Category: World of Warcraft

Danni

Goodbye 2020

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

I hope you all had the best Christmas/holiday season you could under the circumstances. We had an okay time, decided to spread it out over a few days with presents on Christmas Day and roast pork on the 28th. I loved all my presents, though I still need to sort some out for those who didn’t have wishlists I could pick from. Sammie came over on Christmas Eve, and after donning full PPE we finally had a hug which was the best present. It had been over a year as I wasn’t well enough when she came over in February then The Event stopped her visiting much through the year.

I’ve still not left my bedroom, but Izzy has promised I can go on the ramp to watch fireworks on New Year’s Eve and I’ll wear full PPE in case the neighbour shows up. The fireworks will be at 6pm instead of midnight because of The Event. Instead I’ve been playing a lot of World of Warcraft Shadowlands, watching TV and films, reading a lot of Wikipedia/Wikitravel/Reddit and also sleeping through migraines (6 in December, which I’m not too happy about).

The Event has had a big impact. I’ve known several people to get Covid-19. Most were only slightly or moderately ill, but one friend is currently in intensive care on a ventilator, and she wasn’t in the shielding group. Even those who weren’t that ill initially are having symptoms long after the initial illness has gone. As my ME was triggered by swine flu we’ve been really careful, and as the rates have increased in our area Izzy has stopped going to local shops at all and only goes out for my medication and exercise when it’s quiet. We’re really grateful she can work from home still and are praying and hoping my friend improves soon, along with all those who are still ill.

Izzy managed to get graphics cards! We bought a new one as Sammie’s main Christmas present, and then she got an upgrade for herself, along with an upgraded CPU and motherboard and a ton of RAM. This means I got what was basically her old machine with my case and hard drives in it. I now have a GTX 1080 which is making World of Warcraft really pretty. She has an RTX 3090 so can do ray tracing and stuff, which I’m slightly jealous of but she can actually make use of that power making games for work. I also managed to convince Izzy to come back to World of Warcraft so she’s been seeing the new zones in all their glory.

Most of our big plans are on hold until we’re vaccinated. We’re both in group 6 for the UK priority list, me for having ME and Izzy for having asthma. As even when there wasn’t a pandemic I didn’t get out much we want Izzy to get it first, though once I have it we can get the carers back in and look into a cleaner again (maybe my brother). Izzy’s been able to do some housework while she’s on holiday from work, but we’re not quite there yet. We have a lot of cardboard boxes to get rid of. Once we’re vaccinated we’ll be able to have Sammie over more often if she wants to which would be awesome. I also owe her and Izzy a trip to a theme park.

My hopes for the last couple of days of the year are to finish reading Because Internet by Gretchen McCulloch, play a bit more World of Warcraft, and see the fireworks tomorrow. I’ll do a seperate post for my goals for next year and a proper review of this one. This is mostly an update post to get back into the habit of writing.

Danni

WTF is going on?

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

So I’m still here. This is mostly good. Still haven’t left my bedroom, but have gotten out of bed (to make a sheet change easier) so that’s something.

My brother Martin came over in August to help sort the kitchen out, as Izzy was too overwhelmed to do it. He did an excellent job, and we wore masks when in the same room and stuff. As it went well he was meant to be coming back to help more, but then his housemate was exposed to The Virus and by the time his result came back negative cases in our local area had exploded again (not helped by the universities restarting) and it felt too high risk. We’re hoping he can come over when things calm down again as he’s better at cleaning and organising than our previous cleaner.

Having the kitchen sorted meant Izzy felt up to doing more in there, so we bought a bread maker and an Instant Pot to make things easier. The home made bread is awesome, though it goes dry very quickly so we need to find a way to keep it fresh for longer in case I’m asleep. We’ve been buying jam from Evesham Goldenberries to go on the bread, and it’s so good. I need Izzy to make more bread as that jam only deserves the best 😛

I’ve mostly been stable. Izzy being around all the time definitely helps me. The only new thing that’s bad is I’m getting motion sick in Minecraft again, which is very frustrating when I want to play Bilbcraft with friends and it’s been updated to the new version. I’ve been playing some World of Warcraft and Vostok Inc. which have been fun. I got the collector’s edition of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, which is very shiny. Don’t know when the expansion is coming out though 😛

When I’ve been on my tablet I’ve mostly been playing Penguin Isle, The Pocket Arcade (which is made by a certain company Izzy works for… :P) and various Nanogram/Picross games. I’ve been spending less time on Twitter as everything is overwhelming, but friends are good.

