Current Mood: on alert
As you may or may not know, I take my zombie lore fairly seriously. I've studied zombies on paper, in cinema, and other forms of media. I've plotted out outbreak scenarios and formulated contingency plans, and as a result recently finished my first zombie novel (The Next Most Dangerous Game). I've begun evaluating potential groomsmen for my upcoming wedding based on fitness against the zombpocalpyse, like somebody I know once did.
My roommates and I even have a rule that any strange noises/shambling figures between the hours of midnight and 8am can and will be treated as hostile creatures looking for food. Destroy the brain first, ask questions later.
SO. Pranksters of the world, take note: this shit is not even remotely funny.
Showing posts with label NaNoWriMo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NaNoWriMo. Show all posts
5.05.2009
7.19.2008
on the verge
Current Mood: pensive
Somehow this wacky work schedule that I have opened up for a bit this month, and I just got back a few days ago from a whole week home, and I have to say it was one of the best visits home I can remember. Some highlights:
Got to hang out with Jared (one of Sis's college friends). Went swimming a lot. Burned myself lighting some rockass fireworks that we bought from a shady guy. Ate me some Gold Star chili. Visited Sis and Bradley's church and got to see what that was like - and hear Sis read one of her poems. Ate some of Dad's grill cookin'. Heard from an old friend that I kinda had fallen out of contact with. Gave some presents, got some presents like Bradley's old TV tuner card and a Carson Palmer jersey for my upcoming trip to Green Bay. Saw my Grandma's new apartment and learned some stuff about my grandparents. Rode a bike into a pool. Watched some great new movies. Went to a waterpark with some of my family courtesy of a family friend- and got my first sunburn. I ate downtown and tried sushi for the first time.
It was kinda like a whole summer break of fun compressed into a whole week. Awesome.
One other thing I got to do, which I'm setting aside as a special mention, was go target shooting with Mom and her fiancee Scott.
I've got "learn basic marksmanship" on my LoTtDBID. Previously, I've gone to the callout of the Purdue Rifle and Pistol Club and fired some handguns, I'd taken potshots at turtles with some small .22 rifles at Ronnie's house (waaaay back in the day), and fired some rifles and pistols with Kamikaze last summer. Still, I've never considered any of those any formal test of my ability, which is why I was excited to get to go target shooting. Up until that day the best I would say was that I'd messed around with some weapons but nothing more.
We went to the Elk Creek Hunt Club, a national target shooting circuit stop in Kentucky. I shot 12 and 20 gauge shotguns at small clay targets that were launched into the air by a mechanical thrower. I've never fired a shotgun before, never at a moving target, never at clay targets, and was using unfamiliar guns at a strange course - and I think I did pretty well.
Scott gave me a quick tutorial, and from there I shot four times at each of the 14 stations (for a total of 56 rounds, instead of the standard 100, to save money). The target shooting reminded me very much of Duck Hunt or similar games (which I suppose is the point) - except that it was much harder, and the targets moved with much more variety. For example, some arced down from over my right shoulder, some pairs criss-crossed, others rolled across the ground (called "rabbits"). I would guess that being good at shooting video games is a crossover skill to target shooting? I also learned the scoring system, the etiquette for being the thrower, and s'more gun safety. I ended up with a 54% accuracy over the entire course, with my best station being 4 of 4, and my worst 1 for 4.
I'm now a bit more confident that I can handle a gun, should the unthinkable happen.
And while I was home I really missed doing improv. It's been a long while since I've felt that...
Somehow this wacky work schedule that I have opened up for a bit this month, and I just got back a few days ago from a whole week home, and I have to say it was one of the best visits home I can remember. Some highlights:
Got to hang out with Jared (one of Sis's college friends). Went swimming a lot. Burned myself lighting some rockass fireworks that we bought from a shady guy. Ate me some Gold Star chili. Visited Sis and Bradley's church and got to see what that was like - and hear Sis read one of her poems. Ate some of Dad's grill cookin'. Heard from an old friend that I kinda had fallen out of contact with. Gave some presents, got some presents like Bradley's old TV tuner card and a Carson Palmer jersey for my upcoming trip to Green Bay. Saw my Grandma's new apartment and learned some stuff about my grandparents. Rode a bike into a pool. Watched some great new movies. Went to a waterpark with some of my family courtesy of a family friend- and got my first sunburn. I ate downtown and tried sushi for the first time.
It was kinda like a whole summer break of fun compressed into a whole week. Awesome.
One other thing I got to do, which I'm setting aside as a special mention, was go target shooting with Mom and her fiancee Scott.
I've got "learn basic marksmanship" on my LoTtDBID. Previously, I've gone to the callout of the Purdue Rifle and Pistol Club and fired some handguns, I'd taken potshots at turtles with some small .22 rifles at Ronnie's house (waaaay back in the day), and fired some rifles and pistols with Kamikaze last summer. Still, I've never considered any of those any formal test of my ability, which is why I was excited to get to go target shooting. Up until that day the best I would say was that I'd messed around with some weapons but nothing more.
We went to the Elk Creek Hunt Club, a national target shooting circuit stop in Kentucky. I shot 12 and 20 gauge shotguns at small clay targets that were launched into the air by a mechanical thrower. I've never fired a shotgun before, never at a moving target, never at clay targets, and was using unfamiliar guns at a strange course - and I think I did pretty well.
Scott gave me a quick tutorial, and from there I shot four times at each of the 14 stations (for a total of 56 rounds, instead of the standard 100, to save money). The target shooting reminded me very much of Duck Hunt or similar games (which I suppose is the point) - except that it was much harder, and the targets moved with much more variety. For example, some arced down from over my right shoulder, some pairs criss-crossed, others rolled across the ground (called "rabbits"). I would guess that being good at shooting video games is a crossover skill to target shooting? I also learned the scoring system, the etiquette for being the thrower, and s'more gun safety. I ended up with a 54% accuracy over the entire course, with my best station being 4 of 4, and my worst 1 for 4.
I'm now a bit more confident that I can handle a gun, should the unthinkable happen.
And while I was home I really missed doing improv. It's been a long while since I've felt that...
