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And so, the journey begins...

Getting serious with this quest after a 1 year hiatus stuck on Level 3. Many thanks to this guy (who for whatever reason likes to constantly change his name) for donating me the materials to make Tsunami KO shirts to get to Level 4. As thanks I sent (or returned?) him the finished products...I think he profited a little bit.

He also gave me materials to make a few Fausto's Bottles a few months ago when the cache system was derpy and relatively unreasonable. That was really awesome of him. ^^

The best route seems to be the Black Neko Cosplay. I think there are better routes but they require Caches...I don't want to open any. I want to sell them for profit.

I was up past midnight when I got the request to craft a Candy Mountain for Ze3k's buddy. I was thinking, "Ok, maybe I'll be lucky this time and succeed before consuming ten attempts!" I took precautions by waiting at least five minutes between each attempt to prevent chain fails. "Yeah, this time, I got this", I thought.

I went to bed after Fail #18...

One nightly nap, 260k, four Booty Grab breaks, many sanity breaks, and several fails later, on Attempt #26, I FINALLY crafted that beast. Holy key lime pie on a stick...note to self...NEVER attempt this for anything after Level 5. At least I made a new friend. *waves at heaven_x_ace * ^^

Maybe five minutes isn't enough? Or maybe my luck just sucks...I played a Famestar RIG a few years ago and failed on the first stage. That has a 10% chance of failing...*headdesks*

In other related news, I was gifted a MANtis for my Worst Mistake a few days ago. Thanks, Ze3k! biggrin

I finally managed to craft my seventh Black Neko Cosplay. Only two more to go to reach Level Five. Unfortunately, the Cosplays have risen in price the past few days and I'm patently waiting for them to deflate a tad. I'm in no hurry, but I'd like to finish this level before the end of this month, when college starts.

I have enough Crystal Guitars for six Level Nartian Rocks. I'm glad I started that early...right now the prices are hovering in the 60k range. I nabbed a bunch of them for 10k-30k a week or two ago. The Bifrost formula change probably inflated them...knowing my luck, they'll probably deflate when I clear Level 5. -_-"

The Philosopher's Caches are funding my efforts nicely. Today I have concluded that it's more fun to Booty Grab for Blue Carnation funds than to hunt for them at night. Seriously, what's up with the inflation of those carnations?


In other news, the USA women's gymnastics team just won gold. Go US biggrin

All cosplays are at 60k flat. Not good...guess I'll have to wait for Halloween to break even on Black Neko Cosplays.

Today I'm plotting out my path for Level 6 and Level 7. I'll go all the way with the Albus egg for Level 6. No caches required...how nice. c:

For Level 7, I'm thinking Herme's Moon (x1 Ruby) or Helmet of the Great War (x10 Amethyst), most likely the former.

I don't want to plan too far ahead--I still have to get to Level 5.

In other unrelated news, the Rejected Olympics ended today. My heart goes out to all those who couldn't get their achievements due to faulty game programming, lag, and whatnot...

Black Neko Cosplay
Try 1: Fail
Try 2: Fail

If this is a Candy Mountain repeat then I will flip an innocent table.

Try 3: SUCCESS

Phew. Now I'm at Level 5. biggrin



I'm about to open 10 Caches. I hope I get some good ones...
Cache #1-10

Cache 1: Emerald
Cache 2: Emerald
Cache 3: Sapphire

C'mon...*takes a deep breath*

Cache 4: Ruby
Cache 5: Aquamarine

That's better. Can't celebrate yet...

Cache 6: Gold
Cache 7: Sapphire
Cache 8: Garnet
Cache 9: Aquamarine
Cache 10: Amethyst

biggrin

I think it's safe to celebrate. Not bad! I want to calculate how much I just profited/lost based on the buy prices, but I don't feel like doing that at the moment.

Time to claim my Star of Style and craft my first Level 5 formula.. I'll hang on to the Aquamarines, Garnet, and Ruby. Selling the rest.

The Emerald and Sapphires are worth about half; the Amethyst is just about even; zOMG...the Gold one is worth like...five caches! I knew the Platinum was worth a fortune, but I didn't know the Gold one was worth that much! YAY! I hope they sell...

And again:
Cache 1: Aqua
Cache 2: Garnet
Cache 3: Aqua
Cache 4: Garnet
Cache 5: Garnet
Cache 6: Ruby
Cache 7: Aqua
Cache 8: Amethyst
Cache 9: Topaz
Cache 10: Emerald

*squees* :'D

Time to open another batch of 10 caches:

Cache 1: Garnet
Cache 2: Amethyst
Cache 3: Platinum

emotion_jawdrop

OMGGGGGGGGG *spazzes*
Watch the next seven be lame caches~

Cache 4: Aquamarine
Cache 5: Topaz
Cache 6: Topaz
Cache 7: Emerald
Cache 8: Sapphire

Guess my luck ran out. Ah well... ^^"

Cache 9: Emerald
Cache 10: Sapphire

Yep. Finding the Platinum felt like winning a RIG pet. Not like I'd know how that feels...

