The Random Ramblings of Klytus

My birthday has always been the one day of the year when I have freely allowed myself to hold expectations that good things will happen for me.

And now, at the tender age of 42, it has finally sunk through my neutronium-thick skull that this is a big mistake.

Work was really stressful today, but I was OK, and really looking forward to my plans for tonight. I was also looking forward to a birthday celebration this weekend. Well, towards the end of the day, my plans for the weekend got scrubbed. Disappointing, but Life Happens™, and I still had my birthday celebration to look forward to, tonight. Less than half an hour later, that got scrubbed.

Any other day of the year, this would not have hit me so hard. But goddamnit, today is my birthday! I'm not only allowed to have good things happen for me today, they are supposed to happen! And my friends and loved ones are supposed the ones who conspire behind the scenes to make my day a good one... not be the ones who are actively raining on my parade.

Alas, when you have expectations, you set yourself up for disappointment. In The Grand Scheme of Things™, nothing makes the anniversary of one's birth any more or less special than any other day. If it turns out to be an better day for you than most, wonderful. But to have the expectation that it should be... foolish.

The Universe™ does not care about the Way Things "Should Be"™... there is only The Way Things Are™.

Each day is exactly what we make of it.

No exceptions.

Not ever.

Not even for your birthday.

That is the real answer.

The Universe™ is a harsh Mistress.

Lesson learned.

Ever forward...

And so, as of 12:24am on August 10th, 2011, I am, for the next year, the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything.

Current Location: home
Current Mood: amused

For me, gaming, be it of the table-top RPG or online MMO variety, has always been nothing more than a hobby and a fun way to kill time.

However, thanks to this heatwave, I have taken one step closer to the Dark Side of being a "hard core" gamer.

You see, since my present abode does not have you would call state-of-the-art central air conditioning, I have needed to do a number of things to keep my room as cool as possible: multiple fans, room darkening shares, and keeping the lights off as much as possible. Of course, having the lights off makes it hard to type when I'm on the computer...

What? No! I can't turn the computer off to keep things cooler! That's just crazy talk! Besides, a big part of the reason to keep the room cooler is not just for my comfort, but to keep my computer from overheating.

So anyway, not being a touch-typist, I've had to keep some lights on in order to use the computer: the monitor doesn't always generate enough light to see the keys by, and I'm prone enough to typos and missed keystrokes in broad-daylight as it is, already. However, lights generate heat, and a lot of it. Even the flourescent light bulbs. Ergo, hit on the idea of an LED illuminated keyboard. When I was looking at what was available, I saw that for an extra $20, I could get a gamers keyboard with variable hues for the keys and programmable macro keys. I figured, "What the heck," and got it.

Since I play Champions Online, it didn't take me long to start setting up the macro keys. It even has one really nice feature that lets you have the macro key be single-press or a toggle, and programmable with a time delay. For one of my characters in CO, this has been a godsend. He has a power that can be refreshed and stack upon itself... provided I remember in the middle of combat and/or flying around to hit the button for it in that very narrow window between when it's done recharging and when the stacks expire (the refresh time is 24 seconds, but the stacks expire in 28) . However, I now have a macro key that, once I press it, will log in that keystroke every 25 seconds (or at the interval of my choosing), and will keep on doing it until I un-toggle it.

Does this make me a "serious" gamer?

Regardless, at least I know I'm still not hardcore: I don't have guild buddies, I don't make plans around online game events, and I do not consume energy drinks to stay awake for gaming, nor to keep me going at work because I was up gaming too late the night before.

All thanks to the heatwave.

Current Location: home
Current Mood: amused

A dear friend of mine, living in DC, who has been unemployed since early June and is presently recovering from surgery, has just been advised by her landlord that she and her dog have 15-days to move out. Unless DC has laws that allow something other than 30-days notice to evict a person, this 15-days bit is bullshit. However, she is still faced with the problem of needing to find a new place to live (and once that is pet-friendly no less) while she is out of work.

Unfortunately, my living situation doesn't make it possible for me to have her and her mid-sized dog (who is a real sweetie) stay with us. So please boost this signal and/or contact me if you are able to help her out.

