MS9's "New Life" Diary

[MindStar9]

Much has happened since my introduction to EU by my brother JetBoy in March of 2005. It's been an interesting and often amazing journey that has provided much in the way of entertainment, but more in the way of personal relationships. I have met some truly incredible individuals in this virtual universe, and despite the global diversity and cultural differences, have nurtured many treasured and cherished friendships. It hasn't always been easy, but a journey I wouldn't have changed for anything.

Why make a new Diary? ... because my life has had many twists and turns both ingame and IRL, and right now, I am well entrenched in embracing new horizons both ingame and IRL, and I'm inspired to write about them; especially after reading a special friend's Diary that continue's to chronicle experiences in both worlds so eloquently and lovingly.

So what's new? ... well, I'm continuing to skill on HG, and more recently have engaged in rifle skilling as well due to the new (L) weapons that were introduced like the GeoTrek and Isis which I love. Even though I'm maxed on both, I'm continuing to experience lots of green which makes me happy, not to mention how fun these weapons are, AND ... that they have quite a cool sound to them.

I've also acquired a set of Phantom armor, yet still waiting on the harness to be delivered, but that should be soon. I really love the armor BIG time, and am glad I made the investment. Not sure I'll be selling the Bear after getting the Phantom harness, but will give it some consideration. I just don't understand why Bear is one of those armors where shins have been so incredibly difficult to acquire. Oh well, I'm happy with the Phantom, so after I get the harness it won't matter any more.

My life in EU is splendid, and despite experiencing the same issues that most experience with regard to low loot recently, as well as other minor and annoying things, I'm not complaining. It's an opportunity to enjoy time not only with my super brother when he's available, but also to share time with many wonderful friends that mean so much to me.

My IRL is experiencing leaps and bounds, and despite the loss of a brother in January, new horizons are no longer looming in the distant, but are full-force in my face and polishing up the colors in my rainbow. So what does that mean? ... that someone I met in EU over a year ago has captured my heart IRL. Now, the first thought that most will have is that it's Moonie, but it's not. Moonie is one of the most incredible men I know, and has character, integrity, honesty, a loving soul, and a kick-ass sense of humor, but Moonie and I are loving friends, and adore each other deeply. We are soc mates, continue to enjoy exceptional and crazy-ass fun ingame, have mutual close friends, including my IRL guy, and share a closeness that will never be destroyed by anything. We have promised each other this because our friendship is deep, treasured, and cherished as a "true" and "real" friendship in the way a friendship should be experienced.

The relationship I have with my IRL guy was not built or nurtured ingame, other than an incredible friendship. The possibilities beyond friendship were all explored and developed IRL over a period of time. Now, after months of nurturing these possibilities, we have become housemates, and are having an incredibly fun time with it all. Lot's of cool things are going on, and with time I'll report some of them here, but what the huge bonus is in all of this, is that we support each other's EU activities, even though we rarely interact with each other ingame.

I know, the big question is, who is he! Well, for now, we want to keep that our secret, and I won't entertain anyone questioning me either, because I won't give an answer. Eventually we will reveal this mystery person when we feel the time is more comfortable in doing so. The only two people who know are my brother and Moonie, and both have been incredibly supportive ... (one or two others think they know, but truly don't, they've been set off track). Jet and the rest of my family met him at our brother's memorial in February, which was an unfortunate way to meet family of course, but many flew in from other parts of the country and despite this being a sad occasion, we took the opportunity, and it turned out to be wonderfully special indeed.

So, my EU and EF friends ... MS9 has other things on her mind these days, and life is just getting better and better. My stepping down from moderating both forums, and not spending as much time ingame has been the result of shifting my focus a little more where the benefits keep on giving, and where I don't see "This creature did not carry any loot" ... also, globals and hofs take on a whole new meaning.

I'll be back to share more of my new adventures as time permits ... in the meantime, I want to thank my brother Jet and Moonie for being the incredible life companions that I know I can always count on no matter what. And Moonie ... you know I love you in a way that will never ever change, no matter what ... and that you can count on it without a doubt.

