Game playin' pet peeve

I play Scrabble. I'm an English teacher/ bibliophile/ librarian/ lover of words (logophile). This maybe doesn't make me the "right" sort of Scrabble player. I don't have a cut throat instinct to win. In anything, really. I like winning arguments and games, like anyone else, but winning isn't everything to me, especially in Scrabble.

I love to make awesome words. I like to make big words. I like creative words. I like to make the $20 words when I can. I like an opponent who can make awesome words, big words, creative words, the $20 words, too. I'm happy to lose at Scrabble if a person I play with is making awesome words. I don't care if I get my ass kicked in the word play world if someone figures out how to use all their letters, for example. I'm impressed when I have a fellow wordsmith as a Scrabble buddy.

I don't got after the triple word spots or double letter spots just for the points. Oh, if I can make a terrific word on a spot that garners me some massive points, I will do that, but if I can make a 16 point words that's awesome and uses lots of letters verses a 3 letter word that will get me 30 points, I usually go for the awesome words. I also like to make big words to use lots of my letters and to try and open lots of spots to play. I try to never take 3 or 4 good places to play and ruin it with a stupid, low point 3 letter word that closes those up to other play. Have I ever played in a spot that screws up the board for other words? Oh yeah. Have I made crappy, low point, short words? Oh yeah. But if I'm doing that, it's usually because I have crappy letters and am backed into a spelling corner, thus creating the Scrabble players nightmare. I've even been known to toss my crummy letters back and draw new ones and forfeit my turn in the process rather than just play crap.

And frankly, I like to play with people who play like me. I realize that's pretty unrealistic but it's a nice thought.

Also, I just want to add that I often win Scrabble when I play this way. It sounds like I would probably lose often, but surprisingly, no I don't. I win. A lot.

I hate playing Scrabble with people who do nothing but want to win and will win at any cost. I hate that player who plays "one" just because it's a triple word. Ooooooooooo 9 whole points! wow, that's 'greaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat' (yes note the sarcasm her)e, when their letters and the board would let them play, say, for example, opponent, but it wasn't on that triple.

Mac plays for points. I won't play with him anymore. I should say he plays for points while simultaneously taunting me for screwing up the "good" spots on the board. This irks me.

I've been playing "words with friends" online. This is a game that available thru Facebook as well as Android and iPhone as an app. (I play Android, not Facebook). It's basically Scrabble 9I'm guessing there was a copyright issue with calling it by Scrabble). I play with random strangers, fellow Twitterers, and real people I know. So far I've been finding it fun and awesome (except when it updated itself the other day, I've lost the ability to chat. The chat feature no longer works. If people send me a chat, I can't see them. No idea why.)

One random stranger, though, has been now "declined" from my 'words with friends' play. I've played about 7 games with this person and they beat me every time. I don't care that I was beat every time. What I hate is how s/he plays, using every high spot spot and making crummy little words and tying up good spots to play. Or by sticking an "s" on the end of a word. Or an "ed" and not making any other word from it, just adding the letter. I can forgive that once or twice but this person has done it consistently, every single game we've played. And s/he consistently looks for high point spots with small words that don't really garner lots of points. Yes, this person has beat me, but usually by very few points. So I decline to play with him/her. This player keeps sending me game requests and I keep declining.

So if you want to play with me, I just wanted you to know what you're dealing with. Some say OCD, some say picky and this my even earn me an eye roll but hey, it's how I spell.

Mags

I'm a calendar girl

Do you know what I spent about 90 minutes of my life doing tonight? Yes, 90 minutes that I'll never get back, but I feel so much more organized because I did? I am so anal retentive... I can't believe I'm about to tell this...

I received a flier in the mail for a local theatre that hosts traveling professional performances: Broadway shows, concerts, orchestras, philharmonics, comedians, ballets, etc. Prices are sometimes reasonable, say $35 to see a Broadway cast doing My Fair Lady; this is the mid range seats, in the middle of the theatre. Not bad, I think. Some are more than others, some less.

Tonight I took the flier and marked all the shows I wanted to see. Then I went to the theater's web site and looked up the prices. Then I went into my calendar and put the shows in- dates, times, etc. Then I went to the pay days proceeding each event and put a note in that I should buy tickets for these shows. And on the tickets that were around $50, I made notes to buy them 2 pay days before each performance.

Maybe not anal retentive, but just very well organized?

