The Big Red Blog Page 2

May 13, 2002 10:28am CDT
Well I am finally battling for the championship of the Golden Elite against a site called Crimson Corners. I had hoped to be fighting against Ama of Ama's World but I think she is having web page trouble so is on hold. You take whom they give you. I have no idea what my chances were since I was so busy straightening out email and supporter lists that I did not really watch the other fighters. That is sad.

Haldis has her last AP tomorrow and after that she will be a wreack. She is pretty much a wreack right now. She threw up over the weekend again. This time she was at a math team friend's house and just didn't feel up to eating and the rest follows a few hours later. She carries toothbrush and toothpaste with her so she can get the taste of barf out of her mouth. Then she just picks up and keeps on going.

Both the AP courses have big final papers in them, but Haldis is looking forward to doing the research, especially in history. This is really not so odd for someone who says she wants to be an engineer. This is Haldis' dream school. I don't think I've ever met anyone so crazed with ambition.

Oh well, I get to vote a full packet today and it scares me. All the competitions are not open yet and I am still revising this website, adding in the correct emails. I want a sound website when this is all over. I've lost all my rank on Hey You Sir's vote exchange board. That hurts too. Nothing ever repairs what was so badly broken.

March 29, 2002 9:31am CST
Once upon a time, three fighters joined the Golden Elite. At first they were beaten, but they were good fighters. They exchanged votes and campaigns, and soon they beat other fighters.

The fighters worked hard. They deleted a lot of their nonfight related email. They got special email boxes for vote exchange, and they deleted most of their fighting related email; for they received so much email. Sometimes the fighters grew tired. Sometimes they doubted why they fought. They took care of real life only as much as they had to. They spent over two hours a day casting votes for other fighters who promised to vote for them. They joined boards where they had to vote or be penalized by not getting doggies or roses. They did all this and it paid off.

The fighters won. They won on their teams. They won at bronze. They faced eachother at silver, and they faced one another again at gold. At gold, however, a funny thing appened. THEY HAD NO SCORES AFTER TUESDAY!. Poor fighters!

What did they do? They kept fighting and campaigning. They cast votes. They sent out reminders. After so many months, they had too much at stake to stop. After so many months, their supporters were their friends, and they could not let them down. After so many months, they had learned not to complain. Any one who casts two hundred votes a day is very patient. After so many months, they knew nothing else but fighting; for such is the way of fighters.

The fighters fought and campaigned on Wednesday. They fought and campaigned on Thursday. They even voted and sent out their reminders on Friday. "We'll get our scores on Saturday," they said. "Then we'll know who wins, who stays, and who goes back to her team. We just need to be patient and understanding."

But what if the fighters have no scores on Saturday? If they have to do it over because there are no scores, they will understand; for such is the way of fighters. What if there are only two days worth of scores? The fighters will understand. They will keep campaigning and voting; for such is the way of fighters. What if the competition closes down because the administrators are burnt out? The fighters will find other competitions. They will keep voting and campaigning; for such is the way of fighters. They fight. They vote. They campaign, and they know nothing else.

March 15, 2002 12:13pm CST
My first day on Open Door was disappointing. Not enough new faces. I did some recruiting when I could and have put some music on this blog. Not much else to write. Going to update the index page a bit too. I want to keep this site in "fighting trim." Updating the site in small ways is good for my morale. It lets me see how serviceable this design is too.

March 14, 2002 10:50am CST
I have done it. I just put the graphic for the Open Door VE Board on my site. I am not sure I am happy with this. As with most things you wait for, the thing when you get it is nowhere near as good as the thing for which you waited. In other words, the anticipation is greater than the event. It is all the same faces, many of whom I vote for anyway either through Faithful Friends or through personal vote exchange. In fact, there are many people I pick up personally vote exchanging who never join a board. Did somebody say "two tired system?"

I guess it hurts less to be on the system's top tier. Just don't look down. I am having my best week ever scorewise, and the funny thing is I almost quit competing. There was a question of what to do with personal voters. I have resolved that when I quit or retired, I will not walk away from all those people like so many have done to me. That is WRONG. We are out to support eachother not use eachother.

I wonder if there is a way out any more. I feel sick and a bit frightened. I will be on Fairy Skyla's Board when it gets going again and I am already on Faithful Friends and I was finally admitted into Open Door.

I can't cheer any more, because I'd have to lie.

I can cheer here though:

I am one of the motivated faces
Grey and lined my visage
Weary from the voting.
Don't say you can't do it.
If you believe that you can't do it.
You can't do it.
Don't drop your burden.
Just keep walking.

I am one with scores they envy
When they look at my scores
Please look at my scores.
They don't look at your scores.
For they are too busy competing
And lost in their own struggles.

We start out fighting together
But in the end we fight alone.
But we can not go our own way
Back out into the darkness
Any more.

And we huddle together
All the motivated faces
For we believe we are important
You can not cast those votes
If you don't believe you are important.
Just a small circle of light
And we all huddle together
Mighty fighters huddle frightened

Mighty fighters fight eachother
Only fighters understand.
All the world beyond is babble
Let me out I cry.
If there's a way you can find it.
If you believe you can cast those votes,
You will cast them.
Shoulder that burden and keep walking
You have come to far to turn back
And there is no other road.
I am one of the motivated faces.

March 4, 2002 8:54am CST
I don't have much to write here right now. When a blog reaches a certain size, about 30k, it is time to create a new page for it so that is what I have done. Since we are heading into spring, and spring flowers have my eldest daughter, Caltha, totally obsessed, I thought some ghergi tulips were in order for a background. The ones I worked with are called Pinnochio. I am on second shift again. Work was so shortstaffed, I had an emergency shift on Sunday that sort of put me a bit out of sorts. I am facing getting a voting sheet in order and then heading over to my board. Fun fun fun.....Life and fighting. Fighting and life. I am not ready to drop yet.