NYC Trip: Such a Great Day

This was the day we were supposed to go to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, but the ferries weren’t running. On the news this morning they said New York area received 7.5 inches of rain, something that happens about once in 15 years.

It’s still drizzling, so we go to a Rite Aid to buy a new umbrella and then walk to the Museum of Modern Art. The special exhibit was called Jeff’s Wall, a photography collection of a vast array of things. It featured flooding areas, a dirty kitchen, and migrants under a bridge to a windy day surprising business people.

There were a lot of familiar pieces at the MoMa. Andy Worhall’s Soup collection, the Three Musicians, and I got to stand and marvel in front of Starry Night.

After that we went to the NBC Experience store and I bought a Studio 60 mug. A nice guard in the underground section of Rockefeller Center showed us the way to get to some delis and we choose a world buffet kind. I had cold pastas, including a salad with fresh mozzarella, basil and tomato.

We walked up Fifth Avenue, visited Trump Tower, hit Tiffany & Co. (the diamond floor was awesome!) and went in FAO Schwartz.

After all of this window shopping we went to our bakery down the street. We got the plain cheesecake and a black and white cookie. This went great with the coffee in the lobby. The cashier was either amused or annoyed that we all ordered the same thing.

Michelle and I picked a restaurant on Restaurant Row. I had a bowl of minestrone soup and a portabella and Parmesan salad. Then we finished walking the 10 blocks to the Nederlander Theatre to see RENT.

I wish I could more completely describe how I felt watching this musical. Part of me wishes I wasn’t so hooked on it. Because, being obsessed with things is just what I do, so how special is it? Anyways, I was nervous that I would like the musical as much as I enjoyed the movie. They are, after all, different from each other. The stories are the same, but told in different ways.

The set was a mix of blue and purple. To the right was a platform where the life support meetings took place and under it, was the orchestra. There were two tables in the middle of the stage, above them and to the back was a catwalk-type platform with a stairway leading down. To the left was a doorway and above it a collection of bizarre metallic sculptures (for lack of a better word).

A young man named Angel showed us to our seats, toward the back of the orchestra level. They were very good, we were to the left so the whole stage stretched before us. I was on the aisle, and had an unobstructed view of the stage.

Soon, the Mark began shooting without a script and we were swept in. Michelle leaned over and asked who the “guy in the maroon coat” was, since he was such an excellent singer.

When Today 4 U started, she asked who the woman in the Santa coat was, because she was an awesome singer and dancer. I leaned over and told Michelle that she was Angel, that guy in the maroon coat with the great voice.

At intermission, I clarified for Michelle who was dating who, who used to date, who was gay and who had AIDS. She saw the song Goodbye Love and asked if Mimi was going to die. I didn’t answer.

At Without You, I started tearing up. By I’ll Cover You, the reprise, I stared crying. But then I felt a jab, and I saw Michelle had joined me. Afterwards I practically floated back to the hotel and could hardly calm myself enough to fall asleep. It was such a great day.

NYC Trip: It's Raining, It's Pouring

Today is our Jane Marx tour, insight of Manhattan from a resident and history buff. Maybe a more accurate title would be historian, scholar, etc. Looking out from our 10th floor window I can see it’s raining. But because we’re this far up, I can’t see how hard.

Down at ground level, as we’re getting on the bus, I see its not raining too hard just sprinkles—big-drop sprinkles. As we start moving Jane points to the left and says we have the café with the best New York cheesecake right next to our hotel. She tells us to go there and order a plain cheesecake and black and white cookie. She takes us towards Central Park, points out big buildings, various shopping places and professes her hatred of Starbucks.

We hit the edge of Central Park and Jane tells us about John Lennon and Yoko Ono, showing us their apartment—an entire floor. We run out quick, in the rain, to see Strawberry Fields and Imagine.

Jane tells us the history of the city, celebrity happenings and local lore. How Central Park is man-made to look natural, bedrock, landfill and how many homes Tom Hanks may own. Viva la democrat, down with chain stores, etc. etc.

Our next stop out of the bus was St. John the Divine, which is under construction. We see the pretty floor and hear a choir rehearse. Leaving the Cathedral, there’s an inch of water on the steps and fierce winds. Hold on to your umbrellas, folks!

Soon we took a break for lunch at Katz Diner. It’s the place where the famous When Harry Met Sally scene took place. Jane taught us how to be real New Yorkers and order. Step up, know what we want, and tip generously. We ordered a Pastrami sandwich on rye with mustard, knish and chocolate egg cream. The knish was interesting. Jane said you’d either love it or use it for cement. The inside was the consistency of cement all right. Knish is made of potatoes and other spices and someone said sometimes meat. It was kind of sticky and creamy and had an odd sweet aftertaste. The chocolate egg cream had the mouth feel of a root beer float. I’m not sure what it’s made of, Jane mentioned chocolate syrup, seltzer and has never seen an egg.

Just down the street from Katz is the Seinfeld Diner. Leaving after lunch we ran through about 2 inches of rain on the ground.

Next, Jane took us to the financial district, we saw Wall Street and the Bull. In a couple of miles, we began to see effects of 9/11. Blacken buildings and construction to rebuild. We go into St. Paul’s the only building in the area not touched by the imploding buildings. It was a solemn experience seeing what now is the history of this building. It was such an odd juxtaposition of beautiful design with the arches, painting and chandeliers against the exhibits of chain link fence memorials, pots they fed the relief workers with and table of prayers and religious (not all Christian) symbols seeking solace, peace, understanding and hope.

We drove around the block and saw ground zero, then splashed into Winter Garden observatory area. Jane told us about the construction and recovery since that day what buildings needed to be taken down, how hundreds of body parts are being discovered every day as they remove levels of these buildings.

Cycling back we go through Harlem, see Bill Clinton’s office, Columbia University and a general waterlogged New York.

The bus drops us off at the Marquee Theatre in the Marriot Hotel for Drowsy Chaperone. This play is kind of like theatre for beginners, the narrator introduces each character, outlines the plot and points out cliché events of storytelling. The players do the same thing, turning to the audience making declarations of intent, history or feelings. The play was enjoyable, it was fun seeing all the different set changes and stage mechanics of the changes.

On the way back to the hotel, we were somewhat disoriented. We were going in the right direction, but nothing looked familiar, except that it was wet. A gust a wind broke my umbrella and there was no way to avoid the puddles.

We got back, wet from feet to knees, not to mention dripping hair. There was a about an hour before we had to meet Marilyn for supper, so we changed our clothes and I blow-dried my hair. We tied our shoes to the heater so they would blow dry a little and then wrapped our feet in plastic bags so the residual wetness wouldn’t make our socks soggy.

Marilyn took a group of about eight to Ruby Foo’s on Broadway, It was a Chinese place with a beautiful décor. The walls were adorned with gold and red baroques and golden Buda’s all around. Everyone ordered something different and we shared. I also enjoyed a ginger mojito. Very yummy.

NYC Trip: Up, up and away!

We left from the university parking lot a little after 7:30 a.m. Michelle and I travel with two others. Michelle added a couple of extra people to the trip at last minute and found it would be $800 more to get them in our group for tickets, so she purchased four separate ones. So, we ended up being separate traveling mates from the group.

I have to say this was quite nice. We had a 40 minute ride to the airport (instead of three hours on a bus) then after a fairly short wait, we flew to Detroit and connected to our flight to Newark Airport. Now I pretty much have no concept of time. I think we got in around 3 p.m. We ate in their little holding area (we hadn’t had any lunch) we had to squeeze together and wait for a table for room with seven people. That area was packed, and we were kind of surprised to see so many people who weren’t eating. It really wasn’t a comfortable place to be, yet everyone flocked there.

We ate, Michelle and I had a yummy chicken sandwich with grilled onions and french fries. It looked like a lot, but after scarfing it down, we found it was just the right amount.

The rest of the group went down below to more comfortable chairs and less crowded areas while Michelle and I waited for the group. When we found a monitor that we could see (the one on our level was faded or the sunlight made it unreadable), it said they were on-time, then landed at 4:30. I was started to get worried about where they were. What a start.

Finally they came out and everyone got their bags. The bus came, we loaded on people and luggage. We traveled through the Lincoln Tunnel, crawling through the first half.

The sights outside of the city were interesting. The growing buildings, juxtaposed against stacked apartments. Then there was a castle-like structure, almost surrounded by a moat that we saw was a library (with a German or Polish looking name).

After some time we were actually in, traveling through the maze of tall buildings. I noticed spanish grafiti below the ramp that we passed through. We got to the hotel, got our room keys, jumped out and jetted up to our room. Only to jet back down and do a walking tour of our four block area: Rockefeller Center, Times Square, TKTS booth. We passed the NBC Studios, got in the way of the locals and marveled at the lights.

