I have had a lot on my mind lately and have been stretching my time to a point that sleep has not been allocated a position. Not that it matters, the insomnia during this pregnancy has been far worse than in any of my others. Naturally, idle time calls for idle thoughts.

In regards to WDC, my mind has been lingering on the subject of reviewing.

As leader of Helping Hearts I spend a lot of time on the public review page sending much deserved credits to my fantastic members for their reviews. While I am doing this, I read ALL of the reviews on the public page and I have noticed a pattern emerging.

Friends reviewing friends seem to be very gracious in their rating and reviews of these items. Only the other day I came across a glowing review, so glowing that its shimmer attracted my attention. This person (no names) spoke of the item with such favor that of course I had to click onto it and see what all of the fuss was about. Perhaps send a review of congratulations of my own for such a masterpiece.

I clicked onto the item and was completely taken aback. Now we all know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and everyone is entitled to their own opinions, this is what makes us unique but it makes me wonder: At what point does the lines of friendship blur to make way for the truth?

This particular item was in complete disarray. My 10 year old son could have done a better job. Now don't get me wrong, the topic of the item was very creative and quite interesting and it was easy to see the author had put a lot of effort into it, but the body of the item was in such a state that there was no way it could be ignored. However, the person who wrote the stunning review for the piece used terms such as 'Best read ever', 'flawless' and 'a true masterpiece' and 'work of art'. If this item had of been, say for instance a piece of pottery it would have been a big mountain of mush.

Looking through the item, I counted through the typos and discovered there were more typos than words with the correct spelling. The item (prose) had no sentence structure whatsoever, no punctuation at all not even periods to end sentences and the person constantly changed the spelling of their main character's name. This is my opinion only but if I had of reviewed the item it would not have gotten more than 2.0/2.5 maximum rating from me.

I also noticed that the friend giving the review made no mention of the errors that were clearly overtaking the item. Not one suggestion was made nor a correction offered...nothing. The person was completely ignorant in their review of the blemishes within the item.

I then began to wonder: The fact that I would have taken the time to point all of these out (in a polite and courteous way of course) so my 'friend' could improve their item, Does this make me a bad friend or a good friend?

Does vanity and pepping now have more significance than good old fashioned truth?

I have taken on the task of reviewing some of my closest friends during my time here at WDC and I have always been honest in my ratings regardless of the friendship we share. I look at it this way: I would much prefer for a friend of mine to give me a low rating and an honest review than try to stroke my ego and leave me with the embarrassment of an item that is of no value in my port. In turn, I apply this way of thinking to my own friends when I review them. We all make mistakes, no one is perfect, but shouldn't a 'good' friend strive to improve the skills of their fellow pal if they see it may be needed?

This pattern or trend that is emerging is building strength and I am seeing it more and more as I scour the pages. There are two certain people who do this between each other so often that I know before I even look, that a 5.0 star rating will be attached to the review and true to course, there always has been but it goes much further than this. It reaches a point where the review is not even a review but an account of how wonderful this person is in each and every way. This may be true, in fact I am sure it is because I also know the person I am referring to and they are an amazing individual but they are not what I would deem an 'amazing' writer. Far from it in fact. The actual technique of writing is not their strong suit but their creativity is.

So again, I ask for some clarity. Does my honesty make me a good friend or a bad friend? I would really like to know other people thoughts on this matter.

Have a good day.

Goth Angel.
 

Today took a nice turn for a change. Usually the only turns my days take are ones of aggrivation, frustration and stress LOL. My sister recently brought her first house and invited us all over for lunch today. It was a nice switch because usually they are all at my place and I am the lucky one who gets left to clean their path of destruction when they leave.

We went over and she made us all some spaghetti bolognaise and garlic bread followed by glasses and glasses of pineapple juice for me (it's my favorite). We visited for a while, checked out what she had done with the house so far, watched some T.V while she played with the twins and then she comes out with a huge custard tart and tells us we have to eat that too. Sheesh, I felt so sick already from being full. The baby is so big now that there is not really any room left in the belly to have huge meals, I just can't hold the weight LOL.

