Well hi, Coffeepeople. I am currently freezing my everloving butt off. I hate cold weather with a passion....
Almost as much as I hate getting up early.
Life's okay, I guess, with the exception of me trying to get a part-time job at Pizza Hut and them offering me $6 an hour. Now, I have rather extensive restaurant experience, and there's virtually nothing I can't cook. I've even done work at a pizza place before (Domino's). So, I politely asked them to reconsider, as that would barely pay for gas and kid-watchers. They predictably said no. Therefore, I took my application back and walked out.
Was that wrong of me?
Hey, be proud of me- I didn't cuss them out. I guess at 28 I might just be growing up a bit.:D
aww thats a bummer well maybe you can get a job at a restraunt or something. I still thought it was wrong of them to turn you down like that though because in a retail business like that anything can change within a couple of days to a couple of months. I mean for real the assistant manager of the grocery store that I work at is retiring today and it seems like just yesterday he hired me even though I have been there for 8 months. Hehe, I am totally the opposite i can eat alot of things but i can't really cook to save my life lol.
Anyhow I just wanted to say good morning to you all and i am just happy i have a day off today so I can pretty much rest anytime i want and possibly catchup on some video gaming. I am also so jealous of my friend matt that he got the abyss an awesome legends card even in his rbu landstill and 3 sinkholes as well for christmas. He needs to stop getting better cards then his teacher in magic haha just kidding. Although he said he was going to give me an vedalken shackles, an umezawa's jitte, and a couple of polluted deltas soon.
By the way I am planning on writing up casual decks of the week pretty soon. while psiblast does the legacy of the weeks.
Well I am going to take off for now. Talk to you all soon.
Well, its 49 degrees here in Gold Hill, (but its rainy and stormy which is not fun here.. the cold SINKS to your skin here) but in Rochester, where I'll be within a week's time, its 16 degrees! fuuuun... well at least I'm not in Westborough MA, where Ryan lives, its 9 degrees!
How's everyone?? I just went to a Voc Rehab meeting this morning, and now its noon, about 3pm back East.. Got everything all taken care of, it seems, as far as their paying for half of my (full!) salary for the 3 months of my training and stuff... so that'll be good.. they also agreed to pay for my bus passes, 56 dollars a month So I'm happy about that
Anyway I probably should post on Half-Life then go do some of that packing.. I wanna finish that e-mail but will probably end up doing that later tonight..... I wanna get it done and sent out today so that I can say "I've been working off and on writin' this since yesterday morning" or osmething like that...
EDIT: Oh and a while ago someone asked what we were all doing as the New Year hit, I was playing Boggle with my mom, then watching the ball drop Normally I run outside and yell "Happy New Yearrrr!!!!" but I wasn't wanting to get up from the comfy spot on the couch, so I just sat there and drank wine, toasting with my mom, then kept watching TV a little bit longer ..I must be getting old
Nothing like a good nights sleep to get you going. I was pretty tuckered after the whole mess yesterday. I've written a blog thingy about it and my New Year's day, so I encourage you to check it out and comment. Some new pictures in there too. Here's a sample:
As for my trek into the 2008 year, I was sitting playing some WoW, but I stopped to watch the ball drop, not once, but twice! Once at 10:00 and again at Midnight. Most stations will show it at Midnight on the east coast and then again for our Midnight over here.
Other than that, I'm just taking it easy today. Its been fairly chilly here, but its pretty nice out, so that's good.
WTF?? if I calculated that right that -23°C! How do you survive that? We start complainig if drops to -5°C!
Welcome to Mi[insert last part of name of any northern midwest state here]!
I bike to work, and have ever since I left college. That includes a stint in Washington, Minnesota, upstate New York, and of course Virginia
The range of conditions varied from -18 (-34) F with windchill; 40 F with pouring rain and winds up to 35 mph; and 105 F (115 with humidity) and air quality rating in the orange or imminent hazard zone.
Most people move from house, to car, to building, to car, to house, without really being outside for any length of time; so they don't really understand how the weather conditions and climate affect them. They are not used to bundling up for long workdays in subzero temps, or carrying enough water and sunscreen for a long sweltering commute through the city in the middle of a Southern Atlantic August heat wave. So it is actually no surprise that more and more average Americans are suffering adverse health effects from even moderate incidents of exposure; they don't have the common sense to be prepared for something they rarely experience or intuitively understand.
Basically, survival for winter exposures means protecting your core temperature. Wear layers, cover the ears and head because that is a major source of heat loss. Keep your feet dry by buying proper boots or wellies and wearing proper socks. If you're outside for 3+ hours per day in subzero temps like me, consider using a petroleum-based skin cream or ointment to protect your eyes and mucus membranes from freezing; use wraparound shades or ski glasses to protect your eyes from wind and cut down on glare; polarized lenses help you avoid icy patches hidden under snow. Wear mittens, not gloves, and preferably ones with a long cuff or sleeve that extends to protect the wrist and forearm. These are exposed to wind and moisture from working outside with your hands, and even if your hands are covered, you can suffer frostbite and injury-prone numbness because vessels passing through your wrists constrict to save heat.
If you're unlucky enough to have to travel or work outside in Minnesota conditions and everything is closed for the holidays or bad weather, consider staying close to main routes where grocery stores and gas stations lie. Most of these are open 24/7 regardless and even if you can't go inside to stay warm, someone will be there to call for help if needed, or even just sell you a cheap hot coffee from a pot that should have been thrown out hours ago. I was once stuck in a small town in Wisconsin during a snowstorm and the entire nearby college had closed down for a blizzard. Nobody was open except for a Citgo where I was able to get the clerk to microwave me a cup of hot water to unfreeze a gear shifter cable and continue on to my destination.
