Game Night

Tonight I'm at a game night, so I don't have time to blog. But, my friend has this pinball machine at her house and I just spent a lot of game time playing pinball. Because, yes! Also, I swear I remember this game from when I was a kid. That robot looks so familiar!

BEDA Tracker:

4/1/15    4/6/15   4/11/15   4/16/15   4/21/15   4/26/15

4/2/15    4/7/15   4/12/15   4/17/15   4/22/15   4/27/15

4/3/15    4/8/15   4/13/15   4/18/15   4/23/15   4/28/15

4/4/15    4/9/15   4/14/15   4/19/15   4/24/15   4/29/15

4/5/15   4/10/15  4/15/15   4/20/15   4/25/15   4/30/15

Walking

I got a FitBit Charge for my birthday and I've been wearing it ever since. It amazes me how much tracking my steps makes me want to move. At my last job, I was glued to the computer, so I very rarely got close to my step goal on a weekday. At the new job, I move around a lot more. I've hit my goal both days. Yesterday, it was because I went walking after work, but today I hit my goal by going shopping after work.

I never really thought about how far I walked when I went to a mall before. Before I got my license, I walked everywhere. I worked at a mall, and I would walk to work where I stood for my entire shift, then walked home. I wish I could continue that kind of lifestyle. I love driving, but I really miss the time I spent putting one foot in front of the other. Plus, when I walked everywhere, I didn't have to add walking and running into my routine.

I really wish San Diego had a better transit system. It's really only good if you live downtown. In Sacramento, the light rail and bus system was really good in all the places I lived. So, I could walk to the bus or light rail and get pretty much anywhere I wanted to go. I really miss the excursions I would go on, meandering around Sacramento.

BEDA Tracker:

4/1/15    4/6/15   4/11/15   4/16/15   4/21/15   4/26/15

4/2/15    4/7/15   4/12/15   4/17/15   4/22/15   4/27/15

4/3/15    4/8/15   4/13/15   4/18/15   4/23/15   4/28/15

4/4/15    4/9/15   4/14/15   4/19/15   4/24/15   4/29/15

4/5/15   4/10/15  4/15/15   4/20/15   4/25/15   4/30/15

Brain Drain

This is the third time I've tried to start this post. I'm so drained from my first day at a new job, that I just can't focus on blogging. The new job is good, but there are so many things to learn and so many people to meet that I left feeling like the best plan for tonight was curling up in a ball on the couch. But, then I went for a two mile walk. And now, I can't focus enough to write a coherent post. So, I'm going to cut today's post short. Because no one should have to suffer my brain drain. Besides, it's Earth Day. I should conserve as much electricity as possible.

BEDA Tracker:

4/1/15    4/6/15   4/11/15   4/16/15   4/21/15   4/26/15

4/2/15    4/7/15   4/12/15   4/17/15   4/22/15   4/27/15

4/3/15    4/8/15   4/13/15   4/18/15   4/23/15   4/28/15

4/4/15    4/9/15   4/14/15   4/19/15   4/24/15   4/29/15

4/5/15   4/10/15  4/15/15   4/20/15   4/25/15   4/30/15

Unemployment

Technically, I was unemployed again today. I finished one job yesterday and start another tomorrow. It was kind of surprising how much it brought back the emotions of being unexpectedly unemployed a little less than a year ago. I decided to spend my day the same way I did on the first day of unemployment last time. I went to Balboa Park and wandered the San Diego Museum of Art.

Tuesdays in San Diego have free admission to museums for residents. It just so happened that the same museum I visited last time was open today. I never really connected with art growing up. Considering the roles music, literature, acting, and crafting play in my life, it's kind of surprising. I think I had a sort of block toward drawing and painting. I did take an art class in junior high, and the teacher didn't like my art, so I got a bad grade. I thought I was terrible at art, so it's possible that had something to do with my block. I do tend to avoid things that I don't do well.

Regardless, in the past couple years I've been wanting to learn more about art. I especially like to find out what was happening to the artists at the time the pieces were made. This is something I especially love about literature, too. It's why I thought I wanted to be a history major. I love making connections between creation and causation.

