Does. Not. Compute.

I don't get it. These people have passed the tests and gotten the grades necessary to be accepted into my university. They are willing to pay forty-two thousand dollars a year to attend. To me, this means they must have some observational skill that has led them to conclude that this university was worth the time, effort, and money.

And yet.


And yet.

Today I received three -THREE- phone calls at 6 AM from people in the midwestern and eastern regions of our gloriously sprawling nation. And they couldn't figure out why none of the offices were open. I was clearly wrong about those observational skills. They must have passed the tests by chance and have rich uncles with nothing better to waste money on. There is no other rational explanation.

Please do not attend my university!

I have been talking too much about the rats lately. Must be a slow summer.

I've been trying to keep this on the down low until I had concrete news for everyone. Comic Housies know about it, obviously, but now the rest of you can, too!

S.T. is getting old. He's about to turn three, which is quite wizened for a rat. Many, especially pet store rats, don't live past two. I'm worried that he will get sick and die alone. I'm also worried that he will kill Tweaker and the Brick if I attempt to place them together. So, there was really only one choice.

I'm getting S.T. two baby girls (yes, they will be spayed). As the housemates have said, we should "let him go out like the Hugh Hefner of rats." I looked around for a rattery in the area, and put myself on a waiting list. Yesterday, I was e-mailed and told to select the girls from the available rats in the litter.

So, without further ado, I present to you all the sisters Jadis and Lilith (photos courtesy of the rattery owner:

This is Jadis. She is all-white with pale eyes (will be red in photos-- you have been warned), so we named her after the White Witch from Narnia. LOOK AT THAT FACE. She is going to be the biggest snugglebug on the planet, mark my words.

This is Lilith. You can't tell from this photo, but she has started developing darker spots of color. But, her eyes are also pale, so we had to give her a sinister name. She's also going to be a sweetie-- this rattery is known for the temperament of their rats.

And there you have it. Two baby girls, all for S.T. I can see it now.

We'll be picking them up on August 27th. Those who want to come with, RSVP now.

I've spent the past five days troubleshooting my computer

My new monitor is doing the exact thing my old monitor did.

What else could it be? O.o;

Little do they know...

Yesterday I was joking around with one of the dispatchers at work because it seems like every time I see her her hair has gotten shorter. I told her that every time she cut her hair I was going to dye mine a different color. Big Boss was in the room at the time, and he decided to chip in:

"You do realize that when you're 40 and looking back on pictures of you, you're going to wonder what the hell you were thinking, right? And your kids are going to do the exact same thing?"
"Ha, what kids?"

He didn't find that very funny. He just smirked knowingly at me and wandered off to micromanage the kitchen. (I have to say I'm getting sick of the condescending look older people give me when I tell them I don't ever plan on having children.)

But you know what? I hope that when I'm 40 I can look back on pictures of me now and say "I wouldn't be able to get away with that now, but damn I looked good." Because I don't think I'd like the adult me if I did anything else.

More rat drama

For the past couple of days I have been toying with the idea of neutering Tweaker. He keeps beating up his bro, and I think The Brick is losing weight. I don't want to keep him in a cage with an abusive relative, but I doubt S.T. would be more kind, so the only other option is to snip Tweaker's goodies. Rats become far less aggressive after neutering, and it would give The Brick a much needed respite. (I feel like the mother of the smart, witty, scrawny son who gets beat up on the playground.)

Both Matts wince every time this is brought up, and have tried to council Tweaker to change his errant ways, but it has had no effect. Tonight after work, Housematt and I got into another conversation about it.

Me: "Maybe we should put Tweaker in with S.T.; It would be a kind of poetic justice."
Matt: "Hah, yah, then he could be the one being beaten up a lot. And he'd get to keep his balls, so it still counts as a good thing."
Me: "I don't know...It's kind of like choosing between being a eunuch or being forced to bend over in the prison shower for the rest of your life."
Matt: >_<

I'll be pondering this until payday with great relish and glee.

><

I woke up today at 2 p.m., and by five o'clock I am so exhausted that I can barely see straight. I know why, of course, but that doesn't make it any less upsetting. My doctor upped the dosage on my painkillers, so the next couple of days will probably be full of fatigue. This should be the last time we have to up it, so hopefully this is the last time in a long time I have to get used to a new medicine. Last semester I was the Tegretol, and this summer it's the antidepressant. My goal is not to be diagnosed with anything else next semester.

Sometimes I hate it. Yesterday Maddo, Trevor, andKiyomi came up to Tacoma to tour and visit the apartment. I was exhausted the entire time are hanging out, and when I got back home I collapsed and took a long nap. Got up for two more hours to have dinner and watch 300 with Matt, then it was back to bed until I woke up this afternoon. I started work on my massive list of things I need to get done, and by the time I was halfway through it, I felt tired in my bones.

At least I know that the medicine helps. I can type for longer periods of time, though not long enough to write a long blog post or a paper. Unfortunately, I still can't write. The time it takes to sign my name leaves me grimacing in pain. Tomorrow I am e-mailing the Center for Writing and Learning at my university to request a note taker for next semester. I don't know what I will do in classes if I can't write or type. I have a feeling just sitting there will quickly grow it excruciatingly boring, but there's nothing else I can do.

All right, I've given in. I'm going to go nap, and then play with the rats. (Oh, I've had a lot of you asking -- ST Strange is fine, he is just at Sarah's for the summer.)

And people wonder why I spoil the boys.

They make my day so much better. I let them have a massive playtime session today while I cleaned out their cage. Tweaker spent most of it following me around or starting up games of hand tag with me. The Brick spent most of it either in my lap watching his bro, or asleep in my pillows.

The Brick is turning into such a mama's boy. He started sleeping in the hammock three days ago, which of course sent me into flights of rapture. I'll nab a pic of him in it later, once he is asleep.

I also made a few more LOLRATS pics today. I'll post them all here, including the ones from my Blogathon, but there are only three that really make me squee. (And if you can think of a better caption, post it! =D)

The Brick works his winsome ways.

Tweaker assures me that the problem with my laptop is NOT that he just knocked it over.

Tweaker gives me his opinion on leaving the cage.

The Brick iz hungry. D=
Tweaker helps me get book reviews together for the Blogathon.


Honestly, I have no idea what Tweaker is doing here. He just looks shifty.
The Brick, asking life's essential questions.


After expressing concern over my laptop's condition, Tweaker assures me he has it all under control.