If you're driving in the kind of weather that just passed through upstate NY this weekend, bring a -20 F or better rated sleeping bag and extra batteries for torches/cell phones/etc. Make sure your car battery is fully charged and you have cables that work. Properly rated antifreeze should be used and make sure you plug in your car at night if those services are available. Dress warmly anyway, even if you are only making a short trip, because you might end up like this: driving in a blizzard, windshield frozen over, can't see out windshield, have to stop and get out and scrape or even melt the crap off your windshield every 10 minutes, have to finally give up and drive with the window open and you leaning out to see where you're going. It's happened to me enough times that I regularly dress and prepare expecting to be leaning out the car window for some of the time every trip. That said, if things all go sour and you are stalled on a desolate road somewhere, stay in the car unless there is a realistic and compelling reason to think you can get help sooner than morning.
@AoK: That Pizza Hut thing is sick and wrong. There is no reason they should ever be offering an experienced person $6 an hour for any job ever. $6 an hour just isn't enough money for anything other than teenagers trying to make some extra spending money.
@all the cold weather stuff: I generally consider it really cold once it drops below about 20°F (about -6.5°C for those of you who prefer that measurement). I suppose I'm a wimp, but anything dropping below about 0°F or a little lower (about -18°C) makes me want to stay inside at all costs (that's before wind chill, I'm good enough at keeping the wind off me that I can usually deal with that unless it's blowing really strongly).
I have to say I feel sorry for IS (and other such folk where it's sub-zero (F)). Today it didn't get much about 15°F (-9.5°C) where I am, but it's supposed to get a lot warmer tomorrow (like above freezing), so I'm not too worried.
it's been pretty chilly around here as well, hovering in the teens-20's.
AoK: You were right to turn that down. even for a part-time job, if you've done it before, you should get more than min. wage.
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Considering I have worked off and on in the restaurant industry (nothing fancy, though) for almost 13 years, yeah, it was a problem. Hell, Waffle House paid me more (but it was hell).
I hate the cold. I hate temperature extremes of any sort; I have no tolerance for either.
I also hate being the only person in my house with a driver's license. This royally sucks.
And yes, no incantatrix for you. Or anyone. That class makes puppies cry. Mostly because they are the former Big Bads who have been Baleful Polymorphed into said puppies. By you. Because you're an incantatrix.
Quote from Yukora »
This is Deraxas we're talking about.
Remember, the girl that just killed an aspect of herself before literally consuming her?
Yeah, I don't see her handling a pissing match in any way other than a duel.
Quote from RedDwarfian »
Yes mistress...
Quote from About epic-level D&D »
There are only so many epic, psuedonatural barbarian/blackguard half-dragon akutenshai vampire balor paragons they can throw at you, right?
Quote from Concerning breeding habits of humans in fantasy games »
I suppose it's true. Though the logistics implied in a human/Great Wyrm Prismatic Dragon pairing makes me shudder.
...Something tells me that even should all arcane casters in the world unite, that the Grease spell would NOT be sufficient.
@all the cold weather stuff: I generally consider it really cold once it drops below about 20°F (about -6.5°C for those of you who prefer that measurement). I suppose I'm a wimp, but anything dropping below about 0°F or a little lower (about -18°C) makes me want to stay inside at all costs (that's before wind chill, I'm good enough at keeping the wind off me that I can usually deal with that unless it's blowing really strongly).
You're not a wimp. I do that same exact thing when it gets below 20 degrees. Hell, I spent half the day today just playing WoW on two different private servers.
And thanks to all this cold, I think I'm getting sick again. Living in the NE sucks because it's usually a haven for all the different types of colds and flus and they all seem to congregate here. Got that signature sore throat I always start with already... And believe or not there's STILL another type of cold out there running around town. Some people have been sick four times in the last month and a half thanks to this crap.
@ BuzzDX and omna: what is ball drop? Is that baseball?
It is an American tradition that started in 1907 where a ball (which was initially made of wood, and is now made of plastic and now only utilizes the energy of 10 toasters. I didn't believe that either, but that is what they said on the New Year's Eve show) begins to drop during the New Year countdown. When the countdown reaches zero, the ball explodes sending confetti everywhere.
That was probably too much information, but now you know. And knowing is half the battle.
GI JOOOOEEEEEE!!
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"He says he's always loved the work of Beethoven, and often thinks of him as a true O.G" 50 Cent's thoughts on Classical Music Check out the H/W List playa: http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=80563 Member of the Syndicate
Syndicate Members:5
My AIM is Satriani744 (shocker, right?;))
It's a great way to get in touch with me for trades, or just chattin'. Just don't stalk me please.
Hi guys I just came back. Im currently half way finished at my thesis..I envy Omna she's done with it already..*sigh*
@Sepiriel: See the attachment. Its my current character in Ragnarok Online..im currently lvl 96 wizard.3 more levels to go before I shine..Well maybe Ill get the trancedent jobs after a month of enjoying being 99. Then its back to level one again, but its gonna be stronger when I reach the high wizard class..
Hi, peeps. I'm posting from Josh's computer right now, on account of our own suddenly shutting off and refusing to turn back on.
I've been told it appears to be a problem with the power flow being interrupted, but there's nothing wrong with the power source itself. I don't know what it will take to fix, or how much it will cost, but at the moment it seems like it could be anywhere along a range. This could be a minor setback or a significant one. At least I can keep in contact with people via our Wii.
