The Blogtastic Blogfest That Is Getmeoutofthis.net!

Hello. There’s a new IoTM in town. The town of Twilight. That item is the A.R.F. VIP Card.

Basically, if I wanted to be all minimalist or whatever in my description, I would say that this is the TH version of the June Super-content familiar in KoL. This opens up a big zone with lots of little goals and little puzzles to deal with, and it’s actually rather neat. It can either be used to give you a wide variety of buffs, or you can work slowly but surely to collect various scripts, combining them into other scripts, and then using them with Silver comPutty to make some really cool equipment. None of them are going to set the world on fire, perse. None of them are as good as other IoTMs or whatnot. But they’re all quite useful in their own right, and it’s just cool to collect things, yes?
Again, it’s all about long-term goals, and this thing has them. It’d take quite awhile to assemble all of those items. Granted, you do get 20 uses of the A.R.F. a day, but that’s still awhile to collect all of those, since you need to grab degaussers between each fight to collect the scripts.

Finally, of course, is the fact that this item is, much like those content familiars, open to all. Anyone can ask to trade for some A.R.F. passes and get in there. However, unlike a lot of the super-content familiar stuff, you’d need a much bigger stack of these passes. I think this is a good thing. Anyone can experience the content, but it also will create, eventually, at least, an additional market for the passes. One could imagine, anyway.
Erm, well, I checked the auction house, and the auctions are for like… stacks of 50-100, and not that expensive, so maybe I’m wrong there. Oh well. Still, it’s nice that all this solid content isn’t locked out.

Anyway, I think the A.R.F. card is good stuff. I really need to put more time into it myself, and really see everything. The fact that I need to do that is a good thing, I think. This gets my seal of approval. Not that you ever thought it didn’t, I suppose.

I had been feeling like I didn’t know exactly what was going on with my transitioning. I didn’t know what I should be doing, and when I wanted to start doing all those things was lingering. What did I still need to get done? What was I even supposed to be working on? What was there left to do?

So when I saw Dr. Friedman next, I asked.

And through all the discussion, it really seems like there’s just no way it’s going to happen when it was supposed to. It’s now another semester away, probably.

It’s just not fair. I’m ready, you know? It’s all about my family and such, and while yes, I want things to go well for them so that there is the least amount of friction, dammit… I want to get started. I want to live my life the way I want it to. I want to have control over myself for the first fucking time in my life. I want to start transitioning. I want to be me.

It also just brings up all kinds of issues. I’d be transitioning around Jonathan’s wedding, and around Christmas, and it just… man, it seems like a great way to make those situations shitty, doesn’t it? That’s why I wanted a buffer zone, so I’d be fully into things so that there wouldn’t be any argument at these situations. Now, I guess I put it off past that too?

More and more. Always something else, isn’t there?

I’m discouraged. I know what I need to do now, and I’ll do it. There are benefits too. My face stuff will be done by the time I start then, which is probably a much better situation, for example. And I’m closer than I’ve ever been, and I am making progress.
But fuck.

Just… fuck.

Yesterday, I was staring at the still unopened Amazon box which contains my copy of Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, a game that, by all accounts, is completely badass, but is as of yet unplayed. There was a time in my life where I wouldn’t have been able to resist, a time in my life when I would have tore the fuck through that game and devoured it. I also thought about the fact that I’m still on the last case of Ace Attorney Investigations and haven’t played much Picross 3D.

It then hit me.

I’m not a portable gamer anymore.

A game used to have to be on a portable system for me to have any chance of beating it. I had the consoles, sure, but I got most of my gaming done on my GBA. I beat all kinds of portable games, constantly, because that’s when I had time to play. When I was home, I was talking with people online. I was doing other things.

Now, however, I find myself having to set aside time for games. “This is when I am going to play,” I say. As such, I have time to sit down in front of the TV and consume bigger experiences. I also have Gamefly, which brings a constant stream of cool new games to my door to give me something to focus on and work with.

Basically, I’ve completed way, way more console games than portable games in the last year.

Part of me feels like that’s really weird. I always thought that I’d always be a portable gamer. But I get most of my portable gaming in on my iPod now, little distractions to get me through the day, and when I really want to game, I’m not reaching for my DS anymore.

There’s nothing at all wrong with that. I just have to get that through my head. I play console games now.
Fair enough.

