Help with ideas for holding local gala/ charity casino night...
(Be nice, I've had too much gin. This idea is 3 mos old.) I want to hold a gala/ casino night charity event in mid-October 2016. I'm passionate about helping our local LGBT community, but how would I start? Is there another community/ organization that is in more(?) need?
Lost in the Sauce: Trump, Cruz, and Gohmert team up to incite election-related violence
Welcome to Lost in the Sauce, keeping you caught up on political and legal news that often gets buried in distractions and theater… or a global health crisis. Housekeeping:
HOW TO SUPPORT: I know we are all facing unprecedented financial hardships right now. If you are in the position to support my work, I have a patreon, venmo, and a paypal set up. No pressure though, I will keep posting these pieces publicly no matter what - paywalls suck.
NOTIFICATIONS: You can signup to receive notifications when these posts are done.
Election shenanigans
I put the latest info on Trump's phone call to Raffensperger in this comment.
According to experts, Trump’s conduct has potential criminal exposure:
A federal statute makes it a crime when one “knowingly and willfully … attempts to deprive or defraud the residents of a State of a fair and impartially conducted election process, by … the procurement, casting, or tabulation of ballots that are known by the person to be materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent under the laws of the State in which the election is held.” A Georgia statute similarly provides that a “person commits the offense of criminal solicitation to commit election fraud in the first degree when, with intent that another person engage in conduct constituting a felony under this article, he or she solicits, requests, commands, importunes, or otherwise attempts to cause the other person to engage in such conduct.” …The hard part for prosecutors would be proving Trump’s state of mind, because the statutes require proof of knowledge and intent. Prosecutors would have to show that Trump knew that Biden fairly won the election, and Trump was asking for Georgia officials to commit election fraud. And it’s not clear prosecutors could make that case.
At least 12 Republican senators plan to challenge Biden’s Electoral College win on Jan. 6, when Congress is set to officially count the votes. The effort is being led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and includes Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), and Mike Braun (R-Ind.), as well as new Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.). Separately, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) is pursuing a similar plan.
"Congress should immediately appoint an Electoral Commission, with full investigatory and fact-finding authority, to conduct an emergency 10-day audit of the election returns in the disputed states. Once completed, individual states would evaluate the Commission’s findings and could convene a special legislative session to certify a change in their vote, if needed," the senators said in a joint statement. “Accordingly, we intend to vote on Jan. 6 to reject the electors from disputed states as not ‘regularly given’ and ‘lawfully certified’ (the statutory requisite), unless and until that emergency 10-day audit is completed."
Their plan is not going to succeed in preventing Biden from taking office, as majorities in both the House and the Senate would need to support a challenge against a state’s electoral votes. For an objection to be made, at least one member of both the House and Senate would need to submit it in writing. Then, the House and Senate separately convene to consider the issue. Debate is limited to two hours for each objection. After debate concludes, the House and Senate vote to uphold the objection and throw out the state’s votes. If the majority of the House AND the majority of the Senate does not uphold the objection, the state’s electoral votes are counted as cast.
Vice President Mike Pence’s role is simply to preside over the joint session, opening and presenting the certifications from each state. In his absence, the Senate pro-tempore Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) will lead the session. At the end of the process, the presiding officer announces who has won the majority of votes for president and vice president.
The most immediate danger from Trump and Cruz’s doomed election gambit is rightwing terrorism and general violence: Trump, in particular, is inciting his supporters to swarm D.C. on Jan. 6. “JANUARY SIXTH, SEE YOU IN DC!” Trump tweeted last week. Four rightwing rallies are scheduled, including one headlined by George Papadopoulos and Roger Stone. The Proud Boys and other extremists are planning to attend the rallies and may set up an “armed encampment” on the National Mall, according to the Washington Post. On social media platform Parler, the leader of the Proud Boys said that members will be there “incognito” and may “dress in all black” to impersonate leftwing protestors.
Enrique Tarrio: "The ProudBoys will turn out in record numbers on Jan 6th but this time with a twist...We will not be wearing our traditional Black and Yellow. We will be incognito and we will spread across downtown DC in smaller teams."
Rep. Louie Gohmert has more explicitly tried to incite violence, saying the failure of his legal challenge to the election means “you gotta go the streets and be as violent as Antifa and BLM.” (clip)
At the same time, pro-Trump lawyer Lin Wood suggested that Pence could “face execution by firing squad” for “treason” if he doesn’t go along with the attempt to subvert the election.
Obstructing the transition
Biden’s transition director has accused the Office of Management and Budget of stonewalling the incoming administration’s team. OMB Director Russ Vought is not allowing key staff to meet with the transition team to help prepare the president-elect’s first annual spending plan, a move that could delay major proposals. Vought pushed back on the charges, saying that his agency needs to focus on finalizing the Trump administration’s regulations before the president leaves office.
“OMB leadership’s refusal to fully cooperate impairs our ability to identify opportunities to maximize the relief going out to Americans during the pandemic, and it leaves us in the dark as it relates to Covid-related expenditures and critical gaps,” [Biden transition Exec. Dir. Yohannes] Abraham said.
Earlier last week, Biden himself said Trump officials are not cooperating with his team, singling out the Defense Department for obstructing information on crucial national security issues. “Right now, we just aren’t getting all the information that we need from the outgoing administration in key national security areas. It’s nothing short, in my view, of irresponsibility,” Biden said. The Defense Dept. finally scheduled meetings with the incoming team this week, after not briefing the transition for weeks.
The timing of the resumption in meetings is notable because it comes after the one year anniversary of the U.S. assassination of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani on Jan. 3. NATO officials are reportedly worried about the lack of coordination from the Trump administration: "We need the incoming Biden administration to be fully briefed and ready to deal with these very dangerous issues facing NATO's security."
Sabotaging the Biden Administration
U.S. Agency for Global Media CEO Michael Pack is taking steps to keep control of Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia during the Biden administration. As chairman of the boards of Radio Free Europe and Asia, Pack and his fellow members have added binding contractual agreements that will make it impossible to remove him or other pro-Trump allies from the board in the next two years.
In other words, although President-elect Joe Biden has already signaled he intends to replace Pack as CEO of the parent agency soon after taking office in January, Pack would maintain a significant degree of control over the networks.
The State Department is likely to designate Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism “as an 11th hour effort to create hurdles for the incoming Biden administration.” The label, which requires the approval of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, would undo a major accomplishment of the Obama administration. To take Cuba back off the list, the Biden team would need to conduct a formal review, a process that might take several months.
Such a designation would impose restrictions on US foreign assistance, a ban on defense exports and sales, certain controls over exports and various financial restrictions. It would also result in penalization against any persons and countries engaging in certain trade activities with Cuba.
The Trump administration has been rushing to finalize a myriad of rules before Biden’s inauguration. Since Election Day, the Trump administration has issued about three to four times as many new regulations as it did during other periods of Trump’s presidency. Rules that haven’t been finalized or taken effect can be suspended by an incoming president, which Biden has said he intends to do. By contrast, rules that are finalized can take months, or even years, to undo.
“As a general rule, it takes at least as much process to undo or modify a rule as it does to put the rule in place,” said Jonathan H. Adler, a professor and an administrative law expert at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. “The Trump administration is magnifying that challenge for the Biden administration.”
Trump loyalists are urging the president to stymie Biden’s efforts to rejoin the Paris climate agreement and the Iran nuclear deal. Sens. Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham are working to get the agreements submitted to the Senate for ratification, requiring a two-thirds vote, with the goal of failure. While such an outcome wouldn’t prevent Biden from rejoining the accords, Cruz and Graham hope it would make their resurrection more problematic.
A vote against them would signal GOP opposition to the world and, they hope, undermine any unilateral action by Biden to rejoin the agreements. One senior congressional aide told RCP that sending them to die in the Senate “would be the final nail in the coffin.”
Further reading: “Biden To Be Saddled With Trump’s Payroll Tax Deferral Mess,” Forbes. Further reading: Biden will inherit a backlog of tens of thousands of visa requests from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — and a bureaucratic tangle that refugee advocates say President Trump ignored or made worse.
Trump money and properties
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance is employing forensic accounting specialists to examine Trump’s finances and business operations. Vance is looking “for anomalies among a variety of property deals” and trying to determine “whether the president’s company manipulated the value of certain assets to obtain favorable interest rates and tax breaks”.
The analysts hired by Vance probably have already reviewed various bank and mortgage records obtained from Trump’s company as part of the ongoing grand jury investigation, and they could be called on to testify about their findings should the district attorney eventually bring criminal charges
In yet another shady business deal connected to Trump, the United States sold the ambassador’s residence in Israel for more than $67 million. The person who bought the residence is none other than Trump mega-donor Sheldon Adelson. The property only became available due to Trump's controversial decision to relocate the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to contested Jerusalem. Furthermore, State Dept. representatives reportedly lied to Congress about the sale, perhaps to hide that Adelson purposefully overbid.
For now, there is no alternative residence for the ambassador, David Friedman, Trump’s former lawyer, who currently uses a suite at Jerusalem’s King David Hotel or rooms at the former Jerusalem Consulate General when he spends nights in Jerusalem… As a result, the United States appears likely to end up leasing the residence it has owned since 1964 from the GOP-affiliated casino mogul. “It is very strange that we are now paying Sheldon Adelson,” a congressional aide told The Daily Beast. “It is not above board. We have a number of questions. Did they get two independent appraisals? Was it a sweetheart deal? Was Adelson the highest donor? Was there a reason to sell it now?”
Trump’s businesses have taken in $10.5 million of donor money over the course of his presidency. $8.5 million came from the Trump campaign and related entities that Trump controls directly; $2 million came from other Republican candidates and committees. The biggest beneficiary was Trump’s NYC hotel, taking in $3,039,979 over the four years of his presidency, with $891,003 of that in just the final four months of the campaign. Trump’s DC hotel is ramping up room prices and requiring a two-night minimum stay for two key events this month, as the president tries to squeeze more profit out of his office. On Jan. 6, when Congress is set to formally count the votes cast by the Electoral College, room rates are listed at over eight times the price of surrounding dates. Trump is encouraging his supporters to attend a protest of Biden’s win on the 6th. A room during the inauguration costs five times the normal rate, at $2,225 per night. Trump’s Turnberry Resort in Scotland posted a £2.3 million ($3.1 million) loss in 2019, marking the sixth year in a row it has failed to turn a profit under his ownership. Since Trump took over the historic property in 2014, its losses now total nearly £45 million ($61.5 million).
The fact Turnberry remains in the red comes in spite of significant tranches of payments it has received from the US government during Mr Trump’s single term in office… the US Secret Service spent nearly £25,000 to accommodate its agents at the resort during business trips by Mr Trump’s son, Eric, an executive vice-president of the family firm. Since Mr Trump’s election, the property has received close to £300,000 from the Secret Service, US State Department, and US Defence Department
A Florida state lawmaker is calling for Mar-a-Lago to be penalized - and possibly shut down - for flouting coronavirus restrictions during a New Years Eve party. While Trump and the first lady did not attend, son Don Jr., attorney Rudy Giuliani, Rep. Matt Gaetz, and Fox News personality Jeanine Piro were captured on video among the maskless crowd. Guests paid as much as $1,000 for access to the ballroom to be entertained by Vanilla Ice.
State Rep. Omari Hardy: “My constituents are not snowbirds like @DonaldJTrumpJr & @kimguilfoyle. My constituents live here. This is their home, and they're going to have to deal w/ the consequences of a potential super-spreader party at Mar-a-Lago long after Junior & wife leave here on their private jet.”
Are you ready for a Donald J. Trump Airport? According to the Daily Beast, Trump has been asking aides about the process of naming airports after former U.S. presidents. Further reading: “Jared Kushner’s family real estate business wants to raise at least $100 million in capital through Israel’s bond market… Kushner has helped spearhead a series of moves that have been applauded by the conservative pro-Israel community, including moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv and recognizing Israeli sovereignty in disputed areas such as the Golan Heights. Kushner also has close ties to Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.”
Miscellaneous
The Census Bureau missed it’s end-of-year deadline to produce numbers that determine representation in Congress and the Electoral College for the next decade. The agency is working toward Jan. 9 as an internal target date for completing the current stage of processing records. "If we miss Jan. 9, it's hard to envision that we would get apportionment done before inauguration," a Census employee told NPR.
The final timing of the 2020 census results' release could undermine President Trump's efforts to make an unprecedented change to who is counted in key census numbers before leaving office… If the first census results are not ready until after Trump's term ends on Jan. 20, it would be President-elect Joe Biden, not Trump, who would get control of the numbers, which are ultimately handed off to Congress for certification.
I’m waiting for the call that officially ends my banquet career.
