Beer Goggles

Ahhh, the things you run into when looking for other things.  Everyone needs one of these....

Friends or Lovers?

The question of the day:  Can a man and a woman be "just friends"?  I have had many relationships with both sexes over the years.  No!  I mean friendship type relationships!  And I do believe that I have better luck with men.  I luv men.  Women, well, there are a few I really like.  But my best friends over the years have been men.  My best college bud was a guy.  We studied together.  Wrote papers together.  Did projects together.  Marched to graduation together.  He was my favorite person in the whole world, at the time.  He even took me home with him to meet his partner.  Yes, he was gay, therefore safe, but he was still my best friend! 

I also have some very good friends online.  Are they really "virtual" friends?  Some may be.  But I have used voice chat and webcams to really get to know some of them, and feel that they are real friends, not just online.  And, guess what?  They are ALL male.  And I luv them all.  Oh, you know, in a "friendship" kind of  way.  So, this is the thing......My hubby does not understand anything about internet friendships.  He thinks everyone out there is a predator.  Or, all of these guys are only interested in "taking advantage" of me, or other females, to have cyber sex or whatever.  So, I get a lot of grief about my friendships.  He is also jealous of them and calls one or two of them my "boyfriends". 

Soooo, the next question:  Is cyber sex real, or virtual?  I recently read an article on cyber sex and was a bit surprised to learn how often it is used and for what purposes.  It can be anonymous, like phone sex.  But it can also be used to enhance a long distance relationship.  So, putting 2 and 2 together, can a man and a woman be "just friends" online, or will they become "lovers" with the use of the internet to have cyber sex?  Of course, there is no real answer to that question.  It's just a thought I had while I was reading the article.  Interesting......

East Coast LAN

Got home yesterday from Philly.  It was a blast.  I got to meet a lot of people that I only knew by gamer tag.  Still only know by gamer tag.  LOL  But, at least I can put a face to a name.  Everyone was so very cool and a good time was had by all.  Me?  I managed to stay out of all the pictures and played WoW with some of the others.  Em is just wonderful!  Luv her to death.  It was great to have some lady gamers there, too.  Great mix, great party.

My one surprise was a visit from a MTGO clannie.  He said he would "drop by" all the way from New York!  And he did!  That is the one pic I have of me at the LAN.  I always seemed to be somewhere else when the cameras were going off.  Yes, they stuck us in this little (very cozy) room behind a black curtain that said "restricted area".  How funny is that! 

WoW

I have been playing video games of some sort for many years.  I only started playing online about a year ago.  Call me chicken, but I didn't want to take the chance of getting into a "situation" I couldn't handle.  Of course, 2old2play has made me very comfortable with online gaming, since I know I always have someone in the "family" to game with, if I want.  That being said, I had the weirdest thing happen to me.  I am currently playing WOW with all the other addicts in Orcsplitters Local 101.  I haven't been able to level up enuf to go on raids and such, but i like reading the guild chat.  On the other hand, I often hook up with other gamers, just cuz I run into them and we are doing the same quest.  Here's the weird thing......

A few days ago, a night elf (my char is also a night elf) approached me and told me I was beautiful.  That has happened before, and I consider it a joke, so I played along a litte, telling him I thought he was cute, too.  Suddenly he was proclaiming great love for me and, to make a long story short, asked me to marry him and join his guild.  I told him that my guild members would not allow that and thought that would be the end of it.  Then, he sorta started stalking me, and I still found this to be harmless, since he was just stalking my character.  I kept putting him off, even tho he was very insistent I give him an answer on his marriage proposal.  It was starting to interfere with my game, cuz I really just wanted to grind away and try to level up.  So, I got offline and figured he would find someone else to harrass.  A couple days later, I was able to get on to play for a bit, and, geez, there he was.  He wanted me to meet someone.  Kept calling me "baby".  So, I met this someone......  She said she was his "old girlfriend".  Then she PMd me "did I think this was a joke?"  I said, you tell me.  She told me he was serious, and that she was his sister.  I asked how old he was.  14!!!!!!!!  I told her i was old enuf to be his grandmother, and she requested, quite strongly, that I break it off with him, NOW!!!!!  I figure this poor kid is a little nuts, or lonely, or something, so I went thru a role play thing and told him I couldn't marry him, etc.  He started crying.......  Told me I broke his heart.  Ack!  If i hadn't talked to his "sister", I would have thought it was all a joke, but apparently not.  I said goodbye and walked away. 

In a way it is funny.  In another way it is sad.  I have heard about people (kids) that actually "live" their online lives, so to speak.  I didn't believe it.  At least this boy was all about love and nice, and not trying to kill me or anything.  Or get my email, phone number, or address.  I suspect that might have come later.  So sad.........

Vertigo

Vertigo is the feeling that you or your environment is moving when no movement occurs. Imprecisely called dizziness, the term vertigo is the specific term used to describe an illusion of movement. Unlike nonspecific lightheadedness or dizziness, vertigo has relatively few causes.

Vertigo can be caused by problems in the brain or the inner ear.

• Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is the most common form of vertigo and is characterized by the sensation of motion initiated by sudden head movements.
  

  Vertigo Symptoms

  It is very important to determine if vertigo truly exists. Vertigo implies that there is a sensation of motion either of the person or the environment. This should not be confused with symptoms of lightheadedness or fainting.

  • To determine if true vertigo exists, you must describe a sensation of disorientation or motion. In addition, you may also have any or all of these symptoms:
    
    
    • Nausea or vomiting
      
      
    • Sweating
      
      
    • Abnormal eye movements
    
    
  • The duration can be from minutes to hours and can be constant or episodic. The onset may be due to movement or change in position. It is important to tell your doctor about any recent head trauma or whiplash injury as well as any new medications you may be taking.
    
    
  • You may have hearing loss and a ringing sensation in your ears.
    
    
  • You might have visual disturbances, weakness, difficulty speaking, decreased level of consciousness, and difficulty walking.

That said, I am sick to death of this vertigo.  It is a pita.  What they don't say in the literature is that it never really goes away.  When I am about to have an "attack", I get an aura, sorta.  That is also not in the literature.  Next thing I know, my eyes roll up in my head (no, not a seizure!) and the whole world swings back and forth.   I get all of the above symptoms.  Since the first nasty attack which sent me to bed for 2 days, I have never had one so severe.  But, now it is chronic.  I call it the vertigo hangover.  I have an attack, which lasts a very short time, sometimes as long as a few hours, then, for weeks, or even months after I cannot turn my head to the right or look up, or my world starts to swing again.  Like I said, a real PITA!

Just a little Sunday morning rant as I try not to turn my head to the right!