Instead of waiting until I have enough components for 10 caches and making them simultaneously (and conjuring chain fails), I'll just make them when I have enough for one and open when I have crafted 10 caches. Losing money in smaller increments is much bearable than losing it in a giant chunk.

Not counting the Garnet component, I only have enough components to make two more Nartian Rocks. Crystal Guitars are severely inflated and I don't have many options when it comes to crafting other formulas. I need to think up a Plan B...

Ok, here's Plan B: Craft 16 Level 4 Devil Imp Claws (x7 Topaz // x2 Emerald), Level 4 Regalinovo (x5 Topaz // x1 Garnet) and/or Level 4 Autopsy Scars (x1 Garnet). I didn't wanna do the Scars for Level 4 because it required a Cache. Maybe I should've...^^"

Unrelated News Bit: American Beach Volleyball team made it to the finals. The Brazilians look agitated...o3o"

#31-35
Decided to open them in groups of five; I don't want to wait a week between each opening:

Cache 1: Amethyst
Cache 2: Ruby
Cache 3: Amethyst
Cache 4: Ruby
Cache 5: Aquamarine

Wifi is so slow that the caches take forever to open...

Since Crystal Guitars have greatly deflated to sane levels, I may not have to do Plan B after all. Hooray! Hopefully they'll deflate more...dunno how far I should push my luck. Now I have to wait until I pull some Garnets.

Slightly related news bit: I'm on vacation at our timeshare on the west coast of Florida and having a blast. Unfortunately, the wifi sucks...this will severely limit my cache production for a few days. At least I can still play Gaia Fishing here.

#36-40
Next batch of five:

Cache 1: Amethyst
Cache 2: Aquamarine
Cache 3: Aquamarine
Cache 4: Garnet
Cache 5: Aquamarine

Almost halfway through the Worst Mistake quest. biggrin

Status Updates
Level 5 completion rate: 60% (70% minus one Garnet)
Level 6 compiliation rate: 60% (minus several Eggshells)

Current Funds In Pure: 12,792,746 g
Current Funds in RIGs: ~12,168,000 g

Caches in Storage:
-- 10 Aqua
-- 4 Ruby
-- 2 Emerald
-- 2 Topaz
-- 1 Platinum which won't sell

Marketplace Watch: Target items deflated to barely decent levels.

College starts in a week. Let's see how much alchemy I can knock out before that starts...

#41-45
Today's Batch:
Cache 1: Garnet
Cache 2: Sapphire
Cache 3: Emerald
Cache 4: Sapphire
Cache 5: Amethyst

Should I sell or keep? Caches seem to be deflating, but some random Alchemy change made by the devs may increase or decrease their value...

Status Updates
Level 5 completion rate: 70%
Level 6 compiliation rate: 60%

Current Funds In Pure: 12,624,325 g
Current Funds in RIGs: ~12,168,000 g

Marketplace Watch: Pushing my luck with the Guitars; hoping for below 60k. The green plops have inflated to oblivion.


Unrelated tidbit: The Youtube edition of AGT sucked, as expected. The nutshot king was better than the air guitarist by a long shot. No pun intended...o3o

-------
#46-50
Somehow crafted five more today:

Cache 1: Garnet
Cache 2: Emerald
Cache 3: Aquamarine
Cache 4: Ruby
Cache 5: Amethyst

Cool, no repeats. Officially halfway through Worst Mistake. ;D

Quick Status Updates
Level 5 completion rate: &70%
Level 6 compiliation rate: 70%

Current Funds In Pure: 12,496,736 g
Current Funds in RIGs: ~12,168,000 g

Taking a break from making Caches...I'll just Booty Grab the rest of the night. Time to go play the piano for the heck of it. ^^

The nutshot guy will be in next week's wild card...o_O"

Cache #51-55:

Cache 1: Sapphire
Cache 2: Sapphire
Cache 3: Emerald
Cache 4: Aquamarine
Cache 5: Aquamarine

Turns out I need those Sapphires for Level 8, so I won't complain. Emeralds are only useful for Plan B-2, but I'd rather not resort to that unless things get desperate. I can always use another Aquamarine for my Worst Mistake.

Since I'm no longer selling Caches for profit, I'm slowly dishing out some RIGs to convert to pure in order to cushion the gold loss. I think Digial Rainbow has already matured enough to yield my desired 50% profit, anyways. ^^

I gotta start numbering the Caches. I left some unaccounted for and had to count everything all over again...

Status Updates
Level 5 completion rate: 70%
Level 6 compiliation rate: &90%
Level 8 compiliation rate: ~40%
Level 9: Still working on it...

Current Funds In Pure: 12,776,572 g

Cache #56-60

Cache 1: Sapphire
Cache 2: Sapphire
Cache 3: Sapphire
Cache 4: Emerald
Cache 5: Amethyst

Well that was horrible. It's a good thing I need those Sapphires... sweatdrop

Today marks two days after the anniversary of my Level 1 Alchemy achievement. It's been that long already?

Gold is starting to be eaten up by ingredients and August anklets (for investment purposes) faster than I can replenish them. Well, I can't turn down good deals when I see one...and I'm glad I didn't.

