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Friday, December 10, 2010

Final Farewells

Hello all.

For a number of reasons, this may be the end of my time in Vana'diel. I will continue to love all and serve all as a White Mage, gifted with a healing touch, a perceiving ear, and the Well of Sorrows. But I doubt I'll be doing any of that in Vana'diel anytime soon.

I've been working on my departure for some time, but with the latest S-E screwup, I may be denied even that. The December 6 update doesn't work on my PS3 and I'm not about to attempt their /workaround/ of reinstalling everything.

Hold on - I think I need to set the table.

I've long lamented that in the past 6 months or so I've gotten nowhere. My shell has (once again) basically fallen apart. I don't have any regular people to play with, and no organized group to assist me with the hard stuff. I don't necessarily mean endgame, but just Abyssea and AF3, Trials, new Rare/Ex gear, and so on. My last Party Log entry was on 9/25 and that was a shell thing. Other than that, I've had maybe one undocumented Dancer party and four trips into Abyssea. That's it. I'm tired of LFG for hours on end, and I suspect my gimpiness isn't helping.

So be it.

Furthermore, I just don't have the time I used to. Before last month, I was pulling back because of Ape. Her issues with online time haven't gone away and I got tired of fighting them. And then a few weeks ago I got kicked from the job that I loved dearly. So money goes away and so do indulgences like XI.

My plan was to see if I could cancel but rejoin after things sorted themselves out - maybe a month or two God willing! But then the December update broke PS2 play and things aren't looking positive for a simple fix. Plus, my plans to go to XIV seem to be pointless as word from Eorzea is that it's still broken (bazaar, quests, walkathons, etc.).

It doesn't help that I'm under a lot of stress and pressure. My gifts mean I'll survive but sometimes it just sucks having to be string enough for two people. Well, five, really (: I don't have anyone I can talk with about stuff because Ape and I just can't agree on how to handle stress in and of itself (causing her *more* stress) and I just can't find it in me to burden others. I know of several people who'd hang with me in a heartbeat, and I love them for it. But it's just not what I really need.

There's also some extra pressure to not be myself, so much. I'm not sure I like that. I am who I am, after all!

So, in summation, don't expect to see much more here. Even if by some miracle the stars align and I get back on, find a group on my schedule and get into all sorts of adventures, I just don't know if I can deal with the drama of The Real that surrounds Vana'diel for me.

If there's anyone still in Vana'diel that was hoping I'd come back and amateur up my WHM (lol Fhox) or finish out my Dancer, I'm sorry.

Missing you all,

Aerin

P.S. I've essentially moved away from Yahoo mail to GMail because a) Google is awesome, and b) I can access my Google accounts using a standard IMAP/POP3 client like Evolution. I'm at first name dot last name at gmail dot com.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Hi, Loreal Customer Service?

Um, what is the expected lifespan of your crystal file? As a White Mage, the notion of a light crystal anything is appealing. I've been looking for something better than the paper emery boards I've been using to do my nails and someone recommended ceramics.

While CVS has ceramics, Target does not. But as I was there for other things I looked and found your crystal file. Eight dollars. I figured it should be at least comparable to a paper emery that costs about 25 cents.

The next day I had time to try it out. I started on my thumbnail and lines of the abrasive began coming off, revealing smooth glass beneath. I moved on to the others and before I'd finished my left hand more than half the material was gone on both sides.

The next day I returned it. I'll have to see if the LaCross ceramics at CVS work any better. They're the same price after all.

If it matters, the reason I'm looking for something different is that the paper emerys take too long. They last quite awhile and allow me to shape my nails as I please but they just take too long. I'm looking for something that can get the job done quicker.

Any ideas?

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Fun With Politics

I had this idea over the weekend after seeing so much campaigning for midterm candidates recently. The Tea party and the Republicans seem to be counting on a backlash against Democrats and/or Obama. The first two years of Obama's presidency haven't been the best.

But don't we do this with almost EVERY president? Few have been so skilled, lucky and supported to have a significant popular sentiment halfway in.

Anyway, I really wish I knew if what's going on was really Obama's fault. Of course, what part does Congress play? And slowly-unfolding events that began well before Barack said "I do". And random events and accidents that would have snookered any sitting leader?

I'm not a "party line voter" though most of my votes go in a Democrat-oriented direction. I can't help it - as a body of beliefs, the Dems are more desireable to me than the other choices. I don't like everything they stand for - but I still honestly believe that a sincere effort to improve everyone's lives and keep poverty, ignorance and suffering to a minimum benefit all of us.

It's the whole Ubuntu thing - I am who I am because of what we all are.

In any case, I'm really curious how many people will make informed, honest choices over the next few weeks. I don't begrudge anyone who sticks to their guns and continues to back a seemingly-doomed candidate. Nor do I object to someone crossing party lines for a person they honestly believe will make their lives better.

But how many won't? I'm already sick of the attack ads and political spew filling the airwaves...

Party Weekend!

Sunday:

Almost slept right through my hair appointment! I made it there two minutes late but my stylist wasn't done anyway and I had to wait. She actually remembered (more or less) why I'm growing my hair out. She offered all kinds of advice and sold me some Redken mousse. It wound up a bit shorter but

From there, it was T's birthday at Adventure Landing. Pretty fun time although I didn't get to dance. I did get to play Juke Box Hero (on hard, not expert this time) and later I helped D with it. I also walked up to an abandoned game of Deal Or No Deal and although I didn't get to pick the initial case, I made it to the final offer (4 versus 70) and took the offer of 53. Good choice, too, as the personal case has the 4.

Most of us went on to the Loop for dinner. Mom shared some shake with me too. Oh - it would seem that splitting a shake does not reduce the amount they serve. Good to know!

-=-=-=-

Saturday:

Garage sale! We made 60 whole dollars and still have piles of crap. But it was kinda fun and we made a few people very happy with deals we didn't think too hard on before making. Mostly my fault - I just want this stuff gone!

Then we went to B&D's new house for a combined housewarming and first birthday for their youngest daughter. Their new place is way nicer than their townhome and it has a lovely yard too. Also, watching their wee one dig into the "baby cake" was precious! She was eating icing and some cake and when she dug down to the custard layer she seemed surprised ^^

That night, we saw "Easy A". Easily one of the best movies of the year. I loved the whole thing, especially their take on teen torments and feeling like an outcast.

-=-=-=-

Friday late-night

Super short party with Hermes

Started to solo FoV in Behemoth's when Vante called - asked for help in Citadel with THF AF. He was kind enough to allow me to finish my page and then I met him and his friends - they were 80+ so it was just dead-weight they needed for the switches.

He had to hit all the ??? in two areas to get Chandelier (a bomb NM) to spawn. They must not have seen the wiki because not only did they let him self-destruct on the pop, they didn't realize he could be easily respawned after just 10 minutes. The second pop was easy win.

Then he lent me his Velvet Robe! On his way to Ifrit's with one of his buddies we swung through Jeuno and he lent it to me saying he wanted it back for use by his family. Super nice of him! I used my Bastok medallion for a quick warp to Brygid and closed it out. I warped back and sent the robe back to his DB. Then I dressed out in my new gear and went looking for more 50+ gear.

I don't like how I look like I'm wearing a goth corset and not much else. Maybe I can learn to like it. I definitely love the stats!

In general, this caps a week of lots of soloing on SAM, to 28.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Blah

Wednesday:

First was Survivor Premiere party at my parents'. Great food and an OK show. Young versus Old. Jimmie Johnson (Cowboys/Dolphins ex-coach, not the NASCAR champ) is on the oldster's team. I wonder if someone cautioned the others to not say the name of the "male enhancement" pill Johnson (ha!) shills for. I won't either. But I'm waiting for some good jokes. After, we raced home for the AGT results. Aaaand...

Boo~o~o! Oh well. I can't say I was totally surprised that Prince P. didn't take the crown. But I *was* surprised that Michael Grimm won, leaving Jackie Evancho as first runner up. Honestly, I think it's the right call based on talent, appeal and general showmanship.

BUT. Someone find me a still of Jackie's performance with Sarah Brightman. You know, the one where, just as they finish in triumphant fashion, we, the audience realize Jackie's was better. And a second after us, Jackie appears to as well because the look they catch on her face as she looks up to Sarah is just ~perfect~!

-=-=-=-

Tuesday:

Relived the past by listening to Star Trek 2 and 4 at work. Read Denshi Otoko while waiting for AGT. Interesting premise if true...

AGT thoughts: Prince Poppycock goes for a purer operatic performance, to his detriment I think. Fighting Gravity wasn't bad (better than last week, not as good as before). Michael and Jackie were both excellent. Poppycock is still my hero (does his own cosplay, sings, can set up a whole show etc.) and he clearly has a performing range that neither Michael nor Jackie have matched. FG had a shot to really dazzle and I think they were close...

-=-=-=-

Monday:

At work, I found out, totally by accident, that I have "Group 7" access. Hey Flynn!

Took Elder to the Library, then Gamestop and Target. I reloaded my queue (Black Jewels 2, Denshi Otoko 1, Enduring Flame 1 on CD)

While at GS, I preordered GT5 for my anniversary gift and Super Scribblenauts for Younger.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Beach Bums

Since we planned to leave from my work, all four of us rode together in the morning, with a pre-packed van. We dropped the Clones off first, followed by a short run to Ape's work. Then I was off.

At about 5:30, I left to gas up and waited at the station for Mom & Dad to deliver the crew. They were coming too, as was Sis & Co. Of course... ^.~ We all met near the Speedway for a barbeque dinner which for me was -meh-. But from there it was maybe 30 more minutes to our hotel. And we had an even nicer room this time than last!

* Fri - Theological Debates with Ape, watched half of Beck, grocery shopping at 7-11.

* Sat - Breakfast in bed followed by lunch at Aunt Catfish's (BK for me). Then we went to a family fun center and the kids got two-hour unlimited armbands and I got a few dollars of tokens for DDR - they had 4th Mix and SuperNova2 and both worked great! I nearly killed myself dancing my pants off in their oven of a back room.

I rode Ty on the karts and picked the winning case in Ape's game of Deal or No Deal. I had the 200-ticket case picked but the final offer of 120 came with only 40 and 200 on the board and we played it safe.

Poolside lounging and a beachfront walk and photoshoot ^^

Din was a joke as it took us 30 minutes and lots of aimless wandering to find a pizza place - we wound up at Pizza Hut after all but it was very good.

I've decided I just don't like this area. Right on the beach is nice but just off the main roads it gets scary. And it's crawling with pedestrians at all hours, most of whom look like they're deep into a pub crawl... Clearwater is so much nicer!

Sunday - I grabbed ham croissants for all of us while listening to classic rock (go Juke Box Hero!) Then we sat around deciding what to do. We had the day to ourselves for once. We settled on hitting the Port Orange area to see what kind of shopping and eating were to be had. Ape's dad recommended this area and it turned out to be a good call.

Since we'd eaten breakfast not long ago, we needed to kill time before the promised Red Robin. Kirkland's had some nice stuff, and we heard a minor parking lot fender bender. But soon enough, it was time to eat. And while I never did try one of their famous burgers, the teriyaki chicken sandwich I had was really good. And Elder and I had an actual conversation (granted, it was FF-related as we traded notes between FFT and XI, but still).

