So I took a month or two off my blog. Sorry ;-/ but with the holidays and me being lazy... I had to. So during the month of December, I really got into painting 8-bit art on canvas. Well just any kind of painting on canvas really...  It's fairly easy and doesn't require much artistic skill. You just graph out a grid onto the canvas and paint the corresponding boxes. It's like painting by numbers! So here is a couple of pieces I did.

    This year I decided to try the 'No Shave November' challenge. You can't shave at all for the entire month of November. Both men and women participate in the month-long event, with men abstaining from shaving their beards, and women their armpits or legs. The challenge was first created as a charity event for prostate cancer awareness. Then it grew into what it is today. You can still do the challenge for charity and donate at WWW.MOVEMBER.COM.

    So for those of you who aren't close to me, let me explain why this is such a challenge for me. I have never grown much facial hair because by the 4th or 5th day my face gets super itchy and I can't stand it. I love nothing more than my clean baby face! But you only live once and I was kinda curious what I would look like with a beard. Handsome perhaps? Or more like a hobo? Anyways, to prepare and make it through this challenge, I've been using conditioner and lotion on my face in heavy amounts so my skin doesn't dry and get irritated. So far its working!

    Today is the 7th day and I've been taking pictures every other day to show my progress. Ill post them in a gallery below. My good friend Cody is doing the challenge with me. I walked up to Cody yesterday and yelled at him because he barely had any facial hair on his chin. I assumed he had shaved since November 1st but he insists he hasn't. He's all "Baby Face Cody" and I look like a homeless person. Oh well, the challenge continues.

UPDATED 11/11/11 - My face is now past the itchiness, so that's awesome. It's getting quite cold in Albuquerque and my face is staying rather warm! It's a shame I waited so long to grow facial hair. haha! And I'm very happy to share with you guys that my  facial hair is coming in even for the most part.

UPDATED 12/01/11 - So I finished my challenge. It really wasn't too hard. I heard from a few people that they couldn't stand their facial beard and were really itchy. I for one, did not mind the facial hair as much. I washed it and conditioned it so it wasn't dry and itchy. Most times I wouldn't even notice it. I took pictures every other day but stopped around November 19th. I got busy with friends and the holidays. But be sure to check out my video too! It's of me shaving off the beard and going back to baby-face Ryan.

Well it took me a week but I finally posted about my trip to Blizzcon 2011! So let me tell you the story of my trip...

Mike and I woke up at 4:30AM on Oct 20th to catch an early flight to Anaheim, California. It took us a few hours but with the time difference and layover in Las Vegas, We ended up getting to California around 10AM. So Mike and I check into the awesome Anabella Hotel. We spend our first day checking out Downtown Disney and getting our badges for the big convention.  We ate dinner at Joe's Crab shack that night and ended up talking to the table next to us. Turns out, they're the promoters of MegaBloks and they ended up buying us some drinks! Fantastic start to the vacation! The next day we wake up early which we thought would give us a good spot in line. Turns out, people were waiting there since midnight. So... We contacted our friends who were visiting from Albuquerque as well and they let us sneak up closer to the front of the line. When the doors opened to the convention, It was a mad dash to security which then lead to a mad dash to the main stage. Mike and I got separated but ended up getting good seats after the dust settled. The main stage was ENORMOUS! That's where they ended up releasing the information about the new WoW expansion, and other news about Starcraft and Diablo 3. On the main floor, there were tons of booths, including The Guild booth with cast members from The Guild. There were computer farms that had the new Wow expansion (Yes, I got to play as a panda monk), The new Starcraft Expansion, and a trial of Diablo 3. They also had live Starcraft 2 competitions going for the professional gaming league. It was actually pretty fun to watch. Two days go by and it's time for the closing Ceremonies. There was a few closing statements and videos but then The Artist Formerly Known as Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain came on stage and played for us. Also bringing the lead singer from Cannibal Corpse on stage to help out with a few songs. Eventually the Foo Fighters came on stage and threw on the BEST concert I have EVER been to. Dave Grohl and his band are AMAZING performers! I highly recommend seeing them if you can. I ended up getting one of the drumsticks from the drummer! Mike and I were pretty exhausted but after a good nights rest we went out and met people from our WoW guild who were in town as well! We had an awesome lunch with them and Mike actually went to go hang out with them more while I went to Disneyland. I've seen the rides and videos as a kid, I HAD to visit this place. So I spent the day at Disneyland until it closed at Midnight. It was decorated for Halloween and it was very cool at night! All the rides were great! Eventually, Mike and I had to end or trip and head back home. So after a very confusing day of missed shuttles and delayed flights, we ended up getting back into Albuquerque around 11:30PM on the 24th. I plan on making this epic trip again next year!

This past Sunday, Cody and I went longboarding down a really... long... hill... I know it doesn't sound like much of anything or it doesn't even really qualify for "The Bucket List" but it was fun for me and I always wanted to try it. The weather outside was perfect, Clear skies, light cool breeze... Awesome longboarding weather. I didn't fall at all but there were times I doubted my longboarding abilities. Cody hooked me up with a board he found a few months ago. But the board was too loose on the trucks so Cody used mine and I used his. We were out there for a good couple of hours so I got plenty f footage to share. I posted the result down below. Is there any good longboarding spots around Albuquerque / Rio Rancho that you would suggest? Also, this is a hobby I really enjoyed and would like to get into more. Any beginner suggestions?

Today I finally checked off "Attend Comicon" off my bucket list. I've been meaning to attend this geek convention for years! And I finally was able to attend it. For those of you who don't know what Comicon is Originally a showcasing of comic books, science fiction/fantasy and film/television, and related popular arts. The convention has expanded over the years to include a larger range of pop culture elements, such as horror, animation, anime, manga, toys, collectible card games, video games, webcomics, and fantasy novels. It was a stressful day. My roommate and I flew out early in the morning from Albuquerque to San Diego. We met up with my cousin who was already visiting San Diego. When we entered the main hall of the convention center, Our eyes lit up like kids on Christmas morning. The first main hall consisted of signing booths. We were only able to attend the last day of comicon so the sights were limited. Most of the more exciting panels happen within the first few days. Doesn't matter, I plan on going again next year. Well after Comicon winded down, the three of us jumped on a plane (the same day mind you) and flew back home to Albuquerque. It was an exhausting Sunday filled with amazing memories.