Words On Wednesday

It’s been a while, I know, but this one is a cocktail that’s so versatile, I had to talk about it. Basically, it can be as simple or elaborate as you want, and it’s always a crowd-pleaser. Plus, ‘murica. The whole thing started from a TikTok or something that was really showy, but actually sounded super good. The recipe is very much like this one, but you gotta get the Smirnoff Berry Vodka. I’m sure regular vodka probably works, but I refuse to try it. Red, white, and blue or bust. So, the first few times I made this was during the summer we spent in the camper. Feels like a lifetime ago, but it was just last year. Either way, we would have friends over and I would make drinks. At the time, it was a big ordeal. Had to get the fresh squeezed (powdered) lemonade in the pitcher, and all the bottles, and of course you gotta throw the rocket pop in at the end for a big splash. It’s great for pool parties and fireworks. Problem is, there’s just a lot to it. And if somebody wanted one if I ...

It has occurred to me that despite participating in the beer cart for nearly two years now, I have yet to describe that in the most obvious place: Thirsty Thursday Eve at Words on Wednesday. Oh, the beer cart. During the phone interview that landed me here, the manager was explaining the benefits and mentioned how on Thursdays, they push around a stadium cart and everybody grabs a beer from it. That sounded awesome. My understanding was that you grab a beer from the cart, then you take it home to enjoy after work. Imagine my surprise when, instead of giving us a beer to take home, we got a beer to open and drink right there in the office. I was excited about the prospect of trying new drinks on someone else’s dime. I had no idea we would be drinking the beverage as soon as we picked it up. I’ve worked in offices where the Christmas Eve breakfast always involved someone sneaking in a bottle of alcohol and sharing it with a few coworkers. Never would I have guessed that it would be so re...

After publishing my book report post last week on “ The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, ” I want to unpack that idea a little more and give some personal anecdote on what it means to me. First things first (see what I did there?), I need to be honest with both myself and my audience here. I have neglected a lot of maintenance-type obligations in my life. My health is not the best, as my eating habits are frankly awful, and I haven’t exercised in probably over a year now. My weight is the highest it’s been in even longer. I was supposed to have a yearly physical on the day that I started my current job. I’ve been here now a year and a half, and still haven’t gotten that well-check visit. Beyond my physical condition, I think my mental condition has also fallen by the wayside. I spend more time being acted upon, not consciously deciding to act. I don’t think I would call it depression, but it certainly feels like I’m not in control of my life and decisions. There is an element of ex...

Because of some work initiatives, I’ve started digging into books on leadership. My manager recommended a few, and “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” (or just “7 Habits”) was the first available from the library. With little else to go on, I decided it was a reasonable place to start. My expectations were admittedly set very low. At a glance, “7 Habits” looks like just another book about self-improvement, with a bunch of buzzwords and very little actionable material. However, I wanted to give it a solid attempt before I panned the book as complete trash. The funny thing about the habits themselves is they aren’t exactly hidden; Covey has them listed and described in plain view on his site. I’ll even drop them right here, it isn’t a secret. These are not some ancient gnostic wisdom that get you into an occult club. It’s just a way of thinking about things. Habit 1: Be Proactive® Focus and act on what you can control and influence instead of what you can’t. Habit 2: Begin With the...

I’ve read soooooooo many books since the last Words on Wednesday Book Report. Some are on Goodreads. Some, I just stopped recording. Quite a few have been from The Dresden Files. Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2b/Storm_Front.png In short, The Dresden Files is a series that follows Harry Dresden, a wizard detective in modern day Chicago. A friend at work recommended the series, and I decided to at least listen to the first of the series as an audiobook. What I expected was some Harry Potter-esque YA fiction. What I got was much darker and more engaging. I have currently read 8 of the 17 currently published books of the series, through “Proven Guilty.” Every single one of them is a deep dive in some wizarding lore, mixed with detective techniques, mixed with juicy drama. The second book was a little slow for me, but every other book in the series has just been fantastic. All of the recurring characters are interesting and fleshed out, and I personally can’t get e...

…he’ll ask for an absurdly hard to find game. And much like the children’s story about a mouse and a cookie, there were a lot of steps before we reached a resolution. This all started a few months ago when I was playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest. There was a puzzle in the spirit temple that I couldn't figure out, so I looked up some video guides to find the answer. One video in particular, part of a let's play series by ZeldaMaster, was super helpful and he had finished the entire game. If I ran into more problems, I would just check out his videos to find the solutions. The kids really liked his video, so they kept watching the series. This ended up helping me, because I got stuck a few more times in the spirit temple (worst temple in the game) and they actually remembered what he did to get through. I didn't even have to watch the videos myself. After they finished the let's play series for Master Quest, they still wanted more material. Fortuna...

A lot has happened with Runescape since the last time I  posted about it , over 3 years ago. I got max skills, a new skill came out, and then I got max again. The mobile beta that I was playing on saw a full release. It’s been a good time. Now, bear in mind, this post is written WAY before being published. As my previous post indicated, I’m writing way ahead just because I have the time available. These details are based September 3, 2021 and the status of my account then. I can’t tell you where I’ll be once the post is public. So, where am I now? My total level is 2865/3055 and I have both Magic and Invention at 200m experience. All of my skills are at least 99, and I’m working on getting skills to 120 when that provides extra benefit. Beyond working on those skills, I try to continue making enough money to afford bonds. Compared to the most recent post, the way I play the game isn’t even the same anymore. I started at first with a single bond, and then I ramped it up to groups of...