May 2013 EDC Update Video

Just another update video for the month.  :)

30 March 2013: Coffee with my Girl

Went out for coffee and pastries with one of my girls this morning at Creme Pan.  It was good to get out of the house this week; it's been a LONG one!  I love chatting with her - J's always been there for me through thick and thin since middle school.  :)  Thanks, J!

28 March 2013: Costco!

Heading out to Costco right now.  With so many events that came up in the last month, I hadn't been able to stock up on daily necessities until now.

Rockin' the new patch!  :P  And I'm totally digging the new Pilot VP.  Thanks, y'all!  :D

26 March 2013: Gone Drinkin' + Dinner with Friends

My carry for the night.  Missing is my Skagen watch 'cause I forgot to take it off.  :P

Gotta rep it up at Earl of Sammich with my friends.  Got a Chicken Bacon Avocado one tonight.  :)  The chipotle sauce was pretty good, but I wish they had added more.  I guess I could have asked for more on the side, but *shrug*.  This was my first time at Earl.  :)  I think next time I'll go for the Turkey Dinner.  :D

Grabbed a Mai Tai and Zombie with some friends.  Nothin' better than some dinner and drinks with good company.  I wouldn't trade them for the world.  :D  Thanks, P and J!  We were able to nab the seats by the fireplace this time around.  Tonight was fun and we had some good laughs.  :D

22 March 2013: This One's for Willy

Just working around the house today.  :)  Gotta move stuff out of my room.

This is in response to WillyDigger from last night on EDCF... 

Why I actually own that puzzle, I don't know.  Maybe at one point I thought it was actually cute.  :P

21 March 2013: It's my Friday!

20 March 2013: Home from Work Dump

Brought the Opinel to work 'cause it was the Breakfast Fundraiser this morning.  Missing is my tiny bottle of hot sauce 'cause I'd decided to keep it in my snack stash drawer.  :)

19 March 2013: Lounging Around the House

CRK Carbon Fiber INLAY Sebbie

Photo from BladeHQ.com

HOLY MOLY!  Have y'all seen this yet?  :)  Since getting into knives, I'd always thought that the Sebbie was a pretty knife.  There are plenty of other knives that I find sexy (TAD/Fellhoelter, anyone? and perhaps Les George's VECP as well), but the Sebbie's kind of a nice "gentlemanly" folder that still can be put in the "hard-use" category (YMMV).

For about a year now, I'd mused over getting one.  Then about 6 months ago, I saw the carbon fiber scaled ones.  I'd been on the fence about either.  Now CF INLAYS?!  That's like the best of both worlds!  :D Should I ever decide on actually going forth and buying a Sebbie, it'll probably be this one.

I hope they come out with the Small 21 version of this if I do decide on getting one.  :)  The price on these big'uns is $510.00... and it doesn't fit my hands very well.

He's a Man Now :)

This past week has been rough.  But as I said in my previous post, it was bittersweet.  Though the passing of my grandmother, I was able to reunite with siblings that I hadn't seen in well over 10 years.  I'm only 23 at this time and I'd missed out on being a big sister.

C1 is now 19 years old, fresh out of high school as of last summer.  I missed his graduation, something I wholeheartedly regret.  During the memorial, (while Mom and Dad were out of earshot) I told him, "C1, you're now a man.  I'm sorry I missed your graduation.  But here is something I've been meaning to give you.  A man should always carry on him, a good knife."

Because I didn't study up on the knife laws of his county (we're in separate states), I chose to give him a Spyderco Squeak.  I could have done better, but it was cute, non-locking, and with a decent sized blade.  As far as I know, it probably passes basically any county knife law.  C1, I also promised you that when you turn 21, we're getting you a CCW.  :)

I still can't believe I've missed so much of y'all growing up.  All 4 of you.  I hope to keep in better contact with you from here on out.  I love you!

Grandma, again, thank you for bringing us all back together, even if only for a week.

In loving memory of Maria.

1921 - 2013

February Carry Update (185/365)

I don't think I've ever posted an EDC carry before, let alone an update.  My carry definitely has changed over this past year.  I've definitely streamlined my carry and below is my most current:

This has been the most static carry in the past couple of months.  Not too much changes from day to day and I'm really happy with it.

