Author Archives: fictionalpenguin

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.

An oddly responsible day off

Posted on by under One Hundred Days of Blogging

My days off of work are pretty sacred to me, in that I generally try to relax at least a little bit. Today wasn’t an exception to that rule of sorts.

Marceline the Adventure Bean, our third cat, had a vet appointment for her final vaccinations, and I had a very pressing need to find out why the Hell the Maintenance Required light was on in my car (spoilers: it wasn’t because it missed my bright, beautiful smile). I also had come to the realization that there’s not a whole lot by way of food in the new place, which was something I decided needed correcting. I wanted to get a haircut, but that didn’t quite manage to happen. We’ll get back to that.

My errands followed one another quite neatly, with the vet appointment going smoothly, the cleaning out of my car going well, and then the oil change & battery check-up for my car going poorly. Womp womp. Turns out the issues I’d noticed lately were because my poor ol’ Toyota’s battery needed replacing, but the folks at the Plank Road Jiffy Lube are the absolute best. Problem solved nice and quickly. Thanks to stopping there, I saw a recipe on TV for two ingredient chicken (skin-on chicken breasts; add garlic and herb brie or Borsin, then bake…For those interested, Google two ingredient chicken), and so dinner plans were set.

If this post sounds oddly responsible, that’s because it is. I wanted to get some writing done today, but that didn’t quite happen (it will be happening tomorrow instead, as I have self-imposed deadlines to meet). There’s a problem there, however, because I had plenty of creative thoughts rattling around that were left to wait. They seem to have conspired with my love of cooking. Something made me think of scotch bonnets, which are a type of very hot pepper similar to habaneros. They’re commonly, or so Google says, used for Caribbean jerk recipes and have a sweeter taste than their similarly-spicy pepper cousins. I suddenly found myself, a couple hours ago, wanting to use them to make something. I couldn’t figure out what.

My current idea? I happened upon a recipe for caramel sauce with cayenne pepper in it, and decided trying it with scotch bonnets could be plausible. I’ll have to post the results once this food experimentation invariably happens.

How do you other creative types seem to handle the untapped creative ideas in situations like this?

I’d say more, but I work very early tomorrow. Pretty sure this hundred days is almost up, but I need to verify that to be sure.

Seasonally-appropriate boozy hijinks

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I’ve seen a million billion people (clearly in no way an exaggeration) talking, at some point or another, about Pumpking and Warlock. As someone who likes trying new things, a person who isn’t entirely against the occasional beer, and a Warlock fanatic on WoW…Well, I had to eventually give these a chance. I’ve not yet tried the Warlock.

Pumpking has a pleasant taste, with perhaps a touch of bitterness at the end. The bright orange coloration makes it a fun drink, and it smells like a freshly-baked pumpkin pie. I can see why this receives such rave reviews.

However, I now also feel compelled to think up spooky drinks involving stronger manners of spirits. Suggestions?

The post that could have been

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In the words of David Tennant’s incarnation of the Doctor, “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry”. There’s a post-shaped hole in the place where today’s post, but it wasn’t stolen or forgotten. Those would be very simple explanations. The truth, as it turns out, is also pretty simple.

And it’s also good news. Terrific news, in fact.

While I won’t actually reveal details about the post, as it still exists in a very different form, I’ll admit to why there’s so much secrecy involved. Tonight’s mystery post will evolve into a more involved, better thought-out version of itself on Onezumi’s blog. Oni opened up a chance for people to send in guest posts. Needless to say, I leapt at such a chance. It’ll be written by the end of the week, and I’ll certainly share it here once it’s posted.

For now, however, it’s a post that will be. It could have been tonight’s post, but it will have to wait now.

Monday, pleasant Monday

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Today turned out to be one of the more pleasant Mondays in recent memory, and I think it may be because I found out I have thirty-two unused hours of vacation time. I’m ignoring how such knowledge would have been valuable around the time of my move as I don’t want to defile such a good thing.

Perhaps the wonderful nap I took earlier (I know, I know, I said I needed to stop doing that, but sleep is just so nice after being so busy with something like moving while still working a forty-hour-a-week job). Or the dinner Brianne made.

Beginning to play catch-up on NBC’s Hannibal isn’t hurting, although I will admit that it’s not the best dinner accompaniment in terms of TV shows. I’m only about seven episodes into it, give or take a few (I actually can’t remember at the moment as a lot of things are just sort of blending together lately). I’m trying to remember why I stopped watching it for as long as I did, especially since I have such easy access to season one on DVD.

Admittedly, Monday and I don’t always get along and so having such a laid-back, relaxing start to the week is almost unsettling. I realize there’s something genuinely ridiculous in saying Monday is an inherently bad thing, especially given the number of people who no longer find their work-weeks confined to the Monday-through-Friday nine-to-five. This isn’t a post about “Well, it’s all a matter of how you look at something” or blah blah blah positivity. Nope. Just enjoying a particularly pleasant Monday just a little more before I head off to bed and prepare myself for…well, another day at work.

How did everyone else find this Monday? Hopefully it wasn’t too unpleasant.

Best intentions meeting the worst outcome

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Tonight’s post is a somewhat grumpy one, as it’s fueled by the frustration brought on by not meeting goals I set for myself.

Tomorrow needs to include two Screen Robot drafts. Tonight, however, will continue involving a cruel and brain-rattling headache, among other things.

On the plus side: I chose to treat myself to the new Smash Bros game. After the madness this past week blessed me with, I figured I may as well. Horrible reasoning, I’m sure.

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Managers and Bosses and Leaders (Oh My)

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It’s Day Ninety, I think. Or probably close enough. I need to not do this again any time soon, as it has been a soul-devouring experience.

Today’s post was one I should have made last week around this time, but I shuffled my feet a bit. I’m glad I did, as I received more relevant news that only made me want to wait until I knew I could do this topic justice. Hopefully I can manage that much tonight, despite being quite tired and behind on other responsibilities (I’m looking at you, Family Guy/Simpsons crossover article I need to write for Screen Robot). Moving, to state something rather obvious, is brutal. Moving along.

I don’t talk about my day job on here in much detail, and it’s largely because I know the pitfalls and dangers of doing such things. I can, however, say that it is a company that stresses leadership over management. I’m not a store manager, but a store leader. I’m not a boss, but someone who leads by example. I hope I’ve accomplished this so far, at least, and I constantly strive towards making that happen.

In the past week or so I lost two of my District Leaders, both of whom I hold in very high regard. Dan hired me (and, on more than one occasion, was so kind as to call me one of his best hiring decisions), and Bill chose me for my promotion to store leadership.  They were mentors to me, and genuinely good people. They were, above all else, leaders. When they were in the trenches, so to speak, they would perform tasks at the store they would expect other employees to do so as to lead by example. They showed genuine interest in the people who worked for them. At no point did it feel like there was some great, looming power in the store when they would visit.

They weren’t bosses. They weren’t managers. They were leaders. I feel like my life has been enriched by knowing them, and I’m hoping I can take the lessons they’ve taught me and improve myself both in and outside of my job.

I doubt very much Dan or Bill will ever find this (I’m hoping not, at least, because it’s a lot more sentimental to me than it may necessarily appear). They were why I was, and am, so enthusiastic and passionate about my day job. Innovation and all that good stuff. Needless to say, this post is in honor of my two District Leaders who did me a world of good. I strive to make every week a great week, and “do more with less; God bless”.