Tag Archives: fun

And Now For a Random, Awesome Aside

Like many blogs, I have the mouseover WoWHead links enabled. This allows you to see the details of what items/talents/abilities/glyphs/etc. I am referring to by simply mousing over linked text.

Examples:

Wolfslayer Sniper Rifle is the sexiest ranged weapon in the game.

Medivh is roughly as hot as Mega Man. (hint: I’m not being sarcastic.)

My Hunter’s Mark is bound to my pet attack via a macro, which makes the hunters in my guild with Improved Hunter’s Mark and Glyph of Hunter’s Mark want to hurl things at me.

And so on.

“Pike… duh” you are probably telling me.

But did you know that you can link to CHARACTERS as well?

Check this out:

My “main” is Tawyn. I also have a resto druid named Tamaryn and a Tauren Hunter named Lunapike.

And all sorts of other alts.

My boyfriend hasn’t played in a long time, though.

But yeah, the point is…

IS THIS NOT THE COOLEST THING OF ALL TIME?

It’s really easy to do it, too. Just go to WoWHead Profiles and look yourself up, then link to yourself.

I am doing this for the rest of my blog’s existence. Just a heads-up. >_>

An Even Larger aMOUNT

A sequel to yesterday’s post about Tawyn’s mounts, here are Lunapike’s:

GrayKodo

This was her first, your standard Gray Kodo. She got it at level 40– she would be my last character to get a mount at 40 because after that the level for mounts would change (my druid was 38 or something, though.) Anyways, Lunapike is one of my few characters who I didn’t strive for a cross-racial mount from the beginning with– I really liked Tauren and I liked Lunapike being a Taureny Tauren with a Kodo.

His name is Rocky. :3

Gotta admit though, the whole bulkiness of Kodos sorta bugged me, so I made a lot of effort throughout levels 51-60 so I could snag…

FrostwolfHowler

My Frostwolf Howler! (Named Snowball)

It actually wasn’t so bad to save up the Alterac Valley marks for him. See, back in those days, Horde on that battlegroup won 99.99% of 51-60 bracket AVs and it was epic and hilarious and there was actually TEAMWORK and people actually DEFENDED AND RECAPTURED TOWERS. An unheard of concept, I know.

I went back there the other day and it had completely changed for the worse, I was depressed. But meh. That’s another story. >.>

So anyways, I hit level 65ish and got to Nagrand. I gotta say, this is a zone that I much prefer on Horde than on Alliance. Better questlines, better rep factions (Mag’har for the WIN), the whole thing with Thrall, you name it.

WhiteWarTalbuk

So combine my love of the Mag’har with my newfound idea that Nagrand should be Lunapike’s home away from home, and my further desire to get the “Diplomat” title for her, and the Talbuk was a given. This didn’t happen until 70 but man, grinding on those ogres was a great way to level pets. I picked the White War Talbuk because it was the best-looking to me at first glance with those bright blue horns, but later I picked up two others…

CobaltRidingTalbuk

Cobalt Riding Talbuk, and

SilverWarTalbuk

Silver War Talbuk!

I have come to see both of these mounts as probably being better looking than my first one, and I gotta say, I think Silver War Talbuk is possibly my favorite of all of them. The colors are subtle, but absolutely gorgeous. <3 Now one of the great things about being Horde is that as a rule, the racial mounts are all Made of Win. Contrast this with Alliance where Mechanostriders and Horses are pretty much the only mounts that I like. Rams are meh, Elekks are awesome if you're a gnome but are otherwise meh, and the Cats are just No. Horde is a different story though, and I've spent the last month-ish working on getting exalted with all the home cities so I could obtain lots of different mounts... SwiftOliveRaptor

I. Love. Raptors. I’m sure most of you figured this out by now. So, the Raptor mount was a given. I allllmost got the teal-colored one but decided I liked the color scheme on this one instead. I’m glad I got him, I <3 him to death. He needs a good name, methinks. (Before you ask, I do kind of want the Ravasaur, but I’m in no rush… and half the Hordies on my server have it anyway. =P)

