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09.01.03 :: 19:54
Ah, the new month opened up with a weird dream ^^; (What's new?) I dreamt that I was having trouble with my keyboard. The keys kept sticking so I couldn't press them down and they were arranged in the wrong order (which sucked 'cause I'm a touch typist :P ) I knew what the problem was: my GameCube was possessed again. ( o.O; ) Yep, I'd had to exorcise my GameCube once already when the Eternal Darkness save got a bit too rambunctious and I was going to have to pull a can of whoopass out on the Sleeping Beauty memory card. ( o.o; There is no SB game on the GameCube and I'm probably the last person who would own it if there was.) I pulled the memory card out (it was about three times as long as a normal card, but the same dimensions otherwise) and told it be stop messing with my keyboard. When the keys kept sticking I pressed my thumb into the card, bending it, and then finally broke it into five pieces. I sighed, threw the card away, and went back to IRCing. Someone on #RI was having a similar problem so I told them how to put their GameCube products back into line...
09.02.03 :: 22:47
Overall I had a pretty good day ^_^ My annual employee review was today and it went very well. I got a raise and a wristwatch with the company logo on the face for a year's service :) (Though I'll still wear the watch my bro gave me 'cause it's one of those spiffy battery-less solar watches :D )
Also on the plus side, mom gave me a litter box and litter for Pickles ^^; "You shouldn't leave Pickles outside at night! What if a coyote ate her?!" is mom's logic. That may sound silly except that there *are* coyote's around here, but Pickles is gotten along for who knows how long without me taking care of her ^^; Regardless, at my mother's prompting, I found a spot in the house for the litter box and for Pickles' food where Pepper can't eat it. Now I've got two attention whoring pets competing for my lovin's ^^; Thankfully I've got two hands...
I had two exceptional morons, one right after the other today. The first was a lady who called up to ask why her email was delayed 6 hours in receiving it and then DIDN'T WANT TO HEAR THE ANSWER! That's what ticked me off. See, even though it gets me in trouble some times, I was raise that if you ask a question you deserve an answer. She asked a question and wouldn't listen to the answer, that's, like, one of the greatest insults you could offer me --; Especially since I secretly love translating geeky concepts into laymen's terms ._.; We argued, flat out argued, for 15 minutes before she hung up on me. During the call she'd told me that she was cancelling her account and had decided on this before calling tech support. I should have hung up on her then, I really should have instead of trying to answer her question. Stupid lady, you don't deserve the knowledge I was trying to jam into your rock-hard head!
The other person was a guy claiming to be a tech who didn't understand the basics of computers. For one thing, the problem he was calling about was one he should have known on his own. I'm once again convinced that techs should be licensed just like computer users should be. If you call yourself a tech and ESPECIALLY if you're charging money for your services you should actually *know* something :P
09.03.03 :: 15:08
The experiment of having Pickles stay in the house last night worked reasonably well. I don't think Pickles ever used the litter box and if she went somewhere else I haven't found it yet... I slept lightly, kept expecting to find Pickles shredding the furniture or Pepper peeing all over something. Thankfully neither of those things happened though Pepper was definitely tweaked this morning. Pickles had hopped up onto my bed at some point during the night and when I woke up she was right there ready to be scratched. I pet her and then leaned over to pet Pepper, but the mutt wouldn't have any part of it. I finally coaxed her to pull her tail out of her fanny and let me give her wuvin's :P
I had a pretty odd dream this morning that was triggered by Pickles staying indoors. I dreamt that her owner was this crazy old lady who showed up on my doorstep at 3am to talk to me. I keep a maglite by the door for when I take Pepper out at night so I grabbed that and was ready to beat whoever was knocking on my door at such an insane hour. Anyhow, the old woman asked me to let Pickles out of the house. I did so and then made my case for letting me take over as Pickles' owner (I'll feed her, will take care of her vet needs, give her attention, etc.) and the woman refused my offer. I asked why and she told me that I didn't understand.
I went outside and it was false dawn. I looked up at the large tree in the corner of my yard and saw that it was hollowed out and decrepit, like, it could fall over at any time. I was like, "O.O!! What happened to the tree!?" and the woman told me not to keep Pickles from becoming what he was meant to be. Then the tree began to transform. It was skeletal, like a dinosaur, and it was made of gold and diamonds. I went back into the house and hid in the backroom where my bro was laying on the bed watching TV with Pepper. He wanted to go outside and take a look at the golden dinosaur tree, but I told him not to. Then Pickles reappeared, he was a little ghost-boy spirit of the tree. Then I woke up to find Pickles laying next to me on the bed o.o;
09.04.03 :: 20:25
Today was a contest to see how many things can go to wrong in a single work shift --; First Qwest disconnected some lines we were rolling over prematurely so one of the medium-large sized modem pools was down ALL DAY. Every estimation tech support was given on when either the equipment we were installing was in place or Qwest rehooked up the lines was passed (1:30 became 2:30 then became 3:30 then 4:30 and it still wasn't fixed when I left at 5pm).
But that problem wasn't even the big generator of calls. No, the problem that earned us the most irate customers was the fact that email was being delayed 2 - 6 hours on the main mail server because it was being spammed to death. Two admins were working on the issue mentioned already and two more were working on this issue. They were tracking down the sources of the spam and found two sources on our own network. One was a hacked machine at one of the local offices. The other source was a customer's co-located server. Both were unplugged and that helped a lot, but it was too late --; We were blacklisted by the spam filters. Augh. An admin jumped through the hoops to get us removed, but it may take up to 72 hours before mail from our servers isn't outright deleted anymore --; To add to the email joy, a recurring problem with some customers in certain pools not being able to send mail decided to creep up again. Man I hate that problem, it's such a pain to try to hammer down --;
On top of these stress inducing problems was the fact that I've been sick to my stomach since yesterday evening. I spent most of yesterday evening in bed resting. Forced myself to get up and go to work just to continue to feel like crap. I took more medication than I should have to try to settle my stomach and it did calm down a bit by mid-afternoon, but I woozy again this evening.
