Running a World of Warcraft guild can be a thankless job. As any manager of people can attest, you have a wide variety of personalities all thrown together. And while we don't have a product to offer, as would be the case of a work place, we have goals. Achieving said goals means working together and that can be tough when Brenda is having a panic attack, Rob's girlfriend dumped him, Mona's dog is throwing up all over the living room carpet, and Derrick's mother is yelling at him to take out the garbage and help her move a table. You become confidante, counselor, and crisis manager. Still, I wouldn't disband my guild for anything because, in spite of all of this, many of us are, deep down, friends. We've bonded over pixels on a computer screen and have extended that bond into our real lives.
There are some people I don't know very well. They are names on the screen; avatars in a group; there, but not extraordinarily present. I don't know their lives. They come on, do their thing, and log off. They are happy to be in a guild with lower pressure to play. I never know if they are happy or just don't want the hassle of trying to find another guild. And then I get asked for my name and address because, "I have something to send to you."
Ordinarily, my real self isn't available to people I don't know. But guild members who have hung around for at least 8 months, even if they rarely talk in chat, can "break that 4th wall", if you will. So, I gave Kacy my name and address. I really didn't have a gut feeling she would abuse it.
Last month, I got a slim, small, packet in the mail.
There was a pin depicting mages, one of the classes you can play, and a green mesh bag with something inside it.
It's a silver necklace with the guild icon in it. I was, and still am, blown away by this kindness. I'm not one for jewelry anymore, but I will wear this every day during the guild's trip to Disney World in October.
People surprise me in very meaningful ways. All I need to do, when I'm feeling oppressed about dealing with people, is to look at this and remember, everyone has bad days and how I lead is important. I guess I'm doing something right.
Santa Baby,
Just stick some stickers under the tree
For me.
Been an awful good girl.
Santa Baby,
Hurry down the chimney tonight.
(I hope you know that song, but if you don't, here's a link to Eartha Kitt's version.)
As I age, I realize the gifts which make me deliriously happy are simple. One of them is stickers. All boxes and mailers and letters leave my house with stickers attached; unless they are mailers from Target. Those things require me to glue my stickers on. Not going to do that.
Christmas was a magical time. Carole sent me a whole bunch of stickers. I think she went to Hobby Lobby several times to accumulate this mass.
My friend, Liz, and my sister also got in on the act.
Liz's were all from Disney, thanks to her trip to Disneyland in November, and Sharyn's were all 50 cents or less.
I vowed, this year I would be better about writing people. I was gifted with some lovely note cards which don't take hours to draft a note. Thanks to this and a vow to be better about sending cards, I've used up 80% of this stash. I had to buy more stickers in March because I was running low. I put together Easter baskets for my great-nieces and nephews and bought stickers to put in those, which gave me a few more. But I realized I'd need to, probably in June, set aside some cash and hit up Hallmark. They have neat stickers, even though they are a bit pricey.
Enter Mother's Day.
The last three years, Carole has sent flowers. While very appreciated, 1-800-Flowers was not sending me good blooms. She would get a credit because the flowers would arrive with brown edges or would fail to open. After last year, she said, "I'm never ordering from them again, mom." There are a lot of things which would be great if she wanted to send me something, but she didn't ask so I didn't volunteer. When the Mother's Day card came, she said I have been gifted with a 6 month membership to Pipsticks. Huh?
Pipsticks. This is one of those subscription crate services which are popping up all over. I get a package every month. The clear mailer holds a pouch which contains stickers;
oodles and oodles of stickers;
all sorts.
I don't know if you can see them. On the left side of the keyboard are translucent colored raindrops. I'm not sure about the big rainbow piece at the bottom. It might be a place to stick stickers onto. I haven't tried to see if it's one huge sticker itself which would be awesome on the back of a mailer or flat or on the side of a box. I have a method for stickering packages and I just haven't gotten to that piece, yet.
Also included is a picture to color, a pre-stamped postcard and a newsletter, which is the heart covered paper. I sent the postcard to a friend and added the coloring page to a color book I got last year.
I am thrilled. I have not used these up. I've been really busy and haven't written a lot of letters. I sent out some parcels right before and right after Memorial Day and it was so wonderful to adorn them with stickers. It was hilarious because I sent a flat to someone who had never received a letter from me. His reaction was priceless. On the guild Facebook page he typed, "OMG! You guys! Letters from Gimm come covered in stickers!" A large number of people responded, "Yes, yes they do." The postcard is blank on the other side so you can use your stickers to create a scene. I just covered the side with anything which would fit.
My subscription runs through October. This might become my birthday and Mother's Day gift, I was told, assuming each pack stays as great as this one. In October, I'll have the rest of these to use up.
I bought these to use in achievement books when my guild goes to Disney World in October. (See below.) I have two boxes full of stickers. We won't use all of them and the boxes are small enough to carry in my purse for stickering on the go.
