I'm not particularly good at goodbyes. I'm more of a "just fall off the face of the Internet without saying anything" kind of girl. And I know this is coming kind of late anyway, since it's probably been years since I've last posted anything to this blog. I just didn't originally intend to somewhat "never" post again, and the years came and went, as they do. So, this is my short and sweet "bye" where I want to acknowledge, at least, for anyone who was following my blogs and was wondering where I had gotten off too.
See you on the interwebs friends,
Jess
Monday, November 14, 2022
Goodbye
Thursday, August 30, 2018
Webtoons that are Currently Taking Over my Life
Good morning fellow early birds!!
Just between you and me, I actually started this post last night, but obviously didn't finish it because it is now 5:40 a.m. the next day. Anyway, I haven't posted anything in a long time and I really felt like posting something, so I am making it work.
If you have been wondering where I have been for the past several months, let me give you a brief update real quick.
1) I did a summer class. Why? Because I hate myself and I wanted to get another seminar out of the way.
2) Summer classes ended and I pretended to read/study for my M.A. exam that happens in January.
3) My cousin is getting married and I have been dedicating time helping her plan an amazing wedding.
4) Also, classes started again last week (for me it was really like 2 or 3 weeks ago, but whose counting?)
That pretty much sums it all up except for one tiny thing: LINE WEBTOON obsession. In fact, I debated posting this article to my "Obsessions" blog post because it really is an obsession that has taken over my life many-a-night, but I am thinking that I can write about the ones I really like reading very generally, and then offer more detailed descriptions of each webtoon separately for "Obsessions."
Now, that we know where this post is going, and we don't have any more time to lose, let's get started!
First, I should explain a little bit about what LINE WEBTOON is for those of us who are outside of the loop (I typically am always outside of the loop). LINE WEBTOON is an app that collects a wide assortment of webtoons in one place for easy access to all of your favorite webtoons. I don't know much about webtoons outside of this context, so forgive me guys is my information is inaccurate or seems short and brief. As pointed out earlier, I am generally not "in-the-know" about things and I downloaded the LINE WEBTOON app after seeing a commercial for a webtoon that I just couldn't resist and now it is the only app I religiously check (apart from HayDay, but that's against my will). Continuing with the definition of a webtoon, webtoons "are a type of digital comic that originated in South Korea" according to Wikipedia that is. So, webtoons are basically online comics that have pretty pictures with their stories. And boy, are webtoons plentiful on LINE WEBTOON.
I generally don't try to read too many different webtoons at the same time, and I don't subscribe to different authors half-heartedly. By the time I subscribe to a webtoon, I am invested and ready for the long haul. I told you guys that, to prepare you for a very short list of webtoons that I cannot stop reading. Even though, the list is short, it doesn't mean that I don't waste plenty of non-spare time reading these webtoons and appreciating all of these authors' amazing works.
The list:
1. Age Matters. This webtoon is the first one I started reading, which is even more strange considering the advertisement for Lore Olympus is what made me finally decide to download the app to begin with. The premise behind Age Matters is kind of your typical South Korean soap opera, so naturally I love it. In fact, this webtoon gives me some definite "Scent of a Woman" vibes for anyone who remembers when that Korean drama came on Netflix (RIP). The main character, Rose Choi, is a female on the brink of middle-agedom (yep, I just made up a word) and she has pretty much had to work her butt off her whole life for little reward. She meets a wealthy businessman by sheer coincidence and the two have a very interesting relationship with equal moments of happiness, anger, comedy, and sadness. I absolutely love this webtoon, which is written by Enjelicious. I have a link to the webtoon included here for your convenience: Read Age Matters
2. Lore Olympus. This webtoon is the one that got me to download the app. The art style utilized by Rachel Smythe is absolutely brilliant and the colors are everything. The story is really great as well. The story is a modern retelling of some common Greek/Roman myths. The one that is particularly central to the main storyline is Persephone and Hades' relationship. If you are easily offended by modern renditions of tales that sort of stray from actual lore then this might not be the webtoon for you, but I think it is amazing and unbelievable adorable. You can read it here: Read Lore Olympus
3. Miss Abbott and the Doctor. I LOVE THIS WEBTOON. The art style is so adorably simple that it makes the comic feel even more romantic. Yes, it is a romance. Just in case you couldn't tell by the title. I have very limited tastes in genres OK? We like a good romance though, am I right? Anyway, the art style is just simple sketches of the adorable Miss Abbott and the super-handsome Dr. Marino. I really like this webtoon by Maripaz Villar because it takes place in what appears to be a rendition of a Victorian era, which she does pretty well I will add, but the characters are super relatable even for modern relationships. The doctor is very much an organized, uptight, and straightforward gentleman while Miss Abbott's character is a little more wild and unpredictable. The two of them together make for an incredibly interesting story filled with all sorts of cute, romantic moments that make us feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. Read this webtoon here: Read Miss Abbott and the Doctor
Just between you and me, I actually started this post last night, but obviously didn't finish it because it is now 5:40 a.m. the next day. Anyway, I haven't posted anything in a long time and I really felt like posting something, so I am making it work.
If you have been wondering where I have been for the past several months, let me give you a brief update real quick.
1) I did a summer class. Why? Because I hate myself and I wanted to get another seminar out of the way.
2) Summer classes ended and I pretended to read/study for my M.A. exam that happens in January.
3) My cousin is getting married and I have been dedicating time helping her plan an amazing wedding.
4) Also, classes started again last week (for me it was really like 2 or 3 weeks ago, but whose counting?)
That pretty much sums it all up except for one tiny thing: LINE WEBTOON obsession. In fact, I debated posting this article to my "Obsessions" blog post because it really is an obsession that has taken over my life many-a-night, but I am thinking that I can write about the ones I really like reading very generally, and then offer more detailed descriptions of each webtoon separately for "Obsessions."
Now, that we know where this post is going, and we don't have any more time to lose, let's get started!
