Work is horrid.

I haven't updated in ages.  Too.  Much.  Work.  Hoping it will slow down soon.  Ten hour days and weekends are not for me.  Yes, it's paying for games, comics, anime, random blu-ray purchase, and even an imported PS3 (FFXIII special edition baby!!!! Lighting is HOT!  Plus we're complete FF fangirls so getting the game like six months early, ROCKS!  I can't help it, yes I am excited.  The nearly ten minute trailer brought me right back in, even with all my bitching about Enix and how long this game has been in production.)

All the work doesn't leave a ton of free time though.  My comic backlog is nearly two months, three in some cases.  We only managed to finish one of the...fourteen shows we were watching last season.  At least three episodes behind on everything, up to six on some.  And hey, as the seasons never stop, we're already behind on the fall, even with fewer shows.  My game backlog...has always existed so that isn't something to I can point to work as a cause.

There are a ton of games coming out over the next few quarters.  Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, Uncharted 2, and Demon's Souls have already arrived.  Borderlands, Modern Warfare 2, Assassin's Creed 2, and Dragon Age: Origins have all been preordered.  We also finally picked some stuff up off PSN and XBLA.  Way behind the times I know but Braid, Shadow Complex, Geometry Wars Evolved 2, and Defense Grid: The Awakening on XBLA and WipeOUt HD, Super Stardust HD, Crystal Defenders, Savage Moon, and Pixel Junk Monsters on PSN.  Al has devoted most of her time to WipeOUt and Super Stardust (leaving Arkham Asylum in the dust!)  She tends to game more than me, even if I'm the one to purchase a lot of the games.  I horde.  We know this.  However, I have logged around 10 hours in Demon's Souls so far.  I actually beat the first boss and am able to level up now which I never thought I'd get around to.  Most of my time has been spent griding to level Natsuki (my Wanderer from the North) up.  It's hard game.  I spent the entire first level dead but have cleaned it out several times now alive.  The game is a lot more fun alive because, hey, you aren't fighing at half HP.

I've also gotten back into PC gaming.  Not new PC gaming.  Mostly games from the 90s that I played at one point and never owned.  I've started No One Lives Forever.  Through the tutorial and into the first mission.  I bailed out on Deus Ex because the game was running in double time and I need to fix some settings and hadn't gotten around to it.  I also ran the tutorial in Half-Life again.  I reinstalled Icewind Dale.  I've got Diablo, Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, the Baldur's Gate Collection, the Thief Collection, and the Fallout Collection coming in the mail and Al bought me the Diablo II Battlechest.  Classis Action RPG goodness.

The portable systems haven't gotten much love even though I've picked up several games.  I did start Devil Survivor on the DS but I've not logged more than an hour or so in it.

Other than that, there's football (not American), hockey, even a little baseball with the Yanks in the ALCS.  My Rangers are off to a blazing start.  I'm very excited about this new team.  I'm especially excited about my young defensemen.  Del Zotto and Gilroy both have looked very good.  Madrid is one point behind Barcelona for tops in La Liga.  Liverpool is...not doing very well. 

Finally, I'm actually plotting out a story with Al's help.  I've completed the outlines for the first three arcs.  I just need to finish up the fourth arc.  I'm also writing bits as I go along.  I'm really excited about this idea I've got and am looking forward to having more time to sit down and really start writing it.

And, I think that's a wrap.  Seriously, it's been a lot of work.  Boring, I know.  I've still got twelve days of vacation that we're planning to take mostly in December so that will be a lot of free time!

So apparently I was frustrated enough that I sad down and finished the Christmas story I started in mid December. 

I realize this is very late but I might as well post it.

This is my first complete work.  It's not very long but it's a start.  I suppose it is only right that I should actually manage a whole story about these two.  They quickly became my favorite and I don't really see anyone who can knock them out of that top spot.

I don't promise greatness.  I'm happy with parts, satisfied on the whole.  I think these two deserve much more than I can give them and there are authors out there who are providing it.  Still, this is my offering.

Much love and thanks to the love of my life.  It's not easy for me to let anyone beta my work.  Thank you.

I re-read a short piece and got to thinking about some unfinished business.  It's not great.  It's probably not even very good.  But it wanted to be written.




