[Yesterday, I wrote a post for my pal Gnomeaggedon at his blog.  You can take a look at it here.  In return for my services, good ol' Gnomer did likewise, and wrote a post for my blog!  Here it is, enjoy!]

Long cold drinks in the heat of Summer (ohh yeah right now!)

Dead seedlings in the back yard.

Scraping the ice off the windshield.

Stuff that other people have to deal with.

Because I’m a FIRE Mage!

Got it?

What, no I’m not Krizzlybear!

I’m the kind of Gnome that kreeps you warm all fight.

I’m the kind of Gnome that doesn’t use a spell checker.

I’m the kind of Gnome that writes long posts daily but doesn’t have the attention span to write 50,000 words.

Because I’m a FIRE Mage!

I’m the kind of Mage that snorts at rotations.

I’m the kind of Mage that hits Frost Nova instead of Blink, hits Pyroblast rather than Invisivility.

I’m the knobs of Mage that believes that Icy Veins is a talent given to girls at birth to wake their husbands up in the morning.

Because I’m a FIRE Mage!

I’m the kind of Mage that admires any person that can take the spec that is out of favor with Blizzard and turn it into a top DPS Spec.

I’m the kind of Mage that likes to put Frosties down publicly while quietly envying their skill.

I’m the kind of Mage that loves to hear the tales from the other side, the Frosty or even Arcane side.

I’m the kind of Mage that admires Krizzlybear.

I’m the kind of Mage that wishes Krizzlybear and all the other Mages out there the best of Christmas (or holidays if you are that way inclined) wishes.

I am Gnomeaggedon and this is my present to Krizz!

Gnomer and Out!

[Awww gee.  Thanks a bunch bro!  This little post exchange was a pretty fun experience!  I look forward to possibly doing it again.  But don't expect me to do it anytime soon.  He is a fire mage after all.  He and I are rivals, albeit friendly ones!  Maybe once the Christmas Season is over, then the fire(and frost!)works can begin!  See you on the other side of the nether!]

I was asked a question by a loyal reader last week.  He asked, “Do you enjoy Frost so much that you’d refuse to raid as anything else?”  My answer is yes.  It is a style of play that I love so much, that not only am I willing to refuse to raid as another spec, but I am even willing to go so far as accept the hate that frost gets for being pitiful at dealing damage.

My only gripe about the whole thing  was that in the weeks leading up to the 3.3 PTR, I was watching over the mage forums like a hawk.  Any thread mentioning the word Frost outside of a PvP context was met with a “lol” or “frost doesn’t count.”  Nobody made a clear argument about why frost was so bad, and how it could be fixed.  People just shoved the spec off to the side like it was nothing, and happily settled for big numbers elsewhere, acting like a total elitist snob to anyone who was not willing to switch over.

“Frost is not for raiding.  GTFO.”

Are these the same people that are coming out of the closet and using frost again, only now that it’s good?  Somehow, I’m scared that the next person I meet with a squirtle is only there because it’s the flavour of the month, that frost is indeed the New Black.  In addition, I can’t help but anticipate the flack that we’ll get for the buffs we got.

“God, it’s that flavor of the month class again.  I can’t believe they fixed frost and didn’t fix [insert class here].”

I’m not a poser.  I stuck it out with my spec throughout the bad times.  I remained frost even if I was laughed at, called a piss-poor player, or even booted out of raid pugs.  I’ve gone through my hell, and now I’ve earned this bit of heaven.  I feel I’ve earned this buff, and there’s nothing that people can say to sway me otherwise.

Therefore, as a sign of thanks to the devs for fixing what was once broken, I’m going to shut the hell up about how this and that should have been, or why he and she is now a frost mage instead of before.  I’m going to grab my glyph of Eternal Water, respeccing at my nearest mage trainer, and I’m going to aim for the top of the charts.  I will care about nothing and nobody.  The past is behind me.  All I can see now is the future, and what it will hold for the icy veins that run through my body.  I’ve earned my frost, and you can too.

