#alaurin personal

[alaurin101]

Happy Friday!!  Figured I’d say a quick hello to you all.  Life is slowing down with me and the kids being off for the summer.  We are preparing to head out for our annual summer trek to Michigan next week to visit all the family, so good times ahead.....and hopefully a little R and R.  

I’ll also give out a shameless plug for some updated story threads.....yes, that’s right, there’s more than one!  Firstly, my co-author Kit’ar updated Unforeseen Complications last night, so feel free to check that out.  Also, after over 2 years, I have finally updated Kat, Tia, and Val’s thread Driven By the Bonds of Family.  It felt good writing for that legacy again.  Hope you enjoy both updates!!

Have a great weekend and Happy 4th of July for those followers who celebrate the holiday.

[arvyjames]

ACTIVITY 1: DO YOUR RESEARCH

TASK: Interview two of your classmates. Ask and find out from them the different technologies they used in studying and learning lessons/objects.

We have technology that allows us to manage our daily lives and share valuable information with our friends, families, and others. Why is technology so important in our everyday lives? It is a necessary tool that we cannot avoid; it plays an important role in the majority of our lives. Technology essentially harnesses the tools, technologies, and strategies used to assist us in solving problems and making our lives better and easier to live in some way.

According to Ms. Ariane Abarides, she used several and different application specially she is schooling and it is very usable and relevant nowadays. Google Meet, Google Classroom are the main application for her studying, Google drives are very usable for her to store all necessary files. Canva for her is the best editing for graphic ouputs. To enable her gathered more information she used Quora Digest. Google Scholar and YouTube to watch. Quillbot for her is the best paraphrasing app and when it’s all about reminding Google keeps is what she used. The main gadgets that she used are Phone, Laptops and Ipad. Different software that helps her a lot are Microsoft office.

In the other particular person that I’ve interviewed, Mr. John Darren Alaurin several apps also are usable for him, some are similar to what Ms. Ariane Abarides use for her studying like Google Meet, Classroom, Canva, Youtube, Google search. What is new for him and differ from Ariane are brainly, for him it is the best source of information, teleprompter when he is going to recite, Facebook app when he is getting some related topics. The gadgets he used are only laptop and phone and all Microsoftware for him are also very helpful.

What is my insight? What are the results of my interview? Simply that technology is very relevant and indeed helpful to ease our work in everyday lives and to allow us do more works at the same time. Also, both of my classmates provide extra devices that support their studying in terms of some technical issues that might be appeared.

[shortfictionweeklychallenge]

Searching...

So many prompts to choose from. What can we find in the archive today?

Scent: Humans as a species aren’t known for having a particularly good sense of smell.  Despite this, perfumes and scents are incredibly popular, either to hide, replace, or enhance natural odors on both their person and possessions.  Does your character care?  Do they have a favorite scent?  A soap, a perfume, an incense?  Do their species’ preferred fragrances turn off others--or smell really good?  How do their companions (some of whom may have better olfactory abilities) deal with the profusion of clashing or complimenting scents?  Or do they prefer your character au naturel?  Credit to Alaurin’s story for inspiring this prompt.

[alaurin101]

Happy Friday!

Hey hey!  It’s Friday and I got the prompt posted on the SWTOR site version of the SFC on time!  I still tend to forget about that (thank you Kitar for reminding me when needed).  I even managed to finally get an update posted for Unforeseen Complications if anyone is still interested.

On a more personal note, life and my kids have been keeping me busy, but I’ve gotten back into running and am hoping to drop some of the weight I managed to put on over the winter.  I enjoyed subbing this past year and am happy to be back in the classroom.  I applied for a teaching position even though I wasn’t sure I was ready, my husband encouraged me to go for it anyways and despite knowing it was a long shot for me to actually get the job, I went for it.  I didn’t get the job, but it was definitely a valuable learning experience.  It had been 17 years since I’ve been on the job hunt and the game has definitely changed.  The ‘digital interview’ ended up being my hindrance.  I feel uncomfortable taking a selfie and this required me to record myself answering questions that flashed on the screen.  Unfortunately I sorta froze a little more than once, but oh well…..now I know what to expect and one thing I’ll be doing over the next school year is getting comfortable with recording myself.  