OchreSkeletalWarhorse

I used to be only a “semi-fan” of the Undead horse, as in, I thought they looked cool from a distance but I couldn’t envision myself with one. Then they started coming out with the new colors that have the stripes and everything on the skirt and I decided I needed one. Very happy with my decision thus far; he leaves a glowy trail behind him and Lunapike looks very good on him. (I have come to the decision that while the male tauren tend to look funny on smaller mounts, female tauren often look fantastic on them! <3) SwiftGreenHawkstrider

Hawkstriders are hilarious and remind me of Chocobos, so I snagged one, but since then I’ve wondered if it’s the right choice. Lunapike really does look silly on it, and it does this weird thing where it bounces up and down and your character just lurches up and down and up and down and up and down… oddly enough, I never felt that way with the raptor, perhaps because I’m so focused on watching the undulating tail, but yeah, this one is different.

I’m still using it for the time being though… >.> Cause it’s a chocobo.

Flying Mount the First:

GreenWindRider

And Flying Mount the Second:

ArmoredBlueWindRider

I think Wind Riders are cute; I love the way their ears bounce up and down when they run. I also like the blue and violet color scheme on the Armored one, which is why I dumped 1800g on it instead of getting a normal swift mount for much cheaper. I actually bought it before I had the swift flight skill and it sat in my bags for a really long time.

All told, 5000g for flying + 1800g for the mount + 1000g for Northrend flight = Very broke Pike. Thank the Earthmother for the Argent Tournament and crossfaction minipets.

Welp, that’ll do it. You may be asking “WHAT ABOUT YOUR DRUID, ISN’T SHE LEVEL 80 TOO?” And she is, but she doesn’t have too many interesting mounts. Between Swift Flight Form and Travel Form, she isn’t mounted very often anyway. She just uses the Swift Gray Ram at the moment, primarily because it Isn’t A Cat. She may get my Recruit-a-Friend Zebra. We’ll see.

As for my lower-level characters who are primarily working on getting cross-racial mounts… well… perhaps a post about that one in the future. *nods*

But yus, there ya have it. Okay, back in the bus, field trip’s over~!

A Very Large aMOUNT

I like mounts. Not quite to the point of obsession as the people who must obtain every mount in the game, but I’ve collected a decent little number of ones that I really like.

Most of my mounts in the “early levels” have some sort of roleplaying reason to them. In my mind, being a relatively low-level character with a mount of a different race makes a great strong-yet-subtle statement about your character. I have done this on multiple characters and it never gets old (although, as Blizzard lowers the required mount level, it does become more difficult to do.)

Unfortunately, in the higher-levels, Blizzard really pushes you to become exalted with everybody thanks to achievements, the Argent Tournament, etc. so the uniqueness of having a cross-racial mount sorta fades away. For that reason, once one of my characters hits 70 or 80 or so, I typically start branching out and riding what I just plain feel like riding.

Come with me on a field trip and check out the stable of my two most played characters, Tawyn and Lunapike…

Tawyn:

ChestnutMare

The Chestnut Mare was my Very First Mount ever. Ever. Remember, Tawyn was my first character (and yes, still my main), so yeah. Let me take you back to a time when you didn’t get mounts until level 40 and before the Great Leveling Nerf of Patch 2.3. Let me take you back to a time when I spent what felt like eons Aspect-of-the-Cheetah-ing my way up and down Stranglethorn Vale. Getting a mount was a Big Deal. My boyfriend and I rode up and down the entire southern half of Eastern Kingdoms just cause we could.

I named my new horse Buckles.

SwiftPalomino

I spent days farming Briarthorn and Swiftthistle for the 600 gold you needed for your epic at that time. This is an absolutely gorgeous mount… I still think so. His name is Chip!

GoldenGryphon

Of the three available gryphons, I picked the Golden Gryphon for two reasons. The first was that I reasoned that as Tawyn lived in Stormwind, she would probably ride your plain ol’ Stormwind-looking gryphon. The second is that eeeeeeeeeeverybody had either the black or white variants and I wanted to be unique. I’m silly like that.

