Grumpy Veteran's Day
Nov. 11th, 2021 11:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crossover_chickYeah, my first day off did not go particularly well to start, as will be fully covered in the number one item of my to-do list --
1. Get my vaccinations (COVID booster and flu): Check, though it took a lot longer than it fucking should have. Let me explain:
I. This morning, when I woke up, I was informed by my mother that she’d gotten a text alert saying that my appointments for 11:30 had been canceled (we used her phone number because, well, I own a flip phone). She’d called CVS, and after multiple attempts to connect with the right person, confirmed with someone there that I was still on for the day. So I had a tense (and mushy – I went with cereal, granola, and milk for breakfast, and the delays between putting in the milk and getting this straightened out meant the cereal got wetter than I usually like) morning trying to figure out if I really did have an appointment. It wasn’t until I got there that I found the truth – my COVID-19 booster shot appointment was fine. It was only my FLU vaccine that was canceled, because apparently they’d run out. I accepted this, got the COVID booster, told my mother what happened, and we went home.
B) Mom tried to call CVS to see what was going on, but was unsuccessful. So she ended up helping me sign up for another appointment at Walgreens instead for 2:30 – only they asked that you arrive 15 minutes early, so we had to leave around 2:10, and I had to wait in the store for ages until they called me back. Fortunately the lady giving me the shot was very nice, and I was able to get it, bum around for a couple of minutes, then head out.
C) Where I discovered that Mom, having tried to get out of the car while I was in the store (she’d seen some bittersweet on the plants in front of the parking space and decided she wanted it to decorate the house) had accidentally triggered the alarm. Fortunately that was easy to clear once I got in, but I had to wait a few minutes for her to get her fucking bittersweet and throw it in my backseat so we could bring it home.
D) Oh, did I mention that while all this was going on, my parents were ALREADY in bad moods because we’ve got a fun condensation issue going on in the house (apparently the bathroom fan isn’t working properly, and since my parents’ bedroom shares a wall with the shower, they woke up to damp wallpaper this morning again), Dad had to fix something on the garage door, and they were having problems with their online selling (Dad sells books and paper ephemera online)?
Yeah. As you might imagine, I haven’t been in a particularly good mood all day. I mean, it’s DONE, at least, and now I’m fully vaxxed for both, but still. I do not fucking appreciate having to take up MOST of my day for this crap.
2. Watch the OXBox/OXtra video in the queue, keep up on YouTube Subs: Check – easier than usual, in fact, as neither Gray nor James uploaded today, and I only had that one video in my WL. I actually spent more of the day reading TV Tropes (something I have not done in a while). Not COMPLAINING, I like TV Tropes and I liked the videos, but – just a little weird for a day off. O.o
A) Started with a new Plumbella upload, actually – “The Sims 4: Outdoor Retreat is a bit boring really isn't it lol” AKA, Plumbella takes one of her self Sims from the Get To Work Detective career on a vacation to Granite Falls! With Geoffrey Landgraab, just because she could. Vacation was a bit of a clusterfuck – Jesse went to the campground without realizing that SHE was the one in charge of buying a tent, and didn’t find the supplies booth until halfway through the episode – and she admitted that there was less to do than she remembered in the woods, but she still had a good time! Mostly because camping is a very nostalgic thing for her. :) Sim!Jesse burnt lots of food on the grill, collected a load of bugs, did some fishing, picked up the guitar, told ghost stories to Geoffrey, and managed to survive the wilderness in a thunderstorm!
