Grey Warden

I'm learning!

2011-09-15T01:38:14Z

First week of the last year of school is finished. The beginning of the end is the beginning...of new things!

/so witty

So Mondays and Wednesdays I have Culture and Psychology. It's a third year course, comprised of lectures, lectures, and more lectures. These are the boring types of lectures, where the prof blabbers on and could really care less what we're doing - I'm pretty sure the entire class has fallen asleep half-way through. When someone else does speak up, its like the entire room comes alive because oh my god a different voice.

It's not that he's a bad prof or the material's boring (well it showed promise, we're just currently refreshing shit from data analysis and research methods, which makes me want to bang my head againt the nearest flat surface I can find) but I really wish the class was organized some other way.

Monday night is my online class, Buddhism in South-east Asia (otherwise known as Theravada Buddhism). Only had the intro class so far, but we looked at a bit of the known history of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, and talked about the four main aspects (they have a name that has slipped my mind atm and I'm too lazy to open my notes). That prof seems much more into it; he likes to make jokes and tell stories from his life so it's good. Assignments are also more broken up, so no 50% exams! Thank god.

Tuesday nights are my last class, Sex and Gender. It's a sociology course but tagged under women and gender studies as well; I was hoping it would be like the WGS intro course (everyone's gay or knows someone who's gay or has HARDCORE FEMINIST labeled on their forehead) but the fact it's mainly sociology-based makes it full of boring people. Uuuugh sociology.

Though I like the class so far! Not liking the ten minute presentations I'll have to give (only worth 5%? I've skipped projects worth more!) but I'm excited for the rest of it.

Provided my textbook ever arrives......

Time for more homework. It's going to get sooo much worse when all my books arrive, so I'm trying to finish what I've got fast. Which would be easier if my books weren't e-textbooks, so facebook is just a click away...

BUT I saved $80 buying two textbooks in online form! And no worries about having to resell them or lug them around, they're on the laptop! Muwahahah! If only the online place had sold aaaaaall the textbooks I needed...

maccom @ 2011-09-07T00:51:00

2011-09-07T05:50:57Z

Snickers Age 2!

That was totally worth it's own LJ entry.

To think he made so much headway by wearing a dress on stage...

2011-09-02T06:57:58Z

Billy Corgan is a douche

I need a new favourite band.

Suggestions?!?!?!

Saying "I love the Smashing Pumpkins, I just ignore anything that comes out of Billy Corgan's mouth that isn't lyrical" doesn't work because all of his new shit is, well, shit. And religious. Which isn't automatically bad - I'm not that kind of person - but as I'm not Christian, I can't relate to them. Blarg.

This is the most I've written in weeks! Which is really sad, honestly.

2011-08-10T05:07:54Z

My muse is hovering over my shoulder going "Writing now? you want to write something? I've got this little idea, this little snippet, that you could expand on and increase and it could be such a cute little short story, you wouldn't have to work very hard or do any research, and it would be so much fun and it has so much potential and really all you need to do is open Word and watch the genius spread out before you..." and I'm all "So I'll sit down and write and it'll just come to me, right?" which causes my muse to break into laughter because no, of course not, how silly of me, the only times I can think of anything to write are when I am a) far away from pen and paper or laptop, b) about to fall asleep, or c) in the middle of doing something else. Like FFXI or, I don't know, showering.

It's very frustrating because all through spring courses I wanted to write and I couldn't, there wasn't enough time or brainpower left after working on all my assignments. I know the moment classes start again I'll be back to wanting to write, to scribbling ideas in my notes and getting to class half an hour early so I can sit somewhere and write whatever plot unfolded in my head on the bus that morning.

Speaking of writing, I'm tempted to do NaNoWriMo again this year. Chris Baty, the guy who's run it for the past 12? 13? years, is quiting to become a full-time writer this January. He was always really inspiring and happy-go-lucky about it, and the fact he created something that's given me such a challenge and feeling of accomplishment...I dunno, I kinda want to participate in his last year. Which throws a wrench into my hopes of finishing any of the three stories I've got going right now. And would complicate school again. Though I did it last year, finished three days early even, and that was me being fully timetabled. Only three classes and one of them is online; you'd think it would make things easier.

I should take a writing course. Do we have writing courses? I signed up for a linguistics course instead of a writing course. This will help me greatly later in life, I assure you. Just like my Chinese culture course will help me greatly.

Just keep nodding along with me, damnit!

So, um, other than writing? I'm avoiding LJ because my life is so hopelessly dull lately. And because all I want to do is rant about my unemployment. Mike's made something like $2000 already and I can't even get an interview. Please world, let the perfect job fall into my lap. No blood, no food, no spiders - that's all I ask!

