I ♥ games

Alex and I played games with the Upstate Boardgamers a few times, we really enjoyed it but life got in the way and we haven't been back for a month or so. We hope to start up again after the new year. Wendy at work told me about a new book store in Greer, The Silver Chair, a while ago and I've been meaning to stop by but again- life in the way as usual. I also picked up a copy of the store's zine The Revenant Culture at O-Cha one day, it peaked my interest even more. They seem to have some pretty good stuff going on, mainly I am referring to a program that they call BookLove and that they are selling board games. It sounds like they are selling GOOD board games and they are in Greer. How awesome is that? They describe BookLove as " . . . basically a book club that smells of leather bindings and community hipness. Subscribe to the program, and every month receive one or two books selected by Joffre and his team. . . to meet your interests and tastes." Doesn't that sound wonderful? I think I need to conquer the bloated mass of books in my bedroom before I add to the queue, but I am going to keep this in mind. I love the smell of leather bindings.

Well, anyway before I scatter my bullets any further, I saw a post that one of the guys from Upstate Boardgamers did an interview for the The Revenant Culture podcast. I liked what he had to say about games and why we play them. I also like the Agricola joke and the use of SAT words like eschaton and zeitgeist. Ah. . .Thank God for spell check!

This has motivated me to 1) finally go to this bookstore and 2) finish reading the rules for 1960

Since I'm thinking about games, I thought I would document that I lost TI3 this weekend. Shaylan won. . .grrrr. I had a good plan, it just took me too long to get my act together. Damn Imperium Rex card! Alex did pretty well too. We did manage to win two games of Last Night on Earth while playing the Heroes. We haven't won with the Heroes ever before. I'm pretty pleased.

Soundtrack for the motivated gamer: White Winter Hymnal-Fleet Foxes and $1000 Wedding-Willie Nelson

Lurking. . .

I have a confession to make, I am a lurker. One of my New Year's Resolutions for 2008 was to stop lurking and start posting. It didn't stick. Recently, my friend Roxanne considered taking a break from posting because she didn't think that anyone was reading, but I was reading! This got me thinking about all of the other people that bring joy to my life through their blogs. I am going to start showing my appreciation, maybe I will even post on a forum! I lurk on some of those too.

The other resolution was to stop cursing. Those who know me, know that didn't stick either. 2009 is right around the corner, I think I will try again.

soundtrack for self-improvement: Pink Moon - Nick Drake

never drinking again

I felt my age this weekend. I drank too much on Friday and I can't seem to shake it. It is the end of an era. On the upside, I had a great time. Our friend, Tim, got a break from his Army life in TX and came to visit. I was very happy to see him! Other than that, I don't remember much. This is probably a good thing.

I made some snowflakes and taped them to the kitchen window. Loud-Neighbor-Mark made some comments about our lack of decorations. This leads me to believe that he has noticed that we are the dark house in the neighborhood. If they only knew :-)

Soundtrack for the 2nd day of HO recovery: Nouvelle Vague and a little Velvet Underground

43 Things

In an effort to post more, I am now copying email forwards for content. Rebecca sent this to me.



43 Odd Things about you!

1. Do you like blue cheese? mmmm. . .Yes but feta is betta!

2. Have you ever smoked? Yes, but I didn't understand the point

3. Do you own a gun? We have a pellet rifle and a crossbow, we need a real gun to take with us when we
run to the hills :-)

4. What flavor Kool Aid was your favourite? Grape

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Yes, mainly because I think I will have something
bad wrong with me and the Dr. won't find it.

6. What do you think of hot dogs? I like them with chili and slaw but the hot dog itself grosses me out if I
think about it too much.

7. Favorite Christmas movie. Charlie Brown Christmas

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? OJ w/ heavy pulp

9. Can you do push ups? don't push me, push a push-pop (that was for you Alex) and No, I can't.

10. What's your favourite piece of jewelery? wedding ring, did a Canadian write this?

11. Favorite hobby? Oh, I've tried SO many! Currently, sleeping, listening to music, hiking (although I don't
get to do it much and I am not very good at it)

12. Do you have A.D.D.? probably. I know I don't have ADHD, though.

13. What's one trait you don't like about yourself? jealousy, I am kind of a sore looser.

14. Middle name? Genell

15. Name 3 things you are thinking about right now? dogs, this email, I'm kind of thirsty

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? water, cranberry juice, OJ

17. Current worry? the economy

18. Current hate right now? how easily people are brainwashed by the media

19. Favorite place to be? in my bed

20. How did you bring in the New Year? I don't remember, it must have been great!

21. Where would you like to go? Tokyo

22. Do you own slippers? What kind of slippers? Yes, they are pink and fuzzy

23. What color shirt are you wearing right now? it's polka dotted and the dots are all different
colors (orange, brown, blue, yellow)

24. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Yes! They stay cool all night long, I want a purple set!

