Applications: What the heck is up and how are they processed?

Introduction
Applications are a very important part of HNZ. They moderate who can say their character is/does what, and helps keep the board from becoming rampant with Mary Sue type characters which would surely annoy most people on HNZ. They have become ingrained in the culture of the site, I believe, and when they cannot be processed as quickly as I would like, or you would like, it becomes a frustrating matter.

Yes, me.
What's this? Processed as quickly as I would like? Yes, me. I like applications to move quickly as well. I don't like holding on to them for ages - they clutter things. Having them around for too long makes me go a little bit crazy.

So what's the hold up?
Right now, as many have noted, applications seem at a bit of a stand still. This is as frustrating to me as it is to you all, but likely even moreso to me. Why, you ask? Well, you're waiting on one or two applications. I see all twenty or so currently in queue. The hold up? As you should know, Livvy has been dealing with some large real-life problems and (as says what has effectively become the ancient statement of HNZ) 'Real life comes first'.

Real Life Comes First
I think it's humorous that when members are going away and leaving behind work for the Global Moderators or Administrators to catch up, for the sake of the site, we still say 'Real life comes first'. However, when it is an Admin who needs the time off, nobody seems to be able to have patience. At all. The song of 'real life comes first' fades away to a mob of angry villagers, pitchforks in hand, ready to go find the monster.

Trying to Catch Up
Nearly every application, however, does have a response from me. Some are even mid-discussion between Livvy and I. Unfortunately, it seems Livvy's life has taken her for another whirl and HNZ time has had to be cut. Livvy doesn't like to hold things up, but she loves administrating HNZ and definitely wants to be a part of the approval process. So, I trust she will catch up in a timely manner. If she knows she won't be able to catch back up in a timely manner, then she will ask me to process applications until she can catch back up. As much as 'real life comes first', there are still ways we can adhere to that without ensuring applications drown.

Mid-Discussion? Wait, so how do applications work - exactly?
I have a feeling, based on some of the results from the recent site poll that not everybody is aware of how applications are processed on HNZ. What we look at for them, and why it is that applications get denied - even when hard work has obviously been put in to them.

Every form that is sent in is given a topic in a hidden forum. There are plenty of these forums for every type of application, with approved and denied archives as well for future referencing. It's all very helpful, actually. When a new application comes in, Livvy and I read the topic then post our initial reactions. We discuss the application with each other if applicable, and either: Approve it, suggests tweaks to it and approve it when the tweaks are ironed out, or deny it.

So what is it, exactly, that we look for in applications? Here are some of the basic things:

1. Is it canon?
   If an application, in any way, breaks with our knowledge of the canon Harry Potter universe - it is denied.
2. Does it make sense?
   We look over applications to ensure that what they say makes sense. If a person applies to be a Death Eater, for instance, but comes from a loving household, doesn't believe in any sort of blood supremacy, and has no reason to be a Death Eater - then such applications are denied. It may be funny, but if something doesn't make sense then it could really screw other things up. Making sense is very crucial.
3. What would the repercussions of this be?
   For many applications, especially plot requests, things effect characters outside of the plot, too. Usually this is in minor ways, but sometimes it can be major. Take, for instance, a plot request where an unspeakable has found a cure for werewolves. It doesn't go against canon - nothing says there can't be a cure. It might make perfect sense, too. But the plot would effect everybody on the site and the future of the site as a whole. It would likely negatively influence many other character's developments as well. If that is the case, that the repercussions of a request would be largely negative and widespread - it is denied.
4. How common should it be?
   For special ability applications especially this is considered. We only truly meet one metamorphmagi in the Harry Potter novels, through all seven books. This indicates how truly rare the ability is. We receive plenty of requests for this gift, however. So we must consider how common it should be and, if enough have already been approved for the time being, no more are accepted (even if they're all pretty good) unless the application just blows our minds.
   