While wandering the museum today, a woman randomly started talking to me about this piece. I was looking at the name plate to figure out if the artist was female or male (It's really not that hard, very little art in the museum is by females. Sigh.) My interest attracted the woman, I suppose. She explained to me that Morgan Russell painted this piece, Still Life Synchromy with Nude in Yellow. He was attempting to capture music through the paint. We kept chatting, and I found out Russell was a contemporary of Picasso, and spent time at Gertrude Stein's salon, which means he was also a contemporary of authors like Hemingway and Faulkner. Knowing all about them from studying the lost generation in college, I felt like I knew a lot more about where Russell was coming from when he painted. I'm really glad that woman noticed me. This is the kind of thing that makes me want to learn more about the art world.

Another piece in the museum really stood out to me today. It also featured music. I wish I could have gotten a better picture, but we were told not to take pictures of the art. Something about it being the free day. The above painting was gorgeous. It's called Robin, and it's by Kaley Powers. It's hard to tell from the picture, but it's not just painted. It has a 3-D element as well. There are painted paper cut-outs on top of painted background. The birds are birds, but also music notes. It's just a beautiful piece. Oh, and the artist is a local high school student. Seriously. It's phenomenal considering it was done by a teenager.

BEDA Tracker:

4/1/15    4/6/15   4/11/15   4/16/15   4/21/15   4/26/15

4/2/15    4/7/15   4/12/15   4/17/15   4/22/15   4/27/15

4/3/15    4/8/15   4/13/15   4/18/15   4/23/15   4/28/15

4/4/15    4/9/15   4/14/15   4/19/15   4/24/15   4/29/15

4/5/15   4/10/15  4/15/15   4/20/15   4/25/15   4/30/15

April 2015 Loot Crate Unboxing!

Today was a hard day. It was my last day at the place I've been working since December. I'm really going to miss the people I worked with. So, I was pretty stoked to get home to find a familiar black box waiting for me. It was the perfect pick-me-up!

This is my second month of Loot Crate and so far, they have really hit the mark. I've loved almost everything in the boxes. And liked everything else! This month's theme is Fantasy. The first thing I saw was this Dungeons and Dragons t shirt. I really love how the shirts are so soft and this one fits me pretty well, which is kind of unusual for me and tees.

The next thing I saw was the RPG-themed Bow Tie. I don't have any occasions to wear bow ties, but I have to admit, it makes a great headband.

Then I saw the Princess Bride Playing Cards. The face cards have characters from the movies and some of their best lines! They are awesome cards and make me actually want to play cards, which is not something I do very often!

Next up was the Loot Crate Monthly Button. There is always a button, so they are kind of collector's items.

The next two items were both Game of Thrones themed. The first was a set of Magnets featuring the main houses. The second was a Stark Sigil USB Flash Drive! It's pretty cool.

We also got a Harry Potter-themed Luggage tag! I'll definitely be using that!

The box this month has pretty cool decorations inside, and it was reversible, so you could make your Loot Crate box look a bit like a treasure chest!

Then I pulled the Loot Crate Magazine out. It has articles about the theme and gives explanations about the stuff in the crate. There's always a lot of interesting information.

And last, but definitely not least, I pulled out this awesome inflatable crown. And I wore it around the house, because of course. Anyone who says they didn't wear the crown is probably lying.

BEDA Tracker:

4/1/15    4/6/15   4/11/15   4/16/15   4/21/15   4/26/15

4/2/15    4/7/15   4/12/15   4/17/15   4/22/15   4/27/15

4/3/15    4/8/15   4/13/15   4/18/15   4/23/15   4/28/15

4/4/15    4/9/15   4/14/15   4/19/15   4/24/15   4/29/15

4/5/15   4/10/15  4/15/15   4/20/15   4/25/15   4/30/15

San Diego

Today the weather was almost perfect. Sunny with blue skies, but not too hot. I couldn't bear the idea of wasting such wonderful conditions by sitting around the house. So, I made my brother join me for an afternoon at Balboa Park. San Diego has some truly amazing places, and Balboa Park is one of the best. I've noticed when I mention going to Balboa Park to friends and family who are visiting, they seem pretty reluctant. The name is a bit misleading. It's not a playground, though there are a few playgrounds at the Park.

