Category: Hobbying

Hobbies and extracurricular activities

I can haz!

Tuesday marked my first week anniversary for being a metal mouth.  And I ated a cheeseburger.

Oh yeah, I have a new blog set up for just that at Brace Face Chronicles.

Someone questioned if I should need another blog.

I would answer with one of these. Because I can just have one concentrated area to bitch and moan all about my inability to eat or the pain the braces hath brought.  Because I can share the experience with other adults who are now getting their braces…or like me, getting them again for a second time.

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At a recent gathering, someone asked why I got braces.

“You didn’t really need it, did you?” “I didn’t see anything wrong with your teeth before?”

Then I launched into the reasons why…which I won’t do again when you can just read it here.

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I am almost through with the Italy part of Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love. Thoroughly inspired, I found me some weekend Italian lessons in Irvine with Fondazione Italia.

And I will be taking those classes in the fall.

When I told someone that I wanted an Italian lesson, they’d look at me, puzzled.

“Why?” “What for?” “Why not Spanish?”

I would answer with one of these. I LOVE the food. I PLAN on going to spend a lot of time in Italy someday. AND learn to cook while I’m at it. I love the way the language sound. I love the way the people speak it. I love the Italian way of looking at life and how they live it.

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My recent choices seem to bring up a lot of questions from others and I found myself finding an answer that would make sense to them.

And then I realize I don’t have to justify anything to anyone.

I’m getting braces because I can.

I’m writing about my experience because I can.

I’m taking Italian lessons because I can.

Because I can.

With that phrase, I can haz anything.

Phototastic Friday: Monday Edition

A lot has happened since last weekend. But most of them captured in photos.

First, last Saturday we had the photography meet up in Lancaster with #Phototwop (@captures) for the Poppy Reserve hike and the Poppy festival.  Unfortunately, we were much too late for the poppies except for a few patches on the side of the road.  We still had a great picnic and a maniacal hike up a VERY windy hill.

The next day, Brandon and I and his friends hit the Renaissance Faire as civilians.  Armed with our cameras, we got our Ren Faire photo bugs out of our system.  So when we returned this past Saturday all dressed up we didn’t have to fumble with the damn things.

The Civilian visit, we went with 3 people.  The Dressed Up visit, it was a huge group with Aurora, Justin, Olaina, Wyatt & Eli (@phraktyl & @phraklet), Annette (@dananner) and her two kids and a friend, AND Amy & Pete and the twins.  We had lunch together before dispersing through the Faire at our own pace.  Olaina was kind enough to take our pictures for the day.  (I think Annette has some too.)

And yes, after 4 years at the Faire, I finally figured out how to not get sick of dehydration the day after.  One mead, one water is the winning formula!  So yes, I consumed quite a bit of mead in the past week. 🙂

And somewhere in the middle there, I went to my final cooking class (which I will add to the series soon), had dinner with a couple of newly engaged friends, and hung out with Justin & Olaina.

The busy continues starting tonight with a drag show fundraiser for my friend Greg, office potluck tomorrow, one more cooking class (not part of the original series) on Wednesday, and then spacers being put in my teeth on Thursday followed by midnight show of Star Trek.

Fun!

Phototastic Friday: Winning Geek

I have been submitting “Action Shots” to ThinkGeek.com for a while now.  C.H.I.M.P. Bunny here and Expendable there.

So when the final purchase of my shirt-tastic shopping spree came in (I mean, Rock – Paper – Scissors – Lizard – Spock!? How could you NOT buy?), it took all of 5 minutes for us to set up this shot Brandon took, and for me to submit with suggested caption of “You Spocking to me?”

you spocking to me?

Ladies and gentlemen, you are now looking at the winning portrait of  ThinkGeek.com’s Action Shot of April 2009.

It didn’t take ThinkGeek team long to approve the shot.  James was surprised when he was browsing ThinkGeek and found my picture a couple of days later.

“Am I hallucinating or is this you?” he emailed.

I’m sooo certifiably geeky.  AND proud of it!

My mom had always told me, according to all the fortune tellers, that I, like my dad, don’t have any “luck”.  As in, we won’t win the “enter to win” type stuff or the lottery.  Money won’t fall out of the sky or someone would give us anything out of the blue.  We have to earn our success, making our own luck.

So far, I earned a couple of them this year.  First was the Port of Long Beach photo contest which I was one of three winners–one other being Annette (@dananner).

POLB

And now this.

