super uber update rant extravaganza

oh Tyrael's mount, you elude me.
I have been really dragging (read digging) my heels about the annual pass. I really really want the mount. But lately, I just don't feel like devoting 15 dollars of my monthly pay check to the Blizzard's cash cow. Yes, I will be obtaining a free Diablo 3 copy, but I was thinking about buying the collector's edition anyways. And then there's the looming giant of Star Wars: The Old Republic, which, after a weekend of beta testing, I near wholeheartedly agree "... that people seem to find it hard to go back to other MMOs once they play The Old Republic." 
800,000 +....er...-
It does not surprise me that WoW has lost a significant amount of subscriptions in this last quarter. Considering it's the holiday season, games are raining down on us, and some of them are highly anticipated. I know multiple people who are leaving WoW for a few months while they bask in COD, Skyrim, and other games. Then with SWTOR looming overhead, I bet Blizzard might be squirming. I think the annual pass was an attempt to try and slow down the inevitable subscription downhill that Blizzard will eventually meet, as do all games. I mean, WoW is almost 7 years old. That's amazing in itself.
I have notoriously taken a lot of "breaks" from WoW. I always feel defeated when I return, tail between my legs, mainly because I miss my class, the friends I play with, or get just damn bored. Something that has been changing is the time I take in between return and break. It's getting smaller. I've only been "back" for a couple months and I'm already considering leaving again. Even with the promise of new content coming soon, I'm just not buying the same song and dance anymore. I was incredibly excited about Mists of Pandaria, but now all I do is watch SWTOR movies and wait for the next beta weekend eagerly.
What's your game?
Information overload has really affected how I feel about druids, and being one. The more I learn about the plans of evil Blizzard, the more I find myself walking away from druids. And I'm so dedicated to being a druid that becoming a "switcher" isn't appealing anymore. And I'm an altoholic. I hate MoP and 4.3 so badly.
The Trinity does not allow for Hybrids. 
Even as a druid, I'm really not buying this hybrid path. I am completely miffed that while other classes got cool new moves and exciting, OP talents in the MoP previews, we were given "hybrid" talents that really don't help us in our desired role. I can't understand how this is going to help a class in a game that's entire battle system is based around the "trinity"-Tank, Heals, DPS. It's entirely situational, and unless Blizz gives us opportunities (all the time), druids are looking at an interesting future. And it is a future I am not okay with.
There are other problems too, with druids being a "hybrid class" We're a hybrid class that needs to be in a narrowing, restrictive form, to play another role. Unless Blizzard has a plan to remedy this problem, I can't really see this working out at all. Of course, that being said, there's plenty of time until 5.0, so lots of time to figure out this stumping block.
4.3 can suck it
The other annoyance is the 4.3 changes looming over me. The nice thing is that by the time 4.3 comes out, I can jump ship into the warm arms of The Old Republic...
My GM, whose this lovable dude (and I am not saying this because he reads this ...hi Ish!), keeps telling me that everything is going to be okay.
I DO NOT THINK IT WILL BE OKAY!
Numbers don't lie. Blizzard's refusal to release or show any sign of helping druids continues to dishearten me. I don't know how long I can keep telling myself "It can all still change," before I sound like an ignorant idiot.
And it's not just the WG nerf. It's the glyph thing too. I hate that they keep trying to make us "choose" glyphs, but they give us no real viable options. How does that give us a choice?
Facing the truth
If I can't even be excited about my class, than how can I be excited about this game. It's tiring being so devoted to a game, and I don't mean just game time. I mean watching Blizzard's moves, and feeling like they affect me personally is getting to be too much.
I'm also just over the lore. That was the major draw for me, but at this point, I'm just irritated with it. Thrall annoys the hell out of me, Aggra can go die in Deathwing's flames, and the new Jaina story is something I really could careless about to speculate. Garrosh has lost my interest simply because I am sick of watching Blizzard drag his character through the scapegoat mud. I will always be a loyal Horde fan because of him, but I can do without watching him spiral downward.
So maybe it's time to move on. I am at another point where I want to step away from WoW again. There is very little I can say about how long it will be. Even without SWTOR or other games to keep me interested, I still don't log on. some good side affects from not logging on include going to bed earlier and not procrastinating on homework. And by the time I'm officially on Winter Break, I will have SWTOR in my hands.
Black Friday Plans
I've been working retail for over 5 years now. This will be my 6th Black Friday (x_x). I'm never really after the big deals: TVs or Computers. I can't. First, don't need them, but even if I wanted them, I'm working, usually in the morning. I do however, stock up on TV on DVD and movies. This year, I'll add music to the list.
The best thing about Black Friday for me is grabbing the TV on DVD that I want. These DVDs usually go for 40 dollars and upward, and every year I can expect to grab what I want for 7-15 dollars a piece. I'm excited to finally get Vampire Diaries 2 and Mad Men 4 for only 20 dollars total together. I'm probably going to travel to Walmart and Best Buy to see what's in their bargain bins as far as DVDs and CDs. I know Target has Lungs by Flo+ the Machine for 6 bucks or something which I am excited about.  The best thing to do on Black Friday is to look.
Games wise, I would love to ad the Diablo II battle chest to my collection, but I have not seen it on sale anywhere. I'm looking for the best Skyrim deal since I'm thinking this will be the game I'll go for if I finally leave WoW in the dust.
Also, once I get off of work, I'm racing home to log onto SWTOR. Can't wait for Beta Test this weekend. I think they also lifted the NDA too. Can't wait to read all the information pouring in. I am so excited for this game, and am 100% behind it.
So...new blog title? Force-casting? :)
Happy holidays everyone!