Ciao for now!


The lemonade is sweet!


EDIT:

I had to come back and add that I finally met up with Auktuma ingame and got my Phantom harness.

I have to say that Auk was lookin' rather scrumptious in his tux ... BIG time Hottie with penetrating light-colored eyes! Thank you Auk for meeting up with me, and for coming through with the harness. It is SO appreciated my dear, and I'm happy that we finally got to FL once and for all. It's been a long time comin' and now it's done.

My plan is to go out and test the Phantom against the Bear on the same mobs in the same conditions and see what kind of stats I can come up with. Although it won't be a true test since I don't have Bear shins ... DAMN that sucks! Oh well, off to have some fun!



***

[MindStar9]

Things are coming along nicely IRL ... this was the first weekend in two that we weren't transporting "stuff" from the other apt, and could finally relax a little and do little projects. The computer/music room is lookin' kinda cool now, and we rearranged things today (ok, he did), so that my treadmill will fit in the room very comfortably ... just like it did in my sunroom at the other place.

About a year ago, I splurged and got myself a 21 piece set of Wolfgang Puck cookware, but guess who's using it more than me! Hey, I'm not complaining, and I'm well on my way to being spoiled. I've learned to relax around the clutter at the moment, because I hate clutter, but we're actually having fun pulling it all together, and sorting it out. Combining two households is a big project, but the further along we go, the more ideas we come up with, and that's a good thing.

I took a break from mining, because after getting over 50 globals/hofs in a little over two weeks, I think MA gave me a message that I should do something else for a while. So I went back to my first love, hunting. It's been going rather well, and have been experiencing team globals with soc mates and friends, but nothing solo. I decided today to do a little ore mining out at Shinook ... the purple patch that's been so good to me ... and whaddaya know ... I unlocked "extraction" ... Now I'm told it's a long road to unlocking "mineral sense" ... but I'll get there when I get there, I'm in no hurry. In the meantime, I'll enjoy my time in EU. It's so good to have a housemate who understands!

Let's see what tomorrow brings!



***

[MindStar9]

What a great weekend it was ... got some things done around the new place, and we're slowly working toward getting more settled (gonna take time though combining two households), and my live-in chef is putting the Wolfgang Puck cookware to good use for sure. One of the things he made not that long ago was porkchops with a garlic jam glaze ... absolutely amazing ... then this past weekend, he whipped up a yummy veggie pasta. Oh ya, and I tried spaghetti squash for the first time too, and don't know why I haven't tried it until now because I LUV IT. He's such a sweetheart ... on his way home from work, he passes roadside farmer's market stands with fresh produce, fruits, etc., and brings home the freshest and most healthy stuff ... now that's a great chef for ya ... how much more luckier can I get, huh? I have to say, that even though we have the deal that when he cooks I clean up afterwards, he's one of the neatest cooks I know ... next to myself of course ... and that is a huge bonus as well. Waiting to see just how much "gooder" this all gets!

I always love spending time with my brother, and this past weekend we were able to get together a couple of times for some fun. Every now and then if Moonie or BlackRain aren't available, we'll drag other special friends into our activities like Asti, Sir Odd Bunny, JohnCapital, JackFlask, whoever's online that we can tag for some fun ... especially if we're going on a beacon run, or trying something new.

We dragged Asti away from her mining and into one of our escapades, which turned out to be loads of fun. After an attempt at making a run at the Thorifoid temple with no luck, we headed off to Feff-land West of Fury. It was an opportunity for me to test out the Phantom armor against some good ol' JSA mob-herding. It was a blast, and you can read about it here (w/pics of course) ...

Phantom Mob-Herding - w/pics!