This makes me so happy. I'm trying to get my life in order so I can sit down and write some notes. If I have to take boxes to the post office, I go to the one near the office. The clerks there get a big kick out of what I mail.
I've been saving for a guild trip to Walt Disney World this coming October. As of today, it's 132 days until I'm in the air on my way to Orlando. It hasn't seemed real until May. Finally, Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party dates and tickets released. This was, kind of, the big reason we chose to go in October. It's pricey, particularly to our overseas guild mates. But, there was sheer joy when I got a letter from Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
There it is. My ticket to the Halloween party. This one plastic item caused me to really ramp up the collection of things. The next thing was to order this bag I'd had my eye on.
When I went to Disneyland in 2015, I wanted to pare down all the stuff I carry to a small handbag; a wristlet, is what it's called. I love this bag. I use it exclusively now. It fits in the glove box or under the seat or in the well between the seats. Everything I could use fits in it. But, DisneyWorld requires a different strategy from Disneyland. The sheer size of the park means I need to carry more things. Building on the lessons learned from the Land trip, I need a portable phone charger. My phone and my digital camera wore down with all the picture taking. Disney World has portable chargers for sale. But I felt I should do my research and get one before I got there, mainly to figure out how it works. Thankfully, one of the tech sites I frequent had a recommendation AND a coupon code.
Viola. The $20 phone charger the same size as my ancient iphone. It takes an hour to charge the phone to full when it's less than 40%. It take 10 minutes to charge the charger, when it's 50% or greater.
I'm going to need a water bottle. I can't duck out of line to get water and I don't want to pay $3.50 for a bottle of water. Staying hydrated is going to be important. But my little blue bag certainly can't hold a water bottle or this charger.
Then, I had this thought; when I made dinner, lunch and breakfast reservations back in April. There will be times when I'll be standing or sitting; waiting for whatever is next; i.e. our table to be ready. I need to bring a paperback book with me. I read everywhere. The blue purse certainly can't hold that. I don't read books on my phone. I prefer the joy of flipping pages. I was now into large purse territory. I am not carrying a backpack. Disney searches ALL bags and they pay particular attention to backpacks. My little blue purse makes it easy to see exactly what I have with me. I need something bigger.
Four years ago, I bought a leather purse with a Celtic emblem on the front. I looked at that purse. While I like it, I've always had issues with the interior pockets. Getting stuff out was a chore. This wasn't the right purse for Disney. I looked into just a large "beach bag" with a zipper top. No. That didn't appeal to me at all. Then I got a catalog in the mail and there was this steampunk "shoulder satchel", they called it. Now THAT was something I could get behind. Weird and funky and just the right size. Plus, it wasn't too big that I might be tempted to bring everything with me. We have this list of items people on various web sites have said are worth bringing with you. You would need a backpack to hold it all. One of my friends goes with her mom to Disney and the problem with her mom's backpack is, invariably, what mom wants has fallen into the bottom of the backpack. It takes her 10 minutes to find wet wipes. I am not going to be "that person" in the group.
The purse was $70. That's kind of pricey for something I might not use again. And then I thought, "Who are you kidding? You're going to be buying all sorts of things you'll only use for this vacation." I started searching "steampunk purses". Double viola.
The pin, to the left, is a Christmas gift from Liz. That's the Small World facade. I wanted canvas and a sturdy strap because, while I don't collect pins, I will buy a few as souvenirs. The purse itself, is canvas with probably cardboard(?) or some other thing in the flap, front and back, to give it bulk and to hold shape. The side pocket is too small for a cell phone, but will be perfect for pens or other small items. There is the small top pocket and a zippered pocket on the back and one inside. Otherwise the interior is open.
The three bottles on top will be filled with glitter and glued shut. In the game, players have status bars which increase or decrease based on what they are doing. Health is red. Mana, which can be thought of as the essence needed for spells, is blue. Hunters, which is what my main is, use focus, which is an orange red.
All of this fits inside the bag. There's plenty of room for a small container of wet wipes (a great idea), a tube of sunscreen, my cell phone and ...
This handmade booklet is a take-off on the in-game achievements available to players. Liz and I spent months, going back to her trip to Disneyland in November, coming up with "achievements". The first one, "Attend Spectacular Death's 10th Anniversary Disney World trip", is done. Every guild member and family member going with us, got a book. Most of the achievements are completed by taking a photo of something. Then, you show me the photo and I'll put a sticker on the page. After receiving my Halloween party ticket, I spent two weeks printing, cutting, folding and stapling books. They have all been mailed. I was going to pass them out when I got there, but we're coming at different times and I know I'd want to have it sooner so I can plan where to go to do the most achievements at once. I'm going to try to do every achievement in the book. We came up with some which can overlap others. "Take a photo of Mickey. Double sticker if you're in the photo." can be combined with "Take a photo of a character not in their usual costume", because we're going to a character breakfast in the Animal Kingdom and Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Daisy wear tour guide outfits.
