Archive, 2nd Half of 2005


12/28/2005:
I need to update more often. I've been very busy this past couple of weeks, but it's getting to the point where I can't remember what I've been so busy doing. Of course there is work, which takes a large chunk out of each weekday. There has been some D&D, UT2004, Warcraft 3, and a little bit of World of Warcraft. I've been talking with Joanna a lot, which is good. I did have a day to myself back on last Sunday, a week before Christmas. I swore not to drive anywhere, and I kept my vow. I remember playing UT2004 and Warcraft 3 that day, talking with Joanna, and finally finishing my unpacking. I have things on my walls now, pictures, posters, and weapons. Makes it feel much more like home :) I had planned to play some World of Warcraft, but I don't think I ever did.

My Christmas was mostly good. It was good that I got to see my parents and other members of my family. It was good to give and receive nice gifts. I got new work shoes and belts, and new boots. Also some DVDs: The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, and all 3 Invader Zim DVDs :) It was not good that neither Joanna nor my sister were able to come to VT to join us in our Christmas celebration. It was not good that I was not able to comfort Joanna in the ways she needed, because I was too far away. It was not good to feel ill for most of Christmas weekend. That started on Thursday, with my stomach feeling a bit "off", and escalated to me feeling downright ill on Christmas eve and every day afterwards until yesterday. Today it's back again, and I feel crappy. If I hadn't agreed to work some overtime tonight, to cover a scheduling botch, I probably would have gone home early. I'm feeling a little better than I was earlier today, but food is still not agreeing with me. I don't know why this is. Sure, I'm stressed about some things, but most of my current stress is due to the fact that I simply don't feel well, which adds to my stress, which adds to my not feeling well. Which sucks.

I hope that tomorrow I feel better. I was good yesterday, and thought I was getting over whatever was afflicting me, but it returned today with a vengence. I don't know if it's just my nerves getting to me severely, or if I really am sick with some sort of virus. I'm really at a loss at this point. I hope I can be better for this weekend, as we bring in the new year with another Slobfest. I'm running the campaign this year, and I have some good things planned. I can always game, and gaming usually makes me feel better, but I'd hoped to at least feel decent going into this weekend. I found out I have next Monday off from work, as a holiday. I plan to take that day for myself, to rest and not do anything too strenuous. Hopefully this extra day of rest will help me feel healthier, and I can survive the week better as a result.

Page Updates:
- updated Dragon-Rider main page (Happenings section)


12/11/2005:
Last weekend, I moved into a new, bigger apartment. This means I spent most of the previous week packing up all my stuff. I didn't think I had much stuff, but as I packed, and packed, I found that I really do have a decent amount of stuff. Not too much, though. The move went well. Steph, Doug, Chris, Sean, and myself took about 3 and 1/2 hours to move it all down the stairs, down the sidewalk, and back up the stairs to my 2-bedroom place. Here I am a little over a week later, and I still haven't fully unpacked yet, but I'll get there. The important stuff is done: computer is set up, TV and couch are in place, bed is made. The dining room table is reassembled, and has chairs around it. Still need to hang things on the walls. I have a calendar up; that's as far as I've gotten. I plan to do some more unpacking this week.

Last week was busy. I worked the first 2 days, then drove to VT after work on Tuesday. I had a doc's appointment in VT on Wednesday afternoon, then drove back down here. Much tiredness. The doc's appointment went well. It was a follow-up to my leg injury a couple of years ago. The doctor has pronounced me healed! :) I want to get the steel taken out, so we were talking about that. I may try and get it done before the wedding, but I'll have to see what the scheduling looks like. I want to go out and see Joanna in February, and I don't want to be healing during that time (the doc said I'd probably be out of work for a week, possibly 2, as it takes some work to get the steel out, and my flesh will need to heal). So we'll see. I may wait until next year.

My second 2 days of work were very busy. We were swamped Thursday, and then we had a big snowstorm Friday morning, and one of my team members called out. Another one was in training, so we were at 4 out of the usual 6. Made the day go by fast, if nothing else. Friday night, I actually went out ;) Got home around 8, had some dinner, then left around 9, and headed to a bar/lounge to celebrate my friend Nikki's birthday. I hadn't seen her in about 2 years, and it was very good to spend some time with her. I had only planned to hang out for an hour or so, but I didn't end up leaving her and her friends' company until 12:30. I got to meet some of her friends: Freddie, Kissy, Nikki (another one), Dave, and.. another girl whose name is escaping me. It was good to get out for a change; I was actually able to relax, which is something I haven't done around strangers in...quite a long time. It helps that these are the kind of strangers that made me feel like a friend right away :)

Saturday, Pete, Roland, Joe, and I went out. We saw Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, then went out for dinner at "Smokey Bones" in Springfield. I had a really, really good time. The movie was all I had hoped it would be. Powerful in action and emotion, with a musical score that supported the scenes wonderfully. I am still surprised they got by on a PG rating, but since it was as I had hoped, I have no complaints. Dinner was excellent, as it always is at that restaurant. I had BBQ chicken, fries, and broccoli, and of course I brought some home. I had it for dinner tonight, and have enough left for dinner tomorrow night, too :) It was great to get out with friends and relax, talk, and have a good time.