Meanwhile, I'm feeling better about the new year around now. I worry a bit when things get funky around this time of year, but looking in the right direction makes some things seem brighter.
Tanthalas, I like the sound of perpetually temperate weather.
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All that I yearn for, for richer or poorer, is to be the light that you see. All that I yearn for, for richer or poorer, is to be the peace that you feel. All that I yearn for, for richer or poorer, is to fill your heart on my own.
But the rainbow is an image of hope for many reasons, as it is a brilliant sight coming out of oftimes dismal weather.
Hi, peeps. I'm posting from Josh's computer right now, on account of our own suddenly shutting off and refusing to turn back on.
I've been told it appears to be a problem with the power flow being interrupted, but there's nothing wrong with the power source itself. I don't know what it will take to fix, or how much it will cost, but at the moment it seems like it could be anywhere along a range. This could be a minor setback or a significant one. At least I can keep in contact with people via our Wii.
Meanwhile, I'm feeling better about the new year around now. I worry a bit when things get funky around this time of year, but looking in the right direction makes some things seem brighter.
Tanthalas, I like the sound of perpetually temperate weather.
oh my hopefully you will get that fixed soon mamelon. But its good to see you doing well and posting in the coffeehouse. *hugs*
Anyway I am going to take a shower pretty soon. Ill talk to you all soon though and have a great night everyone. *blows kisses to everyone*
Not only am I alive, I have an apartment, money, a (now fixed and inside) washing machine, and an adapter for my laptop. My apartment is smack in the middle of the city of Yonago, within a few minutes walk of 1) my school 2) a variety of department stores and 3) Yonago central train station.
I only got an adapter to plug my laptop in yesterday, which had been a problem, . I had other things to do yesterday, so I didn't get a chance to try it out until today. Note that by today, I mean Friday, January 04, since it's 4pm in the afternoon here. I walked around town with my laptop open, trying out all the public areas I could either find or think of to see which ones, if any, had an unsecured wireless connection. Finally, in a big open public area on the fourth floor of a huge department store, I found one. So... expect possibly more regular contact from me now that I have a viable internet access point. Internet to my apartment might not be activated for another few days, possibly up to another week.
There are so many things I want to say that I certainly couldn't say them all in one post. For one thing, I got cut off in the middle of my last blog, and I haven't even finished the story of how I got to Yonago in the first place. For another, some descriptions would be incomplete without pictures, which I will be able to provide as soon as I get home and figure out how to get my camera hooked up to my laptop.
Imagine this, though: You are dropped into the middle of a world where you can just barely speak to anyone at all, you can't read anything (even important things such as, say, labels on boxes in the supermarket), there are almost no foods you are familiar with (and you don't know the names of ones you aren't to order them), you are truly living by yourself for the first time in your life, and you are suddenly told to change your sleeping habits to get up at 4:00pm and go to bed at 6:00am. Not to mention a few other things, such as eating with wooden sticks and being required to sort all your garbage into 5-6 different categories. Is it possible to adapt? Yes. Is it difficult? Yes is an understatement. It's especially difficult when you have no connection to the outside world, which I didn't until today. I was unspeakably relieved when I found a wireless connection this afternoon and used Skype to call my mother at home, like a tight knot inside my chest suddenly loosened.
Also, are those Japanese game shows really as ridiculous as a lot of us Americans think? I think the poster child of Japanese game shows on this side of the ocean is probably human tetris (which, I must say, is absolutely hilarious to watch), but are they all like that?
The gameshows that I've seen so far have been, well, yes, ridiculous. One entertaining program presented contestants with a "map" to the maze, of sorts, they would be entering. They had about 10 seconds to memorize it. After that, they had to go through a series of pairs of doors. Open the wrong door, and you were dropped into a pit of water. They were on a time limit too, so there was little chance to sit and try to remember the map. Hard Gay was one of the contestants in this one, which is probably why I remember it.
Another note on TV programming: Sometimes, entire programs will randomly be in English in their entirety. Most often, this comes in the form of BBC documentaries, but I have seen the news in English, and last night, I swear to god I turned on the TV at about 1:00am and found the following, all in English, without even Japanese subtitles:
1) Meet Joe Black
2) Ocean's Eleven
3) Full House (yes, that Full House with the very young Olsen Twins)
@Stuff: Yay for you...games hows are just hilarious there... a little creepy and perv some times, but damn funny can i expect a katana in my mail box this january?
Expect it soon. Just be warned that it may still be attached to the samurai it belongs to. They don't part with those things easily, you know.
Sorry I haven't been around too much... Been busy trying to get things settled for my move and stuff....
Yeah... same here except in spades. I'm still trying to stop pulling my hair out trying to get used to everything. I'm taking one day at a time, but yeesh. Overwhelming doesn't quite cover it.
As for the weather... Yeah, I kinda came here in the middle of a snowstorm, and one of the worst spells of cold weather they've had in quite a while. Lucky me. My apartment, up until yesterday, was FREEZING, and by freezing, I mean that anywhere except for the one room with the kotatsu and the electric-fan heater in it, you could see your breath in the air. Doing anything except sitting under the kotatsu watching TV or sleeping was a pain. It's still not a very good situation, heating-wise. Right now I'm wearing two shirts and two pairs of pants. I hadn't realized I'd be experiencing such cold weather, or I'd have brought more warm winter clothes.
@Mams:
Good to see you posting here again some. I've seen a few Dragon Quest arcade machines over here that I'm sure Josh would love, and I'll be sure to take a few pictures for ya.
