Tag: updates

national parking, Travel, updates

April Wanderings and Updates

Joanna V.

Oh hey! WordPress just told me it’s my 7th anniversary with this blog. Huzzah for that!

Things have been pretty hectic here the last couple of months. We were supposed to move into a new place at the start of May but for various reasons which aren’t terribly interesting the timetable got accelerated… and we moved March 24 instead. I also have been picked up for a lot more hours at my job and have successfully interviewed and been taken on as a volunteer at a local place (details to come later, as I feel it needs its own post).

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#earglehaslanded

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In the meantime, I have been to North Carolina twice in the last five weeks, first for my sister’s bachelorette weekend and then for her wedding (how did it go? it worked!) and now I’m at the other end of all of the things and have a few days to finish unpacking my household and putting stuff on the walls and figure out what the next six months hold.

We did hit up a national park while we were down south: Appomattox Court House, where the Civil War ended and General Lee surrendered his troops. They’ve got much of the original village either restored or replicated, and it was fascinating to visit it having just been to the Abraham Lincoln Home in Springfield, IL, about seven months previous. The two are, of course, closely tied together and the perspectives on everything happening at that time are fascinating and sobering.

One of the things I like about national parks in general is that they preserve slices of things important to our heritage, whether it’s vast forests that have unreachable depths, ancient homes, or sites where important things happened that directly impact us today. It’s a way to literally touch history. I also generally just like being outside and doing things, so that’s nice, too.

Other big things include launching a new YouTube channel for Geek Girl Pen Pals. We don’t have many videos up yet, but the plan is to have regular content focused on our monthly site themes, and to encourage response videos from members of the community.

There have been many other things happening in the last couple of months and I may not get to all of them on here. If you need my new mailing address, please contact me in the usual way. ~_^

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updates

Hello, 2015

Joanna V.

DSC_6723

Well, here we are.

Things have been quiet here for the last couple of months.

First I was off on an extended road trip with J, exploring the entire southern half of our country, with nearly a week in Orlando to do all things Disney and Harry Potter, and then I was in our new home trying to sort through the mess that has been our move. The team that packed our stuff did a great job and we lost very little. The team that was responsible for our furniture? Not so much. As I write this, I’m waiting to hear back from a wood and upholstery repair shop. Fun times.

Chicago has been a shock, though not an unexpected one. We’ve shifted from sunny SoCal to frigid MidWest and it’s going to take some adjustment. And some good boots.

But the trip was lovely and we’re finally starting to settle in and life goes on. I’ll try to get back into the swing of things with updates soon, and probably roll out some new features this year. Five Fandom Fridays sound kind of fun. ^_^

Here’s to a happy 2015!

Three Broomsticks butterbeer cheers

this and that, Travel, updates

As seen on… September 2014

Joanna V.

meadow near El Capitan

Happy October! It’s time for another monthly roundup of stuff I did in other places. Yay!

Newsy things:
Heyheyhey, I got invited to join the staff of International Geek Girls Pen Pal Club as a “Ninja.” Whoop! Just means I’ll be doing more behind-the-scenes stuff, really, particularly in January once I’m (theoretically) unpacked and a bit more settled, because…

This is moving month. EEP. The movers come in less than two weeks and I’m trying to clear things out (which is hard in a small space) and use up consumables and all sorts of things.. Expect not much posting between now and then.

For our last weekend roadtrip, we went to Yosemite National Park this weekend! I’ve got a ton of gorgeous photos to go through asap and try to get posted for you, but the photos in this post are a sneak peak.

Half Dome, overcast day

Things I wrote:
As usual, I’ve been posting stuff in other places. Over at IGGPPC, I’ve got two movie reviews, a Hobbit Day celebration, and an everyday cosplay post.
The Giver was excellent, and much better than any of the other dystopian teen world movies I’ve seen of late. It ought to be because the source material is fantastic.
The Maze Runner was enjoyable and I’m interested in what’s going to happen next. I like that we don’t have all the information going in, and that we learn things as the protagonist does.
Huzzah and Hooray, it’s Hobbit Day! We celebrated Sept 22 over at the site, too.
Everyday Cosplay: Some things happening this month and links to other articles. Just a roundup of stuff I liked this month.
I was also featured as part of the September Staff Picks, which you can check out over here if you like.

