of cats and underpants

so my cat has a really weird habit.  ok, she has several, but today i'm just going to focus on one.  namely the one where she likes to play with my underwear.  no, not while it's on  me, you sick people you.  the ones that reside in my laundry hamper mostly.  sometimes the clean ones that are in the dresser if the drawer is open (which is worse because then i feel like i can't wear them until i do laundry again).  it's honestly a little disturbing to me.  she will go out of her way to pull a pair out and then start rolling around with it in her paws.  she enjoys it way too much. she will also try to steal them off the bathroom floor if i'm in the shower and just rub on them.  she's weird.  it would be cute if she did that with socks or something less intimate, but she over looks all of those.  which is too bad because socks are easier to replace.  and trying to explain why there are tiny bite marks on my panties is just plain awkward.

i was originally going to call this post "of pussies and panties" just to mess with every one, but i thought better of it.  i was also going to post a picture with it, but i thought better of that as well.  it just seemed strange to have this many people see what my panties look like.

so i got a new camera for christmas

and i'm using it to remind people to please trim their dogs' nails.  because if you don't, and they freak out when we try to take their temperature, then someone is going to have a limb that suffers.  such was the case last thursday.  some little dog decided to be ridiculously wiggly and pretty much just started to flail about when his temperature was being taken.  my left hand/wrist was the resulting casualty.  this picture is from like five minutes ago, so it's partially healed by this point.  it looked worse than it really was; it was pretty shallow and i didn't need stitches or anything.  but it still stung like hell when i had to clean it.  and the part over my wrist keeps getting stretched too far from just everyday activity.  and i have a tendency to use my injured body parts to located the nearest corner or door frame on a regular biases.  so while it is healing, it's doing so slowly.  so for the sake of my arms and any other arms of vet clinic employees, please try to trim your animals' nails before bringing them in.  we would all appreciate that.

ahhh....the holidays

so it's only three more days until christmas.  i got all my shopping done over the weekend.  i still need to wrap everything, and i need to do that like now since i'm driving up to my parents' house tomorrow and i should probably have their gifts wrapped before they see them.  i'm also trying to get everything packed tonight (which never happens).  i already filled up my gas tank today.  i need to remember to bring the fail ninja with me to work in the morning because she's going to be boarding there while i'm gone.  the plan is to leave as soon as i get off work tomorrow because i have a five hour drive assuming it isn't raining.  if it starts to rain again, it will take about seven hours because of traffic.  at least my car just got a tune up so it shouldn't die on me on the drive up.

once i get there i'm not really going to have much downtime.  thursday night i'm going to see the christmas lights with my mom.  friday i'm hoping to go on a trail ride as long as it's not raining, and i get to meet ava, my friend's new doberman puppy.  saturday of course is christmas so we'll be doing our thing at home in the morning then driving two hours to get to my uncle's house.  there's a good chance i will have to be driving the second car, which means i won't be able to really have any drinks with dinner.  bummer because i have a feeling i'm going to need a few this year.  then back to my parents' place.  and then i get to drive back home on sunday.  after i get the cat from work, i need to try to go out and see the pony if it a) isn't too late in the day and b) not raining too hard.  and then i plan on collapsing until i need to get up for work at 7:00 a.m. monday morning.  

is it all going to be worth it?  maybe.  at least i get to see my dog and some of my family that i haven't seen for a while.  hopefully the family drama stays in check and we have a smooth dinner with everyone being there.  and i already know that i'm getting a new camera, dance shoes, and a new halter for the pony.

i don't expect to be able to get on line much while i'm away.  partly because i don't think i'll have a lot of time for it, and partly because my dad's computer is so slow compared to mine that it's just not worth it to me.  so since i probably won't be posting until next week:

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

a first for everything

today at work we had a client come in who had concerns about giving medications to  her dog.  this particular dog is ...... difficult ....... to give pills to. (and that's putting it very nicely.  you really don't want to know the choice words we use to describe this dog.)  so the owner comes in to buy a pilling gun.  i go into like a five minute little spiel about how to use the pilling gun properly and some other suggestions, tips and tricks to try to make it easier to medicate their dog.  after all this, the owner takes the pilling gun from me, looks me dead in the eye and asks "does that thing go all the way through your ear?"  she was referring to my industrial piercing.  this was the first time i have ever had anyone be distracted by any of my body art.  without so much as pausing i look straight back at her and say "yes it does."  her response?  "oh."  followed by a short pause and "do you have piercings anywhere else?"  i then showed her my right ear.  "so no really weird ones like your tongue or anything?"  my answer: "not yet."  i wonder how much of my pilling speech she remembers.  i guess i'll know if i see her back tomorrow.  maybe i should show her my tattoo then.

that thing on top of your neck is not just there for show

in open letter to person at my barn who thought this was a good idea:

dear barn people: please remember to use your heads.  when a horse has on a light weight blanket, and the high of the day is only going to be 55, and it's going to rain the rest of the week, do not take off the blanket without telling the owner.  she has decided that leaving the blanket on for the one mild weather day will be fine considering it will still be in the thirties at night and raining for the second half of the week.  when you take off the blanket without telling her, she assumes that the horse is still wearing it and does not worry about having to go out and reblanket said horse when it does start to rain.  and if you do decided to remove the blanket without permission, do not hang it over the fence in such a way that when the rain does come, the blanket becomes as soaked as the horse and is not usable.  please try to remember this.

would you want to be the reason this cute face was all cold and wet?

so if you can't tell from reading above, some one decided to be "nice" and unblanket my horse on the one mild weather day we had this week.  if anyone knows me,  you know i'm checking on the weather report like every day during winter to decided if i want my horse to have a blanket on or not.  considering the high of the day was only going to be 55, and that it was in the thirties at night and would be cooling down and raining the rest of the week, i decided to leave the blanket on my horse.  he's 21 and it's hard to keep weight on him, so a light weight water proof blanket does wonders for him in the winter to help maintain a healthy weight.  someone at my barn apparently decided that 55 was too hot to have a blanket on and took his blanket off with out asking me, and with out telling me after.  and since it's pitch black out by the time i get off work, i can really only make it to the barn on the weekends during winter.  almost everyone at the barn knows this as well.  so when it started to rain on friday, i didn't worry too much because i thought prince would be nice and snug with his blanket on.  imagine my surprise when i braved the rain to go out to the barn today, only to find the blanket slung over the fence, totally drenched.  looking over the fence at my horse, i did not see the fuzzy woolly mammoth that i was expecting, but a drowned rat.  needless to say, i was not happy about this.  

i called up dani and was fuming.  she told me that if i could get prince dry, that i could use the blanket she had in the tack room.  luckily, the round pen was dry, so letting him roll in the dry sand helped.  using the cooler on him after made him dry enough to where i felt safe blanketing him.  i was able to get the spare blanket on him just before it started raining sideways.  so to whoever thought they were being "nice," don't ever do it again.  and if you do, for fucks sake let me know when you touch my horse with out my permission so shit like this doesn't happen.

what i'm working with

so  three four things contribute to me being able to be a good gamer/blogger/geek.  i was going to origonally just say three, but then i realized i forgot the most important factor.  so here it is, the list of things that make me good at the geeky things i do:

numero uno:  the fact that i'm just plain awesome.  this really doesn't need to be elaborated on anymore than that, so moving on.

oooooh! shinny!

duce: the sexiness that is my computer.  there are a few upgrades that i need to get when i have some more money, but over all she's pretty well done.  runs WoW really well and that's all that matters.  and she just looks amazing.  (and yes, my computer is a girl.)