First, I should explain a little bit about what LINE WEBTOON is for those of us who are outside of the loop (I typically am always outside of the loop). LINE WEBTOON is an app that collects a wide assortment of webtoons in one place for easy access to all of your favorite webtoons. I don't know much about webtoons outside of this context, so forgive me guys is my information is inaccurate or seems short and brief. As pointed out earlier, I am generally not "in-the-know" about things and I downloaded the LINE WEBTOON app after seeing a commercial for a webtoon that I just couldn't resist and now it is the only app I religiously check (apart from HayDay, but that's against my will). Continuing with the definition of a webtoon, webtoons "are a type of digital comic that originated in South Korea" according to Wikipedia that is. So, webtoons are basically online comics that have pretty pictures with their stories. And boy, are webtoons plentiful on LINE WEBTOON.
I generally don't try to read too many different webtoons at the same time, and I don't subscribe to different authors half-heartedly. By the time I subscribe to a webtoon, I am invested and ready for the long haul. I told you guys that, to prepare you for a very short list of webtoons that I cannot stop reading. Even though, the list is short, it doesn't mean that I don't waste plenty of non-spare time reading these webtoons and appreciating all of these authors' amazing works.
The list:
1. Age Matters. This webtoon is the first one I started reading, which is even more strange considering the advertisement for Lore Olympus is what made me finally decide to download the app to begin with. The premise behind Age Matters is kind of your typical South Korean soap opera, so naturally I love it. In fact, this webtoon gives me some definite "Scent of a Woman" vibes for anyone who remembers when that Korean drama came on Netflix (RIP). The main character, Rose Choi, is a female on the brink of middle-agedom (yep, I just made up a word) and she has pretty much had to work her butt off her whole life for little reward. She meets a wealthy businessman by sheer coincidence and the two have a very interesting relationship with equal moments of happiness, anger, comedy, and sadness. I absolutely love this webtoon, which is written by Enjelicious. I have a link to the webtoon included here for your convenience: Read Age Matters
2. Lore Olympus. This webtoon is the one that got me to download the app. The art style utilized by Rachel Smythe is absolutely brilliant and the colors are everything. The story is really great as well. The story is a modern retelling of some common Greek/Roman myths. The one that is particularly central to the main storyline is Persephone and Hades' relationship. If you are easily offended by modern renditions of tales that sort of stray from actual lore then this might not be the webtoon for you, but I think it is amazing and unbelievable adorable. You can read it here: Read Lore Olympus
3. Miss Abbott and the Doctor. I LOVE THIS WEBTOON. The art style is so adorably simple that it makes the comic feel even more romantic. Yes, it is a romance. Just in case you couldn't tell by the title. I have very limited tastes in genres OK? We like a good romance though, am I right? Anyway, the art style is just simple sketches of the adorable Miss Abbott and the super-handsome Dr. Marino. I really like this webtoon by Maripaz Villar because it takes place in what appears to be a rendition of a Victorian era, which she does pretty well I will add, but the characters are super relatable even for modern relationships. The doctor is very much an organized, uptight, and straightforward gentleman while Miss Abbott's character is a little more wild and unpredictable. The two of them together make for an incredibly interesting story filled with all sorts of cute, romantic moments that make us feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. Read this webtoon here: Read Miss Abbott and the Doctor
Monday, May 21, 2018
My Favorite Sims Challenges (So Far...)
Happy Monday guys! I am taking my own advice and being somewhat productive on this wonderful Monday because I have already set out a schedule for the week and accomplished a few things on my to-do list, and now I am excited about finishing this blog. If you follow me on Twitter then you know that half of my tweets are literally about me wasting time and playing the Sims (far too much). I decided that since I waste most of my evenings playing this game then I might as well make use of time wasted and blog about some of the challenges that I find the most enjoyment in playing. I also included the parenthetical "(so far)" because there are always new challenges being created and there are also challenges that I haven't gotten around to doing myself, so those are clearly things that I cannot judge at this exact moment. This list might change in time, but that's okay because it's just a fact of life.
*Side note: I did not specify Sims 4 because at least one of these challenges, I know can be done in Sims 2 and Sims 3 as well as Sims 4 because I personally did the challenge in the Sims 2, but some of these do include rules that only allow for a Sims 4 game or some rules will include variations depending on the game. If you are unsure, the links should tell you what game the challenge is created for and most of these challenges can be tinkered with slightly to work for any of the other Sims games.*
My plan with this blog post is to list out my favorite challenges that I am currently doing myself or have done in the past. The numerical ordering is not in anyway an actual numerical list of most favorite to least favorite. It's just the way the cookie crumbles. I will also include a link to the rules of each challenge as I list them a give a semi-detailed description of the challenge and what makes it so intriguing. So let's get started.
1. The Not So Berry Legacy Challenge: http://lilsimsie.tumblr.com/post/157671494755/not-so-berry-legacy-challenge
This is a 10 generation legacy challenge created by Lilsimsie and her friend, Alwaysimming. The goal is typical of most legacy challenges where you start off with your first generation Sim and then you carry on the legacy by establishing an heir and following each generation's specific rules and guidelines until you complete all 10 generations. This challenge is probably the most current and most played Sims legacy challenge at the moment. I mean literally EVERYONE is playing it. The reason people are playing it is because it's insanely fun. In the challenge, each generation has a certain color assigned to them that they are supposed to represent in some form or fashion. Most people tend to dye the Sim's hair that particular color and then to make decorating and style choices based around that color scheme. That aspect alone is pretty fun to play with because you get to play around with clothing and home decor objects that you might not typically use. Another aspect of the challenge that makes gameplay so fun is that each generation's rules and requirements are things that I know I have not personally completed or worked on in any of my other Sims' lives. So the challenge kind of pushes you out of your typical comfort zone, which helps keep the Sims interesting.
