So close to the D&D swagness!
So I have been using swag bucks and Amazon Mechanical Turk to try and earn a little extra money to get Gino the D&D stuff he needs like a battle mat and a dungeon master screen. I have $15 in amazon gift cards still pending on swagbucks and $33 in Amazon Mechanical Turk, so once both clear I’ll have enough money to get him both! Hopefully I can have that done before next Sunday. Thats when we play next.
If you aren’t a part of either of these sites, both of them are pretty amazing. Essentially, swagbucks is a search engine like google or yahoo. The main difference is when you search through swagbucks, you have a chance of earning various values of “swagbucks.” These can then be traded in for REAL prizes, such as Amazon Gift cards to get whatever you want. They also have all sorts of other things in their swag store too, including Wii, PS3 and 360. Lots and Lots of nifty stuff. Heres the link to check it out and sign up: http://swagbucks.com/?cmd=sb-register&rb=431417
Amazon Mechanical Turk is a little different. You do little jobs called “hits” for money. Some are just simple 30 second tasks you only get a few cents for, while others can give you upwards of 5 dollars per hit. They have ALL kinds of tasks, from writting reviews, picking out images, labeling things, and essentially anything else that needs the human touch to complete versus computer generated. I’ve been working on it for about a month maybe and already have 33 bucks. Heres the link to that: https://www.mturk.com/mturk/welcome
If I hadn’t gotten sick today I would be out applying for work, but I caught something and its left me couch-ridden. I am going tomorrow for sure though, I’ll just tough it out. I’ll probably check monster.com and craigslist again in a little bit.
P.S. – Got my grades and I passed all my classes, now I just have to wait for the official degree in the mail, but I am now a college graduate!
Edumacation: Learned me a book!
Woohoo! I walked at my graduation today! Took five years to get my double major in Theatre/English, but I managed it. I’ll get my final grades next Wednesday I believe and then I will be sure I’ll get the degree, but I am 99.99% positive I passed all my classes, since I got A’s and B’s in all the classes that acctually counted towards my degree. They had the ceremony today (ya, dumb I know since no one has their final grades yet) and I am so jazzed about it! Woohoo!
And THANK YOU GINO for always being supportive of me, driving me to school (even on the early days) and making sure I finished school. I couldn’t (or wouldn’t) have done it without you! I love you (and not just saving me from the spider that kept crawling on me).
Enjoying my Spring Break
Bah, I can’t believe Spring Break is already almost over. Ohh well, only a month more and I’ll graduate. Then its tons of phone calls to figure out what teaching certifications I’ll need for High School English. Teachers make about 50,000 a year in VA, so it’ll be a nice job to pay the bills and such with while Gino is in college. I think he’ll complete his degree faster than I did, both because hes most likely not double majoring and it won’t be in English or Theatre. Ahhh well, can’t have two people debating what a book really means in the house, we’d never get anything done. He can read his R.A. Salvatore, I’ll stick to Marlowe, Shakespeare, the Greek playwrights, T.S. Elliot, Edgar Allen Poe… well, you get the idea.
I think we may have to delay moving til next winter. Gino just got his second job as a cook at Pia’s. He made the most delicious soup and brought some home. Hes going to have to make more and bring it to me… yussss. We are going to hardcore save money though. We’ve got the PS3, the High Def TV and a slew of games and movies I haven’t touched yet, including a few series of anime I haven’t watched. I intend to spend some of that at Otakon this year, since we are staying for a whole week and celebrating our one year wedding anniversary then too. Our three year mark for the relationship is coming up, but we’ll probably just stay in and have a nice dinner instead of making a special trip or anything.
I need to stop buying stuff. I have to think that I have to pack all this junk… BUT I am so happy we aren’t moving the couch. I hate it. I want a recliner sofa over this sofa bed. I love recliners with a passion, and since this couch is getting old, Gino said we could dump it and get a new one when we get to our new apartment. I think I found the PERFECT one. Its right off the bay so theres a nice view from the windows and it seems to be about the same price we are paying now. I just hope they allow cats or I’ll still be looking for an apartment.