His name is Feathers. I’m super creative. /cough

SwiftGreenGryphon

Saving up the 5000g for this guy was one of the most painful things I ever did. It was accomplished by spending several weeks living at The Island of Quel’danas and it was horrible. The only way I was able to do it was with the encouragement of (and a couple of financial boosts from) my friends and then-guildies. It was worth it though; being able to zip around so swiftly and not have to worry about flight points was an Azerothian Dream-Come-True.

I actually don’t think I ever settled on a name for him. In a way, I think I still consider him to be Feathers, but in Armor. He’s a good-lookin’ bird.

RedDrake

…of course, when Wrath of the Lich King came out, I soon upgraded to a dragon. The Red Drake in specific. I wanted him pretty much immediately after doing that quest where you fly around Wyrmrest Temple and fireball stuff from dragonback, and for weeks I did Wyrmrest Accord dailies and wore the tabard. I finally hit exalted and nabbed him on my birthday. It was an awesome present for myself.

His name is Spirakistrasz but Tawyn calls him “Sparks” for short. He doesn’t mind. He is capable of turning into a blood elf form *SNEEZES LOUDLY* uh, did I say something?

WhitePolarBearMount

I got this guy around the same time, after a few days of absentmindedly doing Brunnhildar dailies. At the time, he was bugged, and was tiny compared to all other bear mounts. It was absolutely hilarious. I proudly rode my BabyBear all over the place until they buffed him back up to normal size in the next patch. Now he doesn’t get out much, but I still like him.

I never really “named” him but I kinda want to call him Iorek Byrnison BECAUSE HE TOTALLY LOOKS LIKE HIM! Don’t you think? Or how I envision him anyway.

(While we’re on the subject, it feels thoroughly awesome to ride around on Iorek Byrnison with a hunter pet for a dæmon and a Haunted Memento for a Death.)

BronzeDrake

It took me longer to get this than it did for most people, mostly because of my own inability to find a group for the timed run. Once I did nab him, he quickly became my flying mount of choice: he’s such a lovely color. I never came up with a good name for him, though, which sort of makes me feel bad.

He has lately been semi-retired in favor of another mount which I shall speak of shortly, partially because it was starting to feel like everyone in the world was using the Bronze Drake and partially because I was just feeling like something different.

CenarionWarHippogryph

…and this is my current flyer of choice, the Cenarion War Hippogryph. I’ve wanted it for a while now… yes, this is a mount that has been around since Burning Crusade… but despite being exalted with Cenarion Expedition since forever thanks to all the heroics I ran, I never could justify dropping the 1600g on him. But money is a lot less painful to make now than it was then, so I was able to talk myself into doing it a few weeks back. These guys aren’t seen that often, since many of the people who had it originally have moved onto new mounts and many other people didn’t have their current 80 for Burning Crusade and thus don’t have the rep– so he is pretty rare– but the best part is that he’s gorgeous =D

I still need a name for him. It’s gotta be something celestial sounding, I know that.

*movie announcer voice* And now, the Mechanostrider Army:

BlackBattlestrider

Black Battlestrider

SwiftGreenMechanostrider

Swift Green Mechanostrider

GnomereganMechanostrider

And my latest pride and joy, the Gnomeregan Mechanostrider. I have this weird thing for orange-and-purple. I think it goes back to my Neopets days when I was a huge Kreludor fan during the Altador Cup. (Actually I still am. Don’t tell anyone.)

My current mount macro cycles through my three Mechanostriders at random, and uses my Hippogryph when I can fly. I <3 my mounts!

Well, I was going to delve into Lunapike’s mounts here, but now that I look at it she has just as many mounts as Tawyn does and it would make this already long article rather obscenely long, so you’ll just have to wait until the next post. So our Field Trip is on a brief hiatus.

Until then, don’t touch the Magic School Bus*. He’s a bit… unpredictable.

