Wow......!!!!!! News!- And Changes Galore!!!

So much going on for me this week.
First of all- remember that promotion i told y'all I might be getting?
Well, I turned it down. Turns out I was going to have to do twice the work for the same amount of money and I told them no thanks.
So they just eliminated my position at the site.
Dang.
My bossman offered me my choice of 2 twelve-hour shifts on the weekend.....OR.......the second shift position at the site I am at now.
So I took the second shift position. Which means I will be going to work in the daylight and sleeping like a NORMAL person. I'm not sure I can do that. I've worked night shift since 1983 with the exception of a five year stint as a courier from 6AM to 7PM in the mid 90's.
I'm not sure I can DO daylight- I'm a bona-fide child of the night...a real life vampyre.....my skin sizzles in the sunlight.

Secondly- my mom had had a couple of dinner-dates in the past couple of weeks.
Now that is definately something that's gonna take some getting used to. But he's a sweet man- from what I can see so far...so...it'll be okay.

Thirdly- My daughters ultra sound didn't turn out so well.....they couldn't find the babies hearbeat...which the doc explained could mean two things...either the baby has expired and Julie is about to miscarry-OR she's not as far along as they thought and the baby is still too small for them to get a heartbeat. So they rescheduled her for another ultra in two weeks time and told her to go home and take it easy. Ummmmmm- she has 5 boys to contend with- not to mention the BIG guy. Nice try. And I can't help her out because I have a full time job to deal with- as well as looking after my mom. It's gonna be a LONG two weeks. But we will get thru it. Say a lil prayer for her, if ya would.

And I'm gonna end this on a GREAT note....


My baby boy and his wife are having ababy too!!
Just found out today!! And it's due sometimes between Feb 25th(my birthday)- and March 7th-
(His wifes sisters Birthday). I would love to have it born on my b-day- but I think in this case I would rather the baby be born on Mandy's....she passed away three years ago-two weeks before Clay and Kathy's wedding day- in an automobile accident.
I think it would be wonderful if they thought about naming the baby after her as well if it's a girl. But I'll keep my opinions to myself on that one. I'm sure they've thought of it already anyway.

Anywho...that's my news for this week. I don't think I could stand one more bit of excitement this week....but then again- if it's good news- I'll give it a whirl.
;-)

OMG- SOOOO Many Changes!!!!

Well, it has been a red letter week for me.

First of all, I trained a guy night before last.........turns out he is taking over my position at work.
Remember that promotion I told you I might be getting? Well, I turned it down...I was going to be doing twice as much work and getting NO more money for doing it. So I said Thanks, but no thanks. So- they decided to completely eliminate my graveyard shift position and just make the mobile officer do it as well as his duties. Fine by me.
So today I was given the choice of taking two 12 hour shifts at the new facility- or taking second shift at the one I'm at now...the guy who is doing it now is going to be the new second shift Mobile officer. So I took the second shift position.
I am soooo not gonna know how to act-I have worked night shift since 1983-except for a five year stint as a courier in the mid 90's. I am a bona-fide Vampyre- a child of the night.....My skin sizzles when sunlight hits it.....seriously. My eyes are light sensitive- so much so I like to wear sunglasses inside in the evening hours to shade them from the artificial lighting. Sllep like a normal person? During the NIGHT hours.....In DARKNESS????
Wow...This is gonna take some getting used to.

Now- other changes.
My mom has started dating a bit. It's been almost two years since Dad passed away, it's time. She;s been going out to dinner or breakfast with a sweet gentleman that she dated a few times before she and Dad met. I like him....so far. And mom is happy so, Good For Her!!
;=-)

More news.......Daughter went for her ultrasound...bad news there- no heartbeat- she's re-scheduled for another in two weeks and is on bedrest til then. Doc says it may be that she's about to miscarry- or it could be that she's not as far along as they thought and it's just too early to hear the babys heartbeat.

Romance?????

Last night I watched an episode of the COSBY SHOW.
All the married men in the family made a bet about who was the most romantic. They all had dinner together with their wives, had it catered by a man who owed Cliff a favor. They all dressed in a tux and they had a spending limit of 25 dollars to spend if they spent any money.

