Wednesday, December 21, 2011


My friend Shannon found a dog about a month ago. He was wandering around her neighborhood for some time so she decided to take him in and try to find his family. He was malnourished and skiddish but she did a good job of making him friendly again. She called Animal Control to see if anyone had reported him and decided not to turn him in because she didn't want to risk having him being put down. Animal control told her to post on craigslist to search for the owner.

She posted on Craigslist and around the neighborhood looking for the possible owners but nobody responded. After about a month of searching she made the decision to go ahead and just keep him. He's a nice guy and makes a good playmate for her other dog.

Yesterday Shannon got a call that her dog was out. Apparently the UPS man didn't close the gate fully after he left a package. Someone read his tag and called her, she was at work so by the time she called back they had called Animal Control to come get him. The animal control person was actually at the house when she called and told her that it was required that he take the dog even though she's on the phone saying she's coming to get him right now.

Upset, she called the police station to see if there was any way they would talk the animal control guy into just letting her have the dog. They agreed and gave an address to meet him at. When she arrived he asked for her ID and when she gave it to him, he refused to hand over the dog because the address on her ID didn't match the address on his tag. Whats worse, is he actually said "didn't you call me a month ago trying to see if someone lost this dog?". He knew she had been taking care of him yet still wouldn't let her have the dog. He also threatened to give her tickets for keeping the dog and for letting it get loose again. He was condescending and very rude about the whole thing. In the end, he took the dog, refused to give her the address of where he'd be and just kept repeating "he'll be at county". "Where is county?" "Maricopa County". Seriously dude?

Anyway. So she's gonna have to pay tickets, fees and fines to get this dog now. A dog she took off the street, tried to find a home for and fed and cared for.

***UPDATE***
Though she had to pay the fines and overnight fees from the pound, they spayed and microchipped him as well. So it ended up being cheaper than a vet visit. A little light for a very upsetting situation..

Also, upon research of the Maricopa County Animal control she found that there was a lot of issues of not giving pets back, putting pets down and just bad customer service all around.

Story about a guy that raised a stray kitten and brought it in for medical help. tl;dr: The humane society took it, wouldn't give it back and put it down within hours of having it.

I seriously have the coolest little brother.

I love having lots of brothers and sisters. I love being the oldest because I got to see each of them grow up and turn into different and interesting people. The youngest of my family is Jacob. He's 11 right now and really starting to take interest in some fun things. I wish I lived closer so that I could be there to show him cool things and see what he does, lucky for us, our dad is a bit of a geek too so he encourages Jake in all his interests.

They were a little disappointed that he didn't fall in love with sports because his older brothers seemed to enjoy them. Dad hoped he would be a boy scout like he was but Jake didn't really like that either. He likes puzzles and creating things, he likes seeing things grow and change, he likes trying things nobody else would. He's going to be something great someday.

Jake started making videos of the things that he did and sending them to me. Dad recorded him on his old Nextel phone from work so the quality is always low. Don't worry, I got Jake something really special for Christmas so we don't have to worry about bad video anymore.

Here are a few of his videos. I've been posting them to YouTube, I think I'm going to make him his own channel.





Wednesday, December 14, 2011

We've been getting a lot of packages lately! Christmas gifts for each other, for others, from others and things we just order for everyday life. If you know me, you know how much I LOVE boxes. So Nick gets a box from his Reddit Secret Santa. he has me come sit down next to him and see what it is! Oh the excitement!! He opens up Portal Kombat for the game Munchkin Quest.

At first I was like omg what a cool gift I LOVE Munchkin Quest!! But then I realized...wait...I love Munchkin Quest.

The look on Nick's face was priceless. He just opened one of my Christmas gifts right in front of me!!

Needless to say we pulled out the game and he thought he was going to beat me in it so I had to wipe the floor with him. I was an Elf Theif with 4 arms (one coming off my head) wielding (among others) the Sword of Slaying Everything Except Squid! Have I mentioned how much fun that game is?