I kind of really want to go to GenCon Indy. Why? I dunno. I guess I feel like I need something to look forward to, and I’ve always wanted to go on a trip like this. I’ve been good. I’ve been making progress. For the most part. Sort of. I deserve a cool trip, right? I feel like that’s the case.

I never do things like this, though, and I’m sure as fuck not going alone. So it’s a matter of getting people to go with me and figuring out logistics, costs, etc.

That really is the main thing I’m worrying about. The cost of such things.. .I don’t even begin to know how much all that would cost.

You know what? Let’s use Maths.

Okay, if things go my way, Rooms and admission is at least… what… 218 dollars if I split it with one other person. Plus driving costs… let’s say two full tanks of gas each way for 60 dollars split… and then food and event costs. If we’re smart, we can kill those food costs by not eating out much and doing some intense sandwich packing and stocking up at complimentary hotel breakfasts. I hear that’s useful at conventions. Events… I dunno how much those would cost or how many would be done! On top of all that, I’m sure to do some shopping and game-buying. I’d need at least somewhat of a budget for that.

So we’re probably looking at at least $500 dollars for this trip, if I don’t go crazy. Or I suppose I could cut another hundred off of it or so if I convince another person to go.

Yay for Maths!

That’s not really out of the picture. I mean, I shouldn’t be spending money like that, but… at the same time… I’m normally pretty good with my funds… and I deserve some fun, right?
Right?

I don’t know. I’m thinking about it, though. We’ll see if I make such a big jump. It would be a great time, though. I bet. Or at the very least, a lesson that I’m not really cut out for conventions. Heh.

Hey, look, it’s a hat you can put a familiar in.

I really like this. Mostly because it’s this huge, customizable thing you can do so much with. There’s plenty of cool messages based on the tons of familiars you can put in there, and plenty of effects to choose from that are nothing to sneeze at. If you’re sort of more optimal than me, being able to give the familiar in the hat some experience could also be a very nice thing, if it’s a familiar you only need to use every few turns or whatnot. Though, of course, the bonuses for those familiars (Say, the Llama Lama and the Green Pixie) are really low, so it’s a little harder of a sell, I suppose.

Still, compare this to, say, the movable feast. This is just a much more fun way of leveling up familiars. Is it as effective? I dunno. I had 0 interest in said Feast, and never got one. I bet that would be faster, and you wouldn’t be using your hat slot, which might be better in a lot of situations. But the Crown of Thrones is more entertaining, a cooler idea, and has more stuff for me to see, which makes it a completely better in every way kind of item. I really like it, and I can’t wait to really get to give it a go.

Basically, I feel this is completely worth it. It’s totally neat. It has the flavor and effects that I want from an IoTM. Huzzah!

Last night, after having a nice visit with the kitty, who got back from her vacation, I stayed up later than I should have playing Space Channel 5 Part 2.

Why?
Well, mostly because of this.

Because Mamabliss is way too nice, that happened, as something to cheer me up, because I was all… whatever. And that is just so fucking amazing. It put a huge grin on my face.

So how could I not dig out my Space Channel 5 Special Edition discs and play a little on my PS3?

Space Channel 5 is so flawed in so many ways, but it has so much energy and style, I really just can’t help but love it, even now, so many years after the fact, when it’s problems are even clearer. It fills me with so much energy, and puts a smile on my face. If I had the body not to embarrass myself, I’d cosplay Ulala all the goddamn time. I love the games.

Needless to say, I went to bed tired, but very happy. I’m not saying it knocked me out of my funk completely, but… I got a night off. That was damn nice. So here’s a public thanks for an awesome picture. Thanks, hon! You’re awesome!

Since last Friday, say, I’ve been in a horrible depressive funk. It’s kind of shitty. I’ve been working on Assassin’s Creed 2 and hiding to attempt to combat this, but I don’t know how well it’s gone. I’ve basically been lashing out at Brer and being pretty stupid and secluded. Cara said I was “absent.” I guess that works.

I really wish I had a handle for why I get like this. I mean, I have theories. I’m burning all my social energy and I’m running out, or my body just decides it’s not going to take any more and needs a break. I don’t know. I just hate how awful I am. I hate not really understanding why I feel so horrible, and I hate that these situations have come back. I used to be able to ignore them, or at least keep them to one evening, but this shit has gone on for like 4 days and may still continue. I don’t know.