Today, I did some Christmas shopping, and also picked up some other things I've been needing at the new place. I am almost done with my shopping now. I plan to pick up 1 more thing for my Mom, and then I am done. I have wrapped my sister's gift, so I can mail it out to her Wednesday. I still need to finish wrapping the rest, but I still have a couple of weeks before Christmas :)

I got some work done on my campaign for Slobfest this weekend, as well. I still have more work to do, but it's getting there. Also finally got some time to play World of Warcraft for a few hours this weekend. I finally got Berrin up to 36, and I'm more than 1/2 way to 37 now. I'll hit 60 yet. Will probably take me quite a long while, but I'll get there eventually.

Page Updates:
- added a Contacts section to the dragon-rider main page, at Heather's request. It will help to provide contact points for those who may be reading but do not know us. Do not be afraid to contact us :)


11/22/2005:
It was brought to my attention yesterday that I haven't updated in almost a month. I really thought I had posted after my Long Island trip, but apparently that is not the case. Well, definitely time for an update, then.

My weekend trip to Long Island was really fun. Turned out to be a World of Warcraft weekend, which I had no idea about until I arrived and saw multiple computers set up along the dining room table. We didn't really do much except play the game all weekend, but it was an awesome time because everyone was there to chat and hang out with. I look forward to the next time we can get together. Speaking of World of Warcraft, things are still going well. Berrin is almost up to 35 now, and I created a little Gnome Warrior on the same server, who is currently just 5th level.

The week after Long Island dragged by, as I waited in anticipation of last week's journey to Canada. I drove out on Saturday, making excellent time -- it took me 6 and 1/2 hours, including stops and the border crossing, to make it from Chicopee to Hamilton. I duplicated this result on the return trip ;) Traffic was moving really nicely in both directions. I got a little lost in Hamilton, as is the norm. The first time I drove out, I really had no idea how to get to the house where Joanna lived, so I expected to have to call when I got close. The second time, I got off the wrong exit, and therefore ended up going the wrong way for awhile, but managed to find my way without calling. This time, I got off the correct exit, but still ended up going the wrong way. It took me probably an extra 1/2 hour, of making U-turns and talking fervently to myself, before I reached the correct apartment building. This allowed me a little more "explore-time" of Hamilton, though, so it was ok.

The week went very well. I was feeling much healthier than the last week I went out to visit, and that always helps immensely. We got to get out a lot more than last time; we took a couple of trips downtown, and visited a couple of malls. I got to see the store where Joanna works, and meet her co-workers. They all seem like very nice girls. We also visited her good friends Hillary and Jessica on Sunday night, and had dinner at their place. It was fun, though as usual, I couldn't eat very much.

On Tuesday, I went to school with Joanna. I attended her Japanese class and met her sensei. She is a very nice lady, and I like her teaching style. Instead of just teaching the words and phrases, she inserts little bits of Japanese culture into the teachings. I think this is very important, and helps enhance the learning process. I enjoyed the class, and was attentive during it, though I cannot recall any of the new words I learned. The second class I attended was Roman Architecture. The teacher looked at me strangely when I came in and sat down, and soon inquired who I was and why I was there. She was fine with the explaination that I was just visiting. This class was not very exciting, and I spent the time working on my D&D campaign :) It was pouring rain out after class, so we rode the bus home instead of walking.

The rest of the week was quite leisurely. As mentioned, we took some trips downtown, and visited a couple of the malls nearby. The weather was generally windy, cold, and rainy; pretty much the usual for the season. We watched movies and TV, we played video games, we spent a lot of time being close and loving. It was a great week.

Page Updates:
- updated Dragon-Rider main page (Happenings section)


11/02/2005:
Spent a very enjoyable weekend in VT. I took Friday off, to get a long weekend, as we were supposed to have company at my parents' house. Our company was unable to come, but that was fine with me; I was happy just to spend the long weekend up there. On Friday, Mom and I spent a lot of time together. We talked a lot, and played a couple of board games: Sorry!, and Scrabble (always a personal favorite). I also stacked a bit of wood for my Dad, in preparation for the coming winter. On Saturday, Dad and I did some work, mostly more stacking of wood. Then we took a very enjoyable ride on the ATVs, as the weather was beautiful. We rode some of the trails near my parents' house, then cut off through the woods, as we both enjoy breaking our own trails, finding better ways to get from here to there :) As we were riding across an open field, I though the steering felt a little loose on the front of the ATV I was riding (1985 Honda 250 Fourtrax). We got into the woods, crossed a small stream, and I got hung up on a bit of rock. This is when I noticed the real issue: when I moved the handlebars, only 1 front tire moved; the other one stayed pointing straight ahead. I though I broke the tie-rod, but it had just come out of its slot on the inside of the rim. I dropped the end back into its slot, then we rode slowly back to my Dad's shop. I stripped a nut off an old ATV at my parents' house, which we use for parts, and repaired my ATV with it. Drove a pin into the existing hole to help hold the nut in place, and now it's all set. Good for another 20 years! :)

Saturday night, Jesse came over for a few hours. We played Naval War and talked games, mostly D&D, with some World of Warcraft thrown in. Sunday, we stacked the rest of the wood that was in the pile out front. My Dad recently purchased a few cows, so now he's got his own small herd roaming around the nearby fields. It was decided this herd (7 cows) should be moved from the field right near our house over into the one behind my Dad's shop. My Mom and I took care of this, as Dad had some other work he needed to do. The cows are very well mannered, and the move was pretty easy. I did have to pressure some of the younger ones into following the rest of the cows, but it was all enjoyable, and good exercise. Once we got them moved over and the gate shut, I helped my Dad cut up a tree that had fallen on the new electric fence nearby. He then used the tractor to drag the tree away, into a more open area, where it would be easier to cut up.

