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Very Inspiring Blogger Award, Awwww Thanks!

Posted February 28, 2013 By LadyJai

Thank you Cheyenne, for the lovely award and for finding me inspirational. I hope I’ll never let you down!

I’ve been AWOL for a while, dealing with my life, trying to remain positive, and escaping into my own WIP world from time to time. I’ve been quite a bit on the low side of being positive. It’s a daily struggle, as I’ve said many times before, to find even the smallest of positives in each day. And lately, for me, it’s been rough. Losing daily contact with my internet friends has put a damper on my positiveness as well. But I’m managing…mostly. 🙂

So, in an attempt to get me out of this rut, I’m writing words for all the world to see, writing a few “interesting” things about me. I don’t know how much is interesting. But maybe you will find them interesting?

1) Growing up, I moved every 4 years. I’ve lived, and traveled nowhere near the amount of places I want. To this day, I *STILL* get the itch to move every four years. But as I get older, and the lack of military assistance for the moving process, I dread it. The “new” and “start fresh” attitude, the dream of something bigger, still lingers; but historically, it always ends the same. The grass is always greener…I’m shy, I’ll never change. LOL

2) Most people know me as geeky, a computer wiz, a gamerchick, a sci-fi fangirl. I’ve only recently embraced that aspect, welcomed it into my life, and now flaunt it and wear it like a badge of honor. Oh so long ago, I was such an introvert, a sheltered child, a person who would take on the characteristics the company I kept . I hid who I really was because I thought people wouldn’t like me. The fear I had of disappointing others, the fear of no one liking me, that’s still there. But, you know what. I am me. It took me 40 some odd years to realize that. And the older I get the less I care what you think of me…though I’d love to have you as a dear friend.  I’ve resolved myself to being me. And to being alone. At least I still have the internet! 😀

3) I remember when we first got married, TheHubs wanted a computer so bad, and games. He would stay up all night playing them. Ignoring me. My husband never cheated on me, but I always considered that first computer as “the other woman.” It wasn’t until he “upgraded” that I decided that I was bound and determined to learn what fascinated him about it. I taught myself how to code a web page (that’s waaaaaay before WYSIWYG, I used notepad). I even got me a job at an ISP in Tech Support. I went from knowing nothing, to managing Tech Support in less than a year. 🙂 I got into gaming with TheHubs and we’ve been doing it ever since. (Oh, and am now *STUCK* in the IT career)

4) A lot of guys are jealous of TheHubs. He has a wife who will game with him…not play Farmville on Facebook, not play Uno on xBox, or puzzle games….*REAL* gaming, like Halo, Borderlands, Assassins Creed–hardcore games. You know?! I may not be the best gamer, or even gamerchick, out there; but playing with the family is always best. I don’t understand how those women out there can complain about their husband’s/boyfriend’s interest. You love them, you should try it out, get involved. The saying “Don’t knock it until you tried it” fits quite well here. You might like it. If not, then give the guy a little room, but don’t harp on it. And yes, there are guys who use it as an escape, too. But really, is that a “relationship”? I think not…but I digress.

5) I never had a cat until I got married. We always had dogs. But now,  I really do want to grow up to be the crazy cat lady. I’ve decided that I never want to come home to an empty house. I hope TheHubs and I can come to an understanding. He says 3 cats are too many, and that when it’s their time it’s so unbearably hard. Three cats is good, but I want at least 2 more! 🙂 And I agree with him that letting them go is unbearable, but I try to focus on the life they shared with us, and how fulfilling that is. I couldn’t come home to nothing. No headbutts. No comfort. No purring. *THAT* would be unbearable.

6) When I read, or watch a movie, I’m so into it. But ask me a day, a month, a year later, to describe in detail….nope, ain’t gonna happen. I can re-read or re-watch a movie and catch all the details all over again. I don’t know why. But, I can gather the general ideas together, but lose the details. Sad, isn’t it?

