Test
This is a test blog post. This is only a test.
However, you may be interested to hear that this is a test from my new
iPhone! 
September 20, 2009
This is a Dark Game
You’ll probably laugh at me, but The Sims 3 made me cry last night. I’m sure it had something to do with my female hormone fluctuations, but regardless, it was rather upsetting to see my “sim me” age well before her time. She had made it to the end of her athletic career, but was four skill points short of her lifetime goal (Golden Tongue, Golden Fingers: 8/10 guitar and 8/10 charisma). Granted, she can change her lifetime wish and quite possibly fulfill it, but it seems too depressing. Who wants to watch a rock star granny?
I took a video of her getting engaged (although she didn’t get married or have kids) and of her final “birthday.” Since she wasn’t looking forward to aging, I opted to not throw her a party. Instead, she was playing guitar in the park for tips when she went from pretty to muumuu.
It made me reflect on my life and wonder how many things I want to do but will ultimately never accomplish. I’m going to be 27 soon, and at the rate I’m going, I don’t see my life as anything special. There are things in my life that I enjoy that I have put on hold. For one, I’d really love to be in a band again, but I feel like I don’t have time. I’ve always wanted to have an MBA, but I don’t like the expensive and difficult process of going back to school. I thought I’d be married by now, since a lot of my friends are married and/or pregnant, but I don’t feel ready for that. How old will I be before I have kids, if I even get to have kids? I feel like my time is slipping by and I’m not doing enough with it.
While that all is depressing, I do have to give myself credit for one thing. Despite feeling like there was no hope, I did weigh in only 1 pound higher than my initial goal weight this morning. Since December, I’ve lost over 20 pounds. The changes I’ve made in my life feel more permanent than anything else. I enjoy working out (to a certain extent, at least) with my workout videos and rollerblading. I get a sense of accomplishment from tracking my calories, and I don’t feel like I have to eat as much as I once did. It hasn’t been an easy road by any means, but I did set out for it and do it. I don’t have any plans to discontinue my current activities or habits, so who knows. Maybe I’ll get into even better shape than I was in high school.
On the more good news front, I may finally be able to pick up my Eclipse today after work. The mechanic has had it for a full month now. Granted, he’s fixing a massive list of problems. Since I got cold feet on buying a new Nissan Altima Coupe (I didn’t want to say goodbye to my current car), I got all of the problems I could think of fixed.
- Engine mounts
the initial reason for bringing it in - Water pump leak
caused by the engine mounts wearing down - Fuel door pop
would release but not pop the door open so I had to wedge something in the release and go around to pry open the door - Driver’s side windshield fluid sprayer
one of the two nozzles sprayed directly onto the hood - Air conditioning
compressor needed replacing - Power locks relay x2
power locks would not unlock the door but would turn on/off the alarm; the first time he replaced it, it failed within a few days; mechanic thinks because it was getting wet, so he’s moving it - Moonroof seal
my car would pee on me when it rained because the seal had been distorted - Driver’s side door handle
mechanic broke it off
Needless to say, it won’t be cheap, but with a little luck, my car will run almost like new for quite a while after this.
Feeling: So very, very old
Listening to: Aerosmith – Cryin’
June 18, 2009
Testing Out Windows Live
Windows Live
So I saw all the silly commercials for Windows Live, but I thought, “Why would I want to use some Microsoft program for that when I’ve already got Google (picasa, gmail, blogger, etc.)?” Well, the answer was clear: 25 GB of space per account.
Google’s Picasa software is very easy to use and intelligent. But 1 GB of space already has me wary about uploading any more photos. Despite not even using 1 GB (of a total of 7 GB) of my email space, it’s encouraging me to pay for more web space hosting. I’m not a fan of that.
The other thing I’m liking about Windows Live is it makes it very easy to switch between “linked” accounts. It’s pretty obvious that I have two Gmail accounts. One is for friends (real people) and one is for companies (not real people). Excellent spam filter or not, I still care about an email from any real person a lot more than an email telling me there’s a sale at some department store.
So, here I am trying out the blogging software, which claims it can upload to blogger. I don’t know if I’ll stick with it, but I’ll be sticking with the “Skydrive” (what they call your 25 GB) for photos so long as I can figure out a way to feed it into my photos page on kabby.net.