This last one is not mine, but a girl named Petal from the Eagle's Eye Rattery in Portland.----------------
Listening to: Chris Isaak - WICKED GAME
via FoxyTunes

*insert the sound of every cell in my body screaming in rage*

I went to pick up my prescriptions today, and had to pay for them all out of pocket.

Why? Because my insurance card expired on the 30th, and Unc didn't see fit to send me a replacement.

So now I have to get him to send me a new one. When I called him, I could barely speak to him over the crying of his new daughter (courtesy of the stripper girlfriend), whose name is apparently Bridget, and whose existence has yet to be admitted to me by him. (He and my grandpa need to get together and have tea.)

Does anyone see the problem with this?

He's lucky I don't file assault charges.

I went home from work after two hours yesterday because my coworker almost dislocated my shoulder.

That's right. Scooby has injured me.

We had three patrol people on that night, but there are only two sets of allen wrenches to unlock the doors. I jokingly told Scooby to give me his set and take the keys. When he said no, I reached for them half-heartedly...And he fucking grabs my arm, locks my elbow, and twists. I drop down to prevent him from pulling my arm out of its freaking socket, hitting a chair as I go. He doesn't let go until I hit him with my free hand.

Bossman Extreme had to file a report with Big Boss, who called me at 9AM to make sure I was okay. He says to be sure and let him know if I need medical care, and asked me to write a statement detailing what occured. He says that "at a minimum," he wants an account on file.

This is the second on-the-job injury he has been involved in. The first time he let two students onto the roof of a campus building, which led to Bossman Extreme getting his finger broken when a custodian saw them and called us in. (Side note: NEVER tell a campus security guard that you are not a student if you really are. It always ends badly for you.) He didn't get fired for that one simply because someone in StuDev pulled strings.

Well, hopefully they fucking fire you this time. I don't care if it was an "accident." You touched me, and you deprived me of six hours of pay. Even if they don't fire you, this event has caused everyone to like you even less. Half the student staff knows about it already (mostly because half the student staff lives with my dispatcher), and the general consensus is that you're absolutely worthless, and an idiot to boot. Honestly. Who the hell does that to a coworker? In what dark, slimy realm of existence is that considered well-rounded behavior?

My shoulder is killing me. It's tender to the touch, and keeps popping when I move it. I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday, so if it still hurts I'll have him look at it.

If it is badly injured, it doesn't bode well for Scooby's future, that's for sure.

Blogathon 2K7: Behind the Scenes

It may not have looked that hard from your end. When I signed up, I really didn't think it would be that hard. Then again, I also really had no idea what to expect at all. "One post every 30 minutes? That leaves plenty of time to do other things!"

Not really.

As soon as I sat down to write my first post I realized that I would have far less time than I thought. It wasn't one post every thirty minutes, really, because it would usually take ten or fifteen minutes to write a post. More, if I had to hunt down info to post. This meant that I had roughly fifteen minutes of free time in between each post. So, if I posted, and then found another blog to leave a supportive comment? I suddenly only had five minutes before I had to start my next post.

(After it was all done, I stayed awake for another hour because my body was so used to that 15-minute schedule that it had a good freak-out when I tried to sleep.)

About halfway in, I started to hurt. I hadn't taken any of my painkillers, because I was worried they would make me tired. AT about 2AM I gave in and took one anyway. By then I had been off my Tegretol for over 24 hours, and was starting to have mood swings. When I was done and took my normal doses of meds, I could actually feel my body processing the drugs for the first time in a long time. It was pretty crazy.

(What is also crazy? How sore I am today. I was using my headset for all the posting, some of the editing, and a little commenting. If I was in that much pain by the end, what were my fellow posters feeling? I did what I could to alleviate the problem, but geez! We were doing a LOT of typing!)

Also about halfway in, I realized I didn't have enough topics in mind to write about. Forty-nine posts in one day is a lot of brainpower, and I had done no advance planning. Enter the rat macros. Luckily, after a few cop-out posts I managed to pull it all together and start posting real content again. (Except for this, but oh god it amused me so much.)

The thing that really kept me going was the other bloggers. I picked out four other blogs that I followed and commented on for most of the day, and when I had some down time I would drop in on another one and cheer them on. By the end of the day, we were getting pretty close. (It's kind of hard not to when you're all going through something that intense. It's like your first week at Uni, or band camp. Or boot camp. Stopping list now.) I spent the last few hours of the night IMing with a guy from the UK, which really helped me stay focused. Of the four people I followed, I friended two over on LJ.

I also sponsored people who a) didn't have a sponsor, or b) didn't have much money raised. I found out early in the day when I got my first pledge from a stranger that it can make or break a blogger during the 'thon. Comments are nice, because you know people are reading, but getting a pledge from a stranger makes you feel all warm and squishy because you realize that someone cares for your cause. Next year I am planning ahead and making sure I have enough money to do more than two sponsorships. (Blasted rats.) I really wanted to sponsor my AIM buddy, but $5 USD is pretty much useless once converted, and I wouldn't have been able to afford a payment that would actually have an impact on his end. (Blasted America.)

My two biggest regrets? One, that no one made me a Read poster, and two, that my e-coffee and e-tea support idea didn't catch on. I thought it was adorable. =(

The thing that I love the most about that blog is how different it is from this one, or any other blog I have done. It has a cohesive beginning and end, and reads almost like a story-- looking through it after the fact has been as fascinating for me as I hope it is for you. I've found roughly 30 errors caused through dictation, and where they occur often coincide with a time when I was particularly tired or feeling particularly terrible. You can see exactly when my brain snaps, and also when I was having a "WHAT WAS I THINKING OH GOD" moment. It's amazing! One perfect slice of day.

All in all, I had a blast. I'm going to start planning my next blog in June of next year so I can get my name out, get plenty of sponsors, and get a good solid theme going. It's a long ways off, but if any of you would be interested in blogging along, we could form a coalition and keep each other alive.

=D

I am now going to go two days without blogging. If you get bored, go read my 'thon blog or something.

I am probably insane.

I've decided to participate in this year's Blogathon to raise money for First Book. I'll be posting every 30 minutes for 24 hours starting at 6AM on Saturday. Please head over, comment, provide moral support, keep me awake, et cetera! I'll be on AIM, and donations of soda or pizza are much appreciated by all you locals. Unc has agreed to sponsor me for ten dollars per post, so I have to keep it going for the entire 24 hours!