Wednesday, December 07, 2011



I have been spending a massive amount of time playing Skyrim lately. I can't get enough of this game. I know this will shock many other players, but I wasn't a huge fan of the previous games. Yes the stories were amazing but the gameplay was just not what I liked. Not to mention archery, one of my favorite skills in games like this, was difficult to use and just not powerful enough. Skyrim does a great job with my fav set of talents: archery, sneaking, one handed, pickpocket and lockpick.

I seriously find myself gossiping about what happened in game. Especially right now, I am in the middle of the thieves guild questlines and its a twisty turny web of secrets and lies! SO much fun.

I like that Nick plays too because we have different playstyles, so I get to see all the ways the game works. I like to talk to every person, do every side quest and really immerse myself in the role playing asepct of the game. I really like that my talent trees are all built off skills I use a lot. Because of this, I level slower and spend more time exploring than killing and pillaging. Nick is on his third playthrough, still looking for the perfect combination of talents to be uber powerful. He spends more time crafting, sticking to quests that reap big rewards and leveling up skill trees.
This game is great for any type of player and its one you'll be playing for a long time. Definitely worth the time and cost.



Another game I've spent a lot of time on lately is Dungeon Defenders. This is the first tower defense game that I've ever played (aside from mini ones on my phone like fieldrunners) so I have no other comparison but this game is SO much fun. The characters are funny little kids that were left alone in a castle and they unleashed an evil they must put back! The montsters are all after a crystal that you have to protect. The original game had a huntress (traps and explosives), monk (auras), squire (spikes and barriers), and an apprentice (missile towers). You can play co-op or alone and if you play alone and have several characters you can switch them out in game. For example, you can have your squire set up the initial blockades, switch to apprentice and get some missile towers behind them and play the course on your huntress. Its really great.

They have had several expansions, adding new maps and characters. Skyrim has distracted me so I haven't spent a lot of time on the more recent stuff :P

Going to bed has become an adventure.

Nick and I moved in together October 1. So far so good except one thing. One of us has to be an adult when it comes to going to bed and neither of us are willing to do it. Here's a typical night:
-We spend about 15-30 minutes talking ourselves out of whatever we're currently doing (playing a game, watching a show, browsing the internet)
-play with the puppies and put them to bed
-get in bed
-talk about what we're going to do when we wake up again
-talk about whatever stems from that
-talk some more
-feet fight, covers war or some other form of silliness
-add 10 more minutes to this if someone farts so we can endlessly giggle about it

seriously. the. worst. :P

Actually things have been going great. We are working hard at making our lil place a home, especially for the holidays. My sister Cyndi came over from Cali to do Thanksgiving with us. Cyndi and I did the sides and Nick cooked his first turkey. It turned out really well. We spent the rest of the weekend shopping, drinking and playing Rock Band.
The Christmas tree is up and we're working on setting up some traditions we can do every year. Its really nice to be able to not only enjoy our current time together but set ourselves up for a great future too.

We went to Illinois for a baby shower in September, that was a lot of fun. My sister Lindsy is having a baby in a couple more months and my other sister Michelle is expecting twins shortly after. I'm going to have 2 nephews and a niece soon!



Aside from visiting family I would say the highlight of the trip was going to Chicago. We spent the entire day exploring the Museum of Science and Industry, walking through Navy Pier and riding the Gondola and getting some delicious food. I miss the food back home.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The mini choppers

I can't seem to hold onto a mini chopper to save my life. Its a small kitchen gadget that chops up nuts, veggies or whatever. So when I first moved into my own house my mom got me one as a housewarming gift. For one reason or another at the following Christmas she bought me another one. I laughed and told this story for years because I thought it was silly.

I moved out of that house when I moved to South Carolina and I didn't take much with me, including my two mini choppers. So when my mom came to visit for Thanksgiving she had to buy me another one. Mom mini chopper tally is now 3.

So I moved out of that house and again didn't take everything, including my poor mini chopper. So Mom came back down to SC to help me get situated and was astounded to find that I again lacked a mini chopper. She bought me my 4th mini chopper.

