My mother in law has given me several books in the past year. I feel the
urge to read them all but decided that if they are not very good, to
read at much as I need to get the general idea and go on. Some of the material, book or otherwise, that my mother in law has introduced me to has been gold, and why not? It's about time I got into some "girly" reading! I am going
to write down some kind of review of each book before giving it away of course. My audience needs to know!
When the Wind Blows by James Patterson
A
Rocky Mountain vet and an FBI agent spot a little girl with wings who
is part of an experiment from an illegal laboratory. The book had potential but it all fell
apart in the middle. It turned into a pitiful romance that every "story
for women" novelist writes and people sop it up. Sure, she's a physically strong
woman but she's still weak in the presence of a male. Why is it when females lose their male significant other, they are immediately thirsty for another and write it off as loneliness and comfort sex? I mean to each his own but in my experience when you lose someone you cared about, you are hesitant to get into another relationship. You second guess yourself even when you want to move on. I would have loved to see what happens to the evil laboratory but I cannot stand the main characters enough. It probably ends happily, the villains either die or are arrested, both protagonists survive, and the children are freed, maybe even adopted by the new couple.
How can I describe my feelings on Five Nights at Freddy's? Many people
think the series is dumb, not scary, overrated, and milked for all it is
worth. They are entitled to be wrong. I have loved every aspect of the
series from the games to the hidden lore. They have terrified me,
stumped me, mystified me with what is really going on, and I developed
an obsession with The Game Theorist and his also endless quest for
knowledge about the truth of the game. How surprised I was that Scott
Cawthon had co-written a book about his bear and his bunny, chicken, and
fox friends.
The anticipation for getting this
book was like waiting for the last piece of a cosplay to come in the
mail after its delivery date had passed. I requested it through the
library but rather than having Mikey pick it up while he was at work, I
asked to have it sent to our nearest branch in Northwood so I could pick
it up as soon as it arrived. The kids in the neighborhood could not
wait for it to arrive either. After nearly a month, it still had not
arrived, so I bought the damn thing and the postman delivered it in two
days. It was a cool day outside and my responsibilities were about to be
shoved aside for an afternoon on the porch, engulfed in Freddy Fazbear
fandom. I put Khaleesi on her lead, pushed Zombie outside, got a towel
to sit on and some tea to drink, and opened up the crisp pages of my new
novel...
...to find double spaced pages. Now I am not
saying every bad novel is double spaced. It is a tactic used by editors
to sell the book at a higher price, but double spaced paragraphs are not
for reading. We double space so we can edit and proofread. No matter, I thought to myself. A little extra effort on my part but this is FNAF! That makes up for it!
Let's
start with the good. The story, once it gets going, is definitely
something Scott Cawthon wrote. Our main character is 17 year old
Charlotte (Charlie) who is the daughter of Freddy Fazbear's creator. She
is traveling back to her home town of Hurricane for a 10 year
anniversary/memorial of the death of Michael, one of the children
kidnapped at Freddy's. She meets up with peers she went to school with
and who remember Freddy's. They sneak into the old Freddy building a few
times, stuff happens.
There was a point in the last
fourth of the book that I was getting chills from the words forming
those all-too-familiar images of our favorite animatronics going after
the kiddies. It is not something that happens often when I am reading.
Kudos to that.
As I mentioned before, it takes the
book awhile to get going. About four chapters. The only reasons I stuck
with it were because I wanted to experience the entire series and leave
no stone unturned and I had bought the book, I might as well finish it
before handing it to one of the neighbor kids to read and pass to his
friends as I did him. Charlie and the others could have gotten to
Freddy's in the first chapter. There is also very little lore in the
book besides what happened to Charlie's father and who committed the
murders, which MatPat covers in his predictions for the upcoming game,
Sister Location.
Except for Jason, a character five
years younger than the rest of the group, it was hard to distinguish
between each character, even Charlie. Each had one or two lines that
made them distinct but everyone was the exact same person in my mind
save for those small glimmers of personality at some point.
