July 16, 2009
Faster internet coming right up!
Back on July 3rd, I posted about the deal I got with Verizon for their Fios internet because of the 2 and a half years of being told that it wasn't available in my area, yet there was a Fios box attached to the back of my side of the duplex.
Well, Mel called me back again today to tell me that the installation tech will be here on Tuesday the 21st between noon and 2pm, to install the Fios internet for just $24.99 per month for an entire year.
I asked Mel like 3 times to make sure that the price was correct, that a supervisor's initials were on the order, and that it would be part of the contract.
I just really wanted to make sure that they weren't going to pull a fast one on me and tell me on the phone that I was going to get it for that price, and then when the 1st bill gets here, it says something totally different.
He reassured me that it does indeed say that I get it at that price, and he said it even says why in the computer that I get it at that price, and he even read it back to me.
"Customer was told for 2.5 years that Fios was not available in her area. Fios is and has been available. The neighborhood was mapped incorrectly as single family homes. The house at xxxx south Lockwood Ridge Road is 2 apartments, not a single family home. Customer will receive discount on Fios internet for the term of 1 year at the price of $24.99 per month beginning from the date of installation 7/21/2009 and ending on 7/21/2010."
It would be super nice to have, I agree, all those channels, HBO so I could watch True Blood, but we really don't need it, and definitely cannot afford it.
So just to make him stop trying to push the sale that he wasn't going to get, I told him that right now, due to the economy, there is no way that I can afford that much every month, but once the economy picks up and I can start working more, I'll more than likely call them back and order it.
That seemed to make him happy, so he stopped talking about it and we got back to talking about the installation on Tuesday.
The tech will be here on Tuesday the 21st between noon and 2pm, he will install the new 4port/wireless router, he'll hook up my pc, the teens pc, and he'll even set up the teens xbox360 for wireless because the setting we currently are using on the xbox, will no longer work after they set us up with Fios, the settings and the connect code thingy, won't work, so he'll have to set up an all new DHCP setting for it.
The teens are wicked excited about it, they cannot wait to have faster internet so that when they play WoW
I can't wait too, faster internet for me is going to be so awesome!
The teens and I all have our little things that make us happy, they with their video games and photoshop stuff that Sebastian does, and me and my The Sims 3
A lot of people say that the teens spend too much time playing video games, but I still think it's ok because I know where they are all of the time, they aren't out there with the local thug teens getting into any trouble.
I know that when I was their ages, 16 & 17, I was out there getting into trouble, drinking, staying out to all hours, and getting into all kinds of trouble.
I'd rather have them here and playing games than out there probably doing what I used to do at their age.
June 24, 2009
Wind, rain, no boot.
There really hasn't been much going on around here, just lazy summer days and nights.
Like last night, we were all just sitting around playing our video games, Mark on WoW, Sebastian on the xbox playing GH, and I was out here playing Sims3, when we heard something hit our door.
It freaked all of us out wicked bad, so Mark goes and grabs a big knife from the kitchen, and he and I cautiously try to look out the front window.
We had no idea what hit the door, if someone threw something, if that someone was still out there, so we were a bit scared.
Mark peaks out the window, doesn't see anything, so we decide to open the door carefully.
We see one of our trashcans laying in front of the door, but we also notice that the winds are wild, just blowing in all directions, and we realize that it was the wind that blew the can up against our door, not a person.
We felt totally stupid, but better safe than sorry I suppose.
Within a few minutes of putting the trash can back and closing the house back up, the winds picked up even more, the rain, thunder, and lightening started, and we even got some small hail.
The power started flickering off and on too, so I shut down my computer for the night and went to bed on the couch in case the power went out fully, I wanted to be able to get up and light the candles and stuff.
This morning when I got up, I came over and hit the power button to start my computer back up, and it wouldn't start, I wasn't even getting the power on lights, nothing.
I thought 'oh crap, we must have had a power surge last night and it fried my computer'.
I had to pee wicked bad, so I went to the bathroom and when I came back out I tried to get it started again.
Still nothing, no lights, no beeps, nothing.
I was starting to freak out, what if it's dead I thought?
