More on my new obsession ... the Guild Wars one, that is, not the Baal one which is a slow and smouldering obsession. The Guild Wars one is much more active. I suspect I might be posting about the game quite a lot in the near future.

Rat and I played most of yesterday evening, finishing at midnight. We played for an hour this morning and then played from about 5:00 until around 9:30. We decided to give it a night as I was getting tired and I don't want to be dreaming about the game again tonight. I know that last night I had far too many Guild Wars related dreams and it was hard for me to get all the little figures with their names over them out of my head.

We are still in the pre-searing (sp?) section of the game. However, we haven't got that much to do before we've finished. We've pretty much got a few missions from the Fort to do (is it Fort Rankin? I keep making up it's name.. I'm sure that's not right but that's what I'm calling it right now) and that's about it. I've now got the full Collectors Monk armour, which is far prettier (and a tad less revealing) than the original set. Hopefully tomorrow we'll be in post-searing, although we plan on farming lots of Skale in the hope of getting as much dye as possible before heading off to the next area.

I've added loads of new pictures to to my Flickr account. There are some pictures of Gethyn, Rat's first character, and a ton of Maya and Gregyr. They may be a bit bad quality at full size. When I transfered them from .bmp to .jpg I think they lost a lot of quality, even though I set it to 100%. I think PSP is a little better at the conversion than The Gimp.

I'm really enjoying the game although I'm wary that I'll get far too addicted and ignore everything else. I've got websites to write and support to do, etcetera. We're going to have to find some way of restricting ourselves! It is nice to have something we can really share.

Small version of Maya standing

Small version of Maya standing,
originally uploaded by Draconid.

I came home today because I couldn't get to work. It took me an hour and a half to get to Caerphilly and then the road that my Cardiff bus uses was blocked. The other Cardiff buses were also cancelled. So I headed home after having rung work to let them know.

So instead I've played a little Guild Wars. Here is a picture of Maya Saaith - my first character, a Monk/Mesmer.

I just received the following in an email: Welcome to Guild Wars, and thank you for joining what we hope will be one of the most exciting online games you've ever played! *grin*

I've set up a Monk called Maya Saaith. I've done nothing with her yet because Rat's going to start a new character and we're going to play together. I forgot to do a screenshot but she is very very cute.

In the meantime I would like to introduce you to my new obsession.

I'd also like to provide you all with a cool link. It's a bit like Google Home but not quite. Rob shared it with me. I haven't yet investigated it fully but I will do. It's at Netvibes.

I suppose I should start with the bailiffs. Rat took the day off work on Monday to deal with it - just in case someone turned up at the door to take things away. He got through to the bailiffs who assured him that they couldn't take anything if he wasn't the right person. But this didn't really make him feel that much better about it all. Finally the CSA rang up and told him that back in June they'd had a letter that the person they were after hadn't lived here since March 2004. However, whoever called the bailiffs hadn't seen this letter or anything on the system about it. So all the stress and worry and wasted weekend was all due to a clerical error. I know these errors happen, I'm sure they've happened to me before. I'm also sure that none of my clerical errors would have caused so much worry. I feel sorry for the poor woman who hasn't been receiving money because the CSA haven't been trying to track down the father of her child.

This week seems to be going from bad to worse. When I was at the parents' my mum received a letter saying that she had to go back to the hospital after her recent MRI scan. She wasn't too worried as she's been called back before due to problems in the test. This wasn't the case this time, however. They've found a lump and took a tissue sample so my mum was quite sore when she rang me. She goes back for the results on Friday. She seemed fairly perky although admitted to feeling a little choked. It's especially worrying because I think her mum and sister died from breast cancer. Of course, things have come along way since then. But I can't help but worry. It's hard to explain how I'm feeling though, because my feelings about my mum aren't really all that clear. It's definitely not as clear-cut as how I'd feel if this were my dad or my brother. I think a lot of my worry is for them (and, indeed, myself, seeing as I've probably got this ahead of me). I know it sounds harsh but it's kinda true. I love my mum and I hope she's going to be okay, but I think the general impact of this to the whole family will be big. We've had two close family friends die of cancer in the past decade (both of breast cancer, I think) which can't help. My ex died of cancer and my dad has been a victim of cancer. It's a tricky thing for us. My dad also had his every-couple-of-years scan of his innards to check that he's still okay - I sure hope that went well.

In other news, according to my body fat scales, I'm obese. Apparently, in just over a week my body fat has gone up by 6% even though my weight hasn't gone up. And yeah, it's saying I'm obese. I'm 5'3" and just under 10 stone. According to everything I've ever seen my maximum ideal weight is 9 and a half stone. Which would make me overweight but not obese for heaven's sake! Admittedly, I have eaten four Mr Kipling slices today and am taking a break from eating a very tasty, but incredibly fatty, Chinese meal. And I made the mistake of ordering Pork Balls with Sweet and Sour sauce. The bag of balls is ridiculous in size, and the amount of batter is amazing. It's sick!

