this is gonna be a nerdy post...

about world of warcraft. run now, if you want.

last week, i finally killed deathwing. for those of you who don't know, deathwing is an evil dragon-who used to be a man- who is responsible for the cataclysm that changed the lands of azeroth forever. flooding, drought, etc. he is also the final boss in the game right now.

for a long while, i was a pretty consistent raider-player who groups up with other players to kill really big baddies. in the cataclysm expansion, i rerolled for the first time ever-gave up my old character and completely started over with a new one. and the questing was awesome! then i got to the max level again, and it took a while, but i found new people to raid with.

a few months back, our raiding group sort of fell apart. slowly, people stopped showing up online at the designated time, we replaced them with some real jerks. other players didn't take it seriously enough (i know, it's just a game) and had no idea how to complete the fights, or did not use the right spells or armor. so i stopped raiding. and i was really sad. at the highest level in the game, there is way more fun stuff to do when you have a group of people. and it's surprisingly hard to find a good group-like in life, i guess.

hubby works for the company that makes the game, and he had a few friends at work that were sort of in the same spot, so we all started playing together. a group of five. and that's been pretty fun. but with the latest content patch, the game started doing this new thing called Looking for Raid. anyone who doesn't have a group can join and it will automatically math you with other groupless people, and you can do the end game fights.

so cool! of course, the fights are a lot easier, and the loot rules stink. BUT for the first time in almost a year, i got to feel connected with my hobby again. i have always identified myself and had been feeling a little lost without getting to be involved with my favorite games. i have a reason to log on at least once a week. now, i feel happy and nerdy again. as it should be. For the Horde!

also, suck it deathwing! i totally pwned you!

seeing myself...

so today is january 4th. three days into my new year's diet and exercise plan and so far so good. because of my bad knees, i've only been walking for exercise but i've been eating much healthier. it's only been three days, so the scale hasn't gone down or anything. but..

i have noticed that i feel differently. when i walk past my reflection in a mirror,  i no longer think "what a gross icky slob woman." now, i'm noticing areas about myself i do like- my cheek bones, my calves, my arms. i'm liking the way outfits look on me better. so even though i'm not yet seeing physical changes, the mental ones are great! and definitely enough motivation to keep me on track.

after admiring my not-as-big-as-i-used-to-think-it-was waist in my shadow during my walk today, i decided to treat myself to some cherries instead of some left over holiday chocolate as a snack. cherries in decemeber are, after all, much costlier than chocolates, but i'm worth the extra spending...

the last pic of me from 2011-partying with my girlies. 

and *hopefully*, me at my heaviest.

new year, new life

this year, i started thinking about potential new year's resolutions. of course, the same tried and true ones came to mind- be more thrifty, be healthier, do laundry on the regular (cha right, as wayne campbell would say). every year, i've tried to think of some fun goal to have, but the conversation i have with hubby usually goes something like this:

me: "hey, this year let's set a goal to go on a really fun vacation."
hubby: "okay. when is your break from school? i'll ask for some time off"
me: "oh. well, i only get 9 days in the middle of august."
him: "hmmm. that's a pretty bad time. lots going on at work this summer. can you take a few days in march?"
me: "well, that's sort of the middle of midterms, but i can try..."

and then we don't go anywhere. another common conversation:

hubby: "this year, we should start saving for a house."
me: "with what money, rockefellar? we're lucky to get buy on just one income as it is."
hubby: "yeah. you're right. i just hate going to the laundromat!!!"

so, basically, we stopped dreaming big. heck, we stopped dreaming mediocre. BUT this year...this year is different. before the year is even half over, i will be done with school. which means no more slaving away studying for tests or writing papers. it means a second income. we can move. we can travel. i'll have time for real hobbies.

i've been so freaked out the last few months because come may, the one phrase that has described me since i was four ("full-time student") will no longer apply-although, to be fair, at 4 i was probably more inclined to refer to myself as "The Pink Ranger" than a student, but still... i felt like i was losing my identity. but with the new year, for the first time, i'm not mourning the loss of that identity, i'm excitedly looking forward to creating a new one! so, this year, i want to:

-learn how to develop my own film
-move to an apartment/condo/house/whatevs with a washer and dryer (and room to develop film...)
-go to New York at christmas time
-take a sign language class at a community college
-go to vegas at least twice, possibly for next new year's eve
-take a road trip, even if it's just a short one to norcal
-go to disneylnd (can you believe i didn't go once last year! and i live a mile away!)
-beat a whole slew of video games i'm only half way through
-pass my comprehensive exam and freaking graduate!

here's to lots of fun in 2012! or at least the second half!

secret's out...

i've been attending my graduate program for 2 years now (c'mon May 2012 graduation!) and so far, i've managed to make friends with most of the girls in my program without them knowing too much about me. they know i like vintage clothes (cause i wear them) and that i'm married to a big nerd (video game tester, anyone? one girl actually asked me for advice on how to de-nerd her hubby) but they didn't know my secret. until the end of this past semester.

a girl was in the clinic preparations room and she was all a tizzy. she had no idea what to do with her client. he was only into the "war craft world game." she asked if anyone could help. shyly, i asked if she meant world of warcraft. she did. she said she couldn't have a conversation with the kid because all he did was play "that" game.

