Oh, pooh.

I started reading The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Composition yesterday (I finished The Year of Living Biblically in less than two days) but the author kept reiterating that it's important to have a good grasp of musical theory. I'm pretty good when it comes to playing or singing music, but when it comes to terms I may or may not have come across in my performances, or the names of scales or chords, overall, my musical education is spotty, at best.

So, I've decided that, before I read The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Composition, I need to buy and read The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory.

So, instead of that book, I'm going to be reading the Buffy RPG option manuals (Slayer's Handbook, Monster Smackdown, and the Angel RPG corebook) which I ordered through the Haven and got this evening. I read the first chapter of Monster Smackdown while I was at the Haven earlier, but I haven't decided whether to read straight through, or go on to the first chapter of the Slayer's Handbook, then go on the the Angel RPG book, and keep rotating until they're all finished. I also ordered The Magic Box, but it's on back-order, so it won't come in for another few weeks.

They're having lasagna for dinner downstairs, but I ate Five Guys at the Haven, which kinda makes me sad, since I love lasagna. But then again, I'm not sure I could handle all the extra cheese my dad puts on his lasagna right now anyway. There should be leftovers though, so I'll probably take some to work for lunch tomorrow.

A mini-rant/essay

While I've been reading A. J. Jacobs's The Year of Living Biblically, I've come across a lot of really good quotes that I wish I had written down at the time so that I could use them as e-mail signatures and stuff.

There are likewise a few things that have rubbed me the wrong way. For instance, this particular bit from Month Nine: May. He was talking to a pastor from Jerry Falwell's church down south named Tom:

"Yes, homosexuality is an abomination," says Tom. "But I'm a sinner too. We're all sinners. You just have to love them."

This is a pretty mild stance--the hate-the-sin, not-the-sinner idea. I'm guessing he
toned the rhetoric down for his Northeastern Jewish audience of one. But, still, I find this stance intolerant in its own way. It's like saying that we should love Jesse Jackson, except for the fact that he's black.

This, to me, is flawed logic. Jacobs is equating a person's race to his chosen sexual orientation, which is a broken comparison.

People are born with certain racial traits--for instance, I have very light skin, high cheekbones, a somewhat-distinctive facial structure, and other physical traits which show that I come from a mostly-Dutch (that's Netherlands Dutch, not Pennsylvania Dutch, which is actually German anyway) heritage--the other half of me is kind of a hodge-podge. This collection of physical traits that mark a person's heritage are a given--they're born that way and only plastic surgery (which I won't get into a rant about now . . . maybe later) can change them.

Homosexuality, on the other hand, is completely different. It's all behavior to me. A person chooses to only have romantic relationships with someone of their own gender--whether they're physically attracted to the same gender or not, the relationship is not forced upon them, and I just do not (and in some ways cannot) believe that they are born to be homosexual. That's not to say that I scorn people who have same-sex relationships--one of the girls at my work is a lesbian, and she's totally cool as a person--I just don't believe in their lifestyle choices.

I'm not going to try to change their minds for them, but I'm also not going to start looking at women as potential romantic partners, and I'm certainly not going to teach my future children that it's okay to have sex with their own gender either. I will, however, teach them to befriend all the people who will let them, and love all of those friends equally, whether they agree with their lifestyle choices or not.

On the scale of complete and utter bigotry versus extreme over-tolerance, I'd say this viewpoint is closer to the middle, and slightly to the tolerance side. "Intolerant" is just too strong a word for the "hate-the-sin, not-the-sinner" idea. A person's chosen lifestyle does not equal their identity; it's just the way they choose to behave.

R. I. P. Oreo

Today, Oreo, my brother's panda hamster, died. She's had a tumor of some sort in her leg area for months, and there just hasn't been money available to take her to the vet and find out what it was. At first, they thought she'd just been stung by a wasp or something, but it didn't go away, and eventually got so big she couldn't even crawl through the tunnel off-shoots on her cage.

As I type this, Jason and the others have found a box to put her in, and they're working on getting her in there; they'll probably bury her out back next to O'Malley.

On a not-so-morbid note: Kayla's uncle Stephen (or Steven) has left the house to go back to her other uncle, Peter's, house until New Year's, when he and his mother (Kayla's maternal grandmother) will be going back home to Alabama.

Yesterday, I took Anna to Miyako for a late lunch/early dinner. It was yummy. Anna got the steak and shrimp combo, and I got the steak and chicken combo. We both also got fried rice. I love the soup and salad they serve before the hibachi chef comes out too--Anna gave me her mushrooms from the soup, but even just the broth is to die for.

In the next week or so, I'm going to take Kimba to Outback one evening, and Kayla to Ruby Tuesday.

What spurred this whole "Take each family member to a nice restaurant" thing? Mostly, I was craving a bloomin' onion, but I didn't want to take all of them to Outback, since I also wanted to go to places like Ruby Tuesday, Miyako and Brewer's Alley. So I decided that this month, I'm going to take Kimba, Anna and Kayla for individual meals, and then next month (or next month, going into the month after) I'll take Dad, Mom and Jason. I haven't decided yet whether to take Mom and Dad at the same time, or individually like everybody else though.

Anyway, after our lunch/dinner, Anna and I walked around the mall (we'd gone to the Miyako at FSK instead of Patrick Street, since Kayla, Jason and Stephen asked us to drop them off at the good theater on our way to the restaurant) and I got my shoes for her wedding. We also stopped by the calendar kiosk outside of Barnes & Noble, since I needed a 2009 calendar to keep track of things at work, and I decided to get a calendar for everyone else too. I bought one called "Solitudes" for work, which is basically scenery--pretty, but not distracting.

I got Anna a Crossword-a-Day tear-off desk calendar, and Jason got a Fold-a-Day paper airplane calendar. Kimba was given an Audrey Hepburn theme, Mom got Magic Eye, and Kayla got Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I also got two other calendars: M.C. Escher and Dragons. I gave Stephen a choice as to which one he wanted; he chose the Escher calendar, so I gave the dragons to Dad.

I read What Would MacGyver Do? yesterday--it was hilarious, ingenious, and a quick read. One of the people who contributed a story to it actually wrote the book I'm currently reading: The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible--as Literally as Possible.

In the story, he wrote about his first book, The Know-It-All, a memoir about reading the Encyclopedia Britannica from A-Z, and how he was petrified of being quizzed at signings. So, he tried to cram-study for weeks, but then realized that he could "MacGyver" a solution--if he didn't know the exact answer to a specific question, he'd give an answer that was related to the subject, but interesting enough so that the questioner didn't realize he hadn't answerd their original question. I've gotten through Month Two of his book, and it's fascinating so far--funny at times, serious and introspective in others.

