With Spring Break 2008 starting tomorrow, I will be off to the Cincinnati area to visit with my sister and take in the sights and sounds of a much larger city than Bowling Green could ever hope to be.
Among my plans: eating lots of local food (can Campus Pollyeye's be outdone?), the Newport Aquarium, a Body Worlds knockoff, TONS of gaming (Guitar Hero, anyone?), and perhaps a trip into Kentucky for Mammoth Cave.
It'll be a busy few days, so Critically Correct may not be updated during my time off. I'll return with lots of pictures and stories, however!
See you on the flip side.
B3 out.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
These Are the Moments That Define Us
Every once and a while, a moment comes along that makes time irrelevant and forces you to question everything you've become. This moment grabs your heart and squeezes out every bit of love and emotion. It casts aside doubt, fear, and hate. It puts a smile on faces and tears down cheeks. This past weekend, I experienced such a moment.
Since I was 10 years old I have been in love with a movie. Of all the movies that I have seen in my life, one has always stood out as my personal and professional favorite. The Lion King captured my imagination at age 10 like no movie before it, thrusting me into a love affair with its music (my first audio CD was the official soundtrack), it's art (I spent years perfecting my lion-drawing skills), and its story (read: absolute perfection). I never hesitate to tell anyone that it is indeed one of my all-time favorite films.
Saturday night I finally, finally, finally, finally was able to see the stage musical version of Disney's The Lion King. For as highly-praised as it has been for the past decade, it's the one piece of The Lion King universe that has always eluded me, simply because I've never been able to get to New York to see the original production. When I heard it was coming to Toledo, I knew that I had to go.
The experience was top-notch from front to back. I've only seen two professional stage productions in my life, and it looks like The Lion King will be the one to beat. I sat awe-struck for three hours as a myriad of costumes, dancers, lights, props, and of course music, paraded around the stage and aisles of the Stranahan Theatre, replaying my most important movie in powerful musical form. The original Lion King songs are redone masterfully on stage, and the additional songs were plenty catchy or immensely original (the African chant stuff never got old).
I knew that something was happening to me from the get-go: halfway into the opening song, "Circle of Life," I was crying like a baby. Perhaps not for any particularly sad reason, but because I was experiencing my childhood joy in a way that I never have before, and seeing the harmonious combination of music, dancing, and lights just put me in a place that I rarely experience: absolute bliss.
Of particular power to my senses was the "Circle of Life" opening scene/song (elaborate costumes, dancing, and intense music). Shortly behind that was the "I Just Can't Wait to be King" segment, which was fun and colorful all over. Interestingly, I found the scenes not featured in the original film to be the most interesting. The Lion King story is far more fleshed-out on stage, with a menacing look into Scar's faults and fears as a character, while the impact of his rule over the Pridelands is more explicit via characters such as Sarabi and Nala. Simba's change near the end certainly carries more weight in the musical than the movie - the impact of his actions is far more emotional on stage than in the film.
I can't begin to describe the raw impact that seeing The Lion King on stage has had on me. I've waited for ten years to see this production, and it feels like a completion of my journey with the entire Lion King universe. In many ways I feel like my childhood is now complete, and I can go on with growing up. Even so, I know that The Lion King will always be what defines my childhood, and I will always turn to it - in any form - to relive the best years of my life. Why would I want to do this? So I never forget who I am, of course.
B3 out.
Since I was 10 years old I have been in love with a movie. Of all the movies that I have seen in my life, one has always stood out as my personal and professional favorite. The Lion King captured my imagination at age 10 like no movie before it, thrusting me into a love affair with its music (my first audio CD was the official soundtrack), it's art (I spent years perfecting my lion-drawing skills), and its story (read: absolute perfection). I never hesitate to tell anyone that it is indeed one of my all-time favorite films.
Saturday night I finally, finally, finally, finally was able to see the stage musical version of Disney's The Lion King. For as highly-praised as it has been for the past decade, it's the one piece of The Lion King universe that has always eluded me, simply because I've never been able to get to New York to see the original production. When I heard it was coming to Toledo, I knew that I had to go.
The experience was top-notch from front to back. I've only seen two professional stage productions in my life, and it looks like The Lion King will be the one to beat. I sat awe-struck for three hours as a myriad of costumes, dancers, lights, props, and of course music, paraded around the stage and aisles of the Stranahan Theatre, replaying my most important movie in powerful musical form. The original Lion King songs are redone masterfully on stage, and the additional songs were plenty catchy or immensely original (the African chant stuff never got old).
I knew that something was happening to me from the get-go: halfway into the opening song, "Circle of Life," I was crying like a baby. Perhaps not for any particularly sad reason, but because I was experiencing my childhood joy in a way that I never have before, and seeing the harmonious combination of music, dancing, and lights just put me in a place that I rarely experience: absolute bliss.
Of particular power to my senses was the "Circle of Life" opening scene/song (elaborate costumes, dancing, and intense music). Shortly behind that was the "I Just Can't Wait to be King" segment, which was fun and colorful all over. Interestingly, I found the scenes not featured in the original film to be the most interesting. The Lion King story is far more fleshed-out on stage, with a menacing look into Scar's faults and fears as a character, while the impact of his rule over the Pridelands is more explicit via characters such as Sarabi and Nala. Simba's change near the end certainly carries more weight in the musical than the movie - the impact of his actions is far more emotional on stage than in the film.
