It's hard to say goodbye...

I'm not really sure how to start this post off, but this is more something for myself, something I feel I need to work through. I find that writing things out generally the best way to deal with most things. I find myself missing a certain group of people, even though I haven't been in that group for a few years now. I'm going to throw out a little background information, in case anyone reads this, and wonders what I'm talking about. In the World of Warcraft, people can form groups or clubs, called Guilds. The guild I was in was called the Zandalari. We roleplayed our trolls together, and played the game content together. It was heaps of fun, and I began to consider this group honest-to-goodness family. I'd do anything for these guys. I loved them all. I recall plenty of nights when I'd stay up until one in the morning playing and chatting with some of them. I ended up dating one of them. It was a blast, even if it didn't work out in the end. We held a good friendship for a while after until we finally drifted apart, after the guild itself had finally fallen apart. I wish we hadn't parted ways though, and I'm going to try and track this guy down. I miss that friendship. I also fell in love with another member of the guild, despite fighting that tooth and nail. This actually took place before dating the previously mentioned guild-mate. To be honest, finally giving in and admitting those feelings was a great thing to happen. It made me realize that I was rather unhappy in a relationship that I was currently in. I had no desire to pursue the new love, but it put things into perspective for me. Now thanks to that, I'm living a much happier life, and getting married soon! Byron, if by some strange coincidence you read this, thank you so very much. I'll never forget you (thanks to the tattoo you designed for me. ;) ). Thank you to everyone, in the Zandalari, really. Thank you for giving me a sense of belonging, for giving me a sense of worth. I had some of the best times with you guys, and it is one of my deepest regrets that I lost contact with everyone. I have next to no way of reaching out to anyone now, but to post this to our old forum. jenicsaco@gmail.com, @Jenicsaco, facebook.com/jenicsaco <- Find me! I miss you! I keep thinking about this group so often, and every time that I do, I feel like there's a huge part of me missing. I've spent the last few weeks randomly feeling hollow and helpless. It's ridiculous, and I know that I just need to move on somehow. So, this must be my final goodbye. I keep checking the forum, to see if anyone has posted in the chat-box. Once in a blue moon, a new one pops up, but it's rare. I can't keep doing this....So Zandalari, this is it. I love and adore you guys, but I need to move forward. If anyone wants to catch up, I welcome you back into my life, whole heartedly. But I can't keep looking back, because it's simply too hard. I have a lot to look forward to, and right now, forward is the only direction in which I can allow my self to look towards. Goodbye, Zandalari. Love you always, Mun'tasi.

[Food] Dirge's Kickin' Chimaerock Chops

So I've decided to try and do my take on some recipes from World of Warcraft.  The first was suggested to me by a friend. Dirge's Kickin' Chimaerock Chops (that's a whole lot to type!).

I am sick today, so I was feeling pretty lazy...but, this is what I came up with. 'Recipe' will be posted below.

Unfortunately, I had a difficult time finding any Chimaerock...So, I had to settle for pork chops. I seasoned them with deeprock salt ( seasoning salt ) and some spicy Mrs. Dash. I threw them in the oven for 40 minutes at 375°.

While the porkchops were cooking I threw on some basmati rice, and got working on my sauce.

In  a little saucepan I added some chopped onion and garlic with a little butter, and sauteed them until they were nice and soft, then I threw in the rest of the saucy incredients. Bear in mind, unless I'm following a recipe, I just don't measure things. I eyeball it, taste, that sort of thing. If I like something, I add more of it. Into the pot went tomato paste, Goblin Rocket Fuel ( white rum ), more spicy Mrs. Dash, Death Sauce. I let it simmer for a while before deciding it needed more...Then I added some milk to cut the acidity a little, cumin, chili powder, and red chili pepper flakes.

After that was all done, I threw the chop of a bed of rice, and added some more sauce.

Well..it tastes better than it looks. ^^; 

The verdict? It was pretty tasty, but I would have added maybe a little more milk...and diced mushrooms, if I had any. If I liked peppers, I probably would have added some of those, too.

