Summer Resolution

You know, I should just do away with my proposed blogging schedule. I'm not sticking to it at all.

Anywho...

I went on another late-night walk a few days ago, before this bout of rain and wind hit central Minnesota. I actually left my headphones at home, for once, to allow myself time to really think, rather than drowning out my thoughts with music.

I realized that, as is my norm around this time of year, I was becoming quite restless. Desires and drives were building up in me, causing my satisfaction to dip and my lamentations to rise. I saw time as something slipping away from me, as days wasted and relationships waning, and there was little I could do to reverse any of it. I wanted to call people and talk to people for no reason other than to do it. I wanted to play my drum outside again. I wanted to go on a road trip. I wanted to turn my life on its head, make decisions before I had time to think about them, and live my life, even if only for a short while, on the edge of my seat.

Sitting back and thinking about it all now, I feel that it isn't so much that I want to shake my life up with some random event or some big decision. Lord knows big changes are coming soon enough, anyway. Rather, I want to ensure that I feel good about how I spend my time overall. And the one way for me to feel good about my time, hands down beyond any doubt, is to spend it with people I care about, friends and family.

And so that is my "Summer Resolution." Consider it an expansion to my New Years Resolution (which was to be a better friend, brother, uncle and son, for anybody keeping count). For this summer, I am making it my goal to create more memories, take more pictures and do more with other people.
So if you're reading this and you know me personally, hold me to it. I've been known to hit stretches of complacency, times where I'm content just sitting at home doing next to nothing, and then I always regret those times later. I want to limit those times as much as possible this year, and again, if you know me personally, I want to be with YOU more this summer.

Now to get back to work on Round 10...

This Big Lake Has Got Me Feeling Anxious & Lazy

Decided my post today would be a poor attempt at poetry. Sorry about the scheduling delay!

Alright, it's time to clear away those temptations and dust off those notions, ignore your hesitations and challenge your devotions. Shake up those foundations you let settle, look back on your creations right down to the letter. You let your distractions get in the way of your plans, you've been looking at the downside so let's start again.

Lefts and rights, ups and downs, keeping your head through the smiles and frowns.
A walk under the sun isn't always so bright, but strolling under the moon doesn't always feel right.
A pocket full of plastic still comes up short but creative success is attained with support,
so tighten the belt and sharpen the number two, push uncertainty aside, you've got work to do.

The world's unlocked the door and cracked it open some more, but your shoe's all scuffed because you've been here before. Your art is a chore and your ego is sore, you're in the big leagues now but you're too chicken to score. And after all this, what's it really for? Pride? Honor? Principle, or something more? Would anyone notice if you closed the door? In a market full of Cores, who needs one more?

You have been here before. But this time is different.

You're lost, aren't you? There's no rhyme to your reason, you hang on too tightly and then change with the seasons.
You make up your mind with the certainty of weather and you tend to fall apart after every get-together.
But finding happiness in life begins with a thought, and if you refuse to smile then you've already lost.
You're not going to give up before you even started, afterall, you've seen worse, and even when you departed
from this path for which you packed you backtrack to the fact that this has always been your knack, no matter how abstract, exact, or sidetracked the fact of this track is that it's about your impact, not your plan of attack.

So the next time you're tempted to turn your back, or worse to simply let yourself drift off-track,
do us all a favor and snap yourself back. This far in the game you can't afford to slack.
I know it'd be easier with a little more change, and I know it'd be nicer if you could share the stage,
but choices and terms led you to this point, and whether alone or not you shouldn't disappoint.
You've made promises before, now it's time to see them through. Not to your family or friends, you only owe it to you.

Don't second guess me on this. You know I'm right. Forget the cold apartment and the flat sheets at night.
One fish at a time if you're going to fry 'em right. Even if there's bigger fish out there, this one's in sight. You've been going too long on catch and release, and now the sun is going down and you still need to eat.
So reel this in with patience, stay true, and you'll be fed for the night and tomorrow's brand new.
One fish at a time is my advice to you, and who knows? Maybe someday that fish will find you.

Round 10: The Persuasion

My third and final speech of this semester, which will be delivered on Monday, April 29th, has to be persuasive in nature, with the intent to persuade the audience to act, feel, or think in a specific way by the time the speech is finished. Since I spoke about tabletop role-playing with my frist two speeches, I originally planned to describe the benefits of actually participating in tabletop role-playing. And then I realized I was already doing this with my previous speeches, talking about how RPGs can increase small-group communication skills, organization skills, creative problem-solving, and working with a team.