 

running about 4 programs right now

c) this next one was a gift from my dad after i kicked out my ex.  i had been using one of mike's old monitors for a while, and when he left it kinda left with him.  so since my dad is not so good with the words and the using of them to make me feel less sad, he buys me things when i get upset.  so far, this has worked out pretty well for me.  this time it amounted to this beauty: a 23" hd monitor.

#4) the fail ninja!  she goes with me anywhere i go, and any time i do anything on the computer, she is either curled up on the bed behind me (like she is now) or sitting on the ledge to my left.  she likes to keep me company and can usually be a good lap warmer.  and she's just adorably cute.  and i wanted another reason to post a pic of her here.

she really hates it when i disturb her slumber.  but it's the trade off she has to deal with for me feeding her.

the internal battle wages on

so right now it's a battle between my wallet and my waistline vs. my insatiable urge to get a burger and fries.  i swear, i get cravings like a pregnant lady.*  and they pretty much won't go away until i get whatever it is i am wanting.  i once had cravings for potstickers every day for two weeks straight because i was unable to go get any for that long.  i also get cravings for things like burritos, pizza, and wild bread.  and my will power will only hold on for so long against foods like that.  but at the same time, my wallet is reminding me how broke i am, and i need to go grocery shopping, as well as christmas shopping, and i need to buy new pants since my favorite jeans got ruined.  my waistline is reminding me that i will need to fit into that new pair of jeans, and i just lost ten pounds and i really don't need to gain that back.  but the burger.  it calls to me....

*no matt, i'm not pregnant.  i just eat like it sometimes

i am now properly motivated to clean my apartment

so as we all know, sex is a great motivator.  it can start wars (hey look! a free wooden horse!).  a lack of it can end wars (ask the romans).  it can cause grown men to act like little boys.  it can cause little boys to feel as if they are grown men.  it can be used to achieve almost anything imaginable under the right circumstances.  the mere thought that there might be a chance of it at the end of the night can easily convince a man to empty out his wallet on drinks and fine dining.  it can also motivate me to clean my apartment.  and that's not even for guaranteed sex.

so i have about five days to get this done.  probably a good thing considering how many dishes i have to wash.  but what it comes down to is that if things go very well, i might not be coming home alone next weekend.  having already procured the free dinner last night, it is to be followed up with a night at the bars this weekend.  i have a feeling i might not be paying for that either.  and if the stars just happen to align in that right sort of way, i don't want to mood to be killed because he fell and broke his leg when he tripped over my pants on the floor.  the only time that would be ok would be if he was the one that put them there. 

there is also the possibility of the stars only slightly aligning,  which means we might end up watching a movie on the couch.  not a bad option considering i only have a love seat and he would have to sit very close to me.  but  in that case it means there will be lights on, and i want them to illuminate something other than a messy kitchen.  so i must now go forth and try to remember how to be domestic.  the down side of living alone.  i have all but forgotten how tidy up because lets face it, the cat doesn't care what the apartment looks like as long as there is food in her dish.  and while that might work on him over time, we're not anywhere near that point yet.

real life is about to get in the way

so a lot of shit just hit the fan in a big way.  there are a lot of issues going on with someone close to me that i need to help them work out.  expect me to be afk for a while.  if you believe in God or any other spiritual being, please send prayers our way.  if you know me personally, i'll let you know what's happening when it gets all sorted out.

i need a fix to my addiction

so i didn't get to go to any ren faires this year.  just due to timing, money, my stupid car, and the cosmos just not lining up right, i was unable to get a fix to my addiction.  yes, i am a ren faire junkie.  have been since i was about fifteen when i decided to work at one to make some extra cash that summer.  it ended up being the best job i have ever had.  like if i could make a living doing this, i totally would.  i got to wear a costume, and we all know how much i love costumes.  i got to yell at people.  i got to have an accent (which i was pretty damn good at.  one lady even asked if that was my real voice).  i got to act.  i got to play.  and i got paid for it.  it really couldn't get any better than that.  and since then, i've been hooked.

parade of the dead, novato ren faire, circa 2006

i usually try to go to between two and three faires a year.  i almost always go to the nor cal faire because that's the company i worked for.  they are the original company, and by far put the most money, time and effort into their production and it shows.  i also tend to make it to the central coast faire because the timing works out pretty well for me.  and if i'm in the area, i'll go to the fresno faire, the novato faire or any number of other ones that don't have websites to link to.  a great place to find faires would be dragonmarsh.  they list faires by which month they are in, and from what i can tell cover pretty much all the main ones in several states.  also covers other events, like civil war reenactments and such.

but back to my addition.  i just love the environment.  the people there are awesome, and since i usually go in costume, and since my costume is awesome, they usually assume i work there.  which means they tend to interact with me a lot more than most people.  and i love it.  i will also play along if other faire goers think i work there.  as you know from my blizzcon post, i have no problem with random strangers wanting pictures of me in costume.  i would have it happen all the time when i worked there because of a gimmick i would pull to get people into my booth.  years of riding horses and dancing have given me pretty good balance.  i can stand on one foot for a crazy amount of time.  i can also balance random things on weird places of my body, like my head, my arm, or in this case my thigh.  since i worked at a food booth, i always had a plate of food with me when i was hawking.  i would stand on my left foot, cross my right leg in front of me, and balance the plate of food on my thigh.  i would then just point at my booth with both hands.  no need to yell anything at this point.  i would usually end up with a crowd of people standing around me to see how long i could keep it up for.  i could go from five to ten minutes without having to move.  this apparently made me a great oddity.  lots of business for our both, and lots of pictures for me.  

central coast ren faire, circa 2009

other than costumes, one of my favorite faire aspects would be the joust.  i know, big surprise there.  one of my prized collection pieces would be a piece of a broken lance that i was able to snatch up after it came flying towards gabi and me.  it bounced off the tree next to us, and gabi grabbed it for me before anyone else could.  my other favorite thing would be the parade of the dead (pictured above).  if you have never had the chance to see one of these before, you truly are missing out.  the parade is meant to ward off the "black death," or bubonic plague.  the people involved are dressed in black, and typically have skull-like masks (similar to the deatheaters in harry potter, except these have been around for way longer than the movies).  they also play some of the most awesome music.  it's very simple, and all on hand held instruments, but sounds incredible and spooky.  the way the parade works is that the marchers keep dancing as long as the music is playing.  if the music stops (which it will) they must freeze, and cannot move until the music starts again.  they also interact a lot with the faire goers, and i have ben caught up in the parade several times when the music stops.  you pretty much have to stand there and freeze with the person dancing with you.  you can't really move until they do.  unless you're stuck with a guy who will very slyly grab your ass.

and i missed all of that this year.  so if you see me in the corner later, hoodie over my head, twitching wildly, you'll know why.  and it looks like i'll have to wait until at least march or april to get my fix.

just a side note:  unless otherwise stated, all the pictures on my blog were taken by me.  please don't use them without asking.