6.27.2008
forecast
Current Mood: pensive
I'm not a fan of laundry list posts, but this is more for me than anybody. Plus I just rolled out a survey post, which is pretty lame too. Deal :D
So it's about halfway through June, which means summer is approximately half over for me.
Finals ended Saturday, May 3rd. As soon as I was done with all my finals and a paper, I left Purdue. Jenny and I went to Cincinnati for about a week, went to Union Terminal to see Bodies (the Exhibition) and went to a Red's game. Then I came back and moved into Earhart, and had a week of straight training before jumping right into work. Since then I've beaten Metroid Prime: Corruption and read some books I've wanted to for a while (mostly stuff I put off during the school year). I went to Joey Steenbergen's wedding, and Benji & Corrie's wedding reception. My 22nd birthday came and went. I performed a special summer improv show for Earhart Hall summer school residents with most of the SoF. I've gone to see Iron Man and Indy 4. I've posed as a model for a Purdue brochure. I stopped biting my fingernails! I've kept up on my goal of posting here and on my other story site at least once a week (but not much more). I have also picked up a few extra hours helping with Day on Campus Tours, but for the most part I've been relaxing and hanging out with my friends that have been here (including a game of the new D&D 4.0 rules).
Pretty busy, I think. I am trying not to waste away my summer, but really relax and not overstress. I need some time to recharge my batteries. Thinking back to last summer, I should've either gotten more rigid deadlines from Dr. D for our research, or seriously considered limiting myself to just either a job, or my fellowship.
So where does that leave me for the rest of the summer? I've got from now until summer "ends" with the start of class- Monday August 25th. As of now:
I have about 25 hours of work every week for most of the rest of that time. I don't know when my last day will be, but the last day I could possibly work is August 8th.
That's also the last day for my current apartment lease, so sometime around there I'll need to move. That means up until then I need to continue whittling down the things I have here at Earhart. Peace has to move out, and I'll have to sort out everything there between me n' Alex. Then between Jenny, probably Greg, and hopefully mom coming to help, I'll move everything out of Earhart and Harrison over to my new apartment on the landing.
Mom wants me to try and go to an airshow July 19 and 20th, but I don't know if I'll be able to get off of work then. Similarly, my favorite holiday (4th of July) is coming up, and I'd like to hang out with everybody near Purdue and watch the fireworks, but I may have to work.
I'd like to go to Ft. Wayne and visit Andy and Jacque, and possibly someplace in Chicago - maybe see Scott? On top of that, Monday August 11th, Jenny and I are thinking about going to Green Bay WI to see the Bengals play the Packers @ Lambeau for the preseason. This may or may not count as our anniversary celebration. :D All of that takes a ton of money and gas is a lot more expensive than past summers, so we'll see. I will probably go home after apartment moving and before classes.
GenCon in mid-August, maybe? Also if I can get the right ticket, maybe a Judas Priest concert with future roommate Greg (how much would that rule?)
I will try and make it through the rest of my pile of books, Beard's comics, and finish at the very least Pokemon Diamond and Super Mario Galaxy. I've also got some computer maintenance to do (clean out bookmarks, clean up music files, etc.) but that's not high priority.
I'm going to make a point to keep posting to my blogs. By my best estimate, I have 14 chapters of my story left until I hit my goal [(50k - current 31,819) / 1300 word/chapter average) = 13.9]. I won't stop until I hit 50k, but I also won't quit until I've told my story. At one chapter/week average, I'll be done in 14 weeks, which means I won't finish before the summer ends. Fine, except my posting rate plummets as school picks up.
I should go give blood again, soon.
The last thing I'm writing about as a goal for the summer directly parallels my feeling about it. Something I've been putting off since the end of school. I need to talk to my counselor and get registered for the fall, and possibly take a summer class for July. Ugh.
Do. Not. Want.
I'm not a fan of laundry list posts, but this is more for me than anybody. Plus I just rolled out a survey post, which is pretty lame too. Deal :D
So it's about halfway through June, which means summer is approximately half over for me.
Finals ended Saturday, May 3rd. As soon as I was done with all my finals and a paper, I left Purdue. Jenny and I went to Cincinnati for about a week, went to Union Terminal to see Bodies (the Exhibition) and went to a Red's game. Then I came back and moved into Earhart, and had a week of straight training before jumping right into work. Since then I've beaten Metroid Prime: Corruption and read some books I've wanted to for a while (mostly stuff I put off during the school year). I went to Joey Steenbergen's wedding, and Benji & Corrie's wedding reception. My 22nd birthday came and went. I performed a special summer improv show for Earhart Hall summer school residents with most of the SoF. I've gone to see Iron Man and Indy 4. I've posed as a model for a Purdue brochure. I stopped biting my fingernails! I've kept up on my goal of posting here and on my other story site at least once a week (but not much more). I have also picked up a few extra hours helping with Day on Campus Tours, but for the most part I've been relaxing and hanging out with my friends that have been here (including a game of the new D&D 4.0 rules).
Pretty busy, I think. I am trying not to waste away my summer, but really relax and not overstress. I need some time to recharge my batteries. Thinking back to last summer, I should've either gotten more rigid deadlines from Dr. D for our research, or seriously considered limiting myself to just either a job, or my fellowship.
So where does that leave me for the rest of the summer? I've got from now until summer "ends" with the start of class- Monday August 25th. As of now:
I have about 25 hours of work every week for most of the rest of that time. I don't know when my last day will be, but the last day I could possibly work is August 8th.
That's also the last day for my current apartment lease, so sometime around there I'll need to move. That means up until then I need to continue whittling down the things I have here at Earhart. Peace has to move out, and I'll have to sort out everything there between me n' Alex. Then between Jenny, probably Greg, and hopefully mom coming to help, I'll move everything out of Earhart and Harrison over to my new apartment on the landing.
Mom wants me to try and go to an airshow July 19 and 20th, but I don't know if I'll be able to get off of work then. Similarly, my favorite holiday (4th of July) is coming up, and I'd like to hang out with everybody near Purdue and watch the fireworks, but I may have to work.