After the tour we broke off into a group of six and went to the Stardust Diner. That’s where the hopeful actors and actresses sing on tables between serving your food. It was a short wait to get in, and after talking to others in our group they were discouraged by the line down the street and didn’t go.

I ate the Captain Video—which was a grilled chicken breast sandwich with avocado, salsa and the usual burger fixings. For dessert I had a pecan tart, a little dry, but still good. Our waitress was a cute blond who was sweet and chatty—and a pretty good singer (and not all of them were good singers).

I think we got back to our hotel at around 11 or so. We really weren’t too exhausted, probably running on the thrill that we were in New York City and the trip ahead of us.

That Dark and Winding Road

Sheryl walks into the room, brilliant smile, shaking hands and making small talk as she rounds the room like the lovely hostess she has always been. She pauses at the ornately gold adorned mirror to check her hair. It’s perfect, so she takes this opportunity to look lovingly at herself. She owns the room and she knows it.

She, however, doesn’t fool me. Sheryl may have the walk, glistening hair and Hollywood pearly whites, but she doesn’t look me in the eye. She never does. I wonder what she would see if she ever took that chance. What weakness would her eyes expose? Is it the truth that will break her perfect image?

You can learn a lot from how people look at me. Matt does the same thing every time he passes. He puffs up his chest—I can see the pep talk he’s giving himself. His hand goes back to smooth his hair as he cocks his chin, pretending to be James Dean. Matt’s routine bodes well for him as he presents himself together and confident, but maybe it would be okay if he didn’t give that pep talk—it might just help William.

William doesn’t look at me at all. He rushes past, head turned so he doesn’t have to. I see him standing here and there. He may not be a wallflower, but he’ll never take a chance that isn’t necessary. That new red head over there is everything William thinks he needs. She’s the total package as far as he can tell from where he’s standing, by the fern, talking to Mary. He strains his ears, trying to listen to the red head talk to Matt, so much that he isn’t listening to Mary anymore. He watches the shimmering red hair sway as she tilts her head, apparently disagreeing with Matt. William snickers. She’s already better than half the women here if she can see Matt for bastard that he is. William adjusts his shirt collar, gaze falling on the fern. “If I could only be Matt. Learn the secret that makes him so damn confident. Then I could be happy. I wouldn’t need that red head. I could have anyone…”

Great, now a plant is more interesting than I am. I’m used to men not paying attention to me because of beautiful women, but when a plant is more captivating… Mary thought as she crossed to the other side of the room, not caring about William’s feelings, when and if he noticed her absence. She looks into the beautiful mirror, tracing her nose with a long finger. I notice the change even if no one else in the room will. I could always see the lust in Mary’s eyes when she gazed at others. She gave herself a present, much like Matt’s pep talk. She wiped out her savings to do it, but patting her nose with a smile, she’ll never question the pain or money. Mary moves away, satisfied with her choice, looking to find acceptance in the room.

Lilly stands in the center of the room, people on either side, talking, laughing, sharing that beautiful smile everyone loves. Lilly isn’t like any of the other people here. When she passes me, she looks at me, really looks at me—and herself. Her eyes walk up and down her face, over her hair, she adjusts her necklace, but it’s her eyes. She looks long into her eyes.

Someone said long ago the eyes are the window to the soul, and that may be why everyone else avoids their eyes when looking at me. They are either afraid of what they see or what is not there. Lilly is quite the opposite. She’ll stand in front of me, looking at nothing but her eyes. They are just as beautiful as the smile everyone raves about, but the Lilly directly in front of me is not the Lilly socializing around the room. Her eyes, those beautiful eyes, haunt me. They are so broken. I don’t understand how no one else can see how sad Lilly is.

She knows it. I can see it. Lilly travels into her soul, a deep and winding road. I do not know what she’s searching for, but she so often comes back to me to look. Some of the paths are darker than others, and some do indeed lead her to the Lilly everyone sees. ...

Before you go, there's something you should know:

This is a double dip Sunday, because I wrote the previous blog Thursday night and didn't get to post it until now. And now ...... I'm not completely sure what to write. Nothing of form is coming to me, so I guess this might be a random topic rambling.

I leave for New York Saturday... less than a week away. Whoohoo! I'll be able to scratch off a couple of my life goal's. Seeing Starry Night, meeting someone famous (we're going to Regis and Kelly, so I'm hoping to pop down and shake her hand), seeing RENT on Broadway. Whooo! Or maybe it's off broadway. I learned that on, off and off off is not based on location, but how many seats the theater has. Curious.

I also learned today that vanilla beans come from Orchid plants, a notoriously hideous-smelling flower. Even more curious.

Back to New York. I need to crack down and get packing. I gotta see if need film and get everything else together. Also gotta read the security-bag restrictions, different from the last time I flew. I'm bringing band-aids and TWO pairs of walking shoes, so hopefully I can avoid the bleeding feet.

Unfortunately I don't think I'll go to Food for Thought again this year. I don't know, i might be too tired. I'm trying to think of when I got back from San Francisco. I did editing and worked on our cases paper, which were mentally exhausting--though I'm sure I had a shit-ton of caffeine. But I didn't need to be sociable and pleasant to anyone. SO I dunno. I just hate missing it two years now that I'm back in town. Oh well, I guess.

So it's Oyster Egg Day in KoL---and Happy Easter to you real life folks---I got my basket, but there's no proclamation the main page and not a single f'ing egg has dropped. So I'm thinking Jick & Co. have a bug that delayed the Oysters. Maybe it'll be a double holiday like Sneaky Pete's. I haven't gotten drunk yet, so if it implements before I sign off today hopefully I can partake in the egg-hunting goodness.

The latest obsession is +44. (Click the music link below this post and you'll find my jabbering about them already.) The whole break up, secrecy, Tom's revolution and mental breakdown (in my opinion) fascinates me. Add in that they split early 2005 (i think) and I didn't find out until October 2006 when I saw +44's first video and thought I recognized Mark and then was almost positive when I saw Travis. Not to mention that Travis broke his arm during the filming of the video and when I watched them on Letterman (which I had fallen asleep and woke up just as they were being introduced) and noticed Travis was drumming with one arm. It's just a great, multi-faceted story. Mark's blog (which is updated more than mine, but I bet he doesn't have dial-up) keeps me hooked.

I have started practicing the guitar again. And I was re-introduced to the fact that I have very short fingers and my pinkie doesn't go to the top string without dislocation or go-go-gadget pinkies. I'm torn between giving up and hoping that somewhere there's an artist that doesn't have normal to long fingers and they have found a way to play and I just need to keep working at it. But then I think maybe I should take up violin, but I'm sure there's something inherent about me that will make me unable to play that either.

Learning to play the guitar is another of my life goal things. I don't know if I'll be able to fulfill that one. I need more. I'd like to get 100 or so, but now I have less than 32. There are somethings that people would put on that I just don't care about--like visiting all 50 states. What if I don't want to go to Wyoming? Huh? What about that then?

I'm not sure what else to write, but don't really want to end it like this. I could complain about the weather, but there's nothing I can do about it, so why bother. I just hope it's nice in NYC next week. I'm trying to get to Level 9 with my multi and buy a store in the mall, but that also means I need 60,000 meat (I think?). I'm finding jsut how frickin hard it is to adventure the first time around again. Even though I know stuff now. I forgot just how reliant I am on my ghoul whelp (or any familiar other than the volleyball and mosquito) and all the skills I've aquired along the way. I don't know how people who don't ascend can do it. Getting skills from others and bots just doesn't feel right.

Oh, I did a 14 day run. It was so cool, I ascended (I almost went oxy (eeep!)) and then clicked on my ascension tracker and there it was 14 days! Cool beans.

Well now I'm really running out of things to say. I've been horribly mis-spelling words all over the place. Yay for spell check.

That's all folks, sorry there wasn't a big finish.

Happy Easter. Eat an egg and some chocolate (dark, please) for me. Just not mixed together.

At the end of the day

Grey's Anatomy. My weekly Thursday addiction, I'm a junkie aching for my fix.

Justice, punishment. Tonight's episode is when Bailey asked the chief what punishment he would dole out to Yang and Burke for lying and putting patients' lives in danger since he had a tremor in his hand.

Chief said this isn't a courtroom, there's no real concept of justice within these four hospital walls.

And that made me think. I don't know if there's justice outside of the four walls of a courtroom. In "real life" when someone is lazy, mean, out of line, wrong or simply just not living up to expectations or following the golden rule--there is no justice.

