I have to admit, I have a major pet peeve in WoW. In all my 6 years playing WoW, I have always tried to be self-reliant in gearing myself, or at least helping out fellow players/guildies when I can.
I know that this post I am about to write is probably going to get me into trouble, or it might be just seen as me kicking a fuss about nothing important. But really, I personally think it is of SOME importance at least, and I feel the need to talk about it.
Now, let's start from the beginning.
Ever since the release of Patch 4.2 Rage of the Firelands, the essential mat known as Volatile Fire has gone down drastically in price in the AH.
I remember, pre-4.2, Volatile Fire was a hard-to-get mat that cost anywhere in the range of 14gold to 45gold per unit (if it was more, please let me know, dear readers). Fishing in the lava pools was the only sure guarantee of getting Fire, killing fire mobs just wasn't worth the time and effort due to the insanely low drop rate. As a result of this, I actually made quite a bit of gold from just fishing in the lava pools during off-peak hours (since during peak hours it would be difficult, with many other players doing the same) and selling them on AH for 14gold - 19gold a unit.
Post-4.2, Volatile Fire dropped in value. I can only say that this is probably because of the sudden increase in drop rate from fire mobs in Molten Front as well as some of the dailies mobs in Mount Hyjal. I found myself accumulating more and more of Fire, even though I don't need it anymore at the moment, with 3-4 units of Fire dropping from mobs either in Molten Front or Hyjal while doing my dailies. Don't ask me why, it just happens, and at the end of the day I have at least 8-10 units of Volatile Fire that I have no use for yet, and cannot sell because they are now going for at least 7gold-11gold per unit. I make more gold from doing dailies alone.
Now fast forward to my pet peeve.
Last week a fellow guildie (and also a real life friend) provoked the little peeve in me by asking in guild chat if anyone knew where to get Volatile Fire. He said he needed it for crafting. So a few of us volunteered information; I told him he could simply kill mobs in Molten Front or Twilight Highlands, although Molten Front might have a higher drop rate. Or better yet, he could simply just fish in the lava pools in Twilight Highlands, near the Bastion of Twilight. This option was repeatedly encouraged by other fellow guildies, since they've done the same too.
However, it soon became a facepalm situation when needy guildie's reply to the last (and best) option was that he didn't have fishing. I knew I had a stash of Fire in my Bank, so I offered him 10 units of mine. I offered 10 because he said he needed 10 to craft gear for himself. In the meantime, I suggested he take up fishing, level up a little bit (you don't need high level fishing to fish in the lava pools), then get his Fire that way. A regular supply, with 1-4 units everytime you fish from a node. I also suggested buying from AH, since at the time it was selling for 10g per unit in AH, totalling at 100g for 10 pieces, he could make more than that from just doing dailies alone.
It soon became obvious though, that he was not willing to buy them off AH, nor was he willing to pick up fishing to get them in the easiest possible way.
However, the shit really hit the fan when he mentioned that he was planning to craft 5 pieces of that gear, 1 for him to wear, and 4 for him to sell on AH. That was when my peeve FINALLY kicked in, in full gear. I had initially thought to send him all of my stash of Fire, but after revealing his plans, I changed my mind and only sent him just enough for his own gear.
I don't mind helping guildmates out, if they want to craft items for their own use, helping them with mats or maybe even gold if they are really in dire need. But I simply CANNOT handle it when my generosity is being taken advantage of. If you need gold, farm for it, or ask a guildie for a loan.
Everyone puts in a lot of time to painstakingly get their own mats so that they can gear themselves, help a guildie gear up, or sell on AH. To want to take shortcuts and expect people to help you is really taking it a bit too far, especially after having been given easier solutions to your problem. But that's just my opinion.
Don't get me wrong, the guildmate in question is a great guy IRL, a fun friend, so this ugly side of him came as a big surprise to me. I never expected him to be so lazy and presumptuous.
I just hope that he's only like this in-game, and not in RL.