I'd like to go to Ft. Wayne and visit Andy and Jacque, and possibly someplace in Chicago - maybe see Scott? On top of that, Monday August 11th, Jenny and I are thinking about going to Green Bay WI to see the Bengals play the Packers @ Lambeau for the preseason. This may or may not count as our anniversary celebration. :D All of that takes a ton of money and gas is a lot more expensive than past summers, so we'll see. I will probably go home after apartment moving and before classes.
GenCon in mid-August, maybe? Also if I can get the right ticket, maybe a Judas Priest concert with future roommate Greg (how much would that rule?)
I will try and make it through the rest of my pile of books, Beard's comics, and finish at the very least Pokemon Diamond and Super Mario Galaxy. I've also got some computer maintenance to do (clean out bookmarks, clean up music files, etc.) but that's not high priority.
I'm going to make a point to keep posting to my blogs. By my best estimate, I have 14 chapters of my story left until I hit my goal [(50k - current 31,819) / 1300 word/chapter average) = 13.9]. I won't stop until I hit 50k, but I also won't quit until I've told my story. At one chapter/week average, I'll be done in 14 weeks, which means I won't finish before the summer ends. Fine, except my posting rate plummets as school picks up.
I should go give blood again, soon.
The last thing I'm writing about as a goal for the summer directly parallels my feeling about it. Something I've been putting off since the end of school. I need to talk to my counselor and get registered for the fall, and possibly take a summer class for July. Ugh.
Do. Not. Want.
5.18.2008
Retrospective
Current Mood: excited
Hey guys! I am less busy now that it is summer. I've moved back into University Residences (Earhart Hall) and will once again be a summer Operations Assistant for conferences. I am more or less a summer RA until August. I'll be on duty a few nights a week - required to stay in the building, doing rounds, check ins/outs, etc. I will probably try to take a summer class.
In August I move into my new apartment with Greg and Chad - I'm pretty excited about that. Woo! Pool! Washer and dryer! Bigger bedroom!
I'm going to try to write in here more, as well. If any of you still care to read, I'm also going to be updating my NaNoWriMo story from last year - starting tonight! I aim to update both blogs at least once a week. Speaking of blogs, I got an actual phone call from Allister today, and it was a fantastic surprise - thanks man!
Along with my class, books, video games, and work, I'm gonna try to stay busy.
It's a bit of a blast from the past to go back to the residence halls each summer, now that I've been in the apartment. I don't cook or clean, and I'm back to using my freshman shower caddy and my sandals have been pressed back into service as shower shoes. It's a bit odd. Fortunately, Jenny is working in the hall across the street and the rest of the staff is really nice. I have a very firm grasp of the job at hand.
This May marks the end of four official years at Purdue - and I'm at least one year (probably more) away from my degree. I'm trying really hard to accept that as okay and enjoy it, instead of worrying and beating myself up. It has been a very long road, with more to go, but I have overcome a lot to even be where I am.
Hey guys! I am less busy now that it is summer. I've moved back into University Residences (Earhart Hall) and will once again be a summer Operations Assistant for conferences. I am more or less a summer RA until August. I'll be on duty a few nights a week - required to stay in the building, doing rounds, check ins/outs, etc. I will probably try to take a summer class.
In August I move into my new apartment with Greg and Chad - I'm pretty excited about that. Woo! Pool! Washer and dryer! Bigger bedroom!
I'm going to try to write in here more, as well. If any of you still care to read, I'm also going to be updating my NaNoWriMo story from last year - starting tonight! I aim to update both blogs at least once a week. Speaking of blogs, I got an actual phone call from Allister today, and it was a fantastic surprise - thanks man!
Along with my class, books, video games, and work, I'm gonna try to stay busy.
It's a bit of a blast from the past to go back to the residence halls each summer, now that I've been in the apartment. I don't cook or clean, and I'm back to using my freshman shower caddy and my sandals have been pressed back into service as shower shoes. It's a bit odd. Fortunately, Jenny is working in the hall across the street and the rest of the staff is really nice. I have a very firm grasp of the job at hand.
This May marks the end of four official years at Purdue - and I'm at least one year (probably more) away from my degree. I'm trying really hard to accept that as okay and enjoy it, instead of worrying and beating myself up. It has been a very long road, with more to go, but I have overcome a lot to even be where I am.
12.20.2007
crazy sevens
Current Mood: funky
I think NaNoWriMo completely burned me out on writing, seriously. I haven't updated my NNWM story since a few days before the end of November (and I feel kinda bad, because quite a few people bothered to read it, and I'm guessing they're sick of checking for non-existent updates).
Worse, things on my writing front aren't going to improve anytime soon. About the only thing I write about in *this* blog with any regularity is football, and fantasy football ends this week, college bowls by the first week of January, and this is the penultimate week of regular season football. I am sad for that.
I'm leaving to go home in a few hours, and I'll be back to Purdue probably around the end of the year. I'm not addicted to the internet like Current Roommates Alex and John, so I won't take my computer home (that's a pain in the ass anyway, though I really do need to break down the 'ol compy and dust 'er off). Basically, I won't be updating much for a while at home.
On top of all that, this upcoming semester (starting January 7th) is probably one of the most important of my collegiate career. I need to seriously buckle down and overcome some academic roadblocks I've been struggling with for quite some time.
My rough attempt at a plan involves not working (already quit my job), scaling back my role at the improv club (read: less worrying over details/let new guys step up), and take out more student loans to worry less about money. The last one is almost paradoxical, but from last semester I think it is worth a try. There are some other things, but I don't want to list them here.
Also, on the proactive side of life, I need to start finding something to do this summer. I can easily go back to my old job as a summer conference assistant, but that's a step backwards and I'm getting sick of it. I want to do something engineering, something I am proud to put on my resume...but that's easier said than done with my gpa.
I tell myself to cut some slack because I'm stretching myself academically like whoa, but still...nobody to blame but yours truly. Get it together, Ryan.
Space is limited
In a haiku, so it's hard
To finish what you
-T.M
I think NaNoWriMo completely burned me out on writing, seriously. I haven't updated my NNWM story since a few days before the end of November (and I feel kinda bad, because quite a few people bothered to read it, and I'm guessing they're sick of checking for non-existent updates).
Worse, things on my writing front aren't going to improve anytime soon. About the only thing I write about in *this* blog with any regularity is football, and fantasy football ends this week, college bowls by the first week of January, and this is the penultimate week of regular season football. I am sad for that.
