Wow. Where to start.

I guess I should explain my situation right now. I’m on a campus computer, and since I’m not a student I think my access runs out in about fifteen minutes. So I have to make this quick. Probably won’t have time to check my messages—that will probably have to wait for next week. Sorry guys. :(

Anyway. Hoo. Okay. Here it is, my big announcement:

I am leaving town with Glen.

…

I know how crazy that sounds, but let me explain.

Those of you who follow my friend Tim’s blog know by now that I had a thing for 011iver, and he made it pretty clear that he didn’t feel the same way. I don’t blame him for that. He can’t help what he does and doesn’t feel. Still, I haven’t talked to him since, because the whole thing’s been kind of public and embarrassing. I even blocked his tweets, and I feel bad about it now, but I think I just had to kind of not think about him for awhile. If any of you talk to him, tell him I’m sorry, and I’m not mad. I just need to not think about him right now. It really isn’t his fault.

Anyway … blah. Tangent. Basically I was really depressed about that, and since I didn’t want to see 011ie, and Tim is always with 011ie, I felt cut off from my best friends. And I was kind of humiliated about the whole thing and didn’t feel like talking to you guys about it either (I know that was stupid, and I’m sorry). But anyway … that left Glen. And I was surprised how much he came through for me. I mean, we didn’t really talk about the 011ie thing, and that was okay because I really didn’t want to think about it. Glen just bought me chili dogs and we hung out and played games. See, everybody knows that Glen’s always had a thing for me, but I just never thought about him like that before. And I think now that I was being stupid. He’s a good guy, and he’s always there for me, and he wants to be with me. So … yeah. He asked me if we could date, and this time I said okay.

So we started hanging out more, going on dates, and it was going pretty good. Even the monkey isn’t so bad, heh. I think Glen really cares about me, and I’m thinking I could be happy with him. Then, this past weekend, Glen told me that he just got this job out of state, and he’s moving … and he asked me to go with him. Of course my first reaction was like, are you crazy? But then I thought, you know, I was planning to leave the city anyway. I just hadn’t decided where to go. I don’t have a job here, I don’t have any family here … So I finally said, what the hell.

My lease was up Wednesday, and since I wasn’t renewing, I had to go ahead and move out, even though Glen and I aren’t leaving till the weekend. So I packed up that morning and moved my stuff over to Glen’s. And since Glen doesn’t have the internet at home (well, actually, he has shitty dial-up and a really old computer, so he literally can’t do much of anything other than check his Juno inbox), I’ve been kind of screwed on that front ever since. (If any of you have tried to message me, sorry! If I don’t have time today, I will definitely get back to you after the move.)

Anyway … that’s pretty much the story. I’m really looking forward to moving on and maybe finally getting my life together. I’m getting away from the city, I’ve got a really supportive boyfriend … things are looking up. :) I’m still having a hard time with some things, but I think the key there is just to put it all behind me. Maybe I’ll try to do some writing, like my friend Gupfee suggested. Who knows.

Anyway. I’m sad about leaving my best friends, and I feel bad for not at least talking to 011iver first, but I just don’t think I can see him right now. That whole business really messed me up, and I think it’s better if I just don’t think about it for awhile. If any of you talk to him, tell him I’m not mad, and I will get in touch at some point. I do owe him an explanation, I think. Tim too.

Okay, so … I guess that’s it. Sorry I didn’t explain it all sooner, but a lot of things were uncertain, and I guess I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure. Plus I was just kind of feeling bummed out in general. But I think I’m better now. :)

Be seeing you all on Twitter sometime next week, hopefully … in the meantime, I’ll keep tweeting updates from text whenever I get the chance.

Hugs and mushy stuff,

Quartz

Must Love Humans - Why humans are great, too!

So I’ve been thinking a lot lately about relationships and friendships and whatnot—and especially about my friend 011ie and his quest to find love (www.mustloverobots.com). I think it’s great what he and Tim are doing, and I think 011iver deserves to find someone who will make him happy. So needless to say, watching all these cyborgs and energy beings and robot girls turn him down lately is breaking my heart. And, as a result, it begins to occur to me that 011iver might actually want to consider seeking companionship outside his normal circles.

Now, I realize the idea of a dating a human being might seem a little intimidating—or, dare I say it, outright bizarre—to some robots. But I think there are plenty of human girls out there who love robots, and—who knows?—one of them may just make the perfect mate for 011iver.

