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Last night, Bea was baking what I’m sure will promise to be a wonderfully delicious chocolate Guinness cake. I was ready to go to sleep, but it still needed some somewhat-time-sensitive tending to.
So, she said “If you don’t mind I’m going to catch up on watching Game of Thrones while waiting for the cake.”
No dear, of course I don’t mind. If I wasn’t tired and hadn’t already watched S02E01 twice and S02E02 once in the past week, I’d most certainly join you.
In related news, happy birthday to me (and Mikey, and Andre’s daughters) and my new favorite animated gif:
Originally published at Prosthetically Hip. Please leave any comments there. Tags: amusing, cake, english lit., game of thrones, guinness, joffrey, the telly
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Right about this time 2 years ago, I did a very smart thing.
Bea and I are currently celebrating in our own unique ways. This post has been pre-written and set up to auto-post at this time, as I am currently hosting a D&D game at my house, and Bea is at roller-derby practice as she has her home opener this Saturday. And before you write one or both of us off as callous, it really was simply easier this way. We did lunch, btw. And when next week, when things aren’t quite as chaotic, we’ll probably go grab some geocaches, like we did in Hawaii.
In keeping with our nerdiness, my gift to Bea is a locket I stumbled across on reddit. I saw it months ago, and immediately ordered it. I picked out a picture I liked, and put it in the locket:
BTW, our first anniversary was spent at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Yes, we’re nerds. Yes, we’ll go back.
Lunch was great. We went to Redemption – a newly re-tooled restaurant in Mid-City. The kitchen is now run by Greg Picolo who was the culinary wizard at The Bistro at Maison de Ville, where we had our rehearsal dinner. I was leaning towards Herbsaint for lunch – where we had dinner for our first date/3-month-dating anniversary, and Bea wanted to try something new. I think this was a perfect compromise.
Bea’s anniversary gift at Redemption:
I’d also like to send out a congratulatory message to my friends Candice and Clay – married on the same day, and to Christy and Alec, who are the hipsters of March 27th – they got married on that day before it was cool.
Originally published at Prosthetically Hip. Please leave any comments there. Tags: anniversary, d&d, dnd, domesticamation, harry potter, nablopomo, redemption, rollerderby, rollergirls, snitch, wedding
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I’m not gonna lie, I like commas. I’m also a fan of the semi-colon; however, I’m not as big a fan of the semi-colon as much as the comma1.
I’d like to think that I’m not that much of a Grammar Nazi, I would like to talk about the Oxford Comma. I’m a fan.
Por ejemplo:
Now, I know it isn’t perfect, and in some cases create confusion, but I’ll stick with it, as long as it clarifies instead of confuses.
1) Heh, see what I did there? I swear I can hear Pistolette groaning, 3 miles away.
Originally published at Prosthetically Hip. Please leave any comments there. Tags: english lit., grammar, nablopomo, oxford comma
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Well, I saw my first Buck Moth Caterpillar of the season while walking the dogs this morning. I can’t believe it’s that time already. Like years past, I’ve scheduled the exterminators to make a visit to the oak tree next door. The infestation these days is not as bad as when I was a kid, walking to school with an umbrella due to the forecast being partly-cloudy with an 80% chance of falling caterpillars. But, they’re still there, in droves.
And ever since one of my younger cousins had a brain fart and referred to buck moths caterpillars as “patakillers”, I’ve always thought of it as fitting and at least referred to them as that in my head.
Originally published at Prosthetically Hip. Please leave any comments there. Tags: buck moth, caterpillar, nablopomo, nola, photos
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I like to complete newspaper Sudoku puzzles at Molly’s, and leave one square empty.
I hope that someone will see it and think I messed up, then go back and check my work only to realize I left the last square intentionally blank, and curse my name.
 ★★★★☆, my ass. I also like to play games in the sudoku. Some of the rules I usually tack on are:
- Solve the puzzle without the center, leaving it for last. Sometimes this just means “don’t write in the center until last.”
- Only complete the sectors in a clockwise spiral, starting from the top right.
- Work out the squares in numerical order (all the 1s, 2s, etc.)
