How many words can a squirrel say?

Well, that depends.

But I'm sure all the squirrels currently rampaging unchecked around my yard (thanks for all the holes guys) will agree that there is a definite trend in Fantasy that has for the past five years been getting me down.

Sad face!

It is the death of the trilogy!

Indeed it's true, the trilogy may follow the sagely one shot into the realm of myth soon with so many epics going on even when there's no need to. Am I saying no to all epics? Nope, I'm a Erikson fan to the end even when the writer in me rails at the complete lack of semblance to a normal flowing plot. (That stream of consciousness style of his is great for long mornings on the deck, only memory required and coffee, lots of coffee.) At some point I'll read a Song of Ice and Fire when Martin stops pissing me off by saying stupid crap about Lovecraft. Heck Glenn Cook's Black Company series (highly recommended) is epic fiction all the way. But when you pick them up you know that instantly. No surprises, no shock, no decade long waits not knowing really why.

Some stories need only 1 blook, 1 volume to tell it all fully and to satisfaction. Some need 2 like the Promethean Man books. Others need 3 and trilogies are great and fun and long enough where if I like the world I don't mind reading them all to the exlusion of all others.

But some worlds do end at the final page of book1, 2, or 3. Whether people are loathe to give up the place they are comfortable to write in or publishers would rather keep 1 world that already has an audience and will need less of a push to sell I can't say. As an outsider looking in all I know is there is a definite feel to a book that is stretched too thin, a book that really could never live up to the originals, the ones that hooked me in the first place.

Worlds end be they at book 1 or book 10. Just take me along for the ride and say goodbye quietly and succinctly. Sometimes nothing is as sweet than to see on the final page the end.

The Summer is stealing my internets!

Yes indeed. With the warm weather comes the unavoidable "To do" list. So I've really done nothing but fight my annual war with the weeds, wonder who's going to buy the house next door (and now that I know I want to move), write, level my Druid who is my new favorite character of all time (Rawr I'm a bear!), and look at all my books but not have the time or energy to read one.

Then along came overtime. What with the pool of doom needing financing I threw on my poly-awesome work clothes and sat for 8 hours reading a book.

It was glorious!!!

The Bell at Sealy Head by Patricia McKillip was just what I needed to jump back into reading. (Truth be told reading Steven Erikson's Toll the Hounds took alot out of me. Sometimes that series is just brutal and I need to hold something nice and cuddly afterwards. I'm sure Jupitor is less amused than I am about the whole thing.)

It was like reading a fairy tale without the weirdo stuff. There was talk of books in the book (a sure way to keep me hooked) and most of all there were characters. Not names but actual characters you could tell apart instantly from the text, characters I rooted for and ones who I boo'd at quietly. I wouldn't say the story of a house within a house and worlds trapped within other worlds spoke to the child in me but I was hooked, came home exhausted and stayed up to finish reading it.

Some books I get from the library I love and then ship them back off to the home. Some I stop after a few chapters and just go bleh. Some I stop because I want to buy them and read them again. The Bell at Sealy Head will be purchased because I think when the fall comes and I am once again stuck in my house on a cold rainy November afternoon the people in that little coastal town will help the day and night fly by.

In short I recommend it! Highly! Ooooooo pretty book!

Nicities first

Where were you when you met Cthulu?

I was in Back Bay station trying to not kill the Amtrack driver that was blowing a ridiculously loud horn in a very cramped narrow platform. There, bundled up like some tragic hobo (my fashion sense never does get any better btw) I read against the column about Cthulu and the wonders of the Necronomicon. {Lovecraft is great once you get past the stylized 80 year old writing.}

It seemed like such a pleasant idea that day when I was sure my hearing was gone once the train took off to think of Cthulu waiting at the end of the tunnel to eat the stupid engine car.

I wonder where these guys were when they first discovered the Great Old Ones?

Getting there

I've always like research. Though the topics tend to bounce from things like epic poems to WW1 planes and aeronautic technology (how more people didn't die is a plain miracle IMO), from kendo to gardening.

The more I work and the more effort and time I put into my writing I've started taking it much more seriously. Its still a hobby but now that Warcraft is indefinitely on hold it is my primary one. (The gym and hiking aren't hobbies, they are tools that keep me sane.) So I've been researching.

More than the AW forums I've been reading agent, editor and writer blogs. Other than the obvious leaning towards LiveJournal by nearly the entire community I've been stunned by the sheer amount of words people manage to write. The average daily seems to be around 5K.

