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Thursday, April 29, 2010

Code Promotions, Rank Promotions

Thurs:

Looong day at work - That tiny code problem from yesterday got fixed, but not without a bit of grumbling from the other team. Took some break time to do the first draft of my "Hope" sketch. Later, we began moving to a nearby set of cubes. I stayed as long as I could then begged off to meet the crew at Pizza Hut for Elder's birthday dinner.

I now have a teenager.

After that, it was off to Tae Kwon Do to see if Younger could pass the test for his purple belt. One poor kid tried for nearly 10 minutes to do a pair of breaks but wound up smashing Mr. Drew's fingers instead. I dunno if he made it eventually. Younger got his though!

Once home it was time for Survivor (on tape) and Private Practice. Survivor is really getting good - Parvati versus Russell is as good as Boston Rob's turn.

-=-=-=-

Wed:

Work's been work :3 Rolled code but had some issues with the other team waiting on it. Sort of a mutual problem caused by both sides assuming little details. Otherwise it was a slooow day. Which continued at home - we lazed about prior to meeting Sis at CCD to get the boys. From there it was a family din at McD's - Ape's still really sick and doesn't feel up to cooking or elaborate or expensive meals that might not stay down.

Later I jumped on XI, but had a spot of trouble with a Farozan assist. He was trying to help a new sheller called Ivy with some NM fight. I offered to help since it was just three at that point. I slogged my way out to Cape Terrigan and got lost looking for Gustav Tunnel since nobody in the party would answer me.

Then she jumped the NM start and won before I made it in and I was out 1.5k without so much as an acknowledgment from her >< Wound up soloing with Fhox in the Dunes. Got only 1.5k xp but it was nice to be on DNC for a change.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Angry Aerin

While work was pretty good, things after with the A/C guy were very bad. Very very bad. But I'm not going to comment publicly yet until I have a chance to talk to someone at the company.

In any case, work was a pair of trials. Some of my code packages refused to deploy correctly until I worked with the server team. Once straightened out, my new code is tested and working. But it won't roll Thursday. Both of my updates are going next Thursday so that will be a late night. I hope I can get someone to take Elder to school so I can sleep in.

Tonight is a ValorKnightsDynamis run in Jeuno. At midnight. I need sleep but I'd love to go!

Monday, April 26, 2010

Story Time

Mon

Ape's still miserable and will be going back to the doc after work, assuming she makes it through the day. I really didn't feel like being at work either but I have two major rolls coming up and very little time to test and prepare. Otherwise, work's going well and I'm definitely skilling up, not just in Java but in a number of the associated developer tools as well.

Ape called after lunch saying the A/C guys were going to try again this afternoon, close to 6:30. I didn't get to leave work until after 5:30, but I got home before they showed up. Which, actually, they never did. I stopped waiting at just after 7 and took Elder to get Ape's new meds (turns out she has a massive sinus infection, leading Doc to incredulously wonder how she's still functional) and dinner at Chick-Fil-A. CFA was hosting a "Spirit Night", wherein a cut of the proceeds goes to fund a local church. The place was almost certainly at fire marshal capacity.

Back home, we all ate and then it was time for DWTS. The skill level is definitely increasing. Pretty much everyone looked great, although I somehow missed the "dance marathon". Nicole and Derek took top nods for both that and their individual dance. During all this, Ape and I fought over the lappy and I eventually got it back. I jumped on AIM and found LK online.

He's pondering a move, to either Washington State or NYC. Both have good things to recommend them but I joked how he'd make it on his lil' scoot in either environment. One leads to a pretty ready-made house with roommates and the other might offer other possibilities. His most recent LJ post had to do with how he was "drawn in" to various fandoms, including games, anime and furry. We chatted Sailor Moon and sentai shows. We also talked about other fun stuff, including Ape's seeming disdain for furry adventures. She's becoming positively fixated on my conversations with LK. Which, to be honest, are quite normal. Compared to Cleric, that is.

He got in close to bedtime and we spent most of the hour discussing a number of his characters, most of whom are crew on the Guardian in a sci-fi story he's fleshing out. It sounds like the Guardian is a massive carrier-class ship, perhaps run like a "generation ship" and crewed by a rag-tag bunch under Allester's command. And ownership. After pasting a number of character descriptions at me, he sought my opinion. I think he's got a fantastic way of describing things in a very sensory manner. It's very easy to visualize everything he describes, even with my limited "mental model-set" with regard to anthro characters.

However, he...ummm... uses a fairly specific template for most of his characters. Very Frank Frazetta. Very. I told him I just wasn't into that particular style although I think he uses it well. All sincere appreciation intended, as he's describing the Guardian and its crew, I could think of little else besides Heavy Metal. I wonder if he knows of that or Frazetta's designs...

After working on two loads of folding it was time for bed.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Building Dreams And Culinary Nightmares

Sun

Worked on Younger's science project most of the afternoon, right up 'til AR time. Got it done though! The gist of the project was measuring the effect on reaction times of either a hand-held cell or a headset. Turns out, based on our very-unscientific sampling of 6 people, headsets are worse!

Just after AR started, got onto what would be my final BST party, led by Soho! Seeing him again was a treat and Thisbe was a bubbly spaz. Ended with BST21 and a great sense of accomplishment! I just now wish I'd gone to 21 on all the other melees for use of the Beetle +1 set to rep my worn Bone gear.

Riaukai chatted briefly with me, mentioning he started his own shell, HerpTheDerp. Seems a very friendly sort :3

AR was great (Go 'Boys!), DH was pretty interesting, and B&S is getting intriguing. Bed after.

-=-=-=-

Sat

Today was an early start for all of us. Today was the first-ever HabiJax Lego Blitz Build, an event to bring awareness of HabiJax's activities and to get kids involved since they can't go to the actual home sites. The gist of the event is to put together a team of 4 builders, obtain sponsor funding, and compete in a timed building challenge. So, not long after Younger's best friend AJ's mom dropped him off, we piled in Kuroma, grabbed Meme and picked up the fourth team member then rushed to the mall. Ape as always, was stressing with regard to timing, but we needn't have worried. While check-in began at 10, the building didn't start until 11.