Anyhow, I also had four of my "demon" customers call up today. Y'know, the ones where it's bad enough if *one* of them calls you during the day 'cause they suck the very will to tech out of you. Yeah, four of those leeches called me today. By the time the fourth one put her claws into me this afternoon I was too tired to care.
I'm too tired and irritable right now to put up with people's crap. I'm gonna go read a book or something... --;
09.05.03 :: 02:14
I just finished reading Shards of Honor. I'd gone from disinterest to devouring the book overnight. I'd been stuck in chapter four for weeks and yesterday picked it up again and finished it off tonight. At very least, it provided a nice distraction from my sour stomach. I have the next book sitting here (the one after Barrayar).
I ran down to 7-Eleven to buy a bottle of 7-up for my stomach. I went to the cooler and just grabbed a green bottle and bought it. In the car on my way home I started drinking it and noticed that it didn't quite taste right. I just noticed that instead of buying a green bottle with clear liquid in it I'd bought a clear bottle with green liquid o.O; It's uh.. [looks at label] Fruit Flavor Blast 7-up? Never heard of it, but it tastes alright and it makes me burp. It'll suit my needs...
I've got to be up for work in four hours. Tomorrow (today) will be brutal --;
09.05.03 :: 16:15
I woke up this morning and still felt terrible. I stumbled into the bathroom and started to get cleaned up when I noticed that my tongue was black-coated o.O; That was a most startling discovery, let me assure you. I put a call in to the Dr's office as soon as they opened at 8am and waited... and waited... and fell asleep again around 9:30... I woke up a bit after noon and continued to wait.
Sean had nudged me into buying the first Haibane Renmei DVD earlier this week so I sat down and watched that. Thank you, Sean, it was quite enjoyable. I'm not sure which is my favorite character after four episodes. I like them all for different reasons :) Hikari's got the Quistis thing going. Reki's cool. Kana's a tomboy. Kuu reminds me of Su from Love Hina :D They're all good ^^
After I finished the DVD I gave the Dr's office a call again. They said they'd called around 11:30 and I hadn't picked up. (No doubt I was out like a light then, I've been so tired today.) They would have to call me back to answer my question about the black tongue. Hmph. I started poking around on the net and found my answer on WebMD. Taking Pepto-Bismol can sometimes turn your tongue black (and of course I'd taken some last night during my efforts to settle my stomach.) I'd never had Pepto do that before, nor even heard of it happening, but I feel better knowing that it's no biggie o.O; Just brush it off with my toothbrush and some paste and I'm good (which is what I'd done).
Hrm, 4:30 and still no call back. I'm glad I'm not dying here or anything. I think I'll start looking for a new Dr when I've got a bit more energy...
09.06.03 :: 02:45
I got a call from a nurse at 6pm yesterday. We'd just been missing each other and she was too busy to call back more often. Anyhow, she said to just stick it out and call again today if I still wasn't doing well. And she explained about the Pepto :P
I'm *really* enjoying Haibane Renmei. I've watched the first DVD twice today and through episode 10 tonight ^^; It surprises me that I'm enjoying one of ABe's works this much. Lain I was kind of lukewarm to. (I don't why people say it's confusing or why ABe says there was no meaning. It seemed like a pretty straightforward story to me...) And Neia_7 I don't recall that much of (which speaks volumes of how lasting of an impression it made on me). The only thing I remember is that I never watched the last DVD.
But with Haibane... with 3 episodes left... (I'm not going to watch them tonight. I can't, I have to wait for the download ^^; ) In a way I want to see it end but I also don't want to. I have that feeling... Like I got while playing FF8 or FFX. I didn't want to finish the game because the story would be over, but at the same time I wanted the characters to live happily ever after. I find myself caring about the characters. I noticed that when I watched the DVD the first time today. Like, with watching Noir or just about anything really... I wait for the eyecatch, yawn, keep watching. It's a halfway point I wait for so I can pause and go to the bathroom. With Haibane not only did I not notice the break where commercials would've aired, but the ends of the episode snuck up on me! I was *that* engrossed. Kudos, ABe.
09.06.03 :: 23:34
I finished Haibane today. Thanks to DS, BS, and MH for helping me track down the last two eps ^^ Hmm.. I don't want to say a lot about what I thought of it 'cause it might be spoilerish. I've told Sean, since he's the one who started it. ABe still gets props from me for creating an engaging story that had me still thinking about it hours after I finished the series. I can only hope to accomplish the same with my own stories.
I made a tuna casserole for dinner tonight. I made way too much ._.; It was the first real meal I've eaten in days and I over did it, let my eyes get bigger than my stomach. Fortunately my mom called right after I took the casserole from the oven to say that she and dad were back from the coast (they'd gone on a day trip). I offered to bring over some casserole and they went for it :)
We watched the first DVD of Haibane together (dubbed in English). Mom really liked it (I knew she would) and dad was a brat during it (I knew he would :P ). But yeah, Sean doesn't have to worry about me being an anime pirate, I'm gonna buy the DVDs as they come out. (I have to if I want mom to see it, plus I like it ^^ ) But looking at my anime collection... There's only a handful of things there that I hadn't seen before I bought the DVDs. A vast majority is stuff I bought 'cause I really liked it when I saw it fansubbed ^^
09.07.03 :: 21:44
I spent most of today asleep except for being awake to watch the Chargers get stopped by the Chiefs. Bah, not a good way to start the season, guys --; I had dinner with my folks and showed them Read or Die. I think mom liked it. I wish my stomach wasn't killing me over dinner --; It was mom's good spaghetti too and my stomach isn't appreciating it. Ungrateful organ!