25. Can you whistle? Yes, my Nana says that it sounds like I've been eating chicken when I whistle ?

26. Favorite color? Purple

27. Would you be a pirate? a music/software pirate? 'fraid so. a eye patch/peg leg pirate? not so much.

28. What songs do you sing in the shower? I make lists in the shower

29. Favorite Girl's Name? Ruby

30. Favorite Boy's name? Alex

31. What's in your pocket right now? chap stick and a post-it with the name of a song I heard today
on wncw

32. Last thing that made you laugh? Some guy saying my last name on the phone.

33. Best bed sheets as a child? clouds, there are two questions on here about sheets?

34. Worst injury you've ever had? herniated disk and I fell out of a moving car when I was three,
I don't remember much about it though.

35. Do you love where you live? Not at all, my neighbors are CRAZY!

36. How many TVs do you have in your house? 2

37. Who is your loudest friend? MARK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

38. How many dogs do you have? 3

39. Does someone have a crush on you? I don't think so, does my husband count?

40. What is your favorite book? It's too hard to think of just one, I am really enjoying the 2009 Ikea
catalog right now.

41. What is your favorite candy? Jelly Belly Jelly Beans

42. Favorite Sports Team? Team Quest

43. What song do you want played at your funeral? So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! not really

Monday all day long. . .

I purchased tickets for the Ani Difranco show at The Orange Peel in March, yay!

Monday is over, double yay!

My dogs are stinking up the kitchen because it's been raining every time they go out-but we are in the middle of a terrible drought so triple yay!

I can't think of a fourth one.

missing something

Christmas has been kind of strange for me since we stopped gift giving. I've been forced to think about why we observe the traditions that we do and how I want to celebrate Christmas in the future. I don't want to stop doing anything at all but I don't want to fall back into the mindless perversion that is Christmas. I think I need to examine all winter traditions and maybe pick something else after I figure out what they are all about and how they came to be. I miss the sweet smell of an evergreen trimmed with lights and hand-me-down ornaments. I guess I can go buy a candle.

May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night and a smooth road all the way to your door

The moon was HUGE last night, as I was driving on 29 home from work. I read this today. It sounds like it will be the same tonight, I am setting a reminder on my phone now to go out and take some photos.

If I every have children, I am teaching them french

I guess I have to learn it first. Oh, and I am going to read them whatever they've been reading to this kid. I could listen to her all day!


Once upon a time... from Capucha on Vimeo.

I found this here

people disappoint me

I was attacked by an atheist last weekend, it has bothered me all week. Not because I am angry with this person but because he is so empty and depressed that it makes me very sad. I think I've decided that there is no such thing as an atheist or at least there is no such thing as bitter, hateful, oppressive atheists. I now believe that those people are just mad at God.

Black Friday is Bad!

This makes me sick! I can't believe people! I didn't buy anything yesterday except a couple of bags of melokheya, pumpkin seeds, and ceylon tea-not because it was black Friday but because I was hungry and I was at the Pita House-yum.

I think I just decided that I cannot participate in after Thanksgiving sales again. This is going to break Alex's heart because it's the best time to buy electronics. Since we stopped giving/receiving Christmas presents, the whole season is really making me sad. I can't stand hearing Christmas music right after Halloween. I used to like it but I am afraid that it was for the wrong reasons. What happened to Thanksgiving? It's getting lost somewhere in between.

Ay me!

lazy weekend

Alex and I have been wearing an awesome set of headphones while listening to things on the computer lately but today I had to throw them away because the dog, one of them or maybe all three, chewed the cord in several places so that they were broken beyond repair. Grrrrrrr.

We made ourselves feel better by having chocolate milkshakes and I finally watched the Sex and the City movie. ahhhh, all better.

I also received several issues of Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 8 in the mail. I had got quite behind and now I get to catch up. I like reading more than one at a time anyway.

