Still Here...

Hi!!

I know it's been far too long since my last post, so I thought I should put together a short one just in case anyone was starting to worry about me...

Yay, tree...

It seems rather crazy to me that Christmas is less than 2 weeks away...it probably doesn't help that the weather in Alabama has been anything but wintry. I mean, I wore shorts and t-shirts this weekend...and not just because I'm an extremely hot-natured mutant! It was in the upper 70's! [Which is plain unacceptable, in my opinion. Someone please contact the polar vortex and have it redirected back towards Alabama...clearly, Alabama's forgotten that it's supposed to be cold outside during winter.]

I finally put up my Christmas tree this past week...

Please overlook the pink ornaments on the tree. Pink is my sister's favorite color...and since we're living together this year, I thought it would be nice if we had a tree that everyone liked [or at least a tree that everyone liked some aspect of...] So....yeah. Pink and blue this year. Yayyyyy...

Let's see, what else...

I've been having to do a ton of classes for appraisal stuff...it's the bane of my existence. Sooooo, there's that. [If anyone would be willing to help me out in the employment department so that I can stop doing appraisals, I'd be so so so incredibly grateful! Just saying...]

Life goal: be as pretty as this bunny, one day

Oh! I'm still seeing the guy that I'd mentioned in a previous post [which has since been deleted as an attempt to save myself some embarrassment...] and things are pretty darn great ^_^  Yeaaaah, I'm pretty happy with things right now...[sorry, can't think straight right now...too busy being twitterpated...] I'd love to write more about him, but I don't want to jinx anything...

Ummm....anything else??

Oh!

I saw this video the other day and I have to share it!

It's 'Daddy' by PSY [the same guy that did Gangnam Style a few years back...]

The song is catchy, the video is hilarious, and it'll be the best/worst thing you'll see all day! Yep. 

Now that I've started typing, I've thought of quite a few things I need to post about...look for more posts coming soon...hopefully before the new year!

YouTube Stuffs...

Soooo, I was sitting at my desk, trying to come up with a topic to post about that wasn't related to Meyers-Briggs [I realize that the topic probably doesn't interest everyone as much as it does me...], but...I can't come up with anything. /pout

Instead, I've decided to post some of the awesome things that I've recently found on YouTube...

- I've been watching a lot of Markiplier's videos...my brother introduced me to him a few months ago [thanks, bro!]. 

Markiplier!!

Markiplier is fairly well-known for his Five Nights at Freddie's videos...it was bingeing on his FNF videos that brought me to really like his stuff.

His channel covers a decent range of game types and original funnies...I'll admit to spending more than one afternoon watching his videos just to see his reactions to jumpscares! [His reactions truly are the best!]

I really like his style of narration [though, it can get a little grating, at times]...listening to him reminds me of times when my brother and I used to game together...the random gibberish, the ridiculous taunting, and then the freak-outs which always dissolve into nonsensical swearing...yep...good times.

JackSepticEye!

I've also been watching several gaming videos by JackSepticEye...

I found his YouTube page when I was watching a list of 'horror games' that BuzzFeed put together for Halloween. [I linked to the BuzzFeed article...but I can't remember which games are Jack's]

I'll admit that I don't really know that much about Jack...I'm not even sure that Jack's his actual name /nervouschuckle

Buuuuut, I do know that he's got an absolutely adorable Irish accent and he talks about video games. Which is a double-win, in my opinion.

The Piano Guys!!

Another of my favorites is ThePianoGuys. Seriously. I love these guys!

I really, really like how they take pop songs and arrange them for the piano and the cello...for example, they do 'Cello Wars' which is a Star Wars parody. So. Good. My kiddo asks to hear it at least once a week!

They're rendition of 'O Come, O Come, Emmanuel' gives me chills and makes me tear up every time I hear it. Every. Time.
/sigh

Alright...this post has taken me way too long to write. [I started it back in mid-October!] I've got plenty of stuff to post about but just haven't really felt any motivation to actually write them out...I'm a bad blogger...but I promise I'll try to do better!!

Fe vs Fi [More INFJ vs INFP]

So, I'm still researching the differences between INFJ and INFP...

Turns out, the -J and -P functions are quite polar...its far more than being more judging vs more perceiving...swapping out the -J and -P drastically changes which functions a person primarily uses and the way that functions are prioritized...[Explaining this will require me brushing up on the introverted/extraverted aspects of personality functions...I've found a few good sources for info, now I'm just working my way through it all...]

That being said...while I do think it could be entirely possible for a person to be 'borderline' between two [or more] MBTI types, I'm not sure how likely it would be that a person could truly be borderline INFJ/INFP...the two types are simply too different!