Shed
My family is in the final stages of getting a shed-well, a barn-put in our backyard. It’s a much more arduous process than it should be, thanks to permits and digging restrictions in addition to the normal foundation requirements. Yesterday, we spent most of the morning and some of the afternoon shoveling 5,000 pounds of limestone into a dirt square in the backyard and trying to level it. Yesterday evening and this morning, my back reminded me that I’m not a kid anymore.
Bunnies
To those of you who haven’t heard yet, Jonathan now has 2 lively young bunnies. Despite their naughty behavior, he has no plans to eat them. I visited and took way too many photos of them, which you can see in the album linked above. For what it’s worth, I’m impressed with the album linking feature in the Windows Live Writer.
Rollerblading
Yes, it’s true, I’ve tried to take up rollerblading again. I’ve gone with Renee a few times, and I had a lot of fun, despite having issues stopping. I decided my 15 year old skates needed a bit of a tune up, so I bought some new bearings. WOW, did that make a difference. They were like completely different skates. They actually felt a lot like my ice skates, which I’m comfortable with.
Best of all, changing the bearings made it a ton easier to stop, oddly enough. You’d think with new bearings, the skates would just be faster and harder to control, but that’s not the case. The skates are faster, sure, but they’re also not unpredictable like they used to be. The problem I had with braking the normal way was I couldn’t keep my balance very well. That was because braking means balancing on one foot, which is hard to do when the skate is rolling at an unpredictable pace (bad bearings cause your wheels to lock up). That was the best $40 (had to buy a $12 tool, too) I have spent in a long time.
Feeling: Sore
Listening To: Pink – Mean
June 7, 2009
So Much and Yet So Little
Driscoll Catholic, my high school, is closing at the end of this year. I’m shocked and very saddened, as if I could get any sadder at this point. The people, the building, the memories; all of it feels so much further away now. I remember the auditorium, where I felt so at home. The prop room backstage where I signed my name on the wall in marker, where so many others had signed before me, some of whom have already left this world. I remember the hallways, and how I felt like I knew every little corner of every room. I remember the ugly carpets and the putrid-smelling vacuum cleaners. I can’t imagine never being able to go back to see how it has changed.
I want to remember forever, but I know I won’t. I want to think that this doesn’t change anything, but I can’t escape the feeling that it will.
…And yet this is just one of the many things that is causing me grief lately. Combine that with the cutbacks at All Tile. Throw in some dashed hopes of having a dog. Mix well. Top with a general feeling of misdirection in life. This is not exactly the cake I was looking for.
Feeling: Depressed
Listening to: Kelly Clarkson – Irvine
2 comments April 2, 2009
An Open Letter to RIM, Apple and Others
Today’s technology is a giant open door for possibility. The capability of all these new gadgets is astounding, and yet I’m remarkably disappointed.
Call me a cynic, call me picky, but I am drastically unimpressed by the iPhone and Blackberry Storm. I want to like them. Hell, I want to be obsessed with them. The fact of the matter is, I haven’t even bought one, because they don’t understand what is important.
I keep my important gadgets with me at all times. This includes my digital camera, iPod, and phone. I wish I could still use my old PDA, but it’d be just too much to carry around. This starts to hit on the important point: it should not be necessary to have four gadgets to do the job of one or two.
Granted, to make a camera as nice as my Canon, you’d need a rather large, heavy gadget. It’d need a zoom lens and a few easy-to-use buttons that just don’t make sense on a phone. This is why I don’t care if my gadget has a camera; it can’t possibly hope to replace a good point-and-shoot with where technology is today.
On the other hand, it’s just a matter of software to add easy personal organization apps, like contacts, calendar, to do and such. Blackberries and iPhones seem to handle this aspect fairly well, since email is one of the key features that draws people to those gadgets. As for my iPod, the calendar feature is laughable with no to do list. It’s massively limited by the miniscule number of buttons, and this makes it utterly useless when it comes to being a personal organizer. Since this is the one gadget I carry that has the most “disk” space, it makes the most sense to double as an organizer, but its self-induced physical limitations are too great.
Getting right down to it, this is what I (and quite possibly, many others) am really looking for when it comes to what is being coined as a “smart phone”: some gadget that can effectively do the job of two or more other gadgets. As I mentioned, the technology isn’t there to replace the camera, but there should be no problem combining a 30GB iPod, an old-school PDA and a phone. Since the largest iPhone is a disappointing 16GB, it can’t possibly replace my nearly-full 30GB iPod. Plus, I am doubtful that the onscreen keyboard entry system is sufficent for personal organization needs.
