The site has moved to http://sheisgeeky.wordpress.com/. 

Bear with my as I change the Wordpress theme and put all my old stuff on Posterous onto the new website. 

(I'm slowly moving to wordpress as sheisgeeky.)

That is disgusting. Wearing a pair of Steve Madden boots from Nordstrom's shouldn't do that to your socks. As you can tell, my boots are better at sucking up water than they are at being a fashionable piece of protective footwear. By the time I got to school today, my socks were soaking, and my feet smelled so sweaty (Fact: I probably lost 10 friends that day).

Not only do my feet get absolutely soaked when I wear these boots in rainy weather, but they get temporarily "stained" from the rain. After it dries, it gets stained from the water, and you can see water marks form on the boot (right picture).

AND, to top it all off, the back of the boot is totally destroyed. But, this is probably due to the fact that I drag my feet like an ogre (no, really. I do. And if you find that attractive, you should see my catwalk).

So, now I really want a new pair of boots. I asked my friends for some suggestions on what kind of boots I should buy. I got, "Timberlands", "Lugz" and "Hunter boots" as a response. Maybe I should have included the fact that I am not a male in my question to my friends.

In other news, I got this for Valentine's day:

 DROOL. I lava Felicia Day. Her character has helped me to accept my inner geek. Her comic reminds me of my awkward high school days (and even college days) where I was constantly trying to be comfortable with who I am, and somehow make that fit into some socially acceptable person. I read the whole comic in about 45 minutes, and I couldn't be more pleased. Oh, and I also go this for Valentine's day:  

 No. Literally. That's what I got for Valentine's day. My boyfriend actually showed me a picture of roses on his smartphone when I got into the car right before he took me out to Little Caesars for Valentine's Day dinner. "Surprise! Happy Valentine's day! Sorry. I couldn't make it to the store in time to get any. Smell them!".

Ha! I'm kidding. We didn't go to Little Caesars!

But he really did give me virtual flowers. But, I actually laughed really hard the whole car ride and thought it was pretty cute that he actually googled "roses" in his smartphone right before I got into the car.

Alrighty, then. I think I'm going to go scare people off with my rancid-smelling feet, and smell my virtual roses.

image by plyfitto 

Ever since the beginning of the year, I've had a plan to listen to one (new) album a day. Today, I woke up and listened to Janelle Monae's album, "ArchAndroid". 

Now THAT is an album to wake up to. 

Janelle Monae brings something unique and memorable to today's female music industry. And, no, I'm not talking about a uniqueness or a memorableness of a Ke$ha or a Nick Minaj. I'm talking about something long-term. Classic. Unforgettable. Her album is an album that I will probably play over and over and over again. 

Janelle was "...handpicked by Big Boi to guest on his Got Purp mixtape and on Outkast's Idlewild. ..her debut EP...is the story of an alien android name Cindy Mayweather who's been persecuted by the government of futuristic city Metropolis for her illegal love affair with a human (from Rhapsody's info page on Janelle Monae)"

Seriously! Listen to it. 

By the way, shout out to my friend Sal, who gave props to her before I even knew who she was. Wouldn't be writing this journal entry without that intial inspiration Janelle gave to him!

Yes. It's a break-up song. Hello! Didn't see that coming, did you? Especially since the video and song makes you want to dance. Proof that it is a break up song:

Thank god for mom and dad

For sticking two together

'Cause we don't know how...

...

We get together

Ohh, we get together

But seperate's always better when there's feelings involved

If what they say is "Nothing is forever"

what makes, what makes, what makes

what makes, what makes LOOVVEEE?

(Love exception) So why you, why you

Why you, why you, why you are we so in denial

When we know we're not happy heeeerrreeee...

I make the same mistake myself EVERY TIME I HEAR THIS SONG. I always have to remind myself that this is a break-up song. 

Which makes me wonder, is anyone seriously listening to any of the lyrics in today's music? 

Picture from corycenter

In my opinion, one of the most under hyped things you can find on the web are podcasts. You can learn so much about yourself or a new subject so easily. Here are a few of the podcasts that have stood out in my mind and have changed my life:

QUICK AND DIRTY TIPS - GET-IT-DONE-GUY (Stever Robbins) "How to Stand Out"

Stever Robbins is hilarious and informative about how to keep organized and sane in this age of technology. The podcast episode "How to Stand Out" even helped to inspire me to make this blog. My favorite lines from this episode: 

"People like personality! After years of hiding my personality and style, fearing it would be inappropriate in business, I let myself peek out of my shell and Wooph!""what sets you apart from everyone else is … you. People form bonds with you, not your skill set. Yet most of us wait for the weekend to be ourselves. We live based on what we think people expect. Of course, they’re doing the same thing, imagining that we expect them to fit a mold.If you want to stand out as exceptional, sure, develop your skills. Then enhance them by finding ways to add your personality into the mix."

