The Queue: Is there an echo in here?

The queue… the queue… the queue… the queue…

Okay, I’m sorry, but sometimes I just can’t come up with anything original to put here. Sure, I could harangue Mitch, but don’t I do that every week (sometimes every day)? I could grumble about getting asked lore questions I never know how to answer (but I’m doing that in the conclusion today, so just hang tight).

Or I could ramble aimlessly until this mess feels kind of like an introduction. Am I there yet? Let’s see about getting on to the Queue.

Firstly, the opening ceremony is totally a panel, and it’s definitely the one I’m looking forward to. After all, the opening ceremony is when we find everything out — everything beyond that is just details. And, sure, the details can be great, but they just don’t have the visceral excitement of that initial announcement.

Beyond the opening ceremony, though, it’s the voice actor panels that are always my favorite. They may not sound particularly exciting — they don’t talk about gameplay or cover new features — but they’re packed with creative people who clearly love doing their jobs. Every panel is full of jokes and people doing voices just for the heck of it. Even if you don’t recognize a single name listed in the panel description, any panel about voice acting is guaranteed to be a blast.

{PB}I’d bet on it. With many players wrapping up 7.3 quest chains, now’s the ideal time to roll out 7.3.2 and the new Antorus raid. And if we do get a release date tomorrow… considering how Blizzard has been announcing release dates very shortly before launch dates, we could see the patch within the next two weeks.

If, if, if. 

But that’s a lot of ifs, and even though Blizzard can fall into predictable patterns, the devs can always surprise us.

You are not alone, because I do this all the time. It’s a lot when you autopilot yourself into a major city, though.

Sounds like something that would fit right in with the Dance Studio that Blizzard promised to bring us back in 2007. So if you keep patiently waiting for that… uh, well, I hope you have a good book to read while you wait.

Also the Carlton? No, Jay, just no. If any of us had any influence over Blizzard developers, this would hands-down be the worst way to use it.

I think Lotharfox is referring to the “Living Blizzard – Pursuing Your Passion” panel on Saturday morning… and, unfortunately, none of us are going to be there (nor do I know who will be there).

The panel description says everyone will talk about how they got started, so I’ll give you my story for free. Once upon a time (somewhat over a decade ago), I discovered a blog named WoW Insider. I read for a while, and being a young know-it-all, I left what were probably very bratty comments to show off how smart I was. And then they were looking for bloggers! So I applied!

Honestly, if I sent in the application I sent in then — yes, I still have it, and no, I am not going to show it to you — I would not hire myself. But my then-boss hired me. I started writing and I just didn’t stop. I still haven’t stopped. You can get a lot of places by being stubborn as heck and just not giving up.

I think you’ll find a lot of similar stories. Talent is important. Experience is important. But showing up and working is more important than any of that. Find something you love and hold on to it. Do it even when it’s hard. Do it even when you think you suck. Do it even when you want to do absolutely anything else.

That’s how you learn. That’s how you improve. And, hopefully, that’s how you can spend a decade doing something you love.

Well, hopefully. I did keep a day job for a long while, and these days I juggle a few other writing gigs as well as this one. But back in February 2006, I applied to write at WoW Insider, and somehow I’m still at it.

Okay, people, enough with the inspirational speeches. As always, you can leave your questions in the comments below for answers tomorrow. You’ll have Anne Stickney as your guide, so please ask all of the lore questions that you shouldn’t be asking me. (Because, really, I know nothing about lore.)

Have fun, Queuevians, and I’ll see you back here next week.