Geoffrey – did not. I’m serious – there was a heat wave on the last day, Jesse forgot to account for the hot temperatures, and Geoffrey ended up overheating to death. Sim!Jesse played the guitar over his fallen corpse. XD It was a weirdly horrific and yet delightful way to end the vacation. Certainly more exciting than any trip to Granite Falls I’ve taken with my Sims! XD
B) Then, this evening, we had OXtra and “7 Terrible Rewards for Incredibly Hard Quests!” Yes, sometimes games offer you an incredibly hard task to perform – then stiff you on the reward. From a Dark Souls player going up against one of the game’s toughest dragons – only to find the reward is a ring that doubles damage RECEIVED (aka it makes Dark Souls HARDER), to a long climb to a beautiful hidden garden that you can only get through making it through Shadow of the Colossus three times to give your character the necessary stamina – only to find the fruit there brings you back down to human (aka permanently REDUCES your health and stamina), to collecting all the fiddly stars in Super Mario 64 to meet Yoshi on the roof – and have him max out your lives at the END of the game and then jump away without even letting you sniff at riding him, sometimes games do not give us the reward we feel we’ve earned. As you might imagine, there was much grouchiness from Ellen and Luke during this list. (Oh, and before you ask, yes there was an OXBox list today, but it was one of those that focuses on one specific game that they’re probably being sponsored to play, and while I understand the need for keeping the lights on, I never find those quite as fun.)
C) And finally, it was into the Subs for the only video of the day – CallMeKevin having a blast playing modded GTA: San Andreas with his friend Will! Apparently inspired by memories of playing, utterly failing, yet still enjoying old GTA co-op modes, Will found them a mod to do a two-player version of GTA: SA, and the pair of them proceeded through a few missions – Kevin as CJ, Will as a variety of random NPCs who just kind of joined in on the fun (the most common one being Average Guy Joe, though there was also a recurring old guy in pajamas XD). The game was – not exactly happy about having to keep track of Will’s shenanigans as well as Kevin’s (especially during the early parts, where CJ could only ride his bike and Joe NPC could only walk, meaning it was damn near impossible to keep up with the other members of CJ’s gang). And things only got weirder when they started entering in cheats – CJ ended up in a gimp suit for a while (and then with Groucho Marx glasses OVER said suit – he didn’t get a chance to remove it until he died and respawned at the hospital), flying cars resulted in Kevin driving a car on its roof for a while (and improving his driving skill by doing so!), occasionally Will spawning in would send them flying into a weird infinite gray void – yeah, is it any surprise the game crashed a LOT? XD Kevin and Will clearly were having a blast, though – I kinda hope a second video is made! Kevin just having fun with his friends is nice, sometimes.
3. Write some more on "Learn to Love Again": Check – the magical infodump has started, with Elder Gutknecht explaining some of the rules of magic in this universe. Basically, everyone has some magical energy potential, but what they can do with their magic is not set until they experience some major life event, which “picks” their abilities. Victor’s got “Veilbreaking” from his experience with Emily, as he guessed. He then assumed that Elder Gutknecht and Emily must have had the same, and now we’re into a discussion of the technicalities and exceptions to the rules (having an ability that your magic can only barely support – basically, Emily DID have Veilbreaking, but she couldn’t use it to good effect – and what “wizards” are in this verse – people with LOTS of magic potential who then suffer an extremely traumatizing life event and become universal casters and spell creators). It’s a lot different from the Forgotten Vows stuff, and it’s kinda fun to work with a new paradigm!
Also, I did a little bonus writing this morning – I woke up with a really clear scene in my head about Alice being at the point of hunger frenzy after the boss fight against the Chang brothers in the Giovanni mansion, and Victor showing up and letting her feed from him, with the Queen actually assuring Alice that she won’t let her kill him. I liked the moment and have added it to my notes for “Londerland Bloodlines” so I’ll remember it when I finally GET to that part of the story. Shows both Victor having the “Blood Empathy” merit (Alice, once she’s a little more herself, asks why he’s there when she told him and the others to hang back; he says he could just feel she needed him) and Alice’s Beast, as the Queen, actually isn’t always a total dick (mostly because the Queen loves Victor too).
4. Play Sims 4 and continue work on the house build: Check – went into the game after watching Plumbella and actually got a decent amount done! Finished up the kids’ room with some decals for the walls, and finished up their bathroom with a toothbrush holder (yes, I did turn on bb.moveobjects to position it just right – and reposition their soap), a few more accent pieces, and a fun hanging fish mobile. :) Then I moved onto the parents’ room and their on-suite – the bedroom currently just has carpet, wallpaper, curtains, and a bed, but the bathroom is pretty much finished. Made it a little larger and did it in a galley style – one side large vanity sink (with, again moveobjects-ed liquid soap dispenser and toothbrush cup, along with some other clutter), the other bath/shower combo, laundry basket, towel, and bathrobes. Plus art and other accents. That just leaves the actual parent’s bedroom and the upstairs landing! :) Maybe I can finish that up sometime this weekend?