My son turned 12 a couple days ago and is getting ready to enter Middle School in the Fall.  He’s now taller than me, which was a hard pill to swallow, but seeing as I’m a bit on the short side, it wasn’t much of a surprise that happened.  My baby girl will be 10 next month and while I’m proud of how much they’ve grown and matured, I’m a little sad that time is going so fast.    

I’ve been worried about my sweet yellow lab since age is really starting to catch up with her.  Daisy had her 13th birthday in April and sleeps a lot now.  She’s also starting to have the occasional accident on her way to the patio door….almost like she realizes she has to go too late.  Despite that, she still wants to take walks (we go a shorter distance now), play ball with my son, be outside whenever the kids are, and her appetite hasn’t changed one bit…..still wanting to eat constantly.  That gives me hope she isn’t ready to leave this world yet and maybe she’ll make it to 14.

Speaking of pets, I am contemplating getting a kitten.  I was so devastated when I had to say goodbye to the goofy cat who’d been in my life for 16 years last Fall and I’ve missed my furry buddy terribly these past 8 months, but I think I’m ready to open my heart again.  My in-laws have new kittens in their barn and that’s where Cinders came from so I may snag one when we’re back in MI next month.

Enough about me, enjoy the weekend!!

[shortfictionweeklychallenge]

SFWC Blast from the Past!

As with the regular challenge, post your story and submit the link to SFWC; we’ll reblog it to our followers. The main prompt, posted Friday, still includes two featured previous prompts. 

Happy writing!

This week’s Blast from the Past prompt:

Scent: Humans as a species aren’t known for having a particularly good sense of smell.  Despite this, perfumes and scents are incredibly popular, either to hide, replace, or enhance natural odors on both their person and possessions.  Does your character care?  Do they have a favorite scent?  A soap, a perfume, an incense?  Do their species’ preferred fragrances turn off others--or smell really good?  How do their companions (some of whom may have better olfactory abilities) deal with the profusion of clashing or complimenting scents?  Or do they prefer your character au naturel?  Credit to Alaurin’s story for inspiring this prompt.

Have a suggestion for a prompt? Submit it here!

More prompts, you say? Visit the Prompt Archive!

SFWC FAQ

[shortfictionweeklychallenge]

Short Fiction Weekly Challenge

Time for a new prompt from the Short Fiction Weekly Challenge, tumblr edition.  Let it spark your imagination.  Any character, any fandom, any original world.   Reblogs welcome!

Post your story to your blog and send the link to Short Fiction Weekly Challenge!  The link will appear in our feed and the site index, and your blog gets listed on the Participating Blogs page.

This week’s SFWC prompt:

Week of June 23, 2017

Midsummer/Midwinter-- It's the turn of the seasons this week, the longest day for the northern hemisphere and the longest night for the southern hemisphere. What does midsummer or midwinter mean for your character? Alternately, write about your characters longest night or longest day.

Feel free to continue submitting stories for any prompt.  A masterpiece missed the deadline?  Don’t let it gather electronic dust.  Submit it anyway and Short Fiction Weekly Challenge will publish it.  

This week’s prompt not for you?  Look for something more to your taste in the Prompt Archive.  Consider all the prompts active and waiting to inspire you.  

This week’s featured previous prompts are:

Scent: Humans as a species aren’t known for having a particularly good sense of smell.  Despite this, perfumes and scents are incredibly popular, either to hide, replace, or enhance natural odors on both their person and possessions.  Does your character care?  Do they have a favorite scent?  A soap, a perfume, an incense?  Do their species’ preferred fragrances turn off others--or smell really good?  How do their companions (some of whom may have better olfactory abilities) deal with the profusion of clashing or complimenting scents?  Or do they prefer your character au naturel?  Credit to Alaurin’s story for inspiring this prompt.

