Tag: travel

A 2014 Year in Review

Matt Inman (The Oatmeal) holding my handcuffs for a pic at Denver Comic-Con, June 2014

Wow. I have not been here in a gazillion years. I wasn’t even sure I’d remember how to log in, but fortunately my browser remembered my password, even though I didn’t.

So, no posts for the entirety of 2014. How pathetic. Here’s a quick rundown of what I did in 2014:

Things kind of went to hell at work, through no fault of my boss or anyone in my department, but I definitely don’t harbor any fluffy feelings for the H.R. department. It led to a craptastic summer depression that segued into horrible weight gain, and I still haven’t bounced back from that. Yay? I have, however, revamped my professional website (pmcarlson.com). And possibly my resume.

The sis and brother-in-law finally bought a house, and I spent much time flying out there to hang out in it. It’s a large 100-year-old Victorian that’s currently getting pummeled with snow and ice, with a large backyard, a garage, and my own bedroom. It’s pretty sweet.

I didn’t go to any professional conferences in 2014, but I did fly out to Denver for their Comic-Con and for my friend Jacqui’s 40th birthday. The weekend had its ups and downs, but overall it was a good time–plus I got the Oatmeal to hold my handcuffs for a pic. 😀

My 8-ball team won first place in the Vegas tournament! We are officially the National 8-ball Women’s Team Champions….in the trophy division. That’s kind of like the kiddy-pool of divisions. However, we got awesome trophies that say FIRST PLACE, and really cool leather jackets with National Champions stitched on them, along with our names. It was pretty awesome.

Kayaking on some river in New Hampshire, Labor Day Weekend 2014

Let’s see, there was also kayaking in New Hampshire, going out onto the ice after a Kings/Bruins game, new glasses, a visit to the mantis shrimp in Monterey, a new GoPro (won it at the department holiday party), a visit to Nerd HQ, a new niece!, and a one-time foray into speed-dating.

And also, my stepbrother died, last March. Which sucked.

So, that was 2014. Some good, some bad, and totally over. Hopefully I can be better about posting in 2015.

Tags 2014, death, end of year wrap-up, family, pics, pool, travel, vegas, weight, work, year in review

Hobbies

Bear Crossing 16

Ok, so I’m not exactly nailing the whole “post every single day” goal, but I’m trying, and it’s been a good month of plenty of posts. Yesterday was a late day at work, so I just couldn’t face any more internet for the day.

And just to get this out of the way, despite my “don’t wanna” state of mind, I got myself out of bed and off to Weight Watchers. I lost .4 lb this week–not as awesome as last week’s 3.4, but a loss is a loss. This week I’ll try to eat more veggies and less bbq sauce with my chicken.

For the rest of the day, I plan to work on a painting. January is almost over, and ideally I’d like to do at least one painting per month, so I keep progressing instead of letting all my expensive supplies go to waste. However, as I’ve mentioned before, it’s been hard to sit down and put something on canvas, partly because I couldn’t decide on a subject, and partly because I’m afraid of not living up to my last two awesome paintings.

To get over that, I’ve decided that today’s painting will likely be my worst painting ever, and so be it, ’cause this is a hobby, not a job. Who cares if it sucks?

For today’s suckitude, I have selected this photo from a vacation I took in 2008, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Yes, this is a young bear crossing rt. 16 in North Conway, NH. Apparently he was headed towards the hospital.

I have done a preliminary sketch, and now I just have to slap some paint onto it.

Ok. Here I go. Time to paint.

Tags bear, nh, painting, pics, sketch, travel, ww

News Travel

May already?

So it turns out I’m not ready for a Kindle. I’ve been carrying around the Kindle from the office with a bunch of books loaded on it, and I NEVER TAKE IT OUT. And that’s with four plane trips in the past month. So, no Kindle for me yet.

ION, I’ve been a traveling FIEND. Houston (wedding!), Dallas (nephew is permanently my nephew!), Minneapolis (zombie bars and Polish karaoke piano bars!), I’ve been to them all in the past month, and I’ll be heading to Vegas before the month is out. I am SO OVER traveling, yo. I miss my couch. Where I happen to sitting at this very moment, with a cat attached to my side.

On the plus side, I’ve been making new friends, from lots of places–L.A., northern Cali, Texas, D.C. and even Sweden. Hopefully Facebook will help me maintain and possibly grow these new acquaintances into more permanent fixtures, ’cause they’re all pretty awesome.

My knitting has been mainly scarves lately–quick, easy, and lightweight, so I can carry them around with me. Maybe I’ll post more on them later.

Saw the supermoon last night, and it was very impressive. No pictures, though, since my moon pictures always come out fuzzy, so I didn’t even try this time.

Saw the Avengers yesterday–so!awesome! Awesome enough to merit a second theater viewing, possibly even in 3D. (I hate 3D–headache inducing and generally not worth the extra $$. Might make an exception in this case, though.)

Let’s see, what else? Work is work. I need to practice more at pool before the tournament. I really need to do some grocery shopping. Oh, and my weight is out of control. Must!Move!More!

Ok, the end.

Tags aam, dallas, houston, kindle, knitting, minneapolis, movies, travel, wedding

Gratuitous Picture Post News Travel

Updates from the past month

Post author By Polgara
Post date May 12, 2011
No Comments on Updates from the past month

So, I moved. My friends and I painted the new apartment, I went into a frenzy of packing, and after $500 and eight hours with two professional movers, my stuff was officially transferred from West Hollywood to West L.A.

Living room, painting and filled with stuff

It’s been a rush, to be sure. The new place is smaller and I’m trying to readjust my thinking as I try to purge the excess from the many boxes. I’ve always been very attached to “having stuff”, even if it’s just stuff I shove under a bed or into a closet. Having it has always been the key for me. Now, I’m working on asking myself, “So what if I *don’t* have it? What will change?” This week I gifted several of my prized collectible Barbies. I’m shipping yarn to a friend tomorrow. I’m starting to think it might even be possible for me to let go of the Buffy action figures. ?!

Tomorrow I’m going to Ikea to purchase two PAX wardrobe units for my bedroom, and I’m very excited. I’ve been living out of suitcases for two weeks now (my dresser did not survive the move, and the new place as ONE, TINY closet), and I’ve reached a point with the boxes where there just isn’t any place left to put things. And Saturday, WeHo is having a shredding/recycling event at City Hall, so I may even get to unload 15 years of paper in one fell swoop. Seriously, I’m getting all tingly.

ION, I went home to Massachusetts last month for my friend Rebecca’s wedding. It was a great week (Red Sox game! Karaoke! Bar hopping in Boston!) and a great wedding, and I even learned that Mr. Darcy actually had a first name. I did not know that. (It’s Fitzwilliam, btw. Or maybe FitzWilliam?)

That’s all the news that’s fit to print–for now, anyway. 🙂

Tags boston, clutter, moving, new apartment, pictures, purging, shredding, travel, wedding