it's not like it's the greatest game i've ever played. and once you get into a pattern or two, the game doesn't change much. in art as in life, i worship at the altar of tech and science. but somehow, i can't stop playing this game.

i need to put some parental controls on my xbox ;)

i live in the desert. i think i said that. most people who don't live in the desert assume that the desert has a "dry heat." as with all things, heat is relative, my friends. today it is 102 degrees with 35% humidity. the humidity is rising as the afternoon storm clouds roll in. in another couple of hours it will be 104+/- and the sky will be black with heavy, wet clouds. the desert is only dry in the dry season. there are two wet seasons - one occurs for a few weeks around the new year. it is cold and wet. not the kind of slushy, sleety cold and wet you get in other places. it's just cold rain with the occassional hail storms. once or twice a year, snow flakes will fall but they don't stick around long. it is pretty cool to see the sahuaro cacti dusted with snow though.

right now is the summer rainy season. dust storms, lightening storms, rain, hail and mini cyclones called "dust devils," vie for the attention of the meteorologists. come war, plague, polygamist children or space aliens, we don't pay much attention - desert dwellers watch the news to see what's up with the weather. and today, it is hot.

i cycle. i think i've said that. on the days i'm not biking, i run. so, like 3 days a week, i bike and 3 days, a week i run. on friday nights i meet a group of people for a 5-mile run/walk. there's some pretty nice hiking around here too. because, if you're used to it, the dry heat can be pretty pleasant. as long as it stays under, say, 106, and you're drinking plenty of water and you've got a hat on, you can pretty much do whatever you want. (it should be, a cool hat, you know, like a baseball cap or one of those jungle ones, not a "funny" hat. no lamp shades, jester's jingles, wizard points, etc. i'm all about the "funny" hats, but they won't help you with the sun). with the right shade and the right breeze, a dry 106 degrees can feel like 96. but when it's over 100 degrees with the humidity rising, that's just hot.

i went biking this morning and i was dripping after about 30 seconds. on a day like this, you just can't drink enough. i've got a camelpack and an insulated bottle mounted to my frame, but it doesn't help that much. neither did all the vodka i had last night. went to see the Dark Knight at midnight. had a late dinner and drinks first. it was a rough morning. i'm dehydrated. and it's hot. (i'm pretty sure i said that). oh, and i forgot my lipbalm and managed to sunburn my lips. did you know you could do that? all of the sudden my hat advice seems a little thin ... :D

hi! i'm back. i like that i was an assassin and the job went wrong. that's a good one. i'll go with that.

my excuse? i had to get into grad school. it's like a marathon only with brain blisters instead of footie blisters. seriously. i got a little overwhelmed with my own insecurities about being smart enough, talented enough, strong enough, etc. i know this guy who tells everyone he's as gifted as Einstein. he's an ass. and i'm pretty sure Einstein didn't wander around telling everyone how freakin' brilliant he was. he was too busy, you know, inventing Calculus and Quantum Physics to have time to hang out in the local coffee shop trying to pick up girls by gloating about his own genius. does that work? can't imagine it works. sure i like smart guys, but i'll take one with a work ethic and a good sense of humor over an eogmaniac any day... that guy really bugs me. plus, i just want a coffee... don't make me sort you out. wow that was a serious digression.

there was a point here and it was that i wish i had a little bit more sense of myself. i don't want to be a big egotistcal blowhard who can clear a room in 30 seconds flat. but i have a 4.0 GPA (we're on a +/- system, so you know, i had and A- in Literacy Theory and an A+ in Holocaust Representations so it kind of evens out) so, you know, it would be great to just be able to relax a little and focus all my energies on research and writing instead of bleeding off all this plasma on worrying and fretting.

anyways, i'm back. missed you.

i wish i could tell you that i'm off on some very cool backpacking trip in central america. but alas, i'm swamped with school projects and stuff. i might bounce in once in awhile to make sure you all are still here - does me good to see the friendly faces, uh, er, avatars. at any rate, it will all be over by early next week, so i'll be back then. luv y'all.

so, it's been said by someone here who shall not be named (ZD) that i play too much Oblivion. yeah. i know. i do. but when my game got all screwed up, i decided to start over with a new character. stubborn to the point of lethal - that's me.

my baby sweater is going pretty well... it's a mandarin style jacket knit in double-seed stich in a medium green, kettle-dyed, fair-trade cotton yarn. if you know anything about textiles, you'll think that's cool. so far it has a back and the two front panels with the mandarin shaping. i'm working on a sleeve. if you're keeping track, that means i have to finish the left sleeve, knit the right sleeve, then sew up the seams and add some cute buttons. ah, my inner domestic goddess jumps out with her sword and slays the mass-market, mass produced, cheesy store bought baby crap. I AM INVINCIBLE!