What do I want? I’ll tell you. I want it to sync calendar, email, contacts and to do lists with my home computer. I want it to be easy to input text, either via querty keyboard or voice recognition (speech-to-type) software. I want it to be at least 30GB, but probably more like 120, to completely replace my iPod. I want GPS to tie in to a mapping software. I don’t even care if it’s a phone, although that doesn’t seem like a big addition anymore.
So, like I said, call me picky, but unless you’re able to replace at least two of my current gadgets, you’re not getting any purse real estate for being “smart.”
December 4, 2008
Prep for Halloween
I’m really excited about Halloween this year. I’m going to be dressing as Dr. Cameron from the TV show House. I’ve already produced her name tag, pictured at right, which is based on the glimpse of her name badge in some promotional photos. Her fan site, JMorrisonFan was immensely helpful in finding pictures to base my costume off of and to make the badge art.
You’ll notice that I modified the badge slightly from the one in the promotional photos. First off, I changed the picture. The one in her real ID is what you’d expect an ID photo to look like – UGLY and barely recognizable. Since this is one of the most identifying parts of my costume, I chose a picture of her that people will recognize from the show. I chose not to use a photo of myself in costume because (a) I don’t have the rest of the costume yet and (b) that will make the costume quite a bit harder to identify. I also changed the text a little bit to add her first name. “Dr. Cameron” makes the name badge appear more fake. How many people have a name tag with no first name? I also added an “M.D.” at the top before “Immunology” so I could remove the “Dr.” from the name entirely.
To make the actual tag, I printed the image on my printer and bought some big, glossy GBC SelfSeal Laminating pouches that worked extremely well. Between that and my trusty personal paper trimmer, the rest was cake. After laminating, which was as easy as applying a sticker, I just trimmed the edges and used scissors to round the corners. I made the slit in the top using the paper trimmer and shoved the name tag clip through that. I had an extra one of those lying around from miscellaneous trade shows.
Last but not least today, I purchased a $20 twill lab coat off of amazon.com. I had no idea lab coats could be so inexpensive. I should wear it more often!
Next on the agenda is to make a pill bottle label for “Dr. House,” i.e., Jonathan. I’m thinking it should be somewhat traditional, but the word Vicodin should stand out a little more, since that’s a key to identifying his costume as well.
Feeling: Excited, Happily Busy
Listening to: Kelly Clarkson’s Cover of Aerosmith – Cryin’
October 9, 2008
Major Update #5
I guess it’s time for a “Major Update,” since I haven’t posted one of those in a year. Plus, I was surprised to learn that some people actually read this. I can’t disappoint on my promise of Yearly Muffins.
[Boyfriend]
Jonathan and I are still together, and we just celebrated our 1-year anniversary. We’re headed to the Hamilton House Bed & Breakfast this weekend, which should be every bit as wonderful as it has always been. The rooms are gorgeous (the Pierre Renoir room at right is what I based my room redecoration on), and the atmosphere is so peaceful. We also have tickets/reservations at the Fireside Dinner Theater in Whitewater, WI. The show, called Anything Goes!, is likely to be pretty lame, but the food last time was absolutely wonderful, and completely worth it.
[WoW]
I had quit playing WoW for about 9 months, but then I picked it back up again. I haven’t raided in over a year – that just took way too much time and effort – and I don’t plan on raiding again. Instead, Jonathan and I do things like 5-person heroic instances and quests that don’t require you to be on a “WoW work schedule.” I feel better about it, and it doesn’t have significant control of my life like it used to. What really got me to come back are the additions they’ve made to in-game fishing. With the new quests and rewards, it’s a fun, casual experience to partake in. I get my daily dose of current WoW fishing gossip at the El’s Anglin’ site & its forums.
[Car]
My ’97 Eclipse is still running. I’m driving it for as long as I can. I’m going to have a hell of a time ditching that car for a new one, especially after Tony installed my awesome car stereo (from the Corolla) in it. I remember when I bought that stereo, I thought, “What on earth would you want an auxiliary input for? Playing your guitar over your car stereo?” Now I don’t think I’d buy a car without one.
[Job]
I’m still working at All Tile. This past February, I was in Las Vegas for the annual Surfaces show for the fourth time. We have our busy times and our slow times, that’s for sure.