I love the calendar feature in my phone. I use it to ding my "to do" list at me, and if I didn't get something done, then I can change the date and move it to somewhere else. I have stuff from a grocery list to appointments, to notes to remind me to do stuff. I sync is with my computer at work and I use the "share" calendar feature with my friends and to myself, so I can have stuff in my hotmail if I need it. It has bells to ping me, AND I can color code stuff- appointments are one color, work is one color, school stuff is one, Mac related stuff, to do lists, fun things.... all these have their own colors. Yes, I am lame.

I use that feature more than talking or texting or reading my email. Yes, my phone is really just a very expensive date book. And a place for me to play Bejeweled. Gawd, I'm pathetic!

Organizingly yours,
Mags

Slightly OCD about the books...

So, I finally went to my Goodreads account and printed a copy of the books in my "to-read" list. Then I went to our public library and looked up all 200 titles in the card catalog to see what they had. Then I started checking books out, at random. I was just going through the list and finding anything that was in. There was no rhyme nor reason to my selection. I couldn't even remember what half of these were about- all I was armed with was a list of titles and authors.

However, within all random acts, there seems to be a pattern.

Here is what I checked out, all at one time:

• A Reliable Wife


• Gatsby's Girl


• 22 Britannia Road


• The Zookeeper's wife (this is the only non-fiction in the bunch)


• Sunflowers


• The Postmistress


• The Bird Sisters


• The Paris Wife

Now because I'm OCD, I see a pattern here, in the reading choices, and in the order in which I should read the works. The pattern didn't become completely clear to me until after I read Gatsby's Girl. Look at the list and see if you can pick it out yourself...

One type of book I like is when a historical figure's life is written in a fictional novel. And because I love The Great Gatsby (sometimes) and I love F. Scott ALL THE TIME, I had to read Gatsby's Girl, a fictional account of Scott's first love, his real love, that sustained him his entire life, with Ginerva King.

The Paris Wife is a fictional account of Hemingway (I don't care what critics say, Hemingway was hot, his writing is prolific and I would've totally been one of his groupies!) and his first love. Sunflowers is a novel about the alleged love/ friendship/ companionship/ relationship between a prostitute and VanGogh. These all fall into the same genre.

Britannia Road, The Bird Sisters, Zookeeper's Wife, and The Postmistress all take place in the same era: 1942-1947, pre, during, and post WWII and they all tie to that.

A Reliable Wife is the only one that doesn't belong to any related group as far as subject matter goes. It's historical, though, taking place in 1908.

Isn't it a weird coincidence that I would randomly gather novels that are all so related in some way? And the relationship gets worse-- you can see how deep my OCD really runs here, folks! (And I am not certifiably crazy- yet!) Now look at the titles themselves!

All of them except 2 allude to a female reference: wife, mistress, girl, sister. See, organizational patterns even in a random library book list!!!! I couldn't even remember what half of the books were about, so the fact that I could select some that were so closely tied to each other, just make me smile.

And because of such, I'm going to have to read these in a particular order. I already read Gatsby's Girl and The Reliable Wife. So of course, The Paris Wife is next, and then The Zookeeper's Wife- got to read all the wife title's together. Then The Bird Sisters- it's the only sister title and it's about WWII. That would lead right into The Postmistress, also the only mistress and also about WWII. That would be the last "woman" type of title but because it's about WWII, I can then read Britannia Road because the subject matter is the same, more WWII.

Had I figured it out sooner I could've started with Sunflowers and then done my "real people written as fiction" all in a row but now vanGogh is out of order because he's not about WWII nor does his book have a womanly moniker in the title. Poor vanGogh, I'm sure if he knew he was regulated to last in my reading order, he'd cut off his other ear at the injustice of it all!

Now you all have a peek into how OCD I really am. I'm going to claim lack of sleep, too much caffeine, not enough caffeine, or something like that to blame this on.

I'm really not so crazy...
Mags

Watching movies should be easy

I'm a bit weird (read: OCD), for sure. I've know this for a long time, but there are moments of "clarity" when I see how bad I actually am. For example...

I have a movie blog called Reel Reviews 2010. I don't think anyone ever reads it but me, but that's okay (even though it has a freakin' super cool template). I'm a list maker so it suits that need. I'm also one who likes number goals. As the year has progressed, I decided I wanted to make sure that by Dec. 31 at midnight that I've watched 200 movies. That wasn't my goal at the beginning of the year but because I taught those movies classes this summer, my numbers are waaaaay up so this is an attainable, and should be fun goal.

There is a week left in October and I need to see 4 more movies this month to stay on track of my goal of 200. Right now I've watched 176 movies for the year. I need to see 4 more this month, and then 10 in Nov. and Dec. each to come to an even 200.

