Rusty Alts and Login Server Busy

The login server says it’s just too busy to deal with me, I guess it’s having a day. Alrighty then have it your way. I’ll just talk about my rusty alt instead.

Oh wait, totally unrelated but I wonder if the Pandaren take that whole lovely and polite thing too far. Every time Cat does the Golden Lotus dailies and has to try to save those Wounded Defenders who are laying there grievously wounded and there are bombs going off everywhere, the first thing the wounded defender says is usually something like, “Tell me of your travels” in a cheery, polite voice.  Seriously? NOW? Do you think we could try to get to a safer place first? Seems a weird time to chit chat.

Anyway, Cat wants some stuff and the person that will have to get it for her is my jewelcrafter/scribe Enhancement Shaman. Back in BC she was my main before Cat was born. I loved that Draenei but as time moved on and the world changed, I fell out of love when wielding a big two-hander was no longer a viable option.

She leveled through Cata sitting in SW doing jewelcrafting dailies. This will not be possible now, she needs motes of harmony and recipes so sitting in town is not an option. Her gear was in the high 200s iLevel. Hmm … probably not going to cut it so Cat made her some new clothes that pushed her over 300 and off she went.

OW! Ouch! Oh sorry little Draenei, really, my fault entirely. I was so focused on her gear I totally forgot I hadn’t a clue how to play her anymore. Yeah, we bombed them real good from the air but on landing in Pandaria we got our butt kicked bad. There was dying … more dying and more too.

We kind of corpse jumped our way to Paw’don Village where I apologized and stopped to do some reading before continuing on our way. I felt really guilty for putting her through all that. She’s made it to 87 now without too much pain. But that girl is just not lucky or else Cat is just extremely lucky. Cat had a couple Spirits of Harmony before she even left the Jade Forest while Lok just made her first one. I wish those things were bind on account.

I have to say the trip this time is more enjoyable without the crowd. I hope it stays that way for all the upcoming trips. I don’t know who’s going next. Herbalist/Alchemist? Miner/Blacksmith? Enchanter/Tailor? I can’t decide, maybe I should let them work it out amongst themselves. Maybe draw straws or something.

So Cat’s fine with this, she’s moved into her place in Halfhill. Oh look, I see she even did a little decorating. There she is taking a nap … I think she’s taking a nap, but what’s in all those bottles by the bed. I hope she didn’t make a spectacle of herself in front of the Tillers. Sigh.

Food the Tillers Like or …

Yes! It’s my new BFF Framer Fung! Although I find flying around looking for dirt piles fabulous, it soon became clear I really didn’t have the dedication of some. I began to fear I’d never make friends based on gifts so I went into food production overdrive.

I think Farmer Fung may be the easiest as he’s not very demanding and only asks for Wildfowl Roast and the Wildfowl Breast is a nice drop rate from the cranes not far from where he stands. What a great friend, he made it so easy for me.

Now that we’re BFFs he’s sent along a Yak for my farm and he even mailed me an Enigma Seed Pack, aw, so sweet. Jogu the Drunk is going to be my next BFF I just know it. It seems he’s easily won over with donations of copious amounts of liquor.

• Farmer Fung – Wildfowl Roast

• Fish Fellreed – Twin Fish Platter

• Haohan Mudclaw – Charbroiled Tiger steak

• Jogu the Drunk – Sautéed carrots

• Gina Mudclaw – Swirling Mist Soup

• Ella – Shrimp Dumplings

• Sho – Eternal Blossom Fish

• Chee Chee – Valley Stir Fry

• Old Man Hillpaw – Braised Turtle

• Tina Mudclaw  – Fire Spirit Salmon

I guess since Farmer Fung was my first he’ll be my VBFF and the rest will be just plain BFFs. I not sure of the etiquette here. No matter, I’m sure we’ll all work it out.

Yeah, on a completely different topic I’m wondering if this is bothering anyone else. I mean the Mantids are a completely alien culture … but they celebrate Hallow’s End. I have no idea why this creeps me out. I guess creeping people out at Hallow’s End is kinda the point so … I guess … Klaxxi! Job well done!