2. The Sims 4 100 Baby Challenge: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z7DJgxbyViBnE93PEnBHk6iGSjbWOfoit9xiYPMNM6Q/edit
This challenge is also fairly popular and has been popular for a while. I have yet to finish this challenge still because 100 babies is quite a lot of babies. There are quite a few rules for this challenge, so I recommend a close reading of the rules (that is if you want to follow the rules in a strict manner), and I also keep this document open when I am playing this challenge because I have a terrible memory and I need constant reminders of what I should be doing. The goal of the challenge is simple though. You have a matriarch Sim who needs to have as many children as possible before becoming an elder where you then take her youngest daughter and continue working your way down until the 100th baby is born. What makes this challenge fun, but also difficult, is that the matriarch is alone in taking care of the children, since she can only get pregnant by the same guy once, and she cannot marry, at least until she is an elder. This leaves players with only one adult Sim to take care of up to seven children, and you will commonly have seven children in your household at any time once you get going. There is also the urgency of money early on since your matriarch cannot have a job and you are limited to the funds that you start off with until she starts making money by other ways (i.e. painting, writing, gardening, woodworking, etc.). I really enjoy this challenge because the struggle at the beginning is really fun and then just the constant flow of children in and out of the household is a fun aspect of the challenge because you can easily have your mother Sim have 20-30 children before becoming an elder and this means you can also easily build a community around your children alone. I highly recommend playing this challenge if you want something that follows a pattern and isn't too focused on a lot of different game aspects.
3. The Disney Princess 10 Gen Challenge: http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/784536/the-disney-princess-10-gen-challenge-now-updated-for-the-sims-4
This is, yet another, legacy challenge. (I like legacy challenges, OK?). This is similar to the Not So Berry Legacy challenge in that each generation has rules and guidelines that he/she must follow in order to complete that generation. Again, you move down the generations until you finally complete the 10th generation. Unlike the Not So Berry Legacy challenge, the different generations for this challenge are not based around a certain color, but they are instead based on aspects of some Disney princess. For example, Snow White (the first generation of the challenge) has some odd requirements that are symbolic of her character in that she can never answer the door to strangers or elderly women. Each generation has some weird rules and guidelines that again add a new aspect to stagnant gameplay and help keep you interested in the game.
4. Alphabetacy: https://trishawriter2.wordpress.com/category/alphabet-lite-challenge/
*Disclosure: This link does not take you directly to the rules because I had a hard time actually finding the rules to this challenge for some reason, but this link does take you to a simmer's blog where she uploaded her gameplay of the challenge (along with the rules!!!).* It's pretty neat since you get an idea of what the challenge is like and you also get the rules. I will state that this is the lite version of the challenge, the actual hardcore version of the challenge has a lot of rules and takes significantly more time, but the underlining of the challenges are the same. Just imagine one is the easy version and the other is nightmare mode. I chose to play the lite version because I wanted something that took considerably less time than the other legacy challenges that I have already mentioned. As you can probably guess, a 10 generation legacy challenge takes quite a bit of time and brainpower to complete and the 100 Baby challenge takes a lot of time. I also love this challenge because the rules are relatively straightforward and simple, which means I can pretty much do what I want and play the game how I want as long as I continue to name the children in alphabetical order and as long as they marry Sims with the same starting letter as themselves. Other than that, there are not rules dedicated to what that Sim is like or how to play the game. I would recommend this challenge to people who have never done a legacy challenge before and want to start off slow. I also recommend it to people who want something quick and fun they can knockout in a few months rather than a few years (if you play as slow and religiously as I do).
I actually don't have a fifth Sims challenge to talk about (shocking I know), but I think these four challenges are amazing and should keep your hands tied for a while at least. Please feel free to tell me any other Sims challenges that you guys have played and loved because I am always up for a new challenge.
Thanks for reading and happy Simming!
*Side note: I did not specify Sims 4 because at least one of these challenges, I know can be done in Sims 2 and Sims 3 as well as Sims 4 because I personally did the challenge in the Sims 2, but some of these do include rules that only allow for a Sims 4 game or some rules will include variations depending on the game. If you are unsure, the links should tell you what game the challenge is created for and most of these challenges can be tinkered with slightly to work for any of the other Sims games.*
My plan with this blog post is to list out my favorite challenges that I am currently doing myself or have done in the past. The numerical ordering is not in anyway an actual numerical list of most favorite to least favorite. It's just the way the cookie crumbles. I will also include a link to the rules of each challenge as I list them a give a semi-detailed description of the challenge and what makes it so intriguing. So let's get started.
1. The Not So Berry Legacy Challenge: http://lilsimsie.tumblr.com/post/157671494755/not-so-berry-legacy-challenge
This is a 10 generation legacy challenge created by Lilsimsie and her friend, Alwaysimming. The goal is typical of most legacy challenges where you start off with your first generation Sim and then you carry on the legacy by establishing an heir and following each generation's specific rules and guidelines until you complete all 10 generations. This challenge is probably the most current and most played Sims legacy challenge at the moment. I mean literally EVERYONE is playing it. The reason people are playing it is because it's insanely fun. In the challenge, each generation has a certain color assigned to them that they are supposed to represent in some form or fashion. Most people tend to dye the Sim's hair that particular color and then to make decorating and style choices based around that color scheme. That aspect alone is pretty fun to play with because you get to play around with clothing and home decor objects that you might not typically use. Another aspect of the challenge that makes gameplay so fun is that each generation's rules and requirements are things that I know I have not personally completed or worked on in any of my other Sims' lives. So the challenge kind of pushes you out of your typical comfort zone, which helps keep the Sims interesting.
