This Week on Webkinz.com

There aren't as many graphics for this entry as previous entries for reasons that will soon become clear to you. The end of last week seemed promising. I managed to find a local store that not only sold the Webkinz pets but also the harder to find Webkinz trading cards and even a charm necklace. I wasn't able to find any Webkinz charms but I hoped that using the code that came with the official Webkinz charm necklace would be enough for me to gain access to that Magical Charm Forest.

I even broke down and purchased a second Webkinz pet--a Lil' Kinz Pig. I haven't gotten around to taking this critter's picture yet due to a lack of time.

So just as last week ended on a promising note, this new week began with laptop problems. If you've been reading this blog from the beginning, you would know that I got into Webkinz because I was killing time at a mall waiting for my appointment at the Genius Bar in the Apple Store because our four-year-old Mac laptop had stopped recognizing its internal battery yet it still ran fine if it was hooked up to a power cord that was plugged into a wall outlet. The so-called "genius" at the Genius Bar suggested that the problem wasn't a dead battery but some major problem that he suggested that it would be easier to just buy a new laptop.

My husband and I decided that we would go to an independent repair place for a second opinion. But we had both put off on taking the laptop to that place mainly because we were both so busy with preparations for the upcoming Christmas holiday. So we continued to use the laptop connected to a wall outlet as a temporary stop-gap measure until we could find the time to take it to a repair place.

The only problem is that this week the laptop began to have more problems. The laptop screen would frequently freeze up after using it for several minutes and the freezing was so bad that you had to reboot the entire machine. This happened to my husband when he was using it at a local cafe. The same happened to me at a local cafe while I was logged into Webkinz.com. I became concerned about the freezes because that site frequently posted ads warning users to always log out because not doing so would cause your pet to lose health, food, and happiness points on its meter. I managed to reach the Webkinz.com's FAQ page and I found out that the system will automatically log you out after being inactive for 15 minutes. I felt relieved when I read that.

Since my husband and I had planned to go to New York City to visit his father and step-mother for a few days, we had to quickly get the laptop in the repair shop before the trip. Since I knew that my husband's parents have a high-speed Internet connection, I decided to pack the Lil' Kinz Pig, charm necklace, and the trading cards along with my USB memory stick for the trip to New York City. I managed to spend a lot of time on Webkinz.com inbetween socializing with my in-laws and checking out Fifth Avenue as it was all decked out in fancy Christmas decorations.

The only sad thing was that my in-laws' two computers did not have a free USB port so I had nothing to connect the memory stick to. I decided not to register my new Lil' Kinz Pig yet because I really want to have screenshots of the adoption just like when I took screenshots of Magic's adoption papers. So Magic is going to remain an only pet for a little while longer.

I did manage to enter the codes that came with the trading cards. I won about 2,000 Kinz Cash plus a Dice Kinz, a poster, and some clothes. That was pretty cool.

I entered the code that came with the charm necklace. I had hoped that I would gain entrance to the Magical Charm Forest but, no, that wasn't the case. Having an official Webkinz charm necklace is not enough to gain access to this place, I still needed to purchase the actual charms. I did get this display case for my virtual charms as a reward for entering the charm necklace code but I think it stinks that I still don't have access to the Magical Charm Forest. I've been trying to find those charms but I have yet to find a store in my local area that actually sold them. I tried looking in a few shops in New York City that carried Webkinz and I didn't find charms in those stores. I even looked in the two giftshops in Rockefeller Center that carried Webkinz and neither one of them had the charms. I don't know what's taking Ganz so long in shipping those charms to the stores because it seems frustrating that I can't even check out this place if I can't buy the needed charms because I haven't found a store that actually stocked them.

I managed to earn more Kinz Cash using a tip that I got from perusing the forums at Webkinz Insider. I've been doing the daily calendar questions for the past several months. I've managed to get most of 2007 finished (with the exception of the December questions because December isn't over yet) and I got at least half of 2006 finished.

I also played some more arcade games. I tend to focus on whatever game Webkinz.com has designated as "Game of the Day" because the payout tends to be slightly higher than the other games. While many of the arcade games are fun to play, the pay is pretty low.

I also did a few jobs this week. I focused mainly on the hamburger job when it came up (mainly because it's about the only job that I've been able to successfully finish) and I did so well that I got a notice saying that I'll get a raise the next time I do the hamburger job. Awesome!!!

I kept on seeing ads for the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie but I haven't gotten any more offers for free waffles. It seems like now that the film is actually in movie theaters, the offer for free waffles is now gone. I think the Goo-Goo Berry Festival is also over because I haven't seen any more goo goo berries float across the screen at random intervals. So I ended up having to purchase all of Magic's food this week. I really miss the freebies (sigh!).

At times the Webkinz.com system was so overloaded that I would get this dialogue box saying that I was being logged out due to a system overload. I was forcibly logged out at least five or six times during my stay in New York City.

It's too bad that I couldn't take screenshots because I managed to add wallpaper and flooring to the bathroom along with a toilet and sink. (I already had the bathtub installed there.) I added a lot of new stuff to the large room, which serves as a den/playroom/living room/kitchen. I purchased a treadmill, a skateboard, a countertop, a sink, and a refrigerator. I even managed to add something new for the outdoors--a pool. It's pretty neat seeing Magic exercise on her treadmill, skating around on the skateboard, and go swimming outside (despite the fact that there is currently snow on the ground).

While I was poking about Webkinz.com, there was a notice encouraging people to log in on December 25 to see what present Santa Kinz has left for your pet. The only problem is that my home desktop is on dial-up, the laptop is still in the repair shop, and my husband and I will be visiting my mother on Christmas Day and she doesn't even own a computer. Oh well.

I've been away from Webkinz.com since Friday morning (just before my husband and I left for home). I noticed that the front page of Webkinz.com has been changed to something that's Christmas-themed. (I took the screenshot on my own desktop after the New York City trip.)

It's pretty cute, isn't it? In any case, between the laptop being in the repair shop and the upcoming Christmas holidays, this will be my last entry to this blog for the time being.