09.08.03 :: 19:45
I finally made it to the Dr this afternoon. He said I have a self-contained viral infection that'll take a solid week to go through my system. I got sick on Thursday and it's Monday so he figures I'll be under the weather for another 3 - 4 days --; He also said this strain destroys the lining of the intestinal track and so I'll have digestive problems for 4 - 6 weeks until that's healed. Bah, bah I say --;
Work was exhausting (to be expected, everything's exhausting right now). I sat on hold with New Edge Networks for 45 minutes waiting for one of their techs just to be told something stupid and sent on my way. I'll still training for DSL and don't have all the permissions I need to go into the routers on our end and check out things =| After that call I landed on a 110 minute Qwest DSL call where it's something with the guy's computer or network. It's like he has a firewall that keeps popping up and interfering with his net connection. I can't stay on the phone all day pulling ideas out of my rear for what might be causing that. I know that the DSL modem is connected to our router and that it's not flaking out, thus it's a problem on his end. I tried to help him as much as I could, but by the end I was just tired --;
09.09.03 :: 20:42
I took a very nice two hour nap after work today. I've been having the weirdest dreams lately too. I sleep like a rock but the dreams are odd... Not scary or bloody or anything, just kinda weird. Like, both of my grandmothers and my mom were in the one I had this evening and they were scolding me for one thing or another. I think NB was in the dream too and they were upset that I was going to spend my day off hanging out with him or something like that.
The last call I got today was from a customer complaining about the fact that the techs had access to his password (or that any one did, in fact). Usually I won't bother even arguing with these people. They do have a point to a certain extent, but they take it entirely in the wrong direction. In my experience, techs have to have access to customer passwords because half of the questions we get regard log in issues. But on the other side of the coin I believe that techs should be licensed, bonded, and insured just like a contractor would be. We're handling key pieces of information and there should be a standard for how it is released. The company I work for has policies outlined in our tech handbook (yes, when I started I was given a binder full of tech notes and policies to follow) but that doesn't hold for every company y'know. The other thing I'd like to point out to people who get pissy at me is that I don't *NEED* their password, I have administrator rights and can make their password anything I want. If I want to make it "iamaluser" (or something much nastier) there's nothing they could do about it ^^; Gotta keep your eye on the real threat, yo!
09.10.03 :: 14:19
I took Pepper to the vet today for the annual exam she was supposed to have on Saturday and I put off 'cause I wasn't feeling well. She came out pretty well. They gave her all of her boosters, tested for heartworm (negative), did something with her stool that I wasn't even going to ask about, and gave her a shot and some antibiotics for the rash on her belly. The only painful part of the visit is when I had to pay the bill and it was $175 >.<!! When I got home I called my bro to bitch at him about how much money his dog just cost me >P That's the sad part. Pepper's license and vet info is all in my dad's name. She was given to my bro as a gift, but I'm the one who takes care of her and pays for everything. I've tried to get her license and vet info changed over to my name but have yet to succeed --;
Anyhow, it was nice talking to my bro. I was outside at the time watching Pepper play with Pickles and Murphy, following them around my property and the neighbor's. My bro asked me if he would like Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. I told him probably not 'cause he's not much of a strategist ^^; It surprised me that the game even caught his eye in the first place. He's bought a couple other nifty GBA games lately like the first and second Golden Sun. I'll be *really* surprised if he finishes them ^^;
Following the pets around as they played really winded me. (It shouldn't have, I just tire easily right now). After I got them back to their respective homes I went and took a three hour nap o.O; I had more weird dreams, but I don't remember them well enough to blog them.
09.10.03 :: 20:40
I must have "COW" tattooed on my forehead because I keep getting milked with regards to Pepper --; I was talking to dad this evening--complaining about how much the vet's visit was--and he remembered that he'd gotten a notice from the county that her license expires this month --;! I'm trying to talk him into paying for the license 'cause I'm tired of forking over money; I'm not a bottomless pit after all! I'm never having children. If a stupid dog can milk me for this much in a single day I'd hate to think of what a kid could do --;
09.11.03 :: 22:45
I'm blogging tonight from my Aunt Ginny's new computer. I've spent most of this evening getting it ready for her and I'm not done yet ^^; The unfortunate truth is that configuring a system for someone flat out takes time, especially if you're really trying to tailor it to their needs. I should be able to finish it tomorrow if I keep working at it.
