cory anotado

Originally published at The Fast Money Round. You can comment here or there.

I figure, with a new desk should come a new desktop. So, here’s my new computer desktop.

(You can click through for a larger view.) I’m still using GeekTool, an app I found through Lifehacker. It allows you to put the results of terminal commands on your desktop, and have them change dynamically. The background is an image, and the three TVs with their varying logos are part of it, too. The numbers and words are via GeekTool. The top TV with the fake ESPN graphics shows the latest Phillies game and score (with live updates, which was totally accidental) from a script I wrote myself, along with what day today is (for instance, today is Tuesday). The middle TV gives the latest weather conditions and temperature, and the bottom TV has whatever song I’m playing in iTunes (if any) and today’s date (so, the 19th).

Honestly, it’s nice to have this info on my desktop because it’s a little faster to move all my windows out of the way to see what day today is than to activate Dashboard (which can get slow sometimes, and I don’t like any of the sports widgets anyway).

Now, to shower and head to the library.

Originally published at The Fast Money Round. You can comment here or there.

(With all due apologies to the floating head of Merv Griffin, of course.)

Five letters, $100. Shortened review. R-E-C-A-P, indeed. Here’s the top 10 things that shaped my life in 2008. As usual, these things aren’t necessarily in any particular order. However, this may or not be themed after Merv Griffin’s Crosswords because I’ve been watching it a lot and I think it’s better than anyone thinks.

Three letters, $100. My girlfriend’s name. L-I-Z

Liz is, in a word, amazing. She’s totally changed my life. She’s fun, she’s fantastic, she’s an amazing conversationalist, she’s very VERY hot and she loves me very much. I love her very much too! She’s always by my side, but she’s not afraid to point out with a gentle heart where I’m screwing up. I love her very very much and our future together looks very bright.

Three letters, $100. Summer employment. J-O-B

I worked with the La Salle University department of Conferences and Guest Services this summer, thanks to a recommendation from Emo Dan Kenworthy. (Sorry, Dan. Force of habit.) I’ll be honest, it was hard work. I had plenty of blisters from walking around so much, and I can now make a bed in less than 2 minutes from scratch. But in the end, it was fun, and I have a good number of memories that I don’t want to forget. (And the sour taste of a nosy bitch, but I’ll talk about that in private if you want those juicy details.)

You’ve just found the Crossword Getaway, a trip to the Philippines!

In the midst of that summer job, I took a three-week vacation to visit my grandparents (and, as usual, get a new cell phone) in the Philippines. My grandparents were celebrating their Golden Wedding Anniversary, and it was a beautiful ceremony. I finally got myself a barong tagalog and actually got to try out my Nikon D40 in a place that’s actually pretty-looking. It was an amazing trip, and even though I didn’t get on Filipino TV this time, it’s a Getaway I’ll never forget.

Nine letters, $300. Shared-wall housing; B11 for example. T-O-W-N-H-O-U-S-E

After last year’s debacle with not getting housing (and hearty Fuck You to Sean Killian, who I heard fucked up a lot of the housing forms last year) and living with someone of a questionable lifestyle (well, he’s probably the only one with a question about it), I finally got a townhouse with two great guys (and two whom I refer to as Tweedledee and Tweedledum). It’s a cozy house, and it’s a little messy, but one of these days, I’m going to have a rockin’ party in it. Don’t worry.

Nine letters, $250. Maryland mountain region. D-E-E-P-C-R-E-E-K

So, me and Liz took about a week-long vacation to her vacation home in Deep Creek, Maryland, and it was without a doubt the best time of my life, forever and ever, beating out meeting Michael Davies, beating out Wheel of Fortune, beating out birth, I’m sure. The time that me and Liz spent together was wonderful and it really made me treasure our relationship to a deeper and more deeper level.

