I won the lottery you say? I'll take my payout in baby laughs please.

Just found a video of Dave's son Liam from a couple years ago.  If I could love anything as much as this kid loves a barking dog, I would quit my job and do nothing but that thing.  All the time.  Forever.

Nuthin Better Than A Wine Buzz

       Some friends of mine just made my life MUCH more entertaining by purchasing a wine bar here in Carson City.  For any of you out there who have yet to try Bella Fiore downtown, make your way across from the Supreme Court building (3rd Street and Curry) and get your thirst on.  Say hi to Neta and Ray and let them know how much you LOOOOVE wine and you might be lucky enough to get the scoop on any future wine tours they might be planning.  They are open Tuesday through Saturday right now and will be open Sundays starting in a few weeks.

       If you have no one to drink with, call me up.  It's 8 blocks from my house and I'm not known for my ability to make excuses to get out of drinking a bottle of wine.

 

Bella Fiore Wines is located at 224 South Carson Street (Curry side, across the street from Firkin and Fox), Carson City, NV 89701

Stuff to check out

So, I tend to listen to music that is more suited to a 16 year old girl because I enjoy upbeat, positive, anthem pop/rock.  Yes, sometimes I listen to queer music, sue me. If you don't get happy when Taylor Swift, The Script, or Katy Perry come on the radio then you have some serious negativity to work out in your life.

That being said, I've been listening to music this morning and actually picked up some pretty fun albums that, if you are anything like me, you would enjoy as well. 


Artist: Boys Like Girls
Album: Crazy World
2012

 

This is a super fun album that is a mix between their former pop/rock sound with a new country makeover.  It makes for an upbeat, positive vibe, album that has turned into my guilty pleasure.  Check it out if you're into these bands: Capital Lights, Friday Night Boys, All Time Low, One Direction

Artist: Camera Can't Lie
Album: The Album
2012

 

 

 A good rock album that is softer around the edges than most.  This album appealed to me because of the full sound, comprehendible lyrics, and the use of acoustic guitars in a lot of their songs.  Just a real chill rock album from a good band.
Check it out if your into these bands: The Maine, Safety Suit, Augustana, Dropping Daylight

Artist: Florida Georgia Line
Album: Here's to the good times
2012

If you don't have this ablum...get it.  This is the country album to party to right now.  So party.

How-To Wednesday - 11 ways to survive a budgetary apocalypse

So you’re super froggin’ broke.  Maybe you got an unexpected bill this month or had a car break down, or had to take a pet to the vet; only to realize the vet is also broke and is relying on you to pay for the Porsche he bought during his midlife crisis.  Whatever the situation may be, here are a few sure-fire ideas that will help you make it to your next paycheck.

 

1.       Pawn – Seeing as we all live in the United States (at least all four of us who read this blog), we are definitely privy to overabundance and the joys of financial frivolity.  Look around your house and I promise you will find something you can live without.  Even if it only garners 10 bucks, that still enough for a box of top ramen and gallon of milk.  So bag that random shit that you forgot you had, take to the greasy dude at the Guns/Liquor/Baby Cribs pawn shop and make that money.

2.       Carpool – At one point in my life, I was so broke that I ran my truck out of gas and didn’t turn it back on for 6 weeks.  But I survived.  So take those car keys off the ring, throw them in the freezer and call a friend for a ride.  There’s no shame in begging for rides, as long as you remember who did you a solid when you’re back on your feet and they need a ride.  You’d be surprised at how many great conversations you can have and how many friends you can make bumming rides with people.  Just don’t fart.  No matter what.

3.       Get Frosty – We all enjoy living in 69 degree, climate-controlled, warm and fuzzy houses.  This is one of those luxuries that is burned at the stake when the money dries up.  Go to the hallway, grab that fuckin knob and twist.  Humans don’t die in barely sub 60 degree environments.  It’s only for a week and you’ve been meaning to use that Snuggie you got as a white elephant gift 2 years ago anyway.  While you’re at it, get that shake weight out too, it’ll warm you up.

4.       Drink Water – A human being can live for something like 2 weeks without food, but apparently we turn into big giant pussies when it comes to not drinking water.  Skip a meal here and there and substitute it with 3 or 4 glasses of water; it will fill you up, keep you alive, and by making you have to pee, subsequently give you something to do during commercials.

5.       Be a Friend – At my poorest moment I was still never in any real danger of being homeless or dying of starvation or anything.  Even with zero money, I was always able to hit up a friend or two and find some kind of fun thing going on that happened to have grub at the venue.  I’d grab my bicycle, summon some malnourished strength, and head towards a sandwich.  Rule number one for this method of survival however: You are only allowed to call upon and/or utilize a specific friend once every three weeks, so use your lifelines sparingly and with deliberation.

6.       Call Mom – No matter how old you may be, if your mother is still alive, she wants to feed you.  Mothers never lose their instinctive need to care for their children and there has never been a better time than right now to call mom and beg for a care package.  She’ll even pay the postage.  I survived on a mother-supplied surplus of red vines, granola bars, hot chocolate, and raviolis for 5 days once.  She put FEMA to shame.  Swallow your pride and call your mom, raviolis are fucking delicious.

