[Ricky] The Sincere Oddities of A Writer

by **Ricky Maze** on March 2nd, 2014, 4:56 am

Square One

So before I began my work on Miza today, which I'm glad I had today to do some writing to begin with because I seriously started to suffer from writing withdrawal for a bit, I called the restuarant and quit due to the peer review I received from close people plus the consideration that in an Indian restuarant I'm the black sheep. (Because I am by far NOT Indian.) I could only surmise that I would've been trapped as a dishwasher for a long, long time with no real improvement to my pay in turn. Hate to sound so bad about it but honestly even if I thought it would be good to be in the kitchen, I let that fact get in the way of how things really looked. I tend to see too much of one good thing and stick to that rather than take in the good and bad as one whole image, especially when it leads me to believe I'm finally getting somewhere I want.

At any rate I'm back to square one now in terms of looking for the one job that will start my career, I know writing is just as good for me as cooking but I need to do something that would help me now instead of later. Writing can take years depending on what you work on, where as cooking is something that would cover what you need now while you work for the later. Honestly I've just been stuck in several places too long most of the time, I get to the point where I feel completely left behind while everyone else moves forward with their life. Mostly due to the fact I know I could live comfortably like others do, yet somehow I just never seem to catch that one simple break I really need. I mean we all work hard and do our best to pay the bills and cover our asses, but for the longest time I've struggled to keep up with everyone when the new gadgets and shit came out. I never really had a cell phone until I was in high school, while everyone else I knew already had smart phones and whatnot because they could somehow afford it.

I don't care much for money to begin with but when it comes to security it helps to have it around, plus I honestly need to save up for the honest dream that I've always secretly have had. Though I'm no expert on it and clearly writing it with Ricky is pure research and deep longing for the fantasy of it, I really, really, really, really deep down would love to start a family one day. I want to raise a child of my own and be able to love and provide for that child, yet I've not had such luck in terms of relationships over the years. I know people think I'm still young, almost 21, and I can admit that they're right. Yet deep down I just feel the same about it as I do about "belonging to the kitchen" as previously stated above; I know from an inborn feeling that I'm ready to have said family. Why? I dunno. Probably because I was the youngest in the household with but one older sister, or maybe because I spent my entire life being a social reject due to akward tendacies and role model issues.

Honestly though I know that I'm at the point where I need to "live now" while I still have the time, but I don't care about any of that if it sounds strange. I'm just hopeful that I will one day finally have a child I can call my own, which is why I intend to (albeit hard as hell TO do) save up to attempt surrogacy within several years. I've actually done a bit of poking around to know a little about it, and so I've set to mind that several years from now I will actually attempt to do surrogacy. This provides me with the time to "live it up" should I actually fall into that party stage... but mostly allows for a chance to let something happen between me and some other along the way. Sure it seems like a long shot, yes the idea might be a little crazy to go with... but its something I'm leniant with, although seeing young children at work every damn day makes it harder half the time.

Speaking of work I still deal with the terrible social anxiety issues, due to me being said social reject in high school. I more so brought it on myself because I was too serious and troubled back then, not many people to look up to as I grew older unfortunately. Still the day wasn't too bad, before I went to break not one but two customers had the decency to actually cheer me up. So work can be good sometimes, just when the anxiety doesn't seem to bother me and the general public is agree-able most of the time.

So that about wraps up my much needed expression on today, I'm hopeful I'll do more of these in the near future.

~Zach~

by **Ricky Maze** on April 11th, 2014, 12:47 am

So I've been meaning to do a lot of things lately but been caught up with work and the like to the point where half the time I'm too tired/drained or don't have the time to do as much as I do. Luckily on my days off I find plenty of time to recover lost grounds and do what I can, so long as I don't have any plans that take up most of the day. The biggest new thing I've tackled now is the major project of reworking everything in terms of stats for my pc's. Sound like a lot of work? Honestly you haven't any idea. I mean everything is up to date most of the time when I can manage it and it's easy to keep up with everything but... now the files I have been using seem to keep growing bigger and bigger on space and now I worry just how much room will be left on the flashdrive. Sure there should be plenty because it's an 8 GB, but the main concern is how tedious it'll be to keep up with everything when each file is overly packed with information. Ricky alone has more than enough to fill likely a fraction of data due to everything that's tied to him, which is why I decided a sort of reconstruction of things is in demand.