- Work out the squares in numerical order (1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9, etc.)
- All evens / all odds / all primes / etc.
I like sudoku. I play it a lot.
Originally published at Prosthetically Hip. Please leave any comments there. Tags: gaming, nablopomo, sudoku
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This is going to be another cheater post. Still though, a post.
Bea and I managed to throw together a last-minute PizzaNight™ at our house tonight, and it went well. Bea, as usual, rocked the pizza. Our guests, as usual, rocked the toppings.
A couple of quick photos before a viewing of last night’s Community, and possibly a Dr. Who after:
Current music while writing post (worth a listen all the way through): Michael Nyman, Ute Lemper – Chanson Einer Dame Im Schatten
Originally published at Prosthetically Hip. Please leave any comments there. Tags: nablopomo, photos, pizzanight, the wesley crushers, wil wheaton
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Depending on your roof, proper gutters in Southern Louisiana can be pretty key. When we bought the house, it only really had gutters on the front – the second story gutters. For just about the entire first floor, which is quite long, there were none. And the 2nd floor gutters just drain to the walkways on both sides on the house.
Not a huge deal, except the people that owned the property before us neglected it. All that water was collecting under the house, eroding the dirt around the piers and bring them down with it. It’s one thing you can do/stay on top of that makes a big difference in the long run. House (re)leveling is a bitch.
In the picture below, you can see where one of the 2nd floor downspouts just sticks down at the end – the rest of it was knocked off when I had some mulberry trees removed.
I would very much like to not have it re-secured, but instead to have it closed off, and re-run at the front of the house, so it can drain to the front sidewalk. Of course, I’d do it on the other side as well. The walkway you see here is brick in theory, but it’s mostly brick supporting a nice layer of dirt/mud and weeds. I’d like to have it re-done, but this isn’t the time. And while I do like the brick, there’s a good bit of water that gets dumped there, and it doesn’t get a whole lot of direct sunlight. That make for slick bricks.
I’ve also been thinking about getting a rain barrel for the back of the house, so I can then just divert it to the plants in the back yard. I know that’s how the yellow fever became such a big deal, but we know better now. And we have science, medicine, and technology like screens to help prevent that. Also, where I’d like to put it is quite narrow – ~16″ – and while I haven’t looked very hard, I haven’t seen anything that’d fit. It might be a neat project to make one though, for my needs. I’d rather do something like that then spend $200 on one, which with the cost of water from city, would take FOREVER. Hrm…
I reckon some screens or something to cover the gutters would then be in order. Perhaps I should just do that anyway. I spent some time the other morning, just before this days-long rain, cleaning out a ~30ft length of gutter that was chock full of leaves, dirt, etc. And for me, the quickest way to do that is just to get on the roof. As far as I’m concerned, the less time I spend perched on the edge of the roof, the better.
Originally published at Prosthetically Hip. Please leave any comments there. Tags: domesticamation, gutters, home repair, la iglesia, nablopomo, photos, rain barrel
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This post started out as a paragraph on the previous post about mead, but I realized there was more to it than a paragraph or two. So, here we go.
I have to say, another big reason why I’ve re-delved into mead is my wife, my best man, and his wife. See, my wife, “Bea”, and Pistolette’s hubby, “Mikey”, apparently have this thing for live band karaoke and Pistolette and I have a thing for something we like to call Warrior Porn™. What is Warrior Porn? I wouldn’t say it’s ultra-violence or perhaps even gratuitous violence, but it is violence, and there are usually swords.
We have this deal, where when the other two want to go to their cover bands, Pistolette and I watch viking movies / warrior porn. The first one was a blessing disguised as a complete catastrophe though. Not that we’ve had any since though, and that’s due more to scheduling than the aforementioned catastrophe.
For our inaugural Viking Night™, we watched Valhalla Rising, and judging by the trailer, we were starting things off on the right foot:
If you just watched that trailer, congratulations, you’ve just watched the best parts of the movie. No need to watch the rest. Apparently, the bulk of the movie is the sort of transcendental crap I don’t want in my viking movies.
