Jessie: Almost spring.

Well, it's been a while on here too..... almost a year (give or take a few months).
Greg and I are actually living in a REAL house. We moved into the house I lived in when I was born (until I turned five). It was my grandfather's then his wife moved out and Greg and I are renting for the cost of insurance and taxes (plus utilities and heat) under the agreement that we show that we can save for the down payment. It is my dream house. And any of you can visit, we have a guest room (with a king sized bed!) which was my bedroom when I was little.

So, that's pretty much all the news from here... I'll try to post more often ;D

Royal Titles

So in honor of the Royal wedding ( which I dvr'd because of course I always have to work on a day something I'd like to view is on....) I think we should all have royal titles. And you can thank Greg for this, due to the fact that we watched Kate together and Greg said I was more beautiful than her on our wedding day (he's totally biased....) Also, it would be fun because my great grandmother ( on my Dad's side) traced our family back to some French prince, and my mom's blood line runs back to the tribe council of some native Americans!

Gregory M. Walek Polish Prince of New Hampshire, Duke of the Merrimack Valley
Jessica M. (Beaudette) Walek Polish Princess of New Hampshire, Duchess of the Merrimack Valley

William F. Walek Polish Prince of Attleboro

Anne T. Walek Polish Princess of Norwood

Francis C. Walek Polish Prince of North Attleboro,
Lisa M. (Brown) Walek Polish Princess of North Attleboro
Emmeline M. Walek Polish Princess of North Attleboro

Elizabeth A. Walek Polish Princess of Grandview.


This is all I have so far, I will accept suggestions (ie. Duke, Duchess, Viscount, Viscountess, Baron and Baroness) for secondary titles, and of you don't like the one I came up with, we can re-name you! It's just for fun!

Another Audio Blog...

I made an another audio blog. Use this player to listen.

Or Right Click this Link and Select "Save As" to Download.

Frank: Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

So I finished reading March's Book of the Month and it was as good as I expected. I actually remembered them being a bit dryer and stuffier, as books go, but that must have been some of the later works. These were short, pleasant stories that tantalized the imagination and one's deductive skills. There was really one quote that I wanted to bring up and a bit of a long one. It sums up why Sherlock is so interesting, at least to me. This quote is from the beginning of "A Scandal in Bohemia"

"It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler. All emotions. and that one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise, but admirably balanced mind. He was, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen; but as a lover, he would have placed himself in a false position. ... But for the trained reasoner to admit such intrusions into his own delicate and finely adjusted temperament was to introduce a distracting factor which might throw a doubt upon all his mental results. Grit in a sensitive instrument, or a crack in one of his high-power lenses, would not be more disturbing than a strong emotion in a nature such as his."

There are a lot theories about the relationship between Watson and Holmes, but I find most of them fail to take into account this description of Holmes. He is more an observing and reasoning machine than a person. He has human-like qualities, but ultimately he is detached from what  makes a person human. Perhaps it would be better to describe as a well trained animal, rather than a machine, but that is splitting hairs. I think this uneasiness with Holmes' nature, the desire for us to claim him as one of our own, makes us project human qualities onto him that he simply does not show.
I greatly enjoy BBC's remake of Sherlock Holmes, but I think they went a bit too far in humanizing him. He lost a bit of the eerie, unsettling machine like quality that I always associated with the great detective. Still, they made the show and they get to determine what kind of Sherlock we see. To sum it up, Sherlock does not relate well to people, especially when it comes to  love and similar emotions that interfere with his reasoning and observing powers. I find  that as unsettling Sherlock can be, it is comforting to know he can go where we can't, dive into  the darkness of the criminal and bring forth a truer justice than any policeman.

It is rare I have the opportunity to discuss Sherlock Holmes, and even rarer to find an opportunity to discuss Sherlock's medical twin, Gregory House. I am a big fan of House, mainly because he reminds me of Sherlock. However, I find House is obsessed with emotion and its effect on people, which leads into his simple but  stunted emotional capacity. The one truly perfect parallel between these two characters is that they both stare into the ugly, wicked heart of the human condition and see the worst of humanity in all its horror, and they do not look away. They accept it and use it to solve criminal and medical cases. I do find Sherlock more forgiving than House, and less surprised when people do the right thing, but House's antics are far more entertaining.