Getting a lot of stuff for Illindir done and I am really pleased with all the progress. We have people chomping at the bit shouting “When when when!” lol I can’t wait to open for testing, at least let people poke around and see all the stuff we’ve got going on. *happy dance*
Hrmm… its raining and thundering now. I hope the power doesn’t go out, I hate it when that happens.
Exhausted
Man am I starting to get a lil burnt out. I just need a break thats all… like SPRING BREAK…. but thats a month away ;-;
Work is still going really well, and I love my paychecks… yes…. those are nice. I am kinda getting used to not having that much free time between school and work. It’s not fun, but I am getting used to it.
School is starting to get harder. Its getting to that point where all the teachers start handing out their first tests… all at once… yah… not the best thing ever. I must graduate… yesssss… I must.
And just my favorite new qoute from the movie Still Waiting – “I’m about to be a real Cunty McShitterton if you don’t leave me the fuck alone.” or something to that affect. (I got the Cunty McShitterton right at least <3) Makes me laugh everytime.
Anyway, I should go get ready for school!
Busy Busy Busy
I am staying pretty busy these days with work and all. Its a major switch from break. I wasn’t even working then, and now I’m balancing work and school. Phew its rough sometimes.
I -have- to get my stuff done for graduation tomorrow. Period. Its due on Friday and I REALLY don’t want this to be SUPER last minute. I have all the paperwork I need, I just have to go meet with my two advisors (theatre and english) and get them to sign off that I’ve done all the classes for my majors. Then I get to take tests… yay. Ohhh well, at least I’ll graduate. Yay!
Work is going along pretty well. I like the job and it pays SOOOO much better than my last job did. Its exicting to have all this money coming in again. Now I get to pay bills… yay…
Valentines Day is going to suck this year. I work 10am – 4pm and Gino works 4pm to close, meaning hes not going to be home til 12 or even 1 in the morning. I am going to clean the apartment up while hes working as a nice surprise for him. Maybe get a ballon and something nice that he’ll like, but just something small. I want to make it a nice day for him when he gets home.
Hes mad at me right now though. I had to do my homework so he had to go into the bedroom to watch TV. I could have been a lil more polite I guess… its just annoying when he kinda downplays my homework, like I should be able to read complicated literature with the TV blaring. Alas, I shall figure out something… eventually.
I am hoping Ashley will come down for Spring Break next month. That would be nice to hang out again, especially since I plan on moving soon.
And for all you curious Illindir peoples (whoever you are) we are working very hard, and making huge strides, so fear not!
Neeeeeewwww Technology
Yay I have a new Compaq laptop! HURRAY! Gino got one too since his desktop is as old as dinosaurs. Now we are both able to sit on the couch and type away!
Ginos been pretty busy with work. It seems like hes working a lot more than usual, but maybe thats just because I see him less because of my job. I dunno.
We bought all the seasons to Yu Yu Hakusho and are already almost halfway through season 2. I love this show, its so fun <3. I am glad we found an anime we can both watch thats not CRAZY expensive. It was only 25 bucks a season and theres only 4 seasons. Yay for me!
Been a little worn out as of late. Lots and lots of things to do, like school. Filling out all my graduation papers. I am kinda scared… I dunno what to do after college, especially if I don’t get into ODU. I really really really want to teach college English. I have to work super hard and get into grad. school.
Anyway, I am going to go work on Illindir stuff…. yussssss Illindir, you love it!
Stuuuuupid technology
Ugg I hate my laptop so much. Its offically a glorified portable hard-drive now. The good news is that I will be getting a new one this weekend (hopefully tomorrow).
I haven’t gone to class in the last couple days because my neck is seriously hurting me. I pulled it somehow and it makes my jaw and ear hurt too… it sucks. Otherwise school is going fairly well thus far. I need to go apply for graduation stuff soon though, like this next week. I want to graduate… I neeeed to. Yusssss….