The upside is that Pistolette forced me to finally watch the first episode of Game of Thrones. I’d seen the opening 7 minutes or so of the first episode, and that was all it took to not only convince me that I wanted to not only watch the show, but inhale the books. Well, I knew I wanted to read the book first, and I’d been holding off on reading it because I wanted to wait until “winter” – for better immersive feel. I was doing fine until I watched that first episode. Pistolette is my dealer, and she knows exactly what drugs I like.
Shortly after that, and right at the start of the first cold spell of our warm winter, I borrowed from 6th Ward Girl her paperback copy of A Game of Thrones, Book 1 of the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. I inhaled it, as was to be expected. And being the high-quality drug that it is, I did the responsible thing and helped get as many people as possible hooked on it too.
Since then, I’ve watched the first season (awesomeballs!) and read the five books out in the wild. And I can’t wait for the upcoming Season 2, which can only mean one thing:
GAME OF THRONES MARATHON WEEKEND! WITH LOTS OF MEAD!
And perhaps for our next Viking Night, we’ll go with a better viking movie, even if it’s one we’ve seen already. Or perhaps the new Conan the Barbarian with Jason Momoa who also played Khal Drogo in GoT.
Also, things I feel are relevant but didn’t feel like working into a paragraph:
- Did you know that the average honey bee produces one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime? It’s true. At least, that’s what nude girls random facts tell me.
- Also, the term “honey moon” originated with the Norse practice of consuming large quantities of Mead (a beverage made from fermented honey) during the first month of a marriage.
- That last post was enough for Andre to send me his mead recipe. Excelsior.
- I made a variation of the “Winter is Coming” meme for Mardi Gras.
The more you drink know.
Originally published at Prosthetically Hip. Please leave any comments there. Tags: drunkery, english lit., game of thrones, mead, nablopomo, pistolette, valhalla rising, viking, viking night
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I have the memory, hazy albeit, of sitting on the balcony of the apartment that my friends Sonny and Lara once shared in Mid-City, drinking a bottle of mead with them and Bea, brewed by my friend and future groomsman, Andre.
And goddamn, was it delicious. A bit thick/heavy, spicy, sweet, and a high ABV. In a word: wonderful. That was good while ago, and on my birthday, if I recall correctly.
Well, years had passed, and I had forgotten about it. About a year ago, I think I was reminded of that honeyed wonder when Jack Daniels introduced their Tennessee Honey (this review is spot-on). It’s really good, but it’s hard alcohol – 70 proof vs. the 19 proof mead I buy at the store. It’s hard to drink it in smaller volumes, and is basically now banned from my house. Although, summer is coming up…
 But that’s when I remembered mead – when the honey Jack became a problem. I bought some bottles here and there, but the most accessible one that I like best (available at Rouses by the office!) is the Dansk Mjød Viking Blod. It’s heavier like Andre’s mead, and for me just seems to check off all the boxes I like about mead. It’s decent at room temperature, but I think it’s best either warmed a bit – like a brandy – or a bunch, liked a hot mulled drink.
And as I’ve tweeted, there’s not enough mead in the world for me to drink. I think I’ve held on to about 15 of the Viking Blod bottles – and it seems to be a good thing I have. They’re a unique bottle – a heavy ceramic. My father-in-law1 Ken and I plan on starting to brew mead, and these make great bottles.
Also, due to my talking about it, a friend of mine who distills a killer moonshine is brewing mead. His is a much lighter, almost cider-like mead. It’s not my preferred style, but I definitely like it and want to encourage more people to experiment. His is almost like a cider – very light and dry, but it does vary by jar, so it’s always a pleasant surprise. Plus, he’s willing to basically sell it in bulk to my D&D group (and they like it too), so that’s always nice.
Anyways, Ken and I are thinking about what sort of flavors we want ours to have. We will of course use local honey, but want to incorporate some sort of Louisiana feel into the flavor. I’m not sure how to do that, but it will at least be an interesting experiment. We also need to come up with a label / some names. I’d like to do some sort of viking / cajun crossover, like Sven’s Flatboat Mead, Fjørditoulas, or perhaps just Ninth Fjørd. I like Ninth Fjørd, especially because the number 9 is important in Norse mythology. Or, a new suggestion from my friend Rhiannon: Fjørd de Lis.
