Geeky Mom

Economy

noreply@blogger.com (Geekyboy) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:13:15 PST

Now as you probably already don't know, I am an avid Runescape player, and have been studying it for quite some time. I would like to bring you into my realm of my studies.

Well to start off with, they made a majority of trade between players not actaully be face to face. Like, you would want to buy this item, and you set your price(there is a range for each item) and you would either have your offer in, waiting for someone to sell, or buy it from another player without interaction. This little device is called the Grand Exchange, which looks and sounds surprisingly like the stock exchange, and pretty much is.

Now, prices rise and fall depending on the average price the item was purchased that day. Say at item has a limit of 5 and 12. The "market price" would be 8 or 9. If a lot of an item is bought at more than 9 coins, the market price will rise the next day. The limit will now be 9 and 15, and the market price will be 11 or 12.

Unfortunately, this system is fairly easy to abuse, and a group of rich players can all buy one of an item at the maximum price for a few weeks, and it will rise dramatically then fall dramatically. I call this an unnatural rise.

Example of a rise
Example of a rise and fall

This is horrible. And here me out. When an item is being "bought out", it makes the item impossible to buy for a few days or even a week or more. And when it is sold or "dumped" it's impossible to sell for several days.

Now this is my job. When the game updates its content, which it does fairly often, I like to find the connection to an item and prepare for it to rise or fall. Recently they changed the herblore(making potions) skill, so that there are new higher level potions to be made. The potions require and herb to make, and which can be farmed. Of course people want to level as fast as possible so I bought seeds that make the herbs and also the herbs themselves. Investment I am still holding on to :).

Now some items like these herbs and seeds rise on their own or a natural rise.

Here is an example
And Another

It's very fun to how these things work and its sometimes hard to find that connection from the update to the item.

Hope you enjoyed.

The Children Have Taken Over

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:20:07 PST

They do have their own blogs, I promise. But for some reason, it's more fun for them to blog here. I think they like the audience. You can see the challenges I face: the sarcasm, the way-too-smart-for-their-own-good attitude. That comes from Mr. Geeky's side of the family, I promise.

At any rate, expect another post from Geeky Boy later today, who will be blogging about virtual economies. I swear he has a future on Wall Street. He regularly discusses cornering the market on things. Yesterday, he discussed some kind of 6-point connection thing for how he determines what to corner. It scares me.

And I have a couple of posts brewing myself: on the pitfalls of attending academic conferences, on why we feel guilty about creating art, and WoW Wednesday on my new love of PvP. So the joint's gonna be hopping around here. And now I have to go try to catch up on NaNoWriMo. Cue the music.

Tween takeover again

noreply@blogger.com (Supersteph 88) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:35:02 PST

Hello people of Earth, Mars, and Wisconsin it is Tween Takeover Thursday! Moving on I have been asked a question from one of my "fans" and they have asked the same question to my brother. "How do you feel about screen time for tweens?" he asked. I thought this question was too hard to comprehend so I just feel like giving you a picture of ducks:

I'm just kidding! Here's my blog about screen time for tweens:

When I get up in the morning I feel a sudden urge to dance, but I don't. So just like computer time I want to, but I can't or don't. Why you ask, why does she choose not to play the sims 3 or runescape, why? Because I have work to do of course but also because I don't want to become addicted and end up failing school because I play videogames instead of do homework. You don't want that, do you? (those of you who said yes think about when your 27 and your still stuck in the 10th grade) I know everybody says school is boring and we shouldn't have homework, but think twice the next time you are out at recess(younger kids) or you are in study hall throwing paper airplanes(older kids) think about how much fun school actually is. Don't waste your time on computers do your home work and then you can enjoy the sunny, or snowy day.

Please leave comments if you want. Thanks again, Stephanie. (AKA Geekygirl)

The relentlessness of parenting

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:40:19 PST

Jody at Raising WEG writes about the relentlessness of having to be the arbiter, the house manager, the soother of emotions, etc. I remember a couple of years ago, when I got so depressed, I actually had to seek professional care, how I could not even begin to deal with the every day needs of the kids. I didn't really even realize that I wasn't tending to them. I'd just blocked them out, kind of going through the motions. As I began to realize that I had detached myself, I got even more depressed about it. The very least one is supposed to do as a parent is be engaged in the daily needs of one's children, but I couldn't do it.

In fact, I'd say that realizing that my needs and issues were taking away from theirs was one of the many reasons I left my job. All I could focus on at the end of the day were the bad things that had happened to me at work. Rather than giving my kids the opportunity to process their days, I needed to process mine first. And that seemed really unfair to me.

