It’ll be after ten by the time I’m finished writing this, but I’m glad I managed to squeeze this update in time before the new week starts. So there!
Of course, I had to post the 6th, and latest episode of the Concorida Adventures first, because priorities!
The reason I’m so behind on posts is because Wednesday I had what I thought was a simple procedure that turned out to be a full-on oral surgery. You see, last year in August I was diagnosed with an odontogenic myxoma. In layman’s terms, it is a benign (yay!) but aggressive tumor (meaning it keeps growing) of the jaw. For me, it was in the left side of my jaw and about the size of a quarter.
So last year in September, I had a partial mandiblectomy and a jaw reconstruction surgery. Because of the threat of reoccurrence, it was decided that everything that touched the tumor had to go. That meant in addition to half my jaw and mandible, the main nerve and seven (yes, seven) teeth had to go.
In an effort to replace those teeth, this past May I got five dental implants once my jaw was ready. And Wednesday I went under the knife once more to uncover my implants. My surgeon made it sound so easy. When I got there, I found out it was much more than he implied.
Uncovering implants meant parting the gumline and revealing the implant posts beneath. Oh, and bonus, my bone graft taken from my hip is thriving so well, they had to clear some of that around the implants as well. I was on the chair for what felt like two hours. They had to give me a second numbing shot. I have four abutments – or what feels and looks like metal stumps – resting on the surface of my gumline; the fifth is hiding far back that I suspect I’ll need another uncovering when I go back to get my impressions made.
The impressions – or molding – will be taken of my lower jaw and a prosthetic will be made that will allow me a full set of teeth once and for all. The end is nigh, and the prospect of that keeps me going.
Onward!
What I’m Writing:
For those of you following my #NaNoWriMo journey, I am currently sitting at 17,517 words so far which puts me right on track and just over the 1,667 daily goal. I’m squeezing my word count in as often as I can; for the first week and a half, I have been getting up early and writing an hour before work.
Since my project is Kimchi, Bulettes, and Other Space Problems: A Starfinder Story, I am having fun reminiscing with my group of the early days of our campaign. For example, I had no idea the woman who kicked all our tails happened to be none other than the gang leader of one particularly nasty gang within the belly of the space station we were venturing in.
I want to clean up and revise the story, but want to focus on writing it first. Because of this, I have not yet started to post them to my site yet because this project is what I’ll be using to help me brush up my editing and revision skills in December.
And mentioned above, I am still posting weekly updates of the Concordia Adventures which is running in tangent with the Starfinder game. I am quite busy keeping up with both, but at the same time, I’m having a really fun time doing it while getting more writing practice in.
What I’m Gaming:
Last week, my Thursday group took a break from Starfinder and ran a one-off game called Ten Candles.
We did this as it was All Saint’s Day, and perfect for the theme. To best describe this game, here’s is a direct quote from the website:
Ten Candles is a zero-prep tabletop storytelling game designed for one-shot 2-4 hour sessions of tragic horror. It was released in December 2015 and is best played with one GM and 3-5 players. It is played by the light of ten tea light candles which provide atmosphere, act as a countdown timer for the game, and allow you to literally burn your character sheet away as you play. Ten Candles is described as a “tragic horror” game rather than survival horror for one main reason: in Ten Candles there are no survivors. In the final scene of the game, when only one candle remains, all of the characters will die. In this, Ten Candles is not a game about “winning” or beating the monsters. Instead, it is a game about what happens in the dark, and about those who try to survive within it. It is a game about being pushed to the brink of madness and despair, searching for hope in a hopeless world, and trying to do something meaningful with your final few hours left.
My wonderfully creative friends decided to purchase skulls along with tea-light candles to go perfectly well with the horror theme:
In this particular game, we were characters on a moon-based station. An unknown-to-us threat set events into motion where we worked to gather supplies, get onto one of the only usable space shuttles and travel back to earth with valuable life-saving information that would save the planet.
My character was Darla Dean, a private working as security detail when things went awry.
Instead of my usual note-taking, we instead recorded the session. Another of our friends is currently compiling and editing the audio, so hopefully I’ll have a copy to share because the game was absolutely unforgetable.
Coming Up:
This next week will hopefully be as uneventful as a break from the crazy that was this week. I have some healing left to do, more writing, and more gaming! Then before we all know it, Thanksgiving the following week! Wow, already!
Until next time, happy writing!
Skein of Thought 