5. How many other special things does this roleplayer have?
   This is something that must be considered in conjunction with How common should it be?. We don't want two roleplayers having a character with every possible special ability and nobody else on the site being able to have anything. We want to spread the wealth a little, so this must be considered. Has the person had many applications recently? How many special things does this person already have? Could we approve this for somebody else who does not have as many special approvals?
6. Is this user in good standing?
   This is also something we must consider. Members who constantly break board rules, are rude to anybody and everybody, etc. shouldn't be given special allowances. It is a reward, almost, to have special plots approved, have characters with special abilities, etc. So why should a user who doesn't care about site rules be given plenty of extra awesome things while rule-abiding members might not? It's just one of the many prices of rule breaking.
7. Plenty More
   There are several more considerations that are given to applications in that time that Livvy and I review them. It's not just a quick read and a rash response, thought is given to applications, and the most appropriate response given - even if it's not something the applicant wants to hear.

Conclusion
In summary: Stop complaining. Don't be hypocritical. We take necessary time and thought for applications.

That is all.

~Nicolas

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My Greatest Disappearing Act Evar!

Okay, so maybe not. xD If I were a magician, I would have been fired already. Or my pet rabbits and doves would've revolted and become meat eaters. All that'd be left of me would be my silk handkerchief and my spiffy black and white shoes. No repeat performances. haha!

The truth in a nutshell is that life has gotten out of hand for me as of late. I'm a newly single parent to a wonderful boy, who has Asperger's Syndrome. Which basically just means he has a harder time socializing with his peers and conducting strong communication. He's very smart, always ahead of his class academically. lol. He just has to have speech and occupational therapy. As it's approaching summertime, I've had to take a lot of time getting him into not only a summer school style program (through my new job thank the Lord!) but also securing him a spot in a new therapy place not far from home. So that he won't regress. He's made a lot of progress just in a year's time, which means that everyday I have to put my time/energy forward too, to make sure I'm setting him up for success and not for failure. Our goal is that by the time he's 10 years old, no one will ever know that he has Asperger's. :) Which means that he will be able to function in society appropriately and live an awesome life full of adventures. :)

Another thing that's taken my time from HNZ is my new job. I love my new job. The hours are great, I love what I do and it's a lot of fun. Not only that, my little boy gets to come with me and be in a wonderful woman's class this summer. So I'll know exactly how he's doing every single day. ^^

We moved back in February and our new place was closed up for quite a while. It's beside family, which is wonderful. But it needs a lot, and I do mean a lot, of TLC. I've thus far got to paint my living room and the bathroom. The other 3 rooms that need painted have to have the wall paper taken down, walls sanded, some fixed, then primed and painted. No way am I doing all that! So thus begins my search for reliable, affordable painters in my area. haha.

I was supposed to start school the 18th, but am unable to until the fall now. It's just one of those things, a lot was happening with my son so I chose to hold it off until his routine was more stable and he and I could cope with everything that's happening.

I've been playing catch up on HNZ. If I've not responded to your PM, please be patient as I will get to you this week. :) Also with applications. I apologize for the length of time it's taken me to respond to them. Please do not get snarky with Nick or blame him, as he has had to wait on me too. Sales receipts will be caught up by this week as well. Any RPs I am participating will be replied to asap too. ^_^

I just wanted to take a moment to let you all know what was going on and to ask for your patience, prayers and understanding. There's a lot I didn't/couldn't type out as it's too personal that's going on as well.

Thank you again,
Your friendly neighborhood Admin,
~Livvy

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Warning: This is a Typical Abby Post

I don't mean to steal the thunder from Linda's very first blog post ever, (as an avid blogger who once wrote an article titled "To Those About to Blog, I Salute You" for a high school newspaper, I salute you Linda ;) ) but I figured it was about time for a post from me. I'd been pretty much AWOL around HNZ for a long while, something which still upsets me, and it was always for different reasons each time; and I apologize for never really posting an absence post, I mostly only tell the staff that I'll be missing for a while. The most recent reason was that it was now March and I still had no idea what I was going to do for school exactly. Those of you who know me well/personally, know that school is really important to me and I'm very bitter about the subject of college, or university, as they call it in other places. But for all I know, I'm just a "grass is greener on the other side" type of person who just longs to be in school, but once I actually attend, I'd hate it just as much as most of my friends do.

