People Around Me

So of late I know two acquaintances who are England. Two of my friends are currently in Germany. Another of my friends is about to move to Hawaii to start a new job. It's pretty amazing, folks are going everywhere! Kind of wish I could go somewhere but looks like the best chance I will have is sometime next year.

So today was kind of interesting as I went over to JadeCo to see if they had gotten in Exalted 2nd Ed. They hadn't but as I was perusing the dice (always need more d10s to torments the poor PCs on Fridays) Brady comes in. So we chat and he is looking at the new D&D Tome of Magic. Jim only has a damaged copy which he is willing to sell half off (making it a decent price for a D&D book) so I pick that up. Brady ends up spotting me $20 as the debit card reader is on the fritz. So now Brady, Jim, and I are chatting. Who walks through the door but Isaac. Starting to be a little Exalted reunion. We chat for a bit and then lo and behold who comes in but Alex. At this point we are suspecting that Dani and Skott will come wheeling in short thereafter. We had half the crew already! Was rather interesting and spent nearly an hour there. As for Tome of Magic, it's ok, I've read better but maybe some stuff to toss into a random D&D game in the future. At least it was half off and I did get some shiny d10s.

What else is new? Not much, cramming in the homework. Life is back on full. Which means I should go and reference that lovely research paper. My part is nearing the end. Yay for that. Once it's referenced I can leave it fully in the hands of Jeff.

Oh yea, I did tweak the links a bit. More on that next time. Fun stuff that.

School Starts Again

Well, really more like break is over. Although technically I don't have class til Tuesday morning. I have been working slowly on Goulet's research paper. Need to get that mostly ironed out tomorrow. Then have to work on some SQL and finish a web page. Should really read up on a little Flash because I believe we have a test on Wednesday. Presentation due on Thursday for Goulet along with aforementioned research paper. It'll be busy and I don't think it will slow down. That's how things work though. I am getting close to being finished. Of course then I have work and from watching Evie (and past expierence) I realize the graduation just leads to a different sort of busy. Think work would be more enjoyable in some ways though. Guess I will find out come January, well hope so anyhow.

Saw V for Vendetta tonight. Very interesting movie. Much more thoughtful then I had anticipated. It's all too easy for us to forget that way back in the late 1700s a certain group of British citizens were labeled as terrorists and traitors and now we look at them as patriots. Makes you wonder when the line is crossed for either side. I like a movie that makes me think a little bit (or a lot) but still entertains me. Plus great use of the 1812 overture. I shant say anything more in case people who are reading this want to see it!

Well going to try and get to bed early (ie 0100) so better wrap this up. Hope the return to classes isn't too bad for everyone.

Long Day

Wow, 4 more hours on the road but it was worth it. Spent the afternoon with grandma and had a generally good time. I feel bad for not visiting her more as it has to be kind of lonely there. I realize I'm lonely after a day but at least I know I can visit folks a lot but grandma doesn't have that many people left so she doesn't get many visitors. :/ Def. on my list of things to do this summer is spend more time with her.

Think I may take CIS 480 this summer since this internship thing doesn't seem to be panning out. Granted I'd still prefer an internship but so far while there are lots of jobs out there I haven't had any luck. Guess I will talk with Carter and see what he thinks.

Tomorrow's a work day. That'll be fun. Really...

I survived a freak blizzardish snow shower in March to come to Point and do homework?!?

Days Go By

I miss the XA girls. Things aren't the same without them. :/ Not much to say about break. Lots of stuff to do, break is kind of a misnomer ya know? I'm getting glasses now but only for essentially class (reading the board, etc) and that's about it. Not sure how much I will wear them. Funny that staring at a computer all day makes it harder for me to see far away. Anyhow time to go do some more laundry. Lots of random things to do!

Joga Bonito!

Positive Endings

Well this certainly was a pleasant surprise but I am slipping into spring break on a fairly positive note rather then the dreary downer it felt like it was going to be. Thanks Aprill and Kara for one the best nights all semester :) Oh and BW3s Parmesan Garlic

Anyhow now it's time to try and stay awake for one last shift here in the CPS. It's actually fairly busy in here. I guess there are a couple classes still running in the CPS today. Probably ones with presentations that requires actual attendence.

On a very short note. If you are participating in the NCAA Tournament Brackets through ESPN and want to compare vs my roommate and I join the group TJH (password: pw). Tyler and I have all our brackets in there. Once again my 16 seeds failed to pull off an amazing upset. There's always next year. Gotta get lucky sometime right?

That wasn't a short note at all. On an RPG note (just one paragraph so non-RPGers can skip down one) I have learned that this year Wizards of the Coast has declared the theme of the year of the Dragon. Now it's not the year of the dragon in China so it's a bit dissapointing they didn't correlate but there are def. a couple books I'm going to be sorely tempted to get because dragons are by far my favorite creatures out of D & D. Primarily they are creating a Faerun based Draconicum but they are releasing (another?!?) Monster Manual that indications seem to point towards adding yet more scaled, winged giants to the fray.