I do like doing manual labor. It is very refreshing, and makes me feel healthier. It doesn't take long for "working man's hands" to develop again. Just that work I did over the weekend was enough to generate hands a bit rougher in feel, complete with new scrapes, cuts, and scratches. I wouldn't want to do it all the time, but I am happy to help out where needed :)

This weekend, I head to Long Island to spend time with good friends. I am really looking forward to it.

Page Updates:
- updated the Link of the Now
- added World of Warcraft to my list of favorite games


10/23/2005:
On Wednesday, I wrote about what had been going on recently, but I didn't write anything about that day or its related adventures. I took Wednesday off from work, mainly just not to work, but I ended up getting a lot done. I did some shopping at Stop & Shop and also Better Life Whole Foods in Springfield. I got a pair of passport photos taken, for when I submit my passport application form. This is something I've been meaning to do for awhile now, and just haven't gotten to it. A passport is something that is useful to have, and they are good for a number of years before needing renewal. I also revisited the auto shop that had taken the required insurance photos of my new car. I got a notice in the mail that 3 of the necessary photos were never received, so I had those retaken, and that is now all set. Also, I received a note from Joanna in the mail, along with 2 passport-style photos. These I packaged with 2 of my passport-style photos, and mailed them off to the immigration portion of the government, so they can continue to process our request that Joanna be allowed into the country legally so we can be wed. I plan to check the status of this request this coming week, to see if there is any sort of hopeful information about it.

While I was in the plaza near Better Life Whole Foods, I found a little bird. I had just put my recently purchased food in the car, when I heard a fluttering sound from behind my vehicle. I walked around and looked down, spotting a small, colorful bird that was obviously not a native of New England. He had a yellow head and breast, with green wings and a blue-feathered tail, and was about the size of a parakeet. Someone had obviously lost their pet bird. I tried to get him to come to me, and he'd hop over to about 1 foot away, then hop away again. If I tried to catch him, he just fluttered enough to get about 5 feet away, then would land again and chirp. I first went back to Better Life and asked if there was a pet shop nearby, or if anyone had reported losing a pet bird. They reported no, not that they had heard of, and suggested checking the Animal Grooming shop a few doors down. I checked with them, and they likewise said no, but a few of the ladies there were curious enough to get a small cage and follow me out into the parking lot to look at the little bird. He was really cute. They likewise tried to catch him, and we soon found he could fly very well, as he took off towards the stores, landing gracefully on the sidewalk. We made several attempts, and each time, the bird gracefully flew away. Eventually, it flew so far that we decided it wasn't going to be caught. The nice ladies said they'd post something at their shop and call the local animal shelter to report the bird sighting. Hopefully it made its way home.

Before I had left the apartment to do my errands, I had been looking online for local establishments where I might obtain a professional massage. My back had been bothering me for a few weeks, and I decided I'd like to have one done. Those who have received them and have told me about them have given these professional works high praise. I called a few places, and left voicemails for two of them. One lady called me back, said she didn't have anything for that day, but gave me a different number to call, of someone who may be able to provide a massage on Saturdays, which would be useful to me. On my way back home from getting my picture taken for my passport form submission, I decided to stop in to one of the places I had called. From looking at their website, it looked like they offered a number of things I was interested in, including the aforementioned massage. The name of the place is Abundant Wellness, and it's located right here in Chicopee. I was not disappointed. It is a small establishment, but as you can see (if you looked at the website), they offer quite a variety of services. The woman who I met upon entering, Debbie, was very nice, and gave me a tour of the place, explaining some of the things they do there. I received a calendar, and also made an appointment for my massage, later on that day. The massage was awesome. Knots of muscle were found that I didn't even know about, and they were all worked on. Back and shoulders, arms and legs, hands and feet and head, all were attended. I advise anyone considering a professional massage to do it. If you're in the local area, I highly recommend Abundant Wellness as a place to go for it. :)

This weekend, I did some shopping for myself and Joanna. I purchased some Xmas gifts for her, as she is unfortunately not going to be able to be here this Xmas. I am going out to see her in mid-November, and will give her the gifts then. While I was doing the shopping for her, I also got some things for myself. I picked up another pair of pants for work (I tried them on today, and they fit great...I was worried they'd be too short), and also 3 more white undershirts, also for work. I could still use some more button-down shirts, but I feel I'm in pretty good shape there for now. I also bought a new laundry basket, as mine was mostly broken on 2 sides, and in need of replacement. The one I got is a bit bigger, and much more sturdy. I'm hanging onto the other one for now, to store things in as needed, at least until I make my move to a bigger apartment. I also bought 3 DVDs: Constantine, Tombstone, and Brotherhood of the Wolf. I think maybe I'll watch Tombstone tonight. I've always really enjoyed the movie. First, though, there will be some World of Warcraft. Hoping to hit 30th with Berrin tonight.

Ok, huge update, hope whoever's reading enjoyed the read. Hopefully see some of you online, in one place or another. Oh, and speaking of online, as of right now, I can't use AIM at work, due to security concerns. Hopefully by the end of this coming week, we'll be able to use it again. A heads-up for those that are used to seeing me online during the day.