Actually there was a kennel job I was all over until the phone lady was like "and do you have a car?" and I was like "...erm I have a bus pass, and people to drive me in the evenings..." and she weaseled out of me that I don't have a full license. Why I need a full license for a kennel job I don't know (would I be driving dogs around? Picking dogs up? Do they not trust people who can't drive?), but after thinking about it I'm not sure I'd be good for that job anyway. First family that came to put down their dog, I'd lock myself in the bathroom so no one would see me sobbing. Ah, well.

I'm stalking Tim Hortan's, actually. Eventually they'll put out those "We're hiring at our new location! Please fill out an application and mail it to ~~~!" things, and I'll be like FUCK YES THAT'S ON THE END OF MY STREET and all will be perfect and I will spend my paycheque on danishes. A girl can dream...of horrible uniforms and baked goods...

LJ: for the stuff that's too TMI to put on FB

2011-07-18T02:11:31Z

Sunburnt cleavage is the worst kind of cleavage. Even more so than sweaty or squished. I can't scratch because it's there and since I'm an idiot who likes frills or bows (hello, have a look into my underwear drawer) they all rub against the burnt skin and it itches and being a nudist sounds like a swell idea right now.

Lesson learned: just because a part has never burned before doesn't mean it will never burn ever.

Unfortunately.

And it's a bucket list!

2011-07-03T22:33:58Z

Ze Bucketlist – or 101 Things to Do Before Death Swoops In

1. Visit the Hobbiton set in New Zealand and sing “There And Back Again” while frolicking down a path.
2. Learn the lyrics to “There And Back Again” before said adventure.
3. Graduate with a BA with a GPA over 3. (Aiming for average! Muahah!)
4. Publish a book. Not a short story, or a review, or an article – an actual, super long book.
5. Finish writing a book so that I can start spamming publishers.
6. Win a sum of money over $100 while gambling, while not spending over $100 to get it.
7. Skydive. Preferably somewhere exotic.
8. Bungee jump off the Victoria Falls Bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
9. Live somewhere other than Canada.
10. Ride an elephant that does not belong to a zoo or circus.
11. Visit an actual circus.
12. Get my full license, even if I don’t have a car to go along with it.
13. Find out if the saying “It’s like riding a bike,” is actually true.
14. Visit Comic-Con.
15. Visit Comic-Con in an epic costume that isn’t totally generic – if someone’s wearing the same thing as me, it won’t count!
16. Ride the roller coaster at New York, New York in Las Vegas.
17. Visit New York City and successfully traverse their subway system.
18. Take a ride on the London Underground.
19. Watch an Adults Only show in either Las Vegas or Amsterdam.
20. Visit a nude beach. One bonus point if I join them.
21. Get a phoenix tattoo.
22. Visit Skywalker Ranch. One bonus point if I manage to find George Lucas while there.
23. Own a pet that is not a cat, dog, hamster, or fish.
24. Do what my kid-self could not, and hug Mickey Mouse at Walk Disney World.
25. Visit the Islands of Adventure at Universal Studios.
26. Walk across Abby Road.
27. Meet someone famous who I actually like. One bonus point if I actually get to touch them (in a totally non-creepy way...).
28. Walk in the Pride Parade in San Francisco.
29. Ride a moped.
30. Live with someone who isn’t my partner or a member of my family.
31. Play a bassoon again...even if it’s just for me.
32. Finally finish FFX-2 with 100% completion.
33. Finish “I Saw Her Standing There” with 100% completion on the bass in Beatles Rock Band.
34. Play FFXI until they turn the servers off OR continue playing for five more years (July 2016).
35. Visit Disneyland in California.
36. Play “Waking Up In Vegas” one morning while in Las Vegas.
37. Tour Europe.
38. Visit Sheffield. One bonus point if I can find where my grandparents’ lived.
39. Travel with friends.
40. Travel alone.
41. Try spelunking.
42. Return to the Riveria Maya.
43. Attend a political rally.
44. Be part of a protest.
45. Learn to cook/bake/concoct something on my own, and have that become “my dish”.
46. Successfully crack an egg – no bad parts in the bowl!
47. Get another piercing.
48. Stay in the Fantasyland Hotel in Edmonton.
49. Beat a video game on the hardest difficulty setting.
50. Learn to play a new instrument.
51. Be in New York City for New Years Eve.
52. Watch a Santa Claus Parade from the street OR a window as it goes by.
53. Buy/win/own the Star Wars Tauntaun sleeping bag.
54. Travel to either Beijing or Shanghai for the Chinese New Year.
55. Lay out my old Polly Pockets – all of them – and set them up as they used to be.
56. Compete and finish in NaNoWriMo at least twice more.
57. Name a pet Goofer.
58. Build a kickass sandcastle – or kickass anything out of sand.
59. Rent an apartment – by myself or with someone – and decorate the balcony with Christmas lights OR rent/buy a house and decorate some part of the outside with Christmas lights.
60. Successfully grow a plant and keep it alive for at least a year – NO cactuses!
61. Have a water-gun fight.
62. Figure out if I can still skate (stopping not required).
63. Go hiking in Banff.
64. Make $20 at a garage sale.
65. Ride a motorcycle.
66. Kiss in the rain.
67. Marathon all eight Harry Potter movies.
68. Donate blood.
69. Babysit young children without any epic catastrophes.
70. See a tornado, hurricane, earthquake, or volcanic eruption in person.
71. Fix my red-and-black beaded bracelet from Mexico.
72. Go to the Olympics and watch a gold-metal competition.
73. Have a favourite team to cheer on and paint my face for.
74. Take lessons for either some sort of dance or some sort of martial arts.
75. See a play or musical on Broadway.
76. Volunteer at a Pride Parade.
77. Learn how to play poker.
78. Beat my brother at a two-player video game.
79. Play Twister (winning optional).
80. Purchase a bikini. One bonus point if I wear it in public.
81. Have a one-night-stand that doesn’t end in regrets.
82. Attend a pot-luck dinner and bring something that wasn’t purchased at a store.
83. Stay in-touch with my high school friends.
84. Own a touch-screen phone and inevitably become pissed off at my fat fingers.
85. Memorize a song – any song – on the piano, and play it somewhere.
86. Take a road trip with friends.
87. See Cirque du Soleil’s Love in Las Vegas.
88. Win at the horse races.
89. Buy an ugly Christmas sweater and wear it to Christmas dinner without shame.
90. Learn how to properly apply make-up.
91. Play through Donkey Kong Country without throwing the controller in rage.
92. Do a somersault in mid-air on a trampoline.
93. Watch a sad movie and cry without feeling embarrassed.
94. Give or receive a piggy-back ride.
95. Hail a cab like they do in the movies.
96. Attend E3 and geek out about it.
97. Be part of one of those epic hugs that starts with a run and ends with twirling.
98. Play D&D at least once.
99. Try SS’s banana split ice cream pie.
100. Collaborate with someone on the project that ends up being released for sale.
101. Love myself for who I am, not who I could be.

