Moved....Again

So I said I would not move my blog again. I lied. Wordpress has me in its evil (but efficient) clutches. You can now reach me here.

http://pbspoon.com

This Is The Day

Every day I go to work thinking, "Is this the day where I'm going to mess up really bad and get fired?"

I've heard this is normal and in fact even healthy because it doesn't make you complacent in your job and motivates you to do your best.

It still brings a measure of stress. It reminds me of school stress which sucked but of course comes with the added stress that this is my livelihood.

But until I get rich, I'll be working for a long time. And I would have no problem never working if I got rich. But I'm not playing the lottery and I don't have an inheritance my way so work it shall be. At least weekends make it better.

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Blog Pimpin' Time #1

I found a blog that makes me laugh out loud in an almost embarrassing manner. It's called Hyperbole and a Half and Allie does an amazing job telling stories. Some of her posts can be hugely long (J groaned about it) but they are so entertaining that I fly through them. She's so good, she makes me want to be her friend. Will you be my friend Allie?

One of my friends that I frequently talk to, Lonnie Ann, has a comic called Almost Normal which is awesome. I love her art style and her willingness to bear her soul on her comic. Plus she can draw Dalia the Beerhorse like nobody's business. Everybody I know looks forward to her comic and I predict that she has a bright future ahead of her.

And last but not least, I have Shit My Kids Ruined. I call this the cheapest form of birth control known to man. Kids are destructive. Boys more so but girls as well. I don't think I could take having my kids ruin everything I own. This blog details all the train wrecks that kids can produce. This gives me a good reason not to have kids if I decide to never have any.

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The Last Airbender

J and I are so ready to see this. We've been watching the series on Netflix and it's amazing. If you haven't seen it, take a look. It's American anime which generally gets a bad rap but this is pretty amazing. The second season is even better than the first and it's produced by Nickelodeon so I thought it would be extremely kid-like and even thought it's definitely acceptable for kids, it's very enjoyable for adults. I suggest checking it out. It will definitely get you pumped for the movie.

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Music

Music can evoke strong emotions and bring back strong memories.

The music I heard today wanted to travel back to 1997 and smack my college freshman self in the head for making the stupidest decisions.

Stupid music.

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Random Thoughts

1. My sister is coming in town this weekend. Nothing is better than the Crocker sisters getting together. It's like old times.
2. J is the only person I know that can make everything all better with just a look.
3. I hate my dog sometimes. But I love him all the rest.
4. Adrienne and Cole are awesome friends.
5. My Kindle is the best thing that I own.
6. J hates shows that are in Non-HD. You should see how he gripes at having to watch them.

Twenty Years Ago Today

Twenty years ago today, we all lost a legend. Mr. Jim Henson died May 16, 1990. As J knows, I don't cry about a lot of things. I remember I was eleven years old when I heard the news. I was staggered and I couldn't believe it.

Jim Henson was equated to a lot of the happiness and memories of my childhood. Mainly Sesame Street but also the muppet movies, Fraggle Rock, The Muppet Show, and the Dark Crystal. Those meant happy times in my life and in my family. And then abruptly, he and his future work were taken away from me.

When we lose someone as creative as that, it hurts me and it makes me frustrated. I take it personally and I don't know why. I was the same way when Aaliyah died but not as much. I think it's the fact that somebody so talented had so much more to give the world and it was torn away so violently. I want to just scream it's not fair like a little girl.

I miss Jim Henson and his work. Tears come to my eyes thinking of all we have lost. Thank you Jim Henson. Your legacy lives on but you will still be missed.

Things I Learned in Utah at Nerdtacular

1. The air is freaking thin! I walked up the steps and I felt like I had run around the building!

2. The mountains are like BAM in your face as soon as you land. It's surreal!

3. The IKEA there is amazing. Walked around for four hours and even ate Swedish meatballs.

4. People there are so nice! Our host invited 75 people into his home, at least half of which he didn't know.

5. It's cold even in May. Well, cold for me anyway.

6. Seeing double features with friends is amazing.

7. Instantly clicking with people that you have previously only talked to on game or in chat is amazing.

8. Nerds and geeks are some of the best people in the entire world and I'm proud to be one.

9. It confirmed my belief that local pizza places are the best.

10. I will definitely be back.

Hit on Heroes

J threatened to put a hit out on the Heroes episodes that I have piled up on my DVR. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. We have episodes dated back to November. J doesn't like to watch them since the story has taken a dive.

