Laughing, Gaming and Shooting

First off, a funny story from work. My boss answered the phone the other day and the customer said, "Do you guys have 'Halloweentown'?" so she looked it up and found it was checked out. When the customer found that out, she said "Well, do you have 'Return to Halloweentown'?" That was available and when my boss told her that she then asked "So is 'Return to Halloweentown' the first one or the second one?" Hmmmmm....

On Tuesday Aaron and I were off work and we have been talking about getting the new PlayStation 3 Move since we have a PS3, so we decided to just go downtown and get it since the rainy weather has set in here in Seattle, limiting our repertoire of affordable activities we can do together. So on a break from the weather we headed downtown to Game Stop to pick it up. As we finished at Game Stop Aaron looked at his phone and I remember him saying "It's 4:44." Just as we were leaving Pacific Place, we began to hear sirens and five police cars passed us with their lights on and soon an ambulance went by too. Within a few minutes two news helicopters were hovering over downtown. We were wondering what was going on and Aaron bet that it was an accident. From the number of police cars, I guessed a shooting. When we got home, we turned on the news and found out that I was right. A man had been shot point blank at 2nd and Pine, about five blocks from where we were, at 4:41, just minutes before we walked out of Game Stop. It was a little weird to be that close to something like that.

But on a lighter note, the PS3 Move is really fun. It comes with a bundle of sports games, including disc golf, archery and ping pong. We played it for a while on Tuesday night and again last night and I have to say, my arm is a bit sore. Unlike the Wii, where you can flick your wrist and it is just as affective as moving your whole arm, the Move tracks the motion of your whole body with a camera, so you really have to do the whole motion. I tried doing it sitting down and just about threw out my shoulder trying to get the necessary power behind it. It just doesn't work. The initial charge on the controller was a little annoying as it took over 3 hours and we were impatient to play. But definitely worth the 100 dollars it costs to get the bundle add-on to an existing PS3.

P.S. I'd also like to shout out to my international readers, a few of which I seem to have gained! Thanks for stopping by!

Fall...

First off, apoligies for the lack of posts recently. Fall is officially upon us here in the Pacific Northwest. It's rainy and wet out. I'm hoping for a cold/snowy winter. I love the snow and the ice but I hate the constant drizzle.

I think I've mentioned my 43 Things.com list, things that I want to do in life. Well I always try to reevaluate my goals every so often and decide which of them I can achieve within a few months, within a year, or within 5 years. Some of them will take some planning and/or saving, so without looking ahead and figuring out when I'm going to hit some of my goals, they will never come to be. I'm constantly asking myself, "How can I make my next goal come true."

Also, I don't like to do New Year's resolutions for a couple of reasons. First of all, it feels fake, because everyone is doing it, and secondly, the holidays are such a busy time, it's hard to find time to breathe, let alone set realistic and achievable goals for yourself.

So I tend to set goals on or around my birthday, as it is in the fall and the summer is over and it's time to buckle down and get some stuff done.

So I have two sets of goals. First are things to get done before the new year, things I think I can realistically achieve before the end of 2010. And second, things that I want to accomplish before I'm 23, or before next September.

So first off, things from my 43things list that I want to do before December 31st.

1. Take a yoga class

I've decided to put this off for now because Blockbuster has declared bankruptsy and I

don't want to spend money I don't have to until I'm sure that my store won't be closing.

But I would really like to do this before the end of the year.

2. Pay for the person behind me

I'm still working out the logistics of this one but I'm going to try to get this done before

the end of the year.

3. Send a telegram

My brother's birthday is at the end of October and I am going to try to send him one.

4. Send 20 letters to injured soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

I've already written 4 over the last year or so so 16 should be doable.

5. Go a week without the Internet

This one will be hard for me but I should be able to pull this off within three months.

6. This one is not on my 43things.com list, but I'd like to complete NaNoWriMo 2010 in November also (check out nanowrimo.com if you don't know what it is. More posts about NaNo will follow I'm sure)

So I think I should be able to get those done by the end of the year. They are doable as well as cheap in case I lose my job!

Now, before I turn 23 next year, I'd like to have done the following:

1. Visit New York. Since I actually have 3 things on my list that could all be accomplished by doing this one, I'm planning a trip to New York City for my birthday next year, which will also coincide with the 10th anniversary of 9-11 since one of the things is to be at Ground Zero for the anniversary. The other one is to see a Broadway play on Broadway.

2. Learn to sail. I'm thinking next summer?

3. Be part of a flash mob. Always wanted to do this, but having trouble finding a schedule or something? Anyone have ideas? If I knew more people in Seattle I'd orginize one myself. But I'm hoping that I can find one to participate in.

Well, that's it for me for now.