Once You Go Nerd

Here are the things that Rob and I argue about:

Last weekend, Rob turned on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. At first glance, I couldn’t remember which one it was, so I asked Rob if that was the one with Data in it. I, of course, was referring to Data from the Goonies. Rob raised his voice and said, “Data was not in any of the Indiana Jones movies!” I remember and clarified that I was talking about the Temple of Doom, and Rob quickly apologized and said he thought I was referring to Data from Star Trek.

That might’ve been the biggest fight we have ever had.

Work was very slow when we got back to the grind right after Christmas break. I spent time organizing my desk, so now that things are picking up, I have everything in its place.

I have been anticipating the 2012 premieres of a couple shows – Being Human and Face-Off. I am not ashamed to say that both shows are on SyFy network. If you have not watched Being Human, you need to. Rob and I love it so much, and I hardly even think about how it is on SyFy while I am watching it. If you read this blog, you will know that we met one of the main characters at last year’s Detroit Comic Con, and we will meet him again (and the rest of the cast) at the Toronto Comic Con in April. In the midst of a media movement of vampires and werewolves, Being Human makes Twilight  and even True Blood look like piles of puke (sorry, that was gross, but true).

Face-Off is the SyFy equivalent of Project Runway, following a group of Hollywood makeup artists (think monster and zombie makeup) competing for $100K and a year’s worth of makeup. The first season was apparently a huge success, and one of the judges is actually the makeup lead on the much-anticipated (by me) Hunger Games.

Rob and I were watching the other night, and Rob informed that Geordi LaForge from Star Trek will be a guest judge on the show this season. I had no idea who that was, as I do not partake in Rob’s Star Trek viewings, so Rob said, “You know, Banana-Clip Face.” I immediately knew who it was, and even if you don’t watch Star Trek, you probably know who I am talking about when I say Banana-Clip Face. I actually have code names for several Star Trek characters because I have no idea what their actual names are, Banana-Clip Face being my favorite. A close second is Skin-Braid Head. I developed these names during one of the few times I watched Star Trek with Rob, and he gave me a tutorial on how Star Trek is like Beverly Hills 90210 in space. It was a stretch at first, but he had several valid points. I will present those points in a future post – they are too good to try to bundle into this one.

Don’t worry, my New Year’s resolution was not to quit the blog, even though it may seem like that. I have just been enjoying the New Year and getting into the 2012 swing of things. So far, nothing seems to be too different, except work is picking up and my wedding is getting closer (which equals me being very busy). Other than that, the Golden Globes on 1/15 marked the beginning of awards season, which is actually the most wonderful time of the year. Rob and I thoroughly enjoyed the Globes this year, mostly because we did a better job of making fun of the celebs than Gervais did. At the top of our insult list was the lovely Tilda Swinton. She is just… wow. Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge David Bowie fan, but as a woman, I certainly would not use him as my Red Carpet inspiration. Speaking of David Bowie (awesome segue alert), in commemoration of his 65th birthday last week , I sported my Ziggy Stardust earrings to my niece’s seventh birthday, and they got rave reviews.

Back to the Golden Globes (sorry, my structure and post cohesiveness is a little rusty)… Rob and I filled out ballots for the big awards, think Best Actor/Actress/Movie/whatever. We also put a little wager on it to make things interesting. If I won, Rob would have to take me out to dinner to Sangria, a tapas restaurant in Royal Oak. I love it, but Rob never likes to go there because he never feels full when we leave, so he feels like he needs to stop at Comet Burger on the way home or something. If Rob won, I would take him for dinner and games at Dave and Buster’s, an event we normally reserve for his birthday. Obviously I won, so Sangria it is. We will probably still go to Dave and Buster’s anyway, though, because it actually is really fun.

On a side note and because I cannot think of a good way to close this post, I am watching Jeopardy and would like to share a clip from last night of a flub of one of the contestants. Please just watch.

I have the entire week off of work (awesome), and I have a very limited amount of set plans. So far, my plans include using gift cards I received from Santa, lunch with my mom, seeing a couple movies with Rob, updating this poor, neglected blog and last but not least, reading the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I purchased all 5 novels this summer because Rob was begging me to read it. Though many of Rob’s interests have rubbed off on me, I have a very particular type of book/writing style that I enjoy, and I don’t often veer from that (think the Davids of the Eggers and Sedaris variety, Chuck Palahniuk). I have never felt a huge need to read any Isaac Asimov or Philip K. Dick unless I had to for school, which I did need to for a particular literature class I did not like in college, but those are two of Rob’s favorite authors, obviously. I am, however, a HUGE fan of Haruki Murakami, and his novels would definitely fall into the sci-fi realm.

