I can deal with unemployment, such as that is. Getting the internet in drips and drabs is also proving survivable. Six days ago, my Xbox 360 went on the fritz, and that, ladies and gentles, may be the death of me.
I'm still taking my meds (I got back onto Abilify, and it's done wonders). I've got my therapy with Cassandra every two weeks, and through the auspices of a co-op with the Bond Clinic, I've had a physical and some blood work done. My general health has been a little surprising. My weight is down to about 204, and my height is 5'11.5" (I shrunk an inch and a quarter!). Blood tests reveal that I have normal blood pressure, am not diabetic, and am HIV-negative. My body mass index is a tetch high, and don't get me started on the Body Surface Index. BMI makes a certain kind of sense, but who thought it was a good idea to tell folks how many square meters one's skin will cover?
When I'm not looking for work, books and videos fill my time. I've always read a lot, but I am finishing books at a rate which is prodigious. The local library has a respectable DVD collection, and I've been catching up on movies from the last five or six years.
Showing posts with label Xbox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Xbox. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Friday, August 26, 2011
A Grand Day Out
Today I had a nice time out by myself. After the upheavals of the last few months, I've needed some alone time, and a shopping trip was the perfect excursion.
My shift at work ended at 1300, and I had previously asked my sister if she would take me to a bookstore. There's a Borders just down the road from the hotel. In case you haven't heard, Borders are going out of business, and everything in their stores must go. Books and other merchandise are 50-70% off, and I decided to take advantage. I wandered around there for about an hour, and ended up with six paperbacks (various titles from the Warhammer 40K series The Horus Heresy, two trade paperbacks (William Gibson and Charles de Lint), a three-pack of pink and black fuzzy socks and a woven black and white checked tote bag (which I bought so I wouldn't have to lug around plastic shopping bags. My total there came to $62 and change, for merchandise which would've originally retailed for over $100. I didn't think I was doing too bad, but I wasn't finished.
I knew my sister wasn't going to be coming back for another hour or so, so I texted her to let her know I was going to walk down the road to Governor's Square Mall. I've only been to that mall once before, so I spent a few minutes perusing the directory posted just inside the entrance. I walked around the upper level until I found a salon called Brow Art. I used to get my brows waxed when I got my manicures or pedicures, but I haven't had regular salon service since just after I left my last position.
At Brow Art, they remove hair by threading. That was somewhat like being waxed, but different. For one thing, it hurt a little more. The effect was nice, but I think they left my brows a little heavier than I prefer. I can always go back and ask them to thin me out some more.
After the salon, I walked around and window-shopped a bit. I saw lots of pretty clothes, but I was trying to save my money for other things. I did try on a couple of pairs of heels at Payless, including a pair of those shoes that are so popular lately, with the 5.5-inch heels and a platform under the toe. My GM runs around all day in those, and I often wonder how she does it. I don't really want a pair of those right now (Yes I do!), but I wanted to reassure myself that I could walk in shoes like that if I wanted to.
My next port of call was GameStop. I discovered last week that my Xbox 360 isn't dead (it only overheated), so I bought a previously-owned copy of Halo: Reach, a game which my brother hooked me on while I've been hanging out in Havana. Using the gift card I won at the company Christmas party last year, I only had to spend $12. Very cool.
Cruising through the center court of the mall brought me to the MAC Cosmetics kiosk. I could have blown the rest of my paycheck there, but I held myself to just a couple of items. When I still had a femme profile pic on Facebook, one of my new friends commented that I needed better beard cover. I fielded several recommendations, and one I got the most often was a newer MAC product called Studio Tech Foundation. My beard had come in a bit since I shaved this morning, but Whitney (my artist) found a patch where it was still smooth, and worked the foundation in, combined with Prep+Prime/Skin, a primer. I've found that eye shadow stays on better if I apply primer first, so it stands to reason that the same might apply with foundation. Under the combination of products, my beard shadow disappeared. I've found another favorite product, I think. It's more expensive than the drug store brands, but not as pricey as the Lancome stuff I bought a couple of years ago. I can't wait to try it out.
