LF Gamer Name

Much like Finn has asked you to help her decide between her chars, I am now asking you to help me find a gamer name for me. I'm planning to use it for registration on any games network and later on even as an xBox gamer tag (I realise I'm probably going to have to add numbers to it though).

So here are three choices I'm asking you to rate, but please feel free to add any other name you can think off incl. reasons why it would fit with me in the comments section (or within the poll if you don't feel comfortable commenting).

what a monday - meme time

Since for the first time the weather is making me feel less gloomy about work I decided to match my mood with an edition of manic monday for once. But before we go there I'd like to preserve the following for the interwebs-eternity:

:)

Manic Monday #162

How often do you change your toothbrush?
As often as I can remember to buy one. When it's starting to look a bit frazzled I make a point of trying to get to the shop. Then it usually take me about 2 weeks to actually follow through with it ;)

What is your favorite item of clothing to shop for?
Since I absolutely HATE shopping for clothes I have to say shoes. Works fast and almost always makes me happy, for example when I find a pair of these.

Do you use social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.)? Which do you use most often?
I mostly use Twitter and Facebook, and Xing in a professional context. I detest flickr but use it if and when it serves a purpose.

It's meme time again

I have a really bad conscience about not blogging properly. Here's me trying to make up for it:
Saw this over on at LG's.
Rules: Take the list (copy and paste to notepad - it will remove all bold and italic formatting). Copy list back to Word or whatever where you then bold the items you’ve done. Don’t bold items you haven’t done.

1. Started your own blog (duh)
2. Slept under the stars (I'm planning to. Slight bug issues to be resolved first.)
3. Played in a band (Briefly, practice only. Didn't quite work out, but I had a lot of fun nonetheless.)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain (Being Austrian I probably did, but I honestly can't remember. I definitely was on mountains in order to ski down on them, so yeah.)
9. Held a praying mantis (have I... mentioned... *gasp*... the bug issues?)
10. Sang a solo (See question #3)
11. Bungee jumped (head down - no good - bleargh!)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (Considering how much I eat and how likely I am to try new things - probably yes)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (Unfortunately I've still not been to NY *grumble*)
18. Grown your own vegetables (Dad and I were never quite successful at this, but at least we tried. Usually the snails won though)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (Interrail will do that to you)
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked (I'm crazy but not that crazy)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (Noooooo, never!)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (I'm a maverick ;)
27. Run a Marathon (Ha haha ha... have you looked at me?)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (I think when I was very little. I definitely haven't when I went to Venice the second time.)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (The only two times a day the bastard can't hurt me)
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person (I'd love to though)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (Finn and I had a brief period of trying to teach ourselves ASL a couple of years back)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David (I'm not an artsy person but that was a very awesome moment in my life.)
41. Sung karaoke (I love karaoke. Unfortunately I don't have any friends who do too.)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa (Again, I'd love to go.)
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight (I hate to say it but: totally overrated.)
46. Been transported in an ambulance (I was just accompanying Finn, doesn't make it the experience any better though.)
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person (In between getting ushered in and out again... the crowds are absolutely crazy!)
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (I went snorkeling. I'd love to try scuba diving but it's just too risky with all the inner ear issues I had as a child.)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (I'm realising that freelance journalism is just that though)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (Needles? Where are the needles? GAAAAAAH!)
65. Gone sky diving (This is totally on my to-do list as well)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (not exactly an emotional highlight in my life since my grandmother was interned in Auschwitz during WWII...)
67. Bounced a check (checks are not really in use here, but I've had a big fat minus on my account.)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square (See question #17)
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem (It's such an amazing place but it can be very strange and humbling to stand on a market and eat your falafel pretty much exactly on the spot where a bomb exploded only weeks earlier)
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (Bylines make me a lot happier)
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House (I'd really love to though, especially now.)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life (Possibly, probably not. There was someone with anorexia, pretty bad case. I like to think that I managed to help her get help.)
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (only Austrian "celebrities")
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (But I did float in the Dead Sea.)
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

The new year and Carrie Fisher (again)

Just another  ...

OK. Now that I have successfully gotten that terrible song stuck in your head, I'll diligently answer this year's last Manic Monday questions. And resolve to do it more often come 2009 :)

What is the biggest mistake you made in 2008 and will not make again in 2009?
Choosing the wrong thesis advisor. That idiot basically fucked up my whole schedule. The chances of me writing another thesis already next year are very slim, but I'll try choosing work partners in general more carefully. Plus: I'm gonna make the best of that thesis and try to win a contest with it. Seriously.