I ♥ Joss Whedon

Yay, the new Dollhouse trailer!

ooto

I wasn't feeling well and I had to leave work early today. I went to the Doc and I have a severe kidney infection. Yuk! He said that my urine was full of puss. TMI. . .I know.

We called off the Thanksgiving camping trip because it's supposed to rain. I guess I will be sharing my day with many family members.

I really don't like celebrity gossip. . . really

But Jennifer and I laughed at this all day!

bacon

Hey Julie! I don't know if you will read this but this is for you!

something I heard on the radio

I heard an interview on Morning Edition while driving to work today. It was with Studs Terkel, I had never heard of him but he was described as a “legendary oral historian”, I liked what he had to say this morning about the human voice so I thought I would post it here.

Click to listen to the audio recording on the NPR site.

The legendary oral historian Studs Terkel was always a lover of what he called "vox humana" — the human voice. And he noticed when it was missing, as it was one day on an airport shuttle train in Atlanta.
A machine-like voice rang out from above informing Terkel and his fellow passengers that the train was about to leave the concourse. Otherwise, he recalled, it was dead silent.
The pneumatic doors were closing when a young couple pushed them open to get in, Terkel said.
"Without missing a beat, that voice above says, 'Because of late entry, we're delayed 30 seconds.'
"People looked at that couple as if that couple had just committed mass murder," Terkel said.
The two cringed — and Terkel spoke up.
"George Orwell, your time has come and gone!" he yelled out. The passengers greeted his attempt at humor with complete silence.
"And now they look at me — and I'm with the couple, the three of us are at the Hill of Calvary on Good Friday," Terkel said.
"My God, where's the human voice?" Terkel asked the passengers.
After noticing a baby on the train, he asked another question.
"Sir or madam," Terkel said to the infant, "What is your opinion of the human species?"
And the baby started to giggle.
"I said, 'Thank God — the sound of a human voice.'"

Fall Back

I've been 30 for one week now. It wasn't a great week. Marley got sick. It started with an upset stomach but he quickly got too weak to walk and he was vomiting so we took him to the vet. We switched vets a year or so ago because the people at Blue Ridge Animal Hospital are rude! The new vet was out of the office so Marley saw his substitute. The sub said that Marley probably had cancer because it is very common with golden retrievers that are his age (he is only 5!) and he said that he could do exploratory surgery but he thought that we should consider having him put to sleep to avoid subjecting him to unnecessary pain. I thought that was crazy so I called my Mom (that's what I do when I am upset-I'm a big baby) and she got us an appointment with her vet for a second opinion. Dr. Patch is the best vet ever! We didn't think that he was accepting new patients (that's why I had my Mom call-I'm also sneaky) but they said that they would and now we have a new vet! He thought that the lump in his belly could have been a cancerous tumor but was more likely and object so he gave Marley and IV to help with the dehydration and they kept him overnight to flush his system. The object moved out of his intestines and we were able to bring Marley home the next evening. He is skinny but back to his happy self. I am so thankful that he is feeling well. He really is the best dog that I have ever had and it just wasn't the same around here when he wasn't home.

Alex surprised me with a huge breakfast on my birthday, then my family came over and we all went to Lieu's Chinese Bistro for dinner. It was fantastic, even my Nana liked it! I can't believe that I haven't been there before. We came back to the house and played Rock Band and ate cake. It was a great evening. Alex bought me 1960: The Making of the President, one of the games on my wish list. We haven't played it yet but I have read the rules and I hope we will get to it this week since it's already dark when I get home from work. My neighbor, Mark, gave me some really cool stools that his father got while he was in Japan. I have been coveting them for quite sometime and he gave into the pressure. I will have to take a pic soon.

The cruise was loads of fun and very relaxing. It was quite a contrast from our honeymoon cruise that we took six years ago. Back then, we we spent tons of money and we did all kinds of crazy stuff. This time we relaxed and I got sunburned. I was able to talk Alex into entering the Hairy Chest Contest but he was eliminated in the first round. I think he was robbed. Most of those men were a lot older than him so he may have a chance in about 30 years. We were so frugal on this trip. I am so proud of us, $8 umbrella drinks do add up fast! I love that I am not as careless with money as I used to be! I posted some pics to my Flickr account. We also went to Kennedy Space Center on our way home. I love space! We got to see the Space Shuttle Endeavour being transported on the crawler to the launch pad! I haven't been able to upload those pics yet because I am close to my monthly limit on Flickr. I am considering a pro account so I can upload everything. My photography skills stink but I am going to try to improve. It is just not my thing but I have so much to document so I will have to work on it. I also really want to start Project 365 on January 1st. I think it would be good for me. I don't really like having my picture taken and I can't make good photos so maybe a year of making myself uncomfortable and taking pics will help.

