Long Overdue, And Pre-SDCC

Okay. I know this is long overdue. I'm sorry guys! It's been a busy few weeks! Sorta. But sitting in the airport waiting for our now-delayed flight is as good a time as any to catch up!

So, what's been going on? Well, I moved. Away from my little hometown of PG to the big city of Vancouver. What an adventure that's been! Also: an emotional roller coaster. The week before the move was nuts. Too many teary-eyed goodbyes. Lots of fun. Rob came up to help the move go smoothly. And also to drive the U-haul for me. AND to meet everyone before he steals me away. It was a great week and a terrible week all at once. It's great to be on this new adventure, but it's really hard leaving everyone back home.

The drive down was scorching hot. Rob and I had coffee with my mom on the Sunday morning and then hopped into the truck and hit the road. We left early and the heat was already up there. It got as hot as 36 degrees through the canyon and it was above 30 the whole way. It was beautiful and such a great drive. It was kind of surreal, driving through there for the first time in a few years, this time with Rob taking me to my new home. I don't really know how to describe how it felt.

Unloading and unpacking went pretty smoothly. And my first week was pretty fun. Spent a couple of nice evenings getting drunk in the back yard. Had a couple of interviews and found myself employed my very first week. That was a huge sigh of relief. And I don't start until after my trip! So it's been like an odd long vacation. That's actually exactly how it's felt so far since I've moved. Like I'm on some sort of weird long vacation. It's finally starting to sink in that I live there, but now I'm actually going on vacation.

It is that most wondrous time of year again. No, not Christmas. Comic-Con! I feel like I've used that joke before... Oh well. I'm going with it. Anyway! The airport and delayed flight I mentioned before are the start to our Comic-Con trip. Andrea and I are still sitting in YVR airport. We can see our plane out there. But apparently there's another hour to go.

In other news, we are SUPER EXCITED!! And also really tired due to lack of sleep. I think I slept 2-3 hours last night? It was pretty dumb. Anyway. I can't think of anything else to say right now. Stay tuned for updates throughout Comic-Con!

Not Yet a Tough Mudder

Alright. I have no idea what to blog about. I was up late last night and and up early this morning, so I'm currently sitting at Starbucks caffeinating myself. Still half asleep. Not a good way to start the day. Oops.

I guess I'll start with an update of my athletic accomplishments (read: failures). I have definitely NOT gotten back into the gym like I intended to. I actually went and cancelled my membership on Thursday. I am going to try to get back to it once I'm in Vancouver though. I've been trying to stay active, though. I have been walking a lot. I need to step it up to running, but over 13 km over the last two days isn't so bad. I've been using the Zombies, Run! app on my iPhone for a while, and it makes running/walking a lot more fun.

This weekend a bunch of people I know are down in Whistler doing Tough Mudder. Last year when the one group of friends went, I decided that I was gonna do it this year. That didn't happen, clearly, but I'm making myself a promise right here on the Internet for all to see. I am going to get myself into shape to do Tough Mudder next year. The training needs to start pretty much immediately.

It is about time I make myself do these things I want to do. No one else is going to do it for me, I've got to push myself to be better. It's something I care about, something I want to do, so I've got to get it done. Anyway, self-pep-talk over, I think I'm gonna end this for now. Like I said, I don't have much to blog about, so that's it. Have a great weekend!

So Much Nerd Love!

Okay, so it's been an exciting week. My little nerd heart has grown three sizes with all of this tech love announced.

At Apple's WWDC event, they made a bunch of cool announcements. There's a new Mac Pro in the works. There's new functionality with iCloud coming, mainly the ability to use iWork on the web. Mac OS X Mavericks was announced with improvements to Calendars, Safari, and Notifications, and the addition of the Maps and iBooks apps to Mac. There's probably a lot more cool stuff that was announced, but I was really just interested in one thing.

iOS 7 was announced, and I'm very excited about it. As you can tell from the above picture, there's been a major visual update. All of the app icons are updated with a flatter, more simplified look. They've greatly improved the visuals of all of the apps. They've added Control Center, which gives you access to some the important phone settings with a quick up-swipe. There's improvements all over, but it would take me too long to go over it right now, so I'll leave it for a later post.

