Telephone Pictionary

Okay, I have to share one of my favorite (free!) party games. It's called Telephone Pictionary, and it's hilarious without the awkwardness of having to draw while everyone stares at you like in regular Pictionary. Hopefully this makes a shred of sense, Youtube it if it doesn't!

This works best for large groups of people - I like 8 to 10, but however many you can find!

You don't have to be good at drawing either, stick figures are fine!

1) Everyone gets a stack of papers equal to the number of players. If you don't have a (non-sticky) notepad, printer paper torn or cut into eighths works well.

2) Each player numbers their sheets 1 - n (n = number of papers). Write small and in the a corner.

3) Each person writes a phrase/word they'd like drawn on the #1 sheet. Here's an example:

4) After everyone's written their phrase, they pass their entire stack of paper to the right.  The recipient reads the phrase, then moves paper #1 to the bottom of the that stack. Now each person draws their interpretation of the phrase on paper #2. (You may set a time limit if people take too long to finish drawing!)

5) After drawing, everyone then passes their current stack to the right again.  The new recipients look at the picture and move it to the bottom of the stack.  They then write what they think the original phrase was on paper #3. See where this is going? Telephone!

6) Repeat steps 4 & 5 again and again until the stacks of paper make it back to their original owners.  One by one, each person walks through their stack, showing everyone how much (or how little) the original phrase changed! Here's a few more from this particular stack:

See how it doesn't match the original phrase at all? It can get pretty hilarious when the drawings are really random! 

This game is awesome because no one's sitting around waiting for their turn. Everyone is actively participating at the same time. 

Here's one that stayed a little closer to the original!

With family/friend get-togethers coming up for the holidays, this is a great game to play if you need some entertainment!

Friday Fun & Give-away Winner

So I could just cut to the chase and announce the mini-food kit winner now, but what fun would that be? Instead you'll have to bear through a few random things I've found interesting lately. Ha!

While celebrating a friend's birthday in SF, we ducked into the fancy stores to use the fancy restrooms. I mean, why not? One store (I think it was Neiman's?) had this amazing gigantic mirror that I really want. Can I make this? It looks just like the window out of Darth Vader's tie fighter or something.

Next we have a gift from my brother - because I wouldn't shut up about how fun this strategy board game was. My cousins in DC introduced Sak and I to 7 Wonders, and it's pretty cool.  I especially like how there's not as much sabotage (unlike say, Settlers with the robber), so it's good for people that are bad sports. Haha! Anyway, I've played it like four times now, and every time I'm dead last, but I still enjoy the game. (And I will get better! I will, I will!)

On another note, we started a new study in our small group.  I was skeptical at first since this book (The Helper) on the Holy Spirit was written in the 70's and there's no questions (how can I study if they don't ask questions?!). But this devotional-style book is probably the best study I've ever done, in that it really has been convicting me to think/reflect/pray. I think it's interesting that my anxiety started popping up around the same time I started becoming more aware of the Spirit (seriously, for a non-charismatic church girl, I think the Spirit is the least discussed of the trinity).  So I think He's trying to guide my life (and probably always has been), and I'm just now starting to listen.  Of course, I still have no idea what the plan is, so I'm stuck with the anxiety for the meantime.  Hopefully with more prayer I'll be able to understand what He wants! (And then even more prayer that I'll actually obey when it becomes known..haha >.>")

Lastly, Penga-Sis has been using this face scrub, so we bought one to see what the fuss was about.

Sak: "Looks like a stain pre-treater."
Me: "FOR YOUR FACE."

Feeling like dirty laundry aside, I like it, and best of all, when you run out of soap you can refill it and use whatever soap you like with the scrubber head.

(Garnier The Brusher)

Okay, enough random thoughts. Time for the winner!

And that would be eypang!

Please send me an email eypang and let me know where you'd like your mini-food kit sent! My email is pengawenga at gmail.

And special thanks to everyone for participating! :)

Just Indulgence

Last weekend, instead of attending our small group summer BBQ and working on a new project I've been eyeing, Sak and I were in the kitchen. Feet wet with water and rust and scum.  Our sink disposal had rusted out the bottom, and anytime the water turned on the kitchen would start to flood. Over five hours and three trips to the hardware store and we finally replaced it, electrical connections and all. Sak did most the work, but I am a pretty good breaker flipper, I'll say.

