Category: Gaming

Danni

New Years Resolutions and Goals for 2015

Danni, Gaming, M.E., Penguins!, Physical Disability, Real Life

Now is the time I make my resolutions and goals for the year. First of all though I look at last year’s resolutions and see how I did.

 

  1. Have a bath or a shower. – I managed this one! While I was in the care home in June I had a bath, and felt much cleaner afterwards. Definitely a success.
  2. Sort out health book/care plan. This one I didn’t manage completely. I got the most important bit done, a care sheet for the home care workers I have, but I’ve not done the full health book yet. I think I’ll be continuing this one.
  3. Be kind to others. I asked Johan, and he said I was kind to others. I also feel I was a lot less snappy at people last year, so I think this one was a success.
  4. Be kind to myself. I think I’m doing better on this one. It’s always going to be harder than being kind to others, but I think there was improvement here.

Not too bad overall. I also had a few goals- getting an iPad (I changed my mind on this one, as I now have a decent text to speech app for Android), trying to blog once a month (didn’t manage in September due to being ill), and getting out of bed again, which I did do a few times but nowhere near as much as I’d have liked. I had a Goodreads goal to read 50 books, of which I managed 46 I think (I can’t be sure as I can’t figure out how to see my own past challenges on Goodreads). That’s not too bad and I’m hoping to manage it this year. One goal I did manage to complete though was NaBloPoMo in November, which made me happy 🙂

So, resolutions for this year:

  1. Go to the toilet. This one might sound strange, but I’ve not been on a proper toilet for years. I’m doubly incontinent, but sometimes I can control things a bit. I would really like to go on an actual toilet at some point this year.
  2. Sort out getting the flat sorted. I’m not sure how this one is going to work yet, but it needs doing. If my bedroom, the hallway and the living room are all properly accessible to me in my wheelchair without having to move stuff around, then that will be a good indicator that the flat is getting sorted.
  3. Improve my eating. I’m not gaining weight and I need to. I’m also low on several vitamins and minerals. This one isn’t going to be easy, but I’m hoping that being referred back to the dietician and having more help from the carers when it comes to mealtimes this should be doable. Bonus points if Johan’s eating improves as well 🙂
  4. Finish the health book. I’ve now added this to HabitRPG so I have a daily reminder I need to do this. I’ve also got a working printer, and I’ve bought the last bit of stationery I need so I’m going to really give this a go.

All of them require help from other people, which will make things interesting. The one I can do mostly by myself is the health book, as I can type the pages on here and only need someone to fetch the printouts, the folder and the page protectors for me. I’m also making some goals (all except the reading one I’ve added to HabitRPG to make it easier to remember):

  • Read 50 books. I’ve been well enough to read now for a while, which is awesome. My Kindle Paperwhite makes it easy for me. If I manage this goal, I’ll reward myself with a new Kindle (the new version will make it even easier for me to turn the pages as I just touch the sides rather than the page bit itself).
  • Buy the daybed. Esther will feel loads better if she can sleep on something other than our old sofa. I’ll be able to go into the living room more. Win win. Just need to sort out collection of the old sofa (and the broken wheelchair, old bed frame and several boxes of junk) and actually buy it. I have found one I prefer to the Ikea one on eBay from a few different sellers, so that means I can buy it myself.
  • Get my pictures and posters on the wall. I’ve been wanting to get this done since I moved in, and it hasn’t happened yet. This year I intend to fix that. There’s a lot of them though so it’ll have to be done in bits 😛
  • Play some of the games I already own but haven’t yet tried. I’ve got loads of games that look good on Steam and from Humble Bundles. I know I have limited and inconsistent time on the computer, but I’d like to try at least 5, more if I can. Some of them are for my tablet as well so I can try them even when I’m not on my computer.
  • Catch up with Doctor Who and My Little Pony. Very dependent on being well enough to watch television, but I’m hoping I can manage this.

Lots of things to be getting on with. If my health improves I obviously want to be getting out of bed more, but though it’s better than it was this time last year I know it can be very up and down. Three main symptoms are keeping me in bed- dizziness (which turns into fainting if I’m upright too long), muscle weakness, and muscle spasms (which have improved since I stopped pushing myself too much but still are a daily occurrence). Oversensitivity to everything (well, not everything but it feels like it at times) would need to improve for me to go further than the living room or the ramp outside, as the noise, light, smells and movement are too much otherwise. I’m hopeful though, and maybe seeing Professor Julia Newton will give me some answers.

 

Danni

Merry Christmas!

Autism, Computers, Danni, Gaming, M.E., Minecraft, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Penguins!, Physical Disability, Real Life

To all my readers and friends, Merry Christmas! Or if you celebrate something else or nothing at all, I hope you have a wonderful day!