And my timeframe to get this done started last night. I'm obviously not in that big a rush, but if anyone has any ideas on how to achieve some of these - or would like to help! - that'd be great fun!

Advil and a hot water bottle DO NOTHING

2011-06-20T19:05:24Z

I swear, ripping out my fucking overies with nothing but nail clippers would be less painful. I might also puke less, on account of the likelihood I'd pass out!

Back to my alternatingly hot-cold bed so I can grumble and groan to no one but Hug and Obi. If only they cared! /continues to complain as if this has never happened before and will never happen again. *rageface*

On the rare occasions I'm not reading, studying, or writing presentations:

2011-05-26T03:10:49Z

Mass Effect everything. Especially since it leads up to...

Such a long wait. Such a very, very long wait....

Mid-term tomorrow and then no classes for a week!!! A break! A holiday! I'll still have readings to do but I can hopefully get ahead on some of them and THEN TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!!

Or...play ME2. Yeah probably.

Edited at like.....quarter to one today, Thursday...
Me, to Mike, three hours ago: Please try not to be in the bathroom between 1 and 1:15 - I have to get ready to go for my exam then. Okay? Right? PAYING ATTENTON?!
Mike: Yeah, yeah, whatever! Shower soon, make Heather happy, go away!

Mike, two minutes ago: Oh damn I HAVE TO SHOWER!

And he wasn't kidding and is now in the shower.

My internal dialogue as I hear the sounds of an ice cream truck:

2011-05-16T20:40:10Z

"Omg! Ice cream truck!"
*flails*
"I shouldn't be flailing, I'm twenty-two..."
*frowns*
"Hey I'm twenty-two! I can buy my own ice cream!"
*fistpump*
"But it'll go straight to my hips..."
*frowns at hips*
"Bah, fuck my hips. ICE CREAM AHOY!"
*pulls out change purse, moths fly out*
"Oh, right. I'm a twenty-two unemployed university student. I can't afford ice cream..."
*goes back to doing homework, only now I'm hungry and sad*

It's a hard life, srsly.

EXCEPT: MY REPORT/PRESENTATION ARE DONE! I haven't actually done it/handed it in, but I finished working on both of them! They are ready! I am not ready to present but I shall hope I don't fall over or embarrass myself.

Throughout my entire stint in university (four+ years now) I have avoided oral presentations like the plague. I have skipped classes, dropped classes, done alternate assignments, admitted my stage-fright to profs and gotten permission to not present, and simply just not done the entire assignment if I had to present it. This marks the first time I'm ever actually doing it. For a class I don't need and is already overworking me simply by trying to stay up-to-date with the readings. Have I turned a new leaf?! Am I simply tired of avoiding it?! Maybe I've finally matured!

