CynthiaLover

Got an update on my uncle's health from my aunt (his sister). He'll be fine, he's just constantly tired and having some bad joint stiffness issues, so he's having trouble doing things and getting around. And despite that he even has plans to go to Thailand in January to see his son. So, fortunately, he's not dying or anything, just dealing with more-frequent-than-normal body aches and fatigue from old age. That's a relief, as I was getting worried that he was terminally ill or something. That's a load off my mind.

I just got news that my Uncle Donald is not doing so good. Mom and dad are going to visit him and my Aunt Sally tomorrow, which will be a two-day thing since they live a decent distance away from us (though they're in the same state). Now I'm really worried that this could be the end for him. I hope it's not the case but I'm bracing myself for any bad news. Here's hoping he gets better.

Hi CynthiaLover

Well, my car broke down. Again! That's the second time in three weeks. And that's the last time I'm letting my dad take it to that damn mechanic in his town, since he does pretty chintzy jobs. While the dealer is more expensive at least I know they're not going to do a half-baked repair like the mechanic dad likes.

Argh... what a week. First a snowstorm buried me, then my broken window, which was slated to be replaced, got repaired by accident when getting replaced, making the whole month and a half effort/wait to get the window's measurements right and waiting for Lowes to not screw up a second time was wasted, and now my car needs to be jumped again because of said snowstorm killed the battery. Guess I need a new battery that won't die every time it gets cold (to be fair, the car is 21-years old now). Now watch as when I get a replacement battery somehow the old battery ends up working perfectly for the rest of the winter. Oi...

hi!

i've made 2 new threads - any thoughts on my trainer oc, heart & any thoughts on heart's successor, kurara, my trainer oc *my 2nd trainer oc i made*
if you ever want to have a look, please feel free to

thanks for the follow back! :3

Been playing a lot of Breath of Fire 4 today. Doing what, you may ask? Fishing. Trying (and succeeding) to catch certain "big ones" like Spearfish, Bullcat, Sturgeons, and Whales so I can trade them in for equipment from the Manillo merchants (and they make for useful items, such as Whales being the same as Moon Tears: heals all party members and cures all status ailments). I managed to get Ursula her best weapon: the Culverin (technically it's her second best weapon, as the Electrifier is her best in terms of raw power, but it has poor accuracy and only hits a single target, while the Culverin hits all enemies, has a +20% to Ursula's accuracy, and increases her critical hit rate, so it's more practical and useful in the long-run), along with an Ivory Dice, and Angling Rod (which helped net me all those fish), and several lures. Still need to fish more before I progress the story so I can get more equipment from the Manillo merchants. And my thumb hurts from holding the X button during all that fishing.

Dawn of Courage chapter posting is being postponed until after Christmas, as the next few days are going to be hectic. I wrote the last chapter for now today and will take a break until after Christmas, especially since the story is entering the next arc: the King's Hunt Festival arc. Until then.

Ugh... all writing has been put on hold while I fight with food stamps to give me a better amount. This is the first time I've had to send an appeal to them because they gave me such a meager amount of food stamps to work with, clearly not putting all my costs like medical bills into the equation. This'll ratchet up my stress levels for sure. If I don't get this sorted out I won't be able to buy food nor be able to make my signature Christmas cheesecake. This is the pits.

So I'm attempting to play one of the worst games in the franchise: HeartGold. I'm trying to go in this with fresh eyes and a fresh attitude after having ignored it for so long. Am I going to have fun with this run?

Hey, curious about something. Would anyone want me to do a Q&A blog regarding my most recent series Dawn of Courage? If so, let me know.

Meant to mention this but I got both my flu shot and second COVID booster last week. Had no reaction to either shot, which is good, though I've never really had any reactions in the past. But at least I can mark those off my checklist.

Gah! First my landline phone went out yesterday, requiring me to call Spectrum on my cell phone. They send a signal into my modem to reboot it, which does fix the phone. But now my wi-fi is dead! I called Spectrum again and after several failed attempts to reconnect my devices to it they're sending over brand new modem and router. This is not good timing, as tomorrow starts the 3-day event called "The World's Largest Garage Sale" in my area, where I'll be effectively trapped in my apartment because of how congested the town gets during this event. At least they're mailing it so I don't have to go fetch it during this chaotic time, but man, this was not something I needed right now.

