Boy, do I feel like a slacker! I haven't really had too much in the way of wedding news or planning stuff to talk about, so I haven't posted in awhile. Can't let this thing get stagnant though, so I'm going to blab about something nerdy in lieu of anything wedding-related to blab about.
Blog Shout-Out
First off, I'd like to do a shout-out to my cousin, Mark, whose blog I so far love: Plausible Deniability. I'm not into running, but I do walk on a treadmill and am trying to get in shape. He also talks about video games, and I am jealous of his pixel art game covers and what I believe is a Tetris-shaped shelf or something. He's done a couple things with his blog that I've been thinking about doing with mine. One is dividing his blog into topic sections. Even before I saw his (and I love how each has a different pixel art drawing to represent each one), I was thinking of having a section for movie reviews, one for gaming stuff, and if I get back into crafts, one for that (and, of course, the wedding stuff once it starts going). I still have to hash out what they'll be, but it might be the best way to keep this alive until the wedding planning really gets going.
The second thing I'll be trying to do, and this is only related to Mark's blog because he too mentioned it, is get more pictures in. It's one thing I've noticed on a lot of blogs, and it's one of the things the "experts" say will improve readership. Unfortunately, I have some of the same issues with this as Mark: I don't take good pictures, and I don't look good in pictures. So, we'll see what I can hash out.
Games I'm a'Playin'
In other nerdiness, I've popped out some old games to play. Picked up Bubble Bobble Revolution on the DS as well as Dragon Quest IX. I'm waiting for Kenny to get his own copy of BB (only $5 used at Gamestop!) before I really start playing that one. Revolution comes with both the Classic game and a "New Age" version. Even $5 isn't worth it for the New Age, but that's a bargain for the Classic. (Oh, and the box art totally blows) I barely got to the second level before I had to revert back to the Classic game. Bub and Bob jump too high, and the levels are so big you can't see them in the whole screen. So, no fun-shaped levels, and it seems a bit hectic trying to find all the baddies when you can't even tell where the level goes. About the neatest potential thing for the New Age is that if you can get 4 people to buy it you can all play together, but what are the chances of that?
Dragon Quest IX has a lot of potential. I've always wanted to try out a Dragon Quest game, but never did. This one's got nice animation (art by the guy who drew the Dragon Ball anime series), and in addition to being an old school rpg, it's also co-op capable! YEAH! Unfortunately, you have to get to a certain point in the game before it lets you play with someone else, so Kenny and I haven't had a chance to play together yet. I made it far enough a few days ago, but Kenny's not as big into the "play for hours on end" gaming these days, so it's taken him till last night to get to the right point. Now we just need to have time to try it out.
We also picked up Suikoden IV for the PS2. It's the first Suikoden that I didn't buy back in the day. And having played it for a bit, I can kind've see why. It feels an awful lot like someone tried to make a 3D Suikoden game using RPG Maker 3 (which I also own...my tastes are...eclectic). I'm sure most of you have never heard of RPG Maker. For good reason: it sucks. But it does exactly what it sounds like: it lets you make an RPG of your own. Unfortunately, it's impossible to make an RPG that anyone would want to play (and the PS2 Keyboard and Mouse addons don't work...which makes no sense). Anyway, Suikoden IV might not be THAT bad, but just as the story started picking up last night I went to bed. This morning the controller stopped working, so I may never know if it gets better.
One more! Kenny also picked up Hotel Dusk: Room 215, which is an "interactive mystery novel". I'm not very far in, but it's already INCREDIBLY BORING. And that's coming from me! Story is one of my top concerns in any game, in RPG's I love talking to EVERY person I can whenever I run into a new town, and I read through all of the tutorials, even if it's probably mundane stuff that I already know (unlike a certain someone I know *cough* Kenny *cough* who skipped over all of the tutorial stuff in Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, and so didn't realize that he could just jump to towns through his map rather than physically running everywhere). So far, I'm at a hotel talking to people (I can't even remember WHY I'm at this hotel, and I've only barely started the game!). My character seems to get irritated over every little thing that people say, which turns every passing chit-chat into an ordeal. Other than finding my room so I can crash for the night, I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing. It's just SO MUCH talking. And the talking gets you NOWHERE. I'll give it more time...but so far I have no interest in continuing.