J: You can watch Heroes. Or whatever will take the most stuff off the DVR

Me: I will only watch it when you aren't around!

J: No. Watch it so it'll get off the DVR

Me: /guffaw

J: Seriously. Or they may ended up missing. *cough*

Me: HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHA. Are you threatening to put a hit out on my Heroes episodes?

J: No. Just stating what *could* happen

Me: riiiight

J: What? *innocent eyes*

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Happy Birthday Renee!

True to form, I have been taking forever to write about how awesome my birthday weekend was. It was amazing and I couldn't have asked for a better birthday weekend. Of course, J pampered me the whole weekend which was awesome. Saturday my whole family (minus Deidre of course) and Adrienne and Cole went out to Macaroni Grill for lunch. My family immediately took to Adrienne and Cole and why wouldn’t they? They are amazing people who I hope to see a lot more of soon. I know that they are extremely busy people but it’s nice to see them every once in a while.

Lobster ravioli was great, along with my massive chocolate cake. And I was sung Happy Birthday Italian Opera Style. Very classy and I wish I had used my camera to take a video! Gotta love that hindsight. I took some pics so I will put a couple on flickr. I totally wasn’t expecting gifts at all and I was overwhelmed when I got such great ones. Every time I’m around my family and friends, I realize how lucky I am to have them. Some people don’t have people that are close to them and I have so many loving people. I really can’t complain.

Had an amazing D&D session on Saturday night. Spending time with my crew on Skype was pretty cool and I’m glad it’s coming together pretty well. I hope that we play for a long, long time. It’s kind of a lot of people for a game but we make it work and we don’t spend too much time on doing moves so it moves along pretty well. All the RP stuff is making me want to start on my idea for a story.

J and I watched the Time Traveler’s Wife. Or I watched and I woke him up intermittently. But he kept up with the story amazingly well. He’s awesome like that.

So I’m 31. There are a lot of great things that happened in my 30th year and I’m ready for the 31st. I sense good things coming this year!

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Mad Otters!

J sent me this link about a rabid otter attacking a man in California. No. I'm serious. Dead serious.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100306/ARTICLE/3061028/-1/NEWSSITEMAP

Seriously, I laughed so hard. And listen to the 911 call. It just gets better.

Thanks Babe!

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First Impressions: Final Fantasy XIII

So I received my copy of Final Fantasy XIII at Walmart at Midnight Tuesday. Of course having just watched Hurt Locker, I was exhausted and decided to delve into it the next day after work. I was very excited to play as the last single player Final Fantasy game I played was X as I had missed out on XII regrettably.

After dinner, I fired up the game and was immediately engrossed in gorgeous animation. The cut scenes were gorgeous and the voice work was exemplary. Even at first impression, it reminded me of Final Fantasy VIII. The opening scene was a train for both games. Plus the futuristic similarities are definitely there.

It throws you into the combat tutorial fairly quickly so it's not as much waiting around and definitely not as much reading as the characters actually speak! :) One thing I found surprising is that you only control the party leader. This might change as I go further through the game but it was odd having the other party members act of their own accord. Even going as far as them using a potion (And a potion heals your entire party as well).

The combat system is interesting, there is an added feature that isn't too hard to understand and allows big crits on the bad guys. Because who doesn't like big crits? The chracters are what I'm used to seeing in a Final Fantasy Game. Some have weird hair or big hair and the style is definitely consistent. You go back and forth between three groups of people so that helps round the story out a bit.

So far, I am only three hours in and it takes me a long time to finish a Final Fantasy game because I explore EVERYTHING. But I am liking it so far.

