22 September, 2004

My new friend Jack Frost and I at Noreascon IV-Worldcon 2002! Taken by John Dumas. Posted by Hello

Whoopi Goldberg Ticket Available!

OK. Once again, I am burned. A coworker asked me to get a ticket for her for Whoopi Goldberg this Friday at The Wang. She's backed out. I'm eating the ticket. Anyone know of anyone who may want to purchase the ticket?

14 September, 2004

My new "Business Card." I'm so proud! Posted by Hello

My Newest Baby

Well, today we're going to learn about my newest cool "gadget," which doesn't involve any new technology but will make my life easier and certainly. It's my new card. I hate to say "Business Card," since my reasons for getting it were mostly personal. Now, I can save lot's of time hunting for a pen to give or get contact information. Now, I just give them a card. Plus, you have to admit that it looks very cool.
You can get cards made for free at the site, but it's only an additional $5 or so to upload your own logo or photo. In addition, if you click on the title of this entry, there's a link which should save you some bucks. Give it a try!


09 September, 2004

Addictions II

Our next addiction is one that I feel is truly ignored by our American Machine. Of course, that's because the American Machine runs on it. I'm writing about the high of shopping. I think that we've all felt that excitement of purchasing something wonderful and the desire to rush home to enjoy the purchase. The problem occurs when one can't stop buying things.
I tend to be a bit of a tightwad. What can I say? I'm a Jew. Not spending much is pretty easy for me. I've recognized that I gain much more enjoyment from saving up and using the money for a trip. Of course, this was discovered while I was living in Myrtle Beach, so I wasn't enjoying where I was living. A chance to leave was always a bonus.
This past weekend, I attended Noreascon 4, the 62nd World Science Fiction Convention. This was the first convention that I've attended in about 10 years. I'd forgotten how much I loved the experience. I'd also forgotten how easy it is to find things to spend money on when you're in your "home" environment.
I did control myself. I didn't really buy anything until the final day of the convention. I was, however, calculating where the items that I would be purchasing were as well as what I could afford to buy. I ended up purchasing 3 prints, some books, Killer Bunnies, a game that I played, seven CDs, and a songbook. I'm always looking for Filk (Science Fiction music), and now, just following my move, I was looking for ways to decorate my room. I truly love everything that I bought. That's the problem. LOL. I want more.
Next, I went on AllPosters.com. I was looking for a couple of things that I'd missed for the room. There I found 3 posters, two of which had a Science Fiction theme. They're in the mail now. Stop me before I shop again!
I know that I come by it naturally. Other members of my family have the shopping addiction. I believe that I've been able to resist it so long precisely because my tastes are so extreme that I rarely find things that interest me enough to lay down the cash. Well, I'm probably safe until the next con. That's in January. Of course, I still have to frame the 6 prints that I have. After that, there's Gaylaxicon in July. Then, there's next year's Worldcon in Scotland. I've already got a supporting membership in 2007's Worldcon in Japan and 2010's in Melbourne. I guess that I'm just going to be broke for the rest of my life.
Addictions III will be coming soon.

01 September, 2004

Addictions

What do You need? Why? Is is truly a need, or just a craving? What positive and negative effects does this have on your life? These questions have been occupying my thoughts lately. I think their ramifications hold amazing importance for the average, or even the above average, person.
My most visible addiction has to be for nicotine. What can I say? I LOVE smoking. Perhaps my favorite quote regarding smoking was spoken by Jena Elfman in "Keeping the Faith." Someone had suggested that giving up their own temptation was similar to smoking and that "for a year, it was annoying, but after that, it was OK." Jena replied, "I quit smoking two years ago, and every time I see someone light up I want to French kiss them and suck the smoke out of their lungs." I have these feelings.
Since arriving in Boston three weeks ago, I've fallen into smoking again. In my defense, it's quite a bit less than my regular habit. I know, however, that a big change in life is a great time to quit smoking. I don't want to begin associating smoking with my new friends and environments. My excuse has been that I was living, during this time, with a smoker. Now, I'm living with non-smokers. This should help me with the smoking, but what about the other things that I need?
Despite the fact that I have, to some extent, embraced traveling alone and spending time with myself, I still need the company of my friends. To me, friends are like a drug. Some are like schwag, and give you little bang for your buck. When you can't spend any time with this kind of friend, you might feel a bit of a pang, but it's easily dismissed. Others are like Kind Bud, filling you with so much excitement that it will carry you over until you see them again. Of course you'd rather see them more often, so you think about them a lot, but you can ride the wave of your time with them for awhile.
This latter type of friend is exactly what my mates Kimberly, Rebekah, and Bryan are. They came in to Myrtle Beach from Alabama to ensure that I would have the best birthday ever. A delicious dinner started us off. We ate at Blue Water Bistro, and I highly recommend it. Try the fried green tomatoes with goat cheese! They met and welcomed my friend Susan, and it was truly a magical evening.
Meeting my family and niece, walking on the beach, and dinner at Divine Fish House (very good, but definitely Skip the Sushi) took up much of the rest of our weekend, but while these events were fun, they can't touch the fun of shopping for a "Topsy-tail," discovering that they make size 6XL T-shirts, racing at the "Slide Track," and, my personal favorite, Dance Dance Revolution Extreme. In fact, one addiction, my friends, lead me to another addiction, DDRX, more commonly, I was to find out, called DDR.
We had a blast shaking our booties on the game. Everyone did a great job, but I must say that my boy, Bryan, and I cut a serious rug. I have now made the resolution that, when I purchase a house, before I buy any other furniture, I will buy a DDR machine for one room. It's that much fun folks. Try it.
Check out the pics from our weekend while I prepare Addictions II for next time...

Don't they make you wish that I was straight? Posted by Hello
Bryan and Bobby G crack open their DDR records! We took that game to the cleaners! (Which was good, because after dancing that long at our age, we needed a trip to the cleaners. Whew. Drenched in sweat doesn't begin to cover it.) Posted by Hello

Rebekah's on deck for the DDR! Posted by Hello
Slide Track World Champions:Bobby G Earnheart Jr., Kimberly Petty, Rebekah Allison, and Bryan Gordon. Posted by Hello

Don't we look amazing!?! Posted by Hello