It was a nice and relaxing time and I enjoyed myself. It was exactly the break I needed. She refused to allow me to help with the dishes, wouldn't let me dry them either, I was ordered to either sit and talk to her while she did it all or go and park myself on the lounge to watch television. She is just as stubborn as me so there was no point in arguing. It was good to get off my feet anyway. The old blood pressure has been rising a bit lately which has been causing swelling in the feet, legs and ankles so it was nice to take a load off.

I'm crossing my fingers that she continues with the good surprises. LOL

Goth Angel.
 

Let it be said that you should never allow your little sister to touch your prized computer! My sister came to stay with me for some of her school holidays and because she is about to start her year 10 certificate she asked if she could use my computer for some of her studies. Sure, why not? Of course you can, go right ahead...

The dreaded and innevitable O.O came and she informs me that something is wrong with it. I had no idea what the problem was and couldn't figure it out for the life of me. Needless to say whilst Michael was trying to correct whatever was wrong with it, it took me off line for a short period of time and now I am back to playing catch up, once again.

It feels as though everytime I am getting on top of things to a point where I am not feeling overwhelmed and am comfortably confident I have everything on site under control (bang) something happens and I am put behind the eight ball again.

The next few days are going to be long days for me as I attempt to work my way back to the point I had just reached.

On the upside I am proud to say I received an invitation to join The Circle Of Sisters group which I accepted immediately. I could not be happier and am ecstatic I was asked to join such a wonderful group of people. A group of people which are largely made up of individuals I already thought of as sisters so that wan even bigger bonus for me. WOOT!

Time to stop babbling and start catching up.
Take care.

Goth Angel.
 

The last few days have been hectic to say the least. I am tired and beginning to run out of steam but I am quite impressed with some of the catch up I have managed to achieve.

I made a large number of reviews off the Helping Heart Order Board, I made the required reviews needed to remove a customer off the Packages Soaring Your Way Board, I made some reviews on behalf of RAOK, I think I dropped one or two Images In Ink reviews, reimbursed my Helping Heart creditors, wrote a triple Lune Poem, and have been making numerous reviews on Demonic's behalf for round 2 of his contest. WOOT! I could not be happier with what I have finally managed to get done.

I decided to stop by my Rising Star's port today. It had been too long since I had done so. Lately I have been completely neglecting her and my sponsor duties but true to Sam's nature she is always generously patient and quick to forgive. I thought it was only fair to repay back some of that kindess so I sent her a well deserved merit badge and spruced up all of her folders with all the colors of rainbow and I did not feel bad in doing so either...honestly I don't know how you have all left anything for me to award in there, the woman is sensational! Shame on you all! LOL

My eldest son has gone to stay with his grandfather for some of the school holidays and boy can you tell he is not here. It is the only time Micahel and I are able to get some peace in the house. LOL Usually what would happen is we would do the whole hustle and bustle during the hectic moments of dinner time, move on from there to bath and shower time, then WOOHOO bedtime. Naturally the twins have an earlier bedtime than Shaine because they are younger so the twins go to bed and one would think you could relax for a few minutes...FAT CHANCE! LOL Shaine's motor mouth springs into action and he refuses to be quiet but now that he is visiting with his grandfather relaxation takes place directly after the twins go to sleep! WOOHOO!

Ok, I have blabbed enough and now it is time for me to see how much more I can get done before I call it a night.
Have a good one.

Goth Angel.


 

Michael took the kids and I on a much needed weekend holiday to a gorgeous beach house on the central coast in The Entrance. The weekend away was extended when the next morning, after our arrival, we received some bad news.

Michael's mother called to break the news that his grandmother who had been battling Altzheimers, passed away in the early hours of the morning. One phonecall and the holiday we had all been looking forward to was shattered by the tragic news.

Michael was very close to his grandmother and naturally did not take the news very well. We decided to extend our stay to allow Michael some time to relax before we returned back home to the daily grind.

