At least I can say… I´ve lived!!! (Final Part)

On March 25th. 2003 started the V [´ju:nien]. . The Lords have done special t-shirts with our own version of the image of Iwo Jima´s flag raising. The Lords started playing Quake, that´s why the name of the klan, so, the image was with different characters of the different Quake games, including some of RTWC as well. The inscription… I loved it!!! :D “We already fragged your father” like letting the others know: yes, we know, we are old… but good! ;P





The [´ju:nien] was in a Mercure hotel, at the conventions room, 600 people there, mostly men, I´m not sure about quantities, but I remember we were just few females there. The organization was great and was really impressive how ordered and well set was everything, it looked like if it would be a professional convention instead of a LAN party (but again I´m comparing with what I have seen on t.v. and pics about Spanish LANs).



On Friday night and after a long journey, Curro arrived at the [´ju:nien] as well. The QLs received him as if he would be also part of the klan, even with a T-shirt for him :D

We had been playing hours and hours, almost without sleeping at all, (MPower, Stryker and Eagle didn´t slept at all). Was really funny to watch them (their gestures, movements, expressions…) while playing… the part you always miss of the other person when is at the other side of a screen! It´s a pity that I haven´t took videos! :D

Some klan wars took place, but I´m afraid we didn´t win any prize… but at least I did!!! The longer distance journey for arriving to the LAN one!! Ok, ok, they gave it to Curro and me actually, but anyway, that was the first QLs´ prize! ;P



Here a video I have done with my pics that resume that travel:



Curro went back home on Sunday afternoon, immediately after the LAN party was over. I still had that afternoon and Monday´s morning to do a bit of tourism, Voni and MadDoc were my guides, they even had patience enough to go shopping with me!! (That´s what friends are for…) ;P Part of the route was to go to a beer factory where I bought a couple of “big beers” (2 litters one), actually due I loved the bottle, and I mean it! I don´t drink beer! (Yeap, they almost killed me when I told them that and tried really hard to make me to try it, come on! How can I be in Germany without trying the beer?... well, I´m sorry! I don´t like beer!).



In 2003 another girl had join the QLs, this time a German one, Ana Morph, and Dagonet, a guy from Denmark that actually had been playing hand to hand with us almost at the same time I started to play at that server… the klan was a really multicultural one!! ;P



In 2004 another [´ju:nien] came and yes! I had been there as well! I had been trying so hard to convince Dagonet to join us as well… but it wasn´t possible for him, a real pity! This time Curro can´t go. We were more QLs and we won a prize playing and again my longer journey one! :D






I really don´t remember when it was, but we started to play Enemy Territory instead of RTCW, that was quite similar. Problem was when the Lords get bored of that one as well, they started with new games that I didn´t like, I´m afraid. Today, few of the Lords still play together, but WOW. I don´t like it. :( And I can´t convinced them to play Scrabble in Spanish with me! ;PP But time to time I go to Dortmund, to visit my good friend Voni and usually we do a QL´s dinner when I go. It´s always nice to met them again and I still feel a QL even if I don´t play with them anymore.

When Playstation placed the add “double life”, it went straight to my heart… reminding me the great moments I had lived fighting hand by hand with my QLs… do you remember it?



Here's a transscript:

For years, I've lived a double life.
In the day, I do my job
I ride the bus, roll up my sleeves with the hoi polloi.
But at night, I live a life of exhilaration,
of missed heartbeats and adrenalin.
And, if the truth be known, a life of dubious virtue.
I won'€™t deny it I've been engaged in violence, even indulged in it.
I've maimed and killed adversaries€“ and not merely in self-defence.
I've exhibited disregard for life, limb and property,
and savoured every moment.
You may not think it, to look at me,
but I have commanded armies and conquered worlds.
And though in achieving these things I've set morality aside,
I have no regrets.
For though I've led a double life, at least I can say:
I've lived.

And here the German version for my QLs:

At least I can say… I´ve lived!!! (Second Part: Being a Quake Lady)

Once I became into QL – Lady Spain, playing was my very favorite activity. I can remember entire weekends playing, just stopping for eating and for get some sleep. It was funny to try to explain that war game playing passion at work to my female colleagues… and the wondered face of my male colleagues, maybe not even really believing me. (Hehehehehehe!).

At the end of 2002 one of the Lords sent a mail talking about a LAN party that would take place in Hagen, in April 2003, the V [´ju:nien]. Hagen is very close to Dortmund, Essen and Bochum, places where several Lords live. Since I knew about the LAN party, I had clear I should go. At that time Germanwings was offering really cheap prices for going from Madrid to Colonia, I´m afraid they don´t have that route anymore. I also found very good prices at an Ibis hotel in Dortmund, because, of course, going there just for the LAN would be a bit silly, so I took some vacations days to stay a bit more, btw it was my first travel to Germany.


The Lords were really wondered about my decision of going to the LAN, some of them living just some kms. away of Hagen weren´t sure about going there and in my case, I took the decision so fast… even knowing it meant to go there carrying my PC (not a laptop at that moment, but a normal desk PC), they would bring me a screen, but I should bring the rest with me.

Curro decided to join us, but due his work, he should go just for the LAN… and yes, also carrying his stuff! (The first one wondered was myself!). And yes, sure, my family and friends thought I should be crazy for going to Germany, carry on my PC, just for meeting my klan and participate in a LAN party… well… what can I say? For me it´s just a matter of: if I want to do it and I can do it… why not to?

So, as far as the LAN was programmed for the weekend (from Friday night till Sunday midday), I decided to be there from Wednesday night till Monday afternoon. I´d arrived at Colonia´s aiport at 23:45, Voni and MadDoc went to picked me up. They made a banner for me to recognize them! :D



On Thursday morning I went alone to meet Dortmund, a city that I really like a lot. Yes! I think I should do a post about Dortmund some day! ;)

It was my first contact with Germans in Germany, I should say it wondered me a lot how well educate and how kind they are. Somebody told me that I think that because I can´t understand what they are saying, but I don´t think so. I´m sorry for saying this, but in that moment my point of comparison was Spanish people, I had gone several times to Germany and I confirm it, they are so kind, well educated and warm (that contrast a lot with the coldness image people all over the world have about them). Also was nice and wondering as well to see that foreigners living there are very well integrated, I even saw black people working in high positions, like if they would be just another German one (that from my point of view, they are, just that this is not exactly like that in Spain, that´s why I´m remarking it).

Voni took that afternoon free for being my guide in Dortmund. I had bought a tourist book about the city and already had choose the places that I would like to meet, so, when he asked me where I would like to go, I showed him the places I had selected… point was that of course I didn´t know that all of them were far away from each other, and even being like that, he showed me them all that afternoon! :P :D

Two of my favorite places I met that afternoon are:

The Bodelschwingh Castle



The Rombergpark









That night we had a Quake Lords Dinner. So, there I was! Finally meeting some my battles´ pals in real life! :D Yeap, the communication was a bit problematic due the language thing, but was really nice and exciting for me to share that dine with them. The really funny part was when I wanted to clarify a point of the menu before asking for my food, the menu was just in German and there was a word that I didn´t understood in a dish that at the first sight I liked and I asked them to translate it to me… but they forgot the word in English and started to try to explain me it as best as they could, even with gestures… what a pity not to have a video of that!! Especially when Maddoc tried to explain it was something the vampires were afraid of! Hehehe! The whole restaurant released that they were trying to explain me that word and finally someone of another table said “garlic! It´s garlic in English!” :PP



(To be continued)