Muse-less Tales

Location: Unitar workstation, the pc with the password rejected sites.
Mood-of-the-day: Creativity levels low. I need a Muse.

I’ve recently going through some of Will’s blog and found his entry about a stupid mistake that had left him deaf to his favourite music (he’s got a sweet new layout btw). The pic he posted looked like his crowning trophy was beyond physical repair this time. Dude, I feel your pain. But you should have gotten the stronger ones built for pure abuse, even if you do sit in the indoors. Then again, your office had always been a very hazardous place to work in.

I got my fair share of broken possessions but sudden death syndrome was never an option to negotiate. If it’s broken, fix it! This baby right here was one of my prized items and still is. What got me to it was the Carrefour price tag earlier this year. Little did I realize I would be spending almost same amount in transparent sticky tape. Lots and lots of sticky tape wrappings. Cheap plastic and migratory lifestyle between places had forced me to preserve my pretty into a mummy-like state.

My own pair of abused headphones.

My school’s having a new e-mail system upgrade. It’s cute enough to be count as interesting but personally I think it looked like a clash between Yahoo interface and Hotmail attributes. But that wasn’t the problemo of the day. Turns out half-the school hadn’t been informed of this new get-up and many were going huh? upon entering an unfamiliar login site and found their passwords crop a Rejected answer.

So a tutorial was made about an hour ago to overcome the huh?. Great, a class to teach us how to send e-mail. Like the third and fourth paragraph of this entry, it felt a bit long and windy, mostly about preferences and attachments, but had to stick to it because there’s little else to show. We could have just stopped at the how-to-change-password and teach ourselves the rest. But due to the shameful news of 12 credit hours student average or this semester, school officials had been drilling Semangat! messages in everyway possible. Or at least they’re trying to.

It’s Wednesday today, parents would be flying high to the Land of the Christmas dinner tonight. I often wonder why the bird, turkey, is named after the country, Turkey, when the bird, turkey, is clearly from the New World (America :P).

Internet rumour said that an original turkey bird from Turkey was so popular on the man festival table that they probably wiped it all out. Then they find the fat gobble-gobble and decided to name it turkey. You know, with American’s reputation for obesity, that story’s might be crazy enough to be true.

Signed: *Ophie, who suddenly found a craving for turkey-ham sandwich from Giant KJ

The Chaos Circles #12

In Lya’s memory, the Head Villager had never looked more furious. But it was Finnigan Jaymeson who took a step forward and spoke his anger first. Clearly he was displeased with his nephew.
“Enough, Jaque, or I will deal with you myself!” he cried, shaking his fist.
But the man’s stern gaze quickly darted to the direction of his younger brother as well. Terrence only half-stood from his position, his face was exposed his indecisiveness.

Like many heads of his clan-name, Finnigan Jaymes made a reputation of being a tough and unwavering man, even emotionally. Some who spoke behind his muscular back would and had mouthed arrogance but proof was in his profits and his loyal farm hands. Finnigan’s determination and persistence in success was one of the major influential factors in Enatuh’s recovery from the disaster thirteen years ago. But he was also a traditionalist and a xenophobic to boot, a habit Lya sometime wondered if the Jaymeson had passed to her father or the reverse.

Upon the Jaymeson’s words, the old mage placed a knotty hand on Jaque’s shoulder. Lya thought he was pushing her friend away but then Mariel Hivyniqiv turned to face the Heads again and appeared to give Jaque a tight squeeze. His eyes caught Lya’s and for some reason, he smiled and did not move from his place between the other mages. That was when Lya knew he had a plan. She wondered if it was the right one to do.

The old mage raised his stick to the Hall and spoke loudly to the Heads. Lya could not hear his first few words as the people’s echoes were receding only slowly.
“... you owe us a great favour, don’t you think?” said Mariel.
“What favours? We owe none!” cried the Head of Leigham. His voiced somewhat pitched.
He seemed to have stopped himself at the last word, as if he had wanted to say something stronger.

