Monday again.  I got some of my Christmas decorating done over the weekend, but not all.  Hopefully I'll get most of the rest of it done tonight. 
 
Payday Wednesday.  Thank goodness.  Between bills, Christmas shopping, and an account that has dipped below zero... this paycheck will be very welcome.  As for Christmas shopping, I still have most of it to do.  And it'll probably be pretty slim all around this year, with just a couple gifts for each person. 
 
The hubby is also supposed to be going with my best friend on Wednesday to go Christmas shopping for me.  We'll see if this happens. 
 
Office holiday party Friday.  That means no work for most of the day.  Also means I get to drink at work woohoo! 
 
Oh, other thing I have to do this week - pay for my law school application and get that sent off assuming my final letter of recommendation has made it in by then.  Which also means I need to revise my personal statement, and I think I need to write a scholarship essay.  Ugh. 
 
Hoping to get my hunter to 60 this week.  I think she just hit 56 yesterday so that shouldn't be too much of a problem.  Then she can finally use that rocket mount that's been in her bags for like a year. 
 
Oh yeah, and gonna rape the husband.  Granted it's only been over a week but damnit.

That's the title of a song by The White Stripes - Rag & Bone.  Cool song.  Also the new song for the commercials for American Pickers on the History Channel.  At home, Rag & Bone is also used to refer to when I'm ragging.  Which is currently.  Yay for being a goddamn woman. 
 
So this week hubby and I nearly went at it real good.  See, up until August, I had been unemployed for the last two years.  Yes, I spent a lot of my time on my ass playing video games.  But I also did the cooking, the cleaning, the laundry, etc etc.  Now, I'm back to working full time, and my husband is currently at home because he's in the off season.  Who do you think does the cooking, the cleaning, the laundry, etc etc? 
 
Here's how it happened.  Monday night I go to bed around midnightish.  My normal bedtime when I'm playing WoW.  (Otherwise it would be an hour or so earlier.)  The hubby has been screwing his sleep schedule up all over the place so I think he was up all night Monday night, and came to bed just as I was getting up for work Tuesday morning.  Something like that.  Because the dogs knew he was up, they didn't let me sleep and wanted to be out with him.  Fine, I let them out of the bedroom, and figured he'd watch them. 
 
I really should know better after twelve years. 
 
My daughter and I get up Tuesday morning to get ready for school and work.  We walk into the living room and lo and behold, there are three huge piles of dogshit in the middle of the living room floor.  Greeeaaaat.  So I have my daughter pick up two of the piles (hey, that's what kids are for!).  She asked if she should pick up the third, and I said no... let's leave it, see if your father notices and/or picks it up.  After all, I wasn't going to be home for another 11-12 hours.  I'd imagine he'd notice it by then, right?  Right? 
 
So... I get home, and of course it's still there.  He never noticed it.  He even tried to pin it on the kid, tried telling me that it must have happened that afternoon after she got home, while she was responsible for watching the dogs.  I told him I knew that wasn't the case because it was there that morning.   So he gets all mad at me for (a) not making her pick it up that morning, (b) treating him like a kid and trying to teach him a lesson, which of course he didn't learn. 
 
That's when we got into the "You don't do shit while you're at home not working, and I have to do all the same stuff around here whether I'm working or not" fight. 
 
This fight comes around about every 6 months or so.  I know my husband is lazy when it comes to doing stuff around the house.  I know I'm not likely to change that.  But that doesn't mean I'm not going to bitch about it every so often.  Just like I fully expect he's going to give me a ration of shit on the nights where I decide I don't want to cook because I'd rather be playing WoW. 
 
Ah well.  Eff it.  I'm allowed to be bitchy this week.

So the weirdest thing happened this week. 
 
Last week husband and I decided ok fine, we're going to order 2 Collectors Editions of Cataclysm, since we have the previous Collectors Editions.  We ordered through Gamestop, and pickup wasn't available, so they're being delivered to our house today by UPS.  Cool. 
 
