Bethany

devamon @ 2008-06-26T20:57:00

2008-06-27T02:12:20Z

I need to update a little more regularly.

So, to elaborate on my post the other day, I was in Chicago on the 19th. I went up to Howard Brown Medical clinic to have some blood tests done for my hormone therapy.

Due to the ludicrous gas prices, I took a train up and back. I made it to Chicago 3 hours before my appointment, walked to the nearest red line stop...got off on the wrong stop, walked around lost for a while, and finally found myself at Howard Brown. I managed to make it there early for my appointment still, so it was cool. I went over to a coffee shop and grabbed a bite to eat.

The appointment went as well as they ever do, and I was on my way. I hopped a closer L stop this time, and rode back toward the loop. Unfortunately, I transferred too soon, rode too far, and ended up two stations past where I needed to be, ten minutes after I was supposed to be on a train. By the time I went back two stops and ran 4 blocks to the train station, my train was long gone. I had to go through the ticket line, and exchange my ticket for a later train. This would have been fine, except that they tried to charge me the difference since I had purchased my ticket at a discounted rate. Well, needless to say, I was beyond broke, and tried to overdraw my account, to no avail. Somehow, as I started crying, the ticket man worked his magic to get the ticket switched anyway, and I sat dejectedly trying to call people on the pay phone to calm me down for the next two hours or so.

Finally, around 11:PM I was back home.

devamon @ 2008-06-19T23:30:00

2008-06-20T08:00:48Z

Chicago sucks.

More later.

devamon @ 2008-04-16T17:09:00

2008-04-16T22:11:58Z

My teeth hurt
My chest hurts
My car's driver side window does not work
The bumper is coming off
I apparently ran a red light in Chicago a month ago, and have received a $100 ticket for it.

and I just missed my therapy appointment...for showing up at the wrong time...the second time this week.

Today
Sucks

~R

devamon @ 2008-01-20T02:12:00

2008-01-20T08:16:27Z

Haven't been posting much lately. Things have been very hectic for me.

First, my girlfriend's car broke down, then somebody scraped and dented my car in a parking lot. Then I got laid off my job since they "couldn't afford to support the size of staff they had", and I was one of the last ones hired.

The last part there was offset by me immediately getting a job for the State of Illinois.

Unfortunately, that was not meant to be, as I was then released from that job a week later since they "didn't have enough work for me".

Then my fish died, just for good measure.

So, I am currently unemployed, and the school semester has started. I've thrown myself into applying for colleges for this fall semester, and job hunting as well. I also bought a new fish, a lovely red betta. I might post a picture of him sometime.

But yeah, I'm still alive and riding this bumpy roller coaster called life.

~R

devamon @ 2007-12-25T23:29:00

2007-12-26T05:30:56Z

Merry Christmas Everybody!!

I came into the QC in a snowstorm, and while it was scary, it was fun too! Hope everybody has a great holiday and a lovely New Year celebration.

~R

devamon @ 2007-11-09T09:42:00

2007-11-09T15:48:05Z

Heya everybody!

I realize that I don't post here nearly often enough, and am sorry for that, but I am way too easily distracted. Anyhow, things have been looking up for me lately. School has been going pretty good. I'm still working as an office assistant for a consulting company. I applied to the University of Illinois, so hopefully I'll be attending there in the spring semester.

All in all, the usual roller coaster ride that I live on has been having more ups and for longer times than previously. Not the best it could be, but definitely an improvement.

I don't really have a lot else to say at this very moment, just wanted to let everybody know that I'm still alive. I'll post again hopefully sooner than later. ciao~

Devamon~

devamon @ 2007-09-03T02:28:00

2007-09-03T07:41:19Z

So, here I am, back from an overly long hiatus of sorts. Lots and lots of things have happened since the last time I wrote. Some important, most of them not. For once, I have both decided to write in my LJ, and am in a good mood. ^^

Anyhow, I've been keeping up fairly well on everybody else's LJs, so I'm not too out of it....

