A Second Existential Crisis: The Scary Question About the Human Race

            Yeah!  A new blog post!  Wanna think about it?  Try my Psybient Chillscape playlist that is a couple of days and a few minutes long in total playtime!  Chillax a ton!  Expand your consciousness!  Huh?  Oh, no, wait, it's a blog post, not an acid trip.

            Just recently, I've had another bit of existential angst on the scale of the human species.  It's not that it's a bad thing, it's something that probably everyone should think deeply about, while they do repetitive boring tasks or are spending time by themselves doing nothing that will risk their lives (like operating machinery or driving or patrolling for trouble if you're one of the cops out there).  Say, perhaps 5 minutes at a time on your smoke breaks.  That should work….

Cue the Imperial March—HEAVY METAL STYLE!……

             Anyways, this has only popped up in my head during a shower a few weeks ago on Monday evening (on February 9th, 2015).  It was like my brain just decided to open up a corner of my mind I prefer not to frolic through, mostly because it's a bit too dark.  And from that corner in all of her Sith glory emerged Darth Eden, the dark side of my humanity that I insist on suppressing.  And it was not a good thing at all; in fact, this is proof that I should medicate more often, to prevent Darth Eden from ever even seeing the light of day, or night, or evening, or whatever time I arise from my comatose sleep; she can still exist, but she shouldn't ever take an active role in my life because I want to be a good person.  Anyways, with Darth selves come dark questions, and this moment was no exception: Darth Eden just emerged while I was shampooing my hair and, simultaneously, pondering the validity of the moral and ethical conflicts that arise from deciding who should die—the chimpanzee or the little person being attacked by said chimpanzee.  ("Schwaaaaaaaa?  Where did THIS come from?!"  Listen to Nerdist Podcast episode #130,"Penn and Teller."  The link for the impatient ones is also available.)  And without skipping a beat, while I decided to try and drop the mental dilemma, Darth Eden asked with evil eyes aglow, "Why should the human race as a whole exist the way it is now? With all its faults and issues and the conflicts that we currently have?"

            That frightened me so much that I just HAD to reach out to my friends and my tweeps.  And it also helped to remind me that they are simply awesome weirdos just like me who totally get me!  So, major POINTS(!) to them!

The Questions of a Young Padawan to Jedi Master Leonidas

            First, let's start with a response from my friend Jesse, who I absolutely SWEAR is the Jedi Master version of Leonidas!  He was wise, he totally understood where I was coming from, and he's a Spartan!  Really!  (Ever heard of the Spartan Race?  I think that once I become a ninja Jedi, I should run in it!  *adds to list of currently unlikely dreams*)  His responses were really insightful and what's also interesting is that he thought that my question was so good that he shared the conversation on Facebook:

A friend of mine, Eden Pyrithea, asked me a question that had come to her mind, and its a good one, and we had a conversation about it and i thought i should post it here because i do believe every word i said to her"Should we humans, as a whole, exist the way we are?"i thought about my answer for a while before responding, "No, we should exist and work daily to improve ourselves and the universe around us. Simple acts can lead to mighty changes. Go speak at a town meeting on views that you believe in, volunteer at a soup kitchen to help those less fortunate then you and make the world, and the universe a better place""Huh. What about the general current human state There are evil people who live inside of the lies they spread." was her next question"They only exist in power because we allow them to. So by beginning a small movement that can then become a large movement you can resist them, a perfect example would be Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his dream.""But they carry influence like we carry mass.""Only because we allow them to. I think a time will come, and sooner than some think, that we as a people will rise above things like hate and greed to become the utopia Gene Roddenberry believed we could"and yes i do believe we could be as great as The Great Bird of the Galaxy thought we could be, but its up to us to start finding small ways to help each other. Like my thoughts or not, but i will stand by them to the end.

            He's right, though it does seem a little frustrating.  There are so many good people in the world, but there are all these larger-than-myself issues such as war and ISIS and the anti-vaccine bullcrap (as well as the anti-autism fears people have related to it) and us having a really corrupt Congress (and possibly POTUS if the antichrist twins Koch brothers succeed in buying the election) that, despite each drop into the bucket of liquid influence causing a small ripple, I just want to kick the whole bucket over, spilling its contents, shaking up everything to the point where people can finally figure out what really works and helps everyone vs. what doesn't.  But maybe once I start attending town hall meetings and speaking out on issues that I'm passionate about, my drops of influence could become rocks that get bigger and bigger.  I should become more patient.  And I probably shouldn't be so impatient; as Mahatma Ghandi once said:

"Be the change you want to see in the world."

            Perhaps maybe the world could change quicker and for the better if we work together….

