The highlight of the day (nay, the week) happened late this afternoon where I not only got a piggy-back* from a grown man, but piggy-backed him in return. Unsurprisingly didn't get very far with me, but bless him, he gave it a shot.
Also, on a whim I have made a decision. For the next week, if a post A) appears on my friend's list, and B) is able to be commented on, I will post a comment in. At least one.
It will not just be a smiley or emoticon. It will be thought out, more than a single word**, ideally a full sentence or two.
*not a euphemism. **unless I decide that my comment is going to consist of a totally awesome five-minute MS Paint creation.
Haven't made a substantial post for a while, might as well post now.
A fortnight ago, we traded in our crappy '91 Camry in for a 2004 Honda Jazz. In Red. It's a fantastic car, and we're really loving everything about it. Whether it's the presence of an air conditioner, the fact that three-point-turns are now just, well, turns, or that the rear demister works the way it should. Just think--if the old car's demister was working perhaps I would have been able to see where I was going before I broke the rear window! Oh wells. ( The last two weekends )
It's been a great couple of weekends. After this weekend Izabella is going to be at her grandparents, so we might have to see if we can't get up to some antics then too. Another trip to Auckland, perhaps..?
Turned 27 last Wednesday. My brother came up and I talked to him about some stuff that I'd been meaning to talk with him for some time. A very good visit, but far too fleeting as he had to go home this morn. I really want him to meet some of my awesome friends up here.
lord_reluctant had his own birthday party tonight, and as per usual he had all of us go out for a meal. The restaurant was nice but way too noisy to hold conversations in. Lyz and I had to nana out because of the kid, but also because of the day we're going to have tomorrow sorting the place out for my own party. Hopefully it goes well, I've been looking forwarc to it for some time now.
As a footnote, wireless routers are awesome. I can play online multiplayer games, download old school games, even surf the web and make LJ posts. Like this one.
What a weekend. We're almost entirely moved in now. All that's left are some random bits and pieces at the old flat--we've got most things here at this point. There's a lot of cleaning to do, but we'll get there. The computer was finally set up late Sunday evening (talk about restraint on my part!)
Lyz and I make a pretty good team when it comes to general moving. Between her logic and forethought and my spatial awareness and (most importantly) ability to lift heavy things, we are an excellent combination.
Saturday was insane. We had some quiet time until about 8:30am, and then got into it. Izabella was picked up by the parents of a friend of hers--they gave us a neat yellow trolley which has seen us well all weekend. The rest of the day was a blurr of packing, shifting, unpacking, having some good times with friends and driving cars with trailers and vans to and fro. The highlights, for me, were spending quality time with some good friends, with a distant second being loading up trailers. I couldn't help myself, that was genuinely fun, though more than one correlation was made to playing Tetris. Our friends got to have a look around the new place for the first time, and really liked it. Lots said they're looking forward to geek nights held in it, which we hope there will be many. We had pizza for dinner before I did one final small van-load of things for the day (and ran some pizza out to lord_reluctant since he was at work when we got it) and called it a night.
Sunday we got a lot less done, but that's what happens when it's just the two of us and with no child minding. Mind you, it's been a pretty good, the house is nearly finished. All of the large furniture things have been moved, as has most of the rubbish/green waste. we're just down to annoying pieces of paper and bits and bobs now. Late at night I realized how grateful I am for my wonderful and clever Lyz who had the foresight to ensure I had dress clothes for work and school clothes for Izabella. However I now have a mild-ish case of Sunburn, and I also ache in places where I didn't know I had places.
There are some people who definitely need thanking, and without whose dedication and help we wouldn't be here today:
The parents of Izabella's friend, they don't read this but for casual friends they did a lot.
lord_reluctant. We didn't expect anything from him this time; he was the one that helped with our last shift. Not only did he secure a van for us, when he learned he had an afternoon shift he put a good three hours of light (and not-too-light) work in the morning. Amazing!
darknedchivarly, who did an amazing amount of work and whose loyalty and dependability is incredible.