Mom, ended up staying with me for several months before moving back to Illinois and when she left she TOOK my mini chopper :(

So 4 mini choppers later, I still don't own one and I decided to give up on the idea that I could have one of my own.

Today I'm moving out of my apartment and into another one and I just emptied a cabinet and lo and behold THERE IS A MINI CHOPPER IN THERE. I swear to all things I have never seen this thing in my life. After what I've been through with the other mini choppers, I would know if I actually had one. A mini chopper materialized out of nowhere or someone is playing a joke on me!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Cute idea that turned into a priceless memory

A few months ago Nick took a vacation to Japan to climb Mt. Fuji. We had just begun dating but things were going really well, so I wanted to do something special for him. I decided to get a box of cards and write to him.



I made one card for various points on his trip. They were things like "Open before you leave", "Open before you go to sleep", "Open when you miss me the most", "Open when you get to the top of Fuji" ect..



He loved it!

Just after he returned from his trip I came home from work to a candlelit dinner. On the table was the box of cards I had given him. He had me open each one and inside he had written back to me...



Now we have this adorable box of love letters to each other, one of my most cherished items.

Thursday, September 01, 2011

Its here!

One more piece of awesomeness to the board game collection. I present to you...MUNCHKIN QUEST!



Its the board game version of a popular card game called Munchkin. I played it the other night at a friends board game night. Have I mentioned the totally awesome people that I've been hanging out with lately? I never knew I could actually know IRL more than a couple of real geeks but as it turns out, there are TONS!
This game is cool. You start out at level 1 and you spend your three moves exploring a dungeon. Explore a new room and face a monster, each room has a special ability or dis-ability as it were. Cards determine your items, class, race and abilities. Use them with other players or against them! Get to level 10 and face a boss to win. SO. MUCH. FUN!

Bitchin' Text

We are almost through ALL of the seasons of The Office! I love that show, btw. The other night there was a scene where Andy sent Daryl a pigeon text. I wanted to find a video to post here but couldn't, so here's the Wiki:

Andy becomes overzealous about their friendship in "China" by constantly texting Darryl to his annoyance. When Darryl gives Andy an ultimatum that he's one text away from being banned by texting him, Andy wagers it into telling him that his next text will be so good that Darryl will have to high five him. This is proved when Andy finds pigeons eating an ice cream cone and texts Darryl to witness it.


After the scene we're giggling and such and Nick turns to me and says "I'm gonna send you a pigeon text". What I heard was "I'm gonna send you a bitchin' text" which I thought was hilarious and made total sense, I love getting totally bitchin' texts. Apparently in my old age I forgot that bitchin' wasn't what the kids were saying these days.
I think pigeon texts are bitchin' anyway

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

JON HAMM'S JOHN HAM!

Last night we're browsing google images of teeny tiny puppies and ooh'ing and ahh'ing at their teeny tiny cuteness. When I scroll to this page:



Nick suddenly leaps off the bed shouting "OMG JON HAMMS JOHN HAM" "google it, google it now!" and laughing like a madman. Somehow a guy named Jon Hamm ended up in my puppy cutefest.

And this, my friends, is Jon Hamm's John Ham:


Betrayal! At the house on the hill.



Let me tell you a story about 6 ordinary people who find themselves together in a big old house! Its a board game I recently got and have fallen in love with. The game starts in the entrance to an old house, the players are each given a set of stats and a misson. Explore the house. Each turn you find a new room that holds an event, a new item or an omen! Encounter enough omens and the house becomes haunted! Based on which room you've discovered and what omen you've unleashed you will find one of many possible haunt scenarios.
So far I've been attacked by my own doppleganger, found the ghost of Crimson Jack, been nearly lured into the depths of hell by a mysterious fiddler and sucked into oblivion by a vortex! Even if you've played a haunt before, each encounter will be different based on the rooms you've discovered and the items available.


We had our first game night get together last weekend and everyone enjoyed the game so much we played twice!