So Andre, really. Dig up that mead recipe from the days of yore, and send it on over. I’d love to try and re-create it. And of course send you a bottle or two.
1) He’s her step-father, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s close enough and not worthy of the technical distinction.
Originally published at Prosthetically Hip. Please leave any comments there. Tags: dansk mjod, drunkery, mead, nablopomo, ninth fjord, viking blod
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So, we’re in the middle of the “horror” episodes in mid-second season of Dr. Who. What can I say? I really like the show.
Anyways, I want to build a scaled-down Tardis for tool storage in the backyard. Maybe even run electrical to it. Here’s how it might look:
In case you didn’t know, the internet is filled with nerds. Luckily, there’s a good site or two dedicated to Tardis building. And apparently, “Tardis Blue” is Pantone 2955C. And if I do make it, I guarantee there will be blood pictures.
But if I build it, will the Doctor come? If so, which one(s)?
Originally published at Prosthetically Hip. Please leave any comments there. Tags: diy, domesticamation, dr. who, geekery, tardis
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Well, Friday was my St. Patrick’s day, so I never got around to posting.
I wasn’t hungover Saturday, but just couldn’t find it in me.
And just don’t seem to have it in me today. Today for me has been (and continues to be) the Utter Backgammon Destruction of Savannah™, followed by yardwork, cleaning, tidying, a little project time, the new Community episode, more cleaning, a brief Dr. Who interlude, followed by griddle scrubbing and more cleaning, all brought to you by the following bands:
- Acid Bath
- Alabama Thunderpussy
- Black Label Society
- Corrosion of Conformity
- Crowbar
- Down
- Exhorder
- Eyehategod
- Goatwhore
- Pentagram
- Red Fang
- Saint Vitus
- Sleep
- Soilent Green
- Superjoint Ritual
- The Sword
Which brings us to right now. I have computer work to do, but I just don’t feel like it right now. Why? BECAUSE I HAVE MORE FUCKING CLEANING TO DO, THAT’S WHY.
So, I’m going to upload and embed a picture or two (done and below), crack open another Abita, and quit my bitching and get back to cleaning. And maybe I’ll do it to Wil Wheaton’s brand new episode of Radio Free Burrito for a while.
Edit 1: Just spilled a bunch of my beer on the desk. Awesome.
Edit 2: Podcasts aren’t good over the stereo when you’re doing quasi-noisy cleaning / running the Roomba.
Originally published at Prosthetically Hip. Please leave any comments there. Tags: backgammon, la iglesia, molly's, nablopomo, photos, savannah, st. patrick's day
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‘Tis the season. Kickball season.
It’s starting to get warm again, and that means that for those miserably hot months before Saints season1, me and a bunch of other idiots2 will be spending our Sundays losing half our body weight in sweat, only to replace it with beer.
We had our first “practice” tonight in City Park. It wasn’t really big or structured, but we had enough people to throw the ball around and do some light kicking drills. Everyone likes kicking drills3.
And before you start saying “Really? Practice?”, I’m going to say yes, really. Kickball, if you play even remotely competitively (we’re in a “beer league”, after all), is actually quite a good little workout. Especially as pitcher (my position). Lots of little sprints, a lot of quick throws to first, and every pitch itself is actual effort. Plus, that iconic red ball doesn’t throw easily/far. It’s very easy to get sore playing a full 7-inning game of kickball. It’s a lot of arm use, and it’s a lot of twisting motions on your core.
So, it was fun and light, and I’ll probably be a wee bit sore tomorrow, but it’ll be a good sore.
Me, pitching in 2008.
1) Don’t even get me started. So much stupid going around.
2) We’re the Hooked on Tonics. We play for Pal’s Lounge. And yes, I include myself in the idiots grouping.
3) It’s not so much a drill as it is just kicking it. A lot. Still, fun.
