The big 09

It is almost upon us. Wow

/jealous of the lack of angst the Ducklings have

Tonight I will be at O'Conner's with the little brother and family. I will also be at work having what I expect will be a great time.

Happy New Year!!!!

Holy Moly Batman!

Once I got home from work last night I thought Christmas was over. I was wrong. After getting a frightening hospital call from Little Brother I raced over there (though I am ashamed to say I changed pants first...and got my books ready for the ER waiting room...and still got there in 5 minutes ----> zoom zoom zoom) and who do I find but my Mom! She flew in with no one knowing and surprised us all for the holidays! Well, I'm off to make hopefully very little noise as I start my studies and Wrimo this morning, think and elephant on tip toes, trunk carefully lifted near a bug zapper. That pretty much describes my ability to be quiet.

Happy Christmas Eve Day!

Oh the Possibilities

It is nearing the end of the year and while many people find sadness or mixed feelings at the thought of time passing in such a final way I think it is important to remember how boring life would be if time did not pass at all. To never change, never learn, how horrible a fate that would be? If asked I am sure most people would admit to wanting eternal youth, eternal life (not the dead kind either). To remain in such an unchanging state, especially if the rest of the word was not following the same path, to have to watch everything like you were stuck in a picture, hands pressed up against the canvas wall, man that is probably what hell is like.

Truthfully this post was supposed to be about year end book lists and the great list I was able to compile to be added to the TBR/TBL archive that sits stuck up on my refrigerator. (It's a great list by the way, looks like loads of great books to be requested from the library.)

Even though there are still a few days left before we need to consider the coming new year I want to wish it a very happy arrival. Picture it on a plane that is landing. We're all standing on the runway (obviously it is one of those 2 prop death mobiles you have to walk to...brave new year).

/waves at new year

It is great to see you!

Is that a Hammer or are you just happy to see me?

Now it should be first said that I love Christmas. The spirit, the smell, the atmosphere of the season is wonderful and addictive and means I get to eat lots of really great food.

However

If I have to hear that Silver bells atrocity one more time the Spider Hammer is going to get a work out.

/polishes Spider Hammer to a shine

/points menacingly at the Trans Siberian Orchestra

Yeah I'm talking to you guys!

Ahem....Have a lovely Tuesday!

Intrepid Explorers Everywhere Unite!

So these aren't the best pictures of him getting eaten by the snow but they are the only ones I snapped. (The rest of the time I was either goading him on or getting pulled into the snow by my over exuberant puppy). But Oh the snow, oh the bloody dastardly snow that just keeps falling.

So as with every thing else that displeases me I am playing the ignore it game! Enter anime and my Wrimo. Wrimo, hmmmm, I can't call it that anymore. You see I gave it a name. Had to, after a month it needed something but an abbreviation and a date. It's cheezy, not very descriptive and I can't really match it to the plot but I'm far too lazy to change it now. ---------->-------------------------->------------------------------------>--------------------->
------------------------------------> Kept from the Light

In other news knitting is mean. I don't mean like the kid who used to steal your snack or a very rude foreign driver who is convinced that snow is really disguised atomic bombs just waiting to blow their....ahem.....not that kind of mean.
It is the "eat the very last scoop of ice cream in front of you letting you see it before it disapears forever" kind of mean. How can something that 80 year old arthritic people do mock me so?????

/pout

/subtly kick knitting stuff out the back window laughing with glee

/gets stuff back from rabid deer in a smoking jacket and tries again

I wish you all a very happy very safe wintery Saturday evening.

Woosh

Finally it is my weekend. (Yes I'm special I get my own) I sit letting dinner cook and I just had to share with you the still thermal disaster site that is my brain.

If you read the last post you know I have found treasure that Sotherby's would want desperately if they knew it existed. In particular I am truly fond of the "Death" song. {Click here for Death Song fun}

Anyways, I went to the library and what did I find? A book on knitting, one on crochet, the history and basic info on kendo and one on the suicide of Yukio Mishima, a Japanese author who...ummm...well he disemboweled himself in a government building in protest of the direction Japanese culture was taking..and that's the short version. So as I try to balance out this nice array of research followed up by picking up my Japanese books again, continuing finding out about steampunk and my new hunt for a matrial art I am also finishing my Wrimo, writing down and then putting aside new stories that pester me and try to get everything ready for Christmas.

On top of all that, plus leveling Kelso (I'm at 78 now just 2 more levels then I...get to do it all over again with Lecanu.../yay) I get to ->

Go a Full 40 Hours At Work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is so sweet, I've wanted to do this for over a year. Woot I shall wallow in my happiness and ignore my tired brain while watching...you guessed it, the Death song.

/smile

Alive but not really breathing....

Ok, one second to catch my breath.

.....lol......

Right. So it's been awhile since I posted, my bad. There's been stuff and stuff and nuclear war going on inside my skull but that is all cleared up now. Thank you mind over matter guru!

Now I am going to share a gem with you, an item so valuable, so rare that it is considered (in some circles) priceless! But first the strange and twisted tale of how I came across such treasure.

/puts on funny but effective story-telling-hat

As I was perusing Anime Crazy there was a list of the 5 most underrated animes. Bored out of my skull and needing background sounds to continue crocheting my blanket I chose Chrno Crusade (great show). However I had a bit of a shock when one of the lead 'good' guys was voiced by the same actor as the reprehesible villan in another show I watch called Bleach. For the first 5 eps I was a bit thrown by hearing the blonde man talking with Aizen's voice (keep in mind I've watched Bleach for at least over a year).

On the same site I saw a link to great new Japanese dramas. I clicked on the one about the revenge seeking siblings, watched a few (it's ok) and then scrolled down the list. There it was. Bleach Saein. Something about Bleach, you say? But of course I clicked. And promptly laughed so hard I could not breathe in the middle of work. Getting through 11 minutes was difficult so I save it for after work.

So worth it!

It's rock, it's opera and shiny people in white coats!

There is no way to actually describe this. Seeing is so much better than reading about it.

Oh and one more thing...when they come out to take a bow and you wonder why you still have 15 minutes left on the load bar keep watching. I'm pretty sure I saw one of the Taicho's doing the running man (Toshiro anyone?). 80's pop ballad a la Gotei 13 style?

Like I said, it's like Santa Claus, Seeing is believing.

Warning: Do not drink water while Playing, choking is bad.

Magic my friend

Ding 74 about a hour before work. Woot! Half of my Christmas shopping already done and wrapped waiting to be placed underneath my wee little Charlie Brown tree. Done. One book already read and a second up in line? I'll raise you for a done! The back yard looking tidier than it has in months? Done (to the square)!

What has brought this flury of productiveness? Umm, well, I'll show you.

Meet my inner editor.

Editor waves and smiled beaurocratically.

Using the knowledge of every manical Looney Toons character known to man we put this unevolved and supremely annoying fungus out of its misery with a combination of acid, Acme boxing gloves and a zamboni.

/dusts off hands and pats back for a job well done

/treats for Jup (he was a big moral support)

Oh crap.

Ghost of inner editor waves and cracks knuckles eager to get to work destroying all creativity around it.

Anyone know a good exorcist?

It is Official!!

NaNoWriMo has ended and I have won!

/cheer

/happy dance

Thank you to everyone who supported me and put up with my whining! You rock way more than you know! :)

The best part is my novel is still going and I like it enough to keep with it! But for now I think I am going to go wallow in purple bar land. Or run around the neighborhood screaming like a manic Hello Kitty fan. I haven't really decided.


Kapow!

(The best part is I can use conjunctions again!)

Chicken

So sometimes my brain and myself do not see eye to eye. I am the responsible one. Brain is not so much. Wrimo ends today. For me Wrimo should have ended yesterday but my attention was elsewhere. Namely fending off brain and his lame idea army. It went something like this:

You know for the sake of your hands you shouldn't write today. Take a day off, relax, enjoy life, yadda yadda.

Not interested Brain, go away.

I have a surprise for you...

Oh god save me, what is it?