I found this video a couple of months ago...I think it does really good job of illustrating the difference between a person who is Fi [Introverted feeling - found in INFPs] and someone who is Fe [Extraverted feeling - found in INFJs].

The video is a little bit long [almost 7 minutes], but entirely worth the watch...in my opinion, anyway...The video is pretty self-explanatory. There's bits of text in it that explain which behaviors you should be taking note of as classing INFP or INFJ.

After watching the video, I've got to say that I still feel pretty confident that my MBTI type is INFJ...but, I will keep looking into this. You know...for science!!

INFJ vs INFP...Differences?

So, something unexpected happened this morning...

Being the curious sort that I am, I've found myself thinking a good bit about personality types lately [again].

- If you've visited my blog before, you probably have read at least one post where I reference being 'INFJ'...INFJ has consistently been my Meyers-Briggs personality type. And in typical INFJ fashion, I'm pretty proud of being able to say that I belong to the small percentage of people that make up the rarest personality type out of the 16 possible MBTI outcomes . 

I was browsing around on Pinterest this morning, as I do most mornings when I find myself waking too early...[some of my MBTI Pinterest finds...click them to make them large enough to read...]

Not really sure why, but I decided to re-take the MBTI assessment this morning and I had some interesting results...

HumanMetrics delivered the expected, reassuring results of INFJ...but, 16personalities threw me a bit of a curve ball...

According to 16personalities, I'm an INFP !!!

Seeing the different [and yet, very similar] results piqued my interest in learning what the differences between the two types are...which boils down to what exactly is the difference between J and P [judging/perceiving].

Well...what I thought would be a quick, 2-minute google searched answer actually ended up being much more complex!

Soooo, what I'm going to do is research it and then share my findings here when I feel like I've got a decent understanding of what makes an INFJ different from an INFP...findings could potentially span several posts, so check back soon!

Road Trip, Anime, and MMORPGs...

Hey, there!

Looks like I've fallen out of the habit of posting...again. /sigh

I should say, "I promise to start posting waaaaaayyyy more often..." but, I've got to be honest...I'm probably going to continue posting sporadically. But I can promise that I'll post about interesting/exciting things that are going on in the daily life of yours truly!

Let's see...where to start??

Oh! Baton Rouge!

My brief road trip to Baton Rouge has come and gone....the kiddo and I had an absolutely wonderful time! My college roomie's son is simply adorable! I got to see some friends that may as well be family...I truly wish I could see them more often than I do...maybe I will! It really isn't that bad of a drive...

Attack on Titan

Over the last couple of months, I warrior-binged my way through a few different anime series...I don't think I'll have the time to write up posts about all of them, but here's the list: Black Butler [seasons 1 and 2], Attack on Titan, more FairyTail [I don't think I'll ever get caught up on this one! It's kind of like Naruto...there are just way too many episodes!], Devil is a Part-Timer [for the second time], and I started watching Sword Art Online.

I may end up writing a few posts on my favorite newly watched anime...check back in a few days! [If there is any of the ones I've mentioned that you'd particularly like to hear about, let me know!]

Alliance, ftw!!!

Another development: I've recently started playing WoW [World of Warcraft] again!

It remains to be seen if this is a good thing...but I'm definitely enjoying it! You guys have no idea how much I missed playing WoW...

Alrighty...I've got to get back to work. Hope you're having a good week!

So, About That Dream...

So, do you remember the post about my dream?

Here's something weird...

A couple of days after that, my sister ran into the guy that I dreamt about...and his wife and kid.

While not impossible, the likelihood of running into them while randomly shopping for homegoods is rather low...you see, they live with his parents in the small town next to the small town where we went to high school. Said small towns are about an hour or so away from where he lives now...so, instances when we run into people we know from 'back home' are pretty rare.

Sooooo, yeah. It was a little bit eerie considering that I'd just randomly dreamt about him...

To think, I'd almost went to the store with my sister...and I'd have run into him, too! [Nope, nope, nope, nope....!]

And, NOPE!! Byes!!

Sheets, Shows, and Shirt Folding...

/Sigh

No time for a full post today...so, how about another 'thinking points' post?

- In my opinion, the Sims 4 isn't really worth the money [or the internet connection that's required for installation!]. Sure, the graphics are better and there are new aspects that have been introduced to make the gameplay a little smoother...but it's pretty much the same as all of its predecessors. Though, I guess I didn't really expect otherwise.

- Are any of you familiar with the Whisper app? There are some...umm...interesting people on there, for sure.

- My sister has gotten me hooked on Gossip Girl. So...much...drama! [And fantastic clothes!]