So closing deep thoughts for break. I don't really got any. Hope to recharge, be productive, pray to God Sentry calls me for an interview, catch up on my reading, and generally just enjoy 10 days of freedom. How sweet it sounds. After this shift I am also going over to St. Michaels to see if they really do have an internship opening for IT. Prof. Goulet said he thought they had mentioned it but I can't find any reference on their website.

Well, think I am gonna kick back and read. I should have brought Neuromancer but I opted for simpler reading this morning with Forgotten Realms core. I love history even if it's made up! Til later.

They Took the Mailbox?!?

Seriously, go look outside the UC for the blue US Mail bin. They took it. Noone seems to know where or why. Very odd. Kind of frustrating because that is where I mail my bills from. Guess I will have to locate another mail bin to send bills from.

So, I took my last test prior to spring break. It sucked but it's done so not going to worry about it. I'll dread Tuesday in a couple weeks. One more class and one work shift and I am home free. I have really no plans. In theory get some work done. Go home.

My roommate says we should buy electric cars. I think the battery life on them is akin to my old iPod. Not very good.

I'm less stressed at certain people this week but it'll still be good to get away from them. I'm gonna miss a lot of other people tho, even if it's just a week. I guess beggars can't be choosers though so I will deal. I kind of wonder if there is anything I can do to resolve the issue but I am not sure if it's just me. If it is just me I might be as much the problem as the other folk.

GITS:SAC 2nd Gig is now running Wednesday nights. I am excited, I can catch the episode I missed a couple weeks back. Of course it's once a week so it'll take me 5 weeks or so. Ah patience is a virtue.

Going to Barnes & Noble tonight. I am debating about getting a new Forgotten Realms book. I know I said I wouldn't buy any RPGs barring the new Exalted core (which comes out Monday incidentally) but the book seems pretty cool. It's a guide to playing higher level (epic?) characters in Faerun. I want to look at it before I buy it so Amazon is sort of less an option. I'll prolly buy it. I love buying books. I'm an addict, I'll admit it. B&N is bad for me. It's probably a good thing the nearest one is Wausau!

Ok, that's prolly enough rambling for now.

Bumbling

As of late I feel kind of like a bumbling oaf. So I just need to get through a couple more days without stepping on anyone's toes.

This week has def. the feel of one you just want to get through. All I can think about is Friday at 10 when I am done with work and can look forward to a week of absolute slacking and away from all this mess. The need to get away is rather strong this break. It's odd, I'm not usually this burned out this early.

Humor break.

Ok, I need to return to working. More content will ensue after Thursday I swear. Some of it might even be interesting.

(Ok who am I kidding is any of it really interesting?) :o

Half Somethin

So def. not gonna be as productive today as I hoped. That happens a lot on Sundays. It's also how Mon-Wed is insane. I'm not very bright as you prolly can conclude from how I let my weeks go. Mostly I shall blame Pirate Mike for letting me borrow Empire at War to see if my tablet can handle it. Arr!

Saw Kingdom of Heaven Friday night. It was really good. I had heard it wasn't all that good but I was not dissapointed. I'd highly recommend it, probably will actually purchase it at some point.

My roommate says this is all I need so I will post it to make him happy :o

Volleyball Redux

Strange day. Didn't expect it to be good (kinda the opposite to Wednesday) but turned out alright. Really beat my head on Flash. Drove me nuts. Still stuck but have other homework. And Star Wars: Empire at War. Obviously SW is better can be detrimental to the homework so have to crack down tomorrow.

Played sand volleyball tonight. Didn't realize that it would be sand volleyball at first so figured I'd be very sore. Still am somewhat sore already but not too bad. Was gonna write more but I am beat. Sorry. :/

Windows

So in lieu of the very warm temps of late the roommate and I opened up some windows. Man, it's nice to get some fresh air in this place.

Yea, that's all.

Life Catches Up

It's about that time of the semester where every class has homework, tests, and projects in full swing and no longer is there much break. It's hectic. Some folk are getting on my nerve as well adding to the stress.

Trying to figure out what to research relating to analytics. So much data but not a lot in the area I want. Blah. Sorry on the lack of big updates, go back and read the older ramblings? Back to work :/

Illegitimis nil carborundum

Seems like everyone's a little burnt out, frustrated, tired, sick, or some other not so good feeling. Don't let the bastards grind you down, whoever they may be.

Dum vita est spes es!

