… on New Things

Well, I have two new jobs. That’s right, TWO.

Job 1 is decent. It pays well, but it’s kind of boring and tedious. It’s a job.

Job 2 is super fun. SUPER FUN. And the fact that the boss got the staff a case of Monster Energy shots that kept me friggin’ wired while I sold people their pre-orders of “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2″ was pretty sick. Did I mention it’s super fun? Über fun, even. Über.

~~~~~

I attended Star Wars in Concert tonight in Bridgeport. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performed the musical pieces from the Star Wars Saga. Anthony Daniels was narrating (for lack of a better term) and they showed footage from all the movies.

It was a pretty awesome event. I was there with the CTG, making sure the crazy nerd-crowd swarmed and consumed Boba Fett and our newest Vader.

I got to yell at people. It was pretty sweet.

~~~~~

Curled up in bed with Turdie right now. He emits a large amount of heat. It’s nice.

… on the Times, They are A-Changin’

Things change and oftentimes, there’s nothing you can do to prevent it.

My XBox 360 failed. The Red Ring O’ Death shone down upon me and told me “YOU SHALL NOT WATCH NETFLIX ‘TIL 6 IN THE MORNING!”

The irritating thing? Anthony gave me 1600 Microsoft Points in order to purchase and download the Gears of War 2 Expansion pack, “All Fronts Collection.” Before I Red-Ringed, I was able to add it to my download queue. Hooray for that, right?

Ted let me borrow his XBox – the one Anthony and I did the case mod for last summer – but it wasn’t the same. I pretty much used it only for Netflix anyway, save for a couple times when I had friends over and we played some Rock Band.

According to the XBox website, it’ll take 2-3 weeks from the date my XBox was shipped out. I dropped it off at the UPS store on August 18th and it was shipped on August 19th. It finally made it to Mesquite, Texas (the final resting place for all Red-Ringed XBoxes) today.

Speaking of today, I pre-ordered “Batman: Arkham Asylum” a few days ago (after completely forgetting about when it was being released) and there was a midnight release for it that I attended … and missed all the “Midnight Release” festivities, though I did see a dude dressed like Batman riding shotgun in a late-model Mitsubishi Eclipse that had been customized to look like the Batmobile.

So yeah, I have a brand new video game that I can’t play. Nuts to that.

~~~~~

I guess I’m doing all right. I’ve had days where I was sad, but the good days have outweighed the bad for the most part. I miss my friends, mostly, but that’s nothing a phone call can’t change. I just have to get over my abnormal fear of calling people, that’s all.

~~~~~

I fear that Gavin/Turdie has a Urinary Tract Infection. He’s been more talkative than normal (which is saying something,) and he’s been peeing in the house and not in his litter box. Since he’s been peeing mostly in the corner of the living room where Mom’s rocking chair is, she’s been all for getting rid of him, however, I think a discussion is in order so I can bring him to the vet. She was the one who suggested that he may have a pee problem.

I’m worried about him.

~~~~~

Since my grandfather passed away in June, my mom has been spending 3-4 nights at my grandma’s house keeping her company. Grandma hasn’t been alone ever in her life (she’s 90 now,) so it’s been an adjustment.

With the house to myself for a majority of the week, it’s been kind of lonely, just me, the cat and the bunnies, who mostly keep to themselves in the basement, when not terrorizing the cat upstairs.

~~~~~

Phoebe Waffle Hammipuff passed away in my hands on July 23rd at 3:30AM and with her gone, it’s been strange not hearing her doing her busy-work in the living room late at night. She was a good little hamster, and I miss her, and missing her makes me miss her predecessor, Arnold McNut, even more.

Phoebe was more my mother’s hamster than mine. Mom loved her tons and would constantly talk to her while she sat and watched TV. It always brought a smile to my face when I’d hear my mom say, “Phoebe! You’re so busy! What are you doing? Being busy? You’re such a busy hamster!”

