DDR

Tim and I talked about getting Dance Dance Revolution as a joint Christmas present last year. We didn't end up doing it. We talked about it again for an anniversary present. Again, we skipped it. But this year, for Christmas, we went to CompUSA and picked it up. Yeah, I know it's early, but we had other stuff to pick up at GeekUSA and there were free stuff bundles.

Oh mi gawd, it's like totally fun! Like, it's so bitchin! It's hard as hell, but we're drawn to it. Of course, we're horribly out of shape, so we can only do a few songs before we're winded and need a break. So we stop for a while and then play again later.

If you're nice, Tim and I will let you play with our new toy!

Gobble Gobble

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. I know that the whole Pilgrim thing isn't really accurate for folks anymore. Most people, I think, are happy to have a four day weekend. It's kind of icing on the cake if you get to spend it with friends and/or family and a decent meal. We were lucky in that regard this year and we hope you were too.

Askerd

I've got a shiny new copy of Panter (OS 10.3 to y'all) sitting on my desk, but I'm afraid to install it. You see, I'm going to have to run it on my 300 Mhz Blue & White G3 -- the oldest "supported" computer for the new OS. Things are already king of slow and glitchy on this computer -- do I dare? I suppose the worst case scenario is I use it to prop up the laptop from home.

Holidays Aproacheth

Mom touched my present already. I guess it's not too much of a surprise -- she said she was going to get Tim & I a refrigerator for Christmas and as of Sunday, she did. It's weird because I know what I'm getting, but I don't know which ONE. It's like knowing that you're getting clothes since there's quite a variety there. Will it fit? Will I like the color? What features will it have?

Okay, pants don't usually have features, but you know what I mean.

Odes to Everyday Strife #1: The Popcorn Bucket

I really hate the popcorn bucket.
It's big, and blue,
and takes up too much room in the dishwasher.

I know it's a popcorn bucket, because it has "popcorn" embossed on the side
In case my wife or I suffer some sort of sudden, traumatic brain damage
And forget what the hell we've been eating out of it for the last five years.

When it's not taking up too much room in the dishwasher,
It belongs in a cabinet that has doors that won't close properly
When the popcorn bucket is in it.

When I say it's big, and blue
I mean really, really big. Also, pretty damned blue.
When it's neither in the dishwasher, nor almost in its cabinet,
It's filled with stinky popcorn
That engulfs our home with the stench of artificial butter, burnt kernels,
And defeat.

I find great joy in living, and the sensual delights of taste, and smell
And I'm usually pretty good with spatial relationships
But man, I hate that fucking popcorn bucket.

Virus Dreams

I slept horribly last night. I had many many nightmares about computer viruses manifesting themselves in different ways. A small boy that I was trying to convince a coworker to restrain. A runaway caboose that barrelled through a restaurant any time I took a shower. An evil clown dancing in my childhood home's garage.

But I slept poorly the night before, so I think it has more to do with my new weight lifting routine making me sore than any sort of premonition about virii.

D'oh! Tim's Cartoon Idea Swiped

So basically, Tim had the idea for this cartoon two or three years ago. Tried drawing it about 6 months ago, and now it's in the New Yorker cartoon issue. D'oh!

Public? Private?

One of the blogs I read (it's an addiction, I tell ya, cuz it sure ain't educational) just freaked out because if you searched on her name, you'd get her site. Maybe this is a problem since she blabs a lot about business developments at her company, things she maybe shouldn't say. But the fact that she's already changed a bunch of names involved and she's also an exhibitionist extreme makes me think it's just another plea.

Dave wrote a long time ago about what you'd get in his blog is about the same thing you'd get from him at a bar. I concurred, but then, with a couple of drinks in me, I'll say a lot more than I probably should.

I have to admit sometimes, it's really tempting to have a blog where I could spill out the endless personal insecurities, aggravations and grievances that plague me. I could put it here, but then it wouldn't really function very well as a Steph-Marketing tool (not that I've been marketing much.) I could do it someplace else, but, well, I have a hard enough time putting stuff together for here.

The end result is that you end up getting the stuff that I think might be interesting to someone that thinks kinda dull stuff is interesting.

On a mildly related note, I was looking for the actual post from Dave that said the thing about the beers and bars, but the link that I had when I first mentioned it didn't seem to uh, mention it. But what it DID mention, was that back in February of 2002, Dave said he was working on gettng a commenting system up on Dave's Picks. I feel complelled to tease him about this. Dave, consider yourself teased.

Fish on Fish

Naked Sushi proves too raw for some, according to the Star Tribune. I don't know -- I think it might be kind of a cool dining experience, but I'd be concerned about the freshness of the Sushi. After all, you don't usually store raw fish at 98.6 degrees. Maybe some other kind of food would be better.

This year it's late

The holidays are going to be weird this year. Everything is kind of late. My folks won't be coming into town until Christmas eve and with Tim's family coming after that, it's a big snowball from there. Which is turning out to feel really weird for me because Christmas, for me, usually comes early. My folks usually come the second weekend in December and the festivities start then. If they're not staying with me, it's an endless stream of dinner parties and other engagements. For the past several years I've conditioned myself to get all my shopping done by December 10th or I'm sunk.

That means that this year, it's perfectly normal for me to be pouring over my list and ordering things on line right now. Opting for cheap shipping means that anything I order now will come the week of Thanksgiving. Give me a week to get it wrapped and I've just made it by the skin of my teeth.

But I've got almost two extra weeks this year so I feel kind of silly planning things now. I'm a tad worried that things are going to get dusty while we wait for the parties to start, and I'm sure that come December 15th, I'm going to be very impatient for eggnog and hoo-ha.

The temptation is to fill it up with other crap -- the stuff I never have time for. Lots of cookie baking and parties with friends. But I know that if I do that, by the time Tim's grandma arrives on January 19th, I'll be a world class scrooge.

Best to wait.

Comments in Colors

For some reason, on my work computer only, the comments window shows up with my holiday stylesheet attributes. Which wouldn't bother me so much, except that stylesheet IS BRIGHT RED. I mean REALLY BRIGHT RED.

Anyway, if stuff starts looking a little odd, it's just because I'm trying to "fix" things...

Al Franken for Senate? I think he'd get my vote. Especially when he'd be running against Norm Coleman. Blech.

Although it does bring to mind a certain quote from Bill Hicks... "You ever thought of being a senator, boy??"

Stephanie and the Very Busy Week

I suppose it's somewhat of a confession, admitting that a busy week at work means no posts to the site. But the fact is, most workday mornings include about 15-30 minutes of drinking coffee, checking email, writing folks back, and posting a thought or two at GraphicActs.

But we've got the triple whammy here at the "office." Two clients going to their major tradeshow of the year to prep for, and we're hosting a weekend conference for our fellow IPREX members. My friend Candee is in charge of arranging everything for the conference and that makes me personally interested in having things come off well.

Tonight is the wine and cheese reception at the office and I've been trying to be the person to get folks to get their areas in order, etc. Things are looking pretty good, and it's another 5 minutes before the person decorating the room is officially late. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Later tonight, Tim and I are going to the release party for his father's poetry DVD -- Invitation to the Terrorists Ball. Congrats to Chris for getting his project done.