This will be cute and girlie again sometime, I promise. But first, a PSA. Or just me trying to vent because someone won’t take my very well thought out, experienced, and correct advice.

I see someone go to their significant other’s wall and post, “I love you” or “You make life better for me, thank you.” I always thought it was kind of pointless, because why not tell that person face to face, over the phone, or in a private chat where it matters? While trite though, if you want to trumpet it, that’s okay; that doesn’t really hurt anybody.

Then I see my friend’s wall, and she has 2 of these sort of things within so many days. She’s hardly on Facebook, so it’s a gesture that’s even more futile; but this time I am asking questions, because I see a pattern. This time, because of who it is, I find myself asking, “How hard did he yell at you this time? How hard did he make you cry? How hard did you try to forgive him this time?” Now, a little framing context: this friend has a person in her life that I’ve told her would get worse over time, with each time she forgave him. He also seems to post these around the same time that he has a real bad fight with her; no apology, just him trying to act like nothing happened and give the impression that he’s a good person. I told her that she should leave him, and it would be hard, and scary, but that I would help her through that. I know what it’s like to pick up and go because you don’t feel something is right in your life, and that’s the only solution you’ve got, because it’s not your problem to fix. I know I can help her if she drops him like a bad habit. The best part is, now his friend is living with them, and he’s now making verbal threats too. If someone is threatening to drag you back home when you leave temporarily, you don’t go back, and you don’t make excuses for it. You get someone else to go and get your stuff if it’s that important to you. Have them coordinate with the local police department so both parties keep it business like and don’t do anything that they’ll regret. And for the love of God, if you have two cats that you’re afraid that are going to come to harm, have one of the many “ties” that keeps you from moving permanently from that trashy town take in your cats. Shit, I should call the humane society and leave an anonymous tip…I mean, this is the same dude that left the window open that your bestie’s cat whom you were sitting for left out of, resulting in an untimely demise. You’ve even said that you think that he’s capable of hurting the cats and your stuff.

Let this be a lesson to anyone who’s being emotionally abused out there…if your friends and family point out that your life sucks AND you can see the reason why, don’t forgive it. Don’t make excuses for it. I know because the way things are, you don’t trust everything that everyone says. Of course you shouldn’t, because you have to parse through right and wrong advice. That’s the adult thing to do. The adult thing to do is NOT thinking you can do everything yourself, that you can take little parts of advice here and there that lets you keep things the way they are because you can’t bear to confront things and people. Confront things and get it over with, and accept the help and advice that I give you, because I am speaking from experience, not just thinking up trite things to tell you. This has been going on for more than a few years now. Of course there were times he was nice in the beginning, that doesn’t make it acceptable that things aren’t good now. You may feel that this is a bad life choice that you have to fix and make better, but in this case, you’ve done what you can and the other party isn’t doing anything. That means it’s time to admit you made a mistake, realize where things went wrong, and since you clearly can’t fix it, it’s time to take off and start over again. I could understand if you were still a child and this was happening at home and the other party was a parent; at that point you have no choice but to ride it out and hope that you can get out by going to college and starting over that way. But if you’re an adult? You’re just choosing to watch things crumble around you and do nothing about it.

I also wonder how hard she would want me to delete this if she saw it.

On a lighter note though, I’ve built a new Scorpion Clan deck with some cards from the newest set of Legend of the Five Rings, Emperor Edition. Took long enough for AEG to get the product out (the first shipments got destroyed because of packaging design; they had to take some time to fix that and re-do enough cards to be able to ship stuff out again), but it looks like it’s going to be interesting and a challenge to play. Not sure how comfortable I am with it as it stands, but it is a new base set, so it has time to grow. I just have to build the other decks I wanted to (Unicorn, Crab, and Spider) and play test some before I get to the local store. I may only have Scorpion built still by the time this coming weekend rolls around, but the deck needs a lot of testing and getting used to anyways. I’ve always picked the most tedious and unforgiving way to play, so it may take a little while for me to get my groove back. But once I do, watch out world!

I am also trying to work out consistently again, and watch what I eat a little more. I think I’m not doing such a bad job of it. I seem to be getting smaller, so I am happy. I just need to work some cardio into things and actually start going to the gym more regularly. I also have a goal for myself: I don’t know if I will make the deadline, but I have to try. I want to be in good enough shape to try for some kind of active class, and be able to drive myself to it by May (my permit expires in April, so that part of it will have to be before deadline). I also want to try to have another job that’s stable, even if it’s working for the company that I am year-round, but I’m not sure if they will hire me on permanently since I am still a seasonal worker.