Look in the backpack.

/looks and falls due to an anyuresm from seeing a book in there
->Gets back up before new officer notices and tries to decide the best way to kill Brain

Not funny.

I read that book for hours yesterday. I could not stop until I got home where I typed up the measly 3 pages I had to show for 8 hours of work (/sigh) and then had to word war another 3 thousand out. Grand total starting today is 44009. Only 6000 to go. Sweet. Wait...oh crap. The books is back in the backpack.

Gah! I can see that sadistic bastard I call a brain laughing at me. I will finish Wrimo and if you read this there is a good chance I'll be calling the moment I am verified!

Back to Wrimo! Charge!

/hand cramp

/sigh

Ugga Ugga Splat

41,000 words...9,000 to go. Ugh.

/head-desk

/again

Ok I'm awake. Well, I lie but still this is the best it's going to get today.

Once more with feeling!

/head-desk

Redemption, Tis the Season

A couple of years ago I was at Borders in Marlborough (big surprise) and unbeknown to me there was an author event. Usually authors chat it up with their readers, answer questions and even sometimes read passages from their books. It's great. I have been to a couple like Salvatore (he was really big with me at the time and still is fondly a favorite for fluff) and Brian Jacques (seriously I started reading his books when I was 11, this was huge and still one of my best memories!) both of which turned out really good crowds. Considering the time I spend at Borders I have stumbled on to many more and watched them all play out. This one day no one showed up. I mean no one. It was early on a Monday too but I felt really bad for this lady. Despite really feeling bad for her, (she was upset, rightly so, and packed up after awhile) I could not get up and go talk to her. I can make the excuses of shyness and a slight panic attack, the fact that I had never heard of the woman or any of her books, all of that is understandable but still, at the end of the day I felt like a tool.

I have regretted this since then.

So today I walk into Borders for a little browsing and relaxation and oh boy it is author day. Not one, not two but 14 local authors there to sign, talk and overall look good over by the music section. At least there were people talking to them, I did not feel obligated. But these people were one step ahead of me. Walking around the store they would come up to people, introduce their books (and themselves) and have a nice little conversation with you. Over all I talked to 7 of them, some who came up to me and others who I went up to.

While it can't help that women who had a bad day years ago I think karma may accept it anyways. Some of the books sounded really interesting and though I could not buy them today I have their names for either the TBL or TBR lists. Rock on writers, rock on!

Yes I am still alive

At least I think I am. Pardon the rambliness of this post I was up doing word sprints and word wars till past 2am. What are word wars? Well there is a particular forum and there you will find 10, 15, 20, and even 30 minute posts. What you do is post the time you want the war to start and then type as much as fast as you can and post how many words you got at the ending time. I must say I did not do too shabby word count wise, these blasted things helped me get to nearly 31,000 words, but man are they tireing.

Maybe if I wrote here words would fly out perfectly that actually helped my plot along (as opposed to what came out last night that turned one of my toughest characters into a winy cheating baby). Or at least it would be green there. Hmmm if you can't find me later I went looking for this place.

So I have made a list...ok big surprise I know.

The What to do when Wrimo ends list!

1) WoW, play lots of WOW. I want to level, I want to kill stuff and most of all I want my leatherworking to up dammit. Plus instances, there are so many I have not run yet and with all the DK's around I can get Lecanu through some too. Woot! Plus I miss my pets.

2) Read. I have a mini TBR pile waiting, my best propsective books are picked up and linned up against the wall like a line up. However it is possibly I might ignore all the new books I have to read and just jump into the first Kushiel Trilogy. Hmm haven't decided yet.

3) Sleep...like lots, maybe even a day of as much sleep I can manage. A binge of sleep.

4) Clean my house. NanoWriMo is not nice when I have to write so much and then think of the cleaning later. Specifically I need to dust. It's the old cleaning lady motto, "Get the dust before it gets you: (said in little old lady engish accent*).

Well with that I am off (like a prom dress, lol) to try and function on very little sleep. Happy Tuesday to all and to all a good turkey! Mmmmmmmmmmm turkey. MMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmm stuffing. Mmmmmmmmmmmm food porn.

LOL

I was only checking my blog list tonight before starting to type my wrimo up...ugh. Anyways this was just so perfect I had to steal it. Well, after I stopped laughing my butt off anyways. Happy Wednesday all! Hmmm and Thursday too!

(Gamer cat needs more Dew!)

Northrend here we come! (Look at Tab, he has his grrrr face on already.)

Now I have 3 pets I need to level and each one will be, for the most part, different ways. Tab, he's my right hand bear. Katen, levels nearly only in instances and with both the Nexus and Nerzul Ajeb coming up he keeps up with the others. Tarek is leveling purely as a 'I need to farm Nerubian chitin Artic fur and Leather, go go gorilladin!'

My favorite, favorite wooha part of the xpac so far is....Tuskar! If you don't like walrus people who are easy as hell to get rep with then you good sir are just plain crazy. Plus when I hit 77 I can get so much great gear for them for the grand total price of like 150 gold. Ha. Love those guys even if I do have to steal children to be friends with them.

Eh.

How to explain how Wrimo is going?

WOW crits Wrimo for 500000. Wrimo dies.

Notebook rezes Wrimo and is also one shoted by WOW.

Wrimo stuns, poisosn, and mutilates WOW. (1st time ever I was happy to see a rogue!)

Wrimo has all day today when I finish laundry. Me, my laptop and my 2 notebooks are going to find someplace quiet, perhaps Borders and live there until my word count soars. Let the typing begin!

And my night, well, that belongs to Northrend. Hello level 73, I did not see you there.

:)

I's gots mine!!!

WOOT!! Let the geeking out begin.

All in all it was easy as pie to get. (Where in the world did that saying come from? Pie is not easy to make, its a pain in the butt to make with the crust and the filly stuff and then there's the ever great make pretty designs so it looks professional. I should find a pie maker (ooo what a reference) who will just make swear words on the top of his and say I made it, then people would actually believe me.) Got there around 1040 and the line was already snaking through the store and out the door. After me came about another 70 people. Most of the people in line were cool, save for the dumbass highschoolers in front of me. There were all different ages groups from a very excited nine year old girl (who has a 70 druid) to a guy who looked at least mid fifties. When 12am hit it was like a bizzare and very effective assembly line. Hand them your receipt get your game, get your card and make a mad dash to your car. I have never seen so many adults squeal out of a parking lot in my life! Yay for self control, I only squealed around a corner.

:)

So home I went and immediately downloaded it. That really only took about an hour so I thought that I would leave Kelso and Tab at the launch point for the new continent and go to bed. Ha! Hahahahhaaa. Since when have I ever had that much self control?

Yeah, I got to bed after two...who needs sleep?

What a day!

Really though you can't always start out thinking in terms of daylight day and a full counted 24 hours. It all started last night when we, the Knights who Say Ni decided to go into Black Temple, the very house of Illidan to see what we could do. And we downed Naj'entus, the 1st boss and got the 2nd boss Supremus to 1/3 health. Woot! Ni! This is a really big deal as we are not very far progressed into Hjal, the raid that is a level under BT.

So that was cool and after we were done I started to work on my Wrimo. Yes my little brain fart that was a mixture of a day dream and a sub story for a plot bunny that visited months ago has begun to come into its own. Working on it isn't as daunting as day 1 (well it was really day 5 cause I got a late start). Every day I work on it, first 4, then 5 and today 6 full pages to transcribe. Every year I try this and in the past I have failed for lack of patience or gumption I was never really quite sure. But this year, here and now I know that I want it, I want that purple bar next to the name Lancer1025. I want to win. It already feels like week 2, the week where I normally fizzle and go all ADD but all I really feel is the urge to write more. This is my NaNoWriMo.

