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Christmas 2019

Tuesday, December 31st, 2019 No comments

Wow! I had so little Christmas spirit this year! Between not working, being by myself so much, and the warm weather, it didn’t feel like Christmas. I didn’t start listening to Christmas music until Christmas morning and after that I was done with it.

Like Thanksgiving, I thought I was going to be spending the day hanging out alone with the dogs. Two days before, my friend Nir invited me to a Chinese dinner and a movie night he was organizing. The day after this I was invited to dinner at my former co-worker Aaron’s house, but I had to turn them down. My friend Jer and a guy named Dallas who I had recently met at a PDX Gaymers event were there for Chinese dinner, as well as some people that I had never met. I knew that people went out to restaurants on Christmas, but I didn’t know Chinese dinner on Christmas Day was a thing. This dinner was an experience. Some people’s orders weren’t quite right. The water tasted bad. I was pretty much told I couldn’t have what I wanted and I was told what I would get instead. After dinner, we saw Little Women, which was really good. I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did.

A few days after Christmas, we had a holiday party at Alex and Robert Lee-Olson’s house. It was a great time. I got to see some people I hadn’t seen in while. I’ve been a little bit of a hermit lately and some people’s schedules or location make it hard to get together often.

I don’t care what people say, presents are one of the parts of Christmas I still enjoy. What did I get this year? I hope I’m not forgetting anything.

  • dog treats for Max and Reese
  • a book on dog massages
  • Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair
  • The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl by Theodora Goss
  • a Black Panther build a bear
  • Astral Chain
  • a cross
  • Thor, Dr Strange, and Tony Stark pop vinyls
  • Reese’s candy
  • A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin
  • many wonderful cards
  • some stuff I treated myself to
    • a web camera
    • board games Pret-a-Porter, Ecos, 7th Continent, Shadows of Brimstone, Anomia

2019 was a tough year. Two of my closest Portland friends moved away, Xander and then Cody. I don’t think I ever wrote about Cody leaving. I lost my job a few months after being promoted. I got sick with a bad sinus infection in October and have been sick pretty much since. I’m feeling the effects of not eating well and not exercising. Sitting here at home all day has taken a physical and emotional toll on me. I remember writing about how optimistic I was earlier in the year, but all that optimism left for a while. I’m feeling optimistic again about the new year, but if things don’t change soon, I could be right where I was.

I decided to set goals for next year. Since I successfully completed every goal the last time I did this, I think one reason I stopped doing it for a while was so I wouldn’t fail. Here’s my list.

  • Lose at least 30 lbs
  • Go on at least 1 date
  • Arrange at least 1 dog play date
  • Leave the state of Oregon at least 3 times
  • Beat at least 3 video games
  • Learn at least 1 new board game
  • Attend at least 1 Meetup I haven’t been to before
  • Buy a new bike and ride it
  • Go to a convention or festival that’s new to me
  • Arrange a photoshoot so I can put my photography equipment to good use
  • Don’t be so self conscious about how I look. Post at least 12 pics of myself on social media

We enter a new decade tomorrow. This past decade has been great to me. I spent the first 2 years in Starkville and last 8 years in Portland. Deciding to take a risk, uproot my life, and move to Portland was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. This decade has had some struggles: heartbreak, unhappiness with health and career, and some bouts of loneliness and depression. But overall it’s been great. Don’t they say your 30s are the best years of your life? So far I can’t disagree with that. Some of things I’ve done in this past decade:

  • moved across the country
  • met a lot of online friends, traveled with them, stayed in each other’s homes
  • became a social butterfly
  • traveled out of country for the first time
  • did a lot more traveling than I did before
  • became a leader at work and in the community
  • became a dog parent for the 2nd time
  • started podcasting
  • worked for one of the top tech companies in the world
  • dated a guy for the first time
  • started going to conventions
  • took up new hobbies
  • made many great local friends

I hope everyone has a happy New Year and a great decade! Take care of each other!

2011 Reading Update #5

Monday, October 24th, 2011 No comments

A Dance With Dragons
A Dance With Dragons, George R.R. Martin. This is the latest book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. We’ve been waiting on this book for almost 6 years. I was so excited to finally have it. It’s good, but it moves at a very slow pace. There’s way too much filler. It doesn’t pack as big of a punch as previous books in the series. Hopefully we won’t have to wait nearly as long for the next book.