From there, it was mall time. We hit the Daytona mall for a bit and had a nice time. And then we headed home. Once there, Ape followed me to the gas station. I'd parked Shiroma Thursday with fumes in the tank and after filling up it looks like I had about 7 miles to empty. Close call!

I went grocery shopping with Younger then I think I went to bed after messing about in XI.

Friday, September 10, 2010

RE: The "Burn a Qu'ran Day" Lunacy

Scourging all of Islam because of a relative handful of extremists, like the WTC attackers, is no better than scourging all of Christianity for a relative handful of extremists, like abortion clinic bombers.

This is the crux of my point to Ape. See, we'd been discussing the whole Qu'ran burning-thing in Gainesville and ultimately, I landed there. I'm Christian, but I'm not really opposed to other faiths. We can debate that later, if you like. But put another way, I'm likely to get one of those "Coexist" stickers for my car...

So, my position is based on the notion that Islam, at its heart and as practiced by the vast majority of its followers is not too different from other commonly accepted faiths. I'm not aware of anything in the Qu'ran that says Muslims must actually attack nonbelievers, in a literal physically-violent sense.

I think most religions teach conversion, with a wink and a nod to the idea that theirs is the "correct" one. But I'm not aware of a main-line faith that says that conversion is supposed to come at sword or gunpoint.

So, if in fact the Qu'ran does teach that, my argument falls to pieces. Maybe I should find the Islamic equivalent to "Why do Catholics Do That?" and see if I've got it right.

By the way, Ape didn't like my argument above and didn't take to kindly to it. Ah, what a way to start a weekend!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Ramblings

This has been a pretty good week:

* At work, I'm doing much more coding. There's still some firedrill fun but that's OK. I capped off the week finally working on some automated testing on my big project.

* In XI, I literally spent three hours plus fixing up my inventory, as I realized with a /facepalm that I've had the means to expand my locker this whole time. Argh. I prioritized my WHM, DNC and SAM gear and threw my RNG and BST far back in the closet. I have most of the others close at hand just in case of a shell or PUG invitation. I realized as well that I could sell my Eisenschaller as my Empress Pin beats it solidly.

* It only took about 80% completion, but I FINALLY got into my book. I think I finally understand all the action and "spell technology" at play. And on Thursday I finished it in my usual breathless rush because I figured out I wasn't going to get a clean ending. Or a particularly happy one at that. So now I have nothing in my library queue and I need to refill it, starting with book 2 of this series. I also need a new audiobook or two. Local radio still makes me ragey and I do enjoy being read to. Thank you Fourth Grade teacher whose name escapes me presently!

* Speaking of audio, the latest book was "Ruler of the Realm". I didn't realize it was actually #3 in a series but it was easy enough to get into. I enjoyed it and tried to listen with the Clones on the way to school. But the extra hour per day I got without them in the car eventually wrecked that notion. My biggest problem with the audiobooks is that I somehow keep finding "teen" books without meaning to.

* Also on the audio front, I got Beck, disk two, from Netflix. Just haven't had time to watch.

* Because of stuff like the AGT finals - Wow! The Grand Finals are going to be nuts. Go Team Poppycock!

* Friday, we're leaving directly after work to Daytona Beach, for the second weekend on our "bargain radio" coupons. More to come!

Monday, September 6, 2010

Marathons Are Long! (Teal Deer Warning)

Monday:

No XI today. I was on a "no complaining of lack of sleep" warning from Ape after yesterday's bender. The big Labor Day plans were for us to meet my folks at the mall for a little shopping after we ate breakfast. Then, quick shopping for the party at Sis's.

At the mall, I wound up running around for the others as much as I got to shop myself, but I did get some new stuff at B&BW. This was after a salesgirl offered me a sample of the new flavor and before I could grab a tester to smell, she put a bit of the lotion in my hand.

We all grabbed snacks later in the afternoon and Dad and I ran into his old friend and we chatted a bit.

I picked Ape up when it was time to go - she'd made it to the other end of the mall but started feeling lousy again - and then I did the shopping for dinner. We stopped back at the house to grab the Clones then off to the party.

Dinner grilling was underway quickly so we got to the food pretty quickly, and as usual, it was very tasty. Afterwards, it was time to play Apples to Apples. I won ^^

Back home, there wasn't much time left so we just got the kids settled and wound down.

Sunday:

...And here I was telling Ape I didn't play that much per session! I started up a bit after Ape and the boys went off to Fernandina with Sis & Co. I was off the hook because BIL didn't go but I *did* offer. Ape said I could have the day for me. And *this* time, she delivered!

I resumed my lumber fishing in the Canal and on my last trip of my multipass (it was an ordinary multipass, not a Leeloo Dallas Multipass) I scored a drop! I continued the back-and-to to close that one out, then Hyper Active, then The Naming Game. This one also involved farming, but I got luckier with the Cryptonberries in Pso'xja. And my chosen airship name? "Eternal Celestial Mystic". Surprised?

Somewhere in here, I helped Snouzer, Zeb's boy, with the BST unlock in Qufim. We both showed up as WHMs although I think he was 54 to my 75. Still, plenty capable. The Kraken fight was cake but the NM above wasn't - I picked on a new high-level beastie and got pounded. Oh well! Big buffer!

I then finished off 5-1 and proceeded into 5-2 - Promy-Vahzl. I'm supposed to be able to solo this now that the level cap was off. I really didn't have any trouble climbing the first 4 floors and took time to try obtaining a White Memosphere for the map. But the Memory Receptacle leading to 5 was a pain. I had to Benediction but I made it up.

By now, it had been like 5 hours of running all over Vana'diel, plus I knew I wanted Benediction for the final Spire fight. So I took a break to drive another load to the storage unit. I had taped up the boxes during some airship delays and such. And I wanted to eat too. Ape was supposedly still in Fernandina but as I was leaving the storage facility and headed to find food Ape called and said she was home and wanted to go with.

I headed back, grabbed her and we were off to Wendy's, the crew's unanimous pick. We grabbed some grub, then I offered to grab a Redbox and watch something with Ape. We settled on "Book of Eli". Back home, we ate and then started the movie. Younger actually stuck around, despite warnings of violent and bloody content. He's squeamish. He actually watched more than Ape did :3

The Review: Pretty interesting premise... Strangely-driven man called Eli (Washington) journeys West, protecting what turns out to be the last surviving Bible, post holocaust. Seems 30 years ago something laid waste to at least America, if not the planet. All the scenery looks like the aftermath of a nuke war. Very "Road Warrior" - including the roving bands of thugs in hand-armored vehicles. Eli isn't just a vagabond - think Transporter, complete with insane levels of bad-assery. He dispatches goons and hairless cats with aplomb.

So, Eli. He winds up in a small town run by Carnegie (Oldman) who just happens to be searching for a Bible, believing that with the power of dogma, he can influence a larger number of people and expand his control. Yada yada yada Eli escapes just as Carnegie figures out what he's sought for so long is staying in one of his hotel rooms. Eli "emptied" Carnegie's bar when one of the Brute Squad muscled in on him. Carnegie wants a new Enforcer. Eli wants to turn him down so Carnegie puts him up for the night to try to change his mind.

By sending his girlfriend's daughter Solara (Kunis) to seduce him. Doesn't really work. But soon after the two of them find themselves reluctant traveling companions. After a quick bite at a remote farmhouse (great scene BTW), Carlisle and Co. arrive and level the place, recovering the Bible. And the heretofore unassailable Eli gets gut-shot and left to die.

This is when the audience wonders what kind of Divine intervention will save the day for our devout hero. Nothing terribly dramatic. Just a good memory and a Heavenly sense of irony. See, the Bible he's been toting across the wastes is a *Braille* edition, and Carlisle's conveniently-blind consort refuses to read it to him. Meanwhile, his minions sense Carlisle's slipping power and bolt.

Eli and Solara on the other hand, find themselves in San Fran, rowing a small boat to Alcatraz Island. There's a growing library there curated by Malcolm McDowell. Eli reads the Bible while the Curator transcribes. He's gonna print new ones on a press he's almost got working. Movie wraps with a dead but content Eli being laid to rest on the Island while new Bibles get printed. Solara takes up Eli's gear if not his mantle and heads back home, presumably to get her mom.

I loved the ending, especially Carlisle's expression of bewilderment when he realizes he got what he wanted and still lost. I'd spend time in later days trying to figure out if Eli was in fact meant to be blind. There's evidence in the film for both possibilities (and I have to believe he was at least partially sighted) but the screenwriter gave an interview saying, Nope, he's blind. Whatever. Still cool.

Oh, and the Curator? The man lives on a green island, WITH electricity and a printing press, and he can't come up with a ratty manual typewriter? Or even a Selectric? Really?

So, after more family time, I picked back up with XI. I resumed my assault on the fifth floor of Promy-Vahzl. Turns out the level 80 baddies they added when the level cap was removed were no problem. And I never had to worry about links because the only things I attacked were the memosphere holders and they were unique enough. So, I finish off the fifth web and head to the Spire. I had to choose - fight the buff-eater first or last? I opted for first and I think it was the right choice.

I engaged him and totally forgot the second boss wanders in at about 20%. So I found myself getting beaten senseless by two angry monsters while low on mana but I managed to finish off the first before I died. Benecide helped keep me kicking just long enough. The second retreated to the center and I reraised, hoping not to get hate as soon as I did. Nope, Number 2 stayed put and healed. I was then worried the first would respawn but it didn't. *Phew!* I could rest, buff and fight on a more even footing with food and buffs.

And that's what I did. The next two battles were much like the web battles from earlier and I won. With less than 4 minutes to spare! Yikes! Warped outside I slogged my way to the other tower for the last little cutscene and planned to go to bed as it was now 2:30am.

That's when Soulshear asked for partiers at level 40-odd. I said all I had was my Sam at 20 and he jumped at it. So I wound up in a Qufim party. Until 5:30am. But man, what a party! Soul and I skillchained Scissions all night long while our BLM bursted off them. We never really had trouble once we all got our rhythm down. It was really fun and I wound up gaining 4 levels too!

As I made ready to leave, I thought Soul wanted me to find a rep, and I did, but then two or three of the others wanted to knock off too and so the party broke. Just as my rep arrived, too >< I felt bad but there was nothing for it but to apologise. And /yawn!

Saturday, September 4, 2010

More Hard Work, Followed By Treats

Saturday:

Spent about 7 hours working in the garage, and the defrag is slowly taking hold. If we have any measure of success with the "sell/giveaway/donate/toss" pile, we may yet get a car into the garage!

All four of us worked in there this time, even grumpy Elder. Pregna-momma finally went through a number of her boxes and we threw out about 3 full cans' worth. Some of that was junk I fished out of the back corner, further clearing off the workbench I hope to move into the storage unit. The final two hours was spent by the Clones and I as we trucked two loads of stuff to the unit, settled a dispute with the library, got gas for Ape, and dropped off two bags to Goodwill.

Back home, it was 6:30 and we all got cleaned up. Then we went to the Loop, where I got a cajun chicken sandwich and an Oreo shake. Mmmm! We ate with Sis & Hubby and stopped at the mall on the way home. Sis was looking for a shower curtain and I wanted to browse a bit.