- My kiddo seems to be having some anxiety about his new school...he's such a precious cinnamon bun and it breaks my heart for me to hear him say that he doesn't have any friends. School hasn't even been in for a full week yet, though. So, I'm hoping things get better for him within a day or two.

- Some people just don't know how to let things go. Very annoying.

- I bought some 'grown up' sheets over the weekend. I'd laughed at the thought of actually considering a thread count before buying sheets...but now I see the error of my ways! My new sheets are the best sheets ever!!!! They're seriously comfy! Here's looking at you, Egyptian cotton!

- Last week, I played through the latest chapter of TellTale's Game of Thrones. I'm distraught at some
of the decisions that the game forced me to make...why, TellTale? Why?!?

- I've been reading "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo...I'm beyond ready to clear all of the junk and unnecessary clutter out of my life! I'm about halfway finished with her book and I'm dying to go ahead and get started implementing her genius methods...but I know I should finish reading it first so that the clearing-out doesn't end up being a half-hearted venture. Whenever you guys get a minute though, you should look-up her suggested technique for folding shirts...this lady is a genius!

Okey dokey...I apologize for the randomness of this quasi-post, but it's all I've got for now. Will post again soon!

Leaving this video here because "Sheets of Egyptian Cotton" is stuck in my head...and I always find myself humming it while shopping for sheets.

Always Read The Fine Print...

Hey, guys!

I'm going to try and get in the habit of posting more often...unfortunately, I still don't have internet at my new place, so that makes things a touch more complicated.

Soooo, I've got about 4 minutes to write out a quick post...here we go!

In an attempt to make my internet-less existence more entertaining, I purchased the latest rendition of the Sims game, Sims 4. Well...turns out that the purchase was in vain...

Do you see the teeny-tiny white writing next to the 'PC DVD-ROM' label? It reads 'internet connection required for installation.' And the writing is so discreet that I managed to miss it while in the store.

So, yeah. 

Buying the game didn't work out. At all. Any tips for a bored chick?

Oh, Hey! I'm Back!

Wow, it's been a long time since I've last posted...probably the longest lapse in posts since I've started this blog...which is kind of funny, one of my last posts celebrated this blog making it for a year...

Here's what all has been going on with me since I last posted:

- I finally moved out of my apartment! You know, the one with the terrible neighbors? [For funsies, read this, this, this, or this. All of which are lovely reminders of just how not-lovely my apartment experience has been]

• The new apartment has been much better, in regards to noxious neighbors. However, the management staff is terrible. I don't know if they're all virtually brand new or just incompetent...but it's infuriating, either way. Plus, I'd paid for a couple month's worth of 'luxury-grade' amenities and hadn't been able to use them, at all, for various office-bungling reasons. Sooooo, yeah. That's been a hoot.
• I managed to hire the worst moving company in the world. Seriously, guys...it was awful. And expensive. And I still had to move a ton of stuff by myself. Worst movers ever!
• And because Charter is a terrible company with terrible customer service...I don't have any cable or internet at my new place. I've had 4 appointments with them...2 were flat-out missed without so much as a phone call from the technician or Charter's office. 1 was botched because the tech was ill-prepared and the other was with a tech who left in the middle of the install without even saying he was leaving. Seriously. He didn't even call in to say he had left the job either. Sooooo fed up with Charter right now.

- With moving to a new apartment comes moving kids to a new school zone...that's how it is where I live, anyway. [I'd hate to be the one that's responsible for drafting up the zoning map] So, I've been trying to register the kiddo with his new school and it's been needlessly complicated. Last I heard from his school's registrar, things are good to go, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the first day of school goes smoothly...

- Work has been crazy busy! I can typically find time to write out a quick post between working on reports, but that hasn't been the case for quite some time now...

- And for a bit of good news, I'm no longer a vehicular hobo!! Yep! I've finally got a car to replace the one that I wrecked last year...on my birthday. 

- And, finally, my birthday was last week. I turned 30 and I hate it. But, let's not make a big deal out of it, okay? Thanks!

Birthday, ignored. Got it!

Achievement Unlocked: Maintain Blog for 1 Year...

Oh! I almost forgot!

It's my blog's first birthday!!

Yay, blog! We've made it a whole year!!!

Helllllllp

Guuuuyyyyys....

I need help.

I feel a shopping binge coming on...an entirely unnecessary one, at that!

I know that mindless shopping is a means of coping with stress [I don't handle stress very well], but knowing doesn't do much to quell neither the urge to shop nor the stressors in my life!