I can't begin to describe the raw impact that seeing The Lion King on stage has had on me. I've waited for ten years to see this production, and it feels like a completion of my journey with the entire Lion King universe. In many ways I feel like my childhood is now complete, and I can go on with growing up. Even so, I know that The Lion King will always be what defines my childhood, and I will always turn to it - in any form - to relive the best years of my life. Why would I want to do this? So I never forget who I am, of course.
B3 out.
Friday, February 22, 2008
The Report: Calming Down
What a relaxing week. Compared to weeks of recent memory, this week has been very relieving: less homework has given me free time to focus on catching up with general studying for my classes, as well as wrap up some more of my Almost Gone rewrite...
Which brings me to my first point of the night. It was my story on the chopping block today in my fiction workshop class, and the "results" were fairly interesting. Almost Gone didn't get quite the same positive reception as the previous incarnation did, however I did get deeper feedback into the development of the characters. It proved to be very helpful. Ironically, in writing a novel chapter, I've learned that I need to write less than I am so far. My biggest faults seem to be inconsistent voice, undefined character personalities, and sometimes confusing dialog. I'm fixing these problems right away, and I'm also restructuring my current draft considerably. I believe I'm on the right track, however.
For as stress-free as this week has been, this coming week might be tricky. For one, I have to balance a couple of school projects at once. What worries me more is personal: my desktop computer, the DragonFly, is in need of a format/reinstall. I typically wipe my hard disk drive and reinstall Windows about once a year, but it's been almost two years for this computer, and I'm a bit torn.
On one hand, it needs done: Windows performance is miserable, and I have a lot of junk sitting around that is starting to clog my Windows Registry. This does point to one possibility, however: upgrading to Vista. I've been using Vista next to XP (and Ubuntu) for a while now. Vista's quirks aren't quite as annoying to me now as they once were, and the only big issue for me is software compatibility: I haven't fully tested all of my back-catalog software on Vista, and I'm afraid of future issues (I'm getting a hankering for Thief II, for example - a game from 1998!). I might wait until spring break to work on a plan for my computer.
Speak of spring break, it's off to Cincinnati for me! My sister is letting Colleen and I stay with her for a couple of days, which means that most of the trip will be cheap. I'm planning on stopping by a few places with them: definitely Newport Aquarium, lots of food joints, and maybe the Air and Space Museum near Dayton. Perhaps we'll even venture as far south as Mammoth Cave? That would be too cool, but probably not very likely since I'm not sure if everyone would like cool caves, dark places, and small spaces.
And that's it: I have this coming week to survive, then an awesome week off work and school to relax. I can't wait. As it turns out, not all "vacations" are bad.
Which brings me to my first point of the night. It was my story on the chopping block today in my fiction workshop class, and the "results" were fairly interesting. Almost Gone didn't get quite the same positive reception as the previous incarnation did, however I did get deeper feedback into the development of the characters. It proved to be very helpful. Ironically, in writing a novel chapter, I've learned that I need to write less than I am so far. My biggest faults seem to be inconsistent voice, undefined character personalities, and sometimes confusing dialog. I'm fixing these problems right away, and I'm also restructuring my current draft considerably. I believe I'm on the right track, however.
For as stress-free as this week has been, this coming week might be tricky. For one, I have to balance a couple of school projects at once. What worries me more is personal: my desktop computer, the DragonFly, is in need of a format/reinstall. I typically wipe my hard disk drive and reinstall Windows about once a year, but it's been almost two years for this computer, and I'm a bit torn.
On one hand, it needs done: Windows performance is miserable, and I have a lot of junk sitting around that is starting to clog my Windows Registry. This does point to one possibility, however: upgrading to Vista. I've been using Vista next to XP (and Ubuntu) for a while now. Vista's quirks aren't quite as annoying to me now as they once were, and the only big issue for me is software compatibility: I haven't fully tested all of my back-catalog software on Vista, and I'm afraid of future issues (I'm getting a hankering for Thief II, for example - a game from 1998!). I might wait until spring break to work on a plan for my computer.
Speak of spring break, it's off to Cincinnati for me! My sister is letting Colleen and I stay with her for a couple of days, which means that most of the trip will be cheap. I'm planning on stopping by a few places with them: definitely Newport Aquarium, lots of food joints, and maybe the Air and Space Museum near Dayton. Perhaps we'll even venture as far south as Mammoth Cave? That would be too cool, but probably not very likely since I'm not sure if everyone would like cool caves, dark places, and small spaces.
And that's it: I have this coming week to survive, then an awesome week off work and school to relax. I can't wait. As it turns out, not all "vacations" are bad.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Scheduling That Works For Me
Last semester I quietly began testing a new personal scheduling system that I hoped would help me prioritize my life on a weekly and daily basis. After a full semester of tweaking this system, and several weeks into the new semester, I have concluded that while not perfect for all lives and situations, I feel as if I'm doing much better off with it - and I'm going to share a little bit of my methodology now.