Lets see here.
- We officially live in Champaign now, not just "near" Champaign.
- I've gotten a new job, working in an office. It is positively delightful so far.
- I went to two of my close friends' wedding. It was totally awesome.
- I am back in school. Sure it's only community college again, but it's school!!
- I am seeing a psychologist/psychiatrist for my anxiety, stress, and depression issues.
It has been going well so far.

I think those are all of the most important things. I will list more and go more into detail later.

Alright, I think that's about it for my first return entry. More later.

Devamon~

devamon @ 2006-10-23T22:03:00

2006-10-24T03:06:43Z

Gearing up for the 2006 NaNoWriMo. I have some loose plot ideas and character ideas floating around in my head. It'll be a challenge to get something resembling a novel down between my other varying and chaotic schedule elements. It'll be great!
Anyway, I'm sick and have been in a poor mood lately, but got a pick-me-up by listening to a song I had almost forgot existed due to how long it's been since I heard it.

devamon @ 2006-10-10T22:53:00

2006-10-11T03:53:11Z

Which Classic Story Role Do You Play?

- You Are The Wayward Heart
"Feel Better."

You are best described as 'Emotional Support'. Anytime an emotional issue comes up or something stresses people out, you are there to help them feel better about it. Whether you are the prankster of the bunch, the funny one, the wild one, or just the shoulder to cry on - your traits favor what it takes to keep people going. You like large groups of people and have many friends. When something hits home for you, however, you have a hard time with it. You also have difficulty paying attention or focusing on one thing. Above all, though, if people are happy, you are happy.
Take this quiz!

Quizilla |
Join

| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

devamon @ 2006-10-08T23:58:00

2006-10-09T05:01:00Z

Well, as usual, things are less than optimal lately, but I'll bring you all down in another post some other time. For now, I'll tell you all about a good day.

I started a new hobby the other day. It's something unlike anything I've ever participated in before...it has a community, but you can be a part of that community while never directly interacting with any part of it. It's an amusing distraction that is fairly cheap.

Just over a week ago, I had finally assembled all the stuff I needed to participate, and did so. At first, I thought it would not work out, since it had started raining while I was on the road, but by the time I had finished putting gas in my car it had let up, and it was only a little damp. The first location was a little busy, and I soon found out that it was Homecoming weekend for Urbana. As a result, I quickly departed for my other destination.

Arriving at the second location it was completely deserted except for an inordinate number of squirrels running around. I found the basic location that I was looking for, and...failed miserably. It seemed like it was going to be a practice in futility. As such, I went back to my car and left. I went back to the first location, and saw that the kids had gone back to their Junior high, and that the place was mostly empty. I went to my location there and this time, was quite successful.

There's nothing quite like that first time you succeed at something. I was quickly on my way out, but not before I saw something surprising. There was a group of about 6 Elementary or Middle school kids boffer fighting. Wow. Anyhow, shaking my head in amazement I walked back to my car and came home with some sense of achievement. Thank you oneesan.

~Devamon

devamon @ 2006-09-26T04:49:00

2006-09-26T09:49:21Z

Third Way Liberal

You scored 63% Personal Liberty and 32% Economic Liberty!

A third way liberal believes in little to moderate government intervention on personal matters and moderate to high government intervention on economic matters. They tend to be opposed to war, police powers, victimless crimes, and what they may consider to be a corporate state or rogue capitalism. They generally support personal liberty and believes in a social safety net or welfare state. They support self-ownership and privacy. Third way liberals are essentially the "mainstream" left and left of center.

My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 99% on Personal
You scored higher than 99% on Economic

Link: The Politics Test written by brainpolice on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

devamon @ 2006-09-26T03:46:00

2006-09-26T08:46:46Z

the Peacemaker

Thanks for taking the test !

you chose BX - your Enneagram type is NINE.

"I am at peace"

Peacemakers are receptive, good-natured, and supportive. They seek union
with others and the world around them.

How to Get Along with Me

If you want me to do something, how you ask is important. I especially
don't like expectations or pressure.

I like to listen and to be of service, but don't take advantage of this.

Listen until I finish speaking, even though I meander a bit.

Give me time to finish things and make decisions. It's OK to nudge
me gently and nonjudgmentally.

