I Love Long Weekends

Last I blogged, I mentioned that I'd have another post coming within about a week. At the time, I must have had something in mind... But I forgot what it was and haven't had anything interesting to talk about. Until now! It was Family Day here in BC, and that meant a long weekend, and an extra day of fun.

Friday night, as is often the case, meant a trip to one of my favourite places in Vancouver, La Fontana Caffe, for Nerd HQ! Hanging with Andrea and the nerds is always a good time, and this weekend was a particularly calm version of the usual happenings. BUT! I was playing Pokémon Y, and I finally managed to complete the National Pokédex! I haven't finished the Pokédex since Pokémon Diamond, so it was quite the feat. 718 pokémon to collect and train is not an easy thing to do.

Now, the biggest highlight of the weekend was Saturday morning. For months, Andrea and I have been watching our emails, twitter feeds, and checking in on the Comic-Con website waiting for news of SDCC 2014 preregistration. And finally, last week, the announcement was made! So Saturday morning, Andrea and I got on our computers, signed into the new and improved EPIC waiting room, and waited for 9am to roll around.

In previous years, the race to get badges was all about hitting the button at the exact right time and hoping you make it into the virtual line. This year, they came up with the idea that you sign into a virtual waiting room anytime up to two hours before sales begin, and when the time comes, everyone in the waiting room gets randomly sorted into line to get their badges. It was interesting watchingb the little yellow info bar updating with news and tips. "It is VERY important that you do not refresh your browser when sorting has begun." But when sorting did happen and they began letting people in, I realized that they didn't tell you where in line you were. In previous years you would see what number in line you were, and it would update every two minutes to let you know how much closer to the front of the line you were. But this year they left it a complete mystery. I was just starting to worry that I'd be sitting there all morning just wondering, but then...

I GOT IN! At first I was confused. I thought I was just moved to the actual waiting room instead of the sorting room. But it said to put in my member ID and last name. So I excitedly texted Andrea to tell her, "I GOT IN!!!!" and went to work frantically putting in our info. Somehow I lucked out and got in SO FAST so I was able to secure both Andrea and I our four day plus preview night badges once again! We're set for our fourth round at San Diego Comic-Con and we couldn't be happier!

So that excitement has been carrying through this whole weekend, so the many times she and I have talked and/or seen eac other has erupted into excitement yet again. We also had brunch with our friends Anne and Peter, which was a pretty great time. And we were planning on seeing The Lego Movie today, but then the realization that today is Family Day meant that that idea should have been planned a little further ahead: tickets were sold out.

But we did get to hang out and watch Teen Wolf tonight! I gotta say, Teen Wolf is one of my new favourite shows. I started watching it a few weeks ago and have been hooked ever since. It's got all kinda of awesome going for it. Supernatural monsters and meyhem. Comedy, teen drama, action. And lots of very attractive guys who have a problem with keeping their shirts on. What's not to love? And the show just keeps getting more and more intense! Andrea and I were hanging out on her couch drinking tea and freaking out over everything that's going on. I can't even.

Plus! I finally finished reading The House of Hades yesterday! I started that book in October. Ridiculous. But this weekend I finally picked it up and read the second half in two days. I seriously don't know why it took so long. It was a fantastic book, and I really enjoyed it. I guess I just haven't felt much like reading for a while. I hope that's fixed now.

Anyway, those were some of the highlights of the weekend. Comic-Con. Pokémon. Teen Wolf. Heroes of Olympus. Friends. Nerds. Plus all the regular life stuff in between. Now back to the real world tomorrow.

Better Late Than Never?

I'm falling behind on my blogging again. I'm sorry! I've made a few attempts over the last week and a half, but I keep losing interest partway through. I've really gotta be in the right mood and place to do this right.

There's plenty new going on. My life is currently in a state of change. I'm preparing to make my big move to Vancouver, and it's a little scary, but also really exciting. Adria and I have given our notice at our place here in the Great White North and are making arrangements for our respective moves. I've been applying for jobs in Vancouver, which is a little scary 'cause I haven't actually heard back about anything I've applied for. I wish I could just make a career out of being a nerd. That would be ideal.

When I was in Vancouver last weekend I got my first taste of what it would be like to be a foodie. Rob and I joined our friends George and Richard dining at a fantastic restaurant called Fable. Their whole theme is "from farm to table," meaning they use only fresh local ingredients in the food they create. We went for a special menu put together by recently eliminated Top Chef Canada contestant Geoff Rogers. And I think we were all impressed.

