Through Me X 2 and Paintball Battle Wounds

On Sunday my brothers, their friends, and I went to Frog Holler for a nice game of paint ball. Or rather... we were demolished by a bunch of cheating loud mouth kids. But that's not the point.

We had fun. It's been about five years since the last time I went paintballing, I think. The last time I went was, of course, with my three brothers and one of big brother's friends. The refs out there were rather nice and allowed us to play against each other instead of with strange people who like to shoot newbies because they know they can.

Sadly, I'm cursed with always being on the losing side. Or maybe I've just got the worst luck ever. Or maybe I just suck at paint ball.

The only other time I went paintballing was so, so long ago when I'd just started college and my big brother was engaged to some girl he'd met at a restaurant and had been dating for three months. Again, it was me, the brothers, and this time it was also a bunch of the little brother's crazy friends (I emphasize crazy, immensely). Also thrown into the bunch was big brother's fiancee's little sister who was a freshmen in high school at the time.

We played all day. I got tired. For the very last game, I sat out and watched as my little brother and his friend did a nice little kamikaze down the hill into enemy territory to steal the victory. My brother is crazy like that. He likes to rush the battle field instead of wait patiently in hopes that paintballs will zip by you without contact and the game will end without you having to do anything or move anywhere.

So I play cautious. No big deal. I'm just clumsy and would rather secure my best efforst in not getting hit and thrown out of the game rather than getting hit as soon as I set foot into the game. This means no senseless movements or rushing forward. I'm quite content staying in the back.

This time around at paintball, I tried to do something... The key term here is that I tried. It didn't really work out too well though and I stayed in the back and shot randomly at anyone who looked like they were about to get up.

Still, I had fun. And then the next day there was the aching pain of muscles rebelling. Also, the very first place I was actually hit on my body was my neck and my back. Big purple and ugle bruises. My coworkers are swearing up and down that I've been naughty and that the bruise on my neck is really a hickey.

Right, like in this lifetime I would actually be able to experience getting a hickey at all.

But anyway. Onto other news.

If I hadn't already mentioned it, Grandma has completely moved into her new house and will no longer have to return to her drabby, aging, ancient, bad neighborhood, bolt the doors down to keep people out house. We're all a little gratified that Grandma no longer has to be paranoid that some stupid street kid will decide to break in.

I'm moving along at snail's pace in my efforts to A)find a better job, and B) get into the Medical Technology program to ensure a good opportunity in the future. But I met with the Med Tech department head and she says that not only will I like the program, but I've also got the typical personality of a Medical Technologist. She also mentioned that I'm just like her in those respects. I feel a little more calm because I almost feel like I've already guaranteed myself a spot in the program.

Not a time to get my hopes up yet, but I'll look forward to it.


Finally, I've been stuck on other things for a while including watching the rest of Moonlight Resonance, doing my homework and working overtime. When I received my little author alert about Maeven's newest story updates, I kind of blew them off for a while. Then, not long after, I checked my email again yesterday and found yet another update. I'm quite ecstatic, and so I'm off to read the two newest chapters of Through Me 21 and 22. Soon we shall see what will occur between our favorite heroes and the little conflict that's been brought to light.

As for Moonlight Resonance, I may or may not comment on the series as a whole later on. But for now, I can mention that as much as I liked it and as much as I preferred it to its predecessor, I'm a little disappointed at the outcome and how things were played out. More on this later.

Work and Warhammer

Hmm... what a weird combination. Work and Warhammer sounds like I'm about to be deployed into a battlefield.

My boss hasn't called me yet to tell me that I need to work tomorrow morning at 9:30 no matter what. I tried to pawn off that shift to another coworker of mine because starting on Thursday until Sunday I'll be doing a merciless amount of split shift work. In other words, I'll be up before the crack of dawn at 5:00 A.M. so that some crazy people can have breakfast at 7:00 A.M. and then I get to go home for a couple hours and screw around try to sleep before going back to work for the dinner shift. This if for four days in a row.