Some sort of intriquing title here

Lesse, despite some quirks this weekend was pretty good. A little strange but oh well. Was surprised by the snow but it was nice and pretty and I got to get out for a walk in it and that was a lot of fun. Realized I am really looking forward to moving into my new apartment although not quite sure why. I'm gonna miss my roommate quite a bit I think especially this summer when most everyone will be gone. Hopefully at least I'll be working but even that I have to wonder about. This week I really need to crack down and send out some applications to other places. Was really hoping I wouldn't need to but it's been 3 months and nothing so I'd better keep my options open or I won't be doing anything this summer. And that would be incredibly boring.

On a random short note: I've created the evil main villian for my Exalted series. She's pretty nasty but I am so dissapointed with the brawl tree. It's oh so gimpy. Gonna run with it anyways tho. I've got some sneaky tricks up my sleaves!

For anyone who enjoys Miyazaki's films, a couple are running on Cartoon Network later this month. Starting Sat. March 18th and every Saturday through April 1st at least. I missed the huge run of them on TCM in January, very sad about that so hopefully catch a few now.

This week it's supposed to hit mid-40s. Kind of a quick turn around from the snow but I guess spring in finally arriving. It's only been since January that we've seen 40s after all!

Well I should peruse a little history so I can say I did something useful while working.

Exalted Rnd. 10

"Meow, meow, meow, uh where's the girl?" -priest talking to cat
"We're gettin' us some famous people and feedin' 'em to demons." -priest on solution to the demon problem
"Holy crap where did those streamers come from." (Ninja streamers, the truth life of a party)
"Well lemme pack... (picks up bag)... ok."
"Hello, Bordello."

Well it's lasted into double digits. Wow. Well this session we got the Eclipse back but no Twilight. After the previous nights events the Twilight and the Eclipse return but the Twilight dissapears as soon as he arrives. Has to protect his library. The Eclipses opts to go shopping in disguise and buys everyone dress clothes on a whim. In the meantime the Zenith comes up with a plan after figuring out who the demons will target next. The Dawn and Night modify this plan some as they realize that while the demons are probably in general targetting the nobility, rich, and diplomats of the city that they seems to be making a move towards the central manse and the Sidereals in particular.

The plan is to get all the rich and famous (barring the Sidereals who wouldn't go anyways) to go to a religious festival that the Solars just cooked up. It's an all out festival that they spare no expense on and with the Eclipse's skills word gets out and all show up. The priest and the Eclipse lead things while the Dawn makes appearances. The Night caste keeps an eye on the Sidereals wing of the Manse.

About this time demons show up when it's just the Night and a few mortal gaurds. Mortals die. Night takes on the demons and gives about what she takes before the gaurds sound the alarm, die some more (oh you poor short lived mortals), and the Dawn leaps (the battle is on the second story of the manse across the square) to her rescue. Activate Dawn caste kills demons mode and all 2 of the remaining demons die or retreat. Demon guts everywhere. Night licks her wounds/sulks (one of the demons caused her to limit break which has her scorn people who indulge, ie everyone). The Sidereals who have been defending themselves against a much, much larger force make enough ruckuss, ie breaking walls down, that the Dawn charges in to find a bunch of demons taking them on. Dawn super demon killing combo of doom activated. Demons dying quick pointless deaths at hands of Dawn's daiklave o' doom activated.

The Eclipse now is rushing to join her two comrades when more demons portal into the square. Taking cover she engages the demons she sets one on fire. A couple of blood apes engage her and again both sides come out about the same. The rest of the demons led by one that is pretty obviously of the 2nd circle variety head towards the inn where the festival is happening. The Dawn leaps from the manse onto the statue the Eclipse is using for cover (nice cinematic btw) and skewers the surviving ape. He then challenges the 2nd Circle demon to a duel. The demon commands him to stand his ground and returns to his business. The Night finally joins in but the demon has uber-soak and barely notices the attack. She moves to close in on the demon.

Meanwhile the inn has suddenly burst into a riot.

The Dawn moves to take on the demon but he portals away with the few surviving 1st circles leaving several Solars in the midst of limit break, injury, and gore. The Dawn calms down the crowd and heads for bead. The Night dissapears and the Eclipse limit breaks. The Zenith in the meantime takes on a demon that specifically defiles holy objects, which Zeniths happen to count as. The demon nearly beats him but through some imagination he fakes his own death then using WP overcome his injuries (he was incapaticated) he surprise attacks the demon using almost all his peripheral essence on one solar spike at point blank range. Jade lion demon = vaporized.

The wrap up leaves the Solars preparing to go to Chaya where the demons went and recovering from the general mayhem of the night.

This was a long session: 8 hours, even with a couple breaks for food we really went for a long time. Part of this was combat because it's incredibly slow. Plus the combats were usually with one or two individuals at a time. I could never really get everyone together for it. This seemed to result in a lot of boredom among whoever was out of combat which I had trouble aliveating. That of course made things slower to because the borded players would get distracted and bringing them back up to date, etc took more time. This running games is tough stuff!