After some quiet time on the coast we returned home on the Tuesday. The funeral was set for Thursday and unfortunately I was unable to attend. Ever notice that when something extremely important occurs it is impossible to find a babysitter?

To top it all off the funeral coincided with my brother's graduation from Highschool. It was a hectic day. The kids drove me around the bend as I tried to get everything done before Michael returned from the funeral, whilst trying to get myself ready for my brother's graduation. Not an easy accomplishment when you have three kids running you off your pregnant, swollen feet.

Nevertheless, Michael attended his grandmother's funeral and once he arrived home I had to take off to watch my brother graduate. It was a day that I could not wait to come to an end.

Just a quick note; whilst Michael is grieving, I will be taking over the judging of his contest.

That's it for now. I hope next time I have some better news to post.

Goth Angel.
 

Saturday was my eldest son's birthday and what a long day it was! All up there were 15 kids here plus family and I was run off my feet trying to keep up with everything. I have been resting for the last few days which has put me behind with all of my WDC responsibilities but I plan on catching up on all of that as soon as I feel capable to do so.

The party itself went well. Shaine had a blast, the kids were all like starving monsters and by the time I put the first lot of food onto the table, made my way back up the stairs into the kitchen it had all been devoured. I have never seen anything like it! LOL Luckily I made sure I had more rather than less and there were a lot of kids who I know would have suffered from stomach aches at bed time that night.

It took me so long to get everything done. I made close to 80 chocolate crackles, 50 homemade toffees, countless, and I mean countless numbers of fairy bread, not to mention all of the other 'bad' goodies I had also prepared, plus lolly bags to take home.

The weather has been so humid and my with my blood pressure being slightly high, it has been impacting on me more than usual so I decided on cooking a good ole aussie B.B.Q instead of turning the house into a sauna. That went down a treat with the kids and I was finding it hard to keep up with serving them fast enough. LOL I went searching all through the back yard at one stage to make sure they were actually eating the food and not tossing it away and sure enough, no food could be found anywhere.

I organized for a jumping castle to be set up and because the day was stinking hot I asked permisssion of the company to wet the kids on the jumping castle and thankfully they agreed. Now that was funny!
Demonic, (Michael) laughed his ass off when he completely saturated the kids and it was hilarious watching them all try to get his attention so he would put the hose onto them. It was so freakin loud!

I am very happy with how the day went though and even more pleased that Shaine had a blast.

My hours have been very sporadic on WDC and I am sure this will continue on until after the birth. All of the family birthdays are coming up, my doctor appointments have now been pushed to weekly because the finale is drawing closer, Michael has been working overtime so the kids have been ugh behaved to say the least, and Shaine has one school excursion after another coming up. And here I was thinking I was busy before...LOL

So there is a little update of what has been going on, so to all people who are waiting for me to get on top of things which are pending, please cut me a little slack and be patient. I can only do so much at a time but I will catch up very soon.

Take care.
Goth Angel.
 

It has been so hard to keep my mind focused on just one thing lately. The change in season is bringing about the wretched Australian heat which is zapping all of my energy. The weather bureau predicts this will be the worst summer in Australian history and I am not looking forward to it at all. Heat and I do not mix.
Maybe my prayers will be answered and someone will come and whisk me away to Antartica for the summer months LOL.

Today, I was promoted to a leadership position, along with others, by Pat for Showering Acts Of Joy and I am thrilled. It is a great group with dedicated reviewers and I am grateful to be given the opportunity to do as much as I can to help out. The added bonus of course is working side by side with Pat. She totally rocks!

My very own Rising Star LdyPhoenix lost her NaNo mind otherwise known as Sam has stepped up and taken a leader position within my Helping Heart group. Sam has been nothing short of a lifesaver and has already helped me in so many ways. Not only am I blessed to have such a wonderful rising star but also a very dear and loyal friend to work side by side with. It was my lucky day when our paths crossed.