A Diet, More Books, and a Musical

How is everyone? I'm pretty freaking stressed out of my mind. It's "hell week" for the theatre department because the spring musical is this friday and saturday. Basically everyone rushes around to finish and rehearse before the big day. Since I'm in the pit orchestra, I'm after school everyday till 7pm reahrasing. Kill me. Also, I have a major band competition, a concert, my birthday party, and actually deciding on a college all in the near future.

In calmer news, I'm sort of on "diet". I'm not trying to lose weight though, I'm trying to get more "toned up" (I guess that would be phrase). With prom, summer, and more importantly my drum corps season coming up I really need to get in shape. So far, I've actually been loving it. Its hard though because I'm really strict with myself to not eat ANY junkfood. Lisa made these awesome cookies the otherday and I didn't eat a single one. I kept telling myself "this is isn't my food". It worked :) I am following a program though. It's called "Spring into Bikini Season!" by ToneItUp. how cute is that?! Here's the link if anybody's interested: ToneItUp

In more other news, I finished WINNIE-THE-POOH!!!! Probably one of the best books I've ever read. Seriously, not joking, go read it. I cried at the end too. Also, I'm reading Sherlock Holmes and LOVING IT. It's so awesome, I can't believe I hadn't read it before. Hopefully I'll be doing a more in depth review on that after I finish! Also, Frank and I haven't selected a book for April yet. He said I should pick next since he picked Sherlock. But I would LOVE if more people (other than Frank and I) read too. So get your butt to the BBC 100 book app (or w/e it's called) on Facebook and make a suggestion! Love you All!! -Liz

Anime!




Meow!

 

So I've been watching Trigun on the Netflix, and it's about as awesome as I remember it. I'm about five episodes in, when it's still funny and entertaining. I've always like the character of Vash, though admittedly most of the characters from the show are likable. Any show that has a running joke like the black Neko showing up is worth watching. It reminds me of Excel saga in that way, but Excel saga is completely different and totally insane.
Speaking of anime shows, I'm meaning to finish watching my DBZ dvds and would certainly like to finish my collection. I'm only a handful of seasons away from having the whole show. I'm only interested in the DBZ when I was younger, none of this Dragonball Z Kai! nonsense on tv nowadays.
I'll be posting my comments on the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes later this week and the info for April's Book of the Month.

And to wrap this post up, the best song about anime ever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have looked at the blog every day for a week and thought "Gee, I should post". So here I am!

Most of you know, but on Saturday I passed my test for national certification as a pharmacy tech. Go me!

PAX was awesome!! There was some shenanigans for a bit when I lost my pass, but I got it back again. Pax is so huge, it would be impossible to tell you all about it. But a couple highlights:

Lots of Plants vs. Zombie cosplayers! Mostly zombies and sunflowers, admittedly. But they seemed to be connected to the booth- maybe an indication of a PvsZ 2?

Powerglove! A metal band that covers songs like the Power Ranger theme, Pokemon song, and the Tetris music. Being at their performance was SO MUCH FUN! And their stage costume consists of armor made of koopa shells.

The Handheld Lounge- For those moments when you need a break, PAX has taken a hallway off to the side and FILLED it humongous super comfy beanbags. Grab a spot, settle in, and chill out.

Children of Eden demo- it used Kinect tech and your movements are the controller. It is super pretty! And it looks really awesome.

Had to miss Frank's game, but it looks like the group managed anyways. I definitely look forward to the next one!

I picked up a Lady Gaga album (Fame Monster) and a disc chock full of Chopin. I've been listening mostly to Gaga; I'm saving the Chopin for when I can relax.

