Writing

Finally Home (This Blog’s Future)

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Mani’s Day!

I have been out for a while but that is been because I have been moving from Texas to Michigan and that has occupied most of my time. I made the long drive back home over Freya’s Day and Sif’s Day (Friday and Saturday). I pretty much had to deal with things like being in my son’s house the last couple of days, so finally, here I am with enough time to write and a good wifi connection to do so. Odin’s avatar has returned to the north and planted his feet in the snow (literally). Now I need to discuss the future of this blog.

I have long had a problem with trying to journal offline. The Grey Wayfarer has been that for me on many occasions. I am not much of a secret thoughts journal person. But here there is the additional problem of inspiration. Sticking with it and doing boring things to get good results has been my problem. I have looking for ways to be a person who journals because I know that leads to better results as a person. The facts are pretty clear on this. Then I did a simple search of how to be more effective at journaling and got some good ideas. The ones I think I am going to implement here are: 1) Write what you think/feel that day. 2) Find the best time to journal for you. 3) You need some things that are consistent but don’t make a huge to-do list. A short that is actually finished is better than a long list where you don’t do much.

How does this affect this blog?

  1. I am not going to have a set list of what I a going to write that day. I am going to try to write each day, but what I write will, for the most part, be varied except for what I am going to talk about in a minute that will appear at the end of every blog. But it might be a poem, a part of a short story, or just some thoughts about a certain subject. But it will be what is on my mind instead of trying to force a certain schedule.
  2. My best time to journal is actually right away in the morning. The first thing I do that day tends to be the best thing. It also is important for another reason.
  3. I think my problem with my to-do list is that I always make it too long. I think it is probably going to make it better if I focus on 2-3 things and make sure they get done than any other way. For this blog, it means that at the end of each article for the day I will post the To-Do List from the previous day to see how I did, but then make the one for that day as well.

I hope this makes this journal more effective at the one thing I need the most, establishing a sense of purpose for myself, and chronicling my journey as The Grey Wayfarer.

Thanks to all of you that follow me through thick and thin. You keep me hopeful.

I remain.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher.  The Grey Wayfarer.

Skal!!!

The New Year: “Be It Resolved…”

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sol’s Day!!!

Anyone who knows me also knows that I do not hold much to New Year’s Resolutions. I do however believe in a quarterly assessment of my goals and vision for myself. If the new year is valuable to me it is in the assessment of progress and a change of course that is planned. A course correction and seeing I am completely off course, time to chart from where I am at to where I would like to be next year. I think this year I will head in the direction of ‘be it resolved by the end of 2023, I will…” Then list the needed things to change.

1 – Be it resolved that by the end of 2023, my morning routine will be well established.” My routine every morning will help with a lot of my coping mechanisms. In fact, most of it is a list of my coping mechanisms in action. 1) Get Up Early and Make Bed, 2) Meditation on the Nine Noble Virtues (5 min), 3) Full Body Stretch, 4) Weight Lifting, 5) Good Breakfast, 6) Hygiene Routine, 7) Get Dressed, 8) Reading – 3 chapters, 9) Write – Rough Draft or Edit and Post for the Blog. Yes, I will be writing every other day from now on. The main focus here is me and keeping my depression from hitting me by keeping myself healthy and mentally focused.

2. Be it resolved that by the end of 2023, I will return to Michigan. I need to get back to a place where my depression bothers me less. It is closer to family and hiking, camping, etc. I love. Michigan people are my people. Houston just incites my depression. too much

3. Be it resolved that by the end of 2023, I will change careers from teaching to something less stressful and just as or more lucrative. I need to finish my contract, but after that, I am done. This means everything currently must be up to snuff as far as credentials, professional development, training, etc. Then on to what? I don’t know that yet. Kind of like returning to the land you left to find out what has changed that you can take advantage of. I guess part of the challenge will be the discovery.

4. Be it resolved that by the end of 2023, I will more actively pursue my new love – my shieldmaiden – if she will have me. I need to find her first. But something tells me the way to attract such a woman would be simply to be the best man I can be and see who is attracted to that. I think the only thing I am going to do here is, move to Michigan and then just be me. I do think I am going to be growing a full beard. Something like the gentleman below but my coloring will be different. Going to make myself into the healthiest, most masculine, and the sexiest old man I can be and see which female warrior is attracted to that. Time for this Odin avatar to find his Frigg.