My mother misses her a lot and isn’t ready for another hamster. I don’t know if she’ll ever be ready for another hamster, either, which is sad, because Mom was always happy with having a hamster in the living room. She had initially insisted that Arnold’s cage be moved to the living room, so she could enjoy his antics, so during the Hammipuff Administration, it was only logical that she stay in the living room as well.

~~~~~

Off to new adventures.

… on Nifty Things

I’ve been making an attempt at reading “Ctl + Alt + Del” (http://cad-comic.com) from the beginning. I’m not really sure I like it, but I keep reading. I hear Tim Buckley (the dude who does CAD) is from Connecticut, so I might as well support local artists, right?

I swiped this from Buckley’s blog. In his words, “I thought it was nifty.”

Make a list of 10 statements about yourself:
* 4 of the 10 statements must be lies.
* Post your list and have people guess which four are lies!

1. I like to swim.
2. I have an oral fixation.
3. I’ve suffered from multiple snakebites.
4. When I was 12, I broke my arm falling out of a tree.
5. I like wearing dresses and pretty things.
6. I named my current hamster, Phoebe.
7. My favorite color is gunmetal.
8. I read Stephen Hawking’s “A Brief History of Time” when I was 10.
9. When I was in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2007, I spent 4 days hanging out with Henry Rollins.
10. I’m relatively decent at Texas Hold’em Poker.

I was originally going to post the answers in a day or two, but I’m kind of forgetful, so odds are I’d forget to post the answers. So, they’re after the break.

… on Feeling Better

I’m starting to feel better.

I find that giving a gift just for the sake of it makes me feel much better, more alive.

It’s a wonderful feeling, just knowing that for that one shining moment, you may have brought a little bit of happiness to someone else’s life.

… on Not Fearing Apparitions

I totally beat “Ghostbusters: The Video Game” today after I got home from work. I feel quite accomplished. It’s a quick game, but fun. If I’m feeling ambitious, I’ll go through a second time and get all the achievements that I missed, such as destroying a ham from a kosher Bar Mitzvah banquet and “redecorating” an architectural design firm.

It still brings joy to my heart to hear the original cast, (INCLUDING ANNIE F’N POTTS! [And no, I'm not sure why I was so excited that she was back as Janine.]) voicing the characters. There’s no Rick Moranis, but Alyssa Milano is in it, so it’s not that bad, right? Dan Aykroyd, oh how I’ve missed you and your Canadian accent.

Best $20* I’ve spent recently. (* $20 after trading in “Left 4 Dead” and “Call of Duty: World at War”.)

There’s got to be a poster that says, “Everything I’ve Learned, I Learned from Ghostbusters” and if there isn’t, there should be.
Words to live by:
- Aim for the flat-top.
- Never cross the streams.
- You gotta try this pole!
- When someone asks if you’re a god, you say YES!

P.S. – I’ve also been kicking the ever-living crap out of Doug in “Worms.”

… on Volatility and Dot 3.0

I’ve been very volatile for the past month.

I’ve also been unfairly taking it out on certain people I care about tremendously.

Throughout this, I’ve been surrounding myself with people, when what I’ve really needed is to be alone.

My personality has changed for the worse, and I need time to remedy it.

Hindsight’s always 20/20. I should have known it hasn’t been a good time to be around people.

I’ve done a lot of self-discovery the past few days … and I have a lot more to come.

It’s not you, it’s me.

Coming soon … Dot 3.0.

… on Survey Theivery From Gouda

SAY EXACTLY WHATS ON YOUR MIND & DON’T CHANGE IT.
1. You & your ex – Ugh.
2. What are you listening to – Crickets and Turdie licking himself.
3. Maybe I should – GTFO of my current living situation.
4. I love – My friends.
5. I don’t understand – Men.
6. I have lost my respect for – A lot of people.
7. I last ate – Pizza

IS YOUR/ARE YOU:
1. Is your hair wet? Not right now.
2. Is your cell phone right by you? – Yes
3. Do you miss someone? – Yes
4. Are you wearing chap stick? – No, but now that you mention it ….
5. Are you tired? - Physically, I am fine … Mentally, I am drained.
6. Are you wearing pajamas?- Yes! Duckie PJ pants and my favorite comfy shirt.
7. Are you mad? – No.
8. Are you upset?- Yes.

HAVE YOU:
1. Recently done anything you regret? – Well, I didn’t regret it up until I just thought about it and am realizing what a jackass I am.
2. Recently gotten in a fight? – Yes. Anthony, Gretchen and I got into a massive brawl Friday night. It was fantastic.
3. Ever kicked someone? – Kicked Anthony in the ass tonight. Again, it was fantastic.
4. Ever tripped over your own feet? – Not today.

TODAY HAVE YOU:
1. Have you cursed? – I curse like the bastard love child of a sailor and a truck driver.
2. Have you gotten mad at someone? – Surprisingly, no.

Ever wonder if you’re someone’s everything? – Yes, today I have.

Last song played more then three times? – “Savior” by Rise Against

Last person to fall asleep with? – Aside from Turdie?

Tie yourself to someone for a day, who is it? – This is a weird question.

Last time you were really happy? – Recently.

Ever skip class? – Yes.

When do you want to die? – When there is no more life to live.

Marriage? – Yes.

Did you take a nap today? – No, dammit.

Who got mad at you last? – Probably my mom, which is a usual occurrence and thus, generally ignored.

Last car you were in? – Mine

Last person to call you beautiful? – Don’t remember … it was a long time ago.

Where’s your parents right now? – Sleeping.

Could you use some sleep right now? – Yeah, for the next like 4 years.