Alright, I'm gonna go get something to eat. Some ramen sounds good, and it's one of the very few, few things I know how to order. And this time, I actually do have a viable internet connection, so I WILL be back in a few.
Hi folks! I can't talk too long cuz i need to get some sleep.. I finally finished that e-mail I've been working on for the last two days.. I feel pretty good about how it turned out.. now its up to him whether he responds or not.. I suppose it really doesn't matter whether he does or not, but he likely will, I think.... but if he doesn't, its fine... honestly, I just feel a hell of a lot better, having told him that I'll be in Rochester... I was kind of scared before, about it... didn't want to tell him originally, but now that I have, i feel tons better ^__^
today... Oh my Lord, I went to a funeral... my best friend's grandfather died, and I, even if I didn't know the grandfather very well, she was my best friend since i was 18 months old, and her parents are like family to me, so in that sense, he was kind of like my grandfather too... so it was kind of emotional..
Now, there was a ... circus.. occurring at the time, which I'm going to save time, and copy and paste what i just told Alacar:
(01:09:58) Danica: telling about the godforsaken circus i just came from tonight................. a funeral.
(01:10:32) AlacarLeoricar:O_o
(01:10:34) Danica: My best friend's husband just was diagnosed with Parkinsons.... he also has forbidden their daughter to see the grandparents
(01:10:44) Danica: (her parents)
(01:11:11) Danica: and a couple weeks ago, her grandfather died.
(01:11:19) AlacarLeoricar:lovely
(01:11:28) Danica: This is the first time the whole family has been together since the forbidding incident, evidently
(01:11:34) Danica: on top of the husband not getting his medication
(01:11:52) Danica: and my best friend leaving the service early, to get him his medication
(01:12:12) Danica: and was cornered by her dad, and her and her dad both are the type of people who hold things in until they snap
(01:12:16) Danica: well they both snapped.
(01:12:27) AlacarLeoricar:yayee
(01:12:34) AlacarLeoricar:and you were an innocent bystander
(01:12:51) Danica: exactly... and it was a parade of aunts, cousins, her brother, and etc etc into this private room in the back of the church after the service
(01:13:04) Danica: in and out... in and out..
(01:13:20) AlacarLeoricar:goodie
(01:13:25) AlacarLeoricar:did you have your DS at least?
(01:13:33) AlacarLeoricar:I don't care if it's socially rude, it saves lives
(01:13:43) Danica: No lol.... Just busy feeling bad... - - Then... get this...
(01:14:27) Danica: the OTHER grandmother (not the wife of the one who died), who is slightly ...senile, became convinced that everyone in the room was trying to kidnap my best friend, her granddaughter
(01:14:46) Danica: so she started crying
(01:14:54) AlacarLeoricar:O_o
(01:14:57) AlacarLeoricar:joy
(01:15:00) Danica: cuz of all the yelling and ppl not letting her in, and letting no one out
(01:15:06) Danica: i guess
(01:15:09) Danica: It was...bizarre.
So yea.... Fun... not really.
EDIT: Ok.. I'm gonna go post again on Half-Life and then go to bed.. Thanks for updating us on Japan, Stuffsy! I can't wait to hear more about it
Its 1:18am here, so its probably something like....6 or 7pm or something there?? Have a good Friday night in that case... hey maybe you can find an FNM! All Japanese cards.. ooooo
Send me something too! I don't care what, but I'd looove to have something from Japan
Also, don't worry, Stuff, we'll keep you grounded...tied into the USA! We miss you too much to let you go off into Japanese culture without us that easy!
well well well looks like i missed like 25 pages of the coffeehouse
i just finished my 6th and last day in a row of ski instructing 4 year olds....sigh it was tiring (but extremely well compensating....jsut ask samurai soldier)
anyways mr stuff how is japan? anything random happen to ppl here? did i miss anything?
Japan is... more than anything, overwhelming. It's like becoming an infant all over again. You don't know how speak, or read anything, and are unsure most of the time if you're doing anything properly. Luckily, I did find a connection to the outside world, aka the internet.
I'm no longer in the department store, though. I'm sitting out here in the open air in front of Yonago Central Station, about 5 feet from the road. It's, in a word, freezing out here. Even with two layers of clothes on, my fingers are ready to quit on me. The security at the department store came and told me to leave, so I had to vacate that area. At least, I'm assuming they told me to leave; a security officer came up to me and started speaking in Japanese and pointing to my laptop, and I think I caught the word "stealing" (as in I was stealing their internet? IDK), so I packed up my things and went down to the ramen shop on the second floor after that. The only other wireless internet I've found is in front of the train station, so it's here that I sit and freeze while I type.
I have blogged once again, so those that are interested in that, please read. Also, once I get my internet set up, or if you ever see me online via Skype, please give me a call, or at least chat or something. I'm very hard up for anybody that speaks English to talk to. I'd call my parents and talk to them again, but it's 4:45 in the morning over in EST land.
I quit using Skype for a while, but your (Stuff's) plea got me to get back online, so if you ever see me on, send me a message, I'd love to talk to you guys
EDIT: I'm on now!
Anyway, I think I'm gonna go to bed.. I need to pick up a binder and some card pages tomorrow at Walmart (but if you have any, and i mean, any, extras, PLEASE send them to me! .....PM me for my Rochester address, if you don't already have it -- oh and ofc, book or library related cards if you have 'em ) plus get some film developed and basically pack everythiiiiiiiiiiiiing.