At Gamestop with Younger (what do I call him when Creature debuts?) the clerk turned on high-pressure mode when I mentioned reserving the GT5 SE and Younger asked about Super Scribblenauts. We'll reserve all right, but at OUR Gamestop. We both like their people! Much cooler!

Ape and I watched a little TV and I also tried to continue "Daughter of the Blood". I have no idea why but I just cannot get into a rhythm with this one. I like the setting and I can see a lot of potential. But when I'm not reading it, I don't spare it a second thought, unlike a lot of my other recent titles. It really reminds me of Burning Alive like that - I had a hard time getting through that one too, until near the end. Its sequel was MUCH more interesting, perhaps because of the foundation set by the first. I do so hope Daughter does the same.

In XI events, I resumed by hunt for a sheep liver, and after another dozen or so sheepies, got one off an orc. /sigh. With that quest done, I headed to Sandy to get the wood piece I need for the first of Cid's three quests. Oh crap. It only drops on the Carpenter's Landing barge, and each leg only spawns two monsters - three if I'm lucky. To make matters worse, this ferry eats up time and I'm soooo bored.

Friday:

Work is getting better. My boss is making headway in moving daily support tasks off the devs, and I've actually spent a fair amount of time this week coding. I have a new validator I can use with the major enterprise project, and my big web project is making steady and on-time progress!

After work, we met C&R at Red Elephant. We had free apps and they had a free dessert. I enjoyed two BBQ chicken quesadillas and ordered a pizza deal as my meal. They have an unusual sauce, but I like it. We followed that with group-shopping at Target then home

After chilling with Ape, I jumped on XI and decided to continue on with my questing and CoP soloing. After finishing the cutscenes for the Slanderous Utterings mission, I started "X Marks the Spot". More like, "Have fun slaughtering sheep and orcs for a shot at a 2% drop needed to trigger a fetch-quest". I fell asleep in Lufaise Meadows after killing about 20 sheep and avoiding Flockbock's random wanderings.

Thursday:

We had an early-morning appointment for Creature's three-month check. This time, the images were much clearer and she (being optimistic here) was very wriggly at first, and she even waved at us! Then she stopped all movement and wouldn't face the way the tech needed her to. It was cute watching the tech prod Ape's belly trying to move Creature!

Watched Haruhi #2 - This is definitely a goofy show, but it's that good warm-n-fuzzy kind of goofy. I also watched some of the extras, including a couple of the live-action ASOS Brigade vids. Cute and cheesy, like great cosplay theater should be. I think - I don't have a lot of XP there yet ^^

Monday:

Watched Claymore #2. The conclusion of the Teresa backstory was surprisingly touching. Teresa seemed so cold but came to really care for little Clare. THe look of surprise on her face (and Clare's too I suppose) when the Awakened Yoma finished her in a surprise attack was shocking. Now I really want to see how Clare ascends the Claymore ranks. Number 47 lol.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Hard Work Followed by Awesome Treat

Sunday

We went to a morning service today, which meant a traditional Mass, dropping Elder's guest off on the way. The "normal service was nice, and I like SH's sanctuary better than SC's. Here's the "but"... I couldn't really understand what the priest was saying. /sigh I did get a giggle when I patted Ape's belly and wished "peace be with you" to Creature ^^

Afterwards, I took my clones, Younger's guest and Sis's duo off so the girls + Mimi could go visit a friend and then househunting. My plans were to stop at Best Buy, McD's, then home to make ready our first shipment to the storage unit. Sis met me at BB with her kids' food and I grabbed mine some dollar menu treats. Back home, I gave Ape most of her much-delayed present from last year - her car cleaned out. Well, aside from needing a vacuum, it is EMPTY!

Then I filled it, twice. On my first trip, I got hopelessly lost (and a little nervous! ~.~) because our unit is an "inside" unit. Imagine a series of random hallways, metal doors, and automatic lights, all in an enclosed structure. Yeah. Anyway, I got myself sorted and unloaded a bunch of stuff and then neatened it up. The second trip was for shelves and some more garage stuff (rather than house stuff) because we're trying to "lighten" the clutter level everywhere.

Returning home, I had to put the seats back in the van and do some more clean-up, then a shower and dinner. Sammies on Hawaiian rolls - とても美味しいですよ!(totemo oishii desu yo!) I flopped into bed with Ape. We caught the opening of the Emmys, then I returned to DramaCon. Oh my! Volume 3 was so sweet! I don't know why I didn't catch it from my reading of #1, but this turned out to be a very romantic and funny series. I do hope there are more!

Now it's lights-out... YouTube's cranking out some nice trance, nightcore and dance music for me. This has been a good weekend for online entertainments. If I had *real* internet, I think I could make do with streamed TV, YT, and Netflix...

Oh, on an XI note, I looked into more of the soloable CoPs and a few quests too. I wonder what Soho's been up to, lol :3

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Soho's So Helpful!

Saturday 8/28

Ape's snoring woke me at 8:30 and I gave up trying to sleep at 8:50 or so. Went into the LR with plans to mess around and maybe party a bit when Soho got ahold of me again. I was actually working on the Brygid quest for my Rapparee Harness when he rang. He wanted to go out to the Sacrarium for my Swift Belt.

* Farmed Fomor Codex, Sealion and Coral Keys
* Did the "Secrets of Worship" CoP, fun with Keremet when we forgot to clear the skeleton guards. 12 of them stormed in and we were toast
* Got Swift Belt on first try
* Total time on - 4.5 hours

Later, Ape and I got the rental unit and will begin packing Sunday. Lunch at Steak & Shake, then grocery shopping then back home. Ape off at 7 for her friend's b-day. Each clone has a friend spending the night. Pizza and junk food ahoy!

Back on XI to solo Beryl Memo map, War Hoop DNC AF and a Velvet Robe hunt

Reading DramaCon vol 2 now

Decided to see if our router's options would allow me to blacklist the kids' net toys leaving us online. See, I have static IPs set up and each member of the household gets a range. Not as good as MAC mapping but until one of the clones really gets into IP security and the like... Anyhoo, it worked. The laptop and iPod lost connection. This way they won't be tempted to stay up late playing online.

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Friday

Din with C&R - they got their house! - ate at Longhorn, then we went on by ourselves to Scott Pilgrim. I really really liked it. Maybe 15 minutes too long, but the overall vibe was awesomely awesome! I don't think Ape was as amused as I, but she was game enough. Ha! See what I did there?

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Another Week...

7/25 Busy day: Woke up and after a small breakfast, spent about two hours in the garage looking for junk to toss. This meant opening boxes and sifting the contents. A lot of what remains from the move and fire packing is paper and little bits of stuff. Most of the bulk stuff was unpacked right after the fire. So anyways, I got to relive old memories as I found all kinds of whatnot. I also found the missing hard drive! If it still works, I can rescue all my great college papers! Here's hoping! I *also* found my long-missing Korn CD in one of my two ancient Sony portable CD players. Think late 80's vintage. Wonder if there's a market for these on eBay...

After burning out in the garage, I got cleaned up. While I was outside, Ape was inside cleaning the kitchen. We're doing what we can to get ready to move. The big shift will happen when we get a storage unit for the volumes of clothes piled everywhere. Some of the garage will go as well, but my belief is that most of our clutter is stuff normal people would keep in closets. Because normal people *have* closets. We have nooks...

We left the house at 3-ish and headed to the Town Center. Everybody was hungry except Ape, and Ape's sis's brood was due to meet us as well. So when we got to Whisky River (think Hooters with more of a C/W flair) at 3:45 with no wait, I was stoked. But Sis needed to stop as her check oil light came on and so we killed about 45 minutes looking for new flip-flops for me since my Sketchers broke and my OPs are just too hard and uncomfortable. Back at the restaurant, we were seated quickly and Ape and I opted to split a beef brisket sandwich and chicken sandwich. We liked our food and I think the other 7 did as well. Decor-wise I was unimpressed, but then, we weren't there at party-time. Half the place is set up as a dance floor, with dedicated bar. I suppose at night it's more lively.

Before we left I got to do something I've kinda always wanted to try but never wanted to pay for. Ride a mechanical bull. I think I did well, and despite /already/ having a hurt back I didn't tear myself up too badly. But the surprise of the day was Elder - he stayed on the longest of all! Even longer than the three presumably-drunk ladies who went before us ^^

From there was a bit more shopping then Wal-Mart for groceries, then home. Ape asked me to put up the freezer stuff and I decided to blitz the unit, trying to make sense of what was in there. I got a little mad, too, because once again, I had to throw out several unopened items including raw meat and packaged meals. I think I made my point with Ape when I told her that the chicken breasts she'd bought would have company - we had FOUR more already in there she didn't know about.

We spent the rest of the night chilling. I finished Azumanga Daioh then handed the lappy off. That left me with an hour or so to redo Phantasy Star Portable. I decided to reroll my character as I'd somehow really messed up her proportions... Seriously - I couldn't take watching her anymore. I'm pretty much back to where I was though, as I hadn't gotten far in the first time.

7/24 Family day: Mall-time, Steak & Shake, then Salt. Ape, Mimi and I watched that whilst the boys went to Sorcerer's Apprentice. Salt was quite good and I was caught out by the ending. Normally, I can guess the major plotlines early on so the fun for me is the implementation. This time I was off-base and enjoyed being surprised.

7/23 Finished the Merry Gentry audiobook, and also finished Kiki's Delivery Service. This is easily a candidate for "subs rule" as the English version carries a more comedic tone than the original. This is meant to be a serious coming-of-age story, not Disney Channel lulz. Later, had some quiet time as Ape had a bachelorette party after work for an old friend. I used the time to play DDR. Late night PC-building chat with Keps; LK away.

7/22 At lunch today, I finished Elantra 4 literally seconds before having to rush upstairs for our daily meeting.

7/21 crappy day at work. Feeling sicker as well. Fell asleep whilst Ape went off with work friends.

7/20 doc confirms - ETA march 13, 2011. 8-week visit on Aug 3, a month later is the sex-guess. Ape surprised Mimi and Aunt El - watch the vid. Finished Beck - oddish story but love the sound design. And the Japanese speaking heavily-accented swears ^^

Saturday, July 17, 2010

New Beginnings

Creature confirmation

Ape's pregnant!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Daytona Reunion

Sunday, 7/11

We got up at 9 for breakfast, as apparently all food must be eaten in the lobby. So all of us shuffled down and got in the "rofl-waffle" line. There wasn't much else, but we enjoyed the company: My sis, Ape's sis, us and all the boys.

They made ready to hit the beach and I stayed in the room. My plans were to find something good on TV, to read, and to update the much-neglected blog. I got to watch the last 30 minutes of Germany's win over Uruguay for the third place game (finals on soon). I got a kick (no, not a pun) out of a kick in the 83rd minute when the ball bounced off a prostrate Uruguay player, who'd fallen moments before in a contest for possession. I still love the vuvuzelas.