Her father narrowed his sight and whispered something to the man. The man’s face turned flushed and he fell silent. Lya could not remember the Leighamson’s name but she knew he was young, only five and thirty was his age, the most inexperienced of the Heads. Father controls everyone and everything. That thought came to Lya as suddenly as the other that followed. Even those from outside Green Cliffs.

And the smile of the old mage’s face seemed to grow Handred’s withheld fury.
“Seven Men and Seven Towers, Under the Mark of the Flowers...” began Mariel softly.
He did not spoke those words loudly; more to be speaking of him to himself, but the Hall was quiet enough to hear it all. The old mage raised his head and his tone changed.
“Hear me, oh cousins! It darkens my heart to hear your Father resist our cries but it burns my soul if all of you had lost your Past.”

Lya could not make heads or tales of this strange speech. Jaque looked as if he desired to return to his seat, or that he was growing some second thoughts but the gold-eyed mage, Gerald Usuquinota, held him in his place. All seven Heads were standing, some muttering curses and others only shaking their heads or fists. As the old mage walked small steps to the middle of the ring table, Handred Samuelson snapped his voice.
“Enough, mage! Go back to the lowlands. There is nothing here for you and nothing you can give us. Leave us and away with you!”

The Hall too rose from their seats and cried mixed noises of disapproval and distaste. But for each small step Mariel the Old Mage made, he tapped his staff to the wooden floor. Each tap grew unnaturally louder until he reached the middle; the last tap was almost similar to the bang of his previous handclap.
“I’ll leave, yes! I’ll leave a reminder of your lost past. Think about that when an elder teaches you on what to listen and what not to.”

That was when Finnigan Jaymeson strode from his chair and advanced dangerously upon Mariel, with a determination in demeanour to physically push the old mage out. Handred did not even cry out to stop him. Near the entrance, Chris Anasteq tucked his hand into his coat, as if he was ready to pull something out but the female mage held firm to his arm, unmistakably a warning she had signalled. Lya held her breath as the powerfully built Jaymeson faced the old mage, his hand curled like a claw.

Lya thought the old mage was going to do more magic. A bubble of excitement grew within her. Despite his stooped figure, Mariel Hivyniqiv acted fluidly, without uncertainty to the opposition, neither in words nor in strength. He held his staff tightly. With a flash and one motion, he aimed and struck away the hand that threatened him before the staff’s top end hit the centre of Jaymeson’s chest. The huge man staggered backwards and caught himself before he fell, coughing and gasping as if he was out of breath.

Lya exhaled and it felt as if the rest of the Hall released their breath with her. There was no magic, she was sure of it. When Mariel clapped his deafening burst, his fingers glowed brightly for an instant, like there was lightning in his hands as well as thunder. But the move against Jaque’s uncle was seemingly ordinary, if the sight of a frail elder overcoming one of largest men in Enatuh was ordinary. The Hall did not erupt into noise; rather a shocked spell had fallen upon the people.

For a moment, only Finnigan’s coughing and wheezing were the only sounds of the Hall, until Mariel continued to speak, his staff pointed and his eyes never leaving the Head clansman who had doubled over.
“Over four hundred years ago, your families were master of wars. Great knights and Mages that fought against the tyranny of Inutqland’s Open War. Your seven Head clansmen is a traditional reminder of the seven great friends who made the Esaeni Aqens Order, the Peaks of Green Order,” said Mariel.

He spoke not like a storyteller in front of a festive-day fire but more like a teacher who was lecturing history that would appear in an examination, with the same air of discipline. The old mage shook his staff to the open entrance doors of the Hall, ignorant of the soft but chilly mountain breeze that flickered the candlelights.
“Esaeni Aqens was the name of this great mountain range you made your home in before the Open War, before the Order was disbanded. That was what the Order was made for and what it represents. A long wall of never breaking spirit, against both evils on both sides of the mountain range.”

“How could you, the children of that great order, that one soul-binding clan, had turned blind from one of your forgotten motherland? The pride of your brethren’s triumphs still hung in your hearts, stronger in mind and body than you believe but you did not come to Asuqaro’s aid during our moment of peril. The shame! Instead, you cry that we are ignorant from your massacre. Have you even tried to venture outside your valley home to see others? Had the old oaths been lost that long too?”

