Okay, so it's not technically a lake, but you wouldn't know it to look at the overhead views. The whole state is flooding, since we have enough rivers that it looks like veins on a map. 55 of our 99 counties have been declared disaster areas, Homeland Security is here, FEMA is here, and reporters are everywhere.

I and my family are fine. The suburb I live in doesn't flood, since it has no rivers or lakes running through it. Thank goodness for small blessings. And the water supply for the metro is good, since after the floods of '93, then spent 10 million bucks upgrading the levees and stuff so the treatment plant looks like an island surrounded by a lake. If you want to see pictures and read things about what is going on, here are some links:

http://www.kcci.com/index.html

http://www.whotv.com/

http://www.woitv.com/

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage

I will write more about these floods later, but right now I just wanted to ease the minds of those who were worrying.

You know, after reading all the blogs about people leaving and how the site has changed, I have been doing some thinking on things. The fight on the Flack thread was indeed a pivotal moment in changing the friendships and lives of many people, and for that I am truly sorry. I jumped in to the defense of a friend, which I woud happily do again, if I felt the need. I was having issues of my own back then, which are better now, and perhaps that affected my judgement.

I have not been around the boards much myself, for a very long time, so I can understand people saying how things have changed. That fight made me lose my taste for stalking for a long time, and I am only now starting to maybe reconsider starting up again. Maybe. But you know, those of you who are leaving, perhaps it won't be forever. Perhaps you may just reduce your frequency. I have gained and lost many internet friends over the years, on various different sites, including World of Warcraft, some of them never to be found ever again, with me left wondering where they vanished to and why they left.

I guess I'm trying to say, don't judge the people who leave too harshly. Miss them, if you must, but don't be too saddened. Like life, people come and people go. I have many people in my life that I cared deeply about, some of whom I have never been able to contact after losing touch with them, even with the aid of the internet. Life goes on, new friends come and go.

We must teach the new arrivals to the site the rules, be kind to them, let them become new friends to fill the void left by old ones. In time, they may become just as cherished as the old ones who have left. For some of us old timers, change is difficult, but life is about change, and we must learn to cope as best we can.

Again, I am truly sorry for all the lives that got irrevocably changed by that fight. But perhaps we all learned a few things about each other we wish we hadn't. Take care, everybody, and know that I am still around, for the few people who probably care about such things - you know who you are - and I'll be seeing you around sometime.

R.I.P. Riker

June 23, 1999 - April 4, 2008

Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...

Farewell, Old Man. We all loved you and will miss you horribly.

Just a quick hello to say I'm not dead. I haven't been all that busy either, but I have had many things to deal with over the past two months, and I am still dealing with some of them. Let's just say it's better for me to be staying off the boards. That way I don't wind up saying or doing something I will regret later. I haven't forgotten about the rpg, I just have nothing to post about at the moment. That's really the only thread I keep up with anymore. I no longer stalk, for reasons that really don't matter anymore, so anybody who wants my locations can have them. Really, I don't mind. I just have too much going on in my life right now to be able to deal with the online community, and I don't see it improving at all in the near future, since some changes in my life are fairly permanent. I keep up when I can, but my heart's not in it right now, frankly. I'll try to do an rpg post at some point, as soon as i figure out something to write about. For those of you who have me on your watch lists, I apologize, but I'm a pretty boring watch. Take care of yourselves, everybody. For those of you who tagged me (STACEY), I'm afraid I don't feel much like playing right now, but perhaps at some point I will play and pick some others to tag.

Merry Christmas to everybody. I hope you got all you wanted. My holiday had ups and downs as usual. Some things changed for me over the holidays, some for the good, some for the bad. What they were doesn't really matter, what matters is that I wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Okay, I know this is late, but things have been...interesting around here, which I won't go into details now about, because I'm too tired. Perhaps over Christmas break I'll feel like it. For now, here are the long awaited house pictures. And no, we are not unpacked yet. For reasons I will explain later.

