Grasping Inspiration Within a Game

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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. 😊

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✍ 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. 

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Not sure where I'm going with this just yet, but hopefully I'll figure it out before the 14th when it's due!

Monotone Monday

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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.

Positive Reinforcement

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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. 😳

-screams in frustration-

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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. 😢

Just Call Me 'Chauffeur'

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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. 💤

Heat Has Come Too Soon

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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.

Hello April...

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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! 😝