Proof I am not the world's crappiest gamer ever.
: I've been playing Dragon Age pretty much solid since the day it was released. It is an awesome game (if horribly, horribly depressing at times), but I've had the difficulty turned down to easy since sometime say... ten minutes into day one and I've still been getting my ass handed to me at every turn.

Seriously. I don't die this often in ME on hardcore settings, its ridiculous.

Anyway, I was apparently not the only person to die every five seconds in the game since there's been enough whining about it that the first patch reads:

* fixed potential corruption of character statistics
* fixed portrait appearance sliders when importing a character from the downloadable Character Creator
* fixed import for preset face settings from the downloadable Character Creator
* made Easy difficulty easier
* slightly increased attack, defense, and damage scores for all party members at Normal difficulty
* fixed video issues when running on a very wide screen display, including ATI Eyefinity displays
* fixed an issue with Dragon Age and Windows Game Explorer
* updated Visual C runtime libraries

So yeah. I only suck in the usual "wasting all my free time killing imaginary zombies and hitting on pixels" way and not the "hopelessly bad at wasting all my free time killing imaginary zombies" way.

Hmm... still possibly lame.

Oh well, I have Alister to console me.

HOLYF___INGOMGOMGOMGCARGASM
: I stopped in at Whole Foods for emergency rations on my way home tonight and when I go to leave I notice there's a really nice silver Lotus parked next to me. I'm kind of craning my head around the other cars to get a better look, thinking... hmm... nice car. Really... really... nice...

Wait. Not a Lotus.

Pause, try and think what car I know that isn't a Lotus but looks kinda like one, because... yeah its brand new and there's a resemblance and I KNOW that I've seen this front end somewhere... And I glance down at the manufacturer's emblem.

Finally my brain registers that I am looking at a BRAND SPANKING NEW TESLA ROADSTER.

Okay, seriously, seriously hot car. And I wasn't exactly holding my breath on ever seeing one in person. I toss the groceries in the car and pull out the phone because even a crappy picture is worth taking and I'm just getting the camera to load when someone calls across the parking lot.

"You want a picture of you in it?"

Um... yes excuse me while I have a total psychotic breakdown. In it? SERIOUSLY?

The guy walks over and he so fits the profile of what I expect an owner of this car to look like that its kind of hysterical (mid-life-tech-hippie type) and he tells me that if I can get into the car he'll take my picture in the driver's seat.

If....?

Okay so it turns out that you have to like channel some inner contortionist to get into and out of this vehicle. I am glad he found my squirming funny because if I hadn't been grinning and giddy and acting like a total idiot I probably would have been embarrassed.

I get in and its got that new car smell and its all tight and fitted around you like it wants to suck you in and never ever let you leave and he goes to take a picture... And my phone dies. Possibly when I accidentally pitched it halfway across the parking lot this morning at work I dislodged my memory card. I tried to reboot the phone but he seemed to be in a hurry and I know how long it takes the blackberry to regain brain power.

So no photo.

But OMFG.

I got to sit in a Tesla.

Lost Dryer
: So I have my washing machine and its nifty.

My drier however is MIA. Home Depot is not really sure where it is other than 'not here'. They are working on tracking it down, but in the meantime I'm doing laundry and hang drying things.

The upside is that its still obnoxiously hot and fairly dry so this is working acceptably well. Its probably not hurting my electric bill either.

Also I have three free wire shelves in my bedroom still since I haven't been unpacking stuff that I am using for laying out the stuff I don't want flapping around on my balcony.

The washing machine is pretty nifty. It didn't felt my socks and when it spins out the water it sounds like a jet engine spinning up.

Also it plays a tune when its done.

What can I say - I'm easily amused.

Appliance love
: Okay so usually when someone wants to talk about their new dishwasher of fridge or washer I kind of get glazed and tune out and think something to the effect of "what sort of brain malfunction causes a person to be this excited about new microwave?"

yeah.

Guess who's getting a new washer & dryer next week?

My washer is gonna be SWEET. It's Energy Star & high efficiency and its got a handwash setting and a TIMER. Seriously I can toss in my laundry tell it to start washing in nine hours and come home in time to toss it in the dryer. It has half a dozen water temperatures, four different spin cycles and automatically decides how much water to use. It has a sound dampening and antimicrobial coatings.

