Siren Tides

Ah yes, I’ve been gone for quite a while. At least, from posting here. Things are just hectic and exhausting and…. it goes on. And my blog is now two years old! Fancy that. I don’t know where to start on where I’ve been or what’s been happening…

How about we try for a list of somewhat major goings on?

• I turned nineteen waaay back in January. I’m half way through the year now, though, so I’m almost twenty. Good lord.
• One of my cats had to be put down because she was having seizures.
• I have an iPod Touch, which while not especially news, is awesome! (even if apple are market controlling idiots.)
• The Government is actually giving me a semi-decent paycheck every fortnight for looking after Mum, the house, and Lily. (Mum had two minor strokes, for those out of the loop. So she needs help, I’m her carer. The government gives (somewhat crappy) pay to those who fulfill these roles.
• We have a new dog. Her name is Galinda. Yes. Like from Wicked/The Wizard of Oz. And she came named that way. A lot of animals around here are getting named after witches, recently.
• I hate American companies who won’t sell me the things I want. DO YOU HEAR ME, SONY? BARNES AND NOBLE I’M TALKING TO YOU TOO. Or that will sell to me, but charge way more than the exchange rate difference.
• My computer died, taking with it virtually two-three years of art, writing and photography. A week or so before I was getting a new back up drive (the old one went a bit dodgy). Fuck you too, fate. (side note – anyone who has any of my writing/photos/whatever. Sendies, please? I’d love you forever. :D)
• I started a new RPG, on my new domain name. The game is floundering a little, especially since the great computer crash of 2010, but I’m going to try to put more effort into it (and things like blogging, since I forget to tweet. Whoops.) It’s called Unearthly Tales and is a freeform (i.e. everyone can make up storylines, not just the staff), Multi-Genre, Multi-Game forum based rpg. If that sounds complicated, it’s really not. The basic gist is that you can have “small” (i.e. not needing a lot of players) or even private (games for only a few members/a game that is invite only to new members) games, within the most appropriate genre board, or you can play in a “large” game that has a main board as well as various sub-boards, sub-sub boards and etc. These games can even have their own theme set, as the software I use allows me to set a theme for any select board that’s different to the main theme. And it has the benefit of being part of a (hopefully someday) larger community.
• I really, really, really want an eInk Reader device. It’s like star trek in real life. So AWESOME. And yes, I did like ST way, way, WAY before the reboot. So ner. :pissed:  Silly youngin’s. I wanted a Nook, and while I could give one of my American friends the money to get me one and send it on… I think I’ll get something that’s more customizable and directly available to me to purchase myself. Even if not now (I need a few thousand for a new laptop. Sigh.) A.S.A.P. I’d really love a pocketbook 360, though. MobileRead is feeding my obsession.

..Uh there was probably more, but that’s the best I can think of for the moment. Anyone have any good cheap/free ebooks suggestions, by the way? And I’ll try to be around more!

Oh also, on Siren Tides the comments are disabled for the moment as I am getting spammed an absurd amount, and for some reason akismet isn’t just kicking them to the spam file but I promise I’m trying to work it out, and for those few who care, they will be back A.S.A.P.

Nevermind, apparently it got disabled somehow O_o

Oh and… anyone happen to have any good ideas on how to raise money for a new laptop? I know, saving, but at the rate food costs that’s going to be a century or two before I have my own laptop again (the old one really tanked) and thus can actually do things. I’m borrowing a computer for the moment, but obviously that can only go on for so long.

Extremely counter productive. Especially when I keep getting sick. Woe.

On the plus side, I’ve started working on small parts of peoples Christmas presents, and I watched the Scream Awards, which are possibly the most awesome awards show, ever. I’ve also been working on expanding a few of my characters and verses, not just the one related to NaNo.

I’m considering making magnets (marble and a few other types) maybe custom stationary/stamps, lavender sachets for drawers, nice little things as I’m making most if it by hand and a lot of people in my family keep telling me they have too much stuff. Maybe decorated candle holders? I don’t know. Ugh.

I hope everyone’s going strong!

