A Fabled Review

My brother recently bought the the Fable video games for XBOX.  We owned the original Fable when it first came out, but after an unfortunate incident we lost both the game and his old system so we had to repurchase it.  Because I have had a crazy amount of free time on my hands lately, I have been playing through the games and I completed the third one last night.  After I completed it, I decided to check to see if there would be any more of them being released and I found that they were thinking about it but weren't sure if people were interested.  So, here is my take on that idea:

Fable and Fable: The Lost Chapters:

These are actually the same game, one is just an expanded version so I am going to review them both at the same time.  I first played this game back in 2004 when it was released.  I bought it immediately after it was released because I knew the company's old game Black and White, which as an awesome game however, full of bugs.  I loved the original Fable when I first played it and I still do.  I like the Medieval, Fantasy story line and the way you chose to be good or evil.  Most of my issues with the game were fixed in the second, but I still wish that the game had taken longer.  As a little extra note in this, I found it much easier to be evil in this version of the game because the quests were not as moral and the character was not as developed through the game.

 Fable II

Finally, I get to get a female character! The Second game in the series began to fill in all the problems I had with the first game, and they gave you a puppy to follow you around.  I love the expanded free play areas and the number of extra side quests.  It took my awhile to adjust to the way you cast magic in this game but after I adjusted I actually preferred it to the original game.  The storyline is a continuation of the first game, which is probably my favorite part of the game, and I really liked that I didn't have to do as many silly races to get through the game.  I also liked that you had the option of working to get money rather than just finding it or getting it from quests or stealing it.  Overall, I thought it was a big improvment to the original game.

Fable III

This is the latest game and I think they took some major steps backward in this one.  I liked the storyline and the continuation of the story, but I really hate what they did with other things in the game.  One of the biggest things I can't stand is how they changed up buying things from stores.  I don't mind haggling, but I really wish it went back to a list system.  Also, I like the idea of the "Sanctuary," but I Can't find half the items I own and I miss the old list of my stuff.  The way to cast magic was also completely backwards.  instead of giving us more spells and more ways to cast them.  we have to choose between one or two spells and they are the same ones we always had... less actually.  I like the way we level up, but there needs to be more side quests in the game, and the main storyline needs to be longer again.  I do need to add here that I was really excited that the main character actually talked back to the others in the game finally.  That was a big plus.

Overall, I love these games.  Not all that surprising, since I am a Fantasy nut.  I will probably play the next game when it comes out, however I won't buy it if they keep the crappy changes they made to it in the last one.  I really do recommend people try out these games though.  They are a lot of fun and even thought they aren't all that hard to play, a good time.  If it comes down to deciding if they should continue the series for another two games... I say go for it.  there are enough of us out there with addictive personalities who, even if we aren't in love with the game any more, will have to know what happens next in the story.  And if they decided not to continue the game, I recommend starting up another game like Gun, and taking it to the next step and let us build our own world in the old west.

Cheers To Five

Well, I have been back on the full workout for three days, and I have been using the Food Diary on my phone and consuming the number of calories recommended by that program and after three days of both I have lost... drum roll... 5 pounds.

I weigh in each morning right when I wake up so that the weights I am recording are the most consistent I can get and I was shocked to see how much I had lost.  I know, your thinking "it's just 5 pounds,"  but to me that is awesome.  I am practicing a new thing where I celebrate the small conquests and don't get down on myself for not getting to my goal in a month.

I am going to switch to weighing in only once a week, I'm thinking Fridays would be the best day, and I am going to keep up the work out and continue to keep my food intake down.  I was struggling with always feeling hungry for the first few days of calorie cutting, so now I drink a bottle of water before every meal, then eat, then finish with another bottle of water.  That way, I can feel full without consuming excess calories.  Plus, I am upping my daily intake water which is also good for me.

As for the type of food I'm eating, I am working on eating more fish and less red meat and having my cooking blog is really helping me to be careful what I am putting in my mouth.  If I am recording it for the world, then I will not settle down for a dinner of Graham Crackers and Milk.  And the food is super tasty.

I'm heading to workout right now and I am doing a little dance of excitement and achievement. Tonight I'm going to Don's, and I finished my new resume and turned it into the jobs that I am really hoping call me.  Overall, today is looking good.

Loving Sore Muscles

Well, The past few days have been tons of fun.  Justin's birthday was a good time, made all the better because Don was there.  Lame, I know, but it really did make it more fun.  Being around him relaxes me and makes me feel happy.  Other then that, I've been cleaning and organizing and getting caught up on the life I let slip behind during this depression I have settled into.  Needless to say, just getting things under control has helped me to feel better.

I finally got around to throwing out the crap Micheal dumped at my house, which in itself is a relief.  I also got a good start on my closet and dresser, also a relief.  Got a ton a groceries to get my new food blog, The Closet Chef, (yes, that was a hint to check it out) started with a decent array of food.  Still working out the kinks in that, I may need to add a recipe page to it if I keep getting told to by everyone, and I also will probably need to put up an upcoming meals list, just so I can keep track of what I'm making.

And my leg finally stopped hurting enough for me to get through my whole two hour workout today so I am feeling great.  I have no excuse to not keep on track, at least until I find a second job, but until then I will be working my ass off.  As for the job stuff, I have sent in a few more applications and I am almost satisfied with my redone resume so hopefully interviews will start soon.  This time I will be super picky and not feel bad about saying no if the job sucks.

Happy Spring to you all, and pray to whatever you believe in that the weather stays nice!

