Well, here we are again: at 7am Thursday morning, I’ll officially be 32 years old.
To quote every movie Keanu Reeves has ever made: Whoa.
I’m currently taking a very brief vacation—well, days off from work. I’m not sure if it really counts as a vacation if you don’t leave town and don’t have any real plans except “not be at work.” (You’ll never catch me using the word “staycation,” either, except just now.)
At the moment, in fact, I’m at one of my newfound haunts, the Borders café; it’s right across the road from my home, has okay coffee beverages, and most importantly, has free wifi. That’s right: thanks to Shakti, my new Macbook, I have officially joined the ranks of Those Coffeehouse Mac People. I’m even working on a novel. All I need is a messenger bag and I’ll have the Hipster Trifecta.
Oh, wait. I have a messenger bag.
As you might expect, my impending birthday has brought forth another round of Sylvan Doth Love a Bit of Angst, but I’m happy to say I’m getting over this bout of introspective hand-wringing and am honestly looking forward both to my birthday weekend and to the next year.
Incidentally, Thursday night is my monthly DJ gig at Ecstatic Dance for Women here in Austin at NiaSpace; come help me get my birthday groove on, and I’ll…well, I won’t give you a prize, because I’m cheap and greedy, but I’ll be really glad to see you.
There being no real point to this post, I give you a list of Ten Things I Love right here and now, on the eve of my 32nd birthday, 2009.
1 ~ I love Scrivener, a Mac program designed to help writers organize large projects like novels and screenplays. It lets you keep your chapters, scenes, research, and notes all together, and you can look at them in outline format or as notes on a virtual corkboard, possibly the neatest thing ever. Here’s a screenshot. It’s not a free program, although the 30 day trial is free, but it’s worth every penny for the download.
2 ~ I love birthday parties. Sure, the presents are great, and who doesn’t love cake, but the best part is having people I love around me and getting wasted celebrating with them. Plus, presents! And cake!
3 ~ Have I mentioned how much I love my new Macbook? Yes? Okay, well, I do. I love the magnetic power cord connector, and I love Snow Leopard, and I love Time Machine, and the gesture-enabled track pad where I can resize pictures by pinching my fingers together. I also love that the computer came with two of those Apple decals for my car, so now I can wear my overzealous Mac geekdom with pride.
4 ~ I also love Fishdom, possibly the most pointless game on the planet next to Tetris. You make matches and earn money to design an aquarium, and they have seahorses! And puffer fish! It’s addictive and mindless and actually helps me clear my head when I’ve got too much brain going on.
5 ~ I love that Isa and Terry’s new cookbook Vegan Cookies Take Over Your Cookie Jar has a recipe for Fruity Oaty Bars, describing them as “...tightly packed with energy like a flying fist!...These bars will keep you jazzed while ridding the universe of cannibalistic interstellar barbarian hordes.” They’re great, too; I made a batch for our recent trip to the Texas Renaissance Festival, and they’re not very sweet, but deeply satisfying and chock full of protein, good fats, and fruity oaty goodness.
6 ~ I love Regretsy.com.
7 ~ I love my new Crumpler Luncheon bag, although we’re having some adjustment pains. It’s adorably green (I sometimes refer to it as Kermit the Bag), and the laptop compartment snuggles Shakti perfectly, but I’m having to figure out where to keep things and how to manage all that damn Velcro. Still, I’m confident we’ll make it work. Bonus points: I got her for less than half of retail price thanks to some strategic Googling.
8 ~ I love funky socks. Sockdreams.com is one of my new favorite shopping grounds. My only problem is that I can’t wear most knee socks, because my calves are like oak saplings, not twigs. Still, I’ve found quite a few fun pairs, and have started a Flickr set for my various fun socks, because clearly I don’t have enough to occupy me.
9 ~ I love frosting. I look forward to sticking my face in some this weekend.
10 ~ I love these jeans I’m wearing. Lane Bryant has become too expensive (and too…fashionable, ew) for my blood, but I found these jeans on clearance and they rock. Faded, flare-legged, with seams down the front, they’re comfortable and flattering and make me feel less like a dowdy soccer mom. (Despite my Hipster Trifecta I don’t really have a very hip wardrobe.)
To quote every movie Keanu Reeves has ever made: Whoa.
I’m currently taking a very brief vacation—well, days off from work. I’m not sure if it really counts as a vacation if you don’t leave town and don’t have any real plans except “not be at work.” (You’ll never catch me using the word “staycation,” either, except just now.)
At the moment, in fact, I’m at one of my newfound haunts, the Borders café; it’s right across the road from my home, has okay coffee beverages, and most importantly, has free wifi. That’s right: thanks to Shakti, my new Macbook, I have officially joined the ranks of Those Coffeehouse Mac People. I’m even working on a novel. All I need is a messenger bag and I’ll have the Hipster Trifecta.
Oh, wait. I have a messenger bag.
As you might expect, my impending birthday has brought forth another round of Sylvan Doth Love a Bit of Angst, but I’m happy to say I’m getting over this bout of introspective hand-wringing and am honestly looking forward both to my birthday weekend and to the next year.
