Grandpa
Long story short here to set things up: my grandpa (on my mom’s side) died way back in 2002. We had him cremated, and since then, my grandma has been holding on to his ashes. Now that she’s dead, my mom took possession of my grandpa’s ashes and decided to scatter him somewhere he always loved to be: Spring Valley.
So today we took him out there and found a nice place to put him. It was kind of snowy and cold, but we know he’ll be happy out there.
Rest in peace, grandpa. You’re finally back out in the woods where you belong.
Great Freaking Start, Decade.
So 2020 is already a flaming hot pile of GARBAGE and I hate it.
What a shock.
So because I feel like my entire life is not worth living anymore and because I have absolutely no motivation to exist, you’re getting a crappy blog post.
(As opposed to…?)
I enjoy “Zodiac signs as…” things, so we’re gonna do those today. ‘Cause I need something that will make me laugh or I’m going to go find the nearest bridge and go weeeeeeeee.
Walking 2019
Happy New Year! Happy New Decade! Let’s do the annual madness that is my review of last year’s walking stats.
Here they are for January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019.
Total number of walks: 348
Total mileage: 4,836.81
Total number of steps: 11,813,295
Total calories burned: 304,776
Total walking time (minutes): 80,420.25 [that’s about 55.84 days]
Average speed (mph) per walk: 3.64
4,836.81 miles is approximately the great circle distance between Seattle, WA and London, England or between Constantine, Algeria and Cape Town, South Africa.
Let’s do as well (or better!) this year.
Claudia’s 365 Days of Music: Year 10 – A Review
Holy crap, y’all, it’s the final year of this project!
Before we get to the stats, let me mention again (since it’s been a few days since the actual blog post about it) that my thorough “Decade of Music” review is coming at the end of January (hopefully). I would like to do it sooner than that, but I just haven’t had the time to compile all of the information I want to for the review. I’ve been way too busy with work.
A disappointment, I know, but hey – we all know I’m really good at being a disappointment.
ANYWAY. Expect that later. For now, let’s just look at 2019:
Total songs: 365
Total time: 23 hours and 59 minutes
Mean song length: 3:45
The Five Stars
Listed in order of acquisition!
Airwaves by Airplanes
Ice Cream by MIKA
Canada Dry (Acoustic) by Barenaked Ladies
Send Me On My Way (Jesse Bloch Bootleg) by Rusted Root
When I Need a Friend by Coldplay
Door by Caroline Polachek
The five most beautiful/touching songs of the year:
When I Need a Friend by Coldplay
Underneath the Stars by VOCES8
Air on the G String by Bach (played on the Whitworth Hall Organ)
The Sound of Silence by VOCES8
Lully Lulla Lullay by VOCES8
The Overall Top Five
Canada Dry (Acoustic) by Barenaked Ladies
This song is simultaneously chill, uplifting, and melancholy. I’ve really gotten into the Barenaked Ladies this year and this song, from their newest album “Fake Nudes,” is definitely my favorite. And I like this live/acoustic version better than the album version because of the piano. So good.
Ice Cream by MIKA
AAAAAAAA MIKA IS BACK! A hot, sexy, summer song with a very catchy chorus. Love it.
Send Me On My Way (Jesse Bloch Bootleg) by Rusted Root
The bass in this song is nnnnnf. This remix takes a pretty chill song and gives it a lot more exciting energy. 1:33 goes BOOM!
When I Need a Friend by Coldplay
Chris Martin has a perfect voice. The only way to improve upon it, as this song demonstrates, is to give him the backing of a choir. This song is just stunningly beautiful.
Door by Caroline Polachek
Caroline has a captivating, haunting voice. The way it’s layered and used in this song makes this song haunting as well. I love the chords in the chorus.
YAY!
Again, stay tuned for the Decade of Music project review…hopefully at the end of the month!
What a Decade
I suppose any decade has the capacity to bring about MASSIVE CHANGE due simply to its length, but this past decade has definitely brought many changes, both worldwide and personally.
For example, 10 years ago today was December 30, 2009. Things that were true on that day include:
- I was 21 years old
- I had a BS in psychology, a BS in philosophy, and had just finished my first semester of grad school at UBC for an MA in psychology
- I was 100% miserable in my grad program and did not want to go back up to Vancouver after visiting Moscow over Christmas break
- I had no desire to ever become an instructor/professor (or whatever the hell you want to call it), especially an instructor/professor of math
- I was not yet walking for pleasure/exercise/sanity
- I suspected I’d never find anyone I wanted to actually legitimately marry. People I liked? Yes. People I thought would like me and would tolerate my nonsense? Nope
- I had 1,340 blog posts on Eigenblogger
Now, on December 30, 2019, the following things are true:
- I am 31 years old
- I have a BS in psychology, a BS in philosophy, I (somehow) finished my time at UBC to get an MA in psychology. I also now have a BS in math and an MS in statistics
- I love living in Calgary and always enjoy going back after visiting Moscow over Christmas break (even though I miss my mom when I leave Moscow!)
