Rob's Halfway House #11

[Chernaudi]

Hi everyone. I'm back--for a while, anyways. I decided against a chicken dinner tonight, and I might eat some fish instead--quicker to make and eat. However, I should be able to get at least a good start on chapter 6 before I have to call it a night on here.

I'll be back some time tomorrow

[Tornado]

Sean - happy writing!

Tracy - I'm glad you had a lovely birthday. Yes, it's hard to believe we'll soon be given a new Halfway House! I'll let you know about the birthday dinner tomorrow morning. Go here to purchase my book.

[marielle]

Good morning everybody.

I don’t have much news to report. I didn’t sleep well and I’m in a very grumpy mood at the moment. So I’ll keep the story short today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LYNNE, now it’s finally the 7th in Holland. I’m sure you had a fun day celebrating your bday.
Which Boss perfume you got? I have that long orange bottle, that one smells really good. But it’s a good choice anyway, Boss perfumes always smell nice.

Sarah, it’s always nerve-wracking to dye my hair. It doesn’t always get the color it needs to be. Sometimes my redish color comes out and makes it look silly… or it will turn green… It’s always a surprise after I dried my hair. This time it worked rather well and I really like the result.

Sean, sadly my bf’s grandma is about the only direct family he still has. Besides that he has his brother and than his aunts and uncles but that isn’t much. They don’t see each other often. My family is very close and besides one grandma I still have everybody… I just fear the time when it’s their turn to go.

Hey Tammy! I see you are getting your creative juices flowing again.

Tracy, gods it sounds nice to get a massage!! I’m jealous!!!
Normally we move house at the 200 pages mark. I’m sure the mods will warn us well ahead of time. We need to prepare and pack… we have to hurry. We could do the move, christening and Susie’s Valentine’s party all in one…
I’m not very good at taking pictures of myself, so I won’t promise a pictures.
My bf isn’t as close to his family as I am. He loves his grandma dearly but we visit her only once every two months or so. Besides he knows that his grandma had enough of life. She has often said that she would prefer to get some piece. And I think she still has a thing or two to say to god. She is very angry with him for taking two of her daughters so early.

Alright, I’m off…
I’ll see you all tomorrow…

[Tornado]

Morning all!

I had a very nice birthday yesterday with lots of birthday wishes. marielle, I'm not sure which perfume I've got, but it's a long brown bottle. You're right in saying Hugh Boss always smells great!

Last night Hubby and I went to dinner at an Italian restaurant. We weren't overly impressed by the service. Hubby ate his meal in five minutes, it was so small, and the waitress looked nothing short of annoyed when we announced we were going somewhere else for dessert. Then we went to Max Brenner and had a much nicer time eating some yummy chocolate stuff for dessert. I wish there were more restaurants around us that served mixed kinds of food. I mean, there are Thai, Indian, Chinese, Italian and Mexican restaurants galore, but sometimes I don't want that. And we have hardly any seafood restaurants, and I love seafood!

Anyway, today I am working for Rochelle from home, so I'll probably be doing more ebooks and typesetting. Fun, fun fun!

[Songbird]

I am going to have a niece!! Yesterday was the 2nd ultrasound for my brother’s baby and she was cooperating this time, so it’s a girl and they are going to name her Nessa Ruth, apparently after Wicked? And my mother (Ruth). My brother says yes, he is that gay to name his baby after Wicked. I’ve never seen that, actually. Anyway, my first thought was “I wonder if I can get by with calling her Nessie.” I’m excited though. I told hubs and we were laughing at the image of 2 gay men trying to explain girl stuff to their daughter, and hubs says, “Go ask your mother!....crap!” But I really am just excited for another little girl. I need to go shopping!

Hubs had some sort of a weird heart thing this morning. It woke him up...it was just beating really fast, but it only lasted a few seconds and he felt fine otherwise. But he went to the doctor and it’s apparently no big deal. There’s sort of a back-up system in your heart that takes over if for some reason what makes your heart beat stops making it beat. Sometimes it just takes over when it doesn’t need to. He’s going to have an...ECG? (A film of the heart) tomorrow just as a precaution and have his blood drawn, but the doctor is not worried about it, so that makes me feel better.