Last week Izzy got her flu jab. She was in and out quickly, and it was done by one of the doctors. On Saturday it was my turn. District nurse came out, and we spent about 15 minutes chatting while she filled out paperwork and such. It hurt, but I didn’t go non-verbal or hit her so I’ll call it a success 😛

This week has been recovering from that mostly. For some reason my lower arm has been hurting more than my upper arm, and I’ve had a few days of feeling rotten and needing more anti-emetics and ibuprofen, but today I seem to be back to Danni normal. I’m glad as I’ve been wanting to go on my computer and watch more Hilda on Netflix.

No real plans for the near future, though we’re starting to think about Christmas. We’re looking at graphics cards but struggling to find new ones anywhere. Hopefully that will improve at some point in the next couple of months. I’m wanting to leave my bedroom at some point, but that requires either the living room to be accessible (which is hard for Izzy to do as she’s doing two full time jobs right now) or for it to be safe for me to go outside, when we have a neighbour who won’t keep her distance. We’ll see.

Danni

Coronavirus and Stuff

Computers, Danni, Gaming, M.E., Minecraft, Physical Disability, Real Life, World of Warcraft

I spent most of February sleeping and feeling rubbish because of a cold (not sure if it was the same one from January or a different one). When I was awake, I mostly played Merge Dragons as it required pretty much no thinking power (and I used walk-throughs for the levels I was struggling with). I did have Sammie come over during February half term, but was too ill for hugs. Next time she’s over we’ll have to make up for it, but seeing her made me very happy 🙂

March is being better. I got my hair washed yesterday for the first time since November which is awesome. I’m able to go on my computer again and that means playing other games. First of all, I was one day away from getting enough Mechagon rep to get flying in World of Warcraft Battle for Azeroth areas. It took me about an hour but I did it! I can now fly everywhere that has flying enabled so I’m very happy.

The second was that Ellen, Bilbo‘s mum, created a Minecraft server for fans of Bilbo called Bilbcraft. Sammie and Johan had been playing a lot of it, including when I had Sammie over here during February half term, and I really wanted to play as well. Since being well enough to go on my computer, that’s been the main game I’ve been playing. I have a penguin main base, and a little island getaway which is great for exploring an area most people haven’t been to. I’m building up the courage to go to the nether and the end soon, as I want to build ender chests to make moving my stuff around easier. I’m not always well enough to interact with the other players, but they’re really friendly 🙂

The biggest news we have is that Johan now has a paid job! They started just over a week ago, and as it’s the game company they previously volunteered for we know the boss is very understanding of our situation (and me needing Johan to come home with pretty much no notice at times). The hours are relatively flexible as well so we can work around my appointments and such. It does mean claiming Universal Credit instead of ESA. So far we’ve had the ID check and made Johan my appointee again (luckily no arguments there) so Johan can do everything needed for me. I might need to go through another work capability assessment, but hopefully it’ll be fine.

We also got a refund on our Bedroom Tax a few weeks ago. Johan sent an email to the council telling them we didn’t think we should be paying it because I need a separate bedroom for medical reasons, and after a few months we got a letter back saying they agreed and refunded us back to when the law was clarified in 2017. The timing was great as we got it just before Johan got their job so we’re using that to pay the bills until payday and Universal Credit is sorted out. Johan was also able to go down to London to see friends which was awesome.

