself like I told her to), we went to the Aquarium too, picked up some cotton candy to send home to my dad who has a nasty sweet tooth and loves places like Coney Island but doesn't get to travel much himself, and I took her to the Double Down Saloon on her last night. Oh, and we went to Chelsea to pick up some copies of Zak's book from his gallery and see some art. Most of the galleries were installing so she didn't get to see much, but she got the idea.

Ok. D&D: I play a tiefling priestess (Cleric). We play mostly first edition but some people, like me, had characters created for playing different editions (which is why I'm allowed to be half-demon.) I found a magic mace to replace the original mace I bought, but I haven't quite figured out yet exactly how it works. I worship Vorn the God of Iron and Rain. I'm 3rd level (possibly 4th now since we just defeated a necromancer and some demons and found our way out of the dungeon we were stuck in and regained our memories.)

Zak created and ran the module and there were usually about 9 of us playing. It was all very Jack Vance and M. John Harrison and Road of Knives.

My sister plays a half-elf illusionist. In our party we had a dwarf fighter, an elf fighter, an elf ranger-who occasionally would turn into a halfling minotaur due to a spell, a half-orc thief, a half-orc fighter, a half-elf cleric, a half-elf thief, and a human paladin also a worshiper of Vorn.

We have so far defeated an invasion of the Locust Cult, a Medusa, a Vampire Halfling Queen and her minions, some giant toads, a gargoyle, almost got killed by some peacocks, a baby black dragon, a minotaur, and some other stuff. We rescued a goblin alchemist too and a sphinx.

I found some cool books and some mystery potions.

So that's D&D so far. I'm hooked. Like really really.

I'm thinking it would be nice to live on the east coast again, nearer to my family and our friends here. I do miss LA though, but am glad to be away while the fires are happening. I wouldn't be able to leave my apartment at all if I were in Hollywood with all that smoke.

Next, we go to Seattle. Zak is reading from his new book at Bumbershoot.

I did shoot some new content for MandyMorbid.com with Coco Velvett. It's being edited now. Should have something new for you all up soon!