Until then, we got breakfast, and enjoyed the MC talents of a local radio host and got to meet one of the Jaguars, Montell Owens. Quite a cool guy - I got to speak with him ever so briefly about his vast Lego collection. As time got closer (and the boys got stuck at CFA, nearly missing kickoff!) I scouted out the building sets. We knew that building a house was the design theme, and Ape insisted I coach the kids ahead of time but I and the boys disagreed. Without knowledge of the pieces available, or the number, it would be of limited value to pre-plan. But, at the actual event is another story! I peeked at the pre-sorted bags and realized there was a pretty diverse mix of the basic elements and reported back to the kids. And I had a design too - I voted for building a treehouse since I expected everyone else to go with a regular house.

My idea was shot down by the boys as being too difficult and impractical. And with the just-announced rules stating I couldn't do anything once building began other than rule enforcement, there was nothing for me to do. So I promoted Ape to Team Captain and went on a mission of my own. I found one of the event organizers and asked her if I could use one of the untaken sets to try out my idea. She agreed and even gave me one of the large baseplates. So I found a corner away from the event - since I didn't want anyone thinking I was providing ideas to any team - and got to work soloing a challenge meant for a four-man team.

Have I ever mentioned I'm really good with Lego? That I've been at it since around 1977 or so? That I have sets older than most of you? Well, I went to work. I separated all the 2-by-x bricks from the 1-bys and then roughed out my design. I built up a tree trunk facade and then tried a treehouse design. About 30 minutes in I realized I wasn't consuming nearly enough pieces, so I smashed the house and redid it. I wound up with a 12x8 house, with an additional 4x6 "deck" off one end. I set in lots of windows and built up a peaked roof over the main house and the deck. I included an arm off the deck where the rope swing would have gone, had I any rope ^^ Once done, I consumed most of the remaining pieces by building a stepladdder leading to the hole in the floor, and a fence decorating the base.

I ended construction about 5 minutes early, having started 5 late. With the extra 10 I think I could have managed to consume them all.

But that's not the best part. While squirreled away some distance from the event, I was approached by a half-dozen people who were intrigued by my efforts. Most took pics with their cameras or cells. The newspaper crew came by. I got interviewed and snapped by their team! I also had two elderly gentlemen separately approach me. One wanted to talk about his Lego train collection and bemoan the end of the electric train and track parts. The other wanted to talk to me about Jesus, but I assured him we were already on the same page there :3

Near the end of the timed event, I took my treehouse to our team table and set it down away from the official constructs. And even *more* people came to gawk. Other teams' kids and their parents - Montell Owens - the radio guy - and more! Let's just say I'm turning into a total attention whore and cosplaying is going to so-o-o stroke my ego!

When it came time for the judging, we all got up on stage and our guys found out they finished 6th of 7. Pity too, because their house was actually quite well executed. They built a large multi-room house and went so far to include built-up furniture appropriate to each room. They even had greenery outside and a grill. ther teams had good stuff too though. All in all, the boys had a blast and I got to be weird in public.

By the time it was all over, Cousin had been picked up and I took the remaining boys to the game stores where one bought a new DS title. Eventually we left the mall and did stuff at home. Ape was still feeling super-lousy so we lay down until close to 6. We had dinner plans at the new Bahama Breeze and were expecting to hear from Ape's BFF on the estimated wait time. Soon we found out we weren't due to eat until 9! So I snacked up while Ape continued to rest and we left at maybe 7:30 to pick up Meme and then head to Sis's house. Meme was going to watch all the boys (including AJ) and we all rode together. Aside from getting to mess around with Sis's new iPhone (Hi LK!) I really really wished I'd stuck with my original plan to drive us. Ape didn't want to ride in Shiroma because of her nausea and didn't want to ride with Sis without me. /sigh

Aaaanyway... We got to the mall at jus after 8, checked our timing (still due at 9-ish) and went shopping. Bro and I went to Best Buy and Toys 'R Us while the girls went to Express. We regathered at close to 9, meeting Sis's good friends S and E and heading to Bahama Breeze. For a dining *ordeal* I don't look to repeat.

I'll try to keep it civil... We were told right after 9 that our table was being bussed, but it disappeared. We weren't seated until 9:45-ish. The manager (owner maybe?) offered us drinks, apps and dessert on them. So, once we sat down, I chose meat pies as my app and grilled chicken on focaccia as my entree. The food was OK but not nearly as good as J Alexanders. *That's* worth a long wait!

Along the way, we had more fun:
- E's salad-as-a-meal came out early not once, or twice. After the third delivery attempt, E kept it but was displeased. The waitress didn't know how it had gotten mixed up.
- Bro initially chose not to order but after seeing my sammy he asked for one *exactly* (his emphasis) like mine. When it came, it was on an odd hamburger bun with the wrong cheese. Neither the manager nor waitress knew where the bun came from as they don't have that style!
- While I was done drinking, I lost my Coke glass when the waitress filled it with tea, unbidden.

Oh well. The pineapple-chocolate cake was really good!

We didn't leave the restaurant until after 11 and Bro and Ape were really fretting about the boys being stuck there so late and Meme's not used to staying up so late. Once home I got to drive Shiroma after all because I needed to head back out, to Wal-Mart. We needed breakfast stuffs for the boys and I grabbed lunchy stuff for me.