I also came to the realization that when I reach Level 6, I'm going to burn at least 600k in crafting costs all in one day due to having all the ingredients available. I should probably pace myself and craft only one or two a day. I can't handle seeing that much gold disappear at once (unless the cause is a RIG bundle...for investment purposes). What's the rush, anyways?

Did I forget to mention that Albus Egg has a Medium craft rate? Oh gosh...

After about 45 minutes of Booty Grab (with this as my timer), I played 23 games of Booty Grab and earned 55163g. Not bad.


Status Updates
Level 5 completion rate: 70%
Level 6 compiliation rate: &90%
Level 8 compiliation rate: ~50%
Level 9: Those cash shop Gift Boxes... emotion_donotwant

Current Funds In Pure: 12,555,421 g

MP Watch:
--Guitars are at a decent price (5/6)
--Holy $#!7 deflating after huge price surge (1/3)
--One goose and 11 eggshells away from completing Level 6
--Hoping to get Christmas themed ingredients before Christmas

I should be driving to school in about 15 minutes. Hope this year is a great year. ^^

Cache #61-65

Cache 1: Ruby
Cache 2: Ruby
Cache 3: Emerald
Cache 4: Sapphire
Cache 5: Sapphire

Pokemon colors. o3o

For some odd reason, Comet Tails are cheaper than the Ruby Cache that they come from. How can that possibly be? Must be a supply and demand issue on the supply side...hmm. Finally made another Nartian Rock. Two more to go...

Funds took a dip after I invested in two Saint Ciels 3rd Gen (one is a single, the other in EI bundle #5). If they're really leaving the Cash Shop tomorrow, then they should shoot up in price. If not, then I better get rid of them fast. I still haven't bought any August RIG bundles...are they popular or what? None under 800k are listed yet. :/

Status Updates
Level 5 completion rate: 80% (Need 2 plops and 2 Garnets)
Level 6 compiliation rate: 100% (Guess who's still stuck on Level 5! =D )
Level 8 compiliation rate: &50%
Level 9: Honestly, who would buy Gift Boxes from the Cash Shop for avatar purposes?

Current Funds In Pure: 10,719,884 g

MP Watch:
--Holy S#17: Deflating like molasses...
--All Pora Ices obtained!
--Suspended Traitor deflating nicely; may inflate by Halloween so it's top priority
--Ballad of Orpheus short in supply...lack of RIG fails?
--33k for a Comet Tail? Woah...
--Gift boxes. ]:

Cache #66-70
Dishing out some caches before the storm hits:

Cache 1: Aquamarine
Cache 2: Aquamarine
Cache 3: Sapphire
Cache 4: Aquamarine
Cache 5: Sapphire

For some reason, I've been lagging strangely whenever I go into zOMG ever since Friday's server cycle...it's a combination of rubberbanding, slingshotting, and unresponsive controls. I've tried changing browsers, changing computers, and cleaning the flash and browser cache. I think it's a server issue...this happened the last time Anchor Bug was a playable zOMG server. Hmm...

Status Updates
Level 5: 1 more poo / 2 Garnets
Level 6: Done~
Level 8: 5 Traitors / 5 Ballads / ~400 Copper
Level 9: Bleh...

Current Funds: 10,688,149

In other news, Tropical storm (or is it a Hurricane?) Isaac cancelled school on Monday. Yay~
My DS and laptop are fully recharged just in case it knocks out the power so that I have something to do besides homework.

Cache #71-75
Two more Garnets until Level 5 is complete. Here goes:

Cache 1: Amethyst
Cache 2: Emerald
Cache 3: Aquamarine
Cache 4: Garnet (woohoo!)
Cache 5: Emerald

Bootsnake is lag free! I think the problem is exclusive only to Anchor Bug and Bladed Vase...
Invested in one RIG bundle. Guess it's not going under 800k anytime soon...was it that good of a RIG? The expensive ones usually inflate quicker...

I should start preparing for Level 7.

Status Updates
Level 5: ONE more Garnet
Level 8: ~50%
Level 9: ~15% (has varying numbers of boxes in Inventory)

Current Funds: 10,081,994

Random MP notes from the last few days:
--Snagged my final Holy $#!7 for under 70k.
--Snagged a Lesser Potato for ~50k; only 20 Aquas needed instead of 21.
--The price of Ballad of Orpheus went through the roof.
--Collecting colored Gift Boxes are as derp as ever; snagged a few under 10k.
--Saint Ciel turned out to be an excellent investment...for now?



Had some periodic spells of heavy wind and rain over the weekend. No power was lost.
Also, Ze3k changed his name to Hashtable "because he hadn't changed it in a while".

It cost him over 300k... emotion_facepalm

Cache #76-80
One more Garnet and three Aquamarines to go. C'mon, big money!
*spins the wheel*

Cache 1: Sapphire
Cache 2: Sapphire
Cache 3: Aquamarine
Cache 4: Ruby
Cache 5: Emerald

Looks like Level 6 will have to wait another day. ^^"
Is it just me or have I been making Caches much faster? I've been updating every other day instead of every three days...