It's dramatically different now. I can actually have conversations with my kids, not just at dinner time, but after school and on car rides to various activities and in that space between school and dinner. But, the daily grind (outside of those conversations) does get wearing. Though I spend about half of every day doing my own stuff, a good chunk of my day is spent doing laundry, grocery shopping, meal planning, cleaning, coordinating drop-offs and pick ups, counseling on proper time management (aka homework issues), and negotiating proper leisure activities. The laundry, especially, seems never ending. Just when I think I'm going to have a few days' break, more piles seem to appear from nowhere.

Jody's kids are eight, and many of her commenters kids are around the same age. I'd say that having kids that are 10 and 14 is easier and harder.

Easier:

They do their chores properly about 90% of the time. I do usually have to remind them, but other than that, I am assured that the work will get done.
They can function properly and behave properly under most conditions. Even if they're tired, they can be counted on to behave properly at a family function or other event. I don't have to worry about some kind of breakdown.
They can go places on their own. They're old enough now to walk over to the ice cream place, the library or the game store. (Though Geeky Girl must be accompanied by Geeky Boy).

Harder:

School work. Especially for Geeky Boy, grades matter. For both of them, I still have to pay particular attention to their getting their work done, practicing instruments, etc. They would much rather watch tv or play video games.
Psychological issues such as body image, intimacy, etc. Geeky Girl is not that far away from going through puberty and already, there's been discussion of what girls wear, etc. Geeky Boy is old enough to be exposed to drinking, drugs, and sex. We are constantly having discussions about these things and also trying to assess their friends and relationships. It's quite difficult.
General negotiation of boundaries. When kids are younger, it's clear what they're allowed to do or not. As they get older, sometimes it's hard to decide. If one parent allows their kid to go to a movie unattended, should you let your kid do the same? And then there's just the general concept of what they should be able to do on their own versus what you're still having to help them with. I'm still helping Geeky Boy with time management, but I don't have to help him get dressed or clean up the kitchen.

It's sort of a weird feeling to tire of parenting. On the one hand, you're just tired. On the other, you realize how fleeting the time is. I think one of the reasons we get tired, in fact, is that we think our interactions with our kids should be more fun, more pleasant. If the time is fleeting, shouldn't that time be spent being happy more often than not?

Back to reality

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:14:06 PST

Mondays are always a bit rough, after getting to sleep in, attend soccer games and loll around with the family. They're especially rough after having spent a few days conferencing. I attended this conference (presentation here). This was the first time I've been to this conference and only the second of two purely academic conferences I've been to in the last five years. I have more to say about that experience. In general, I think academic conferences are a kind of twilight zone experience, even when one is enjoying them, as I did this one.

Most wonderfully, I was able to meet this blogger, a veteran of the conference and a truly delightful person to get to spend some time with. I was grateful to have someone who knew a few people, who could introduce me around and give me people to eat lunches and dinners with. Without her, I'm sure I wouldn't have as much fun as I did.

Given that I was conferencing for the last few days, I'm a bit behind on my NaNoWriMo writing, but I have a big writing session planned this morning and I'm hoping to be caught up today. I did do some writing while I was away, just not enough. Gee, the days go by fast. Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Gah. One day at a time.

Giving that cat some pants

noreply@blogger.com (Supersteph 88) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:59:37 PST

No this is how it happened: Once upon a time in a car ride home my brother Thad was sitting in the backseat next to me doodling on his DS and everyone else was talking and when we stopped we noticed Thad was singing quietly. This is what he was singing:"Giving that cat some pants, giving that cat some pants!!!" And that is the real story!

Fun Friday: Put some pants on that cat

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:51:01 PST

A while back, the kids were in the car, doodling on the DS's and one of them said, "Put some pants on that cat." It became a family rap song. We're still singing it when we see the cat, when one of us doesn't have pants on, etc. So this Lolcat fit perfectly.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Tween takeover Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Supersteph 88) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:32:52 PST

Hello people of Geekymom's blog I am the guest blogger for tween takeover Thursday. Two fill you in, those of you who don't me here is a little bit of info: My name is Stephanie (AKA geekygirl) I am geekymom's daughter, geekyboy's sister, geekydad's daughter, and so on. My favorite color is green, I love to play soccer, and my favorite food is spaghetti. If you would like to learn more about me or read about my stories please visit talesofgeekygirl.blogspot.com. So anyways I need ideas on what to blog and I don't have to blog today it can be tomorrow too. But if you have a cool idea or topic you think I might know about and might be able to blog about please leave your ideas/topics in the comment area.

