Sophistik8

Alright.  We can start turning in our names on Wednesday so it has come down to the final 5 names…  You need to help me decide.  Some of these were crowd favorites from the other polls and some are my favorites.

This was such a great Xmas. I got to celebrate my parent’s 40th wedding anniversary on the 23rd (their actually anniversary is the 24th) along with my aunt and uncle who also had their 40th this year in August. Then we had Xmas with my mom’s family before spending Christmas Eve night at my dad’s mom’s apartment so that we could wake up there on Xmas morning. Then it was off to my aunt and uncles house for an Asian Xmas dinner (we pick a different theme each year). Just a great time with family! I can’t wait for next year! Of Course it doesn’t hurt that I got some awesome presents (blue ray player from ryan, new laptop from my parents!) I am swimming in awesome!

Meet Elena, the newest member of our family!

So I wanted to keep the pictures to myself until my parents and Ryan had gotten back into the country and been surprized. But I love my new hair. If you ever need anything amazing done to your hair see Alison at Chop Tops in downtown Merriam, KS. She is the best!

Two out of three hurdles cleared! I passed the skate test on Sunday and knocked out the rules test last night! The final cut will be on January 24th. So I will know by then if I am in the league and then we will have a fresh meat only bout on Feb 14th when the draft will be announced and we will find out what team we are on. Meanwhile keep the votes and suggestions coming!

Well I have just found out that Paige Turner and Dyebrarian are already taken in the international derby league registry of names…too bad since they were the front runners. Which means I need your suggestions! Vote below, send suggestions or add them to the comments!

Well almost…I still have to pass a few more tests but tryouts were this morning and I passed the skating test!  It was a grueling 4 hour ordeal where we had to demonstrate our skills as skaters (e.g. gliding on one foot, doing figure eights, weaving in and out of cones), and our ability to fall down (both on command and when hit really hard by a veteran skater).  I totally had myself psyched out this weekend and it felt really good to get them over with.
I have a few more steps before I am a full fledged Roller Warrior.  I have to pass a rules test on Tuesday and then we have a few weeks off.  We come back for practices in January and sometime mid-month we go through a round of interviews to judge our personality, coachability and attitude then they make the final cut and draft people onto teams.

Ok so I have had my Motorola Droid for a week now and that means it is time for a review!

Physical Design:  I was pretty sure I wanted the Droid when I stopped by the Verizon store to check it out before I bought it and I noticed the HTC Eris which is certainly more attractive than the Droid.  I began to waver and I went home to do some research.  It turns out that the Eris has really cruddy battery life, and considering I use my phone all the time I really need battery life than can last all day.  So when I finally got the Droid I got a pretty pink case for it (I am also prone to drop my phones) and it is acceptably cute to me now.  What is really impressive is the power.  I wasn’t sure if I cared about a physical keyboard but considering the phone is almost the same dimensions as as an iPhone but includes the keyboard why not get it right.  And it has come in handy for me when I want to type lots of text or on certain forms where it is easier to navigate with the directional pad on the keyboard.

The screen is HUGE and awesome.  It is so clear (it has the highest screen resolution of any smart phone on the market right now).  And although some people complain that it weighs a lot I haven’t really cared (it is in my purse or my hand all the time so maybe this is an issue if you are a guy and it is pulling down your pants).  I kinda miss my silent mode switch (it was a physical switch on my old palm centro) but I downloaded an app to put the switch right on the home screen so it is easy to silence the phone).

Software:  I LOVE Android 2.0.  I realized that most Android phones will be upgrading to 2.0 soon but it is awesome to have it first.   I am loving it!  And the Android app store is super easy to use.  I keep finding new things to download (all free apps so far).  My favorite apps have been Twitteroid, Facebook, and Pandora.  There are tons of best of Android app lists so I won’t go into that here.

I also love that the Droid is able to sync with my work email, calendar and contacts.  I wish it could sync with my Outlook to do list though, which is where I keep my to do lists.  I am temporarily trying out Astrid (an Android app) that syncs with Remember the Milk to keep track of my to dos, but there is a learning curve.

My other two complaints about the software is the lack of pinch zooming.  I downloaded Dolphin browser which supports it so I can us those types of gestures when I am online but not when I am checking my reader or email.  Hopefully that will be included in a later update (maybe Android 2.1 which is expected sometime early 2010).  The Gallery app (which is already loaded on the phone) has a tendency to freeze on me.  It is only that app and I am thinking I just need to find a new one and perhaps that won’t happen anymore.

Peripherals:  The camera is pretty good, with auto focus and a flash.  It is in fact better than my old camera!  And I haven’t really done much video recording but I hear it is also very good. Verizon sells the Droid with a 16gb micro SD card which is awesome and it can take up to a 32 gb card (which is about $99 right now so it is 16gb for me!).  The sound quality is excellent, both for music and for speaking.  I really like the speakerphone, and all accounts say that I am clear as a bell when I use it (even in windy conditions).

The battery power of the phone has actually surprised me.  I spent the first couple days with the phone taking the power cord with me everywhere but I have eventually taken those training wheels off and the phone when 10 hours yesterday with some pretty heavy usage and only  used about 65% of the battery.  Google also just released an update which increased battery life.

Overall:  I love this phone!!!  I am really glad I didn’t get the Eris which is where I was headed when I got intimidated by the Droids size.  But for the extra $100 you get another 8gb storage, a faster phone with a bigger and much higher resolution screen, 5gb camera with flash, a physical keyboard for those times when you need it and Android 2.0 (although the Eris should get an update to 2.0 sometime in Q1 2010).  I can’t imagine being happier with a phone!  Now I just need to figure out if it is a girl or a guy and give it a name and our union will be complete.  (I personally think it is a cross dresser since it is super powerful manly phone in a pink case)

December is going to be a busy month me.  Ryan left this morning (or rather I left him as his plane isn’t taking off until 3pm) for India for 3 weeks for work.  I miss him already.

For our last night together we got a Christmas tree and decorated the apartment for the holidays.  Bruno seems to think we got the tree to be his own personal climbing gym and I wouldn’t be surprised if I came home sometime this month to find the tree on the floor.  In fact, it may be that way when I get home tonight.

I am focusing all my energy on roller derby tryouts in less than 2 weeks on the 13th.  I feel good, but not confident.  There are still a lot of things I want to work on before tryouts but at the same time I wish they were over and done with already!  Stay tuned here for your exclusive tryout news!  Remember you can’t ask me if I made it or not, just read this damn blog to find out!  (unless I make it and then you can ask me as many times as you want and I can bask in your jealousy!)

But to tide you over until that exciting tidbit of news is decided here are some pictures taken at a practice in November.