I am running short on time still here... I have tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday to pack everything up so that I can ship my boxes out Monday.. Which likely means that I won't be able to access the internet for a little while, after Sunday night. I'll post a new thread at that point, put up a new avatar, new custom, all that jazz
Hope everyone's doing well...I actually have some stuff I want to talk about next time I'm here, about something I've been further exploring in myself recently... Stuff that I haven't adequately examined since freshman year of college.... stuff that's become a lot more prominent recently- or perhaps my recognition of it is making it appear more severe, whereas it may have been the same severity all along... So I'm doing some research on that...
Yea we definitely should do another CoffeeHouse chat on there
I'd also love to talk to any of you guys one-on-one I do pretty well with hearing people one-on-one.. its group convos that can get kidna crazy and hard to follow..
I still kinda feel bad about how i left the last one... Would like a chance to make up for it, but I understand if people still hold that against me..
anyway, I should head off to bed myself... got a lot to do tmw
Well, my campaign is going well. Lots of conflict. My kids are napping except for the 3 year old who is watching Sesame Street. He thinks he is the Cookie Monster. Greeeat.
And yes, no incantatrix for you. Or anyone. That class makes puppies cry. Mostly because they are the former Big Bads who have been Baleful Polymorphed into said puppies. By you. Because you're an incantatrix.
Quote from Yukora »
This is Deraxas we're talking about.
Remember, the girl that just killed an aspect of herself before literally consuming her?
Yeah, I don't see her handling a pissing match in any way other than a duel.
Quote from RedDwarfian »
Yes mistress...
Quote from About epic-level D&D »
There are only so many epic, psuedonatural barbarian/blackguard half-dragon akutenshai vampire balor paragons they can throw at you, right?
Quote from Concerning breeding habits of humans in fantasy games »
I suppose it's true. Though the logistics implied in a human/Great Wyrm Prismatic Dragon pairing makes me shudder.
...Something tells me that even should all arcane casters in the world unite, that the Grease spell would NOT be sufficient.
Also, I HAS A BANNER! yay!
aww thats a bummer well maybe you can get a job at a restraunt or something. I still thought it was wrong of them to turn you down like that though because in a retail business like that anything can change within a couple of days to a couple of months. I mean for real the assistant manager of the grocery store that I work at is retiring today and it seems like just yesterday he hired me even though I have been there for 8 months. Hehe, I am totally the opposite i can eat alot of things but i can't really cook to save my life lol.
Anyhow I just wanted to say good morning to you all and i am just happy i have a day off today so I can pretty much rest anytime i want and possibly catchup on some video gaming. I am also so jealous of my friend matt that he got the abyss an awesome legends card even in his rbu landstill and 3 sinkholes as well for christmas. He needs to stop getting better cards then his teacher in magic haha just kidding. Although he said he was going to give me an vedalken shackles, an umezawa's jitte, and a couple of polluted deltas soon.
By the way I am planning on writing up casual decks of the week pretty soon. while psiblast does the legacy of the weeks.
Well I am going to take off for now. Talk to you all soon.
Love,
Cecilia
How's everyone?? I just went to a Voc Rehab meeting this morning, and now its noon, about 3pm back East.. Got everything all taken care of, it seems, as far as their paying for half of my (full!) salary for the 3 months of my training and stuff... so that'll be good.. they also agreed to pay for my bus passes, 56 dollars a month So I'm happy about that
Anyway I probably should post on Half-Life then go do some of that packing.. I wanna finish that e-mail but will probably end up doing that later tonight..... I wanna get it done and sent out today so that I can say "I've been working off and on writin' this since yesterday morning" or osmething like that...
EDIT: Oh and a while ago someone asked what we were all doing as the New Year hit, I was playing Boggle with my mom, then watching the ball drop Normally I run outside and yell "Happy New Yearrrr!!!!" but I wasn't wanting to get up from the comfy spot on the couch, so I just sat there and drank wine, toasting with my mom, then kept watching TV a little bit longer ..I must be getting old
Magic Coffeehouse!
Come in, sit down, relax, get to know somebody!
Open Three and a Half Years as of October 19, 2009!
Banner by PurpleD and avatar/custom by Tanthalas
Nothing like a good nights sleep to get you going. I was pretty tuckered after the whole mess yesterday. I've written a blog thingy about it and my New Year's day, so I encourage you to check it out and comment. Some new pictures in there too. Here's a sample:
As for my trek into the 2008 year, I was sitting playing some WoW, but I stopped to watch the ball drop, not once, but twice! Once at 10:00 and again at Midnight. Most stations will show it at Midnight on the east coast and then again for our Midnight over here.
Other than that, I'm just taking it easy today. Its been fairly chilly here, but its pretty nice out, so that's good.
Windmills do not work that way!
Welcome to Mi[insert last part of name of any northern midwest state here]!
I bike to work, and have ever since I left college. That includes a stint in Washington, Minnesota, upstate New York, and of course Virginia
The range of conditions varied from -18 (-34) F with windchill; 40 F with pouring rain and winds up to 35 mph; and 105 F (115 with humidity) and air quality rating in the orange or imminent hazard zone.
Most people move from house, to car, to building, to car, to house, without really being outside for any length of time; so they don't really understand how the weather conditions and climate affect them. They are not used to bundling up for long workdays in subzero temps, or carrying enough water and sunscreen for a long sweltering commute through the city in the middle of a Southern Atlantic August heat wave. So it is actually no surprise that more and more average Americans are suffering adverse health effects from even moderate incidents of exposure; they don't have the common sense to be prepared for something they rarely experience or intuitively understand.