Thank you,
Stephanie Blank

WoW Wednesday: Late Edition on Stress Reduction, or not

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:08:24 PST

When I called my husband a little while ago complaining that the hotel I'm in charges for Internet access, he said, "Bah, treat yourself, go play some WoW." So I probably will later this evening.

I spent the last couple of hours finishing up my presentation and trying to arrange various social engagements. After a plane ride and some heavy duty slide wrangling, sometimes it's fun to go kills some monsters. When I was younger, like 27, I used to play Quake after work. There's nothing like sending a person virtually across the room through strategic rocket launcher use to relieve some stress. I think it's not so much about the virtual killing, which now that I'm older, makes me more squeamish than it used to, but that playing a game uses different parts of my brain than I use for the work I do. I write. I put ideas together. I construct presentations and workshops where I have to think about who I'm presenting to. In a game, there's a different strategy. I'm not thinking in words or images and how they go together. Instead, I plan routes. I think about using particular spells in a particular order so that a particular shot is timed to be especially lethal. I run like hell. In some ways, my more primitive survival mechanisms kick into gear.

And most of the time, while I'm doing that I'm chatting with people (which was true in Quake too). Until I get in front of an audience, much of my work is isolating and while I do get out and have lunch with people on occasion, I can't do that every day, so poking my head into a game and doing something with other people for a while is nice--and it's different from Twitter or blogging or Facebooking, which are also social. It's more like a collective experience rather than either a one-on-one conversation or broadcast. And that's more satisfying to me much of the time.

On the other hand, gaming can cause stress if you take it too seriously or otherwise get caught up in it. I've gotten stressed out over tanking a number of times, so if it's stress reduction I'm after, I don't tank. It's rare for me, though, that a game causes me stress. After all, it's a game. that we play for fun. right?

Sporadic blogging ahead

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:03:51 PST

I'm traveling the rest of the week, attending a conference. I was working the polls yesterday and in theory, Geeky Boy was supposed to do his usual posting, but, of course, he forgot. He might make an appearance today. Heck, I might make another appearance today. Geeky Girl has been demanding to have a day here as well, so she is going to write something tomorrow. If you have any questions for a ten-year-old, let us know.

In the meantime, talk amongst yourselves.

And so it begins! NaNoWriMo 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:00:03 PST

Last night, after soccer games, dinner and a couple of beers, I sat down to write the first words for this month's NaNoWriMo adventure. I'm cheating a bit since I'm writing nonfiction, but anything that will motivate me to keep going is a good thing. I convinced the kids to join me through the Young Writer's Program. They did not join me in the writing adventure. Sigh. Geeky Boy played games, of course, and Geeky Girl was watching the Phillies game. I think I'll be able to convince them this afternoon, or bribe them, or threaten, whatever.

Tomorrow is election day and it's my last election as judge in the precinct. I chose not to run again. I may return to working the polls in a few years, but I needed a break. It should be a slow day, and I'm bringing my computer to get some writing done. Wednesday, I'm off to a conference until Saturday. I'm looking forward to it, especially to being away from all my momly responsibilities for a while (sorry, kids). But it will be hard to keep up with the writing. We'll see.

I must admit that after Halloween, I start pining for the Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays, which feel like one giant slugfest. After running a fairly tight ship around here, I'm looking forward to lying on the couch watching tv, eating turkey and doing not much of anything. Until then, I've got three weeks and 48,500 words to go.

Friday Fun: Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:04:07 PDT

Halloween has begun, and, as you can see, Geeky Girl is going hippie this year. I forced her to look at Woodstock pictures to "understand" the time period. The interesting thing about them is that most people look fairly ordinary. What we think of now as hippie is a caricature based on a small group of outlandishly dressed people.

Following Geeky Girl's lead, I'll be dressing as Gloria Steinem. I'm tempted to burn an old bra.

Have a fun Halloween!

Revision

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:23:45 PDT

When I was in college and in my MFA program, I wrote poems in these hard-back blue notebooks with green ruled pages. Often I would write a draft on one page, scribble through lines, write new lines, mark out words, write in new words. On the opposing page I would rewrite the poem again, scribble through some more stuff before I'd type it into the computer. In those days, typing was a big deal, so I always waited until the poem was done before trudging over to a computer lab to type it up. Cutting and pasting were hard then, requiring knowing some special functions.

Now that I'm writing prose, I'm starting on the computer instead of notebooks. But my revision process has been a handwritten affair. There's something about putting giant x's through section and scribbling in the margins that is more satisfying that highlighting sentences on the screen and pressing delete.

