About the Bloggers: Robin Torres
About the Bloggers introduces you to the people behind WoW Insider. You can find articles on more of our staffers in earlier About the Bloggers profiles.
What do you do for WoW Insider?
I am very happy to say that I've been working at WoW Insider for a while now, though what I do here has changed over the years. Currently, I am one of the Drama Mamas, along with Lisa Poisso. I also adventure according to your whim every week on Choose My Adventure Live. And I am GM of the It came from the Blog family of guilds, which includes organizing monthly events like the haunting of Stormwind. One of my favorite non-column-related posts I wrote a couple of years ago is my interview with a scammer. My previous About the Bloggers post from 2008 describes what I've done here in the past and also includes a picture of me in the back of a pickup truck fondling Tarzan -- if you're into that kind of thing.
What's your main?
This is a very difficult question for me to answer right now. I haven't been playing the character I've considered my main for years -- Robiness the tauren druid, formerly known as Freja. So is my 85 blood elf paladin Boadicea my main? Currently, I'm using her for Firelands dailies only. Roblinator the goblin shamanator is certainly a character I enjoy playing regularly, but I don't get to choose much about her myself. I'm enjoying Tizzy the goblin mage and Fuchsia the troll druid, and Robinemia is the best Forsaken mage ever, and I would like to return to Robinemic the Forsaken huntress, and ... I'll let you know if and when I ever pick one character and stick to her.
What's the best 5-man instance in the game? What's the best raid?
I don't do much instancing and I rarely raid, so I'm not really qualified to answer this question accurately. I'll just say that the Deadmines is awesome because there are pirates. Yarrrrr!
What's been your favorite expansion?
Cataclysm, without a doubt. The way Blizzard redesigned and redefined questing really tickles my gaming fancy. An excellent example of this is Silverpine Forest. If you haven't done the quests there, you absolutely must -- even if you are Alliance normally. You become part of the story in a way that I've not seen in other MMOs, and I want more.
I am endlessly amused by playing goblins, as well. And have you punched Deathwing in the face, yet? Because you really have to do that.
Horde or Alliance?
I'm for the Horde, but Alliance-curious. Actually, I began as Alliance and dabble there every once in a while, but I'm too in love with goblins and Forsaken to stay away for long.
What's your favorite mount?
When I'm not insta-flying on my druid, I love my sparkle pony. I also love how the goblin trike goes vroom vroom! I refuse to choose!
What's the best way to make gold?
Every little bit adds up. I adventure and send everything that's not gray and that I won't use to my bank alt, Emme. Emme scans the auction house using Auctioneer every day and flirts with Makavu, the troll banker. (She likes how he says, "Okie dokie.") I sell as high as the market will bear and keep trying until everything sells. I find that having my higher levels do the Dalaran fishing daily results in all sorts of goodies that sell well on the AH and that just normal leveling of jewelcrafting is rather lucrative as well. Boadicea was walking around with more than 9,000 gold (and very little playtime) until I decided to buy heirlooms for my bevy of alts.
When I'm not playing WoW, I'm ...
Entertaining The Spawn, my five-year-old daughter. There's still a month before school returns, and so all my waking hours are spent keeping her happy or recovering from keeping her happy. We play Spite and Malice and Uno indoors, and I take her to a variety of classes and other outside activities.
It's hard to remember when I used to have time to myself. But when I do, I enjoy knitting and hanging out with my fellow Yarnivores. If you follow me on Twitter, you already know that I am rather fond of both bourbon and Nutella -- though not mixed together. I also really enjoy reading and re-reading English literature from the 18th century to early 20th. It's like an addiction. I can't get enough of Jane Austen, George Eliot and Anthony Trollope. And since all of the books I'm addicted to are available for free on my Kindle, I can feed my need without denting my wallet -- unlike my yarn addiction.
As far as other games, I've been mostly indulging in casual games since I can drop them easily to attend to The Spawn's needs. I'm back to playing Plants vs. Zombies (here's my guide to putting Bobsled Bonanza on farm), and my Tiny Tower is not so tiny. I also indulge in solitaire games of various kinds. I long to return to games that require more of my attention, but for now, only WoW gets that from me -- for both work and fun.
I tend to reveal a lot about myself when I'm writing Drama Mamas and during Choose My Adventure, but if you have any other questions, I'll be keeping an eye on the comments.