Into the Twitterverse: When You've Found "YOUR TWEEPLE"!

             Another good friend could be one you have met online through Twitter.  Fellow Nerd @LisaR_M (who is actually a hardcore Chris Hardwick fan, but not to the groupie level that @DiHard11 is at) was able to provide some insight of her own.  Here is her series of tweets that helped me onto the path of personal enlightenment:

@LadyEden1337 What are you thinking about that’s scary? Murdering somebody? Committing the unpardonable sin? Doing something perverted?
— Lisa Moore (@LisaR_M) February 10, 2015

@LadyEden1337 Ah, big picture existential angst. That’s a “Let go and let God” situation. Or insert whatever your higher power is.
— Lisa Moore (@LisaR_M) February 10, 2015

@LadyEden1337 All of life is a paradox. It’s always a take the good with the bad situation. There can never be perfect people.
— Lisa Moore (@LisaR_M) February 10, 2015

@LadyEden1337 And you have to watch your ego. It’s tempting to think you know what’s best for everyone but you’re not omniscient
— Lisa Moore (@LisaR_M) February 10, 2015

@LadyEden1337 The issue you're having with the bullshitters is a clashing of egos. Instead of judging them try to learn from them.
— Lisa Moore (@LisaR_M) February 10, 2015

@LadyEden1337 :) I’ve thought a lot about this stuff. It’s exhausting sometimes that's why I avoid politics & try to let it go.
— Lisa Moore (@LisaR_M) February 10, 2015

            I was able to take to heart the "ego check" one, because sometimes, when you're on the Autism Spectrum, you don't always think of the world through a perspective outside of your own.  This (in my case, especially) often leads to moments where you feel as though you have all the answers!  ALL OF THEM!  Including the Answer to Life , the Universe and Everything!  (That one is easy to obtain; just read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and ask, "What is 6 times 7?")

            It does get frustrating at times, and she's right: we shouldn't think that way.  Even if you're not on the Spectrum, if you're just a nerd, it's still the same principle.  Chris Hardwick has already pointed this out on page 105 in a subsection titled "The Third Reaction" in his book The Nerdist Way, saying, "Nerds know they're smarty-pantses—in fact, it's part of how they define themselves, so sometimes we come from a place of 'everyone is stupid but me.'  This is shitty and wrong.  It also leads to spontaneous emotional reactions to situations rather than calm, well-thought-out ones."  So, as a member of this community of differently-wired persons, we should work on understanding what makes sense to other people, instead of dismissing it as "utter crap".  In fact, that's what I'm adding to my XP goal chart: "Understanding and Communication," because I know that once I understand where my debate opponents (like the anti-vaccine….. *struggling* people) are coming from, I can communicate my way around their defenses to see if I can help them open up to (at the very LEAST) healthy discussions that are highly educational for both sides of an issue.  This is also made difficult because everyone understands something their own way and are often convinced that they know the "truth" behind certain topics; and everyone living their life as a story, and they are the hero of it, regardless of whether other people regard them as heroes or villains.

            (Small parenthetical paragraph note: Another great way to help people get a better understanding of Autistic Spectrum Disorders is to talk to us!!!!  So often are we excluded from the conversation that I'm sure there is misinformation out there, provided by people who are thought to be the voices of the "autistic people," when they're not really speaking for us, but rather for themselves.  Yes, this includes Autism Speaks; they don't really pay attention to what we're figuratively saying.  Just talk to us or ask us about ASDs and living independently!  We can answer questions!  Either tweet to me or to @chromesthesia; we can give you insight!)

            So, as I was saying, I was given pearls of wisdom that I'll be fashioning into Earrings of +20 Wisdom, thanks to my friends.  And it has led me to perhaps what the goal would be for the world.

My Hopes for the World in Commercials

            This discussion about humanity has led me to having hope for the future of the human race; it's not a very big anti-vampire spotlight of hope, because it's a lot of work to set forth a giant tidal wave of change.  But now that I typed that sentence, I am realizing that I shouldn't work on creating a tidal wave, but rather just create my own small waves that will erode at this rock of evil that I see before me.  And I can do it similarly to this commercialfrom Liberty Mutual:

One way to start, just hold the door open for the person entering or exiting the building you're entering or exiting from, or keeping to the sides of the grocery aisles, shopping cart and all.

            Maybe once that gets going, we can live life like these adorable animals in this Android commercial that has been making the rounds of the advertsphere:

In any case, I should enjoy what I can, taking the good stuff to heart and cherishing it emotionally while leading the bad stuff to my mental laboratory to analyze it, determine if it's an endeavour to take on with the experience I have or to pass on it, buying more time to learn about the issue that is staring at everyone in the face.