I am told that I would really enjoy Hitchhiker’s Guide because the actual writing style is one that I would lean toward; it is just the subject matter that I am unsure of. Regardless, I promised Rob that I would read it, and since I haven’t done so since I purchased the series 6 months ago, I made it a pre-New Year’s resolution. So far, I have read the introduction, and I liked it. I plan on completing the book in time for mine and Rob’s New Year’s Eve dinner at Vinotecca. If I do, I can move onto my actual New Year’s resolution of reading more, starting with the new Murakami, 1Q84, which is over 900 pgs.

Rob and I always have a fun Christmas lineup. Kind of like Thanksgiving, it works out perfectly so that we can visit with Rob’s family, and then visit with my family on the way back because our parents live just a few miles apart from each other. This year, Rob and I went over to his cousin Ryan’s house in Oxford, which we love, on Christmas Eve. It was hectic in a good way, and we scored a Kohl’s gift card in the cousins’ gift exchange, which Rob was very happy about because that is his preferred vendor of  his “grandpa pants.” We spent the night at his parents’ on Christmas Eve, woke up, opened gifts and headed over to my parents to do the same thing around 2. After all of the family festivities, Rob and I came home to open the gifts we got each other. Here is the breakdown:

• My original attempt at a Christmas gift for Rob this year was botched. I bought him a “whiskey barrel” thinking he would be able to make his own whiskey. Turns out it was just a barrel that you can keep whiskey in – boring, especially because Rob doesn’t drink whiskey very often, but he would think it was fun to make it. I returned it, and I think I redeemed myself by purchasing 2 tickets to the Toronto Comic Con. There were no super-compelling guests announced at the time I bought the tickets, but I figured since it was a Comic Con and since it was in Canada, it was destined to be awesome. When I just grabbed the URL, however, I saw that they just announced that all main cast members from Being Human will be there! Rob and I love the show, and we already met Sam Huntington (who plays Josh on the show) at the Detroit Comic Con last year. We were actually just watching the B.H. marathon yesterday in preparation for the Jan. 16th premier of the new season, and we were speculating on if any of the other cast members do Comic Con appearances.  So, that gift, though it will be delayed, turned out to be a huge success.
• A couple months ago, I dropped a hint to Rob that I could use a new handbag. Because I trust his taste so much (I have loved every piece of jewelry/clothing he has ever gotten for me), I didn’t elaborate on what kind of bag I wanted. He knocked it out of the park with a ’40′s-inspired canvas and leather tote. Rob’s obsession with the ’40′s (or “Greatest Generation,” as he calls it) pays off for me in his selection of accessories.
• We always get each other a joke gift or 2. His was a book I found on thinkgeek.com called Night of the Living Trekkies, which is obviously about Star Trek zombies. Rob got me a heating pad that he found in the “old person aisle” at the store because he was making fun of me about a month ago when I was complaining about a pain in my leg and really wished I had a heating pad. Joke’s on him, though, because I am looking forward to getting cramps and using it.

• Finally, I received an Elvira action figure that I have been coveting for months. She is so awesome. Here is a photo of the action figure. I am conflicted about whether or not it is appropriate for my desk at work. I am hoping my loyal readers reader will advise on A.) how awesome my action figure is, and B.) whether you would put it on your desk at work. Having to explain my Elvira obsession to H.R. is not how I would like to start the New Year.

Rob and I are serious about getting into good shape for the wedding. Rob lost a bunch of weight last year and has been pretty good about keeping it off, but he wants to lose a little more. I could definitely stand to lose like 10 pounds and just tone up a little bit. Anyway, Rob is super dedicated when it comes to that stuff, so he has already started his workout/healthy eating regimen. I, on the other hand, need a little more motivation. You would think that fitting into my wedding dress when it comes in would be enough motivation, but you would be surprised how much power a piece of pizza has over me. I am a pretty avid yoga fan, so that keeps me in check, but unless you have a really strict diet and go to yoga at least 5 times a week, I don’t think yoga alone does the trick for me.