Ask me questions to help me get clear.

Tell me when you like how I look. I'm not averse to flattery.

Hug me, show physical affection. It opens me up to my feelings.

I like a good discussion but not a confrontation.

Let me know you like what I've done or said.

Laugh with me and share in my enjoyment of life.

What I Like About Being a Nine

being nonjudgmental and accepting

caring for and being concerned about others

being able to relax and have a good time

knowing that most people enjoy my company; I'm easy to be around

my ability to see many different sides of an issue and to be a good
mediator and facilitator

my heightened awareness of sensations, aesthetics, and the here and
now

being able to go with the flow and feel one with the universe

What's Hard About Being a Nine

being judged and misunderstood for being placid and/or indecisive

being critical of myself for lacking initiative and discipline

being too sensitive to criticism; taking every raised eyebrow and twitch
of the mouth personally

being confused about what I really want

caring too much about what others will think of me

not being listened to or taken seriously

Nines as Children Often

feel ignored and that their wants, opinions, and feelings are unimportant

tune out a lot, especially when others argue

are "good" children: deny anger or keep it to themselves

Nines as Parents

are supportive, kind, and warm

are sometimes overly permissive or nondirective

Renee Baron & Elizabeth Wagele

The Enneagram Made Easy

Discover the 9 Types of People

Harper
SanFrancisco, 1994, 161 pages

You liked the test? so please don't forget to RATE it...

but remember! it had only two questions!!! ;-)

you wanna know MORE?

so check out, what Wikipedia says about your type...

...even more you'll find in Google

or do you prefer to

You are not completely happy with the result?!

You chose BX

Would you rather have chosen:

AX (SEVEN)

CX (TWO)

BY (FOUR)

BZ (FIVE)

My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 99% on ABC
You scored higher than 99% on XYZ

Link: The Quick & Painless ENNEAGRAM Test written by felk on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test

devamon @ 2006-09-22T16:52:00

2006-09-22T21:52:44Z

Chaotic Neutral

You scored 34% Law vs Chaos and 50% Good vs Evil!

Keep this in mind, before you read this and take it too seriously...

This test is based on a system of moral absolutes. There is no subjectivity in D&D, as it is based on a fantasy world of heroes and villains. That is why their alignment system is so simple and polar.
So naturally, if I were to apply this simple morality to modern day life, things would look very "black and white". That is why I watered down the concept of evil and good. It is very unlikely that anyone who takes this test is a mass murderer or a superhero, so Mean vs. Nice will have to take the place of good vs. evil.

Chaos and Neutrality in a nutshell:

-Chaotic characters tend to be spontaneous and disorganized. They tend to dislike authority and they live by their own rules.

-In regard to good vs. evil, neutral characters tend to be somewhat selfish. They do not have a strong will to do the right thing, but they do have a conscience.

Your Alignment:

"The Free Spirit"

You are a loose cannon, like my good friend Zaphod, pictured below.
You are unreliable and quirky, but fun loving and spontaneous. You may be self centered and occasionally obnoxious, but you're not a bad person overall. People who can stand you are usually amused by your antics.

My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 99% on Law vs Chaos
You scored higher than 99% on Good vs Evil

Link: The D&D Alignment Test written by ShatteredGlass1 on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

devamon @ 2006-09-21T02:04:00

2006-09-21T08:02:55Z

So, here I sit. Up too late (as I have been more often than not lately), staring into the void of the internet for hours on end. Searching? For what? I don't know.

I'm listening to music from a CD that's not been released yet, and that I'll buy as soon as I can afford to. I'm trying to figure out the best way to extricate myself from this...unfortunate situation I find myself in. There's been far more than too much stress in the last 3 months.

I would like to apologize for my absence in LJ updating, almost as much as I'd like to apologize in advance for the stream of obnoxious ranting that's about to be typed.

I moved from Iowa City, IA to Rantoul, IL (Just north of Champaign, IL) on the first of August. Things were going poorly in Iowa, the school was downright depressing, and our lease was up, so we decided to try a completely different location. We moved from a cramped 2 bedroom apartment in the ghetto to a rather nice 4 bedroom duplex that's unfortunately half an hour from the university...on the interstate. It's alright though, this town is nice, the house is nice, and the drive isn't the worst thing I have to put up with.