This new machine is has a 2.2G processor, 256MB of RAM (I really should pick more up before giving it to her, I can feel it dragging... or maybe I'm just spoiled by how speedy Baku is), 16x DVD-ROM, 40G HD, and ye olde basic graphic and sound cards. I didn't get her the newest shiniest machine on the market, but it'll get her going :) I've named the machine "Tanabata" after the weaving lady of Japanese legend. I thought it was fitting since my aunt is a seamstress :)
I would also like to say that Final Fantasy Tactics Advance completely owns me. I dunno why I didn't think I was going to like this game when I read the description of it. I'm just glad to say that I was wrong! I've got over 15 hours put into it so far, though half of that time shouldn't count ^^; I've been playing while working a lot and the timer keeps going. I'm still in the first 'set' of laws and not very far, but I want to finish all the missions before I go onto the next set *_* I'm such a freak, this game rocks [laughs]
09.12.03 :: 22:23
Blogging again from Tanabata. I've spent another night working on computers after I got off work. Unfortunately, it hasn't been this one. I was at mom's shop until nearly 9pm working on her computer. I'm trying to put some more RAM into it but the machine is hack up hairballs at my attempts. I'm going to consult some of my co-workers on Monday to see if they have any ideas 'cause I'm at a loss right now =|
[Warning: Geek speak ahead!] The machine takes P133. It has a stick of 128 SDRAM in there already. I bought a stick of P133 256 SDRAM. In theory it should work, but it's not. I've tried swapping which stick is in DIMM 0 and tried putting the 256 in there by itself. The only time it works correctly is when the original 128 is in there. Otherwise it either detects only the 128 but not the 256 or doesn't boot at all (and the monitor won't display). When I can get it to boot I've gone into BIOS and tried to get it to detect and it won't. I checked the voltage on both sticks and they're the same --; I just don't know =/
Happier things... I've got 22+ hours logged on FFTA, but I think only 12 - 14 of those are solid playing hours. I've been playing a lot while doing other things 'cause I don't (and can't) pause the game. I can set it down whenever I need to and work on something else and it'll be right where I left it when I come back. That's a definite plus :) To get a better idea of where I am... I'm in the second set of laws and have 37 (I think) missions completed. I've been taking my time and doing a lot of the extra missions and fighting other clans and trying to earn job skills ^^; I see myself easily hitting 100 hours at this rate :P
And I'm feeling a lot better. I'm not tired as I was earlier in the week. I had Chinese food for dinner and it didn't tear my stomach to shreds :D (Admittedly, I didn't eat that much, but it's progress!)
Oh! Weird thing happened today (well, weird for here ^^; ) There were five pieces of mail in the box today and they were all for me! Of course, they were also all advertisements, but I don't get a lot of mail... Not even the utilities bills are addressed to me ^^; There are seven people who have mail sent to this address and I'm the only one living here >P (Weird family arrangements ^^; )
09.13.03 :: 22:14
Work was mellow today (yay). My Clan Legume in FFTA has completed 57 missions ^_^ I spoke with my co-workers and learned that some RAM just doesn't like some machines even if you bought the right type. I'll have to return what I've bought and keep fishing around. They pointed out that www.pny.com has a tool for looking up RAM compatibility with machines. I wrote down what should work, now I just have to find it ^^;
After work I went out to find the RAM (no luck) and to the pet store because Pickles' food bag is nearly empty. I found an adorable cat toy that is this mouse shaped piece of carpet with a red, bell-centered, puffball on the end of a spring for the mouse's tail. After standing there for a good five minutes playing with the puffball I tossed it into my basket and bought it along with the food and some carpet cleaner. (Pepper's been remarkably good lately in that regard, but it's a good thing to have on hand.)
I was nearly to my house when I hit a neighbor's dog with my car >.<! It was night, the dog's a black lab, and there are no street lights where I live. I stopped the car and went looking for the dog, but it'd ran off. I went home and grabbed my flashlight and went looking for the dog and his owner. After pounding on a couple neighbor's doors I found the right one. The dog was okay, nothing broken, no cuts/scrapes, no limping, just shaken. His owner was appreciative that I'd stopped and gone looking for him to see if he was okay. I told her that if he needed to see the vet to let me know. I don't think the dog should have been out, but I will take responsibility for hitting him and pay for the vet bill, y'know. I don't think it'll come to that though, I sat there for a few minutes and ran my hands all over him while scratching him and he didn't yip at my probing.
The drafting for RT: Legends begins tomorrow morning. If I'm counting time zones correctly it's at 9am, but I could be wrong. This tournament has participants signing up as pairs and each person playing half of a rivalry. I've got a partner (and have since the last tourney ended ^^; ) He's going to play Yomiko from Read or Die and I'm going to play evil Nancy. I'm looking forward to this. It'll be fun, me thinks ^_^
09.14.03 :: 18:11
It was "speak with all the neighbors" day, apparently. The one next to on the east sought me out 'cause needed permission to bring some equipment onto my property temporarily (he's taking down a tree). No probs there. I tried talking to the neighbor on the other side of him whose dog I hit last night. I don't think she was home when I went over =/ Then when I got back the neighbor's dog (who lives behind me) was in the yard and wanting to play with Pepper. I let Pepper out and we went back to their garden and orchard to play for a bit. They were in back husking corn and gave me three ears ^_^ Gonna share with my parents and have that for dinner tonight :)~~
I've only played FFTA for about a half hour between football games ^^; I might play some more tonight after the Bears/Vikings game. Chargers got rocked again, dammit --; I also had a weird dream when I napped during the Rams/49ers game. I wrote it up here (since it all involved members of RI).
I successfully drafted Nancy for myself and Yomiko for my partner for the next tourney. Actually, not that many people have signed up yet. I'm kind of surprised by that. So far there are only three teams signed up including the one I'm on o.O Well, drafting lasts for two weeks, so there's plenty of time to sign up ^_^
09.14.03 :: 19:48
It's definitely a "visit the bean" night ^^; My parents just stopped by. I'd been asking them to for a few weeks (a month even) to stop by and take the trash to the dumpster. (I don't mind taking it out to the garage, but I hate loading it into the car and driving downtown to the dumpster. Never mind that the bags are usually too heavy for me to lift anyways...) They called me to give me 10 minutes notice to clean the fridge before they arrived. No problems! Here's what I discovered: 3 bottle of mustard (I hate mustard), 1 bottle of mayo (I hate mayo), 3 bottles of ketchup (it's okay, but I never use it), 4 bottles of ranch (okay, those are mine), 2 dozen eggs (I don't cook anything that uses eggs), and several bottles of stuff that I honestly have no clue what it is. Anyhow, my fridge now contains only drinks and the left over cheese sticks from today :) Yay.
