So many of my friendships both IRL and online come directly from gaming. Those I've met online are people that I'd never have met otherwise. We're kind of getting to know each other even though we've never met face to face. They are a lot closer to me than an FB friend or you guys reading my blog. I know...I know...we're all good friends, so no worries, but the people playing in my campaign have shared family dynamics and life events whereas that's not the case with my other social media friends...unless on a rare occasion when I share or learn a little information from real life.
IRL as an introverted expat, I'd have no friends, other than my work colleagues, if not for gaming. Teaching overseas in the UAE is a very difficult thing. As to the locals, a lot of the culture here really does clash with my western upbringing and Christian beliefs. I'm a friend to all, but we don't have much in common, and speaking English for them is a struggle while speaking Arabic for me is an impossibility. As to my fellow expats, I don't want to talk about work all the time, and in many cases that would be the only topic we could talk about. There aren't all that many Americans, so even my other expats are more likely to be into soccer than FOOTBALL. Fortunately, with gaming I have an instant ice-breaker that sometimes leads to deeper relationships.
I've talked about my friend of over 26 years, Lemuel Eubanks, before, so there isn't much more I can share about him. We continue to keep in touch over social media, and whenever I visit the States, I make sure to see him, but we haven't gamed together in ages. The rest of the main party and even a few of the younger offshoots still keep in touch in much the same way, but I don't see them as often. Lem has been a roommate, co-worker, friend, and even the best man at my wedding. I've tried to get him to get into Roll*20, but no luck so far. We all still talk about games we had in our late teens and throughout our twenties. It's hard to believe that even the young guys of the extended group will be hitting forty soon while most of the core group has already hit the mid-forties. Most of us have been married at least at one point or another and two or three of us have somehow wound up with children. I hope someday to have my daughter playing with the daughter of some of my old friends. Unfortunately, Lem--who did get married, but divorced some time ago--has no kids of his own at this point. Hopefully, he'll get in gear and give it another shot before too long.
IRL as an introverted expat, I'd have no friends, other than my work colleagues, if not for gaming. Teaching overseas in the UAE is a very difficult thing. As to the locals, a lot of the culture here really does clash with my western upbringing and Christian beliefs. I'm a friend to all, but we don't have much in common, and speaking English for them is a struggle while speaking Arabic for me is an impossibility. As to my fellow expats, I don't want to talk about work all the time, and in many cases that would be the only topic we could talk about. There aren't all that many Americans, so even my other expats are more likely to be into soccer than FOOTBALL. Fortunately, with gaming I have an instant ice-breaker that sometimes leads to deeper relationships.
I've talked about my friend of over 26 years, Lemuel Eubanks, before, so there isn't much more I can share about him. We continue to keep in touch over social media, and whenever I visit the States, I make sure to see him, but we haven't gamed together in ages. The rest of the main party and even a few of the younger offshoots still keep in touch in much the same way, but I don't see them as often. Lem has been a roommate, co-worker, friend, and even the best man at my wedding. I've tried to get him to get into Roll*20, but no luck so far. We all still talk about games we had in our late teens and throughout our twenties. It's hard to believe that even the young guys of the extended group will be hitting forty soon while most of the core group has already hit the mid-forties. Most of us have been married at least at one point or another and two or three of us have somehow wound up with children. I hope someday to have my daughter playing with the daughter of some of my old friends. Unfortunately, Lem--who did get married, but divorced some time ago--has no kids of his own at this point. Hopefully, he'll get in gear and give it another shot before too long.
No comments:
Post a Comment