My week in review...

[fenchurch]

I officially fail at keeping up with my New Year's goals... I know I never posted them (which is actually the first symptom of failing one of them, now that I think about it), but I still hoped to keep them going. So far, I lose at:

1) Updating my LJ on a regular basis (and I don't mean just filling out silly quizzes).
2) Remembering to send something out for the birthdays of friends and families.
3) Read one real book a week.

1) I even compose elaborate entries in my head when I'm away from my computer... it's just that when I do get a chance to sit here and type, I either forget entirely what I wanted to say, or I get sucked into some other time-wasting computer-based endeavor *cough*LordOfTheRingsOnline*cough* (more on that later).

2) I did pretty well for about the first month and then it all fell apart. The worst part is that I even take note of birthdays with enough time to actually do something about them, and then get distracted by something shiny and forget all about it until it's too late. Heck, I'd even planned on sending out some fun little Valentines cards to some of my friends this year... which went absolutely nowhere. There's got to be something I can do to make sure I stay on top of these things... it's not for lack of a desire to do it, that's for sure.

3) Somewhere along the way, I drifted away from books and started reading and rereading way too much fanfic. All I can say is that there are certain things I like to get out of reading that I'm able to get in large doses from quite a few of the fanfic authors I enjoy. As a consequence, my Teetering Pile has gotten fairly stagnant... Heck, I still haven't even read the last Harry Dresden book. I bought that thing the day it was released and I still haven't managed to really get started with it... and the next book is due out in just a few months. I think I'm going to try that 50 books in a year thing (50bookchallenge), if for no other reason than to give myself some deadlines to help keep up with the reading. It's so stupid, because I still LOVE to read and I even still love to read books... I'm not sure what the problem is.

So, my week or so in review: Obviously, I didn't end up going to help out with my aunt... one of my cousins was able to take some time out from his classes to stay with her after my mom left, and by the time he went home, my aunt was capable of handling things herself when my uncle was gone during the day. So, no trip to Utah for me. Yay!

tomte and gidgiddoni were up here for a visit about a week ago... so Gid could go through an interview loop up at the company where rackham works. And the really big, squee-worthy news is that he got the job!! Tomte is coming back up later this week to do some house/apartment hunting... and with any luck they'll be all moved up here again by the first part of March!!! Squee!!!!!! I've mentioned it before, but Tomte is my oldest online friend (or perhaps I should rephrase that as the friend I've known the longest that I first met online). Yep, we first met online nearly 17 years ago. Wow.

I'm so excited to have both of them back in the area! It's been way too long.

It's actually been a busy time for visitors... my mom and step-dad drove up from La Grande this last weekend to visit and to do some shopping. They finally have a house again for the first time in several years, after living in a travel trailer for most of that time, and are finding a number of things they still need to flesh out a household. So, we had an all-day trip to Ikea on Saturday where they attempted to buy everything in the store. Okay, not quite, but they couldn't have fit anything else in the back of their truck without strapping it to the top of the shell!

One of the fun things about having my mom visit is that she always brings Daisy, her miniature Dachshund, with her. Daisy is the cutest dog in the whole world, really smart (she's very good at problem solving), and for some reason she thinks I'm the best person on the face of the planet. It's all a little bit strange considering how rarely she gets to see me, but she'll get all hyper and excited just seeing me standing outside the truck when they pull into the driveway. We actually suspect that she can't tell my mom and me apart... we do have very similar voices and, judging by experiences we've had with previous pets, we apparently have very similar scents... so it's possible that in Daisy's world, my mom occasionally has the ability to split herself in two. It probably also helps that I stayed with my mom for a few weeks right after they got Daisy as a puppy -- it was just a few weeks after my mom's car accident, so I often had to have Daisy sleep with me because my mom was dealing with a bit too much pain. Still, it's almost as though she bonded with both of us. Very weird.

Now, as promised, I'll rave a bit about Lord of the Rings Online, since we've finally been released from the NDA!!! Yay!!! I've been hooked on this game since I first started playing last October, in Beta 1. The graphics are gorgeous, it has a fantastic soundtrack, there are quests, monsters, deeds and wonderful cut-scenes... it's not just all hacking and slashing (not by a long-shot), there are puzzles to solve (as part of larger quests), tasks to accomplish and crafting skills to be learned. Oh! And a fully integrated audio chat system that makes group play so much more fun and interesting! Fair warning: I'll be gushing about it a lot in the next few weeks!

Comments

[kazzy-cee.livejournal.com]

I had such good intentions of keeping up with my Lj friends birthdays, and I've just been hopeless at doing it! I need a reminder about a week or so before - especially when people don't live in the same country as me.... :(

On the other hand the Lord of the Rings game sounds great. I must warn my children about it.