7) The ideas, the images of all the projects I ever have, always look fantastic….in my head. But when in practice, I can never achieve what I see in my mind’s eye. My friendships. My gardening.  My quilting. Any of the drawings I ever tried. Even my writing. I have the perfect everything…inside my head. I just wish someone would invent a way to read it all and just do it. 🙂 I give my love and support to everyone. I do the best I can with everything I attempt. I’ve learned to keep plugging away, even when it doesn’t turn out like I envisioned. It’s the best I can do. And, we are our own worst critic, right?

So, that’s pretty much all I can think of right now. If you want to know more about me I have some more “interesting things.” And you can always just ask. 🙂

Come back on Saturday for a slow cooker recipe (the only one I know), and links to others in the Slow Cooker Blog Hop! Who couldn’t use a time-cheat?

And don’t forget, #WriteMotivation kicks off in March! YAY!

LadyJai

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Borderlands 2 QR Code Easter Eggs

Posted September 25, 2012 By LadyJai

Borderlands 2

Currently a Work in Progress!

We managed to snag the Ultimate Loot Chest Collector’s edition, a FULL WEEK after it’s release. Gamestop had one no one picked up. The manager tried every day to contact the person, and finally, after a week with no contact, she released it to us! YAY!

Ultimate Vault Hunter Collector's Edition of Borderlands 2

Ultimate Loot Chest Collector’s Edition of Borderlands 2

***

In the first Borderlands, they had little easter eggs throughout the maps of Pandora. Before QR Codes were popular, 2K & Gearbox threw them in the first Borderlands. And sure enough, we’ve found our first one in Borderlands 2.

We are now on a hunt to document all the QR codes we can find.

Is it too late to do this?
Or even do this for Borderlands 1?
Most of the time for B1, we had a hard time getting the code to catch with the reader.
So, be prepared, even in B2, our first one took us about an hour, even with our HD TV, several different gun zooms, and 4 QR Code catching devices.

To find out what they say, all you have to do is download/install a QR Code reader on your smartphone or tablet. If you are doing this directly off your TV, you will need to make sure you have a pretty good display and zoom in on the code. I’ve grabbed the QR Code for you from my history once it’s been scanned on my phone. You can also go to Online QR Code Decoder and decode it there.

Good luck.

1) Moxxi’s Pizza Box — located inside Moxxxi’s Place in Sanctuary

Moxxxie's Pizza QR Code

Moxxi’s Pizza Box
Click image for full size QR Code
TEXT: Wiseman say, forgiveness is divine but never pay full price for late pizza. –Captain Picard

2) Postcards from the Edge…of Sanctuary — Located just outside the city walls, where you place the power cell to gain entry into the city.
Postcards From The Edge...of Sanctuary QR Code

Postcards From The Edge…of Sanctuary
Click image for full size QR Code
TEXT:Nick Wilson
Ho Oh

3) Zedd’s Pharmacy— Located in Sanctuary, in Zedd’s Pharmacy, inside the open refrigerator door directly across from the entry door to the pharmacy.
Zedd's Pharmacy QR Code

Zedd’s Pharmacy QR Code
TEXT: Thank you so much for playing our game, now I’m rich with love AND money! !!Nick Wilson!! Ditto!!!

I’m still waiting on the contact information, or the winning sweepstakes one! I know you’re in there. *looks glaringly at Gearbox Software*

Have you found any?

LadyJai

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That Which Consumes My Life & #WriteMotivation Update #4

Posted September 24, 2012 By LadyJai

Borderlands 2

So, Borderlands 2 came out on September 18, 2012. The Hubs went to the midnight release. Unlike some, we are the responsible parents. I stayed home with our son (who had school the next day) while The Hubs went to Gamestop. What he saw was both full of awesome, yet kind of sad at the same time–a whole family dressed up in cosplay for Borderlands. We had Dr. Zed, Moxie, and a Midget Psycho. The poor baby was up WAY passed his bedtime, and was probably cold, since The Hubs said the AC was cranked and even he was cold. Still, the best Borderlands cosplay I ever saw, but felt sad for the baby.