I'll try to be in depth as possible with everything since I'm certain this is my first EDC dump that I can recall of on this blog...

1. Wallet:  Big Skinny's Leather Open-Sided Skinny Mini
• top slot:
• Fresh & Easy Friends card
• credit card
• Starbucks Gold Card
• bottom slot:
• Costco card
• debit card
• inside: 
• receipts (gets emptied at the end of the day)
• HFT freebie & 20% off coupon
• some cash ($20.00; that usually gets me out of most situations)
• ID window:
• school ID
• work ID
• driver's license
2. Notebook:  mini composition notebook from Dollar Tree (I hope they never stop making these!)
3. Flashlight:  Olight i2
4. Phone:  Motorola Atrix (first generation) w/ generic case
5. Knife w/ lanyard:  Blurple :)
• Benchmade Mini Griptilian (custom)
• light blue + purple scales
• N680 steel upgrade
• all silver components
• silver arrow clip
• engraved w/ EDCF logo and username
• WillyDigger's custom medallian - purple ninja
6. Lip balm:  Burt's Bee's tin.  My favorite!  :D  Nice and minty.  There's just something about tins that I like.  :P
7. Pen:  Zebra F-301, black ink, fine point
8. Watch:  Skagen.  I'm not sure what model it is.
9. Jacket:  TAD Ranger LT Hoodie w/ Affonso mini PVC patch
10. Keys:
• Nite Ize Key Rack
• car key
• home keys x 4
• safe keys x 2
• TEC SS glow fob
• Affonso
• USN tag
• SteelFlame tag
11. Other:  vial w/ chew sticks (this one happens to be tea tree flavored)

:)  I think that about covers everything.  This setup is usually what I check my pockets for before I leave the door.  Occasionally the knife will be switched out.  Other times, I'll add on the Goal Zero Guide 10+ and respective charger cable if I know that I'll be out long enough to deplete my phone's batteries.

Cheers!

"Not Buffs" (164/365)

After a month, my order from dx.com finally came in.  :)  Well actually, half of my order.  The second half was backordered, but was shipped out a couple of days after this one.

I got these "Not Buffs" from dx.com to supplement my EDCF Buff's almost daily usage.  The EDCF Buff branded one is great; I like the color scheme and all, but I just wanted more.  I just couldn't justify the $20.00 price tag on them since I wanted more colors to accessorize with.

The ones from dx (and other similar sites) could be had for <$3.00 a piece, shipped.  Aliexpress actually has them in bulk for about $1.00 a piece, in lots of 30, shipped.  I was tempted, but since Aliexpress doesn't take PayPal, I didn't want to mess around with that site.

I'm not sure how they'll hold up after time and over many washings, but I'm extremely happy with them so far.  They're super soft (dare I say... softer than the Buff brand ones?) and very warm.  In total, I believe I ordered 8; some I gave away to family and others I'm giving away to friends.  I hope one day they'll catch on so that I can find them more locally.  The last time I saw these in person (in lieu of having to purchase over the Interwebz and the Buff brand ones at REI), they were being sold for $6.00 or $8.00 each at the county fair last summer.

It took one heck of a time figuring out how each website labels these though.  It took a round-about way of searching.  The ones at the county fair was just labeled as "12-in-1 scarf!"

EDCF 2012 - 2013 Forum-Wide Giveaway! (163/365)

:D  I won this in EDCF's 2012-2013 Forum-Wide Giveaway, courtesy of my buddy SAK.  :D  I'm super psyched for it, as I've always wanted these little SAKs with the pen.  :)  The scales were custom made by Willy Digger and it just looks super awesome.   :D  I can't wait to have it in my hands!

Pill Case (162/365)

I was at Walmart the other day and found this neat pill case in the travel section.  They're only $1.48 each and has 6 differently sized compartments to hold all types of pills and small trinkets.  I had the same formatted one from The Container Store that I'd bought a few years ago, but the fit and finish of that one was sub-par.  This one from iGo is really nice.  :)  At my Wal-Mart, it came in this nice blue and seen below, and a deep purple.  :D

iGo "Just In Case."

