I Hate Photobucket… Seriously!

Okay, I know I’m supposed to be taking a break… but I realized today that both Wings of Steel and Knock it Down got hit, hard, by the Photobucket compression hammer!  They had been spared last I checked, but it seems they were beaten into submission.  This means I have to upload and change the URLs for every single post… OMG.  Do you guys realize how many images that is?  A shit ton, that’s how many!  Knock it Down, in its early days, had thirty images in each update… I want to die.

So, I’m going to be working on slowly getting this done… because the compression is bad.  The pictures are barely even recognizable and the thought of anyone having to look at them makes me very ill.  If you need an example, peer below at your own risk!

Knock it Down

OMFG, this looks like its from The Sims... the ORIGINAL!

OMFG, this looks like it's from The Sims... the ORIGINAL!

Wings of Steel

Valerie has freakin' paddle hands!!

I’m sure my Little Bits of Fiction site has been hit in some way, too… but I’ll be getting to that one last.  Oh man.  Any volunteers want to do this for me?  No?  Go figure.  My husband had this nugget of wisdom to offer me…

Look at the bright side…you get to go through all of your pictures again…all 272,000 of them!

He’s just lucky we’re six hours apart or I’d have pimp slapped him to the moon for that one.  ARGH.  Time to end this post before my frustration seeps out and kills the internet.

Going MIA for a Week!

So, I finally got my start date it’s a lot sooner than I had anticipated.  I had planned to visit home before this happened and now it seems I’m forced to schedule it way before I had originally planned… by that I mean leaving this weekend and returning next weekend.  I try not to include too many real life details here, but suffice it to say, I don’t get to see my family often and my visits are always very tumultuous and busy.  So, even though I’m taking my PC (so my husband and I don’t have one hell of a cell phone bill), I doubt I’ll have much time to play games, blog, or even read updates.

I know I’ve been pretty sparse and terrible about updating myself and keeping up with updates in general… but real life can’t be helped.

I may try to update Boreal Springs with stuff I’ve already done while I’m in Pennsylvania, but no promises.  Same goes for my Astrum LegacyAngel of Lies, however, just updated so I am off the hook there.

Now I’m off to start planning all of this.  My head is spinning – I’m a very scheduled person, so you can imagine, this is all happening a bit fast.  I won’t complain too much, though, a job is certainly welcome in this economy!

Thanks for sticking with me, guys.

Angel of Lies Updates, Finally!

Yay, an update.  I managed to sit upright long enough yesterday to get this one done.  It took me longer than usual not because it was “difficult” (the poses are actually pretty basic, if anything) but because, again… I was sick.  It was done yesterday at four, but I went and crashed out on the couch!  By the time husband had looked over it, I had a list of changes to make.  So I did them this morning and now it’s out and (hopefully) ready for your eyes!

yayupdate

I’m not making it a practice to post here every time I update, but when I have something I want to get out there, how can I stop myself?  A lot of you have been waiting for answers and I keep saying “they’re coming”, but I mean it now.  We get to the tip of the iceberg in this one, we begin to unravel the whole mystery behind Evangeline… and we’re also very close to exposing what exactly happened to Beryl Cross.  With her, come the answers about Christian, naturally.

This is also where you can start to see this is anything but lighthearted.  I know that’s not a lot of people’s ‘cup of tea’, especially with TS2 ventures, but I’m really not a lighthearted writer.  I’m not even a lighthearted person – I’m sure that has worlds to do with it.  Anyway, those of you that haven’t already ran for the hills will probably do so after this.  I’m always amazed and grateful when people read something outside of their norm, I know that when I do it, it’s kind of scary, but I’ve mostly been pleasantly surprised by what I’ve found.  I can only hope the same here, but I completely understand when it’s just not happening.

Anyway, the scene with Death and Virgil wasn’t what I anticipated.  We didn’t cover half of what I wanted to and Virgil is still terribly confused.  I can only imagine that some of you are, too!  It’s something that will be slowly understood, I promise.  It’s just a lot to take in.  We’re also getting to the point where all the paths are very close to crossing.  This promises a very interesting experience!

