first month in America

on the list of what to post the last title was "my first several days in America".. but i was kind of falling back with posting and it's been 1 month since i'm here. so i changed the title :D

you ask me what do i do. ok. let's seeeee

so i don't drive and don't have a car, i don't work, and am supposed to be bored while Michael is at work. wrong! i can't be bored :D

first of all there is this game - world of warcraft where you play online. (i'm explaining for older generation who don't know what it is i'm afraid) it's a fantasy world where you are an elf, human, gnome, dwarf, ogr, undead, or smth else. you also choose your main characteristic - rogue, warrior, paladin, druid, mage, warlock, etc. (i'm a night elf rogue :D )



you run around in this world, get quests, go kill monsters, find hidden treasures, rescue people... you can team up with other people (sometimes you can't do without it). you can also choose professions like skinning, leatherworking, mining, etc. you can sell what you make at auction house or to a vendor. you can stay at an inn. every time you complete a quest your level goes up. there are 80 levels for now and probably will be 90 soon. it takes you to reach level 80 from level 70 as much time as it takes you in fact to grow from level 1 to 70 :D so yes i really am enjoying the game. it's fun! it's something between tomb raider and original "warc craft" strategy game.

also i do some housework.. sometimes. yes i know it's unbelievable to you but oh well :D if i do it during the day me and Michael will do smth else later instead of washing the dishes or putting things in order (that's what i mean by housework :D ) ah and yeah - laundry.

i also torture our bird Anoki.. i mean i play with him!! he hates humans and screams when i take him out of the cage. but he loves it when Michael plays the guitar and starts singing with him.



i've finally got my photoshop CS4 (actually it's master suite or whatever which includes like 15 programs by Adobe). only "photoshop cs4 extended" costs $1000 (!!!). but yeah i'm catching up with processing the huge pile of photos that have been just uploaded to the computer. people who don't use photoshop here, use GIMP. it's an ok program especially if you have never used photoshop. it's really cool if you are working on duo-monitor and have linux though. but GIMP sucks if you have 1 monitor. and in general.. i hated GIMP!!! so yes i'm playing with photoshop all day! we also got this DVD on photoshop lessons. so i have much to investigate.

ah and yeah we got married :D. which means we are moving on with paperwork on getting me residencial status which will mean i can drive, work, go to classes, etc. i will probably take some photography classes here which means i will meet people with the same hobby and will probably make friends.



at the moment i've been hanging out with Nicole the most. it was really sweet of her to take me out several times and show some stores, and take to her college. oh she also loves cooking so the day before yesterday we went to do some grocery shopping, then went to her and Steve's place and cooked dinner for our men. well Nicole was telling me what to do, so i didn't mess up :D we made meatloaf (which was awesome), a salad, mashed potatoes, and broccoli. also, Nicole just turned 21 which means she can have alcohol at bars, so we went out that evening and went bowling. there was a long line so we had some drinks at the bar first. then the fun part started. i had never bowled before - just somehow missed it out. bowling was fun! just now my sides and arms are hurting :( everybody said i did really good for the first time. well i either hit 0 or 7-9 :D once i even hit 10! which was unbelievable. the balls were really heavy! and we had to wear special shoes. now american sizes are different. at first i tried #6 and my foot was swimming in the shoe :D. then i tried 5.5 size... i somehow fitted into it and was really happy to take them off!. there is no in between.

also... during bowling i met up Ana and her boyfriend Mat. Michael knew Ana forever and Mat is a technician at Dolbey. they were really a great couple and fun to talk to. Ana also has a cousin who is from Croatia and arrived in the U.S. 2 years ago. he was shocked as much as i was :D so the next weekend probably he will hang out with us and i will meet another immigrant :D:D. the next weekend we will go rollerblading. i haven't done it for a loooong time. i stopped rollerblading when i outgrew my rollerblades (12 years old) and after it rollerblade only once some 5-6 years ago. so it's gonna be fun.

ah and... i kind of decided to play drums :D:D if you fell from the chair you were sitting on while reading this, i'm really sorry and i hope you didn't hurt yourself! yesterday for the first time in my life i sat on the drummer's chair and Jason showed me some things before Ninebit's practice started. then he gave me sticks and a piece of rubber for practice at home. drums are fun! and the complicated thing is that all 4 limbs have to work independently. i was kind of hanging up at first while doing one of the basic beats. but yeah i loved it.

since we got married last year (doesn't matter that it was 20th of december which is really the end of the year), the government is going to return some taxes and we will get a new cam for me and a new laptop for Michael. i still can't decide between Sony Alpha A350 and A700. however Michael knows Kirk who is in his 50s and is a professional photographer. Michael gave him a call and Kirk got interested and we are going to meet up soon and he will help me out. i'm really really excited to meet him because he knows everything about photography and cameras. and it sounds like he is looking forward to meeting "raw material" which he can educate some. people at that age are looking for somebody to share their experience and knowledge with. and well i am definitely looking for acquiring that knowledge :D

aren't you tired of reading yet? too bad if you are not because i think i am hungry, which means Anoki is in danger! my meal is sitting in the cage... yesterday i let him fly in the room and when it was time to catch the birdy Michael asked how to do it. i said "like this:" and the bird was in my hands :D Michael said that i was a zzvanq cat :D hehehe i just have much experience in catching birds - parrots, piegons, sparrows.

...

ok i'm gone hunting.