sdcc

San Diego Comic-Con 2009.
Let's get to it bitches. A quick review of SDCC09

1) This year the crowds were INSANE. You really need to feel love for your fellow man and your Action Figure collection to brave these crowds. And it is not just in the convention center and the 45 minute wait for an Iced Grande Soy Caramel Latte I am talking about, it's all over the Gas Lamp. Someone was saying they had to wait an hour for a Subway sandwich. SUBWAY! AN HOUR! Eat Fresh?! What?

2) There were some cool exclusives - I am sure I don't need to tell you that! You are a fan. A collector! You knew months ago about the Jason Voorhees Bust with removable mask, limited to 400 at the Con right? riiight? Oh you were coming here to start your collection. Got it.

3) The Sideshow Collectibles booth was amazing.

4) Panels - there were some really cool ones. The lines were suuuuper long. You have to really want to have your picture taken by Neil Gaiman. Hopefully you didn't even go to the Twilight panel without a 2 day supply of food and a sleeping bag.

5) there were people in crazy costumes! Hey look a Storm Trooper!

6) The free wi-fi was a nice touch! thank you convention center.

So there you have it. Another year down! See ya next year!

Full disclosure: I didn't actually go this year. It really is basically the same every year except that it gets a little more crowded and a lot douchier. My back is messed up right now so I just couldn't get my head around driving 2 uncomfortable hours in the car to walk around a bazillion square foot convention center through the CRAZY crowds and the "fans" ---

A text I got from a friend that pretty much sums up my feelings: "Dear people who think this is cool: Stop coming. There are too many of you and you're ruining it for me"

There are lots of people who actually WANT to come here for more than just to say that they went. When Newsweek is doing an article about how to "look like a real fan" you know it is out of control. And the people who make fun of those women, and men, in Wonder Women costumes and talk about all of the "freaks" should really just stay home. This is not for you. It's totally jumped the shark. No longer cool. See there. It's not cool - so why would you go? You can find the exclusives online. You can watch the panels on YouTube. You can watch coverage on G4. Leave the looking like "real fans" to the real fans. There are not enough hotel rooms to go around.

See you freaks next year!

Hush Hush. Keep it down now.

You know how people (and by people I mean therapists) suggest that if something is on your mind or if you have something to say to someone that you should write them a letter, you don't even have to send it - you can throw it away, but the point, I guess, is to just get it off your mind.

I totally just did that! My "people" would be so proud. But I did it on email. So that I can just delete it instead of throwing the piece of paper away, trying to cut down on waste, y'know. And I didn't input the person's name because I didn't want to accidentally hit "send" - here is the letter in case you need to use it in your office.


From: Me!
To: DoYouEver.StopTalking@work.com
Date: really, every day.
Subject: Have you heard that song Voices Carry?

SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP

Best Regards.
Looking frantically for my earphones.

Ow. My eyes.

There should be a maximum number of fonts and styles in one email.

I don't want to promote violence but you sort of deserve a slap to the back of your head if your signature formatting is 4 lines with

Arial Bold in 10pt in black
Arial Bold in 10pt in red
Arial Bold in 10pt in blue
Arial regular in 10pt in black
Trebuchet MS bold italic in 10
Book Antiqua regular, italics, in 10pt in black

and you are writing your emails in Tahoma regular blue, 10 pt

I beg - please stop assaulting my eyes. I get headaches. Really bad ones. Your abuse of formatting is not helping. I would like to appeal to Microsoft to add one of those cute, but annoying, little animated characters that pop up when you are nearing the limit of fonts that common sense and consideration for your fellow man dictate

What should the max be? I dunno. 2? 3? It's like - there isn't a rule - but you know it when you see it. Six is too many.

Things I did not complain about today.

The strong smell of perfume. Maybe some people like that.

People saying "ok, well let me know" after you already tell them that you are looking into something for them.

headaches

I pulled like 6 loose hairs off my shirt. I'm going bald.

