Nineteen plus nineteen

On Monday, my work had a "team-building activity" at the Salt Lake Game Show Experience, which has various small game show–inspired games. We divided into a morning group and an afternoon group, and I was in the smaller morning group, only seven of us. I did really well; I drew the most detailed SpongeBob, and I got every answer in the "Homophones" category in the Jeopardy-knockoff game. (I like homophones but not homophobes.) I was in the lead. But in the Final Jeopardy round, I didn't bet anything, so I got second place. 

It was my birthday this week! On Tuesday I turned thirty-eight. I thought about observing the thirtieth anniversary of my eighth birthday by having lasagna, baked red potatoes, and apple pie, but that didn't sound great, and I didn't have time to play Wario Land. I thought about observing the twentieth anniversary of my eighteenth birthday, but I couldn't find my Munster, Go Home! / The Munsters' Revenge DVD—but I did consciously choose to have Papa John's and Mexican chocolate cake. The tenth anniversary of my twenty-eighth birthday wouldn't work, because I don't help tutor Tongan youth anymore. So I stuck to an activity that is much more typical of my thirties and late twenties, running up Mueller Park. The leaves hadn't peaked yet, but it was still a lovely evening. 

(It has also now been nineteen years since I turned nineteen, which means in the coming months, the time between my birth and the beginning of my mission will be less time than the beginning of my mission to now.)

I get overwhelmed having too much stuff, so I specifically requested not to receive gifts. Even if I ask for something specific, I get something that's just different enough from what I want that it stresses me out. But I did tell my family that if they wanted to get me presents, they could get me colored pencils. You might recall that for much of 2024 (and into 2025), I would generate AI images based on my dreams. That was amusing. But I am uneasy with the rise of AI. Among other things, it stifles human creativity. So I like the idea of drawing my dreams more often. I also see a lot of AI flyers, and I wonder if I could design my own flyers if needed.

Kids enjoy drawing, but it seems to be looked down on when you're an adult if you're not actually an artist. But why should that be so? Why can't adults draw too? I don't know if I will spend much time drawing, but I like giving myself permission to do so if I want. 

I am not an artist at all, and I don't intend to be. My drawing is meant to be an exercise in creativity, practice, and learning. So here are two dreams I illustrated this week. 

A toddler approaches a porcupine at the zoo and gets quills all over himself

Mark substitutes for the drummer in a band by playing the backpack

And I felt like illustrating Labor Day, for some reason, with my new colored pencils. 

This week, my parents went camping at Wasatch Mountain State Park, a tradition we've had most falls since 2018. I went up Friday afternoon to join them. On the way, I stopped at Barnes and Noble in Park City to buy Fairies: A History, which I hope will be an interesting cultural history.

Then I stopped at a bookstore called Folklore in Midway, one of the bookstores on the Indie Bookstore Crawl. This was another store that seems more marketed to women. But now I only have one to go! It's in Moab, but I can't stop now when I'm so close.

I always enjoy this camp. There are lots of trails nearby, and I went running both Friday night and Saturday morning.

Welp. Blogger has once again worsened the way you add images. You can add them from Google Photos, but you can't pick the order, so I often copy and paste. But now that's not working. I want to push someone at Google down the stairs.

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I prioritized nonseasonal foods this week, but there are still some contributions for pumpkinundation roundup. 

Kraft Milk Chocolate Caramels Green Apple Thins are chocolate and caramel; I didn't find the apple flavor to be that strong. 7/10.

Favorite Day Gummy Worm Whipped Dairy Topping has a generic sweetness. I didn't expect otherwise; gummy worms can be any kind of flavor. But I have never had a product flavored like gummy worms before! 6/10.

I think I've had Great Value Pumpkin Spice Flavored Syrup for five years. I would never peg it as pumpkin spice flavor. 4/10.

Kraft Milk Chocolate Caramels Pretzel Bark Candy Corn Flavor Crunch was much better than I expected. It's chocolate, caramel, pretzels, and little candy corn–flavored pieces. I can't say it tastes much like candy corn, but it tastes great! 9/10.

Thomas' Pumpkin Spice English Muffins have been around since at least 2013. I'm surprised they've stuck around that long, but I'm glad they have. One of my favorite fall small meals is a toasted English muffin with a fried egg and cheese. 8/10.

I suppose the King Krumb Mud Pie Cookie doesn't count here, but I'll talk about it anyway. This is Walmart's answer to Crumbl. I found the cookie bland without a great texture. 4/10. (I'll have the candy corn cookie later.)

I have had Trader Joe's Harvest Blend Herbal Tea for many years. Since I don't come from a tea-drinking culture, I don't know what to do with it. It tastes fine, but I did notice this week that I could smell it from far away. 6/10.

And I know I have had Yogi Pumpkin Spice Herbal Supplement since 2021. Same thoughts as the previous herbal tea, though I couldn't smell it as much. 5/10.

Last year I bought this pumpkin cookbook at World Market, so this week I made The Pumpkin Cookbook Pumpkin Pizza. It has canned pumpkin with brown sugar as the sauce. It has roasted pumpkin pieces with onions and sage on top, and I added zucchini because we have a lot. I used mozzarella instead of gorgonzola. The crust didn't rise, but the pizza was better than I expected. I would like to refine and experiment with it a little more. 7/10.