Category Archives: General

More Podcast Talk

Posted in Podcasts by

I went look for some more podcasts over the weekend.  I got caught up on the one’s I listening to, and found a ton of new podcasts to listen to.  Some I found at iTunes, but there were a bunch I found over at Pride48, which had their 48 hour marathon event.  I guess they have it every year, and since some of the podcasts I listen to were participating, I thought I’d listen this year.

I had heard of some of the podcasts before, but never listened to, so I downloaded those.  And there were a bunch I downloaded that I had never heard of.  I’ve listened to a few of them, and I’ve definitely found some new podcasts to listen to.  There are definitely a few that I tried listening to months ago but couldn’t get into.  I think I’m going to give them another listen, because I definitely have a few podcasts that I tried listening to, deleted, and then listened again…and liked them.

Back to Pride48, though.  It was really fun listening, especially since all of the Vegas shows were live, in front of an audience.  There were quite a few shows that weren’t broadcast from Vegas, but overall, it was really fun.  It made me wish I was there, but that really wasn’t an option this year.  And I don’t know if a non-podcaster can attend anyway….maybe if I start podcasting, I’ll be able to go next year, even if I don’t do the live show thing.  And hanging out in the chatroom was really fun!  I mostly lurked, but every once in a while, I commented on something.  I can’t wait for next year!

Anyway, I have lots of potential new podcasts to try out, and maybe some of them will stick.  I’ll probably post some kind of podcast update when I get through everything.

Off In TV Land

Posted in TV by

I’m really excited about all the t.v. season (and series) premieres.  So what am I watching?  House, which I hope gets better this season.  I don’t know what to make of Lisa Edelstein being gone, so we’ll wait and see.  Grey’s Anatomy, of course, and I’m really interested in this season.  I really hope Meredith and Derek can work things out, because the whole “things are fine, and then they aren’t, but, oh hey, things are fine again” thing is getting really old.  But then again, it wouldn’t be Grey’s Anatomy if things were hunky-dory with Meredith and Derek.  I haven’t followed any spoilers for House or Grey’s Anatomy, so I have no clue what’s going to happen.  I’m the most excited about NCIS, and I’ve followed every possible spoiler I can get my hands on.  We find out who the mole is, EJ comes back and we meet another FBI agent, who I think is going to make a few appearances over the course of the season.  And this is all in the premiere.  It sounds like there’s all kinds of fun stuff going on this season.

I’m also watching America’s Next Top Model, which is something I only watch every once in a while.  This season is the all-star season, but what I want to know is why it took 16 seasons to do an all-star season.  I was really hoping Shannon would go home, because she’s super-annoying, and her whole “the lace shorts look like underwear, and underwear is reserved for the bedroom for my husband to see, so I’ll wear really skimpy bikini bottoms instead” logic makes no sense.  I felt like hurling something at the t.v.  It looks like there will be lots of drama, but since it’s ANTM, you need to have drama.  And I’ll finally be able to watch CSI this season!  I never could before, since it was always on at the same time as Grey’s Anatomy.  Watching it online never occured to me, so I’ve only seen random re-runs on tv and the entire 1st season.  Since it’s on a completely different night, and doesn’t clash with anything else I’m watching (that I know of, anyway), I’ll be able to watch it!  I don’t know how much of it will make sense, but it is my favorite of the 3 CSI shows.  I can’t stand Miami, and New York was somewhat tolerable before Sela Ward came on.

As far as brand new shows, I’m looking foward to Once Upon A Time, Terra Nova, and Revenge.  I, very vaguely, remember what Once Upon A Time and Terra Nova are about, based on trailers, but they look really interesting.  And Revenge looks really cool too, but I can’t remember when it’s on.  I think it’s on at the same time as something else I’m watching, and since I don’t have a DVR of any sort, I’ll have to try and watch it online.  Actually, I just googled it, and it’s on at the same time as CSI.  Maybe I’ll go back and forth, and see which one I should watch online.  And Person Of Interest seems interesting too, but that’s one I’ll have to watch online, since it goes up against Grey’s.  There’s no way I’m missing Grey’s for some new show!

There’s definitely a lot to look foward to, so I’ll probably have recaps after each show premieres.

Random Side Note: I got a jar of Nutella at the grocery store yesterday because I keep hearing about how awesome it is, and because I’ve seen it pop up in a few recipes.  I tried it, and I love it!  Seriously, I love it as much as peanut butter, and I really love peanut butter.  I’ll have to find some recipes that involve it…after I get another jar, since the one I have is the smallest one they had, and I don’t think it’ll last long…

More Dream Talk

Posted in General by

Okay, I’ve been thinking about dreams for the last couple days.  I’ve had a few of them over the last week or so, and I’ve noticed an interesting pattern.  I’ve been writing in my journal before I’ve gone to bed several times, and that’s when I have memorable dreams.  What I’m wondering is how writing in my journal before bedtime affects my dreams. 