Next up was the GP2 race from Silverstone. I don't follow GP2 but I do like racing. Right after this the F1 race is supposed to be on, and near the end of that should be the World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands. Plans changed slightly when Elder came up from their outing early with a tummyache. And he wasn't interested in F1, which was about to start. I managed to keep him into it long enough to see the start and I explained some stuff to him. It wasn't working. So I relinquished the remote and he found Mythbusters. We have like 20 channels, mostly the basics but oddly we have three Showtimes. Also the Cooking Channel ^^

We watched that until the rest of the crew came up and then we got ready for lunch, at the seafood place we had to pass on yesterday, Aunt Catfish. It was all hands on deck but I didn't see anything I wanted. SO I went looking for Catch, who was at the bar watching the World Cup final. I sat with him for 20-odd minutes, up to the scoreless half. He gave me his cinnamon roll (one comes on every plate) and it was quite good.

It took some time for the rest to eat, so I checked in on the game from time to time. We also had a great time talking and reminiscing. After that I convinced Ape's sis to drive through BK so I could get lunch for me. I got an Eclipse-themed chicken sandwich meal - I wound up eating with Jasper staring at me from the cupholder. I tried my luck with the gamepiece but lost. So much for Team Edward, lol. The prize would have been a Whopper. Not bad, but I'd have liked the Vespa. I asked Ape if I'd get to ride it if I won and she said I would...

From there we stopped by "north Florida's tallest" lighthouse but couldn't go up owing to the storm. Back in town, we tried some surf shops and then the Boardwalk but the rains began to threaten again. Somewhere in all that, I managed to cut my ear. See, Sis needed her big honking SUV parallel parked and wanted me to do it. As I climbed in I somehow struck the side of my head with the top of the door just at the bottom of my earlobe. It hurt, a lot, and began to bleed. Not finding a DDR machine on the Boardwalk didn't help any, heehee!

After dinner at Pizza Hut we packed the van so I could take most of our stuff with me in the morning. I was heading directly to work from the hotel and Sis didn't have enough room to carry much of our stuff in addition to her family's.

-~-~-~-

Saturday, 7/10

Up at 7:15 to take Younger to a swim meet at Eagle Harbor. This particular neighborhood is one Ape's mentioned wanting to move to many times. It's /very/ nice, but very expensive too... Anyways, I took him to give Ape a chance to sleep as she's been feeling lousy lately. And I'm trying to make solid progress into Sevenwaters 4.

If I failed to mention it before, swim meets are brutal affairs. Your child is actually in the water for *maybe* 10 minutes. For the remaining 3 hours 50+ minutes, it's hot. This time though, I had some distractions. After dropping the Clone off I grabbed breakfast and returned to the parking lot. I trimmed my nails and ate, and then went in. As it happened, Mom, Dad, Sis, Springfield Connection and Catch showed up.

We'd missed Younger's first swim, and there were 20 events before his next. Most of the crew left to find their own breakfast, but all made it back in time for the second event. Ape arrived minutes before Younger's swim too, so we all got to watch. After his third, everybody left but us, to get ready for Phase II of Vacation III. Seriously. We're all off to Daytona Beach. I'm on 'til Monday, leaving for work from the hotel, and the rest are returning Tuesday I think.

I took Ape to find food for Younger and her, and we stopped at some garage sales too. We returned for Younger's last event, grabbed him, and we were off. Back at home, we had the usual drama getting final packing done. Ape lost her "beach shoes", an old pair she didn't care about getting dirty. All she had left were brand new shoes she wanted to return so she was upset about that. We guessed, after turning the car and house over, that the shoes would appear in Daytona.

I got Ape to drive so I could read more, and made it a little past a third of the way in. The drive is pretty short and we got to the hotel without incident. I went to find parking in the very crowded lot whilst Ape and the rest went to see what kind of room we got. See, we're all here on "bargain radio" coupons and we were told we got what we got and the upgraded rooms were all taken. So I was surprised to come up from the parking lot to a very nice room. We thought the front desk may have given us Mom & Dad's room, but they checked in just after us and got the room they expected. So the room is very nice, even if the hotel, a decades-old beachfront, is a bit dodgy.

Ape's sis arrived soon after, with boys and Mimi, but sans hubby. He stayed behind to attend some car shows. So now there's 13 of us here. The main thing we did after relaxing and cleaning up was to hunt down dinner. We had coupons for a place called Aunt Catfish's and drove the few miles to it. And were told the wait was about 2 hours... Frenzied coupon-diving and phone calls ensued and we wound up putting our name in at Sloppy Joe's and drove around some. We had a wait for it too but I expect it'd be worth it as it's likely a much better restaurant than a tourist dive.

Ape sent me to get the boys a snack as they hadn't eaten since noonish and it was after 7pm. I went to Quiznos to get Elder a Toasty Torpedo and while in line, Younger comes up and says they're giving away free kid's meals. Assuming there's a catch, I left Elder in line and read the sign Younger pointed out. "Buy an entree, get a kid's meal." And a four-dollar Torpedo counts. So we got Younger a turkey & cheese meal and Elder got a beef, bacon & cheddar Torpedo. And better still, it was time to sit down at Sloppy's.

I won't go into the food much, although Catch let me sample his Cuban rice (tastes like soft cheesy tortilla bits) and I think pretty much everyone enjoyed their meals. The service was fantastic as well. And the boys all got blinky glasses to keep with their meals. And, just as we finished up, the beach fireworks started! So we got to watch that too! From there, I was left with 3/4 of the boys back at the hotel whilst everyone else went searching for ice cream. We spent our time on the shuffleboard court - I helped with scoring and the boys took turns. They all had fun and truthfully, all of them were quite good at it.

Eventually, our ice cream patrol returned (mint chip - nom!) and we basically called it as night after a little TV.

Oh, internet note. We dragged our Clearwire gear with us because, A) Clearwire has covrage in Daytona, and B) we had no idea what kind of access we'd have. Clearwire sucks just as bad in Daytona as in our house. Definitely thinking long and hard about a switch. Comcast's "upgrade to HD triple-play, get an iPod Touch" is looking better all the time!

Friday, July 9, 2010

Good and Bad

Friday 7/9

Work continues to drag. I got called to the principal's office but it turns out it was about next week's roll, not yesterday's mixup. Even still, my day was nearly all support. Until lunch, that is! Our planned lunch at J. Alexander's was still on, which I didn't know. I had actually eaten just before Mom called to ask about timing. I wasn't about to pass up a meal there! So at the planned time, I hustled there, and we all ate. I enjoyed the French dip, split with Ape's burger. I also compared Catch's 3G speeds on his Droid with the iPhone's - both are pretty sucky.

I finished the day at work with more support, and left at 6:30. From there, it was a small dinner then "The Last Airbender". My fam went, plus my sis's crew. Overall opinions were positive. I may have been the most disappointed. Let me explain... I never watched the series regularly, but I saw a selection of eps. I know the general storyline, and I caught a lot of the end of Book 1. See, Younger was kind of into it, and it's a pretty good show. But my disappointments really weren't based on screenplay adaptations. Nope, I had other beefs. First off, the acting. All three leads irritated me. But I couldn't decide if Aang or Kitara was worse. Second, the casting. I haven't read a lot about the racial implications of how our heroes became non-Asian/Indian. Third, the actual bending was mostly a letdown. But at the same time, the practicing of the forms (for want of a better term) was beautiful. Very Tai-Chi like. I didn't hate the movie - overall, I had a nice time, and I'll likely see the expected sequel. But it's no Eclipse.

Speaking of which, I snuck into a showing just at the end of the "tent scene" and stayed to catch the beginning of the battle. From there, we met my parents at our house. There was a Krystal Kraving going on so I went with my dad, Catch and SC. I let Catch drive and he had a lot of fun stretching Shiroma's legs. We returned with the food and then the two of us went out again so I could drop off the DVDs I checked out from our library. Have I repped our library yet? We have a truly great library system in town. I took the helm at the library and showed off a bit, taking a hard loop around a roundabout and other fun stuff. I should teach him how to heel & toe and double-clutch!

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Thursday 7/8

My big problem today was Shiroma. The Wednesday night battery issue turned into a four-hour wrench-a-thon. I had already written the team to let them know I was having trouble, and when the Sev1 page came in I was on VPN an on the phone in less than 5 minutes. Later, when I found out I wasn't going to make my original ETA, I called in and let our support guy know, and asked him to let anyone else know if they came calling on me. I also checked my email a few times and didn't see anything urgent.

The fix involved lots of cleaning corrosion, charging the battery, jump-starting, and other tests. I ultimately wound up replacing the battery. The parts store guy tested the original battery and said it was good, but I wasn't convinced. That battery was very "corrosive", eating up *two* battery tiedown brackets. I do suspect the tray cover may have something to do with it, confining any corrosive outgassing, but still. I didn't make it to work until a little after 2 and had to take a half-day as my regular boss was out on vacation and she'd have let me make up the time. Our temp boss asked for my PTO as I walked in...

Anyway, the Sev1 wasn't a Sev1 at all, just a confused user. Our director had sent out an email earlier about key staff and unreported absences
but I didn't feel like arguing the point that I had notified the team twice - I just didn't include her because we normally don't. The rest of the day was ~meh~ as well. More support and no code...

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Backlogged

I owe you all a full accounting of our D.C. trip, don't I?

I have most of it written up and I'm gonna feed it in here soon.

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Post-D.C., I've been just wiped out. A near-solid week of dawn-to-dusk days at full throttle, in 100-degree+ temps, plus little sleep = tired me. Work's also been kind of a downer, with almost nothing but lots of putting out of fires, aka issue support.

I finally got to see code Friday but otherwise, blecch.

Oh, almost forgot. ECLIPSE! Saw it Wednesday at 12:01, then still went to work ^.~ I really liked it, and I think Ape and Younger enjoyed it as well. I *still* don't get all the Twilight-hate.

Friday was a calm day, then Saturday we headed to Orlando. Didn't do much besides dinner at Logan's with E & N and their cutey Alex. Food was meh but we had a nice time.

Sunday, Mom & Dad checked into their place, a recently-renovated hotel with a pretty nice waterpark. Dad and I went to his room to watch the Indy race while the girls and boys got wet. From there, we went to Uno's. where I tried Tandoori chicken and some of Ape's stiffed chicken (feta, spinach, broccoli, etc.). Pretty good, actually!

Back to our place for fireworks-watching from the top floor balcony, then chill-time.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Capital Hill - Day 6

Day 6 - The Return

Put notes here. Ride back was pretty pleasant and I got more reading and vid-watching in. Got back at what, 5-ish and Sis picked us up and we went to dinner.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Capital Hill - Day 5

Day 5 - Busch Gardens

We left our place at about 8 and arrived at BG at just after 10. After sternly-delivered directions to not get lost or be late, and a review of the meal coupons we were handed, we were set loose. It was Ape, Younger, K & K, and A in our group. Thankfully, all members of our group wanted to ride rides, so there wasn't a lot of "sitting out". Except for me on water rides. I'm not fond of water rides, /especially/ flume-style rides with no seatbelts.

SO, I'll skip a lot of the walking around bits and cut to the fun. First up was the Loch Ness Monster. It was a pretty neat ride except for one thing - as with Space Mountain and a number of older coasters, the headrests are too low for my head, locating closer to my neck just above my back. And on one of the quick drop/climb sections, I got whiplashed and my neck actually *snapped* - chiropractor snapped. It hurt, it was unpleasant, and I was afraid I'd pass out. And this was the first ride!