Originally published at Prosthetically Hip. Please leave any comments there. Tags: drunkery, hooked on tonics, kickball, nablopomo, photos
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So, for the past, I dunno, 6-7 years, I’ve pretty religiously gone to Molly’s for 10am Sunday coffee. Sometimes it devolves into lunacy1, most of the time it involves getting some work in and playing cribbage and/or backgammon. And if you ask the bartender nicely, they’ll let you use the cards and cribbage board they keep behind the bar. If you break it and/or walk with it though, I will track you down with all my unholy fury and smote you with my Hammer of Smiting™. It’ll hurt worse than a double-skunking.
There is a cast of characters which one can usually rely on to be there at one point or another, and one of them is my friend Alan2. Alan likes to takes pictures3, and they’re usually pretty good. The thing is, I usually don’t want to be in them at 10am.
Dammit Alan, I don’t want to pose for a picture.
You want a pose, Alan? Fine. Here’s your damn pose. Note the Streets Ahead™4 combination of flannel/plaid with camo.
1) When you have at most 2 shots of Rumple Minze, you’re Riding the Peppermint Pony™. More than that, and you’re Riding the Mint Dragon™ and are sufficiently Rumped Up™.
2) No, not Unapologetic.
3) Nudge nudge, wink wink. Say no more.
4) Don’t be some sort of Streets Behind asshole.
Originally published at Prosthetically Hip. Please leave any comments there. Tags: alan, backgammon, community, cribbage, drunkery, molly's, morning coffee, nablopomo, photos, random, streets ahead
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While I’m not an overall fan of the traffic cameras, I do support them in school zones.
From nola.com:
On March 12, officials plan to activate 11 new cameras around town, almost all of them in school zones. They will be the first new cameras in more than a year, and Landrieu’s chief administrative officer, Andy Kopplin, says there’s a moratorium for now on adding any more.
The threshold for receiving a ticket during school hours in a school zone will remain 26 mph.
Originally published at Prosthetically Hip. Please leave any comments there. Tags: amusing, nablopomo, nola, photos, traffic camera
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I got an email invite a bit ago for a very unique surprise birthday party for my friend Skip: a private tour of the NOLA Brewery. Let me tell you, if you get the chance, GO!
It was only about $15/person for all-the-NOLA-beer-you-can-drink for the 3 or so hours we were there. Plus, we got to take home our pint glasses, which the sell for $5/ea. Not a bad deal. Actually, pretty good. And fun.
Plus, it’s neat to see all the equipment and how they make the beer. Being a homebrewer, Skip looked like a kid in a candy store. Or, a me in a bar.
Originally published at Prosthetically Hip. Please leave any comments there. Tags: beer, drunkery, nablopomo, nola, nola brewing, photos, skip's birthday
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My kilt count is now up to three, and each one has a purpose. My sport kilt is for running / hashing. My black utilikilt was initially for camping and post-bike-rides, but got pulled into a more formal duty for the Molly’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Over the past year, I’ve been wanting to stop half-assing it, and do it properly. I decided to finally bite the bullet though, and placed an order. It came in this morning – enough time to get the jacket tailored if need be.
Well, for once, need not be.
I ordered a package from USA Kilts – basically all the things I wanted to get anyways, but with a bit of a price break. In the end, it wasn’t cheap, but I’m ok with that. The tartan I went with a Gordon Dress Modern – a tartan or a variation of it – that I have worn until threadbare for basically my entire life. I’m actually wearing something quite similar to it now.
Well, I’m very happy with not only the product, but the overall turnaround time. And the shipping! Oh, such shipping!
Anyways, here’s a quick shot of the new kilt, there’ll be more of the whole rig next Saturday after the Molly’s parade.
Originally published at Prosthetically Hip. Please leave any comments there. Tags: kilt, photos, sport kilt, st. patrick's day, usa kilts, utilikilt
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This is why I thought the XBox was a not good idea. This is the second time I’ve gotten 100% completion in LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (the first time was on the Wii), and I now also have all 36 XBox Live achievements.
Granted, a number of the achievements are easy. Ok, they’re all easy, it just takes time to get them all.
