Alas, it looks like the dread pirate Ermengarde has sailed off into the sunset. I went to log in to get the holiday reward and I found that she no longer exists on my old server. I guess it's to be expected. I wasn't giving her the time she deserved. Unfortunately my wild cloning option wasn't successful so I'm stuck with only being able to play one game at a time.

I raise a cup of grog to you Ermengarde. Farewell.

I hadn't played Puzzle Pirates since before Christmas - mainly because life got busy and then when I came back, I was missing most of my puzzle options. There was also this weird crew merger where the crews merged and then the leaders I knew left. It was messy and uncomfortable so I went away for a while.

I just got an email from Y!PP talking about new things and offering 1000 poe. I thought I'd have a look.

My puzzle options were back! Luckily I still have clothes on my back. My home and pets were waiting for me. And somehow I have about 10000 poe. I imagine that I continued working the jobs I'd signed up for until my labor badge ran out.

I did a bilging mission today. I had fun, and I didn't do too bad after my long break. I think I'll be giving little Sheeta some of my gaming time again.

I logged in this evening briefly, mainly to make sure my jobs look good and to make sure my job skills are all active. I did pretty well on the puzzles. I had one of those distilling runs where everything went right. Those are so sweet when they happen.

Once I finished with that, I thought I'd like to go out bilging. Normally that's a pretty straightforward option, but apparently not tonight. I had the normal list of missions on the left under the job board but the area on the right that usually lists additional missions was blank. Grrrrr. I settled for going sailing, but I really wanted to bilge. I'll go pout now.

What flea bitten hovel are yea runnin here? I comes inta port from a long day of bilging and thers a rat in me home! Me wooden crate is on its last sea legs and I canna longer use it as a pillow. Housekeeping didn't change out the straw in me bedroll either. Fix all this or I'll be forced to move me business ta another island.
Yers cordialy,

Bigfatbuttfacebabyeating O'Brian

I know it's been almost a month now, but I'm still not settled about the merge of flags in Puzzle Pirates. My old crew was completely absorbed by another flag, but the leaders of the old flag did not follow the merge. As I listen to flag chat, I have been leaning towards dropping the affiliation and going freelance. They seem to have a lot more rules than I'm used to. I hear people being planked all the time over chat. So far I have not sailed out with the new crew. I've been working on my skills with the navy and doing my shop jobs. Maybe I'll set aside a block of time this weekend and try to go out with them on one pillage and see how it goes. It would be a shame to drop the flag without giving them a fair trial.

Waiting and watching,

Sheeta

I was finally logged in as Sheeta when one of the officers of her new crew was also on. Apparently there was a merger that included the entirety of Bladebreakers (my former crew). The officer didn't have any comment on why the officers I remembered weren't in the new crew. I went ahead and stayed in the crew for now - even though I don't really know anyone, but I did my own thing tonight - got my job skills reactivated and did a bilging mission to take care of any rustiness. The one good thing I see with being part of a much larger crew is that it seems likely that pillaging missions will happen more often. We'll see what the future brings.

No longer hiding under the covers.
--Sheeta

I haven't had time to log into my account for a couple of weeks. Things get a little busy around the holidays. Imagine my surprise and dismay when I log in last night and I'm a member of a different flag and crew than I logged out in. I know I was in the Bladebreakers before. Now I'm in the Metal something or other. I don't recognize the names of pretty much anyone in this flag. The one officer name I do recognize is the officer that planked me way back when, and he had left the flag I was under some time before this. I searched a few of the officer names I could remember. Two are under a different flag and one is listed as a freelancing pirate. None of them were logged in so I couldn't ask what was going on. I checked the job board - all three jobs I had been working were gone. My labor badge is still active so either I was fired or those businesses went away. The only familiar thing was my little decorated shack and my two beloved pets. This is the kind of the thing that makes you want to crawl into your bunk and pull the covers over your head.

My pirating career has been going nicely over the past few weeks. I won my second trophy. I got the silver crab for bilging. Yay me!

I continue to keep my labor badge up to date on the Veridian ocean so money continues to come in, even when I don't have time to play. (On-line gaming has taken a hit as everyone in my family including myself has taken turns being sick since before Thanksgiving.)

I practice my brawling skills in the tavern - mainly against the non-player pirates. I recently entered a bludgeoning tournament. I was thrilled to make it to the 5th round of the tournament before being eliminated. All the practice really is paying off.

I have to say, as upsetting as being planked was back when I first started playing, the unkind remark about my awful sword skills had actually spurred me to practice these skills. The last time I went out pillaging, I was really proud of how well I did. If not for that one mean captain, I might have continued to avoid the sword battles. Instead, I am working hard to overcome my deficits.

Life as a pirate is still a fine way to spend some time.