Kulax

Today I embark on the first of a series of challenges.

I'm going to walk to Melbourne.

Report after I get back!

I've been on somewhat of a baking bent for the past few days. I've tried to steer away from the familiar territory of cake town and into the rough-hewn pastures of flan land, with my first attempt (chocolate-hazelnut tart) being somewhat of a success (but with little failures inside it) and my second (pecan pie) baking slowly currently and smelling divine. I still suck at blind baking though, as pie shells are inevitably on either side of perfection, being either too soft and not cooked, or (in this case) the base having puffed up higher than the top of the tart pan.

Still, I'm enjoying cooking a lot more these days now that I have a few lovely toys to play with, like new cake tins, a pair of beaters, as well as a renewed taste for ever-more interesting recipes. Things I'd like to make in the long-term are Devil's Food Cake, Croqembouche, as well as perfecting the recipe for epic Chicken Lasagne...I'm close! Really close! *laugh*

Let's see...also Southern Fried Chicken, Westfall Gumbo, and...

Ah dude. I just remembered my epic idea of writing a WoW-themed cookbook! With recipes named after recipes from the game, as well as even geekier asides such as information about various dishes and their histories, ingredients, etc etc...

Oh man, Would that sell? I don't know. Certainly a cookbook aimed at nerds might sell if it explained recipes in a free-flowing style with a lot of direction and explaination of techniques rolled into the method...hurm.

Only thing is, what recipes should I add? Selected ones from the game, ones made up myself with Warcrafty names (or souveniered...) or a combination of both? Hmmm?

EDIT: http://www.taurenchef.com/ ...fuck. Still, this is unofficial. MINE WILL BE OFFICIAL. Hurr.

Keep the 5th of December free! It is the weekend between mine and Luka's birthday, and we are having a party, hopefully at the Scout Hall across from our place. There is a "Wear a Costume or Something Epic (or Sexy!)" theme.

MOAR DETAILS TO COME. Hurrr...

Arachronymnorism - an out of it's time, spider related, acronym.

I'm somewhat torn. I know I should persue IT, but I feel like my interest lies more in finance and accounting.

I also really love to cook. As in, I could see myself doing it for a career.

Yeah, torn.

I also want to work full-time for a while and enjoy life a bit, as well as support my lovely girlfriend more than I currently am, which is suffice to say not too damn much.

Yeah...

Dear internet
http://www.everythingisterrible.com/
That is all.

In a bout of nostalgia, I renamed my iPod and uploaded a small amount of songs onto it I haven't listened to in years.

*goes for an epic run around the lake*

I am doing Homework TO TEH EXTREME

Also, I have decided on next year's cosplays. Raphael Sorel, Valor Form Sora and that dude from Bible Black.

BACK TO STUDY

Anyone who wants to know what I looked like at Manifest.

http://s235.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/Sin-Harvest/Manifest%202009/Sunday/?action=view&current=IMG_1260.jpg

Oh ho ho ho...

Hope, Nicole, Mina, Lexis, Georgia, Emma, Morgan, Tannie, Lili, Aly, K...

Thankyou. All, so much. I love you all. You all helped turn what was destined to fail into something amazing.

So tired. But more than that, relieved and happy.

I am getting high of whatever fumes are produced by cutting polystyrene with a hot knife.

...highly toxic, eh?

...*moves to beneath the rangehood*

Indeed, however we do not understand everything there is to know yet. Things that used to have no rational explanation now have one. The process will continue until we understand everything about everything, or we die.

And here slip I, dragging one foot in the gutter
in the midnight echo of the shop that sells cheap radios.
And there sits she (no bed, no bread, no butter)
on a double yellow line where she can park anytime.
Old Lady Grey; crash-barrier waltzer
some only son's mother. Baker Street casualty.
Oh, Mr. Policeman, blue shirt ballet master.
Feet in sticking plaster, move the old lady on.
Strange pas-de-deux, his Romeo to her Juliet.
Her sleeping draught, his poisoned regret.
No drunken bums allowed to sleep here in the
crowded emptiness.
Oh officer, let me send her to a cheap hotel
I'll pay the bill and make her well - like hell you bloody will!
No do-good over kill. We must teach them
to be still more independent.