I'm leaving to go home in a few hours, and I'll be back to Purdue probably around the end of the year. I'm not addicted to the internet like Current Roommates Alex and John, so I won't take my computer home (that's a pain in the ass anyway, though I really do need to break down the 'ol compy and dust 'er off). Basically, I won't be updating much for a while at home.
On top of all that, this upcoming semester (starting January 7th) is probably one of the most important of my collegiate career. I need to seriously buckle down and overcome some academic roadblocks I've been struggling with for quite some time.
My rough attempt at a plan involves not working (already quit my job), scaling back my role at the improv club (read: less worrying over details/let new guys step up), and take out more student loans to worry less about money. The last one is almost paradoxical, but from last semester I think it is worth a try. There are some other things, but I don't want to list them here.
Also, on the proactive side of life, I need to start finding something to do this summer. I can easily go back to my old job as a summer conference assistant, but that's a step backwards and I'm getting sick of it. I want to do something engineering, something I am proud to put on my resume...but that's easier said than done with my gpa.
I tell myself to cut some slack because I'm stretching myself academically like whoa, but still...nobody to blame but yours truly. Get it together, Ryan.
Space is limited
In a haiku, so it's hard
To finish what you
-T.M
11.14.2007
there goes the Rose Bowl
Current Mood: sore
Jenny got me the newest Avenged Sevenfold album and Disney's RocketMan on dvd as anniversary presents (Amazon shipped a few days late). There are probably only a few people reading who understand the significance of the latter gift, but trust me when I say it has been on my wish list for some time.
Yesterday I signed the lease for next year's apartment on the landing with Future Roommates Greg and Chad. I have a feeling that'll be quite a fun living arrangement, considering the wide overlap of interests. While I'm on the subject of apartments, Current Roommate Alex has Gamefly and I've discovered the crazy hedonism that is Elebits. Other games I'm playing (at least casually) are Red Steel and a MegaMan collection, all for the Wii. They probably are at least in part to blame for my novel being behind schedule.
Onto sports!
I will freely admit that football has quickly risen to my top interest amongst sports, and probably is near the top of my interests in general. I also have a minor interest in other sports though, including NASCAR and MLB. The latter of which really isn't too strong - that's more of my dad's thing. Still, I like the Cincinnati Reds and the Florida Marlins, and have an incredible dislike for the New York Yankees, and to a lesser extent the Cleveland Indians. Here's a nice little summary of the Reds in the offseason. Apparently we're having salary problems? Baseball buffs might want to check out 1986: Take Two, a complete simulation of the year of my birth in terms of major league baseball, using statistics and data to build models.
I think that models like this are fascinating, especially when they are reasonably accurate! Madden users have been predicting the outcomes of football games for years, and apparently the high-end ones are good at at least predicting the winner of the game, if not the score.
Purdue lost to Michigan State 48-31. I make no attempt at hiding the fact that I think this is a crock of shit, since they had a crappy record and we should have beaten them soundly. However, I did get to attend the game because my friend Eric (Beard) gave me John (Cowboy)'s ticket since he was out of town. The loss was disappointing, but the company was anything but. We had amazing seats, just nine rows back, and nice fall weather. Beard was enthusiastic and funny, and let me tell you the man can yell like none other.
I'm not a superstitious sports fan by any means, but of Purdue's four losses this season, I've attended both home losses and none of the other games. *shrug* We are now ranked seventh in the Big Ten, with a record of 3-4 conference, 7-4 all. Our final game this Saturday is at Indiana, the annual Old Oaken Bucket rivalry game. They are 2-5/6-5, and actually have a shot at winning, unfortunately. This is at least on a par with the annual Ohio State vs Michigan game - both teams are 6-1 conference having both lost last weekend unexpectedly (Ohio State felled by unranked Illinois?!). Ohio State looks to be the stronger team with an overall record of 10-1 with the nation's #1 defense, vs. Michigan's 8-3 with losses to Appalachian St. and Oregon, plus injuries at QB and RB. Future Roommate Greg and I are divided in this manner and I think that next year the game will have to decide something big.
Continuing on through this recap of wacky football, the Dolphins nearly beat the Bills (13-10). As the Bengals were the most recent victim of the Bills' weak team, I nearly went ballistic until the winless Dolphins blew a 3rd quarter lead. Whew, that was close - our mediocre team almost looked even worse.
Speaking of blown leads, a Browns victory over the Steelers would've been good for my division, but the "big Doug Flutie" Ben Roethlisberger had a comeback drive to win 31-28. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm okay with rooting for the Browns as of late. I like QB Derek Anderson, and I also like WR Braylon Edwards (okay, some of that is his studly performance in fantasy football). I swear to god, though, the moment Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn gets in there, they're right back to my hated in-state division rivals.
Green Bay found a running game! They shut out the Vikings 34-0 and Adrian Peterson left early with a knee injury. They're now 8-1, tied for the best NFC record with the Cowboys, and face the 4-5 Panthers at Lambeau next. RB Ryan Grant had over 100 yards rushing, the first Vikings opponent to do so, and allowed some balance to Favre's gunslinging ways. This makes me really happy. Fox switching the game over to Eagles vs. Redskins once the game was one sided, however, did not make me really happy. It made me none happy. Negative, even.
I don't know what to make of the Saints anymore. Let's get some fuckin' consistency, good or bad, please. I mostly blame the quarterback in these situations, and Brees went back to his opening four game slump and contributed to the 37-29 loss to the Rams. THE RAMS. THE RAMS WHO WERE PREVIOUSLY WINLESS. *snarl* They fall to 4-5, the same record as the Texans they face this week. Fortunately, even after giving the Rams their first win (now only the Dolphins are winless), the Saints are in a shitty division and can come back - but they have to be good from now on. Seriously, Drew Brees, what the hell.
I don't know what's weirder, that the Cardinals scored 31 points to beat the Lions, or that the Lions only scored 21 to lose (considering last week), with negative yardage. And speaking of weird, the Colts lost to the Chargers, 23-21. Now, I never thought San Diego was that good anyway, having seen their [lack of] offensive production in the first ten weeks, and Indianapolis should've been hungry to win it after losing to the dirty cheaters [Patriots].