I think that's why people are so eager to embrace religion--that's the ultimate form of justice. Rules, bound in a book and a great big finger waging at you from a pulpit. Of course there's also the ultimate justice in the "final judgement."

In the daily course of things, though there may be balances, often there's not swift and harsh actions.

People get sick. Friendships end. People die. Families drift. Lives changed. Altered. Destroyed.

Kharma's balances don't always come fast enough.

"I listen to you talk, but talk is cheap. And my mouth is filled with blood from trying not to speak." ~ Mark Hoppus, No It Isn't, (+44)

And it shall pass

Last week I was in a foul mood, and it lasted the wole week. I know why, and it will pass (and hopefully, has passed). But that didn't change the fact that I was grumpy.

I made cinnamon swirl cake to satisfy my sweet, spongy cake craving. I also succeeded in crossing another thing off my life goals list. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am able to crack an egg with one hand.

I have not yet perfected this skill, but I have cracked five in a row with relative ease. Now I need to work on keeping my hand cleaner and being faster about it.

My workload is piling up or myabe I'm just looking too far ahead. But it's making me start to panic. My vacation is growing closer and even though I need it desparately, I still am nervous about leaving and the work I'll be coming back to.

I ascended again Thursday, a 17 day run. It's getting very frustrating that I can't get to two weeks or less. I just don't know what I'm doing wrong.

I ascended as a Seal Clubber again, thinking that maybe the same type of run will help me do a two-weeker. I'm not quite sure what skill I'll keep. I'm debating one of the passive melee or protection skills or the meatsmithing one. I'd need to read up on it, because I'm not sure if I ever meatsmithed anything ... and maybe that's why I'm not breaking the two weeks.

So far I'm Level 7 in four days ... which I believe is a record for me ... now I just need to sustain it. I've done an all-volleyball run before, but it didn't seem to help me go any faster. Especially in the higher areas. Maybe I'll wait until I'm in the Goatlet to go pure-sombrero. Right now, I'll start doing 10-turn runs with the sombrero in the Friars to level him up.

I created my first multi Wednesday--which means I got another KoL character. I chose an Accordian Thief. I figured I should go with the one class I've had the most trouble with. It'll be a softcore run, no time worries, no restrictions and maybe I'll learn something that'll help my hardcore runs.

Off to Emerald city

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

and

Happy St. Sneaky Pete's Day!

Since everyone is Irish on 17 O'March and I'm not entirely sure that my roots aren't at least part Irish, I'm wearing a green shamrock shirt and there's Guinness chillin' for some Sneaky Pete's day ... or St. Patrick's Day fun.

First in the Kingdom, I must ready myself by increasing my intoxicitity (yes, that's a word on Sneaky Pete's Day) to 26 so I am falling down drunk. About six advanced cocktailcrafting drinks, a bubbly potion and three green beers later (my first green beer I've ever made!!)....

You drink the green beer. It makes you feel lucky. Or maybe it just makes you feel drunk, and feeling drunk makes you feel lucky. Either way, hooray!

The spirit of St. Sneaky Pete's Day makes you feel like you could drink a whole bathtub full of this stuff!

You gain 2 Adventures.
You gain 1 Drunkenness.

Tally forth~ On to DruNken deBatcHery =x=x=

http://kol.coldfront.net/thekolwiki/index.php/St._Sneaky_Pete%27s_Day_Stupor

Click on the various titles to see all the witty adventures.

"Watch where you're going" and "What, is this some kind of a joke?" are particulary funny.

lOOT tALLY:

• Flashing Novelty button
• Pink Glowstick
• 4 strings of blue beads
• 3 strings of red beads
• 6 string of green beads

And I think you should know this ...

What should I write about tonight? Today was incredibly blah. I woke up to snow. Whoo. My new e-newsletter software made me think too hard. I wasn't inspired to write. And the day ended before I could type minutes from a meeting.

I broke three nails today. THREE. 3!!! If i break one more i can say screw it for two weeks and start practicing the guitar again.

March Madness isn't making me as mad as it usually does. That's because I bought the Extended Edition DVDs of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Yay~ I'll either stay up tonight to watch Grey's or I'll watch it on Sunday. And they had Family Guy on last night. A whole hour. How great is that? Well I'll tell you, it's pretty darn great. They better not move to Thursday though. It'll be a sad world if I have to choose between Grey's Anatomy and Family Guy. I'll have to do some soul searching ... or maybe buy a DVR ... hmmm.

KoL Note: Still Level 8. Just defeated the Bonerdragon and now I'm hitting the Goatlet. I received a Candy Gram from someone from the clan of Noblesse Oblige for their Week of Drunken Loving II. I won't bore the non-adventurers with details, but those interested can GoodSerach "KoL Wiki" and then look it up there. But anyway... that's so cool. It's the first time I've gotten anything from a player who I don't know. It's not a rare item, which is a little sad, but I'm excited nonetheless! But right now I need to blog/read less so I can actually adventure since I have 122 left and it's 7:51.

8:38--I finished the Trapper's quest, got my Swashbuckling Getup and finally hit Level 9.

What else? Oh yeah, Daylight Savings is still kicking my butt. I went to bed at 9 last night and still had to drag my butt out of bed to go to work. And then I had to drive in snow. Nine O’clock people! I didn't even make it through the Top 9 at 9 (I was hoping to hear Better than Me from Hinder.... AWESOME song! I'm completely obsessing about it).

On a totally unrelated note, if you're a fan of Blink182, have heard of +44 or generally enjoy reading amusing blogs, visit himynameismark.com. It's Mark Hoppus' blog. He created it in the time after Blink-182 took their break, and has continued it through his new band, +44. +44 was on tour, and Mark blogged quite frequently ... more than I do, which puts me to shame. But it's freakin' hilarious. I love it. Seriously folks, laugh out loud funny. And if that wasn't enough, they have a lot of artsy photos that Mark and the crew have taken trying to out do each other.

P.S. I think Mark is obsessed with this Pantone Mangenta...it was on Blink-182's last album and +44's unedited album.

Go ahead, be gone wit it.

Today was my coworker Sarah's birthday. We bought her Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/Love Sounds.

Now, Sarah is the Eric Clapton, classic rock kind of girl, but for some reason she rocks out to SexyBack. And I really don't blame her.

Something happened to Justin Timberlake that made him suave, likable and just plain cool. In N'Sync's hey day, I really didn't like J-Timberlake that much. He was the "pretty boy" and the falsettos can get annoying. My style was a little more so JC.

After the group disbanded, I wasn't too impressed by the songs he released from "Justified." It got a little edgier and I think he gained some credit with the different collaborations he made. And NO I'm not talking about his little ditty with Miss Jackson.

But he's just GOLD on this CD. The video for "My Love" he's so charismatic, that it's really hard to tear your eyes away. He found the perfect mix of classic and modern for a style. He's gotten to the point that he's a trendsetter. A superstar beyond the means of N'Sync.

Of course he still has the following of his teeny-bopper fans who lived and breathed bubblegum pop. But he's transcended that to a whole new level.

I mentioned in the previous blog that the only thing that struck me was the Dixie Chicks and Justin Timberlake. I don't think he's hot or cute. But he sure as hell is charismatic. Though I respect his good range, when he goes too much into falsettos I don't like it.

I don't blame Sarah one bit for this new cd. In fact, I'm proud of J-Timberlake for reinventing himself and having a career instead of being a disaster.

Daylight Savings zzzZZzzZzzz

Each year we get a week of complete relief and then another of utter annoyance. When it comes, the clocks that used to be your guidance beome the key to confusion.

Ah Daylight Savings Time.

And for whatever reason, they made it earlier this year. While I have yet to run into someone who doesn't mind "falling back" I really don't know too many fans of "spring forward."

Yeah, sure, I enjoy the sunlight and just the different feel the air has this time of year. The more I think about the transition, the more I try to convince myself that it's no problem. "You still get up at the same time on Sunday, and you go to bed earlier, no biggie."

Monday I thought I had this evil mind game licked.

Tuesday I realized my efforts to thwoart Mother Nature had been foiled right under my nose.

Today ......... I was dead. Then I got coffee in me at lunch. By 2 I had a blazing headache.

Ooof.

But I guess if Daylight Savings Time is my biggest problem, I'm doing all right.

On a KoL note...it's my 9th day, and I have 10 Muscle points to gain before getting to Level 9. Things just aren't dropping on this run. It took forever to get a disembodied brain to drop and I had to spend 15+ adventures in the Limerck Dungeon to get dungeoneer dungerees. But I still have my fingers crossed. I'm hoping I got over the hump and I can still make the 16-day-or-less-accension.

