Showing posts with label WoW. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WoW. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Leave of absence
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
A new life
Sorry to have disappeared from the net for so long. First of all, you may know that after spending three years at my parents' home, my daughter had returned and is now permanently staying with me, where she belongs. She started her schooling on the 1st of September and although she sometimes whines about getting up early, she loves her teachers and most subjects. Apart from the usual classes, she also takes a bunch of extras in the afternoon, such as ballet, folk dancing, singing, crafting, playful English, computer use and junior mathlete club. Might sound a lot, but she asked to take part and I full-heartedly supported her decision.
Unfortunately, I had to give up on a lot of things thanks to the new schedule we have. First of all, stitching. I simply do not have the kind of time and energy it requires. I didn't stitch at all since Tamara is back home. I sometimes think of it, but most of the times I am too tired to even miss it. I wasn't prepared mentally or physically to look after the needs of a child all on my own. I guess as I grow stronger and get used to doing everything, I will be able to find more time for myself.
Second, I had to seriously cut back internet time. Now I have to hunt for jobs in the morning, and share the computer with DD in the afternoon, so idle chatting and browsing is just out of the question. I had to give up on World of Warcraft as well. Tami has to be in bed at 8 p.m. at the latest, so I wouldn't be able to raid, as we have a single room apartment and she couldn't sleep with my talking on vent and hitting the keys near her. Not to mention that I still can't afford subscribing. *sigh* I miss playing with my excellent guild though. So many friends I used to chat with daily.
Even with stitchy blogs and emails, now I just scan through them instead of the thorough reading they are worthy of. So sad it has to be this way, but single moms have to make sacrifices and I'm not really complaining as it was my choice and I stand by it.
I have not been able to watch any live telly in September, thank the gods for teevo. Got totally hooked on the reruns of Battlestar Galactica.
Still unemployed and broke. I will go through my stash this weekend and put up a bunch of leaflets and kits for sale, because I ran out of ideas on how to get more cash.
The past two weeks were tough as the computer broke down and I had withdrawal issues. :) A friend of mine fixed it for me and now I am in the process of reinstalling my old software, which starts with somehow locating installation CD's I haven't seen in years. I hope to keep you posted on how we adapt to our new way of life.
Unfortunately, I had to give up on a lot of things thanks to the new schedule we have. First of all, stitching. I simply do not have the kind of time and energy it requires. I didn't stitch at all since Tamara is back home. I sometimes think of it, but most of the times I am too tired to even miss it. I wasn't prepared mentally or physically to look after the needs of a child all on my own. I guess as I grow stronger and get used to doing everything, I will be able to find more time for myself.
Second, I had to seriously cut back internet time. Now I have to hunt for jobs in the morning, and share the computer with DD in the afternoon, so idle chatting and browsing is just out of the question. I had to give up on World of Warcraft as well. Tami has to be in bed at 8 p.m. at the latest, so I wouldn't be able to raid, as we have a single room apartment and she couldn't sleep with my talking on vent and hitting the keys near her. Not to mention that I still can't afford subscribing. *sigh* I miss playing with my excellent guild though. So many friends I used to chat with daily.
Even with stitchy blogs and emails, now I just scan through them instead of the thorough reading they are worthy of. So sad it has to be this way, but single moms have to make sacrifices and I'm not really complaining as it was my choice and I stand by it.
I have not been able to watch any live telly in September, thank the gods for teevo. Got totally hooked on the reruns of Battlestar Galactica.
Still unemployed and broke. I will go through my stash this weekend and put up a bunch of leaflets and kits for sale, because I ran out of ideas on how to get more cash.
The past two weeks were tough as the computer broke down and I had withdrawal issues. :) A friend of mine fixed it for me and now I am in the process of reinstalling my old software, which starts with somehow locating installation CD's I haven't seen in years. I hope to keep you posted on how we adapt to our new way of life.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Kinda gone, kinda back
I know I disappeared from blogging, but I'm all right. I have done a lot of things in the meantime. I have been stitching too. No finishes, just progress on various projects, including the super secret surprise project. No progress photos now because I don't have the brains to browse on my hard drive.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Of dragons
By now you all know that I play World of Warcraft on a regular basis. There are many creatures in that game that are too scary for minors to see, so I do my best to avoid showing those to my daughter. On the other hand, I think kids are way smarter than the average grown up gives them credit for, so I do let her see some parts of the game. The healthy part with green grass and trees and wolves for monsters. Not the Plaguelands with gigantic worms and rotting carcasses and attacking undead creatures.
I did, however, let her play some of the more innocent features of the game, like flying around on one of my drake mounts or fishing. Yes, you can fish in WoW. Or just let her watch the game, it is almost like a cartoon anyway. That was before November, 2008, when the game expansion Wrath Of The Lich King was released. From that point forward, the loading screen of a slightly ominous but still definitely peaceful stone gate was changed to the icy landscape above, with a huge undead skeletal dragon occasionally flying in and releasing a chilling roar before departing again. I was first worried that might scare my baby and tried to hide from her, but one time she woke up earlier than expected and saw the loading screen. "Oh, cool, an ice dragon" she exclaimed and seemed to completely ignore the fact that there is neither flesh or skin on its bones. I quickly affirmed that it is indeed an ice dragon, not unlike the one she is playing with in the game Fairies and Dragons, installed from a CD we got for free in a McDonald's Happy Meal.
