Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? I’m probably feeling blah and vegging out, because I usually feel like crap for a day or so after the Covid and Flu vaccines (it’s currently the 16th and we’re heading out to get them soon). But I don’t have any real things to post about, so here are some quick, random updates.
1. Still waiting to find out if I’m still cripple enough for Medicaid. I have no idea what’s taking so long, but when I call to check on everything, they keep telling me it’s under review. And all I can do is wait and be polite and remain calm. Whatever.
2. We have tomatoes and jalapeños and even got our first strawberries! No pics because I didn’t think about it. It’s okay to be jealous though.
3. I’m so tired of seeing that name that’s currently everywhere. Had never even heard of him before this. Everything I’ve seen and heard since is disgusting. He wasn’t a good person. Every time he opened his mouth something ridiculous or horrible came out of it. He thought deaths due to gun violence were acceptable. Now, he’s just another statistic. I feel bad for his kids, but that’s the extent of my empathy (something else he had dumbass thoughts on). Stop idolizing people like him. It’s gross.
4. Raspberry Pepsi is yummy. I don’t know if it actually exists anywhere, but all you need is a Pepsi and raspberry syrup (like the syrups you put in coffee). It’s better doing it that way anyway, because you can adjust how much syrup you add based on your tastes. Pepsi with maraschino cherry juice is also good.
Anyway, I’ll be back next week with the usual book review.
Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Things here are usual. I have nothing writerly or readerly to ramble about. I know it’s national poetry month, but I’m just not into that this year. Anyway, I feel like I’ve mentioned dozens of times that I play mindless games to avoid productivity, but I never told you what they are, so I’ll ramble about those today. I’m up to five of them because I started two new-to-me ones about a month ago. I play them all through Facebook, so if I ever get locked out or the book of faces dies, I’ll lose all my progress and never play them again. All of them have options to spend real money for in game stuff, but I’ve never spent a dime on them and never will. If you’re a miser like me, you can definitely play these without paying. Here they are!
1. June’s Journey. It’s a hidden objects game. I’ve been playing it since it first came out. It’s still being updated and new events happen just about weekly. I go through phases where I play it a lot then for a few weeks I’ll just log in to collect the daily freebies. As long as you budget your in-game coins/diamonds/whatever, there aren’t really any places where you have to stop and wait to build those things up in order to move forward. So, I enjoy it.
2. Gardenscapes – New Acres. I actually played the Gardenscape games that existed before Facebook Games was a thing. So, when this came out, I started playing it. This one is a match 3 game. It’s still being updated a couple of times a month. I mostly play for the side quests now and log in to collect the daily stuff when nothing interests me. But I do enjoy the whole renovation aspect.
3. Homescapes. This is basically the same as Gardenscapes, but instead of renovating gardens, you get to renovate houses. I’m easily entertained.
4. Cooking City. I’ve only been playing this one about a month. It’s just a restaurant sim. You cook food and serve customers. I enjoy that type of game, but I don’t recommend this particular one. I’ve already hit a couple of spots where I couldn’t move forward for about a week because I didn’t have the right boosters. I don’t particularly mind the waiting, but it seems like it’s going to be a regular occurrence since I’m not going to pay for it. It also has the option to watch a ton of ads to get freebies, but no one has time for that. I’ll probably drop this one if it doesn’t get better.
5. Hero Wars. This is the other new-to-me game and I’m kind of obsessed. I don’t even know why. I just keep leveling up my characters. I’ve hit the point in the actual game where I can’t move forward until I get stronger, but there’s so much other stuff to keep me occupied that it doesn’t actually feel like I’m waiting for anything. I will burn myself out on this one, but I’ll enjoy it until then.
What stupid games do you play either to avoid productivity or as a reward for getting things done? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts or questions or whatever here or on my social media pages!
Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing at the moment? As I’m writing this (the 12th), it’s my birthday. All I really want to do is watch The Untamed or some anime and maybe read some manhwa or manga, but it’s only my second blog post of the year, so I can’t justify taking the day off. Instead, I’m listening to the Japanese music playlist Spotify created for me for today and trying to think of something worth rambling about. I know I did it last year, but I think I’m just going to make a list of random facts about me. I’m 35, so that seems like a good number. I’ll try not to overlap with previous posts too much, but if you’ve been paying attention, you probably know most of these things anyway.