Who’d you have lunch with? – Ted and ABudz!

Do you like to cuddle? - Yes.

Are you ticklish? – Yes, but I find tickling to be rather unpleasant.

Has anyone seen you kiss the last person you kissed? – No.

Last time you had butterflies in your stomach? – Recently.

Would you ever shave your head to save someone you love? – Yes.

What’s on your bedroom floor? – A lot of stuff.

How many piercings do you have? – Tongue and labret

What does the first text message in your inbox say? – *Blatantly skipping this question because the most recent text message I got is private.*

Are you a jealous person? – Not particularly.

Any plans for tomorrow? – Sitting around … meeting from 7P-11P

Do you wear the hood on your hoodie? – Sometimes.

If your best friend liked your ex, what would you do? – My best friends are dudes … my ex is a dude … I’d be quite surprised, needless to say.

Have you held hands with anybody in the past week? – I don’t believe so.

Do you want any tattoos? – More? Eventually.

When is the last time you were in a photo-booth taking pictures with friends? – Never done it. I’m a n00b.

What’s the last thing you laughed at? – Anthony.

Which of your friends is the easiest to talk to? – They know who they are.

Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with? – (See Above)

What was the first thing you thought this morning? – Holy hell, it’s 12:30. Going back to sleep. GODDAMMIT TED, WHY ARE YOU CALLING ME?

What color are your eyes? - Brown

Who do you hate currently? – Ben Affleck, Eddie Vedder and the “C-U-Next-Tuesday”

Do you get the recommended eight hours of sleep a night? – Sometimes, but not necessarily at night.

… on the Art of Nerding

Every first weekend in May I trek out to New London to spend the weekend with my CTG buddies.  The first Saturday of May is always Free Comic Book Day at Sarge’s Comics (124 State Street, New London, CT), where there are tons of fans dressed as their favorite comic, video game and movie characters.

Aside from the merry band of misfits I roll with (the Star Wars crew,) there were:
- A bunch of anime characters: (At least 2 Narutards by my calculations and maybe a Full Metal Alchemist?  I don’t really know anime.)
- Video Game characters: Master Chief (who was Asian and wore kitty ears, thus being a huge disappointment, as well as the fact that the only thing that made him taller than me was that he was wearing boots), Cloud Strife, Lara Croft, some effeminate-looking dude in white who was another Final Fantasy character (however, that dude was inhaling Marlb Reds by the fistful, so despite the costume, the guy was hardcore.)
- Comic Book characters:  TWO Wolverines (my friend Brad was a movie-accurate Logan, whereas the other dude was not, nor was he even a comic-accurate Logan), Jean Grey (My friend Katie, Brad’s wife, was the yellow and blue spandex-clad Jean Grey,) Poison Ivy, Superman (my friend Prettypants, with new and improved velvet underoos worn on the outside of his blue spandex,) and the Flash (who was like 12, so it was still awesome).
- Movie characters:  Punisher (“War Zone” Ray Stevenson Punisher, which is why he’s not under Comic Book characters,) Connor McManus from The Boondock Saints (in a surprising, yet impressive turn from the guy I generally only know as “Punisher” from years past – and I made damn sure to ask which twin he was as I am that big of a Boondock Saints nerd,) TDK Joker/Heath Ledger Joker (done by the kid who usually runs around as the Green Power Ranger and because it’s the TDK version, also placed in the movie characters section,) TWO Jasons (both of whom were pushing strollers, which was super weird, because I wasn’t aware Jason Voorhees was the fatherly type …),  the Shrek dude who’s pretty much there every year – the only thing that changes is the shade of green face paint and my personal favorite – my “OMGWTFBBQ!” moment of Sarge’s was seeing PETER F’N VENKMAN from Ghostbusters.  His pack lit up and stuff too.  It was pretty trippy, yet so awesome.

I didn’t dress this year, which was hugely disappointing to me, just because after two years, my Stormie has finally given out.  TK 7282 needs an overhaul, severely before it can be worn again.  I definitely got shit from one of the regulars from Sarge’s for not dressing this year too, which made me even more sad.  However, I have been tossing around the idea of putting together a Sanghelli (Elite) from Halo possibly for next year.  It shouldn’t be a huge problem – just the “horsey” legs and the face (mandibles – egads!) could prove to be a challenge.  It will most certainly put all my sculpting skills to the test.  I’m not incredibly worried, though – for school I did make a pretty decent General Grievous mask.

Sunday morning was spent at the Mystic Aquarium to support Easter Seals, then an optional free admission to the aquarium.  I’ve been every year and was tired from the night before, so I opted to go home early.  Got home around 2PM, took a nap then hit up drinks with some friends from work, where Borko and I then yelled at the TV about the Anaheim Ducks at Detroit Red Wings game.  I was displeased when the Wings lost in TRIPLE OVERTIME.  The end of the game did signal tequila shots, though.  Because I’d primarily stuck to Cuervo while I was in college because it was cheap and for the most part people wouldn’t ask for any because Cuervo’s disgusting, I’d lost touch with my old, dear friend Patron … and it goes down a LOT smoother than I remember it ever doing so.

All aboard the Bad Decision Train …

… on Gaming, Blogs and Other Assorted Miscelleany

Apparently people appreciated the 3AM, insomnia-induced Photoshopped pictures of my father. Glad to oblige.