So Coronavirus is the big news story at the moment. It’s not widespread in the UK at the moment, but it’s probable that will change at some point soon. People have been stockpiling items like hand sanitiser, toilet roll and baby wipes. I’m unable to wash my hands due to having no access to a sink, so rely on hand sanitiser to keep them clean. I do have half a bottle left, but it’s not alcohol based and from what I could Google is only partially effective against viruses. Johan has been trying to get me an alcohol based bottle, but they’ve been sold out everywhere. I also need baby wipes and am really hoping we can get some before running out.

I’m not particularly worried about getting it myself. Being mostly bed bound means I have limited contact with other people, and the carers wear gloves for all personal care tasks. This would be fine, except next week Johan is going to Kielder and that means I’m going into a care home. I don’t usually have much contact with the other residents as I tend to stay in bed there as well, but it’s a lot easier for a virus to spread there than at home.

If I were to get it, I’m not at high risk of having a severe case of coronavirus itself, as my lungs are pretty much the only part of me that seem to work correctly. The problem is even a mild cold causes my ME to become much worse, and if it were to be particularly severe then I could end up at the point of not being able to chew again which is not great. I do have an N95 mask if needs be, and gloves, but avoidance is currently the best plan.

Johan is asthmatic, so I’m more worried about them getting it. Swine flu made them very ill, and I made my ME much worse trying to care for them at that point (I could still crawl back then). We do have the care agency, but we’re not sure how quarantine would work for them. If it were me to get it then Johan would probably be able to take time off work if working from home isn’t an option (I dunno how realistic it is), but if Johan got really ill I might need to go into a care home again, while being isolated, and I have no idea how that would work. I’m also slightly concerned about the care home being put in quarantine while I’m in there, but since it’s next Wednesday and only for a week hopefully it will be fine. Needing pretty much 24 hour care complicates things a lot.

The people I’m most worried about are my friends who are immunocompromised or whose ME is much more severe than mine. Already some have been told by their doctors to avoid going out outside or socialising, and I know myself how horrible being isolated is, and it’s somehow even worse if you’re well enough to do things but can’t because of external factors. I really hope they stay safe and that the people around them help them avoid getting it.

In the meantime, I hope that Johan recovers from the knee injury that they got at the weekend so they can actually run at Dark Skies Kielder in just over a week, we can get hold of some baby wipes and hopefully some more hand sanitiser, as well as more food as the shop we did had half the order missing. I’m also wanting a bath while at the care home, as baths are awesome and I don’t have a proper one here. And while I’m well enough I’m going on my puter to farm sheep and fight old Gods as often as I can 🙂

Danni

Day 26 – New Tablet

2019, Computers, Danni, Gaming, M.E., NaBloPoMo, Physical Disability, Real Life, World of Warcraft

I got very lucky and my new tablet was delivered Tuesday afternoon. I still have some final setting up to do but it’s working, rooted and it charges!

Tuesday was a good day. While on my computer I managed to sort out all my emails including setting up new filters so my inbox is less overwhelming, update my care call spreadsheet (43 different care workers so far this year, 87 since I started with the agency in 2017, not including any that weren’t on my rota), and play some World of Warcraft. Got to honoured with Rustbolt Resistance and did some of the Pilgrim’s Bounty quests so I’m happy there.

The physiotherapist came, and it was fine. I’m to continue doing the exercises I’ve got when I can, and when I’m ready to progress to more ask my GP to refer me back and she’ll see me again. Since it’s going to take a while to see much improvement it makes sense to discharge me, but if I’ve got any issues I’m just to ask for another referral. She also gave me some utensil holders from the OTs to see if it’ll make feeding myself bit easier. They’re different from the ones I’ve already tried and it looks like they might work so I’m excited to try them.

I was still feeling okay after the physio left so I talked Johan into taking me to the barbers. It was raining, and it felt amazing to feel it on my face. It was a little awkward and scary getting me up the step inside, but inside was spacious and they had no problems shaving my head. There was no music playing which was a bonus, and the other barber putting the telly on didn’t bother me with my ear plugs in.

Danni in their wheelchair. They are smiling and have a shaved head with only a tiny amount of hair left, and are wearing a purple coat and glasses.

