Drowning in Suburbia

So many ideas...

So little resoures. Or time. Or... initiative.

I have a post brewing in my mind that's been wanting to come out for a while... but it demands screen shots... from my XBOX. Seeing as how there is no easy way to do that (and let's be honest, taking photos of the television screen just doesn't give the quality I want) I will just have to put that idea on hold.

I wanted to do another post where I recap what I've been knitting in all my silence... but that would require getting everything together and photographing it. Two items of which have been gifted. I have to admit, I miss the days of unemployment where I had nothing better to do than photograph yarn and knit all day.

Now, it may sound like I'm a bit defeated, and in a way I am. I have ideas just not the oomph needed to get them down into a blog.

Does that mean I'm giving up? Nope.

Instead I'll just attack with what's been inspiring me lately:

I found myself walking up to work today, greeted by the sun and found myself saddened I wouldn't get to see sights like these in the morning again for quite some time. I'm no fan of getting up early, in fact I'm the kind of girl who completely enjoys sleeping for hours on the weekend. But there's something about seeing the sunrise that's just awe inspiring. It's just a shame my little iphone camera doesn't do justice... and the instagram app can only moderately reflect the awesome.

So yes... nature inspires! And in the meantime I ponder getting a video capture card for my brand new computer, continue to knit, and wonder when it is that I will find my writing muse again.

Not quite drunken rambling...

It occurred to me the other night (while I was slightly delirious on cold medicine) that since I have moved into my house with the boyfriend and our two roommates that I have worn earplugs to bed every single night. I never used to do this on a regular basis. Sure there was the odd occasional usage, but not every-damn-night. It's proved to be a rather strange thing but after about three and a half months, I'm pretty used to it.

However in my recent ongoing illness I conducted... get this... a top ten list for why I wear the earplugs. I apparently jotted it down on my phone. I'm pretty sure I was doped up on Sudafed and NyQuil at the time.

The thing you need to know about me to have any of this make sense is to know that while I'm not a total light sleeper... I need it to be practically dead quiet in order to fall asleep in the first place. Noises might wake me up, or they might not... but if they do and they persist... forget it, I will never sleep again.

So here it is! In all it's nighttime cough-syrup induced glory! I'm pretty sure I was getting sleepier as the list went on too.

10: My boyfriend snores. A lot. Loudly. Constantly. I wear them so I do not kill him.

9: The one roommate plays videogames on weekdays well past midnight. I'm usually up pretty late, but he even outlasts me! He's kind enough to turn the volume of the TV down... but he giggles. GIGGLES!!

8. Annoying Birds. SHUT UP WHEN YOU ARE RIGHT OUTSIDE MY WINDOW!!

7. Coyotes. See #8 for reason.

6 It gives me an excuse to turn the volume on my alarm on my phone on full blast. 7 AM CRICKETS MOTHER EFFERS!
(Not from that evening note: I use my iPhone as my alarm clock and use the cricket-noise ringtone. Apparently I like my cricket noise...?)

5. I... mentioned the snoring thing, right? (must...not...kill)

4. Roommates have a dog. We have hardwood floors in the entire house. Nuff said.

3. Everyone else's alarm clocks. I don't want to hear your beeping, radio, WHATEVER before I have to get up. Eff you all. CRICKETS!!!!

2. The wind. You can't keep me awake if I can't hear you, mother nature. Same goes for you thunder storms! Don't even try with the bright flashy lights, I have blackout curtains, bitch!

1. Let's see those spider bastards try and lay eggs in my brain now! HA HA!

... Ah, the wonders of NyQuil and lack of sleep.

Beating the dead horse

So, if anyone keeps an eye on me through twitter or message board I visit then this will come as no surprise to you but: I'm mad. No, not just mad, infuriated. (I'll calm down eventually)
And after some quick google searching and twitter browsing, it's nice to know I'm not the only one.

Why am I mad? Why... that's a simple easy answer and yet complicated all in one... NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics blows ass.

