But, did I play Pokémon? No I did not.
Funkeys? Nope.

I played around in Paint Shop Pro, and tidied up round here a bit!

D'you like it?
Hope so. I'm not a fan of using someone else's layouts.

So last night, I went hunting on the net for a copyright-free image to use, et voila.

I think it's much more befitting the title of my space, don't you?

What else did I do?

Let's see:

• New Background picture (slightly recoloured, and hosted by myself)
• New banner, for that more professional look
• New layout. Played about with a few alternatives before settling on this one.
• New modules:
  • Updates: showing Purkle Skies', as well as some others.
  • Visitor's Map: Showing where all my visitors (!) have come from.
  • Visitor Tools: So y'all can subscribe to me, or whatever.
  • Categories: Of my blog entries
  • Archives: Of my blog entries.
  • Title & Tag added to bottom of page.

So, yeah, I'm very pleased with it all, and I think I'm much more likely to stick around here, than I was at that other place.

...but part of me was feeling really lucky tonight.

See, I got Pokémon Ranger for Christmas, having already had Pearl imported, and completed by then, and I loved it.

I'd all but completed the game, Special Missions and all, by the end of last month, apart from capturing two Pokémon to complete my browser, Fearow and Snorlax (if none of this is making much sense, feel free to skip this entry).

Now, to capture Snorlax you need to capture a Fearow. And to be able to catch a Fearow, you need to beat the record of 50,000 points in the Arena Challenge.

Very tough.
My highest before tonight was around 22,000- needless to say, I completely trashed that, and comfortably beat the 50K record, scoring 71K!

I could hardly believe it!

I have completely finished a game, with ZERO help.

I am so hardcore, me ;)

Have you ever had one of those days when you just want to take charge of everything that needs sorting in your life, and just do it?

I had one of those today.

As you may have guessed, I'm a worrier, with a tendency to leave things unfinished or undealt with, until they turn into this massive wall in front of me that I can't even see the top of.

Now, other people might look at the same wall and think "This is not a high wall. I can get over this, no problem."
Whereas I think "AAARRRGGGHHH! It's crumbling! It's going to fall on top of us and we're all going to die!"

Today, I knocked a few rows of bricks from it.
Let's see:

• FINANCES- the biggie, and worth at least 4 rows in itself.
• ECDL- Been fretting about this new Database module, but you know what, I did the first unit today (two days early) and it's not all that bad.
• MEDICATION- Finally decided to accept help in picking up my repeat prescriptions, to save me hauling ass to the doctors and back twice a month.

Now that I've written it down, they don't seem like huge problems (apart from the Finances one, obv.), but they did take so much energy and will power to face up to, that I may as well have scaled a mountain.

My plans for the rest of the day consist of going to bed for my Break (Will explain these sometime), getting up, watching some TV/playing pokemon, eating dinner, and if I feel sufficiently revitalised after that (and maybe another Break), I plan to start that editing I spoke about last night.

Not just any 'write' either, not "I'm going to spew some random drivel for my own selfish gratification".
I'm talking actual creative shit, here.

Stranger than that, I'm talking edits.
Actually revisiting something I've written, not read for ages, and almost forgotten about, to try and improve it.

I must be mad.
The 'piece' I'm all fired up about is not even finished yet.

Let me explain:
2003- I'm surfing the 'net, and I come across something that compels me to check out the NaNoWriMo web site. Basically, you pledge to write 50,000 words in 30 days.
No plot needed, no prizes, just the satisfaction of being able to say that you did it.
I signed up, spent October working out a plot (no way was I going to spend all that time writing, with crap all to show for it!).

Short version: I did it. Eventually finishing on the 28th of November, with 50,019 words.
But, my story wasn't finished, but, having spent the whole of November working my butt of and eating way too many chocolate coated coffee beans, I gave myself December off, vowing to finish it in January.

Big Mistake. Procrastination, thou art my nemesis.
I never have returned to it, save for re-reading what I've already written, a few time over the intervening years.

So, yes.
I want to edit it.
Completely change the tense, update some stuff (I mean, it's been over 4 years!).

I'm not vowing to do it all tomorrow, or by the end of next week (Yeah, right!), but I'm going to do it, a day at a time.
And, hopefully, by the time I get to where I stopped all those years ago, I'll be able to just carry on.

At least...that is the plan, anyway

Day two of my actually doing anything with this live space, erm, space, and I'm already using it to moan about my illness.

Just a little bit, mind, because, I think my M.E. is getting worse.
Seriously, I don't like to be alarmist- although I am prone to such notions- but for the past four days in a row, I've woken up wracked- and I mean wracked, with pain.
Not sure if its in my muscles, my joints, or my very bones, but everywhere hurts.

*Sigh*
I'll see how it goes. If it persists into next week I'll make an appointment at the doctors.

On a lighter(?) note, I only have three days left of my self-scheduled holiday, before I start my next module- Databases.

I'm kind of cacking myself, because I have next to zero knowledge of them (not for lack of trying to teach myself), whereas Spreadsheets- the last module- I've been using for years, and not just for simple stuff either, getting right in there with the functions, and I only managed 89% in that exam.

I am looking forward to it though. Holidays are great and all, but at least when I'm studying, I feel a little bit like a productive human being, as opposed to a bum.