Four letters, $100. La Salle University Radio Station. W-E-X-P

I became the General Manager of WEXP La Salle Radio, and I think things have gone swimmingly, even if the studio smells like new death and is a bit messy. We have a giant membership and very excited DJs. The E-board has a drive and camraderie that I haven’t seen since Ben Rosehart was GM. I’m proud that we’re getting the station back on track. Now, we just need to get better equipment.

Time for round 2. Oh, but here come our spoilers, the La Salle Class of 2008!

Guys, why did you have to graduate? The only time I really felt this big of a loss of friends is my freshman year, when people like Ray, Doc, Phogan and Ben left. Now, some of my best friends decided to peace out from La Salle, including the venerable Mark Costello, the honorable Sara Allen, the corrigated Katie Williams and other adjectivial people. They were good people, and I’m doing my best to stay in contact with them and keep them in my life, because frankly, I don’t want them out of it ever.

Eight letters, $500. Philadelphia baseball team. P-H-I-L-L-I-E-S

You know when the last time the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series? Yeah, me neither. It was in 1980. I wasn’t even a thought in my parents’ mind yet; fancy that, I was almost a decade away. Since I emerged from my m0ther’s birth canal, I’ve experienced the highs and lows of Philadelphia sports and the shame and depression that comes with it. I remember when the Phils lost the World Series in 1993. I remember the epic fail of the Sixers against the Lakers. No one could forget McNabb fumbling his lunch onto the field.That one day, though, is when it all went away. Philadelphia could finally be happy once again.

Five letters, $300. Newly-elected president. O-B-A-M-A

This was a banner year for politics. My dad’s still bitter, which is great. I’ve never seen a country so united behind one candidate. Last time I saw, over 80% of those polled by CNN said Obama was handling his transition period extremely well, and I would happen to agree. It’s the first time in a very long time that I’m not loathing our government, I’m not in question onto our government’s intentions and I feel safe. Now, if we could fix the fucking economy…

Five letters, $300. The One-Act Mavericks, for example. D-R-A-M-A

To end the Pacdude 10, I start with a story. I know few of my college friends know this, but all of my high school friends know I was a Drama kid in high school. I was in drama every year in some capacity, from simple lights my freshman year to a fancy-pants actor in sophomore, junior and senior year. I abandoned my acting dreams in college, half because of a girlfriend who didn’t like me overextending myself and half because it seemed the Masque took themselves a bit too seriously. That’s where the Mavericks came in. A simple one-act was just what I needed to get the acting bug out of my system. And you know what? Allison wrote a great play, and I had a great cast, and we put on a great show.

In short, 2008 was awesome. Now, 2009, please. Make me proud.

Originally published at The Fast Money Round. You can comment here or there.

I’m 21 now.

It’s a recent thing too. I’ve been 21 for a shade under 2 weeks at this point. I’ve taken what I think is good advantage of it, too: I’ve been to a bar and I’ve bought liquor. I can have learner’s permit holders drive my car with me in it, and I’m pretty sure if I kill someone, I’ll be tried as an adult.

I’m not sure how I feel about it. On the one hand, I finally feel like I’ve caught up with my friends and now have less reasons to not go to a bar with them. I don’t feel so left out, even if I haven’t taken up any of my friends’ invitations to go to bars with them yet. On the other hand, nothing significant has changed. I’m still broke, I still need to lose weight and I still have one too many socks lying around on my floor (and I’ll be damned if I know what the color of the top of my desk is. There’s too much shit lying around).

The one thing that I do know is that I need to start growing up. I’m working on a lot of things to grow up. I’m learning how to act more maturely, I’m trying to manage my money better (thank you, Mint.com!) and I’m learning how to better my relationship with Liz (mah grrlfriend!).

One way I’m growing is to have a grown-up blog. I’ve had a LiveJournal forever (and don’t worry: it’ll still be there! I’ve got cross-posting going on) and I don’t intend of getting rid of it. I just need something a smidge more professional, something that will encourage me to write more, something that will encourage me to write better.

Plus, everyone else at La Salle has a stupid fancy pants blog.