My Mom is raising money for Jerry's Kids© and MDA, I know it's a long shot but I thought I would post her donation page just in case anyone reads this and feels like being charitable.

I have so much more to write about but I am going to stop now. I will keep the ideas for days when I don't have anything to say.

Happy November!

23 minutes and counting

It is 5:37, I am almost off work and I won't be back until October 27th! Yippee!
Husband and I are going on a cruise to the Bahamas next week for our sixth wedding anniversary <3awww<3 and then I will turn 30 on the 26th. Ugh. Stay tuned for a "getting-old-meltdown", I am sure one will be along any minute now.

The cruise is a super great gift from Mom and Dad Said, THANK YOU!!!!!!

Friday night in the kitchen

Tonight, I am canning apple pie filling and making a test pumpkin cheesecake. I am testing the recipe for a desert contest. I've never baked a cheesecake before and I am afraid to see how many ways I can mess it up. I've also never canned- so this may be a long evening. I should have made better plans for the apples that Julie and I picked. I will know better next year.

Congrats!

My little sister is graduating from hair school today! I am very excited for her, she is going to make a great hairdresser.

The family is going out to dinner tonight to celebrate the occasion. Tomorrow, Jennifer, Rachael, and I are having a yard sale ( a little last minute but I am sure we'll be fine). Tomorrow night, Jennifer and I are taking Rebecca out for her big birthday extravaganza. We are going to see Blindness and then we are going to a new restaurant in town called Smileys Acoustic Cafe. I am in the mood for some good acoustic music. Sunday, Julie and I are going to pick apples.

Yay, for busy weekends!

inspiration

I used to carry an inspiration journal around, it started out as a book that I wrote craft ideas and recipes in but one day when I was looking through it I realized it was just a cute and colorful wish list of things I want. I really want to have a simple life with less distractions but I love distractions!

Today, I found this blog. The author has a No Spend Month feature, she and her family picked a month to spend less than $250. I want to try! I am going to speak with Alex about this tonight. I don't think October is a good month, with my birthday, anniversary, and cruise and all. November and December aren't looking too good either, but January may be perfect!

random

I get a daily newsletter from Ideal Bite, it has tips about going green and stuff. You know the new super trend that is sweeping the nation. I definitely believe in being more conservative and less wasteful, and some of the info that they've sent has helped me to go paraben and sulfate free. The more I read about parabens, the more they scare me and with my reproductive "issues" I thought it couldn't hurt anything (except my wallet). I just hope what I am reading is true. They had a drawing the other day for a Sea Bag. Sea Bags are totes that are made from used sailboat sails. I got this one in the mail from them the other day.
It's very nice! I had no idea what a $110 tote bag was like but now I do. Yay! They have drawings all the time and now I know that you really can win something.

I also got these shoes
I love ebay, they were brand new with the tags and only $32!

I also got a new swimsuit (that I don't really care for but I waiting too long and everything is out of stock) to wear to the Bahamas. We leave in 21 days! Yippee!

I've started reading this.



I am afraid of what it's going to do to my brain.

mail

Once when I was a kid, I complained to another girl in the neighborhood that I never got any mail. About a week later, I got a large manila envelope addressed to me with no postage and no return address. It was filled with little trinkets, I don't really remember exactly what. I think maybe a drawing and some hair clips or something, but I was very happy! I found out later that it was from the girl down the street. I always thought that it was very nice of her to do that. I still love mail, not junk mail or bills but real mail like cards and packages of things that I have ordered. I am waiting on a few packages now. . . I am very exited!

Some pics from DC

My creation
Originally uploaded by raae

mmm. . .

I stopped by O-CHA tea bar on my lunch break yesterday to get a bubble tea and I bought one of these

It's awesome!

quickie

I started knitting a sock! Yay, I have been so intimidated by dpns but NO MORE! As soon as I find my camera charger, I will post a pick. It's not much of a sock right now anyway. Now I have to go to work, but it's FRIDAY!

