Month: May 2006

  • Good News for Ben



     

    About a month ago Da was shocked to discover that all of my gaming groups were not gaming, and that I had not role played in many weeks. That drought has finally ended. Monte ran another session of his Star Trek: Secret War campaign Saturday night. Kitty and Rusty were kind enough to relaunch hosting our weekly game session by providing a Memorial Day Weekend barbeque. 

     

    From there, our characters reviewed our situation:  something has affected the timestream and desparetly needs fixing.  People remember being of different races and/or genders than they current possess.  Worse, the written history supports their current forms.  However, while 10% of the galaxy is suffering from this catastrophy, only six of us are missing a ten year block of memories.  Three of us six appear in a photograph dated to 2006, with the caption reading about a bar fight in Hong Kong, China, Earth.  Strangely enough, the three of us appear in yet again different species forms in the image.  The best Federation scientists seem to have traced the change to the timestream to this same year and plan to send us back to correct the timestream, recinding the temporal prime directive to achieve that goal (and that goal alone).

     

    Upon further research, we discovered that the image has an imbedded logo for something called IKTV.  We were able to deduce that IKTV was some kind of local broadcast network and that the news image is actually a still from that broadcast.  Considering how many world wars have occurred since that time, it's not too surprising that we could find no data on that network. 

     

    So as we prepared for the mission back through time, the head of our medical team decided to retire.  That caused Lt. Cmdr. Fiora to be promoted to lead medical officer.  Each of the six of us attuned to the Bajoran Orb of Time seem to be on the Federation fast track.  Almost as if the chi of the universe was smiling on us....

     








    You Are Midnight

    You are more than a little eccentric, and you're apt to keep very unusual habits.
    Whether you're a nightowl, living in a commune, or taking a vow of silence - you like to experiment with your lifestyle.
    Expressing your individuality is important to you, and you often lie awake in bed thinking about the world and your place in it.
    You enjoy staying home, but that doesn't mean you're a hermit. You also appreciate quality time with family and close friends.






     

    "Goals:  Setting goals inspires us to go the distance." ~ Motivations:  Inspired Visions Planner for 2005

  • A Question Answered


     

    felgild asked if I'm a cradle or convert.  As a cradle Catholic, I was raised to attend mass and do good in secret.  My mother is Catholic and my father...well he's not even Christian.  My mother hated her Catholic school years, so she made sure I was in public school.  So my mother's and godparents' example, Sunday morning mass, and religious education was all I had for faith formation.  Because I was always interested in learning more about my faith, I was constantly told I should become a priest.  Because I was brought up to not follow the crowd I rejected the idea.  The same way that I have no intention to ever read or ever watch Forest Gump or The Da Vinci Code. 

     

    My parents always brought me up that the two things you don't discuss with people are politics and religion.  They're supposedly too personal and can lead to trouble.  Luckily, I was brought up to not worry about what others think of you, so I welcome discussions of faith and politics.  However, that does mean that my evangelization is more to lead by quiet example than proselytize on the street corner.

     

    Thanks to Kitty for the quiz:
















    Your Political Profile:
    Overall: 65% Conservative, 35% Liberal
    Social Issues: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal
    Personal Responsibility: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal
    Fiscal Issues: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal
    Ethics: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal
    Defense and Crime: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal


     


    "...here it is important to remember our Catholic teaching on the Communion of Saints, all those past and present: the Church Militant on earth, the Church Suffering in Purgatory, and the Church Victorious in Heaven – all alive to one another, praying, interceding for one another." ~ A Primer on Catholic Symbolism by a Poor Clare Colettine Nun

  • What the Heart Longs For


     


    So I'm going through my mail earlier this week, and on the cover of The Catholic Sun is a picture of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adortation in prayer. And my first thought is, I'd like even a small part of the grace they exhibit in that picture. Even a small fraction, like 10% or something, seems so far removed from where I am right now in my spiritual journey. I know that none of us are worthy, but can receive grace if we just ask. I want it, yet I fear it as well. So I pray to discern my vocation: continue as a single lay member as planned, become a husband, or become a religious. I always wanted to prove that people could be dedicated single lay members, yet how can I taste of such grace as I long for while among the sin and depredations of the world? As if my long term plans weren't already shaken. Perhaps God just wants me better aware of what other's have. Or perhaps He has a plan to incorportate bits of the three vocations together in some way I just do not see, such as having that grace in my single lay life. Prayer and patience will see me through.