It
seems as if Cawthon had his ideas fleshed out and the other author
and/or the editor believed Twilight was a classic piece to be mimicked
in style and finesse minus the vampires and unhealthy relationships.
Do
not buy this book. Get it from the library if you are so keen to read
it, but it would be best to get spoilers from someone who braved through
it. Be prepared to march through a good amount of fluff before getting
to the story and write down who is who.
Weight: 226ish
Mood: Light, albeit a little tired and stressed
It is getting easier to go to the gym every day, but I have to go in the morning or I will lose the will to go. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are arm days. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday are leg days. Sunday is my day off. Each day I get on the elliptical for five minutes, stretch, get back on for 10-20 minutes (some days I can do more than others) and then head to strength training. I need to think about when I am going to do my core. Tonight I plan to research gym equipment, how to use it, and what muscles they work, so as to maximize my workout. I am excited actually.
My mayoral website is up: www.sarahklaudaformayor.com. Turns out we only got 10% off a year of having a domain name/website. We ended up paying around $85 for it. I will have to add that to my book. There has been little time for the book. Everything else is getting in the way. There is a little less than a year until the election. We will see how I do.
Many of the past night have ended with me finishing up some work or getting a headstart on the next day before immediately going to bed. I miss the days of Let's Plays but both of us are too busy to think about taking it back up again. There have been some extra expenses the end of this year and MAGfest is in February. And I just realized I scheduled my psychiatrist appointment on the first day of the convention. I will have to reschedule that. Dangit
Second day of super productivity and I am feeling good, albeit tired. I will have to work during the weekend but maybe I can rest up on Sunday as I listen to the Ravens game. There is a lot going on in my life right now. There's the gym, keeping the house clean and maintained, clients, general entries for acceptance, my coupon book, my children's story, my mayoral campaign and website, blogs and online stuff, and keeping myself in good mental health. It all makes me feel important and accomplished actually. When I actually need a vacation day, I have earned one, it just feels so much better. I was able to give myself a coffee sugar scrub to sand off the sweaty dead skin the gym has created on my body. Now, I'm baby-butt smooth and feeling fresh. Scrubs are messy and feel irritating but man are they effective.
Khaleesi has a small abrasion on the bottom of her paw. She won't let me get anywhere near it. I have to work on her trusting me with potential pain. Honestly, her paw is not that bad and I could just bandage it with some neosporin and a sock to keep it clean. I will keep an eye on the wound over the next few days. My main concern is that it is a splinter or something is stuck in the wound. That is just asking for infection. She is not limping or anything. She just likes to lick it.
One thing I need to work on this week is delegating tasks to Mikey and keeping him on track. I have myself somewhat on track and he needs help with his goals at home. Like me, work drains him. Unlike me, he can stop when he gets home. My day is from the time I wake up to the time I go to bed, nearly every day. I kinda like it though.
At first, I thought I had allergies but now I am sure this is a cold. But I had to hold up through the weekend because I had work to do, parties to attend, and got tickets to the Ravens game at the last minute. That game was an all-day affair and we had to climb four floors of ramps and stairs. These are stadium floors two, so about twice the size of normal floors. Against all odds, the Ravens beat the Chargers. I was too weak to finish my last assignment, due today. Mikey woke me up at 5am and I worked through it. Afterward, I just laid in bed until 11 only to get up to take Khaleesi for a walk and to have some soup. I also slipped and fell on the stairs, giving my left leg a good bump and breaking the handles off of my and Mikey's favorite mugs. I am forever grateful that it was just the handles. There is a lot of swelling on my leg but not too much pain. I am feeling some better but I still have more recovering to do. I just hope it does not go into my chest. I want to be able to taste again.
Someone put together a Bob Ross stream on Twitch. It is soothing to the core, especially now since I am sick and stressed out. I was never a fan of Bob Ross when I was young. I thought he was boring, but as an adult he is a great inspiration for any artist. It is like opening a time capsule and comparing 20-30 year difference. I am thinking of playing the channel as I work and see if it increases my productivity. That will have to wait until tomorrow at least.
