I was about to wash dishes, but the sink needs washed even more than the dishes do, so I'm letting it soak in magic cleaning magic. So I'm taking this time to quickly talk to you about the Bravely Default demo.
Bravely Default is a tactical turn-based rpg from Square Enix, for the Nintendo 3DS. It isn't even released yet, but the demo is turning heads.
The thing that Bravely Default wants to present to you as new & shiny is the 'brave' & 'default' elements of the battles. It's basically the ability to hold back a turn (or multiple) to do something more powerful later. It is pretty nifty. But not really life-altering. I don't need life-altering in a turn-based rpg though, they are my favorite. Also, I'm sure it'll be a more significant factor later in the game.
There's also a facet of rebuilding a town, which is pretty much just an add-on but I think it's a fascinating feature with a lot of potential. You can gather workers via Street Pass to help your projects go faster, or you can just plug away with the one lonely worker they grant you to begin. You can also use/help your friends in battle. So social! Much depth! Wow! It feels nice to me that they put a lot of attention into optional features.
The art & music are really beautiful. Allow me to be that girl for a moment: Not only is your team half male & half female, but any character can be any job, & all of the outfits are super cool without being overly sexualized. The ladies' most exaggerated features are their hips & thighs, which I think is so much fun. Everyone wears great hats & boots & has wacky hair-- it's definitely not one of those "here's a warrior, there's a ninja, oh look BOOBS that one is a girl" sort of scenario.
There are one or two things that took me a little while to really figure out, but it's pretty intuitive overall. It's a bit bland at the very beginning, but rewarding when you start leveling up, unlocking more skills, being able to afford more stuff, & gaining the confidence to explore more areas.
Verdict: I want this game. I am going to play the life out of this demo.
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Thursday, January 09, 2014
13/14
Hi friends! Due to a clerical error, I find myself with time... & due to other things, I find myself not wanting to do much with aforementioned time. So I'm going to toss out some thoughts. Just for you.
2013 was a big year, for me & my husband. We went through a lot of things, some very personal that shall leave marks etched in our hearts for all time. But we grew a lot, & as we enter this new year that feels so very rewarding.
One of the biggest lessons I learned was to let go of my previous notions of how I needed to build relationships, & with whom. This was a banner year for working out what it means to be an introvert (& to embrace being an introvert), & part of that for me meant giving up on previous methods of dealing with people. I freakin' love people, & a major part of my entire mindset is that people & relationships with them are the most important thing there possibly is outside of one's own relationship with God. I still feel that way, but I've had to learn that I need to take care of myself before I can have healthy relationships. & I need to let situations be what they are, without forcing upon them any of my own ideas of How This Should Work. Actually, basically what I did what let go of control entirely. Poof. I pretty much declared myself on vacation from trying to deepen relationships &/or make them happen. I decided to try to just enjoy social interactions & be comfortable, instead of trying to fix things & stressing myself out. & you know what happened? I made new friends. Like, actual new friends, whom I can text, invite to my house, that sort of thing. I also found lots of development happening with friendships I'd had that had been at the same level for a while. CRAZY, RIGHT? So yeah, it's been awesome. I'm more rested, more myself, & in fact more connected with more people.
I think many of us struggle with a skewed vision of how friendships happen & why & so forth. Everyone I've talked to about the topic has admitted to having a lot of disappointments & hurts. I think it's a little bit funny when I come across things on the internet that say those things like Disney Gave Me Unrealistic Expectations about Hair/Men/Wildlife/Australia/whatevs, because really I think Friendships should be the one leading the pack. But anyway. It's nice to finally feel like I'm moving in a right direction.
As I try to be more awake, I realize that perhaps this post might come across as selfish? Like, "I can't be bothered to work at friendships, I'm too busy taking care of MEEEEEE"? But that's not what I mean, I promise. I just mean finding a better balance. Forgive my fussy brain.
2013 was a big year, for me & my husband. We went through a lot of things, some very personal that shall leave marks etched in our hearts for all time. But we grew a lot, & as we enter this new year that feels so very rewarding.