After that I wasn't so sure about the rest of the day's activities. I was *already* hurting from load/unload duty and not enough sleep. So it was with unease and a growing headache that I approached the next ride, the Griffon. You may remember that I've mentioned my dislike for "negative-G" rides, right? Guess what Griffon is? Not only does it feature a LOT of negative-Gs, it also starts with a literal straight-down drop. A lot of people describe drops on some coasters as "straight down" but unless it's 90', it isn't. This one is. And it goes on from there!
The ride itself was very smooth and other than the loopy stomach, I enjoyed it. Enough to go again with the whole crew. I kept myself calm by playing the "Zi'Tah" music in my head. I noted that some of the "drop towers" resembled Rock-It's towers, and figure maybe I can handle that one now...

Did we have lunch here? The food coupon covered pretty sizable meal options, and we chose the Canadian BBQ joint to use the first one. I picked the hot-dog kid's meal and added a large slice of lemon cake for dessert. It was surprisingly good. Everyone else grabbed big BBQ platters and I wound up with some leftovers ^^ I also got a "thing" which I want to send to LK for a housewarming present when he moves in a month.

Next up was Alpengeist. It looks a lot like Ice. It rode a lot like Ice too, but it was rougher than Griffon. Honestly, I gave it a ~meh~. I think the gang went on some water stuff at this time.

Then, the highlight and disappointment of the day. Apollo's Chariot. A ride that pretty much answers the question, "How much negative-G can we expose riders to?" It's a deceptively simple layout with two long "vomit comet" sections with a fast twisty bit in between. It's also two minutes long!

In keeping with the G-force application, AC uses "thigh t-bars", meaning a thick padded bar comes between your legs resting on your upper thighs. Pulled tight, you can get it almost to your hips, locking you in tightly. Ape tried the "test seat" and made it, but when we got on board, she was bumped because her bar wouldn't click three times. The test seat didn't say anything about minimum clicks ><:

I wound up riding three times with the rest of the group. I even threw my arms up at one point, which is really out of character for me. But I did feel horrible for Ape. She would have loved it I think!

Most of the rest of the day was spent on simpler pursuits, some basketball for A, and an attempt on their "4D" ride a'la Spiderman. We got on line despite the ride being down. We waited but I saw that time was nearly out if I was to make it to Celtic Fyre. So I bolted and hustled to Ireland and walked into the theater with literally like 2 minutes to spare.

CF was pretty good, and the lead sure did look like Seth McFarlane. From there, I went shopping in the Irish store, and found a neat cross to use with my cosplay. I walked out of that store just as the rest of the gang caught up with me. They reported that the 4D ride was pretty lame, with too many gratuitous 3D scenes. I reported I had a great time at the show q:

We all looked in the "magic" shop and there were some pretty interesting witchy/goth statuettes and they were reasonably priced too. From there, we dashed to England to eat. And found a monstrous line. I waited for probably 30 minutes and wound up snapping at several kids who seemed to be cutting in. I later apologized to two of the group moms (not from our group) but dang...

Anyways, our food wait was seemingly lengthened by the fact the buffet pipeline would snag or fill at bad places, especially the salad pick-up, causing the cashiers to be either flooded or idle... But we got the food. And it was really good! We had to take ours with us because we were too close to deadline. Ape didn't get to eat at the park at all - she went to a souvenir shop to grab a shirt.

On the ride back, I finished Cast in Secret, book 3 of Michelle Sagara's Elantra series. I had read #2 on the way up and look forward to the next volumes. Also on the way back, we got word that they were ordering pizzas for our last night. By the time we got in, packed and settled, it was pretty late for pizza, but I partook anyway. It was good, too!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Capital Hill - Days 3 & 4 Placeholder

Day 3 - DC B-Day

Day 4 - DC C-Day

I have some handwritten notes plus Ape's photolog to go by...

Monday, June 21, 2010

Capital Hill - Day 2

Day 2 - DC A-Day

(confirm sched with pic timeline and itinerary)

Our four-day forced-march adventure begins today. For the next four days we will be up at dawn and on the move until dusk. We will eat mostly buffets and food court meals. We will have little time to actually enjoy things because we (the adults) are supposed to be chaperoning, not sightseeing. Do not worry, Dear Reader. We managed to take in quite a bit...

Our first stop in Washington was near the Pentagon Mall to collect our tour guide. This lovely woman called Dale, who reminded me greatly of my beloved former boss, got on and took charge. She had three days of adventure planned out for us and she wasn't going to waste time. Unfortunately, the kids did, and our schedule got pretty messed up. But more on that later.

Our first stop was the Capitol Building and a walk around it. I'm not going to include much of Dale's commentary here because honestly, I couldn't remember it all if I tried. The woman was a walking factbook on D.C. During her time with us, she'd be feeding us an awful lot of history and trivia about the places we were going. I kept wandering around behind the throng of children to get close enough to hear her. This of course, meant I wound up in a *lot* of the "official" trip pics ^^ It seemed I was one of the few adults who really wanted to listen in. I do know that a number of our group has previously visited D.C., so, maybe they knew this stuff.

There was a classic VW coupe (Karmann-Ghia?) on the grounds and one of the tour medics went to take pics. A guard came up swiftly but after some chat about VW fandom, he relaxed. Before we made our way towards the Supreme Court, we were passed by a rather large Amish group. I mean no disrespect here, but just how did they get here? I am under the impression that there are differing levels of "observance" in the Amish faith, much as there are in others. Was this group OK with motorized transport? To Ape and Younger I mused: If I was going to board a motorized conveyance for the first (and possibly last) time. I'd be in a Hummer limo.

We didn't actually go into the SC. In fact, there was no getting near it. Also, some journalists were camped out on the lower steps. When asked, one gent said they were waiting for Sonia Sotomayor news. Oh! Well, it didn't happen whilst we were walking by. DJ climbed the stairs and *immediately* one of the three visible armed guards walked down from his post at the top. DJ got the pic he wanted and scooted, the guard walking through his just-vacated position moments later. The guard continued past, to the journo area. But it sure seemed to me he was making a subtle point.

Late in the morning, all 11 buses in our armada assembled for a group shot. We hope to get a copy soon. While assembling, a man was "escorted" out of the shot by two of the photographer's assistants and I heard him protesting that he wanted some notice in writing while apparently complaining about not being allowed to be there. I never did ask if it was a real incident or if he was friends with the crew.

We got to take a quick tour of the Library of Congress. Remember me saying how my two years with the local library system was my fave job (well, before my present one)? Imagine going to the "mother library"... It really was incredible. I had no idea the place was so ornately decorated! The roof mosaics, the frescoes, the statuary, all of it breathtaking!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Capital Hill - Day 1

Day 1 - The Departure

Today's plan? 14-odd hours on a bus. With 32 kids, 12 parents, plus Al the driver and police officer. Dear Lord, please give me the strength...

Up at 4:15am, at the Stadium at 5:30, helping another dad (let's call him DJ) load the holds with luggage, chairs and sundries. Actually, this Dad Duo would be a pretty constant thing on this trip. More on that later. On the road at 6am.

We were on the hook for breakfast and lunch today, then all other meals would be provided. Last night, Ape packed our bag with snacks, fruit, and, for me, four sammies. Two deli meat standards, paired with PB&J. Shortly after our departure, I ate my breakfast pair, while Ape commented on the coffee fashionistas. I read for much of the first leg, digging into Cast in Courtlight. I think I'm going to really like this series, provided it doesn't go off the rails in the later volumes, the way Piers Anthony's seem to.

Lunch was at a South Carolina rest stop. As one of only two dads on the trip, restroom security fell to DJ and me. Yay. It didn't help my mood that this particular facility smelled and I inadvertently stood watch long after our patrols had finished, as other busloads of patrols had been filing in the whole time. And many of the kids (of all groups) were fond of shaking water off their hands and much of it landed on me. If you don't know my feelings for being sticky or dirty, guess.

About an hour before dinner. Bus Seven decided it didn't like its transmission and Al stopped us at a rest area. When Bus Seven the Second arrived, we piled on without the items in the holds. Later at dinner (Country Buffet) we had to wait while Bus Seven the Second returned to the rest area for our things, and then back to us. All told it wasn't a big wait, as the dining progress was slowed by the fact the building was prolly full to Fire Marshall capacity of 510. My dinner? I did a sampler: bourbon chicken & rice, a chicken nugget, pizza slice, corn, mac & cheese, and a roll. Plus ice cream and lots of mini orange slice candies - nom!

Arrival at the Best Western was at 9-ish, and after unloading, check-in, long elevator lines and settling the boys (Younger, a friend we'll call K, and another boy whose parents were unable to travel with us, A) it was just after 10 when Ape and I finally had time to breathe. I really don't remember what we did, besides maybe some TV and web surfing... Bed by midnight.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

The Calm Before The Storm(ing of the Capitol)

Sat: Up earlier than normal to pick Younger and bro up from TKD. Then the three of us went to Toys R Us for what we thought was a Family challenge aimed at FD. Nope - some sort of demo. No obvious competition and Younger wasn't that interested in waiting for a turn. SO we browsed a bit then went home.

We picked Ape up and headed towards the theater, as it was almost time for TOY STORY 3!!! Three! And in 3D too ^^ We grabbed CFA and scarfed it down then went in. Oh my Lord - this was easily one of the best movies I've seen in a long while. Everything I was hoping for and nothing I wasn't. And the endgame left me & Ape crying for quite awhile - it was really touching. First KK, now TS3.

Somehow, no Tron preview...

Back home, more room work, then off to FD din for me and Dad at J. Alexanders. Still one of my fave restaurants, although I picked the wrong kind of sandwich. Still good. On the way out, we got a treat - there was a red Ferrari 360 Spyder right out front. It was beautiful, with "Italia" racing stripes and unbelievable lines.

We weren't planning on going back home, as the car was packed for Sunday's early morning journey. We were supposed to be going to mom & dad's so they can drop us off. Nope - Younger forgot shoes so Ape decided to grab some foodstuffs to make Sunday's lunch & snacks with. Some came from our house and the rest from Publix.

We didn't get to my parents' until almost 10, and after settling in and a half-dozen trips to the car for stuff, Ape didn't go to bed until 11:30. I'm still up at 1:15 updating this and taking care of last-minute cosplay details.

Sunday is going to be brutal. We're going to see amazing, powerful sites, and sights. But I may not be able to keep up with it all... And we'll likely be so wiped from the tour grind I may not be able to log in for note-taking. I might see if I can get a small notepad and jot important things down.

P.S. I am apparently 1/8th Irish! So my fascination with it vis-a-vis Sevenwaters and the like is legitimate ^^

-=-=-=-

Fri: Met Ape and the Clones at European Street for FD din with her dad & pat. Got hot ham & swiss and it was awesome! Had a nice time too as we managed to have a whole meal with the man and not break out into ideological combat. Then dropped the boys off at my parents' and headed home

Worked on Elder's room for a couple hours then cleaned up, chilled and hit XI. Ran into Fhox after an unsuccessful LFG. He was farming RDM tests in Beadeaux. I was marginally able to help as I was desperately underleveled for the test mobs. I even died once on a nasty hit followed by a Firaga III. I did get like 6 dagger levels though.