I recently read that one shouldn't start revising a piece until one has a complete draft. That's quite easy to do when your piece is a poem that's only a page long. When you're aiming for 200 pages, it's easy to get impatient. So I violated that advice by starting to revise the first section of my piece while writing the second. But now, I'm realizing that that's a bad idea. I need to see the whole arc of the story before I figure out if I have the pieces in the right order or if new pieces need to go in. I'm feeling like I'll sit at Starbucks for hours one day with the whole thing printed out, a notebook by my side, and I'll scribble and write until I'm done, as much like my revision process for poetry as possible. I might even rewrite by hand.

I used to tell students to remember what revision means, to see the work again, to see it anew, to have a new vision for it. There's something about having a clean page to see your work anew, not like the electronic draft that sits before you on the screen and feels so final, where deleting words means they're gone and not visible under a line or a squiggle, where you can't feel the page or the heft of your work. If I wait until the end to revise, going back to the beginning will feel like coming at it for the first time, like a stranger, and will be more like a real re-visioning.

WoW Wednesday: Confidence

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:39:40 PDT

My very first WoW Wednesday post was about tanking and I'm going to go back to that again. I've been tanking more and more and getting much better at it. It's been very nice, especially, to have some experienced players with me, giving advice during an actual dungeon. And I've had some excellent tank moments. During one fight in Ulduar, which is an endgame raid, not only was I able to tank a mob, but was also able to freeze and destroy spark, all without missing a beat. I felt on top of my game. But then a couple of days ago, I was tanking a dungeon, one I'd successfully tanked before, and we wiped many times before I had to call it quits for dinner. I just couldn't get my act together for that one. I've had several moments as a tank where I literally can feel my heart racing as we go into a situation because I'm so worried that I'm going to mess it up. I know how unfun it is to die over and over again. I'm pretty patient about these things but some people aren't.

One thing that's occurred to me as I've been playing and mostly in my role as tank, is the role that confidence plays in doing some of these things well. I've seen bad tanks who're all overconfident and talk a big game and then can't keep aggro. I'm just the opposite. I have almost no confidence at all going into a fight and will sometimes even warn people. But then, most of the time, things work out fine. And I've come to realize that my confidence (or lack thereof) in game is similar to my confidence in real life. We academic types talk a lot about the impostor syndrome. I feel that more often than I should. I don't think my writing is as good as anyone else's. I think I shouldn't do this or that because I'm not good at it. I'm constantly comparing myself to others and find myself lacking. Sometimes even in things I *know* I'm good at.

What WoW has taught me is that it takes practice to be good at something and it takes work and it takes constant tweaking to get something right. I've logged many hours playing WoW. To be good at anything, you have to log many hours, something Malcolm Gladwell talks about in Outliers. I've also learned that even if you're not so sure of yourself, it's okay to try something and that it's okay to mess up. You learn from your mistakes. When I feel my heart racing, I can think, what's the worst thing that could happen? Everyone could die and we'd have to do it again. Big deal. Even if we have to give up or if I have to bow out and let a more skilled person take over for me, it's okay. And applying that to real life, I have to remember it's okay to stick your neck out. Fear of failure only leads to actual failure. It sure would be nice to have armor, maybe emotional armor, like I have in WoW or multiple do-overs. But really, most things we do do have do-overs. You just have to take advantage of them.

Coup d 'etat

noreply@blogger.com (Geekyboy) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:01:29 PDT

Hello and welcome to the 2nd entry of Geekboy's posting on Tuesdays. If you are not used to this by now, I recommend you get used to it.

Today I'd like to bring you into my daily life. I think you'll like it.

0000 - 0559 Sleep
0600 - 0610 Shower
0611 - 0630 More Sleep
0631 - 0635 Getting Dressed
0636 - 0645 Getting some Breakfast
0646 - 0700 Touching up
0701 - 0709 Scrambling Around
0710 - 0720 Carpooling
0721 - 0730 Waiting Around
0731 - 0955 Western Civilization
0956 - 1015 Home room
1016 - 1148 Creative Writing
1149 - 1231 Study Hall
1232 - 1305 Lunch
1305 - 1354 Study Hall
1355 - 1422 English
1423 - 1440 Trying to Get Home
1441 - 1850 Eating, Playing, Napping, Bothering Geekymom
1851 - 1940 Dinner
1941 - 2130 Ayche Dub (Code, if you break it, you get a prize)
2131 - 2399 Sleep

Rinse and Repeat.

Now that you know a little bit about me, you can now say hi to me on the street and be like "Heyyyyy I know you!" and I'll be like "Yeah I get that a lot." And then we'll be good acquaintances

Now I was overloaded with questions this week so I will only answer one to make things fair.