3_2_1_letsdance, who despite being sick as a dog and would have been completely forgiven for calling in sick on the day, showed up anyway and did everything he possibly could to help us out.
te_hazazel, who had every understandable reason not to show up, including another engagement on the day, but surprised us all and showed up to help after said engagement. An incredible trooper and a total sweetheart who deserves more hugs than I have time to give her.
And of course hazazel's excellent husband, An understated genius with a solution for every problem we faced and... well I want to say "he's good with rope" but I can't trust certain members of my flist to not make jokes about that, do I?
You guys all rock, and thank you so much again for your help.
So yeah. I got the temp work. As in ACTUALLY GOT IT I SIGNED THE CONTRACT AND EVERYTHING. It's call centre work, which will be interesting.
It's also only for 3 1/2 weeks, but that'll give me some time to find a more permanent job. And looking for work whilst making money is ALWAYS more comfortable than not. I start on Monday.
Of course, all of this is coming together pretty damn quickly. Next week I am:
-Starting my first day at my new job -Finishing packing and starting moving/cleaning -Attending my last Indian cooking class -Meeting the boy I'll be mentoring for Big Brothers Big Sisters -Attending a career day for another place I might be trying to land a job with -Going to a parent-teacher conference for Izabella
BUSY.
I've also been told by the blood bank that I should donate platelets, so I hope they can fit me in tomorrow sometime since next week is completely out.
Oh, and before I forget. Thank you so much to the support people have offered on last week, both in the replies to my stressful posts and through other mediums. I really, truly appreciate it. It's good to have friends who are there for you. Thank you, thank you.
-Saw Transformers again today with lord_reluctant. I didn't pay this time either, thanks to a free pass on my film squad card. Between free passes, birthday presents, prizes and competitions won, and the free kids meal toy the girl at the Burger King drivethrough gave me, there hasn't been a lot I've spent money on for this movie. The stuff I have bought was on special, too. Heh.
-To this end, I'm surprised with how much of a resurgence the movie has created. At a party I went to last weekend, people kept on asking questions about the original TF toys/cartoon, and were blown away by my encylopaedic knowledge on the subject. I know at least one guy who has taken to collecting the movie figures - and through some browbeating subtle persuasion on my part, has also joined up to a New Zealand TF community and is considering doing some repainting. ONE OF US. ONE OF US.
-Izabella lost her two front teeth recently. She has the most adorable lisp.
-I tried to make another AMV, but it didn't pan out how I had hoped. The music was too fast and the video was too slow. But I still liked the intro so I just posted the start of it. Maybe if I sped up everything it'd work out. We'd have to see.( Eh, it's okay. )heatherbeast put a nice comment on a messageboard complimenting my AMV-Fu, which really made my day. Thanks, Heather. *hugs*
-School is going okay. I need to study more, but I'm having fun. My tutor is a couple of years older than me and a real geek, so the training atmosphere is really relaxed and pleasant. Plus, the other person learning at the same time as I worked at an appliance store and got us $50 off the HDD+DVD recorder we've been eyeing up!
-I really think that if you can't be bothered reading that you should reconsider whether or not a text-based roleplaying system is for you. Just sayin'.
-I was hoping for some help from Firefox users. I want to know if there is a user profile list that you can get for Firefox in a similar vein to windows users. Ideally, what this would mean is that if I were to manage multiple message board identities or gmail accounts, I could just swap my profile over rather than going through tedious logging out/logging in pages. Anyone who could help?
As for the movie itself. Well, needless to say, MINOR SPOILERS. I don't want to give away any major plot points, but there are small details that are invariably given away.
So, alasatyr's Comic Appreciation Day (TM) is tomorrow!
