Tori Holmes-Kirk

June 2013 Loot Crate Unboxing

June 24, 2013

I came home from our weekend away in Syracuse to find the June 2013 Loot Crate waiting at my door. Score! The topic this month was MASHUP and we have seen some pretty rad mashup posts from the Loot Crate crew on their Facebook page leading up to this months delivery.

Last months box wasn’t as great as some of the previous ones, but this one really made up for it. Let’s check it out!

First up from BIC we have a Tech Stylus 2 in 1 pen. it’s a combo retractable ball point pen and stylus. The stylus end looks like of like a black round eraser. I tried it out on the iPhone and it actually works pretty well.

Also seen here is the Loot Crate branded wall Tangrams. Now I love tangrams. It’s a great logic puzzle. With a quick search online you can find the puzzles to use your wall tangrams with.

Continuing on, we have some pretty sweet 8-bit sunglasses, always fun Warheads candies, and a couple of pretty awesome stickers. Especially loving the Mario and Ninja Turtles mashup sticker by Hairbrained Design.

Last but not least, we have a Comickaze golden ticket and a t-shirt! Yes! So the golden ticket is for a con that I was actually unaware of. Stan Lee’s Comikaze is a mulit-media pop culture convention in LA happening in early November. My “code” only netted me 20% off the tickets – which unfortunately is no where near enough to prompt me to spend the cash to fly out for it. Oh well!

On to the shirt! So you may say to yourself, what does the “Kool-aid Man and Dead Pool have in common?”… Well aside from similar coloring absolutely nothing. Good thing that being similarly colored is good enough for the awesome mash up shirt. Check it out and be super jealous you don’t have one!

Seen enough to say to yourself, “I really want my own Loot Crate every month!”? It’s super easy, just hit this link and sign up. It takes two minutes and starts at only $13.37/month plus shipping. Sign up today! http://mbsy.co/lootcrate/113253
Summer sailing 2013 – Back in the skippers seat!

June 13, 2013

Courageous Sailing

This past Saturday I finished up the second of the two classes that make up the second half of the beginners keelboat course at Courageous Sailing. Even though I already have the US Sailing basic keelboat certification, I was feeling quite a bit rusty. So I figured a good refresher was in order.

Compared to the sailing I did on the Charles river last year, this was so much better.

The class was split up into two days, and oddly we had a different instructor for each day. Despite the different instructors, we had the same three students on the boat both weeks.

The first day was a scorcher. It was sunny and it was hot. Apparently in the advanced beginner keelboat class you pretty much just cover two major things – Man Overboard and Docking. Of course this assumes you have a good handle on the rest of the concepts like points of sail, right of way, etc.

Happy to say it all came back super quick. I aced the figure-8 man overboard maneuver the first time I tried. Beyond that he also taught us the quick stop and we did a fair amount of buzzing around the inner harbor. The wind was pretty shifty and we experienced quite a bit of gusty weather. Overall though, it was a nice day on the water.

The second day started out much more drearily, but thankfully cleared up about the time we headed out. We got the pleasure of manually pumping the rain water out of our Rhodes 19. And headed back out in the harbor or more of the same as the previous week.

I felt like I was pretty much back up to speed and comfortably handling the boat. When it was all said and done I was given a red area rating (the most restrictive) though I felt like I should have gotten the yellow. The instructor didn’t really give me much of a chance to do things on my own. It’s all good though. I’ll go and take the test, and get back out there to get the yellow rating.

And hopefully before the summer is over, I’ll complete the basic cruising class. I’m looking forward to much more time on the water this summer!

The courageous sailing dock and fleet

Photos Below Courtesy of my classmate Tania.
May 2013 Loot Crate UnCrating

June 12, 2013
Another epic month in the world of Loot Crate. This month’s theme was “Equip”.

A bit different look for the crate this month. There wasn’t really any high-end item like the previous couple months with the Funko and Kid-Robot toys. Still, it was a pretty nice box, and I finally got my loot crate ID card!