That would be a wicked bad thing, I work on my computer, so I need it to work.
I reached around the back and pulled out the power cord and plugged it back in, maybe just maybe, it was loose or something.
Yup, that's all it was, thank goodness, as soon as I plugged it back in and hit the power button, the lights came on and it booted back up.
I have no idea how the power cord got loose, but somehow it did.
I'll have to keep an eye on that, check to make sure it's in nice and secure every now and then, I almost had a panic attack at the thought of my computer being dead.
June 22, 2009
A cut, a scratch, and a nip.
Sebastian and I went and got his hair cut at the corner barber shop this afternoon, he said it was just far too hot for long hair, so off it came.
We got his ears lowered, the barber knew exactly what we meant when we asked for that.
He looks much better, although I think his hair looks awesome when it's long.
It's a beautiful blond color, shiny, smooth, wish it was my hair.
He said that it feels much better, he'll grow it out again now for a year like he always does, and then we'll cut it off again next summer.
Then we went out to Publix to get some more food, the teens are eating a lot again, and we found the mouse that Carmine the kitty loves to play with, way up high on a store shelf.
I had to buy another one because he tore the last one of these Scratch Rattle and Roll Scratcher Mice
He clawed and chewed at it non-stop until he got the 2 hidden bags of catnip out, and then proceeded to rip all of the stuffing out.
Every time I tried to throw it out, he sat at the garbage can and meowed until I got it back out, so now he has a new 1.
He's currently curled up in a ball laying right next to it with a paw on it, like he's hugging it.
When I put the new 1 on the floor and took the old 1 away, he looked at me like 'hey! wait just a minute, that's my mouse!', but then he saw the new 1, smelled it, realized there were 2 new bags of nip stuffed inside, and immediately began licking and chewing at the sisal back to get at it.
The other cats love the mouse too, but he really loves it.
He will chew on it and lick at it, until he gets the bags of nip, rips them open, eats his fill, and then he lets the other kitties chow down on some nip too.
One the last mouse, he also chewed the tail until he ripped through the fabric, bit through the plastic ball, and got whatever was inside of that out.
I have no idea what made the tail rattle, we never found the insides, just the demolished plastic ball that held whatever it was.
I think he may have eaten the tail ball contents.
Tonight while eating dinner, we watched Nothing But the Truth
This was a most excellent film.
Reporter Rachel Armstrong gets a tip that a woman is a CIA operative, she writes a story, the paper she works at prints it.
The government now wants to know her source.
She refuses, and normally, this would be protected, the right to not reveal her source, but due to a 1982 law, the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, if Rachel does not reveal her source, she faces jail time.
She chooses not to reveal her source which sets things in motion for her and the person whose identity she revealed.
It is only at the very end of the film that we learn who her source is, and wow, I was so not expecting that.
You should definitely add this 1 to your Netflix queue, it's really good.
Ok, I'm gonna goof off and play Sims for awhile.
Later days.
June 21, 2009
1 hour! I got an hour!
Of sleep that is.
I had insomnia last night and then babysat my nieces for most of the day today, from 10:30am to 4pm, and I'm wiped out.
Sorta.
I took a quick 1 hour nap after we all ate lunch, I was passing out in my chair, but once I woke up, that was it, I'm back to being wide awake again.
I can't sleep again, but the teens?
They passed out right after the girls went home, that's how worn out they are from taking care of 2 little ones all day.
Susan and Skye are typical siblings, they fight over stuff, they instigate each other, they tattle on each other, and they love getting the other into trouble by instigating and then tattling.
I'm still not sure exactly what happened, but from watching how they were interacting most of the morning, I am pretty sure that Skye did something to set Susan off.
It's hot, everyone was hot and cranky, the intense heat makes you tired, (the temp was about 93 with a heat index of 110) and so Susan who gets upset easily anyway, kinds lost it for about 3 minutes.
She had a minor meltdown, and it really was minor compared to some of the others she's thrown, so I just kept trying to talk to her (she's 6) about why she was upset.
She did some screaming, threw some stuff which I made very clear to her that she is never allowed to do at my house, she shed a few tears, and then I asked her if she was done.
