The Almost Complete History of Robert Danielzik
by Rob D himself
My name, as the title states, is Robert Danielzik, no middle name. I tend to joke that my family was too poor for one, but the reason is simple: they never gave me one. Middle names are not as common in Germany, where I was born, as they are in the United States of America, where I live now, even though both my parents have one.
It was the ninth day in September 1973 when I was born in the Red Cross Hospital in Munich. Early afternoon. Sunday. But thats about as much as I know about it, its a bit hard to remember, especially without hypnosis.
I grew up and went to school in Munich. Like many pupils, I wasn't really interested in the study of grammar, or mathematics. Especially in the last year of school, the 9th grade. I was more absent than in class, but somehow I still managed to pass the grade instead of failing it. But I failed to make the "Qualified" Test. Unfortunately that also meant I had to think again about my future plans, as the cleaning company that agreed to take me as apprentice wanted this little degree. I became a painter apprentice. It was not a bad job, but not as good as I had hoped. Painting walls itself wasn't bad and I rather liked painting window frames and the like, but I hated the other stuff, like sanding. At that time I learned about a rather unfortunate trait that I had: I made friends easy, but I also lost them easy. I think I am one of those people who need to be around to be remembered. Once I was out of sight of my friends, I was more or less out of their mind. But it was about that time when I found my main hobby: roleplaying games. After reading a test in a magazine about Computer Games I went and bought Ultima VI - The False Prophet. I loved that game, even though it was in english and english has been one of my least favourite classes in school. And to make it worse, it was not modern english but a pseudo elizabethanian one: "Thou dost see a shrub. Thou art about to become a meal for an ogre, what hast thou planned?" etc. But I worked through it, with a dictionary on my lap.
Two years after I started the apprenticeship a huge change came into my life. My father was sent by his old company to Berlin, 500 miles away from Munich and he liked it there. As he found a new, better, job, he decided to get his family over there too. Including me, who wasn't happy about moving. At that time I had still a good contact to my friend Andy, even though I lived in a different part of town and he had left the school where we had met in first grade. But, since I wasn't ready to get bad blood between my family and me, I resigned and moved with them to Berlin.
Up there, in what is now again the German Capitol, I wasn't happy at first. I missed Munich, and especially I missed my friend Andy. I tried to get into a new apprenticeship for painter, but it didn't work out. Mainly my fault, as the mentor/teacher there wanted to introduce me to the bosses and I overslept. At that time, I begun to write a story. A story about the elven ranger Blackwolf and his group, the Solace Stars. It was a sappy, pathetic story, filled with all kinds of errors, especially when I tried to do crossovers with the ElfQuest Comics. But encouraged by my friend, who was and maybe still is, my only reader, I continued. And it was fun, shaping a roleplaying character. And after playing some english roleplaying games, I found something that was even bettter: my favourite books in english and I noticed that the translation was rather ... well.. disappointing. They changed names (I mean... who came up with translating "Tasslehoff" with "Tolpan"?) they left out the poems, they left out small, unimportant sentences and didnt even try to keep puns as that, but merely translated them word by word, destroying the pun. But I found a roleplaying store where I could buy english books. Roleplaying material and more! And I found my favourite comics (ElfQuest) in english in a comic store. I learned to at least like Berlin.
Then, in the early nineties, I started to work for the same company as my father. I was first a projects guy. Whenever someone was on vacation or sickleave, I was the one to take over. It was rather fun.
1994 I got a letter from the government, saying that I had to prepare to get tested for my tour of duty within the "Bundeswehr", the german Armed Forces. Not long after that I had my physical check, that I passed as T-2, which meant I was usable in most areas. I was too tall for a tank, my eyesight was to bad for a driver, but for the rest I was fine. A short while after that I had my EVP (Eignungs Verwendungs Pruefung), or simply the test about where they could put me. It was something of an IQ test. I remember that the civil tester called me to her and she looked at me saying: "I don't figure you out. You checked the Hauptschulabschluss (more or less the lowest education degree one can have, without bailing out of school in Germany), but you are, of the thirteen testees here the fastest and you have the highest score in the tests. Are you sure you didn't meant to check Abitur? (Highest educational degree for one who was not in the University, in germany its a requisite to have the Abitur (or something similar) to go to the Uni.)" I shook my head, smiled and she send me back for more, not scored, tests to keep me occupied. I failed those, but those had been technical stuff.
Anyways... in April 1995 I went to Hagenow, a small town in Mecklenburg - Vorpommern (Mecklenburg - Western Pommerania) for bootcamp. This lasted 3 months and while not really hating it, I wasnt happy there either. But then I was transfered to a small station in Schwerin, the capitol of that state and became a "Cable bongo". In more offical words, my job was to set up a phone system in a mobile Brigade HQ, and being in the HQ Company of a Brigade means you have to have more brains than usual.
It was a fun time there, I actually "played" soldier. At first I had planned to stay there and that led me to a reassignment within the Signals Platoon to the "Schreibstube", the Platoon Office. I was the first draftee who had been permanently assigned to this, and as I left I had to train my successor.
