We interrupt this important lull to bring you random!

So, I just recently got back from a week of hanging out in my guild leaders' living room playing WoW, visiting NERO events (live action rp: beating people with plumbing supplies and having pretend babies with people you don't so much hate as loathe and despise), and trying to convince them to play The Secret World.  You read that right: I spent seven days of vacation time to go halfway across the country for what I already do in the comfort of my own living room.  And it was totally worth it.

There's definitely something to be said for meeting your council face-to-face and being able to hash out your recruiting strategy and progression plans over a small mountain of Papa John's while playing pass the Dew.  (Cups and plates are for people that want to do dishes, and dishes are the devil.)  As many great tools as guild leaders have available for faceless management and organization, that extra bit of connection and (as much as I hate to say it) the ability to see someone wildly waving her hands about and all scrunch-faced while she screams at people makes the communication process go a lot more smoothly.

So (belated) thanks to my awesome GMs, and their kitty Luna, for having me last week.  I think I've got just enough time to recover from that visit before the Tactical Dysfunction meet-up extravaganza and its bizarre bleed-in to Mists of Pandaria release weekend back with the Reckless Embrace buys in the land of banjos and shine.  Whether or not my car will have gotten over the trauma of crossing the Appalachians, having a hawtt pancake threeway with some 18-wheelers on the PA turnpike, and getting stuck in both Philly AND Pittsburgh rush-hour traffic on the same day?  That's another thing entirely.

And because it wouldn't be TacDys if I didn't give some random tips or snark of randomness: Roxi's guild roadtrip guidelines!

• Always pack a cooler!  As I learned on the drive home, no matter how excellent the food on the highway looks, it's marked up by exactly way too flipping much.  You're spending enough just on gas and tolls.  Steal a cooler from some unsuspecting relative or foolish neighbor that left their garage open overnight.  Spend a week before your trip making ice in your freezer and filling dollar store ziploc baggies (or, you know, buy a couple bags of ice).  Go to your nearest bulk buying club (steal a card if you have to) and pick up the following (amounts will vary depending on number of passengers):
• One case of Monsters (or your energy drink of choice)
• Two bags of beef jerky (protien, low-mess)
• One box granola bars (breakfast)
• One value-pak string cheese (dairy)
• Two bags veggie chips/straws (vegetables)
• One case of soda or bottled water
• Take extra socks!  No really.  Wet feet suck, as I learned during the great torrential downpours I hit going through the Lancaster area.  This was reinforced by various horror stories from NERO.  Take extra socks.
• Label your CDs!  Don't take originals if you're afraid of losing them.  Take your totally legal copied CDs, and write what's on them in black sharpie.  Trust me, radio roulette is a lot less fun than it sounds.  You don't want to be hoping for Dee Snider Does Broadway and get Crown Thy 4nicatr.    Or however it's spelled.
• Don't check your auctions every time you stop!  Seriously.  Unless you've got a charger that can split to USB, you can't afford to have to charge your phone AND run your GPS unit at the same time.  (We'll ignore for the moment that my car has two standard outlets on top of the lighter thingy.)  WoW's auctionhouse app, Facebook, Twitter...  they all eat up battery.  The last thing you need is for your phone to be dead when you start hearing banjos playing Jeepers Creepers.
• If work calls, don't answer it!  Telling them that you're stuck in wherever isn't going to help the situation any.  They'll figure it out on their own.  If you answer it, you'll just feel guilty about taking vacation time, and no one should ever feel guilty about taking vacation time.
• If you don't like to go 80mph+, get the HELL out of the left lane!  In all the states I've driven in so far, the left lane seems to START at 75mph and ramp up from there.  Don't think you have to be over there just because you're exceeding the speed limit.  Following this, if your car can't make it up mountains and you're crossing the Appalachians, suck it up and limp your ass into the right hand lane.
• Gravity works on cars!  Know if you're going downhill and adjust your pedal-metaling accordingly.  Your car really CAN hit 110mph+ if it wants to, and gravity is like automotive jello shots.  It makes your car want to do all kinds of crazy things.
• Rotate your cards!  Swap between the credit card and the debit card, and keep a close eye on your balance on both.  If it's super duper omg important?  Use the credit card.  And don't carry cash.  Hobos can smell cash from a mile away, and they WILL jump through your window while you're stuck in traffic to get it.  >.<  Yes, I know this from personal experience.
• And finally, Always bring your towel!  Related to the socks thing, I know.  But seriously?  I refilled my ice on the way home, and exploded a couple of Monsters in my cooler, and GOD was that a mess.  ALWAYS have a towel.

Hopefully, I'll be done with silence and filler posts for the next few weeks.  Coming up tomorrow: 5 questions you should never ask a guild recruiter, and five you MUST.