Balboa Park is a little like Central Park in New York. It was host to the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. Some of the prettiest grounds in the county surround most of the major museums, an outdoor organ pavilion, International Houses, a botanical garden, the San Diego Zoo, and the Old Globe Theater. It's a great place to visit, even if you just walk the park to explore. Many of the buildings were built for the Exposition, so the architecture is really quite exquisite.

The Spreckels Organ Pavilion has one of the largest outdoor pipe organs in the world. And on Sundays, they have free concerts performed by area (and out of area) organists. I had forgotten it was Sunday, so when I heard the organist playing my all-time favorite organ piece, I dragged my brother over to watch. Widor's Toccata is one of the most awesome feats of music. At my church in Sacramento, the organist would play it at the end of services frequently. He was a phenomenal organist, so I was spoiled. The person who performed today wasn't quite as good, but it was still incredibly moving. When all the stops are pulled and the last chords are ringing out, it gives me chills. Every time.

We also stopped by the Moreton Fig Tree that is one of the largest (in girth) trees in California. I remember climbing the tree as a kid. It's over 100 years old, so they had to fence it off to protect it, but it's still a gorgeous tree. I need to go through some old pictures to see if I have any of us as kids playing on it. It was also the Earth Day celebration at the park today, so it was a lot more crazy and crowded than usual, but all in all, I took a walk on this lovely sunny day. And I'm really glad I did.

BEDA Tracker:

4/1/15    4/6/15   4/11/15   4/16/15   4/21/15   4/26/15

4/2/15    4/7/15   4/12/15   4/17/15   4/22/15   4/27/15

4/3/15    4/8/15   4/13/15   4/18/15   4/23/15   4/28/15

4/4/15    4/9/15   4/14/15   4/19/15   4/24/15   4/29/15

4/5/15   4/10/15  4/15/15   4/20/15   4/25/15   4/30/15

Lines

My day started very early in the morning. It was dark when I woke up. My friends and I drove up to Anaheim to get in line for the Diamond Anniversary pins. We waited almost two hours to eventually be turned away. We arrived at the line at the time they said we could line up. Unfortunately, people who did not follow the rules, showed up overnight to wait for pins. Rather than being turned away, Disneyland brought them onto the property to wait to get wristbands to buy pins. So, hundreds of people who followed the instructions were left waiting in the standby line for nothing. And the people who cheated the rules, got the pins, so they could sell them on eBay for three times what they cost. It doesn't really make sense for Disney to let people do this, because they aren't even benefitting from it.

This problem is not exclusive to Disney. The same situation happens at Comic Con. They give a date and time that people are allowed to start lining up for a hall, the Con floor, or exclusive sales. People start showing up to line up early. Sometimes as much as two or three days early. So, Comic Con then announces that people can line up as early as the night before, "to discourage overnight camping." So, people start lining up early. And because people are lining up early, Comic Con decides, rather than not allowing it, they will start giving out wristbands. The same thing happened at VidCon, with the autograph sales and panel access. And, this is not just a Convention/Amusement Park issue. The same thing happens with stores on what used to be Black Friday.

Let me tell event organizers a little secret: Wristbands do not discourage people from waiting. They don't minimize the amount of time people will be willing to wait. Rather than being in any way a deterrent, the wristbands then become part of the package. It means people now want the panel, toy, or pin and a wristband.

The real truth is this: Event organizers don't want to do what needs to be done. The way to discourage people from lining up overnight and causing issues by milling en masse is not to reward them for that behavior. Rather than giving them what they want, these places need to let the police handle it. They need to let the giant group of people disturbing the peace get the tickets/arrests they deserve.

I don't see this ever happening. Because, then there would be bad publicity, but it really is the only way to stop people from pushing an envelope that has already been pushed too far.