Every writing project I do ends up with it's own soundtrack. Last year was Celtic Angels, Classic Anime mix and Lacuna Coil. This year is the Finding Neverland OST. More will undoubably latch onto my story or, like in Ukaden's case, a particular character but for now Finding Neverland is ok with me. My favorite track so far is Neverland - Piano Variation in Blue. The whole thing can be listened to for free on www.last.fm

Well, I'm off to transcribe some more, maybe log onto WoW for a bit before bed. Hmm perhaps reward myself with quality hunter time if I get all my transcribing done. Reward system works for me, just call me Pavlov's Kelso. :)

NaNoWriMo wanted to eat my soul

But this God awful cold go to me first. Ugh.

*Sniff

So back to the real world. Word count....we're not going to mention that. Count down to Wrath...so close. Damn it, I'm not ready. Count down to winter (cause we are now in that dreary month of November that makes me a very sad panda when I look outside)

The Guild...well...when the x pac comes out I think people will calm down and until then we just have to keep people occupied. We'll probably lose a few more though I think that our core raiders will stay. We'll still have plenty of people for at least one and a half teams for ten mans before active recruiting. And if anyone them ever whisper me I'm going to give them a piece of my mind and then some. Grrrr

Well Happy Friday to all! I'm off to run errands. Screw the cold I want chai. OOOooooo now it's not so dreary.

Gahhhh They Caught Me

Now I'm not usually paranoid about the government but when I picked up the phone and the caller ID read Big Brother I flashed back to 1984 and Orwell's voice telling me to run. I thought to myself "I didn't do it, he did it! The Sketchy one over by the tree!" Then it dawned on me, Big Brother doesn't want my obedience they just want my money. Click!

Abandoned Lonely Mutated Squash

I...Can't...take....the....wait...*shakes angry fist at the slow passage of time*

Why isn't it November yet? It should be. Then I could see my best friend and watch her get married. Plus it'll be Wrimo time finally and I can start writing in that frenzy that is so addicting and cardiovascularly dangerous. I figure it'll go something like this:

Week 1: Oo yah, look at this word count, hell this'll be easy, more tea

Week 2 Part A: I'm bored, story is crap, what's on animecrazy?

Week 2 Part B: Holy crap I'm behind, stupid word count, how can anyone type 1676 words a day!

Week 3: Coma, *blinks wearily at key board*, oh yeah ---> back into coma

Week 4: Frenzy is back and with a vengence, at this point I should just morph with my computers to become a creepy cyborg chick then I think and it shows up on the screen, no more typing {*fingers rejoice at the respite before remembering cyborgs don't exist. All ten figure are then depressed and mindlessly wander onto keys they shouldn't*}

Either that or I'll hook up a chai I.V. and just go from there. OOoooo chai, Yum!

Now back to the title you might ask yourself WTF? Sad little squashling pictures are forth coming to accompany a sasd little squashling tale. Speaking of I watched the Legend of Lucy Keyes last night, the movie based on the legend of the little girl who disappeared on Wachusett Mountain, and for an indie movie it wasn't that bad. Still if you want to watch horror movies based on local color definately watch the one based in the mental institute, (can't remember the name at the moment). That one scared the pants off me.

Happy Saturday! http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/gallery/2007/oct/18/bunny.suicides?picture=331009540

WWJD?

Hmm, What would Jupitor do? If he say had the opportunity to play with an invasion of zombies or to go sit at the park for what could be very likely the last chance to do so this year, which would he pick? Which will I pick? Not sure yet.

Zombies are fun...with the shuffling, the drool, the brain munchies. Who doesn't like zombies?

The park is fun...there's sun, my bench, a pretty lake to look at. Plus it is a place of zen.

Zombies~~~~Park Zombies ~~~~Park

Borders trumps Zombies and the Park. Woot for sale in the fantasy section. I got paid today, can't wait to spend tomorrow!

Then again, the undead aren't so bad either....

Phew

What a day! Having spent more than enough time feeling sick I had to do something so I started hunting for the last part of my Halloween costume. First stop was the mall. Well a red jacket was no where to be found but I got a new pair of jeans. Why is this so important that I put it in my blog? The damn things were $3.74. Hoyaah! Woot! ...Ahem, anyways after that was more errands and then coming home to find one sketched out dog. I don't know why but he's been very sort of 'meh' lately. Not sure if the cold is getting to him or if he's just being bitchy but if I put him in tights and a cape, called him Sketch Man and told him to fight crime the picture would totally fit. So we went on an adventure through the Audabon (yeah i can't spell) in the rain under the beautiful fall trees. Good for my cold...no. Good for Jup...oh yeah. I think a jaunt down one every day or so plus the walks up the street will be just what he needs before we get to run around like maniacs in the snow.

WTB non computer game

My faith in technology has shattered. Last night was supposed to be geek out central so I downloaded the patch, 1.2 gb's worth. I start it up and low and behold all but 1 realm was either lagging so badly you couldn't move, or just disappear from the loggin list all together like mine did. So I hopped onto vent (I was supposed to be leading a raid, no Kara this week, sadness) to see what else is going on and a fellow guildy says he's playing on a new pvp server. Next thing you know there are Dranaei Mages and Shamans running around everywhere. So last night, while very fun was a wash. So this morning I log on, thinking that Blizzard must have fixed it by now. Nope. However I did accomplish one thing in 3 hours. Say hello to Tarek, the newest member of my team. He's cute, he's cuddly, he does a whole crap load of damage on lots of things at once. (At the 1st sign of flying poo he's fired.) Then the question I've been asked the most in the past couple of days is are you getting a Corehound? Whatcha gonna name your corehound? Did ya get the corehound yet? Tonight I'm replacing said imaginary corehound (the whole stomp stomp stomp ground shake thing annoys me) with Caerik! The Chimera. I've always wanted one since the first time I stumbled into Winterspring and now I can finally have one. WoHoo.

KaBoom!

Today is a very exciting day. I mean attention grabbing, 5 o'clock can't come fast enough kind of exciting. It is...Hunter patch day. Yes that's right patch 3.0.2 is being implimented as I type. Why is this exciting you may ask? Why am I completely geeking myself out over a patch for a game? Well unlike every other patch over the past year this one changes everything. For hunters we have new pets, new pet skills, ect but the entire mechanics of my class are changed. All my research and knowledge from the past year and a half has to be forgotten. It's so cool and kind of scary at the same time. Purely in a fun factor it's like starting up a whole new game. I get to learn how to play a hunter all over again. At the same time my use in groups will, in all likelyhood, be severely gimped.

/waves goodbye to super awesome competitive dps

meh, such is life. Happy Tuesday everyone!

Loyalties

Lately I've been pretty lax in playing any sort of video game. Battle for Middle Earth is just depressing (Sauran fired me as his general...said I should look for a career that enhances my own personal skills. I say if orcs weren't such pansies the elves wouldn't be a problem. Oh well) purely because I lack a strategic mind. I play a little Fable here and there but spend most of that time stealing from npc's and killing town guards. Why? Cause I can. As for WoW I want to play but...um...well....I don't want to raid. Ugh, there I said it. Burnout has caught up with me and oh my does it ever annoy me. Still, as a raid officer I put up kara runs every week and we pretty much clear most if not all of it. This time we stalled on Prince purely because one of our healers is still gearing and in mostly greens. Poor druid tank got 3 shoted. Kara I don't mind so much if people show up but the 25 mans are becoming annoying. You just can't pug 10 people, it never works.

So with that in mind I don't spend much time on Kelso anymore. It just seems more enjoyable to hide on an alt. (I'm not the only one who feels this way) Lecanu is, unfortunately, easy to spot in the guild list so I can't /gquit her. Kargish I could and will probably next week. But my new yay happy fun time is short, buff and chucks hammers at stuff. Say hello to Thalya the dwarf pally. Once I get to level 15 I'm going to stop and powerlevel a druid Selien (who will be feral) then see which one I like better.