Let's further add to this. I use the labels feature that blogger provides and I happened to be bored at work the other night (at my second job, not at teaching) and I was looking at all the labels. I noticed that I had watched 7 Tom Hanks movies, 6 Morgan Freeman, 5 Nick Cage, and 8 Johnny Depp movies. So I decided that I wanted to round all those guys off to an even 10. So of the 24 movies I still need to watch, I have to see 3 Hanks, 2 Depp, 4 Freeman, and 5 Cage films.

To take my OCD just one step further, as if I'm not insane enough, I was looking and I watched Toy Story 1 and Toy Story 3, but not two. So one of my Hanks movies' has to be Toy Story 2 so I've seen them all. I need to do that with National Treasure 2 since I saw the first one. Same with Angels and Demons since I finally saw DaVinci Code.

And I know if it all doesn't happen this way, I will actually be slightly freaked out and upset. So I'll obsess about it until I get it done. I even went so far to make a list of possible Depp, Freeman, Hanks, and Cage movies I could watch to fit my needs. (I'll spare you the list...)

Oh yeah.............. I'm normal. Right. Completely.

Maggie

PS- feel free to join the movie blog to follow my progress, if you want!

Obessive Compulsive much?

I think all people are a little ADD, a little bit on the spectrum, and little bit OCD. I think it's all part of human nature. I think people just get these labels attached to them when these things can't be controlled.

And I sure do think I'm certainly suffering from a little OCD- obsessive compulsive disorder. Sometimes to the point of where maybe it's not so little. I often find I have to give myself a little pep talk about... things. For example, I used to subscribe to a bunch of magazines, like 9 to be specific. Now, when a person subscribes to nine magazines and lives with other people, those other people are bound to pick one of those magazines up and read it. Now, don't get me wrong. I don't mind sharing. As long as I read it first. Seriously, if a magazine came in the mail and some previous Sam or Mac or a friend read it, opened it even, merely flipped through it, before I did, I totally flipped out. Totally. It had MY name on it, and I wanted to read it first, and enjoy the new magazine smell, pull out the annoying cards, and such, rather than have someone else's fingerprints all over it!

But I'm better now. First, I don't subscribe to any magazines right now; it's because of money and the lack thereof, rather than because of my OCD. But the other day, as I mentioned, I bought USED magazines and read them. However, I did keep them in my bag until I read them. So, maybe old habits die hard?

I'm not so extreme that I feel the need to wash my hands five or six times in a row or flip a light switch 10 times in a row. But I have a thing about locks. I can be sitting in the living room and watch Daddy-O or Mac check the door locks before they go to bed. I can see from where I'm sitting that the doors are locked. But I still have to check them myself before I got to bed. Hey, it is what it is.

My OCDs are a bit better now. I used to have several of them. And here's the strange thing. I like change. I usually embrace change. I go with the flow. Having my routine interrupted doesn't usually bother me. Moving across the country into the unknown is a good thing. Ah, aren't I just the conundrum?

One thing I've done is when I feel the OCD prickly feeling, I have to have a mental pep talk with myself. I have to let myself know it's okay to NOT do something, or to let something go. I have to mentally tell myself every single morning that I don't have to collect the three remote controls and line them up in a certain order, on a certain table. Mac leaves them in disarray and when I get up the next morning and see them scattered, I have to concentrate on something else or reason with myself that it's okay to leave them where they are. Unless one of them is on the floor and then I have to pick it up. And if I'm going to pick up one, I might as well do all three. I find myself giving my psyche a pep talk to just 'let it go'. And most of the time I can.

This month I had good idea. I was looking at the books I've read this month:

• The Sharper the knife, the less you cry
• 1000 White Women
• What French Women Know
• The House at the end of the road

I was choosing my next book and I had home (from the library) a book called A 1000 Days in Venice and a book called The Likeness.

Here's what went on in my head: Oooooooooo, I should read all non-fiction in the month of June! Three books I had already read were non- fiction and the only fiction I read was like non-fiction since it was sort of historical based. Well, I thought, I can't do the all non-fiction thing because 1000 White Women was fiction; honesty counts when arguing with my sub -conscious. Then I looked at what I had to read. Oooooooooooooo, I thought to myself, I could read either all non-fiction books or books with numbers in the title. I then proceeded to look at my Goodreads "to- read' list to see if I had any number title books on it that I could quickly get my hands on. And what other non-fiction I wanted to read. Then I fretted that if I decided to do that and I couldn't find something to read, I would break the rule. The rule I just arbitrarily set for myself. And what would happen if I broke it? Well, I would've let myself down. Do you see this mental argument? So I thought I would trick myself and read 1000 Days in Venice and then if I found another number book or another non-fiction then cool and if not, no big deal. I thought I would just decide after the Venice book. Then I felt like that was cheating. So, I forced myself to put 1000 Days in Venice book down and read The likeness so I didn't OCD myself into a moment of panic.