5. Get in a workout: No check – I was planning on it, even after getting my shots (my arms are a bit sore, but you are supposed to move them, and I didn’t think riding the bike or walking on the treadmill would be too strenuous), but remember up in item one, where my parents were dealing with condensation in the room because apparently the bathroom fan isn’t working and they share a wall with the shower? Yeah, Mom’s ordered a new fan (replacement for the one in the ceiling or one that just goes in the window, I’m not sure which) and asked me to refrain from taking a shower tonight so they can try that out when it arrives tomorrow and see if that’s the actual cause of the issue. So, naturally, I couldn’t do anything guaranteed to make me super sweaty. *shrug* L.A. By Night will just have to wait!
Additionally:
-->Happy to report tumblr friend liked her fic, which is good. I was slightly concerned that doing it after we were already doing a similar thread would be a little too much, but nope, she was all on board, yay.
-->And I got my Valice Multiverse tumblr queues done, yay – four ask replies, one thread reply. Nothing too straining!
*deep sigh* So yeah, not really a great day, but at least it ended all right. And I AM glad I was able to get both vaccines, even if it was more of a clusterfuck than it needed to be and has left me with one sore arm (I tried to keep up on liquids and keep it moving, but. . .). Gladder still that tomorrow is just a regular no-obligations day off -- let's get THAT to-do list going:
1. Edit some more on "Londerland Bloodlines"
2. Keep up on YouTube Subs, see if I can fit in an OXventure
3. Play Bloodlines and clear more sidequests
4. Work on tumblr queues as necessary
5. Get in a workout
Hopefully this will all be doable -- I think I need the fun of an OXventure after today. Right now, though, I have freed myself from social obligations, so I'm going back to reading TV Tropes. XD Night all!
1. Get my vaccinations (COVID booster and flu): Check, though it took a lot longer than it fucking should have. Let me explain:
I. This morning, when I woke up, I was informed by my mother that she’d gotten a text alert saying that my appointments for 11:30 had been canceled (we used her phone number because, well, I own a flip phone). She’d called CVS, and after multiple attempts to connect with the right person, confirmed with someone there that I was still on for the day. So I had a tense (and mushy – I went with cereal, granola, and milk for breakfast, and the delays between putting in the milk and getting this straightened out meant the cereal got wetter than I usually like) morning trying to figure out if I really did have an appointment. It wasn’t until I got there that I found the truth – my COVID-19 booster shot appointment was fine. It was only my FLU vaccine that was canceled, because apparently they’d run out. I accepted this, got the COVID booster, told my mother what happened, and we went home.
B) Mom tried to call CVS to see what was going on, but was unsuccessful. So she ended up helping me sign up for another appointment at Walgreens instead for 2:30 – only they asked that you arrive 15 minutes early, so we had to leave around 2:10, and I had to wait in the store for ages until they called me back. Fortunately the lady giving me the shot was very nice, and I was able to get it, bum around for a couple of minutes, then head out.
C) Where I discovered that Mom, having tried to get out of the car while I was in the store (she’d seen some bittersweet on the plants in front of the parking space and decided she wanted it to decorate the house) had accidentally triggered the alarm. Fortunately that was easy to clear once I got in, but I had to wait a few minutes for her to get her fucking bittersweet and throw it in my backseat so we could bring it home.
D) Oh, did I mention that while all this was going on, my parents were ALREADY in bad moods because we’ve got a fun condensation issue going on in the house (apparently the bathroom fan isn’t working properly, and since my parents’ bedroom shares a wall with the shower, they woke up to damp wallpaper this morning again), Dad had to fix something on the garage door, and they were having problems with their online selling (Dad sells books and paper ephemera online)?