963: the stuff nightmares are made of

via

this number causes me to have nightmares.  don't believe me?  ask melanie.  now, you might ask, why such a simple think as a number might cause me to break out in a cold sweat, hug a teddy bear, and curl up in the fetal position?  it's because this number brings back some of the most awful, terror-inducing memories i have of my college years.  it represents the epitome of pure evil.  it is the ear tag number of a cow.

now this isn't just any cow.  she's the reason why i have such an unbridled hatred of dairy cows.  my first experience with her happened to be during my very first milk shift after my training was done.  so here i am, flying solo, already pissed because two cows had bum rushed the gate and went on a wild romp around the dairy before being caught again.  and then this cow shows up.  a stupid little jersey cow.  she looked all cute and sweet, but that was all just a part of her plan to fool you.  while moving her pen up to the milk parlor, she decides to just flat out stop right in front of the barn.  no matter what i do, i cannot get this cow to move.  i try nicely at first, trying to coax her along.  then i try a slap on the rump.  then i try a tail twitch.  then i try a halter.  then i try a halter and a tail twitch.  basically everything but a cattle prod, and that was only because i didn't have one.  so twenty minutes later, this cow has still not moved.  oh, and did i mention it was pouring down rain?  i had to break down and go ask one of the senior milkers to help me move her.  i was in tears by that point.  the only thing that made me feel a little better was that it took two of them to get her into the barn.  i'm not going to go into details how, because it would probably piss off the animal rights groups.

this is also the cow that once decided to go into the milk cute backwards.  unless you've been to a dairy, this is a much bigger problem than you might realize.  the cutes leading to the milk stalls are made to be big enough for the cow to walk through, but small enough where they can't turn around.  this meant that i had to get the cow to walk backwards into the large pen again to be able to get her turned around.  this took about ten minutes to do, because cows really don't like walking backwards.  but i finally got her turned around to where she could now safely leave the milk parlor.  and how does she repay me?  by running by me so quickly that i barely had time to get out of her way.  and to make matters worse, she decided to try and body slam me into the wall.  i was able to get most of me out of harms way, but ended up sacrificing my wrist to do so.  the full 900 lbs of her furry smashed my wrist into the concrete wall.  i guess i ended up lucky, it didn't break.  but it was sprained for about 2 weeks.  which make my next few milk shifts just about the worst things ever since i had to do them one handed.  stupid cow.  i was glad when that one got sent down the road.  now who wants steak?

i am not a sex camel

so this got brought up in conversation with one of my friends the other day.  i was bitching because it had been about two weeks since i had got any (which has now been remedied).  this got us talking about how long our longest dry spell had been.  sadly for him, his number was in the measurement of years.  for me, it's 4 1/2 months.  and that just about killed me.  this leads me to conclude that i could never be a sex camel.*  this also got me thinking about other topics.  how long is too long to go without it?  is there such thing as too much?  and why don't guys realize that we are lying when we say size doesn't matter?  well, i'm going to attempt at giving my own opinions on this.  if you're feeling brave, leave your answers in the comments.

how long is too long to go without it?

honestly, more than a week is too long for me. i start to get really edgy then.  the hormones start messing with my focus as well.  so these past two weeks were a little rough for me.  the 4 1/2 month period i mention earlier was just awful.  i swear i felt border line non functional because i just kept thinking about it.  i truly think that guys are able to handle long periods of inactivity way better than girls can.  this is based on the personal experience of myself and my friends.  if you don't believe me, ask a group of guys and a group of girls how long they can go with out it.  the results might surprise you.  the only reason it's easier for girls is because our pants don't announce to the world when we're feeling a little randy.  and when it comes right down to it, i would rather have constant meh sex than no sex at all. 

is there such thing as too much?

not really.  if it was up to me, i would have it twice a day every day (with the exception of a few days each month).  it doesn't have to be a long, drawn out, romantic session every time, but it also can't always be a quickie.  but it's the best way to wake up in the morning, and the best way to fall asleep at night, so why not do it both times?  it might take a little bit of stamina training to get the guy to be able to do this, but the practice is the fun part.

does size matter?

hell yes it does.  every girl has a minimum length that she enjoys, and never under estimate the power of width.  any girl who tells you it doesn't matter is just lying because you're smaller than she likes, but she likes you enough to not hurt your feelings.

*it's a scrubs reference.  look it up if you're brave.  just don't type in sex camel in the search bar.  trust me on this one.

what i've become

so as alex pointed out, it's been a few days since i made any new posts.  sadly, there is a reason for this.  remember how there was a bit of foreshadowing in my last post?  well, it happened.  i have become a bit of a WoW zombie this week.   when i uploaded that pic of my new toon, she was level 18.  she is now level 40 and has some pretty kick ass gear because i've been doing a ton of random dungeons.  i also pvp like crazy.  so yeah, had a slight lapse into the dark zone that the friends and family of WoW players fear.  the zone where real life social skills are replaced by the ability to carry out a conversation in vent, guild chat and whisper, all while being #1 dps in your dungeon group.*  the place where there only reason you make yourself go to work is so that you can pay your next subscription fee.  the place where you start to question how important things like sleep and hygiene are because they cut into your play time.  but don't fear my friends and random internet peoples.  i have seen the light.  i promise to be less zombie like this upcoming week.  i have plans to write out a few posts this weekend, and they won't all be gamer related.  oh, and as a slight aside here, if you see alex, remember to be nice to him.  he holds weird grudges and plots out revenge like no other person i know.

