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