And then it hit me: why not just give a 10 minute infomercial on Round 10?

This seemed almost too good to be true, too easy to work. I asked the instructor if I could basically do a 'shameless self-advertising' speech, and he said "as long as you can work in the persuasive elements, it will work."

Here we go, then.

So the speech will be about Round 10, and why the audience, as first-time players of an RPG, should choose that as their introductory system. I will go over Round 10's simple set-up, it's focus on openness and how it fosters creativity, how it fits to accomodate the game you want to play rather than force you to play its game, and how it will be supported in the future by interesting, original and memorable settings and expansions. I will touch on Zimildran, on Otherworld, and on other ideas for the future. I'll bring up Facebook, Twitter (@Round10RPG), the Round 10 Website (even if it's still under construction), and this blog. Hopefully my enthusiasm around this topic will be enough to at least garner one or two additional supporters.

Speech Finished

Finally!

After two delays from the instructor missing class (surprising, right?) and one from a scheduling misstep, my demonstrative speech on how to effectively participate in a tabletop RPG is finished.

I realize now that I went into a bit of a trance during the course of the speech, and in retrospect I don't remember much of what I did or how I did it. I remember getting in front of the class, I remember my introduction, and I remember that I hit the conclusion faster than I expected. In truth, the speech clocked in at a bit over 9 minutes, which is three to four minutes faster than when I timed it at home. A good thing to keep in mind for future speeches.

And so my first of three speeches is out of the way, and already I have to start preparing speech two, which will be delivered in two weeks. Keeping with my tabletop RPG themes, this time I will be delivering a speech on running a game, what to keep in mind, and how to manage a group of players. Now with no visual aids, so we'll see how well that goes.

I'm excited, to say the least. On the one hand I'm glad this speech is done, but I still feel like I have so much to say. It's a good thing I've got two more speeches to go. My desire to talk about tabletop RPGs is overflowing, as anyone who knows me personally can agree. And hopefully these three speeches will be the combined points of interest to push some of these students to give tabletop RPGs a chance. Hopefully.

College & Graduation

This last week has been quite a boring one for me. After the excitement of the road trip with my gaming group, and the 3:00am Dance Central party on Saturday, my activity has dropped considerably. I wake up, I go to class, I have some fun with friends at CLC, I go to work and play catch-up on my list of tasks, then I go home and either play Starcraft II or watch YouTube videos until I drift off to sleep, only to start it all over again the next day.

I suppose it's to be expected. I mean, after such an engaging weekend I should be okay with allowing myself some downtime. But at the same time, I'd rather have the excitement of the weekend carry over into my daily routines, rather than drop off completely. And then this morning I was sort of slapped in the face with a realization.

It's March. Graduation is coming up, and I have things I need to do.

In order for me to get my AA at the end of this semester, I need to have my AP transcript submitted to the college. Since the last time I took an AP test was in 2006, my transcript has gone into what the AP board calls the "Archives". Basically, for me to get those credits to the college, I need to jump through extra hoops and spend a little extra money in order for the people at CLC to go "Oh, yes you have taken all those classes."

Once that is all done, I will be all set for my AA (finally) and can start looking at my teaching degree a bit more closely.

So this morning saw a bit of a fire lit under my butt, thanks in part to my roommate and in part to a friend from my Acting class who was asking me about my plans after this semester. I printed the AP transcript release form, filled it out, and now just have to fax it and a check to the AP Board and wait for them to fax the transcript back to the college. I'm cutting it close, but that's sort of my style.

It's both exciting and frightening, being this close to my AA, on the cusp of uncharted territory (for me). The thoughts of what is happening after plague me, now. Thoughts like worrying about costs of going to an actual college, about being able to manage online classes, about if teaching is really the career I should be pursuing, and about how seriously I should be pushing forward with my book at the same time. Yet, despite all of my worrying, and despite all of my anxiety, I need to keep this momentum going. I know that once my momentum drops, it's hard to get up again, and I can't afford to put my future off any longer.

Role-Playing Speech

On Monday, March 18th, at approximately 9:00am, I am giving a demonstrative speech in front of my Public Speaking class. Am I nervous? A bit, but I have my confidence that it will all go well.

