Wednesday 18 February 2004

Pic of the day: All that shines must fade. But not all things fade in beauty, like this sunset.

More fading fads

Quick update here. First, the latest personality changes. I sleep longer in the morning again, mostly because I stay awake longer in the night, and there seems to be nothing to do about that unless I do something drastic like staying awake a couple nights. I've been there before, done that before. I will try to wait it out as long as I can.

The shopping fad has, well, faded. And without utterly destroying my personal economy. I guess if it had been that bad, I would have resisted harder. I have written about pretty much all the things I bought during the fad: A pocket PC, a desktop PC, Bluetooth emitters to make a home network, two quality trousers, a full set of Essenza di Zegna masculine fragrance. The computers do add up, but it should be paid off within reasonably short time unless some disaster strikes. And there's still money sloshing around to pay the bills and stuff.

The next fad may be Morrowind again. I am not sure, but I felt the urge again after many weeks of absence (or is it months now?). It started when I "accidentally" got the newest updates in the alt.games.elder-scrolls newsgroup, only a couple days after I had unplugged the Thrustmaster game controller. (Morrowind is the only game where I can use it; it is significantly more gentle on my hands than even the trackball, much less a mouse which would ruin my arm in less than half an hour.) Now I've downloaded the Particle Effect mod and created a new character. That's just the kind of guy I am.

I have also, after months and months of jam, bought some meat spread and mayonnaise. It's not likely to become a habit again, though, I much doubt that. I eat most of my bread early in the day, and jam is the best then. Mmm... sugar in the morning! ^_^

I think I have found a pattern in the pain-in-the-side thing, but a strange one. It seems the pain comes almost without fail if I sit for a long time, at least in a deep chair where I am leaning forward. This can often lead to back pain and stiffness, and this pain is created at much the same time. But it does not feel like muscle pain. It feels like gut pain. Luckily I have not had a relapse of the real strong, deep, scary jabs I had at one time. I hope to not see them again either. The other connection is that the pain is related in time with loose bowels, never with the opposite. I don't know what is cause and what is effect there, though. It's not such a great topic to debate either, is it?

Oh, and I don't play my two paladins anymore. Well, they are not retired, just on a break. Itland, my original paladin on Prydwen, has taken up crafting, and I'm starting a Cabalist to hunt for loot for him. Crafting costs money, and you cannot do it while fighting. Well, unless you are a Cabalist. ^_^ The cabbie can craft or salvage while the simulacrum fights, if the fight isn't too hard. So I go to the Tomb of Mithra, let the sim fight green and blue, and salvage (convert to raw materials) any cloths or armor I find. The profits and any metals go to Itland for his armor crafting.

I am sure to get fed up with this too. In fact, whether I follow it up or not, it will pass by itself after a while, probably a couple weeks: That's how long an average fad will last here at the Chaos Node. So, God willing (or at least not actively stopping me) there should be some new fad to tell you about early next month.