When I first heard of the book, I thought I'd hate it, then Gene told me a bit about it, and it sounded at least fun. Now I'm reading it, and it's so much more than that--the guy really is at least trying to live a better life by following the Bible. He hasn't changed much yet, but he's already noticed some changes he's had that are more than the obvious physical ones. Like he's noticed that he (or rather, his biblical alter-ego "Jacob") is more careful about what he says, and is somewhat repulsed by certain things he wouldn't have thought twice about before.

He doesn't see "Jacob" as himself yet, but I think his two "personalities" might merge by the end of the year. Not sure yet if I'm going to read another month's worth tonight or not, but I'll definitely pick it up again tomorrow. I want to finish at least this book, if not this one and the Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Composition by 11:59:59 p.m. on New Year's Eve.

Christmas

Christmas, overall, was good.

Kayla's uncle Steven (or is it Stephen?) is visiting Maryland, so he's spent Christmas Eve and Day with us so far. After we opened gifts yesterday morning, we went to Grandma's house for the usual gift opening there, and--something new--Christmas Brunch. I guess they decided not to deal with the hassel of a full-on sit-down Christmas dinner.

Mom, Dad and I left earlier than everyone else, and I spent the extra time between our getting home and dinner time finishing Dragons of Winter Night and reading the book Grandma wrote about herself. There was much distraction--I kept getting fascinated by Jason's Erector set. I've also decided that I'm not going to read Dragons of Spring Dawning, etc, unless I have nothing else more interesting or new to read.

Dinner was breakfast, since the brunch wasn't all that. Then, we all played Halo--well, Dad, Anna, Tim, Kayla, Stephen and I did anyway--Kimba and Mom don't do video games, and Jason's grounded until tomorrow. Around eleven, I decided to stop and take a shower before heading upstairs to relax a bit before bedtime.

Gifts I Gave (and the people I gave them to):

• Jason: Gryffindor silk tie and lambswool scarf set
• Kayla: Guitar Hero Aerosmith for PS2
• Anna: An authentic replica of Lucius Malfoy's walking stick/wand
• Kimba: A "teaching bag" (as she calls it) with her name on it, and Travel Scrabble
• Dad: A digital photo frame, with 13 pictures of the family and special occasions (such as senior class pics, Mom & Dad's wedding, and graduations)
• Mom: Two pair of jeans in size 10Long, since she fits my size jeans now

Gifts I Received (I can never remember who gave me what, but anything with a * is something that was on my list):

• Electronic Phase 10
• Sudoku the board game
• The Story of My Life by Grandma S. (the book about her that I talked about earlier)
• A book of wide-staff musical manuscript paper*
• What Would MacGyver Do?
• The Year of Living Biblically
• The Complete Idiot's Guide to Musical Composition*

Hilarious, Aunt Julie!

Go read the first few paragraphs of my Aunt Julie's blog post about wrapping paper. You won't be sorry!

I remembered some!

Last night's dream was rather interesting. I don't remember enough of it to write a story or anything, but I do remember some fun details.

I was back in that place that looks suspiciously like Scottsdale, only there were hills and bunches of staircases, and I think I was there for some sort of convention or something. I was in my roller skates, just going around the neighborhood with someone who I think was actually my Grandpa S, and someone else--I can't remember who, but they were around my age, I think.

We got to this place where three staircases met--or maybe it was two staircases, and the hill I'd just gone up--and one of the staircases was so steep, I couldn't even see half of each riser from the top. So I turned to the other staircase, which wasn't much better, and walked my skates down.

We finally found someone else from the convention thing, and he said that it was time for whatever meeting we were going to (we'd been out and about just to kill time until it started), so I asked "Grandpa" to have someone bring me my shoes, since I was kind of leery about going all the way back the way we'd come in my skates.

When I got to the place for the meeting, the other two were already there, so I just sat down in the back with them to listen. Shortly after that, I woke up.

I keep thinking . . .

. . . that my dreams would make great stories--if I could remember more than a few interesting details, that is. Especially the last few nights, since I'm pretty sure that at least last night's dream had *shock* a plot! If only I could remember a whole dream long enough to write it down, or at least jot a few notes for an outline. Then maybe I'd have a bestseller--or at least a published novel or something.

Yoinked from Aunt Julie's Blog (I'm waaaaaaaaaaay behind.)

Happy Birthday, Heather! (And various wedding-like details.)

Today is Heather's birthday! Yay, Heather!

Now, on to our not-so-regularly scheduled blog entry:

Sunday, Anna, Kimba and I went to David's Bridal so that Kimba and I (and Liz F.) could try on bridesmaid dresses. We decided on this dress, with a bolero jacket, in apple for me and Liz and black for Kimba (since she's the maid of honor, and Anna wanted different colors--her bridal colors are black and apple). The jacket only comes in white, since that style's technically a bridal style, but we liked it, since it's an outdoor winter wedding anyway.

Luckily, we were able to pay for and order the dresses in our sizes on Sunday, because the lady who helped us said that delivery time was looking like the end of January. Considering the wedding is February 16th, we'd've been cutting it kinda close if we hadn't bought them there and then. We'll have to go back for first and second fittings--one to have the alterations lady pin them and such, and one to make sure the altered gowns actually fit right.

As an aside, I never really understood the need for more than one bridesmaid--I mean, all the extra ones do is just stand there in their dresses and look pretty, right? The maid of honor at least has some sort of "job" to do during the ceremony. I can understand wanting to appease certain female family members and/or friends, but it's not their wedding anyway.

If/when I ever get married, I'm going to have one bridesmaid, my groom will have one best man, and we will invite our immediate family, specific family members who we are closest to, and our bestest best friends. Everyone else will get announcements only, and possibly invitations to the reception. I'm talking super-duper-small wedding.

Anyway, back on course.

We also got to see Anna in her wedding dress while we were in the shop, since she had just made her final payment on it and had to get the alterations pinned. I'm not going to link to a picture of the dress today, since there's no telling who actually reads this blog, and it's "bad" for certain people to see the dress before the wedding, after all.

Pay day (and the company Christmas party) is tomorrow. Yay! I can finish my Christmas shopping! And start paying off my Discover card (which is how I paid for that gown).