- I have been working the past six-ish years to get to where I am now career-wise as an instructor in math/stats
- Walking is my JAM, yo
- I have found my soulmate and love him more than I ever thought I could love someone
- I have 4,992 blog posts on Eigenblogger
Wild. What has changed for y’all over the past decade?
I hope the next decade proves to be even better to everyone.
Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
I got all my ugly, pain-in-the-ass hair cut off today because, as I’ve mentioned before, I am so sick of dealing with it. Here’s what I look like now:
What do you think? I’m still an ugly bastard, but now all that long, scruffy hair is gone at least.
(Ignore the frizz; Moscow is way more humid than Calgary and my hair can’t handle it.)
You Say You Want a Resolution
HELLO, PARTY POOPERS!
It’s that time of the year again where I review all of my FREAKING FAILURES and set up some more FREAKING FAILURES for next year.
So without further delay, let’s get to it!
A review of the 2019 resolutions:
- ACCOMPLISHED: The blogs. As always. Not even a hard resolution, but I keep putting it on here ‘cause then I get at least one “ACCOMPLISHED” on my list, haha.
- ACCOMPLISHED: The musics. There are only a few more days left in this Decade of Music project! MADNESS
- FAILED: Get my music organized before the end of the year. I had every intention of doing this and have a few years organized, but I’ve been S U P E R B U S Y and thus haven’t gotten it all done. Hence my pushing back the Decade of Music review.
- ACCOMPLISHED: Walk 4,000 miles. Done. Easily. I won’t hit 5,000, but I’ll probably be in the 4,800s maybe?
- ACCOMPLISHED: Get back to running 10k distances. I was looking at this resolution list a few months ago and was thinking “hey look, this one’s going to be a failure!” But over the past month or so I’ve picked up running again and just recently started running 10k distances. Hell, I ran 10k today! So that’s coolio.
- ACCOMPLISHED: Win NaNoWriMo 2019. I almost didn’t do NaNo this year, due to – you guessed it – being S U P E R B U S Y. But I did it, I won it, and I actually want to keep working on the story, even though it’s a craptastic premise.
- FAILED: Get my blogs in physical form. Hahaha. S U P E R B U S Y.
- FAILED: Write at least 500 words a day, 5 days a week, until my NaNoWriMo 2018 story is done. Then start editing it. NOPE
- SORT OF ACCOMPLISHED: POST THESE GODDAMN BLOGS. As of my writing this list, I haven’t posted my blogs since the end of September. But I posted a whole slog of them earlier this year, I should get credit for that! …Right?
- FAILED: Be. Better. For. Nate. I’m such a bad wife. I try not to be, but I am. It’s rage-inducing.
And now for the 2020 rez list:
- The blogs.
- Walk at least 4,500 miles. This is assuming that I’ll be teaching all year; if I’m not (heaven forbid), let’s say 4,000 miles.
- Do something with my writing. I don’t even freaking care what, really. Just something. I need to be more consistent with it apart from banging out 50,000 words every November. I want to work on one of my old NaNo projects – maybe this year’s, or 2009’s or 2014’s. Or do something with my old short stories. SOMETHING.
- Run a half-marathon. I don’t want to just run half-marathon distances, I want to run in an actual “official” half-marathon race.
- Run a marathon. See above, but replace “half-marathon” with “marathon.”
- Win NaNoWriMo 2020. Let’s keep the streak going!
- Get my blogs in physical form. I really need to do this. I fear losing them more than I fear losing my own life (priorities: I have them)
- Get a body composition analysis. I have no idea what my body fat percentage is, for example, and I’d like to know. I also want to do this near the beginning of the year and then work to improve it (less body fat, more muscle, that kind of thing)
- I’m going to try to be more consistent in posting these blogs, but pffft.
- I’m also going to keep trying to be better for Nate. I really do try, but I’m absolute garbage, so it probably doesn’t even seem like I’m trying half the time. But I am. Sorry, Nate.
Ugh.
SURVEY IT UP!
Hey so remember that survey I do at the end of every year?
LET’S DO IT AGAIN! ‘Cause repetitive content is FUN and ENJOYABLE, right?
What did you do in 2019 that you’d never done before?
HAVE MY OWN OFFICE! I only just got it in September, but that totally counts. I love it so much.
Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
There will soon be a blog post regarding this!