5. Be it resolved that by the end of 2023, I will be at peace with myself in better ways. 1) I need to write beyond the blog., 2) I need to find that outlet I need to be a voice. The Rabyd Atheist was my pulpit for a couple years, but I stopped because I realized how dangerous it is to have social media career and be a teacher. I actually am taking a bit of risk even with this blog. This is probably one other good reason to change to something that does not have that risk. 3) Have paid off as much debt as possible by the end of the year. The move is going to take money, but I think most of the small bills will be gone by February, and then it is my car. If I move back to Michigan with nothing but student loans, I will be in good shape.

So there it is – my five – “Be it resolved”. Should be an interesting year.

I remain.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher.  The Grey Wayfarer.

Skal!!!

Archiving the Past

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Tyr’s Day!

I suppose one of the most notable changes to the blog at this point is that I have archived a lot of the pages into the “Grey Wayfarer Archive”. The point of this is to put all the past aside and look at what I want to do now. The pages at the top of the blog may change but I don’t want to forget where I have been. There are a couple survivors in my page filing system.

The first is “The Grey and the Wayfarer Posts”. It chronicles my battle with depression and so it is probably the best thing to keep up there as a reminder of where I have come from. I also plan on writing more of these so having it front and center is probably a good thing.

The second is “Skald Tales and Poems”. This is where all my creative work is displayed and it’s more of a quick way to reference it all when I need to. I plan on doing some creative writing and it will still find its way here. This is also where the reader can peruse my creative work for their enjoyment.

The rest has found its way into “The Grey Wayfarer Archive”. I want to save this stuff but I want to do things differently for the blog this time around. The purpose is clear to me. I am using this stuff as the roots of a large more expansive tree. I hope.

My main point is to keep the name but have a somewhat fresh start when it comes to how I organize my new content. My struggles are far different now but have the same cause. This requires a different approach when an old issue takes a new form.

I remain.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher.  The Grey Wayfarer.

Skal!!!

Re-Imagining The Grey Wayfarer

/ Ed Raby Sr / 1 Comment

Happy Sol’s Day!

I haven’t sat down and written in forever; partly, it is the lack of inspiration. The other part of it is the time excuse but that is what it is – an excuse. To be fair to myself, I am learning a new job that is time intensive. That said, I have made a point to keep working at work and home at home. So is it a time thing or a making the time thing and then being disciplined about it. The latter is more likely. Mostly, I have just been wrestling against my depression.

Yes, The Grey, my old traveling companion down the road of life. It is at least a consistent companion if nothing else. Mostly it stems from being alone most of the time. I make enough money to survive and get ahead on paying debts but not much after that. I spend a lot of time at home alone. I thus do a lot of thinking -gasp – and that is a dangerous pastime as everyone knows. I am wrestling mostly with my future choices. What do I want to be?

I was the Rabyd Atheist for a while but the thought that kept running through my head was “is this what I want to define me?” I now think while I remain an atheist with a great deconversion story, I want that to be it. There is more to me than being an atheist and I want to search that out what that might be.

I am a social studies teacher in high school, but that is losing its allure as well. I think after so long as being the guy who called the shots, I don’t see that as often as I feel every time I turn around someone is joggling my elbow. Teaching is a craft to be sure but I find it time-consuming and frustrating for the above-stated reason. Honestly, I would rather e writing and hiking somewhere. Is it possible to make a living with some other job and still have time for the things I enjoy? It’s something I need to research.

As to this blog, I am Re-Imagining it to be something else. I still follow pagan philosophy and the Nine Noble Virtues. The issue is the application for me these days. Putting things into practice. So perhaps It is time to journal on these efforts again. We will see. In the meantime, you can see that I am still around and alive and well, despite the Grey.

I remain.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher.  The Grey Wayfarer.

Skal!!!

Sorry I Have Been Out

/ Ed Raby Sr / 1 Comment

Happy Freya’s Day!

It’s been a week since I have written but massive introspection and a busy schedule will do that to you. I have been looking at my life and what I am doing. and I am trying to discover my passions. It seems they are very much like the seasons that change at times. The busy schedule included but was not limited to a Zoom session of professional development, taking my last test for certification, and getting two of my teeth fixed. Busy week.

I have mixed feelings right now about being home in Michigan. It very much a love situaiton having so much time with my family but I feel like I am cozying up with the old at times and find myself longing for the new. I am well aware that this time mas very much about practicality. I didn’t want to spend two months alone in Houston. On the flip side, inflation has kind of robbed me of some of my plans.

I do want to get to writing fiction and I am really in a Urban Fantasy mood right now so The Grey Wayfarer Pub and something else will be front and center. Hopefully, see you tomorrow, but my teeth are still a little sore.

I remain.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher.  The Grey Wayfarer.

Skal!!!

“Staffing” – The Grey Wayfarer Pub – Episode 4

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Odin’s Day!