Life isn't learning if you're comfortable. Time to go be uncomfy.

surfaces from mountain of readings

2011-05-10T16:56:27Z

1. Spring courses are INSANE. I have no life until July.

2. ~~Still no word on my laptop.~~ They just phoned. They've had it running all week and found nothing wrong with it. THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH IT. I'M PAYING $90 FOR YOU GUYS TO TELL ME YOU WERE TOO LAZY TO TAKE IT APART. FUCK.

3. Mike called my hair the "lesbian mullet" yesterday, which I found quite offensive, so today I used liberal amounts of hairspray to get it into a ponytail. Watch it rain on my way to class...

4. Did I mention spring courses are insane? I have to do an oral presentation and essay in FIVE DAYS, twice! One this month, one next month! I'm almost thankful the 3000 level course was canceled; I don't even want to know how crazy that shit would have been.

5. If you ever use Manic Panic hair dye, do not exercise before washing your hair (with shampoo) at least once. Your sweat gets tinted the same colour as your hair.........and then leaves streaks of colour on your skin.......with red dye, it looked like someone had taken a club to my head and my mass of hair was concealing the liberal amounts of damage done to my skull. Could not get in the shower fast enough!

6. Marks for UofW are supposed to be released starting May 13th. Friday, May 13th. I have a bad feeling...

*goes back into mountain of readings*

Rantrantrant

2011-04-27T19:54:16Z

Writing this on my mum's iPad, so excuse any typos or strange words...it has that stupid auto correct.

My laptop died this morning. I would lsike to say it was it's own fault, but I think it overheated as a result of being on mys lap for too long. Resolution went wonky, red lines through everything, the font is no longer English...the IT dude at my mum's work said it's either the display or the motherboard, but I lack a monitor that would connect to a laptop to try to fix it. If it's the display, it's fixable. If it's he motherboard, I'm screwed.

He says they can save all my files, possibly turn the entire laptop hard drive into an external. So...hopefully...

The problem is that I can't afford a decent laptop. I could run out to best buy and get one of those $300 ones, but I wouldn't be happy with it and Id probably end up having to buyf a new one in a year or two anyway. Tis one only lasted just under four years, but I have expectations and they say more than a year before any problems.

Yes, I still have my aloe ware desktop, but it doesnt have Microsoft office or iTunes or any of my files. I also can't access it atm as it is under a tarp to protect it from dust...I mean, there is thte hope that I could reach mfy files through the home network, but im not sure if my laptop needs to be o for that to work or what. And what good are my oodles of word files going to do without word?

Need new laptop. Need job for new laptop. Need to give out more resumes. Resume is savd on laptop. Can't access files. Urrrrg.

Side note: I hate this things keyboard. Too sensitive and all the keys are weird. Hw to sound like my dad...PLUS I keep flipping the screen upside down by accident. Lj looks weird flipped...

To add to e awesome, my basement is still under construction as the dudes install a new sump pump. They're putting in ten hour days to have it done on time, but nothing appears toe going to dfplan. Muddy house, terrified clank, noises at all hours, and I can't go into the basement. Can't do laundry,sdf get anything out of the fridge, can't exercise, can't do aching...I really can't wait for spring term.

SPEAKILNG OF WHICH. Psych course was canceled so I took the most interesting thing I could find on the same days for the same amount of credits: Chinese culture. I know, wtf iwill I do in therre, but I need something to do so why not take it. It's not like I have to only take psych courses, the only thing I stilfdl need is a 3000 level course and since it was canceled...

So yesterday during the day was awesome. The moment I got home it started to suck, and is continuing to do so on on to today.

Guess nothing left to do but play angry birds...

DA2 meme and theme songs

2011-04-10T04:55:47Z

In case you ever wondered why I don't draw, I present to you the Dragon Age 2 meme. If they come out with one that involves writing, I will be over that like white on rice (wtf does that even mean), but for now I had to brush off my Photoshop + mouse skills (hahaha what skills, I must be blind) and draw me some Fenris.

THIS MEME IS HUGE. So big I am going to link you to it rather than actually post it on my journal. I do not want to scroll through that to read comments!

Also, I find it interesting to note that my style changes (I might even say slightly improved but that isn't saying much, my shit is slightly less shitty) as you go down. I think it was mostly brought on by using a pen size...

As a bonus to the ugly, I'm uploading three theme songs from DA2.
1. I'm Not Calling You a Liar (Dragon Age 2 version) - Florence and the Machine & Inon Zur: This is Varric's theme, which plays over the credits similar to how This is War played at the end of DA:O. A redone version of the original, with more orchestra to it.
2. Fenris' Theme - Inon Zur: Well really. Do I have to explain why I like this...
3. Mage Pride - Inon Zur: Fenris' Theme with singing...even though he's not a mage. He's the way he is because of mages, though, so...