Maybe the Colts were hungry and they were decimated by injuries. Or Mr. Clutch Adam Vinatieri missed 2 field goals in a dome, the latter of which - a potential game winner - was 29 yards. Or Robot Manning threw six interceptions ("so why wouldn't you use it to throw into coverage?"). Whatever, pick your poison, the point is it shouldn't have happened. As Future Roommate Greg put it, the Chargers had a 16 point lead at the half, so the fact that there was a comeback at all was telling - Indy shouldn't have had that chance in the first place the way they played.
Cowboys beat the Giants, 31-20, in what some people figured was a battle of QBs. Fine with me, I never had any doubt in my boy Tony Romo. The undrafted rookie made a fool of Manning's brother - even though they were similar statistically, Romo is creative and scrappy and so much fun to watch! I heard he even plays Guitar Hero, so how can I not love him? They improve to 8-1, with a massive NFC east lead. Next up: 5-4 Redskins division game at Texas Stadium.
Finally, some good news. Bengals didn't score a touchdown and still beat the Ravens 21-7. At first I was upset that Carson Palmer wasn't finishing what he started [i.e. drives], and that Chad Johnson was hurt or Houshmandzadeh broke his TD streak. Turns out Ravens played a specific deep cover defense, so short passes by Palmer led to field position, and kicker Shayne Graham scored 21 points himself through field goals. That's seven FGs, one less than the record of eight set earlier this season by Titans' Rob Bironas. Wasn't pretty, but it was a division win bringing us one step closer to .500. That leaves us at 3-6, vs the 4-5 Cardinals at the Jungle in Cincy this week.
Lastly, fantasy football. I lost to Jenny 79-57, and while neither of us had a huge score or made the best choices of who to start, I really am frustrated with myself. I had two questionable players - New Orleans RB Reggie Bush and Indianapolis TE Dallas Clark. I decided to risk one, replace the other, and it bit me in the ass twice. Reggie Bush, who I did not play, had a great day. Much better than his replacement, Dallas RB Julius Jones. Dallas Clark, whom I figured was going to play, did not. ON TOP of all that, I figured the Colts' kicker would bail me out, but no. Optimal score was 90. This drops me back to .500, 4th place and 3 games behind. Three more weeks (including this one) until the playoffs...
Jenny got me the newest Avenged Sevenfold album and Disney's RocketMan on dvd as anniversary presents (Amazon shipped a few days late). There are probably only a few people reading who understand the significance of the latter gift, but trust me when I say it has been on my wish list for some time.
Yesterday I signed the lease for next year's apartment on the landing with Future Roommates Greg and Chad. I have a feeling that'll be quite a fun living arrangement, considering the wide overlap of interests. While I'm on the subject of apartments, Current Roommate Alex has Gamefly and I've discovered the crazy hedonism that is Elebits. Other games I'm playing (at least casually) are Red Steel and a MegaMan collection, all for the Wii. They probably are at least in part to blame for my novel being behind schedule.
Onto sports!
I will freely admit that football has quickly risen to my top interest amongst sports, and probably is near the top of my interests in general. I also have a minor interest in other sports though, including NASCAR and MLB. The latter of which really isn't too strong - that's more of my dad's thing. Still, I like the Cincinnati Reds and the Florida Marlins, and have an incredible dislike for the New York Yankees, and to a lesser extent the Cleveland Indians. Here's a nice little summary of the Reds in the offseason. Apparently we're having salary problems? Baseball buffs might want to check out 1986: Take Two, a complete simulation of the year of my birth in terms of major league baseball, using statistics and data to build models.
I think that models like this are fascinating, especially when they are reasonably accurate! Madden users have been predicting the outcomes of football games for years, and apparently the high-end ones are good at at least predicting the winner of the game, if not the score.
Purdue lost to Michigan State 48-31. I make no attempt at hiding the fact that I think this is a crock of shit, since they had a crappy record and we should have beaten them soundly. However, I did get to attend the game because my friend Eric (Beard) gave me John (Cowboy)'s ticket since he was out of town. The loss was disappointing, but the company was anything but. We had amazing seats, just nine rows back, and nice fall weather. Beard was enthusiastic and funny, and let me tell you the man can yell like none other.
I'm not a superstitious sports fan by any means, but of Purdue's four losses this season, I've attended both home losses and none of the other games. *shrug* We are now ranked seventh in the Big Ten, with a record of 3-4 conference, 7-4 all. Our final game this Saturday is at Indiana, the annual Old Oaken Bucket rivalry game. They are 2-5/6-5, and actually have a shot at winning, unfortunately. This is at least on a par with the annual Ohio State vs Michigan game - both teams are 6-1 conference having both lost last weekend unexpectedly (Ohio State felled by unranked Illinois?!). Ohio State looks to be the stronger team with an overall record of 10-1 with the nation's #1 defense, vs. Michigan's 8-3 with losses to Appalachian St. and Oregon, plus injuries at QB and RB. Future Roommate Greg and I are divided in this manner and I think that next year the game will have to decide something big.
Continuing on through this recap of wacky football, the Dolphins nearly beat the Bills (13-10). As the Bengals were the most recent victim of the Bills' weak team, I nearly went ballistic until the winless Dolphins blew a 3rd quarter lead. Whew, that was close - our mediocre team almost looked even worse.
Speaking of blown leads, a Browns victory over the Steelers would've been good for my division, but the "big Doug Flutie" Ben Roethlisberger had a comeback drive to win 31-28. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm okay with rooting for the Browns as of late. I like QB Derek Anderson, and I also like WR Braylon Edwards (okay, some of that is his studly performance in fantasy football). I swear to god, though, the moment Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn gets in there, they're right back to my hated in-state division rivals.
Green Bay found a running game! They shut out the Vikings 34-0 and Adrian Peterson left early with a knee injury. They're now 8-1, tied for the best NFC record with the Cowboys, and face the 4-5 Panthers at Lambeau next. RB Ryan Grant had over 100 yards rushing, the first Vikings opponent to do so, and allowed some balance to Favre's gunslinging ways. This makes me really happy. Fox switching the game over to Eagles vs. Redskins once the game was one sided, however, did not make me really happy. It made me none happy. Negative, even.