-=-=-=-

Thurs:
Good chats with the crew. Details?

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Busy Busy Bee

Wed Morning:

Quick note: Both of us feel the foam topper is helping us with our sleep-aches. But dang, that thing STILL stinks, after three days in the garage and three more on the bed!

-=-=-=-

Tue:

7am dentist appointment. /Yawn Despite being held up a bit by Ape ^.~, I made it to the appointment on time, and I didn't even get fussed at for not flossing. Maybe because I have been, once a week or so anyway.

On my lunch break, I looked into volunteering for "IMAlive", TWLOHA's summer project for suicide prevention. It seems pretty intense and I'm not sure I could handle that much pain. But I'd love to help somehow!

After work, met fam in Sawgrass for Younger's first swim meet. Versus the Sawgrass Sharks. Elder got a chuckle when the wind blew part of their team banner down, leaving only the last three letters visible q:

Younger did his best but he's having a little trouble with his entry and his turns. Poor kid keeps belly-flopping which not only stings, it knocks his goggles off too.

The meet started at about 4:30, and we didn't leave until nearly *8:00*! Mind you, none of us had eaten dinner yet! And the place Ape wanted to try was about 30 minutes away.

But, we made it, and after a slow start, got some really delicious food. I indulged, having a burger, fries and Coke Classic. It was worth it ^^ We didn't leave until 10 and home was another 40-odd minues away so I didn't see the inside of my house until close to 11. And this was after leaving at like 6:30...

In any case, Ape and I watched a little South Park and had a talk about my cosplay. If you're ever interested in studying causality, look at me. One little decision almost a year ago and the ripples are still being felt now.

I don't think I quite have a /green/ light but I'm close. My plan is to solidify things with her tomorrow and then put in the request Thursday. Assuming tomorrow goes well!

I actually fell asleep putting more movies on T-Dub. Ape had to wake me so I could put everything up and go to sleep properly.

-=-=-=-

Mon:
up early to drop younger off for swim practice. Pretty down about the whole cosplay thing.

At lunch, a chance tweet on Twitter's homepage caught my eye, just as I was logging out: TWLOHA has a twitter. And a benefit update tweet is what rolled up the "top tweets" scroll just as I was closing the window. Which meant I had to log back in, find them, and follow them.

Then I started poking around their website looking at merch (some great shirts await!) and then I saw a blurb about "I'm Alive", a volunteer effort they're trying to launch to combat suicide attempts. They want to train and staff a line (site?) with 1,000 people, each giving 4 hours a week for a year.

I find their ideas intriguing and I wish to subscribe to their newsletter...

-=-=-=-

Sun:
Ape's can opener warning
Huggies jean diaper lines (The coolest you'll look pooping your pants)
thrift store template search
grocery shopping
yardwork
city cruise listening to RB 2nd gear
death of dreams redux?
put stinky foam topper on the bed
bed early, awakened 2:47am, terrible sleep after ><

-=-=-=-

Sat:
nice breakfast, then chores
off with Bonnie & Mimi - dinner at Mikes
saw the duckies
Late party on DNC, to 54.7

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Too Much LFG

Saturday

Today's been very quiet. While Ape and Younger were at his swim meet, I slept in, then woke up and ate the sammy she made for me while watching whatever I could find.

Then I jumped on XI and flagged up on Dancer and soloed two pages in the Sanctuary. This put me 2.5k into 51, so I'm almost ready to start my AF properly. I'm also high enough now to consider gear upgrades where my AF won't do. I really need new knives soon!

Now we're chilling and getting ready to head out for family time.

-=-=-=-

Friday - Continuing from yesterday...

Younger's too-long graduation ceremony was too long, but it was nice. They did a pretty good job with awards and different segments to break up the time. There were choral performances, a slideshow, farewells from the teachers and more. Younger looked so professional in his suit! And I think he might have been as surprised as we were at some of the awards he got!

Our very-late breakfast at Bob Evans was nice, but hectic with 13 of us. Sis bought the boys (minus Elder) Silly Bandz. Wow - the controversial rubber bands shaped like stuff! I happen to think they're neat, but I also see how they're absolutely awful in a classroom.

I didn't make it to work until 1:30 and wound up just taking the full day off in the T&A system. This squares me up for the time I've had to miss for Elder's conference and other errands. I left at about 5:30 after a decent day. But I didn't care about that - we were about to see The Karate Kid with Sis's family and Mimi!

We would have gone at 6:45 but AMC pulled a stupid (as is their way) in putting that showing of a brand new movie in a smaller theatre. We bumped our tickets to 7:15 and got the second largest house. Prolly appropriate because this movie is LONG!

Too long, in fact. I don't think I'm giving away spoilers here, as the formula is pretty close to the original's. But it took far too long to get from "bullied kid finds unlikely teacher and begins to learn self defense and self confidence" to the actual training and the tournament.

Don't get me wrong - I think we all loved it, but it's just too long! There's an easy 20 minutes that can be lost somewhere. Other than that, it's fantastically acted and a lot of fun. The kung fu is exciting, and there's a part that made us weepy. Well, me and Ape - not sure of the others. There's a /very/ touching scene just before the tourney!

After that it was just after 10 and bro's brood was hungry. Sis had to dash right at the end to go to work so we took them through Taco Bell and then home. I got one of the 2-buck meals and it was pretty good. Doritos + taco = nom.

Ape and I hung out some with the clones and then when we finally got them sorted and I pressed Ape's back and feet I gave Dancer a shot. About 2 hours LFG later I gave up. I managed to get some of my stuff sold and the rest put back up.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Perfect Attendance

This morning was Younger's Fifth Grade Graduation exercise at his school. We were there for over 2 hours, largely due to the sheer number of awards given. Granted, the school is an academic center of excellence in our county school system, and most of the 73 fifth graders excel academically and in athletic and civic pursuits.

There *were* a number of awards that seemed like maybe the criteria is set low enough that everybody has a shot, so as not to leave kids out. I'm not going to stand here and say I oppose this, though I think initiatives like this, "scoreless Little League" games and the like are more harmful than helpful.

No, what I want to talk about is one very specific award that raises the hackles on my neck. Am I the only person who thinks recognizing Perfect Attendance is both unrealistic and unfair? The kids who go on to get this year after year must really miss out on stuff. Or maybe their folks don't ever do fun stuff during the year.

Let me rephrase - I'd be OK with PA awards (No, not *those* PA awards) if they didn't hold parentally-excused absences against the kids. Pretty much from the time I hit middle school on, my parents had a rule. We got "vacation days" every grading period, so long as we kept our grade up and didn't use a vaycay day to blow off anything important. Otherwise, it was pretty much our choice.

So, once a month or so I'd just stay home. I'd veg out on the couch watching TV and eating junk food. Or I'd play games or read. Or whatever. And it was great!

Other times, they'd pack us in the car and we go out of town. They're the ones who instilled this sense of adventure and family fun in us - we didn't always go to exciting places but we had fun together.

Now, as parents, Ape and I do the same thing. We're always on the go and we take the Clones with us. I don't think it's for the school to punish my kids if I take them out. So long as the absence doesn't interfere with classroom activities and such, of course.

Another prob I have with PA - does that mean these kids never get sick? Or are they at school, infestulating* my kids because they or their parents want some piece of shiny at the end of the year?

* Infestulating - v. - I have no idea where we came up with this. I thought it was a portmanteau of infest and something else, but now I can't remember what the something else is.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Slow Week

Besides being bummed at work, I haven't done anything much related to XI. I spent both Tuesday and Wednesday with Ape, reading, surfing the net, and watching TV. Last night was "Sleepless in Seattle", after Ape realized she'd stalled on the Stanley Cup finals.

Wednesday I chatted with LK and managed to get in our first game of chess. Not much of a game, really. I'm not that good. I fail to properly analyze all threats and opportunities and make boneheaded moves. Still, it was fun finally trying that out with him! Also, he's going to be moving to NY soon - here's hoping things work out for him there!

Tonight, I finished Eclipse (all 629 pages) after less than a week. Now I totally can't wait until the 30th! Later, it was family dinner with Mimi and our aunt, who finally made it over. Very yummy, as always, Ape!

Took a little time to update XI and put my junk back up on the AH. I also ripped some more games to TFM, including Falling Stars. It's...interesting. I have a feeling the reviews are going to be dead on with this one. But the worn gear=NPC charisma is interesting.

Later, I brought up the source of this week's malaise - my cosplay. I only have until the 20th to commit and I'm having a hard time working out how to balance the pain it causes her if I do it, versus not and hurting myself, which would hurt her too. Can I win here?

When we talked about it she basically told me to do it anyway and that what bothers her is the girlishness of the costume. -.-

Before bed, Ape quizzed me on past spelling bee winning words. I got 4 of 5!

Monday, June 7, 2010

Mandy Monday

(Did I do that one already?)

Spent almost all day at work doing support - AKA putting out fires. I got a lot of them put out, but it was tiring grinding through all those issues.

With lunchtime and TKD time, I got through 20% of Eclipse and I'm getting into it.

At home, I ate and soon got on XI. After checking on the shell meeting (cancelled) I planned to pick up where I left off with last night's soloing and try flagging up near the end of the page. I got the invite, from Steelcyclone, for the jungles of Elshimo.

I had a little time as the roster wasn't full, so I finished off my page and went back to Windy to dump meds, gear and junk. Then I picked up a pumpkin and OPed my way to the group.

Initially his plan was for me to voke off him so he could cast shadows. Which would have been fine had I been able to hit squat with my Quicksteps. Eventually I was able to build up both TP and steps and between curagas to wake us from the mandies, I did my best to voke off Steel.

Things went pretty well too, and between two anni bands and one regular band charge, the two-plus hours netted me over 16k XP, and more than halfway to 51! Also, Countjethuth was my rep, so that was nice too.

Oh, I saw this at work today - what a quote! On the Today show, Obama was talking with Matt Lauer about his administration's response to BP's befouling of our Gulf waters. Lauer needled him a bit but Obama's response needs to be shortened and plastered on a t-shirt:

"I don't sit around talking to experts because this is a college seminar. We talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers, so I know whose ass to kick."

That is pure Presidential awesome-sauce!

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Slow, Soggy Sunday

I woke latish after my long XI night. Ape was up already cleaning in anticipation of her aunt's visit from TN, who hasn't visited us here in ages. This is the aunt we usually see in the mountains at Thanksgiving. It was well that we were getting indoor stuff done as it was a pretty rainy day. Nice to have it though! And I like how Younger likes storms and cloudy skies as I do ^^

I helped with the cleaning where I could but I think Ape sees how much of the clutter is hers. Prolly doesn't get me off the hook tho ^.~ She's been making a lot of headway though and there is a definite feeling of openness building. It's very nice!

Younger spent most of his day on TFM, making up for all the lost time. Maybe I should see about digging up my disc binders and loading up some of the stuff I've bought since TFM bit the dust...

Later, I stayed at Sis's with all the boys save Younger, so he mom and Mimi could do some graduation-day clothes shopping. I read the first 55 pages of Eclipse to pass the time.

Dinner was The Loop and later at home we tried to endure the MTV Movie Awards. What we saw was awful. Kate Plus Eight was better. And I mean that seriously. I enjoyed Kate over MTV. Viacom? Taking notes?