The old system I used to keep, yes I follow a system to sustain every bit of information possible, had a bunch of files in a folder dedicated to a pc. Each file was made up of a express workbook filled with a number of worksheets depending on what that workbook was dedicated to. How I had it sorted out was this way:

1. Threads- Six Sheets labelled in the order Dreams, Flashbacks, and then start at 511 AV and ascend to the current year for Ricky. Each sheet has what I call the SCTG Key (Started, Completed, Turned In, Graded] to keep track of the thread status, the name of the thread itself, the participants involved in that thread, and then finally a link to that thread to keep track of it. Each year is composed of the seasons in sections to better sort them while the current season passes.

2. Timeline- I used to follow a long complex method where each worksheet resembled a full year but then shortened it to where only created threads mark down a date that year. The content was quite simple really as the thread would be listed first, then of course the season and day it occurred, followed by location of occurrence, and then noted by it would be Ricky's age to provide a better idea on the time period and a sectioned labelled "Added" to confirm that the information has been as stated added and updated on the forum.

3 Relations- I just recently updated this too but it can only continue to improve it seems. The worksheets were consistent in the forms of the Relation Tiers I've created for my pc's, which follows in this order: Stranger, Friend, Enemy, Distant, Historical, and Dreamer. Within each Tier sheet, save for a couple, the format followed the contact which was the person met, their relation to Ricky as they stand, then the exact date they first officially met, with the location to follow, and a column dedicated to "Dreams" in the event they encounter in the Dreamscape Forums, along with another "Added" for the same purpose as previously stated in the Timeline. It's rather thorough and brief on the information on everybody my pc's encountered, and Ricky's met a LOT of characters in his time here.

4. Skills- A workbook that contains a chart filled with the skills, looking into one of my pc's CS you can see that it follows a similar format only within tabs. The next sheet contains a list of every skill and next to it every single point of xp earned for that character, starting with the SP and RB content too where ever those were spent. It literally helps keep track of current skill levels and how they progressed overtime, which is useful seeing as how I've demonstrated a terrible job in it quite often. From then on the Sheets follow a similiar principle to the Threads format, starting with Flashbacks and then to the year the threads first occurred and onward to the current year. Each sheet has two major columns, the first labelled G/A for Graded/Added, and the second the list of threads that received their grade. From then on the columns say "Granted XP" and count onward to the highest depending on how many skills were awarded xp in a thread. This helped keep better track of EVERY graded thread and likewise every ungraded thread too.

5. Lore- The bigger one, likely the biggest one of them all. Looking at my CS's you'll see the same exact format in each one. There are like... 11 Categorys dedicated to Lore: The first prioritized to the character alone, then it follows with "Lifestyle, Social, Mental, Combat, People, Places, Races, Magic, Divine, Other" and underneath them the library of lore gathered and categorized in what is deemed the appropriate place for that specific lore. From then on the workbook follows the same principle as the Skills do, each sheet is labelled and contains a list of threads with the lore gained from every thread.

6. Ledger- This is the workbook that contains every earning and spending of my pc's. Keeping track of the year and season it shows the addition/deduction of the transaction followed by the amount, a space to fill in for a brief description as to what it was for, followed by a timestamp that transaction occured on. Season Wages and Living Expenses count for the season therefore need no timestamp.

That's how my system worked, or used to work anyway. With the way things are it proves to get more and more tedious so I've come to the conclusion that it's time to remodel the whole thing and improve the system further. This includes breaking down these workbooks into separate workbooks to further keep in track of everything while making it a less tedious job later on, it's long and arduous but something I enjoy in the long run seeing as it greatly rewards me later on. How the new system will look is something I've not a clue to go on but I plan to share it once its finished and proves to function prior to expectation.

by **Ricky Maze** on April 11th, 2014, 6:39 am

Okay so since I started on this huge project I thought to keep the progress noted for personal reference as well as keepsake for something to look back and and remember it later on.

Ricky Maze wrote:1. Threads- Six Sheets labelled in the order Dreams, Flashbacks, and then start at 511 AV and ascend to the current year for Ricky. Each sheet has what I call the SCTG Key (Started, Completed, Turned In, Graded] to keep track of the thread status, the name of the thread itself, the participants involved in that thread, and then finally a link to that thread to keep track of it. Each year is composed of the seasons in sections to better sort them while the current season passes.

2. Timeline- I used to follow a long complex method where each worksheet resembled a full year but then shortened it to where only created threads mark down a date that year. The content was quite simple really as the thread would be listed first, then of course the season and day it occurred, followed by location of occurrence, and then noted by it would be Ricky's age to provide a better idea on the time period and a sectioned labelled "Added" to confirm that the information has been as stated added and updated on the forum.