I’m Dying Here …

Yeah … no not there, but since this is about worm problems I thought that shot perfectly displayed a freaking big WORM PROBLEM. I love my Druid, but really is Blizzard trying to MAKE me change my spec. Seriously, are there really worms that size? The damn thing stayed that size the entire time and this wasn’t the old style 5 minute Coren Direbrew, I think we were in there a half an hour.

As per usual, I can’t find his BUTT, where the HELL IS HIS BUTT? Should I get inside the Hunter’s pet assuming if he’s there it must be Coren’s butt? So anyway, I was flailing away trying to hit something and really ran out of energy AND patience.

So that was the end of queuing for Coren, I’ll catch him next year. So this should have alerted me. The warning signs were there but did I pay attention, NO. I merrily flew off to do my  Order of the Cloud Serpent dailies.

Yay! Some new quests! As you can imagine I’m thrilled to do whatever they ask of me so I excitedly accepted two new quests. Pooped and Sweet as Honey. Picking up poop is just an extension of real life, I do that every day when I walk the dogs so I’m more than happy to do it for the Cloud Serpent people. Off I go and … OMG! OMG!

WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING! GEEZ! I’m dead. Was it the Shao-Tien Behemoth? Was it Cracklefang? Oh hell no, it was WORMS! I was attacked by little worms while trying to gather honey. They are deadly those stupid little worms. So yeah, pick up your poop first, then except Sweet as Honey after you turn in your poop. I want my death to have meaning; at least it can save someone else. Pandaria’s a strange world, you can single-handedly knock off elites but a gang of worms … deadly. And elites, there seems to be quite a range there. Are they ELITE elites? Or the other kind, kind of wimpy elites. Really no way to know without giving them a go and if they are ELITE hoping someone else shows up.

So after all that drama and dying and worms, fishing was in order, it’s very calming. So you can see I’ve broken down and transmogged Cat’s cloak. I bought the Apexis Cloak thinking it might come in handy some time. Now I can stand to fish, she looks acceptable from the back. I know it’s really selfish to have no regard for her front. Other people have to look at the horror, I mean she’s wearing Baradin’s Wardens Tabard in case she wants to go home quick, she’s wearing all kinds of clashy things but I just don’t care at this point. I have worm fatigue. I don’t know the cure … maybe plant some vegetables … yeah, that’s the ticket.

An Underachiever’s Guide to 90

Yep, that’s it. Stop it, stop it, stop it with the pet battling already. Simple, easy. There’s my guide. I was feeling like such an underachiever that I finally decided to get to 90. I got really excited when I realized I would be able to queue for Coren Direbrew who I’d totally forgotten about. In an hour and a half I didn’t get in. A group was formed once but a dps never accepted. Weird, maybe everyone’s off battling pets.

As soon as Cat hit 90 she rushed off to train flying. I wanted to take a screen shot of the momentous occasion but she refused to turn around. Yeah, she’s not looking too good, she’s embarrassed. She has a new stun, the Stun of Unbelievably Awfulness. Come out of cat form to caster form to stun your opponent with clashing colors. They will stand there starring for probably ever or until dead. Handy.

I did have a bad moment on my farm. Wild crops? Hmm, that’s a new one. I see I have two buttons, I guess I’ll use them both although the interrupt doesn’t seem to interrupt anything. I continued using my powers to no avail, so yeah, google.  So thank you kind person for the information that you have to use the controls to build up a buff on yourself. Once you reach 50 stacks, the vine goes away. Thankfully, planting can resume which is very, very, important. Cause I want The Tillers to really like me cause who doesn’t want a riding goat, right?

But that’s the problem, who next? Order of the Cloud Serpent because yes, Cloud Serpent. I also feel kind of bad. When I hit 90 I left those Shado Pan in the middle of Townlong Steppes without so much as a goodbye. I’ve even been avoiding their representative in the Shrine of Seven Stars because I feel guilty I abandoned them. I’ll have to go back and help them out.

