Electronics must go!

0
280 days
by in Miscellaneous

I’ve been in my apartment about 8 months, so maybe it’s time to tackle the room that’s still full of boxes. To that end, I’m having a grand electronics giveaway! (Maybe not so grand)

If you would like any of the below, please email me! tarablogger at g mail

  • Playstation 1! Yes, the original! Still has some fun value, I’m sure
  • Playstation 2! Like the Playstation 1, but it’s got a 2 after it
  • TiVo Series 2 – Works great, has an upgraded hard drive, requires a subscription for maximum goodness
  • TiVo Series 3 – This is HD, which is cool. However, it’s broken. A new hard drive should fix it right up, but I’m on to the 4th TiVo so didn’t bother.

Seriously, they’re free if you want them and you’re local.

The unforeseen dangers of the iPad

1
515 days
by in Miscellaneous

In the last few months I have fully adopted the iPad as my eReader of choice. I haven’t read a paper book and have been racking up ridiculous Amazon bills with my late night book purchasing sprees, in awe of instant book delivery.

Well, this weekend I discovered a problem I hadn’t really considered before – iPads are a bit heavy and rather slippery compared to a paperback. I was reading in bed and my cat decided to sit on my chest in front of the iPad, typical cat behavior. I was wiggling and twisting the iPad to keep reading when it slipped out of my right hand. My left hand still had tight hold and it almost seemed like slow motion as the iPad swung in towards my face. It crashed into my lip and I tasted blood. Within minutes my lower lip had swollen up to twice its size.

Sure, books can give you paper cuts, but watch out, the iPad can give you a fat lip.

Commuting, or my life on the bus

4
535 days
by in Miscellaneous

My very first job out of college I picked an apartment about two blocks from my office. This meant I was living in North Andover, Massachusetts, a good 30+ minutes from Boston, the city I claimed to live in. After a few years I attempted a move closer to the city but couldn’t stand the 30 minute drive twice a day and ultimately moved back up to be close to the office.

Fast forward a few more years and I’m living in San Francisco, working in the Presidio. My commute is 10 minutes and that’s my focus.

The next job after that was at Double Fine. My commute went from 10 minutes in my car with easy parking on both ends to an all public transit route that involved 2 buses and about 15 minutes of walking for a total commute of 35 – 50 minutes, depending on luck and how many stops the buses made.

At first I thought it was unbearable. All that time swaying on a muni bus was such a waste. I had to move! But weeks turned into months and I didn’t move. I found myself getting used to the commute. There’s a muni mini game to successfully snagging a seat even on a super crowded bus. There are the amusing crazies you encounter when taking the bus home at 1 am after a particularly late night at work. And of course there are all the iPhone games I spent hours playing.

Now my commute involves a 5-10 minute walk and then about 50 minutes on a fancy bus with wifi. Some of my friends on Twitter were amazed that I considered this a good commute. But there are a few things to consider.

First, I’d consider this better than my last commute. One bus, mostly clean, no fear of getting my iPad stolen if I pull it out and decide to write a blog post. A straight shot to work, I can even take a nap if I want to!

Second thing is about priorities. When I was 21 and fresh out of college, work was my life. My biggest concern was impressing my boss and doing a great job. Ten years later, these things are still important but time has taught me that work is not the only thing. Maybe it seems like an obvious statement, but for me it took a lot of time to come around to this wisdom.

After all, I love video games and every day I was getting to make them. I was living my dream and why would I want anything else? Well, because it turns out that my dreams encompass more than the kind of code I write when I sit down at a computer every morning. I think it’s too easy to get caught up in our jobs and career advancement so that we forget about the other things we have wanted for ourselves.

For me, what I want is to continue to live in San Francisco, a beautiful city that makes me proud. Every neighborhood has a different mini culture and there are still so many places I haven’t eaten. Mmm, good food is definitely on my list of important things. I choose to commute 50 minutes each way everyday so that I can come home and see my friends, not tomorrow, but today.