My poor kitties are sick. They got worms, probably from going to the vets, so we are taking them in on Friday to get treated. Gino says its not a huge deal, and most cats get worms, but I still worry about my little babies ;-;
Since my computer problems, I haven’t been able to log much time for Illinidir things. *sadness* Nuuu I neeeeed to. I am going to try and get big chunks of things done over the next week to make up for the couple weeks I had to be MIA. Maybe even get all the room descs done for one of my cities. And map Danizibar, thats at the top of the list.
Otakon… its coming… eventually! YAY! I am getting excited and Ashley and I are already making plans. For once we are going to get our passes a day early, since we arrive the Sunday before the con, and check out the last day of the convention. We’ll get up, pack up my car with our stuff, and then head to the con for the last day of fun. Then we should know about how much extra room we are playing with for last minute sales and such. We also decided we are bringing 3 highlighters; a green, pink and yellow one. Once we get our schedule of events the day before, we are going to go through and highlight things we ABSOLUTELY have to see in pink. Then things we’d like to see in green, but if we miss it, its not a big deal. Then we are going to go back and every time slot that doesn’t have something, we are going to highlight our favorite thing(s) in that time slot in yellow. That way if we get bored and want to find something to do, we can look at the things we thought were interesting, instead of sitting around for 10 or 20 min, reading through everything til we find something, and by the time we get there, is already over. I am most looking forward to the shopping >.>
Anyway, Ashley came and visited me this past weekend. It was fun. I spent a lot of money >.> Next time I need to keep better track of all the things I buy. I kinda went overboard. Ohh well, it was fun, but now its saving time! Anyway, the weekend was a blast, even if I was lazy sometimes. I hope Ashley didn’t mind. I just needed a break away from all the busy busy stuff like school and work. I was kinda… no really disappointed and hurt one of our mutual friends bailed out on us. She texted me on Friday and made plans, but never called on Saturday. She called Sunday, 10 min before Ashley was leaving, saying she didn’t call the previous day because she had to work early on Sunday. We both thought it was a shoody excuse, but, its kinda come to be expected from her. I haven’t hung out with her in a long time, it just seems like shes got other priorities now that just don’t include me. Its cool, I’ll figure out something. Besides, I am moving in about 5 months anyway, so its not like we would have been able to hang out after that anyway.
Work is going pretty well. Its a more complicated job than I thought it would be, but otherwise is a lot of fun. I really like the people I work with, and they all seem really nice. Its a longer shift than what I am used to, but hey, it pays more than my last job did and is a much better working environment. Hurray for me! My first paycheck is next week, on a Thursday I believe. Yay for monies! We are going to try and save any money I make, and just use Gino’s paychecks to live off of. Try, but it may not work. At the very least, I want to save more money so we have more than enough for the move and Otakon.
To write or not to write!
I am wavering back and forth on finally writting my book… I really wanna write this novel, but I never seem to have the time. Perhaps after I graduate and move I’ll have a little more time then. I hope so. I have no idea if it will be any good, but just to finish it would be spectacular.
So tonight was good/bad. Gino was just super sweet and has seen how depressed I’ve been lately, so he took me out to dinner at McCalesters. Just as I was scraping out the last bits of my soup out of my bread bowl, I hear Gino go “Stop” and reach over and take my bread bowl… there was mold on it, and on his bread bowl too. I felt so sick to my stomach. Gino took them up to the counter and they gave us our money back. We ran a few errands and picked up Underworld and Underworld Evolution on Blu Ray. It took me forever to fine them both, but I did. Then we ran down to Little Rock and picked up Ashley’s birthday present. Now we are all out of monies ;-; Hopefully I’ll get that call tomorrow saying I got the job at the copy shop. I really hope so.
So I watched the first Underworld. It was REALLY good. I lurved it muchly. Ashley and I are going to watch both of them and then scurry to the theater to watch the third movie (a prequel). I am excited! I still need to call the school and see what day I need to go in and pick up my student loan check. I’ll need that to get my schoolbooks. *sigh* A week from today I start back to class. Alas, no more sleeping in all day for me. Ohh well. Its the last semester, so I think I can handle it.
Still working on mapping. One project got put on hold so I could do this one, but BIG sections of the game are getting mapped all at the same time thanks to the bang up staff we’ve got. I am getting so super excited about this! The world is really starting to take shape, and the shape is awesome.