I took the car in for an oil change and tire rotation and I'm going to need to replace the brakes. There is a sale at my mechanic where I can get $50 off new brakes. I sighed on the way home. How can I save when I need something important like this? It's not like I don't have the money, but it's spoken for. I decided I had better pay for the vacation so I know what I have to save for. That was done Friday. Disney has acknowledged receipt of payment. The only thing left is airfare and the travel agent is watching those numbers for me. I need to have $137 for my foot and leg massage on the Wednesday we are there. I have that saved. I need $40 for an Epcot fireworks boat ride and $48 for a tour of the Disney steam train. I have those saved. I can now look at the calendar and plan to rent a car and get the brakes fixed toward the end of the month. Then, save for souvenirs.
I've been talking with guild members about our October trip to Walt Disney World. We can make food reservations beginning on April 14th so I'm trying to decide where, exactly, I want to eat and to get people who have expressed an interest, committed to coming to the vacation. All this Disney talk put me in the frame of mind for waffles.
This has been a staple of the family since 1990.
I wasn't sure when the last time was that I'd used this. It was quite dusty on the box top, so it has to have been over a year ago.
The interior was a bit dirty so I scrubbed it before plugging it in. The interior is ostensibly non-stick but I need to remember that, after so many years, the non-stick needs help. I forgot with the first waffle.
This wasn't as bad of a mess as it looks. I unplugged the waffle iron and used a fork to peel everything out of the iron.
This tasted good so I put the debris in a freezer bag and I'll use it on ice cream.
The other issue I had was not knowing how much to actually put in the waffle maker.
One-third cup was too much. One-fourth cup was too little. After dirtying two measuring cups, I settled on a bit shy of a third of a cup. What's always the issue is getting the batter into the ears so you get a full ear.
The ears can, with the right amount of batter, fill in, but it's much cooler to have them be the circle.
There was enough batter to make several waffles. I have no idea how long I have had this recipe.
I also don't remember where I got it. Given the paper, probably from a magazine. Shockingly, I have no pancake/waffle syrup in my house. I'm not sure how that slipped from the grocery list. However, this particular waffle does not benefit from maple syrup. These are best served with whipped cream.
I have enough for two meals, assuming I eat two waffles per meal. So, one lunch this week will be waffles at the office. I hope they are all jealous.
For those of us in certain income brackets, issues which need money thrown at them seem to crop up in clusters. I'm going through one right now and it has me frustrated. Bear with me while I, more or less, vent.
I made a decision last year to celebrate my World of Warcraft guild's 10th anniversary at Disney World with a bunch of guild mates. I made a budget to enable saving for that event only to have said budget blow apart by the sewer backing up at the same time the blower on the furnace decided to work only 50% of the time. I am grateful I had some kind of savings to fix both problems, but those emergencies set me way back. I redid the budget and worried that I would need to cut way to the bone, once again, in order to make this trip, on which I had placed a deposit back in September, a reality.
An acquaintance, who is even less of an acquaintance after this, (She's a friend of a friend so I can legitimately avoid her.) was at a lunch with my friend who inquired as to the state of my sewer. Gotta admit, "Can you flush your toilet now without it backing up into the basement?" is lovely lunch conversation. I mentioned getting both things fixed but having to use my Disney fund for this. This woman, whom I have met twice before, and I can tell you where I was, such was the impression she made, said, "Seriously, you're bitching about having to use savings for Disney to fix house problems? Do you know how many people can't even dream about going to Disney and you're bitching about having a 'set back'?" and she made those air quotes when she said "set back".
I pride myself on not letting things get to me. Life hasn't been kind but I've learned to roll with the punches. If I get called out on something, I look at the comment to see if there is any truth to what they are saying.
I've put money down on this. It means a great deal to me. I know there are people, probably in my neighborhood, who struggle for mac and cheese on a Tuesday night and hold no illusions about getting anywhere near the mouse house. But this is my life and my money and her comment reeks of jealousy and self-righteousness. As I type this, I can see the glare in her eye as she looked at me. My friend said, "Yeah, it sucks when you're saving for something and emergencies strike." The woman muttered, "Heh. Disney is not an emergency."
Fast forward to February. if I could, I would be just like Ned Flanders in "The Trouble With Trillions" episode.
If it were possible to get all the paperwork I need AND have the IRS accept returns early, I'd be doing my taxes on New Year's Day. My feeling is if I get a refund, I want it now. If I owe money, I need to know so I can save and send it in on time. But, institutions are terrible, it seems to me, about sending out financial forms so I don't always have everything until the end of January. Therefore, it's about mid-February when I sit down to do the deed. This year, I got enough back to pay for the bulk of my October Disney trip. I stuffed that straight into the savings account. "I'm not going to touch that," I told myself. "That's for Disney." Or so I thought.
Enter life.
A year ago, I got new glasses with my tax refund.
I had an eye doctor appointment in early February. It's a yearly thing now because of my RA. I have RA-induced rosacea of the eye. It just means my eyes are prone to drying out, which makes them itchy and red. Then the cornea can get scratched more easily. I'm to use artificial tears four times a day. I'm not very good on the remembering to do that part. It's a rare day when I put in drops four times. Usually I remember three times.