Corpsegrinding Blizzard.

There has been so much hype and freak out about pandas, that I did not even notice this problem until I read some blog posts, first from Manalicious and then from Piercing Shots. Considering I was actually there (at Blizzcon) I was incredibly shocked because I hadn't even thought about what had happened. This may make me seem intolerant or dense to the situation around, but I think you can't just jump to conclusions about something. 

The Problem
During the Level 90 Tauren Chieftain (whatever they're called) performance, they invite George Fisher, aka. Corpsegrinder on stage. They were about to play their huge Horde song, and they were pumping the crowd up for a big Horde sing along. I guess Corpsegrinder is a huge Horde fan, and they showed a video of him bashing the Alliance and praising the Horde. It should be noted that, from a Blizzcon stand point, it looked like he was just cussing a lot, cuz pretty much everything he said was bleeped out. All I heard was "bleep Alliance, bleep never play Alliance....bleep for the Horde..."
So of course, all the Horde was laughing and cheering.
Why it's more of a problem.
So I guess the words bleeped out weren't just fuck. It was also fag. And homo. Or something. Which, I find pretty deplorable. And I don't agree with. But at the same time, I can honestly say I had no idea.
Manalicious says her friend said:

"So, when I see people like Blizzard putting an asshole like George Fisher up there on stage and an audience cheering at his filthy, homophobic language, it makes me very sad—but it doesn’t surprise me, and I don’t think they’re necessarily evil: They’re just playing out the cultural template that we’re given."