Well, after picking up Breath of Fire 3 again after taking a few days to rest I not only beat another Archmage but also a Berserker. And it turns out Berserker, while very powerful, gives less EXP than Archmage (30,000, or 10,000 per character, compared to Archmage's 48,000, or 16,000 per character). While I didn't get any drops from it this does prove that my party, or at least Ryu, Nina, and Garr, can eat Myria for breakfast (considering that Ryu is Level 47, Nina is Level 46, and Garr is Level 41, and the "recommended" level to face Myria is Level 40, it's no surprise... and I've beaten her with party members only in the 30s in the past). Sheesh, at the rate I'm going the final bosses, including Myria herself, will be a walk in the roses.

Well, I did something today I've never achieved before. While playing Breath of Fire 3 I ended up defeating three Archmages. In case you don't know, Archmages are one of the two strongest monster in the game, equal to Berserker, and even stronger than the final boss. While they have low HP (only 3,000) they auto-recover 1,500 each turn, are fast enough to prevent you from getting Extra Turns, and have two devastating attacks in the form of Myollnir and Mind Sword that can one-shot pretty much every cast member no problem. Myollnir can be absorbed with a Thunder Ring but Mind Sword can't be mitigated outside of Defense buffs, so you're at the mercy of RNG. Beating them, however, gives you Rei's best weapon. And, somehow, I managed to beat three of them within one day. And the stupid amount of EXP it gives has catapulted Ryu, Nina, and Garr into my strongest fighters. I've never beaten one before, much less three, so I feel pretty good. This playthrough is becoming one of, if not my best playthrough of Breath of Fire 3 to date. Now... if I can just beat a Berserker then I know I can eat Myria for breakfast, but that requires a whole other strategy.

Hi CynthiaLover. Not sure you remember talking a couple of times in times past since I've been gone for years. Anyway I was browsing on the What Did You Write Today thread and I noticed you write chapters pretty fast.

I'm trying to write a fanfic of my own and I was wondering if you can give me some tips when it comes to writing. I'm having some issues filling out descriptions on the world I'm making and in long conversation scenes. I can imagine the scene in my head and hear the tone in my ears but putting it on text is a different story. I'm good when it comes to fight scenes and dialogue though.

Well, my dad officially retired from his teaching/teacher's aid job. At 75 years old I think it's time for him to hang up his neckties, set the alarm clock to "snooze", and just take it easy. He'll probably drive mom crazy but he just cannot keep getting up at 6 AM to go to school every day, as it takes too much out of him. So we're throwing a little party for him this weekend as celebration for decades of teaching those little gremlins... excuse me, "students". I'd say it's about time.

Okay, I just learned something interesting while surfing YouTube. Turns out that there is a glitch in Monster Rancher 2 DX. This glitch has a very interesting effect. If your monster goes on expeditions, you'll only lose about a week of lifespan despite the fact that your monster is on a month-long expedition. Normally you'd lose the 4 weeks that your out on the expedition plus another week due to fatigue, but this glitch only registers the lost week from fatigue. As a result, if you go on as many expeditions as possible your monster can effectively double its lifespan. Now I'm starting to understand why Mero lasted as long a she did, longer than she was supposed to, as she went on several expeditions, but only lost a week's worth of lifespan on each because of the glitch. Don't tell TECMO this, as they'll patch it, but it's a very interesting discovery and exploit if anyone is playing Monster Rancher 2 DX.

Not sure why I'm posting this (probably because I'm bored) but after many years of forgetting about it I made my old chili recipe for the first time. I made it mostly for mom as a treat of sorts for getting through all her physical therapy post-surgery, as she looooooves chili. However, I had to make some adjustments to it.

First off, the original barbeque sauce I used has long since been discontinued (A&W Root Beer Barbeque Sauce), so I had to experiment with a different brand, in this case Heinz Sweet and Smokey Kansas Style Barbeque Sauce. I gave it a taste test prior to using it and it's pretty good so I felt it was a good substitute. Also, because dad is on a special diet he can't have onions so I had to omit them. And finally, normally I use beef or bison (bison is my preferred choice for my chili due to it being so healthy but it's not the easiest to find) but since I had to make a large batch (effectively double the recipe), I used both bison and ground wagyu (I have a special monthly ordering system where I order certain foods, such as organic, grass-fed, wild-caught, and all that other fun stuff, and have it delivered, for a good price I might add, and their service has quite a few rare treats that I can't find around here, including wagyu, swordfish, lobster, bison, duck, wild boar, and so on).

The combo, I will say, tastes great, so while it's not my original version it'll do nicely. As a result I spent most of today either cooking or gathering up the needed ingredients. Hopefully mom will like it, as she really needs a nice treat after all the physical therapy and getting over her Covid over the past month.