Thunder of Wade

This weekend, a few of my friends and I went to the Highland Square neighborhood in Akron for a art and music fest. There were booths set up selling prints, knitted hats, and even origami (the origami was a little disappointing, but they were trying). In the walking around, I saw three women dressed as gypsies – except that they had white skull makeup on their faces. Now, I work at a university, so I’m used to the unusual. But this was way out of any context and I couldn’t figure out why three of them and why at the art festival.

A little later on, we saw more of them on a stage area along with a sign about a local school of dance. They proceeded to preform the most laid-back belly dance in existence. Being undead may have had something to do with it – though why they were undead was a mystery. We watched for a little bit after lunch at the Swenson’s food truck, then headed out.

I sort of mentally keep track of the weirdest thing I see in a day and this stayed right at the top all day.

Spent much of the weekend hanging out with friends and working on projects – and playing Diablo. I beat the game again with a new character – the Wizard – and I gave that Prime Evil a sound thrashing. The downside was that I knew how it was going to end (though why nobody thought to go after Adria is beyond me – hello? She’s betrayed us twice now.)

The best part was that Thunder(cat) crawled under my desk while I was playing and fell asleep on my feet. Awwww…

I’ve moved into my office today and I’m at a seated desk until my new standing desk comes in. It’s weird in a lot of ways, but it’s good too.

Went and saw the movie “The Heat” last weekend at the second run theater. Not generally my style of humor, but funny. I think I learned some new swear words too – or at least some new combinations.

Listening to a little old-school Toni Braxton recently in my car. That girl has ISSUES. Or perhaps I should say “gurrrrl”, given that her voice is deeper than mine and the sub-sonics from the speakers threatened to shake my car apart. Good stuff, though.

Last night, I had a dream that my mom kept letting my cat out of the house. I kept telling her, “He’ll run off and doesn’t always come when I call!”
I managed to find him each time, but it was clear he’d been in a couple of fights while out in the woods. This morning, when I woke up and went downstairs in the dark, I stepped on him. He let out a shriek and was gone like an extra-dark shadow. Clearly, I should have gotten a lighter colored cat if I’m going to walk around in the dark. Wait, was that racist or practical?
Anyway, he’s fine and we’re still buddies.

In other news… I’m getting an office. One of my colleagues is transferring to our group and I’m moving out of my cubicle and into a small office. I’ll have to share it with our student assistant but it’s still pretty cool. The plan is to have me moved by Monday.  I came back in last evening and did some work – just a bit more to do today and then a little cleaning to get it ready.

Looking forward to a relaxing weekend hanging out with friends.  And my buddy Diablo.

Saturday was Homecoming – and the Faculty Staff picnic – at UA and I had been asked to take a shift in the dunk tank. Which completely made sense to anyone that knows me.

We got there early and had a nice lunch with my colleagues. At 12:30, I got ready and hopped into the tank.

And proceeded to get dunked 14 times.

If you’ve never been in a dunk tank, let me tell you that it is sudden. One moment you are sitting there

– and the next you are underwater. And so random.

I ended taking 2 shifts since the guy that was supposed to go after me didn’t show. I laughed pretty much the whole time – it was a lot of fun.

It was raining pretty good by the time I finished up and unlike the rest of the crowd, I didn’t really care. I had already been soaked to the skin.

14 times!

Yes, it’s a video game post.  But read it anyway because it’s funny.

So, finally, my valiant party reaches the gates of Sanctuary’s heaven. One last battle against the Prime Evil – Diablo.

Just before we cross the entrance Tyrael, the former archangel, stops.

“Yo,” he says as I paraphrase, “Imma just gonna sit this one out and chill right here. Good luck with that final battle against my arch-enemy and all,”

Really, Tyrael? You’re gonna sit this one out? ‘Cause that flaming sword seems to work pretty well against those 10,000 demons we killed to get here.

Fine. Jerk.

I’ve got a Templar watching my back and we head on into the Silver Spire. Suddenly, a cage of bone bursts from the ground and forms around the Templar.

“Oh,” he says as I paraphrase again, “I appear to be trapped here. Go on without me. Terribly sorry. Good luck, pip pip cheerio.”

Really, Templar? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure that the big ass sword I GAVE you should be able to break that cage in about one swing. If you want to be a little bitch and just sit there, so be it. I don’t need your punk ass – though that periodic healing you’ve been doing all along would come in really handy vs. the end all be all of evil. Also? You can’t die – so why are you sitting there hiding and crying?

With a sign of disgust, my Demon Hunter approaches Diablo on her own. About midway through the fight, he pulls a cheap move and teleports her to another realm where she has to fight a clone of herself and a clone of Diablo. Or something, I wasn’t really paying attention. We killed everything there and teleported back to kick Diablo’s ass.

When the smoke finally cleared and Diablo was no more, Tyrael, the Templar, and some random angels show up. They are all like, “We defeated the Prime Evil – yea for us! We totally rock!”