Over the weekend, my bank showed a "hold" of the correct amount for the CEs plus shipping.  This isn't unusual, and nearly always happens when I purchase something via credit card.  I expected the "hold" to go through yesterday as an official transaction. 
  
Yesterday I check the bank account... no official transaction with Gamestop for that price.  Check our tracking information on the package, it was in Kentucky and being shipped out to us on the West Coast.  Well, this isn't completely odd.  I've seen this sort of thing happen with our bank account before.  Not often, but the hold gets removed from the hold list, but still goes through a day later or so. 
 
Today, check the bank account... still no official transaction from Gamestop listed in our activities.  No "hold" listed either.  Our packages are currently "out for delivery" according to UPS. 
 
So it seems like we may have gotten our Collector's Editions of Cataclysm for free due to some error either on Gamestop's part or the bank's part?  Either way, I won't complain! 
  
Edit:  I just double checked the order history, and they have marked the order as closed and shipped.
(Total Value:  $189.06)

So, the hubby and I are back on the WoW sauce. 
 
We had stopped playing (again) back in May, when most of our guild up and walked out because a couple of our best people decided they were leaving.  Though we hadn't  been playing since then, our accounts were still open.  I kept meaning to shut them down, but it didn't happen.  Then by the time September rolled around, I figured I'd just keep them open till the 6 year anniversary anyway, so we could get whatever pet and Feat of Strength.  When the anniversary rolled around, I told everyone I'd be shutting down the accounts right after the anniversary.  After all, I have law school coming up next year (assuming I'm accepted) and I can't afford the time required to play WoW, AND work full time, AND go to law school. 
 
So the anniversary was the 22nd (November, that is).  Only I thought it was the 23rd.  So I logged in a day late and missed my effing Feat of Strength.  And there's no pet this year anyway.  So I had logged in to check if I got the achievement, to find out all my talents had been reset and the world was changed and blah blah blah.  I show/tell hubby, then proceed to log off.  Think nothing of it for the next couple days because I had Thanksgiving to worry about. 
 
That is, until the hubby decides to patch and check out his toons.  And I know that if he's logged into the game, that means he's thinking about playing again.  Damn him!  So we're both playing again... I think I finally have all my toons spec'd again after the talent resets. 
 
I'm kinda glad that we left with no guild pretty much because then I don't have to worry about getting caught by people who want to do stuff.  I can hop on and off the game pretty easily without feeling responsible to anyone. 
 
I'm not sure about all these changes from Cataclysm though.  Some of the classes seem to play completely differently now.  But some are a lot more fun too.  I'm not sure what I think about the changes to the world.  I'm fairly ticked that the Defias seem to have completely disappeared (what's the lore behind that?) and that WPL and EPL have dropped like 10-15 levels.  The game changes are so expansive that I really just want to start a brand new toon.  But I can't, or won't, do that until Cata comes out because I only have one space left on my server, and that's going to be for my Worgen Druid.   
 
Honestly though, I have to give Blizz some props.  This is a helluva lot of work (new areas we'll get in Cata plus all the changes to old world) they've churned out in the same space that it took them to do BC or WotLK. 
 
My biggest problem with being back on the sauce is that when I'm on the sauce, I'm heavily on the sauce.  All I can think about today is how I want to get back home and work on my toons.  Ugh.

There's a rewarding feeling, as a parent, when you catch your child doing stuff that you might have tried to pull as a child, or that you know was very commonplace to do as a child. 
 
Like not showing their parents a bad progress report and figuring we'll never find out. 
Or taking a call from the school and saying we aren't home. 
Or trying to stay home from school because they're coughcough so sick coughcough. 
Or getting their friends to call and ask if the kid can do something. 
 
You get the picture.  So if you're a parent, what have you caught your kid doing, or are looking forward to catching them doing?  If you're not a parent, what did you do as a kid that you got in trouble for that you hope to one day catch your kid doing? 
  