I don't think I really need to get into the details of their lovely tape delays for most events. Hell, I can even understand why they have such shitty coverage during their prime-time stuff. Commercials seemingly every 5 minutes, missing out on some performances/runs/etc from certain athletes, and most of all... the 3 hour giant "FUCK YOU" given to the entire country aside from the East Coast. Now...there's enough rants out there on the internet right now about the normal prime-time delay... and I agree completely with people who are ticked off as hell. I'm sorry NBC, this shit worked 12, 8...maybe even 4 years ago (I might even give you 2 for the last Summer Games!) But in this day and age of rampant twitter feeds, facebook, and general internet madness.. it doesn't work.

Now I'm not saying to NBC to change their prime-time shit... enough people have done that. But seriously... you guys have enough affiliate stations you reasonably could show the more "popular" sports on them live during the day and still come back to your bullshit 3-hours-late Prime Time showings and guess what? The people who "can't watch the Olympics during the day" would still watch it when they get home in the evening... and those that really are fanatic about it could see it live and I'd be willing to bet your ratings wouldn't be entirely devastated. But no... instead you give us live curling all the time on 3 different stations and ignore the rest of the games taking place until the evening. I'm not knocking curling (at least, not entirely), but seriously? I would have killed to been able to watch the Snowboard Cross event when it happened. Or, I dunno... the skiing events, the short track speed skating, etc...

Now... thankfully so far I've been able to watch the women's hockey games live... and the men's games I wanted to catch... so far. Including that giant "WHY IS THE USA/CANADA GAME NOT ON NBC PROPER BUT ON MSNBC?!?!" fiasco... which, I wasn't affected by, was sad to hear others were when it came to HD coverage... but then I found out that their moving it off the main station kept it so that we could ALL watch that game... at the same time.

And let me tell you now... there was nothing quite like the joy of screaming when Miller was making that series of insane saves ...and going "OH MY GOD, GET IT OUT OF THE ZONE!!!" and receiving a text from my friend over in Boston saying the exact same thing... at the same time I was yelling it. And finally when they won, practically jumping out of my chair at home with family... and receiving fanatical texts of "OMG WHOOOOO!!!!" from friends everywhere else in the country.

But I may not get to do that for ANY OTHER game Team USA plays. Instead... I'll have to avoid my non-west coast friends like just thinking of them will give me the plague. Because while they'll be watching the game as it happens, despite it actually taking place in my damn time zone, apparently I'll have to wait 3 hours for it. What. The. Fuck. As of right now... this includes the game for the Gold/Silver medals. Again, I repeat... What. The. Fuck.

Now I understand NBC can't comprehensibly show every single event live. They just can't realistically. But tape delaying the actual medal events (not the qualifiers, etc...) just seems... bad. Real bad. For ANY game, not just my beloved hockey. But admittedly... yeah, the men's hockey hurts the worst for me.

So Here's to hoping that they pull their heads out of their asses and somehow give us live coverage of the rest of the hockey games over here on the west coast... I think some of us would rather suffer without the HD footage than have to avoid the entire world for 3 hours straight. Some are speculating that if Team USA makes it into the Gold medal game, we'll see a similar switching around of stuff so that the people on the west coast don't march into NBC's offices with a bunch of torches and pitchforks. Or... would that be hockey sticks?

Come on NBC... I know you have offices located in Los Angeles... and if there's one thing I have learned and would love for you to do the same it is this: ... Drunken upset LA hockey fans alone are scary. Very. Scary. But you are tempting the ire of a combined force! I know I'd be terrified if Kings, Ducks and Sharks fans all rallied up against me and came knocking and that's just California. May want to think this tape delay stuff over... it's bad enough you've got every other sports' fans against you.

*insert some... motivational clip here with Mel Gibson as William Wallace's famous "FREEDOM!!!" yell here. Why? Because... my blog. I say so.*

Ok, I think I've gotten this out of my system. I may have another rant brewing in a little under two weeks, though. When I fly across country to Florida... on Southwest airlines (save me, Kevin Smith... you're my only hope!)

----

UPDATE as of 3:30 on Friday, Feb 26.