~~~~~

I’ve currently put my stack of “To Read” books on hold … as if they hadn’t been on hold previously, but I digress. They’re on hold. Why? Because I’ve been reading the archives of the past 5 years of FourFour!

I originally found Rich Juzwiak’s blog through Cute Overload because of his cat, Winston, who is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen/read about … and this coming from a person who owns a weird-as-hell cat. Rich also updates a VH1 blog and does fabulous recaps of episodes of “America’s Next Top Model” and assorted other shows (such as “Being Bobby Brown” which has solidified my fear of Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston.) And as stated, they are fabulous. The simple fact that he likened the power of Anna Wintour to that of the Power of Greyskull has made him one of my favorite bloggers.

Granted, primarily, I’ve been reading archived blog entries about his cats (Winston and the unfairly normal Rudy, whom I feel should have some strange quirk or at least be purple or have two tails or something in order to give Winston some sort of weirdo competition,) but I seem to be drawn into the awesomely funny stuff he’s written about various pop culture happenings.

I am a fan.

~~~~~

So I picked up copies of “Call of Duty: World at War” and “Viva Pinata: Party Animals” from GameStop.

As far as CoD:WaW goes, I don’t think I’m a fan. At least, not as big a fan as I am of CoD4:MW (“Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare”) anyway. Then again, I’ve gotten further in the CoD:WaW campaign than I have with CoD4:MW simply because the opening cutscene in CoD4:MW is like 10 minutes long and I can’t sit still long enough to deal with it. Despite the fact that I watch enormous amounts of movies and TV shows on my XBox via Netflix and Connect360, I can’t be bothered watching cinematic cut scenes when I’m gaming, damn it.

And I do feel a little guilty, because the graphics in CoD4’s cutscenes are great and I know a group of people spent a lot of time putting them together, but if I’m in the mood for some killing, then I demand instant gratification.

Then there’s “Viva Pinata: Party Animals” (hereby known as VP:PA.) I kind of got bored with the original “Viva Pinata” and I did feel bad for trading it in when my time with it was up, simply because it was a gift from my dad and I tend not to take gifts from my father very lightly. I downloaded the demo for “Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise” and that sucked too.

But what drew me to VP:PA was the mini-game aspect. I like the idea of being able to play stupid little games that don’t get too tedious. I liked the mini-games in the “Pokemon Stadium” games and VP:PA did not disappoint in that aspect. However, one irritating thing is that all of the pinatas in the game speak with some sort of accent which gets increasingly annoying as you progress through your series of mini-games. Also, from reading through the mini-biographies of the characters in the Instruction Booklet (yes, I am THAT girl,) I found that none of the characters are all that likable, while all of them are incredibly flamboyant, so I suppose what they lack in personality, they make up for in retina-melting camp.