I bought Lego Harry Potter (Years 1-4) a while back. Last nigh (or early this morning) I finally got 100% completion! There are a few achievements I have to get, but those should be pretty easy. It's mostly killing things with specific characters.

I think that's about it for now. Ciao! <3

Frank: D&D Session 2 Recap

So here's the recap for my 2nd session that was last Friday. It went really well and I'm very excited to continue on in April.

Frank: Quick Test

 This just some background info on my D&D game and I'm testing out a document upload program thingy. Briefing on the Feuding Ashdowne Brothers

Frank: Another Week Gone

So it's hard to believe how quick March is going by. It's already the 12th. St. Patty's Day is this coming Thursday, we bought the corned beef and cabbage for the house today. We're also starting some minor repairs and improvements to the house, which is pretty cool.

 I'm interviewing for a full time job at my current company, but in a different program. I'm very excited, I think I will be more comfortable in this new program and it will be nice to have a full time job. It'll technically be my 2nd full time job, but I don't know if the first one counts because I wasn't being paid for it.

This post turned awfully mushy and self-reflective. I should keep a journal or something. If you're interested in the mush of my life, check it out in the read more section.

"If Winter Comes, Can Spring Be Far Behind?"

So spring is FINALLY ALMOST HERE OH MY GOD TOOK FOREVER.

Yeah. I've been in a better mood because finally finally I can see grass again. It's still a bit chilly but I've decided to let that go and just enjoy the fact that it's pretty much safe to say winter is over. My life is going to be ultra busy soon between drum corps, the school musical, and graduating (!!) all coming up in the spring. But I'm stoked :)

Also, I just listened to Greg's audio post a couple of minutes ago. I normally read the blog in my web page design class so I kept forgetting to go back later and listen to it. Congratulations on becoming the official synopsis writer! THAT'S AWESOME!!!! Totally irrevelant but I wore my "Eclipse" t-shirt a couple of days ago. Thought of you <3

I figured I would start posting some healthy recipes on my posts. Here's the first one: Chicken and Couscous Salad

Have a great week everyone! Love,

Liz

Session 1 Recap

So I had the first session of the 4th edition D&D game I'm running yesterday. It went alright for a first session. I certainly learned a lot about running a game in this edition and I am very excited to make some minor changes to accomodate what I've learned. I've include a story version recap of the session in the Read More section. Fair warning, it's close to 3 pages long. This one had to cover a lot of intro material, so I skimped a bit on the combats. Enjoy!

GoogleBooks!

Just wanted to let everyone know that "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" is on GoogleBooks! That means you can read it online rather than buying a copy.

Here's the link: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

So this means there's no excuse not to read some of it! ;)

Happy Reading!

Love,

Liz

And It's A Random Audio Blog Post

I made an audio blog this week. Use this player to listen.

Or Right Click this Link and Select "Save As" to Download.


I've embedded the first part of Young Sherlock Homes film below.
Jump to 5:29 for the movie theme.

Jessie: I hear you Anne!

I think a lot of it is the weather. I'm dead tired today. If I wasn't raised the way I was, I'd call in....
I guess I fell asleep during RAW last night, and I woke up on the couch this morning. I don't blame Greg, once I fall asleep, I'm dead to the world.
Soo... the beginning of March-exciting! Greg and I will be going to DC soon ( 2 weeks to be exact), my first time in an airplane in over 12 years. Spring is right around the corner, and 13 days until we turn the clocks ahead!! I'm excited for a longer day.. I'm sick of going to work at 7 when it's kind of dark and getting out when it's beginning to get dark. (on an 8-4 day, the rest are 3-11). And I want it to warm up so I can start using the moon roof on the jeep! Also, our landlord does the bare minimum when it comes to snow removal, meaning he passes the plow once.
On a more positive note the kittens are doing well. Adora "talks" when you call her, and Artemis only seems to meow when Greg isn't around, she really likes him, he'll work on the computer and she sits next to it on his desk and purrs. If he doesn't pay attention, she'll lay on his keyboard.

So, that's pretty much all from the NH front.. hope you all have a great week!