 
Personally, my kid pulled a few of them at once today.  Or tried to.  Apparently progress reports from her math class went home Friday.  We never saw one.  Never heard about it.  Until the math teacher called me today.  And told me my kid is missing 10 assignments.  The teacher says, granted, she's still getting a B in the class, but she could have an A easily if she just did her work.  So the teacher and the kid had a talk today.  And the kid begged and pleaded and tried bargaining with the teacher not to call us.  She even tried asking the teacher when she was planning on calling... (what, was she going to try picking up the phone and telling us it was a telemarketer or something?)  She's at home now with dad, and although dad knows all about my call with the teacher, she hasn't mentioned a thing.  I'm not the kind of parent to swear that my kid is an angel... but I certainly didn't expect her to pull these stunts quite yet.  She's 11. 
 
But again,  So if you're a parent, what have you caught your kid doing, or are looking forward to catching them doing?  If you're not a parent, what did you do as a kid that you got in trouble for that you hope to one day catch your kid doing? 

I REALLY look forward to my weekends. 
 
During the week, I'm lucky if I get more than an hour or so to sit down and play any particular game, between work, the commute, cooking for the fam, and taking care of anything else.  And of course fighting for time on the console. 
 
So when the weekend rolls around, I'm stoked, because I'll finally get longer stretches of time to sit on my ass and play my game of choice.  And it all starts with Fridays. 
 
Or at least it should. 
 
But lately, Fridays SUCK.  Work is so crazy-hectic on Fridays, I'm lucky to get out by 5.  Which means I'm lucky if I'm home before 6:30.  And because work's been crazy and I've been up since 6am, I'm already tired by the time I get home, and most of the time I end up going to bed around the same time I would if I had to work the next day. 
 
How the hell am I supposed to enjoy my games this way? 
 
I need a stress reducer just for Friday afternoons at the office.  So I can get home and procrastinate on dinner while I play whatever strikes my fancy. 
 
Suggestions for stress relief?  I don't think I want one of those squeezy stress balls either.  Also, my desk is out in a fairly trafficked area. 
 
I'm talking stuff like those zen gardening kits where you draw in the sand and stuff.

So as some may know, I'm currently in the application process for law school.  Out of my three requested letters of recommendation, as far as I know, the first of them was finally completed today.  It was nearly enough to make me tear up.
 

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am pleased to honor the request of my former colleague Melcene to recommend her admission to the Seattle University School of Law.   As someone who graduated from a Jesuit high school in New York City and whose former spouse graduated from Fordham University School of Law, I have an appreciate for the rigorous educational traditions at an institution like Seattle University.

When I joined This Law Firm on March 6, 2006, Melcene was already a seasoned member of the firm’s team as a paralegal.   She was ready, willing and able to support the probate, trust & estate dispute resolution and estate planning areas in which I focus my practice.   Since our small firm is a lean operation, each of us depends on the others to succeed in resolving client problems and adding value to their lives.   Until she left the firm on May 1, 2008, Melcene was an integral and essential member of my practice team with whom I worked on a daily basis.

Melcene assisted me mostly with probate and trust or estate dispute resolution projects.   Occasionally she would pitch in on estate planning documentation or implementation.   Melcene knew the ground-level nuts and bolts of how the Ex Parte Departments of the Various county Superior Courts work in probate.   I learned to rely on her for that.   I came to know her as a diligent, determined, careful and organized person – all necessary attributes in someone to whome the type of legal work I perform is to be delegated.   Melcene also exhibited intellectual curiosity, often serving as a sounding board – someone who would challenge whether solutions I suggested would actually work.

During the period we worked together, I understood that Melcene was attending school while raiding a young child and commuting a considerable distance to work each day.   As someone who completed the final two years of his baccalaureate work while serving overseas in Army Signal Intelligence working shifts that rotated around the clock, and who worked part time as a paralegal his first two years of law school, I respect others, like Melcene, who overcome significant obstacles on the road to achieving long term goals.   I can’t say Melcene always flawlessly juggled the various moving parts of her life without ever dropping a ball.   I can say, however, that she is someone who has and will learn and benefit from whatever mistakes she makes.