The fact that most people spell Comic-Con incorrectly. Comicon. ComiCon.

How FULL I was after lunch.

My back

That sound. WHAT THE HELL WASS THAT SOUND? I had to go and find it

The fact that I found the source of the sound and the person is not there to turn it off and it's impossible to access.

People who don't know when to stop talking

Getting a meeting invite at 1:59 when the meeting is scheduled for 2

"miso" and "huevos" not being in the Outlook dictionary

People who don't publish the whole stories in feed readers. They only publish the headline for for first few lines - NO!

That voice. You know the one.

yeh, I'm kinda tired

So... for like TEN WHOLE DAYS, I was all working out a lot - like everyday... like at all of the gyms I belong to (except one), like at yoga studios, like EVEN doing online yoga AT HOME... I was alll motivated and shit.

And there are a few reasons for my sudden motivation but honestly one of the biggest ones is because I thought it would help increase my energy level so that I could get all kinds of stuff done and not be so darn tired at the end of the day. I ALSO thought that because my energy level would be up that, for some reason, I would need less sleep.

This is how it went in my head:
1) raise energy.
2) combat laziness and fatigue.
3) need less sleep
4) get shit done.

but then.

I saw something online (that I can't link to because I immediately closed the browser hoping it wasn't true but it's been haunting me ever since) that said athletes need 7 to 8 hours of sleep A NIGHT! wait. what? How can that be? How can my body be all exercised and lean and efficient and need MORE time to rest.

fuck, man.

that blows.

Anyway, now I'm having back issues and can't go to yoga and was told to do low impact boring shit for EIGHT WEEKS AND I still probably need 8 freaking hours a night to "heal." It's a lose lose not get shit done kind of scenario.

bah.



I don't have THE link, but there is plenty online. read it. not lying. it says I need MORE sleep. I just don't know how that can be.

The one where I get a little sappy and kind of judgy.

Last Friday I heard a father's day story on NPR you... it's short - go listen to it. It's very nice actually... I just had a teensy problem with the way that it ended:

"When we spend a weekend together, she often says, "I love you." But it's the look she gives me that eternally confesses her feelings. I look at my father the same way now that I know he was thinking about me all those years we were apart. I no longer see a man who did nothing for me my whole life, but a man who has always loved me.

After all, he's my father; just as I am hers."

So, what I am hearing is it's ok to be shitty because you're her father and she should love you regardless of what you do just because of it? Yeh - I don't think so.

A good father, just as a good wife, brother, friend, etc is determined, or SHOULD be determined, by more than their title and place in the household. A good father protects and provides for their son or daughter. A good father listens, supports, encourages, and teaches. A good father is patient, knows when to shut up and when to speak up. A good father is a good husband, even if that means knowing when to let his wife go. A good father is a good son. A good father is a good man.

I hate to be all conditional but let's be realistic. I hope daughters and sons all over the world love their fathers - but I hope those fathers feel like they have to earn that love. Nothing is free. Nothing should be taken for granted. Give love. Accept love. Earn love. Don't expect love.

loveyoubye.

I am not your maid.

So, today we went to the Farmer's Market... after all - we are "those people" (more on that some other time) - and after buying grapefruit (3 for $2), cherries ($5 for a bucket - no sprays) and organic berries (asst of blue, black and rasp for $14 - cheaper than WF) I decided that I needed a third cup of coffee in an hour. Actually, I didn't even really "need" the coffee I just really love Common Grounds (mostly because it's not Starbucks, Peets or CoffeeBean) so I got my coffee and while I was giving it a splash of half & half I noticed a guy empty three packets of Sugar-in-the-Raw into his cup and then toss the empty paper packets on the table ONE INCH FROM THE TRASH BUCKET. I looked at him and looked at his trash and it's proximity to the trash bucket and said, to no one in particular, "really?" and put the trash in the bucket for him. A grown man should be able to put some trash in a trash receptacle and I should NOT have to clean up after him but I envisioned the paper packets blowing off the table and onto the ground and creating litter and someone else having to pick it up and why the fuck should someone else have to pick it up when I am standing right there next to the trash, and I didn't even have to bend over to pick it up, and put it in the trash bucket.