How to Stand Out

THE MOTH - Al Letson's "Father Figures"

I'm really interested in trying to become a great story teller, and the way Al Letson tells this story is perfect. I don't have a snippet of a part of his talk, or a quote of the best part of his story because 1. I can't find a transcript and 2.  I  feel that quoting a little of the episode wouldn't do Al Letson's story justice. I feel that those interested in hearing should just listen to the whole thing in its entirety. 

Father Figures

TED TALKS - Steve Jobs's "How to Live Before You Die". 

Ted Talks, in general, is a great podcast to find inspiration along with a new perspective on life.  Episodes are about 15 minutes long -- which makes it great for listening to while you commute. 

This podcast episode, "How to LIve Before You Die", totally helped to inspire me to change my career path (from being an accountant to a something in IT). Jobs reminds us to do what we love:

 "Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle."

OTHER PODCAST RECOMMENDATIONS - QUICK AND DIRTY TIPS

Some podcasts that have really helped to teach me new things are the Quick an Dirty Tips series. I've learned a lot about a variety of things because of these podcasts and I highly recommend you find one you like and start listening today.I really enjoy much of the quick and dirty tips podcasts because they have such a variety of things to listen to. You can listen to a podcast for dog tips, or a podcast dedicated to moms interested in getting tips about parenting, or even podcast about grammar. I could go on and on but I only have so much space and I don't want to bore you (that is, if I haven't already). Check out the Quick and Dirty Tips website for more information on all the different kinds of podcasts you can find!

QUICK AND DIRTY TIPS

In this article I highlight what I think are the best ways to find new music that fits your collection. And I do understand that finding new music can be a frustrating ordeal, so I've put together a list of five ways to expand your music library with little frustration.

Two important things before you attempt to expand the types of music you like:
1. Keep an open mind 24/7, 365. My mantra is to always be slowly expanding my musical taste and to always be listening may it be a store as you're shopping, or the music in the background of a tv show always be listenig!!  

Now, the five ways:

1. Listen to your friend's music
This is the easiest way to expand the types of music you are listening to: listen to what you're friends are listening to. This means allowing them choose what station or cd they want to listen to in the car or while you are studying with them. Also, check out the links and videos people post on facebook, listen to their pandora, blip.fm or last.fm!. Be open minded!

I think it's best to implement a rule when listening to their music: you can't change their song when it is on. You have to listen to all of what they listen to.

2. Listen to covers of your favorite songs / favorite artists
Sometimes the best way to find new music is to listen to your favorite songs...but by different artists. Or listen to different songs covered by your favorite artist. The trick is to try and not to pay too much attention to who the artist is. (What I like to do is play the song without even looking at who made the song).
The following links are great places to start to find covers. The one I use the most is Copy Cats.

Copy Cats
best covers you've never heard of
the 50 best covers of 2009

3. Listen to what inspires your favorite artists
This is along the lines of listening what your friends listen to, but I feel that you would feel a little more obligated to listen to what inspires your favorite artists. I couldn't offer more of a variety of celebrity blogs, but I'm open to hearing about celebrity blogs that inspire you to listen to a variety of music.

common's blog
kanye west's blog
justin timberlake

4. Change the decade and/or country from which you listen to music to
sometimes you don't realize it, but you end up listening to the same type of music, from the same decade from the same artist. Try changing the time frame (try a different decade) Or try to listen to music from different countries. Maybe listen to popular songs in a different genre.

Here's a list of places to get your feet (ears?) wet:

rolling stone's 100 best songs of the decade
Pretty Much Amazing: Best songs of the decade
NPR: the years best world music
Billboard charts

5. Follow a music blog
Following a music blog is probably one of the best ways to get find interesting new music. When I say "music blog", I don't necessarily mean a blog that reviews music, or says why it's a tasteful piece of art, etc; but I do mean that the blog creator is constantly posting music on the site so that the music they want to share is easily accessed (i.e. youtube video, link, upload site....).Find someone who has a somewhat similar taste in music as you do and listen to the music they post.

Start looking for your personal music blogger:

i listen to everything
18 of the Best Music Blogs on Tumblr
NPR Music

I was hoping that this site would be more of a Lifehacker or a Digitized but that's not how it's turned out lately.

Some of things I want to be able to change soon:

1. Be able to change the format of this site via CSS (Yes, even though I have NEVER coded in css and have zero experience with css. Yes. Judge me. Please).

2. Move this blog to Wordpress. I am not impressed with posterous at all.

3. Talk more about technology. I love digital technology, and I want to share that with you, my fellow geeks, nerds, and dweebs*

4. Show some personality. The one thing that I really want to change is the lack of personality that I've shown on this site. I feel like I've been too safe with the content and the writing that I've been creating.

[x] 5. Get someone named Ramon Backwards to read this blog.  Which I probably will not succeed at.         

That's all for now. Get ready for some changes!
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*See the following diagram. I hope people perceive me as more of a socially intelligent person (aka a GEEK).