First off, I was cheering. I am a huge Horde fan. But I don't think its fair to say I was particularly cheering for his homophobic language. Again, didn't even hear the homophobic language. I am naive enough to think the only words he had bleeped out were "fuck". Even at the end, I guess he said "cocksucker," but I didn't hear that because a lot of people were cheering. I don't think its fair to just accuse everyone at Blizzcon for being sad and "playing out the cultural template that we're given." It's a much different story when you're caught in a group of people, with loud cheers and this video where all you really here is "bleep bleep bleep".
Now that I know what has been said, I feel pretty awful. My best friends from high school were gay, and I have several others who I all love. I want them so badly to be treated fairly and kindly (ie. marriage for all). And I can't imagine how the LGBT community within WoW may have felt after this all went down.
Blizzard's move from here.
I do believe Blizzard needs to issue a serious apology. Once I saw what he really had said, I was pretty shocked Blizzard would allow this on stage. I mean they obviously knew what he was going to say pre-bleeping. And even then, it's so easy to find the unedited version out there. This tarnishes their image. From a PR standpoint, I'm surprised they didn't issue an apology sooner, considering the LGBT community they have.
Sure they may have thought it was funny and didn't mean anything by it- I can understand that. People freaking out because "how could they put someone up there like that," need to realize that Blizzard probably didn't have the intention of representing themselves with this hateful man, and sincerely believed people would see this as a joke.
That being said, in this aftermath, a heartfelt apology would've been nice. The longer they wait, the worse they look.
Alliance vs. Horde
A lot of bloggers (and commenters) seem upset because when this happened, people rushed to the forums...to complain about Blizz's partiality to the Horde.
Piercing shots' wrote:

"Let's all be clear about this: there is nothing inherently Horde or Alliance about any of us. We're all human beings that may or may not have a preference to play one faction or another for any of a zillion reasons. If you're insulted by Mr. Fisher's diatribe because you play Alliance, you are honestly being kind of silly." 

I find this a bit harsh. There is nothing inherently Lakers or Angels in us either, yet there are still very huge fans, who I am sure would have very hateful words about other teams. It's unfortunate, but not every single person out there is sensitive to hate speech. Most of us wish we were, but we are not.
So where is this apology...
No seriously, I cannot believe Blizzard hasn't issued something sooner. The ETC did, but it wasn't very satisfying. I cannot fathom what Blizzard is doing, just kinda ignoring this. They need better PR people.

Ironically

I've been smacked down from my nerd high from Blizzcon pretty fast. Needless to say, I am extremely unhappy in game right now. I don't want to go into too much detail but I feel pretty f'd up.
I might need a break, specifically from raiding, to see where I want to go WoW wise. Losing my guild, and also not playing Horde has started to really affect me.
There are a lot of factors to figure out, especially since I want to continue playing the game through Mists of Pandaria. But honestly, I have no idea where I'll go. Trying to play with people you want to, but pushing yourself to be in a place you don't want to be, or act a way you aren't used to, really isn't fair or fun. Sometimes, the hardest part is deciding whether it is worth it.
I've always been about responsibly within the game. My biggest belief is that I am taking up someone else's time (when I raid) so I am respectful. I show up on time, I run back to my corpse, I do not dilly dally and go gem/chant new drops. But it's hard when that respect is not reciprocated, in more ways than one.
I am very close to my breaking point tonight. We shall see.

/eyeroll at Jaina Speculation

Now wait. I like Jaina. Back in my Warchief Thrall days, I wanted her to get together with my beloved Warchief. To me, probably one of the most well-developed relationships in the vast world of WoW lore.
But unfortunately, that "like" is also plagued by constant disappointments. Disappointed on how Blizzard portrays her. 
Of course, the usual: this is all speculation. But to be honest, more than not, I find Blizz to be kind of predictable.
The rumor is that Theramore is gonna go BOOM thanks to the Horde. Supposedly this will be the big catalyst that draws passive Jaina into the Horde/Alliance War.
I would think that Blizz would have better plans for her. She has always been a huge advocate of peace and has been working on this for years. To watch her drop all of that because of Theramore's destruction may seem logical, but it also brings about a little inconsistency. The reason I'm kind of up in arms with the idea of seeing Jaina join the war just because Theramore goes boom goes back to a blog I read about female representation in WoW.
From r4healingtouch.wordpress.com:

• Strength of Female Leaders – You can’t expect them to have an equal number of male or female lead story-board characters because ultimately the writers have been working with the same plot line for a while now. What you can comment on is the attitude of the major female roles. Jaina is powerful but she seems to succumb much more to emotions than other major characters. I still can’t shake the sound of her crying in the RP after Deathbringer Saurfang is killed, saying “she’s so proud of her king, <sniffle>”. Sylvanas is strong willed but she is also conniving and deceitful. Even Maiev Shadowsong’s only purpose in the story is to chase after Illidan.