She said yes and we got back to playing and watching movies.
Minor.
Seeing as the teens are asleep and there's nothing at all worth watching on tv, I think I'm going to reboot and load up the Sims of Sunset Valley.
It's time to get their lives fully in gear, they are engaged, now it's time to get them married, make it all official, and then work on their careers and lifetime wishes a bit more.
Oh, gotta go pick up Mark's diploma tomorrow after my MRI.
Mindy has to get Jeff's, too, so she's taking me to my MRI, and then we'll go get their diplomas.
Later days!
June 21, 2009
Sims of Sunset Valley.
I have wicked insomnia again, nothing new there, but I hate how it's always the worst insomnia on the nights before I have things to do.
Like today, I am babysitting my nieces all day, and here I am, going to be doing it on absolutely no sleep at all.
It's ok though, I'm kind of used to being dead tired and having to do stuff.
The girls will be fine though, I'm sure of it.
Kids always behave worse for their parents than they do for anyone else, so I'm sure they will be great for me, and then they go home and drive my sister crazy.
Seeing as how I couldn't sleep, I stayed up and did more with my Sims.
They live in Sunset Valley, so because I know that I'll be doing some Sims posts once their stories start going, I've added a new category for them.
I didn't get a whole lot done story-wise because the customization tools are just awesome.
I love how you can take any pattern and color from any piece of furniture, wallpaper, marble counter tops, whatever, and place it on a completely different item.
Your entire house can match perfectly because of this, so I have been messing around with the customization tool and making things match.
I found the most awesome re-color set from Parsimonious, it's called Gotharama, and so I took the patterns and colors of the chairs and coffee tables, and placed it on the dining chairs, the bar stools, the table and counter tops, because the down stairs is an open floor plan and I wanted it all to match.
The walls are a gray-violet color and the carpet is a gray color, and it looks amazing.
My Sims are so totally happy with their house, their mood icon, whenever they are downstairs, is at the highest it can be, and the message says "Kat and Tony love their exquisitely decorated home."
And speaking of home, I took a couple pictures of their house to show you.
The house came with that fence around it, but I'm going to remove it, I don't like it.
The house at night taken from the waterfall side of the property.
It's really quite amazing, the graphics are incredible, you can zoom all the way in and it doesn't get blurry or pixelated, it just looks fantastic.
I love this game because it gives me the chance to create, to decorate, to do interior design and I love doing that.
Sebastian used to get mad at me because I would spend hours and hours building and decorating a home, but now he understands why.
When your sims are totally happy in their surroundings, they are happy with every other part of their life too.
If the living room, for example, is flawless and beautiful, if they are in there flirting or being romantic in front of the fireplace, their happiness over the beautiful home helps them be happier in their relationship.
The good mood is contagious, they do everything else better if they are happy.
I guess I'm going to go back and play for awhile again.
My nieces are coming around 10:30, and if I try to sleep now, it will be impossible for me to wake up later.
June 21, 2009
Rendering honors and a proposal.
I love how fast the turn-around is with Netflix, I send movies back and get my new ones within 24 hours.
I sent back Gran Torino
I also sent back Friday the 13th
Lots of killings, some good gore, and finally, Jason moves at a decent clip.
I always hated that about these kinds of movies, our victims are running for their lives, seriously hauling ass, and here's our killer, walking at a snails pace.
Jason moves quickly, strikes quickly, and has some serious brutal strength in him, which makes his kills all the better,
I sent those back on Thursday, so today, we got the next 2 in my queue.
We got and watched Taking Chance
Kevin Bacon plays Lt. Col. Mike Strobl in the movie based on the true story of his voluntary escort of a fallen marine, PFC. Chance Phelps.
The movie is about him escorting the body of a fallen marine home to be delivered to his family for the funeral.
It is probably one of the most moving films I have seen in a long time.
The absolute care and attention to detail that our armed forces go through to get the bodies home, is amazing and beautiful.
They clean the bodies and personal affects meticulously, they dress the marines in their uniforms flawlessly, and the journey home is verified every step of the way, and honors are rendered at every single stop.
It was really a beautiful and touching movie, even the teens were touched by this one.