The speech is on tabletop role-playing, or more specifically, to provide the audience with insights on effectively participating in a tabletop role-playing game. I know it probably sounds silly. I mean, I'm talking to them about how to play a game. How hard can playing a game be, right?

Well, luckily for me, there are plenty of facets and aspects to playing a tabletop RPG, and these are all aspects that a lot of people, even seasoned veterans, overlook from time to time. Avoiding meta-gaming, avoiding being a rules-lawyer, playing the game for the story and not for personal glory, and understanding that the group is trying to have fun together, are all things that are easy to forget when you roll your fourth failure for the night, or when your armor breaks at the most inopportune time.

More importantly, my hope is that I will show to the audience the benefits of tabletop role-playing, especially to those who have never experienced it before. Tabletop RPGs have a strong social stigma that permeates their existence, and when people hear RPG they often think of Dungeons and Dragons, and from there they often think of anti-social tendencies, along with many other stereotypes. Hopefully I will help them look beyond those stereotypes, and see tabletop gaming as something that everyone and anyone can enjoy.

I plan to do all three of my speech assignments this semester on tabletop role-playing, and my next one, the Informative Speech, will be on running a game session as a Game Master. This will be more difficult than my current speech, since I cannot use visual aids in any way. However, I feel that conducting a speech on being a Game Master and using only my words and my actions to inspire and engage is something that being a Game Master has prepared me for. I already plan on using the entire space open to me, not just the front of the class, and to bring my kinetic energy and desire for movement to the table.

Hopefully I can make some sort of lasting impression.

Too Much Wasted Time

My last couple of posts have been about time management in writing, and how to better hold yourself accountable for your time. I realize that the majority of this blog has been in and around various bits of advice when it comes to pursuing your career, yet I stopped and thought about that for a minute. Here I am, unpublished, distracted and as amateur as you can get, and I'm posting advice about how to become a better writer. That's more than a bit pretentious of me.

That being said, in an effort to shift the focus from me providing less-than-substantiated advice to me providing a window on my own experiences, I will start posting about my own writing habits, what I'm planning to do, and why. I've already talked about my love of journaling, so consider this blog an extension of my journals, one that is open for public viewing and feedback.

I've recently come under an undeniable feeling of restlessness when it comes to my career choice and my daily habits. I attribute part of this to the fact that I recently turned 25, an age that sort of slapped me in the face, forcing me to realize that I am an adult, no doubt about it. However, I cannot help but feel that part of it is because I am working in a job, and have been working in a job, that doesn't satisfy what I want out of a career choice.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my job. I work with some very wonderful people and have had incredible memories. Some lasting friends have been made in the retail world for me. Yet, as I approach my 8th year, I cannot help but consider my level of personal satisfaction with my daily work, and I am disappointed with that assessment.

I'm faced with the feeling that the last few years of my life have been far too complacent, and now I feel like I need to work that much harder in order to make up for the lost time. I recently spoke with my parents about this feeling, and my father gave me the advice "I felt the same way at your age, but I stayed in the grocery business and I feel it worked out well." To his credit it certainly did, and I'm glad he made the choices he did in his life. However, something about this restlessness tells me that it goes beyond an aging man attempting to hang onto the openness and opportunity-filled days of his youth. I feel like there is no reason why I should be allowing myself to feel this way, and that I can turn it around if only I spend the time doing so.

It's a difficult realization to come to, and even more difficult to put into action, but it is my plan to do so. It is my hope to advance my career and my interests every day until I reach the point where I am satisfied with what I am doing. When that happens, I will be able to look at other aspects of myself and my life, and what I can do to better them.

When I spoke with my mother I told her that "I'm tired of just satisfying people, and I want to start actually helping people." And that is as close to the truth about my feelings as I've ever been able to vocalize. I'm tired of working in customer service, putting my people skills and my communication talents to use with a flimsy facade of making a difference. I want to actually make a difference. I want to help people learn, realize their potential, open their minds and view the world in different ways. This is why I landed on teaching as a career, and I feel like it will be the career of choice for me as my life moves on.

The real challenge, for me especially, is to stop letting time move around me, and instead start moving with it.