Really? “WE?” Where the frak were you when he lit the Demon Hunter on fire? Huh? Could you have stopped by with a bucket of water or something? Maybe you could have tossed in some healing orbs from the sidelines. Nothing?

Fine, whatever. Jerks.

Good game, though.

I’ve been playing a lot of Diablo 3 and it is wicked fun. I’ve been steadily kicking some ass in this game and really enjoying the visuals, the gameplay, and the intensity. Every so often the game changes up and the tables get turned. And then a monster walks up to me and goes, “Excuse me, sir? Here’s your ass. On a platter. Have a nice day,”. So, I back-track a bit, level up, and then go kick their ass.

The twang of the bowstrings of my dual wielded crossbows. A crack and a whiff of ozone as the electrified and explosive bola shots streak though the air. The satisfying shriek of monstrous anger when they find their mark and explode. And the inevitable “gibletting” of the forces of evil. It’s good to be a demon hunter.
So, a new word came up for me and I’ve going to start trying to work it into my conversations:

Yestermorrow.

Time travel reference, naturally. From a little game called Cookie Clicker. I haven’t decided what it means yet, but it “feels” like it might be totally immersive deja vu. Like the movie “Groundhog Day”, maybe. Say it with me, “Yestermorrow”. Ah, yeah, there’s the stuff. I’m maybe going to try and put together a list of words I can find for describing time travel – should be fun.
YesterDAY, I finished mile number 177 for the year in the pool. Feels like I’m in the home stretch and I’ll easily exceed my goal of 200. I could even take a day off, but then I think – Would Jay Martinez take a day off? Nope, he’d have a ViShake or something and go out there and run. Would Jeanne DeBonis take a break? Nope, she’d be out there on her bike on crutches if that’s what it took. Not actually sure how that would work, but she’d do it.

I’m getting stronger and there are fewer college students that can outswim me anymore. Pretty much the swim team are the only ones that can make me look bad in the short term – but I bet I could outdistance them.

In other news… it was suggested to me that I should have named my cat Wasabi – since with the love comes some inevitable pain. Thunder(cat) is actually getting better about not drawing blood – or I’m getting quicker – but it still might work as a middle name for him. Thunder Wasabi (cat). Yep, it works.

I also came up with some other clever pet names that could work for trendy pet stores. MUTTazuma and CleoCATra. You’re welcome.

In music news… I got stuck in traffic yesterday. Rather than swear or turn on talk radio, I rolled down the windows and fired up Brave by Sara Bareilles and sang along with her. If there’s ever a song to be belted out without fear of what people think, that would be the song.

Today it’s a little C2C in the headphones at work before the meetings start.  Wish me luck.

I keep in touch with my former co-worker and his family – they are all great and a lot of fun. On a previous visit I learned that one of his daughters – just now age three – is a huge fan of Godzilla. Pretty much anything and everything Godzilla. So, for her birthday, I checked out Toys R Us and found a set of Godzilla characters in a Chibi style – sort of mini+cute+slightly deformed. We got to see the crew at breakfast last weekend because we had missed her birthday. When she opened up the giftbag and realized what they were, she literally squealed with delight. She hopped up and down in her booster seat at IHOP like it was the best present ever. 🙂 We got the figures out of the package and she played with them while she ate her breakfast – Mothra was her favorite.

On the way out, I threw away the gift receipt – no way she was returning those. Not sure how she got started with Godzilla, but I’m happy to encourage her.

In other news… I got contacted by a fellow committee member at work recently with a request. This weekend in the Faculty/Staff picnic and the homecoming football game. I hadn’t planned on going, but they needed volunteers for the dunk tank and thought of me.

So, apparently, I have a reputation for being more than a little out there – and I guess it’s well deserved because I didn’t have to think about it long before I said yes. It’s a 15 minute shift in the tank and then on with the picnic. Should be fun.

light in the attic, warm kitty, onion, diablo 3

Since I’ve lived in my house, the house behind my backyard (separated by a tall fence) has been vacant. Even in the short time I’ve lived here, the house has fallen on further disarray and a drive around the block showed that it was getting worse all around. I’ve sort of figured that it gave me a little more privacy and didn’t really think much of it.

Until, a few weeks ago, a light came on in the attic. No shade or fixture, and not even a window, the bare bulb was unnerving. There was no other activity or signs of habitation – just this one light, shining all night after night from the attic.

Finally, I started hearing and seeing signs of construction and repair. There’s still a long way to go, but at least someone [human, I hope] is working on it.

In other strange happenings at night… my cat actually snuggled with me last night. He will usually check in on me sometime at night, step directly on my junk, then wander off to do cat things. Last night, perhaps because it was a bit chilly and I generate a lot of body heat, Thunder(cat) settled in and stayed in one spot most of the night. Even when I got up to use the bathroom he stayed right where he was and I had to move around him. It was pretty nice – and he didn’t step on my junk, which was even better.