At the time that we moved, we were living three people in an apartment that was too small for two people's stuff. As we moved, we picked up a fourth person, and even more stuff. The timing was unfortunate, in that we almost didn't have a place to live before our lease ran out at the old place. Everything worked out at the last minute as far as that was concerned, and after about a week, we were more or less moved out of the old place and mostly into the new place.

Things started out...not poorly for the first day or two. Then my girlfriend (room-mate number 1 who'll be called Liz during this rant) began getting rather aggravated by room-mate number 4 (the new one, who we'll call Jim). Apparently Jim had some minor personality quirks that were really getting to her. He'd say something in a tone that sounded like "you must be dumb not to know that", and such. At first, I was not happy that the two of them weren't getting along, since she's my girlfriend, but he's my friend, and I was having no problems with either of them at that time.

Soon enough, Jim started annoying room-mate number 2 (or Fred for now). Jim would play video games against Fred, and he'd win or something and Fred would get really annoyed by this. At first, I was more annoyed at Fred than anything else, since Fred would often win an overwhelming majority of the "rounds" that they'd play, and then get pissy when Jim won one or two. Admittedly, I hadn't actually watched them play or anything, I just saw the scores. So...now Liz is angry at Jim, Fred is angry at Jim, I'm annoyed by Fred, and stressed out by Jim and Liz.

Eventually, I played some games in three player mode with both Fred and Jim. I saw why Fred was annoyed: Jim would adapt the simplest, highest chance of winning strategy, and use it to a fault every single time they played. For example, in a fighting game, Jim would block and dodge the entire fight, and the only offensive thing he would do is counter an attack made by Fred. It works rather well, but is aggravating and not fun to play versus. I then understood Fred's annoyance, but still felt he was overreacting.

Unfortunately, I soon found that Jim used that strategy in every aspect of his life, take the easiest way out. This isn’t always bad, admittedly. Before I could really get too far on that, he started exhibiting another obnoxious trait. He soon started to use and take things without asking permission first. Things that aren't his. He'd use Fred's Xbox without asking, he'd turn it on and then leave it on while he went to do something else, so that nobody else could play it, and it would run down the wireless controller battery. He'd cook food for everybody in the house without asking if anybody wanted anything...or what they wanted, then he'd store the food in the refrigerator in the pot still.

Then soon enough, the faults grew and even I started to get really aggravated. He'd leave the toilet seat up, cook on the stove after midnight, turn off lights near other people, as long as they weren't obviously using them at that precise minute. He'd turn off the television while somebody was in the bathroom, "to save power". Oddly enough, he's left his own bedroom light and lamps on after he stays up all night. It's strange that his bedroom light was on since he spends (on average) between 22 and 24 hours a day in the basement, and hasn't slept in his own bedroom in almost a week. Also, he makes it a habit to take a novel or gameboy into the bathroom with him (the one bathroom with a shower and all the hygiene products). He goes up, uses the bathroom, then apparently stays in there and reads or plays for about an hour. He does this particularly around the time that people start getting ready for bed and may want to shower or wash their faces or brush their teeth.

Oh well, those are personality quirks. As long as he pays his rent...we can live with problems, or work them out.

When we first moved here at the start of August, only Fred had a job, he worked at Wal-Mart and still does. Liz has the excuse of attending the university full time, and her parents are willing to pay her portion of expenses. Even still, she got a job babysitting 3-5 days a week. Jim applied at places in Rantoul, since he has no car (and owes Illinois about $1,300 in insurance tickets from his last vehicle) and has to ride his bicycle everywhere. I, unfortunately, cannot handle industrial work, and am absolutely disgusted by fast food service. As such, I applied at lots of retail positions and helped out with housework as much as I could.