At the outer-most level, I plan in months and weeks using a calendar. In my case, I use Google Calendar, which provides several benefits to me: it's accessible online, it has a clean, easy-to-use interface, and it integrates with calendar standards, such as iCal and CSV, in order for me to export it to Outlook on my base computer at home, which will come into play later.
Slightly below that level of planning, I break my months and weeks into events. Work, class, and anything that I plan (ie, a movie or dinner out) become events, and land on my calendar. This is my "base schedule" so to speak, which I do all my other planning off of. I export my Google Calendar to Outlook, where it is synced with my PDA, which I use for planning on the road.
Depending on how heavy my overall school and work load is on any particular given week, I may schedule special events into my week that take into account homework or project load. School first.
Now for the nitty-gritty details. Every morning, I look over my task list and calendar, and come up with a plan for just that day. How much time do I have free thus far? How much time should I devote to homework? Programming? Writing? Reading? Socializing? Gaming? I then plot out my day with logical time chunks; an example would be something like, "it's now 2:00pm, and I'll finish my English 413 homework by 3:30, then do a half-hour of reading for CS 429."
By breaking my day into smaller task and setting small, incremental goals, I can throw everything else aside, devote the necessary time to myself, and... get shit done! Thus far, it has worked exceptionally well: believe it or not, I can stick to these mini-goals very well, and I've been more productive for it. While initially getting used to a calendar- and hour-based routine might seem mundane or difficult, it has worked out well so far.
Of course, I don't always fill up my entire day: I do leave some free time (usually two hours a day) to spend time doing anything - gaming, eating, cleaning, or just relaxing.
I've run into a few problems with this methodology on occasion. The biggest problem is unplanned events. I frequently find myself out and about longer than expected, or in a situation or place that does not have all the resourced I need for a particular planned task. I have managed better this semester thanks to my Eee PC, which affords me ready access to a computer and generally the Internet (Google Calendar!) anywhere I go. Also, the one thing that I don't schedule is my relationship: how contrived would that be!? So my biggest challenge is to make sure that my time spent with Colleen doesn't interfere with my planned tasks, which it minimally does, other than on the occasion when I end up staying in BG when I really should take time at home to get stuff done.
But all in all, my system works for me. An overview: I use a calendar to plan my months/weeks, and then write a mini-schedule every morning of how my day should go in order to allow time for all my school-related work to get completed. I stick to this ideal very well, and it has been paying off in spades for me this semester. It sure seems like a good way to go out of college: all planned and prepped for the rest of my life.
B3 out.
At the outer-most level, I plan in months and weeks using a calendar. In my case, I use Google Calendar, which provides several benefits to me: it's accessible online, it has a clean, easy-to-use interface, and it integrates with calendar standards, such as iCal and CSV, in order for me to export it to Outlook on my base computer at home, which will come into play later.
Slightly below that level of planning, I break my months and weeks into events. Work, class, and anything that I plan (ie, a movie or dinner out) become events, and land on my calendar. This is my "base schedule" so to speak, which I do all my other planning off of. I export my Google Calendar to Outlook, where it is synced with my PDA, which I use for planning on the road.
Depending on how heavy my overall school and work load is on any particular given week, I may schedule special events into my week that take into account homework or project load. School first.
Now for the nitty-gritty details. Every morning, I look over my task list and calendar, and come up with a plan for just that day. How much time do I have free thus far? How much time should I devote to homework? Programming? Writing? Reading? Socializing? Gaming? I then plot out my day with logical time chunks; an example would be something like, "it's now 2:00pm, and I'll finish my English 413 homework by 3:30, then do a half-hour of reading for CS 429."
By breaking my day into smaller task and setting small, incremental goals, I can throw everything else aside, devote the necessary time to myself, and... get shit done! Thus far, it has worked exceptionally well: believe it or not, I can stick to these mini-goals very well, and I've been more productive for it. While initially getting used to a calendar- and hour-based routine might seem mundane or difficult, it has worked out well so far.
Of course, I don't always fill up my entire day: I do leave some free time (usually two hours a day) to spend time doing anything - gaming, eating, cleaning, or just relaxing.
I've run into a few problems with this methodology on occasion. The biggest problem is unplanned events. I frequently find myself out and about longer than expected, or in a situation or place that does not have all the resourced I need for a particular planned task. I have managed better this semester thanks to my Eee PC, which affords me ready access to a computer and generally the Internet (Google Calendar!) anywhere I go. Also, the one thing that I don't schedule is my relationship: how contrived would that be!? So my biggest challenge is to make sure that my time spent with Colleen doesn't interfere with my planned tasks, which it minimally does, other than on the occasion when I end up staying in BG when I really should take time at home to get stuff done.
But all in all, my system works for me. An overview: I use a calendar to plan my months/weeks, and then write a mini-schedule every morning of how my day should go in order to allow time for all my school-related work to get completed. I stick to this ideal very well, and it has been paying off in spades for me this semester. It sure seems like a good way to go out of college: all planned and prepped for the rest of my life.
B3 out.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
600 And Counting
As a nice side note, this is my 600th blog post... I'm marching onward towards 1000! Exciting!
But I must also think short term... as in, this week.