Movies I'm a'Watchin'
This weekend is Transformers 3. I don't care what anyone says, I think it looks good, and I liked the first one. The second one was kinda crappy, but half of that was the writer's strike which froze the script. So those two racist caricature robots couldn't be erased even if the director knew they should be (though, how any writer today could think those two were a GOOD idea in the first place is beyond me). The new one looks like they've finally started panning out far enough so that you can actually tell what is going on in the action scenes, which is probably one of my biggest complaints with the other two. Anyway, we might see that as early as tonight, or as late as Sunday. Then, next week is my BIRTHDAY, and Horrible Bosses, which looks pretty funny.
'Cause it Amuses Me!
And, for the graphics portion of this blog, I leave you with this video I found through Stumble Upon. Here's the link to the original post over at Dorkly.com. Enjoy!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Nerds Get Married Too: My Nerdy Wedding Ideas Part 1.5
I don't have a lot to say today, but I thought I'd share the only thing really productive I've done since I started wedding planning. I contacted an artist on deviantart, Stevoluvmunchkin, about possibly making Bubble Bobble cake toppers!! I actually did this a week or so ago, but I just heard back from her today. It's still early of course, but she at least sounds excited to do it. Here's an image of the Bub she made for another customer. Just imagine that with a bow-tie and maybe a tophat (and maaaaybe glasses, haven't decided yet), next to the blue Bob with a veil/tiara and/or something bridal looking.
I'm also considering asking a second artist, Slycherrychunks, who did this version, but I can't tell what they're made out of. I'm not interested in edible cake toppers. The only thing I like about these better than the above is they're a bit rounder and closer to how I think Bub and Bob should be shaped. But, I still suspect these to be edible (not to mention TINY!). Anyway, I'm contacting both artists to see where my options lie. Fingers crossed these won't be too expensive!
I'm also considering asking a second artist, Slycherrychunks, who did this version, but I can't tell what they're made out of. I'm not interested in edible cake toppers. The only thing I like about these better than the above is they're a bit rounder and closer to how I think Bub and Bob should be shaped. But, I still suspect these to be edible (not to mention TINY!). Anyway, I'm contacting both artists to see where my options lie. Fingers crossed these won't be too expensive!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Nerds Get Married Too: My Nerdy Wedding Ideas Part 1
First off, a couple announcements of sorts: my sister-in-law Julie (you can find her blog on the right under JMZH) has agreed to be my Maid of Honor! Hooray! She has her work cut out for her as I'm not very good at this party planning stuff! Second, and this isn't so much an announcement as an update, had another discussion with the folks about the wedding. This one went better than the first one, but it's still shaky ground. Still no real discussion on budget. Oh well, getting closer!
Anyway, on to the real discussion for today: wedding theme! I have two main ideas for a "theme" for my wedding. The main point of these themes are to bring out as much of Kenny and me into the wedding as possible (but no costumes...this is still a wedding and we're not into cosplay). To that end, the first possible theme is Video Games. We play a LOT of games. We met in a game. And more than that, I'm HUGE into co-op games (for the laymen out there that means a two-player game where you play together rather than competing), and since whoever's playing with me (be it Kenny, my brother, my dad, or whoever) is usually better than me, I am ALWAYS the Player 2. I like that as the focus of this theme.
It starts with co-op games, though I would bridge off into classic gaming duos as well. I'm even looking into Bubble Bobble cake toppers (though they might fit with the next theme too) as this is one of my all time fav co-op games. I'm not 100% sure where the rest will fit in exactly, but I might do a different game for each table's centerpiece or something of that nature. I'm still researching ways to incorporate this stuff without it looking like a kid's birthday party. I'm also seriously considering having our wedding bands engraved on the inside to say Player 1 and Player 2.
The second theme idea is similar to the first in some ways. I've seen a lot about "nostalgia" themed weddings, but this is always used as some sort of code for "wedding set in the 30's-60s". How is that nostalgia? None of these people were alive in those eras. Nostalgia, for me, is the late 80's and early 90's: my childhood. And I'm not talking about turning our wedding into an episode of "I <3 the 80's" either. This isn't about popular culture in the 80's and 90's. This is about the things Kenny and I remember most from our childhood: toys, cartoons, movies, books, etc. (and even old video games) All hairdo's and clothes etc. would be contemporary. One of the things that inspires me in this theme is that Kenny is always saying that he wishes we'd known each other when we were kids. Well, here's our chance to throw that into our big day.
