The wanderer, on the roads less travelled

The one nice thing about being sick was that I could play a hell of a lot of this. My formerly puny hybrid agility/energy elf is now level 270 and carries a big mean Chaos Nature Bow + 6 + skill, and she can lay the smackdown on anything that moves in Lost Tower 7. She's also survived Blood Castle and Devil's Square (although not without a little bit of running and screaming in the last five minutes or so). She's usually on Server 2, so if you're ever in need of a companion to go running around killing things, look for DangerGirl (the name was meant to be ironic, so don't give me grief about this)

[picture of DangerGirl to follow]

So speaketh the geeky gamer Slinky.
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Oh, I need to buy a laptop. I don't need it to have state of the art graphics since none of the newer games appeal to me, but it still needs to have acceptable specs for gaming. Both desktop use and as a portable. Since I will shortly be broke for reasons stated below, the best specs for the lowest price is a must. All suggestions and recommendations would be most appreciated.

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I'm most reluctantly back at work, and I can say with utmost confidence that it sucks ass. When you are running a 39.6 degree fever and you don't even have the strength to get up and the crook of your right elbow feels like a piece of meat from all the blood tests and your back and joints are a screaming jigsaw of pain, and you find yourself thinking, "God, this is GREAT, I don't have to go to work!", that really puts things into perspective.

But The Boss is brilliant. When I popped my head into his office to yell "I'm back!" he asked me if I wanted to take a few days more to recuperate. How fabulous is that, considering I've already been MIA for almost three weeks?

The Boss' Boss also called me in to ask how I was, and told me it was important to get as much rest as possible, and to please leave earlier every day if I needed to (to which a rather cynical colleague snorted and said, "Oh, so does that mean 8 pm instead of 10pm?")

I gave The Boss the Letter on Monday.

"I know this is probably not the best time, but, here you go...." I said, handing over my future, re-written six times and placed in an envelope filched from the office supplies.

He opened the Letter, eyeballed me, then said, "Look at how delighted you are!", then burst out laughing. He may also have been laughing because this was almost the same Letter that was used in the famous exodus from the previous hellhole by 26 other people (I believe I was number 24).

The truth of it though is that even though the work drives me up the wall (with some exceptions), I like the place I work at. And I would be lying if I didn't say some part of me would miss this very much.

That doesn't mean I won't be delirious with joy when I finally end this though. Because my future, the one I've dreamt of for a long, long time, lies ahead.

Jump and fly, sugar, yeah.
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The wanderlust has hit me hard. With all the stress and the craziness that's been going on, the fight-or-flight impulses have kicked in, and I'm definitely in full flight mode.

Stop one is Taipei, which I have never been to, and which I am a tiny bit dubious about. But I am lured by the prospect of exploring a new city and wandering streets my feet have never walked before. I am told that the street food is glorious, and the night markets are reminiscent of Bangkok (a place which will always have a special fuzzy place in my travel-hungry heart) so there is some promise of adventure and a great deal of fun. And hell, I have been told of big pythons being sold on the streets. I can't resist something like that.

Stop two is KL, so I can finally see Zee's dog, maybe look for another dog, and maybe finally find the goddamned Loft and catch up on all the chionging that I've missed out on (anyone want to come along?).

Stop three has not been decided. The place I've been dying to go to since the start of the year is clearly no longer a feasible option. But there are so many choices that I'm overwhelmed.

The top of the list right now is Paris, because Slinky is a wretched, pathetic Francophile who goes weak at the knees at anything French. The idea of walking around the Louvre sends me into ecstasies, and I have visions of sitting by the Sacre Coeur to watch the sunset, walking near the river Seine, exploring Montmartre, sitting in a little café - al fresco, of course – smoking a Gauloise (which I'm sure will taste foul, but it's authentic, damnit), having my pain au chocolate and café au lait (because they are so incredibly good), and watching the world go by. I want to explore the parks and take the Metro and roam Pignalle and drink kir (and embarrass myself) and see Versailles. I want to be surrounded by snooty waiters who will sniff disparagingly when I order my chocolat chaud l'Africain in a belle époque salon de the, I want to savor moules et frites, cassoulet, foie gras, saucisson, nutella crepes, and dance it all off at the Barrio Latino.

Then again there's New York, which I've been to and haven't gotten enough of. I only managed to indulge in less than half of the Met, I didn't get to see anything off-Broadway, and there are so many other places I did not go. I still want to run around Times Square, I'd like to explore Greenwich Village, sit in Central Park with a picnic cobbled together from all the places I pass which catch my attention. The last time I was there I watched "The Graduate", performed by Jason Biggs, Alicia Silverstone and the incredible Kathleen Turner, who drew a standing ovation from the enthusiastic crowd. I want to go to Caroline's again, and eat at Carmine's , and Island Burgers and Shakes, and eat hotdogs at street corners.

Then there's also Sri Lanka and Malta, possibilities which have brought to colorful life by Ego over lunch. I was contemplating Prague, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Budapest, Egypt and Morocco, but these, I think, may have to wait for another season.

I have this need to get away, to wander and explore and find myself in places I've never been.

And I want to do all of this with you.