Due to the nature of the businesses Jim was applying to, he was offered a job within a week of applying, and started working a lucrative career as an Arbys employee. He was put on a "training schedule", and worked 2 hour shifts for the first three days he was employed there. Then he was off for 3 days. Then he attended a mandatory employee meeting, and worked that day, and was off for another 6 days. He finally got an amazing 4 hour shift this last Saturday, and the schedule that started Sunday apparently wasn't done when he got off work.

A little side note here, he showed up right on time for his interview, not a bad policy. On the first day of work, he was late because he had been playing video games and it takes him fifteen minutes to ride his bicycle there. On the second day of work, he wasn't able to attend. As he was running late for work (again), he decided to save time by jumping down the five stair staircase to the basement. This resulted in him hitting his head on the ceiling on the way down, then again on the staircase. He was bleeding fairly profusely. Arbys wouldn't let him work until he got a doctor's notice. His quote on the whole staircase incident? "It seemed like a good idea at the time." "Good ideas lead to blunt head trauma."

Sunday, he didn't wake up until 4 PM (in the basement), and didn't bother to call Arbys. Eventually (4:30) Liz came down and asked him if he intended to call Arbys, and he said he would. At 5:05, I came down and asked him about it, and he informed me that he couldn't call between 5PM and 7PM since it was the dinner rush period. I left for awhile and when I came home at 8PM, I found out he had been told by Arbys the same thing I'd have told him "We'll call you if we need you to work".

Monday, I got employed at EB Games. I've yet to be put on the schedule, but there's promise there. The last time I worked at an EB, I got about 25-35 hours per week, and Christmas is coming. Jim applied to the new Walgreen’s and McDonalds on Monday and Tuesday respectively, and decided to sleep in until 5PM today and then play on his computer the rest of the day. In fact, he's still playing on his computer right now. Playing an online roleplaying game, a trial. He says that he's interested in subscribing to it...at $15 a month. He has no way to pay rent or utilities this month, and that doesn't seem like it is going to change between now and October 1st.

Admittedly, I'm putting myself further into debt in order to make a payment on rent, but at least I'm moving my debt around, and not making one of the room-mates pay my rent. On top of all this, his annoying habits have continued to become more annoying. Now he gets defensive every time somebody complains about one of his faults, he hasn't woken up or slept at a regular time since Friday night, and lately has been staying up long enough to eat breakfast just before going to sleep...in the basement. He may not cook after midnight, but he does have a habit of cooking at about 11:00 PM or so. He still doesn't quite understand the whole "put the toilet seat down" thing. And worst of all, he doesn't voluntarily clean anything in the house, and is hesitant and almost complaintive when he finally does clean. He sure does hop in to offer criticism and suggestions to other people cleaning house though.

I'm not sure I'd want him cleaning though, since his easy way out strategy would likely require me to clean up after him cleaning.

So, I dunno, I’m non-confrontational, so I likely won't do anything.... Kicking him out may not be a bad idea, but I dunno.

Oh well, for the rest of you who didn't click on the link:

Good news: I got a job at EB Games
Weather has been fairly nice
Things are going well with the girlfriend
Whoo, I'm 21 and legally able to drink

Bad news: Stressful lately
Really obnoxious room-mate
Not making money quite yet

Neutral news: Steve Irwin died
I'm looking at taking up a couple new hobbies
Wow, lots of stuff...I'll need to post more frequently

~Devamon

Playing the Quiz Game

2006-09-21T06:59:57Z

My pirate name is:

Calico Roger Rackham

Often indecisive, you can't even choose a favorite color. You're apt to follow wherever the wind blows you, just like Calico Jack Rackham, your namesake. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

devamon @ 2006-08-06T02:17:00

2006-08-06T07:28:14Z

Well, sorry for the extraordinarily long pauses in posts, but this summer has been absolute heck all around. Finally we are settled in our new domicile, with an extra room-mate added, putting the total up to 4 people living here. We have a cat now also. I just got internet yesterday, and we should be getting the telephone connected by the end of next week.... Other than the money situation, things could be going a whole lot worse.

The process of moving down here was one problem after another however. It culminated in us getting a duplex that was not the one we thought we were signing a lease for. Simple communication mistake. It's not really that bad of a place, and it's cheaper rent for the same sized place, so I can't complain too much, especially since I still need to get a job down here.