THIS IS THE LINK TO THE BLOG. If you don't understand the title now, you will at 6AM tomorrow.

::EDIT 6/29:: I am done. If you haven't, I suggest heading over and checking it out. As a day of blogging goes, that was pretty epic. A lot of the other blogs are awesome, too, so follow links and poke around!

A rattie update

Tweaker and The Brick have been giving me some problems recently. I would take them out for playtime as usual, and everything would be fine. But as soon as they would go back in their cage they would start fighting. I don't mean dominant squabbling type fighting either. This was the Rattie Boxing Championships, an all-tickets-sold-out show, with bedding flying and food bowls being knocked over kind of fight.

Pretty soon, it dawned on me that they were only fighting after they'd been put back after playtime. To me, this means that they're sick of each other. Which means that their cage is too small. They are brothers after all-- making them share the same room for one third of their rattie little lives would be enough to drive anyone insane. So, I gathered up my extra money and my Maddo and went on a pet store hop to track down a new home for the boys.

It's not as easy finding a rat cage as one might think. For some reason, the pet world has labeled ratties as "exotic" pets, and does a result, few pet stores have a wide range of rat products.most rat owners have to settle among gerbil cages, rabbit hutches, and ferret condos. Cages built specifically for rats are of course available online, but the shipping is expensive, and I didn't want to make the boys wait that long. I settled on a ferret condo, and I bought a three-story one. Since I've decided that I'm probably going to own rats for most of my life, I went ahead and bought a cage that would last. Since then, there have been no fights.

They are a little miffed that their new cage comes with a ceramic bowl that they can't tip over, and they still refuse to use their hammock, but they love every other aspect of their cage. I've been training them to come stand on the upper door when I open it, simply so I don't have to stick my entire arm down into the cage to retrieve them when it's playtime. Tweaker, after two days of training, has a perfectly figured out. The cage door opens, he bounds up from the bottom floor, stands on the door, and receives his yogie. The Brick, true to his name, doesn't quite get it. He runs around frantically on the bottom floor, staring at me sadly through the bars. If I try to lead him up to the open cage door with a yogie, he stands on his back feet on the bottom floor and stretches as much as he can instead of actually moving. Today, however, a little progress was made. Of course, this means pictures!

Here is their brand-new cage. They don't use the pink tube so much anymore, because they prefer to sleep below the first level. The empty space at the top of the cage is usually occupied by the hammock, which I'm currently using is a pattern to make several soft fleece ones. Observe:


Yes, that is Cars fleece, straight from the remnants bin at the fabric store. (The hammock is still not done, as sewing is painful.)


This is The Brick, looking very pensive at the bottom of the cage, while his brother is upstairs getting yogies.


He finally decided to come check it out after his brother had received no fewer than five treats.


The Brick in the back, while his brother comes up for another treat.

Now I just have to deal with their recent decision that my fingernails are snacks. They keep attempting to grab my fingernails and haul them away to nibble on them. It doesn't feel very pleasant. I read on my rat forum that if you "squeak" when they do things that are uncomfortable, they'll realize that they're hurting you and stop. This will probably work with Tweaker, but I have a little less faith in The Brick's powers of comprehension.

The Brick is my favorite of the two. He just. Doesn't. Get it. And that is so endearing...

I finally did it.

I've managed to stay polite for months. I've bitten back every sarcastic comment, met every vacant eye, and jauntily helped them state the obvious. But tonight I snapped. I told someone that I was not, in fact, a security guard--I was in costume, and out for an evening stroll.

And they believed me. ._.

The Oblivion Mods Post, Part 1

Several of you have expressed an interest in the mods I use. Since I'm bored out of my mind, I figure I'll oblige. Pardon the slow posting, but I still can't type for any amount of time at all.

Computer Specific Items I Can't Help With:
Most of the mods I use are just to prettify the environment. If you're looking for more gameplay-oriented mods, I'd check out the Oblivion wiki and head from there. Even if not, I'd head there anyway to look at their section of .ini tweaks. I set my game up to take full advantage of Dual Core Powah using this wiki, which would not have been possible through the game menus themselves. Pay special attention to the grass height mod-- it's an easy way to fix framerate issues in the world without sacrificing too much pretty. Alternately, if you're looking for more pretty, you can tweak the trees. Finally, there's an option to enable screenshots (only if anti-aliasing is off, otherwise use fraps), and an option to disable all the splash screens at the beginning of the game.

What I use:
Please keep in mind one thing. The mods I am currently using are taxing to my computer, which is brand new. I am also using HDR lighting plus anti-aliasing, which I set up in my graphics card's options for Oblivion-- it won't let you do that in-game. Where possible, I am going to link to similar mods that will work for a graphics card with less memory, but please read all the text on the pretty download sites before replacing textures!

Before you begin:
Download the Oblivion Mod Manager. You'll need this to play around with getting your mods in the right order to create a stable game. It also auto-fixes your archiveinvalidation file. It's a little intimidating to use, at first, but the Oblivion Wiki is very helpful with telling you about the right settings and such. Two hints with mod arrangement: larger, more comprehensive mods (such as a game leveling tweak) should load near the top of the list. If you have several mods that alter the same effect, the one that loads last will be used by the game.

Environmental Mods:

This is where the bulk of my mods and texture changes lie. First, we have the ones that change all the pretty details.
1) Qarl's Texture Pack III- replaces textures for walls, grass, rocks, and just about everything else with huge new ones that take advantage of parallaxing. This file is about 3gigs in size, and is not recommended for graphics cards with under 500 megabytes of memory. Luckily, there is also a reduced version if you want most of the pretty but can't run the full-size.
2) Improved Doors, Plants, and Food- Pay attention to the install order! Doors and Flora first, then Trees and Flora, then Trees and Flora 2. He also made a food mod that I use, and I've been thinking about nabbing his better sign mod, as well.
3) Better Grass Without Tiling- Gets rid of the nasty tiling seen in distant grass.

Next we have the mods that alter the distances and make them look a lot clearer.
1) Noise Reducer- Gets rid of the weird pixely thing Bethesda decided to use for distances in patch 1.2. It makes it a lot sharper.
2) Landscape LOD 1- Increases the texture file sizes for the distant landscapes of inner Tamriel.
3) Landscape LOD 2- Does the same for the border regions. I use both, but if you've installed Qarl's and are having framerate issues, you may not want to install these at all. I'd choose two among Qarl's, Improved Trees and Flora, and these if you're having problems, otherwise you may experience horrible hanging in forested areas. (I feel the hit, but it's tolerable. A little jerk as the forest loads, and that's about it.)