10/19/2005:
The last few weeks have been busy. I've been meaning to update since last week, but, well... I didn't get to it. A couple weekends ago, Roland and I hit the theater for Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. I really enjoyed the movie. The animation, the music, the story was all wonderfully done. I'd see it again. This past Sunday, I finally got to watch Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I found it quite enjoyable. It's the kind of movie you'd really need to have read the books to understand, though. Someone who hasn't read them would certainly enjoy the humor, I'm sure, but I think I got more out of it from having read the books before.

I started exercising daily last Monday. Stretching, a few simple yoga poses, a few martial arts poses and exercises I remember, plus I try and get a little walk in each day. I've found that on the days I work, exercising at night works best. On the days I have off, I do a little something in the morning. I look forward to keeping it up. Already I am feeling better overall, as I've been sleeping and eating a little better since I started. I still have a lack of energy a lot of the time, but I think that will improve as well as the weeks go on. Hopefully I can get a little padding on these bones, because really, I need it.

Amidst the busy-ness at work and the exercise, I have also made time to get some gaming in. We played Pete's D&D campaign 2 weekends ago, and hopefully will be playing mine this coming weekend. This past Saturday, I put in about 6 hours of UT2004 with clan Apoc. I've also been playing World of Warcraft. Berrin, my Dwarf Hunter, hit 28th last night. I also have an Undead Priest named Terosas, on the Maelstrom server, who is up to 9th now.

I'm coming up on some busy weekends. This coming weekend will be the last I spend here in MA for about 5 weeks. I have trips to VT, Long Island, and Canada planned, and I'm looking forward to all of them. Only a few more weeks until I can hold my love again...


10/05/2005:
Had a good weekend. Sean and I saw Serenity on Saturday. I haven't seen any of Firefly, but I really enjoyed the movie. There were some very powerful moments, and I still think about them even now, several days after seeing it. I look forward to the next time I watch it, probably when it comes to DVD. After the movie, I went over to Pete's, and hung out with him and Kris. When Roland arrived, we played my D&D campaign for 6 hours or so. After a major battle, the PCs have left the Ethereal Plane. They need to go back, however, in order to rescue those who may still remain there. One of their companions, Ingle, halfling cleric of St. Cuthbert, was slain during the battle. I suspect the next session will bring about his resurrection, and a return to the mists of the Ethereal.

On Sunday, I attended the Western MA Pagan Pride festival in Amherst. I saw Jodi, Chris, and Rachel there, along with two others I've met before but cannot recall the names of... Also got to meet some new people, which is always nice. Maybe I'll even get to see some of them again. There were many vendors, all selling different items, and I looked through most of what was offered. I brought some money, as I planned on buying a few things, and I was not disappointed. I purchased a new faerie shirt that I look forward to showing off to friends soon :) It is made by the same company that made my other faerie shirt. I also bought a new package of incense, which I have yet to burn any of. My final purchase was of a new dagger - it is shiny, with a wire-wrapped hilt. I look forward to hanging it up soon, to display it. One of these days I'll have a weapons case with which to display all my weapons in one place, without putting more holes in the walls (with the nails, not the swords :) ). They had a little ritual in the afternoon, at the festival, but I did not join in. I was content to spend time with my friends, and watch the others dance in the circle. Overall an enjoyable experience. I look forward to when I can attend another.

Page Updates:
- archived posts from the 2nd half of 2004 and 1st half of 2005, so this page now loads more quickly


09/28/2005:
Not sure if anyone noticed but me, but this site was down for a few days. My webhost took care of the problem, though. That's what I pay them for :) (and to host my site, of course).

Another good weekend, less busy than the last. Played some WoW, cleaned my bathroom, vacuumed, did a bit of shopping. Played D&D on Saturday (Pete's campaign). We're off to the deadly, mysterious swamp next session, where people who go in do not come back out. Hopefully we will come back out. Some of us hit 4th level at the end of the session. My rogue, Robin, was one of them. He's all leveled up now, and ready to go. Hopefully we'll be playing my campaign this Saturday, where the PCs will really start their adventure in the Ethereal Plane :)

I visited Barnes & Noble on Saturday, before game. I was in a mood to look for spiritual information and guidance books, and thus perused the New Age section for awhile, before leaving without buying anything. I came to a realization while I was there, that what I am seeking right now cannot be found in any book. I need to search inside myself, and remember what has been forgotten, and write it down so I do not forget again. I started writing some things down about this, after I returned from my trip to the store. Hopefully it will turn into something for me, as I ponder what is inside.

Page Updates:
- added a World of Warcraft pics section (Pics/Game Screenshots/World of Warcraft), and put a few pics up


09/21/2005:
The weekend was good, but very busy. Celebrated Sean's birthday on Saturday, with a get-together at his place. We had quite the crew - Sean, Sarah, Ian, Mckenzie, myself, Roland, Kris, Pete, Nathan, Jenn, and later on, Jeff and his girlfriend, whose name I can't remember right now. We played some Mario Party 5 on the Gamecube, and played the boardgame Cranium for awhile. Spent lots of time talking about things, and generally having a good time. Kris made cake. It was good.

Sunday, we played D&D! My campaign. Things went well. PCs have just taken their first steps, as a group, into the Ethereal Plane. We'll continue from there next session. Looking forward to it.

Since Joanna left, I haven't been sleeping very well when I'm here. When I went down to Chris and Dave's a few weekends ago, I slept fine. But here...some nights, I'm fine. More often, though, I wake in the night several times, and don't feel very rested. Even on the weekends, when I can "sleep in", I'm up at the usual get-up-for-work time. This week has been especially sleep-depraved, it seems. I dropped my hours back one hour, working 10-7 now. This is fine with me; I've been wanting to go back to a little earlier. It's just that this week was tired enough already, and this 1 hour change made it more tired. Plus, we've had a lot of Realm activity recently, especially this week.