The argument was that Cliff relied on his wealth to impress Claire, and the younger men thought he couldn't do as good a job romancing her without that wealth. They thought they could do better with a smaller- MUCH smaller budget.

Elvin was first to present Sondra with his romantic gift. She had always wanted a pearl necklace- and since they couldn't afford a string of pearls- he got a single pearl on a chain and presented it to her- telling her he was going to have one added each year on their anniversary to celebrate their love and life together.
Awwwwwwww- how sweet!

Martin presented Denise with a handkerchief that he had wiped the lipstick from their first kiss off his face with. He also had saved the flower from her hair from their wedding in Kenya, neither which she knew he had saved. He also gave her a small time capsule that had been engraved with the date of the dinner to put the things in- and told her when they bought their house they were going to bury it in the back yard and then dig it up in 50 years on that date. February 22, 2040, I believe it was.
Again.....AWWWWWWWW...How sweet.


Cliff got his box out and sat it beside Claire and began with a story about how a young man and woman were walking home from a Saturday night date long, long ago, and the girl had admired a small wooden hair barrette with a small rhinestone in the center in a shop window and how the young man was so poor he couldn't afford to buy it for his sweetheart. But now that man could- and after many, many calls to antiques shops he had located one of the exact barrettes and he thought that wonderful girl deserved to have that small bauble from so long ago.
Claire eyed him and smiling she asked if he actually remembered that and if that was what was in the box- and Cliff bashfully smiled yes it was.
Claire's eyes narrowed and she said "Let the record show(always a bad sign with a lawyer) that it was not I that wanted that wooden barrette, it was one Eunice Chantilly that wanted that thing...I said I thought it was TACKY. I wanted the green bracelet beside it!!!" And with that she opened up the top of the box and drew out the GREEN BRACLET!
Awwww- how sweet!!!


All three men thought they had done the superior job of romancing their wife- and they were all correct in thinking so.
They were all quite within their rights to think of themselves of "Emperor of Romance" as they has agreed the winner would be crowned.

Some women liked to be wined and dined and given expensive gifts....once in a while that stuff is great- but the most romantic things come from the heart and cost very little- or sometimes nothing at all.

My Paulius, for instance....I had a first edition copy of the book "The Harvester" and have read it so many times it was falling apart- literally. It's a very old fashioned story about a man who lives in solitude and loves it. Long story short- he works and works to build a home for his love- whom he hasn't even met yet- but he HAS dreamed about her. Then when he is ready for her- he sets out and sees her in the city and after a long search- finds her. Anyway, It's one of my favorite stories and Paulius had another copy printed for me and presented it to me as my wedding gift from him.
Awwwwwww.....so VERY, VERY sweet!!!!!!!

Nothing could have been more romantic and it would be one of the only things I would try and rescue if there was a fire and I could only grab a couple of things to save.

THAT's Romance. It's the little things that count to us NORMAL women.

If Pauli gives me a back rub or a foot massage, I'm in heaven. If he brings me a rose, a lily, and a tulip(our wedding flowers) to me it's just the most romantic thing in the world.
Romance, to me, is cuddling on the couch while we watch a movie or listen to music, or just talk. It's making me one of his special recipes for dinner, or making me a cup of coffee, or holding my hand when there's a thunderstorm. It's lying down with me until I fall asleep- even tho he's not sleepy at all, or grabbing a blanket for me if he sees I'm a bit chilly. It's grabbing a pizza and a couple of cold bottles of Pepsi and taking me to the park for a picnic- just like our first date. Or braving the cold to start my car in the winter so it will be toasty warm when I go out to drive to work every night. It's coming up behind me when I'm washing dishes and hugging me and kissing the back of my neck.
It's remembering to put my uniforms in the dryer when I forget to. It's occasionally getting up in the middle of the night and helping me smooth out the wrinkles in the sheet because they bruise me. (Yes, I am a Princess).