Ford County: Stories
Ford County: Stories, John Grisham. It probably wasn’t a good idea to read this after reading a George R.R. Martin book. Grisham doesn’t stack up. Ford County: Stories is a series of short stories set in fictional Ford County, Mississippi, which was first introduced in A Time to Kill. This book is alright, but it’s definitely not Grisham’s best work. A lot of these stories would make a good episode of one of the many TV procedural dramas out there.

The Girl Who Played With Fire
The Girl Who Played With Fire, Stieg Larsson. This is book 2 of the Millennium Trilogy. It is so good! I think I liked it more than the first book. There was some stuff early in the book that I kept waiting to be important later, but it didn’t really come back up. Maybe it’ll come back up in the final book, which I should be starting tonight.

Ready Player One
Ready Player One, Ernest Cline. This is the most fun I’ve had reading a book in a while. It’s set in the near future and the world has gone to crap. Most people go into this online virtual world called the OASIS to escape from reality. The creator of the OASIS, James Halliday, has died, and decided to leave his billions to the person who can find an easter egg that he hid in the OASIS. Halliday was obsessed with the 80s, so the contest to find the egg is filled with references from the 80s. The story centers on Wade Watts, one of the many players hunting for the golden egg. I’m more of a child of the 90s more than the 80s, but I got a lot of the references and I was geeking out the whole time I was reading this book. This book isn’t just one 80s reference after another. It’s about friendship, survival, living in the real world vs. the online world, how we make friends online, etc. I highly recommend it.

  • Last Argument of Kings, Joe Abercrombie
  • Awakening, Kate Chopin
  • Ready Player One, Ernest Cline
  • Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
  • Go, Mutants: A Novel, Larry Doyle
  • Serenity Found, Jane Espenson
  • Incarceron, Catherine Fisher
  • Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks, Mick Foley
  • The Associate, John Grisham
  • Ford County: Stories, John Grisham
  • The Fourth Hand, John Irving
  • The Turn of the Screw & Daisy Miller, Henry James
  • The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, N.K. Jemison
  • The Walking Dead, Volume 3: Safety Behind Bars, Robert Kirkman
  • The Walking Dead, Volume 4: The Heart’s Desire, Robert Kirkman
  • The Walking Dead, Volume 5: The Best Defense, Robert Kirkman
  • The Walking Dead, Volume 6: This Sorrowful Life, Robert Kirkman
  • The Walking Dead, Volume 7: The Calm Before, Robert Kirkman
  • The Walking Dead, Volume 8: Made to Suffer, Robert Kirkman
  • The Walking Dead, Volume 9: Here We Remain, Robert Kirkman
  • The Walking Dead, Volume 10: What We Become, Robert Kirkman
  • The Walking Dead, Volume 11: Fear the Hunters, Robert Kirkman
  • The Walking Dead, Volume 12: Life Among Them, Robert Kirkman
  • The Walking Dead, Volume 13: Too Far Gone, Robert Kirkman
  • The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson
  • The Girl Who Played With Fire, Stieg Larsson
  • The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest, Stieg Larsson
  • The Stormcaller, Tom Lloyd
  • I Am Number Four, Pittacus Lore
  • The Giver, Lois Lowry
  • The Day Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko
  • The Twilight Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko
  • The Final Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko
  • Busted Flush, George R.R. Martin
  • Suicide Kings, George R.R. Martin
  • A Dance With Dragons, George R.R. Martin
  • Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller
  • Batman: Year One, Frank Miller
  • Either You’re in or You’re in the Way, Logan and Noah Miller
  • The Final Crusade, Chaite Naasiri
  • The Darker Mask, George Phillips
  • The Final Empire, Brandon Sanderson
  • The Well of Ascension, Brandon Sanderson
  • The Hero of Ages, Brandon Sanderson
  • Towers of Midnight, Brandon Sanderson
  • A Memory of Light, Brandon Sanderson
  • Titus Andronicus, William Shakespeare
  • Private Parts, Howard Stern
  • The Way of Shadows, Brent Weeks
  • Shadow’s Edge, Brent Weeks
  • Beyond the Shadows, Brent Weeks
  • The Optimist’s Daughter, Eudory Welty
  • The Dragonbone Chair, Tad Williams
  • Stone of Farewell, Tad Williams
  • To Green Angel Tower, Tad Williams
  • Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1 – Unmanned, Brian K. Vaughan

San Diego Comic-Con 2011

Saturday, July 30th, 2011 No comments

My first Comic-Con was a blast. I had so much fun. I got to meet people in person that I had only known online before, go to plenty of panels, see some celebrities up close, and do a little partying at night. It’s definitely something I intend to do again one day.

