Saturday, October 31, 2009

Polymorphic Stinging Pianos

*It's Halloween! As I sit here in the office, I am expecting that the first waves of kids should be showing up at my door within the next hour. If they don't, I'll have a huge bowl of candy all to myself. I have nothing in mind for the evening, either. May watch RHPS, may crank some Alice Cooper, don't really know. Need to spend some time in the studio, but I really don't want to do that until I know all the Trick-or-Treaters are done for the night. I could apply the wood pre-treater to the patio door if I'm really hard up for entertainment. Or, I could repaint the bedroom ceiling.

*As of midnight tonight, my vacation is half over. Actually, with the time change, my vacation is half over as of 0030 Sunday morning.

*I have been rather disappointed with AMC's FearFest lineup. Basically because it's the same lineup they've had for the past three years.

*Gracie is still managing to find every muddy spot in the yard any time she goes outside. The carpet is littered with mud nuggets.

*The yard has been raked for the second time in as many days, and yet there are still enough leaves in the trees for me to have to do it one more time. And while I was out there today, even thought it was partly sunny, that cold air was just biting right into my knees and finger joints. I'd really like to just sit with my hands in a bowl of hot water for the evening. Or better yet, who's got a hot tub that's still open?

*Yup, that was the best wrong number EVER!

*Slurping down the last Coke Zero until the coffee is done reheating. That and a few more pieces of candy should have me skipping off the walls here pretty soon.

*My offer of hosting game time has once again netted exactly 0 responses.

*The wife is in MN till Tuesday, so what did I do today? Let's see, I raked the yard, did the dishes, vacuumed the house, made the bed, and straightened up the garage. I so DO NOT rock that it's pitiful...

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Art of Another Sort...
















Greenvale was once the furthest flung province of the vast Duchene Kingdom. Concerned with the security of this distant region, King Duchene dispatched his son, Prince Tarvis, to establish an outpost there. But Tarvis' distance from his father's watchful eye only served to fuel his desire of establishing his own kingdom.

So, in the distant forests of Greenvale, Tarvis set his ambitions in motion. He began to raise his own army and launched raids into nearby villages, bringing one after another under his control. As his power grew and his coffers filled with gold, he placed the first stones of the castle he would call Forestkeep.

Meanwhile, the king, upon hearing of his son's activities, sent a party of scouts to investigate. When the scouts returned to report to the king, they had a strange story to tell. When the entered Greenvale, they found themselves at the edge of a great swamp that did not appear on any of their maps. As they explored the edge of the swamp, they encountered a hermit picking berries. When they asked the hermit about Forestkeep, the hermit told them of a day not long ago when a wizard arrived at the gates of the castle. The wizard was greatly angered by Tarvis' raids on the countryside, and demanded that they stop. When Tarvis merely laughed at the wizard's request, the wizard raised his hands to the sky, and with a single gesture, caused the earth to give way, swallowing Forestkeep and all within.

The scouts thought the hermit mad and pressed onward into the fetid swamp, determined to locate the prince and his castle. They had scarcely set foot into the bog when they found sections of a great stone wall, half sunken into the muck. Beyond that, they could see what remained of a great castle gate and other ruined buildings. This, then, was all that remained of Forestkeep. And though they searched the swamp and the ruins for days, they found no trace of Prince Tarvis or his army.

After hearing the scouts' story, the king was silent for some time. When he finally spoke, he decreed that the Greenvale outpost would not be rebuilt, and anyone heard speaking of Forestkeep would be thrown in the dungeon.

So, Greenvale faded from the minds of the people. Forestkeep became known as "Tarvis' Folly" as time went by. And, on the rare occasions that anyone spoke of either place, it was in hushed tones as they talked of all the dark and twisted creatures that now called it home.

But now, scouts are reporting armed forces massing in Greenvale with unknown intent. The king has dispatched his army, intent on keeping the border secure. The only question left is who will remain to declare victory after the battle in the swampy ruins of Tarvis' Folly?

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

All Those In Favor...