Missing my hunter and my bear (/waves at Taberth) I just can't jump on without a lot of people whispering me for one reason or another. Dunno, maybe I'll try to solo Ramps with Tab later in the week, that should keep our skills up but it does make me wonder, will I be a bear tank hunter come WOTLK? Tab is my 1st (well actually 2nd), my best, my favored pet but the allure of a gorilladin is undeniably. What is a gorilladin you may ask? Oh it is pure awesomeness. Meet gorilla. Send gorilla after mobs, then more mobs, then a few more. Once the party is going tell gorilla to throw down a thunderstomp (10 sec cooldown) and boom! Pallys are not the only aoe tanks. Bears are getting a new spell as well, one that will hold onto upto 3 mobs at once. Neat but one problem. Mobs attack from behind so that is a whole lot of *tab target *retarget *retarget. Hmmm I'm sure after a level or two it'll get to be like habit but the easiness of a gorilladin is very seductive to this lazy lazy hunter.

My solution this week? Read. I have read so many short stories it is insane. Yeesh. I'm at work, been on duty for an hour and a half and guess what? I'm not in uniform. I forgot to put the damn thing on this morning. I can't wait till 2. Ugh need tea. Must have tea. Yum tea.

Yes I'm still alive

I know, I know, almost a week since I scared the internet with another post. What can I say, being sick makes me even lazier. I spent whatever time I could either in bed or on the couch, now granted it was not that much time but I feel the rest did me some good. So did the naps. Thankfully I had entertainment along for the ride.
Now a friend of mine (whose blog is very readable) started a flashback phenomenom. We had a discussion last Sunday about what shows and cartoons we liked to watch as a kid. This got me to thinking about why I watched certain shows. (There was that one with the giant talking owl in pants but seriously I'm 25 and I'd still watch it just to see a giant talking owl in pants. I might even tape it if they were funny pants...oooo like golf pants.)
Right, back on track, my favorite show as a child had to be Gargoyles. Why? Well yes I have a fascination with the statues and have my own little collection strewn about my house but that came later. The show itself was very deep, not only for it's time but the medium as well. Hell in the first season one of the main characters is shot by another main character, drama like that just doesn't happen on Hello Kitty's Railroad Adventure. Everyone had conflicts, some more subtle than others and the story lines were for the most part very interesting. (I do not count the 3rd season past S3 ep 1 for the simple fact that the creator left and then Disney made it happy carebear all is good fun time.) So this past week I would watch it to help me through the cold induced comma I am stuck in. Most kids show I look at now and just scoff at. This one I started to see the lines of conflict and drama that I couldn't as a child. Sweetness. Plus it's nice to not have to read subtitles. Gundam 00 and Bleach give me enough of that.
Ooo crap, work sucks!

Stuck inside a wall

It seems to be a week for the sick. First my best friend was sick and now so am I.

/sigh

*buys more orange juice and dayquil

The worst part about being sick for me is I can't keep my attention on one thing at a time, instead I get all scatter brained. When I got home from the movies last night my biggest acomplishment was rounding up horror books to read. Today, I'm helping a friend move. Well, no, actually that's a lie. I am cheering while other people move the stuff. :) Still, it's the thought that counts.

So when I go home I have lots of options for stuff I will start but forget to finish.

1. Laundry

2. Dailies (Kelso)

3. Run Ramps (Lecanu)

4. Walk Jup

5. Find Netflix envelopes

6. Transcription

7. Sleep

8. Go on the PTR

Hmm what will happen? No idea. It's a struggle to keep typing.

*Cue pathetic violin music

/faints like the narcoleptic I know is in me somewhere

Oooooo, on a completely different note, Appaloosa! Great flick, it had an actual storyline behind it instead of that {BOOM I shoot you malarchy} alla the Quick and the Dead. Interesting characters, beautiful (and desolate) scenery plus it was really funny. This thing had some really good one liners and dialog. Don't go in thinking it's going to be a blood bath with never ending bullets cause it's not, this is an actual character driven story. Sweetness.

*wants to buy new coffee cups for no really good reason

Oh yeah my blog = posts of random epicness

/bow

*blames this mess of words on a very fuzzy brain grrrrr germs

New Friend

Friends, meet Caine. Caine is fun. I recommend being friends with him. Just don't expect him to watch his language. Ignore the cheezy cover, this book is way cooler that that.

So Happy October!

Woot!

*cheer for Fall, pumpkins, leaves in other peoples yards, ghosts, toasty fires, leaves still on trees, and books

Oh yes, the annual find new scary horror books and read them with the old still creepy horror books throughout the month of fall because Poe said so time is upon me once again. The line up is still to be announced cause right now Caine's still causing trouble.

October means many things mostly good, some meh but it is also the herald of a time of madness, frantic tea drinking and a complete and total disregard for the recommended hours of sleep a human being should get. Oh yes, NaNoWriMo is coming closer, stalking like Ninja Cat ever closer bringing with it, ooo, inspiration.

But the coolest thing, by far, about October, this October in particular is that my best friend is getting married in less than a month. So exciting!

Oh the Joys

Cats. I have 2. One, Nanao, took to me right away and since the first week has as refused to leave me alone. If I sitting she's with me, walking the same, hell sometimes she even rides on my shoulder. Button, my first cat has been a completely different experience entirely. I got her from the local rescue the same week I moved into my place. I'd see her, give her a pat on the head and then she'd ignore me for days. Over a year and a half later we are finally bonding! She's slowly being more affectionate and is getting used to me bugging her alot. Now she still attacks Jupitor every day (to the point where he hides behind me and shakes if she gets close to him...Yeah still working on that) but it's getting better. The point is with cat parenthood patience with rescue cats is a must. Returning her like a package of wrong sized socks was not an option when she was sketchy cat and now the rewards of all the time and effort are coming forth. Plus, she's just so damn cute!

Smile in the face of bleh

Another Sunday, another donut day, and it is, once again raining. This past summer spoiled me, rain seems like a dreary chore as opposed to what it really is, a necessity. So for the past 3 days I've been playing the "keep me occupied" game. Today I think I'm losing. That may change. Perhaps it's the impending arrival of November and NaNoWriMo (can not wait!) or October (grrr let me see the damn movie) but inspiration has been slapping me around like an orca with a seal. It's been painful and stunning at the same time. It's a good thing too cause eventually the Worcester Library is going to send out recovery squads if I don't give them their books back. :(

Recently I bought a new video game, one I've wanted for ages. Battle for Middle Earth, but it also came with the sequel Battle for Middle Earth 2 (original) and the xpac the Witchking saga. Age of Empires let me think I had a mind for strategy. Age of Empires lied to me. Either that or I've gotten dumber so lets blame AoE. In all seriousness the Navy should be really glad they never let me drive one of those nuclear powered air craft carriers (that was the video they sent me when I requested info), I can see it wouldn't have ended pretty.

I think perhaps it's time for a vacation. To get away from it all for a day. Hmmm someday this week sounds excellent and I know just the place I want to go. Pics will be coming. In the meantime I will spend hours (oh yes, hours, woot) reorganizing my books. It's raining and I really have nothing else to do. Well I could actually work but what fun would that be. :) Happy Sunday all!

This says it all

WTF?

For those of you who like books, movies, tv, pop culture, or just lists of random stuff, behold! Who was the worst Villan? *cue creepy harpsicord music*

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/09/20/bovillains120.xml&page=1

Spoiler Alert

Who in the world wrote this? A Beatrix Potter villan beats The Joker or Mr. Hyde? Voldemort is in the top 10? He wasn't even scary! Evil is as evil does. Moriaty and Patrick Bateman should he higher on the list in my humble opinion and as for the number 1 spot, well that I have no problems with. Now I'm not a big religon person but I have read Paradise Lost and in that Satan is one bad dude. Well...one bad sneaky invisble goat changeling guy demon thing. Also Cruella De Vil I am still creeped out by so no arguments here. (Quick hide the puppies!)

But, as a life long devoted fan to one of my favorite books from childhood I say that Jenner from "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" should have made the list. Creepy rat guy, ugh hate the swishy tail.

Oh My God the Cuteness

I had to share it, I just had to. Ack I want to hug something! Awe, who doesn't love polar bear cubs.

TGIS

Finally, another Sunday is here

/Cheer!