Monday, August 08, 2011

I love this guy.



I remember when I met him. I was at a Nerds meetup and he walked in with his friend. I thought "he doesn't belong here" and assumed his friend made him come to the group. I was kinda bummed too because I thought he was super cute. Finally he sat down next to me and we struck up what ended up being a 3 hour conversation where we tuned out the entire rest of the room. He will never let me live down the fact that (because I thought for sure he was just some random guy there with a friend) I asked him "do you use the internet?".

As it turns out, he does use the internet. He also loves the outdoors, gaming, pets, travel and most of all he loves me.

Life is good.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Pushing limits



So the puppies aren't allowed in the bedroom. This is where they hang out if the door is open. Enzo likes to push the boundary as far as he can without getting yelled at.

...and this is what he does when the door isn't open:

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Introducing Enzo!



Meet Enzo!

I've been wanting a dog as a companion for Ginger for awhile now. I only work 4 days a week but when I'm there I'm gone for 10 hours or more so I thought having someone to play with would be good for her. Boy was I right! Enzo has been a great addition. They are quickly learning to play together, respecting each others boundaries and learning from each other. Ginger is still a little jealous of her new little brother but we play close attention to give them equal lovins.

The day we got Enzo we were just going to check him out. I found him on Craigslist and Nick made an appointment to go visit him out at VJ Ranch. We met him and he was so friendly, not too hyper and so cuddly. Ginger and him didn't play right away so I was a little iffy about getting him. Usually she's scared of other dogs and occasionally we meet one she clicks with right off the bat. We decided to sleep on it and we left. Got about a mile down the road and Nick and I looked at each other and said, we just can't leave him, he's perfect. As you can see in the photo, Ginger was very curious about this new little guy!




First thing we did was give his stinky butt a bath. He's not the biggest fan of the bath but he was easier to clean than Ginger is (she HATES water!). First test of leaving him alone in the house he tore everything he could reach down! I guess this part of having him is good and bad. I can't leave anything out but it keeps my place super clean! Hopefully he gets better, I really don't' want to crate him while I'm gone.
The first couple days he ate all Gingers food on top of his own but this morning he finally let her eat and only ate what was in his bowl.
Nick is doing some leash training with him and has him almost sitting on command after only 2 days! Enzo is super smart, he really picks up on stuff fast.

All in all I am really happy with this choice. He was an anniversary gift. Its good that we celebrate each month together, even weeks in advance, right? :D

This weekend we're planning a mini vacation to Joshua Tree National Park in California. I am extra excited to check out Keys View you're supposed to have a great view of the valley and the San Andreas fault. I just like the idea of us hiking all day with the dogs, camping at night and hiking back in the morning. Hopefully there will be some great photos to follow!

Thursday, July 07, 2011

I nearly had a heart attack today. Then I acted like an adult.

In May I got a letter on my door saying I owed $298.xx and it needed to be paid with my next months rent or I'd be evicted. I panicked thinking maybe I forgot to pay rent or I paid the wrong amount one month. I had no idea. After researching my checks I found that I'd never missed a payment so I called and left a few messages for my apartments management office. Nobody returned my call and the one time I did talk to a person she told me that nobody was available but assured me someone would call me back. Since nobody did, I assumed that a mistake had been made when the new management company took over. They accepted my next two rent check and no more notices or calls.

Imagine my surprise when I get a notice today for nearly double the amount of the last notice and it stated I had 5 days to respond or vacate. Words can't express the feeling I got when I read that letter. My chest hurt, I wanted to vomit, I even cried. I was about to run out my front door to that front office and make a SCENE.

But I thought of Nick. My boyfriend is seriously the calmest person I've ever met in my life. I don't know how he does it really. Thats a blog post for another time.

So I took a shower and cleared my head. I got ready slowly so I was nice and calm going down there, I even brought a pen and paper with me. When I got there the lady started going through all of my rents and the dates I paid them seemingly sure she was going to find a missing check but she did not. She was truly baffled. I sat there and didn't say a word though I wanted to scream. She even printed out my ledger with a copy for me so she could prove to me line by line that I made a mistake. Still, didn't find anything.