Just … um … not right now. I have work to do for the Golden Lotus because leatherworking patterns! Cat really needs some new clothes even if it means losing The Stun of Unbelievably Awfulness. Looking good is not without its price.

All is Not as it Seems in Pandaria

Yes, as a result of a family birthday celebration on Saturday I now have a Panda. Children love to make Pandas I found, there would have been more created but while they’re aware of Pandas they don’t know about multiple servers. I kept quiet about that.

I was allowed naming rights, just barely. And I had to really lobby for it, but I just can’t level someone named Fluffytail. So this is Wanchai. I don’t know what Wanchai is like now, but when I lived in Hong Kong it was the bar district. I spent some time there occasionally so I thought since the Pandaren are big on beer brewing, it fit.

So anyway, I have been taking a little time out from pet battling to tour the countryside. The Pandaren seemed like lovely people, full of kind words and sage advice. I was lulled into a false sense of security I admit. All that came screeching to a halt when I met a sadistic, maniacal, Pandaren masquerading as a gardener. Gardener Fran and the Watering Can was the first pain I’ve felt in Pandaria. Crazy, slave-driving woman. So just beware, they seem friendly and all but some of them are as crazy as humans. Just saying, watch out.

So I’m wandering around, doing the whole zen thing and I was annoyed to find I leveled on Blackhoof. Too fast, slow down. I haven’t even found some story lines in Jade Forest yet. But I was pleased that so many rares seem to stand out in the middle of a field, plainly visible. That’s so thoughtful of them, so now I have a horn that I can blow to attract all enemies attention within 40 yards which doesn’t sound like a good idea. I put it in the bank because I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from trying it out. Keep wanting to take it out though and go to a virmen infested area and blow it.

I have just been all about the pet battling. Oh, if you’re trying to find the battle pet tamers of Eastern Kingdoms that David Kosse is not where his text bubble is. When I finally found him at about 63 54 in the Hinterlands I took out my big guns and annihilated his team for wasting my time. Ha! Showed him.

So I’m all cocky now and think my team is ready to do a PvP battle, yeah, FEAR MY TEAM! I’m a proud coach, My Shore Crab, Forest Spiderling and Clockwork Gnome will defeat all takers! OMG! My babies, NOOOO! They were all dead before I could figure out what was going on. Okay, no worries, give it another shot. I queue again and get the same sadistic bastard player. As they’re trouncing my team I made note of his pets. I only saw two, he didn’t need anymore to TOTALLY FLATTEN my team. I was so crushed I had to go and plant vegetables to recover.

So it’s back to the drawing board. He decimated my team with Lil’ Ragnaros and a Panadaren Monk. Didn’t really use Rags much, just the insane Panda. I even see complaints on the forums about the unfair uberness of Pandaren Monks.

So, I’ve got to go. Got to level up my Pandaren Monk. Looks like I need a second team, a PvP Supreme Team! Better go haunt the boards to find the best third, I will have my revenge!

Juicycrunch Carrots, I Hate You

OMG! I know, your poor eyes! Okay, it’s not quite as bad as the BC era but it was still a shock to be throwing on anything that came your way. You can even tell the boots are still Cata. Cat doesn’t come out of Cat form at all right now if she can help it.

Yes, the servers came down just as I was going to recoup all the money I stupidly spent on those Juicycrunch Carrots. I wanted to get started on my cooking and the first agility food requires them. I think the questgiver told me that the Verman in the area might carry them. I don’t know where she got her information but it’s bad. No carrots anywhere. I soon tired of that and paid 200 gold for five carrots.

After that I then realized that I’d been given a token just for saying hi to her when I arrived at the Halfhill Market. I checked, and yes, you can buy a giant bag of carrots with a token. So anyway, I hope everyone isn’t reading up on carrot buying techniques while the servers are down because if they are, I’m not going to be able to make a killing in the carrot market.