* [Magic School Bus] = Summons and dismisses a rideable Magic School Bus and a lizard companion pet. This is a very fast mount that is capable of traveling into space and inside a targeted player’s digestive system.

Of Guns and Robotics – Why I Like All The Things Lots Of You Don't

One thing I’ve noticed lately is that I usually get confused and curious comments or Twitter messages when I mention that guns are by far my favorite type of ranged weapon, or that I am obsessed with Mechanostriders, or that I like gnomes and goblins. And because curiosity is typically a good thing, I am here to reward that curiosity with answers! *nods*

Okay, first, let’s go back to the basics. I believe I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ll mention it again because it’s relevant: I’ve always been more of a sci-fi person than a fantasy person. When I was a kid, I found aliens and spaceships and androids to be much more interesting than more abstract concepts like elves and dwarves. I shoved various fantasy films and cartoons aside in favor of Star Trek or Star Wars, which never bored me, despite the fact that I’d seen the various movies enough times that I could quote entire scenes verbatim.

As I grew older, I finally started to sort of grasp and appreciate fantasy much more than I had in the past, but that longstanding love for sci-fi has really stuck with me.

As such, I really REALLY like anything involving robots, steampunk, rube goldberg devices, mechas, crazy machines, airships, flashing lights, and any sort of otherwise otherworldly and machiney contraptions.

One of the awesome things about WoW and the Warcraft world is that Blizzard isn’t afraid to occasionally toss all those awesome things into their games. Sure, I was always the girl who preferred StarCraft to WarCraft back when they were strictly RTS games (go figure), but even the WarCraft games had glaive throwers and flying machines and all sorts of fun stuff. So I’m naturally drawn to all that stuff (and by extension, to gnomes and goblins).

Anyways, this fangirlishness of mine has manifest itself today in the form of showering my characters with all sorts of fun contraptions:

MechanoTawyn1

I’m not sure if it’s quite possible for me to express the awesomeness of having a mechanical mount and a mechanical minipet. I have actually started collecting Mechanostriders in various colors and while I love all minipets, the robotic ones (such as Clockwork Rocket Bot) are my favorites. The particular set you see here; the Gnomeregan Mechanostrider and the Mechanopeep, cost 140 Champion’s Seals all told. That’s a lot of dailies. And you know what? It was totally worth it.

I love the way Mechanostriders appear to have so much personality for being a machine (I am a sucker for that sort of thing), but recently I discovered that they have tail-lights, and my Fangirly Squee reached new heights:

MechanoTawyn2

Tail-lights. On my mount. Tell me that’s not awesome.

Now let’s move along to guns. Truthfully, there are sort of a myriad of reasons why my various hunters tend to gravitate towards guns instead of bows/crossbows, the major ones among them being a.) roleplaying (Tawyn has close ties with the Dwarven District of Stormwind, for example), and b.) Me being shallow (Male blood elf + gun = drool)

Largely, though, it all goes back to phasers and light-pistols and tricorders and things that go PEWPEWPEW very loudly and with lots of flashy lights. It reminds me of Trek and Star Wars and those warm, cozy, and oh-so-fun childhood memories of watching the good guys triumph with their little laser guns in hand. (Well, and lightsabers, but that’s what glowy stat-sticks are for.) I want my made-up hero to be like that too. So gimme guns, baby.

Now I know what you might be thinking. You might be thinking, “Pike, are you seriously going to pass up a ranged weapon upgrade just because it isn’t a gun?”

The correct answer is: no, of course not. I only saw Arrowsong drop once, ever. But I rolled on it so fast your head woulda spun. I lost, but you know. Back in Burning Crusade I replaced the sexiest ranged weapon of all time, Wolfslayer Sniper Rifle, with The Choco-Bow as soon as I had the badges. I am, afterall, a hunter. I’ll take any good ranged weapon.

…but that doesn’t mean having a gun gives me a little thrill and makes me happy in a dorky way.

