The blog isn’t dead, but it may be moving.

Published September 21, 2018 by Malia

I realize that over the last couple years I’ve written less and less. By some miracle y’all have stuck around and read my long rambling musings. Thank you for that.

I’ve actually been writing more, but I’ve been experimenting with a new platform. One where I make a few pennies whenever people like the things I write. There’s a Katamari game coming out for the Switch and Fallout 76 in my near future, and I’d like to be able to buy them when they’re new. I’d also like to contribute in a small way to the general income of our home. I realize that’s more important than video games, but currently I’m more excited about the games than I am the water bill.

So, if you want to read my most current writing head over to Medium, and check out my latest.

Bonus, here’s some adorable, sleepy animals:

Year of the Blog

Published January 1, 2016 by Malia

2016 is here! My goal this year is to avoid Facebook as much as possible.. Instead of wasting time there, I’m going to be trying to blog as much as I possibly can.
To help ease ya’ll into the new year, here’s some pictures of my adorable kitty boy…

My cat is extremely jealous of Grumpy Cat, which has absolutely nothing to do with the content of this post.

Published November 21, 2014 by Malia

According to the countdown app on my phone, I’m only 3 days away from turning 30…and I’m only 113 days away from my wedding.

No, that’s not a typo.

The boy and I are gettin’ hitched!

Feel free to take a moment and join me in the “EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!” Squeal-A-Thon that I’ve been having for the last two weeks.

That’s a large part of why I’ve not written much lately. It wasn’t really public knowledge until last Sunday. Now, though, pretty much everyone I know knows, so I figured I was fine saying something here.

The other reason I haven’t written much is because I’ve not wanted to sound like a broken record. My life is pretty routine. I work hard at my awesome/crazy stressful job. Sleep. Go to the boy’s house to hang out every few days, and usually use that time to catch up on all the shows that air while I’m at work (Flash and Scorpion are excellent, by the way). The super cool thing about being engaged (y’know, apart from getting to marry the love of my life and start a whole new life adventure) is that I actually have new things to write about.
So stay tuned as I start a new decade of life. Wow, that sounds cheesy. And now I want pizza. Which isn’t a good thing if I really want to be able to wear the gorgeous dress in 113 days.

113 days. I’m getting married in 113 days. I cannot hardly wait, I’m so excited!!!!!!

I Think The Weather Needs Some Mood Stabilizers

Published January 21, 2014 by Malia

The weather over the last 24 hours has been truly bizarre. Last night, I was able to sleep with my windows open. Tonight, I’m wondering if I should use my Pac-Man blanket along with my TARDIS blanket. The day was fairly nice when I went to work, but in the middle of my shift it suddenly got very dark (like it does before a thunderstorm) and there was a large amount of snow getting blown around. When my shift ended there was no snow, but the temperature had dropped to near zero. By the end of the week it’s supposed to be back up in the forties.

And, I’ve now achieved the lowest point of blogging. I’ve actually started a post dedicated to the weather. Okay, maybe not the lowest point, but not one of my best. I guess I’m feeling a little frustrated tonight. No guessing about it, I am feeling frustrated.

I love my job, and I would be devastated without it. It’s one of the few jobs I’ve ever had that I’ve actually enjoyed. Physically, it’s not a difficult job. Mentally, though, it’s exhausting. I spend over 8 hours a day doing my best to be 100% accurate. I read and match names and dates and tests and tubes all day long. By the end of my shift my brain is usually working on the same level as those stupid “Doge” memes. (Very tired. Much thirsty. Such driving. If you don’t think that makes sense, you’re right.)

What’s frustrating me is the fact that by the time I hit the weekend, I’ve got about enough energy to sit in a quiet room and make a scarf while watching PBS. I’m young! I’m healthy! I hate that I seem to be turning into the little old spinster lady (complete with cat).

I don’t know that there’s really any point to this meandering post, and I’m not sure how it went from boring to depressing so quickly. I guess I just needed to get it out there in the universe.