"well, um do you know if he plays solo or if he's in a guild?"
"no."
"do you know if he pvps or raids?"
"no."
"has he told you about his gear? there were some new upgrades in a recent patch he might be interested in talking about. or you could also ask him about the lore behind the race he plays. do you know if he's horde or alliance?"
"no."

and at that moment, i realized everyone in the room was looking at me. that was way too many questions for me to "just know" because my husband works there. and there it was. everyone knew.

now everyone knows that i'm a comic book reading, star trek watching, felicia day admiring, "The Guild" loving, League of Legends playing, BlizzCon/ ComicCon attending, level 85 undead hunter. and you know what, it's nice to have it out there. i totally wore my undercity t-shirt to school the next day.

here's to 2012: a year to be totally comfortable being me, making improvements when I think I need to, not when I think I need to fit in, and topping 2011. cause 2011 was really good...

that's me!

the news.

i've officially decided to stay away from the news. watching it, reading it, seeing what's on my yahoo homepage. all of it.

now, i know this may sound like i'm choosing to be an ignorant, uninformed young person (like so many of us are). but i don't see it that way. i'm not boycotting information, i'm boycotting the way the media presents information.

i'm tired of clicking on a seemingly happy story about a child who is cured from an illness only to see a link at the bottom of the page suggesting i would be 'interested' in a story about an abused child or a murder victim. i watch 45 minutes of gang violence, animal abuse and arson before i get to the one happy story the anchor promised me at the top of the hour.

and you know what, it doesn't make me feel more informed. it doesn't make me feel like a more responsible adult. i know that there are crappy people in this world who do crappy things. i know that. i know to be safe in my surroundings and  use common sense. and i guess that's about as informed as i need to be. but all the news does is bad-mouth the world we live in. and we can't move to another one, so what are we supposed to do about it? if i had a friend that spent all day pointing out hubby's faults, i wouldn't continue to hang out with that (presumably bitter) friend. so i'm off to make breakfast and prepare for filling my now empty noon hour (which will no longer be used to watch tragedy) with thrifting and cartoons.

happy monday.

instax pix from hookie day!

i'm starting out this week by being thankful/excited about:

*playing school hookie last thursday and spending a day with my mom and sister. bowling, eating, roller coasters, beach, ice cream. most perfect day ever.
*FINALLY finding the velvet underground album that i've been looking for since 2009 AND only spending $8 on it.
*the rackets and totally 90'2 (i'm talking magenta and teal blue here, people) duffel bag for a dollar a piece at the thrift store so hubby and i can play racketball together. excercise, fun, and quality time? sign me up.
*fresh&easy. period. more specifically though, their delicious fruit, healthy dinner options and apple slices. i love apples. but because of some old dental work, i am terrified to bite into one. i've tried pre-sliced apples in the past only to throw entire bags away because of the chemically gross taste. fresh&easy apple slices are just superior to everything and don't have that taste. who knows how they do it?
*$5 movie ticket sundays and entertainment books that allow for hubby and i to have fabulous weekends at graduate school prices.
*the zombie and dinosaur cross stitch patterns i found online this weekend to use to liven up our home and enjoy one of my favorite past times.

partay.

probably every on the planet reads this blog, and rightfully so. i went to high school with the author, and she's just the cutest. and she had this great idea to start off the week by posting about the things in your life that make you happy and that are going well.

what a great idea. and since the theme of this whole blog is making the best of every situation you're in, i thought it was very fitting.

awesomeness of my life, 4th of july edition:
*fourth of july fireworks! i seriously wait all year for these bad boys. and with a view of disneyland from the roof, watch out!
*bbq's with friends (even if it takes him half an hour to get the grill going)
*finally finding the pool key to our apartment pool and cooling off in the most fun way for hours this last weekend
*a national holiday that gives me and the hubby and extra day off to spend together
*the yellow tennis shoes i got for work
*the newspaper print nail design i just learned how to do
*the creampuffs in the freezer, counting down their last few hours
(those last few weren't 4th of july-ish, but they seemed worth mentioning).