How do I feel about limiting screen time during the school year?

Now very simply I like the phrase, everything in moderation. There should be a limit on screen time during the school year, because if there wasn't, I wouldn't get my work done. Neither would Geekymom or Geekygirl or Geekymom or Geekycat. We'd all be Fat 'n Lazy, a Family Company.

All in all, there should be a limit on screen time during the school year, but you should also make sure you leave time for any form of entertainment. I think kids ages like 8 - 18 should all be allowed the same amount of time. It's important to have fun. An hour a day keeps the stress away.

I'll leave this spot open for more questions :)

Women and Children First

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:52:30 PDT

I was just reading through the comments on this IHE post about having kids or not in graduate school and one commenter says the following:

From my perspective, I find many (not all, not even most) of my female friends and my grad students can't articulate what they want, what will help them navigate the difficult process of completing a PhD, landing a job and keeping it with a child or children in tow. For these people universities can never do enough, there's always something more they need that will help more, that will be the magic bullet that makes it "easier" to have a child (never easy) and do their job. What I find among these women is an insufficient appreciation that everyone faces challenges about work/life balance.

She goes on to suggest that we all need to understand and appreciate work/life balance and work to make institutions appreciate that as well. The idea that there's not enough support for parents is a common one looked upon quite often with resentment by those without children. "Suck it up," is often the common response to the whining of mothers about how hard it is to juggle both raising a child and going to grad school or working. I've seen this so often lately that I've been trying to puzzle over why this is so common for women to feel this way or to have this perspective put on them. And I think I have part of an answer.

The default for women is still get married and have children. That's what you're "supposed" to do. Decades ago, that would have been it, the pinnacle of your life. Now, it's still the default but with the added dictum that women can do that *and* pursue a career. Don't worry, people say, your husband will pitch in, your workplace will be supportive, your colleagues will understand. When those things don't happen, new mothers are often thrown for a loop. Too often, women don't pay attention to the way other mothers are treated in the workplace. And that's often not their fault since many mothers are often made invisible in the workplace. Having an honest conversation with a chair or a dean feels risky since there may then follow a stigma about one's seriousness toward work. So a lot of moms find themselves with kids, without a plan because what they thought was going to happen didn't. They're left saying, "Now what?" and don't know where to turn. And let's face it, if we're talking grad school, some people are young and idealistic and immature. Speaking even for myself, one doesn't always make the best decisions when you're young and idealistic.

I had my first child while working a corporate job that I took to fund my husband's grad school education. We decided to have a child because my job had insurance that would cover much of the cost of having a kid (though it didn't cover it all), which we didn't have as grad students. I had my second in grad school, so I completed a master's and (eventually) a Ph.D. with two kids. In fact, what postponed my Ph.D. was not my kids but my husband, who left his job and dragged me across the country. There was nothing we could have done about the timing of that. But I had some advantages that some people may not:

Income. Mr. Geeky had a real job that paid for the majority of our needs, including full-time daycare for both kids. I don't recommend having a kid when you're *both* in grad school unless you've got family or something that can substitute for what may be costly daycare.
Flexible schedules. Both Mr. Geeky and I had flexible schedules. If a kid got sick or their school was closed, we could usually manage juggling. We made this even more flexible by making sure that our class schedules did not conflict. If I got a MWF class, Mr. Geeky made sure his were on TTh.
Other mothers in the department. I shared an office with a women who had a preschooler. She had breastfed as well, so she was very supportive of my doing so and gave me plenty of advice, both about parenting and about jugging life as a grad student.
Supportive faculty. Everyone just assumed I would continue working as I had before. No one thought I was less serious than before I had my second child. In part, I think this was because they knew I had another kid at home that hadn't slowed me down.
Less intense program. I think it's fair to say that the program I was in, while good in its own way, was not in the top 10 programs in the country. I knew this going in, and I didn't choose it for that reason, but it was definitely helpful to not be in the kind of program that was a hothouse of competition.
Affordable daycare. My kids only overlapped daycare for one year, so that was the most expensive year and even that year only cost us about $700/month. After that, we paid around $400/month.

Things really got tough for me after we moved here when the cost of daycare skyrocketed to $1000/month for one kid. I needed to work part time to cover those costs, often with a 1/2 hour to 45 minute commute, which cut into my time to work on my dissertation (as did the grading and class prep). Had our daycare costs been cheaper or non-existent, I might have been able to forgo the jobs and finish sooner. I'm actually glad in a way that that didn't happen as I liked the dissertation I ended up with better than the one I started on. (I switched topics and advisers).