Soooo, here's what I'm going to do: I'm going to post the things that I'm really, really tempted to buy right now. Then, I'm going to need for you guys to tell me, "Hey, silly! You don't need those things!!" Sound alright?

Silly potential purchase #1:

Really feeling the urge to click 'buy' this Stitch Kigurumi.

Kigurumi Shop - Stitch

Adorable as this is, it costs $70 before shipping. And I already own 3 kigu...which may or may not be 2 more sets than any responsible adult ever needs...but the keyword there is 'responsible.' Soooo, yeah....maybe I'm not the best judge there. /cheesysmile

Silly potential purchase #2:

This cute little utility cart from Ikea.

Raskog Utility Cart - Ikea

[I don't know the keyboard shortcut to produce the properly accented 'a' for the product name :( ] I want this cart just because I want the cart. Also, the color is one of my favorites. Both of these are not 'valid' reasons for actually purchasing said cart...but I want it!

Silly potential purchase #3:

Remember Me. Specifically for the PS3...which can be purchased from the PlayStation Store for about $30 right now.

This would be a silly purchase because I've got several games that I'm in the process of playing through right now. Buuuut, this one looks so cool and is from Dontnod! [Dontnod made Life is Strange...another one of the games that I'm playing right now] If I don't go ahead and buy this game now, what if I completely forget about it?!?!?

Silly potential purchase #4:

Any number of assorted anime collectibles and memorabilia.

These would run the gamut from novelty pens and pencils that cost a few dollars...all the way to 'limited edition collectors versions of  full-scale prop replicas' that cost hundreds. None of these thing are 'needs.' And none of them would ever be 'needs.'



There are several more of these that I should probably post...but, there's been an un-ignorable shift of hostilities in the room and I can no longer type. Ugh.

Are You Highly Sensitive?

Hi, there!

By now, you guys probably know that I'm a fan of most things psychological...including, but not limited to, personality types and theories. Right? Right! [Clickity here to see some of my posts on personality stuffs...]

Another personality facet that I've been giving some thought to, lately, is that of being 'sensitive.'

Now, this isn't necessarily referring to whether or not a person tends to exhibit socially acceptable behaviors [e.g., not laughing at a friend who has just witnessed their dog getting run over by a car, not telling the mother of a newborn that the child looks like a hellish troll spawn, or being the 'friend' that is always the first to remind someone that their haircut looks like crap.] Rather, in this case, sensitive refers to a person's thresholds for overwhelming stimuli and their responses to said stimuli.

Are You Highly Sensitive?

26 Signs You're A Highly Sensitive Person - BuzzFeed

Hilarious movie...

The above links lead to a questionnaire to help determine if you might be 'highly sensitive' and then to a BuzzFeed article on the same topic.

I selected 24 items from the questionnaire as pertaining to being at least somewhat true...which makes me think that there's a good chance that I'm correct in identifying as 'highly sensitive' [So, looks like I might be able to add HSP or 'highly sensitive person' to my list of researchable traits! Me
lika do tha research!]

If you're familiar with the MBTI type INFJ, what do you think about the pairing of INFJ and HSP?

Tiddly Bits...

Hey, hey, hey!

Who's up for some more thinking bits?!

- I've come to realize that I'll probably never stop watching cartoons. Aaaaand, I'm perfectly okay with it /grin

- I need to learn how to speak my mind a bit more freely. I've been bottling up things...and that's never good

- Listening to talk radio feels like a much more gratifying way to spend my driving time than listening to music...not that I'll ever completely cut music out of my drives, I just feel like I might actually learn something rather than just pass the time

- Heat + humidity = the worst combination possible

- Is it possible to somehow read books, watch movies, catch up on tv series, and play video games at the same time? I want to do all of these things. At once.

- I think that we need more stationery shops. I miss the ones like they had in Korea...everything was so cute! They even had scented pencil leads!

- Flying insects with stingers are the bane of my existence...they're right up there with everything that lives in the ocean.

- 'Shark Week' is a terrible, terrible week's worth of programming...I mean, have you ever seen a Megamouth shark? No? Google it real quick and you'll see why I'm cringing! [I'm sorry!]

I'm A Happy Nerd!!

Big news!!!! [To me, anyway]

I just found out that two of my favorite Naruto characters end up together!!! /squee

[Just a heads up, I'm not talking about these two characters, sooooo no spoilers here!]

Kushina and Minato...I loved these two, too!!

INFJ Things...

It's been a while since I've posted psychology stuff...here are a few INFJ things from my Pinterest boards!

I felt like all of these were pretty accurate...which probably isn't all too helpful for anyone who isn't an INFJ or someone that knows an INFJ...ummm, they'll be helpful for anyone who is having a hard time relating to an introvert. ^_^

Thinking Points...