I am changing the name of my game group/club. This has proven to be a less than difficult task, since I am the only member thus far. I voted in favor of the change, I seconded the motion, I voted in favor of it, and it passed (with a 100% majority, I might add). SMGSLT has now become WSLS. I will be trying yet again to enlist members during my time off, but if there isn't some noticeable improvement in my mood, the outlook for success seems dim. The general low that has settled in has also kept me from finishing the HeroScape map that is now sprawled across the game table. If I do manage to complete it, then it needs to be playtested to see if it's even functional as a game map. If it is, then I have to reverse engineer it in order to be able to map it and reproduce it at a later date. Or, I'll just give up on it and put it back into the cabinet. I hope not, but it's not outside the realm of possibility. I will make the good faith effort to try and establish some more connections with others, since it may be something that's needed to try and get me out of this insular slump that I seem to be settling into. Anyone up for some RoboRally?

Paradise Lost?

=You know when the weather guy tells you that today would be a good day to play hooky, he probably knows what he's talking about. I should have listened. At least I didn't walk into work with a headache, but there's still quite a cloud of entagled thoughts humming and clunking around up there. I did pay heed to advice given and got up and went outside to work in the garage, even though I really had no motivation to do so. The next big batch of stuff has been listed on the freecycle page, so hopefully it will be moving out soon. Motivation and energy are still at a low ebb, and I mostly remember to take my meds. The one missing ingredient is exercise. It's still very easy to just sleep the day away. But, it was/is a nice day out, and things are off to a decent start at work (they took the tent down), so maybe things will level off a bit.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Oh, That's Just Great....

It is never a good thing for me to arrive at work with a sturdy headache already in place. It is also never a good thing to arrive at work and find a tent pitched outside the ED so they have a place to put the patient overflow. I have to survive this for 6 more days until my vacation starts, and the odds of that actually happening are about even at this point.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Short Bus

=Game night #2 tanked completely. But, to keep in the flavor of the evening, I dragged out all of my HeroScape terrain sets and got started on constructing a monstrous map. So far, I've managed to cover more than half of the game table, and I'm not quite sure I'm going to be able to accomplish what I want to do. May just be time to drag out a bigger table. Or maybe move to the floor. As far as another game night, I think I may just throw open the doors for the two weeks that I'm off and try again. As much as I would like to get really upset by this turn of events, I must realize that it could take some amount of time before a stable nucleus of players develops. Got to find out what the hell is up with Big Bri and maybe have a poker night to appease Sammie.

=I think the free crappy coffee at work may be killing my taste for coffee in any other format or location.

=Perhaps we're going to have an Indian sumer here after all. The near freezing temps have retreated back into Canada leaving daytime seasonal highs in the 50-60 degree range behind.

=I have no idea what I'm going to be doing during my time off. Maybe I should run down to Peoria and see what's going on, or try to stir something up to do. All I know for sure is that we are not going to Vegas, and I am as yet unsure if Sheri is going to MN. Another sure thing is that if I do not manage to get the door stained and the basement completed in that time frame, I may well never hear the end of it. And not in an amusing way. Oh, and I have to take all the screens out and wash the windows.

=The garage is still so clogged with stuff that Sheri can't get her car into it. So, why would I even be considering going to the hospital's garage sale this Friday?

=I have absolutely no explanation for the appearance of ZZ Top in not one, but two, different dreams on two different nights.

=DDO.com does indeed have free unlimited play. Up to a level cap of 4....out of 20.

=Today is the day of the leopard, or so I am told.

=Another estimate for the bathroom remodel should be in by the end of the week. I still want the tube lights in the living room, but I just can't convince her.

=I have to get a care package in the mail this week, or I think I will have a fairly angry Indian on my hands.

=Next time, I will not be slicing the peppers lengthwise.

=

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Perfectly Placed Partial Poodle Puddle Package

Snow after midnight and ghosts in my dreams. Funky tunes and wood chips. No flight to Vegas and an empty game table. Subtle plots and annual seeds. The slow germination of an image and the ever flowing sands of time. The usual pain in the usual place, but with a new ache for a friend. Unanswered questions from long forgotten years. A healthy dose of self-disgust with a built in side of fries. In a chair, over there, past the air, and up the stair is the place where my heart once stood.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Bobbing Along...

