OakMonster's Den

Uncle Pete ::  Jimmy Dean’s The Sun

Tabatha from Tabatha’s Salon Takeover :: A Na’vi

I mean…really.

Well, I still can’t get used to turning the video camera the right way.  My apology for your tilted head.

But Dresden is just too frellin’ CUTE in this!!!

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!

Took the idea from Will Wheaton’s tweet and ran with it.

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?”

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).

And now this.

Mom and her army of fortune tellers was right.

*

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

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

The 12 pictures of 2008.

Also, to keep up with the tradition started last year, here is my First Sentences of 2008 summary.

It was unnecessarily showy for an easy touch down.  So, someone wants to buy OakMonster.com from me.  BBC reports about a possible link that excessive Vitamin E intake may increase risk of lung cancer.  My car is now in the shop.  I KNEW it was too good to be true when Athena started to hang out with us, when she comes running to me when she hears the jangles of the keys, when she sits purring on our floor begging us to rub her belly and every elsewhere on her fluffy black coat with a twinge of orange tabby pattern. We’re once again on death watch as Brandon’s grandfather who has Alzheimer is hospitalized.  My eyes are half opened but I want to post this before I go to bed. Hey, it’s STILL Friday! On Saturday, two major events for me that set the happy tone for the rest of the long weekend. Two things I love most about October: Halloween and beer. I turn 32 on the day Southern California is on fire and Bangkok is flooded. So, the PAD is leaving the airports.

The good ones are finally all up on my Flickr set.  Here are a few.

Unless you are a gamer geek, this image here will not make any sense.

To me, this is hilarious.

It’s more than photos. It’s everything!

First. My costume for the office.  Killer Rabbit from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  Yes, I do have the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch on my person…just not showing her on the pic.

Next. Thanks to Kuri, the scariest music. Ever. I mean, I’m stressed out listening to the first 10 minutes.  Have to clense that out with Thriller Krazy.

Finally, Thrill the World Worldwide video.  Yep. 4,176 people around the world plus me were doing this at the same time.