Let’s see what we got:

Here’s the list of loot:
- One Year Digital Subscription to Pure Nintendo Magazine
- 8 Bit Space Invaders Bow Tie from Black Tie Geek
- Don’t Panic Towel
- Ninja Cord Wrap
- Super Mario Coin Candies from Boston America
- “Inanimate Stickers” from Fred & Friends
- A Papercraft Ironman
- A little DC Comics statue
I haven’t yet checked out the magazine yet, but based on the website it looks pretty cool. The bow tie is currently being adorned by my 28″ MattyCollector Voltron until a time comes in which I have an appropriate event to wear it to. The candies were delicious and I kinda love having a little metal Mario coin block on my desk.

The rest of the stuff I’m a bit meh on. I got The Flash as my DC statue and he’s not really one of my favs. The towel, stickers, and cord wrap are kinda neat, but I don’t see myself doing much with them. Though I find myself playing with the little cord wrap guy on my desk from time to time. And one of these days I’ll get around to putting the papercraft together. I do enjoy a good papercraft. Check out the rest of the pictures of the loot below.

If you are interested in getting your own Loot Crate, please use the following link to sign up – it’ll help me out too! Get Your Loot Crate Here http://mbsy.co/lootcrate/113253
2013 Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo

June 10, 2013

This post is quite a bit late in coming, but I wanted to revisit my awesome weekend in Chicago. I had originally planned on going to this show’s sister show, the New York Comic Con this past October. But due to having my place to stay fall through and it being absurdly expensive to get a motel room in Manhattan, I had to call it off. So I just pivoted and planned a trip to the Chicago show instead. I went two years ago, and it was a blast.

I made sure to be at the show first thing on Friday. I wanted to hit the show floor before all the craziness happened. The size of the show was so much bigger this year than in 2011. By the time I finished walking all of it, I was exhausted. I wound up finding several toys that had been eluding me for a while including a MOTUC Roboto, a mint on the card Silverhawks Quicksilver figures, and a vintage Hoard Trooper figure from the He-Man toy line. All super awesome stuff. I even took in a show the varient stage where a group was performing the entire “Once More with Feeling” musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Very Entertaining.

New this year was a section of the floor called “The Block” which was like Artist’s Alley, but for people who make comic and entertainment related toys and other goods. Lots of cool indie action figures, art toys and all kinds of neat stuff.

I didn’t make it back on Saturday. The good friends I stayed with offered up a trip to the zoo instead. I couldn’t pass it up. Spending a day with friends was just what I needed to take my mind off of the awful events from a couple weeks prior. Such a blast.

Sunday I made it back in for a while. The floor was SUPER crowded at this point. Since the last day is “Family Day”, there was a lot more children and people in general. I was really glad I did the floor on Friday. The one panel of the show I actually made it to all weekend was the “Drawing DC” panel where you got to watch several DC artists including Chris Burnham, Patrick Gleason, and Doug Mahnke sketch on a projector while they talk about what they do and answer audience questions. It was my favorite panel in 2011 and this one didn’t disappoint either. You can see one of Burnham’s sketches below.

All in all it was a great weekend. And while I did miss quite a bit of the panels, I still highly enjoyed spending time on the floor and see all the amazing artwork in Artist’s Alley and The Block. Below are some pictures from the event.
A While Later…

May 8, 2013

This will be my last post about the events of April 15th, 2013. Though it’s only been a little over three weeks, it feels like much longer. And so much has happened in my life and in the world since then. I want to put down some final thoughts and move on with my life. I want to post about my awesome weekend in Chicago, and get back to sharing my monthly Loot Crate goodness. I’m still alive, unharmed and have, hopefully, much more life left to live.

