Sim Games!

I loved Sim games growing up. I had all the classics - SimCity, SimTower, SimFarm, SimAnt. I think the very first Sim game I played was SimAnt. Pretty simple, perhaps (some might say boring), but it was a lot of fun at the time. In this game, you play as an ant in a new colony of ants in a backyard. Your job, at first, is to gather food to take back to your colony. There are 3 types of ants - worker, soldier, and queen. You can switch to any other ant in the colony at any time. As a soldier, you can fight the red ants for control of this space in the backyard. Your goal is to ultimately take over the entire backyard, and then the house. 

BTW, you can actually play this game in your browser, along with a lot of other cool older games here.

SimFarm was another one I enjoyed. It's actually pretty similar to Farmville, interestingly. You're a farmer in charge of a farm. You build buildings, plant crops, tend livestock. Every crop and every animal has specific conditions in which it can thrive, and it's up to you to make sure that they do.

SimTower was probably my favorite. It's pretty simple, you build up a big tower with all kinds of things in it - office spaces, hotels, restaurants, movie theaters, apartments. You have to make sure the residents of your tower maintain happiness by doing things like having numerous quick elevators, a trash system, escalators, sufficient parking and transportation, etc.  I really really wish I could find a way to play this on my computer, but alas, my old CD-ROM doesn't work on my MacBook.

In Sim City, you control more than just a tower, you control a whole city. You build up industrial, residential, and commercial development zones, as well as roads and transportation. Probably the coolest part were the disasters that could befall your town, either at random or at your own whim. Tornados, floods, or monsters could tear your town to shreds.

After these, of course, came The Sims. I was super into The Sims for quite a while. It was so incredibly advanced for the time, and yet it's far more primitive than the version of the Sims they have out now! It's interesting how the games have gone from a tiny ant, to a whole building, to a whole city, and then to the people living in that city. It's kind of astonishing how far the technology has come. From controlling ants in an ant colony to controlling people's lives!

2 Con Sunday: Cal Comic Con & Frank & Son Collectible Show

Sunday was a first for me - 2 cons in one day!! The first one we attended was Cal Comic Con in Yorba Linda. It's a smaller con than most of the ones we've been to. It was 10 bucks at the door, which was totally fine because it felt like I was supporting a good cause. This one was a purely comic convention. They had a couple different rooms, as well as an outdoor patio, all crammed full of comics. 

Some booths had their comics sorted by category, some by comic character, and some in alphabetical order. A lot of booths had super cheap comics - for a buck, 50 cents, 40 cents, or a quarter!! You can't afford not to pick up anything that looks like it might be interesting! It's a great opportunity to pick up some comics that you might have been thinking about starting, just to see if it looks interesting to you. I got a stack of "what if" Marvel comics that sounded super cool.

Next up was the Frank & Son Collectible Show in the City of Industry. It's typically just on Saturday, but Stan Lee was there for a special Sunday show; unfortunately this meant that not all the booths were open. It's held in this whole big warehouse that they have all to themselves. It was surprisingly large, and chock full of comic and toy vendors! I was also pleased to see several people cosplaying. There were a lot of really great booths with cool stuff for sale; the same as you'd find at any comic con. I got a couple new Pacific Rim jaegars and a Dancing Baby Groot Funko. I also got a couple Black Widow and Catwoman comics from more cheap boxes of comics! I definitely want to go back on a Saturday and see it when it's hopping!

January 23rd: 5 Fandom Friday: Songs That Changed My Life

[Ed. note: Oops, I forgot to post this on Friday! Here it is, a weekend late anyway.]

It's time for another 5 Fandom Friday! This week's subject is: 5 Songs That Changed Your Life. I guess these weren't exactly songs that changed my life, per se. They're mainly just songs that were pretty important to me at times in my life.