I still have the nine Black Neko Cosplays that I crafted. Should've sold them; could've earned about 1.5m for them. Oh wait, I was gonna sell that around Halloween. Black cats...Halloween...heh~

*rummages through inventory* Let's what see what else I have: six alchemized Nartian Rocks, two Agapes, nine RIG bundles, four loose RIGs, and about ten or more of each Birthstone Anklet that has come out over the past year. In the unneeded cache department, I have 3 Sapphires, 3 Amethysts, 8 Emeralds, and a Platinum which I don't want to part with...

I'll have a grand liquidation sale when I reach Level 10 so that I don't get tempted to rashly spend my remaining 9m on alchemy supplies (except for April's RIG, which I wanna sell off so I can invest in better stuff). I think I've been doing a good job so far...most of the giant dips in my funds came from investment items. xD


Status Updates
Level 5: 99.9%
Level 7: +10%
Level 8: ~50%
Level 9: +10%ish

Current Funds: 9,192,888

Cache #81-85
I should really start labeling them 81-85 etc. instead of 1-5...
Consider this a new month resolution:

Cache 81: Ruby
Cache 82: Sapphire
Cache 83: Sapphire
Cache 84: Amethyst
Cache 85: Sapphire

I'm so close to completing my short term goals...who knew they would be impeded by cache pulls instead of inflated items?
Over 600k will go down the drain as soon as I pull that Garnet, so I should probably enjoy it while it lasts. xD

Managed to snag another RIG bundle yesterday for 810k. There were four listed; for whatever reason I only bought one, just in case the price tanks. It's unlikely, though...^^"


Status Updates
Level 5: 99.9%
Level 7: ~29%
Level 8: ~50%
Level 9: +10%ish

Current Funds: 8,247,858

My first Orgo Chemistry II and Anatomy/Physiology exams are next week. The horrendous, stress-filled memories from the nightmare known as Summer Orgo I are flooding back...I better start studying.

It's 12am, so I guess today's the 3rd, not the second. xP

Cache #86-90
Gonna go into this without any expectations:

Cache 86: Garnet (Finally!)
Cache 87: Sapphire
Cache 88: Garnet (Hilarious.)
Cache 89: Sapphire
Cache 90: Sapphire

Looks like it took a tiny bit under a month to reach Level 6. Not bad, I suppose.

Here's how I'll do Level 6: I'll do one attempt every time something from my shop sells. The Medium craft rate is making me a tad nervous...and what do you know? My first two attempts blow up in smoke...

emotion_facepalm
There goes 120k down the gold toilet.
I'm done for the night.


I allowed myself three five more tries after three five items sold in my shop. Crafted three Eggs; the third and fourth attempts exploded. Bleh.


Status Updates
Level 7: ~40%
Level 8: ~50%
Level 9: +10%ish

Current Funds: 8,050,138 8,409,311

According to my syllabus, the Orgo Chem exam is next week, but I'm not taking any chances. Still gotta figure out what happens to the aluminum borohydride complex after it donates two protons...

Turns out the complex leaves with the oxygen it's attached to, the other oxygen forms a double bond, and the formed aldehyde is protonated two more times with another nucleophile to form the 1° alcohol. Not bad, I guess...

Haven't produced a single cache since last week due to lots of factors:

--Completely burnt out of making them. I need to take a break and slow down.
--I don't need any more particular caches to level up for the time being.
--College. Mainly the soul crusher known as Organic Chemistry.
--New, non-alchemy achievements released! Spent most of Thursday and Friday getting them.

Since reaching Level 6, I've produced 9 Albus Eggs after 16 attempts. 960k down the drain, yet my current funds in gold have increased by about 80k. The pacing strategy makes the loss much more bearable as long as I don't think about all the profit I could've made.

As for the higher levels, I found a Level 7 formula that will turn a profit if I slowly buy the components. The components are apparently low demand items that are obtained as a non-ad blocker prize...if I buy them all up at once then they might inflate regardless.

No progress has been made for Level 8 except for the Copper; I'm less than 100 of them away from having enough to carry me through the level. Since the other two components have a history of being released as RIG prizes, I'm hoping that the next RIG grants them. I have variable amounts of Level 9 components...progress is as slow as molasses as usual.


Status Updates
Level 6: 90%
Level 7: ~45%
Level 8: ~50%
Level 9: +20%ish

Current Funds: 8,492,628


Meh...I'm gonna take a break from Literature and Gaia and catch up on some Gravity Falls episodes. This cartoon is made of pure win: it contains adventure, great storytelling, well timed humor, overall awesome characters, and amazing sibling dynamics. The way they poke and tease each other is almost exactly how my friends and I poked and messed around with each other in middle/high school...good times. xD

To top it off, it's quite dark and edgy...it's as if Phineas and Ferb ate the creepy elements of Regular Show and the Misadventures of Flapjack. The best part? It's neither live action nor a high school sitcom! Now I have two legit reasons to tune in to the Disney Channel!

Reached Level 7 today! Huzzah~
I even had the funds to craft a Level 7 formula. 10% of the way there. c:

I'm going to continue my pacing routine. Cache production and the hunt for leveling components will be very slow this week; I have my plate full in terms of coursework. I will most likely pick up the pace this Thursday once my first Orgo II exam is over.