Since 2017, I have worked in a major casino as a banquet server. It was terrifying at first. It was SO FANCY. I went from selling ice cream and coffee to setting a ballroom full of 50 ten top tables with like eight pieces of silverware. There was so much to remember and I honestly didn’t know if I was going to make it. We did all sorts of events. Car shows, basketball hall of fame, Make-A-Wish gala, American Cancer Society, baseball auctions, Miss America, epic Christmas parties... it was mostly just corporate events but even the most simple ones, like banquets for nurses and teachers, were fun. It was every type of food service you could possibly imagine — hand passed appetizers, plated meals, family style meals, and exquisite buffets like you’ve never seen. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and everything in between. Even the most basic meals were incredible. You never knew what your job was going to be, or who you were going to work with when you walked in, and that was the scariest part to me. One day, you’d be on the soup station. The next day, you’d be working with a partner to serve a six table section and walking across a giant ballroom with a tray of ten piping hot dinners while trying to remember who had the gluten allergy. Or you could be scooping gelato. Or building buffets to perfection. Or passing around trays with bacon wrapped scallops and raspberry and Brie tarts. Or clearing while 500 people have their cocktail hour. Once you got used to something, they’d throw you into something totally new. It took me about a year and a half, plus a lot of anxiety attacks and considerations of quitting, but I eventually got the hang of it. It was an on call job, so sometimes I’d work 40 hours, and then not have any work again for two weeks. That’s why it took so long to learn everything. And there were 75 other people in the department, so sometimes, it was scary to find out that you’d be working with the OG server who’d been there for fifteen years and will chew you out if you mess anything up, yet sometimes YOU would be the one to have to explain to someone new why all the coffee mug handles absolutely had to be facing the same way, and still correcting them anyways. It was hardcore teamwork. There were so many ups and downs, but it was a fantastic gig. We were paid extremely fairly. It never mattered what my job was; it could have been the hardest or the most boring task, I’d do it gleefully because I knew I’d be making a good paycheck regardless. Oh, and did I mention that 75% of the time, we got to eat the leftovers? Yeah. They’d have giant displays of shrimp over ice sculptures — and while it was disheartening how much food got wasted (or “sent to pig farms” as they told us), it was the best thing to ever happen to me. Now that I think about it, did I really love this job, or was it just the endless shrimp? Hard to say... The physical gains were powerful. Lifting a 60-pound tray on one shoulder while walking across a huge ballroom doesn’t sound fun, but holy shit, was I fit!! I would easily walk ten miles during a shift. It was painful a lot of the time, but it felt sooooo good to be active. The mental gains were astronomical as well. I made it up the seniority list. Every year I was making a little bit more money. Returning to events I had done in the past was super exciting, because being able to look back on where I was as a shy and sickeningly anxious newbie, now to someone who was helping all the newbies feel as comfortable as I wish more people had done for me... it was truly a unique and wonderful feeling. It felt like where I was meant to be. I originally wanted to move out of state, but this job kept me close. I had full intentions of staying for as long as I possibly could. I didn’t get enough hours and had to work other jobs the whole time, but at the rate I was moving up, it could have been my only job in a year or two. I could have lived an EXTREMELY comfortable life only working four days a week at a job that I absolutely loved. They had just built an 80 million dollar convention center — on top of the 5,300 people capacity ballroom — which meant there were WAY more work days on the horizon. The last time I worked was in the beginning of March. It was a summit for a large real estate company. Over 1,200 people from all over the country (and let’s be honest, probably a covid hotspot before we even knew it). Bougie ass people. I stood in one place with a tray of wine for hours, and then immediately had to serve a seven table section with a new guy who, while enthusiastic and willing to listen to me, had no idea what he was doing. It was the only event that I had cried at in the past two years I had done it. I almost cried at this one (because it just got so, so crazy) but I didn’t! And that, to me, was progress! But now, coronavirus is here to stay. Tightly packing ten people to a table, with fifty tables, and thirty servers weaving in and out of the aisles, touching plates with food, grabbing glasses to fill wine or water, trusting thousands of people to serve themselves on a buffet... none of those things are safe anymore. None of it. Most of these events were not local, they were national, so you’d have people from everywhere. They kept telling us that although all of the spring and summer events were cancelled, that come September we’d have work again... but we all know that was never going to happen. Now the casino I work for has finally come to the hardest and most heartbreaking decision... it’s time to lay everybody off. Things are never going to be the same again. No more banquets. No more cocktail hours. No more weaving through 800 people to get dirty plates out of the room all while listening to rich people’s conversations and judging their expensive outfits. No more bonding with my coworkers in the back while the group is having a speaking presentation. No more late nights and cranky mornings. No more guessing who had the most cocaine in the room. No more wine service. No more uppity contacts. No more pushing six buffet tables through a busy casino to get to the other side of the property. No more five-table dessert buffets. No more giant paella. No more shucking oysters and sliding them down an ice luge into a martini glass. No more silverware rolling quotas in the thousands. No more sweating my ass off while I constantly refilled a buffet. No more waiting for the last person to leave so we could all go home. No more linen. No more BEOs. No more polishing wine glasses. No more endless shrimp. It’s all over. That is so many people out of work now. Cooks, dishwashers, EVS, audio and visual, house men, bartenders, bar backs, and of course us servers and our captains and shift leaders. Do you know how many people it really takes to put on these events? It’s a lot. I knew this was coming, but I didn’t want to think about it yet. Now I’m waiting for the phone call. And I know that one day I’ll find my place again, but I just feel so lost now. I wish I could say I’ve spent the last six months brainstorming my new career path, but I’ve really just been sad. TL;DR: I was a banquet server at a beautiful casino for three years and after a lot of hardship, it became what I thought was going to be a lifelong career. Now I’m being laid off. Edit: If you know, you know. But please remember rule #2 of this sub! And thanks for the kind words, friends.
In a previous article I looked into the practicality of building a Mage Tower for yourself. That was received fairly well, so I think I'll move onto my favorite class, the Artificer. Now, an Artificer doesn't necessarily need a tower as a base of operations, and given the somewhat more limited spell selection and 1/2 Caster nature, thought I'd focus more on the innate ability of an Artificer to be a small business owner by merits of Tool Proficiencies! Mundane and Magical Item are simple to make with all the Tool Proficiencies you are able to acquire at a relatively low level. This guide could also be quite beneficial to Forge Clerics or any Wizard, Bard or Caster that knows Fabricate. I recommend several resources to look up or familiarize yourself with before you take on this enterprising business opportunity. 1) Chapter 6 of the DMG features the Downtime Activity of Running a Business. It breaks down to 1d100+X, X being a number of downtime days that you spend running your business. If you can get above a 60 on the roll, congrats, your business makes a profit for that month. 2) Eberron: Rising from the Last War. You'll need this book if you want to play an Artificer. 3) Exploring Eberron presents two new Artificer Subclasses as well as a few new infusions I reference here, namely Healing Salve and Quiver of Energy. 4) Acquisition Incorporated is a great source for new rules to allow a business to be run while you continue to adventure, allowing a constant background stream of income to help fund future adventuring opportunities. You can use as many or as few options as you'd like, but the Hireling options to run the business in your absence are a nice touch. 5) If you don't want to use traditional Hirelings, but a more customizable NPC, you could use the Sidekick Options from the Essentials Kit and the upcoming Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. I will be recommending Sidekicks for each of the business models in the examples below. 6) Waterdeep: Dragon Heist gives basic operating costs for running a tavern and One-time and Recurring fees for Guild Memberships. Given the prominence of Guilds in Eberron and other settings, it is a good standard to use for other settings. 7) Xanathar's Guide to Everything has a fantastic breakdown of Artisan Tool uses and Skill Checks that will be immensely useful to Artificers or businessmen looking to practice a trade. The following examples will be based on the following assumptions: 1) You will be running this business on your own. 2) You have options to get hirelings or other PC help should you want/need it. 3) You are level 6. This is the first level where a lot of this becomes feasible because you gain your Tool Expertise class feature and are now the best on the block at using Artisan Tools. You also gain a nice expansion to your Infusions that you can learn and I would think that knowing the Enhanced Weapon Infusion would count as having a schematic allowing you to enchant a basic +1 weapon. 4) We can use the upcoming Tasha's Rules for Character Creation on the Sidekicks so that you can swap out one Skill Proficiency for a Tool Proficiency. Wouldn't make sense to hire someone to run a weapon smithing shop who couldn't use Blacksmith Tools. Feel free to submit your own business models using the following format:
Business Focus
Artificer Subclass or Subclasses best suited.
Tool Proficiencies needed.
Helpful Infusions. I include these here because I believe that having a relevant infusion should count as the required schematics necessary to create a magic item. I also think that they should definitely look different than the standard fare that traditional enchanters sell.
Business location.
Primary focus of business. What you will be selling or offering to customers.
Common or Uncommon Magic Items to supplement mundane sales when you hit level 10 and can make them in 1/4 the normal time and 1/2 the price of anyone else.
Sidekicks you could use in the business.
Other Party members who could help you besides the Forge Cleric, Bards, Rogues or any Spellcaster that knows *Fabricate*. You can Assume that the above classes are inferred good business partners for any of the jobs listed below. This guide will be focusing on those with Tool Proficiencies from Class, as anyone could grab a Guild Member background and be helpful as well.
Businesses
Wandsmith/Arcane Focus Maker
Artillerist. This subclass lends itself well to a Wandslinger and the level 5 class features give a lot of attention to the Wand.
Armor of Tools, Woodcarver's Tools, Jeweler's Kit, Glassblower's Kit. Woodcarving for Wands, Rods and Staves. Jeweler's for Wands, and Crystals. Glassblower's for Orbs.
Enhanced Arcane Focus, Replicate Magic Items (any common wands or staves, Wand of Magic Detection, Wand of Secrets), Homunculus Servant, Replicate Magic Item (Wand Sheath). The Enhanced Arcane Focus should lend you to easily make decent wands and even Infused Wands. Replicating Magic Items for schematics for easy to make Common Magic items to upsell to customers. Homunculus Servant for extra help around the shop.
Cart, Wagon, Boat, Shop. You could have 2-3 wands on hand in a cart, a covered wagon with carving tools set up or even a section of a ship dedicated to making and selling your wares. If applicable, you could even buy a permanent location to sell your wares, this will be your best bet for glassblowing, as your toolkit still requires you to find a suitable heat source to form liquid glass. Work your way up to being your own Gilmore's Glorious Goods, Invulnerable Vagrant, or Fantasy Costco.
At this location, Wands, Rods, Staves, Crystals and Orbs will be your meat and potatoes. Basic Spellcasting Foci for any aspiring Wizard, Sorcerer or Warlock. You could even branch out into Holy Symbols, and Druidic Foci if the demand is there. While a basic Spellcasting Focus only needs to be between 5gp and 20gp. These are easily made in a single day of downtime crafting. You could even customize more expensive version of them for Nobles or highly opinionated casters to distinguish yourself from other magic shops.
Common and Uncommon Wands and Staves. Mostly Imbued Wands or Orbs of Resistance. Wands of Magic Missile, Burning Hands, Ice Knife, Catapult would all fall under these categories. Could even make a Common Wand that requires attunement, and grants the attuned the ability to cast a single Cantrip (always at Level 1) as a Novice Wandslinging item. Scrolls could be re-flavored as single use wands.
For Sidekicks, an Expert would be great to help you churn out mundane items, while a Spellcaster would help you keep a steady stream of lower end Magic Items available.
Eldritch Knights and Tome Warlocks would make great business partners. Eldritch Knights would probably push you to sell Rubies of War Mages also, bringing in a new area of clientele and the ability to advertise through Weaponsmiths for when they have some adventurers come through.
PainteSculptoGeneral Artisan
Any Artificer
Armor of Tools, Painter's Kits, Calligrapher's Kit, Glassblowers Kit, Woodcarver's Kit, Mason's Tools. These cover the gambit of common medium to work with.
Homunculus Servant. Most other Infusions are combat based, but a Homunculus is a nice extra set of hands(tentacles or claws?) to help pass you the right tool and to clean off your brushes.
Can work from Cart, Wagon, Boat or Shop. You might want a combo of Wagon and Shop, with a mobile studio to get different landscapes and to collect different material and a shop for a gallery from which to sell things.
Paintings, Sculptures, Wood Carvings, Reliefs and finer doo-dads will be your main stock. From carvings of monsters that you've fought, self-portraits of people you've met, landscapes of other planes, or just finely made custom Dragonchess sets with pieces that look like real people. You could even specialize in ship figureheads or shop signs for taverns or other businesses. If you can find a way to make a permanent Magical Tinkering effect of the static visual image, that's a nice storefront display right there.
Illusion enchanted paintings for a Harry Potter style feel would be good magical items, or even Dragonchess sets that can move themselves.
Experts will probably get more mileage for the tool proficiencies than the Spellcaster unless your Enchanted portraits become a real hot commodity.
Kensei Monks and Battlemaster Fighters each get proficiency in a set of Artisan's Tools as a Class Feature. Monks get Calligrapher's kit, but Battlemasters get to pick their choice, so could easily be Painter's or Woodcarver's.
Crossbow Manufacturer
Battlesmith, Artillerist
Armor of Tools, Woodcarver's Tools, Tinker's Tools, Smithing Tools, Carpenter's Tools. You will be mostly working with Wood and steel. Woodcarver's Tools lets you make 20 arrows as part of a Long Rest per Xanathar's.
Repeating Shot, Quiver of Energy, Enhanced Weapon, Homunculus Servant. Enhanced Weapon for a reason to be able to make +1 crossbows. Quiver of Energy might be useful for some arrows that add a bit of elemental damage to a shot, even if only +1 fire or lightning.
You can run a smaller shop out of a cart or wagon and be mostly custom orders, or you can have a fixed shot with dozens of different styles ready for sale and enchantment services on request.
Hand, Light and Heavy crossbows as well as arrows and bolts will be your primary trade. You can also Silver arrows and bolts and filigree the crap out of some crossbows if people are interested in flaunting their status that way. Pretty straight forward with these mundane items.
Walloping Ammunition, Unbreakable Arrows, Elemental Burst Arrows and Quivers of Ehlonna will be easy sources of magical flare in your shop.
Experts will be your main shopkeepers and re-stockers. Warriors if you want someone to do demonstrations.
Rangers, Arcane Archer Fighters, Kensei Monks will make excellent business partners. The Ranger especially brings a host of appropriate spells for later game enchanting. The Kensei will probably focus on more "traditional" Bows, which can help expand your clientele.
Potion Brewer
Alchemist
Brewer's Kit, Alchemist Supplies, Herbalism Kit, Poisoner's Kit. It is called out in Xanathar's Guide that an Herbalism Kit is required to make Healing Potions. So that's something you're definitely invest in. Also, in Xanathar's for .5lbs and 25gp of material, you can make one Alchemist Fire as part of a Long Rest with an Alchemist Supply Kit. That's not even counting what you can make during the day as Downtime. Stock up before you leave the city and you can make yourself one firebomb a night!
Healing Salve and Homunculus Servant. Healing Salve is basically a 4 use touch range Healing Word you can make. This would be a great basis for Keoghtom's Ointment. I also feel like at this point I don't need to explain why Homunculus Servant keeps appearing on these lists.
You could run this out of a cart or wagon, but i'd be worried about all those Alchemist Fire supplies rattling around. Same with a boat, unless you're just a Riverboat. A physical Shop would be best for what you need, although a cart/wagon for traveling with already made merchandise is a nice way to spread the brand name and to gather exotic or non-local supplies.
