So all this year in school I've done so well at not getting a cold. It only took until March to really finally get the little tickling of a sore throat. However, I've been really good to fight it off and I'm trying to channel the force to fight this. That's involved a lot of hot orange and honey drink, copious amounts of tea, and naps. To be honest I don't even want to look at another cup of tea at this point but it's better than Robitussin. However, I really could have done without the naps because I think it's been messing up my sleep the rest of the night. Besides, I have had a lot of work today to do this week and now I'm behind. Ihad agraduate clad Monday so that didn't help. I guess I should have done a better job this past weekend at getting ahead on work but who would have known that I would develop this cold. Send good Juju my way folks!
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
PAX to the MAX
Howdy!
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| Shiny. |
I was lucky enough to attend PAX East this weekend! Friday, Saturday and full weekend passes were sold out by the time I got my act together, so I purchased a Sunday pass instead. I'm just happy to finally have had the chance to go, knowing how hard it can be to get tickets when they sell out instantly. For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, PAX is a gamer convention dedicated to all things gaming by the lovely folks at Penny Arcade. Now you get it? Penny Arcade Expo? Yup. NERDS.
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| All the peoples! |
I totally admit I'm not much of a gamer nowadays, but back in college I had a rather lame addiction to Diablo II. I would spend hours on that particular 'click-fest-3000' hack-n-slasher, but I enjoyed my time, so who cares? I got the chance to stop by Blizzard at the con, and saw what they had a huge setup for Blizzard (the game maker) including a section for Diablo 3. The artwork was great, but the lines sucked so I bailed and kept circling for other indie games to play. I also had the great opportunity to meet an online friend in person. We walked around, caught up, reminisced, played some games and all in all had a great time. I love being able to put a person with the online persona. It makes such a difference!
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| "Bill and Ted's Excellent Board Game" |
The second game I learned was based on Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. It was quick to learn and the goal was basically to collect all the historical figures in your telephone booth. At the end, whoever has the most hopefully passes their History report and wins! Even Rufus was there: totally rad! Be excellent to each other!
I bought the game, brought it home and even played it with my neighbor the next day. I'm a horrible person for buying games and then they just sit on my shelf, so it was a proud moment in which I got to actually use the game almost immediately. Thanks, Sheila!
Monday, February 6, 2017
Dance Party at the GT!
I was so happy to celebrate a friend's birthday this past weekend. We went to a local Chinese food restaurant that coincidentally has a pretty hopping dance party every Saturday night. I love the food there, and I ordered something I had wanted to try and unfortunately it didn't really do the job. It was a noodle dish, but the sauce had very little flavor. The big combo platter, however, filled me up and made me happy go lucky. I also ordered scallion pancakes and holy cow, those are delicious!
After dinner we moved to the 'E' room which has a bar and a dance floor. This place is kind of an island of misfit toys. I never know what to expect in the crowd. For instance, there were some super trippy girls dancing like elvish disco stars. They were putting on a bizarre show for the awkward lovely dovey couple seated adjacent to the dance floor. They were trying to have a romantic dinner, apparently. I kind of felt bad for them, but they could have asked to been seating elsewhere so whatever, their fault, right? Our group, of course, was the coolest and most skilled on the dance floor. The birthday girl rocked out to a Lady Gaga song, and at times danced around with a little glowing kitty lamp she had received as a gift that night. The kitty even changed colors!
After dinner we moved to the 'E' room which has a bar and a dance floor. This place is kind of an island of misfit toys. I never know what to expect in the crowd. For instance, there were some super trippy girls dancing like elvish disco stars. They were putting on a bizarre show for the awkward lovely dovey couple seated adjacent to the dance floor. They were trying to have a romantic dinner, apparently. I kind of felt bad for them, but they could have asked to been seating elsewhere so whatever, their fault, right? Our group, of course, was the coolest and most skilled on the dance floor. The birthday girl rocked out to a Lady Gaga song, and at times danced around with a little glowing kitty lamp she had received as a gift that night. The kitty even changed colors!
Monday, January 16, 2017
Jeff Goldblum for the win!