Couldn’t stop it if I tried

Published January 2, 2014 by Malia

Well, for better or worse, 2014 is upon us. 2013 has come and gone and will never come this way again. Now is about when some people are starting to regret the kisses at midnight and the hastily made resolutions. Of course, I too am swept up in the enthusiasm of facing a new year. Maybe it was the whole waking up to the first snow of the new year. Everything looked clean and white and new and fresh and possible. So, here’s a few goals I’ve got for myself as I start down the road of 2014…

-Lose the weight. This one is starting to make me sound like a broken record. I know it needs to be lost, and I need to keep going and being serious about it for more than a month.

-Eat less fast food. Fast food has definitely become an escape method for me. Let’s see, the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, right? Okay, well I’ve admitted it, now to put into practice avoiding it.

-Read more and revamp book blog. The discovery of Skyrim and the availability of Facebook have definitely interfered with my reading habit. I’m a free-ish, single woman. I should be reading.

-Speaking of Facebook…Neil Gaiman beat me to the punch last night when he posted that he’s going to be on Facebook less, and going to be blogging more. I’ve been wasting far too much time on Facebook, and it’s really been bothering me over the last year. Up until this last month it hasn’t really bothered me enough to do something about it, but I’m now to the point that I’m not giving it up, but I’m going to try to be on it quite a bit less.

-Spend more time writing. First off, I want to update this blog on a more regular basis (and the book blog), but I also want to get more serious about writing in general. I’ve got several very good ideas, but I’ve been too scared to write them down, too scared of what others might think of me if they knew what I had written.

-Dealing with fear. I tend to let fear control my life, which is apparently a bad thing. Mostly, I fear what other people think of me and my decisions. Then when I know someone’s disappointed I spend way too much time beating myself up over it. I’m going to try very hard to stop living in fear and especially try to stop beating myself up constantly for every time I think I’ve screwed up somehow.

Happy 2014! Make it a good one!

The One With The Werewolf

Published December 4, 2013 by Malia

(What follows is a real conversation I let myself get sucked into today. The topic was all the books person A was assigned to read in high school and didn’t. I tried very hard to keep my mouth shut, but I only have so much restraint.)

Person A: Then there was that one about a werewolf.

Person B: Beowulf?

Person A: Yeah, that one.

Me: There are no werewolves in Beowulf. (I swear I was being quiet. I honestly thought no one would hear me.)

Person A: Yeah, well, there’s wolves in it.

Fortunately, I had a legitimate reason to leave at that moment, so I was saved from saying anything else I might regret. I know that not everyone is book obsessed like I am, and I know that I should have just kept my mouth shut. It would have been the polite thing to do. Then again, I suppose blogging about the encounter isn’t terribly polite either.

Oh well, at least I know what happens in Beowulf.

10 Years?

Published August 25, 2013 by Malia

This weekend was my 10 year high school class reunion. I didn’t go. Not for lack of wanting to visit with my classmates; I just had too much else going on. Plus, it’s a couple hour drive to my old high school. Didn’t really want to spend the money on gas and food and such. Still, I’ve been thinking quite a bit about the last ten years. Mostly, the last several years have been a true nightmare that I hope never to have to repeat. Plus, my life is absolutely nothing like what I expected it would be when I was 18 and super naive. Back then, I really believed that by now I would be a teacher, a wife, a mother, and a published author. Out of those things, I’m only close to being a published author. So, I’m not going to make any guesses about where I’ll be 10 years from now. I hope that I’ll still be at my job and still be happy there. I hope that my parent’s health holds and I’ll still have them.

It was mentioned to me today that I haven’t been blogging that much lately. That’s true. It’s not that I lack for things to talk about, it’s just that most of the things I have to talk about run along the theme of “Why do people struggle so much to correctly screw the top onto a pee cup.” I’ve found most people don’t handle that sort of conversation topic terribly well.

I am writing. As of tonight I’ve reached 30 full pages of single spaced writing on the draft of my novel. I’m quite pleased. I’m really struggling as I write, because the subject matter is incredibly dark and messed up. I’m finding that it really wears on me and tends to make my mood loads darker than it might be. However, I must finish this, mostly because I need to prove to myself that I can finish something of value.