Anyway, I had an emotional breakdown after having a conversation with my younger sister about her future plans and saw that hers actually seemed to be in motion, or at least seemed like they were tangible. Now I love my sister to death, but school and rules and the like have never been her strong point, ever. And since she had a baby last year I expected her to be even further behind on getting her life together as I assume lots of teen moms are, (no offense to any out there! :x). So when afterward I sat there crying, asking myself what I was doing with myself and why I was letting myself waste time, this wasn't like me at all. If I wanted something I worked hard for it until I got it (such a Slytherin ;) ). I had applied to St. John's a while earlier, but because the acceptance process was so long, the deadline for Housing had past, and since I wasn't an admitted student yet, I wasn't allowed to pay any deposits, just in case I was rejected it wouldn't be money down the drain. Since I live in Texas, living on campus was the absolute most important thing to me, since even the cheapest apartment in New York is completely out of my family's price range; so since I had missed the deadline for Housing, I considered the option of St. John's gone, thus creating more hysteria about what I was to do.

After getting myself together, I started writing the essay for an application to another school, and before I knew it, I had submitted my application even though the deadline had long passed. I don't know why I still decided to submit my application even though the deadline had passed, but I just decided "Oh well, at least they'll have my application on file," and literally the next week I got a call from the school. That's never happened before, a school taking an interest in me personally! We talked on the phone about what else I needed to submit before being officially accepted and I asked about my priority, Housing, and said it was nowhere near close to deadline. This was music to my ears, I cried, out of joy this time, because I felt that I was finally making progress. The only downside was that it wasn't in New York, and it wasn't St. John's, my dream school. Oh well, I could live with that. At least it was anywhere but Texas! (And Ohio isn't that far from New York). I'd go there for one year and transfer to St. John's the next, this was just getting my foot in the door, I could live with that! I soon began getting really excited at the fact that I might be going to school again, and the thought of it being in a small town in Ohio (a place I've always wanted to visit for some reason) was making me giddy! I had convinced myself that this school was going to be awesome and St. John's could suck it for not taking an interest in me personally and thought "That's their loss!"

Then came the mass emails from St. John's. I had officially been accepted so now they were just going through their routine mass emails to newly accepted students - Come visit the campus! - -Don't forget to register at our website! - - Want to study abroad? You can with STJ! - the usual. This was my fourth time being accepted to St. John's so I knew the routine. I was going to delete the emails, I had too many of the same ones from previous times anyway; it felt like a bad break up where I was trying to get rid of old love letters or something. But even with old love letters, I can't help but open them and read them, which is always a bad idea because old feelings come flooding back and then the waterworks start, or at least that's the way it is with me. I learned though that the longer it had been between a break up, the less it hurt and the easier it got to throwing away the love letters (or deleting in this modern age). It wasn't like that with St. John's; I couldn't bring myself to delete the emails, and there I was, reading every single email and then going a step further with my pain by visiting their website and I couldn't take it. I reminded myself what I thought earlier "This is my FOURTH time being accepted to St. John's", was I really going to reject them for a fourth time?! Granted they weren't as invested into the relationship as I was, but really? Four times? That got me into thinking why I kept putting off St. John's and then it hit me. I had always refrained from admitting it but the reason I kept putting if off was because I was scared of the heartache. I was scared of getting so attached to St. John's the way I had that very first time I was supposed to go, 2 years ago, that I distanced myself and I called things off before they could, to save me the pain.

So St. John's was officially back in the running. Even though I had no idea if I could still live on campus or if it was too late for me to accept my place, enough was enough, no more putting it off and living in fear; no more wondering "What if?" I chose St. John's. Even though Ohio was the safest choice for me, it never stood a chance against my dream school. I paid all my deposits the very next morning even though the Housing deadline had passed, and this time things were different, I started getting new emails from them that I'd never read before. It was the new post-acceptance emails, and this time it felt real. The emails were more personal (still mass-sent emails) but more towards students who had made the commitment to St. John's rather than the old "You're accepted, now confirm you wanna come here!" emails.