Tests and Examinations - Tests are almost as pervasive as credits: Jedi or Sith trials, ship or vehicle operator’s license, weapons certifications exams, advanced intelligence analysis, basic maths.  What kind of tests has your character taken?  Did she prepare well or wing it?  Pass or fail?  What about retakes?  Write about your character getting through some of the various testing and certifications he’s encountered.

Got an idea for a prompt?  Submit it here.

[alaurin101]

The hardest part of being a pet owner is when it's time to say goodbye. It was with a heavy heart that I did so for Cinders the cat this afternoon. He was my buddy for over 16 years and I am going to miss him terribly. Putting up the Christmas tree won't be the same without him.  Cinders was also the inspiration for many of Aric Jorgan’s embarrassing moments during that Nar Shaddaa series I wrote for the Lauren girls.

[alaurin101]

Yeah, it’s been a while.....

Hey hey!  Hopefully I still have a few followers left after my little hiatus.  

It was a very busy, yet fun summer for my family and the kids had a blast camping at my parents’ property in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  They thought sleeping in the tent was the coolest thing ever!  Then for the first time ever, I finally got to see the 4th of July fireworks in Mackinaw City.  We rented a small cabin and could see a total of 4 fireworks shows from the beach and they were beautiful.  We also helped my parents celebrate their 50th anniversary, I became a Great Aunt for the 3rd time when my niece had her first baby......an adorable little girl, my son had baseball again (and much to my husband’s horror his team was the White Sox.......we’re a Cubs and Tigers household), and we managed to make a trip to the zoo.....always a favorite for the kids.

Fall has been busy so far as well, kids went back to school and my son joined band this year....he’s a big 5th grader now that’s nearly as tall as I am (I’m short though so it doesn’t take much).  I’ve been subbing quite a bit this past month.....except for the week I was home sick with strep!  In nearly 41 years of existance, I’ve never had strep until two weeks ago......and I could’ve done without the experience.  Felt like I was swallowing shards of glass!  Despite that little setback, I’ve gotten a wide range of experience.  Having taught in Middle School before I had my kids, I’m most comfortable in that setting.  Elementary is okay.....although the younger ones make me antsy because they cry.  Subbing High School made me realize what an asshole I likely was to some of my teachers......although I’m confident a couple of them deserved it.  

I got some sad news about Cinders the cat a couple weeks ago.  My 16 1/2 year old furry friend has cancer and the vet is only giving him a couple months at the most.  So far he’s still pretty happy and wants lovins, but he’s lost a lot of weight and hardly eats.  He sleeps more and more everyday and I know the day is fast approaching that I’ll have to make the decisions every pet owner dreads.  *sniff*

Fic wise, the muse took a lengthy vacation as well and the writer’s block fairy moved in, which is why I’ve been so quiet around here......didn’t have any stories to share.  However, the muse returned and kicked that naughty fairy to the curb so I’ve been writing again.  To anyone interested, the story thread I’m co-authoring with Kitar, Unforeseen Complications, has been updated a few times these past 3 weeks.  I’m hoping to update Kat, Val, and Tia’s thread and the Lauren girls’ thread as well now that I’m starting to get into a routine of sorts with work and family.

Hope everything is well with all of you!    

[alaurin101]

back to normal

After spending Tuesday night and most of the day yesterday confined to the family room downstairs, then a trip to the groomers yesterday afternoon, Daisy is a happy poochie once again.  

Our house smells clean once again and Daisy got to spend the night in her cozy doggie bed in Mommy and Daddy’s room.  Hopefully she has learned her lesson from all this and decides to leave skunks alone in the future.

On a side note, I finally got caught up on all the sleep I missed after Daisy got sprayed by that skunk in the wee morning hours Tuesday and was able to focus enough to get the update for Unforeseen Complications edited/polished.  I posted it a few minutes ago if anyone is interested.

[alaurin101]

The face of regret....