Current Mood: cranky

Shamelessly stolen from Uncle Grayhawk (aka grayhawkfh) because it is so worth spreading.

Current Mood: inspired

Mar. 18th, 2011 05:02 pm Very cool (ganked from whillow)

You were born during a Waning Crescent moon

This phase occurs right before the new moon.

- what it says about you -


You appreciate closure. It bothers you when people promise to do something and then don't follow through. You want to able to right the wrongs of the past. Studying history motivates you to improve the world. You put a lot of hope in the future and look forward to seeing technology and progress improve our lives.

What phase was the moon at on your birthday? Find out at Spacefem.com

Current Mood: curious

With good fortune beyond compare, shesqueals had a last-minute cancellation of plans and was able to help me move. Good thing, too, or else there is no way I could have gotten finished in just one day. A little help from the landlord and my new roommate was also very welcome, otherwise getting my mattress and box spring up to the third floor in those narrow stairways would not have happened. My new landlord was taken by surprise that I was actually ready and able to move just two days after I told him I wanted the room. Still, he wasn't exactly complaining.

Both shesqueals and I were desperately worn out by the end of it all. I was able to tough-it-out and make it into work the day-after. But by Tuesday (March 1st) I realized I needed a day of rest to recover somewhat from the ordeal. I was still sore and aching for the rest of the week, but was feeling like myself again by Saturday... just in time for me to get my housewarming gift from shesqueals: a set of brand new non-stick-coating pots and pans with kitchen utensils, plus a full set of knives. Now, I have no excuses for not using the kitchen more often.

So here it is, ten days later, and everything is in good order. All the unpacking is done, and the room is set-up the way I want it. There was a rather good sized mirror I inherited from the previous roommates, and earlier tonight I got the proper hooks and such to get it hung in a good spot. I'm also letting some glue set as part of some repairs I'm doing to one of my dressers drawers (the bottom keeps coming loose). The only loose ends I have left to deal with are a box of "things" I will either toss and/or give away, and to get some shelves or something for the smaller closet so I can better organize the stuff that’s in there. I may also get a rug of some sort to cover the rough-spots in the hardwood floor.

But all-in-all, this place feels like home... and that is a really good feeling.

Ever forward...

Current Location: home
Current Mood: accomplished

I have a truck for tomorrow, which is a very good thing.

I don't suppose any of my LJ buddies are free to help me move tomorrow? Maybe? Please? If you are, please ping me. In addition to my undying gratitude, I will happily take you out to dinner. It isn't that I have that much stuff, but help will make it go faster, and I'll need help moving the bed.

Thanks in advance.

Current Location: moving

After an amazingly stressful few days, I have a new place to live. At least, I will on Sunday once I sign the 1-year lease and pay the first month's rent and the security deposit. But at least this time around, I'm not waiting on more meetings and the like. We have a verbal contract, and are on-track for me move on Sunday.

On the down sides, the room lacks carpeting, I’ll be sharing a bathroom with the other roommate, and parking is limited. But the up-sides are more than worth it. It's just 1.5 from where I live now, and just 2 miles from work, so I can still come home for lunch. The room is not only larger than the one I now have, but has a huge walk-in closet. There is also space in the kitchen, fridge, and pantry for my own stuff.

My only real obstacle, now, is making sure I can get a U-Haul or some other kind of truck on Sunday. I may also need to hire a couple of day-laborers to make the hauling a bit easier.

All that having been said, things are finally... er... moving in the right direction.

Ever forward...

Current Location: moving
Current Mood: tired

The current residents of the house I thought I was going to be moving into decided they wanted to give a friend of theirs a shot at the room, instead. But I only learned this after I turned down an offer for a different room I liked because I did not think it fair to keep that owner waiting on me, and after they left me hanging for three days waiting for a final answer. Furthermore, my aformentioned second-choice room is now no longer available.

In effect, I lost two rooms thanks to this bullshit.

Still, if this is common behavior for them, then they actually did me a favor by passing me over like this.

Meanwhile, I'm back to Square One™ on the room hunt...

Current Location: room hunting
Current Mood: annoyed