Category Archives: made of win

life, made of win, travel

Autumn

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I don’t really understand what the rest of the U.S. means when they talk about “Autumn”. In Southern California, we call it “Fire Season”. It’s the time of year where fines are issued for people with land they haven’t cleared of brush. The weather warms up again after a brief cool down from the summer heat. And we all tie down anything light weight.

When I read about the reds and oranges of the fall colors, I think of flames devouring hundreds (or thousands) of acres and the (increasingly more frequent) local community. The crisp air comes from the excess of electricity in the air that puts everyone on edge. And the trees fall, along with their leaves, pieces of roof, and the occasional semi-truck from the strength of the Santa Ana winds.

So I decided, since my roommate lives where this Autumn thing everyone raves about takes place, to fix my lack of knowledge. I’m spending a week in Kentucky to experience the fall everyone outside of the American Southwest seems to know. I expect there will be many pictures. Many will probably end up on tumblr and flickr with links and further posts here.

Please fill me in on this phenomenon, if you know about it! I might need a few pointers.

made of win, writing

Cut off your nose to spite your face

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Dictionaries hold the answersI used the phrase “cut off your nose to spite your face” recently, and then wondered where it came from, because, really, it’s an odd phrase.

It means to injure yourself in order to harm an adversary (or variations close to that) and carries the idea that revenge or anger motivates the self-inflicted damage. And the phrase apparently comes from England in the 1500s. Where most of the really interesting and useful phrases do.

Which also means that I’ve never used this phrase correctly. I generally use it in the sense that a person is too stubborn to willingly do something, despite  surmounting evidence of said thing’s benefit. The word “spite” really should have clued me into the violent elements of the phrase, but there you have it.

So if you’ve ever wondered, like me, about the phrase, now you know. What other words or phrases make you curious? I think I’ll have to look into more because words are fantastically fun.

art, made of win, music

Kim Boekbinder’s Kickstarter Tour

I’ve written about Kim Boekbinder and her funky music before And it still makes me smile and dance when it comes on in my car.
So imagine my excitement when she posted that she’s going to tour! And she’s stopping by Los Angeles, which I hate driving to, but I really would love to see her live.

But that might not happen. Because she’s pre-selling her tour. Which means that she has to have the initial amount through Kickstarter for each stop before she’ll actually put in the effort to find a venue. And there’s only 5 days left before the LA tour won’t happen, with most of the amount remaining.

So if you’re in the LA area, and you’re like me and interested in new music and like being part of something new, go buy a ticket! They’re only $10! And she has pretty cool merch that you can pre-order as part of your support for her innovative tour!

community, life, made of win

Unexpected people

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Beggar's dog - Hoboken (LOC)
Library of Congress

I frequent a Starbucks down the street from my work, and so, when traffic traps me by work, I sometimes wait for it to calm down and become reasonable there. Because it’s relatively safe, and the baristas are nice.

But I also hang out there because once the day crowd of lawyers clear out, the most interesting people hang around. And since I don’t like talking to people I don’t know, I make up stories for them.

My favorite person to make up stories for is this older man. I usually pass him outside where he’s generally chatting with another guy over a cigarette. What’s remarkable about him is his appearance. Wiry, gray unruly hair stands out from under a well worn, dusty blue baseball cap. A matching beard of almost unreasonable length masks his chin. His t-shirt and jeans are clean and neat, but have obviously made the trek to Starbucks a time or two. And if you asked most people, I would be willing to bet that they would call him homeless. Because, outside the Starbucks, he matches almost every stereotype we have in the U.S. concerning the appearance of someone whose home lacks 4 walls and a roof.

But then he shuffles in through the door and generally bypasses the free water to take his seat. It’s usually at one of the tables close to the counter. If not, the view is clear. Because his coffee awaits where he’s marked his spot keeping his Dell laptop company. He sits behind the screen and appears to type, though he could be researching because the internet is free.

He’ll stay at the Starbucks for great lengths of time, wandering outside to chat, returning to sit behind his computer. I have no idea what he does, but I imagine he writes his thoughts about being discriminated against for looking poor. Or researching the topic of conversation happening out front, heading back when he’s learned a fact that makes his argument perfect. Or maybe he’s writing a novel about the evening crowd at the Starbucks.

Whatever he does, I’m glad he does it at the Starbucks. He manages to fulfill one stereotype while breaking another. In doing so, he makes the wait for traffic bearable.

blogs, made of win

New Address!

Setting up the new netbookYou may notice that the site address has changed!

I’ve decided that I needed to make the move to create a real “brand” (even though I feel like that’s a little buzz word heavy). You’ll still be able to reach this site through the old address, but http://englishnerd.net will be much faster.

So spread the word, and be sure to keep coming back! See you around the site!

life, made of win

Driving in Southern California

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Driving during sunsetI drive forever to get to work. Ok, so that may be an exaggeration, but I definitely drive around 80 miles round-trip. Everyday. And because I work on location after school, I miss morning traffic completely and the worst of the afternoon rush. But still, it’s about 2 hours each day, unless the traffic gods are particularly spiteful or gracious.