When I’m not at work, I’ve been playing this. It’s been nearly a week, and I now have 3 characters between level 8 and 12 and I STILL can’t figure out who I like best! Unlike Borderlands.

In Borderlands, Mordecai was my absolute favorite. His bird was the fashizzle. And damn, I can snipe! 🙂 I started out with Lilith, the Siren, but she got boring really quick. Her awesome powers didn’t kick in until she was higher level and you could get the skill points for the skill tree you wanted. But before I could do that, I switched over to Mordecai and I was hooked. I played with my husband who loved Roland, and we made a wonderful team, as usual.

Before Borderlands 2 came out, Game Informer released some preliminary information on the story and characters and I decided I was going with the new Assassin class, Zero, who was Mordecai’s equivalent. When E3 hit, and PAX, and all the video multiplayer game play Gearbox and 2K games released, I was torn between Maya (Lilith’s equivalent) and Zero. By the time the game came out, I still couldn’t choose.

I’m not an up-close-and-personal player. I like to snipe. I like distance kills. And there are some enemies you NEED to kill as far away as you possibly can. I never liked Brick (The Berzerker) in the first one, and Salvador (The Gunzerker) in the second one is his equivalent. I highly doubt I will play as him as I never made a Brick character in the first.

I started with Zero. He’s awesome. But the, I tried out Maya. She’s awesome! Oh, and while playing with my son, I started Axton, the Commando, and he’s awesome! So, I cannot choose. I have 3 characters now, and I am playing all three at the same time…well, as at the same time as I possibly can.

Also, in the first Borderlands, they had little easter eggs throughout the maps of Pandora. Before QR Codes were popular, 2K & Gearbox threw them in the first Borderlands. And sure enough, we’ve found our first one in Borderlands 2.

Moxxxie's Pizza QR Code

Located at Moxxxie’s in Sanctuary
The Pizza Box QR Code
Click image for full size QR Code

We are now on a hunt to document all the QR codes we can find. Is it too late to do this? Or even do this for Borderlands 1? Most of the time for B1, we had a hard time getting the code to catch with the reader. So, be prepared, even in B2, this took us about an hour, even with out HD TV, several different gun zooms, and 4 QR Code catching devices. Good luck.

So, as for my #writemotivation update.

1) PROGRESS: I’ve got words! I’ve got progress. And on Friday of last week, I met a goal I never, EVER, thought I would reach.

Sept 21, 2012
After a little over 9 months, I made it to 50,000 words!
Never thought this would be possible
Definitely would never be able to do this in 30 days! 😀

I know, I know, it’s numbers…but hey! It’s a goal I never thought I would ever reach!

2) Complete blog posts for #writemotivation and hopefully have a few extras in there as I’m all dried up lately. I’ve managed this along with a few more.
3) Complete Crit in a timely manner. I’ve managed to complete this last week! YAY! Due to some life issues, the beginning of the week had been very un-creative. So, rather than waste it, I put full effort into escaping reading.
4) Read another book for pleasureMay be able to start, but not complete.
5) And always, ALWAYS, provide unending support, cheering, and cookie flinging, to anyone who needs it. I’m back, I think 🙂

LadyJai

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Geek Tuesday: My Thoughts on E3 2012

Posted June 12, 2012 By LadyJai
E3 2012

Image Courtesy of Forbes Blog contributor, John Gaudiosi

Every year, the first week of June, marks the world’s largest gamer geek nerdgasm. It is the annual video game conference and show at the Los Angeles Convention center. It is the venue for all the computer and console gaming companies (from Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, to Ubisoft and EA) to attempt to wow the gaming crowd with their newest secret projects.

This year. Well, let’s just say, I was left a tad bit disappointed. First of all, I missed every single press release live webcast. But what I did manage to see left me listless. There were no real hard-core WOW moments that got my blood pumping and skin crawling.