Healing Potions! You are the local healer. You will also probably have on hand a good number of natural remedies for people who can't afford a constant stream of Healing Potions and instead use the Medicine Skill Proficiency to treat wounds. You can also make a single item of either Alchemist Fire, Acid, Antitoxin, perfume or soap as part of a Long Rest with an Alchemist's kit, so you can have a varied catalogue. makes sense to me that Sunrods (fantasy glow sticks) would be something you'd make with Alchemist's Supplies. You could even dip into Poison's, that wouldn't be advertised of course, but would include a bit of a premium on their sale for those in the need of such a thing.
As you level up you can more easily make Potions of: Greater Healing, Fire Breath, Hill Giant Strength, Resistance and Water Breathing. You can also easily make an Alchemy Jug, which can make you day to day operations even cheaper as you can simply have the jug produce some of the more mundane liquids you may sell. The Decanter of Endless Water is also a must have item and too easy of a sale to anyone adventuring near or into a desert. Keoghtom's Ointment is also a nice Emergency Medicine that you could sell to a local Hospital or Militia.
Expert's are your best bet at brewing basic potions for you and keeping the mundane supplies stocked. A Spellcaster would be able to expand your inventory with Climbing Potions, Beads of Nourishment, Beads of Refreshment, Candle's of the Deep, Perfume of Bewitching and Tankard's of Sobriety.
Druids, Eldritch Knights, Monks and Rangers would be good partners as they can easily get Nature and Medicine proficiencies for a good number of the items that you make.
Tavern Owner
Any Artificer, but strong lean to Alchemist due to class flavor.
Brewer's Kit, Carpenter's Kit, Cook's Utensils, Alchemist Supplies, Herbalism Kit, Glassblowing Kit. The Brewer's Supplies should be obvious, but outside of the business, you can Purify1 gallon of Water over a Short Rest and 6 Gallons over a Long rest, a handy skill to have if you aren't near someplace with Fresh Water, like the open ocean. The Cook's Utensils are also a given with a Tavern, but outside of combat they allow a creature to regain 1 extra HP per Hit Dice they spend on a Short Rest. That may not sound like much, but it effectively makes each Hit Dice one higher on average (1d6+1 has the same average as 1d8). The Carpenter's Tools are so that you can fix all the furniture that will break during the inevitable bar fights. The Alchemist Supplies are actually for embalming creatures you encounter so you can have that Mindflayer Taxidermized as a display item in your bar! That's a feature I don't think any other local bar will have. Herbalism Kit is for working with hops, or branching into a bit of Potion Making if you want. Glassblowing is for you to make your own signature glassware that you can serve with the expensive drinks and offer as souvenirs.
Homunculous Servant, Replicate Magic Item (Tankard of Sobriety). Tankard's of Sobriety seem like the perfect item for a bartender or bar owner. You can drink as much as you want but still stay sober. Might not be as much fun as regular drinking, but good for keeping your head about you and one hell of an advantage in a drinking contest.
You could run this out of a Cart or Wagon as a kind of portable bar for just drinks. If you got a decent sized ship you could even expand it to a casino boat. However, a physical shop is the best choice here, specially if you plan to expand it to housing several rooms. Location is also key here, so make sure you spend some downtime doing some Investigation, Insight and History checks to learn all you can about potential locations you might set up.
Beers, Wines, and Spirits of all kinds, with tasty food to boot! This is the stereotypical D&D Player business. There's an entire chapter of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist dedicated to setting up and running a tavern if you want inspiration. Feel free to include specials following your adventures of meat from creatures you've slain! Hydra-Burgers should be tasty.
Mostly Wands of Prestidigitation and Decanter's of Endless Water for cleaning the bar and Alchemy Jugs for an easier way to produce cheap beer and wine with basically no overhead costs. Dust of Dryness might be nice to have on hand for cleaning up spills as well. Oh, and don't forget to keep a Wand of Magic Missiles behind the bar for those rowdy patrons.
Spellcasters might make the best brewmasters of the sidekicks due to their increased Mental Stats. They can also help out with cleaning, and if they get to a point where they can Detect Poison and Disease, that would be a huge help come Health Inspection time. Experts will make good Brewers and can step up behind the bar to help out with their wide range of proficiencies. Warriors are good Bouncers and a way to take care of those pesky Dire Rats in the cellar.
Way of the Drunken Fist Monks will either be a godsend or a curse for you as a business partner. Other Monks and Rangers would make a good partner as their naturally high Wisdom scores would help with Insight and Perception to keep an eye on patrons and employees. And no one is better in a bare knuckle brawl than a Monk, you could even put a fighting pit in your tavern if you want that kind of atmosphere, but I'd be sure to have a place to check weapons at the door so fights don't escalate too much outside of the fighting pit. Barbarians and Fighters have the CON to put down the drinks for Taste Testing and still being able to be a Bouncer. Beastmaster's can use their companion as a novelty server or even tavern mascot. And while I said I wouldn't include them on the list, I just have to say that any Bard would go here wonderfully.
Weaponsmith
Battlesmith (It's in the name)
Smithing Kit, Alchemist Supplies, Leather Working, Jeweler's Kit, Woodcarving Kit. The Smithing Kit and Woodcarving kit should be obvious as 95% of the weapons are made from metal or wood. The Leather Working Kit is for grips and wraps on the handles of weapons. Jeweler's Kit is for making fancy versions of weapons. Alchemist Supplies is for Silvering Weapons or using chemicals to stain the metal other colors.
Homunculus Servant, Armor of Tools, Enhanced Weapon, Returning Weapon, Radiant Weapon, Replicate Magic Item (Moon-Touched Sword), Replicate Magic Item (Armblade). I think both the Radiant Weapon and Moon-Touched Sword Infusions would be good enough to count for the schematics to make Moon-Touched Swords for you. Enhanced Weapon for a basic +1 weapon.
You need a forge for these, and that means that Carts and Wagons are only good for transporting completed merchandise to sell. The sheer weight needed for your forge makes a boat out of the question. Like the tavern, a physical location is the best bet for you.
Anything that isn't a strictly ranged weapon is your stock and trade here. The most expensive mundane melee weapon is the Greatsword at 50gp. That means it will take you a full day (25gp) to make a single one. All other weapons can be made in a few hours. You'll also want to have some farming supplies and tools on hand in order to maximize your customer base. Hoes, pick axes, crowbars, buckets, barrels, Caltrops, Ball Bearings, metal religious symbols etc. Silvering Weapons and adding gold/silveelectrum/gemstone decorations to mundane items are a great way to offer wares to richer customers. Yes, Lord Grantham ir'Lupiloo has a fine rapier, but he doesn't have a rapier made of Bulette-scale Damascus steel, with a hydra skin wrapped pommel and his name engraved in gold embossed Draconic along the crossguard. That's how you make a name for yourself, because Lord Brendit ir'Flaglap is going to HAVE to have a nicer Longsword than that cur for next week's gala.
Moon-Touched Blades, Weapons of Warning, +1 Weapons and a weapon with a single minor property from the table on page 143 in the DMG will be the easiest and fastest for you to replicate.
The Expert and Warrior will be best for if you want mundane items being churned out of your forge. The Spellcaster would be a better hire if you want to focus on enchanted items. The difference in what you will be able to do will be based on your location. Rural areas will focus on mundane most likely, while cities will have more demand and client base for fancy mundane and enchanted.
Fighters, Barbarians, Monks, Paladins and Blade Pact Warlocks would do great here as partners.
ClothieArmorer
Armorer, Battlesmith
Smithing Kit, Leatherworking, Weaver's Tools, Cobbler's Tools, Alchemist Supplies. SMithing and Leatherworking are straightforward. Weavers is for non-armor clothing if you want to instead open up a clothing boutique. Cobbler's tools for if you want to make shoes. Fun fact, with Cobbler's Tools you can spend a Long Rest to add in a 3" by 1" hidden compartment into a pair of shoes or boots.
Homunculus Servant, Enhanced Armor, Reflecting Shield, Boots of the Winding Path, Armor of Absorption, Armor of Tools.
You could do a clothing store, shoe repair and custom designing, make and sell leather armor, custom tailoring or a dry-cleaning business (Prestidigitation + Mending) out of a cart, wagon or boat, but for the same reasons as with a weaponsmith you need a physical location if you want to make metal armor. Make it work, people!
Congratulations, you are now you party Rogue's favorite person and source of disguises. You'll have to decide the breadth and scope of just what kind of business you want to run first. Focus on just mundane clothing for commoners to nobles, or do a combination of common clothing and simple armors. Metal armors and shields will require a forge. If you are able to build yourself up, you could eventually do everything out of a large building with a little bit of everything like your own fantasy Macy's. One storefront for expensive dresses, gowns and suits. Next door is more common or work wear, and out back is the forge with protective armors, leathers and shields. This would be a nice way to ensure that all your armor pieces match, because nothing is worse than finding a great piece of new armor that just completely clashes with your personal aesthetic. This also to me just seems like a great way to play a Garrak like character. (If you don't know who that is, please see yourself over to Netflix or CBS All Access and watch all of Deep Space 9 as soon as possible.)
Cloaks of Defense, Cloaks of Many Fashions, Cloaks of Billowing, Cloaks of Elvenkind, Cloaks of the Manta Ray, Sentinel Shields, Robes of Useful Items, Brooches of Shielding, Cast off Armor, Boots of Elvenkind, Gleaming Armor, Boots of the Winterlands, Winged Boots....there are so many thematic Common and Uncommon Magic Items for you to make here.
Experts will be your go to for mundane sewing, forging and cobbling. Spellcasters if your enchanting business takes off and can run the Dry-cleaning aspect while you're gone.
Rangers, Monks and Arcane Archers will do well here are they tend to favor DEX and WIS. Also, if you do end up going into a clothing business with a rogue and you don't name it "Cloak and Dagger" then I think you actually lose a Character Level.
Shipwright
Any, but Battlesmiths and Armorers might do best as they would tend to have higher STR.
Armor of Tools, Carpenter's Tools, Woodworking Tools, Smithing Tools, Navigation Tools. You're mostly going to be working with wood here, and a bit of metal also. Navigation Tools just seems like a good choice, unless you want the RP of being a master of building ships, and then being completely unable to use or navigate in them.
Homunculus Servant, Replicate Magic Items (Cap of Water Breathing, Ring of Water Walking, Cloak of the Manta Ray). The Magic Items that you can replicate allow you to fully inspect or repair any ship while it is in the water.
You're going to want a shop. Located next to a large body of water. And depending on the size of the ships you intend to build, it should also be connected to an ocean eventually. You could theoretically have this business from a boat, if you make a large enough ship that you could pull alongside other ships to repair them, but I think you're best off with a permanent location.
As a Shipwright, you make ships! Boats, galleys, rowboats and everything in between. You'll want to start off with smaller boats first to build up your money until you can invest in making a large ship. According to the DMG, a Rowboat costs 50gp to make, a Keelboat costs 3,000gp a Sailing Ship or Longship costs 10,000gp and a Galley costs 30,000gp. Other than Rowboats, which you can make in a single day, these are going to be very long projects. From 120 days for a Keelboat to about 3.3 years for a Galley if you are working by yourself without any magical aid. Even if you do hire multiple sidekicks or just general hirelings, you aren't going to get paid until the entire job is done, but they will all need to be paid while they work on the ship. Instead of making brand new ships, you could also repair existing ones, and as an Artificer, you almost certainly have the Mending cantrip which can help you.
Candle's of the Deep, Heward's Handy Spice Pouch, Orbs of Direction, Ropes of Mending, Alchemy Jugs, Caps of Water Breathing, Decanters of Endless (fresh)water, Eyes of the Eagle, Gloves of Swimming and Climbing and Wind Fans are all magic items that you could sell to shipowners and crews to help them in their travels. Ghosts of Saltmarsh also has a number of Ship Upgrades that you could offer.
Experts are going to help you the most here as they can get the most amount of kit proficiencies to help across a variety of problems. Spellcasters can help if you decide for focus more on maritime magical goods.
If you plan on building ships from scratch, then you are going to need every Forge Cleric and Fabricate Spell you can get your hands on. But be careful, if you are able to start churning out ships in a week for half the cost of the competition, then that is a LOT of people that you are putting out of business and there is sure to be repercussions. For a non-magical approach, just about every party has something that they can contribute to this project. Martial classes will DO WORK on cutting down lumber and getting that ship together. Partial Casters can help speed up certain aspects of building and augment others through buffs.
Updated for multiple spelling, grammar and formatting errors
Please Feel Free to Submit your own Business Ideas! I'll add them if they fit the stated format. Punny Shop names encouraged!
I am about to complete Dead Money for the first time. What should I do before I leave?
Played for a few hours last night, and I last saved where I’m about to take the elevator from Vara’s room. I’m really looking forward to finally finishing this DLC. I’ve enjoyed it a lot, but it has been a grind because I was not strong in sneak or melee when I was going in. Anyway for my question, what are some things that I should do before I leave the Sierra Madre after I finally complete it? I’m putting a list together of collectibles and stuff, and just wanted to make sure that I see and do as much as I can. Basically just looking for recommendations. Also, do I have to worry about a lot ghost people and hologram guards after I complete the quest? I’m sure I’ll have to keep fighting in some spots. I’m mainly curious because after I set off the gala, I just ran for the casino instead of fighting because I had limited supplies at the time. Am I going to run into a lot of extra fighting because of that?