If Jaina's reaction to Theramore being leveled is taking up arms to war, that is on par with an emotional outburst. Which to me, is kind of sexist. To be honest, I always imagined Jaina to be much stronger than that. I also feel that other assholes like Varian and Garrosh have more reason to jump at being fighters than Jaina does. She's always been about peace, and watching her become so emotional that she drops all she believes in just makes her full of estrogen.
Is watching her become so emotional she makes out of character decisions supposed to make her badass?
My favorite speculation is this comment.

• fudge writes: Garrosh, pleased with himself after a hard day of relentlessly murdering, pillaging and god-knows-what in Theramore, comes back to his quarters in Orgrimmar. He's at ease, maybe he's whistling, a Goblin servant pours him a nice horn of wine, then leaves him alone.
  Garrosh relaxes his sour muscles and is about to put down his giant, phallic axe, when he hears a faint, whizzing sound, almost like one of these mage portal spells.
  He turns around, slowly, something cold creeping up his gut.
  A female human with golden hair stands before him, radiating power, as she raises her hand, from which silvery threads of magic erupt, enveloping Garrosh, lifting him off his feet, mercilessly crushing his windpipe.
  "I am Jaina Proudmoore. You destroyed my city. And now you die," the human says, as everything around Garrosh fades to black.

On one hand, we have a cool idea of Jaina killing the one orc everyone hates. On the other, Jaina is basically acting as an assassin to the leader of the Horde, which would, no doubt cause a war. (Perhaps this is what Blizzard wants?) I mean, even though the player base in general hates Garrosh, the orcs do love him, and they would no doubt call for war. Can I just say that also, this person has a complete lack of understanding of what kind of orc Garrosh is (must be an Ally who wrote this).
Reading the description of Jaina on wowpedia.org leads us to think she should be independent and have a "strength of spirit". But unless you've read the comics, all you really do is see Jaina cry.

I'm interested to see what Mists of Pandaria will do with Horde vs. Alliance. Since The Shattering, Baine and Andiun have become the new Thrall and Jaina. Jaina was also key in helping Baine regain Thunder Bluff. I just have a hard time seeing someone whose done all that turn against it because of one event. Something really spectacular must happen. I still think the Jaina we are supposed to see wouldn't jump to Varian's side so quickly. Yes, she would be heartbroken, but I would like to think she has more sense then just being a woman.

And by the way, that Sylvanas lady. She is absolutely bonkers. But it's okay cuz she's hot.

BlizzCon Day Uno: Pandas!

