Too tired to actually write anything much at the moment, so I’m just going to post some photos. I started a post about some funny stuff that happened on my birthday, but I can’t even spell “funny” … so maybe trying to be articulate at the moment isn’t such a good idea.

Behind the cut … photos of some birthday goodies.
Image heavy, obviously.
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OK, got some sleep. Felt weird going to bed during the day. Funny since I used to be on that sort of schedule exclusively. The really amazing thing? When I woke up, I toddled to the computer instead of planting myself on the couch and turning on the TV. I guess life is beginning to return to normal around here. Well, aside from the fact I have totally blown my sleep/wake cycle again. Oops. Not going to fret about it too much. I usually screw my circadian rhythm up when I have a new video game to play.

I have to share this exchange with you:

Orb: Yeah, you start the game as a little orphaned street-punk thief…

Lin: And then you play it for a hundred years, and he dies of old age.

That’s pretty much Lin’s impression of my Final Fantasy games … they are really long, and there’s a ton of storyline. I like my games that way. The first time I play through one, I move pretty quickly through the game, because I am caught up in the story and can’t wait to see it progress. All the same, it isn’t unusual for me to spend 100+ hours playing one from start to finish (the first time). The second time I play through it, I get more serious about the game itself, and 200 hours or more spent on a game isn’t at all unusual (in order to find every single secret and have perfect characters). FFXII may take longer. I already have 26 hours put into it, and I don’t think I am anywhere near the end of the game.

Of course, now that we have the new TV, I’ll have to replay all my games again, a process that will begin right after I finish FXII and Radiata Stories. That could take me a few years, huh?

I don’t know what to make for dinner tonight. Last night I made steaks, and Lin wanted to have White Castles. I’d already started the steaks though. I guess tonight we’ll have the White Castles, and he’ll tell me he wanted fish. Such is way of dinner at Casa de Orb. We have to go grocery shopping soon, or we’ll all be eating canned cat food. My cupboard is getting WAY too bare.

Dammit, I forgot I needed to get the photos off my camera and make a post about my birthday today! I guess that’ll give me something to do when Lin decides he wants to play a game or use the TV for something I don’t want any part of. This hasn’t happened yet, but I think he’s just been nice because it was my birthday and all. Eventually, I will have to share control of the TV with him, won’t I?

Since some people are always interested in other people’s musical tastes, and because I happen to have spent some time at iTunes this morning updating my song wishlist to include some tunes I finally remembered the name of and the artist who performed them, here are the top picks on the list of tunes I plan to buy in the near future:

REM - Daysleeper, Losing My Religion, Everybody Hurts
Jewel - Foolish Games
Creed - What’s This Life For, With Arms Wide Open
Bush - Mouth
Annie Lennox - Love Song for a Vampire
Butthole Surfers - Pepper
Rammstein - Du Hast
Petra - Adonai, Clean, It Is Finished, Hollow Eyes
Shriekback - Nemesis
ABC - Poison Arrow
David Lanz - Cristofori’s Dream
Moncef Genoud - Out of the Blue
The Cars - Drive
No Doubt - Don’t Speak
Ry Cooder - Paris, Texas
Kiss - Beth
Red Rider - Don’t Let Go of Me, Ships

It’s a pretty odd mix of songs. Leaves me wondering what that says about me.

And now, really, back to my game.

Here’s my wish for you today: May you not live long enough to see the history of your hometown rewritten.

In an effort to point someone to a bed and breakfast there that I know is a great place to stay but can’t remember the name of, I was doing some searching on Google. This led me to look at a few other web sites featuring information about the town, in particular the Admiral Nimitz Museum and the new(ish) Bush Gallery of the Pacific War.

I’m not going to waste time getting snippy and griping about it here. Instead, I am going to write emails to the appropriate parties (because I actually KNOW them personally) and complain right to the source about the misinformation.

Furthermore, if anyone would like a well-written history of the Admiral Nimitz Museum or the Bush Gallery, ask me. My parents and I had a front row seat for all of it, right across the street from us and were involved in the renovations of the Nimitz personally. Daddy painted signs and I planted Irises in the Peace Garden alongside the Japanese gardeners who designed it. So yeah, I know a thing or two about the whole shebang.

Annoys me no end when people change the way things were in order to make themselves look better or to make one thing seem more important than another.

And if you want to go to one of these museums, go the the Nimitz one. Even better, go with me. I have a story about almost every piece of war machinery sitting in those glass cases. You see, a long time ago, before that “junk” was important enough to protect, it was all laying around in the field across from my house and another field a few blocks away, and I played on it and with it almost every day … and it was FUN.

Now if you will excuse me, I have some emails to write, and then … instead of sleeping or doing housework as I should … I’m going to go play some more FFXII. The game is getting really intense. Unless there’s something cool on TV, like a nice relaxing nature program.

Orb stumbles out of the living room, blurry eyed, hair unkempt, clothing wrinkled, and realizes there is a world beyond the wide-screen TV.

Hello, world!

Let’s see, what were some of the things I wanted to talk about but only mentioned the other day? Oh yes …
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The cable guy arrived an hour or so ago. Even though he was the most stupid cable guy I have ever encountered (which is saying something), we now have HDTV, and all I can say about it is … HOLY HELL!!! Wow, it’s really something. The clearest, brightest, biggest TV image I have ever seen in my life. I am spoiled now for sure.