I really want to talk about some of the cool stuff announced at E3 as well. As usual, my favourite part of E3 was Nintendo, but they didn't even do a press conference this year. Instead, they did a special Nintendo Direct featuring a bunch of new games. And they did not disappoint.

Super Mario 3D World is a new sequel to last year's 3D Land. This time they are throwing back to the old Super Mario Bros. 2 with the inclusion of Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Peach as playable characters. They've introduced the new Cat Mario suit, giving the characters cat-like abilities. It's also multiplayer, so that's a really cool addition. I'm definitely getting this game.

They also brought news on Pikmin 3, Pokémon X and Y, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, and Zelda: The Wind Waker HD. They brought the MAJOR announcement of the new Super Smash Bros games for Wii U and 3DS, including the new characters added: Mega Man, and the Villager from Animal Crossing.Bayonetta 2, Sonic Lost World, Mario Party 8, The Wonderful 101, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. So many awesome games. I'm really gonna have to get a Wii U.

Otherwise, I haven't really been keeping up with all of the E3 news. I watched the Xbox One press conference, but nothing really stood out for me. I skipped the Sony press conference, but I'll probably watch it eventually. There's really only two other games I've followed. One was the re-announcement of Final Fantasy Versus XIII, now called Final Fantasy XV. The previous announcement that it would be PS3 only is now out the window as it's been announced instead for the PS4 AND Xbox One. Also announced, and I'm REALLY excited for this one: Kingdom Hearts 3! It's still early in development, but I can't wait.

So yeah, it's been an exciting week. I've already calculated that I'm gonna be very broke with all of the new games coming out over the next year and a half. At least iOS updates are free. Anyway, it's time for work. Enjoy your Saturday!

Ready To Nerd Out

So, Andrea and I will be on our way to San Diego in a little over a month for our third annual nerdy adventure! 36 days from now we will be headed to Comic-Con once again, and I'm getting pretty excited about it!

We've done SDCC twice now, and you might think the novelty would've worn off by now, but I can't wait to get there again. Pretty soon the panel schedule will be released and we can start planning exactly who and what we wanna see, and figure out how many insane line-ups we'll be waiting in. I love all the exclusive clips and special announcements and the excitement of the crowds.

I've taken a step to improve communication while I'm there. I found a great company operating out of Vancouver called Roam Mobility. As the name of their company implies, they are a company that specializes in all of your cell phone roaming needs. Check them out! They have great plans for use while traveling in the USA. For about $28, I will have unlimited calling and texting in the US and back to Canada, plus 700 MB of data, for a week. It was a huge pain not having use of my phone last year, so I'm hoping this will be the solution I'm looking for!

Otherwise, I think we are pretty prepared for the trip. We just booked our flights. Hotel has been booked for a long time. We both managed to get our 4-day plus preview night badges. AND we bought our tickets to see the Nerdist Podcast again. I've got my USD savings account just sitting there full of money to spend. I just need to actually go!

In other news, today marks the beginning of WWDC AND E3, and I wish I was an Apple developer and/or in the gaming industry so I could be at one of them. I'm a very excited nerd right now. Anyway, this thing is already late enough and I should probably get to work, so have a wonderful week!

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!

It's The End

So once again, it is season finale... season. I could probably have worded that differently. Anyway. It's that time of year when all of our favourite shows come to an end, some forever, and some just until the fall. It's a bittersweet time of year. Most shows seem to leave you on a cliffhanger begging for September. BUT. It's summer. And who really wants to spend the summer indoors watching TV?

I've managed to fall pretty behind on a lot of shows, so I don't even know what's going on, or how they've been left for the season. The few I've kept up with have been pretty interesting. Oh. SPOILERS AHEAD! You've been warned.

