Updates

Sooo, it has been quite awhile since I've put finger to keyboard for this little blog of mine. A lot has happened or is happening, I think, since last I shared. There were a few topics I wanted to touch base on as I got involved with them, but that sort of went out the window. I have a hard time committing to hobbies, okay?

1. Python

2. Turbofire

3. Tombraider 2013

4. I can't think of anything else right now

Here we go:

1. I'll be honest here, I lost interest in codecademy after they lost all of my progress about a week into using it. Going back through the 15 or so lessons I had already done in order to earn nifty little badges and reach 100% on the progress bars -  not so fun the second time around. Does that make me a completionist? Absolutely. However, this is something I want to learn for my profession. Having to go through and do it all a second time shouldn't be a bad thing, but rather a good thing - solidifying the foundation of my python education. Imagine me saying that last sentence in a lofty voice. ;)

Meh. I'm disenchanted. I have a textbook on Python and IT can't lose my progress. I think I'll start going through that instead.

Okay, okay, I'm being a little unfair. Codecademy is all well and good and I do believe I'll use it again in the near future. My codecademy hiatus is probably due to laziness more than annoyance at lost progress. Still. I think the textbook is the route I'll take for the time being. Being tangible, I think progress with it will feel more real. Have more weight. In my weird brain, anyway.

2. I'll be honest here, I lost interest in Turbofire.....eh, wait...this sounds eerily familiar. Here's the skinny on my Turbofire advancement: I got really sick about two weeks into the program and since then I have only sporadically used it.

The first week, called The Inferno, I lost 4 inches around my waist and I think five or six pounds. Not too shabby, eh? It works like so: there is a strict meal plan and work out regime for this part of the program to detox and condition your body for the rest of the program. The meal plan is basically calorie counting, portion control, and low carbohydrate intake. You consume three bigger meals and two snacks, spacing out your consumption to keep your metabolism going at all times. You are also supposed to do a Turbofire class each day for the duration of The Inferno (five days)[and I only actually worked out twice that week].

Now it wasn't difficult to stick to eating the suggested portions and the suggested meals were pretty tasty. The problem was all of the damn meal preparation time. I work a 9-5 job and spend about 25 minutes commuting in the morning, then 45 minutes to an hour commuting in the evening. This means I've got about four to five hours each evening to make dinner, do chores, run any errands that come up, and to relax. If I have a date with my man that limits my evening's free time to about an hour. As you can probably tell, there isn't much room in my evenings to prep lunches and snacks and dinners for the next day or two. The same goes for the mornings because, and only when I try my darnedest, the earliest I can get up is 6. That's two hours and half hours to spend on a Turbofire class (one hour long), shower, get ready, and pack my breakfast/lunch/snacks. See where I'm going with this? The first week requires, at the very least, micromanaging every second of your days. At the very most, changing your entire schedule around to make it work. I was up until 1 AM prepping meals the one evening. It was madness. Not to mention that some of the required ingredients are not cheap (even if they are nutritious and delicious).

If I haven't totally scared you off from the program, I will say this: the classes and results are very much worth the trouble! Plus, the first week's meal plan is the strictest part of the nutrition guide. Every other meal thereafter is yours to choose with basic guidelines and fairly simple rules to follow. On the classes, the ones I've tried so far are addicting. They are so much fun and actually have decent soundtracks. Chalene is a great motivator. The exercises and classes (so far) are challenging enough to provide a sense of accomplishment and yet aren't so difficult that you can't complete them. The classes ARE intense, though. I have chosen the lower-impact moves or plain out had to stop and take a breather more than once. BUT it's so much fun that you don't want to throw in the towel until you've reached the end.

I plan on jumping back onto the Turbofire wagon within the next couple days. Until then, that's about all I have to report on Chalene Johnson's cardio kickboxing craziness.

3. Boyfriend and I started playing the latest Tombraider together a few weeks ago. Boyfriend devised a list of Lara Croft's top ten favorite activities based on the past 25 hours of game play (we are both completionists, what can I say?) that I must share with the world:

                1. Pant

                2. Kill wildlife indiscriminately

                3. Have frantic conversations with friends on her walkie talkie at random moments

                4. Be almost violently killed in a myriad of ways by rape-y looking men

                5. Obstinately refuse to put even a light sweater on, even on the top of the tallest tower of the tallest mountain of an island which has supernaturally bad weather

                6. Say some variation of "I can do it"

                7. Slide down hills

                8. Say some bullshit like, "This is architecture that predates the Kofun period" or otherwise know within ten seconds of looking at a piece of ancient Japanese history exactly what era it came from and what purpose it served and/or what it represents symbolically

                9. Gain momentary freakish She-Hulk strength when attaching a rope to a 10 x 10 inch support beam

                10. Destroy five to ten inanimate, arbitrary objects for fun in every new area (I contributed this particular point. The rest is all B. :) )

We are going to finish Tombraider (with 100%, I might add) this weekend. I'll post more about Lara, B, and I's adventures next week.