View from Manchester Hyatt

I did a lot of reading before the event on what to expect. Yes, I had all the supplies that I needed and I was expecting plenty of waiting and little sleeping. Even so, Comic-Con is something you have to experience for yourself before you can fully understand what it’s like. I was overwhelmed at times by all the people, the walking, the long lines, and trying to get so much done in so little time. It was a little stressful. I don’t mind big crowds. I kind of like being in a large crowd of people. However, I got frustrated sometimes when I had to walk 10-20 minutes in the wrong direction while carrying a backpack and a bag of swag just to find the end of the line. Then I had to go in the right direction for however long until I got to where I was going. I got so much exercise that I didn’t feel bad about missing gym time. I was back for 5 days before the soreness went away. Oh well, I guess that’s what you have to do at Comic-Con. I heard regular attendees say that some things were worse this year than previous years as far as lines and registration are concerned, so I wasn’t the only one feeling frustrated. I have a feeling that the system will be tinkered with like they do every year, so some of my frustrations will go away.

I spent the most time at Comic-Con sitting in panels. Some I really wanted to see. Some I was sitting through just to see ones that came later. The ones I was most interested in were in Ballroom 20, the second biggest room at the convention. Once I got in there, I just stayed until the last one I wanted to see that day was over. My favorite ones were the Game of Thrones and Fringe panels. I was most excited about those beforehand and they’re the only ones I HAD to see. I ended up enjoying 2 panels that I sat through to see later panels so much that I’ve decided to start watching those shows myself. Those are Psych and Futurama. People have been telling me about both of those shows for a while, but I’m finally going to take the plunge. I like that I got lots of swag from the panels that I attended, even if I had to go to a different place to claim it. What I liked most about the panels were being that close to the casts while they joked and answer questions and seeing whatever footage they aired.

One day when I didn’t feel like waiting in line for Ballroom 20 and camping out in there all day, I went to a random panel taking place in one of the smaller rooms. It was a Star Wars comic book panel. The panel was boring, but it was crashed by Seth Green, which made it cool. Before a Locke& Key screening that night, I saw a panel on Reign of the Dinosaurs, which will premiere on Discovery in September. They showed a few clips and it looked good. I’ve never seen a dinosaur get high on mushrooms before. Werner Herzog is involved with it somehow and he made a surprise appearance. Back to Locke & Key. It was so good! It’s a shame that Fox decided not to move forward with it. Hopefully, it’ll get a lot of buzz coming out of Comic-Con and another network will pick it up.

When I wasn’t in line or in panels, I spent a lot of time on the Exhibition Floor. I had heard that it would be chaos and it was. Once you get on the floor you really just have to keep moving. There was so much to see and so many people. It took a very long time to get from one end to another. This was a good place for random encounters with celebrities. I saw Joss Whedon (Buffy, Angel, Firefly, etc) and Robert Kirkman (author of The Walking Dead) signing autographs. I walked past Brian Tong from CNET. One time I wasn’t paying attention and almost ran into Stan Lee while he was talking to several people. Unfortunately, my camera didn’t work when I tried to snap a picture and he was quickly taken away when he finished his conversation. I got so much swag from the floor and from the panels that I had to ship it back before I left. There’s no way I could’ve gotten it all in my luggage.

I didn’t get a lot of autographs. For limited autograph sessions with bigger stars and the casts of TV shows, they had a lottery system. You had to wait in line for the lottery and if you won then you could get an autograph. I didn’t want to spend a long time in line for a chance at getting an autograph. The one time I didn’t decide to get in line, they capped the line ahead of me as soon as reached the end of the line. There were times when I’d hear about impromptu autograph sessions on the Exhibition Floor that I would’ve loved to have attended, but I was either already in line somewhere else or somewhere else not even close to the floor. The easiest autographs to get were from people who were set up next to the registration area. I didn’t want to pay to meet all of those people. I did get one from Steve Blum, who does the voice of Wolverine in the X-Men cartoons and video games. I could’ve met people from Buffy and Angel, Richard Hatch from Battlestar Galactica, and Virgil from the WWF/WCW, but I decided against it.