I just can’t help it. These LEGO video games just scratch some itch deep in my brain.
Other LEGO titles I’ve 100%ed on:
And I understand that Lord of the Rings and Batman 2 (with other DC superheroes!) are in the works, Odin help me.
Originally published at Prosthetically Hip. Please leave any comments there. Tags: gaming, geekery, harry potter, lego, nablopomo, wii, xbox
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I’m not sure where I tumbled across this artist today, but I’m guessing it was at r/atheism.
Now, I’m no all-knowing hip-hop/rap guy, but I do know what I like. Sometimes it’s Juvenile, most often Blackalicious, MC Frontalot, or mc chris. And I’m adding Greydon Square to my list:
His music hits a number of my buttons: good beats, intelligent lyrics. Plus, let’s be honest. It’s not everyday that you hear atheist hip-hop, much less atheist music in general. “Secular”, yes. Atheist, no.
He seems to handle his own business and made it easy for me to buy his music easily, in a high-quality DRM-free format. So I bought his three albums at 320kbps MP3 for ~$17 total.
I like it when people who make a good product that I want, in an easy to use format, and easy to properly acquire method. The price is nice, too.
Originally published at Prosthetically Hip. Please leave any comments there. Tags: atheism, geekery, greydon square, hip hop, music, nablopomo, nerdcore, rap, rational response, religiosity, secular
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Everyone has their little indulgences, their own dirty little secrets.
One of mine is an ABBA tribute album by various metal artists. And I think it’s vastly superior to the originals. Not that I’m a big ABBA fan, but when the originals come on via shuffle, all I can think about is how much better the cover is.
Take for example, the original Voulez Vous vs. the Morgana Le Fay cover:
Yes. Mo’ betta’. And yes, this entire album is as silly, ridiculous, and awesome as one might expect.
Except, they left out Fernando. Bad move, metal. Bad move.
Originally published at Prosthetically Hip. Please leave any comments there. Tags: abba, abbametal, amusing, metal, morgana le fay, music, nablopomo, voulez vous
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When it was announced about a year ago that the Marigny would be getting added to the streetcar line, I had to change my pants. Then, the skepticism kicked in and I said I’d wait to be excited until I saw work.
Well, they’ve been diggin’ up Loyola from about Girod to Poydras, and I’ll be damned if what they’re putting in doesn’t look like streetcar tracks. I haven’t read too deep into the track plans, but Loyola does become Basin at Canal (well, it becomes Elk at Tulane, then Basin at Canal), so color me excited.
What’s neat is that the streetcar will be but a few blocks from my house. I’m excited for a few reasons:
- I can hop on a streetcar to go to the usually wine-filled PizzaNight uptown.
- Increase in property values, specifically mine.
- An option for covered transport when it’s raining and I don’t want to ride my bike or truck. Or the truck doesn’t want to go.
- Streetcars are goddamn awesome.
I’m glad I’m not directly on the line, but about the same distance from the family house I grew up in to St. Charles Ave. It’s soothing I think to hear the faint sounds of the streetcar in the not-too-far-but-far-enough distance.
And apparently, support is still needed. I signed the petition at change.org to extend the line down to the end of the Bywater, and there’s more overall info at Transport for NOLA.
Originally published at Prosthetically Hip. Please leave any comments there. Tags: domesticamation, marigny, nablopomo, nola, rta, streetcar, truck
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Or, I need to hit the lottery. I’ve been working since about 8:30am today, minus an hour or so break here or there.
Luckily, I’m at a stopping point right now, and glanced at the clock. Looks like I have time to crank out a post. It won’t be great, but it doesn’t have to be. Just need to do one a day.
We had a “special” PizzaNight™ last night. We did it on a Sunday because Dave&Belen are in town – the progenitors of the PN, if you may. That wouldn’t ordinarily call for an off-schedule PN, but there were others in town that were part of the old group, and no longer live here.
It was really nice. A fence was mended, and Mikey and I got to play a game of shot glass chess:
It’s amazing how much our lives have changed since my first PizzaNight on May 9th, 2003 (there’s a blog entry somewhere), and how little it does change.