I don’t live next to my office because I don’t want my office to be the center of my world anymore. My job is great and I smile at the people I get to work with everyday. But then I get to go home and think about what I’m going to do next with my day.

Working towards a clean start

1
539 days
by in Miscellaneous

I’ve lived in my current apartment for four years. In the best of times I’m a definite pack rat – getting rid of things has always seemed like a struggle between ‘should’ and ‘want’. Moving has always been a time of enforced cleaning. Who wants to move all that extra stuff that’s been sitting in the back of our closets, untouched? I lived in my current apartment longer than anywhere except my childhood home. That’s a long time to nest without any requirements to purge the accumulations.

I’m moving tomorrow and the last month has been accompanied by the ever present mantra of ‘get rid of’! My first stop was perhaps the easiest. After ten years working on video games I had accumulated quite the collection. We’re talking original Xbox, gamecube, PSP, Gameboy Advance, and stacks and stacks of games. I took so many games to trade in that I started visiting different locations to spread the love. I included current games that I was never going to play again, but every game I added to the pile was a decision and not always an easy one.

From there it was on to the books. I have to thank my iPad for making this part easier. Ever since I went to digital books my attachment to the paper counterparts has diminished. I got rid of a couple hundred books, donated hopefully to good homes. Don’t worry, I still have hundreds of books left, I’m not that evolved yet.

Clothes I never wear, papers from so long ago I don’t know why I kept them, random knickknacks that I just don’t need, and more cat themed stuff that people gave me as gifts than any sane person should have. Friends and loved ones reading this: yes, I love cats, but No, I don’t want my home festooned with creepy cat lady stuff.

My move is tomorrow and I’m not done, I still have so much more to pack/toss. The question is am I going to learn a lesson from this and acquire less, get rid of more? I really don’t know, but I’m doing my best to enter this next apartment with as clean a start as I can.

Changes

2
540 days
by in Miscellaneous

Hey out there my blog friends! The last few months have been a time of decisions and changes, most of which have been rather significant. In the spirit of fresh starts and new beginnings I’m going to try to revive my blog. It won’t be about World of Warcraft anymore, news that brings a sigh of relief to all my non-WoW friends, I’m sure.

What’s going on with me, you ask? Well the biggest piece of news is that I have left the video games industry, just shy of my ten year anniversary. Games have been my passion, my hobby, my job, and my life for a very long time now. It wasn’t losing interest in games that lead to my career shift, but a curiosity about what else is out there and what other ways I can be challenged. There are so many things I am interested in besides video game AI. Admittedly, game AI is pretty awesome, but sometimes I have a larger desire to effect my world and my destiny than being a programmer affords.

On to the destination then, where am I now, you ask? Apple! Anyone who’s followed my blog since I started it so many years ago has probably seen the occasional Apple fangirl post creep in. Somehow I went from a Windows only person to someone with piles of Macs and iDevices surrounding me. And I like it! I’ve been at Apple for a month and it was definitely the right decision for me. I do not intend to talk about Apple on this blog or my job there, I just wanted to provide some context to my new situation.

And for my blog readers and close friends, probably the biggest change is that I have quit World of Warcraft. I haven’t played in about two months and I don’t really miss it. I’ll probably give it another try when the next expansion comes out because how could I not. But the time for WoW to dominate every aspect of my life is over. Since I quit I have so much more time for reading, rock climbing, knitting, and socializing with my RL friends that I’m amazed how much longer the days feel.

Because that wasn’t enough for me to handle I’m also moving, just from one side of San Francisco to the other, but packing and getting everything ready has certainly kept me busy. The move is this Saturday and I really can’t wait for it to be done.

I still have plenty of thoughts to share on geek toys, tv, movies, my cat (I know you all can’t wait to get updates on my cat, can you?) and whatever else comes to mind. So come on back to visit and I’ll do my best to keep you entertained without resorting to orcs and night elves.

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