After months and months of Writers block, finally the clouds are parting and my muse has returned. I have three items I am currently working on when time permits. It feels so good to create once again. I was beginning to think I had lost the ability entirely. LOL

On to the home front...
The kids have been fairly well behaved and thank goodness because I don't have the energy to play the bad guy. All of the 'joyous' symptoms pregnant women are afflicted with are hitting me in every which direction. Swollen feet, back aches, insomnia (nothing unusual there), leg cramps, restlessness and hormone rushes...you name it and I have it in spades at the moment as the birth draws closer. The sudden rise in temperature is not helping any of these ailments and I am sure I am sending poor Murky Vortex just as crazy as I am with my hot and cold temperament. He has been such a trooper and a huge source of support. I am very lucky and look forward to getting back to normal and spoiling him for a while. He deserves the break.

A few quick plugs:

Closes at the end of the day so be sure to buy a kiss quick so you don't miss out!

ID: 1595319   (Rated: E) Title: Buy A Kiss From Stephanie.  Description: An activity in celebration of Sapphirefaery's birthday. CLOSED! PRIZES BEING DISTRIBUTED. By: Gothic Angel is feeling sick

Round 5 will be closing in a few days so now is the time to get in those last minute entries:

ID: 1574678   (Rated: 13+) Title: A Ray Of Night.  Description: Fortnightly prompt contest for dark writers to show off their genius. ROUND 6 OPEN! By: Gothic Angel is feeling sick

New images are on display and they are still being sold for only 1K.

ID: 1575587   (Rated: E) Title: From The Heart.  Description: Decorate your port with the Helping Heart spirit. All images just 1000 GP's. By: Gothic Angel is feeling sick

Demonic's contest has been rocking and you would be crazy not to take this great opportunity!

ID: 1598852   (Rated: E) Title: The One That Got Away.  Description: A contest offering you a 2nd chance to receive an awardicon for old contest entries. By: Murky Vortex

Demonic's new sig shop. I am sure this will be popular venture for all of those people who love dark images.

ID: 1569082   (Rated: 13+) Title: Mood shades.  Description: Themed signature shop for the WDC community. By: Murky Vortex

Take care everyone and don't forget to check out some of these links if you have the time.

~Goth Angel~

 

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REVIEWING: I say, why bother?

I pour my heart and soul into reviewing others on this site. I literally torment my poor mind before I even consider typing my critique into the comment box and what for?

I am not the best writer as I feel the writing journey is one which never ends as the artistic world is so vast but I know I am not the worst either, yet it seems anything I write is only worthy of a review made up of 20 characters maximum whilst the reviewer's own personal plug far exceeds the actual review.

I do not understand why these people even bother?!

I believe a good review is somewhat made up of:

1. Insightful and constructive advice.
2. Tips and suggestions if needed.
3. comments and personal opinions as to your like or dislike of the item. (Expressed politely of course.)

These are just a few things I take into consideration when taking the time to review someone else and naturally I do not expect everyone else to have the same methods but what am I supposed to do with a review which says: Cute poem/story. I didn't really get it but I enjoyed reading it anyway?

My anger levels are aggravated even further when the review comes with a 3 star rating. What the hell is that? Perhaps a reflection of the quality of the review that was submitted to me?...

It is a complete waste of my time to even bother clicking onto these emails and an utter waste of time for these people to take the mere 30 seconds it took for them to write it up.

The weather has been so cold here! Not that I am complaining, I just thought I would mention it for all of those people who are melting in their summer heat, especially the people (you know who you are) who enjoyed torturing me during the Aussie summer.
When it comes down to winter or summer the two most extreme of weather scales..I take winter any day. It is so much easier to warm up than cool down!

I have been having loads of fun stiring up my dad about baby names. It is his first grand daughter so he is very anxious to know what I will call her. He was the same way with the boys but much more extreme this time. I have already chosen her name but refuse to tell anyone, especially anyone in my family and the suspense is killing them. I keep prattling off the most bizarre names when he questions me and I have him completely terrified his grand daughter will have a name that he probably won't be able to pronounce.
Mind you, it would not matter what I called her, my dad would think it is stupid. I have no idea how my brother, sisters and I managed to secure a name with his involvement.