Earlier this year I concluded a four year commitment as a tutor for another paralegal colleague in our office who went through the APR 6 Law Clerk Program and passed the bar.   The qualities of intellect and character it took for that person to complete the Law Clerk Program were matched by Melcene when we all worked together.   I am confident Melcene will find within herself the dedication and determination to responsibly meet the rigors of advanced academic work.   She has already demonstrated her ability to overcome adversity and exceed expectations.

Finally, as someone who didn’t begin law school until after his 29 birthday, let me put in a work for the way someone seasons classmates (especially those who have already started their families) contribute not only to the diversity of a class but also to its emotional stability.   Many students who go straight through college and law school have not yet experienced their first big disappointment in life.   They may have never completed an academic period not at or near the top of their class.   Melcene’s classmates will benefit from her maturity.

Again, I am pleased to unreservedly recommend your acceptance of my former colleague Melcene as a student at Seattle University School of Law.   She will make you proud.

A new Career experience... 

 While everyone was busy watching election recaps, or bitching about Prop 19 not passing, or watching Obama discuss his "shellacking," the Federal Reserve made a big announcement yesterday.  They have a stimulus plan for us!  What's that?  You didn't want another stimulus plan?  Oh, that's ok..... this one isn't from the government.  This is from the Federal Reserve -   According to the Board of Governors, the Federal Reserve is independent within government because "its decisions do not have to be ratified by the President or anyone else in the executive or legislative branch of government." 
 
So what's this new stimulus plan?  Are we all getting checks in the mail again?  Are we going to see a bunch of jobs created or something?  No, of course not!  We're going to buy $600 billion of our own debt!  We're going to print more money, that we don't have, to buy debt that we already owe.  What does this mean in laymen's terms? 
 
If you have a mortgage with Chase, trying going to them and asking them for a loan to pay off your mortgage.  There ya go. 
 
So why is this going on?  Because America's credit score sucks.  We're afraid that if we go to China again, they'll deny us based on our shitty credit.  If we go to another country, they'll ping our credit report.  Our debt to income ration is NOT looking good. 
 
But don't worry, we got it!  We're going to take these IOUs here, and use these to buy up our debt.  By the way, these are the same IOUs that we've stuffed in the Social Security fund that we've robbed. 
 
And no one's the wiser because the media isn't reporting this.  They're too busy talking about Obama's "shellacking" or Pelosi's "No Regrets" or the GOP's calls for repeal of the Health Care bill.  But let's completely gloss over the fact that we could be seeing another crash next year. 
 
See, the plan is that the Federal Reserve is going to buy $75 billion in bonds per month until about June of next year.   Here are some more numbers for ya:  

 The Fed's plan will increase the supply of dollars and most likely push the value of the currency down. The dollar is at its lowest level since December 2009 against a broad basket of currencies, and was down 1 percent against that index Thursday.   

 According to the Board of Governors, the Federal Reserve is independent within government because "its decisions do not have to be ratified by the President or anyone else in the executive or legislative branch of government."

   

 Finance ministers in emerging economies like China and Brazil have criticized the Fed's stimulus plan and said that the added supply of investment dollars could lead to asset bubbles in their countries. 

I'll get to The Good and The Bad of the transcript in another blog(s), but this part has truly been bothering me and I want to get this out there. 

Mr. Smith:  There is two aspects of harm.  the one I was about to address was the question of whether parents need additional help in exercising the role that they have played throughout history -- 
 
Justice Breyer: Yes.  They need additional help because many parents are not home when their children come home from school.  Many parents have jobs, we hope.  And when their children are there, they do what they want.  And all this says is that if you want that gratuitous torture of, let's say babies, to make it as bad as possible, what you do, parent, is you go buy it; don't let him buy it on his own, and he's 13 years old.  Now What's the common sense or what's the science of that?