     

    Thanks to felgild for the quiz:




    A Real Jedi Quiz



    you are a jedi master. you try your hardest to learn as much as you can about everything. the light side flows through you as you flow through it. you use a single bladed lightsaber and ues the force to manipulate the physical world around you. your biggest weakness is your selflessness. you put yourself infront of your comrades problems and attemt to solve them even if they don't need to be solved. you feel the need to be everywhere at once and can spread yourself too thin with the many jobs you undertake at once.Example: Yoda from episode 3
    Take this quiz!

    Quizilla | Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code


     

    "They are sentinels of the dawn of eternity, harbingers of heaven." ~ Bishop Thomas J. Olmstead about the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration

  • Life Continues

    Learn all about sneak attacks in 1, 2, 3, 4 easy steps.

    Baldr is climbing the walls, literally.  He climbs one, stays a few seconds, lets out a cry, climbs down, runs across the house, and repeats the cycle.  It's probably time to eunuchize him, poor kitty.

    Septentrio has been kind enough to listen to my insanity.  Thanks.  It's nice to have a sounding board. 

    I've always been able to be more open with females.  I wonder if that comes from growing up, as I hung out most with my mother and next most with her mother, without much hanging out with my uninterested father and old school, distant grandfather. I know I have a hard time identifying with stereotypical male pursuits such as sports, motor vehicles, hunting, tools, et cetera.  Yet, I'm well trained in flower arrangements and other crafts.  I wonder if that makes me a tomgirl when I was a kid.  I never really thought about it like that before. 

    Merlz ran into one of our classmates from high school in one of her fitness classes.  So the three of us went to lunch the other day.  It was cool seeing her again for the first time in a dozen years.  Unlike Merlz and I, she has gotten married.  So I have a new last name to learn, otherwise she hasn't changed much for the woman I knew.  It was fun catching up, and Merlz had a photo taken of us with her camera (thanks, Monte!).  As some will recall, she's as big on taking photographs as I am on not taking them.  Yet, sometimes I'm still curious as to whatever happened to the photos she took of me in downtown Tempe for her college class.

    Now that there are no local cons before Phoenix Con Games II, TFLAS has put out the call for NPCs.  It looks like I have dibs on Dumbledore again.  

    Thanks to stacinator for the quiz.  Although I have to agree with trollgod that none of the options in the quiz were actually weird.  Now that's weird.  Maybe it's a reverse psychology thing... 

    You Are 70% Weird
    You're so weird, you think you're *totally* normal. Right?
    But you wig out even the biggest of circus freaks!
     
    "Only that which is eternal can satisfy us." ~ St. Thérèse of Lisieux

  • Stupid Identity Theives

    Multiply has a new feature where they split Friends into several different relationship categories, in order that you can share each journal entry with the appropriate subcategory/ies of friends without sharing with the inappropriate one/s.   It's supposed to help with preventing identity theft.

     

    I've tried doing what I can to change how I journal in response to this identity theft crap, but it's just not working for me.  I want to use names and get the cathartic therapy that writing used to give me.  If I hide portions of what I want to say, it defeats the purpose.  I don't want to go private or protected, but maybe I'll have to do so.  I'm thinking about looking into will law and seeing if maybe I can give my password to a law firm which could then make all entries public 100 years after my death or something similar.  I don't know.

  • The Former, Just As I Had Expected...

    Wow, this site has explanations for the complete I before E rule.


    Well, sometimes we set ourselves up for failure.  Today was definately one of those days.  I had "the talk" I had been dreading for weeks followed by the double punch of the immediate use of "the out" I had offered.  I kind of knew they were both coming, but it doesn't really make me feel any better.


    I did have some good news, which should have cheered me up:  one of my old high school chums, Melissa, recontacted me today.  It sounds like she'll be able to join our lunch outting on Monday, and it'll be great to see her again and catch up after twelve years. 


    Anyway, I think I should pray before going to bed.  Feeling ill over things completely out of my control is just silly and unconstructive. 


    Thanks to Anwelei for the quiz:



    What type of Fae are you?


    "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear." ~ Ephesians 4:29

  • High Before the Low or Start of Something Great?

    Were you ever curious about the word order words?


    Life is great, praise the Lord.  I not only survived another convention, but I did so without getting too stressed or too tired.  Of course, I slept 14 hours before waking up this morning.  I think the month before the convention was much, much more stressful that the actual convention itself.  I actually managed to have some fun, attending the last panel of the night each night:  ART172, DEM159, GAM198, and when 198 ended early the later half of DEM191.  All of the Guests of Honor were incredibly kind and personable.  In fact, they made me wish I could have just attended the convention rather than work it.




    Of course, I just slept several more hours.  So much for not being able to catch up on lost sleep.  I had a lot of possitive and negative feedback from the convention, and it'll be interesting to see how much of the feedback Catherine or Lea use.  I'd consider the convention a success, even with our low attendance. 