Do you make New Year's resolutions? Why or why not?
I usually decide not to but end up having a couple of "I should"s anyway. If only to make myself feel better about my failures of the past year - "Forget 20XX, 20XY is going to be way different anyway!"


Who do you nominate as “Man or Woman of the Year” for 2008?
Carrie Fisher, because she's talking openly about mental health issues and addiction while being funny. She also gets brownie points for titling her autobiography/stand-up routine Wishful Drinking. That's beyond ingenious. Take that, Angelina Jolie. No wait, Angie! That doesn't mean I don't love you anymore!

What was your greatest accomplishment in 2008?
As lame as it sounds: Finishing university. Actually I'm thinking about going back for a second degree now. Nevermind that I swore never to go back to uni again...

I think this would be a good moment (before I either forget or don't get around to it in time) to say: HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you! I wish you lots of good and may you stay healthy and content in 2009.

gotta love twitter

This is awesome. Click to enlarge.

Before you turn 30 meme

Things to do before you turn 30, found on L’s blog. It’s a mighty weird list, methinks, but I felt like doing this meme anyways.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped (I’d rather parachute)
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of

17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne (Getting me drunk on bubbly is easy, can’t handle the stuff)
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and didn’t care who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland (Unfortunately not yet)
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theatre
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married

73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on a television news program as an “expert”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music (There’s a CD with my voice on it, hidden among others in a choir)
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country (Do the canals of Amsterdam count?)
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking with the windows open
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a TV game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for 30 hours in a 48 hour period
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. States (That one was easy since I live where the “foreign countries” are while I haven’t been in the US yet)
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days

126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey (in parts, in Latin)
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

it's monday, hence it's meme time

just another...

What was the first thing you thought when you looked at yourself in the mirror today?
"Please, be good, hair. Please, be good!"

Do you have a recurring nightmare? If so, explain.
Fortunately not. However, I had two (!) nightmares last night. I think that compensates...

List three foods you can’t stand:
wow... hm... this is hard, because I used to not like a lot of stuff and then I tried again years later and found access to most of it, if it was cooked differently than I knew it before. For instance I don't like lentils (elementary school trauma), but I found out I like daal, which is made of lentils sometimes. Up to now I haven't found a way to like brussels sprouts. I really can't think of a third food item. No wait! I remember: I can't stand fennel, and celery. With celery I can make exceptions, not with fennel though. Oh, and I hate innards. yuck.

manic monday... uhm... tuesday

It's been a while, but I'm manic again:

How long does it take you to get out of bed in the morning?
That depends. When I really have to get up to be somewhere I can be fast. But if I only decided that I probably should get up it can take me a while to actually get myself moving.

Do you usually sleep on one side of the bed or another?
Each has her side. But we've switched once, so sleeping on the other side is not a problem either.

Something you wish to accomplish before the end of the year:
- pass my final exam and get my degree
- get my freelance career off the ground
- get fit and loose some weight

New: Contact Form

You can now also contact me via the Kontactr form in the sidebar, in case comments are not your style :)

venturing out in blogville

During my travels on the internets - procrastination, call me mistress (but not in a dirty way!) - I came across a couple of blogs lately that I happened to like. I can't really remember how I found them, but I'm pretty sure twitter is responsible. I decided to include some of those on my blogroll since I liked them so much:

For one there's Backpacking Dad, who met Wil Wheaton (for which I'm totally envious). He carries his daughter around in one of those baby backpacks and he's a fellow geek plus I kinda have a thing for doting fathers - I think it's cute.

Then there's stacyjill who somehow found me on twitter and seems like a nice gal with a certain understanding of why I really need to see Twilight and a girlfriend who isn't so keen on this movie.

And because I always appreciate well written cookblogs (food + humorous writing = good) I decided to add Steamy Kitchen to those I already regularly read.

iGoogle is great

I know, I know... Google is bad and evil and all that. But I just fell in love with iGoogle.
If you're more or less self-employed but working from different computers plus studying for your final exam it's really practical to have all your stuff in one place. Calendar, documents, twitter, news feeds, blogger dashboard, to-do list... all there in one place.
I'm still keeping my non-electric-calendar though :)

like a giant sissy...

I could survive for 41 seconds chained to a bunk bed with a velociraptor

meh

not much in the mood for work today. I'd much rather be seated on the couch at home reading Old Man's War. It's bad, I can't really put the book down - that's how much I like it.