I don't know what to make of the Saints anymore. Let's get some fuckin' consistency, good or bad, please. I mostly blame the quarterback in these situations, and Brees went back to his opening four game slump and contributed to the 37-29 loss to the Rams. THE RAMS. THE RAMS WHO WERE PREVIOUSLY WINLESS. *snarl* They fall to 4-5, the same record as the Texans they face this week. Fortunately, even after giving the Rams their first win (now only the Dolphins are winless), the Saints are in a shitty division and can come back - but they have to be good from now on. Seriously, Drew Brees, what the hell.
I don't know what's weirder, that the Cardinals scored 31 points to beat the Lions, or that the Lions only scored 21 to lose (considering last week), with negative yardage. And speaking of weird, the Colts lost to the Chargers, 23-21. Now, I never thought San Diego was that good anyway, having seen their [lack of] offensive production in the first ten weeks, and Indianapolis should've been hungry to win it after losing to the dirty cheaters [Patriots].
Maybe the Colts were hungry and they were decimated by injuries. Or Mr. Clutch Adam Vinatieri missed 2 field goals in a dome, the latter of which - a potential game winner - was 29 yards. Or Robot Manning threw six interceptions ("so why wouldn't you use it to throw into coverage?"). Whatever, pick your poison, the point is it shouldn't have happened. As Future Roommate Greg put it, the Chargers had a 16 point lead at the half, so the fact that there was a comeback at all was telling - Indy shouldn't have had that chance in the first place the way they played.
Cowboys beat the Giants, 31-20, in what some people figured was a battle of QBs. Fine with me, I never had any doubt in my boy Tony Romo. The undrafted rookie made a fool of Manning's brother - even though they were similar statistically, Romo is creative and scrappy and so much fun to watch! I heard he even plays Guitar Hero, so how can I not love him? They improve to 8-1, with a massive NFC east lead. Next up: 5-4 Redskins division game at Texas Stadium.
Finally, some good news. Bengals didn't score a touchdown and still beat the Ravens 21-7. At first I was upset that Carson Palmer wasn't finishing what he started [i.e. drives], and that Chad Johnson was hurt or Houshmandzadeh broke his TD streak. Turns out Ravens played a specific deep cover defense, so short passes by Palmer led to field position, and kicker Shayne Graham scored 21 points himself through field goals. That's seven FGs, one less than the record of eight set earlier this season by Titans' Rob Bironas. Wasn't pretty, but it was a division win bringing us one step closer to .500. That leaves us at 3-6, vs the 4-5 Cardinals at the Jungle in Cincy this week.
Lastly, fantasy football. I lost to Jenny 79-57, and while neither of us had a huge score or made the best choices of who to start, I really am frustrated with myself. I had two questionable players - New Orleans RB Reggie Bush and Indianapolis TE Dallas Clark. I decided to risk one, replace the other, and it bit me in the ass twice. Reggie Bush, who I did not play, had a great day. Much better than his replacement, Dallas RB Julius Jones. Dallas Clark, whom I figured was going to play, did not. ON TOP of all that, I figured the Colts' kicker would bail me out, but no. Optimal score was 90. This drops me back to .500, 4th place and 3 games behind. Three more weeks (including this one) until the playoffs...
11.06.2007
substitute
Current Mood: frustrated
NFL.com is being incredibly slow today, so I'm going to hold off on writing a bunch about football until I can watch all my highlight videos (32 teams - 4 teams on bye / 2 teams per matchup = 14 videos x 3 min. avg length = 42 minutes of video action). Lucky you.
Instead, here's a quick update on NaNoWriMo. As of this morning, the participants have written a total of 170,746,440 words since the start of the month, for really no other reason than a love of writing (assuming there's nobody writing to win a bet or something). I just find it fascinating to check the word count, since nobody is forcing anybody do this. It's as if thousands of people the world over decided to start Skipping-It and logging their cumulative skips. Yours truly has contributed (again, as of this morning) 6,195 words, or 0.003%. I'm a little behind, about 3k below the pace to finish on the last day or halfway to finishing 5 days early (the 2k a day average). It's pretty tough to write so much each day, but I've finally gotten past the slow setup part of the plot, so hopefully the action part will flow much easier. Writing in third person about myself is screwing with my head.
Good thing I love my current phone, because the Samsung Juke makes a pretty convincing argument to be bought.
My hair is really starting to bother me, because it's no longer curly and fro-y. It's gotten much longer and is starting to lay out. I'm not really crazy about it, so I may cut it. It will also be a great reason to bust out my favorite hat ever. That also reminds me to backtrack a bit...
NFL.com is being incredibly slow today, so I'm going to hold off on writing a bunch about football until I can watch all my highlight videos (32 teams - 4 teams on bye / 2 teams per matchup = 14 videos x 3 min. avg length = 42 minutes of video action). Lucky you.
Instead, here's a quick update on NaNoWriMo. As of this morning, the participants have written a total of 170,746,440 words since the start of the month, for really no other reason than a love of writing (assuming there's nobody writing to win a bet or something). I just find it fascinating to check the word count, since nobody is forcing anybody do this. It's as if thousands of people the world over decided to start Skipping-It and logging their cumulative skips. Yours truly has contributed (again, as of this morning) 6,195 words, or 0.003%. I'm a little behind, about 3k below the pace to finish on the last day or halfway to finishing 5 days early (the 2k a day average). It's pretty tough to write so much each day, but I've finally gotten past the slow setup part of the plot, so hopefully the action part will flow much easier. Writing in third person about myself is screwing with my head.
Good thing I love my current phone, because the Samsung Juke makes a pretty convincing argument to be bought.
My hair is really starting to bother me, because it's no longer curly and fro-y. It's gotten much longer and is starting to lay out. I'm not really crazy about it, so I may cut it. It will also be a great reason to bust out my favorite hat ever. That also reminds me to backtrack a bit...