I might display my actual talents soon. Wrote a short story thinger last week that I haven't had time to edit thanks to the big exam (WHICH IS DONE NOW BTW *throws confetti*), so hopefully I can get that edited and finished and posted. Fantasy-world story. I should really come up with a name for that world just so I can refer to it easier...like there's the NaNo story, and the Damon story (or NaNo.2), but this is just...nameless...

The Story I Have Been Working On Since Grade Seven But Will Never Be Finished Because I Can't Stop Editing And Revising

...I'll think of something decent later.

It's for posts like this that I keep this icon

2011-04-06T17:19:13Z

Last night's dream:

I was on an island - not the sand-covered paradise in a sea of blue water, but a rocky little thing with a cave and very little actual ground outside of that cave - and I had a large TV (or the sky was my TV? I'm not sure) to watch the party leaders make their big televised election speeches (Elizabeth May was, obviously, not in attendance). As I was watching, Ignatieff was surrounded by a horde (crowd? Pack? Litter? Flock?) of birds, which might have been seagulls, pidgeons, or doves but I'm really not sure, and they carried him off screen. Harper and Layton continued on as though that didn't matter, but as I was watching suddenly the flock of birds appeared on my island and flew Ignatieff into the cave behind me. He was screaming (in a high-pitched voice) "no! you can't do this to me, I speak for Canada! I speak for the people! YOU ARE NOT PEOPLE, YOU ARE BIRDS!"

It makes me giggle in that worried way where I don't know if I should be giggling or seeking medical help.

Though, seriously, I wish the Liberals didn't have him as a leader. Paul Martin wasn't wonderful but at least he didn't come aross as an overwhelming power-hungry dickface.

I know who I'm voting for! It won't matter at all because we don't have proportional representation (fuck you first-past-the-post system) but I will vote this year!

So, during my break in April...

2011-03-28T19:48:19Z

It's been brought to my attention that the voice actor for Fenris in DA2 voiced Balthier in FFXII.

For some strange reason I've decided to start playing that game again once my exams are done. Weird...

Sometimes screenshots are awesome even when I can't use them as icons...

2011-03-26T07:20:49Z

MY ESSAYS ARE ALL DONE. DONE AND FINISHED AND NEVER HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THEM EVER AGAIN.

Exams await, yes, but I'm going to start studying on Sunday. Today and tomorrow were rewards for surviving all the work I had to do.

So more DA2 screenshots...but this time I scaled them down to 66% of their original size, because scrolling aaaaaaall that way was driving me batty. Prettier in HQ but just not worth the effort :(

My intentions were to take a pic to show off the pretty ceiling in the cave, but I completely forgot about that when I realized the neon lights on my armor made a face. Ho dzang! (Good armor, horrible look to it. Free promotion item, so to be expected. Sigh.)

PEEK-A-BOO MR DRAGON

Our bromance blossomed into a wonderful relationship/obsession. He was obsessed, I was the bottom so I just kinda went along with everything he said. Yes, Anders, we'll go kill that guy for you. Yes, Anders, I love it when your eyes glow and you talk in a weird, deep voice. Yes, Anders, we'll go [SPOILERS FOR ACT 3]. But I was adorable!!

SEE ADORABLE - especially when covered in gore.

A toast from Fenris. I can't remember why or when, but since the majority of my screencaps saved are Fenris I figured I should pick one of them to throw in here...

*splooch* There goes your neck! Buwahahah! (Also, Rock Armor - sounds awesome, makes me look like a tree. Boo.)

I went kaBLAMO and the bodies went kerSPLOOCH. You can see their heads and individual limbs...

Anders gets the staff that's purple and shiny and pretty. My staff shot green blobs of ugly. Unfair!

BIG SPIDER that Varric is kicking. Not very effective, but makes for an excellent shot...

TEAM AWESOME. Well, not really. Dream-team: me, Varric, Fenris, then either Anders (if I'm not a mage) or Isabela (if I am a mage). Unfortunately the Isabela glitch makes her basically unusable once she likes you, so, by act 2 she was out of my party for good. Sad panda. And I didn't use Fenris because, as a mage, obviously he wouldn't like my mage leanings...

Second-to-last boss: bloody discharge from somewhere gets put under I-don't-need-to-know-where-that-came-from category!

Tomorrow's mission: either play FFXI or play DA2. Or make icons. Or write my book. Or possibly go shopping for a spring jacket/raincoat. Mike spent $230 on a jacket, I am envious of his shiny and therefore must go spend money. Or something. For now, bed!

Too early to celebrate, yet...