The traffic becomes more erratic during the summer. I blame the tourists, since my route overlaps the fastest way to travel the 6 hour(ish) drive from Las Vegas, NV to the Pacific Ocean.

While traffic does steal a part of my soul, and there are more beautiful places to drive, I find the time peaceful. I cannot control the number of cars on the road, or the driving style/ability of others behind the wheel, so I decided to respond with patience to the road conditions. (Usually, though I have been known to yell at other drivers in my car to release my displeasure with their actions.) And driving in the summer always reminds me of the road/camping trips my family took when I was growing up. And though I don’t get to end up someplace beautiful like the Grand Canyon, or Zion, or Yellowstone, or Yosemite, or Sequoia, or Jackson Hole, I vicariously live through my imaginings of the adventures my fellow travelers are experiencing.  And I play the pastime of all road trips – the license plate game. Continue reading Driving in Southern California →

life, made of win

Ampersand

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Ampersand TattooSo the other day I got my first tattoo. It’s small, simple, and exactly what I wanted.

It’s an ampersand.

And of course the first question is “What does it mean?”

I’m a bit of a smart-ass, so my answer is “And.”

Because that’s the beauty of the ampersand – it stands in for one of the best words in the English language.

Continue reading Ampersand →

made of win, review

Star Tours 2

Star Tours 2If you haven’t heard, one of the best rides in Disneyland has had some work done. Star Tours 2 re-opens today with all new tours and about the only use of 3D I can stand. It’s an excellent update to one of my favorite attractions in the park.

Several weeks ago, I got to experience the new flight through the universe of Star Wars on a cast preview day. I couldn’t post then, but since the ride officially opened today, here’s my review. The picture is of one of the posters from the entrance to the park because I couldn’t take pictures or video at the time either. Continue reading Star Tours 2 →

life, made of win

In which entering Chipotle sends me into a Monty Python sketch

Random Chipotle BagSo I stop into the Chipotle (because I hadn’t actually eaten a real meal for a bit due to lazy indecisiveness) closest to my house  that’s hidden behind the closed Borders bookstore. Normally, the sound echoes off the nearly empty walls (I think because one has to already know it exists to find it. The first two times I tried, I gave up). This night, however, everyone in the town must have been in the seating area, including the local firemen. I half-expected to wait in a fairly long line, but when I walked in, the counter was empty. Even the workers had abandoned their side.

Except for this one girl. She was average height, dark brown hair of some length, and spoke with a slight accent. Not Spanish sounding, perhaps somewhere from India/Pakistan (which is a wild guess, since I don’t know her and did not inquire). When I approached the glass partition, she faced the back so that I surprised her a bit when she noticed me. After her standard welcome, I begin my order.

“Hi. I’d like a steak burrito.”

“Quesadilla?” Continue reading In which entering Chipotle sends me into a Monty Python sketch →

made of win

FFORX: 5 scientists on a mission

I know, I know. An English major interested in engineering and numbers! What crazy parallel universe is this? But, despite the stereotype of English and Math mixing as efficiently, or effectively, as oil and water, I happen to thoroughly enjoy the sciences. So I’ve made sure to have friends who not only love math and science  but actually understand it, and have tremendous ambitions.

One of my friends did an internship with NASA last year, which opened the door for him to apply to do with research with them this summer on a micro-gravity flight. In complete aerospace engineering nerdiness, he gathered up a group from his class. The group did extensive research regarding potential experiments they could run under NASA’s strict requirements, and they wrote a research proposal while everyone else was attempting to work off their Christmas love-handles. They created FFORX and explained to anyone who gave them 2 seconds the details surrounding the potential contained within ferrofluid.

And their hard work paid off because this summer, they’re traveling to Houston. They’re going to run an experiment dealing with ferrofluids, energy production, and micro-gravity (their website has a detailed, slightly jargony, explanation). What I understand is they’re taking a fluid made of tiny pieces of iron and putting it into a pump to see if they can turn on a light. (complete disclosure: this is probably an over-simplification of their intricate experiment and should reflect my ability to pay attention – see opening statement). And they’re experimenting on NASA’s micro-gravity flight because, if their hypothesis that ferrofluid energy production is effective in a low-gravity environment, it can potentially be used to power rovers in space and on Mars.

FFORX’s genuine excitement, however, works to their advantage; it brings everyone they interact with on board, which has helped them get as far as they have. Houston is not close to Southern California, and their experiment isn’t cheap. And, by making the most of their enthusiasm, their connections through Fullerton College, and their conversation skills, the team has raised a decent chunk of the necessary funds.

You should check out their site, see more pictures of their experiment, and see how you can connect with them. They’re really fun and quite brilliant, and they deserve each chance they encounter.