To cheer us up from the wasted Saturday, I found these at the grocery store:

Holy moly, two things I love...combined?!! Confetti cake Pop-Tart, whee!

They are pretty tasty. Very sweet though, more dessert than breakfast. And they match my Pop-Tart case. Muahaha.

Apparently this "limited edition" tart has been out for a year already. Late it may be, but I had to share my little bit of sugary excitement for the week :P


What's your favorite flavor pop-tart? I think my heart still belongs to the classic frosted strawberry!

Happy V-Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Yeah, it's an onion and I couldn't think of a clever tag line. Sorry >.>"

Anyway, here's the card I photoshopped to give Sak...fufufufuu..

Edward and Bellatrix.

You know, because he's a sparkly stalker and I'm a crazy witch.

Well, not really, but I knew it'd make him laugh. And that's one thing I really love about our relationship.  There's a lot of laughing.

May you cherish something about your own relationship (fictional or real, no judging) today as well!

PCB Conversation

Just a look into a typical conversation between engineers...

Penga finds a cool shirt and emails it to Sak and Friend E.

Penga: I might need to buy this...

Friend E: Oh yes...I'm definitely getting one.

Sak: This is not a properly laid out design...This isn't even an improperly laid out design...Must have been done by a CS [computer science] major :P

Penga: BUT IT GLOWS IN THE DARK

Friend E: Those silly CS majors and their shenanigans...they should stick to software. Assume it's not using high frequency and it's fine =P

I'm gonna mod it to have an LED for when I want to blow up planets!

Sak: This falls under the same category as a movie that shows people driving across the golden gate bridge to go from SF to Oakland. No self respecting bay area resident can accept that...

However it's not like I can wear t-shirts to work so I suppose it's ok.

Friend E: It's obviously using QFNs on the other side, those are all blind vias.

Sak: Of course. All that extra routing is either:

1. an RF antenna
2. a radio harvesting circuit for power

"cleverly designed" to look like a deathstar...

Friend E: It's for heat dissipation. That's why it glows...

In the end, I'm the only one who bought one, even though I have nothing to do with printed circuit boards (PCBs) whatsoever. That's what happen when one spends too much time analyzing and explaining things rather than getting things done before the deadline (one of those daily tee deals).  Mmm-hmmm.  Maybe I'll wear it as a lucky-shirt to the Professional Engineer exam in April.

NaNoWriMo Win & Embosser Giveaway

As of last night at some ridiculous hour, I won NaNoWriMo with 50,009 words!

Though, I will most definitely never do it again, because it was brutal.  Why can't it be held in a less busy month, like January?  November is crazy, always.

Anyway, I learned quite a bit from the experience, such as:

• My vocabulary is much smaller than I thought it was.  (Favorite repeats including "suddenly", "instinctively" and "hugged his body in all the right ways"... Just kidding.)
• Outlines are important.  I didn't have any, and wrote as I went along.  Hence numerous plot-holes and characters suddenly (used it again) changing eye-color and what not.
• One's family will begin to think one is having delusions of grandeur, resulting in ridicule.

Thanks Mom...

But it was fun!  And I can say I wrote a novel now, so that's cool.  In January I plan to clean it up and force some poor, unsuspecting soul to read it.  *cough* Sak *cough*.  (And for the record, the book is best categorized as "X-Men go to art school".  It's not fan-fiction, but it is a whole lot of silly superhero nonsense with a dollop of shoujo steam thrown in for good measure.)

Back to the point!  You didn't come here to hear me wax on about amateur writing! You want free stuff! Whee!

Up for grabs:

A Japanese paper embosser from my favorite store, Daiso!

I have one myself, and it's a lot of fun, simply snap the plates into the clamp...

And press some paper!

It's not as deep of an impression as my Cuttlebug, but it's a lot more portable and still super cute.  You could decorate love notes, gift cards, business cards, or even your monthly bill statements!

One entry per person. To enter:

Leave a comment and tell me what your favorite book genre is!

*Contest ends midnight PST, Wednesday December 7th and the winner will be announced Thursday the 8th based on a random number generator.  No special restrictions on location unless you live somewhere the postal people refuse to venture.

The Force

I definitely need that good stuff, considering I am currently battling the inevitable turn-of-the-season cold, trying to put together my application for the PE (oh yeah, that thing I was whining about delaying during wedding planning. Oopsies. Better late than never.), wondering where the heck I am going (hopefully no where) since our company just re-orged, and getting to the half way point for NaNoWriMo!  And if I needed some icing for that load of misery, I still haven't figured out Christmas cards, holiday plans, and all that jazz.  Go, super-Wednesday!