Its the awesomesauce. Seriously.

My dryer is going to be pretty lame by comparison, but... well, dryers just aren't that nifty until you get way out my price range and start talking Energy Star with dry cleaning functions and stuff. I don't need high capacity. I don't need pretty exteriors. It drys. It has two heat settings and does air fluff. It has one dial and one button.

I am good with having a low tech dryer to go with my high tech washer.

I am also good with getting them both massively on sale and with 12 months no interest financing which means I can do laundry at home NOW instead of in December.

I've totally done my part to combat the recession this week.

Don't laugh
: They have She-ra up on Hulu.

And I think that's just the most awesome thing to happen this week.

If I were gonna buy a camaro...
: .. which I'm not (probably ever), but if I *was* I totally admit it - I'd shell out the extra grand to rip around in a Bumblebee clone

It woulda been sweeter if they'd given it some performance upgrades too, but still...

I do wonder, if you had one (and were a crazy super-geek-fangirl like me) would it count as molestation to pet the camaro?

Yay WiFi!
: Yay I finally got the new modem to talk to the router. I can get interwebs on the laptop again! And right in time for my chair to get here and render the point moot too ;)

Ah well, WiFi's still awesome.

Cough*Hack*Sneeze*Cough
: Okay so I'm sick - I've just moved - I am flat broke because my car decided to demand expensive surgery the same weekend I was broke from moving and I Hate my job (with a capitol "H" even).

In other news I have highly interesting neighbors. I don't know this because I've met any of them. In fact I've only managed to spend one night at the new place between not having a car and being sick. I know they are interesting because they have really amusing WiFi network IDs. I need to find out who "Skynet" is and there appears to be a UK fan somewhere in the building (Along with a number of UT fans with the less creative names of "GoHorns" and "GoOrange"). I don't have internet at the new place yet but as soon as I get a network setup I'm naming it something fun. Teletraan-1 perhaps. Or maybe TheDeadhut.

Remember back when you used to judge people on their doormats or something like that?

More (or less) than meets the eye.
: Transformers Review Warning.

OMG who the f--- told Michael Bay that Armada was a good choice of canon to hack?

( SPOILERS FOLLOW - YOU BEEN WARNED )

guh
: I am so tired. I'm not going into the details of the day because I've already covered it with family and its not improving my mood or energy levels to do that again.

I will say this: I hate interviewing.

Job is not exactly bust, but its also not exactly as advertised. I am waiting to hear stuff and debating if I will turn it down if I do get offered the position or another interview (which after the most bizarre interview I've ever been through I can say I have absolutely no idea if I will make a short list or not).



Deadpool says don't drive mad. And no I can't have the teleporter back. Its not my teleporter, its his. And no he has never heard of anyone named Solberg.

He also tells me that talking to action figures is a sign of poor mental health and he's going to start charging me for the therapy.

Yeah. Its been one of those days.

Busy!
: Wow, the past weeks have been hectic and stressful.

The good news is that I'm back in Austin and as settled as I can be for the moment. I actually have a job interview tomorrow (so please send good thoughts - I can use them right now). On paper at least it looks like a good prospect and if it pays a bit less that I'd like in a perfect world... well its on the cheap side of town as far as living expenses.

Anyway, more on that when I know if I'm even going to get a call back.

I got a new keyboard today, which is awesome because I haven't had a keyboard since I got here (long story) and there is nothing so annoying as trying to type anything longer than three words on that virtual keyboard thing that windows has. I did have the laptop but it just isn't the same.

I am sitting right now and eating a sammich (organic peanut butter and strawberry on nine grain... yum) because it occurred to me as I sat down to type that I haven't had dinner yet. Maybe its just psychological but I swear I don't get hungry as much down here. Or at least I seem to stay busy enough that I don't remember to eat as often or something.

Whatever. I have 15 lbs of Kentucky Fried Everything weight to shed so its probably a good thing (I'm an f-ing pescetarian and STILL 90% of what I can order in a restaurant in that part of the country seems to be fried)

I have been to two knitting groups this week, and probably could have made another three if I'd wanted to (Tonight I had to pick between two meetups even) and Saturday I'm going to a spin-in just out of town. I think this is the most effort I've made to be social... well, maybe ever. Its mostly been fun feeling out the groups, though I know it will take time to really settle into one (or two or six).