BEDA Tracker:

4/1/15    4/6/15   4/11/15   4/16/15   4/21/15   4/26/15

4/2/15    4/7/15   4/12/15   4/17/15   4/22/15   4/27/15

4/3/15    4/8/15   4/13/15   4/18/15   4/23/15   4/28/15

4/4/15    4/9/15   4/14/15   4/19/15   4/24/15   4/29/15

4/5/15   4/10/15  4/15/15   4/20/15   4/25/15   4/30/15

The Halfway Point

Today, I am half way through my month-long journey. So, I think a little celebrating is in order! The above picture is one of my favorite things at Disneyland. The Soundsational parade is pretty great. But my favorite part is the very beginning. There is a drum line and Mickey Mouse is playing the drums. I love it. I still haven't figured out why they chose to start the parade with it, though. To me, it would make a much better ending. I included it on this post because I was flipping through my pictures on my phone and it jumped out at me because it was so bright and cheerful. Happy memories are a fun way to celebrate. Plus, I'm going to Disneyland tomorrow for my birthday trip. So, it's helping me get in the mood to wake up way earlier than normal.

State of the Goals:
Goal 1: Complete BEDA.
Well, I'm half way there! I have been able to post something every day, even when I was in LA with no wifi. I'm pretty proud of that one.

Goal 2: Knit/Crochet two projects I am proud of.
I finished one already, so I guess I'm halfway there on this one, too! The Capitals-inspired Slapshot Baby hat is cute. And I saw a picture of the baby in it today and she looks pretty adorable in it. (Though, I was right, it is a bit too small. Sigh.)

Goal 3: The Piles:
I have almost finished re-reading Twilight. So, that's one from the already-started-reading pile. I read a book that wasn't in either pile, so that technically doesn't count, but it did add to my books-read count, so it's good. Also, I started reading A Discovery of Witches. I'm hoping to have enough time to get it finished. I have some upheaval going on in my personal life, so this goal might be a little harder to reach than anticipated.

Goal 4: 30-Day Walk Challenge
This goal is a big fat fail. My knee was hurting for much longer than the one day. I am pretty sure a doctor's visit is essential at this point. Sad to miss out on this goal. Especially because I really need to get training for the Disneyland 10K that's coming up!

BEDA Tracker:

4/1/15    4/6/15   4/11/15   4/16/15   4/21/15   4/26/15

4/2/15    4/7/15   4/12/15   4/17/15   4/22/15   4/27/15

4/3/15    4/8/15   4/13/15   4/18/15   4/23/15   4/28/15

4/4/15    4/9/15   4/14/15   4/19/15   4/24/15   4/29/15

4/5/15   4/10/15  4/15/15   4/20/15   4/25/15   4/30/15

A Happy Day

Today was my birthday. When I got to work this morning, some of my co-workers had decorated my desk. Pretty nice, considering I'm still a temp. After work, my family and I went to dinner at Red Robin, which is one of my favorites. I also got some pretty great gifts. Throughout the day, I got messages from my Facebook friends. I got over 100, which is kind of astounding to me. I really felt the love today. 

Last night I made the mistake of updating my operating system to the newest version, so now my phone is having trouble with its battery life and gave me a weird message about not being able to text. So fun. I should have googled the reviews before updating. But, I'm hoping it will hold out until they come up with a patch or the next version. Even better, maybe the fact that so many people are having problems will encourage them to release a patch faster. Now that I'm the owner of a new FitBit, I really need my phone to work properly.

Today was pretty busy, so I didn't really have enough time to come up with a blog post.

BEDA Tracker:

4/1/15   4/6/15  4/11/15

4/2/15   4/7/15  4/12/15

4/3/15   4/8/15  4/13/15

4/4/15   4/9/15

4/5/15  4/10/15

Reading

My goal hasn't been met, yet. However, I did read a book that wasn't in my piles of books. A friend mentioned she was reading Hold Me Closer, by David Levithan. She said it was magical, so I immediately got the e-book and began reading. It was a really quick read about a character named Tiny Cooper.

I read the whole book, and then went to post it on my Goodreads account when I discovered the book is a companion piece to Will Grayson Will Grayson, the novel by John Green and David Levithan. So, I read the companion book to a book I've never read. Yeah. I have noticed now that it's on the cover, but I read it as an eBook on my phone, so I never looked at the fine print.