2. The Sims 4 100 Baby Challenge: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z7DJgxbyViBnE93PEnBHk6iGSjbWOfoit9xiYPMNM6Q/edit
This challenge is also fairly popular and has been popular for a while. I have yet to finish this challenge still because 100 babies is quite a lot of babies. There are quite a few rules for this challenge, so I recommend a close reading of the rules (that is if you want to follow the rules in a strict manner), and I also keep this document open when I am playing this challenge because I have a terrible memory and I need constant reminders of what I should be doing. The goal of the challenge is simple though. You have a matriarch Sim who needs to have as many children as possible before becoming an elder where you then take her youngest daughter and continue working your way down until the 100th baby is born. What makes this challenge fun, but also difficult, is that the matriarch is alone in taking care of the children, since she can only get pregnant by the same guy once, and she cannot marry, at least until she is an elder. This leaves players with only one adult Sim to take care of up to seven children, and you will commonly have seven children in your household at any time once you get going. There is also the urgency of money early on since your matriarch cannot have a job and you are limited to the funds that you start off with until she starts making money by other ways (i.e. painting, writing, gardening, woodworking, etc.). I really enjoy this challenge because the struggle at the beginning is really fun and then just the constant flow of children in and out of the household is a fun aspect of the challenge because you can easily have your mother Sim have 20-30 children before becoming an elder and this means you can also easily build a community around your children alone. I highly recommend playing this challenge if you want something that follows a pattern and isn't too focused on a lot of different game aspects.
3. The Disney Princess 10 Gen Challenge: http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/784536/the-disney-princess-10-gen-challenge-now-updated-for-the-sims-4
This is, yet another, legacy challenge. (I like legacy challenges, OK?). This is similar to the Not So Berry Legacy challenge in that each generation has rules and guidelines that he/she must follow in order to complete that generation. Again, you move down the generations until you finally complete the 10th generation. Unlike the Not So Berry Legacy challenge, the different generations for this challenge are not based around a certain color, but they are instead based on aspects of some Disney princess. For example, Snow White (the first generation of the challenge) has some odd requirements that are symbolic of her character in that she can never answer the door to strangers or elderly women. Each generation has some weird rules and guidelines that again add a new aspect to stagnant gameplay and help keep you interested in the game.
4. Alphabetacy: https://trishawriter2.wordpress.com/category/alphabet-lite-challenge/
*Disclosure: This link does not take you directly to the rules because I had a hard time actually finding the rules to this challenge for some reason, but this link does take you to a simmer's blog where she uploaded her gameplay of the challenge (along with the rules!!!).* It's pretty neat since you get an idea of what the challenge is like and you also get the rules. I will state that this is the lite version of the challenge, the actual hardcore version of the challenge has a lot of rules and takes significantly more time, but the underlining of the challenges are the same. Just imagine one is the easy version and the other is nightmare mode. I chose to play the lite version because I wanted something that took considerably less time than the other legacy challenges that I have already mentioned. As you can probably guess, a 10 generation legacy challenge takes quite a bit of time and brainpower to complete and the 100 Baby challenge takes a lot of time. I also love this challenge because the rules are relatively straightforward and simple, which means I can pretty much do what I want and play the game how I want as long as I continue to name the children in alphabetical order and as long as they marry Sims with the same starting letter as themselves. Other than that, there are not rules dedicated to what that Sim is like or how to play the game. I would recommend this challenge to people who have never done a legacy challenge before and want to start off slow. I also recommend it to people who want something quick and fun they can knockout in a few months rather than a few years (if you play as slow and religiously as I do).
I actually don't have a fifth Sims challenge to talk about (shocking I know), but I think these four challenges are amazing and should keep your hands tied for a while at least. Please feel free to tell me any other Sims challenges that you guys have played and loved because I am always up for a new challenge.
Thanks for reading and happy Simming!
Friday, May 18, 2018
Kitty Powers' Matchmaker Personality Questions
So hello again! I have had this blog post idea for quite some time, but I have never allowed the idea to come into fruition because I honestly could not be bothered to restart my game and I could not find the questions online anywhere (for some strange reason!), so inevitably this post has been put on the back-burner. Last night, I decided that I would find some way to accomplish this blog post, so that I can feel better about myself and move on with my life. (Yes, these are the kinds of things that keep me up at night). Anyway, I am going to explain what Kitty Powers' Matchmaker is in case you aren't familiar with the game and then I will tell you a little bit about the personality questions she asks you when you start the game. I hope you guys enjoy this blog because I think personality things are a lot of fun and interesting to think about. Not to mention, this game is unbelievably fun.
What is this game?! So I have been playing this game for roughly two or three years now I guess. Google says it released in 2014, so I guess I was a little late for the hype. The game is listed as a dating simulator, so if that's not your cup of tea then you might not enjoy the game, but I love the game because it is a combination of expansion game style with fun minigames interspersed with a cute art style. Also, you get to play a matchmaker and control other people's love lives, and you guys know I love me some control games (e.g. The Sims). If this sounds like something you would love (which I totally wouldn't blame you if you did) then you can buy the game on Steam as well as an app for Apple or Android. I am not sure if the game is available on other platforms, but I just played the app version and I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything.
The Personality Part
When you start the game, Kitty Powers introduces herself and she, of course, introduces you to the game. As with most games, you start off creating your own avatar and you have the potential to have your avatar be featured in other peoples' games as a client, so that's where the personality questions come in. Each character game falls into a certain standard out of these five categories: activity, organization, social, tradition, and spiciness. The point of the game is to match people up with people based on where they fall into these categories. Another neat aspect of the game is that you can start to figure out how the dating sessions are going to go based on what you know about the characters' personality. I think the game labels the mini games in the dating session as dating dilemmas.
Now, this gets us to the main point of this blog. I thought it would be interesting to answer the questions and tell you guys where I stand based on the Kitty Power's Matchmaker personality questionnaire and then you guys can also tell me where you stand as well. As a side note, I highly recommend the game as well because it is a lot of fun and highly addictive I might add. Without further ado, I will write out the questions in the order they appear in game and then I will tell you guys my answers, then at the end I will explain where I fall into these categories.
