I'm Not A Platypus, or Don't Hate Because You Can Only Button Mash

Most of my titles make a decent amount of sense. This one will after reading the post, but it does grab your attention, doesn't it? When was the last time you thought about platypuses? I find them cute, but then again, I have a habit of being able to draw just about anything in a cute form. The point is platypuses are rare, so rare that it is the sole living representative of its family (Ornithorhynchidae) and genus(Ornithorhynchus). While almost hunted to a threatening level for their fur, they are currently not under any immediate threat. You just can't find them outside of Australia.

This little scientific background about the platypus brings me to the point of my longwinded-ness. I'm not a platypus. I'm not that rare, I'm not extinct, I'm not exotic, you just have to sometimes look a little harder to find me.

I'm not a platypus, I'm a girl who games.

Maybe I'm just not used to coming out of the technological, socially-challenged, adventuresome, ridiculous world of RPI. I got used to girls who game, flaming cereal, rubix cube costumes, cosplay, LAN parties, SSB tournaments, playing video games at work and reviewing the newest Mortal Kombat game for the Poly, the school's newspaper. Maybe this shouldn't be such a surprise, maybe I shouldn't be face-palming so hard at so many guys, but I just have to wonder, why are girls who game still considered an anomaly?

Since living in Madison for over three weeks now, and being in the "real world" there's been a plethera of responses to the fact that I own a PS3, play a variety of games, am decently good at said games, and used to play PC games. There were one or two responses of just plain acceptance, which is really nice. Then there are two others which include flirtatious joking about giving me a bad time for playing video games, in the sense that ::GASP!:: a girl who games? Don't be silly. The other, which I find a bit annoying is:

I've always found a girl who games to be kind of sexy.

Ladies, do you find a guy who games sexy? I'm not sure if the reverse is true, it might be, I'm not going to hate, but it doesn't always seem to be the case in my opinion. During my lunch break at work the other day, I found this interesting little infograph that you can see below. (I apologize again for the image disrupting my blog's formatting.)



According to their research, women now account for 40% of all gamers and 67% of households engage in playing video games. While 40% isn't half and half, it's still not really a minority considering the only categories are pretty much a) guys or b)girls. There's a lot of us who do this! Why is this odd?

Now, I will say that I didn't do a lot of follow-up research into this, so I don't know what they are classifying as "gaming". There are some statistics that incorporate women who play Farmville or Mafia Wars on Facebook as gaming. I don't know the break down of PC verses console games. My hunch is that it's a smaller statistic, but even so, 40% is nothing to shake your head at.

My musings above are turning out to be one of my more annoying posts personally, where I don't really make a solid point or reach a definite conclusion, but rather verbalize my own befuddlement. I don't understand why it's weird that a girl could play video games. Both myself and my two younger sisters always have and still do. I remember when I was five and I played Pajama Sam on our good old Windows 95 system. We all had Gameboys, then Gameboy Colors, Gameboy Advances, and both of my sisters currently have DSs. A paycheck or two from now, I'd like to have one of the new 3-D DSs.

Maybe it's the fact that we were raised by parents who's love story was set in the early days of Intel. Maybe it's because most of my cousins are guys, so many summers included playing Super Smash Brothers, StarFox, and Halo when we couldn't go to the beach. Maybe my family's just plain nerdy?

Who knows, maybe that (and many other) statistic is just flat out wrong and female gamers really are an odd phenomenon. I don't really understand it all. Back to coding work, followed by an evening of cleaning and restoring my FFXIII data.

On Jewelry, or Why Do People Like the Absolute?

Somewhere in the walks of life, I remember either hearing or reading this:

You shouldn't wear jewelry an ex gave you

Everytime this pops into my head I can't helpu but to stop, pause and disagree. First, I am not a fan of the absolute. The closest I've gotten to this is a personal rule to not kiss on the first date, and my best friend Patrick is still the sole exception. There's exceptions everywher in life.

Secondly, it just seems a bit, well, silly. I still wear a good deal of gifts from exes. I also don't throw things out, so take that as you will. I'm a pack rat at heart. I wear the white and silver scarf given to me from the co-producer of my worst break-up to date. I didn't throw out the handcrafted metal rose given to me for my 21st birthday from a crazy boy. I occassionally wear some of the necklaces given to me by my longest overall relationship. The main exception is that I do not wear the diamond necklace that was a Christmas gift from my first boyfriend.

I understand the above "rule" as a guideline to, don't wear something that weirds you out. Makes sense, right? That's what the diamond necklace does. I can't pin point exactly what it is, but there's just been this sentiment that leaves me no reason to put it on.

Thoughts dear readers? This mainly pertains to the female half, but I guess it could also extend to you dudes in the form of clothes? Any of you discard jewelry from someone in your past?

Is it dusty in the back of a draw somewhere, or does it have a comfortable home in your regular wardrobe?

Well...Part 2

I know this is weird, but I am kind of happy that I almost let my blog die.

I neglected, or well, did not commit as much time to, my blog due to all the other activities in my life. I could make excuses, I could list off everything, or I could even make a long rambling assessment of how every situation has molded and changed me. I'm not going to do that now. Probably later. I like to write, and have a habit of rambling, but not now.

In my life now, is a different stage. I graduated from R.P.I. with a dual degree in Mathematics and Economics. I landed a job back in February. I am moving to a new city where I have never lived before. I may soon be able to have a laptop without a sticking e key.