One of the biggest lessons I learned was to let go of my previous notions of how I needed to build relationships, & with whom. This was a banner year for working out what it means to be an introvert (& to embrace being an introvert), & part of that for me meant giving up on previous methods of dealing with people. I freakin' love people, & a major part of my entire mindset is that people & relationships with them are the most important thing there possibly is outside of one's own relationship with God. I still feel that way, but I've had to learn that I need to take care of myself before I can have healthy relationships. & I need to let situations be what they are, without forcing upon them any of my own ideas of How This Should Work. Actually, basically what I did what let go of control entirely. Poof. I pretty much declared myself on vacation from trying to deepen relationships &/or make them happen. I decided to try to just enjoy social interactions & be comfortable, instead of trying to fix things & stressing myself out. & you know what happened? I made new friends. Like, actual new friends, whom I can text, invite to my house, that sort of thing. I also found lots of development happening with friendships I'd had that had been at the same level for a while. CRAZY, RIGHT? So yeah, it's been awesome. I'm more rested, more myself, & in fact more connected with more people.
I think many of us struggle with a skewed vision of how friendships happen & why & so forth. Everyone I've talked to about the topic has admitted to having a lot of disappointments & hurts. I think it's a little bit funny when I come across things on the internet that say those things like Disney Gave Me Unrealistic Expectations about Hair/Men/Wildlife/Australia/whatevs, because really I think Friendships should be the one leading the pack. But anyway. It's nice to finally feel like I'm moving in a right direction.
As I try to be more awake, I realize that perhaps this post might come across as selfish? Like, "I can't be bothered to work at friendships, I'm too busy taking care of MEEEEEE"? But that's not what I mean, I promise. I just mean finding a better balance. Forgive my fussy brain.
Friday, December 27, 2013
Books I Read in 2013
I like Goodreads for keeping track of my lists. List of books to read, & list of books that I have read. & I can easily sort them in different ways. Mmmmmm. Lists & sorting.
This is the first year that I really kept a To Read list & worked on reading things from it, so I thought I'd share the pages I went through this year. In chronological order. Not counting books I had already read previously.
-------
1. Red Prophet (Tales of Alvin Maker, #2)
2. The Folk of the Fringe
3. Prentice Alvin (Tales of Alvin Maker, #3)
4. Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle, #1)
5. Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture
6. Alvin Journeyman (Tales of Alvin Maker, #4)
7. The Introverted Leader: Building on Your Quiet Strength
8. Heartfire (Tales of Alvin Maker, #5)
9. The Crystal City (Tales of Alvin Maker, #6)
10. Lost Boys
11. Treasure Box
12. The Worthing Saga (Worthing, #1-3)
13. The Giver (The Giver Quartet, #1)
14. No Country for Old Men
15. Five Children and It (Five Children, #1)
16. Around the World in Eighty Days
17. Anna and the King of Siam
18. Fairest
19. Spock Must Die! (Star Trek Adventures, #1)
20. Earth Afire (The First Formic War, #2)
21. Hot Sleep (Worthing, #2)
22. Battle Royale
23. Stargate SG-1: Dialing up. The Official Guide to Season 1-5
24. Jesus Without Religion: What Did He Say? What Did He Do? What's the Point?
25. A Year of Biblical Womanhood
26. We
27. With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child (With the Light, #7)
28. With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child (With the Light, #8)
29. Sherlock Holmes: Misteri Yang Tak Terpecahkan (A Slight Trick of the Mind)
30. True Grit
31. Instant Mom
32. The Pastor: A Memoir
33. Thus Spoke Zarathustra
34. The Pulse
35. I am currently reading: Glass, Paper, Beans: Revelations on the Nature and Value of Ordinary Things
-------
Not bad, I think! You can see that this is the year that I tried reading Orson Scott Card books besides Enderverse stuff; I reeeaaally enjoy The Tales of Alvin Maker. I quit reading two books this year... I was bored to tears by the writing style of Eragon, & Thus Spoke Zarathustra got pretty redundant. I've also reached a point where I am currently bored of dystopias.