I miss blogging.

I don't have nearly as much time to blog as I used to. /sigh

In an attempt to resolve both of these things, I think I'm going to start writing more 'bulletin style' posts...and I'll write detailed posts whenever I have the time.

Sound okay? Good! Let the bulletin points begin!

- Small town living is the worst. There's never anything to do [that doesn't require driving to another town], there are never any new people to meet, and internet connectivity is terrible.

- I've been watching the 3rd season of Orange is the New Black. I like the show and I'm glad that we are getting some backstories of different characters. In my opinion, there are other characters that are far more interesting than Piper. /ponder is she even the 'main character' anymore? If she is...why?

- Judging from the outcomes of some of the decisions I've made while playing TellTale's Game of Thrones, I definitely would not make it in Westeros. Or Essos. I've got about half of an episode left to play through before I join the ranks of gamers impatiently awaiting the release of the next episode. Last thing I read about the game said that the anticipated release date of episode 5 is towards the end of July. The end of July!!!! Uggggggh.

- If you're going to talk badly about someone, it's probably a good idea to make sure that that person isn't within earshot. Or....here's a thought...maybe just don't be a mean-butt that talks badly about people! What a novel idea!

- Have you seen the latest Disney/Pixar movie? The one with anthropomorphized emotions....
I saw it the week that it came out and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I think it was certainly a well-executed movie and I absolutely loved the concept...it just didn't seem like a very good children's movie. It was too deep. Then again...it may have been developed as a 'family' movie with humor and silly antics being used to give light to some seriously meaningful issues. /shrug yeah, this will probably be a good topic for a longer post.

- Have you ever known anybody that just doesn't pull their weight and take care of their share of things? Aren't they just the worst? How do you handle these type of people? [seriously, any tips/suggestions would be very helpful!]

- I cannot watch the news anymore. Nope. Done. Will someone be so kind as to remind me to turn it back on after the 2016 presidential election? Or maybe after the primaries? That is, unless there's going to be another Clinton disgracing the title of POTUS...then I'd like to know so that I can make some relocation arrangements...

- I've become increasingly aware that the majority of Americans truly do not care what is going on in their states, country, or even the world. Not as long as they're kept fed and entertained! Rather sad, if you ask me.

- I think I need to learn how to adult. I'm about to being another decade of life and I feel as if I'm still stuck at the beginning of my 20s... At what point am I supposed to start feeling like an actual grown-up?

- Thanks to the never-ending torrent of emails, I found myself seriously considering a reboot of some sort of online dating. Yes, I know that I, myself, said that this is a terrible idea. I still think it's probably a terrible idea. /sight what's an overtly geeky, introverted, working, single mother to do?

- Someone needs to invent a dating site/app that's for friendship! Yes! This needs to happen! I would definitely participate in something like that! Because, really, it's not a relationship that I want, per se...I really just want a friend to talk to and hang out with.../sigh yup. I'm a sad individual.

Gaming Again...Finally!

Hey, again!

Sooooo....I was thinking, I'm just gonna skip all of the obligatory 'sorry it's been so long since my last post' stuff. That's alright with you guys, right?

It's been a few weeks since it aired, so I'm pretty sure that most of you have heard about/seen the hot mess that was the season 5 finale of Game of Thrones. Comments? Thoughts?

If you only knew, Jon Snow...if only...

I'm still feeling like I've been personally victimized by the show's creators...so rather than going into details [and risk spoilers for those who've been sub-rock dwellers] I'm just going to leave this picture here. You know...to remind us of happier times. [Maybe 'happier' is stretching it a bit...has anyone in the seven kingdoms been truly happy for more than an episode or two?]

But, I have to give the show's creators credit...they certainly know how to put together cliffhangers. And I'll be anxiously awaiting season 6...snow matter how much it pains me to continue to watch some of my favorite fictional characters disappear. /sob

All emotional scars due to being far too invested in fictional characters aside, I bring up Game of Thrones as a mediocre means of introducing my main point of interest [in regards to this post]...the Game of Thrones video game! [The episodic version from TellTale Games, not that other one that came out a few years ago...]

If you'll recall my last post, I was super excited to start playing my newly downloaded copy of The Stanley Parable. I'd just newly discovered Steam as a new [to me] gaming platform, and I was geeking out at the prospect of some semblance of gaming again...

Well...

My apologies to fans of The Stanley Parable, but I just didn't really like the game as much as I thought I would. The game play just wasn't as...I don't know...as adventurey as I wanted it to be. Though, to be fair, the playable demo certainly wasn't very adventurey....so, that disappointment is my own fault, really.