2011-03-21T20:33:58Z

Having finished three out of four of the essay-projects due this semester and all exams leading up to my finals, I've entered "relax mode" a bit ahead of schedule. Three more exams to get through plus that last (tiny) essay, but hey there's DA2, writing, forums, books...

1. Dragon Age II
I'm on my third playthrough and the glitches are really beginning to stack up. I've had to reload, ignore party members because their bonuses turn me into a slow-moving statue over time, or give up on quests because they're bugged or impossible to understand. While they do hamper my ability to play, I'm convinced a patch will come through eventually - and until then I'll continue to play, if only to see the different reactions to different solutions.

And Fenris's range of emotions............

So, yes, I really do like this game. I find it difficult to compare to DA:O, though, as the story is played out so differently, the battle system was worked over, and the animation is much, much better. I miss parts of DA:O - being able to talk to my companions when I choose (I bet Varric has a story for every place, just like Leliana), being able to gear my companions (yes their specific gear is pretty, but...), being able to change my race (I want to be a dwarrrrrf), not having to venture through the same spider-and-corpse-infested caves over and over (thanks for the nightmares), being able to kiss the love interests whenever I damn well pleased (v. v. important, yes), feeling as though the threat is constant throughout the whole game (act 1: I need money, act 2: some qunaris are bitching, act 3: oh my this mage situation has got out of control while I was busy taking care of other stuff! Woah!).

But I also really love the stuff they changed or added: rivalries (BAD MERRILL), romance scenes that are different for each character (though Fenris should have got one like Anders did, just sayin'...), the Black Emporium (thank youuuuu respec potion), friendly fire now only takes effect under Nightmare so I don't have to stay on Casual if I play with mages (*tears apart Morrigan's tactics after she casts Blizzard on me for the fiftieth time*), and the difficulty in general has changed, for the better (next playthrough will be on hard; mentally preparing myself for the rock wraith fight already...).

Though I feel like I'm spending more time reporting glitches to BioWare than I am playing (except for the one where Aveline's health regened faster than she took damage against five shades, a pride demon, and a blood mage all at once - hello invincibility!!!!), once they figure out what they borked I'm sure it'll be better...

2. Writing
All this fantasy stuff has got me inspired at the worst of times. I've been working on more outlines and character sketches and plot details and SCHOOL WHY WON'T YOU END. I promised myself I wouldn't actually write a single word until classes end and all things that I can hand in are handed in (so, not necessarily exams that are written at school, but the online class exam...), which is very frustrating when I have no inspiration to write my essay/read my text but oodles to spend with dialogue or describing that building or figuring out whether torturing fifteen year olds crosses a line...

3. Forums
LJ, bioware forums, gamespot, loldrama - whyyyyyy must you all be so entertaining?!

4. Books
Okay this one doesn't actually count AS OF NOW, but Abercrombie's book is released in Canada on the 17th and I CANNOT WAIT it will be so epic and I need to start rereading his other four books. A Dance with Dragons is out June 12th (provided GRRM wrestles that last kraken in time...) and that will definitely interfere with that spring course I'm hoping to take...AND I really need to reread the Hobbit before the madness begins in earnest. They started filming TODAY and PJ joined FB and yeah, really need to read that.

Oh and I guess there's the job hunt thing too, that's taking up time, but I haven't really focused myself yet. Mostly because I'm lazy, but also because...I'm lazy...and I want to apply for a job that I want, not just that I need, so I'm letting some go by on Studentopolis. Though, seriously, I would love to work at Assinaboia Downs - the only thing that makes it impossible is the damn lack of transport out there. Silly lack of a bus route!

Would a journal on eating disorders count as a feminist resource, if the article itself is a critique of feminist ideals in the face of ultra-thin models and actresses? My prof wants articles from a "feminist journal" but didn't actually provide examples of said journals; I appear to be completely database-retarded as I've only been able to find queer-theory journals and none of those have articles relating to my essay topic...angst, I know, it's horrible.

In the face of all this, I'm not missing FFXI. I'm missing the people on FFXI and the option of playing it, but I do enjoy the break from what we were doing on FFXI. It'll be nice when it comes back, yes, but I'm not going nuts waiting for the announcement. Much more concerned with the state of things in Japan overall, honestly, and can easily put aside my gaming in the face of it.

Speaking of the state of things - Libya's a no-fly zone and they're dropping bombs?! Talk about intense. Obama hasn't said anything of forcing Qaddafi out of his dictatorship, but how can he honestly expect to continue to rule when his most of his country - not the mention the entire world - are behind the rebels?

Then three of six of the units at the Fukushima power plant in Japan are said to be contained and under control, even as the high pressure levels in the others (unit four in particular, I think?) have stabilized - but they're finding radiation contamination in food and water. Good news, bad news, all kinds of news. My family's donated money, of course, but it still feels like I'm not doing enough to help. Not sure what else I could possibly do - how exactly does joining a FB group benefit Japan? - so I suppose money will be the best I can give, for now.