This is my 12 year old yellow Labrador Retriever, Daisy.

Daisy is a sad doggie today because Mommy won’t let her in the house.  In fact, Daisy has been outside for a very long time on this warm day (88°F)......since roughly 5:20am.  Not to worry, I adore my geriatric pooch and she has plenty of food and water outside with her as well as several shady spots to lay in.  

Now some of you followers might be wondering.....why is poor Daisy stuck outside?  You see, Daisy is getting older and typically needs to make a trip outside in the night to take care of her doggie business.  Age sucks, I know that so I don’t mind when she wakes me.  This morning she got me up at 3:45am, I promptly let her out and laid on the couch while waiting for her to finish.  After a few minutes I was concerned because Daisy usually likes to conclude her business quickly and get back to her cozy doggie bed.  

This morning however, Daisy was distracted by a little black and white kitty with a big fluffy tail.  Feeling rather spry and a bit frisky, Daisy decided to chase this strange kitty.......problem was, it wasn’t a kitty.  Those of you who are pet owners probably know where this is going.  Those who aren’t, well as it turns out my stupid dog went after a fucking skunk and got sprayed right in the face!  And you got it, I’ve been dealing with the smelly aftermath all damned day!  I have bathed her several times starting with the suggested hydrogen peroxide/baking soda/dish soap mixture, then moved on to diluted vinegar with little result......other than the fact that I was out of hydrogen peroxide and vinegar by 5am.  The local PetSmart opened at 9am and I was right there waiting.  I purchased mass quantities of skunk odor remover....supposedly nature’s miracle.  The lady at checkout took pity and informed me that their store does skunk baths.  I thanked her gratefully and filed that away just in case.  Yeah.....Daisy will be going there tomorrow since the groomers didn’t want to risk skin irritation with too many baths in one day and despite using copious amounts of the skunk crap, Daisy still has a slightly unpleasant odor coming from her snout and right between her eyes.

So yes, Daisy is unhappy today and so am I after spending the day trying to fumigate the house and her stupid ass.  I never did get back to sleep either.....so I’m tired as all hell and it’s my son’s 11th birthday.  He’s having a great day, so that’s a good thing at least.  Me however, bedtime can’t come soon enough.  I love my dog, but if she ever goes after another skunk ever again I will kick her ass!  It has been amusing seeing Cinders the cat’s reactions to Daisy’s predicament and I get the feeling there might be some payback for the cat’s taunting (he can be an insensitive asshole sometimes).

You know, I used to love Pepe LePew, second only to Wile E. Coyote......but after this, if I ever go to a Warner Brother’s theme park and see dear lovestruck Pepe, I have to admit that shit will probably get ugly.    

[alaurin101]

Awww, yesssss

The words are finally flowing at more than a light trickle and I managed to get an update posted for my shared story thread with Kitar, Unforseen Complications if anyone is interested.  I also have the next part nearly completed, plus I might have something for this week’s SFC prompt if I can find the time.  If not, I’ll work on it as I can and post it when I’m able.  

It’s been a busy couple weeks for me since I started subbing, but boy I missed being in the classroom.  With the school year winding down, I probably won’t be subbing much, but at least I’m all set to go for next year.  Maybe now I can get myself back to the gym to work on ridding myself of the winter weight I gained.....O.o  

[alaurin101]

I tend to avoid posts like this, sharing an opinion......and essentially criticizing the game, but after spending a lot of time in SWTOR lately due to writer’s slump, there’s really something bothering me with an outcome of Chapter 10.  Don’t worry, it’s not a long rant, but spoilers for KOTFE ch. 10 below:

I found myself curious about the LS vs DS choice to the end where Kaliyo has bombs ready to do serious damage with no droids to help the civs on Zakuul.  My Agent, Luken had taken the LS option and talked everyone’s favorite Ratataki out of harming innocent people.  I was curious about what would happen if I had let Kaliyo do her thing, so this morning I took that opportunity with BH Jadely who is missing her little Jawa buddy and had to go through ch. 10 before being able to get Blizz back.  