Basically, survival for winter exposures means protecting your core temperature. Wear layers, cover the ears and head because that is a major source of heat loss. Keep your feet dry by buying proper boots or wellies and wearing proper socks. If you're outside for 3+ hours per day in subzero temps like me, consider using a petroleum-based skin cream or ointment to protect your eyes and mucus membranes from freezing; use wraparound shades or ski glasses to protect your eyes from wind and cut down on glare; polarized lenses help you avoid icy patches hidden under snow. Wear mittens, not gloves, and preferably ones with a long cuff or sleeve that extends to protect the wrist and forearm. These are exposed to wind and moisture from working outside with your hands, and even if your hands are covered, you can suffer frostbite and injury-prone numbness because vessels passing through your wrists constrict to save heat.
If you're unlucky enough to have to travel or work outside in Minnesota conditions and everything is closed for the holidays or bad weather, consider staying close to main routes where grocery stores and gas stations lie. Most of these are open 24/7 regardless and even if you can't go inside to stay warm, someone will be there to call for help if needed, or even just sell you a cheap hot coffee from a pot that should have been thrown out hours ago. I was once stuck in a small town in Wisconsin during a snowstorm and the entire nearby college had closed down for a blizzard. Nobody was open except for a Citgo where I was able to get the clerk to microwave me a cup of hot water to unfreeze a gear shifter cable and continue on to my destination.
If you're driving in the kind of weather that just passed through upstate NY this weekend, bring a -20 F or better rated sleeping bag and extra batteries for torches/cell phones/etc. Make sure your car battery is fully charged and you have cables that work. Properly rated antifreeze should be used and make sure you plug in your car at night if those services are available. Dress warmly anyway, even if you are only making a short trip, because you might end up like this: driving in a blizzard, windshield frozen over, can't see out windshield, have to stop and get out and scrape or even melt the crap off your windshield every 10 minutes, have to finally give up and drive with the window open and you leaning out to see where you're going. It's happened to me enough times that I regularly dress and prepare expecting to be leaning out the car window for some of the time every trip. That said, if things all go sour and you are stalled on a desolate road somewhere, stay in the car unless there is a realistic and compelling reason to think you can get help sooner than morning.
@all the cold weather stuff: I generally consider it really cold once it drops below about 20°F (about -6.5°C for those of you who prefer that measurement). I suppose I'm a wimp, but anything dropping below about 0°F or a little lower (about -18°C) makes me want to stay inside at all costs (that's before wind chill, I'm good enough at keeping the wind off me that I can usually deal with that unless it's blowing really strongly).
I have to say I feel sorry for IS (and other such folk where it's sub-zero (F)). Today it didn't get much about 15°F (-9.5°C) where I am, but it's supposed to get a lot warmer tomorrow (like above freezing), so I'm not too worried.
Winner of the Weekly Signature & Avatar Contest Weeks 51, 59, 78, & 118.
I don't care if I was framed for murder if I only got a warning I would let it go.
AoK: You were right to turn that down. even for a part-time job, if you've done it before, you should get more than min. wage.
Currently Playing:
GBStandard - Golgari Safari MidrangeBG
RBWModern - Mardu PyromancerWBR
RLegacy - Good Old Fashioned BurnR
Clan Contest 3 Mafia - Mafia Co-MVP
I hate the cold. I hate temperature extremes of any sort; I have no tolerance for either.
I also hate being the only person in my house with a driver's license. This royally sucks.
"I am in the arcane, and the arcane is in me."
Official Matron Mother of Clan Planar Chaos
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Deraxas, Dark Maiden of Shimia,, still oddly obsessed with a mindmage.
You're not a wimp. I do that same exact thing when it gets below 20 degrees. Hell, I spent half the day today just playing WoW on two different private servers.
And thanks to all this cold, I think I'm getting sick again. Living in the NE sucks because it's usually a haven for all the different types of colds and flus and they all seem to congregate here. Got that signature sore throat I always start with already... And believe or not there's STILL another type of cold out there running around town. Some people have been sick four times in the last month and a half thanks to this crap.
It is an American tradition that started in 1907 where a ball (which was initially made of wood, and is now made of plastic and now only utilizes the energy of 10 toasters. I didn't believe that either, but that is what they said on the New Year's Eve show) begins to drop during the New Year countdown. When the countdown reaches zero, the ball explodes sending confetti everywhere.
That was probably too much information, but now you know. And knowing is half the battle.
GI JOOOOEEEEEE!!
Check out the H/W List playa:
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=80563
Member of the Syndicate
Syndicate Members:5
My AIM is Satriani744 (shocker, right?;))
It's a great way to get in touch with me for trades, or just chattin'. Just don't stalk me please.
@Sepiriel: See the attachment. Its my current character in Ragnarok Online..im currently lvl 96 wizard.3 more levels to go before I shine..Well maybe Ill get the trancedent jobs after a month of enjoying being 99. Then its back to level one again, but its gonna be stronger when I reach the high wizard class..
Is LittleD here lately?
Monogreen 2007 | Jund Aggro MTGO 2013
I've been told it appears to be a problem with the power flow being interrupted, but there's nothing wrong with the power source itself. I don't know what it will take to fix, or how much it will cost, but at the moment it seems like it could be anywhere along a range. This could be a minor setback or a significant one. At least I can keep in contact with people via our Wii.
Meanwhile, I'm feeling better about the new year around now. I worry a bit when things get funky around this time of year, but looking in the right direction makes some things seem brighter.
Tanthalas, I like the sound of perpetually temperate weather.
All that I yearn for, for richer or poorer, is to be the peace that you feel.
All that I yearn for, for richer or poorer, is to fill your heart on my own.