#1. Garbage - Temptation Waits. Really, any and every song on this album. This was my jam in high school. This particular song was on an episode of Buffy, and I think maybe that's how I discovered Garbage. The entire album reminds me of high school, in a good way. I think it was the first time that music really 'spoke' to me, as cliche as that sounds. These songs just felt like me.

#2. Four Star Mary - Thrown To The Wolves. Another Buffy related one! This band actually played on the show as Oz's band; the songs they performed on the show were their own real songs. It made me realize that there were more bands and more music out there than just what was on the radio. From there, I fell down a rabbit hole of indie music that continued all the way through college.

#3. Postal Service - Nothing Better. One of the first indie bands I liked. This song was so different from anything I'd ever heard before. I can't tell you how many times I would listen to this on repeat. This song reminds me so much of college. I still really love this song.

#4. Sigur Ros - Staralfur.  This song just makes my heart burst. It's so incredibly lovely. Sigur Ros is so so unique, and completely incomparable. This song in particular makes me feel so many feelings. I literally can't even articulate how this song makes me feel.

#5. Allman Brothers - Blue Sky. The Allman Brothers are my dad's favorite band. Growing up, I totally didn't get it at all. It wasn't until I was a bit older that I realized how truly awesome they are. It helped me begin to appreciate an older generation of songs. 

Walk In Walt's Footsteps Tour at Disneyland

This weekend we went on another tour at Disneyland, the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour. It lasted for 4 hours (!!), included a pin with our names on them, another special Walt pin, lunch, a couple rides, and a wealth of information. It was a really great experience, even for a seasoned Disneyland visitor like me.

We were given headsets to use in order to better hear the tour guide, which was very helpful since it can get pretty loud in the park. The headsets also enabled us to listen to various audio clips of Walt talking about whatever ride or attraction or land we were currently in. For example, at the very start of the tour, we gathered in front of the flagpole, where Walt Disney gave his dedication on the opening day of Disneyland in 1955, and listened to him give that very speech.

The tour guide took us around to all the different lands in the park, stopping occasionally to give more information or play another rare piece of audio from Walt Disney. A lot of it was actually stuff I did not know, which was pretty refreshing. I'm a long-time Disney fan, and I feel like I know most of the information and trivia out there, so it's rare for me to learn something new!

The tour also included a couple rides! The first one we went on was Peter Pan's flight, because it was one of Walt's favorites. We got to go right to the front of the line! I was really excited because it's been years and years since I went on this one since the line is always ridiculously long. Later, we got to see the Enchanted Tiki Room, as well as go on a little ride on the Disneyland railroad.

After walking around for a couple hours, it was time for lunch/early dinner! We went over to Jolly Holiday Bakery and found that they had already laid out our lunches with our names of them (sort of - who are Tammy and Darren?? I hope it's us otherwise we stole their lunches). Our meal consisted of a sandwich, a drink, and dessert! The parade was going by as we were eating, so it was pretty perfect.

The tour used to include going into the lobby of Club 33, but I think since its renovation, they're no longer doing that. Another part they're leaving off now is the tour of Walt's apartment above the fire station on Main Street. I was kind of disappointed by that. 

The coolest part came at the very end - we got to tour the Dream Suite! The Dream Suite is a hotel/apartment above Pirates of the Caribbean. It was originally intended to be a place for Walt's growing family to stay in the park, but he died before construction was finished on it. It lay vacant for many years after that, and then was made into an art gallery for a while. Recently, they decided to make it into a suite as Walt intended, filled with all kinds of Disney magic, like paintings that change, a mini railroad going around a room, and so much more. They asked us not to take any pictures while there, in order to preserve the magic (keep it secret, keep it safe), but there's a bunch of pictures, and even a video walk-through, so if you really want to ruin the magic, google your heart out.

We ended up not going on any more rides after the tour was over because it was super busy that day. Unbeknownst to us, it was Star Wars Half Marathon weekend, so we saw a ton of people walking around with their medals on. I'm don't know much about running because I don't do that sort of thing, but wouldn't you be crazy tired after running a marathon, and certainly not up to doing something like walking around Disneyland for the rest of the day??