So I didn't really get settled in until after 2, at which time I got the most awesome surprise! Two, really. I jumped on XI with plans to finish BST and instead was tapped by Fhox to join him. In Dynamis. Of course, being Fhox it was *Bastok*... There was a frenzy of chat activity as I confirmed details with Fhox (Do they know I'm a Dyna-nub? Are they OK with me on WHM? etc.) and orders with Lordgrim (organizer) and Ktulu, holder of the glass and devourer of worlds :3

I jumped in as soon as I arrived and found about 14 dead people. They had just wiped and were basically regrouping. I was put with a team of 4, meaning my party was the smallest. But I had watch over the puller (Fritz) and Riaukai was a very appreciative sort! Oh, Sortir and Med were in here too!

Battle seemed to consist of puling one really pissed off Quadav escorted by two statue-like creatures. We worked to keep magical enemies silenced or slept because the statues were easy pickings. We got pretty far too (I think) but a bad pull led to a second wipe. We also lost a tank early and a key melee late.

It was still prolly the best 17k I ever spent. I had a blast and got to show of my White Magery. Riaukai was especially appreciative of my efforts. I really really love WHM/SCH!

Ended with late chats with Keps and Cleric. Kep and I talked about random stuff, but a lot of it was about Ragnarok Online, the free-to-play MMO he (and I think a number of the others) frequent now. He shared some of his screenshots with me showing both of his characters, Dhimiter and Kozlov. RO has a great art style that would totally suck me in if I had the fortitude for a second MMO. Which I don't. I also spent a lot of time on YouTube searching for Killer Instinct vids. Found a lot of long combo demos and some fake KI3 teaser trailers.

-=-=-=-

Fri

Wow... Bad bad morning. Elder has been having sleeping issues, leading I suspect to a lot of his attitude issues. Well, today took the cake. He was mouthy and surly and I came out to the car to find him kicking my floorboards. I snapped and yanked him inside. I didn't completely lose my cool but I was angry with him. I told him I don't care what his sleep issues are, or whatever's bugging him. He doesn't get to treat Mom and Dad that way.

So I made a decision. He had a presentation due that he was working on late last night and would never make a good show of it in his state. So I told him to go to bed. And then I went to bed. We got 3 hours' sleep and as hard as it was to wake him up it's clear he needs much more. But, he's just like me and Ape - we all seem to get much better sleep in the daytime!

Work was OK, but near the end Ape called after the funeral. If I didn't say before, her Vice-principal's hubby died over the weekend. They were close like Ape and I were and the funeral made Ape really sad.

Still sick, we did a stay-at-home night with basic foods... Later I jumped on XI and got BST to 18. Cousin stayed the night.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Back to Work

Thurs

Ape's miserable-sick again... Met her at Zaxby's, where an Ortega Elementary fundraiser was going on. With all the families eating we thought it was a kids eat free promotion ):

Mom and I went to Verizon next door to see about getting Elder a cellphone for his big 1-3 birthday. Everything was good until the guy said adding the third line would break the existing, pre-Verizon plan Mom has and would up her fee. Have I ever said how much I hate cellphones?

Survivor was a real treat as the two tribes merged today. There was only an immunity challenge, which Danielle won. Leading up to Tribal, there was a lot of scheming going on, with J.T. thinking he had a buddy in Russell and Parvati making moves of her own.

If J.T. giving his idol to Russell pre-merge was dumb, Russell then giving it to Parvati was colossally moronic. Of course, Rus didn't know she had her own. At Tribal, she played BOTH, neither for herself. She shielded Sandra and Jerri, who had had 5 votes, leaving only J.T.'s 5 votes in effect. Wow! Oh yeah, Russell is unhappy with Parv - heehee! Maybe I can get some old fashioned villainy if the two of them go at each other.

Due to some schedule change, PP was on instead of Grey's, and I just couldn't get into it. I left about halfway in and headed onto XI. The main event was a fantastic BLU party in Qufim. Note to self - get to 18 then stop, as Qufim invites are easier to come by! The party rocked because I had two band charges, we had a PL in Sublimescout, and everyone clicked well. I think we were at it just over 2 hours and I ended at 22 - yey!

In annoying news, the A/C drain is backing up again. Apparently has been for some time as the corner in Younger's room is wet. /sigh. It was too late to work on it so it'd have to wait until tomorrow.

-=-=-=-

Wednesday

Decent day at work but oh so sleepy. At home we got to chill out - Sis took all the boys to CCD. Ape and I lay down for a bit, almost falling asleep, when we heard boys. Twice as many as expected, in fact. Sis was outside on her phone and all the boys were inside. Younger was showing off his just-purchased Lego "Lava Dragon" game. It's a little goofy but there's a decent playsystem behind it.

Anyway, Sis came in finally. And showed off her new iPhone. She has a new plan now, with her new phone, hubby's and now her oldest inherited an old phone. All together she thinks it'll be $150 per month, before a job-based discount of 25%. I all but guarantee she'll stay at $150 after taxes and fees for both lines. And she's not very good at staying under her minutes - she goes over all the time already... And, I cautioned her to find out the rules of her data plan before rampant FaceBooking gets her a massive over-byte. OK, that was bad.

Not much on TV after pizza dinner but we did watch an ep of "The Middle". It took me 10 minutes to realize that was Patricia Heaton as the mom. Remember her from "Everybody Loves Raymond?" Yeah. Well, it seems time has not been terribly kind to her in the 5 years since Raymond wrapped. Not that she's gotten all hideous, but she just looks more wan and aged than I'd have expected.

The show, the show... Not too bad. I don't think I could get into it, as the actors in the 5 main roles just don't grab me. And the similarities to Malcolm (one of my all-time faves) is a bit much. So after the 10pm show I split.

I did better this time in the Dunes, managing not to die and getting maybe 3k XP off book pages. I even learned "Foot Kick"! My BLU is very behind the times... I even got shell invite which I had to pass on. Like last night's blind invite... I hope the weekend works out so well - I'd love to finish off both BLU and BST and return to DNC and PLD, and even SMN, believe it or not. Well, at least get SMN to 30 lol.

