Tales of the Gold Monkey..

I was sleepy earlier, so I went to bed. However, I must have eaten too much or the wrong thing, because I woke up moments ago with some heartburn. *shakes head* I would have been quite happy just sleeping until I had to get up in the morning.

Such was not in the cards, however. So here I am, updating.

Work was pretty productive today. I learned that I am most efficient at doing those reports when I have an optical wheel mouse to use. I've been using a wheel mouse for so long, that it's second nature to me. To that end, I imagine that I'm going to make it a point to stay on the "good" PC* when doing my reports. I've toyed with the idea of taking my PS2 Intellimouse with me to work, for the "other" computer that I sometimes have to wind up using, just in case.

On the way home from work, I stopped by Comic Cellar to officially pre-order a case of Deathknell, the next D&D minis set. While there, I made sure my Eberron novels were caught up. (There will be four out by August!!) Then, because I do every single time I play a new character, I bought some dice. This time, I bought "Green w/silver Festive"**. I normally don't go for dice this color/style, but they look like miniature earths, being most blue, with bands of green ("ground") breaking it up. I could have bought some blue "Mother of Pearl" dice, or some purple "Scarab" dice. Chances are, though, that I'll wind up getting them both at some point. I love dice. :)

I came home, and just goofed off this evening, talking to a variety of people online until I decided bed was the best idea I had. I learned that -- as a DM -- I really impress one of my players, to the point that I am his "favorite DM". I can't tell you how good that feels. I try to make the game enjoyable. Things like this tell me that I'm doing it, and it makes me happy.

Well, folks, I'm going back to bed. I feel better now. Remember, chili coneys from Sonic, coupled with a piece of momma's homemade cake***, equals late night indigestion/heartburn. *Makes mental note not to do this again*

EDIT: I found around *40* mpgs of commericals from the old Kenner Star Wars line. For those not paying attention, that's the series from 20 years ago. Watching 'em makes me feel like a kid again.

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* - A WinXP box, with plenty of memory, a sound card (with speakers, so I can plug them into my iPod), a decent video card (for a good screen resolution), and -- of course -- the optical scroll mouse.

** - Second from the top on the left hand side in the link that opens up.

*** - In the interest of a lot of foot notes, I am going to point out that it's not TRULY homemade, but it was made at home. Gotta love Betty Crocker cake mixes, ya know?

**** - I freakin' LOVE iTunes! I got this song in my head one day, and just went and found it on iTunes. Thanks to a Pepsi bottle cap, I got it free. :)

What dreams may come...

While I don't regret sitting up last night, because I know it didn't hurt the amount of sleep I usually get, I do regret going back to sleep. It took a few minutes before I was able to go back under, and when I did, whoa were the dreams strange...

I was in a house that was circular, and Something Nasty was going to breach the defenses. Oddly , I was the only male still inside, as the others were outside preparing to fight the thing. (I looked outside once, and it wasn't outdoors as much as it was an extra-wide hallway, with something down the way a bit. I think something happened to the soldiers guarding it, and I had to get away. I found all of the women (five or six, of varying age from 15-40) and convinced them that the only way we'd survive that thing entering the place was to play dead and hide. Well, I guess it worked, sorta, because as I was hiding myself in a closet next to one of the women, the dream shifted, and another one started.

The women got up and walked away in different directions. I remember that there was a girl there I was taken with. She was Asian and had black hair, and had a little sister.* Someone came by, and we left, and went out to the Mississippi River to look at it. This wasn't near downtown Memphis, or its bluff. Oh yes! I remember seeing it from a window in the house. So, some guy and I went to investigate a car that was exposed to the waves. Oddly enough, the car looked like it had just been left there, but it looked like the tide was coming in, beause waves were starting to wash over it. (The waves were high enough to wash over it, but they went no further.) Finally, my friend and I left, and got up a hill (not unlike a bluff), only to turn around and see the river filling the basin again. (In other words, it was at our heels.)

I ran into the girl again, and she and her little sister wanted ice cream. I knew I had money in my pocket, so we all walked to an ice cream shop. However, when I got where we were going to go, it was a restaurant like Chili's or Applebee's, and we were there to get some cigars and drinks. Instead of the girl, I was next to that guy who was purportedly my friend. He bought a few cheap cigars (after seeing a 20-pack of Cuban Cohiba cigars for $47.50), and then asked for a drink. I forget what he got, but it was ice, alcohol, and a little water (soda?). I was ready to order my drink -- and the drink for the girl -- when my "friend" started messing with the bartender. By now, the bartender was behind a counter like one of those hot dog stands at the fair. The bartender decided to fix himself a drink, and did so. When his back was turned the guy dumped (made me dump?) the drink on the ground. This pissed off the bartender, who vanished. I mean, suddenly I was back in "my" room in that house.

I knew the friend had left, and worse, I knew that the girl had really wanted that drink. I sat at the computer in there, trying to do something, but saw movement by my window (which was from my real life house). I looked out, and a kid was sneaking up the hill in my backyard. I yelled for him to get out, and a police helicopter came overhead searching for someone. The light lingered on my window, but I knew I'd done nothing wrong, so I settled back and tried to concentrate on the computer. I couldn't though, because I could see the helicopter sweeping the neighborhood with its light. I felt my emotions build up to a snapping point --

-- and I was outside, at night, in a courtyard/backyard thing area that was not unlike that seen at Memphis' "Fontaine House". I had missed the girl again somehow, and the guy was going to his house for the night. I began to rage about missing her, because I could FEEL that I should have spent time with her, so the friend offered to go get a drink with me. I said no, and then I realized that it was my friend strieson.** I told him no, and that furthermore, because I'd missed the girl again, I was swearing off alcohol forever. Scott said, "Noooo!", but I looked at the night sky (black without stars -- must be cloudy) and declared, in a loud voice, "I will never drink another drop of alcohol as long as I live."

I could feel that it hadn't taken effect yet, because I didn't feel the impact hit me, so I added "so mote it be!" I immediately felt the impact of my words coursing through my veins, and knew I'd never drink again. I turned away from the courtyard, walked on a sidewalk between two houses....


...and my alarm woke me up. Odd that it did so then, huh? Makes me wonder how much of a dream it really was...

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* - No, Meimei, this wasn't you. I can't explain how I know, just that I know.

** - No, Scott, it's not you, either. I think that whoever it was originally changed faces to convince me to drink anyway. You have more respect for me than this guy did.