I’m still collecting geeky t-shirts (a TARDIS blankie and Companion Cube lunch tote have also been collected). I’ve reached that point where I just don’t really give a flying flip about what anyone thinks about me and what I like. Is that a sign of maturity?

I’ve also set up what is possibly one of the most boring websites ever. Check it out at maliareads.com. It’s something I’ve been brooding on all summer, and I finally decided to just go for it. The worst that could happen is that it will be an epic failure.

That’s about all the news that is news as of right now. I start training for a new position at work tomorrow, so that’ll probably provide plenty for me to write about.

Moving

Published May 3, 2013 by Malia

No, I’m not moving. However, my Mugshot Monday posts are! After much careful consideration, I’ve decided to give my weight loss journey it’s own blog. This, however will remain my main blog (so keep coming here and reading this one). It just occurred to me that as much as I’m struggling to lose, I’m sure there are plenty of others out there in the same boat, so why not share the nitty gritty of my struggle? I’m currently setting up the new blog, and you should totally check it out when it goes live, later today! Here’s the address:

losingomaha.wordpress.com

Alright, I’m off to finish making it pretty 😉

Douche-nozzle is a word, right?

Published February 28, 2013 by Malia

Oh my, it’s been a bit of a time since I last updated. The main reason is that I’ve had very minimal internet access, and I was super sick. Combined, these things equaled no blogging. I think I’m back to regular updates now.

Apart from being ill, interesting things have happened since I last wrote. I went on a date! It’s true. I’m not making this up. Granted, it was mostly a blind date, but the main point is that I got asked out, and I actually went.

The date happened this past Sunday, and I had a great time. We met at the Durham Museum, and then went out for Mexican. Despite the fact that I was prepared for it to be super awkward (it’s a first date, could I expect different?), I felt like I had known this guy for a while. I even realized that I could easily like him as more than a friend. He seemed to have fun, and not to be totally uneasy in my presence, so I figured that all was well.

I can’t explain it, but come Monday morning, I started getting this real uneasy feeling. My spider-sense was tingling. Based on nothing, my brain came up with this thought, “He’s never going to want to see you again or have anything to do with you.” I tried to push this thought aside, but it kept bugging me. I got really down during work, but I just blamed it on my meds. What I take for my diabetes, makes emotions a little more severe. Happiness can turn into being ecstatic, and feeling a little down can turn into a black pit of despair.

Yesterday, Tuesday, morning, I awoke to an email from this guy. It was my first contact with him since Sunday evening when I texted him to thank him for taking me out. I won’t share the e-mail, but let me share the real “highlight” of it. He didn’t feel that “special spark” with me that he always promised himself he would feel with the person he is supposed to be with.

Really?

Special spark?

Hello! That’s tons of pressure to put on a first date. Especially one that was essentially blind. We’d only communicated a few weeks before that. So, all in all that was not even 10 emails, a few text messages, and a 2.5 hour date. What did he expect? That within minutes of meeting each other, we’d fall madly in love/bed with each other? This guy didn’t want to go on a date in real life. He wanted to go on a date in a movie! Also, it really irks me that he made this decision based on a date that took place the day after he went to Beerfest and got fairly inebriated. Yeah, in my experience, being hungover, even a little does not bode well for making solid choices.

Another thing, if you’re basing your choice for a life companion based on whether there’s a spark, that’s a really bad decision. When I was growing up we lived in a house with a fireplace. The thing I remember about sparks is that there are tons of them, they burn bright for a brief moment, and then are gone. Who wants that? Just because there’s an instant click, doesn’t mean that you should walk down the aisle together. Even the best romances from fiction and tv are the ones based in friendship. Elizabeth and Darcy hated each other to begin with, and yet they’re considered one of the most amazing love stories in literature.