Before we left, we stopped by the Main Street Opera House, where they were featuring some Frozen concept art, and some other Disney art as well.

5 Fandom Friday: Conventions I've Been To Or Wish To Attend

This is my first 5 Fandom Friday! The Nerdy Girlie, the blogger who started it, posted hers, and since I love conventions (and fandoms!), it inspired me to write this post.

I've been to a TON of conventions over the years, so here are a few of the ones I love, and a few that I'd like to attend!

1. First, of course, is the mother of them all - San Diego Comic Con. I've attended for the last 12 years! There's nothing else like it and thank goodness for that. It's so big it's spilled out into the surrounding area. Even if I didn't get tickets one year (oh god, knock on wood, don't jinx yourself!!), I would still go and just check out all the outside happenings. If you want to have a similar but way less hassle-y experience, try their sister show, WonderCon, in Anaheim. Ton of great panels, a terrific exhibit floor, and lots of celebrity guests; way less lines.





2. Comikaze is a great LA-based con that's really taken off since it launched just a few years ago. I would say it's a fairly unique show, and has a lot of cool aspects to it. Being in LA, they manage to get quite a few celebrity guests, of course; I feel like I haven't gone to a ton of panels at this one though. The exhibit floor is always packed with awesome goodies though.

3. I attended one Star Wars Celebration many years ago, when it took place in LA. It's going to be in Anaheim in April this year, so obviously I'm going. We bought our tickets literally like a year and a half ago, and now it's almost here and I'm very excited! It's bound to be absolutely amazing with the new films coming out now.



4. We attended our first Emerald City Comic Con in 2014. It was the first con I've been to outside of California! It kicked off a string of quite a few out-of-state cons that we went to last year. 








5. I don't know a whole lot about New York Comic Con, but it seems like it's pretty cool, and I've never been to New York City before.

Creating a Morning Routine

One of my New Year's goals for this month was to create a morning routine that will help me wake up and feel refreshed at the ungodly hour of 7am. I am NOT a morning person, so waking up anytime before 9am feels like torture to me. I did some research and came up with a few things to do upon waking that will help me to feel like a human being faster, and hopefully start the day out right.

Right after waking up, I take 5 really deep breaths. Then, I get out of bed and stretch like I'm warming up for a workout (except, instead of a workout, it's a full day of sitting). Then I do a few push ups, squats, and sit ups, just to get the blood moving. By that time, I'm feeling quite a bit more awake. While I'm brushing my hair and putting makeup, I smile at myself in the mirror (they say that smiling, even if it's fake, can induce real happiness), and say a bunch of platitudes to myself like, Today will be great! You are awesome!

I also make sure to eat a healthy breakfast, as well as drink a bunch of water. I've read that a full cup or more is best, but sometimes I just can't force myself to drink that much that early. I've also started drinking less coffee. I only usually drank two cups a day, but now I'm down to one that I nurse throughout the day.

I'm working on a night routine, too, though it's not quite as involved as my morning one. I make sure to turn off my computer at 10pm (pesky blue light that it emits suppresses your melatonin, which keeps you from sleeping soundly later on). And then, I read for about an hour before I start on my 8 hour sleep. I read an article that said that, during your 7-8 hours of sleep, your brain releases toxins (basically protein that builds up in your brain cells while you're awake) that will otherwise cause you to feel crappy, which is why you feel awful when you haven't had enough sleep - your brain's still all clogged up with junk.

The true test of my routine came this morning. I've been sleeping pretty well all this week, doing my routine and feeling better than usual. This morning, however, I woke up after sleeping fairly poorly. I did my routine as usual, and I actually feel pretty okay today - not nearly as crappy as I would normally be. I think my routine is turning out to be a success!!

New Redesign!