Then we have the ones that just focus on making everything else as pretty as possible.
1) Natural Environments- Comes with a lot more than you want to use. The weather system is buggy, the habitat system is bulky, and most people find the water fix to be far too clear. Just use the Natural Vegetation part. That's the award winner.
2) Phinix's Waterfix- Not as clear as the one in Natural Environments, but not as muddy as the one in the "vanilla" game. I happen to like it quite a bit. The clarity diminishes the further down you go.
3) Rainbows in Tamriel - There is absolutely no purpose to this mod except to go "SQUEE!" and take screenshots.
4) Darker Nights- Don't leave home without a torch or night-eye spell, or you will quickly get lost and run into a tree. Pay attention to the .ini tweak. I love it for the realism, and for how it combines with the city mods I've listed below. While you're at it, nab Darker Dungeons, grab a torch and get to killing.

Finally, we have what makes the cities better.
1) Cities Alive at Night- Gives cities a glow from the outside, so it looks like there are actually people behind those walls. Pay attention to the .ini tweak.
2) Illumination Within package- For this you need both Illumination Within and Illumination Within Optimized. Install them in that exact order, and use the .esp(s) of your choice from optimized or you'll see a performance hit. It's worth it for the pretty pretty lights in the windows. After you install this, seek out a cathedral and wait until night.

Up next-- Sound, Characters, and a couple extra mods I picked up to ice the cake.

Finally.

So I went to yet another doctor's appointment this morning with my regular doctor. I went in for a referral, but he actually listened to me and told me one wasn't necessary because it was so clear what I have. (Screw you, neurologist.)

He has diagnosed me with fibromyalgia. He's started me on a low-dose antidepressant to combat the nerve pain (seizure meds for my depression, depression meds for my pain...), and I am supposed to see him again in two weeks.

It's a chronic condition, yes, but at least I know what the hell is wrong.

The Second Oblivion Screenshots Post (EXTENDED)

Here's a shot of my actual character, plus a shot of Chorrol post-window-illumination mod. And, rainbows!

Caleigh

No, that is not her armor. I just feel weird running around and talking to people in ninja gear.


For those of you who keep asking why I'm not doing any of the Assassin's Guild quests, here is your answer. LOOK AT THAT FACE. She'll raid your basement and reunite you with your husband, but she's not a killer. (It makes me too damn guilty. Perhaps I'll try it with Ishtar.)

Cities at Night

See how the building on the left is lit up, but the one on the right is not? That's because there is no-one IN the building on the right! How cool is that! Let me tell you, this one tiny change has made the cities much more realistic.

Rainbows

The Oblivion Screenshots Post

Don't hate me because it's beautiful. (Don't hate the player, hate the game oh god it's 4AM why am I typing.)

Last night I made a test character to check all the mods I installed (wouldn't want my actual character's save game to be corrupted by a bad mod!). She left the sewers, stole a fast horse, and took off on a three-day joyride. So sit back and enjoy your tour, courtesy of Ishtar the Nominally Evil Dark Elf Assassin!

Click for large on the pictures. And, probably, step away from this page and make a sandwich, or something. These image files are enormous. And, just so we're clear on this, they are NOT resized, recolored, or altered in any way. Direct screencaps, folks.

Trees and Interface

I've done a lot of interface tweaking so that if I don't need to look at it, I don't see it. The result is very unobtrusive and makes sneaking and fighting a lot easier.

Meet your lovely tour guide

Is it just me, or does that horse seem distinctly unhappy?

Sunlit canopy

My goal was to make the game so pretty all I would want to do is gallop around on a stolen horse and stare. Well, it worked. o.o

Old Bridge

Please to be looking at the stone detail.

Sunset




Nighttime

Nights and dungeons are now dark, dark, dark! Have to have a torch or light spell to see very far, but makes dungeon crawling and sneaking so much fun. Also makes the stars really pop.

Weather

Now with rain that gets you wet! You can't tell from the screenshot, but little rivulets of water are trickling down her robe-- it's not just the damp sheen. After the storm there's also a chance of rainbows, but this rain stopped too early for that effect to happen. I'm sure I'll nab a screenie of it eventually.

NPCs

My NPCs are all so pretty now. None of the weird mottled faces or any of that rot.


And that's it so far. More screenshot posts of cities to come while I test out some more mods I've installed. Just a couple more to go!

Quotes from Work

7:00 AM
Bossman Prime: "Who told the Dish Fairy to take a shit in our sink?!"

7:55 AM
Me: "Scooby*, get up. I have to send myself an e-mail I was working on."
*Scooby obliges*
Bosslady: "What's that about e-mail?"
Me: "I'm e-mailing myself home so I don't have to walk."
Bosslady: "I thought Bossman Prime was taking you?"
Me: "I, uh... I am e-mailing myself to him first to remind him."
Bosslady: "Oh, so you and he are E-MAILING now, huh? What else are you doing together? Are you two-"
Me: "No! NO! That is beyond creepy!"
*Bossman Prime is in his cubicle, desperately trying not to catch anyone's attention/get sued for harassment/age any more than he already has*
Bosslady: "That's going to be the new office catchphrase by this time next week."
Clock: *shift change now pls*
Bosslady: "Bossman Prime, Wren is ready for you."
Me: ._.
Bossman Prime: *can no longer resist the call of his inner smartass* "So, want to ride home?"
Me: O.O

I died a little.

*I've dubbed my idiotic patrol partner Scooby.

I should not be given phones

"UPS Security, this is Wren."
"Uh, hi...I was trying to reach a member of my family; who are you?"
I'm sorry for the confusion, but I've recently undergone a rather extensive lifestyle change...
"Sir, you've reached us because all the phones are on forward. It's the weekend."
"So what am I calling?"
"A university."
"There must have been some sort of technological error, because I dialed a family member. Have a good day."

Yes, the technological error of you pushing the wrong fucking numbers into your phone.

Here she is!

Sorry this post took so long; I got a little sidetracked by Oblivion.

Here is a shot of Estella's guts, for those of you who don't really grasp how large this case is. o.o
The hair in the picture belongs to Matt J. I have promised him dinner out because of all his help on this.