This past Sunday Tom and I went along to watch Dani run the Quincy Half Marathon. It was the first time since the bombings that either of us were at a race as spectators. it was a small race, about 600 people I think. There was only a handful of spectators, all family and friends of the runners I assume. And Dani did quite well, gaining a new personal record by about 4 minutes if I remember correctly. It was sort of an odd feeling being back in that environment I did feel a little bit of anxiety which I allowed myself to indulge in, but then quickly shrug off. There was a fairly heavy police presence which provided a relatively safe feeling that allowed me to move on with my day.

At the start of the race, they took a moment of silence to remember those who we lost and those who were injured at the bombings. I got emotional again. I find I can’t help it when the event is brought up in such a solemn way. The race director then gave a short speech about the best thing we can do is keep on doing what we love, running. By “we” I mean of course the runners – not us lowly spectators.

It bothers me that in this speech, and in the articles I’ve read since the marathon, the focus is always on the runners. As a person who is often at races to spectate and support my wife, I feel somewhat slighted and unappreciated. The bombs on April 15th tore through the crowds watching the race. They killed three people there to support and watch the runners. Where are the uplifting messages to thank and support those of us who love to come and watch our friends and family? We may not be running all the races, but are we not worth a mention given what has happened?

But hey, we are all “Boston Strong” right? I wasn’t sure, and still am not sure, if I should publish my thoughts on that sentiment. When this slogan first came out as a powerful message of solidarity it felt nice. The mass thoughts and prayers coming from Boston and around the world were almost palpable. But then it turned into something else. Through internet memes, media, and merchandising it took on a atmosphere of celebration. A “Fuck Yeah Boston!” kinda feel if you will. And this happened so fast.

To me that feels wrong. It feels way too soon. There are people still in the hospital, people still reeling from the events. The bloody images from the street are still way too fresh in my mind for any kind of celebration spawned from those horrible acts. It’s sort of like being at a party where everyone else is happy and cheering but I’m just sad and angry. Resilience and strength in a community after a tragedy are a good thing. Lets just not forget that what happened seriously fucked up life for a lot of people for the foreseeable future.

So that’s pretty much all I wanted to say. I’m happy they caught/killed the guys responsible for this. I hope justice is done and history will forget their names, while remembering the heroes from that day. I’m still working through my own stress and anxiety. The human mind is kind of amazing in the way it deals with things like this. The dreams I’ve had… oye! But it’s getting better. And if there is one positive thing I can take from my experience, it’s a better appreciation for life and living it to the fullest.
The Day After

April 17, 2013

I have to keep writing this stuff down and talking about it. Keeping it inside is just too hard. Thanks for listening, it helps more than you know.

Firstly a thank you to everyone who has called, texted, tweeted, emailed and reached out to me. It truly means so much to know that everyone cares so much about myself, Dani and our family.

Secondly, thank you for all the interview requests. I appreciate the offers, but I’m not ready to do that. Feel free to use my stories about the event that I share here if it gives help and perspective in any way.

Last night did not go well. I was so tired I was able to fall asleep. But at 4 am I woke up and the first and only thing I could think about was what I saw yesterday. Every time my mind wanders, I see the explosions over and over again. All the television and radio stations are talking about the events, it’s been hard to see all the devastation over and over again.. I learned today that I witness three people die including an 8 year old. It’s absolutely heart-breaking.

I came to the odd realization today that I was hit by a bomb. I was hit by the concussive force of a explosion which meant to and did kill and maim people. It’s surreal. It’s hard to put down those feelings in words. I was just far enough away that I wasn’t hit hard enough to do any damage or stuck by any shrapnel. But it was a weird feeling when the adrenaline wears off, time is taken to reflect on what happened and reaize that I wasn’t just a witness to this horrible thing.

After seeing the news today I also started to feel incredible guilty that I did not go back to help people like others did. I’m not sure what I could have done. I was pretty emotional and singularly focused on finding my family. I’m amazed and thankful or all those people who were willing to rush in and provide aid to those who needed it so much.