Well I actually didn’t write any NaNo since I felt so awful last night and today that I went to bed and hardly wanted to move. Sickness isn’t conductive to NaNoing, as it turns out. And tomorrow I’m going shopping for swimmers in the next town. :/ I can eat a bit now, though. Which is more than I can say for this morning :/

I confess, though, I did a little light rping today… though not light in subject matter, my modern incarnation of BBC’s Morgana (from the show Merlin) was having a few issues with keeping her emotions in check because she doesn’t want to upset Merlin or especially Arthur… so she goes and has a little fight with Merlin anyway. Honestly, sometimes I think her emotions are so tied up that she can’t even begin to understand them… She’s left for her parents house for a night. She’s gotten pissed off at herself for being pissed off… oh how logic fails.

<3 Going now. Try to write something before early bed. (for me.)

I’ve been working on an idea, a project… if you will. Not (yet) another story, but an rpg. I have a problem, though. My muse apparently isn’t being very helpful with names. So I’m going to be willing to suck it up and ask for a little help.

Of course, you’ll need to know what I’m working on to help, so I’ll give you a basic rundown.

What I’m planning is an AU^[i] Arthurian RPG with a bit of an extra fantastical twist. It’s set in the basic idea that most people have of early medieval  Britain, near the 5th century, actually. Christianity is there but so is the old magic… more of which keeps appearing, for whatever reason. Arthur is just King and hasn’t married Gwen (She married Lancelot, as I said… this is an AU), but rather Morgana/Morgan Le Faye… Yes, I do know she’s his half sister and some people are bothered by this… but.. *shrugs*. I know for a fact I’m not the only person who thinks they belong this way . With the emergence of new/forgotten types of fey and magical critters, a lot of the Christian folk want to get rid of them… and in response those who keep to the old ways are ready to get up in arms.

So a break from the Saxons they may have, for the time being but Arthur, Morgana and all the other lords and ladies and… well, everyone right down to the milkmaid and her mother have to work out what they’re going to do, and how to avoid civil war or a massacre of either side.

And I’m stuck for names. Bugger me sideways.

Any ideas? The best I came up with is “Albion” and “Camelot” and they kind of suck. Too generic… And of course, I can’t start setting up the game until I have a name. Sigh.

Notes

1. alternate universe [↩]

Some information for a really strange, bad and memorable month.

• If I EVER see a bushfire notice again, it will be too soon. Sadly, it’s also somewhat inevitable. Oh for a stable environment.
• The bushfires in Victoria are getting under control, fingers crossed they go out sooner rather than later, because it rained and for those who live elsewhere, you should know that we’ve been in a drought for a long, long time and the rain could dry rather quickly. Which would such. So the fires need to end before we go all tinder box-y again. Please, God?
• I have the itch to see a John Williamson concert. Come back here, John! WE MISS YOU.
• Still need to go to the library. Getting the urge to borrow crafting books. And borrow the pagan books I’ve borrowed 124533533 times, again. They need more. I wonder if any one else here borrows them. Maybe theres other pagans hiding themselves out here somewhere, hmm?
• I hate reinstalling software. I really, really do. I had to get Vista reinstalled because it, you know. DIED. It didn’t even recognise it’s own sound abilities. Sigh. At least they saved my files, though I’m $132 dollars poorer.
• Someone should buy me a mac. Please? Pretty please? I want Scrivener something desperate, damn you Mac-Only developers.
• While I’m chatting about software, any suggestions? Writing software you like? Anything at all, I need to amuse myself.
• I’m wearing one of my scarves as a bandana/headscarf type thing. I look like some weird Gypsy. I should find my gypsy skirts. I need a top to go with, though.
• Jason demands more pictures of moi. I might even listen to him for once. Huh, fancy that? Wouldn’t that be a novel concept, listening to a male?
• Deciding on a way of displaying my fiction in one place thats satisfactory to my OCD tendancies. Am up for suggestions, though.
• Working on bringing an old RPG back, still. The bushfires postponed it something awful, considering it was supposed to be up by Valentines day.
• iTunes loves me. I love it. I missed my iTunes.
• Will be working on updating here more and keeping up with my blogroll (see sidebar) more often. Sorry, folks! Didn’t meant to be lax in that department.
• Mums still not well, I’m a bit worried but she should be okay. I think. I hope. She’s going to the specialist soon, hopefully this time he actually does something.
• Need to go rewrite a support ticket to my host now. New WP installations are playing silly buggers if you put in custom permalinks.