Sunday Scale and Star Wars

Sunday Scale

Sandrian over at Aeternus Gaming is doing this personal challenge that she's labeled Sunday Scale. What she's doing is something I am also doing—weighing in on the first Sunday of every month and rewarding myself accordingly for hitting a goal. I found that weekly just doesn't work for me and stresses me out and defeats the purpose of losing weight, so I was going to go down to once-a-month anyway. But, I felt that we could at least support each other, and hopefully make it a little bit easier!

I'm going to be super candid with you guys about this. First, this is a really tough topic to handle. I am overweight. I know I am. It's something I struggle with thanks to various heath conditions. But there are so many reasons that I want to lose it, and I'm going to make myself do it. My current weight isn't a pretty number.

I've tried various fad diets and programs and have done pretty much everything that "the experts" tell you to do. But it doesn't always work for everybody. And for now, I'm going with what I can do both realistically and emotionally.

My goal is to lose 4 pounds a month. That averages a pound a week if I do it right. That's a pretty healthy and steady weight loss that any doctor would be happy about. Something that Chaide has been trying to get me to do is to get clothes that flatter me better and make me feel better about myself (in hopes of boosting my self-confidence and therefore my moods, which will in turn make it a little easier to lose more weight). So, I'm going to do it. Monthly, I will buy an item I want from my wishlist over at ModCloth. If I meet my goal, I will allow myself to get a second item of clothing (or an accessory, pair of shoes, etc.).

The stipulation to this is that I need to clean out my current clothes collection (no more keeping three boxes of "it might fit someday!" clothes). I'm allowed to keep certain things—costumes, items that are a family heirloom, very-well made/name brand clothes I picked up (like two name-brand dresses I picked up at Goodwill for a great price). Same goes for jewelry, handbags, shoes, etc. If I want to buy that second item as not a piece of clothing, then I need to be sure that everything else is purged.

I think it's a fair compromise and reward system, no? I'm still rewarding myself for doing my best (and filling out my professional wardrobe which is severely lacking), and if I hit my goal, I get something extra.

Star Wars: The Podcast Awakens

I told you guys I'd keep you in the loop when the next episodes of Wildcast come out. Well, the next episode is out! And it has absolutely nothing to do with WildStar at all!

Avid put this image together. Isn't it awesome?!

Avid has a friend in the 501st Legion who joined us for this episode, and Behalter put together the awesome intro. We talk spoilers galore, so you've been warned. And I delve into my theory on Phasma, which I hope is true to a degree (at least!)! Like so many others, I am so pumped for the next installment, and I want to go see it again. I'm also super excited for Rogue One. I just hope that the momentum generated within this story can keep itself going with the director changes, but I have high hopes for Episode 8.

Other Bits

I've also picked up some writing over at MMOGames.com, so that is part of the silence over here. I'm also still writing for QueueTimes (you can actually expect some of my Let's Play videos of Shadowrun Returns later this week over there!), and catching up with Blogs of Nexus over at WildStar Datacube, now that I have finally conquered my sinus infection!

Work has been seriously busy as well, and with the changes to where cubes are now located and the new open floor plan (bleh), it has become much less efficient to blog during my lunch hour, so I'll need to figure something out. Possibly writing in a Google Doc? Come February it will be a little bit easier. Chaide and I had a deal that if I could keep blogging semi-regularly for a year I could purchase a domain and some space and get a self-hosted WordPress. So there will be that come February where there will be a blogging lull to get everything off of Blogger and onto WP, etc.

I also ordered a Plum Paper Planner (I'll probably be that weird person and write a first impressions post!) that I'm expecting at the end of the month to help me schedule my time a little bit better with all of these obligations, plus trying to fit in a bit of exercise every day. The good thing about moving offices is that where I'm at now has an easy way to walk around the building to track exactly a mile, so I can do a quick half mile in the morning, and a half mile before I leave sort of thing. Small doses, y'know?

It really does feel good to blog, so I'm hoping to keep up with it a little bit more now that I've gotten over the "I should write something..." mood.

Let's Hitch a Ride

Savior of Men, Chestnut Stonebough

First, I have to mention my new unofficial title, thanks to Captain Codfish on Twitter. We were discussing hair dye/makeup, and a conversation transpired resulting in me "saving men everywhere". So, he gave me a new title.

@ggchestnut Savior of Men, Chestnut Stonebough

— Captain Codfish (@Gamingwithcod) July 24, 2015

Which then led to this.