Until then, I'll just stay logged in to Gaia to forum browse every now and then.

Status Updates
Level 7: ~45%
Level 8: ~50%
Level 9: +20%ish

Current Funds: 8,546,262


Speaking of forums, the z!F has been a riot ever since DMS opened to the public last Thursday. I must admit that watching the fireworks produced by the rage was fun on day 1, but the novelty wore off overnight and now it's Abuse/Integrity and Gold Cap all over again with a dash of Chatterbox mixed in. (Wasn't there a zOMG chatterbox guild somewhere?)

My apathy burns with the intensity of a thousand suns~

Cache #91-95
It's been almost two weeks since I opened a batch:

Cache 91: Sapphire
Cache 92: Sapphire
Cache 93: Aquamarine
Cache 94: Emerald
Cache 95: Emerald


I had something meaningful to say, but someone pulled the fire alarm before I could finish. Oh well.

Expecting progress to be really slow for the next few weeks.

Status Updates
Level 7: ~45%
Level 8: ~50%
Level 9: +20%ish

Current Funds: 8,546,262

Cache #96-100
100 caches as of today!
Weekly pull:

Cache 96: Aquamarine
Cache 97: Sapphire
Cache 98: Aquamarine
Cache 99: Aquamarine
Cache 100: Amethyst

Finally, I have enough for the Worst Mistake! Time to cross that off my to-do list. c:
*extracts 20 Fails from each Aqua cache*

Simultaneously pulling 20 of them from 20 caches while watching Ms.Congeniality 2 is fun...seriously. o3o"

Five days ago, more new achievements were released! I hope they continue releasing some. I think I'm 14 days away from receiving the Loiterer achievement.


Status Updates
Level 7: ~55%
Level 8: ~70%
Level 9: +20%ish

Current Funds: 8,437,460


To do list:
--Literature analysis essay
--Lab report
--Anatomy pre-lab
--Physics practice

I have my weekend cut out for me.

I haven't collected enough Old Crumpled papers to fill my weekly quota at all. I've been pretty busy lately...well, taking 10 min. out of my day to get some isn't tedious, but my mind has been preoccupied with more important things. I think this week will be more productive.

Today I stand at the halfway point of Level 7. I could take the fast route and be done with it relatively quickly, but I'm taking a chance and holding out for the cheaper, slower route.

Not too long ago, it was revealed that something huge changes will be implemented to Alchemy. Is this another reason to slow down? It may open up more profitable, feasible level up options. If games will play a larger role, then does this mean I should take a gamble and stock up on some game loot? Only time will tell...

Also, I happened to snatch this in the vend a few days ago. It's nothing spectacular, but it's my best vend ever:

Not bad for a casual non-vendor...c:

Status Updates
Level 7: +50%
Level 8: +70% (Completed: 1000/1000 Copper!)
Level 9: ~20%ish

Current Funds: 8,827,517


Unrelated Laundry List:
--Catch up on sleep
--Read "The Rape of the Lock" and look underneath the underneath... ninja
--Do all lab Reports before Monday
--Finish my Physics take-home test
--Study ALL the Organic mechanisms
--Ace Monday's anatomy lab practical and get back home in time for Regular Show
--Prepare Orgo lab manual
--Refrain from watching the leaked new episode of Gravity Falls until Friday
--Booty Grab and collect Old Crumpled papers in between doing all of the above

...Let's do this. emotion_dealwithit

First month of October, my favorite month on Gaia due to all the festivities.

I think I'll have my batch of Caches ready tomorrow. I just need some more Old Crumpleds and some fish. I think I've been having a hard time getting back into the swing of (alchemy) things since I've been so preoccupied with school...now that I have a bit of a reprive, I just don't feel like going through all the work crafting the caches. I'm still somewhat actively lurking the MP for deals.

I'm still at the Level 7 halfway mark. I have a formula that's almost ready for crafting but I'm being stingy when it comes to the last component, as usual...^^"

----------
I think that's all I have to say about Alchemy for now. Time for some obligatory, non-Alchemy related ramblings!

--The new game, Heralds of Chaos, is out. I want to try it, but it won't let me.

--I have no idea which side I want to support for the upcoming Gaia 2k12 event.

--I should be getting my Loiterer achievment soon. I hope it isn't glitched.

--Midterms are next week. Gotta brace myself for some unwarranted all-nighters.

Time for some mild fangirling over cartoons:

--@ last Monday's new episode of Regular Show: Epic. Wow. Totally worth taking the Lab practical early! It's easily one of my favorite episodes. Usually the strange, not regular stuff happens near the end of the episode, but in this one it started off with it right off the bat.

The awesome action-packed fight scene with the recurring demon spawn of the underworld was sweet! My favorite part was when the baby ducks made a return--I shamelessly cheered and went, "OOOOOOOH!!!"

Oh and the Summertime song. emotion_dealwithit

"Decreed from city hall, yo! HISTORICAL LANDMAAAAAAAARK~"

--@ the new episode of Gravity Falls that I just watched: The Pines family being obnoxious at the superstore....Homework: The Candy...reoccuring characters...the twins being awesome siblings...the macro image credits...yes. YES.