Sometimes you make choices in life that dictate your every move until the day you die. I made one of those choices. Sometimes, these decisions can ruin your life, make you not even want to finish it if you know what I mean. Mine was that kind. I used to be an escort, not to be confused with a prostitute, although at the bare bones of it they are the exact same thing. Women, hired for their bodies. Prostitutes usually just for sex but escorts, they are performers, actresses… I’ve been someone's wedding date, multiple men's girlfriends at charity events, and even someone's sister used to trick their wife into a sick threeway. I guess it was safe since he wouldn't leave her for his own sister... That being said, at the end of the day, they all want the same thing, and they pay me A LOT of money for it. Unlike prostitutes that pick up random johns from street corners, I had a little black book of clientele. 12 to be exact when I got out of the business. That may sound like a lot but most of these clients only needed me for a week or two out of the year. A week at the Aspen cabin, memorial weekend on a yacht. I only had five that I saw weekly. A girl needs her off days. By now you are probably judging me pretty hard and that’s fine. The way you feel about me now won’t compare to how you'll see me after I tell you about my last client. He was my bad decision. The choice that now rules over my life. My number one client of three years had just died in a car accident. He was my cash cow, a business executive that was too busy for a wife but wanted company once or maybe twice a week. I charged 800 an hour and he would hire me for the whole night so you can imagine how much money I lost after his death. He needed to be replaced, and fast. There are a lot of ways to get new clients. I started out at casinos, watching for big winners, but in 2020 the best way by far is the dark web. I’m going to assume you don’t know a lot about the dark web as most people don’t. There are a lot of misconceptions but honestly, it's just a whole bunch of people offering services that the government and society have deemed immoral and illegal, fucking prudes. Of course, you could run across someone with malicious intent just like you could at a restaurant, Walmart, or even church. You just have to be safe and take all the necessary precautions. I obviously couldn’t be too picky at this time. I definitely wasn’t going to find a client as wealthy as Donny right off the bat so I was willing to take any job at that point. I posted my services in the usual escort forum I had worked with before, and after about a month and six degrading jobs that I was forced to drop my rate for later, I received an email requesting services but the details would be discussed in person. Even on the dark web, this is a strange request, but not unheard of. One of my first clients from the web had the same request just so he could prove to me he wasn't a weirdo before asking if he could bite my toenails. He was actually a very sweet guy. Later he had lost his job so I just let him do it for free since it saved me a trip to the salon. Maybe this new guy just has some weird fetish. My response was, “ I agree to the meeting but am not accepting the job until the details are agreed upon.” He sent back the address for the coffee shop downtown, and time, 9 am the next day. I instantly walked up to the counter to order my iced mocha. I don’t talk business before coffee. I take a sip as I scan the room for someone that looks like they are here to meet an escort. "Maybe that guy in all black sitting awkwardly in the corner with no cup." I thought. I sit across from the man that looks as though he has never been in a coffee shop before. "You should have at least ordered a coffee. You wouldn’t look so awkward." I teased. "I don’t drink coffee." He responded with a flat voice. "Then why didn’t we meet somewhere you could be more comfortable," I asked. "It’s about your comfort." He answered. Something about him told me he was a very sheltered man. We get a lot of those type so you can tell most of the time. What bothered me the most was the lack of emotion in his eyes. They were just, dead. "That’s a sweet gesture but I don’t need to be buttered up. We’re here for business. What is your business?" I demanded. He sat back in his chair, somewhat amused. "Well, obviously you offer certain services and I mean to hire you, for my boss." "Your boss?" I asked. "Yes", he said pulling an envelope out of his pocket. "He is throwing a gala of sorts this weekend and would like women of your, caliber to attend. It's to celebrate and raise money for an event that only comes around every five thousand years. We have already hired other female entertainment as well. He placed the envelope on the table. "Ok, so what’s the catch? A mere gala doesn’t require this much secrecy." I stated. "Yes, the catch. Well, really there is no catch. The boss will want some company after and maybe even during the gala, which is where you come in. He is paying ten thousand up front, and the other ten after the Gala. The only thing is, he has some deformities." I sat and thought about the word deformities for a moment. If I were shallow I wouldn't have made it this far in my career. Most of my clients lean more towards what you would call unattractive anyway, plus twenty thousand dollars is a lot of money. "Well, honestly, it doesn’t matter what he looks like as long as you’re not hiring me to fuck a retard or anything," I said. The man smiled for the first time since the conversation started. "No no, nothing like that. He is a completely competent and consenting adult." He responded. "He just looks a little different." After weighing my pros and cons, I agreed to the terms and the meeting ended with him writing down an address and casually walking out leaving behind the envelope with ten thousand dollars cash. I was more than happy. The day of the gala came and I put on my best gown and pearls, wondering what cause it was for. The last one I attended was to raise money to clean up the oil spill in the gulf. Whatever it was, I did like helping even if I was only there to fuck some deformed guy. When I arrived I was instantly amazed at how big the house was. It was really more of a castle, to be honest. It towered over me like a brick skyscraper from the 1600s. I was greeted at the door by a man in a black cloak which, I thought was kind of weird but ignored. "The lord of the house welcomes you". The man said in the strangest accent I'd ever heard. "Lord?" I thought. "Maybe I should try to put this guy in my book. He would be the ONLY one I need with money like this." As I finished my thought, I heard a scream echo from within the house. It was at this point I became nervous. Before I knew it I was guided into the house by the man, not knowing that my life was about to change, forever. Upon entering, I was immediately caught off guard. Everyone, wearing black cloaks except the rest of the entertainment which was a mix of upper-class debutants and freshly plucked hookers. It finally clicks. This is a cult! I look around and see, well, normal people drinking and having a good time, and in the back of the room, a 20-foot high red metal door. I strained my eyes to try to identify the markings. "I'm glad you could make it." The man from the meeting said as he took my arm guiding me through the crowd. "Yes, of course. We do have a business agreement." I forced out with a shutter my voice. "A woman of her word. I love it! You don’t find many of those these days." He said with more confidence then he should have. "Um, what the fuck." I thought. Before I could respond he started again. "The boss has already had a long night and has retired to his study. He requested your company upon arrival." Before I knew it I was standing in front of the big red metal door. The sound of it opening paralyzed me as I was pushed through the threshold into the dim room. The door slammed behind me, echoing through the room and my soul. "I'm so scared." I thought. "I want to leave but I can't move." "Hello." The voice radiated through my body. It added so much more to my fear. His is silhouette rose from the chair in the corner confusing me because of its shape. "I've been expecting you." The voice said as if it were spoken by multiple people at the same time. "Expecting me? Or, or anyone?" I squeaked. "Everyone." He replied quickly. The man emerges from the shadows revealing he's not, simply deformed, nor is he simply, a man. Its scaly grey hands reached out grabbing both of my arms. I couldn't move. The creature pulled me in close, running its snout down my neck. His warm breath melted my chills away. "I apologize for the heat, I'm warm-blooded." He explained. I couldn't take my focus off his horns. They were beautiful. "Why did I feel this way?" I questioned. I could feel myself, dripping... I prayed for the beast to mount me like the animal it was. Mercifully, it granted my wish. Who knew heaven was so close to hell? I came to my senses in the foyer with a group of other women who also appeared to be waking up from a sex coma. Somehow I was already holding my Jacket and purse so I walked straight towards the exit. As I walked past the man from the meeting he said, "See you next week..." I pulled into my driveway before realizing I had driven the hr and a half in complete silence. I didn't remember driving home… I didn't remember going to sleep… I do remember waking up the next morning and downing two plan B pills with a shot of jack. After finishing the bottle, I went back to sleep. I woke up to the sounds of growling. "Was that my stomach?" I didn’t feel hungry. I felt bloated and sick, and my head was fucking killing me. I took a Lortab, ate, and went back to sleep. I slept from Friday to Wednesday and woke up with extreme pain. I thought maybe it was bathroom pains, but I couldn't go. The hot tube was the only thing that helped. I couldn't get the water hot enough. After the pain had dulled down to about a 3 out of 10, I fell asleep. I woke up in terror after noticing how extended my belly was. I looked nine months pregnant. I felt a surge of pain every time a bulge moved across my stomach. As I screamed in Pain, 4 cloaked men surrounded the hot tub. I passed out as they were lifting me out of the bloody water. "You need to push or hell claw his way out!" I heard a faint voice yell. I woke up with my legs spread as I lay on my kitchen table. "PUSH!" a voice said. I felt all of the pain release from my body into the arms of this, cloaked man. After a moment I heard the snarls from the tiny creature. "We're done here." one of the cloaked figures said. "Go to the hospital and have to explain, or stay here, maybe survive, your choice... No one's going to believe the truth." I laid there as they left the room. As he turned the corner, I got a glimpse of the baby… He really was a monster... I didn't want to get up. I didn't care if I lived. I closed my eyes and went to sleep. I woke up on my kitchen table, sore but able to walk. I took a shower, ate some fruity pebbles, and pretty much ignored the fact I was probably internally bleeding due to giving birth to the antichrist. It was when I remembered I needed to drain the bloody hot tub that I found this little guy. Twins apparently. This one must have been born before the goon squad showed up. The poor thing couldn't climb his way out. He’s actually kind of cute when you get used to him. His teeth are sharp but they can't pierce rubber gloves. He’s easily maintained and just eats raw beef or pork. He's growing fast and I worry about that. How many more of him are there? What's going to happen when they're grown? What should I do with it?
Sometimes you make choices in life that dictate your every move until the day you die. I made one of those choices. Sometimes, these decisions can ruin your life, make you not even want to finish it if you know what I mean. Mine was that kind. I used to be an escort, not to be confused with a prostitute, although at the bare bones of it they are the exact same thing. Women, hired for their bodies. Prostitutes usually just for sex but escorts, they are performers, actresses… I’ve been someone's wedding date, multiple men's girlfriends at charity events, and even someone's sister used to trick their wife into a sick threeway. I guess it was safe since he wouldn't leave her for his own sister... That being said, at the end of the day, they all want the same thing, and they pay me A LOT of money for it. Unlike prostitutes that pick up random johns from street corners, I had a little black book of clientele. 12 to be exact when I got out of the business. That may sound like a lot but most of these clients only needed me for a week or two out of the year. A week at the Aspen cabin, memorial weekend on a yacht. I only had five that I saw weekly. A girl needs her off days. By now you are probably judging me pretty hard and that’s fine. The way you feel about me now won’t compare to how you'll see me after I tell you about my last client. He was my bad decision. The choice that now rules over my life. My number one client of three years had just died in a car accident. He was my cash cow, a business executive that was too busy for a wife but wanted company once or maybe twice a week. I charged 800 an hour and he would hire me for the whole night so you can imagine how much money I lost after his death. He needed to be replaced, and fast. There are a lot of ways to get new clients. I started out at casinos, watching for big winners, but in 2020 the best way by far is the dark web. I’m going to assume you don’t know a lot about the dark web as most people don’t. There are a lot of misconceptions but honestly, it's just a whole bunch of people offering services that the government and society have deemed immoral and illegal, fucking prudes. Of course, you could run across someone with malicious intent just like you could at a restaurant, Walmart, or even church. You just have to be safe and take all the necessary precautions. I obviously couldn’t be too picky at this time. I definitely wasn’t going to find a client as wealthy as Donny right off the bat so I was willing to take any job at that point. I posted my services in the usual escort forum I had worked with before, and after about a month and six degrading jobs that I was forced to drop my rate for later, I received an email requesting services but the details would be discussed in person. Even on the dark web, this is a strange request, but not unheard of. One of my first clients from the web had the same request just so he could prove to me he wasn't a weirdo before asking if he could bite my toenails. He was actually a very sweet guy. Later he had lost his job so I just let him do it for free since it saved me a trip to the salon. Maybe this new guy just has some weird fetish. My response was, “ I agree to the meeting but am not accepting the job until the details are agreed upon.” He sent back the address for the coffee shop downtown, and time, 9 am the next day. I instantly walked up to the counter to order my iced mocha. I don’t talk business before coffee. I take a sip as I scan the room for someone that looks like they are here to meet an escort. "Maybe that guy in all black sitting awkwardly in the corner with no cup." I thought. I sit across from the man that looks as though he has never been in a coffee shop before. "You should have at least ordered a coffee. You wouldn’t look so awkward." I teased. "I don’t drink coffee." He responded with a flat voice. "Then why didn’t we meet somewhere you could be more comfortable," I asked. "It’s about your comfort." He answered. Something about him told me he was a very sheltered man. We get a lot of those type so you can tell most of the time. What bothered me the most was the lack of emotion in his eyes. They were just, dead. "That’s a sweet gesture but I don’t need to be buttered up. We’re here for business. What is your business?" I demanded. He sat back in his chair, somewhat amused. "Well, obviously you offer certain services and I mean to hire you, for my boss." "Your boss?" I asked. "Yes", he said pulling an envelope out of his pocket. "He is throwing a gala of sorts this weekend and would like women of your, caliber to attend. It's to celebrate and raise money for an event that only comes around every five thousand years. We have already hired other female entertainment as well. He placed the envelope on the table. "Ok, so what’s the catch? A mere gala doesn’t require this much secrecy." I stated. "Yes, the catch. Well, really there is no catch. The boss will want some company after and maybe even during the gala, which is where you come in. He is paying ten thousand up front, and the other ten after the Gala. The only thing is, he has some deformities." I sat and thought about the word deformities for a moment. If I were shallow I wouldn't have made it this far in my career. Most of my clients lean more towards what you would call unattractive anyway, plus twenty thousand dollars is a lot of money. "Well, honestly, it doesn’t matter what he looks like as long as you’re not hiring me to fuck a retard or anything," I said. The man smiled for the first time since the conversation started. "No no, nothing like that. He is a completely competent and consenting adult." He responded. "He just looks a little different." After weighing my pros and cons, I agreed to the terms and the meeting ended with him writing down an address and casually walking out leaving behind the envelope with ten thousand dollars cash. I was more than happy. The day of the gala came and I put on my best gown and pearls, wondering what cause it was for. The last one I attended was to raise money to clean up the oil spill in the gulf. Whatever it was, I did like helping even if I was only there to fuck some deformed guy. When I arrived I was instantly amazed at how big the house was. It was really more of a castle, to be honest. It towered over me like a brick skyscraper from the 1600s. I was greeted at the door by a man in a black cloak which, I thought was kind of weird but ignored. "The lord of the house welcomes you". The man said in the strangest accent I'd ever heard. "Lord?" I thought. "Maybe I should try to put this guy in my book. He would be the ONLY one I need with money like this." As I finished my thought, I heard a scream echo from within the house. It was at this point I became nervous. Before I knew it I was guided into the house by the man, not knowing that my life was about to change, forever. Upon entering, I was immediately caught off guard. Everyone, wearing black cloaks except the rest of the entertainment which was a mix of upper-class debutants and freshly plucked hookers. It finally clicks. This is a cult! I look around and see, well, normal people drinking and having a good time, and in the back of the room, a 20-foot high red metal door. I strained my eyes to try to identify the markings. "I'm glad you could make it." The man from the meeting said as he took my arm guiding me through the crowd. "Yes, of course. We do have a business agreement." I forced out with a shutter my voice. "A woman of her word. I love it! You don’t find many of those these days." He said with more confidence then he should have. "Um, what the fuck." I thought. Before I could respond he started again. "The boss has already had a long night and has retired to his study. He requested your company upon arrival." Before I knew it I was standing in front of the big red metal door. The sound of it opening paralyzed me as I was pushed through the threshold into the dim room. The door slammed behind me, echoing through the room and my soul. "I'm so scared." I thought. "I want to leave but I can't move." "Hello." The voice radiated through my body. It added so much more to my fear. His is silhouette rose from the chair in the corner confusing me because of its shape. "I've been expecting you." The voice said as if it were spoken by multiple people at the same time. "Expecting me? Or, or anyone?" I squeaked. "Everyone." He replied quickly. The man emerges from the shadows revealing he's not, simply deformed, nor is he simply, a man. Its scaly grey hands reached out grabbing both of my arms. I couldn't move. The creature pulled me in close, running its snout down my neck. His warm breath melted my chills away. "I apologize for the heat, I'm warm-blooded." He explained. I couldn't take my focus off his horns. They were beautiful. "Why did I feel this way?" I questioned. I could feel myself, dripping... I prayed for the beast to mount me like the animal it was. Mercifully, it granted my wish. Who knew heaven was so close to hell? I came to my senses in the foyer with a group of other women who also appeared to be waking up from a sex coma. Somehow I was already holding my Jacket and purse so I walked straight towards the exit. As I walked past the man from the meeting he said, "See you next week..." I pulled into my driveway before realizing I had driven the hr and a half in complete silence. I didn't remember driving home… I didn't remember going to sleep… I do remember waking up the next morning and downing two plan B pills with a shot of jack. After finishing the bottle, I went back to sleep. I woke up to the sounds of growling. "Was that my stomach?" I didn’t feel hungry. I felt bloated and sick, and my head was fucking killing me. I took a Lortab, ate, and went back to sleep. I slept from Friday to Wednesday and woke up with extreme pain. I thought maybe it was bathroom pains, but I couldn't go. The hot tube was the only thing that helped. I couldn't get the water hot enough. After the pain had dulled down to about a 3 out of 10, I fell asleep. I woke up in terror after noticing how extended my belly was. I looked nine months pregnant. I felt a surge of pain every time a bulge moved across my stomach. As I screamed in Pain, 4 cloaked men surrounded the hot tub. I passed out as they were lifting me out of the bloody water. "You need to push or hell claw his way out!" I heard a faint voice yell. I woke up with my legs spread as I lay on my kitchen table. "PUSH!" a voice said. I felt all of the pain release from my body into the arms of this, cloaked man. After a moment I heard the snarls from the tiny creature. "We're done here." one of the cloaked figures said. "Go to the hospital and have to explain, or stay here, maybe survive, your choice... No one's going to believe the truth." I laid there as they left the room. As he turned the corner, I got a glimpse of the baby… He really was a monster... I didn't want to get up. I didn't care if I lived. I closed my eyes and went to sleep. I woke up on my kitchen table, sore but able to walk. I took a shower, ate some fruity pebbles, and pretty much ignored the fact I was probably internally bleeding due to giving birth to the antichrist. It was when I remembered I needed to drain the bloody hot tub that I found this little guy. Twins apparently. This one must have been born before the goon squad showed up. The poor thing couldn't climb his way out. He’s actually kind of cute when you get used to him. His teeth are sharp but they can't pierce rubber gloves. He’s easily maintained and just eats raw beef or pork. He's growing fast and I worry about that. How many more of him are there? What's going to happen when they're grown? What should I do with it?