Tired.... so tired....

Been working crazy shifts lately, 9 and 10 hours long. On top of that, I've been pretty gosh darn busy.

Went to Providence on Saturday and bought Lego Harry Potter. I'm almost done with story mode, which everyone knows is the bit you play through just to get to the REALLY fun stuff. Besides, I already know the story.

Before that was playing Dynasty Warriors 6. You all pretty much know how I feel about the DW series, so I'll spare you.

Also attended Boskone 2 weeks ago- I have a fair amount of wonderful things from that, including most excellent memories.

Coming up, things are only getting crazier.

Pax East- It will be EPIC.

My national certification test

Frank's game (way psyched for this!!!) :)

Seeing a friend of mine with whom I've reconnected lately

Into Boston to see another old friend and talk shenanigans. Seriously, our conversations get way weird.

Add to this the fact that I'm gonna get overtime this week, and will try to pick up extra hours the next.

Oh! I'm going to try and read up on the Sherlock Holmes. But I've also started Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses as my next book.

Also, I have to go food shopping. I've had rice the past 2 days.

Web Page Design-BLAHHHH

I'm currently in my Web Page Design Class right now. It's so boring and easy I decided "hey, I'll write a blog post!"

Honestly, not much is happening in my life. I've been listening to T-Swift and watching "Greek" like an addict. I got into some colleges! So that's awesome. I haven't heard from all of them yet though (only 3 so far). Right now, I'm just enjoying the fact that I don't have to make any major life changing decisions yet!

Although I have yet (YET) to finish Winnie the Pooh ( I'm finising it tonight, I swear! It's not boring it's just that I keep getting distracted by stupid distracting things). I seriously recommend everyone read "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" with Frank, Dad, and I. It's going to be AWESOME!!

xoxo

-Liz

Frank: It's Snowing!

I shoveled the driveway again today. I'm getting a little tired of it, but what can you do? In other news, my D&D game starts this coming friday, I'm really excited. I'll be posting the game recap next weekend, so stay tuned for that.

Again, the book club is now official on the blog, and March we'll be reading the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. If you're interested in joining me, Liz and Dad, here are the actual case names for the stories contained in Adventures: A Scandal in Bohemia, The Red-Headed League, A Case of Identity, The Boscombe Valley Mystery, The Five Orange Pips, The Man With the Twisted Lip, The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, The Adventure of the Speckled Band, The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb, The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor, The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet and The Adventure of the Copper Beeches. It's twelve stories in all.

So I figured out how to modify my blog profile settings and make this one private. So I'm back to being Frank, although my posts will still be written as Octavian, because Octavian is cool.

Why is a raven like a writing desk?

Hello again. I have been feeling nostalgic. Liz and I watched lots of T Swift videos last night and it brought me back to high school. All the drama and friends and boys. Then I got to thinking about when I used to write songs with Hollyann, and then I was talking to her today and she said how she was playing the guitar earlier today for the first time in a long time! So I am determined to write a song, on my own, before the next time she visits (ina couple of weeks).
In other news, Emmeline had her 6 month check up yesterday, and she has not gained any weight since her 4 month check up. So we are going back in one month to make sure she is still growing properly. She seems big enough to me, and she did grow one inch.
Anyway, not much is going onw ith me. The job search continues, the writing continues, the music writing is going to pick up again. I need to be more creative. If I ever finish a song, I can post it on here for y'all :)

McGreevely Shouted "We're Not Here To Mess Around."

So Mom writes a tweet-sized status update today on Facebook:
"boarding pass-printed; flip flops, shorts, bathing suit and Red Sox Tee- packed; spring training here I come!"

Outside my window as I write this, it is snowing. New England is getting another smack to the face of whiteout. And as I see the whiteness swirl out side, The words "I hate you." flash in my flu-like-sickened mind.

Well, the good news is at least baseball is getting started. And I can at least be happy for that. And an excuse to post Tessie on the blog.
GO SOX GO!



(p.s. Enjoy Spring Break Mom and Dad!)