This is what goes on inside my head.

Did I mention sometimes it's like the inmate is in charge of the asylum?
Maggie Mae

Sleep the sleep of the dead

Sleep- a wakeful death. Such imagery that I thought I made it up because I've thought it ever since I was a little kid but I'm sure some "poet" actually wrote it and I read it. It seems like it's mine. Sleep had alluded me in my life to the point where I guess I could be called an insomniac.

My insomnia works two ways. It either takes me forever to fall asleep which really sucks when the alarm bell chimes in the morning. The other option is when I fall asleep immediately but then wake up around 3 am and I'm up for the day; I just can't go back to sleep. I hate both options. I would love to sleep normally but it just doesn't usually happen that way.

Sleep had been hard to come by ever since I was a kid. I found I do my best thinking, laying in the darkness. I used to write the best stories in my head, ever since I was little. I would basically make up my own bedtime stories, even after I spent 3 hours past my bed time reading a book under the covers with a flashlight. I would still have the those moments, just laying there waiting for sleep to envelop me. I never wrote them down, which is unfortunate because I'm sure there was an Oprah Book Club book in there somewhere, or at least something that would get me on a best seller list. I still 'write' stories where I turn my life into a fantasy, or I pick a "what if" moment and let it come to life in my brain. Over the years I've written blog posts in my head and most of the time they are never as good when I actually grab my laptop and type it out. I always seem to dream away the right turn a phrase I used in my mind, darn it! Oh well.

I've also come to realize I have hang ups about sleep, that are like OCDs. Oh, hell I have OCDs about lots of other things so why not about sleep? And prescription meds can't even override these- trust me, I've tried. I've taken prescription sleep meds as well as over the counter stuff and they work for a bit and then *bam* nada. Occasionally I indulge in booze to help and it can for just a bit. And I've also taken Tylenol PM with white wine... but that's an issue for another day. Back in the day, a little pot would really help, but i live in a state where that is so NOT legal in any circumstance.

Okay so my sleep hang ups:

Noise: I want it to be completely quiet when I try to sleep- it helps. When I lived in the Wild West, this was easy. Other than an stray barking dog or the neighbor kid's pick up truck, it was silent. The absolute quiet really helps the sleeping. I did go through a phase where I was falling asleep with the tv on but that was short lived. And that only worked on "can't fall asleep immediately" nights. And it sometimes worked against me because I would wake up to turn the tv off and then maybe stay awake rather than go back to sleep.

Here in Civilization, finding the peace and quiet is really tough. I've had to adjust to city noises again like sirens, street lamps, dogs barking in the distance, dogs barking in the back yard, dogs barking across the street, traffic sounds, and voices. What I mean by voices: people walking around outside, not the ones in my head. I mean I don't hear voices in my head. Usually.

I've discovered I also don't do well with "internal people noise." What that means is that noises in the house made by other people are really weird to me and make my sleep troubled. If I go to bed before Daddy-O and I can hear him walking around or watching tv, then I'll toss and turn. It was the same way when Mac lived with me all the time. If he got up to pee or if he sneezed, I was awake. Once, I even told him, or rather yelled at him through the wall, to be quiet and he said he was just breathing. Um, yeah. I have issues.

Light: I want it completely dark when I go to sleep. Again, hard to do in Civilization because of street lamps. Head lights of cars dancing across the walls. Downstairs lights from the living room since my attic room is like a loft- there's no door. I have to even make the red glowing clock numbers face away from me and lay my cell phone face down so the LED light glare won't bother me.

I have a sleep mask or two and I employ those to help with the light issues. That can do the trick most of the time but overall, I can't really fool myself. Though, on a side note, I do like the sleep masks because it seems... glamorous. Go figure.

Temperature: I cannot sleep if I'm too hot or too cold. If I get too hot, I can't get cool quick enough. I kick all the covers off and shed clothes, then fall asleep only to wake later in a freezing cold state. If I'm cold I can't warm quick enough. I put on lots of clothes and get under lots of covers and I still can't heat up fast enough. And it's the end of the world if my nose or toes are cold. I mean, THE END. I have been known to get up in the middle of the night to take a hot shower because I just can't get warm. In the winter, I just give up and take a warm shower most nights before I go to bed to cut the cold toes off at the pass.

So, I'm off to go to sleep. I hope.

G'night sweethearts, good night...
Maggie Mae