09.15.03 :: 21:14
Work was really mellow today, but when I got home I fell right asleep. Guess I was more tired than I thought ^^; I haven't done much today. Talked with MonkeyHitman (my partner for the tourney) some about our entry. I think I've got how to introduce evil Nancy worked out in my mind, just have to write it up :) And I have to write up a profile for her. That'll probably take more time to write than the introduction ^^; I played no FFTA today. This Monday really has been a write off, hasn't it? o.O
09.16.03 :: 20:55
I found this article on CNN about how your sleeping position reveals your personality to be interesting. I sleep in the fetal position and it says "fetal sleepers tend to be shy and sensitive". Yeah, I was that way 'til Sean corrupted me >P I asked my parents what position they slept him. My mom sleep on her belly and the description fits her o.O; Even more so, the description of my dad with his position (log with his arms at his side). Weird stuff, yo.
I'm also giving props to yesterday's Penny Arcade and Gabe's comments about Disgaea and FFTA. A long summer of non-earth shattering games has given way to a fruitfull fall :D
I'm not sure why, but I really like the song Wondering from the Haibane Renmei OST. It's kind of folky and mellower than what I tend to listen to, but it's pretty. It makes a lot of sense if you've seen the series, and still holds meaning even if you haven't. (Unlike Melodies of Life from the Final Fantasy IX soundtrack, which lyrically makes NO sense if you haven't beaten the game and seen the ending). My favorite lines from Wondering are "Mystery seeks to be understood / Someday we'll find truth". Just thought I'd share :)
09.17.03 :: 21:53
Been busy today. My bro called me during my break to ask me for help with Golden Sun 2. I've never played GS2 and don't own it ^^; I tried to look stuff up on GameFAQs for him for 20 minutes before giving up. I told him to just mail his game to me and be done with it. He isn't much of a gamer and understand that NPCs have been standing in front of doorways, on ladders, in narrow roadways, and generally been a story-related nuisance since NES days. Nanki's just going to have to figure out what unrelated plot event will get the villager to move his butt out of the way.
The travel agent who booked mom and dad's cruise told dad about Google when he went to pick up their tickets this afternoon ^^; So he wanted to use it to look up information on where they're going. Of course, to use Google he first had to get online. After his modem redialed seven times he gave me a call. I had him retype his username and password... Then I got to thinking that that was too complicated for what the problem likely was... "Hey dad, do you have the phone line plugged into your computer?" "...I do now ^-^v" [sweatdrops!] You get today's Stupid User Award, dad. Congrats!
Pickles has been more affectionate than usual today. When I opened the door to feed her this morning she darted into the house. I put out her food and then put her back outside. Then when I left for work she darted into the garage. I left her in there ^^; When I got home this evening she followed me into the house through the back door. Her and Pepper are both in my room right now. Making pet like noises (actually, they're both licking themselves... don't want to dwell on that thought...) Mom and dad say it's because the weather has turned cool and she's looking for a warm house to stay in. I can accept that.
I almost forget, I had a dream with Ysa-chan and Chris in it last night! I dreamt that I was trying to go somewhere but the police had the southbound lanes of I-5 blocked, so I went drove north to Winston, OR and turned around and went south again. (Somehow it made sense in my dream that if I was already on the freeway when I got to the northern exit they'd let me continue south instead of blocking me). That didn't work and I was stuck.
I got off at the north freeway exit and went home. By the time I got there the traffic at the south exit was so backed up that traffic was going down my street of people trying to get out of town. (It's theoretically possible for this to happen if you imagine traffic backing up 5 or 6 miles in a rural area...) I somehow got to my house and there were so many people milling about. There were lots of hot, cranky travellers, so I set up a table outside and started handing out cups of water and iced tea.
My parents had somehow charmed their way through the blockades, had been all over the place, and decided to swing by to see how I was doing. Then Ysa and Chris showed up. They were travelling and got stuck by the blockades. I offered them refreshments. Ysa took the iced tea and Chris wanted a bottle of OJ. (They get better stuff 'cause they're my friends, yo!) I went into the house to get the OJ for Chris when I spotted a dog that had been running around my sub-basement like a mouse for a couple weeks. I followed it down through a hole to beneath the house and managed to grab a hold of it right when my alarm went off. Weird dream, at least no one died in it ^^;
I got my Evil Nancy profile for the tourney posted last night. I really wanted to get her introduction written today, but it didn't happen. It won't hurt anything to have it percolating in the back of my mind for another day. I'm starting to get excited. Lincoln made me a banner, though I think the one he sent me isn't finished yet. Going to ask him about it tomorrow. (I'll post the banner once I have the final one). I haven't played an evil-dark aligned character in one of these tourneys before, nor have I actually *sponsored* (only sidekicked). So it'll be interesting to say the least.
09.18.03 :: 06:57
Brr! It's getting to be about time that I bring the small space heater into my room. It was so hard getting out of bed this morning. I'd built myself a nice nest of blankets and it was so warm and cozy *_* Pickles slept on top of me most of the night. (The only time she wasn't squarely on my chest was when I managed to sleepily shove her off me and roll over to my side. Then she'd just find the highest point of Mt. Bean and sleep on top of that :P ) [Eyeballs her bed and the blanket nest longingly] Okay, time to go to work I guess...
