May 30, 2007

Just for Janelle

5 Reasons why I blog:

  1. DS was doing it, and I'm not one to be outdone.
  2. I like attention.
  3. I don't call people, so this way you can keep up with me.
  4. I like to think I'm funny. But it's okay that I'm the only one laughing.
  5. I have stranger danger, and this lets me talk to people without talking to people. I have more friends online than in real life now....

May 28, 2007

Memorial Day Fun

Every year, Madison hosts something called Brat Fest. It is the largest in the world. We hold the World Record for most brats served in a single event or weekend or whatever. I had never been, so DS made sure I had a Brat Fest experience this time around.

I'm not really a brat eater, but I love the shirts that go with the festival. I was content to and get a hot dog, and then a shirt. However, DS said I can't wear a brat shirt without eating a brat, so I did. And then they were out of shirts... Jerks. I did get to touch the wiener mobile though. That was pretty cool.

Afterwards, DS took me to a park to fly my new kite, which I've named Sammy. He's a colorful lizard, with a VERY long tail. Whenever he started to fall, I yelled "Sammy! Stop it!" It only helped some of the time. Sammy is a disobedient lizard.

In case you're wondering, I was flying my kite in the exact same spot that DS and I went ice skating in this winter. I could have sworn that would be a pond, but it appears I was mistaken.

May 27, 2007

Booze Cruise

On Saturday, I went to Milwaukee for a brewery tour conducted by boat. Also known as a Booze Cruise. (Well, maybe not, but it makes me laugh.)


The first brewery was called the Rock Bottom, where I had some Naughty Scot Scotch Ale. The brewer told us how he made beer, but all I heard was when Lisa looked at these and said "That looks like SCIENCE." This picture is hereby called SCIENCE.


This was just after the first brewery (which means 2 beers into the day). Granted, they were 7.0 abv, but still. I knew we were going to have a fun time.

Lisa very much liked this giant beer.

I believe this is the third brewery. I can say with much certainty that I was drunk by this point. However, I did recognize that the river was fogging, and since low lying fog is one of my favorite things in the world, this picture was taken. I don't know if you can tell, but my pants were also completely soaked from jumping in a puddle at the second brewery.

I don't remember this at all, but I can tell you this is Ben, and we're in the back seat of Ruby, Matt's car. Also, this had to have been after Lisa missed the boat because to her, "hey we need to go, the boat is leaving" meant "run and get another beer."

Afterwards we went back to Leon's for custard. Actually, that was the second time we got custard that day. Look how happy Matt looks. That's cause I hooked him up with Anne. I'm awesome that way.

So, Booze Cruise = 5 stars. Also, everyone on this excursion will be with me when I go to Austin in September for Austin City Limits. That means ACL also has the potential to = 5 stars. Rock on.

May 18, 2007

Seattle's not bad

I had to go to Seattle for work a little while ago. Here are some random observations.

Despite feeling colder than Madison, it was much much more green. I only found out after I was there that some people call it the Emerald City, though apparently the locals do NOT.

I was disappointed to find out that Pike's market is nowhere near the window of any hospital, and therefore could not possibly be viewed while people are getting into the elevator at Seattle Grace Hospital.

The market then redeemed itself by having the most amazing collection of Fiesta ware I've EVER seen. This was only a small portion. It was breathtaking.

The Seattle Art Museum teased me by being closed the day I went because they were getting ready for a 36 hour grand re-opening the next day in celebration of their new wing. Jerks.

The public library by Rem Koolhas was interesting inside during the day. At night, it was simply mesmerizing.

The pier was pretty cool, minus all the homeless people missing limbs, each of whom had a pet dog of some sort which they used as a pity tool to get your money.

The Woodland Park Zoo had pretty decent exhibits, though they fell short in their job of educating the public. There were more signs telling you what each tree was than there was telling you what the animals were. One exhibit had nothing at all. I guess we were supposed to guess. The little bird house for things generally thought of as pets was pretty cool though. All the birds were loose, and you could buy little popsicle sticks with peanut butter and birdseed and then feed them. This little girl was adorable.

I learned a valuable lesson on this trip though. Under no circumstances should I spend more than 3 or 4 days without physically seeing someone I know and care about. I only knew one person on this trip, and I didn't even see them until day 6. I'm afraid my tendencies to self destruct overwhelmed any greatness the city tried to bestow on me. Next time, DS goes whether he likes it or not.

April 22, 2007

MLB!

Yesterday, I went to a Brewers game with my friends Anne and Matt. Matt and I are working on making Anne a baseball fan, and I think we're doing a pretty good job. In the distance, you can see Miller Park. This was the first game I've been to there where the roof was actually open. It was also the first time I've ever tailgated before the game.

