The Thessaliad Redux

In FFXI news, I have not as yet massacred enough bunnies to unlock Dark Knight as an advanced job yet. Also, I'm becoming convinced that the Beastmen's ability/likelihood to aggro has either:

a) been gimped beyond all recognition
b) become entirely arbitrary

Seriously, I recall beginning my FFXI-related life as a teeny tiny Deathgnome and crawling up the single-figure levels in Sarutabaruta. I remember being terrified of the goblins and Yagudo that ran around the place while I was busy being single-figure-level nothing. I recall the indescribable noise produced when some nasty beastie horror caught sight of you from some unfathomable distance and being obliged to either stand and fight (low MP, low HP, no hope in hell) or run like the wind and zone out (oh, but the nearest zone point is half the area away; how fast can these little springy Taru move?) or ... well, hope that someone spots you dying and leaps in to help. Your ears become very sharp very fast when it comes to that indescribable noise of being aggroed.

I don't expect to be levelling Warrior and crossing the path of a goblin at level five, only to have it not even notice until I shove a sword in its face. Some of them noticed me and aggroed. Some of them did not. I am ... bemused by this. However, not being aggroed by the goblin that I was going to attack anyway in no way alleviates my displeasure at being aggroed by an Orc hiding behind a faraway tree waiting to ambush me while I was taking my stupidly slow great sword Chaosbringer to a Forest Hare. I came very, very close to triumphing over both. However, I did not triumph over both. The mutant rabbit died. The Orc ... not so much. Bloody Warcry.

So anyway, yeah, I am going to have to go and kill more mutant rabbits to actually unlock this job. And you hear me talking about 'mutant rabbits' and wonder what on earth I mean?

That's a rabbit in the wonderful world of Vana'diel. Kind of looks like the mutant offspring of a rabbit, a gerbil and an owl, doesn't it? This is not the freakiest thing in FFXI, but it's one of the first you see if you start up anywhere but Bastok. Seriously, a look at any bestiary for the game is worth it just for the "OMGWTFBBQ?" factor. One day I'm going to make a list of all the BIG things I've fought, just to say I did.

Also, before I get too caught up in squishing the little mutant hoppers? Interview with Carl M Tanner, Hunter's Get and accountant extraordinaire. This particular interview is kind of special because it's the only one that hasn't entirely seen the light of day yet. See, I wrote this for email distribution and there were profanity filters to be considered and so the entirety of what I sent out was marked out with [expletive] where the swear words should be. But there are no profanity filters here, unless you the blog reader have put them there yourself, and so... ( Interview with a Demigod: Uncut )

Right. Food, then the mutant bunnies go SQUISH.

Short break for food while I ... well ... complain and squee in equal measure about WTF ARE FFXI PLAYERS LEARNING?!?

( My foaming at the mouth may be amusing to some... )

Right. I need to go level up DNC some more. Y'know, to the point where if I go and level up DRG some more, I won't have a gimped subjob. At least this'll be easier. Tele-Holla, ride to Selbina, change jobs ... ooh, I should check on armour first. Anyway, it'll kill the rest of the evening.

*waves* I know I've been pretty crap at actually keeping this thing updated, but my excuse is that I have been busy. Unfortunately, being busy on so many projects has meant that all of them need some attention before I can actually get them to where they ought to be, so there's going to have to be a list. Behold my fearsome list!

- Shopping. This one's essential before I do anything else. I need more coffee, just for a start. Also burger buns and a tomato (there are burgers for dinner tonight - those and my lamb chops with gravy seem to be the hands-down favourites around here, though I've yet to do proper steak or anything roasted), some lunchfood and possibly cola.

- Articles. There are two in the works and they're so nearly done, so if I sit down nicely with each of them they can be done and sent by the end of the day, which is approximately when they're due. I've been really behind on those, but I guess that whole 'day job' thing eats my consciousness.