09.18.03 :: 15:57
Lincoln's finished up the avatars and banners for the tourney, so now I get to show them off! ^^
  
09.18.03 :: 21:47
Yes, I blogged three times today, bite me. Anyhow... I finished my Evil Nancy intro ^_^ I'm feeling accomplished! Dad also remembered to get Pepper's license. Yay, I didn't have to pay for it ^^v I forgot to mention it earlier, but Pickles *purred* all night ¬.¬; Like, cat, are you going to sleep or just lay there and purr? I guess she's happy. She started buzzing like a chainsaw when I gave her and Pepper treats after dinner.
09.20.03 :: 11:52
No blog entry for last night. I got home around 8:30pm and was out cold by 9pm x.x; I don't usually go to bed so early, but I was really tired last night. I slept until 5am when the pets decided that they wanted to go outside *NOW* and wouldn't take "go away" for an answer. After they were squared away I went back to bed and slept until 9:30am.
I slept *a lot* and I feel so good right now ^^ So full of energy! I went to Costco and won! How do you win at Costco? You go there and get out in under an hour, spend less than $100, and only have one item in your cart that wasn't on your original shopping list. A winner is Bean!
Yesterday was kinda cool. I helped the county commissioner with her computer. (She's, like, the mayor for all the people who don't live in a city, like me ^^; ) I was on the phone with her and her aide(?). Afterwards the aide called back to tell my manager how nicely I took care of the commissioner's problems :) Yay.
Let's see, one of the admins gave me more permissions on the servers so that I can create virtual domains now :) (Which means I'll have more work, I'm sure, but I don't mind. I was getting bored at work again ^^; ) Next thing you know I'll have the privileges to the crisper drawer!
09.21.03 :: 17:04
I've been way too productive for a Sunday ¬.¬; I spent the late morning / early afternoon with my Aunt Ginny getting her hooked up with her new computer. I'm sure she'll like it once she digs in (her sisters were visiting while I was there, so it was tech-ing with an audience ^^; )
Aunt Ginny's still all for the idea of making the room next to mine into my bedroom and this room into my work room (or however it'll work out). She's going to come over here next Saturday and help me work on getting things cleaned out. (My work room has turned more into a storage room ^^; ) So, when I got home from helping her I watched a bit of football (stupid Chargers) and went off to start the cleaning. I filled three paper-boxes with anime tapes o.O; And I probably have another box worth that I didn't put away (I have them on some shelves 'cause I still like to watch them). Darn it Here is Greenwood needs to come out on DVD! Then I got tired, so I'm taking a blogging break ^^;
The tree on the corner of my yard has got me concerned. It's a needle type tree (I don't remember the word :P ) and its usually green needles are turning brown. None of my other trees are turning brown yet and that tree doesn't usually drop needles like that. I'm wondering whom I'd contact to ask them if the tree is okay. I know the neighbors wouldn't object if I had it taken down (for how many hundreds? thousands? of dollars?). Augh.
09.22.03 :: 18:44
I've gotten a lot of advice on what the problem with the tree might be. Thanks everyone! I've called an arborist to come out on Wednesday and take a look at it 'cause (it could be my imagination) but it's looking worse ¬.¬; It's just not *full* anymore. I remember hiding in the limbs of that tree when I was a chibi-terror and now you can see right through it. Not good. I'm trying to convince my dad to come out to the house when the arborist is here and be involved in the decision making process :P (It is still his house, though I make the decisions regarding it...) He's being so stubborn! "Don't let them cut it down! Don't spend any money!" Hello, reality check here. The arborist advertised free estimates in the phone book, that's why I chose him after calling around :P Plus, if the tree is dying I'm going to have it taken down. I don't want it to hit the power lines, a neighbor's house, or ME! (Call me paranoid after dodging the trees on the east end of the property that hit my room and fell over with me standing right next to 'em...)
My back is bleeding right now --; I scratched an itch at work and think I took a mole off or something =/ Glad I was wearing a black shirt today so no one could see the blood, and I got one of the front desk gals to bandage it for me. When I had my mom check it out this evening it was still bleeding. She re-bandaged it. When I checked it not long ago it was *STILL BLEEDING*. (This is, like, two hours later.) Y'know, this makes me wonder how they can remove moles and such without the steady stream of blood...
I've come to the conclusion that Pickles purrs in her sleep. It was like having a buzz saw going at the end of my bed last night. She hasn't felt inclined towards sleeping on top of me since that first night, thank goodness. Now that I've said something I've jinxed myself and I'll find her on my face tomorrow morning :P
09.23.03 :: 21:22
Microsoft is on my shit list right now because of the Xbox. Now, keep in mind that I like my Xbox, I really do. I've defended it countless times against mindless anti-MS drones who've never touched one except maybe once in a game store display. I have the Xbox Live service even though I don't use it that often, that's fine. I wasn't even peeved when they installed their newest dashboard on my system without freaking *warning* me first. (Now when I turn the system on it kindly reminds me that I'm a *LOSER* with four friends on my list who are never, ever on. Thanks Bill).
No, what got my goad was when I went on the Xbox Live website to check out the Scoreboard it had listed on my dashboard. First it wanted my MSN passport. Hrm, damn MS site, alright, I stick that in there. Then it wants me to freaking *reregister* even though I *have* an Xbox Live account. Do you know how I have one? Because I was a BETA tester! MS wants to link my Xbox to my MSN account, how about freaking linking my ALREADY EXISTING Xbox Live account to my Passport instead?!
