----------------------------------------
       Living as an RPG - Textbooks
       September 28th, 2019
       ----------------------------------------
       
       I think about my own life in terms of roleplaying games. I'm not
       alone in this. I bet some of you reading do the same thing. When
       I learn a new skill, I am totally thinking about it being added to
       my character sheet as I draw a 1 in a little column. The skills
       I choose to collect are probably a little skewed toward things
       that are more useful in a fantasy adventure than in real life, but
       that's not so bad. I once helped a friend get back into their
       house when they locked themselves out, so who says lockpicking
       isn't practical!
       
       It's not just skills, though. I travel and move through life ready
       to pounce on the newest quest that comes along. "Quests aren't
       real," you say? Screw that jazz. You're just not looking hard
       enough. When a ridiculous opportunity arises and you say yes,
       BAM!, you're on a quest. Max out that XP and level up, my dudes.
       
       For those of you who aren't quite ready to up-and-move to another
       country, or join the military on a lark, or enter religious life,
       or go live on a boat in the middle of a lake, or whatever, you can
       still power-level by using some of the sweet loot available to you
       at your local library. That's right, I'm talking about textbooks.
       
       Simply read these magic tomes from the start to the end to add
       a skill rank in whatever subject you desire. That's it! And it's
       free! Maybe the library doesn't carry the subject you want and the
       latest volume is like $7,000 at the campus bookstore... so get an
       old version online for pennies. You think the information in Intro
       to Physics has changed that much in 10 years?
       
       When you're not in school anymore it might not occur to you that
       you are still allowed access to textbooks. Just because it wasn't
       assigned in a class doesn't mean you can't just pick it up on your
       own. It doesn't have to be related to work, or a hobby, or
       anything at all. Maybe you always sucked at math in school. Maybe
       you can't remember the first thing about Algebra. If you want to
       fix that, just get a textbook. Seriously. You're older, wiser, and
       know how to apply your brain meats to stuff. Pick it up and start
       at the beginning. The book will teach you. That's what it's for.
       You won't have a teacher, so instead you'll have to,
       I dunno...Google it. Hit up Khan Academy, or wikipedia, or bug
       someone on a Tilde server. It's not hard. 
       
       That's the secret of the whole fucking universe, by the way. It's
       not that hard. Nothing is. It just takes some time to learn. Start
       at the beginning and build up the knowledge.
       
       You want to know how to build rockets? Do it. Like, for real. The
       knowledge to do so is free. What else are you working on that's so
       important that you can't crack a book in the bathroom for a few
       minutes while you do your business?
       
       Learn new skills, level up, take on new quests, be heroes.