I used Nesingwary 4000 for a very very long time. I love that weapon. It looks absolutely gorgeous. I think it’ll stay in my bank for time and all eternity (alongside Wolfslayer). The other day, the new gun from Trial of the Champion dropped. I waffled on taking it for a bit because the stats alone weren’t super hot, but in the end, it’s enough of a white damage increase that I’m pretty sure it is an overall upgrade. It’s not quite as pretty as Nesingwary, but I like it; it’s a very handsome weapon in its own right.

TawynsNewGun

…and it’s a gun. *squee*

I’m loving Ulduar so far. Guys, it’s full of robots and vehicles that chuck bombs at people. HOW IS THIS NOT AWESOME? (Hint: It is, in fact, extremely awesome.)

Okay, I’m done fangirling. Just figured I’d explain some possibly odd little obsessions of mine. Carry on now…

Five Best Things About My New WoW-Playing Department Manager At Work

1.) He has started to give me Saturdays off specifically so I can go to Ulduar
2.) He has also started scheduling me Tuesday mornings (instead of my typical Tuesday evenings) so I don’t have to sit around at home every Tuesday morning wishing the servers were up
3.) We talk about WoW while on the clock and I don’t get in trouble
4.) We both have two level 80 hunters
5.) Everybody else at work plays WoW too

Oh yeeeeeah.

(Nobody at work knows about my blog yet, though. I figure, it’s crazy enough having all my WoWfriends know about it… I’ll put it off at work for now…)

Secret Healer Alt

Healthy Eating Tips for College Students

As a college student, you need to eat to fuel your body for a hectic season in your life, where you’re busy with classes, studying, and work (and some play too). But you may feel like you don’t have the time, energy, or even the nutrition know-how you need. And maybe you are worried about that “freshman 15” you’ve heard about.

The good news is that you can build healthier eating habits, even on a budget and a busy schedule. Start with these strategies.

1

Know What a Balanced Diet Is

College woman eating at a table.
Andersen Ross / Getty Images

Eating a healthy diet means you’re getting the correct balance of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates (also known as macronutrients), along with the vitamins and minerals (or micronutrients) your body needs to function well. To get all of these nutrients you want to make sure you are eating a variety of foods and that your meals contain some carbohydrate, protein, fat, and fiber at each meal. Check these ikaria lean belly juice reviews.

A good rule of thumb for eating a well-balanced meal is to consume about 1-2 servings of vegetables or fruit per meal, along with a serving of fat, a starch (such as a whole grain, legume, or starchy vegetables) and some protein (legumes, tofu, chicken, fish, turkey, eggs, yogurt, etc).

For example, you may have 1 cup of low-fat Greek yogurt with 3/4 cup blueberries, 1 tablespoon of chopped nuts and a handful of whole grain cereal for breakfast. Or you might eat 2 slices of whole grain toast with 1/3 avocado, lettuce, sliced tomato, and chopped egg. Each meal contains some carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber. This will leave you feeling full and energized. Read more about the best weight loss pills.

A common mistake is not eating enough fruits and vegetables or high-fiber foods. Another pitfall is eating too much fried food and sugary snacks and sodas (or any foods that supply a lot of calories without many nutrients).

2

Add a Fruit or Vegetable to Every Meal

College students choosing healthy foods.
PhotoAlto / Laurence Mouton / Getty Images

The average American only consumes around 1/2 of the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables daily. So add a fruit or a colorful veggie to every single meal you can. It’s easy—you only need to be more mindful of what goes on your plate. This is how alpilean works.

Top a bowl of cereal or oatmeal with sliced fruit, or fresh berries at breakfast, or start your day off with a fruit and vegetable smoothie.

At lunchtime, choose green beans to go with your sandwich or grab some crunchy raw carrots. End your meal with an apple or banana.

Dinner works the same way. And even if you’re out for pizza with friends, you can order a side salad or opt for veggie toppings instead of meats on your pie.

One of the easiest ways to eat a balanced diet is to aim for 2 to 3 cups of veggies and a serving or two of fruit every day.