I had been waiting to see more about Halo 4. I’ve been playing Halo since the first day. We got the xBox when it first came out and Halo was our very first game. And when xBox Live came out in Beta, we managed to secure a spot on their test panel and Halo was the game they used to test their Live option. We own every release of Halo since. So, Halo has a special place in our hearts.

Last year gave us the teaser trailer for Halo 4. We’ve been wondering how 343 Studios will handle the Halo story. Will they do it justice? Will they butcher it? I mean, it was Bungie’s baby, right? But damn, after watching the E3 2012 Live Action Trailer…

We’ve had bits and pieces of live action before (Birth of a Spartan), so this isn’t new. But it still hints at a full length movie. They scrapped the first one and used the set for District 9, saying it was too expensive to produce. I’m sure they would more than make up for it in sales when the fan boys and girls would go see it over and over again! It would probably be THE. BEST. live action game to movie movie ever made! But, that’s my opinion. 🙂

PS: Everyone loves Master Chief. Well, I like him and all. But I fawn over Cortana! I’m such a fangirl! They BETTER NOT kill her! I will be devastated!

So, yeah, I think this one is going to play well, and live up to the story. Here’s a link to the Official Gameplay video Microsoft released at E3 this year.

The only other game I am totally excited for, Ubisoft’s Assassins Creed 3. I started with this story a little late. I bought my Assassins Creed used, about a year and a half after its initial release. But once I played it, I was totally hooked. The gameplay was different from FPS. And I loved the challenges of stealing/killing without being seen or caught.

But, the thing that hooked me the most was the story! OMG! Amazing! Historical accuracy, mixed with fictional scenarios. It was like I was playing a book! I have an affinity for history. And, since I am a writer, I do love me a good story! I fell in love with Altair. Then, I helped birth Ezio Auditore da Firenze. He grew up, and I helped shape his character. I killed along side him. I became him.  I spent an entire lifetime with the man, helping to further his cause. And then, I watched him die.

But that’s only half the story. Desmond is in the here and now. He is the one controlling the memories. He is the one who will inevitably be the one to solve the puzzle. And you are him as well. Although we’ve finished both Altair and Ezio’s stories, there are still so many questions left unanswered. And now, Ubisoft will be transporting us into a part of the American Revolution we have never seen, through the eyes of Connor (and Desmond).

Ubisoft has been working on a new game engine for the last 3 years and will be releasing it with Assassins Creed 3. I so cannot wait! I still get chills watching this! (maybe I am weird, but I don’t care. I love the history, AND the story!)

Ubisoft also released a new assassin, a girl. Assassins Creed III: Liberation will only be released with the Playstation Vita. This makes me incredibly sad because I refuse to buy a system for only one game.

The only other announcement I found remotely fascinating was Microsoft’s Smartglass technology.

Microsoft has always been known to be behind in releasing new technology. In my opinion, they’ve been WAY TOO FAR behind. For example, their Zune and their Windows Phone came out so far after the iPod/iPhone that Apple  held the majority of popularity. When they finally came out with their versions, well, they couldn’t garner any support and quickly shelved it (at least the Zune. I am sure the Windows Phone won’t be far behind). I’m sad. I own 2. I like the Zune. I used to like my Windows Phone, before they made it so…just so blah. I went to Android when the latest Windows Phone OS became available.)

But maybe it’s because I am anti-Apple? I don’t know. My husband says that’s the reason. Who knows. I mean, we have an iPad. But I rarely use it. I’ve ported Android’s Ice Cream Sandwich OS on my HP Touchpad. 🙂 I think I have always had an aversion to mainstream hype. (I never did like the teenage heart throbs when I was younger either. Never understood all the hype!)

I am pleasantly surprised that Microsoft will now open up the xBox for iPads, iPhones, and Android devices through the free smartphone app (Smartglass). At least, they didn’t wait until 2 years from now. 🙂

So, are you a gamer? Did you watch the E3 coverage? What was your favorite?

LadyJai
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