What is this you may ask? A Sunday? Why yes and here is why:
1) Donut Day
2)At 2pm my weekend begins
3)BigRedKitty podcast comes out
4)Borders coupons
5)naps

I could go on but you get the picture. And I'll need this breather cause next week is going to be very very busy. With what? Well applications and interviews for my second job, Jup, Button and Nanao need their rabies boosters and only Nanao is lazy enough to not fight getting into the cat carrier, I must again make war with the garden as the weeds pulled back from the assualt on the flowers outside the kitchen but have doubled their efforts around the deck and the living room windows, at least three raids this week (being Kara, Gruul's lair and a new one Magtheridon's Lair) two of which I have to organize plus leveling Lecanu cause we need a new dedicated healer for the xpac, massive fall cleaning before it gets too cold making me too lazy and books!

Yes books!

/wave at books

/hug books

/feed pets that are unhappy at all the attention showered on the books

This week I think I'll foray into the PTA to try out the new talent trees for hunters. Want to get a running start come November. Why? Haste Gear. There are numbers involved so it's hard to explain but lets just say Wrath will be one awesomely fun time for me. Over 100 new leatherworking patterns, new instances (cause that's really my favorite aspect of the game), new places, slapping Death Nuggets silly, what is there not to love?

I had a conversation with a friend of mine on WoW last week. He's a high level Resto Druid who raids T5 and T6 content. He's unhappy (at least he sounds it) that it's coming out so soon and he hasn't seen everything in BC yet. Well, that I can understand. I felt the same way when Vanilla WoW became a ghost land once Outland opened up. Then again, we are still months away from T6 and need far more dedicated raiders for T5 so I'm kind of skewed towards new stuff.

Oh and one more thing...

FEAR THE BEAR!

Yes that's right, bears are back and they are better than ever. Tab, who hasn't gone on a raid in months and who rarely does anything but hang out on farming nights, has to shake off all that lazy not-been-used-fat and start tanking. He will have a new ability, swipe (hits 3 mobs at once like a feral bear druid), plus a whole lot of other cool stuff as every pet will now have their own talent tree and special talent only skills. Now if only I could put capes on them...shiny capes with sparklies.

/waves at Taberth

Mmmmm, books. Speaking off I think I forgot to write a review of my last finished read so I'm off to be productive. By the way, when the zombie war starts I'm raiding Higgins Armory and decking out in you-can't-bite-me fashions from yester year.

Zombies. You're what's for dinner.

I Geeked Out...Again

Ok so the world will end at about 10pm tonight. If it doesn't a miracle has happened my friends. Tonight is my first time as a full raid leader. (Thank God Nicilis will be there too cause other than the group makeup I have no idea what to do.) All those times I mumbled and grumbled outside of vent, whispering to myself in utter horror when things go wrong have culminated in this moment. I'm just praying to God we don't wipe on the Huntsman.

About a week ago the cimematic trailer for the new WoW xpac came out: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/wrath/intro.xml
and yes I completely geeked out and watched it like 3 times. Yesterday Janive (the only kid in the guild to my knowledge and wealth of wotlk info) screamed out in guild chat the release date! Nov 13 (crap at least I think it's the 13th I have really no clear memory as I was in ZA trying to avoid bombs), on yeah when I get home there will be a reservation I have to make. Will I be there at midnight? Yes. Am I the only one of our family who is this much of a gamer. No, little Brother did the same thing for Halo (woot cover by misdirection). Am I excited? Not for the reason you may think.

My main is a hunter. I have a pet (actually 3). Tab's the oldest, Modo's the prettiest and Katen's the most dangerous but none of them can tank a 5 man instance. They just don't have the health or the armor. However, besides finally getting new stable slots (all hunters are rejoicing over this) there are exotic pets that only certain hunters can get. As a devoted BigRedKitty follower I am on top of this. My new pet, my new awesome instance tanking pet will be....a worm. Say hello to Mr. Mcsnuffyfuggles! It's kind of technical as to why he's now mine (well will be in November) but lets just say he wasn't my first choice. I wanted a rhino and a corehound (the two headed demon looking thing) but everyone will have those. I have Mcsnuffyfuggles. (That really won't be his name, I'm thinking more along the lines of Tarek). A new class will be introduced in the xpac, the Death Nugget. Actually Death Knight, think a paladin on acid who can and does call on the undead to fight for him and do other things that I just don't care about. Will I do the quest and unlock this new class to be my very own. Meh. Not really, I might but don't bet on it. But I think I'll have a blast trying to kill all the Nuggets in battlegrounds. Ugh, have to go, busy schedules and all. Happy Tuesday!

Release Dates....Hah

Ah Mondays. They are very quickly becoming my favorite day of the week. Why? Well they're free. Monday is my weekend rolled up into a nice quiet morning, afternoon and night. This Monday is better than any for one reason. Release dates. Now unless something is a phenomenon (like the Twilight series) these dates are generally more of a guideline than a rule. Toll the Hounds (a book I have been waiting 6 months for) was supposed to be out tomorrow but I, a student of Borders, thought that a copy may have found its way to the shelves early. One did. Wohoo! Happy Dance! Between that and a visit to one of my favorite places it was a really good day. Off to start my new book!

It's a drought I tell you

What could be the answer to such a horrid circumstance? Why cheezy westerns and men in kilts of course. It is September, the month of book releases, the Highland Games and waiting for the next western to hit theaters. Oh yeah, Highland Games. Men chucking trees into the air = win.

The westerns were a good deal less fun. I have and always will like westerns, both books and movies. (Err, I rephrase...I like quality westerns). This is the only genre that can beat out sci fi/fantasy for the title of the cheeziest. For every good western made, 100 bads came before. I can only think of 5 really great westerns (that don't involve Clint Eastwood, the guy has the same expression in every movie, it's weird). Yikes that's alot of bad ones. Either they are completely cliche and cookie cutter or they involve some weird God aspect where the killer sees the light and goes to care for endangered baby goats or something. I'd rather pull out Open Range watch one the arguably best gun fights ever to hit DVD. Hmmm rainy Sunday night = movie night. Wohoo. And possibly, just maybe the road will be dry enough tomorrow that I can venture forth to zen heaven.

These are the days of our lives

A game of waiting. Like a hunter stalking prey I stalk anything and everything that will get me out of this hole of boredom. As it stands I have 2 blogs, am thinking of starting a list of observations, a pile of library books and still my brain gives out a very loud *sigh. This may be that french disease ennui. Meh, 3 more days. My mantra that repeats through my head everytime I look at my car and calculate how fast I can run to it and whether its worth abandoning my books to escape this dreg of boredom. Spark. An idea. I'm smiling. :) What is it that I like to do more than anything else in the world? Why yes please, I'll take 'rant like a maniac' for 200.

Topic: Crocodile Dundee can mind control water buffalo so why can't I control squirrels

Answer: It is, in essence, the result of a biochemical that grants the squirrel (levels 45 and above only) with a +5 resist to your crappy ass mind powers. Since you still can't bend a spoon, (no matter how much the guy on JAG says you can) or levitate the toaster to a more approriate location then really what else should the squirrels do but laugh at you?

Notice the change in POV...perhaps I really am crazy. But seriously I think it has finally happened. The absolute horror of the the truth is so abominable that I cannot even speak the words out loud. They burn my throat and set fire to every principle I have. Addicts have walls they hit. Eventually either the wall squishes them to death or they move away from it and go somewhere else. Words are and always have been the closest thing to a drug I can imagine. I love them, I want to live in them and never stop being around them. Ever. So the crux of the issue is that I damn near am drowning in them. Ahhhhhh! This is also problematic considering the number of library books I just got last week. So my solution to this unneeded stress. Why kill stuff of course. What the world considers my sin I considered happy fun time. Namely sleeping alot, sitting outside and gaming. Lately, lots of gaming in the wee early morning hours. So few people are on it feels like I'm all alone in that great big world. Also my PS2 skills have needed sharpening. Woot for Okami!

