Sideshow & Syrana

My sense of time passage has become very skewed.  The hours at work seem to drag on forever.  My evenings during the week are gone before I know it, as are my weekends.  In the back of my mind I think need to get a post up, been a few days.

And that’s where the problem is.  I keep thinking it’s only been a few days or a week.  When I sat down to write the Sims Saturday post yesterday, I was honestly surprised that I hadn’t posted anything for almost a month.  But, with my body running hotter than normal due to my 24/7 bun oven, it’s often difficult for me to spend much time in our computer room.

That means less gaming and less blog posting.  Yes, yes, we have a laptop, which is what I’m typing on right now.  But then I don’t have access to all of my screenies and such.  Plus, there was something about physically sitting in front of my computer desk that tied to my motivation and muse.

So, anywho, here’s a bit of an update.

I haven’t played very much WoW since I completed Loremaster of Eastern Kingdoms.  I really want to finish Kalimdor before Cataclysm is released, so I keep hoping I’ll have enough time yet.  I even missed out on my favorite in game holiday, Midsummer Fire Festival.  My baby draenei priest alt got to complete the fires of Eastern Kingdoms thanks to Gertbee’s chopper and patience to drive me around.  I still had to split that up into 2 separate sessions… and I procrastinated until the last weekend of the holiday before finally going on.

I had planned to take several characters around to honor/piss on fires.

I’ve also been playing some Sims 3 Ambitions.  I like it and find the new professions fun: ghost hunter, tattoo artist, stylist, firefighter, architect, etc.  Again, haven’t been able to play as much as I’d like due to being hot (only so much the A/C and fans can do for that room, I’m afraid), but it’s been entertaining.

Then there’s Facebook “games” again.  After a 5 month hiatus from touching any of them, I started playing FrontierVille and Family Feud.  I was playing them daily.  Recently it’s slowed down again.  I haven’t touched Family Feud for a couple weeks and it’s been about a week for FrontierVille.  I must say though, FrontierVille is a huge step up from FarmVille and is moving in the direction of being more of a game than just clicketyclickclick.

At some point I’ll be able to spend more time in front of my desk again.  But for now, most of my internet connectivity is via my iPhone or the laptop… that way I can lounge on the couch, put my feet up, and have a fan blowing on me.  Ahhh, bliss.

(Sidenote: And of course, you are always welcome to find out what’s going on IRL with the spawn-on-the-way.  Although, I don’t write on that one nearly as often as I’d like to, but it’s more frequent than around here lately.)

Wow, the sale of tickets for BlizzCon 2010 is upon us.  And I say….Good luck to you!  Last year was a bit nerve wracking as we tried to get tickets, so I really do wish everyone good luck to get tickets if you so desire.

We won’t be going through the crazy queue this year.

I know, I know, after last year’s BlizzCon I was already talking about going back… even if only for the meetups outside of the convention.  However, due to the little one on the way, we won’t be able to go.  Last year it was so hot in August, going in October would have been nice… but… I won’t be allowed to fly and will be gettin’ ready to pop.

Now, if any of you want to get this lil’ one a cute plushy from the convention, that would be awesome. 

Also, the holiday weekend (travel and time off) threw off my sense of what day of the week it is… #iblamepregnancybrain

Hey all, I’m going to just kinda ramble in this post a bit.  Hope ya don’t mind.

This week has been a bit nutso IRL.  Last week was too, but it’s always even more crazy when trying to get as much work stuff done as possible before taking some vacation time around a holiday weekend.  It’s been hectic and draining this week, but now I get to relax a bit before rejoining the rat race.  (And believe me, it will be crazy when I return to work since there’s a lot I could not finish before leaving.  Blarg.)

Yesterday was nice… it was the start of Sideshow’s and my 5 day weekend.  Yesterday was doubly special because it was our wedding anniversary.  A little later today, we’ll be traveling out of town to visit my parents for a few days.  So, it will likely be a bit quiet around this corner of the blogosphere for a few more days.

But that’s alright because I’m sure you have cookouts or projects or something you have planned for at least part of this weekend!

One of the bummers about this past week being hectic is that I haven’t gotten much WoW time… I only need 2 more quests to complete Loremaster of Eastern Kingdoms! Uhh! So close!  ….still need another 30 for Kalimdor.

Funny, I thought Kalimdor would be easy to finish off because it seems filled with so many Horde zones and I’d have to search more to complete Eastern Kingdoms.  But noooo, I’m finding the complete opposite to be true.  Although, there seem to be more dungeons and raids in the Eastern Kingdoms…. which have plenty of quests that count towards Loremaster.  In fact, I still have a TON of Eastern Kingdoms quests I can do – easy to locate ones!

Whereas… I’m struggling to find more Kalimdor ones.  I’m hoping some of these leftover Eastern Kingdoms quest chains will take me back across the sea to count for some Kalimdor turnins.  I mean, it is quite likely since I’d seen a few chains bounce back and forth already… some counting for one continent and some counting for the other.

*Looks around* Ya know what… I think I should log in and finish off Loremaster of Eastern Kingdoms before we hit the road… so I can make sure to have that special screenshot.

There are some things I just don’t have time for… like being challenged to a duel as I hop off the zeppelin outside of The Undercity.

Back when I was leveling Syrana on an RP-PvP server, I remember this druid, who was about the same level, challenged me to a duel when the zeppelin stopped.

I declined and continued on my way.

They so eloquently yelled out that I was a scared wuss.

I didn’t even bother responding.

As I headed off to where ever it was my quest(s) was taking me, I received a whisper from that druid.  I thought, Gee this ass just can’t leave me be.  Well, turns out, he wasn’t an ass after all.  He asked why I wouldn’t duel him.  I told him that there was no benefit – nothing for me to gain – no honor.