More than anything I'm stunned by the sheer amount of output. I thought getting 7-10K a week was fast paced. Admittedly getting 35K is just all kinds of daunting. Now some of them don't have other jobs and have to write as it is their only way to feed themselves and whatever minions they have (we writers always have minions - all of mine are asleep at the moment).

I think in this respect I'm lucky. My day job gives me the security of never having to explain the concept of missing meals to my ducklings and at the same time gives me the opportunity to write. If I can get 30K a month then I foresee all kinds of wordy shenanigans. Now to get cracking, time is awastin'!

Pick your Posion

Now there are a lot of "Cons" in the world. There is ComicCon, DragonCon, ReaderCon, ect. If you know what any of them are then you are a geek. (Better yet you already know that and accept it as part of your DNA.)

But did you ever wonder how geeky you were? Well there's this charty thing that can help! Observe:

Click to read and pick where you belong.

While this is an excellent graph-thing it is missing some categories like those who listen to Alestorm or people who actually build their own airship goggles (not that I've thought about it, nope not me).

So, where do you rank?

(FYI It's a great confidence boost to at least be higher than a furry!)

(Chart by Lore Sjöberg)

Who do you believe in?

(*Be forwarned I'm procrastinating writing the final moments of a very tough scene and I don't feel like getting emotional before work - after work while waiting for rugby is a completely different story. So presenting the rambles!)

Perhaps it's just the circle of friends I have but occasionally the topic of superheroes comes up. This of course covers comics and everything else under the sun. So I present:

The Evolution of My Heroes.

Around the time I was 12 I saw 2 movies that definitely started out my Hero worship. Before then I really liked the Batman tv show and read some Spidey and Batman comics but I also read the Children's Encyclopedia cover to cover so I think at first I liked the words more than the men they were about. Then came The Crow and Wyatt Earp. In 1994 my world twisted a bit. I liked each for different reasons but in the end they don't let evil (and that is what both were fighting) go unanswered even if their methods could be considered morally questionable. When people called one of these a 'murderer' I, in my 12 year old glory would get royally mad and list of people on his side who had been off'd. For good or bad the very gray area they sit in on the chart of morality is interesting to me.

When the superhero movies first started to come back most people (some in my circle included) were enamored with Spiderman. Don't get me wrong, web slinging through NYC would be pretty freaking sweet but he lacks the Grrrness I like in my Superheroes. Enter the next Gen (or the Old Guard I guess since everything is kind of circular) Wolverine and Himura Kenshin.

Wolverine is just all kinds of awesome. Case closed.

Kenshin, especially in the manga is very much aware of what he is and what he has done. Reading it is like watching a great white shark domesticate itself. He's learning how to live with people and how to live with Kenshin. Very tragic stuff at the core but in the end still some of the coolest stuff I had read/watched by my late teens and early 20's. (You get a sense of this from the Samurai X movies but that is really the before picture and manga is the aftermath.)

So that leaves just the late 20's. Who do I root for now? Well, Iron Man for one. I read a good chunk of the comics in Jr. High and loved them. The movies? Awesome and anyone who can blow shit up with a flick of a wrist gets major bonus points on the Hero chart. I really can't wait to see how they work out the cluster^%$# that is the Avengers. (Sorry, I have issues with Captain America.) Tony Stark is morally tortured character with anger issues. I'm really interested to see if they touch on what him so interesting to me in Iron Man 2 (shiny suit aside, ooo shiny.)

My other hero is Karsa Orlong. 99.9% of the world have never heard of him but his all kinds of "In you face" awesome. He's a character in the Malazan Books of the Fallen and he is right now smashing his way through that world in a fury that would make even the Hulk jealous. Is he a hero in the sense of the others stated and anyone your mind can bring up? No. He's a hero like Beowulf is a hero. The kind of hero who's an ass but who also rips off your arm and beats you death with it. (That's Beowulf not Karsa, well not yet anways.) They take the world and make what they want, unapologetically. They are the very opposite of passive. In theory, on the page that's pretty freakin cool and yeah I cheer for Karsa and Beowulf every time they show up.

(FYI I still don't think Wyatt Earp was a murderer. I'm just sayin.)

Old Lady Alert!

Yes, I am an old lady.