During this time I soloed in Zi'tah. Why it took me so long to find the wiki page with all the field manuals, page specs and the level ranges. Much easier to plan solo days! I got 48 this way, but it's slow work...

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Mission Marathon

While I was finishing my latest book, Ape was off at the pool with the boys. When she got back (just as I finished the Epilogue), we prepped for a group departure.

We rounded up Mimi and then went to our mall. I dropped the girls off at Kohl's and I took all 4 boys to GameStop to see about a used phat PS2. It was time to revive The Fun Machine. While I was being helped, some young girls were making cracks about "he's so hot! - No, the other one". Assuming they were talking about the staffers, I looked at them and they started giggling, embarrassed. The one turned to the other and told her I'd heard. Well, duh, they weren't very quiet about it!

So, I was able to source a re-manned PS2, with a 1-year warranty, for 55 bucks. It actually came with a Sony DS2 as well, rather than some third-party crap. Younger was excited by the Ocean Blue controller and the prospect of playing the dozens of faves from my hard drive. We had some other stops before that happened, but it wasn't long before we were at home and I was setting everything up.

Aside from losing the "trigger" memory card, and accidentally using my XI drive once, setup was easy and it booted to the HD right away. In fact, we got a surprise when I loaded Tony Hawk for PS1 and out popped Tiger Woods 2007 for PS2. Lol. I joked it wasn't the good version as seen on South Park ^^

The rest of the night was light cleaning, then I logged into XI. I had hoped to hit 50 on DNC, but Lees had other plans. Old, Lees and Zelia were attempting ZM6, Through the Quicksand Caves. I jumped at the chance and we left pretty quickly, attempting the tricky Antican NM fight with just the 4 of us. Lees and Old on DD, Zel on BLM and me on WHM.

The fight went well, with Zel taking care of most of the sleeping so we could focus all efforts on the PLD ant. I got some Reposes off and used my favorite enfeeb, Paralyze often, with many sticks. Once the PLD fell, the rest was cake. Old was surprised at not dying with our small band. I didn't say much, knowing that Zel is often WHM but not knowing if she WHMs for their fights when I'm not around.

The gang decided to forge ahead, to the second fight, ZM8. Archduke Kam'lanaut is a tough little bugger, being a Zilart and all. But our merry band did well. Until my stupid net decided at the WORST POSSIBLE TIME to R0. Old was hit into the orance and I fired my C5 twice with no result. Then I saw R0. Then he died. Then it reconnected. Geez.

I apologized for Old's second death at my hand, although this one wasn't like the first when I wasn't paying close enough attention. He shrugged it off graciously though :3

After beating Kam'lanaut, Lees wanted to go to bed but asked the rest of us to get our cutscenes. Which I did over the next hour. I'd like to see this set from start to finish as these are pretty well done and I like the story.

After one last Norg-Ninjutsu scroll run I headed out. I spent the rest of the night ripping more movies to my PSP (Geez but Liam Neeson is a hard man in Taken!) and chatting a bit - Kep was finally back on, enjoying a new(er) PC and LK is working through his situation and upcoming move.

Book Review: Child of the Prophecy

~Whew~

I read the second half of "Child" in a breathless rush. The misgivings I had about the story changed at about the halfway point when Fainne found her center. And I liked the ending. Pretty much anyway. Oddly, there are some parallels in the ending here and in the resolution of Phèdre's story with regard to Hyacinthe. In fact, Darragh and Hyacinthe seem to be men of a similar wanderlust.

One thing I've enjoyed in the Sevenwaters series is the regard for earth and nature. I'm not heeding the call to a druidic life, but the view Marillier gives of that life, plus the mysticism of Irish/Celtic lore is fascinating and appealing. I am considering integrating natural symbolism into my Noble's. You'll just have to wait on that though!

I've also enjoyed that the series focused on strong female leads, as Kushiel's was. And as in that, these ladies are often flawed and conflicted but still strong of will. Well, sometimes ^^ But they carry on until the end. There's a good deal of romance in these books as well, although not so much in the traditional sense. It's more like the pages are filled with love, and only some of it romantic. A lot of it is familial bonding, and love of kin for kin.

Now I have to get Eclipse out of the way to make room for Heir. Not like Eclipse is going to be some great chore. The passion in Twilight is palpable and fun and I'm looking forward to being ready for the movie.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Funny Friday

* Pretty good day at work
* Tried to stop at two stores near work on the way home. One's phone is disconnected and the other is mostly upholstery fabrics. Went back to JoAnn's to look for a bulletin board - commissions list. None... Also looked in Michael's but nothing doing.
* Pizza Hut
* Went to see "The Killers" but because AMC is stupid they put a brand new movie in their smallest theater. So we jumped over to "Get Him to the Greek". Did I mention my parents were with us? And that the movie is pretty raunchy? A tiny bit awkward...

Movie's actually pretty good but it's strangely lacking in soundtrack for a rocker flick.

Came home to the end of Princess and the Frog (pass...) and Younger showed me a couple vids: The Obama Llama song (Did I really make it almost 2 years without seeing this?) and its predecessor, the Green Llama (Bunchie?) song.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Thursday

Kind of a meh day... Good progress at work but oh so tired! At home it was a nice dinner followed by TKD. This time I got a good spot and was able to read quite a bit of "Child of the Prophecy". This is book 3 of the Sevenwaters series. I'm hustling to finish it because it's due back in 5 days and I want to finish it with enough time for Eclipse.

See, Eclipse (the movie, not the lunar event, or the sporty car) comes out on the 30th and I'm determined to read the book prior to seeing the movie.

Back home after TKD I got on XI long enough to solo to 48 on DNC. I'd love to be 50 by the weekend.

Also, we had a family movie night, watching AMC's (channel, not theatre) 25th anniversary airing of The Goonies. I confessed to Ape that I've prolly only seen the entire thing twice. Not bad, after all these years. Managed to get the boys to watch most of it at least!

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Wednesday Comes After Tuesday

Wednesday: Pretty good day at work followed by a tasty dinner! Wound up just chilling with Ape, reading some more, and watching TV. Ape was thinking about going to see "Sex and the City 2" with friends and maybe me, but the plans fell through. She could have gone to one of her friends' to hang out but she decided to stay home.

-=-=-=-

Tuesday: Awful! I was super tired and thought a lunchtime nap would help. But I underestimated the heat. Even with windows and roof opened and the sunshade up, I baked in there. I made it to the end of the day and left a touch early headed for a nearby fabric store.

A bad time with the map meant I missed my turn and didn't have enough time to go back. So I went by the JoAnn's near our house and checked out different colors, patterns and fabrics. I'm getting some new ideas I think will come out nicely if I ever get this thing together!

I made it home just in time to grab Younger and my Subway dinner. At TKD, I parked in the first spot I found and ate. And wound up sweating to death again. It was /way/ too hot (again). But the sandwich was really good!

And then my night got worser. I thought it'd be a good idea to park closer to the TKD dojo and moved. And then spent 20 minutes circling and 20 double parked, stuck in the car! I think the dance studio next door was having a recital because people were lined up in front of the large window...

Back home, I jumped on XI whilst we watched America's Got Talent. I soon got a jungle party with Vourant and made nearly a level and a half! When it was time to leave I got lucky with my rep and went to bed soon after.

Oh, PS (not PCL): I feel horrible LK! Next time let me know what's going on... Please?

Monday, May 31, 2010

Memorial Monday

Today's big plan was a beach trip. Sis took the usual epoch to get her and her brood ready and we left close to 2. Vilano beach was nice, and not too hot. We didn't stay very long - I wound up passing on trying to read (glare was bothering me), laying out instead and then Ape and I walked up and down the beach a bit.

From there we went to Caddyshack's where I had a nice lunch and possibly the best sundae ever. Also lousy service... Note to waitstaff: When a customer asks you about your special, or about what kind of sundaes you have, or anything menu-related, saying "I don't know" is pretty much a guarantee I'm going to be unhappy. And when you try to stick me with a forced 18% gratuity after bungling both the order and the checks after failing to know your menu? Lousy Waiter, I'd like to introduce you to your boss. You two have fun now!

But the lousy waiting wasn't the only unpleasantness at our luncheon. Once again, Ape decided to make a thing out of my ordering Diet Coke. See, last night at my parents', she made a crack at dinner about the Coke Zero in front of the whole group. Tired of her bitterness, I shot back, "Jealous much?" She let it go after some generic "What's wrong with trying to be healthier?" exchange. This time she dug in her heels and we had a brief head-to-head. My favorite line from her? "I don't think I can be with someone obsessed about their weight."

Wow. Just... wow. I ordered a Diet Coke to go with my: Regular dog, chili dog, fries, and sundae. I'm a fanatic! ^.~

Did I mention how good the sundae was? I'm not big on ice cream, and even less so on sundaes. To me, hot fudge is usually too rich on the ice cream. Not this time. There was a nigh-unto-perfection synthesis of the ice cream, fudge and whipped cream. It was really really good! This was CamiCakes good! ~nom~

And poor Bro! He had no idea about Sis's desire to go to the mall after lunch, actually stating quite loudly, "Bull----!" when I mentioned it. I do worry about those two and how in sync they are... So after eating he took his boys home and Sis and Mimi rode with us.

We decided on the Town Center for shopping. Ape, Sis and Mimi went one way. I had a nice time with Younger, checking out both game stores, Target, Staples, and Movie Stop. Witch Hunter Robin is now 35 bucks but I'm thinking I'd be better served NetFlixing these things... I have a free month's pass; I should just do it.

Something cool happened at Target. While passing the Garden section on the way to Electronics with Younger, I got called out for my TWLOHA shirt. There were four teens lounging casually on a set of yard furniture and one of them saw my shirt. I thanked them and then something weird happened - they /complimented/ my hair. Again, I thanked them, slightly embarrassed. I mentioned I was actually trying for something like what one of their number was sporting and had a severe stylist issue instead...

Met my parents at Carvel so the rest of the crew could get dessert. Then home, where I worked on Ubuntu some more and caught this up ^^

Sunday, May 30, 2010

{Config}ulating

Sun: Slow cleaning day. Worked on Ubuntu some more, trying to get XI running on Wine. The installer fires but the game crashes. I think this box is graphically challenged because most of its issues seem to be caused with graphics-intensive operations. Need to find a crash log.

Off to din and game night at my parents'. Met by Sis & Bro and their boys. Got to see my dad's new work truck. Played Imaginiff and had the usual good time, especially trying to explain certain choices by certain people. After an hour+ of playing, all of us were in a close pack at the end. Having more trouble with her eldest and our boys.

Spent way too long trying to install Skype for Mom so she can talk to Catch in Mexico. Her net's acting up and I think I know why - she seems to be sending hits to a Russian search engine even in regular surfing - yikes!

Soloed a bit more on DNC but got bored. Jumped on Skype at Cold's insistence and he played more GH and then showed me the opening to Alan Wake. It *is* pretty creepy and atmospheric. He sent a great Gabriel Iglesias comedy skit amongst some older stuff. Very lol-worthy, literally!

