Here and Now

I'm an evil pirate. I guess I have technically been one for several years now, but I was really feeling it a couple nights ago as we exploded some poor soul's Badger full of all of his worldy possessions from civilian modules to skillbooks.

"You probably just destroyed someone's EVE career." Someone said later. And, I tried to feel bad. But, it's hard to feel bad for someone who decided it was a good idea to load all their belongings into a paper-thin ship and jump it into some of the most pirate-infested low-sec in EVE, unscouted.

Lately, I've been playing EVE. The real kind of playing, not the kind where you're logged in but mostly checked out, if you know what I mean. We've been going at full throttle, moving ships, roaming, learning the area, and occasionally just chilling with new-alliance mates and camping a gate.

And if I can say one thing about people in Gallente space, it is that they sure do know how to camp a gate proper-like. You have your proper pirate camps where not much but interceptors and shuttles get through. And then you have your battleships going disco --turning pods into goo. 

We camped gates a bit and occasionally ran into them back in the Bleak Lands, but not like what you see here.

In addition to my piracy, and trading, I've taken up a wormhole-probing hobby. I don't really run sites, or do anything except satisfy my own curiosity in seeing what sorts of places I can connect our new home to. I've romped through all sorts of regions of low-sec, various wormhole places, and even a null-sec system or two. 

I'm not sure entirely what I plan to do with this new hobby, if anything. I admit, as a trader I occasionally dream of finding a wormhole to Jita. As a pirate, I hope for a direct line to some far off null-sec system where lazy ratters will let me steal from their ESS, will come protect it, and will die in glorious explosions of PVE scrap metal.

For now, I'm content with poking my nose into here and there. Perhaps I'll start bringing mobile structures and anchor them named "Susan Black was here!"

The new alliance with Snuff Box is going well, as far as I can tell. The contents of my new hangar in Gallente space makes me happy. Not just because it's full of shiny, pretty things. Though I really do like shiny, pretty things.

In militia, my hanger was full of thrashers, tech 1 frigates, and all manner of plex-ready ships. I'm not anti-tech 1 or turning into some sort of elite snob now. But, I've noticed a growing change in how I perceive spaceships in general.

In militia, spaceships were disposable things you fit cheaply in bulk. We leroyed them and trashed them and exploded them. Which can be fun...some of the time.

Now, many of the ships in my hanger serve specific purposes, or are specific toys I wanted. They aren't disposable, and I didn't slap any 'ol mediocre fit on them that would pass for serviceable. I invested in them, and each one is a tool. A fun, shiny, pretty tool.

It's kind of like going from a diet of frozen dinners, to homemade, bubbling lasagna with garlic bread. Not that I don't occasionally crave a frozen pizza now and again.