*fanfare* Starcade has achieved level 40!

Oh... My... God...

I'm 40 today (the 22nd).

Now, the first thing a lot of you are going to say (other than maybe the occasional "Congratulations!" and "Happy Birthday!!") is how I don't act it.

You're right. There are times I feel like I'm 14, and times I literally feel like I'm 400. (This week, with a huge cold/sinus/flu/God knows what bug which has put my roommate into incommunacado status as well as what seems half this part of Riverside, CA, seems like one of the latter times.)

There are times I swear and cuss and bitch and all that kind of stuff. I'm sorry, but it's getting to the point that doing what is right is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. That is true on Final Fantasy XI and in real life as well. If the proposed spending cutbacks in California hit full force, then doing what is right will have become a thing of the past -- and most social order with it.

So I'll spend my 40th playing FFXI and having a rather normal day. My roommate got me my birthday present, and, as a result, Rockstar Games is being reported to the Better Business Bureau. But that's for a continuation of an earlier rant that I believe was removed from the Tarutaru Times Online for not having enough FFXI content. Fine, no problem there. You can find it as the "extortion" post on my blog here.

I'd be remiss, frankly, if I didn't thank some people for getting this far. I did not believe I would live to see 40. By all rights, other than the grace of God Himself, I probably should not have. But I do have some people to thank...

-- My roommate. She has put up with so much shit (see, cussing... ;) ) that it's not funny. She has lost all real hope, and I can't say I blame her. (After a lot of what I've read and seen outside of FFXI recently, I'm getting there quickly -- and maybe it's that and the bug which have me feeling my age.) I love my roommate as a friend, and, whatever is about to happen, I want her to know that I will help her to the best of my ability, even if that ability is eventually reduced in certain areas for reasons outside my control.

-- The people of FFXI. One of the things I tell my roommate is that I cannot, justly, criticize anyone for being semi-addicted to the likes of FFXI, WoW, Second Life, what have you for that addiction, because it often not only provides an escape from a reality that, frankly, probably is closing in on more than a few of us, but also a backdrop on which all of our other Internet actions take place in front of. Sometimes, I like to just solo my way through things, "grinding" out levels through Easy Prey monsters that I can sorta do in my half-sleep. This allows me to follow blogs, post to USENET, heck -- waiting for a doubleheader Besieged is what I'm doing while I'm writing this!! :)

(Whoa!! That was quick... Be right back -- the Undead are already here!!)

And the day begins with me running from the Undead as I'm healing everyone I can. As usual... :)

-- My family. I know I don't stay in contact with them, but they remain in my prayers -- and always available for a little guidance if needed.

-- The people I look up to -- the singers, voice talents, actors... I still even have some of the former ones in my mind, no matter the trouble I may have caused them. But even a few moments with the anime people today gives me at least something to smile about in a world where fewer and fewer of those things exist.

There are many other people, in great ways and small, who have helped. The list would be far too long.

Thank you. Thank you. I take a bow at my trumpet fanfare.