Blog Challenge: Day 5

Day 5: A photo of yourself two years ago.



Yup, that's me two years ago. At least, the date the photo was uploaded to Facebook was two years ago. Actually, now that I think about it, that might be older than two years ago. How about another one?

Hmm. This is proving difficult. Two years ago was 2009. In 2009, Domo came into my life. I have a LOT of pictures of Domo. Like this one:



That was during Domo's first trip to Vegas, an he was enthralled by the Enchanted Unicorn slot machines.

Or this one:



Domo and a gorilla at the zoo in Omaha. That was his first trip with me. I found him in Omaha.

And of course, in 2009, Domo also traveled to Mexico:



He was a little paranoid about Mayan sacrifices.

Oh, and he also helped me move in 2009. Here's a picture from that:



All right, that's probably enough Domo pictures.

I'm completely amused that I took a blog post that was supposed to be all about me and turned it into a photo album of Domo around the world. I love blogging.

Blog Challenge: Day 4

Day 4: Your favorite photograph of your best friend.

Ok, so this one is a little awkward. I don't really want to just post a photo of my best friend without her consent - and since I don't even use names (other than my own) in this blog, I'm not going to to post her face as well. So here's her tattoo.



She's got a story behind that as well, but it's also not my place to tell that story. But it looks cool, doesn't it?

I've known her for 20 years. Since 5th grade. That's a really long time. There are few people in this world (especially if you exclude family) who I've known that long. Even fewer people if you factor in who I'm still in touch with. From those early years? In touch with very few people I've known for 20 years or more.

Normally she and I would be hanging out tonight. It is Friday, after all. But she's busy tonight. Since I don't have a car, she's usually the rock star who drives me around, even though I'm often out of her way. We usually hang out on Fridays. Fridays are fun.

Ugh. I just realized how horrible this blog post is going. It's not fun to read, is it? I'm not really having the most fun writing it. Maybe it's time I told a story about my best friend.

Back in the day (were we in high school?), we decided to write a novel together. We didn't have a plan, we didn't have a plot. We didn't even have characters - though we probably hadn't even put an entire page of writing onto paper before we had a concept and a working title: A Princess and Some Dragons. And from there, the story of Camielle and the dragons began. I would describe it as a young adult novel. We did finish it, if you can believe it. We finished the first draft and started rewrites. The file still exists somewhere on my computer, and I believe I have an old printout of one of our drafts. I was supposed to send it off to a publisher after so many years, regardless of whether or not we had finished the revisions, but I haven't done it yet.

Maybe it's time to revisit "A Princess and Some Dragons." Actually, the title ended up being "The Dragon Stone," I believe. And we were going to make it into a trilogy.

I think I have a project for the weekend...

Blog Challenge: Day 3

I'm behind a day - yesterday I literally didn't have time to do my post, unless I wanted to compose it and post from my phone - and I'm really not patient enough to deal with that keyboard long enough for a blog post. So here's day 3.

Day 3 - Your idea of the perfect first date.

I've been on a LOT of first dates. A lot of them - the majority, in fact - suck.

But in order to have a perfect first date, you have to have the perfect guy. He has to be able to hold up his end of a conversation. He has to be able to pay for his small coffee at Caribou with something more substantial than the pennies from his couch cushions. He has to be dressed appropriately, and he has to show that he at least cares a little bit about personal hygiene.

Of course, the event itself does matter. I mentioned Caribou Coffee - that's not a bad place for a first date. I always like coffee shops because it satisfies the whole "public place" requirement (since I meet all my dates on the internet and you have to be safe), and I enjoy coffee. And it's nice to have something caffeinated in case your date is a snooze. It's important to do something social. A movie sounds like a good idea at first, but you never get to talk to anyone at a movie - without being an ass, anyway.

You know what would be really fun on a first date? Mini-golf. Vaguely sporty without requiring much physical exertion (minimal sweat), and plenty of opportunity to talk and get to know one another. This could especially be good if it were someone you were already friends with. There's plenty of potential for playful teasing. It would be awesome!

But I don't want to think too much about dating right now, because it just gets me down. Gotta think about other things. Like the fact that Project Runway is on tonight!

Blog Challenge: Day 2

Day 2 – A photo of something you ate today.



Tomatoes. I ate tomatoes today.

They're my after-work snack today. I did not have tomatoes on my Subway sandwich today. I always look at the tomatoes before they add them to my sandwich. They looked sad and nearly white today. The Subway employee even got out another tub of tomatoes to see if any of those looked better, but they didn't. Very disappointing, considering it's tomato season right now. You'd think they could get some local produce. Eat Fresh, my ass.

I should have tried to grow tomatoes this year. Never got around to it early in the spring, and then I was sick for a month. After that, it was too late. I'd like to successfully eat something that I've grown myself, but so far that hasn't been possible. Last year, the tomato plant died due to lack of nutrients in the soil - that's the only explanation I can come up with, because it got decent sun and plenty of water. The year before (using potting soil instead of just the dirt in the ground) we got actual tomatoes on the tomato plant, but the squirrels always got to the fruit before it got ripe, and the plant never had much of a yield.

Maybe next year. Of course, I don't know where I'll be living next year. I plan to move in the spring, and I might be getting an apartment or condo that doesn't have a balcony or any sort of garden-type opportunity. But that's ok. Someday I'll get there. Someday I'll be able to eat a tomato I grew myself.

Blog Challenge: Day 1

This is a 30-day Blog Challenge.

I need to work on getting back into the blog, and I think this will be the way to succeed. It's a kick in the pants.

I'm back, Blog-land!

Challenge Day 1: A photo of yourself and a description of how your day was.



That's me. It's laundry day. My biggest challenge today was figuring out how to take a picture with the webcam on my netbook. This picture you see is the result. That's me.

In all seriousness, though, my day was a typical Monday. Work always feels rushed on Mondays because we have a meeting in the morning - every week. It's good, really, but I never feel like there's enough time for my work. I was already a little behind because some things took longer than I expected they would at the end of last week. Very frustrating, but at the same time, I'm a better worker when I'm busy, so that's good, in the end.

The other good thing about being at work is that work is delightfully air-conditioned. I'm living in an AC-free house right now, and it's really been a rough summer. There's been a lot of humidity and heat, and it's really been wreaking havoc on my leg.

Of course, the storms came through today. I work downtown in one of the kinda-tall buildings, and I could hear the thunder. I could also hear the wind, making the building creak and squeak. It doesn't inspire confidence, but I know that the building is designed to withstand the weather. It was still raining slightly when I left the office in the afternoon, and it felt fantastic. The humidity was still there (obviously), but the temperature had really gone down. It was a nice break, but I already feel the heat creeping back up again.

So, there you have it - a boring blog post for a boring day. But that's just the way it goes. Some days are boring, right?