            (And can I point out that we have a time limit here?  I mean, come on!  Asteroid Apophisis coming!  TICK-TOCK TICK-TOCK!!!)

            In any case, I hope you agree with me on this and have decided to join me on this journey towards world improvement.  And to make the journey more enjoyable, why don't we ride a burrito boat?  JUST BECAUSE!  Heehee!  In the meantime, enjoy your mindful tacquito!

Hooked: When Addiction Enters Your Life

            This is a bit of a sensitive topic in a highly verbose blog post.  You don't have to read it if you feel uncomfortable about addiction, but you might want to as addiction has about as many flavors as fear does (just google "phobias").  I know that many people are going to say, "Bullshit!  You can only be addicted to illicit substances!" or something like that, but you have to understand that there is a thin line between dedication to what you enjoy and addiction that chains you to your vice.  For that I have the optional playlist of mine that I titled Addiction Blog Post Mix.

            For me, it's a touchy subject: Dad tends to say that I am "addicted" to the Internet.  And that really rubs me the wrong way, the same way that someone says, "I can't do that because I'm disabled," or "I'm Autistic," or "She's retarded—stay away from her!"  To touch a bit on this subject: GODDAMMIT!  You are a person, not a problem!  What do you like?  What do you want to do in life?  Do you want to travel?  Meet people?  Do you have dreams of doing something you've always wanted to do?  Well then, fuck the "being disabled," because you've allowed it to define who you are; you've allowed it to own you, instead of you owning it!  Much like Johnny Blaze in Ghost Rider: the curse owned him for a while, but once the Devil said, "You are no longer my pawn," or whatever, Johnny went, "Fuck you, I'm not your pawn!  I own this shit, it doesn't own me!"  Your disability is a part of you, but it shouldn't define you.  That's why I say that I have Asperger's and a hearing impairment and depression and ADD!  I'll never ever say, "I'm an Aspie girl who is deaf and depressed and ADD."  Because that's not who and what I am; I am the Jedi warrior I make myself to be.  I want to look in the mirror and see what I want to be, not the traits I know I have that people don't like.  Yes, I put "Aspie" in my Twitter profile, but only because I'd run out of room otherwise!  It's easy shorthand!

            Anyways, sorry for that sideways segway into my rant about disability-and-identity.  But it does irritate me how Dad says that I am "addicted" to the Internet, because I don't like the negative connotations; in fact, for a while I used to say, "I'm connected deeply to the Internet," because I was hankering for the "social interaction" from Second Life.  (Mom's way of describing it is better: I would "get lost" in the Internet.)  But then I read about addiction in Chris Hardwick's book, The Nerdist Way, that, for some reason, I can't stop referring to all the time!  (JUST GET THE DAMN BOOK ALREADY!)  *Ahem!*  In the chapter titled, "Addiction-ary," he describes how he experienced addiction to beer; for many of us, the scientific term is "alcoholism."  And it opened my eyes up to what addiction really is: it's not the item that's the problem, it's the problems that a person has that they are trying to hide from by using the item.  What that means is that you can become addicted to anything, if you have the genetic predisposition for it, according to some non-Gallifreyan doctors.  Have you ever seen "My Strange Addiction"?  There are people who are addicted to collecting things, people addicted to eating things that aren't good for them at all, and there are people addicted to certain sensations that would just make this blog sound super creepy and weird if I ever mention it.

            And yet, once you get thinking about it, how can a crackhead's addiction be the same as alcoholism and Internet addiction and also addiction to food or sex?  It's not really the item; it's the feelings that the object of eternal siren-like desire that it brings to these people.  They're hooked on the good feelings that eating a lot of food or having sex or drinking or doing drugs brings them.  The equation is the same for everyone:

Problem → Need to feel good → Use of desirable object → Feeling good

But here's a tricky twist: addiction is itself a problem, especially if it interferes with your everyday life; so, in a sense, it turns into a thick, gummy, nearly concrete, manipulative frosting layer on the cake of problems and lies (PORTAL!) that you're dealing with.  So, there comes a time when you have to just sledgehammer that shit open in a giant epiphany moment of "What the fuck am I doing to myself?!"  For those of you having substance or gambling abuse and are thinking that, I shall include a list of numbers at the bottom that you can call for help.