Christmas Questions (Yoinked from Heather's LJ)

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper--gift bags are just lazy (unless you don't have an appropriate sized box to put a gift in, then a bag is okay), and the holidays are about taking the effort and time to show a person you care.
2. Real tree or Artificial? Ours is artificial, but we've had a real one before--I get headaches if a real tree is in a small, enclosed house though.
3. When do you put up the tree? Usually Thanksgiving day, either during or after the Macy's parade.
4. Do you like eggnog? Yup, but recently I haven't been able to drink it without it cut in half with milk.
5. Favorite gift received as a child? Of the few I can remember, I'd have to say my favorite was the journal my grandma gave me when I was five--it was the first of many.
6. Hardest person to buy for? My dad--he tells us some things that he wants, but we can't always afford them even if we really want to get them for him, so I usually end up getting him things that aren't really what I want to get for him.
7. Easiest person to buy for? Anna--all I have to do is walk in the mall, or look in a catalogue, and I see so many things that are just "Totally Anna."
8. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes. My mom made one out of plastic canvas years ago, and I got a glass one for Christmas a few years back myself.
9. Mail or email Christmas cards? Neither--I've never been a Christmas card sender. But if I was, I'd mail them.
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Don't remember.
11. Favorite Christmas Movie? The Patrick Stewart version of A Christmas Carol
12. When do you start shopping? As soon as I can. I even bought a gift for Anna way back in September once. But I usually keep it to the last 2-3 paychecks before the actual holiday--around Thanksgiving.
13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not that I remember.
14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Dinner in general--Gourmette (cook stuff on the table, bite by bite) specifically.
15. Lights on the tree? Of course, no lights on the tree is just stupid--you can't see the ornaments well without them.
16. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night
17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home, since my immediate family is all in the area anyway.
18. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolph.
19. Angel on the tree top or a star? Neither--we have a spire-type thing.
20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning usually, unless someone's bought us pajamas and wants us to wear them to bed on Christmas Eve, or there's a gift that's specifically meant to be opened on Christmas Eve.
21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The commercialism--I especially hate the song "Santa Baby."
22. Favorite ornament theme or color? Silver and blue bulbs and beads, white lights, and the tree topper spire thing.
23. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Gourmette.
24. What do you want for Christmas this year? A few For Dummies books, some wide-staff musical manuscript paper, and a new laptop.
25. Who do I tag? Anyone who feels like filling this out!

Ending Thought:"Whose life is better because you woke up today?" Dunno.

Random Stuff

Not much to tell--life's going on as usual here in good ol' Fredneck, USA.

Last Friday, one of the guys at the Haven showed me the player's handbook for an RPG called Paranoia. It's really kooky, and looks totally interesting. I'll probably play once they get a game going, since he said that they're most likely going to be playing on Tuesday evenings and I've got those free.

I've done most of my Christmas shopping as of Saturday. Just have to get a gift for Dad, which will have to wait until next Friday, as I am out of money again.

I had an interesting dream last night, which was actually interrupted by the alarm clock--that hasn't happened in a while, since I usually end up trying to stay asleep for at least an hour before the alarm goes off. I don't remember most of the dream, but I know it was set somewhere which looked suspiciously like Scottsdale, AZ.

Four-Day Weekend

I started my Christmas shopping on either Tuesday or Wednesday evening. I'm not typing what I got in here though, since I know at least one person whose gift I bought actually reads this blog.

Thursday was okay. Dinner preparation was mostly hitch-less. I had to get Anna to help me slice the cabbage, because there's no way I would have been able to get it that thin--I'm more of a thick-slice gal.

Grandma, Aunt Tammy, Aunt Peggy, Uncle Dan, Michael and Katrina came over for dinner. We were supposed to have missionaries over too (we were the ones who'd actually signed up on their dinner calendar for Thanksgiving dinner), but apparently they had three other invitations not on the calendar. They didn't show up at all--not even for dessert.

I was feeling kind of ill during dinner, which was kind of aggravated by not having any real support for my upper back/head while I sat at the table (I had a folding chair). The result was not fun, or pretty. But at least it didn't get on the floor. I was not allowed to have pie until Friday. :(

After dinner, Aunt Barbara dropped off C.J. and Danielle, and we watched Get Smart, then when the younger kids went to bed (and Kimba left) the rest of us watched Wall-E. Both were good movies.

Friday was pretty much a lazy day all around.

Saturday, I alternated reading with updating my iPod with new music. My current iTunes library has 2,536 audio files on it, and my external hard drive (and some other CDs) has even more files which I haven't transferred over because I'm not going to be listening to them anytime really soon. I just barely got started with the updating on Saturday before I decided to let it go for the night.

Sunday, I finished the iPod update, including three songs which I bought from iTunes because Kayla hadn't downloaded them when she used my iTunes and I wanted them. I got "Truly Madly Deeply" by Savage Garden, "Rev 22:20" by Puscifier, and "Not Ready to Make Nice" by the Dixie Chicks. Including those three songs, I have over 1,000 audio files (I'd say "songs," but I've also got Dutch language stuff) on my iPod.

It took the better part of the day (at least eight hours) to pick out the songs I wanted on the iPod, but I managed to fill all but about twelve megabites of my 4-gig iPod Nano. A lot of the songs on there were old when I was in school, so they're practically ancient songs now (like the Beach Boys songs). Some are relatively new, like the Hannah Montana stuff.

Just Catching Up

Not too much interesting stuff has happened since my last post, but I figured it would be a good idea so that I don't forget the few things that really are interesting.

Last Friday marked the last session of the Changeling game I was playing in. Gene tried to stretch it as long as he could, but it got to the point where our characters would just be "bean counting" after last week's session. That day was also Steve's birthday. I have no idea how old he is, but we had cake. David's D&D 2.0 game was cancelled that night, due to the fact that I was the only player other than Steve who was actually there.

We're having Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house this year, since Mom had surgery last week. We planned the menu, and I'm making brussels sprouts. I've got to stop at the grocery store tonight and get them, plus the ingredients to make them "less boring." I found a recipe on the Food Network website for Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Red Cabbage. Yum.

Due to Mom's health issues, she's lost a lot of weight. In fact, she's lost so much that we now both wear the same size jeans! No lie; I actually had her put on the pair I was wearing yesterday, and she fit them better than I do!

This morning, I packed two sandwiches to take to work for lunch--one was pastrami and the other was salami. I then went upstairs to eat my breakfast before I had to leave for work, and when I came downstairs, I found Tabby (Tim's cat) "chasing" one of the sandwiches off the dining room table! I found the other one on the kitchen floor. Grrrr.

I didn't have time to pack more sandwiches before I had to leave, so I got Five Guys for lunch today.

A Dream or Two

I had a couple of interesting dreams last night.

The first part I remember is, I was living in this town, in this neighborhood that looked kind of like down near the McCain Drive/Orchard Way area, like when my family lived on Danielle Drive.

Each "morning," in my dream, I would get up and go to this one house, where--get this--Bob Saget had a local morning-type thing. Whether it was a show or not, I have no idea; all I know was that he had this little picture-drawing contest for the few people who found their way there and explained the inspiration for their drawings and had really good "reasons" for wanting to win the contest. I don't even remember what the prize was for winning.

