Middle of the Month Already?

Time is sure going by fast...

Hey, what is it that they say- time flies by when you're having fun? Well, what if you're not having fun so much as just staying really busy? Does that count too- a distraction that causes you to lose sight of just how fast things pass us by? I once heard that the rate in which we perceive the movement of time is related to how many 'novel' (new, interesting) experiences we have- that those who learn new things and try new things feel like their lives go by more slowly than those who learn little and stick to mundane routines. The same thought postulates that this is the reason behind life going by faster as we get older- less to learn and more prior experience makes having novel ones more difficutl.

Is life going by swiftly for you or is it passing by slowly?

Food for thought, but its not very related to getting this blog kicked off- well, other than perhaps I hope it brings you a wealth of new information and novelty so that reading the blog engrosses you and makes you feel as though your time is long and full of quality. Now, more than likely I'm just sitting here patronizing myself, and you're going to get through this thing in no time and then wonder- now what do I do?

Yeah, we can't all produce works on par with the greats.

Well, before I crush my self esteem too much more, why don't we get to the blog!

What's Happening Valucre?

The Chosen: Round Three Continues- It stalled again. Sorry. Really exciting tournament. >>

For Crystal and Country!- Do you hate the unnatural? Abominations that lurk in the night, spreading their influence unchecked- they must be stopped, right? Well, if you an inclination for purging things that go bump in the night (or things that associate with them in general), this thread just might be for you. The Masons are recruiting fine folks to go out and help them rid the world of these foul things in a grand crusade. They are looking to recruit new ‘Justicars’- keepers of the peace and the bloodhounds for the church. You will seek out those unnatural bastards and help remove their scourge. These Justicars are ‘paladins’ of sorts, though you need not necessarily be of good alignment to join- indeed, a bent towards neutrality would probably be even more helpful. As long as you are willing to serve the church in all of its ambitions, you just might find yourself gaining a great deal of success within their ranks. Fulfill your destiny, join the cause.

Temple Run- Are you the kind of person who likes to go through others belongings, especially if you can justify your actions by way of pointing out that the individual is dead? Of course some of you are- I know who my audience is. We’re the site with more bad-guys than good, the sort who go stumbling around ancient tombs in pursuit of treasures without regards to ethics- after all, they’re just guidelines, right? RIGHT? In Adaviel, a thread is going up that entails an audacious empress getting her hands dirty alongside her trusty bodyguard, using a recently purchased map to go off and explore some old ruins in pursuit of adventure. Conflict is sure to arise, so make sure your character is armed and ready. They are looking for up to four others, and so far a couple have nibbled- act now, before this deal ends!

Resurface- A long time member who stays incredibly active is looking to flesh out the background of their main character and would love for some others to participate as characters in the background of the story. Obviously, this will be an RP taking place in the past and it might involve a bit of fighting here and there. It's an opportunity for character development (focus of the RP) and to help out someone who can be a bit shy, though certainly not 'anti-social' as this person has referred to their self- much too nice :P. Lend a hand?

Last Chance City Wide Event- RIOT!!!- The write-up for last week was provided by Carlos, and I think it is does a stellar job of covering what this is about. I am not one to just repeat stuff week to week, but I think the best way to advertise this again is to do just that- you get a replay!  

