A Return to the Blog--With Quiz Function!

Alright, so....I got tagged with this, might as well answer.

One book that changed your life:

Speaker for the Dead, by Orson Scott Card. It's the book that made me a moral relativist. Too bad the man's off his rocker with the rest of his books...

One book that you've read more than once:

The Blue Sword, by Robin McKinley. I've read this book at least twenty times, probably more like 40. Some of the best mid-to-low fantasy writing I've ever seen.

One book you would want on a desert island:

The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Because you can read that thing over, and over, and over.

One book that made you laugh:

Summon the Keeper, by Tanya Huff. A dry sense of humor, and plenty of puns.

One book that made you cry:

I don't think a book has ever made me cry...

One book you wish you had written:

I dont' really have one. Too much stuff for me to write myself, without wanting to write someone else's.

One book you wish had never been written:

Eldest, by Christopher Paolini. Dear god, that boy took a good first book and turned the sequel into shit. Rambling, meandering, pointless.

One book you are currently reading:

The Complete Works of Wiliam Shakespeare (Abridged), by the Reduced Shakespeare Company

One book you have been meaning to read:

Down The Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrams, because my Dad wants me to.

Tag five people:

Oscar, Chris, Nichole, Allie and Jen.

Random Quiz Time!

1. Are you wearing a necklace? Not at the moment.
2. Does your computer have a mouse? Yes.
3. Do you have a cut in your nose? Nope.
4. What color is your shirt? Black.
5. How many bedrooms do you have in your house? Two.
6. What song are you listening to? "24" by Jem.
7. What's the last mall you went to? West Park Mall. Y'know, the shitty mall.
8. Are you alone? Not in the house. Philosophically, mentally...
9. Do you have any older siblings? Yes. Technically.
10. What is the last thing you ate? Protein shake.
11. Who was/were the last person(s) to come to your house? ....nobody, really.
12. Who was the last person to call you? Chris.
13. Who was the last person who texted you? Noone.
14. What time is it? Morning.
15. What should you be doing? Too damn many things.
16. Who is the last person you IMed? Jen.
17. Did you go out to eat yesterday? No.
18. What are you thinking right now? God, I don't really wanna go to work today.
19. What color are your pants? Blue.
20. What color is your keyboard? BLACK.
21. What do you feel like eating/drinking? Eh...dunno...

22. Are you in college? *grumbles* No.
23. What is the last word you wrote? See above.
24. Are you bored? No shit, sherlock.
25. How many teeth do you have? The metal-covered kind. All of them. For the moment.
26. Miss anyone right now? Shadow.
27. Do you wear glasses? Yep. Sometimes.
28. What color are your shoes? Black, or brown.
29. Last thing you drank? Protein shake.
30. Last thing you typed? See above.
31. Who do you love? My life would be better if I knew.
32. What are you doing right now? Not a damn thing and it sucks.
33. What time is it now? I think this was asked before...
34. What are you looking at? My computer.
35. What the last thing you said? "Uuuurgh..."
36. Do you have lip gloss on? No.
37. Do you have eyeliner on? No.
38. Do you have a cut on your pointer finger? Nope.
39. Where is your cell phone? In my other pair of pants. Uncharged.
40. Do you have any friends named Robbie? No.
41. Do you have any friends named Nikki? Nope?
42. Are you afraid of the dark? Not really.
43. Did you watch the show "Are you afraid of the dark?" Nope.
44. Are you crushing on someone right now? ....don't ask.
45. What shoe size are you? Size 11.
46. When was the last time you went on vacation? Last summer, to St. Louis. God, that sucked.

I'm Back from Mini-Vacation

Yes, I'm back, and here for one of my semi-regular posts. I was up in St. Louis for a couple days with the parents, trying to have fun--and I kinda succeeded. Short recap as follows. Science Center: Good, but kiddie themed just a bit much. Galleria Mall: Big--better for people with money. Art Museum: Pretty damn cool. Botanical Gardens: Hot as hell, but the Japanese garden rocks. City Museum: Well...y'gotta see it for yourself. Total people overload. Len, you'd hate it--imagine a thousand people, all talking as loudly as possible, then add in another thousand screaming kiddies.

Along the way, between allergies and recurring personal problems, I did get...really pissed at my parents twice over the last three days. That was bad. Really bad fight this morning--but I think this round of it has passed, thank goodness. I hate, hate, hate being pissed at my parents.

Finally, I played in my first HeroClix tournament in about three months--no, five. It was pretty cool. It was a sealed draft, and I pulled an okay team. I fought really, really well, even though I didn't win any. It really helped that Nathan was absent, and that I got to fight three great, fairly evenly matched players. Len, by the way, the game was awesome--remind me, I'd like to play some more games, just for fun.

Anyway...a mixed week. Good, bad, and the so-so, all mixed. I'll take that. And, I didn't really spend any money, so that's a huge plus. Later, y'all.

Boy, Do I Feel Sheepish

No, I haven't sprouted a bunch of wool, and horns from my forehead. I simply feel very stupid. You remember that problem at work I was ranting about, last entry? Well...turns out I was full of shit. They don't care. I had a perfectly good day at work. The same managers were there--besides asking me how I was feeling, they were fine. David joked with me, DeeDee...well, she was not unfriendly. Which is about all you can ask out of her, while she's working, anyway. So, yes, I feel very stupid. I'm still fine. I didn't eliminate all the good I'd accumulated, not hardly. Oh well. Live, learn--forget if at all possible--that's my motto.

In other news, I've finished the new Harry Potter book. It's...quite good. Well up to the usual standards, though I really do wish she wouldn't put so much teenage romance stuff in there. I know it occupies a great deal of the thought of most teenagers, but when I'm reading a fantasy story, I don't wanna hear about Ron and Lavender-whosis sucking face. Not. One. Bit. Otherwise, a fantastic tale.