Anyway, I noticed, in December, my eyesight had deteriorated just a bit. Some things, particularly in the distance, are blurry or have a blurred edge to them. This was verified in the eye exam so I need new glasses. This will be the third year in a row my prescription has changed. I may have to get used to the idea this is my reality; a minor change every year.
So, I set out to find new glasses. It's a racket. I've purchased glasses online from Coastal.com for the last 3 years. I was able to get good deals, but I dislike the frames Coastal has this year, plus, they are more expensive. Wandered over to another place, Zenni Optical. Their prices were better than Coastal but their frames were no better looking. Then I found a place called Glasses USA.
Here I found a couple pair I liked and, initially, their prices looked very good. Then you get into actually purchasing glasses and their "Glasses $95 including lenses" goes down the tube. I have to get bifocals, which cost more. When a company says, "Glasses $95 including lenses", that's what I expect to pay with additions like tax and shipping. They offered a 50-65% discount but that was only on frames and didn't apply if you picked a frame on sale. The costs kept adding up until I was way over what I wanted to pay for glasses. They have a 3-month payment plan, but they put a hold on your funds for the full amount. That's not a payment plan. So, I told them I was severely disappointed in all the wording on their site and will be taking my business elsewhere. They have told me to call them because they have a "deal" for me. No thanks.
But the big kicker is the lack of liquid funds to even get glasses. Oh sure, I have Disney money. I could easily afford glasses IF I pillaged my Disney fund. There is another online glasses company, Warby Parker, who advertises more realistically, "Glasses FROM x". But they are much more expensive and I really cannot afford $345 for glasses unless I take the money from my Disney account. The back door needs to be fixed. I have to get it working again. I don't see that as a small repair. I can fund that, again, IF I take money from my Disney account.
Another acquaintance, more sympathetic to this frustration, said, "You have 6 months before you have to hand over the rest of the money for the vacation. You should be able to save what you take out in 6 months." The operative word there is 'should'. While I have the vacation paid for, I want spending money and money for, frankly, impulse purchases. As I did when I went to BlizzCon and Disneyland in 2015, I want to do Christmas shopping. My tax return wasn't enough to cover those things. I still need to save and it's hard to save when life throws these things at you.
Then, I find out, at the beginning of this month, one of my late English pen pal's daughters and her family, are coming to Florida for two weeks; Disney World and Universal. I have not seen Elizabeth since 1996. She's married with two kids of her own. Her dad and brother are coming and I last saw them in 2005. "You're welcome to come to our villa and stay for a few days. It would be wonderful to see you and we have an extra room," she said.
Oh dear. If I plunder the Disney fund, I can go. I have the vacation days. I wouldn't go for more than a down, hang out, back weekend. But if I take money for this from the fund, where does it stop? This is not, by any stretch, an emergency. Yet, they are so close. I'd need airfare and a car and money for food. I'm content with not going to either Disney and Universal and just hanging around the villa. When Anne died, we kind of lost touch with each other. What a unique opportunity to reconnect, and yet...
Those words above, from a woman I don't like, rankle me, stick in my craw, so to speak. I know there are people much less off than me. Part of my refund went to charities I feel strongly about. This whole glasses thing has me looking ahead. Every year, I fear, I'm going to be in this position of needing new glasses and not finding anything which fits my budget. I'm not looking at frame which cost $170, either. I find those to be ugly, frankly. I also haven't posted my door problem to a site called "Thumbtack" where companies and handymen can give you an estimate on what they think it will cost to do what you want done. Maybe I'm way overestimating what I think fixing the door will cost. I could be pleasantly surprised.
This is merely a post expressing frustration at life and how it seems to gang up on us. I'm going to make do with my glasses for right now. I have no desire to call Glasses USA. If they want my business, they will tell me in writing, what kind of discount they are offering. Otherwise, at the end of the month, I'll schlep myself out to glasses stores and have a look. It may not yield anything, but at least I've given it a go. I want to see Elizabeth, Graham and James and Elizabeth's husband and kids. But that trip feels very much like a "lottery trip" where only some unexpected windfall is going to make it happen because I'm so resistant to using my Disney funds. And then a wave of sadness comes over me and I wonder if I'm being incredibly selfish.
I never count on a windfall. I never counted on getting a tax refund which paid for the basic trip. I don't count on having work trips where I'd get mileage which could be applied somewhere. I count only on what I make every month and that has to work to make what I need a reality. Anything else is unexpected. I just wish life wasn't, sometimes, a need to throw money at things to make it better. It gets down-heartening.
In December of 2017, on the 15th to be exact, my World of Warcraft guild, Spectacular Death, will celebrate 10 years of uninterrupted time in the game. That's a long time. We were talking, last summer, about doing something spectacular to celebrate. Brainstorming came up with a guild trip to Walt Disney World. After presenting the idea, it was approved.