3 Relations- I just recently updated this too but it can only continue to improve it seems. The worksheets were consistent in the forms of the Relation Tiers I've created for my pc's, which follows in this order: Stranger, Friend, Enemy, Distant, Historical, and Dreamer. Within each Tier sheet, save for a couple, the format followed the contact which was the person met, their relation to Ricky as they stand, then the exact date they first officially met, with the location to follow, and a column dedicated to "Dreams" in the event they encounter in the Dreamscape Forums, along with another "Added" for the same purpose as previously stated in the Timeline. It's rather thorough and brief on the information on everybody my pc's encountered, and Ricky's met a LOT of characters in his time here.

So I tackled this section first as I knew it would be tough at the start and did a lot of reformatting. First each character has within their folder three different folders and their purpose is as followed:
-Memories The folder that contains all the information on threads and timestamps as well as the relations.
-Power The folder that contains all the skills and stats increase, as well as the lore collected.
-Possessions The folder that contains all equipment, personal belongings, and ledger.
-Plotnotes The folder that contains all the miscellaneous things related to plots.

I've only started with the Memories folder for Ricky and just finished both the timeline and threads section in the new reformatted system. With a chart that provides a powerful source of information I can literally record everything about a thread all in one worksheet. There are five excel spreadsheets I've made for the threads that follow: Memories of the Present, Memories of the Past, Memories of History, Memories of Forgotten Times, and Memories of Dreams. It's actually the same principle followed in Ricky's CS just more packed with fine detail. Using a chart the format looks a little something like this:

# S C T G A Timestamp Year Age Thread Involved Party Location URL

Each represents a column with information listed under that column, and follows the same principle as the original "Threads" format I had but only with a combination made from the "Timeline" format as well.

Key to Format :

Next thing left to do is finish the Memories section by reworking the Relations, and then that'll be the last thing to do as I move onward to the "Power" section to do a little reformatting with the skills and lores. With a little luck I just might discover a new outlook for the CS's in turn while I improve all this information. Hopefully it won't take long either, but we'll see soon enough. Mainly though I just wish I had a few more off days from work to finish everything.

Cheerio for now, gotta get some sleep for the night.

by **Ricky Maze** on April 13th, 2014, 7:36 am

Relations has been finished finally. I don't know how long I mulled over it or how many times I've gone over and argued with something new to add and taken it off afterwards. For me it's a bit difficult to guess what to do because the currently developed system for the Relations section is so thorough that by adding more I would likely just tax out more time in the future... which would be opposite to the idea of this cause in the first place because I'm doing it to shorten the amount of time in using it.

So what I did was practically rework a couple of things and kept the Relations the same layout since it pretty much seems to feel better as it is, which would put me at about a quarter of the way done now if I were to consider my progress in this project. I've still got a couple of other things to do to wrap up the Memories Profile but in terms of completion that is practically complete on reworking the format. All that remains is the Power Profile which involves renewing the elaborate design on the skills and lore until I find an easier way to catalogue every thing, odds are I may not have to touch it since those two look to be decent as is... still need to renew the outlook though. Then finally Possessions Profile will be my last work out, and then quick copies and pastes of the files to use as templates for the other characters will wrap up all the leftover work.

Won't be long now since I'm off the day after tomorrow! Which means I can then solely focus on getting replies dished out again and see to it the CS information is up to date with everything. I know I had to go ahead and put one update because Ricky peaked in Observation and didn't want graders to continue giving him XP in it when he's maxed.

At any rate I should get off and sleep now so I can be awake enough to work, within the next two days things should look to be back to a normal schedule once I finished this stupid thing. Ciao for now!

by **Ricky Maze** on April 14th, 2014, 6:37 am

Call me impatient but I've grown sick of this tedious work in this whole "Revamp" process I've engaged myself in, not that I'm gonna gripe and moan about it because it certainly serves a good cause in the end. Yet adding all this new stuff as well as breaking things down is just sort of wearing me out as it is, probably because I've been working on it nonstop when I get on the computer.

At any rate I think I'll just focus more on the breaking down part of this project and revamp that, then allow whatever else comes along to do it's own thing later on when I pick back up on this whole reworked system I've put together. It's actually looking amazing now since I've gotten both Memories and Powers done, now all that's left is to revamp Possessions and then sure enough I can resume posting and see how the new Character Core system works from there. It feels good to know that I'll be back to posting prowess soon considering this damned thing has taken up most my writing time already.