I think there are so many unknowns both in grad school and when having children that it's very easy to find yourself in the weeds quite quickly. I think women should assess their own situations and do what's necessary to make the balance work. I dropped a class in the fall after my daughter was born. I worked very intensely from 9-5, trying my best not to have anything to do in the evenings, which were often unpredictable in the early months. That year is certainly a blur to me in many ways and I remember when I got my first full night of sleep six months after my daughter was born, I was amazed that I'd been able to function at all. I felt so amazingly good after that, I couldn't believe what a walking zombie I'd been before that.

In many ways, I did "suck it up," but I was able to, in part, because of the support I felt surrounded by. No one said that I seemed like a zombie all those months. And most grad students are surviving on little sleep anyway. I never tried to make my own lack of sleep a special case, never asked for extensions, trying to plan papers well in advance. But had I really needed one, I knew I could ask for one without any repercussions. And that's where I think institutions can do something. Because it's often the attitudes, not the policies that get in the way. So parents can try to anticipate what parenting is going to be like and put support networks in place beforehand, but institutions can try to make sure some of those are there as well. Faculty and student parent groups might be helpful. Childcare benefits are good. But fostering a general attitude that parents are perfectly capable of graduate work can go even further than many official policies.

Teen takeover

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:45:04 PDT

Geeky Boy will once again post something here after school. What do you want to know about from the teenage perspective?

NaNoWriMo

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:23:30 PDT

I just signed up for NaNoWriMo even though I'm writing nonfiction and not a novel. Having a goal of 50,000 words will be good for me and I'm looking forward to the challenge. I did NaNoWriMo back in 2006 I think. I didn't quite make the goal, getting stuck around 30,000 words. November is a challenging month to write in. There's Thanksgiving, of course, for which we're traveling this year. But there's also election day, which I work and right after, I'm going to a conference. So my writing schedule is going to take a big hit. We'll see if I can stick with a plan despite all the setbacks.

Tales from my Soccer Mom Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:18:33 PDT

My sporting weekend actually began on Thursday, when I had to bounce back and forth between two different fields watching Geeky Boy play soccer and Geeky Girl play field hockey. The soccer game was the last of the season so there were more parents than usual. I watched for a few minutes and then hit the field hockey game, where the PTO was selling baked goods and pretzels to raise money for new track uniforms. I was greeted enthusiastically by the other moms, quite a contrast to how I'd felt at the last field hockey game. I didn't pay much attention to the actual game as there was a carnival-like atmosphere on the sidelines. I chatted with one mom about the web site, and a couple of others about the craft-costume-baked good fiasco. All of us, apparently, had been running around like crazy people until well into the night. I confessed to using a mix for the cornbread. The response was, Well of course you did. Who wouldn't?

After the game was over, I gave Geeky Girl money to buy a preztel and some water and headed to the soccer game. Geeky Girl met me there and we cheered the team on. Geeky Boy scored in the last few minutes of the game, winning the game for the team. It was pretty exciting.

Saturday, it poured rain off and on and we thought for sure the game would be canceled. But it wasn't, so I stood on the sidelines with the other moms under our umbrellas. We complained that the game should have been called. When I told the other moms that I was going out after the game, they told me I shouldn't even be out there. I did leave early, sending Geeky Girl home with the coach. I have no idea the outcome of the game. It was called, in fact, not long after I left.

Sunday, Geeky Boy had his last game before the playoffs. He plays goalie for this team, which makes me nervous every time. I spent much of the game yelling that the ref wasn't calling offsides or pushing and pushing the players to "go to the ball." I was a bad soccer parent. They lost the game, but it was a good day to be outside.

It's all almost over for this year, all this running around from game to game, keeping soccer socks and uniforms clean, and hauling lawn chairs in the trunk of the car. I won't lie. I won't miss it. But I'm very glad the kids do it every year and that they enjoy it. Geeky Boy is talking about doing winter soccer so that he has something to do before lacrosse season. And Geeky Girl is planning either lacrosse or soccer in the spring. I don't have to push them to sign up. They ask me to sign them up. As long as that's the case, I'll keep doing it.

Friday Fun: Chore Wars

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:59:32 PDT

A couple of days ago, Collin pointed me to Chore Wars, a site that lets you keep track of the things you do around the house. Better yet, it lets you keep track of what your family members do around the house. I set up a party for our family, The Geeky Household, and emailed everyone the link that invited them to join our party on its chore adventures. On the way home from not one, but two kid sports events yesterday, I was telling Geeky Girl about it, and she wasn't too thrilled. But then when we got home, she checked her email and followed the link. "This is so cool, Mom!" She said. Apparently, I didn't do a good job of describing it in the car.