All in all, the more I think about it, the more I realize what I disaster I got saved from. He spent tons of time talking about himself and his friends and his cats. It was all I could do to get a word in edgewise, and he certainly wasn’t interested in anything I had to say.

I guess the true positive is that I took a risk, something I’m not good at, and I gained some life experience.

Also, being the super-mature human being that I am, I may have spent a good portion of yesterday and today referring to this guy as a douche-nozzle. Not a very polite moniker, but much kinder than anything else I felt like referring to him as.

Whosday

Published January 1, 2013 by Malia

Alrighty, it’s 2013. Today is the first day of the rest of the year, or something like that… So, before I get to my Doctor Who weekly obsession (who are we kidding, it’s more like a daily obsession), it’s time to get the list of goals for the new year listed.

Malia’s 2013 Goals

1. Lose weight. (This is kind of a no brainer, and I’m sure I’m not alone in having this at the very top of my list.)

2. Exercise a minimum of 30 minutes 3 days a week.

3. Write a blog entry once a day.

4. Write non-blog related things.

5. Finish the blanket I promised mom I’d make her 3 years ago.

6. Read through the Bible in a year.

7. Take at least 1 photograph everyday.

8. Watch all the Doctor Who episodes, starting with the first ones from back in 1963.

Okay, so this leads into my weekly (at minimum) discussion of all things Who. It occurred to me two days ago that I can’t really call myself a true Whovian unless I go all the way back to the beginning. There are a couple hundred episodes and more than a few Doctors for me to catch up on. I actually started this monumental task on the 30th, but I figured it was better to start early than not at all. So far I’ve made it through the first three sets of episodes from season 1 (1963). Here’s my initial conclusions…

-The stories are really good. Even though there’s so much I dislike about these early episodes, I really like the plots, so it makes it worth it.

-So far, the companion Ian, does almost everything. The Doctor is pretty much this old guy-that I spend most of the episodes wondering if he’s a dementia patient-that does nothing but be a jerk and cause more problems than actually do any good. Susan, the Doctor’s granddaughter, is incredibly annoying. The first episode, Ian and Barabara (her teachers, who end up becoming the first human companions to the Doctor) both spend quite awhile discussing how smart Susan is. I’m not necessarily doubting her intelligence, but I’d like to be given some evidence of it.

-Speaking of the women, man have times changed since 1963. Basically, the sole role of the women thus far has been to scream at everything and do absolutely nothing to help themselves. Seriously. There’s one part where Susan gets tapped on the shoulder when she thinks she’s alone, and instead of investigating (like one of the modern female companions) she screams and basically has a meltdown. There’s a lot of screaming done by these two women. Also, it really bugs me that there’s this general attitude that if the young handsome men don’t do something, it can’t be trusted to be done right.

Also, I spent New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day getting mom and dad caught up on season 6 & 7 of the current Doctor. I’ve now seen the ending of The Angels Take Manhattan about 4 times, and I still bawl like a baby. I’m super excited to see the Christmas episode and the rest of season 7.

In closing, here’s today’s photos (remember, taking at least one photo every day):

So, I got this bee in my bonnet to try making these brownies I saw on Pinterest. I started with a box of brownie mix and several packages of peanut butter cups:

I then made the batter:

I then poured part of the batter into the bottom of the pan:

I then laid out the peanut butter cups:

Then I covered that with the remainder of the brownie batter and popped them in the oven. Then out came this:

Mom cut them:

And I ate one:

The brownies needed to have cooked longer. Honestly, thought they were done, but I basically ended up with brownie batter goo in the middle (the top and sides were mostly completely cooked). However, if you’re going to end up with brownie batter goo, it’s best to have Reese’s right in the middle of it. Peanut butter cups make any baking “disaster” much better.

Now, here’s some pictures of my cats. Howard wasn’t thrilled I was taking pictures:

Best picture I’ve ever gotten of Gracie (She always moves before the picture finishes taking, no matter how fast I’ve got the speed set):

Gracie also has a thing about boxes (mostly, she likes to eat them):

Then, there was sunset and dusk:

And now, it’s bedtime for Bonzo.

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