My partner Murky Vortex suggested the name Leah. Errr...no. Don't get me wrong, I think it is a nice name but not the name I want for my daughter. Either way, it dosen't matter because he is completely aware he dosen't stand a chance of naming her LOL and is slowly beginning to like the name I have chosen. WOOT!

It has been fantastic to have him on WDC. After telling him over and over that this is the best site on the face of the planet he decided to open his own account and begin dabbling in writing. He was never interested in writing before now and I think it is great that he is prepared to become involved in a passion I have had all of my life. I'm grateful in every sense of the word.

The moral of this entry? It's cold but I like it, I'm torturing others with names and I like it, I have a partner who is prepared to take an interest in something I love and I like it, and today is Saturday and I LOVE it!

Goth Angel.

 

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All of these celebrity deaths have turned the world upside down. Poor Farrah Fawcett, what a trooper she was. Her courage to tape her battle with cancer and allow the world to see it, in an attempt to educate us all on what it is like to experience it, was nothing short of phenomenal. What courage she had.

The death of Michael Jackson is beginning to become as bizarre as he lived his life. It is a copmplete circus. In terms of a song writer he was a prodigy and I adored his lyrics. In terms of a person, who really knows what he was. We are all aware of the rumor mill and the public debacle with the allegations he was surrounded by but I remain tight-lipped and keep my opinion firmly to myself. Mainly out of principal because I seriously do not know whether to view him as a monster or someone who was misunderstood. I suppose now he has passed we will never know the real truth of what went on but then again regardless we may never have known.

I am sick and tired of turning on the television though and hearing: Breaking news...today there has been another development in the Michael Jackson case. For crying outloud, his family have already proved they were not honorable people and the friends he thought he could trust turned their backs on him in his time of need so WHY are the media even bothering to air any of these rumors with no solid evidence. Don't get me wrong, I am saddened by his passing but sheesh do we have to hear every scrap of bullshit the media are able to whip up? Cut it out with the breaking news, pull the story together in its entirety and THEN deliver it to the world!

On to other things...
I have been kept busy trying to balance my time between the many different groups I am involved with at WDC and am no doubt doing a bad job. At least I have tried is my justification! The doc's orders were no stress and for the first tme in my life I have been abiding. At the moment gone are the days where I would perservere through the storm, now I simply log off, get my head together and log back on when I feel better equipped. I have enjoyed the site much more since I have been putting these little breaks into action.

I have a new contest "A Ray Of Night." . It has been received well and I hope the people who say they like it will take that one step further and actually give it a go.
I have re-opened the Images In Ink Short Story Contest and I hope the group takes the opportunity to participate. People are just so busy with other things these days that one can never be sure what is going to happen when they create a contest anymore.

I am pleased with how my Helping Hearts group is running at the moment. Every one has really put in some extra effort to produce good, quality reviews for our customers and I could not be happier. I always try to review as I would like to be reviewed. It seems only fair and my mebers have been applying this same principal. Admitedly, I have been blessed with some outstanding members.

Food:
Oh my goodness! These pregnancy cravings have me spinning. I am eating things I would never eat and did never eat with my three boys. I know for a fact that if I ever tried these things in a normal state they would not stay down for long. I loathe sour cream and yet I have been eating it with hot chips by the container load and loving it. I cannot stand peanut butter but it has been a winner in this pregnancy and I have been hit with an iceblock obsession. Icecream and I do not seem to mix at the moment, it has been all about the iceblocks. In general I have been pretty good. My appetite could do with an enhancement because it has been hard to generate an urge to eat but when I do manage to feel truly hungry I have been sure to eat healthy foods. I bet you don't believe me now because I listed my strange cravings first. LMAO

The best thing about this pregnancy is that it has completely erradicated my insomnia for now. Sleep is heaven and I am loving it!

P.S-Thank you to everyone who stopped by to leave their congratulations on my last post. A very special thank you to AliceNgoreland who sent me my first ever 'It's a girl' cNote. I was over the moon and stoked to receive a little gift which isn't blue. LOL

Goth Angel.