January 19, 2011
Ok, Maybe It’s Time For ANOTHER Change!
So, some of you may know that a long while back, I moved my blog to be self hosted. This blog became Altoholics R Us. I loved that site, it was a blast to work on. Sadly, it was hacked, not once, but twice. I lost all of the content from this point forward. I became discouraged and gave up blogging. However, after a long hard look about it, I’ve decided to pick it back up. I’ve created a new blog, a new name, and hopefully, some new goals. So if I haven’t lost you completely, please check back into http://www.hdks.wordpress.com to find my new incarnation of this blog, Hots, Dots, and Kidney Shots. (Catchy, am I right?)
Gimme some time to set it up though. It’s kinda late, but I was excited and couldn’t wait to put a post up. Look forward to it!
And THANK YOU, if you’ve managed to stick around all this time!
–Andrea
P.S. To help old readers relate to the new blog, I’m exporting the entries of this blog to the new one, so you’ve got a sense of history there.
March 30, 2009
It’s Time for a Change!
Well readers, update your URLs and your RSS feeds! Altoholics R Us have officially moved to a brand new home, because, well, it was time to self host! Along with the move comes the introduction of a brand new author, and a suprise announcment. Make sure you don’t miss out on the fun!
GO THERE!
March 28, 2009
Somebody Loves Me!
Hugz
I have a fan, who knew? Kidding. Obviously there will be readers, but every now and again, I find one I didn’t know about before that has a blog of their own. Today’s blogger is Ruhtra of Holy Shock who tagged me in a little meme. So I’m gonna do this meme, but before I do, let’s give a little shoutout to Ruhtra! Ruhtra’s blog Holy Shock is a personal and interesting read into the life of a holy pally, but often his own thoughts and opinions weigh in heavily, and it is easy to relate to him on his topics. I can tell this blog is gonna be a good read, and I look forward to seeing more of it!
And now for the meme
7 Awesome Blogs To Read (That I Award): (In no particular order)
1. Big Red Kitty — Expected? Maybe. But I don’t even play a hunter, and I’m fairly convinced I could tell you all about it thanks to him. I especially love the little pieces where he argues with himself or when he talks about military matters. BRK is an enjoyable read, even if you don’t play a hunter.
2. Egotistical Priest — And here I thought I was full of myself. Ego has a lot of information to take in, but it’s written for the newcomers and the old. Ego has such a way of adding a humor twist to the posts that you just can’t help but enjoy them. A great read.
3. Lady Jess — I link her a lot, but I just love her views on WoW. Jess has the uncommon ability to find the smallest details in this game we overlook so often. It’s always refreshing to go there and see what gem she’s found recently.
4. World of Matticus — I’m a healer. This is my go-to resource to find out the latest and greatest in game updates and in healing. Matticus and his team have researched far and wide to provide the best healer related information out there.
5. Actually, I give up here. I know so many bloggers but they’ve all been tagged already!
Now…. the second half….
10 Truths…
1. I’m a terrible terrible homemaker. I’m sure you already knew that, but Im gonna state it again anyways….. TERRIBLE
2. I am in college right now, and I am maintaining a 4.0 GPA. So far I am only six courses in, but whatever, its a start.
3. Garen is the cook in our house…. though I can do minor cooking, I just never learned to be very good at it.
4. I was never very secure in my religion until recently. But I never lied about it, either.
5. I’ve held three jobs, and all three for a year or less each.
6. I am a diagnosed Bi-polar… and now they are making me take pills for it.
7. I have quit smoking 4 times, once for each pregnacy and once when I first married Garen. I quit quitting cause nobody likes a quitter! (actually the pills from above are also a quit smoking aid! I really AM trying for the 5th time)
8. I’m only just now believing that I might be intelligent after all.
9. I am terribly insecure about how I look and how people see me. I constantly worry about the image I make and am always walking on egg shells to make sure everything is pleasant.