Impossibly long and all-over-the-place entry will now be ended because I must get back to my textbook. Exciting!

What I do between researching and studying...

2011-03-12T19:18:35Z

Dragon Age 2 screenshots, ahoy!

My go-to party in the first bit, and also LOOK AT MY GRAPHICS. I don't have them turned up all the way because there's some irregular choppiness whenever there's fire on screen (which thankfully isn't that often during cut-scenes) and BioWare is still fiddling with issues with Directx11 (and I refuse to play on 9 because I bought the bloody expensive videocard to use it! Ugh!!!). Party is: Fenris the brooding elf (who I flirt with aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall the time), moi (Nadia Hawke in this playthrough because the only name I could think of came from a documentary I'd just watched), Isabela the pirate (will romance next time forrr surrrrre), and Bethany (my sister, all-around perky and innocent).

Fenris is all kiiiiiiiiiiinds of magical...

Thought process running through my head while fighting: Oh my god so many spiders! This is insane! But thank goodness I lived through them all, now I can go collect the gold in that ch -- OMG WHAT IS THAT COMING FROM THE CEEEEEEEEEILING!?!??!
Stupid extremely large spiders.

Just call me Captain Snark.

HE BROODS. Of course it's the emo elf with a troubled past and rage issues that I go after. I figured Isabela was too easy, so I went for the more difficult angsty one who goes all glowy and violent when he's angry. Sexy.
He also doesn't wear shoes!!! Relevant to my interests........

That's breaktime. Back to outlining this massive essay and seeing if I'll need all ten articles I found...while eating mini eggs. Thank you cadbury for making this time of year wonderful.

AHAHAH SUCCESSSSSSS

2011-03-03T18:18:44Z

http://grrm.livejournal.com/198122.html?nc=170&style=mine

I am busy from July 12th until whenever I finish the book. Make no plans with me, expect me nowhere, I will be holed up in or near my house reading.

And ignoring the fact he has two more books to write after this. THE FIFTH ONE ARRIVES SOON! HUZZAH!

Captain, we're saved!

2011-02-26T21:38:28Z

The essay I was freaking out over for WGS because we're only going over it this week and then it's due the week after actually includes a brief summary about the reading - I can get started on it and the actual thinking part won't be quite as large as I thought it was!

Still not thinking about the adult psych essay, but that one isn't due in the next two weeks...happy thoughts, happy thoughts...

Dilemmas

2011-02-23T21:40:13Z

So I'm staring at the spring timetable, looking at courses I could possibly take, and I find myself thinking, "If I took a three-credit course I would only need eighteen credit hours' worth of courses next year, so I'd only need to take three courses a semester. Or four in one and two in the other - or five in one and one in the other! It would make next year so easy, if I just suffer for a month/two months now!"

Bad idea? Good idea? If there was an online class I would sign up for that shit so fast, but McCormack (the history prof who keeps boring me to death but is really easy for marking) has only mentioned 3000 level courses that he's teaching or assisting...3000 level history? Noooot that dedicated, honestly. I'll keep to 2000 level courses in subjects that aren't my major, thanks!

Things that have caught my eye: Intro Creative Writing (English 2000), Developmental Psych II: Childhood (Psych 3000), and Boys Men Pop Culture Film (WGS 2000). That last one, though, is six credit hours, which is more than I need and every day for a month. Not exactly all that appealing, even if the title looks interesting...

The psych 3000 one would probably be best just because then I could focus on a 3000 level course without being distracted by other things, but that depends if I want to work hard in spring. Or if I want to work in spring at all! Decisions decisions...opinions?! Suggestions?!

Other things of little-to-no great importance:
-I miss writing that isn't school-related.
-Since when did normal haircuts cost $42? This is something I should've taken in school, obviously, just to save myself the money when all I need are shorter bangs!
-Bioware released the demo for DA2 which I'm not letting myself play. Essays, Heather, essays! Oh but you can get distracted by spring courses, and LJ, and FFXI, and staring out the window, and failbook, and...
-It's almost March! The worst month of the year is almost done! And I didn't have to hibernate through it or anything! Splendid, really.
-Also splendid: English tea.
-Obi played with and then ate a centipede today. I was too scared to pick him up and stop him from doing the inevitable because what if the squirmy thing with way too many legs fell out of his mouth on to me? That would be much worse than having to hear Mike remind me about Obi's "bug breath" every time I pick him up...
-Mike, as of five minutes ago: "So I had a sponge bath while you were gone." Paused for a few seconds while I stared blankly at him, and then added, "I didn't like it." We miss our bathtub...
-I would love it if Apple would stop making iPads and would make a iPod NaNo with bigger storage...4000+ songs and nowhere to store them! :(

Essay time, before Mike kills me.

