Meet the Blogger: Jon Blevins

Hey there! My name is Jon and you may be wondering “who is this guy?” You’ll be seeing more of me in the weeks and months ahead but decided to kick off my presence on The Family Business by introducing myself.

I’m the very definition of a casual-hardcore player. I play relatively little compared to the truly hardcore and while I love shiny new epics as much as the next guy, I would rather find relaxation and enjoyment in playing Warcraft than be “leet.” I'm not a "natural" when it comes to WoW. In fact, I was the very definition of a Warcraft "noob" when I started. My level 2 Human Mage died to a swarm of Kobold Workers minutes after creation -- yes, the yellow mobs that won't attack unless attacked. This happened more than once, I'm ashamed to say. Since then I've steadily developed into a good player and a solid raider – an achievement that I never would have obtained without the support and encouragement of In Vino Veritas.

I tend to focus on the philosophies and ideas that undergird the more pragmatic and directional writings of my fellow bloggers. I’m very much a “big picture” kind of guy who feels that unless you understand not only HOW to do something but WHY you do it there can be no real change for the better.

Experience

I was part of the first wave of new players to reroll on Zuluhed Horde under the leadership of The Elite Five (Teo and his old raiding buddies). My sister (Beth) married a good friend of our current Guild Master (Teo) which earned me an auto-invite to this amazing group of people (I brought along my wife and her little brother -- now one of our Raid Leaders).

I rerolled an Undead Warlock from my Human Mage primarily because my wife wanted to try Mage and I was sick of dying to Kobolds. I found that I greatly enjoyed the mobility and lethality of the class and that little Warlock remained my main character throughout The Burning Crusade.

I can still remember being lost in The Barrens around level twenty trying to finish some quest or another while The Elite Five were clearing Shadow Labyrinth for the first time (they were working on their Karazhan keys). I hit level 70 at a run and started taking a more active role in the guild that I’d come to adore. Work kept me from raiding except on special occasions in TBC, but I participated avidly in Arenas/PvP and got to know the majority of my guildmates pretty well. I’m a more active raider now in WotLK and that increased activity is undoubtedly one of the reasons I’ve been appointed to an officer’s position within the guild. I’m still a freshman officer and have a lot to learn (be gentle, Teo!), but I’ve never had more fun in World of Warcraft than I’m having right now and In Vino Veritas has made all the difference.

Characters

Manasseh, the aforementioned Undead Warlock, was my focal character in The Burning Crusade. I created him with the express purpose of DPSing 5-man instances and found that I very much enjoyed the mobility of the class compared to my previous “main” the Mage (Thesden). At 70 I realized that scheduling conflicts and heavy burdens at work precluded my being a regular raider so I took to the next-best thing: PvP. I managed to clear every fight in Karazhan, Gruul, Magtheridon, all but Vashj in SSC and left only Kael’thas standing in TK. I partnered with Teo’s Priest (Malloc) for Season 3 and Season 4 arenas and advanced significantly in skill and battlefield awareness to the point that I finally helped push the team to the required 1850 rating to acquire my S3 Spellblade. The dominance of melee in S3 and S4 made this no simple feat but we persevered and I’ve had only one prouder moment since I created my first character over two years ago.

Daerion is a level 80 Holy Paladin which I leveled up during the activity lull near the end of The Burning Crusade and is my current “main” for both PvE and PvP purposes. The guild suffered a significant healer shortage around the time we started moving into Mount Hyjal and, being interested in healing and a TOTAL altaholic, I decided on Paladin to fill a much-needed gap (we had a grand total of zero Holy Paladins around the time I rerolled due to the dominance of Shaman and CoH Priests in PvE and Druids in PvP). The gamble has paid off. I don’t have to compete for my raid spot and Blizzard’s redesign of the Paladin class has made them very powerful Main Tank healers.

My “alts” include Razor (70 UD Warrior), Zacceus (60 UD Mage) and Aerendir (66 BE Death Knight that I’m thinking of rerolling as Tauren). I actually have one of EVERY class on the Zuluhed server including a mostly-unplayed 19 UD Twink Priest named Kissie who functions as a bank alt. I don’t particularly enjoy leveling but I am allured by the potential that I see within other classes and specs and am eventually drawn to try them out for myself. My Paladin has caused me to fall in love with hybrids, but my poor Shaman just can’t seem to get off the ground even though he’s sporting some spiffy heirloom shoulders.

Profession

I’ve been the pulpit minister for a small rural Christian Church for over five years now. I studied Bible & Religion (in addition to English and Psychology) at the same university that Teo and Beth attended. I was raised primarily in the deep south: born in West Virginia and have lived in Ohio, Wisconsin, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, very briefly in Tennessee and now in Minnesota – the heartland of all things bland and white.

In addition to my ministerial duties I do odd jobs for various temp agencies and had a three-month stint as a nursing assistant at a reputable nursing facility until the emotional weight of certain aspects of the job forced me to resign. My faith certainly shapes how I view the world and, subsequently, how I view the virtual world in which I interact with my friends, family and neighbors. I do not, however, attempt to combine my preaching with my recreation. When I speak or write I seek to persuade and inform, when I play WoW I just want to relax and socialize. I’m a better speaker than I am a writer and I have a great love for storytelling which I hope to eventually incorporate into my blogging.

Personal

I’ve been married to an amazing woman for five and a half years. She is the light of my life and a totally uber Frostfire Mage. We’ve yet to start a family but are certainly open to whatever God has prepared for us. I have a lot of IRL family and friends in In Vino Veritas including my sister, Beth, my wife, both my brothers-in-law and half-a-dozen college buddies.

I’m a shy, sensitive, laid-back, thinker, prankster sort. I’ve always harbored a great love for comedy and enjoy nothing more than laughing and making others laugh. I’m a fan of stand-up comedy and comedic cinema/television (among my favorite comics are Dana Carvey, Gabriel Iglesias, Demetri Martin, Mitch Hedberg and W. Fox [actually my college roommate, but no one could make me laugh like he could] and shows such as Seinfeld, Family Guy, The Office, Arrested Development and the better seasons of Mad TV & In Living Color). I obviously love to play games, read theological works and fantasy novels, have three adorable kitty cats, drool over Italian food and listen to most every genre of music depending on mood (right now techno/trance is my drug of choice).

I’m a particularly fierce friend and am undyingly loyal to those who have earned my trust. IVV is one such entity, which is why you can expect my posts to reflect the pride I feel for what this guild has accomplished.

------------------------------

Jon Blevins is an officer of In Vino Veritas.

He's a pastor, husband, gamer and cat-lover.

He lives in Minnesota where the snow comes from.