Grrrrrr. Still bored. Hmm maybe I should start calling people to make sure they are nice and awake to enjoy this glorious Saturday morning. *Evil laugh.

Sigh

Wow, ok what a way to start a week. First off almost visited Boston a day before classes actually start and 3 days before mine start. Yes I need to learn how to read. The guild Powow last night was interesting, mostly because some of the newer people voiced their opinions and some of those stodgy ones were not on line. And well men in skirts but that is a story for another time.

Wish Me Luck

Woot. As always right before the semester starts I get interested in WoW again. Meh, I'll deal. This past weeks raid gave me a bit of a surprise. After learning how to hunter tank with Lefty, (this involves both of us being pelted with lightning and turned into rabbits) we challenged Gruul. Someday I will get better at running away from the falling rocks that squish me into night elf goo. Anyways Gruul goes down, loot handed out and the damage meters were posted in raid chat. I am a mediumly geared hunter with a semi good (but not the best) dps pet, (good Katen!) and um well I topped the meter. {Enter gush of yay} Damage done and dps. WOOT! But, afterwards when I finally tried to sleep it got me thinking. What would happen if I actually tried to get new gear, better gear, bright sparkling shiny epic gear...hmmm. I have 3 days, 3 days left of freedom before my brain has to actually work again. So it's been posted. People have signed up. My god damned stupid *&^%ing trinket will drop! I demand it does. (Explanation: have you ever tried to do something 22 times and it not work out? 22 Black Morass runs and it hasn't dropped. Sadness.) Between that, my last ten badges and hopefully only a couple runs through Magisters Terrace (I hate this place) and oh yeah I will rock. Or at least suck a little less. Cause once the semester starts my pitiful amount of playing time will shrink. I have already been surpassed gear wise, and with new hunters in the guild I have to fight for my place in raids, especially with winter coming up. Winter = Wow. I can't help it, I'm a baby when it gets that cold. Ok back to reading, the TBR and TBL piles aren't getting any smaller.

BTW, Happy Saturday Peoples! :)

Hello Kitty

Hello rain. Yes, it's raining here and as a negligent blogger I have to admit that I like it. It's nice to have a crappy weather day since there is no pressure to enjoy nature. Bright sunny summer days are like cheesecake, if I don't enjoy it in all it's glory then well there's something wrong with me. I feel like a bad person, (and some sadistic little voice in my head whispers a countdown till winter, eeek!) and that can be very tiring. But rainy days....oh the joy! Now when I get home, hop back into my pj's and pop a movie in or maybe log on to do BM a few times there will be no guilt. Woot for no guilt, I like it.

Hello Brightside

Labor day has come and gone. It was a beautiful weekend, lots of fun to be had by all and now, finally autumn is on it's way. Pretty! Yeah, as of right now I actually have nothing to blog about so I shall ramble and once I come back from my adventures today I'll try again and I might even have pictures. Yes I am going to that sacred space know as Waters Farm. There is a definite need of zen. Wow library visit and trip to zen land, it'll be a good day.

Resolve

Epiphanies come in all places, usually when you least expect it, like when I'm on tour. Ready? Ok. I have discovered that I am lazy. No no, I can see you saying "Yeah we already knew that", this goes beyond my normal laziness. It is 13 years of slothful thinking that I must now, finally, blow up with a compact nuclear device.

KABOOM!!!!!!!

Ahem. I have never read the Lord of the Rings. *hides in shame* This is for two basic and simple reasons. 1: See the above paragraph. 2: I do worry that it will infect my writing. Ewe, the Frodo flu. It is such a landmark in a genre that I love and wish to participate in that well, lets just say that I've always been cautious around it. I've read other things by Tolkien, The Hobbit, The Silmarrillion, the Lay of Luthien and the Children of Hurin. Love them all, especially the Sil. And strangely buying the stupid books is and always has been a deeply important memory for me. Family vacation, used book store, I was 12, and when I opened the book it was right at the description of the Black Riders. My mind went blank for a second and I think I blinked alot after reading that. Pivitol (I wasn't 100% sold on fantasy at the time). And yet to this day, despite having two sets of the trilogy I've managed to get through 2 of the 3 books in, I say again, 13 years.

Well no more. Once my TBR falls to 20 I will start to read it from the beginning, (well I'll skim the Hobbit chapter, I know what a hobbit is) to end. No books in between and then maybe my lack of effort will stop bugging me. Plus I'm a bit more of a conscious person than I was at 12 or 20 when I picked up The Two Towers. It'll be interesting to see what I get out of it at 25.

Happy Labor Weekend

Happy End of Summer to all and to all a good...fire. That works. Last night was pretty sweet. Good company, funny stories, fire, absynthe. I thought you could only get it in France but I was wrong and being a big Poe and Wilde fan, I thought it was really cool. (Only drink it if you like black licorice.) Other than another fire tonight it will be a nice, quiet holiday weekend for me. Quiet is good. So is music. Hmm sadly no concert at Fiddler's Green tonight but next week is a completely different story. Hello resurgence in popularity of Irish folk music. Strangely, most of the people who play it are like my age. Not bad, mind you, just interesting.

Ack, tea is not working yet. Grrr. I go make more.

Yum Yum Yum Crunch

Woot. Happy Day. Two more days till my weekend! And until then I shall dream about...sushi. Yesterday I had the best sushi of my life. Spicy tuna roll, unagi, spider roll, why please sir...I want some more. It was the best sushi of my life. Yum.

It occurs to me that I have been very negligent in posting this week. Bad Blogger! Why you may ask? Well inspiration has been holding me prisoner (without any nice plums sadly) and making me a slave to my pen. '08 Stories is my poor abused notebook that is filling up nicely with my words. Yay words. It's good this way. It's been balancing my two obsessions out of my life. Well out of my consciousness anyways.

And so I leave you will this piece of Engrish wisdom until I am more awake to blog properly.

The New Commandments

Found this on one of my favorite forums ~Fantasy Bookspot Central~ and laughed my butt off.

It's titled "How to write the best fantasy"...

1. Prepare for your writing by exposing your mind to the right material. This means you absolutely must watch every Hollywood fantasy movie you can lay your hands on -- the ones from the 80s are especially helpful. Optionally, you can read Tolkien and Robert E. Howard's and L. Sprague DeCamp's Conan books. Don't bother reading any other old fantasy authors like C.S. Lewis, Charles Perrault, Howard Pyle, Sir Thomas Malory, or Lewis Carroll, and don't trouble yourself with modern fantasy writers like Gene Wolfe, Jonathon Carroll, Guy Gavriel Kay, Charles De Lint, Nalo Hopkinson, Kelly Link, Neil Gaiman, or China Mieville. And whatever you do, don't read outside the fantasy genre, or else your work could be subject to all kinds of foreign literary influences that could destroy the purity of your high fantasy prose.

2. Develop your ideas carefully. Nothing helps you develop your storytelling like a few hundred hours of D&D! Make sure you write down everything that happens in your latest Dragonlance campaign; this will form the backbone of your first novel. If you feel you need help coming up with good dialog, try some live action roleplaying -- the quips and barbs you'll cast at each other when you're all running around the local science fiction convention hotel at 3 a.m. will be pure gold!

3. Research. Researching mythologies, legends, and history on your own is a complete waste of time -- real authors don't worry about that kind of thing. It's fantasy; they just make stuff up off the tops of their heads! And anyway, everybody knows that fantasy should be all about orcs, dwarves, elves, and dragons, with maybe a unicorn or a few fairies or demons thrown in for good measure. If you feel you need something more exotic, use a creature from the D&D Monster Manual. Take your settings directly from Tolkien or Dragonlance -- readers like to feel they're in familiar surroundings. You earn bonus points from readers if you lift scenes directly from the Lord of the Rings movies!

4. Set your story free. You might have heard writing instructors talking about stuff like "internal logic", "consistency", and "maintaining the reader's suspension of disbelief". Don't listen to them -- they're just trying to stifle your creativity! Fantasy is all about magic, and anything can happen in magic! Internal logic's so boring; keep the reader entertained with surprising and unprepared-for events!