Tomorrow is going to be a doozy of a day. Before I was sick, I had a minor depression so I have not been at my best in awhile. Going back to the Y will hopefully not release more toxins hiding in my body and will put me on the road to happy recovery.
An episode of Deadly Women did a story of a lady who shot two of her husbands in bed. Both times, she claimed that she heard a noise downstairs, went to get the gun that was under her husband's pillow, and it accidentally went off. She got away with it the first time and I started to wonder how plausible that would be as an alibi for murder. There are so many "gun nuts" in this country, many of them rich as hell. I hate guns and any evidence I can find to put more restrictions on how to get them is a good thing.
Looking it up online, the most popular gun in the US is the Glock 19. Glock claims that the 19 has three safety features in the trigger, the firing pin, and a drop safety (meaning it will not fire if dropped). It would be easy to forget the firing pin safety and you would not have to drop it. The only problem would be the trigger which would take some extra pull. The Glock trigger needs 5.5 to 6.5 lbs of force normally but it can be modded to 4 lbs.
If the culprit used an older gun without decent safety features or one that was not well maintained, it could work. The only problem is finding a gun nut who cares less about his guns. If one could pull it off, would it be the perfect crime?
I probably cut over three pounds of fur off of Zombie today. It went a lot better than it normally does but I still had to stop several times since the blade got hot. I need another razor. Yes, I cut Zombie's hair myself and no I do not know how to do it. I just give him a stereotypical kennel cut/shave. It always ends up looking terrible but I do not care. His stench and skin problems are much easier to manage with less hair and he does not slide around much on the wooden floors downstairs. I still have to do the hair on his paws but that will take scissors and patience. He needs a bath soon.
Today was Mikey's last day off. He goes in tomorrow for a long Friday and then has the weekend to recuperate. With Halloween on Saturday, I do not know how much rest we will get. I honestly just want to put the bowl outside on the porch and tell kids to take one/some. My friend Kara is having a Halloween party and I want to get there early so I have an excuse to pass out two hours later. We do not have costumes this year. When you are a geek and an adult, Halloween can be every day. Nothing stops us from putting on a costume after work and spending the evening eating an entire bag of candy.
I am decked out this morning in my Ravens hoodie and slippers. The game starts at 4:25pm but I am going to listen to it way in the background. They have not been doing well;1-4. I do not think I have ever seen them do this bad. My brother says the preseason does not say anything about the regular season but I beg to differ. The Ravens usually win three games and lose one during the preseason. This year it was the opposite. Unless we win every game from now on, we are sunk. The Lions, the worst team in the NFL, are the only team that are doing worse. We even lost against the Browns which has not happened in almost a decade. Most of our experienced players have retired or switched teams and Suggs is out for the season on a knee injury. Our second quarterback gets some lucky breaks and is okay for a rookie, but Flacco cannot carry the team. I do not know if he is trying. He might be doing what McNair did; sliding into retirement while collecting his millions.
A real fan does not abandon her team and I do not plan to do so but I want to find another team to hope for. The problem is all I have is the radio and available stations will probably only cover Ravens and Redskins games. I am not a Redskins fan in the slightest but I would feel bad if I listened in just to rout for the other team. I have great respect for the Saints. I used to like the Cowboys. Those are the only teams I can think of.
Baltimore is going through a cold spell right now. We did not realize that the heat was off and it was about 60 degrees inside. No wonder I could not get warm! I gave Zombie a bath yesterday and he could have gotten a cold! I kept him warm for hours on the bed because he was shivering so hard. His hoodie is around here somewhere. We are on the lookout for it.
Today is also going to be a day of relaxation and doing what I want to do, not work. It will also be a day of focus for the next week. We are thinking of getting a short membership to the Y since they have a pool. Swimming is the only exercise I will eagerly do. They also have a fitness center which I would love to take part in.