Weekly posts are baaaack! This is the catch-up post to bring us into February and you can look for posts on Sunday nights for the upcoming week. If you liked the monthly list, the link to it is in the Other Things to Do Links at the bottom of this list. As always, please share events I missed in the comments of this thread.
My name is Mark and I am a compulsive gambler. My last bet was April 2nd 2019. I have a lot of things on my mind right now, although the urge or thought to gamble isn’t one of them, and I feel like I have a lot to say but just need time to figure it out. I think my head is a bit all over the place and I want to tackle various issues at once instead of taking a step back and approaching it one at a time. So I thought that an A-Z of my journey so far, life, gambling and recovery, might give me an opportunity to touch on various things just a little and maybe allow some of the thoughts I have to escape. A is for Abstinence - There is a huge difference in my mind between abstinence and recovery as abstinence simply involves stopping gambling. Now, for some that may be enough to stay away for the rest of their lives and that is fantastic, but for me, I knew through experience it wouldn’t be enough. I have tried to stop on my own in the past and eventually my “will power” ended and I went right back. I was never actually trying to become a better person or trying to learn a better way to live, I was simply stopping gambling in the hope that everything would fix itself which was never going to be enough. Now, abstinence is vital for my recovery because I need to stop gambling but I have done, and continue to do, so much more than just stopping gambling because I need to do it. I’ve come into recovery not knowing who or what I am or should have been. I’ve been gambling since I was 18 years old, dabbling before that as well, and I never “grew” into the adult I was supposed to be or could have been. So I really have to start from the beginning with a blank canvas, which I honestly feel has massive potential for me, and get to write my own story of how my life goes from here on out, but I can’t do that simply by abstaining from gambling. “We can't just hope that something will happen. We must put in the work. If we simply wait for our life to improve without putting in the necessary work then we aren't going anywhere.” B is for Blog - I read a fellow Problem Gambler Support Group members blog not long after I joined and it was all about his gambling journey. I thought “that’s a good idea, I’m going to steal that” and set up my own website. It didn’t quite go like what but I thought there would be a benefit from writing my story out, for me at the very least. Turns out people liked it and said it was good and well written and they got something from it. So I wrote more and I kept getting the same feedback then decided to share my step work and tackle other topics to do with my recovery. I’ll be honest, I’m still unsure if my writing is any good, but people like it and tell me it is, so I’ll just accept that and be very happy with the compliments and keep on writing. I get so much from writing my blogs, it allows me to formulate my thoughts so much better than I do when I am speaking, cause i’m Irish and I use fuck like a comma when talking, less so when writing. I also find it allows me to dig down really deep when reflecting back in my gambling past or thinking about any topic to be honest. I have found out so much about myself from my writing that it’s been a huge benefit to my recovery. It’s also amazing when someone tells me that they could relate to something I’ve written or that something in my blog has helped them with their recovery. That sort of feedback is priceless for me and I’m just happy I have an opportunity to give back because at the end of the day you have to give it away to keep it. “I’m usually terrified people will hate my writing. My only saving grace is how I direct that fear. I use it to motivate me to find better ideas and share more useful examples rather than allowing it to prevent me from sharing at all. Fear is the gas pedal, not the brake.” James Clear C is for Choice - “You aren’t responsible for your first thought but you are responsible for your first action”. That is one of my favourite quotes and probably one of the first things I will tell a newcomer or someone who is struggling with urges (people are probably bored of it by now but sometimes boring is good). I am a firm believer that if I want to gamble I can, yes I have blocks in place, but if I really want to do it I can choose to do it. At the same time, I also have the choice not to gamble and that is what I choose to do. Now, I understand that people suffer from urges and these can get to a point where it feels like there is no choice so they gamble. For me, it’s all about knowing what to do in those situations and what I have learned it recovery. I know if I am struggling to reach out and talk to someone (more on that later I am sure) as that is the most important tool for me. We also have the choice to break the triangle that compulsive gamblers require to gamble, money, time and opportunity. Anyone can choose to break that triangle if they want to. It all comes back to the initial quote for me though, I am responsible for my first action, it’s all about making the right choice. “The 3 C's in life: Choice, Chance, Change. You must make the Choice, to take the Chance, if you want anything in life to Change.” D is for Desire - The only membership requirement for Gamblers Anonymous is a desire to stop gambling. April 2nd 2019 is the first time I have truly had that desire. Up until that point the only desire I had was to hide my secret life from those closest to me and to be able to gamble as much and as long as I wanted. The definition of desire is “a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen”. I feel like where I am now in recovery, I have no desire to gamble which has given me an opportunity to focus on my recovery. Gala - “Freed from desire, mind and senses purified”. E is for Excitement - That excitement or buzz that I used to get from gambling was something else and I’ll be honest, I haven’t found anything that can match it on a consistent level since entering recovery. Sometimes meetings will come close, I will leave one buzzing after what I have just heard or shared, but in general, for me, recovery as a whole is a lot more relaxed. This is perfectly fine as I feel that I have accepted that I no longer need the buzz or excitement in my life all the time and that I can lead a perfectly enjoyable and fulfilling life without those high highs, because, as I know too well from experience, eventually the highs run out and they are followed by low lows. “Take a break and chill out. We are always on the go, doing this or that. Sometimes we just need to sit back and relax or else the world will simply pass us by.” F is for Family & Friends - I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t be in the position I am in today if it wasn’t for my family standing by me. I fully expected to be kicked out by my partner when I told her and I wouldn’t be able to see my two kids everyday. I was terrified, so I am aware of how big a step it is to tell your loved ones, but it was a step I had to take. I would rather have been a part time Dad in recovery than a “full time” Dad in active addiction. Plus, over the last few months I have been talking to more partners of gambling addicts and I really appreciate learning how they feel and are affected by compulsive gambling. The money isn’t the main issue, it’s the lies, the broken trust and the fact we put them in a position of enablers. I know I manipulated those closest to me to get what I wanted and I didn’t once care how they would feel about it. They are also affected and some may need support and for me hearing their experiences are a vital cog in my recovery wheel. I also wouldn’t be where I am without the understanding and support of my friends. I owed a lot of my friends money which I lied to get and I broke their trust, but they all stood by me and told me how proud they were of me for admitting I had a gambling problem. That support, along with the support of my family gave me a strong foothold when I entered recovery. The best thing I can do to repay my family and friends is to remain in recovery and work towards becoming a better person each day. “Living a double life of addiction can be exhausting. Pretending everything is okay to our family and friends when we know it isn't. Once we surrender to our addiction we open up the possibility of Recovery.” G is for GamCare - This is only been a place I have been fully utilising over the last few months because before then, I’ll be honest, I didn’t get it. I would go onto chat regularly but usually just sit there and read what other people were saying, I rarely got involved. I feel like part of it was my ego, I didn’t understand how people could just use a chat and recover. Then I started to learn that there is not a one size fits all recovery program and around November 2019 I started to get more involved. I not only used the chat room but started to post on the forum. I had a place where I could talk to other compulsive gamblers and not only help myself but help them by passing on the message. I have met some wonderful people via GamCare and some I have a great connection with, one which I hope to maintain. It was simply a case of me getting out of GamCare what I put in at the start, which wasn’t much. Now I absolutely love the place and totally see what a great tool it is for people looking for support with their recovery. “If all we do is take and never give, we will surely be weighed down by our loot. Recovery is as much about giving as it is receiving. We must give it away to keep it.” H is for Honesty - One of the mantras I constantly say to newcomers is that you need three things for a chance at a successful recovery, HOW; Honesty, Open Mindedness and Willingness. For me being honest with those closest to me was a vital first step and it lifted a huge weight of my shoulders. Then each day in recovery I have been trying to be as honest as I possibly can. It’s so much easier if you tell the truth because you only have to tell it once. Looking back to when I was gambling it was crazy the amount of lies and bullshit I was telling people, by the end I wasn’t sure what was true and what was a lie. It’s not like that today though, I can look myself in the mirror and know that I am an honest person. I feel like I am honest in my meetings and through my writing. I share things that I probably do not need to share but it helps me not only get my thoughts out but at some point someone else may hear or read it and realise they aren’t alone. French Proverb: “There is no pillow so soft as a clear conscience.” I is for Intention - The subject of intent was briefly discussed at one of my Skype meetings and I feel quite strongly about this. I fully accept responsibility for my actions when gambling because when I break it all down, I was the person who chose to gamble in the first place. Each time I gambled it was my choice. The best example I have is if I went to a bar and had 5 or 6 pints and got in my car to drive home but on the way crash and kill 4 people. My intention was just to drive home, I didn’t intend to cause pain and suffering but I knew the risks when I got in the car. For me it’s the same as gambling. I may not have intended to cause pain and suffering to my kids and partner and those closest to me, but I did. These were consequences of my actions. I may not even have been fully aware of the pain I was causing or didn’t want to be aware, either way the intent was in my initial action which was gambling. Were there other outside forces at work, such as advertising and offers encouraging me to keep gambling? Yes there were but again I do not want to waste my energy blaming the industry for what has happened to me. The responsibility of what I have done lands firmly at my feet. Does that mean the industry should continue to get away with what they do? Absolutely not. Are people groomed by the industry and bled dry of all their money? 100% and it is a disgrace. There needs to be accountability of the gambling industry but for me personally, with what I went through when gambling and for my own recovery, the focus of responsibility needs to be on me and me alone. I’ve been in recovery for over ten months now and the person who has changed is me, not the gambling industry. That’s what I focus on because it’s the one thing I can control and that I can really change to make a difference. “It’s not intentions that matter. It’s actions. We are what we do and say, not what we intend to.” J is for Jeff - If I said I owe this man a lot it would be an understatement as he was instrumental in helping me from when I got into recovery. Jeff is the man behind the Problem Gambling Support Group and I had messaged him on Wednesday 3rd April 2019 asking to join the group as I had seen a post on Reddit about it. This wasn’t my first time speaking to Jeff though, that was November 2018 when I had been on Reddit under a different name and was trying to stop casino gambling online but wanted to continue sports betting...yea, didn’t work out well. Jeff contacted me around that time and we messaged back and forth one afternoon, with Jeff telling me the benefits of recovery and me trying to tell him how I could still gamble responsibly. Bottom line, I wasn’t ready for recovery then but when I was Jeff could not have been more welcoming. Jeff took me under his wing and spoke to me often in the early days and I asked him to be my Sponsor. He has helped me work the steps and has been a part of my recovery journey the whole time. I feel like I have someone who I can reach out to at any time and he’ll be there for me. It’s hard to really do justice for the impact Jeff has made on my recovery, but I honestly believe things would be a lot different if it wasn’t for his support and guidance. Sponsorship has been so important to me and up until recently I didn’t believe I had what it takes to be one but I have been given an opportunity to be a Sponsor now and I am loving it. If I can be half the Sponsor that Jeff has been to me I know I’ll be a success. “Fellowship is so important to Recovery What we can't do on our own, we can do together. From Friendship to Sponsorship to Relationships we need people in our life to help us with our Recovery.” K is for Kids - My kids are my life but I have not hidden the fact that I had gambling above them when I was practicing my addiction. I don’t say that lightly as it really does upset me to think about it but that is how it was. I gambled without a single thought about them and I needed gambling in my life more than I thought I needed them. Now, my kids were always looked after, mainly by my partner, but I also spent time with them, only they had me there in body but my mind was escaping into the world of online gambling. Since entering recovery I have realised how much I actually love my kids (even though they can be wee bastards at times) and they are my Higher Power. When I am struggling with a choice to make I think how my actions will impact my kids. I’ve spent so much more quality time with them and I love spending that time together. It’s easy to sit here now and say that I have made it up to my kids or that they were too young to understand, but when they have experienced their Dad shouting at them for no reason because I was losing bets or they were interrupting my gambling that leaves emotional scars for them. I’ll never be able to remove those scars, all I can do is continue on my recovery journey and become someone they are proud to say is their Dad. “If we hold onto the past it is bound to weigh us down. The past made us the people we are today but holding onto shame and guilt will inevitably lead us back down the rabbit hole. Don't forget the past, but don't let it prevent you from living for today.” L is for Life - There’s so many different ways I could take this but where I will go first is that I truly believe that I will be a compulsive gambler for the rest of my life. Now, that sounds quite scary, I’ll be going to meetings for life, I’ll be unable to gamble for the rest of my life, I’ll potentially have an element of fear for the rest of my life. The good news is I just have to worry about arresting the addiction a day at a time, it’s a lifelong journey with a daily program is how I look at it. I also want to briefly mention how I got a life back, not my life but a life. That’s because I have grown into an adult with my