My comics I'm bringing are:
Batman: Year One Batman: Killing Joke Batman: Black & White Runaways: Vols 1-7 Kevin Smith books (Jay and Silent Bob, Daredevil) A Zim Comic by Vasquez(Printed out) Powers The Daredevil stories that David Mack Contributed to Sam and Twitch Ultimate Iron Man (By Orson Scott Card) Irredeemable Ant-Man
Lyz should be bringing her Sandman trades as well as her League of Extraordinary Gentlemen books and a few others on the side too.
I also have: Green Arrow (Kevin Smith's Run) Alias 1602 LOTS of Batman (Hush, Dark Knight Returns, all sorts) Kingdom Come Marvels Watchmen Every other issue of Daredevil A small mountain of Avengers and Ultimates and Ultimate Spider-Man
Does anyone want any of that? Or anything else I might have?
So, YET AGAIN I discover that someone is aggravated with me, and I had NO IDEA. Yeah.
EDIT: Also, I've now gotten some replies aimed at mocking those who are annoyed at me. I should probably clarify and say that this post is me being disappointed in myself for not noticing the signs before it came to a head (of sorts) rather than anger at anyone else for DARING to be upset.
-Today was my last day at work. I have a van to clear out(!) and then return it and that's about it. Still going to do part time stuff, though.
-Supermarket chicken with apple and cranberry stuffing rocks my world.
-This week I've discovered that one of the new friends I made this week has dressed up as Rorschach. Normally the only way friends of mine know anything about Watchmen is if I give them my copy to read. It also happened not that long ago as well - A local friend of mine knew about Women In Refrigerators without being told by me. I've decided I need more friends like this.
-My studylink letter is asking me for proof of income while I study. My income of zero. Do you think that can of unbranded pasta sauce and encyclopaedic knowledge of slightly less comics than normal would count?
-It also asks for my partner's gross weekly income and her gross weekly income at the start of my study. Um, I would've thought these were the same thing, but okay. And also, it asks how much she's studying - no idea where it got the notion that Lyz is studying.
-This has got to be the most frustrating thing on the internet. I tried several times to get it to say "Im Batman" before giving up in frustration. <Public> Scrapper says, "Put it all in the corner! Put it all in the corner!" <Public> Scrapper says, "That's how you win!" <Public> Batman would win, Comcast says, "You bastard!"
This Friday I'm off to see my parents and work for them until next Thursday. Yay for extra cash.
Thanks to Easter and everyone and their dog having plans on Good Friday, Geek Night is NOT the first Friday of this month. We'll probably be pushing it back until next week. If you're a RL friend and you read this, please spread the word.
If you don't have sound, it's not necessary. Thanks to water_to_air (I think) who hooked me up with the link.
Last night we all went to another awesome gathering of peoples - this time it was a flatwarming for aj_dot_com, Sam and Hazel. Met a bunch of AWESOME new people who were also geeks, some of which I hope make their way onto my journal. Hi to you all! aj_dot_com was a bastard and played my AMV on full-screen in front of everyone, but most people seemed to enjoy it. It was embarrassing as hell though, but I laughed the whole way through. So did everyone else. Sam and Hazel always throw the best parties and throwing Adam into the mix as co-host only helped things. Interestingly enough the eye toy was broken out and not Singstar, which is less addictive for me (and not so good considering the layout of their living room, random guests heads were getting in the way or hitting things on the screen. It ended with watching random youtube clips, including that one, the Super Mario one I linked to previously and SOCKBABY. It's nice to know that when work is stressful and my life is hectic that my social life is totally sweet instead of being as sucky as the rest of the week.
Oh and to my transformer geek friends who next go socializing, I suggest you get and bring with you a Plushie Optimus Prime. Take it out in truck mode and transform it in front of everyone. You'll be a hit. Unfortunately, some of the company I had pointed out that the popple-like transformation Prime has means he has an open soft cavity on his back, and they alluded to purposes for this. Wow, it really is a good time to be a TF Slasher and a regular reader of my flist, isn't it?
