Holy Road Trip, Batman! (Part 1)

This past weekend, I went on an epic, short, road trip. I left Thursday night and was home Sunday night. Every now and then, I just sort of get the bug to leave town. It's not a sort of situation where I'm "running" from anything, but I just like being out and about, visiting people, seeing new things. You get the drift. This desire has been niggling at me for the past few months, so I just sort of decided that I had to make it happen soon!

After discussion with the friends and family I was planning to visit, I realized I could get visits in with Christie and Laura (both are friends of mine from the Harry Potter and Wizard Rock scene) as well as finally get to see my little brother perform in a show (he played Frederic in Pirates of Penzance Junior). To top it off, I was able to knock off 3 of my Accompl.sh goals in the planning (21. See Christie for a proper visit, 36. Visit Dad, Kim, and the boys, 83. Go for at least one road trip for the purpose of being on the road).

With as little time was dedicated to the trip, I ended up having a seriously awesome weekend filled with fun, excitement, and near-death (read: almost dangerous) driving experiences!

On House Affiliations

A couple weeks ago, a friend of mine asked me what I would do if I was sorted into a House other than Hufflepuff in Pottermore. My response at the time was, "I've always believed I had at least some of the other Houses in me as well. So nothing will stop me from feeling like a 'Puff. Not even if I end up in a different House on Pottermore. It'll just be another House to be associated with more strongly. To be frank, it's going to be the most accurate House quiz because it's from JKR, but it's not going to be a substitute for her knowing me and for me knowing myself. I am and will always be a Hufflepuff in my heart."

I finally got to spend enough time on Pottermore (without it being out of commision for once!) to get sorted. Here's the thing - I wasn't sorted into Hufflepuff. I have indeed been sorted into Gryffindor.

On Harry Potter Tattoos and a Call for Opinions!

When I got my first tattoo, everyone kept insisting that tattoos are addicting and once you get one, you won't be able to stop. I assured each person who gave me this piece of advice that I wasn't going to get more tattoos. I might get one more someday, but it wouldn't become an addiction where I end up with a sleeve. And hey, it looks like I was right! Of course, I currently have two tattoos and am planning my third. I have never gotten a tattoo without a minimum of 1 year of thought into it, so the third won't be emblazoned on my body anytime soon.

When I was back in high school, I never expected to get any tattoos at all. Anytime I ever thought of typical tattoo ideas, I instantly realized that if I got any of them, I would regret it someday. I like to make a point of living my life without regrets, so it was pretty easy to discount the idea of ever getting any tattoos. All of a sudden, I wasn't just a huge Harry Potter nerd, but had become integrated into something more than just a fandom. I had joined a real community. And not even with other regular fans, but I became more interested in and involved in the world of Wizard Rock. That's when I realized I wanted a way to show the world just how much this all meant to me. The thought of getting a tattoo was renewed in my mind and, for the first time, it actually sounded like an awesome idea. About 2-3 years later, I had my first tattoo.

I'm Awesome(ly Nerdy)!

So... the other day, there was a random reference to Pokemon by James. This reminded me of how I used to collect Pokemon cards when I was in middle school and then again not long after I started at University. Tonight, I looked over and saw the cabinet in which I have stored these items for the past couple years, taking them out to reminisce over every so often.

So I opened it and started giggling, looking at all that filled it. I had forgotten just how much I enjoy these little things in my life. I started pulling things out, looking through my toys one sort at a time. I started with my Pokemon cards. I have a rather large binder filled with them. I have a couple long cardboard boxes filled with more. I have a couple decks that I had built in individual cases. I have more just stashed around that didn't fit anywhere else. What I had nearly forgotten about, however, were my "special" Pokemon cards. Well, they're special to me. I once saw on eBay, an unopened box of 1st Edition base set cards... wait for it ...in German! I bought it and had more fun opening those booster packs than I had ever had in the past! I now have almost the entire base set in German but for a few cards that happened to not be in that box. Additionally, I had purchased a couple starter decks in German... both from the Fossil set.

To continue, I next took a quick peek at my old Magic cards. I don't have many, but it gave me a good laugh at how I got many of them. You see, I had a Swamp deck back in my day. I didn't have many cards and wanted to make my deck better, so I went around to my brothers and step brother to see if they wanted to give me any. My step brother, in particular, was very helpful. He had a bunch scattered in his desk drawer. Of course, it turned out that he used to stash is illicit green smoking substances (XD) in that drawer. So I ended up with a ton of cards that smelled strongly of marijuana. Cracked me up.

Anyways, so then it was time to look through my Harry Potter TCG cards. I have a binder filled with some from each set I have (my old 'Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion' binder with a Potterpuff image on the cover). In addition, I have a two player starter set, an old box from the Diagon Alley set, my own deck (Quidditch and Potions headed by Oliver Wood), and a slew of unopened booster packs!

I have officially decided that I will not yet open these booster packs but wait until one of two things: either LeakyCon or when James comes to visit (hopefully with Christie in tow for the weekend!). Either way, it will be so much more fun with friends who are as crazy about HP fun as I am and I'm already excited!

So the whole time I was going through these things of mine, I kept thinking to myself, "I'm awesome! I love this stuff! How can that not be awesome!?"

If you'd like to look at many more pictures of these things, check out the album here!

An Introduction

So this is it. Me.

A little about me. I'm Dinah. Fondly known in the Wizard Rock world as Dinah Saur. To be honest, I had the nickname Dinah for somewhere near 4 years before I realized that adding a "Saur" on the end turned me into the extinct beast with which I have so long been fascinated. Sometimes I'm just a little slow on the uptake. Similarly, one of my greatest weaknesses is probably the fact that I'm extremely gullible. No, not enough that I'll look it up in the dictionary when you tell me it's been spelled incorrectly, but I sometimes take a bit of extra time to figure out when someone is speaking in jest.

I am a huge fan of Harry Potter and pretty much everything created by Joss Whedon. I am a gamer and enjoy a good graphic novel or interesting comic. I not only listen to Wizard Rock, but I help run a site dedicated to spreading the word and the love of the genre.

More than anything else, I highly doubt anyone will want to read any of this. I don't see myself being interesting enough for people to check my blog or any of it. Despite that, I find it's just nice to have somewhere to let out my thoughts. So enjoy when it comes up!