So, I don't know if you guys heard, but China stereotypes the Pandarens are coming to WoW!
It was a pretty exciting first day here at the convention. A lot of new announcements and plans for the fourth expansion. I'm not going to go over every single one, cuz all you need to do is go to wow.joystiq.com and you can get all the information there. I'm also lazy cuz I've only had 7 hours of sleep the last few days.
Mists of Pandaria. It's a risky chance they're taking, but I think at this point, Blizzard has to take that chance to continue holding the attention of its gamers.
Pandas and China Pandaria
The biggest news was obviously the new expansion. Pandarens (those Kung Fu Panda looking pandas) will be the new race and the Monk class will be the new class. Monk class is NOT a hero class, and will start at level 1. Yep, when you are leveling your Panda, I can bet you'll be in dungeon qs full of Pandas. Or maybe not...
The response has been largely mixed, which is no surprise, since when they trademarked the title, the speculation of pandas was also received with mixed feelings. You either love the idea, are freaking SO EXCITED to be a panda, or you freaking hate the idea, think its stupid and wtf pandas!
I understand the skepticism. I think they look outrageously cartoony, especially compared to other races. The idea of Pandarens besides Taurens and Orcs, or Night Elves and Humans, is really odd (hey don't they belong in a zoo?). And it's really hard not to look at them and think, Jack Black (Kung Fu Panda). So I get it.
But at the same time, I think you should give it a chance. The content and videos you see are actually really pretty. I loved the geography and concepts so far, and they really make the world feel like almost ancient China. Rice Paddies, mist surrounded rock pillars. It's a beautiful world. It's also massive, and we will get to explore every inch of it.
The Pandas are a risky race to choose, but it would be difficult to pick up another race. The idea of how the Horde and Alliance come across Pandaria isn't so far fetched that it's bad plot device. Blizzard is extremely lucky to have The Sundering and Deathwing to hide and shake things up.  Nice, convenient lore devices there. I think the oriental feel of Pandaria is great for the artists. The buildings and new creatures have a distinct look to them, and while it sometimes screams stereotypes, I think it breathes a lot of beauty into WoW that has been missing. Seriously, you should see this Giant Turtle island you start on as a Pandaren. Awesome!
The Monk
If you really hate the idea of pandas, well fear not because you don't have to play them at all to play monk. Monk will be available to all races except Goblins and Worgens. There could be many reasons for it. I created a lore theory behind it. The starting areas (which you would be at because Monks start at level 1) are phased areas that deal with the Shattering, and it's aftermath. Having Pandarens magically appear to teach the two races how to be Monks would make no logical lore sense whatsoever.
Anyways, the Monks feel on the little demo I played is hard to describe. You have three power resources, a Chi bar, which is your main power source, then two orb bars that are like runes or something. You get dark and light orbs and a certain amount allows you to use certain moves. Considering I only got to level...er...4? I didn't get to do much with them. The neatest thing about Monks, feel wise, is that they do not auto attack (OH NOES). This allows for more martial arts like play style, which I think is really neat. Also, Monks get Roll...we roll. A lot. Just running around, and then you ROLL. ROLL!
War
 Back to the story. Instead of pulling out Dragonball Z a new super villain on us, like the last expansions, the main villain will be, "war". Basically, red vs. blue. Horde vs. Alliance. It all makes sense now, Garrosh being Warchief. It was the right move to make him Warchief, because let's be honest. If Thrall was in charge, we'd be making cake for Varian. By having two hot blooded, war hungry leaders to take us to war, there isn't a "good" or "bad" side.
Although, in essence, we are all bad. We are basically disturbing a beautiful, rarely touched world that has lived in peace for years. We even bring about evil spirit creatures, that are created by the negativity of our actions. This concept of "war", the villain, makes us all seem like villains.
Talents!
The talent system as a whole is completely different. There are core abilities, which are abilities that all specs should have. Then there are specialization abilities, which are the abilities that pertain specifically to your specialization. Then the talent system, which consists of tiers. At every 15 levels, you choose between three talents, which all have a similar function (Crowd control, Healing, Damage Mitigation, Movement), but do it in a different way. For example: Crowd Control: One move may stun, the other may be an AOE fear that has a CD, and no specific control, and the last will be a single fear that you have more control over.
This is Blizzard's attempt to kick the min/max cookie cutter spec out, and allow for more customization.
They are implementing this system pretty well so far. They went through every. single. talent. tree (how does GC not lose his voice)for. every. single. class. and we got a good look at what they are hoping. I like it a lot! I think it's a good system and is in the right direction.
Do I think it'll actually work? I'm not sure it's enough. I feel like it will be very difficult to balance each talent so that it is an actual personal decision instead of a cookie-cutter one. But it is definitely still way too early, so we have plenty of time to watch it unfold.
Also, talents can be changed like glyphs can, which is great for me! I can simply swap some things so I can have a PvP build and a PvE build without a 3rd spec. I accept :D
Druid Changes
Hey! Cha-cha-changes!
We are now a 4 spec class. Feral has been split up into two specs. Feral (Cat) and Guardian (Tank). It makes sense, and I think its a fair change. Druids are specifically a hybrid class, and our greatest feature is our flexibility. That being said, will being a hybrid player be viable in a raid or dungeon environment, where we each specifically play a role? The last (uber) talent tier involves being a hybrid.
Note: (This is what they have so far, and can of course, be subject to change)
From Sunfyre's Nest: 