Well apparently NBC caught on to the fact they were pissing people off. I didn't know (I watched it streaming online), but apparently today's game was actually shown on Television live in all timezones.

And they announced during the game today that the Gold Medal game would be the same.

Sad thing is...this shouldn't be "news"... it should have been that way to start with. If someone can't catch a game live nowadays ...uhh Tivo or DVR to the rescue?

But either way... yay for live hockey! ...Now, if only NBC would update their schedule on the website to reflect this fact. ha ha.

Pointless rant on a pointless day

It's the 15th today, and thankfully no one has asked me about yesterday and what I did, so on... After all, I don't think "Sat around in my room all day watching women's hockey" is exactly the answer anyone wants to really hear. Not that the boy wasn't involved, he was there too, cheering for all the USA goals and even that one China one. Then later we cheered on Finland. But as for anything special? Hardly.

And why should it be? Because someone decided to randomly decide that February 14th needed to be a day to throw candy and flowers and dinners at the person you love to prove it? Ok granted, I did receive all the above... roses, check, little candies, check, and dinner to boot. But the roses were bought more because they were funny colored, the candies were little coffee-flavored hard candies rather than a cliche box of chocolates, and the dinner...well that was at the little local Mexican food place whose casual atmosphere is only one-upped by the local Sushi joint. Despite it being Valentine's day... I've had all these things happen randomly so it didn't feel... I dunno, over the top. It was done in the way WE do things and if you ask me...the flowers were sweet but entirely unnecessary.

I didn't like Valentine's Day when I was single and even though I've been in a long standing relationship... I still don't care for it. Hell, I was more excited about Guild Wars celebrating Chinese New Year with a cute little in-game event than I was the "Hallmark Holiday".

I always can't help but think of my single friends who take the day to feel horrible too. And I think that's why I hate the day. Every day you're with a person you love (romantic or family or friends), is a day to show them that you care for them! Giving gifts should be a random gesture, not done because a day says so. So really all that's left is Valentine's Day being a day to remind single people they are such and rub their faced in it, it seems. And... it sucks.

Maybe the 15th should be declared "Singles Day"? Hell, make it the 13th so its a preemptive strike! Buy stuff for your single buddies, take THEM out to dinner. Something...

Or maybe we should just say to hell with the whole thing? I hate seeing my friends bummed out, either way. But thank god it's over... for this year, at least.

The great internet extravaganza.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around it (or maybe that's just the post-con-party-thing cold I've caught), but somehow, someway, the internet crossed over into real life. No, it really did! I have the (now infamous) pictures to prove it!

So sometime last year the forums I have been somewhat a part of/spoken to people from/lurked on/etc.. for the better part of their existence celebrated their 10 year anniversary. To commemorate this event it was decided, hey...let's get together at Dragon*Con. Somewhere in my infinite wisdom I agreed, and even more so, nodded approvingly and planned accordingly to extend my trip to a post-con "Alabama Rave".

I can honestly say I wasn't sure what to expect from the trip. After all, the vast majority I didn't really know, some were people I've talked to for 8+ years (which basically means they dealt with me all through my teenage life...and they still talk to me: bonus!), and some who had recently become among the few that I counted as close "far away" friends. I honestly expected a lot of awkward silence and fidgeting, this was a group of Star Wars nerds, after all.

What actually happened? A week full of amazing memories I will cherish for a VERY long time and about 12 new friends made. Dragon*Con in itself wasn't "amazing", I've been to San Diego Comic Con too many times to be baffled by the whole convention scene anymore...but I must admit it did feel a bit more consumer-friendly/run rather than the corporate giants going "lookit what we have for you!". I even managed to get into a Battlestar Galactica panel by only showing up about a half hour before it started - THAT would never happen at SDCC.

The real fun came with just hanging out, meeting, and getting to know an amazing group of people over the course of a week. Eat, Drink, and Be Merry...couldn't have been more true. Each day was a new experience and each one flew by in a flurry of laughter, alcohol, and good times.