Then, there was a bit of a segue that I don't remember, and all of a sudden, I was at the Phoenix airport, getting ready to go home from my vacation again.

Somehow, I'd gotten on the plane before the previous passengers had disembarked, and I had to get off before I could re-board. So I got off, and then when they called boarding again I went through the tunnel thing, and there was this van there. I got in the van (the inside of which looked like the plane, but without the bathrooms or cockpit--instead just a driver's seat and windshield), and we went on the highway.

Apparently, it was a shuttle to take us to another airport somewhere nearby for our flight. Don't ask me about the logic of that, 'cause I don't know. Anyway, just as the other airport was coming into view, my alarm clock rang and I woke up.

Man, I feel really dumb right now . . .

Last night, Kimba, Kayla, Anna and I went to Chris H's house (Kayla and Anna call him "Tooth") to play SingStar. That went pretty well, and nothing really eventful happened with the singing--except we all discovered that Chris is a bit tone deaf, but that's okay.

Anna left early, and before that I went outside to put antifreeze in my bug. Pretty easy task, right? Just open the hood, open the radiator cap, and pour.

Well, when Kayla and I left Chris's house around 11:30 last night, the bug's temperature light was still screaming at me! I couldn't figure out what the problem was, so I just left it.

This morning, as I was on my way to work, I figured out why my car keeps saying it doesn't have any coolant--in the dark and the late hour last night, I mistook one symbol for another, and accidentally put antifreeze into the windshield wiper fluid reservoir! Man, I feel dumb.

Luckily, I still have some untainted antifreeze left, so I can put that into the radiator today during my lunch break (gotta wait for the engine to cool down first), but I have no idea how I'm going to clear out the wiper fluid reservoir. I'll have to ask my dad when I get home if he has any ideas.

I forgot to mention . . .

Either Wednesday or Thursday, Kayla went with Anna to get things for Brian at the Humane Society. While they were there, Kayla saw this really cute grey tabby kitten (with brown highlights). It was the only kitten that came up to the outside edge of the cage and played with her, so Kayla bought the kitten, despite her allergy.

The kitten is female, about three weeks old, and Kayla named her Church, after the character in Red vs. Blue. She has to stay in Kayla's room for 10 days after she first got here, since she might spread kennel cough to the other animals in the house if she's not quarantined.

The total number of animals in this household is now seven:

Cali (female)--Kimba's dog, who stays with us since the house Kimba is staying at has a koi pond she doesn't want Cali getting into.

Mandy (female)--Anna's dog.

Brian (also female)--Tim's dog, who stays with us because there's not enough room at his place, and he's going to be marrying Anna in three months and all their pets will have to get along anyway.

James (male)--Anna's only surviving orange tabby cat. (R.I.P. O'Malley)

Tabby (male)--Tim's grey tabby cat, who stays with us for the same reason Brian does.

Church (female)--Kayla's new kitten.

Oreo (female)--Jason's panda hamster.

I've been thinking I might get a dog (I'd get a kitten, but have no desire to be responsible for a single litter box), but that won't be until after the holidays, at least. I also will have to get my room into some semblance of organization before I even think about getting an animal of my own--it's nowhere near dog- or puppy-proof.

Of course, the chances of me finding a dog that I actually like and would want to take home are probably less than one in however many dogs are at the Humane Society off of Patrick Street, and however many are at the shelter off of Rosemont Avenue.

Heck, if I really like it, I might get something other than a dog or a cat--no hamsters, guinea pigs, or anything else really smelly like that though. Maybe a bird or two, though I have no idea how to take care of them, or a snake (if I could get over the "handling live crickets and/or mice" thing).

Fun, fun, fun

Halloween was pretty busy, all told. I went to work in my RennFest garb, and we had the annual party there. Then I went to the Haven for their Halloween party. Anna, Kayla and Jason came in and talked for a few minutes, then later on, Anna and Kayla came back and I went home around 10:30 or 11.

The next day, Jason and I decided to go back to the Haven, and I taught him to play Khet (laser chess), and we played Settlers of Catan and a couple of other games before we went home--four hours later.

Monday evening, I went to the Walkersville chapel to help set up for the election, and Tuesday was the election itself. It went pretty smoothly, except that once all the machines were put away, the chief judges kept us there for another hour and a half because their counts were off. We finally got to leave the chapel at around ten though.

We have a new president--Barack (sp?) Obama. I'm okay with that outcome, even though I voted for Nader. When Heather and I were looking online at the candidates' solutions to various issues, Nader's and Obama's solutions were all pretty good, but to me it seemed that Nader's ideas had more of a chance of getting implemented in a four-year time period than Obama's did. So, despite having voted for someone else, I'm perfectly okay with Obama as president.

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were work as usual, and then after work Friday I went to the Haven for the "big" Changeling game--the session that could either end the whole campaign, continue with the villain known, or end the whole campaign.

The campaign almost ended, but the villain (Carl's character, H.P. Lovemore) was revived, so we were able to continue. Now, all of us will be playing on Friday's, instead of in individual sessions during the week. I also got my own copy of the Changeling manual, so that's pretty neat.

David's D&D 2.0 game went okay, except for the fact that most of the party members kept arguing about the stupidest little things and wouldn't get their acts together long enough to actually play. The three people rescuing my half of the party had one encounter, then they rescued us in a second encounter. By the time we got to a place where we could have an encounter as a full party, it was already ten o'clock, and time to stop. Grr.

Ah well, there's always next Friday.

Yesterday was a pretty lazy day, but around 4 or so, I paid my bills and stuff before going to run errands around 6. I went to Bath & Body Works for shower gel and more body cream (plus other stuff); CVS for shampoo, conditioner and Blistex; Rosa Pizza for dinner; Advance Auto for antifreeze; WaWa for gas and a lighter (for the oil fragrance warmer I'd bought at Bath & Body Works); and the storage facility for some of my music and writing stuff. I still have yet to put the antifreeze in the bug, but I'm going to do that either later this evening or tomorrow before I head out to work--it's been screaming at me about the temperature for at least a week now.

When I have a question that I need answered . . .

I go to Yahoo!Answers. Of course, I have to pick out the answers that are actually coherent, accurate, and well-worded enough for me to understand and use, but it's also fun to answer other peoples' questions.

Vacation - Part III

Thanks, Heather, for posting your little summary on your LJ--I'd almost forgotten the order of what happened the rest of the weekend.

Friday evening, after Heather got up, we went back to the mall. First, we went to JCPenney, where I got four sets of pajamas and two sets of long underwear. I also bought a set of pajamas for Heather.