Mariel grasped his stick tightly as Finnigian recovered and rose from the floor. Lya thought that it might have been the first time that the Head Jaymeson had ever fallen so quickly. The man did not move, nor did he hold support from the table behind him. Jaque too looked tense but often without turning his head, his eyes would dart to the open entrance behind him. Mariel continued to speak strongly.

“All the nations and kingdoms were broken from Inutqland’s rage. That was when all men were equal under the sun, neither old status nor promised riches can distinguish separately. That was when seven men, all born under the shadows or within sight of Esaeni Aqens found and made their home in a soft fertile pocket between the mountains’ bones. This valley, your valley, your clan’s valley. Those men build their clans away from the Open War for as long as they held their ghosts at bay.”

“Landless were scorned for, but the valley did they lived for as the lands around them exchanged lives without care. Until Inuqtland came knocking on their lowlanders’ door. Asuqaro it was still called, though the capital that shook was dubbed Aqa-Anau, the Heart of a Star in the Light of the Earth. The nation was whole, neither Nauqa-Aro had stained it nor Northern Uvounuq had swallowed it. To have the Kingdom of Destroyers casting its shadow was more terrible than any historians could describe.”

She knew the story, reading the dusty yellow pages under faint candlelight. Years ago, when she found the archives, she had read them excitedly as if they were fairy tales of lost worlds. Perhaps, a part of her still thought her childish views were true, being raised by a man with a steadfast discipline in a village of severe peacefulness. To actually hear the tales from a mage who spent a lifetime to more than just reading the histories was like rediscovery to Lya.

“From a small community in the very same you’ve called your birth-home, your clans did endure and fought to survive and keep it away from the ancestral Inutites. Men and women broken and torn a shudder from the distant places they once called home, they were ready to more than just dies from the land they’ve gained. And so the Battle of Paths was the most unsung and uncelebrated victory of the Open War, yet many heard of it. Sorrow of the lost was too great to sing tales.”

To be continued...

A Bit of Magic...

Location: I’m flying without wings and I believe I can fly,
Mood-of-the-day: Getting high (no, I’m not on drugs, it just rhymes).

Previously I’ve mentioned in the Crystal Gaze that it’s my mom’s birthday last Friday. We didn’t managed to get to that Turkish restaurant because it’s pretty hard to get the whole family in one spot at any one time. Bro works seven days a week (who knew futsal is everybody’s favourite? Wait, don’t answer that :P) and my dad had a friends’ gathering before his big Perhentian Island trip.

Even with whatever’s left of the family, we’re still as scattered as mice in a hayfield. I took a trip to school lab to download various things (educational downloads. Or else I’ll be at my room playing you-know-what). Got home pretty late since I took the Ikano exit off LDP. I don’t often drive anywhere on weekends so I forgot about the traffic jam (plenty of Singaporean plate numbers) and got stuck in it for half-an-hour *urg*.

An ice-cream B-cake from Baskin Robbins

Hell, it was damn good! Completely covered in a chocolate coating, there’s an original Baskin Robbins caramel-flavoured or something that I just can’t quite describe it, but it looked like a special vanilla (I’m straining my head here). The cake base was pure chocolaty-chocolate brownie (the kind that Death by Chocolate doesn’t sound so bad). Flowers are ice-cream too, a sugary type but I was too busy indulging myself.

Noticed that we’ve just used one candle on the cake for mom’s age privacy reasons (giggle!). But one thing was for sure, if we were to use all the candles on the cake, it’ll melt. Bro managed to have some later than night. I’m not sure about my dad though, will have to ask me on Wednesday when he gets back (something about a crown of thorns project, nasty lil’ needle-ball that eating up fish habitat).

As for the Saray restaurant? Will probably have to wait until sis’s B-day in mid November (once upon a time, I thought my b-day was in November :P). In the meantime, I’ll just have to return to my meditative state. I’ve just acheive a new level in Imagination magic and it’s called Spirit Cloud. It’s hard to do it in my hands so I’ve kept it brimming in a pearl chalice. Don’t believe me?

