2 Years Down

I've been with my current girlfriend for two years today.

Although if my parents had it their way, there won't be a third.

Been playing Don't Starve. Lots of fun, artwork is Tim Burton-esque.

Going back to the old country this Thursday, be back in 10 days.

Hoping that there isn't an arranged  marriage waiting for me when I get there.

Playing Games

Finished Saint's Row: The Third. Mindless, violent, somewhat entertaining, but most importantly, Co-op.

Also playing Planetside 2. All agree: This must be what being an Imperial Guardsman feels like, minus Commissars.

Rained a lot this week, wasn't able to get too much done. Also, driving a lowered car in the rain is not fun.

And damned if I can remember what else I did this week.

Black Friday = New PC

That time of the...half decade?

Went out and got parts for a new PC. Actually, me and my friend built two identical PCs, the idea in that if we wanted to individually upgrade in the future, the upgrader would give his old parts (RAM or VGA) to the non-upgrader, who can then SLI or expand his RAM with identical parts to the original.

Also, watched Wreck It Ralph. Entertaining, though the short animation preceding it was more so, I thought, what with the black and white and paper airplanes and such.

Discovered the website theCHIVE, though I am not sure how to pronounce it. Perfect for amusing myself or wasting a bit of time.

Slow week, did pointless DIY

So...ain't done shit this week, really.

Thanksgiving par-tay was rather underwhelming this year. Bright spot? SuburbanDweller came down from the Bay. However, others decided to go to Vegas and thus participation was at an all time low.

So...after being very bored this week, I decided I would do a DIY project.

Materials purchased:

1 Sawhorse
32BF Plywood
5BF Select Pine boards
1 pint Ebony wood stain
1 pint American Walnut wood stain
1 pint Polyurthane
1 pack foam brushes
1 2in foam chair pad
2sq. yds. black marine vinyl
Assorted misc. hardware (screws, bolts, nuts, etc)

Can't say what I'm making, but I can say this:

Staining wood is fun.

It's all over!

Obama wins, no contest.

Senate remains in Democratic control.

House remains in Republican control.

Feinstein gets reelected.

UN Arms Trade Treaty moving forward.

We're just as screwed as we were last week.
 
And as far as California is concerned:

Prop 30 passes, as does Prop 39.

And my taxes continue to rise.



But.....IT'S THE THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF THIS BLOG!
*fireworks*noisemakers*SPARKLES!*

Hard to believe I made it this far. Now if only I was as dedicated to my (non-existent) workout routine.

Election? Not I.

So...I'm in Texas.

Which means in not going to be able to vote. So all my deliberations were for naught.

On the bright side, it's nice to see all these Romney/Ryan signs. Was tired of Obama/Biden signs.

Prediction for tomorrow: Obama is going to win.

Hope: Democrats DO NOT capture the House.

My tax rate is going up next year regardless, by about 6-7% combined Fed and State.

Harvest Moon + Make Work

This week, most of my attention has been focused on new 3DS Harvest Moon: A New Beginning.
As a long time fan and player of the series, I would say that this is more reminiscent of the first few Harvest Moon games than the more recent ones. And that is a good thing.

However, I made the fatal mistake of selling all my building materials early in the game, and two seasons in, I had to restart due to that action dragging the story speed down. Sigh.

My friend had a BBQ on Sunday(yesterday), awesome steaks, delicious shrimp, and fine whiskeys. My kind of party. Also, I carved a pumpkin.

Work has slowed down a lot this week. It is unlikely to pick up for some time, meaning I must now Make Work. Planning on going to Texas for a week to check up operations there something I haven't done all this year.

Girlfriend voted already, the Democratic ticket. I've decided the Congressional and Presidential votes already, but still haven't gotten to reading on the Props yet.

Birthday week for teh birfday girls

Went to the optometrist for a follow up after last week's pinguecula incident.

Good news: pinguecula has receded and I can now wear contacts again.
Bad news: prescription has changed, eg. no longer stable, therefore no laser for me.

Shit.

GF's birthday week is far more eventful and exponentially more expensive than my own. Spent $300 over two dinners, and refused to go to a third. Presents are also $$$.

That, however, was a paltry sum compared to the money spent ordering parts for my vehicle. Upgrades incoming. Even found me a place to have them installed, recommended to me by car enthusiast friends. Will name and review at after work is complete.

About those dinners:

The Playground was delicious, if over salted. My previous two visits, I ate off special menus(or no menu at all), so this was the first time I was able to eat off the regular menu. I find myself inclined to prefer Chapter One and Lola Gaspar better. For one, they both have full bars(though lacking cocktail onions(dammit)), while The Playground only serves beer and wine. Food was, as stated above, delicious, but oversalted.

Haven Gastropub in Pasadena: This being my second visit to this location, I knew what to expect. I do like the selection of proprietary cocktails at the full bar they have, made even better by the large proportion of whiskey based drinks on the menu(They also have some 40 whiskeys on their whiskey menu, for those interested. I certainly was.). Moving past the drinks and onto the actual vittles: If one somehow manages to gather at least eight people and have them all agree to it, one can call Haven a week in advance and order a lamb dinner for $42/person + tax and gratuity. Very worth it. Consists of lamb roast(enough servings to stuff all participants) served with potato salad, brussel sprouts, and macaroni. Cooked to perfection(depending, of course, on the cut you get), it was a very satisfying meal, well worth the $50 spent.

In other news:

The next Harvest Moon game is to be released soon. Excited.

Winter is coming, but the weather is still fluctuating like a *DELETED FOR YOUR PROTECTION*!

Upcoming elections. Decided that my presidential vote is useless, but will vote the Republican ticket on the state level, to prevent the Democrats from completely taking over the state. As far as how I will vote for Congress, I have yet to decide. I'm still leaning Right, despite how much I disagree with the Republican social issues platform. I just don't trust the left. Any government that tries to disarm its populace just isn't to be trusted, whatever their excused. Oh, and taxes. Stoppit.
Propositions? Haven't read them yet.

Too Much Drinking

Drank too much this last week. Sent off a friend back to Peace Corp Uganda, another buddy is an alcoholic, and friend of a friend's birthday(note: older, nerdier conversations are likely to result when hanging with 3 or more older, nerdier people who have PhDs).

Ate at new Indian curry house that opened up close to my home. Was OK.

Many b'days being planned. Why so many bdays in October, anyhow?

Had bloodshot eyes, had said eyes checked, said eyes apparently developed a pinguecula.
Prescribed eyedrops, but now can't wear contacts for a week at least.

Now looking into eye surgery. Contacts are annoying enough, glasses even more so. I'd rather fix this sooner rather than later.

Why So Serious

Not much on the serious front this week.

Planning on extending the house, though it will take lots of work and planning and money to do so.
I live on a hillside, so extending the house out will require a lot of structural, up to and including terracing said hillside. That or drilling deep enough into the hill to reach rock, then anchoring huge steel beams to it.

Either way, lots of money. That I don't have. So it will remain in planning stages for some time.

Finished Part 1 of the Sword Art Online anime. Holy Crap. This is going into the top 10.

And yes, I know I'm too old for this shit, but SAO is that good.