On Sufhi's last fight, with an aggroed Butcher, I had to zone with barely 20hp left. I made it and was able to get the lone bunny I needed for my current page with Sortir's help. He'd arrived for the shell party I had to pass on and buffed me for the kill. I said my goodnights and good lucks after reserving another page at the OP.

Spent more time with Cleric's stories and chatting with LK.

-=-=-=-

Tuesday:

Not sure why, but Ape had picked up some Lean Cuisine pizzas for my lunches. I took one today, along with toaster strudels (breakfast) and a Betty Crocker Molten Delights cake (snack). Good thing too, because the pizza was prolly the third-worst thing I've *ever* stomached.

It wasn't that it was a diet chicken pizza. No, it was the oodles of garlic and onion. I spent 10 minutes picking pieces off and it STILL reeked. And it tasted awful. I already knew I didn't like either, so this isn't a matter of not trying things. Garlic has to be in sparing quantities and onions in ground, powdered form only.

Even with the cake AND teeth brushed AND Scoped, my breath was less than pleasant. Urk. I called Ape later to tell her she had a big kiss coming her way - I wanted her to enjoy what I'd been enjoying since lunch lol.

I sleepily made it home, just before Ape did. She brought Bojangles - yum! So I ate that and then took Younger to TKD. Whilst there, I read "The Pirate and the Princess", an English adaptation of a manga series of some sort. It was cute and interesting but very juvenile. Still a fun way to spend the hour while Younger kicked stuff.

Once back, Ape and I lay down in bed to watch DWTS. And I fell asleep. She left me that way until 11. I never got to see Kate voted off! Which I'm a /little/ sad over. Not much. Just a little.

After clearing the cobwebs and watching a bit of news with Ape, I headed back out for Round 2 of my roll. This time there were no issues and everything checked out fine.

In chat-news, Cleric and I had a nice time talking about FA and reviewing some Avatar spoofs. He really is a nutter! At his insistence, I took an FA account and used it to begin reading his 5-chapter story posted there. I only got about halfway through chapter 1 but I'm definitely intrigued - I really wanna know what happens to Allester and Jiva.

Keps and I chatted as well. I managed to make him sad by mentioning something in passing. I think the moment had passed by the time I crashed but I still felt really bad about it.

-=-=-=-

Monday

Not much - stuck at work late waiting for my code package approval. Once home, had din (sliders & mac and cheese!) and then went to pick up Elder's meds. Of course, Walgreens blew it again. We can't ever seem to pick up meds in the timeframe promised... So, we missed a bit of DWTS but we saw fantastic performances from Jake and Nicole, and I think Chad's was good although we walked in as he received his scores. Kate OTOH looked like she was sleepwalking. Poor girl tried to blame her exhaustion on her kids. Priority clue maybe?

I almost got Ape to watch Castle but she wound up flipping around. At 11-ish I headed out to play XI some and prepare for the night's roll. I was going to solo on BLU but I was too distracted by AIM and by goings-on in the Dunes. Met a very friendly person called Petesache who wanted to show off his BLU22 and was killed by the second gob he saw.

Turns out I'd do little better as I was offed by a lizard when I missed the Petrifying Gaze text - it had just used it unsuccessfully and I was getting ready with a much needed WS (I was in the red and so was he) and while I watched TP climb he tricked me.

I HPed, grabbed my Signal Pearl (why the heck was it in Storage anyway?) and returned to the Dunes, logging out in Selbina after checking for VE.

Aequilus (Zyg's alt) asked for a pearl but none of the sacks were around or responding.

LK sent me a picture of what I think is going to be called Aerinette. She doesn't look Mithran at all but that's OK. She's about 20 inches tall and dressed right, she'd make a great cosplay partner. I told LK I'd only request her delivery if I had the money left over for clothing in her size.

Cleric had a spot of trouble and wants me to let Potyhoty know he won't be on for the foreseeable future - Awr!

By 1:30 it was clear the roll wasn't happening and I packed it in.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

They Say It's Your Birthday~!

Sunday:

Plans are Ikea and Red Brick Pizza. Dunno what else.
(post-unpacking update) That was about it. But some details! Sis is an easily-frustrated woman. Ikea is the most deviously-designed store in the universe. We suspected putting the two of them together would result in a perfect storm of aggravation.

We were correct.

And she only walked past the restaurant and down to the exit! We tried to convince her there was more store, but she wasn't buying. So while she stayed pretty much in one spot we spent our time checking out the desk and shelf unit we're planning to pick up for Elder's room remodel. We're going to have to work out how to get it home when we don't have so many passengers since we'll lose most of the van seating to the three boxes it comes in.

From there was a short drive to Red Brick (I took a quick detour to the Best Buy next door) and as usual it was good. We wound up with breadsticks in lieu of the kids' meals' ice creams, and so we were quite full. But somehow we were craving sweets afterwards, and so we asked where we could get something sweet to eat. Horrible mistake...

We were directed to a nearby Cold Stone Creamery, and after trying a sample of "Oreo Cream" I settled on Sweet Vanilla. Ape placed the order and the girl asked us if we wanted a topping. *This* time I could hear a certain Mon Calamari warning me off but I asked her directly if it was included. She said we could get a topping. Then I saw the total on the register and wondered how ten bucks of kid's cups wound up costing $12.80.

I jumped back in line to ask if we were charged for toppings and was basically told, "Of course!" So, I got a little mad. I asked why and she said the "Kid's Create Sundae" is $2.99 and includes a topping. However, we specifically ordered kid's sized cups, which are on the sign for $2.50. We never said anything about a sundae. I basically got in the girl's face and told her the next time someone asks whether a topping is included in the thing they ordered, she'd better answer correctly because her bad information cost me two bucks and honestly, I didn't really want the candy.

Next on my list was the acting manager, and I basically told her the story and she gave me the "We're so sorry, but we can't refund your money." What? If I didn't think it would have earned me a trip to a county lockup, I'd have deducted my refund from their tip jar... We got the owner's phone number and I'm going to call her tomorrow and offer her one chance to make it right or I'll execute a chargeback on my card since I was *fraudulently* charged.