Like Grunkle Stan, I serve cheapo loser candy every Halloween. I just leave the bowl full of it outside my door and it's gone by the end of the night. What a great way to get rid of accumulated, unwanted candy. ^^

I laughed so hard that I completely forgot about the pain resonating from the stye in my left eye! This totally made my night. Too bad this show is going on hiatus until November...hnnnng. :c

Gsrh vmgib dzh yilftsg gl blf yb Slnvdlip: Gsv Xzmwb.
Oh and these Atbash ciphers. &3

Took a much needed two week hiatus from alchemy due to some intense Orgo II study sessions, the Heralds of Chaos beta, and the Halloween event.

HoC was fun for about a week, but I'm already bored with it. It's pretty laggy and redundant...I'll make myself play it again soon just to collect some rare cards.

I have two completed formulas in the queue that will bring my Level 7 total up to 8 when I craft them. I need to start re-generating funds to complete these.

Quick Status Updates
Level 7: ~80%
Level 8: +70%
Level 9: ~20%ish

Current Funds: 9,005,516 g

Level 7 has been conquered! Now my score is above 15k. c:

As of today, I have enough components to craft seven Copper Twopences. Right now, this is a very good thing because the main components are either out of stock or seasonally inflated.

I found a reason to play HoC again! First off, the lag has been reduced and some animation options have been implemented. Next, there has been a 1 Essence to 30 Gold conversion rate that I haven't been taking advantage of and we just got confirmation that the rate will be lowered soon. The 5k essence per day seems generous: that's an easy 150k gold for an hour or two of playing. Yep, all that gold went towards this Alchemy project.

The final reason is that I think I heard that Achievements will be implemented. If they're the Gaia related ones, then I'm definitely going for them (if it's tedious enough, it might even get it's own journal progress post like this one). If they're exclusive to the game (like the zOMG badges), then I most likely will not care for them.

So, are they ever gonna implement zOMG achievements? C'mon...do it, Gaia. .-.


*attempts to alchemize some stuff*
The first one crafted in one shot while the other one blew up. I think that's enough for today.

Status Updates
Level 8: 10%
Level 9: ~20%ish

Current Funds: Pending

Right now I'm at the halfway point of Level 8. The two components that I needed to make the last three Twopences have inflated, to say the least. Hopefully they'll deflate if they are re-released from the next RIG. Speaking of RIGs, I haven't hoarded the last two: September's RIG was sorta a flop and October's became very expensive very quickly. I'm going to try to go back to hoarding at least three bundles of November's RIG.

The last month of college is here and the work is getting intense...I have so many things due this month that it's been bothering me in my dreams. I think I need to take another hiatus* from Gaia so that I can get all of this stuff done.

*Hiatus: log in only for the achievement and spend no time on the site. Like the one I took for summer Organic chemistry. If HoC gold packs come out this week then I may spend a bit of time trying my luck on winning some rares...

Gonna put this to-do list here for stuff I need to focus on the next two weeks:
--Anatomy paper
--Anatomy exam
--Organic exam
--Physics exam
--Full lab report
--Biomedical ethics report
--Biomedical ethics exam

And let's not forget those pesky pharmacy procedural things, to be done by this months end:
--Application ( the RIGHT one)
--Letters of recommendation
--Transcript

*takes a deep breath and sighs* I could use some oolong tea and some classical music...

Status Updates
Level 8: +50%
Level 9: ~20%ish

Current Funds: 9,410,811

I took a real life induced hiatus from Alchemy, hoping that component prices would go down. Sadly, they're stuck at more than double the optimal price. I have hit a wall in my quest, but it can be overcome if I pay about ~550k to buy the remaining components to get me out of Level 8.

I'm not in a hurry; after that, I must trudge through the vast desert that is Level 9. I have considered paying G-cash for the components, but at 99GC per box, I'd rather not. I'm still waiting out for the so called "alchemy improvements" that will come around sometime next Spring.



I'm in the home stretch for this semester of college: final exams are next week and I still have some major exams to knock out this week. Aside from one more letter of recommendation, the application requirements for grad school are nearly complete. I just gotta hold out for a little while longer...I have that winter vacation trip to look forward to! ^_^"

Status Updates
Level 8: +60%
Level 9: ~20%ish

Current Funds: 8,557,230

Finally getting back into the swing of things. I want to at least finish Level 8 before my spring break ends next Monday. Not much to say except I took the break to focus on my schoolwork and regenerate some funds. I can verify that this semester's workload is far less stressful then last semester's, so with a little persistence and time management I think I can finish this quest in a timely manner, do all my schoolwork, and still have time to play Twilight Princess (which I borrowed from my school library. That library is the best~).

After doing some MP browsing, I've noticed that the general price of caches are very low: the basic Cache is 83k. Also, my Copper Twopence ingredients are at a reasonable price. Either general interest for alchemy have gone down or other Alchemists have finished their quests and lowered the demand, and in turn, the price of said components. I could say the same for some cache ingredients, but some haven't gone down by too much.

Current Funds: 9,010,006

After a long wait, Level 8 has been completed!