There are a thousand and one ways he romances me and I see at least a half dozen of them every day.
That's Love and Romance- and I wouldn't want it any other way. We may have loads of money for him to spend on me someday-but even then- unless it's a hallmark anniversary- or some other special occasion- I don't want the pearls and diamonds and dozens and dozens of roses. I'll take the rose, lily and tulip, and the kisses and cuddles and picnics in the park over the expensive stuff any day of the week.

I Shouldn't Have Done That.

I completely forgot the last time I watched the end of the world movie..."DEEP IMPACT".

I had nightmares for weeks.

And now I'm afraid it will be the same.

I don't know what it is that draws me to this movie every time it's on TV. Maybe it's because there's a very real possibility of it happening this way.
Amazingly, I think I would prefer to think that the end of the world would happen this way instead of us nuking each other into oblivion. I have faith that the human race isn't stupid enough to actually push those red buttons and that some other great catastrophe will be what destroys us.

I absolutely refuse to watch movies about a nuclear holocaust- I have dreams of those type nearly once a month and don't need to watch a movie that might trigger even more for me to wake up screaming to.

If I knew a comet or asteroid was headed our way and nothing could be done to stop it from impacting earth- I think I would do exactly as the mom did in DI. Have a wonderful time for as long as possible with my family, and then take a bottle of pills and just go to sleep and never wake up.

I wouldn't wait for the impact- and I wouldn't do it the messy way by cutting my wrists or shooting myself or anything like that. Too messy- and too painful. And besides- with my luck I would somehow manage to mess it up and end up living and in a state of being that would render me unable to try and finish the job properly.
Yeah, I'm a coward when it comes to pain. I admit it.

But my main reason for doing it would be that I couldn't bear the thought of being alive when it happened and knowing my family was going to die in the event.
I have already almost lost all three of my children......my daughter when she was giving birth to her first child, my eldest son when he was born, and my baby boy in an auto accident when he was 15. He still has a splintered piece of his skull embedded in the lining of his brain that was too dangerous to try and remove.
And I cannot imagine the pain of KNOWING that they were actually going to perish in an event...the pain of just coming CLOSE to knowing how close they came still makes my heart hurt to think about it.

Paulius has a different idea of how he would handle the event situation.......he would want to go out in a blaze of glory- rushing headlong into the danger- surfing the wave as the tidal wave came in- or watching the fireworks directly under the impact point should it hit land. I wish I had half the courage he does. I might could deal with being there with him if I was in his arms- but instead of staring it in the face and thumbing my nose at it- I would be hiding my head on his shoulder, crying and trembling with terror. Not of death-that doesn't scare me, the process of dying and not knowing what happens does.

I like to know exactly what's going on and the mechanics of it before i commit to anything. And I don't think that would possible. I mean you could tell me that impact wouldn't hurt- it would be over in a millisecond- but can you prove it to me?
A bottle of pills is a guaranteed thing, you take them, you go to sleep- your body shuts down.
One second you're sleeping, the next you're gone, dead.

Enough about that stuff.
Now I need a feel good movie or comedy routine to watch before I go to sleep.
Anyone got a good joke?

SL and TV.......What a pair.

SL sux now.


I go on a few minutes, wander around, and then go offline.
None of my friends play now- Paulius and I can't play at the same time, and all the newlings come up to you and the first thing out of their mouths is"wanna have sex?".
No I don't- and learn some SL etiquette, for heavens sake.
It's disgusting.
So many things to do in SL, surfing, sky-diving, scuba diving, clubbing, hang-gliding, boating, jet skiing, casinos,....but it's all boring to do alone. The only thing I can find even remotely interesting to do on there alone is play SLINGO( a game that's based on a Bingo and Slots combination) and occasionally helping out a sweet newling girl...you know- show here where to find good flex hair that doesn't cost a SL arm and leg...usually I buy here a new style as well and then I go thru my inventory and copy a half-dozen of my copyable outfits so she has something decent to wear....sometimes I give her a new skin as well so she doesn't look so "new" and then I send her on her way with a friends invitation and a promise that if she needs help she just needs to IM me and i will be happy to help in any way I can......but there are pitfalls to that as well because every time SL has an update- about every second Wednesday- seems my entire friends list disappears. It takes only a few off everyone else's- but mine disappears almost every single time. I had five names it hadn't deleted before the last update, Paulius, Aradia, Zonell, Grieg, and Leith. And after the update I had NO names in my friends list at all.

