Gustav

For any noobs who need context, Hedge has been GM of Riga for a good bit longer than I've even been in the VHL. This guy's run at his position has been legendary. To @hedgehog337: thanks for serving the VHL as long as you have. I've never had any sort of issue with you as long as I've been here and I really appreciate that. On top of that, I feel like Riga has always been a good bunch of people and I think that says a lot about your ability to build a team with a positive culture. All the best in whatever you've got going on, and I hope you have the time to drop in when you feel like it!

I believe it highlights the most popular answer rather than your own. That's thrown me off a few times.

I was actually exclusively a computer user for a few years; only even started checking the forum on my phone after lots of time had passed. Desktop VHL is way better and way easier to navigate. I have no idea how some people (I think @Doomsday is one?) manage to do so much off their phones.

Some come to laugh their past away Some come to make it just one more day Whichever way your pleasure tends If you plant ice, you're gonna harvest wind -from the Grateful Dead's "Franklin's Tower" As of next season, I will have spent 30 seasons in the VHL. I've always been a big fan of the VHL's 30 in 30 series for telling me lots of stories about the league from before my time. These brought up things that I wouldn't necessarily have gotten from reading through old indexes and checking out records, and that's lived experience--people giving perspectives on the things that happened, instead of just lists of those things that happened. Thanks to those articles, I learned why lots of the things I'd heard about were significant, and the views offered in them also served as a valuable time capsule for me as I learned how important some things are to the league despite never being talked about anymore. So, because I hate myself, I'm doing one of my own. This isn't intended to be a comprehensive picture of league history over the past 30 seasons, nor is it a VHL 30 in 30 in its own right. I'm writing a Gustav 30 in 30, recounting not the league's history but my own and going through what's been most important to me across hopefully the next season and a half and probably a bit longer than that. And what's a better place to start than at the very beginning? It's a very good place to start, after all. Installment number one of 30, here we go It was 2019, and then-18-year-old me was on the floor of my bedroom lost on Reddit. I remember fairly clearly having been "in the middle of some homework," which to me meant that the second I came across anything I couldn't do off the top of my head, I'd pick up my phone and scroll through it for an hour like the degenerate I am. Seriously, my degree probably would have come pretty easily if I could make myself stop doing that. I also remember getting the sort of foggy head feeling that one gets after staring at a screen for hours on end. I'm not sure if this was from whatever I was doing, or my phone, or both, but you'd think that one little promotional post on r/sabres wouldn't tip the scales in favor of (let's be honest) a whole lot more staring at screens in that moment. I'm sure you know where this is going, because you're seeing the product of where it's gone. I joined the forum, made a few "please help me" posts, did my first press conference, and actually closed the VHL window and figured I'd seen about enough. The reason why I came back was that I was dumb enough to still sign up for things with an email address that I actually check, and later that day I got a scouting message from @Thranduil (then a long-time AGM in Halifax) in my inbox. So...yeah, whatever, maybe I'll see what happens after this "draft" people are talking about. After all, I read through the very short-lived and now entirely-nonexistent-on-the-forum VHLM newsletter (recruitment, take note!) and enjoyed it. VHLM Gustav lasted until the 5th round and was taken 36th overall. I'd been scouted two or three times at the time, having joined two or three days before the draft and not earned much yet. But it's pretty safe to say that first-ever Bulls GM @Rin hit on a pick, kicking off what would be a formative first season for me (and one that you'll see talked about across the first few installments of this series). I'd been invited to join the team server and was initially really hesitant--I'd never talked to random people online before and wasn't sure I wanted to--but jumped in late at night (in the middle of some other assignment that I wasn't really doing) and had a good conversation right away about player builds and stuff. I think that sort of thing was a bit intoxicating for an 18-year-old kid whose friends were suddenly all busy moving away and having responsibilities. I suddenly had a group to hang out with whenever I wanted it again, and that really built a sort of bond with this place that I don't think I'd have if I joined today. I'm not sure what I thought the VHL was when I joined. I don't remember being particularly surprised (I was never someone who thought we were a gaming community) but I also remember being mildly taken aback when I heard that our sim output was entirely text-based. I spent a few sims reading through the full play-by-play (because new people stuff; why not?) and thought it was cool anyway. In a way, I miss skimming through that and being excited to see that my player intercepted a pass or whatnot. As far as earning and being part of the community went, it took me a minute. I wasn't always the word-dumper I am today. Instead, my first mark on the league was made in team-specific shitpost articles with very long titles. This extended anywhere from my teammates being detained at airports for "looking too Nordic" to Halifax secretly being a satanic cult to me running player quotes through a colloquial Scottish English translator for some aggressively Groundskeeper Willie-type energy. I was well-entrenched in writing media spots by this point, but my first serious article didn't even come out until halfway through that first season. I won't give away the rest, but S65 was a great time. I learned a lot, got to know lots of people, and grew to appreciate the culture of the VHL. And if you're interested in hearing more of a deep dive into my history--stick around. It's coming just as soon as I can make it.

I've never really gotten involved with student government stuff but one of my friends peaked in undergrad was really into it. If that's any indication, I think you'll love getting involved and having the opportunity to make your school what you want it to be.

Bek is out here making April Fools jokes because “obviously we would never actually do this” and stuff. Convenient that this comes out after the domain “expires” and we make “jokes” about his opium addiction.