I feel like there is a connection, like writing about my thoughts and feelings somehow opens up my mind to deal with everything.  I have some sleep issues- sometimes, I just can’t sleep for no reason, but other times, I just can’t shut my mind off, and I’m worrying.  So to help me calm down, I write in my journal, and then I’m able to get to sleep.  Writing doesn’t make it completely go away, but at least I’m calm enough to go to bed.  It’s like my brain is going “you’re writing about it, it must be okay to work this out in your sleep.” 

As far as novel-writing goes (since I feel like I need to include it), throwing in a dream sequence or two is a really good way to word-pad.  Gone are the days when I would use nefarious means to word-pad my NaNo’s, but if it’s something that I feel lis necessary, I’ll definitely include it.  I don’t think any of my bizarre dreams have worked their way into my novels, but writing dreams is always entertaining.  It’s really easy to write something off-the-wall, and have a character keep talking about it.  The great thing about dream sequences is that they can be anything, and if you have some crazy scene or some wacky character that you can’t get out of your head, then a dream is a really good way to get it in there. 

Of course, I do like to throw random stuff in just for the hell of it.  It can be pretty fun, and it’s ALWAYS amusing whenever I re-read.  Actually, it makes an already amusing re-read EVEN MORE amusing.  ‘Cause…that’s how I roll.

I may or may not do a post about some of the cool videos I’ve come across.  I really don’t watch enough videos now that I think about it…

I think that’s it for now, so have a great day everyone!

And The Dreams Keep Coming

Posted in General by

Over the last few months, I’ve had a few dreams where I’ve been at a grocery store.  According to Dream Moods, shopping for groceries means that I’m currently lacking some emotional or physical need- I might be in need of nurturance and/or fulfillment.  That’s what I get for writing in my journal about how anxious and worried I am right before I go to bed.  But to a certain degree, it is right. 

Or maybe it just means I’m not at all prepared for disasters, as evidenced by the ranom county-wide power outage last week.  Especially when it comes for food. 

I also had this dream a few days ago where I was running around this really weird looking locker room because there were 3 guys chasing me.  It was implied that I was attacked (or at least the very least, they tried).  I couldn’t get their names right, so no one could do anything about it.  The guys were happy about this.  One of the guys I met (but wasn’t after me- there were several men that I met that weren’t chasing after me), smiled at me, like he was going to try to do something terrible to me. 

Then I was randomly in a lecture hall, where the professor specialized in dead babies, especially orange leathers. 

And then I was at my house, where one of the neighbors came over in the middle of the night to tell me that one of my rearview lights was on.  I moved my car a little, and one of my tires was all weird.  Not flat, but something was wrong with it.  And then my battery died, and the neighbor said he’d fix it.  I woke up after that. 

I have no idea where to begin with that dream, but it was weird.  Especially the 2nd part, with the professor who specialized in dead babies/orange leather.  The dream wasn’t exactly clear on that, so I have no idea what the connection between the dead babies and the orange leather was. 

At least my dreams are somewhat entertaining.

The Great Power Outage Of 2011

Posted in General by

Yesterday, was, well, interesting.  There was this massive power outage that affected southern California, Arizona, parts of New Mexico, and parts of Mexico.  This is the 2nd power outage we’ve had in the last month, but this one was, very clearly, massive.  The power’s slowly coming on, and everyone should have power by the end of the day, but there might be some people who won’t get their power back until tomorrow.  It sounded like there was gridlock all over the county, school’s cancelled, flights are grounded, and people ran out of gas!  It was a mess on the streets, and this will be one of the very few times when I’m glad I was at home. 

At first, I was like, the power will come back on a few hours, everything will be cool.  It went out around 3:45-ish in the afternoon, and came back around 12:30 or so, so it wasn’t too long.  It could have been a lot worse. 

I managed to keep myself pretty entertained: I read a lot, and while I didn’t work on my plot bunnies, I thought about it.  I think I might work on them today, because I think I want to conserve energy while power is being restored to the rest of the county. 

I think that’s it for now, I’m tired, and I definitely want to get some sleep.

September!

Posted in General by

We’re in September now…and I have no idea what to do with myself.

I got so wrapped up in going to Camp that yesterday, I felt the need to add onto my story, which I didn’t.  Because I wasn’t sure what else to add, and I didn’t really feel like adding onto it.  So I wanted to write, I just didn’t feel like it.

November is two months away!  Goodness, is it really that time of year again?  I don’t know where the time has gone!  I suppose I should get reading, I still haven’t decided how much time I’m going to spend reading in November, or if I should read as much as I can this month and next month.  I’d like to not have to worry about reading 9 books during November, so if I add on a few extra books in the next couple months, I should be good.

Speaking of doing things during November, I still haven’t decided how much I’ll be cooking.  I will be making a couple things, but I’m debating whether I should make a bunch of stuff during October and freeze it, just in case.  I think this will be the year when I actually have a stockpile of snacks and stuff.  The key words, of course, are “I think.”  Because I tell myself I’m going to have snacks and that I’m going to cook in advance every single year, and I never do it.  If I were going to do it, this year will probably be it, and hopefully it’ll work out.