As you may have noticed, my blog has a brand new layout! I made the new header all by myself, and I think it looks quite lovely. I had a fun time designing it in PicMonkey, which I highly recommend for all your photo-edity needs. I also added in a bright new background, which I'm actually not quite totally sold on, but let's see how it goes.

I also rearranged the sidebar a bit. I added in links to all my social media sites, so you can follow me (stalk me?) if you want to. Also, take a look at the tab up top, I made a 'favicon' of a little purple star! I think this new layout is a lot more 'me', and I love it!

Serial

I'm only a few months late to the game on this one! I love listening to podcasts, but I'm actually not a huge fan of This American Life, so I was reluctant to start on this particular podcast. But I caught up on my podcasts over the Christmas and New Year's breaks, so I decided to try Serial out. This lead to binge-listening to as much of the podcast as I could at a time, and I finished the whole thing within about a week.

In case you were unaware, Serial is a weekly podcast that told the real-life story of a murder case. In 1999, Adnan Syed was accused of killing his girlfriend Hae Min Lee. The case went to trial and he was found guilty, and is currently serving a life sentence. The question the podcast posits is: did he really do it?

Like most listeners, I waffled between being sure he did, and then completely unsure. Just like host Sarah Koenig, I still don't know, even after the season is over. I won't waste any time here discussing it, as it's been discussed ad nauseum in many elsewheres on the internet. Here are a few post-podcast articles I found interesting:

• Pivotal witness Jay talks about his side of the story that he didn't give on the podcast.
• The prosecuter who declined to be interviewed finally speaks out.
• Here's a whole subreddit on Reddit dedicated to further dissecting the story.

The podcast really shows how incredibly hard it is to ever really know the truth about something, to ever have all the accurate facts. You can't know if one person is telling the truth, or lying, or even partially lying. Everything can have an effect on the outcome of a case: the inability to produce a reliable alibi, a key witness misremembering an important fact, a lawyer having a private issue/breakdown, a bystander not coming forward in time. So many things that could have been pivotal, that could have changed the outcome of the case.

I can't wait for next season of Serial, and to see what new case they will examine next.

My New Favorite Kindle Games

I love games on my phone or Kindle that don't require a whole lot of skill, yet still have 'challenges' or 'quests' you have to do, so I end up feeling somewhat accomplished even though I've done nothing at all, really. Two of my new favorite games are from Pixelberry Studios: High School Story and Hollywood U. They're simple, and mostly just involve clicking and reading. But they're just so cute and endearing.

In High School Story, you are starting a new high school. Not starting AT, starting a new school from scratch, and your first challenge is to recruit new students. There are all kinds of quests/storylines to complete. Many of them try to send a good message to the youngsters - one of them is even about cyberbullying. All the classmates are characterized by stereotypes - nerd, prep, jock, artist, gamer, cheerleader (and some more... unusual ones like mascot, and actor), as well as a bunch more that I have apparently not unlocked yet. But everyone works together no matter what their station in life is. Also, you can personalize all your classmates with clothing and hair options, so there's that.


Hollywood U is very similar, but slightly more adult, since it takes place in college/Hollywood. Living in real-life Hollywood for the last 8 years, I do think it's hilarious how they make out the industry to be. You go to college and major in being a Movie Star, Fashionista, Make-Up Girl, Agent, Director, or Wardrobe Girl. That is... just totally definitely how things work. But it's super cute, just like High School Story, with lots of fun storylines and quests.

The Bachelor LiveBlog!

I don't care what anyone says, I love The Bachelor. And I feel like liveblogging this episode, so here we go!

I'm kind of whatever about Chris the Farmer. He's kind of cute, but I agree with Andi, the whole small town farmer thing is kind of a deal breaker. But he seems like a really nice guy! And I'm sure there's a girl out there for him that he's just not able to find in a town of 400 people. Ugh, I can't even imagine. I hope they asked all the girls if they were ready and able to deal with that kind of thing.

