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It’s one of those days. I’m not sick, but I did not sleep well, so I’m partly in zombie mode. Funny thing about days like this is that they usually come when you need to focus on at least one important thing. Today: self-assessment for work.

It’s a necessary thing that one gets used to over time but is still no less harrowing.

Even after all these years of steady work, I still think that I have a bit of a blind spot when it comes to my performance.

On a brighter note, there’s more sunlight visible this morning. Perhaps my outdoor walks today will be a bit less chilly and breezy. I can always stand for less watery eye time during the day.

Hopefully, a combination of more sunlight and a few strategic naps are just what I need to make it through the day without crashing badly.

Image credit: Overwatch Wiki

On an entirely unrelated note, I’ve been missing Overwatch a bit more lately. Somehow, I put myself on an extended hiatus from playing it, but I think that with the Lunar New Year celebration kicking off in-game soon™, I’ll make a comeback.

I’ll still mainly play Genji, though. The world could always use more ninjas. 🙂

 

Featured photo by paul morris

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My favorite kind of weather is also the kind I’m most comfortable in. It’s the late Spring-type of weather. It’s a clear sky. It’s sunny outside and warm, but not too warm. It’s just warm enough for a t-shirt and shorts, but not so hot you just feel like staying in a pool all day.

It’s warm enough outside, but it still doesn’t drain you when being active. It’s also something pretty common here in Southern California. I think that’s partly why I’m writing about it today, a day where more rain is in the forecast. It’s been a wet weekend and Winter in general.

It’ll be a green Spring, and that’s a side-benefit to all the rain. That’s something to look forward to during all the low-energy days and when slogging through increased traffic jams.

Prompt: What is your favorite kind of weather? Why?

On a slightly less depressing note, it’s Monday again, which means it’s time, once again for:

Music Monday

This week’s choice is:

I just finished Titanfall 2‘s campaign last night. It’s quite good, although I can understand why some might not like the ending mission, it makes sense since I believe the story’s not over yet. There’s still some action remaining, and I’m sure Titanfall 3 will happen. Trust me, this isn’t the last we’ll see of BT and Cooper.

More music here: Music Mondays – 2NE1

Photo Credit: BobMical Flickr via Compfight cc

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The problem: my name, when ordering food or drink always gets mispronounced or misspelled. Or both.

Some of you know my struggle. Some of you just resign yourselves to live with it. Some of you have fun with it. It’s the latter group I envy and want to join.

I know. I know. It’s a silly thing to obsess over.

That’s me, though, with the name Ryan, and I suffer along with the Bryans and Brians of the world in that it’s sometimes also misheard when I say it and when I hear their names shouted out instead of my own.

So, one solution my friends (and one close to me in particular) have resorted to is to use a different name for themselves when ordering. One that is different than their real name names. A name that will not be misspelled or mispronounced. Their “coffee” (or tea, or a smoothy, etc.) name/

This name thing is harder than one might think.

So far, I’ve not had much luck, and the most recent attempt, “Joe,” resulted in Joey on the cup, cheerfully written. If it gets to be too frustrating, then that’s why you see this post because I need your help.

What names have you had successfully being pronounced and written?

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It’s been another relatively quiet week. At work, I am working with January data after finishing December.

I can’t say that I was too busy to post over the weekend, although I did have a rather late night Saturday. That pushed the weekly Coffee Share post to Monday. I used to have lazy weekends. This is a good thing to miss.

Monday was also the observance of Martin Luther King Jr., which I also observed. Today’s the inauguration of a person who could start dismantling some of the progress made since even before Dr. King’s time. That makes the timing very relevant.

On Tuesday, I observed my talent for relying on calendaring to keep my brain free to accept lots of invites, worry-free.

My annual intention to get in better shape appeared on Wednesday. I want it to become a habit this year. I’m not getting any younger, after all.

After work, yesterday, I took in some excellent jazz performance with my girlfriend. It was a highlight of this week, with the drummer being the MVP for sure. We’re both looking forward to taking in more cultural events like this.

Today’s dusk, by me

 

That brings this ride to a close for now. America has a new Commander-in-Chief (and more protests to that fact.) The weather is very rainy here, and I’m going to a 35th-anniversary screening of the classic film, TRON, tonight.

Tomorrow, I am taking in a play and spending time with good friends again in the evening. It’ll be another fun weekend.

 

Featured Photo by Emilia Syldatk

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It looks like there’s rain in the forecast for the next 5 days! It’s time, once again, to watch out for the drivers that have trouble with wet roads.

After work today, I’ll be catching some jazz with my girlfriend. The most recent 2 and a half months have been pretty much the most exciting and also scary ones of my life. I have the awesome luck to catch the fancy of such a strong-willed, yet fun-loving person. I’m very guarded with my feelings, but she has a way of making me open up a bit.

Sometimes, I get super excited about something I’m a fan of and she eats it up. Speedgaming, or speedrunning of games, is a recent example. That’s often when I see friends take on the dear-in-the-headlights look. I start to build up enthusiasm, and low interest makes me self-conscious fast.

She seems interested in learning about what I’m interested in. I want to get to know her better. That’s a challenge since I’m no expert in charm. Romance doesn’t come easy for me, only the observation of it, until now.

Alright, that’s enough mushy talk for a while. I needed to get a bit of it out of my system.