Getting Nervous!
So in twelve hours I go in for my interview… so nervous. I know I can do the job and I can handle an interview, I guess I’ve never had the sensation of needing a job before. My past two jobs were mainly for gas money and such, but then when I moved out of my moms house, suddenly my paycheck has a much bigger bearing. I really want this job at the copy shop. Its a small, privately owned buisiness and seems to run at a nice, slow pace. None of this rushing around like I did at my last two jobs. I am somewhat hoping they allow laptops, then I can bring mine to work.
Speaking of laptops, I need a new keyboard and battery for mine. The keyboard is only like, 16 bucks but the battery is 60. I am wondering how much other work is going to be needed, seeing as I already had to replace the fan and have the screen fixed. Perhaps an investment in a new laptop will be in my future. I for sure want one before grad school, but thats not until January of 2010, so I have plenty of time. I’ll probably fix this one in the meantime. Its still a nice lil laptop.
School is starting up on the 15th… yay…. I am not looking forward to that 9:25 class. At least its with a crazy teacher, so that will wake me up. I am so really looking forward to graduating. Its going to be marvelous. I need to make sure to get my name changed and apply for graduation stuff right at the beginning of the school year. No procrastinating for me, no sir.
I am eagerly looking forward to Ashley’s visit. I haven’t been able to hang out with anyone in so long. I really don’t have many friends here anymore. Either I hate them, just lost touch or never see them. And I notice I am growing older, and my priorities have changed. Not that I am going through major life changes, but I see my time as valuable. I could be working on Illindir or reading, or working on grad school things instead of watching my friends get wasted. Ultimately, where does that get you? I am glad my good time doesn’t come out of a bottle, liquid or pills. I can have fun without it, and I feel sorry for people who can’t. At the same time, I just don’t have an interest in partying anymore. I have much much much more fun watching an anime or movie and chit chatting with a few people than have to wde through a sea of bodies just to talk to a couple people and shout over booming music.
I am trying to make (and stick to) 2009 resolutions. I want to lose weight. Not just lose weight, but be healthier. Gino and I have started walking every night once around the apartment complex and I am going to start exercising at home with yoga stuff I learned in Stage Movement. I also want to be a lil more finacially responsible, and have more than 20 bucks in the bank.. yes… that would be nice. Hopefully this job will work out and I’ll enjoy being there. Maybe then I can stomach 20 – 30 hours a week, instead of the hell that Movie Gallery was.
So far I am happy with the way things are going. I reconnected with Ashley and I am loving Illindir, and getting to do a lot of really cool things. I just now figured out the crafting system and OMG its amazing. Eirinn rocks it up hardcore on that code and I love her. I also couldnt ask for better builders. I was so honored that I was pulled up to Head Builder, and to have such a perfect, wonderful staff to work with, its more than I could have asked for. I am correcting problems before they start with tuturials and guidelines, which will hopefully cut back on having to go back over and tweak things in the future. I also check in on everyone very regularly, and talk to two members of staff on a daily basis…. those being Ashley and Gino <3.
I want those fairy statues at the gas station… they were preeeetttyyy…
New Clothes!
My mom bought me two new pairs of pants and two new shirts so I have clothes to wear to my interview and hopefully to work <3. I am excited and nervous about Monay, but mostly excited!
School starts back on the 15th. Its looming… I am somewhat dreading it, and looking forward to it at the same time. While I really am not looking forward to going to class every Monday – Friday, I am excited about graduating. If we have the money to move, I’ll get 6 months off college, the longest period I will have been out of school since… kindergarden. I’ll need the nice little break. It will be the first time I will be living that far away from my family. I will have my hubby though, which is all I need <3
Whew I am exhuasted. Been working on many many things for Illindir, and for those of you drooling for info, there are lots of things in the works, not just by me, but the rest of the staff! I personally am working on balance consistancy guides, so players will never have to deal with pesky tweaking on their items! *thumbs up* or crazy, all-over-the-place pricing!
Ashley is coming down soon! SO EXCITED!
