Saturday, April 21, 2018

Unforeseen


✍ Contest Entry for NexusTK ✍

Prompt: When the goats took over...


(Keep in mind this was written in a roleplay format, relating to the game, so if there are some things that you don't fully understand, such as places, just go with it.)
The deafening sound infiltrated my ears as I lounged in the sheep fields in the middle of the Wilderness, my hair whipping behind my head as I lifted myself up to investigate this unsettling new development.  My faithful companion, Stormi, who is a bobcat, immediately pricked her ears up to listen more closely, her head rising from its resting spot on my leg, those gray eyes staring intently at the dark figures rapidly approaching in the distance.  The sound was growing louder with every passing moment.  Squinting in the brightness of the sun’s rays, I jumped to my feet, leaning closer, as if that would instantly reveal the source. 
The surrounding sheep, who had been peacefully sleeping or eating, much of what their daily lives consisted of, turned to gaze in the direction of that unpleasant sound. I felt the ground start to quake slightly, under the pressure of this imminent wall of darkness; the grass causing a tickling sensation where its tendrils had coiled around the toes of my bare feet. Before the smile could reach my face, I shook my feet free and slipped into my simple blue flats.
When the herd finally reached the edge of the fields, I could see them more clearly for what they were… mountain goats. As a whole, they were a chaos of colors: whites, grays, browns and blacks with backward curving horns of varying sizes, yet kind faces that seemed to depict pure innocence. Though I knew from firsthand experience that looks can be deceiving, and I steeled myself for a fight, keeping my strongest protection spell close at hand. There were hundreds of them, and though I was small for my age, I had plenty of courage to face whatever this was.

Friday, April 20, 2018

The Time is Meow!


Sooooo, one of the sequels that I have been looking forward to comes out today!!!  Super Troopers 2!  The original is one of my all-time favorite movies, ever since I first saw it back in... 2002?!  Wow, has it really been SIXTEEN years??  Time sure does fly, as I know I've mentioned before.  We're seeing the late showing tonight and we decided to invite both of my hubby's brothers to the movie as well, and one of them wants to bring his 8-year-old grandson.  Talk about inappropriate... but I'm trying not to judge, I mean, it's not my kid or anything, so I have no place... but... really? -shakes head-  I'm not sure he even saw the first one. (my brother-in-law)  That kind of puts a damper on going to see it, but I'm really attempting to just look the other way, I guess. 😒

And then of course next month is Deadpool 2's premiere!!!  I'm so beyond excited for that one, ever since we saw the first one.  Ryan Reynolds portrays the antihero so perfectly, it's unreal.  I think I read somewhere that Deadpool's brand of sarcasm is similar to his own personality, which is why it comes so seemingly natural to him. 😄  This one also comes out when my mom is going to be here, so yeah, that's fun, and it's definitely not a movie that she would want to see, lol.  So I've already made arrangements for my mother-in-law to come over here and keep her company while we go see the movie.  Just so that my mom isn't having to stay here alone and deal with the dogs also.

Oh and who can forget Avengers: Infinity War coming out NEXT WEEK also?!  So many good movies in these next few weeks!  I can't wait! 😁

Thursday, April 19, 2018

Remembrance & Facing a Hard Truth


So, for today's post, I'm actually just going to refer to my photoblog's latest entry, because it explains what I'm feeling, as this is always a kind of emotional day of remembrance for me.  It's been twenty-three years since the OKC Bombing took place at 9:02am, and I will always remember that day like it just happened yesterday.  As it says in that post, I can still hear my pup (😢) barking immediately afterwards, and feel the slight shaking of my house when it happened.  (I lived about 13 miles away at the time.)  I don't think I will ever not be able to remember those things.

Anyway... yesterday during the episode of Party of Five that I was watching on my lunch break, I involuntarily broke down crying and had to immediately hug Dozer (because he was out of his crate at the time), while watching the difficult scene of the siblings having to make the impossible decision to end their family dog's life.  And again, it took me right back to my past, to January 10, 2011 when my family had to make the same impossible decision.  And Mari's death at the end of 2016, when we weren't even able to be here to say a proper goodbye to her.  It also got me thinking about our other Irish setter and great dane, and how they are both getting too close to their later years, especially Dozer, who is already 5½ years old and his earliest life expectancy is only 3 more years.  😭  Death just sucks, to put it bluntly.

