It’s time for my Making, Enjoying, Reading, Playing entry for the week. Use the comments to share your own MERP, if you’re of a mind.

Making:
I’m re-designing and updating my online freelance portfolio. Because I’m going to need it to be teh awesome in order to get some new clients in the next few months. My goal: to be able to announce its readiness no later than next week’s MERP post.

I “made” a new friend. His name is Andrew Black, he is a restaurant manager by night but stays home with two young kids during the day. He’s the husband of a woman that Leah recently met and befriended at the seminary. He’s a big geek, a cool guy, and we have lots in common, including a love for roleplaying games. Our families are getting together for Easter this weekend, and I’m going to show him Spirit of the Century, because Andrew has been a big D&D/GURPS/White Wolf guy all his life but when I described SOTC (especially aspects, declarations, and the fate chip economy) to him the other day, his eyes lit up.  I have a strong sense that we’ve got compatibility in play-style and such. So we’re going to find a way to play some face-to-face rpgs, even if its just the two of us.

On the Vegas After Midnight front – I plan to post a more in-depth entry about that on Monday or thereabouts. Good news.

Enjoying:
Castle remains really enjoyable to me. I have no idea what its ratings are so it might get pulled out from under us, but for now, I will ride it for all it is worth. I also really like seeing Scott Bakula guest-starring on Chuck, and this week’s Lost was one of my favorites ever – because I’m a big John Locke fan, and he took several opportunities to totally blow Ben Linus’ mind, and every single time it happened, it was sweet nectar.

Reading:
I’m waiting around until I can nab a copy of The Steel Remains by Richard Morgan, so these past few days I’m biding my time with The Pirate Queen by Alan Gold. This is the second novelization of the life of Grace O’Malley that I’ve read – the first was Grania by Morgan Llewellyn. So far, I find Llewellyn’s version to be much more enjoyable, because it seemed more realistic and gritty, wheras Pirate Queen is bordering on coming off like a bodice-ripper. Nevertheless, it is one of the few unread books I’ve got lying around, so it’ll do until I get Steel Remains in my grubby paws.

And I’ve also (finally) been reading the actual Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies text since yesterday, and OMG, it is blowing me away.  I want to play in the S7s world. So. Very. Badly.

Playing:
I played Heroclix with Cartographer earlier today. And that is literally the only new instance of play that I can report since my last MERP.

Grrr.

So, that’s my MERP week. How ’bout you?