Angry snacking aside, the drive home proved uneventful although we got home a bit before 9. But then it didn't matter so much because Amazing Race wasn't even on.

Oh, one neat thing... While nearing home, Ape mentioned wondering what I'd look like with straight hair. I told her in all seriousness not to tease me, because I'd jump at the chance. She said she'd get Mom's flat iron and maybe give it a go. Yay!!! I also mentioned wanting to dye my hair the rest of the way black. I know it looks pretty black in pictures but in good lighting you can tell it's a deep brown.

Oh, one /more/ thing! I decided to write the email with details and pics for our friend. I opted to go with a technical explanation of my goals because I think she's going to shop it around. And because I added wigmaking and makeup to the list of needed deliverables. I was cobbling it all together during DH and B&S. We've missed a couple episodes but I think we're OK.

It took time because I had to shrink the AV pics down to fit the attachment size limit. So ny the time I clicked Send it was just after 11. And lo and behold, I got an email from her a minute or so later. However, she was responding to my first email, not the second, complete one I sent to her personal account. So I gave her the heads up and now we wait...

I'm thinking of setting up a cosplay-specific journal page on my Google site.

-=-=-=-

Saturday:

* Left at noon for Disney's Hollywood studios.
* Checked in, then stuffed selves into Sis's Sequoia (I was the designated trunk-monkey)
* Started with Jedi Training Academy - really cute and great to hear the best musical themes!
* All but Ty and I headed for the Lights! Motors! Action stunt show so he could see the end of the Academy show. Made it to the stunt show in time and it was as fun as before.
* Took in American Idol Experience. Mom & Dad made it in just in time! I greatly dislike the show (until pretty much the end of the finals) but I couldn't believe how *fun* this was! And we got to be on the DIamondVision screen too! Second-place and my contestant sang Sunshine of My Like crooner style, *to his wife* - freakin' awesome! Winner was a vocal student in a huge group presumably from his school. He was really good though!
* Getting late and the usual Ape-can't-fit-it-all stress
* Toy Story 3-D is pretty fun, and where M&D left us. They're off to AK tomorrow. Got second highest score (132,300) and third accuracy (33%) in our group of 8.
* Had time to squeeze in Star Tours (Oh for the love of God please update the film on this ride! Please? Pretty please? Although, there's a still I need to see if Ape can grab. A Mon Calamari raises his pimp hand when someone disobeys the "No Flash Photos" rule. THAT would make an awesome "I told you it was a trap!" lol.
* Off to Aerosmith for the boys' first time. Decent line and the ride was great. Boys *loved* it. Was the only thing that made Elder smile the whole freaking trip. Maybe I'll write about that...
* Ended the night at WDW with the Fantasmic show. It's a trip through Mickey's imagination where a Heroes vs. Villains showdown takes place, featuring the usual suspects from the past and present of Disney hand-drawn animation.
* Late late late dinner at Friendly's, which was really good if not slow. Had a long talk with Elder about his crappy attitude when things don't go his way. Bro even commented to him... /sigh I feel for the kid I do. But he really needs an attitude adjustment.
* Tossed plans to chat up the crew when we didn't get settled in until 2am. Had a long stop at Walgreen's for morning provisions and it took time to get everyone in their jammies with teeth brushed, etc. Also, I had to make a run for the freebie toothbrushes ans three of us (across both groups) forgot to bring ours.

-=-=-=-

Friday:

Today is Ape's *actual* birthday. At lunch, I ran to the mall to grab a card and hopefully a small gift. She already got her big present, the clothes-shopping trip from a few weeks ago. But there's no way I'm going to her huge party tonight with just a card. I've done some really dumb things in my time but I know better than that! ^^

My trip got extended by the fact I couldn't find the Hallmark. I wound up walking both floors end-to-end. It wasn't where I remembered it in this mall, and where it actually was basically blocked it from view unless you walked all the way to the end of the floor. Argh. Anyway, I found a nice Snoopy card and the perfectest Precious Moment, so with that handled, I ran to grab lunch and then headed back to work.

Later, on arriving home from work, I had just climbed out of Shiroma when she ordered me into the van. Turns out we had to beat feet to Mikado (yey!) to claim a reservation for 18. We made it in time too, and the rest of our group did as well. So, we were seated quickly, in the back room with just two grill-tables.

This would turn out very nice, as we could relax and not feel like we were bothering anyone. Plus the personal service made us feel special. Specialer. And the food was quite good, with many "thumbs-up" from the Rogue's gallery we'd assembled. And I spent a bit of the night on Alex duty, keeping him entertained until it was time to eat, and also calming him when he was upset by the fireworks.

I also got to spend some time with our friend the crafter, daughter of my intended seamstress. Turns out she hadn't gotten my email yet because the account I used is one she only checks occasionally for business. No worries - I was able to give her the rundown and she gave me a better account to use. But get this - she knows a theater major (I think that's it) who may be able to help with getting my wig made! Also, although I didn't mention it there, I expect he may be able to help with my makeup plans too!

By the time we said all the goodbyes, it was pretty late, and we had no way to see Kick-Ass. So instead we popped by Redbox and got Astro Boy and Ponyo. We watched Astro Boy after getting settled in. We didn't end until just after midnight. My take? Meh. It was actually a fairly emotional story (Tenma's kid is /vaporized/? And he rejects Astro quite harshly.) but it just didn't grab me overall. I think what killed it for me was the acting - the story and action were good but the acting was flattish. I did like Nathan Lane's gearbox gladiator character - a bit unexpected.

I wound up falling asleep with Ape watching news of Hayleigh Cummings. I'm sorry guys!