It's all in your point of view.
---- Are you from Fortuna?
The years-long economic and social divisions in Last Chance have finally come to a head.  La Ultima Fortuna, the CDF and the Watchmen, so recently gifted with updated equipment through a generous donation from Argus Incorporated, have a chance to retake their city from the violent criminals who refuse to vacate La Ultima Opportunidad.  The gangs' death-like grip continues to dash any hope for the city to truly advance into the Terran power it could be- instead, they force it to remain in the shadows- ever attempting to drag its people back to the drug-enslaved, starving, hovel that Last Chance used to be.
---- Or Opportunidad?
The years-long economic and social divisions in Last Chance have finally come to a head.  La Ultima Opportunidad has finally had enough; the loss of Madame Double, the continued oppression, the flight of literally anyone who could live anywhere else and the unending knowledge that half the city is just waiting for you (yes, you) to make a mistake so they can take you out.. it's too much.  Like any cornered animal, La Ultima Opportunidad has had a choice every night - fight, hide or run? 
For years they ran and hid; but no longer.  
No one knows what sparked the riot, but something did, and now the entire city fights along the line of contention which divides Fortuna from Opportunidad.
All new threads starting up in Last Chance at this time need to account for the turmoil and violence in the streets. Various bits of loot shall be up for grabs as well- so pay attention. More information can be found over here- read it, it might save your skin.

Extinction is Forever- A writing experiment found in the alternative section, one position remains open, so if this caught your attention last week, its not too late to go look into the remaining character and decide if you want to try this out. You begin with a premade character who has a limited amount of stuff on them and begin working your way through an apocalyptic setting with nothing more. It will be a challenge, but one that might bear great fruit. Care for the final spot?

Talisman if Jason- This is a quest for an artifact of great power, one that gives the bearer improved charisma, the ability to heal deafness and blindness, and the one time use to create a potion of resurrection. This thread started out back in the summer, but the original participants (other than the thread starter) have bailed and the original poster is looking for replacements- namely, an RP partner and someone who is willing to fulfill a storyteller role. If you are interested in the hunt or someone who has wanted an opportunity to dabble in Storyteller like duties- step on up. 

Denfell--Marine Recon- Bad things have been going on in Adaviel, including multiple assassinations. I bet a curious adventurer such as yourself might leap at the chance to get to the bottom of this. Are you the sort to end crimes? Are you looking to get in on the plot? Or are you the sniveling kind who finds out dirty secrets and uses them for every bit of leverage you can get out of them? Hey, no judgments here, it takes all kinds. Or, you can take to the other side and play the role of those who will try and stop these marines from getting in and getting that information. This thread is open and the roles are varied- if this sounds good to you, make sure you go take a look.

Terrenus Bulletin Board Updated- The Terrenus Bulletin board has had some updating, such as its format, and it is ready for people to come take a look at what is going on and what is available in Terrenus.

Lore of the Week!

Temporily unavailable- waiting for restoration of lore pages (Likely Resume Next Month). 

Newly Awarded!

None this week, check back next week!

Valucre Blog Challenge!

Nothing last week. But I got something new and different for you this week.

I want to overhaul this blog in an aesthetic way- I want to have banners for each of the sections of this blog, something better than text that is constantly trying to ruin its formatting. So, I need a set. I want them to be more or less matching, with the variation being the name- having something uniform keeps things looking  organized and clean.

These are the sections:

1. "The Valucre Blog"
2. "What's Happening Valucre?"
3. Lore of the Week
4. Newly Awarded
5. Valucre Blog Channel
6. New Members and returns 
7. Birthdays of the Week
8. Other Highlights
9. Closing thoughts

Now, you might ask- what's in it for you? Well, so far as I know, almost everyone uses Itunes to some extent or uses Apple Products. I have a $10 Itunes gift card that just might have your name on it- something you can use to get you some music or a couple new games game, or to download other goods. You just have to be comfortable enough to give me some kind of mailing address so I can send the card to you. So, if you think you can make a kick ass banner for the side, better get to it!

The blog is the first place this contest is mentioned- I will announce it at some point over the weekend to the forum as a whole and give people until the next blog update (cause I will announce a winner then). If you read the blog- you got yourself a headstart. :)

New Members and Returns!

Welcome:

~xYaHtzEEx~
~Aqua~
~Detts~
~Ch4tterb8~
~MommaBamboo~
~Carnage~

Returns:

~Olivejuice~
~Secrets~
~TheSRD~

Still not up for writing the personalized greetins, but hopefully I can get back to that next week or at the first update of next month. I noticed this week we had a small pick up- only six new faces and three returns. Slow or now, we're always glad to have new peole here.