            Anyways, I have discussed this with one of my witchdoctors (head-shrink!  HA!  Get it?!  #badpsychiatrypuns) and he did share with me this penny for my thoughts: you can enjoy something a lot, like sex or the Internet and that wouldn't be addiction; but when you enjoy it so much that you start to ignore your daily responsibilities that are needed (like hygiene, eating, work, family, real life friends), that's when it becomes an addiction.  You know the people who many of us label as "homeless," and  seem to just always drink or do drugs or whatever?  They are homeless because they were too busy being drunk/high to shower, eat, interact with family, pay rent, or go to work, and they got kicked out and have no place to go or no back-up plan for getting evicted out of their dwelling.  They're just stuck on feeling better and crave it so much that they can't quite move on from getting that fix.

            For Big C, it was alcohol.  He got into the never-ending party scene, he felt like he was in control of his forever yammering mind, he felt good, he let it get in the way of his daily responsibilities, his credit was ruined, he wasn't in the best of shape (besides round); essentially, he was a living buffet for a horde of zombies.  (He calls this phase of life "Peter Hardwick," aka "Chad Softwick," aka "Chris Fatwick," aka the fat drunk brother he never really had but someone kept alluding to during the early days of the biographical Wikipedia article about him.)  But on October 8, 2003, he was watching The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, with Jenny NOT-AN-EXPERT-ON-AUTISTIC-SPECTRUM-DISORDERS McCarthy as the guest.  At one point, at the end of the interview, Stewart says, "Oh, by the way, Chris Hardwick works here now."  To which she responded with, "Really?  Cool!"  Stewart shot back with, "Yeah.  He gets our coffee." [audience laughter]  "Fu.  Cking.  BALLS!" Big C shares next in the text.  He was called out on one of his favorite shows for being a loser, "and the worst part was, he was right."  That sent him on a journey to sobriety and fitness, and 10+ years later, he's on top of the world as the sober attractive-yet-out-of-my-league-in-more-ways-than-one COO of Nerdist Industries, hosting a shit ton of shows like Talking Dead and @midnight, as well as the Nerdist Podcast!

            As for me, I will admit (wincingly) that I have an addictive personality thanks my half-Vulcan father's side.  And it is a little easy for me to get hooked on things that allows me to feel good (which I will not dive too far into because it's a little uncomfortable for me to talk about) but now I know better.  I've done a paper on drunk driving and I learned that alcohol can magnify the effects of antidepressants.  And with that in mind, along with my being prescribed with antidepressants and that looming genetic predisposition hanging over my head, I make sure to never really hit the point of "durrunk," (I never want to be Dalek-hugging drunk, but I'm such a lightweight that I'm sure that I'll pass out before then.) because I don't want to fuck myself over.  Which I'm actually making into a rule for myself right here and right now: never ever create a tolerance for alcohol that's above 24-oz of something.  I actually don't even drink

socially; I'm not anywhere close to being social drinker, as I am pretty much a lightweight in terms of alcohol tolerance and terms of how much out of shape I really am; so Musikfest is really only the time I would have 24-oz. of alcoholic something and just drunk dial my sister and go "I'm drinking lots of water," 3 times in the conversation (true story).

            But on the flip side, I was actually typing this post up at home instead of surfing the webs at the library on a Saturday because Monday-Friday this past week (the week of March 9th, 2014, when I posted my review of the premiere of Cosmos ASTO), I was there, getting some semblance of Internet access.  Every single day, during that time period.  And it got to the point of "I need to not go there!  I need to take a break!"  The reasoning behind it is that I felt that it started to really tug at whatever part of me that many Christians call my soul, the siren call of the Internet was really sounding itself until closing time passes.  So, I needed to #SEPARATE myself from the library on a day that it's actually open so that I don't wind up going over that edge of self-destructive library-internet addiction spiral of DOOOOOOM!!!!!

            It's an interesting idea to talk about and I really do think that everyone shouldn't have a vice.  I remember having on my old blog, a very explanatory blog post about the whole Straight Edge movement (It's a movement, Mom!  It's not a club confined to my college, but a movement that was all over the country!) being positive about "not drinking, not doing drugs, beware of the asshole hardliners!" and to be honest, I would never have been able to be truly straight edge.  Jonah Ray was, but I really wasn't because I got lost in the Internet that was Second Life, Twitter, Facebook, MMO games, etc.  And I can't just let myself get to that point again, because it created this black hole that swallowed the path I was on to "apparel design and merchandising" in my Family and Consumer Science major.  But perhaps I didn't want it; perhaps, super-subconsciously I wanted to do pure art, or something else that would satisfy what kind of future I would want, and I, instead, went, "I'll go into fashion!" to people to get them to stop saying, "You'll starve as an artist," and, "You'll never have a real future," to me, and then I set up some red-matter dynamite on that career path I was on, pushed down on the plunger of the detonator box and created this void that I could not cross that I'm sure four-dimensional me would be able to cross somehow in a way that I would not understand.