Also finished with the old Werewolf: The Apocalypse game book. That...is possibly one of the best systems I've learned about so far, as far as raw storytelling potential goes. D&D may be a better game, mechanically--especially for hack'n'slashers--but Werewolf is quite the fully formed world. And what's best about it--the world's technically the same for every character type, but the perspectives are at complete opposite angles sometimes. I wish Jeff would run one--I have an idea for a great Glasswalker Theurge. Even got a name. "Michael Sheridan"...heheheh. Jeff wouldn't let me do that one, but it's a great ripoff.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, I am getting out of this goddamn backwater town, even if just for a couple of days. On Thursday and Friday, I am going up to St. Louis with my parents! True, modern civilization, at last. Actual malls. The Science Center and Art Museum. The Botanical Gardens. Hell, I bet I could even find a game store or something like that in the vicinity. For two, blessed, wonderful days, I am gonna be out of this place. I'm gonna walk streets I've never seen before. I'm gonna go places I haven't been three thousand times already. Hallelujah!

Bad Day, Bad Day, Bad Day!

I should really rephrase the title of this--perhaps "mostly bad day, focusing primarily on the afternoon, wherein I was in pain and my bosses were assholes"...but that won't fit in the title section. Oh well. I think the current title gets the idea across sufficiently, thank you very much.

I went to work this afternoon, as is my custom, after eating a nice big lunch my mother had made, and set out to perform the tasks set for me, primarily, putting out some new children's merchandise that had come in. It was at this point which I started to get nasty stomach cramps, for no apparent reason. These cramps become quite painful, to the point at which it takes a force of effort to stand upright--pretty bad, right?

On informing my bosses that I wasn't sure I was gonna be able to make it to the end of my shift, being in pain and all, I was told that I should really just see if I could work through it, and if it would just go away. Well, morons, if it was just going away, we wouldn't have a problem, right? Finally, several hours into my shift, and about an hour past my own personal stopping point, I tell them, I really can't make it to the end of my shift.

At this point, my bosses proceed to basically tell me (not exactly phrased like this, but with the appropriate tone) to get the hell out of there. Every indication is made to me that they believe I'm just being lazy. Right. I came work, then only after working for several hours, and quite a bit of time after I've already informed them of my problem, and now and only now am I trying to weasel out? Hey, I'm brighter than that. If I wanted a free day off of work, I'd ask for it. And if I was gonna be sneaky about it, I'd, um...call off work before I came in, and definitely not the same week as when I've already called off once due to illness. Not that dumb, people. Not a slacker, or a liar, either.

So, now I sit, at home, with my coppy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Werewolf the Apocalpyse, and World of Warcraft--when, ironically, I'd rather be working. What'll be really fun is tomorrow, when I get to see if I still have a job to come back to. That, and the fact that in my haste to get home and lie down, not to mention to get away from these insane idiots I work for, I forgot to give back my store-owned 2-way radio. Joy. Of course, they'll probably only charge me for stealing after they fire me for being a lazy fuck. Which, in case they haven't noticed, I'M NOT!

My Kingdom for Some Sleep

I think the proper word to describe my current state is exhaustion. It's not that I've necessarily been working my ass off or anything--it's just that I've gotten about six hours of sleep, max, over the last four days, and I'm about to go into day five. It does tend to...wear on you.

For most of today, I've felt like a ship running with a reactor problem, to use a sci-fi analogy. Everything's just going into keeping me operating, and...emotional shields, rational thought, general well-being...it kinda goes into the tank. Not like it's not my own fault--I seem to keep finding excuses to stay up late, whether it be to talk to Len, to watch more B5, or simply to goof off. Still...I feel like I'm falling apart.

Tomorrow's gonna be rough. 8 hour day, starting at 8am, which means even less sleep--I'll be lucky if I get seven hours. On top of that, something concerning a very...unprofessional...superior is distracting me, bothering me. I might actually end up going to a manager about it, it's just bugging me that much. I dunno. This really isn't the time to try to analyze stuff--my brain's just not working. Maybe I'll get some sleep tomorrow night, think about it, and write more. Later!

Seriously, Cut It Out

You know, when I started this blog, I promised myself I would not go off on extended political rants. Too much chance of pissing someone off and starting an argument I don't want to finish--that, and I don't know if Jeff reads this or not, and I really don't want to have that argument. Again. But this time, I cannot shut up.

It concerns the use of one word: "Liberal". Not in the sense of a "liberal helping of mashed potatoes" or something like that. I mean politically. I am sick and tired of people spitting the word at me like it's an insult. I am sick of it coming out of the mouth of right-wingers and having it sound like they're calling me a bastard or something unclean. If they're gonna insult me, why don't they go all the way and call me what I really am: A dirty, democratic, bleeding heart, pacifist, dissenter bastard!

I'm tired of it. Is this how far we've fallen, to demonize even casual opposition? Yes, I disagree with many, many things about the wars we have gotten ourselves into. Yes, I think our dear President is either an idiot or a fool, who's sending us into battles we shouldn't be fighting, both outside our borders, and within our own government. Yes, I think that political discourse in this country has fallen into mudslinging and hate-mongering, that fear and intimidation tactics rule. Does that make me unamerican? Does that give anyone the right to call anyone who speaks up and looks at the goddamn truth a dirty, America-hating liberal?

I don't know if there was a point to this. More of a rant. I guess it pisses me off that I'm still trying to play by the rules, to discuss with dignity, to at least fight for my ideals with honor! But it seems like playing by the rules has gone out of vogue, that all that matters is the win--no matter how it's achieved. So, I will bear the title of 'liberal' in all it's connotations. I just see it as a sign of how far we've fallen.