Well, to cheer you (me?) up, here's every mention of "the Force" in all the Star Wars movies:


Really though, life is still good, and things could be much worse.  It's just hard to keep a positive outlook when I can't breath and Aunt Flo comes for a visit.  Seriously, I was nearly sobbing today on the train thinking of how Sak and I wouldn't get to keep the promise we made to each other when we bought the house - that'd we'd adopt a pet for Christmas.  The day before that I was sobbing while reading an email from my college roomie about how awesome and hectic her life is with her toddler twin boys.  Normally other people's kids don't really "get" me emotionally, but I think it's just because I grew up with this girl! This could be me! Then I was sobbing again while reading this article about things a dad would miss once his kids got older on The Poop blog (Sak's favorite).

Anyway, emotional wreck.  Normally I don't want them, but nature likes to remind me once a month that yes, yes I do want them. Someday.  After we re-home BIL.  After we adopt our non-Christmas pet.  After I pass that darn PE.

Oh look, this is turning into one of those 30 before 30 lists! Ha. Sorry for the brain dump.  I wasn't going to blog today, but sometimes brain dumps are okay, right? Even when Flo is doing most of the talking? ;)

And just to squeeze one more nerdy video in, here's Robin Williams playing Zelda with his daughter..whose actual name is Zelda.  He rocks for that, seriously.

Oh Looky!

Ooh, what have we here?

A surprise?

First time I've had one of these iconic blue boxes...

What's inside?

Aww. Yeah, I'm disappointed too.  I have finally succumbed to the eye-cage after 26 years of perfect vision. Genes! I have failed you with too much computer time!

Though honestly, it's not that bad. I have to wear them only for computer-time and for driving at night.  There's a very light prescription in the left eye, and no prescription for the right.  Which makes me seriously wonder why I didn't request a monocle. How awesome would that have been?!

Anyway, glasses on a Penga:

Obligatory froofy shot in my pink bathroom:

I like them, though I'm a bit sad that they don't sit exactly straight on my face.  It's not fault of the glasses mind you - I just don't have a straight face.

Genes! Why you give me crooked face!

I do think they make me look smarter though.  I totally buy into that stereotype.

This face KNOWS calculus! Haha!

But the best part is I can now freak Sak out with the sexy-glasses-office-lady-look.

Okay, maybe I need to work on it a bit.

Anyone else out there still retaining their perfect vision? If so, the glasses will get you eventually! (Yes, this is the bitterness talking.)

Scare Tactics

Browsing Pinterest, I saw this image from Bellybabies Etsy shop:

Cute, right?

Except...I have unfortunately been tainted by something called AMV Hell, thus giving the "brush your teeth" phrase an entirely different (and much more disturbing) meaning.

If you want to see what I'm talking about, here's a link to the youtube video clip.  The particular bit starts at 0:50.

For those that maintained their purity and didn't click the link, it's basically clips from the anime Speed Grapher (which I have not watched), set to the music of Kompressor's "Brush Your Teeth".  Angry man yelling "brush your teeth", and demonic dentist drilling the life out of some poor patient.

Yeaaaah.

So I redeemed myself from the not-so-scary rat decorations with this little piece:

In the bathroom, of course.

This definitely earned a "what the heck" from Sak, so mission accomplished!  He's lucky it's in the guest bathroom and not our bathroom.

Being as I actually have fear-of-dentist (and even more fear-of-dental-hygienist), I think I'll replace the creepy anime picture with something cuter/happier once Halloween is over.  But for now it stays.

Brush your teeth kids! Or else the dentist will kill you! Bwahahahaha!

Do you like going to the dentist?

Robosaurus

This past weekend, Sak and my Dad went out to the Salinas Airshow.  A manly thing for a father and son-in-law to do, no?

Yes, he bought that silly hat while there.

They brought back some awesome photos that need to be shared.  And no, I'm not talking about the planes.

Robosaurus of course!  Isn't he crazy?

And hungry.

Too big to fit in my mouth!

I will make bite size chunks!

Rawwwrrr!

RAAWRRR!

RIIIIPPPPP!

Yessss!

Bite size!

Is there something in my teeth?

Mmm. That was good. *strokes chin*

Heeeeeh.

Have you met Robosaurus before? He's such a show stealer.