Really, I just wanted to use an icon.

2011-02-08T18:29:19Z

Having made something like twenty plus icons in the past few days, I kind of need an excuse to use some of them - so, voila, a journal post.

What's really odd is that I used to churn out LJ posts at an insane rate, but now it's hard to even get one out a week. It's not that life isn't exciting or things aren't happening, just that it all seems to mundane when I put it out into the ether - like it isn't as exciting as I thought it was, it doesn't rank up there on important things that need to be posted.

My parents got back Saturday. They brought back this enormous plate thing with chili peppers painted on and hung it up in the kitchen. It's hideous and doesn't match, plus it doesn't look centered - it's centered over the doorway, but since the distance between the cupboards on either side isn't equal it appears as though it's too far to the left - and it's huuuuuge. I'll tell everyone to avert their eyes from the east wall of the kitchen whenever they're over...

Inevitably I've become obsessed with Sherlock. Actually, not inevitably - it came as a surprise, because I avoided it at first because I thought Benedict Cumberbatch looked like an alien. I mean, he still looks strange...but...my opinion of whether strange is bad or not has obviously changed...due to someone's influence, no doubt...

The problem now is avoiding watching Sherlock, or looking for new pictures, or making icons, or interviews, in order to get school stuff done. One month to go until I have to write half a dozen essays in two weeks, unless I start working on them now. Which would be much easier if season one wasn't sitting on my desk........

SPEAKING OF SCHOOL: Research Methods the class is easy. Research Methods the lab, not so much. Strange how it's flipped from last semester, when the lab was the easiest thing ever. This time, though, it's all partner work and involves collecting data during class, so I can't go early to finish the computer part of it before class. Annoying!

Also annoying: I bought a bag from ThinkGeek (that I love) but it's huge. As in it's basically a blanket for my thighs. As in Obi fits inside one of the three large pouches with room to spare. But I need buttons for it, so if anyone knows where to find cute/snarky/geeky buttons I would love to buy some!

Apparently this concerns me.

2011-01-21T18:38:23Z

In Adult Psych, 48% of our grade is based on attendance. The prof usually asks someone to provide a piece of paper, which then goes around the room so that everyone can sign it.

I had a dream that this piece of paper didn't reach me and Shaunna's table, and I freaked out - started yelling at the people who couldn't pass, at the girls around us who wouldn't pass to us, at the prof for making this so unorganized, and at (who knew) the paper itself for not wanting to come to me.

This either symbolizes that there is something out there that I want but keeps avoiding me...or I'm super anal about that attendance sheet. Who knows!

Also: I fucking suck at littlebigplanet2 but my sack thing (I'm happy they changed it from sack boy to sack thing, though that seems super feminist and nit-picky and makes me feel like Dan-the-man-from-WGS but it nevertheless makes me happy) IS SO CUTE. Especially when it's dressed as a wooden knight and the poofy thing on the back of its helmet trails out behind it. If only I sucked less, I might actually finish this one.

WHO WANTS TO PLAY WITH ME?!?!?

2011-01-08T20:58:46Z

Since my parents gave my Family Guy DVD to Mike when I made it clear I hate that show, they bought me a belated gift to make up for it: the new Cranium!!!!! I FINALLY OWN IT!!!

The down side: you guys aren't here and playing by myself is horribly sad ~~but I always win!~~.

Last week of January my parents are going out of town. Would people be up for invasion on some night that week? Most likely the 29th, as there's that silly thing called school the rest of the week.

Back to the essay of dooooooom which is actually coming together quite nicely. If only my first point wasn't so weak, I'd have this thing nailed.

HUZZAH

2010-12-18T23:35:18Z

I FINISHED ALL MY EXAMS!

I FINISHED WRAPPING ALL THE GIFTS I BOUGHT!

THE US FINALLY REPEALED "DON'T ASK DON'T TELL"!

It's a beautiful Saturday and I'm going to eat some chocolate, drink some eggnog, and maybe do absolutely nothing. Ahhhhhhh perfection.

My DA groove

2010-12-11T21:07:14Z

It's not actually a music video, as they're kinda too small a band for that...

This is my song for
a) killing stuff in Dragon Age
b) studying for Data Analysis

It also has the added benefit of upsetting Mike; for some reason he hates noise pop. Who knew!

I'm thinking of doing a "My Top ~ Albums of 2010" post, would probably include a .zip of each album with youtube links of my favourite song off each album. Yay, nay? I know I've probably already posted most of them here, so I'll try to avoid doing, like, This is War, the Scott Pilgrim soundtrack, or the New Pornographers' latest album...

(I promise Kanye won't be on the list!)