Strike a pose, you wonderful Ratonga, you...


  • Character name:
    Mezzmyrelda Menderfriend (main toon)

  • Character class and level:
    77 Coercer

  • Real life occupation:
    Document Control Administrator (basically an administrative assistant, but heavy on the paperwork) in the pharmaceutical industry
  • How did you get started gaming?
    I cut my gaming teeth on a hand-me-down Atari 2600 and a shoebox of cartridges (Combat, Kaboom!, River Raid, etc). Later I snuck in some time on my neighbor's Nintendo (mostly Mike Tyson's Punchout and Mario Bros.) when it was just too darned hot outside. Childhood trips to the mall resulted in pestering the sanity out of my parents until I wheedled enough quarters out of them to hang out in the arcade while they did that boring shopping thing. (Somehow TMNT, pinball, X-Men and Narc were just much more interesting than shoes.) I had to get pretty good to make the quarters last. *lol* I really got hooked when I rented a Playstation and FFVII in college. A shiny PSX of my very own was my first "adult" luxury purchase. *lol* When I got married I graduated up to the world of PC gaming and the rest is history... or a couple gigs of saved game files.

  • What's your favourite part of EQII, the thing that keeps you in game?
    I guess the best summary would be Variety. This is the only RPG I can think of with a rodent-based beast race which is just beyond cool since I'm a sucker for the little buggers. The game world is enormous and diverse. I discover or learn something new every day even if it's just a bit of detail I missed before, a funny bit of lore, or an interesting place. I've always loved trying to squeeze all the secret treasures out of a game so EQ2 is a pretty big sponge to sqwush.
She's watcing you!
  • What is your funniest EQII moment?
    Ooh, toughie. The first time I did the Brell Day quests with a friend was a hoot. I wouldn't want to spoil it for those who haven't done it yet, but by the time we got to Thundermist Village we about died laughing. Then there was the April Fool's day prank where we all logged on to discover our toons looked like bobblehead dolls. The reactions in guild chat as folks logged on throughout the day were hilarious.
  • Any words of wisdom for fellow gamers?
    Don't rely on others to tell you what you will enjoy or can accomplish. I see lots of folks today that want to do the matrix download thingy, sit up and go "I know Kung Fu!" and instantly know everything there is about a game. A lot of the glamour of a new game, book, or any bit of knowledge really, is the learning and discovery of it. So you might not roll the uberest ultimate combination for the ultimate DPS toon... big deal! Play to have fun, learn as you go, explore, goof around and adapt. That's way more enjoyable than stressing out about trying to outsmart or outplay everyone else in the world.

  • Geek credentials?
    I was initiated into geekdom by my awesome Uncle John who took me to see Empire Strikes Back at the movie theater when it first came out. I met my first boyfriend in band class in middle school (drummers, rawr!). I voluntarily took 2 semesters of organic chemistry... and liked it. (That may qualify as more masochistic than geeky, your call.) I prefer subtitled foreign films to any attempt at dubbing. I have actually discussed at length what class a character in random movies would qualify as in D&D or EQ (btw I totally want Legolas' dice). I served 5 years in tech support Hades... trust me, if the tech support guy is cranky there's about a 90% chance he has a very good reason. *groan* Lastly, my hubby knows he can give me something from Best Buy for Valentine's Day and I will be ecstatic!

  • Something about you that people wouldn't usually guess?
    I'm a pretty decent marksman. I'm more comfortable with a rifle than a pistol, but I can punch holes in the little black circle without embarrassing myself. My dad taught me a bit, ROTC in highschool taught me the rest (Rifle Team alternate) and I managed to impress a few of my hubby's buddies at the range the few times I've gone along. I just get bored with it quick. *lol*
Mezzmyrelda's all thumbs up!