MadMup.com

Even though Sixth Grade wasn’t all that exciting, I’m really not avoiding it on purpose. I have every intention of following this series through to 12th Grade.

I have been sick this week with some sort of runny nose/coughing/sneezing/aching thing, and I never know if that’s a cold or a flu or what. I didn’t cough nearly so much today, but had a sore throat. Staying home from work for a day and a half helped, I think, as I slept a lot. NyQuil, as nasty as it is, does the trick at night, too. About 45 minutes after I take it, I start to have pauses in my speech pattern – “Yes, I believe I will have . . . . . . . . cereal.” From inside it’s like my brain needs to play catch-up. From outside, it probably just looks like I’m weird or intoxicated or something.

This past weekend, Kat and I took a desk up to Kat’s sister Mary in Michigan. Even though I’m tired of driving a minivan, it still comes in handy once in a while. It’s like having a truck, but not quite as useful. I just know that the back seats haven’t been in it for a long time.

When we got to Lansing, Michigan late Friday night, we met Mary’s new friend Sarah. Sarah is Mary’s first “townie” friend, meaning “someone who isn’t in Lansing to attend Michigan State University.” Right off the bat we were given the task of trying to guess what Sarah’s two unusual jobs were. After a couple of hints, we sort-of got the first one: a fancy cake maker. You’ve seen those shows on The Food Network with the statues made out of chocolate and stuff? She does that. Not only that, but she brought fancy cupcakes and chocolates with her and I’m here to tell you: not only were they neat to look at, they were good. Dang good.

Her other job we were never going to guess. For several months a year she works on a “tallship.” From what I can tell, those are the ones with all the riggings and crow’s nests and whatnot. She goes off sailing for a couple of months at a time and loves it. I didn’t even know people did this!

On Sunday afternoon there was a “Chocolate Festival” (I forget the actual name) at MSU, and the bakery Sarah works at (A Piece O’ Cake) had a booth and also a fancy cake entered in the “Cakes and Tortes” competition. The theme was “Rain Forest,” and this is the cake Sarah made:

And here’s a closer look at the tree frog:

And it’s all edible! Pretty sweet, huh? Er – no pun intended. Sadly, the judges were wacky on some kind of junk and awarded it 2nd Place, even though it was obviously the coolest cake there. Stupid judges.

The entrance fee for the festival was $30, but Sarah totally hooked us up with free tickets. Either she was really trying to impress us, or she’s just cool. I’m inclined to think she’s just cool like that. Congratulations, Mary, on finding a cool new friend!

While in Michigan, we also saw a 3D IMAX movie – “Wild Safari 3D” or something. It was pretty cool. 3D movies have gotten so much better over the years. Seeing lions, rhinos, giraffes, leopards, and elephants on a huge screen in 3d was pretty cool.

Couple of new things over on the right side of the page these days. First, a Movie Counter. Last year’s Hot Chocolate Counter was fun for me, so I thought I’d follow it up with how many movies I’ve seen this year. I included last year’s count as a measuring stick of sorts, and I try to update this year’s count every few days or so. Second, a link to my improv group’s web page. The new version just went live earlier this week, so I thought I’d link to it. Oh, and I designed it (with help from Kat), so that’s another reason, I guess. I’ve really fallen out of the webdesign loop. I used to do it as a semi-fulltime job, but it’s passed me by. Meh. This one was inspired by Creamsicles, in case you were wondering.

My second character in World of Warcraft, a human rogue, is now Level 42. I throw that out there for anyone who wants to know. My first character, the night elf hunter, is still a Level 60.

I’ve started replacing the lightbulbs in my apartment with those fancy twisted-up flourescent jobbies. They’re expensive, but they’re supposed to last for five or more years. I bought a new bed and a sheet set a little while ago, and the sheet set didn’t look like the color it was. Someone (Matt) suggested that the current lightbulbs were “yellow” and that was causing the problem. Since I was going to replace the bulbs, I thought I’d give these fancy things a try. Sure enough, my bedset looks like the right color (olive green) now, so I guess that’s cool.

Dala’s been sick lately and, while I feel bad for her, I don’t like cleaning up after sick kitties. Blech.

My dad turns 60 this month. It makes sense, I guess. I mean, that’s what people do, it just seems like an odd number. He doesn’t seem like a 60-year-old to me. Maybe it’s because I don’t seem like an almost-34-year-old to me. His birthday’s March 19, so mark that on your calendars. I’ll be in Wisconsin that weekend.

I think that’s about all the odds and ends for now. Thanks for stopping by today. Be well!

(Note: I’ve taken to saying “Be well” to people lately. Oddly enough, it comes from the Sylvester Stallone movie Demolition Man, and it’s meant to be a silly thing that the peaceful future people say. I like it, though. It’s like “take care!” but it’s more of a “I want things to be good for you without you having to actually pursue it” type thing. Anyway, if I say it to you (and I just did), please understand that I mean it for real and not ironically.)