Photo Credit: Rowan Heuvel

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This may or may not have come about after a recent weigh-in at home, but I’ve rededicated myself to eating more carefully and have a goal weight for summer

The weight is less worrying than the general feeling of physical blah that’s bugging me. Just wanting to feel better is a reasonable intention. I already have made a habit of walking regularly on work days. I think that I’ll increase that daily goal soon.

To support that intention, I’ve reinstalled UnderArmor’s MyFitnessPal app to use its food-logging feature, which pushes data to and pulls from HealthKit on my phone, making it possible to have portable data. iOS users can get it here:

MyFitnessPal
I’m already using iHydrate to track and remind me about my hydration needs. That’s available here:

iHydrate
Well, there it is. I intend to shed weight. I shall add that the pace of this is slow and steady, so that it is not such a shock to the system. We’ll see how that goes.

honest Abe
Keep me honest. V.T. Polywoda via Compfight

All of this is in addition to the existing intentions for the year and I’m hoping that this helps me to be accountable for all of these goals.

Photo by Jennifer Birdie Shawker – Source

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I drink and I forget things. Like invitations.

That is totally my motto. That’s why I’m lucky that I’m good with technology that helps augment memory. If I make an appointment, I immediately put it in my calendar, a calendar available wherever I’ve got network access, which is always anywhere that matters.

Wacky things happen when I don’t, like double-(triple)booking and not making a move when a day shows no apparent events, only to later find out that a cool thing I wanted to go do happened that day I was navel-gazing.

Or, that awkward feeling of inviting somebody excitedly to an event you just found out about, only to get a gentle reminder you already are going to something at the same time period with that same person (oops!) I’m lucky that I have understanding friends.

Let this a fair warning to you, friends. If you invite me to something and I am excitedly accepting the invite, remind me to add it to my calendar as soon as possible. Otherwise, I’m in serious danger of forgetting, and I do not want to flake-out on something I actually want to be at. I don’t forget my debts, but I do forget my events, after all.

Want more? Here’s more takes on the word Invitation.

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A marathon is the very definition of a long race. The full length of 26 miles is a challenge for the majority of humans, and just finishing is  an achievement.

I think that’s why, especially today, the day we observe the life of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, that when we reflect on the long struggle behind us, and still to come, it’s important to remember that progress will come. It’s never as soon as most of us might like, and will almost always be a very uncomfortable situation for all involved, but that the key to making it through is stamina and sheer determination of will.

Quitters don’t win and winners don’t quit. I believe that’s how that saying goes.

via Daily Prompt: Marathon, for MicroBlogMondays #125
Photo by Martins Zemlickis

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If we were having coffee…

I’d tell you that the week’s been a long stretch of work, with the fun stuff packed into the weekend. I’d also let you know that the coming week looks like a bit more of the same, but the weekend is a bit longer this time.

Today, I am looking forward to spending another solid piece of time with my main squeeze. Celebrating the anniversary of a Doctor Who club we’re both members of, followed by as more traditional date is definitely something I’ve been looking forward to all week long.

We’ll be seeing Hidden Figures, a very very relevant film. I’m gearing good buzz about it, and I think I may have heard part of the story on a podcast not-so-long ago.

[later…]

The movie was very good. Historical films can sometimes be disappointing, but this one, about some very important ladies, who were vital in NASA’s first manned orbital mission, turned out pretty well. Spent Sunday celebrating a friend’s birthday at another friend’s home. Saw Pacific Rim for the first time and Die Hard (again-it was a Christmas-themed party.) A thoroughly enjoyable time was had by all and I had to say good-nite too soon to my favorite person. Until next time.

More: #WeekendCoffeeShare: In Which I Am a Wee Bit Tardy

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It’s Friday, which means it’s time for another week in review. It’s also the 13th of January, one of the Friday the 13ths. That means that some of my friends are getting a new tattoo today.

My weeks don’t usually begin on Saturdays, but sine this thing happens on Friday, I suppose I’ll include the previous Saturday. This previous weekend began on a scary note. Apparently, I was slightly dehydrated at the beginning of an adventure-filled date and almost passed out. It was not a good look for me, but my lady is a rock, and took care of me, for which I am eternally grateful.

After seeing Moana (excellent!), we wrapped up the night with a visit to the very enchanting Descanso Gardens. That’s definitely a location I’d like to explore some more.

Sunday was a needed day of rest.

Photo credit: Cel Lisboa

Caught a bad case of the Mondays (and a cold, apparently) but I carefully fought it off during the early part of the week. Staying hydrated helped out there a lot.

Monday was the weekly Saberguild practice, and due to a forecast of rain, we relocated for the evening to a gym that a member works at. It was nice to be indoors, in a warm place, for once, although I was more glad because it’s easier to fight a head cold in a warm place.

Awesome Games Done Quick also kicked off on Sunday, and I’m catching parts of it live during the week, when I can. I’d mentioned it on Monday since I wasn’t sure if any friends shared such quirky interests. Now, I know that at least one would like to watch some of the gaming action with me. Hopefully, that’ll happen soon after the on-demand videos become available. I held off on watching some speedruns since they tend to be good the first time.

Photo credit: Lewis Ngugi

Work was fairly quiet, but after, in the hours before bedtime, I managed to squeeze in daily commits to the FreeCodeCamp challenges I’ve been working through for #100DaysOfCode. As of today, Ive completed 8 out of 100 days. It still feels like the beginning, but it’s less of a chore. That feeling when the tests all pass is kind of addicting.

Well, that’s it for this week’s recap. How’s your week been? Looking forward to anything fun this weekend?