            Wow, that was a convoluted creative over-exaggeration of Freudian thinking of subconscious desires that I just described in half of a paragraph.  I think I'm turning into another version of the Bloggess.  OH CRAP!  JENNY!  HELP MEEEEEE!!!!!  I CAN'T HAVE TAXIDERMY IN MY APARTMENT!!!

            But yeah, if you need me to shout at you to give up your vice for fuck's sake, here: DRUGS/ALCOHOL/INTERNET/(INSERT VICE HERE!) IS NOT THE SOLUTION FOR YOUR PROBLEMS!  PLEASE GO GET HELP!  BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!!  YOU CAN DO BETTER BECAUSE YOU ARE WORTH MORE THAN (INSERT VICE HERE)!

Just Because the Phone's Right There: Some Helpful Non-Finger Digits

Here are some numbers you can call:

Alcohol Anonymous (AA): Okay, AA is good for people who need structure for getting back onto the "right" path, but it's not for everybody.  Big C admitted this in Nerdist Way and on one of his podcast episodes (the number of which I don't really don't remember) that it's just not the program he needed, he just did his own thing because AA never really resonated well with him.  He still got sober, stayed sober, and is doing well.

            Website: http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org

Narcotics Anonymous (NA): Spin-off of AA that helps deal with drugs and substance abuse.

            Website: http://www.na.org

IntheRooms.com: This is a social network for those in recovery.  It's a thing that Big C discovered that he hasn't used, but it does allow you to connect with similar folks at varying stages of recovery with at any level of privacy that you would prefer.

            Website URL: http://www.intherooms.com

For Gamblers

A Confession

            I have to say that I'm not an expert, much like Dr. Drew Pinsky and Dr. Phil McGraw are experts.  I'm just sharing my experience, adding in my thoughts and knowledge so that you may know of my views of the whole addiction landscape.  I still don't consider myself to be addicted to the Internet; but there is a danger for me to start drinking like it's going out of style.  For that, I must be careful.  So don't take my entire word for it as "expert advice," beyond "get help if you're suffering."  So don't be afraid to confide in people such as sisters and friends and therapists and faith leaders.  They can help you get started on the right path.  It takes a lot of support to get over addiction and to solve the core problem, so I ask of you all to also accept the support and help that works for you, or, if it's someone you know, just be there for them, without enabling by providing drug money, a place to stay, providing the drugs, etc.  They will thank you in the end.  Just don't give up because the journey to sobriety is a long, hard, rough hike through mostly charted territory that is easy to just give up on.

            Another confession: Most cigarettes are flavored with ambergris.  That's whale vomit.  Think about THAT the next time you light one up, readers!

            ENJOY YOUR SOBER TACQUITOS!  Unless it's tiramisu.  Or cheese fondue.  Or you're in Colorado.

An Update on Multiple Topics--Good Things Await Me!

            Today's theme song is Strobe (Extended) by Deadmau5.

            In case you've been missing me, I'M STILL HERE!  Don't worry, I just didn't have much in the way of topics to blog about, and I had a lot of real life to deal with.  Inspections, going on holiday over Thanksgiving week, being snarky and silly on Monday, managing a more normal schedule after being trained by the parents--I've been quite busy, as you can tell.

            I think this blog will be very verbose, so I'll do a summary of it here, in case you decided to be all "Too long; didn't read," to me:

Ø  I passed the annual inspections overall--AND YOU CAN TOO!

Ø  I had a ton of crazy fun (with a little drama) while on holiday in Pittsburgh and in Virginia (Richmond area, that's all you need to know).

Ø  I was snarky earlier this week; it's like Darth Hater was in charge of Karma that day, at least to me.  But that's the thought process I'm trying to delete from my brain banks.

Ø  I ENJOYED MY BURRITO ON WEDNESDAY! (12/4/2013)  AND MOM DANCED IN THE STREET!

Ø  I'm working on a life list; I ran out of ideas on my third page, so I'll consider any suggestions y'all might have.

         Okay on the summary?  Cool, stay tuned for previews of upcoming blog posts I plan on posting soon!  (Just to make you scroll through it all!  MWAHAHAHAHA!)  Want more info?  READ THE POST! >:F

Inspections: When You Wish You Had an Ood Servant

            If you've never lived on your own (or with a roommate) in an apartment (and I'm assuming most of you did rent an apartment), you must know this for when you do rent one:

Most landlords expect you to keep your apartment clean, bug- and mold- and damage-free, safe, functional, and able to meet their expectations.  They would even go so far to include it in your lease agreement and "house rules".  If you do not clean it when it comes time for them to do the annual inspections that almost all of the cities require, YOU CAN BE EVICTED!