Yes, Navi and I have it bad. There we are searching for Spirit Crabs, and not just ANY Spirit Crabs would do, no, we want rare ones. I think it was some ungodly hour of the night for Navi and my husband was waiting for me to pick him up from the repair shop. In my defense, it’s also a Harley dealership and I thought he might enjoy the time to look around, right, don’t you think? I finally came to my senses and left to get him but I was happy to hear Navi didn’t give up and got a rare crab. Pet Battling’s no joke, you must search all corners of the world getting just the right pets!

So I was stealthing around looking for quest items to collect. I see this sparkly thing right next to this guy so I’ll have to kill him. Only then did I notice he had a name and was a rare! Yay! He didn’t drop anything I needed but I did get an achievement,  A Worthy Opponent. Morgrinn was a rather easy opponent, so thanks for standing in the way there. Turns out it wasn’t even my quest item.

Been having a great time. There is even an upside to the masses of people killing all the quest mobs. My skinning and leathercrafting is leveling effortlessly because they leave great heaps of beasts to skin, so I don’t mind waiting for the respawns.

Servers are supposed to be up in 12 minutes, I’d better prepare. Want to be the first one on listing my overpriced carrots. Hey, do me a favor and don’t tell anyone they can just buy a bag of them with a token. It will be our little secret, okay?

Pandaria — The Cupboard is Full Again

I don’t know if anyone else does this, but sometimes I put off grocery shopping too long. I mean it would be fine if I could buy whatever I want, but it’s tedious avoiding fun food and trying to only bring home healthy stuff. So I procrastinate. What results is constant checking of cupboards. Maybe I missed some lone box of cookies stuck in the back. Maybe there’s a forgotten ice cream sandwich in the bottom of the freezer.

That’s what Cata had become for me, endless searching for one stale old twinkie, although I’m not sure twinkies get stale and they could be classified as food, but never mind you know what I mean.

TA DA! The cupboard is FULL again! I have vegetables, fruit, and ding dongs! I don’t know how long all this is going to last, but right now I’m eating it all! I mean I tripped over a log yesterday and got exalted with the Pearlfin Jinyu! Fifty exalted completed! And I know, I said I wasn’t interested in pet battles, but yeah … pet battles!

Yeah rabbit … you feeling my chicken … come at him … I dare you.

Okay, got to go. Just wanted to say hi, I took some pictures of me eating my veggies and Ho hos!

Note: Sorry Hostess, didn’t mean to pick on you. Really, I have fond memories of you from my youth.

Pocket Lint Post — Double or Nothing

I spend most of the weekend trying to get set up with dual boxing. On Saturday I could not get Keyclone working, or so I thought. I was cursing Windows 7 as I suspected that was the culprit. Sunday I realized that I was getting the controller in range and then casting. And the clone did nothing. She did nothing because she wasn’t in range … duh. I know, it’s hard sometimes, but I’m all I’ve got to work with, geez. So there they are, Shamimi and Shamami! I have no idea what I’m doing but it’s fun. I need to spend more time reading about dual boxing but as usual I’m just doing it. Hate taking time out to actually READ how to do it properly. I had planned on two Goblin Shaman but forgot they wouldn’t be available with just vanilla which was probably for the best as I don’t think I can face another Cata starting zone.

Yeah … this. I KNEW I shouldn’t have let her compete in Matty’s Leather and Lace. It’s so embarrassing. As soon as she read the results she rushed to the tailor shop and had that sash made, she’s been parading around Stormwind like that ever since. Batting her eyes at the guards and that dark, brooding looking guy in the Slaughtered Lamb. NEVER AGAIN Druid, I mean it!

So I’m way behind on my blog reading AND I have all the news about Mists to catch up on. I’ve read just a bit and already I have a conundrum. Do I want a black and white Panda Lady or red and white. I like the traditional black and white but on the other hand the red and white gets to have a tail! I have a lot on my mind … sigh. Yeah … really, I’m not kidding. Of all that I’ve read this is what I’m obsessing over. And YAY! Another slot, just one but still I’m happy.