Anyway, on with the show! Oh no wait, it's an hour long red carpet, wtf?! This isn't the Oscars! Are you telling me this goes until 11, 3 hours long?! Oh hell no. I don't have enough wine for this!

Sean and Catherine. That's nice. Babies soon and whatever. That's nice they found love. Can we just get to the episode already? 

Who are these people? Marcus and Lacy? Oh, from Bachelor Pad. I did not watch that and have plans to never ever watch it. Lacy says their wedding date is 80/40. It took me a minute to figure out what that even meant...

Oh, they're showing the bachelorettes! Britt the Waitress from LA. So... actress it is. Now she's at Hollywood and Highland with a Free Hugs sign. No thanks, I'm good. And now someone is doing backflips in DC. Jillian the news producer who is a strong woman with crazy thighs! I bet she does Crossfit. Oh a ballet dancer, Amanda from Illinois with an accent to match. Oh, she's crazy, for sure. Whitney the fertility nurse has a voice that sounds like nails on a chalkboard. Ugh, and her job reminds her that she's single all the time. She has a cute dog and cute pillows, though, so she can't be all that bad. Is she willing to give up her job to work on a farm though?! Apparently. MacKenzie is next. I already can't with that name. And she has a son named... Kale?! No.... are you serious?! Like the green veggie?! OMG it's even spelled the same. I have lost the ability to can with this name. And now for a flight attendant from Jersey. Her Bachelor-tinged flight attendant spiel is kind of cute. That guy she gave a rose to was not having it. And now someone from Austin! Oh god, she's a widow. Her husband died only a little over a year ago?! I can't imagine being over something like that so soon. I don't even know how to feel about this. She's an interesting kind of pretty though, so I kind of like her.

Commercials! I can't tell where they're filming this. The red carpet does not look very big. Andi and... what's his name. Oh right, Josh. This is so boring. She says that Chris is really nice. That's nice. Chris is one of Josh's 'boys'. That's nice too. Andi's eyebrows are very... fleek. Am I using that word correctly?

It's only been an hour and I've finished my wine. No bueno.

What happened between Juan Pablo and Nikki? I don't care anymore. It's hard to have a relationship in the public eye blah blah. "I wanted to stand by my man." Stop saying that. You tried, he tried, blah blah. Omg are you still talking??

Does Chris' journey to find love start now? Does it?? Trying on clothes is mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausting?? Is it really???

Ah, the obligatory shirtless in the shower scene. Is there an equivalent female thing? Probably walking along the beach in a bikini or something. Whatever, they know their audience is 99% female. Actually, I'd be really interested in what the audience stats actually are.

It's time for the limo arrivals! I do not envy Chris in trying to remember 25 women's names. I am the worst with names, especially when meeting them basically all at once. I don't like meeting new people in general. I think being on the Bachelor (or Bachelorette) would be my nightmare in a lot of ways.

Oh, it's a leg! It's the first girl we met earlier! The actress.... I mean, waitress from LA. This hug is way too long, and now it's turning to tears and it's awkward. Okay, she would not want to move to a farm, for real. No acting jobs on the farm. Ugh, a free hug coupon. Stahp. Oh it's Whitney the fertility nurse next. Is the first limo comprised entirely of the women we're already met? Why is she so southern suddenly? Is she seriously wearing yellow heels? I literally don't even even own a pair of yellow heels, nor have I ever considered it. Yup, the widow is next. She seems okay-ish. Megan, a makeup artist from Nashville, is next. Ugh, these are always so awkward. Ashley, who has a gorgeous dress, is next. Her hair is nice and she is pretty.  

