Category Archives: Writing

Just a few drops

Posted by Daria on

It started out as such a nice day. I went for a very nice long walk. It was beautiful outside. Birds were happy. People were out gardening. Some were watering the grass. I mean it was very sunny and warm. And also very brown. Everything was just brown. Trees, grass, streets… All one color.

I was thinking how much rain could help out. To freshen everything. To wash away winter’s leftovers. To help me out. I wanted it to rain so I could enjoy a warm but rainy day outside. To see how thirsty land drinks up all that rain. I wanted to sit outside, drink my espresso and watch the world wet away into a rebirth. I love writing when it rains. I love reading when it rains. I love drinking hot coffee on the patio when it rains. I love watching it when it rains. except it doesn’t rain. It snows. Welcome to my life. There is no in between.

 

Trapped: a post about my mysterious kitchen.

Posted by Daria on

Every day I enter a busy, noisy, fast moving and unpredictable world.  I hate and love that world, as I feel that in the last three years we have become one, we are now inseparable. My time here is spent rediscovering myself and my surroundings. Every time I find something new exciting or daunting in a familiar landscape.

I am greeted with a creature that stays quiet until the hunger takes over it and with multiple blinks of its cyclopean eye it tells me that it is thirsty. I feed it water. Momentarily it gets louder than life, spewing, hissing, and whistling. Next to this creature lie two lakes. One of the lakes is hot, and bubbles from far deep within break the surface tension ever so often. Nobody knows what hides in its murky deep waters. In the center of the lake I can make a ship wreck and whatever it is, it is covered with some sort of colourful slime. Unlike its neighbour the other lake is clean and quiet. It is not as deep, the bottom is easily visible and the whole lake glistens. The water moves in a slow motion, and even though not seen, far away, there is a waterfall that makes this lake alive. A plateau behind the lakes is also full of strange creatures and ever changing forms and shapes. The plateau itself does not change. It is a mixed terrain of something that looks like dark wood and shiny marble. Hourly creatures appear on plateau’s surface, plants grow and clay vessels materialize out of thin air. At the North East end of the plateau live two giants. One giant spends his days heating up water in a large cauldron. The other prefers to bake bread in his oven. To the right there is a cold mountain ridge. Various fruits, vegetables and meats hide in those cool folds. To the right of the mountains there is a small Spice valley. The smell of spices brings memories of aromas from around the globe and by doing so make my world more cultured and more intriguing. Next to the Spice valley lays the Big Volcano. When it awakes the temperatures rise and water boils. Sometimes big black smoke clouds rise from within…

Every single day I feel trapped in that world. When I step into my kitchen I feel like I am surrounded by too many things and there is no air to breath that makes me feel like I am lost in the jungles of an unknown land. The size of my kitchen is nothing like a jungle; it is more like a small box, with lack of windows and counter space. My only light comes from the floating, flickering fluorescent fixture at the top. Some days I just fill up the small space between cupboards and the two sinks, one of which is always full of dirty dishes. My oven is so old that in many cases it changes its temperatures unpredictably burns my creations to a crisp.

Every day I try to find beauty and creativity in the landscape of my kitchen. While I cook I try to ignore the lack of counter space, the dishwasher, and all questionable smells that linger in the air. I try to put my creativity and imagination to work and come up with new dishes made from cheap vegetables, canned meats, and leftovers. This is living on a budget, in a small kitchen, and I ask myself who wouldn’t feel trapped?

I try to imagine that out of it all something amazing can be produced. I hope that one day I will have a kitchen of my dreams. Three years I have lived in my apartment, trapped by its little kitchen a few hours a day. Yet I manage to learn so much about being a wife, a cook, a better person. I find now that washing dishes and making brownies is very therapeutic. I still dislike it when my oven burns my meat lasagna, but I make a better one each following time.

I love and hate all the processes that take place in my kitchen. My discoveries in that world bring happiness to my family and delight to my friends. It makes me a more patient person and teaches me to try again if something fails.

There is hope that I will become a better cook. There is hope that my future kitchen will allow me to feel small not because of the daunting tasks but because of its greatness in size. One day I will have a dishwasher and will be able to wash all my dishes in one load, instead of three. After I learn how to work in this kitchen I will be able to take on any adventure, on any kitchen counter, at any time.        

Unpredictable Roll

Posted by Daria on

I never thought that I would be able to enjoy role-playing games, until I was introduced to the universe of D&D, the world of charismatic characters, dungeons, dragons, and surprises around every imaginary corner. My game is Dungeons and Dragons and I play it because it allows me to be who in real life I am not. In real life I am an introverted individual with little desire for heroic actions, yet in D&D I play a courageous character that has no flaws and no issues with self-esteem. Plus the combination of risk, attention to imaginary details and plethora of possible outcomes keeps me away from getting bored, stressed or unhappy. On top of all of that I can watch an entire world unfold before my eyes on a battle mat, carefully centered on my grand dining room table.