Many years ago, I hired my first employee for my old pub. Tequila was her name and she became my first barmaid. This was long before my involvement with the Silver Shields. In the ned, she became a good friend, partner, lover, and wife. When she died at the hands of the last vampires, I lost it. She and my other wife Constance died almost at the exact moment. The Vampires didn’t turn them or even try to turn them, they just straight-up killed them.

This time, hiring the love of my life was probably a remote possibility. Mostly because the whole hiring process this time was a bit of a sham. The Silver Shields were basically screening the personnel. I got to pick my team myself, but there was no one on the list that wasn’t an agent. I felt bad because there were some local applicants, but they had little to no experience so realistically I wouldn’t have hired them anyway.

So I was balancing two things with each applicant. I needed certain things to keep the pub a viable business – a second bartender when I was out, a couple barmaids, and someone to play a regular patron but was also part of the team for the other concern. A team of agents that could investigate and deal with supernatural activity in our little city here. The beauty of this was of course that they didn’t need to be human. The fact is unless you are exposed to the supernatural world or become aware of it, most paranormal people look like humans. Wierd humans, but humans nonetheless. This increased my options.

So after looking through 100s of applicants and interviewing about ten of them via Zoom, I picked my team.

  1. My bartender was going to be an ogre. – he was about a foot taller than me (short for an ogre) but his nature made him a perfect bouncer as well as a bartender. He had both alchemical knowledge and as an Ogre a large amount of resistance to magic, and disease and was tough as steel. He preferred however a submachine gun as a weapon. So I liked him already. My Muscle Agent but not a stupid one.
  2. My acting patron agent was human and female. She however was also a werewolf. She was an interesting case of a woman who was to be blunt as sexy as Miss Wine on my wall. Her dress in most of the photos reminded me of old-time spy thrillers of the pulp variety. It explained her favorite weapons – a Beretta and an old-fashioned dagger. Both strapped to her hips under her dress. Her beast form was savage and if possible sexy as well for a werewolf. My Stealth Agent.
  3. Barmaid One was also female but she was also a Fae. There are a lot of different types of fae. I have personally dealt with a dryad and pixies up close, but this one seemed like she was somewhere in between. She was also an accomplished scholar in science as well as magic. I gathered she had lived a long time. My Knowledge Agent. Actually more like an oracle as if she didn’t know it off the top of her head, she could research it. From computer science to summoning magic. As a fae, she also would be a magic-user.
  4. That left one need – transport and crafting. My Technical Agent. What I found was a human woman to fill Barmaid Two. She also would double as my bar food cook as well. But mostly she was simply resourceful by all accounts. Need a truck – she could find it. Need a howitzer – she would get one. She then had enough knowledge to modify that howitzer so it could fit in the back of the truck. Her red hair of course sealed the deal.

Now all that was left was to wait for their arrival. As each one did both the pub and our operations would start to come to life.

I remain.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher.  The Grey Wayfarer.

Skal!!!

Changing the Rotation

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Tyr’s Day!

I want to write more fiction on this blog, but I also don’t want to lose the journal aspect of it. In order to do this, I think a new rotation might be in order where I go back and forth to make sure I get the things I want. So let’s see what we can do.

  1. Routine Check-In: A post to check in on my habits and goals and whether or not I am making Progress
  2. Poetry Day – Write a Poem.
  3. Norse Mythology Post
  4. Grey Wayfarer Pub Post
  5. Nine Noble Virtues Post
  6. Fiction Post – I haven’t decided yet what to do, but if all else fails I can do another Pub Post.
  7. Love, Sex, and Relationships Post
  8. Same as #6

This adds two more days of fiction writing at the expense of a journal post. It also doesn’t fit into a nice seven-day rotation but so what? Tomorrow I am going to begin with Number 4, and go from there.

I remain.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher.  The Grey Wayfarer.

Skal!!!

Sorry for the Absence

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment
Happy Mani’s Day!

I am sorry for the recent few days I have been absent. It kind of was hard to even think of what to say on Friday as it would have been my 33rd wedding anniversary. Then it just kind of went The Grey after that. I did realize that I think I have more of a desire to write fiction on this blog so I might change the lineup for more of that. See what happens tomorrow.

I remain.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher.  The Grey Wayfarer.

Skal!!!

“Naming Day” – The Grey Wayfarer Pub – Episode 3

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Thor’s Day!

It’s been a month since last I wrote. I have been busy and now is the time to journal the results.