Actually, wasn’t the whole point of me cooking new things every month to find out what I should make during November?  I think it was, but I actually can’t remember!  Oh well, I have of things to make, and I think I’m going to work on a November one.  I’m set for September, and maybe October, but I definitely want some stuff that I can freeze well, so I can just stick in the freezer, and then take it out, and thaw it out and stuff.  That’s the plan anyway, hopefully it’ll work out.

That’s about it for today, I think, so have a great day!

Why Is It So Warm?

Posted in Camp NaNo, General by

Goodness, it’s been a very warm summer.  It’s annoying, and all I want to do…is nothing!  Which is something I’ve been doing a lot of.

I’ve been writing, and I’m currently at 48,554, so I’ll be finished today!  Thank goodness.  As much as I love NaNo (and Camp NaNo too), I’ll be glad when I’m done.  I don’t know which is more exhausting, 2 straight months of NaNo or 3 novels in one month.  Maybe they’re on the same level…I don’t know exactly.

I’ve been going back and forth between the sims 3 and pottermore.  I’m still trying to get the hang of potions, but at least I have a couple of them down.  And all the comments on the website too!  It’s cool talking to people, and I’m definitely interested to see what they’ll be adding as each book comes out.  And the more time I spend there, the more I feel like a Hufflepuff.  Which I always was…so don’t huffle the puff!  Seriously…badgers are scary.  Don’t mess with us!

I think that’s it for today, so have a great day!

Losing Power Is An Adventure

Posted in General by

I totally had a different post in mind, and all planned out, but I decided that I wanted to talk about the joys of power outages instead!

So, I’m writing, just minding my own business.  Lately, I’ve started writing at around 7 pm or so, I have no idea why, but that’s when I feel all creative and stuff.  So, you know, typing, with the tv on in the background, and all of a sudden…tv goes off, lights go off…and…I realize the powers out.  I mean, clearly, right?  I start panicking (just a little) because my battery’s pretty much dead, and I can’t remember if I saved my work.  I tend to save after typing something, so I figure I’m safe until the power comes back on.  And that won’t be long, right?

Wrong…no power for about 4 hours, which isn’t too bad in the grand scheme of things.  It could have been worse, and while I really wanted to actually write, I couldn’t.  So…I started reading, at first by candelight, but that didn’t work out too well, since the candle was bright enough.  I read by flashlight instead, so I’ll have a couple book reviews over the next couple days, because of the reading I managed to do. 

It was really weird, and you don’t realize how much you use technology and electricity until the power’s down.  I was fine, for the most part, since I could read by flashlight, but…it was still weird not writing.  Or watching tv, or surfing the net.  Today is going to be a 2-post day, I’ve suddenly decided to post the book review I have, so enjoy the double posting!

Waiting For My Hogwarts Letter

Posted in General, Harry Potter by

I’m currently waiting for my Hogwarts letter, and I’m somehow managing to not check my email every 5 seconds.  It’s rather impressive if I do say so myself.  I’ve seen previews of people who have already gotten in, and the common rooms look amazing!  I’m definitely hoping to be in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw…even Slytherin looks pretty cool.  I’ll admit that I’ll be disappointed if I end up in Gryffindor, but I’ll end up wherever I end up.  And I can’t wait to get a wand and everything else!

I also have another blog!  I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and I’ve decided to start my own food blog.  I’ll still talk about food every once in a while over here, but for the most part, all food-related thing will be over at Nikki Bakes.  I’m not sure how often I’ll be updating it, but it’ll be once or twice a week, maybe more.  It really depends on what I’m making, and what pops into my head.

I’ve been writing too, but the last few days, I haven’t really wanted to write.  I like my idea and all, but my heart just hasn’t been in it.  I’m trying to write something everyday, since that’s better than nothing.  Even if it’s not as much as I want to write, at least I’m writing something.  I’m currently at 26,023, so if I get on a roll, or if I tack on some exta words, I should finish with 50k sometime this month.  Random stuff keeps happening, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens.

What Have I Been Up To?

Posted in General by

I’ve been reading a lot, as evidenced by all the book reviews I’ve been posting, and I’m fairly certain there will be one or two next week. 

I’ve been baking, and I have to say that I really like the Dorie Greenspan cookbook, Baking: From My Home to Yours.  I wish I had time to make everything I have bookmarked but I don’t think that’ll happen in the next couple weeks. 

And of course, I’ve been doing Camp NaNo, which is going okay.  We’re definitely in week 2, and I’ve been playing catch up.  I’m almost completely caught up now, with a total wordcount of 19,974.  I’ve also been working on my other projects, which are going okay.  I think I’m going to hold off on any planning until next month, when I’m not writing 6 million different things, but if I end up doing some planning, that’s okay too. 

I’m still waiting for that Pottermore welcome email…but I did get a congratulations email, which told me to wait for my welcome email.  I can’t wait to get it, because the few pictures I’ve seen are amazing!