appity doodads

i did something stupid yesterday.

in an attempt to fix a bug that seemed to have planted itself in my EVO after a current software update, i accidentally wiped my whole phone. no mo' settings, personalizations, contacts, apps, saved texts, etc for this goober. nada.


(now this might not seem like a big deal for normal people, but for me it was a catastrophe. i use my EVO religiously. it is literally with me 24/7. i have panic attacks if my fingers can't find it on or within close proximity of my body. seeing my old friend in its lobotomized, empty state - ugly black wallpaper, annoying vibrations on touch, empty contacts list - was gutwrenchingly, soulcrushingly, heartbreakingly terribad.)

after i finished mourning my loss, i decided to pick up the pieces of my life and begin the slow reimport/recustomization process. along the way i found the silver lining of my traumatic deletion: in addition to erasing my phone's beloved features, i had also inadvertently wiped it of its unnecessary, taking-up-space, good-for-nothing apps. and boy were there some of those.

here are the apps that made the cut and those that i decided didn't deserve the disk space on my precious:

the losers:

pandora internet radio
shazam
bar code scanner
where's my droid?
adobe reader
spades

it's not that i didn't like these apps. it's that i never touched them. i downloaded them from the android market thinking they were pretty neat, and then they just sat on my phone, wasting space and collecting e-dust. spades, however, was the exception; i played this game a ton, despite the fact that my AI partner, "don", had rocks for brains and once famously bid nil with seven spades. seven. i mean, who does that?

but i digress. i found something better (see below) and in light of my self-imposed one-game-at-a-time-on-my-phone rule, i regretfully did not re-download spades. goodbye, don and your seven spades.

the winners:

transit tracker
i would literally be lost without this app. like its name implies, transit tracker tells you how long it takes for bus or train to arrive at any CTA station or stop. immensely quick, reliable, and easy to use. i love that you can save routes too - it makes commuting in Chicago so much more pleasant. whoever designed it obviously was used to living in a city!

androminion
dominion, with all the expansions, in whatever combinations you'd like. on your phone. free. eurgakdghadg goodbye productivity, nice knowing ya. if you've never played dominion before, this app would probably be a bit confusing, but my god, if you have, it's a darn great way to play the game against AI characters. i'm torn between telling you to DOWNLOAD THIS APP IMMEDIATELY and STAY AWAY FROM THIS APP IF YOU VALUE YOUR FREE TIME. lately i've been limiting myself to playing it only when i'm on a bike at the gym. and i've actually been looking forward to going to the gym. that should indicate what a miracle-worker this app has been for me.


push ups
this little doodad is wonderful. i've been using it for the better part of six or so months and have been slowly but surely increasing the number of pushups i do at the gym. the pacing is good and the app is quick and simple. i love simple. i also love that you can listen to music without any interference.

colornote
handy for grocery lists, to-dos, and keeping passwords or login information that you need on-the-go. the lock feature is pretty darn nifty, and the different colors are definitely useful for OCD sticky-iers like me. i hear evernote is also good, but am beyond content with colornote.

other apps that i redownloaded which require no explanation:

yelp
imdb
youtube
google maps

so there you go, these are some of my favorite things. oh, and did i mention they are all free? i love android.

rolling off

this week is my last week in texas, and today was my third-to-last day on the project. just one and a half measly little days and i'm saying sayonara to the party here in plano - i've been thinking about this day a lot, but now that it's almost here i can hardly believe it.

leaving is always hard. though plano isn't exactly up there on my list of favorite places to be, it has nevertheless somehow managed to wriggle its way into a tiny spot in my heart. the tex-mex, the longhorns, and the seventy-degree sunshine in february will all be missed. my zumba classes, board game wednesdays, and those damn tasty lamb chops at seasons 52 - i will remember you fondly. but what's by far the hardest to let go of is the attachment i've gained to our project and to our client.

for the better part of this past year, my weekdays were more or less devoted to this project. i feel like certain parts of it - functionalities or epics i've honed in on - have essentially become my babies. and the people, my pseudo-family with whom i've laughed, bickered, triumphed, failed, and ultimately shared a roller-coaster of a project experience - they've grown familiar and important and comfortable to me. to pick up my bags and leave with the knowledge that i will in all probability never be back in our team space is a forlorn feeling. will we ever actualize conceptual items? what about validating colors that change channels? i feel like an impatient architect who has blueprinted a building - obsessed and scrutinized it down to every last detail - but who has only seen a tantalizingly tiny fraction of the masterpiece.

but on the flip side of the coin - for every door that closes, another opens. the next door for me will be in chicago for three and a half-ish months. though i have my trepidations and doubts, i also can't deny that to do something else - new location, new lifestyle, new hours, new people - is terribly exciting and reinvigorating. it's the little things i miss and am so looking forward to. i can't wait to spend a quiet tuesday night reading in my own bedroom. or to cook a meal and bring leftovers for lunch the next day. or to bond with my insane cat all over again. 

i'm a big victim of "grass-is-always-greener" syndrome and i'm sure at some point i will get bitten by the travel bug and swept up in another cross-country bravado. but for now, i'm content. quietly sad to be leaving, and quietly happy for what's next.

so i bid you farewell, texas! you've been good to me. yeehaw!

*gallops off into the sunset and towards the freezing cold*

1337 feet

girly-girl warning in effect!

These are not my feet. These are stock photo people feet.

today during our lunch hour, a friend/co-worker and i skipped the usual routine and went in to get pedicures done instead! we'd originally intended to get our little piggies nice and prepped for mexico this past weekend, but had to book a later date due to scheduling conflicts. (so yea, we went to mexico with nasty hobbitses feet.) well, that later date rolled around to today, and at noon we found ourselves excitedly hopping in the car and driving off towards the spa, debating which toenail polish color we wanted.

this was my first time getting any of my body '-cured' in any way and i was a skeptical, nervous, and excited all at once. we got to sit in massage chairs with our feet in running for the better part of an hour as the nail technicians trimmed, lotioned, and massaged us everywhere from the knee down. i wasn't expecting to enjoy the experience as much as i did - it was thoroughly relaxing and my trepidations about someone touching my feet (uh, ew) quickly faded into comfort and delight (ahhhhhh, i could get used to this). i chose a bright coral-y red color for the toenail colors and have been happily staring at and wiggling my piggies all day, excited for spring and summer and new bright fresh beginnings.

i think it's important to take time and pamper yourself a bit, especially to break up the monotony of a week or to get rid of the dull winter blues (not to mention duller winter skin!). while i definitely don't think i will make a habit out of getting pedicures, i could see myself going back for special occasions. who knew that something as simple as happy feet could make for such a happy girl?