After that, Heather bought us both pretzels and lemonade at Auntie Anne's, and we went to Zales, so that Heather could get the bi-annual cleaning done for her ring. While she was doing that, I bought a new pair of ruby studs with starter posts, since one of my original studs had gotten lost when one of my sisters borrowed them. I also bought a pair for Heather with the gem she wanted.

We went back to the pet store to coo over the puppies again--that husky was just so pretty--before we went back to her place again to watch the rest of Haibane Renmei. Then, we went to McDonald's to get some dinner, after Stephen got home from work later than usual due to a meeting.

Saturday, we went to the Cheesecake Factory for a late lunch/early dinner before Stephen went to work, and then Heather and I talked while I packed. We then went to Wal-Mart, because I needed a box to put my stuffed animals in from the fair--they wouldn't fit in my suitcase. I also bought a bunch of souvenirs, some bubble wrap, and packing tape.

After packing up the souvenirs and the stuffed animals securely in the box and putting my name and address on it in sharpie, I used Heather's computer to schedule a UPS pick-up for this afternoon. I'll get the box by next Monday at the latest.

Heather and I then went on the League of Women Voters website so that I could show her how to research the different candidates for the election and make an informed decision when she votes. We also decided which presidential candidate's ideas we liked the best, though it was kind of a tie. I can't remember whether we'd decided we liked Nader or Obama more though--we definitely didn't like McCain as much.

We were both reluctant to go to sleep, but around 12:30 I decided I'd better sleep. I woke up at 8am and got dressed, putting the last of my stuff in my luggage and carry-on before taking them both out to the car after I ate. Then I waited for Heather and Stephen to get up.

At nine, we headed to the airport. I followed Stephen and Heather in the car I'd rented, and once I returned it, they drove me to the terminal and walked in with me as far as the security gate.

The first flight was uneventful, except for the fact that we arrived in Atlanta early. Even then, I barely had time to use the restroom and get some food before boarding my next flight. I managed to finish my burger, but I was halfway through my chips (and hadn't even started on my cheesecake) before they announced they were ready to board.

I finished my dinner on the plane to Baltimore, and that flight landed early as well. I had a headache after that flight, since I hadn't bothered to chew any gum during takeoff and landing, like I did for the first flight.

Anna and Kayla met me outside security, and we went home in Anna's car. I un-packed my luggage, and had planned on balancing my checkbook and paying my bills, but I just wanted to lay down so the Excedrin would kick in, so I'm saving that for this evening.

I couldn't get to sleep until around four this morning. I took an Excedrin when I got home, but it wasn't enough, since my head was still hurting more than two hours later. So I took another one at that point. It didn't kick in until around two, but then the medicine head kept me up until at least four. I hate my head sometimes.

Vacation - Part II

We went to Red Robin for dinner on Monday.  We had some chips and dip for an appetizer, as well as a plate of fries and lime sauce--the waiter brought the fries out because the cook was taking so long with our order.

After dinner, we had a little time before the movie, so we stopped off at Borders.  I got a new game called "You've Been Sentenced," plus a couple of those mini-book things.

We did end up seeing City of Ember.  It was a good movie, and as it should have, left me wondering what happens next.

We all went to sleep at a somewhat more reasonable time then.

Tuesday, I woke up around ten in the morning, and decided to let Heather sleep until I woke her up at noon.  So while she was sleeping I got breakfast and checked my e-mail and stuff.  Heather was still sleepy though, so she went back to sleep for a couple more hours and woke up a little bit before Stephen was due back.

We went to the Arizona State Fair, and had loads of fun.  We didn't ride many rides, but we did play a bunch of games.  I won a couple of stuffed animals, and I'm hoping they'll fit in my luggage, but if they don't, I'll have to get a box and ship them to Maryland.

Wednesday morning was about the same, only I let Heather sleep until two in the afternoon before trying to wake her.  She stayed awake this time, but was still a little sleepy.  When Stephen got back from work on Wednesday, we all went to Subway for dinner and then went to Bookman's to look at the used books and stuff.  I got The Origin, a comic about how the movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer was actually different from what Joss wanted it--it didn't look too different from what I remember, but it was still fun to read--plus two more novels.

Yesterday, I woke up first, and then let Heather sleep until she decided to wake up--that was much more satisfactory, even though I was awake for five hours and she wasn't.  We decided to go to the mall nearby so that she could buy some essentials at JCPenney.  Then we walked around the mall for a while.

I got us pretzels at Auntie Anne's, and we looked in a few stores including Bath & Body Works.  We also looked at stuff in game stop, plus two other stores.  One was a music box/clock/glass figurine shop, and the other was an Asian-themed store where they sold anything from little Buddha statues to rice-eating sets with chopsticks to Japanese swords.

We finally decided to have dinner, so we went to Villa Pizza.  Heather had two slices of cheese pizza, and I had Chicken Marsala with a side of potatoes and a side of steamed vegetables.  Yummy.

After dinner, we headed over to Master Cuts, so that Heather could get her hair cut.  We wanted to go back to JCPenney so I could get some new shirts and such, but they were closed, so we went back to Heather & Stephen's place.

We finally played my new game--it was pretty fun--and then Stephen went to sleep.  Heather and I stayed up for a couple more hours, watching Haibane Renmei, an anime series that's kind of corny, but cute, and gets a little more interesting as you go.

After the first two disks, we decided we were both sleepy and went to our respective rooms, but I wanted to watch the bonus features on Heather's copy of Serenity, since my copy has none.  I had no idea they would take so long--I didn't get to sleep until after five this morning!

But for some reason, I was still not able to sleep any later than eleven.  And I had a weird dream too--something about werewolves and this interesting-looking building which might've been a cross between a log cabin and an airport.

Vacation - Part I

The last week before I left for vacation was kind of a drag.  Seriously, I swear each day took at least two.

Anyway, Thursday night, I did my laundry, and then after my games at the Haven on Friday, I packed--with a little help from Anna.

Saturday morning, I took a shower, then brought my luggage downstairs.  Anna came home between classes, and then we went to FCC so that she could catch a half-hour of her Biology lecture before taking me to the airport.  I went to the computer lab while she was in class and checked my e-mail.

We got to the airport, and Anna showed me how to get my boarding pass and check my large bag.  Then she showed me where the security checkpoint was and gave me a few last tips before saying goodbye for the week.

On my way to the gate, I bought a pretzel and lemonade from Auntie Anne's, and ate it while I waited for boarding time.

The flight to Atlanta was uneventful, and I got quite a bit of White Jenna read.  After the first chapter or two, I took a bit of a cat nap, and then we landed.