As of now, I have enough materials to craft two Level 9 items. After that, I could consider using the same item or do a different formula, but I don't think there are any cheaper alternatives...I'll do some research to see if that is feasible or not.

Current Funds: 9,268,844

Holy canola oil, I'm finally into this again due to an Alchemy update! Well, sorta...

Long story short (which I will make longer after classes end today), there was a long awaited update to the Alchemy system. Backwings are easier to obtain (via a Gcash method) and some more leveling options have been included (via, again, a Gcash method). Whether this is a more profitable route to Level 10 or not has yet to be seen...

I still have a Noel's Gift ready for crafting and on standby, but after that I need eight more items to craft to get to Level 10. I have seriously considered using my 2,274 Gcash to buy some boxes, but I'm not sure if I want to do that...for now, I'll just keep on the lookout for any giftboxes being sold in the MP. I think I'll standby on Level 9 for a bit longer and continue accumulating gold for any future endeavors. I could sell my caches for a very nice sum since the demand skyrocketed after the announcements. Hmmm...



Non Alchemy related tidbit: I'm officially a student pharmacist~
The course load is quite rigorous, but in reality there's no one subject that is excruciatingly difficult (like, say, organic chemistry; Pharmacodynamics isn't very mechanism-heavy right now). Instead of a few very tough classes, I'm taking several (six, I think?) moderately challenging courses. Since this is just the first semester of P1, I'm well aware that I'm still on the Easy Mode of this program, so I'm taking advantage of the calm before the storm...

In the Entertainment department:
-Gravity Falls Season 1 ended. It was glorious. Eagerly awaiting Season 2 in...a year...
-AGT ended last week. For the first time ever, my favorite, non-singing act won!! Go Kenichi!
-Legend of Korra, after over a year, is finally back! Don't think LoK is better TLA but I still enjoy the series.
-There's a new show reminiscent of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends called "Wander over Yonder". The pilot episode was so-so, but the next three episodes surprised and impressed me. The animation and general vibe felt cartoonish in a good way, like, ya know, an old fashioned cartoon. I think I'm a fan~
-Revolution starts up again this Wednesday (I think?) Can't wait to see how they resolved last season's cliffhanger. At least I'll never have to watch it while writing Organic Chemistry lab reports ever again!


Current Funds: 18,946,757
Philosopher's Caches: x5

For the first time in months, I alchemized a Noel's Gift (and in one try!). That will probably all the leveling I ever do for a while...I'm all out of Topaz caches, though I could easily buy one (which is the same price as a normal Cache at the moment).

There's something up with the Marketplace that I noticed a few weeks ago--everything suddenly inflated! While I was on "hiatus", Gaia apparently released a gold generator RIG called "Flynn's Booty" which, according to some forum spelunking, wrecked the economy. This actually benefited me quite a bit, because I've been hoarding a bunch of pre-inflation, profitless RIGs (mainly Runic Challenges, which I still have from last year) that I'm finally cashing in for profit. Also, thanks to inflation AND the alchemy update, Philosopher's Caches are worth around 300k, triple their original value.

Well, thanks to this, I've hit a landmark: 20mil pure for the first time ever! Not that it's probably worth too much in today... sweatdrop

The downside is that my main source of hoarding revenue inflated up the wazoo...a 9 Pack more than doubled to 1.8mil! Last month's RIG did the same thing, but the resulting profit seems to be worth it despite the inflation so I'll go ahead and buy some bundles this month.


Well, time to get off Gaia and prepare for tomorrow's Pharmacy Calculations exam.


Current Funds: 20,654,586

P.S.-- my Philosopher's Cache sold while typing out this entry, so now my funds are at 20,953,495 gold. c:

I got my hands on enough colored giftboxes to make another Noel's Gift, but I still need the Topaz Cache. I think I'll just buy those from now on instead of opening Philosopher's Caches, since the odds of pulling one are low yet they're roughly the same price.

A few days ago (Thursday--in fact the afternoon of my last entry!), Gaia re-released the Flynn's Booty RIG that I mentioned last time as well as the exclusive Flynn's Chest from Club Verge: some sort of exclusive shop for users who spend a lot of GCash...I was on vacation so I missed out on this fiasco as well. I shortly thereafter witnessed the chaos that ensued. The RIG bundles which I snagged for about 1.7 mil (all three of them) suddenly became almost 3 mil over night, and they haven't even left the cash shop yet!

Just look at this unholy amount of inflation!
Not gonna lie; I lol'd the whole way down the list of inflated graphs in a fit of utter disbelief.

Even though I'm making an unprecedented amount of profit from this, I don't like Gaia's method of pumping gold into the system via money. Sure, you could buy a Cash Shop item and sell it for gold, but this the first time a GCash generated pure gold...wasn't the whole point of gold caps to curb inflation?

How This is Affecting Alchemy Right Now (9/29/13, 1:52 am EST)
--Philosopher's Cache: ~530k
--Topaz Cache: ~418k
--Pink Flamingo Feather: ~4k
--Wing Tree Leaf: ~8k

The word on the wind says that Gaia is going to release a bunch of gold sinks soon. At this rate, they're gonna need a whole gold sewage system...