So, rather than trying to post summaries of each day for an entire week...maybe I can just list some highlights. And yes, this will pretty much accurately describe the pure madness that was felt the entire time:

• Hilton room 2447 - The Party Place. Glad I was staying there, it meant less work to crash when the madness ended for an evening. Doctor Horrible Goggles, lazy phone lightsaber fight, watching the masquerade on the TV, Captain Kirk is Climbing a Mountain! (Why is he climbing a mountain?),Chris giving me rum, the infamous photo op, Peter Panning, lampshade on heads, random steam punk people!
  
  
• Aquarium - HOLY SHIT GIANT FISH. Honest. The Georgia Aquarium blew my mind. Manta Rays, "Jedi Juice", 3 effin Whale Sharks!, amazing costumes, fishhhhhiesss!!
  
  
• BSG Party - Boo to Jenny not getting alcohol. Tigh puppet, tons of 6s, pilot costumes, fancy auctions, crazy dancing, cylons!
  
  
• Post-Con Alabama Rave - Charley is an awesome cook and him and Christin were great hosts! SARS #4, Senator Horse, ORDER OF THE SCORPION!, fireflies!, amazing...amazing food: tongue and alligator and constant-bliss. Oh my. No end to drunken shenanigans (don't say shenanigans again), Slutty Half-Zeltrons for all!, FOODGASM at the fancy restaurant with fancy bathrooms, jumping off of decks, Liz dancing, Nerf War 2!

I'm sure I'm forgetting things... but these would be the highlights for me. I can't wait until the next get together which now won't be so much as "meeting people from the internet" as "getting to spend time with my friends again". I like that change, I like it a lot.

Oh...and that infamous picture I keep mentioning?

Right here, buddy.

Comic Con, not just about men in tights!

The very name "Comic Con" I think conjures up a variety of images for people. To those that have been there it can mean a variety of things: Endlessly waiting in a line to get Stan Lee's autograph, endlessly waiting in line to get that exclusive figure, endlessly waiting in line to get into that one panel you really want to see, endlessly waiting in line to get into the restaurant to finally get your food and drink on, etc...etc. To those that haven't been there, well I suspect the images are more of a bunch of freaks in costumes who all have asthma and talk with a slight lisp thanks to their retainers. Okay, so those people aren't quite off the mark either. But with over 100,000 people there on any given day, trust me, it brings out all sorts. The anime geeks, the star wars nerds, the comic elitists, even the film students. So I guess really what my point here is that while it may have started out as a comic convention... Comic Con really has expanded into just a giant gathering of entertainment. Video games, movies, TV shows, comics, graphic novels, even just normal old books, toys, even equipment to create all the above!

Shit, I'm rambling huh? Well I guess that almost can accurately reflect the sheer madness that is Comic Con. So what does SDCC mean to me? It can pretty much be summed up by this: Buying my Living Dead Dolls, stalking a few artists I respect, spotting a few actors, buying whatever books are my fancy at the moment and misc useless figures, making fun of those in horrid costumes while respecting the work put into the good ones, gawking/giddiness over the next big video game or movie or show that I am interested in, and above all else, getting out of LA for a day or two and getting drunk off my ass in San Diego with my boyfriend/friends.

It started out the first year the LDDs did their exclusive there, it was the Blue Eggzorcist and me and the boyfriend decided to just hop on by on Friday one year. Amateurs. We parked almost 3 miles away, I was wearing flip flops and we were by no means prepared for what happened. Little by little over the years we've learned. Get there early, nap in car, drive home later that day (which gave into staying the night, then two nights, and so on). We've added in trips to Sea World and the San Diego Zoo in there too. This last year we went Thursday and Friday, drove home Saturday. Worked out great, didn't overstay my welcome and got home with enough weekend to recuperate before Monday.

Where else but SDCC?