It's another transition week for me... not to mention a recovery week. I'm recovering on all fronts. Financially I've stopped all spending, as I am in super-saver mode for spring break. I've been forced to rethink my school priorities, as I need to give more time to my CS 429 "Data Communications" class. I'm also working a full 32 hours, which will be stressful. I'm trying to not fall behind, and this week will have to be balanced carefully if I am to get through it in one piece.
In good news, however, I have been doing decent in all my classes, and my aforementioned Data Communications class saw me getting a B on our latest test, which is a good thing.
The rest of my week looks like this:
Out.
But I must also think short term... as in, this week.
It's another transition week for me... not to mention a recovery week. I'm recovering on all fronts. Financially I've stopped all spending, as I am in super-saver mode for spring break. I've been forced to rethink my school priorities, as I need to give more time to my CS 429 "Data Communications" class. I'm also working a full 32 hours, which will be stressful. I'm trying to not fall behind, and this week will have to be balanced carefully if I am to get through it in one piece.
In good news, however, I have been doing decent in all my classes, and my aforementioned Data Communications class saw me getting a B on our latest test, which is a good thing.
The rest of my week looks like this:
- Monday - done and over with, so far, not too stressful.
- Tuesday - I'll be up early - as in 6:00am - to work stuff that absolutely needs to be done: cleaning around the house and car, organization for school, and above all else, writing like mad for my novel chapter that's due on Wednesday. It'll be an all-day writing marathon.
- Wednesday - A full, hopefully pleasant day. Work, classes, a quiet lunch out by myself, more classes, and an evening spent with the girlfriend.
- Thursday - Work all day and then class. Uneventful.
- Friday - Sleeping in, followed by two quick classes and MY workshop day. It'll be weird to have my writing get torn apart and dissected. Dinner with my family in the evening will be nice, however.
- Saturday - Work, and then immediately off to get dinner, followed by a magical evening that's been ten years coming - The Lion King at the Stranahan Theatre!
Out.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Double Post Goodness
Editor's Note: Today's post is broken up considerably. I had originally planned to publish a feature on Valentine's Day, but due to my hectic week, I did not have time to publish. Today I am presenting that original feature first, with today's normal update below. Enjoy.
Valentine's Day 2008
I have a few things to cover in this post, namely two large topics. A couple of ideas have been floating about my mind lately, and I present them in time for Valentine's Day - that love it or hate it day of the year where lovers melt into each other's arms and singles grimace at the very thought.
But it's not all gloom and doom... and here's two posts to prove it, one for each side of the fence - my ideals on how to maintain a strong relationship with your significant other, and one to solace those single souls out there.
I must thank the Silversun Pickups for inspiration in my titles.
Little Lover's So Polite
I've maintained a total of four "official" boyfriend/girlfriend relationships in my life thus far, and I'm deep into my fifth. I've maintained a number of "unofficial" relationships as well - close friendships, semi-acquaintances, and various other kinds of "togetherness." All this in just five years (I dove into the relationship game at age 18). Thus far, I have accrued some basic notions and experience that I believe dramatically affect a relationship: there are things to do, and things not to do. Pointers, tips, advice. However you want to look at them, here's just a few things that I believe help to make a strong relationship.
Well Thought Out Twinkles
For those people who don't necessarily have "a special someone" on Valentine's Day and are quite mopey about it, I ask this question: "why?"
There are people who are fine being single, people who love being in love, people who crave companionship, and people who could care less. No matter who you are or what you want out of life, is Valentine's Day really worth getting yourself worked up over? Most adults I know take Valentine's Day for what it generally is, at a bare minimum: a chance to spend time with someone you care about - whether it's friends, family, or a significant other. Why do so many single people get so worked up over Valentine's Day? Beyond the cards, flowers, and expensive dinners, it's just another day. I can do cards, flowers, and dinners any other day of the year (and I will), so why get all mopey on just one day a year?
Even for me, who (at the time of this writing) is in a relationship, I don't make a big deal out of Valentine's Day. I might be told differently by my significant other, but there is certainly no need to get too crazy about expressing love for one another. If nothing else, the most memorable part of Valetine's Day for me has always been seeing friends, and eating just plain good food (Campus Pollyeyes). No fancy dinners for me.
Saturday Updates - Quick and Easy
And here I am... worn the hell out. The last couple of days have been CRAZY like crazy has never been. From Wednesday night until 8:00am this morning, I've been running around all of BG, either for work, school, or getting ready for last night's masquerade ball. Today I rest, and nothing more.
The ball was not too bad. It didn't seem to be well-attended (I'd guess about 80 people max?), but that's sort of how I liked it: most everyone seemed to get along great, we had a delicious dinner, and the music wasn't half bad (although entirely too predictable). The weather was a bit cold, and some people were a bit too loud, but all in all, I had a good time. If nothing else, wearing my suit was awesome and seeing everyone dressed up all nice-like was worthwhile.
Also, Valentine's Day was certainly something special this year, highlighted by a delicious Campus Pollyeye's feast, the Discovery Channel, and lounging around with the people I care about the most - in other words, exactly what I would have done any other day of the week. But it was still very, very, very awesome :-)
And now, my little fingers are tired of blogging... so I'm off to relax for the rest of the day.
B3 out.