Yeah. As you might imagine, I haven’t been in a particularly good mood all day. I mean, it’s DONE, at least, and now I’m fully vaxxed for both, but still. I do not fucking appreciate having to take up MOST of my day for this crap.
2. Watch the OXBox/OXtra video in the queue, keep up on YouTube Subs: Check – easier than usual, in fact, as neither Gray nor James uploaded today, and I only had that one video in my WL. I actually spent more of the day reading TV Tropes (something I have not done in a while). Not COMPLAINING, I like TV Tropes and I liked the videos, but – just a little weird for a day off. O.o
A) Started with a new Plumbella upload, actually – “The Sims 4: Outdoor Retreat is a bit boring really isn't it lol” AKA, Plumbella takes one of her self Sims from the Get To Work Detective career on a vacation to Granite Falls! With Geoffrey Landgraab, just because she could. Vacation was a bit of a clusterfuck – Jesse went to the campground without realizing that SHE was the one in charge of buying a tent, and didn’t find the supplies booth until halfway through the episode – and she admitted that there was less to do than she remembered in the woods, but she still had a good time! Mostly because camping is a very nostalgic thing for her. :) Sim!Jesse burnt lots of food on the grill, collected a load of bugs, did some fishing, picked up the guitar, told ghost stories to Geoffrey, and managed to survive the wilderness in a thunderstorm!
Geoffrey – did not. I’m serious – there was a heat wave on the last day, Jesse forgot to account for the hot temperatures, and Geoffrey ended up overheating to death. Sim!Jesse played the guitar over his fallen corpse. XD It was a weirdly horrific and yet delightful way to end the vacation. Certainly more exciting than any trip to Granite Falls I’ve taken with my Sims! XD
B) Then, this evening, we had OXtra and “7 Terrible Rewards for Incredibly Hard Quests!” Yes, sometimes games offer you an incredibly hard task to perform – then stiff you on the reward. From a Dark Souls player going up against one of the game’s toughest dragons – only to find the reward is a ring that doubles damage RECEIVED (aka it makes Dark Souls HARDER), to a long climb to a beautiful hidden garden that you can only get through making it through Shadow of the Colossus three times to give your character the necessary stamina – only to find the fruit there brings you back down to human (aka permanently REDUCES your health and stamina), to collecting all the fiddly stars in Super Mario 64 to meet Yoshi on the roof – and have him max out your lives at the END of the game and then jump away without even letting you sniff at riding him, sometimes games do not give us the reward we feel we’ve earned. As you might imagine, there was much grouchiness from Ellen and Luke during this list. (Oh, and before you ask, yes there was an OXBox list today, but it was one of those that focuses on one specific game that they’re probably being sponsored to play, and while I understand the need for keeping the lights on, I never find those quite as fun.)
C) And finally, it was into the Subs for the only video of the day – CallMeKevin having a blast playing modded GTA: San Andreas with his friend Will! Apparently inspired by memories of playing, utterly failing, yet still enjoying old GTA co-op modes, Will found them a mod to do a two-player version of GTA: SA, and the pair of them proceeded through a few missions – Kevin as CJ, Will as a variety of random NPCs who just kind of joined in on the fun (the most common one being Average Guy Joe, though there was also a recurring old guy in pajamas XD). The game was – not exactly happy about having to keep track of Will’s shenanigans as well as Kevin’s (especially during the early parts, where CJ could only ride his bike and Joe NPC could only walk, meaning it was damn near impossible to keep up with the other members of CJ’s gang). And things only got weirder when they started entering in cheats – CJ ended up in a gimp suit for a while (and then with Groucho Marx glasses OVER said suit – he didn’t get a chance to remove it until he died and respawned at the hospital), flying cars resulted in Kevin driving a car on its roof for a while (and improving his driving skill by doing so!), occasionally Will spawning in would send them flying into a weird infinite gray void – yeah, is it any surprise the game crashed a LOT? XD Kevin and Will clearly were having a blast, though – I kinda hope a second video is made! Kevin just having fun with his friends is nice, sometimes.