Gaymers | Magic Coffeehouse | Little Jar of Mamelon | Natural 20
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Ryttare Kelasin Luna Orelinalei
Peace out Peeps:p
-Brandon
oh my hopefully you will get that fixed soon mamelon. But its good to see you doing well and posting in the coffeehouse. *hugs*
Anyway I am going to take a shower pretty soon. Ill talk to you all soon though and have a great night everyone. *blows kisses to everyone*
Love,
Cecilia
I am alive, if anyone was curious.
Not only am I alive, I have an apartment, money, a (now fixed and inside) washing machine, and an adapter for my laptop. My apartment is smack in the middle of the city of Yonago, within a few minutes walk of 1) my school 2) a variety of department stores and 3) Yonago central train station.
I only got an adapter to plug my laptop in yesterday, which had been a problem, . I had other things to do yesterday, so I didn't get a chance to try it out until today. Note that by today, I mean Friday, January 04, since it's 4pm in the afternoon here. I walked around town with my laptop open, trying out all the public areas I could either find or think of to see which ones, if any, had an unsecured wireless connection. Finally, in a big open public area on the fourth floor of a huge department store, I found one. So... expect possibly more regular contact from me now that I have a viable internet access point. Internet to my apartment might not be activated for another few days, possibly up to another week.
There are so many things I want to say that I certainly couldn't say them all in one post. For one thing, I got cut off in the middle of my last blog, and I haven't even finished the story of how I got to Yonago in the first place. For another, some descriptions would be incomplete without pictures, which I will be able to provide as soon as I get home and figure out how to get my camera hooked up to my laptop.
Imagine this, though: You are dropped into the middle of a world where you can just barely speak to anyone at all, you can't read anything (even important things such as, say, labels on boxes in the supermarket), there are almost no foods you are familiar with (and you don't know the names of ones you aren't to order them), you are truly living by yourself for the first time in your life, and you are suddenly told to change your sleeping habits to get up at 4:00pm and go to bed at 6:00am. Not to mention a few other things, such as eating with wooden sticks and being required to sort all your garbage into 5-6 different categories. Is it possible to adapt? Yes. Is it difficult? Yes is an understatement. It's especially difficult when you have no connection to the outside world, which I didn't until today. I was unspeakably relieved when I found a wireless connection this afternoon and used Skype to call my mother at home, like a tight knot inside my chest suddenly loosened.
The gameshows that I've seen so far have been, well, yes, ridiculous. One entertaining program presented contestants with a "map" to the maze, of sorts, they would be entering. They had about 10 seconds to memorize it. After that, they had to go through a series of pairs of doors. Open the wrong door, and you were dropped into a pit of water. They were on a time limit too, so there was little chance to sit and try to remember the map. Hard Gay was one of the contestants in this one, which is probably why I remember it.
Another note on TV programming: Sometimes, entire programs will randomly be in English in their entirety. Most often, this comes in the form of BBC documentaries, but I have seen the news in English, and last night, I swear to god I turned on the TV at about 1:00am and found the following, all in English, without even Japanese subtitles:
1) Meet Joe Black
2) Ocean's Eleven
3) Full House (yes, that Full House with the very young Olsen Twins)
Expect it soon. Just be warned that it may still be attached to the samurai it belongs to. They don't part with those things easily, you know.
Yeah... same here except in spades. I'm still trying to stop pulling my hair out trying to get used to everything. I'm taking one day at a time, but yeesh. Overwhelming doesn't quite cover it.
As for the weather... Yeah, I kinda came here in the middle of a snowstorm, and one of the worst spells of cold weather they've had in quite a while. Lucky me. My apartment, up until yesterday, was FREEZING, and by freezing, I mean that anywhere except for the one room with the kotatsu and the electric-fan heater in it, you could see your breath in the air. Doing anything except sitting under the kotatsu watching TV or sleeping was a pain. It's still not a very good situation, heating-wise. Right now I'm wearing two shirts and two pairs of pants. I hadn't realized I'd be experiencing such cold weather, or I'd have brought more warm winter clothes.
@Mams:
Good to see you posting here again some. I've seen a few Dragon Quest arcade machines over here that I'm sure Josh would love, and I'll be sure to take a few pictures for ya.
Alright, I'm gonna go get something to eat. Some ramen sounds good, and it's one of the very few, few things I know how to order. And this time, I actually do have a viable internet connection, so I WILL be back in a few.
today... Oh my Lord, I went to a funeral... my best friend's grandfather died, and I, even if I didn't know the grandfather very well, she was my best friend since i was 18 months old, and her parents are like family to me, so in that sense, he was kind of like my grandfather too... so it was kind of emotional..
Now, there was a ... circus.. occurring at the time, which I'm going to save time, and copy and paste what i just told Alacar:
(01:09:58) Danica: telling about the godforsaken circus i just came from tonight................. a funeral.
(01:10:32) AlacarLeoricar:O_o
(01:10:34) Danica: My best friend's husband just was diagnosed with Parkinsons.... he also has forbidden their daughter to see the grandparents
(01:10:44) Danica: (her parents)
(01:11:11) Danica: and a couple weeks ago, her grandfather died.
(01:11:19) AlacarLeoricar:lovely
(01:11:28) Danica: This is the first time the whole family has been together since the forbidding incident, evidently
(01:11:34) Danica: on top of the husband not getting his medication
(01:11:52) Danica: and my best friend leaving the service early, to get him his medication
(01:12:12) Danica: and was cornered by her dad, and her and her dad both are the type of people who hold things in until they snap
(01:12:16) Danica: well they both snapped.