ProJared had a small cameo on a new Nickelodeon show, Game Shakers. While at my in-law's house, there was an episode on. I caught the last 2/3 of it and I cannot describe how sad of a mess it was. Nickelodeon used to have some of the best shows on. They might have been a bit silly, like All That, Kablam, and whatever else, but they were somewhat intelligent and not just cheap laughs. Game Shakers was painful to watch. It was so stupid. Did you ever see an episode of Kenan and Kel or All That where they would do something stupid with food to solve a problem? It made some sort of sense and was usually an accident. This show was pure... that. For instance, one character covered himself in peanut butter and birdseed so the pigeons in the studio would swoop down and he could catch them.
Here is the zannyness that was All That
And here is the sadness of Game Shakers
Kel, you have fallen so far.
So, for the ProJared fans out there, I'm saving you some trouble. Here. Now never look back.
Mikey has gotten into Ricky and Morty, big time. I think the show is okay. It seems like a mixture between Futurama (thought I pray to GOD nowhere near as sad) and American Dad. Both shows I thought were okay also. I thought Rick would be senile and it was a tribute to Back to the Future with comedy like Adventure Time (which I do not like). But we have watched at least a dozen episodes in the last few days because Mikey loves it so much. He is constantly laughing and gets excited when there is a new episode. Seeing him so happy is what makes me excited to watch it. I know it sounds sappy but I feel like this is what marriage is about. I love when Mikey is happy and he is so easy to please. It is one of his best qualities in my opinion.
And no, I am not a woman who lives to please her man (okay, sometimes I am on bad days). I just love Mikey so much even after seven years of marriage. Waking up next to him and going to bed next to him is such a joy. They say that the honeymoon stage goes away after two years. It has never stopped for me. Sure, we have fought and our lives are super busy so we cannot gush over each other all the time, but during the times when we can just stare into each others' eyes and cuddle are some of the best moments in my life.
It also helps that I am a major people-pleaser for those I care about. It makes me feel good to make others feel good. Call it low self-esteem or bragging. I believe that nothing is done out of the goodness of one's heart. We are rewarded in some way for everything we do even if it is just to make ourselves feel better for being a good person. And I thrive on the approval of the ones I love when I do something for them. If I were rich, people would love me during Christmas because I would be getting them huge things for the seratonin.
I got a good start to the day despite not having sleeping well last night. I am on schedule for the writing I have to do and jotted some notes for a few stories I might do. There are more things I want to do but I do not think I am going to be able to get them done since it is late. After a certain hour, it gets harder to get things done. I have a lot of fiction ideas going through my mind, but most of them would have to be published under my pen name, especially if I am running for mayor. Which reminds me, I need to get the paperwork in and get the ball rolling. I need to contact the elections office and ask questions first.
We finished the first season of Assassination Classroom. The second season starts next year and I cannot wait. It has become one of my favorite animes. It is funny and suspenseful. The premise is different and the entire story is heartfelt. The best teacher in the world is one who will eventually blow it up. We did not know if it would have a second season or end with 23ish episodes but the first season ended rather abruptly. We might look into the live-action movie if we have time before the second season starts.
My boots for my Mereb costume came in this afternoon. There is faux fur on the inside and they are suede on the outside. They are perfect for an adventuring and fantasy costume and super comfortable but I do not how they will feel once I have spent 12+ hours walking around in them. Gotta make sure I have plenty of clean socks!
Why have I had such a hiatus with my blog? I guess I just forgot about it. We went back to our hometown last weekend for my mother and father in law's birthday. I bought him a copy of In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash. I think he will be able to relate to it and find some humor in it. My mom wanted a gift card and that is exactly what she got. Easy peasy.
We watched The Giver. It was not terrible but I could go on and on about how it is different than the book and how the book is better. The end of the movie reflects the end of the book but makes it a completely happy ending, fun for all. That is not what happens in the book. Although people can interpret the ending two ways, Jonas and Gabriel survive or they freeze to death, I do not think that is true. Elsewhere does not exist and there would not be any civilizations close enough to know about them or they would have outsiders coming in and out whenever they liked. They might even have been conquered. That is how society works. My mother in law and I were arguing about that. She read the book once so she could watch the movie. I read it in 5th grade, hated it, picked it back up in middle school, and have not put it down since. I know what I am talking about.