So, I have been looking for races that I could work up to and train for that would require a little more intensity than yoga. I found this one called SheROX on Belle Isle in Detroit that looks perfect for what I am trying to do. It is what they call a sprint-distance triathlon, which means it is a very abbreviated version of a normal triathlon: .25 mile (.4K) swim, 12.4 mile (20K) bike, 3.1 mile (5K) run. I am not worried about the bike ride or really even the swim, but the run, even though it is like a warm-up distance for someone who actually likes to run, will take some working up to. I am going to start really training for it after the New Year. I got a bunch of gift cards for Christmas, so I think I will use one of them for a new pair of running shoes and get this party started! I will keep my loyal readers reader posted on my progress.

When I found the information on the race, I emailed it to Rob and asked him what he thought about it. He said that it looked like it could be cool, but he hates running, so he would really need to think about it  before signing up. I had to gently point out the name of the triathlon (SheROX), indicating that I believe it was a women’s only event and that I would be doing it alone. He is excited, though, to do the training with me, minus the running part.

On a related note, the new season of the Biggest Loser starts on January 3rd, which always helps on the motivation front. Bob and Dolvett will be the only trainers this season, which, as far as I am concerned, is how it should be.

About a month ago, Rob read something about how the first generation iPod Nanos were recalled because of a battery defect, and Apple was offering replacements for any qualifying devices. Coincidentally, Rob passed his first generation iPod Nano onto me when he got his iPhone a couple years ago. So, I sent my iPod in, even though it was still working OK, and I was waiting for the replacement. Since it had been about a month, I had Rob check the status this morning, and Apple.com said it was on its way. We heard rumors that they ran out of the first gen Nanos, so they were sending new, sixth gen Nanos. The shipping status also had the serial number of the replacement device, so Rob, being as savvy with Apple products as he is, looked up the serial number, and we realized that I am, in fact, getting a new, sixth generation Nano!

I’m so excited. I am planning on doing a sprint-distance triathlon this summer (more on that in next post), so the idea of the new iPod is super exciting because you can get a wristband for it so the iPod sort of turns into a wristwatch. Rob is also very excited about the new iPod because he gets annoyed at me sometimes because of my lack of interest in gadgets. I get annoyed at him sometimes because of his lack of interest in Real Housewives and wedding centerpieces, so we are even.

When Rob and I first started dating, there was a blurry period for a few weeks, as there is at the beginning of most relationships. So, I never felt the need to assign an arbitrary date to signify the start of our relationship (a.k.a. an anniversary). Sometimes, however, I will ask Rob when our anniversary is because I know it annoys him, too. His response is always “right before American Idol started” (3 years ago). So, with the 11th season of American Idol approaching, I would like to wish Rob a happy anniversary “season.” I do hope, though, that Rob is not opposed to celebrating our wedding anniversary because that is not an arbitrary date, and you get to give and get fun theme presents every year.

Speaking of the start of our relationship, Rob and I watched Geek Love last night. He called it “the story of us.” We did not, in fact, meet at a Comic Con, we met at a concert, and I was not a nerd before I met Rob. Well, not as big of nerd, I guess. Anyway, there were some real winners on the show, and it was very sweet. A couple of the guys definitely pulled strong with some cute anime girls. My favorite was a girl who dressed as a female version of whatever Boba Fett is, and she found love with Boba Fett himself (itself?), in turn. Rob pointed out that Boba Fett is a mandelore and we also discovered that mandalorian garb can be quite slimming. By the way, please note that I visited a site called Wookiepedia to confirm this information.

Oh.my.god.

Anyway, in closing, whenever and however Rob likes to define the beginning of our relationship, he can even if it is telling people (my personal favorite) that I was a mannequin in the department store and he broke the curse.

Tonight, Rob and I plan on finally getting our Christmas tree and putting it up. I have tried to decorate the house a little bit for Christmas, and we have a wreath on the front door, but it really doesn’t feel like Christmas until the tree is up and lit.We will also be watching the Gremlins because, according to Rob, it is a Christmas movie.

Rob’s band has a show tomorrow night, and I am going to skip it (which I don’t normally do) so I can decorate the tree. All that matters, as far as Rob is concerned, is that his Dr. Spock ornament has prime real estate on the front side of the tree.

When Christmas is over, I can regale you with the story of how I think I failed on Rob’s Christmas present this year because I wouldn’t want to deprive Rob of reading this blog until after Christmas. Let’s just say I was misled and should not be held accountable for false advertising. There is your teaser.