I've yet to get any feedback on either of these themes from others. Everyone nods their heads now, but eventually, when I'm actually trying to incorporate the themes, someone is likely to speak up. Anyway, leave a comment and let me know what you think! Prefer one over the other? Think there's a better idea? Hate them both? Have a suggestion on ways to incorporate the themes? Let me know!
Anyway, on to the real discussion for today: wedding theme! I have two main ideas for a "theme" for my wedding. The main point of these themes are to bring out as much of Kenny and me into the wedding as possible (but no costumes...this is still a wedding and we're not into cosplay). To that end, the first possible theme is Video Games. We play a LOT of games. We met in a game. And more than that, I'm HUGE into co-op games (for the laymen out there that means a two-player game where you play together rather than competing), and since whoever's playing with me (be it Kenny, my brother, my dad, or whoever) is usually better than me, I am ALWAYS the Player 2. I like that as the focus of this theme.
It starts with co-op games, though I would bridge off into classic gaming duos as well. I'm even looking into Bubble Bobble cake toppers (though they might fit with the next theme too) as this is one of my all time fav co-op games. I'm not 100% sure where the rest will fit in exactly, but I might do a different game for each table's centerpiece or something of that nature. I'm still researching ways to incorporate this stuff without it looking like a kid's birthday party. I'm also seriously considering having our wedding bands engraved on the inside to say Player 1 and Player 2.
The second theme idea is similar to the first in some ways. I've seen a lot about "nostalgia" themed weddings, but this is always used as some sort of code for "wedding set in the 30's-60s". How is that nostalgia? None of these people were alive in those eras. Nostalgia, for me, is the late 80's and early 90's: my childhood. And I'm not talking about turning our wedding into an episode of "I <3 the 80's" either. This isn't about popular culture in the 80's and 90's. This is about the things Kenny and I remember most from our childhood: toys, cartoons, movies, books, etc. (and even old video games) All hairdo's and clothes etc. would be contemporary. One of the things that inspires me in this theme is that Kenny is always saying that he wishes we'd known each other when we were kids. Well, here's our chance to throw that into our big day.
I've yet to get any feedback on either of these themes from others. Everyone nods their heads now, but eventually, when I'm actually trying to incorporate the themes, someone is likely to speak up. Anyway, leave a comment and let me know what you think! Prefer one over the other? Think there's a better idea? Hate them both? Have a suggestion on ways to incorporate the themes? Let me know!
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Nerds Get Married Too: Starting the Process
I know this may come a as a shock to some of you, but weddings are EXPENSIVE!! I know. I was shocked too! Unfortunately for me, I'm dirt poor. Even more unfortunately, so is my fiance, my parents, and my future parents-in-law (and no rich uncle's around to die and leave us lots of money either! So sad!!). Dirt -fricken- poor. And the economy being in the crapper hasn't helped any of us. So, that means we're holding off on the wedding for a few years while we try to get some mullah together.
One thing that has frustrated me so far in my wedding research is that every single wedding planning guide tells you that rule one (and step one) for any wedding is making a budget and staying within it. That's hard to do when, as far as I can tell, my budget is $0.00. (Another frustrating thing: every guide says that the "average wedding today" costs $26,000. Thankfully, I know from several testimonials that that number is utter BS here in the Midwest. Everyone I've spoken to thus far has pretty much done theirs for less than $10,000. In many cases, closer to $3000-6000.)
According to the world at large (at least in wedding planning), everything hinges off of everything else. You can't pick dresses or decorations until you choose your colors. You can't pick your colors until you've picked a date and looked at what flowers might be available at that time, or for that matter, what colors your venue might already have. You can't pick a date until you have a venue. You can't be sure of your guest list until you have a venue and a budget. And you can't pick a venue till you have a budget.
I was a bit frazzled when I left my parents' house after the first visit since our engagement. I knew money was tight, and that we'd likely have to wait a couple years before having it, but to walk away with no idea of how much we would have to work with was a bit overwhelming (I might have had my first tiny wedding planning breakdown on the ride home that night).
So, instead of starting with a budget, we're going to start with the most expensive (I think, anyway), and second most important item: the location! Neither Kenny nor I are particularly religious, so there will be no church involved, instead we're looking to have the ceremony and reception in the same place. An indoor place: outdoor weddings scare me. That's about as specific as we've gotten.