*Disclaimer: I am not sure if these questions are the same for every game started. I assume that they are, but the game does have a lot of different questions they could ask for categorizing the different personalities, so some of the questions might be randomly generated. This is not a theory I tested. ALSO, I did not write down and answer the spiciness category questions, but I will tell you guys where I stand in the ranking, so you can probably piece together how I answered the questions anyway. ALSO, I Americanize the spelling just because it's what I am used to and it would have taken me longer to go back and make sure I spelled things properly, so I take the path of least resistance. ALSO, there are probably some typos.*
Category 1: Activity--Active or Relaxed
1. If you had to have a pet, would you rather...
a dog that needs lots of walks
OR
✔ a cat that just needs feeding
2. You have to dig a hole. Would you rather...
get a spade and start digging
OR
✔ pay someone else to do it
3. When meeting up with friends would you rather...
play a game in the park
OR
✔ have coffee in a cafe
Category 2: Organization--Methodical or Carefree
1. When it comes to pets do you...
never let them on the sofa
OR
✔ let them sleep in bed with you
2. When at the zoo do you...
✔ make sure you see every animal
OR
wander around aimlessly
3. When surfing the internet do you...
✔ make specific searches
OR
browse casually for hours
Category 3: Social--Introvert or Extrovert
1. When at a party, do you...
✔ sit in the corner looking at your phone
OR
mingle with everybody
2. When you're out shopping do you...
✔ like to be left to browse
OR
like to be helped by the staff
3. On an evening out, do you prefer...
✔ a quiet pub
OR
a packed nightclub
Category 4: Tradition--Traditional or Experimental
1. As far as games go, would you rather...
play a board game
OR
✔ play video games
2. When you visit a gallery do you prefer...
✔ pretty watercolor landscapes
OR
challenging avante-garde art
3. When buying book would you rather...
✔ look round a secondhand bookshop
OR
download e-books onto a tablet
Category 5: Spiciness--Romantic or Spicy
I will leave these questions as a mystery (teehee)
Okay, so based on my answers to the above questions (the ones with the check marks beside them) and also, what I already know from the last category I fall into this aspect of the five categories: relaxed, methodical, introvert, traditional, and spicy. I have got to say, that seems pretty spot on to me. I might argue that I could very well cross over to active and experimental depending on the questions asked, but again, I waver so much on these terms that I could justify being placed into either category.
Thanks for reading guys and have a great weekend!
Monday, May 14, 2018
How do I Motivate Myself on Mondays?
Hey guys. It's Monday. The weekend blues have kicked in full scale and we are looking at a long week ahead with a mixture of dread and apathy. I say "we," but maybe you love Mondays and maybe you hate weekends because you are a much better person than I am. I envy you! I hate Mondays and I always have the hardest time motivating myself to do anything productive on Mondays especially once classes are over, but I found that there are a few things I can do that make motivating myself for a long week of productivity a little easier. And hopefully, if you are also a person that finds it hard to work up the strength to get out of bed at 7am on Monday and do the errands you told Sunday you that you would do, then this blog may offer you some advise to help make Monday you a more productive person.
So I am going to follow a step by step pattern with this blog. This is what "good" Mondays for me usually start out like and this helps me keep the motivation going, but I also want to acknowledge and make the claim that not all Mondays are like this for me. In fact, most Mondays are not. Even today, I woke up later than I wanted and I did not get half of the errands done that I wanted to, but this is also a fact of life, so I am also working at being flexible and learning that things don't always go as planned no matter how much you wish they would.
But back to the beginning purpose of this blog:
1. Waking up on time
This is probably the major thing that can easily make or break a day of productivity for me. I always set my alarm at 5:30am, so that I have EXTRA time to make coffee and debate on what I want for breakfast. This is just how I flow. Some people have the ability to jump out of bed and rush a shower, grab their lunch, and bolt out the door. I love mornings, but I still need time to myself before I can join the outside world. It makes me a much happier person if I can take my time getting ready and it also makes me less likely to forget to check my email or grab that notebook if I have a little bit of extra time in the morning. My biggest piece of advice is that whether you are a morning person or a night owl, try to find a sweet spot in timing your morning routine. I need at least two hours of time between waking up and leaving for school, some people need more and some people need a lot less, but I truly think that finding that perfect timing makes the day so much better.
2. Coffee and breakfast
As mentioned earlier, the main reason I wake up so early is because I need that coffee and I always need food! Some people, my mother for example, don't like coffee and don't do breakfast, so these are things they can cross off of their morning routine without feeling like they are missing a piece of their soul. I AM NOT THAT PERSON! If I have to leave the house without coffee or breakfast because I woke up late, it ruins my whole day and it makes me want to go to bed early and start the day over again. I will get back to this. Thus, if I intend to not have a killer headache all day and a very upset tummy, I keep to my schedule and get out of bed in enough time to make my coffee and to at least make some toast or waffles. Again, you might be a person that does not want food that early in the morning and doesn't really like coffee, in which case you function a completely different way than me, which is perfectly OKAY and NORMAL. Just keep doing what works for you. Maybe you need that one song that gets you going or you need that early morning workout routine. Whatever the case, make time for it in your morning schedule and I promise you won't regret taking the extra time to do it!
3. Update my planner and write out the to-do list
I am not as good at this as I would like to be. I would love to do this as early on Monday mornings as possible, but sometimes I don't get around to it till later in the day and sometimes I don't get around to it at all that day, but if I manage to get it done I have such a better, more productive day. Tracking things in my planner and my to-do lists also helps keep the rest of the week productive because I now have a semi-rigid plan laid out for how I need the week to go and what sort of projects I can get finished and when I can work on them. So, I find this process extremely helpful, but it doesn't always work out like I would like. You may be able to function without needing a planner constantly reminding you what you need to do with yourself, so again this might not be something that you have to devote time on, but I have the memory of a goldfish and whenever I can write out plans it helps me remember things a bit better.
4. Dedicate some time to cleaning
I actually have a cleaning schedule that I try to follow for the week or at least, that my husband follows for the week because he does most of the cleaning. In any case, I already feel way more productive when I can manage to get all of the Monday chores out of the way and it helps maintain a semi-clean house. I hated spending all of my Saturday, or even the whole weekend, cleaning in order to catch up on all the cleaning I put off for the week. Not to mention, if I had dirty dishes in the sink Monday that I didn't get to till Saturday, then I had a lot of stinky dishes in my sink and no silverware to eat with Saturday. It was a nightmare, so for my sanity, I try to keep to the cleaning schedule and my husband even helps out because he can now physically see what things need to be done on what days. If I start off strong Monday and even take extra initiative by checking off some tasks for Tuesday and Wednesday, it just makes me feel extra productive during the week. But if I can only manage to check off the three cleaning tasks on Monday's agenda because I have an overload of school assignments or writing that needs to be done then that's okay too and it doesn't make me feel overwhelmed or unproductive.