Ah big city life. I have missed you!

Tomorrow after the interview I'm thinking movie time. Land of the Lost opens. Its probably doomed to be terrible, but I used to watch that crappy show on TV as a kid (I think it was syndicated by then... which is even more terrifying) so I'm going to see it anyway (and really the show was AWFUL so maybe the movie being bad isn't really a bad thing). Plus I need SOMETHING to hold me until Transformers.

Mmm... giant robot cars good.

I'm sure there are other things I should mention, but mostly I doing the OMG JOB and then OMG BROKE and then OMG TEX MEX with some - hey there is stuff to do around here - thrown in and my brain is alternating between overloaded and not firing on all cylinders.

Will post more when job and then permanent living situation (hopefully followed by fixed up car & autocross schedule) are sorted.

Oh - and my leg was unshitty enough that I walked a whole .89 miles today. All in one stint even. Next week maybe I'll get up to a whole 1.2! (note that there was only a 50% amount of sarcasm there, because yeah its not the 4 miles of cross-training I was doing last year, but its more than I been able to do since f-ing JANUARY).

Yeah, I am that far gone
: I don't usually post knitting stuff here... but seriously you wish you had my badass knitting mojo:



One of my friends calls my Porphyria mitts my "Superhero gloves" which cracks me up. I've said a few times that I was going to get around to making real superhero gloves... or whatever Deadpool is gloves anyway.

Sometimes having no social life is totally OK.

SQUEEEE~~~!!!!!
: I dunno how many people will even remember this but way back in 2005/2006 during Rally Mexico I took a bunch of photos and then puddle & co were kind enough to hunt down some drivers for me and get them to sign them.

I've had those pictures for awhile now, and I keep meaning to frame them... but it just never happens. Its expensive or I get side tracked or I can't find the photos.

For graduation though, my parents offered to have it done for me and this is the result:



OMG! ^_______^

So awesome!

Terminator
: Okay first off - unless you have a real pressing need to see this for some reason... don't.

Wait for the dollar theater. Or DVD. Or something.

To be totally fair, its possibly not worse than the third movie (I haven't seen the third movie except the once when I decided it sucked so its hard to remember the reasons why I didn't like it now... but its probably worse than this one. I think.) so if you were not completely WTFH? annoyed with that one you may enjoy Salvation. I dunno.

I never thought I would see the day where I'd say this but... Christian Bale kills this movie. Seriously. Shittiest John Connor ever (Hello - I'm a whiny messiah batman clone, everyone LISTEN TO ME BECAUSE I KNOW BETTER THAN YOU, thanks kiddies I love you all, peace out).

( spoilerish warning )

In conclusion - go see Star Trek again, or wait for Up or something (maybe rent the last season for the TV series, it was cheesy but still better than this... and it had Summer Glau).

Where does it all go?
: I've been cleaning out my possessions (again) whittling it down to the must haves in my life. Mostly it feels good, but its driving me crazy that I can't find a couple of things.

Top of the list is my comics. I know I sold most of them a few years back but I distinctly remember keeping some early witchblade & Deadpools and its making me kind of violent and neurotic that I can't find them (now when I really want to re-read the DPs).

Grrrr.

Anyway - back to geeky knitting and avoiding packing.

3 for 3...
: ... in Thursday opening movies this month.

Angels & Demons sucked. I hope the book was more intelligent because... yeah... I think the plot fell into its own hole a few times.

Next week is Terminator. Which will be awesome. Because I said so. And also because every other movie right now seems to be good.

The last May movie is Up. Which I'm guessing won't get a midnight opener... but oh well. Somehow I'll make it count.

To boldly go... where Star Trek has gone before
: I will try really hard not to spoil this movie.

Sometimes I don't care about spoiling stuff - but actually? Good movie. It works in a way that only Star Trek movies can work (by suspending all sense of reality and plausibility and the various other concerns of grandfather paradoxes and so on because hey? Why not? Its fun and space is pretty and the aliens are neat and mostly friendly, humanoid and sexy).