[Pets]
After Chris (aka Fishy #3) took his final excursion down the watery pipe of eternity, I have not gotten any formal house pets. However, we’re never without wild mammal company. My parents have taken to feeding not only birds and squirrels, but also cats. The first cat that frequented our porch we called “Fluffy.” She would regularly sit up straight and watch the door to wait for us to feed her. Fluffy, we found out, was a girl, after she had shown up very pregnant on our porch. 
Sure enough, a month later, two kittens arrived on our porch with Fluffy. As it was the dead of winter by this point, my family and I arranged for a “catch, neuter, release” specialist to come by and trap the cat family to get them fixed. After the trapping ordeal was over, my friend Nicole housed them until they were ready to go to their final indoor homes with her extended family. We would have taken them in ourselves, but unfortunately I’m severely allergic to cats. The allergy specialist I saw told me I’d develop asthma if I kept a cat. 
After the Fluffy family was gone, a black cat took reign over our porch. He (we presume it’s a he) has trouble walking some days, but he seems to get to the food just fine. Also, our attic seemed to have attracted the attention of a raccoon, who thought it would be a great idea to dig through our roof to get inside. He managed to escape through our attic fan, but since then, we’ve kept an animal trap in the attic. This trap, filled with cat food, has caught two very scared and confused squirrels, who were promptly relocated to a distant park.
Feeling: Hopeful.
Listening to: Jo Dee Messina’s Greatest Hits CD. There isn’t much hope for me.
April 9, 2008
Parents Bought a Sienna
My parents bought a 2007 Toyota Sienna LE tonight. I was there… and it took two and a half hours. The warranty room was by far the most high-pressure sales situation I’ve been in lately. It was insane. I’m glad that’s over with, at least.
July 23, 2007
Panda Bears Banished from the Bedroom
You heard right. The panda bears have been permanently removed from my bedroom, as has been the atrocious disintegrating red carpet. The redecoration process has been a very long and arduous task, but I received a lot of help from Jonathan, my parents, and even the folks at All Tile. If you’re curious, we used Benjamin Moore paint on the walls (color: Evening Sky) and ShawMark Anything Goes! Smooth & Silky carpet (color: Mirror). Underneath the carpet is a rubber underlayment from Sponge Cushion called Full House. The trim and ceiling paints were left over from other interior paint jobs in our house.
There’s still some work left to be done, but none of the remaining tasks are much more than weekday night projects (as opposed to removing wallpaper, painting, getting carpet installed and whatnot). I’d like to replace the closet doors with mirrored doors, replace the main door and replace the window treatments. After all this, there should be absolutely no remnants of my former room, heh.
Feeling: Exhausted, just from writing about all we did.
Listening to: Dixie Chicks – Cold Day in July
July 17, 2007
Really Radical Room Redecoration
Jonathan helped tremendously with the cleaning, redecorating and redesigning my room. The pictures (in slideshow at right) say a lot. Together, we cleaned out & removed the entertainment center, cleaned out under my bed, moved the existing bookshelf (took help from Dad and a 2-wheel dolly as well), added in another shelving unit, cleaned out my closet, moved my bed, installed a wall-mounted nightstand/shelf, rearranged my desk, and did a lot of vacuuming. I bought a new duvet cover and a matching throw pillow, which I think added a lot to the room as well.
I still have quite a few plans for my room. My new Westinghouse 32″ LCD Flat Panel HD TV (SK-32H240S) (pictured at left) is coming in on Friday, and we’ll be wall mounting it above my bookshelf. We’ll also be painting (Benjamin Moore in Blue Heron), laying new carpet (ShawMark Smooth & Silky in Mirror), replacing my dresser with one from my grandma’s old guest room, replacing my closet doors with mirror doors, and getting new window treatments. At least, that’s the plan. I’m so busy over the next few weeks, I’m not sure when it’s all going to happen.
The past 3 weekends, Jonathan and I have seen each other. He came out here this past weekend (when we worked on my room and went to La Strada and Maggiano’s). The weekend before that (Memorial Day weekend), I went to his place and then we drove up to Philiadelphia for his friends’ wedding (at which I took over 200 photos). The weekend before that, he came to visit me and we just hung out.
This coming weekend, Renee, Michelle and I are going to northern Wisconsin to a house that Renee and her dad have been building. It doesn’t have hot water yet (frown), but at least it does have running water, electricity and plumbing. It should be a relaxing getaway weekend… that is, if my allergies magically disappear.
Feeling: Extremely full from having eaten two amazing dinners this weekend.
Listening to: the Meow Mix commercial (yes, it’s on my iPod) hehe
June 4, 2007
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