NerdBliss

Sunday Stealing: The Basically Obscure Meme-Part 2

21: Would you swear in front of your parents I didn’t for a long time, but I will now in moderation or when the swear word really is the only possible word for the situation.

22: Which continents have you been on? Only North America.

23: Do you get motion sickness? Any horror stories? When I was a kid, I got car sick easily especially on road trips where you get out of bed, hit McDonald’s or a greasy spoon for breakfast, then get out on the highway for hours on end. We finally figured out I did much better skipping breakfast, but I still would get sick from time to time.

24: Why did you name your blog whatever you named your blog? When I decided it was time for a new domain name to replace the one including my ex-husband’s last name, I tried to get the old title of my blog which was The Creative Nerd. Since that was already taken, I spent a few days thinking about possibilities until “Nerdbliss” popped into my head. I really love it because it reflects how I want to be. It’s a great reminder that being myself and being happy go hand in hand.

25: Would you wear a rainbow jacket? A neon yellow sweater? Checkered pants? Yes, I love colorful stuff. No, neon washes me out. Maybe, I don’t usually wear pants, so if I do they have to be *perfect* and flattering.

26: What was your favorite cartoon growing up? Post a picture if you can.

27: In a past life I must have been a… rebel. I can’t see myself fitting into old fashioned notions of womanhood very neatly.

28: If you had to look at one city skyline for the rest of your life, which would it be? Of “major” cities, Atlanta not because it’s the most beautiful skyline but because it is the city I can imagine myself living in someday. For beauty, nothing beats the Seattle skyline, in my opinion, but the cold and rain isn’t my bag. Runner up: Honolulu.

29: Longest plane ride you’ve ever been on? Seatac International to Honolulu and vise versa three years later.

30: The longest you’ve ever slept? Maybe 16 hours straight when I’ve been sick.

31: Would you buy a sweater covered in kitten pictures? Would you wear it if someone gave it you for free? Likely not unless it was super cold or something.

32: Do you pluck your eyebrows? Nope. I am blessed with nicely shaped eyebrows.

33: Favorite kind of bean? Kidney? Black? Pinto? Chickpea. Either as hummus or roasted with various spice blends.

34: How far can you throw a baseball? Not sure, really. I doubt I could make it across the plate in on a regular sized baseball field.

35: If you had to move to another country, where would you move? England, most likely, even if the weather wouldn’t be my favorite.

36: Have you ever eaten Ethiopian food? Vietnamese? Korean? Nepalese? How was it? Of those, I’ve only had Korean. It’s good stuff. My favorite “ethnic” cuisine is Indian with Middle Eastern coming in a close second, through Chinese and Italian are always good.

37: How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? If he’s smart, he’d subcontract that shit.

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My clothes sorted into wear, mend or alter, and too small.

I’m in a wardrobe rut.

Part of me feels like it shouldn’t matter that I wear the same things pretty much day in and day out. Clothes are functional, right? As long as I’m not naked or breaking dress codes at work, that part of me feels like anything else isn’t a worthy goal.

Not to get too much into my metaphorical baggage when this is about my literal baggage, but attitude is directly related to my upbringing. The message I received was anything beyond the barest of necessities wasn’t necessary. Wither it was celebrating holidays, hobbies and activities or buying clothes, it was defiantly not okay to want a things I didn’t absolutely have to have to get by. I’ve come a long way in allowing myself to have desires without guilt, but I do have to overcome the mindset I grew up with to live my actual values about spending, possessions, and – most importantly – fashion.

Every so often, I have to take look at what I’m wearing on an average day and what’s sitting in my closet. Some things get tossed and some things put back in rotation. I can figure out what I need to add in order to make other items wearable. The last time I did this was right before I move to South Carolina in August 2010, so it’s been a while. Sadly, I’m up around a size to size and a half, so I’ve removed separated those items out both to make it easier to find something to wear and to motivate me to stick with using the Wii Fit and eating salads. Nothing crazy, I just want to get back into my favorite skirt:

And the tights. I still need to go through my underthings, but I know my $5 colorful Target tights just barely fit. The other side of the equation is in having my fitting items and not fitting items all together, I end up not wearing what I could be wearing because it’s a hassle to rummage through my stash to find the stuff I can wear.