Time for the next limo! Trina the special ed teacher comes out first. She's 33 which is old for a Bachelor contestant (which makes me feel super old). She reminds me of a frenemy from junior high, so I don't like her. Reegan, a donated tissue specialist, is next, and she has a cooler with her. Oh god, what's in it? Is it someone's face? Is this a crossover with Hannibal? Because that would be pretty cool actually. Oh, it's a fake heart. That's not as interesting. Ugh, a girl in cowboy boots... and shorts and a flannel?! I can't. Her name is Tara, and I bet she always describes herself as 'not like other girls'. Also, probably doesn't consider herself a feminist. The other girls gasp to see her in her 'Go Western' gear. She grew up 'huntin' and fishin'' Good for you, go home. Amber the bartender brings a teddy bear, so I liker her immediately. She is completely glossed over and that makes me sad. The next girl, Nikki has a really pretty dress. Some random blonde runs up into the limousine, and then exits it. Wtf is happening. It's some girl from earlier? Oh it's the country/huntin/fishin girl, and now she's wearing a cocktail dress (that makes sure to show her shoulder tattoo!) (because she's 'not like other girls'!) The next girl has the limo driver bring a note to Chris. Apparently it says 'go to commercial' because that's what happens next.

Oh, the note is dumb. Turn away from the limo and close your eyes. She sneaks up behind him, hugs him, and then doesn't introduce herself and runs into the house. That was confusing. Next up is buff Jillian from the last hour. Next is the mom of the veggie boy. Could you not just name him Kyle? Is that what you actually meant?! Ashley the hair stylist doesn't seem sure of herself exiting the limo. That would be me; I'd be like, which way is it? Oh, straight out? Okay cool. She found a lucky penny and wants him to put it in his shoe. I hate things in my shoe, what are you doing. Kaitlyn the dance instructor says that Chris can plow the fuck out of her field any day, and Chris is speechless. She has a tattoo on the back of her arm that I'm confused by. Oh back of both arms. Neat. 

Oh hey Chris Harrison! Go on inside the mansion to mingle, he says! Everyone has a glass of wine. This is how you create drama. Unlimited booze and a bunch of women in heels and cocktail dresses and no TV. Wait, there's only 15 girls. Why? Kaitlyn the inappropriate tells a dirty joke that ends in 'tight seal' and everyone is horrified. Horrified!! They quickly get over it and wonder where the other 10 girls are, as there are typically 25 girls. 

Britt starts out the one-on-one convos. Her hair is really long. Nothing else is interesting. Oh, she thought they were going to kiss at the end. That's nice. Now it's the girl that gave him the fake heart while the other girls speculate there's more girls on the way. Now the widow. Oh, Chris Harrison shows up! He's got that first impression rose, no pressure. 

Oh and now there's a live audience. Unnecessary. Oh god, 7 farmer's wives are there to talk about Chris. They have  terrible hair. Like, Kate Gosselin bad hair. Jesus, I can't even concentrate on what they're saying their hair is so bad. These people are so middle America I can't even. This is what your future is, Chris's future wife. 

The fertility specialist says she makes babies every day. Haha, so hilarious. She's really really excited. Everyone else is speculating about the rest of the girls, or lack thereof. Chris is now wondering about his 'secret admirer' who he didn't officially meet earlier. He singles her out as the one girl he doesn't recognize. HAHA the other girls call her, 'that one with the big eyes.' Oh and does she ever have the crazy eyes. What the actual fuck. Her dress is very ornate. Chris Harrison is back and he needs to steal Chris! Oooh, this night isn't even close to being done! There's more limos! You get a limo, and you get a limo, and you... wait, this isn't Oprah. 

Oh jesus, there's another hour to go. We come back from commercials and Chris H asks Claire from last season a question and she totally doesn't pay attention. "Oh god, is the camera on me, how does me hair look, is there anything in my teeth, is he saying something to me, what is going on.'

Another limo! Samantha has really long hair and a really short dress. She walks in to the mansion and says 'hi!' to dead silence. It's not really their fault their limos happened to arrive later than the others... Michelle the Utahan comes out next. Juelia and her weirdly spelled name are next. Oh, I like Becca's dress. It's very sparkly and pretty! It looks great on camera. A girl arrives on a motorcycle - Tandra, the executive assistant. We barely see her meet Chris at all. 