Should we be packing up for a move to the next thread?

Lynne, I hope it goes better this week, now that he knows the routine. It’s got to be hard on you when he is so upset!
And thank you! I hope you can sign my copy. I’ve never had an autographed book before!
I love love love your headshot! Your eyes look so striking and I love your hair! Did you die it or is that its natural color? So pretty!
It is still your birthday here, so Happy Birthday! I know I already wished you a happy birthday on FB, but now you can extend your birthday longer! I LOVE Italian food, but I don’t find much in the line of great Italian places here. I think I was spoiled by my favorite one back home....soooooo good. And I also wish they had olive garden here. I’m sorry your birthday dinner wasn’t great, but it sounds like dessert was much better, and we all know that’s more important anyway, right? So what did you eat?

Sean, I’d bet he likes it more than he lets on. But I don’t understand why people get so upset about people changing things in books..especially fantasy/sci-fi genre books. That’s the beauty of fiction...it is what you WANT it to be. It isn’t supposed to be real. And as for mythical creatures...no one has the monopoly on writing their characteristics. It’s like saying you can’t write a girl playing sports, because girls in romance novels are supposed to be feminine and weak. Or a heroine instead of a hero, because that’s a boy’s role. Fiction can be anything. But there’s nothing sissy about the Volturi, anyway.

Desiree, I don’t really mention my bd either. I’ve had some bad experiences in the past that just made me want to forget about it, and even though that hasn’t happened in a LONG time, I kind of feel like it’s because I have no expectations for it now, and I don’t celebrate it outside of our immediate family unless it’s to have dinner with my in-laws. But it’s still nice when people remember it and wish you a happy one. But better late than never. (My brother never wished me a happy birthday at all for my last birthday. He completely forgot, which hurts.)

Sarah, impromptu date night sounds great! What did you guys do?
Wow, that’s great that Jason’s grandma is doing so well!!
That sucks about the other ticket!! Speed traps! Ugh. I never got a ticket in my life, but I am so paranoid about driving, like I panic if I see a policeman, even if I KNOW I’m not doing anything wrong. It’s completely irrational. And I think it's so unfair to give you a ticket for something they didn't see in person and you weren't endangering anyone. I could see it if you almost hit someone or something, but it just seems a bit over the top to be like "We have a video of you not slowing down fast enough, so even though no one was in danger, no one there to see it, here's a fine".

Marielle, is it really not manditory to wear a helmet here? I thought it was.
MM always tries to make up his own rules for games and we tell him, no, we won’t play if he doesn’t play by the rules. He thought he was playing by the rules with chess, he just couldn’t remember everything because he had only played once. But they are practicing so he’ll learn it eventually.
Well, I’m glad you got things worked out with your coworker. She sounds like one you will just have to be careful with when you email her.
So sorry to hear about your BF’s grandma.
I read your comment to Lynne about bike safety here...I almost got run over by a guy on a motor bike on Tuesday riding my bike home from work. I had the right of way on a roundabout and he didn’t stop at the “shark teeth”, just cut across in front of me and I had to slam on my breaks. I don’t think he should have even been in the bike lane as fast as he was going! I told hubs I should have gotten his license plate number, but he says it wouldn’t help, they won’t do anything with a report about that. Is that true?

Brenda, it’s so good to see you! It seems like it’s been SUCH a long time. I hear you about getting to bed on time. I’ve been struggling with that lately, too. But I’m glad the counseling is going well.
The cake day competition isn’t anything huge...just a group of friends who love cake and we decided to do a contest, but I am sure I wouldn’t be winning any awards outside that group either!