I’ll tell ya how it’s done, but then I’ll have to kill ya...

Signed: *Ophie, singing a tune ”You can do magic, you can have anything that you desire...”

School While In A Daze...

Location: Unitar workstation, pc with eyeballs.
Mood-of-the-day: I hate Mondays

At this moment, I’m watching a screensaver someone had downloaded, something about stopping to smell the flowers. If I knew the site I would have given it here and downloaded a piece myself. My new Windows 2000 still have no more personality that the Savinoff Scene. And the download would have killed my thumb drive. It’s only the 4th of October and already I’ve used up 129Mbytes.

Lucky I didn’t brought the cheaper 128Mbytes. Didn’t know I was a freeware fanatic until I got the tools to become one. Let’s see what’s taking so much room. I’ve got 9 zip files (only 2 were Telecommunications chapters), 6 text documents, 3 MSWord documents, 4 Jpegs (2 maps, one Scene, One Garfield comic strip), and that Winamp Media from Multimedia project (20+Mbytes). Wow, I’m so FAT32. Note to self: Trim everything.

Here’s an ode to my ongoing distaste for my school’s firewall building community (aka administrators). I can’t play Runescape. During a free-time escapade during the 7 and a half hours before actual class starts, I did a lazy Google surf by randomly typing in subjects and see what comes up (you try typing in ‘Mooning’ in the Images search and see how many comes up). That’s when I found this cute site.

A Gathering of Players

Apparently no pre-downloaded program needed, just some Java support. I was ready to kick demonic ass with a power nickname to boot (Pattern_Star, and it’s mine!) when a lil’ pop-up message box warns that I’m being monitored and Unitar’s PC-Police are watching me and the next offence would be a termination of my PC usage for one day. What the heck?

Anyway I suppose they have their rights. So far my school’s administrators had banned Yahoo chats, MSN messenger, both IRC and ICQ, a few Java applets, no movie files, no executable software, no MP3s and many others I hadn’t found out what I can’t access. Yes, no porn either. The last bit would have been excusable.

The only chats allowed are the Online Tutorials (OLT). I’m having Telecommunications OLT today so it doesn’t matter if I ever get off this chair. Which is great since I’m downloading the RPG Maker 2000 from RPGInfinity. For um, no particularly true reason that actually results in long hours in front of the PC, which I’m already going through already, that needs even longer amount of time to the point that my thumb drive, as said... oh, just move on! Nothing more to read here :D.

Signed: *Ophie, countdown T-minus 10 to entering OLT class... 10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

¤§üvøñ Ré@lîty¤ Updates!

Location: At work or at play, in the night or in the day.
Mood-of-the-day: Blogging is fun, that’s what we all say!

Woohoo! It’s that time of the month again! No, I’m not having my periods, you curious kitties you. So enough about me, let’s talk about... er, me? No, my blog! Yes, that’s it. Let’s talk about my blog about me! And all the extra stuff I’ve got in it. That time of the month is a lil’ known entry called Suvon Reality Updates and I’m to tell you which means what in my life that I’ve added in here this month.

September was the Month of Many and I mean I’ve placed many things. It’s a little hard to tell about it since the biggest change would be the Suvon’s Blogspot and I’m still maintaining the Suvon’s Xfresh. But I’m gonna describe it as from the Blogspot’s.

I’m still using some of the old Scribe template features and maybe I’ll be sticking with it, just as I’m sticking to Blue Shards in Xfresh. I had thought (many time) of renting one from Blogskins.com but in the words of my sis, “Trying to be original konon.” I’ve sort of cut-n’-paste almost all extras from Xfresh’s since it worked real nicely.

Blogarama, Blog Search Engine, Blogstreet, Blogchalk, Blogmania, Blogshares (Kenny’s fault btw), Globe of Blogs, BolehBlogs and Obscure Logs (the latter the only one without a ‘B’) are all links to many huge webrings in my attempt to make my alternate self more Net-popular. And I’m still looking for more, with the help of Google and other Blogs.