Ah, but I need to stop thinking about all that right now and get back to work.  So that's all I have for today.  Until tomorrow...

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Impending Work Decisions...


Okay, so first off, yesterday was great!  The anniversary 'event' of my forum wasn't anything official nor was there anything specifically planned, except for members acknowledging what the day meant for my forum, but it far exceeded any expectations that I had.  Seeing three of my original members return after so many years was just amazing (and of course, all of the other members who visited) and I couldn't stop smiling almost all day. 😁 I love the nostalgia that April 17th always brings and will continue to bring in the future, no matter if my forum still exists or not.

Anyway.  Today's kind of just been an aftermath of the joy and excitement from yesterday, albeit boring, thanks to the tedious nature of my job.  I feel the need to look for something else with every day that passes, however.  Especially since my paycheck was apparently forgotten this month (I still have not received it!), thanks to my brother's... forgetfulness, I guess?  I wish I could just find something that's close to home, preferably as close as I am now, and NOT in retail.  It sucks because whenever I think about it, that's what I feel I'm best at.  And I really don't want to believe that that's the 'best' I have to offer.

I think the reason I feel that way is because of the first job I had, working at a grocery store when I was 15, when my boss told me, right when I walked through the doors of the building, I needed to leave everything outside.  Meaning that my problems or whatever drama I was dealing with at the time remained out there in the parking lot, waiting for me whenever my shift was over.  And I have never forgotten that.  So I became REALLY good at leaving my emotions on the doorstep, and focusing on the job, constantly being cheerful & friendly, and smiling at every customer and making sure they had the best experience possible, no matter what was going on in my own life.  It was easy for me, because I feel that I'm naturally a happy person, but in a way, it kind of set me up for 'failure,' regarding my future jobs.

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Crack Your Nuts ♥ 14th Anniversary


CYN (my forum) is officially FOURTEEN YEARS OLD today!  We are now a curious, self-conscious, hormonal teenager. 😜 How crazy is that?!



If you are reading this, please feel free to head over there and congratulate us for staying in existence for so long!  (Or just leave it in the comments here)  There were times when it was iffy, but I've managed to overcome those moments and keep it going, if only for sentimental reasons.  I'm so grateful for the friends that I've met through Proboards (and other foruming software) and have had the pleasure of knowing throughout the years! 💜 


One of my first moderators was only 13 years old (mind you, a VERY mature kid for his age!) when the forum started, and he's now in his late-20s!  That's just crazy.  Of course, I myself was in my early-20s when I created it, and now I'm in my mid-30s... it's just astounding how quickly time flies.

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Got My (Photography) Fix!


Well, today has been busy!  The photo above is from the highlight of my day: our visit to the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco, of the koi pond, specifically! (full-view recommended!)  It was so beautiful and so much fun to finally get my photography fix taken care of.  And by that, I mean actually taking pictures with my camera, not only with my phone.  The last time we took a photography trip was last month in Tahoe, but I never really got to use my camera, because of the snow and the precarious conditions that entailed.  Which was for the best, since I did end up slipping about five times. (haha)  But this was great.  And just what I needed!  It wasn't as serene as I'd expected, because there were too many people there, but it was pretty.  One of my favorite things is just being outside with my Nikon, taking photos of anything & everything I see around me.  So I'm happy now. 😁📷

Saturday, April 14, 2018

Keep Queuing the Nerves...


Well.... I just found out that it is going to be yet another full week before I find out the results from the story contest, as I thought it was every week, but it's actually every two weeks.  I guess because the entries are longer than poems, they take longer to judge.  Ugh!  Now I'm going to be anxious for a whole week longer than I thought.  Maybe I'll use that time to psych myself down, so that if (knock on wood) I get good news, it'll be that much more exciting and rewarding. 😆 I'm sure I'll have plenty of cleaning and working to keep my mind off of it also.

Finding that out just kind of ruins my night though.  Haha.  We had a spontaneous change of plans today.  We were going to head up to Sacramento to participate in a march they're having at the capitol building, but opted to stay home instead and work on getting the office cleaned a bit.  We succeeded for a few hours, but then had to break for lunch and got into watching more of The Santa Clarita Diet and haven't resumed since then.  We still have plenty of time, so I'm not worrying too much about it at this point.