All of the compartments when you unlatch it.  :)

Minimum Charges, Work!, Almost Missed (?) Connection, My Tattered Notebook (158 - 161/365)

*** I was having problems with Picasa the past few days, so I've edited my individual posts into one lump post for January 26 - 29. ***

January 26 - Minimum Charges  (158/365)

Ah... credit cards.  What have you done to me?  I usually will carry a $20.00 bill on me, but for most purchases, I use my credit card.  Last night, I had used my $20.00 to pay for lunch for a friend and I.  After that, I went to the market to check some prices on a few items and get some soy milk in the process.

To my surprise, the soy milk was on sale for $1.00 per carton and they also had the black soy milk, which I don't see very often.  I picked one up, knowing that I already had 2 cartons at home.  I go through soy milk pretty quickly, considering that there's enough in a carton to make probably 5 - 7 smoothies; I make up to 3 a day depending on how much time I spend at home.

I get up to the cashier with my soy milk in hand... only to find that there's a $10.00 minimum that needs to be met for all plastic purchases.  :(  In "frantic" mode, I blurted out that I would grab some more soy milk.

... I came home with 10 cartons of the stuff.

January 27 - Work!  (159/365)

Tomorrow will be my first day of work.  :D  I'd already set out what I wanted to bring with me.  But I'll post the picture tomorrow.  I'm super excited for it!  Tomorrow's also the new school semester.  I've packed up some EDC items that will play double duty for both school and work.

My pens:  Pentel Tradio Mini w/ Waterman Florida Blue, Pilot Prera w/ PR Chocolat, Rotring Rapid Pro 0.5

(edited to add)

Work carry consisted of:  key fob, wallet, Olight, name plate, Skagen watch, Vic Cadet, spiral notebook for work, mini Composition for agenda and personal notes, Pilot Prera, Zebra F-301, Burt's Bees lip balm tin (not shown; didn't make it in frame)

January 28:  Almost Missed (?) Connection  (160/ 365)

Tonight I went with a classmate to Soup Plantation between classes.  We almost gave up because we had gotten lost on the way there and didn't want to be late for our last class for the night.  It was dark and we were in the hills.  O_O  Scary.

Anyway, we made it to Soup Plantation.  I had forgotten my phone in the car but promised someone I'd text them.  After retrieval, I came back in and just as I was about to sit down, I saw an old co-worker!  We used to do network marketing together and we'd lost touch after I'd quit and went a separate path.

She's super nice and it was great to see her again.  A few times I had wondered how she was doing but because of the circumstances (and the fact that I got a new phone and all the numbers were wiped...) I didn't want any awkwardness.  You know how sometimes you think about old friends and want to say hi but are afraid that they might not remember you?  Yeah.  That's how I felt.  :D  We exchanged e-mails and phone numbers and I hope that we keep in touch.  :)

January 29:  My Tattered Notebook  (161/365)

Ever since I found these notebooks at Dollar Tree, I've fallen in love.  The paper quality is great, the binding is sewn (I HATE glued binding!), and it's just the perfect size.  Plus, I fancy products that are miniaturized versions of the originals.  :)  The above notebook has been with me for just about 3 months.  It's down to its last 4 pages and final couple of days before the agenda portion that I'd formatted runs out.

I'm sure it would have held up better had it not gotten wet in Jersey, but hey, well worn EDC items just shows great love.  ;)  I hope that Dollar Tree never stops selling these.  They come in packs of 3 and that's the best dang deal I've ever seen for mini notebooks.  :D

I can't wait to start up the new one.  :)  I usually put aside some time here and there to format the following quarter's notebook, but I think I'll expedite that process by getting a date stamper.  :)

Bape G-Shock [Replica] (156/365)

I got this in the mail yesterday.  I ordered this off of dx.com (SKU 80390) just after the new year and it took the usual 3 weeks to get here.  It was $9.20 shipped and the reviews were really good.  There were a ton of YouTube videos on this one too.  I believe it comes in 5 colors; white, black, yellow, pink, and red.  I'm not even sure how I found it, but I'm pretty sure it was because of the "Related Videos" on YouTube that popped up when I was looking up G-shock reviews of the ones I wanted.

I got this one in particular for a few reasons...