So I didn't add any back. It gets really annoying to send a friends invitation every two weeks to everyone in your list. Makes me either look like i don't know how to use it or I get mad and delete then and then change my mind.

Annoying...just plain annoying.

And TV isn't much better.

Same old crap on the tube as well.
OMG- worst "reality" game show ever...Who wants to be a SUPERHERO.
WTH is that cesspool of idiocy?

M*A*S*H* -I can watch over and over..........
Stargate SG1- I can watch over and over.......
Star Trek- I can watch over and over(except DSN-horrible spin off show).....
Whose line Is It -I can watch over and over......


But my question is- WHEN are they going to come out with some good NEW shows?
And I completely agree with Paulius.
Stargate finale sucked. I didn't even think it was a decent regular episode.
And my biggest gripe of all...WHY the HELL didn't they bring McGuyver back....you know who I'm taking about........and yeah, yeah, yeah, I know all about him leaving the show blah, blah, blah, and all I have to say about that is every man has his price.....SO PAY the man what he WANTS and get him BACK!

Other topics for today....my foot is healing nicely. The fractures seem to be healing faster than my sprain from three weeks ago to be honest. I still have bruising and a tiny bit of swelling on both feet- but I can touch the fractured foot with much less pain that I can the sprained ankle.
Odd isn't it?

I joined CURVES and LOVE it! Have went every day so far. A/C and get a MUCH better work-out than I do at work! And I walk at least 3 miles and climb 19 flights of stairs every single night that I work.

Guess that's all my news for the moment.....I have a headache now so I'm gonna go lie down and rest my eyes.

Following Mike's Lead........

Real Life Conversation # 999....

"That tree has white flowers growing on it."

"It does....do ya know what kinda tree it is?"

"Yes- a BIG one."

Raised eyebrow..............

"What? It IS! There are three kinds of trees....Big, Little, and Christmas."

Trying not to laugh or even crack a smile..............and finally ending up failing miserably and cracking up laughing..........life is good.

Now I Did It............

Yeah- remember that blog about wanting to just be a kid and have fun?

Well, yesterday, Paulius and I were watching TV and cutting up a bit- playing around with the water spritzer and stuff- (actually spraying the cat with it when he went near the sheer curtains that we just put up in the living-room). I had just woken up and was a bit chilly(for a change) and he aimed the spritzer at my foot..........I gave him an evil look and told him to NOT do it cause I was freezing(a slight exaggeration, but I WAS chilly, mind you).Well I kept giving him the evil eye- and he kept smiling, and he spritzed me- just a teensy, weensy bit of water on my foot and ankle.......and I decided to have a bit of fun....so I grabbed my water bottle, opened the cap and poured about a cup of water down the front of his shirt and of course it rolled right on down to his pants, getting him soaked doing so.

I had never done anything even remotely like that since he came over for vacation when we got in a water gun /water balloon fight, so he wasn't quite expecting that type of play from me.
Naturally, he grabbed up the spritzer and uncapped it and yelled "OHHHHhhhhhhh, it's ON now, baby"...and hearing that I KNEW I was in DEEP, DEEP Trouble and was definatley getting a soaking.............so I jumped up and took off running down the hall with him on my heels splashing the water towards me.
Well all this was great fun......UNTIL.........

CRACKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!
I let out a scream of absolute, sheer pain as my foot connected with the chest in the hallway.
No- not the same foot I had injured two weeks ago- that was the RIGHT foot.......this was the LEFT foot.
Immediately all fun stopped.

Paulius realized that this was no ploy for mercy, as I sometimes do.
Now, let me say- that Paulius was in no way, shape or form responsible for me injuring myself....I was the one wanting to play awhile, and he is always telling me to "grow up". I should have just wiped the bit of water off my foot and continued watching TV- occasionally giving him evil eyes and wicked smiles like I normally do. I should have known no good could possibly come of being playful on a workday- not to mention so close to injuring my other foot.
My bad.