We lost track of time and before we knew it, it's 5:30pm and too late to do anything with the pork roast, and he forgot to marinate it anyway... so yeah, another abrupt dinner change tonight.  We had a late lunch, so I figured we'd just have a late dinner, but it's just getting too late to do any prep now.  Still not sure what we're doing but I suppose we'll figure it out soon!  Other than that, not much else to report for today.  😊  Happy Saturday!

Friday, April 13, 2018

Friday of Doom... or Boredom


Well, it's Friday the 13th.  I hate when the 13th falls on a Friday!  It makes the day seem doomed from the start.  Though nothing bad has happened so far, but I hope I didn't just jinx myself by saying that. 😶

Anyway... my nerves are still going haywire but I've managed to keep my mind mostly off of that.  The hubby's already home from work, after working a half-day, but I'm not sure if we have anything specifically exciting planned for tonight, or even worth mentioning.  We need to hit the grocery store in a little bit, once we figure out what veggies to have with the pork sirloin tip roast that I defrosted this morning... though we may end up pushing that back to tomorrow night and just going out for a quick bite to eat tonight, maybe to our favorite local pizza place that is conveniently located next to Trader Joe's, which is our usual stop after eating there.  They also have this amazing mini chocolate cake, called a No Name Cake, but it's really just an elaborate Ding Dong (although SO much better) and I LOVE them! 

I talked to my mom today and she's getting excited about her visit out here in just three weeks!  I'm excited too, but that also means that I need to start some major cleaning of the house before she gets here.  Starting with the office, this room is such a mess and I hate that I've let it get this bad.  If we don't get around to cleaning this weekend, I'm going to use every free moment I can find next week, to start the cleaning process.  Well, mostly every moment.  I really hope I'm going to be in a cleaning mood for these next few weeks! 😄😳  Wish me luck on that!

Thursday, April 12, 2018

Queue the Butterflies


-slowly inhales a large breath and exhales-

So.  I've officially completed the story and submitted it.  Which means the butterflies in my stomach will be wreaking havoc until Sunday when the winner is announced.  I'm slightly bummed though, because when I copied it into the game's mailing system, it was too long.  There was a length requirement that it had to fit within one page of mail, and no more than that.  So I had to majorly skim it down, keeping only the vital information needed.  But I did keep a copy of the original FULL story, which I will share here after the contest is over, since I can't post it until then.  Sooo look for that on Sunday's entry! 😁

I also updated my photoblog this morning (feel free to check that out via the link at the top), with photos that I'd taken from our drive to Oklahoma City back at the end of 2016/beginning of 2017.  I'm so behind on those posts, but I'm already planning another post for the 19th, as a tribute to the memorial of the tragedy that took place on that day 23 years ago (1995), so maybe I'll get caught up soon, if I stay motivated to keep updating.  Anyway, I'm always a little nervous when posting my photos on there, or really with sharing any of my artwork in general.  I don't think I'd make it as a professional in the arts scene, performing or otherwise, because I'm too self-conscious about my stuff.  Ugh. 😶

Especially where writing is concerned.  I always second-guess myself, after reading what I've written, and then have to rewrite and rewrite and rewrite until I'm blue in the face.  And it's a vicious cycle that makes me feel like I'll never get it to sound right.

Anyway... enough about that stuff!  I better go finish getting ready for Food Truck Thursday tonight!  My stomach is already growling! 😋

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Grasping Inspiration Within a Game


So I was looking through photos last night, planning out posts for my photoblog, and I realized that before this latest trip to Lake Tahoe last month, we hadn't taken a 'photography road trip' since April 2017 (excluding our drive to OKC at the end of November, that is).  Which sucks for a person like me, who loves taking photos of anything and everything... I really need to fix that.  Although I suppose I will next month, since my mom is going to be coming out here to visit for the majority of the month, and she's expecting to have at least one or two road-tripping 'adventures' while she's here.

In other news, I think I'm going to try competing in the weekly story or poetry contest in my game, Nexus.  If I win first or second place, or 2 honorable mentions, it'll fulfill what they call the "culture" trial in a quest to reach another major level.  And also, I just feel like writing, but I need some inspiration.  So I have the choice of writing a story from the prompt "When the goats took over..." (which makes me laugh 😄) or a poem about "Making mistakes."  Or both, maybe!  