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Plastic Beaches and Broken Roads

So my lovely husband provided us with new music yesterday.

The Gorillaz: Plastic Beach


The first look at the new music was through their music video Stylo. I was soooo hooked! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the video. Some people might not like the foray out of 2D characters but I loved the video. Plus with Bruce Willis, how can you go wrong? The track features Mos Def and the legendary Bobby Womack. The video has a definite story and I'm interesting to hear what happens before and after the video takes place.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9vAOzYz-Qs

The very first track of the album featured Snoop Dogg so that immediately drew me in. I'm very much a child of the 90s and anything with Snoop makes me smile. That man's voice is smooth!

It rolls into the second track with Asian and Jamaican influences. The whole album continues on into unexpected tracks that would make me smile with the originality of it all. Gorillaz does not disappoint at all as usual and I'm extremely satisfied with the content. They give you quality as well as quantity with sixteen very different tracks.

They made a good choice coming out with Stylo first. It is an upbeat but still laid back song that people can get into and features well known artists.

Definitely a good album to download or pick up at your local music store. Really? You all still have a local music store? Crazy talk! ;)

Broken Bells: Broken Roads


I have always loved Danger Mouse since he was in Gnarls Barkley and his technological haunting beats follow him into his collaboration with James Mercer. I had never heard of Mercer so I went into this album with a clean opinion. I like it a lot.

The video is definitely interesting. The music is definitely that which I can listen to over and over. I find myself drawn to the song Mongrel Heart. The haunting background vocals are winning me over.

If you like Gnarls Barkley, definitely check this out. It will remind you of a lot even though it's less soul and more guitarist rock. I love the slight Asian influences I hear now and again.

So I say it's an album that will have a deserved spot on my rotation list.

PBS

Google Aficianado

So as my husband knows, I love Google. I mean anytime I have the slightest inkling that I want to know something more about a topic, I instantly whip out my iPhone (or ask him to do it if I'm driving because it usually happens when I'm driving).

I think I'm still amazed at the instant knowledge transfer that occurs. There's so much information on the internet that I couldn't possibly begin to absorb but it's just awesome that it's there if I need it. This instant information has become so ingrained in my life that I think I would probably have withdrawal if it was ever taken away! That's not a good feeling but it's something I could live with. There are people everyday that don't have internet but I've had it consistently for over 10 years.

I remember when I first started using the internet on a regular basis. It was my freshmen year of college and the university had installed a brand new computer lab in the basement of the student complex. It was open 24 hours. So yea, that was my first look into it and where I can pinpoint my first geekdom/nerdery beginning. Ah...slow internet and obscure chat rooms. Back when chat rooms weren't just men on the prowl for lonely women. And vice versa.

Thanks, Google and similar search engines, for the instant information and entertainment you've provided over the years.

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Hi Five!

My husband I had this conversation on IM:

Him: we rock!
/internet highfive o/\o

Me: o/\o


I love us!

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Kindle Me, Kindle You!

So my magnificent husband bought me an early birthday gift. A Kindle! Click on the link if you don't know what it is. Go on...I'll wait. *taps foot*
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Welcome back!

So I think this is going to be a review of it because I've actually finished a book on it. I had started reading the book in print and I wanted to read it on the Kindle. So I searched the Kindle store, found the book I was currently reading and downloaded it. All of that took less than a minute. I was more than impressed. The books are on average 2 to 3 dollars cheaper than print for soft covers and moreso for hardcovers.

I then had to find my place in the book where I had left off. They have a handy dandy search function for the book and I just input the first part of the sentence where I wanted to start reading and it found it quickly so I was able to pick up where I left off.

My biggest worry was that I would miss having a book with tangible pages to read. Well that worry went out of the window when I started reading. If it's possible for me to be even more engaged, I was! I even found myself forgetting that I was on an e-reader and tried to turn the page a time or two. I found myself reading faster than before as well. The screen has the coloring of the pages of a book and the screen is really anti-glare.