Incidentally, Thursday night is my monthly DJ gig at Ecstatic Dance for Women here in Austin at NiaSpace; come help me get my birthday groove on, and I’ll…well, I won’t give you a prize, because I’m cheap and greedy, but I’ll be really glad to see you.
There being no real point to this post, I give you a list of Ten Things I Love right here and now, on the eve of my 32nd birthday, 2009.
1 ~ I love Scrivener, a Mac program designed to help writers organize large projects like novels and screenplays. It lets you keep your chapters, scenes, research, and notes all together, and you can look at them in outline format or as notes on a virtual corkboard, possibly the neatest thing ever. Here’s a screenshot. It’s not a free program, although the 30 day trial is free, but it’s worth every penny for the download.
2 ~ I love birthday parties. Sure, the presents are great, and who doesn’t love cake, but the best part is having people I love around me and getting wasted celebrating with them. Plus, presents! And cake!
3 ~ Have I mentioned how much I love my new Macbook? Yes? Okay, well, I do. I love the magnetic power cord connector, and I love Snow Leopard, and I love Time Machine, and the gesture-enabled track pad where I can resize pictures by pinching my fingers together. I also love that the computer came with two of those Apple decals for my car, so now I can wear my overzealous Mac geekdom with pride.
4 ~ I also love Fishdom, possibly the most pointless game on the planet next to Tetris. You make matches and earn money to design an aquarium, and they have seahorses! And puffer fish! It’s addictive and mindless and actually helps me clear my head when I’ve got too much brain going on.
5 ~ I love that Isa and Terry’s new cookbook Vegan Cookies Take Over Your Cookie Jar has a recipe for Fruity Oaty Bars, describing them as “...tightly packed with energy like a flying fist!...These bars will keep you jazzed while ridding the universe of cannibalistic interstellar barbarian hordes.” They’re great, too; I made a batch for our recent trip to the Texas Renaissance Festival, and they’re not very sweet, but deeply satisfying and chock full of protein, good fats, and fruity oaty goodness.
6 ~ I love Regretsy.com.
7 ~ I love my new Crumpler Luncheon bag, although we’re having some adjustment pains. It’s adorably green (I sometimes refer to it as Kermit the Bag), and the laptop compartment snuggles Shakti perfectly, but I’m having to figure out where to keep things and how to manage all that damn Velcro. Still, I’m confident we’ll make it work. Bonus points: I got her for less than half of retail price thanks to some strategic Googling.
8 ~ I love funky socks. Sockdreams.com is one of my new favorite shopping grounds. My only problem is that I can’t wear most knee socks, because my calves are like oak saplings, not twigs. Still, I’ve found quite a few fun pairs, and have started a Flickr set for my various fun socks, because clearly I don’t have enough to occupy me.
9 ~ I love frosting. I look forward to sticking my face in some this weekend.
10 ~ I love these jeans I’m wearing. Lane Bryant has become too expensive (and too…fashionable, ew) for my blood, but I found these jeans on clearance and they rock. Faded, flare-legged, with seams down the front, they’re comfortable and flattering and make me feel less like a dowdy soccer mom. (Despite my Hipster Trifecta I don’t really have a very hip wardrobe.)
yay 32, excellent year i say, well it was for me.. *skips*..
happy birthday.. cause you know it is thursday here in NZ..so already your birthday..
*dances the happy birthday dance which is a little like the teapot dance but with balloons*
Posted by: MissPolly | November 18, 2009 at 02:47 PM
Be kinda cheap to say my gift to you was Fishdom...since I didn't buy it for you, but merely turned you and S1ren on to it, lol.
Glad you enjoy its mindlessness. I might download the real thing myself, although I missed the $13.95 sale for games on Halloween :(
Hippo birdie two ewes!
Posted by: Racu | November 18, 2009 at 02:58 PM
Happy happy (early)! For a few months now, I'd been thinking I wanted to send you something for your birthday, particularly since you're celebrating surviving your return and because I feel like you deserve some kind of thanks for all the awesome you've wrought in my life. (Man, that *does* sound stalkery. Sorry about that). Maybe I'll go out and buy a canvas tomorrow...
Posted by: Jaka Merriman | November 18, 2009 at 06:16 PM
As you may have gleaned, I am a huge fan of the Sock Dreams.
I am also a non-twiggy-legged person.
Thus, I am a good source for what socks fit and how. (:
I also found a very good guide to the same on the internet. That kooky internet. So helpful when it's not spitting up porn.
Happy birthday (a little early)! Your birthday is my anniversary. (:
Posted by: Kyeli | November 18, 2009 at 09:26 PM
Happy, happy Birthday!!! My 30th is a mere 6 1/2 months away...my mom is already doing a countdown. Love the sock website. If you don't already have knowledge of it..another one that I love is joyofsocks . com
Love it!
Posted by: Ari | November 18, 2009 at 09:52 PM
Happy Birthday! I hope you have a good one. I'm one behind ya, my 31st is coming up in a week and a half.
Posted by: Lyon Mercaeant | November 19, 2009 at 04:07 AM
Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!!! Enjoy your time off!
Posted by: LazySmurf | November 19, 2009 at 08:44 AM
Happy Birthday, I hope you enjoyed your day.
Posted by: Karen | December 07, 2009 at 09:36 AM