Earn Your Frost (in 3 simple steps)

1) Hug your squirtle.  Every single moment.  By the bank.  In a random heroic.  In your raid after someone whips out the DPS meter and you’ve finally beaten that Fire mage for the first time in months.

2) Get a timer addon like TellMeWhen or Power Auras.  Deep Freeze is GODLY.  You want to use it as often as it’s up.  Enjoy your 20k+ crits.

3) Delete those spare fire and arcane glyphs in your bank.  You don’t need them anymore.  You’re frost now.  Always and forever.

It’s never been a better time to be a Frost Mage, and instead of grumbling about how bad it’s been, I welcome everyone who decides to stop on by and try it out, even for just one raid.  For those who decide to stick with it, then good for you.  I hope you enjoy this ride, because it’s going to be an awesome one indeed.  And for those who have always stuck with it, even through the gruesome times, I give you credit.  I know what it’s like.  It sucked.  But it didn’t matter.  None of this matters.  You’re not alone.  You’ve got support.  Frost is good.  Frost is hot.  Frost is sexy.

Frost is definitely the new black.

December 1!

Did you hear the page on your calendar flipping over or ripping out of its binding?  I know I did, when the clock struck twelve midnight late last night.  It was a momentous occasion on tinychat and the Toronto NaNoWriMo IRC channel.  Virtual champagne was popped, e-hugs were distributed, and plenty of glomps were had.  Tonight is our final meetup, the Thank Gawd It’s Over party, one that I will be attending without question.

As I look back in this past month, I wondered where all the time went.  While it certainly isn’t the 525,600 minutes described in that wonderful song from RENT, the 43,200 minutes spent in the month of November amounted to 54,445 words from my completed novel, and a myriad of friends from around the Greater Toronto Area.  I will surely keep in touch with a number of them long after this event is over, and I look forward to punching the keys with them next year.

But alas, I am back, rejuvenated in my motivation to write for this blog.  I find it strangely wonderful that all it took to get over my writing woes on this blog was to simply write some more.  Hence, I’ve learned that the best way to write is to write often, regardless of quality, whether or not those words would contribute towards a blog post or personal writing.

And while I’m quite sad that I may not see my NaNoWriMo pals until next year, I’m equally happy to be back with YOU, the loyal follower of this blog.  I am very well aware that going a month without something as routine as reading someone’s blog post can be quite dismaying, I assure you that I am very much back in the game.  I want to give HUGE props to those in the blogging community who managed to somewhat keep up with their blog while maintaining a foothold on their NaNo.  In particular, MEGA-HUGE props to Pike for not only winning NaNoWriMo, but also keeping up with a full-time job and a wonderful blog as well.  You, madam, are an inspiration!

While I look forward to continuing this journey of WoW-blogging with everyone, I regret to inform that my posting here will be somewhat reduced.  With the recent addition of my Japanese-steampunk blog, steampanku, I will be dividing my time between the two of them, as well as my own personal writing, meaning that the post updating will be limited to about once a week for each blog.  However, that means you will get to see twice of me, albeit writing about contrasting subject matter.  I am quite excited about my rekindled love for fiction writing, particularly about Japanese alternate history and giant machines!  I surely hope you add steampanku to your feedreader as well!

On the WoW front, I have returned to my guild on Winterhoof, albeit in a reduced role.  While I remain an active evening raider, I am stepping down from my position as Druid class lead, as I’ve shifted my priorities in the game to playing my mage, especially in anticipation for the new patch.  I also have an alt on Kael’thas, in none other than Bear’s guild, <Sidhe Devils>.  She’s a draenei mage named krizzlybear for the simplicity of recognition by the other members of that guild.  I also rerolled a bunch of my Winterhoof alts onto the horde side, particularly my new Tauren Druid Leafeon.

This is surely an exciting time for me.  NaNoWriMo was a huge success, I’m blogging about WoW, I recently handed in my application to JET, and I’m in the process of growing the Steampanku brand.  I look forward to what the future has in store for me, and I am honoured to have you all along for the ride.  See you on the other side of the internether!