Thanks

This year wasn't exactly a banner year for me, but I still have a ton for which I am thankful. Obviously, my family and close friends; they got me through all my troubles this year. And so did my dog, though I doubt she knows how much she helped me. Here is another list of things this year that I am thankful for, in no particular order: my awesome job, my house, Neal Stephenson, Cowboys & Aliens, The Muppets, Super 8, my iPad (which I am composing this on), wine, beer, liquor, paintball, camping, my Focus (which I shall now call the Blueberry), Psych, Fringe, South Park, Community, Parks & Recreation, Doctor Who, Top Gear, The History Channel, Zelda, Portal 2, Neil Gaiman, Ron Howard, Harry Potter, Chicago, Ikea, Dell, the Internet, the earth, the solar system, the Milky Way, the galaxy, science, Neil DeGrasse-Tyson, Netflix, God, everything. And anything else I forgot, which I am sure is a lot. I have a terrible memory.

Old Ramblings

Here's the next one:

Start transcription:

I've never been very good with words, especially when talking rather than writing, but I often find that I have the need to just write. Not really about anything in particular; just writing for writings sake. I was just sitting here thinking about how much my life has changed just in the past few years. I've been sheltered my whole life and just recently over the past few years have I begun to really experience life. I see tons of images that I don't really know anything about the things that brought about these images though. A kiss-imprint on the front door of my hall, a girl walking down the hallway looking angry while two others (a guy and a girl) watch from the room that she left from, a little girl extremely happy with a gift basket she received and unable to express it. I remember all these things from just the past day, and while I know nothing about the actual people behind them, the images stand out in my mind. The strongest image that I've had ever was when I was driving home from school one day. I went under a crosswalk on the freeway where a man what I assumed to be his son stood watching the oncoming traffic. The boy (or girl, I never knew which) waved to me and I waved back. I was extremely pleased and this memory stayed with me for a few weeks. Every time I thought of it, I would just feel satisfied. While it has lost it's [sic] potency over time, that image will stay with me for a long time yet. My friend Ryan says that I am all about the small things in life. And I agree. Ryan is probably the best judge of character I have met yet. He's a great guy. Everyone out here is great. I've always been about the little stuff in life. That's what I love. I never really think in the big picture. It's quite probably why I've never been any good at strategy games like chess. I just can't think like that. It's probably also why I don't want to be a leader. It requires me to look at the overall picture when I would rather just focus on one thing at a time. Just consider me a fine-tooth comb that catches all the little stuff in life. I may not catch a lot, but I see a lot of things that many would overlook.

End transcription.

I take a bit of issue with this one.  Maybe it's just that I've grown.  I wrote this one my freshman year of college, I think towards the end of it.

Old Things

I have a bit of fascination with old things.  Nothing enough to persuade me to be like those hoarders on American Pickers or anything, but I do enjoy archaic things.  Perhaps it is why I like museums so much.  For example, my grandma gave me her old typewriter:

Seen here: old.

It's an Underwood, obviously.  I got a new ribbon for it and it types quite wonderfully.  I wrote my grandma a thank you letter on it.  It was actually quite interesting getting used to typing on it.  You have to consciously pay attention to how long the line you are writing is so that you do not go too far on the page.  And forget about those convenient squiggly lines that let you know when you have made a typo (though, I can't help but expect those to appear when I am handwriting things, too).

I got on to this topic because I am also a huge fan of old books.  I love reading.  I read almost constantly.  And nothing is more wonderful than a warehouse full of used and rare books.  And I discovered last week that such a thing exists in Detroit: John K. King Used & Rare Books.  Words cannot describe my curiosity and desire to go see this warehouse of books.  Just look at these pictures:

That place is four floors of AWESOME.  I cannot wait to check it out.  I shall go this week.  I wonder if I can convince anyone to go with me.

Randomness to End the Week

1. This Community mid-season pulling is BS.  Why couldn't they have pulled Whitney?  That show is terrible.  I'd thought stupid sitcoms were pretty much relegated to CBS, but apparently not anymore.

2. The Muppets premieres next week!  Yippee!



Also, Muppets auditioning for the role of Yoda:



3. Zelda: Skyward Sword this week!



4. Lastly, a week off and beer hunting with the family!  Yay!

Old Ramblings

Over the years, I've written a bunch of random stuff and for some reason, I've kept most of it.  So I'm gonna post some of them here, just in transcription form.  I apologize for the naivete of some what follows, but, what can I say, I was a kid, too.

Transcription follows:

I know of but do not wholly understand the process of making:

• books
• movies
• music

Things I love: Stephen King, Michael Crichton, Dream Theater, women, reading, camping, hiking, being happy, randomness, change, computers, quantum physics, order, winter, summer, running, my family (all of them), my coworkers (all of them), my friends (all of them), Poe, Tori Amos, movies, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, science fiction, mountains, valleys, Philmont, Scouts, space, quasars, pulsars, black holes, the universe, other people's [sic] well-thought out opinions, quirkiness, being called Shants, EVERYTHING

Where I am now: I am a college student who has virtually no cash. I have very little direction and too much that I want to do. I have a rather diverse group of friends whom I am extremely loyal to. I have not had a girlfriend in 3 1/2 years and am finally on the verge of having one now. I am on the floor.

Things that I think are most important to living:

• Living in the moment and not worrying all the time.
• Have fun; do what you like to do.
• Be with those you love and have many that you love.
• Never hide something that bothers you. Get it out!
• Have hope, but don't let that be all you have. Take action.

End transcription.

It's amazing how well most of that is still true. The advice at the end there is rather campy.  I wonder what mood I was in when I wrote that.  I also wished I had put dates on some of these.

Reamde

It's been a while since I stayed up way too late to finish a book because I couldn't put it down.  Neal Stephenson's Reamde ended that streak of mine.  I won't belabor the plot since you can read about it anywhere, but a quick summary is that Mr. Stephenson weaves MMORPGs, Russian mobsters, Chinese virus writers, terrorists, and American isolationists into a wonderfully complex tale that brings together people from all over the globe who would in no way otherwise mix.  It's a book that takes a hold of you and won't let go.  The action moves quite quickly from one scene to the next and always has you wondering what is next.

The one minor quibble I have is that there are way too many threads and storylines and they all wind up way too neatly to sit well with me.  But even still, that's just a teensy tiny thing and, in the overall, it's an absolutely fantastic read.