The way it works is that each person sets up a character. The dungeon master (me) sets up adventures like vacuuming, taking out the trash, or making a bed. People can then claim an adventure and earn experience points and gold for each adventure. Sometimes you run into monsters. I faced a soap elemental yesterday while doing the laundry. There's also a chance for treasure either from the adventure itself (I got a spatula from making dinner) or from killing a monster.

So far, it's a big hit. Geeky Girl unloaded and loaded the dishwasher, cleared and set the table, and vacuumed the living room. Geeky Boy loaded the dishwasher, hand washed the pots and pans, and made his bed. Geeky Girl raced to make her bed and claim it this morning so she could see if she encountered any bed bugs.

The kids get an allowance every week, one dollar for every year of their age, under the assumption that they help out around the house. They're good about cleaning up the kitchen after dinner and I make them clean up their rooms from time to time, but other than that, I can't really track what else they might do. So, now, I've told them that if there are no chores claimed via Chore Wars during the week, they won't get their allowance. Geeky Girl and I also decided that for every five levels they gain, they'll get something special, perhaps a new DS game or a book or a dinner out at their favorite restaurant.

We've all kind of realized that we're a competitive lot, so making chores into a game is a good idea. I hear Geeky Girl unloading the dishwasher. I gotta go do some laundry so I can hit level 2 today!

Open Letter to My Kid's Elementary School Teachers

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 05:01:18 PDT

Dear Teachers,

I love you, I do. I know you work hard and often work long hours grading, participating in after school activities and more. Your job is difficult. You have to teach kids who are often squirming in their seats, pulling the hair of the girl in front of them, or passing a note to the kid next to them. I support you in every way I can. I vote for increases in funding for the schools. I pay my taxes. I volunteer at the school and buy stuff so the school has even more funding.

I am willing to do a lot to support my child's education and learning. I help with homework. I provide her with a good breakfast and lunch. I enhance her education by going to museums, encouraging her to read, and discussing current events over dinner. But I'm a busy person, as are most parents. So, I'm begging you, please, don't have a costume, craft, and baked good all due on the same day. I can't sew, nor can most of my fellow parents. Crafts? Foam crafts, sure. You know, the kind you can buy kits for. But crafts involving colonial products? Not so much. Also involved sewing. And baking? Baking I can do, but I'm betting some moms or dads aren't so good at that. And it had to be done after dinner, so yeah, it was late.

I appreciate the concept behind all this and I know, you gave us notice. I know. Did I mention we were busy? That we didn't get home until late? Maybe next time, just one of those things. I could handle doing just one. K, thnx.

Geeky Mom

WoW Wednesday: Halloween Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:13:59 PDT

I have some more serious thoughts in my head about WoW, but they're not congealed yet, so instead, let's talk about Halloween. Blizzard has incorporated a variety of events related to seasonal holidays. We actually just had brewfest a couple of weeks ago. I'm now a member of the Brew of the Month club and a brewmaster. W00t!

These events tickle me with their allusions to the real world while taking advantage of the game world. For Halloween, you can go trick or treating at all the inns. There's an achievement to get candy from the pumpkin buckets at every inn in the world. You can also "trick or treat" once an hour with an innkeeper. Tricks include getting turned into things like bats, frogs, and ghosts. Treats can be candy, masks (which need to be collected for an achievement), or other fun items like toothpicks. There's also a headless horseman who terrorizes a couple of towns by setting the buildings on fire. Characters form a bucket brigade to put out the fire and become a hero.

You can take down the Headless Horseman by taking 4 of your best friends into the Scarlet Monastery, calling out the horseman and then killing him. It's a fun fight, especially when his head disconnects from his body and you have to chase the head around. The horseman drops several unique items, some of which are needed to get the Hallow's End achievement. There's a pet pumpkin and a special helm that are especially coveted. There are also several rings, a broom mount (seen in the picture above), and a horse mount (which is very rare).

Throughout the season, you see people running around with pumpkinheads, as ghosts or bats. The towns are decked out in Halloween decor, and the whole scene generally puts you in the Halloween spirit.

WoW.com has the lowdown on all the achievements for Hallow's End if, like me, you're an achievement whore.