For now, back to the tunnels. <3

Correction

On turbo fire: I don't really need a life face lift. Just an endorphin boost. Who doesn't want to be happier-er? :)

Turbo Fire, GIS, and Devin Townsend

A couple things:

1. I bought the Turbo Fire workout program this past week. I'm not interested in losing weight so much as I am interested in making exercise a regular, fun part of my routine again. I absolutely loathe going to the gym and I get tired of watching the one and only workout DVD I own: Jackie Werner's Power Circuit Training (a difficult workout, let me tell you). Also, most DVDs available on the superstore chain (Walmart, Target, Kmart, etc.) bore me to death just to look at them, let alone purchase and try at home. You've got Jillian Michaels. You've got Richard Simmons (tehe). You've got Billy Blanks. You've got the random trainers teaching you to kick box, dance, yogi, and tae bo your way to fitness. Each DVD claims to do the job. The thing that most people don't realize while browsing the workout section is that a 15 to 30 minute exercise number alone is not going to do much of anything. I say this mostly to women because we are extra special creatures, biologically speaking, designed to keep and carry more fat than the opposite sex. Women especially need more than 30 minutes of side bends and sit ups to see results. We need an excellent diet. We need cardio. We need targeted training on problem areas to keep our frenemy, Fat, from clinging so tightly. I do call fat a friend/enemy here because I've read that women with more meat on their bones are also more fertile. Damn it.

So.

Yes. I bought into the Beachbody empire for a total workout experience and perhaps a life face lift. Tens of routines, advanced training options, online support, supplemental equipment and nutrition guides all come shipped in one gorgeous package right to your doorstep. I'm not looking to have kids anytime soon...sorry to disappoint you, Fat.

2. I used my precious tax refund to purchase an ArcGIS license. I want to say that I'm a struggling young person. I've got a Bachelor's degree in GIS. I pretty much need the damn thing to be able to better myself in my field and to further my career. Why did I have to spend my entire tax refund to get a license? I'm a walking billboard for the company. I was trained with ESRI products. Where I go, that knowledge, that training goes. If a company didn't have the software, but desired GIS solutions, my abilities with the software would most likely push a company to buy it. Throw me a bone here, people.

3. I spent a good portion of my evening listening to Devin Townsend's album Addicted and reading his discography notes on HevyDevy.com (twenty albums total, I think). I have been quite inspired by DT's pursuance of and perseverance in music.

Artists intrigue me. This isn't the first time I've been enthralled by the insights of an artist on his work and life. I think this is because art is such a personal expression of oneself. If you want a banana to be painted blue instead of yellow, it is acceptable and you may even have a reason for it (it's also super fun not to have a reason). If you want to produce masterful songs while jumping music genres like a frog, it is acceptable, but mostly if you can pull it off. I love it when the rules become malleable. It's refreshing.

There would have been more to that, but I can keep my eyes open no longer. I'll get back to DT later.

Later.

Print offput * 20

Okay, I don't know if the post title is a valid python command or not. I wouldn't know because codecademy went down for maintenance and lost all my progress. That's a big demerit in my book. I have lost motivation temporarily. That's all for now. Ta ta!

A Cacophony...of Coding??

Hello again!

Are you concerned about the cacophony of coding I've used for this post's title? Well, there's no need to fear! Underdog is....errr, *ahem....let me explain what I mean there.

The cacophony is totally unrelated to the coding bit. The cacophony is my NEIGHBOR being loud and obnoxious. This is a constant thing, but especially late at night when I'm preparing for sleep.

As for the coding part, that's just me, actually doing some coding. That's right, folks, I'm trying to teach myself Python. And really any sort of computer language that might be of some use in my life. I am currently using Codecademy to learn a few things. The jury is still out on whether or not this site is the shit or not. I'm leaning toward it being the best coding experience I've had to date, though. I shall be posting updates here and there on my progress and the site's pros and cons if you're interested. So far, I dig it. I've done one unit on the fundamentals of Python with lessons that turned out to be 100% enjoyable. However, I have discovered a small glitch. At random times, the 'Run' command yielded no response in the results window. I don't know what it was - browser issue, programming and results windows communication lapse, or internet problem...whatever the case, it wasn't really a deal breaker. I just had to fiddle with it by reloading the page, switching lessons, or hitting the 'Run' command a few times.