(01:12:27) AlacarLeoricar:yayee
(01:12:34) AlacarLeoricar:and you were an innocent bystander
(01:12:51) Danica: exactly... and it was a parade of aunts, cousins, her brother, and etc etc into this private room in the back of the church after the service
(01:13:04) Danica: in and out... in and out..
(01:13:20) AlacarLeoricar:goodie
(01:13:25) AlacarLeoricar:did you have your DS at least?
(01:13:33) AlacarLeoricar:I don't care if it's socially rude, it saves lives
(01:13:43) Danica: No lol.... Just busy feeling bad... - - Then... get this...
(01:14:27) Danica: the OTHER grandmother (not the wife of the one who died), who is slightly ...senile, became convinced that everyone in the room was trying to kidnap my best friend, her granddaughter
(01:14:46) Danica: so she started crying
(01:14:54) AlacarLeoricar:O_o
(01:14:57) AlacarLeoricar:joy
(01:15:00) Danica: cuz of all the yelling and ppl not letting her in, and letting no one out
(01:15:06) Danica: i guess
(01:15:09) Danica: It was...bizarre.
So yea.... Fun... not really.
EDIT: Ok.. I'm gonna go post again on Half-Life and then go to bed.. Thanks for updating us on Japan, Stuffsy! I can't wait to hear more about it
Its 1:18am here, so its probably something like....6 or 7pm or something there?? Have a good Friday night in that case... hey maybe you can find an FNM! All Japanese cards.. ooooo
Send me something too! I don't care what, but I'd looove to have something from Japan
Also, don't worry, Stuff, we'll keep you grounded...tied into the USA! We miss you too much to let you go off into Japanese culture without us that easy!
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i just finished my 6th and last day in a row of ski instructing 4 year olds....sigh it was tiring (but extremely well compensating....jsut ask samurai soldier)
anyways mr stuff how is japan? anything random happen to ppl here? did i miss anything?
peace out
I'm no longer in the department store, though. I'm sitting out here in the open air in front of Yonago Central Station, about 5 feet from the road. It's, in a word, freezing out here. Even with two layers of clothes on, my fingers are ready to quit on me. The security at the department store came and told me to leave, so I had to vacate that area. At least, I'm assuming they told me to leave; a security officer came up to me and started speaking in Japanese and pointing to my laptop, and I think I caught the word "stealing" (as in I was stealing their internet? IDK), so I packed up my things and went down to the ramen shop on the second floor after that. The only other wireless internet I've found is in front of the train station, so it's here that I sit and freeze while I type.
I have blogged once again, so those that are interested in that, please read. Also, once I get my internet set up, or if you ever see me online via Skype, please give me a call, or at least chat or something. I'm very hard up for anybody that speaks English to talk to. I'd call my parents and talk to them again, but it's 4:45 in the morning over in EST land.
EDIT: I'm on now!
Anyway, I think I'm gonna go to bed.. I need to pick up a binder and some card pages tomorrow at Walmart (but if you have any, and i mean, any, extras, PLEASE send them to me! .....PM me for my Rochester address, if you don't already have it -- oh and ofc, book or library related cards if you have 'em ) plus get some film developed and basically pack everythiiiiiiiiiiiiing.
I am running short on time still here... I have tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday to pack everything up so that I can ship my boxes out Monday.. Which likely means that I won't be able to access the internet for a little while, after Sunday night. I'll post a new thread at that point, put up a new avatar, new custom, all that jazz
Hope everyone's doing well...I actually have some stuff I want to talk about next time I'm here, about something I've been further exploring in myself recently... Stuff that I haven't adequately examined since freshman year of college.... stuff that's become a lot more prominent recently- or perhaps my recognition of it is making it appear more severe, whereas it may have been the same severity all along... So I'm doing some research on that...
Anyway... Good night folks.
Magic Coffeehouse!
Come in, sit down, relax, get to know somebody!
Open Three and a Half Years as of October 19, 2009!
Banner by PurpleD and avatar/custom by Tanthalas
Stuff, I'd love to chat with ya soon. Matane! (^^)\/,,
Off to bed for ol' Alacar. Nite folks.
Like freeform roleplaying? Try Darkness Befalls Us
Ryttare Kelasin Luna Orelinalei
I'd also love to talk to any of you guys one-on-one I do pretty well with hearing people one-on-one.. its group convos that can get kidna crazy and hard to follow..
I still kinda feel bad about how i left the last one... Would like a chance to make up for it, but I understand if people still hold that against me..
anyway, I should head off to bed myself... got a lot to do tmw
Magic Coffeehouse!
Come in, sit down, relax, get to know somebody!
Open Three and a Half Years as of October 19, 2009!
Banner by PurpleD and avatar/custom by Tanthalas
I just got up and I think I am going to cook some breakfast, anybody want anything?^_^
Talk to everyone later.
Peace,
-Brandon
Well, my campaign is going well. Lots of conflict. My kids are napping except for the 3 year old who is watching Sesame Street. He thinks he is the Cookie Monster. Greeeat.
"I am in the arcane, and the arcane is in me."
Official Matron Mother of Clan Planar Chaos
Awesome Avatar and signature by DarkNightCavalier
Deraxas, Dark Maiden of Shimia,, still oddly obsessed with a mindmage.
AoK.. that sounds cute about yer 3-year old. Then again, it's always cute whenever you mention them
Your campaign is currently the most successful in P&PI record, and I hope it stays that way.
Do you have skype?
Like freeform roleplaying? Try Darkness Befalls Us
Ryttare Kelasin Luna Orelinalei