Tipping the scales without a tractor

Weeks ago I watch the Grammy’s. Or at least, I tried to watch most of the Grammy’s as I was flipping between the awards ceremony and FOX’s animations. Ah…Family Guy.

So I didn’t get to see everything. And frankly, a lot didn’t strike me. It was so run of the mill, that I really only remember two things.

The Dixie Chicks and Justin Timberlake.

If that doesn’t bring me back to my teenage years, I’m not sure what would.

I heard the opening bars of “Not Ready to Make Nice” so many times throughout the show, between the quick clips as they announce the nominees and then again when they announced the Chicks as winners.

They swept the Grammy’s. And each award, the three women became more speechless, and tearier eyed. And the audience reveled in it.

The next day, I went to Yahoo! Music Videos and searched for this song. I heard the beginning so many times and I wanted to hear the rest of it. I enjoyed it. I’ve always enjoyed most of the Dixie Chick songs. The only one that was too backward-Country was “Goodbye Earl.” *Ahemwhitetrash.*

Of course now I hear they were shutout of the Country Music Awards. How does a band that sweeps every category they were nominated for in the Grammy’s—the most prestigious musical award—get snubbed at the CMA’s?

The radio dj’s said “Oh yeah, so the Grammy’s were completely political.”

I don’t think that’s the whole story though. I’m sure that a majority of the Grammy voters are more of the liberal persuasion than the Country ones. Not to mention that the majority of the country audience were the ones who revolted so strongly against the Dixie Chicks when they made the anti-Bush statements.

Because these were the people who elected him. They’ll follow him blindly because they “stick to their guns” and their idea of liberty is either “you’re with us or you’re against us.”

I know. I’m generalizing.

But if they can call me a hippy because I vote democrat and have generally liberal views, I can call them white trash and country hicks.

But more than that, I’m calling them wrong. That’s how I understand liberty. I can say that without fear of execution. We can disagree and if we’re big enough to put aside our differences, we can still be friends.

That’s all the Chicks were doing. They said Bush was wrong. And since “all Texans stick together” they were ashamed to be associated with the man. There’s nothing wrong with that.

But the country hicks freaked out and started the downward spiral of the Chicks’ career. Death threats? Come on.

If Johnny made a political statement that I absolutely disagreed with I’d like to think I would weigh how much I liked his music against how I felt about following and giving money to someone who’s ideals I can’t morally stand with.

I’d suck it up and say I connect to the music for a different reason. Or I throw away or sell all my cd’s and change the station when they came on.

I wouldn’t make death threats.

If someone I disliked, like Britany did it, it would fuel my fire a little. I would say, “See I always knew they were wrong.” I would throw words around like Satan and evil, but only in jest with friends. Much like I would say, this –20 weather is evil. But I don’t think I would leap to the extreme as the country audience leapt.

So in that respect, it’s political because the culture of country music is on the other end of the political spectrum that Chicks represent.

Don’t forget that how the Recording Academy votes is probably subjective. What qualifies it (artist, song, album) as best? The song? The lyrics? How it makes you feel? Most record sales? Most requests? Downloads? Impact in society? Impact of the career?

I thought “Iris” was the better song over your “My Heart Will Go On.” And it got more play after the first wave of Titanic’s momentum. It didn’t impact society as much as Heart and it probably wasn’t requested as much or sold as many copies. But it certainly propelled the Goo Goo Dolls forward more than Celine Dion and John Howard. They were already superstars. Now they had their name connected to the epic Titanic. Another notch on the belt.

So what does that mean? Notes and lyrics: the better song lost. But all the tangibles added up, Titanic’s song tipped the scales.

Now, I don’t listen to country music. So I don’t know if “Not Ready to Make Nice” tips the scales against its competitors. But when it was against the music I did know, I think it deserved to win.

The Country Music Academy and whoever weighs in on these awards made a bad decision if they shunned the Chicks because of the political biases. The Chicks transcend country music, like Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. They have the ability to reach a public larger than the country spectrum. And crossover artists are only good for business.

They should be embraced, not because of their political ideologies. But because they dared to create an album beyond the Country Music Trinity: Cheatin’, Tractors and the love of God.

Like I said, I don’t listen to country music. So if they didn’t get nominations because the music, songs and lyrics simply weren’t as good as the others: You did your job.

But with the Grammy sweep, I’m so sure that’s the case.

Not Fade Away

When Grey's Anatomy debuted I specifically refused to watch it on the principles that I didn't need to watch a mix of Desparate Housewives and ER. That's right, I made special efforts to avoid it the nights it was scheduled.


Then one Saturday I was flipping through the channels and there was this girl, trying to deal with the fact that she slept with this dreamy-looking, floppy-haired guy who she later found out was one of her bosses. The writing was clever and witty ... then she said "We're adults. How did that happen? And how do I make it stop?" I connected, and I think, became forever hooked. All too soon the episode was over and I was upset. I wanted more! But joy, another episode was on next. Roll title credits and d'oh! Grey's Anatomy. Oh well, I can admit I'm wrong in the shadow of sheer brilliance.


So Part 2 of the longest three parter of my life, until they do it again ... the ferry boat equals Meredith, the lost little girl equals Meredith, Derek pulls Mer out of the water of the bathtub, Der pulls Mer out of the harbor. I thought the explosives in the guy's chest was suspensful.

As I was freaking out afterwards, Dad said, "It's only a show." Well, yeah. It IS only a show--but it's ONLY THE BEST SHOW ON TV!

When the show went to Thursday I thought I was going to have a hard time giving up CSI. But from the very first episode, I didn't think twice by tuning into ABC. Hell, I'll watch it again Friday if it was an awesome show. (I'll only watch the first part of the show tonight...I can't bear any more right now--okay, now they're showing the bomb episode...the Meredith saying she's going to die episode--is this forshadowing or just a network screw-up?)

Sheer brilliance--seriously. This show takes you on a ride for an hour, and it's the kind of ride that makes you want to throw up. But the second you get off, you hop right back in line to do it again ... kind of like life. The best things in life have their extreme ups and downs that make you laugh, cry, want to throw up and feel a deep sense of loss when they are over.

The writers have this keen ability to create human characters that everyone can relate to. We have a bit of them in us: dark and twisty Meredith, competitive Christina, complusive Izzie, optimistic George, smart ass Alex, The Nazi Bailey, torn Richard, misunderstood Mark, gracious Burke, charming Derek, outsider Callie and broken Addison.

They also chose actors that don't make you hate them because even though they are scary and damaged they're also hollywood beautiful. The talent and writing allows you to forget about that as you sink into their world.

We're plagued by the Knight in Shining Whatever Syndrome. Ladies want one, Guys want to be one. But in the same breath some of us don't want to fall into that stereotype. We want more ... and we don't believe in that happily ever after.

A generation going to college, graduating and trying to cope with this McLife.

Like I said, brilliant, seriously. Sure it's dark and twisty, but there are those bright and shiny moments.

Will Meredith live? I don't know, as Shonda (writer/creator) said herself, she killed Denny she blew up McHottie the Bomb Guy (aka: Kyle Chandler), she doesn't play by TV's rules.

Reasons I think they could kill Mer:

• There's still another Grey on the show
• Mer could do naration
• Think of the tale spin (and storylines) it could send the rest of the characters

They CAN kill Meredith. They're writers, they can do anything.

But please, don't! I (and millions of others) have too much invested in this show's formula and in Meredith to let that go.

Falling Down

I had a crappy week. Nothing seemed to get done, everything seemed to take forever or go wrong. I had two late days, and pulled a muscle in my shoulder.

First it was a 45 minute drive to work on Monday in snow, wee fun.

Tuesday was an ill-gotten day full of lies.

Wednesday was okay i guess ... good meeting, but nothing else done.

Thursday I had half my ad space taken away and 65 percent of my campaign coverage jepardized. I installed software, updated and generally waited.

Now my computer's buzzing and KoL is taking forever ... and I can't just quit because it's a Muscle Day.