I created a middleman wallpaper too. what bugs me is that the avatar's nose is a fixed design - makes them look like Michael Jackson no matter what. And that's not something I want as my wallpaper. Look at that:

Non-baby names

Blogpeep Zoe, who is planning to have a baby with her partner, posted this quiz on her blog - and even without a pending child I got curious about what names the quiz thinks I like...

You Like Names that Are Retro and Fashionable

You like names that are from the past but becoming modern again. Names with a strong history are very appealing to you. You're a big believer in giving children very adult sounding names. You're not a fan of nicknames or newfangled spellings. Some female names you might like: Audrey, Emma, Fiona, Georgia, Isabelle, Naomi, Rosemary, and Veronica Some male names you might like: Brendan, Colin, Ethan, Jared, Kenneth, Martin, and Nathaniel

What Kind of Names Do You Like?

Besides Emma, Colin and Nathanial none of the names appeal to me. In fact, Nathaniel is the only one I really like (maybe that comes from watching too much Six Feet Under). Maybe Isabelle would work for me with a different spelling: Isobel (again, SFU...).

Eatsdropped in Vienna, now on Hedonia

I have made it into the Eatsdroppings over at Hedonia. Yay :)

twittering away

Even though I can't really share twitter with my coworkers or friends, because people here aren't big with the social networking sites (my friends seem to be virtually computer-illiterate, I don't even think they've realised what a blog is) I now have twitter, hoping to share it at least with my blogpeeps.

Find me under mcCutcheon of course. Or just click "follow me" in the sidebar.

Stupidity, glorious stupidity!

The customer is not always right.
How did I NOT find out about this site earlier? My favourite so far is this one:

(A customer was trying on a shorty wetsuit.)
Customer: “It seems to fit okay, but the zip is a little high. It would irritate under my chin.”
Me: “Yes. I can see what you mean, but if you put the suit on the right way round, you won’t have that problem.”
Customer: “…”
Me, to co-worker: “Remind me to never dive with that guy.”

to spare you the searching progress

The Last Lecture

manic monday meme

I'm doing this weeks, and last weeks as well. That's me playing along :)

Every person you have ever slept with is invited to a banquet where you are the guest of honor. No one will be in attendance except you, the collection of your former lovers, and the catering service. After the meal, you are asked to give a fifteen-minute speech to the assembly. What do you talk about?

"Friends, Romans, ..." Just kidding. That all sounds so formal, why not do something more fun? ;) To be honest, I'd be way more interested in what has happened in their lives than in giving a speech. Also, they'd all think I'd gone nuts if I'd be doing a speech. Or holding a banquet, come to think of it.

What's your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?
Staying in, drinking tea or coffee, sitting on a window pane, listening to music and/or reading, playing video games.

Are you a window person or an aisle person? Why? Theoretically I'd be an aisle person, because no matter how short the flight it's almost guaranteed I'm gonna need to pe. However, I'm that bitch that makes the people next to her get up for that because I much prefer the window seat. I like leaning against the wall/window, looking out of the window, feeling a bit remote from whoever's next to me...


And last week's:
What's your favorite beach in the world?
That would probably be Le due sorelle in Italy (Province of Ancona).


Due Sorelle means "two sisters/nuns" and the beach is called that because it is located between two cliffs that look like praying nuns. You have to walk/climb down the mountainside on the Passo del Lupo (Wolf's trail), but then you arrive at a tiny but lovely secluded beach.
We were on a language course with our Italian class and made the trip to Due Sorelle on September, 11, 2001. We were completely alone there, about 12 of us maximum - it was beautiful. We were literally frolicking in the water and sand, when some started getting weird text messages from their parents, but we couldn't quite grasp from them what had happened. And when we finally made the climb back up the huge rock, suddenly it was not only the 11th day of the month but 9/11. Nonetheless Due Sorelle is one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever been to and I hold a very fond memory of that afternoon between the cliffs. Damn, I really have to take Finn there, even though she hates Italy. Must. Find. Way.

What's the next country you want to visit?
The next country I will visit (see: holiday) is Sweden. We're going to fly to Stockholm, rent a car
there and drive down to Smaland where we will stay for a week before driving back up north to Stockholm.

What one thing are you craving today?
Interestingly, I'm craving nothing today. I've been doing quite well with the eating discipline lately :)

aaaaaawwww!

go to today's Questionable Content to see what induced my aaawwwing :)



btw: I like blogger in draft. finally got around to enabling it.