Up and down. Up and down. Cyclical rythym. An almost mathematical variation around a central point. Yin and Yang. Balance. A cork in the water. Uneasy variations. Peering over the edge into familiar, yet unwelcome, territory. The defeat of perpetual motion through constant loss of energy. Nothing left of the sun but a pink smear on the western horizon by 7 PM. Retreat or run: either is a haphazard solution. Staring and fidgeting pass anxious moments when no thunderclap of momentous revalation is apparent. The road is obvious, the destination uncertain. It's not those ridiculous days when the only way I could express the need to know how much anyone cared for me was to get excessively drunk, fall down and have them tend to me if they would. It's the fatigue of the over armored and the echo of an empty gymnasium. That last fond memory shielded from the light of logic and truth at any and all costs. The point where wondering becomes a substitute for living or knowing. A last frantic and fevered dream at the edge of an afternoon nap. An involutary shiver that ripples your skin when you remember how they touched you. The wheel turns, night falls, and thoughts slip away to the place where they are bent and twisted by the funhouse mirrors we never get to see. Pointed teeth pressing into your skin to savor the juices within. The longer the wave, the lower the peak. The higher the peak, the shorter the wave. Measurement changes position and the cycle begins anew.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Below Freezing

That's where the temp is supposed to settle out tonight. Around 23 degrees is what I've heard. There was already a hard frost yesterday, so the garden is done for the year. This respiratory thing is dragging me down physically, and I'm not sparking mentally. Not a good combination. October is supposed to be my time, a season I enjoy, ending in the big holiday for the year. The holiday has been pre-empted, and the season may be as indistinct as summer was this year. I am not in a good place in either mind or body, and there is naught ahead but a long winter.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Tasty Drainage

* It was really good to see Steve this weekend, but it would have been a lot more fun had all of us been feeling better. The show at Zanies was good (the front row center seats didn't hurt), even though we would have had better luck finding a place to park if we had started looking when we were still in DeKalb. The flea market on Sunday was decent, except for the ridiculously low temps that started the day. 'Zombieland' was pretty darn entertaining too. Not as entertaining as two shaved cats, but still pretty entertaining.

* I should not have downloaded the program for Dungeons and Dragons Online. Me like. Me like a lot. Much better them WoW, IMHO. Head on over to ddo.com and check it out! For now I'll start Cromag on Peggle and work him up from there.

* Great. I seem to have picked up some unwanted microbe at some point in the recent past. Whatever it is seems to be making a solid effort to establish a new home inside my head. Nothing like feeling moderately pukey and just slightly off balance all the time.

* There is a chance for snow in the forecast for next week. Oh. Freaking. Joy. I'm just seeing all of the leaves dropping off of the trees at once, getting wet before I have a chance to rake them, and then freezing into a solid grass killing mass that stays in place till next May. Whoopee. Plus, there is no room for the wife's car in the garage, which is a big no-no for cold weather conditions.

* Once again, the studio has been rescued from the constantly creeping piles of crud that threaten to overwhelm it. All the stuff piled here and there just constantly reduces my ability to actually make use of the space. And, if I can' t use the space, there's really no point in having it. So I put in a solid burst of concentrated cleaning effort, and now I can actually get to and use my drafting table.

* I hear there's a position open down at VWCH....Hmmmmm.

* The only score from this weekend's Kane Co flea market was a lamp. It was in the last aisle of the last building we went through. Furthermore, it was the only thing I found in the whole place. I forgot to call Scott to have him bring the cases with the tiki necklaces and the guy who's been supplying me with board games didn't bring any with him this time around. The coffin lid wasn't there either. Sheri wouldn't let me buy a tombstone from the 1870's, and the total number of dealers there was down by about 1/3. But, I got lucky and found a rattan lamp. A most awesome looking rattan lamp, I must say. Not to mention expensive. Probably a lot more than I would have paid for a lamp normally, but the thought of leaving the flea market empty handed always has a way of loosening up my wallet. Plus I think I now have all the accent lighting I need for the basement. One more run to Ikea, and it should be ready for the grand unveiling...

* I need to plunge the drain in my sink.

* My 11# shipment of plastic from Florida is due to arrive on Thursday, which also happens to be my day off. Yay! Unfortunately, there has been no response from Neil regarding his interest in doing some gaming that night. Boo! So, I may just end up playing with all my new toys by myself. *sniff* *sniff*

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