Release me from my mortal body you sexy Swed!
Alexander Skarsgård plays the father though, who works at the Nurturing Center and "releases" people, so he sort of like an executioner. Bad casting people, no sexy guys for death men! This is not a gothic BDSM film! Why is this sexy man always in charge of death and pointy things? What's next? Is he going to be an unmasked Pyramid Head in the next Silent Hill movie? Pretty please?
Big news: I am running for mayor of Baltimore City. Yes, I am serious. I do not think I will win, but I am trying my best. It has gotten my butt in gear for the political issues book. I wanted to write something on the federal level but it was not working out. Starting at the local level is much easier. I have a lot of great ideas and ways of making them possible. I have also asked other residents of the city what they would like in a candidate. Many of the issues important to them are part of my platform. I have a ton of issues on my platform but I have a lot I want to do. Perhaps if I put them in order of most important to back burner in the platform, it will be easier to read.
The days have gotten cooler so we turned off the air conditioner and opened a few windows. We also put the comforter on the bed for extra warmth at night. It likes to slide off the bed so I have to tuck it in some way.
Today is the first day in a few that I have felt like staying productive. I hate days like those and they are going to ruin me someday. I am trying to awake between 5:30 and 6am so I can get an early start on the day, even if I need time to wake up. Then I need to start working on my 1pm-3pm exhaustion lull.
I was too emotionally drained and distracted to make a post yesterday. Mikey had off yesterday and today so we had to share office space. I need to get more done but luckily we do not have to leave for our in laws until about 3pm. I might not even talk to Mikey until then so I can get all my paperwork and writing done.
We let Magdalene go but I was able to pet the back of her before going inside. She was out of sight within a few hours. Bye bye Maggie, you fiesty bi-yotch.
I should start doing "Teen Mom" posts on Fridays since I watch the show so adamantly. I do not get to see it until Friday mid morning though since I do not have cable so MTV has to upload it. Even then the video might not load well depending on our internet that day. It gives me time to read the comments, most of which are so ignorant it is hilarious. It is sad that reality show stars get so much money for their appearances but I can laugh and point at the trash in the comments who do not get paid anything. They gain nothing from their ignorance and troll behavior.
Speaking of troll behavior, I wrote a comment on a YouTuber's video whom I knew had a shitty subscriber base. It was a nice comment and I still got someone calling me a fatass wasting my life. People online suck sometimes. Mikey and I were watching a video series (this is one of the reasons I was so emotionally drained) on why trolls are the way they are and Gamergate type people. Usually I would say that understanding them is the key to solving an issue, but Gamergate and other anti-feminism in video games movements involve death threats and harassment to the point where the victim has to go into hiding. Their life is ruined and the police normally do not do anything. Those are the type of people that need to be punished, no matter what their train of thought was. If anyone did that to me, I would retaliate the best I could. You ruin my life, I'll ruin yours. You do not do that to people and get away with it no matter if the law wants to get involved. The only time the FBI got involved was when one of the offenders dressed up like ISIS. Does that mean I have to tell them that my attackers are terrorists to get my country to do anything if I were in danger? Technically, there fit the definition of "terrorist" better than ISIS. They threaten and instill fear within our own borders.
Where to start? Today was extremely productive but also exhausting. My engine is still running but sputtering. Laundry is in the washer and dryer and I am currently in a D&D session with Mikey, my brother, a friend, and his two friends (who I would consider friends too I guess. I'm bugger lonely). I am in a great mood though ready for bed. I took a die hard nap for 45 minutes before Mikey got home. 9pm is going to be my limit tonight so I can shower, make my list for tomorrow, and konk out.
I spent a lot of the day running errands and bringing Branch, the cat that was stuck up the tree, back to his owner. I put my finger in his carrier to calm him and he accidentally scratched me super hard. Poor baby was so scared traversing 2 highways but he is home safe. The owner has my email if Branch (whose real name is Danielle) gets out again. After that I ran to the bank to deposit the cash for MAGfest and a few other twenties I had, and then went to the store and bought some healthy food for the week. Cereal was the first thing I picked up. I missed the days where I could just down a bowl really quick for lunch or dinner and get back to work. Cereal also makes fantastic dessert with less of the guilt.