            I have the clean-safe-healthy-functional clause in my lease, and in the past, I have failed the first round of inspections.  It's embarrassing for that to happen, and even landed me on the building's "suspect list."

            Not a good list to be on.  (Then again, being on any suspect list is a bad thing.)

            But I was able to address it this year, with the help of my loving, patient parents who tend to be overprotective of me even when I'm out of their house.  And it helped when we were on holiday, because I didn't wind up wrecking the place like I am wont to do (OCD and Asperger's issues; it's where change isn't a good thing, unless I change the apartment myself.  I know it's frustrating but now I'm more willing to accept the help.  Plus, total organization will take a while, and I can be the one who decides how to organize the place.)

            However, on Thursday, December 5th, 2013, just before 10am, the manager and someone who is probably from the Department or Bureau of Housing and Urban Development, showed up at my apartment.  I felt that I was as prepared as I could be, so I let them in (which is important!  Not letting them in means you have something to hide!).  I could see that Brad (the manager) was surprised and pleased (in his usual Brad way, with a straight face--I shit you not, he could pass as one of those guards outside of Buckingham Palace), and that I had a high chance of passing.  Albeit, he noted that I had to organize the closets and the entertainment center shelves, do laundry and clean the toilet's outside ceramic skin, but I still passed overall.  And of course, I called people and texted people saying, "OMG, I THINK I PASSED!  YAYS!  #SQUEE!"

            But to address the long-term issue of organization is quite difficult, which is why I was questing for a specific book while on holiday.  The Nerdist Way by Chris "BigC" Hardwick is perhaps the best chance for me to solve this problem, because even though I'm a nerd, this book can show me how to be organized and more together--by being a nerd and, even better, a Nerdist (a Nerd who uses their nerdy skills to create things and make positive contributions to the world).  I haven't had much luck in finding it in specific bookstores (The Books-a-Million and Barnes & Noble I went to didn't have it in stock--Thanks a lot, guys. -_-) and I'm like, "I FAILED!"  Which really sucks and makes you question whether the people running these stores have the common sense to keep this book in stock for anyone who heard about it and is willing to track it down (like me!).

            However, someone on Twitter has offered to send me an unsigned copy and I was unsure.  That's when I had two offers at once: one from Twitter from a kind stranger saying, "I have multiple unsigned copies," to which I'm like, "YOU COULD'VE HAD THEM SIGNED?!  *dies, but is willing to reanimate as a zombie solely for the purpose of obtaining Big C's signature*" and one from my very good friend who's currently (at the time of publishing this post) living in North Carolina.  He says, "Here, it's a Christmas present."  My response: "Great!  Thank you!  Now, what can I get you that can be equal or greater in value to your gift to me?  Comic books?  Artwork?  ThinkGeek stuff?  BUTTENS?"  Thanks, Jesse, and I hope to complete and send you my Christmas gift to you before you move to the cheesy State of Wisconsin. (#badpuns)

            Note: Mom, Dad, calm down; he's neutral-good!  He'll never stalk and rape and kill me.  Not everyone on the internet is a creeper.  So, BREATHE and have some chocolate or brownies!

Pittsburgh Business Family Road Trip: When Car Rides Make You Feel Like a Trapped Marshmallow

            I hope to be as brief as possible: The Thursday before we left (normal Thursday before Thanksgiving), we cleaned the shit out of the apartment (literally and figuratively) and I stayed over at my parents' place.  Friday, we left a little bit late, headed over to Pittsburgh.  Traffic was crazy bad, and I'm like, "DESIGN YER ROADS BETTERS, ENGINEERS!"  For lunch, I tried Wendy's Bacon Mushroom Melt; it needs more beef.  We got to the hotel (all suites in old apartment buildings), and we had to lug our suitcases up the stairs because of no elevator.  As soon as my sister was free from other obligations, we had barbeque, alcohol and fun!  Saturday was Doctor Who day, and we hit up the Creative Reuse store beforehand and went crazy; I recommend the place to everybody with a creative imagination and the crafting skills (and XP) to redo almost anything.  Watched Doctor Who about 2 or 3 times; it started snowing, and it got pretty bad so we ordered pizza delivery.  That was the only time I allowed an exception to my rule of not consuming Papa John's (for political reasons and personal preference; but I would've said "FUCK YEAH!" to Pizza Hut).