I window-shopped a bit more, but my sister texted to say she was on her way, and she met me outside the entrance a few minutes later. It was a good trip, "A Grand Day Out" (if I may steal from Wallace and Gromit). I felt the most like myself that I have in a very long time. I went out dressed in men's clothing, but I went wherever I wanted, enjoyed my experiences, and spent a nice couple of hours wandering around in the air conditioning. I've got to do this more often.
My shift at work ended at 1300, and I had previously asked my sister if she would take me to a bookstore. There's a Borders just down the road from the hotel. In case you haven't heard, Borders are going out of business, and everything in their stores must go. Books and other merchandise are 50-70% off, and I decided to take advantage. I wandered around there for about an hour, and ended up with six paperbacks (various titles from the Warhammer 40K series The Horus Heresy, two trade paperbacks (William Gibson and Charles de Lint), a three-pack of pink and black fuzzy socks and a woven black and white checked tote bag (which I bought so I wouldn't have to lug around plastic shopping bags. My total there came to $62 and change, for merchandise which would've originally retailed for over $100. I didn't think I was doing too bad, but I wasn't finished.
I knew my sister wasn't going to be coming back for another hour or so, so I texted her to let her know I was going to walk down the road to Governor's Square Mall. I've only been to that mall once before, so I spent a few minutes perusing the directory posted just inside the entrance. I walked around the upper level until I found a salon called Brow Art. I used to get my brows waxed when I got my manicures or pedicures, but I haven't had regular salon service since just after I left my last position.
At Brow Art, they remove hair by threading. That was somewhat like being waxed, but different. For one thing, it hurt a little more. The effect was nice, but I think they left my brows a little heavier than I prefer. I can always go back and ask them to thin me out some more.
After the salon, I walked around and window-shopped a bit. I saw lots of pretty clothes, but I was trying to save my money for other things. I did try on a couple of pairs of heels at Payless, including a pair of those shoes that are so popular lately, with the 5.5-inch heels and a platform under the toe. My GM runs around all day in those, and I often wonder how she does it. I don't really want a pair of those right now (Yes I do!), but I wanted to reassure myself that I could walk in shoes like that if I wanted to.
My next port of call was GameStop. I discovered last week that my Xbox 360 isn't dead (it only overheated), so I bought a previously-owned copy of Halo: Reach, a game which my brother hooked me on while I've been hanging out in Havana. Using the gift card I won at the company Christmas party last year, I only had to spend $12. Very cool.
Cruising through the center court of the mall brought me to the MAC Cosmetics kiosk. I could have blown the rest of my paycheck there, but I held myself to just a couple of items. When I still had a femme profile pic on Facebook, one of my new friends commented that I needed better beard cover. I fielded several recommendations, and one I got the most often was a newer MAC product called Studio Tech Foundation. My beard had come in a bit since I shaved this morning, but Whitney (my artist) found a patch where it was still smooth, and worked the foundation in, combined with Prep+Prime/Skin, a primer. I've found that eye shadow stays on better if I apply primer first, so it stands to reason that the same might apply with foundation. Under the combination of products, my beard shadow disappeared. I've found another favorite product, I think. It's more expensive than the drug store brands, but not as pricey as the Lancome stuff I bought a couple of years ago. I can't wait to try it out.
I window-shopped a bit more, but my sister texted to say she was on her way, and she met me outside the entrance a few minutes later. It was a good trip, "A Grand Day Out" (if I may steal from Wallace and Gromit). I felt the most like myself that I have in a very long time. I went out dressed in men's clothing, but I went wherever I wanted, enjoyed my experiences, and spent a nice couple of hours wandering around in the air conditioning. I've got to do this more often.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Good News!