Susie, it appears that your first post via phone worked! I am in awe...I have a very simple phone that makes calls and it does have a camera that I hardly ever use, but that’s the extent...and I have this very simple phone because I am completely intimidated by anything more complicated than that. So go you!

Suzan! Are you relieved it’s almost over? Will you have more time when it is?

Tammy, I love your work, and I’d love a sig or avatar, but have NO idea how to implement them if you made me one. I’d love something for my sig that has the Team Switzerland “I refuse to be affected by territorial disputes between mythical creatures” quote in it. But someone would have to tell me how to put it in my profile.

Tracy, enjoy your massage! I’ve never had one, but I’m told they are wonderful! You work as a physical therapist, correct? Is massage part of that? Or do you just send someone to a massage therapist if they need it?

[Chernaudi]

Hi everyone.

Songbird: I don't want to spoil things too much, so I'll put my thoughts invisible for you to read on the Volturi. Spoilers start: I don't think that the Volturi are wusses, per se, but based on the events of BD, they're not as tough as they like to make themselves out to be--at least in Caius' mind, but even there, I see his lust for violence to be a weakness. For this, I'd compare Caius to Agito Makishima/Guyver III from Bio-Booster Armor Guyver. Both Agito and Caius are amoral and prone to use force to get what they want, but at least Agito is more "patient" than Caius is in that respect--Agito is smart and crafty enough often to try and use brains instead of brawn to get what he wants, though it can be said that he's not a ton better, because he'll manipulate people to go along with his morally ambiguous plans by exploiting their mental/emotional weaknesses. Also, Caius will only fight when he feels he can win or dominate, ie, when the cards are stacked in his favor--I personally don't see Caius as being insanely brave by any means. Agito, though undeniably brave and a master strategist in combat, he'll occasionally--though rarely--give up a fight until he can come up with a strategy to ensure victory. Again, brains vs brawn. However, in the canon of Guyver at the present time, Agito is a major anti-hero (I soften him up a bit for my stories, and he seems to be letting up on his lust for power and to rule the world in recent chapters of the actual Guyver manga, too), one who fights against evil, but has morally questionable motives/mixed motives, and though Agito isn't a villian, you can't say that he's a conventional "pure hearted" hero by any stretch of the imagination, either, being amoral, having no idealism, and verging at times on being as demented, evil, and insane as those he's fighting against. Maybe I should compare Agito to Aro, as they have personalities that are more similar, but Agito rarely, if ever, gets himself into a fight without trying to get all side of the story, so to speak, and hence embarrass himself with running away with his tail between his legs--Agito may be power hungry and amoral about how he gets that power a lot of the time, but he has "his standards" and is less impulsive than Caius or Aro tend to be.

Also, there's some scientific basis for the Volturi vs Guyvers/hybrids, too. The Volturi live a largely sedimentary life style. In other words, they don't move around a lot, they largely confine themselves to their hall, and they seem to be showing some of the effects of such a lifestyle. In that, their venom is weaker, and they're more vulnerable to the weapons of the Guyvers--vampire venom is acidic, for example, and Guyver armor can be damaged by certain powerful acids. A Cullen type vampire, or a really active hybrid that's venomous (such as Lia, Camel, Melinda, Bella (later on in my story) and Shizu (Agito's girlfriend/wife, who becomes a bio-engineered hybrid to prolong her life--she becomes immortal and even more powerful than before. For more info about Shizu in Guyver canon, there's this: http://guyver.wikia.com/wiki/Shizu_Onuma [inv]Also, more active vampires and vampire hybrid's skin will be harder and hence more resistant to damage, and even the consumption of animal blood will improve that.

Mostly, I'm doing this because I don't think that the Volturi are the "big bad" that they think they are in a fight, especially on an even playing field. Also, just because one sees him/herself as superior, doesn't mean that they are. Caius thinks that the Cullens are warped and weird. Maybe he's the one who's warped and weird LOL. If you'd like me to explain more, feel free to ask.. End Spoilers.