As it turns out, I am billed $45 each month for my water. However, the bill is much higher and the apartment complex eats the rest for me (thanks I guess) but for some reason her accounting system was adding my portion onto my account.

TL;DR instead of questioning why a person that pays her rent every month on time has a huge past due balance my apartment complex issued me an eviction notice. When I called to question it they didn't return my calls and 2 months later gave me another notice to move out in 5 days. Glad you found the mistake guys, but I'm moving out when my lease is up.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Fathers Day



I was lucky enough to get a Dad who loves metal. Needless to say, I was super excited when I found this shirt at ThinkGeek!

Its a few days early but screw it.....Happy Fathers Day Daddy!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

irregardless!

I heard a guy on the radio this morning ranting about football or something. I wasn't actually listening but what I did hear was him say "irregardless" and as the words left his lips I instantly felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Now, I don't always use the right words and if you've read my blog you know I don't I usually don't write in proper sentences or form. However, there are a few terms that I just can't stand because its so clearly wrong and people say them anyway.

Irregardless
This isn't even a word, for one thing. And second it can't be used to get your point across. Most situations call for a yes/no right? You'd never say yes/not yes right? So if you're not without regard, then you have regard and your point is moot. With or without regard and never not without because then you're with. GOT IT!? ok.
Also, I googled this and irregardless was actually put into the dictionary as a "non-standard" version of regardless. DERP!

I could care less
You could? So then you still care right? right? yes. Well. I couldn't care less when I don't care about things. Just sayin'.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Summer Summer

Plans are good when you have them. I'm tired of dealing with the hard ones so here's my list of to-do's for the summer:

1. Visit my sister Lindsy
2. attend 5 concerts (|)
3. See the Grand Canyon
4. Go to Vegas
5. Tubing Salt River
6. Try out a new activity (Ice skating was fun!!)
7. Make a new friend
8. Horseback Riding
9. Brew my own beer
10. Go to a beach in California
11. Create something new
12. completely impress myself
13. Read 5 books (|||)

some are specific and some aren't, most of them will keep me outside and out of my own head. Cool thing about living in the desert is summer lasts way longer than most places so I have plenty of time to put a decent dent in this stuff.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

A couple of years ago I was exploring my ability to communicate with others. I was so tired of being the wallflower, boring, quiet girl. I even blogged about it. Today I realize something else about myself that I get really annoyed with. When someone challenges my ideas, I almost always back down. I worked so hard at learning new things and being able to discuss subjects but somehow I missed the part where I needed to back up my mouth. This is the most recent example, it just reminded me of the fact that I do this all the time:

Cyndi: we're going to stop in Santa Fe to party. I guess its a big fun city and its the half way mark between here and Fort Morgan (where she's moving)
Me: I didn't realize New Mexico had any cool cities like that, all I know is Albuquerque the rest of it was boring when we went through.
Cyndi: What? I'm not going through New Mexico at all
Me: .....Santa Fe is in New Mexico
Cyndi: Lots of states have cities with the same names, this isn't new mexico
Me: ok

Later on I look at a map
/facepalm
Santa Fe is in New Mexico and it is the halfway mark

I'm never positive enough about my own knowledge or decisions so stick by it. Why do I do that? This has actually gotten me in trouble before because as soon as I back away from the conversation it sounds like I didn't know what I was talking about. I did, but I wasn't willing to challenge what the other person was saying to contradict me.
I need some debate skills.

Thursday, April 07, 2011

dogs are the best animal to have in case of a robot uprising

I opted to take my book and go to the dog parp and let Ging run around while I chill in the sunshine there

I think its a good idea, Gives ginger a chance to sniff other dogs butts all day
sniff sniff "Yep, thats a butthole"
Dogs just want to make sure other dogs are real and not robots
robots dont have buttholes
dogs are the best animal to have in case of a robot uprising


Its days like this that I am so happy that Gmail logs all my conversations.