[Gaming & Nails] Craptastic nerdy nail art!

So, I decided to paint my nails for Video Games Live . This, if you haven't heard, is video game music performed by an orchestra. Oldies, new games, it's all epic. Lots of fun, and I can't recommend it enough, if it's playing in your city!

Now, I'm awful at painting my nails, so this isn't "good" by any stretch. But, here we go.

At 10:30am I got all of my polishes and tools set up. Bobby pin and toothpicks for finer details when I realized my pain brush was going to be tricky to use.

At 5:00 pm I declared myself finished. I could have done more touch-ups...but again, 5pm. I was done..and battling a pretty nasty headache to boot. I'm pretty sure it was all the fumes...
Polishes I used were:
Sally Hansen - Hard as Nails - Xtreme wear -" Black Out", Cherry Red
Claire's scented polish - Orange, Lime, Fruit Punch, Strawberry
Fascino #59, #40
GOSH - Black Passion
butter London - Cheeky chops
Crafter's Acrylic - Flesh chair (yes, acrylic paint)

So, here are the final results.

Blue portal, Mushroom, Tetris, Space Invader, Alliance (World of Warcraft)

Horde (World of Warcraft), Pac-man, Pokeball, Triforce, Orange portal

I'm pretty sure this will be my last big nail venture...This was just too much work, for such a crappy result. Oh well, live and learn! Now to keep them from chipping...not easy, in my line of work.

[Gaming] Pandaria Progress

I will admit, I haven't played any of the high-level content of the latest expansion, Mists of Pandaria, in the World of Warcraft yet. Why? I don't have a high level...I do have one 85, though I consider her retired...It's silly, but I have a difficult time playing her now, without bringing up more sadness. Long story short, I was in a guild that I absolutely adored. I considered my guildies family, and was pretty crushed when everyone drifted away/stopped playing. It's been almost three years, and my heart still aches. I miss them terribly. So, I find it better if I just don't touch this character.
My main, is currently level 81, I believe. So, my fiance and I are in the process, when we play together, of running through Hyjal. We'll get there eventually, I promise!

The starting zone for the Pandaren though, was a lot of fun. I feel that I breezed through it a lot quicker (and enjoyed the process a lot more) than the goblin and worgen. Really beautiful scenery, music, and the quests were fun and interesting. Plenty of new little bits here and there to keep me entertained! I highly recommend everyone make a pandaren, and at least play through the starting zone. I don't want to say much without giving anything away, but it's really worth it. I promise!

Initially, when the expansion was first announced, I was among the many groaning, "Augh, Kung-fu panda!". Yes, I know they've been around since before the movie, but that's besides the point. It's an avenue they didn't have to pursue, but did. Anyhow, this expansion now had my full approval (If that means anything. Probably not. I'm not picky.). I really do love my Pandaren, Dai'xi, as well. She's freaking adorable, and I feel as far as looks...I can most closely relate to them. Yes, I'm overweight, if you didn't already know. (Are there really strangers out there reading this? I can only hope!). They're sweet, and pleasantly round...If I were about a foot shorter, I could probably cosplay one and pull it off darned well. I'd like to think I've got the personality for it, too!

The one thing I'm griping about right now though...is the pet battle system. I love it. I'm already an altoholic, trying to round up as many achievements,mounts, and pets as I can. Now I need to level my pets. And collect even more. The system is nicely done, and I think it's a fun little mini-game to play with...but at the same time..it's one more thing I feel I have to do....And that folks, is what obsession looks like!

Until next time, get some fresh air and enjoy the sun before Old Man Winter keeps us locked inside!
~Jenicsaco

[Tech & Gaming] Reviews Galore!

This is  bit of an odd post, which is my fault, really. Everything I want to blog about today, happened on a different day. If I'd done them all when I should have, there wouldn't be a problem! I digress.

Part the first!

This phone: Utter garbage. 