So I believe a summary of my prowess is in order then, to demonstrate the newer version of the Character Core systems, or at least for Powers now that it seems to be wrapped up. Powers is made up of both the Skills and Lores files but broken down into easier files to use in efforts to keep track of everything, and therefore been renamed "Abilities" and "Knowledge" as they are the roots of Powers. From there they branch off with two different files with the same purpose called "Attainment" or so to speak. There's "Experience Attainment" for tracking all the gained XP in threads, which used to be done through the old Skills file as well, while the "Knowledge Attainment" serves the same purpose but with the Lores instead. The breakdown of these files makes tracking certain skills or lore much easier to do varying on their Core/Catalog section they fall under. In time I hope to place in there "Goals" for both files as to help further track progression.

The only thing that remains is Possessions! Which shouldn't be too hard. In fact after this break I should be able to finish it up and get to updating everything in terms of CS's and the like since they most likely need it. Then everyone can expect posts to roll once more... as I'm in dire need to write out some replies and catch up on lost time. So for now Ciao! I'll return with news on the final update before things resume order.

by **Ricky Maze** on April 15th, 2014, 1:22 am

Thank GOD that last bit is over. I spent the whole day wrapping up the important stuff like I said I would, the last bit of the revamp entirely focused on the last section of the Character Core. Possessions is finally revamped and the other Character Cores are updated with the new format of the revamped version so I can now finally take it easy and get back into posting for a while. I didn't anticipate the amount of time it would consumption it would take but I seriously started to irritate myself with this whole mess, now of course I can add more onto it later as I go along but for now I'll just enjoy the start of the new setup, and now for the final briefing in the reformatted setup of the system.

Possessions is the third major Character Core section that holds the Items and Ledgers of a character. The Items itself is a new addition brought on just before this whole revamp process commenced, and is branched into two files that are called "Equipment" for tools, travel gear, and the like for that character, and then "Personal Belongings" for clothing, accessories, etc. all recorded with specific details such as color, material, size, quantity, and the condition of the items. Timestamps are also noted to keep track of when the item was obtained, as well as Acquisition to note how the item was obtained.

Ledger wasn't entirely need of an revamp but more of an update to it's design, however a section of it was branched into another file named "Investments" for future reference towards long term plans should the character make travel plans or wish to purchase properties and the like.

All three characters (Ricky, Artur, and Toan) have received this update and are therefore ready for more roleplaying now, so those waiting for replies can expect them within the next few days. Sorry for the wait everyone!

by **Ricky Maze** on April 16th, 2014, 1:34 am

In With the New

So I've been getting around to things I've been meaning to do slowly but surely enough and today has been no different, as I've finally handled the setup of a new template for the scrapbook. I know I usually say this with the previous one but I honestly think the last wasn't so great, mainly due to the colors since they didn't blend well together. Right now I'm still in the process of catching up on replies and posts which shouldn't take too long, from there everything should fall back into place as planned and then more changes should follow. I've plans to keep to and need to check back with the older posts in my projects thread, so I can refresh my memory and then update what needs updating from there.

Aside from that my life outside of Miza also looks to have at least one new change in its stagnant course... I'll be starting out as a part time cake decorator within a week or two, which is better than working as a cashier even if it's still in the same company. I'm not entirely sure what to expect but if I can pick back up into my old artistic habits like drawing and the like, then maybe the job will prove easier as I go along. It'll actually benefit me later on as I'm still planning to go to culinary school somewhere, so in due time we'll see where it all leads.

Things are pretty good so far.

~Zach~

by **Toan Onox** on April 24th, 2014, 2:35 am

The Waiting Game

Ever feel like no matter how hard and hard you try for something or however patient you remain you feel like you're still playing the Waiting Game? (This is my alt by the way) I've continuously waited for almost three months to finally be moved elsewhere within the Walmart Store, mainly because my social anxiety has gotten the better of me most of the time. Finally when I get a position in bakery as a part time cake decorator I'm told I've to wait a bit longer, until I'm replaced from up front where the registers are. And now here I am working split shifts, for those of you who don't know that's two shifts in one day, that place me in bakery and then back up front to the registers.

Me being pressed for time like I usually am I tend to grow sick of playing the waiting game, especially when it seems like I'm getting nowhere after such a long time. Point being all this waiting has been going on for a while now and it's wearing my patience thin, then again I'm so close to having a better job than before that I can't really just give up and let it go now. Not that I could anyway, I've got obligations to keep that requires money after all... At any rate my time just seems all the more tested and then wasted off and on when it comes to these kinds of things, which is why I feel it a load of BS to be having to wait around so much. I graduated high school three years ago, and where am I now? Stuck at home with a cruddy job, no car, and no college education. Sure I could be like most and say life's unfair or difficult, but I'd rather be positive and say things are bound to get better.