I can already feel the weariness setting in. I think I may have to call in dead this weekend.

So when one of my coworkers mentioned only having to work one day this week cause she'd asked for the weekend off, she sounded a little disappointed and distressed. So I offered her my Tuesday morning at 9:30 -- I try to be a nice person. Except now she'll be working two straight shifts tomorrow from morning until the nighttime. Oh well, I guess she is only working one day of the whole week.


As a final change in pace of all things gaming, Warhammer Online's head start gameplay begins today at 2:00 P.M. over here in the states. It took us a long time to figure out what x:00 A.M. CET was. Apparently CET is Central European Time. That's the first I'd heard of things being based off of CET instead of PST or EST or the like. Although nothing is ever based off of CST if it's a nationwide event. The central states of America just aren't that significant I guess.

It makes my little home on the range of Kansas feel so special. I think our only redeeming factor here is that we're the flattest state in the States and we get tornadoes. Oh yea, and then there's our deteriorating "Air Capitol of the World" reputation as well since all aircraft industries seem to be uprooting and shipping off to some foreign countries for better labor deals.

I'll say it now cause this is how I think: It's all the labor unions' doing. Honestly, it jitters me to no end knowing that people are still not satisfied with $20 an hour pay, plus excellent health benefits, paid vacations, paid holidays, paid Sundays, shift difference, and worthy overtime pay. And all this with just a high school degree in hand and nothing more. Accordingly, you don't even really have to do your job. And you all are going on strike because you're not being paid... what? $30 an hour.

Give me break!

I get paid $2.35/hr plus gratuities that may amount to about an average of $8.00/hr ever two weeks. My paychecks probably would never pay off if I lived on my own in a cardboard box and is really more like petty cash in this economy today. And this is if I'm lucky. Finding a better job is like picking the dead silence out of a crowd and I even have a useless degree that isn't getting me anywhere.

While I admit that I could probably be trying harder, at least I wouldn't be complaining if I had good benefits and good pay.

But that's just one of my soap boxes that maybe I should step down from before I get a lashing from other people. Labor unions are a touchy subject after all. And I'm not saying that just because you only have a high school degree that you don't deserve a good job, but people nowadays just don't know the value of satsifaction.

People always want more. We're a greedy species no matter who we are... and we're an emo species too lately. People love to live in the grandness of their melancholy and we'll be damned if someone else has a crappier life than we do.

But all of this is suddenly off topic and I need to quit.

Because all of this Warhammer Online news just ended up becoming Ani's soap box and I really hate soap boxes cause they only cause trouble and unnecessary flaming.

So back to Warhammer Online.

Well, I guess there isn't much to say about it. It starts today -- or this Thursday for those who didn't preorder and receive the head start codes -- and I'm only semi-looking forward to it. While some aspects of it are fun, it's the same deal over and over again. We quest, we do scenarios a la capture the flag type of game, and we can go and kill off other players on the open RvR battlegrounds like a first person shooter game. It's going to get boring real fast unless something new catches my attention. Because the monotonous effect was what got me turned off of Everquest 2.

Anyway, hopefully I'll be able to catch on fast and I'll be able to enjoy it.

As of today, however, I'll be spending a bit of time rushing through my Immunology notes since I have a quiz next Monday and probably won't have time to study when I start working on Thursday. Chances are, I'll still slack off... but not as much as usual. I'm even very tempted to turn on my laptop and start typing away some other story items that I really, really, really wanna work on...

Raymond Lam -- Your Love

I'm in love...

If you thought I was an obsessed otaku fangirl weird, then you won't be surprised to see me squealing in delight at the aspect of Raymond Lam's newest CD. I love this guy.

Excuse me while I lapse into fandom and "kya!" like a fangirl.
Your Love is Ray's second album since he stepped into the music industry. The first one with the incredibly mouthful title of Searching for You in Loving Memories or what have you at your own translation, was another milestone of his (and mine) that had all of his fans swooning in pleasure. Both albums are very good, although even as a fan I will admit there are some songs that don't really catch on as quickly and I don't care about. But the majority of the music is awesome.

