Sep 15 2008

My Weekend, or, Killing Terrorists

So this weekend I finally drove a Honda Element.  Previously I’d only been able to admire them from afar, but thanks to I-Go I can now drive one anytime I want*.  We are moving in just a little over two short weeks (dear lord, help me) and so we are in great need of boxes.  A guy who works in my company’s mail room got 27 paper boxes together for me.  All I needed to do was rent said Element and pick them up. 

My boss is gone at work, meaning that I have more responsibility (why do people keep giving me that stuff?) and am working more hours.  We’ve been without her for a week now and nothing has gone awry–but again, it’s only been a week.  We shall see how stressed out I am around October 10th (it’s a work deadline for things I don’t feel like explaining and probably wouldn’t make much sense to anyone anyway).

Also, I’ll soon be doing another ultrasound and another spinning doughnut thing (technical term, CT scan).  I still have that weird pain every so often and I have a new doctor so she wants to a.) see if any problems have developed since the last tests, and b.) verify previous claims that I have an extra "half-uterus" and may or may not have my left kidney.  I would like to have some verification on both, please and thank you.

So that’s about it for me.  Not too much terribly exciting going on.  But I did spend my weekend killing terrorists with Tim**.  And, as I’m sure you all are aware, killing terrorists is always a fun time had by all.  Until a shotgun guy sneaks up behind you and plants one in the back of your head.

*to pay for it.
**in the game Rainbow 6 Las Vegas 2, not in real life.  So not as exciting as it could be, but I can’t actually die so things balance out.

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Mar 17 2008

Guidance

College/high school guidance counselors are a joke.  I wish one had pulled me aside and told me that the path that I was on would not prove to be a lucrative one.  There should be special guidance counselors with the specific purpose of getting students in majors like Communication, English, and Art History to change their fields.

Perhaps I could make a career out of this–I’d be a “Real Life Counselor.”

“Look long and look hard, kiddies.  ‘Cause this is your life.  Don’t get all high and mighty with your BA in Philosophy–your ass is going NO WHERE.  You’re never going to earn enough at that job you want to pay off all of the school debt you’ve accumulated studying to get that job.  You get this degree and you’ll end up working in a coffee house–philosophizing to customers who just wish you’d hurry the hell up and make them their grande frappacinos.  Are you prepared for that?!?”

Now that’s some guidance.

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Jan 24 2008

Boyfriends and Time Suckage

I haven’t posted lately because, to be honest, I didn’t know how to follow my last post.  I have nothing even remotely in the same realm of importance to talk about.  I’ll overlook it if you will.

 
I play World of Warcraft.  Yeah, I’m a nerd.  In case you don’t know, World of Warcraft (commonly referred to as WoW) is a multiplater on-line role-playing game.  You create a character, fight monsters, fulfill quests, etc.  I think it would be safe to say that WoW is a male-dominated community.  Not being male, I have certain advantages over my testosterone-touting counterparts.
 
Through my time playing, I’ve obtained 5 WoW boyfriends (although one kinda proposed, so I guess it’s more like 4 WoW boyfriends and 1 WoW husband).  This doesn’t mean much, if anything, in real life.  In the game we chat, quest together, and they give me stuff.  The most recent boyfriend is the highest level you can attain inthis game, and he gives me lots of useful items and gold (the currency of WoW).  I like getting stuff.
 
Guys treat each other very differently in the game ("like jerks" is the best descriptor) and, after seeing how differently I’m treated, Tim said: "When you level, all these guys say congratulations.  When I level, they try to fight me.  My next character is going to be a girl."

—

 

I saw this in another blog and it made me want to do one of my own.  The following is a top ten list (and an honorable mention) of my favorite video games.  I probably forgot something and will want to revise this list.  But as for now it stands thus:

Honorable Mention:
Aztec Challenge (1984, Commodore 64) This is the first video game I can remember playing.  And good news for all of you!  I found a link to play it on-line.  You’re welcome.

[Yeah, yeah--I skipped Atari.  I loved those games like Pac-Man, Asteroid, and Pong as much as anyone.  They're just not included in this list.]

1. Bubble Bobble (1986, NES) I begged my parents for years to let me get a Nintendo.  And, right about when Super Nintendo was released, they acquiesed.  In my opinion one of the best games ever.  And I love the theme–it’s currently one of the ringtones on my cell phone.  Yay for baby lizards in diapers!

2. Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee (1997, PSOne)  My brother and I wore this game into the ground, playing constantly until we finally beat it.  Abe is one of the cutest video game heroes I’ve ever played.  You know, for a weird alieny guy.

3. Silent Hill (1999, PSOne) If you like scary games, this is definitely a series that you need to get into.  And out of all of them, the scariest is still the first.  Despite the PSOne platform and crappier graphics.  I mean, come on, little children run at you with knives.  That’s freakin’ terrifying.

4. The Sims (2000, PC) Who’d have thought that a game with no ending, where virtually nothing happens, could have become so popular.  Why do people like to create other people and watch them live out their day-to-day lives?  I don’t know.  But I love this game.

5. Halo: Combat Evolved (2001, XBox)  My favorite game to play with my brother.  Though the multiplayer on Halo 2 is better, the first game overall is the best.  (I haven’t played Halo 3 enough to judge whether it’s better than the first, though reviewers all say yes.)

6. Grand Theft Auto 3 (2001, PS2) The best thing about this game isn’t the missions, or the ending.  It’s turning on the "never arrested" cheat code and running through the city, killing everyone you can.  I have yet to get to the six-star wanted rating and, dang it, I’ve tried.

7. Morrowind: The Elder Scrolls III (2002, PC/Xbox) I never played this game correctly, but I loved it.  The point of the game is to fulfill quests and level, etc.  My brother and I would find cheat ways of leveling (1. Stand behind a non-moving NPC  while in stealth mode. 2. Go to sleep. 3. Next morning, hello super high stealth skill!) and run around the villages, stealing pretty much everything.  We had competitions to see who could steal the most stuff.  And for some reason, we focused on pillows.  It was like our thief calling card, to also steal the pillow of every house we hit. 

8. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003, GameCube)  I loved the main character to this game.  He was such a monkey.  I haven’t liked the following PoP games, simply because they frustrate me with their hard-to-see ledges and timing requirements.

9. World of Warcraft (2004, PC)  This game has been around awhile, but I’ve only recently gotten into it.  But you have to be careful with this game.  It will suck your soul.  I heard that a couple guys died because they wouldn’t stop playing to eat, sleep, or go to the bathroom.  I’m not sure if this is entirely true, but I can see how it could be.

10. Guitar Hero 2 (2006, PS2)  Though all Guitar Hero games are worth your money, the best of all is the second one.  I say this because I don’t like the Hammer on/pull off technique in the first game and the song list just isn’t as good in the third. 

What are yours?

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Jul 21 2007

Bands, Boys, and Books

Wednesday’s Decemberists concert was a prettygood time.  There were a lot of people, and it was rainy-ish, so Paige and I parked ourselves on a blanket under a bunch of trees.  We couldn’t see the stage, but lying in the park under a tree listening to live music was a wonderful way to spend two hours.  And I learned a little more French.  She is making it a goal to teach me French, you know, in case we do indeed leave the country and Scotland doesn’t pan out.  

Key French phrases I can now say (but not spell, or I’d include them):
- “I am hungry.”
- “They are bad frisbee players.”
- “That guy in the green shirt is hot.”

Currently reading: “A Confederacy of Dunces,” by John Kennedy Toole.  However, once Harry Potter 7 arrives at my doorstep, courtesy of Amazon.com, I’m gonna have to temporarily switch reading material.  Fair warning: should you post a spoiler, I will spam you.

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Jul 6 2007

Random Stuff. Yay!

*The New Guy randomly quit.  Not cool in general terms of the hotel and increased third-shift work load, but super-super great for my introverted tendencies.  Yay!

*Because my manager loves me, I can still have some days off to go home, despite being short a person.  I’ll be home over my birthday, August 6th ’til the 10th.  Yay!

*Mike-the-Bellman just burned me a copy of Diablo (this one’s for you, AJ).  I’ve never played it before.  Yay!

*Last night Paige, Tim, Josh, and I started a new roleplaying game called Mutants & Masterminds wherein you get to be superheros.  I am running the game, which is a little confusing and even more daunting.  But last night seemed to go well, despite the fact that no one really understood how combat worked.  It’s a learning process.  Half-a-yay.

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