Now all this was supposed to lead back to how Comic Con isn't just about the comics and relate to the funny story of when I came across the guy younger than me bitching up a storm about how Comic Con wasn't about comics anymore with this over elitist attitude...while he was standing in line for the Dexter panel... but the more I thought about it it the less I want to give that jerk any real recognition (more than I've already done) and the more I want to remember waiting in line for a BAG only to have them run out when we got to the booth, me being overly giddy about the Bioshock 2 and Castle Crashers booths, getting something painted by Ben Templesmith, having my photo taken with Adam Baldwin while wearing my Jayne shirt, and getting so drunk I don't remember most of Friday night. Yep. Comic Con...it's not about comics... it's about pure EFFING MADNESS. And I love it.

Despite looking grumpy as hell, EJO was actually uber nice... As was Ben Templesmith (Thanks again for the painting of Phoebe!) Never made it to that Dexter panel, bailed on it because the line was huge, but did manage to see some props over at the booth!

See ya next year, San Diego!

How I found God in a 3.0 FL Oz tube (no, not really)

I would first like to apologize as this entry is being fueled by rum. That means a lot of cursing will probably happen and well...nonsense. But it's RUM. RUMMMM. Nature's Candy, don't you know? (Or was that beets? - heaven help you if you get that reference) But you get a picture at least, right? RIGHT? Oh screw it, I know my drunken photography skills aren't that awesome. This is a shame to the few product shots I have done and I know it. But every little bit helps, I suppose.

So this all started out sometime last year in my epic quest of Irish-heritage pastyness to find "the perfect sunscreen". You see...my skin is white. I'm not talking about just "white" I mean...WHITE, White...been called "Powder" and compared to paper, ok?

I've come close a few times. Bath and Body Works had this awesome SPF 50 thing that smelled like oranges and was wonderful as SIN until they discontinued it. I still own about 5 bottles of it because I found it on clearance and couldn't help myself...even knowing that as a sunscreen passed it's expiration date it wasn't as affective. SCREW IT, even if it somehow gets reduced down to SPF 15 I'll still bathe in the stuff - it's that wonderful. But I digress...

Last year I discovered Neutrogena's "Ultra Sheer" SPF 70. I wore that bitch to the beach every damn time I went and you know what? No sunburn. No greasy feeling. I was in heaven.

Maybe I should stop here and roll back a bit and explain WHY this is such a huge deal to me. Yes, I mentioned I'm white, like uber white. What I failed to mention was the fact that I have experienced numerous sunburns. Now, not the "Oh, you look like a lobster" and it hurts for a few days sunburns... I'm talking full blown sun poisoning, blisters the size of half-dollars, don't make any fucking plans for a few days - sunburns. The last time I got burned I couldn't feel a good patch of my crispified skin and ended up going to the hospital. You starting to understand this better now? No? Then you probably never will. For the rest of you... let's move on.

Sunscreen is important to me. I AM one of those psychos that wears SPF 15 (at least) every damn day and so the thought of going outside...standing in the sun (which actually does cause a great deal of discomfort if I'm not distracting myself with some sort of activity)... well, that's truly terrifying to me. So Summer and I have always had a love-hate relationship. I get to go swimming (which I LOVE), but am often forced to either coat myself in sunscreen every hour or wear a giant white shirt...or both (which I HATE). So discovering that SPF 70 last year was a dream come true...until I saw a commercial on the TV yesterday.

I work in marketing, specifically I MAKE ads...so all advertising to me is scrutinized and glared at. When it spoke of UBA and UBB rays I casually went "Yeah fuckers, I already know." but then it showed that magical, mystical number I had only dreamed of. SPF 100. Not just 100, but 100+. Being the proper American consumer whore I am when I found myself in Target today...I went 'Holy shit, I have to find it." And find it I DID.

Oh Lord, please let it live up to my fantasies.

Now...I haven't actually gotten a chance to test this bad boy out. I bought it tonight but I guarantee it'll be thrown into the line of duty (with that lovely SPF Orangey 50 as a back up if it sucks) this summer. I'll have to get back to you on how it works. But right now, it's earned a place in my "summer kit" and there it shall stay until it has proven itself unworthy. I have joked and waited for my SPF 100 for years. YEARS. And now it is in my hands and I REFUSE to be dissatisfied by it.