I would choose Abed from Community... and hopefully I could bring Troy, too, since they are sort of a matched pair. Our conversations would be full of geeky pop-culture goodness and well-timed quips from the guys, and I would probably have trouble stopping laughing long enough to eat!

And that question leads to another... what type of restaurant would we go to? Since they are both geeky college guys, I would choose a good ramen joint. There is such a place here where I live (it's called Ramen Republic), and their ramen is absolutely wonderful! Lots of options... you can choose your broth, your types of noodles, and your protein, and of course what veggies and/or sauces you want. And yes, they have chopsticks!

I think my doggie (that's her in my userpic; her name's Taru) would be a historian.

Yes, she likes to sniff around like all dogs do... but when we go to the dog park, she prefers to sniff all over the place to see who else has been there, instead of playing with the other dogs there now. *sigh*

Which leads me to wonder what a dog can detect from a smell, using that superpowered nose. Can she tell if the dog whose scent she's smelling dines on Alpo, or Iams, or Ol' Roy? Has a weakness for steak since his owner likes to cook out a lot? Is treated with Milk-Bones or Beggin' Strips (IT'S BACONNNN!)? Shares the house with a cat or another dog?

Sometimes I would like to be able to get inside Taru's head and see what's going on in her lil' brain. You can tell she's smart, and I'd love to follow her thought processes and see her point of view.

I've about decided to get back into baking/cooking again... at least more than I was before. (Beloved blue Kitchen-Aid, I've missed you!)

One thing I want to make are sausage kolaches. We have an absolutely amazing donut shop less than 5 minutes away from our apartment. Their sausage roll dough is about perfect, and they have sausage pockets with the same dough wrapped around a cut-in-half sausage patty. Awhile ago I found a homemade kolache recipe that sounds really good as well as easy, so I think I might try the sausage-patty pocket sometime this week. If I like the dough enough, I might end up making homemade hot pockets to take to work for lunch!

Tonight I attempted a sponge cake for the first time. When Brian and I were at the grocery store today in the bakery section, he was drooling over one, and I said, "I can make you whatever they have here...." So, sponge cake it was. I found a very easy recipe on Recipezaar and set to work. The results came out spongy and very, very good, esp. with Cool-whip, chocolate syrup, & fresh blueberries! I did learn something, though. Even though I'm lining the pan with waxed paper, I still need to grease the waxed paper. Fortunately I wasn't aiming for any sort of presentation; maybe I'll try for that the second time (or third, or maybe fourth).

But my success with the sponge cake has got me ready to try the kolache dough. Since we have the fresh berries (we got strawberries, too!) I think I might make some berry kolaches, also. And as long as we're discussing things in that category, I have a homemade baked donut recipe I want to try...

:-)

*rises slowly from the Den of Lurkers*....

I'm getting a new computer for free!! Woot!

Mark was going through his storage unit to weed out things he didn't want anymore, and found an old one of his old(er) custom-built computers that is still kick-butt compared to my current dinosaur HP. Once he brings over the hard drive that goes in it, I'll be back up and running!

I'd been trying to upgrade the dinosaur so it could do 2 things... 1. play HD videos and 2. be able to handle Final Fantasy XI (my new geek addiction, but that's another story). I'd been playing on Brian's account off and on, but he got me my own software for my birthday!

Getting a new video card for the dinosaur was a bit of an ordeal... the first card I ordered was the wrong type. I had NO idea before this that there are 3 types of video card connections, where it connects to the motherboard. Video card 2, obtained at Fry's... still wrong type. Fortunately, the 3rd time was a charm!

...Except for the fact that the video card totally overwhelmed the power supply, causing the computer to freeze. Okay, I thought, I'll just get a higher wattage power supply...

...And darned if I wasn't shot down AGAIN, not by my ignorance of the equipment, but by HP's proprietary technology and their tiny computer case! All the power supplies at Fry's were physically too big to fit in my computer.

I found a power supply online that was the minimum wattage the video card recommended, and I was considering buying that, but now I'm glad I was hemming and hawing and putting it off!

Thank goodness I've been able to use Brian's computer while I've been computer-less. It's kind of amazing how technology goes from being just a cool novelty to being darn near indispensable.

BrianBob and I crawled out from under our rock today and finally went to see Sherlock Holmes. My review, said in a most proper British accent? Jolly good show, sir, jolly good show!!

Wonderful period details - Victorian London just about sprang off the screen. Awesome repartee between Holmes and Watson. Engaging storyline - loved the addition of the mysterious macabre and maybe-magic. Fabulous costumes, esp. Irene's dresses and Holmes' ever-changing wardrobe of hats, scarves, and jackets. Explosions, escapes, and chases, oh my! And of course, RDJ's Holmes was at the same time astoundingly fantastic (as in the old sense, amazing enough to almost seem magical) and very believably human.

I do hope they come up with a sequel!

For a while now I've felt slightly envious of those folks I see posting on here with great humor and eloquence, and I wish I could do that... but I know that takes practice, and lately I haven't felt like posting much at all.