Sunday I attended the Dark Brotherhood 3rd soc anniversary event, and had another great time. I took Casay up on her invite, and also brought along a couple of friends to help celebrate (Asti and Sir Odd Bunny). Little did I know that Ms. Asti had something special up her sleeve for the DB. She built a dance floor at the landmarker, complete with the DB initials to personalize it ... way to go Ms. Asti. The event was fun and I got involved with a few Dak Stalkers which I love, and managed to not end up in last place as a result of looting a 37+ ped weapon, along with a little bit more decent loot, so placing 22 out of about 45 attendees isn't too bad.

Here is the link to the event thread, and where you can view the little pic storyline I did about it. We are now waiting on the new "Asti Exo Wrap BP" to drop so that we can start stocking these things in Freyr's shops. Check out the pics ...

Dark BrotherHood 3rd Anniversary Party

Late last night, Moonie and I got together ingame after he got home from work, and we explored the safe zone where the Robot Attackers are and had a blast. Even got some decent loot, and learned how to stay inSIDE that safe zone. Now we need to explore the other safe zones as well. TP'ing in is a guess with the coords that are given, and if you should happen to be outside the safe zone, well ... guess I don't have to tell ya what might happen!

So far, no one's caught my ass in PvP4 yet, but maybe there'll be a time when I TP into the zone, smack in front of someone fast enough to take me down before I render ... ok, not much chance after rendering either maybe depending on who it is ... but hey, that's all part of the game, right ... I have no problem with it ... however, they should know they won't get anything.

Well, I'm off to get a few things done before teaching my afternoon class, but will be back to report more of my new adventures.



***

[MindStar9]

Yesterday turned out to be an interesting day indeed ... after receiving a response to an email I sent to my supervisor at the college inquiring about teaching Summer courses, I was initially pissed, because it seems that enrollment is down for the Summer and they aren't offering the same number of courses. As an Adjunct Professor (part-time), it means that full-time staff get the classes first and we get what's leftover, which isn't normally a bad thing because I never have less than 3 classes each term. However, there is one full-time Psychology Professor on staff at this particular campus location, and she'll be teaching all the classes but one, and that's already staffed, which means I have no classes for the Summer Term, BUT ...

I said I was only initially pissed, because an interesting conversation took place with my Honey that just made all the sense in the world. I've been working on developing my private practice for sometime, and wanted to fully launch it in the beginning of the year, but then there was the situation with my brother and his death and then the memorial, and then the move, and then, and then ...

What he suggested turned a negative into a positive, and totally gave a different perspective to what I was faced with. This current Spring Term doesn't end until May 7th, and after a week or two break, the Summer Term starts. Each term is 14 weeks, and he said to take this time to fully focus on the business and connect with the agencies first who will be using my services for their clients, and then expand more into the private area.

OMG, all kinds of lights and bells and whistles and fireworks went off, and my thoughts were off and running at "MachStar-9" again. What an incredible opportunity this will be to finally realize a dream I've had for a long time. I have all that I need, but just didn't have enough time to focus on it. I'm totally pumped and ready to get started now, but have a few weeks before that happens. In the meantime, I have more to do to fine-tune the other programs I developed in 2003 ... I'm expanding them all to 10 weeks instead of 6 or 8, except for the Domestic Violence Intervention one, which will remain a 12 week program merely because of the enormous amount of content.

The other programs ... "Anger Management" ... "Building Successful Relationships" ... and ... "A Journey Through Adolescence" ... were received very well in the community in 2003 at the time I was doing more of the individual and family counseling, and even the county court system sanctioned them as being the programs that parents in the child welfare system were mandated to take ... especially my premiere program "Intense Effective Parenting" ... which is so incredibly needed in every community, and the one I am more passionate about than any other ... except for building successful relationships, because people don't know how to do that any more.

IRL is totally coming together in ways that I couldn't imagine, and as far as my EU life is concerned ... we are now entertaining the idea of an IRL get-together in Florida with soc mates, and will be discussing that in our private soc forum soon. We're thinking Summer so we can do the whole beach and maybe theme parks thing ... but who knows, there's time to plan.

Life is good and getting gooder!