Two weeks ago on Friday (October 26th) I had the pleasure of seeing the Dalai Lama speak here at Purdue. It was a...unique experience to say the least. Renee had procured the tickets the day they were available, and my sister drove my brother up here for the weekend since mom couldn't make it. We got there almost two hours early for security because some people aren't exactly crazy about the guy. While we waited, we spotted a local Purdue celebrity - former Purdue present Martin C. Jischke (Bradley ran over and shook his hand). The opening act (mongolian chanting) was a bit of cultural learning that made me feel sliiightly uncomfortable. The Dalai Lama was a bit hard to hear and understand, but he seemed very at ease, very informal, and at times unintentionally funny. The theme of his speech was "cultivating happiness", but for the most part I felt he spoke about rather vague concepts and rambled about being a good person. A notable topic, to be sure, but I didn't need to spend a lot of money to hear it from him (more like "Dalai Lame-a"). At the end he elected not to tackle very complex issues in the Q and A session such as the US involement in the Iraq war, instead informing us all that his favorite color was green. In retrospect, perhaps this was social commentary.
More than seeing world leaders speak, I was most excited to see my siblings. Things haven't been great between us lately, and I put a lot of that blame on my shoulders. I decided to tackle that head on and try to make sure they had an outstanding weekend here. I made them lunch Friday and breakfast the next day, and they stayed at my apartment which helped cut down on travel costs. They also joined me for our Annual Ship of Fools Halloween Extravaganza. Sis helped me with my costume (notably taming my hair). I went as an emo kid, and I it went really well. So well, in fact, that Current Roommate Alex didn't recognize me, as did others at improv. The response on Facebook has made me really happy - I wanted to shake things up and do something people didn't expect, and I think it worked quite well. There were several awesome costumes (Jenny went as Jessica Rabbit...she's not bad, she just dressed that way!).
The afterparty @ Peace's house went splendidly, even though we all left kinda early. Several former Fools made it to the party, and the fans seemed to enjoy it as well. Huzzah! The next morning, before Brad and sis left, we toured the new Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering and more of Purdue's campus. I should have classes in there in the spring, if things go as planned. Photos of the party here, photos of the party and time at Armstrong here.
As if that weekend wasn't amazing enough, Sunday was my 2 year anniversary with Jenny. We celebrated by going to see the hosts of Mythbusters (Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman) speak at Elliot Hall of Music (Purdue's College of Science celebrates 100 years). It was very informal and entertaining, funny and candid. Benji and Corrie, also staying with us for the weekend, joined us and participated in the Q&A. My favorite parts were when they spoke about buying magnets. Afterwards was a dinner with some of the Fools.
And speaking of improv, we've been very busy this fall with a number of community service shows and activities, which makes me very proud of the group. Blood donations, food drives, and now recently a benefit show [with the Crazy Monkeys] for Habitat For Humanity and the Timmy Foundation raised over $500. 00 dollars. The group is learning to incorporate change and new members, becoming a bigger part of the Purdue community, and casting away old rivalries. Quite impressive.
That's all for now. Why aren't busy I writing fiction?
More than seeing world leaders speak, I was most excited to see my siblings. Things haven't been great between us lately, and I put a lot of that blame on my shoulders. I decided to tackle that head on and try to make sure they had an outstanding weekend here. I made them lunch Friday and breakfast the next day, and they stayed at my apartment which helped cut down on travel costs. They also joined me for our Annual Ship of Fools Halloween Extravaganza. Sis helped me with my costume (notably taming my hair). I went as an emo kid, and I it went really well. So well, in fact, that Current Roommate Alex didn't recognize me, as did others at improv. The response on Facebook has made me really happy - I wanted to shake things up and do something people didn't expect, and I think it worked quite well. There were several awesome costumes (Jenny went as Jessica Rabbit...she's not bad, she just dressed that way!).
The afterparty @ Peace's house went splendidly, even though we all left kinda early. Several former Fools made it to the party, and the fans seemed to enjoy it as well. Huzzah! The next morning, before Brad and sis left, we toured the new Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering and more of Purdue's campus. I should have classes in there in the spring, if things go as planned. Photos of the party here, photos of the party and time at Armstrong here.
As if that weekend wasn't amazing enough, Sunday was my 2 year anniversary with Jenny. We celebrated by going to see the hosts of Mythbusters (Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman) speak at Elliot Hall of Music (Purdue's College of Science celebrates 100 years). It was very informal and entertaining, funny and candid. Benji and Corrie, also staying with us for the weekend, joined us and participated in the Q&A. My favorite parts were when they spoke about buying magnets. Afterwards was a dinner with some of the Fools.
And speaking of improv, we've been very busy this fall with a number of community service shows and activities, which makes me very proud of the group. Blood donations, food drives, and now recently a benefit show [with the Crazy Monkeys] for Habitat For Humanity and the Timmy Foundation raised over $500. 00 dollars. The group is learning to incorporate change and new members, becoming a bigger part of the Purdue community, and casting away old rivalries. Quite impressive.
That's all for now. Why aren't busy I writing fiction?
11.01.2007
he cares not for your suffering
Current Mood: encouraged
I want to go ahead and start off plugging my new novel (I have a fear that some people just read the first paragraph or so of my really long entries?) for NaNoWriMo. That's right, folks, I'm gonna go ahead and give it a shot. I have until the end of the month to try and write 50,000 words. I'll be posting chapters as I write them to this blog, so if you'd like, please stop by and give it a read, leave me a comment or two about what you like or don't, what I screwed up, or even what you hope will happen (I could use some ideas).
This means I will probably be writing in this blog less, so if you're jonesin' for a fix, try my other blog for this month. I also hope that by telling a bunch of people, I will be more inclined to stay on track.
What else should I talk about. Current Roommate Alex recently purchased an account to Gamefly, the Netflix of video games. Hopefully I can piggyback occasionally (like he does sometimes for my movies) when a good game comes to our house. Right now he's got Super Paper Mario (Wii) and it's really fun to watch! My only criticism so far is that it's a pain in the ass to scan every room three times (once regularly, once in 3-d, and once with the pointer), but if it's anything like the other 2, it'll still be a great game.