• Heart of the Wild (6 min cooldown):  Dramatically improves the Druid’s ability to serve combat roles outside of normal specialization for 45 sec.  Balance:  Healing spells generate Lunar or Solar Energy and benefit from Lunar and Solar Eclipse.  In addition, 50% of Intellect as Agility, 100% of hit rating as expertise rating, and increases armor by 95% while in Bear Form.
• Master Shapeshifter:  Improves the Druid’s effectiveness at briefly switching between forms.  Your melee abilities increase your spell damage by 10% and your non-instant spellcasts increase your attack power by 10%.  Both effects stack up to 3 times and last 15 sec.  Each ability used which benefits from one of these effects consumes one application of that effect.
• Disentanglement: Shapeshifting now removes roots.  In addition, shifting into a form heals the Druid for 20% of maximum health.  This heal cannot be received more often than once every 30 sec.

Will this be okay for raids? Will we be wanted? I'm not sure.
Also, Shamans can spec into a totem talent that basically does what Tranquility does. :( Rawr!
 Anyways, on a positive note.
We did get a new cooldown.

• Cenarion Ward (30 sec cooldown): Protects a friendly target, causing any damage taken to heal the target for 2660 every 2 sec for 6 sec. Gaining the healing effect consumes the Cenarion Ward.  Useable in all shapeshift forms.  Lasts 30 sec.

And Nature's Swiftness finally buffed.

• Nature’s Swiftness (3 min cooldown): When activated, your next Cyclone, Entangling Roots, Healing Touch, Hibernate, Nourish, Rebirth or Regrowth becomes instant, free and castable in all forms.  The healing and duration of this spell is increased by 50%.

Finally! That was a change we really needed.
Oh, and I can choose to summon healing Treants....I can be a treant with more treants. :O
As a restoration druid, I feel weird. With the 4.3 changes and now these, I feel constantly jipped as a druid healer. We never get new spells, we get our form taken away, and we get buffed, then nerfed in an endless cycle under the disguise of "balance". I see the new changes for other classes and I'm excited for them. But I don't feel that excitement as a restoration druid.
And I can't imagine rerolling. But sometimes I feel like I should. Druid is what I am in this game though. I just don't know.
Other Changes
No more ranged slot. No more Relics! Mages, Warlocks, and Priests can be Harry Po'er. No more minimum range for hunters. Eee gads!
PvE Battlegrounds? Yes please! Scenarios? Even more! Challenge Dungeons? YEAHHHHH!!! Transmog items! So pumped!
GOTTA CATCH EM ALL!
No I did not spend BlizzCon playing my Nintendo handheld. Blizzard is implementing Companion Battles, which are essentially Pokemon battles with your cute collectible pets. It's kind of ridiculous. There are some you find in the wild, others you obtain normally. They have a Pokedex Journal that keeps track of them, and where you can find them. You can eventually trade them off as well. You'll get to name them. It's super effective everything, but without the balls.
I personally think this is neat. I love Pokemon. Why not tap into a franchise that is beloved and has transcended generations time and time again.  
Blizzard's Future
We've got SWTOR on the horizon, Rift purchasing bus advertisements outside of the Anaheim Convention Center this weekend, and FTP games everywhere we look. Blizzard's got it tough, and Mists of Pandaria is risky. A comical looking race, a NEUTRAL comical looking race. Pokemon. A newly revamped talent system. Again. It's a lot. But at this point, Blizzard has got to take the chances. If they played it safe, they wouldn't make it. It's what makes them a great company. It's how they pave the way in their industry. I thnk Mists of Pandaria has a lot of new stuff to look forward to, and we're just getting started! I am looking forward to seeing their future.