When I told Guy what happened he just said "Are you surprised?" and yeh, actually I was. I just don't know what the hell is wrong with people - so you don't know where the trash can is and it's that hard to, I don't know, glance around and try and find it? People - come on - take responsibilty for your actions - don't litter, don't be a douchebag, don't expect other people to do things for you. In case you forgot, you are human and you are not ANY better than anyone else... I am not better than douchey litterer fuckface just because I picked up his trash. We are all the same, let's leave the coffee condiment area nice and clean for the next coffee lover ok?

It's a rainbow in my box

So, like, I color code my emails at work, different colors obviously for different items that need to be addressed… it's a pretty good system, especially since I like to do things in batches - I just batch and color code similar tasks together… I used to move things out of the inbox and into folders but I like having them in my inbox, constantly reminding me how far behind I am, to stay motivated (I THINK the GTD peeps like folders AND color coding but there is only so much time in a day to organize y'know).

ANYWAY… lately I've been feeling a little Groundhog Day --- like every day is just sort of the same or really similar --- same kinds of emails, same kinds of problems, same same. And in dealing with the same emails and problems I've gotten a little behind on filing and clearing out my Inbox, so today is the today I totally get caught up, stay motivated, file and get down to <5 emails. Because I am trying to figure out a way to stay engaged I decided to do things in small batches and in doing so I realized that I made my HOURS very Groundhog Day… here's the way it went today:
1) check inbox & clear out one of my colors (this creates more paper that needs to be filed - it's a legal thing)
2) file stack of papers (which are also batched for quick and efficient filing, except when I totally ignore them, like last 2 weeks)
3) check Yahoo, check Facebook, check Twitter
Repeat
Over
And
Over
All
Day
Long .....
Wow. I am REALLY looking forward to that weekend in Sonoma.
File, Rinse, Repeat. Gotta go - Blue is waiting for me

Firsts - a beginning

hey I know! I'll start another list. I do like lists. What OCDADDDYSLEXICEASILYDISTRACTED35YEAROLDWOMAN doesn't? This one will also help the problem of not being motivated (I would think). It's actually something I started a long time ago. And by started I mean I wrote two entries, never posted them then forgot all about them.

The first time I ever thought about writing:
I was sitting on the floor (facing the tv, much like now)
My grandmother's typewriter was on the coffee table (much like now)
I was probably 7, MAYBE 8.
Writing an autobiography.

I can literally remember wanting to write, getting excited, turning on the tv, setting up the typewriter, sitting down and not having a single clue what to write. (much like....)
I do remember that I wrote something about my dad not being able to keep a job and my Uncle Al being an alcoholic. I think I got maybe 3 sentences in before giving up. Or maybe Solid Gold was about to start. Either way, that autobiography never happened. It's never too late to write about your family's failures though right? Maybe tomorrow.

Countdown to Road Trip

updated!

Leaving with SASTC in a few days for Detroit and then driving to NY. It's all work but I think we'll have a good time... Especially on the drive to NY, it will only take a few hours but I have high expectations for those hours - I should go online and see if there is anything we can stop and be goofy at - like world's biggest cupcake display or something. BETTER YET! You should look it up for me and let me know!

[note to self - print itinerary and directions to all stops!]

So much to do before we leave, feeling a little overwhelmed. Saturday's plans got postponed which is probably a good thing.