***

[MindStar9]

IRL News:

Yesterday was an interesting day ... I made contact with a very special friend who also happened to be one of my graduate professors, along with her husband. What wonderful people they are, and crazy as hell, but more fun than you could imagine. We've all been caught up in "stuff" with regard to orgaizing our lives, and she (about a year ago) completed her doctorate in sports psychology, so now both she and her husband are PhD's. She's been busy developing her private practice, and he continues to teach at several colleges.

Anyway ... we haven't gotten together in a while, but the weekend after this we are having them over for dinner so they can meet the new man in my life, and also to just have some fun. Nancy and I work extremely well together with regard to coming up with ideas and strategizing, and it was she who recommended me for the professorship at the college that turned out quite well, but if the business takes off as I'm anticipating it to, then I won't go back in the Fall. I'm just extremely happy to have this opportunity to fully focus on the business and finally launch it.

EU News:

I learned something from my soc mate BlackRain a while back, to not be so apprehensive toward taking on new mobs, or new level mobs. As much of a "Kick-Ass Warrior Huntress" that I am, I tended to stay within a certain maturity for some mobs, and for some unknown reason, not venture into the big boys.

First time at CP with BlackRain and other soc mates, we started off in Dome 1, but the spawn was minimal and wasn't exciting enough ... besides, we didn't have any problems taking them down and there really wasn't an adrenaline rush of sorts. BR said, let's go to Dome 4 ... my initial reaction was, are you nuts ... but then he said, how will you know you can't handle them unless you try. The worst that can happen is you die and revive and then get on with it. After testing the waters and realizing that I can take on Devastators and Ravagers on my own (with a lot of work and fapping of course, providing there are no criticals), I have been more open to wander into territory I haven't experienced before.

I was out mining yesterday and the day before, in the wonderful purple patch at Shinook that has been so good to me, but further South, and it was there that I came upon an Esty Stalker. It was then I realized I was in a small LA, and while my immediate reaction was ... oh boy ... I remembered the CP experience and what BR said and quickly readied myself to take the beast on. Estys always hit harder than Allys, so I had it in my mind that this was going to be a fight to the finish. Well, it was surprising to see that even though they were hitting pretty good, I was able to take them down. At that point, I was pumped and had myself a little party. They weren't paying well, but I had me some fun nonetheless.

Last night when Moonie and I took them on, we both got a crit of 162.4 and Moonie got another at 174, so they can pack a wollup now and then. They still weren't paying, but we did a lot of laughing and enjoyed ourselves. I love the guys in our soc because they have such a crazy-ass sense of humor, and at times we just laugh our asses off more than we hunt I think ... especially when we get in our JSA mob-herding mode.

I'm still very pleased with my Phantom armor, and don't plan on changing it or upgrading it for a while. I want to research more into the dynamics of having certain skill levels before entertaining different or higher-end armor. Moonie said that he was told by an uber that your evade should be about 3k before moving into armor like Jaguar (even though Phantom is close enough), for there to be more of an efficiency or economy. Not sure how true this is, but I've posted the question in my armor comparison thread. Maybe someone will respond to it.

Oh ya ... forgot to share, that Moonie, Sir Odd Bunny and I caught an avatar walking around in a square pattern non-stop in the Sakura TC, and when meeting an obstacle, would just start the pattern in a different direction from there. We all followed her around and tried to block her, but she would just inch her way around us and go in a different direction and start the square pattern all over again. We were laughing ourselves silly, and it wasn't until we got her into the corner by the crafting machines that she couldn't go anywhere. We used every emote possible just for fun and couldn't stop laughing. At one point we all showered her with champagne, so when she becomes conscious again, she'll wonder what she did.

Here's a pic ... Moonie and I were on our way out for a hunt, but the Bunny had her pinned in another corner of the TC. Wonder how they did after we left ...

I did some filming of this activity, but don't want to make assumptions, so the evidence is on ice at the moment.

Now where was I ... oh ya, put the wash in the dryer.