- Other Writing. So yesterday I sat down and wrote a bit of a flashback thing for the_blonde_one's birthday present. (I still need to post the card at minimum.) That and a whole mess of notes on the HIPPIEverse have got me to thinking that maybe Sir Realist isn't where I want to go yet after all. Or maybe I do but I want to make a different spin on it. It's winding together the two plot threads that's becoming a bit of an issue, but at least I've decided on how the action is going to kick off. Having thought about exactly what I want to do with the skinchangers helps a lot, mind, and the creatures of the various Ways are turning out interesting. Rewriting the various mythologies from first principles is actually no end of fun. Still, that's not getting any actual writing done, so I need to sit down and work on that. Still, it kicks off some interesting conversations as mitchy pleads for less rarity on the wolf skinchanger front because 'werewolfies are so cute and cuddly'. I haven't even entirely decided what I'm going to do about skinchanger battle forms (if any) yet, but I'll have to give it some thought. ...Anyway, at least Chapter 1 is pretty well sorted and I've got the general gist of Chapter 2. Finally got a handle on who/what I wanted the madam of the supernatural-burlesque club to be (hey, redstapler, remember that picture? How do you feel about that picture being used to depict one of Jack the Ripper's victims, resurrected and given dominion over said burlesque club after some serious deal-making with a Lord of the Dead Ways? Hopefully good because it's the best idea I've had so far), which has established the location of said club. So we're moving along but I need to give it some attention this weekend. I thought about Write or Die, but after testing it out, I like the principle but not being able to have so much as a carriage return bugs me.

- FFXI. Now, I know this isn't anywhere near as important as the other stuff, but I am blowing cash on that game and I'd like to actually be around to be of some help to my linkshell. I'm also thinking of maybe asking if people want to go and take on various of the avatars I need to make my SMN a little more interesting. I have the key item I need to go after Shiva, and I can collect the others easily enough, but actually killing the beastie I need to earn the summon ... well, that's gonna take some doing. Then there's going after Fenrir. Going after Fenrir is going to be murderous, but the rewards are good for going after the avatars so I don't think I'll have any problems finding people to go to the cloisters for five minutes. Then there's the stone monument quest to finish, AF gear to get, level cap to up to 65, I really want to get my rank up... Hopefully there's people on my LS who are bored enough to help me farm for some of the bits. Anyway, I'd like to actually do something for the game, given I'm pretty consistently paying for it.

That's more or less it, really. I won't say it's in that order, but the first couple of items are. Shopping first, then put the finishing touches on those articles and get them out. Then I can contemplate the rest. It's good to be busy, even if I did end up with a minor flu bug the last couple of days, but sometimes I have to sit down and attempt organisation, just because the projects get on top of me.

Absolute top of the list, though? Finish my coffee.

So ... been a pretty interesting last few days.

All of a sudden, the phone has been ringing with job news. First of all, the agency I had the interview with last week got me a proper interview with a medicolegal firm in Oxford Street. Cue panic because I didn't really have anything to wear to an interview with anyone that swank. I mean, sure, I have the suit jacket and nice tops and black skirts, but the skirts are the major problem - most of them are several years old. My good linen one is starting to wear see-through thin in places, and most of them are too loose. However, Mum was kind enough to send shopping money and has taken a half-day tomorrow to take me to get more stuff and get my hair done. Which is good because while I finally found a couple of decent skirts after an hour of shopping (and this town is not that big), I couldn't find a decent bra for love nor money. Plus with any luck I'll be able to sneak in a trip to Lush and/or Body Shop for decent face scrub. I'll be so glad to be able to afford that sort of thing on my own...

In any case, immediately after the interview in London got arranged, I got a call from a local agency for a sign-in interview and chat. I went, explained that there was something big in the pipeline and was wished all the best of luck but told to please ring them if it didn't work out because they'd be able to find me something local with no problem at all. Things are starting to go really well, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that they stay going well.

Sunday, I went to see Waiting for Godot with Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan, Simon Callow and Ronald Pickup (Vladimir, Estragon, Pozzo and Lucky respectively). I've always loved that play but ... I guess in a kind of a pretentious way. I knew it was supposed to be a dark comedy but I didn't know how bleakly funny it could be until I saw it performed. I think Beckett's one of those things you really need to see performed to get any kind of feel for it at all, kind of like Shakespeare - the bulk of language and even the incredibly detailed stage direction Beckett gives distracts from the characterisation and it takes an actor to really give it something. And yes, Callow was born to play Pozzo; I didn't realise who it was going to be until we got to the theatre, actually (I sometimes just don't pay attention) but given the types of characters I've seen him play in things like Amadeus and Four Weddings ... yes, that bit of casting was inspired. Most amusing tidbit of trivia I got from the programme was that Callow, the youngest of the bunch, worked ticket counters before he started acting professionally, and sold tickets to performances starring all three of his co-stars in this production before taking the stage himself. Anyway, I had a fabulous time.