Besides, I had to watch my back enough everywhere I went, I didn’t want to be bothered with fake fighting one of my own faction.

I can no longer remember the exact details of the conversation, but there was something he liked about my response.  There was a level of respect over desiring honor for a kill.  We chatted a bit more and even worked on a couple quests together.

I still rarely ever duel, unless it’s a friend or family member… totally for shits ‘n giggles.  But I still very much dislike the ninja duel request…. especially when it pops up as I’m riding past someone.

Just an observation….

Arguing on the internet is a lot like dueling.  We don’t have anything to lose except time and patience.  There is no real winner because there is nothing gained… no honor in either scenario.

Also, don’t fuck with a pregnant woman.  Just a word of warning.  I mean, you don’t poke a bear unless you want your face ripped off.  Trying to push an argument with a preggo is very much like that.

Stay outta my cave.

Courtesy of Stéfan (st3f4n) from Flickr

Hey look! It’s a non-screenshot post today.  *crowd cheers*

I’ve been meaning to write this post for quite awhile now.  It’s content has changed a bit and the title has changed a lot since it started rattling around in my head.

So, pull up a chair.  I’m not sure exactly how this one will flow or how long it will take us to where I wanna go.

At the beginning of this hiatus, I was dedicating my free time to playing through Heavy Rain.  I had also mentioned (especially on Twitter) that work was crazy hectic.  Well, I finished Heavy Rain that week.  Took me roughly 10 hours of playing time.  I’m still planning to post up my thoughts ‘n such, so I won’t say much right here.  (And maybe by the time my procrastinating butt gets to it, I’ll actually have done another play through… since that still hasn’t happened yet.)

Oh, right, I was also playing a lot of Harvest Moon: Animal Parade and getting over my Facebook “games” addiction.  (It was all in the name of research – I SWEAR!)

Well, work was very crazy – a lot of changes were happening at work (read: layoffs).  Needless to say, my work load and stress level sky rocketed.  When I’d get home, I didn’t even want to look at my computer.  My gaming plummeted right along with my posting. (continue reading…)

I know I can’t be the only one that has dreams that incorporate gaming elements or dreams about games.  The game I find sneaking into my subconscious the most is World of Warcraft.  I suppose it doesn’t help that I often listen to the soundtracks while falling asleep.  (The Eversong Woods music with the cellos and haunting voices is super relaxing.)

I previously shared a very whacked out dream that involved Samodean, Chris Metzen, and a live action zombie demo.  I had a LOT of details to share since I wrote it all down as soon as I could after waking up.

More commonly I remember snippets, if that.  What I’ve noticed more lately is that waking up is part of a quest chain.

I’ve had dreams where hitting the snooze button is a repeatable quest.

I’ve also had dreams that the “A” button was the snooze button.

Dreams are weird.  And yes, that’s a scientific term.

Ya know, I think this is why I love to slow time down when my Sims are sleeping.  Usually the game will auto-speed up time when the entire household is asleep.  I mean, they are sleeping, you don’t have anything to manage after all.  But, I like to slow it down just to watch the dream bubbles.

Hmm.

I never realized just how creepy that was before.

You know, there are a lot of songs that use some variation of this post’s title in either lyrics or title.  I can think of at least 3 right now.

This is the kind of post I don’t like to write and most “how to blog” guides will warn you to never write.

Well, screw it.

I’ma do it anyway.

I apologize for my hiatus, it lasted MUCH longer than I expected.  I only anticipated being absent from the blog and Twitter for a few days while I played through Heavy Rain.  (I even had to miss an episode of Polygamerous!)

Unfortunately, a mix of work craziness (it is seriously kicking my ass right now, but I’ve complained enough through minimal tweets over the past week, me thinks) and not feeling well meant almost zero time getting intimate with my home PC.

*pats monitor* I know, baby, you were getting lonely.

Thankfully, Sideshow had my back and cranked out a few posts to keep this place from looking like a completely barren wasteland.

I’m still going to have some ups and downs until work calms back down.  I was just going to start this week off with a post and act like I hadn’t been MIA for nearly two weeks, but I love y’all more than that.

1. No matter how independent I may be (or try to be) there may be things I still depend on others for
2. Sleep is a precious commodity
3. If you have something yummy to eat, I want to try some too
4. We can be friends even if we don’t totally understand each other’s language
5. I can get your attention by being friendly
6. Sometimes we just need to whine and cuddle
7. I’d rather hold it than use a filthy bathroom
8. I’m always excited to see someone I care about
9. Curiosity and caution are actually good traits
10. Alone time is needed, as is play time with others

Formspring.me is still relatively new and I thought I’d share why I think it can be valuable to use.  I know several people aren’t interested in it or don’t really know what it is.  Even if you don’t end up using if for yourself, maybe this post will at least help reveal some of its appeal.

Ease Of Use

Formspring.me is not particularly amazing in terms of it’s look or innovation.  However, it is easy to use.  Signing up is pretty straight forward.  After you sign up, you can choose to connect it to other social media networks (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr).  Once you do this, you are able to let your followers and friends know about your link.

You can also choose which networks (if any) you want to send out per question. There are check boxes allowing you to be selective.  Contrary to popular (negative) belief, using formspring.me does not equal auto spam of every question.  While I still stand by my rant the other day, I personally choose to only tweet a few questions and answers sporadically (but even that can annoy some people). (continue reading…)

Last week I let you all know that I’m open to answering questions.  I’ve gotten some through formspring and a few people left great questions in the comments.  Unfortunately, the questions left in the comments were so awesome that the answers needed to marinate in my brain for a bit and fully deserving of their very own post!

So without further adieu… I shall present a wall o’ text to you!  (continue reading…)