Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned (or, "I wanted a kickass title for my Back-to-Blogging post but that's all I came up with." Sad, really.)

So, it's been a while.

It's been too long, really. I'll be shocked if anyone reads this little missive and honestly, I don't blame you if you've filed me under "Missing, Assumed Dead". I filed myself under that for a while....


So, instead of explaining everything that transpired, here's the summary:

• Working 60++ hours a week for a few months in a row can have some pretty serious consequences and may result in some very poor decisions being made
  
• Mistakes were made, feelings were hurt
• A family emergency that got worse but then got better [additional explanation: wife almost lost her dad, but didn't: modern medicine ROCKS]
• The wife and I almost split up, but didn't, and aren't. For the uninitiated: even if you've been married before, even if you've matured and learned a lot...marriage is FUCKING HARD sometimes. Deal with it, live and learn or get accustomed to a life alone.
• I really screwed the pooch on an obligation I really, really shouldn't have
• Finally, for several reasons I took two weeks off my life -- yes, including the Internet and work
• As a result of that and some internal decisions made during this time, I'm more sane than I have been in the last 12 months. Yay me.

And that's that, really. 'Nuff said 'bout all that.

I'll bet your wondering who the songbird in the picture is. That would be Miranda Lambert. I can't stop listening to her new (well, ok, "new" as of September '09) album, Revolution. Would I recommend it to you? Well....that depends. You see...I like country music. Actually, I love pretty much any kind of music. Miranda is a true Texas girl (her first album, an independent release that you won't find anywhere nowadays) included a song entitled, "Texas as Hell". It makes me smile every time I hear it. :) ) But this album is some of the most laid-bare blunt-force-honesty songwriting I've heard in a long while. Yeah, there's a couple of covers on it but damn, this girl can sing and she pulls no punches.


Example: the song "Sin for a Sin" deals with the fucked up shit that runs through your head when you discover your spouse in bed with someone else. (TMI: I've had that particular experience -- not with Bethany, thank God, but with my first wife, SuperDaemonC*nt...er, Ruth. Yep, when you find your wife in bed with your supposed-best-friend and roommate it's not exactly a moment when you're thinking straight...anyway, I digress).

This is Miranda's take on it:

I remember vividly what that vision did to me
You laying with her in our bed
Love can be a tragedy
When you do what you did to me
All I'm seeing now is red

I need to repent
A sin for a sin

Bible told me to forgive
All those who trespass against
Tread their feet on sacred ground
Bad things come with consequence
What feels good hurts in the end
Don't want to think about that now

I need to repent
A sin for a sin

Fire and brimstone
Dirt and a headstone
Bury 'em, baby
All of our sins
Hear the thunder
Six feet under
Hit your knees,
Won't do it again

Guilty pleasure
Ease the pain
Whiskey running through my veins
Too late to save you now

I need to repent
A sin for a sin
Fire and brimstone
Dirt and a headstone
Bury 'em, baby
All of our sins
Hear the thunder
Six feet under
Hit your knees,
Won't do it again

I remember vividly what that vision did to me...

So...yeah. Visceral, raw and real -- and if you've ever been in that moment, well....let's just say there's two people breathing right now because I chose to let them continue breathing, as they were asleep when I found them, and that TEC-9 was right across the hall under my bed and the sound of that sweet 32 round clip sliding home and jacking the bolt back didn't wake them...

Yeah, that's some dark shit and why I'm going on about this on a gaming blog probably means I have to re-think that whole "more sane than I have been" statement I made earlier -- either that, or perhaps maybe I need to quit checking my sanity with a dipstick? (bonus points if you get THAT reference!).

Anyway... Revolution winds down with a soft, gentle landing with a lush, dreamy little tune called "Virginia Bluebell" that's currently sliding out of my Bluetooth headphones, letting me know it's time to drift off to dream.

Besides, she makes this tee-shirt look good:



Anyway...if you're still reading this and you haven't hit the ol' "un-follow" button yet, here's my promise to you: I have some real gaming content to talk about, and pictures of not one, but TWO new armies to share. Painted armies, even! Custom bases and everything! (Though there's some cheating involved in that statement, but not really....you'll just have to stick around and see what I mean!)


So! What's been going on in YOUR lives? Talk to me, Goose! (nuts, another movie reference) We've got a lot of catching up to do!