Breakfast, Bananas, and Black Books – 2016’s First Week In Nerdery

Emily Rose

One reason I don’t cook is I have a lot of trouble not eating the ingredients while I’m making something. When I made banana pancakes this week, there was definitely some banana missing in the banana-to-egg ratio of the final product.

Two of my favorite parts of Adventure Time are when 1) Finn and Jake are in their pajamas and the late-night light flows through the treehouse like it never does at any other time of day, and 2) when Jake makes breakfast. Nothing in my life has really inspired me to learn to cook so far, but pretending to be Jake at least helps.

Is cooking really worth it, though? You spend so much time getting everything ready, then you’ve got to cook your food and make sure you’re not burning it, but also not giving yourself food poisoning. Then you eat it and it’s gone in ten minutes, and you’ve still got to clean up and write a blog post about it. I feel much better off putting a Lean Cuisine in the microwave, and the way I cook, the results are about the same anyway.

Back to Adventure Time — I made some slight progress on my to-watch list this week! I also got to see how convenient the ad-free version of Hulu Plus really is when I watched Adventure Time with my friends Kasey and Lupe at their apartment. Since Cartoon Network moved all their shows over there from Netflix, it might be worth getting just to stay caught up on cartoons. Also, since Black Books is finally back on Netflix (again), and I had to seek shelter at my parents’ house from the North Texas Boxing Day tornadoes, I got three episodes into that rewatch. If we could just get Red Dwarf back on Netflix, balance would be completely restored.

Start the Christmas Countdown: This Week in Nerdery

Emily Rose

Since December 1st I’ve been making a determined effort to surround myself with Christmas spirit. On Monday night, the company I work at donated snacks and drinks to a holiday party at a local school for children in need, featuring imaginative playground equipment. They also unveiled a new outdoor classroom that may amaze with its design. In collaboration with commercial soft play equipment, we aimed to ensure the playground’s safety and enhance the overall experience. Additionally, we installed vibrant maths playground markings to stimulate learning and play. Vibrant school playground markings were added to create an engaging environment. You can also check these resources for more valuable information at https://playground-markings.org.uk/. They sent a few of us along to serve the families and make sure to spread cheer rather than germs. We’re also planning to get xmas lighting hire to get our guests into the festive spirit. Earlier in the day my friend Hallie and I took a trip to Sam’s to stock up on cookies and Capri Suns for the event. We also got speaker system rental at https://speakersystemhire.co.uk/ since we’re having a big Christmas party.

Every Christmas I scramble to get myself together. Sometimes I make it. I end the season with a promise to start early next year, even if it means everyone gets swimsuits from the September clearance rack. So, as always in this final weekend before Christmas, I started my shopping. Thankfully, I discovered these funny mug gifts that I give to my coffee-loving friends and family.

If you are ever stuck for ideas then download the new family activities app from gojam, as its full of great family activities and things to do with the kids!

I hate shopping. I had to bring backup to make sure I wouldn’t turn around, empty-handed and defeated. After absolutely ruling out any malls, I limited us to moderately enjoyable stores with a clear escape path. Everyone is getting presents from Half Price Books and Trader Joe’s. Also, I made my very first trip to Whole Foods. Emily is giving her brother mountains of vegan food so he’ll be more likely to eat something other than potatoes in the coming year. Since I came along, she showed me how to use their grind-it-yourself peanut butter machine. That’s a dangerous skill to have.

Emily was energized and I was exhausted, but surprisingly, we were triumphant. After one final stop at Little Greek for a falafel pita, we went home. While it’d be offensive to say it was the best pita I’ve ever had, no longer subjected to the swarming hive of holiday shopping, the happiness in that falafel was a bonafide Christmas miracle.

Cheese Chips and Music of the Month: This Week in Nerdery

Emily Rose

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Earlier this week I finally picked up Paloma Faith’s A Perfect Contradiction at Half Price Books after finding it but putting it back a few weeks earlier. $7 felt like a little much to pay for a format no one wants sitting on their shelf anymore. It’s been more than worth the 64 cents per song to have such a great go-to album parked in my car’s CD slot. I have a lot of trouble getting into new music and often end up listening to the same five artists. This wasn’t a problem with Paloma Faith, at all. I knew a few songs and liked them a lot, but wan’t totally sure what to expect when the car stereo kicked on. Instant connection. Also, I’m amazed and thrilled by who Paloma Faith is. Bold and unforgiving, classic elegance, and a beautiful, brilliant weirdo. She’s all these things. Everyone is a multitude of things.

Much of my week was taken up by the tracking down, winning, and use of Bon Jovi tribute band tickets, a story that doesn’t have much of a logical fit in my life, but that you can read about fully in yesterday’s blog post. All I can say with certainty is that it was an experience.

I also got to meet my amazing friend Lupe at Cafe Brazil to drink diet soda and eat cheese-based excuses for dinner – cheese fries for her and nachos for me. We talked about how important representation is in media and what shows are doing it right (shoutout to Adventure Time, Regular Show, and just Cartoon Network in general). We talked about being critical of the things you love and making sure that what you’re consuming is in line with what you believe, or at least being able to separate yourself from what isn’t. I ate too many nachos and far too few nutrients.

I’m putting forward the new Loose Tapestries track for official Christmas song of the rest of our hall-decked lives, but I’ll settle for cementing it on repeat for the rest of December, at least. (If you don’t know Loose Tapestries, check them out for sure, but on Can’t Wait For Christmas that’s Idris Elba rapping at the end.)