Reasons you want to go see it:

1) Despite a new cast and the "prequel-ish" nature its still a Star Trek movie.
2) Leonard Nimoy is in it.
3) The uniforms are just as unflattering as ever (even in the reimagined x6 future badly fitted polyester is still a fashion statement).
4) Simon Pegg as Scotty (Come to that - with the possible exception of Winona Ryder as Spock's mom all of the casting is pretty awesome).
5) New-Kirk falls off ledges a lot. I'm not sure why that's a selling point, but I thought it was funny.
6) Karl Urban as McCoy.
7) New-Kirk gets slapped around comedicly a lot. Again - not sure why that's awesome, just sure that it is.
8) Pretty SFX by ILM.
9) The death star is in it (wait - wrong series... but it does the same thing)
10) I told you to.

Ugh
: There are whole miles of crap going on with me right now, but to be totally honest I don't want to think about most of it - much less talk about it - so I apologize in advance to being bitchy and stonewalling everyone about anything that might be relevant about my life.

So this is not about anything important just a generic today-was-annoying rant.

I F---ing hate Kentucky.

Okay so the day started just fine. They announced there will be a Deadpool movie (and I danced a little jig and made smartass comments to anyone that would listen). But in the process I found out that that Deadpool alternate ending that I kept thinking was just a happy fantasy WAS REAL AND I MISSED IT BECAUSE THIS STUPID F---ING TOWN DIDN'T GET IT! !@#$!J@#$!!!!!

Anyway - calm down. Moving on.

Day proceeded as follows: finish work and agree to go run an errand for my Mom. There is a pottery place somewhere in the wilds of Kentucky that she needs me to go pick something up from. I have directions and an hour and a half to get there before they close. According to her it is a "30-40 minute drive" and since its raining and the roads are shit and the drivers here are all f---wits when it rains I'm estimating the long end of that. I leave. I drive. I am in a pretty good mood in spite of the bad visibility and getting stuck behind a small army of 18-wheelers.

I get to the turnoff to nowhere-ville and both sets of instructions (I have two - one from google and one from the shop) tell me to "turn left and go 8 miles" at which point there is supposed to be a gas station. I go 8 miles. There is no gas station. There is nothing but cows and horses and grass. I go 10 miles. There is no gas station. There is a post office but no one is there. I go 15 miles. There is still no f---ing gas station.

At this point I am confident of two things. A) I am lost in the middle of farmland Kentucky with no cellular access and two bad maps and B) It has taken me over an hour to get here which only gives me a little over 20minutes to get unlost and then find wherever I'm supposed to be.

Color me pissed off.

I manage to backtrack to somewhere with phone service and call out. Mom says "Oh... there was something wrong on one of those maps but I can't remember what now" And I say "They both say exactly the same thing." And she says "Well, its no big deal, just come home." And I think... yes is is a big deal because I've just driven an hour and a half and burned a third a tank of gas trying to find this stupid place and my leg is cramped all to shit because I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO BE DRIVING THIS MUCH YET and I can't even get out and stretch it because the po-dink "town" I'm in isn't even big enough to rate a goddamn Rite Aid and the HELL ITS NOT A BIG DEAL that was my whole afternoon down the toilet!

And its not even tomorrow yet so I don't have any movies I can go see to calm down or anything (but even if there were any they would be on dinky small screens with no Digital anything). And that makes me all annoyed again that this stupid town didn't get the good X-men ending.

Stupid crappy state.

o.O
: Stuff I missed about WRR:

Snarky emails

Petter Solberg (being cheerful)

WTH? Seriously? moments... like... Toshi Arai driving with the steering wheel in his lap, because what? it fell off? "He's holding it up... like flying a plane I guess"

Um... yeah. Ok. Sure. Why not. Normal day in the WRC.

I missed this.

Stupid time
: Ya know... I forgot how freaking annoying it is to try and sort out global timezones. I'm pretty sure its only an hour ahead of me in Argentina (not sure if that helps so much just now...) but I may be wrong there.

Gonna try and tune in some for the afternoon stages at work & if anyone is around I'll be on YM assuming the wi-fi holds out.