The Beauty of the Virtual...

So... The Cookie Monster (my boyfriend) has a PS3. This is mindblowingly awesome. He plays games on it - on his profile - which I love to watch, and I use it to watch DVDs, listen to music and play on the virtual world PS Home - on my profile. My profile, for the record, contains no games and no collectible info. It's pretty much clean.

Our all time favourite game of the moment - yes, it's an oxymoron - is God of War III. I love watching CM play. And I help in my supportive way. Sure, the game is extraordinarily violent and graphic, but it's also a fun thing to do together. I like watching PC games, too, including Dragon Age, Sacred, Divinity... I'm loving Divinity right now and Dragon Age was a LOT of fun. Thinking of getting the PS version... Anyway, I digress.

So... I mess around on PS Home, I like God of War and I'm not a typical girly girl, but I do like playing dress-up with avatars. But I'm also not into virtual worlds to such an extent that I gave much thought to my screen name and when I found my choice taken, I just added Queen to the back of it as the name refers to a mythological queen. You know, instead of adding my birth date or my bank pin or my bf's telephone number (all of which seem popular).

And then I went exploring. Mostly I looked at shops and ran screaming from anyone who tried talking to me. There were some fun moments. My avatar got hit on by others, I met some weird guy who seemed to be on some serious dope, considering his conversation, I was taught nifty tricks by another user. Just innocent chatting to people type stuff. Until last night...

Recently Home has been updated, so last night I did the downloads and went to check it out. And I met Liam-C-1986. Ah, Little Liam, as I shall now affectionately call my educational experience...

There I (well, my avatar) was, all dressed up in my new outfit and my new hairstyle, fresh from the tanning salon (I was awake and VERY bored), minding my own business when Little Liam approaches. I'd love to be able to copy & paste the whole conversation, but I haven't figured out how.

It started with "Girls with queen in their name are usually men". (He's typing with his controller, so that took a while...) Fair enough, I hadn't thought of the gay connotation to queen, I'm just that naive. Then it goes "Are you a guy" "No, not last I checked" Now, for the kicker, he goes and inspects my whole profile and finds that I have Kratos (GoW's angry hero) as my profile pic. (There are various pics to choose from, all generic, and you can't make your own. I really like GoW) This is irrefutable evidence to him that I am male. This and the fact my avatar is dressed in a plaid mini.

I try to explain my fondness of GoW to him, but he has noticed that it doesn't appear under Games on my profile - shocker, since there are no games there - and he accuses me of lying about liking the game. Which, of course, as a guy trying to convince a boy that I'm a girl, I have loads of reason to do, it is only one of the most macho games out there... My attempts at reasoning fail. Little Liam is too busy trying to type a few paragraphs on his PS controller to notice that I've spoken.

He has now decided beyond any doubt that I am gay. When asked why he bothered approaching me then, he tells me "Because I like laughing at poufs, you're a joke". I'm a little confused. The only one who's been laughing is me. Liam has mostly been cussing. Now Liam informs me that gays are unnatural and should be raped by fat women and then killed by drowning. I'm starting to be a little offended - I have gay friends and I'm a woman, so being told someone deserves to be raped, grates. Then, though I have not moved since before Liam approached me, he tells me to "F*** off" completely out of the blue. I am now very offended and confused.

But Liam finally leaves and goes to chat to another female avatar. She's wearing the same top I am, but she has pants on, so apparently she really is female. Her name is GlitterFace_luv. He tries hitting on her, but soon there is a crowd (You can follow conversations by everyone in your immediate vicinity) and Little Liam becomes abusive, even to the girl he was hitting on. There's a LOT of cussing and rather crude graphics.

Then Liam announces his virginity, rather proudly, accusing the rest of Liverpool of being "slags".(I'd been talking to someone else and missed what lead up to THAT little tidbit) But soon he's tearing into a Spanish guy dressed as a Clone, accusing him of being a virgin, because he actually bought an outfit and is on Home in the middle of the night. Now I'm seriously confused, but have realised that Liam is really just an angry little boy who lives with his mom, doesn't have the money to buy stuff on Home (I don't either, but I don't mind), can't get a girlfriend (even a fat one, no offense to anyone) and was rejected from the local chapter of the Skinheads.

My mind is reeling, I'm finally sleepy and the guy who's been trying to hit on my avatar gives up. I can now politely withdraw and go to bed. But, oh, the things I have learned this night. And Little Liam... You will forever be in the back of my mind as I wander through Home...

Really, I just wanted to rant about one boy's stupidity. Seriously? Raped and drowned?

Random thoughts happen

I do blog so religiously… Maybe I’ll get more into it soon, we’ll have to see.