5. Talk to my family and friends
I am the world's worst when it comes to communication. I can generally manage to talk to my husband and text him a nice uplifting message from time to time, but with other people in my close circles, such as family and friends, I have a harder time keeping in touch. Sometimes I don't even message my friends for weeks and people start to think I am dead or I start to feel like a terrible friend. Mondays are busy and hard, but they are hard for everyone I would like to think, so I try to message my mother and brother something cheesy and uplifting to get us all through the week. I also try to catch up with friends on Monday by texting them how my Monday is going and asking them how life has been for them lately. If I only manage to do this once a week, it still keeps things running smoothly for the rest of the week because I always remind myself that I will talk to them Monday and that I can check in on them Monday. And sometimes it helps to just text people when you are thinking about them. Even if it's a brief message, but since I have gotten into the habit of messaging family and friends on Mondays, I don't have a problem forgetting to talk to people for months on end because Monday always rolls around and then I think of them. I get that it sounds like I am forcing myself to communicate with people I care about, but that's not really the case. I am just upkeeping a habit that helps keep me on task for Mondays and the rest of the week. Another plus side to communicating with friends and family early in the week is that I can vent my problems to them and sometimes get solutions to problems that I am facing for the upcoming week.
These are just a few strategies that work for me and they may work for you. Feel free to offer up any more suggestions you have that might benefit me. I would love to learn some more strategies to help me feel like a more productive member of society!
Read this and kick Monday's butt!
So I am going to follow a step by step pattern with this blog. This is what "good" Mondays for me usually start out like and this helps me keep the motivation going, but I also want to acknowledge and make the claim that not all Mondays are like this for me. In fact, most Mondays are not. Even today, I woke up later than I wanted and I did not get half of the errands done that I wanted to, but this is also a fact of life, so I am also working at being flexible and learning that things don't always go as planned no matter how much you wish they would.
But back to the beginning purpose of this blog:
1. Waking up on time
This is probably the major thing that can easily make or break a day of productivity for me. I always set my alarm at 5:30am, so that I have EXTRA time to make coffee and debate on what I want for breakfast. This is just how I flow. Some people have the ability to jump out of bed and rush a shower, grab their lunch, and bolt out the door. I love mornings, but I still need time to myself before I can join the outside world. It makes me a much happier person if I can take my time getting ready and it also makes me less likely to forget to check my email or grab that notebook if I have a little bit of extra time in the morning. My biggest piece of advice is that whether you are a morning person or a night owl, try to find a sweet spot in timing your morning routine. I need at least two hours of time between waking up and leaving for school, some people need more and some people need a lot less, but I truly think that finding that perfect timing makes the day so much better.
2. Coffee and breakfast
As mentioned earlier, the main reason I wake up so early is because I need that coffee and I always need food! Some people, my mother for example, don't like coffee and don't do breakfast, so these are things they can cross off of their morning routine without feeling like they are missing a piece of their soul. I AM NOT THAT PERSON! If I have to leave the house without coffee or breakfast because I woke up late, it ruins my whole day and it makes me want to go to bed early and start the day over again. I will get back to this. Thus, if I intend to not have a killer headache all day and a very upset tummy, I keep to my schedule and get out of bed in enough time to make my coffee and to at least make some toast or waffles. Again, you might be a person that does not want food that early in the morning and doesn't really like coffee, in which case you function a completely different way than me, which is perfectly OKAY and NORMAL. Just keep doing what works for you. Maybe you need that one song that gets you going or you need that early morning workout routine. Whatever the case, make time for it in your morning schedule and I promise you won't regret taking the extra time to do it!
3. Update my planner and write out the to-do list
I am not as good at this as I would like to be. I would love to do this as early on Monday mornings as possible, but sometimes I don't get around to it till later in the day and sometimes I don't get around to it at all that day, but if I manage to get it done I have such a better, more productive day. Tracking things in my planner and my to-do lists also helps keep the rest of the week productive because I now have a semi-rigid plan laid out for how I need the week to go and what sort of projects I can get finished and when I can work on them. So, I find this process extremely helpful, but it doesn't always work out like I would like. You may be able to function without needing a planner constantly reminding you what you need to do with yourself, so again this might not be something that you have to devote time on, but I have the memory of a goldfish and whenever I can write out plans it helps me remember things a bit better.
4. Dedicate some time to cleaning
I actually have a cleaning schedule that I try to follow for the week or at least, that my husband follows for the week because he does most of the cleaning. In any case, I already feel way more productive when I can manage to get all of the Monday chores out of the way and it helps maintain a semi-clean house. I hated spending all of my Saturday, or even the whole weekend, cleaning in order to catch up on all the cleaning I put off for the week. Not to mention, if I had dirty dishes in the sink Monday that I didn't get to till Saturday, then I had a lot of stinky dishes in my sink and no silverware to eat with Saturday. It was a nightmare, so for my sanity, I try to keep to the cleaning schedule and my husband even helps out because he can now physically see what things need to be done on what days. If I start off strong Monday and even take extra initiative by checking off some tasks for Tuesday and Wednesday, it just makes me feel extra productive during the week. But if I can only manage to check off the three cleaning tasks on Monday's agenda because I have an overload of school assignments or writing that needs to be done then that's okay too and it doesn't make me feel overwhelmed or unproductive.
