I Am On Holiday

If you wondered why I haven't posted the last few days after doing one review a day this year, I'm currently on holiday, driving and tent camping in the Southern United States.

I've been posting daily updates on my trip at my Mastodon, if you're interested.

I have COVID-19

I have COVID-19, as do my mom and her boyfriend, as I live with them both. I feel worn down. 

I'm sweating with chills. I have chronic pain from fibromyalgia and spinal stenosis, so it's a triple attack. 

I woke up yesterday with stabbing pains that turned into shooting pains that went down my left leg and made it impossible to walk. Then I woke up today and I had stabbing pains again. 

Luckily I didn't have shooting pains since I was able to sit down before I got them. 

 Plus, I have collagenous colitis, which is an auto-immune condition, so it's hitting me hard.

A Sad Update

My stepsister contracted COVID-19 from her mother-in-law who contracted it, unknowingly, during Thanksgiving. My step-sister has type-1 diabetes, her kidneys were failing, and she was taken to the hospital and was put on dialysis. 

She was in the hospital for two days, but she is now home and her kidneys are functioning again, but it's still going to be a fight. 

Unfortunately, her husband's dad died of COVID-19 a day after she got out of the hospital. So, it's going to be a bittersweet Christmas this year. 

 Please, everyone, wear a mask, stay at home this holiday season, and be safe.

I'm back

Sorry for the extremely long wait between posts. Thank you for your patience and understanding during the break.

The recent deaths of people close to me hit me pretty hard and I needed to take a break away from things for a while.

I'll be catching up with news for a while, and hopefully things will get back to normal soon.

And, it has to be said again - thanks again. You all are awesome.

In Memory of Kelley Stage

I apologize for not updating this blog at all yet this year.  A girl I went to high school with, Kelley Stage, was murdered by her husband in 2015, and the trial of her husband hit me harder than I thought it would.  I didn't leave her a proper dedication on this page, but I'd like to do so now.

I suffered a lot of physical and emotional abuse in high school, as all of my friends were two years younger than me. So I suffered being beaten, burned, and enduring sexual abuse my junior high and early high school years with very little support from anyone.

Kelley was among the very few that was kind to me, and let me eat lunch at her table and made me feel welcome.  She and a handful of others are among the reason why I'm here today, as I wouldn't have been able to go on without kindness like she showed me. Sadly, I hadn't seen her since high school, and I never got a chance to thank her for her kindness because her monster of her husband took her away from the world and, worst of all, away from her kids.

So I leave this memorium to Kelley Stage, 1980-2015
She is gone, but she'll never be forgotten.

Happy Twentieth Birthday To This Blog!

On October 27, 1996, the first iteration of my adventure blog, a subpage of MIC World, went live:

On November 7th, 1997, the adventure game page became The Mega Monkey Page, a fan site for the Monkey Island series.  On September 18, 1998, with the addition of a Grim Fandango page, the site was expanded into a general LucasArts adventure game fan site simply named Mega Monkey.  On April 25, 2000, the site briefly became known as Real Adventure, a general adventure website focusing on all adventure games.  That name lasted less than a month, as, at the time I felt it was too hard to maintain a general adventure website on my own.

On June 16, 2008, this version of the site went live on Blogger, with the title Telltale Fan.   On November 30, 2008, the site briefly became known as Autumn Double Tale when it began to cover Autumn Moon and Double Fine games in addition to Telltale games, in addition to the LucasArts titles that were made by the founders of those companies.  In 2009, this site was once again expanded to cover adventure games in general and was given its current name of The Adventuress.

It's been a very fun 20 years, watching the evolution of the classic adventure into many different forms.  It should be really interesting to see what the next 20 years bring. :)

I'm On Patreon Now

I've joined the modern age and set up a Patreon page. I've actually had it up for a while, but felt a little uncomfortable advertising it. My comfort level hasn't changed, but since no one will know about it unless I let them know about it, here it is.

Along with writing adventure game news and reviews on this blog, I also make animations, videos, webcomics, animation, music, games, and photography.  I've got my goals set low on this, as I'm still a bit uncomfortable with the monetary side of things.  I would really appreciate any amount though.  And, if you don't want to pay anything, don't worry.  I really appreciate anyone who reads my blog (and/or reads/watches/listens to/plays my other projects).

In Loving Memory of William J McMurray

My father passed away today.  He was a loving father to my sister and I and a beloved husband to my mother. He will be sorely missed. William J McMurray June 4, 1946 - March 11, 2000

In Loving Memory of Esther Mary Killigrew McMurray

My grandmother passed away today.  She was the kindest, most gentle woman I have ever met. The world will be a bit of a sadder place without her in it. Esther Mary Killigrew McMurray March 10, 1905-September 25, 1995