Rat got home this evening to a letter marked Urgent and addressed to a previous occupier in a hand-written envelope with no return address. Concerned that someone might be trying to desperately contact this person he opened the envelope to try to gleen more information. He found inside a form saying that a bailiff would be arriving tomorrow at 10am due to a lack of payment to the CSA (Child Support Agency). We've left several messages on the number on the form but with no response. I've called the CSA and they have a note on the account but it was too late to call off the bailiffs (unsurprisingly since it's after hours on a Friday night and they are meant to be coming tomorrow) so we need to have evidence of who we are on-hand.

The thing is, we wouldn't even know if Rat hadn't opened the envelope and we could have been out when they arrive (they threaten locksmiths although I don't think they can legally do that). There has only been one letter previously (we know because we've been crap at redirecting): another hand-written envelope with no return address. I've seen nothing from the CSA (if I did I'd return it immediately). The person who it's addressed to hasn't been living here since March at the least (since that's when we looked around and I know the name of the tennant); I don't think they've lived here for at least a year because one of these "houses that have sold in the last x months" said our house was sold last year (November I think). And yet the CSA haven't been able to discover that the person doesn't live here?

I've done a search on Bailiff's and I don't think they can do anything. They can't take anything that belongs to someone other than the person on the warrant and since neither of us are on it there is nothing they can take. I half worry that they'll barge in without a word. But I don't think they can or will do that. If they did we'd be on to the police straight away. So I guess we'll be up as early as possible tomorrow with passports to hand (particularly Rat's since the person they are after is male) and a few bills too. But I'm terrified.

I'd just about managed to calm myself about the roof. We have a plan and while the cost concerns me we'll cope. Rat's even suggested improving the bay while we're at it, although I suspect we can't quite afford that! So I'm not worrying about that anymore. The worry has been replaced by this concern. I'm sure it'll all be over by lunchtime tomorrow (assuming they turn up at the time stated) but as Rat says - is this the start of things to come? And I'm kinda concerned about what the neighbours might think!

It scuppers our plans for tomorrow. We wanted to head into town and see two films. Assuming they turn up when they should and things get sorted as soon as possible we might be able to see one film. I wouldn't want to hang around for more since it's an International day and town will be packed.

Now I have a headache. I was going to use my own computer tonight but I'm in the lounge while Rat's watching TV because I didn't want to be alone.

Today was a long and tiring day, but quite good. We got up early and headed to Cardiff to see Elizabethtown, which was a really excellent film. It almost made me cry at times. It's well worth seeing. I've seen a few trailers for films I absolutely must see.. if only these films were out now so that we could see them in my time off. We'll probably end up having to try to squeeze them in or end up missing them or something.

After the film we caught the bus to were my office is so that I could fetch Rat's anniversary presents which typically arrived there yesterday. I got him an OCC mousemat and a model of their Liberty bike. These were, of course, in addition to Guild Wars. And would never have been bought if I could have predicted the roof problems. But he liked his presents - although the box for the bike was scrunched and the handlebar broken off. I can't be bothered to send it back (it's got to go to New Jersey and we'd be waiting ages for the replacement) but I will be complaining once Rat has taken a photo.

We went to the local pub, the Ty Nant, and had a rather delicious lunch that totally filled us up. Rat had a cheese and bacon burger. I had a steak ciabatta. The steak was delicious - nicer than last night's steak (although last night's steak was nice too). We had a bowl of mushrooms and a bowl of onion rings to go with it.

When we left the pub I noticed that I had a missed call: from the people who were meant to be doing the roof. I think the call was from the guy who initially did the inspection - he'd been in the Bahamas when they came out to do the work. He rang asking if the roof had been fixed yet. I'm not sure if he was asking whether his people had come out and done it, or checking to see if it was ready for them to carry on with the fix for the insurance claim. I tried ringing back but got no answer so it will probably have to be Monday when I speak to him. This way I can chase up the quotation I was mean to be having. I'm thinking that there was some miscommunication so it's not on record that I asked for a quote. I should've chased them earlier in the week but (a) I was feeling ill and (b) since I'd asked the insurance company to procure a quote I figured they'd have contacted them by now.

We then headed up to Nantgarw where there is a Showcase cinema and a bowling alley. We often go passed there on the bus so wanted to find out what else was up there. After a rather long walk we found out: pretty much nothing. With sore feet we then had to wait ages in the cold for a bus. Fortunately we managed to catch an earlier bus than the one I knew would be passing (my normal bus home) and so got back before six. But considering we left before nine it was a long day. We ended up napping for a bit when we got home - possibly not the best plan and I'm still feeling exhausted. Oh well, I guess I can legitimately go to bed soon. I'll need the rest for tomorrow: a day of NaNo and watching Guild Wars. I'm going to move this machine so that I can do both at the same time. Unfortunately I'm a little stuck - I got to the end of Chapter One and have no idea what to do for Chapter Two. I can't skip ahead to the next thing I know will happen because I need some more background. I just don't know what! I've not written anything today and only wrote a few hundred words yesterday. So I'll have to work solidly this weekend. Still, we have absolutely no reason to go out so other than washing up and laundry there is nothing to distract me from my work.