Valentine's Day 2008
I have a few things to cover in this post, namely two large topics. A couple of ideas have been floating about my mind lately, and I present them in time for Valentine's Day - that love it or hate it day of the year where lovers melt into each other's arms and singles grimace at the very thought.
But it's not all gloom and doom... and here's two posts to prove it, one for each side of the fence - my ideals on how to maintain a strong relationship with your significant other, and one to solace those single souls out there.
I must thank the Silversun Pickups for inspiration in my titles.
Little Lover's So Polite
I've maintained a total of four "official" boyfriend/girlfriend relationships in my life thus far, and I'm deep into my fifth. I've maintained a number of "unofficial" relationships as well - close friendships, semi-acquaintances, and various other kinds of "togetherness." All this in just five years (I dove into the relationship game at age 18). Thus far, I have accrued some basic notions and experience that I believe dramatically affect a relationship: there are things to do, and things not to do. Pointers, tips, advice. However you want to look at them, here's just a few things that I believe help to make a strong relationship.
- Commitment - Maybe it goes without saying, but what good is a couple if they aren't committed to each other? I'm not talking about loyalty - instead, I'm referring to the fact that both people involved in a relationship should want to be in that relationship - they want to make it work and they should be committed to working through any problems that arise. Fights and differences are not problems for a committed couple.
- Moderation - I can't say that I'm experienced enough to have practiced this fully, but I do believe that a strong couple should not be around one another all the time. Everyone needs some alone time, and maybe even some "off" time (that is, time spent away from the world for an extended period of time). Just because a couple might be happy 100% of the time doesn't mean that they won't one day become sick of one another. A lot of factors influence when and how a couple should spend time together, but I believe that each person should schedule enough time away from their partner to remain their own independent person.
- Friends - I've seen a lot of couples so deeply intertwined with one another that they become their own entity, away from their respective friends. Can a couple be each other's best friend? Certainly, but that doesn't mean that they don't each need their own friends either. A solid couple should not only be best friends with one another, but each person should also maintain tes with their current best friends, and never let that up.
- Socially Involved - Similar to the point mentioned above, a couple should try to split their time wisely: a weekend out alone is nice, but two months of weekends alone, while cutting ties with their friends is a problem. I've lost many friends to relationships, and I hope that I never do it myself. A solid couple should be able to balance their time spent with each other against the time spent with their own friends, or out as a couple with friends.
- Individuality - The coming together of two people means that two people found something attractive about one another. As a relationship trudges on, it's all-too-easy to become tied up in what the couple shares together, rather than celebrate and retain the original individuality that a person should.
- Interests - A couple should maintain similar interests, quite obviously. On the other hand, there should be enough different interests between each to maintain a degree of individuality. I feel that a good rule of thumb is 60/40 - about 60% of your interests should be shared or similar, with 40% being your own.
Well Thought Out Twinkles
For those people who don't necessarily have "a special someone" on Valentine's Day and are quite mopey about it, I ask this question: "why?"
There are people who are fine being single, people who love being in love, people who crave companionship, and people who could care less. No matter who you are or what you want out of life, is Valentine's Day really worth getting yourself worked up over? Most adults I know take Valentine's Day for what it generally is, at a bare minimum: a chance to spend time with someone you care about - whether it's friends, family, or a significant other. Why do so many single people get so worked up over Valentine's Day? Beyond the cards, flowers, and expensive dinners, it's just another day. I can do cards, flowers, and dinners any other day of the year (and I will), so why get all mopey on just one day a year?
Even for me, who (at the time of this writing) is in a relationship, I don't make a big deal out of Valentine's Day. I might be told differently by my significant other, but there is certainly no need to get too crazy about expressing love for one another. If nothing else, the most memorable part of Valetine's Day for me has always been seeing friends, and eating just plain good food (Campus Pollyeyes). No fancy dinners for me.
Saturday Updates - Quick and Easy
And here I am... worn the hell out. The last couple of days have been CRAZY like crazy has never been. From Wednesday night until 8:00am this morning, I've been running around all of BG, either for work, school, or getting ready for last night's masquerade ball. Today I rest, and nothing more.
The ball was not too bad. It didn't seem to be well-attended (I'd guess about 80 people max?), but that's sort of how I liked it: most everyone seemed to get along great, we had a delicious dinner, and the music wasn't half bad (although entirely too predictable). The weather was a bit cold, and some people were a bit too loud, but all in all, I had a good time. If nothing else, wearing my suit was awesome and seeing everyone dressed up all nice-like was worthwhile.
Also, Valentine's Day was certainly something special this year, highlighted by a delicious Campus Pollyeye's feast, the Discovery Channel, and lounging around with the people I care about the most - in other words, exactly what I would have done any other day of the week. But it was still very, very, very awesome :-)
And now, my little fingers are tired of blogging... so I'm off to relax for the rest of the day.
B3 out.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
This Cube's For You
This link is being provided for two of my favorite people:
Melissa and Josh. And it's absolutely hellarious.
http://www.wowinsider.com/2008/02/11/why-look-a-weighted-companion-cube
Enjoy :-)
Melissa and Josh. And it's absolutely hellarious.
http://www.wowinsider.com/2008/02/11/why-look-a-weighted-companion-cube
Enjoy :-)
Monday, February 11, 2008
Finding My Groove
Change is nice - really nice. It's been a weekend of change, so without further ado, the usual suspects, analyzed hit-list-style.