An indifferent Jadely allowed Kaliyo to proceed, they escaped after having to fight through yet more droids and such (yeah, that got really annoying the 2nd time around), then we get back to Odessen and have the cutscene at HQ.

Here’s what’s bothering me......Koth’s reaction.  Yeah, I could understand him being upset at the innocents being killed, it bothered me that I did that and Theron wasn’t thrilled about it either, but Koth just leaves.  He essentially says I’m not the person he thought I was and that my actions were more than he could deal with.....that he couldn’t be a part of that anymore.  This coming from the guy that was okay with the fact that his ‘wonderful’ former Emperor Valkorian literally wiped out all life on Ziost.  What about all those innocents on Assylum who died when I tapped into Valkorian’s power?  Koth didn’t seem too upset about that either.  So those things are okay, but because it was his home world that got hit, suddenly it’s bad?!  That’s a bit selfish of him to be honest.  Koth was never my favorite of the new companions, but after that......good riddance.

Maybe I’m reading more into these things and perhaps I’m being cold/harsh, but to me it seems more than a little hypocritical on his part.  If anything, it’ll be interesting to see if he appears again for Jadely.  

[alaurin101]

I’m soooo pissed.....

Warning-rant incoming.....alaurin needs to vent.......

You know, it takes a lot for me to actually report a player in a game.  In ~11 years of playing MMO’s, I think I’ve only done so twice.  Today made my third time.  

It hasn’t been the best week.....my daughter caught that stomach bug going around and I was up all night Tuesday with her.  I ended up changing her bedding 4 times because she’d get sick while half awake.  I’m finally now just getting caught up on the regular laundry that piled up.  Thanks to my efforts, a can of Lysol wipes, half a bottle of floor cleaner, a bottle of carpet cleaner, and the skin on my hands (someone left her wedding ring on her finger and ruined her rubber gloves) no one else has gotten sick....yet.  *knock on wood* 

Today I did manage to eek out some time to do a tactical through group finder.  Now I hate pugs, but I want conquest points so I do them now.  Kitar came with me on my SI Rhianna (queueing as DPS sucks, but Kit is a tank so not bad).  Things were going well in Directive 7, with the exception of the other two harassing us to hit the space bar.   Yes.  That pisses me off.  Kitar likes to play through the story and so do I, so we ignored them and didn’t hit the spacebar.  Apparently that upset them and 2/3′s the way through the flashpoint, they kicked me out of the group while Kitar was in a cutscene and not able to vote.  Their reason......I wasn’t hitting the spacebar.  I was livid.  It wasn’t about being kicked out as much as it was the fact that I didn’t have the time to queue for another tactical and run it before my kids got home from school.

So yes, I reported those assholes.  It was probably petty on my part, but it really pissed me off at the end of a rough week.  I’m sorry if this offends anyone because I understand that sometimes people are in a hurry and don’t want to watch the cutscenes.  But to kick someone out of the group when you’re almost finished.......that’s just lower than cockroach shit.  

*sigh* Ranting over.  Sorry for unloading on you all.   

[alaurin101]

About Me Meme

I was tagged for this by @m-jaydeshepard 

Nickname – I am going to pass on this one because it was given to me by my mom when I was a tot and still embarrasses the shit out of me.

Star Sign - Sagittarius

Gender - Female

Height - 5′2″

Sexual Orientation - Heterosexual

Favourite Colour – Today it’s purple

Time right now – 4:57pm

Current location – sitting at my computer desk in the living room frantically trying to get this posted before I have to attend to the pots and pans on the stove in the kitchen.

Average hours of sleep – anywhere from 4-7 hours

Last thing I googled – words starting with the letter Z…..yes, I’ll occasionally resort to cheating in Words with Friends.

Average number of blankets I sleep under – as many as I can get away with before the hubby breaks out into a sweat.