It took a couple of days, but I was able to get by the hospital last week looking for help. Under the auspices of the Florida Mental Health Act, I was able to get myself a 72-hour stay in a very friendly facility. I went in as a suicidal, depressed person, but came out much feeling much healthier. I mentioned during my intake interview that I have gender identity issues, and those came to the fore during my visit to the psychiatrist and my follow-up meetings with various counselors. I told them that I'm not sure where I fit on the transgender spectrum, and they all said that I deserve to find that out, and explore my options. My visit to the psychiatrist also yielded a couple of prescriptions for antidepressants. I've only been taking them for a week, but I'm sleeping better, and I've lost a lot of the anxiety that plagued my day to day life. I have my first appointment with one of the counselors outside in August.
On an even more positive note, I finally got a job. I went to an interview on Wednesday at the local franchise of a hotel chain I've worked for before. I originally applied for a job there in March, but the position had been filled. They have a slot opening up next week, and they had retained my resume from the last time. The interview was the best of all the ones I've had, and I left feeling very good about my chances. Apparently I transposed the numbers from my phone, because they've been trying to call me since then, and the call wasn't going through. I got an email this morning, and they'd like me to start training next Tuesday.
Another positive development is that I've got a more permanent place to live, starting in a couple of weeks. My sister will be able to move into her new house after the beginning of August. The property includes a small guesthouse similar to where I moved into in December last year. That building was originally earmarked for another person, but he is no longer a part of their considerations, so it was offered to me. I'll be able to get into the house for meals and bathing, but I'll have my own place to sleep, watch TV and surf the net. Going back to work, I'll be able to fix my 360, and Xbox Live will follow soon after.
It's taken me a while, but life is slowly coming back together for me. I look to the future with a sense of hope.
On an even more positive note, I finally got a job. I went to an interview on Wednesday at the local franchise of a hotel chain I've worked for before. I originally applied for a job there in March, but the position had been filled. They have a slot opening up next week, and they had retained my resume from the last time. The interview was the best of all the ones I've had, and I left feeling very good about my chances. Apparently I transposed the numbers from my phone, because they've been trying to call me since then, and the call wasn't going through. I got an email this morning, and they'd like me to start training next Tuesday.
Another positive development is that I've got a more permanent place to live, starting in a couple of weeks. My sister will be able to move into her new house after the beginning of August. The property includes a small guesthouse similar to where I moved into in December last year. That building was originally earmarked for another person, but he is no longer a part of their considerations, so it was offered to me. I'll be able to get into the house for meals and bathing, but I'll have my own place to sleep, watch TV and surf the net. Going back to work, I'll be able to fix my 360, and Xbox Live will follow soon after.
It's taken me a while, but life is slowly coming back together for me. I look to the future with a sense of hope.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Another Kind of Hell
As I've written much about of late, I've been out of work since 2 February. The interview I wrote about weekend before last came to nothing, despite my good feelings. I've continued to pound the pavement, sometimes literally. I've filled out applications all over, in every sort of business, even in places outside of my comfort zone. Yesterday morning I banged out a resume to a donut shop looking for someone to work overnight.
I hate being idle. I hate being broke. That last is especially hellish because I'm not the only broken thing in this house. On the Sunday the family went to Wakulla Springs, my Xbox 360 died. It was a hardware failure; nothing as dramatic as the Red Ring of Death, just a simple power supply failure, what's commonly referred to as the Brick. A new Brick is going to cost me $50, if I buy it from a reputable dealer, like GameStop or the like. I got a $25 gift card from the raffle at the employee Christmas party last year, but I still need the rest, and any money I've picked up the last few weeks has gone for gasoline or other necessities.
I know, I know. It's only a toy, right? A very grown-up toy, but a toy nonetheless. Alas, it was an outlet for a lot of my negative emotions. I was alternating between replaying missions of Halo 3: ODST and my 28th campaign of Mass Effect 2. I haven't killed a hostile alien in six weeks and some. I've had steady internet access for all of that time, but my PC isn't smart enough to play any kind of combat games either online or downloaded. Hell, some flash games cause it to freeze just because it's got an inferior graphics card.