Due to pure exhaustion, I didn't go to work today. I woke up tired, but forced myself to stay up, to get my body used to the new schedule. I called in, and no one else had called out, so I know work is fine without me. I did get some things done today, and feel good about that. I got my insurance inspection done for my car, which is the last major thing I have to do (besides pay it off, of course). I got some work done on my D&D campaign, and also on the story I'm writing, based on the same. I played some World of Warcraft, got my hunter up to 16th level. Chatted with friends. Spent some quality time with my cat. Took a nice walk in the beautiful weather. Washed my dishes. Did my grocery shopping. Paid some bills. I've been pretty much constantly tired all day. I look forward to an early bedtime. Probably be there by 10. Hopefully I'll sleep all the way through 'til morning.

Had a nice talk with Joanna last night, via MSN and our webcams :) She's so beautiful. I love her.

Page Updates:
- updated Dragon-Rider main page (Happenings section)


09/13/2005:
Had a very productive weekend. Ran errands on Saturday, including a trip to the mall to pick up my official copy of World of Warcraft . I still have about 40 free days left, with the PC Gamer trial + my free month for buying the game, but I can now play the remainder of my trial with a real account, which means I can trade with other players :) After running my errands, I played some of the aforementioned game. Then I headed over to Pete's, where we played several hours of D&D, which went fairly well. One of our party members died, but it was expected that would happen, as the player had left, and I was left playing the additional character. He died valiantly in battle, as he wanted to go. Oskar, you will be missed. After D&D, there was more World of Warcraft, and then sleep.

Sunday, I went car shopping. Might as well get right to the point: today, I drove to work in my new 2002 Honda Accord SE :) It's black and shiny, and I like it alot. The old Pontiac will be missed. It was a good car, but it was hurting in its old age. Much happiness. :)


09/09/2005:
It's been a real busy week, especially for a 4-day week. With Hurricane Katrina, and all the destruction she left in her wake, our claim representatives and catastrophy team have been working overtime, assessing the damages, and we are the ones who support them and the technical problems encountered.

Thankfully, it's Friday, and I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend. I plan to do some car shopping tomorrow, as my car is getting old, and tired. It still runs decently, but it has some major problems, and I worry that in the future, it may suffer some extreme failure, which would not be worth putting the money into to fix. I'm going to start at the local Honda dealership, as I have heard high praise for the brand. I think the Civic is too small of a car for me, but I will be looking at those, and also at the Accord, which is more my size (I like a larger vehicle, as most of you can attest). I will also look into other brands, but I need to start somewhere :) I am also planning a short trip to the mall, and possibly a haircut. Later on in the afternoon, I will be playing lots of D&D. We're playing Pete's campaign tomorrow, for the first time in many weeks. Plus, we have a new player. I'm looking forward to meeting him, and doing some more adventuring.

I did end up getting new speakers, just a few days after my old ones died. They are really nice, Altec Lansing GT5051 speakers. They use an intersting technology, producing surround sound without the need for rear speakers. I've found the sound to be high quality, and the surround sound functionality is pretty solid. When used for music, the sound fills up the room a lot better than my old 2.1 speakers, which is to be expected, as I'm using 6.1 now :)

I've been playing World of Warcraft every night this week, and enjoying it greatly. Last night, I experienced something new: my first death (followed by my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th deaths, but we'll get to that). In this game, even death is interesting. When your character dies, you rise as a ghost, in the cemetary nearest your bind point. You get a pointer on the mini-map, showing you the way to your corpse, and you need to journey back to it to resurrect. I'm not sure how resurrection works when a cleric does it, but this is how self-resurrection works, anyway. The land of the dead is a bleached-out version of the real world. Everything is cast in lightened colors, whites, and grays. The ambient sound reminds me of the Lord of the Rings movies, when Frodo put on the ring. Granted, it still sucks to die, but at least the return journey is interesting.

I first died to a large wendigo, who really just beat the hell out of me, and used a frost attack that slowed me so I was unable to run away. The second time, I died to a bear, who apparently had a rather large aggro range. I had just killed a troll, and was at less than 1/2 hp, when a bear came up and mauled me. It led with a crit, and went downhill from there. I was dead before I really knew what was going on. I ran back, resurrected myself, and proceeded on my hunt for trolls. I was doing pretty well, but then I attacked one troll, just before his buddy came around the corner, so I got him, too. I thought I could take them both, but then I got Faerie Fire cast on me, greatly reducing my AC. I tried to run away, but got a spear in the back, and died. Wooha. So I resurrect myself, again. There's a gnome warrior there, who asks if I want to group up and kill trolls. Sure, I accept. We're in the troll cave, and he pulls one. Suddenly, I get whupped from behind, as one -- then two -- trolls spawn right next to me. The gnome goes down in a flurry of blows, and tells me to run. I get to the cave exit, and am just about to clear the corner and get out of sight when I die, again from a spear. Damn spear-chuckers, anyway.

I suspect I'll be back at it tonight, hopefully with less deaths.


09/06/2005:
Has it really been that long since an update? Apparently so.