In other news, potentially less interesting to most people ... I reactivated my FFXI account yesterday. The updates are loading now, and I probably won't be able to play tonight (the updates will take hours but it's an old disc so there's a lot to update) but I'm glad that, after some finangling, I was able to get my main character back. Satomi the Intrepid Deathgnome (and Lifegnome, and Chefgnome, and All-Singing, All Dancing Buffgnome, and Boogiegnome, and Beastgnome, and Kleptognome, and... I've unlocked a lot of jobs, haven't I?) is coming back! Woooooooooo!

And a note for tyrell, who asked about this via Twitter: ( A brief summary of why I like FFXI, and why I recommend it to all my friends )

Okay, that's enough whittering. I'm making myself unhappy just thinking about it; it's another four and a half hours before my updates come down the pipe.

In any case, suffice to say that it's nice to have good news for a change. There'll be more of it at some later point, but I don't know how much of it there'll be. Time will tell, but things are definitely looking up. I know I shouldn't say that for fear of jinxing my life, but ... c'mon, I have to be positive sometimes, no?

Today was a surprisingly productive day, for someone who couldn't get to sleep until 1pm...

First thing was first - grocery shopping. At around 8am, I decided to stay up deliberately to do this, because otherwise I'd end up sleeping through Sunday opening hours and we couldn't have that... Anyway, when 11am ticked around, I went out, got the necessaries, came home, vegged briefly, went to sleep and didn't wake up until about half-seven. That, m'dears, is where I've been most of the daylight hours. Still, there is food and I have shampoo and stuff.

After that and some cooking of dinner, I went onto FFXI for awhile. See, a friend of mine on my LS really wanted to go through a BCNM fight to try for a set of mannequin hands, and I was hoping to get my level 60 cap quest done in Xarcabard...

( Oh hells, you'll need a lexicon someday: )

In other news, now that I've finished boring you all about FFXI (again), my throat is all scratchy and sore. Given that my head now hurts a bit less, I hope I'm not coming down with something. How much more bedridden can I be?

This'll be the first entry of a second backup file of my livejournal. The reason for this? Looks like LJ's in trouble.

If I lose a year's subscription fees over this, I will NOT BE PLEASED.

In other news, I am a happy wanderer of the Vana'diel again, this time levelling Dragoon. It's actually kind of amazing how quickly you can get into a low-level party these days, as opposed to trying to grind my way brutally through the low 50s as WHM. I still hate the Dunes, mind you - the first party I had as 15 DRG had as its party lead a Tarutaru Warrior with no armour. I mean it - none. There were a pair of boots, a couple of rings, a belt, a cape (none of which you can actually see when equipped, except the boots) and nothing else. Thankfully, we were levelling fast and furious by that point and we managed to keep him alive anyway, so ... you know, I was going to say that this was a good thing but I am no longer sure. I mean, it's idiotic to go out with no armour - if it wasn't going to screw with the party, we should have just let him die. People need to suffer for folly.

Anyway, I got three levels with that bunch, and another three with a bunch yesterday that went quite well, though the puller had no concept of "No WHM healer, no PL - can we please not pull any more mobs when the entire party's in the yellow and my wyvern's about to die?" and a couple of us died. Apparently you get no XP when the person who died is the person to whom the party's level synched. Still, I got through the levelling okay, didn't die once (despite Bogy aggro on the way back from the Oasis because I got lost) and now...

Well, I'd say that's it for the Dunes for me for awhile, but it's not. I've got Dancer, Ranger, Thief, Summoner, Scholar, Bard and Monk to level, and that's only counting the jobs I have unlocked so far. I still want to get Blue Mage and Puppetmaster. I'm still looking at unlocking Dark Knight, which means I've got to get to a level in WAR where I can survive Palborough Mines. And then likely Paladin. Might even go for Ninja and Samurai. I mean, may as well unlock all the jobs, mightn't I? Even if I might not level them very far? This, however, means more time in the Dunes. Eek.

Well, at least it's something to do, and it's more satisfying on the whole than waiting around in parties and praying gods and little fishes that someone of an appropriate level (ish; even with the level synch, past 50 is a bitch) invites me to a decent party within a couple of hours. And at least there are the Selbina Nomad Moogles so I don't have to make the suicide run through Goblin territory every time I want to level.