I don't expect anyone reading this to solve my problems. I just needed to vent, to let y'all know what makes me crazy.
On a more positive note, I may attend the next meeting of the Tallahassee Atheists en femme. It'll be nice to get out feeling more like myself.
I hate being idle. I hate being broke. That last is especially hellish because I'm not the only broken thing in this house. On the Sunday the family went to Wakulla Springs, my Xbox 360 died. It was a hardware failure; nothing as dramatic as the Red Ring of Death, just a simple power supply failure, what's commonly referred to as the Brick. A new Brick is going to cost me $50, if I buy it from a reputable dealer, like GameStop or the like. I got a $25 gift card from the raffle at the employee Christmas party last year, but I still need the rest, and any money I've picked up the last few weeks has gone for gasoline or other necessities.
I know, I know. It's only a toy, right? A very grown-up toy, but a toy nonetheless. Alas, it was an outlet for a lot of my negative emotions. I was alternating between replaying missions of Halo 3: ODST and my 28th campaign of Mass Effect 2. I haven't killed a hostile alien in six weeks and some. I've had steady internet access for all of that time, but my PC isn't smart enough to play any kind of combat games either online or downloaded. Hell, some flash games cause it to freeze just because it's got an inferior graphics card.
I don't expect anyone reading this to solve my problems. I just needed to vent, to let y'all know what makes me crazy.
On a more positive note, I may attend the next meeting of the Tallahassee Atheists en femme. It'll be nice to get out feeling more like myself.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Another Blog
One of the bloggers I read intersperses her real-life blogs with entries concerning an ongoing campaign of her favorite video game, written as though she were the character she plays, visiting those places, interacting with those people, and sometimes killing them.
I used to fancy myself a fiction writer, but I stopped exercising that particular talent, and it withered on the vine. I started this blog and the others before it to brush up on my writing skills, to get back into the practice of word-slinging. Now I'm feeling the urge to try out something creative, but I'm taking baby steps by playing in somebody else's sandbox.
In a couple of days I'm going to kick off a new Mass Effect 2 campaign, and I'm going to start writing log entries as though I were that version of Commander Shepard. I'm also going to illustrate this thing, with a combination of promotional images authorized for such use by EA and Bioware and some screenshots I'll take from the game in-progress.
This is not without a certain amount of relative danger. The Mass Effect universe and everything in it are still very much the property of EA and Bioware. I don't think this vanity project of mine will do anyone any harm, but corporations can be a mite persnickety with regard to fair use of their intellectual property. They could slap me with a Cease and Desist order, and that would be the end of that. We'll just have to see.
I'm not ending this blog by any stretch of the imagination, but I hate to clutter this place up with wildly off-topic material. I don't want someone who's been away from here for a while to come back and read about my adventures in the Terminus Systems and come away thinking I'm spacier than ever.
I'll put up a link when this thing is ready to kick off. I'm still trying to find an appropriate blog title, using a phrase from the game. Oddly enough, a lot of them are already taken. That's what I get for jumping on the bandwagon seven months late.
I used to fancy myself a fiction writer, but I stopped exercising that particular talent, and it withered on the vine. I started this blog and the others before it to brush up on my writing skills, to get back into the practice of word-slinging. Now I'm feeling the urge to try out something creative, but I'm taking baby steps by playing in somebody else's sandbox.
In a couple of days I'm going to kick off a new Mass Effect 2 campaign, and I'm going to start writing log entries as though I were that version of Commander Shepard. I'm also going to illustrate this thing, with a combination of promotional images authorized for such use by EA and Bioware and some screenshots I'll take from the game in-progress.
This is not without a certain amount of relative danger. The Mass Effect universe and everything in it are still very much the property of EA and Bioware. I don't think this vanity project of mine will do anyone any harm, but corporations can be a mite persnickety with regard to fair use of their intellectual property. They could slap me with a Cease and Desist order, and that would be the end of that. We'll just have to see.