5. Give your characters memorable names. You'll want your readers to know right away whether characters are good guys or bad guys; it's also helpful if the name describes the main feature that distinguishes that character from all the others. For instance, your lovely elfin princess could be named Arewynne Fairmaid. Your evil orc could be named Argh of the Skullkrusher Clan. The brave blacksmith could be named Hammerclang Strongheart. Don't confuse the reader with subtlety.

6. Write your dialog carefully. You don't want to spend too much time on characterization, so it will need to be conveyed in dialog. Make absolutely sure your reader knows what the characters are feeling: "I'm going to kill you, snivelling creature!" Argh shouted menacingly. "Please give me the ring, master!" wheedled Gorrum flinchingly. Be sure to add in the funny quips and sayings you picked up while you were gaming! Readers love it when you throw in hip, modern language to spice up that old style stuff: "Thou art troubling me!" growled Blackmane Stabmaster. "I shall run thee through with mine Sword of Stabbyness!" "Come and get some, beeyotch!" Puck replied defiantly.

7. Create a powerful opening. Make sure to ground your readers in your fantasy world with lots of description right away. Make sure to spend several paragraphs describing the room your main character has just awakened in; no detail is too insignificant to be dwelled upon. You shouldn't introduce any dialog or plot for several pages lest you break the spell you're weaving for the reader.

8. Use language skillfully. You've probably guessed that you should borrow terminology and descriptions from Tolkien and Dragonlance as much as possible. But what you might not realize is that adverbs are your friends -- you should use plenty of adverbs: slowly, quickly, menacingly, woundingly, etc. And! Use! Exclamation! Points! Wherever! Possible! For! Emphasis!!! And if you learned a particularly cool, long word (such as antidisestablishmentarianism or omphaloskepsis), figure out ways to use it as much as possible. Editors will be awed by your intelligence if you use the longest, most complex words possible to spice up simple actions. For instance, "said" is terribly overused; try using "enunciated" or "phonated" instead. Heck, while you're at it, invent some cool-sounding words, use them frequently, and don't leave any clues or context to let the reader know what they mean! Readers love a good mystery.

9. Titles are vital. Make sure your title is catchy, and includes words like "doom", "ring", "fellowship", "champion", "lord", "sword", "bane", "wyrm", "faery", or "blood". You get extra points if the title gives away the ending. "The Baneful Fellowship of the Sword Lord's Wyrm Ring of Doom" would make an excellent title. Also make sure it's subtitled as being Part One of a 12-part series (thanks to TenMinJoe for reminding me of this important element!)

10. Rewriting and proofreading. You, my friend, are an artist, a poet, and the best, truest stuff will come to you in the first draft. Don't tamper with it by rewriting it -- it's your Art! And don't bother checking your spelling -- real authors don't worry about that kind of mundane stuff. After all, the editor's got to have something to do!

11. Make sure your manuscript stands out. You might have heard about something called "standard manuscript format" -- that kind of thing is for chumps! Single-spacing saves paper, and you should always use the most exotic fantasy font you can find to put the reader in the right mood. And speaking of moods, white paper is so dull. Printing your opus on purple paper makes a powerful statement.

12. Handle rejection like a pro. If an editor sends you a rejection, don't despair! Instead, write her back immediately demanding an explanation. If she did give you reasons, just ignore them -- she's only trying to keep you down. Write her back and tell her what an idiot she is -- show her you can't be cowed! And then change the title of your tale, write a new opening paragraph, change the names of your characters, and send your manuscript right back to her. If you follow these simple steps, you'll have created a work that makes even the most black-hearted editor tremble ... and, if you're lucky, wish she could ask the court for a restraining order!

LOL. Best part of the whole thing is the "Sword of Stabbyness". Oh yeah, I'm stealing that one.

Reincarnation Time!

Scary People

Hmm my once very quiet and boring life is no more. Between my book club, raid progression nights, working out and hopefully getting a library internship for the fall, (well and school, forgot about that, umm and i guess work too) I have that hurried hectic feel that pervades most other people. This has led me to a serious consideration. Should I find another writer's circle, one that meets say once a month. There is one with a seemingly stable membership that meets at the library, has a website and seems like a good place. However, they appear to be nothing like the group I belong to now. That website is well, scary. And prejudice. We can sum up my current group as the happy fuzzy people. These new people are not that, they believe in 24 minute critique stints where the author must be silent and take it.

Ok I could handle that...I think. If not I could definitely learn, I know I could. But they are genre supremacists. And that kind of bothers me. They say no SF, Fantasy, Children's Lit. Two of those I couldn't care less about but my first novel, who's first draft is almost done, is fantasy. I write a good deal of gothic short stories and my next wrimo idea is along the same lines. True I do write everything from angsty pieces to westerns all the way over to the occasional modern fiction.

So to join I will have to write out of my element. But in doing so I will receive criticism that I could apply to the writings that mean the most to me. (Another thing that bothers me is why isn't Romance on that list of unworthy genres? That genre is basically dribble filled in with sex, but hey there's my prejudice coming out.) Plus I do feel like my writing is at a stalemate, where I cannot move forward and don't want to go back to the half hearted plotlines of my teen years.

I think I'll go visit these people and see what they're about. I'll even take my latest proofed short with me, (I call it gothic, they can't argue with that, otherwise throw Poe, Hawthorne, Bronte, and about a dozen others out the window), "Time Bleeds". The worst that can happen is I don't like them and leave. The best...well it could be something truly great.

I am the Caped Donut

Oh yes, mild mannered bibliomaniac by day, super hero donut by night. I'm sorry to have lied to you for so many years but the fate of the world was at stake and well, who would have thought you'd still want to be friends with an alien...donut.

Wormtown Seen Anew

It's colorful. It's new. Oh my God it has that blasted canal in it. Catching a glimpse and a shot of the finished side of the new mural I didn't really get a detailed look at it. True, I could have parked my car and walked to the intersection but well, it's Thursday. Meh. While I was downtown this morning I saw the banner, (it's really too big to miss) for Canalfest September 6 all day. Will I go? Probably, if for no other reason than to see if those crazy rich morons can change my mind about that hole in the ground where they want to hide millions of dollars from the evil school children who want to use that cash to, ugh, learn. Plus festival food, Woot! Mmmm food. Lunch time.

Blue water = happy naps.

And the Winner is

Mike, Steve and Marc. They caught stuff. In this case a monster, (but he said it tasted great). Fishing is one of those activities that my brain has to get accustomed to. Wait and see is kind of hard for me. The storms in the distance were awesome and the laughs just kept coming. Of course a bunch of nightowls being up so early only could have one possible outcome.

And it's a K.O.

Atlantic Ocean 1 vs Me 0

So I was outsmarted by a bunch of fish, it was a blast. Who would have thought fishing could be so much fun? It was a beautiful day. We were ready and (well after I got over my sea sickness) the fishing began!

Sing on Bon Jovi, Sing On

Woot less than 24 hours and I will be fishing!!!

(Something no one could have ever guessed I'd say)

Updates, pictures and sea tales echoing of Jack Sparrow will abound...tomorrow. Possibly even a Deadliest Catch worthy rescue video if my butt is unable to stay on board. *gasp* The excitement.

Ack! Clouds! Big, low, dark, menacing looking clouds. Hit me with your best shot! (While I'm at work) Cause I am
"Wanted
Wanted
Dead or Alive!"

This is my head meeting the wall

(Spoiler alert: This is a Wow centric post. My blog, my posts.)

Why, Why, Why can't people do as they are told. *Smash head against brick wall.* Ok, so the last raid I was on did not go so well. The Shade of Aran, I don't like him, in fact I object to his very existence and like to terminate him with extreme prejudice. It's just my thing. The fight is easy, huntsman easy with two warlocks. We had two warlocks. One moved in flame wreath and the other refused to run from Arcane blast. Hence they both died before the elementals arrived which were their entire purpose for being there. ARRRRRRRR!