What makes this game so dining-room-table worthy? In the last few years D&D brand has gone over some major changed in design, usability and marketing. Today Dungeons and Dragons are made for people of all groups and ages. Rule books and accessories have a much more appealing design. Miniature figures range in colors, shapes and forms and can now be placed on ergonomic battle mats. Character sheets have been dramatically improved and can now be neatly updated on our computers. (Coast) Changes that took place over the last few years make the game easier to understand and to play. Even with all the extras D&D still requires simple things to make it fun- friends, dice, pencils, and most of all imagination. The essence of this game is the game play itself, but it is the fantasy of it all that makes it enticing.

A good set of 20d dice is the most important element of the game. Dice determine what steps characters take, how quick and when. Rolling the dice determines what chances your character has against the enemies and other dangers. The group of players needs to pick a Dungeon Master (DM), someone to be in charge of the adventures. DM controls monsters, narrates the story and acts as a referee (Heinsoo, Collins and Wyatt 8). Being a DM is like playing an imaginary omniscient ruler of the D&D universe. Player’s Handbook explains the rules of the game and helps to create characters based on their Race, Class, and Role (Heinsoo, Collins and Wyatt 14). A Character Sheet is also provided for adventurers to record information they might need. It includes everything from character’s name, to strengths it possesses, skills it uses, to what imaginary gold and equipment it can carry.

Imagination and the handbook help players to create strong characters with interesting backgrounds. One of the books on the D&D experiences mentions that “the dice may have a hand in your character’s present, but you control your character’s past” (Mazzanoble 20).  Polishing and investing time into a character gets players more involved in the game play itself. Many little details make D&D the game, as it can be replayed, yet never repeated, over time and “perhaps the best most unique game-play element is that it’s non-competitive” (Mazzanoble 20). 

Adventurers have to work as a team in order to survive the onslaught of monsters. D&D has two types of encounters, Combat and Noncombat, in some cases characters fight monsters, in others they use their other pre-set skills to get out of traps or figure out dungeon’s puzzles. You can try and prepare your character for the hardest of adventures, but at the end the dice still determine your character’s luck. (It is important to mention that DM rolls dice for monsters thus the probabilities of winning are equal on both sides.)

The game play can sound complicated but the truth is: it is not. The game mechanics are all linked to one major rule: “Decide what you want your character to do and tell the DM” (Heinsoo, Collins and Wyatt 11). The freedom to decide what your character will do next makes the game fun and so do various suggestions and impossible requests that are addressed to the DM during playtime. Team of adventurers continues on for hours and when adventure is over, the next one is just around the corner waiting for players to meet up again. On the plus side each time adventure is finished all characters present that day acquire experience points (XP) and gold. Over time characters evolve, by gaining experience points and gold, therefore being better equipped with spells, weapons, and greater armour for each following adventure.

D&D has returned to our Chapter’s bookshelves and to our dinner tables, because it is a fantastic way to spend an evening with friends and to exercise a mind. In case you are not ready for a full out D&D adventure you can start out small with D&D Miniatures Game sets and see if this type of adventure is for you. 

 Works Cited

Coast, Wizards of the. Dungeons and Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page-Tools. November 2009. 12 November 2009 <http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Tools.aspx>.

Heinsoo, R., A. Collins and J. Wyatt. Dungeons and Dragons Player’s Handbook: Arcane, Divine, and Martial Heroes. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, Inc, 2008.

Mazzanoble, Shelly. Confessions of a Part-Time Sorceress:A Girl’s Guide to the Dungeons and Dragons Game. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, Inc., 2007.

My old poems: It’s nice to sit outside at the end of the day

Posted by Daria on

 

It’s nice to sit outside at the end of the day

It’s nice to sit outside

Listening to the birds singing

Dreaming of my future life

Looking at the pink clouds

Trying to figure out

What tomorrow will bring…

 

It’s nice to sit outside

In the silence of my own

Listening to the wind’s whispers

Smelling the new born flowers

Thinking about the night that will come…

 

It’s nice to sit outside

Looking at the last rays of light

Learning from my mistakes

Thinking about my day…

 

It’s nice to sit outside

Looking at the velvet sky, covered in stars

Thinking about my past…

 

It’s nice to sit outside

Slowly falling asleep: dreaming about life…

 

It’s nice to sit outside

My old poems: A piercing cry of my soul

Posted by Daria on

A piercing cry of my soul

                          Silence

                          Searching for  the unknown

                          Looking for something new

                          Beneath my own skin

                          It feels like I am in a dark

                          Hot tropical rain forest

                          Trying to find the ray of light

                          Sweat’s is rolling down my cheeks

                          Salty tears reflect the horror

                          Of being lonely, not understood

                          The borders are around me

                          Like trees in the tropical forest

                          Magnificent walls surround me   

                          I can not reach the top

                          No one wishes to put down the trees

                          No one wishes to share the light

                          I am all by myself searching

                          Looking for something new

                          Beneath my own skin

                          Hearing the piercing cry of my soul

                          Silence