Work: I'm in the process of transitioning at Meijer. I'll eventually be working Tuesdays and Thursdays instead of Mondays and Wednesdays, which will make my job a lot easier, and make focusing on school a lot easier too. Today was my first Monday off work. I did go in briefly to train my Monday replacement (Austin!), but it was a nice change of pace. I'm looking forward to working fewer days per week.
School: We are so far into the semester that I've stopped counting the weeks. I'm just "in the thicket of things," so to speak, and I'm holding up amazingly well. I've been budgeting my days according to my academic needs, and so far by putting homework before anything else in my life, I've been succeeding quite well - I'm way ahead of myself, grade-wise, compared to this time last semester. Unfortunately, I'm beginning to notice that it's taking a toll on my relationship, so I'm worried about how to deal with that in the coming week, especially since I have a fantastic piece of fiction coming together right now.
Fiction: ...which reminds me, Almost Gone is simply wonderful. The new plotline, story arc, and overall direction of the story is now novel-length, and thanks to my English class with Lawrence Coates, I'm working on it at a very professional level. Unfortunately, because my first workshop date is next week, and because I'm rewriting the opening chapter from scratch, I have a lot of work ahead of me, and not enough time or space to get it done. Which leads me to...
Games: I've budgeted a little bit more time for games in my life (on a weekly basis, anyway). I budget games like I budget school work now: work diligently on one game, then move on to the next... no A.D.D.-style hoping between games every five minutes. The Wii's Virtual Console has been a huge help to this: I get to play through old favorites and move on to another without leaving my couch. I played through 1080 Snowboarding last week. I just completed Donkey Kong Country 3 today. But guess what? The next game on my list is a doozy: Harvest Moon (SNES) was just released today, and within two minutes of it's launch, it was on my Wii. Excellent game, plain and simple. More importantly, it'll take me a while to get through it, which will be nice, as the Wii makes playing through long games easy since I can squeeze in quick play sessions without losing any progress (state-save feature).
Love Life: Can't complain... right? I'm certainly happier than I give myself credit for, that's for sure. That's also about all I want (or care) to say right now, especially on such a public forum as my blog.
Alrighty - time to get back to work on Almost Gone. See you peeps later.
B3 out.
Work: I'm in the process of transitioning at Meijer. I'll eventually be working Tuesdays and Thursdays instead of Mondays and Wednesdays, which will make my job a lot easier, and make focusing on school a lot easier too. Today was my first Monday off work. I did go in briefly to train my Monday replacement (Austin!), but it was a nice change of pace. I'm looking forward to working fewer days per week.
School: We are so far into the semester that I've stopped counting the weeks. I'm just "in the thicket of things," so to speak, and I'm holding up amazingly well. I've been budgeting my days according to my academic needs, and so far by putting homework before anything else in my life, I've been succeeding quite well - I'm way ahead of myself, grade-wise, compared to this time last semester. Unfortunately, I'm beginning to notice that it's taking a toll on my relationship, so I'm worried about how to deal with that in the coming week, especially since I have a fantastic piece of fiction coming together right now.
Fiction: ...which reminds me, Almost Gone is simply wonderful. The new plotline, story arc, and overall direction of the story is now novel-length, and thanks to my English class with Lawrence Coates, I'm working on it at a very professional level. Unfortunately, because my first workshop date is next week, and because I'm rewriting the opening chapter from scratch, I have a lot of work ahead of me, and not enough time or space to get it done. Which leads me to...
Games: I've budgeted a little bit more time for games in my life (on a weekly basis, anyway). I budget games like I budget school work now: work diligently on one game, then move on to the next... no A.D.D.-style hoping between games every five minutes. The Wii's Virtual Console has been a huge help to this: I get to play through old favorites and move on to another without leaving my couch. I played through 1080 Snowboarding last week. I just completed Donkey Kong Country 3 today. But guess what? The next game on my list is a doozy: Harvest Moon (SNES) was just released today, and within two minutes of it's launch, it was on my Wii. Excellent game, plain and simple. More importantly, it'll take me a while to get through it, which will be nice, as the Wii makes playing through long games easy since I can squeeze in quick play sessions without losing any progress (state-save feature).
Love Life: Can't complain... right? I'm certainly happier than I give myself credit for, that's for sure. That's also about all I want (or care) to say right now, especially on such a public forum as my blog.
Alrighty - time to get back to work on Almost Gone. See you peeps later.
B3 out.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
In A Land of Make Believe That Don't Believe In Me
Lately I've had the feeling that I'm forcing myself to blog, which means that I force myself to sit at my computer, force myself to come up with content, and force thus force myself to be creative. I feel that this attitude is forcing me to write underdeveloped and uninteresting posts. But then again, I need to keep writing, right?
Unfortunately, I'm currently still amidst a creative stalemate - and I need to get back on track fast. With an updated revision of Almost Gone due in under two weeks, I have a lot of writing to get done in little time. I've put two days of dedicated writing in thus far, and I have plenty more to do. Next weekend will be huge: I'm taking Saturday off work in order to plow through a ton of writing. This whole week will be the same way: I actually have plans (intentions, really) to put work and other school aside in order to write. I'm giving up video games to write. I'm giving up friends to write. It'll be an insanely busy week... at my computer.