***

[MindStar9]

IRL News:

Things are coming along nicely, and did I tell you how cool it is to have my own live-in chef. It's not what he does for a living, but he's damn good at it. Last night he whipped up Sloppy Joes from scratch and they were awesome. I almost didn't want to know what the ingredients were, but when he told me, I assure you it was everything but the kitchen sink. I'm not used to food with lots of spices, so we're going to have to take this a step at a time so that I can become accustomed to the changes. One thing is absolutely appreciated though, he's very mindful of being healthy in what we eat and how it's prepared. Quite the accommodating chef indeed.

Now, I'm just going to have to figure out how to get back in there once in a while to have a chance to play with all my kitchen gadgets. I'm known as the "Appliance Queen" ... I just about have them all, and if I don't, I will soon. I love convenience, and anything that will save me time in the kitchen ... as opposed to the Master Chef that does everything practically from scratch, which isn't a bad thing. It means while he's playing Martha Stewart in the kitchen, I can be busy accomplishing other things, so that's definitely a time-saver for me. Even though I do the cleanup after he cooks, I would still have to do it if I cooked. Did I also mention that this is getting gooder and gooder?

EU News:

Another interesting day in my virtual universe indeed ... all of the mining ores and enmatter I put at auction the night before sold, but then they always do, so that's cool. I'm not focusing just on mining or hunting at the moment, but mixing them up for variety, especially when loot sucks, but I'm still getting skills and experiencing the green swirlies, so that makes me happy.

I did a little Esty Stalker hunt with my brother, but just as the night before with Moonie, they weren't paying anything AT all, not even giving up any stuff, so that was a bust. All 3 of us planned on getting together later in the evening, so we definitely had to plan something else to stalk.

Moonie and I were ingame before my brother joined us, so Moonie decided to take me on a Kingfisher run on memorial Island. When he mentioned it, my immediate reaction was, "you nuts" ... but there I went again, underestimating my skills and basing my response on a previous experience with those suckers in a different location where I got my purple ass splattered all over the terrain. Moonie said "come one, with your Phantom and 8A plates, no problem." Well, the adventurous soul that I am, and remembering the pep talk BlackRain gave me a while back, I said let's do it. Moonie was right, piece-a-cake, but I just don't like shooting things buzzin' about my head at angles that cause neck pain.

That was a bust too, because those boogers must have left their goods tucked neatly away somewhere as they weren't givin' anything up. Moonie suggested that we go to the SW corner of the blue area on the west coast of Eudoria where we can play with bigger Atrox, Bulls, and Neconu. Hey, I was up for that, so we started heading out that way when my brother caught up with us. The 3 of us eventually got to the targeted area and found it difficult from our position to see the mobs in the brush, so we took out what was close and worked our way around to a more open area. We had no problem takin' down the bigger mobs at all, but they weren't paying much either, and we happened to be in an area where there was a server break, and Jet was having major problems with his computer for some reason. We decided a change was in order.

Hogglos continued to pay, so we decided we would head out to TI for a run at them. We faired much better with the Hogs and managed to achieve 2 globals ... one for 61 ped, and one for 253 ped. We can each take on youngs and matures on our own, but when we have 4 on us at one time, it makes it more difficult, and something that occurred a couple of times when people went running through the area, even though one stopped to fap a little, so thanks for that.

All in all it was a decent day, but what made it even cooler was heading over to the Grand Opening of "Block 22" at Omegaton West - Gamma Building - 22A. What an incredible job Usurper did in decorating this new club. The environment gives the feel of a real club, and is total class from floor to ceiling and wall to wall. The atmosphere is inviting, and just an overall comfortable place to be and enjoy friends and good music provided by Jamhot. I highly recommend a night out at "Block 22" ... and bring your friends, because it's truly a unique place to experience.

Here are a few pics:

Block 22's beautiful Hostess


One of the cozy sitting areas


The unique bar setup

To see the complete pic storyline I wrote, go to this Grand Opening announcement link:

Grand Opening of NightClub "Block 22"

I was so inspired by the decor, that it gave me ideas about creating my own "virtual playpen" of sorts. I was thinking the "Purple Passion Pit" (Triple "P") ... my head is spinning with ideas right now. Perhaps when I get more settled with things, I'll make a go of it. I'll just have to make contact with my ingame connections to get what I need ... coloring is important of course ... oh ya, purple.