            We had pancakes and latkes at the Original Pancake House (which was delicious and beautiful but very crowded), dinner at Chili's, and a bet going on.  The bet was that the sibling who has the messier apartment (judged by the parents) has to wear a dress without pants; stockings and shorts, yes, but not pants.  Unfortunately, my sister called it off because it would've been too cold for a dress; secretly, I think it's because she knew she lost and didn't want to wear the dress.  That's my sis for ya: hipster-crafty-sly nutcase who loves me.

            On our way to Virginia, we stopped at a Roy Rogers (which is where I found out bitchmode was engaged), before continuing on.  One petrol refill and a pit stop (bathroom break) later, we were facing bad traffic; there was traffic from an accident, and the traffic caused another accident.  It was like, "WHAT THE FUCK?!"  I swore it almost resembled my standing in line in order to stand in line for standing in yet another line for Parafest 2013.  Visited my grandfather, who was doing pretty well.  I had a small Thanksgiving dinner with him, enjoyed chocolate cream pie, hot chocolate, some donuts, some spoilage, etc, before we headed home, with a side trip to an Easy Spirit store and Pepperidge Farm outlet store that sells overstock and dinner at Red Robin with endless root beer floats!

            My rating: 87% pleasant overall!

I Brought Out the Snark: My Annoyance Sounds Like Stand-Up Material

            Frustrations piled up on top of each other this past Monday, to the point where I decided to bring out the snark.  It was mostly silly snarky stuff that only made me lose 2 followers, who wound up being losers.  Which is a win for me: I HAVE GENUINE FOLLOWERS!  Some of which might be dead accounts.

            So, for your enjoyment, here's a couple of the tweets I posted:

Even though it was #misguidedfundraising, I HAD TO PAY OUT THE NOSE! Hope the library has enough hand sanitizer!
— Eden Pyrithea (@LadyEden1337) December 3, 2013

If you can't handle the snark, go ahead and stop following me. I mean it, stop following me, stalkers--i have radar, i can see you.
— Eden Pyrithea (@LadyEden1337) December 3, 2013

I ENJOYED MY BURRITO!  Because It Was An Excellent Day!

            Technically, it was a couple of Eden-tastic tacos, but Wednesday was truly an excellent day, with lunch at Moe's southwestern grille.  Oh, and Mom danced in the street.  It was an agreement between the two of us, but it was very satisfying; but she also said that once my apartment gets even better, she'll do a better dance in the street--QUEST ACCEPTED, MOTHER!

            For anyone not in the loop, "enjoying your burrito" is a Nerdist thing: it stemmed from the Rainn Wilson podcast episode and it talks about living in the moment.  I suggest you give it a listen, because it can really help you get a new spiritual perspective on life (Wilson really is very spiritual, which is probably why he does Soul Pancakes--A YouTube thing I don't pay attention to.  He's actually insightful and pretty cool, though!)

Life List: Because My Life Needs More to It Than Managing My Dwelling

            If you have been paying attention to my Twitter feed on Thursday (Dec. 5 2013), you'll notice that I've been trying to put together a life list.  It's kind of like a bucket list but a little bit different.  The best way to describe it is with Jenny "The Bloggess" Lawson's tweet.  Yes, she replied to me--#SQUEEEEEEEE!!!!  I did fansquirrel a little at that moment, so THANK YOU, JENNY!

@LadyEden1337 @EducatorDalek @CaliforniaDalek You submit your life list. If a company decides to sponsor it you have to write about it.
— TheBloggess (@TheBloggess) December 6, 2013

            So, for example, if I wanted to go to Japan on a trip and do various things, and someone decides to sponsor the trip (like a tourism board, por examplar), I can do it--but I'll have to write about it, like on the site that allows people to share their stories from the trip, and perhaps a blog post.  The Bloggess did one with Australia, and it sounded like fun, if frolicking in a continent-country that started out as a British penal colony and is now home to megaspiders (*shuddershudder*) is fun.  But the haunted places are interesting!  Not to mention I could also hang with my YouTube buddy The Fat Aussie Barstard. (NSFW NSFK)

            Yes, a 23 year old hanging with a cursing old man--that isn't creepy at all.  #sarcasm  (Stated for Mom and Dad if they're reading this.)

            So, with the idea of having new things to blog about (and to make my life and my blog more interesting), I figured I could draft up my own life list before submitting it.  I managed to make it to page 3 before running out of ideas…  Let me know what you think…

Ø  Ride horseback through Sleepy Hollow as the Headless Horseman of Washington Irving's tales on Halloween Night (big idea, possible; I've even ridden horses before…but not at full gallop! >_< but it would make an epic birthday present!)