I've turned to music to inspire me, much as it used to. With a master playlist of over 2,500 tracks, you would think that I could find something to carry my imagination away and produce the dreams that always manage to influence my writing. I've turned to the past for solace: Green Day, Blessid Union of Souls, Smash Mouth, Creed, Elton John, and various other random artists. Almost Gone is supposed to be a twisted love story on steroids, so I'm finding inspiration in my current and former love life, and in the music that inspires my love life.
Shifting gears...
I went with a good friend today for a "chili walk." Hosted by the Wood County Park District, we set out around 11:00am from Wintergarden Park in Bowling Green and walked a short trail or two. I learned a lot about some of the immediate and local wildlife, geology, and current situation of the park. As much as it felt like a field trip from high school, it also felt relaxing: among the hustle and bustle of school, work, programming, and writing, I was able to spend an hour "breathing" in the wilderness of nature that I miss so much (Towpath, anyone?). The chili was certainly good, as was hot chocolate. I should get out more with the Park District and do these sorts of things. No... not should... I will.
With that, I'm off to write some more, relax a tiny but tonight (maybe a half-hour of DS?), and finally get a full-night's rest of sleep.
Out.
Unfortunately, I'm currently still amidst a creative stalemate - and I need to get back on track fast. With an updated revision of Almost Gone due in under two weeks, I have a lot of writing to get done in little time. I've put two days of dedicated writing in thus far, and I have plenty more to do. Next weekend will be huge: I'm taking Saturday off work in order to plow through a ton of writing. This whole week will be the same way: I actually have plans (intentions, really) to put work and other school aside in order to write. I'm giving up video games to write. I'm giving up friends to write. It'll be an insanely busy week... at my computer.
I've turned to music to inspire me, much as it used to. With a master playlist of over 2,500 tracks, you would think that I could find something to carry my imagination away and produce the dreams that always manage to influence my writing. I've turned to the past for solace: Green Day, Blessid Union of Souls, Smash Mouth, Creed, Elton John, and various other random artists. Almost Gone is supposed to be a twisted love story on steroids, so I'm finding inspiration in my current and former love life, and in the music that inspires my love life.
Shifting gears...
I went with a good friend today for a "chili walk." Hosted by the Wood County Park District, we set out around 11:00am from Wintergarden Park in Bowling Green and walked a short trail or two. I learned a lot about some of the immediate and local wildlife, geology, and current situation of the park. As much as it felt like a field trip from high school, it also felt relaxing: among the hustle and bustle of school, work, programming, and writing, I was able to spend an hour "breathing" in the wilderness of nature that I miss so much (Towpath, anyone?). The chili was certainly good, as was hot chocolate. I should get out more with the Park District and do these sorts of things. No... not should... I will.
With that, I'm off to write some more, relax a tiny but tonight (maybe a half-hour of DS?), and finally get a full-night's rest of sleep.
Out.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Prioritizing Works... Somehow
I went into this semester with a promise to schedule, prioritize, and maintain a strict schedule that puts school ahead of work, and work ahead of leisure time. So far this semester, I'm succeeding where I have previously failed.
Take this week, for example. A five page English paper is done. A quiz out of the way. A new major blog entry complete (not posted yet, though). And now, my computer science program complete - at least, as complete as I can stand to get it. I've been plugging away on it for three days now, and it's gone fairly smoothly. I'm certainly a better programmer than I give myself credit for - I just make a lot of little, dumb mistakes that trips me up every time I write code.
Thus, I now barrel into my next big project. I workshop for my English 413 class in two weeks, so I have a TON of revisions to complete on Almost Gone, so I'll be very, very, very anti-social over the next two weeks in order to get caught up. But... I'm looking forward to getting back to work on an old piece of fiction that now holds plenty of story potential.
But now I must wrap up blogging, charge my devices, and re-learn Dreamweaver really quickly. Oh, and cleaning and sleep sound good too.
B3 out.
Take this week, for example. A five page English paper is done. A quiz out of the way. A new major blog entry complete (not posted yet, though). And now, my computer science program complete - at least, as complete as I can stand to get it. I've been plugging away on it for three days now, and it's gone fairly smoothly. I'm certainly a better programmer than I give myself credit for - I just make a lot of little, dumb mistakes that trips me up every time I write code.
Thus, I now barrel into my next big project. I workshop for my English 413 class in two weeks, so I have a TON of revisions to complete on Almost Gone, so I'll be very, very, very anti-social over the next two weeks in order to get caught up. But... I'm looking forward to getting back to work on an old piece of fiction that now holds plenty of story potential.
But now I must wrap up blogging, charge my devices, and re-learn Dreamweaver really quickly. Oh, and cleaning and sleep sound good too.
B3 out.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
New Food!?
Today was... fun.
My computer science program that's due at the end of this week is coming along much better than I anticipated. Despite having concerns over my programming abilities (I graduate soon, after all), I was able to breeze through much of the program today. I've spent most of my day in a programmer's zen, a weird place where I'm productive more than wasteful. I actually enjoyed it.
