Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Lining Up Ducks

I am going out of town at the end of the week, heading up to Iowa with my daughter to visit my mom for her birthday. Even though we're not leaving until Friday (by the by, there probably won't be a post on Friday), I am already starting to get into the frame of mind for packing. Got a bag already filled with clothes for my daughter.

Now, I am a road warrior, this is something that I get from my father.  If it is feasible to drive somewhere, I will drive.  But I do have to admit I am a teensy bit nervous about hitting the road on my own with a toddler for the first time. It's about a twelve hour drive, which normally I wouldn't flinch at taking in one go. With Baby Girl in tow, though, I'll plan to split it up into two days of driving. It's not the driving bit that has me nervous, it's the keeping my daughter happy and occupied whilst I am driving that is giving me a little bit of pause. Still, I think we should be fine. I am going to keep a bag of toys up in the front passenger seat that I can pass back to her if she seems to be getting bored or fussy, and we'll be taking the iPad along, of course (she can spend hours playing with that thing). I'll also try to stop for lunch somewhere with a playground, as well as keep my eyes open for a rest area to stop at so that she has a few opportunities to actually run around and expend some energy. Splitting it up into two days also means we can stop reasonably early in the evening and I can let her stretch her legs before bed time. I think we'll be good. Keep your fingers crossed for me that she sticks to her usual genial temperament while we are on the road!

In addition to getting everything ready for the trip itself (and making sure that my husband and the kitties have enough food stocked up at home to survive my absence), I do have a few things I would like to achieve before I leave:
  1. Finish the dish towel I am knitting.
  2. Finish watching Stargate Universe season two.
  3. Finish my current playthrough of Dragon Age II.
Items 1 and 2 are pretty much a lock to get done. I am well past the halfway point on both, and can do them at the same time while watching/playing with my daughter. I might possibly get both of these wrapped up by tomorrow, which would be outstanding. I will take the Doctor Who scarf with me to work on during my trip (not while on the road, of course), as well as maybe a few knitting basics so I can get some lessons from my mom. Increasing has proven tricky for me, and I am hoping she can give me some pointers, as she is a knitting goddess.

Finishing up my game should be doable, I think. I am into the third act now, which means the home stretch. I would prefer to not leave right before the end of the game, because then I lose the mindset of the game in the week I am not playing, and it makes the ending a little less satisfying. Though this particular playthrough hasn't been the most satisfying experience in any case. I mean, yes, my battles have been going spectacularly for the most part (except for the encounter with the Arishok, that was a bear), sure. But the character development side of the game? I am in the third act already and I have only gained the loyalty of one of my companions. Two of them have left my party for good. My romance is moving slower than a snail. I think it may be because I have not been paying attention to which party members I take on which quests, so I have missed some opportunities to gain loyalty (or heck, even rivalry) points. It is frustrating though. Losing Isabela has definitely screwed up more than one quest. I think it might also be my decision to take the "good guy" dialogue options. They've made my Hawke a bit bland--inoffensive to most everyone, but not really interesting to them either. I dunno. I think probably at some point I'll do another run through of just DA II porting in my character from the recent run of DA: Origins. See if I can't do better on another go around. By the way, I was totally right about the Bone Pit dragon fight--there was definitely a bigger dragon waiting for me. Managed to take it down in one go though, so huzzah!

Anyhoo, so that is what I am up to this week. Getting ready for my trip, running some errands, and finishing up some ongoing projects. Woohoo! Let the good times begin, right?

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