Monthly Archives: October 2014

A little comfort food

Posted on by under One Hundred Days of Blogging

image

Today had a fair few trials and tribulations I could have done without, and so I’m happy to instead post about the dinner experimenting I just finished working on. It’s just as unhealthy as it looks.

I took boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cut them down the middle (I’d say I butterflied them, but I can’t take myself that seriously as a cook). I stuffed the chicken with mozzarella cheese, closing it again and wrapping it with bacon. Some pepper and olive oil were added, and to try something different I topped it with a dash of real maple syrup to offset the saltiness of everything else. Fingers crossed it turned out well.

A headache’s worth of determination

Posted on by under Uncategorized

Someone seems to have sneaked into my home and put a bunch of large rocks, heavy objects, and generally painful things somewhere in my skull tonight. Or, you know, I just have a particularly nasty headache. It arrived, gift-wrapped neatly, right after work.

However, I had a Screen Robot article I have been putting off and butting heads with for…longer than I care to admit. A nap was inevitable, followed by some ibuprofen, and then I sat down and tackled as much of the post as I could. Dinner, accompanied by an episode of Hannibal followed, and then I finally slayed the mighty dragon of my own laziness and excuses!

However, that headache is still rampaging about and so I think this will have to do for the night. Make it a great week, folks.

Sleepy, sleepy Sunday

Posted on by under Uncategorized

The fog plaguing my brain seems to be dissipating. Finally. Bonus: I have four days off this week as well, thanks to spending some vacation time.

There are several better posts brewing in my brain right now, and most of them are fragments of ideas regarding (surprise) villains. I’d like to say that’s a little something different, but it’s mostly just fluffy silliness while I try to refocus my brain on other writing. Like the half-finished, half-rewritten Screen Robot post I’m doing a positively horrible job on finishing. There are only so many cheap shots one can make at the expense of crossover events (I’m looking at you, Mortal Kombat versus DC Universe you colossal piece of shit).

However, it’s about time for a late-ish dinner and at least one episode of Hannibal season 2 (there will also be posts about Hannibal, if only because I have limited patience for how oblivious the FBI characters seem to be to Hannibal HARVESTING AND EATING PEOPLE’S ORGANS).

A breakfast of champions

Posted on by under One Hundred Days of Blogging

Not to be mistaken for Breakfast of Champions, which I haven’t read in years and now suddenly find myself wanting to find and reread. Not even sort of the point of this post. And now a pause for the appropriate number of gasps incited by today’s post happening before 10pm or later. Only the appropriate number, however; I’ll have no excessive or exaggerated signs of shock on my posts, thank you very much.

This is a food post, entirely and apologetically. I’ve been trying to cook more lately instead of opting to go out for dinner, which is just as well since it’s less expensive to throw together ingredients in the hopes it will transform into something mostly edible (I’m working at about a 75% success rate here, so I’m going to say I’ve been doing something right). I really enjoy cooking, if only because it gives me a chance to revert to the days I spent dreaming of being a mad scientist. There are, quite sadly, far fewer robots involved in cooking meals, but I’ll think of a way to change that up sooner or later. Continue reading →

Running into a wall (until the damn thing breaks)

Posted on by under Uncategorized

I’ve been in a bit of a writing funk this past week or so. Blame it on me not feeling quite 100% or perhaps on the sleep deprivation, but I’ve not really felt like doing much writing. This would be less of a problem if I didn’t have two things I need to finish within a reasonable amount of time (read as about a week ago, probably).

Naturally, I sit down at my desktop, I open Microsoft Word, and then I sit here and stare at the blank document as I become increasingly frustrated with not being able to string words together effectively. Given that I’m working on a post for Screen Robot and a guest post for Onezumi, I want these pieces to be perfect. My current mindset says give up, and there were a couple times today when I considered contacting the respective folks necessary and apologetically bowing out. Obviously bad decision-making on my part resulted in taking on more than I can handle writing-wise, right?

Except I don’t. I can’t, in fact. Just because I can’t force myself into a motivated state doesn’t mean I won’t damn well try as hard as I can until I want to smash my computer (the good news there being I wouldn’t smash this computer because it is a magnificent beast of a machine, courtesy of Jason’s hard work and computer wizardry).

A rather unwelcome guest has arrived, in the form of sleepiness, and so it’s time I turn my attention where it needs to be. If I finish one of my drafts for the night I’ll be pretty content. Two would be better, but the sleepies weighing my eyelids down seem to disagree with the possibility of that happening.

Taking a sick day

Posted on by under One Hundred Days of Blogging

image

I seem to be dealing with some variation of the dreaded man-cold. My brain has been replaced by a dense fog, and so I found myself frustrated with not accomplishing either of the writing tasks I planned to complete today. Just means I need to snack on some Dayquil, get some rest, and try again tomorrow.