I also ate at the Hunan Buffet tonight, which was a first for me. Interestingly, I was able to eat at a "competitor" to my favorite Chinese restaurant, New King. Hunan was pretty decent. The dining room wasn't as inviting - quite small and cramped, but the food selection was much larger than New King's. Food seemed to be hit-or-miss: some dishes were top notch (salt & pepper shrimp, sesame chicken among my favorite) while others were questionable at best (mostly their desert bar). I'm still a New King supporter overall, but this can be said: each restaurant offers something a little different than the other, so I'll be mixing up my Chinese dinners a bit more from now on.
Anywho, I'm trying to get around to doing a redesign in Critically Correct. I'm not sure if I want to do something major or minor. I've been inspired by other changes, of course - new colors are always awesome, so I might do a few minor revisions now, and prepare for a full overhaul after I graduate - new name, new layout, new theme; the works!
But... I have a fairly long Wednesday ahead of me, so I'm off to bed to get some major rest.
B3 out.
My computer science program that's due at the end of this week is coming along much better than I anticipated. Despite having concerns over my programming abilities (I graduate soon, after all), I was able to breeze through much of the program today. I've spent most of my day in a programmer's zen, a weird place where I'm productive more than wasteful. I actually enjoyed it.
I also ate at the Hunan Buffet tonight, which was a first for me. Interestingly, I was able to eat at a "competitor" to my favorite Chinese restaurant, New King. Hunan was pretty decent. The dining room wasn't as inviting - quite small and cramped, but the food selection was much larger than New King's. Food seemed to be hit-or-miss: some dishes were top notch (salt & pepper shrimp, sesame chicken among my favorite) while others were questionable at best (mostly their desert bar). I'm still a New King supporter overall, but this can be said: each restaurant offers something a little different than the other, so I'll be mixing up my Chinese dinners a bit more from now on.
Anywho, I'm trying to get around to doing a redesign in Critically Correct. I'm not sure if I want to do something major or minor. I've been inspired by other changes, of course - new colors are always awesome, so I might do a few minor revisions now, and prepare for a full overhaul after I graduate - new name, new layout, new theme; the works!
But... I have a fairly long Wednesday ahead of me, so I'm off to bed to get some major rest.
B3 out.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
It'll Be A While
Tonight represents a transition period for me. The general "first portion" of school is over with, and my first round of mini-projects, papers, and homework is complete. Unfortunately, the next portion begins immediately.
Coming up, I have a computer science program due this Friday, which gets first priority for me this week, and should keep me busy quite well. I do have a general outline and plan for it, so I'm not stressing about it. At least not until Thursday or so.
Directly after that, I'm going into hardcore fiction mode - I have a revised copy of "Almost Gone" due in a few weeks, and with extensive changes taking place to the story, I need to get writing ASAP.
In non-school related news, I found out today that I'm keeping my Grocery job at Meijer: I'm just getting help from different people now, and more days off (exactly what I needed). With all the new bills I have, this is a big plus (the money is welcomed!).
Also coming up is an extravagantly-planned Valentine's Day out and about with a certain someone. I'm looking forward to it a lot. If nothing else, it's nice to plan a full day in advance, and it's really nice to have something to look forward to.
Tomorrow is back to the grind: work in the morning (one of my last Mondays at Meijer for a while), followed by class, driving home, class, more class, and finally an awesome night chilling at the apartment. Tuesday is going to be stressful. Have you ever been stressed about the outcome of a test (or two), even though you are 100% sure that the results will be good news? Still, I've never been put in this questionable position before, so it's a little awkward for me.
Will I have time to blog this week? I have no idea. Beyond updates on the SR-64 sinkhole, I'll probably be a bit busy with school... but here's hoping!
Out.
Coming up, I have a computer science program due this Friday, which gets first priority for me this week, and should keep me busy quite well. I do have a general outline and plan for it, so I'm not stressing about it. At least not until Thursday or so.
Directly after that, I'm going into hardcore fiction mode - I have a revised copy of "Almost Gone" due in a few weeks, and with extensive changes taking place to the story, I need to get writing ASAP.
In non-school related news, I found out today that I'm keeping my Grocery job at Meijer: I'm just getting help from different people now, and more days off (exactly what I needed). With all the new bills I have, this is a big plus (the money is welcomed!).
Also coming up is an extravagantly-planned Valentine's Day out and about with a certain someone. I'm looking forward to it a lot. If nothing else, it's nice to plan a full day in advance, and it's really nice to have something to look forward to.
Tomorrow is back to the grind: work in the morning (one of my last Mondays at Meijer for a while), followed by class, driving home, class, more class, and finally an awesome night chilling at the apartment. Tuesday is going to be stressful. Have you ever been stressed about the outcome of a test (or two), even though you are 100% sure that the results will be good news? Still, I've never been put in this questionable position before, so it's a little awkward for me.
Will I have time to blog this week? I have no idea. Beyond updates on the SR-64 sinkhole, I'll probably be a bit busy with school... but here's hoping!
Out.
Sinkhole Update
The cause of the State Route 64 / King Road closure: a huge sinkhole.
I have provided pics and a short video below.
Video (YouTube)
Pics (Facebook)
Out.
I have provided pics and a short video below.
Video (YouTube)
Pics (Facebook)
Out.
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