MadMup.com

I’ve been looking for some sort of “branding” to apply to posts that I do every so often, like these “bunch of random thought” posts and the “It’s Been Said” posts. I like “It’s Been Said,” but I’m not thoroughly happy with “Creek of Consciousness.” I’m hoping to hit on something soon.

Some time last week I discovered a great thing: dark chocolate M&Ms. I finished the bag off pretty quickly. Yesterday I found something that surpassed it: dark chocolate PEANUT M&Ms. I’ve already made a good dent in the bag and expect it to be gone by Thursday. It’s like I told my cow-orker: “Dark chocolate has antioxidants that scientists feel help fight cancer. Nuts are good for lowering the risk of cardiac arrest and other things. Anyone who ISN’T eating dark chocolate peanut M&Ms is doing themselves a disservice, healthwise.”

I got to drive a Pontiac Vibe finally. A friend of mine let me take her mom’s car out for a spin. I think it might have been a mistake. I’ve long had a car crush on Vibes, and driving one was the final straw. It will be my next car if I can help it. I’m weary of driving a minivan. Though I like the comfort, space, and hauling capacity, they’re just too big for me anymore. I’m done with them. The Vibe sits a little higher off the ground than a normal car and has some hauling space and I really enjoyed driving one. The only problem is that even used ones are expensive. I really don’t have room for more debt right now.

On Friday Matt bought me a glow-in-the-dark foam skull from a bookstore that was going out of business downtown. It spent the weekend on the dash of my van, but is now in my office at work. I’ve named him “Guildenstern.” On a related note, the office plant I have in my office has undergone a name change. He was “Robert,” even though I’m not a Led Zeppelin fan, but he is now “Rosenplantz.” Rosenplantz and Guildenstern are doing fine, despite what you might have heard to the contrary.

I was invited to an advance screening of Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith on May 5, but it is during the day and I cannot get off work because we have special testing being done that week. I cannot tell you how bummed I am about that. I am really looking forward to this movie. The Phantom Menace had all sorts of problems, but Attack of the Clones was pretty good overall (barring the unfortunate “romantic” “dialogue” – George! Hire a writer! I’m begging you!), and I have high hopes for this one. I’ll have to see about going to a midnight showing of it.

If plans go as … planned, I should be seeing an advance screening of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy tonight, though! This one’s been a long time coming. I bought the BBC television show version on DVD a few months back and recently re-watched them. The story stayed true to the books, but the effects weren’t so special and were a bit distracting in parts. I’m looking forward to a big-screen version that has the money for what look to be great special effects. I guess we’ll see how they do with the story aspect of things… I’m already planning to like it, even though I don’t like how they’ve done Zaphod Beeblebrox’s two heads. I’m not sure I’ll be the most impartial critic, but I’ll let you know what I thought of it.

I wrote another guest strip for Theater Hopper that Joerules drew and inked. It will be dropping tomorrow, so be sure to check it out. You might recall the last one we did, but if you don’t, I also wrote a blog entry about it.

You might have noticed I haven’t done any reviews for DEN lately. It seems like any game I’ve requested to work on hasn’t come in, and any game that has come in that I’ve wanted has been snatched up by another reviewer. I asked my boss over there if there were other ways I ould be helping out, and it turns out that I may have bitten off more than I can chew. On Friday I received a package that included a Nokia NGage and more games than I can play in a month. Whereas I hadn’t played a game in a couple of months, I now have more than I know what to do with. Since the NGage is also a cell phone, I have decided to use it as my main phone for a while, even though it doesn’t have a camera built into it like my current phone. I figure this is the best way to get the hang of it, and it should also give me some opportunities to play some games for review when I have a few minutes here and there. Getting all of my contacts over to it was as simple as switching my SIM card over, but as difficult as having to sort through multiple entries with the same name if I had more than one number for that person. It’s a hassle, but it’s fine.

Some of you have noticed I’m not on MSN Messenger as much these days. I’m sorry, but it doesn’t mean I don’t like you. Feel free to email me to keep in touch.

I haven’t worked out with Maya in about two months now. I knew I wouldn’t keep up with it, even though it was doing me some good. Grack. I always do this. I’m no good at following things through.

Current movie count for the year: 85. Most recently watched: A Bug’s Life. Before that: Kung Fu Hustle.

My hot chocolate count has slowed dramatically. No one’s more upset about it then me. I might have to go get one at lunch today…

Next improv gig is May 11 for the local Junior Women’s Club annual meeting.

I got an early birthday present in the mail yesterday! My friend Angie who lives in Florida sent me the way-cool SEGA shirt you see in the current webcam! Yay, Angie! Thank you! She’s a sweet kid who I’ve seen grow up on the THorum over the last year, and I’m glad to have her as a friend. Some day I hope to meet her, even if it’s not until she comes to Purdue for college. :) She also sent me some coupons to use at the Adventure Landing where she works, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to get to Florida before they expire.

I’m sure there are plenty of other things I could ramble on about, but this seems like a sizeable entry already. I’ll try to keep in touch a little better. Come back tomorrow for a discussion on the guest comic. Thanks for stopping by!