BUT the one saving grace was this quote on my Starbucks cup: "People fall down. Winners get up after they fall, and gold medal winners just get up faster." ~ Bonnie St. John

2006 Season Picks----Part 2: Moment of Truth

Here's the wrap up of my picks:
Week 10: 8-8
Week 11: 9-7
Week 12: 12-5
Week 13: 11-5
Week 14: 9-7
Week 15: 11-5
Week 16: 8-8
Week 17: 9-7

I was 146-108 for a 58 percent accuracy


Actual Record and Playoff seed My Predicitions * = correct record

NFC:
North
Bears 13-3 :1 (13-3:1)*
Packers: 8-8 (6-10)
Vikings: 6-10 (8-8)
Lions: 3-13 (1-15)

South
Saints: 10-6 :2 (4-12)
Panthers: 8-8 (7-9)
Falcons: 7-9 (8-8 :6)
Buccaneers: 4-12 (5-11)

East
Eagles: 10-6 :3 (13-3 :3)
Cowboys: 9-7 :5 (9-7)*
Giants: 8-8 :6 (13-3 :2)
Redskins: 5-11 (5-11)*

West
Seahawks: 9-7 :4 (11-5 :5)
Rams: 8-8 (12-4)
49ers: 7-9 (1-15)
Cardinals: 5-11 (5-11)*

AFC:
North
Ravens: 13-3 :2 (11-5 )
Bengals: 8-8 (12-4 :4)
Steelers: 8-8 (14-2 :2)
Browns: 4-12 (8-8)

South
Colts: 12-4 :3 (15-1 :1)
Titans: 8-8 (0-16)
Jaguars: 8-8 (12-4 :3)
Texans: 6-10 (3-13)

East
Pats: 12-4 :4 (9-7)
Jets: 10-6 :5 (11-5 :5)
Bills: 7-9 (3-13)
Dolphins: 6-10 (9-7)

West
Chargers: 14-2 :1 (7-11)
Chiefs: 9-7 :6 (9-7 :6)*
Broncos: 9-7 (9-7)*
Raiders: 2-14 (0-16)

5 correct records & 7 (out of 12) correct playoff teams

Reflections on 2006

Last year I started a "favorites" list for the previous year. As we put another one behind us, I like this way to reflect and record what made an impact on me. These aren't anything serious and it's not a reflection of the years events .... news programs can do that.

2006 Bests and Favorites:

TV Show: Grey's Anatomy & Family Guy (tie)

New TV Show: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

CD: Let Love In ~ Goo Goo Dolls

Song: Without You Here ~ GGD & 155 (+44) (tie) 155 is a song from Mark Hoppus' new band (+44).

Movie (in theaters): The DaVinci Code (I didn't see many)

Rental: RENT (It changed my CD rotation--I listened to it 45 days straight and the movie makes me cry every time!)

Football player: Packers Aaron Kampman

Football player I wish I could watch more: Saints' Drew Brees

Biggest Surprise: Chad Pennington and the New York Jets

I'll turn the channel if ______ is on: a Jessica Simpson commercial, Two and 1/2 Men and any Nick Lachey song

Celebrity I'm sick of: Mel Gibson

Best Gift Given: Beauty & the Beast Soundtrack to Mom

Best Gift Received: RENT Christmas gift from Mom

Wine: 15 bottles, Favorite: Muscat Cannelli from San Francisco trip that I opened on my year anniversary at work.

Most enjoyable new tradition/habit: Reading the Sunday Comics during Monday night's supper

Commercial: Peyton Manning's MasterCard commercial where he cheers on the regular people ("Rub some dirt on it!")

Traveling: week stay at the Hilton in Chicago and dining 80 stories up.

KoL Moment: Ascending in 15 days--fastest run yet, reaching 500,000 meat & getting a ghost pickle on a stick

Happy New Year everyone! Best wishes for 2007.

Packer Post -- Installment 50

December 21, 2006: Vikings at Packers
Sorry folks, this was aired on the NFL Network, and since we don’t have any form of cable I was out of luck. It’ll be nice for the nice folks in the broadcasting world to work out a deal so the Official Packer stations could share the game with our Central Wisconsin ones so the rest of us could watch the Packers.

Here’s the AP Story…always good to get a win (and SWEEP!) over the Vikings.
http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2006/12/21/2/

* First Quarter: 3-0 ~ Packers *
* Second Quarter: 6-0 ~ Packers *
* Third Quarter: 6-7 ~ Vikings *
* Fourth Quarter: 9-7 ~ Packers *

December 17, 2006: Packers at Lions
DE-Cullen Jenkins starts instead of DE-Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila. Packers start the game with a defensive battle. Jenkins and DT-Colin Cole sack QB-Jon Kitna. Lions recover a Packers fumbled snap, but CB-Al Harris intercepts a tipped pass.

TE-David Martin drops two touchdown passes and Packers settle for a 24-yard field goal. Jenkins finishes the quarter with another sack.

* First Quarter: 3-3 ~ Tie *

CB-Jamar Fletcher intercepts a Favre pass in the redzone. Packers lose a Driver catch to coach’s challenge. TE-Donald Lee gets enough yardage for the first down—15 yards purely from his second effort. Favre to Driver for another first down and Morency scores a touchdown off a 14-yard rush.

* Second Quarter: 10-3 ~ Packers *

A couple of penalties stop a Packers drive and former Packer LB-Paris Lennon intercepts another ball in the end zone.

* Third Quarter: 10-6 ~ Packers *

CB-Dre Bly intercepts Favre in Packer territory, but all the Lions can eek out of it is a K-Jason Hanson field goal. Morency gets the Packer touchdown and Lambeau Leap

Packers rack up six sacks and the win.

* Fourth Quarter: 17-9 ~ Packers *

December 10, 2006: Packers at 49ers
49ers get on the scoreboard first with a 24-yard field goal. RB-Frank Gore broke off a 73-yard run, setting it up. Gbaja-Biamila and S-Marquand Manuel miss tackles as Gore powered his way through.

The Packers offense answered on the next drive, Morency set up good yardage with a rush to the 36. Favre connected to Driver for 23 yards and threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to WR-Ruvell Martin for his first career touchdown.

Special teams come up with a good play as CB-Patrick Dendy downs the Packer punt on the two-yard line. Gore fumbles on the next play and the Packers recover.

* First Quarter: 7-3 ~ Packers *

Green gets the touchdown run.

* Second Quarter: 17-6 ~ Packers *

Collins picks off 49er QB-Alex Smith in the second half. Favre hits Driver on a 68-yard touchdown strike. In his excitement, Favre rushed downfield 68 yards, picked Driver up over his head, bench pressed him and carried him to the sidelines.

The defense gets the ball back for the Packers with a Kampman sack and Hawk interception in the end zone, but the offense is only able to get field goals out of the possessions.

* Third Quarter: 24-13 ~ Packers *

Favre throws a block (that really doesn’t do anything, but it’s the thought that counts) on a 38-yard rush by Morency.

The 49ers take a knee with one minute left in the game.

* Fourth Quarter: 30-19 ~ Packers *

NFL News (but not from today)
Denver Broncos Rookie QB-Jay Cutler was welcomed to the NFL with two fumbles and two interceptions.

Carolina Panthers QB-Jake Delhomme is out for the season with ligament damage in his right thumb, replaced by Chris Weinke.

College News: Ohio State University QB-Troy Smith received 87 percent of the No. 1 votes for the Heisman Trophy, winning by the largest margin in history.

Broken Records
San Diego Chargers RB-LaDanlian Tomlinson scores 26 rushing touchdowns, the new record for the most in a season, eclipsing Seattle Seahawks RB-Shawn Alexander’s record set last year. Tomlinson dubbed “best football player.” (Note: not running back, the man is a powerhouse: runs, catches, throws nothing but touchdowns.)

Atlanta Falcons QB-Michael Vick reached 907 rushing yards—most rushing yards in a season by a quarterback. This continues my belief that Vick is an amazing football player, not so much a complete quarterback.

Falcons K-Morten Anderson scored 2,437 points in his 24-year career—breaking K-Gary Anderson’s record.

New Orleans Saints QB-Drew Brees is on pace for a 4,000+ yard season, and MVP Buzz.

Dallas Cowboys WR-Terrell Owens spit in the face of his friend Falcons DeAngelo Hall in the Cowboy 10 point victory. The incident happened away from the play, Owens said he was frustrated by DeAngelo’s constant smack talk and apologized on the NFL Network—later recanted saying it never happened.

Commentary
The color guys during the Pcaker-49er game questioned the effect Favre’s extended tenure would have on the development of QB-Aaron Rodgers. Their general argument is the front office doesn’t have confidence in Rodgers; otherwise, they’d have put the reigns in his hands.

My opinion is learning behind Brett Favre could never be a hindrance. Look at all the successful quarterbacks to come from behind Favre or any other great quarterback—Tony Romo, a three year back up (not to mention that guy from San Francisco Steve Young) are prime examples.

This is an opportunity to makes young quarterbacks smarter, more able to win games and manage the challenging times when their team is behind. This year Favre was able to help teach the players to stick through it, finish plays and not give up during games. Now they’re learning to win. In a “Win Now” league I don’t know if they have a better chance winning Favre vs. Rodgers—but I think Favre will hang up his cleats when the day comes that he isn’t helping them win.