I mean, who can't relate to the game's
title?

However, it was my wanting to play through an adventurey, story-driven game that lead me to finally playing through my downloaded demo of Life is Strange [I'll probably write more on this game later...]. And it was playing through Life is Strange that lead me to TellTale's Game of Thrones...which I love!

I downloaded GoT on my PS3 earlier this week, and I've played through just about all of the episodes that have already been released...I think that new episodes for the game are released just about every 6 weeks, so I'm hoping that I can time it so that I finish up this last episode around the same time that the next one comes out. Does that make me sound a bit impatient? /shrug

The Forresters...I just wanna give 'em
all a big hug...

I love that the game introduces a new house...any mention of the house Forrester in the show or books is pretty brief and without much detail, which I think is better for the game. By introducing a new house, there isn't a mental synopsis of how things should play out. Buuuuuuut, there are enough similarities between the Forresters and the Starks that one should easily deduce that nothing will go smoothly for the unfortunate Northern family.

The game let's you play through scenarios as several different members of the Forrester family...each person is going through their own troubles and are in their own sorts of danger [because it wouldn't be GoT if there wasn't a sense of urgency and foreboding in every moment].

There's one Forrester in King's Landing who, through my unfortunate decision making, has found herself on the wrong end of business deal with Tyrion...just as Tyrion is declared responsible for his least favorite double-nephew's choking on his pigeon pie.

Another is currently attempting to seek favor in the eyes of Dany...he's been in Essos and is desperately needed back home.

A third is at The Wall and [again...poor decision making] has just committed almost murder while acting in self-defense...but sparing the guy's life is going to change things for this character in the next episode...Jon Snow is going to be mad at me! /sob

And lastly, there's a Forrester at home, in Ironrath. He's trying to keep the shambles of his family together while staving off the Whitehills and Boltons...oh yeah...did I forget to mention the Boltons? Ramsay Snow is there...he's already killed one of the Forresters and isn't too fond of the ones that are left...super fun.

It's definitely one of my favorite games that I've played in a while! Have any of you guys played it? If you have, what sort of decisions did you make? I'd love to see which choices yield different outcomes!

The Gamer Awakes...

So, today, I finally found another gaming avenue...

I downloaded Steam!! [Yeah, yeah, I know it isn't a new thing...but it's new to me, so, I'm excited!]

I'd read about Steam as a gaming platform a good while back but never felt any need to download it. Lately, I've been feeling as if there's a significant lack of 'good' console games...of course, this could be because I've been limiting my purchases to 'kid-friendly' games. Nothing is more depressing than walking into Game Stop and not being able to find anything that sounds appealing. I could practically feel my inner-Gamer just wasting away...

I'm hoping that expanding my gaming options to include those available through Steam will revive the awesome Gamer side of me that I've been missing...

My first purchase through Steam is The Stanley Parable...

After playing through the demo and reading several positive reviews, I'm feeling pretty good about this game! It's supposed to be a story-driven game...one in which you have the character make decisions and then see how those decisions pan out...me likey these types of games...I will definitely let you guys know more about the game once I've had a chance to start playing it! [Soooo, after the kiddo goes to bed!]

Is it silly to be so excited about a new game? [Or, is it the revival of a vital part of myself that has been dormant for too long that I truly find exciting?]

Just Another Day...

Good morning...

Hope you guys are having a good week...mine has been a roller coaster of a week. And not the fun kind, either!

Good news: the family/hospitalization crisis has gotten much, much better. Lots of progress has been made and the whole situation has markedly improved! [At this point, I should probably apologize to all of the nurses and PAs that I relentlessly grilled for information. /nervous chuckle] We've still got a long way to go, but I'm beyond relieved that things are in better shape than a week ago.

Mostly accurate depiction of my desk

Less-than-good news: I am drowning in work. At this point, I could probably work for a good 16 hours straight and maybe get caught up. Not 'ahead', mind you, but caught up.

Yeah...it's pretty grim on the work front...


Aside from work, driving to/from the hospital, and dealing with the family crisis, there isn't much going on...here's to hoping that things settle down a bit, though. One of these days, I'd like to have some sort of semblance of free time again!

Ending this post with a GIF that I laughed at for much longer than warranted..../giggle

Embrace the Suck...

Hey, guys...

If you've been reading my blog, you've probably noticed that I've been posting less and less often. I wanted to apologize for this...I have every intention of maintaining this blog and posting about randomly awesome things as often as possible.