Let's start with Castle, since it's the first one I caught up on. I had about 4 episodes to watch this week so they've all pretty much just jumbled together, but the season finale left things very much on the verge of change. Not like when Kate got shot and the season ended with her dying on the ground, but still pretty crazy. Beckett gets a job offer that she really wants to take, but it means she has to leave New York. And of course that comes into conflict with her and Castle's romance. Neither is happy about it. So Castle proposes. End. I guess it's not THAT crazy, but if you're as invested in their relationship as I am, it's pretty intense.

Next: Grey's Anatomy. I know, I know. This one isn't even remotely nerdy. At least Castle has Nathan Fillion. This one is just all full of drama. I'm sorry, but I got caught up in this one and I just can't stop watching. Just let me have this one. Anyway. This one has been all full of drama all season. (Big surprise, right?) after the plane crash last year there's been so many changes, that by the time we get to the finale, which is another two parter disaster story, you start wondering who's gonna die this time. And they keep teasing it all the way through. Two of them nearly get staked by a tree flying through their living room. Another doctor is in critical condition after getting beaten nearly to death by another doctor, making you worry someone might end up in jail. Another doctor nearly gets blown up saving a little girl from a burning bus. Birth-related complications nearly kill another doctor. And none of them die. Until the very very end of the episode, Richard Webber is lying on the ground in the basement of the hospital, dead or dying of major electrical burns after getting the emergency generators running (after having saved the maintenance guy who had a heart attack while trying to get them fixed). So yeah. Never work at a hospital. If I've learned anything from this show, it's that hospitals are dangerous, and you're far more likely to die working there than being sent there in critical condition.

Didn't realize I had so much to say about that one. I hardly have time for Once Upon A Time. Oh how I love this show. This one I've actually kept up on all season, except I only JUST watched the finale last night. And boy howdy was it good. It's funny, at one point, Adria and I were both all, "Well that was anticlimactic." But then it just keeps going and you're back to being all enthralled. The end of the season has been leading up to this point where the town is in danger of destruction, but suddenly it's not, but then you learn new facts, and suddenly everyone is off on a rescue mission through a portal and the show takes another twist for the next season. PLUS someone thought dead is not, and he's found by two other characters we haven't seen in a while with someone ELSE thought dead. I dunno. I'm being a little vague, but if you've seen it you know what I mean. My Adria friend can attest, I was very very excited about this episode.

We also watched the season finale of How I Met Your Mother. And I am not gonna say anything else but... we FINALY meet the mother! I mean, the characters don't. But WE do! Yay! Other than that, I'm still behind. I've got a lot to catch up on. And tonight! Season finale of Doctor Who! Can't miss it! I'm excited. And sad, 'cause I don't wanna wait until November for more Doctor Who.

Well, I'm off to work. I hope everyone has a wonderful day. And a great long weekend!

Busy Busy Busy

Well, this is gonna have to be a quick one this week. I slept in and missed my bus... So I walked to Starbucks and only have about 20 minutes until I start work. Lets see what I can do!

I really don't have much to report on the matter of nerdiness. I haven't been playing much in the way of video games. I started reading the Clockwork Prince this week. I'm not very far into it yet. It's the second book in the Infernal Devices series, spin-off of the Mortal Instruments series (the first book of which, City of Bones, is being released on film sometime soon). It's been so long since I read the first book that I'm having some difficulty remembering the characters and the plot of the first book. But it's coming back to me.

Otherwise, I'm too busy to do much. This weekend, for example, is a very busy one. Not only is it Mothers' Day, but it's also the Relay for Life this weekend, there's a bunch of birthdays (Happy bday today to my brother Paul, cousin Willow, and on Monday, Sylvie!), AND my Rob is here!! Very exciting! There's also Roller Derby tonight, and pretty sure we are gonna go out dancing. Gotta show off my fiancé! Lots of people to introduce Rob to, kinda most importantly, my Mom!

So yeah. Busy. Who needs sleep anyway? But I should run to work now. I'll try to eat my geek on soon so I have nerdy things to talk about again. For now, have a great Saturday! (And don't forget about new Doctor Who tonight!)