Did anyone close to you give birth?
For the first time in like five years, none of my old friends have had kids.
Did anyone close to you die?
My grandma on my mom’s side died. I’m not sure if she counts as “close” because we hated each other and I haven’t spoken to her in like a decade, but I guess she is “close” family-wise. So.
What countries did you visit?
USA.
What would you like to have in 2020 that you lacked in 2019?
More free time.
What date from 2019 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Can’t think of any.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting that lecturer position. A step above a sessional instructor!
What was your biggest failure?
Existing.
Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nope!
What was the best thing you bought?
I have no idea. I can’t remember everything I bought and no single purchase is standing out as the best thing I bought.
Where did most of your money go?
Condo fees. Broccoli. Eyeshadow. Music.
What did you get really, really, really excited about?
My new job! And teaching calculus. That was bomb.
What song will always remind you of 2019?
Door by Caroline Polachek
What do you wish you’d done less of?
Procrastinated.
How will you be spending Christmas?
Christmas was a few days ago. Went walking/running in the morning, then spent most of the day in SeaTac. Now I’m chilling with my mom!
Did you fall in love in 2019?
I stayed in love in 2019.
How many one-night stands?
ZERO!
What was your favourite TV program?
I don’t know if there were any new shows (“new” as in new to existence or “new” as in new to me”). So Chicago Hope, as always.
Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Nope.
What was the best book you read?
Shamefully, the only book I’ve read is the one I’m (re-)reading now: On the Beach by Nevil Shute. So that one.
What was your greatest musical discovery?
That will be revealed on the 31st!
What was your favourite film of this year?
Probably End Game. I didn’t like it nearly as much as I liked Infinity War and I feel like I liked it less than most people did, but it definitely wasn’t horrible. I enjoyed it—just not as much as I was expecting to.
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 31 and spent four hours of the day walking in -15°F weather. Turns out that that would be a preview for the rest of the month of February.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably satisfying?
Not being me.
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2019?
alelrdfgbakklcwgefksf
What kept you sane?
I think any milligram of sanity I had left at the start of the year has now disintegrated into thin air.
Which celebrity/public figure(s) did you fancy the most?
Leibniz. Always and forever.
Who did you miss?
My mom.
Who was the best new person you met?
Uhhhhhhhhhh I don’t think I met anyone new. John, maybe? Sure. John.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2019:
Sometimes good things happen to terrible people.
I am IN MOSCOW
Also it’s Christmas. Merry Christmas.
I spent most of the day in various airports, but at least I got to walk/run this morning before I left. So yay!
In the spirit of Christmas, have a beautiful rendition of Carol of the Bells.
BYE!
I am a Disappointment (What Else is New?)
So as I’m sure you’re all aware (assuming you read my blogs on a semi-regular basis), my Decade of Music project is due to end on December 31st. That means I will have a decade’s worth of new songs (3,652 songs, to be precise, with the leap years) and thus will have a lot of cool stuff to share with you all, including my absolute favorite songs of the decade, most beautiful songs of the decade, top music videos, etc. Not to mention all the STATS, too!
However, I have not been very vigilant with keeping my Decade of Music songs super organized. That is, due to various computer changes over the course of the decade, not all my songs have rankings, not all of them have the correct genres attached…that kind of thing. And I don’t have one big master list of the songs, either. I have yearly Word documents, but all those contain are the songs and artists, not any other details such as genre or my ranking of the songs.
I was hoping to get a master list together by the end of the year so that I could share all the cool summary info with you starting in the beginning of 2020, but I’ve been so busy with work that I just haven’t had the time to make said master list.
So here’s the plan: rather than try to half-ass my end of the decade music summary and basing it off of what I know off the top of my head about my songs but get it to you at the start of January, I’m going to delay it a little bit to make sure I have time to get that comprehensive list done, sorted, and properly analyzed for all stats-related things.
Would I prefer to give you the summary at the beginning of next year? Of course. But I don’t want to half-ass it; I’ve spent a whole decade on this project and it would feel lousy trying to throw something together at the last minute when I feel like this project deserves a much more comprehensive exploration and discussion.
So if it’s cool with y’all, the Decade of Music project’s summary will be a little late. Maybe end of January or sometime in February.
Is that cool? Please say yes.
I’m sorry.
BALLS TO THE W A L L
YESSSSSSSS Idaho is coming!
I seriously hope they’ll have Lewiston/the Lewiston grade in there. It’ll be so weird to be playing this game in a region that I know in person.