But that wasn't what ticked me off. What ticked me off was when it wanted the name on my credit card and last four digits of the number before it would link the account. EXCUSE ME?! Don't you think that's being a WEE-BIT INTRUSIVE?! I know that you like to think those numbers are secure but they're not. On any receipt I get for using that card to pay for a product will either have the *ENTIRE* number on it or the last five digits along with my name. In other words some punk kid could root through my trash and get the numbers MS wants to use to confirm my card. Morons.
And the Xbox Live website has become even more of a shameless promotion and less useful than ever, I'm sorry to say. The Scoreboard feature I was curious to see didn't even LIST THE GAMES I PLAY ONLINE --; Y'know, Capcom vs. SNK 2EO, Whacked, etc. Thanks a lot for wasting my time, Microsoft. I'm going to go back to Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced now.
09.24.03 :: 21:49
This is going to be a long entry with a lot of ranting and random other crap. Where to start? Hmm... The arborist came by this evening and looked at the tree. He said it was perfectly okay and that all the brown limbs was normal o.O; I'm not quite buying that, so I'm going to keep a close eye on the tree ¬.¬;
Pisces6 made me a new LJ icon (I'd forgotten that I'd even asked for it ^^; ) but it fits my mood today perfectly! I was on the warpath today. Actually, fed up is what I was. I won't go into my problems at work but they can be summed up by saying that I was upset over what my job description was, what others dumped on me, and how the two didn't match in the least --; My manager's a good guy and smoothed out my ruffled feathers while addressing the real issues. (I freely admit that half of what I was complaining about could be disregarded as it was brought on by pent up frustration, but the other half was legitimate complaint).
Key bank also landed on my shit list (it's going to be a long one this week). I closed my account with them because of the fees they charged and because they wouldn't leave me alone. At one point I stopped answering my phone because they'd multiple times every day looking for my father. Grr, anyhow, so I thought I was done with them and today they sent me an email asking me to take a survey to evaluate their online banking. The other day I received some other piece of junk mail from them. Fed up I emailed them and asked them (nicely, considering how peeved I was) to remove me from their contact lists. The service rep mailed back a canned answer about reading the privacy statement on their website. I sent back a response that I'd read it and it has nothing to do with her carrying out my request to remove me from their lists. She replied that I had to call their 800 number and verbally tell them to remove me.
Having lost on the email front I went to call the 800 number. After hearing a long speal that wasted a few minutes of my life at least I was given menu options. I tried to get an operator to do it for me and verbally give my request. When I got a human she told me I had to go through the menus and dumped me back into them. I fished through the menus again until I got to the one requesting my SSN. I tried to input it but it kept saying that my number wasn't on record. It had to be since that was my log in for the online banking and they were still sending me crap. [Insert several hang ups and redials and frustration here as I tried different routes through the menu maze.] After an hour I got to a human again and explained that it wouldn't accept my SSN and I wanted off the lists. He took down my information and said that he'd remove me. Thank you --; And if I receive any more crap I'm going to be mad and email this service rep again.
A neighbor on the other side of my house told me yesterday that the cat's name isn't Pickles, it's Peanut. Y'know what, as long as I'm feeding her, her name is Pickles.
Dynasty Tactics 2 came out today. It was a notable exception on my gaming wish list. Like, I *wish* I could get into the first one and enjoy it. I really like tactical / strategy games, that's obvious by my adoration for FFTA and Disgaea, but I just can't get into DT. The chain combo system is confusing and limiting. You can just go up to a unit and attack from behind, no, you have to perform some sort of combo on them if you expect to kill more than 10 men. That's annoying and cuts out a lot of strategy options =/ Maybe if DT2 drops to $20 (which I doubt it will since DW2 is still selling for $25 used here) I'll pick it up, but I'm not going to spend $50 on it. I made that mistake with the first one...
I had a couple of incredible callers today. The very first one I got was a man who thought that his email to his son in another country wasn't going because it was an international email. (He thought email stopped at the border). I assured him that it didn't and it turned out that his problem was that he had his son's email spelled wrong. Later on I had a caller who insisted on calling his computer the "TV" or "set". It confused me for a moment until I realized what he was doing. I tried to correct him, but to no avail. So he kept saying things like "I can't get my TV online" and "I turn the set off when I'm done sending email." ^^;
I was going to spend some time discussing my ideas for the next SeeDfic, but it's my bedtime. Maybe those'll make it the blog another time when I'm less tired / stressed. Phht has been going to great lengths to define exactly what a Battle Skimmer can and can't do. That'll be important in the next story :) Check out his FF8 d20 RPG :)
09.25.03 :: 20:33
Work was better today. I got a lot of problems fixed and that always makes me feel good. I'm most proud of getting the Christian bookstore's DSL going again. I'd been sweating bullets about that because it's a big account and our DSL partner kept jerking us around (sent the modem a day late and it was supposed to be shipped overnight). Lincoln and Dan came to bat on the programming of the router and we got them going, yay ^^
Hrm, I spent about an hour or so this evening clearing out the room next to mine. I kind of want to get it all boxed up before my Aunt or Jeffy get here. (Jeffy kindly agreed to help clear out the room on Saturday :) Anyhow, boxing it up myself gives me a chance to go through the memories without anyone asking questions ^^; Heh, I might even label a box or two that; "Memories". I'd like to get rid of a lot of the stuff in that room (and in this house) but it's not mine --; It's kind of like I'm living in the family's storage shed. If that's how it has to be I'm gonna try to box as much of it up as I can and get it out of my way. I'm a packrat enough myself without other people's junk getting in the way :P
Been playing a bit more of FFTA (I haven't much this week). I've completed 71 missions, Clan level 20, and still in the second set of laws. I really should advance the story here sooner or later :P I'm just peeved that I *had* a piece of Jerky and lost it somewhere. I think I lost it when one of my people failed a mission. Grr. I need that Jerky to complete a mission :P
The writing tourney has been delayed 'til Oct 5th because of school. I can understand that. School take priority, after all.
