Twas the night before Christmas . . .

The moon on the breast
of the new fallen snow,
Gave the lustre of mid-day
to objects below...



When what to my wondering
eyes should appear?



I knew in a moment it must be Count Stahd Von Zarovich
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came...



And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
"Now, DARK FANG! now, REAPER! now, HECKLE and JECKLE!
On, DARK STAR! on TWILIGHT! on, ROÄC and RIPTAIL!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

SAVE THE DATE:

Spirits Matter





Alas, dear Nana, I am afraid you’ll find my bar to be rather poorly supplied as of late.

You’re welcome to my VSOP Courvoisier cognac, though, if you want to. And to some of my Vodka (Svedka), too, of course.

I wouldn’t bother with the Tequila; it’s just a bottom shelf brand, I use for cooking.

I must say, you take some of the most FUN classes!!! What next? Psychotropics? Hashish, Ecstasy, DMT, Peyote?

May I interest you in some Catnip?



Whad do you mean, do I have any real powers?








Besides, a true wizard doesn't cast spells and tells!


Quis, quid, quando, ubi, cur, quomodo

"Who, what, when, where, why, how," that is the question.

1. WHO and WHAT



Not such and easy target.

The possibility are endless... I get it.



First things first, then.

Let's just put "WHO" on hold for now, and let us try to narrow it down a bit by first getting started with WHERE, HOW and WHY.

2. WHERE, HOW and WHY?

What's your cup of tea? Or is it coffee? Or something more exotic? (Pick your poison.)

Where in the world do you envision your merry adventures unfolding?



Do you fancy yourself living in a rich, vibrant city? A city of splendors?

A modest hamlet?

A cabin in the woods? (Because what could possibly go wrong with that, right?)

Or are you, maybe, an itinerant wanderer? Some kind of a performer, perhaps?



Which takes you next to the related questions of HOW and WHY.

Wherever it is that you live, how do you do it?

How do you support your life style?

And why? Why is it you do what you do?

3. TIME

It doesn't necessarily have to be Sword and Sorcery or Heroic Fantasy, you know.

There's nothing stopping you from taking your D&D game to the modern era:



Or the future:



YES OUI CAN



Do I sound too eager?


It's all true, you know.

Well, maybe except for the Trojan Marching Band part.

It's not a lie... It's poetic license.



The truth of the matter is that my past experience with managing a scholarship department does make me a uniquely qualified prospect for the position of Financial Aid Counselor at USC:



Furthermore, I like their motto:



Is it bad of me that I would rather take part in changing the world with USC than with RAND corporation?

Hello, is it me you're looking for?

Judging by the job description hereunder, you'd think that I'd be RAND Corporation's dream candidate for that position:



Am I qualified?



I am SUPERLATIVELY qualified!!!

The question is will they have me?

If I were RAND, I 'd snap me up in a second. No question about it.

But I am me, and RAND is RAND. So, there's no telling, really.

When it comes down to it, maybe the real question ought to be: would I have them?

Well, would I?

I do tend to take this sort of things very seriously.



Well, maybe not quite THAT seriously.

In any case, not SO seriously that I didn't go ahead and apply for the position. Working for a think tank, even if only as an Administrative Assistant, always had a certain appeal to me. Besides, I can use the money.

But the question still remains: what is it that RAND does, exactly? And what kinds of people do work there, anyway?



To be sure, RAND had nice things to say about himself:



Not everybody agrees:

The Rand Corporation: The Think Tank That Controls America

As is often the case, it all comes down to a matter of perspective, I suppose.

Does it matter?

Does it make any difference who one works for in the end?

Be it RAND Corporation...

Or Veridian Dynamics?



On a day like this...

You've got to ask yourself one question...



Gustave Caillebotte?



Or...

Lena Karpinsky?