So all was well until last December. That is when the latest expansion, Cataclysm was released. The powerful black dragon, Deathwing, has finally found it's way from its prison and scorched the lands of Azeroth in the event that is referred to as The Shattering. As a meta-gaming consequence, the loading screen had changed too. It is Deathwing in person, during his attack on the city of Stormwind.
I did, however, let her play some of the more innocent features of the game, like flying around on one of my drake mounts or fishing. Yes, you can fish in WoW. Or just let her watch the game, it is almost like a cartoon anyway. That was before November, 2008, when the game expansion Wrath Of The Lich King was released. From that point forward, the loading screen of a slightly ominous but still definitely peaceful stone gate was changed to the icy landscape above, with a huge undead skeletal dragon occasionally flying in and releasing a chilling roar before departing again. I was first worried that might scare my baby and tried to hide from her, but one time she woke up earlier than expected and saw the loading screen. "Oh, cool, an ice dragon" she exclaimed and seemed to completely ignore the fact that there is neither flesh or skin on its bones. I quickly affirmed that it is indeed an ice dragon, not unlike the one she is playing with in the game Fairies and Dragons, installed from a CD we got for free in a McDonald's Happy Meal.So all was well until last December. That is when the latest expansion, Cataclysm was released. The powerful black dragon, Deathwing, has finally found it's way from its prison and scorched the lands of Azeroth in the event that is referred to as The Shattering. As a meta-gaming consequence, the loading screen had changed too. It is Deathwing in person, during his attack on the city of Stormwind.
I totally forgot about it as to me it made no difference what is on the loading screen, but my girl got all excited. "Look mommy, it's a new dragon" she shouted when she first saw it. "Yes, honey" I answered, "this time it's an evil fire dragon". She froze on the spot. Her eyes got big. I obviously said something shocking. I asked her "what is wrong, honey?" With her eyes still fixed on the loading screen she asked in the voice of disbelief "dragons CAN be evil?"
Mommy is so proud.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Online friendships
Do you remember how few days ago I whined about how I can't believe in big things any more, and included friendship in my list? Well, I got some reminders about its existence. First of all, one day after I announced to my guild that I must quit WoW for financial reasons, one member contacted me and offered me a prepaid game card. Annamarie said she bought it for her sister, but she was never really interested in playing, so the card was not used and pretty much forgotten. She practically gave me 6 months of playing time for free! How awesome is she?
Then I was whining about the missing Anchor floss, and the next thing I know, Brigitte e-mails me to find out if I know the number for it yet, because she can send me some. I already found the shop that carries Anchor, as I mentioned by now, so I politely declined the offer, but still, I am very touched!
Finally, there was a discussion about the DMC price differences around the world on one of my Yahoo groups called Counted Cross Stitch, and a group of friends in the U.S.A. decided that since floss is so much cheaper in the States than in most other countries (for example, I pay about $1,2 for a skein when some U.S. stores carry DMC for 35 cents), they wanna occasionally send a bunch of floss to their foreign stitching friends just for the sake of being generous. That is amazing! Come on, are stitchers, and as it seems WoW players, the kindest people on the planet or what?
Then I was whining about the missing Anchor floss, and the next thing I know, Brigitte e-mails me to find out if I know the number for it yet, because she can send me some. I already found the shop that carries Anchor, as I mentioned by now, so I politely declined the offer, but still, I am very touched!
Finally, there was a discussion about the DMC price differences around the world on one of my Yahoo groups called Counted Cross Stitch, and a group of friends in the U.S.A. decided that since floss is so much cheaper in the States than in most other countries (for example, I pay about $1,2 for a skein when some U.S. stores carry DMC for 35 cents), they wanna occasionally send a bunch of floss to their foreign stitching friends just for the sake of being generous. That is amazing! Come on, are stitchers, and as it seems WoW players, the kindest people on the planet or what?
Friday, February 4, 2011
Looking for readers
In case you didn't notice the new tab on this blog, I'm hereby announcing that I started a new blog, called Diaries of a Werewolf. I decided to keep a journal of a newly generated World of Warcraft character. I'm trying to write as she would see things and not from a gamer's point of view. You know, I started playing traditional role-playing games about 15 years ago, and sometimes when I play WoW, I try to get back to those rpg roots. For me it's fun and games and pwning, but for the characters that "live" in that world every day is terrible, they live in wartime, fight horrible monsters every day, kill and get killed every day, and somehow it doesn't come across the computer screen, how weird is that?
By the way, I had to make a sad decision. A few days ago I cancelled my WoW subscription. I know it is only $15 a month, but right now I cannot afford to spend even that much. I have about 20 days on my account and then I am unplugged for a while. I will try to gather enough material for my new blog till then. Please pay a visit and tell me what you think! I've been trying to make it enjoyable for those that are not familiar with the game at all and I am aching to find out how I'm doing.
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