Hey dere! Whatcha been dooin l8ly? (Updated, now with links)

• _ Finding out that Blogger does that thing where if you hit "enter" in the subject line it publishes a blank post. I left many an e-mail account because of that inane business Blogger!
• _ Lifetime Original Movies. Bad ones. I'm so sorry, brain cells.
• _ Planning to get a Chinese Water Dragon! My rats are 2 years old and one has cancer. And I'm an over-organizer. You can't blame me for looking up prices & housing requirements, and sketching out the large enclosure I will build for a pet I don't have yet... especially when the critter's so darn pretty. Aaaand, I, uh, need the herpetology experience, yeah.
• _ Making and varying cream cheese frosting... I'm so sorry, waist. I'm still trying to decide if it's better for me for it to be eaten with a food item vessel or consumed straight via tablespoon.
  
• _ Trying my damndest to get out and about, fighting both restlessness and sloth. Walking is nice in the evenings, even during a Cincinnati summer.
  
• _ Looking at Ecuador pictures constantly and missing that country like craaazy. Oh, you want to look at them too? Okay. Here's my Facebook albums un, deux, trois. Public links even!
  
• _ Making a pretty complete list of commercials I can't stand and the inconruencies, annoyances, and frequency/timing issues that result in my distaste.
• _ Inquiring after internship laces where I can play with big kitties, and/or slothes. (That's the British pronunciation, you know. "And the people did feast upon the lambs, and slothes, and carp... and fruit bats..." like.)
  
• _ NOT WATCHING LEGEND OF THE SEEKER, THAT'S FOR DAMN SURE! *pout*
  
• _ Not working, nor attending LCCC for chemistry, either, much to my chagrin. But it is what it is. I'm working the "Don't Panic" angle and it's going pretty swell, despite the pressure from my parents.
• _ Not writing for the Nerdist empire, sadly. That makes my dream of befriending Chris Hardwick seem nigh impossible, but it does make me want to breathe new life into this anemic little blog of mine.
  
• _ Not smoking hookah. Go figure.

ComFest is on my horizon, as is dog-sitting and other family-based money earnings. Whoo hoo!
You can bet your boots I'll bee hooking (hookah-ing?) in C-bus this weekend. Have faith in me, intarwubbians. I'll write to you when I'm not bleeding money on artsy things and booze.

Things That Mike Has Googled

Here's to them showing up next time, honey.
A LIST OF THINGS MY BOYFRIEND HAS PUT ON MY SEARCH HISTORY:

• Battletits Galactibutt
• Legend of the Buttdick
• Poostallion
• Wangstallion
• TiggleDickles
• Becky hates fun, wah wah wah
• UPDATE: "chunky butter crab nipple angular rotary tesseract sword buttstick"
• UPDATE: "kronk-donkulous"
  

Have a good day. I've been having several, here on spring break. As a matter of awesome, my 21-ness allowed me to take advantage of a liter of Bailey's on sale for $9.99. The price was cut by more than I spent on it. *silent fist pump of victory*

As a matter of not much awesome, no real hookah news. Win some lose some.

Actually Lazy Sunday

I feel, dear readers, that I have not been making good on the part of my tagline what says "whatever else I have to say." Verily, posts have been few and far between, and compared to ow I normally talk they've been downright curt when they do come around.

If your one of those 4 people that reads this blog and just doesn't comment, I apologize to you. It has been this way because all of the interesting and colorful stuff I've had to say lately has been, well, a total downer. I've been having a shitty semester. Really shitty. For a number of reasons. Are my problems complex and therefore kind of interesting? I guess. Are the ways in which I'd go about relating them colorful? Most yes. But is this a freaking Livejournal where half the people that come across would think that I'm positively flooding my keyboard with wristblood while I write these rants and cut myself? Probably. And I don't want to present/propagate that image, and I don't want to bore or get you down, so online I try to keep it upbeat. And if upbeatedness is not to be had that day then I won't write much of anything.

WHICH brings me around to saying that this weekend has been pretty damn good, and very relaxing, and super freakin' snowy so I'm in the mood to charm the pants off you with a couple blend reviews.

Becky's Shisha Kitchen!
Recipies of Delicious Smoking

Had this one in the book for a while, actually. I'm starting my good-faith effort to use up flavors that I bought because they sounded like not-licorice and they turned out to be straight up licorice. Starting with the 7-Spice which may I make you aware, has changed drastically in smell from the first time I opened it, and it shows in these blends.

(a la Aladdin introducer [voiced by Robin Williams I bet you didn't know])
Arabian Iiiiice....

I mixed 1/4 Nakhla mint, 1/4 Hookah-Hookah Spearmint, and 1/2 extremely non-anise smelling H-H 7-Spice to synthesize what I hope will be the most exotic Popsicle ever.
THE RESULT: This mix is simultaneously cold and smoky. Dare I say it is perfect? I may darest. There's something so balanced and non-creepy crawly I get about the 7-Spice this time... do you know what I mean when I say creepy crawly? How licorice in any considerable amount just oozes over your tongue like asphalt on a hot day? Yeah, well, it's not there. Mint is, I suppose, the perfect foil for anise, though I may use a little less in the future. It's a powerful ally, you know?