Structure

I've noticed my weeks act kind of the same way regardless of my schedule. Monday-Wednesday I want to dissapear from the face of the earth. Heck a couple of times I've pulled that stunt as of late. I'm not going to anymore, it's kinda selfish I'll admit. However usually by Wed evening sometime during history class things begin to ease down, the hard part of the week is done. Then Wed night, Thursday night, and Friday night I get absolutely nothing done unless it's absolutely pressing. It's a very strange routine and I'd certainly make my early part of the week easier if I spread out my work. However, I find it hard to motivate myself to do anything these nights. I'm very much the type of person who puts off homework until the last moment. I do better with work but that's cause usually the deadlines are set up a little different.

Do you ever go back through your music collection and play songs that you haven't played much at all hoping to find a few good gems? I've been doing that a lot recently. It's funny. I guess I've consumed so much music that much of it slips past on the first pass. Thankfully I can always come back for another sweep. Right now on the "re-found" list is: The Planets, Jupiter Bringer of Jollity (London Symphony Orchestra, although Holst is the composer), Wounded Feet (Telecast), and The Road to Exile (Afro Celt Sound System). It's pretty short so far but the night is young!

Tomorrow is the ol' Exalted game and I haven't prepped much. I guess I can always have the fallback of 26,217 demons swarming the 4 Solars. Isaac's character would probably even live. The rest might be a bit steamed at their very abrupt slaughter. Guess after this I will do a little more prep. I had actually intended to give some combat last time but just didn't play out right. Kind of funny how that works out but when you're telling a story sometimes you just know when things will fit.

Speaking of fitting things together just right. I'm a little stuck on my project. I know what I want to do but the execution of it is coming as a challenge. Most of it is slowly coming together. I add on bits and pieces as I go. I'm really excited. I feel like I am making a museum piece for people to poke around and explore. In reality it's probably not that fun but to me it is. My imagination is just plotting out new avenues to explore and add. We'll see I guess.

Ok, probably enough content for now. Odd question for those of you who'd actual care to comment. Do you prefer longish posts or short ones? Or something else? I sometimes wonder what the -2 readers actually think. To the person who came here because I use the term "Exalted" alot sorry that there's very little content here of use. Go to Wikipedia and search for Exalted, follow the links at the bottom of the page. Probably the best assortment of resources out there.

In brief

I'm up to something interesting. I hope people might find it entertaining. Can't say what or wear it is but you might be able to find it if you know where to look. Part of the reason I've been away lately. Enjoy the randomness below!

Random 2.0

Actually the number is quite a bit higher for random posts I am sure but ah well.

Things are busy. Not overwhelmingly busy but just busy enough that nothing really slows down for long. Always things to do. Plus waiting, I hate waiting even although I am sure it's good for me. It's sort of a thing where I teeter between burnout and full-burn. A precarious balance that I seem to usually live a lot of life on. Lots of people do.

Things randomly coming up: IV/XA dinner tomorrow, 5pm meet by the XA/IV office, lunch with Allison Friday (yay!), Exalted Friday evening (better get some planning done), history test in a week, and other assorted goodies, surprises, etc.

Continuing on the random pace: when I started watching X this weekend I thought about how I'd like it more if the good character became bad. This thought was brought on because the main character was acting all bad-ass even though it's inherently obvious he is destined to become the good guy. Well surprise! The "bad-ass" guy does become good but one of the guys who was attempting convince him to be good becomes evil the instant he chooses. And not the pussy kinda evil but the "I'll steal you're big shiny sword, kill my own sister and then nearly kill you in the space of about 3 seconds since I have become evil" evil. Downright freaky and a little depressing cause I liked him more then the main character and now he's the bad guy. Guess I should be careful what I wish for eh?

Ok, no more anime in this post I swear. And no RPGs. Honest.

I should really end this post now just for laughs.

If you're not a musician can you claim to better knowledge of music then someone who is? For that matter should anyone be actually claiming to know what's good music or not? I've heard a lot of people of late trumpeting about how everything but what they like is crap. Of course if they all intermixed the world would be absolutely silent. Think I'd just prefer everyone would talk about what they liked and not stomp on other people's choices. Having a preference does not imply some sort of lack of knowledge, it's a preference. Respect the difference.

That was a rant. Whee. There's a new Sam & Max game coming out. I'm gonna buy it. Even though it probably won't come out for another year or more. It's Sam & Max. They're hilarious. Who else has a version of Battleship called Car Bomb where you can blow up a hearse using a trampoline? Or have a small furry rabbit jump highway signs whilst driving 100+ mph? "Stop him Sam, he's gonna tell a story!"

Anyhow, time to hit the road or go to bed or something. Much to do again tomorrow. Coverage begins 0830 CST. Enjoy.