I’ve had an awesome Christmas so far. Yesterday Sammie came over for a bit to pick up her presents, which meant real life hugs and squishes were had 😀 Best present ever!

Today I’ve been completely spoilt with masses of presents, from lots of family and friends. I’ve been unable to get all mine to others sorted in time for Christmas this year, but I’m hoping to get those I’ve missed within the next week or two. My favourite was a gift from Sammie- she made a ornament of us two as penguins, me being purple and her being pink, hugging each other. Me being a purple penguin and her being a pink penguin has been our thing now for many years, so it means a lot to me. She also got me new penguin bedding and a matching cushion which are super cute 😀

Johan had bought me a telly for Christmas a few months ago, but surprised me with a Pingu ball (Hafu Pingu rather than telly Pingu), and Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle soft toys. My sister Meggy had visited a few days ago and she gave me an amazing super soft penguin which I love to stroke. My other sister Becca gave me some awesome penguin pyjamas and penguin stickers. Esther gave me some penguin fuzzy socks (I love fuzzy socks!) and an awesome penguin Christmas jumper. Other presents included penguin stationery, a loom band penguin and money/gift cards. Very very spoilt Danni 😀

I also saw my brother on Christmas Eve, which was a lovely surprise. I’ve spent most of the day on Skype with Sammie, sometimes playing Minecraft (with her and her friend), sometimes just talking. I’m so grateful that I’m well enough to speak to her, be on my computer, listen to a few Christmas carols and songs and hopefully later have Christmas dinner. I even managed to speak to my mum-in-law on the phone for a minute. Now is time to rest and hopefully I’ll continue to have a good day 😀

Danni

Completed NaBloPoMo!

Computers, Danni, Gaming, M.E., NaBloPoMo, Penguins!, Physical Disability, Real Life, World of Warcraft

I’ve managed to blog for 30 days in a row. It was hard, but luckily this year there were no relapses to get in the way (though I still have that rotten cold…). I’m really happy to have managed it. My hope is to continue blogging regularly, though not necessarily everyday from now on. It feels good to write here.

Yesterday was an okay day until I discovered a hole in Penguin. He had been burnt and some of his filling was falling out from his back. We think it was an accident by one of the carers but it means he can no longer be heated up to help me with pain. He’s now sitting next to Penelope on the purple penguin throne (my old commode with purple fabric on it) and Johan has bought me another penguin to do his old job. He says he’s enjoying retirement, and Patricia, Johan’s penguin, is helping me until the new one arrives.

Today wasn’t great when I first woke up. During the night I woke up because I was peeing but was too tired to wake Johan up to change my pad, so it was close to leaking this morning. Luckily it didn’t, but I was really tired and in quite a bit of pain. I had a roast pork ready meal and that was quite nice for something microwaved, and after the evening carer had been I felt well enough to go on my computer. Didn’t get to speak to Sammie much as she was in the bath when I got on and at 7pm there was a meeting for my World of Warcraft guild about raids and stuff I wanted to attend. I did find out she’s enjoying the Sims 4 though which is awesome, and hopefully I’ll be able to talk to her properly within the next few days.

Since my brain wasn’t working properly I’ve only really done my garrison stuff and then fished in WoW today. Yesterday I attempted to do my first heroic but I just wasn’t well enough to manage it cognitively. I think I’ll be waiting until everyone else is overgeared for it and ask them to boost me 😛 I’m gearing up through my follower’s missions and still have some rares to kill and quests to complete in Nagrand. The fishing was fun  and relaxing. I’m hoping to get a level 3 fishing shack by the end of next week by getting 100 of each type of enormous fish in Draenor. I’ve already done two of them so it feels doable if I can manage enough computer time 🙂

It is the first day of Advent. The carer tried to correct me and tell me it was tomorrow, but it turns out she didn’t know it started 4 Sundays before Christmas. I’m going to start planning for Christmas properly now, including figuring out where I’m going to put my Christmas tree. I’ve got an idea but I’ll need some tidying up doing first 😛 I wish I could have gone to church but that’s rather unrealistic at the moment. I’ll try and watch the Christmas Day service on the telly though.

Apart from Penguin being burnt I’m happy. I feel really lucky overall, despite being pretty ill. I can do so much more than I could this time last year, even if I am still in bed not really able to sit up properly yet. I’m hoping that this year I’ll not relapse over Christmas and that way I can enjoy it properly. I’m going to see if I can get my Christmas jumper out soon. It has a penguin on it 🙂

Danni

The Problem With Digital Downloads

Computers, Danni, Gaming, NaBloPoMo, Real Life, World of Warcraft

I’m a big fan of digital downloads. Not being able to get out of bed means if I want to get something independently, digital downloads are the way to go. My biggest purchases are definitely games, but I also get music, films and books this way. It’s awesome.