Ø  Investigate a haunted location with my sister, her boyfriend (which is optional) and the Ghost Adventures Crew (I know of a few that are in my area.  It's just a question of them saying yes or no; and when I say, "them," I mean both the sibling party and the GAC.)

Ø  Do some modeling sort of photoshoots:

v At Columncile (or however it's spelled; The Bloggess' Red Dress thing?)

v At Greyfriars Cemetery in Edinburgh, Scotland

v In the Graveyard District of New Orleans, Louisiana (in character?)

v Steampunk/Industrial style (perhaps my own designs?) inside an old abandoned/not-in-use-since-100-years-ago warehouse or factory.

v Goth style inside of a Gothic nightclub or cathedral; one that SHOULD have a throne in it, and a fancy-looking goblet.  Details, details!

v Poe-inspired in the Parisian Catacombs

Ø  Visit France (Paris, Mont-St-Michel, Monaco, the Catacombs of Paris, etc.)

Ø  Own a truly haunted item (without the negative energies, preferably)

Ø  Throw, and DJ at, a legal and safe rave (with new Tripp pants that fit me)

Ø  Visit Chernobyl with my Russian Internet friend Yuri

Ø  Help Mom feed penguins!  (Because I love her!)

Ø  Dress Dad up as Spock and attend conventions with him. (For shits and giggles)

Ø  Attend a proper ball with Benedict Cumberbatch (from Sherlock; SQUEEGASMIC!)

Ø  Beat the Halo Tricks peeps (especially CMNeir and Tacoriffic) at Halo and League of Legends.  And traditional UNO, just because!

Ø  Attend the Olympics, PAX Prime, PAX East, E3, San Diego Comic Con, Parafest, and Scarefest (with VIP passes to the cons, preferably)

Ø  Visit Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, stay at a traditional inn, visit the hanging forests, get the samurai and geisha experiences, get a kimono, etc.  Smuggle their rice out of the country.)

Ø  Visit the Vatican with Mom; meet and receive a blessing from the Pope

Ø  Get locked inside with the Cardinals during Conclave (swingability questionable; if we could do it, then MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!)

Ø  Have my art hang in the Capitol and the White House (again, questionable)

Ø  Go inside the Fort Knox "gold safe" (would need to deal with getting POTUS's permission and stuff.)

Ø  Go inside Area 51 without getting shot and/or killed and/or arrested

Ø  Get an official family crest and tartan, perhaps even a tapestry

Ø  Get a full loom so I can start up weaving again (ain't cheap, y'all!)

            I think life lists should be longer than this, I really do.  Which is why I'm going to consider suggestions from you, my wonderful readers!  Just comment on the Google+ post's thread with the hashtag #LifeListSuggestions or, if you're on Twitter, just tweet @LadyEden1337 with the same hashtag, #LifeListSuggestions.  As for Facebook, you can leave a comment on the Facebook link post's comment section--but only if we're friended, and I reserve the right to ignore friend requests from people I think might be creepers.

            Don't worry, that's just the legitimate paranoia talking.  I also plan on doing a ton of blog posts soon, once I get them drafted (because it's faster than typing it straight into Blogger; it took an hour to do the Doctor Who review straight onto my parents' laptop):

Ø  A review of the all-suite hotel I stayed at while on holiday

Ø  Christmas shopping/crafting gift ideas

Ø  A Christmas music mixtape for those of us who are sick of the songs on the radio stations that only play Christmas music this time of the year

Ø  A review of The Nerdist Way by Chris Hardwick

Ø  Blog post drafts that I never got to publishing yet (maybe)

Ø  The usual other reviews, rants and updates

Which brings us to the point where I leave you wishing for more of my excellent words!  Don't worry, I'll still be on the Interwebz, tweeting and watching videos and perusing the megabytes of delicious nerdtastic awesomeness that make up the ThinkGeek and EntertainmentEarth websites.  If not, I'll be reading that book and figuring out my life with Hardwick's help, along with Jesse and my sister and her boyfriend if I get confused by the roleplaying character creation stuff.  (You don't mind, do you?  Providing you're not busy or sick or asleep?  Please? ♥ )

            Anyways, I shall leave you to enjoy this Lolcat picture, and until the next post gets published, ENJOY YOUR BURRITO!  Or taco or nachos or pizza or cake or pie!  Or whatever else it is that you love to consume by inserting it into your mouth-hole, masticating and digesting it!

            P.S. I'm also working on getting back to taking my medications.  I've noticed that I'm happier and less angry and I curse less in my blogs while I'm medicated.  Anti-antidepressant peoples, here's the reason why I should take them--If I do not take them, I'll be like this kitteh here:

I rest my case.