The xx
Over the weekend, I decided to give this band known as The xx another spin. 2 Fridays ago I heard the DJ at Home Club play one of their numbers (I think it was "Basic Space"). I actually first got to know about them when they opened for Florence & The Machine in February 2010. Didn't know anything about them before then, but when they opened with "Intro", I suddenly felt like I was getting high on their aural emissions. Same feeling I had when I first watched Mogwai performing in Singapore in 2006. The feeling that let's you drift in your seat, actually chilling out with your feet on your chair, with not a care in the world.
Now, while there are 2 vocalists in The xx, I'd have to say that the voice of Romy Madley Croft steals the moment everytime. She reminds me of the female lead vocalist, Tracey Thorn, from Everything But The Girl - beautiful vocals, low, smooth and rhythmic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u9ezLmjBSs&feature=related
The guitar riffs sent me back to the time when Chris Isaak first burst into the scene with his number "Wicked Game" - a time when when I fell in love with the drifting, lush sounds of the weeping guitar on top of a high hilltop down to the world where people are standing around listening.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oaHHrNQVrg
Interestingly enough, for both songs, the bass guitar plays a big role, almost leading the beats, with the drums and guitar as accompaniments.
All right, that's it for now.
Now, while there are 2 vocalists in The xx, I'd have to say that the voice of Romy Madley Croft steals the moment everytime. She reminds me of the female lead vocalist, Tracey Thorn, from Everything But The Girl - beautiful vocals, low, smooth and rhythmic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u9ezLmjBSs&feature=related
The guitar riffs sent me back to the time when Chris Isaak first burst into the scene with his number "Wicked Game" - a time when when I fell in love with the drifting, lush sounds of the weeping guitar on top of a high hilltop down to the world where people are standing around listening.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oaHHrNQVrg
Interestingly enough, for both songs, the bass guitar plays a big role, almost leading the beats, with the drums and guitar as accompaniments.
All right, that's it for now.
Woweee Zowee
I finally caved in a week after the release of Blizzard's Wow:Cataclysm expansion. I don't know why - even though the answer is obvious. I love WoW, especially now that so much has changed since Cataclysm's release. Rubin is back with a renewed interest in the game, after 1.5 years of retirement from the game. I love the fact that they've made levelling from level 1 to 60 so much easier, made quests so much easier to complete, and cut down on downtime when it comes to travelling ingame (e.g. some quests that require you to travel a distance to complete your objective actually provide you with a quick transport to the location of your objective, comes in handy, especially if you're below level 20 and don't have a mount yet).
Talent trees are more straightforward now, and therefore easier to manipulate when calculating damage and stats potential.
While they've had this even before Cataclysm was released, cross-realm interaction has also greatly improved a game. Whether I'm playing DPS or heals or tanking, my average wait time for a dungeon group is an average of 10-15 mins. Shorter wait time for heals and tank (as usual), a bit longer for DPS.
At this point I have 4 active major characters on different servers, and I've attached some screenshots here:
My favourite of the 4 - a one-man army primarily because druids can tank, heal and dps. (especially now with dual specialisation, I can now choose to take a break from tanking/dps in dungeons and switch to restoration for healing). It also helps that Exotramp is in an LGBTQ guild with lots of experienced players.
I love this girl!
As a DPS class, warlocks are the easiest to play, - and since hunters have recently been badly nerfed - it leaves warlocks in high demand, partly because of pet capabilities and partly because of other perks such as the ability to summon players into a dungeon by calling up a portal (I suspect this is why I got invited to raids so often.)
I haven't got the heart to transfer Feydra to another realm - the guild that Feydra resides in is run by a gay couple living in Sydney (both paladins, protection and holy).
Right now, this little guy is my all time favourite - since the release of Cataclysm, I've tried several different classes for the goblin race, and finally decided on a priest. For specialisation, he is a discipline priest, after some research I found that going discipline provides for good dps as well as good healing.
He was christened Viacheslav by a close friend, but in humour, my friends and I also know him as the Russian Vagina.
And now, last, but not least, the last of my 4 major characters. She was first known as Caillech in Thaurissan, but when my guild disbanded and everyone went their separate ways, I had her transferred to Frostmourne, and renamed her Unutjob. The mage, I feel, is the most difficult dps class to play - but once you know what you are doing, it can be easy to become overpowered like the warlock. At the moment Blizzard has created a pet for frost mages, which helps a lot, considering we tend to be so squishy sometimes. Back when I first started playing WoW in 2005, my second character was a human mage but I never got used to the difficulty of playing a mage.