Daily Habits

Whenever conversations have taken a turn towards one of my hobbies, such as writing, sketching, or even Game Mastering an RPG session, it isn't rare for people to say something along the lines of "I'm a terrible artist," or "I can't write at all," or even "I could never run an RPG." I can't help but chuckle at these statements because of how misinformed they are.

Writing, as with most hobbies, isn't something you're born with. Anybody can learn how to cook, how to sing, how to play the guitar, how to skateboard, and how to write. These are skills, and it's true, while some may be born with natural talents in these areas, anybody can learn how to do them, and to do them well.

The key, and this is where most people fail, myself included, is consistent practice.

We live in an age of instant gratification. When I was growing up, it was common to wait minutes for a webpage to load, even if it was all text. And it was what I did. I'd click the link, and sit and wait while the page slowly came into view, often reading the information as it showed up on screen. Now, if the page takes longer than ten to fifteen seconds, most people close out and try again, or look for a different page. We are accustomed to instant information, to finding what we need as fast as we can hit the 'Enter' button, yet it is my firm belief that this technology is being poorly misused. Yet that is a subject for a different blog post.

If you want to get better at something, anything, all you need to do is practice it. Work it into your routine, schedule your time around it, make time for it and hold yourself accountable to it. Whether its physical exercise, budgeting, academic preparation, or creative writing, all you need to do is be willing to devote the necessary time.

I have these skills in sketching and writing because I did them when I was young. I started as a child and kept the hobbies up throughout my prime development years, into high school, and after. Now, in my adult life, I find that I don't continue the hobbies as often as I'd like, and because of this my confidence in them has fallen. I can still sketch, but it takes me a while before I feel good about my artistic abilities to hammer out portraits and character concepts like I used to. I can write, but it takes a few days of straight fiction writing before I feel confident about my ability to tell a story.

Turn your desire into action and start writing daily. Keep a journal, and carry it with you at all times. I know how this sounds, and I know that a lot of us who aspire to be writers think "keeping a journal is amateur stuff, I'm ready for more than that." I know this because I thought this way just a mere year ago. However, I have since decided to take my own advice, and it has done wonders for my ability to get my thoughts out on paper. It has made me a better literary communicator and a better verbal communicator. There really is no downside to having a daily journal.

Writing also requires an acceleration period. This period varies in time from one person to the next, but generally you can expect it to be around thirty minutes. You can't sit down and expect to start writing your novel right away, and you can't expect every session to be equally effective, at least not at first. Having a daily journal, and writing in it for at least thirty minutes prior to working on your manuscript, is the perfect way to get your creative gears turning, to kick-start the part of your brain that works on literary communication, taking abstract thoughts and turning them into words on a page.

The same goes with any skill you put into practice. Instead of jumping right into your workout, stretch for a short while beforehand. Instead of starting your piece of artwork right after you get done with your work shift, instead sketch a few scrap drawings in a notebook. We want everything we do to be perfect the first time, yet that is not realistic. In fact, that frame of mind is a hindrance to achieving our true potential as artists. Recognize that consistent, scheduled practice is necessary to becoming better at something, and then go out and schedule that practice.

Welcome

Hello folks! Welcome to the very first post of my new blog, Experience Points.

First of all, a bit about myself: My name is Nicholas Kory, I'm a 25 year-old aspiring writer/teacher who is returning to college to finish my teaching degree. I am also working full time in retail, as well as attempting to self-publish my first book on tabletop role-playing. Between these endeavors, in my spare time I try to cultivate multiple friendships and remain a relevant and positive member of all of my social networks.

This blog will follow my pursuit of my career, both as a teacher and as a writer, and will help to serve as a collection of my plans, thoughts, motivations, pitfalls and epiphanies that I am sure to face as I move steadily forward towards those goals. I will share what I have learned, what I am learning, and what I hope to learn in the future. The posts in this blog will serve as benchmarks in my road, a permanent record of where I've been and where I am going. Hence the blog's title.

It is my humble goal to update this blog on a weekly basis, at the very least. However, it may not be out of the realm of possibility to see more frequent updates, depending upon my schedule and the necessity of me to get these thoughts down.

I hope that those of you who take the time to read my posts will find them to be enlightening, entertaining, or thought-provoking to some degree. I feel as if a new chapter in my life is starting as I close in on the goals I have set for myself, and I am excited to share this chapter with all of those who are willing to listen.