We live in Rantoul, IL. It's about 15-20 minutes to Champaign, mostly interstate driving. I hope to be attending UIUC come spring, but I have to get all my papers in order, and currently getting a job is a much higher priority, since I have between $200 and $400 in expenses per month to upkeep...don't know exactly how much yet...that and I'm increasingly in debt.

I may be able to trip up to the QC at the end of August. If I do, I probably won't be able to do anything anyway, since it won't be my vehicle, and I don't think we're staying overnight...I may just not go. My parents are supposed to visit in September. Depending on how the money situation pans out, I'd really like to try to go visit Shaun (yeah you) before winter. I have no clue what'll happen though. I can't really make any plans until I have a better bearing on the situation.

I brought my bicycle down here with me. Figured it was a smallish town, and the excercise would do me good. Both tires had gone flat from disuse. I bought two new innertubes, and got them aired up. Unfortunately, while I was airing up one of the tubes, it caught on the gear (back tire), and as a result, popped.

I was about to give up for now (since I can't really afford another innertube even...), but one of the roomies had bought two inner tubes for his bike, and it turned out that he only needed one. I put the extra one in my bike, and we got his and my tires aired up. I came back home, put my bicycle back together and took it out for a test spin. Immediately noticed a few small problems (seat would need to be adjusted, one tire needed more air, etc.) and was on my way back home from down the block when my chain snapped. Now I have to get a new link. *Sigh*

If I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all I'm told. It's true.

G'night folks.

~Devamon

devamon @ 2006-05-16T14:51:00

2006-05-16T20:07:45Z

Mmmm...yet another case of misunderstanding in a poll.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12815760/?GT1=8199

People seem to either not understand the difference between correlated and causal relationships, or they just like to confuse them. I love that churches and church officials are putting so much effort into attempting to censor or even ban a film that will get shown anyway. I don't recall quite this much protest when the book came out, when the movie was announced, or even relating to the original "nonfictional" work that The DaVinci Code is based on was released. Sure, there was protest and complaint, but not nearly to this extent.

The church is frightened. They have lost many worshippers in the last hundred years, and with every piece of heretical or controversial material that falls into public view, they stand to lose more paritioners. If this were the middle ages, they could simply condemn the movie, call the studio, director, actors, Dan Brown, and everyone associated or interested in the film heretics and have the lot of them imprisoned or killed. But, this isn't the middle ages, and that leaves the church looking like a winy emo kid complaining that his life sucks. Alas, time moves on and the movie will be out Friday stateside.

~Devamon

devamon @ 2006-05-11T11:47:00

2006-05-11T16:48:11Z

Hmm...somehow I don't think this qualifies as happier, but it isn't a rant or depressing at least:

Your Social Dysfunction:
Avoidant

You are excessively sensitive to potential rejection, humiliation or shame. You tend to be socially withdrawn, in spite of desire for acceptance from others.

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

Please note that we aren't, nor do we claim to be, psychologists. This quiz is for fun and entertainment only. Try not to freak out about your results.

So I had a bad day....

2006-05-11T15:55:43Z

Or maybe week, or a month...hell I don't know.

So yeah, I failed my fall semester class...I've failed my guided independent study class...and now I'm pretty sure I've failed my spring semester class. I'm batting 100 here. Wait, I can make that better. I didn't get into University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign for this fall semester.

Why? Because I'm a procrastinator. It's not because I've got a horrible track record. I didn't get accepted because I didn't get all my transcripts turned in before the major I was applying for was filled for the semester. That's right, I screwed up my future, or at least the immediate future. I'd say "Oh well, there's nothing I can do", but I can't convince myself to feel that nonchalant about the situation.

This summer is going to be horribly busy with apartment/house searching, trying to find out who I'll be living with (since we may or may not gain up to 2 more people :/ ), looking for a new job in Urbana/Champaign, working as much as possible at my current job, and I suppose trying to get accepted into the community college in Champaign. Worse things could happen, I know this, but when you are in the middle off a storm, it's harder to concentrate on much else.

