Only has time for Bungie.
Okay, so maybe she has time for family, too. And a private group. And her friends. But, whatever. We're going to keep pretending that we're the most important thing in her life. To get the real scoop, read on.
Q. Who are you and what do you do?
A. My name is Brandi and no, I’m not a 12 year old boy. Seven times out of ten, Halo players think I am. Guess my voice isn’t girly enough? Actually, I just celebrated my 30th birthday. I was kinda nervous about turning 30 but to my surprise, on the morning of my 30th, I jumped on my Bungie account and I got a message from Urk, inviting me to me to do this interview. Needless to say, that was A.W.E.S.O.M.E.!
My occupation title is MOM. We have five children, three boys and two girls. We are a combined family, which isn’t that unusual these days. We are all Florida natives and live in the Tampa Bay area. We love the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and the Gators! And yes, we wear JORTS and we Love it! (Suck it, DeathPimp.)
As I was saying, we have five children. The oldest, Austin, is 12. He is the shyest out of the bunch but has no shortages of girlfriends, yes, already…UGH. He LOVES football and plays the Trumpet in his middle school band. Oh yeah, and loves ROCK AND ROLL and video games.
Taylor, nicknamed TaylorBear, is the next of our bunch. She’s a New Year’s Baby and just turned 11 not too long ago. She aspires to be a Musician, as she plays the guitar and is learning the piano and drums. She actually has a band with her friends. They call themselves, “DoomsDay”. If that doesn’t pan out, she loves animals. She wants to either become a Vet, travel the world as a Wildlife Crusader, or a Marine Biologist, studying Dolphins. Taylor also loves basketball. Both her and Austin (football) have played their sports for two years.
Hopefully they’ll be going to the University of Florida someday!
Next is Victoria, she’s 9 and in the 4th grade. She plays the Clarinet in her school band. She’s also a natural vocalist and loves to sing. In addition to her singing and Clarinet playing, she’s a Purple Belt in Tae Kwon Do. She’s apart of the “Black Belt Club” and also takes weapons class, learning how to use the Bow Staff and the Nunchucks. Her father would prefer her to one day play her Clarinet in “The Million Dollar Band” for the University Of Alabama. *shrugs shoulders* Nobody’s perfect…
Isaac is 8. He’s kinda the genius of the group. He is a VERY inquisitive child. Although he’s only in 2nd grade, he has very strong political views already. He loves the U.S.A.! He loves Science and can do some complex multiplication in his head like it ain’t nothin'! I see him becoming the President one day but he’ll probably be a Scientist, studying the stars or animals. He’s also a very big kid, towering over all the other 2nd graders IN THE ENTIRE WORLD! He’s big. I have to remind people sometimes that he is only 8. I see him dabblin' in some golf lessons very soon.
Then there’s Rylie, he’s not Jeffrey and he’s not 4, but he’s 5 years old. There’s no mistake about it, he’s a cutie! He likes to rock Mohawks and loves vids above everything else. He also loves Baseball and football. Finally, one of my children wants to play baseball! Dude loves to dance. You know he’s got it bad when he starts the beat to “Billy Jean”, umch, umch….umch, umch and all the other kids instantly say, “SHUUUUUT UPPPPP ALREADY”! His heroes include, Master Chief and Michael Jackson. He LOVES Master Chief and Halo. He’s also getting pretty good at the moonwalk.
As you can tell, my hobbies are pretty much our children. I am Taylor’s guitar teacher (been playing for about 8 years), we Love going to the beach, especially at low tide when we have our epic Hermitt Crab battles. Above everything, we love playing Halo!
Q. Whoa...I feel like I'm part of the family now. That's a lot of info! Still don't know where your gamertag comes from though. 'Splain.
A. LIBBYFACE…love it! It actually started out as a family account name…Libbyface. When I got my own account, I decided to keep it but make it all caps…it looks way cooler that way, IMO. MrFreakinMiyagi, my boyfriend, can take credit for it. Libby is my last name, the face part goes back to…one night, while we were playing Halo 2, some guys were talking crap and dude was like…”bet you won’t say that to my Halo face.”
It kinda stuck with us…that’s that.
Q. Sweet. What do you do with your time online. Stick with any particular forums?
A. Umm…yeah, I’m just your Average Jane. I’ve never blogged in my life. I pretty much stick to my group forums and do most of my haunting there. I have ventured out into the community forums before but…not as much fun to me. I don’t know a lot of the language that goes on in the serious forums. I’m not here to be super serious, I’m here to have fun. Now, when someone complains about how bad Rorytate’s fart smells…I can relate to that. Sad but true. *shrugs shoulders*
Q. Gross. Why gaming?
A. I grew up in the gamer generation man! I can’t imagine a life without vids! It also helps that I’m a pretty competitive person. My mother was a gamer too. To this day, she can still hit all 3 cherries, every time, on Super Mario Bros. 2. Lame game, but still pretty amazing. Before I started playing Halo, Galaga was my favorite game, I’m pretty awesome at it. Normally it’s just me and Miyagi, getting down on some Halo at the house. Well, and the kiddies of course.
Q. What was the first Bungie title you played?
A. Halo 2, I’m kinda a newb compared to a lot of others. Again, my boyfriend, MrFreakinMiyagi, and a friend of 11 years introduced me to it. I was over one night and asked me if I have ever played before. He started up the Xbox and the rest is history. I loved everything about it. The idea that you could “party up” and play online with other people just blew me away! We’ve come along way since PacMan.
Q. Are you suprised by how far you've come with gaming on the community side?
A. I’m a teensie bit surprised. When I first started playing, I wouldn’t even talk to my teammates. I’m more surprised about how close I have become with the people in the community. I’m pretty social for the most part. Now they can’t get me to shut up, as you can tell by my interview so far.
Q. Socialize anywhere else?
A. I really only have time for Bungie. I try to be a productive member of the community. I used to have an account with PewterReport (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) but I just can’t keep up. Besides, there’s plenty enough entertainment right here.
Q. That's the right answer. Make some noise!
A. First and foremost, I wanna give a shout out to MrFreakinMiyagi. Boyfriend of 3 years and friend of 11. Love ya babe! *tapping foot, waiting for ring* j/k Without him, I don’t know if I would be playing Halo? *wipes tear away*. H3ITWP…best group ever, really. Whether it be kiddin' around or raising money for various reasons, we take care of each other and I Love you guys! My boys Cobia48, DJ Six 716 and my good friend, SS VIGILANTE (although VIGILANTE never has time to play Halo with me *raspberries*). Also want to shout out to some of my fellow Janes’…waketrix, Froggirl, Fallenstar, WhtButterflyLiz, Crazy Herbie and RaDekk7.
Oh, snap! That's it and that's all for LIBBYFACE. Unless of course you still feel like chattin'. Then you might want to sound off in the discussion thread attached. You know where to find it.