PS. I'm not sure if I loved or hated the Contests. I'll get back to you.

WTB more dailies

Hallow's End
I am really happy to see Blizzard try and add more incentive to participate in World Events, post hot pink Violet Proto Drake. It's a nice move to keep gamers doing some of these "traditions". Saving a town from fire, trick or treating around Azeroth. It's all tedious and time consuming. Towns are harder to save because no one helps out anymore, even during high activity times. I mean, why would someone do a bunch of mindless tasks that are time consuming, if there is no reward except some candy or Rickety Broom mount. 
Easy..add pets. Pets that can be purchased by a currency only earned by trick or treating, saving towns, doing mindless, time consuming tasks.
Because heavens know that I will be running around, doing Hallow's End crap to get the two pets they added. Yes please! I want my Celestial Dragon!
Traditions get old
I'm sure some people might find nostalgia from doing the same tasks (desecrating flames, saving towns from fires). There are little traditions I enjoy too. Flying on a broom, opening presents on Christmas morning. But some things, specifically bosses, get old. Although Direbrew boss is tolerable, fights like Ahune and the Headless Horseman are just damn well annoying. But alas, I must do them if I want a mount. I don't really expect them to change the fights completely, and considering there's nothing else to do in that mini dungeon-fight, I can't complain too much for doing a 3 minute fight. At least they've been updating the loot over the years.
Dailies
For the first time in...forever, I have been maxing out on dailies, and still have tons more to do. This is the result of a couple of things.
1. Molten Front dailies are like.....15-17 dailies depending on how many vendors you have opened. I have just one vendor to open before I am free from the obligation of doing them daily.
2. I am working on BC rep. I have been doing a couple dailies for Netherwing, although I am mostly focusing on just searching for Netherwing eggs, simply out of laziness. However, during my normal route, I pick up a few dailies to get the added rep.
3. Hallow's End now takes up about 5 dailies as well. And considering they added incentive, by adding currency and more fun items (pets, a wickerman, Flying Broom), I must complete them!
4. The other dailies. Cooking (trying to get the achievement), and Jewelcrafting are a must each day (gotta save for epic patterns)
5. Argent Tournament. As a result of the faction change, my druid lost ALL of her titles and standings with the Argent Tournament. While I was initially upset, this will force me to earn some more crusader tokens so I can buy mounts, which I need.
This is well over 25 dailies and I am usually doing dailies and then realizing I cannot turn them in. I don't like feeling like I need to pick and choose. Once I finish Molten Front next week, I won't feel so constrained. I might just do the few that get me to objectives I need for achievements. Also on the home stretch for Netherwing, and then I can focus on Sha'tari Skyguard or Argent Tournament.
Mount Goals
I am officially attempting to reach the 100 mount goal. I am currently at 76 mounts, with a bunch of mounts heading my way thanks to Netherwing. Once I finish that, I will focus on Argent Tournament so I can buy the racial mounts.
Tonight
Tonight, it's back to Firelands. I am going to a pseudo LAN party at our GM's house. It's one of the perks of playing with people you know, and our in the area. :)
Tomorrow
BLIZZCON! Omg! I am so excited! I have no idea what to expect, but I think it's going to be a blast! :D

the past is depressing, but at least the future looks bright.