addiction, I have met my partner with my addiction and I have had kids with my addiction. I have no idea what my life is supposed to look like without gambling in it or what it should have looked like as I grew into an adult. So I have been given a clean slate to make a new life for myself, to become the person that I want to be. That is exciting and of course a little scary but it is an opportunity I am grateful to receive. “Entering Recovery represents the start of a new Life A life where we don't have to worry about how to get the next one or if we remember the mess we got ourselves into last night. Recovery is the start of a good life.” M is for Meetings - Many meetings make it easy was a saying I heard at my G.A meetings and I have to say I agree with it. I do one in person G.A. meeting a week (#MondayNightCrew4Life) and I also do three Skype meetings a week with my Problem Gambling Support Group which involves gamblers from all around the world. Both are different which I like but I still get so much from both groups. It helps the people in both are brilliant and I feel I have gotten really lucky in that regard. Looking back to my first G.A. meeting, I assumed I would be sat with a bunch of old men trying to convert me to religion or else desperate for a bet and I thought it wouldn’t be for me, but up until that point the decisions I had made weren’t exactly the best so I thought fuck it, what’s the worst that can happen, I waste a couple of hours. My first meeting was amazing, I left absolutely buzzing. I found a group of people who could relate to me and who understood what I was going through, but more than that, they had actually been in my shoes and knew how to walk this journey. So I said to myself I’m going to share in meetings but the most important thing for me was to actually listen and take on board what was said. It was the same for my Skype meetings, although a different format, it was full of people who once were in my position. Many meetings not only make it easy in my opinion, but they make recovery. “We take solace in the rooms of Recovery There is comfort and love in this place. We feel safe. Just For Today I am grateful for all the rooms of recovery which house those in need.” N is for Neglect - Where do I even begin with this one. I neglected everything in my life when I was gambling, my health from hardly eating and hardly sleeping to my job where I didn’t do any work to my friendships that I allowed to drift away because I didn’t put any effort into them as they got in the way of my gambling to relationships which I allowed to turn to shit right before my eyes. I think the relationships with those closest to me is what hurts the most and it’s because of the hurt I have caused them. They’ll have to live with those scars for the rest of their life. It’s all good me being in recovery and wanting to become a better person, but I wasn’t the only one being harmed for 14 years, those closest to me were also harmed and I don’t even know how much hurt I inflicted. I’ll probably never know. My kids are what kills me when I look back, as they had to deal with me shouting at them for no reason because I was having a shit time. I was taking the consequences of my choices and my actions out on them and I wasn’t a nice person to be around. Although I was never violent I also know that words hurt and the fact is I wasn’t the sort of Dad I wanted to be, but more importantly, that they deserved to have. “A little neglect may breed great mischief.” Benjamin Franklin O is for Open Mindedness - The second part of “HOW” and something that was alien to me coming into recovery. To me being open minded meant listening to other people's opinions, which if I didn’t already know and agreed with, meant I thought they were shit. There was no winning me round with facts, I’d just try to convince you that I was right and my way was the best way. Well, once I got into meetings I sat on my chair (or virtual chair for Skype) and closed my mouth and opened my ears. The best story I can relate to this in my recovery is from my G.A. meetings. There was one member the first few times I listened to him share I thought “fuck me he goes on a bit and I don’t get it” then a few weeks later he shared a story and I was like “that’s me, that guy is me and if I go back out there I’ll be living his life story”. From that point, I’ve listened to everything he says and he’s one of my favourite speakers but it also taught me to listen to each person because you never know what they will say that just hits you. Another part of open mindedness for me is listening to what everyone suggests to me and trying it because if it’s worked for them it might work for me. Not everything has worked for me but I’ve yet to get a suggestion that harmed me or my recovery in any way. “Our best thinking got us here... We must remain open-minded to new ideas in Recovery. They may not all work for us, but we should at least be willing to hear what they are about.” P is for Present - Not Xmas presents but present as in today. I really struggle to recognise the progress I have made in my recovery so this feels like a good way to take this word, comparing me today vs me when I came into recovery. Honesty is a big one which I have obviously covered earlier but I do find myself being much more honest than I was. Do I always get it right? Not at all, either withholding thoughts or feelings or only telling part of a story has got me into bother on occasion but I am trying to be as honest as I can. I’ve spent most of my life lying about everything so it’s hard to be so honest, but if you tell the truth you only have to tell it once. How I feel about other people has also changed massively as I used to fucking hate the world. I hated everyone in it and assumed they were going out of their way to make my life miserable. Turns out the only person going out of their way to do that was me. Now I really, genuinely care for other people, in recovery, outside of recovery, I have empathy, I’m willing to reach out and let people know they aren’t alone. My mental health has also definitely improved and although I struggle with low self-esteem, I am generally in a good place whereas when I came into recovery I was broken. Relationships with those closest to me are something that have improved but there is still a lot of work to do in one of them. That’s something that hopefully will continue to improve over time. I’ll finish with this, I have a voice now, a voice that I can use for myself but also for good. When I came into recovery I was used to just telling people what I thought they wanted to hear as I was trying to hide my secret life, now I can just be me and feel comfortable using my voice. “The past is a place of reference, not a place of residence.” Q is for Quitting - Quitting is something that has come so easy to me in other aspects of my life, quitting hockey, friends, hobbies whatever it is, but I couldn’t quit when I was gambling. I would always tell myself if I got ahead I’d quit and withdraw but rarely did I manage it, and if I did it was deposited straight back into the bookies once it hit my account. After a while there was no quitting when I was ahead because I was so far behind I was never going to be able to get ahead. I even tried quitting the casino side of things after it became a problem (I only started playing the casino side the last 18 months of my active addiction) to focus on sports betting because in my head I wasn’t addicted to sports. That was a lie of course, but I still went back to the casino side of things when I had money because I just could not quit that buzz and excitement. “I honestly thought I would use until I died. The thought of quitting gambling wasn't plausible, impossible actually. Just For Today I will believe in the impossible because at one time this current existence was impossible.” R is for Recovery - I’ll be the first to admit that I have thrown myself head first into my recovery and fully embraced it. I get so much out of it and I put a lot of work into it. This is what my recovery looks like, and while all of it isn’t for everyone, I feel it shows the difference between abstinence and recovery. I attend one in person G.A. meeting a week, three Skype meetings with my Problem Gambling Support Group, I have a Sponsor, I Sponsor someone, I work the Steps, I write my blog and post it on the Reddit Problem Gambling Sub and GamCare forum, I use the GamCare chat rooms twice a day most days, I reach out and offer help and support if I can, I listen to podcasts about addiction, I have been on two podcasts sharing my story, I do my own research on addiction and I am going to start and learn about SMART Recovery. Think that’s it all, and while it looks like a lot, it’s nothing compared to the time I spent gambling and it all fits around my life. I feel like recovery is the thing that has been missing from my life, that place where I am accepted for being me, a place where I can make a difference. Recovery is so important to me and my life and without it there is no way I would have stopped gambling. “Recovery is a transformation of self. From the ashes of defeat in the battle of Addiction to a renewed sense of purpose in the triumph of Recovery. We strive to become better and better with each passing day.” S is for Springsteen - I love Bruce Springsteen and listening to his music really resonates with me and can help me think and process my emotions and thoughts. Music really does have that sort of power and it has been a vital tool during my recovery. I can get lost in music, almost like an escape, but for me it’s a healthy escape. My personality needs some alone time to be able to recharge and that’s when I turn to music. I find lyrics jumping out at me and meaning different things at various stages of my recovery. A lyric will transport me back to a time or place and make me remember, good or bad, what had happened. Music can also just help me go from feeling down to feeling happy and realise that things aren’t as bad as I thought there were. “Bruce Springsteen is the direct line to all that is true in this shitty world”. T is for Talking - This was something I have come to find is one of my most useful tools I have developed and used in recovery. In the past I would never have opened up and spoken about my feelings but now I am in recovery I feel more confident to talk to at least one person about what is going on in my head. I’ve found talking has been an amazing way for me to solve problems that have been bothering me and eating away at me. Even just to vent is such a powerful tool, it can make me realise that I am making a big deal out of something that really isn’t. It also allows me to ask for advice and to get used to the fact that I do not possess all the answers. It was about swallowing my pride and realises that the main benefit of a support network is to rely on it when you need it. Sometimes I have asked questions that have made me feel stupid, but I have never been judged. Talking is one of the most important tools I have and it is something I always say to anyone I talk to in recovery, if you are ever struggling then reach out to me or to someone else, even if it’s just to say what is on your mind. “Asking for help is hard. It certainly didn't come naturally to me and can still be a struggle. Just For Today I will ask for help when I need it.” U is for Understood - Recovery is the first place I have really felt that people have understood me and what I have put myself through with my gambling addiction. “Put myself through” sounds like I am a victim, they have understood what I did when gambling. The longer I have been in recovery the more I feel people understand this new me that I have become, even more so than those in my life outside of recovery because they see me “in action” so to speak, in meetings, through my writing, helping others etc. There is something about going into a meeting and knowing, that no matter what you say or feel, you can feel safe sharing it and will not be judged. “I am not a perfect person, I make a lot of mistakes.. but still, I love those people who stay with me after knowing how I really am.” V is for Vicious - The vicious cycle that I was in when gambling broke me mentally, it was insanity when I look back on it. I would get paid and the first thing I would do is stay up until my pay hit my bank account around 1am and deposit and gamble. I would then pay back any money I had borrowed from friends or family and pay bounced direct debits from the previous month. I would then gamble more than I intended, have to bounce more direct debits, had to borrow more money from friends and family by lying to them. My phone bill was around £275 a month because of my insanity on top of all this. I was borrowing more money from people and from companies (although luckily I had wrecked my credit rating early on in my gambling career or it could have been far worse) and it was just getting worse and worse each month. One of my friends asked me before, “how the fuck did you sleep at night?” and looking back I have no idea. “We are grateful to be in Recovery today. To think the pain of active addiction is in the rear view mirror, but we must remain vigilant. If we let up in our program for too long our addiction will surely catch up to us. Just For Today I will commit myself to my program.” W is for Willingness - The final part of “HOW” and without it, for me, recovery would have been impossible. I threw myself head first into my recovery and was open to whatever people suggested to me and was willing to try. Someone once told me I was very teachable when it came to recovery and I think that proves the willingness I had. I knew if I was going to come out about my gambling, if I was going to admit I had a problem and needed help, I would lose the one thing I loved at that point and that was gambling. If I was going to lose gambling I was going to make sure it was worth it. Quickly in recovery I realised that my kids were the most important thing to me and that if I went back to gambling I would lose them. I am not willing for that to happen. I want to become a better person, I want to become a better Dad and I want to improve myself in all possible aspects. Recovery has given me a new lease of life and a willingness to succeed. I have even started a Diploma in Counselling Skills - Level 2 online which is something I would never have done if I was still gambling. “At some point there is no excuse, either you want to do everything it takes to make it happen, or you don’t.” X is for X Roads - Or crossroads, yeah I cheated a little, big deal. I feel like I have had two massive crossroads in my life regarding my gambling and recovery. The first is obviously when I decided that I was going to come clean to my partner. I have written before about the weekend prior to entering recovery and that was the pivotal moment. Without going into the details I’ll just say it was an up and down roller coaster of emotions and money that ended up with me at zero. It was at that point something in my head clicked and realised I was never going to be able to win my way out of this mess, it was only going to get worse. The question was did I want to own up and face the consequences or did I want to keep digging? For me the consequences of telling my partner was her kicking me out and me not being able to see my kids every day, that scared me to death. I can still remember the day I told my partner vividly. She had gone to the gym with her friend and I was pacing around the living room with a notebook in my hand. Earlier that day a friend of mine at work realised I wasn’t my “usual” self and asked if I wanted to go for a drink at lunch. So I did and told him what was going on. He was great and listened and said he reckons I should tell my partner and get the help I needed. So I wrote out all my debts, my budget going forward and my closest G.A. meeting, just in case I would forget anything when I was telling her. So her friend's car pulls up after the gym and she comes in and sits down. At this point I am still 50/50 in my head if I am going to tell her or not and my head is spinning. Then she starts telling me about the gym and how she got on and I was thinking to myself, “WHO THE F**K CARES ABOUT THE F**KING GYM! I’M TRYING TO DECIDE IF I SHOULD TELL YOU ABOUT MY GAMBLING ADDICTION!” My heart is beating so fast at this point like it’s going to jump out of my chest and I am panicking. So she finally stops talking and I just spit it out that I have a gambling problem and need help. I was crying, not for sympathy but because of the relief of finally admitting it, not only to