This afternoon I got around to downloading the pictures I took at the finish line. I have a bunch I took when we first got to our watching spot and then several of Dani I took when she ran past. Amount those I took was the one below of the crowd looking back towards the finish line. A far cry from how it would look 45 minutes later. It’s kind of hard to tell, but I marked where my father in law, Tom, and I were walking (white/blue) arrow and where the first bomb went off, the best I can remember. We were just walking past that second red awning when everything turned upside down. Tom said to me last night “Tori, we were so close…”, and that has suck in my head ever since then. I still can’t believe how close we were, and how incredibly lucky we were.

We were right in front of the second red awing. (White/Blue arrow). Explosion was at the orange and white avenue.
Scariest Moment of my Life

April 15, 2013

I’m in bed with Dani. My ears are still ringing, but I have to get this down. Have to get this out of my head.

It had been a great day so far. Dani had forgotten her GPS watch so Tom and I had ventured up to Hopkington, the start, this morning to bring it to her and stayed to watch everybody start their 26.2 mile trek down to Boston. Later in the afternoon Dani’s parents, Tom and Jill, and I headed into Boston to watch Dani complete her first Boston Marathon.

Tom and I were there watching about half way between the finish line and the 26 mile marker. Jill was waiting a little further past the finish line to meet up with us all after. Dani had just run by so Tom and I were walking down to the finish line to meet her. I had just gotten the text notification that she finished, and then about 20-30 feet in front of me something exploded.

The heat and concussive force hit me and for a second I couldn’t hear anything. The ground shook and a huge fireball went up in the air. I just froze, I don’t think in that moment I knew what happened. Tom asked if I was ok and started to pull me back when the second bomb went off very close to the first. Again I felt the force of the explosion and had some plastic shrapnel fall down on us. Still frozen, all I could do was stare. There were people laying on the ground not moving. There was smoke everywhere. I saw a guy running with his girlfriend in his arms… her jeans and legs torn apart and bleeding. So many people injured and bleeding running by.

Finally Tom pulled me around and away from and down Exeter where I promptly lost my shit and started bawling. I was so scared for Dani since I knew she was close to it as well. I texted her and thankfully got a response before all the cell communications got overwhelmed. Thank goodness both Dani and Jill were not hurt. We walked down the alley behind the finish line and people were tending to their injured friends and family members. The injuries were horrifying

It took a while, but all four of us were able to meet up. When I finally found Dani I hugged her close and did not want to let her go. We luckily found a cab and were able back home.

So now all I can do is think about the what-ifs. What if Tom and I had walked a little faster. What if the explosions had a been a few seconds later. Ten more feet and I probably would have been injured. A few more feet than that it could have been worse. I’m relieved that the people I love are safe. I’m devastated about all those that were hurt or killed. I’m so very angry that this happened. What kind of cowards bomb innocent people and won’t claim it. What’s the point?

Today was a close call. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to erase what I’ve seen today.
March 2013 Lootcrate Unboxing

March 24, 2013

Today I received my first ever Loot Crate. If you don’t know what that is, it’s ok. You soon will. Loot Crate is a monthly subscription box service where they ship you a box of cool geek / gamer culture related items. I was so pissed that I missed out on last months one because of the “Tardis Prime” shirt and the “Sharks with freaking lazer beams” can coozie. We had been told ahead of time that the topic for this month was “Cosmos”. And oh man did they not disappoint. So without further delay…

Note: I was going to make a video for this unboxing, but my eagerness to dig in got the better of me. Next month, I promise!

Epicsauce

Vader Bobble!!! How cool is this?

Dead Space Vinyl Art

Hexbug Nano Micro Robot (I can’t stop playing with this guy!)

All in all an amazing month from Loot Crate. Being a toy collector, I about lost my shit when I saw the Funko bobble. The rest of the stuff is equally as awesome. I’m proudly sporting my Cheat Code wristband around everywhere now.