Things changed from then on. I had chats with Admissions workers and called them frequently for information (who cares if I kept getting transferred to 5 different departments within 10 seconds each time!) And then came the chat with all the Deans. After that chat session with the Deans of St. John's, I can honestly (and very arrogantly) say I made quite an impression on them, I even got asked to please visit their office when I went to campus in the fall. :D And now the emails I get aren't the mass-sent emails but the personal one-on-one emails regarding my enrollment status directly. The chat sessions aren't private since students can just pop in whenever they want, so I know that these invitations and requests for my email address aren't normal, seeing as they didn't ask any other student who joined the chat. /boasting They not only helped me with the usual FAQ's incoming freshman have, but they helped me decide what I should study. Journalism was always going to be my major, but lately I had become interested in Politics, which they gushed was excellent to study alongside Journalism, so I wasn't sure whether to take that as well, or Business. In the end we decided on a double major in Journalism and Politics, with a minor in Business - and if that proves to be too much for me, then the Politics can just become a minor too. :) BEST OF ALL? They pretty much guaranteed I'd have a dorm since I'm a freshman! You have NO idea how ecstatic I was when I heard that!

So it's official, I'M GOING TO ST. JOHN'S!!! Registration for classes doesn't start until June, and they won't start sending out Housing notices until then either, so all I have left to do is wait. I got my financial aid and I still have to apply for a few loans and save up money to go, but I don't care, I'M GOING TO ST. JOHN'S! I can't believe it's actually happening. I said it before, and I'll say it again, this is my year, I can feel it! In a few months' time, I'll be living in the best place in the world, going to my dream school that is so utterly perfect for me. <3 And hopefully in a year's time I'll be getting ready to meet Pattycakes and Galinda for the first time too and we'll all go see Wicked. :D And what this means for HNZ? Well as I said, all there's left to do is wait until June, and now my sister's out of high school so expect me to be on more often, finally! :D

Finally, a happy update from me! :D

~Elphaba

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Merry Christmas! :)

So first of all, Merry Christmas everyone!!! :D I hope you all have a wonderful holiday break and enjoy them!

If I thought my November was busy, that was hardly anything compared to my December! I have been working like CRAZY! I have never wanted to quit my job so badly than the past few days haha. I literally worked an entire week straight (and it would've continued all the way up to Christmas day if I hadn't told them to reschedule me to at leave give me one day off for Christmas shopping!) but the season is finally over and I can now go back to having regular 12 hour work schedules and thus, I can FINALLY truly return to HNZ!

I sincerely apologize for everyone I've left hanging in the past few months!!! And I'm sorry for that really but I was soooo busy even on my days off and when I'd get home from work I was too exhausted to RP and stuff. :/

But starting tomorrow (the day after Christmas really) I will get back on HNZ regularly, and instead of trying to reply to suuuuuuuper old RPs, I will start fresh and new with everyone (and every character) that way the timelines not all messed up and stuff. :/ There are few exceptions I am willing to make so just PM me if you REALLY want me to continue an old thread and see if you're that exception I'm talking about. :)

So thanks to everyone for their patience and understanding with me so far! And I will definitely pick up the pace & my slack around HNZ once more and be as active as I used to be! Once again have a wonderful holiday!!! :)

-Abby
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Children's Christmas Party