/bow

/waves Sluggity at the kids in my yard with old lady menace

As a self professed luddite (seriously if Facebook didn't have Mahjong and Bejeweled on it I'd never log on) I tend to see things like wicked old word processors (the type that actually make sounds when you write, fabulous!) and think "OMG that's the greatest thing ever!" I remember as a kid I had a type writer (probably is still at the lake house actually) and I would write whatever my little mind could think of and if I actually managed to find a spelling error I'd pull the paper out, use an eraser and then try desperately to fit the paper back in to re-type. While this process made stories look like the machine was drunk at the time of publication I think still worked out.

See, that's nostalgia. That's something that if you tell to an 8 year old they'll squint at you and explain about the existence of Microsoft Word.

Now there are a bunch of virtual books out (the Kindle, the Reader, the Nook for instance). This might just be another example of my love for that old type writer but I don't care how many books you can upload onto one of those things, I'll stick with books. The pages, the weight of them, the presence they have all add to the reading experience.

People say "but its such a pain to carry the heavy things". Yeah cause your Danielle Steele book is so much heavier than my Steven Erikson epics that if I do clock someone with them that person is going down.

"But you can have so many."

On a good day I can actually read. Lately I haven't even done that but when I do its always one book at a time. True I do read linguistic texts together with fiction, short stories around the same time as novels but still there's only 1 open at a time. What do I need to carry around 100 for?

Maybe its the greenies who want to save trees. I like trees, I saved 2 last week.

Between libraries, apps, downloads and such the rest of the world is welcome to it. Me, I'm sticking with the books. Besides, when I fall asleep what do I want to hug a mini computer or a tome? Going with the cool cover of vicious man eating dogs.

Playing on Youtube

Well, my love for Youtube is never ending. One of the best things about it (besides watching awesome things like the snake eating rabbit) is the basically free music I can bookmark whenever I want. Music has been a focus for the past week mostly because I just got a great new mp3 player the Sansa View (a Sandisk thing).

Point #1: I hate I-pods. The device itself is fine (I call my little Nano Sqwiggles), the interface isn't hard for a luddite like me to use and the portability is great! But I-Tunes can go die in a fire. Anything that steals music that I had before I installed the program faces the wrath of me and that I'm told that is unpleasant.

(Now keep in mind that on my trip to Europe in high school I lugged around a cassette player and like 10 tapes along with my books, notebooks and other crap that is forever to be found in my backpacks both then and now.

It seems like I'm always behind the times when it comes to music technology. My first year at Northeastern I spent trying to find the best way to carry a taped up CD player around with out my giant history book of doom smashing it little itty bitty pieces.)

Point #2: Laziness. Yes, I am lazy. I don't like doing things over and over. I-pod needs recharging every freakin' day. The S-View? every week. Plus it's 4x the capacity and well, it looks cool.

It turns out I don't have enough music in my possesion to fill this little thing up so I goof around on Youtube and Grooveshark to listen and see if anything good and new catches my fancy. Suidakra I'm looking at you! New music is always fun but sometimes the classics can be even better.

Music that I've had since I was 18, that made its way from a tape, to a burnt CD is now on the S-View. Call me a geek but I really love my Final Fantasy Mix.

/Presses Play

I fell

off my god damned chair but it was so worth it!

Lol, freaking epic!

Ok, back to sorting the shelves...why do kitchens need so many cabinets? I'm convinced if I only had 1 I'd still have enough food. Well, maybe not what with the Tea Cabinet and all but still, there's stuff in there that I never bought!

(*Note to self, all roommates can keep their food somewhere else otherwise it gets left when I kick them out.)

Wanna Go?

They did.

Enjoy! :)

To Totem or not to Totem

Scenario:

Idea A is great, on its way to being finished (well the 1st draft), I am finally happy with the plot and my characters are growing up nicely.

Enter---Idea B. Flashy, fun and just too exciting for its own good Idea B is like the hot new game, I want to play it but I have a couple others I haven't even opened yet. Idea B, still in its infancy really is sitting, notes and all in the filing cabinet waiting impatiently for a turn at the wheel.

Ideas C likes to stay a neat but very undeveloped idea that is no where on paper, just in my head. Idea D is half finished and likely to stay that way until a convincing villain can be found. Idea E is the prequel to Idea A, partly in notes, a few scenes worked out in the mega folder but again most of the info is in my head and likely to stay there until it is needed.

So I really needed Idea F to come along and basically make out with all my inspiration for the past few days.