Me and Steve Blum

Other than at the panels and at the autograph area, I didn’t have a lot of celebrity sightings. When I was talking to a friend while wondering around the convention center, he spotted Joe Hill. Joe Hill is the author of the Locke & Key comics and Stephen King’s son. Cool!

I got to do a few things outside of the Con. Not long after I got off the plane a group of us went to Ocean Beach. I had never seen the Pacific Ocean before and hadn’t been to a beach in over 8 years. It was fun. The water was COLD! Thursday night I went to the live Revision 3 show at the House of Blues. A DJ, Mike Relm, had an entertaining performance. Then there was a recording of Epic Meal Time. Those guys are too intense for me. The show ended with a live Diggnation, in which Tony Hawk was a surprise guest. I watched the video and I saw myself once. I could be in there more. It was a great experience. One day I went to eat at Café Diem, which Syfy does every year. They take over a restaurant, name it Café Diem, and serve food named after characters from their shows. On my last night, I saw Nerdist Live at 4th and B with special guest Matt Smith and Karen Gillan from Doctor Who. Wil Wheaton was also a surprise guest. This was a blast! Great for any Doctor Who fan. It even made me like Wil Wheaton again. We got to see standup and songs that aren’t included in the podcast. Smith and Gillan handed out TARDIS burritos after it was over, but they had left by the time I got to the front.

Nerdist Live

One of my favorite memories of the Con was when I went to visit 2 friends, Matt and Meg, at the Suvudu booth on the Exhibition Floor. They are a married couple who live in Brandon, MS. I keep meaning to go down and visit them, but I don’t get out of Starkville much. I met Meg once when I was down there, but I had never met Matt in person. I promised them that I would see them in San Diego. The first time I went, Matt was at the booth, but Meg was gone. The next day I returned just as they were setting up to do an interview with George R.R. Martin and Christopher Paolini. Matt conducted the interview. I didn’t know who Paolini was. Meg explained to me that he’s the guy that wrote Eragon. Of course I knew who Martin was. He’s the author of A Song of Ice and Fire, a book series that I am a major fan of. The HBO show Game of Thrones is based on this series. The name “longklaw” that I use online comes from this series. It was so cool being that close to him. I was definitely star struck. He walked right past me at one point. Before the interview he saw me standing there and I got to wave and say “Hi”. I listened to the entire interview while they recoreded it. It should be showing up on Suvudu.com if it’s not there already. After the interview was over, some fan pushed forward and started talking to him. I knew he had somewhere to be, so I didn’t want to wait to try to have a word with him next. Maybe next time I’ll get to geek out and tell him how much of a fan I am. Next time.

Matt preparing to interview George R.R. Martin and Christopher Paolini

My biggest regret is that I didn’t spend as much time hanging out with people after dark either at the hotel or at places as I wanted to. Because of other plans I made in advance of the convention (Diggnation, Nerdist, etc.) and needing to sleep because of the day’s activities or in preparation for the next day’s activities, I went days without seeing people that I had planned to spend to time with. Some people I didn’t get to see at all. I wasn’t able to keep my phone charged during the day, so it was hard to communicate. Also, I wish that I had taken more pictures of people in costumes.

Spartans

I had a great time at Comic-Con this year. Next time I want to hang out more with friends and go to events that aren’t officially part of the Con. The Nerd HQ stuff would’ve been a lot of fun and I saw some video game stuff that I didn’t get a chance to check out. Also, I would probably go to more of the smaller panels. Oh, I would bring more batteries too. That being said, this trip was some of the most fun I’ve ever had. It was exhausting, but well worth it. I’m glad I didn’t come down with the con crud/nerd flu like a lot of people I know did. I took Halls Defense for 2 weeks leading up to the con, all during the con, and for a few days after I returned home. I’ll be repeating that next time. If I don’t go back to Comic-Con next year, I definitely want to go the year after that. Maybe I’ll even dress up. As much fun as I had, it’s good to be back home with Reese.

You can find my photo album on Flickr or on Facebook or Google+ if you’re friends with me on either of those.

A Close Call

Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 No comments

Rob was here last week and talked about the possibility of George R.R. Martin not finishing his Ice and Fire series. The other night his office was broken into and a few items were damaged/stolen. He makes it sound like he barely missed an encounter with the thieves. So not only could he have had the manuscript for the next book in the series stolen, he could have been hurt as well. Thankfully, he still has hard drive the book is on and he is okay. Just finish the damn book, please.