Goals for next year, reading-wise: read more non-fiction, more stuff I've compiled on my Nook HD, & more non-ACD Sherlock stuff. Maybe. ;-)
This is the first year that I really kept a To Read list & worked on reading things from it, so I thought I'd share the pages I went through this year. In chronological order. Not counting books I had already read previously.
-------
1. Red Prophet (Tales of Alvin Maker, #2)
2. The Folk of the Fringe
3. Prentice Alvin (Tales of Alvin Maker, #3)
4. Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle, #1)
5. Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture
6. Alvin Journeyman (Tales of Alvin Maker, #4)
7. The Introverted Leader: Building on Your Quiet Strength
8. Heartfire (Tales of Alvin Maker, #5)
9. The Crystal City (Tales of Alvin Maker, #6)
10. Lost Boys
11. Treasure Box
12. The Worthing Saga (Worthing, #1-3)
13. The Giver (The Giver Quartet, #1)
14. No Country for Old Men
15. Five Children and It (Five Children, #1)
16. Around the World in Eighty Days
17. Anna and the King of Siam
18. Fairest
19. Spock Must Die! (Star Trek Adventures, #1)
20. Earth Afire (The First Formic War, #2)
21. Hot Sleep (Worthing, #2)
22. Battle Royale
23. Stargate SG-1: Dialing up. The Official Guide to Season 1-5
24. Jesus Without Religion: What Did He Say? What Did He Do? What's the Point?
25. A Year of Biblical Womanhood
26. We
27. With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child (With the Light, #7)
28. With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child (With the Light, #8)
29. Sherlock Holmes: Misteri Yang Tak Terpecahkan (A Slight Trick of the Mind)
30. True Grit
31. Instant Mom
32. The Pastor: A Memoir
33. Thus Spoke Zarathustra
34. The Pulse
35. I am currently reading: Glass, Paper, Beans: Revelations on the Nature and Value of Ordinary Things
-------
Not bad, I think! You can see that this is the year that I tried reading Orson Scott Card books besides Enderverse stuff; I reeeaaally enjoy The Tales of Alvin Maker. I quit reading two books this year... I was bored to tears by the writing style of Eragon, & Thus Spoke Zarathustra got pretty redundant. I've also reached a point where I am currently bored of dystopias.
Goals for next year, reading-wise: read more non-fiction, more stuff I've compiled on my Nook HD, & more non-ACD Sherlock stuff. Maybe. ;-)
Monday, December 09, 2013
Re: Being Task Focused
My husband thinks I should blog more about my personality & what is it like for me, so I figured I'd start with one of the aspects that I feel makes me seem least approachable.
The default state of my mind is analyzing/prioritizing what needs to be done. This is nice because it allows me to put logic into action-- for example, I figure out easily that I should eat lunch before I scrub the kitchen floor, so that I don't get hungry while the floor is wet. My brain is full of planning & consequences & results & contingency plans. (Honestly, not as much of that last. I don't deal as well with changes as I'd like.)
The point is, my brain works by establishing a plan & then following it. Even when I am taking time to relax, it is still part of a plan. I plan to work on typing this until I get hungry, then I shall eat lunch & work on chores. I plan to get x & y task done, so that I can unwind with fun thing z until event a. That is how everything happens for me.
You can tell how important something is to me by how much attention I pay to the details... which seems to come across in the opposite way, sadly. People think I'm being grumpy & ignoring them, when the reality is that I'm just trying to do what I feel is most important, usually because a person is important to me. It often happens that I show up to an event of some sort, & anyone who tries to greet me before I can get my coat off feels brushed off. I just want to get comfortable first, get my hands free, so I have more opportunity to give you my full attention.
No one looks at my degree of concentration & thinks "I really appreciate how seriously she is taking the task at hand". They just think "she must be mad at me".