I blame the Oscars, it came along right as Brittany and I were doing a live commentary on the red carpet dresses of "OMG what were you thinking". Seriously though, with all this going around I don't think I'll have down time soon where writing is concerned. Nearly two and a half years in the making and Wrimo '08 (pathetically named Kept from the Light at the spur of the moment) might actually be gelling into a story. There is still so much work to be redone, written anew and huge crater like plot holes to be filled but the core of it is, I think, good.

As a kid I was always writing stories (horror, adventure, the odd out essay, and stuff), attempting to make up my own alphabet, writing free verse and never really gave any of it much thought. It was just something to do. I tried my hand at longer stories before when I first got into college with really little actual drive, it wasn't a focus just something to do.

Maybe I saw my life differently after I got better, maybe when I was hurt it affected me more than I realize but since then I've taken writing much more seriously. Two and a half years on one story that is right now about 170 pages long and unfinished. I still like my characters, I think my plot rocks and the original picture that started it all is still one of my favorite parts.

Do I want to be a writer?

You know what, that might not be so bad. After all those customer service calls at work I think a simple Q & A won't be so bad. :)

So to end this ramble:

Dear Ideas B - Infinity,

I love you dearly and please remember to wait your *&%$&*@ turns.

Golden Years

So yesterday, for the first time in 7 years my old bones put on a well worn pair of skates and much loved equipment and played. I didn't just skate around. I didn't wuss out and put on my out stuff. There I was, right above the crease, shooters coming in on me, pucks flying at what looked to me like pretty high speeds. And I stopped them (well a good majority anyways!)

The thrill, the challenge of skater vs goalie, the awesome feeling of instinct as moves I haven't performed in so long came back instantly (including my two favorites "Reach-crap-there-goes-the-puck-diving swan-squid-thing" and "Catch-the-puck-between-my-glove-and-blocker"). One of the best parts was that little brother was one of the 3 shooters.

As kids we had a little rivalry...by which I mean I never let him score. Ever. I think I might have tackled him once football style just to stop him from getting close to the net. (What? I'm sure its legal in pond hockey rule 8 subsection 19!)

All the aches and pains (have I mentioned how much I love ibuprofen?) I have today, each and every one of them was so worth it. Next week, yeah I'm planning on going again. They'll be worth it then too.

When I was younger I knew a player who some days would be in such agony that she could skate one or two shifts a game and then cheered the rest of us on, gave advice, all that good stuff. I never understood then why she did it every week, game and practice. I do now. The pain isn't the point, it doesn't even really matter. Its all about the love for what your doing, the memories you have when you think about it, the passion you have when you talk about, the way it grows to be a part of your soul.

If someone asked me what I was a before I was hurt I had only one answer. I'm a hockey player. Not long ago I was asked the same question and I had answers but in my mind I thought it. If I had never laced up again I think I would always have thought it. But seriously, its so much better to say it.

So ask me world! Ask me what I am! The list is long and getting longer, more varied than I ever could have imagined but right up there, on the top of that list it proudly sits.

I am a hockey player!

Welcome to Goalie Country.

I Need to Hire an Elephant

They do that "stompy dance thing" way better than I can.

So...I'm just going to ignore the fact the US Women's team apparently bombed and sent out the 4th line to give the Canadians the Gold Metal.

(Nope, I'm not bitter or disappointed. Not at all.)

Though having been a hockey puck magnet on the losing team in important games I'm sure no one feels worse than they do. God damned freakin Canadians...

Even my brain

Wow...even my brain is confused.

Glitch

I honestly have no words.

But! Apparently they have eggplants and eggplants make it very different. Sound advice in my opinion.

Those insidious blue socks!

Considering hockey socks, even for someone as height-retarded as I am, are pretty damn big you wouldn't think it could slip in so easily to a load of normal laundry.

(Oh yeah, a Monday post at its best!)

What would I be doing with a hockey sock you ask?

/Innocent yet shifty eyes

I reclaimed my gear from little brother's house last night after stealing his cable for a few hours to watch the USA whomp the Canadian men's team in a friendly game of hockey. (I also spent an hour making disapproving looks at Marty Brodeur for some OMG plays that helped us win - then my patriotic side caught up and cheered loudly.)

Going through my gear (after the unfortunate 7 year neglect showered on my favorite things in the world) I noticed a few things.

