Arwens Website

(updated February 08, 2010)

arwen's Home page

Latest News

Feb 8, 2010:

My computer is acting up yet again . . . this time my graphics card decided to die at the end of the month. A new one arrived last week . . . but it was apparently defective, as it wouldn't run at all. So now I'm running my computer on an old borrowed card . . . which means no graphic intensive games until my new card arrives (hopefully sometime tomorrow).

But I have not been idle . . . in the past few weeks I have totally redone my Morrowind Journal . . . including adding a final chapter (the end of the main quest . . . finally!).

Jan 16, 2010:

My computer arrived back home on Christmas Eve, while I was away for the holidays, but I had it up and running by Dec 28th.

Since then I've been totally focused on completing v.3.2 of my Realism Tweaks, which was finally released on Jan 6th. Version 3.2 was a major update (my biggest yet!). And I just released v.3.3 yesterday. I'm going to taking a break from modding, but will continue to release minor updates for my current mods. I just began a new Fallout 3 game . . . am I'll finally back to writing my "Trials of a Wasteland Wanderer" again.

Dec 11, 2009:

My computer is currently vacationing in sunny California (being repaired) and I'm home in NH shoveling my driveway in 17 degree weather, trying to function without it. A word of advice: BACKUP . . . and do it often! It's been a real pain recreating a bunch of stuff that, had I been smart, would have been a very simple restore.

Fortunately my best friend is letting me use her computer, but trying to share one computer is not at all easy for me. To make things worse, her computer is not really fast enough to run Fallout 3 or Oblivion. So I can't even complete the latest update of my FO3 Realism Tweaks mod.

But I have succeeded in transferring all my website files over to this computer, so I will be able keep this website somewhat updated while my computer is away.

Sept 28, 2009:

Websites: updated my Bio Page last night: Now in an easier to read format on a single page.

Sept 23, 2009:

Websites: I just changed over to a higher priced hosting package, which should now allow me to keep my site online for the entire month. My website is now averaging 3000 hits per day, which is 4 times the amount of traffic it was getting just a year ago (69,000 hits so far this month). I'm thrilled about this, but success comes with a price, as I was exceeding my monthly allotted bandwidth (which meant that my site would be unavailable during the last week of each month).

My Fallout³ Journal has now expanded to cover 20 pages. I just released my latest update to my FO3 Realism Tweaks, which now contains 7 modules.

I was been so busy modding all summer that I did not have any time to really play FO3 (or Oblivion), but I'm hoping to get back into playing FO3, so that I can add some new chapters to my Trials of a Wasteland Wanderer

Older News - Archives
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Site Information

Home - (this page) My home page, and my Website's main page. This is my site's introduction and information page, and the rest of my site branches out from here.

News - This is my little news column (on the left), where I have the latest site and personal news posted (older news is posted on my News Archive Page).

PC Games - Links and information on the Gaming Section of my Website. Currently includes my Fallout³ Journal, my Oblivion Journal, my Morrowind Journal, my Avatar Page, and my Girl Gamer Page.

Outdoor Recreation - Links and information on the Outdoor Recreational Section of my Website. Currently includes my Kayak Page, my White Mountain Page, and my My Hiking Page.

Other Pages - Links and information on the misc. pages of my Website. Currently includes my Bio Page and Arwen's Realm (my forum).

FAQ's - Questions people have asked me, along with my answers, or in some cases, my non-answers.

Videos - for you to enjoy

Links - to some of my favorite sites.

PC Role Playing Games Section

My Fallout 3 character, right after escaping from Vault 101

Fallout³ Journal (updated 01/16/10):

Fallout is a RPG that takes place in the future . . . 200 years after civilization was nearly destroyed by a nuclear war. My journal has only been online since March 2, 2009, but until I graduated from my university in the end of May, my journal was mostly just my Mod Section and my Fallout Tips Section. After returning home, I began writing the Trials of a Wasteland Wanderer, which is the name of my Fallout³ fantasy story. This time my character won't be a Wood Elf . . . but I'm sure she'll be as quirky as ever (since she'll be based on me again . . . since I am the one actually playing the game, and making all the decisions).

A large part of my Fallout³ Journal will always be my mod list/review. So at the end of each chapter is my Gaming Comments and Tips section - where I explain how specific mods have added to my gaming experience for the gameplay that was covered in that chapter. There is also a section on role-playing, where I explain some of my role-playing techniques that have made the game more immersive for me. My primary goal in writing this journal is to help other players make Fallout³ into a better gaming experience.

Oblivion Journal (updated 12/17/09):

This was my second RPG journal, which went online in March of 2006, and includes an extensive Mod List / Review for the game. It also contains my Oblivion fantasy story, which is titled "Trials of a Semi-Clueless Wood Elf." It is the direct sequel to my Morrowind Journal, so it follows the adventures of my same little blue-eyed Wood Elf character . . . yes, the one with the wild pinkish-purple hair (based on my little avatar elf). This is Elder Scrolls IV, and is a RPG. The story takes place in Cyrodiil, which is the capital province of Tamriel. Even though this is obviously a fantasy story, it will be built upon my actual game play. So I don't really know how this adventure will turn out, any more than the rest of you.

Morrowind Journal (updated February 8, 2010):

Now completely reformatted to match the rest of my site (along with a new final chapter). This was my first RPG journal, which went online in May 2002, shortly after the game was released. Morrowind is a computer role-playing game, and is also known as Elder Scrolls III. My fantasy story is called "Trials of a Clueless Wood Elf" and it is based on my experiences while I was playing my first RPG. There are 33 chapters, plus a tips page and a MOD page. My fantasy story continues in my Oblivion Journal.