5. Talk to my family and friends
I am the world's worst when it comes to communication. I can generally manage to talk to my husband and text him a nice uplifting message from time to time, but with other people in my close circles, such as family and friends, I have a harder time keeping in touch. Sometimes I don't even message my friends for weeks and people start to think I am dead or I start to feel like a terrible friend. Mondays are busy and hard, but they are hard for everyone I would like to think, so I try to message my mother and brother something cheesy and uplifting to get us all through the week. I also try to catch up with friends on Monday by texting them how my Monday is going and asking them how life has been for them lately. If I only manage to do this once a week, it still keeps things running smoothly for the rest of the week because I always remind myself that I will talk to them Monday and that I can check in on them Monday. And sometimes it helps to just text people when you are thinking about them. Even if it's a brief message, but since I have gotten into the habit of messaging family and friends on Mondays, I don't have a problem forgetting to talk to people for months on end because Monday always rolls around and then I think of them. I get that it sounds like I am forcing myself to communicate with people I care about, but that's not really the case. I am just upkeeping a habit that helps keep me on task for Mondays and the rest of the week. Another plus side to communicating with friends and family early in the week is that I can vent my problems to them and sometimes get solutions to problems that I am facing for the upcoming week.
These are just a few strategies that work for me and they may work for you. Feel free to offer up any more suggestions you have that might benefit me. I would love to learn some more strategies to help me feel like a more productive member of society!
Read this and kick Monday's butt!
Thursday, May 10, 2018
5 Odd & Addictive Apps
And let's keep the streak going by attempting to have a schedule and pretending like you can keep this charade going. I decided that since it is exactly 30 minutes to midnight where I live at this current moment, I should upload a little something. What could possibly be more entertaining than finding out about 5 of the most odd time-wasting apps that I use at the moment. Now, I use the term "time-wasting" loosely. They are great apps, but they consume a lot of my free time, thus I have labeled them such.
As with most things, the order I choose to put them in is irrelevant. I am only listing them in an ordered number for convenience, but the numbers are not in order of rank.
1. SuperStar BTS
Now. Right now you are in one of three categories after reading this. Either you know who BTS is and you are also a fellow obsessee of this amazing K-pop band, so you understand my love for this game or you have no idea what BTS is and you are completely lost. The third option could be that you do know who BTS is and you are hardcore judging me right now over my bad taste in music. Allow me to have this phase of my life and I will tell you not only is their music extremely catchy and energetic, but this app is extremely addicting and most importantly, fun.
2. Hey Love! Adam
So here we are. I joked with my husband and told him I was going to download one od these silly dating app games. And I did and now I actually have a problem where I check it every day because it is the most dramatic portion of my life. I say "dating app game" because I really have no idea how else to explain it. It's not a dating app. You don't meet real people. These are all artificial people who are pre-programmed in how conversations can develop. But it functions like you would imagine dating apps would?? Okay, judge me. Fine. But don't tell me that you aren't curious just a little.
3. Guess the Song
This is a pretty generic app. I downloaded it one day to play against my mom and prove that I am the superior music expert and the app turned out to be a lot of fun despite it's redundancy. I don't get on it every day, but it is kind of fun to challenge my husband, mom, and various other friends from time to time on music trivia.
4. Jeopardy!
I feel like I am a little late to the bandwagon on this one since I just downloaded the app literally a month and a half ago, but I have had a problem ever since. It's one of those apps that you don't just get on for 10 or 15 minutes. Oh no. You get on it and the next thing you know, an hour has passed and you feel a lot dumber instead of wiser. Sometimes you get that one category that just lights up your whole day. *Ahem!* We need more British romantics!
5. Real Piano
This is an extremely simple app where you literally can choose to play around on a keyboard or you have a Magic Tiles setting ehich allows you to play songs by hitting the appropriate keys on time. The simplicity of it is what makes the game so fun and the real piano look to it helps keep me interested because it really seems like you are playing the song as it would be played on a real piano. What makes it even sadder for me is that I waste more time on this app than I do actually playing my piano. But we all make terrible choices sometimes.
Thanks for reading guys and I hope to continue this writing streak up for a little while at least! 😊
As with most things, the order I choose to put them in is irrelevant. I am only listing them in an ordered number for convenience, but the numbers are not in order of rank.
1. SuperStar BTS
Now. Right now you are in one of three categories after reading this. Either you know who BTS is and you are also a fellow obsessee of this amazing K-pop band, so you understand my love for this game or you have no idea what BTS is and you are completely lost. The third option could be that you do know who BTS is and you are hardcore judging me right now over my bad taste in music. Allow me to have this phase of my life and I will tell you not only is their music extremely catchy and energetic, but this app is extremely addicting and most importantly, fun.
2. Hey Love! Adam
So here we are. I joked with my husband and told him I was going to download one od these silly dating app games. And I did and now I actually have a problem where I check it every day because it is the most dramatic portion of my life. I say "dating app game" because I really have no idea how else to explain it. It's not a dating app. You don't meet real people. These are all artificial people who are pre-programmed in how conversations can develop. But it functions like you would imagine dating apps would?? Okay, judge me. Fine. But don't tell me that you aren't curious just a little.
3. Guess the Song
This is a pretty generic app. I downloaded it one day to play against my mom and prove that I am the superior music expert and the app turned out to be a lot of fun despite it's redundancy. I don't get on it every day, but it is kind of fun to challenge my husband, mom, and various other friends from time to time on music trivia.
4. Jeopardy!
I feel like I am a little late to the bandwagon on this one since I just downloaded the app literally a month and a half ago, but I have had a problem ever since. It's one of those apps that you don't just get on for 10 or 15 minutes. Oh no. You get on it and the next thing you know, an hour has passed and you feel a lot dumber instead of wiser. Sometimes you get that one category that just lights up your whole day. *Ahem!* We need more British romantics!
5. Real Piano
This is an extremely simple app where you literally can choose to play around on a keyboard or you have a Magic Tiles setting ehich allows you to play songs by hitting the appropriate keys on time. The simplicity of it is what makes the game so fun and the real piano look to it helps keep me interested because it really seems like you are playing the song as it would be played on a real piano. What makes it even sadder for me is that I waste more time on this app than I do actually playing my piano. But we all make terrible choices sometimes.