I may not support the war, but I always support the brave men and women who so freely give of themselves to serve, to protect my rights, and I found all of the rituals and things they do to bring the soldiers home the perfect way to show respect and gratitude toward these fine and brave people.
You should definitely add Taking Chance to your Netflix queue, or rent it at your fave video store soon, you will not be disappointed in this movie at all.
I also got Nothing But the Truth
I'll watch it tomorrow night after my nieces go home, it'll give me a chance to rest up, I'm sure they are going to tire me out big time. ha ha
I'm finally able to get going working on a storyline for my Sims.
I was so overwhelmed when I went into CAS (create-a-sim) to start designing my sims, there is just so much to do in there, every bit of your sim is customizable, you can make them look exactly how you want, there are so many controls, but anyway, I was so overwhelmed and I needed to give her a name, so I just named her Kat so I could spend the next several hours designing her, her clothes, and getting a house, and designing and decorating it.
But now that the house is done, (well mostly, I keep changing things I don't like as I go) I can start working on her life.
Her lifetime wish is to be a world famous chef, so she's cooking a lot, getting new recipes, working at a diner, (she's now a skill level 7 cook, and she got promoted to prep cook, yeuss!) and coming up with ways to cook all of the fish she's catching in the pond right behind her house at the base of the waterfall.
I really need to take some pics of her house and property, it's amazing.
She wakes up every morning to the most incredible sunrises and the view of the waterfall.
She is at total peace and criminally happy at home.
It actually says things like that, "Kat is having so much fun it's criminal!" when you hover over her mood meter. 
She met Tony Stark when he came into the diner to eat, (another Simmer created Tony Stark from Iron Man, and uploaded him for download on the Sims3 site. I downloaded him because he looks good. I'm better at designing female sims rather than male sims) and he needed a place to live where he could have a room and a place for his telescope and science experiments, and because Kat lives way up in the mountains far away from everyone, she let hm move in as her roommate.
Over the course of the next few weeks, he started flirting with her, and they spent a lot of time together, so the natural course of things happened, and they fell in love. 
Last night after Kat got home from work and went to sleep for awhile, she got back up and came downstairs for a little midnight snack.
Right there in the living room while still in her sleepwear, Tony got down on bended knee.
You can click for bigger.
Now her life is really getting started, she's happy, she has a great job, she's in love, all I have to do is keep her from getting knocked up because EA still has not created birth control methods for your sims.
If you're not careful, you could end up having a dozen kids, so their woo-hooing will be kept to a minimum if I can help it, and I'll keep my fingers crossed she doesn't end up pregnant.
She has a life goal man, getting pregnant would totally screw that up right now.
June 15, 2009
Still more complaints about the Sims 3.
The reviews are still coming in on Amazon for the Sims 3, and people are still complaining that their computers are crashing or simply unable to play the game.
My daughter's computer is more than powerful enough, but she never got more than 10 minutes into the game without a hard crash (BSOD crash).
I knew before running the tests that my computer could handle it, but I ran both tests anyway and I updated my drivers even though I didn't really need to just because I knew that the graphics on this were going to be amazing, and they are.
Sebastian and I have even downloaded a few items including a really huge house that another Simmer designed, it's incredible, and I placed it up on the side of the mountain near the waterfall.
The house has a ton of windows all around, so my Sim can watch the sun rise and set and it is so so beautiful, not only that, but I had her go fishing at the base of the waterfall, and wow, what an incredible experience that was to just watch.
The graphics in this game are simply amazing, the waterfall is gorgeous, the water reflects the sunlight and the Sim, and the fish actually leap in and out of the water, and when your Sim is trying to catch the fish and they struggle, the water splashes about, it's just so good looking!
We haven't had a single issue with the game, no crashes, no glitches, no nothing.
The complaints these people are posting about are because they did not meet the minimum requirements, I can guarantee it.
June 9, 2009
My Sims 3 are here!!
I have been awake all night, still haven't slept, not even a wee little nap, and I posted at almost 4am how I was hoping that Fedex wouldn't take my Sims 3 to my local post office, that they would just deliver it straight me.
Well they didn't deliver it straight to me.
But!