-=-=-=-

Thursday

A bit of chaos on this, the first day of Ape's birthday celebration. I met Ape, Sis and Granddad at Cracker Barrel for his dinner for her. I selected "Momma's Pancake Breakfast" with a nod to Kio. I also bested Ty at checkers (for once!). We enjoyed ourselves and I think this marks the first gathering at which Granddad didn't go all political!

From here, I had to jet Younger to TKD and we were already way behind schedule. But we got there and eventually home. For Survivor. Yep - last week's teaser came to be. J.T. and the other Heroes decided it'd be smart to "protect" Russell from the "all-female alliance" threatening him. So they cooked up this plan wherin J.T. would slip Rus the Immunity Idol they held. Along with a note.

At the challenge, which the Heroes managed to win, there were congratulatory hugs and high-fives. And one small package being handed off in a shoe. Later, back at Villainy H.Q., Rus and Parvati (how the heck is this pronounced "poverty" anyway?) read J.T.'s letter. Well, Parv read it, in a mocking tone suggesting a mash note rather than a conspiracy plan. Because, in all honesty, the actual letter read like hero-worship on J.T.'s part. Too bad that Rus didn't need the help and will likely make you eat your note when the Merge goes down next week!

Oh yeah, Parv has an idol too because she and Danielle found the idol from the clue Parv got at the Villains' reward feast at Outback Samoa. Can't remember if Rus knows about this idol but geez - that's a lot of immunity floating around!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

And I Thought I Hated Summoner!

Today, I finished off RNG. Ape and the boys were off with her sis' brood playing mini-golf and I had most of the day to myself.

Both Soho and Kush asked why I was even on RNG, and my party asked me, after we were done, why I was glad to be rid of it.

I think of all the recent jobs I've messed with, I felt the least helpful on RNG. My damage output was subpar except in the cases where I landed my Flaming Arrows or solid regular shots. I pulled, and in the Oasis, it stunk. I don't mind pulling in many zones, but two days in the Dunes cured me.

And to be honest, my run on SMN from 18 to nearly 22 was much more fun.

All I have left of my lowbies is BLU17 and BST17. Then I plan to focus heavily on DNC and possibly PLD. I think I want to work on my DNC AF assuming I can shed my Linen gear entirely.

In lolnews, Kingbobby asked my gender, saying I type like a girl. Heh. Also, Soho stopped by for a quick hi-and-a-poke before retiring. He was dressed up nicely in PLD whites.

Meanwhile, on AR, my 'boys wound up third and there was a LOT of heat between Brent and Caite and the girls. Also, the cops tried a punk move, attempting to steal the girls' cab but their cabbie wouldn't sell them out.

Hopefully before I go to bed tonight, I hope I had the time to finish my nails...

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Super Busy Fun Time Party Family

Sat:

Chore-day. Ape said if I did a "few" things I'd get the rest of the day to myself prior to her sis' 40th birthday bash. Well, after getting Ape to actually make a list, I realized there was no way I'd get it done before we left for the party. So I dug in and got most of the list done (the big stuff anyway) and planned to jump on after the party.

On the list? Trim the bushes (as Bro had just cut the yard - yeah, it's time for regular yard maintenance...), install new exterior lighting sconces (as the original ones were shot), finish removing the broken glass from the front window and clean it, mount the new flagpole, and put up new shutters to replace the old ones.

I completed the first three tasks, and made progress on the flagpole. However, Home Depot doesn't carry shutters in-store and I wasn't going to special order them.

Soon it was 7 and party-time. One of the kids joked we'd be there 'til midnight, something I didn't see as all that far-fetched. Turns out we missed that time by maybe 15 minutes. The first couple of hours was munch-and-mingle, then cake and presents, LOTS of pictures and then some goodbyes as many of her guests couldn't stay too late. Once the crowd (and seriously, there must have been 40 people there!) thinned out, the "core group" took up Guesstures. My team won, but not by much. Ape got some truly ridiculous pics of us flailing about...

By the time we wrapped up and dropped of Mimi it was very close to midnight. I spent some time with Ape anyway, then jetted off to Vana'diel once more, for yet another shell party. I swear, Cleric and Sortir are leveling machines! But it meant starting on RNG, which was the lowest of my lowbies at 16. Dear God I hate this job. I'd gladly take Summoner to 30 if it meant never touching Ranger again...

-=-=-=-

Fri:

Our Date Night plans were to eat at Zaxbys after dropping off the kids and then to see "Date Night". Ape was feeling super lousy but she insisted we go out anyway. I swear, that girl will be off to the movies even on her deathbed! Dinner was quite nice, being just the two of us. Then we met the in-laws for the movie. It was really quite good! Back home I jumped on to a SMN party and got almost 3 levels, ending just shy of 22. Maybe I'll go ahead and keep plugging away ay SMN to 30...

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Midweek Madness (Again?)

Thurs:

During lunch I took TheImmortal down to the car to try AV, post-update. Sure enough, AV was ok and it was awesome! I used it to get several screens.

Later in the day I stumbled onto a followup to a story I linked here on March 10th. The intolerant nubs who tried to cancel prom because of one girl's love wound up having a fake prom for her and some other unfortunate kids, and hosted a private bash at a parent's house.

I just don't get people...

-=-=-=-

Wed:

Worked late then went to see "The Last Song" with Ape, Sis, MIL, and Younger + Sis' oldest. It was good, touching, and had nice piano music, which I love but don't get enough of.

Back home, I researched the AV issue, posted on a KI forum where King Mort maintains the viewers, and started an update just to see what-if. It went 5-ish hours, pulling down 11k+ files!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Easter Vacation!

Tuesday: Our original plan for today was to check out late, then head home via Orlando so we could stop at Ikea.