Most evident of all were my Scene and My Worldly Favourites. I’ve chosen this scene from Savinoff.com. Just like all my Scenes, I’ve been a regular visitor to Savinoff during my free-ranging dayz just to look for desktop wallpapers (have I mentioned that I’m wallpaper fanatic?). Got him through a trip to 3dshop.com and followed his link from there. All beautiful scenery pics.

I’ve got Robin Hobb’s Assassin’s Apprentice way back last month but only started to get the story after completing Robert Jordan’s Crossroads of Twilight (which I did not enjoy too immensely). I won’t peek at the ending, maybe ;). Ahriman’s Prophecy? See Guilty Pleasure #1 entry. That’s right, I’ve dedicated a full entry about Ahriman’s Prophecy that’ll take too much space to repeat them here :P.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes. Mm-mmm! My first tastes of this yellow glob were the KFC versions until I realize the Add-Butter packets in Cold Storage. I still continue to make my own, a technique that uses microwave and stone pestle in one recipe. My family still continues to call me Miss Potato, which I supposed will last until I get married (then I’ll have to be Mrs. Potato).

Blogspotting.com and Blogrank.net are under my Blogspot link but I’ve added in Xfresh’s as well (for cheating purposes). Also originally for Blogspot is the Blogrolling link-set, added to Xfresh also to give it more weight. But some were not in Xfresh’s. Like the Moon Phases theme (got that from Uner’s Bleeding Theory). Just to see what I’m missing for living in Bright-Light-@-Nightland when I enter my subconscious.

Signed: *Ophie, now to ‘update’ her room before mom invades for surprise inspection

Guilty Pleasure #2

Location: Home, School, Online, Offline, Anywhere to get Connected.
Mood-of-the-day: Onward to Part 2!

So what do you think so far? Oh come on! You like to play games, I know you do, don’t lie. Okay, so maybe there’s some of you who choose First Person Shooters and Real-Time Strategy over Role Playing Games (yes, I do play Splinter Cell, Half-Life and Starcraft! Even without cheating!). Why is this a ‘guilty pleasure’ you ask? Because I’m not suppose to play these games. They’re addictive in their stories in their little walking GIFs and their colourful costumes.

You were strolling along on the 6th cave level and suddenly 2 stone-heads decided that they want to pick a fight with you

Yippee, that tournament trophy is all yours!

Laxius Power: Randon Story is the first of yet another trilogy (curse Lord of the Rings if it’s responsible for this phenomenon). A young lad named Random is looking forward to a Great Tournament along with his girlfriend/best-friend/drunk-friend/cat-friend/blob-friend/all-of-these, and stumbled upon a secret sect intent on breeding an army of (yet again) Evil. Complete with over 20+ sidequests this is a real gigantic RPG.

Aaaah, this is the game I’m still playing. It’s huge, even at my 3rd week (and I’ve dedicated 3-thirds of my waking hours to it!). The only lame part is the very, very lamest and that’s the creator’s original arts that he’s included at different intervals of the story. Draws like a primary school kid using pencil-colours (so cheesy). The best part is the very, very bestest (can I say that and get away with it? :P) is the features, some very original.

Some of these games are virtually similar because they’re made using a Japanese creation: RPG Maker 2000 (which explains why all the characters look very anime). It’s so popular that the Enterbrain company never made an English version because of the unofficial (and illegal) ones circulating online and still are. But we are a cetak-rompak society, right? :D

So what do I do on days when I DON’T spend my time playing these non-educational (except if your Computer Science’s major is Game Design and Development, which is more lucrative than movie production, I may prolong this add) lil’ heebee geebies? I read this list. Just to, um, pass the time, like yeah, you know, um, not trying to make think about a story into, like, er, an RPG or anything. Really.

Signed: *Ophie, working on her next Guilty Pleasure (won’t effect her studies. Really!).

Guilty Pleasure #1

Location: Amaranthia, Laxius, Village of Xis.
Mood-of-the-day: I’m pumped, I’m all geared-up and ready to kick Evil’s Ass!