It's a little early for bedtime, but I can't stop my eyelids from falling. Sweet dreams, people.

Stuff. It's happening.

It's been awhile.

The winds are blowin'. It sounds like my front door is about to fly off its hinges.

I've obtained a Roku and Netflix since last I wrote. As you can imagine, these items are the reason for my absence. Lawl.

It would seem that I can barely stand my job another day, but who doesn't feel that way? Gotta pay the bills some way. I'm still waiting for Beyonce to give me dancing lessons. Maybe I'll be able to cash in on that if she ever responds. In the meantime, I'm just trying to figure out a game plan. Life is far too...open...for my taste. Too many choices. Too many possibilities to anticipate any sort of outcome. This is bothersome. Now as I say this many people apply for job after job to no avail. With that said, I'm not entirely talking about the job market. Let's go with the general realm.

I might be content lounging on my couch watching Netflix forever. Forget the rest of the world....

Meh, that would get lonely eventually!

For now, I'm going to do that day to day perspective thing. It's much more manageable that way.

Just to catch you up a bit on the last couple weeks, in a nutshell:
I've been to a dragshow for charity. Seen Devin Townsend (again) and Gojira. Watched Silver Linings Playbook. Discovered Word Hero and Ruzzle. Attempted crock pot cooking (pretty bland result). Uncovered the best way to stand for five hours straight. Caught up on Girls and MLP episodes. Played team trivia like a champ. Ate double chocolate cake that was worth an entire days allowance of calories, fat, and carbs. Realized and came to terms with some feelings (not about the cake, silly). Laughed at some comedians. Reconnected with a few old friends. Cried. Laughed. Seethed. Hugged.

It's a time somehow. It's ongoing. This might be the first time I've realized a time was happening while it was happening. I don't think I'd ever want to be a kid again if given the chance. The things I know now and yadayadayada. I am trying wholeheartedly to appreciate and enjoy this time rather than wishing it away.

Anyway, it's my bedtime. Night, folks.

Drinking and driving.

I forgot to mention that I recently went drinking and driving. Fortunately, I wasn't driving. My cousins and I were driving up and down the main street near my apartment, stopping in for a drink at each bar along the way. We only ended up at three different places. Two of the bars were in a shady part of town so we opted out until we could get some muscle to escort us. During our little outing, we decided that it was quite silly for no bar to exist with a boat ride in it. We spotted a rundown, little bar along the road (near a creak, no less) and decided we were going to buy it, renovate  it, and instate a new sort of BYOB: Bring Your Own Boat. The last place we ended up was founded in the early twentieth century. We were tipsy at this point. The Budweiser girls sign on the wall, we decided, was an original piece from 1908. So was the bathroom. And half the liquor on the shelves. Maybe the bartender, too. We had a good time. That's what it's all about, right?

I had quite the good time drinking wine and rearranging my apartment this evening. That's definitely what it's about.

:)

Cook in the making. III

The best success story yet: chicken bacon ranch sandwiches.This is some pretty simple, but simply tasty food right here. You salt, pepper, and bake some chicken, fry up some bacon to near burned-ness, line some cute little hoagie bun things with slices of pepper jack cheese, rip up some iceberg lettuce, and drizzle ranch (more like downpour) over a combination of all things mentioned. It was all Boyfriend's idea. Go Boyfriend for all of his ideas! I rarely have ideas that count for anything worth while.

Besides the food, I have done a bit of shopping for the apartment recently. It's amazing how things like a clothes hamper, towel rack, and glade plug-in can really improve one's day. Ah, technology. Thank you for existing. You didn't think technology was merely an internet connection and some medical advancements, did you? Because that would be pure silliness. So buying apartment technologies was a blast on Tuesday. Until today, that is. Today, I checked my mailbox and discovered some stuff: a Penny Saver ad and Two Bills. Before I went shopping, I had checked my bank account and sincerely wondered why there was 'so much' money in there. I patted myself on the back to commend my money-saving efforts and figured it was okay to spend a little extra. As I stared at the Two Bills in my hand this evening, I recalled why there was 'so much' in my bank account. To pay them....

Hip, hip, hooray for budgeting! It only works if you REMEMBER it, though. Heh. Fortunately, I plan for my own stupidity a lot so I had a small backup fund to cover the Two Bills. Whew. Disaster avoided.