Anyway, I was crying, Paulius was helping me get back to the livingroom, and then he got me cold water to soak my foot in- and then got an icepack and put it on my foot, and then got me a Lortab (Left over from my other injury).
Well, this was about 6:30PM. I sat with ice on my foot til 10- then went and had a bit of a nap before work.
An hour later I was up and my foot felt like a big fat sausage. And it still hurt like the dickens and I couldn't put any weight on it at all. So I dressed for work, put on my right shoe- and a black sock on the left foot, then got out the crutches and headed for the car after giving Paulius a kiss. He followed me to the door to make sure I got to the car safely but I told him I would be fine- I could make it to the car fine. I didn't. I got overbalanced just as I reached for the door to slide in the car and all my weight went on that foot again. And, again, I cried and threw a major temper-tantrum and threw the crutches in the car almost cracking a window in the process.

Yeah, REAL MATURE, right??????.......Well- I was frustrated and feeling stupid and hurting really, really badly.....so sue me.

Well, I drove to work, got there and after an hour, realized there was no point...I couldn't do any of my stuff cause everywhere I had to go was either in a stairwell- or in an area that was gonna be difficult to get into with crutches. Had I tried I would have taken a tumble and REALLY injured myself. Even with a wheelchair accessing these places was impossible for me.

So I called the hospital dispatcher and asked to speak with the director for the night shift.
When he came on the phone I explained the situation and he told me to first call the guy who is taking over for my direct supervisor who is on vacation this week. So I did....and got cursed out for doing so. Let me explain...I hardly ever cry when I get yelled at or bitched at or whatever, - I can take a LOT of crap and my usual reaction is to smile and just grin and bear it to a certain point...and THEN go ballistic after so much more abuse...but this guy had me as close to tears as I have been in YEARS.
Every other word out of his mouth was DAMN and after all I have been thru this month I just couldn't handle it. His last day there is tomorrow anyway and he just doesn't give a rats butt about even being there, which if he didn't wanna take on the responsibility for this week he should have said NO to begin with when he was asked to fill in for the guy....right?

Anyway, I figured it out myself- I called across the street to the new hospital to the new officer over there and explained the situation to her and asked her if she would mind terribly coming over to my site and unlocking the doors-7 of them- for me at 0500 . 5AM. She said no problem- and so it was taken care of. THEN that idiot called me and told me he would be in at 6:30AM and those unlocks would have to wait. I told him to not BOTHER coming in- I had taken care of the problem. He came in at 7 and sent me home for the day..... So I did the logical thing and went straight to my doctors office which opens up at 7:30AM.

Doc Welborn looked at my foot, shook his head, ordered x-rays...and to make a long story short........(too late, I KNOW)........I have two fractures in my foot.
Three weeks it will take to heal up- but I took tonight off(got a note, yes) and will be hobbling thru it for the next three weeks.

My foot is black and blue and green, it's swollen, and it throbs with pain when I breathe.

Somehow, I just don't REMEMBER being a child and having fun being this PAINFUL!!!!!

I'm going to bed now and sleep it off..............maybe a good idea would be to just STAY in bed for the rest of June.................that's about two of those three weeks he wants me to be off my foot anyway..............sigh.......Not gonna happen, but it's a nice thought.

*SIGH*.........Again.

Is it as much of a struggle for anyone else, as it is for me, to not act like such an immature child sometimes?


I sometimes wanna just throw a tantrum for no good reason.
Or to sit and eat ice cream and cookies and chips for dinner instead of a balanced meal.
I wanna just ditch work and go off to the lake or the pool and play all day, or to the park and just play on the swings and the slide and wade in the creek like I did when I was a child.
I want to just lie on my back in the shade of a big old maple tree and watch the clouds float overhead and find images in them.
I wanna watch cartoons all day on a rainy day, and I wanna stay up all night watching scary movies and talking about much of nothing(only now with my hubby instead of with my as-immature-as-me girlfriends and sisters).
Just whiling away the hours and wasting a whole day- or week- or three months.

I miss being a child and being FREE to do whatever caught my fancy during the summer break from school.

I've said it once- and I'll say it again.

BEING AN ADULT REALLY SUX SOMETIMES.