10. Despite the fact that they are just terrible for you, I drink an Amp every morning. Its a habit I started at 16 when Garen demanded I never drink coffee again (and I don’t!)
March 24, 2009
You Survived!
Did you ever see that quest? If you ever played a Draenei, I bet you have. It’s the first one you get when you start the character. The quest sticks out in my mind because my good friend Denny picked it up his first day playing the Alliance and read it to us. “You Survived…… YESSSSSS!”. Trust me, it was rather entertaining.
So yes, I survived my surgery. As I said, it was minor, and though I am uncomfortable still, I am fully functional, and able to get back to posting. I have been playing WoW still in my absence and have managed a few achievements. My guild did finally clear Naxx10, they also downed new bosses in 25, namely, Gluth and Four Horseman. However, we’ve hit our brick wall with Thaddius. It doesn’t help that our tanks keep taking off. We’ve lost five in a very short amount of time. Most of them have left for bullshit reasons, others, well… I’m just gonna stay out of it, thats how bad it is.
The officer situation is getting a little tense. It nearly always does at some point or another. I had to kick one officer for just flat out being a dick. However, one of the four GMs is having some, well… she said she needed a break, but with all the time she is spending on Garrosh, I’m inclinded to think otherwise.
I’m so proud of the guild lately, and frusterated at the same time. We’d made progress, good strong progress, but no matter that fact people still got grouchy, still got upset that we weren’t as elite as they wanted the guild to be, and of course, those that were the most pissed off about it have left, the rest… well, they bitch a lot but they keep on truckin.
I’m so proud of the ones who keep going. Even the ones who complain.
However, it’s getting to the point where if we dont burst through that brick wall soon, there wont be enough bodies to break through it ever. I keep trying to express that, but no one seems to listen. Honestly its like a selfish spoiled only child who sees his neighbor’s shiny new toy and forgets the one in his hand.
Yeah. I’m ranting. I don’t think I’ve ever done much of that before.
Good news, though. We’ve gotten our orders, and we’re moving out of Alaska this summer. We’re taking a good old fashioned road trip to our final stop in Cheboygan Michigan. Yeah… you heard right, Michigan, not Wisconsin, and yes, it’s almost exactly the same as Ketchikan… except it’s got roads, and thats all I need.
So we’ll be taking a trip, from May 27th until July 15th. We’ll be stopping in Bremerton Wa, Bosie ID, Salt Lake City UT, Great Bend KS, Des Moines IA, Milwaukee WI, and Green Bay, WI. If you know of any awesome sights or eats along the way, let me know ok?
Also. My DK hit 80 tonight. Bout Freakin’ Time.
March 4, 2009
The Grind
My goodness, I’ve been busy. Since the merger, I’ve been working my butt off to catch up guildies in gear to get them into 25 man Naxx. For the past two weeks we’ve been running a 10 man EVERY SINGLE DAY. Sometimes for 4 or 5 hours a day. Why so much? Well, there are 66 80s in the guild, and a good half of them still needed gear. When we first started, we had a lot of 900-1300 DPS. There are two groups, one that runs Tues, Thurs and Sat, and the other runs Weds, Fri, and Sunday. Also on Tuesday’s day side raids, we’ve been grabbing OS 10, 25 and VoA 10 and 25. On Monday’s we’ve been conducting “checks” on the improvements by doing the 25 man Naxx. The first week we had quite a few wipes, but downed Noth, and Heigan, the entire Spider Wing, and made attempts at Four Horseman. The second week we cleared Spider, Cleared Plague and added Patchwerk to our list. This last Monday we really shined. We one shot the Spider Wing, the Plague Wing, had 3 shots to down Patch, and another 3 or so more to down Grobbulus. However, this time, ALL of the raid pulled over 2k DPS and a good chunk even pulled over 3k. I’m very proud of their achievements, and it goes to show that the grind work has paid off.
But we’re not done yet.