Current funds: 19,142,873

The past few weeks, I have made a gigantic sum of gold selling my hoard of RIGs, Caches, and CS items from last year that I forgot about. Unfortunately, it isn't worth as much thanks to the inflation. The pre-Halloween goldsink relieved it a little bit; as of today, it has drained over 7.6 billion gold from circulation.

A single of the newest RIG costs 600,000 and the bundle costs a whopping 5,625,000. A few months ago, the bundle cost as much as the single does now. Sure, it just came out and will probably deflate, but is this the new normal? I hope not, but I doubt it will go any lower...

I used some of that gold to craft my third Noel's Gift. At least the crafting price will never change. c:

The past three weeks or so, I've gone through a gauntlet of exams; next week is the U.S. Healthcare exam (a.k.a the class that no one likes) and the second Biochemistry exam. May I have at least ONE week without an exam? No? Alrighty then...^^"

Current funds: 41,325,466

Without a fail, I crafted my fourth Noel's Gift today. At this point, I have officially reached a brick wall. There are no more Cash Shop gift boxes being sold in the MP and I, after recent events, decided not to buy any with my GC until things...change.

Flynn's Booty and Flynn's Chest were released again yesterday and Site Feedback has been in a vehement protest for days. I don't know if I want to hoard RIGs anymore! Sure, I can afford some, but they are hyperinflated which, in turn, is reducing the demand for them. I guess I'll just stick to my 50k a day from HoC for the time being.

I passed today's Healthcare System exam! My classmates and I high five'd each other like a bunch of maniacs after the exam and complained about how stupid this exam was as we discussed the possibility of a nine point curve. We're a super diverse group of professional candidates, but not just culturally, like in high school and undergraduate school. Lots of my classmates are SEVERAL years older than me with jobs, families, and kids. Meanwhile, I'm just a fresh-out-of-undergrad closet dork who's unusually young for grad school ("you're only 20?!" wink , lives at home, and makes time to decode the cryptograms from the new Gravity Falls shorts that air every night.
However, we can still relate to each other, but not just because we share the common goal of getting our Pharm.D.'s: we're all students who have mutual dislikes for certain classes, worry about how hard the next upcoming exams are gonna be, and cram stuff the night before like, you know...typical students. And just like in high school and college, a few of us don't wear our uniform (the white coat, which is apparently "mandatory" wink or even come to class (over half of the class makes a mass exodus out of the auditorium to skip PathoPhysiology every week with no shame). It's pretty mind blowing, yet awesome.

No exams next week! Thank goodness...

Current funds: 46,217,146

After three tries, I crafted my fifth Noel's Gift. I'm officially at the halfway mark! I never thought I'd make it this far...

It's slow going, since I have to wait until someone lists a Gift Box in the MP. The supply is abysmally low, but I intend to take my time or however long it takes. It also gives me time to store up some gold. There were, what, two re-re-re-releases of Flynn's Booty since the last time I made an entry? Even though gold depreciated drastically, it actually relieved the burden of the Crafting Cost which is at a rather cheap fee of 85k.

In other news, Pathophysiology Exam II is coming up this Tuesday. I'm feeling a lot better about this one.
I'm rotating between going all out in the Halloween Event and studying while my energy replenishes. I think it's a very efficient routine...c:

Current funds: 57,293,969

Attempts made at Noel's Gift before it succeeded: 3
Number of time Flynn's stuff has been re-released: lost count
Weeks left until Finals Week: 3

Four more gifts left to craft! Now to bide my time and wait for ingredients to show up in the MP, as usual...>>

I didn't reach Level 10 in the Halloween event, and there's no way I would've gotten there unless I bought the 25k energy potions (which I didn't want to do), but I DID get a 94 on my PathoPhys exam! I'm gonna miss the professor who taught during that month...she was engaging and she sounded like she actually knew what she was talking about. Our other Pathophys professor, on the other hand...
emotion_facepalm

Current Funds: 64,718,515

Philosopher's Caches are now 50k at the Bifrost! The bad news is that I can't make much of a profit from crafting and selling Caches on the MP, but the good news is that alchemy feel way more feasible than it did before, which in my opinion outweighs the bad news.

I just may be able to attempt a backwings quest, given the Caches stay at 50k. I don't want to think about that yet...for now I'll stick to amassing gold and reaching Level 10.

I snatched up a Lace Meow Formula for 100k and the few components needed to craft it. I'm a little nervous about the Low chance for completion, so I'll attempt it after I get some gold back from hoarding.

Current Funds: 53,147,426

Incredible...Lace Meow only took one try! For once, I alchemized something that might turn a profit.

I only need to make three more Level 9 items. Items that I'm missing:
--3 Orange Gift Boxes
--2 Red Gift Boxes
--2 Green Gift Boxes

I could spend 693 GC and end it now, but I'd rather not do that. Unfortunately, they were moved to the Bifrost and I can't imagine that anyone would buy them from there. I figured that the supply might increase during the month of December, but I doubt anyone would find it there, let alone buy it for anything other than alchemy (in which, in that case, they wouldn't list it on the MP) since it's sort of a useless item. I'm considering doing it, since I barely make use of my GC...

Current Funds: 56,900,038