Geekyboy Posts for the first time!

noreply@blogger.com (Geekyboy) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:25:31 PDT

Hello. I think we are all well aware of why we are gathered here today. It is posting time. For those of you who don't know what posting time is, I recommend you learn immediately. I have received requests of what to post about, but like on facebook, requests are really codes for demands. Oh you have a new demand to be this person's friend. What are you gonna do? Say no? No your not that mean and you can't say no. As far as I'm concerned, demands are something you can't say no to. I could do less with these mean demands and I'm just going to do my own thing. I like to talk about me so here are a few things about me.

Blood Type: O (no you can't have my kidneys)
Favorite flavor of ice cream: Bacon
Special Talent: Sneezing with eyes open
Least Favorite Book: Where the Wild Things Are 2: College Party too Wild for Even the Wild Things

Now that those are out of my way, I can continue walking on the sidewalk. About three thousand people wanted to know what books I read. Its more like a genre as I don't read many series. I really won't read anything that isn't an action adventure. If someone doesn't get stabbed in the Achilles tendon within the first 50 pages, it is clearly not my book. There is a small exception to my strict category with George Carlin. He is a nice guy. Someday, I'll have to bring it a quote or two.

I don't like writing in big paragraphs as I think this is easier to read so I'm going to put my series that I read down here. Now, some of you that are aged 14 to about, 14, may have heard of the series Ranger's Apprentice. It's a wonderful story of a tactical archer that saves the day. If you like a good medieval action adventure this is your book. Unfortunately, only some of the books have come out in America while the others are only found in Australia. If you want to pay more in shipping than you do for the actual book, you are truly a action adventure fan.

I think this is enough for one day. I need to save some ideas for next Tuesday. That's posting day.

Watch this space

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:02:50 PDT

Supposedly, Geeky Boy is going to make a guest appearance here today. Might be later this evening. At any rate, keep an eye out. If there's something you'd like to know from a 14-yo boy's perspective, let us know.

Writing habits

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:27:01 PDT

This IHE article on writing was a much-needed inspiration today. Single discusses two myths of writing. One, that one can only write in large blocks of time and two, that you need to be motivated to write. I've know for years that these are myths and I've worked accordingly, writing whenever I could, as I did when writing my dissertation, and writing whether I've felt like it or not, which I've had to do most of my life. But these are myths that are sometimes hard to dispel when you feel stuck and/or truly unmotivated.

When I look back on my dissertation writing, there are a few things that distinguish it from the current writing I'm doing. One, I didn't have as much time then. I had a full time job and if I put off writing one day, a long time passed before I'd get back to it. So I set up a routine where I got up at 6 and wrote for an hour before having to get the kids up for school. I also wrote almost every day after dinner. The after-dinner writing was contingent on how my day when. If I was physically and mentally exhausted, then I didn't write, but I felt okay about it because I'd written in the morning. I spent weekends researching and/or revising, often for large chunks of time. The second big difference was that I had a more focused end goal with people motivating me to reach that goal. My adviser wasn't emailing me every day or anything, but I'd set a deadline for a section for myself, and even though he may not have noticed if it passed, I could *not* let the deadline pass. I gave myself a couple of extensions, but knowing that someone might be disappointed with me was a huge motivator to get work done on time. It was also nice to know that once I finished my dissertation, there was a pretty big reward waiting for me.

Now I'm faced with vast stretches of time compared to what I had before. I could indeed write for four to six hours a day. (Though I have to absolutely wait until the distractions, aka the kids and the husband, have left for the day. In the last 10 minutes, I've had to field at least three questions). So what's stopping me? Well, there is other stuff to do, for one thing. Housework beckons. I have to shower at some point. I have to go to the grocery store. I have conference calls and presentations to prepare. I let that stuff hover over me. As I'm writing, I'm also often thinking about whether I'll have enough time to get the laundry done or the shopping done. I'm in just the opposite situation I was in with my dissertation. No one will be disappointed if I don't write except me, but there are three people (maybe four) who will be disappointed if the house is a mess and there's no clean underwear. So I focus on that because it's harder to worry about disappointing myself or about the reward for the writing, which is a long shot at best. Also, there's some sort of social norm I feel like I'm violating by not showering before noon. I truly am the pajama-clad blogger!

Single suggests writing for no more than four hours/day. She says in fact, to find the amount of time that works for you. For the last couple of months, I have written almost every day for at least an hour and most of the time for at least two hours. I have tried not to beat myself up if I miss a day or to worry too much if I stop after an hour. I was about to write that unlike Single's audience, my career is not on the line if I don't write, but that's exactly where I am, by my own choice, and that's exactly why I feel anxious. I feel like two hours is nothing, especially when I theoretically have all the time in the world. But maybe two hours is what works for me, and I need to start being okay with that.