action-RPGs are just not for me.
i can't get into them.
i'm a turn-based battle system kind of girl.

the ONLY action-RPGs that i like that the multi-player ones like Champions and Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance.

i couldn't get into Bard's Tale, even though i had fun watching my husband play it. it's hilarious!
i couldn't get into Ys: The Ark of Napishtim, despite it's fun, colorful graphics and intriguing storyline.

so i think that i will steer clear of the other action-RPGs that i have been watching. like Fullmetal Alchemist.

a shame i won't be able to enjoy their stories, and the other fine aspects like the weapons and characters and graphics and stuff. but a battle system makes up a large part of the game. and if i can't get into it, i just can't play it.

oh well.

i've been basking in the glory of my fingernails all last week. they grow very very long and strong. but it is a rare occasion when all of the fignernails on one hand will be even in length. my left hand has been beauty for a while now.

and now. this morning. BOTH of my middle fingers have had heir nails broken off. and now my hands look retarded. argh!

Yesterday I was sitting in the office talking with a couple of the guys about the schools these days. One of the guys informed me of a new policy they're instating here (in Houston, at least).
From now on, all of the teachers have to grade the work with a purple ink pen, instead of red. Why? Well, apparently, red is just too harsh and mean and will just hurt the poor little children's feelings!! Purple, however, is more subtle and comforting.
So I guess, the theory here is, instead of yelling at the child and calling them a stupid idiot because they got the wrong answer (red pen), you just kind of gently suggest that perhaps they should try harder because they didn't do it right (purple pen).
I suppose it's a nice sentiment, but I really just think that the purple vs. red ink idea is a bit ludicrous. Is a kid really going to get their feelings hurt moreso if their work is graded with a red pen rather than purple? No. Honesltly, I don't think it will make a bit of difference. At all.
How about they try something like tutoring or making sure the teachers aren't complete jerks (I've had a couple of those), or actually trying to help the student? Why don't they spend their time trying to figure out a way to teach better, as opposed to something so stupid as debating about what color ink to grade the work in!?

Sometimes I get the feeling I might be drowning. Obvisouly, not in the material plane, here, since I'm not even near any water right now. But in other ways. Mentally. Emotionally. And I have to tell you that staying afloat, with my chin bobbing above the edge of the water, struggling to stay alive -- it can be very tiring.

So lately I've had this word constantly popping up inside my head: breathe. I've been obsessed with breath. Why? Maybe it's because I feel like I'm drowning. Maybe it's because I feel like I'm suffocating. So here I am drowning and suffocating and all I can think of is "breathe". Sounds frustrating, no?

The I guess reason this feeling hasn't gone away isn't because I haven't learned how to breathe yet.

Anybody know how?

so, as you might have noticed, i haven't had much to gripe about lately -- hence the lack of posts in my journal as of late. it's been a nice, quiet life the past few weeks. my husband has finally gotten a day shift so we've been spending most of our evenings together. i think that has brought me into some better spirits.

so what have i been up to lately? well, i'm excited to announce that i've finally finished the new layout for my website: heykelley.com, and i'm very pleased with it.

and aside from that, and working, i've been... what else? gaming!
i finally got Ninhursag (my undead priest) up to level 40 and she has her mount and everything. i'm also very excited bout the new patch that just came out for WoW. the interface additions/changes they've made are very nice. but i still wish they would add/change a few things. like a clock! i need a clock!!

the husby and i have gotten back into Culdcept, which is entertaining. but now that he's got all the cards, he never wants to play with me anymore!

and surpirsingly, he's picked up Suikoden IV and has been playing it nonstop all week. he got way further than i did. after getting stuck on the first mission (a boat that is confusing to control, wandering in a vast, vast ocean, with random encounters every 2 seconds), i decided to quit, and deleted my save game. he got past the boring part and is enjoying what i knew i would have, had i been able to get through that part. it's fun watching him play :)

anyway, i suppose that's all for now.... happy fertility celebration weekend! i mean, candy fest weekend! or maybe it's easter or something, i dunno....

Okay, so last night I took my sister to a concert. I didn't really want to go, but she really wanted to, and I was not about to let her go alone. It was a #s, which is not in the best part of town. So I went with her. It was for the One Tree Hill tour (she, apparently, loves that show).