In Atlanta, I bought a late lunch/early dinner--a cheese steak sandwich and some fries with cheese, ranch and bacon on them.  Then I went to my next gate and read.

Just before we were to be boarding, the gate attendants made an announcement that they were still waiting on the pilots for my next flight to get there from Dayton, Ohio, and that unless they could find some new pilots before then, my flight to Phoenix would not take off until 8:15.  Luckily, they did find other pilots, so my flight took off at 7:30--only 20 minutes later than it should have.

That flight was just over four hours long.  I was a bit confused though, because my itinerary said that, while it was a four-hour flight, the departure time was 7:10 and the arrival time was supposedly 8:17.  Turns out, it was almost 9pm in Phoenix when we landed--almost midnight in Frederick.  It's kind of annoying that they show the arrival times in the same time zone as you've just landed, instead of in the time zone that you've just left--it'd be much less confusing that way.

My bag took a while to come onto the carousel from the plane, but I got it eventually.  Then, I caught the shuttle to the car rental center.  It'd been a long day, so I was kind of out of it as I talked to the guy at the counter.  He asked me questions about insurance and such, but I thought I'd already determined all that when I booked the flight and the car online--I'll have to look at that contract later when I get a chance to go out to the car (a Saturn Sky convertible), since I left it in there.

I started on my way to Heather and Stephen's house, but, silly me, I forgot to read the directions before I left the parking deck, and I couldn't read them in the dark.  So, not only did I get turned around trying to get out of the airport area, but I also didn't know where to go from there.  I called Heather on my cell phone, and between the two of us, we managed to figure it out--although I did miss an exit or two and end up driving past the Gila River.

I finally made it to their place, and by then it was 2am my time--11pm their time.  There were much hugs from Heather--Stephen was still at work--and Heather and I talked.  Oddly enough, I was still wide awake, since I'd had a rather refreshing nap on the second plane as well, and I had a headache from being cramped into the seat and from the pressurized air.

The apartment is huge!  Even the guest bedroom is larger than Jason's room at home.  It's got to have at least half of the square-footage space of the townhouse on Wheyfield.  The guest bathroom is huge too, with two sink basins.  I didn't bring my camera, because I don't think I'd have been able to find it before I left, and I don't remember what I did with the cable to hook it up to my computer.  But Heather has a camera, so we'll try and take at least a few pictures while I'm here, so she can e-mail them to me and I'll post them when I get back.

Eventually, we decided to watch Angel season five, since I hadn't seen more than the first 7-9 episodes.  We watched the first disc, and then finally decided to go to sleep, since Stephen showed up after the third episode.

Sunday morning--well, it was noon, actually--we all woke up and got ready to go to Stephen's parents' house for his dad's birthday party.  I met some of Heather's in-laws (they were really nice) and then we went back to the apartment.  I watched the second disc of Angel in their car, Kermit, on their portable DVD player.

When we got back, we watched a few more episodes, then Heather decided to go to bed.  I took the season box into the guest room, and had decided to watch until Illyria killed Fred (I'd been well and truly spoiled about certain events in the season, even though I hadn't seen them) but after that happened, I just really, really, really wanted to know what happened next, so I kept watching "just one more episode," thinking that the next would be the last before I went to sleep.

I finished the series at seven o'clock this morning.  Then I crashed.

Heather finally woke me up about an hour and forty-five minutes ago, and I had chocolate cake and milk for "breakfast."  It was really a bit of a snack to tie me over until dinner, since Stephen was due to come home from work soon anyway.

After cake, I took a shower, and Heather and I watched the end of an episode of Charmed that was on TV before she asked if I wanted to see a movie and go out to dinner.  We checked playing times and showings on her computer--we're probably going to see City of Ember--and then she said I could check my e-mail and post this entry.

It's been a busy few days, but it's a different kind of busy, so I'm more refreshed than I've been in ages.  I'm looking forward to the rest of my vacation.

I read a book!

Really, if you knew how much fanfic I'd been reading lately, instead of actual books, that might surprise you.

But today after I'd finished the rather long fic I was reading (and balanced my checkbook), I started on Sister Light, Sister Dark. I just finished a little bit ago, and ordered White Jenna (book two in the trilogy) from Amazon, since it was not listed in the FCPL (Frederick County Public Libraries) online card catalogue.

I got the steeply-priced two-day shipping (one-day was even steeper--this way I spent only $18 and change, instead of $25), so I should be able to start reading it Wednesday evening. If I don't finish it by then, I will then be able to take it on the plane with me next Saturday and finish the book before I get to Phoenix.

Just in case I finish the book before the flight--or rather, flights, since there's a layover in Atlanta--is over, I'll bring Dragons of Winter Night, as well as another book or two for the return flight, and one or two of my new Samurai Sudoku puzzle books, which I have not done any puzzles in yet.

Lots of Thinking

Tuesday I did end up going to the Haven, and I watched Gene and Steve play Warhammer for the fantasy campaign that's going on. They didn't finish until about half an hour after closing time, but it was so fascinating that I didn't feel like going home until they were done. I've watched bits of two different other Warhammer games since then, and I think I might want to learn the game. But I won't buy an army for myself unless I really get into it--and then, only a few years or so down the road. Until then, I'll just use the armies they have at the store for club use.

Last Saturday, I went to Allegheny Optical and got my eyes checked. I found out that it'd been four years since my last eye exam. It's funny--I never realize how long it's been between exams until I put on/in my new prescription in the optometrist's office. I put in those new contacts, and everything was much, much sharper. It made me realize that having trouble reading road signs from the short distance I'd been having trouble at was not normal. I've resolved to go to the optometrist at least once a year from now on, or at least listen and schedule further appointments as recommended, instead of waiting for the money to be there and then scheduling the appointment. I also got a new set of frames. They're like the frames I had two prescriptions ago (which I still have), but they're copper-y colored, instead of gold.

Kayla's currently in Alabama, visiting her family, so when she gets back this weekend there will be two episodes of Pushing Daisies and Red vs. Blue: Reconstruction to watch--much fun! I have yet to get caught up on Psych, Numb3rs, Bones or Smallville though. I'm thinking I'll just catch them on Sidereel later. I've also not yet finished watching my MacGyver DVDs--I've been in the middle of season 4 for at least a month and a half. Plus, I want to re-watch at least seasons 6 and 7 of Buffy and seasons 4 and 5 of Angel--I don't remember much about Angel, and I've only seen those seasons of Buffy once, with a few episodes here and there from when Anna and Kayla were going through the serieses.

I've been thinking too, that I might give up on re-reading the core DragonLance novels--I've been in the middle of Dragons of Winter Night for months now, and I've only read that much because I needed something to read while I got my allergy shots every Monday.