And there is Estella assembled, sprawled across my enormous desk. Note the height of the case. It really does double as a barstool.

And here is how I skinned it: (Made slightly less enormous than my desktop for sanity's sake)



I'm planning an Oblivion screenshots post so you all can see what this computer does to graphics.

"I'm like Estella-- I like to reel it in and then spit it out. I'm frustrated by your apathy!"

Though I don't think apathy will ever be the problem in her case.

Yes, boys and girls, it's official. My desktop is complete. And, now that it's too late for you people to whine about what I'm not buying, I can tell you what I got, from guts to garnish. (Seriously. Who NEEDS a quad core? XD)

Speakers: Klipsch Promedia 2.1 (only my speakers have a cloth cover. God, those look ugly. I know why they did it, but jeez.)
Keyboard: Eclipse II Illuminated Keyboard. I bought it for the purple, but have been using the blue because it matches my mouse.
Mouse: Razer Copperhead You must click simply so you can giggle at the site. XD
Monitor: Dell 2007WFP (One of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.)

Case: CoolerMaster Stacker It's a full-size tower that moonlights as a barstool. It was also the only thing I could find that didn't have eight billion LEDs or edgy skulls and claw marks or wavy edges or fuck-else. It has about three thousand fans and a filter on the side vent, which is just fine to me.
Motherboard: ASUS M2N32-SLI Gotten for a ridiculously good deal. Also, it has built-in wireless. (>>)
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 I wanted a processor that was high-end middle in performance and cost, and this one pretty much fit the bill. (And if any of you say one word about Intel I am using Estella to SET YOU ON FIRE.)
Graphics Card: nVidia GeForce 8800 Pretty much guaranteed to run every game I want to play at max settings.
Hard Drive: 400gig (Seagate) More than I will ever use. D=
Memory: 2 gigs (Corsair) I will probably use this. XP*

Pictures and screenshots to come tonight after the building party. *squee*

I hate Mondays

Thanks to all of you who called/texted/commented good luck for me today. It was much appreciated.

Not that it did much good. The neurologist concluded after one month of testing that I have carpal tunnel. Carpal tunnel. I'm sorry, but after a month of treatment, carpal tunnel should be getting better. And after a month of testing, I should have been given a diagnosis that actually reflects all my symptoms.

At one point he ran my hand along my inner arm and asked if it hurt.
"Yes, it does, but that's not anything new."
"Hypersensitivity in that area is consistent with carpal tunnel."
"No, see, if you did that anywhere on me it would hurt."
"But in the inner arm it's a sign of carpal tunnel."
"..."

So what about when it's everywhere, asshole?

He is also refusing to work with my physical therapists. They've asked him twice for my test results so they can treat me, and he has ignored their faxes both times. When I asked him about it, he said "they're...a little more involved than they should be."

Or, maybe you're an ABSOLUTE FUCKING IDIOT.

I miss Manstork.

My new patrol partner is...lacking. Worst of all, he is lazy. Our last set of shifts, he spent ten of twelve hours in the office. Any time I was at the office, he tried to put me in as dispatcher so he could spent more time in a desk chair.

This set of shifts I told Dispatcher to send any admits his way, and gave the above as my reason. My boss overheard, and later gave Patrolman a lecture about not patrolling. Patrolman comes in later and asks if I got a stern talking-to, as well. I answer truthfully and tell him no.

Does he realize this is probably an issue and spend the rest of the shift doing his job well? No. Does he go to the back and spend the rest of his shift reading a book? Yes. ._.

Today I walk into the office, go to the back, get all my stuff put away and get geared up. Come back to the front fifteen minutes later, and he has not started any paperwork. I tell him he should have been doing that instead of reading a book, grab the inventory, and start working. Fifteen minutes later, I am done with inventory. And he has not even started the building check sheet!

When I express my exasperation, he asks me if I had wanted him to do it. I reply that yes, I did, unless I missed the memo about it being Read-A-Book-While-Wren-Does-All-The-Paperwork Day. Then I spend the next fifteen minutes correcting his paperwork for errors.

When I sign up for building locks, I notice that he has taken all the times we will have a dispatcher for, and left all the buildings that will need looking after while I am supposed to be dispatching. Which means I'd have to leave and have him dispatch more while I went and did them. I guarantee the sneaky little bastard did it on purpose.

So I'm unlocking all those buildings early. -.-

I have come to a conclusion-- I am going to make his work life a living hell until he either quits or shapes the fuck up. It may be more work for me, but that is more tolerable than having to deal with his idiotic bullshit for forty hours a week this entire summer.

In which Wren describes bruises and boxer-clad Mormons

The odd work events I mention in passing can be found here.

Ugh.

I go in on Monday to speak to the neurologist again and see if they know what is wrong with me yet. This is the first time I can remember that I haven't wanted to go to the doctor's alone. Then again, this is the first time I've been so scared.

When I was hospitalized in high school, I wasn't scared. Yes, half my face had swollen ridiculously and I couldn't open my mouth wide enough to take a bite out of a sandwich, but I wasn't scared because everything still worked. Everything doesn't still work now. I can't keep a grip on things, I twitch uncontrollably (which has made sleeping a real joy, let me tell you), my arms are constantly going numb, and almost every time someone touches me I find a new nerve center that is in pain. I can't lift things or twist lids open. And, despite three months of physical therapy, things aren't improving. In fact, I feel myself getting worse.

By now my physical therapist is almost positive there's something wrong with my spine, which makes the entire deal even more terrifying. Minor things don't happen to spines. You can't get carpal tunnel of the fucking spine (absence of carpal areas notwithstanding).

I've been worried for a while. It was tolerable until a few days ago, when the twitching got so bad it started keeping me up at night. While I was helping Maddo and Trevor move into their new apartment, there were times it was so bad that I couldn't hold things. Now every time I twitch I end up thinking about all the horrible possible causes, and that just compounds with my frustration and I end up bursting into tears.

I hope on Monday he gives me some sort of news that makes me look back on this entry and feel foolish. That would make me really happy. Hell, a this point the phrase "pinched nerve" would come as a relief.

more rat stories

I let the boys out for playtime again today, and quickly regretted it. Last time they were out, Tweaker discovered my clean laundry basket and instantly fell in love. While I was rat proofing my room, I assumed that the laundry wouldn't be a problem because the basket was six times the length of the rat

I was wrong.