I will be transferring Unutjob to Barthilas, for practical reasons, while I level up the Russian Vagina.
So you must be thinking, after all this, am I falling into the stereotype of the avid WoW player? The one with practically no life, no love and no ambitions? I have to say that in my case, it is quite the contrary. I have time for WoW, but real life is bigger than the world of warcraft. So while I have so many epic-geared high level characters (OK, OK so Russian Vagina is still struggling to get there), I still go out and smell the roses, have drinks with my friends, and work, work, work.
Dem Bones...
Last week during lunch break I popped into Borders next door and bought Alice Sebold's famous novel "The Lovely Bones". I'd watched the movie, without sound, during a transit flight between Melbourne and Perth. My headset was dodgy, and the Qantas staff didn't seem to want to replace it, so I sat back and contented myself with just a little lip reading and the visuals, which reminded me a little bit of the movie The Fountain, and quite coincidentally also starred Rachel Weisz.
Obviously the book gave me more insight, and with the visuals from the movie still fresh in my head, I could flesh out the characters easily. I was disappointed with the ending in the movie, where the protagonist's murderer gets away and dies in the end (apologies if you haven't seen this movie yet) without ever having to face the music. But when you think about it, isn't that how life is, really? I am sure that, in this big, bad, world, people disappear everyday, body and soul. And nobody can find out where they disappeared to or why. Nobody knows if they're dead or alive.
I have been thinking about my friend Stephanie all this time while reading the book. Wondering if she was watching me then, if she is watching me now. Still grieving, but not so much as before, and if the book is true to its words, she is in her own version of Heaven now, sipping on a glass of margarita, with lit cigarette in one hand, and laughing as me as I trudge through this life, my comedy of errors.
Obviously the book gave me more insight, and with the visuals from the movie still fresh in my head, I could flesh out the characters easily. I was disappointed with the ending in the movie, where the protagonist's murderer gets away and dies in the end (apologies if you haven't seen this movie yet) without ever having to face the music. But when you think about it, isn't that how life is, really? I am sure that, in this big, bad, world, people disappear everyday, body and soul. And nobody can find out where they disappeared to or why. Nobody knows if they're dead or alive.
I have been thinking about my friend Stephanie all this time while reading the book. Wondering if she was watching me then, if she is watching me now. Still grieving, but not so much as before, and if the book is true to its words, she is in her own version of Heaven now, sipping on a glass of margarita, with lit cigarette in one hand, and laughing as me as I trudge through this life, my comedy of errors.
Welcome back, Miss Pessimist
Yes, yes I know, I know.It's been almost 2 years since I've last written here - so much has happened since my last entry though, mostly an emotional rollercoaster ride that I prefer not to put up on this blog. The emotions are meant for my other blog, which I have closed for the time being.
3 weeks ago I almost had a free ticket to preview this movie but never got around to it since my friend Vernon said the movie distributors suddenly decided not to bring the movie to cinemas here. I was so excited about watching the movie version of Freakonomics (which I remember V introducing me to it in 2007) that I almost peed my pants. I kid you not. It is such a pity though - clearly the media authorities here don't think Singaporeans are smart enough to grasp the concepts laid out by Levitt and Dubner.
This was the same case with "Where the Wild Things Are" which was also supposed to be released in cinemas here last year but got scrapped by distributors because, they claimed, it wasn't the sort of film that could rake in the Singapore dollar by the millions. And why wouldn't it be able to do that? Because it was considered too "deep" and/or complex for Singaporeans in general.
Caught a musical with a good friend yesterday afternoon and then we had some beers after at Harry's Bar at the Esplanade. As usual, I required a smoking table, but just as we were about to sit, little droplets of rain started to fall - we were sitting at an unsheltered table. Well the good friend suggested I have one cigarette since the rain wasn't at all heavy, and while we sat in the slight drizzle, drinking our beer and cider (mixed in with a little rainwater I suppose) and catching up, that very scenario reminded me of Ian McKellen and and Brendan Frasier in the movie Gods & Monsters, when James Whale (McKellen) says to Clay (Frasier) just before running into the rain,"We are not made of sugar, we won't melt!"
