Tuesday I was bragging that I never have my security compromised
because I’m careful.  For example, even if you’re my best friend, I’m
not going to open attachments from you unless I’ve specifically asked
for them.  Because for all I know, you have a virus / worm / trojan
that hijacked your contact list and emailed itself to everyone under
the guise of some really cool video.  You would never know unless
someone told you.

I also don’t go to the “FREE MySpace
_______________ [fill in the blank]” sites because they are notorious
for giving your computer things you didn’t intend to get.  In fact, I
have software that will block any site that has been known to do just
that.  So, for example, I don’t go to imikimi because it’s blocked.

I
have been using Allakhazam for reference for the past three years that
I’ve been playing World of Warcraft.  I found it to be more
informative, less cluttered, and easier to navigate than Thottbott.  I
went there Monday several times, and did several searches.  At one
point, I wanted to see something on the WorldofWarcraft site, so I
clicked on the link from Allakhazam.  I had to enter my username and
password.

Last night after work, I checked my email and had an
email from Blizzard saying that my password had been changed, as
requested.  I didn’t request a change!  I tried to log in and it
wouldn’t accept my password.  So I went to the World of Warcraft site
(this time by typing in the URL rather than clicking a link) and
changed it again, to a strong password (letters, numbers and symbols). 
Then I logged in.

Two of my characters – my highest level
characters! Level 70 Mage and Level 66 Mage were
both missing!!  I sent an email to Blizzard’s billing department
because they didn’t have any other option.  Then I went back into the
game and started playing one of my characters that wasn’t deleted.

During
the course of my play, I leveled to 35 so I wanted to get some
leatherworking training.  I decided to go to Allakhazam.com to find out
where the nearest trainer was.  My security software blocked the site,
said it was a known Social Engineering or Phishing site.  (I remembered
clicking the WoW link and entering my Username and password!  DAMN!)

I
decided to see if a Game Master could help me.  I put in a help ticket
and one of the Game Masters eventually came online and said he could
restore my characters.  He said he restored both of them.  I logged off
and they weren’t there.  I closed the program and restarted it and they
weren’t there.  I figured they might take a while so I just closed out
of the game and called it a night (by that time it was past midnight).

This
morning I logged on to see if my characters were there and they were
not.  I opened another ticket and told this game master the tale.  He
said that 66 Mage had been restored but 70 Mage had not.
He went ahead and did the restore.  I told him that I didn’t see Sheryl
when I logged in.  He said I would need to reset my character list.  I
thought exiting the program should have done it, so I asked him how to
reset the list.  He said to just create a new character and that would
reset the list.

I’ll try when I get home from work tonight.

Moral
of the story – there seems to be a reason Allakhazam changed
overnight.  It seems like that site was hijacked and the WoW link I
clicked on was intercepted so that someone could get my username and
password.

I hope they weren’t looking for money.  My Level 70
was broke after buying a flying mount.  My level 66 had about 400 gold so
that will hurt if it’s gone.  I guess I’ll find out tonight.

I rarely get stressed.  Life is just too short.  But when I feel a stressful situation coming on, I just ask myself “When I’m lying on my deathbed, thinking back on all the tragedies of my life, how likely am I to remember THIS?”

I think my motto in life has been “This, too, shall pass”

I hate riding with drivers who get stressed.  I just go with the flow.  Getting all pumped up because the guy beside you is driving 1 mph under the speed limit and the guy in front of you is driving 1 mph over the speed limit isn’t going to change either of their driving habits.

When my boss ticks me off, I just remind myself that he is a perfect example of the Peter Principle.
   

I just answered this Featured Question, you can answer it too!

Found this on another blog – copied the code but forgot whose blog I found it on (I was at work and emailed the code to myself.)

But I saw this and thought immediately of Rojobadazz and Brealytar (as well as Kandiman and Mofokilljoyy) who are members of my guild.

gonna attend a wedding

I bought a dress for a friend’s wedding via mail order from Nordstrom.  It was too tight around the chest so I had to take it back.  I just said to hell with trying to fit into a size 16 dress when I have size 12 hips and size 18 bust.  So I went to the plus department and found this dress (it practically jumped off the rack at me).  It was 8:00 when I got there and the store closed at 9:00 so I really didn’t have much time.

Of course, I had to have shoes:

And when my feet get sore, I can change into these:

Now I just need a purse, necklace, earrings and bracelet and I’ll be all set!

Singing…Part 3

I didn’t return to college after my first year.  Instead I started working as a cocktail waitress.  The bar I worked in had a band.  It was always my fantasy to get up and sing with the band.

One night about 30 years ago I was at the “Oxbow Pavillion” with a friend (Elaine) and the band played “House of the Rising Sun”.  I told Elaine that I could sing that song better than they did.  The band was getting ready to take a break, so I went to the bathroom before the rush.  When I got back, the lead singer of the band was at our table.  That isn’t unusual as I was friends with most of the band members.  When the band got back up on stage, they said “We have a special guest in the house, that we want to call up to sing for you.”  And they called me up to the stage.  Elaine had a huge smirk on her face.  So I got up there and they played House of the Rising Sun again.  When the song was over, they asked me to sing another one.  They said that I did very well.  I told them I didn’t know the words to any songs and they told me to look through their cheat sheets.  I saw they had “Oh Darling” (Beatles) so I asked them to do that one.  Unfortunately, having no self-confidence, I wasn’t singing very loudly and people on the dance floor kept yelling “We can’t hear you!” and no matter what the band did, my voice wouldn’t carry.

