I'm also a policy wonk

A couple weeks ago I was tapped yet again my by local union for a little project; head down to Regina, learn how to lobby, and then interface with some MLAs around policies that Unifor at a national level want to see put into action. I was one of a pretty big group, and I got to be in one of the several meetings across the table from members of the Saskatchewan NDP caucus, and it felt pretty cool! After the meeting, we got to sit in for question period and enjoy a shoutout during the introduction of guests. And in between there was a lot of networking and even a rally as we joined up with CUPE regarding the health care workers' lack of a contract five years running.

So after all this, I returned home and got the packet of resolutions for the upcoming convention. Turns out pretty much everything we were after had been submitted by various executives and will be up for discussion! Among those, my own advocating that the party adopt an open social media strategy, following the Plus1 Manifesto. Mine sits with a few others regarding opposition to hyperscale data center builds and direction for digital soveriegnty (as I write this, Microsoft's cloud hosted services have been down for about 18 hours, so that'll be a fun topic).

I'm heading to Regina once again now, this time as a delegate for my constituency, and will get to spend more time meeting and greeting and socialising across the party while we go through business. Really looking forward to it!

I Accidentally the Whole Game

I don't like my brain on MMOs.

I played and quit World of Warcraft, several times, over the course of my geek career. I love it, the world is vibrant and the story is engaging and it's so vast and deep and fun. But I'm also a completionist and there is absolutely no end to it.

There's a point where I'm strategizing how to see and do everything and then butt up against the dozens of progress bars that are satisfying to see budging forward but at some point become impossible.

I lose entire days, and about then I remind myself of the kind of person I am and that this is probably not good for me.

well shit

So it was with extreme caution and an attempt at a plan that I approached Neverwinter this last month. The goal is noble: I want to see the world and story and characters of the Forgotten Realms I've been DMing from an official lens. Give me ideas and context that I can deliver my players. And a handful of my players came on board to play together - in character even! Great fun and a wild success.

Then, as luck would have it, I came down with a nasty cold and barely had energy for much of anything for a week. Then the week after I'm on late shifts with several hours to kill each morning in my precious me-time.

By this point my character's dipped into the campaigns, the higher level progression that requires repeated daily quests for currencies that nudge progression bars, which require more and more each time. The end reward? Portions of a percentage boost to some stat or another. More time is sunk into this joyless, brainless task than actually seeing new content and enjoying the game.

And damnit, here I am again.

It's going to take willpower to pull out of that spiral and get back on task. There's plenty of story based content, places to see, people to meet if I can just resist that stupid treadmill.

I'd prefer to approach this along with my group and if I can get them to regularly tag along for structured sessions I think it'd be more in spirit of the idea. Playing Baldur's Gate 3 in character with my wife similarly allowed me to push past the completionist instinct and actually enjoy it.

I don't like my brain on MMOs, and I don't like the way I fall for the addictive design and dark patterns. Cause it does feel good! Right until I step back and realise where my time went.

So I guess I'm a bit of a Union Guy

So, those who know me know I'm active in my union. I've been laid off twice, and when bargaining at my next job ground to a halt and we got locked out in 2019 it was an eye opening experience to see the way we mobilized to support each other.

My own advocacy takes many forms, and standing up for workers is one of them. I tend to get myself in trouble for calling out things that I don't agree with, but with a little work and pointed in the right direction I can be a loudmouth for good. So, I started attending regular meetings and became a Union Steward a couple years ago, joined a couple committees, did some work on member involvement, and started putting my name in the hat for different things. This weekend the culmination of that is, holy crap, they flew me to Ottawa for the Unifor Canadian Council.

Let me tell you a little bit about this union structure. Our local is one of many. Our workplace while unique is just one of several in the telecommunications sector, and that sector is one of several that are all part of the Unifor family. We're the biggest private sector union in Canada, and you probably interact with our members daily in one way or another.

At council, we compare notes and strategize and figure approaches to bargaining and building worker power in a way that this big picture thinking facilitates. And when an employer messes with one of us? There's some incredible resources behind the muscle that retaliates.

We get behind social justice initiatives, we get involved in politics and we work to shape policy that raises the floor for workers all across Canada. That's something to be proud of.

Anyway, all this to say it's a real treat to be out here and I'm enjoying every moment of it.

Let's Roll

As school lets out and my vacation winds down it's time to focus on the things I like to do with my free time. Naturally, that's running D&D games! My wife has the energy to both play and DM, and it's time for a detailed seasonal update on where we're at.

Sunday: Wild Beyond the Witchlight is a bust. The kids were gung-ho until the first session and a half, and then every week someone wouldn't want to or not be available. I'll refocus my efforts, but I think this would be a good one to try again if we can set up an in person play space to hold their attention. I want to eventually get a gaming table in the basement, roll real dice and try running games like that.

Monday: Van Richten's Unfinished Business. This tour of Ravenloft domains is currently the group's favorite night. It's slow going and driven by interpersonal drama, with the encounters and overall story arc as a backdrop. I have to delve a lot into old edition books to decide what's happening in each domain. Even with the new Ravenloft book out they give very little to go on to drive a full campaign story. I'm getting the hang of weaving content together - every level we meet a whole new cast of characters in a new setting and it's a lot of fun.

Tuesday: My day off while a fellow DM runs their Dragonlance campaign - I've reinstated game nights for my union siblings and there's talk of using the office for proper board games and TTRPG fun.

Wednesday: My wife is about to spin up her Crooked Moon campaign. I get to play as a main character, a skeletal ranger with San Citlanese roots. She's got Day of the Dead decorations and a coyote sidekick, and it'll be a big swing at trying to play a serious character invested in the story.

Thursday: The Phandalin campaign continues, missing some sessions as players are unavailable, but I get to tag along to run the soundboard and help with prep. It's fun watching my wife do her thing and mess with characters, and we have a great time brainstorming together as a team.

Friday: My paid game, Sword Coast Ramblers, is still my favorite project. Chopping up all the 5e hardcover adventures and throwing their chapters onto an open world map is admittedly an insane undertaking but the players are having a great time uncovering plots and weaving them together.

Saturday: We're about to run our finale for the 4th season of Adventurer's League with its ties to Curse of Strahd, and move on to the 5th season themed around Storm King's Thunder. The players are coming up with characters and I look forward to leveraging some of the new backgrounds and faction details from the Heroes of Faerun book.

So that's where the dice are at! Let's keep rolling and enjoying good times and stories with people we love.