That's it for this day's adventures ... I'll be back whenever to add more. Not sure what this day holds for me, but one thing I am sure of, my IRL and my virtual life are incredibly special.

Ciao for now!



***

[MindStar9]

IRL News:

Not too much to report on yesterday, except that we were very productive and made great progress in getting more organized. He took the 5-drawer file cabinet out through the screened patio area where I swear you could fit a Cadillac it's such a nice size, and he sanded it down and repainted it black to go with the rest of the decor in the computer/music room. While he did that, I put my books back up on the bookshelves in the livingroom ... love my books. Today he's doing the 2-drawer cabinet that will fit between our matching desks, and where the lamp and his stereo receiver and CD player will sit. We have nice compartmentalized hutches on our desks and we'll put one speaker on the top of my hutch and one on his for separation.

Eventually, we will shop for the patio furniture so that we can enjoy that space as well. Nothing like a leisurely spent Saturday or Sunday morning having breakfast on the patio, or a relaxing special tea moment or two in the cooler evening time.

The treadmill fits perfectly on the opposite wall behind my desk and faces the door, BUT ... more importantly, it faces the side of the 5-drawer cabinet that was just painted and where a TV will be on top on a swivel base so that I can watch it while I walk. It keeps me distracted from what I'm actually doing so that it doesn't seem like such a task.

The day ended yummy of course, he roasted a chicken, cooked zucchini and yellow squash to perfection, and blended salad ingredients that are always complementary. I have to laugh though, this morning he was unpacking one of his boxes in the kitchen, and I swear the whole thing was jam-packed with spices. After I said "oh wow" ... he said that spices have health benefits. Well, I went to the internet and did a little googling, and here are a couple of links that you might find interesting ...

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art20851.asp

http://www.webmd.com/content/chat_transcripts/1/107809

One thing I know for sure ... I'm eating better and more healthy, and that's a good thing ... not to mention having a culinary explorer in the kitchen who provides an opportunity to try new things, as well as all the love that goes into preparing and serving the end results ... now how much more delicious can it get, huh? Ok, we aren't going there right now!

OMG ... he just delivered breakfast into the computer/music room, and I'm sitting here with a huge smile on my face, because he made grits and sunnyside up eggs for me, BUT ... he artistically shaped the eggs in such a way that it looked like a face with 2 yellow eyes, and then formed the grits around the bottom in the shape of a smile. These little surprises are so special, and I've really never had anyone do things like this for me.

When I facitiously asked him if I deserved this, his answer was an immediate ... "of course you do" ... then what followed made me smile (and laugh) even more ... he said he had to make up for all the dickheads I've had in the past, while trying not to be a dickhead himself. Now that's dedication and commitment to the phrase on our morning coffee mugs ... "Failure is not an Option" ... and I will continue to say that it gets gooder and gooder.

EU News:

We were so busy yesterday, that neither of us got ingame until much later in the evening. After dinner we (ok, me) watched a little TV while he evened off the bottom of the vertical blinds on the sliding glass doors leading to the screened patio. Now they flow better, even though one seems to want to be retarded.

My brother came ingame late too, but instead of our usual team hunt, we met up at Palms Corner and went in different directions mining just to explore a new area. I went North along the lake and in between the LA's toward New Oxford. It looked as though I crossed over into an LA, even though nothing popped up saying so, but I ran into a few Warrior and Scavanger Argos, and Prowler and Stalker Berys which was fun ... not loot fun, but fun.

Jet went off into the SW, and he said ... "oh, there are high maturity Equus here" ... and I said he must have wandered into the LA with them. I've killed hundreds there during an event and never got a global. I have no idea what's up with that, but when something like that happens, I move on. He had fun, and we were able to call out on Skype what deposits w