I left the army 1996 and took a 2 month break, before starting, finally, the apprenticeship for cleaner (Glas und Gebaeudereiniger). It was that year when I joined the online community, after suggestion from my friend Andy. He invited me to join him in CompuServe. At first we chatted alone, then we found a friend who forced us to type in english. It was there, in the "Chat Emulation Forum" that I heard first of the Roleplaying Games Forum. Intrigued I joined that forum and after playing first a different character, Blackwolf. And the people who I met became close friends. It took a little while longer, then I also made friends with some fellow apprentices whom I met in the vocational school. One day I simply brought in my D&D handbooks, a sheet of paper and created a character. That got some interested and at the end of the day, I had 2 player.
Time went by. I was roleplaying with those 2 players almost every weekend. One left but the other got a new player who'se sister was interested as well. My teacher liked me, because I was a good student (Just A's and B's this time, most A's even) and because, compared to the other students at least, I was mature. Mostly at least. Online I became also more and more reknown by my fellow player. I joined a guild, which means an online organization of characters with the same interest and goals. I also started a game named Ultima Online, based on the Ultima Games that I just loved. And the new millenium was coming closer, but my personal goal to have a girlfriend by the year of 2000 was still unfulfilled.
Oh, don't get me wrong. There had been a few girls I felt something for. First, there was Kristen, who made the portrait of Blackwolf. I thought I was in love with her, but as she left (I still feel a bit responsible for it) I noticed I wasn't in love with her, but that I had a crush on her character that was married to my char Blackwolf. Then came Sierra, who played the wife of a different char of mine. But the memories of the thing with Kristen held me back. As Sierra left, I waited to feel better. But I felt worse and I realized that this time I had no real feelings for her char, but that I was in love with the player.
1998 I finished apprenticeship and became a Specialist with a Journeyman Degree. I became Foreman/Teamleader with a staircase cleaning team. And while I had success as guildleader in an online game, for some reason I wasn't a good teamleader in real life. I hated that job, ending up doing the odd additional jobs myself. After a while I was transfered away, to be again a project guy.
2000 came and I had no girlfriend. I was a bit devastated but also resigned to the fate of being a dried up virgin man when I die. Though I still roleplayed with two friends, those had been the only friends in Berlin. Most of my friends had been online and I felt closer to them than I did to my pals in Berlin.
It was summer as everything changed.
It was June 13th 2000. I was cleaning windows in a school in Berlin, the Summerbreak nearly upon the students, but classes still went on for a few more days. As it was my habit while working I let my mind wander, while my hands did the job. In my mind I chatted with a friend that I had not too recently met in the forum. Her name was Cassandra, a nurse from Ohio, about my age. We had chatted off and on and played a bit together. More frequently than I remembered, since a few times I didn't recognize her in our chats. A minor character of mine and one of her chars had hooked up together not too long ago. At that day I had that imaginary chat with her and I stopped, as I was suddenly struck with the recognition of my feelings. I was falling in love with her. I knew that feeling from when I fell in love with Sierra and when I had a crush on Lady Tanya, Kristens charactr. But also recognized that it was still early enough to crush that budding love. Or I could go flank speed ahead and simply try it. I decided to try it.
As I went online that day, she wasn't around, but a mutual friend of ours was: Vedek Andy. I talked to him and told him what I planned: To ask Cass if she would be interested in a long distance online relationship. If he had advised against it, I think I would have dropped it, but he told me to go ahead, but cautioned that she was a bit of a flirt and that her flirts with me might have meant nothing (and she had quite a few married characters.) But she came online that day and I asked her. And to make it short (she might tell more about it) she said yes, she was interested in becoming my online girlfriend.
Now I was looking forward even more to go online every day. And my phone and CompuServe bills became a matter of discontent within my family. My mother begun to hate the PC (or at least dislike it strongly). If I had a bad day, she blamed the PC. I think she was partially right, I think I did think too much about the PC. But then I begun to call Cass and though the first phonecall was more a stuttering of my side it went better and better. My family of course found out what I was doing, and while cautioning me about online relationships they, especially my mom, encouraged me. I send a few letters, even a few little gifts to America. But nothing was as grand as the gift Cass gave to me at the end of the year.
Cass came to visit me in Berlin on December 27th and stayed until January 11th 2001. My mother suggested that I should rent a little one bedroom apartment for the first few nights, that way I could be alone with Cass.
Cass's flight came late, I went to the apartment to drop off my bags, get the keys and to see where it actually was. As she finally arrived she gave me the first surprise: I was expecting a hug and a light peck on the cheek, she gave me a rather deep, passionate kiss. Not going into the details, but the money for the apartment was well spent. And while I had the secret hopes to seduce Cass in our first night, reality was even better. She seduced me one hour after we've arrived in the apartment.
The days with her went by too quickly, we stayed mostly home, but managed to visit at least on one day a few places. I was rather down as she left me and coming home alone... I never slept in the bed again that she had shared with me, as I felt it was too big without her and I was missing her.
March 2001 I sold my car. I quit my job, sold my DVD's and March 27th I left germany, immigrating to the USA.
On April 2nd 2001, Cassandra JoAnne Newlun became Cassandra JoAnne Danielzik in the little Pentacostal Church in Nelsonville.
September 2001 we moved into our own little place.
March 10th, 2004 our daughter Kathryn Velma-Rose Danielzik aka Kitty was born. (More info about how she came to the world on her own site, it's quite a story, I tell you.)
March 7th 2005 I finally found a job that I liked.
August 17th 2006, our son Julian Alexander Danielzik aka Snuffles was born. (Again, more about that on his page.)
LINKS
Blackwolf - Character Page
Ultima Online Official Page
World of Warcraft Official Page