1.) A Complete lack of mold! (I was very excited and really still kinda am.)

2.) My socks were still on my garter belt. (...)

3.) My blocker has not magically repaired itself while it was off in vacation land. (Lazy blocker)

4.) The nuances of my equipment are still as familiar as they were when I was 19 cause everything I remember being tricky is still tricky. (Point - remember to buy a new screw driver for the giant hockey bag.)

5.) There is some stuff missing. (Yeah this caught me a bit surprised but I have eyes and ears all over the place and honestly Dad probably knows where my helmet is, he has this uncanny knack for finding lost stuff. Saint Anthony of Padua, pay attention and learn. As for my skates they live in a bookcase in my closet and the giant sticks are probably down at the Lake house.)


I am running high on adrenaline and I haven't stepped onto the ice yet! It won't be like it used to be, squid on ice is most likely retired and all Little Bro will get is lazy butterfly goalie but still this is freaking awesome!

{Remember when you were a kid and you would stay up way past midnight playing your favorite game or wearing your favorite sneakers or whatever kids do? Yeah, that's where I am right now.}

Pack your Lunch

Did you ever look down at your pizza and wish it was just a little bit better? A little bit wilder?

Well have you ever thought of these combos?

Click here for the craziest pizzas I've ever heard of!

Now not having tried them I'm not saying they're bad. (Heck I'd even be up for a couple of them.) Though now that I read them again the venison one just kind of scares me...

It is done

And strangely I don't really feel any different.

I canceled my World of Warcraft account.

(Yeah, something big and earth shattering, right?)

I have until March 10th to actually log on again (but really have no inclination to.) It was a fun 3 years but what with my writing getting much more time consuming and fulfilling and the fact that my original reason for playing no longer applies I figure I can put that 15 bucks to better use some where else. I might go back for Cataclysm, I might not. All in all it was a good run. (Sadly I'll really miss my pets Taberth, Katen the Condom Raptor, Thykir, Modo, and Haku. Screen shots for everyone in really frickin cool places...at some point...maybe!)



(Should a penguin be almost as big as a bear? Dunno but now I kinda want to tame him too!)

Plague of the Mind

Everyone is afflicted with something. Whether it be the horrible pig flu or the dreaded Zombie skin disease that so many have to deal with in these long cold months no doubt everyone has something. (Trust me, I'm sure of it. Even Jupitor has something aka the OMG there are wrinkles in my blanket and I must destroy them! -itis, quite tragic really.)

I have a mild case of ADD.

(This is not to be confused with ADD Elf syndrome. Those who have it know who they are and know how to break PS2 buttons.)

This quite mild ADD of mine comes and goes, kind of gas. Don't believe me? Just ask my poor coworkers who have to put up with it on a slightly regular basis culminating in the debacle that was Friday and my trip to Stop N Shop just to have something to do after the Gun Story.

....You haven't heard of the Gun Story? Ummmmm, moving on!

My attention span is limited at best. I can read novels because so long as stuff is happening I have no problem. (Henry James I'm lookin at you! Shit is happen in novels!!!!) I played World of Warcraft for a couple years though the last one was mostly cause I was used to it, not so much that it was enjoyable and I had a bazillion characters I rotated through on a regular basis. Think of me as an alt whore. :)

I routinely pick a spot on the map and stalk it via Google maps (street view rules!) So far a couple European nations, Japan (Osaka especially), New Zealand (both islands) have all been explored.

New Zealand is obviously my new interest and I have a few forums I check regularly, a newspaper I read daily and blogs I read front to back. Of those the best, by far is Kia Ora, Y'all!

Like most blogs out there it is geared towards the author's family, friends and social circle but there are so great insights into the culture shock of moving to another country that anyone can find both amusing and helpful. (A plus to this particular blog is the lack of "Ugly American" syndrome many of the others I've found suffer from. There is no reason to complain that someplace half way around the world is not as pleasant as the place you left.)

Having the attention span of a ferret on a coffee high is at times trying, even for me but can lead to some pretty good times too. I'd rather be a ferret than have bacon flu. It helps keep me busy (and keep my house clean), gives me plenty of projects (anyone have tips on laying down carpet thresholds? The nails look like screws but their nails. Hmm also tips about replacing stair boards would be mightily appreciated. DIY will be interrogated tomorrow) and bouts of inspiration that I can even handle occasionally. (Like now, been brainstorming since about quarter of 7 non stop. Pffff who needs sleep when major plot points can be solved.)

