Crisis averted.  My car had a bad part, so they replaced it no problem.  Thank God.

My Bible study has started off really well, and I’m really excited about it.

Other than that, not much going on.

It never ends, does it?

Yeah, so apparently my car needs more work.  My “check engine” light came on yesterday while driving to work, and on the way home, just as I was getting home, my car stalled.  Three times.  *sigh* Please pray that it is something simple, easy, and not horribly expensive.  I just can’t afford it.

I dropped off two garbage bags full of clothes today, at a drop-off for Community Crusade for Children.  They will in turn resell the clothes at low-cost, and the profits will go to support breast cancer research.  A doubly rewarding donation, if you ask me.

A friend, whom I worked with previous for an animal shelter, is starting up her own shelter, with the help of friends. I’ve offered my services as a web designer and publishing various documents.  I started work on the website today. I’m a little rusty, but I quickly got back into it.  I’m not skilled enough to be flashy, and I don’t know a darned thing about html.  I’m using Front Page.  It’s not the most sophisticated, but it does the job, and it does it well.  Shelters don’t have a steady surplus of money, so there’s no chance of hiring a designer.  A la, my somewhat limited skills will have to do.  However, I’m thoroughly excited about A Purrfect Start and will do whatever is within my reach to help it get going.

Breakfast for dinner tonight.  I’m really feelin’ it.  It will be quite a platter, too.  At least my tomatoes are from Canada, which is a “safe growing” zone.  A vast majority of tomatoes we consume come from Florida, so if you don’t know where your tomatoes came from, don’t eat them.  You don’t want to get beat down my SALMONELLA SAM!

Diagnosis: A Severe Case of Burn-Out

Apologies for the lack of updates.  It’s been a rough few weeks.  I’m working both more and less than I want to.

Less, because we have such a lack of business that I’m often being sent home early.  More, because I’m burned out and right now I don’t want to work at all.

18 days till vacation and counting.

My days off this week are going to be spent doing as little as possible.  Which isn’t hard, considering how much I’ve had to spend in gas the past 2 weeks, I’m broke.  But beyond that, none of my days off the past few weeks have been mine.  Always for others.  Which, I don’t mind.  But combined with burn-out, it leaves me feeling mentally exhausted.  So, at least one of the two days will be devoted entirely to ME.  My only trip out may be to take some stuff down to Half Price Books to get rid of.

If you’re looking for a book to read, I highly recommend The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.  I finished it last night, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I’m also very disappointed that I have to wait a whole year for the next book.  *sigh*

Matt and I got together with Martin to wrap up the current storyline in our Exalted game.  It was nice to draw the story to it’s conclusion, and the events that have/will occur leave me in a good position to develop my character.

I have been doing ZERO writing.  You can’t write when your brain feels like mush, you can only dream and hope of writing.  I hope to do SOMETHING during my time off this week.  Our Sundered World project is on hold, for personal reasons.

And I’m hungry.

Quickies

Some random quickies:

-I worked A LOT this weekend, overflowing into this week.  My “weekend” is actually Wednesday and Thursday.  My summer work schedule has officially started this week.  Normally, it will allow me more opportunity to work on my writing, but the next few weeks will be a tad crazy, with my mother visiting, and then my visiting my family, and then my friend moving.  Writing, for the most part, will be sporadic.

However, my focus this summer will be on the Sundered World writing, my own novel, and my fan fiction, which will be used to fuel the fire when my muse doesn’t want to do what I want it to.

-I got a new wrist brace.  It’s actually a bowling brace, but it happens to be absolutely perfect for my wrist with tendonitis (well, both wrists have tendonitis, but I have a good brace for the left one). I’m typing with it now, and it’s not too bad to work with, really.

-Pillar is awesome.  I am listening to their songs on their myspace page. I think I’ll download an album tomorrow, along with the new 3 DOORS DOWN album (self-titled).

-Brain Age for the DS is sweet, if for nothing else than the sudoku puzzles.  I also picked up 2 used gameboy advance games….Final Fantasy I & II Dawn of Souls and Final Fantasy V.  I already have FF III for the DS.    Now I just need to find time to play them all. (I’m stuck in FFIII against a certain boss, and I’m stuck in Zelda, too.)