She doesn’t remember what it feels like.  Trying to recall how her lips feel, she realizes that she’s forgotten.  It’s been years.  Sometimes it feels like much longer.  But today, today she wants to remember.  And, for the first time in years, she can’t.

It’s hurt, remembering.  She’s been trying to forget.  Trying, and failing.  Today though, she woke up thinking of her.  Thinking, and not feeling that ache in her chest.  She’d dreamt about her.  Nothing special, just a day in their life that never happened.  But they’d kissed.  It hadn’t been passionate or intense, just the brushing of lips, the slight sweep of tongue.

Upon waking, she’d tried to recall kissing her.  How soft her lips had been, how they’d moved against hers, the way she’d nip her lower lip asking for entry.  But she couldn’t conjure up those memories.  Maybe trying so long to forget, so actually had. 

She always thought that if she could just forget, everything would get better.  That she wouldn’t wake up aching.  That her heart wouldn’t seize up and her breath wouldn’t catch in her throat. 

But on the day that she finally managed to forget, she remembered all the reasons that it wouldn’t make anything better.  Because forgetting everything meant forgetting everything, and maybe everything was better than nothing.  Because nothing left her aching and, perhaps even worse, nothing left her empty. 

Apparently I've been away for 10 weeks now.

I think that's a record for me.  Well except for that year long hiatus I took last time...

Anyway, I appear to be back now.  And I couldn't begin to recap the past two and a half months.  I've switched projects at work again.  Spain won the Euros.  The Olympics are in full swing.  Al and I finally bought DSs (blue and red respectively.)  I've managed to collect a slew of old RPGs for the PS and the PS2 (many many thanks to Al for driving all over the place from EB to Gamestop to EB to Gamestop!)  I've seen the last half of the final season of South (in French mind you.)  Maria-sama came out in box final!  FFXIII is going to be released on the 360 and we are THIS close to a date, I think.  Enix is doing a third Parasite Eve game.  Sierra is finally reviving the Wolfenstein series.  The summer anime season has failed to impress though we finally managed to finish Simoun and the first season of Aria.  There are good signs that El Caz may get a box here (oh I would sing!)  The Prem starts back this weekend with La Liga soon to follow.  CL qualifying has been underway and, in fact, Liverpool has a game today.  Soccer, field hockey, and volleyball at UNC will all be starting back soon too.  Oh, and hockey, can't forget hockey.  And, yesterday, Sarah's first new single in years was released!

I apologize for the wreck of a summary.  Trying to remember all the major stuff means that I write it as I think of it so there's nothing resembling an order.

I'm still writing weekly but it's been hard going and I haven't been thrilled with many of my efforts.  There are a couple pieces that I'm revising and may post.  There's even a piece that may develop into something more...but then how many times have I said that before right?

The Japanese is coming along slowly but, watching anime, it's nice to hear words and sometimes even sentences I understand.  So progress!

Finally, I need to change out some of my avatars and make a new mood theme.  I've been working on both off and on but it's time.  I've closed the book on South, at least for now, so it's time for a change.

But now, back to work. 

YOU (you know who you are) I have a proposition for you.  Email me. 

 So, the WCWS started yesterday.

Why yes, yes I did watch all four games. 

I cheered for the Ragin' Caujins when they upset the #1 seed Florida.  Florida, on the whole, underwhelmed as the number 1 seed.

I felt bad for National Player of the Year Angela Tincher when her 3rd baseman coughed it up in the 6th to cost Virgina Tech the game against A&M.  Both Gibson individually and A&M as a team underwhelmed compared to their billing.  Tincher gave the best pitching performance of the day, in my opinion (and I have not be that wowed by her as she is mostly a velocity pitcher.)

I hurt a little for 'Bama when a questionable four/fair, did she touch the ball or not call cost them the game against an incredibly underwhelming Arizona State team (this is the hottest team...seriously?).  However, I was at least happy it ended the game in regulation as my team was playing the last game of the day.

And so it was, that an hour and fifty two minutes after we were scheduled to take the field that, what was billed as the showcase game, began.  Two-time defending National Champions Arizona, in the hunt for their 3rd title in as many years and the glory of being only the second team to 3-peat, against their Pac-10 rivals UCLA, the only team to 3-peat.  Arizona with 8 National Titles and UCLA with 10.  18 of the 26 titles available between these two teams meeting on opening day of the WCWS.