I don't know if it's been trouble adjusting to living without parents, or if I am just bad at dealing with stress, or what, but I've been in a constant state of disarray since somewhere around mid-July of last year....

I'm so emo...who the hell am I anyway? Whatever, sorry for bringing you all down with this, I'll try to find something happier to post.

~Devamon

devamon @ 2006-05-04T15:50:00

2006-05-04T20:51:01Z

Hmm...what do you know, I am not perfect at beginner's grammar. I sure do have expert down pat.

English Genius
You scored 85% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 86% Advanced, and 100% Expert!

You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go!

Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it!

For the complete Answer Key, visit my blog: http://shortredhead78.blogspot.com/.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 0% on Beginner

You scored higher than 99% on Intermediate

You scored higher than 0% on Advanced

You scored higher than 99% on Expert

Link: The Commonly Confused Words Test written by shortredhead78 on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

devamon @ 2006-04-13T23:37:00

2006-04-14T04:52:40Z

Heavy rain, strobe lightning, large hail, and tornadoes oh my!
So, tornadoes touched down in Iowa City this evening. I was quite distraught that I was not at home at the time, and my girlfriend was. Just before the situation got critical, I called home to let her know I was fine and to make sure she was. I then huddled in a massive (and extremely dangerous looking) basement with two dozen other people for about 40 minutes before we decided it was safe enough to brave the remainder of the storm to get home.

Me and Nathan were out roleplaying when this happened, and as such, our group, plus the rest of the store's patrons, were all escorted to a basement of the building. The basement apparently doubled as storage space for one of the local theater groups, so there were heavy wooden props, large metal objects, mannequins, and sewing machines abound...it did not bode well.

Fortunately, the tornado(s?) that landed didn't land on that building, or at my apartment. When Nathan and I headed home, I was pretty glad he was driving, because I don't know if I could have dealt with the stupid people out there nearly as well as he did. I damn near freaked when I saw the first tree uprooted in a street that was without electricity. Further down that street were a couple more downed trees (in the road), some low-hanging power lines, a whole lot of idiots, a semi that had just pulled over because he couldn't navigate the road, and several wrecked buildings.

I don't know the full extent of the damage, since all the power was out and it was dark (punctuated with some really bright headlights), but it was pretty nasty. I know for a fact that the price sign of one of the gas stations on that road had been downed across it's parking lot (missing the tanks fortunately). There was a Dairy Queen nearby, one of those walk-up ones that don't have indoor seating, and are little more than two guys and an ice cream machine inside a wooden box with windows. Emphasis on was. We drove over bits of it on our exodus to the apartment. It had literally been severed at waist height on up. Apparently there were people in the "basement" beneath it when that happened. I hear that they are all fine, which is a mighty impressive feat in my opinion.

I'm pretty sure that another building had a semi-collapsed wall, but we were too busy dodging debris littering the road for me to be sure. The river had nearly made flood level when we passed it, so I hope that goes down by tomorrow. Also, I'm pretty sure I heard that the Menards on the southwest side of town took some roof damage, and that the Walmart that Nathan works at is probably damaged also. That being the case, Nathan is going to have some crappy work days ahead. Easter isn't gonna be very pleasant either since it's supposed to rain all weekend.

Hmm...looks like classes were canceled due to the conditions. Looks like I'll be back in the QC this weekend a bit early. Delightful. Oh well, I'm okay. Nathan is okay. Bettina is okay. My car is okay. My apartment is okay. Nearest I can tell, all of my relatives are okay. I'm happy.

~Devamon

devamon @ 2006-04-13T09:57:00

2006-04-13T15:04:20Z

Well, usually I do what I can to not report on a news story I found in another blog, but this just bugs me too much.

Violent video games linked to risky behaviors
A study that links violent video games to increased tolerance of alcohol and marijuana. First, they don't establish much of any info about the connection, other than to state it just that simply in the middle of a paragraph that is otherwise about a completely different topic.