-=-=-=-

Sat: Prince of Persia - Um, can I borrow that time-dagger and get my 2 hours back? If you ever need an example of what deus ex machina means, watch this movie. /sigh

It's not a bad movie, mind. The parkour is /very/ well done and it's a lot of fun in the best traditions of a Saturday popcorn flick. It's just the end that stinks.

Worked some more on Ubuntu, adding apps and configuring my preferences. Spent time chatting and Skyping with some old friends and some new.

Couldn't get a party on DNC and soloed a third of a level to 46 and then crashed.

-=-=-=-

Fri: Left work a bit late and then got into a thing with Ape about our timing for her work party. Nearly 4 hours at party, some funny stories and pretty good food but not much else. Thought about going to see a movie but Ape decided not to. We wound up renting "Everybody's Fine". Another nothing-like-the-trailers film...

Basically, DeNiro plays a recently-widowed father of 4 whose kids don't come round often. After bailing on his holiday get-together, he decides to pay each a visit at their respective homes. Here's where the movie gets neat - his travel scenes are punctuated by tense phone calls amongst the sibs. Something's up with David and they don't want to worry Dad. Who is more peeved than worried just now since David's not answering his New York apartment door.

As he visits, he learns his kids have pretty much hidden everything from him - grandkids' bad grades, actual job versus described job, etc. And the truth of David's absence becomes clearer. After his final visit, DeNiro flies home, despite massive aviophobia (Hi Bones!) and has a heart attack when the plane flies into turbulence and his nitrate bottle is empty.

On awaking in the hospital, three of four sibs are waiting for him and they finally own up - David's not there because David died in Mexico from a drug OD. Movie ends back at DeNiro's, as all remaining sibs (plus some SOs) prepare for the next holiday.

Wow - good drama but NOTHING like it was pitched!

Thursday, May 27, 2010

A Different Kind of Roll

5/27

I woke up in the middle of the night practically choking on phlegm. I'm finally succumbing to Elder's bugs... When I got up for real not long after, I seriously considered bailing on work. I decided to stay in my PJs, take Elder to school. and see how it goes on my way back home.

Honestly, I hope what happened at Chick-fil-a isn't a sign - Somehow my order got mangled, so that I did not receive my hash browns, and I got Coke instead of Coke Zero. I went inside and got the tots and declined to swap drinks as I'd already started drinking. The cashier was ever gracious, not accepting payment for the tots. I tried to insist and was rebuffed.

Back home, I still felt ill but decided to go in - I really want my time off for the summer. So I got ready and headed to work, about an hour behind schedule. Work was
uneventful and I struggled to find stuff to do prior to leaving. The small roll loomed ahead however.

And it almost didn't happen - Ape wanted a neck rub and I wound up falling asleep. She tucked me in later, thinking I'd already done my work. And she left Friday morning without realizing I'd never set my alarm. Thankfully, I woke up on my own before 8, checked the roll (all good), sent my notifications and got myself to work.

Wound up having a great convo with several people about lots of topics: Political ideologies, IP, tech, music, more IP, and stuff.

-=-=-=-

5/26

This morning was much smoother. Not blissful or perfect, but smoother. And pretty good, considering we're still talking abut a teenager. Work was total meh. I'm between major projects and don't have anything meatier than custom rules in Outlook VBA to keep me challenged. I did get some good feedback on my cosplay from one of the crafters. I need to get that page up and running soon.

The plan after work was for Arby's - as much for Elder as it was for me. I like their dollar menu. But Ape asked me to come directly home instead of meeting up. She had a bad day at work when a mom yelled at her without justification. Thankfully there were witnesses and they know of this mother's history so there's no doubt who stands where.

So, I dashed home and we chilled for about 20 minutes as she retold the day's events before we headed out. At Arby's, two interesting things happened: I tried lettuce on my chicken sandwich, and, we played with the "drive-thru duck". There's a duck there that seems to live next to the restaurant mooching off drive-through delights. He's extremely docile and ate out of Younger's hand even. We pondered relocating him to Mimi's (as she has a number of "yard ducks") but didn't.

From there, it was a "clearance check" at Toys R Us, and both Clones found something to buy cheaply. After that, gas, and a quick stop at the site of yesterday's bus crash. There were flowers up and a sign, apparently posted by her co-workers, praying for safe driving in her memory. Back home just after 8, I did a quick check for hours on a nearby men's suit store and headed back out. Ape didn't believe me but I need the measurements soon. I don't think she was too happy.

At the tailors', I got a quick set of measurements and tried to tip the girl who took them but she wouldn't have it. I think there was a general bemusement among the staff when I told them why I needed measurements. One fellow seemed nonplussed, thinking I was getting fitted to then buy a regular suit elsewhere. He relaxed when I told him what I was really afer.

From there, I made YET ANOTHER trip to Target, as Ape needed a couple of things. I also grabbed a cute card with a hedgehog on the front, to commemorate "Half My Life Day". This little-known holiday is celebrated at different times by people, depending on when their spouses/partners have known them half their lives. I knew Ape for half hers on her 34th birthday, as we met on her 17th. My day was a little harder to calculate but thankfully I was bored Tuesday because I would have missed it! I thought I needed to get to 40 but nope. Today's it!

Back home, I kicked off the Ubuntu install on my unused PC. This one will replace the laptop on my gaming table so I can have a proper monitor and get familiar with a modern Linux desktop at the same time. I'm also going to see if XI will run on it!

Somewhere in all this, we heard the announcement that Lee DeWyze had won Idol - I knew it was going to happen, although I find Mamasox more appealing as a person. I expect both will do well, given their talent and appeal.

We also saw news of the BP "top-kill" attempt to staunch the oily flow in the Gulf. Immediately I thought of that "un tss un tss un tss" "club sound" as the mud-clouds pushed up by the pumps looked for all the world like dancing coral or algae. I'm weird, I know!

From there it was chill out time and a quick chore run before bed.

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5/25

Had a rough morning with Elder, who had disobeyed and stayed up late playing games after lights-out. He was completely unprepared for school despite his claim to the contrary last night before bed. Plus, his attitude was horrible. He keeps saying he mouths off as he does because that's how they all talk in school.

I keep reminding him his mother is not school and he isn't to talk to her (or me) that way. And to highlight my point, I did something I'd hoped never to do. I deleted a game save from his PSP. Dissidia, in fact. A game he was enjoying greatly. I didn't say anything in the morning, knowing he'd act out at school. The plan is to chat after work.

Also, after dropping him off, I checked the air pressure in my new tires. Once again, the shop did not set them all the same. About a four-pound variance across the set... So I fixed them prior to leaving, setting all to 35. The tires are still clearly not as grippy and stiff as the BFG's but airing them to the same pressure helped quite a bit.

At work I looked into them and most opinions were along the lines of "cheap Chinese crap". Cheap?! Depends on your definition, I s'pose. They were the cheapest I could find, but cheap they were not. They'd better last at least as long as the BFG's!

Had a pretty interesting convo about Twilight and romance in the afternoon with my "nemesis", our other dev, and another team's analyst. Apparently I'm alone in appreciating Bella's desperate and reckless love for Edward... But the analyst and the dev mentioned "The Host", also by Meyer, recommending it highly.

I was able to leave work on time and just before arriving I passed what looked like an interesting accident. A car had rear-ended a city bus. Things on the scene looked calm so I hoped nobody was seriously hurt.

Got home and thought I'd have extra Vana time as Ape was off to her school's 8th grade graduation. Nope - Younger still had to get to TKD. So I ate (waffles for dessert - yum!), had my chat with Elder, and then we headed off. I ground XP in FF1 whilst Younger did his thing.

Back home, I jumped on XI and checked in. The Diabolos fight was still on but we had to wait for folks to arrive. Younger and I checked on DWTS and found out the first hour (of 3) was a repeat of last night. He called Ape to let her know not to rush but she wound up home almost in time anyway.

As Holy and Kym went to eat, I decided to run to Target for blank CDs. I'm going to toss the laptop and put the desktop at my gaming table. But I'm going to run Ubuntu on it rather than Windows. I'm going to try for fun to see if XI will run under Wine on that box. Plus I've been wanting to get used to a proper Linux desktop for some time and that PC's just sitting there. Aaand, it has a 19" monitor!

Anyway, I got back just after 9 and we began to gear up and move out. I outposted once word came down and was killed by a nearby Evil Eye. I don't remember the last time I got aggro at an outpost. Thankfully, Safira was right behind me and I got a raise. Ktulu joined us and the three of us waited by the Pso'xja tower for Nut, killing things to pass the time.

Inside, things went smoothly, except for my DC on zoning one time. It took too long to get back on but they waited for me :3 Soon, we were at the overlook, targeting Diabolos. The plan was for lots of stunning while I tanked. Saf was on nukes and Kym on heals.

The fight started out well and was progressing smoothly until about the 20% left mark. Diabolos knocked me off the rutting platform! I didn't even know he did that! Of course, the load of diremites below ate me alive. Thankfully, Nut and the others were able to hang on and we got the win! And none of them died!

After the lengthy cutscene I bailed as it was now 11. During the fight, Ape graded and made end-of-year certificates for her students. DWTS was on and we both kept tabs on it. Erin was out first (sad but expected) and the showdown between Nicole and Evan was fantastic. Nicole won, but honestly, it could have gone either way.

At one point, some of the others who were eliminated got to strut their stuff one last time. Buzz danced to the Star Wars theme. Poor Buzz. He still can't really dance. And in an illustrative moment, Kate danced to "Paparazzi" again. Her lack of skill progression versus the finalists' was super-evident. I feel for Kate, who really seemed to be trying to enjoy herself. But she can't really dance either. Would that she stayed the full length, who knows what her steps would be like.

During all of this, Ape was also checking FB and news. That bus crash I saw earlier? The driver, a young woman, died. /sorrow They said she completely failed to react to the stopped bus and plowed into it. The damage to the bus seemed minor, although her car's front end was toast...

Thought before bed: How the heck does my sis-in-law get away with almost never wearing her seatbelt? Rarely, when her kids choose to needle her about it, she will. But not for long. Year after year we hear the "Click It or Ticket" message, yet she never gets fined. I don't really want her to have to pay a big fine, or worse, get hurt, but it's so aggravating!

-=-=-=-

5/24

Not much going on... This week's code was done last week and my pet project is on hold pending formal scheduling of the work. About the only thing interesting from today was my trip to the tire store. Shiroma's been riding on the carcasses of the rears. Not good! And rain was forecast for the afternoon, meaning if I was unable to get the tires done, I'd have a handful getting back to work.

Things went well, if a bit slowly at the shop. I was able to read quite a bit of "Child of the Prophecy", book 3 of the Sevenwaters series. Yes, I picked it up again last week and want to get on with it. I'm annoyed with the story though - watching Fainne insinuate herself into the Sevenwaters estate on Granny's orders is maddening. She feels compelled to act because her father is held hostage by that same Granny. But the things she does in her desperation make me nuts.

Tires and alignment finally done, I returned to work. First impressions? The tires are softer and give more, affecting handling. Shiroma's more darty and floaty and I expect these tires will give up earlier in hard cornering and braking. /sigh

Later, at home, it was chicken and rice and DWTS and blogging. Not much else...

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5/13 Addendum

Forgot about this stunning blog post.

Why My Skinny Jeans Don't Give You the Right to Rape Me