And put away any thoughts of Favre going to a different team. Like I said, Win Now. If he’d go put on someone else’s colors, he’d have to win. To do that he’d need to learn a new offense, new coaches and new players. There’s no guarantee there’d be “W’s” in his future.

And he knows that.

A Mix of Obligation, Stupidity and Disregard for Others

So here I am again.

As I grow older, I seem to have mixed reactions about the holidays. I love doing the gift-giving and getting together with loved ones. It's the general large gathers of family that I'm not enjoying anymore. We don't go because we can't wait to see people. We go because we have to. And I'm getting sick of that.

I was able to get out of going to Christmas Eve this year. Each year we would go to church and then to Grandma & Grandpa O's for presents and food. Well after I turned 18 the presents dried up--okay that sounds really bad and it's not like I ever got anything good anyway. Last year there wasn't enough chairs so my mom and I stood half the night. Then we got to sit between the fridge and dishwasher. No one said anything to us. Then as we were leaving grandma asked me "do you really liked your hair like that?" No how is work? Congratulations on graduating college, what are your plans for life? Nothing. For whatever reason I've always been lower class in that family.

Now since we've been gathering at the Lions Shelter, Christmas with the K's isn't that fun either. It's always freezing there, too loud, too many kids running around (literally running from one end of the building to the other) and families mostly stay within their own little pack without interacting.

Families are where you feel you belong. I don't feel like that with either group. In fact, I dread the afternoon of Christmas, and can't wait to get home. I love the Kilty side, but would rather it be in a different place or visiting each family separately.

Sorry that's so blue, but sometimes it feels good to expel the truth.

We went shopping today, and the baltent disregard people have for others is just unbelievable. My mom parked in a part of the parking lot that wasn't even a space--I'm just running in quickly, we do it all the time, she said. No freaking way.

Then, in a shopping aisle where there's hardly room for one cart about three idiots have their carts. This was the clearance Christmas stuff so there were about eight people in each aisle plus three carts and no place to move. I mean, seriously people.

I ducked and slithered and glared a few times. I did not elbow anyone and I even said excuse me a few times. But some people are a mix of stupid and inconsiderate. And should be smacked.

Magical Gift Cards of Christmas

So, this is my 101st post. It took a couple of days to finally post again, but no specific writing buds have come to me.

On a KoL note, I finally received a tiny plastic from my Spooky Advent Calendar ~ whoo! It's a Tiny Plastic Gift-Wrapping Vampire.

On a second KoL note, now that the bulk of Crimbo adventuring is done, I'm feeling a little restless. While adventures are still important, they aren't as precious as in a speed run. It's losing it's purpose. I don't know how people never ascend and still keep interest.

I'm starting to look forward to Christmas. I think I did a particulary good job shopping this year, especially for mom, and I can't wait to see if she likes everything.

I had a huge internal conflict (I know, who else thinks like that?) about buying presents for the nieces this year. I haven't seem them recently to know what they like. And the girls are getting to the age that it's harder to buy presents. When little girls are young you can buy them a huge range of toys: barbies, coloring stuff, craft stuff, dolls and all sorts of accesories to go with each of these things.

Now they're becoming teenagers and you can only buy them so much nail polish. Who knows what they listen to, read or are generally intersted in.

Mom gave me a lot of flack last year for giving them gift cards, but Lisa said that was bascially they're favorite gift last year.

I don't want to be the person in their lives giving them gifts that they'll hate or never use. I enjoyed that for 18 years. Jewerly boxes for every birthday and Christmas is enough to make a person a bit jaded.

When I got these gifts where I just had to smile, pretend and say thank you I felt hurt. Hurt that they didn't ask my mom what I wanted. Hurt that they didn't know me. Hurt that they didn't care.

So that's why I get so frustrated when I'm shopping and can't find the perfect present for my loved ones. There was a news report that Miss Manners frowns on giving gift cards. It says I don't know enough to buy something else for you, or that I don't care. This seems to be the constant debate this year. Is a gift card good enough?

I buy gift cards to say I care. I care enough to get you something that you will like and use, not something I think is good for you.

Day 10 -- Quest to Save Crimbo

YAY FOR ME ~~ IT'S MY 100th POST!!

The last time I blogged, I was on Day 4 of my Crimbo Quest. It took one or two days for Phase 3 of Crimboween to unfold. I didn't do much extra adventuring in Linnea's spooky Crimbo Town. I looked on wiki which items I wanted and went back to my other quests after Linnea made those toys for me from what I collected from her minions.

Then, on Day 6 or 7, I ventured back to Crimbo Town ... You decide that now is a good time for another nap. What exactly are you doing that makes you so sleepy, anyways?

You are awakened in the middle of the nap to see three figures standing over you. Well -- two are standing, one seems to be kind of hovering. All three are dressed in black robes, but you see that one’s an average-looking white guy, one’s some kind of golden spider duck, and the hovering one appears to be a squat crimson pig.

“Hey,” the golden spider duck says. “Don’t you think you’ve spent about enough time in the present? It’s time for you to go back to the future!”

“Back to the future?” the squat crimson pig says. “s/he hasn’t even been there yet! How can you go back?”

“Beck to the future?” the average-looking guy responds. “I don’t know if that’s where it’s at.”

“Anyway,” the average-looking guy continues, “you’ve been in Crimbo right-about-now for quite a while. Why don’t you try Crimbo in the not-too-distant future? If you want to rescue Uncle Crimbo, you’d better get on the ball.”

“Some balls are held for charity,” the golden spider duck chimes in.

“Do not taunt happy fun ball,” the pig agrees.

So what you wanna do?

The three figures fade into the dark. One says, "when you awake, you'll be able to visit THE FUTURE!" "INDUSTRY!" shouts another. "Science and technology!" "She blinded me with..."

So now I'm transported to Crimbotown Not-So-Distant Future. Uncle Crimbo had evolved, or maybe was kidnapped and assimilated into Uncle Crimborg. He assimilates machinery into really awesome (but complicated to make) toys. I adventure in the Crimborg Collective Factory and get my ass handed to me several times over by (Killer) Festive Elfbots that assemble weapons, calibrate lasers, weld and apply decals and Rudolphus of Crimborg (think Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer meets RoboCop).

After taking a break from the ass-whooping and continuing with my other adventures, I learn from wiki that the Borg minions level to my stats, so I use the "beaten up" adventuring to collect much of what I need to assimilate the awesome toys from Uncle Crimborg.

Peppermint oil drops and I mix it with fermenting powder. After all this adventuring I indulge myself with this festive holiday spirit and ...

Before you drink the peppermint schnapps, you decide to pour a little out for your homies. The schnapps forms a little puddle on the floor. You look into it and see a desert island with a hammock strung between two palm trees. Suddenly, a deeply tanned arm reaches out of the puddle and grabs the whole flask out of your hand! You hold onto the flask tightly and pull Uncle Crimbo out through the floor.

"Thanks, kid," he says. "I knew you could do it. Well, actually, I was pretty sure you couldn't. But thanks for proving me wrong. See ya on Crimbo Eve!" With that, he lays a finger inside of his nose and rises up into the sky.

About halfway up, Uncle Crimbo yells down, "Hey, you wanna play with my sleigh for a while? Wait, no, I mean literally, kid, geez. I don't need it until Crimbo Eve, so have yourself some fun, you've earned it."

You acquire an item: time sleigh

Whoo! Look at me, saving Crimbo. And that time sleigh is pretty spiffy. I went back to Crimbo Rock to make all the items, and I'm going to do the same with Linnea. Of course, I'm also still battling the borg, trying to assimulate all the toys.

I'm a little disappointed with the Advent Calendar right now, no tiny plastic drops. I've gotten 1 Spooky Eggnogs, 3 Candy Stakes, 4 Ancient Unspeakable Fruitcakes and 2 Gingerbread Horrors.

I have finished all of my Council of Loathing quests, and I'm one muscle point away from becoming Level 10. I'm 14 days into this run, and though I am a little disappointed that I couldn't use all of these awesome new items for a hardcore speed run, maybe I'll be able to get a couple more trophies since I won't be ascending until after Crimbo.

I'll let ya know if anything else unfolds, so far no trophies or outfits discernable from this Crimbo, but there are plenty of days left.

The Crimbo Town of Right About Now

Day 4 of the Quest for Crimbo ... I've gotten some ancient fruitcake and two candy stakes (in case there is ever a vampire living on my tongue) from my Advent Calendar. I figure it's just about time to go to CrimboRock and see if there's anything else cooking in the quest and ...