As I hate my phone, it was high time I got a new one. I selected a newer, smaller company, Wind. They transferred my number of from Fido for me, and made the whole process very comfortable and easy! Let's look at this for a second.With Fido, I was paying $50 per month and some change after fees and taxes for unlimited talk and text. While Wind does not have as good coverage, I'm so seldom out of their area, it's not a big issue. Wind is giving me unlimited talk, texting, AND data. $40 a month. It seems like a pretty simple solution, yes?

Now I've got the Samsung Galaxy SIII. It's my very first smart phone, so I'm still learning my way around it. It seems pretty user friendly though. The resolution is godly, and the interface is pretty straight forward. Obviously, it supports all things Google, which makes my life easier. Yes, I'm a Google-girl, and quite happy with it.

My first Smartphone experience is great! Now I can tweet at my local transit system whenever my bus no-shows or is ridiculously late (which is every day), check my social networks to and from work, listen to music. I can finally Instagram, too! here, have a picture of my kitty sleeping:

The only drawback that I'm finding with this phone (or maybe smart phones in general?) is the onscreen keyboard. I don't think I have fat fingers, but I still have trouble getting the right letters half the time. Also, Autocorrect and "predictive" text are a bit of a nightmare. Thanks phone, for trying to fix my mistakes, and help me type a little faster. I know I'm slow. I would like to not think I'm typing the wrong words, though. Makes me feel a little less crazy. 

Part deux! 

Myself, some friends, and a couple co-workers found ourselves at a new restaurant and bar last Friday. EXP. It's a video game themed restaurant, how cool is that? Originally, the plan was to provide customers the chance to play some console games at their table while they ate, but unfortunately, there are laws preventing them from doing that, and serving liquor in the same place. They chose the booze (yay!). I would love to see both one day though...There are currently petitions going to try and change the laws, and hopefully create an even more epic experience. 

I've only got one negative to this place, so let's get that out of the way. The location. It's right near the bus, which is great, but it's also next to a part that attracts a lot of druggies and unsavory characters. I'm not terribly comfortable in such areas, but that doesn't seem to deter most people.

The atmosphere is great, of course. Everyone was in great spirits, and our waitress was fantastic! Super nice, friendly, and helpful. If I could afford it, I'd have loved to given her a $100 tip. Towards the end the service did slow, and we had to wait a little while for our bills, but it was so busy. I really don't fault anyone for that. 

The restaurant itself is decorated with of course, various gaming art, and plenty of flat screen TVs, showing everything from tournaments to cut scenes. The night we went, on the big massive screen, they were playing all of the Final Fantasy 8 cinematics. I almost cried. Great gaming music, my favorite console video game, and the overall buzz of excitement that filled the place. It was heaven. 

Food! Oh my gosh, I cannot rave enough about the food. This is too much...let's break everything down here. This is what I ordered:

• Ultra Deep Fried Pickle - Really delicious. It sounds weird, but they're really tasty! Fried, tempura battered pickle wedges. It comes with some fries, which are really nice too.  You get a choice of dip..I had ordered the Chipotle Aioli, but I honestly don't think that's what I got. Whatever it was, I'm leaning towards the Roasted Garlic Aioli, was scrumptious. I don't mind that mistake at all. 
• Triforce Burger with Onion Power Rings - The burger was honestly the best burger I've ever had. Beef, chicken, and bacon. Really juicy and flavorful and tender. It was heavenly. The rings also blew me away. I'm a sucker for onion rings, and usually opt for those when I can, over fries. Years ago in California, I had some pub rings that were the best I'd ever had. I didn't think I'd ever find a rival, but I found them at EXP. They won the battle of tastiness! Perfection. I regret not taking a picture of everything...
• Choco Island Magic Mushrooms  - YUM! The little chocolate cakes were super rich and really hit my chocolate craving in the sweet spot. The mushrooms looked so realistic, I really have to tip my helm the chef. Really great, and they were pretty darned tasty, once I stopped oggling them!
• Health and Mana -  This drink was actually a two-parter! Mana came in a tall glass, health in a shot. I don't remember what was in them, except raspberry sourpuss. I ended up mixing them together. I really liked this, but I will warn you, it's pretty sweet. 
• Tundaga (or maybe Thundara..they had both, I forget which I ordered) - Really nice drink, and the cup was rimmed with pop rocks! Haha That was a lot of fun to drink. I really enjoyed that.