They somehow got it from Orlando to my local post office, and my mailman knocked on my door at about 12:15pm, and handed me my mail and a box with my Sims 3 inside!!
It's here!
My Sims 3 are here!
And I LOVE the usb plumbob key chain that came with it!
I haven't looked at the special content that is on it yet, but the key chain itself is really pretty cool looking, I dig it.
I made a promise to Sebastian like 3 days ago, man I am a total sucker haha.
I told him that on the day came, that I would install the game on my computer, I would get all of my special downloads, the sports car, the extra town of Riverview, I'd register at the the Sims 3 site so I could get the $10 in store money to spend, and then I would very quickly watch the game opening, take a quick look at the town map, and then I would exit the game and then go install it on his computer and let him have the 1st play.
Go ahead, tell me that I am the worlds biggest sucker, I deserve it. hahaha
I have been waiting for this game since the day they announced it, I pre-ordered it way back in December, I have been counting down the days, stalking the Amazon, Fedex, and the USPS websites and going back and forth with Amazon's customer service about why my game wasn't shipped on game day, and here I am letting him have the 1st play.
I am the stupid that's what I am. hahaha
June 9, 2009
It's almost here!
Our Sims 3 is almost here!
It's almost here! *does the happy ass chair dance of great joy*
See?! You can click for bigger!
Our Sims 3 magically went from being only initiated to now having left Orlando, which means that it's almost here!
Hoo-ray!!
I can't wait to get into the game and get into CAS, (Create A Sim) and then I'll probably spend hours making my very first Sim.
You can customize every single detail of your Sim's appearance, hair and eye color, skin tone, weight, hair high and low-lights, make-up, you can add beauty marks, lash length, all kinds of things.
I am SO excited!
This is 1 of the female vampires that someone at EA or the EA creator's camp made using CAS, isn't she so cool looking?! You can click for bigger to see all of the details.
Not only can you customize every single detail of your Sim, but you can now customize all of your Sim's furniture, their wallpaper, their lamps, everything.
You can take a single pattern that you love, take plaid for instance, and you can put it on the walls, the lampshades, the couch, the chairs, the carpet, the curtains, everywhere that you want it. You can mix and match patterns, you can even build your own furniture and then make your own furniture patterns.
Below is the CAS trailer, it shows how to create the Sims, and the furniture, and the houses.
It is just so damn cool and I CANNOT wait to get my hands on the game and do this!
I really hope that the tracking is sorta wrong, and Fedex decides to not deliver it to the local post office, and just straight up delivers it to me.
If they do that, I *might* have it today instead of on Thursday the 11th.
I would so love to have it today.
It would kind of suck to get it tomorrow because I won't be home all day tomorrow.
I'll be at my surgeon's office and the hospital doing all of my pre-op testing and meeting with the anesthesiologist and stuff.
You watch, that's exactly what is going to happen.
That's the kind of luck that I have.
June 7, 2009
Reading quite a bit of negative reviews.
Seeing as how I don't have my copy of the Sims 3 yet thanks to Amazon totally screwing up the shipping by using Fedex Smart Post, I am just reading what other people think of the game.
If you go to Amazon, there's a lot of people not liking the game at all.
They are complaining about how when you go in a building like the grocery store, you can't actually go in, but are given a menu to purchase food items.
Do they not realize what an absolute resource hog it would be to have every single building be open world available?
It would bog down your computer in 20 minutes if they did that!
Some people are complaining about how the Sims are all fat looking.
Well, go into CAS and edit them because I've been on the official Sims forums, and looking at people's avatars and the pictures that people are uploading, and obviously other people are taking some serious time to edit their Sims because not all of them are fat and cartoon-y looking at all.
One of the biggest issues that I've noticed is that a lot of people bought this game and their computers did not meet the minimum requirements to play it.
I checked and double checked on 2 different sites to see if my computer could play it, and my computer exceeds the requirements so I shouldn't have any of the problems with cycle redundancy and the crashing that others are experiencing.
It's amazing to me just how many people bought this game and then realized that their computers couldn't handle it, and then had to go out and buy all new graphics cards and memory cards, and some people even had to buy an all new power supply because their computers did not have enough wattage.