So that's what I'll be working on for the rest of the day, until something else that I need to do comes up. 😊
         ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

✍ What I've got so far ✍

The deafening sound infiltrated my ears as I lounged in the sheep fields in the middle of the wilderness, my hair whipping behind my head as I lifted myself up to investigate this unsettling new development.  My faithful companion, Stormi, who is a bobcat, immediately pricked her ears up to listen more closely, her head rising from its resting spot on my leg, those gray eyes staring intently at the dark figures rapidly approaching in the distance.  The sound was growing louder with every passing moment.  Squinting in the brightness of the sun’s rays, I jumped to my feet, leaning closer, as if that would instantly reveal the source.

The surrounding sheep, who had been peacefully sleeping or eating, much of what their daily lives consisted of, turned to gaze in the direction of that unpleasant sound.  I felt the ground start to quake slightly, under the pressure of this imminent wall of darkness; the grass causing a tickling sensation where its tendrils had coiled around the toes of my bare feet. 
  ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Not sure where I'm going with this just yet, but hopefully I'll figure it out before the 14th when it's due!

Monday, April 9, 2018

Monotone Monday


So I feel like today should be of some importance but I cannot remember why.  I hate when that happens.  It's similar to when you're packing for a trip and you can't shake the feeling that you've forgotten something, no matter how many times you've gone over and over a checklist of what you mean to bring. 😕

Today has been pretty boring.  I finished work about 30 minutes ago, and I'm in the process of washing pots & pans, using the time that it takes to air-dry them as a break, because the hot water tends to activate the numbness in my left ring and pinky fingers.  Hence why the dishes have been slightly piling up, since this issue sprung up about a month and a half ago.  It hasn't gotten too out-of-hand though, as I've been doing small loads when I can.  Although taking a shower pretty much sucks now.

Sunday, April 8, 2018

Positive Reinforcement


Well today has been mildly productive.  We somewhat randomly decided to work on cleaning out the garage a bit more, so that we could move an old armchair out of the guest room before my mom gets here next month.  We're planning on either borrowing my brother-in-law's truck, or renting a U-Haul to cart it (and a few other larger furniture items) over to a dump next weekend.  It feels good to get stuff done like that.  It's crazy how cluttered our garage can get, what with just throwing things in there quickly and kind of forgetting about it.  We've got lots more to do in there, organizationally, but at least now we actually have the room to get it done.

I had last night to myself, seeing as the hubby went out with his brother to a local bar to watch the UFC fights, and that is just not my scene.  Never has been, really.  Anyway, I ended up finally getting around to watching La La Land, which came out in 2016, so I'm a little behind, haha.  I knew I wasn't going to get him to watch it with me, so I figured last night was the perfect time.  I love Ryan Gosling (and Emma Stone), so that was part of my reason for wanting to watch it in the first place.  I don't mind it being a musical.  Though I have to say it's not for everyone.  It got a bit weird in some places, but overall, I liked the dynamic of the movie.  Emma's style of singing felt slightly odd to me though, not sure if I liked it or not.

We also spent some of our free time this weekend watching the second season of The Santa Clarita Diet on Netflix.  It always reminds me how much I love Timothy Olyphant too!  His reaction to his wife's new 'condition' is just so amusing.  I love the daughter, Abby, as well, she's such a ... 'firecracker' is the first word that comes to mind.  And not just because of her red hair! 😛  Seriously though, how she stands up to a high school bully in the episode we last watched was great.

That's about all I have for tonight.  Also, I feel I should apologize slightly for my last post, but I just couldn't stop that flow of emotions. 😳

Friday, April 6, 2018

-screams in frustration-


I hate when I can't fully express my intensely annoyed state of mind because of the fact that others may read it and get offended.  Though who am I kidding, it's not like anyone really reads this blog, other than a couple loyal friends (you know who you guys are 💜) but still, in the off chance that they do...  ugh.  This is why I used to prefer Twitter over Facebook, but now I can't even use that the same way anymore.

Though I suppose it's my own fault, for thinking that someone would actually take some time off work (who has been saying that he has plenty of time to spare and needs to plan it out) when my mom is going to be out here next month, just to spend time with her, because she considers both of us her "kids," no matter how much he may think that she doesn't like him.  Hell, he wouldn't even take time off to go with me to the Urgent Care clinic when he knew I was totally freaked out about my neck issues and needed someone with me, why would I even expect him to take more time off work for my mom?  And it's not like I don't put up with enough crap from his family, ALL THE TIME.  Ugh.