We grabbed breakfast at Perkins (Tampa's, not Orlando's) then stopped at Target for last-minute stuff for the week so we wouldn't have to stop for groceries at home. As we got out of Kuroma, an elderly man stopped us. Seems an Altima was left running with nobody inside. I took down the plate so I could give it to Guest Services to announce. I also asked the trunk if anyone was locked inside. That car had the push-button start meaning if the key was taken far enough away (presumably in the driver's pocket) the car should cut off. Weird. We gave the message once inside and then Younger and I waited to see if anyone came up. Nope. By the time we had our stuff, maybe 20 minutes, the car was STILL there, running. Weirder...

We jumped on I-4 and had an uneventful drive into Orly. We stopped first at the Mall at Millenia and had a good time at Urban Outfitters looking at the weird stuff. I wound up picking up XI again (for the third time) when Elder wanted to get Yu-Gi-Oh Tag Force so I grabbed both together. Nobody wanted to go to Ikea so we left the mall, with plans to go to Sanford for a bookstore and Red Brick pizza. We barely got out of the lot when I saw a bunch of Lotus Elises at a high-end dealer. I had to make a u-ie and park at the neighboring Mercedes dealer and walk across the divider with the boys. I found a sales guy and asked him point blank if we could get in an Elise and take pics. He reluctantly agreed but we had a pleasant, if brief, chat about Lotus' racing heritage. The pics came out nice and I do so love those runabouts! An Elise is for you if you think an RX-8 is just too big.

Once we got to Sanford, I started the install at Books-A-Million thinking I needed net access, but I never could get on. Thankfully the install started anyway. While waiting, I browsed the manga but couldn't find what I was looking for. I continued it at RB and was able to get on, grabbing a current version of Altana View. Just as the battery died ^^.
On the way home, I powered up the black box and finished the install, as well as AV, but for some reason an awful lot of gear wouldn't show. However, AV also has maps! Yay!

-=-=-=-

Monday: Today's big plan was a trip to the mall, "Clash of the Titans" and go-karting at Tampa GP.

We had about 90 minutes to kill at the mall so we had a nice lunch and then split up to shop. At GameStop, I was looking at the XI Ultimate Collection. I'm ready to move forward with my cosplaying plans and I need to get to work with a model viewer. However, I didn't care for the attitude one GS employee gave me about not wanting to buy a gut. Eventually, it was time for the movie. It wasn't bad, and there was a nice nod to the original (see if you can spot Bubo) but for some reason I just didn't get the same thrill that the others did. A later reflection I had was that it seemed to be more spectacle than story. Not sure if this is endemic to 3-D flicks or not...

As we were leaving, we called Tampa GP to get directions. As Ape was getting a Clinique gift set thing, I messed with the Skin Type Analyzer thingy. You answer 8 questions about your skin by moving the sliders. When you're done, you look for the one type (of 4) that came up the most and /that's/ your type. Wouldn't you know it - I had two of each and therefore *no* dominant type. -lolly sigh- Getting to the track would prove to be harder than it should have been as I misheard the first exit and they happened to have moved since our last outing. We wound up looping over the Seven-Mile bridge twice and made a number of "Marco, Polo" phone calls but we eventually found it.

They moved to an indoor facility, shortening the track. On the flip side, they hadn't jacked the rates due to the new (and very nicely appointed digs - go Schumi!) and the simpler track was pretty fast. The Clones and I were the only ones in our heat and I had fun lapping them. Both drive well but I suspect they simply lack the seat time and knowledge of racecraft. Nothing that wouldn't be hurt by more seat time! At one point, Elder and I were dicing on the way off the final hairpin to Start/Finish and he wound up T-boning me smartly, knocking me into my seat bolster hard enough to bruise. Neither of us lost control however and I thought it was an awesome bit oof driving on his part. I think he got flagged for it though!

On the way back, we stopped at Five Guys for dinner, which we planned to eat poolside. Something wonderful happened while I waited in line. Please recall that some time back I bought a gray "To Write Love on Her Arms" shirt. In months of wearing it, I've not gotten one comment on it. At Five Guys, I got *two*, from the cashier who passionately supports them, and from the guy who handed us our bag 'o food. Nice!

By the time we got back to the condo it was quite close to 8, and DWTS. SO we ate and watched the first hour (God bless you Buzz - you're trying so hard!) and then Ape took the boys to the pool. I joined them closer to 10 and then we all went back up when the pool closed.

-=-=-=-

Sunday

Got up at 10 for Easter Mass. We wound up at Light of Christ Catholic in Clearwater. It was a very nice mass but I didn't agree with MIL who thought this church was as pretty as our St. Matthew's or St. Paul's. The service was very nice and the priest was jovial. From there, we found a park for the combined family Easter egg hunt, which went nicely - once we sorted out each family's Golden Egg deal lol. Then we were off to Clearwater Beach and Gondolier restaurant.

This restaurant is owned by the same family that owns the one we love in Sevierville, TN. From there we thought we'd walk to the beach, leaving the cars at Gondolier. We abandoned that notion when a tow truck pulled up to a Lexus SUV at a store two drives from us. Yep, the driver and his partner made short work of rolling the Lexus back on dollies, then grabbing it with the lift. While I understand why towing happens (a combination of city revenue sharing with tow companies mixed with businesses wanting spaces used by presumably paying customers) it still means someone's vacation was ruined. Not only that, but when the Lex started to roll down the drive, the tow driver was yanking on the side mirrors to stop it! I'd have been furious if that had been my very expensive vehicle being handled that way...

Fears of roving bands of wreckers fresh in our mind, we moved! It took a little patience and a little luck, but we found spots for both of us. I walked the crew to the beach, then walked Sis back because she never paid for her spot /facepalm I stayed back at the van and waited for the others - my legs were killing me from the jet ski action. We ended the night by driving back towards our place near the causeway and stopping at one of the waterfront pullouts to say our goodbyes to Sis & Co. as they were out of time. We're staying through Tuesday :3

Instead of a last-chance beach fling, we wound up rescuing a stingray. For some unknown reason, a ray was swimming along the coast and constantly skimming the water's edge. As he crept along the coast he finally got stuck and began to flap about, clearly in distress. Sis tried to move him, then gave up and handed me the stick, after petting him. I tried too and this hapless creature, dubbed "Stingy" by the kids, just could not fathom why he kept getting stuck. I stooped to pet him too, then kept shoving him out only to have him come back. Eventually, he took off away from the coast, in what seemed a purposeful manner. We left quickly then, not certain if he was at the coastline to play, or to check out the funny humans, or what. Also, I didn't want to see him smacked by any of a half-dozen rental skis also on the water...