Yes, it's all in jest. But it just tickled my funny bone and I had to share. XD

Five Fandom Friday

Thanks to Ravalation,  I stumbled upon the Female Geek Bloggers G+ group. They do a writing prompt every Friday called 5 Fandom Friday. The topics seem fairly interesting, and I enjoy reading other responses to the topics. The idea is to take the topic, and combine it with your various fandoms. For example, last week was "Five things you own that you bought at cons", and the start of the month was "Five favorite aliens".

This week, the topic is: Five Fictional Vehicles I'd Love to Travel In.

So, here are my five vehicles in no particular order of importance.

Serenity

I think this is kind of a given. Anybody who is a fan of Firefly would want to take a trip on the Serenity. Honestly, I think most of us would like to live there. I really can't wait to get more of the comics so I can read the official cannon on what happens with the crew. Because, really, who didn't get involved in the lives of these characters?

TARDIS

I feel almost cliché stating that I'd love to go for a ride in the TARDIS. But honestly, it would mainly determine on whom the Doctor was. Because not all incarnations are the same. Regardless, I think the TARDIS is extraordinary, and I'd love to meet her--even in human form! Plus, that episode was totally written by Gaiman. And it was amazing. I was able to put aside my disdain for Smith and enjoy an episode fully!

USS Defiant

This is honestly mainly for the crew. The Space Station itself doesn't move, ergo I wouldn't consider it a vehicle, and I want to spend time with all of them. Seriously. This is one show I can't help but fan-girl over. I've signatures of about half the main cast, and I'm aiming to finish my collection. Meeting Avery Brooks, René Aberjonois, and Armin Shimerman is pretty much the highlight of my Geek Experiences so far in my life. Even just the few minutes I was able to speak to them, shake their hands, and get their signatures. This is probably my first and foremost fandom.

Hogwarts Express

I'd like to ride it mainly to experience the Wizarding World. I enjoy the books, even though I don't care for the character of Harry Potter himself. I especially despise sharing a birthday with him (though don't mind sharing one with J.K. Rowling). I much prefer Neville (since the first book!). And I could totally hang out with Neville if I took the Hogwarts Express over to Hogwarts.

Speeder Bike

I'd also really like to own a speeder bike to traverse around. It'd be much more interesting than my crap van, that's for sure. Plus, Leia looked so badass riding one, what adventurous woman wouldn't want to ride one around?

Delving Into Comics

May the 4th Be With You

First, I need to offer up the obligatory: Happy Star Wars day! I probably won't end up celebrating today by watching the movies or anything, but I do hope to get them in when Mom is in town, so it might be a belated Star Wars day on my end.

So, my ultimate question is: Is it Revenge of the Fifth or Sixth? I've heard both. And when I googled, I came across this little gem. While it doesn't clear it up at all, it makes it highly more entertaining. Especially the Tweety Bird reference.

To Comic or Not to Comic?

So, growing up I never really got into comic books. Collecting them, anyway. I enjoyed listening to people re-tell stories of the latest comic they'd read, and I especially loved watching the Original X-Men TV show from the 90s. I had considered purchasing the comics after watching the TV show because I loved the characters so much, but I didn't because (1) there's only so much you can get with "allowance" money, and (2) even at a young age I was one of those completionist types where I had to start from the beginning. (It's a blessing and a curse--I do it with podcasts, too.)

So instead, I got into manga. They were easier to keep on a bookshelf and were generally only ten bucks a pop for more pages than a comic book. More bang for the buck, right? Besides, I'd always been obsessed with my mother's Asian dolls and china sets, and was loving Sailor Moon and DBZ on TV. It just made sense.

My First Comic Book

Yesterday, before going to a pre-Graduation party for Chaide with some of his classmates (they won't be able to attend each others' parties, so they had a celebration together), we stopped at one of the downtown squares near the location and took a walk. We ended up stumbling upon an Antique/Collectible store, and they had a large comics section in the back. I'm sure you can see where I'm going, here. We ended up looking through the boxes, and most of the stuff in there was older Marvel and DC things, such as X-Men, Wolverine, Thor, etc.

Chaide picked out three of the comics he had as a kid that got stolen from a storage area he had (all of his Warhammer and comics and other geeky paraphernalia got stolen much before we met) and insisted that I get a comic or two as well.