 

So, my random thoughts of the moment:

 

Anton Taylor:

Live and let live, dude. I’ll grant that Maties and Aitjies have been Intervarsity Rugby rivals since forever, but on many other levels most of us get on fine with each other. In fact, our dance societies seem to actually be friends until the moment we set foot on the dance floor. At this point we become competitors and when the last step has been danced, we’re back to being friends. “Keep it in the Western Cape” is how we look at it. So… *chimp response*

 

Time is running out:

I’m turning 27 next month and a fair group of my friends have stepped into their thirties recently. So, is time running out for me? Time to achieve all I want to achieve and do all I want to do? Yes, probably. My biological clock has taken to chiming instead of just ticking (Yes, gasp, I want babies. Get over your feminist issues.) And I don’t think I’ll be able to dance Intervarsity forever. And loads of other stuff. But isn’t time running out for us all? Didn’t time run out a lot quicker for the 17 year old fatality of a car crash than it is for a broody 27 year old woman? So, I just have to make the most of the time I have.

 

Time again:

On the 1^st of May my cousin is coming up to Stellies to umpire hockey. My boyfriend is playing Frisbee nationals and one of my best friends turns 30. And they all want attention. So far, it goes like this: I wake up early and grumpy on Saturday morning after Formal Ball Friday evening. I take a stroll to the other side of town to watch a sport I don’t understand until after lunch. Then I walk home and spend time with my surrogate children. Then I go to a birthday party I can’t find until midnight. Then wake up early and grumpy on Sunday to go watch a sport I do understand until what, 18:00? Where is my sleep time? Where?

 

Divorce:

It’s harder than it looks for those who need it and easier than it should be for those who shouldn’t be marrying in the first place… That’s my thought for the time being…

 

Telkom:

Forget about the stupid world cup and activate my bloody line, already!

 

The weekend:

I have no real opinion on kite surfing as of yet, but I do know that camping with great company is awesome. I also love going to bed with a cuddly critter. Even if he’s only cuddly because he’s cold. We really should try to camp more often.

 

And those are my random thoughts for the moment. Blogging is more effort than it looks…

 

Counting blessings

I feel an insuppressible need to gripe about life and work and colleagues and such. But! I have decided that I will instead focus on the good things in life. Counting my blessings…

 

1. Our company has employed 6 new people, among them I have found a colleague that could actually be a friend. Someone fun, interesting and who doesn't take himself so terribly seriously…
2. My eldest (cat) is healthy and doing well. We had a bit of a scare just before Christmas, but he has recovered well
3. My boys are finally getting along, secretly. They don't let you see, but every now and then you can catch a glimpse of a snugly looking bundle of tabby fur made up of two beautiful kitties.
4. My baby (again, cat) is getting big, but he's still the cutest thing you can imagine. He's settling down slowly and he's just awesome for cuddles
5. I'm learning new stuff at dancing and it's not going terribly, we're actually keeping up. I just wish there were a timeslot we could go off in a corner and work out our own stuff. There are disadvantages to progress…
6. Intervarsity will not be costing a fortune! Thanks Momma! (that reminds me of things I want to gripe about…)
7. Formal ball finally has a date and venue that suits everyone and the budget – again with the momma
8. I have NCIS Season 2!!!!!!! (My boyfriend is beyond awesome)
9. My boyfriend is beyond awesome…
10. I'm writing my Learners in 2 weeks
11. My cousin is coming to visit over Easter

 

I'm guessing that covers it for now. I'm looking forward to the weekend and to spending time with and supporting the Cookie Monster and the boys.

Kids and monkeys

Schnookums is 30 today – the big THREE OH. Yes, dear, I called you schnookums, in public. So we have most of the bits and pieces together for the party and all the final prep will be done on Friday.

It's been a tough time lately on a personal level and I suspect we both need the relaxation of the party. However, in making the arrangements and planning for this event, I have discovered that I love everything about organising small to medium events. I am happy to support Mr. Three-Oh in what ever crosses his path and it gave me huge pleasure to put together this party for him. I'm loving every stress-filled moment of it.

I guess that on a basal level, I always knew I'd enjoy this. I love playing house and faffing and putting stuff together, so where would I be happier than arranging a kiddies' party?

On the down-side, the experience has shown me what a budget drainer these events can be. And we've been pretty good about it all. To have to do this annually could drive you nuts, especially if you have more than one child – another reason to have twins. The enjoyment, however, far outweighs the cringing at the cashiers. I'm greatly looking forward to seeing the finished product. Nearly as much as I'm looking forward to spending an entire day baking and decorating 144 mini cupcakes, making coconut ice and his favourite fridge treats…

There's still a heap of work ahead of me/us, but it's all of the fun variety. Now, kindly pray for me on Saturday at around 13:00 when I will be surrounded by 11 sugar-high adults, one of whom may be furious because her two year-old is pretty sugar high and covered in Chocolate and icing…

Here's to the fun stuff, honey. May you have many more and may they all be as much fun as this one :-*