But the cable guy? No really … very stupid. Lin disconnected the whole entertainment system and had just the cable box attached to the TV and sitting on the shelf under it. A no brainer. Unplug one box, hook up the new box. It took him forever, and he was asking me how to do it. Ugh. I’d say he needs more training, but he said he’s been doing this for a few years. As soon as he had called in the codes to activate our account, I was hurrying him out the door assuring him we could figure anything else out on our own. Then I got to watch him climb the telephone pole across the street (actually a ladder set against the pole), and I thought he was going to kill himself right there in the street. But then our account activation came through and I was distracted by the beautiful TV images before me. I guess he didn’t kill himself or the van would still be parked on my lawn. Hey, I know it’s a crappy lawn, but if people keep parking on it, it’s never going to get better!

Now I have to learn how to work the new remote and how to record TV shows (recording every episode of Knitty Gritty is the first thing I want to program in), and then nothing but pure TV enjoyment. I’ve never been much of a TV addict, but I think that will be changing.

But for the rest of today, I’m going to do my usual birthday thing and play my new Final Fantasy game until I can’t keep my eyes open anymore (could be 48 hours or more). Hey, it’s a birthday tradition! And Lin is picking up something for dinner … and a birthday cake. I wasn’t sure if he was going to get me a cake or not, and I wouldn’t really care much one way or the other not being all that into sweets, but he called to ask what kind of cake I’d like. Yes, 15 years together, and he doesn’t know what kind of cake I’d like. Can’t blame him really, I don’t eat cake all that often. For the record, I love white cake with cream cheese icing, but I told him a chocolate cake with white icing would be good, because I know he loves chocolate cake best. He’s probably going to eat more of it than I will, so it might as well be something he really likes.

Now I am going to toddle back to the couch, plant my butt in my favorite spot, and gorge myself on TV programming and video games, and later when the cake arrives, I’ll open my package from Catgirl and have something more like a proper birthday celebration with cake and a present to open. Hopefully Lin will skip the candles for the cake.

Thanks to everyone who has sent me birthday wishes!!! I feel the love!

May be quiet around here for a good bit. Just imagine me sitting in one spot for many hours feasting my eyes on all my favorite movies, games and TV shows … being a total and complete slug and eating way too much junk food. It’s good to be old enough to know better and young enough not to care. LOL!

Just another photo I took downtown on Sunday.

Click pic to see larger view!

The things I want to babble about when I am not so tired I can’t form words or type grows longer. Just too tired, you know? I hate that, but at least I am tired for a good reason … we had a fun weekend. There’s a reason we are usually slugs on the weekends. We both have to catch up on rest and relaxation. Even fun things can wear you out.

In a nutshell, things which I will try to fill out further as soon as my brain engages properly:

Final Fantasy XII is an awesome game. Quite challenging, and the graphics are incredible, especially on the new TV.

I also got Radiata Stories for PS2. I haven’t tried it out yet. One video game at a time!

The kittens are driving me stark raving mad again. I can’t even begin to tell you the myriad of ways they are “expressing their independence” and “exploring their boundaries”. Teenagers!!!

I’ve done something to my left ankle. It feels like a light sprain, but I can’t fathom what it was that caused it. Ouch.

I got a package from Catgirl, but I am waiting until my actual birthday to open it. Since I was with Lin when he bought my presents, I don’t really have anything to open. I thought it would be fun to make myself wait. I do like surprises! The most stupid thing ever? It arrived on Saturday, I set it aside while we put together the TV, and then promptly forgot about it for a day and a half. My brain has been less than focused the last few days. So yes, it got here! Sorry, Catgirl, I am an mental feeb.

I Pre-ordered the boxed version of Vue 6 today. I resisted the urge to get the Botanica extension. It’s not on sale. I can get it any time I want. It’s not very expensive. Might as well wait, right? Besides, I think I am going to have plenty to learn and keep me busy just with the base program alone.

With all the fun stuff we have been doing, I sort of forgot I was depressed. It’s great when that happens, but tonight it hit me like a ton of bricks. I miss my dad a lot. I guess I should have found some adventure to keep my mind off it today too, but that really only puts it off. It always hits me eventually. It gets better every year, but still. It’s there.

Sometime tomorrow, the cable guy will be here to hook up or HDTV and DVR. I can’t wait. We haven’t had any way to record shows for ages (VHS is so twentieth century, we haven’t bothered getting a new VCR), and I often miss shows I’d really like to see because they are on when I just can’t sit and watch them. Also, I plan to be glued to Discovery Channel HD. It’s going to be incredible.

I’m sure I am forgetting something to comment on. I guess if it’s important, I’ll remember when I finally get around to fleshing out these limited points of what is on my mind. Right now, I’d like to go to bed, but Lin is doing something in the living room involving tools and wooden boards (yes, at 1:45 am), and the kittens are going insane with the TV box. I better go restore some order, if I am going to get any peace tonight.

It’s sort of my birthday right now, so happy birthday to me! Woo hoo … forty-two!

More on all these things at a later date.

No time to write posts today, or at least not at the moment. There are a million things on my To Do List that have to take a higher priority … like the neglected housework. Since I don’t have time to tell you about the ballet, or any of the other things I’d like to tell you about right now, I’ll give you something to look at instead: another photo I snapped downtown.

Back from downtown! Had an exciting afternoon in the heart of Austin. The ballet was awe inspiring, moving, and just plain fantastic. I haven’t eaten all day though, and I am so tired (and a bit tipsy from a great glass of wine), I’m going to have to babble about it later. For now, one of the photos I took while we were out and about.

Yup, this birthday week is surpassing my 6th birthday week, and shall be known for years as the best birthday week of all time!