Inside the stadium, there's a giant slide. The Brewers' mascot stands at the top and dances around during the game. If one of the Brewers' hits a homerun, the mascot slides down and waves the Brewers' flag at the bottom. This was also my first time getting to see this happen, and it happened twice!

After the game, Matt decided we needed to go get frozen custard from "the original custard place" in Milwaukee. He's from there, so he knows these things. Anne and I were drawn to the neon lights like mesmerized bugs. And I have to admit, the custard was pretty freakin good, even if it wasn't ice cream.

April 15, 2007

1701 A.D.

Okay, so you want to know what 1701 A.D. is? I'll tell you, because I love it so much, and you should too.


Basically, it's strategy, empire building game. It's a lot like SimCity, except it's set in 1701, and you're trying to build a city on a newly discovered island. And there are "natives" to either trade with, or fight with, and other people settling islands for their countries too. So you start off with pioneers, who live in thatched roof cottages (hahahahaha, strong bad...), and they have a certain set of needs that you have to fulfill. And as you successfully do that, your people can advance. And it's super sweet, because you can build ships in your shipyard, and put cannons on them, and train soldiers, and RULE THE WORLD!

Of course, I don't really play that way, or at least I haven't yet. Right now, I'm playing the peaceful strategy and making alliances with everyone. But maybe next time, I'll conquer everyone. BWA HA HA!

Oh, and the graphics are pretty sweet too. It was a gem of a find, because I totally just picked it up from the shelf, having no idea what it was. OH! I almost forgot the pirates. THERE ARE PIRATES!

See, you want to play it now don't you?

April 14, 2007

I am not dead

I know some of you have been wondering why I'm not posting as much. I promise that it is not because I'm dead, or because something is wrong. That's not to say that there aren't things wrong in life, but they're not keeping me from posting.

No, I haven't been posting because that would require me to spend time in front of my computer. Time that couldn't be spent playing 1701 A.D.

Here's a breakdown of my schedule in a typical week:
Monday - play 1701 A.D.
Tuesday - catch up on DVR'd tv with DS
Wednesday - go to Anne's for BSG night (aka, movie night, since BSG is on hiatus)
Thursday - TVNIGHT
Friday - random things (like the Wisconsin Movie Festival) or 1701 A.D.
Saturday - Hang out with Matt while DS climbs
Sunday - adventures with Anne, DS, or Matt, depending on who's available.

Truth is, I'm just not home much anymore. And when I am, I'm obsessing over 1701 A.D., or sometimes, Sims 2. So much so, that I haven't played Animal Crossing in three weeks. Maybe you don't realize how significant that is, but DS knows, and he says my townspeople are going to hate me.

So there you have it. Generally speaking, life is good and filled with fund and friendship. I have lots of pictures to post, but even now I'm not home, so they'll have to come later. Probably lots later, because tonight KT1 is having a birthday party, and I have to get all dolled up and shake my booty.

April 08, 2007

Happy Easter!


Sorry for the long absence. I did indeed get a haircut. It's more than what I wanted (I was after #4), but the first place I got it cut screwed it up so bad it had to be this short to fix it. Oh well, it will grow back :)

Now go eats lots of candy, 'cause I'm going to!

March 25, 2007

This is an apology

I need to correct a heinous error. I had promised one Mr. Baronet 200 brownie points for my amazing banner. It would seem I had forgotten this, and shorted him. So, here are the other 100, and an extra 10 for putting up with my negligence.

When I started the brownie points, I had originally intended it to be something you could cash in for something else. Not really sure what that something else would be. Maybe art or something. Anyone have any ideas of something they'd want from me? (and in case you've forgotten, i'm not above deleted your crappy comments, so be civil. my mom reads this after all.)

Also, on a side note that has nothing to do with the above, I am completely banning BSG from my obsession list until further notice. 2008??? COME ON!

I'm 7!

Here's what I did this weekend:

  1. Went to the park
  2. Threw rocks in a pond
  3. Skipped through a yard
  4. Chased a bunny
  5. Went to the zoo
  6. Blew bubbles off my balcony
Yup, one great weekend. And I'm officially a small child.

March 24, 2007

Insanity!!

I'm not even going to tell you how long I spent trying to make this work.

Okay, that's a lie. Of course I'm going to tell you... 4 hours!!

Now granted, 3 1/2 of those involved me halfway paying attention to The Departed, but still.

I'm sick of my blog for the moment. Everyone gawk at the amazing banner Willie made me, cry over his amazing lead in brownie points, and go blind from my spring palette.

March 22, 2007

Fight!

The blog and I are fighting. I thought I had updated the banner since I updated to the new version, but maybe not. I mean, I've certainly never had this much trouble adding a stupid banner. (I'm not saying the banner itself is stupid, cause it's awesome.. you'll see.. maybe.. one day.)

Anyway, if you know anything about widgets or xml or how to get my stupid banner to replace the current title bar, please let me know.

March 17, 2007

Are you wearing green today? I am!