Today, they turned it into the game. The Brick saw Tweaker climb the basket once and instantly decided that was a good idea. One of them would distract me, and the other would run across the room at breakneck speed and leap into the laundry. There was no climbing up the mesh sides this time, just all out leaping. I would walk over, take them out of my laundry, and deposit them on the floor. Lather, rinse, repeat. Each time I would dig them out, it would take them less time to get back in again again. I don't know what was so appealing about it. Maybe it smelled like mommy, or maybe they just loved how squishy everything was. Or, maybe they were doing it just so I would dig them out. I don't know.

Regardless, they now have a ladder made out of my laundry basket hanging in their cage. When the hammock is done, I am hoping they will use it to get in and out.

I can has grape now pls?

Tweaker and the Brick went on their first full on playtime excursion today. For those of you who don't know much about them, let me in brief impress upon you what a momumentous occurance this was. when I got them, they had never been outside of the cage, and had never been handled outside of experimentation in class. They had several very bad quirks, such as absolutely refusing to leave the cage voluntarily, obsessing over water, and refusing to eat treats. Because of this, it was impossible to ever interact with them.

I've been trying though. Recently, I've gotten them to enter and leave the cage voluntarily, and since they've learned what treats are positive reinforcement has gotten a lot easier.I decided it was probably time for them to have an official rats play time, so spent about 45 minutes rat proofing my room. This involves removing bad things that they would like to chew on, such as electrical wires or some of my more precious books. I also sealed off of the places under my desk that lead to the back of my computer.

Here are the results of playtime. The toilet paper tube contains red grapes, which they had just been introduced to earlier that day.


"Yo, bro, check out over here!"


"I wuv oo!"


Unfortunately, I didn't think about the trash can when I rat-proofed the room.


And then they found the grapes. Note how the tube moves across the bed-- they kept trying to steal it from each other.


Note where the grape is... (This is The Brick.)


I love his little ratty arms. (Still The Brick.)


"Victolly!"


Here is Tweaker with a sympathy grape.

I am so mean.

Me: *walks into office, sniffs*
Me: "You went for a smoke."
91: "Yes, I did."
Me: "You smell like my grandpa."
91: "Does he smoke cigars?"
Me: "No."
Me: "That should worry you."

*pause*

Dispatcher: *Bursts into hysterical laughter*

Ah, priorities

Today I was so thrilled about having freshly aired bike tires to cruise to work on that I forgot to put on a bra.

Sometimes the human race astounds me

It's very warm and sunny outside today. Because of this, as I am leaving from locking up the Science Center, the light has ample opportunity to strike my blue and orange hair and give my head a radioactive aura. I highly doubt, however, that it was bright enough to actually prevent you, sir, from seeing the uniform. Or the belt. Or the radio.

Seriously. So why did you ask "Do you work for Security?"

1) No.

2) No, I'm actually a professional dominatrix, and the professor I work for has just gone home for the day.

3) No, today is National Look Like a Security-Person Day! Want a cool plastic radio?

4) I did until right this moment.

5) Hold on, let me radio base and ask my boss.

6) Well, thank you for causing me an existential crisis. Allow me to go ponder the meaning of my life beneath that shady tree.

7) I may look like I work with the man, but I'm really a member of a secret rebel alliance whose sole purpose is to bring insecurity and havoc to this very parking lot.

8) *bursts into tears*

9) No, I just like wearing heavy black cotton pants in June.

10) Nope. Not enough penis.

*sighs*

And you, Mr. Construction Worker. Sleazing past me with a push-dolly, grinning, and saying "Hurr, I stole this" was not funny. Me grinning back, bouncing, and saying "OMIGOD, CONGRATULATIONS!!" sure was, tho.

Jackass.

This was long overdue.

I have been holding off making a Sims post here because I know so few of you play. However, I believe the recent hijinks are weird enough to keep you all entertained-- and quite possibly wondering why I play the game at all.

I don't know how many of you remember my attempts to make a WrenSim last summer. I did end up making one, and put her into play. I haven't played her much, however, because in all honesty I find it slightly creepy to watch myself live. Go figure. But, I do see her around a lot, as she is friends with many of my Sims, and also has taken an unusual liking to a local park. Par for the course, right? Well, I certainly hope not!

Because I never play her, I have no idea why this happened, but I can say with absolute certainty that the WrenSim has gone insane. As in, collapsed on the floor of a store, giggling madly and rocking back and forth insane. As in, little men in white coats coming to take her away insane. That's right. I watched myself go crazy. (Needless to say, I will be remaking the WrenSim.)

Then again, there may be something in the water of this neighborhood. For example, I give to you the hijinks that ensued between the Hikari and the Thane families. The Hikari family had a couple of children that I wanted to become teenagers, so I left the game running while I was packing the house up. I leave them alone for about 30 minutes, and come back to find that the Hikari wife has started an affair with the Thane husband. Alright, fine. Until I realize that they're having sex in a car outside of a bowling alley. Not so fine.

It gets better. The Hikari wife becomes pregnant with the Thane husband's child. I happen to like the Hikari husband, so I don't want her random adultery to come to light. Unfortunately, the Hikari family is quite Japanese, while the Thane family is quite Anglo-Saxon. It's not going to be that easy to hide a half-Japanese child.

Luckily, the Hikari husband is an idiot. The dark-haired, pale-skinned, green-eyed, freckled child is born, and he loves him. Never catches on. Everyone else knows, but oh no. "Daddy" is oblivious. Meanwhile, mommy keeps having nightmares about getting caught.

Now that I think about it, it may just be the Thane family that's insane. Most of the hijinks I have to pass on deal with them in one way or another. Take their eldest legitimate daughter for example. She refuses to do her homework, does horribly in school, and becomes a quite maladjusted adult. (There was nothing I could do about it, I swear!) I decided she should marry the town founder, who is both old and rich. After all, she seems slated for the role of trophy wife. Unfortunately, she decides to leave him at the altar, which sends him into the fiery depths of fury. He keeps asking me to see her ghost, so I finally oblige and have her starve to death in the second story of their house (we are not discussing that). The day after she dies, he marries his maid.

...

There is nothing I can say to add to that story. It is both funny enough and horrible enough on its own. Buh.

Flash forward to tonight. The Thane wife gets caught cheating on the Thane husband in their own bedroom. He kicks her on the street, and she promptly moves in with another man whom she works with (my doing). The Hikari wife decides to take this chance to take her half-Japanese son and move in with the Thane husband (also my doing).