I was also talking to my fiance this weekend about this; we had a choice of either going to the Staples Center on Friday night or the Citizen’s Bank Arena in Ontario for a live wrestling show. We ended up going Saturday because it was our first live show, and I didn’t want us to be in a rush or in his case, end up missing the show because something went screwy with his flights on Friday. So we went and had a blast after getting over the initial shock of real sport stadium seating (he took it better than I did; I am really afraid of heights and was missing some sort of railing right about then). Chanting with the crowd, seeing some different matches and seeing things in a different way than you would on TV for a taping was a whole new experience and very neat. Also, we got an extra large dose of CM Punk. What we didn’t get was John Cena though. He was at the Friday taping, but was trying to get to Daytona for an event that got delayed until today in the evening. My fiance and I were talking, and he was thinking that Cena would have to scramble to make both engagements; if Daytona went over time or his flight was messed up, Cena would be screwed because he wouldn’t make it to the Monday Night Raw taping. I told him that from a performance standpoint, either Daytona’s going to have to eat the booking fee or not pay it, because Cena would probably make the choice of making it to the Raw taping and skip Daytona if it came right down to it. He tweeted about 10 hours ago that this was the choice he made. He was on his way to the Raw taping; no word on fee eating though.

Whelp, time to go grocery shopping so I can come back and watch this week’s recorded episode! On to happier things!

CM Punk vs. Chris Brown

Well, I used to be a big junkie for Celebrity news…it was like how some people like watching reality shows, or watching soap operas. It’s trashy, it’s a guilty pleasure. Then I moved onto reading cracked.com, and then Wrestling. I liked that I could find drama that actually wasn’t hurting people combined with impressive physical feats. So the following video, resulting from a “twitter feud” (a part of the internet that makes me really miss spell-check) caught my eye and got me going to the good old Google to look for more on the whole thing (Can’t figure out embedding): CM Punk Responds

So. CM Punk brings up Chris Brown’s incident from a couple years ago. Chris Brown then does the verbal version of a pinwheel slap in response to a swing and a connecting punch, with insulting CM Punk’s “ability to please a woman” and accusing him of using steroids (yeah, because CM Punk is so physically huge). CM Punk finishes said tiff with video.

Now, some people were commenting that CM Punk is “victimizing Rihanna all over again” by bringing it up. I don’t think so. I think she should have pressed harder with making Chris Brown pay for what he did, and learned from the experience and stayed away from him at the very least…not go and record a couple singles with him. I don’t know if she’s forgiven him. I wouldn’t forgive something like that unless I knew I could give back what was dished out on me, and did so. I’d like to think that I would win a little game called, “Let’s see who sends who to the hospital”. But I’ve also been told that I’m a little too strong sometimes (in the way that one would say, “You scare me”).

I mean, I don’t know where the comments started, what prompted them, where they came from. But I like where CM Punk has come from, and what he’s said. People can talk about “omg don’t bring it up, omg this, omg that”, but I think the bigger moral of the story is, that the incident shouldn’t have happened, and women, whether it’s emotional or physical, you’re not powerless. Make sure you have access to some kneecaps and shins. Get to safety. Sue the shit out of someone. If you end up having to survive something horrible, get help, realize that you want better out of your life, and go for it. Make sure that motherfucker pays. And make sure future generations are aware, and know that the situation wasn’t right and shouldn’t be repeated under any circumstances. The more you sweep it under the rug, the more people dismiss it, rationalize it, and will eventually vindicate it. It doesn’t matter that you’re a celebrity, or that you’ve had a bad life, whatever. Those are just excuses; you can still be a good person and a celeb. You can decide to end a cycle of bad life choices with yourself, and act like a fucking adult. No excuses. Period. Chris Brown was wrong, and the world should never let him forget it.

<3 CM Punk. Plus, never really thought Chris Brown was such a special musical snowflake anyways.

Not so Smart…

…but probably Final.

You see, I decided to check out the Smart & Final around the corner from my house because I was on my way home, and wanted a couple food items. I ended up walking out with much less food than I wanted because I changed my mind (I had went for vegetables for dinner, but the menu changed). I paid for a bag of mini carrots because I was snacky and grabbed one of those Naked Juice protein fruit smoothies because it was cheaper than I usually see them for, and I thought it would make a nice addition to breakfast the next day (which may or may not be a donut at any given time). I ended up using my Visa Debit Card not as a credit transaction as I usually do, but had to put in my PIN because S&F only wants debit or cash. I figured it wasn’t some deserted gas station somewhere in the sticks, so it would be okay just this one time. Besides, I had done so on another occasion not even a couple months ago at that same location and nothing bad happened. I just don’t carry cash so much unless I need fare for the bus.