Who doesn’t need a little Deadpool on their birthday?
1. I’m far too lazy to go back and read previous posts to see if I’m repeating myself. If you stalk me enough to remember everything I’ve written in this blog, cheers to you and sorry for the repeats. If you’re new to stalking me, this is pretty much everything you need to know.
2. I’ve probably said it before, but I’m currently diagnosed with Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy (UCMD). It’s one of the rarer Muscular Dystrophies, so I don’t really talk about it in specific terms. No one knows what it is anyway.
3. UCMD is my fourth diagnosis, but I’ve been assured it’s the correct one. First, it was floppy baby syndrome, then congenital myopathy, then for about 18/19 years it was Spinal Muscular Atrophy type 2. A few years after they discovered UCMD, my pediatric neurologist asked if I would be willing to get tested for it. Surprise! For the last 11 or 12 years, that’s been what is supposedly wrong with me.
4. I enjoy listening to music in languages I don’t speak just to hear the rhythm of the words. When I listen to English music that way, people still expect me to know what a song is about. Like, sorry. I know every single word, but I’ve never actually paid attention to what was being said. I’m weird.
5. I like screamers and growlers (musicians, you pervert). I don’t have to know what they’re saying as long as I can rage vicariously through them.
6. I’m currently obsessed with the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack for some strange reason. It will pass.
7. I haven’t worn shoes (except fluffy slippers) since July. Haven’t had to go anywhere, so what’s the point? Thank you, Covid!
8. Despite the lack of shoes, I wear pants and a clean shirt every day. The plague won’t change that.
9. People are idiots. I know this. There’s nothing I can do or say to change this. That’s why I tend not to address all of the idiocy going on right now, especially on social media (I have no desire to feed the trolls). It’s not that I don’t care. I just don’t want to waste my emotional energy getting riled up about things we all knew would happen eventually. Because people are assholes. Sure, the majority of people are fine. But those extreme dickwads (on both sides) are the reason the rest of us can’t have nice things.
10. I do occasionally post political crap when I’m extremely bored and want to watch people argue, but it’s never serious stuff.
11. Even though I haven’t finished a single crochet pattern, I keep stocking up on free ones so I have stuff to make when I decide to stop procrastinating.
12. Stalking artists is one of my favorite pastimes lately.
13. I love it when people draw pretty things for me.
Jenae Barton drew us together. ❤
14. Norse mythology is currently my favorite and I love reading about the weird crap those gods got up to, like when Loki tied one end of a rope around his testicles and the other around a goat’s beard, then proceeded to play a kind of tug-of-war in order to make Skadi laugh. Those people were strange.
15. I had no idea what the random deluge of Twisted Tea memes were about until a couple of days ago.
16. I’ve never heard WAP and don’t ever plan on listening to it.
17. I’m in the middle of reading a craft book and, despite liking the author, it’s reminding me why I only read them once in a blue moon. It’s a slog and not particularly helpful.
18. Despite the fact that J.K. Rowling has gone kind of nuts, I’m really enjoying reading the Harry Potter series again.
19. I don’t wear jewelry often (aside from a ring I wear every day), but I still buy necklaces and bracelets that I know I’ll only wear once or twice.
20. It is taking me far too long to write this list and it’s just reinforcing the fact that I’m old.
21. I randomly want ice cream, but we have none. Sadness.
22. I don’t remember ever having a brain freeze.
23. I just ordered Thai/Japanese fusion for my birthday dinner (thank you, Dad!). They said they have mochi, so as long as the order shows up right, I’m getting red bean ice cream! Wootwoot!
24. I have a bunch of awesome people who wished me a happy birthday. I’ll respond to each of them, but I’m sorry if it takes a couple of days.
25. While you’re reading this, I’ll either be reading manhwa or watching The Untamed since I didn’t get around to it today. Or I’ll be a good little writer and read some stuff I’m supposed to then write some words. I haven’t decided.