Life is Good.

Well, I told y'all about my ankle being sprained and getting an unexpected week's holiday from work.
I must say, altho I thought it was going to be a horrible week, I have enjoyed it immensely.
It happened in Wednesday afternoon, and until Saturday morning all I did was , sit on the sofa on my butt with my foot propped up, being waited on hand and foot by my darling husband, Paulius. I have to commend him- all during this time he uttered not a single, solitary word of complaint and did everything with a smile and a sympathetic ear. All women should be blessed with such a loving husband......

Anyway, On Saturday I began hobbling about a bit on it, still not doing too much because, altho it could bear a bit of weight on it, any slight twisting or turning motion set it off throbbing again. So, mostly, I made short trips to the kitchen to get a sip of drink for myself to give Pauli a bit of a break. He still had plenty to do, tho, with me soaking my foot three times a day to take the swelling and soreness out, cooking meals and ,since I was on crutches, bringing me cups of coffee and glasses of water.

Sunday I decided enough was enough and, while Pauli was still asleep, snuck into the bathroom and VERY CAREFULLY took a shower. Sponge baths just don't cut it with me and that shower felt SOOOOOO good. Looking at my foot, I saw it a huge bluish-green bruise all across the top, but the soreness was beginning to work it's way out a bit more. After the shower, I hobbled into the kitchen and propped myself against the sink and washed up the dishes in the sink. It didn't take long and I felt somewhat less useless again. By the time I had finished and altho I didn't actually STAND ON it, my foot was a bit sore from standing for so long(about a half hour with the shower) so I took myself off to the sofa again to follow doc's orders again. Later Sunday evening I even managed to cook a quick, simple dinner for me and Paulius, too!

Well, I have been, for the past month, on a special nutrition program offered by my insurance company. I have a nutritionist/dietitian call me and listen to how i have been eating and give me tips on things i can do to improve my eating habits. I have a Blood-Pressure problem and an irregular heartbeat and the two combined aren't a good thing, so my doc suggested taking advantage of this program to lower my BP and my weight, which I wanted to do anyway. One of the things suggested was to not worry about the scale so much- but to concentrate on lowering my BP and losing inches instead of pounds. She gave me some really good tips when she heard my eating/drinking habits and for the past month I have been trying them out. Nothing too drastic- just a couple of simple changes. I had Pauli help measure me about 3 & 1/2 weeks ago and so last night we measured me again.

I certainly didn't expect the results we got.
I GAINED a half inch in my bust(?????????) Strange, but true.
I lost a 1/2 inch off my waist, lost 4 inches off my hips, lost 3/4 inch off my arms, and a 1/2 inch off my thighs.

Now, I eat a pretty healthy diet, I absolutely LOVE veggies and fruits, hardly ever eat bread, and don't fry foods much at all. I like broiled, baked or raw, highly seasoned foods- but don't use a lot of salt at all either....so I was terribly frustrated by not losing weight and by my BP being so out of control.

All I really changed was- I have almost completely cut out Pepsi- I am used to having one 12 oz can at work every day, but I stopped drinking them this past month(my only concession to this is yesterday I had to go get one and have a bit- when migraines hit me it seems to ease the pain much, much quicker if I take my meds with a bit of Pepsi so I gave in on that one.) So now I drink mostly water. I also have given up chocolate in any way, shape, or form until after we find out the sex of the new grand baby.....I want a granddaughter and I figure I can make a bargain with the devil...or god....or whoever is in charge of these things. I give up something I LOVE(altho I don't eat a LOT of chocolate, either), and I get my long awaited girl that I can dress in lots of frills and lace.
Anyway, I added some upper body exercises at work- I get PLENTY of walking and climbing stairs, but almost no upper body exercise there for 8 hours. Surely this isn't this easy. But seems it is. I couldn't believe those results just by changing those tiny little things.
I just hope it continues NEXT month!

Anyway....my boss called me this morning to inquire as to when I might think I would be coming back to work because, in his words,..."We are in a Mell of a Hess here and we really NEED you."
Altho I could probably go back tonight and hobble thru it, I held fast and told him I had a doctors follow up on Wednesday afternoon and if things went as well as they seemed to be going now, I would be able to come back on Wednesday night for Thursday morning and that if anything changed those plans I would be sure to call him and let him know.