You decide that now is a good time for a nap. You're not sure why, but you do.
After sleeping soundly for about 10 minutes, you wake up to the sound of a flat, electronic beat playing loudly in your bedroom. You push aside your bed-curtains and look out. Since you don’t have any bed-curtains, and may or may not have a bedroom or a bed, you’re pretty sure you’re dreaming.

You see a shimmery, transparent guy standing in front of two turntables. He doesn’t appear to have a microphone, though. “Greetings, adventurer, he says. “I’m the ghost of Crimbo right-about-now. Greetings, adventurer. I’m the ghost of Crimbo right-about-now. Greetings, adventurer. I’m the ghost of Crimbo right-about-now.”

He stops and thumps himself upside the head. “Sorry, got stuck in a loop there. Anyway, I’m here to tell you that you’ve spent enough time in Crimbo Rock, and you should come to my realm now. If you ever want to save Uncle Crimbo, you’ve got to get with the now, man. Don’t you want to meet Linnea, the Scream Queen? Quit living in the past. Are you ready to go to Crimbo right-about-now? Are you ready to go to Crimbo right-about-now? Are you ready to…”

The ghost smiles and fades away, repeating "When you awake, you can visit Crimbo Right-About-Now. When you awake, you can visit Crimbo Right-About-Now. When you awake..."

When I awoke and went back to the Big Mountains, Crimbo Town of Right About Now was waiting for me. It seems as the Screem Queen has made herself at home.

Lucky for me, her minions ... mummies who tie bows and zombies that ... well I don't know what they do, but the put up a big fight! Anyways, lucky for me, her minions drop well and I was able to collect a spooky frank to make and eat some spooky franks and beans ...

You start to chow down on the franks and beans, but before you can take a bite the plate levitates into the center of the room. A deeply tanned arm reaches through a magical portal and grabs the plate. "Thanks, kid," Uncle Crimbo's voice says. "You're getting even closer."

Until tomorrow ...

Packer Post -- Installment 49

November 12, 2006: Packers at Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are first in the league against the rush, which could have proven to be a tough ride when the Packers rely on establishing the run.

QB-Brett Favre, under pressure by the blitz, steps into the pocket and delivers a bullet to WR-Donald Driver for 22 yards. RB-Ahman Green can’t convert on a third and inches and Packers take the points from K-Dave Rayner’s 28-yard field goal.

LB-Brady Poppinga sacks Vikings QB-Brad Johnson forcing a fumble; Packers recover on the Vikings 22 yard line. Green rushes for 19 yards and a first down, but drops a touchdown pass. RB-Noah Herron is caught in the backfield for a loss of two, but they give the all back to him and he moves in for a five yard touchdown run.

* First Quarter: 10-0 ~ Packers *

Johnson connects with WR-Bethel Johnson and CB-Al Harris blows coverage, letting Bethel Johnson go deep with no one on him. On the next Viking series, LB-Nick Barnett missed a tackle on a third down and Bethel Johnson makes a one-handed catch on the 30. Johnson scrambles and completes to RB-Chester Taylor, LB-AJ Hawk’s tackle causes a fumble, but WR-Billy McMullen falls on it for the touchdown.

Favre goes deep but overthrows WR-Greg Jennings. WR-Ruvell Martin drops a pass and the Packers punt. Vikings start on their own 15 because of an illegal block on the punt return. Johnson hits WR-Bethel Johnson for a big gain that’s increased by a holding call on Harris. The drive self-destructs when holding on the offense creates a 2nd and 16 and TE-Jermaine Wiggens drops a 3rd down pass.

Favre lasers the ball to WR-Greg Jennings for the first down. Green pushes the ball forward three yards and Favre hits Driver for an 82 yard touchdown pass. In Favre’s true fashion, he rushes 82 yards down the field to pick up Driver and carry him to the sidelines.

* Second Quarter: 17-14 ~ Packers *

Packers offense sputters in the third quarter, but are able to get in the red zone for a Rayner field goal that bounced in after hitting the left upright.

T-Mark Tauscher is injured and leaves the field.

Packers defense holds strong, shutting the Vikings out.

* Third Quarter: 20-14 ~ Packers *

Packers defense roughs the Vikings up. Barnett sacks Johnson and on the next Vikings drive, CB-Patrick Dendy intercepts Johnson, and Packers get three points off the turnover.

Vikings K-Ryan Longwell hits a 34-yard field goal. Vikings attempt an onside kick, but are off sides and are forced to re-kick, which then goes out of bounds.

* Fourth Quarter: 23-17 ~ Packers *

November 19, 2006: Patriots at Packers

Patriots WR-Troy Brown is playing nickel back, because of all the injuries in their secondary. Doing double duty on the field, but it doesn’t show in his play.

On their first drive the QB-Tom Brady connects to TE-Daniel Grahm for the touchdown.

Packers recover a RB-Corey Dillion fumble on the Pats 30 yard line, but Rayner misses a 44-yard field goal.

* First Quarter: 0-7 ~ Patriots *

Poppinga gives the Pats easy yardage for a first and goal on an interference call and Dillion takes it in for a yard.

Brady connects with WR-Reche Caldwell for 54 yards and another touchdown.

Packers offense makes some big plays but can’t string any together on the same drive.

Favre sacked and lands on throwing shoulder, leaves game holding his wrist.

QB-Aaron Rodgers walks on field to a chorus of cheers, but doesn’t do any better.

* Second Quarter: 0-21 Patriots *

Rodgers broke his foot in the third quarter, but continued to play through the fourth.

* Third Quarter: 0-28 ~ Patriots *

* Fourth Quarter: 0-35 ~ Patriots *

Packers defense has 31 sacks, LB-Aaron Kampman leads the league with 10. Rookie LB-AJ Hawk has 90 tackles.

November 27, 2006: Packers at Seahawks

* First Quarter: 7-3 ~ Packers *
* Second Quarter: 14-12 ~ Packers *
* Third Quarter: 21-19 ~ Packers *
* Fourth Quarter: 34-24 ~ Seahawks *

I didn't get to see the game ... check out the AP Story from Packers.com: http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2006/11/27/2/

December 3, 2006: New York Jets at Packers

Packers are the youngest team in the league and show it in the 38-10 loss to the Jets. The bright side of this lop-sided match is the Jets didn’t leave Lambeau Field with a shutout.

Packers lead the league with most points allowed in a game and showcased it with 31 points scored in the first half.

LB-Nick Barnett’s broken hand that kept him out of the Seahawk game limited him against the Jets, incurring penalties and missed tackles.

Favre turned the ball over twice in the first half, a fumble and an interception.

Jets QB-Chad Pennington spread the ball around to several receivers and got his running back active in the scoring.

Rayner missed a 40-yard field goal.

The defense isn’t being effective because of the Jets constant offensive shifting there is motion until they set before the snap causing general confusion on coverage.

Jets scored on every possession in the first half.

* First Quarter: 0-10 ~ Jets *

* Second Quarter: 0-31 ~ Jets *

Packers special teams is playing better, consistently giving them field position on the 25-35 yard line.

Green and RB-Vernand Morency put together a solid drive capped off with a 34 yard field goal. Some fans booed for the Packers settling for a field goal, but Packers needed to get points on the board to zap the shut out.

CB-Charles Woodson picked off Pennington’s deep pass, but the Packers don’t capitalize.

Corey Williams and Kampman pressure Pennington for an incomplete pass and the next down, Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila hits him and CB-Patrick Dendy intercepts it.

Favre hits Driver for a touchdown. Driver does the Lambeau Leap but all Favre celebrates with is a grim smile.

In a huge momentum swing, Packers attempt an onside kick, the officials rule that Dendy touched it within ten yards, making it a re-kick situation. The replay showed 56 touching it before the Packers and McCarthy challenges it. Favre points to the big screen and takes the offense on the field while they review it.

Unfortunately, the Packers can’t keep the momentum in their favor and go three and out.

* Third Quarter: 10-31 ~ Jets *

Jets score one more time, and Packers don’t put anything together for another score.

* Fourth Quarter: 10-38 ~ Jets *

NFL NEWS

A new rule is instated: if a coach challenges an unchallengeable penalty, the team will be charged a time out or lose 15 yards (if there are no time outs remaining).

Patriot’s coach Bill Bellichek was on the field screaming at the officials about a call. The next week, the NFL issued a Memo reminding the coaches that they are to stay in the Coaching Box, which is between the 32 yard lines.

San Francisco Great Bill Walsh announced he has leukemia.

Dallas Cowboys QB-Tony Romo is from Wisconsin and went to college in Eastern Illinois.