There's stuff going on (and most of it good!), but for some reason I'm reluctant to post. Maybe it's because I don't feel important enough, or that I'm just one voice among a million plus. And maybe it's because my one voice, when I read back over what I've written before, seems so normal and boring, so why bother?

I think I'm in a sort of creative depression. I'll get things done in fits and starts (working on Mark's website update is going really well), but other times I have to try to make myself be creative, and that usually ends up being more frustrating than it's worth.

I KNOW I'm a beautiful, creative soul... but I think I'm struggling as to what medium/process to use to get that creativity out.

Blah.

I worked on and basically finished my budget last night... it feels good to have done it, and I feel much better about money is a result.

Got the results of my EEG back this week... my brain waves look normal (well, at least as normal as MY brain waves can look), with no signs of seizure. Of course, I could have told them that; I didn't have any spells while the wires were on my head. I have an appt with the Dr. later this month to go over the results more in depth. I really don't know what the next step is, if there is one.

Good news on 2 fronts - BrianBob finally got a car after basically being carless for a long time! It's a silver Pontiac Grand Prix, which Brian has nicknamed Valentine (V for short) "because he's so sexy". Brian's had a long love affair with Grand Prix (is that singular and plural both? Grand Prixes? Grand Prixs?) coming from 2 that he'd owned at different times previously. V IS a super-sweet car, and he will allow Brian to move to a weekday schedule at work. Which in turn will allow him to make a bit more money, and be able to catch the eye of the higher-ups, etc. etc. It's all good, and I'm so thankful!

The other good thing is that I got a new cell phone! My awesome and generous parents decided to add me to their Family Plan so I could save a bit of money. The phone has a QWERTY keyboard, so I don't have to slog through text messages anymore! My number is the same, so y'all can call or text. If you don't have my phone number, let me know and I'll send it. :-)

Other than that, I have decided to sit down and make a budget, so I can figure out if I can pay more on my credit card than I already am, in order to get it paid off faster. As I was telling my parents last night, "I only use the card for emergencies... but the emergencies are kicking my butt!" I'd appreciate prayers/energy/happy thoughts for my budgetary activities. I know God(dess) is in control, and I'm gratefully visioning that my debts are already paid off. With Her help I can do this... I just need prayers that any further emergencies will graciously decide to pass me by while I'm doing it.

Hope everybody's staying warm!

...delivered to my inbox today courtesy of GoGratitude.org.

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May this New Year be one of Joy, abundance, good-will, peaceful awakenings, and graceful journeys. May we have courage to look for the blessing in every moment, and the audacity to celebrate it!

May compassion reign in our hearts and kindness ring through every word. May our waking dreams be filled with joy, creativity, and passionate pursuits. May our hearts and minds be joined as One; unified within, so without.

May we remember we are all Children of the Earth: kindred spirits, brothers and sisters, members of the Great family of Love.

May we choose Love over fear; unity and harmony over separation and discord. May we have the strength to claim our authentic power; standing true in Word, action and deed, and with firm resolve BE the change we wish to see in the world.

May our children see the Light of Love in our eyes. May our elders be honored for the wisdom each bears. May every Heart trust they are Divinely endowed with the birth-right to thrive, and wake each day celebrating the Great-Full-Ness of life.

May we remember Heaven is within our Hearts, opening our eyes to the sacred in all things. May we breathe prayers of thanks into each moment, and with reverence honor the gift this Life brings.

This is our prayer. We give thanks it is so! And so it is!

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Hope everyone has a Happy New Year... and an amazing 2010!

*hugs*

The neuro tech lady came and took the EEG wires off my head this morning. It was so awesome to have a nice hot shower afterwards, and not have to worry about dragging the bag with the recording unit in it everywhere I went. And it's SUPER, SUPER nice not to have twenty-five or so electrodes stuck to my scalp.

The test went well, I think. It was a bit rough stresswise the first day, Tuesday, mostly due to hormones -- birth-control-pill placebo week, AKA me getting emotional over nothing due to withdrawal. I wonder what a weepy fit looks like on a brain-wave chart?

Anyway, yesterday things were better, and I was calmer...no emotional freakouts. I've enjoyed my days off, or as much as you can when you feel plugged into the Matrix. I've been catching up on Dollhouse, done some reading (RUN, do not walk, to read "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss), and baked my first Kitchen-Aid enhanced batch of homemade bread - no bread maker required! We haven't tried it yet, but it sure smelled good baking!

It felt really, really good to get my hands into some dough, even though I didn't have to knead it (the mixer's dough hook did that), only shape it into loaves. I'm eager to try a pie crust next. Ever since I read Robin McKinley's "Sunshine", I've been wondering what it would be like to work in a bakery, and the wondering seems to be getting slowly stronger.

We're planning to go down to Alvarado tomorrow morning-ish to see BrianBob's mom and one of his other friends. Hopefully the weather will cooperate; it's snowing here, a gusty, windy snow! It's not really sticking to the roads yet, but roofs and parked cars are starting to get a dusting of white. We'll see what happens later tonight when the temperature drops.