In other news, I have yet another raving migraine. I am trying to distract myself from it. It is not working. I may have to try something other than silly online flash games. Ugh.

In 2007, I started in on "Suicide Blonde" - the technical first book of the City of Complications series (featuring, of course, the HIPPIE Brigade). And as I recall, I wasn't happy with it. Other people thought it was great, but I wasn't happy with it.

This year, I succeeded at NaNo with what'll probably be book two of said series - actual title still pending - and while other people were happy with it, the major difference was that I was happy with it, too. And, as I stated yesterday, I've finally figured out why: the Show, Don't Tell principle.

The problem with the first book of any series is that you're having to introduce readers to a whole new world, generally speaking. Whether it's new characters and their social circle in familiar settings or an entirely new set-up to the universe, the reader knows squat all about what's going on, and the writer's responsible for making sure they have all the information they need, delivered in a format that isn't going to make them impatient or bored. Which tends, a bit unfortunately, to lead to the 'Talking Heads' effect - too much expository dialogue, not enough Things Happening. Now, it's not that I'm against dialogue; far from it. It can be a lot of fun, and a good read, but it's not the best way to tell a story, most of the time.

So what I have had to do is totally revamp what of Suicide Blonde I've written to cut out the unfortunate 'Talking Heads' chapter, while still getting the general point across. This was a bit of a challenge and I'm still piecing together the remaining bits. Yay, bits? Seriously, editing is one thing but there's a difference between a paragraph here and there and "NO DISASSEMBLE NUMBER FIVE!" I've basically turned the whole thing into mosaic. Gaaaaaah. Still, the rest of the novel's plotted out, more or less, so once I'm done sorting through the mess, I can just get on with it. I have exactly a month. It's NaNo all over again. *gibberflail*

Between prods of the novel, mind, there will be other things. Else I'll just get tired and frustrated with it all. Which'll likely mean FFXI, and occasional Random Acts of Simmage. I really need to level WHM past 52, even though parties have been thin on the ground of late, probably because of the holiday event. Eh well, perseverance will pay off in the end, I'm sure. Now, if I don't get any parties of stupid, this should be okay. And then I can prod someone about my next level cap quest. First, though ... I really should get access to Beaucedine Glacier by Tele. Which means freakin' Raungemont Pass again. AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

*hacksnurfwheeze* Okay, a bit more upright-capable now. What started Wednesday as malaise, achy and a bit of a sore throat turned into a nasty dose of feverish, aches n' pains, chesty cough, sinus kerblooey, there's-a-cat-climbing-up-my-throat-and-using-my-glands-for-chew-toys traditional pre-Yule flu. So mostly, I've been in bed, alternately dozing, reading and hacking my lungs up. Which is part of why I haven't been around at all the last few days. I was not alone in this - poor dodgyhoodoo came down with it the same time I did so there we were - both more or less floored. Yay, pre-Yule flu.

The reading, at least, has been fun. I've been hacking through 'A Song of Ice and Fire', which is always fun. As previously stated, I loaned my mother the first one and she loved it so much that she ran out and got all the rest of them, so I am in possession of the two I was missing to get to the point where George RR Martin left off (and may not pick up for another three years - now I know how people who still occasionally nag me about TLAS feel, except George RR Martin gets paid). Now, tithenai suggested recently that I take my time and not rush to read the last one, but what does one do when one's stuck in bed and the books are right there? Though I'm actually really liking "A Feast For Crows", which surprises me a little because tithenai, who is sort of my guru on all things 'Song of Ice and Fire'-related, didn't seem overly keen. I'm liking the fact that we see a lot of Cersei's point of view for a change, so she's not some near-faceless asp in the rushes, good for nothing but to be a two-dimensional villain. I also like that we see more from Brienne's point of view, given that I never really got her from the two-parter that was book three. I can wait until the next book for news of Tyrion, and I was getting a tiny touch sick of Jon Snow anyway, and ( cut for spoilers )

That's not entirely all I've been up to of late, anyway - the few times I've been able to be upright, I've been hacking away a little at FFXI - hitting macro keys has been about all I've been good for the last couple of days. Besides which, there's actually a Christmas event I'm willing to be part of this year. Instead of chasing a bloody treant around Windurst, what happens is one is given a list of NPCs, at which point one goes charging around the area delivering gifts to said NPCs. Once one has done so, one goes out and starts smashing 'Astral Boxes', which occasionally drop Christmas items. Some of these are Rare/Ex, which means they can't be sold, but the things that can be sell for anywhere between 150 and 1k gil with the festive moogle NPC types. And every day, you have to start all over again, delivering presents to the same NPCs and on and on. It's worth it for the gil, mind; for someone who's desperately saving up for a Tele-Yhoat scroll so she doesn't have to go farming Ivory Lizards for it, and the spell Holy, and any number of other things, that level of easy money is not something to sneeze at.