*there is a slight upside to this for me.  remember the post about being a female gamer?  yeah, that one again.  well i have about three guys who i lovingly refer to as my "minions" who i can get to do pretty much anything i want.  yeah.  i'm that good.

darths & droids

so, as promised, this post will not be about WoW in any way, shape, or form.  but it is just as nerdy, if not more so.  without further ado, i bring you the genious that is:

 so this web comic is hilarious.  i've probably spent about 10 hours of my life reading all of the back comics.  i highly recommend you do the same.  it's star wars mashed up with d&d.*  except that star was never made.  the d&d campaign is star wars.  the comic starts with the phantom menace, or as they call it "the phantasmal malevolence."  considering that there are some pretty strange things that go on, as well some gaps in plot and logic, during the "first" three episodes, having them explained by d&d players actually makes more sense than the movies themselves at some points.  the writers realized this, and just ran with the idea.  the result is an extramly hilarious nerdgasm** of a web comic.  to start you own adventure into what is the amazingness of darths&droids, click here, and be sure to start at the begining.  it's worth it.

* if you had to click the link to know what star wars was, you fail at life.  if you had to click the link to know what d&d was, then you win at life.  if you knew what both were, congrats, you are just as nerdy as i am.

** yes melanie, i am using that word again

rain, rain, go away

so i really hate the rain.  it has a tendency to turn me into an extreme hermit in the winter because most of this things i like to do (other than WoW) require things like sunlight and dry ground.  especially riding.  even if it's not raining tomorrow, i still can't ride because the arena needs about a day to dry out.  and even though my horse is blanketed, he will still have rolled, caking mud all over his face and neck, probably his legs, and there's a good chance of mud in the tail as well.  at least i like to believe it's all mud.  anyway, whatever it is, it will take me at least 30 minutes to get it off of him.  and by that time i'm too worn out from grooming to be able to ride anyway.  and i will probably need to hose off his blanket because i'm sure it's just as gross as him.  le sigh.

so getting back on track now.  since i have been stuck inside my apartment due to weather, i decided that in place of doing something useful like vacuuming or washing the dishes, i would play WoW all day.  and since the shattering already happened, there is something in game now that i have been wanting ever since i started playing.  the once class/race combo that has taken blizzard 6 years to give us.  probably the reason you will all start missing me in real life, and i will start to develop muscle problems from being in a computer chair for so long.  what might this be, you ask?  only the most amazing combo ever.  it's........

THE HUMAN HUNTER!!!!!!!

my particular hunter is named camma, after the welsh goddess of the hunt.  and with new beasts as a part of the new zones in the expansion, i have a hound dog as my pet.  and just for good measure, i added my cute little white kitten companion pet to the screen shot.  and in case anyone is wonder, i'm standing in front of the newly redone stormwind keep.  now, if you will kindly excuse me, i have forgotten the entire reason for this post and can only think about that fact that i'm 2 bars from leveling.  i'll try really hard to write a non WoW post tomorrow, but no promises. 

and you thought i was over this stuff

so the shattering happened yesterday in WoW.  pretty much changed the whole of azeroth as we know it.  which reminded me, i have more pics from blizzcon that were never discussed here.  so, since i figure those will be easier to describe to non-gamers than the shattering is, here we go.

this round: the blizzcon models

so these girl are employed by blizzard to walk around, wear cool costumes, and take lots of pictures with nerdy guys.  here are some of the few that i, a mere female gamer trying to muscle my way through a crowd of male gamers who were trying really hard to keep it in their pants, was able to capture.


the only thing these girls had going for them was that they were hot.  honestly, if i had hired them, i would have been pissed.  they had no presence about them.  they looked like they were bored and didn't want to be there.  they didn't pose for pictures, they just stood there.  if they hadn't been half naked, i'm pretty sure they would have disappointed a lot of the guys there.  and the girl on the right kept covering up the only thing she had going for her.





now this girl was awesome.  she's sarah kerrigan from starcraft, but in her human form.  she was way better than the above two.  you could tell she was having a ton of fun.  if she saw you trying to take a picture, she would make sure to look at you and pose.  and she was doing all of this in front of the "sarah-karrigan-as-the-queen-of-blades" statue, so it was really appropriate.





this last girl is the new playable class in the upcoming (maybe, if they ever put out a release date) diablo III.  she is the deamon hunter.  she had on really cool costume contacts, which you can kind of see here.  they were using her to do interview for the direct tv cover of the convention, so it was hard to get a good picture of her since she was being followed everywhere by a cameraman and a boom operator, not to mention having people in front of her that she was interviewing.  so sorry for the crappy pic, but she really looked amazing.  and she dual wields crossbows.








so those were the only good pictures i got of blizzcon models.  i have some more pictures of the art that was there, but i don't want to overload the non gamers that read this, so i think i'll hold off on those until next week.  and to all my readers in the states, have a happy turkey day tomorrow!

the fail nija fails again

so i took my cat to work yesterday to get her vaccinated.  no big deal, she had the same shots before without issue.  took her home when i got off, and all was well and dandy until i took my lunch break today.  now if you have ever walked in my door with me, you know that when my cat sees me she runs to the door and rolls over on her back.  today, she just sat hunched over in the middle of the floor.  i figured she was still just sulking since she really hates going to the office with me, so i thought nothing of it and went into the kitchen to make lunch.  i have to pass her food dish on the way, and i noticed that she still had about 1/3 of her breakfast in her dish.  this actually really alarmed me because my cat will literally inhale any type of food you put in front of her.  i got her to come over to her dish, and she turned her nose at it.  tried to give her a treat, and she wanted nothing to do with it.  she then made her way to the bedroom and hid under my bed, which is something she never does unless she is trying to hide a toy down there.  i was able to pull her out and look her over, and she was acting extremely uncomfortable.  so now i'm really freaking out, because even with my employee discount, it could cost some big bucks to get her better.

i kept debating with myself if i should bring her back to work with me or just wait and see how she was when i got home.  i realized that i would just worry myself about her all afternoon if i didn't get her checked out, so a quick heads up call to the office and we were on our way.  once there, we took her temp and it was 104 (a high normal is 102).  so now i'm really worried, and doc is out to lunch.  i just did a lot of busy work until he got back and was able to check her out.  luckily, he didn't think it was anything serious.  he didn't find anything weird on her physical exam, and didn't feel that blood work was needed at that time.  he's figuring she was having a delayed reaction to the vaccines.  not the bad allergic reaction, but just being very, very sore and achy which was probably what was caused her not to eat.  so one shot of kitty pain killer later, and she is now back to her normal self.  wolfed down her dinner when we got home, has been climbing everything, and is now curled up sleeping comfortably on my bed.  as long as she's acting normally tomorrow, everything should be ok.  that is until she decides to eat something weird :- /

some tips for the fellas

this is just based on some of the conversations and interactions i've had with a few of my guy friends lately.  apparently some of you out there need a little refresher course.  so boys, pay attention, as this will help you with the ladies.  and maybe bookmark this page for future references.

1) NEVER skimp on the foreplay.

2) all girls are crazy, it just varies in type and degree.  the secret is finding a level of crazy that you can live with.

3) lying to girls is bad.  she will find out.  and it will be very ugly when she does.  (want to know why it will be ugly?  see point 2)

4) if a girl answers you with "fine." and nothing else, you better just start praying for forgiveness now, or get ready to pack your bags.