*excited screeching*
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelephant
Uli Westphal is an artist from Germany. His works focus on how humans interact with the natural world. One of his projects, “Elephas Anthropogenus”, is described as this:
“After the fall of the Roman Empire, elephants virtually disappeared from Western Europe. Since there was no real knowledge of how this animal actually looked, illustrators had to rely on oral and written transmissions to morphologically reconstruct the elephant, thus reinventing an actual existing creature. This tree diagram traces the evolution of the elephant depiction throughout the middle ages up to the age of enlightenment.”
It can be seen here.
I like how some of these are pretty damn accurate…
…but then other ones are like…
Vaccuum Mammal.
W-what are you?
Ah yes, the regal Erect Tusk Nobleman species.
Don’t do drugs, kids.
Nice legs, daisy dukes…
Um…
Sweet heavenly Jesus.
Early Christmas!
Since I’m flying out to Moscow on Christmas and since all of BC is in Snowpocalypse Mode meaning we can’t get down to Nate’s parents’ house, we had our little mini Christmas this evening. Here are a few of the things I got from Nate:
Another book on Leibniz! YAY
I’ve mentioned to him that I find the Chernobyl disaster very interesting and that I was wanting to see the HBO miniseries on it at some point (we don’t have TV, let alone the HBO channel, so that wasn’t going to happen), so he got me the series and a book!
And then, from my dad:
He got one for Nate as well! It’ll be interesting to compare/contrast the results of this with the 23andMe results.
WOO!
Hahaha, oh my god
A Child from the Future: “Grandpa, what did you do for fun when you were younger?”
Grandpa:
Look at these Millennials ruin everything.
Those vacuums in that pile of cereal, though, that was hysterical.
Twinkle Twinkle Little Light
Didn’t think I’d spend 12 minutes watching a video about twinkling Christmas lights, but this was actually super interesting.
It’s 5 AM, I’m completely burnt out from last semester, and this is currently hysterical to me.
That’s all. Sorry for the awful blogs as of late; I really, really am burnt out.
I Ran a 10k for the First Time Since 2017 and It was Glorious
I wasn’t planning on doing it.
I’d already walked 12 miles and was just planning to do two running miles on the treadmill at Anytime Fitness.
But I got to two miles and nothing was hurting, so I figured “hey, let’s try three.” No pain. So I figured “hey, let’s try four.”
Since I got hurt back in 2017, I have not run more than four miles in a stretch. But today, once I hit four, I was still feeling fine.
The next step? Seeing if I could do a 10K.
Which I could.
No pain, no issues…everything seemed fine.
So that’s freaking awesome. Now I’m going to have to try my hardest not to a) do a 10K every day or b) try to do even more tomorrow, ‘cause I have a bad history of doing that kind of crap (which is why I ended up with runner’s knee in 2017 after doing two half-marathons in two days after never having run more than a 10K at a time).
YAY!
Woah!
I got a perfect Max Scherzer card in one of my Perfect Team card packs.
Nice.
Sorry, Scherzer is my favorite pitcher.
Disasters
Uh oh, I found a YouTube channel called “Mega Disasters” and now I’m hooked.
I like learning about past human disasters. I suppose it’s a morbid curiosity that a lot of people have (hence channels like these) – almost like a guilty pleasure kind of thing.
I think one of the biggest disasters that has stuck with me ever since I first learned about it is the 1981 Hyatt Regency walkway collapse in Kansas City. Until the World Trade Center towers fell in 2001, the collapse was the deadliest structural collapse in US history.
I originally learned about it from my Advanced Fiction class in 2013, actually. Someone in the class wrote a story from the perspective of someone involved in the incident, and it sounded so incredibly horrific and terrible that I had to look it up and read about it.
The Mega Disasters channel has a video on it, but here are parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of a longer documentary on it. It’s terrifying but really interesting as well.
If you watch it, be prepared to never feel safe in a building again.
IIIIIIIIIIIT’S MASHUP TIME!
I like this one.
The tradition is to make DJ Earworm’s yearly mashups my last downloaded song for the year, but it’s tempting to break that tradition this year by making it my download for December 30th and make his decade mashup my download for December 31st, since that would be the last day of this DECADE-LONG project.
(I can’t believe it’s almost over!)
Oh, here is said decade mashup:
Also, Piano Guys + tons of Christmas lights = yay.
This makes me so freaking happy. I love these guys.
Are You a Taco? ARE YOU???!?!?!!?
So this is today’s song:
Why in the hell does this sound so…familiar? It feels like I heard this song a long, long time ago, as it is awakening that part of my brain that’s like “ZOMG FAMILIAR CHORDS AND RHYTHMS AND LYRICS!”
I can’t place it. But it sounds really familiar.
That’s all, sorry. I’ve been waaaay too busy this semester to put much effort into blogging (or into anything else, really, including maintaining my sanity).
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