Oh, and yes, I have been writing. Even with a bit of a rejiggle of chapters on the HIPPIE novel, chapter 15's nearly done. There would have been more if I had been remotely up to writing the last couple of days, and I did consider plugging in iMisc and doing some writing while bedridden but damn all, I just did not have the energy. So that's for the weekend, along with wrapping a couple of Christmas presents and stuff.

So ... yeah, more or less okay, finally somewhat mobile and, while still achy and stuff, better than I have been. Hi, and sorry for the once-again disappearing act.

Dear LazyMoo,

Thank you for taking a message for me while I was away yesterday. It's a terrible shame that the GP's query was delayed because you couldn't be arsed to take five minutes and look up a fucking letter. But of course, such things are not your job and you should not be expected to do any such thing as being remotely helpful.

That said, the things that are your job should be done by you, and while I have been nice and quiet about a lot of the stuff you've stuck me with, that is where I draw the line. This is why you found a pile of letters on your desk this afternoon - they have your initials as the typist, therefore it is your job to put them in envelopes and post them. I am not giving up bits of my day to stuff envelopes full of your letters just because they found their way to my desk while I was on lunch.

Get stuffed (along with the envelopes),

Your annoyed temp co-worker.

Seriously, why does she even have this job?

Beyond that, I'm actually not doing too badly, as these things go. I took a mental health day yesterday and feel rather the better for it - my shoulders will still not completely unhunch but at least they're not up around the level of my ears anymore. Plus I have the weekend to recover from Week o' Hell - that'll be good. Though admittedly, I have plans in that area already so it's not like a total relax-fest exactly.

First of all, must get to the post office. I've got a few books that I have to send out for BookMooch. Given that I've already received Stephen King's Insomnia and have got A Feast for Crows coming in from Japan of all places, it's about time to start reciprocating. I would have started last week but my paycheque was teeny. Now it's not so teeny so I will send bits and bobs out. Huzzah for the post office? (I'll have to nick some big envelopes from the office before I leave tonight.)

Then there's my FFXI content IDs, which cry out for renewal. It's about time I started levelling again, really. Besides, my linkshell probably thinks I'm dead or something. I hadn't logged on in awhile because I hadn't been feeling well and then the IDs expired when I was on low paycheque rations so... Anyway, it'll be therapeutic, and something to do.

I also want to get back into doing DDR more regularly. It might help alleviate the stress - I just haven't had the heart or the energy to go bouncing around on the dance mat the last week or so.

Finally, the writing. I'm sort of in a state of perennial waiting for NaNo. It's like Waiting for Godot, only marginally less pointless. The NaNo forums are interesting this year - they've got a forum section specifically for MMO players. Vana'diel gets very little love but it's nice to know I'm not alone anyway. Oddly, because it's a 'virtual world' forums section, a lot of the conversation turns towards Sims 2. Turns out I'm far and away from the only person who uses Sims 2 as a character/setting design tool. Good to know.

I suppose I really should get back to work now but I'm taking my time, frankly. I have no intention of reaching the state I was in on Wednesday ever again, if I can avoid it.

My last couple of sessions on FFXI have been made of awesome, partly because of my new LS and partly due to just ... y'know, the awesome that is me. In the last two evenings, I have managed the following:

- Rank 4
- Limit break to cap 55
- Fellowship Quest - with signal pearl to summon NPC
- Dragoon flag

So in short - My rank's up, I can level WHM again, I have a NPC to help me with farming n'stuff, and I've unlocked a shiny new job! There were, of course, adventures.

( For those of you who don't actually give a crap about the adventures, a shiny cut. )

So ... yeah, a good couple of days in Vana'diel. Yipppee-skip! Sometime next week I may ask if anyone would like to help me with my Rank 5 mission (airship pass FTW!!!), but there's enough to do in the meantime - levelling WHM, levelling DRG ... it's a thing. *happydance*