Biggest news that I cannot believe it took me two more days to type up: We captured a mantis! An adult female! I cannot get good pictures of her with my phone so here is a stock photo of what she looks like. Just add more of a pissed off look. I got plenty of video of her with Mikey's phone but snapping a quick photo with it is tedious for me. We were walking the dogs down the street. She was sitting on the fence and I nearly brushed up against her before I noticed. She startled me more than anything but my fear level was about a 5. She is more of an "icky creepy crawly" to me so the phobia might almost be gone. Her name is Magdalene since we found her on Sunday and she is a PRAYING mantis, get it? That and she is misunderstood and judged unfairly. I often see these poor guys squished on the sidewalk. She'll have a long and happy life with us as long as the cats and I do not pester her too much.
The Gaylord Resort filled up in about 24 hours and we were not able to score a room. I had to secure a room at another hotel and I have to call every day to check for openings. The sucky part is the rooms are full only for Friday and Saturday which is when the Game Grumps and JonTron will be there. If you are going to the con, stay for the whole time or bunk with other people. Do not take up rooms if you are only staying for half of the con. I had a dream last night that I snagged an opening. Waking up and realizing I had not filled me with dread and stress. This morning I was so stressed I was sick. It has since calmed down and I have gotten a good amount done. I have to look up. Think positive. Kick ass if I have to.
At least we will get a group discount with Sam, Tom, and his friends: $10 off each person. Someone else is handling the registration though so I have little control over when it gets done. I have to trust that it will get done but the Gaylord filling up so fast has made me paranoid. Another bonus is that I feel semi-confident in making Mikey's costume. Most of it is just a toga wrap and wrapping purple fabric as a cape. The hat might take a little creative thinking. Mikey can help me with that. Maybe pipe cleaners as a base, just have to make sure they stay secure and can hold the fabric. Other than that, I just need a sword, boots, white sweatpants, and his accessories. I need to robe and boots for my costume but that is it.
I had planned for the weekend to be completely relaxing but Sunday was stress city. The pharmacy replaced their system. It did not recognize my prescription and kicked it out, so I have to ask for a new one from the psych office. I was ready for a fight but someone actually answered the phone! I hope I will have my prescription today and be able to pick it up!
Today was supposed to be productive but after being up one hour, I ran out of steam. I still got a good amount of things done but they were small things. But alas, it is not even noon yet so the day is still young. I made smoked salmon using liquid smoke so we could try those bagel sandwiches Mikey saw on Steven Universe. It took a day and a half but I think it turned out okay. I love smoked salmon and cream cheese. It has been my main sustenance this morning. I am trying not to finish it off so Mikey can have more. I may or may not make myself sick today. It is probably going to be a day off today save the dishes and trying to get one more Chicken Soup story out before tonight's deadline.
Several YouTubers are playing Until Dawn, a game like Heavy Rain or Life is Strange but with a classic slasher film story. Most of the characters are douche-bags and catty bitches that normally you would want to see die, but you have to play them so there is a bit of motivation to keep them alive. Peter Stormare is in it too. At first I recognized his face but it turns out not only was he in Fargo (which I just saw last week) but he's the German dude from those epic VW commercials that I loved so much.
I am watching the girls from The Geek Remix, Cryaotic, Markiplier, and Two Best Friends play it. I might watch JackSepticEye play it also. None of them are killing of nearly as many assholes as I would have. Still, I am in love with this game and seeing people make different decisions along with solving the puzzle of the game. The Geek Remix girls finished it. I hope to watch all their videos tonight if Mikey can join me.
Before the fiasco with my medication, I was zooming through the day nearly every day. The house was getting cleaner and I was able to get some more hardcore cleaning done. I am trying to get back to that pace again soon. I can fly through one day but the next I am utterly exhausted. For that next day, it is all about getting started early, taking a big break once I get tired, and getting back up to finish for the evening.