The three course meal started with a pemberton beef tartar served with everything bagel chips. I had never had tartar, and when I saw it on the menu I considered getting something else, but it was so delicious. Unexpectedly great. The second course was braised rabbit pappardelle, which was another thing I'd never tried before. But it was also pretty fantastic. I'd eat rabbit again. The finishing touch was a peanut butter s'more, which I don't even have to tell you was amazing. Layers of chocolate brownie, marshmallow, and peanut butter ice cream served in a mason jar. Just fantastic.

Probably the best part though was talking to the staff and the chef. Our server was fantastic, full of conversation and stories, answered all of our questions about the menu and the restaurant. And Geoff Rogers came to tell us about the food when our main dish was served. Plus he came and talked with our table for a good 20 minutes after we had all finished eating. It was a really cool evening, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

That was pretty much the big highlight of the weekend, but it was pretty packed full of awesome. I got to spend the better part of my Friday with my wonderful friend Nicole. Coffee, amazing doughnuts, arcade games (old TMNT! Dinosaurs! And zombies!), some shopping, and just some general good hangout time. Got to enjoy the beautiful sunshine walking around with Rob, and exploring downtown with George and Richard. Ran into Pam and Rob randomly on Robson Street. And Rob and I got to see Star Trek Into Darkness with Andrea and some of her friends! Fantastic movie.

So yeah! It was a busy weekend, all full of awesome. It was hard to come back. Not that I don't love my PG family and friends, and not that I don't love PG itself, but it's gotten to that point where I know I'm going to relocate, and the constant back and forth is getting difficult. Leaving Rob always sucks. But luckily I do have my friends and family that are always there for me. That will be the toughest part of moving to Van. I can't even bring myself to type how much it hurts to think about leaving Adria after a year living together.

Yeah, I need to stop there or I'll start crying in the middle of Starbucks and no one needs to see that. So anyway, have a great weekend everyone!

New Year, New You?

Alright! It's 2013! First blog post of the New Year! Woohoo! ...Yeah, it's not really that exciting. Sorry. I'm tired, and apparently excitable in my writing.

So! It's a new year, which is when most people make a bunch of silly resolutions to do things that they break within a week or two. I don't believe in resolutions, but I do believe it's good to set goals for the new year. Nothing too crazy, nothing necessarily finite, but general goals about lifestyle.

For example, last year, I set a few goals. I knew I needed to make some sort of decision in my relationship status, and that happened. I also decided I needed to be more active. And while I didn't turn into an Olympic level athlete, I did greatly improve my activity level. Started going to the gym and took up running.

This year I'd like to build on that goal of being more active and be more consistent with my activity levels. I need to get back to the gym, and try to push through this wintery lethargy. I had a sudden burst of energy the other night and did a bunch of push-ups and abs exercises. I was feeling pretty frustrated at the time which is always a good motivator for me, but I've been longing for the snow to disappear so I can go for a run outside again. Find a playground and do some pull-ups. I really just need to go to the gym. That's what the facilities are for.

Anyway. A lot more important of a goal for me this year is to try to be a better friend. I hadn't really realized it was happening, but I've drifted away from many of my friends, including some of the most important people to me. I hope it's not too late to fix things, but I've never been good with confrontation, so I'm not sure how to go about approaching the problem. I guess the best way is to just talk, and hope she'll listen. I probably shouldn't talk about it here anymore, but it's on my mind and I really can't stop thinking about her.

Uuuh... So where was I? Goals? There's a few other goals I have. Be better with my money. Visit family more. Be more productive. All vague things with no finite measurable levels of success. Also, I want to figure out exactly what I want to do with this blog. Right now it's basically just my little outlet of nerdiness, but I want it to be more than that. I'm not exactly sure how to make that happen. But I guess I'll just keep plugging away and I'll figure it out eventually!

Blog Blog

Clearly I still haven't started doing what I had intended to do with this blog. I'm gonna keep it a secret still until I actually start the main event, but there's no reason to leave a perfectly good blog totally inactive. Not sure I've got a heck of a lot to blog about though... But then, none of my friends with blogs have blogged much lately either. Andrea hasn't blogged in over a year, Katie said she was gonna start a blog a la Julie & Julia, but has yet to actually begin (much like this blog... huh...) and all my old friends that used to blog have given up the habit. Has the magic of the blogosphere flickered out? I sure hope not...