Chris made a Death Knight, who just made 80, and I was honored to run him through his first non-heroic dungeons. Again, we made a great team. Will is working on his characters, and I have no doubt that he will be level 80 within weeks, if it even takes that long. Thom has been busy with family life, to which I applaud his dedication and I am very proud of him for prioritizing his responsibilities. Unfortunately this has not left him much time to dedicate to World of Warcraft, but these things need to be in perspective.
Kalypsonite (my level 80 mage and main character) has been running dungeons like crazy, as I've been training his casting cycles (also referred to as spell rotations and cool downs). He now has 3 of the Khadgar's Conquest gear, which has had a drastic impact on his spell casting and DPS (Damage Per Second) rating. I am almost always the highest DPS output for our 5 man heroic level dungeons, which in and of itself is a testament to the gear and studying that I've done with him. Kalypsonite was my very first character, often referred to as a MAIN, and the other 9 characters are referred to as ALTS (alternates). This is a personal identification only, and has no bearing on the individual characters or their game play. I have enjoyed many of my characters and their different abilities and classes, but I have to confess, a level 80 mage is where my heart is at. I love playing Kaly not only because of the fact that he has so much history with friends in the game and memories attached to him, but because of the versatility of the class. Mages are given a wide variety of offensive, defensive and utility spells which allow them to be a vital part of any grouping. While I have not had any experience with raids as of yet (raids are 10 or 25 player groups that take on a dungeon together, usually resulting in much better loot drops from the enemies, and usually taking anywhere from 2-3 hours to complete), I am eagerly looking forward to experiencing that level of epic play. One of the benefits of playing a main and training in their ability cycles is that you by default become more confident in your ability to handle situations and compensate for unexpected events. A great side effect of this is that your PVP (player-vs-player) skills and confidence is also boosted. Playing against a PVE (player-vs-environment) NPC (non-player-character) is vastly different in terms of tactical abilities and damage expectations simply because when someone else is directly controlling your opponent, you are vulnerable to their unique style of play. I used to have a very hard time understanding this, and not being confident didn't help. Now that I know more of what my character is capable of, and have a better understanding of compensation measures that are available to me, I find that I'm more on the prowl for horde characters. This is an epic advancement in my game play simply because I used to run away when ever I was confronted by a horde character. WOOTSIES!!!!
Yes, I did say that. That's my word.
On the job front I've had a bit of a set back. I was looking forward to working for Borders, but apparently the job that I posted for was outdated. They do not begin hiring till mid-November for seasonal employment. I spoke to the General Manager of the store that I was applying to, and after explaining that I would be happy for ANY position available, my application was for a full-time bookseller position. It was a very pleasant conversation, and he recommended that I re-apply November 1st. He was very adamant about the fact that he does indeed review ALL applications that are received for his store, and looked forward to my application come November. I don't know if he was just being kind, or if he meant it, but I will take either one and definitely apply come November.
There are a couple of businesses in the immediate area that I am going to apply to this week. Please keep me in your prayers for guidance and wisdom in pursuing employment. I don't know what God has planned for me, but I do hope that I am attuned to His Holy Spirit enough to discern His direction.
That's about it for right now. I'll be blogging some more later.