Oh bugger.
3 weeks ago I almost had a free ticket to preview this movie but never got around to it since my friend Vernon said the movie distributors suddenly decided not to bring the movie to cinemas here. I was so excited about watching the movie version of Freakonomics (which I remember V introducing me to it in 2007) that I almost peed my pants. I kid you not. It is such a pity though - clearly the media authorities here don't think Singaporeans are smart enough to grasp the concepts laid out by Levitt and Dubner.
This was the same case with "Where the Wild Things Are" which was also supposed to be released in cinemas here last year but got scrapped by distributors because, they claimed, it wasn't the sort of film that could rake in the Singapore dollar by the millions. And why wouldn't it be able to do that? Because it was considered too "deep" and/or complex for Singaporeans in general.
Caught a musical with a good friend yesterday afternoon and then we had some beers after at Harry's Bar at the Esplanade. As usual, I required a smoking table, but just as we were about to sit, little droplets of rain started to fall - we were sitting at an unsheltered table. Well the good friend suggested I have one cigarette since the rain wasn't at all heavy, and while we sat in the slight drizzle, drinking our beer and cider (mixed in with a little rainwater I suppose) and catching up, that very scenario reminded me of Ian McKellen and and Brendan Frasier in the movie Gods & Monsters, when James Whale (McKellen) says to Clay (Frasier) just before running into the rain,"We are not made of sugar, we won't melt!"
Oh bugger.
Be aware, be very aware...
So this morning on my way to work, I was nursing a horrible toothache and a headache, as well as trying my best to work out how to meet a deadline at work. And then I get an sms from the ostentatious Mr Vernon, telling me that they've thrown in the towel. At first, I was like, "Huh? Who?" in my haze of painkillers and burdensome tooth/headache. But then slowly it sunk into my pained head, what Vernon was actually talking about.
Yes, I am talking about the (now famous) AWARE saga.
In fact, just last night,a friend mentioned to me that someone had told her something about locks being changed and the new AWARE exco wanting to hold the EGM somewhere else to accomodate all 800+ AWARE members this May (2nd May 2009, to be specific). But because I did not yet know about today's news and also because I was in too much pain to care, we both decided that those were just rumours and to keep it at that.
Until they appeared in the papers today.
Still my reaction was somewhat laissez-faire (the torturous pain of a toothache was more important to me at the time) and when I called Vernon to discuss the latest updates in the news on AWARE, I could still feel the burn out.
And then something life changing happened. My mother called. (Dun dun dunnnnnnnn).
Now, just for the record, throughout the whole AWARE saga these last few weeks, my mother has shown very little support for trying to get AWARE back. If she had any support, it was mostly things said on the side of pessimism and disillusionment. A career woman for most of her life (she started working at the age of 17), she has been a member of some women's organisations, in particular, the IBWA (Internation Business Women's Association), which disbanded after many years (rumour has it internal strife was the cause of the breakup). But she has never joined AWARE. It never occurred to her to join organisations for the sake of joining them. She always did it either for her business or if she was sure she could make a change with them. Joining groups like AWARE meant she'd have to devote time to helping people, and how to when she hardly has time to help herself?
Now, back to when my mother called.
I was quite taken by surprise by her call - she called to ask me how she could join AWARE. Out of caution, I asked her why she wanted to join AWARE. And she said she read the papers today and was appalled at what was going on. Staff members getting locked out and fired from their jobs without explanation? Unconscionable!!
Showdown at AWARE Office
But the thing that really stoked my mother's fire was the interview between the straits times and Thio Su Mien, the "Puppet Mistress" - the key player behind the takeover in AWARE.
Coup Leader Comes Open
My mother was disgusted by her blatant arrogance (which explains the thick-skinned tactics of the 9 new Exco members), as well as the fact that she was directly connected with the current president of AWARE, Josie Lau and Dr Alan Chin.
My mum smelled something funny there, and decided that these people had to be stopped.
And it is to her credit that I'm still in this ride.
Yes, I am talking about the (now famous) AWARE saga.