I’m sorry this one took so long.  You can look below and see my explanation there.  For those of you still sticking it out, thank you so much!  I’m at the end of my rope, to be honest with you.  I’m tired.  I want to go back to gameplay and just ignore everything else.  But I love my story, I want to see it finished, and the thought of leaving you guys hanging is just not even an option to me.  Your continual support and the kicks in the butt I get are an endless boon to me, so thank you.  Without you guys, I would have quit before Wings of Steel.  Some probably would have preferred this, eh?  ;)

Forgot to add, but there are no lyrics at the end of this one.  Why?  Because I didn’t actually listen to any music while working through it.  Surprise!  This will likely be the only case of that happening, so for those who enjoy it, no worries… those who don’t, well, you get a brief reprieve!

Soooo… Where Are the Updates??

Okay, I know I said I’d update soon and I meant it.  Unfortunately, my schedule hasn’t allowed it.  I’m weird, I work a bit differently than most.  I know a lot of people can take days, weeks, and even months (!) to put together an update and while I don’t necessarily have that particular problem, I have another – I have to do it all in one go.  That means, I can’t stop once I’ve started.  I have to do it all at once.  I have to load the game, take the pictures, edit them, and then write the post.  It all has to happen fluidly.  I can’t stop at one point in the process and resume it at a later date.  I’ve tried that before and the results were… less than stellar.  Not to mention my brain was somewhere else entirely when it came to sitting down and writing everything out.

I don’t usually talk about my processes too much because they are usually weird and difficult to put to word, but I felt the need to explain myself.  I haven’t “fallen out of love” or any of that nonsense.  I still very much enjoy my story!  The only reason you’re seeing these gaps is because I used to have buffer to cover them.  Since moving to the apartment, I’ve taken on a lot more… I’m responsible for pretty much everything that happens here.  So, my free time is pretty limited and I have a very difficult time working/writing/etc when the husband is lurking about.  I’m sure anyone with a live-in spouse who also writes can identify with that sentiment!

The time I usually have, the early to late afternoon, has been spent catching up with all the cleaning I’ve fallen behind on, not to mention all the work I’ve been doing for my father-in-law.  You try having serious dental issues and no dental insurance!  I’ve got four root canals and they’re all expensive – playing and blogging the sims doesn’t pay the bills, unfortunately.  ;)   Anyway, it doesn’t help that I’ve been sick on and off since February started, blegh.  This would explain why I’m so behind with cleaning!

As soon as I get the required amount of time, I’m going to update.  I have it in my head, I need to work out the dialogue and the last scene, but that’s stuff I do while in the process.  I never write anything out or anything like that beforehand.  It’s coming, I promise… I really didn’t want it to take this long!

So, It’s February…

You’re probably wondering when the hell I’m planning on updating Angel of Lies.  I’m working on it, I promise.  Things are kind of busy on this end and my head just isn’t in the right place at the moment.  I do have the next update pretty much in my head, I just need the space and the time to make it happen.  It’ll be soon, though, I promise.

With that out of the way… my gameplay blog, Boreal Springs, turns two this month!  Actually, it already did.  Anyway, I’m planning on doing something to commemorate the event, but I haven’t decided what.  So keep an eye out.  Updates are sporadic because, as I mentioned above… busy and when I get time, my head is somewhere else entirely.

Lots of things are changing for me this month… some good, some bad.  I’ll try to keep up, but my presence online and commenting on blogs will be pulled back considerably.  I’m still reading, just… kind of have to prioritize.  I hate it when that happens, don’t you?  I’ve gotten lazy over the past months of unemployment.

Keep an eye out on your feeds and emails for updates!

What is This?

  • Essentially a place to ramble about sims 2 oriented things and to keep people up-to-date on what's going on with my many sims 2 blogs and my domain. If you need to contact me, feel free to use my e-mail address: mao (at) maonao.net

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