I'm not ending this blog by any stretch of the imagination, but I hate to clutter this place up with wildly off-topic material. I don't want someone who's been away from here for a while to come back and read about my adventures in the Terminus Systems and come away thinking I'm spacier than ever.
I'll put up a link when this thing is ready to kick off. I'm still trying to find an appropriate blog title, using a phrase from the game. Oddly enough, a lot of them are already taken. That's what I get for jumping on the bandwagon seven months late.
Monday, November 16, 2009
As Long as I'm Flogging Other People's Stuff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL5u2xi6mNQ
This is the new trailer for Mass Effect 2. I can barely contain my excitement about this game. Lucky for me, I only have to wait until January. I like this "Legion" character. So far it's got the best lines.
"We do not experience fear, but we understand how it affects you. Organics do not choose to fear us; it is a function of your hardware."
Ooooh. Scary monsters.
This is the new trailer for Mass Effect 2. I can barely contain my excitement about this game. Lucky for me, I only have to wait until January. I like this "Legion" character. So far it's got the best lines.
"We do not experience fear, but we understand how it affects you. Organics do not choose to fear us; it is a function of your hardware."
Ooooh. Scary monsters.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Looking Forward
I am a geek, and I am unashamed. I like movies and video games especially, and the next six months to a year are going to be very exciting to fans of both. On the movie front, I really like the looks of
9
Sherlock Holmes
Iron Man 2
Tron Legacy
As for games, there are not one, but two Halo games coming out for the Xbox 360. What's really gotten my games nerves jangling is Mass Effect 2. Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBRo7JWy744
In a couple of the cutscenes, you can see a woman with short red hair. That's the default female version of Commander Shepard, and the character I usually play as.
9
Sherlock Holmes
Iron Man 2
Tron Legacy
As for games, there are not one, but two Halo games coming out for the Xbox 360. What's really gotten my games nerves jangling is Mass Effect 2. Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBRo7JWy744
In a couple of the cutscenes, you can see a woman with short red hair. That's the default female version of Commander Shepard, and the character I usually play as.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
What I've Been Up To
I've dropped a couple of notes the last couple of days about news items, but nothing about myself since my accident Saturday morning. I spent the weekend in bed, rising only to watch a little TV and surf the net. I did get in a little "Living Dead" on Halo 3 on Sunday, and wrapped another campaign on Mass Effect. I've racked up almost all of the achievements for that game. I just wish Bioware would finish the sequel; nothing else in the Xbox universe seems half as interesting as this series.
The junkyard trip yielded nothing, so we fell back on cosmetic repairs to the truck which will have to hold until I can afford new parts.
I did take a nice little stroll to the library Tuesday afternoon, in search of something new to read. I didn't find anything to my liking, but the walk in the outdoors was nice.
As of now I'm back to work. I spent most of the last five hours catching up on my paperwork (four days worth). Now that's all out of the way, and I'm killing time till folks start to check out. I'm working straight through the weekend (again) but it looks like I'll be able to attend my New Life meeting Saturday evening. I'll have to pull off some quick-change artistry to get out of femme and back into homme, but I've done it before. Clark Kent ain't got nothin' on me. ;)
Besides, I'll be relieving the FNG (my relief auditor) on the desk. It'll be interesting to see how he reacts to me in my favored form.
Before I forget, I must apologize for not answering my email last week. I fell into a kind of funk, which may or may not have had anything to do with my illness. As I said way back at the beginning, sometimes I have good days, and sometimes bad. Caroline, I did have a look at your photography. It's beautiful stuff. I only wish I could zip over to Scotland and see the stuff up close and personal. The web images are great, but I like to experience art in the flesh whenever possible.
The junkyard trip yielded nothing, so we fell back on cosmetic repairs to the truck which will have to hold until I can afford new parts.
I did take a nice little stroll to the library Tuesday afternoon, in search of something new to read. I didn't find anything to my liking, but the walk in the outdoors was nice.