In September of last year, I put a down payment on the trip. I had tucked away a decent sum until house repairs forced me to dip into the Disney fund to get things fixed. It makes me sad because I have to, essentially, start all over in saving and there's less than a year to do it. February and March see the highest heating bills so I'm scrambling right now, to figure out where money goes and what really needs to be done in 2017, since I put down money on this.
I was at my favorite bookstore and this was on the shelf. The last time I bought one of these guides it was 1990 and I was going, as a family, for the first time. My last visit was in 2005, when my pen pal was still alive.
A guild member, Liz, went in November of last year and took these amazing photos of the fireworks at Epcot.
She went during the time of that Super Moon.
These were taken from a pontoon boat which you can reserve to watch the Epcot fireworks. Unobstructed views and snacks are guaranteed. We are going to do this.
So far, 13 of us are going. We're not going as an official group because that locks us into a certain discount and the travel agent we are working with says she can get better deals if we are just a bunch of friends going at the same time. We're going in October, to take advantage of Halloween and the annual Food and Wine Festival. I have selected the venue for our character breakfast but we're getting down to the wire to pick the place for the 'Goodbye' dinner. I told the group I would pick 4 places and we would vote. The place with the most votes would be where we'll go. We can make reservations for rides and dinners as early as April 17th. When it was November, that was a long way away. Now that it's January, *gasp*, that's almost here.
I know I can do this, but I really need for there not to be emergencies. I'm not going to take another traveling vacation this year, opting to take days off here and there to save money. Having a car that doesn't need monthly maintenance helps tremendously. Now, I need for it to be mild in temperature so the heating bill is not astronomical.
There are a lot of readers in my World of Warcraft guild. And quite a few articles have been printed in the last days of 2015 and the first days of 2016 about reading.
There's this article on how to read more books. http://www.vox.com/2015/1/1/7470719/how-to-read-more-in-2015. The take away from the short list is that I can and should stop reading a book I don't enjoy. I can tell you exactly how many times I've done that. Twice. Period. I have slogged through stuff I really wish I hadn't because, well, I bought the blasted thing. It's wasted money otherwise.
Not all recommended books are going to be to my taste. I need to not feel pangs of guilt for disliking some author's writing. My lord. I can't stand Thomas Hardy or, dare I say it, Jane Austin. I suffered through those because my BA in English required it. Unless I'm taking a literature course, my reading is for me, and if Jane Smiley or Thomas Pynchon do not interest me, regardless of the pennies spent on their tomes, I need to let the book go. Perhaps I can leave it in the waiting room of the lab the next time I go see the vampires for my RA blood tests.
In this article, http://www.vox.com/2015/12/29/10634416/reading-list-books, I first encountered the "don't finish what you start" idea. I also encountered the comment that reading fiction teaches you to be a better person. Admittedly, I don't read a lot of fiction. Oh I have a lot of fiction on the shelves, but I don't read it. I don't know if science fiction is what they are driving at here. I'm thinking straight up pretending based on current times is what they mean. Maybe they lump the pretend worlds into the fiction category, but I'm leaning toward the category embracing the new books by Joyce Carol Oates and Danielle Steele, set on terra firma and not in the stars.
I think to the fiction I have read and it's mostly from my days matriculating at Viterbo. Perhaps I should haul out a list of Dickens. Somewhere in the basement, swims Moby Dick. I enjoyed reading that when it wasn't for class. Perhaps I would be more empathetic if I read more fiction, but my goal this year isn't a wide variety of book genres. My goal is simple. Read every Discworld book, in order.
Pratchett, who died March 12th of last year, wrote 41 Discworld books from the beginning, The Colour of Magic to the final The Shepherd's Crown. I've probably read a dozen of them. The downstairs bookshelves contain my collection.
I've long wanted to read them all. They are like old friends who you visit once in a very great while. When we got to discussing books in guild chat and on our Facebook page, a voice inside my head said, "Why are you hesitating reading all of them?" I could throw up flimsy excuses mainly centered on time, but, going back to the very first Vox post on reading, I have the next books lined up. I think I have the first 8 books. I'm not waiting on an order. A paperback can always be carried somewhere. I can go back to the bigger purse for those times when I know I will have to sit and wait. I don't really have an excuse, other than lethargy and inaction.
Last weekend, I strolled up to my stash and picked out the first 5 Discworld books. I gave them bookmarks and stacked them on the ottoman in the living room, on top of a burgeoning stack of magazines calling, seductively, "Read us first before you start the books. You know you want to." I hesitated. But the siren call of Discworld was louder and I'm rearranging the ottoman so the books are more important than the magazines. I've decided that, as I finish a Discworld book, it goes onto the shelves in the office and I critically look at what I have stored there. I need to be surrounded by things I love and although I love books, those I really won't ever open again need to go into a give away box. Then, the next book in the series can be brought up from the basement or ordered from The Bookstore. This way, if I need something 5 books ahead, I have it.