Also, regarding the New Avengers/TF crossover... [15:27] invisiblemoosenz: http://media.comics.ign.com/media/888/888533/img_4435655.html <3 <3 <3 [15:28] TumbleCoyote: Captain America driving Optimus Prime is pretty much the most American thing ever.
And finally, something Batman-esque. This is cracky.
I really can't fault this evening in any way, well except for the Scott talking too much part, which was a bit of a shame since I felt I've been doing well in that area as of late.
OMG Why am I quitting my job now, there are so many good movies. Next week alone has the premiere of Pan's Labrynth, 300 and TMNT. At least I'll get a student discount.
Got back at three fifteen this morning. The concert was AWESOME. A full update will probably come later. But for now, a quote from my friend when I played my Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman DVD for him.
Barbara Gordon (Batgirl) was calling up Bruce Wayne. For some reason she was flirting with him, big time. This confused people, since she was previously known for being involved with Nightwing.
So Michael, expressing his confusion, says "I thought she liked Dick."
Got back from the beach early, stayed up, got drunk. So did Lyz, which was awesome. We partied at lord_reluctant's place, and crashed the night. I'm on his computer looking up a piggery, all the salad got left out overnight and it's a shame to let it go to waste. But apparently most farms don't list in the yellow pages online. Bah.
And now, a very merry supervillain meme: Your results: You are The Joker
The Joker
56%
Dr. Doom
56%
Apocalypse
55%
Lex Luthor
53%
Mr. Freeze
47%
Magneto
46%
Green Goblin
41%
Catwoman
40%
Venom
37%
Mystique
37%
Kingpin
37%
Dark Phoenix
35%
Juggernaut
33%
Riddler
33%
Two-Face
33%
Poison Ivy
29%
The Clown Prince of Crime. You are a brilliant mastermind but are criminally insane. You love to joke around while accomplishing the task at hand.
This is something that I have never confessed on my journal about before, but I'm a casual live roleplayer. The difference between us and most LRP groups is that instead of a paper scissors rock system or other means of resolving combat, we have a simple hit point system with padded weaponry. Sadly, this means that accursed skill is required to succeed, putting me at a distinct disadvantage but still meaning it's fun.
Sadly, the turnout was kinda low - only six people showed up to the park. water_to_air was there, which was fun. That wasn't enough to run a scene, so the organizer suggested we play a game of Orc Ball!
Basically, the game is a stripped-down version of grid iron (I'm sorry. FOOT BALL) with foam weapons. A strike to the limbs or the torso is an instant kill, and you're out for the rest of the play. If you're holding the ball and you're killed, the play ends. Once the play ends, all the slain orcs are carried off the field and are replaced with new ones (who look remarkably like the old ones, but whatever. :) )After four plays, the other team takes posession of the 'ball' - ideally a severed orc head but anything will do in a pinch. Players can weild two weapons instead of one, (or shield and a weapon, or carry a two handed weapon like a quarterstaff) but they are then defense only and cannot pick up the ball. Our side had two longswordsmen and a quarterstaff weilding buffoon. Thankfully he was downwind from us, he didn't smell good and wasn't really as funny as he seemed to think he was. Guh. Stupid last picked.
The game was fun, once some people got over the confusion with the rules (No, buffoon, you only have one weapon but it's one that you need BOTH HANDS to carry! You stole the freaking ball from me, jackass!) and some interesting plays were being made. I got to shine because so much was going on, and I was able to focus on taking out people while they were distracted.
The game only lasted so long before a sore shoulder meant that we couldn't carry on. Pity. Fun was still had though, and it made for some great sword practice. We talked about the possibility of an Orc Ball League, although for this to work we'd need a minimum of four five-a-side teams, not to mention referees. So what do you say, Hamilton and neighbouring areas? Can we get enough interest for this, either as a one-afternoon event or over a few weeks?
If anyone is keen, I could arrange for the rules for the game to be made available online, if you want to try it out for yourself. It really is a lot of fun.
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