'Baker Street Muse, Edit #4'

 - - - -

University updating because I can't be bothered to not update. Finished a relational database assignment that started out crap but as my cells began to absorb one of the the two cans of Mother I have with me, chain reactions began occuring in the brain and the material began to be understood. Easy assignment, in the end.

Drinking-drinking fest on Friday night was several shades of awesome. Ring of Fire is an awesome game. I just have to ensure next time that the tops stay on...I think Heather looks for reasons to get hers off. o.o

Just a little note - I did a tiny bit of sewing! Like, for the first time ever. Learned how to thread the sewing machine and wind the bobbin, Hope pinned the hem she wanted me to sew and I did it! Didn't look too bad, either. I still need a lot more practise to understand the grain of the fabric, stitch tightness and lengths, hemming and whatnot...but the only way that you get experience is by doing it, right?

I shall have my epic Paladin skirt in no time.

I got the chance to flex my cooking muscles (which have been somewhat wasting away from equal parts laziness and neglect) last night by cooking lasagne, and it was amazing. the only gripe is that I hadn't cooked it for long enough so the pasta will still a little al dente. As long as Hope enjoys my cooking, that's all that I need to be happy though.

Thorim tonight...I predict another two-hour wipefest but hey, first time any of us have faced these bosses so far so we're bound to cut ourselves on the sharp learning curve a little. Speaking of which, 3.2 kicked my mana regeneration in the taint. Illumination runs at half-capacity and Divine Intellect has been knocked back by 33% to 10% (from 15%). Eh. Beacon procs from the full amount of heal now, I gues that's alright (especially because being the caster with the fecking huge Holy Light heal, sometimes a player will need a fuckton of healing in the space of about 3 seconds and HoTs and priest heals can't keep up).

Also, Paladins have a HoT. Oh hurr hurr hurr...

Blah blah mp/5 buff. I've always used mp/5 plate in addition to crit regen. I knew this would happen.

God, my life must sound boring. :D

Ugh, I'm getting wildly unfocused again, looking at accounting degrees and such. No no no no no no no no! *smacks self*

So, this evening was Emma's birthday, and although the evening was a little on the short side (next foray to the finest whorehouse in Melbourne will be longer) it was still an amazing experience. Dinner at Tokyo Garden with Hope, Morgan, Emma, Georgi(na) and another of Em's friends whose name eludes me at the moment were fantastic company and the food was as delicious as usual. After dinner we went to Madame Brussels', a bar that occupies what used to be Melbourne's 'finest whorehouse'. It was a little packed, but...

...well, our formal attire drew the attention of a waitress whom asked weather we would be interested in being seated out 'the rear', which was a fantastic room with an atrium ceiling and a little bar. We ordered some drinks and I ordered a cupcake, which I'm thinking may in fact be Madame Brussel's old term for 'gay' because the manager seemed to be very, very interested in me - placing his hand on my shoulder and offering free cupcakes. Emma thought that it was her charms that had brought us to this delightful little nook, but be redoubted our theories after the manager brought us a free bowl of salted cashews (usually $6), and later we realised the amphora of cocktail Hope and I had ordered was a large rather than small, so he had given us a $55 jug of cocktail for $30. We left a sizeable tip. A few drinks were drinked, storied were told, and all in all it was a delightful evening. Must do again. Must. :)

Dad brought down an old desk and chair of mine and cut the desk down to size a little so it would fit in the nook of the Epic house designated for it. It feels wonderful to have a lovely large desk and my old executive chair again. I feel a lot more able to do homework with a vast desk before me. I should get a pot plant for the corner, nice foliage, and some stackable cubes for book space.