Oddly enough, I think everyone is happy now. Except the youngest legitimate Thane daughter, who has no nose. I'm not kidding. And I'm definitely not letting her breed with any other Sims. She clearly has some sort of flesh-eating disease that she will pass on to the next generation if I'm not careful.

more Wren Prevention

I finally managed to cut down on my soda intake. When I moved into this apartment, I had an epiphany -- if there is no soda in the house, there is none for me to drink. Shocking, I know, but it has been very effective. I've gone as many as four days without having soda this way. In fact, I've given myself two withdrawal migraines.

I've also figured out how to keep myself from obsessively eating bagels when I buy them. You see, bagels freeze rather well, so I buy eight of them, freeze four of them, and am forced to wait for the others to thaw out before I can use them. So far, it has worked rather well.

The same thing goes for cookie dough. If I have it in the house, I will live off of it. But, if it is frozen into 4 1-serving portions, I will eat it slowly.

I'm getting rather good at this.

Dear Lawnmowers:

DO NOT WANT.

No love,
some of us work nights!

post flood!

Today I made the mistake of doing laundry while on the phone with Matt J. It would not have been a mistake had Comic House Matt not also been there. I was having a perfectly normal conversation about how Matt J. needed a haircut because he looked like he had a dead ferret on his scalp when I reached into the washer to grab some wet clothing. Without paying much attention, I took a pile of laundry the six steps to the dryer and started loading it. All of a sudden, I hear Matt L. began to giggle hysterically from his bedroom. I look to my right.

There is a long string of elastic stretching from the washing machine to my hands, and hanging from it in the middle like a confused bungee jumper is a bright pink set of briefs. I also start giggling hysterically.

Wren: "Oh, wow, I think the washing machine just ate a pair of my panties! There is elastic all over the place, and my panties are hanging in the air."
Phone: "..."
Matt L: *laughs hysterically*
Wren: *starts pulling on the elastic coming from the washer*
Elastic: *keeps coming from washer*
phone: "..."
Wren: *starts walking toward Matt L.'s door, bringing long string of elastic with*
Elastic: *stretches from washer to door, all the way down the hall.*
Wren: "And people wonder why I found underwear in my computer fans."
Matt L: *still laughs hysterically*

Cue two minutes of me pulling at elastic in a vain attempt to get all of this under control. Throughout this entire debacle, Matt J has been utterly silent on the phone. The two of us in the apartment, however, cannot stop laughing.

I finally get all of the elastic out of the washer, give the panties up as a lost cause, toss them in the trash, and attempt to salvage my conversation with Matt J.

Wren: "I'm okay, I'm okay."
Phone: "I really don't think you're okay."
Wren:*bursts into hysterical laughter and collapses on the washing machine*
Phone: "See?"

One hour later.

Matt L: "oh, there's a pair of panties in the trash."
Matt L: *pause*
Matt L: *throws garlic on top of them and walks away*

I thought about the oddest things while getting my MRI

For some reason, being stuck in a narrow plastic tube while the aural equivalent of a bunch of troglodytes with clubs and rocks bashed about my ears and spine made me think of Hawaii. Because of this, today I accidentally pinpointed the exact day I discovered I was a nicer person that my mother. (Before the snide remarks start, remember that the operative words here are than my mother.)

We were driving to our house, and my mother spotted one of our neighbors mowing the lawn. In gym shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, a medical facemask, and enormous dirt biker goggles. My mother starts laughing hysterically, grins at me and says "someone needs to tell that man about fashion sense." I pause, look at him, and say "mom, I think he just has allergies." She goes quiet, looks at him, and then stares at me. "... that never would've crossed my mind."

She was definitely right about that one.

This is shaping up to be the best summer I've had in a long time.

Periodically over the years we have lived together, the members of Comic House have come up with shirts we felt we simply must create. My all-time favorite was the "Mr. Peen and the Vay-Jay-Jays" band shirt (which I still have every intention of designing), but at Matt's birthday dinner we came up with one that ... well, it may be the best thing ever.

THE HOMOSEXUAL AGENDA: Keeping children Play-doh free since 1983!

Yes, I will explain. We discovered at a table of two gay men, a bisexual male and female, and two straight females that there was a direct correlation between the amount of Play-doh eaten as a child and the consumer's resultant sexuality. People with no exposure to Play-doh, or those who never ate it, were gay. Those who ate it once or twice were bi. And those who thought it was a bedtime snack were straight.

Intrigued, we all asked our circles of friends how much Play-doh they had eaten as children, and the vast majority of the answers have followed this trend.

I, for one, find this to be amazingly awesome.

Ironically, you were exactly right.

"Want to come over?"
"Yes, but I'm grumpy. I'll just say something to piss you off and then we'll both be unhappy."

You're grumpy? I've had electricity shot through half my muscles, needles stabbed into me while I flexed, metal rasps run over the bottoms of my feet. I have been poked, prodded, stretched, and intentionally caused pain for the sake of diagnosis. I have spent most of the day scared and stressed out. And you don't want to come over and keep me company while I pass out because you are grumpy?


How nice.

Well, at least I'll know.

I have an appointment with a neurologist tomorrow at 1 to discuss my arm issues and possibly get an EMG. For those of you who don't know what that test implies, look it up. And then send me spirit vibes.

At least we're getting closer to figuring out what the hell is wrong with me.

I am going to feel squicky for the rest of the night

Q. What's worse than finding a spider the size of a quarter on the wall by your bed when you get home from work?
A: Finding the remains of the moth it had just consumed all over your sheets.

The apartment is lovely

And I am almost completely done unpacking.

Come visit us!

People keep calling me "diplomatic"

Really, I've just come to terms with the futility of getting angry at my family. If anything, it makes them even less willing to fix their fuck-ups than does my current stance of annoyed apathy.

Unc is the one who told me I couldn't stay at our summer houses while I was waiting to move in to the apartment. Ironically, Unc is also the one who never deposited any money for the hotel into my bank account. This means that last Tuesday my account overdrafted for almost 300 dollars. Granted, this is what I get for trusting him and not checking my bank account more carefully the day they were supposed to have given me my money. Then again, I didn't realize that he could be so incompetent as to be unable to perform the three mouse clicks necessary to transfer funds from his account to mine. I mean, I knew he was lazy, but that lazy?