So, yesterday I hosted a child at my secondary school's annual Children's Christmas Party (CCP). (It used to be called the "Underprivileged Children's Christmas Party" (UCCP) but our school's administration changed its name to prevent any offence taken by children/parents - it is still the same thing, though)
Basically, the school comes together and plans this giant party for children across the city who maybe don't have the best Christmas every year. A bunch of people buy presents and wrap them, other people are "activities volunteers" who run things like face painting, pin the nose on Rudolph, and the sing along. Other people help cook food for our Christmas lunch and then serve it, there are obviously people who run the whole show then there are the hosts. I was a host. Hosts probably have the best role in the party. We meet a child about a week before the party takes place, then on the day of the party we go to their school, pick them up, and bring them back to the highschool. Throughout the day we lead them around to various activities and just have a blast with them.
This year, my child didn't show up. :( I was going to be without child for the Children's Christmas Party (and thusly have been stuck being a floater). This would not do. So I ended up getting a kid who was technically not supposed to come to the party, but showed up the day of to be picked up at the school (and it's just mean to turn a kid away).
Within five minutes on the bus to my school I knew his Name, Age, Address, and phone number. All I wanted to know was his name and age. xD He insisted on telling me his address, then he went on a tangent about how it's "Good to know your phone number" (which I conceded to) and then how he "learned [his] phone number in the summer" (which I said was very good) then what his phone number was, just to prove it... I suppose.
He also kept saying "more better", which I found very difficult not to correct him on... but I digress.
At the party he was a pretty sweet kid. Well behaved etc. I ended up being physically assaulted by other children, though. (My friend's children. One girl kept poking me. Another kid, while I was standing in line with my own to get food, just turned around and punched me in the gut... just for fun. >_<; )
After all the activities and lunch we got to see the big man from up north. Yes. Sinterklaas.
My child got his picture taken with santa, then a gift. He got a snowman stuffed toy thingy and a Discovery Kids experiment set to create slime. He wasn't impressed at first, as he asked Santa for a Nerf gun. I then explained to him that Santa was just giving him one present today, and that I'm sure Santa will bring a Nerf gun on Christmas. Of course, with that in mind, he didn't hate the experiment set so much now and was actually quite excited to make some goo.
Finally, it was time to leave. One of the children in our group, though, refused to enter the classroom where we'd left all our coats for the day and his host was just leaving him there. Myself and a friend went to get him and he explained how he refused to go in, how Santa had disappointed him. He wanted a Bionicle and only got a Mr. Potato Head (Spiderman edition). I tried the same thing that worked for my kid, but this child didn't like my reasoning and became quite violent. Punching and kicking, I picked him up and brought him in to the room far enough away from the other children so that when I put him down, he could only hurt me and the other guy that was with me. I'm glad I did that, now, as his next words were "Santa Claus isn't real! He's dead!" I just thought 'Boy, imma step on your head you keep this up'. Fortunately, nobody heard him and he stopped with that after a moment.
He was still violent as we walked them back to their buses, but eventually calmed down - which my bruises were quite glad for.
On the bus ride home I talked to my parasite (I was a "host", right?) some more about random things and he told me his address randomly once more.
When we were back at his school the bus driver stopped me and said "You three hosts in the back were so engaged with your children. My husband is an elementary school teacher, and we have five children, and you're so good with kids."... to which I had no words to reply. O.o

All in all it was a good day, despite my bruises and varied levels of physical abuse from children, and I'm glad I spent my Saturday at the party - even if it means I spent my Sunday doing homework all day. =(

~Nicolas

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Brace Yourselves!

Hey guys, it's Abby, I know I haven't been around on HNZ much lately so I'm sorry for that, but I had to focus on a few other things (aka real life) for a while before I felt ready to get back on HNZ. Since November I've been rather busy! I visited New York for the second time in my life (and definitely not the last) and it was just amazing as always. I didn't see Leighton Meester again (she was performing at Times Square on the day I was leaving! :( ) and my grandma was a complete pain in the ass to travel with! She's a terrible conversationalist, I couldn't get a word in, and when I'm watching the news I like to have discussions about what's on and everything she said was just complete ignorance and she was sooo close-minded! (She definitely made me appreciate my mom more, something I thought would never happen). It was horrible, and she could not stop complaining about everything, and when I'm at my favorite place in the world, I don't want to hear none of that crap! haha, but it doesn't matter because after a while I tuned her out and just enjoyed the trip. :) I got to visit the school I've been dyyyyying to go to for the past two years, St. John's University, and WOW, it is amazing! Actually seeing the campus and what it has to offer pretty much just confirmed the fact that it is absolutely, in-every-way PERFECT for me, no joke. I can't wait to go!

