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Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="der_kluge" data-source="post: 1792575" data-attributes="member: 945">So, anyone brave enough to follow my rants on here knows that my previous employer decided that it would be smart (it isn't) to outsource most of their IT to IBM, who in turn will see to it that most of that work get shipped overseas to India, where they can get 1/8th the price for the labor.  I wouldn't be buying many shares of Sprint stock if I were you, they are going to suffer huge for this, because tons, and I mean tons of top-notch people left as a result, and they are more screwed than they can ever imagine.But enough about that.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />So, I was fortunate to find another job, and not just a job, but a job I felt moved me in right direction career-wise, and was for more money.  So, that was a very positive thing.  It just happened to be 1,300 miles away.  So, I packed up my personal things, and as luck would have it, my sister just happens to live in this place, a tiny little town we call Richmond, VA.  So, I'm there now, hence the change to my "location" moniker under my avatar.So, I got in Sunday night, and unpacked my stuff.  My brother-in-law got me set up on his wireless lan, so I'm there now, in my own little room with a really uncomfortable bed, and a nasty cold that keeps me awake at night.  But beyond that, all is well.  My wife is staying in Kansas City until the house sells. I've talked to her every night.  And the first night was hard, because she described how my 17 month old daughter had the phone and could hear my voice, and was kissing it, and holding it like she holds her teddy bear.  I never imagined how hard it would be to leave her behind, but I can bear it if I manage not to think about her too much.  We're hoping that we can sell the house quickly, and move out here, and all will be peachy.  Of course, there's the little issue of actually buying a new house, and they're a bit pricier here than there, and this is a seller's market, and we're trying to sell in a buyer's market.  So, all that kind of sucks.  But, that's life, and we'll get over it, I'm sure.The job is doing well.  I'm working at Capital One now, and they strike me as a company with more money than they know what to do with.  One of the projects they want me to work on is to create a data warehouse of HR/payroll data.  Something to do with trending analysis of performance appraisal metrics.  Fair enough, "so why do you need to capture this?"  I asked.  "Because we can", was the answer I got.  It's your money, I thought, as long as I get paid, it doesn't matter to me.  If you want me to create a database to track the mating patterns of african swallows, just write me a paycheck, and give me the specs.  I don't care.  But, they seem like a pretty solid company with a good future (people paying late fees and interest on credit cards ain't going away any time soon, so as long as that continues to happen, companies like Capital One will continue to make money hand over fist).  I'm still trying to find my way around this accursed town.  These highways were designed by insane asylum patients around here.  To go home, I have to take an exit just to be able to get to my exit.  It's really screwy.  I drove downtown tonight because I joined the Richmond community band.  It seems like a pretty good group, and they agreed to put me on first part clarinet, so that was good, although I certainly hope I don't step on anyone's toes by doing so.  Being on first part can sometimes be a real touchy issue with some people, especially since I'm the new guy.  So, we'll see how that plays out.  they have quite a few clarinet players, so it may be the excuse I need to play oboe instead, even though I kind of suck on it.  I guess this group puts on an 1812 Overture concert on the 4th of July, and has an attendance of 50,000 audience members. Yikes!I still haven't found a gaming store yet, though I haven't really looked for one.  I got bored at work and since I don't have internet access there yet, I opened up Word and starting writing down the basics for a new campaign, a low magic, MMS:WE style game where the players start out as peasants in a lord's demesne and encounter some unusual circumstances that kind of force them into becoming adventurers.  So, I was kind of formulating some royalty with a king, and his children, and the relationships.  It will be different from any game I've ever ran.  Anyway, I can see that I'm really rambling at this point.  I think I intended to write some really philosophical thing down in this post.  Something like, "Salt Lick, Kentucky has got to be the craziest city name I've ever seen", or "did you know that there is a Santa Claus, Indiana?"  I drove past that one, too, on the way out here.  I would add that driving through the Appalachians while playing Ottorino Respighi's _Pines of Romes_ is just an incredible experience, and that's one of the most scenic drives I've ever taken.  Truly beautiful country.I was going to end this by saying, "anyway, if you need any home remodeling done, call me, Mr. Remodeler....".  There is this guy that has these radio ads in Kansas City named (you guessed it) Mr. Remodeler, and on his ads he just comes on and just babbles about life, about family, about whatever.  Most of them are interesting, and they're not annoying ads, just kind of weird.  And he always wraps them up with "...anyway, if you need any remodeling work done".  He sounds like this likable old man that's barely scraping by and is just begging for remodeling work to feed his family, but I'm fairly certain it's a large operation that employees numerous folks, and he's probably a millionaire that lives in a mansion.  Anyway...</blockquote>

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