Thanks for reading guys and I hope to continue this writing streak up for a little while at least! 😊
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
My Favorite Animated Relationships
Has it really been a year? I am so ashamed. Now is not the time to whine or complain about how I let time slip away from me though. The fact of the matter is, I need to work on a blogging schedule and I really need to stick with it. I will attempt to do better, but I hope you guys can forgive my momentary absences. I plan to do a brief life update, but not in this post, so look forward to that.
P.S. I actually started this blog post last summer and apparently I never got around to fully editing it and making sure everything looked good before publication. Sooooo that is the major reason this post is so delayed.
P.S. I actually started this blog post last summer and apparently I never got around to fully editing it and making sure everything looked good before publication. Sooooo that is the major reason this post is so delayed.
So jumping into the nitty gritty. I wanted something short and sweet and I love couples. It's a known fact. I also love cartoons. Another known fact. Pretty much everything in my life is a known fact. Anyway, so I wanted to introduce some of my favorite couples that I have fallen in love with since my childhood and also talk about them with you guys. They are listed in numerical order for convenience, but that does not mean that I favor one more than the other. In fact, I probably couldn't condense this list into a smaller list even if I tried. So just think of these couples as my Top 5.
*Disclosure: These are not all Disney. That wasn't the point. Disney is not the only company that makes animated movies.*
*SPOILER ALERT: I should also warn you that there are some spoilers mentioned in these movies, so if you haven't watched all of these movies and you don't want to know anything about their plots then you might want to go watch these movies then come back and finish reading the blog.*
*SPOILER ALERT: I should also warn you that there are some spoilers mentioned in these movies, so if you haven't watched all of these movies and you don't want to know anything about their plots then you might want to go watch these movies then come back and finish reading the blog.*
1. Anastasia and Dimitri from Anastasia
They argue and bicker, so what's not to love about this couple? A personal touch that I love about Anastasia and Dimitri is that their relationship grows out of respect and awe. (Let's ignore the fact that Dimitri lies to her and continues to lie to her even after he starts to fall in love with her.) Actually, without ignoring the lie, Dimitri redeems himself because he denies taking the reward from the Dowager Empress because underneath it all, he's really a good guy. Again, their relationship starts out differently from similar Disney canon love stories because Dimitri does not immediately fall in love with Anastasia the moment he lays eyes on her. Instead, she woos him with her grace, her personality, and then finally her beauty. Once he falls in love with her, he becomes aware of his own shortcomings and pitfalls which mark him as a growing character and one worthy of Anastasia's love.
2. Rapunzel and Flynn from Tangled
Another exceptionally cute couple who seem to start off on a similar journey to Anastasia and Dimitri. Flynn is also quite an unsavory character at the beginning. After all, he is a WANTED man running around with her crown (not that he knows she is the princess though.) Long story short, Rapunzel convinces Flynn to take her to see the lanterns in exchange for the crown. Teaming up with a criminal is always a good idea right? Again, we have a romance that slowly grows and changes as the characters embark on this journey and both Rapunzel and Flynn learn more about themselves than they previously knew. In part of growing as individuals, they also grow as a couple and Flynn becomes aware that he wants Rapunzel in his life for longer than the amount of time it takes to complete this adventure.
3. Mulan and Captain/General Shang from Mulan/Mulan II
We all have that story where we run off to China as a man and then inevitably get identified as a woman where we then have this awkward relationship with our previous captain, right? Anyone? Okay. Maybe not. The story between Mulan and Shang is perhaps far-fetched, but not any less romantic. What starts out as a completely platonic friendship grows into one of mutual respect and pride. Granted, Mulan had to become a woman for that to actually happen, but it wasn't long for Shang and Mulan to realize their feelings were a little bit stronger than that of friends. When Mulan II comes around, they begin a journey that actually tests their love (something far different from most other Disney movies/sequels of its kind) since Mulan and Shang do not end the first movie getting married or even solidifying their relationship despite the grandmother's desperate attempts to keep Shang there. The second movie is an emotional rollercoaster that leaves you falling in love with these two even more.
4. Princess Odette and Prince Derek from The Swan Princess
Another movie that has an unusual, but captivating love story is the story between Odette and Derek from The Swan Princess. Particularly, this song, "This is My Idea," that starts right after this GIF is one of my favorite songs of all time and it captures the whole growing romance between the two in a way that makes the characters believable and timeless. In the beginning, the two are not quite as fond of each other as King William and Queen Uberta would hope. As the two are forced to spend time together each summer as they grow older, their relationship begins to get complicated and in the middle of the song Derek's friend, Bromley, states that he thinks Derek is already falling in love with Odette when he shows jealousy for her flirting with the "castle guards." This song has a way of being catchy and completely embodying the relationship between boys and girls when they are young and forced to be around each other before realizing what it even means to have feelings for someone. What makes Derek and Odette falling in love even better is that once Derek sees how beautiful she is, he is convinced that is all he needs to love her, but Odette will not stand for that alone. Thus, Derek must prove his love for her and redeem himself.
5. Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty
When a man is willing to fight a dragon for you are there really any other words needed to express your love for her? If we must go into more depth though, I love the irony in the fact that Phillip and Aurora are intended to be married anyway until Phillip hears Aurora singing in the woods (this is long after she has left to live with the fairies, so he no longer knows what she looks like). Once he falls in love with this "other girl" he convinces his father to not force him to marry this Princess that he does not care for. Therefore, Phillip and Aurora fall in love on their own, but it is also similar to the love story between Prince Derek and Princess Odette where you can probably argue that Phillip is slowly growing to love Aurora when they are children, even though he might not realize it, and much like Derek to Odette, he has to prove his love for Aurora by fighting a DRAGON. In the movie, Phillip does not find out that Aurora is his betrothed until after he wakes her up with a kiss, but it is a fact that he becomes aware of making it seem so funny that he should fall in love with her any way even when he thought she was a peasant. This romance may seem a little close to that stereotypical label we put on Disney and the "love at first sight" problem, but again I can rationalize it away with the understanding that Phillip was familiar with Aurora, he just didn't recognize her which is not so unbelievable since neither of them had hit puberty when she had left, and he defies all attempts at imprisonment and death just to be with her. That really is true love.
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