In my last post, I briefly mentioned a family crisis...unfortunately, the crisis has gotten worse rather than better. Like, 'extended hospital stay that results in the family members rotating out shifts sleeping in the waiting room' worse. I plan on posting when I can, but I think it's going to be some time before I can get back to posting [almost] daily.

But, no worries, I definitely will continue posting...

On that note, here's a Supernatural GIF. It makes me smile...and then slightly motion sick, so don't look at it for too long :/

It's Summer!!! Ummm...What Now?

Good Monday morning to you!

I hope you guys are having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend...as the proud daughter  of an incredible American soldier, I always support honoring our heroes. I know that I am truly blessed that my father came home from every single one of his missions and that there are far too many people that cannot say the same...my heart goes out to all of the families that have lost a service member and my respect and gratitude go to all veterans and active service members. Great sacrifice goes into everything that they've done and continue to do for our country. [Aaaaand, without them, there wouldn't be the holiday that many are going to enjoy...just saying /grin]

I hear that there are a lot of fun things to do today...lots of sales to shop and such. Guess who's not got the day off...yep! Me!

Happy...Monday.../faceplant

I've got a mountain of appraisal work to get through and a sick little one to boot. But, hey...complaining doesn't change anything, but coffee makes it more bearable! [That being said, if anyone would like to bring me some coffee, I'd be forever grateful...]

Some good news: the kiddo and I survived Kindergarten!! The school year wrapped up last week and his first official summer vacation has begun...and now I'm beginning to fully understand the despair that is the working parent's perspective on summer break.

How do parents handle it?!?

I'm less than 3 full working days into the summer and I'm already freaking out a little...how am I to balance keeping him safely occupied and entertained while working full-time hours+?!?

My usual 'go to' arsenal of babysitters [my parents] is woefully unavailable for the time being, and likely will be unavailable for the majority of the summer...we are unfortunately in the middle of quite a significant family crisis.

I feel like there's a delicate balance between leaving a child to entertain themselves and having the child feel neglected...it certainly doesn't help that my son's one of those kids that always wants someone to play with him, so he's asking for people to play with him after about 5 minutes of playing by himself.../sigh it's going to be a long summer.

Guess Who's Back....[KPop - Big Bang!]

Remember a few months back when I posted a good bit about K-Pop bands? [I can't decide exactly how 'K-Pop' should be written out...]

Big Bang always makes me happier!

Since then, Big Bang has remained my favorite....aaaaand, they released some new songs in the last week or so!

I'm not exactly the best at keeping up with music trends [or any trends, actually], but I somehow managed to learn about these new songs pretty much the day they were released...I think I read about it on my Instagram, of all places.

I ended up downloading all 5 of the released track that were available on iTunes...here are the music videos for the two new songs!

First is 'Loser'...

And then 'Bae Bae'....[ugh...spelling cringe]

At first, I thought I'd like 'Loser' better. Mostly because I can't get over the stupid 'word' bae. I hate it. 

But after listening to both a good number of times, I actually ended up liking the second track more. [Can I not type it out, please?]

Now, I've only watched the video for each song once, so I'm not sure if the tracks I bought are exactly the same as what's in the videos...but the ones I bought seem, well, incomplete.

There are several seconds in each song that there is accompaniment but no vocals...and I'm pretty sure it happens more than once in at least one of the songs...it gives the otherwise great songs a very unfinished sound...

But...it is new music from my favorite Korean pop band...which my daydream boyfriend happens to be a member of...sooooo, I love it! 

I've seen where Big Bang is going on tour again this year...so far, I've only found performances in Hong Kong and Singapore...I hope they decide to do a tour here in the states soon!

/swoon

Just gonna leave this picture here because...reasons.../swoon

Age Appropriate Party Idea?

So, I have a brilliant/ridiculous idea!

This year, I'm turning the dreaded 30. [yeah, yeah...point and laugh or whatever...]

Now...my last birthday was pretty much a disaster [I'm still sad about that car]. I opted out of any sort of birthday celebration other than cake with the immediate family because, well, car wrecks kind of take all the fun out of things.

Seeing as I'm marking the beginning of another decade in my life, I feel as if I should, I don't know, do something fun?

I found this little cutie while browsing on Pinterest:

Squee!

Isn't it just adorable??! Let's ignore the fact that it's written up for a child's 1st birthday, shall we?

Let's face it...I'm not the 'going out for a drink' type, and I never will be. So, if I invite some friends and family over for food, cake, and completely avoiding the fact that I'm turning 30...who's to say I can't have 'Little Mermaid' themed cake and decorations!