Other than realizing too late that I didn't really know what was going on, my major issues with the book were mostly alleviated by that discovery. I didn't think the minor characters were very well developed. (I'm guessing the "minor" characters are probably the main characters in WGWG. It seemed a little too singularly focused on Tiny Cooper, and some of what I thought would have made great plot points, were glossed over. I'm not sure if those plot points are resolved in WGWG, but knowing that this was just to help the minor character from WGWG become a bit more rounded changed how I felt about the lack of resolution.

The only flaw I really saw after that, was that the songs were a bit flat and static. It was a bit too rhymey. But, as Tiny pointed out, I can't fault him too much, it's only his first musical.

All in all, this was a fun quick read, but you probably want to read Will Grayson Will Grayson before reading it.

BEDA Tracker:

4/1/15   4/6/15  4/11/15

4/2/15   4/7/15  4/12/15

4/3/15   4/8/15

4/4/15   4/9/15

4/5/15  4/10/15

Friends

Sometimes you look at a person and you know that you are meant to be friends. Something just clicks. This happened to me with the majority of my close friends. One, was on his knees in a bowling alley, he was my height, and then he stood up. From that moment on, we were friends. Another time, I was roller skating up and down my block, and I saw a girl in a window, then I skated past again and she had changed. They turned out to be twins.

The other day, I saw a female and I knew we would be really good friends...if we ever met. She was driving the car in front of me at a drive thru. From the stickers on her car, I know that we have a lot in common.

We are both Disneyland Annual Passholders, members at the San Diego Zoo, and geek girls. (She had a Darth Vader antenna ball.) I'm pretty sure she's from San Diego, based upon the fact that she went to both a local junior college and a local university. Our cars are similar, though hers is blue, which is the color I wish mine was.

Basically, we could be best friends, we've just never been introduced. It made me think about the fact that there are so many people out there that I've missed meeting by the fact that we were separated by cars or walls or language barriers.

Yikes! It's almost midnight, which means I almost missed the deadline today!

BEDA Tracker:

4/1/15   4/6/15  4/11/15

4/2/15   4/7/15

4/3/15   4/8/15

4/4/15   4/9/15

4/5/15  4/10/15

Chicago Fire

I was catching up on Chicago Fire tonight and there was a line that really stuck with me. It was such a great line. Otis and Cruz, two of the firefighters are talking about Cruz going out to a restaurant that he can't even stand the idea of to keep his girlfriend happy and from leaving him.

Cruz says, "You think I got no shot? Only so long meatloaf can hold on to prime rib, right?"

Otis replies, "No man, I'm just saying any girl that makes you feel like meatloaf, isn't prime rib. At least, not your prime rib."

It's a piece of major, life-altering advice snuck into a drama about firefighters. In this same episode, they deal with the loss of a child, faith issues, relationship issues, drug use, and child abuse. The characters all have very distinct voices. There are so many different walks of life represented in House 51.

Chicago Fire is an awesome show, and then little scenes like this pop up and make me wonder how it isn't getting more recognition.

BEDA Tracker:

4/1/15   4/6/15

4/2/15   4/7/15

4/3/15   4/8/15

4/4/15   4/9/15

4/5/15  4/10/15

Slapshot Baby Hat

I finished a project that I think is pretty cute. It's for the baby of a friend who is a major Washington Capitals fan. (Hopefully it will be big enough! I've never actually met the baby.) I used the Penguin hat pattern from Repeat Crafter Me, but changed some of the embellishments. I really loathe making pompons, and I didn't want to have to find buttons to match the color scheme, so I crocheted the eyes. It's supposed to be an eagle, not a penguin, but as it's for a baby, I hope they don't really notice.

Speaking of birds, I'm watching the Padres game at Dodger stadium and I keep hearing really loud bird calls. I'm not sure if Dodger stadium has resident birds, or if Dodger fans have really annoying bird whistles. LA is a weird place.

BEDA Tracker:

4/1/15   4/6/15

4/2/15   4/7/15

4/3/15

4/4/15

4/5/15

Diamonds

Disneyland is celebrating its 60th anniversary this July. They will be kicking off the celebration in May with a 24-hour Disney day and new parades, light shows, and other fun activities. They have started the decorating a bit early.