Sorry for the long explanation on the Volturi stuff. But, I do have to say that the Twilight vampires as a whole aren't as wussified as Dracula really is. It's like in Guyver--Sho/Guyver I is seen as being a wuss/weakling early on, but he's usually the first to discover/create upgrades for his Guyver armor, his desire to protect his friends and family almost always overcomes any perceived emotional, mental or physical weaknesses, and, being the most sensitive of the Guyver armor users, it seems to be paying off for him now, because he has more will than ever to fight to protect his friends and family, as well as the rest of mankind, and though he doesn't use his powers recklessly or wantonly, he'll use them to the best of his ability to defeat an enemy, even in recent volumes of the manga demonstrating a power that allows him to vanquish and enemy without no collateral damage--the best of both worlds for him and any right thinking person. That, and he's come to equal the aforementioned Agito/Guyver III in combat. However, he still chooses not to think of himself as a hero, just someone who's trying to do the right thing and take advantage of his powers to do so.

So I hope that you can see why I see the Volturi as being warped and twisted, and how the demonstrate a lot of the darker impulses of human nature, and, above all, how they act out on them.

And as far as the baby, you might have to clear calling her Nessie with her parents, or, maybe, when she starts to speak, she might want to have herself called Nessie. Who knows, but it's possible. Maybe she'll like Twilight when she comes of age, too.

Everyone: I wasn't feeling well when I got home from work, so I took a nap from about 3:30-7:30. I can sense the weather changing here, with the rain/freezing rain/snow. I also didn't get to eat like I though I would last night--splitting wood made me feel so tired that I just went to bed when I got done. So I'll be having fish tonight.

Tomorrow will be my last day of work for the week, but I hope it doesn't turn out like today, where I had hardly anything to do after I got my usual work done. I usually send out emails to co-workers, but work has been slow to come the past couple of days. I just hope that I have a busier day tomorrow.

That aside, today was pretty good aside from not feeling well. I'm still out of it right now a bit. But I don't plan on doing too much tonight. I got a good start on chapter 6. Thus far, it's mostly a narrative by Natsuki (an attractive nerd/Sci-fi and fantasy film nut of way above average intelligence from Guyver who can ID different species of creatures with accuracy, but otherwise is a normal YA girl in her early 20s, if that), but I'm getting to some good stuff with her running errands (dress shopping at Rosalie's dress store, a make up appointment with Lia and Camel, and visiting Camel's car and aircraft museum to help him work on a DH Mosquito fighter that he's restored to airworthiness). I'll work on it more over the weekend.

I'll probably try and do some WWII gaming later tonight after I get done online here. At least the temperature stuff is improving, since I was able to sleep under my blankets without my hoodie on when I slept earlier.

Everyone take care of yourselves, since there's bad weather in the NE this weekend and do whatever you have to do to cope/adapt to changing weather.

I'll be back later

[Tornado]

Songbird - congratulations on being an aunt to a little girl! That's special. Little Man does seem to have done better this week. I did dye my hair, yes. Its natural colour is boring ash brown. For dinner I had a seafood linguini, for dessert I had a bakba (I think that's what it was called) which is kind of a chocolate bun. I also had a hot chocolate.

[Susie]

Hi All!

I'm not getting email notifications anymore from the Lex and that was always a nice reminder to stop by every day.Kayla says there's a problem. Sorry! I wished Tracy and Lynne Happy Birthday elsewhere, but I'll say it here again - Happy Birthday Tracy and Lynne! It sounds like you both great birthdays.

Bad news at my house - yesterday Hubs was laid off! It was a complete surprise. He didn't really like that job, so now he can get something better. Luckily he has very marketable IT skills and we live in a major metropolitan area with a diverse economy, so hopefully he'll find something before the money runs out in a couple of months Things will be a little nerve-wracking for a while. For now, though, hubs wants to take some time off and go on a couple of trips to visit family.


Marielle - I'm sorry to hear about your bf's grandmother. Very sad.