UPDATE: I went to Barnes & Noble for a hot chocolate at lunch…and their machine is broken! And it has been for over a week! And I didn’t know! That just shows how long it’s been since I got one…

Tonight I went out to eat with Kat, Kat’s parents, and Matt. It was at a Thai place, which was weird for me. If you know me at all, you know that I am not what you would call “daring.” But I have also learned that I can find something to eat just about anywhere I go. This is a change in policy for me, as I used to not even go to “weird” places. I realize now that that was rather jerky of me, and I apologize to all affected by that ever.

I ended up getting “BBQ Beef,” but it wasn’ BBQ like I think of BBQ. It had kind of a nutty taste to it, and it was on a bed of cabbage. I didn’t eat the cabbage, of course, but I ate a good deal of the beef.

It should be noted, too, that the restaurant had a peculiar smell to it. By “peculiar” I am, in this instance, referring to “very similar to hamster bedding. Used hamster bedding.” No one else agreed with me, but it should be noted that one of the other members had a stuffed-up nose and the other has a very bad sense of smell in general.

Matt was the last to arrive, and when he did, Kat & I anxiously awaited his first topic of conversation. You see, after the escapades of the other night, Kat had done some searching online and come up with a fanTAStic magnetic ribbon. It says: “Support magnetic ribbons.” Sometime late yesterday evening she drove by Matt’s house and stuck it to his car. He didn’t see it until tonight.

I think he was “bemused,” but Kat and I got no end of enjoyment out of it. Best. Joke. Ever.

Oh! And you know that part of the ribbon that pops out of the middle and looks a little like a piece of pizza? This one advertised “Every ribbon comes with a free alien head!” Sure enough, the little triangular piece was designed to look like the standard “grey” made famous by every alien movie you’ve ever seen. Sweet.

Thai food, magnetic ribbons, and alien heads. A good night.

I bought new tennis shoes this weekend, even though I don’t play tennis. You might know them as “sneakers.” I don’t sneak much. I probably sneak more than I play tennis, though. It would probably be more descriptive to just call them “Nikes.”

I had to buy new shoes because I didn’t know my foot size when I bought my last pair, apparently. I’m prone to having troubles with my toes (particularly my big toes), but I’ve been noticing lately that it’s worse when I wore my Nikes.

First thing I did at the first shoe store I went into was measure my foot on one of those weird metal foot-measuring things. The salesman slides that curved metal part so it fits around the curve at the ball of your foot and it feels like your foot just got slapped in manacles and is going to be put in solitary for a year. I’ve always been creeped out by that.

The measuring manacle said my foot was a half-size bigger than the shoes I was wearing. That sounded about right, though there’s something depressing about having big feet. My dad always used to talk about “boats” or “skis” when I’d come home from getting new shoes, but I’d never been diagnosed with size 12.5 feet before. Add to that the fact that very few stores carry half-sizes so I have to look for size 13 shoes and it becomes a real downer.

I started my search. It should be noted at this point that my friend Kat was along, mostly because I am what we like to call “fashion challenged.” Her job was to help me strike some sort of balance between what I liked and what would actually look okay for me to wear. Right away I was informed that a “too white” shoe was not going to make the cut. I was also not interested in anything too flashy. My only demands were that they be Nikes and that they specifically be “Nike Air.” I found years ago that Nike Airs were better for my back – that Air cushion seems to be the main reason.

Do you know how hard it is to find Nike Airs that aren’t too white or too flashy? Turns out, it’s about five-stores-hard.

At the first store, we ran into a salesman that Kat knew. He was all about selling me some shoes, talking about “hooking me up” and letting me spin the “savings wheel” for an extra discount. He seemed a bit too interested in seeing that I bought shoes from that store, and it was a little disconcerting.

Second store: found a possible shoe, but they didn’t have it in my size.
Third store: nothing.
Fourth store: nothing, though Kat got a pair of flip-flops best described as “adorable.” Also “cute.”

At the fifth store, I finally stumbled on something: a mostly-white shoe with black detailing. Did they have my size? No, they did not. However, they did have the same shoe with blue detailing in my size. Fine. I tried them on, they seemed okay, I bought them.

I can remember that, when I was younger, I liked getting new shoes. When I put them on, I felt like I could run faster, jump farther, and be lighter on my feet than with my old ones. I loved how new they looked, and it was always a sad time when they first got dirty. Now, though, I dread change. I get used to the feel of my shoes, even if they’re not the best fit for me. I could put that same pair of shoes on every day for years just for the familiar uncomfortability they offer. I want to hang on to the look, the feel, the familiarity, and even the memories of where those shoes have been. Putting on new shoes feels like I’m abandoning the old ones, especially since the old ones aren’t worn out yet. I didn’t think I’d be ready for new shoes for a long time.

But… I outgrew the old ones. I wasn’t expecting that to happen. I figured I was all done growing. The shoes fit when I bought them, and I expected to wear them for a long time. My decision to get new ones came as a surprise to me, but I guess sometimes pain beats desire.

In the meantime, I’ve got these new shoes. They look bigger than I should be able to wear, but my feet fit in them without mashing my big toes. They’re clean and spiffy, and I’m already worried about the first time I’ll get them marked up. I’ve taken to them pretty quickly, and I’m surprised by how comfortable I am with them already.

I wonder where these shoes will take me…