[rosiewook.livejournal.com]

It's so stupid, because I still LOVE to read and I even still love to read books... I'm not sure what the problem is.

I've been having the same issues. But I think I'm starting to come out of it. For me, it was getting too sucked into TV. So turning it off helped.

It might just be fanfic for you? Who knows?

[sadbhyl.livejournal.com]

Oh! And a fully integrated audio chat system that makes group play so much more fun and interesting!

You know, I haven't actually tried the in-game chat. Mydeira and I always use YIM voice instead, a carryover from our CoH playing. We really need to test that out sometime.

And you know, I keep forgetting you're on the other coast. We have to plan a weekend time to get together and play. What about Friday night ET or Sunday? And I hate to ask, but what level are you guys at? I *think* Myfanwy's hit 10, but I'm not sure...

[sdwolfpup.livejournal.com]

I am so with you on #2. I even bought little V-Day cards but they're too hard to mail so I was stumped. It's sad. Heh.

I am so intrigued by LotR Online! We're playing Guild Wars still and loving it. Is LotR Online going to be a monthly pay game like WoW?

[fenchurche.livejournal.com]

am so with you on #2. I even bought little V-Day cards but they're too hard to mail so I was stumped. It's sad. Heh.

I've still got several boxes of BtVS valentines that I thought would be fun to send out... maybe next year!

Is LotR Online going to be a monthly pay game like WoW?

It is... but they've got some nifty options for a "Founder's Account" (people who sign up within the first month). One is an option to pay about $5 less than the regular monthly fee for as long as you keep your account and the other is for a lifetime membership for one flat fee... which is the one we're planning to take (we're saving our pennies now). Considering we've been playing one of their other games, Asheron's Call, for around seven years, odds are pretty good we'll be in it for the 17 months (or whatever it is) to make the one time fee worthwhile!

I actually played in the Beta for Guild Wars, as well (technically, I believe we first got in during the tail end of Alpha) and liked it, but not well enough to keep playing... although rackham has been known to still play from time to time. We were both in the Beta for WoW, as well, but it didn't really grab either of us.

BTW, Open Beta for LOTRO is supposed to start toward the end of March, I believe... I'll keep an eye out for info on it, in case you want to give it a try before it "officially" goes online.

[fenchurche.livejournal.com]

The one problem I have with the in-game chat is that you have to remember to go in and turn it on for every single character... you can't just turn it on for one and have it work for all of them. VERY annoying.

We should definitely see about meeting up in game!! I think my characters on Meneldor are all between 15 and 21, and the two I have on Brandywine are, I believe, 8 and 10 at the moment.

Some of the people I play with have characters up over 30... but that's because they've actually been playing the ones that they speed-leveled to 20 after the last character wipe. I only did that with one character, who I haven't played much at all (playing from the beginning is just way too much fun).

[fenchurche.livejournal.com]

I'm not even keeping up with birthdays of people I know IRL! I'm just disgusted that it didn't even take a month before I started to slip this year.

On the other hand the Lord of the Rings game sounds great. I must warn my children about it.

Definitely! It's a whole lot of fun... and Turbine (the game's developer) is really good about constantly updating content, so there will be fun new things getting added on a regular basis. If they want to take a look, the official website is here: Lord of the Rings Online (http://lotro.turbine.com/).

[fenchurche.livejournal.com]

Yep. I have had some luck with e-books (I can put them on my PDA, which makes them tons easier to haul around with me), but it's often hard to find electronic copies of the books I want to read.

[tomte.livejournal.com]

Woohoo! Very excited about the impending move. I talked to a guy today about the house I mentioned, and might be able to have a look at it when I come up.

And I'm still waiting for the "Great Snarker in the Sky" account for LOTRO. :)

[sadbhyl.livejournal.com]

I came in that much too late to get to do the level jump. Which is fine on the one hand because I hadn't had much chance to explore the lower levels, but kind of sucks in that I haven't seen any of the higher content yet. Well. I got lost accidentally in Meluinen at level 12, but running for your life screaming hysterically doesn't really count as experiencing the content. I just got Sax to 16 last night, and she's my highest, so it seems like we're about on par.

And I really need a LotRO icon...

[sadbhyl.livejournal.com]

Brandywine crashed, so I'm on Meneldor tonight. I'm playing Myfanwy if you want to find me.

[jerusha]

Re: the book thing, I'm the same way. I haven't stopped buying books, but I write and read way too much fanfic to have much time to read a real book. I have been trying to read more, though.

[sdwolfpup.livejournal.com]

I would appreciate that, thanks!

Birthdays

[spacebumby.livejournal.com]

I not only got a birthday card from you, it arrived before my actual birthday! It was a nice surprise. Get back to reading real books, woman, or we might run out of things to talk about. (hah)