Trying to calm me down the day after talking with my parents' (and probably already getting sick of my constant wedding prattle), Kenny suggested we start our planning by looking at various venues. Once we'd gathered a list of likely suspects and their prices and guidelines we could then go back to my folks with that info and see where to go from there.
So far I've looked at one whole location: the Henry Doorley Zoo. I had originally suspected that this would be way too expensive of a venue to even consider, particularly since it would be the perfect place for us to get married. But, after reading in several "bargain wedding" guides that zoos were actually a "low cost alternative" to the usual culprits, I started getting my hopes up. Unfortunately, the guides were wrong again. The Omaha zoo would cost at -least- $2500, and likely a lot more than that. Oh well. I knew that idea was too good to be true. The next step will be calling around to the various halls and hotels in Omaha to get some price comparisons. Sounds like lots of fun.
One thing that has frustrated me so far in my wedding research is that every single wedding planning guide tells you that rule one (and step one) for any wedding is making a budget and staying within it. That's hard to do when, as far as I can tell, my budget is $0.00. (Another frustrating thing: every guide says that the "average wedding today" costs $26,000. Thankfully, I know from several testimonials that that number is utter BS here in the Midwest. Everyone I've spoken to thus far has pretty much done theirs for less than $10,000. In many cases, closer to $3000-6000.)
According to the world at large (at least in wedding planning), everything hinges off of everything else. You can't pick dresses or decorations until you choose your colors. You can't pick your colors until you've picked a date and looked at what flowers might be available at that time, or for that matter, what colors your venue might already have. You can't pick a date until you have a venue. You can't be sure of your guest list until you have a venue and a budget. And you can't pick a venue till you have a budget.
I was a bit frazzled when I left my parents' house after the first visit since our engagement. I knew money was tight, and that we'd likely have to wait a couple years before having it, but to walk away with no idea of how much we would have to work with was a bit overwhelming (I might have had my first tiny wedding planning breakdown on the ride home that night).
So, instead of starting with a budget, we're going to start with the most expensive (I think, anyway), and second most important item: the location! Neither Kenny nor I are particularly religious, so there will be no church involved, instead we're looking to have the ceremony and reception in the same place. An indoor place: outdoor weddings scare me. That's about as specific as we've gotten.
Trying to calm me down the day after talking with my parents' (and probably already getting sick of my constant wedding prattle), Kenny suggested we start our planning by looking at various venues. Once we'd gathered a list of likely suspects and their prices and guidelines we could then go back to my folks with that info and see where to go from there.
So far I've looked at one whole location: the Henry Doorley Zoo. I had originally suspected that this would be way too expensive of a venue to even consider, particularly since it would be the perfect place for us to get married. But, after reading in several "bargain wedding" guides that zoos were actually a "low cost alternative" to the usual culprits, I started getting my hopes up. Unfortunately, the guides were wrong again. The Omaha zoo would cost at -least- $2500, and likely a lot more than that. Oh well. I knew that idea was too good to be true. The next step will be calling around to the various halls and hotels in Omaha to get some price comparisons. Sounds like lots of fun.
Friday, June 10, 2011
How I Got a Life Playing World of Warcraft
Where to start? Well, I guess it starts with an MMO (for the layman, that's Massively Multiplayer Online Game) called World of Warcraft (WoW). Kenny was playing for a good year before I knew him. He and his friends were so into the game they went to the first convention for it in California. One of Kenny's roommates, just so happened to be one of my managers at work. Between her and one of my other WoW-playing coworkers, I was convinced to try the game out.
I first met Kenny in a city on the top of a giant tree. Later, we leveled two characters together. During that time we met a couple times in person, hanging out with mutual aquaintences at work, etc. I got hooked on the game, and on him. I remember being so excited to come home and play with Kenny after work, that I was upset that my parents decided to "surprise" me by taking me out to eat instead of just going straight home. We only really went on one date (and no, we never "dated" in the game) and that was to a cyber cafe (or whatever they're called....we payed extra money to play WoW on nice computers in a room where we could sit side by side). Aside from that, we went to a pub crawl on St. Pat's Day that my manager's family does every year, and to a going away party for someone we both knew. And then we were officially "dating". We never said anything about it, and I'm not even sure when exactly we crossed that threshold, but since it was around St. Pat's, that became our Anniversary date.