Instead of pictures featuring me looking pitiful, however, here’s one of Marceline and Meowiarty.

Productivity, coupled with World of Warcraft

Posted on by under Uncategorized
The last bit I needed for Thunderfury. Finally.

The last bit I needed for Thunderfury. Finally.

As I’ve stated a number of times before, I’m quite a fan of World of Warcraft. I’m not necessarily the best player by any stretch of the imagination, but I couldn’t help but return for some sad, twisted reason or another. The pre-patch to Warlords of Draenor dropped today, and I figured I should get moving on things I’ve been wanting to try but couldn’t quite work up the nerve to actually…er, well, try. Plus, I heard there would be a higher likelihood of being able to solo more recent old content, such as Cataclysm raids, and so I couldn’t pass up a chance to die magnificently in content I barely managed to enjoy when it was current. However, there’s more to my day than just staring at a computer screen (thankfully for both my need to be at least a little productive as well as the health of my eyeballs).

I ended up taking a couple vacation days this week (and next week) to tend to unpacking, organizing, and so on. This should be a bit shocking, I know. My desk migrated into what will eventually transform into the office/study/whatever, and I put a pretty decent dent in making the living room a liveable space. However, with a new patch comes the need to screw around in Azeroth, and so I found myself moving through the pre-expansion quests as quickly as I could. Once I’d done that, I decided I wanted to try my hand at getting Garr’s Binding of the Windseeker. It’s a prize that has eluded me for quite some time. However, as pictured above…luck was on my side today. So much so, in fact, that I decided to see how well this squishing went in terms of old content. As I type this, I’ve completed both Blackwing Descent and Firelands (finally killing Ragnaros) on my Warlock. I’m screwing around in Heroic ICC before trying anything else, and generally speaking I love how accessible old content has become.

Any other WoW players enjoying these new changes so far?

A case of reality versus expectations

Posted on by under One Hundred Days of Blogging

Today was meant to be a big day for revising, writing, and so on. However, that didn’t account for a much-needed Walmart run (which included a stop for dinner, naturally). I’m also fairly sure all of this not-resting-my-sprained-ankle business has finally caught up with me.

On the plus side, I’m not too disappointed with my perceived failures. Largely because tomorrow is a new day. There will be plenty of time before Patch 6.0.2 is live and the servers are up.

I may even treat myself to a Doctor Who marathon while I write, rewrite, and rest my damn leg. And unpack a bit, which kind of goes against everything else I just said.

Playing catch-up

Posted on by under One Hundred Days of Blogging

Yesterday was filled with adventure and happiness in the company of some very exceptional people I have the good fortune of knowing as well as equally exceptional people I met for the first time. It was, and likely will always be, the first and only wedding I’ve ever attended in a cave. It was entirely worth the sleep deprivation I experienced as I stumbled through the day. Not going to get too sentimental here; I promise.

This past week has been an interesting one of returning to things I’d neglected and catching up with them. I’m a little embarrassed to admit none of those things were particularly productive in nature, save for the car-related ones.

Bravely Default
A 3DS game made by the same minds that have fueled years of Final Fantasy, Bravely Default is an interesting reworking of the standard JRPG. The new tricks to the battle system, allowing players to bank extra actions for future turns with Default and spending extra actions at a cost with Brave, make for a fun new approach to something as old as the first consoles. I started playing again on a whim and immediately felt pulled back into the fun. I’ve already managed to kill a couple bosses, although I may have used some cheap tactics. No guides, though.

Hannibal
I watched the first episodes of Hannibal as they aired, eager to see how this would play into the overall grander plot set by the movies. Admittedly, I wasn’t entirely in love with the excessive gore (or the way everyone seems oblivious to THE PARTICULARLY CREEPY PERSON WHO MAKES JOKES ALLUDING TO CANNIBALISM). For some reason or another, I fell behind on watching the episodes as they aired and eventually gave up. At some point or another, I bought season one on DVD. Probably well into season two. Brianne and I watched a couple episodes, but it fell by the wayside again…until this last week, when we burned through the nine episodes we had left. I appreciate the cleverness to this show, especially with how the writers built up the inter-character relationships. However, it feels almost cartoonishly silly how no one seems to suspect Hannibal as the Chesapeake Ripper. That aside: the casting for Dr. Chilton was flawless.

I’m approaching this week still not having counted my posts, still missing my wireless mouse for my desktop, and eagerly anticipating the upcoming patch to World of Warcraft. At some point I have to take a mini-vacation, as these boxes haven’t bothered unpacking themselves.

And so here’s to a pleasant, easy-going week for all.