I had been accepted to the school for the upcoming Spring semester (which starts on Jan. 22) with a $10,000 scholarship, so I thought, 'Great, I'm good to go!' Well, after looking through things again, I realized that the scholarship money was for the entire year whereas I'd only be attending for a semester first, meaning that I wasn't getting $10,000 but only $5,000. That, combined with my extremely unsatisfactory financial aid still left me with a little over $5,000 I still needed to pay. I tried convincing my mom for us to take out loans, but she was only in town for a week so she was too busy partying and then recovering from hangovers the next day to really pay attention and would just say no. :/

So, in conclusion, I have to put off going for yet another year. This time I'm not as bitter or upset or sad by it because I didn't spend hundreds of dollars on non-refundable enrollment & housing fees and it didn't just happen a few days before I was supposed to leave either and most importantly, I made the decision myself, instead of letting the situation leave me with no other option. And truthfully, deep down in my heart, I didn't want to leave just yet because of my niece. My niece just turned 4 months today! :) I take care of her almost all the time, but I really don't mind it at all, I adore her and cannot stand to be away from her for so long. I hate when my sister takes her to her bf's house and they spend the night there! lol So, I was really sad that I was going to be leaving her so soon, but now that I won't be leaving until August, I know that I'll at least have witnessed her first year (her birthday is August 12) and not missed her first word, crawl, steps, etc. :) I want to cherish the first year I have with her before I leave to New York permanently and she grows up in the blink of an eye! Because I know that now that I have visited the campus, I am more determined than ever to go to school this coming August and I swear this better be the last time you all hear about me putting off school!

So after I came back from New York, my sleeping schedule was finally back on track, I actually slept at night and woke up mornings instead of the opposite! When I came back home I had to deal with my dad who just lost his mom, and my terror brothers off for Thanksgiving break among other things. My mom visited us for a week before she left to Iraq for an indefinite amount of time, all we know is that she'll still be there during the summer. While she was here we had two Thanksgiving dinners because of her late arrival, I actually got to keep my sleeping pattern normal because she would take my brothers to school instead of me and when she actually paid her kids any attention instead of going out partying, she went crazy buying us anything we wanted and taking us out to eat places. My undeserving brother got a freaking Wii! Grr! Now you'd think that with her huge advancement check and the way she was spending her money like it grew on trees, she paid all the bills? Wrong. Literally the day after she left, we had three utility companies come to our house each day asking for payments! It was so annoying because we couldn't even contact her to tell her off! (Something that I am extremely good at).

In addition to all that, I've been working like CRAZY, which is cool because I'm getting decent checks again, but it just makes me hate Christmas season lol, and I'm not getting lunch hours when I should be, and when I come home I'm soo exhausted I just fall asleep where ever I happen to be at without even getting into my pajamas, etc. I normally wouldn't care that I fell asleep, but the whole reason I stayed up until 8 am in the first place was because I had to get my brother ready for school and take him, and when I fall asleep, I knock out and don't wake up until after 7 am, and then he ends up late; that's why it was better for me to just stay up until then. I keep trying and pushing myself to stay up so late after I come home from work, but my body can't take it and I just crash. :/Thus, another reason why I haven't been on HNZ lately.

Oh and today my dad finally told me he has a girlfriend. I should be happy for him, because out of both my parents, my dad definitely deserves to be the happier one, he deserves to have someone to love, he deserves to be better off than my mom, who said she was better off without my dad (which she is soooo not!) But even though I know my dad deserves to be happy by finding someone else, when he told me he wanted me to meet her eventually, all I could think was 'No!' It's not like I want him back with my mom, nooo way, she doesn't deserve him!, but I just don't want to see him with someone else or something, idk, whatever. I used to think my parents divorce was the best thing to ever happen to my dad (he began taking English lessons, he got meggga fit, and began going to church, etc.), but now he's stopped going to church and he parties just as much as my mom does. I think that's why I don't like this girl of his. :/ Ah well.