26. I’m terrible at talking about myself and am running out of things to say already. Is it obvious? I feel like it’s obvious.
27. My dog learned quickly that cats are sharp and now boldly barks at the ferals only when they’re no where in sight or she’s safely in the house. I find this hilarious.
28. I hate The Great Gatsby. I know I’m supposed to love it and think all these things about it and what it portrays, but it’s not good. At all. I’ve read it twice in my life and each time I wished I had those hours back.
29. White chocolate KitKats are better than milk chocolate ones.
30. I post little anecdotes that I think are funny and get weirded out when people start commenting supportive and encouraging things. I guess my funny stories are depressing or too dark.
Oh well.
31. An example of the type of anecdotes mentioned above: someone once asked why I write horror and when I told them that when you keep getting told you’re going to die by a young age you turn out a little twisted, they gave me that deer in the headlights look people get when they have no clue how to respond.
32. Dinner was yummy. I had a dancing eel roll and yakisoba, plus a duck bun and some of one of Dad’s dishes. The mochi will be a reward when I finish scheduling this post.
33. I just checked my email and got a great birthday present! Well, great news on my birthday, so I’m claiming it as a present. I’ll make a post about it when everything is official.
34. Apparently I give off a dragon vibe even though I’m obviously an unknowable sea entity. What do you think?
The new stupid fun thing on social media.
35. I’m too old to be making lists like this. It took all afternoon. Maybe I’ll just take my birthday week off from blogging in the future. Or maybe I’m just being lazy.
And I’m done. Thank the gods and goddesses. As usual, feel free to share your thoughts or comments or own lists here or on my social media pages!
Howdy, howdy! I was cleaning out the notes on my phone yesterday, when I came across something from one of my workshops at Stonecoast. This particular group was led by the lovely TheodoraGoss. Just about every day, she would send us off with questions to think about and we’d discuss our answers the following day after we finished our critiques. One day, she asked us to list seven things we believe. There were no guidelines beyond this, so things went in a lot of different directions from what I remember. Anyway, I thought I would share my old list and make a new one.
It’s just a pretty picture.
The old (2014) version, in no particular order:
1. I believe music keeps me sane while inspiring me.
2. I believe growing up and acting your age are scams created by people who are jealous of the young at heart.
3. I believe in priorities: food, sleep, and eye candy.
4. I believe life is too short to be serious all the time.
5. I believe family is more than blood. It’s the people who love you and keep you around because of your flaws.
6. I believe coffee and booze were created to be mixed together.
7. I believe the angels punted my soul into the wrong body at birth. I should’ve been Japanese.
I just found this, so I thought I’d put it here and save it for later.
As you can see, I wasn’t very good at the whole introspection thing back then. Spoiler alert: I’m still not. I still completely believe in all of those things, especially the boozy coffee one. But I thought I would give it another go now that I’ve graduated and have no one to ask me these weird questions anymore.
Here’s the new (2018) version, also in no particular order:
1. I believe there is more than one way to be a professional writer. As long as you get words on the page and out into the world, it doesn’t matter if you write every day or not. Find your own rhythm.
2. I believe binge watching anime (or whatever makes you happy) is good for the soul and cleanses the mind. Not every day, but once every couple of months, just to give yourself a break from reality.
3. I believe puppy kisses have magical powers to perk people up.
4. I believe it’s important to surround yourself with people who have different viewpoints/backgrounds than you. Along with the understanding that we don’t always have to agree, but that we can have civil discussions if we put in a little effort.
5. I believe in a thing called love! Please tell me I’m not the only one who remembers that song.
6. I believe it’s perfectly reasonable to buy a book just because the cover is pretty.
7. I believe in myself. This is not something that even crossed my mind when I was originally asked to list things I believed. Despite all the rejection and failure, I’m finally at a place where I can say that I believe in me. I will succeed. Eventually. At something.
Yeah. That song by that guy.
There you go. Seven things I believed back then and seven more from now. What are seven things you believe? Feel free to leave your list here or on my social media pages!
Shawna's Blog of Doom 