The past 2 weekends have been game-heavy, but that is fine by me. Two weekends ago, I took Friday off, so Joanna and I could get things done. We ran a lot of errands, and accomplished quite a lot during the day. Saturday, Roland came over, and we played lots of Majesty and Starcraft (got our asses kicked by the computer players in Starcraft; think we'll start with just 1 comp next time, and then go to 2 once we've remembered how to play well). Sunday was dreary, and I spent most of the day playing games, with Joanna watching. She enjoys watching the scary/creepy games, and I enjoy playing them :) We pulled the shades, which made it plenty dark in the apartment, and then I played the Doom 3 expansion. I was not too far from the end, and completed the game within an hour. I then loaded up Alien vs. Predator 2, and played through the entire Marine campaign. This game is damn creepy, too. Playing some of the Marine missions is just like being in the Aliens movie, complete with the motion detector, and limited lighting. I started playing the Alien missions the week after, but have not yet completed them yet.

Last week went by too quickly, and soon we reached the fated day, when Joanna had to go back to Canada for her final year of University. I took 1/2 of Thursday off, so we could have a few hours of time together before she had to leave (her bus left around 6:45 pm). Seeing her off was more draining, emotionally and mentally, then I had expected. I spent the rest of the evening feeling very restless, yet also unmotivated to do anything productive. I played some Alien vs. Predator 2, then watched some TV, then watched the first 30 minutes or so of Hellboy, then played some Diablo II. My apartment feels empty now, and I am that much more thankful to have Lynx there to keep me company. I slept fitfully, and when I woke, I felt that work was out of the question, so I called out. I went about my morning routine slowly, and by 11 or so I was ready to consider doing other things, such as driving down to CT for our planned LAN party. I called a few people, arranged for people to be home, and left around noon, arriving down at Chris and Dave's place quicker than expected (only took me 90 minutes; I thought it'd be at least 2 hours).

Our gaming weekend commenced straight from there. Attendees were: myself, Wills, Mark, Lex, Chris, and Dave. Matt, Chris' brother, came down Saturday afternoon and left Sunday evening. The rest of us were there the whole weekend, Friday - Monday. We played computer games: Alien vs. Predator 2, Warcraft III, Command and Conquer: Generals. We played card games: Magic: The Gathering, Munchkin, Munchkin-Fu. We stayed up late, we talked, laughed, and had a great time. I look forward to our next get-together :)

I returned home late afternoon yesterday, arriving back at my apartment around 4:30 pm. I unpacked, cleaned a few things, gave my cat some needed attention, and then...I played more video games. Amazing as it may seem, after all the gaming on the weekend, that is what I did. However, I did not play the same games. I played World of Warcraft. That's right. PC Gamer offered a free 14-day trial on their disc 2 months ago, but I never installed it. After talking about WoW over the weekend, I decided I definitely needed to try it out, even if just for the trial period.

I am really enjoying the game, as I knew I would. Everything is well detailed, and the game runs smoothly (though I think I'll have to turn my video options down a bit when I hit the more crowded areas). I have joined the Alliance, fighting against the Horde and its influence, on the Skullcrusher server. I am playing a Dwarven Hunter, and having a great deal of fun. I achieved 6th level last night, and am very close to 7th. I look forward to playing more tonight.


08/17/2005:
Happy Birthday to me! (yesterday) Worked on my birthday, but relaxed at home and watched a movie with Joanna afterwards, munching on Subway subs. I tried their sweet onion chicken teriyaki. Mmm, good stuff!

Last weekend was good. Got to hang out with Jesse and Jeff, and met Jeff's new friend Amanda. Got to see my sister and meet her boyfriend JJ, who is very nice. The trip up Friday was uneventful. On Saturday, Joanna and I met Jesse, Jeff, and Amanda for breakfast, then browsed through the offerings at East Poultney Day (craft fair, mixed with some yard sales). There wasn't much to be found of interest, though one vendor did have some nice silver jewelry. I ended up buying a few stuffed animals at a yard sale, as they were cute and inexpensive. We now have a lobster named Raleigh, and anteater named Ants, and a penguin named Waddles.

That evening, we attended the Bicenntenial Dinner at the East Poultney Baptist Church, where we ate good 1800's period food, and I got to see some people I had not seen in a long time, including several of the church's previous pastors. After dinner, we returned home, where we took a nice walk, and Jesse and I tossed the frisbee around for a bit. Then we retired inside, where we played a good game of Pitch (the card game). Teams were: Mom and Jesse, Joanna and Meghan, and myself and JJ. My team won :)

Sunday was relatively uneventful, and therefore very relaxing. I got some nice birthday gifts, as that was my "birthday weekend". I received 2 CDs: Shinedown's Leave a Whisper and Skindred's Babylon. Also got 3 good movies on DVD: The Iron Giant, The Rock, and American Beauty. Joanna and I watched The Iron Giant Sunday night when we got back, and The Rock last night :)

We had some awesome thunderstorms on Sunday, during our drive back to MA. It was an awesome lightshow, though the rain was very heavy, making driving difficult, both for the lack of visibility and the amount of water on the road. There was also some construction on 91 south, which will hopefully be finished by this coming Sunday, as we'll be driving the route again on that day, coming back from another trip to VT. Joanna's Dad is coming down this weekend, to meet my parents. He'll get to meet Jeff and Jesse, too, and maybe even Meghan as well, if her and JJ are around. I'm looking forward to the weekend.