This gets even worse when there are unanticipated changes. My brain tries to figure out why the changes are there, & how I can best continue to accomplish the task, & my face & tone of voice turn into CRAZY ANGRY WOMAN. I'm not actually crazy angry woman! I'm just trying to operate at optimal efficiency! I promise.
Another way that this aspect of me shows up is sometimes I seem nit-picky. I'll try to suggest a way that a thing could be done, or ask someone why they did a thing they way that they did, & it comes across as nagging or not trusting the person. In reality, I'm just trying to help & to understand. I'm not even necessarily trying to say that my way is the best way! I truly want to hear your opinions & thought process, because you matter to me. My interest in the situation is actually an interest in you, but it is so commonly misinterpreted. (My least favorite part of this is when people assume that I'm mad at my husband. I'm not mad at anyone, my husband understands, please don't make a snarky comment.) It's my way of trying to be involved, which I only bother to try to do when I like you.
Ways for you to work with this facet of how I am:
-Be patient. Let me finish the thing I'm doing before you assume how I feel. Maybe even offer to help me with the thing, if applicable.
-Explain changes in the plan as much as possible. Some people just roll with changes like they don't even exist, but I feel much better the more I know what's going on.
-Plan with me. If I don't seem to be able to engage with you at the moment, tell me that you'd like to talk with me before I leave, or whatever is applicable.
-Ask me straight up how I feel, if you're unsure. I'm always honest. (Even if I actually am mad at you, I will find a way to let you know what is bothering me.)
-Don't take it personally. The most important thing to me is people & my relationships with them, I just show it differently.
Ways for me to try to be 'better':
-I am trying to work on my tone of voice & facial expressions, so I won't seem so upset.
-Maybe I can be more open about communicating why I am so intent on whatever I'm doing, so people see that there is a reason for my determination.
-&/or I could more frequently use phrases like "give me five minutes please" (with a smile) or some such?
-I'm not sure how to become more accepting of change, but I can try to handle it better.
The default state of my mind is analyzing/prioritizing what needs to be done. This is nice because it allows me to put logic into action-- for example, I figure out easily that I should eat lunch before I scrub the kitchen floor, so that I don't get hungry while the floor is wet. My brain is full of planning & consequences & results & contingency plans. (Honestly, not as much of that last. I don't deal as well with changes as I'd like.)
The point is, my brain works by establishing a plan & then following it. Even when I am taking time to relax, it is still part of a plan. I plan to work on typing this until I get hungry, then I shall eat lunch & work on chores. I plan to get x & y task done, so that I can unwind with fun thing z until event a. That is how everything happens for me.
You can tell how important something is to me by how much attention I pay to the details... which seems to come across in the opposite way, sadly. People think I'm being grumpy & ignoring them, when the reality is that I'm just trying to do what I feel is most important, usually because a person is important to me. It often happens that I show up to an event of some sort, & anyone who tries to greet me before I can get my coat off feels brushed off. I just want to get comfortable first, get my hands free, so I have more opportunity to give you my full attention.
No one looks at my degree of concentration & thinks "I really appreciate how seriously she is taking the task at hand". They just think "she must be mad at me".
This gets even worse when there are unanticipated changes. My brain tries to figure out why the changes are there, & how I can best continue to accomplish the task, & my face & tone of voice turn into CRAZY ANGRY WOMAN. I'm not actually crazy angry woman! I'm just trying to operate at optimal efficiency! I promise.
Another way that this aspect of me shows up is sometimes I seem nit-picky. I'll try to suggest a way that a thing could be done, or ask someone why they did a thing they way that they did, & it comes across as nagging or not trusting the person. In reality, I'm just trying to help & to understand. I'm not even necessarily trying to say that my way is the best way! I truly want to hear your opinions & thought process, because you matter to me. My interest in the situation is actually an interest in you, but it is so commonly misinterpreted. (My least favorite part of this is when people assume that I'm mad at my husband. I'm not mad at anyone, my husband understands, please don't make a snarky comment.) It's my way of trying to be involved, which I only bother to try to do when I like you.