We have one more week of pouring ourselves into the 10 man Naxx. Starting next reset, we shall switch to a dedication to the 25 man version, and will still continue 1 ten man around it. Also, we are going to stand up 1 10 man Eye of Eternity group, and see how that goes, too. Once all that is said and done, we’ll then take a focus to leaving drakes up in the OS runs, and by then, we’ll hopefully be as ready as ever for Ulduar.
I believe we’ve come a long way in three short weeks.
There have been a few minor issues we have had to address in running two guilds as one. With four GMs and 3 Officers, there had been some clashing in personality, but I believe we’ve overcome the most of it, and we’re heading in pretty strong. We did lose a few that will be dearly missed in the process, but a few losses were expected.
So now we trudge forward, hopefully bringing down new bosses in our path.
In case you were wondering what I’ve been up to… when I am not running the raids I am generally working on rep achievements. I have become so obcessed with getting forty exalted factions lately. I have 25 done now, with the newest being Sons of Hodir. All that is left now is the Knights of the Ebon Blade, and I will have all the reputations for WotLK that are currently available to have.
25 Exalted Factions
I also keep getting the itch to level my alts. Of course I do, being an Altoholic and all, but currently, the guild is my focus and I cannot take away from that.
On a personal note, I’ll be having some minor oral surgery soon, and might be down and out for a few days. Also, we are STILL waiting for orders to know when and where we are moving, so it’s causing a bit of stress. Finally, it is nearing on my finals week for my courses, so I’m very busy there, as well. So that’s the news, and I’ll be back with more soon!
February 23, 2009
Achievement Spam
It was yet another busy week for me and the guildies at <Abyss>. I have two more resets to finish gearing up the guild for the 25 mans we should be doing. We spent the week taking two groups into Naxx 10. The first group got four bosses down, and the second group got 12. Why did one do so much better than the other? I’m not entirely sure, but I’m gonna guess it was luck of the draw and the route each group choose to take through the instance. I lead the second group and took them down spider first, then plauge, then construct and finally military. The other group started with the military wing. I’d assume that’s part of it. The other part would have been the gear levels of those involved. Our tanks and healers were already geared to begin with, whereas the other group had a healer and a tank that need some more lovin’.
I did spend the day and ran that healer through 6 heroics though, so she’s much better off then she was. Overall just on runs I did, I saw more than 40 upgrades go out to guildies who needed them. Already I can see vast improvement of our DPS. I’m very proud of them for working so hard in only 1 week’s time.
So in between the massive heroics each day and a Naxx group going in daily, I found time to grind out my Argent Dawn rep to net me a title, and then I finished off my gnomer rep for a title there, too. On top of the Naxx achievements I didn’t have, it was a bit of spam this week. Now I’m focusing on Sporggar rep, and then I’ll move on to the other netural to exalted grinds I need for that title, as well. So far, I’m 20 factions into the 40 I’d like to eventually have.
20 Factions, Woot!
Finally, as a guild we’re beginning to see what we’ve got, and getting to know each other. We did lose two DC’ers already, but everyone else seems to be going pretty strongly. Theres two or three that are being a little bit stubborn about the gear grind we’re having to do, but otherwise, everyone else seems to be on the same page. So, two more weeks of grinding, and off to 25s we go!
February 21, 2009
But Mom, All the Bloggers are Doin’ It!
So there’s a meme goin’ around that’s been a sort of craze lately… Gnomes are doin it, Banana’s are doin it, Hell even QQers, Wanna-be Hordies, and Gun Lovers are doin it. And lets not forget the Romantics, the Flower Lovers, The Married, The Raged, The Knotty, The Corner Lurkers, The Numerous Annas, and yes, even the Matticus’ of the World are doin it, too.
And Damnit, I hate being left out.
So here’s my shot:
Bronze Drake
That’s a bronze drake from the timed culling of stratholme event. I was quite excited to have won it, but didn’t get the chance to try it out until we went to Naxx, when I snapped this screenshot. You are supposed to tag someone for this, but seeing as the list above includes nearly every blogger I know, I’m just gonna let this one slide.
