Miscellaneous Monday

Today is my first day at my new job so I’m slightly terrified and rather distracted, thus this is a miscellanea of the various things I’ve been working on in the last few weeks.

Warcraft

In WoW, I’m steadily crossing things off my to do list. I’m finally exalted with the Netherwing, Puppy dog people, the Darkmoon Faire and the Timbermaw. The gold is pouring in nicely, certainly enough for purchasing all shinies come MoP and in fact, if the expansion hit tomorrow I could live with my current progress. I’ve even got a rough plan of what I’m going to do once Pandaria opens up.

I also got Navispammed!

New additions to my reading list

• Pretty Fly for a Draenei - A transmogrification blog full of looks for Draenei.
• Confessions of a Grown Up Gamer
• The WoW in the Details
• Vault of Light
• Why, because it’s Rare!

Competitions

You have until friday to enter Neri’s August  transmogrification contest. The theme this month is Faction Pride so go go go!

Other games

Botanticula

I got sucked into this by Eva from Image Heavy who did a blog post highlighting just how beautiful this game is. Then I played their free demo on the website and fell head over heels. There is even Jack O’Lanterns….

I still have no idea what I’m meant to be doing but there is something therapeutic about running around clicking on leaves.

I also got a new phone and have managed to get pulled into the dangerous world of game apps. Who would have thought that breeding dragons or running a virtual bakery could be such fun.

After watching the Olympic show jumping, I really want to get back into riding but need to wait until our move is complete before finding a suitable stables, therefore I’m also playing MyHorse (my user name is Erinys if anyone else is playing).

Random Stuff on the Internet

As my new job involves a 20 minute daily bus journey and I can’t read on the bus, I’ve also been looking around for audio books. One of my new favourite things is now Libri Vox which proves free audio books of things which are in the public domain. It’s a bit hit and miss as to whether you like the voice of the person reading each book, but so far I’ve listened to Washington Irving’s the Legend of Sleepy Hollow and I’m currently putting Charles Dicken’s Little Dorrit on my phone which at a whopping 70 hours should last a while.

I’ve also been playing with my old friend, Wordle again. There is something addictive about it and I love the fact that both flowers and carrots made it in.

Outside games

I’ve been taking a bit of an advantage of the weather to sunbathe and generally relax.

Miscellaneous Monday

To borrow from the estimable Godmother, right now I’m mostly faffing.

In WoW

I’m mainly pvping and achievement chasing, with a side order of trade chat discussion. My Hunter has progressed a bit as well, spurred on by the idea of shared realm spaces and lots of other Hunters chasing “her” rare spawn pets and spirit beasts so the idea of me finishing 2012 in 2012 is still possible.

I’m also working on both my entries into JD’s Mogolympics and Neri’s “The Skills to Pay the Bills” July transmogrification competitions. If you haven’t already signed up/started thinking about your entries, what are you waiting for?

Gaming in General

I started a new game of Dragon Age: Origins, running my fifth mage through her Harrowing and yes, I am a total Harrowing expert by now but since “true tests never end”.. you never know.

This time the plan is to seduce Leliana but that’s been the plan before and Alistair with his goofy smile and Templar armour usually gets in the way.

I’m also probably the only person with a copy of Diablo III who still hasn’t finished it on any setting at all. My Monk is still working her way through Act 1 and whilst I found myself enjoying it for a period, I don’t have any great desire to pick it up and finish it.

I’d love fluttering moth shoulders as transmogrification option.

Books

This week I’m reading Kate Atkinson “Started Early, Took My Dog“, any book which uses Emily Dickinson to provide it’s title has to be worth reading right?

As well as “Das Leben der HochGräfin Gritta von Rattenzuhausbeiuns” mostly because I couldn’t resist the title. In English it translates to “The Life of High Countess Gritta von Ratsinourhouse” and so far I’m loving it.

Finally I’m reading “Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters” because my Mother told me not to, also I rather like sea monsters. So far Jane Austen has not risen from the grave to haunt me for this sin but never fear, the second it happens, I’ll blog about it assuming I don’t just die of fright.

Random Stuff off the Internet

I fell in love with this kitten creator a week or so ago and have spent many a happy hour “faffing” with it since. This is Mr Harpy’s Gnome Rogue reimagined as a kitten.

I also spend far too much time browsing The Graphics Fairy and the OBI Scrapbook Blog looking at old bookplates, labels and photographs.

My other favourite place has to be Project Gutenberg where you can lose yourself in things like this and this. I think it works a bit like my brain, I search for something completely random and then end up somewhere else, miles away. As  a plus point, some of the illustrations, especially in the children’s books are amazing. There are so many things out there that I never knew I wanted to read.

Back to the faffing!

 

Reading Material

I thought I’d take a leaf out of Navi’s book and share some of the new faces on my ever expanding blog list with you. I’m not going to go into any details about the blogs because that takes away the fun of discovery, however I think each and every one of them is awesome and definitely worth reading.

• Healing Mains
• Warlockery
• Neri Approves
• That was an Accident
• Dancing Hare
• Aunaka Heals
• Flask Half Empty

I’m also always on the look out for stuff I should be reading so if you feel I’m missing out on something amazing, feel free to mention it in the comments.

Also Neri of Neri Approves is holding a “Trashy Transmog” contest, the rules of which can be found here. You’ve got until the 31st of May (30th if you’re not in Australia) to show off your creations and as much flesh as you feel up to.

Finally, as Tome and Kamalia have already mentioned, Amijade of Warlockery is hosting a Warlock Transmogrification competition, the details of which can be found here. Failure to enter is likely to end with searing pain, hellfire and a spot of soul shattering so best not risk it!  You have until June the 16th to put together a suitably Warlocky outfit and submit it for inspection.