    It's starting to get warm again.  Running around in leather actually made me sweat.  That must mean 100s are right around the corner.  I had shut down Program Ops and Green Room for two hours on Saturday to go to the Masquerade Ball, but people kept needing me, meaning that I only attended the last 15 minutes of the Ball.  At least I got one dance in.  Not that the dance caused me to sweat, it was regency.  It was the running around getting the ballroom situated for the events later that night (because the hotel didn't do it's room changes in a timely manner). 


    I'm tired and not making much sense.  I should go to bed.  Hopefully, I made the right decision today.  We'll see....


    "Sanity is a madness put to good use." ~ George Santayana

  • Getting Something Off My Mind So I Can Return to Convention Preparation

    Deconstructing James Blunt’s “You're Beautiful” As A Peer-Reviewed College Term Paper


    Well, I had some intercepted looks and verbal exchanges confirmed.  That was conforting to know that I'm not as crazy as I sometimes fear.  I mean, I'm a fairly good student of human behavior, but when I'm close to an issue I realise that my objectivity can be compromised.  When that happens, I can't necessarily trust the instincts I have.  Maybe I should, though.  After all, I was right this time.  I think I'm right on another related set of data.  We'll see. 


    The more I think about it, the more I understand why I say the things I say.  That doesn't make me any more comfortable.  However, I think that prepares me for the next inevitable situation.  I'll just keep praying.  That seems to help. 


    Thanks to Silly_Padawan for the quiz:








    Your Love Element Is Earth

    In love, you have consistency and integrity.
    For you, love is all about staying grounded and centered.

    You attract others with your zest for life and experiences.
    Your flirting style is defined by setting the scene, creating a unique moment in time.

    Steady progress and stability are the cornerstones of your love life.
    You may take things too slowly, but you never put your heart at risk.

    You connect best with: Fire

    Avoid: Wood

    You and another Earth element: need each other too much to build a good foundation



     

     
    "Once I saw Mother Agnes speak to another nun and place more trust in her.  I complained to Sister Thérèse.  To my surprise she said, 'You think you love Mother Prioress very much, don't you?''Of course I do,' I replied, 'Otherwise I wouldn't mind her showing preference for others.''All right, now I'm going to prove that you are absolutely wrong.  It is not Mother Prioress that you love;  it is yourself.  When you really love a person, you rejoice to see the beloved person happy.  If you loved Mother Prioress for her own sake, you would be glad to see her finding some pleasure at your expense.  Since you think she found you less pleasant to talk to than someone else, then you should not be hurt when you appear to have been passed over.'" ~ St. Thérèse of Lisieux & Sr. Marie of the Trnity, O.C.D. in "Councils to Her Novices," St. Thérèse:  Doctor of the Little Way

  • It really deserves more indepth analysis, but I'm pulling a White Rabbit...

    Why are soap operas called "soap operas"?


    What a crazy, busy week.  A week ago Friday I still was unable to avoid saying something uterly stupid, mentally kicking myself as I said it and watching The Looks of the others as they heard it.   I did a two day Program marathon Sunday and Monday, broken only by mass and some occassional sleep and dozens of phone calls.  The Program team meeting had a lot of negativity.  It was all unfounded and somewhat dissettling for the direction we might go next year for #33.  Do the best you can and you'll earn people's respect.  Don't do (and not do) stuff based upon what other people might think about you.  That's rather immature of folks whose first conventions were before or around the time I was born.  I got slided Tuesday after work by some kids I'd never met before.  They had tried for a half hour to provoke me before I was slided and they ran like cowards.  It was rather pathetic, so I asked the onlookers to pray for my attackers rather than call the cops.  Friday I saw the beginnings of a downward slide in one of my habitually depressed friends, so I'm praying extra hard for him.  I also managed to make my usual stupid comment.  I guess if I'm going to short circuit on Fridays, that's better than what I was experiencing before.  The prayers are definately working.  Saturday the PCFC crew helped me make door signs, much like the ones we made for the first convention I was program director.  I rather wish we had done so for last year, too.  Sunday, we helped a friend move from an apartment to a townhouse before I went to mass.  Tomorrow I hope to mow the lawn before helping her clean up her old apartment.  Oh, and Wednesday I get to go to the hotel to go over the room layouts for the convention.  I'll see y'all on the other side. 


    Thanks to Silly_Padawan for the quiz:







    You Are a Rainbow

    Breathtaking and rare
    You are totally enchanting and intriguing
    But you usually don't stick around long!

    You are best known for: your beauty

    Your dominant state: seducing



     


    "If He permits you to lack something, that is a grace:  it is because He is confident that you are strong enough to suffer something for His sake." ~ St. Thérèse of Lisieux