Life Begins Anew

I just heard that it is going to be 45 degrees next Friday, and I then did a little dance and ran upstairs to dig out my seed packets to start planning my garden.  I realize that it is only the beginning of February but a girl can get a head start on things, right?

So far my garden plans include:

• tomatoes (several heirloom variety) 
• acorn squash
• butternut squash
• sunflowers
• sweet peas
• long bush beans
• runner beans
• several types of lettuce
• spinach
• cucumbers
• green, red, and many other peppers

These are just the seeds I already own and include none of the herbs I am going to get planted this year.  I am also hoping to get some money saved up so I can buy some fruit and nut trees for the woods by the school bus.  Yes, I said school bus.  It is something my mother is working on that I plan to fix up a bit more by putting a generator into the space where the engine once was to provide light to the bus and the horse shoe pit next to it.

Before we started work on it.

I am hoping that I can get even more planted this year then last year.  Last year I had to actually dig the whole garden, put in fences, add soil and mulch, and get the compost started.  This year I know what plants will work and where the best place to put them is.  I can plant stuff as soon as the ground defrosts and I wont have to wait till the soil drys so I can dig beds.  I am thinking about going to the garden store tomorrow to pick up seed packets and small planters to get my seeds started.

Also, in the spirit of spring, I have begun to clean out my closets.  I decided that I am getting rid of any winter clothes that I haven't worn this winter.  This way I cut out the clothes I love but don't wear.  After that first purge, I am going to actually lay out my wardrobe and make outfits.  If I have anything that can not be made into an outfit I would actually wear, I am getting rid of it.  I need the closet space.

In some final news, I have started a Food Diary using an App on my phone.  So far I have found it to be really useful because I can pull out my phone wherever I am and quick enter what I ate and then Its all filled in and calculated for me.  It is telling me to consume 1200 calories a day but when it adds in my work out I get to almost double that.

Cheers to Spring, An Organized Wardrobe, And Healthy Weight!

I Chose Life!!

Well, today at work I made up my mind about the job.  To help you understand my decision I'm gong to tell you a little about my work day today.

It started out pretty good.  My bosses boss was there and I finally got to go out "solo" and i was going to get bonuses and I had my goals all planned out....  Then I started to work.  We ended up doing residential and it would not have been so bad if I had been able to drive myself but instead I was dropped off and told to work at least one hundred houses and go over the route 3 times.  Again this was not so bad... if I hadn't been in the ghetto of Milwaukee, alone, without a car, for eight hours, in the dark.  I made fifty bucks but I the big picture it was totally not worth it.

Halfway through my day, the girls who had dropped me off called, they were supposed to be working the road next to me and they told me they had gone to lunch and wanted to know how I was doing.  I had nothing to eat and no where to go to the bathroom for the whole time I was out there and here they were going off for lunch.  When they came to pick me up they told me that they had left part way through the day and had been gone for two hours dropping of an interview person who couldn't handle it.  This means that if something had gone down in this crappy part of town, no one was around to help me.


So, I quit.

I felt completely unsafe and the payout is not worth the hours I put in everyday.  So it is back to job searching for me.  I found some copy writing jobs that 'i am going to apply for tomorrow, and I'm going to fine tune my resume and Cover Letters.

In Other News

I contacted my half brother yesterday, as well as my father's mother.  Both of them replied back to my surprise.  I was especially surprised to hear from my brother.  He had no idea that I ever existed and thankfully he actually has an interest in getting to know me.  I just got off the phone with him after an hour long conversation and I really found it amusing what we had in common.

Apparently I get my standofishness from my dad, as well as my laugh, my nose, and dark sense of humor.  After talking to him for while I can also guess that I get my quirky attitude, talkativeness, and bluntness from him as well.  I really loved hearing about his life and the rest of that part of my families life.

I really hope that my dad is not upset that I approached his mom and his son.  I just had a lot of questions that needed answering and I really wanted the chance to get to at least meet these people who are related to me. 

Overall, an interesting day.

The Votes Are In.... Kinda

Well, I finished my first week of the new job.  And I think that it's going to work out okay, maybe.  I can't seem to make up my mind about the job.

It is completely different then any job I thought I would be doing. I mean, advertising sales, me?  Pretty much the job consists of three parts: Events, B to B, and Residential.  When we go to an event we sit outside of a building, or just inside the door and sell to the people leaving the business.  B to B stands for business to business, which means walking from store to store and selling to the people working there.  Residential is pretty self explanatory, we sell door to door.  This is when I begin to hate the job.  when I really think about the fact that I went to college and got my degrees to become a door to door salesperson, I feel like an ass.

When I am actually out there, trying to get people to buy the advertising, it is kinda fun.  I look at it as a challenge and I love competitions.  I enjoy the work to find the actual sale and what we are selling is actually pretty awesome so at least I am not a door to door knife salesman, but I still feel like what I am doing is completely below my potential.

At least if I work hard and try to reach the goals set for me in this job, I should own my own business in the next year or two.  If I can push through and pretend to care long enough to make a good savings in my bank then I will be able to move on to something I truly love.

But that leads in to another negative of the job.  The ours are crazy.  Right now I am working Monday through Saturday, from 9:30am to 8:30pm.  And I am the first to say that if I do not start making more money soon, this will really not be worth it.  I have no life besides the job and everyone I work with feels that we are each others friends and that is it.  Going bowling with your co-workers every once in awhile is one thing, but weekly fun nights and hanging out on all your days off is another.  I really do not want that close a relationship with the people I work with.

So, I am still looking at other jobs, while maintaining an open mind about this one.  All I want is a job that doesn't make me die inside a little each day, and I am not sure if this job fits that criteria.