A Beginning

Wherein we discuss the task at hand, and my determination to rise to it.

So, I suck at Starcraft.

People know this.  It's not something I've ever kept secret.  I'm horrible at it.  To be completely honest, I'm pretty miserable at real-time strategy games in general.  They're just not something I excel at.  Up until recently, I didn't really "get" them on a very fundamental level.  For example, I never linked the fact that I needed a strong economy in order to build a decent army

But then Starcraft 2 rolled around, and I found myself getting excited.  Despite my horrid track record, I was anxious to play.  I started watching replays online, and was fascinated by the strategies on display, the back and forth of a well-played game filled with spectacle and drama.  And I decided, "Hey, I want in on that!"

I played some custom games, and worked on my timings and economy building a bit.  I watched the Day[9] dailies and marveled.  I started thinking about Starcraft constantly.  And finally, I put aside my irrational fear of failure and played my qualifying matches.

I went 1-6.

OUCH.

Battle.net had placed me squarely in 100th place in the Bronze League.  I was so far down the hole of shame that I couldn't see the sun.  My humiliation was complete.

That night I slept a black, dreamless sleep, and in the morning I masked my manly tears of rage in the shower.  What had gone wrong?  I thought I had become a better player!

Well, instead of wallowing in self-pity, I have decided to do just that:  become a better player.  My opponents didn't "cheese" me:  they beat me, fair and square.  I don't have to think too hard to realize what I did wrong; I pretty much knew the second I had lost every one of those games what I could have done differently.

And so, I am going to chronicle my way from the bottom of the Battle.net ladder to the top.  My goal:  Diamond ranking.  I'm not expecting a miraculous change in skill overnight; I'm well aware that it may take me quite some time to make it from the bottom to the top.  I'm also father to an infant girl, so my play time will revolve squarely around her sleeping/eating/playing schedule.

So, there you have it.  A mission statement, of sorts, and a goal to strive for.

Welcome aboard!