BUT! A girl at the Haven this past Tuesday (not the one with the Warhammer) brought a bunch of books she was getting rid of, and I took 7 or 8 that looked promising (I haven't added them to LibraryThing yet, but I will this weekend), including Sister Light, Sister Dark, which, if I remember correctly, Heather recommended to me a few months ago and sounded extremely intriguing. So, if I do decide to quit on DragonLance, then I'll be reading those books.

Who knows? Maybe I'll be able to catch up and read fast enough to actually make the 50-book goal this year.

I've been thinking . . .

That I might do NaNoWriMo this year. More on that later.

Saturday was the most fun I've had at RennFest in years. I didn't wear my garb, because it would've been much too hot, despite the rain--I was sweating from the humidity while trying to keep the rain off of my glasses with one or the other of my umbrellas. I hung out with Pippi, Ruth and Evil Dan, among others from the Haven, and went to a lot of shops I'd never noticed before. I bought a set of two tiny knives, a hand-crafted leather belt, and a pocket watch. I left the faire quite a bit poorer, but happy. Fun times.

And with a headache. By the time we got back to the Haven, my head was killing me. I pitched in for pizza--they were ordering--and then my dad called to say he was out and about, so did I want a ride home? I said sure, and about five minutes after the pizza got there, my dad got there too. So I was able to have a slice of pizza before I left.

Sunday, I played Guitar Hero with Kayla and Jason, and yesterday not much happened except my usual trip to the allergist for my shots.

Today's been pretty boring so far. I'm debating whether or not I want to go to the Haven. I think I probably will.

Anyway, about NaNoWriMo . . .

I've never done it before--never had the inclination to try, or the idea for a story. I don't really have an idea for a new story either, but I do have a fanfic that I've been trying to finish for at least two years now. So I'm thinking that, instead of the traditional 50,000 words, for NaNoWriMo (which I'm pretty sure I couldn't bang out in a month right now anyway), I'll probably impose a chapter count on that fanfic I've been writing, and make that my goal for the month of November.

I've been thinking I could bang out at least two chapters (maybe three) of PPKM in a month if I really cracked down and didn't let myself get distracted by all of the readable stuff out there. Goodness knows I haven't written a single sentence since I posted chapter six!

I have the sudden urge . . .

. . . to play Guitar Hero. A few minutes ago, I noticed that "Paint it Black" was stuck in my head, and I was thinking about that stupid fret board scrolling up on the screen at the same time.

But I'm not going to get to play Guitar Hero until Sunday, at the earliest--I'll be at the Haven from when I get off work today until around 10-ish, and then I'll be at RennFest with the Haven crowd all day tomorrow.

Oh, well. Guess I'll just have to try and get a different song stuck in my head.

D'oh!

Felicia Day, who plays Penny in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, played Vi in season seven of Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No wonder she looked so familiar, but I couldn't remember who she was--I hadn't watched more than an episode or two of season seven since it first aired!

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (SPOILERS)

So, I finally took the time to watch Joss's extra-short creation last night. I'd wanted to for a while, but never took the time. Some thoughts:

• I was totally not expecting Penny to die, and was especially not expecting Dr. Horrible to actually become as evil as he wanted to be. I was thinking maybe he'd use the freeze ray on her, she'd live, and then he'd turn good. But then again, this is Joss we're talking about, so I guess I should have expected the ending it got. It was still awesome though.
• Having seen Nathan Fillion as both Caleb the creepy, misogynistic preacher as well as Malcolm Reynolds, gun-slinging space transport captain, it was weird seeing him in cargo pants and a tee shirt. 'Cause I'm a whole lot more used to seeing him in camel-colored slacks, a button-down shirt, suspenders and a long brown coat, with a pistol at his hip. He's got a really good singing voice though.
• I can't remember from where I've seen the actress who plays Penny before; I'll have to look that up on IMDB later.

Finally, a Vacation!

I was very happy when I got my paycheck last Friday, because I saw that I had a full week's worth of paid vacation time saved up. So, I talked to Heather, and I will be going to visit her in Arizona from Saturday, October 18, 2008 through Sunday, October 26, 2008. It's the first time I will ever ride on an air plane--unless you count the half-hour-long introductory flight lesson I had when I was twelve.

Yay, vacation!

Sorry about the quizzes . . .

As I said, I was bored.

And it appears that I am either Simon or Kaylee. Neither of which is bad, and I figure I'd be one of them anyway--probably a mix of the two--but couldn't the quizzes lie to me just a little bit and tell me I was River? At least then I could trick myself into believing I can kick some pi gu. :-p

Yup, still bored.

You Scored as Dr. Simon Tam The Medic. While a bit "socially challenged," when it comes down to it you know what you are doing. You usually know the "right" thing to do, but sometimes it gets the best of you. Dr. Simon Tam 75% Dr. Simon Tam 70% Kaylee Frye 65% Hoban "Wash" Washburne 65% Hoban "Wash" Washburne 65% Dr. Simon Tam 65% Derrial Book 60% Derrial Book 60% Kaylee Frye 60% Hoban "Wash" Washburne 55% Kaylee Frye 55% Malcolm "Mal"Reynolds 55% Derrial Book 50% Malcolm "Mal"Reynolds 50% River Tam 50% Malcolm "Mal"Reynolds 50% River Tam 50% River Tam 45% Zoe Alleyne Washburne 45% Jayne Cobb 45% Inara Serra 40% Jayne Cobb 40% Zoe Alleyne Washburne 40% Inara Serra 40% Jayne Cobb 40% Saffron / Yolanda / Bridget 40% Zoe Alleyne Washburne 35% Saffron / Yolanda / Bridget 35% Inara Serra 35% Saffron / Yolanda / Bridget 25%

I was bored.

You Scored as Simon Tam You are Simon, Serenity's doctor, and on the run from the Alliance after he liberated his sister River from an Alliance experiment. A bit prim and proper, but Kaylee's working on that. Simon Tam 56% Wash Washburne 55% Mal Reynolds 50% Zoe Washburne 49% Inara Serra 48% Shepherd Book 43% River Tam 43% Kaylee Frye 39% Jayne Cobb 18%

Saw this on someone's LJ

You Scored as Kaylee (Kaywinnet Lee) Frye The Mechanic. You are a natural mechanic, and you are far too sweet and cheerful to live out here. How you can see the good in everyone around you boggles the mind occasionally. Still you don't seem to be any crazier than that, and it is a nice kinda crazy. Kaylee (Kaywinnet Lee) Frye 56% Zoe Alleyne Washburne 56% Inara Serra 56% Hoban 'Wash' Washburne 44% Shepherd Derrial Book 38% Simon Tam 38% River Tam 38% Jayne Cobb 31% The Operative 31% Capt. Mal Reynolds 19%

Mini-Update

Kayla and Anna stayed home from RennFest on Labor Day, because if they hadn't, only Mom would've been home to watch the dogs. So Jason and I went by ourselves.