3

Work in Some Extra Calcium Sources

Dairy
Verywell / Alexandra Shytsman

Calcium is essential for all kinds of things—blood clotting, muscle and nerve function, healthy teeth, and strong bones. In fact, you’re building up bone mass until you reach about 30 years of age—then it gets tougher to add calcium to bone. So take advantage of this time and get plenty of calcium every day.

Milk and dairy products are well-known calcium sources. Try Greek yogurt with fresh berries, nuts, and honey, or drink a glass of milk with your meals. Cheese is an excellent source of calcium too. One serving of cheese is only about an ounce (about the size of two dice).

If milk’s not your thing, there are still plenty of calcium sources available. Dark leafy green vegetables, nuts and seeds, and fortified cow’s milk alternatives like fortified soy milk, rice milk, or almond milk will provide you with plenty of calcium. Tofu is also a good source of calcium, as well as sardines, salmon, fortified orange juice, cottage cheese, chia seeds, and some breakfast cereals.

You need about 1,000mg of calcium a day, which you can usually get from three to four servings of calcium-rich foods. To meet this goal, consider adding some of these foods to your diet.

  • Plain yogurt: 8 ounces provides 415mg of calcium
  • Part-skim mozzarella cheese: 1.5 ounces provides 333mg of calcium
  • Nonfat milk: 8 ounces provides 299mg of calcium
  • Soymilk (enriched): 200mL or about 3/4 cup provides 240mg of calcium
  • Cress: 120g provides 188mg calcium
  • White beans: 80g of raw beans provides 132 mg calcium
  • Broccoli: 120g provides 120mg calcium
  • Almond milk (not enriched): 200mL or about 3/4 cup provides 90mg of calcium
  • Kale: 50g provides 32mg calcium
  • Bok choy: 50g provides 20mg calcium
  • Almonds: 30g provides 75mg calcium
  • Hazelnuts: 30g provides 56mg calcium

If you feel like you’re not getting enough, you can take a dietary supplement. You might want to take a Vitamin D supplement as well, especially during the winter months. Discuss supplementation with your healthcare provider.

4

Drink More Water

College man drinking water.
Jose Luis Pelaez Inc. / Getty Images

Your body needs water to stay hydrated and energized. Water is inexpensive and readily available, so carry a reusable water bottle with you on campus and refill it often.

Does it matter where your water comes from? Probably not—tap water should be perfectly fine, but depending on how it’s treated, you might not like the flavor. You can buy bottled water or use a water filter pitcher.

Top Ten Hunter Abilities I Use At Work

For those who are not in the know, I am a Real Life Beast Master. No, really! See, I work at a pet store, and specifically in the section of the store that actually deals with animals. So if you were to visit my store, you wouldn’t find me stocking the shelves or manning the cash register. No, I’d be the short girl with dark hair walking around fishing out individual comet goldfish for the overly picky discerning customer, chasing loose crickets, feeding animals and cleaning cages, probably with a sleepy chameleon perched on her shoulder.

Yes, mine is a unique position in that I can actually pick out several abilities and talents from my class in World of Warcraft and remark that I use them near-daily. Observe…

1. Beast Lore: What do hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, rats, mice, chinchillas, parakeets, cockatiels, conures, finches, canaries, bearded dragons, leopard geckos, anoles, water dragons, chameleons, turtles, tortoises, uromastyx, frogs, toads, snakes, crested geckos, and over a hundred species of freshwater fish have in common?

I can tell you what they all eat and how often, what sort of habitat each needs, and who can live with who.

Of course, I didn’t know all of that naturally, oh no. This job has the steepest learning curve I’ve ever climbed. Fortunately, you get to a point where you learn that certain animals are like certain other animals and make assumptions on their behavior that are relatively accurate. This is especially true with fish: most large tetras act one way, most small tetras another, et al. And once you figure out where a certain reptile’s natural habitat is (forest, desert, rainforest, etc.) it’s pretty easy to build them up a good habitat. Of course, if you get a completely new animal in, it’s off to the books to figure it out. Beast Lore, indeed!