7.       Hibernate – Nothing passes the time like sleeping.  Now, I know some people will disagree with this method of frugality, but there’s no shame in going to bed right after work in an effort to pass the time until that paycheck shows up.  Even if you get of work at 4:30 in the afternoon.  This is more of a short term solution as depression might start to sink in after more than 4 days of 16hrs a day of sleep.  Then again, once you get paid, take 25 bucks down to the clinic and get some Prozac.  Boom.  Problem solved.

8.       Rice – As bland as it may sound rice is filling, cheap, and only takes water and heat to make edible.  The Japanese/Chinese/Asian Community as a whole have been using this shit for like 900 years and they’re making cars and computers and stuff; you can go a week on a rice diet.  Trailer park it up with some hot sauce or frozen corn and you’ve got yourself something you don’t have to cry over while eating.

9.       Work Thief – Now, this may not be applicable to your employment environment but it was for mine.  Go to the break room or food storage area (fridge, cabinets) at your job and steal that sandwich in the back of the fridge that has been there since yesterday.  Chances are that they’ve forgotten about it and/or aren’t going to get too pissed that it’s missing.  Worst case scenario, they confront you about it and you blame it on Kathy in accounting.  No one like Kathy in accounting.

10.   Embrace – So you’re poor and can’t afford food, or water, or lights.  You’ve been wanting to lose that stubborn 10 lbs and you’ve got 10 candles you’ve been meaning to burn, embrace this opportunity to do both.  I must have lost 20 lbs in 6 weeks when I was super broke; granted my methodology would probably be frowned upon by a nutritionist, but I got results goddamn it.  When the money starts coming again you’ll look back and remember that time you ate nothing but rice for 2 weeks, had uncontrollable diarrhea, slept for 16 hours a day, stole that guy from work with Leukemia’s sandwich and blamed it on Kathy, all while hitching your way around town from people who would just assume rob and murder you than get you where you need to go. 

11.   Get a second Job.

 

 

 

Goddamn Video Games. You're Making Me Feel Stupid

Luis has been helping me, or, we have been helping each other I should say, quit smoking. We are three and a half days in (even half days count in this kind of endeavor) and we haven't taken to drinking bleach or jumping off roofs as consolation for this burden.  It’s a win in my book.

 

On a more entertaining note, I’ve hit that point in my life where I’m realizing that I might be getting a little too old for video games.  On “Black Saturday”, or whatever it’s called (the day after Black Friday aka Zealous Consumer Contribution Day), I bought all of these video games that were supposed to just be the tits of entertainment.  Needless to say, I’ve played 3 levels of one of the games and the other 2 are still in their packaging.  Secondary assessment comparison – Last night my roommates and I were sitting around talking and someone fired up a snowboarding game that I own (but have only played once or twice) and we decided it would fun to take turns shredding down the digital mountains.  Luis is pretty much great at all of the video games he tries; his 23 year old brain is still mushy with responsive neurons.  It was fun to watch him blast the game apart and make it look easy enough that anyone could have success.  Next up was Allison who, despite her (what I imagine is) lack of experience with Playstation 3, still took to the physics engine side of things, precariously dropped out of the simulated helicopter onto the powder and made her way down the mountain whilst crushing Luis’ time, though lacking in style points.  Both solid showings.  Then Daris took the reins. 

 

I fell out of the helicopter.  Not even sure how one falls out of the helicopter that (what I thought) was just part of the initial video before the user even assumes control of the character.  Then, using my precision hand eye coordination and venerable trash talking skills, proceeded to fall all the way down the Korean designed, digitally rendered, Kilimanjaro landscape.  Why they let us snowboard some Tanzanian or African mountain (I don’t really know where Mt Kilimanjaro is located as you can clearly tell), I’ll never know.  What I do know is that, after only 6 or 7 minutes of completing only 15% of the run, I was ready to burn my fucking house down out of pure frustration.  I then proceeded to go outside, hang even more Christmas lights, change the headlamps in the Chevy, and shovel soggy, half frozen leaves from my side yard; all at 8:30pm.  Pissed.

 

I guess it’s just time that I admit to myself that I may not be as good as I once was at this video game business, but maybe that’s not a bad thing.  Three or four more tries at that game and my Christmas lights will be Griswold worthy, my truck will essentially be brand new, and there won’t be a goddamn leaf within 90 feet of my property.

Back to Business

So, I got the new roommates moved in and everything is settling in nicely.  I’ve neglected the sense of urgency to expedite my weight loss over the last two weeks or so, which has caught up with me.  I went to the gym last night for the first time in a few weeks and tried to do the regiment I was at prior to my break and, I’ll tell you what, if I didn’t think I was making progress before, it’s extremely apparent now.  This is both confidence inspiring as well as a bit daunting.  At least I know that I was making progress two or three weeks ago (when it felt like I was simply working for no result at the time) and that means that the same scenarios that are evoked during my revitalized workout schedule (ie Pessimism, Procrastination, Doubt) are all very much surmountable.   Also, I know that the work I was doing before was actually improving my health (both physically and emotionally) seeing as I am unable to achieve the degree of resistance in my exercising in addition to having lost some of my energy and positivity over these last two or three weeks.

 

Hopefully I’ll be able to get back into my routine with a bit more ease and re-establish my progress.  Luckily one of my new roommates is just as motivated as I am to get healthy over the winter.  He even got me to sign up for an intramural softball league that starts in the spring.  Just another motivator to get me going; seeing as the holidays are upon us and the caloric jihad against my dietary restrictions is in full effect.

 

Hope you are having a great weekend and looking forward to the Holidays!