her, but to myself, for the first time. I handed her the notebook and I was just waiting for her to throw me out but she didn’t, she stood by me. Got me to call round my parents and tell them and that’s when I officially entered recovery. The other crossroad was fairly recently in recovery, and I would say it wasn’t long after I was ten months gamble free. I basically had a real crisis of confidence, my low self-esteem came to the fore and I was debating if this new me was the real me or was I actually just a fraud. I think this came from a perfect storm of things. I always struggled with low self-esteem but I hadn’t really addressed it in recovery and I did my therapy reading at my Skype group and the feedback I got was overwhelmingly positive. People were saying really good things about me and I don’t think I was expecting it. Then around the same time I also had some other people telling me how much I had helped them, how good my writing was and how good a person I was and I think I just panicked. That voice inside my head telling me I wasn’t good enough was getting louder and louder and I was afraid that I was a fraud. I was afraid my recovery was a lie. I reached out and talked to people close to me and after several pretty intense hours I realised that it was down to me, I had to believe in myself. I had to take that leap of faith. I was also told to “remember that someone believes in you...me”, and that will stick with me forever. So, in my head I was standing on the top of a cliff and I just had to take a leap of faith and embrace this person I had become, waiting for me on the cliff top was the old me, my old behaviours and I didn’t want any part of that. So that’s what I did, I took that leap of faith and believed in myself. “Feeling our Emotions again after we stop using can be very difficult. After suppressing what we felt for so long it is completely foreign to feel so much. Learning to process these feeling is important to maintain our Recovery” Y is for You Know Who You Are - If I tried to name everyone who has had an impact on my recovery I would easily miss people out, so instead I am going to list what people have done for me or how they have made me feel and as the name suggests, you know who you are. You are the person who made me feel welcome, who made me smile, who made me laugh when I thought it was impossible, who stood by me, who looked after my finances, who gave me time to pay money back, who helped me up when I was down, who celebrated the good times with me, who talked to me when I needed someone, who listened to me when I needed to vent, who called me out on my bullshit, who gave me opportunities to improve myself, who made me believe in myself, who told me I was good enough, who told me I deserve this, who told me they were proud of me, who appreciated my help, who asked me for advice, who was honest with me, who made me see clearly, who inspires me by their commitment to life, who inspires me by their commitment to recovery, who read my blogs, who wanted me to succeed and who told me I could achieve my dreams. “Time goes by so fast, people go in and out of your life. Don't miss the opportunity to tell these people how much they mean to you.” Z is for Zombification - Is an instance or process of turning into a zombie. The process of zombification involves poisoning an individual with toxin from a puffer fish. So, I guess gambling is the puffer fish in this case because I could literally feel myself dying inside as I gambled at times. Time just slipped away while I said I would gamble for an hour, I was transfixed by the world of online gambling, it sucked me in and slowly sucked the life out of me. I would sit until the wee hours of the morning with no idea what was going on around me. I’d barely eat when gambling, I didn’t need to, there was no feeling of hunger. The longer I gambled the more numb I became to my emotions until the point I literally could feel emotion. I didn’t get angry or sad or happy, I was just meh. I went to my Granda’s funeral in January 2019 and couldn’t understand why people were upset. I felt nothing. Gambling had turned me into a zombie. Recovery is the process of de-zombification. “At your very core, you are energy. Stop killing it by killing yourself. By slowly poisoning yourself. By destroying your mind. By chasing negativity. Nurture your energy. Let it grow & thrive.” That was a long one but well worth the effort. I hope there’s something relatable there for anyone who reads it. I got a lot out of hitting on different topics in a shorter form and some stuff may not have made it into a “regular” blog. Mark
So I wanted to write this post on October 27th of this year, as it would be exactly one year after I decided to not spend any money for at least One year on my mobile games. However since the Dream Summon Is expiring today, I figured I might as well get it before its gone. Anyways, I wanted to write this review not just as a thank you to Cygames and Nintendo, but also because our community here on this subreddit has been absolutely awesome, and has been an absolute joy to watch grow over the past year since joining. So backtrack to One year ago. An interesting question that struck me when I decided to Close my wallet to Dragalia lost was: "Can I still enjoy this type of game without spending anything On it?" Before I started Dragalia lost, I had been a diehard player on DBZ Dokkan Battle for about a little over a year, and FEH shortly after that for about 6 months. When Dokkan Battle's 1st year was absolutely awesome despite the grind and the bad drop rates, and the devs constantly found new ways to keep players involved in the game through the story, events, etc. The game was also generous with free Dokkan Stones (Pull Currency), and wasn't stingy with rewarding players with them. Some of my favorite moments in the game that I can remember: When the 1st World Tournament came out, and I stayed up all night fighting to climb the Player Ranked Board, Got in the top 500: https://imgur.com/gallery/IeCVC/new Getting my 1st SSR unit at denny's one night after being unable to pull any SSR's whatsoever, (Unit SSR INT Cell):https://imgur.com/VD05MoK Finding it Hilarious the my Dragonball Bulma Unit had Higher HP than SS3 Goku and King Cold: https://imgur.com/buufxtA Pulling one of my favorite character Launch from the Dragonball Series collection, didn't care that she was a lower unit SR, just wanted her cause she was awesome: https://imgur.com/4ryJRvj Being able to finally make a full Dragonball Series team for fun: https://imgur.com/jlLjWT7 As you can see some of the Links I put above, it wasn't all about money or spending to compete with all the Players who we're making Whaling a new religion for the game, it was about getting the characters I wanted to have, making fun teams with my favorite characters from the series, being able to compete in the hardest events available even though I wasn't spending a lot of money to spend, being able to interact with the subreddit community is a positive way, etc. This is what made the game fun for me. Then of course the game spiraled into a cash grab after about a year, the generous care for players diminished into a dry well, and the opportunity to be able to keep up with everybody else diminished very quick if you didn't have the wallet to do so, thus falling into the stereotypical nightmare for Gacha Players, and bringing my Dokkan career to an end. Happy ending right? When the game became more focused on grabbing as much money as possible from players and making content significantly and purposefully harder for F2p to keep up with, that's when the game lost its charm for me. Granted, I haven't played in about 2 years I think, so I don't know if the game is still that way, hopefully not. FEH was almost the same story with a few differences. They we're still generous to players when I stopped playing, but they began to focus more on new 5 Star characters to summon instead of actual good content, and kinda took your childhood nostalgia for the Original game and made it into sucking more money out of you for your most wanted characters. The game wasn't overall that bad, but intelligent systems kinda took your wallet for a ride. Now on to Dragalia (Finally): Fast-Forward to around Oct. 2018 when I closed my wallet for a while to the game, and wondered whether or not would I still be able to enjoy with out spending money. After a year, that question has been answered to an exciting extent, and even beyond what I imagined. Answer from Cygames: "Hell Yes you can!" Cygames in my opinion has taken Gacha games as so many of us understood it, and flipped it upside down. - It has reversed game mechanics that favored making money in lieu of making a better game experience for players: will get to this in a second. - Its keeps new comics and character stories coming out still after one year, even though Comics and good character background stories are typically done in the beginning to draw players into the game, and usually dies down later. The comics and side stories also breathe new life into the enjoying the game and emotionally investing into the characters beyond their strength and capabilities in the game. - Bugs and frustrations that the community has expressed to Cygames have been handled phenomenally well, and most have been resolved very quickly which is not usually the case at all with Gacha games or mobile games in general. - Of course also something that has made Cygames and Dragalia famous in the past year is its generosity towards its players. And when I say generous, I don't mean generous as in compensation generous for screw ups in games, i mean generous as in giving us Free tenfolds tickets, free summons, and mounds of free wyrmite on a constant basis to the point where we can hoard wyrmite but still have summoning and have some leftover for upcoming banners that we are waiting for. not to mention increasing item drop rates for crafting, upgrading, etc. to make the game less of a grind. Something that the devs could have ignored and hope you buy the 7 day double drop box instead. - The Wyrmprint mechanics for the game was literally turned upside down in the game, and was taken away from summons, which was a colossal turning point in the game, and a huge positive message from Cygames, as this was basically saying they worried more about taking care of their players instead of making more money. This is something Cygames totally could have ignored, and they probably would have profited more in the end as players probably would have spent more money trying to break through the wyrmprint wall to get to the characters they wanted to summon. But they changed it anyway, benefiting the players. - New events are constantly streaming and offer a decent challenge to all players, not just to Whales. Yes some events have been repeated, but not for lack of content. The events that have been repeated have allowed newer players to catch up on what they missed out on. Many Gacha games repeat stuff constantly instead of making a continual effort to make new content, not the case with Dragalia. - Multi-Player content has not been driven into the mindless PVP stereotype that many Gacha games have fallen into, and are genuinely fun to play with others, and make for a huge sense of accomplishment when you finally conquer that One Raid boss you've been struggling with. Hopefully it stays this way, as PVP can really destroy a good game over time. - New characters and even old ones are extraordinarily easily to emotionally invest in thanks to the side comics and side stories that the game offers. It is absolutely a blast to see players boosting their favorite characters with Strength and HP augments despite not being the best powerhouses in the game like Julietta, Maid for Mayhem Melody, Mikoto, etc. This shows that players are just seeking to get the most powerful characters they can get their hands on, but rather genuinely enjoying their time in the game by playing with their favorite characters. This is a jewel quite rare, as in most games most players will do the opposite in fear of getting left behind the game. - And much more, but this post has gotten much longer than intended lol. So it is possible to enjoy a Gacha game without destroying your wallet? Without a Doubt yes! Granted, Cygames has allowed for this possibility by the generosity that they show, and quite frankly, putting others game developers to shame. Not to mention that they are still coming out with awesome extras like the Comics / side stories, that have a lot of care and heart put into them. It has been an awesome experience playing this game for a year without spending, and not having to be worried about my player experience being tampered with if I don't. I have put my Character Roster, Dragon roster, items box below to show the progress of one year with no money spent. In short summary: Wyrmite Count: Just about 35,000. Had 42,000 plus Two more Ten folds, but needed H! Odetta. She was stubborn... 50 5-Star summonable characters in the game currently, I have 37 out of 50. Only missing 13: Rena, Heinwald & Curran, Yaten, Victor, Ieyasu, Mikoto, S! Verica, Beautician Zardin, Annelie, Summer Cleo, Julietta, Xander I have 57 total 5 Star Units, 20 of Which are promoted. All 4 Star Characters except for Dargonule Nefaria, which will be rectified this Christmas. All Gala, FEH, Brides, and FEH 5 STars in my Roster. ScreenShots Below: Character Roster (All 5 Stars are Lvl. 80): https://imgur.com/gallery/K8Bv4qp Dragons Roster: https://imgur.com/gallery/rzBz4cT Favorite Character teams to Play with! Halloween Ladies, Gala Only, Axes Up, Dagger Flurries, Brides to be: (Melody included as she should be one :P): https://imgur.com/gallery/898Vi35 Castle and Items Box: https://imgur.com/gallery/ZO16zRs Weapons Roster: https://imgur.com/a/rNdTmbz Wyrmprint Roster: https://imgur.com/a/8dZvCqw (Mind you most almost all of the above was without spending, October 27th to todays date no money spent) It is absolutely amazing how well treated we are as players considering the vast majority of Gacha games and other mobile games that really try to suck the living life out of their players wallets (Try Pokemon Masters for example; Good lord its night and freaking day between them and Dragalia, and they even had a huge fan base built beforehand). It seems like the casino like mechanic of Gacha games has become such a majority in this particular Game niche, but Cygames has done completely the opposite. Another interesting tidbit is that Dragalia Lost was almost an entirely new concept. Yes it did come from a formerly defunct game, but It didn't have nearly the extent of the fan build up or background that DBZ dokkan and FEH did, but has been performing brilliantly despite that. Good story and event content, excellent character investment, overwhelming generosity, and thoughtful care towards its playerbase are all highlights of this game. The community: I have to say the this is best community that I have ever been apart of, and its been an awesome experience to share with you guys. We got awesome Fanart Content, wholesome memes (the usual for this type of subreddit), an active discord where you can get help, hell ppl will even try and help you when they've already completed what your trying to do (thank you guys especially!). Thanks to Mods who keep this place running smoothly! And thanks to every one of you guys who make this community an awesome place to be! Hopefully it;ll thrive for quite sometime to come. Bonus Round: S! verica, Heinwald, Yaten, Curran, Zardin, Julietta, Annelie, Victor, Xander, Rena, mikoto and S! Cleo currently are the units I don't have in the Dream Summon. If you make a comment, put which one you want me get, and whoever gets the most votes I'll take home to Dragalia! Again, thanks to Cygames, and this awesome community! Cheers!
What's happening around town (Wed, Feb 26th - Tue, Mar 3rd)
Tulsa's event list.
Wednesday, Feb 26th
♪ Brown Bag It: Donald Ryan(Tulsa Performing Art Center - Tulsa) Start Time: 12:10pm The Brown Bag It free noontime concert series at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center happens the first Wednesday of the month. The series features some of Oklahoma's finest professional musicians performing in the PAC's Westby Pavilion. A commanding and dynamic pianist, Donald Ryan has been called "a music kaleidoscope, sparkling at everything he…
Build a Reader Storytime: Preschool(Owasso Library - Owasso) Start Time: 10:00am The best in children's literature, songs, games, finger plays, rhymes and other reading-related activities are shared with your preschooler. For ages 3-5.