Mom and her army of fortune tellers was right. 🙂

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P.S. For those of you oblivious to RPSLS, please edumacate yourselves.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mKbnVKdix8]

Phototastic Friday: Licensed to kill

Ramboakz

This is my [air] rifle. There are many like it but this one is mine. My [air] rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my [air] rifle is useless. Without my [air] rifle I am useless [in case of the apocalypse or war against zombies]. I must fire my [air] rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy, who is trying to kill me.  I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will. Before God I swear this creed: my [air] rifle and myself are defenders of my country [well, my family, really].  We are the masters of our enemy [aka zombies].  We are the saviors of my life. So be it, until there is no enemy, but peace.

 

We had Thai food. And we went shooting. I also shot a 9mm and a 380.  9 mm. = fun!  380, tiny and I thought I’d like it better but it’s so hard to shoot!  I shot the ceiling a couple of times I think.

Oh, Brandon said I should go ahead and add the info about the rifle here too. So here goes.

RWS Model 34 Panther Pro Compact
Weight: 8.00 lbs. Barrel Length: 15.75″.  Overall Length: 42.13″. Capacity: 1 round(s).  Cocking Effort: 33 lbs. [I sooooo need to work out to be able to load this thing on my own.]  Barrel: Rifled. Trigger adj.: Two-stage adjustable. Apprx. Trigger Pull: 3.30 lbs. Buttplate: Soft rubber recoil pad. Action: Break barrel. Powerplant: Spring-piston. 5mm. 1000Fps

Watch this

Just got back from seeing Watchmen with Brandon and Lee.  Lee, who is a big fan of the graphic novel, gave it a 4 out of 5.  She said if we liked this, we definitely have to get the book, which we intend to do just that.

Wow. What a revelation!  It was stylized just enough. Violent in all the necessary places.  I might need to talk to somebody about my mental state because Rorschach is definitely my hero now.

Trailers were also massively awesome.  Possibly the best line up of trailers: Wolverine, Star Trek, Terminator, and, for some of us, Angels & Demons.  We’ll forget that they tarnished this almost-perfect line-up with that number movie with Nick Cage and yet another mall cop comedy. Whatever.

Oh, and I will also need some therapy having that much blue, um, well, er, “twig” swung around in my face.  Is it weird for me to wonder where Dr. Manhattan might have put his, um, well, er, “berries?”  Was he cold walking around naked all the time that causes some, um, well, er, shrinkage?

/wipes mental image of 50 feet of blue…GAHHHH!!!

For those who have seen the movie/read the novel, I have a couple of treats for you, courtesy of my beloved LA Time’s Hero Complex Blog.  Those who haven’t seen the movie/read the novel, it’ll still be funny.  But come back to watch all of these AFTER the movie/novel, and it’ll be a LOT funnier.

First, as Hero Complex names it, Attack of the Show Takes On Lower Manhattan.

Sorry to put that giant blue, um, well, er, pole, back in your mind.  You can clear that out with this kids-friendly Saturday Morning Watchmen.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDDHHrt6l4w&eurl=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2009/03/watchmen-saturd.html&feature=player_embedded]

Speaking of kids-friendly, what kind of a fucked up mother would step up to buy tickets to the Watchmen with a 5-year-old and a toddler in a stroller?

Seriously, lady.  It’s rated R.  Clearly, you have no idea.  But guess who will be kicking herself later when her 5-year-old asked what the Night Owl and the Silk Spectre were doing and you will be waken up on the middle of the night by your two children screaming when Rorschach’s actions revisit them in their dreams.  Good job scarring your children for life , dumb ass.

Port of Love

Long Beach Tweet Up group led by @DaNanner (aka Annette), with the help of @LBMatt outdid ourselves today with the photo walkabout at the Port of Long Beach.  Well, Matt got us interested with the Port’s photo contest.  And then as the Tweet Up started to take shape, he got his boss involved.

And here we were this morning at the Port Authority building, getting access to the rooftop and driven down winding and confusing roads around the port in the POLB vans to take great photos.

Of course, the AWESOME group of people we hung out with for two hours made everything worthwhile.  @killregrets, @phraktyl and phraklet, @agentjon, @niecee, and a couple of Matt’s friends.

I’m sure other people probably took better pictures than us, but I got a few good ones.

And here’s one from Brandon’s camera.  One guess as to who started this…

POLB - Brandon

After all of that, Annette joined Brandon and I and Olaina and Justin for lunch at Thai Nakorn. We laughed our heads off and ate ourselves silly.

The reason of my vegging out for the rest of the afternoon until I was able to crawl to the computer to geek out just a couple of hours ago.

Tomorrow? Watchmen with Lee.

This weekend is just too much fun already!