February 17, 2009
Let the Merger Begin!
We had a majority of votes. Out of 79 accounts, 32 voted yes, and a few of the accounts haven’t logged in in over two months… so we began the merger last night. Already I can see where the two sides will collide, Old <We Wipe On Trash> members are used to full clearing 25 man Naxx without blinking, whereas, <Damage Control> members had never been in before. So it will take patience from the WWoT people, and some quick learning out of the DC ones, but I think we’ll get there soon enough. I mean, for a raid where half had never been before, we cleared Spider Wing, got all but Lotheb in the Plague Wing, and all but the Four Horseman in the Military Wing. All in all, I think a really good week for all of us, and only one item DE’d. However, to help with the gear difference, we’ll be going into the 10’s some more to play catchup on gear for some people.
During the 25, I was given the job of being one of the two back tanks for the four horseman event. Now, I consider myself well versed in knowing what I can and can’t do, and I was fairly confident I could do this… but apparently, I cant. I can always make the first switch, but once I reach the other side, I cannot outheal the damage I take. It’s painful really. I wonder if some resileance would work for that?
Either way… still a good run, and looking forward to seeing how this merger pans out. <Damage Control> is now <Abyss>.
February 14, 2009
Love is in the Air
Happy national everyone gets laid Valentine’s Day. It’s a day of love, of kindness, and of expressing one’s self. For me, this holiday is usually fairly unobserved, except for taking our children with us to dinner. But for some people, the day is a big deal. Blizzard, for as long as I can remember, has always had the Valentines Day event, but this is the first year we have achievements for it. As you may know, a lot of people are going for the “What a Long Strange Trip it’s Been…” meta achievement. I’m not, personally… however it does effect me all the same. Why you may ask? Well, you see, I am a Draenei Paladin…. and apparently, there are not many of those on my server. I’ve been told we’re just about as elusive as a Troll Rogue… so everytime I’m in a major city, I end up looking like this:
Which really isn’t that big a deal, I just wonder if those petals will ever come out of my hair. So, everyone is in the spirit of love right? NO! There are some heartbroken fools out there that would do just about anything to spurn you, even been as crazy as to ninja a FROZEN ORB?! Yeah, you heard right… I suppose if you’re gonna ninja something…. take the least valuable item you can right? Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned right? Too bad this one’s a dude…
February 13, 2009
25 Man Naxx
So, we ventured into our very first 25 man Naxx, and I did not have major expectations. Two of my healers were no shows, but we managed to fill the raid all the same, and it might sound bad to say, but we did way better then I expected us to. We started with the spider wing, and I must admit when the raid leader (who wasn’t me^.^) said that we’d be healing through the locust swarm, I had a little heart attack. I couldn’t heal through it in 10 man, how was I gonna do it in 25? Well, there was this uber druid helpin me out, and somehow we pulled through. (I would like to take a moment and be ashamed btw, I got SMASHED by that restro druid who overall outhealed me by 17%, despite his having 1800 healing and me having 2200).
It was messy, but we got it in one shot. We continued to 1 shot the rest of the bosses in the spider wing. We then headed into the Plague Quarter, and took a 1 shot at Noth, with minimal
Noth
deaths. We took two shots with Heigan the Unclean (I guess once to learn the dance, once to do it right). I was very impressed as DC had not done this boss before… I kinda intentionally avoided it in ten man, because the once we did try it, people were not understanding. Once we got Heigan, we headed over to Loatheb, but sadly we wiped once at 30% and the second time at 12% before we called it due to time. They’ll be going back on Monday, and I’m very excited for them.
So, now we’re into 25’s and I think we had a great start. So far, the merger votes have been in the positive… and everyone who went had great things to say. I look forward to having the two guilds together since they seem to get along fairly well…. now… I need to get the pallies to install pally power.
Altoholic's Are Us 