09.26.03 :: 21:45
Yay, Jeffy's here! But we're sitting in my bedroom in complete darkness o.o; No, ecchi, we're not doing anything except IMing each other even though we're less than 6ft apart :P One of the bulbs in the overhead light fixture blew out. When I took the bulb out i found the bulb broken at the base with no glass that i can use with a potato to get it out --; (Er, y'know, stick half a potato on the glass so you can get the rest of the bulb out? Yeah, anyhow..) So tomorrow I'm going to turn off the power to this room and see if I can get the broken part of the bulb out. Gyah, what a pain, but I sort of remember doing it not long ago... hmm...
Been thinking a lot more on the next SeeDfic story (which Phht has helpfully given the title of "SeeDfic2" to). I need to sit down with a pad and paper and outline. I feel the creative juices starting to flow and the pieces of outline coming into place. This'll be good, yeah :)
09.27.03 :: 22:55
I'm freaking tired and this is what I've been doing all day. I'm going to bed.
09.28.03 :: 21:28
It's been another full day. Jeffy, Ginny, and I painted the bedroom today. I don't have the picture for that yet (Jeffy took them). I'll get them posted once he gives them to me. After Jeffy left Ginny and I went out to run some errands. We picked up a couple long tables from Costco (they're going to be the work surfaces in my work room). She left after that and I still had plenty to do... but not before I took a nap x.X; I hadn't slept well last night 'cause my shoulders were so sore from taking down the wallpaper.
When I woke up I went down to the print shop to get some boxes. I need to box up my bedroom temporarily until we're done moving furniture around in both rooms. My God, I have too much stuff --; I've used seven boxes already and I've barely put a dent in it. All I've boxed are my books, CDs, DVDs, and games x.x; (And most of my books were previously boxed 'cause I'd ran out of room for them =/ ) Anyhow, I also talked dad into coming out to the house to fix the light fixture in my current bedroom. When he stuck his hand up there it literally fell apart in his hand --; Yeah, the fixture is going to have to be replaced while we're doing all this other work. [Adds it to the list.]
My parents have also been hounding me about coming down to the print shop for training on how to run it. A few things I'd like to point out. First, I've done this before, remember all the random days here and there I've been left on my own to tend the shop. The only difference is that it's going to be two weeks worth of days in a row. Second, however many hours in the day they believe I have, they've greatly overestimated. Third, I'm a selfish bitch and renovating the house is my top priority ¬.¬; I really want my new bedroom and work room. But yeah, I'll get what they want done. I always manage to pull it together somehow, right? I know I need to spend some time with them so that I know where item X is currently hidden, but don't sit on me. I've got enough on my platter without being nagged.
09.29.03 :: 19:21
I didn't sleep at all last night x.x; I tossed and turned and every time I checked the clock only 10 minutes had passed. That made for a looooooong night, let me tell ya =/ Despite that I was pretty awake and peppy at work. I did mostly DSL and cable Internet issues today. I'm going to throttle our cable Internet partner tomorrow, though --; Their support email address is returning mail as "unknown user", the online tools aren't working, and when I called the office they'd already left for the day (early). Yeah, I can tell you that they've got problems right now and I'm going to add to them ¬.¬
09.30.03 :: 15:05
I should probably feel bad about this, but I *REALLY* rattled the cage of our cable Internet partner this morning ^^; I tried to send the trouble ticket in again and got the unknown user error. So I called over to the office and got a receptionist who was all too happy to transfer me over to voice mail. ... So I left a voice mail message in every techs' voice box >=) I waited an hour. Tried sending in the ticket again. No go, so I called again and did the voice mail box thing again. I waited an hour. Tried sending in the ticket again. No go, so I called again and asked for the techs' cell phone numbers. The receptionist actually gave them to me! @.@; [stunned] (I *know* her butt got chewed for that. You never give out techs' cell numbers ^^; )
So I ran down the list of numbers until I finally found a tech who answered her cell phone and told her about my ticket. Hehehe... Twenty minutes later I got a call from the tech telling me that their email was fixed. A couple hours after that I got a call from the lead tech wanted to make sure we had all of our contact info in sync. And a half hour after that I got an email from a third tech telling me that the ticket I submitted was fixed. I'm just, like, *stunned* because this is the most response I've *ever* gotten from them. My manager is surprised as well since it can be like pulling teeth to get them to co-operate with us. I'm feeling pretty good right now ^^; I don't expect them to jump the instant I email, but Lincoln had been trying to contact them since Friday with no luck. ^^;
09.30.03 :: 20:47
Work on the house continues after I took yesterday evening off to rest. I cleaned out my closet. Too bad I'm an accomplished packrat ^^; I pulled out four bags worth of clothes going back to the 6th grade to give to the Goodwill and two bags of garbage o.O; My aunt came by today with curtains she made for my new room. They look absolutely fabulous and you all should be insanely jealous; they're great ;)
I want to get some writing done tonight, but more than likely I'll waste the rest of the evening away playing FFTA ^^; I've completed 83 missions and am clan level 23 now! :D Oh, and I should throw eating dinner in there somewhere. I haven't done that yet ^^;
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