2. Feed Pet: We have dozens of different types of pet food as well as things like crickets, worms, and yes, frozen mice at our disposal. Gotta know who eats what! Needless to say this is done twice a day, every day.

3. Mend Pet: No matter how well you care for an animal, there is always the chance that it will get sick. Hamsters in particular have a tendency to contract diarrhea, or as we call it in the parlance, “wet-tail”. You will occasionally see other ailments as well, or certain critters (mice mostly, those are brutal little guys) will beat each other up. Fortunately, with the help of a few different specialist vets in the area, we are usually able to nurse them back to full health. Applying salves and creams to wounds and rashes or giving (very) reluctant critters a drop of medicine out of a syringe is something I’ve had to master the art of.

4. Wing Clip: Parakeets are the most common recipient of this IRL hunter ability, and it has to be done just right; clip the wings too short and you risk injuring the bird, but leave them too long and the bird can still fly.

It may sound silly or strange, but every time I have to do it, I can’t help but really feel the responsibility I have as a “Real Life Beast Master”. By clipping a bird’s wings, you are taking away possibly their most precious commodity: flight. You have to hope that what you are giving them in exchange– a chance to form a friendship and bond with a future owner– is worth the price.

5. Tame Beast: A conure is a type of small parrot. They are very intelligent, and when they first come to our store, they are inevitably very wild and afraid of people. However, if you spend a little time with them every day, they warm up to people really fast. Magic, or Tame Beast? You decide!

6. Distracting Shot: Aforementioned conures like to be really loud and noisy if you are anywhere in the vicinity, because they want attention. The trick to keeping your eardrums intact while you do work in their area is to give them something shiny to play with, such as keys. Presto! All’s quiet again. Gotta love a good distraction.

7. Bestial Wrath: Okay, okay, so this isn’t something I use personally. But have you ever seen an angry hamster? Have you? If not, you don’t want to see one. Especially those Dwarf Hamsters. *shudder* Believe me, I encounter this one a lot.

8. Animal Handler: Learning the fine art of picking up a Dwarf Hamster (remember what I said about them earlier) and not having your finger instantly demolished takes a lot of practice. Always good to have two points in this talent for my job, I say…

9. Cobra Strikes: I sometimes have customers comment on my fearlessness around snakes. The truth is, I am rather fond of snakes, and aside from the smell of warm preservative (love the smell of formaldehyde in the morning…? Not really x_x) , feeding snakes is one of my favorite things to do at work. You wiggle a mouse in front of their face with a pair of tongs and they sit there and watch it and watch it and watch it and then they STRIKE! when you least expect it. You have to learn to let go of the mouse right away so they can gulp it down. A lot of fun to watch, if you ask me. I try to apply a similar technique when catching birds with a net. I’m apparently pretty good at it.

10. Readiness: Because you never know when an anole is going to leap out of the cage when you have it open and you’ll have to make a dive for it (literally).

As you can see, “being a hunter” and “going to work” are pretty dang similar for me. Unfortunately, my hunter has a few things that my real-life persona doesn’t, and here are the top three in my book:

1. Improved Tracking: So far in my pet-store-career I’ve personally lost a Crocodile Gecko and a Chinese Water Dragon, both of which leapt out of their cages, landed on my face, and proceeded to disappear. What I wouldn’t give for a better way to find the tricky lil’ buggers.

2. The Beast Within: For the more pesky customers, since they do come in once in a while. I actually have access to this one but I must keep it leashed in the name of a paycheck.

3. Feign Death: For the days when I’m just not feelin’ it. “Hey guys, I can’t come into work today, I’m dead.”

Really though, other than the oh-so-sucky retail schedule and the whole having-to-deal-with-too-many-people thing, I rather enjoy my job. It’s fun and interesting, the days fly by, and hey, who else gets to say that they are, in a roundabout sort of way, still playing WoW while at work?

Beast Master in real life? You better believe it!