Well, the next day, I checked our account statement online which I neurotically do several times a day. I was at work in Glendora, and somehow supposedly on that same day when I had only been at home or at work, before 11 AM there were two transactions for Smart and Final in Los Angeles and Gardena. They had taken about $286 between the two transactions. Those are some serious groceries, especially for someone who doesn’t even drive! There was only one explanation there…someone stole my card information and was trying to use it in a way that maybe someone else wouldn’t notice. Well, I don’t like all of their fees, some of their policies, and I think their automated fraud protection could use some work, but my fiance and I have been banking with Bank of America for about a decade now, so I understand their rules, and I think their online statement is the best out of all of them. I also have their automated fraud detection line on my cell phone because I’ve had to deal with them from anything from my fiance’s mom’s debit card being stolen and used by someone else while she was at work, to calling them and reminding them that yes, it’s us trying to rent that car in Montreal on a Sunday; and yes, we called you and told you our travel plans two days before. Please turn the card back on.

So I called as usual and spoke to a representative, who was probably new or something, because she didn’t offer to shut off my card and send me a new one right off when I explained the clearly suspicious situation. When I asked her if she could do that, she said they would charge me for it. I was very frustrated and I didn’t want to yell at someone on the other side of a phone at work, so I curtly thanked her and ended the call. I didn’t call Bank of America back until this morning, by using the general customer service line (which I still have memorized, surprisingly). By this time whoever it was used my card information again, this time ordering $31 worth of food at some place in Gardena called Tottinos Pizza. I told my story to the Bank of America representative and she actually offered to shut off my card first thing and send me a new one. She also forwarded me to the Claims Department who flagged the three transactions to be reversed as soon as they hit our account, and told me I could get a temporary card at a local branch while I was waiting for the replacement; just tell the bank representative there that my card was shut off due to stolen information and fraud.

So yeah, it doesn’t matter how nice the place looks, or how embarrassing it is to let the person at the check out that you can’t pay, and leave your items there and walk out; if it’s the difference between putting in your PIN because you don’t have cash and can’t use credit or walking away with nothing, just leave. It’s not worth it. I feel bad for other people who may have had the same thing happen to them and may not know how to properly defend themselves. So that it could be investigated by an outside source in case it’s an inside job, I also emailed Smart & Final’s corporate headquarters to let them know and to ask them to take care of it and investigate it if they could. I don’t know if they’ll listen, but at the very least I know that I will only pay cash there or not go there at all anymore.

After I sent that email, my fiance and I had one of our friends meet us at our house, then we drove down to the Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles Hotel (right next to LAX) because there was a gaming convention being held there, Orccon. We weren’t going there to play, but instead to hit the dealer’s room because AEG was there selling the newest set of Legend of the Five Rings, which releases late next week. This was a set that they had to delay twice because of various issues; it became highly anticipated because of this. We were able to squeeze into a tight parking spot on a back street behind the hotel, and we walked right in there, and stopped to use the bathroom before leaving. I saw maybe 2-3 women total; the rest were dudes. While this is still not so unusual in the gaming world unfortunately, it made for an uncomfortable quick bathroom trip before we left in the direction of our local gaming store.

So, for a little background: In America (I don’t have too much experience with other cultures in this regard), when women go to use the bathroom, they usually go in groups of 2 or more. It usually makes for a pretty full public bathroom bustling with people and noise. For someone who has begrudgingly gotten used to this, it was pretty creepy to use the bathroom at the hotel this one time. The bathroom was large with several stalls and empty. Painfully empty. The only other time I have encountered very empty bathrooms like that is in University Physics Departments; In America, Canada, or even in Brazil, it’s the same. Lower to null female population in the sciences, empty bathroom. It was the same at this convention, and it was creepy to me.