Tunnel View after storm

So that’s about it for September. Internet might be patchy in October, but I hope to have some fun things to share about the Great Moving Adventure. See you soon!

this and that, updates

September! Wait, where has the year gone?

Joanna V.

Jo and J in Temecula, 2014

Well, it’s September 3rd. Where has this summer gone?

For starters, it’s gone to a lot of houseguests and fun things that we’ve done and Comic-Con and weekend trips and the like, but it’s also flown by because all too soon we’ll be leaving San Diego. There’s a road trip of epic proportions coming (and I’m not exaggerating). But more on that later.

For now, though, I want to savor September.

Monday was September 1, the day Hogwarts students board the Hogwarts Express and head north for another school year. My impulse to go buy school supplies and new shoes has mostly abated over the years, but I still get excited when I see the autumn decorations and Halloween things starting to appear. I walked through the craft store last month (craft stores are the only places allowed, by my mental checklist, to have fall things in the summer) and caught myself reaching for the cinnamon scented things and orange leaves.

Truth be told, it’s been looking like autumn here in southern California in a very bad way; the drought we’re in is the worst in five decades, and the trees are changing color because they can’t support their leaves any more. We need rain here, badly.

This is our last full month in California, and I’m going to enjoy every bit of it. This past weekend we went north to Temecula and enjoyed the scenery with a little wine tasting along the way. We explored Old Town Temecula and ate some wonderful food and generally had a good time. This weekend I’m not sure where the road will take us, but there’s a brief outing to Yosemite planned for later in the month, plus a couple of last days at Disneyland.

I’m really going to miss California, but another adventure is fast approaching. So we go.

UPDATES AND THINGS.

As Seen On:
I published this early in the month not expecting to have anything else post before September, but I had an article go live for Paper Droids a couple of weeks ago. Here are 6 Geek Chic Travel Accessories that I think are pretty awesome.

You can also find me here, with IGGPPCamp, teaching a class I dubbed “Iggle Trek” that’s essentially an introduction to the very basics of wildlife watching. I also sat on the Everyday Cosplay panel (fair warning: that video is 1.5 hours because we had a LOT to say!) and had a little too much fun as a camp counselor…. I might have eaten all the marshmallows…. Oops.

Traveling:
We’re still finalizing our travel plans, but it should be part ridiculous and part fantastic so if you see a head exploding, that’s probably me. Updates will turn up as I have internet, maybe.

Other Stuff:
Well, there’s not much else to tell for now. We’re heading to Chicago at the end of our road tripping so things will get a little (lot) different after that. Lots of new things to see and places to explore. I hope you enjoy the trip. ^_^

 

this and that, updates

As seen on… end of May 2014

Joanna V.

Well, it’s June, and I’m still working on my Australia reports, though between various life happenings and short out-of-town outings, it’s slow going. In the meantime, here’s what I did in the second half of May!

Over at +5 Charisma on geekgirlpenpals.com, I’ve got three new movie reviews you can check out! (Click the links for full reviews.)
Here are my thoughts on Godzilla (2014): it was all right, but the only really good parts were the brief times when Godzilla was actually on screen; the humans were dull at best.
X-Men: Days of Future Past was outstanding! One of the best X-Men movies yet, and moves leaps and bounds to correcting the issues with the earlier films (including negating the awful X3: Last Stand).
Disney’s Maleficent was an interesting and visually beautiful take on the classic Sleeping Beauty tale, and shows that Disney is continuing to break out of their usual formula.

Speaking of things I write for, International Geek Girl Pen Pal Club AND Paper Droids are both up for Geekie Awards! The Awards are meant to honor and give recognition to up-and-coming content creators and the sites that host them, and both of these places have been nominated. The judging is happening this month, with winners selected in July and an awards show in August. I’m excited for both sites.

So there’s the news from my corner of the internet. Hope you’re doing well, and look for more travelogue to come later this week!

this and that

New Year, New Look

Joanna V.

current blogging configuration

Hello hello!

As promised, the new year is bringing a new look to my site (which is still a work in progress and whatever you see now might not be what it is later). Among other updates,  you can now find links to other places to read things I write (mostly movie reviews and opinion pieces).  Also, that weird set-up at the top? That’s my current computer situation, so things might move a little slowly until I get a new desktop. Ha. (I like to type on a full size keyboard and use a mouse. Does this make me old school?)

That’s about it. After a bit more housekeeping, things should get back to a somewhat regular schedule around here. I’m looking forward to whatever 2014 brings!