5) NEVER skimp on foreplay.

6) almost as important as point 1 and 5, always make sure she's finished before you roll over and go to sleep.

7) if you just sit down and really listen to what we are saying, we are not anywhere near as confusing , complex, or complicated as you seem to think we are.  in fact, we are far more confused by you than we let on.

8) be nice to our kitties (and i'm talking about the 4 legged feline variety here).  if you can get in good standings with the cat, chances are you can get in good standings with us as well.

9) a lot of times we don't care about sports, cars, the type of music you listen to, the games you play, etc.  we try to care about them because we care about you.  remember to return the favor and do shit that we like that you might not be too keen on.

10) NEVER skimp on foreplay.

nom nom

both my ankles are sore today.  i have to not wear heels for a while.  it keeps ending poorly.  anyway, not in too much of a writing mood today, so i just wanted to share a funny picture of the woolly beast chowing down.  if you have ever seen my horse right before he gets fed, he makes what we have lovingly termed "the grain face."  pretty much, he puts his head down, tilts it sideways, and starts chewing at the air and drooling.  it's actually pretty funny.  and he's so intent on getting back to his stall to get his grain that i don't even have to walk him back there.  i can take his halter off at the tie rack, and he will trot back to his stall.  he's come pretty close to cantering a few times, but i think he's too cautious to do that.  doesn't want to run past his pen by mistake.

fail ninja

so my cat fancies herself a ninja.  problem is, she's not a sly as she thinks she is.  and she wears a bell on her collar.  and about 1/3 of her is white.  so yeah, she's a fail ninja.  but that doesn't stop her from trying.  she likes act all sneaky and steal random things of mine.  especially hair ties.  i'm pretty sure there is a stock pile of those under my bed since they seem to go missing a lot.  she also tries to hide behind things that she is much bigger than.  one of the most common places to see her before what she thinks is a well thought out assault on my slippers would be crouched down behind  my converse.  she also thinks it very clever to try and eat things she is not supposed to when i'm not looking.  i'm pretty sure that she forgets that she has a bell on and i can hear it when she jumps onto the counter.  the best is when she doesn't hear my come down the stairs.  she thinks she is getting away with being a bad kitty.  the look of shock on her face when i come up behind her is priceless. 

the other reason she fails as a ninja is that she is very easily distracted and/or bribed.  all i need to do to divert her attention from her covert operations is to shake the treat jar or get out the laser pointer.  last time i checked, ninjas were not supposed to be able to be corrupted and bribed.  neither were they allowed to be distracted by a small red light. 

the songs of my life

so lately i've been relating my life to my playlist on itunes.  it's actually working out far better than i would have expected.  here are a few of the songs that are currently depicting my view on my myself and the things around me.

song: "the devil's best dress"

artist: corb lund

what it relates to: how i am currently feeling about myself

song: "the spirit of jazz"
artist: the gaslight anthem
what it relates to:  my current feelings on love and what i'm looking for in my partner




song: "the ghost inside"
artist: broken bells
what it relates to: how i'm feeling about money



another good song for how i feel about money would be "suffer for the trust" by ike reilly, but sadly there is no video for that one

song: yeasayer
artist: madder red
what it relates to: my life in general right now, but in a very abstract type way



song: whole new way
artist: scissor sisters
what it relates to: my feelings on sex


as a side note, this was not the video i was intending to use.  but it made me laugh, so what the hell

song: i got a thing for you
artist: jim bianco
what it relates to: absolutely nothing, i just really want to do a dance routine to this song
CAUTION this video is NSFW

thwack!

so if i were to imitate the sound of my arrow hitting a target, i think thwack would just about cover it.  (i also like how apparently thwack is a real word because my spell check doesn't think it's wrong.)  but if you can't guess, i went shooting yesterday.  even though it's been months since i shot anything, i killed that raccoon.  killed him dead.  never mind that he's made out of foam.  he's still dead.  pretty sure i punctured a lung or two.  and he deserved it, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.  he just sat there, with that smug little look on his face, thinking he was better than the foam boar because there were less holes in him.  and in all honesty, that boar is pretty fucked up.  can't even recognize his face any more.  but that makes the raccoon even more of an asshole because now he's mocking a fake animal with physical deformities.  and then he just sits there, taunting the archers because he's a smaller target, harder to hit, and apparently not enough of us can hit him because he's still pretty unscathed.  jerk.  he totally deserved the arrow in his throat. 

the turn and burn from today will make me stiff and sore tomorrow

so i finally got to ride my horse today.  the weather was awesome, and i didn't have any limbs trying to fall off.  so we saddle up the horses and rode in the back arena.  there were some barrels just kind of randomly set up in between the jumps.  not in a real pattern, but close enough to where you could make a wonky pattern out of it.  so we did.  the pony loved it.  it's crazy how much he remembers from back in the day when were did barrels some-what seriously.  i haven't even done a slow course in months.  but he remembers it all.  only difference is that he's a little slower now than he used to be.  but he still remembers that if it tell him "go for it" he can open up and run, and "spin it" means to dig in around the turns.  and he threw in some awesome turns today.  i was actually really proud of him, because i could tell he wanted to say "fuck you" and go way faster than i wanted him to, but he listened to me instead and kept it a little more controlled.  i had to stop him probably sooner than he wanted to.  he was having fun, and would have kept going.  it's really cute to see the change in his face when i let him do barrels or jump.  but i didn't want him to be sore tomorrow.  wish i could say the same for me.  it's probably been about a month since i was able to ride due to blizzcon, my ankle, and rain.  i'm already feeling it a little in my thighs, and i'm pretty sure it will be worse in the morning.  and i'm going to go shoot my bow tomorrow, which i haven't done since over the summer.  they way it's looking, i might not be able to move monday.  at least it was worth it.

omg i joined a guild

so the other alex will be proud of me.  i finally joined a guild in WoW.  i've been in guilds before, but it's probably been about a year since the last one i was in fell apart.  i never bothered to find a new one because i mostly do solo play anyway.  considering there are about 11 million people who play WoW, and that i never group because i had no interest in raiding, the other alex said i was an anomaly.  i play one of the most social games out there, and he said i do so in the most unsocial of ways.  but that changed this week.  wanting to trying something different, i made an alt.  to earn gold, i was signing guild charters for money, then leaving as soon as the guild was formed.  a lot of people do this on their alts, and it's a fast way to make some gold.  but anyway, i signed one charter and the name didn't suck (trust me, there are a lot of them that do).  so i figured i would stick it out for a bit and see where it goes.  and i'm actually talking with the other guild members, and not just sitting there silently observing, like i tended to do in the past.  and i do have plans to actually try raiding with this toon.  so we'll see how it goes.  and the guild leader is a guy in his twenties.  maybe i should warn him. 

but he got stabbed!