I'll fast forward here. (Though I will note that we did eventually attend another of those conventions for WoW, because we're nerds like that). Kenny and I moved to Lincoln and moved in together when he got a promotion, and we've been here ever since. We've been together for over 5 years. Last week, on Kenny's birthday, we went to the zoo in Omaha. He took me down by the zebra display (stupid zebra's were still sleeping though!), and pulled a ring out of nowhere and proposed. I was stunned, but of course I said yes.
It's odd how being engaged changes things. I didn't think it would. After all, we're already living together and were already planning to spend the rest of our lives together. I had no problem holding off the engagement stuff till later (I really wasn't expecting this for at leat another year!). Yet, somehow the engagement makes it more real. Somehow, getting that ring set me into doing something I've never been big into: planning my wedding day. I've got at least 2 years before a wedding will happen, and yet I think about it constantly now.
In any case, got to end the post here, as it seems we're heading out to a late showing of Super 8 (SO EXCITED!!). Probably not a great idea since I work tomorrow morning, but oh well. Till next time!
I first met Kenny in a city on the top of a giant tree. Later, we leveled two characters together. During that time we met a couple times in person, hanging out with mutual aquaintences at work, etc. I got hooked on the game, and on him. I remember being so excited to come home and play with Kenny after work, that I was upset that my parents decided to "surprise" me by taking me out to eat instead of just going straight home. We only really went on one date (and no, we never "dated" in the game) and that was to a cyber cafe (or whatever they're called....we payed extra money to play WoW on nice computers in a room where we could sit side by side). Aside from that, we went to a pub crawl on St. Pat's Day that my manager's family does every year, and to a going away party for someone we both knew. And then we were officially "dating". We never said anything about it, and I'm not even sure when exactly we crossed that threshold, but since it was around St. Pat's, that became our Anniversary date.
I'll fast forward here. (Though I will note that we did eventually attend another of those conventions for WoW, because we're nerds like that). Kenny and I moved to Lincoln and moved in together when he got a promotion, and we've been here ever since. We've been together for over 5 years. Last week, on Kenny's birthday, we went to the zoo in Omaha. He took me down by the zebra display (stupid zebra's were still sleeping though!), and pulled a ring out of nowhere and proposed. I was stunned, but of course I said yes.
It's odd how being engaged changes things. I didn't think it would. After all, we're already living together and were already planning to spend the rest of our lives together. I had no problem holding off the engagement stuff till later (I really wasn't expecting this for at leat another year!). Yet, somehow the engagement makes it more real. Somehow, getting that ring set me into doing something I've never been big into: planning my wedding day. I've got at least 2 years before a wedding will happen, and yet I think about it constantly now.
In any case, got to end the post here, as it seems we're heading out to a late showing of Super 8 (SO EXCITED!!). Probably not a great idea since I work tomorrow morning, but oh well. Till next time!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Let's Get Ready to Rumble!
Okay, so this is my first post. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with this. My name is Brooke, and I am a nerd. Fortunately for me, I found a nerdy boyfriend who proposed to me last week after we'd been dating for over 5 years (and living together for around 4).
Now, we're not the sort to move too fast, (and since neither we nor our parents have any money right now) so we're going to be planning this wedding for at least a good two years. Over that time, anyone who chooses to read this blog will, hopefully, get to see me wade my way through doing something I have NO idea how to do: plan a wedding! I'm not the sort of girl who's been picturing this day since I was little. I have very few expectations, although the more I look at it the more I'm finding that I -do- have some expectations, even if they're maybe not as specific as some girls'.
I think that'll about wrap up my first post. In the next one I'll try to tell a bit more about Kenny and I, and maybe get around to expounding on what I'm thinking of for our Big Day. But, for now I'm going to go play the new Green Lantern game Kenny brought home. Toodahloo (yeah, I have no idea how that's actually spelled...)!
Now, we're not the sort to move too fast, (and since neither we nor our parents have any money right now) so we're going to be planning this wedding for at least a good two years. Over that time, anyone who chooses to read this blog will, hopefully, get to see me wade my way through doing something I have NO idea how to do: plan a wedding! I'm not the sort of girl who's been picturing this day since I was little. I have very few expectations, although the more I look at it the more I'm finding that I -do- have some expectations, even if they're maybe not as specific as some girls'.
I think that'll about wrap up my first post. In the next one I'll try to tell a bit more about Kenny and I, and maybe get around to expounding on what I'm thinking of for our Big Day. But, for now I'm going to go play the new Green Lantern game Kenny brought home. Toodahloo (yeah, I have no idea how that's actually spelled...)!
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