In other news, my computer speakers mysteriously died Monday night. At first, I couldn't get them to turn on at all. I unplugged and replugged everything, and then they would turn on, but I could not adjust the volume at all with the speaker-mounted controls. The volume stays constantly low. Not sure what caused this, but I'm not hugely worried. I've had the speakers for 5 years, and they've been damn good ones for the entire time. I'm probably going to invest in 5.1 speakers as a replacement, since an upgrade would be nice, and I've found some that are not too expensive. I'll probably have to order the ones I want online, but that will be fine. I wouldn't have time to shop for any in a store until next weekend anyway, so if I order new ones tonight, I'll have them by then :)


08/12/2005:
Last weekend was really fun. Joanna and I drove out to PA Friday afternoon, arriving at our nice hotel in the late afternoon. We didn't hit too much traffic, though we did get side-tracked once on the way out. Total trip time was about 5 1/2 hours. The hotel was really nice. We had a pool and jacuzzi, and there was a minifridge and microwave in our king-sized-bed-equipped room. Mark arrived just as we were getting there, and Lex came much later, after getting a little lost on the trip down... Called Serena, and she came up and hung out with us for a couple hours, which was great, as I hadn't seen her in months.

On Saturday, we attended Martin's wedding. The ceremony was very pretty, and pleasantly short. The reception was a lot of fun. There was much dancing, some of it silly, all of it fun. The climax of the festivities was a Celtic dancing show, performed by four very talented dancers, first one, then a trio. It was awesome and entralling to watch. I'd like to attend other shows that feature that type of dancing. Will have to look into that...

Chris and Dave came out for the wedding and reception, and it was great to have the whole crew there, as we hadn't seen each other in quite awhile. Also, we were each the only ones the others knew at the reception, so it would not have been nearly as cool without them :)

After the reception, Joanna and I relaxed in the jacuzzi at the hotel for a bit, then retired to the room to relax and watch movies for the rest of the evening. We caught the end of Spiderman 2, the watched Terminator 3, which neither of us had seen. Lots of boom and smash, but not as good as the first 2. Watched a few minutes of Tomb Raider after that, then slept.

On the drive back to MA on Sunday, we stopped at a small zoo near Milton, PA, where we viewed a surprisingly large variety of animals. They had many different varieties of snakes, varying from cottonmouths to rattlesnakes to boa constrictors, and even had a king cobra! They also had a number of turtles, one of them a huge snapper. There were several monkeys, a cougar, two leopards, some lemurs, and two sloths! They even had a wolf and bear, who shared a cage. They were both donated young, and have become friends over the years. Both were sleeping, so we did not get to see them play together, but that is something I would like to see. Maybe we can go back later :) Joanna took a whole bunch of pictures. Maybe I can steal a few to post here :)

The rest of the trip was uneventful and unstressful. We returned home with time to relax, so we rented Constantine, as Joanna hadn't seen it, and I wanted to watch it again. I enjoyed it greatly.

Good news from here: I'm now a permanent employee at St. Paul Travelers! My schedule remains the same, 11-8, and will most likely stay that way for awhile. But I now have benefits! Paid sick time and vacation time! And a significant raise in pay! Much happiness for all these things. Yay!


08/02/2005:
It has been a productive couple of weeks, especially on the weekends. Two weekends ago, Joanna and I picked out our wedding bands, and got them ordered. They should be in within a couple of weeks, so we can go and make sure they fit before Joanna needs to return to Canada. We did some shopping at the mall that weekend, as well. Joanna picked up a beautiful new skirt and a white shirt to match it, and I bought myself the gift of the Doom 3 expansion ;) She also picked up several smell-good products from Bath and Body Works, as they were having a sale :)

This past weekend, we got some much-needed relaxing done. I ran my D&D campaign Friday night, which was fun, as always. The PCs have reached the above-ground dwarven city of Dohn, and now quest to the east, seeking a known open gateway between the Prime Material plane and the Elemental Plane of Air. I look forward to the coming adventures. Two of their traveling companions (both NPCs) will be left behind in Dohn, which is fine with me. That leaves 1 NPC for me to play, which is a good number, what with my other DMing duties.

Ran some errands on Saturday, played some Warcraft 3 with Jesse, and then watched the extended version of Return of the King, as I wanted to watch it again, and Joanna had not yet seen the extended version. Sunday, we attended a small pagan celebration of Lammas, the celebration of first harvest. We had a small group, just 9 of us, with 6 of us joining in a small, simple ritual, banishing something hurtful from our lives, and taking back something helpful to fill the void thereby created. It was simple but empowering, and I look forward to other ritual work in the future. Would be easier to do these little things myself if I had some sort of focus / path. I'll get there...someday... I have ideas, but need to explore them. Like so many of my ideas, I need to take the time to work them out.

I wasn't feeling very well for most of last week, but the weekend helped a lot, and I feel better this week as a result. I did receive some good news not last Friday, but the Friday before: my manager sent a request up to the staffing dept to get me hired on as a permanent employee! I'm meeting with said dept tomorrow morning before work, and hope to be able to report soon that I am permanent, which will mean a raise in pay and benefits!

Page Updates:
- added "Winds of War" to Scribble


07/22/2005:
Well, plans have changed, as they are wont to do. Joanna's Dad's passport is getting renewed, and he hasn't gotten it back yet. He'd rather not trust to crossing the border on just his driver's license, as, if he's turned away for any reason, he gets a little red mark on his record, which would make the next crossing that much more difficult. So he's not coming up to visit this weekend. Joanna and I, having been in VT last weekend, have decided not to go up this weekend. Instead, we'll remain down here, and have a relaxing, low-travel weekend. We do plan on going to the mall tomorrow for a bit, to do a little clothes shopping. Joanna wants to pick up something nice to wear to Martin's wedding (coming up on the first weekend of August). Maybe I can find some inexpensive business-casual shirts. I could use a larger variety of clothes to wear to work.

