Back from Chicago

We got home from our much needed trip on Tuesday evening and I immediately hit the ground running with photo editing to get it all done. I had hundreds of photos to edit despite having edited hundreds of other while away. Turns out it is so much easier to edit on a desktop computer instead of a netbook ;)

It was so nice to sleep in our own bed when we got home. We got very little sleep while we were gone and since then, (not sure about C) I know that I have gotten lots of restful sleep, probably trying to catch up, but it's felt super nice. The weeds in the lawn were taking over, so we took care of that last night finally. Our Alaskan summer has officially started...it's been wonderful weather since we arrived home. It was 70F when I got home from work at 7:30 tonight :) Rode my bike to work and it was a lovely, warm ride for the first time this year. I stopped on the way home to take my first lupine photos of the season as well.

I keep gushing to people in person about this, so I have to say it for the record. I am so glad we went on this trip. I needed a vacation so badly, and I didn't realize how good it would be for me to get out of work and this town. A few hours after we arrived, I realized how carefree I felt and the huge weight from work was gone. It was excellent! In fact, the trip was so relaxing (for me at least) that I didn't want to come home. It was a strange feeling to not be looking forward to coming home, but I was content where I was. Once we got to the airport to head home, though, I was ready to be on my way.

The other thing I want to say is that I had a blast. It was tons of fun seeing our internet friends and we fit right into the camaraderie immediately. The marathon event was tons of fun, from the antics of the other people there to the fun chat we had to interact with. After the 5 day marathon was finished, we did all kinds of fun things as a group. It was my most favorite trip, just because nearly every moment was entertaining and fun, and it will be hard to top it, next time :)

I was concerned that I was to be the only girl there. I thought I would be going stir crazy with no girl to chat with all the time, but I was fine. I am usually quiet in groups of more than 3 people, for the most part, but with 9 of us there, I was more vocal than I usually am, so that was nice too.

I will be doing some trip recaps here in the hopefully very near future. The current goal is to get the photos finished and then I can focus on blogging. I've been itching to blog as much as I've been itching to edit the images, but the photos won out because they require less thought :)

Zelda Dungeon and Our Involvement

 

"Are you doing anything exciting this summer?" is a common question I (and C) get asked all the time.

My response is usually to:
A. Smile
B. Laugh nervously
- And/Or -
C. Say, "Nothing much, going to Chicago to see some friends"

Any combination of the above often results in this response, that inevitably needs to be explained, amidst sheepish and awkward expressions and answers.

C and I are going on a trip next week to play video games.

Let me explain.

C is a very creative and detail oriented person, as well as a perfectionist. Anything he creates is often very elaborate and mind blowing to me. I'm a creative person as well, but I am more interested in the passion of a photo rather than exact technical precision and perfect conditions. If he was a photographer, I imagine that his photos would blow any of mine out of the water, just because his creative vision is made excellent by attention to detail that I find frustrating to follow. I'd rather move on to the next image rather than making sure each one is 100% perfect. Suffice to say, C has always used his creative side in unique ways and if he's not creating at home, he's creating projects at his job to improve things there.

C likes to play a lot of video games, for a myriad of reasons. Several years ago, he discovered that he could take his love for video games, his creativity, and attention to detail and do something productive with it. He started working for a Legend of Zelda fansite called Zelda Dungeon and started using his gifts to help others get through the games. His dedication to the website was quickly noticed and C soon was promoted to a webmaster position, despite having no interest in administration duties. He just kept doing what he was good at - web design and game walk throughs.

Embracing the nerdiness in Hawaii....

As the years have passed, he has honed his skills and now does extensive video recording work on the Youtube channel for the website. He has managed to develop quite the following of people that enjoy his work and it's been quite fun to see.

I also was sucked into the madness and have joined the staff of ZD in a small role - Twitter coordinator and official photographer :) It's rather amusing, since I am a bit far away, but events like this coming one are perfect for me to record :)

The thing I love most about Zelda Dungeon is the relationships we have developed. One of C's best friends is his fellow webmaster, Mases. I've made several really lovely friendships with other girls in the community. We both enjoy interacting with other staff and community members, and despite them being online relationships, they have enriched our lives.

C and I made a trip to Chicago to visit Mases in October 2010. It was an excellent time and great fun. We got to meet and hang out with another staff member in the area and C and I still talk about the trip regularly.

It's been fun to work on this website together and have a common interest in it. The friendships we have formed have increased the bond, and we often discussed going to Chicago again. Not "if" but most definitely "when".

Enter last fall.

The talks began in October, if I recall correctly. The dreams and discussions got bigger and soon it was set. We'd be going in June. For a site event.

Working on video content together

So here we are. Zelda Dungeon is putting on a live game marathon that will be streamed online. For around 100 hours, the staff members will be playing Zelda games 24/7 for over 4 days straight, taking turns. There will be at least one video camera set up on the room where the playing will occur and we will be visible at times on it (woo!) It won't be just games though. There will be giveaways, a charity drive, and other interactive content for fans to view. C will be playing a couple of games and I will be tweeting and shooting the entire time we are there.

It's a long and convoluted story to explain our upcoming trip, but we are looking forward to it. Many people have asked about what we will be up to, and it is usually difficult to explain. I've wanted to blog about ZD and our involvement for a while now, but I was waiting for an opportunity like this, to explain what on earth we do.

So, tune in on June 11th, noon CST (9an AKT) It will be going on through Friday, so you probably could view it if you are interested. We won't be there at the beginning, however, so don't look for us right away. We're looking forward to it, and I hope if you are curious that you check it out starting Monday!