T’was in the hospital again. A sore throat turned our to be a buch of sores in the back of my throat. One of them burst and I started coughing of blood in large quantities. I just have all the luck… *grumbles* So far no one’s explained to me precisely why I have sores in my throat… and it’s nearly two weeks. They finally seem to be getting better, but I’ve picked them up in other spots now.

K came over for a three week visit with her baby. She’s stayed with her parents, C and B, but is leaving Sunday. I’m kinda bummed that Mom and I wern’t invited out more. K never seems to like to hang out with us… but then C and B are starting to get that way too. It feels like I’ve got the plague or something that way the go have fun, boast about it, but never invite us out (and they know we have no money anymore because Dad died). …Then again, maybe they just don’t know how to ‘handle us’. I shouldn’t just jump to conclusions… but it’s hard not to sometimes. The only family I talk to anymore is Mom, Sis, Bro, aunt C, uncle B, and cousin S. S has been really understanding. She knows what I’m going through, with my illness, because she, too, developed Celiac. S is easy to talk to and I always feel mentally stronger and happier when I talk with her. She reminds me of Sis, in that she is a loyal friend, but a terrible enemy. Neither of them have a problem telling things like they are. Plus, I find we all have similar beliefs and she makes me laugh. S has been going to the Mayo a lot, trying to figure out her skin problems. I really, really hope the doctors figure out what’s wrong. She doesn’t deserve to be tied down like this; she’s such a good person! When I get better, I want to visit her.

Finally. After years of searching, I found Shillelaghs for sale. Sis would always tease Bro and say “Don’t make me beat you with my Shillelagh!”. Although she doesn’t have one, so he would tease her again, only to have her mutter: “Just wait ’til I get my Shillelagh!”. What can I say, it’s a family joke. Oh, what is a Shillelagh? It’s a walking stick made in Ireland, but it can also be used as a club/ cludgel. They are made from Blackthorn or Oak and are blackened. If you’ve ever seen a Leprechaun with a stick in his hand, that would be it. They are a bit pricy though, and we promised no Birthday presents this year, so I’m having a dicken’s of a time figuring out how to give her one!

Been playing Tales of Symphonia: DotNW on my shiny new Wii I saved up for. It’s not too bad, considering all the Cons I found.

Pros:
- All the old characters are present (minus one… sort of).
- You get to befriend monsters.
- The skits are funny.
- There’s decient character development. The stoyline seems pretty good so far also. (Havent finished playing yet.)
- Gald and Grade are easy to come by.
- Your actions early on determine what ending you get. (This is a double-edged sword.)
- Players of ToS get the option to use their cleared game file and get bonus items before a new game.

Cons:
- I think pretty much all the ToS characters voices have changed.
- There really aren’t too many side quests… unless you count the Katz Quests.
- There are only two playable, keepable characters. Half of your fighting force is made up of monsters. Although there are plenty of temporary characters to compensate for that. This game tries to force you into using monsters (imo), and that, in a way, seems to distance the player from the characters you use.
- All temporary characters have a fixed level and cannot gain levels through EXP. This sucks when Emil is level 80 and Sheena is only 38.
- Sheena can’t seem to summon in combat like she used to. Collette doesn’t have any of her angelic skills.
- Trying to steal is… horrible. It’s very hard to get anything. (So far.)
- Where the heck is the outfit option? None of the titles have much purpose other than a stat upgrade… and I’m not sure if the title are fixed (like weapons and armor) or if you gain added points per level.
- The beloved world map is (pretty much) gone. Now it’s a simple selection of a location and, wala, you’re there. Not all locations are there every chapter, so you can’t revisit them sometimes.
- Cooking is rather pointless. It’s only used to feed monsters. One dish equils a stat raise and an evolution (if at the right level). What gives?
- A good number of monsters are very rare andd can only be found in Katz Quests, and in the rarest random encounter of it’s “group”. Trying to collect them for a (rather pointless) title is tedious.
- I heard somewhere that the graphics are the same as the original ToS. (i’m not so sure about this one.)
- Kats Quests are rather boring, considering it’s pretty much monster battling. The rewards are randomized and most are easy to aquire elsewhere. You also can’t repeat quests over and over again… although some return then the chapter progresses. If you fail or quit a quest you lose your chance to complete it. (This makes monster catching even more frustrating.) There’s no way to save, sleep, feed monsters, or change your party while in a quest. A local Katz will allow you to shop and synthisize, though.
- You can’t skip through event sceens. Ugh…
- I constantly ask myself: Why is Lloyd using a Rheaird when he could…? (I won’t spoil ToS for those who haven’t seen the ending.)

Ok, done ranting… for now.