so i'm currently reading wild horses by dick fancis.  if you ever plan on reading this book, don't read this post because there are spoilers

so i really need to start reading far sooner than the last thirty minutes before i go to bed.  because then shit like this happens:  the main character just got stabbed by an unknown attacker.  crazy drama is about to unfold.  it's ten minutes past midnight and i needed to go to sleep about twenty minutes ago.  so now i'm in a predicament.  i need to be awake and functional in less than seven hours for work.  i also really need to know who stabbed thomas.  unfortunately, my stupid responsible side won out this time and i went to sleep, but i wasn't happy about it. 

so why do i care so much that thomas was stabbed?  probably because nash was almost attacked, dorothea was slashed so bad her intestines were spilling out, and somehow this will tie into an old man that made a death bed confession within the first five pages of the book.  since i still haven't finished the book, i have no idea how that's going to work out yet.  i also have no idea who's attacking everyone, but i have my hunches, and i'm pretty sure they're all wrong.  short version of the story is that thomas is directing a movie based loosely on a 26 year old unsolved murder of a race horse trainer's wife.  the people who were affect by the actual murder are not happy about the movie, and the son of the attacked woman hates thomas because his dorothea prefers thomas over her own son.  there is a hint that the knife that was used in the attacks on dorothea and nash are the same, but there's no proof yet, and the two attacks seem unrelated on the surface.  so is your mind spinning in circles yet?  because mine has been for the whole book, and it's been awesome.

i have a weakness for mind thrillers.  crime and punishment is my all time favorite book.  i've read works by dick francis before, and since he combines the mind thriller with horses, i think he's amazing.  so does one of my coworkers, and she was nice enough to give me the book i'm currently reading.  it's an extremely well written, and flows so well that you will look up at the clock and it will suddenly be several hours later when you swear you've just sat down.  the author is able to plant enough little seeds in your head, and in such a subtle manner, that once a turning point happens, it bitch slaps you in the face and you wonder how you didn't pick up on it sooner.  based on past experience, i have a feeling one of those points will be in the next chapter or two.  until then, i'm going to say that it was the sweet looking eighteen year old daughter of the race horse trainer, and you will all be able to hear me laughing if i'm right about that. 

the only reason i will willing get out of bed at 4 a.m.

my favorite show picture

there's really no way to describe the feeling.  it's 4 a.m., the sun has yet to rise.  i can see the steam from my breath and the hot chocolate i got at starbucks because it's the only place open this early.  it's eerily quite, uncommonly still, and strangely peaceful all at the same time.  the dogs are asleep, the cows are asleep, the horses are asleep, even the damn peacocks are silent for once.  the tack room door groans when it's opened because the cold of the morning causes the hinges to stick.  a flick of a switch and a soft glow starts to break its way through the mists that engulfs everything at this time of day.  the lights only covers half the way to my horse's pen, but i've done this so many times by down that i could do it blindfolded.  the metal gate freezes my hands as i fumble to unlock it, but i barely notice.  too many other things on my mind, mostly regarding if i have enough bands, yarn, and corn starch.  i wake up the horse and lead him back to the stable yard.  there's about 5 hours until our first class, but that's barely enough time.  i set to work on my horse's mane, banding if it's a western day, braiding if it's an english day.  i've become so efficient at it that i can braid a tail in under 10 minutes, a mane in less than 40, and i can band in under half an hour.  next comes the clippers for any stray hairs that were missed yesterday.  after that, cornstarch applied to socks and blazes, and baby oil around the muzzle and eyes.  now the horse has a chance to wake up a bit while the trailer is loaded and the hay nets are filled.  a quick check to make sure everything is in place, and it's back to the horse.  on goes the sleezy, the show sheet, the tail bag, and the shipping boots.  he no longer looks like a horse, but a giant horse-shaped blueberry.  by the time all the horses are in the trailer and we pull into the show grounds, several hours have passed.  while i made sure my horse got his breakfast on the way over, i have forgotten my own.  i don't even notice.  too many more important things to worry about besides food, and i haven't passed out at a show yet.  i figure i needed that time to sleep anyway.

some of my more meaningful awards

once there, i need to sign in and register for classes.  i always sign up for halter, my guaranteed ribbon of the day.  other than that, it might be some combination of pleasure, equitation, trail, jumpers, showmanship, and gymkhana, depending on where we are.  after that, it's back to the trailer to regroom the horse, because even if i had wrapped every inch of him in scotch guard, he would still have managed to make a mess of himself again in the trailer.  i then need to somehow make myself look nice, even though i'm now covered in horse hair, hay, and who knows what else.  a quick lounge will warm up the horse and get him used to where he is.  then to tack up.  waiting is the killer.  i walk my horse outside the gate until my number is called.  up until this point, i've been soothing nerves and memorizing patters.  but once i pass through that gate, i change.  i'm totally calm, in control, and i know that if all else fails, my horse and i look damn good together.  what happens after that doesn't matter.  ribbons and trophies are nice, but that's not why i show.  not even close to it.  i've had days where i've taken high point trophies, and i've had days where all i left with was my ribbon from halter class.  and at the end of both days, i still have the same feeling.  the connection between myself and my horse, that's why i do this.  nothing else in the world compares to it.  the feel of the power and dedication of a 1,000 pound animal that wants to do whatever he can to please you, knowing that he trusts you entirely and would walk off the edge of a cliff if you asked him to, nothing comes close to that.  it's an accomplishment for my horse, for myself, just to be there.  that's why i show.  and it's that feeling that gets me up at 4 a.m. with a smile on my face.

i'm slowly getting broken

first it was the ankle.  which, even though i can walk on it, is still really sore when touched and i still don't have a full range of motion on it.  now it's my nose.  i may or may not have had an unfortunate run in between my nose and the front gate at the barn, in which the front gate may or may not have won. for the majority of you out there who have not been to my barn, when you open the front gate, you are to use a bungee cord to attach said gate to a pole mounted in the ground.  this way the gate does not swing back and smash into your car when you drive trough.  well, this does not stop the gate from swinging back just far enough to smack you in the face.  the cold metal of the top rail met with my squishy nose with a god awful cracking sound. tears instantly welled up in my eyes.  i was convinced it was broken based on the noise it had made.  but after the initial shock of being attacked by the gate, i realized i could still move my nose, and if i tried moving the bridge it stayed in place.  it's still incredibly sore, but thankfully not bruised.  based on that, i'm calling this a draw between my nose and the gate.  hopefully they will both be happy with that, and neither will seek a rematch. 

an attention whore? me?