Another limo! This one has Alissa the flight attendant. She brought a seatbelt with her. Jordan the blonde student brought a tiny bottle of whiskey, and they do a shot! Okay, I like her. Omg, Nicole wears a pig nose out of the limo. Simple, but clever! Oh, another girls burns her saying that Chris doesn't even have pigs on his farm, and she should have done her research! Oh god, there's a 'WWE Diva-in-Training'... is that a thing? You know, at least there haven't been as many creative 'job' titles as on Juan Pablo's season, like 'Free Spirit' and 'Dog Lover'. This is apparently the limo of gimmicks. The WWE whatever brought a sign with a hashatg, and now this one, Carly, brought a Barbie Dream House speaker and microphone. She's a cruise ship singer, which maybe explains a lot. 

There's 25 women in the mansion, and here's another limo! How can you even meet and talk to that many people in one night?? Oh, there's a 4th grade teacher, and she has notes from her students. That's cute. Bo is a plus sized model! A girl goes by without a name or a voice. Another girl! Another girl! No one cares anymore! I can't understand the girl from Kentucky! Jade is wearing a dress with a nearly nude top and Chris has a hard time looking at her face. It's weirdly ill-fitting, though.

30 total girls! Chris goes in to talk to them and they all applaud. He's overwhelmed, but still remembers to say that he believe his wife is in this room. Can we get a tally on how many Bachelors have said that? Do they give them a script with talking points? 

Oh wow, one girl has two kids aged 6 and 7! Another girl, Kaitlyn, suddenly brought pants so she can dance, and seems to be teaching him how to play Twister, though she calls it Six Step. Is that a thing? No more talk of plowing fields, however. Girls are ruthlessly stealing Chris from other girls. Is there a time limit or anything? Some girls are saying that they've been trying unsuccessfully to talk to him all night. How much would that suck, to be sitting around with a bunch of strangers, drinking wine, all night? Wait, that sounds okayish. Maybe not if you're all going after the same guy, though. 

Is he allowed to write down notes? That's what I'd be doing. There's a girl talking about peeling people like onions? She's been there a while, and has clearly had a lot to drink. What else is there to do besides drinking? You're kind of setting up some of these girls to fail. Anyway, Chris is scared of the drunk girl.

MacKenzie brings a watercolor set, but the kind you give to little kids. She asks him what alfalfa is. He says, "It's green." You know, like your son Kale? Oh, some girls are doing shots! And some girls are judging. The girl who came in wearing cowboy boots has been drinking straight whiskey and now can't stop hiccuping and burping. Oh honey.

Chris still hasn't given out the first impression rose and everyone is angsting over it. There's a girl talking about how she went to the Third Street Promenade in LA, couldn't find parking, and went home and cried. OMG girl, I've been there! Are you me?? Ugh, it's the girl in the ill-fitting nude-top dress. Chris comes for the first impression rose and gives it to..... Britt! The wait/actress from LA! She is pretty and nice, I guess. I wonder how far first impression rose getters typically get. OMG, they're already kissing. Like, a lot. 

They walk back in to the other girls and it's awkward. Chris then leaves to figure out who to keep and who to eliminate. Chris Harrison (the superior Chris, tbh) polls the live audience about the kiss with Britt. Everyone is in reluctant agreement that it was okay. Claire is again put on the spot, and then Michelle Money (what kind of last name is that, it sounds like a street nickname) says she heard a rumor that Britt doesn't shower. Oh, okay. Chris quickly moves to Andi, and she is also in favor of the kiss. 

Are we done yet? No, we are not. Chris is ready for the rose ceremony. Jesus, it's going to be 30 minutes long, isn't it. It's just a bunch of 'will you accept this rose' 'absolutely', people being insecure, people being happy, blah blah blah. Oh dear, drunky the cowgirl is gonna hurl, I'm pretty sure. I know that feel, girl. Oh, Chris suddenly walks out! Dun dun duuuuun!