Disclaimer: before anyone reads further I want to fully acknowledge that this post is about social media use, and I realize that I am using social media as a platform to criticize it in the first place. The irony has not escaped me.
Now for the good stuff. All irony aside, I wanted to relate a interesting video is stumbled along this morning while downing my coffee. It featured a father ranting about how his son embarrasses him at school. The father was going to teach his son a lesson by shaving his head and sending him to school that way, as a shaming technique for discipline. As quickly as he snaps on the shears and the low steady buzzing starts it is over a done with! He promptly stops and excuses his son from the video, lovingly telling him to go play. He explains that he was never use social media to shame his son and goes on to articulate why and how he has seen the platform for its use of shaming so often.
What resonated with me was the shaming aspect. I was at Arisia this weekend and while there I was very keen on attending the slut shaming panel. However, I was hanging with some really rad folks I had met at the lobby bar and thought I was having so much fun with them that I stayed. I am remiss that I didn't get to enjoy the panel. However, I always feel it is better to interact with people actively than passively sitting in on panels at a convention. Indeed, it is always they people I meet at these events that make them memorable.
Anyway, getting back to my point. We have social media today and it is powerful. I worry that the power it offers people is not taken seriously and without thought. I hope you all out there reading this consider that in the future. I'm don't want to tell folks how to live their online life, but I can only say that I want to be more conscious of my choices in this realm. To quote the great Dr. Ian Malcolm; "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should." What up, Jeff Goldblum. You called it, way back in the 90's.
Now for the good stuff. All irony aside, I wanted to relate a interesting video is stumbled along this morning while downing my coffee. It featured a father ranting about how his son embarrasses him at school. The father was going to teach his son a lesson by shaving his head and sending him to school that way, as a shaming technique for discipline. As quickly as he snaps on the shears and the low steady buzzing starts it is over a done with! He promptly stops and excuses his son from the video, lovingly telling him to go play. He explains that he was never use social media to shame his son and goes on to articulate why and how he has seen the platform for its use of shaming so often.
What resonated with me was the shaming aspect. I was at Arisia this weekend and while there I was very keen on attending the slut shaming panel. However, I was hanging with some really rad folks I had met at the lobby bar and thought I was having so much fun with them that I stayed. I am remiss that I didn't get to enjoy the panel. However, I always feel it is better to interact with people actively than passively sitting in on panels at a convention. Indeed, it is always they people I meet at these events that make them memorable.
Anyway, getting back to my point. We have social media today and it is powerful. I worry that the power it offers people is not taken seriously and without thought. I hope you all out there reading this consider that in the future. I'm don't want to tell folks how to live their online life, but I can only say that I want to be more conscious of my choices in this realm. To quote the great Dr. Ian Malcolm; "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should." What up, Jeff Goldblum. You called it, way back in the 90's.
Monday, January 9, 2017
The Revenge of the Recipe!
Since it dropped to a new low today (11 degrees F) I thought I would write about all the new recipes I'm trying. Since the summer has long left me, my house is no longer the fire pit of despair, and as such baking and cooking has returned! I'm super excited, but it'll damage my waist line. I can try healthy stuff, true true, but what fun is there in that?
So far I made a buffalo chicken pull apart bread, cinnamon bun french toast muffins, a new cranberry harvest stuffing and some pretty tasty greek yogurt dips. I've also cranked out a few batches of vegetarian chili (ask me for the recipe - so dang good!) and even my Mass Corn chowder. I love this chowder because it isn't a super thick stewy one. It is still hearty, and super savory!
Maybe now that I am making some yummy food I will be able to sit down and crank through a lot of my netflix backlog. I just posted on social media the request for 'must watch' shows, and it has definitely expanded my already extensive watch list. There just isn't enough time and I want to enjoy so many fun shows. I feel like a jerk even complaining - what a putz.
What is the last thing you made?
So far I made a buffalo chicken pull apart bread, cinnamon bun french toast muffins, a new cranberry harvest stuffing and some pretty tasty greek yogurt dips. I've also cranked out a few batches of vegetarian chili (ask me for the recipe - so dang good!) and even my Mass Corn chowder. I love this chowder because it isn't a super thick stewy one. It is still hearty, and super savory!