The other part of the equation is that Pratchett is so easily quotable. If I like a book enough to review it, I want to have quotes at the ready. Because it can take me more than a few days to get to a review, my head has been filled with other things and, oh dear, where was that one quote. I'd end up rereading again. I found my small post its, the rectangular ones with a side stick. I can easily, as I'm reading, mark the passage I found interesting for comment later on. This has been wonderful.
I've started a list of quotes, too; book, page and quote. I had one a long time ago, but it's been lost. Pratchett was able to coin a phrase for a great many of life's situations. I want to be able to find the right quote for the right situation. Not sure how I'll cross-reference the quotes, but this will be a start. Just start, Deb, just start. There is the meme, "Every journey starts with one small step". Collect the quotes first. Then decide how you want to organize them.
Finally, I joined the web site, Good Reads. I don't like that it pushes Amazon as your source for books, but, beyond that, it's okay. I've added a few books I've read and I can see what some of my friends are reading right now and they will be able to see my progress through this goal. There was much hesitation about sharing this. It's kind of like a resolution. (Raises hand. Intones solemnly.) I do hereby resolve, in the year 2016, to read all Discworld books in order. What happens if life intrudes? Indeed, I have a craft project I need to start work on. It won't take very long but I need to collect the pieces and get it done. It has to be done by June. That's going to impinge on my reading time. Read a bit. Craft a bit. It will work as Discworld books can be read in 3-5 sittings of 90 minutes each. But I must give myself permission to get as far as I can and not sweat that I didn't finish this. So, let's not call it a resolution, doomed to failure, but a desire to try to accomplish this task.
I picked up the first volume and cracked it open on Tuesday. Finished it this morning.
Why is Pratchett so beloved? From the Foreword, "You can't map a sense of humor." I think, in a nutshell, that sentence encapsulates why readers flocked to him. On the surface, a story about a has-been wizard, ("...he was, he would be the first to admit, a coward, an incompetent, and not even very good at being a failure..." [pages 173-174]), a tourist from a far-off land, and that man's walking luggage; roaming about a land which was a disc, carried by 4 elephants who stood on the back of a turtle swimming through space, would be anything more than head-scratchingly weird. But Pratchett tapped in the funny ("I've seen excitement and I've seen boredom. Boredom is best." [Page 176]) and the poignant. ("Fate can be one mean god at times." [Page 190])
Perhaps he didn't know the books would take off as they did. Perhaps it didn't matter. He would have written them to be shared around winter fires when the latest Tom Clancy didn't please. Whatever the case, I have 40 books to get through. I'll hope you'll check in to see how I'm doing.
So, I got my ipad for the California trip. One of the hardest thing about adding a new electronic device is suddenly having to figure out all those passwords you have Google remember for you. I decided setting up the ipad was a very good reason to change passwords I've used for years. Even if they are alpha-numeric, someone could, given enough time, crack them, so I needed to update. I'm not that paranoid, mind you, but we'll use the word "prudent". Yes, that's a good word.
The whole point of the ipad was to be able to update my World of Warcraft guild's web site and Facebook pages with photos and information from BlizzCon, the whole reason for going west in the first place. Some sites were easy to update to a new password. It was clear where I had to go and what I had to do. Other sites...
I have a Yahoo account. After I'd found my way onto the Internet with AOL, I quickly moved to ATT/Yahoo when upgrading my phone and Internet. It works adequate and has become my web address of choice for online shopping. But it seemed to need an act of some god and probably a sacrifice of a large number of small animals to get the password changed.
The other issue is that I access personal accounts during lunch at work, so there is my work computer which has access to all my passwords. Add a cell phone and it can be a headache and a half to change passwords, even when it's a good idea. No wonder people don't want to.
Once that was done, and I was only able to get the guild's Twitter account up and running (yes, my WoW guild has quite the social media presence) once I was in California, but everything worked on the ipad exactly as I wanted it to. (Passwords don't work if you write them down wrong, just an fyi there.) I took a large card and wrote all my important passwords on it. I keep it, usually, with the ipad. The card doesn't have my name on it so, even if someone were to steal the ipad, actually getting into the thing (which is password protected) and then finding one's way around, would be more hassle than it's worth. When not in use, I keep the ipad turned off and the card's by my computer. I recently cleaned all the cookies off my main system and had to type in all the passwords for frequently used sites. I have a planner, with all my passwords for places I've gone written in it, but it's a hodge podge of web sites and is on the list of things to clean up in an effort to find my Dunkin' Donuts password when I need to recharge my card; you know, important stuff.
Anyway, I got a hard back for the ipad, to protect it, but what I really needed was a case. If I just stick it in my carry-on, it could get scratched. Looking about, I found the following case from Incase.
I don't see this version on their web site anymore, unfortunately. It came in a variety of colors and I toyed between a royal blue and this color.