-My roommate is getting a cool new TV.  I picked up a stand for it today.  Yay for awesome watching!

Sundered World and Iron Man

Off today. This is my last week with Mondays and Wednesday off, at least for the summer. My days off this summer are going Wednesdays and Thursdays for the most part. I’m not used to working 5 days in a row, but I’m hoping to be able to visit my family at least once a month this summer.

Been doing a lot of work this week for the Sundered World project. Today, I wrote up a creation myth and an afterlife myth, both of which I’m pretty pleased with. I still need to do a write-up on the Arcane Order. In a bit.

I saw the Iron Man movie Monday night. IT. IS. AWESOME. I cannot fully relate its AWESOMENESS. You must see it for yourself. Be sure to stay and sit through all the credits. There is a scene afterwards. Apparently, there was an animated Iron Man series during the mid-90s. It only ran for 2 seasons, and was dropped after bad ratings. I can see why. If nothing else, the whole long-haired yellow-suit wearing Tony Stark is…awful. And don’t even get me started on Nick Fury. I had a moment of excitement when I saw Hawkeye though (an early Avenger and always a favorite of mine). However, see the movie. Avoid the tv show.

And if you don’t believe ME, check out this post from Stan!-he hits it right on the money.

Saturn, one of my two leopard geckos died this afternoon.  She hasn’t been doing well; I haven’t been able to get her to eat in several weeks.  Gemini’s health is also not great, but he’s still eating, so hopefully he will improve.  My best guess is that they shared some sort of infection.  Gemini has always been the hardier of the two.

Rest in Peace, Saturn.  My shy, sweet little lady.

Saturn, May 2002-April 2008

(I am okay.  I’ve known for a while she wasn’t doing well, and while I’m sad, this wasn’t unexpected.)

What the Customer Service World Has Done For Me

I’m inspired to write this after an experience I just had here at Panera.  But let me forward with something I was thinking of yesterday.

I went to a McDonald’s en route to visit my family and found it mostly staff by teenagers.  Now, in the gloriously diverse city of Columbus, this is becoming increasingly scarce.  Most of the fast food chains are becoming more and more staff by various immigrants, especially of the Mexican variety.  I don’t really have a problem with that, except for one particular thing:

Where exactly are teenagers working their first jobs?

I turned 16 and was promptly told to find a job.  My first job was as a cashier/drive-thru attendant at a Hardee’s in my hometown.  (Incidentally, that Hardee’s has long been shut down, partially related to events that occurred while I worked there.  But that’s neither here nor there.)

I was a very shy, introverted kid.  Put me in a room full of strangers, no matter their age, and I’d just pull out a book and read my way into oblivious wonder.  Sure, I had friends, but I didn’t really go out of my way to make new ones.

But in this first job, I learned some valuable skills.  Always be polite and wear a smile, even if the customers are complete jerk-offs.  Diligently count and re-count the money exchanged, because you’d be surprised at the people who will try to screw you.  Scooping ice-cream sucks.  I also learned that I’m a natural leader in a work environment (albeit sometimes bossy), and I love the camaraderie.

My jobs after Hardee’s were as follows: telemarketing, Sears, Radio Shack, Fashion Bug, Payless, Bed Bath and Beyond and now, AMF.  (A few small things have been omitted from this list.)

Who knew, that after almost a decade after my first job, I’d land back in the food service industry, in an environment similar to my first job?  And actually enjoy it?

Monday, as I visited BBB to pick up a few things and visit my former co-workers, I caught myself before I could greet a customer, as if I still worked there.  Old habits die hard, but I hope this one takes a long time.

See, as I went to refill my coffee, I helped a woman find her creamer, and point out on her ticket where her order number was.  I quipped, “No, I don’t work in food service, no sir,” and we laughed.

It is my nature to want to help others, and I do it instinctively now.  It gives me a sense of accomplishment, that even through these small gestures, I pass on kindness and manners that sometimes seem to be a fading trend.  I hold open doors for other people, especially elderly, but really, it doesn’t matter who you are.  I often green strangers with a random hello.  I always leave tips for the employees at my favorite cafes, and restaurants of course.  (Don’t choke-I typically leave over 20% tip.)