♪ Chris Knight(Mercury Lounge - Tulsa) Start Time: 8:00pm CHRIS KNIGHT Almost Daylight "It's hard to know how people are gonna react," Chris Knight says of Almost Daylight , his ninth album and first new recording in over seven years. "I've written songs about a lot of different things going all the way back to my first record, and some folks still think ‘somebody kills somebody' is all I write…
Dog Play Wednesday presented by AARP Oklahoma(Gathering Place - Tulsa) Start Time: 9:00am Bark your calendars! All day, every Wednesday. But that’s not all! Once a month, Gathering Place will have a special event made just for you and your pup. Keep checking our events schedule to see Pup-coming activities you won’t want to miss. Our tails are wagging just thinking about it! Please note, all dogs must be on a leash. Dogs are not…
🍴 Ladies Night* with Janet Rutland(Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame - Tulsa) Start Time: 8:00pm DUET LADIES NIGHT TICKETING INSTRUCTIONS Duet Jazz offer a free ladies night the last Wednesday of every month. Ladies are free and are treated to a free glass of champagne. Gentleman are $10.00 When you get to the Purchase Ticket page here . it will say general admission ticket. Directly above it, click the blue- hyperlink that says PROMO CODE.…
♪ Lee Roy Parnell(Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa - Catoosa) Start Time: 8:00pm
♪ Live on the Patio: Bandelier(Mother Road Market - Tulsa) Start Time: 6:00pm Live on the patio: Bandelier! Bandelier formed in the summer of 2010 in a warehouse in downtown Tulsa. Frontman Ryan Allen, originally hailing from Texas, spent a lifetime exploring the vast roots of American music eventually turning the pianist and composer into a full-fledged songwriter. Today, the band's music can be traced back to those same…
Local Cheese Sampling(Mother Road Market - Tulsa) Start Time: 6:00pm Join us for Foodie Flight Wednesday at the K66 General Store at Mother Road Market for free samples of our original and hot pepper hellim grilling cheese, as well as the best fresh ricotta Oklahoma has to offer.
♪ NGHTMRE - The Portal Tour(Cain's Ballroom - Tulsa) Start Time: 7:00pm Cain's Ballroom welcomes NGHTMRE to Tulsa, OK on February 26, 2020 with Crankdat, WAVEDASH and Black A.M. YOU MUST HAVE A VALID iD TO ENTER! Advance Tier 1 - $20 + fees (limited quantity) Advance Tier 2 - $25 + fees Day of Show - $30 + fees Door - $30 Mezzanine (21+) - $40 + fees No re-entry! No smoking! No refunds! Support acts are subject to…
😂 Rob Little(Loony Bin - Tulsa) Thru Sat, Feb 29th
The Secrets of Sauerkraut(Tulsa Garden Center - Tulsa) Start Time: 6:00pm RESCHEDULED FROM FEBRUARY 5. Lacey Wissen of Dale & Daughter will demonstrate how to prepare cabbage for sauerkraut and will show the tools used while presenting on the process and benefits of fermentation. The presentation will be followed by a flavor sampling, a Q&A, and participants will get to pack their own jars to take home and ferment…
🎓 Tom Skinner Science Project(The Colony - Tulsa) Start Time: 8:00pm Science Project 21+ • Tip the Band • Special Guests Weekly
♪ Track 5.: Lee Roy Parnell(Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa - Catoosa) Start Time: 8:00pm Among the elite few who can be identified as a triple threat, multiple Grammy Award nominee Lee Roy Parnell established his career through his impressive guitar offerings, smooth, soul-drenched voice and top-shelf songwriting skills. He heads to Track 5. on Feb. 26 at 8 p.m.
Footloose(Broken Arrow Performing Arts Center - Broken Arrow) Day 1 of 2 Start Time: 7:30pm BAHS Drama presents "Footloose" Feb 27 - March 1! Tickets are on sale now. And the best part is you can buy tickets online at https://www.showtix4u.com/events/16313. Limited number of reserved seating available. Buy your tickets today! For more information call our box office at 918-259-5778
♪ The Freshmen(Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa - Catoosa) Start Time: 7:00pm
Play in the Fantasy Realm: Imaginary Friends(Oklahoma Center for the Humanities - Tulsa) Start Time: 7:00pm Play in the Fantasy Realm: Young Children's Relationships with Imaginary Companions Join us for an evening with Tracy Gleason, a developmental psychologist studying relationships, real and imagined, with a focus on young children's imaginary companions. Dr. Gleason will talk about the ways in which children interact with imaginary friends and…
😂 Rob Little(Loony Bin - Tulsa) Thru Sat, Feb 29th
♪ Running On Empty(Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa - Catoosa) Start Time: 7:00pm
Story Time(Gathering Place - Tulsa) Start Time: 4:00pm Fall in love with the magic found in children's books! Join us every Thursday at 4 p.m. and every Saturday at 9:30 a.m. in ONEOK Boathouse for Story Time from guest readers. Guest Reader Schedule Saturday, Jan. 25th - Gathering Place Education Team February Guest Readers: Saturday, February 1 - Gathering Place Education Team Thursday,…
♪ TCC Music Department Concert(VanTrease PACE - Tulsa) Start Time: 7:00pm Tags: Concert Free Music Southeast Campus VanTrease PACE Share
🎭 William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream(Chapman Theatre - Tulsa) Day 1 of 2 Start Time: 8:00pm Purchase tickets online at utulsa.edu/tutheatre Adults: $15 Seniors Citizens (55+): $8 Students not from TU: $8 High School Students: 1 free ticket with school ID, otherwise $8 TU Faculty/Staff: $6 TU Students: Free opening night, otherwise $6
Friday, Feb 28th
70s/80s Throwback Night(Dennis R Neill Equality Center - Tulsa) Start Time: 6:30pm Your favorite gay disco is back open. Its time to have a ball. We have so much to learn about our history and such an exciting way to interact with it at OKEQ's Throwback Night: 70s/80s Edition. Join us for this FREE, all ages event with specialty drinks and cocktails, curated music, and all sorts of historical documents from Oklahoma's LGBTQ+…
♪ Aaron Lewis-Acoustic Songs & Stories(Brady Theater - Tulsa) Start Time: 8:00pm Aaron Lewis - Acoustic Songs & Stories 7pm Doors / 8pm Show On Sale Fri 11/1 10am
♪ Andrew Harmon(Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa - Catoosa) Start Time: 5:30pm
♪ Asphalt Cowboys(Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa - Catoosa) Start Time: 8:00pm
♪ DJ 2 Legit(Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa - Catoosa) Start Time: 6:30pm
♪ DJ Demko(Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa - Catoosa) Start Time: 6:00pm
♪ DJ Mib(Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa - Catoosa) Start Time: 7:00pm
Footloose(Broken Arrow Performing Arts Center - Broken Arrow) Day 2 of 2 Start Time: 7:30pm BAHS Drama presents "Footloose" Feb 27 - March 1! Tickets are on sale now. And the best part is you can buy tickets online at https://www.showtix4u.com/events/16313. Limited number of reserved seating available. Buy your tickets today! For more information call our box office at 918-259-5778
🍴 Gilcrease After Hours: Memories & Inspiration (FREE Admission)(The Gilcrease Museum - Tulsa) Start Time: 7:00pm Join us for an evening of cocktails and culture in celebration of our exhibition MEMORIES & INSPIRATION: THE KERRY AND C. BETTY DAVIS COLLECTION OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ART. Admission is FREE! Schedule and details to come. This program is funded in part by Oklahoma Humanities (OH) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Any views,…
🎓 Jake Hertzog Trio(Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame - Tulsa) Start Time: 8:00pm Jake Hertzog is a critically acclaimed guitarist, composer and educator whose career to-date has spanned nine albums as bandleader across jazz, rock and classical new music styles. He has toured throughout the U.S., Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and India and performed and recorded with a diverse cadre of artists including Randy…
Madama Butterfly(Tulsa Performing Art Center - Tulsa) Thru Sun, Mar 1st Giacomo Puccini’s beloved "Madama Butterfly" comes to Tulsa during the Tulsa Opera's 2019-2020 season.…
🎓 Memory Gala 2020(Cox Business Center - Tulsa) Start Time: 5:30pm Alzheimer’s Association Tulsa presents "Memory Gala" to celebrate the impact and opportunity this milestone presents with a night centered around the Alzheimer's Association's goal to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias by 2025.
🏆 Oral Roberts vs. Incarnate Word(Mabee Center - Tulsa) Start Time: 3:00pm Oral Roberts Golden Eagles vs. Incarnate Word Cardinals First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. All tickets are buy one get one free. Tickets available online at MabeeCenter.com, over-the-phone at 918-495-6000, or in-person at the Mabee Center Ticket Office.
🍴 Teacher Happy Hour(Philbrook Downtown - Tulsa) Start Time: 6:00pm Oklahoma teachers are invited to drop in for a happy hour before our Women Who Changed Art (And a BIG Reveal!) event (free for Members, ticket required). Come meet up with other area teachers, talk shop, or just relax and grab a drink. Enjoy food, a cash bar, art, the incomparable Philbrook gardens, and best of all, other teachers. FREE for…
🍴 Vinyl Happy Hour(The Colony - Tulsa) Start Time: 4:00pm Bring your favorite vinyl to spin on our house sound system
♪ Weekend All Stars(Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa - Catoosa) Start Time: 9:00pm
🎭 William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream(Chapman Theatre - Tulsa) Day 2 of 2 Start Time: 8:00pm Purchase tickets online at utulsa.edu/tutheatre Adults: $15 Seniors Citizens (55+): $8 Students not from TU: $8 High School Students: 1 free ticket with school ID, otherwise $8 TU Faculty/Staff: $6 TU Students: Free opening night, otherwise $6
🎨 Women Who Changed Art (And a BIG Reveal!)(Philbrook Downtown - Tulsa) Start Time: 6:30pm Women have made major contributions to the history of art, and yet are rarely in the spotlight. Join Bridget Quinn (author of "Broad Strokes: 15 Women Who Made Art and Made History") and Philbrook curators as they discuss the significant impact of women artists throughout history and unveil new additions to Philbrook’s collection by women…
Saturday, Feb 29th
Madama Butterfly(Tulsa Performing Art Center - Tulsa) 1 day left Giacomo Puccini’s beloved "Madama Butterfly" comes to Tulsa during the Tulsa Opera's 2019-2020 season.…
Madama Butterfly(Tulsa Performing Art Center - Tulsa) Last Day Giacomo Puccini’s beloved "Madama Butterfly" comes to Tulsa during the Tulsa Opera's 2019-2020 season.…
Trolls LIVE!(BOK Center - Tulsa) Day 2 of 2 Start Time: 10:00am
Monday, Mar 2nd
I was unable to find any published events for Mar 2nd.
After a day of learning and networking, please join Georgia Bio for its closing casino night gala and silent auction. Proceeds from the gala will benefit the Georgia BioEd Institute which helps to open minds through bioscience programs and partnerships. Feb 24, 2017 - Explore Beth P's board "Casino Gala" on Pinterest. See more ideas about casino, casino night party, casino theme parties. Join us for an evening of casino games, food, fun, music and excitement! Come roll the dice and pray to the heavens, tonight could be your lucky night, you could roll sevens. This is an open event, everyone welcome! Plenty of ticket packages to chose from. We may not be Vegas, but we are doing it right, put on your bling, its casino night. Mardi Gras Auction and Casino Gala. July 24, 2021 6:00 - 11:59 pm. Carl Perkins Civic Center, South Highland Avenue, Jackson, TN, USA. Available for Purchase. BUY TICKETS. 1 Make your selection. ... $2000 casino cash/person . 2 reserved parking spaces. Recognition in program book & at event. SHOW MORE. Sold Out. Sold Out. Gamblers - Table ... Casino Party - Get ready to put on an epic casino night round at your house with our perfect Casino Party guide. Find everything you need here! IMPERIAL — Cancer Resource Center of the Desert’s fundraising Casino Night Gala featured speaker Molly Bloom, whose life as the "poker princess" was made into the movie "Molly’s Game." Held Saturday evening at Imperial Valley Expo in Imperial, the gala was an upscale event with women wearing evening gowns and men in formal attire. LATLC Casino Night & Texas Hold'em Tournament. Hotel Intercontinental 900 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90017 June 8, 2019 - 6:00 pm. Dance to your favorite music - soul, rock, R&B, disco and everything in between. Enjoy a complete buffet dinner, complimentary valet parking, hosted bar, silent auction, Mar 19, 2014 - Explore Suzette Morejon's board "Gala 2015 - An Evening in Casablanca - Casino Night" on Pinterest. See more ideas about casablanca, casino night, casino. Please join us for Trivia Night! The evening will consist of cocktails, dinner, 10 rounds of team trivia, and a dance party! The 6th Annual Caring Center Fundraiser will take place on Saturday, February 8, 2020 in the Cardinal Room at the Golf Club of Indiana.. Golf Club of Indiana Thank you for joining us in empowering young women to break the generational cycles of abuse, neglect, poverty and homelessness by supporting our 2019 Gala, Auction & Casino Night at the Renaissance Dallas Hotel on April 27, 2019.Our signature event brings together over 500 friends for dinner, dancing, casino games, live and silent auctions, and the prestigious 15th Annual Ebby Awards ...
For booking info please visit https://elegantproductionsdjservices.com/ A night full of decoration,Casino tables, unplugged band of singers, Wow portrait- surprise for the couple, Family dance choreography.Special couple entry, R... Grab that martini, channel your inner James Bond, and roll the dice to help local charities at Rotary Royale: Gala & Casino Night, April 26, 2014! Place your... Friday, March 6, 2015 7-11:30 PM Omni Hotel Register: www.bestbuddiestennessee.org/gala Great Gatsby Gala Casino Night for Mt St Mary's Hospital at NFCC.Casino Entertainment provided by Uptown Entertainment & Events About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators ... Announcing the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Cyclones Red & Black Gala/Casino Night will be held on Friday May 11th at the Courtyard by Marriott, 1201 Raiford Ro... On Nov. 16, 2019, Ke Kukui Foundation hosted its first ever fundraiser gala. Fund raised are being dedicated to youth programs and scholarships. A video of the James Bond Casino Royale gala premiere in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Sanford Chamber Annual Casino Night January 29, 2021. Everyone Welcome! Food, fun and laughter guaranteed. Black Jack, Texas Hold em', craps, roulette, silen...
