Yes, I am alive…at least I think I am, which counts for something I guess…
Apologies for not being as active – or more precisely not being a contributor at all – on the blogosphere since March. I HAVE been reading the blogs I follow but have not commented or hit “like” or anything of the sort. Why you may ask, have I been seemingly dormant?
The truth is I have been busier than a 1-legged man in an ass-kicking contest!
One would think that retirement would have slowed me down. It has had exactly the opposite effect.
I have – since my last post in March:
- Ran two Mass Pikemen Gaming Club gaming sessions (one What a Tanker and one Feudal Patrol™ with my Spanish Conquest rules supplement Civilizations Collide).
- Prepared for and ran 4 four-hour tabletop Feudal Patrol™ games at a three day gaming convention (HAVOC) in Massachusetts.
- Drove 1200 miles to Florida and 1200 back over two weeks for another gaming convention (HMGS South’s RECON where I gamed for three days), two days of golf school, and a lot of leisure activities and travel with my wife.
- Built a completely new MASSIVE naval game for Feudal Patrol™ – Aztecs vs. Conquistadores on Lake Texcoco – which required me to build 5 brigantines and 5 guns and 5 three-man crews – let alone the game rules, markers, dashboards, etc. I just finished it in time and debuted it at HUZZAH convention in Maine in April (150 miles away).
- Went to the aforementioned HUZZAH and ran 6 four-hour games in 4 days!
- Continued on the garage never-ending but close to ending now project…now the driveway is completely paved, and the final pieces and landscaping are happening as I write.
- Started golf season – started off really frigging cold but warming up now. Hey, I’m in Massachusetts after all.
- Ran for reelection for Board of Health in my town. I was unopposed but got 82/99 votes (only a 6% turnout for a municipal election).
- Played in 8 golf events and two weekly golf leagues as well as participating on a committee for three other tournaments. Plus trying to groove a new swing.
- Also in March we had a funeral for my brother in law – he had been sick for a while so not a surprise.
- Been driving my granddaughter to and from school 3 days a week.
- I guess I had a blog birthday (my 7th) back in March – missed that too!
Yeah, I’ve been idle and lazy…
So where do I go from here?
- Basically I am going to restart and regularly read more of the blogs I follow.
- I am also going to post about all of the above-mentioned conventions. I have run a dozen convention or club games this year as a GM so far, and played in nearly as many others too. I’ll share some info and pics about epic games I ran (IMO – hint – some of my games I ran were award-winning) or played in. These were at RECON, HAVOC, HUZZAH, and the Mass Pikemen that I think you will enjoy.
- I’ll post about the building of my Conquistador brigantine fleet and their falconet & lombard crews.
- Going to throw in some vacation and golf stuff as well – after all this blog IS titled “Life, Golf, Miniatures, & Other Distractions“.
Again, glad to be back and hopefully I won’t overwhelm you with new posts – and to those of you who inquired about me, thanks for caring and checking in. Thanks for missing me!
Let the blogging begin!
Mark A. Morin 
Good to see you back, Mark, and wow you’ve been busy! I’m looking forward to seeing your battle reports and the fleet you’ve built!
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Thanks Matt! I’m hoping to get them up soon !
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Funnily enough I was just thinking I’d not seen you blogging for a while, glad to hear all is well and wow – you’ve been busy! No wonder you’ve not had time for blogging – looking forward to reading all about those battles in due course. 🙂
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You’re correct! I have seen your posts and some pretty great stuff there (unsurprisingly). Take care
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Great to sdee you back Mark- you’ve certainly been busy. I’d be interested to see pics of the games you’ve played if you took any?
Cheers,
Pete.
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Oh yeah Pete, there will be some! And glad to be back
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Welcome back Mark, I guess I have you beat on the blog neglecting. But that wasn’t a contest I wanted to win! Good to hear you’re doing well and more to come from your blog. The pic of the kids going off to school is awesome. Our young one is about to finish 1st grade this year and our oldest is back from first year at college, which is pretty crazy!
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Thanks Faust and glad to see you back as well. That’s quite a spread between kids! At least you’ll have a tuition break in 4 years😳
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Well you haven’t let the grass brow under your feet Mark! Having nothing to do in retirement is a myth that I can vouch for too but I wouldn’t swap it for earning a living. Looking forward to catching up. 🙂
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Ditto my friend – of course just when I’m getting ready to blog my internet is – as you Brits might say – gone wobbly.
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Sounds like you’ve kept just a *little* busy. Condolences about your brother-in-law. Looking forward to the incoming posts.
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Thanks much and I hope to get some in soon
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Good to see you back blogging mate, though I already knew what you’d been up to after your E-mail, it’s still amazing to read it all again! I’m amazed you had time to sleep! and if you did why weren’t you writing your blog then instead!!
Cheers Roger. 😁
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Well Roger, sleep helps my putting…
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That’s a lot of activity (and travel), Mark, but good to see you posting! 🙂 I’d assumed you’d probably be more than busy so will look forward to reading about it all! Sorry to hear the sad news about your brother-in-law.
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Thanks John, & yeah tough about Reggie – he had a tough go.
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There’s nothing wrong with being busy as long as it is with good things! Usually when I say I’m busy, it is because of the opposite. I will look forward to seeing and reading how the conventions went in particular. As others have said, sorry to hear about your brother-in-law’s passing. Even when expected, it is still difficult.
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Thanks K and I have been following your progress through email – some impressive stuff, especially Abe Sapien. Really nice work there.
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Thanks, Mark! That is kind of you to say 🙂
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Welcome back Mark, you’ve been busy🤘🏻. Glad you are still around man. Sorry to have read about your brother
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Glad to hear from you and that you’re still on board savageddt. More to come if my internet gets fixed!
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Well mate all was explained when I read that retirement bit!!! like IMP (Dave) said, being idle in retirement is a bloody myth!! I used to keep up with everyone’s posts but now I’m weeks behind!!
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But we have the time!
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😅😅😅👍🏻
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