so, the coolest thing happened to me yesterday. i belong to this union. i won't name the union because, well, you'll see. so it's a cool union. everyone has a great sense of humor. they're all friendly and smart and clever. my kind of place. then yesterday someone starts a thread called "Girls" and you're supposed to post whihch body part you like best. i'm like, 'oh this is so lame.' so it's your typical 11 posts about breasts, asses and legs and i post how it's a stupid thread because you know, what about intelligence, personality, whatever and how irrtating it is that guys chop girls up into pieces like chickens. this guys posts me back that apparently intelligence isn't a body part. which kind of sets me off. i post to this guy that he doesn't get it and i ask him how many times a teacher has asked HIM to move fo the back of the room because HIS legs are too distracting. he says he understands and that he wouldn't date a hot girl if she didn't have a good personality. D'OH! so i say this whole thread is stupid. guys go back to posting body parts. oh, and i didn't obliterate my naughty words because i practicaly dare someone to complain about my language in a thread about chicken parts, i mean girl parts.

today, someone has deleted the whole thing. isn't that cool? see, i told you it was cool union.

well, i've got a massive paper to finish and only a week to do it. luv y'all

seriously.

go see it.   go see it now.

you're still here?  go!   

my friend told me that she's pregnant.  i was like, uh .... wow..... uh.... congrats?

seriously.

that makes 3 count them with me, one, two, three of my friends who have told me they're pregnant since Spring Break.

i'm a big fan of the sex, but we're not old enough, haven't lived enough, experience enough, we're not mature enough, prepared enough to have kids of our own.  ok, sure, people have been saying that stuff throughout history.  yeah, no one is every ready,  no one is ever mature enough.  but come on!  we were talking about taking summer classes at the University of Madrid last week.

today i started knitting a baby sweater.  

so, are you all going to be parents?  are you going to game with your kids?  how do you feel about game ratings?  i'm going to see hot fuzz tonight and then a tapas bar for LOADS of sangria. 

i've been thinking so much.  writing so much.  my semester is coming to a close and i've noticed the proliferation of "big" words (school words) in my speech, my blogs, my emails.  i need a break.  two weeks.  i have to get through the next two weeks and then maybe i'll sleep for a week.  then i'll hop a plane and go somewhere.  i haven't been back to new orleans since december.  maybe i'll go lose myself in live music and southern hospitality.

but in the meantime, why are there so few RPGs for the 360? why!?!

i've been playing a lot of oblivion but it's kinda frustrating.  i've encountered a bug that is preventing me from completing a quest that is killing my whole game.  and although i love all the elder scrolls titles, they're long.  yeah, i know.  but they're REALLY long. i love the sort of freeform style but wow do i needs something like a Baldur's Gate title you can hack through in the 60-80 hour range.  maybe it's just because i'm feeling burnt out.  but i could really use some lightening up.  quick, someone tell me a joke, post something funny, and/or recommend a fun game to play.  i need to get out of my head, it's really messy in here.

i've been silent for a few days... did you miss me?  i've been silent because i've been speechless.

what the hell is going wrong on this planet?  we have something rotten deep within our souls.  i was still seething over Imus.  whether you buy into the pop culture myth that we're all too PC these days, be real.  the Rutgers squad is possibly the fiercest women's team to ever take the court. they deserved, hell they earned, so much better than they got.  and i can't figure out why people don't see it.  how can they defend the indefensible?  

but then this horror-fest happened at Virginia Tech.  i love being at university.  i love the books, the bicycles, the coffee and the classes.  it is a place of ideas and friendships.  not mass murder.

and i'm wondering what is with the rage?  the hatred?  and i am numb.

i know, i know. enough about Oblivion! but it's so damn funny.

i'm now the master of the fighter's guild. and things are going to be different. we're making changes around here now that i'm in charge!

first of all, none of this crappy clay and tan dishware. no, people, we're replacing all of this crap with NOTHING AT ALL! i'm tired of knocking it off tables and accidentally picking it up when i'm sucking up the contents of a chest or trying to get some radishes out of a bowl. from now on people, we're eating with our hands while standing up. we'll have extra towels in the bathrooms and lots of soap. if only i can find the bathrooms ...

also, what's with all this stupid iron, leather and fur armor. WHO NEEDS IT!?! yeah, we're pitching it and making way for chain mail and that stuff the imperial guard is wearing for the lower level fighters. you upper level fighter just loot ruins for your swag anyway, so get to it already. it's just so irritating that those sap-head blackwood mercs have better armor than we do. NO MORE!

and what's with those imperial guard anyway? what good are they? you can't use 'em and it's kind of expensive to kill them. they hang around the castle and make rude comments about my muscles. privatize those punks! the castles can outsource to the guild for their security. lower taxes and better service!

oh, and where's the love? we fight and fight and hack and slash and the only fan i have is that little punk from the arena who keeps trying to follow me around, what is up with him? when i finally find the bathrooms, i'm going to lock him in one.

i am the MASTER!