My ipad fits snugly inside. There's a layer of foam that goes over the screen and a small silica packet at the bottom of the case to absorb any moisture which might get in. The plastic zipper is crisp and I don't have a problem zipping or unzipping the case. It works wonderfully well and I keep the ipad in it when I'm not using it.
Another item I purchased was this purse, well, clutch, by definition.
The issue for me was I didn't want to be hauling my purse around BlizzCon. The purse is two and a half times the size of this and while it could stow pretty much anything I might want to carry, did I really WANT all that stuff with me? The reality was I wanted something about hand size which wouldn't get in the way. I got it from Target and they still have a few in the price I paid.
I had a difficult time deciding on color. Black goes with everything and the purple was kind of cool, but blue won in the end.
There are so many pockets in this thing. I can sort business into one pocket; receipts and bills and credit cards into another, and change into a third. In the main part of the clutch, there are two sections, which are big enough for my camera and my cell phone. I had to clean out the purse and decide what, exactly, needed to go with me; what was essential. The wrist strap is sturdy and the whole thing is just a bit over the size of my hand. All the time at BlizzCon and Disneyland, I could carry my life with me and know it was safe. It fits in the glove box or center well of the Jeep or under the seat, safely stowed from anyone looking inside.
My original purpose was to use this just for the vacation but I like it so much, it's my purse now. It fits neatly in the top drawer of my desk, now that the junk which was in there has been removed. I've whittled my carrying to just what I need and I'm finding I'm really okay with this.
Lastly, Liz mentioned in an email, we should do what we can to protect ourselves from the onslaught of germs. At the time, I hadn't gotten my flu shot; there hadn't been time to schedule it. Her comment, "If you haven't gotten a flu shot, I recommend it. 25,000 people in reasonably close quarters to each other can pass the crud very fast." Oh that's right. I'll be around people; me, with the compromised immune system. I don't think I've ever picked up the phone faster to call my doctor.
Liz also recommended hand sanitizer. I had some in the Jeep, but, over time, it seems to have dwindled to just a bit in the bottom of the container. Open the top left desk drawer and look what I have.
I happened to have a "few". Took the whole mess with me. These bottles were the perfect size to tuck into my new clutch. I didn't wind up using them as much as I probably could have, but I didn't shake hands with people. I stood next to them. I didn't meet anyone, other than costumed characters, at Disneyland, and I assume Chip and Dale have had their shots.
Having finished Carole's butterfly cross-stitch and left it with her to decide how she wants to frame it, it's time to look ahead to the next project. I'm going to a convention in November; BlizzCon 2015; in Anaheim, California. It's a celebration of all the games Blizzard Entertainment does, but it's kind of akin to mecca for those of us who play World of Warcraft. It's everyone's hope they can go to BlizzCon. I skrimped and saved and, thanks to a friend with impossibly good luck, I got a ticket to go.
I'm going with Faience and Lethia, from my guild. We got a fantastic deal on a hotel room and, while I'm out there, I'll be going to Disneyland. It's just down the street from the convention center so why should I not go? I need to buy airfare and pay for tickets to Disneyland as well as my portion of the hotel. I'm considering a used ipad so I can update my blog and the guild web site with photos. Doing all that on a smartphone drives me nuts so I only check email.
When I decided I could afford a BlizzCon ticket and Lethia decided she could to, I promised, if we got tickets, the three of us, I'd make custom shirts for the convention. On August 1st, Pam and I went to JoAnn Fabrics, to make this plan a reality. I love having her along. We looked through all the patterns. I knew what I wanted but we needed to find the exact pattern. I told her my vision and we dived into the fabric stacks to find the perfect fabric. I need to have her along. So...many...wonderful...fabrics...oh look! "No, that's not what you came here for," she'd say. She is, of course, right. I have boxes and boxes of fabric in the office closet not being used for anything. I need to be reminded of that. I shouldn't say not being used for anything. The girls love to climb on top of the stack and sit there. It's like a hidey hole to them.
Along the way to the perfect fabric, I stumbled upon these gems.
That's a silver metallic in between kelly green stripes. It was quite distinctive but as the basis for a shirt, not so much.
It comes in black and red. As I was looking through the patterns, I chanced upon what I think is a "Game of Thrones" inspired dress that was made with the black version of this. I did seriously consider making us vests, since that would be kind of WOW character like. In the game, your character can wear leather clothing. As appealing as this was, it wasn't what I wanted.
No no and no, but it so reminded me of the curtains in the porch/dining room of the farmhouse where I grew up. The nostalgia washed over me and I thought about my mother making those curtains. They hung in the porch until we moved to town. I know I have some of them in a box somewhere, the fabric useful for quilt pieces.
By now, I'm sure you're detecting a theme here. I stumbled across this.
I just...I have no idea how I would work with this even if it was even remotely attractive. I know retro is in. This certainly bears some resemblance to 1960's fashion and in light seafoam green no less.
Finally, I found it.