Maybe its not ADD. Maybe I have a super fast brain that through awakening the sleeping parts has conquered linear thought!

Ehhh ok no. Remember, ferret with coffee.

I kind of want to go for a drive.

Hmmm the possibilities.



Classic Foamy!

Competely stunned

There are times when things seem like they get too big, to out of hand. Living like we do, connected by texts and images more than voice and touch can make life seem like that of drones, worker bees doing the same thing week after week.

Hail to these people who said screw the worker bees!

It's called Born of Hope.









Watch and cheer.

They did this with 56K and alot of hard work.

Gods it's awesome. Enjoy!

Nuclear Thoughts

My mental filter is on hiatus since yesterday when an employee was kind enough to ignore my directions (yay for parking lot detail in the middle of a snow storm) and make me chase him a lot over to repeat what I said to him two more times.

(For the record he is just all kinds of fail)

But while I spouting my opinions last night it occurred to me briefly that what the people over at a blog called Broken Luggage did is not that bad of an idea. (However if I sell my house when I come back home I'd be homeless...fail planning.) But I really admire someone that committed to doing something. Imagine what it takes to just pick up and move not only to the other side of the world but to a culture that is so unlike our own. Yeah we're all human but everything I've read and seen pretty much equates life in NZ with life in Europe (England and Germany are the two most common examples) and these people up and left from somewhere in Texas (most definitely not England). The jokes about people hunting me down to return me to loving New England aside the idea of leaving everything and everyone I know for an indefinite period of time is frightening. But if you have say a solid return date I don't see the problem of a longer stay.

:)

But whether I invest in a WHV (Working holiday visa) or not the question remains...

Should I or should I not attempt to hike the Worcester/Providence bike path.

(Ok a walk that long seems really interesting in my head but in print looks all kinds of gay. Dangit!)

There are so many 2-6 mile options for hiking paths within a 45 minute drive of my house and I already have a few out west and two in Connecticut planned but the idea of such a walk just gets me all excited. After all when I was younger (and pretty much debt free) I used to always say I wanted to hike at least a part of the Appalachian Trail (and camp in Glacier National Park, and this list could go on for quite a bit). However there is that 10 mile trail in Sutton. So many options so little time but at least I have weekends free now!

Wow, tomorrow is already Friday. Super 14 begins at 130am. Oh how I love time zone differences. Go Go Hurricanes!

{Why the Hurricanes? They were 3rd last year in S-14 among the 4 NZ teams so not the underdog but certainly not the golden kids either. Just the way I like my sports teams.)

Options and You, Take 'Em?

Well after a roller coaster of a week and the discovery of a new super power Saturday has arrived. A morning of listening to Gaelic (the announcers for the Ireland v France international rugby match) and hanging out with the Sibs has turned into a lazy afternoon wandering the Travelblog site. (A great informational site with a very large solo traveler section, still perusing as I type.)

Oh yes, the super power. If by chance you don't like your car, or a friends car, or that ugly old thing your neighbor drives just give me a call. I apparently inspire fear and death in automobiles. Hopefully Frank can fix the part that just fell off the one I am currently borrowing. Thank God the nice man who lent it to me is in Mexico.

So, when you sit down and write your options down on paper they can either be very daunting (when written on the back of a receipt) or disappointing when on a piece of loose leaf. Still its not the size of the list that counts but what the heck is on it. {Que the music Maestro!}

1.) Work visa
2.) Teach ESL (which involves a certificate program at QCC)
3.) Second job
4.) Hire in a roommate
5.) Cut down on more expenses
6.) No more free money (all is now going into the travel fund)
7.) Sell some of my stuff

Some like #4 are so repulsive to me (I've had enough of those thank you very much) that I doubt it will come to that. Others like the first two (thanks to Sister for the 2nd one) are very doable with a little work and research.

I always work better with lists, probably cause my brain is the equivalent of Swiss cheese. It's now or never! (Hmm where are those Cheez Its?)

Hmmmmm Shiny Spider Hammers

Have you ever been in a closet?

I have. (Mine is nice, it has an unfinished wooden floor! Wait, no not that kind of closet...)

I am a closet optimist.

/hides in shame!!!

Yes. I do my best to be all cynical and grrrr chop chop chop but when it comes down to it I just can't maintain for very long. I remember in my emo high school days when being all moody and grrr was cool and kind of fun. Maybe I just got to old but lately I've been seeing things in a whole new and disgustingly shiny light.