~~~~~

Against my better judgement, I joined Loopt today. And by “against my better judgement” I mean that a co-worker talked me into downloading the Loopt App for my iPhone. At least it’s free. Even if I’ll hardly ever use it.

It’s bad enough that I’m on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter … do I really need yet ANOTHER social networking site to add to the list? I’m not that damn popular to begin with!

Hell, one of my last tweets was about a muscle spasm I had that caused me to punch myself in the face. Then again, I also do quite a bit of tweeting about “Halo 3,” which I’ve been playing quite a bit with friends lately. I’m still not a big fan of the game itself, but I do enjoy the online multiplayer.

~~~~~

It’s 5AM and I’ve finished my “homework” for the evening – downloading the Legendary Map Pack for “Halo 3,” and now it’s time for bed … or the more likely scenario, read more FourFour until my eyes start bleeding.

… on Photoshop, Mythbusters and the See-Tee-Gee

So I got bored tonight while watching “Mythbusters” on Netflix Streaming, when I realized that I wished my dad was Jamie Hyneman, or at least wore a beret and grew himself a walrus mustache. My friend Sean said that the sight of my father in a beret would be priceless.

So people, I give you this:

Dad + Jamie Hyneman from Mythbusters.

Then I was still bored … and came up with this:

Definitely turned my dad into a koala.

Yup, that’s my dad … as Jamie Hyneman from “Mythbusters” and as a koala.

And I totally posted them on Facebook and tagged him in them, so now the world can see my father … all photoshopped and awesome. Hell, I already turned one of my co-workers into GOD, turning my father into a koala wasn’t too much more difficult.

~~~~~

As I mentioned, I was watching “Mythbusters” a lot. Before that, I was watching the first three seasons of “Deadliest Catch.” Next up is “American Chopper.”

Back on the topic of “Mythbusters,” I am so all about Tory Belleci. And it’s also super hot that he worked on two of the “Star Wars” prequels, but I’ll forgive him for being a part of “The Phantom Menace.”

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — Netflix Streaming on my XBox will be my personal downfall. Even more so now that Anthony was generous enough to give me his XBox remote.

~~~~~

It’s that time of year again – the weekend of/before St. Patty’s Day usually kicks off the trooping season for me and the CTG. The parade was awesome. Lots of fun, met a new member and some folks from other garrisons, as well as seeing old buddies that I hadn’t seen in years.

This past Saturday was spent at an Aquarium convention … also with the CTG. I rode up with Prettypants, which is always a fun adventure. We don’t hang out as often anymore, but he’s still the super-goofy-awesome kid he’s always been.

~~~~~

I’m very much so looking forward to May 2-3rd, spent in New London/Mystic for Free Comic Book Day at Sarge’s and the Easter Seals Walk-With-Me at the Mystic Aquarium.

Sarge’s is always a blast.

It’s my anniversary event – three years ago, my first event as a member of the 501st was Sarge’s, where I met a bunch of people who would become like a second family to me, as well as a few non-members whom I’ve seen at various events over the past three years. And I definitely can’t wait to see them.

And maybe 2009 will be the year I find out the name of a certain comic book psychopath … whom I’ve seen at events and Sarge’s for the past three years …

~~~~~

Turdie is currently curled up in his little kitty nest, with his baby kitten blanket, (which has been dubbed, his “Soft-Soft,”) and is snoring quite loudly. He’s been very “loving” lately – following me around, crying all the time, constantly having to be either sitting on me, or immediately next to me.

When I wake up, since he wakes up before I do and is let out of the bedroom before I awaken, he plops himself at my bedroom door and cries until I wake up.

It feels really good to be loved … and it’s a nice feeling, knowing that someone misses you when you’re asleep, even though he’s a cat.