To elaborate further, I put together this list of things that robots just might love about humans:

1. Humans built robots, so robots and humans probably have more in common than they think!

2. Humans are soft and warm, like teddy bears. Great for snuggling—!

3. Humans know how to cook hamburgers, which, of course, all robots love.

4. Humans like to sleep in on the weekends. Awesome!!!

5. Humans like to play games, like D&D or Q3. Even more awesome.

6. Humans are good listeners—totally there for you when you need them.

7. Humans have a natural gift for love and empathy. Any bot can appreciate that, right?

Okay, so I realize that some of these may actually apply to some robots as well … while they may by the same token be specific only to certain humans (I can, uh, only speak for myself, after all). But—well, bottom line, it seems to me that humans and robots both represent diverse populations, and, as a result, individuals from both groups may easily have more in common than we tend to realize.

So maybe, just maybe, humans and robots can get together in this crazy, mixed-up world. I mean, hell … at the end of the day, the important question is, why not?

So I don’t usually blog about namby-pamby emotional shit, but … I don’t know.  I’m just kind of down all of a sudden, and I don’t know why.  I guess I’ve been thinking about my life for once.  Basically, I play video games all the time, I eat junk food, I sleep ten or eleven hours a day … I haven’t dated in, well, awhile.  I’m almost twenty-five and I still don’t have a “real” job.  If I’m honest, I haven’t really done anything productive since college.

… Yikes.

I don’t know.  I guess I see my friends starting to get it together, and, instead of being happy for them, I feel like I’m missing out.  Am I a selfish jerk or what?  Gah.  It’s just that it’s been so long since I’ve stopped to ask myself what I want out of life … what really matters to me.  Maybe I’ve been avoiding the question.  I used to go after stuff I wanted … but maybe I’ve just been disappointed one time too many.

Oh well.  Whiny whiny blah blah blah.  Thanks for listening.  If anybody is listening, heh.  But enough of this for now.  I still have some achievements to pick up before ME2 comes out.

One word.  Sweet.

So Thursday night Tim, 011ie, and I, along with several of our online friends, held a Scrabble tournament on www.wabble.org (not to be confused with www.wabble.com).  Thanks to our friend Rowan for ferreting out this site for us. (Pun?  What pun?)

Wabble is a pretty close approximation of Scrabble that, apparently, Hasbro hasn’t flipped its shit over yet.  Up to four people can play live, while others may join in the fun as spectators and, with the proper settings, chat with the players during the game.

The tournament progression was as follows (chart courtesy of Timmy-Tim):

Congrats to RedCT for a rather decisive victory.  Second place went to yours truly, third to Jain, and last place, in a shocking turn of events (ahem), to Tim.

The highlights of the tournament included some new additions to the English lexicon, such as “nar” and “ruggie” (the latter provided inspiration for one of Tim’s Super Great Ideas), and an impromptu dance party at Tim and 011iver’s, to which I was obviously not invited (that’s okay though, we had another dance party not too long after).

All in all, I think the tournament was a rousing success, and if the clamor continues I foresee a reprisal in the not-so-distant future.  Maybe next time I’ll hop over to the guys’ and join in the video chat.

Till next time, peace out, mofos.

So my pal 011iver (see www.mustloverobots.com) finally has a date! (He’s claiming it’s just a practice, but between you and me, I haven’t seen him this nervous in ages, so, well, the jury’s still out on that.) It’s with a human girl (saywhaa???) he met online.  I’ve tweeted back and forth with her a bit, and she actually seems quite awesome … so … yeah.  Never saw 011ie hooking up with a flesh-and-bone model, but I gotta say, I approve of his choice.  Here’s wishing them both the best!

They’re going on a picnic this weekend, and 011ie needs advice on how to charm the pants off (yeah 011ie, you Casanova you) of his lovely lady-friend.  I’ve made a few suggestions of my own, but he never listens to me, so … maybe if they come from you?

Post your suggestions for 011ie here, and I’ll be sure to send them his way.

Today, Charlotte Elizabeth Quartz, Ph.D. (well … someday), walked 2.5 miles round-trip to get McDonald’s.  Now, she asks herself (and you, gentle reader)—was this awesome, or pathetic?

I don’t know about you, but I’m lovin’ it.

Fight the good fight.

Let’s see.  I’m Charlotte Quartz.  Most people call me Charlie.  A privileged few call me Chuck.

I live in Brooklyn with a roommate who is literally never home.  I have two best friends since college.  One of them is a robot, the other’s just a nerd.

I think about random things now and then, and this is where I’ll come to say them.  When they exceed 140 characters, that is.

I’m narcissistic, but not really moreso than you or anybody else.  I’m just more frank about it.

I’m still trying to figure out how one becomes a video game beta tester for a living.

I like Hall & Oates.  That’s right.  I said it.

Ta ta for now.

pointy ears are h4wt