Also, it doesn't seem very fair to compare a time-trial sort of mission from The Simpson's: Hit and Run to beating a drug dealer to death with a baseball bat. Yeah, that just seems wrong. "the researchers found, young men who had played the violent game were less cooperative and more competitive in completing an assigned task with another person". Wait...cooperative beatings? Would the researchers have preferred that? "Hey Jimmy, knee him in the crotch, he makes the coolest noise!" Whatever, this whole study just kinda ticks me off in it's lack of detail.

~Devamon

devamon @ 2006-04-01T02:53:00

2006-04-01T09:02:10Z

Long time no blog, eh?

Anyhow, safe and sound in the QC. I've finished an hour long shower and watched the new King Kong remake. Not bad for a film that features Jack Black in a serious role. I didn't realize that it was quite so long though, and as such, here it is 3 AM when I finally am getting to bed. At least I'm cozy in a t-shirt and some sweat pants. I can't say anything for sure about this weekend, but damn I'm comfortable, warm, and happy tonight.

Unfortunately, the car we're using is not my own, and I have a notable amount of homework in my way so that I don't completely fail out of college, so I don't think I'll be doing a lot this weekend (Sorry Donna, no way for me to visit T_T). Anyhow, work has been going well, class less than stellar, roleplaying is picking up at a fevered rate (so much so that I may have to drop a game or more so that I can focus on class...we'll see how it goes for a week or so). Home life is nice, if a bit crowded. I think I'm getting close to finishing the internet, because often when I log on lately, I just sort of putz around for an hour or so before picking up a thread on some random forum and reading it lazily. Not finding as many new things as I used to...maybe I'm just looking in the wrong spots, or maybe I need to get off my ass and away from the desk (I'm betting on that one, and the messy living room and bathroom say the same)....

Bills, bills, class, work, money, stress, stress, stress...did I mention bills and stress? Sounds like life, and I'm sure all of you are laughing at me right now, thinking "aw, how cute, I remember those days...he has no idea what's in store for him." Yeah...I'm living those days now, and I really hope that in five years I can look back and laugh...I really hope so. Anyhow, sleep time before I start rambling.

~Devamon

devamon @ 2006-03-21T14:26:00

2006-03-21T20:34:35Z

Well, while it seems that Anime Central has added more guests, most of the guests they have are con regulars, that seem to be at every other con I look at. They currently have maybe 3-5 guests that I haven't seen much in the convention scene. They also only have one Japanese guest at all, and no band so far. Last year they had Vic Mignogna, Beau Billingsly, Steve Blum, and The Pillows...this year they don't even have a single band lined up so far. If the line up doesn't shape up real soon here, I may just stop caring about the fact that I don't have enough money to go. Heck Anime Iowa has a third of the number of ACen guests listed, and AI is still 4 months off. Admittedly, they probably won't get any more guests before the con, but at least I know who's going to be there, and whether or not to care now, rather than a month and a half before the event itself. I really like Anime Central, but they seem exceptionally disorganized this year.

On a side note, I briefly considered attending Gooncon since it's in Chicago, and over that weekend I turn 21, but I probably won't for the following:

1) Travel costs
2) Hotel costs
3) Con costs
4) As far as I can tell, there aren't really "set" activities
5) There are far better ways I could spend my 21st birthday, I'm sure.

Oh well...guess I still won't be able to see Shaun...darn, I still need to mail out his and Beth's Christmas presents T_T Jeez I'm disorganized.

~Devamon

devamon @ 2006-03-07T13:48:00

2006-03-07T19:52:32Z

Jeez I'm pathetic...I don't update for weeks at a time, and here I am updating for the third time today O.o

Anyway, after some caffeine and something resembling food (a lunchable and some mini-muffins), I feel a bit better and a bit more awake. After having finished two projects I've been working on for work and getting a decent jump on one of my school projects, I'm feeling a little better (still feeling some of the after-effects of being sick, but that should be over by tomorrow). My boss is awesome, damn I love this job.

Hopefully this position keeps kicking ass as it has for the last month or so. I can't wait to begin studying Japanese again this fall also ^.^

For some reason I'm all about the emotes right now (*^O^*) heh.

Anyhow, I'll try not to update anymore today.

Later,

~Devamon