I wouldn’t say I was ever scared or anything, but I’d never posted anything anywhere on the Internet, much less joined a community, when I joined the VHL. Flash forward 5 years, and…well, one could say that’s changed. Even flashing forward a month I knew I had nothing to worry about. I’ve liked people to varying extents in my time in the league, but could count on one hand the number of times I’ve had a real issue with anyone. And that’s after interacting with hundreds—that’s a great success rate considering real life numbers. I even have my issues with league administration but can confidently say that everyone here wants everyone else to feel welcome. Thankfully, you climb the ladder in this league partly by being a good person, and I’m glad you’ve felt that.

Week 3

Today - fairly boring after some plans were bailed on, but not bad. Yesterday I submitted a bunch of documents for a milestone in my degree program (I'm a little over a week and just a short presentation away from a Master's degree!) and that made today fairly quiet. I made a very nice Thai curry tonight and watched my school's basketball team lose a close game. 10 years ago would have been the back half of 8th grade--I was still in middle school. I don't have many specific 8th grade memories. I guess I do remember catching one of my friends writing about how I was "mi major amigo" on a Spanish assignment (which still means a lot). That same year, I also got a couple people I knew to join the tennis team (the one sport I played through high school), started taking some of the "harder" math and science classes, and got more seriously into music. In a few months, it will be 10 years since I started playing guitar and I've loved every minute of it. Happy birthday and happy anniversary of the most egregious karma farm I've ever seen outside of VSN. I'm glad the VHL never got to see me at 13.

TDL gets you higher TPE; start of season gets you drafted and back in the system sooner. Honestly it used to mean a lot more to recreate at the deadline back when we didn't have catch-up TPE or...other things. The main TPE-maxing decision these days is the choice of how much time you want to spend in the E which I have a lot to say about. I think the good thing is that you're probably good with whichever one makes you happy. There are different experiences for different people and neither one will wreck your career. -- However, the main reason why lots of people create at the start of the season is to keep a (retired) player in the VHL while someone new gets past the initial development stages and gets drafted as soon as possible. With this already being Teno's last season, and the league past that point, I think it's more worth your time to go for the deadline unless you really hate our development leagues.

Week 2 of trying not to hate my weekends is underway and I’m glad that I seem to be getting somewhere. I think I’ve been making the mistake of depending on the availability or interest of others to have fun and I’ve been doing my best to do nice things for myself independently of that. The past couple weeks I’ve hit the driving range for the first time since last summer and I’m glad to say that I haven’t completely lost it. My clubs are largely HORRIBLE and I’m missing a few, and I’ve also dug through their used bin and picked up a Cobra 6-iron (probably at least 10 years old, but a good brand!) for $10. I’ve also gotten over months of wondering if it’s weird and gotten up to visit a bar by myself. To answer my own question, yes, it’s weird (there’s no one here close to my age and they all know each other)—but I also don’t regret it. It’s nice to be in a space with people around and I get to watch my basketball bracket fall apart.

G - Joel Castle @Knight, then tag Patrik for the last pick.

Dropping in to give notice to @CowboyinAmerica that you’re not on the clock yet officially but can feel free to pick at any point you’d like as no one else has an opening on defense.

F - The Frenchman @LucyXpher

Week 2

D3 mostly because I feel like it at this point. I had a doctor tell me a while ago I was a bit low but I also drink an absolute shit ton of milk--so I like to think the daily intake is certainly satisfied. Also a scoop of protein powder after every workout, though I have no idea if it's doing anything. Are there specific reasons why I'd take any of this other stuff/any benefits it brings? I feel like a lot of it comes with a nice load of pseudoscience but I'd appreciate being able to sort out the good stuff from that too.

I'm stupid. F - Randy Bobandy D - YaBoi Oven @Knight

Always like seeing you around since your time with Jensen on Davos. Good luck in Chicago!

I've managed to go almost every day I've had free since January (which wasn't a resolution, just when that started happening). I've been through phases of being active, or not, over the past couple years and this is the longest I've gone with that being the case. That usually means at least 4-5 times a week, if not more often when no one wants to do things with old Gustav. I like to think I look better in the mirror although I think the differences are mostly only noticeable to myself at the moment. It's really shown itself quantitatively in what I've been able to lift and how that's improved recently. Just about everything I do is a notch or two higher than where it was in January and it doesn't feel any harder. Where I come up a bit short is with the structure. I don't know anything about (nor do I trust myself with) free weights, and because I go by myself and the place is completely empty late at night, I just stick to the machines. Hit everything we have that works with a specific group and then run a mile on the treadmill if it wasn't just leg day. Which I'm sure is fine; it just isn't "optimized" in the ways some nerds like. I also don't ever weigh myself or monitor what I eat (even though I'm sure those things would be helpful). But I'm OK with that--what I do works for what I want it to do, which is to make me feel good about myself. I'm not here to get huge or to impress people, and I'm glad I don't have to think that way to get going.

I love a good cocktail but I don't love the money I have to put into them. Beer goes a hell of a lot farther on the grad student budget. I've never heard that as a stereotype. In my experience, most like it, some hate it, and some don't drink. Almost like we're normal people. I've never had an actual alcohol problem but I've found that I've wanted to drink less since I started working out more and I like that. It's more just that I don't usually go "oh hey there's the beer fridge" at the store lately...and that's more than OK money-wise if not health-wise as well.

F - Leonard Triller @Knight

Out of work early. Lately I've been really bored sometimes and that's gotten to me in ways I don't like. So I'm planning to keep the rest of my day interesting by: Trying a new recipe for dinner (it's Greek night!) Hitting the gym (which has been a very productive time suck lately) Watching hockey (the Sabres are playing out west, so that means late games--I have a couple beers in the fridge for this!) I did well enough staying busy over the weekend but always looking for new things to do when people aren't around to hang out. Preferably those involving getting out of the house so I'm not trapped here.

D - Jacob Stone @LucyXpher