Oh shit, back from commercial we find out that Chris is talking to Chris about how he wanted to pick her, but she's so clearly drunk that he's having second thoughts. I feel bad because I'm pretty sure I'd be that girl that would just drink instead of trying to talk to the guy. Story of my life or some such! Chris dramatically comes back, sighs, and then continues rose-ing. Omg, Tara the drinker does get the rose! She doesn't seem that drunk, girls, get over it. Some of these girls have problematic eyebrows. That's worse than getting sloppy drunk, in my book.

It's the final rose. The WWE diva hasn't gotten it yet, nor has Crazy Eyes (not the cool crazy eyes from OITNB), nor the plus sized model, nor the girl with the pig nose. The girl who's also drunk but hiding it better than Tara (the one who talked about onions) gets it!!

Everyone says their awkward goodbyes and it's awkward. Holy crap, it's daylight outside when they're walking out?! It was dark when they started, so this shit has literally taken all night. Wow. Holy shit.

Oh no, one of the rejected girls is coming back inside to talk to Chris. Oh honey, please don't. For your sake and for mine, I'd like to go to bed now. Oh, we won't find out until next week! Well isn't that nice. A sneak peak for the season reveals hot air balloons, champagne, horses, canyons, kisses, leaf throwing, motorcycles, bikinis, more kisses, bridges, kayaking, hockey, a glass slipper, guns, a concert, more kisses, jealous girls, drinking, a slutty virgin, angry girls, f-bombs, surreptitiously sneaking into tents and getting it on, more angry girls, crying on the floor, medics, crying in a canyon, crying in front of bushes, crying on a pile of leaves, people taking things seriously, people not taking things seriously enough, tropical locales, helicopter rides, hikes, farms, swimming, kissing, seeing a future with Chris, serious sighs, dramatic walking through snow, indecisions, and probably so much more. 

Next week perhaps I'll have more wine and Tara my way through another liveblog! (I will NOT be wearing cowboy boots but I will probably hiccup a bunch.)

2015 Resolutions

It seems crazy to make resolutions that you're expected to keep up all year long. I prefer to break it down to a monthly basis - it's much more manageable that way. I do, however, have some overarching themes that most of my goals tend to fall under. 

Health/Fitness - I'm always striving to live healthier. I've done an okay job on eating better, but I could still improve. I'm not consistent with working out regularly, but I would like to be. I have a membership to a gym that I almost never use, so this month, I'd like to try to make use of it. I'm going to try a bunch of classes (the few that fit into my schedule) and see which ones are good. Then, supplement those with working out in my apartment's gym as well as YouTube workout videos.

Online selling - I've been selling things on eBay for several years now (omg, probably like 6 or 7 years). I've always had quite a backlog of stuff to list, but now I feel like there's a light at the end of the tunnel. I have only a small stack of stuff that I still need to put up on eBay. After that, I'd like to taper it off, only selling a few things, making sure to list them immediately and not let them pile up. A more distant goal for this year to start making things to sell on Etsy. 

Writing - Two things fall under this one - my blog, and my screenplay. Blog-wise, I, as always, want to post more regularly. I struggle with finding new topics to write about, as well as what exactly I want to focus on. This year, I want to really focus in on what my blog is all about. I also want to connect with other bloggers like myself. As for the screenplay, I'm going to start making an outline and thinking really seriously about what the story is. I also want to read some scripts to get into the mindset of that format.

Another goal for January specifically is to establish a morning and night routine. I recently began a new job, and now my days start at 8am instead of 9, which makes a huge difference. For one thing, I'm a night owl, so going to bed earlier so I can wake up earlier is quite a challenge. I've read that creating a morning routine is incredibly important for setting up the rest of your day, so I'm going to figure out a system that works for me. I've already got a few ideas, so I'm ready to start!

What are your New Year's (or New Month's!) resolutions?