Oh! Also, it actually snowed TWICE in my city!! And the snow actually stuck for a like a day!!! It was so amazing! Of course the whole time I just kept thinking "Wow, I wonder what New York must look like!" Haha! I know, I seriously have an obsession problem but I just can't help it, I'm in love with the place!

So that is definitely more than enough from me, I promise I'll try never to update this long ever again, I just wanted to sorta explain my absence on HNZ.

Love you all! ♥
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My Life Today (with a side of HNZ)

So after missing two days of school, and being off of school for five days - I think it's safe to say that I was out of practise in various subjects and very ill prepared for the day that awaited me today.
I knew I'd missed two tests last week, and was prepared to write them today. Biology went by quickly (we never do much there) and soon enough I was on my way to literature - when I learned that I had another test! I was entirely unaware of a third test for the day. Fortunately my teacher was kind enough and allowed me the period to study before I came back to class and wrote the test, which was fill-in-the-blank on the most minute details of Heart of Darkness. Any questions I didn't know the answer to I simply put the stupidest answer I could think of for (that's always the best way to go - humour).
Then I had law, where we learned (via a group's presentation) about Socrates and the Socratic method. In a few days I'll have to present on Saint Thomas Aquinas.
Then Chemistry came, where I was supposed to have my first test - and the teacher was away, so it looks like that test will be pushed back to tomorrow.
At lunch I had to sign up for grad photos (this year is going by so0o0o0o quickly =( ) then after lunch I had a math test - which was death. Given the last week for me, I was more than ill-prepared for that test and I simply hope I passed it. That would be nice. At this point my goal for math is to get the credit, then be done with the whole damned thing. >_<;
Following math comes English, where we watched some Hamlet, and Business Leadership where I didn't do much.

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Now for where HNZ comes in to the picture.
All of our site staff have been quite busy over the past week or two, we've been keeping things running on HNZ but the nice little things we try to do (like the weekly updates, for instance) haven't been working out so well, and so easily.
The weekly update is actually quite time consuming. First we must compile a list of updates, changes, upcoming events. Next we try to write a paragraph (or thereabouts) for each topic and finally we need to code the whole thing to not just be a giant block of text. The most time consuming part of the coding always turns out to be the highlighted roleplays, which very few people like to contribute to, anyway. (By the way -> Shoot Livvy a PM to have your plot highlighted!)
With all that, doing it once a week has become near impossible, it seems. Even a bi-weekly update seems more amiable (with perhaps special updates in between) then the regular once a week. It's less pressure on site staff, and gives us more time between updates.
Now, that's just my thoughts, and I haven't even discussed them with Livvy, or Linda, or Abby - because I'm not even sure we'll all stay this busy forever. If doing it once a week is possible again in the near future I don't want to change the system too many times, but at this point the future looks bleak for "Weekly" updates, I fear.

Aside from that Livvy and I have been inundated with applications for tonnes of things, so please bear with us. With my ever-more busy schedule and Livvy's present sickness we're sorting things as best we can. We try to reply to all applications within a week, if not much much sooner.

Anyhow, I think that another "Weekly Update" will be posted today, and that may well be where this blog is first linked to. Exciting? A little bit. =) So I better go work on that.

'Til next blawg,

~Nick

P.S: What are your thoughts on the weekly updates? Comment on the blog post and share your input! ^_^
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My turn I suppose...

Pharyngitis. To most it'd be a sentence of staying home from school, missing work, being miserably sick. But not for me. Bahahaha! I got to spend over 3 hours at the hospital with a male nurse who looked just like L.L. Cool J. Then after they stuck cotton swabs down my throat and irrigated my ear where my sinuses leaked, they had me wait with all of these awesome soldiers who wouldn't give up their seats at the pharmacy for me or my cranky 4 year old autistic child (who had just come home from school). Class acts, those guys.