Cause I like to make lists:
Pedicure - nope. no time. it's ok though. It was a nice to have, not a have to have
Hair Salon yes. lots of brown!
Breakfast with the girls good company, cold eggs
Pictionary
Pack (7 days worth of clothes into a carry-on. yikes) have the clothes laid out, we'll see if they fit into the carry-on!
Wireless card thanks to BS and AL for the loan
Clean out my email had to go in on Saturday to do it but it's done!
File everything I got behind on filing this week CHECK!
Finish unpacking my desk CHECK!
Chiropractor crack check!
Not stress - minor success.
Charge camera
Play with new kitten - ongoing
Play with old cats - boring
Quality time with husband. - not enough!
Set DVR (living room) and TiVo (bedroom) for all the new shows that will start next week (yes, I do it in both rooms. I like options)
Update the Zune (that damn software crashes my computer)
Buy an airplane book. Black Dahlia book recommendation from AL
Email this list to my phone so that I can have it on me!
Make some lists, check them twice, forget something. already remembered two things I forgot, luckily I already forgot them again

Once we get there:
Yell at JB from BS on behalf of HW.
Baseball game with the Mulligans - Tigers v Angels - GO TIGERS!
Look for world's biggest cupcake display
Wine taste
Time with boss, friends and others at the HW event.
Meet MM's dad MM.
work. hmmph.
Post lots of pics to blog and FB. I can never decide which to send where...


Time for Project RunwaySUSHI!!

Where can I buy some perspective?

I was thinking today about that scene in Purple Rain where Prince is talking to a puppet and the puppet says to him "Life's a bitch" (except I remembered him saying, "Man, I don't know, life's a bitch" but when I looked it up online that didn't appear to be right, ANYWAY).... I don't know why I thought about that, could be because I'm too hard on myself for losing my credit card, losing my driver's license, forgetting (for 1 day) to pay my credit card bill, and not realizing I needed a smog check on the car (all things I have total control over and are not "life's a bitch" kind of things) or could be because I just heard about someone at work who passed away (which totally is a life's a bitch" kind of thing). And I was gonna write about that here and then I thought NO! I am not gonna write about something negative. (I'm trying here). But I am feeling a little unchallenged and brain dead so I thought I would go online and just see what random writing exercise Live Journal has up. BTW - I have never done this before I just know they have it and figured it would be a good way to challenge my unchallenged brain. again, ANYWAY, today's writing exercise is:

"What's the most romantic thing you have done for someone?"

srsly? you.have.got.to.be.FUCKING.kidding.me.

talk about kicking a girl when she has no reason to be down. I am pretty sure I have never met a person as unromantic as I am. bah. what the fuck I say, what.the.fuck. Maybe tomorrow's topic can be "write about the last 4-course meal you prepared for your husband" or "how did it feel the first time you changed your oil" or "write that first Iron Man triathlon you finished."

Anyway, I have a fantastic husband, a new kitty, two old, fat lazy and awesome cats, a pretty sweet job and live in the best city anywhere with the best friends a girl could ask for so fuck off live journal, I don't have to justify my OCD, ADD, unromantic, unchallenged self to you assholes.

Dust 1, Cindy 0

So I think I've mentioned that I work in a construction zone one or 20 times by now. And... if you've come around my desk while I was bitching about the dust or the smells then, well, you know how I feel. Today I lost it. I went to bed with a CRAZY itchy pair of eyes and woke up with my right eye super swollen. I thought I had picked up pink eye from the gym (4 days this week thankyouverymuch) and was about to let that be my excuse for never going back. Was able to squeeze in to see the eye doctor though and she asked if I have been around any environmental changes, when I mentioned the construction she said that she had treated someone else from my building yesterday. Three eye drops prescriptions, a recommendation to not wear my contacts to work until construction is done (6 months, a year?) and a lost hour from the office later I'm really aggravated....

I went and gave the only 4 people that should care a piece of my swollen-eyed mind and yeh, I don't know if they really cared, but I think they should. This sucks ass. I wonder if I can expense the $45 office visit and $25 eye drops. I love my job, but for fuck's sake, a girl with allergies can really only take so much y'know.

thanks for listening. I have to go and google "ways to win at pictionary when you're playing against actual artists"