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

My book exchange books came!!






I got:

Catching Fire- Book 2 in the Hunger Games trilogy and with perfect timing, I just finished the first!

Blindness- Looks pretty exciting! Its about a group of people facing an epidemic in their city where everyone goes blind and then loses their minds. Could you imagine? Our entire society blind? Hide ya kids! HA can't wait to read it.

ROOM- I love books told from a kids point of view. I am so excited to read this one, probably cover to cover in one night!

Chain Mail Jewelry- I'm a crafter, I sew and have been looking for something a little more portable to craft. This is perfect, I spent last weekend at a Renaissance Faire so I'm already bubbling with ideas!!

Thank you so much for the books, they were perfect choices. I looked through each one cover to cover to find a note/name to no avail, so thank you random Redditor, I love them all!

Tuesday, April 05, 2011

I see it in my face mostly.


September 2009


Sept 2010



April 2011

Friday, April 01, 2011

Its April Fools

I am positive that my dad will try and prank me this year, he always does. The sad part is that I always see it coming but believe it anyway because I believe everything he tells me.

To this day I still call those 4 holed swings at the park "doggie swings". Thanks Dad ♥




Thursday, March 31, 2011

I've got that rock and that roll!


Once again Manchester Orchestra has made my skin crawl with an amazing song. They released it today and it'll be one of their new songs released on Simple Math in May.

Its currently on repeat in my apartment.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Is symmetry too much to ask?!

A simple question from Vince turns into my major annoyance for the night.

I have a female question for you.
Oh sweet is it a dating question because I have no idea how that works but LOVE giving advice about it!
Its not (insert random question about what headphones to buy)---I still have no idea what that had to do with my being female..
Conversation turns to how it would be more comfortable to have two pillows
but for us it would be two unmatched pillows because of the loser sheet set rule

Basically. I got upset because when I was first single and I had only a twin bed, when I bought sheets they only came with 1 pillow case instead of 2. It was a whole ordeal due to unmatched pillow cases.

A few months ago I bought some sheets for my now queen sized bed and guess what?! THREE pillow cases. Who only uses three pillows? If you're going to have two on one side you need two on the other. So now when I change my sheets I have three blue and one red and when I change to red I have three red and a blue. ANNOYING. I really don't think that symmetry is too much to ask.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Social Awkwardness

I like to think that I have pretty good social skills. I never was much of a talker but as I got older I found out that people are generally more friendly when you can hold a decent conversation. Lots of practice later I think I have a pretty firm grasp on being social. However, there are moments in my life where I am just really not sure what to do. For example, a guy at a bar tried to kiss me a couple weeks ago. I don't want to be kissed and when I tried to lean away from him and he kept coming, my reaction was to headbutt him. Who does that? Me. Thats who. Here then, is a list of situations where I'm not sure what to do:

Door holding:
When you're going through a door and there is someone behind you, what is the appropriate distance they need to be before you don't have to hold the door for them? Too close and you're the jerk that didn't hold the door, too far and you're just standing there awkwardly waiting for them to enter. I've been on the receiving end of the too long holder, you feel like you need to walk faster or not turn down that hall you actually wanted to turn down because someones holding a door for you. Yes I actually did continue through a door simply for that reason.
I've actually adopted a door holding method that seems to work, basically, I walk through the door slowly and stretch my arm out behind me. That way it appears that I intended to hold the door and acknowledged there was a person behind me but I must be in a rush and didn't have time to wait.

Music and talking in the car:
I try to set the music in my car at a level where its nice to hear the music but still appropriate to talk. However, this doesn't always work because if there's a good song on I can't seem to focus on both. Turn the music down and then you're either going to be silent or you have to find a conversation. Turn it up and you've ruined any chance at a conversation. My sister remedies this by announcing what she's planning on doing with the radio then constantly asking if the music selection is ok, equally awkward. Also, the whole thing never works if your passenger doesn't like the same music. Everything about being in a car stresses me out, I don't want to have to think about this at all!

