in Games, Life of Giang

Yahoo News – Deaths of gamers leave their online lives in limbo by AP: Yahoo Tech

Yahoo News – Deaths of gamers leave their online lives in limbo by AP: Yahoo Tech.

Not that I play WoW anymore, but if I were to die, I have left instructions with Curt to post my death on this blog. In which case it would be up to either Dodds or Kurt to notify my old online friends, at which point I would expect the entire guild to mount an expedition to kill the Lich King and take the epic – no, not just epic! LEGENDARY – lootz to the Sunken Temple, the place of my eternal rest.

I guess my siblings would tell you all that I were dead as well. You can never tell with them. Wretched PVPers…

in Books, Poetry

Notes on The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

I wish I were Diane Setterfield. This is a nearly perfect book. It stumbled very, very slightly at the end, but on the whole was magnificent. What a story! I only wish I had a big, cold English house and a fire and snow to go with it. I would highly suggest, if you are going to read this, to get the audiobook version of it. It may take getting used to if you’re not, but for me I’ve grown accustomed to books being read to me by strangers – it passes the time while I perform mundane tasks like laundry and dish washing.

This book now occupies the second place on my books read for the year. It does not unseat Norrell & Strange, but it came damn close. ;) I search eagerly for a contender!

in Movies, Music

CMT

8:32 AM on a Saturday and I find myself watching the Country Music Television station. You know what these videos remind me of? They’re like the twangy, white version of all those Asian karaoke videos my parents own where the woman are traipsing around public parks, looking wistful for the love they’ve lost, ha ha.

I do have a soft spot for Randy Travis, though. ;)

in Life of Giang

Lovely spring day

Is it spring yet? If it’s not, it’s lovely outside for winter. Despite being mildly afraid of them, I enjoyed seeing butterflies flitting on their way to butterfly hotspots, and felt distinctly sad when I saw one of them fly into an SUV.

in Writing

Gripe story

I’m very tired. I’m going to bed. This is poor, but demonstrative. Whee!

Cara stood in front of the car’s open window, and considered her options. If someone saw her do it, she might be arrested. She imagined herself behind bars, having to explain to her husband (or worse, her mother) why it was she’d been arrested. Did you have to post bail for jail? She didn’t know.

Of course, if she didn’t do it, they’d never learn their lesson.

Anger bubbled up inside her, remembering the obnoxious group in front of her. Crowding the trail, letting their dog bark and lunge at passers-by, obnoxiously hooting, leaving their mess scattered haphazardly around them.

She’d been behind them, witnessed it all. She’d also witnessed them all leaving their huge SUV earlier in the day, saw how they’d carelessly left their windows down, just enough.

It was meant to be, she told herself.

And so telling, she wound up her fist, and threw the entire bag with all her might. It sailed through the air, catching in the opened crevice. The trash spilled out into the car, soda splashing and fizzing, dirt mushrooming, wrappers fluttering.

Satisfied, Cara smiled , got into her own car, and drove away.

in Books, Poetry, Life of Giang

Notes on Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller

It’s about (and narrated by) an older woman who makes friends with a young woman who is having an affair with a very young man. Older woman is “obsessed” with young woman, young woman is “obsessed” with young man, etc. There was a movie.

I liked this book, but did not quite understand why it creeped people out. I guess the idea of someone being lonely enough to become obsessed with someone is harder for most people to understand than being obsessed with someone because…well, actually. When you think about it, while the two women are treated differently, they really are obsessed for the same reason. The older woman is a spinster, completely alone except for a dying cat. The younger woman is a 40-something year old who is constantly portrayed as having just fallen into her life, rather than choosing it – a disconnection which snowballs into the subtler, but just as devastating loneliness that leads to her having an affair with a 15-year old.

Barbara (the older woman) certainly had moments of raging megalomania – but what would you expect to be the result of prolonged loneliness? It’s not so much the space without, really – having been very lonely in my life, it’s really your mind that starts preying on you. Too many thoughts and no one to share them with. She actually confesses something to this effect during the book; she’s not unaware, after all, of her situation. Sheba (the 40-something), however, is completely unaware of the reason compelling her to behave the way she does. It’s an interesting little story.

That’ll do me for book reviews for the year.

in Life of Giang, Things That Are Awesome

o_0!!

This may be both the awesomest and the stupidest thing I’ve ever bought.

Pop Up Shower

(Not the girl, har har!)

I found this on Amazon.com late one night and thought it was the best $40.00 idea EVER, and so I bought it. I mean, I realize there is ample proof that it is a large stand-up tent, but I didn’t quite grasp the actual size of the thing. It’s ridiculously large and spacious, and completely awesome. See, we like to camp, and now I don’t have to be dirty when we camp!

It’s like you can almost SEE me turning 30, isn’t it? ;)

in Writing

Closest thing to a love story you’ll get

Ah well. I tried! ;)

“Well,” Dinah sighed, sliding into the booth, “So much for the phone. Storm’s knocked it out, as well.”

Across the room, Clara stamped her feet and cursed. Dinah’s lips curled irritably, and poured herself another glass of wine.

“No wonder there’s no one else up here. Leave it to Dinah to plan a snow weekend during a blizzard,” Clara groused, shooting an accusing look at her sister.

Clara’s husband, John, wrapped his arms around his wife, patted her head, and spoke calmly. “Take it easy, sweetheart. The radio said it would be just a small snowstorm – few days at the most. We’ve got plenty of food, plenty of firewood.”

Clara shut her eyes, seemingly soothed by her husband’s ministrations.

Dinah brought the wine glass to her lips and slowly tipped it backwards, her eyes moving from her sister’s head to John’s rugged, angular face. Their eyes locked.
Dinah’s mouth opened, and she ran her wine-ripened tongue slowly over her lips.

Over Clara’s head, John’s eyes were burning into her, following her every movement. She could see his grip on Clara tighten unconsciously. Clara snuggled into him, mistaking his rapture for affection.

Smiling to herself, Dinah raised a finger to her mouth, a signal to be silent, patient. After all, the blizzard was going to last at least a week and there was plenty of time for silly, stupid Clara to have her unfortunate accident…

in Games, Life of Giang, Movies, Music, RANT

Here’s what I did this weekend:

This is someone else’s video of X2. I actually went on this ride. Of course, this video was the first time I saw what was happening to me since I shut my eyes at about the 1:10 point and didn’t open them again until I knew for sure I wasn’t going to die.

Of course, Paula and Curt had a great time on all the scary rides, and I looked very much forward to my obligatory amusement park churro. It was a great time, though! Next time I have been promised a churro + stunt show. That’s my speed, baby. ;)

viper

Curt brought me flowers today, too. :) Besides being sweet, it gave me the chance to continue practicing with the macro lens my dad gave me a few weeks ago. Whee!

daisy