Yes, you heard me right, my dog Riker is a pervert. I swear he must have been a dirty old man in a previous life. See, he enjoys watching women bathe and go to the bathroom and get dressed and undressed. Not men, only women. The other night, I was going to shower. I tried to get the dog to leave the bathroom without any luck. My husband said "He wants to stay in the bathroom! Let him stay!" So I roll my eyes and get in the tub to shower. No sooner do I do so then I see a spotted head pushing its way past the shower curtain, sending shampoo bottles everywhere. "Get out of the shower!" I say, and he does, but he lays down RIGHT OUTSIDE the tub. I can see him lying there, pouting. I finish up my shower, pull back the curtain, and there he is, licking my pajamas.

I yell "Stop licking my pajamas!" and grab them away from him. He looks at me like, "What's the problem?" So, I put on my pajamas and go into the bedroom, dog following. He climbs right up on the bed. My husband is in there watching tv. I complain to him, tell him what happened. He looks at the dog, looks at me, shrugs and says "He has the same taste as I do, what's the problem?"

Me: "He must have been a dirty old man in another life."

Him: "He's a dirty old man in this life. Next."

Can you FEEL the eyeroll?

Riker, the pervert in question

For those of you who have been waiting for news (some of you already know), we finally found a townhouse we love and can afford and we will be taking possession of it November 16th. Two weeks! The frantic packing and organizing and cleaning has begun. We are so excited we can hardly stand it. It will be great to finally have a place that we can call ours. It is within walking distance of the library, the aquatic center, 2 parks, a couple of ponds for the dog, and some great walking/biking trails for us to utilize. It is an end unit at the back of the complex, so privacy is excellent. Plus, there is a bus stop a short distance away. It's all good! We can hardly wait to get in there and start arranging things the way we like them.

Of course, the old dog is in panic mode already with all the boxes sitting around. He will be whining and crying until we move, and then for about two weeks afterwards he'll be whining and crying and begging to go home. He absolutely loathes change. The little dog will love it, and the cat will be upset. The birds will enjoy their new view. It should certainly be an exciting, yet incredibly busy time, since we all have to hold down full-time jobs at the same time, and hubby is going out of town for 3 days the week after next, so we won't have him around to lug the heavy stuff.

Basically, we'll take possession, move some things over the next evening, the movers will be taking the large furniture over on that Saturday, and then Sunday, a bunch of our friends are coming over to help us move all our boxes and other goodies. I am going to do my best to get some pictures of the place to post for people to see and for people at work before we start filling the place up with furniture and boxes.

Well, this is enough for now. I'll try and post more about the house later.

Okay, ladies, since the OOC thread is already gone, we can use my blog to discuss things. We need opinions on what to do, since we obviously aren't going to get to stay on our home. We can stay and play on the games thread, and tell our readers where to find us, or we can make a new home somewhere and play there. There are places we can create rpgs or Alex may be able to get the LG spot opened up for us. Supposedly it's not difficult to use, and who knows, we may expand our readership. So, opinons, players? And readers, you are welcome to offer yours as well. Please, ladies, let's not fight and get upset. Or, if everybody wishes, we can just let the rpg die, but I'm not sure any of us are ready for that.

Apparently we're pinned. That means we get to stay!

We can go back to using the OOCness where we need it in the rpg, or I can just leave my blog open for it and just keep putting up new ones. It's up to you guys.

Hey, guys, I just noticed in the TOS that if we should get moved to the games thread, we can have a link posted on the forum so people can find it. That's an option if we have to use it. And if you want, maybe we can get a link posted to the OOC thread so we can still use it.

No News of the Weird Today. I just have a few things to say:

Looking for houses sux. Nothing but headaches. And also...family does not rocks. It sux. At least, mine does. It just clarified for me that I have exactly two people in my family and that I'm going to die old, alone and probably broke. Perhaps even on the street. Oh well.

I'm done now.