Hugs:
Hugs are always weird. I blame South Carolina for this. Before I moved to the south I had a nice little personal space bubble. It was the span of my arms, all the way around my body. Don't get that close to me unless you have been invited. When I moved down there I quickly learned that people were going to hug and touch you no matter what so I adapted. Since I didn't grow up hugging everyone it felt awkward, I never knew when it was appropriate since in my mind you only hugged people you love. I found myself hugging people when only a handshake was necessary. I still do that! I'm at a party, saying goodbye, I had a great time..should I hug the host? Handshakes aren't right....a wave goodbye maybe? Is that rude? I DON'T KNOW!

Long hallways:
In the past this hasn't been an issue, you only really experience this in like doctors offices and stuff. But I got a job where I have to walk all the way across a giant building to get to my desk, this means there are at least 4 long hallways. 4 chances for me to spend what feels like eternity walking towards a stranger. There are several ways that people avoid this but so far none of them feel normal to me.
Look at your cell phone. This is a great remedy because you can ignore everyone around you for your oh so important cell phone. The problem with this is that you look like a self important jerk. Nobody likes that guy.

Look at the ground. I don't know about you but when I walk my heads up and I look forward. You are obviously avoiding me by doing this and now not only are you awkward but so am I because I think maybe I looked unapproachable.

Eye Contact. This requires more tact than I'm familiar with. I usually end up making eye contact for far too long and appear to be gawking. Plus, if you make eye contact so as to acknowledge but then look away at nothing its so obvious it always just looks weird.

Conversation. I'm all about striking a conversation with a stranger but what are you going to talk about in the time that you have and when its is ok to start talking (distance wise) what if you speak too soon and then you have to say something else. OR what if there are TWO people now you have to speak to both of them "about about this weather?" to the first person and to the second person who clearly heard you speak to the guy ahead of him "long hallway right?"

And the absolute WORST part about long hallways: Someone in front of you walking the same speed as you. UGH! Now I have to walk slower so we aren't walking side by side or speed up and act like this is the indy car race to my desk.

Goodbyes:
Why do we have to say goodbye 100 times? This goes with hugging too, if you hug after a goodbye, don't say goodbye again because then you have to hug again and its a vicious cycle! Here's how a goodbye should go:
I had a great time, thanks (hug, handshake or wave or whatever else)
Goodbye
Goodbye
EXIT
done, you've said goodbye and you're on with the day.

Here's how a goodbye does go:
I had a great time, thanks.
bye!
hug-handshake-whatever
ok bye!
so see you later?
Yea maybe like Wednesday?
OK!
ok, well thanks again I had fun
me too!
Hug again not sure why
ok bye
bye!
Sometimes theres a couple more cycles of talking, hugs and goodbyes before you finally get out the door. Its weird.

However, I have no remedy for this at all. I usually end up leaving abruptly and skipping the goodbye altogether so as to not deal with it.

goodbye (close the page, don't say goodbye back or I'll be forced to say it again!)

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Your house smells like someone died!

I was going through my old photos today and I ran across one that made my day. In May 2009 I went to Hawaii and my sister and mom watched my apartment for me. They kept calling me and saying that my place smelled so bad that they couldn't even stay there. Like something died. I was a little freaked out, I try to keep my place clean and I was going to be gone for a week so whatever it was would just smell worse by the time I got there if they didn't find it.

Finally, I got home after a long flight and a great vacation to find this and a note that said "WHO DONE IT?!":


Helplessness Blues

This is a fantastic song, I love the lyrics and his voice is just beautiful, especially in the chorus.


I was raised up believing
I was somehow unique
Like a snowflake distinct among snowflakes
Unique in each way you can see

And now after some thinking
I'd say I'd rather be
A functioning cog in some great machinery
Serving something beyond me

Friday, March 11, 2011

All those moments will be lost in time

I found this page today. Some really beautiful screenshots, the quotes really make the images. This one in particular.