I just can't seem to do anything right, I guess.  I make a statement, even in a joking manner, not remotely angry, and I get accused of trying to start a fight?!  How does that even happen?  So instead of continuing "the fight" by saying anything else, I'm probably going to be spending my Friday night sitting here alone on the couch, or in the office playing NexusTK or SWTOR.  Which is fine by me because I'm actually on a mission in Nexus to obtain two items, which involves hours of crafting via digging in the dirt (a.k.a. mining), because the drop is pretty random.

The underlying point of this post is... I just really miss my mom. 😢

Thursday, April 5, 2018

Just Call Me 'Chauffeur'


So I spent most of today driving my mother-in-law and Reno around our little 'neck of the woods'.  I'm my mother-in-law's usual "driver" when she goes to see her eye doctor, because she usually comes out of there with her eyes dilated and can't drive herself.  I was jokingly called her 'Uber' last time we were there, by another patient.  I'm always mistaken for her granddaughter also, instead of daughter-in-law.  Haha.  Anyway, this time Reno joined us, because he'd been needing to get his eyes checked and so he asked my mother-in-law to make an appointment for him with her doctor.

Turns out he's a bit blind in one eye and as I understood it, they did a minor procedure on it during his visit, so he definitely couldn't drive.  Then we found a coffee shop and hung out for the next 2 hours until meeting up with the hubby over at the Food Truck Thursday event, seeing as this was the last time in a little bit that the lobster truck (Cousins Maine Lobster) was going to be there, and Reno wanted to get some lobster bisque.

Also, I found out that my dad went back to the hospital last night, and I was completely unaware until I get a text message from him this afternoon, starting with "The diagnosis was good..." and I immediately texted him back, saying I didn't even know he was in the hospital!  He'd sent me a text last night but it never came through on my end... Ugh.  I'm just glad he's going to be okay... he had knee replacement surgery back on March 22nd and he almost passed out last night during a dinner date with friends, because of some blood clots in his lungs (relating to the surgery).  I would have been so worried last night if I'd actually received that message.

That's about it for now.  I've had a huge headache all day, so I'm off to relax and maybe fall asleep early. 💤

Monday, April 2, 2018

Heat Has Come Too Soon


I think I'm starting to grow tired of California.  It just doesn't hold the same appeal for me as it did years ago when I first moved out here.  I never thought that would happen.  I'm also completely NOT ready for this weather that we've been having for the past week.  It's gotten into the 80s already, and it just annoys me.  I need to live in a place where it stays winter-ish longer than a month or two.

Fortunately, it's supposed to rain later this week, bringing the highs down to the upper 60s instead, which I am looking forward to.  Only for that decrease in temperature though, not really wanting the rain so much.

Sorry this post is so boring.  I really don't have much to talk about.  I think I'm going to attempt to do some writing for tomorrow's post.  Maybe.  😊  We'll see where my inspiration takes me, if anywhere at all.

Sunday, April 1, 2018

Hello April...


And so starts my most hated month of the year.  Why do I hate it so much, you ask?  Mostly because I was teased about having a month as my name, when growing up, specifically when my cousin would call me "April May June" ALL THE TIME, when he saw me at family gatherings and whatnot.  Good thing we lived 6 hours away!  Also, during the month, I'm always paranoid that people are talking to me (or about me) when I hear them say "April."  And after 34 years of that... let's just say it gets old quick.

It's also April Fools Day, which is pretty much an annoying day in itself, as you can't believe anything that you hear today!  And for a somewhat-gullible person like me... that sucks.  Haha.

Oh and also Easter Sunday.  We don't really make a big deal out of Easter in this house though.  I mean, it seems like it's more for the kids with the scavenger hunt for eggs and chocolate bunnies and the like.  I remember when I was growing up, my neighborhood used to have this big 'Easter' party, for all the kids who lived there, along with a huge scavenger hunt in the fields that ran behind everyone's houses (called 'the greenbelt'), connecting them.  It was so fun to finally spot a bit of orange or pink or blue among the green grass and find the little candies hidden inside.  Ah, to be little again, without a care in the world, other than finding the most eggs, of course! 😝
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