The brand new category with this sort is my to mend and to alter basket. I’m going to take inches off sleeves that are too long and fix what ought to be fixed. My first step in mending and fixing is getting some stains out. I’m not sure what I’m going to do creatively with anything that won’t easily go back to perfect. For now, I’m soaking a handful of shirts in some hot water and vinegar. I have the tools, I have the know how and I got Mend It Better: Creative Patching, Darning, and Stitching for Christmas. After hearing the author on a podcast and reading her blog, I was excited to be inspired. I have a good idea of what I want to do to a couple of things and, most importantly, intend to blog about it.

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Saturday 9: Bette Davis Eyes

1) Has anyone ever told you that you resemble a celebrity? No.

2) Is there an actress or actor whose movies you make it a point to see? Not anymore. There was a time I saw everything Chris O’Donnell was in, but that ended with Batman & Robin. Now I’m more likely to see everything by a writer/director/producer than an actor. Joss Whedon, I’m looking at you.

3) We’re stopping for refreshments before we go in to see the movie. What’s your refreshment stand order? Diet Coke, popcorn if I’ve got someone to share with and something chocolate like Raisinets, Snow-caps or plain M&M’s. If I’m completely honest, I’ll say sometimes a girl carries a soda and candy in her purse.

4) When did you last consume an alcoholic beverage? What was it? I think it was Wednesday night. Diet Dr. Pepper and Bacardi. Nothing wrong with the Costco sided bottle as long as you don’t drink it all at once, right?

5) Are you jumpy? Do you startle easily? Not when I’m doing well. If I’m depressed or anxious, overtired or otherwise off my game, I’m jumpy about everything.

6) Do you wear a watch? No need. I own a cell phone.

7) When was the last time you tried a new restaurant? It’s been a while. Might have been the Middle Eastern place we tried with Chris’ parents and brother a few months ago. We didn’t like it as much as we like Pita House.

8) What color is your wallet? Bright green.

9) How much does it have in coins right now? $2.86, although I’ve now removed 26 cents in pennies since they aren’t useful in vending machines.

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I downloaded Super Mario Brothers 3 for the Wii several weeks ago.

After finding the system allows you to exit the game and save your place, I have become rather obsessed with the idea of beating the game. I never did as a kid. I am bad a video games and when I was growing up we only ever had one television which was often occupied with my dad and brother playing games with higher success rates than I ever had.

I’d invested more time than I care to admit. Even worse, I’d gotten all the way to World 7 with the help of a handy video game walk through site. It’s been invaluable for showing the path through the more puzzle-based levels. It’s likely I would have walked away from the game over a level like the one pictured below had it not been for online resources.

Much to my horror, I managed to turn off the Wii console without exiting the game only to find the next day, I’d lost my progress. I considered giving up.

I should have given up. It’s a twenty year old video game, after all.

I am back to World 6 as of yesterday. I have been more careful about using my “stuff” collected from the various mushroom houses and bonus games. I would find more to say about it, but I have two more worlds to beat.

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Blogging 101: Apologizing for being an absentee blogger doesn’t make for a compelling post.

How about apologizing for lack of apologizing for being absent?

You see, I’m good at apologizing. It is one of the skills I’ve perfected over the years in various customer service positions.

I am sorry training for my latest position has interrupted the (ir)regular posting here on Nerdbliss. I am sorry, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to provide compensation to the readers in the form of a bulova watch. I might, however, consider writing and publishing a few things as we roll along.

Let’s start with a brief and possibly amusing explanation of what I’ve been up to lately.

See, I went from working til 3 am, got laid off, and two weeks later started training. That was five weeks ago now. Class at 9 am just about killed me for the first two weeks, but I did it in large part thanks to coffee. Four weeks of classroom is done and I’m as good with a 9 am start time as I get. This week and next week, I’m taking calls with lots of support. After that the training wheels come off with the silver lining of a later start time.

It is a call center position with a company you’ve heard of if you live on Earth. For a change, it’s not a cell phone company. Also a change, I am working in what my call center vets would consider an escalated department. It doesn’t really matter what the client is, the skill set is the same.