As of now I'm back to work. I spent most of the last five hours catching up on my paperwork (four days worth). Now that's all out of the way, and I'm killing time till folks start to check out. I'm working straight through the weekend (again) but it looks like I'll be able to attend my New Life meeting Saturday evening. I'll have to pull off some quick-change artistry to get out of femme and back into homme, but I've done it before. Clark Kent ain't got nothin' on me. ;)
Besides, I'll be relieving the FNG (my relief auditor) on the desk. It'll be interesting to see how he reacts to me in my favored form.
Before I forget, I must apologize for not answering my email last week. I fell into a kind of funk, which may or may not have had anything to do with my illness. As I said way back at the beginning, sometimes I have good days, and sometimes bad. Caroline, I did have a look at your photography. It's beautiful stuff. I only wish I could zip over to Scotland and see the stuff up close and personal. The web images are great, but I like to experience art in the flesh whenever possible.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
More Like Myself
I got my Xbox 360 back via UPS Friday. I was without that cursed machine almost two weeks, yet I survived. It took me a little while to get everything reconnected, then to go through the Xbox Live Marketplace and find all the material I had previously downloaded. A few months ago, Microsoft upgraded the Xbox Live Experience so that each player could create an avatar. In previous iterations, one's avatar was a flat, 2D image. Now, avatars are fully-realized little people, capable of movement and and interaction. My previous avatar was a reasonable facsimile of my male self, but this time around, I decided to try for something that looked more like my true self. I even have an outfit that looks something like this!
(I'm not an idiot. I cropped out my gamertag.)
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Prejudice on Xbox Live
A woman was banned from Xbox Live because she identified herself in her profile as a lesbian.
http://consumerist.com/5160187/identifying-yourself-as-a-lesbian-gets-you-banned-on-xbox-live
I guess it's a good thing there's nothing in my profile about being transgendered. A few weeks ago, they banned a gentleman whose surname is "Gaywood". They said his name was offensive. His name, for frak's sake! All the time, I run across players with racial slurs in their gamertags, or else the tags are built from euphemisms for genitalia. I file complaints with Microsoft whenever I see these, but the players always come back. Sounds like a double standard to me.
http://consumerist.com/5160187/identifying-yourself-as-a-lesbian-gets-you-banned-on-xbox-live
I guess it's a good thing there's nothing in my profile about being transgendered. A few weeks ago, they banned a gentleman whose surname is "Gaywood". They said his name was offensive. His name, for frak's sake! All the time, I run across players with racial slurs in their gamertags, or else the tags are built from euphemisms for genitalia. I file complaints with Microsoft whenever I see these, but the players always come back. Sounds like a double standard to me.
Monday, February 23, 2009
"Calamity!" said the Oracle.*
I'm pretty sure I mentioned on here before that I play Xbox a lot. I'm not always good at the games I play, but I play mostly to relax, take my mind away from my worldly cares by concentrating on saving the Universe or something. I fired up my machine yesterday morning and found one of the red lights on the front flashing, and when I switched the TV over to the proper input, I got a black screen showing "System Error" in about twenty languages, with the message "E74" at the bottom, along with a note to contact Xbox support.
I've had my 360 a little less than a year, so it's still under warranty. I get to ship it to Microsoft (free of charge) and they'll either fix it or send me a new one. I'm just glad I haven't done anything to customize it, like that fellow last year, who had his case autographed by a bunch of the folks who worked on "Halo 3". When he sent his in for repair, Microsoft sent him a clean case. OOPS! My 360 is bog-standard, so no worries. I hope...
* - refers to one of the NPCs in the "Halo" series.
I've had my 360 a little less than a year, so it's still under warranty. I get to ship it to Microsoft (free of charge) and they'll either fix it or send me a new one. I'm just glad I haven't done anything to customize it, like that fellow last year, who had his case autographed by a bunch of the folks who worked on "Halo 3". When he sent his in for repair, Microsoft sent him a clean case. OOPS! My 360 is bog-standard, so no worries. I hope...
* - refers to one of the NPCs in the "Halo" series.
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