Sleep time. Spent a LONG time this afternoon doing work in the backyward and I'm'a gonna sleep 'til midday.

Also, heya Kao, I should check your own journal out and see what's been happening with you. *zoom*

I feel like going down to the driving range and practicing my Golf swing. Or rather, developing a golf swing and practicing that. Chea.

*puts on plus fours and flatcap*

I know this will interest practically NONE of you, but last night Valhalla defeated two Ulduar-10 man bosses on their first attempts ever, The Iron Council and Auraiya. This was the source for much, MUCH joy amongst us, especially veterans of Valhalla.

This week, we shall attempt at least two watchers...probably Hodir and Thorim. Mimiron can suck a lemon, and Freya can...go and get nerfed slightly because there's no way we're that co-ordinated at the moment. With that said...

We have high hopes to get Yogg-Saron down within the month. If that happens, we'll be one of the top 10 guilds on the realm, until we try hard hard modes...

And yes, we have Algalon in our sights. If we can routinely do the hard modes required, then why not? We'll probably never actually defeat Algy...but it can't hurt to try, right?

Blah, blah, University, etc.

I think that KFC would be a really indulgent lunch that I should really consider getting.

There's a short list on the 'To do' list for today, but the sun is shining and it's beaaaaaautiful out!

I was scared about checking my University results to the point where I was planning of putting it off until the end of the year, but that sort of thinking ends up with me being even more paranoid about them, so the best thing to do was look at them as soon as they came out, and of course I did quite well, getting solid distinctions. Not as well as I could have done, but well nonetheless.

Manifest schedule's been released! I was having reservations about not being able to host like Nicole and I had originally planned on the Sunday (I mean hey, we're organising it, lawl) due to participating in cosplay chess, but...apparently my team is playing on Saturday (DERP DERP) so I don't have to worry about that anymore and things can go back to normal and Brad won't have to worry about overtaxing his workload and chronic fatigue with the filming and DDR and stuff. :) It was nice to hear from Brad last night though, haven't heard from him in aaaaages, 'twas awesome. Not sure why he thought Lexis and Georgia were shy though, as they're really anything but! *laugh*

Manifest in just over a month, guys! Remember, cosplay this year is PRE-REGISTRATION ONLY! You MUST pre-register in order to participate! This is a new system being trialed by Nicole and I that will hopefully mean less headaches for...well, us.

SIGN UP HERE OR PAY THE ULTIMATE PRICE of cosplay.

Uhm, in other news, our guild is currently 4/14 in Ulduar. 10-man.

We've defeated the Flame Leviathan, brought down Razorscale, deconstructed the Deconstructor and brought the colossal Kologarn down to size...we're sort of bumping heads on The Iron Council and Ignis is a little too hot to handle. Ah well.

EDIT: A Passion Play is awesome. Really awesome. I have have have to quote a tiny bit of it, here and now.

The Funeral, and afterward.
-
"Do you still see me even here?"
(the silver cord lies on the ground.)
"and so Im dead, the young man said" --- over the hill
(not a wish away).
My friends (as one) all stand aligned
although their taxis came too late.
There was a rush along the fulham road.
There was a hush in the passion play.
Such a sense of glowing in the aftermath, ripe with rich attainments
(All imagined)
Sad misdeeds in disarray, the sore thumb screams aloud,
Echoing out of the passion play.
All the old familiar choruses come crowding in a different key:
Melodies decaying in sweet dissonance.
There was a rush along the fulham road
Into the ever-passion play.
And who comes here to wish me well?
A sweetly-scented angel fell.
She laid her head upon my disbelief and bathed me with her ever-smile.
And with a howl across the sand I go escorted by a band of gentlemen
In leather bound, no-one, but someone to be found.

Okay, so...uhm, wow. That was amazing television. Color me several shades of sadfaced.

We had a power outage today after Hope and I got home due to the storm, which meant we couldn't check internet for a few hours. Blah.