Last Tuesday was a lovely blur of stress and rage. It took me four hours to get ahold of him. In fact, I wasn't the one who got ahold of him at all, which suggests he was avoiding me. Fam called him and told him about the overdraft, which caused him to realize that he'd never deposited the money. Her response to this was "you call her yourself and tell her what happened." So he did. I told him that I had with the overdraft on my credit card, but I still had a -$40 bank account summary. He apologized and told me he was going to put the money in. I breathed a sigh of relief, took a nice long bath, and went to bed happy.

Wednesday: no money in my account! Overdraft fees are starting to accrue, and I'm beginning to wonder whether or not I will be able to feed myself. I call him twice, and get no answer.

Thursday: no money in my account! I call Fam and ask her what's going on, and she says that he told her he had deposited the money. I tell her that the opposite appears to be true, and that I now have over $100 in overdraft fees.

Friday: Unc finally answers. He's on his fucking yacht at the lake, and admits to me that he has not deposited the money. Why? "I was having computer problems."

...

Several responses ran through my head at this point. First, "Odd, I was having problems buying food!" I also wanted to ask whether or not his two days had been so astoundingly busy that he hadn't been able to trot his ass into a bank or a fucking library to deposit the money. I understand that yachting is incredibly necessary in his line of work (after all, nothing quite screams "Professional Assclown" like a yachting hat), but would the world have ended had he stepped off the deck for two seconds? And, a courtesy call telling me " Hey, I am too lazy to deposit your money, I hope you have food!" would have been nice. But, I say none of these things. A bit wearily, I ask him when he thinks he will be able to deposit the money.

"Tonight." All right. I go to bed again, albeit a bit mistrustfully.

Saturday: no money. Unc is not answering his cell phone. Again.

Sunday: see above. I now have $155 in overdraft charges, and have been buying groceries with my credit card. The fact that I actually can still provide food for myself is comforting, but one should never have to put groceries on a credit card.

Monday: Unc answers his phone. "I deposited almost $1000 into your account." "Well, it's not there. Maybe because it was a weekend, but I have a feeling that's not it. I'll call you tomorrow and let you know."

And here we are, one week later! I call him this morning to inform him that I now have $200 in overdraft charges, and he takes it upon himself to get onto the bank website as we are speaking."what does your bank account end in?" I tell him. There is a pause. "That's the problem! I put the money in my savings account!"

What.

At least I have money again. He gave me twice what I asked for out of guilt, so I can't really complain. I just wish he didn't think every problem can be fixed by throwing money at it. The fact that he couldn't fucking remember to make sure that I had a roof over my head is a little upsetting.

Christ on a Cracker

I really don't fucking understand people sometimes. When I am angry, I tell people not to talk to me until I calm down. It's kind of for their own good. Because when I get angry, I am very adept at tearing people apart. And when I am angry, I have very few scruples about doing just that.

And yet you keep on prodding at me. Now we have decided on the Facebook approach. Yes, I am aware you sent me an e-mail last week. I don't need your three-paragraph justification on why you did it. I don't care what mindset you were in, or what effect the sending had on your fucking chi. What I need from you right now is a prolonged absence from my life. I've told you this. I keep telling you this. But, shockingly enough, you keep doing the selective understanding thing:

"Why did you unfriend me on Facebook? I said I was sorry."
"...What part of 'I'll call you' did you not understand?"
"I just want to know why you unfriended me on Facebook."
"Because being bombarded by your emo bullshit annoys me. Leave me
the fuck alone."
"Well, it sent a rather confusing message."
"Was it 'leave me the fuck alone', by chance?"
"Why, yes, it was. Sorry for pestering you so much, by the way. I don't
want to bother you while you need your space."
"...Leave me the fuck alone!"

I'm not sure why you think being remorseful should automatically make everything better. You royally fucked up. You said something epically stupid, pissed me off, and now you need to be a man and deal with the consequences. Life doesn't get better just because you have decent hindsight. That's the great thing about words--they tend to stick around. And you get to live with the consequences of what you say. Don't try to play it off like it wasn't that big of a deal in the hopes that I will suck it up and move on. I won't. So stop talking to me, stop downplaying this, and stop trying to guilt me. I have no patience for high-school drama. If you want to whine, there are more appropriate forums.

In the future? Brain, then mouth.

A quote that took me over a week to remember.

Maddo: "Ah, Shrek II; the best Cameron Diaz has ever looked."

(Yes, that is the one where Fiona spends most of the movie as an Ogre.)

I hate being transported to the sets of B-movies.

Today I had to enter a house to turn off a lot of lights Facilities left on. One of the lights turned out to be in the basement, and I ended up having a horrible time finding the switch.Of course, the sheer creepiness factor of the basement didn't help my search. What passes for the ceiling is actually a network of thin aluminum sheets that have been nailed haphazardly to create a pocked, saggy, and highly reflective surface that only partially covers the pipes and wiring. The floor is cracked, exposed concrete, covered with years of dust and paint splatters. The walls are completely missing in parts, but what still stands is a brilliant avocado green with generous helpings of spackle. Even better? The damn thing is enormous!

I'm stumbling around, still attempting to find a light switch, when all of a sudden I come across a mirror. A mirror, suspended from the ceiling by wires, in the dead middle of a room, at chest level. Nothing else is in the room except trash piled in a corner. Instantly, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I found the damn light switch and left the house as quickly as I could.

That mirror is one of the most terrifying things I have ever seen.

Something tells me I need to start thinking these things through

A few weeks ago I changed my voicemail on a whim. I had been getting messages for months telling me "wow, that was really depressing, blah blah blah blah...", and I got rather sick of it.

Shocking, I know.

So, while waiting for Daryl to leave a drug store with his Life Medicine, I called my voicemail and changed it to something a little more peppy. Alright, it's a lot more peppy:

"People keep on telling me that my last voicemail was too sad, so...HII, this is
WREN! LEAVE A MESSAGE, OKAAAY?"

Which is probably why it terrified everyone else in the car. (What, am I not peppy, you bastards? D=)

Since then I've been getting the oddest voicemails. Like the secretary who was laughing so hard it took her two minutes to tell me I had an appointment tomorrow. Or, like the dude today:

"Hey, I just dialed a wrong number, but I wanted to let you know that is the most awesome thing I have heard in a long time. So, have a good day and take care!"

I need to add a label called "relief."

I didn't fail Genetics.