My good mode at the warm kitty was broken when I got into work and quickly got a headache. It didn’t get better at lunch because someone slipped an onion fragment into the lettuce and it contaminated my salad. Really, why do people even put those things on a salad bar anywhere near the lettuce? Just asking for trouble.

Finally, my copy of Diablo 3 should be here any day. I put it off long enough, Tristram needs me and the Prime Evils need their collective asses kicked.

And I’m the man to do it.

Wednesday morning was another ocean swim, though it was so rough I started to get sick. I took a break and swam again later once the waters were calmer. Also got a slight sunburn on my nose, checks, and forehead – but some aloe took care of that. The group went to Outback that evening for dinner and got the Blooming Onion. Which prompted a discussion on why I think they are evil – to the amusement of the crew as they dove into it.

After dinner was a trip to Barnes and Noble and a walk on the beach in the almost full moonlight.

Thursday morning the smell of peppers and onions woke me up. Really? People not only eat the stuff – they eat it for breakfast? I had my breakfast outside and beat a hasty retreat to the ocean. A pretty quiet day of swimming, getting some sun, and enjoying the pool. Dinner was at the Mellow Mushroom. Oh, and I bought a hat.

Friday was mostly by the pool – and my Zips towel caught the eye of a UA Alumni. We talked football for a few minutes before he headed off with his family and I got back in the water. I would said it was an odd coincidence except for all the people that were there from Ohio. Which was everyone.

Saturday morning we were up early to drive home. We said good bye to the beach and headed out. And it was a terrible drive. Traffic accidents, construction, detours, rain, wind, intense fog. And a little game I like to call “wild GPS chase” where we put in a destination and it leads us though the least direct route. Fun.

I was wiped out when I got home, but it was great to see Thunder(cat) again. He was purring like crazy and didn’t even draw any blood – must have been happy to see me too.

I went through and cleared out some of my work email today. Time to put away the shorts and get out the jeans again in chilly Ohio.

It was a good vacation and I’m glad I was able to get away. Next time, though, I’m hoping I can fly.

Up bright and early on Monday morning and back to the ocean for another swim. And that was after a breakfast on the balcony of pop-tarts and a fresh peach – great way to start the day.

We did the tourist thing in the afternoon and were going to meet up with the rest of the crew for dinner. Just as we were about to pay the $5.00 fee to go on the part of the island where the restaurant was, we got a text with a change of plans. Very close call. We drove through the rain and a couple of swampy parking lots before we got to the newly chosen restaurant. Mexican food and very well done – though everyone at our table (and the table next to ours) wanted some kind of exception to what was on the menu. We’re Ohioans, after all.   A little pricey, but good.

After dinner I fired up my phone and checked in with my cat’s caretakers. He was doing well and I was relieved – then I turned my phone off again. I really tried to avoid electronics this trip and did pretty well – though I didn’t go “cold turkey” like I had hoped.  Though I didn’t do anything work related – thankfully.

Tuesday morning I fought the ocean and got in a swim – though the current was so strong I actually lost ground. It was overcast so we decided to go to Savannah that afternoon instead of back to the beach. We explored the riverfront area and saw a HUGE cargo ship come in. Dinner was at Spanky’s Spuds – and the Spuds are very much like Jo-jos around here. I picked up some souvenirs and the book “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” and we headed back to the condo.

We left for a vacation in Hilton Head on Friday the 13th (yikes!) and drove for about 800 years. Or at least it seemed like it, especially when I didn’t eat on my regular schedule. I tend to get pretty cranky when my food clock is disrupted. And I was already missing Thunder(cat).

Finally got to the hotel room in Charlotte and settled in for a good night’s sleep. Which was disrupted the next morning by a fire alarm in the hotel. I got dressed quickly and we headed downstairs to find it was a burned waffle – but the staff couldn’t turn off the alarm. So, instead of just standing around outside, we headed to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. And some jerk-bag was conducting a meeting one section over. And she was loud. The manager wouldn’t say anything to her, so I confronted her and told her that her voice was carrying. She toned it down for a few minutes, then forgot and started shouting again. Breakfast was finished quickly.

Back on the road and finally made it to HH. We had to kill some time before the rest of the condo-mates arrived so we hung out in some deeply pretentious outlet stores and visited the statue of King Neptune. Made me look forward to swimming in the ocean. Once we were checked in and unpacked we had some pizza and explored the complex of condos. Nice place, though a bit of a maze.  Oh, and the door had a keypad instead of a key.  Made it a lot easier to come and go to the beach without worrying about keys – once we memorized the code (671044)

On Sunday we hit the beach and I swam in the ocean. I was not the only one rocking a speedo on the beach this trip – but I was the only really putting it to use in the water. For dinner that evening, we went to the Crazy Crab and I got the Low Country Shrimp Boil. Peel and eat shrimp, red potatoes, and corn on the cob. I felt like a native – though I was a mess when I was done.  I even asked the waiter for a better technique, but he said the best way was to just go to it.