In fact, just last night,a friend mentioned to me that someone had told her something about locks being changed and the new AWARE exco wanting to hold the EGM somewhere else to accomodate all 800+ AWARE members this May (2nd May 2009, to be specific). But because I did not yet know about today's news and also because I was in too much pain to care, we both decided that those were just rumours and to keep it at that.
Until they appeared in the papers today.
Still my reaction was somewhat laissez-faire (the torturous pain of a toothache was more important to me at the time) and when I called Vernon to discuss the latest updates in the news on AWARE, I could still feel the burn out.
And then something life changing happened. My mother called. (Dun dun dunnnnnnnn).
Now, just for the record, throughout the whole AWARE saga these last few weeks, my mother has shown very little support for trying to get AWARE back. If she had any support, it was mostly things said on the side of pessimism and disillusionment. A career woman for most of her life (she started working at the age of 17), she has been a member of some women's organisations, in particular, the IBWA (Internation Business Women's Association), which disbanded after many years (rumour has it internal strife was the cause of the breakup). But she has never joined AWARE. It never occurred to her to join organisations for the sake of joining them. She always did it either for her business or if she was sure she could make a change with them. Joining groups like AWARE meant she'd have to devote time to helping people, and how to when she hardly has time to help herself?
Now, back to when my mother called.
I was quite taken by surprise by her call - she called to ask me how she could join AWARE. Out of caution, I asked her why she wanted to join AWARE. And she said she read the papers today and was appalled at what was going on. Staff members getting locked out and fired from their jobs without explanation? Unconscionable!!
Showdown at AWARE Office
But the thing that really stoked my mother's fire was the interview between the straits times and Thio Su Mien, the "Puppet Mistress" - the key player behind the takeover in AWARE.
Coup Leader Comes Open
My mother was disgusted by her blatant arrogance (which explains the thick-skinned tactics of the 9 new Exco members), as well as the fact that she was directly connected with the current president of AWARE, Josie Lau and Dr Alan Chin.
My mum smelled something funny there, and decided that these people had to be stopped.
And it is to her credit that I'm still in this ride.
Roads
So I really should be writing about the Ani DiFranco concert I went to last night - but I still haven't quite gotten down from cloud 9 yet about that one, so I've decided to do a little bit about the next best thing - masters of trip-hop, Portishead.
Formed in 1991 in Bristol, England, Portishead changed the way people listened to the trip-hop/drum and bass genre. They pioneered a sound that made people sit up and think, "So this is how it should be. This is how it has to be. This is how it will be." Since Portishead's growing presence in the music industry, I do not know of any current groups that come anywhere close to Portishead's sound or anyone who could do anything equally original and not end up being criticised for sounding "too much like Portishead". Well, maybe Tricky and Massive Attack could give Portishead a run for their money, but all 3 names are big names in the music industry now, and all 3 names churn out sounds that have their own uniqueness, and ultimately, their trademark.
I hesitate though, to introduce people to Portishead. I've heard alot of feedback about how depressing and debilitating they sound, the whole package being like a downward spiral journey from an acid high. But like beauty, music is to the ears of the beholder. You either hate Portishead or love them. Some people love that downward spiral journey, some don't - it really depends on how the listener wants to get off.
So how do you want to get off?
Formed in 1991 in Bristol, England, Portishead changed the way people listened to the trip-hop/drum and bass genre. They pioneered a sound that made people sit up and think, "So this is how it should be. This is how it has to be. This is how it will be." Since Portishead's growing presence in the music industry, I do not know of any current groups that come anywhere close to Portishead's sound or anyone who could do anything equally original and not end up being criticised for sounding "too much like Portishead". Well, maybe Tricky and Massive Attack could give Portishead a run for their money, but all 3 names are big names in the music industry now, and all 3 names churn out sounds that have their own uniqueness, and ultimately, their trademark.
I hesitate though, to introduce people to Portishead. I've heard alot of feedback about how depressing and debilitating they sound, the whole package being like a downward spiral journey from an acid high. But like beauty, music is to the ears of the beholder. You either hate Portishead or love them. Some people love that downward spiral journey, some don't - it really depends on how the listener wants to get off.
So how do you want to get off?
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