Ways for you to work with this facet of how I am:
-Be patient. Let me finish the thing I'm doing before you assume how I feel. Maybe even offer to help me with the thing, if applicable.
-Explain changes in the plan as much as possible. Some people just roll with changes like they don't even exist, but I feel much better the more I know what's going on.
-Plan with me. If I don't seem to be able to engage with you at the moment, tell me that you'd like to talk with me before I leave, or whatever is applicable.
-Ask me straight up how I feel, if you're unsure. I'm always honest. (Even if I actually am mad at you, I will find a way to let you know what is bothering me.)
-Don't take it personally. The most important thing to me is people & my relationships with them, I just show it differently.
Ways for me to try to be 'better':
-I am trying to work on my tone of voice & facial expressions, so I won't seem so upset.
-Maybe I can be more open about communicating why I am so intent on whatever I'm doing, so people see that there is a reason for my determination.
-&/or I could more frequently use phrases like "give me five minutes please" (with a smile) or some such?
-I'm not sure how to become more accepting of change, but I can try to handle it better.
Wednesday, November 06, 2013
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Initial Thoughts on Adventure Time
So I've been hearing a lot about Adventure Time since it began. A lot of Respectable Adult People really like the show & proclaim its goodness. They say it is clever, funny, & addresses real-life relate-able issues.
Since we now have Netflix, I can freely & instantly explore stuff that captures my curiosity, so I decided that I needed to check this deal out. Last night, I watched the first four segments.
Well, it wasn't bad! I enjoyed the animation style, & the music caught my attention more than once. I enjoyed the simple yet fun nature of the plots, the whimsical characters, & the style of story-telling.
However... most of the actual dialogue bogged me down a bit. I liked some of the quotable amusing moments, but overall most of it seemed waaaaaaaay too eager to please. I felt like it was trying so hard to be cool, hip, & trendy. I don't need "sexy" in my media, especially my cartoons. I don't need every line to sound like it wants to be a soundbite.
I can sort of see why it has made a name for being a "crowd pleaser"... but I feel like I'd be happier if it calmed down a bit & didn't try so hard.
(I'm sure some of that sounded like weird ways to describe a cartoon. I hope it made some sort of sense.)
It didn't really make me "feel" anything, nor did I feel I could really relate to any of the characters.
Bottom line: I'll probably end up watching more... if I get bored. But I've seen nothing to make me a "fan", nor am I eager to recommend it to others.
Since we now have Netflix, I can freely & instantly explore stuff that captures my curiosity, so I decided that I needed to check this deal out. Last night, I watched the first four segments.
Well, it wasn't bad! I enjoyed the animation style, & the music caught my attention more than once. I enjoyed the simple yet fun nature of the plots, the whimsical characters, & the style of story-telling.
However... most of the actual dialogue bogged me down a bit. I liked some of the quotable amusing moments, but overall most of it seemed waaaaaaaay too eager to please. I felt like it was trying so hard to be cool, hip, & trendy. I don't need "sexy" in my media, especially my cartoons. I don't need every line to sound like it wants to be a soundbite.
I can sort of see why it has made a name for being a "crowd pleaser"... but I feel like I'd be happier if it calmed down a bit & didn't try so hard.
(I'm sure some of that sounded like weird ways to describe a cartoon. I hope it made some sort of sense.)
It didn't really make me "feel" anything, nor did I feel I could really relate to any of the characters.
Bottom line: I'll probably end up watching more... if I get bored. But I've seen nothing to make me a "fan", nor am I eager to recommend it to others.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
An Open Letter to My Husband
Three years ago now, we were FINALLY able to see our wedding as a thing that was going to happen. Everything had finally been settled-- the honeymoon, our apartment, even the emotions of our parents. I'll never forget how sweet & supportive you were that whole summer while I was getting so frustrated about each big & little snag.