Anyway, moodiness sucks and I hate it, the end.

Still, I guess it’s nice to have a little time to indulge it. And I survived the semester with a 4.0, even with everything I was fighting with the whole time.

I have it together. Kind of. Even if I am completely broken sometimes.

Yep.

See, it’s supposed to be like Saddle, but I put LoL in there, because this post is about LoL.
Amazing.

Now that the school semester is over, I’m finding time to get back to playing LoL multiplayer and whatnot, which is lovely. I really do enjoy that game, more than I ever expected myself to when I installed it. It’s probably because I’ve got Essner and Jonathan hooked, so I always have actual teammates to play with. It also helps that I’m actually getting competent with people.

The first character I decided to main was Tristana. She’s nice, of course. I still enjoy her. But I really got the hang of her because she’s the first character where I really learned how to use all of her moves. I could do some serious killing.
Yet, that’s not really my style. I enjoy having a heal. But I never really felt like I was effective with any of the healers I had played, except maybe Kayle, but even then, she’s very “heal herself” focused and not actually for healing a group.

Then I tried Nidalee and fell in love. I purchased her immediately, and I haven’t looked back.

Now, I don’t really care for her flavor, perse? She also doesn’t look particularly cool. But her abilities just fit me perfectly. Basically, she can, when she hits level 6, shapeshift into a Cougar. This cougar has a completely different set of abilities: one created to kill people. As a human, her set is extremely support, although her Javelin Toss can do some decent damage.

This works just perfect for me.

Most of the time, I can be support and defensive. I can use Primal Surge to heal and Javelin Toss to finish off foes. Bushwack is great for tracking traveling foes as well, of course, though it’s never really a big attack. Still, useful. Then, later, when I want to kill something, I can switch to the Cougar. Takedown is REALLY powerful, Claws are fun, and Pounce works similarly to how Tristana’s rocket jump works, in that I can use it to help me escape from situations, which is awesome.

Basically, I know how to use all her moves. I know what they’re for, and most of the time, I can apply them. I feel like I’m doing things as Nidalee, and she fits my playstyle. It’s completely badass. I’m even getting to the point where I can actually hit people with Javelin Toss, which is extra awesome, as I’m not really the best at skill shots.

Yeah, it’s good to be playing LoL again, and now that Essner has a good computerbox and a headset, I envision many more rounds being played. I can’t wait.

I order Essner’s birthday present from Amazon I get this electronic mail that says that hey, I have $5 of MP3 credit for no apparent reason now! Therefore, I felt like I needed to go attempt to search for music. However, I’m horrible at such things. I ended up wandering around the site for a long time, but eventually I looked up My Robot Friend, and found their latest album, and… well…

Take a listen. And watch.

This song is amazing. It kind of sums up exactly what I love about Hot Action, their first album. It’s kind of creepy, kind of upbeat and kind of not, and it just hits all the important notes. The lyrics are just so awesome as well, and that video is kind of creepy.

Needless to say, that’s all I’ve been listening to since. Just that song, over and over and over again.

I’ve got this copy of Windows 7 Ultimate, completely legit, sitting right here next to me. I’d love to have Windows 7 on here.

I just don’t want to install it.

I keep making lists in my head of everything I need to back up. Chat logs. DnD characters for these campaigns I’m about to do. MP3s. All my iPod games, somehow. So much stuff to potentially forget. Then it’s all the time it would take to reinstall all my key programs and get everything set up…

Most of the time, when I have to do this, it’s because of a catastrophic problem such that going through all that is better than not, or because going through all that is going to get me a nice, beefy, new machine, ready to roll. This isn’t going to get me either. This will be the exact same machine with the exact same power. Granted, I quite like Windows 7, and it’ll be nice to have it on my main box. But the difference won’t be huge. It’s hard to find the motivation.

Some day this summer. Just like all the other things I have to do this summer. Someday soon I’ll make that upgrade. It’ll be a long, boring day, honestly. But I’ll make it happen. I’m sure to tell you all about it when I do, too.

Feature I’m most looking forward to? Well, I bet Windows 7 will have less shitty support for multiple monitors. That excites me quite a bit. We’ll see when I install it, though, I suppose.