Cabin Culture

So, yesterday's post was about rainy summer weekends, and today's continues the summer theme by talking about cabins.

I've never been "up to the cabin," as people around here are likely to go once the weather starts warming up. Many people I've told this to react with shock and bewilderment, as if they understand those words individually, but the way in which I put them together made no sense. But it's true; I've never participated in this very Minnesotan of activities.

The main reason, of course, is that no one in my immediate family owns one. And I don't think anyone in my extended family does either, though I might be wrong on that. So I admit to not really knowing what people do at cabins. It seems like the same type of things one does when camping (which I have done a lot of, between annual family camping trips growing up and my years spent in Scouts), only with the ability to sleep indoors at night.

It seems like I always hear about the work involved with them, though. The first weekend of the year is spent getting them ready, and the last is spent closing them up. Sometimes, people spend three our four weekends a year working on their homes away from home. Presumably, they actually get the chance to enjoy them at some point.

I'm not trying to rip on cabins, particularly since I don't know what of I speak. And if someone invited me to theirs, I'd gratefully take them up on it (not that that's a hint or anything). That said, I like going to new places when I travel, so the idea of having a cabin, vacation condo, etc. that I always go to doesn't necessarily appeal to me all that much. I like being places I haven't been to before.

Rain Days

This weekend was rainy, occasionally chilly, and overcast around here, which made it a good time to stay inside. Now, a lot of Minnesotans don't like this kind of weather in June. I like rain and cool temperatures, but I sympathize with them -- nice days are so scarce here that people want to make the most of them when they're around. June in particular is usually a good time to be outside in this state, as it tends to be milder than what we can get in July and August.

I have nothing against spending time outdoors; I went for a hike at Lebanon Hills yesterday right before the rain hit and usually spend some time outside every weekend. On the other hand, it is nice to have a good excuse to spend time inside doing things like watching movies, napping, and getting housework done without people practically being offended that I'm not outside and wondering what the hell is wrong with me.

w00tstock

I went to w00tstock at the Guthrie Theater last night, which was all kinds of awesome. It's kind of hard to explain in a blog post, so I recommend checking out the link if you're curious. It was really something to get to see so many people I'm a fan of (Paul and Storm, Will Wheaton, John Scalzi, Adam Savage, and many more, including a special appearance by Neil Gaiman) in one fantastic venue.

If it comes back, I'm definitely going again.

Memorial Day

It's Memorial Day in the US, which for a lot of people means being at the lake, grilling, traveling, and enjoying a day off of work (at least for people with office jobs).

But it's also important to remember why we have this day, so take a moment to do that too.

Lost No More (No Spoilers)

Last night we had a mini-marathon of the last four episodes of Lost, as well as the two-hour special that aired right before the finale. We had them sitting on our Tivo for a while and had never gotten around to watching them, due to being pretty busy, so with the series ending, it seemed like the right time to finish it off. Plus, I figured I could only stay unspoiled for so long.

I know people were quite divided on whether or not the show ended well. I don't want to get into a big discussion of its merits or flaws -- there are certainly enough of those elsewhere on the Web already -- but overall we were both very pleased with it. Yes, there were a few plot threads and elements they didn't address, but in terms of character development and their personal stories, they reached a highly satisfying conclusion.

Eventually, I want to go back and watch the series from the beginning; the special and certain moments of the finale reminded me of a lot of awesome scenes from earlier on. And I'm also looking forward to being able to finally watch Glee in real-time next season too.

A Name Change

I've finally settled on a new name for this blog, which you can see at the top of the page.

I got the idea for this last week when, after finishing my Imperial Platter from Leann Chin (bourbon chicken and cream cheese puffs with fried rice, my standard), I unwrapped my fortune cookie and broke it apart to read the fortune.

Except, the fortune was blank. Just a strip of paper with nothing on it.

At first, I thought this was just funny, but then I realized that, if I reeaally wanted to read way, way more into this than is warranted, I could interpret this as a sign meaning that my fortune is in fact blank, and that I can write my own. Now, I don't actually believe in signs like this, so in fact this is more of a reminder of something I already knew rather than a deep revelation.

But hey, I like the name, and I think it's a neat story. So there you go.

Reboot

So, it's been well over a year since I last updated this blog. As such, I've decided to reboot it and take it in a new direction. Rather than just focusing on writing, it's going to be a general-purpose blog where I talk about whatever I feel like at the moment. Writing will certainly be a large part of it, but it could also include everything from book reviews to interesting pictures I take. I think it will be easier for me to commit to a blog if I don't pressure myself to keep a particular theme all the time.

I may change the name; I'm not sure about that yet. And I will also include a blogroll that links to whatever I happen to find interesting and worth a read. Eventually I may even move this to another host, but I'm not sure on that yet.