That tells you how old some of these computers were.
I've put the results of 1 of my tests in the extended entry so anyone interested can see how much the game requires.
But I really cannot wait to get the game and create a single Sim, a house, and then go exploring the open world.
I'm going to get my Sim a bike and take them everywhere, on every road, every path, as far as they can possibly go.
Because I bought the collector's edition, I get the world map, so I can see the entire world, and I'm going to go as far as I can into the mountains, to the ocean, to the far outer banks, to the hills, to the inner cities, to wherever I can, explore every single road and path and nook and cranny of the open Sim world, and then I'll sit down and play the game.
I'll create a family, a story line, I'll think of a story and play it out, fulfill their lifetime wants and needs and all of that stuff.
Amazon sent me another email this afternoon saying that they are looking into where exactly my game is and how sorry they are for the inconvenience, and they hope to have an answer within 48 hours.
Well within 48 hours, I am supposed to have the game according to their original shipment date.
It still says on my Amazon order page that I am supposed to have it on Tuesday the 9th, but according to the Fedex smart post page, the package has not even been picked up from the seller yet, shipping has only been initiated, and then Fedex is supposed to deliver it to my local post office.
Amazon said that this is supposed to be faster delivery service. (???)
How is it faster to have it shipped through 2 different delivery companies and neither of them even have it yet?
Continue Reading �
June 2, 2009
Sims 3 is almost here!!
I bought my copy of the Sims 3, the collector's edition, back in December, and I should have it in my hands in a day or two.
But if you're a simmer and haven't bought your copy yet, Buy.com has the regular version on sale this week for just $44.95.
You can get the Sims 3 and play in a totally open world.
No more being stuck in your house or having to wait for loading screens while your Sims go from one place to another, you can now walk out the front door, go across the street and get into an argument with your neighbor for being messy.
You can totally customize every bit of the game from the Sims appearance, to their personalities, giving each of them up to 5 different personality traits that will make every Sim you create a totally unique individual.
I am totally looking forward to getting it, installing it, and giving that open world a try.
I also want to test how the Sims can die or be killed.
I know that's a bit sadistic, but when you create a Sim that turns out to be a total butthead, you have to get rid of them before they destroy your whole family or life plan.
I bought the collector's edition because it comes with a special down-loadable sports car, the official Prima guide book, some Sims 3 music, and a USB drive shaped like the plumbob.
I cannot wait for it to get here!
It's going to be so much fun!
W00t!
February 4, 2009
Sims 3 not releasing until June 2nd.
Can be clicked for bigger.
I just checked in on the Sims 3 website, and found out that the rumors last week are true.
The Sims 3 will NOT be released until June 2nd now.
Here's the press release;
EA ANNOUNCES NEW SHIP DATE FOR THE SIMS 3Highly-Anticipated PC Game from Best-selling PC Franchise Slated to Ship
June 2, 2009REDWOOD CITY, Calif., February 3, 2009 - Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced that The Sims 3, the highly-anticipated flagship game from the best-selling PC franchise, The Sims will launch across the PC, Mac, iPhone, iPod Touch and mobile devices summer 2009. The Sims 3 PC will ship to store shelves worldwide starting June 2, 2009.
"The Sims 3 is an incredible game that lets you play with life, create art and show off your creations," said Ben Bell, Executive Producer, The Sims 3. "In the game, players are inspired by endless creative possibilities like the new Traits and Lifetime Wish features which allow players to create Sims with real personalities and destinies. Players can then take their Sim into town to interact with other Sims in the game and capture the action on video to show off online."
"The June launch combined with the break-through game the team is building gives us the perfect runway to create awareness for The Sims 3," said Russell Arons, Vice President of Marketing for EA. "The Sims 3 will be the original IP summer blockbuster of 2009 as we build off the success of the best-selling PC franchise of all time to create awareness with both loyal Sims fans and new players."
so I could get all of the extras it comes with, I was totally looking forward to this coming in like 2 weeks, and now I have to wait until June.
I'm sure they have a really good reason for the delay, they want it to be the best possible game it can be, it is just really disappointing news to read.