I couldn't really find anything I wanted. I have three Comic Collection Volumes at home. Two for Season 8 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Volumes 1 and 2, and I have the other six on a Wish List), and the other one is Volume 1 of Rat Queens which Chaide got me for Christmas at the suggestion of one of our lovely guildies, Yak. Volume 2 Collection for Rat Queens comes out later this month, and I'm greatly looking forward to it--even though I've only really read a few pages of the first volume.

Admittedly, I still haven't finished the Buffy books, either. I get partway through and then put it down to game or read something else. But still, Chaide insisted since I've never had a comic book in my life that I pick something out. So I searched through the boxes and stumbled upon Serenity: Leaves on the Wind. I had to have it. But, being the completionist I am, I didn't want to get it because they didn't have Issue 1 at the shop I was at. And I won't read it if I don't start with the first issue.

Chaide just kind of rolled his eyes and picked it out of the box and added it to the bottom of his pile so I couldn't grab it and put it back. So now, I own my first ever comic--Issue 2 of Leaves on the Wind. And I really really want the first one so I can read the one I just got. But it has to be the Dos Santos cover, to match the current cover I have. (Yes, I'm that hardcore completionist (or OCD)--all of my Harry Potter books have the embossed year on the spine. ALL of them.)

Expanding My New Collection

So now I need to find a comic shop near me to pick up Issues 1 and 3-6. I'd also like to collect the other mini-series written as a part of the Firefly universe. Now I just need to figure out a way to store them. I think I'm going to get binders per whatever series I end up purchasing that are loose (not Volume Collections) and keep the board/bag and put the board/bag into plastic sleeves in a binder. I know it's not "optimal", but I'm a reader, not just a collector. I get books because I love reading them. Comic books should be no different. 

I also stumbled upon a comic called Ruse in the boxes which looked interesting (but they only had Issue 6 through 18). It looks to be out-of-print and rebooted by Marvel later on. But I'm very interested in checking out the Original. I wonder if there's a Volume Collection or two for all of them?

Are there any other comics (that aren't Superheros, per se) that people would suggest picking up to a new collector? Please keep in mind that as a completionist, I'd prefer something older that's a short-stint and easy to acquire, or something newer that's still being published/doesn't have an overwhelming number of issues.

Fit Geek Friday - Star Wars

I've recently joined a blogging link-up called Fit Geek Friday, hosted by B.J., and Void, this blogger initiative is all about geeks interested in fitness of sorts, get together and share links, and talk about awesome things for the week.

#FitGeekFriday is a way for all of us to meet new friends, find new health, fitness, and geekery blogs, and immerse ourselves in a growing community of people who care about all the same stuff we do.

Participation is simple!

Use the “Add A Link” button below to leave a link to something awesome you wrote at your website, click into someone else’s links, comment, and make new friends! #FitGeekFriday is about bringing together the community of geekery-loving fitness junkies, so get out there and be social!

Join in the link love in the widget at the bottom of the post. And you can find more information here, if you'd like to participate.

This week, the topic is Star Wars.

Okay, I'm so glad that's the topic today because yesterday I clicked on an article someone had retweeted in my Twitter feed yesterday talking about the Prequel Trilogy that also linked to a fan theory about Padmé's death. And I really wanted to write a blog post about my thoughts on the article and the Prequels. I mean, I guess it's not a long post.

Because pretty much I agree with the post--I do think that terrible acting, chemistry that didn't work well amongst people that were supposed to be in love, and Jar-Jar were pretty much why I didn't care for the movies (plus midichlorians seemed a little deus ex machina). Watching the video below rekindled my adoration for the story of the Revenge of the Sith, and the backstory that linked the first three movies (IV, V, VI) to the second three (I, II, III). Or vice versa, I guess. (There's no Elsa in the video, don't worry, you're safe.)

So, now I want to go re-watch the Prequels. And I think being able to logically separate the bits I like and don't like, as I'm slightly older than when they first came out (III came out 10 years ago! TEN YEARS AGO!), and get more enjoyment out of them.

An InLinkz Link-up

Let It Flow!

I don't normally do this, but this YouTube video is something that has made me laugh more than anything else in quite a long time.

So, enjoy this gem of Anakin singing a version of "Let It Go". Because Vader is a better name anyway!

Actually, Vader is a better character than Anakin was. Granted, if there had been another actor and better writing (and no Jar-Jar), I think the movies would've been better overall. But, it was just Lucas being all "grabby hands".

But that is another post for another time. G'night, blogosphere!