The first inning saw Arizona's hero from last year, senior pitcher Taryne Mowatt, field a soft roller and have what should have been an easy play at first for the out.  What actually occurred was that she overthrew Banister at first allowing the runner to advance to second when she should have been an easy out at first.  Then she allowed a hit that carried into center, easily scoring the runner from second.  And that was the ballgame.  One run, resulting from a throwing error in the bottom of the first and the game was over.  Both Mowatt and Selden pitched well enough for their teams.  Arizona was held to 3 hits and UCLA to 2.  I wouldn't say either pitcher looked to have their A-game throughout, certainly Mowatt didn't as I have seen her pitch remarkably better.  Still, the result was the same, 1-0 after 7 innings.  Even with Schutzler on third, after a throwing error from Selden in the 2nd, Arizona couldn't bring her home to level the game.

And so, my team finds themselves in an almost impossible position: Win 4 games in two days to get back to the Championship series.  Only two teams have ever come back from first day losses to win the WCWS.  It is a very hard feat indeed.  Yet I believe, that if anyone can manage it, it is us.  We always seem to play well with our backs against the wall.  And, in spite of her error last night, we have Taryne Mowatt.  She rose to the occassion last year, putting in a spectacular performance.  If anyone can help us get out of this mess, it's the girl that got us into it.

So go Cats!

You had plenty of time there was no rush
But it was your dream to be like us.
You're in dreamland so you don't care.
And as you wake, we're standing there.
You can't be me, I'm a rock star.

Ok mostly just not sitting in front of my computer...

My back is finally kinda sorta better.  So hopefully I'll be around this weekend some.  If it rains, for sure I'll be in.  If it's warm and sunny, well I can't say for sure.

But things, I have done things. 

We watched all 26 episodes of El Cazador de la bruja.  Nadie is my new hero.  Just a normal girl, no super powers, who's willing to give her life to protect the girl she'll realize she's in love with.  It was the character development that made this series.  It wasn't Noir.  Nothing will ever be Noir.  It was lighter, fluffier, more relaxed, more character and less plot driven.  It wasn't better than Noir.  Noir will always be one of my absolute favorites.  But it was different in a very good way.  A lot of people found this series dull.  It was slower to be sure.  There was less action.  Much more of a focus on detailing the main characters, on developing the relationship between Nadie and Ellis.  And that is what made it so good to me.  Often, character development takes a backseat and if you know me, you know that character development is what matters most to me.  That and the ending...Nadie and Ellis.  You have to see it to get it.

We also watched Blue Drop which is gorgeous and sad.  It was also slower.  More character episodes, not that much action.  But Hagino...I really did love her.  Mari drove me nuts, until nearly halfway through the 13 episode series.  But there was a nice bit at the end.  It really is gorgeous animation though.  It's a bit harder to get through as it is heavy.  It's hard to explain.  It's not heavy like death and destruction and the world is always ending.  It's just gloomy, like you know this cannot come to good.

And now we've returned to Mai-HiME.  In which I remember, yet again, that there isn't enough Natsuki and not nearly enough Shizuru.  Oh come on, you knew I only really loved the ShizNat.  Speaking of ShizNat though, I finally found someone who can write them in-character and it not be either horribly stilted or just poorly written.  And she can write them in verse or AU.  And thus, I offer you the two stories I am reading now, both in progress but both still being updated:  The Endless and Inter Nos.  If you like the HiME/Otome characters, and certainly if you like Shizuru/Natsuki, these are worth your time.  The Endless is a Sandman/HiME cross that is truly intriguing.  However, you don't have to know Neil Gaiman's work to appreciate it.  Inter Nos is set in the time of Ancient Rome, in which Hime is Rome.  That you really just have to read.  But the characters are perfect.  They are spot-on in-character.  That's all that should really matter outside of how well written these stories are.

And now that I've gotten carried away...the whole point was to say that I'm back and will probably be around this weekend.  I have to get to work on my girl...that I haven't talked about...but that I actually have a pretty good outline for.  Yes, yes she is a Spash story...