i totally went to in-n-out in full blizzcon attire

yeah, i admit it, i kind of am.  not in like the needy, whinny, little bitch way.  like i'm not going to totally freak out if i happen to be invisible that day, and sometimes i will embrace it if i am.  and i don't go out of my way to seek attention.  it has more to do with i don't really give a shit what other people think, and this tends to lead me into doing things that happen to draw attention.  i suppose in a way that writing is one of those things.  especially based on the fact that when i asked a few people last night if i could pull off a post on sex without being too weird, the response was "you talk about everything else, why not."  so apparently nothing i do surprises my friends anymore.  

other things would probably be the fact that i do karaoke totally sober.  i also sing along with the radio when writing up patients' charts in the mornings.  i will randomly bust into little dances at work, and name whatever dance i'm doing.  there's the "happy dance," the "this-annoying-pet-is-going-home-today dance" (expect to see that one on monday), the "doc-is-running-on-time-today dance" (this is a very rare, elaborate dance done in the form of artistic interpretation.  too bad no one ever gets to see it), and many more.  i've been preferming in some context since about second grade.  i have no problem doing mundane tasks in full costume.  since i do travel to go to ren faires, i can regularly be seen pumping gas, decked out as an elizabethan peasant in a town where no one has any idea where i'm going.  after the closing events at blizzcon, we went to in-n-out for food, where a little boy asked me if i was a witch and could i do magic.  i explained to him that i was a knight but i had to leave my sword out in the car, and apparently this made perfect sense to him.  this might be why i tend to go all out on any costume i wear.  i do enjoy the fact that other people like them.  

i think a lot of it is that very little will embarrass me, so i really don't have anything holding me back other than my morals, and those are slightly lacking sometimes.  a lot of it also has to do with the fact that i'm just plain awesome, and i don't really care if that sounds narcissistic or not.  i prefer to think of it as a high level of self confidence.  and if people happen to enjoy watching what i do, then so be it.  the fact of the matter is that i would still do it, even if no one was watching. 

blowing smoke

 disclaimer: i only smoke tobacco, none of that crazy stuff

there are two things in this world that can make me feel totally relaxed, no matter what else is going on in my life.  one is sex.  the other is hookah.  if you can't guess by the title, this post is about the later*. i get the calming effect of a cigarette, but smell much better after.  and just watching smoke billow and curl has always been hypnotically soothing.  i've always been enthralled by burning incense, and will regularly manipulate the smoke on one if i have it lit. 

last night, i was fortunate enough to be able to go hookah.  alex called me up and informed me that's what we were doing.  i didn't have much choice, but i also had no reason to protest (especially since he paid this round).  we opted for the dragon smoke, since when matt and i had last gone, we had a good experience with that flavor.  it was, unfortunately, a bit too harsh last night, so i was only able to do short blows.  slightly disappointing, since a deep inhale followed by a long, slow exhale is really the best way to do it. the head rush from doing it that way is comparable to the endorphin rush after getting a small piercing.  probably why i enjoy it so much.  same feeling, but no extra holes.  it's another thing i have to pace myself with though, so i don't get addicted and end up with black lung or anything crazy.  i did get a mild head rush last night, but nothing too crazy.  and even though i now know way more about alex than i ever wanted to, i still had a fun night.

like i mentioned earlier, just watching all the smoke is relaxing in and of itself.  especially the people who can get creative with it.  matt can blow smoke rings, which i'm insanely jealous of.  i am still waiting for someone to bust out some gandalf level of smoke blowing.  that would make for a pretty epic night at the hookah lounge.

*the sex post might be later.  need to get a few permission slips signed first on that one

an interesting experiment in life

so, living by myself in this town really sucks.  the cost of living here is pretty damn high.  and unexpected expenses really suck.  especially when you savings was already wiped out by a different round of unexpected expenses, and you haven't had a chance to rebuild it.  and when all of your paycheck goes to rent and bills, things can get a little weird.  like right now.  i don't get paid for another 12 days.  i have no money to buy more groceries or get gas for my car.  i'm having to come up with creative solutions to things.  pretty much, i have a bag of rice, some noodles, a few jars of peanut butter, even fewer slices of bread, 4 tortillas, and 3 cans of soup.  this has to last me until i get paid again.  this is going to get very old, very quickly.  it's also making me only eat twice a day, and not very big meals.  since i don't have money to fill up my gas tank, i have to walk every where.  i'm walking at least 4 miles a day going back and forth from work, more if i need to go somewhere else.  so i'm now burning off all the calories that i'm not taking in.  i'm kind of expecting this to end a little poorly.  i'm a little concerned about rapid weight loss and/or passing out.  also, while i can walk on my ankle now, i still don't have a normal range of motion with it and it's still sore to touch.  i'm pretty sure walking 4 miles a day is not going to help that.  so if i can make it out alive at the end of these 12 days, i'm going to buy myself the best burrito that i've had in a long time, and save at least half my paycheck for next month so this doesn't happen again.  in the meantime, anyone want to buy me dinner?  or want a roommate who comes with pets?

any volunteers?

so i'm feeling kind of artistic, and i really haven't been able to take any new photos in a while.  i'm kind of tired of taking pictures of flowers and other things that don't move, so i really want to try something different.  something that i haven't done before.  i've had this photo spread rolling around in my head for a while, but i need someone to play model for me.  i would prefer it to be a guy.  no clear face shots would be used.  i'm mostly wanting silhouettes.  the place would be on the beach, probably pismo because i think it's set up would work best for what i'm going for.  it would have to be just before sunset on a day that isn't foggy, so you kind of need to be flexible on the timing.  probably would take 30-45 min depending on lighting and/or when my camera runs out of batteries.  you don't need to be all creative, that's my job.  just sit or stand or walk where i tell you and don't look like an ogre.  and don't worry, nudity is totally optional.*  if you're interested, shoot me an e-mail at the address at the bottom of the page.  if you know me personally, facebook me.

*now for the fun part: try and guess if i'm joking here

thinking about the next one

so, it's been like 2 months since i got something pierced.  last time it was something simple, just a second cartilage piercing in my right ear.  didn't give me anywhere near the endorphin rush that industrial did.  so i'm thinking about what i want to do next.  most likely it will either be re-piercing my navel or getting a tongue ring.  if i were to have my choice, the tongue would come first, but seeing as how you need about a week off from talking, and the main part of my job is talking to clients, i'm not so sure how that will work.  the one thing that i do worry about is that i am mildly addicted to the rush you get from it.  i'm a little worried that after i get all the piercings that i wanted, i might end up with a few extras because of that.   i guess the best thing for me to do is to try and space them out longer than i have been.  ideally, i should wait until the next 3 day weekend, like president's day for something, and use a few vacation days at work at the same time.  that way i could get the tongue pierced and not have to talk to anyone.  so in theory, this gives me a few more months.  but if i happen to sound funny next time i'm on the phone, you can probably guess why.

happy halloween!

happy halloween everyone!  the thought of all the free candy i'm missing out on because society has deemed me far too old to trick-or-treat makes me a little sad.  does any one happen to have a small child that i could borrow?  just for tonight, i'll promise to give it back.  i just want to get the free candy and not look creepy.  and for anyone out there still partying tonight, be safe.  don't wear 4" heels.  

to make all you sick people happy

so my friends keep asking for pics of my ankle.  to this i say you all suck, but since i still luv you, i'm caving in.  took this after i had to take the bandage off for a shower.  the bruising has started to go away, but it's still pretty swollen, and the swelling has actually spread to the top of the foot now also, and i still can't walk on it.  i hope you'll all happy now.

and i would like to add that all those years of using polo wraps on horses has made me pretty damn spiffy with an ace bandage.