For everyone else, that means I mostly help people who are already upset. It’s a good thing for me I’ve heard skilled deescalation techniques over the years. It’s always a challenge not to show your frustration while absorbing theirs. It does feel awesome when a customer starts out upset and with no confidence in you only to sincerely thank you at the end of the call. Fact of the matter, even when I work technical and procedural miracles to fix a problem, the caller doesn’t know it. All the caller knows is what I tell them I did. If my words don’t convey the right confidence and competence, nothing I did for them matters.

If I listed manipulation as a skill on my resume, I don’t think it would get me anywhere. I am, however, not afraid to call my manipulation and verbal skills top notch. The better I settle into the pattern at work, the more words I have left at the end of the day for other things like writing or talking to loved ones.

After that apologizing stuff, the next step is providing “assurance” the problem necessitating apologizing will be fixed. So, if you the reader where a caller, I would say, “I’m sorry for the inconvenience. What I can do is begin posting more often as a get comfortable in my new job.”

Thank you for contacting Nerdbliss and have a great day.

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I swiped this somecard from Corrin

I started training at a new job on Monday. It’s a call center, not my first one by a long shot. After almost two years working retail, I’m ready to go back to taking calls. Part of me never quite got used to only working part time. Or at least the part about not having anywhere to go hang out with people five days a week.

As is my habit online, I don’t tend to disclose the details of my employment. I can say I’m excited at this opportunity. Unlike my previous call center jobs, this is a small company with plenty of room to grow. A friend who has been there six months loves the company culture.

What I can’t seem to decide for the life of me is wither I’m content in the long run to be an hourly wage cog or if I have the ambition and drive to pursue promotion. I find companies place more focus on people looking to climb the ladder, but a really good employee who wants to stay on the bottom rung, meets goals and has a positive outlook can be just as much an asset.

My thoughts on the matter flip-flop more than I care to admit. Both approaches have appeal. Advancement means greater job satisfaction, closer relationships with colleagues and influence over my work environment. Of course, money has appeal, but not enough for it’s own sake to decide the issue. Staying put and focusing on being the best possible agent, a valuable member of the team and a resource for my teammates, has it’s rewards. It’s less stressful, certainly, and I can leave work at work. Gainful employment for the purpose of making a living is perfectly honorable. I am not lacking in passions outside of my job. My personal life and hobbies overflow with goodness. My identity isn’t based on my career.

Of course, these concerns are merely theoretical seeing it’s my first week in a new job. I cannot help thinking on it as I picture my role as trainee morphing into a care agent and possibly what lays beyond.

Worse still, I have struggled with this dichotomy pretty much since the beginning of my professional life.

I do realize I’m not alone in these distinctly first world problems.

I’ve been blessed with a solid employment record and a personality interviewers like, so I’ve never spent more than a month looking for a job. And, realistically, even if I fell on hard times, I’ve got so many people – first and foremost Chris – who wouldn’t let me go without the basic necessities of life, I don’t worry about keeping body and soul together.

Plenty of humor lives in the idea that only those of us who are sufficiently well-off are able to worry about things like fulfilling potential and aspirations. I’m 98% sure Douglas Adams commented on the irony on a galactic scale, but the details escape me at the moment.

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I sit here at my desk, newly placed in the dining room since I moved our sewing table into the office, drinking coffee while I do some typing in an attempt to write something publishable.


When we got back to South Carolina after our Seattle trip, I was determined to cut out all caffeine. Not forever, but long enough to rest my dependance. What use, I feel, is caffeine if it doesn’t give you a buzz?


I grew up without caffeine in the house, started drinking Mt. Dew and Coke in my early teens, coffee once I graduated high school. I am still more sensitive to high volumes of coffee than most people I know.
I’ve gone off caffeine maybe three times since I was twenty. That first time, it was a pot, plus a fancy coffee, plus several cans of Coke every single day habit. I was jittery, sleepless and burned out. When I went cold turkey off it all, I couldn’t feel my head for three days, but then I was fine. A couple months later, I started back on moderate caffeine use.


I got back in the day to day habit of so much coffee, but I do tend to enjoy one or more caffeinated beverages daily or nearly daily. It’s not always for the caffeine. I love the comfort of tea and Diet Coke is my favorite refreshment. We don’t own a coffee maker, but I invested in a $40 electric kettle after the $12.99 died in six months of heavy use. Tea has so little caffeine, I tend not to count it. I have access to fancy coffee at work and our apartment complex office has a Keurig I avail myself of around once a week. This machine is the source of cup I’m currently enjoying.


