Ampersand

What are your Superbowl plans?  What's your prediction and why? 
Submitted by danatmedog.

We're heading to Krempasky's for the big event, with dinner catered by Boston Market.  I'm going bears 34-17.  Peyton will get clubbed early and often.

What's the next country you want to visit? 
Submitted by Schomer.

I really want to go see Italy!  Tiff and I have been kicking around the idea, but we haven't had a chance to go yet, so it's on the list for "Soon".  

Who taught you how to ride a bike?

My Dad taught me how to ride a bike, on A st. in Davis.  It's out of the way, traffic wise, and it's nice a broad.  I remember the training wheels coming off, and riding the bike felt like the top of existence to my six year old self.  It was wonderful and freeing.  In the coming years, we'd ride our bikes together, Dad and I, down to the Arboretum at UCD, and then my brother and sister started coming, and my mom.  It was a great thing to do on a Saturday when the weather was just right.

I need to start riding my bike some more.

Today is the First Sunday of Advent.  My family, not normally very religious, turns its faith outward today.  My mother's Advent listserve starts up.  I start doing the daily readings that during the rest of the year I fall behind on, my thoughts on religion are strongly grounded in the traditions of my family.  This would be the time of year that we would welcome others to our table for dinner.  When we would say a formal grace, and read a short passage from the Bible before dinner and sing a verse of one of the carols.

I know that I have many friends who will read this who aren't church-going folks.  I respect your choice and your personal beliefs.  This is my time to share mine, with no strings and with no obligations, and certainly with no prejudices.  The story of the coming of Christmas is one of universal hope and knows no lines of demarcation.

Today's reading is from the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 25.

  "At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

    "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'

    "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'

    " 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'

    "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

    "Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!'

    "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'

    "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour."

Constantly, we're told that being in the right place at the right time is the luck of the world.  Others remind us that we make our own luck, and that being well prepared in every situation can be more than half the battle. 

The theme of the first week of advent is "Wait."  We wait, in joyful hope, for the coming of the season.  We focus on the waiting at the traffic light, or waiting for the bus or train to come.  We wait for our coffee.  We wait for the laundry.  And we wait, prepared, for the coming events.  I've been having trouble lately being prepared.  Late.  Behind.  Not Ready.  This week I'll be trying to make my waiting moments useful.

I am testing the Connection from Vox to LiveJournal to see how this whole thing works, as I appear to now have friends on both side of the LiveJournal/Vox line.  What I'd really love to see would be a way to post behind the friends wall on both sides of the equation, making for a true "Bridged Appearance" which is defined as "...a copy of one of another User’s Call Appearances, it can be used to make or receive calls on behalf of the owner of the Call Appearance.  An example of use:  boss / secretary working, so the secretary can screen the bosses calls."

Wouldn't that be neat?

Ah well, for now, we dream.

If you could write a book about anything, what would it be about?

I would write about the epic struggle of one Warlock to retrieve the hat that Master Gandling has hidden from him.

Who's my favorite villain?  Aside from those cruel Dwarven fools who built Ironforge?  Well, I'd have to say the Lucifron gave us a bad time this past weekend, but Varimathras is really my favorite villain, in that "I'm really, really glad he's on my side" kind of way.

Generally, I make a mean savory deviate delight. It's tangy, with that extra hint of spice that makes it extra-transmorgrifying.

What are these dollars of which you speak? According to the ads on this "blog" thing, I could use them to buy gold, but Jonas says that's bad, so I suppose I'll just have to settle for a sackload of server time...

Ah, what it is to be a Warlock.  A magic user, but not a mage.  An outcast, gone dark, but necessary to the art of war. 

Warlocks can pluck a person from Tanaris all the way to Light's Hope, or store the soul of your healer friend.  Our power is a deep well.

And we like it that way.