1/4 Mint + 1/4 Spearmint + 1/2 7-Spice = Arabian Iiiice! (Like Arabian daaays...
more often than not, are hotter than hot, in a lot of good waaaaaaaays...) *sigh*

The Everything Fruit

You know how fruitcake is called fruitcake, and it kind of tastes like there's some fruit present, but if you're munching on a store bought one (god knows why) you realize that the only fruity thing about it are these Gummy Bear looking bits that don't even taste like fruit themselves but are closer to Spice Drops? Yeah, I guess this mix is like that. I wanted something fruity when I mixed 1/2 H-H orange, 1/4 Acai Berry, and 1/4 Margarita, and I can't say I didn't get it.
THE RESULT: It is well balanced if nondescript. I thought that the sour Margarita would actually be too much and it's not at all. It's a different kind of nondescript than the Slammer I wrote about a ways back, but this wishy-washiness is far superior. The likeness does bring me about to an observation, though, as I am a scientist, and that conclusion is: ORANGE IS A NOTHING FLAVOR. I haven't tried it alone, but I guess I should, because in a company so well versed in fruit flavors, I went on trust that H-H's Orange would knock me out of the park, but it's fairly nonexistant in both of these mixes. Nothing says, let alone screams, "orange" and it was half of the bowl, you know? The sour gets even a bit lost for my taste, but I'm kind of okay with that because I added Margarita in the hopes that it would be an assimilated accent. I'm getting mostly Acai Berry but that's fine, because I love that flavor.
I do really like this mix though. I mean, A LOT. But I couldn't say why I like it since typically I criticize blandiness. But I guess when you compare blandy fruit and blandy sour you get inexplicable good. *shrug*

1/2 Orange + 1/4 Acai Berry + 1/4 Margarita = The Everything Fruit!

Now get outta my kitchen.

Oh Hello There

Wheeoo! By nothing but sheer divine providence, my last jaunt through Columbus landed me with AN EXACT REPLICA OF MY OLD VORTEX BOWL! Pretty neat, huh?

In celebration, I have smoked already, but this night I have to study for chemistry, and shouldn't spend any time at all on the internet really. I'll give you a hint though: Bailey's Chocolate and Sour Apple. Ye shall see.

ALSO last night (Halloween) my foster dog got hit by a car! He's fine. He just got struck by a van and then he ran all the way home at top speed and then let me clean all his wounds without even wimpering. He got hit head on and the only mark in or on him are cuts on his legs.
Basically, Tanner is made of adamantium.
We should put it on his page on the Canine Collective site: "Meet Tanner! He is an 8-month old shepherd/cattle dog mix with boundless energy and a love for cuddling and other dogs. Neutered, up-to-date vaccinations, indestructible."

Nakhla and Hello

First review and first we meet! I'm not being very loquacious with my keystrokes because my hand are littered with horrible ropeburns. It's a fun story! I'll tell you when I can type properly.

Anyway, here's a quick-n-dirty rundown of the first boxes of shisha I ever received.

Nakhla - Mint

In the box: Thick cut. Pretty sticky. Lots of stems though. Aromatic but not overtly minty unless you put your snoot right in there. Mildly sweet if you're just whiffing.
In the bowl: Cold! Minty but not devastatingly minty but again, super cold and refreshing. Haven't smoked it alone and don't think I should. I've been happy to just give it half the bowl.

+ vanilla = Ice Cream!
+ vanilla + strawberry = Different Ice Cream!

Nakhla - Strawberry

In the box: Same cut, sadly. Not the juiciest, but smells scrumptious! A bit candyish but I don't mind.
In the bowl: Splendid, sweet but not too strong at all. Probably the only one I'd smoke alone because it's the right blend of interesting and underwhelming. A bit more candy-y than true to taste but I love it. I definitely ran out of it the fastest!

+ vanilla = Strawberries & Cream!
+ vanilla + mint = Different Ice Cream!

Nakhla - Vanilla

In the box: Same huge stemmy cut. Pretty sticky and smells of a very serene vanilla. Not like opening a bottle of extract or anything. Dee-lightful.
In the bowl: Smooth and extra-creamy. Gentle and lovely to mix, smooths out anyone whose path it crosses. Not too bad by itself just not to exhilarating. Pleasant. Smile times. Arguably the most mixable flavor ever.

+ mint = Ice Cream!
+ strawberry = Strawberries and Cream!
+ strawberry + mint = Different Ice Cream!

Overall Nakhla is moderate. Smoke/clouds is moderate, smell is moderate, buzz (which was only there for the first few days I noticed...?) is moderate. I don't like the cut. Lots of gnarly stems and it burns on the top of the bowl while shielding the bottom of the bowl from heat and leaving it untouched. Not a bad starter pack, mainly because it's as if those flavors were born to be together. Not a repeat buy unless I see a unique flavor that I tell myself I can't live without. Or boredom. Boredom could bring me back. For now I'll just file Nakhla under "Ol' Reliable" and move onto something zestier. Something that actually comes in a resealable package maybe!

star star star star star
Nakhla in general: 2.5/5 stars