Is it Friday yet?
It's been a rough week and a half. A week ago from last Saturday, my grandma fell and broke her hip. It really isn't that bad at first glance, but being that she is 88 years old, and already full of old people problems, it was a horrific domino effect in her health. To be honest, I'm surprised that my grandma has lasted this long. She has always been very frail, specifically mentally. My uncle passed away a little over 2 years ago, and it has been rough on everyone, but I think mostly for her. Ever since then, her health has rapidly deteriorated, and her mental state has been the biggest fall.
Being in the hospital caused a lot of problems for her. Her anxiety has been erratic, and, while she's lashing out at people, her heart rate spikes. But that wasn't the first problem.
Before she could have surgery, they had to get the blood thinner medication she is on, out of her system. Then, they had to get her heart under control, since the extra stress was making it even weaker. Finally, her kidneys decided to start failing, so they had to put her on dialysis. Eventually, her kidneys began to function properly, but her constant anxiety, for being stuck in the hospital for so long, bedridden, kept keeping her heart rate spiked, keeping her from surgery.
It was an endless circle of problems. With some help from anxiety meds, we were able to get her into an incredibly calm state, and on Thursday, 5 days after she was admitted, she finally was able to have surgery.
The surgery went smoothly, but it was a 20 min surgery that ended up taking an hour and a half long.
It's Tuesday now. My grandma will hopefully be moved to a physical therapy facility by tomorrow, however, her anxiety is a constant problem. Health wise, she is considered a miracle case. Her kidneys are working without dialysis, and her heart rate is under control. She is no longer taking pain medication, and she is starting to take medication by pill form which is crucial to her getting out.
My grandma aside, the toughest thing is seeing my mom come home every night and start crying. She is the sole guardian of my grandparents, and although they are living in a great assisted living home, she still has to take them to every doctor's appointment and make all the tough decisions. My brother is currently in Florida, so I've been trying to be as supportive as possible. Unfortunately, this all  happened last week, during midterms. I completely failed one, and did so-so on another. I am extremely tired, and have been in and out of work.
The good news is that my failed test will not result in a failed grade because I've done well on other big projects. I am hoping to at least grab a C in this class. No high expectations here.  
On the bright side...
I am going to my first Blizzcon this weekend ! :D yay!
I'm really excited, even though I have no idea what to expect. I haven't gone to a convention in over a year (usually I pull off a Comic Con every year) so I am ready for this one. I was pretty sad I missed out on Comic Con this year. A lot of my favorite TV shows and actors were there, but I was not. :(
I'm interested to see what a convention based solely around one company will be like. i have gone to Anime Expo and Comic Con a lot, but there was always soooooo much to do. My boyfriend was wondering if I'd go to any lore or class panels, but I'm afraid it might involve me just being angry and fed up.
I am surprised that Blizzard has not commented on the Wild Growth nerf freak out by the community druids, and as patch notes get updated and changed, Resto druids have seen nothing. It's a very sad and painful thing to watch. I really don't feel like rerolling again.
I am really excited to see the Foo Fighters in concert! Yay! Blizzcon!
:D
In Game Shenanigans 
I've been leveling a rogue on the Horde side...for some reason. I'm not sure. The goblin starting area has Thrall in it, in all his new model glory. Unfortunately, his new model was bugged during the fight against Trade Prince. Epic, tiny (he had that shrinking debuff the whole time) fail. Glad I could do all the work. Aggra was also yelling at me to help Thrall, and I just wanted to punch her, like I normally do. :)
I never, in my life thought I would hate Thrall so much.
Although, I am still a huge Horde fan. I really want a Horde lanyard from Blizzcon. Before, I wouldn't even think of showing any WoW out of game pride. But now all I can think about is, man I want that lanyard. The more I play Alliance, the more I want to play Horde. For the Horde!!!!!
We haven't raided much this week because of real life problems. I'm okay with that. Although school is my main focus, the back of my mind is constantly the thought of what will happen when SWTOR comes out. Will I jump ship? Can I afford to have two subs going on? Will I even want to? Will SWTOR hold my attention longer than Rift? God I hope so. Since I am buying the Limited Edition. ><
Is it December yet?