I think of all the good times I’ve had that I can (and can’t) remember, and the truly good friends I’ve made. I think of the nights that my wife and I have hosted at our house. And I think of the other PNs that are out there, some longer-running, some not.
It makes me grateful. It makes me smile. And it makes me just a little bit hungry.
Originally published at Prosthetically Hip. Please leave any comments there. Tags: gaming, pizza night, shot glass chess
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Having a one full-time job, a second almost full-time job, two dogs, and a wife with a full-time job and rollerderby (which, believe-you-me, takes up a LOT of time), it’s easy to let our ~2,800 sq. ft. house get into disarray. Really easy.
Luckily, I have guys over every other Tuesday for D&D, so it forces at least a first-floor tidy-up. And for a while there, we were hosting PizzaNight™ pretty regularly, so that was a good kick in the cleaning ass.
But still, it’s a lot to deal with. And while I’m not the most neat/clean/organized person in the planet, I’m not bad. But those dogs. Sweet Odin’s eyepatch, do those dogs shed. The drug companies who research baldness need to look into how canines and felines can lose SO MUCH HAIR, and still have so much left.
I talked with Pistolette a bit about this last night at her house – as I was helping her and hubby clean for our incoming friends. No, don’t think less of her – I’m a cleaner, I offered to help. She’s an organizer. While similar, they’re still quite different. Since 2012 seems to be her year of month-long challenges, the method I’ve started using may be her next.
I ran across an article a while ago from apartment therapy on how to clean your house in 20 minutes a day for 30 days. I modified it to help what I thought was better for my situation – especially considering the back room is ~500 sq. ft. alone – and initially did okay with it. But, I think it’s a decent system, but geared towards a much smaller and manageable living space. I just need to find a better way for me to keep up on it. I like the idea of small-increments cleaning – nothing is out of hand, but it doesn’t feel like you’re committing big chunks of time to it. You could measure out the work using one of a handful of ~20 minute Pink Floyd / Ruch / Venom / Melvins / etc. songs.
Today would have been ‘surface clean “extra” rooms’, but after my cribbage-less (sad panda) morning coffee, I found that there was more to do. So, I did it. Or at least a good bit of it. I took advantage of the weather and raked up the leaves in the back, trimmed some plants, and did some light weeding. I did laundry and some dishes. I tidied and put things away.
While I can’t really point to anything major, I felt enough of a sense of accomplishment and improvement to take the dogs for a long-awaited trip to City Bark. And boy, did they play.
I reckon they deserved the trip as much as I did – and they certainly had fun.
So now, it’s fulfilling my NaBloPoMo obligation while enjoying a Strongbow. I think a shower, some downtime, and then a trip uptown to Pistolette‘s for a special PizzaNight™ will do me good.
Originally published at Prosthetically Hip. Please leave any comments there. Tags: cleaning, dog park, domesticamation, la iglesia, nablopomo, woof!
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“I can’t believe I’m about to say this, and I understand the precedent it may set, but, I don’t think we need another gaming system.” I actually said that. I know it’s dumb, but I think it was for my own good.
See, wha ha happen was1, Bea had spent a rowdy2 night with a handful (or many, I dunno) of fellow rollergirls as Finn McCool’s, and they have this newfangled contraption: an XBox 360 with a Kinect . Couple that with Dance Central and game over man, game over.
So, let’s do some math.
So, we now have one. And it’s great. While the dance games are Bea’s domain, I still have fun with them. I thought that it was fun to see people invisi-hula-hoop of flap their wings trying to fly like a bird on the Wii Fit games, but the dancing takes the cake.
So. Much. Fun. To. Watch.
I have video somewhere of Bea and our friend Nora having a dance-off to Bel Biv Devoe’s Poison3, but I fear a nuclear counter-strike would be called in for posting without permission.
On the other hand, through the 360 I’ve been able to reconnect/hang out with various NOLA ex-pats. Harley and Roger and I get together semi- to quasi-regularly to play Halo with each other. We have the headsets, so we can all crack wise, talk shit, and catch up with each other. It’s immensely fun, and value greatly our time together, when I can seem to find some.