‎4" heels + street curbs + rain + dark = one really fucked up ankle

so like my post from yesterday was pointing at, i had a halloween party to go to last night.  so did like 70 other people who wanted to park on the same street.  so i parked on the next street over. didn't really think much of it, figured a little walk is never a bad thing.  i ended up being slightly wrong on that this time. when i went to step up onto the curb, my heel caught on either the curb or the street.  i totally tripped and fell to my knees.  probably would have landed a lot better if i hadn't been trying to protect the six pack i was holding.  anyway, i got up, limped around a little, and figured i would just walk it off.  got to the party and sat on the couch until it felt better.  great i thought, everything is ok now since it doesn't hurt anymore.  so i got up and did the party thing.  toward the end of the night, it started to hurt again, so i sat down for a while.  it was feeling ok by the time i decided to go home.  walked to the car with no problems.  and then i got home.  once i took off my boots i realized that the only reason that it had been feeling ok was because my boots are skin tight and had been holding pressure on it and not letting it swell.  once the boots were off, it started swelling.  and bruising.  and now i can't even put weight on it, so i've been hopping around on one foot to get to different parts of my apartment.  since i'm pretty nonfunctional right now, dani is being awesome and going to the store to get me some meds and a wrap.  at least it's no longer making the popping sounds that it was last night.  i'm hoping i can fix it myself today, and if it's not improving by tomorrow when i wake up i'll go to a doctor.  le sigh.  at least i looked good last night.

omg! another costume!

so, i love halloween.  i pretty much love any excuse to wear a costume.  and since i got to wear one last weekend, and get to wear a different one tonight, i'm totally stoked.  i am not, as some people thought, re-wearing the blood elf costume.  partly because the ears got a little messed up on the way home, and partly because that's just the way i roll.  different event, different costume.  tonight, i'm going as a pirate.  i was considering skanky pirate, but i'm not really feeling that, so i'm going for awesome pirate.  i have a pretty sweet, girly type pirate hat that i'm going to wear.  i plan on wearing black pants with my black hooker boots (4" heels, they're awesome).  i'm also going to be wearing my white ren faire shirt with my leather gauntlets.  i have 2 options as to what to wear over the shirt, and i haven't decided which i want yet.  i'm either going to tie a red sash just under the bust line, or wear my corset top from last weekend over it.  i'll have to try them both on and see what looks best.  as for accessories, i will be using my black leather pouch again, along with my pewter tankard and flogger.  i'm expecting to look pretty kick ass.  not sure if i'll be able to get any pics, but i'll be sure to share them if i do.  have i mentioned how much i love costumes?

feeling a little emo

so life can sneak up on you in funny little ways.  like tomorrow is making me feel way more emotional than i would have ever expected it to.  tomorrow will be different for me than it has been for the last six years, and for some reason it's a little unnerving.  the event itself is unimportant, since that's not really where the issue lies.   it's just forcing me to realize how much things have changed this year, some for the better, some for the worse.  it's always just a little surreal when something unimportant and insignificant causes you to evaluate a large portion of your life.  while i know that none of it can be changed, and i don't really regret most of it, it's just weird to see how things you did years ago could have had entirely different outcomes.  but that's just the way it is.  can't do anything about it now, so i don't want to waste to much of my rambling on it.  i'll be back to my usual sarcastic, witty self by friday.  until then, enjoy this picture of a pretty flower

credit: me!

epic loot

the loot

guess what?  another post about blizzcon!  this time about the swag. i was going to try and write about something unrelated to blizzcon so that the non gamers could have something to enjoy, but i got writer's block when i tried that.  and since it's my blog, y'all just have to deal with it. (yes, i know that was redneck.  whatever)  anyway, i'm going to talk about the blizzcon goodie bag, the stuff i bought, and how this caused me to totally rearrange my apartment.

deathy

first off, the swag bag that every one gets when you pick up your badge.  the less exciting items included some coupons for different vendors at the convention, and a trial version of starcraft II.  since i don't play and have no intention of starting, just let me know if you want this and i'll see what i can do.  now for the things that peaked my interest: deathy and dethling.  deathy is the in-game pet murloc made to look like deathwing from cataclysm.  if you want to make a super pissed off dragon look adorable, this is the way to do it.  also, i'm a pretty avid vanity pet collector in-game, so this is right up my ally.  dethling, on the other hand, is a tangible item.   he's a miniature version of deathwing.  and this may just be because i'm a little weird, but i think he's adorable as well.  he's hand cast in polystone, hand painted, and only available to people who attended blizzcon this year.  and he is awesome.  he is currently guarding my jewelry boxes.  nothing is going to steal my fake precious gemstones and crazy cool earrings while he's on watch.  the one thing that worries me is the cat.

dethling

while he may look menacing, he's defenseless against her and her stupid need to try and eat everything that i don't want her to.  and considering that he will never be available for retail sale, i wouldn't have an easy time replacing him.  she tried to chew on one of his wings last night when i was moving things around, and i swear she almost lost one of her nine lives over it.

official shirt

which brings me to the part about rearranging my apartment.  part of it was because i wanted dethling to be on a taller bookshelf so that said cat couldn't eat him.  but the bigger part was because i needed somewhere to hang my blizzcon poster.  i decided that it would look really awesome over my bed, with my convention pass hanging next to it.  and it really does.  only problem was that there was already stuff hanging above my bed.  no problem, i'll just move it to the other side of the room.  well, there's a picture there.  ok, i'll just move it to the kitchen and move the white board over a little.  well now the bookshelf at the top of the stairs is blocking the pictures there, so i'll move it next to my desk.  now it looks really blank in that spot.  i'll put the bookshelf from downstairs there since it's shorter.  and i'll move all my breyer horses there since it will match the pictures on the wall behind it.  well now all the black and white pictures on the wall going up the stairs don't match all the color at the top of the stairs, so i'll switch them with the color prints in the living room.  and the egypt picture doesn't match the black and white ones, so it can go upstairs.  and since i moved the bookshelf from downstairs to upstairs, i need to pull out the folding bookshelf again so i have something to put movies and you know, books, on to.  so yeah, one poster caused a whole night of moving things.  but it was totally worth it.  i also got the official t-shirt, but it was slightly easier to find a place to put that.