Things have gotten crazy here outside of gaming.

I could really use a good game session right about now. Seriously, the diversion into fantasy land would be welcome even though the real world awaits on the other side. It’s just been a week so far.

Let me see if I can accurately recap what all happened since Sunday. Actually, one of my wife’s good friends passed away on Friday, but we’ll circle back to that. Sunday my primary pain medication ran out and due to a mix-up with the refill request, I couldn’t get it refilled until Tuesday. Our youngest also ran out of his ADHD meds on Sunday. I also got into an extended discussion with a good friend about my use of AI art on YouTube and everywhere else. It low key spawned a major anxiety attack for me.

But that was the tip of the iceberg. Monday morning came painfully along with my wife’s van not starting. My car died as well. It was bitterly cold Sunday into Monday, so there was no big surprise The rest of the USA got buried in snow. We got a few flurries and subzero temps. It’s Iowa. Luckily we have one other family car that runs okay. At least everyone got to school with minimal fuss.

Late afternoon Monday we managed to get both of the dead vehicles jumped after multiple mix-ups with our insurance and the towing companies. Policy numbers and multiple tickets for the same thing. Have some confusion on a platter, but at least we got everything to limp into the shop. We managed to pick up the ADHD meds for the youngin on the way home. That was a plus.

Somewhere in the scramble to get the roadside assistance coordinated, I discovered one of our older cats had been using our pantry floor as his own private litter box. That was a smelly mess to say the least. Kitty has been banished to the basement where the litter box actually sits until further notice. The kittens do not care for the exile, but all five cats are learning to get along.

Oh, but wait… There’s more.

Tuesday arrived with more pain for me. I feel like I’ve been beaten with a sack of hammers one hammer at a time. I had to play chauffeur first thing, dropping kids off at school and my wife at work. Then home long enough for a shower and a quick nap followed by back to pick my wife up. The van’s repair costs came in just shy of $2,000. My car is still waiting on parts at the time of this writing, but it’s gonna be ugly.

I picked my wife up and dropped her off for the funeral. Do you think I could find parking anywhere near the funeral home?  Nope. I ended up waiting things out at the public library several blocks away. Then I dropped my wife back at work. I caught a break and my pain meds were up, so I immediately went to the pharmacy to retrieve my pills. They were on lunch break by the time I arrived. I had time for a nice cup of coffee. Yay.

Then lots of driving. I picked up the youngest one and one of our high schoolers. Then I trekked back to pick my lovely wife up from work and drop them off for their doctor’s appointment. I rallied help from our oldest and retrieved the van. Then I took the van back to the doctor’s office to pick them up. Bear in mind I’ve been in the midst of a pain flare this whole time and I still have the headache today.

Just about the time things started to improve.

I finally got to go home and pass out for an hour. Except I kinda forgot to make dinner. Luckily our oldest is a culinarian and managed to feed themselves and the one high schooler. The rest of the family still had leftovers in the fridge from Sunday night. My wife made a ton of food for her lunches at work. She’s probably going to disown me if I don’t make dinner tonight, though.

Then Tuesday night we learned that my wife’s beloved Tae Kwon Do instructor passed away over the weekend. I also studied under him as did two of the kids. It was a sad night. That news went over poorly all around. On the upside I got back on my pain meds. I should be back to “normal” in a day or two.

We’re still waiting on my car and the massive bill that will come with it all in order to get the stupid manupid Check Engine light to shut off. At least I’ll have my baby back in the driveway. I love my car.

Remember I mentioned the whole AI art debate?

All of my blog posts go to Instagram, Facebook, BlueSky, Mastodon, and so forth. It’s no big deal because WordPress takes good care of us here. But one of my readers asked if I used an AI image on last week’s Wednesday post. My comment was, “Yes, I used AI to create this image. Please do not try to add Funko Pop Muppet Jeff to your collection.”

No shade on my former follower, has they are a respected TTRPG content creator. That particular follower said that they couldn’t follow anyone who used AI art. That was probably the nicest exchange I’ve had on social media in years when it comes to stuff like this. No anger. No cancel culture. Just a firm boundary being established. I can respect that.

I’ll follow that notion up with wondering how many followers I’ve lost due to that exchange, but I’m trying to grow my brand, not watch it go down the tubes because of a social media post. Again, not this one Instagram post’s fault. However, the TTRPG space in general has become rather volatile when it comes to the AI art debate.

I’m not up to a full blown panic attack yet but I’m definitely feeling a bit anxious.

So, I’m having lots of fun with chronic pain when I’m awake. I’m low key freaking out because I know the bill for my car is going to be horrendous. I’m losing followers on social media because of this business with the art. One of my few friends wants me to do a call to go over some art, which I just don’t have the spoons for right now and she’s fairly understanding about it, but I’m still freaking out.

To say I’m in a moral/ethical quandary over AI art is an understatement. A different fried told me to stay quiet on the subject publicly and I want to honor that request. I’m not supposed to launch into a tirade or publish a manifesto. So, I guess I’ll suffer quietly with it on my own time. I learned some things about AI art that I was previously unaware of and I was heavily Pro-AI up to that point. Now I’m having a lot of cognitive dissonance to go with everything else that’s happening.

Needless to say, I hope you’re having a much better week wherever you are.

I’ve probably forgotten some of the minor inconveniences over the last couple of days. There were several involving laundry, toilet overflowing, messes in the kitchen, the shower, etc. It’s been exhausting.

My sincerest wish is that you all have happy outcomes for rest of the week. I keep telling my wife to picture the best thing that can happen. She said Wednesday looked at us and said, “Here. Hold my beer.”

I say it every year, but I think 2026 bears repeating it. This year I intend to write more, read more, and discuss cool TTRPGs as well as supplements. Most of all, let’s just have more fun. Let’s explore. Let’s save the kingdom from the evil warlord. Let’s discuss all the fun stuff in gaming that we love.

With the world in the state it finds itself in today, please be kind. Please be considerate to one another even if we don’t agree. Lastly, please pursue the thing that brings you the most joy without harm to others. Thank you!