Well, I did it: I finished Doom 3 on Nightmare difficulty! It was a long, bloody, death-filled battle, but I achieved my goal. I'm looking at picking up the expansion for it, assuming I can get it fairly low-cost. If not retail, perhaps online. I do have a birthday coming up... *scratches chin thoughtfully*. I still need to finish up Mechwarrior 4; I'm getting on towards the end, I think, as myself and all of my lancemates are now piloting 80+ ton 'Mechs. I also loaded up an old favorite recently: Dungeon Keeper. This game came out back in 1997, and I still find it quite enjoyable. When I beat the first one again, I'm going to load up Dungeon Keeper 2, which I also own. I've beaten the first one once before, but I never finished the second one. I'm also, as always, working my way through several NES games, when I get that hankering for some old old-school gaming. :)


07/18/2005:
Ok, so "later" ended up being 10 days later. Anyhow, yes, new couch good! I tried to donate my old couch to the Salvation Army, but they didn't come in the truck to pick it up until after it had rained, so they called me and told me they couldn't take it, because it was wet. Well of course it was wet! It rained! If they had come Friday morning, before the rain, they would have had a well-worn, but still comfortable loveseat. But nooo, instead it ended up in the dumpster. It sat outside 3 days, and most of those days, it rained. I was going to dump it at a local landfill, but they wanted $53 to dump it there. It fit in the dumpster quite well. Joanna and I wrestled it in there Monday night. It smelled pretty bad, and was already home to a family of ants and several spiders. Ah well, it had a good, long life (17 years, I believe). Farewell, small couch. Hello bigger couch. Also inherited a coffee table. I have a real table now! The cooler has been moved to the closet ;)

Last weekend (not this past one, the one before), Joanna and I went on a double-date with Steph and Doug. We saw Fantastic 4, then had dinner at the Longhorn Steakhouse. The movie was entertaining, well-done in parts, and lacking in others. Overall I found it very enjoyable. Dinner was good, and we didn't have to wait too long; they said a 30 minute wait, but we were in within 10 minutes :) They have very good food there, and everyone enjoyed it. Before and after dinner, we went to the nearby Army/Navy store, and looked at the weapons. They have a number of nice swords, knives, and axes there. Steph bought a sword, I considered a couple. Though I cannot afford one, and definitely do not need one, it's nice to look sometimes.

This past weekend, Joanna and I traveled up to VT. We accomplished a lot on Saturday, as far as wedding planning goes, and we both feel very good about that. Jeff and I got to hang out Saturday while Joanna was getting her hair done, and we had some excellent conversation, much of it spiritual in nature. Always a pleasure to spend time with good friends. After getting our errands done, we had a nice dinner at my parents' place, then headed over to Jesse's parents' place, where he was watching the animals while the family was gone. We hung out, conversed, and watched lots of Monty Python (Quest for the Holy Grail, plus several skits). An enjoyable evening to end an accomplished day. Joanna and I returned here Sunday evening, for some relaxation on the big couch before bed :)

We will be returning to VT again next weekend, as Joanna's Dad is coming up to meet my parents. I look forward to it.


07/08/2005:
I now have a new, bigger couch, yay! Well, not "new", but new to my apartment. My parents are redecorating their living room, so I inherited the longer couch that matches the love seat I had. I don't have room for both pieces of furniture in my living room, so Roland and I moved my loveseat out last night, then moved the couch in. That was a nice chore. Left some gouges in the walls, but we got it up there.

Time to go home...will continue this post later :)

Page Updates:
- updated Dragon-Rider.us main site (Happenings section)


7/05/2005:
Spent the weekend in VT, as is usual for my 4th of July holiday weekend :) Overall, had quite a good, relaxing time, though I felt ill for most of Saturday. In spite of that, Joanna and I got some good quality time in with a lot of my family and friends (though I didn't get to socialize as much as I would have liked, on account of my feeling ill). We spent a lot of time appreciating my parents' new landscaping wonder, a beautifully decorated waterfall that now dominates the yard behind the house. I cannot describe the way it looks very well; I'll have to wait until I have pictures to post. It's sufficient for now to say it is beautifully done. It really needs to be seen (and heard) to be appreciated.

On Saturday night, we once again put on a fireworks show for the mass of family and friends gathered at Lisa and David's house. This year's show was by far the best yet, and pretty damn exciting for those of us lighting them off :) Dad and a group of trusted friends took care of the big ones (4" diameter and above), while I oversaw the necessary "little stuff", as is usual for me. It turned out to be a wonderful show, and I only burned a little bit of one eyebrow off ;)

I returned to MA on Sunday, but alone. Joanna is staying up in VT with my parents for a few more days, to look into places to hold our wedding reception, and meet with people about the flowers, food, music, etc. I would have been happy enough staying up there to help, but, well, I need the money that comes from working, especially since I was out so much last week (was only able to put in 17 hours). I hope she's enjoying the country life; she certainly seemed to be doing so over the weekend :) I know she prefers having a city nearby, but sometimes there is a much greater feeling of peace when one is out in the open country :)

Page Updates:
- updated Dragon-Rider.us main site (Happenings section)