But the fun part came when I got home! After wheezing my way up the stairs, head pounding, nose running, throat feeling like somebody had stuffed a barb wired pineapple down it, I got to chill out on my couch. And get up to get juice, then dinner, then a favorite crayon that fell behind the couch, then change DVDs, then get yelled at for not having a ready supply of suckers.

Finally I got the night to myself to Skype with some crazy broads and RP in a medicated stupor. Amazingly the RPs went well. Ha! Then came the morning after where my little guy jumped on the bus and I snuggled on my couch to watch X-Files, season 1. I'd forgotten how pretty David Duchovny (my adolescent love) was. *sigh* *cough*

Anyways, been hella sick, found out Rich won't be home until January instead of before Christmas and that my kid is apparently one of the class bullies. Bummed about Rich...strangely proud of Logan for sticking up for himself. Show those kids who's boss son.

HNZ wise, been very impressed with the changes and ideas happening lately. If you haven't hugged your Nicktator lately, go do it. Now. I'll just be sitting here, reading this newspaper. *sniff* Huh, Headmistress is a harlot apparently. Interesting. Oh, you're still here? Why are you watching me? Go RP already! And submit some links to my PM box while you're at it.

Cheers!
~Liv (Cecily Zhefarovich)


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A Return to Blogging

I've decided to try blogging again, once in a while, but now on HNZ's blog with the rest of HNZ's site staff helping out, posting their own little blog entries, and hopefully having a very awesome area for members to check in on the site, and its staff, in one place. Individual blogs on ZetaBoards are great, but sometimes it's hard to notice new posts and things - with this it will be possible to subscribe to the blog, follow it, and get relevant updates as need be. Which is pretty nifty, I think.

So life over the past week has been insane for me. The week started off well enough, I suppose, but then Tuesday evening, when I got home from school, my mom's cat (Hobo) wasn't doing so well. I was concerned about him, but had to go to work. So I set him down on my mom's bed (he couldn't walk for some reason) and left for my job. I called home to check up on him several times throughout the night, and when I got home and checked on him myself he was on my mom's bed, dead. He was 18, and I'd known him my entire life. My mom's had him longer than she's had me. It's tough thinking that he's not around the house any more and we all miss him immensely.
I had a test on Wednesday, and one on Thursday, but with Hobo's death I was certain that if I wrote them I'd fail. So I didn't go to school Wednesday or Thursday, I spent time with my mom instead - which was alright, I suppose.
Thursday night I had a session meeting at my church, the first one since I became an elder, and that went alright. I came home and my mom told me about some family drama (which I don't feel comfortable sharing at the moment) that I now also have to deal with.
Then Friday came. Friday was a P.D day (no school! Thank God!) but I had to go to school anyway to work on filming a Literature project with my group. That, too, went alright but it took a fair deal of time and I'm sure I could have spent my day some better way.
Today I'm trying to rest, relax, get some sleep maybe. I'm also planning on seeing The Blind Side with my family and a friend this evening, which I hope to be enjoyable.

Tomorrow I might be going to see 2012 with my church youth group, and I have to study for all the tests I've missed.

So now for the portion of my blog where I discuss HNZ.
I feel a bit bad for Summer Break being cut a day or two short, but it'll be closing Monday, most likely, as that is when Semester two begins.
Along with Semester 2 comes Apparition lessons for sixth years, and lots of other exciting things (I hope).
I've been tyring to revamp the Ministry a bit, as it has been inactive, mainly by bringing more Aurors in to the picture. Death Eaters on HNZ have always been strong - so now making it easier to become an auror should help balance things a bit.

Other than that, planning for Y9's Tri-Wizard tournament is underway and a few more surprises are hidden about.
As far as the OOC Community goes, I'm hoping to get voting prepared for the OOC Superlatives and then wait most anxiously for the results. xD

~Nick

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