Example:

I really really want to travel. Not like go to Hartford for a day kind of travel but my ass is on a plane for hours across oceans to places no one in my family has ever seen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That kind of travel. I save, I scrimp, I cheese it diet myself to death (but only that one time), I do all that I can to get my ass to say New Zealand. Then last week it was in sight. One more year of saving and I would be there with lots of money in March '11 or with little money but lots of enthusiasm in October '10. (I was pushing for Oct at first but now with Elvis Excursion 2010 coming up in November that seemed like too much time off from work.)

All seemed happy easy until my car decided to eat itself. Transmissions, pfffffff who needs 'em!

Apparently the Buick does.

Now the search for a new car and as usual I am being incredible indecisive. Newer car that could last for awhile (and spell utter doom for NZ '11) or older model that will be less to insure and tax that could last for a few years and let the travel continue? Yeah, I'd love a car that wasn't every 80 year old's dream ride but honestly when have I ever cared about fashionable stuff? After careful consideration and the horror stories shared at work a few hours ago about the average car payment (OMFG) I have decided that older is the way to go. Not retard car but something solid enough to get me from point A -> Point B with as little monthly expense as possible.

Now this is not the popular option (not even with myself half the time) but sometimes you have scrimp and you have to save.

One thing is sure. I will see the Land of the Long White Clouds and I will see it soon!

Depression isn't going to help me get there any faster and with the economy the way it is I can't really count on getting a second job soon (though I hope someone reads my apps). So I'm going to try selling my books.

/Shock and horror

No not all of them. I have crates and crates of books that I don't want. At first I was going to give them away but I may as well try to sell them. Anything to help the cause.

I'd love count on my novel (never ending self induced thing of pain it is) but its no where near even close to done and that's not a really sure thing anyways. Not yet but it is one cool ass story in my opinion and very saleable with absolutely no vampires or werewolves! (Very proud about that.)

Starting my travel fund from 0$ is not the brightest moment in the new year but also not the end of it either. Have backpack - will travel! :)

(What are the odds I'll end up with another Buick? There can't be that many more 95's left on the road, can there?)

Saturday Fun in the Sun

As this is my last Saturday living in a coma-stupor I am trying to recalculate my sleep schedule...meaning no passing out until the sun goes down (and also no getting up at 2am and putzing around for 4 hours until work).

Besides doing chores I have been browsing Netflix.

Netflix, being the helpful bastard it is recommended me Sparticus: Blood and Sand.

Oooooooooooo

So I watch. And I love.

Stylized? Sure, but you have to love the fight scenes, so 300.

Interesting? Plot wise I like the threads (well 2 out of 3 anyways), the Roman whorishness that most shows lack is very appealing and at the same time so decadent.

Ok it is true that I'll give any show with long haired guys killing each other a chance but this one paid off.

...Until I realized it had just premiered last night.

/angry angry face at Netflix

Highly recommended for a good time but I hope you like waiting. Me? Waiting is not one of my favorite things. Back to looking for something to watch as I organize my house.

The Year of the Jock

Welcome to 2010! A new year, a new decade and the start of a great time for sports!

So what am I babbling about?

2010 Winter Olympics (oh yeah, I have a countdown for this and cannot wait!)

2010 MLS Season. This year, since I will have weekends off (finally!) I can go to NE Revolution games!

The possibility of a 2010 Boston 13's rugby club's 1st ever season! Look out for the American National Rugby League, there are already established teams around from last season. Rugby, the OMG He-Lost-An-Ear sport. Think football and soccer with no padding what so ever. Oh yeah.

....yes, rugby. I used to watch the games down at Lake Ave and while I don't really understand the rules of the game (never mind that there are 2 different sets of rules depending on whether it is classified as a union game or a league game) I like watching it.

Plus qualification matches for the 2011 World Cup will start up at the end of the year, NZ Rugby starts in April, I'm still watching the English Premier League hoping to the Almighty that Manchester United doesn't win (at least they aren't in first place), and the Stanley Cup Playoffs coming up at the end of regular season (go go Martin!).

Oh yeah, screw the year of the pig or rooster, it is now the Year of the Jock!

I would babble on more but it is time to watch the Devils and the Islanders clash. Yahoo sports cast - the cheapo's way! :)