I was worried about our finances for this month, our budget is pretty tight and a weeks off work without wages hasn't been the best of circumstances, but given that the week of was spread between two pay periods and given that I gave complete and total control of all the finances over to my hubby a while back and he has it all figured out already, so I have nothing to worry about at all.

SOOOOO...with that in mind-I may STILL be able to take another week of ACTUAL VACATION/HOLIDAY after the last of this month!!

Now, I HAVE been able to do one of my favorite things while I've been laid up......reading all my fav blogs!!
I must say I have been following Ozzys blog with special interest this week. It sounds like that boy's trip was a blast and makes me think that maybe we might possibly do something along that line for our family holiday with my adult kids this year. Well, maybe not the canoe-ing part- but the camping and fishing part. I'm usually a four star hotel and restaurant kinda girl when it comes to vacation/holiday, but I have been known to go the complete and opposite direction occasionally and take a pup tent,(and sometimes not even that), a fishing pole, sleeping bag, a coffee pot and frying pan into the wilderness as a vacation. Nothing like knowing you could take care of yourself and your family should there be a national disaster of some sort where there was no power and/or convenience foods and had to live off the land.
I definitely don't think taking an RV on a trip with a gas stove and a fridge and dishes to wash and beds to make and floors to sweep is an actual holiday. Not for women anyway. You have to either be completely pampered or be completely self-sufficient when you go on holiday. That's MY take on it anyway.

Anyway, I am gonna enjoy the rest of my "holiday" now......so I'm off with a smile on my face for a change.

Life is good.

Computer/Video Games- The Devils Spawn.

I'm convinced Computer/Video games are Satan's Spawn.


I am soooo annoyed.

I want to play computer/video games- but I just cannot find one that does what I want to do.

I have ZELDA- Ocarina of Time which is HUGELY entertaining- but I am stuck in that one. I can't get past the mountain part in it and I have tried for MONTHS to figure that one out. Usually I just end up getting so frustrated I wanna throw the controller THRU the TV....and then I end up going to the in-game fishing pond to fish and calm down.....sometimes it works- sometimes it doesn't.

I started Oblivion....got to a certain point -in the what I like to call the "Hell-Fire and Brimstone" level, and cannot find my way out. I have killed everything I can- the place is empty, I searched every thing I killed, and found no key to give me exit rights. So for the past 2 weeks I have been wandering around and around in that damn boring place entering chambers and going out of them, up and down the spiral staircase.
Wandering around in circles. I HATE wandering around "LOOKING" for something and being stuck.

So this week Pauli and I went out and bought a couple NEW games....my choice was Return to Mysterious Island. Rated T......Pauli didn't know if I would like what is basically a point and click game....but I insisted that maybe if I started at a lower level game I would be able to grow with it- and not have to be calling him over every minute and a half to help me out or give me a hint.

Now, I understand this game perfectly, it's actually a lot of fun. BUT- now I have come to a point where I have to get past these four stupid monkey who are throwing stones at me- without KILLING them for Christ-sake.
I have went thru my entire inventory- mixing and matching items to try and make SOMETHING to get rid of them so I can continue the game. Nothing has worked so far. I even backtracked to the beginning of the game- screen by screen, and then scrolled the cursor over the entire screen , inch by inch, at each point to make sure I hadn't missed some vital item to collect.
NOTHING.
I spent four hours today doing that hunt stuff- and getting a HUGE migraine to boot.

Is there a game out there that offers an adventure I can go on and explore and kill stuff without being stopped dead at some point by some annoying things like these happening?
When I play a game I like to be able to DO things, not have to sit and think until my head aches and make a zillion decisions. I do enough of that stuff at work and in RL. I DO like something that keeps my interest tho- a game that has places to explore and things to see and learn- but without all the dead-ends to have to deal with.

PLEASE-if you know of a game that you think might be what I'm looking for- please, please, PLEASE tell me what it is.

Sorry about the RANT- I just am very frustrated at this point and needed to vent..