We watched a couple shows (Mike Rose the "Magic Kinda Guy," and The Rogues), then went through the maze and did some archery. Jason went down the giant slide. I bought a brown Rogues tee shirt. It is my new favorite article of clothing--I didn't have a favorite before.

I'm going to go back to RennFest on the 27th with a bunch of people from the Haven. Don't know what all we're going to do there, but it should be fun.

Not much has happened since Labor Day, but I may have some news later this week or early next week--depending on when I get a call from Heather.

It would be really neat if . . .

. . . there were an RPG for Pern, don't you think?

End thought.

On with the updates:

Kayla and I didn't actually get to see the new Batman movie the day after my last post, but we did see it eventually. It was awesome. Of course, with my little knowledge of the Batman universe, I was kind of spoiled--I just knew that Gordon couldn't really be dead, 'cause he had to become Commissioner first.

Heath Ledger was awesome as the Joker; if I didn't know it was him, I wouldn't have recognized him--his voice was completely different from usual, and the makeup was (necessarily) heavy, of course.

A few Sundays ago (I don't remember exactly how many), Anna found O'Malley (one of her orange tabby cats) on the staircase, struggling to breathe. She rushed him to the animal hospital, where they found that he had fluid in his lungs.

There were four things that could have caused that, and various solutions to those problems which could have been implemented. But each solution had its down-side, and none of them would have guaranteed that he wouldn't have fluid in his lungs later on, so he had to be put down. He was five years old.

Anna was devastated. We had a little funeral for him out back that same night, and Anna painted a cinder block brick with his name on it for a headstone.

A few days later, someone stole the power adapter for the camper. I came home from work that Wednesday (or maybe it was Thursday?) to find that there was no power going to my TV, my alarm clock, my VCR/DVD-R, or my computer. I tried resetting the breakers both in the house and in the camper, but nothing worked. So I looked at where the extension cord got plugged into the camper, and there was a piece missing, which allowed the extension cord to have the camper plugged into it. It still hasn't been found.

So, the day after that, Anna and Kayla cleaned out Anna's old room (Kayla had already moved out of it into Kimba's old room, since she moved into a house downtown), and I slept in the empty room on Anna's "nook" pillows for a night with a few "essentials." The day after that, Jason got his room cleaned, and moved into the empty room. That Saturday, I was able to move
all of my stuff into Jason's old room, and slept on Anna's pillows until last weekend, when I setup my old daybed.

After Anna gets married in February, I'm going to move all of my stuff (except the daybed and my books) into my old room (currently Anna's), and we're going to use the room I'm currently in as a guest room which will double as my library.

Or that's the plan, anyway.

A few days after I moved into the house, Tim (Anna's fiancé) got a new puppy. She's a shepherd mix, and he named her Brian, after the dog from Family Guy. She's so tiny, and cute--too bad she'll have to grow up and get all annoyingly big and everything.

Yesterday, Anna, Kayla and I went shopping for various things, including lingerie and new pillows for me and groceries for all three of us. We also picked up the dress I bought at RennFest a few years back, since we're going there tomorrow--both Anna and I have Labor Day off, and Kayla has agreed to come, as long as we don't make her wear any garb. I said that was okay, as long as she at least tried Anna's dresses on yesterday and looked in a mirror; she did, and then promptly took them off and got in her regular clothes again.

My Friday night D&D game is no more. Actually it was technically a "new to RPGs" game, so since at least two of us had gotten GM memberships at the Haven, we don't really need "instruction" anymore--not for playing, anyway. Instead, Gene started up a new game, based in the World of Darkness. He's doing a GMs-only, mostly one-on-one Changeling game.

Pretty much, the concept is, he'll work with each of us players individually on certain days of the week (my day's going to be Friday), and we'll have to post on the message boards within 48 hours about what our character did during the latest session. We'll also be able to have one-on-one sessions with the other players, I'm thinking as well. The world itself seems interesting, and I'm looking forward to playing it. I created my character two nights ago, but I forgot to give her a name.

My D&D 4.0 character went into the "Old Characters" section of my RPG player's binder. I've also got a GM binder for my Serenity game, as well as for a series I'm writing for the Buffy RPG.

Twenty-Five

Okay, so this post is two days late . . . so what?

I am now officially a quarter-century old. *cue the confetti* Had a pretty quiet birthday, all told, which is good. I meant to go to the Haven that day, but before I could leave the house (read: camper) I had to 1) pay my bills and figure my finances, 2) do my laundry, and 3) take a shower. I also wanted to go put gas in the bug and buy a new umbrella (my old black one is finally broken beyond the ability to work around), but I didn't get that far either.

It was nearly five in the evening before I got out of the shower, and it rained off and on, so I didn't feel like going anywhere after that. Not to mention, most of the Haven people I'd hang out with would have been too busy preparing for Pennsic War (they left today, and the shop won't be open for a couple weeks while they're there) for me to be much interested in going after all.

So I stayed home and had a lazy day. It helped, because last Saturday I stayed up until 7 a.m. Sunday, and had yet to catch up on the missed sleep at the time, despite getting regular amounts of sleep on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights. But when I went back to work yesterday, I felt refreshed.

Last Saturday, I saw Hancock with Kayla--it was funny, and I liked the story a lot. Great special effects and fight scenes as well. We were originally going to see the new Batman movie, but the show we wanted to see was sold out and we didn't want to have to leave and come back for another show, so we saw Hancock instead.

Tomorrow, we're seeing Batman, so it's all good.

For my birthday, I got a new purse, a wallet, a new watch, and an electronic Sudoku game. I'd never cared much about having a wallet or not, 'cause I just kept my cash in my pocket (or on the cup on my nightstand) and my most-used cards in my checkbook, but it's nice to have it all in one place and not need the pocket or the cup.

I was kind of leery about using a new watch while the old one still works just fine, but the new one is just so pretty (the old one was gold finish, and I prefer silver, which the new one is) that I couldn't resist. So I stopped the old watch (pulled out the knob) so the battery wouldn't die, and buckled it to my old purse.

Brother B. also sent me a telegram for my birthday--he's a ham radio operator, so he sent the message through that to another operator, who called my cell phone and left it on my voice mail. That was pretty cool. He also called to follow up a little while later.

I was going to say something about the last day or two or something, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was now. Oh well, if I remember, I can always make another entry.