Briefly, my fiance ordered Mankrik's Wife to drink (very delicious), and the Greedy Pigma Sandwich. The sandwich again was really tender, and full of flavor. I had a bite, it was very good. He upgraded his fries to poutine (seriously excellent gravy), but I think for the cost of the upgrade, he maybe should have received a little more. 

The bill was a bit little painful for a gal on a budget, but really, we ordered drinks, an appetizer, two meals, and dessert. Hey, it was our first time there, gotta try as much as we can! That run us up to $81, I think. Frankly, that's pretty fair, if you ask me. Considering the experience and food quality, actually, I'd say that's incredibly fair. 

I may not have the money to go often, but if I ever find a little extra on the paycheck, I know I'll be back. I'm pretty sure this will be my big birthday dinner, instead of the Keg this year, too. Prime rib and garlic mashed potatoes? Most certainly drool worthy...but I'm craving another Triforce burger!

Choco Island Magic Mushrooms - Made of meringue, not actual mushroom!

Their official website here: http://www.expbar.ca/

Part uh...t'ree?

Mists of Pandaria launched today! I don't have it yet, as it was ordered online..but hopefully in the next couple days. I should have plenty of time to play on... *sigh* Monday. 

I'm a little intrigued to see more non-Pandaren monks running around than Pandaren, though. I fully expected to see a Pandamonion, not a Monk-ey house. I guess some people really are butthurt about the whole "Kung-Fu Panda" business. Oh well. I look forward to playing it...when I get to 85. It looks really beautiful! I can tell that a lot of work went into this expansion, even if I do feel that the general feeling around it is a bit disjointed. Something that was just sort of thrown in, really. But, they worked hard, and it seems pretty darn stunning.

In the mean time, I've been working on my lower levels, happy to avoid anything new, like the plague for now.

[Gaming] Internal Struggle

I find myself battling with my inner adult quite frequently in terms of gaming.

I love to play games, and I often set goals for me to reach within those games. For example, in Warcraft, I'd like to have one maxed level character of each race and class. That hasn't worked out well so far, because like so many projects, I like to start things over, before completion. I can spend a lot of time in games, and lose track of more important things I should be doing.

I start to think about everything that I should be doing as a, you know, responsible adult. That's when the battle begins, and I start thinking about all the time I've wasted on a game, doing something that will end up not mattering in the long run. I should have done something productive. For me right now, that's working on my art and shops, and app ideas, in order to generate some much needed money for my wedding/honeymoon next year.

So the war wages on, and I stop playing, or play very little in an attempt to make up for lost time in productivity. Then I cancel my subscription...It's when I cancel, that I want to play more than ever. And so I do, and jump back in full throttle. Rinse and repeat.

Does anyone else have similar struggles? How do you cope/keep yourself organized? I've thought about heading into the parental controls and giving myself some restrictions. However, I know that if I had a day off, I'd likely want to give myself more time to play, and end up removing/changing everything.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, being a grown-up is hard! But, I have dreams to chase, so I need to try and keep myself motivated to stay on track.

~Jenicsaco

[Gaming] Oops, I Did it Again...

 I made a new alt...got lost in the game. Ooh, baby it might seem like too much, but that doesn't mean, that I'm serious! 

 Ahem. Anyways. On the agenda today? My alt problem, and patch 5.0.4.!

 Yeah...So, I decided it was better to have my alts all on one server, (or three, in reality), so I deleted my old ones (most weren't quite level 30 yet), and re-rolled them onto less servers. If anyone wants a breakdown, here ya go:
Moon Guard
In my Horde guild, the Bahari : Deizi'ja (Troll druid, guild leader), Boomber (Goblin mage), Tiragh (Orc warrior), Buugi (Troll shaman), Lauradel (Forsaken death knight), Kavnah (Tauren hunter), and soon to inclue Dai'xi (Pandaren monk).
Alliance side, I've got Kisytt (Worgen rogue) in a friends' guild, Jade Dragons.

