Toodle-oo World of Warcraft

No more quests, one hit blows or firing shadow bolts! After two years of devoting a myriad of hours to World of Warcraft, better known as WoW, it's time to say goodbye (for good or not, is still in question). WoW turned this girl, (yes, a real one) that once scratched her head when hearing words like "pwned!," into a serious gamer. Sure, I may have started out as a blundering fool, crashing into trees and dying constantly, but I soldiered on leveling up to a 73 toon with epic gear, and gained respect among high ranking guilds. My alter ego, emilyhaines, a fearless warlock from Hakkar, was well liked among this male dominated/female thirsty world, and I will miss all my friends dearly (even those on my ignore list). On my last day, I took this shot of my "WoW buddies"--probably people I will likely never know in real life, but will definitely remember. For the Alliance!

Que lindo es Chile

I recently applied to a program to teach English in Chile through World Teach and was accepted. The first group is leaving March 10, 2009, but sadly I won't be able to make that departure. Good news is I'm in the program and may be able to leave at a later time. I had to do a few write-ups to get into the program. Thought I'd share an excerpt from one of my essays about 'adaptability.' Enjoy.

I began traveling at the age of ten as a delusional child wishing my vacations were filled with sun-bathing at five star resorts (my father would never tolerate this type of thinking). Instead, they consisted of staying with family for entire summers, taking daily strolls to the farmers markets, discovering remote places, meeting prankster-driven cousins, and devouring delicious family recipes. I understand what it’s like to adapt to a different culture and its foods, becoming painfully sick while enduring foreign patient care and medications, and simply, not having all the comforts of home. One year I returned riddled with head lice, but all of this is a small price to pay for the unforgettable wonders I have witnessed.