Celebrate!

Woot! Today we are celebrating two things:
-St. Patrick's Day (which we don't really care about)
-and paying off the cost of this summer's cruise!!!

This is awesome, because it's the first major vacation DS and I have fully planned for and paid in advance. It's quite a big step for us to actually be able to say, "we want to do this, and we can afford it." Hooray for learning how to save!

I'm going to spend the day dancing to music in my head :)

March 12, 2007

I need a haircut

I am craving a new hairstyle, but I can't decide what to do. Please vote on the six choices below, or feel free to suggest one of your own.

Thank you!

March 11, 2007

Pretty Freakin' Nerdy

DS and I like to fight about which of us is the nerdiest. Tonight, the fight was settled by an unbiased third party. And by that, I mean an online quiz. DS beat me, 99-89. Still, 89 is a pretty high score. (Of course, all this really means is that, though nerdy, I'm still way cooler than he is!)


I am nerdier than 89% of all people. Are you nerdier? Click here to find out!

Elated


Before the concert, DS and I picked up Matt (of previous painting fame) and headed to Tutto Pasta for dinner and dessert. Is this chocolate mousse in an edible chocolate shell not amazing looking? Of course it is, and it was tasty too!


We then headed to the Barrymore to see the Ditty Bops. They are dressed in plastic outfits as part of a campaign they've started to get more people to use re-usable grocery bags.

I'm thinking about getting a pixie cut like Amanda has here (the girl on the left). What do you think?


Today, the temperatures decided to break 50, so DS and I went for a walk. Snow was melting everywhere, and the bike path we like to take was reflecting everything. Sometimes I felt like I was walking on the clouds, and sometimes I caught sweet views like this.


The creek was full of life, and the lake near my apartment is starting to break up!


It was an awesome weekend!

March 10, 2007

Hot AND Talented

These lovely ladies are coming to Madison tonight, and I have tickets!!

Are the Ditty Bops biking to me? I don't think so, so their last cross-country tour was travelled entirely by bike! They're supposed to be known for allowing pictures and dressing in theme, so hopefully I'll come back with awesome photos.

I'm so excited!!

Sooo Helpful...

I enjoy playing games at pogo.com. I have a Club Pogo membership, mostly because I enjoy working towards the badges. It's a lot like those stickers you used to get in grade school when you wrote your alphabet especially well.

This week's badge is for a game called "World Class Solitaire". When you're on the individual game's site, there's a section where Pogo lists other games you might be interested in. Their suggestion on this site?

World Class Solitaire...

March 06, 2007

Alone

DS left for Denver this morning to give a talk at some science convention. He's always leaving me for crap like that. Remember last winter? The winter I spent alone for three months? He's lucky proposed that winter, or he would have come home to an empty house.

DS leaving always presents me with the dilemma of feeding myself, at which I am notoriously bad. I asked a friend at lunch today whether I should have spaghetti o's, ramen noodles, or ravioli's. He said I should just starve than eat that crap. (I really don't see what's wrong with them, they're yummy and fill my tummy!) As it turns out, I nearly did just that. I did have some yogurt though, and I'm thankfully not hungry. I don't know what it is about cooking, but 9 times out of 10, I walk in the kitchen, look at the stove, and decide I'd rather stay hungry than turn it on. Thankfully, the same doesn't apply to baking things like cookies. Dessert is definitely worth the effort. Dinner? Not so much.

People tell me that cooking is rewarding and lots of other things that are supposed to entice me to start doing it. It's true, DS makes some tasty things that I wish I had had tonight. However, the truth is, as implied above, I'd just as soon eat ramen every night. Not even that, I'd even eat the same chicken flavor every night. There are too many things that go into common foods that I just don't like, like onions, or any type of pepper what so ever. I'm just not impressed with food enough to spend more than 3 minutes on it.

The other thing DS leaving does is make me feel lost in my apartment. I'm not sure why, we don't even really spend a lot of one-on-one time when he is here. We're kinda solitary people for the most part. But he's also like an anchor, and when he's gone, I drift from room to room as if I suddenly don't know what to do with myself. I tried to alleviate that by going clothes shopping tonight, and then working out. Hopefully, I'll get to sleep alright. It's weird going to bed when he's not here, as he's always in bed before me, and almost always fully asleep before I get there. Going to bed before him makes me feel like it's 8 o'clock, even when it's midnight.

Tomorrow's taken care of, because it's BSG night (though we're caught up on the series now, so BSG has morphed into movie night, soon to be Firefly night). Thursday should also be okay, since it's TVNIGHT with Matt. Dinner both nights is still up in the air, though BSG night usually comes with food and is therefore hopeful.

Of course, considering the hours I've already put into work this week (21, and it's only Tuesday), maybe I can just get two lunches and have dinner at work. If I were a monkey, I'd ask you to send bananas!