They took a lot of care, and I felt more comfortable than at the other barber I’ve been to. It was also cheaper (though I added a tip as I was so happy). They called us both sir, which I found amusing (I’m normally read as female by people under 70). The only minor downside was the smelly spray they used at the end (nice scent but a bit strong for me) but I’ll just ask them not to use it next time. I’m definitely going back there, and as it’s so close hopefully more frequently than every 7 months.

My tablet arrived at the local shop not long after I got back, so Johan went to get it then left me with it and the Surface (so I could put TeamWin on it) while he went to the doctors to sort out my tramadol (the electronic prescription didn’t go through properly or something, but I have them now). By the time he got back I was getting pretty tired as I’d been up since Monday evening, so he went for his run while I got my tablet to a working state then went to sleep.

I’m writing this on Wednesday morning (though it’s still Tuesday in some of America) and I’m a bit annoyed as my digestive system has decided to play up. Nothing I haven’t experienced before but it hurts and I’d like more sleep please. Hopefully it’ll settle down so I can rest more. I suspect the rest of the day I’ll be finishing sorting out my tablet and resting after yesterday.

While I was asleep Johan managed to get my old tablet to charge with one specific cable (probably bent just right to make contact) so he’s taken that, wiped it (as I didn’t need the nandroid backup as I’d already done a fresh install of Resurrection Remix) and installed Pixel Experience (Android 10). He says it runs much faster than when I was using it (I need a lot of accessibility apps which slow things down) so he’s happy, and I’m happy it’s not just a deadweight. I’m still glad I replaced it as I move so much that I’d probably mess the cable up so it no longer charged at all. Yay!

Danni

Day 11 – World of Warcraft

2019, Computers, Danni, Gaming, M.E., NaBloPoMo, Penguins!, Real Life, World of Warcraft

It seems I really needed that sleep. Once I woke up this morning (from a nightmare which wasn’t ideal) I was feeling much more like myself. Still full of cold but otherwise mostly at my normal level of functioning.

Since I was awake and kinda with it for once, I decided to go on my computer while Johan was at his volunteering. First was finishing reinstalling all the programs after the reformat last time I was on, and then I went into World of Warcraft.

In WoW at the moment there’s a 15th anniversary event going on. There’s some fun things included like revisiting old raids and fireworks, but most importantly for me is a 15% buff to reputation until January. To be able to fly in the newer areas you need to get revered (second highest) reputation with several factions, including two newer ones. I’d done all the older ones, but still had those two to do. I was able to get one of them to revered today so I’ve only got the last one now. Unfortunately my Rustbolt Resistance rep is only at friendly even after doing all the dailies I could today, so as I need to get through honoured as well it’s probably going to take a while until I’m able to fly. I did have fun with a jet pack in the Mechagon zone though.

The other advantage of being on my computer is that it’s so much easier to sort things out. I was able to get my emails sorted, buy various items that were in my baskets, and finish moving over from Chrome to Firefox. I was also able to go on video chat with Sammie for a while, which was awesome.

There was a lot of noise from the flat upstairs this morning. Banging, drilling and loud voices mostly, though at one point my lightshade was moving so whatever they were doing was vibrating the ceiling. I’m not sure if it was the council, their contractors or a new tenant moving in. Johan checked outside but the only van out there was a stairlift one, and they weren’t fitting a stairlift. I’m glad I had my noise cancelling headphones or there’s no way I’d have coped, and going on puter wouldn’t have happened.

I also changed my top today. I got a new one last week, so I’m wearing that. It says “Protect Earth – Penguins Live Here” and has a very cute penguin picture on it. I had to tell Johan not to pinch it until I’d worn it as he likes it as well 🙂

Tomorrow I think I’m having my flu jab. No idea when that’ll be, but I’m hoping it’s a nice nurse. I know it’s not going to be the awesome practice nurse that did Johan’s as she couldn’t come on a Tuesday 🙁 I’m a bit nervous but since flu was what triggered my ME I really don’t want to get it again. Having a cold is bad enough.