The question I wonder is, who would I be had it not been for that first job at Hardee’s, that opened up a shy, young girl into an outgoing, often-considerate young woman?

I hope that the majority of fast food chains remain as the primary first job for teenagers.  It teaches you so many valuable skills, which often carry you through most jobs you may have afterwards.

And you never know when you may find yourself back among your roots.

Writing and other ramblings

I had intended to go to Nora’s today to write, but remembered that they are closed on Mondays.  Henceforth, I picked up a few extra things with the groceries, to make my own tomato and mozzarella at home.  Tasty. :)  Soon as I finish this, I am going to continue writing for the shared world project-and by golly, I will make progress today!

I doubt I’ll get much writing done after today this week.  I’m going to visit my family tomorrow night, and between work and church, I won’t have much time this weekend.  As it is, Thursday night is the only time I could potentially game at all this week.

In other news, my three friends and myself are planning a retreat this summer.  We’re looking at cabins in the area to spend a weekend at, and I must say, I am really looking forward to it.

Dude….I wish there was a Joe’s Dairy around here.  I really want some of their smoked mozzarella right now.  If you’re in SoHo, look it up.  Best mozzarella I’ve ever had.

Man I love NYC.

Barlow Girl: “Mirror”

“Mirror”

Mirror, Mirror on the wall, Have I got it?
‘Cause Mirror you’ve always told me who I am
I’m finding it’s not easy to be perfect
So sorry you won’t define me
Sorry you don’t own me

Who are you to tell me
That I’m less than what I should be?
Who are you? Who are you?
I don’t need to listen
To the list of things I should do
I won’t try, I won’t try

Mirror I am seeing a new reflection
I’m looking into the eyes of He who made me
And to Him I have beauty beyond compare
I know He defines me

You don’t define me, you don’t define me

Inspiration:
It’s very hard in this day and age to be content with how we look. Everywhere we look, from magazines, movies, and music videos, we are constantly reminded that we don’t measure up. We aren’t as tall, skinny, muscular, beautiful, or perfect as we should be. The mirror reminds us that we don’t measure up with the images of others.

We girls became more and more discouraged because we didn’t like what we saw in our mirrors. We wanted to know: “Who defines what good looks really are?”, “Who decides how tall and skinny we should be?”, “Who says that blond is better than brown, and full lips are better than small lips?”, “Who makes all these guidelines that we’re expected to follow to be ‘in’?” Instead of asking God why He made us look and act the way we are, we were tormented by our own mirrors. God showed us that He made everyone look different for a reason, and we could learn to be excited about how He had made us. We realized that we would never be happy until we ignore what our mirrors say, and allow God to show us who we really are in Him.

In Memory Of

Gary Gygax

1938-2008 

“The essence of a role-playing game is that it is a group, cooperative experience.  There is no winning or losing, but rather the value is in the experience of imagining yourself as a character in whatever genre you’re involved in, whether it’s a fantasy game, the Wild West, secret agents or whatever else. You get to sort of vicariously experience those things.”

NY Times Article 

I never met Gary Gygax, but my life has been profoundly affected by him.  When I was 16, I wandered around my local bookstore (The Book Nook, which no longer exists).  On the bargain table, which I constanly haunted for good finds, was a copy of the AD&D Monster Manual.  Here, I thought, was a book that had hundreds of fantasy monsters in it, that could give me endless fuel for my writing.

I. Had. No. Idea.

My interest quickly spread and I picked up the other related books.  The Player’s Guide, the Dungeon Master’s Guide.  And the introductory boxed set.  I played through the modules with my brother, sister, and friends.  I still have one of the maps, actually.  And my very first Monster Manual.

Adam, Nick, myself, and a couple other friends played through much of my remaining high school years.  I was always the DM. My games weren’t spectacular, but we had fun. And don’t forget the Challenge of Champions: Go Misfits!

After graduation, there was a lull in my gaming.  Eventually I found a group online to play with.  My first real character was a male Dwarven fighter, that I still speak of with love.  Since then, I’ve run my own games, played in some others, and since discovered role-playing games outside of D&D.

But D&D will always remain my first gaming love.  It had wonder, imagination, and a lot of fun.  I’ve made friends that will last me a very long time.

Thank you, Gary.