Birthdays of the Week?

Don't have a way to track these yet, so delayed! :(

Other Highlights?

Falling asleep as I write tonight (way too much OT) and yet here I am, still providing highlights. Take em and leave me alone. >_>

World Tab- Looking for all the lore and details and information about Valucre? That world tab listed along side forum and portal is what you are looking for.

Did You Know-  That you can now archive your PM conversations- yes, archive them. This means that when you select this, it will bundle all them up and send them to you in an email format. This is handy for people like me who like to keep almost everything. >>. You can read more on it here. Also, you find other Did You Know in the announcements section.

Closing Thoughts?

This closing thought is inspired by something that Praetorian told me (When fruitlessly trying to convince me I should sleep more) about prioritization and planning. I think it serves as a nice supplement to the last blog update of 2013. While the other two were about how to devise a plan and steps to ensure that a plan becomes a routine, this little bit can help us decide what are the most important things I have going on in our lives and then determine which of these things should receive top priority and the majority of our energy.  

It breaks down like this:

Urgent and Important

Urgent, not important

Important, not urgent

Not important or urgent

Urgent and important suggest things that both require quick attention and the focus of our efforts. Breathing is a good example, as it is very important that we breathe and that a person cannot go long without air- thus,  making it both important and urgent. Praetorian keeps trying to tell me this is where sleep goes- I am more inclined to put it in Important, not urgent. Just barely- I often wonder if it is all that important either. ;P

Urgent, not important suggests that something must be done soon if it is to be done at all, but it is not important that you accomplish it. For example, the grocery store has a good meat sale going on. Getting stocked up on cheap meat is not important at this point- you have plenty of food- but getting it on the cheap sure would be nice. The problem is that this sale ends tomorrow.  You have one day to decide if you can squeeze in the time to go pick up some groceries. This decision has urgency due to the short time, but given that you will be fine one way or another, it is not all that important.

Important, not urgent, suggests that something is important, but you need not prioritize getting it done immediately. One could say it is important that you see your dentist at least once a year, but doing so in the immediacy of the situation is not necessary. Yes, it is important that you and your teeth are well maintained, but since they gave you a one-month window to schedule something, things are not that urgent… yet

Not important or urgent means that there is no rush to do this thing and it is not important anyway. Perhaps you want to see a new movie that came out. It is a summer blockbuster whose opening weekend gross was astounding, so you know that this movie will be around for at least six weeks. Seeing the movie would be cool, but it’s not like this movie has importance to you beyond looking entertaining. You can wait until you have a good sized gap in your schedule to get out there and go see the movie- you got plenty of time, and it’s not important anyhow.

Now, what does all of this have to do with all that planning stuff I talked about last month? Well, one part of planning goals and activities is working around a schedule. A schedule might very well contain important things or activities that you just do for fun and pleasure. If you have this new goal in mind, you must find somewhere on your schedule a place to put it so that it is not interfering with anything important and that nothing else will occur at about the same time you decide to dedicate toward working on that goal- we don’t want any distractions now!

Take these four things and look at all the things you do on a regular basis- sure, things like work and eating come up high on the list of things we need, but there often things we can cut away. Take all your regular tasks and activities and put them into these four boxes. Whatever is unimportant and not urgent should be immediately set aside- if you have extra time, slowly add them back in. Next, look at your list of not important but urgent- anything here you can knock out right away? Anything here that by the time someone comes and helps you, that meat sale will already be over. After that, look at the important things that are not on a tight schedule and see what order of priority of them so you can see where your new plans will fall.

Once your schedule is retooled, if you find moments with enough spare time to do those things like go see a movie or old ‘friends’, you can add them back in one at a time. It will require some organization and patience, but I think this could really help.

That’s all I got- so talk to you later!

-          Acies   

"An idea can only become a reality once it is broken down into organized, actionable elements."  ~Scott Belsky