The Kindle has a built in dictionary so you can just highlight a word while you are reading and instantly get the meaning. L-O-V-E this feature! I finished my first book quickly and immediately downloaded another. This thing is just calling for a place in my entertainment budget. Once you are done with the book, delete it from the device and it's moved to your archived section where you can download it again at anytime.

The Kindle also has magazine and newspapers that you can subscribe to at a modest price. You can also subscribe to blogs and go on the internet as well. And the battery life is amazing! And I love that it's small enough to fit in my purse.

There are slight downsides to the Kindle that I really can't call downsides considering all the great things about it.

There seems to be slight wasted space on the Kindle. They probably could have either made the screen a little bigger or made the device a little smaller and kept the screen the same size.

There is no backlight but many companies sell light accessories.

So all in all, I love the Kindle and I look forward to spending many curled up moments with it. Thanks J!

PBS

Just Get It Out Already

So I was listening to NPR on the way to work and an interesting story came on the radio.

The story stated that scientists had finally found and noted the first genes linked to stuttering. The story went on to say that now it's proven that the behavioral disorder was hereditary. Because of this, doctor's can come up with a possible enzyme to lessen the symptoms of stuttering.

I was stunned to hear this. I have been stuttering since i was about six years old. I went to therapy in elementary school and even though my speech teacher was very nice, I'm not sure it helped that much. I have found ways to cope with my stuttering. Choosing words I wouldn't stutter over, talking slower. Sometimes it would work and sometimes it wouldn't.

My stuttering is not as bad as some people I have seen. I have a light stutter that some people doesn't even know exists. It was never a hindrance to my life. Just a source of embarrassment when callous people who had no couth would make jokes about it or a sense of frustration when people couldn't understand what I was sayin gor had no patience to wait while I spoke.

I managed to get through speech class when I was in college and I wish now that I had done my speech on stuttering. It would have made me feel a lot more confident during the speech.

So the center of my feelings is, would I take a pill that eliminated my stuttering? I'm not sure. I mean not stuttering would feel super weird but at the thought of saying my name without worrying what's going to come out (or not come out) or ordering at the drive through clearly. That excites me. But a part of me feels like it's taking away a part of who I am. It has caused sadness but it has also made me stronger in a way.

At any rate, I don't foresee a pill or vaccine coming on the market for years and years. It's just something to think about.

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Twitter Sadness

So a person I know tweeted this the other day. It struck a chord in me and my heart went out to her. I feel helpless to help (as I am in this situation) but I can't stop wishing that I wish things were different. I think what it would be like if I couldn't marry J. If I just stalled in boyfriend/girlfriend relationship status. The frustration would be almost unbearable. That's just one of many things I wish would change about this country. I just hope I see it in my lifetime.

Not being able to marry has always sucked, but it hurts even worse when you see many friends from HS/college getting married.

Makes you feel like you're stalling in life, can't take that next "big step". "Girlfriend" doesn't have as much meaning as "wife" to others.

When you say "wife" to anyone, they know what that relationship means. When you say "girlfriend" it could mean many things.

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Day 5 Alive

So I heard on the news on the way to work that since Six Flags declared bankruptcy last year, Kentucky Kingdom could not find anybody to take ownership of their lease and they will be closing. I felt some unexpected sadness at the news. I thought that Friday would be an appropriate day to post this.

I spent a lot of time at that amusement park when I was younger and it holds a lot of fond memories. When I was high school, they used to hold Friday dance parties there and if you were anybody, you were there. Day 5 Alive it was called. They even had local stations taking video of the party and it was awesome to see yourself on TV the next day. The entrance fee was only $10 and you still had time to ride a few rides before the party started.

I remember a lot of good things about that place and it's kind of sad that it's gone. Just another few memories that I don't want to forget. It's kind of odd seeing things that I enjoyed as a kid go away. Makes me feel old lol.

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Osiris

Osiris, originally uploaded by Iceflow1121.

So I just watched Tropic Thunder this weekend and the cast must have really liked my comments. Because look who's following me now. :)

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