Mikey got a free trial for Hulu+ so I have been trying to watch as many movies as possible. I started in the Criterion Collection. Some of the movies were a bit too artsy for me, but The Great Dictator will probably end up as one of my favorite movies of all time. I had never seen a Charlie Chaplin film.
Sharknado was painful to watch. It was not even so bad it was good. It was just bad. It had a lot of potential to make fun of itself and it didn't. They played the whole movie straight. Hellraiser, however, was better than I expected, true to the traditional horror movie and aged well. I wish I had time to watch the others before the free trial is up, but sequels are not a priority. I have it on good authority that the second one is decent but the rest are not.
On Tuesday, I watched Monster which I had heard of before but had never gotten around to seeing. It is about Aileen Wuornos, the serial killer, and her life/killing spree with her girlfriend. Charlize Theron did an amazing job with the eyes. Wuornos was completely psycho by the time she was executed and her eyes were nothing but haunting. Her life sucked, she did what she thought she had to do to survive, and paid the price for it. I am not a fan of the death penalty for several reasons but most of them not the typical argument. I plan to go into all that with my books of essays.
Which reminds me, I am thinking of writing a book of essays as a forerunner to my researched book on socioeconomic and political issues made simple. It will mostly be my thoughts (with no reports cited, just thoughts), related stories I have, and maybe just some general wisdom on daily life. Maybe I just want to publish something!
And such finishes up my week in review. That is probably not all that has happened since I have been gone but that is what has happened most recently that has made me want to start blogging again. Here's to more entries in the future and making this a regular thing as part of therapy.
With all the drama that went on with my neighbors and preparing to do some major socializing with the family that weekend, Mikey and I decided that we would get our long awaited tattoos. Screw finances, we deserved this. Before we left for the weekend to go back to our hometown, we gathered the images we would need to show the artists. My tattoo was going to be a memorial tattoo to Justin. Mikey had always wanted the last panel of Calvin and Hobbes' final strip. Calvin and Hobbes are on a sled going down a hill with a speech bubble saying "Let's go exploring!"
Mikey's parents went ape when we told them we were getting tattoos after my aunt's birthday party. They basically said if we wanted a good job, we cannot have tattoos, especially mine because it is on my forearm. Though it not be written down, let it be known that my father in law has a tattoo on his bicep that he got shortly before retiring. His mother just went nuts though about tattoos in general. When I got the rose on my shoulder blade (which I will eventually have transferred to my other forearm), she showed me all kinds of articles on how nasty tattoos are. I just smiled and laughed a little. They should know by now that I am going to do what I am going to do. I love my job at home and at 28 I am pretty sure I will never work for another person who cares that I have a tattoo again. Justin meant almost as much to me as Mikey does. He said if someone were to get a tattoo, it should be somewhere people can see it and he put his hand on his forearm, so that is where I got my tattoo. That and I have been craving more ink since I got my first one eight years ago.
We waited three hours to get done since we were walk-ins. They had an appointment available but it was during my aunt's party. They had to close super late since people just kept coming in right before they closed. Red Octopus is always busy since they are a Prince Frederick staple. They do a lot more of what you would stereotypically consider a tattoo if you did not know much about them (skulls, devil hearts, knives with angel wings, rockabilly) but they do great work and the artists are super nice when it is your first time. Duffy is now on Ink Master! Super sweet! I love getting tatted there because it fits well with where I grew up. we're a bunch of rebel hillbillies. There was a tattoo shop further north on route 4 called Eternal Buzz but they ended up being mostly a drug house. My friend Kara got a tattoo there and they botched it. Now there is another place on the hill called Battle Scars and Beauty Marx. You need an appointment to get a tattoo there, so now we have both kinds of awesome tattoo parlors! I will probably end up getting my Pyramid Head tattoo there if I do not get it up here in Baltimore.