I have  so much to do. I’m getting excited about seeing all the entries in the Mog Madness event and I have to get caught up with all my reading because on March 21st I’m sure a lot of my favorite writers and rhymers will be responding to Mr. Bear’s writing challenge and I’ll have lots more good things to read!

And OMG, are they kidding. It’s been so long since I’ve received any rl work that I admit I felt a little put out when someone HAD THE NERVE to send me some. Can’t they see I’m busy here! There are incredibly important decisions to be made here! Black and white or red and white. They are however, offering rl money which is always appealing I must say. Actually almost as good as gold … almost.

Stormwind News Team 9: Mr. Wing Interview

I don’t know why WoW years seem to go by like dog years. It seems a lot longer than about a month since I heard from Ironsally. So I was really happy to see she managed to get another exclusive interview. I can’t imagine how she talked him into it if he’s who I think he is, geez, that girl will stop at nothing to get her story. I hope she’s alright, didn’t get … toasted. He certainly seemed … um … passionate about the Mists of Pandaria.

Well, she obviously gets to travel to exotic locations in her new job so I know she’s happy about that, she always was quite the adventurer. I’ll have to remember to log into Zangarmarsh and say hello and just make sure she’s not crispy around the edges.

Oh, I got a Fiery Belly Ale Hangover

Oh those damn Pandaren Brewmasters, what is IN this stuff. I checked my personal stash of Padaren brew, seemed to be the time to break it out and have a few. I found some Fiery Belly Ale I got years ago from Chen Stormstout. I played the RTS games so I’ve met the Pandaren before so I don’t find them as offensive as some. Surprised maybe, but not offended.

I know I said that I wasn’t going to “worry” about the Mists of Pandaria anymore and I’m not worrying, but it’s impossible NOT to read reactions to it right now. I draw the line at Twitter. If I start following on Twitter the dogs will starve, my husband will drive off for a loaf of bread and never return and I won’t even know it, as I’ll be here with my nose stuck to the screen slowly starving to death. Yeah, I’m that bad.

I feel kind of squeamish, I feel like I’m one of those morons that backs up traffic by gawking at the accident in the other lane. So much passion. And to me, they are all valid. Everyone’s history and experience with WoW is different so the responses to this expansion are just as varied.

There seem to be two schools of thought on what produced this expansion. One is that Blizzard is run by arrogant idiots and WoW has bought the farm, bitten the dust, kicked the bucket and so on … shark jumping has been done.

On the other hand there are those who think the expansion is the result of astute businessmen who are changing WoW into a game that they can milk as much cash from in it’s declining years as possible.

I didn’t see it mentioned, doesn’t mean it wasn’t but couldn’t it be that they thought this is what people wanted. Maybe they’ve had 5 million requests for playable Padaren, you never know. Now I would have jumped at the chance to play a Vrykul. I can think of nothing I’d like more than to be a giant amazon woman running around screaming, “Ill wear your intestines for a necklace!” I could definitely go for that. Now that is good times to me.

Me? After my initial suspicion of the World of Warcraft Annual Pass I realized that there is no way I won’t buy the next expansion. After all this brouhaha? Are you kidding, I really have to see it. I’ll play SWTOR but I’ve never unsubbed WoW before when taking WoW vacations and I knew I wouldn’t this time either so I made the commitment. Who am I kidding, I still love the world they’ve made and I’m not leaving yet.

And oh, this is kind of embarrassing, after whining for a year about not getting Stood in the Fire. I was checking my achievements yesterday. I was going to do some archeology and wanted to see if there were critters I needed to kill or kiss or whatever where I was going. At the top of the summary there was my most recent achievement, Stood in the Fire. I had been paying for flights all over Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor to find every last candy bucket. It got boring so I’d minimize WoW and go about my business and occasionally check to see if I was at my destination. I usually had to log back in but she was never dead, that would have been a clue. So three days ago my druid got Stood in the Fire someplace without me knowing.

So my druid still hasn’t seen Deathwing up close and personal. She told me she’s going to ask Ironsally to interview him, at least she could watch him on Stormwind News Center 9.