Then we went to our usual Saturday night haunt for a little while now, our gaming store. We were there to play at a pre-release event for the same set we had just bought some of at the convention. The rules of the event dictated that we had to buy a new set of product for each of us and use what we had on the spot to make a competitive deck and well, play to win. I had already bought my clan earlier, so I picked one we didn’t have. I went My Little Pony style and played with the Unicorn Clan. You would think the purple box and something named the “Unicorn Clan” would be totally girly, right? Wrong. I was anticipating making an adequate deck of Battle Maidens, this clan’s specialty. I was disappointed when none of the women characters (maybe 2-4 total) were not designated specifically as Battle Maidens, which excluded some good cards for me. The new starters give you a deck that you can play out of the box, but while there’s some things that come fixed or guaranteed, there’s other stuff in there that’s random, and you have to rely on luck to see something nice. Well, I was not lucky. I ended up with an army of burly dudes in purple armor who didn’t have any cohesive actions to take. It was one of the more mediocre clans out of the box. I put up a fight but I lost, which I was a little sad about, but I also recognized that if I had more cards to choose from that had something remotely to do with what I wanted to accomplish, I would have been fine. It’s okay though, because I think I am getting better at up front confrontation in the game. When I first started out, I was able to do things on my turn and the opponent’s turn so that if they tried to go into battle with me, usually they didn’t have much left and were easy pickings. I played one of the most complicated deck types to run. Then they decided what I did was too much of a lock down and wasn’t a fun play experience for my opponents, so the game designers took that sort of thing out of the game, I was forced to go into battle all the time, and I would get crushed. I didn’t understand how to make battle into a back and forth thing; I hated it. I still do, but I understand it a little more, and I think I’ve gotten better at it. It looks like the designers are giving players a choice of more of a hybrid of what the designers want and what I want to play, so I am going to give it another go and see if I can play the way I want to. Otherwise, as much as I used to like the game, it’s not going a way that I’m so fond of anymore. It’s a story-based game, but the current designers are more concerned about tournaments and pushing their favorite clans, their agendas. It’s just kind of lame at the moment. I will have to see if it changes any. Hopefully it will.

Sorry about jumping around about my topics, but I intended to just vent about the S&F thing since this morning, but I barely had time now. My fiance thought it was cute that I was blogging, but expressed that he thought I was blogging about playing today and was disappointed that I wasn’t blogging about that. So there you go. I can adapt and compromise, even when I find it a little annoying. <3

Getting in Shape is the Devil

Yeah, so my fiance and I have been trying to decrease our food intake, and increase our activity. It feels like we’ve hit a roadblock though. He was complaining of joint discomfort, and first I recommended we up our calcium intake because I get hip pains, and well, when I have a good amount of calcium the discomfort goes away. We also decided to try something more, and since it was the thing that I was aware of at the time, I suggested glucosamine. I thought we would be okay, but we’ve slowly been feeling a little more weak day by day. I have also felt some difficulty breathing that I’m trying to ignore because getting up feels like a monumental effort right now. Writing that has helped me feel that it’s probably a good idea to go get my inhaler. So in light of all this, we’ve agreed to not take the glucosamine for a few more days to see how we feel.

Otherwise we have both been losing some weight just by trying to stay under 2000 calories a day and doing at least a little brisk walking a day. It also helps that I’ve been working about 30 hours a week, so it’s been helping me stay out of bed and to keep moving (I have an office job so it’s very easy for me to just sit the whole time, but I’ve been trying to make excuses to walk around such as keeping everything supplied). It’s also showed me where I have an opportunity and somewhat talent that I should take, and that I’m not so afraid of people anymore. Yell at me if it will make you feel better and more proud of yourself, but I go to this strange calm place. It doesn’t bother me, but I do have to calm down a bit after. Holding in adrenaline isn’t the easiest thing to do, but I managed to not let my anger get the best of me. I also was present when a co-worker thought she was about to be assaulted by an agitated person who didn’t like our answering her with the truth. I know I can dial a mean 9-1-1 when under pressure, and let’s face it, as long as I can restrain you or I know where you kneecaps are, you’re not getting far with those violent temper tantrums.

I have been trying to work on the requirements to take a series of 3 tests to become a Enrolled Agent with the IRS. If you think about it, it’s the IRS sanctioning you to fight against them for the people (unless said person fudged documents). It’s helping people without having to watch them get sick and die or specifically be crazy. I have learned to not be so squeamish, but I still have my moments where I don’t think I could be helpful when a medical emergency arose. But numbers, rules, and logic puzzles, and helping people understand those things? I can do that. Plus, I can’t get into the hospitals to work right now, I’ve been trying for the last year. Even with a certification it’s not working, but I already have an in with this business, so it’s time to take the reigns and make this into another opportunity for me. If I take these tests and get certified, I will be more likely to be placed at a larger, better staffed office. I won’t be out in the wild west, which is what these smaller offices are like. There’s only maybe 2-3 people working there at a time because of short staffing, and it’s not like there’s security around. If something happens, you’re fending for yourself, and there’s no one to help you until after. While I know I can thrive under these circumstances, I’ve gotten older and realized that I shouldn’t seek out this sort of thing; when at all possible, I should try my best to stay away from the bad things.

Okay, it’s time to relax now. Feel a little better, but definitely glucosamine isn’t for us. My skin has been itching for a little while since I started taking it, and that’s usually one of the first indications that I shouldn’t use something; my skin.

Okay, rambling on, and there’s Wrestling to watch. Later for now!