Songbird - Your husband's heart racing sounds scary. Keep us posted

Chrissy!!! Thanks for stopping by! I think I'm going to need a new siggy come February 14!

Jaclyn - hey there!

Desiree - I'm still reading the book - sorry I'm so slow.

Brenda - So nice to see you back. I'm glad you're doing so well.

Tammy - I love seeing your work again and the fact that you're making things for others.

Sarah - That's horrible luck - getting a ticket the very day you were in traffic court. Yikes.

Sean - Good to see that you're writing.


Sorry I can't remember back enough to mention everyone! No slight intended.

Have a great weekend!

p.s. DON'T FORGET THE HALFWAY HOUSE E-PARTY ON VALENTINE'S DAY!

[marielle]

Good morning everybody!!!

TGIF!!! I’m so in need of a lazy weekend.
I’m going to do a bit of house cleaning and that’s it!

Yesterday my bf’s aunt texted us that his grandma was doing a bit better. We aren’t sure how long this will hold. I’m a bit afraid that it’s the calm before the end. But maybe with enough bed rest and patience she might just pull through.

Anyway,

Lynne, I’m sorry your bday dinner wasn’t as fun as you hoped it to be. Stupid waitress. I’m lucky that we have so many different restaurants here. I love Italian and Mexican food. They are my favorites. But we have about everything here in the city.
If you ever come to see Europe you have to come to visit me, I’ll show you the best seafood restaurant in Holland.
You’ve got a different Boss perfume that I have. I have the one with the Orange bottle. The brown one is really nice as well but it’s too fruity for me. I’m more of a musk fan.

Susan, is you have to got to explain that gay thing??? Yeah, you’ll probably call her Ness or something. It’s a funny name your brother came up with. I have never heard a name like that. It’s really original.
That heart thing I have often, it’s normally because a connection in the nerve between the heart and the brain has gone a bit weird. If it gets really annoying they can give you meds for it but as long as it only lasts a few seconds than it’s not really a big deal…
No, it’s not mandatory in Holland to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle. Only for scooters and motorbikes. Many parents start using a helmet with their kids but once they go to school they won’t want to wear it anyway. They will get laughed at.
No, I think your hubs is right about the motorbike. I don’t think the cops will be able to do anything with it. Maybe if they had multiple complaints about that bike. You can give them a call and ask if they would do anything with it. (that 0900-number) Most of the time they are friendly enough and will explain how they work.

Susie, I’m sorry to hear your hubs lost his job!! That’s horrible. Why was he laid off? Can they just do that? In Holland they can’t. They have to have a very good reason to do that and they normally have to give you about a 2 months wages at the least. (That is if you have a long term contract).
I hope he’ll find something quickly. And something he likes to do!

Alright, the boss woman will be here soon and I’ve got lots to do.
See you all later!!!

[Songbird]

Hubs' heart seems to be fine. No immediate danger anyway, and he'll get the real results this afternoon, but there was nothing that alarmed the doctor during the procedure, so it's most likely fine.. Relieved!

Sean, hope work goes well and there's enough to do. We had that problem on Tuesday. By lunch time there wasn't much work left and we had to kind of string it out. But at least I get paid for the hours I was scheduled to work, whether there was tons to do or not enough.

Lynne, hot chocolate sounds really good right now. I'm so cold and having problems warming up!

Susie, sorry about your hubs' job, but I hope he finds something he likes now!

Marielle, the gay thing..there's a stereotype about gay men loving musicals, and the wizard of oz (friend of Dorothy and all that) and Wicked is a musical that's I guess the background story of how the wicked witch became the wicked witch or something? I haven't actually seen it, so I don't know. But I guess one of the characters is named Nessa. But my brother says yes, he is so gay that he will name his child after a character in Wicked.
Oh, no, I knew you didn't have to wear a helmet for a bike, but I thought you were talking about scooters and such. And I don't have the license plate of the bike that almost ran me over, so it wouldn't do any good to ask the police about it anyway, but thanks!