Do Pipe Bombs Tick?

I saw a live version of this at DC. It was great! I think it should have won the masquerade.



We had a great time, it was even better than I had expected.. Alex and I are both kind of sad that Dragoncon is over. We are already planning to go back next year when Alex's foot will be better! Yay!

And since I am getting so much nerd on lately, I thought I would post this. . .

Your result for The Star Wars Personality Test...

Threepio

According to our patented Jawamatic^TM technology, you are most like See-Threepio (C-3P0) in personality.

Threepio, being a protocol droid, favours traditional values. Programmed for etiquette and protocol, he is always concerned with doing what is proper and expected, caring for people's material needs above all else. He is methodical, value-driven and practical at his best.

Threepio is, in a word, diligent.

(The polar opposite of See-Threepio is Artoo-Detoo.)

The eight profiles are as follows:

• Han Solo


• Yoda


• Chewbacca


• Threepio


• Artoo


• Darth Vader


• Luke Skywalker


• Princess Leia

Take The Star Wars Personality Test at HelloQuizzy

C-3PO! What a bummer!

and we're off. . .finally

Alex fractured his foot and can't walk, my dogs ran away, and Shaylan backed out (he had a good reason), BUT we are on our way to Dragon*con despite all of the setbacks! Actually, things are looking up. We took Alex to an orthopedic specialist yesterday and they gave him a walking boot, we also borrowed a wheelchair from his parents just in case.

The dogs dug out of the fence last Thursday night. We looked at the animal shelters on Saturday but they weren't there. Marley and Chico came back on Sunday morning but Jubei never showed up. I went to the animal shelter again yesterday afternoon and he was there!!!! I was so happy! His bail was $92 and he seemed really upset. I hope he has learned his lesson!

Don't be fooled by his cute appearance, he's a convict!

Julie is house/dog sitting while we're gone. Thanks lil' sis! I think I have packed everything except my very best walking shoes, they've dissappeared :-(
The cameras are charged, I am going to get some great pics! YAY!

nerdy stuff

Hi! I’ve been very busy lately! Alex turned THIRTY last week, hehe. Now I am married to an older man, at least until October. Strangely, we spent his thirtieth birthday pretty much the same way as we spent his twentieth. I am not sure what that says about us.

Alex bought a gazillion plants at Lowes the other day for 27 bucks. It was a killer deal! We’ve spent our evenings planting shrubbery, in the dark. Now I hope we don’t get a mandatory water restriction like the rest of the upstate or all of our work will have been for naught. Hmmm. . .maybe that’s why the plants were so cheap. They are going to look great if they make it through this drought. I just realized that we definitely didn’t plant shrubs when we were twenty, some things have changed!

I played Twilight Imperium again last week and I lost again. This time Shamus won, he and Karen invited us over to their new home. It was very pretty! I didn’t feel too bad about loosing again, I did a lot better than last time. We also went to a Melba Toast Thursday with the Upstate Board Gamers and played Alhambra and Pandemic. It was fun. I think I really like that group. They are having a SoC Boot Camp at this Thursdays get together but I can't go. Daddy is coming over to make me dinner :-)

I had a "suspicious" mole removed from my back a couple of weeks ago and I am leaving work early tomorrow to get the stitches taken out. I got a call from the Doc’s office a little while ago and the pathology results came back normal. She said that no further treatment would be needed! Yay! Praise the Lord!

More good news! Roxanne and Rob are having another baby! Congratulations!

The neighbors started acting crazy again. We called the cops this time. That is our new plan, since we obviously can’t do anything about them. Maybe the police can.

Alex got his old Civic back, too! It’s not exactly running right now but he has high hopes!

I am currently waiting on the program listings to be released for Dragon*Con. I can’t wait. We only have a few days before we can get our nerd on. Yippee!

fail

So I lost the TI game on Saturday. It was a pretty bad loss. Everyone was very nice while they were beating the tar out of me, though. I guess I can go back and play again. I've pretty much lost every game that I've played since I publicly announced that I am the Queen of Catan. Rachael and Kielay are coming over tonight to help me work on that.

Weeeeeeee!

skeered

I am up early on a Saturday morning. We are playing a game of TI with these people. I'm afraid they are really hardcore and I've been playing wrong all this time or I will forget one of the many rules or something. Maybe I will win, that would be awesome.