It’s official, I am addicted to RPG. There, I’ve said it, and all you readers of this blog please bear witness to one of the Things That Are Too Much A Part Of Me (heck, s’matter of fact, that the title of my next list!). Now there’s no shame in me to reveal it. It’s more than just endless mind-numbing fun, it’s living in a story, and I love stories (reading and writing). It’s the old child’s play of Let’s Pretend right up to the Out-of-Shakespeare Experience.

Across the walkway to enter Animal Village.

This was the starting point, your home hamlet of Elden.

Perilous travels to find the Lost Crystal Caverns.

Ahriman was an emperor demon that was vanquished Ages ago. The Hero you play is Talia. Something happened during Talia’s Naming Ritual and the answers were on the Mainland. Together with a knight/thief/princess/shape-shifter/mercenary/any three of these, Talia used her new-found magic skills to discover the secrets of the Prophecy before Evil rules again.

Okay, you’ve seen this before I know, but this is for the first visitor(s) of Suvon Reality. Can you see the smaller pic at the blog’s side-lines? Yup that’s it, I’ve dedicated Ahriman’s Prophecy as one of my Worldly Favourites of October. It’s not the first RPG I’ve dedicated (more on that later).

Fighting outside the Ancient Ruins.

Neophyte: The Journey Begins is about a boy named Thael who’s coming into his Age of Ascension. Vacmatio the Corrupted Monk has returned and he’s ready to gather all the Artifacts of Gorus, armour set contaminated by (you guessed it) Evil. Your job is to find out what’s going on in the Ancient Ruins that’s a little too close to home.

Just downloaded this shareware two weeks ago. It’s the first of a trilogy so don’t expect to do magic in this one. The graphics are awesome and the controls aren’t bad either, similar to old school RPG. AlienSoft had been out of business for years, which explains why the game play’s only 30+ hours.

Signed: *Ophie, which the entry limit for non-fiction writing had exceeded and will be continued in Guilty Pleasure #2 ;)

Saturday Night Musings!

Location: In the dark of the night...
Mood-of-the-day: Singing theme songs from the animated Anastasia for no reason

Waaah, slow week! I thought I’ll be perked-up for the weekend but the amount of homework is like having an elephant on your back and a herd of the rest charging behind you. Even with the weekend lazy-daze prospects didn’t metamorphosize me back into a human so I’ve been a snail for the second week running. Aaah, life isn’t going to be fluffy cushions (until I’m 55 at least) but it’s nice to have a piece of me for me to read about me from online.

1. Wish I’ve brought an optical mouse from Low Yat Plaza that day *sigh*
2. Yes, even my own mouse is very reluctant to move with me.
3. My cat, Patchy, is still being very psycho.
4. It’s entering month 4 and I’ve still hadn’t replaced the ceiling light in my bedroom.
5. The oldest thing in my room is the computer table.
6. Me? I’m the 3rd oldest thing in my room :P
7. AXN lied. There is no Amazing Race season 6!
8. I think the time span of the whole Amazing Race is a little over a week
9. I’m a sucker for the Oprah show :P
10. Are kangaroos over-sized rats or over-sized rabbits, or just over-sized?

11. I still hate firewalls.
12. I found an excellent freeware website!
13. I’m going to devote my time to finding more free games! :D
14. Pathetic, isn’t it?
15. I’ve finally finished reading Wheel of Time: Crossroads of Twilight
16. And I didn’t liked it :(
17. Last weekend, my tailor said I’ve lost weight.
18. This weekend, I ate cake.
19. Hm-mmm, does it really rhyme?
20. Maybe I should download one of those free screen savers.

21. I hadn’t chosen a theme, just a background for my desktop (see Scene of the Month).
22. Waaah, still so much work to do!
23. All I’ve been doing in my room is sleeping!
24. Why invent spray-on pantyhose anyway?
25. I’m running out of things to wear... again!
26. Put that dirty pic you’ve imagined out of your head right this minute!
27. I’ve found a pretty blue pen at my workstation table yesterday (Friday).
28. Actually, I’ve always found something at any pc table.
29. Most found foreign item at PC tables: chewing gum wrapper.
30. It pays to look before you sit at my Unitar.

Siogned: *Ophie, making this list since she hardly slept at nights since she always sleeps during the day :P