Frankly speaking, until he released his first album last year in 2007, I'd been anticipating his first step into the music industry because of his incredibly smooth and unique voice. He has the talent to hit all sorts of pitches and sing to all sorts of music, and he had even been given the chance to perform each and every one of his theme songs for series he participated in. Even for Heart of Greed in which he wasn't supposed to really be a main character he ended up striking up a good image as a couple with Linda Chung and so the two sang the sub theme song together.

When other persons had released an album before him, I was disappointed. We will not mention who this "other persons" is because it would just cause fan chaos.

But I'm glad that he now has two albums and many, many other songs to boot. If only I could get a nice compilation of all the themesongs sung by this guy, then I would be in happy fangirl heaven.

"Kyaa..."
Yea, this guy is hot, his acting skills are above average, his singing is incredible, and his potential is continuing to soar even higher. I can't wait to continue watching him go places with his talents and skills.


In other news, Warhammer Online from Mythic Entertainment and EA games has released its open beta this week.



My brothers and I are participating in this and will probably allow Warhammer to become the next shot of "EverCrack2" drug we indulge in for the next few months. Of course, as the official launch of the game is still a few days away, I don't know how long we'll actually play this game. After all, we gave up on Everquest 2 to play Vanguard and that ended pretty badly.

As of right now, I'm giving myself a chance to play the plethora of evil characters available... since my brother wanted to be a squig herder. Don't ask questions, you'll only cry.

While Vanguard lacked a sense of convenience and efficiency during gameplay experience, Everquest 2 had always made up for in that sense. But Vanguard was a wonder world with new adventures and new gameplay deals. Unfortunately, the world was so big that it was overwhelming and frankly a little too easy to avoid playing. Everquest 2 lacked new ideas and new scenery and so became a boring old sport.

Hopefully Warhammer will be able to provide what these two games had lacked... along with fixing some bugs that are quite annoying at this time.


In yet more news, things in the personal life are going quite monotonous right now. Work is work, school work is school work... And thanks to Gustav, we're getting really good weather here in Kansas. My sincere apologies for finding this little bit of pleasure in the grief of those down south, but it really has been sweltering hot lately and I'm glad for the change of temperament in the easily tempered Kansas weather.

I recently watched 'The Bucket List' with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nickolson which was absolutely genius and fabulous. Ever since I saw the trailer I've wanted to watch the movie. A plot with two old dying men living out the last of their days to the fullest through a philosophical "Bucket List." It was very inspirational and very humorous. Morgan Freeman is one of the most talented American actors that I can respect. Jack Nickolson is Jack Nickolson and there's not other way to describe him-- in all his glory, he's a really great actor too.

My older brother has left for Minnesota on his first Operations Manager "mission" and in fact was supposed to go to Lafayette, but due to the multiple hurricane attacks, his destination was changed. He'll be back home on Saturday, so I was told, and then soon he'll be off on yet another building visit to somewhere else. It's a pity that I can't seem to get out of this pathetic city too... no matter how hard I'm trying. And then I got told that I need to just stay in Wichita and stop thinking about going elsewhere. Really now, the only reason I'm looking out of state is because I really want out of here... But no one in his family needs to know that other wise there might be some problems.

So right now I'm stuck in my eternal state of family servitude as the Asian daughter who can't leave unless she can become rich and famous by some miracle. Or unless I can (by yet another impossible miracle) get married an unload a grandchild for my parents to play with in which case they'll be sure that I'll be coming home to remain the servant girl.

As an end note to this semi-fangirl semi-rant post, I make mention that I have once again shot myself in the Writer's Block head and come up with yet another new story idea that I can't finish. On a more positive note, my most recent story which I've designated as a "short" story is being forcefully pounded out onto "paper" a la Microsoft Word glory. I'm going to assume that as soon as I finish it, I'll at least feel like I've made some progress and can edit and re-edit it to death until I've decided that I like it enough to share it with the world... or just to some bored passerby.