So first up was some guy named Brian Greenberg, who plays "Jake" on the show. He played about 5 songs, just him and an acoustic guitar. He was actually pretty good. Then came the guy everybody was really waiting for: Tyler Hilton. He's also on that show, and plays some guy named "Chris". This guy had a whole band with him, and they were enjoyable enough. I think I might be inclined to like him better if he didn't have th stupidest looking hair ever, and if his name didn't sound so..... fruity & poppy. Heh-heh... But his lead guitarist looked a lot like a guy I work with (who is very hot, by the way), so I at least had something to stare at besides that awful hair!! So this Tyler dude played a full set (about 10 songs or so) and THEN came the main show! But the time The Wreckers finally made it onto the stage, we had already been there for 2 hours, standing up, and my feet & back were hurting.

The Wreckers consist of Michelle Branch, Jessice Harp (her former back-up singer, I think), and a few old guys. They were pleasantly enjoyable. I didn't know what to expect coming into this concert, but I'm glad the music was pretty good. I'm into the folky folk music, and that's pretty much was this was. The girls even played a Patty Griffin song! Woo!

After it was all said and done, my brother and his girlfriend met us outside and wanted to go back in and hang out. But uhm... no. It was after midnight and I, unfortunately, has to get up early for work, so we headed home. All-in-all, it wasn' that bad.

who me?

oh, yeah i know... i've been gone...

because things are busy. and i've been sick.

i will have to type more later, when i'm not about to leave work. :D

I don't totally hate the game -- in fact, quite the opposite. However, there are several things that disappoint me.

1. The "more realistic" graphics. Why did they have to do this? Now everyone looks boring. Shion and KOS-MOS look very different . And can I just point out the stupidity of Shion losing her glasses? I thought maybe she traded them in for contacts or got laser surgery, but no. Apaprently they fell off her face, Allen stepped on them, she got mad at him, and that was the end of it! I'm sorry, but that is totally ridiculous. It is personal preference, I suppose, but I much prefer the character model graphics in Episode I.

2. The new voice actors. I'd just like to ask Namco "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" Canaan and chaos sound completely monotone, MOMO is nothing but annoying and too child-like, Shion sounds like a totally different person, KOS-MOS no longer sounds as much like a robot. The only people who sound the same as the first episode are Ziggy, Jr. and Allen. I am deeply disapointed with the changes in voice actors. The original ones were perfect in my opinion.

3. The horrific lack of a card game! So far as I can tell, and after skimming through the strategy guide, it seems to me that there is no cardgame in Episode II! I am very disappointed. The card game was one of the best aspects of Episode I -- how could they not include it in the second one? You might be saying that it's too hard to top the first game -- so don't change it! Bring it back and add a whole slew of new cards!!

so you see. in a beautiful turn of events, the husby and i will be venturing to Fajita Flats tonight for dinner. generally we only go on the weekends, but tonight is special. because he is off of work today. and i haven't eaten all day! one of the best things about Fajita Flats is their rice. whenever I get the enchiladas, there is always some of the cheese mixed in with the rice. so delicious!

and after that.... we are off to visit our lovely little friends at EB Games (they know me by name there now. they love me. and they give me special cool stuff.!) to pick up my pre-order of Xenosaga 2! yayyy!

but now while Xenosaga 2 is a wonderful thing, this creates a bit of a gaming dilemma. i have been so ready to tear into this game for months now. and now it is here. but the husby and i got bored on saturday and went and picked up Champions: Return to Arms and have been stuck on that ever since. AND, now that his little brother is finally back form Germany, we can all play World of Warcraft together again. so which to play??

I suppose we will continue playing WoW whenever his little brother gets time, and we'll play Champions i nthe mean time. and when i'm home alone (severla days a week), I'll play Xenosaga 2. yeah, i think that will work.

and amidst my orgasmic gaming february so far, have you checked out Ys: The Ark of Napishtim? that game looks awesome!! can't wait to get my hands on that one (maybe i will have to pre-order it!)!!

and my husband is working tonight. do you know what that means? it means that tonight i have time for ME! i have time to do all of the things i have been planning to do all week. like take some photos. and code some html. and listen to good music with the headphones on. and dance around like an idiot. and even go shopping if i want to! haha!

and then comes saturday and suunday. 2 days where me and the husby can do whatever we want (provided he is off of work, which he is tomorrow - yay!). that means we have lots of time for World of Warcraft. and we can play our mains again, now that his brother is finally back from Germany and ready to play with us again! yay!! weekends also mean we haev a chance to eat at our favorite restaurant, and just about the only restaurant the husby will go to (he hates public places) -- Fajita Flats! folks, if you live in Houston, and you love good Mexican food, then you NEED to check this place out. they are the best EVER. and we always enjoy tipping them big, because we like them so much. :)

now, if only 5:30 would hurry up and get here so i can get on with my life!