[Though, when I mentioned this thought to my sister, her first comments were about addressing the invitations to a bar...and then saying that she draws a line at wearing a mermaid tail to said bar...soooooo, am I thinking too juvenile here?]

Thoughts? Feedback? Would anyone like to receive an invitation to said celebration?

A "Mad World" Sort of Day...

This is everything today.

Depression is a b****. But, just wait, I'm gonna kick it's butt...

More Proof that Geeks/Nerds are the Best....

I've been working so much lately, I haven't had time to post anything that wasn't TV show or movie related :/

So here's a little something that I found on BuzzFeed today that I really, really wanted to share...

23 Gloriously Geeky Engagements

Ummm, I'm not even dating anyone at the moment so these aren't in the realm of possibility for me right now, but some of these were so cute that I couldn't help but be hopeful for the future... 

The link above is to the entire list. Here are a few of my favorites:

 

Aren't they cute?!

Here's to hoping that one day I'll find the other half of my delightfully nerdy heart ^_^

Game of Thrones Recap: "Sons of the Harpy"

Okay...so a few things need to be said about the latest episode of Game of Thrones...[Season 5, Episode 4: "Sons of the Harpy"] ***Spoilers, if you haven't seen the episode yet!***

***Using this adorable GIF as a buffer image...
last warning before spoilers***

- Any episode that includes Ned Stark in the recap is going to be a doozy...remember that! [The North remembers. You should, too.]




- Doesn't matter how many episodes he's going to be in, to me, the High Sparrow is always going to be Governor Swann. Yep. That's just how it is.

- I never really cared for Ser Loras that much, but even I am genuinely frightened for him in this scene...especially just having seen how the faith militant reserved special treatment for those of Loras' persuasion while emptying out Littlefinger's brothel...and they seriously have symbols carved into their faces!! Carved! /sigh Poor Loras...

- Guess who isn't exactly happy to hear about her brother being imprisoned...and guess who has to try and 'fix' the terrible mess...

All drama aside, I feel the need to comment on how fantastic Margaery's hair is! Her curls are beautiful! Sometimes I think that maybe I should let my naturally curly hair grow out like hers...and then I remember that I don't have a hair stylist and makeup crew...no one could pay me any amount of money to grow my hair out as long as hers...if that sounds like an outlandish statement, then you haven't endured an Alabama summer!

- Just in case you've forgotten how young and politically inexperienced Tommen is, this episode gladly gives you several reminders. Let's be realistic. Tommen is 12, 14 tops. He's got an older wife with an eye for power and the wits and looks to make things happen [She's going to be queen, dang it!]; he's got a vicious, manipulative, over-protective mother who loathes his wife's very existence; he's got a kingdom to attempt to rule that isn't exactly pro-Baratheon/Lannister; as everyone else has said, he's very soft...while it's a good thing he isn't a twisted sadist like his brother, Joffery, I get the impression that Tommen wouldn't weather violence very well at all. I can only hope that he's going to make it through the rest of this season without some sort of terrible mental scarring....



- This episode gets a notable mention for being the most hilarious about Jaime and his one-handedness. While it does suck that he's lost a good portion of his fighting ability [he was quite a

formidable opponent, before], it is rather chuckle-worthy to see Jaime remind Bronn that he can't help with boat rowing or hole digging. Those are two-handed jobs, after all. The icing on the cake is when his false hand saves his life in a sword fight while on the beaches of Dorne...pretty darn funny, all things considered.





- We are treated to another scene of watching Melissandre blatantly trying to work her charms on Jon Snow...thankfully, she failed! Jon Snow has done a fantastic job of maintaining his integrity this
season. Kind of impressive...Stannis and Gendry didn't fare as well, for sure. Not cool for Melissandre to throw around, "You know nothing, Jon Snow." Nope.

- This conversation between Sansa and Littlefinger is everything!! Littlefinger recounts the events of the fateful tournament...the day when Rhaegar Targaryen showed favor to Lyanna Stark over his wife, Elia Martell. What's important here, is that you remember that, at this point, Lyanna was already promised to Robert Baratheon...sooooo, the whole thing was a big, messy 'no no.'

Littlefinger's reaction to Sansa's comment that Lyanna was kidnapped, raped, and killed really makes me wonder what exactly Littlefinger knows but isn't saying...I'm pretty sure that he's going to be the key in learning why Westeros is in the shape that it is...

- And, lastly, I am very sad about Barristan Selmy and Grey Worm being killed by the Sons of the Harpy. Just...why??

Maybe this will be the push that Daenerys needs to get her noble, dragon-wielding butt in gear!

Okay...that took much longer to put together than I'd anticipated, sorry it's taking so long for me to actually get posts up :/