3. Write some more on "Learn to Love Again": Check – the magical infodump has started, with Elder Gutknecht explaining some of the rules of magic in this universe. Basically, everyone has some magical energy potential, but what they can do with their magic is not set until they experience some major life event, which “picks” their abilities. Victor’s got “Veilbreaking” from his experience with Emily, as he guessed. He then assumed that Elder Gutknecht and Emily must have had the same, and now we’re into a discussion of the technicalities and exceptions to the rules (having an ability that your magic can only barely support – basically, Emily DID have Veilbreaking, but she couldn’t use it to good effect – and what “wizards” are in this verse – people with LOTS of magic potential who then suffer an extremely traumatizing life event and become universal casters and spell creators). It’s a lot different from the Forgotten Vows stuff, and it’s kinda fun to work with a new paradigm!
Also, I did a little bonus writing this morning – I woke up with a really clear scene in my head about Alice being at the point of hunger frenzy after the boss fight against the Chang brothers in the Giovanni mansion, and Victor showing up and letting her feed from him, with the Queen actually assuring Alice that she won’t let her kill him. I liked the moment and have added it to my notes for “Londerland Bloodlines” so I’ll remember it when I finally GET to that part of the story. Shows both Victor having the “Blood Empathy” merit (Alice, once she’s a little more herself, asks why he’s there when she told him and the others to hang back; he says he could just feel she needed him) and Alice’s Beast, as the Queen, actually isn’t always a total dick (mostly because the Queen loves Victor too).
4. Play Sims 4 and continue work on the house build: Check – went into the game after watching Plumbella and actually got a decent amount done! Finished up the kids’ room with some decals for the walls, and finished up their bathroom with a toothbrush holder (yes, I did turn on bb.moveobjects to position it just right – and reposition their soap), a few more accent pieces, and a fun hanging fish mobile. :) Then I moved onto the parents’ room and their on-suite – the bedroom currently just has carpet, wallpaper, curtains, and a bed, but the bathroom is pretty much finished. Made it a little larger and did it in a galley style – one side large vanity sink (with, again moveobjects-ed liquid soap dispenser and toothbrush cup, along with some other clutter), the other bath/shower combo, laundry basket, towel, and bathrobes. Plus art and other accents. That just leaves the actual parent’s bedroom and the upstairs landing! :) Maybe I can finish that up sometime this weekend?
5. Get in a workout: No check – I was planning on it, even after getting my shots (my arms are a bit sore, but you are supposed to move them, and I didn’t think riding the bike or walking on the treadmill would be too strenuous), but remember up in item one, where my parents were dealing with condensation in the room because apparently the bathroom fan isn’t working and they share a wall with the shower? Yeah, Mom’s ordered a new fan (replacement for the one in the ceiling or one that just goes in the window, I’m not sure which) and asked me to refrain from taking a shower tonight so they can try that out when it arrives tomorrow and see if that’s the actual cause of the issue. So, naturally, I couldn’t do anything guaranteed to make me super sweaty. *shrug* L.A. By Night will just have to wait!
Additionally:
-->Happy to report tumblr friend liked her fic, which is good. I was slightly concerned that doing it after we were already doing a similar thread would be a little too much, but nope, she was all on board, yay.
-->And I got my Valice Multiverse tumblr queues done, yay – four ask replies, one thread reply. Nothing too straining!
*deep sigh* So yeah, not really a great day, but at least it ended all right. And I AM glad I was able to get both vaccines, even if it was more of a clusterfuck than it needed to be and has left me with one sore arm (I tried to keep up on liquids and keep it moving, but. . .). Gladder still that tomorrow is just a regular no-obligations day off -- let's get THAT to-do list going:
1. Edit some more on "Londerland Bloodlines"
2. Keep up on YouTube Subs, see if I can fit in an OXventure
3. Play Bloodlines and clear more sidequests
4. Work on tumblr queues as necessary
5. Get in a workout
Hopefully this will all be doable -- I think I need the fun of an OXventure after today. Right now, though, I have freed myself from social obligations, so I'm going back to reading TV Tropes. XD Night all!