Favorite fictional characters – hrmmm, let’s see…..hard to narrow down really so I’ll just name a few.  For books, it would have to be Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger, followed closely by Fred and George Weasley, Robert Langdon.  Movies- Han Solo, Leia Organa, Padme Amidalla (yes I probably spelled that wrong), James Bond (Sean Connery is still my fav), Captain Jack Sparrow.  TV shows- Ser Jorah Mormont, Cersi Lannister, Brienne of Tarth, Veronica Mars, and Carrie Bradshaw.  Games- Aric Jorgan, Gault Rennow, Sylvannis Windrunner. 

Favorite books – Harry Potter series, Dan Brown’s books involving Robert Langdon, The Count of Monte Cristo......I love so many books really, but that’s just what came to the top of my head at this moment.  

Favorite artists/bands - it varies with my mood, right now I’d have to say the Rolling Stones, U2, Blondie, and Pat Benetar.

Dream job – Jewel thief……just kidding.  It’s a tough call because I’d love to get paid to write stories, but my writing isn’t good enough for that so I’d just be happy to go back into teaching eventually. I did love teaching.

What I am wearing – blue jeans, Cubs t-shirt, MSU hoodie

Random fact – I will climb into the grocery cart to reach stuff on the top shelf if stepping up on the bottom shelf isn’t enough.

Any other blogs I have – The Lauren Girls’ blog

When did my blog reach its peak – I have no idea really….. 

Who is my most active - @siriusordo, @frauzet, @m-jaydeshepard, and @lesabear

What made me decide to get a tumblr – No one specifically really, just noticed that a lot of my favorite authors/artists from the SWTOR Fanfic/FanArt forums had one and decided to join the party.

Do I get asks on a daily basis – Nope.  I will usually get them when I do something special for holidays and ask if anyone has requests.

Why did I choose my URL – It’s my name on the swtor forums with a nod at my former profession of teaching with the number 101 added to it.

Since I’m late to the party, I’m tagging anyone who hasn’t done this and wants to! 

[alaurin101]

Happy Holidays!

With the last story posted for my Twelve Days of Christmas drabbles, I figured I’d post a final list in case anyone missed one and would like to read it.  Or if anyone wants to re-read them......I doubt that would happen, but you never know.  Thank you all for letting me inflict my stories upon you all and if I gave even 1 person some holiday cheer, I’ll consider it time well spent.

Alaurin’s Twelve Days of Christmas drabbles:

Day 1- A First Date (Natalia Bryce aka Natasha Roark)

Day 2- Holiday Shopping (Mallayse Lauren)

Day 3- A Moonlit Stroll (Syarra Roark)

Day 4- A Precious Gift (Belladonya Lauren)

Day 5- Winter Wonderland (Valaya Tarenz)

Day 6- Good Morning Mr. Scrooge (Rhianna Zavala)

Day 7- Holiday Greetings (Tiannya Vleska)

Day 8- A Private Celebration (Roslynd Lauren)

Day 9- Family Blessings (Allissya Lauren)

Day 10- A Good Boy (Dekkyn Varlok, Zevryn Varlok)

Day 11- What Matters Most (Katrynka Vleska)

Day 12- A Special Family Gathering (The Lauren Family)

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy New year!  Also safe travels to anyone driving/flying to their holiday destinations.  I have a 5 hour drive ahead of me tomorrow in the Laurin family truckster with the hubby, kids, and our large geriatric dog (who still thinks going bye-bye in the car is the greatest thing ever).  Luckily it isn’t due to snow in the Chicago area or in Michigan where we’re headed because going around Lake Michigan in the snow is not fun at all.  

[alaurin101]

*squee*  Hubby snuck out of work and took me to see Star Wars while the kiddos were at school for their last day!!  He came home while I was in the middle of wrapping presents and it was the bestest surprise ever!  I made it without having the movie spoiled.....YAY!!  I did manage to finish the wrapping after he dropped me off to return to work.  Got it done in the nick of time.....kids’ bus showed up just as I finished putting everything away.  

Now to get today’s holiday drabble finished.....