My Avatar Page (updated 01/16/10):
My little elf avatar, with her pink candy-flossed hair, has become so popular that she has her own fan page. The character in all of my RPGs is always based on my avatar.

Girl Gamer Page (updated 12/10/09):
A bit about being a girl gamer and some of my favorite games.

Outdoor Recreation Section

Kayak Page (updated 6/11/09): kayaking has become one of my favorite things to do, so I thought others might enjoy reading about my kayaking. (There's also a bit about my collegiate sailing experiences.)

White Mountains (updated 6/11/09): About New Hampshire's White Mountains (very near my home).

My Hiking Page (updated 6/12/09): covers some of my favorite hikes.

Miscellaneous Section

Bio Page (updated 12/10/09): A bit about me and my life (only because so many asked). Now in an easier to read format on a single page.

Arwen's Realm (always current): I've been running my own discussion forum since April 25, 2004, as an extension of my website. The main focus was originally around Morrowind, which later became Oblivion (Elder Scrolls IV), and now includes a section devoted to Fallout³.

So my forums have grown and morphed quite a bit since they began. And there were a LOT of growing pains - including huge problems with the board's original host. In January 2007 I found a much more dependable host and I completely redesigned my forums (yet again).

This time I renamed them Arwen's Realm, and I set up the forums as sort of a virtual community, with categories that are like buildings or areas within a community. We have a Community Center, a Media Portal, The Campus, the Gaming Portal, The Park, and the member's only Chat Room.

When we moved to the new host, we lost most of our members. So we're a small, but very friendly online community . . . and we would love you to stop by and visit us (and perhaps even join our little community).

FAQ (about myself and my Website)

When I first started writing my Morrowind Journal, I began to get a lot of email, from all over the world. Many people just wanted to let me know that they loved reading my journal. But I also received plenty of questions, mostly about the game (see my Morrowind Journal), but many people wanted to know more about me. Here are the questions I have been asked the most:

Where do you live?
I live in a small town in Northern New Hampshire, which is a small state in the Northeastern corner of the United States. (see my White Mountains page for more). But I'm currently a full time college student, so during most of the year, my "home" is 4-1/2 hours south of my home.

Why did you start a personal Website?
Because I'm a creative person, and one day I just decided to learn how to make my own website. You still won't find a single photo of me here, because this was never intended to be a personal vanity page. It's not a blog . . . and it was never meant to be about me. This is a place for me to share.

What do you do besides writing your journals and running this website? Well, I do all sorts of stuff - in fact, I NEVER seem to have enough time to keep up with things (as you should know, if you've been waiting for my update here). I've also had to deal with a lot of medical problems and several major operations in recent years, but I'm currently doing mostly ok and am physically very fit. I cross county ski and snowshoe in the winter, and for the last few years, I've been doing a great deal of kayaking in the warmer months (mid April through early November), paddling over several hundred miles each year. I also love to hike.

I was finally able to attend college a few years ago . . . and graduated in 2009 from Roger Williams University (RWU) - a private university in Rhode Island, with a BS in Legal Studies (and a double major in Political Science), where I was on the varsity sailing team (even though I was literally twice the age of all my teammates and had never even set foot in a sailboat before attending RWU). My team finished my last season ranked as the #3 college sailing team in North America. I'm on full disability, but am trying my best to find employment (which was of course the main reason for going to college), but it has been extremely difficult to find any one that is willing to give me a chance, since I have like no working experience (and I do have some major issues - which is why I'm on disablitiy). Oh . . . I'm also writing a book (which has been pretty much on hold since I became a full-time college student). I graduated in May 2007 from New Hampshire Technical Institute, with an Associate's degree in Paralegal Studies.

How old are you? (Goodness, I get this one a bunch!)
I'm older than most people guess. Ok, so that means that I must not act my age. But that's not entirely true, because I do act my age, I just don't act my biological age. Due to something that happened to me when I was very little (which is not even actually covered in my Bio Pages), my perceived age is quite a bit younger than my chronological age. Fortunately I also look younger than my biological age (although not as young as my perceived age . . . sigh). And I'm in GREAT shape, so in reality my age is pretty unclear . . . even to me. It was not possible for me to attend college until just a few years ago, so even though I'm a college student, I'm a non-tradition one (as in older). Ok, so I've never been what you would call ordinary. (Yeah, I know . . . I still didn't actually answer the question.

Videos

LOTR's Arwen - "My Immortal" by Evanescence	Lineage II - Can't Break Me Down
College Sailing Nationals - Spring 2007 (These are the boats that I compete in the most)	The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Trailer

Links

Outdoor Recreation and Conservation Sites:

	Bretton Woods XC - This is the Nordic Center, where I do most of my cross country skiing. It's one of the largest xc centers in the Eastern US, with a 100 kilometer trail system.
	Outback Kayak - A family run kayak store/adventure tours in NH White Mountains - This is where I bought my kayak and took my white water kayak lessons.
	Squam Lake Association - Conservation group for the preservation of my favorite place to kayak. The two Squam Lakes consist of 65 miles of shoreline, 30 islands, 13 reefs, 20 coves, and 3 bays, so this is a wonderful place to explore in a kayak.
	Appalachian Mountain Club - America's oldest conservation and recreation organization.
	Sierra Club - America's most effective environment advocate organization
	America's Rivers - River Conservation nonprofit organization

College Related Sites:

	NHTI - New Hampshire Technical Institute - Concord, NH. This is my first college - where I received my Associate's degree in Paralegal Studies in May 2007.
	RWU - Roger Williams University - Bristol, RI. This is the university that I'm currently enrolled in.
	NH Senate - This is where I did my internship, as a Senate Intern, for the 2007 session (January through June).

Competing in Boston on Nov. 8, 2008
(I'm out there somewhere - in one of the 25 boats, at the start line)