Medivh
I've made an Alliance version of The Bahari, which is home to Theiah (Human paladin, guild leader), Gimmix (Gnome mage), Shaleyn (Dwarf shaman), and Silvarah (Night Elf priest).

Antonidas
In a friend's guild, Brotherhood of Steel, is Kaijah (Draenei death knight).

I've made it a point to have at least one of each race and class. Because I'm a dork. :P I may be setting up some pages for them here to post their information, back stories, etc. That reminds me, I need to update this page's wallpaper, it's pretty out of date.

 This is what I do. Deal with it. 

Now, onto the latest patch, 5.0.4. How much do I love this? I want to have Blizzard's babies. I can't rave about the account-wide mounts and pets enough! I'm sure there are plenty of people whining about a new, bigger, shinier 'easy button'...but as a gal who has an obvious alt problem, this makes me very happy. To not have to grind on every alt of that pretty pet or mount that I want? YES. No more Mag'har grinding for Talbuk mounts on another alt? Thank you! I'm so happy that Blizzard finally implemented this. I'm sure we'll find plenty of bugs and kinks, as I doubt this was terribly easy for them to set up. (Especially with the pet battle system now underway.)

Pet battles...now, we can't actually use this feature yet, so it's hard to say for sure what will happen. However, I'm really hoping this new account-wide business comes into play with this  as well, in that if I level  a pet on one server, that will carry over to the other. This though, is just my alt-itis speaking again. *cough*

I don't really pay attention to patch notes, so a lot of this is new to me. Though, I did watch a video that highlighted some of the bigger things like account-wide bliss. One feature I'm liking is a "What has changed?" tab on the (I believe) Spellbook window. It gives you the rundown on the changes to your class. How handy is that? I love it!

Another delightful surprise (and another 'easy button' feature, which I love, because I'm lazy), is the boost to guild xp and reputation! Instead of grinding guild rep for years just to get to friendly, I'm flying into the good graces of my guild! For example, I had Shaleyn join The Bahari at level one. By the time she hit level five, she was friendly with the guild. Wowzah! I'm sure I'd be level sixty by the time that happened in the "olden days". Granted, that doesn't mean I've come close to being able to afford the 125g tabard that unlocks at friendly. Ah well. I most certainly won't complain!

In short, thank you Blizzard! You've made the life of a hopeless altoholic so much more happy and enjoyable. <3

-Jenicsaco

PS: While it's not super fantastic, my lag problem seems to have vanished when I got a new mouse! Yay :D


Edit:: Drats, looks like I'm going to have to wait to update Modelviewer before I can update that. :<

[Gaming] I Want to play, I swear

I would love nothing more to play some more World of Warcraft, and get my level 80 druid to 85, so I can delve into Pandaria content soon.

However...I'm experiencing some serious lag. I don't know what has changed, because maybe...two weeks ago, it was fine. Not perfect, at 30fps, but it was good enough for me. At the moment, it bounces between 30, and 7 frames per second. Half the time, it still reads 30, but obviously is not. My mouse apparently has some issues as well...I'm not a fan of holding down the buttons on my keyboard for too long at a time, so I use the double mouse button method of running. That has started to...lag on me as well. I'm running, and every few seconds, the movement pauses for a second. It's incredibly distracting.

I play a variety of other games, and their quality hasn't changed...I don't know if it's something to do with Warcraft, or is something on my end. I should probably look into that. I tend to, however, assume it's just me. My computer really doesn't like to run such big games. Up until recently though, it's done so without much complaint.

I should note, that all of my settings are at the lowest possible options.

I just  had to voice some frustration...I'll log in for a bit, but eventually, I just can't handle the lag. If anyone has any suggestions short of smashing my computer with a sledgehammer and getting a new one, please let me know. <3

~Jenicsaco