My lil sis cut my hair, it's really cute. Maybe I'll post a pic later.

Dragon*con (why the asterisk?)

We got our Dragon*con progress reports today! This will be our first year attending and I couldn't be more excited. Especially since I read that there is a Settlers of Catan tournament. I am the self-proclaimed Queen of Catan. I have to play! Yippee. Now I just have to figure out how to register for the game. I think that a Catan tournament might be better than seeing Starbuck and Apollo.

I am not going to wear a costume but I do want something cute and new. I am thinking about these Luna Lovegood earrings

Alex's favorite cartoon

It took me a while but I have finally found it. He has been talking about this for YEARS. I think he may have hyped it up a little much but he was happy that he got to see it again. Yay, for my SUPER POWER, GOOGLING!

I'm so jealous. . .

June

Ok, so my camera must not have been the posting problem. Who knew that you could get 10 megapixels so cheap nowadays?

It's hot. The high temp today is predicted to be 99°. Now our AC is acting up. Great. It's getting hot in here. I think we will go to the movies and I don't guess I will be cooking. That doesn't sound so bad, yet.

Alex and I went to Bailey's yesterday with Jeff, Rach, and Kyle to watch the UFC. We have a fantasy UFC league. The name of the league is HIS NAME IS ROBERT PAULSON. hehe. Alex and I are the only two members. My ranking yesterday was 91 out of 14683. I beat Alex and I can't believe that I have actually found a sport that I like to watch :-)

I found something else that I want. It is so cute!

I read on Friday that it was National Doughnut Day, it was also D-Day. I was really hoping that some doughnut person didn't decide that D-Day should mean Doughnut Day. That would have been really messed up. I did some more research and apparently the Doughnut Day has been around since WWI and the "D" in D-Day is just a variable assigned to the day military actions took place. I was all mad at the doughnut industry for no reason.

Monthy Post

I really do want to post more. I blame my camera. I want a new one, but Al says that I don't need one. My Nikon is too bulky, I want one of those little slim credit card size ones.

I got a new dryer, Yay! No more 4 hours to dry my towels. Maybe now I will get more laundry done. The mountain of clothes may turn in to a mole hill. Woot! We bought it at Costco. I can't believe we joined Costco. I am ashamed. I bought a huge tub of ketchup. I need to decrease my dependency on oil and ketchup. Costco isn't going to help, but they have great deals on stuff, I don't need any more stuff. All of this stuff is not going to fit in my yurt or the bus in the woods. Ahhh, what have I done.

We have been moving furniture around and playing a bunch of games. Alex got us Rock Band for the 360. It is great fun! I secretly want to be in a rock band but I have no talent. That is the best part of the game, even if you aren't playing on hard I get the feeling that I am really jamming out. I like to sing too but people keep being around and I can't sing in front of anyone other than kids and my fam.

My Mom told me one time that moving your furniture around a lot is a sign of schizophrenia. I don't where she got that from but I think about it every time I want to change things around, and I want to change things all the time. Especially, now that spring has sprung or is trying to sprung. Down with winter! I am going to be one of those old people that moves to Florida.

Speaking of stuff, the hubby and I may be making the trek to Ikea one day next weekend. I am not sure which day, we also have a game of Twilight Imperium planned. I am going down there to get a new desk that looks clutter free and makes me feel like I have less stuff. That is so messed up, I am going to purchase something new to make me have less. Consumerism sucks.

Ciao for now!

Cubicle Dweller

We finally moved the office this weekend! We are now downtown on the 5th floor of the Terrace. I have a spiffy new cube with bright colors and more storage space than my other cube. The wall between me and Jennifer is higher than the last one, it's going to take some getting used to. Maybe I'll get more work done ;-D Today, I got hot while I was hooking up my computer stuff and getting ready to work on Monday so I just opened the doors to the BALCONY that is right across from my desk. It was awesome. I actually had real air, not recirculated moldy air. I was so happy. I'm spoiled. I saw a sign that O-CHA is reopening downstairs in our new building. Yay! Tea!!!! I was worried that I would have to go to the Starbucks. Although, I must admit, I have been avoiding Starbucks forever just because of the hype- I do that sometimes- but I went there this morning with Wendy and it wasn't bad. I got tea and a blueberry scone. It was a good scone and the place didn't seem as yuppy-fied as I thought. I guess I can go there again. I'm going to have lunch in the park when its warm and I can walk around and take pics to post. I like to look at Greenville Daily Photo to see the images of the park and people downtown and now I will be down there too. Maybe I will see that guy around. I am also excited because I feel like I got a brand new job and I don't even have to make new friends or train or anything.