I mentioned yesterday getting Sammie The Sims 4. It was one of the games she wanted for Christmas and I took it into consideration when building her computer. Thanks to the Black Friday sales, the digital download version was half its normal price on Origin, so it made sense to buy it then. The Standard DVD edition was more expensive than the digital deluxe version. Sammie uses my Origin account as she’s too young for her own (plus it means she has access to the games I’ve previously bought, which I’d give her anyway) but unlike Steam, there’s no gifting option for digital downloads. This means as I wanted to buy it while it was on sale she got access to it immediately, rather than opening it at Christmas. Not exactly a big issue (I’m sure she’ll have plenty of other stuff to open) but it’s something that comes up now.

Digital downloads are amazing but aren’t always ideal as gifts for other people. Some providers do a good job (gifting games on Steam is easy, and you can even keep the game in your own inventory so you don’t need to send it the day you buy it) but others, not so much. You still can’t gift Kindle books and if you want to buy a game on Origin for someone else you have to log into their game to do it. There’s no chance of a surprise there and could be really awkward if you’re in different places (digital gifts are normally awesome if you’re apart as you don’t have to worry about postage).

The other problem is you can’t wrap them. If the item comes as a code (I like Blizzard for this) then there’s an easy way to get around it by printing/writing the code and wrapping that, which is awesome (I’ve had two gifts of World of Warcraft pets done this way, and the creativity that went into the message with it made me as happy as the pets themselves). Humble Bundles come with a URL so you can email that with your own message if you can’t give it physically. For other stuff though, there are less options and a game just appearing in a library isn’t quite the same as  box wrapped in pretty paper.

Some people prefer physical items for various reasons. They might collect DVDs, or enjoy reading physical books. I bought the Collector’s Editions of World of Warcraft for the extras in the box, even though digital versions were available. Digital downloads are great as you can get them immediately and send them anywhere in the world. If the DVD version of The Sims 4 had been the same price as the digital download, I’d have bought that instead so Sammie could open it from under the tree. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. I really hope the gifting options for digital items improve soon from those companies that haven’t implemented them yet, as I want to be able to give Sammie ebooks or other digital items when I want to, not necessarily at the time of purchase.

Danni

Danni Is Not a Graphics Designer

Computers, Danni, Gaming, M.E., NaBloPoMo, Physical Disability, Real Life, World of Warcraft
My avatar for High School Story. The purple penguin on my shoulder is a requirement :)
My avatar for High School Story. The purple penguin on my shoulder is a requirement 🙂

Today was better than yesterday. I’ve not been able to be as high up as I would like, but I have managed computer and talked to Sammie and things.

The main thing I spent today doing was attempting to make an avatar for the High School Story forums. I have access to all the game’s assets so thought it would be easy. It wasn’t. I gave up completely on the idea of hands (why wouldn’t they look right?!) and it took me far too long to figure out where the face/head/clothes go. I based it off my actual character in the game but changed my hair colour to purple (from red- purple isn’t available in game) and added a purple dress normally worn by one of the other characters (Payton), and glasses from the Nerd outfit. Once I’d figured it out (several hours later), I added the purple Tux that’s the mascot for this website on my shoulder as a pet. If I struggle with putting together a few ready made assets, I’m never going to be good at actual graphics design 

I’d completely forgotten about the Black Friday sales when I bought the printer. The good news is it works, and it’s much quieter than the old one. It’s a colour laser printer with wifi so I don’t have to rely on anyone else to print for me (though I do need them to go fetch the printouts afterwards). Hopefully I’ll be able to print the stuff out for the carers and things will be easier.

I found out The Sims 4 was on sale today, and as it was on Sammie’s Christmas list I bought it for her. After a few issues with Origin (password is incorrect messages- yet it was exactly the same as the one I was using and it worked fine here) it’s now downloading and I have a very happy daughter. Ideally I’d have given her it at Christmas but the DVD was much more expensive and there’s no gifting system on Origin. Sammie being happy makes Danni happy 🙂

Over the next couple of weeks I need to finish planning all the Christmas (and birthday) shopping I still need to do so I can try and get it all done before Christmas itself. Sammie is mostly sorted but there are other people, like Johan. Luckily I’m not super ill like the last few years so I’m hoping I’ll be able to do it with plenty of rest and some help from Johan. I’ve also got WoW to play (though I should probably look at ways to reduce time needed to do things in there, as it’s taking me 2+ hours just to do garrison stuff right now) and I got to rank 20 in Hearthstone today for the cardback. No losses with a priest deck made up of random cards I liked the look of 😛 Unfortunately by the time I got to speak to Sammie my brain was pretty broken so I couldn’t play Minecraft, but talking was fun.

Only 2 days to go to complete NaBloPoMo. I’ll be really happy if I manage it, and even happier if there’s no relapse this year. Bad days I can cope with, bad weeks are much harder.