Original concept
Final result. I let the artist take liberties on a few things since I am not visual artistically inclined. It was Mikey's idea to put the rose laying on top of the brim and it was her (Julie) idea to put some light blue around the hat to make the colors pop against my skin. She was using my Wario hat as a guide so I had to tell her that the W on Justin's hat was purple and not blue. All the while I was trying to talk to her about Justin. I thought I would tear up talking about him but I barely could. This tattoo stung more than I anticipated. It was not that bad but being tired and my forearm being evil (it swelled a good amount), it was a bit intense at times. It made me laugh because that's just how I deal with pain. Laughing is one of the best ways I have found to handle pain.
Mikey went back before me since his was just copying an image whereas the artist had to draw mine. Poor thing, we teased him about it being his first time; the other customers and some of the artists. The guy tattooing next to them said that Clark (Mikey's artist) was gentle with first-timers whereas he was called "The Butcher". I think the artist he got was awesome though because he loved Calvin and Hobbes though and was happy to do a tattoo of the comic. Mikey's tattoo also took more time than mine and I had to wait for him. It turned out amazing though. I do not know who loves it more, Mikey or me. Kinda sad that I did not hear any screaming.
So as expected, I caught a touch of con flu from Mikey. I'm not particularly stuffy, but I have a small cough that is really deep in my chest and I have fatigue and muscle aches. I would get some stuff done but I cannot breath well. I need to focus on work and do some let's plays. My computer seems to work now for some odd reason. I have to work on that too. Just thinking about all of this makes me a bit dizzy. I'll work on all of that stuff starting Monday.
The Superbowl is tomorrow but the teams are always in the Superbowl and I don't care about either of them. I would rather the Patriots not win because I have not met many Patriot fans that I like. In fact, most of the ones I can think of are ones that could vanish off the face of the Earth and the world would be a better place. But those are just the ones I know of. I could be wrong and some of my greatest friends could be fans. In that case, they should know better ;).
If I am still sick by Monday and cannot speak through a Let's Play, I will have to find something small that I can record and I do not have to talk through. I haven't a clue what that could be. I want to buy The Escapists and Stranded Deep to play. They look like so much fun and games that I would be into playing. Let's Players have done them recently.
While at MAGfest, I learned that a lot of people have more online support and love than YouTube personalities. They post that they don't feel good on Facebook and they get dozens of comments asking them to feel better. I do the same and I get a select few asking me if I am okay. I love those who support me but I wonder why I do not get the same response. Others get pissed that they do not get support online and then get all the support in the world. What the hell are they complaining about? This sort of stuff also makes me wonder if I have become the creepy girl no one wants around. At least that is what people treat me like unless they want something. I sound bitter and at times, I am. I want to be friendly and professional but it never works. Others get to be unprofessional and off-putting with no consequence. I guess that is just life.
Completely forgot to post something before we left for MAGfest. I ran into a bunch of snags beforehand (like my computer dying) and I was cutting everything close when it came to deadlines.
My brother Eric and his girlfriend Crystal had a blast and got a LOT of attention with their costumes. That was really important to me this year. MAGfest is what we save up for and is our vacation. I was glad that I could share that with them.
We ran into ProJared and noticing how skinny he was, I just had to squat lift him. It is a sign of affection, honest.
Mikey and I were just talking about having never seen someone cosplay at Recette. And here she is with her dolla's!
A Cards Against Humanity haiku. We played a lot of this game. I hope it does not get tiring after awhile. I might have to put it aside for now and play it again in a few months so I can forget all the questions and answers.
The Hot Pepper Gaming Crew were taking photos after their LIVE show.
I know someone who went to the Game Grumps panel
Shovel Knight
I love when someone comes to a convention as Kora or Katara. So pretty!
So, that's about it guys. Mikey came down with a case of con flu, so I am taking care of him today while trying to get my other work done.
My mother in law has given me several books in the past year. I feel the
urge to read them all but decided that if they are not very good, to
read at much as I need to get the general idea and go on. Some of the material, book or otherwise, that my mother in law has introduced me to has been gold, and why not? It's about time I got into some "girly" reading! I am going
to write down some kind of review of each book before giving it away of course. My audience needs to know!