I still think that stupid statement was for my own good, and I think history may side with me on that one.
Case in point 1: even though I’ve already gone through and gotten 100% on LEGO Harry Potter (heh, I initially typo’ed that as Pooter) Years 1-4 on the Wii, the XBox has achievements. Public, scored achievements. Naturally, I’m playing through again right now on the XBox.
Case in point 2: As if Netflix Instant isn’t enough of a time suck (it does have EVERY episode of all the Stargates, Battlestar Galactica, and Dr. Who), with the kinect, you don’t even need to use the remote. You just swipe your hand in the air, and it scrolls the videos. I’m serious.
1. That’s “New Orleans” for: Please get comfortable, for I am about to regale you with a wonderful tale.
2. It’s rollergirls, so one’s natural inclination is to assume copious amounts of Jameson’s and high centrifugal forces exerted upon pillows. In reality, it’s moderate amount of Jameson’s and no pillow-based physics “experiments”.
3. Don’t trust a big butt and a smile.
4. Looking for the 4? It’s not anywhere. The title is a reference to an excellent song, “Halo” (studio clip, live video), by my friend Luke of The Happy Talk Band.
5. If you don’t know the “All the Things” meme, go to Hyperbole and a Half. Right now.
Originally published at Prosthetically Hip. Please leave any comments there. Tags: dance central, gaming, halo, nablopomo, rollergirls, wii, xbox
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This evening was loosely planned out. We (the collective we (when is ‘we’ not collective? I guess I meant extended.) – including Pistolette and hubby) have our old friends and progenitors of PizzaNight™ in town tomorrow, so I found myself with a free Friday night. And before she kills me with either her .50cal Desert Eagle or some crazy Parkour! move (I know it’s not a martial art), let me clarify: by “we have in town”, I mean “staying at Pistolette’s house”.
Aaaaaaanyways…
Free Friday night. What did I have in stock? Some light computer work and a bunch of housework I was behind on:
- Put away clothes
- clean fridge
- bathe dogs?
- sweep
- tables in back
- general tidying
- bathroom cleaning
- wash sheets
- clean / summerize (flip the summer/winter switch) fans
- blog (check!)
- molly’s st. pat’s site
Well, on the way home, I decided to stop by Molly’s for a pint (or two), as I felt I deserved it. See, a project I’ve been working on, and not only a) care about, but b) think a lot of really good work has gone into, is about to get c) scrapped. I think.
And by scrapped, I think I might have to fire the client. And I REALLY don’t want to do that. I like and believe in what they do, and I think we’ve put out an excellent product for them. But, the problem is something that I think many of you know about: Design by Committee. I could give examples, but I think that The Oatmeal does it the best justice.
Aaaaaaanyways, once I got home, plans had changed. And I’m not really complaining. Really. I’m getting there.
See, I had gotten my Molly’s work done (actual work, not the two pints of Guinness I had on my way home), and before I know it, we’re off to the in-laws for dinner.
Next thing I know, I’ve had a monstrously delicious (both in size and quality) steak, amazing potatoes, ~1/2 bottle of good wine, and had some good talk and another ~1/3 bottle of mead with my father-in-law. I would say step-father-in-law, but that seems to indicate a degree of separation that to be quite honest, I don’t feel is proper.
So, I guess long story short (because it’s almost tomorrow), I didn’t get nearly as much as I wanted done, but I have a belly full of awesome, and I’m sitting in my smallclothes (DAAAAMN YOU GAME OF THRONES!) on clean sheets because Bea is great and attended to some of the items on my list when I was working on the computron for the betterment of the both of we*.
Life is good.
*Both of we is a phrase my family uses – apparently my dad/his brothers weren’t so good at talking the English, and when flummoxed by their mother for the improper usage of we/both of us/whatever, resorted to using “the both of we” x decades ago, and it’s been a bit of a family meme since then. I love it.
Originally published at Prosthetically Hip. Please leave any comments there. Tags: chores, drunkery, family, la iglesia, mead, nablopomo, work, writing
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