*grumble grumble grumble.

Ok, yes it is a game. But in everything I do I try to be as good and knowledgable as I can. It's kind of an obsession to be competent. Ask my stories, they are never done. Reason? I can make them better. So I have researched about how to be a good hunter. I am reasonably sucessful according to my guild. Trapping, dpsing and kiting are no problem. All they had to do was live, then fear. Ugh, I could go on but right now it's just a waste of words.

So before you think, oh god not that game again, (and I play it less than the average American watches television, that means you) have you ever encountered someone who was too lazy to improve on something that you were both involved in. It could be a sports team, a band or in theater. In soccer it was the kid who kicked with their big toe, in hockey the people who refused to play defense and fall back to their own zone, I'm sure there's an equivalent in theater (never was into singing, it creeps me out), they made you want to scream. As a goalie I did, often, as any defenseman who has ever played with me. But here, I can't. I can't say a word or tell them the URL to a lock website, tell them to talk to the two guildies who are great locks, I can't say a thing.

This is one of those situations where hobby meets commitment I suppose. After sucking as a hunter for a very long time I did all that I could to learn about my class. (Half assing is not an option, so sayeth my unbringing). Eh, at the time I also couldn't walk so what else was I supposed to do? Not everyone will have the same commitment and that is....ok. Casual is what we are and ranting about it has made me feel a tiny bit better. Tiny. Like {} this much. ;)

Well, at least I got new boots.

My Decision

It's taken me mostly all summer to come up with this decision. I didn't come to it lightly and feel a bit of trepidation just putting it into print. There is so much I want to see and do, (my new digital camera just screams to be used) and it seems so little time to fit it all in. My writing is sporadic at best and even though I am getting better at short stories and plugging away at my novel I am not where I would like to be with it. My TBR pile will soon be up to the roof if I don't start reading more and I only have one more month of free time before the new semester starts. Then there is Japanese. I finally have found a textbook that works for me added to my other two I have vocab, writing and grammar covered for the beginning levels.

Woot for exercise! I feel great having walks nearly everyday and get a good cardio workout every day I work due to the excessive amount of stairs I get to climb. Jup and I ramble through our neighborhood at night meaning he is getting healthier too. To all this I add my other fun.

Wow. Some of my friends hate it, others are indifferent, a few see why I enjoy it so much. My hunter Kelsomar has come along very nicely, almost full epics and I am in the top 3 damage in every raid I attend, plus my trapping skills have stuck around long enough for me to not look like a complete huntard. (Thankfully.) But after nearly two years (has it been so long?) I am ready for a change. Without the option of going Survival (sadness, I want to!!!) I have chosen an alternate focus for my week nights. Lecanu, my dwarvian shadow priest. Up to level 50 and going strong I plan to have her at 60 by Friday and on her way to the Outlands. I will be a Shadow weave Tailor and DPS main spec. Of course I will gather up a healing set and will respec as needed but I don't think I would be happy being a holy priest full time. (Just not me). I am having a great time leveling her and along with Shep my trust rabbit companion, (lazy butt just watches and eats grass while i do all the work) I'm finding I want to play the game again. A priest....who would have guessed.

So after that wall of text about several different and very much unrelated topics what could my decision possibly be? One I should have come to years ago.

I want to go to Japan, and if I like it I want to live there for a bit.
I want to finish my novel (and find a semi appropriate title for it).
I want to learn how to keep my garden from trying to eat my flowers.
I want to learn how to make peanut butter brownies from scratch.
I want to finish the blanket I started to a couple of years ago and it will be in my living room when I'm cold.
I want to level Lecanu up to 70, craft my two epic sets and be a raider. I want to heal when I can so others can find a change of pace and not get burnt out.
I want to stand in line in a few months when Wrath of the Lich King comes out and revel in the excitement with my fellow nerds.
I want to learn to laugh when it rains.

Normally I don't usually say those words out loud, "I want". It seems wrong in some way to me and I try to not think about them. I have decided these are what I want and I'm going to go get them. Resolve is fun and strong and slightly addicting I think. It's a great feeling. Resolve FTW!

(By the way that handsome guy up atop the thread is Katen. He's a good raptor! Just keep your hands from his face, he hasn't eaten today. :)

Who would have thought?

Perhaps everyone feels that the place they grew up in is boring and that anywhere would be more interesting, exciting and fun. I know I did. Well, sometimes still do. That said I'm speechless to find that there are people out there trying to prove me wrong. All I can say is I wish them well.

First off is the youtube phenomenon that has caught fire to all the brush around the tracks. It's the one, the only Octocat! (Just kidding ;) that is a whole other topic. Seriously I laughed but Octocat = WTF? It deserves multiple viewings, just don't drink while you watch. Choking is bad.) It's "Worcester Love". Yes that's right our fair county has it's own travel tv show. A full season of travel shows. 0_0

They are not the only ones. Check out www.worcesterwonderland.blogspot.com
There you will find ramblings and musings of all sorts of home town related material. Boggle.

Now I will admit that I don't give my fair city a sporting chance, I never have. I think it is because of my deep seated dissatisfaction with the used book store down town. Anyways, I've decided to add Worcester Wonderland to my list of blogs I read each week, (those will be added under the blog heading near Scatterbrained Daydreams) and hopefully I can come to see what these people see and finally attain a sense excitement about our little spot on Earth.

And in the mean time I may just watch Octocat again. Seriously, it hasn't gotten old yet. WTF?!

Go Ahead, Make My...Day

I can't explain it. I can barely fathom it. All that can be said for it is that it made my day, my week, possibly even two weeks.

Short people shall rule the world! (Or at least their doors will.)

Shiny Painted Faces

Yesterday, after convincing the Public Library that I really am trustworthy to have my privileges back, I was driving downtown and saw that they are repainting the old mural on the bridge. Not only is the paint new, shiny and not partly peeled off onto the road it's a completely different mural than before. Granted it's probably more appropriate than scenes of the Berlin Wall coming down, ancient history that it is. Considering the blandness of downtown I'm really happy something bright is going to be there and hopefully it'll last just as long as the first one did.

There's something to be said for summer. Surely someone has written something epic and poetic in praise of the season and everything that goes with it. I might even try it myself one day. Today I am reduced to spending a great deal of time erasing type as my wayward bandaged finger is stumbling over the keys like a drunk sailor on stilts. All this free time is getting to me. It's strange and bizarre and so so so boring. I miss school. I miss stress. I miss anything that is not sit in the house, or outside of house or up the street from house. If this is what retirement is like I'm glad I have like 50 more years to go. So against my better judgement I have started Warcracking again. For a few weeks I debated whether to quit all together or at least take a break for a few months like last year. But I like talking to everyone and then the walls in my house tried to eat me so I went back like a bat out of hell.

Last summer was so cool. A pilgrimage to different authors' homes and roots. People I have read and respected since I was a child. But I ran out of authors who lived an easy drive from my house. So August is now the month of new adventures, new places and new calls to my Dad when I get horribly lost and can't find the interstate...again. Woot, all hail Summer!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Kay! It is my niece's 21st birthday and to that can I get a wohoo? Wohoo! When I left the party the tiki bar was still going strong and I think they were setting up beer pong. Now only the best parties have tiki bars and light up straws. The thunderstorm and later on heat lightning only added a bit of natural flare to the otherwise brilliant afternoon.

Sadly I could not stay until 12 when everyone is going down to the Anchor for her first drink in a bar, but I'm sure it'll be great. I need sleep. Not for work, I really couldn't care less about whether I am conscious or not as I watch cameras. No tomorrow is the day I have waited months for. The Dark Knight...at IMAX. Oh Yeah. It's gonna be sweet so I am getting as much sleep tonight as I can so I don't accidentally fall asleep before we leave. It's happened before and I will not let it happen again.

Plus, well, I don't sleep much and for whatever reason I am really very sleepy right now. I think I will take advantage and soak up as much as I can.