Speaking of games, I finally got to experience Guitar Hero III, and I love it for the most part. The song list - 70 songs! - is filled with lots of really great songs. My favorite so far is "Welcome to the Jungle". I'm not in love with the new visual styles (Judy Nails, what have they done to you?!), a few of the songs are really whiney and emo, and there's no Co-Op freeplay. No Freezepop! I am in love with the venue "Shanker's Island", and the obvious Tenacious D influence to the storyline. I tried a few sections of "Through the Fire and Flames" by Dragonforce, and it made my entire arm burn. Crazy. I doubt Greg and I will ever beat that one on expert, but it's a lot of fun hanging with him anyway.
I still don't know if I'm going to be able to make it to the A7X concert, but it's still in the works. Speaking of concerts, later this month Jenny and I are going to take a road trip in her new (used) car to Ft. Wayne to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra with Andy Ober and Jacque. I have no clue what I'm doing for Thanksgiving.
This weekend coming up is going to be filled with improv (shows on Friday and Saturday), writing a bunch, and football. Whee!
I want to go ahead and start off plugging my new novel (I have a fear that some people just read the first paragraph or so of my really long entries?) for NaNoWriMo. That's right, folks, I'm gonna go ahead and give it a shot. I have until the end of the month to try and write 50,000 words. I'll be posting chapters as I write them to this blog, so if you'd like, please stop by and give it a read, leave me a comment or two about what you like or don't, what I screwed up, or even what you hope will happen (I could use some ideas).
This means I will probably be writing in this blog less, so if you're jonesin' for a fix, try my other blog for this month. I also hope that by telling a bunch of people, I will be more inclined to stay on track.
What else should I talk about. Current Roommate Alex recently purchased an account to Gamefly, the Netflix of video games. Hopefully I can piggyback occasionally (like he does sometimes for my movies) when a good game comes to our house. Right now he's got Super Paper Mario (Wii) and it's really fun to watch! My only criticism so far is that it's a pain in the ass to scan every room three times (once regularly, once in 3-d, and once with the pointer), but if it's anything like the other 2, it'll still be a great game.
Speaking of games, I finally got to experience Guitar Hero III, and I love it for the most part. The song list - 70 songs! - is filled with lots of really great songs. My favorite so far is "Welcome to the Jungle". I'm not in love with the new visual styles (Judy Nails, what have they done to you?!), a few of the songs are really whiney and emo, and there's no Co-Op freeplay. No Freezepop! I am in love with the venue "Shanker's Island", and the obvious Tenacious D influence to the storyline. I tried a few sections of "Through the Fire and Flames" by Dragonforce, and it made my entire arm burn. Crazy. I doubt Greg and I will ever beat that one on expert, but it's a lot of fun hanging with him anyway.
I still don't know if I'm going to be able to make it to the A7X concert, but it's still in the works. Speaking of concerts, later this month Jenny and I are going to take a road trip in her new (used) car to Ft. Wayne to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra with Andy Ober and Jacque. I have no clue what I'm doing for Thanksgiving.
This weekend coming up is going to be filled with improv (shows on Friday and Saturday), writing a bunch, and football. Whee!
10.18.2007
amateur AND prolific
Current Mood: anxious
As the midpoint of October passes, I find myself contemplating participation in this year's National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short (an idea I've toyed with before). The basic idea is that many people would like to write a novel at some point, but either never start or quit easily because of lack of commitment, motivation, endless editing, desire for perfection, and other reasons. NaNoWriMo seeks to throw all that out the window and impose an arbitrary deadline - 30 days of November to write 50,000 words of new fiction in hopes of motivating people to finish, not to worry about quality. I think it's a novel idea. I find myself with a little bit of extra time this fall (and I'm a bit crazy), so I could give it a shot? I've got a few ideas for some stories, I enjoy writing and I wouldn't mind testing my endurance, story planning skills, and my wrists. I have until the end of this month to decide, knowing full well I'd probably blog less (and those posts would probably just be word count updates). I think I would start another blog just for this, so you could read along.
Thoughts? Like giving blood, I think this is something that's easier with support, so if any of my readers want to join along, that'd be great!
Also, I am addicted to the NaNoWriMo forums. The variety of general questions for aspiring novelists is fascinating.
...
On a semi-related note, I am chomping at the bit to hear back from a woman about a possible new job. I've been looking for a new one that I don't hate since leaving my previous job as Student Office Staff at Hillenbrand (which is Jenny's new job, actually). If something comes of it, I'll write more.
...
More stupid Bee Movie shorts in my The Office commercial breaks this week. Didn't really matter, since tornado warnings in the area cut out about 1/3 of the episode. I'm trying not to complain, though, since there really was significant weather. A tornado apparently touched down a few miles south of here. We set up the emergency broadcast system for a reason, no?
Also, if anybody wants a free one month trial to Netflix, I've got the hookup.
As the midpoint of October passes, I find myself contemplating participation in this year's National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short (an idea I've toyed with before). The basic idea is that many people would like to write a novel at some point, but either never start or quit easily because of lack of commitment, motivation, endless editing, desire for perfection, and other reasons. NaNoWriMo seeks to throw all that out the window and impose an arbitrary deadline - 30 days of November to write 50,000 words of new fiction in hopes of motivating people to finish, not to worry about quality. I think it's a novel idea. I find myself with a little bit of extra time this fall (and I'm a bit crazy), so I could give it a shot? I've got a few ideas for some stories, I enjoy writing and I wouldn't mind testing my endurance, story planning skills, and my wrists. I have until the end of this month to decide, knowing full well I'd probably blog less (and those posts would probably just be word count updates). I think I would start another blog just for this, so you could read along.
Thoughts? Like giving blood, I think this is something that's easier with support, so if any of my readers want to join along, that'd be great!
Also, I am addicted to the NaNoWriMo forums. The variety of general questions for aspiring novelists is fascinating.
...
On a semi-related note, I am chomping at the bit to hear back from a woman about a possible new job. I've been looking for a new one that I don't hate since leaving my previous job as Student Office Staff at Hillenbrand (which is Jenny's new job, actually). If something comes of it, I'll write more.
...
More stupid Bee Movie shorts in my The Office commercial breaks this week. Didn't really matter, since tornado warnings in the area cut out about 1/3 of the episode. I'm trying not to complain, though, since there really was significant weather. A tornado apparently touched down a few miles south of here. We set up the emergency broadcast system for a reason, no?
Also, if anybody wants a free one month trial to Netflix, I've got the hookup.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)