First I Had to personally move into the top-floor apartment. It was actually a simple affair with a single bedroom for my king-sized bed with some room to spare and a fairly spacious bathroom next to that. The entire front was an open loft-like arrangement with a kitchen, dining nook, and a living area which I devoted to my books a reading chair, and a sofa for guests. No Television. Comfortable and functional. Honestly, I spend very little time here except to get some sleep, eat, and do some reading at the end of the day.

The basement is more of my second home now. It is my alchemy lab in truth now. Several tables with chemical and alchemical apparatus covering them. One whole wall is now devoted to ingredients for my potions. Part of it though is my brewing equipment for my own alcoholic beverages. In particular, I have chosen to go with Mead. Mead is expensive and for good reason – honey. But I have discovered one thing about it as well. Because the ingredients are in some senses precious – the potions I make with mead have been shall we say more potent.

Now the real trick to alchemy is the magic part. It has to be drawn from your own inner philosophy and inner most beliefs. Theology does not work for me anymore and is quite frankly unstable as nitroglycerin as far as results. It’s the fact that theology is made up for the most part and lives in a double fantasy of sorts. It requires a lot of cheats and leaps of logic to get it to even be usable and even then its effects can be quite weird. It’s why the cure for vampirism eventually failed as theology is my magic force that doesn’t hold the magic that well. The cure had a shelf life and then the magic didn’t work at all once I didn’t believe.

So as I am setting up my lab I was also experimenting with products to sell and I have found that from a physical base form point of view mead is damn good at holding magic and tends to actually act as an enhancer of magical effect. So my mead production began at once. Thankfully the base magic I add to it makes the fermentation process go even faster. The base magic in general is the simple philosophy of living a virtuous life. The basic effect of the mead is that it quickens thought and reflection as well as having enough kick to knock a frost giant on his ass.

The rest of the magic is to take this base mead and add different ingredients and effects to make it more specialized. I have a lot of experimenting to do but the alchemy is working again and for that, I am thankful as I want a local brew to sell.

The bar itself is now nearly complete. Stools are redressed in grey vinal with a silver sheen and the five booths are much the same. The bar is restocked and the small cooking alcove is fixed up and stocked as well. I redid the bathrooms as they were pretty much trashed. I basically made two unisex bathrooms with nice fixtures and set up to do pretty much everything regardless of the sex of the occupant. I am just thinking ahead on that I suppose.

Finally, I added some touches from the old pub. I had my silver shield and shotgun shipped in and placed them under the bar. The painting of Miss Wine from the Pub. Her naked reclining form fits right at home here in the pub. Last I knew she had left the US to take an undisclosed job for the Shields. It must have been pretty hush-hush as even I couldn’t get info on it and I have pretty high clearance. That said, the painting was done by a man who knew his oils and made her beautiful and restful. Last, of all, I put up a small sign next to the painting – “Clothing Optional”. Some things will never change for me.

Outside there now hangs a sign which up to today was covered to prevent it from being read. But today I removed it as it is the official naming day for the pub. Both sides have the same scene of an old man traveling a path. Above him fly two ravens and two wolves are on the path with him. The word along the top and bottom: “The Grey Wayfarer”. Not so coincidentally, this is also the name of my new Mead “Grey Wayfarer Mead”.

I am happy with the place and the grand opening is in two weeks. Now all I need to do is hire some staff.

Author’s Notes:

Starting something new, forward in the timeline, but returning as something low-powered is tough unless there is a good explanation.

In this case, it is the bartender who has changed. He is having to rediscover and rebuild and so his power is diminished and his friends are scattered requiring him to make new ones (although some old characters might make a guest appearance). This means the change is causing a reset.

I remain.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher.  The Grey Wayfarer.

Skal!!!

Summer Time

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sol’s Day!

I have found myself back home in Michigan and I need to do so much in a short time. That said most of it is appointments. It’s the wait time in between that needs filling. Order can be a little flexible on this as it is mostly about getting certain things to happen.

Health: I have started walking every day. I am trying to get my time back up so that hiking is more of a reasonable possibility. It’s actually going better than expected. My old gym is getting used and my diet is more restrictive so I am expecting to lose some weight over the next few weeks.

Reading/Writing: I am going to spend some time reading more every day. I of course am writing each day at this point. trying to find my muse.

Career: By the end of June I want all my training completed that’s still left online and to be ready in some respects with a plan for next year. I have one formal test to take late this month I need to pass so I am studying for that.

Camping: I am trying to get my camping gear tested and ready. The tent is working out and I have lighting and a solar power generator pack coming for testing. I need a few things like a small stove for cooking. etc.

Hopefully, with all this preparation, I will be able to return to Michigan next summer and spend time with a base camp and day hike life at that time.

I remain.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher.  The Grey Wayfarer.

Skal!!!