Now, I’d love to report this cup was my first after we got back from Seattle nearly a month ago, but I must report my “break” from caffeine lasted only four days. I could barely function for the fatigue and whole-body-migraine. I felt a bit like the day before the worst day of the flu. I left work early one day after throwing up. Worse, I knew 20 ounces of Diet Coke would fix what ailed me.


With only two weeks until our Klingon wedding and plenty to do, plus normal things like work, food prep, dishes and laundry, I changed my game plan to include one caffeinated beverage per day. I’d been using much more in the months leading up to the trip. When I down my blood pressure medication with Diet Coke, I feel unhealthy and stupid.


I don’t foresee a time in the near future where I can detox without interfering with preforming my daily functions. Not going overboard is the best I can attempt in an effort to both be good to my body and keep it doing the things I need it to do. Like walking and thinking.


For now, I’m waiting for today’s coffee to hit my blood stream and switch to water for the afternoon.

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Today’s question: I saw this article the other day that asked, “Are you ashamed of skipping parts of books?” Which, naturally, made me want to ask all of YOU.

Do you skip ahead in a book? Do you feel badly about it when you do?

I read books word for word with a few exceptions. Reference books, including cookbooks, are a find what I need proposition though I will often at read the entire book once to know what information it contains. In short story collections, I often find myself skipping certain stories especially when rereading. More often than not, I’m read a collection a second or twentieth time for one story that’s been on my mind for some reason.

When it comes to books containing a narrative spanning the entire length, be it fiction or non-fiction, I do not skip around or skip over sections. It would break my concentration and take me out of the world the book creates in my brain.

I’m not entirely sure how to do so without missing things. It’s not like watching a DVD where you can see the action at super fast speed and would know when to slow down to regular speed again after whatever you were skipping.

What I feel no guilt about is quitting a book where I’d be tempted to skip parts in simply to “finish” or for curiosity’s sake. Okay, that is a slight lie. I don’t feel bad if it’s a random book with which I’m struggling. If it’s a classic or otherwise important book, I worry I’m the problem, rather than the unreadable book or acknowledging not every book is for every reader. It’s a trap I fall into from time to time because one of the reasons I read, at least that kind of book, is to reassure myself I’m as intellectual as I think I. With the total catalog of Project Gutenburg accessible in portable form, I’m going to have to work on that hang up. Too many books and too little time to read something sucky and the only criteria should be wither I think it sucks.

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A year ago today, I set foot in South Carolina for the first time and moved to South Carolina all at the same time. I’d signed a lease by mail and made plans to stay as much as a lifelong nomad such as myself ever makes such plans. A couple suitcases and two months living expenses were all I brought with me.

It was a leap of faith at best. At worst, an insane risk doomed to failure. I figured somewhere in the middle to be closest to the truth. Following my gut and my heart (after running ideas past my brain) is usually the way I make the best decisions. My prayer during the planning phase was simple, “If I’m not supposed to do this, throw up roadblocks. If I’m supposed to be there, clear the way.”

My reasons for coming aren’t the same reasons I’m happy to stay, but I’m where I meant to be. Again, saying a lot for someone who has lived as many places as I have. I could easily make this post about my relationship with Chris – we meet the Thursday after Dragon*Con (Labor Day weekend, for the non-geeks) – and other people with whom I cannot imagine my life without as they are central to why I am here. Location has never been as important to me as people. Everywhere I’ve ever lived has it’s good and bad points, but mostly you go about the business of life similarly regardless of where you live.

Still, my new hometown deserves some love. I live in Simpsonville, South Carolina. It’s a good sized berg, home to over 18,000 people. It’s right up against Greenville, the largest city in Upstate South Carolina. Along with Spartanburg, it makes for a pretty impressive metropolitan area. After my last two long term hometowns, Farmington, Missouri and Sheridan, NY, being extremely small and rural, it’s a treat to have a plethora of shopping, dinning and cultural events within twenty minutes of my doorstep.