If you are interested in getting your own Loot Crate, please use the following link to sign up – it’ll help me out too! Get Your Loot Crate Here
The Great Blizzard of 2013

February 17, 2013

On February 8-9 2013, New England saw one of the biggest snowstorms in several years. The nor’easter named Nemo by the weather channel dumped more than a couple feet of snow in the area. I snapped a few pictures of the snow-pocalypse.
Running through Disney

January 27, 2013

Well it’s been almost two weeks since we’ve been back. I guess it’s finally time that I blogged about it. I think once Dani heard about the Run Disney races, there was little chance that we would not be doing them. Right away we decided to take part in the 2013 Disney World Half Marathon, which coincidentally was the 20th anniversary of the race. This race part of an entire marathon weekend which consisted of a 5k on Friday morning, the half marathon on Saturday morning and a full marathon Sunday morning. Those that had lost their mind could compete in the “Goofy Challenge”, which was doing both the half and the full marathons on adjacent days.

2013 Run Disney Marathon Weekend

So Dani, her parents, and myself went down for a long weekend to enjoy the race and some fun-filled days at the various Disney parks. We wound up staying at one of the Disney “budget” resorts – Caribbean Beach resort. It’s not a terribly luxurious place, much more suited for families. But it was still pretty fun. We had this pirate themed room which I thought was pretty awesome. And it was nice that there was shuttles right outside the door that would take you to almost any of the Disney properties.

Our room at Caribbean Beach Resort

We landed in Orlando late Thursday afternoon. After we finally got checked in pretty much all we had time for was to head over to Downtown Disney for some dinner. Friday morning we were up early to go to the race expo and get our race bibs before getting to Hollywood Studios. (Formerly MGM Studios for those of you, like myself, have not been in many years) This is my favorite park. It has the best rides – Aerosmith Rockin’ Coaster and Tower of Terror – and some of the best attractions – Star Tours, Toy Story, and the Muppets. But I think the thing that really sealed the deal for me was after walking out of the Muppet 3D show we ran smack into Phineas and Ferb. Of course we had to stop and get our pictures taken!

Phineas, Tori, and Ferb

After taking in a late afternoon dinner we went to be early. By early I mean 7pm. Our alarms were set for 2:30 am so that we would be ready to jump on the first 3am shuttle bus to the race start. We were dropped off at the race festivities area which was in the Epcot parking lot. About 4am we all took a short 20 minutes walk over to the start line. It was a huge race so there were tons of corrals. And as you would imagine there was a ton of pre-race stars, interviews, and eventually fireworks. The race itself had its highs and lows. The course took us down the highway around the front entrance to Magic Kingdom, and then into a back lot entrance into the park. We ran through several of the “towns”, through the castle and back out another side door. The rest of the race was largely spent running along back roads near some of the resorts, then on the highway, and eventually the last mile and a half was into the front of Epcot, around the fountain and back out the entrance to finish in the parking lot.

Half Marathon Start Line

Overall the race was a good experience. I was disappointed that we had very little park time. But they did a good job of having characters and things to look at all over the course. Unfortunately because of my slower speed and corral position towards the back, the lines for photos at these characters were 20-30 people deep. I never felt like I had time to stop. The other issue was that it was unseasonably hot. The first half of the race was in the dark with temps in the low 60s. By the time I finished though, it was sunny in the mid-upper 70s and 80% humidity. With no shade I thought I was going to die. After three hours and some change I finally crossed the finish line and got this epic Donald Duck medal.

Donald Duck Half Marathon Medal

The rest of that day was spent at Magic Kingdom including an awesome character dinner with Pooh, Tiger, Piglet and Eeyore. Sunday we enjoyed Epcot, and Monday we took in Animal Kingdom before our evening flight back to Boston. It was a fantastic trip and there is already talk of going back in 2015. Dani wants to run the Goofy Challenge on it’s 10 year anniversary. I think I’ll let her do that one on her own! There’s a few more selected pictures below, and can see the full picture set here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/supertorio/sets/72157632557539200/

Star Tours

Under the Sea

Dani “Minnie Mouse” Holmes-Kirk

Tori, Piglet, and Dani

Animal Kingdom

about

recent posts