Atlanta Falcon QB-Michael Vick gives the dirty bird to the home crowd after losing to the New Orleans Saints, and is fined $20,000.

Denver Broncos QB-Jake Plummer is benched for Jay Cutler.

New York Giants blow a three-touchdown lead with ten minutes to go in the fourth quarter. A rookie defensive end doesn’t wrap up QB-Vince Young, which would have ended the game. The next series instead of throwing the pass out of bounds, QB-Eli Mannning lobs it up for an interception, returned for a touchdown.

No holiday spirit shown on Thanksgiving Day by the personnel of Detroit Lions stadium when they announce Miami Dolphins QB-Joey Harrington to the tune of “Piano Man.” The Dolphins specifically told the Lions staff NOT to announce Harrington during on field warm-ups so he would not incur boos. Announcers around the league label this a disgraceful and classless act.

Records
Minnesota Viking’s QB-Brad Johnson is the oldest quarterback in the league, with Brett Favre coming in second.

Indianapolis Colts are first team since 1929-30 Packers to go 8-0 two seasons in a row.

New England Patriots two game slump is the first time the Patriots have lost two consecutive games in four years.

Buffalo Bills QB-JP Lossman throws for 215 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.

Injuries
Washington Redskins RB-Clinton Portis breaks his wrist, is out for the season.

Baltimore Ravens LB-Ray Lewis is out for three games.

Philadelphia Eagles QB-Donovan McNabb tears his right ACL—is out for the season. Jeff Garcia takes over the helm.

New Orlean Saints WR-Joe Horn out for a couple games.

Returns
- KC-Trent Green back
- Oak-Aaron Brooks back

Again, what’s up with the third Uniform color?!
- Panthers light powder blue
- Titans powder blue
- Giants Red Jerseys
- Bills have odd helmets

Crimboween Days 2 & 3

I return to the Kingdom of Loathing for my daily alottment of adventuring. I wander back to the Big Mountains to help Uncle Crimbo. I visit the simple tool making cave and gather 2 sticks, 1 stringy sinew and 1 big leaf. This was no simple task, mind you, the elves just weren't dropping what I needed. But finally, I visted Ugh Crimbo (featured at left) and made a cigar and fire(because apparently Uncle Crimbo has a smoking habit). I go back to my inventory to combine fire and unlit cigar ...

You hold up the lit cigar, take a puff, and blow a square smoke ring. It hangs in the air like a window, and through it you can see what looks like a tropical island. Suddenly, Uncle Crimbo reaches through the window and grabs the cigar! "Thanks, kid," he says. "You're on the right track."

I also was able to piece together a new familiar ... the toothed pet rock (yet another familiar I need to name).

I also put together a combat item (a Yo). I'm not going it use it, because zapping a yo-yo produced a snowy owl, so this might have a similiar result.

Of course, I'll need to get a wand before I can even think about zapping, and that is far in my future. During the course of this, I was in a battle to defeat Baron Von Ratsworth, and he kicked my ass up, down, across, sideways, diagonal and every other which way he could. So in the process of trying to defeat him, I spent way too much meat on healing items, so my purse is now quite light.

Today I gave up, conceeding that having a bartender in a box sooner is much more important that getting the monocle--though it pains me to turn off the rat faucet without it.

However, other than my meat situation, I am right on track with everything else. I have each cavern of the Bat Hole revealed and my Knob Harem Girl Outfit + perfume. I figure I'll investigate which setting of the Candian Mind Control Device I want to defeat them at, take a Tomato Reagent Potion and make quick work of both these foes.

I'm at Level 7, and finally was able to get my Hat from the Dark & Dank Cave. Reagents, Meat and Cocktail Crafting Accessories are my general focus until the next part of Crimbo unfolds.

So now I'm waiting for the next part of the Crimbo Quest to continue, and going abut my merry little way. I have realized that I won't be able to attempt a speed run this time around. I don't want to ascend mid-Crimbo season, it might mess everything up.

Happy Adventuring to All and to All a Good Sunday!

The Adventurer who Saved Crimbo

Oh no--Uncle Crimbo is missing and adventurers around the Kingdom have received their advent calendar. But wait! There's a lonely Crimbo Elf in the Mountains where Crimbo Town had been.


A quest unfolds ... huzzah! Come with me as I chronicle it for you (and partake in it myself--this has to be some world exclusive exciting thing (if you ignore wiki))

As you're walking around the Big Mountains, looking for Crimbo Town, you notice a sad, sniffling little Crimbo Elf. He spots you, and says, "Man, this is ridiculous. I never dreamed something like this could happen? It's almost Crimbo time, and where's Uncle Crimbo? He's been bewitched, I tell you, bewitched by that evil Scream Queen. It's like a bad dream, man."

"I thought she banished him to a dreamy desert island," you say.

"Oh yeah, banished, sure. Nah, she scrambled his brain with some weird spell! He's on a dream vacation. He doesn't even remember that he's Uncle Crimbo. He's going to luaus and wearing brightly-colored shorts, living the dream, and meanwhile the Scream Queen's taking over Crimbo. You've got to find the three magical things that will remind him who he is."

"You mean, like, candy canes and gingerbread?"

The elf laughs. "You don't know him very well, do you?"

"Where should I start?" you ask.

"I wouldn't dream of telling you that," the elf replies.


I return to my campsite and punch my Advent Calendar: Spooky Eggnog (the secret ingredient is Spooky Nutmeg) and a lump of chocolate. After using my chocolate, I learn that it was really a lump of chocolate covered potato--yummy.

Back at my campsite I rest on the ground (regretfully, as I am only Level 5 and working my way towards more adventures).

Nightmare 1

You wake up in the middle of the night and see a bright light outside of your bed curtains. Since you don't have any curtains (and may or may not have a bed), you're pretty sure you're dreaming. You hope it's not curtains for you, though.

You push back the curtains and the bright light solidifies into a ghost! He has the requisite long, white robe, but some decidedly non-requisite dreadlocks hanging down past his shoulders. He gazes piercingly at you and speaks.

"Hey, mon," he says. "I be Marley's Ghost. I come to tell ya that tonight ye will be visited by tree spirits."

"Tree spirits?" you ask. "You mean those fruity little things in Canadia?"

"Nah, mon," he says. "One, two, tree -- tree spirits."

"Is this about me realizing I'm a horrible person and resolving to change, and ending up all giddy as a schoolboy?" you ask. "Because, if so, I'd rather just stay horrible. It doesn't bother me, except when people move my chair."

"Nah, mon." The ghost answers. "Uncle Crimbo's gone missing, and these tree spirits are going to help yah rescue him. The first is de ghost of Crimbo Way, Way Past. The second is the ghost of Crimbo Right-about-now. You'll like him, he's a funk soul brother. The third is the Ghost of Crimbo In The Not-Too-Distant Future. You'll see the first one the next time you fall asleep."
"Seriously," you say, "I don't really want to bother with any ghosts, man. I mean, I don't even have my proton pack."

"Expect the first one the next time you fall asleep," the ghost repeats, and starts to fade away, singing some song about martial bison.

Nightmare 2

You wake up to the sound of someone banging a bone against a rock. Well, you don't know that's what the sound is until you get up and look, but that's what it is.

You see a shimmery, transparent caveman (who may or may not have just saved a lot of money on his car insurance), dressed in furs and squatting on your floor, pounding said rock with said leg-bone.

"Me Ugh. Gwee tonga nala tonga macha pooka." he says, gesturing and grunting at you.

"You're Ugh, the ghost of Crimbo Way, Way Past, and you want me to go to the Big Mountains, where Crimbotown was last year, and I'll be magically transported to CrimboRock, which is Crimbotown thousands of years ago?"

"Ugh. Gwee zug fech haraka ool."

"And you say that once I'm there, I can fight monsters, make toys, and find part of the magic spell for rescuing Uncle Crimbo?"

"Ugh," the caveman says, nodding his assent.

Wow, I wish I could speak Caveman.

Now I trek back to the Mountains to behold Crimbo Town of yore, as I get closer I realize that it looks like a Christmas Tree, hmmm, fancy that.

I make quick visits to the Toy-Making Cave and the Eating Cave and spend about 5 adventures in the Simple Tool-Making Cave.

Even though Uncle Crimbo is lost, I must still remember the other inhabitants of Loathing, there are rats over running the Typical Tavern (and delaying my bartender in a box), the Boss Bat is making a rukus in the Bat Hole, the Goblin King is terrorizing Cob Knob and there's an unspeakable foe in the Dark & Dank Sinister Cave.

So for now I'm going to eat and drink my fill and return tomorrow on a muscle day to help Uncle Crimbo and save Crimboween.