Today hasn't been the best of days. This morning Rat was playing Guildwars. I really didn't feel like writing so I alternated between refreshing my LJ pages (and doing the odd support request!), watching Guildwars, and for a time going to bed for a nap. The problem was that Rat started to get frustrated and I started asking him questions. It is never good to talk to Rat while he's frustrated about a game. So I got a little pissed off for a while, but we smoothed things over okay - it wasn't like we really argued - just got annoyed with each other. I think I need to make sure I'm doing something while Rat is playing Guildwars rather than watching over his shoulder. But until I have a system capable of playing the game (in other words, a machine that runs Winblows) then I'm going to have to get my Guildwars fix by watching. I reckon that maybe, in about four months, I might be able to scrape together a few hundred pounds to buy a cheap laptop. Although that depends on the cost of the roof fix - which we still haven't heard anything about. It's been a week so I think I'll chase tomorrow.

That wasn't the worst of the day though. I was getting dressed ready to pop into town to stock up the fridge and I scratched a spot on my back. I didn't really think much of it although I realised it was quite nasty, until I picked up the top I wore yesterday and saw blood on the back. Realising it must have been bleeding yesterday too I called Rat up to take a look. I think his words were "big and bloody". Half naked and carrying some clothes we went down to the kitchen so that Rat could put a plaster on it. As he was getting the plaster I realised that the spot was hurting. I started to feel sick and apparently I said "I'm going to faint". Next thing I know I'm lying on the floor with Rat propping me up and looking at my face. Well, when I say it was the next thing I know, I remember dreaming and then being confused about being in the kitchen - at that point I couldn't remember being in the kitchen, let alone feeling sick or faint. It's all rather fuzzy really. Apparently Rat caught me on the way down (good job too, since the floor is pretty damn hard) and other than my head flopping to the side and touching the floor my landing was quite easy. He was really worried and concerned that I might end up with a bruise on my head. My head felt fine, I was just completely disorientated. It was pretty damn scary. This is only the second time in my life that I have fainted. Interesting, both have involved seeing blood on clothes and having Rat ensure my fall was gentle.

I've not felt too good all day. The spot still hurts lots and I am really freaking out over the fact I fainted. All over a bleeding spot. When we got to town the first thing we did was get a sugary drink to keep my blood-suger levels up. We did have a nice dinner at Asda and get some (hopefully) nice food though. We have steak for tonight, which we'll be doing in the health grill. I think I might do jacket potatoes and green beans with it. And Rat wants fried onion. Unfortunately we have no mushrooms. But I might put the beans in with the onion. I had considered sauteing either parsnips or a sweet potato since I have to test sauteing food in case that's what we decide to do for our potatoes for Christmas dinner. So hopefully the evening is looking up. I just have to work on NaNo. I'm just not sure I feel like it right now. I'm still feeling a little woozy, believe it or not!

I seem to have an impossibly large appetite at the moment. I was off work the last two days and couldn't stop eating crisps. While I'm sure being at home alone had something to do with that, I was hungry by 11am this morning and wishing I was back home with my bags and bags of Walkers. On the way home I was feeling hungry and so while I was buying tonight's dinner I bought myself some Snack-a-Jacks, figuring that they are at least slightly healthy. I've already eaten about four and I'm not even that keen on Snack-a-Jacks. I should probably take them downstairs and hide them away in the kitchen. The problem is that, now I'm officially on holiday, I might carry on with this terrible snacking routine. I don't want to put on the little weight I've lost over the last few months.

On Monday morning I decided that it might be a good idea to take part in NaNoWriMo after I had a dream that I thought would make a really good story. I'm over a thousand words in and using avoidance tactics to write the next bit. It's a love story about geeky scientists set in a slightly futuristic world. So really only suitable for girly geeks. I'll hopefully be posting it on my website, but I need to sort out the pages first and writing takes precedence.

I'm looking forward to having the time off, although I've had loads off recently. None of that time off was for relaxing, it was for doing (or rather, waiting for others to do). This time Rat and I will get to do what we want when we want. And with broadband we can actually do things during the day that don't involve going out of the house! I've actually got some "work" to do - some website stuff that I'm being paid to do in addition to real work, and some real work CMS/Wikipedia stuff that should be quite fun. I figure even with NaNo and the work "book club" that I should be getting the book for next week, and with cinema and day trips, I should still have plenty of time for this sort of stuff. Especially when I visit home. But I suppose I should do some household chores too. Hell, the first priority of the holiday is to restock the freezer!

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. It'll be my first appointment at the new surgery so it's pretty scary. I've just got to sort out my Depo for the end of the month, and I'll probably show off my lovely verucca's since I've not found anything shop-bought to work yet. I'm terrified! What if it's a nasty doctor. What if s/he doesn't approve of Depo. What if, what if, what if? I don't deal with change that well.

I managed to get Radio 2 streaming on my computer just now. This makes me happy. I got bored though so I think I'll put a CD on now. I had awful fun trying to get CDs to work yesterday. None of my several million music players wanted to work. I managed it eventually. I've been introduced to Last.fm and so want to "improve" my profile. It's just a shame that I can't actually get the Last.fm player working on my machine.