Frolicking in the snow

My niece just started her freshman year of college. On Saturday I visited her, took her to Wal-mart and out to dinner, and basically just hung out with her. It was a good time, and since she's attending college about 40 minutes away from my house, it's an experience that I'll repeat a few times a month.

Seeing her dorm room was an eye-opening experience. So tiny! It's hard to believe that my dorm room wasn't much bigger than hers. Back then it had seemed huge because it was something of mine that didn't belong to my parents. It represented freedom and Independence and potential. I laughed and cried and learned how to make new friends in that room. I stayed up late and stressed about classes and worried about failing and watched the walls spin from drinking too much free beer. Watching my niece go through that experience now is exciting.

L. is on the 8th floor, and so she's got a pretty kick-ass view. As soon as I saw the expanse of treetops I was back in St. Louis, watching the first snowfall of my freshman year. I could smell the freshness of the snow, see the ice form on the inside of the window, and hear a few floormates knock on the door, saying we should play outside. Myself and three others--people whom I haven't talked to in fifteen years--played in the falling snow at 2 a.m. We ran around the quad and made snow angels and had a snowball fight and built a snowman. We played so long that once I got inside, my body stayed cold for hours afterward. I smile when I remember hanging my wet clothes all around my half of the room, hoping my coat and glove would dry before class on Monday.

Movie Review--Tropic Thunder

Tropic Thunder is an action/comedy starring Ben Stiller, Robert Downy Jr., Jack Black, Brandon T. Jackson, and Jay Baruchel. Actors shooting a Veitnam War-era movie are accidently dropped into the middle of a baaaaaad situation and are forced to become the soldiers they are protraying. The acting is great. Robert Downy Jr. is especially good. The screenplay is awesome; the movie has an actual plot and all the humor, action, and emotion make sense. Jack Black plays a strung-out movie star, and he rocks as usual. Black never holds back, and his performance in TT is no exception. I'll definitely buy this movie once it comes out on DVD. Here's the thing, though: I'd pay full price to see this movie again because of Tom Cruise. He plays a pudgy studio head, and he's awesome. He's only in a few scenes, but they rocked. So, go! You'll laugh! You'll laugh harder!

Olympic glory

Here's the best story of the Olympics. Anything I say will get in the way. Go read.

Yep, sounds about right

Your result for The Perception Personality Image Test...

HBPS - The Optimist

Humanity, Background, Big Picture, and Shape

You perceive the world with particular attention to humanity. You focus on the hidden treasures of life (the background) and how that fits into the larger picture. You are also particularly drawn towards the shapes around you. Because of the value you place on humanity, you tend to seek out other people and get energized by being around others. You like to ponder ideas and imagine the many possibilities of your life without worrying about the details or specifics. You are in tune with all that is around you and understand your life as part of a larger whole. You prefer a structured environment within which to live and you like things to be predictable.

The Perception Personality Types:

Take The Perception Personality Image Test at href="http://www.helloquizzy.com/">HelloQuizzy

Gen Con Reports

I've made a few Gen Con posts on my livejournal blog. You can see them here and here.

Ask and you shall receive

Or more accurately, I tell you I'll do something and I do it. I present the World Con report.

Road-weary

Arrived home from Denver at around 3:30 a.m. Slept it off for about six hours and now I'm vegging in front of the TV with a laptop and a kitty in my lap. Driving to a far-off destination can be a bitch--let's face it, we spent two days on the road--but at the same time I like it. We saw parts of the country we'd never seen before, we sang along to songs, and we experienced a few truly crappy McDonald's. The drive itself was easy--only four interstates with very little construction. We stopped in Omaha to see a college friend I hadn't seen in almost ten years. We ate. We drove. We slept. And then after World Con we did it all again. Good times, but it's always good to be home.

Here's what I've learned on my summer vacation so far:

1. Omaha really is a happening place. The downtown has seen some gentrification in recent years and is pretty hip. We saw it at night, and we were going to stop on the way back through to experience some of the little shops and stuff during the day, but we wanted to get home, so ... next time.

2. People in Iowa can't drive. At least, they are incapable of driving over twenty miles an hour on a two-lane highway in the dark. You know how they put all the traffic on one side of the interstate when they're working on the other side? Well. This scares Iowan nighttime drivers so much that they come to a stand-still. I will just stay it was an unpleasant way to spend a half-hour when you're still several hours from home.

3. Apparently you have to go to an actual city if you want to see political ads. Or maybe the campaigns have already written off my area. Whatever the reason, I've seen more of McCain and Obama during the past four days than I had the previous month. And I've been watching the election coverage on the news networks!

4. Having a weird schedule + eating at weird times = weight loss. Who knew? I think I skipped a lot of meals and walked a bunch, so that helped. Whatever. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, right?

5. You know how on the map of the US, Nebraska is pretty much bare after Omaha? Yeah, they aren't lying. It's freakish. Colorado is the same way--you'll easily go fifty miles without seeing a house. Spooky. Also, Iowa is full of rolling hills, Nebraska is flat, and Colorado is hilly with brush instead of grass.

6. Being a mile closer to the sun really does mean you burn quick. We went to a Rockies baseball game on Thursday and zowie! I got a little pink. We didn't stay for the whole game, and it's a good thing, because otherwise I would have been lobsterfied. And before you say it--yes, I was wearing sunscreen. Not enough, apparently.

We leave for another convention in two days--this one much closer to home (Indy)--and so here's what I have to accomplish:

1. Laundry

2. Mow the lawn

3. Finish the current chapter in the WIP already

4. Return the rental car

5. Return the library materials

6. Knit something so I can make sure I still frickin' know how

7. Veg


I'll post a link to the Official Worldcon Con Report once I write it. Now, I must put jeans in the dryer ...

Friday night, girl's-night-in style

Tonight I knitted (one more square of baby Coop's baby blanket to go!), watched Ocean's Eleven and That Thing You Do, and ate ice cream for dinner. Right now it's almost midnight and I'm coloring my hair. The only thing missing is a mani-pedi and pop music on the radio.

I love vacation.

Well, technically I have to work on Monday, but that's just what it is: a technicality. Mentally I'm vacationing until the 18th. Hitting WorldCon in Denver and then Gen Con in Indy.

Must rinse the gray outta my hair now.