Back at our place, it was AR time. And dang it, my cowboys went from last to first! Speedbump or no, they dominated the flagpole balance thing and the roadblock, leaving them plenty of time for the silly speedbump. Due to some major cab miscues, Steve and Allie wound up trading places, finishing last and being eliminated. Now? Watching Celeb Apprentice to get a peek at the new HP world at Universal! -squee!-

-=-=-=-

Saturday

Today was... Interesting. The main event for today was another jet ski run at John's Pass. It took forever to get into Clearwater because of the traffic. Once there, we couldn't get to the parking garage because of bridge construction. So we found meters, and rounded up all the quarters we could. I wound up on meter feeding duty ^^

Even though we were on time, it took a bit to get signed in because a previous group roughed up their skis and the staff was trying to process the $800 damage fee - yikes! We eventually got on the water, with Bro and I on brand new skis, which meant the clocks actually worked. Just in case, I had the BK/SpongeBob watch on :3 All four of us opted for the Gulf and soon we were having a blast racing, chasing, and trying to jump wakes. The first big moment of the day happened when Ape cut left sharply and threw herself and Younger. I had been chasing their wake and turned forward just in time to see them bobbing in the water.

Bro and I had to work together to get Ape back up as she wound up having a full-blown panic attack when her vest rode up, covering her face. That, with the cold water sent her into an attack. It literally took almost 20 minutes to get her calmed down and back on. It didn't help that she still has a bad rotator cuff, making it hard to pull up. Eventually all of us were back on (I had to take three dips, between rescuing Ape and being thrown twice from Ape's ski). In addition to losing a third of our time, the SpongeBob watch was ruined...

From there we had some stress figuring out what to do next as some of us were hungry and some of us wanted to shop in John's Pass. We opted to hit a handful of stores (found some great-smelling lotion but didn't buy), and check the local restaurants at the same time. We didn't find anything to our liking food-wise, so we wound up looking farther afield. Based on recommendations from our previous condo front desk (Ape wanted Sis to see it), we wound up at Sloppy Joe's. Yes, same family. We had a long wait but it was well worth it! The food was really good and Sis preferred the Key Lime pie birthday snack here versus Bahama's.

By the time we left it was late but we stopped at a shaved-ice place and got some really good ices. The second drama-bit happened when we stopped at Target looking for Easter Egg stuff. Bran came to get me saying Ape needed me. Turns out Ape gashed her left foot on the bottom of her buggy as she was waiting for us. I wound up doing the cleanup while concerned Target folk looked on. She got quite a nasty gash and it took some doing to get it all up. I even had to wash her shoe as it had a lot of blood on it, which thankfully came off. Hopefully Easter will go better!

-=-=-=-

Friday

Got up at around 10:30 and we took a bit of time getting out the door. The drive to Tampa was uneventful, other than seeing way too many disabled vehicles and crashes. Not sure why traffic was so confounded, but. Anyway, we suffered through and made it to Sailport. Sis & Co. were not far behind and we freshened up and headed to Bahama Breeze for Sis's 40th birthday din. I tried something new - Jamaican grilled chicken breast. It wasn't bad but the mango salsa was not to my liking.

From here, we needed to go to WalMart to get Easter morn' supplies, but we didn't know how to get there. Sis asked a fellow who was leaving as well, and not only did he give us great directions and offer to lead us (Hey! We had an AR-style fern!), he paid our tolls! It wasn't a terrible distance but it was far more than many would have ever done for a motley crew of strangers! We said profuse thanks and he left us at the entrance.

Ape grabbed some essentials for the week as well as Easter treats.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Lent is Almost Over

Thurs - After work and dinner (hot dogs, mac & cheese and brown-sugar-glazed beans *nomnom*) Ape all but crashed. She's been feeling worse and worse lately. So much so she went to the doctor Wednesday. Anyway, Younger was also pooped and Elder was at Sis', so I grabbed him and dessert on the way back.

We did watch Survivor - Russell wins AGAIN! - and I logged in. I stumbled into a party courtesy of Sortir and after 6 hours (with some breaks), MNK was up 3 and done, and SAM was up 2 and almost done. Formally met Cleric, the WHM10 who was shouting Tuesday. He's quite the character, and aside from some interesting comments on my Mithran anatomy, we struck up a very interesting conversation (notes to follow).

-=-=-=-

Wednesday - I had a long but good day at work but I was wiped from having to get up so early yesterday for the field trip. I fell asleep at 7:30 and didn't get back up again for 12 hours. I didn't get to sleep the whole time - the call of nature got me once and the call of Ape's snoring roused me once or twice... But I still felt better when I got up Thursday.

-=-=-=-

Tuesday - After dinner, I jumped on XI and was able to get a party with Whiteonion and Sortir and took Monk all the way to 20!

-=-=-=-

Monday: No FFXI tonight. Watched the first DWTS results show and nearly got a welcome gift. Pam Anderson was in the bottom two. Either she or Shannon Doherty was about to go home. Unfortunately, my joy was short-lived. Shannon went home instead. Ape thinks Pam's low vote is because more women watch and do not share the judges' high opinion of Ms. Anderson. I just have never gotten the attraction. Her face isn't that attractive to me and all her curves are tied up in her upper reaches. Oh well.

Also, the Buzz Aldrin Memorial Tour continues. At least Buzz is man enough to realize he's only here because he's a national hero (said sincerely as a wannabe astronaut).