It's an Indonesian batik-inspired print. It looks gorgeous in sunlight. I want us to be distinctive but a tee shirt just wasn't going to cut it. I think this will work up beautifully and it's cotton, so it will wash and dry nicely. I came home all excited and then got sick.
I looked at the material sitting on the table and felt so badly that I had no energy. I spent all this money and made this promise. Now that I'm feeling better, my goal has been to clear off the living room table so I can start sewing. I could just move everything there to another space, but that kind of defeats the purpose of cleaning. Baby steps. Baby steps.
Remember the minion poster I had all my guild members sign who attended the meet-up last month?
I finally framed it and put it on the wall. First step was deciding exactly where I wanted it. I have a poster from the "Who Framed Mr. Burns" The Simpsons' episode. It was in TV Guide, back when that was still an extremely popular magazine. A friend kept the poster and gave it to me. It hangs in the hallway in the house above a plaque reading, "Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons for you are crunchy and good with ketchup." I had considered moving The Simpsons poster to a different wall and putting the minion one in its place. But this is bigger than The Simpsons one and would require a readjustment of the plaque and new holes and an eventual repainting and I didn't want to mess with that.
Then, as I was leaving for work one day, I remembered how I wanted to repaint the back entry.
My kitchen has been yellow since Carole was little. The apples were added a year after the kitchen was painted. I thought one of my goals would be to repaint this space a lighter, brighter yellow, a more Minion yellow. The door frame and the back of the back door would be painted yellow. The ceiling would be painted yellow and I'd paint over the apples and put strategic minions around the space. And the old, very old, cork board, which is really just a catch all for paper junk, would go. Tell me that's inviting. I double-dip dare you. It just looks junky and I never use anything stored on the board. Time to give it away.
So Pam and I found a frame at JoAnn Fabric that I felt would work. It more than worked. Look at the space now.
What a difference a piece of art makes. I almost don't need to repaint the walls as the color complements the poster. I still think I'd like a coat of a lighter yellow just because it would give the space a fresh feeling to it. But there is not the feeling that painting HAS to be done now, you know. I can still paint through October and leave the door open so the space can breathe, if I get better and have my energy back. The cork board went to a local Veteran's group that takes donations. Someone will be happy with it.
Now, whenever I leave the house via the back door, I smile. I will stop and read the names of guild members on the poster. It makes me happy and that's what spaces in your house should do, make you happy.
I haven't seen the Minions movie, yet. It's on the list of things to do, but so are a lot of other things. Still, I can celebrate all things minion. I have help in that one of my friends, Meredith, is kind of minion obsessed. She contributed to my enjoyment with a box of goodies.
So many goodies, most of which were at the dollar store. I use the minion cup for beverages while I'm at the computer. Right now, it has Coca-Cola in it. The tic tacs sit off to the right. I'm not sure if I want to open them. The hand wash is in the bathroom. It's apple banana scented and is heavy on the apple, but light on the banana smell. I don't know if I want to use the toothbrush. It's cute. I will use the toothpaste, once I've used up what I have now. And the mouthwash is, well, interesting.
It's called "Bubble Fruit" flavor. I had just used up some cinnamon flavor ACT mouthwash so I jumped in to use the minion branded one. Maybe if it had been dyed pink. I won't say it's horrible, but I won't rush right out and replace like for like when it's used up. Maybe it's my "adult" palate, but I thought the flavor was a bit too chemical and not fruity. Still, at a dollar for a bottle, it's a better value than the ACT brand I was using.
There was going to be another Spectacular Death guild meet-up while I was in Virginia visiting Carole and Larry. With the movie out, it was the perfect time to do something of a minion theme. Meredith found minion paper goggles which we used for a guild photo.
I'm grateful to the guild members who attended for going along with the goggles for a photo.
A minion balloon marked the driveway.
Meredith made name tags featuring minions and put them in a minion folder.
I didn't have a printer or the time to make name badges. Next year, we probably won't need them because most everyone will know everyone else, but having minions was funny.
I bought a minion decorating package which contained spiral hangers and a banner.
Everyone got a goodie bag containing a minion bubble wand, their goggles, a sticker and a minion activity book which contained crayons. Mom helped assemble the bags.
The best minion item, however, is my poster.
This is done at weddings. There is a poster or photo or something on which attendees can write messages of congratulations. I found this poster at AllPosters.com. Sadly, this doesn't seem to be available on their site anymore. I had each guild member, and Carole, pick a minion and sign their toon's name on it. I'm going to take this to JoAnn Fabrics next weekend, after I get paid, and have them frame it. I was trying to think, after making that decision, where I'd put this and suddenly it hit me. Of course, that's where it needs to go. You'll have to wait to see where that is, after it gets framed.
We don't really NEED a theme for a guild party. The theme could be just "Spectacular Death gets together", but it was fun to assemble something totally silly. I can't thank Meredith enough for the goggles and the name tags. She also sent me a minion note book where I can record my thoughts about what crazy things my guild could get into.
For the record, the red item in the box is an M&M zipper pull. It's gone onto my winter coat.