I also downloaded a new CD from iTunes. It's pretty good. I especially like the Killing Him song.

Late Christmas in the Smokies

Right now, I am in a cabin in Gatlinburg, TN with Alex's family. We have watched a bunch of movies and played munchkin and SoC. Yesterday, Alex and I search the town for a sports bar that was showing the UFC but we didn't fine one. Apparently, the UFC hasn't caught on in TN. It snowed yesterday and we rode some go carts. It was pretty fun, but cold. We also visited this shop
the artist, who was really nice and welcoming, had a gallery upstairs with an awesome swirly floor. We were really impressed with one painting but I didn't have the $ to shell out for it and $24 print really didn't do the work justice. Maybe later, I will add it to my wish list. Today , we might be going ice skating or to a magic show. I found a cool black light indoor mini golf place that looked like fun. It's hard to plan activities for 15 people. We'll see what the day brings. I miss my puppies but my sweet family is taking care of them.

Ciao!

Dr. Mario: better than tetris

I don't understand, but I like it.

Wanderlust

The weather has been great this week! The high temp most days has been over 70 degrees. I keep catching myself thinking of springtime activities and I get all depressed when I realize its still early January. I guess I shouldn't be wishing my life away.

I just finished reading Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. My crazy neighbor gave me the book before she went way crazy. I didn't realize it was a movie until I started looking for the cover art a minute ago. My cover looks like this:

I hate it when a movie comes out and the book covers change to the film art. I'm glad I got to this one before it was ruined. The book was good. If you haven't read it, its about a young man that leaves his family and a bright future to roam the country. He meets interesting people and has a lot of adventures but ends up dead in a bus in the Alaskan wilderness. I have trouble figuring out if I should admire him for living life by his own rules and taking chances or if I should think that he is selfish for putting himself in harms way and making his poor family and friends worry. Now I remember why I don't read non-fiction (except weblogs, Bust, and Game Informer). I get stuck on this stuff and can't get it out of my head. Dragons, wizards, and vampires really aren't that deep. I should stick with them. Now I want to hit the road, get rid of everything and not be held prisoner by my possessions. I was tempted to go out and buy some Tolstoy, Thoreau, and London-and I still may- but I got a different book. I am hoping its going to make me want to sit on the couch, play video games, and hoard things (just kidding). It's called Death of a Squire. Hehe, the title is making me feel lazy already.

we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet. . .

Happy New Year! I am making two resolutions this year besides the usual eat right and exercise one.

1. I am going to post more often. For some reason it's important to me. I don't know why. It just always seems to be the easiest thing to forget. I am a list maker, I write lists for everything: movies I want to see, music I want to try, games I want to play, books I need to read, sites I want to visit, and the usual groceries, chores, and to-do's. Blogging is going on the list or maybe it will have its own list.

2. I am going to stop swearing. This is pretty self-explanatory. I don't really have a potty mouth or anything but I got into an argument with my crazy neighbor the other day about our dogs and how he and his wife are insane and all. I thought he was going to hit me, it was scary- really. I used some profanity, I was really ashamed of myself. I felt like a big red neck. I am not going to let that happen again.

Christmas was kind of strange this year. I've had a growing problem with the way it celebrated for a while now and this year my family decided not to buy gifts and to just enjoy each other and remember the whole reason that we celebrate. It's kind of hard to explain to everyone that I am not buying gifts anymore. Everyone that I talk to thinks that we are being anti-Christian or that we are just trying not to conform. I don't understand how Christians can even go to the mall or watch poor people overextend themselves or have children that shred piles and piles of wrapping paper without even seeing their gifts and not be completely disgusted. I am not a scrooge. I am just confused about how I want to celebrate Christmas. I didn't even decorate and I was really annoyed when I passed home after home with giant blow up snow globes and santas in the yards. I started thinking about the people overseas that make the giant snowglobes and santas and I can't imagine where they think that they will end up. Surely, they would be surprised if they knew that they would be on a bunch of peoples front lawns. I hate those things. I want to pop one.