When I got back to my seat Elaine said she told the lead singer what I said.

That was my first experience with singing with a band.

At the bar where I worked, sometimes some of the members of the band would stay after closing and just jam.  One time they invited me to come up and jam with them.  One of the songs they were working on was “Play That Funky Music, White Boy” – it was one of my favorite songs and I knew all the words so I asked them if they would do that one.  When we were done, Penny, the lead female vocalist, said “OMG I thought that Mike was on stage with us!  You did that song really well!  You have a great vibrato!  You should be a singer!”  I wanted to believe her, but I still thought it was a lucky song, and that normally I sound horrible.

I jammed with them several times after hours, but they never called me up to sing with them when they were playing live, so I figured they had just been stroking my ego “The poor thing wants to be a singer so bad, let’s drop her a crumb or two.” when we were jamming after hours.

But that didn’t stop me from singing in the car, in the house, or anywhere where I was alone.

Singing….part 2

I went to college straight out of high school feeling cocky and sure of myself because I was one of the top  music students in high school.  After about one week, I was humbled when I realized that ALL the music majors were the top music students at their schools.

I applied for college late so didn’t have anything prepared for my musical auditions.  I wanted desperately to be a voice major instead of a clarinet major (it was so much more fun practicing singing than it was practicing clarinet).  When it came time for my voice audition, I had nothing prepared so the professor asked me to sing “My Country Tis of Thee”.  He knew me from music camp, so I think he had a pretty good idea of how I sang.  However, I couldn’t remember the words to the song, so I flubbed it up pretty badly.  I was auditioning for private voice lessons.  Anyone who didn’t qualify would be assigned to class voice.  I was assigned to class voice.  I had hoped for private lessons but expected class.  And my expectations were met.

I signed up for class voice.  At the beginning of the class, the teacher said “Your grade in this class will be based solely on talent.  I can’t grade you on your effort if you can’t sing.”  And she assured everyone that as long as they did come to class every day and showed some effort, nobody would get below a C in the class.  So I figured I’d get a C.

Throughout the course of the semester, she often commented that I had a “pretty voice”.  But she never said anything like “you stay on key well” so I assumed she was just stroking my ego – the way a parent says “good job!” to their child the first time they pee in their potty instead of their training pants.

At the end of the semester, we had to sing a song in front of the class, for a grade – this was our final exam.  Then we had to set up 10-minute appointments with the teacher to discuss our grades.

I showed up for my appointment perfectly content to be told I was getting a C in the class.  She told me she was giving me an A and said she didn’t understand why I was put in class voice instead of private voice.  I told her about my audition.

But I still didn’t believe I could sing.  At least not solo.  I figured I could blend in well with a choir, but when it came to singing alone, forget it.  And forget it I did for the next 30 years.  It didn’t stop me from singing in the car or whenever I was alone.  But I knew I would never have the nerve, nor the talent, to sing solo.

Or would I?

To be continued…

I think I’ve always wanted to be a singer.  I remember before I even started school singing along with “We’ll sing in the sunshine” when it was on the radio, as well as “Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of Summer” while my mom was cleaning house.  The first song I learned all the words to was “Downtown” by Petula Clark.  I also learned all the words to Tommy James and the Shondell’s “I Think We’re Alone Now”.

We had music all through school.  A visiting teacher (actually, it was THE music teacher, who taught in all of the elementary schools) would come once a week and we would learn new songs.  Some are still with me.  One of my favorites was Wayfaring Stranger.

When I got into junior high school, I was too shy to take chorus class.  We only got two electives, and because I was expected to stay in band (I started playing the clarinet in 5th grade) I always ended up taking Home Ec as my other elective.

Starting in 9th grade, I joined the school chorus.  I had always loved singing, and as long as I didn’t have to audition I was okay.

In my senior year, our annual Musical was “Fiddler on the Roof”.  I wanted to be in it so badly that I decided to take singing lessons.  I signed up at the Conservatory of Music that was in our town.  But I really had no self-confidence.  My voice teacher kept saying “Pretend you’re in a huge auditorium and your boyfriend is in the upper balcony way at the back of the theater, and you are singing to him.”  My only thought was that I’d be too embarrassed to sing to him, so my voice would get even quieter.

Evidently, I sang around my sisters a lot.  For my recital, I chose Gershwin’s “Summertime”.  A couple years ago I did it for karaoke and both of my sisters were sitting at the table singing along.  I asked them how they knew the words.  They said I sang it all the time when we were kids.  I don’t remember it.  I thought I was too embarrassed to sing in front of anyone!

So, I did try out for Fiddler.  My stage fright kept me from getting any kind of significant part, though I was cast as one of the villagers (with no speaking parts.)  My confidence level went down even further.  But that still didn’t stop me from singing.  I would sing in the car, or anywhere, as long as I was alone.  I so wanted to be a  good singer, but was certain that I sang badly, and off key.

Still, I kept singing.

You may remember me as NotMarthaStewart, and you may also know me as SherylM.  I’ve changed my name to Kallioph – the Greek Muse of Song (what else?)

This will be my public blog. It will not be restricted to just Xanga members.  I’ll probably use this blog mostly for answering Question of the Day, or maybe even posting questions.

Or whatever.

Check back soon!

I am probably going to change the name on this account and make it my public account.