I think I told you about the minor break-down I had the morning of the wedding, but I was extra annoyed when I was told "it's just nerves". It wasn't. There was nothing but total peace in my heart about what we were finally about to do. I wasn't even bothered when you showed up with grease on your tie, or when you noticed you forgot to bring my wedding band. We got married, & it was everything I wanted, because all I wanted was to marry you. *high-five*
Marriage has been awesome! You're not late to dates anymore, I can make sure you eat actual food from time to time, you learned to rinse dishes, I get to steal your warmth, you assure me that housework isn't always the number one priority in life... you've shown me that marriage is even cooler than I'd imagined.
I think some of our current struggles are harder than those things we had to learn at first. Some of the day-to-day-to-day-to-day problems are smaller, but get so tedious in repetition. You're getting really good at not seeming too worn out by me being worn out. But I want you to always know that it's still just little things! I am comfortable letting you see me get tired of fighting these little things, because I am comfortable in the foundation of our relationship. You are doing your best, & your best is still impressive to me. I am still won over by your patience & your smile. I love getting to see your strongest & your weakest. I am grateful for each bump in the road because we get to learn through them.
It's been a long summer for both of us... but I can't imagine any of it without you. Actually, this whole year has been a bit of a big deal for me-- ever since that February night, you know the one, I've been working so hard on discovering/embracing how I function & trying to grow & work with it. You've done a lot of that yourself, plus we've been piecing together my growth & your growth... & of course we're still not done. I am so proud of what you've done this year, I am so blessed to have you as my partner & best friend, & I am so excited to have paperwork that binds you to me for the rest of my/your life. We got married young, we're still young, but I'd do it the same way all over again because I love doing life side-by-side with you.
You don't have to clean up your office to be a good husband. You don't have to understand what I'm thinking right away. You've always done what is needed-- you care about me, & show that you're in it for the long haul. I can't thank you enough for that. I can only hope that my love is as evident to you as yours is to me. I'd rather struggle with you than party with anyone else-- & our parties are always better anyway. ;-)
I think I told you about the minor break-down I had the morning of the wedding, but I was extra annoyed when I was told "it's just nerves". It wasn't. There was nothing but total peace in my heart about what we were finally about to do. I wasn't even bothered when you showed up with grease on your tie, or when you noticed you forgot to bring my wedding band. We got married, & it was everything I wanted, because all I wanted was to marry you. *high-five*
Marriage has been awesome! You're not late to dates anymore, I can make sure you eat actual food from time to time, you learned to rinse dishes, I get to steal your warmth, you assure me that housework isn't always the number one priority in life... you've shown me that marriage is even cooler than I'd imagined.
I think some of our current struggles are harder than those things we had to learn at first. Some of the day-to-day-to-day-to-day problems are smaller, but get so tedious in repetition. You're getting really good at not seeming too worn out by me being worn out. But I want you to always know that it's still just little things! I am comfortable letting you see me get tired of fighting these little things, because I am comfortable in the foundation of our relationship. You are doing your best, & your best is still impressive to me. I am still won over by your patience & your smile. I love getting to see your strongest & your weakest. I am grateful for each bump in the road because we get to learn through them.
It's been a long summer for both of us... but I can't imagine any of it without you. Actually, this whole year has been a bit of a big deal for me-- ever since that February night, you know the one, I've been working so hard on discovering/embracing how I function & trying to grow & work with it. You've done a lot of that yourself, plus we've been piecing together my growth & your growth... & of course we're still not done. I am so proud of what you've done this year, I am so blessed to have you as my partner & best friend, & I am so excited to have paperwork that binds you to me for the rest of my/your life. We got married young, we're still young, but I'd do it the same way all over again because I love doing life side-by-side with you.
You don't have to clean up your office to be a good husband. You don't have to understand what I'm thinking right away. You've always done what is needed-- you care about me, & show that you're in it for the long haul. I can't thank you enough for that. I can only hope that my love is as evident to you as yours is to me. I'd rather struggle with you than party with anyone else-- & our parties are always better anyway. ;-)
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