What I'm ________ August Edition

EATING: I just bought the coolest thing. It's called a pressure cooker/smoker. That's right, two in one! I've always wanted a pressure cooker, and I've been itching to smoke some food for a long time. Unfortunately, I live in an apartment complex and the last time I built Alton's cardboard smoker (post here), people were knocking on my door asking if there was a fire. So, no more of that. Smoking was pretty much out of the question.

Until Now.

Enter the Emson Smoker. The best of both worlds. I can even cold smoke! How awesome is that? And I got it on woot for the amazing price of $79.99. Couldn't pass that up! I had chicken on hand so that was my first test. Next on the list is cold smoking some cheese! And then - THE WORLD. *ahem* I mean, salmon. Then probably ribs.

DRINKING: I just finished off some very interesting cocoa "mix". Well, I found it at Winco and it came from Mexico, so it was Mexican chocolate with a very weird texture. They were sold in pucks that you cut into 4ths and drop one in your hot milk to melt, or something. I think it had a spice of cinnamon or other flavors and I liked it a lot. The only issue was that it didn't melt well. It was probably just baking chocolate that I miss-read because there was a cup of steaming liquid on the front. o_O

WATCHING: I'm on a TOS kick. If you don't know what that is, go home :P  Actually, it's Star Trek: The Original Series. They've got it on Netflix/Hulu and I had never seen them all so I thought I would binge-watch. They actually have the remastered version on Netflix and at first I was insulted, as I felt that they are messing with an original product. But then, the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. After all, I'm a 90's girl. I'm used to seeing CGI and other such graphics, and for years I kind of stayed away from TOS because I just couldn't get over how bad it looked. But now, the planets look realistic and the ship looks CGI but pretty nice, still. And although the episodes are corny, I'm still getting my entertainments worth!

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LISTENING TO: Wes Quave! Took me a while to find him. Our local King5 news did a promo featuring a song that was super catchy but I couldn't find it because it turns out that Wes Quave hires out to write and make promos. I found the promo on youtube, asked around, and found his name. I don't even mind the rap bits too much because they're very tame.

READING: Finally, with much anticipation, Terry Goodkind has released the next installment in his Sword of Truth series: Severed Souls. *squee* I've already convinced a couple people to read his series and they haven't regretted it. If you like fantasy, Terry is the way to go for sure. It's reminiscent of Wheel of Time however I find Terry's books much more interesting :D

WRITING: Still working on my Blue Moon story from many many moons ago. I have finally bypassed my writer's block and have it mapped out in my head all the way to the end. I love it when that happens! It's a tad over 100 pages right now, hopefully I can get it to 150!

Day 1: List 10 random facts about yourself

I've decided to do the 30 day blogging challenge. Now in order not to be incredibly annoying with constant postings, I think I'll just put a link on my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/katjaneway.blogspot, and post once on twitter. Then I will also post links on each post to my past days.

1. I listen to a lot of Japanese music. Mostly Jpop, and JTechno/Trance. And a lot of Anime songs. Some people can't stand that they don't understand what they're listening to (I don't know Japanese, so yeah, I could be singing along to murders and rapes for all I know - but my music is super cutesy too) but come on - how many people thought the song "Bad Moon Rising" by Creedence Clearwater was singing about a "Bathroom on the right"? Don't tell me that isn't what you sang!

2. I don't have an angry or depressing music. I discovered this not long ago when I was angry and decided to find a piece of my music to fit my mood. And I couldn't find one. I do have a couple of Disturbed songs, which is a Metal band and fairly lyrically depressing, but it didn't fit my current situation. I had to settle for the Goo Goo Dolls "Hate This Place". Yeah. I feel as though music is a reflection of our souls. Some people are attracted to certain music with how they feel inside. I guess I'm just a happy person!

3. I used to be afraid of the dark for a long time, and now if there's a glow in the room at all I can't sleep. Like sucking my thumb, I went way beyond normality when it came to night lights. Luckily, my ability to not pee in my bed stopped at a reasonable age.

4. I am not scared of rats, mice, snakes, beetles, or bugs, but all spiders must die. Seriously.

5. I am both very creative and logical. Just don't give me a math question. I am detail-oriented, logistical, and slightly OCD. I also love to read, write, draw, paint etc. But if you really want to make me think, tell me to tip the waiter.

6. I get socially anxious. This is a general term that encompasses both public speaking and my wall-floweredness (don't talk to me!). I'm not claustrophobic and don't mind large crowds, but that only works if they're not all focused on me. I do not do presentations. I will shake and stutter, and my face turns bright red. I can probably only handle up to 5 people staring at me at once, and beyond that all hell will break loose.

7. I sing in the shower. Honestly, I love to belt out tunes any time of the day, especially in the car. I'm not the best singer and I know this (contestants of American Idol, take note), but I sound respectably better in the shower. Must be the acoustics. Of course, I don't sing empty-handed; I always have my music in there with me.

8. I'm a geek. World of Warcraft, Warhammer (in the past. I liked to paint the figurines), Star Trek, my interest in computers and technology, Marvel movies (screw DC), computer games, Pokemon (to a point). I'm all there. And I love it. I wouldn't have it any other way.

9. I'm still a tomboy. I grew up on a "farm" of sorts, with lots of animals. My best friend as a small child was a boy. My favorite toys were not the barbies, but the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. As I grew, I reluctantly began to adopt more feminine things. I bought my first compact when I was 22, but I rarely wear make up. I have a dress that I only wear on special occasions, no shoe heels higher than 2", and definitely no skirts. I don't spend an exorbitant amount of time getting ready in the morning; in fact, much less time than my old roommate, Karl. Hmm.

10. I am not religious. I feel I am in a minority here. I wouldn't necessarily call myself atheist (technically, I call myself a Darwinist) because I'm logical and scientific. I'm a more "I'll believe it when I see it" person, so agnostic fits me better. Although both my parents went to church as children, they stopped attending as adults, and therefore I've never even stepped in a church for religious purposes. I'm actually very uncomfortable around people who peach about their faith to me (you can believe in whatever you want, I won't judge), I just don't like listening to it. I have friends and family who are deeply religious and that is perfectly fine. I'm just not used to it, I don't understand it, and it's just not for me.

If anyone wants to participate in the 30-day challenge, I found it here on Kate's blog:

http://www.canigetanotherbottleofwhine.com/p/30-day-blog-challenge-list.html?showComment=1369155985154