Yet every time I do I only find myself less and less optimistic, and after working in a retail store like Walmart... Let's just say I'm starting to develop a nasty backbone, especially due to the annoyance of the general public and their lazy, horrid ways of respect towards everyone else. Call it being jaded I guess. Well, there's the end to this rant. Not really much of a topic to converse upon or debate about I know, but believe me it helps to ventilate all these repressed thoughts half the time. Other then bottling them in until I lose the ability to contain myself any more.

~Zach~

by **Ricky Maze** on June 8th, 2014, 9:40 pm

Project After Project

So I noticed it's been a while since my last scrapbook post, and figured it's time to dust this thing off again with another post. Often I wonder if there's any point in posting here as I know few people read, but that's about it really, and I tend to just babble on about nonsense that doesn't really have any point or matter. Like now. >.> At any rate I figured might as well try and figure out things to add, and with me working in the bakery and owning an actually useful and awesome phone I can start uploading pics to share more of the things I do. I love my new phone! It's so much better than the piece of shyke I had before, even if it's just for straight talk. It's one of those samsung galaxies SIII that straight talk has, and though I can admit many people would say "SIV and SV" get better, I can only say that I care little for the newer versions.

I got a new phone that works and it pleases me well enough.

To the point of this post now I have to say my activity is a bit odd, my posts come at random times even when I've a schedule I'm living in RL. Mainly due to the fact I'm actually handling another outside project, the old Zania novel I started last year. The poor thing just sort of died and collected dust as usual, but here recently my inspiration for it just seems to spark off and on, thus I find myself looking at Miza and feeling like I have ADD or whichever. I can focus and do some awesome writing because of the inspiration that's become my fuel, but at the same time my attention feels more argumentative and diverts towards other things like this project. So I pretty much just took to starting from square one in the recreation of Zania in hopes the new layouts of the world and such will feel right to me, and in turn started the development processes again to see what exactly unfolds. It's been an ambitious project I've taken on more than once, seeing as how the idea of Zania itself has been a story in the works for almost four years.

Honestly I don't know what to expect because while I'm working on that and working on Miza half the time, if not working as a cake decorator for Wal-Mart, then I'm busy being social with some of the few friends I have outside my home. Which is great because I love hanging out with them, but all the same it just seems like all the free time I once had doesn't exist anymore. Then again thinking about it, I'm spending my free time on here right now. :lol:

Truth is I'm more or less trying to figure out what I want to do, I know I've been bound to repeat this off and on but I find myself unable to choose what exactly it is I want to do. As in career wise. I guess I'll just see where the road takes me from here, hopefully I'll figure something out along they way.

~Zach~

by **Ricky Maze** on July 22nd, 2014, 3:18 am

Revitalizing this Thread

I've always been terrible with keeping this thread going, namely because I think my RL is way too boring compared to the reality others may live or face. Lately though I've actually found myself writing a few things that are worth sharing though, thoughts that I dwelt on and sort of just rambled away no less. I also intent to work on personal goals which I may list here and the like, as well as start sharing more music and images to liven up the boring rants I post.

The first thing I want to start with is how significant of a change things have gone through, starting with something I posted back at the start of last year.

-Getting a job
-Getting a vehicle
-Moving OUT of parent's house
-Develope my novel of Zania
-Have an adventure this year

These were my resolutions for 2013 which I have to say is pretty comical to look at, namely because everything almost pretty much worked out that way in order. I got a job, lost the job because it wasn't worth it anyways. Developed more of my Zania novel, and yet its STILL in development to this day, which of course leads to the having the most epic adventure of the year which in reality terms wasn't all that epic. Sure I moved out and that led me to a job at last, though my activity dramatically declined in fall of course, and in the end I moved back in with my mother because the roommates I had were.... Gods don't even ask.

Now it seems like the entire year has already flashed by and I don't even remember what plans I made for it. I do know that slowly but steadily I'm getting somewhere, even if I feel pained with the small amount of progress I cover at times. No car but that's a strong yet that I'm going to change sooner or later, if I can get off my lazy ass and get to passing the stupid written exam. Bout did it earlier this year but I had missed six questions, which stops the test, and I only needed to get two more right. I swear the petcher set me up to fail. >.> That's me thinking on the more humorous side of things though.

Here soon I'll gather all the things I have worth scrapbooking, because I really want to start doing it again. Hence why most of the stuff I'll post here soon will probably be like blogs and random things, I'll admit its just going to be another fun thing to get back into doing.

~Zach~