Maybe now that I am making some yummy food I will be able to sit down and crank through a lot of my netflix backlog. I just posted on social media the request for 'must watch' shows, and it has definitely expanded my already extensive watch list. There just isn't enough time and I want to enjoy so many fun shows. I feel like a jerk even complaining - what a putz.
What is the last thing you made?
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
I Can't Repel Firepower of that Magnitude!
Okay...another dorky title to this blog. Please, let me explain. I just signed up to GoodReads and I cannot resist all the time suckage. I just can't repel its power! I feel like Ackbar did in ROTJ because I simply can't fight against the power of GoodReads. My friend Ginny said she used it to track her book reading. I decided, since I am trying to read 26 books this year, that I should track them, too. I already had a record from OverDrive reader, but it doesn't give way in the much of organizing or helping me find more books.
GoodReads - its nuts! I just spent only ten minutes -only ten, mind you- and I added 88 books alone that I want to read this year. I also used some of those ten minutes to add the 27 I read last year. Well, okay...20, really. Seven were graphic novels and I am not really counting them, or maybe I'll count them for a quarter of a book. That feels like cheating. Let's just call it 21 books. It's a good number.
Well....bring it on. 26 this year - that is a book every fortnight. According to the Pew Research Center's 2013 reports, the average number of books the average American reads is 12 a year. The median number is 5 per year.
Where do you stand in those numbers? What is your goal this year?
GoodReads - its nuts! I just spent only ten minutes -only ten, mind you- and I added 88 books alone that I want to read this year. I also used some of those ten minutes to add the 27 I read last year. Well, okay...20, really. Seven were graphic novels and I am not really counting them, or maybe I'll count them for a quarter of a book. That feels like cheating. Let's just call it 21 books. It's a good number.
Well....bring it on. 26 this year - that is a book every fortnight. According to the Pew Research Center's 2013 reports, the average number of books the average American reads is 12 a year. The median number is 5 per year.
Where do you stand in those numbers? What is your goal this year?
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Planks and Thanks FAIL and Birthday Hijinx
Last month I joined a 30 day plank challenge. Each day we increased the amount of time for the planking. My friend on facebook hosted it and would post cute little motivational photos to help us along. I did alright for about a week or so, but then fell off the wagon. I tried to get back into things towards the end and at least didn't give up totally.
This month, we're doing the 12 days of fitmas. The first day starts with one exercise, then the second day a second exercise with two reps is added and so forth. That means the last day there will be 12 exercises, the last one having 12 reps - I haven't an idea what the last one could be, maybe something simple like 12 jumping jacks.
I guess the reason I am posting about this is because I am a bit upset about my figure. I eat well during the week but come weekend I shatter. I am somewhat hesitant to work out rigorously because my hip starts hurting. I'm surrounded by eating and food and parties. I love all that stuff, but I can't seem to strike any balance.
For instance, I pigged out at a birthday dinner last month then with drinks, all those calories add up. At least there was some dancing and that was good activity. The whole night was hilarious, in a weird way. Taking an uber 300 feet is comedy, for instance.
Who has suggestions for getting into shape? Links? Videos? Programs? Suggestions? Please post some help. You're my only hope, obi-wan fit-nobi.
This month, we're doing the 12 days of fitmas. The first day starts with one exercise, then the second day a second exercise with two reps is added and so forth. That means the last day there will be 12 exercises, the last one having 12 reps - I haven't an idea what the last one could be, maybe something simple like 12 jumping jacks.
I guess the reason I am posting about this is because I am a bit upset about my figure. I eat well during the week but come weekend I shatter. I am somewhat hesitant to work out rigorously because my hip starts hurting. I'm surrounded by eating and food and parties. I love all that stuff, but I can't seem to strike any balance.
For instance, I pigged out at a birthday dinner last month then with drinks, all those calories add up. At least there was some dancing and that was good activity. The whole night was hilarious, in a weird way. Taking an uber 300 feet is comedy, for instance.
Who has suggestions for getting into shape? Links? Videos? Programs? Suggestions? Please post some help. You're my only hope, obi-wan fit-nobi.
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