This weekend should be a blast. Boyfriend and I are going to stuff ourselves full of sushi and Chinese food, see an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, and probably wind up drunk at a local bar. I live for the weekends. LIVE. FOR. THEM. Some jobs will do that to you. Not to mention being a generally old person these days. Though, now that I mention it, I don't know that 'old' is the right term. 'Broke' might be a better word to describe myself. Ha!

What?

Yo. I am slowly, but surely, becoming a data management master. I am CURRENTLY the master of Mrs. T's pierogis. And maybe salad, too. I need some writing inspiration. Where's a muse when you need one??

In the meantime,

Dear Beyonce,

    Please teach me how to booty pop. Or dance in general. It looks like fun. Thanks.

-Me

PS: About "Run The World" - don't tell me girls run the world while you represent women and roll around in the sand, scantily clad. The girls in your video run the dance club for sure, though. :)

You probably won't die if you get shot

Alaskan Pollock atop a bed of romaine, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, green pepper, and cheese. Salad. Success. Hooray! Who knew I could be so domestic? I've gone from "man who cooks = best thing ever" to "Me who cooks = best thing ever". Perhaps I'm a real adult now. Ha.

Watched Battle Royale tonight. Those kids need to learn how to fake-die better. Also, word of advice for the future, you CAN get shot tens of times before your body cares to notice. So please do whatever activities you may have planned that could result in your being shot. You might be able to finish them (ex. robbing a bank, stealing a car, stepping on the wrong gang's turf, etc.). The end.

I'm watching...

Pretty Woman. 'nuff said. If I were her, the knight could totally say, "Come on, baby, I'll put you up in a great condo." Especially after he bought me thousands of dollars worth of clothes, took me to see an opera, and sexed me on a piano. What a crazy hooker to say no!!! :-P

Cook in the making. II.

Yesterday was bread pudding with 12-grain bread. The best bread. I got the recipe from my Momma who got it from a cookbook somewhere. The recipe called for 4 eggs and 2 cups of milk - I only had 3 eggs so I cut the milk down to 1.5 cups. I think the pudding turned out a little drier than it was supposed to, but the idea of super slimy, mushy bread freaks me out so I'll keep it that way. I have to add more than 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, though.

That's all for now.

Cook in the making.

Blog makeover time. Things have changed around here so it's only right to keep the trend going.

Wednesday night I made my first dinner. Fairly simple. Eggs, sausage, pancakes, and toast. One twist: no toaster. I toasted the bread in the oven at 350 while I prepared everything else. I burned about 50% of the pancakes, but the fact that I made any correctly at all is a success in my book. The sausage was a piece of cake. The eggs weren't as good as I usually make them (not enough milk and not enough whisking), but they were certainly edible. It felt great to make an entire dinner from start to finish on my own. It also felt magnificent to do that for someone else, too. Thanks, Boyfriend, for being my guinea pig. :) He also brought me flowers and a vase for my latest apartment addition: a kitchen table. Not to mention, he brought cheesecake for dessert. Yes, I'm bragging a little. Sorry. Lol.

Thursday night my boyfriend and I made dinner. Not such a success story. I was so pumped up about making one good, simple meal that I jumped right into the complicated stuff. I tried making a Mess. Back story: My boyfriend and I used to go to this awesome little diner called Fiddle's. Once a weekend we would go and once a weekend we would both order the same thing: The Mess. It's a mess of egg, breakfast potato, meat, cheddar, onion, and green pepper all thrown together with a side of toast. Sounds like Heaven, right? Right. Except this was not the case when I made it. Also, I must give credit where credit is due. My boyfriend did help me create this breakfast dinner. He peeled and grated each potato, grated the cheese, tended two frying pans full of potato-y goodness, AND handled the bacon. However, I like to take the responsibility for the "mess" up since I'm the one that didn't let the potatoes fry long enough before dumping everything else in. Regardless of the end result (a mushy compilation of breakfast foods) it was still a fun experience. Boyfriend brought me an arrangement of flowers this night. I'm not sure what I did to deserve flowers two nights in a row, but I'll take it! Note for next time: more veggies, less potatoes, more egg, and more fry time are essential.

Tonight my landlords (a husband and wife) came over to fix the fridge. I had a lovely chat with my land lady. I am so very happy I found this place. After they left, I made a quick turkey, cheese, and mayo sandwich on whole grain bread and a salad to go with it. I made some phone calls to family to catch up. I have an entire weekend of good stuff planned. It was a hellish week, I'll tell ya, but it sure is nice to have both Saturday and Sunday off. I am so very lucky in a great number of ways. It seems the woes of the week are just melting away as the seconds pass. Ah, life. :)

Thanks for reading. Take care.