About three days ago, I received an email detailing my total of loans and outlining repayment plans. On Monday I bought a professional looking bag for work. I just paid my bills including my last utility payment for my apartment in Troy. I am calling to finalize apartments tomorrow.

I am an adult. It is weird.

Kind of like a mixed corgi.



Yeah. I'm tired, just go with it <3

Look How Far We've Come

When I was a little kid, I wanted to grow up to be an artist and a painter. I was going to have a studio house on top of one of the hills in Southern California, overlooking the beach. My days would consist of sketching, drinking iced tea, writing, playing with my dog, and throwing paint onto canvases.

Where did that childhood dream go?

There's a First Time for Everything

Apologies aside for my lack of blogging, I do want to admit that I have been pretty busy with life, learning and the general disappointment that is Lenovo. That being said, I would like to talk to you today, boys and girls, about a beer. This beer, is not my favorite beer, possibly not the best beer, but is certainly a decent special case because it is an India Pale Ale.

For those of you who do not know me well, or we simply haven't had the pleasure of jointly knocking back a few cold ones, you should know this: I do not like IPA's. I love a good hefeweizen, stout, porter, lager, you name it, however, I really don't like IPAs. It boils down to the hops. The favor simply isn't my cup of tea--or glass of beer. It is surprising then, particularly to myself that I found one I could palate. Granted, it's a "pitch black IPA", but we all have to start somewhere don't we?

The beer that finally got me is Widmer Brothers Brewing's Pitch Black IPA, part of the 924 Series. 924 Russell Street back in Portland is the home of Widmer Brothers. Anywho, this IPA "takes you to the dark side". My approval of it comes from the black malt flavor to give a certain richness I don't normally find in pale ales. Smooth, dark, and hoppy, this brew certainly surprised me. Priced around $9.95 for a four pack at Hoosick Beverage, it didn't pack a punch to my wallet like hops normally do to my mouth.



While I was not converted, I'm more hesitant to give other IPAs a try, but don't expect me to still not make a face when confronted with hops. Baby steps my friends, baby steps.

Correlation and Causation

Based upon yesterday morning and all of Sunday, I am starting to wonder if my mood is partially dependent upon the quality (fit, color, cuteness/sexiness) of my underwear.

High quality underwear makes me smile, yielding a higher probability of a sustained good mood.

Maybe this is why women should dress for themselves and not for other women or men?

Just a random thought that came to mind in Mathematical Statistics when discussing Bayes estimators.

Snot in my Sinuses and Thoughts in my Head

Being Saturday, this day marks the looming end of my last Spring Break ever. I did not go someplace tropical, exotic, foreign or even crazy. Instead, I went skiing in Vermont. There will be more on that endeavor later, don't worry there'll be pictures to boot, but first, just a random thought that came into my head at 10:22 p.m. on a Saturday night alone in my apartment listening to Ida Maria's "Oh My God" and attempting to work on my economics thesis.



Why is it that people have strong opinions and conceptions about the way a person takes their coffee, but not about tea?


A well-known caffeine addict, I do not discriminate and tend to absorb large quantities of both tea and coffee. I drink green tea, black tea, chai teas, herbal mixes, you name it. With respect to the bean, I like darker roasts, particularly French roasts and the occasional americano. When I have tea, if it is a black tea, then I drink it "grandma style" which includes milk and a copious amount of sugar. Other teas, due to their flavors, I drink straight. The only exception to my black tea protocol is when I'm skiing. In such instances, I enjoy black tea with lemon and some honey. In both of those situations, everything is fine. Drinking socially with friends, no one seems to bat and eye at my choice. If anything, tea drinkers go out of their way to provide the desired additions, like my friend Nate did at our last tea party.


With coffee, I prefer a splash of either cream or whole milk. No sugar, no crazy extra sweeteners or added flavors, but a little bit of real dairy is ideal for me. Drinking coffee around friends for the first time, or discussing how one takes their coffee results in horrified stares at my declaration of dairy. How could I? The tiniest drop of milk is sacrilege!


Believe me, I am not uneducated in the knowledge of coffee. Through living in Portland, aka Stumptown and land of overly opinionated hipsters, my own research, and a good friend who works in the production of the plant, there is no doubting my ability to be informed. I know that coffee is one of those beverages that should be savored in its pure, true form. If it makes anyone feel better, I don't add anything to an americano.

For some reason, my inclusion of milk is this horrible abomination and, I can't quite figure out why. Yes I have been told time and time again that it's better black. I can, and have, drank coffee black with no milk or sugar, however, it is just my personal preference to drink it otherwise. Even as I compose this, I have been racking my brain for a logical explanation as to why the way someone takes their coffee seems to indicate some gargantuan statement about their character. Perhaps it is because I have been sick and congested for the better part of the past few weeks and the mucus is getting to my head, but I just can't think of any reason.

For some reason, the way you take your coffee says a statement about your moral fiber, but no one bats an eye at the way you take your tea.

Huh.

Quick Thought

I have a lot of hair. I apparently have very gorgeous hair. It happens to be one of the ways people identify me in a crowd.

I ask you then, what would change if half of it was gone?

Some Food for Thought

While the main purpose of this blog is to have an outlet for writing, I do periodically observe trends and data. I am dual majoring in mathematics and economics after all. With that in mind, I find it highly amusing that in the eight months that I have been blogging, my third highest, or third most visited post, has been about pierogies.

The secret to a man's heart is through his stomach appears to be true for both sexes.