I have found the area to be less of a culture shock than I anticipated. It is, after all, The South. I have found four years in the rural Midwest to have cushioned the effect. Plus, the area is full of people who came from all over seeking jobs, low taxes and a mild climate. I have learned to call a shopping cart a “buggy” or at least not giggle when other people do. I am fascinated by the wide range of accents I hear from people born and raised here. Those who appear to be without, those who hit certain words and show their roots, and a few people I can hardly understand. People are friendly and polite in a genuine way.

The climate was my biggest worry. I do poorly in the heat. But, you know what? I’m a geek. I stay inside as much as possible anyway. I’ve spent the summer in air conditioning and it’s all good. The pool at our apartment complex is open until 10 pm, so I get my swim in without getting overheated or sunburned. I have enough sense to stay hydrated and I’m perfectly fine. Now, if I was the outdoor type, the transition may have been harder. Winter was a breeze. We had snow on Christmas – just enough to be pretty – and a week of icy, snowy crud in January. If it got colder than 30 or so degrees, I didn’t notice.

So, South Carolina, on this date – our first anniversary – I’ve got to say, I’m liking you a whole lot. Even though I’m heading out the door momentarily for Atlanta, I’ll be home right after Dragon*Con.

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It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas around our house. Chris and I are busy with plans, shopping, and cooking. Friends drop by and discuss their own preparations, or enjoy a meal and laughter. Excitement and anticipation crackle in the air. We feel like kids again, reminiscing about holidays past. As time grows short, a certain amount of stress is inevitable, but the hustle and bustle only adds to the fun we anticipate.

What? It’s only August you say? It’s too early to be prepped and excited for Christmas?

Of course, silly, I don’t get so excited about Christmas. I do, however, know people that enjoy it like they do in the songs and Christmas movies and the feelings are much the same.

Dragon*Con is just over a week away.

It will be my first year at the largest geek culture convention in the world. It will be Chris’ fourth year and has lost no luster in his eyes. With my limited con going experience, Trek Trax, Invadercon and ConCarolinas, I know more in every possible way. I expect it to be a cross between Geek Christmas and the feelings Harry Potter finding himself at Hogwarts where he belongs but still has a lot to figure out about how his world works.

I’ll admit to being disappointed in myself over not making more of an effort to put together costumes for myself. I’d put together a modest Arthur Dent costume for ConCarolinas. Arthur will spend at least one day wandering around downtown Atlanta seeking a good cup of tea, towel in hand, of course. But the plans in my head for future costumes are far more elaborate.

I did, however, assist in Chris’ Imperial Klingon rebuild and improvement project along with a detail or two on his TOS Klingon. We’re also in process on his Hargid costume which won’t be ready for D*C. I happen to have the mad hand-sewing skills and some experience with patterns to compliment Chris’ experience with unusual materials and mastery of the sewing machine. We’re gearing up to be an unbeatable costuming team.

It’s not all costumes. Transportation, hotel sharing arrangements, deciding what to pack and all the other normal things one does before vacations. It’s all new to me, to be honest, since I never vacationed in my former life. Chris is the one who books the hotel room and there will be seven of us sharing it. I’m glad I’m not the one in charge of logistics, only details making sure there’s Rolaids and shampoo and clean socks to pack. We have discovered our con-going friends think we over pack, but both believe what we bring comes in handy, plus the extra luggage involved in two CPAP machines is not insubstantial.

The other piece of the puzzle is food preparation. We’ve tried very, very hard to stick on a healthy, weight loss causing eating plan with mixed success, so being out of town for days is tricky. Add that to the expense of eating out and taking a cooler makes for wise con-going. Yesterday and today, I made big batches of lentil and pea soup. It worked well for ConCarolinas frozen in individual servings and used in place of ice to save cooler space. Odds are against us staying on plan the whole trip even with the allowance for our Friday or Saturday free eating day. With all the stuff to do, snacks brought by our roommates and the lure of free food and beverages in the hospitality suite, I’m sure well supplement what we bring with less than healthy options. Can’t feel too bad about it when you’re on vacation.

Much like Christmas, not everything will go according to plan. Some key item will be left at home, a bit of timing will go wrong, or some such glitch. But I’ll be with some of the geeks geeks I love best, including the geek I love best of all – Nimoy canceled, so in this case I mean Chris – so whatever our adventures and misadventures, a good time will be had by all.

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