1. I wanted to try my hand at dying the resin band.  I had seen a lot of threads on mygshock.com about people customizing their G-shocks and I just wanted to try.  However, I didn't want to do it on a real G-shock for fear of ruining a $100+ watch.  So by all means, this one is my guinea pig. :)
2. Before I purchase the GWX8900B-7, I wanted to make sure that I would be comfortable with a larger watch.  Prior to this, I've always worn Skagens, which are super thing.  The next largest would be my cheap Casio Illuminator, and then the Timex Classic that Papa T got me for my birthday.  :)  This one will not be one of the future ones I dye.  This one's just the one I really wanted.  :P
3. To be honest, I just have a fascination with fakes/replicas.  Without going into the economics of things, it's just interesting.  This is one of a very small amount (less than I can count on my one hand that I can recall) of "fake" stuff that I own.  Researching it is another story.  I guess you can say learning about replica items is a bit of a hobby.

From what I learned on myghock.com, these have a different resin composition than that of the real deal.  So the dye will still take, but it'll come up a little lighter.  That's fine by me.  :)  I just wanted to test this out and make sure I have the process down.  This one's pretty cute as is, though.  :3

Magic the Gathering (155/365)

New EDC?  Maybe.  :)  I just got these cards from a couple of friends last night, S and HF.  We'd met up at Starbucks to catch up and they were playing Magic the Gathering.  Eventually they taught me how to play and I won my first two games, with the help of S, of course.  After a few hours, we migrated over to the Target that was in the same plaza so that HF could buy some new cards.  He'd gotten the really neat Holiday Gift Pack, which included 4 booster packs, a promo card, a bunch of land cards, and a very nice box with labels to organize everything.

However, it ended up being a "trash box" since all of his cards from the booster packs were commons/uncommons.  HF handed the cards over to me to start my very own deck.  :)  I need to get myself some land cards to make it work though.  :P  As of right now, I only have 1 Plains and 1 Island, both are basic lands.

Will I start playing this?  Maybe.  Maybe I'll just grab an intro deck for $10 or $15 to get started and then work it out with the boys for better cards and build from there.  :P  It's actually a pretty fun game once you understand the rules.  I still think it's crazy that a new set comes out like every 3 months or something though.  I'm not sure if I can keep up with it!

BONUS:

This is HF's Batman backpack.  It's so freaken cute!  I WANT IT!  :D

Svord PKM (152/365)

I ordered the Svord PKM a few days ago and found that it had arrived yesterday while I was at Disneyland.  :)

Closed...

Open!  I love that the packaging says, "Available only to first class peasants.  Are you good enough?!"

The knife fits my hands very well.  :D  So far I like it a lot, though I do have to work out some burrs on the cutting edge.  The white handle looks great too.  :D  For $15 shipped, it's a great little friction folder.  :)

Mini Composition Notebook Cover (146/365)

I had an itchin' to sew something tonight.  :)  By all means, I made a fabric cover for these little mini composition notebooks.  :D  I didn't have the fabric I wanted, so I made due with whatever remnants I could find around the house.

It was super easy to make - I'll have to revisit this entry in the future to do a step-by-step tutorial for it when I find the time.  :)

This one was just done off the top of my head and so the stitching was a little bit off.  I think I'll try and add an elastic band to it on the next try.  :D  Or like a button or velcro closure or something.  The measurements I used made it fairly snug, which I like.  I just didn't like the fabric used (it's a little stretchy) and so this will not be carried in pocket (I'm sure I'll get irritated).  If it's not too thick, I think I'll try using the duck canvas for the next one.  :)

The notebook on the left (green) is how it looks after nearly 3 months of carry (front pocket, mostly) and having gotten wet while helping in Jersey with the Hurricane Sandy relief.

Surprise: Willydigger Cow Hide (137/365)

I went on my morning jog today and came home to find a package.  I recognized it as one of Willydigger's, but I was completely confused, as I did not order anything from him.  Upon opening said package, I found this note.  Googly Eyes?  I knew who it was in an instant.  :)

After opening the package completely, I found one of Willydigger's custom beads!  The Cow Hide, to be exact.  :D

It's currently being rocked on my Ohta Friction Folder that I had gotten from the Custom Knife Show in October 2012.  :)  It's such a cutie.