“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time like tears in rain. … Time to die.”

Blade Runner (1982)


Thursday, March 03, 2011

Thanks, mom

My mom sent me a get well card and I guess she couldn't find the perfect card, so she improvised. haha.

Had lunch at Chino Bandido today with Crystal, a mexican-chinese place. They have the most unique menu, its one of my favorite places to eat in Phoenix. Emerald Chicken on a quesadilla with jerk chicken rice, omnomnom!

Getting my staples out today from my surgery. Finally, man these things are really getting on my nerves. Its going to feel so good to finally sleep on my stomach again!


Tuesday, March 01, 2011

What if I’ve been trying to get to where I’ve always been

I don't know about you but I could not be more excited about Manchester Orchestras new album Simple Math to come out! They released the title track and I can't stop listening, feeeeeeed me more!




"What if I was wrong and you had never questioned it?
What if it was true, that all we thought was right was wrong
Simple math, the truth cannot be fractioned"

I think that song was made for me.

Monday, February 28, 2011

Appendix-less

Last Thursday I went out for some day drinking and afterwards hit up Santisi for darts and more drinking. Needless to say Friday when I woke up I wasn't feeling top notch. My tummy was killing me! I went to work but ended up leaving early and going home to rest. Around 9pm I decided that hangovers just don't last this long, I did some drinking but not THAT much. So I headed over to urgent care and they looked at me like a crazy person, TO THE ER! Several hours later I was getting my appendix out.

What a strange experience. I was in a daze for days between blinding pain and drugs. As with any crisis, when I came to I realized once again that I have an amazing support system. My friends and family all came in to help me take care of myself, take care of my dog and provide much needed moral support to get through this. Thanks guys :)

Monday, February 21, 2011

Left with Steph

My friends Nick, John and AJ all play Left 4 Dead with me. Its been awhile but there's always a running joke that I get the most friendly fire. Nick is a great artist and he drew a little cartoon depicting us. The first is me with a machine gun the the guys hiding in the background, then me with the bright idea to put big signs on them to help avoid (and also poking fun at the time I blamed them for startling the witch and then getting in my way!) and finally the guys decide maybe I'd be better off with melee weapons instead of guns :P

There are a few more in the series but these three get the chain of events the best :)



Thursday, February 10, 2011

CR-48!!

I had a UPS tag on my door a couple of days ago, assuming it was something for my sister I waited until today to get it. I hadn't ordered anything and Brandon said he never mailed anything so imagine my surprise when I open up a Google Chrome Notebook!!!! I signed up MONTHS ago to be a tester for it, never in a billion years did I think they would be sending me one!

Its really great so far. I can connect to the internet via my wifi, tether from my phone or use Verizon 3g. I get 100MB free a month or i can buy an unlimited 3g package for ten bucks.

In addition to getting one of the coolest devices ever, I also finally got Cyanogen Mod 7 on my phone. I've been fighting with this phone for a few weeks now. Today was a great success in one geeks life.

Now I have a Google phone, tablet and notebook. I think I am officially a fangirl

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Who said turning 30 meant growing up?!



I had a fantastic 30th birthday. My mom showed up (it was her birthday too) in Arizona and surprised me. Shannon picked me up and we went to dinner with Cyndi and Danielle and afterwards we went to Dave and Busters. We're walking in and I catch a glimpse of our friend Dave and think, whats he doing here? Then I notice Dave has a girl with him but I can't tell who she is. Upon closer inspection it was my mom!! I screamed so loud the people around us all jumped HA!
We had a great time, I played tons of games and got lots of tickets. Grand prize was 2600 tickets and a new cozy hoodie.

The whole week after my birthday my mom was here and we did all kinds of fun stuff. Probably the most fun was the trip to Jerome, AZ where Maynard from Tool has a winery called Caduceus.

Yum!
There were actually several winerys in Jerome that we stopped at. I can't wait for a trip back, if not for the scenery alone! Here's a photo of Jerome as we approached it, the whole town is on the side of a mountain!