Sleeping Beauty's Castle is all decked out for the upcoming events, and it looks pretty amazing. It didn't photograph well, but the roof tiles are all covered in sparkly diamonds, as well as all the metal and diamond-looking trim. It's really quite beautiful in person!

Today, I visited Disneyland, specifically to do the Easter Egg Hunt challenge, but I should have known better than to wait until the last day. Unfortunately, they had already sold out of the maps and prizes. Instead of Egg hunting, my friend and I just had a regular Disney Day. Many of the past closures are re-opened, so we had fun running around figuring out what the changes were.

Of course, after having a big Disney day, and then Easter dinner with family, I'm wiped out. This entry is going to be short because I'm falling asleep as I'm typing this.

BEDA Tracker:

4/1/15

4/2/15

4/3/15

4/4/15

4/5/15

Fan Fest

Today marked the beginning of baseball season in San Diego. My brother and I went to the Padres Fan Fest. (Well, my brother went to the whole thing. I just joined him later.) The Padres played an exhibition game against Diablos Rojos del Mexico.

We got to see some of the new players, and for the first season in a long time, what we saw looked pretty great. I'm really looking forward to see what they can do. The ended up trouncing Mexico. I felt bad for them, because they had more errors than hits, and no runs. Even still, it was a lot of fun when the Padres scored each of the eight runs.

The new HD scoreboard is kind of fantastic. Almost as sharp as watching the field itself. Possibly my favorite part, was the new between-inning entertainment: The Padres Boom Crew. They're basically a snare drum line that uses trash cans. They are awesome and add a lot of energy.

BEDA Tracker:

4/1/15

4/2/15

4/3/15

4/4/15

Tiffany

This week's episode of The Goldbergs featured music and scenes from Tiffany's mall tour and nostalgia kicked me in the feels. I was am a massive Tiffany fan. I had all her tapes and I had posters on my wall of her. I didn't go anywhere without my walkman, and Tiffany was definitely one of the tapes I had at the ready. Sadly, I never got to see her sing live. Her mall tour never came near my city.

Of course, my generation loves a good comeback story. When I was in college at Sac State, Tiffany had released an album of new music and she came to perform. Obviously, I couldn't miss this opportunity. So, my friends and I showed up early and somehow ended up not just seeing Tiffany perform, but we also got to hang out with her for a bit. It was amazing. Unfortunately, I have no idea what happened to my pictures from that day. People in 2015 really do take for granted that cell phones can take hd digital photos. I do, however, have one awesome memento.

When I heard she would be there, I went to my cd collection and pulled out one of my favorites. And, because she's awesome, Tiffany gladly signed it. It's definitely one of my more prized possessions. It reminds me of one of my favorite moments.

BEDA Tracker:

4/1/15

4/2/15

4/3/15

BEDA

April Fool's Day is a strange day where I spend most of the day (and the days surrounding it!) not believing anything I see or hear. But, my favorite part of this day is that it's the beginning of my favorite month.

BEDA means Blog Every Day in April. And, this afternoon I decided I was going to participate. So, here I am, with no preparation, writing a blog with an hour left in the first day. Seems like a good plan.

As this is the beginning of the challenge, I suppose it is appropriate to post my goals for the month. For some reason, they seem to be lofty and plentiful.

Goal 1 - Complete BEDA. I used to LiveJournal (that's right, LJ was my jam back in the day), so completing BEDA shouldn't be too hard...right?

Goal 2 - Knit and/or Crochet at least two projects that I actually care about. I've been in a bit of a slump lately, so this goal may be harder than it would have been in the past.

Goal 3 - The Piles.

These are The Piles. The one on the left is the pile of books I have started reading (or re-reading), but haven't finished. The one on the right is the pile of books I bought, but haven't read yet. Okay, technically that's just a couple of the books I own but haven't read yet. My big goal is to read them all, but for April, I'm just looking to finish one from each pile.

Goal 4 - I also decided today that I was going to participate in a 30-day Walk challenge. I figured it would be helpful because I'm training for a runDisney 10K. I did 2 miles tonight, so I'm on my way on that one.

So, those are my goals. And, it's almost midnight, so I need to get this posted.

BEDA Tracker:

4/1/15