Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015

Where did you begin 2014?

At home!

What was your status by Valentine's Day?
Taken.

Were you in school (anytime this year)?
No.

Did you have to go to the hospital?
No.

Did you have any encounters with the police?

Yes.

Where did you go on vacation?
Los Angeles, sorta.

What did you purchase that was over $500?
Neelix's health (vet bills).

Did you know anybody who got married?
I don't believe so.

Did you know anybody who passed away?
Jim. Daphne.

Did you move anywhere?
No.

What sporting events did you attend?
None.

What concerts/shows did you go to?
Saw Doug play at the Red Lion.

Where do you live now?
California.

What's the one thing you thought you would never do but did in 2014?
Eat chicken livers? I mean, I suppose that.

What has/have been your favorite moment(s)?
Eileen moving to Sacramento.
Play dates at the Play Place.
Jude's 2nd Birthday.
Thanksgiving at Josh's.
Jude learning his ABC's.
Building Lego with Aaron.

What's something you learned about yourself?
Sometimes the least expected is what happens.

Any new additions to your family?
No.

What was your best month?
December.

What music will you remember 2014 by?
Anything, Hedley.

Made new friends?
Not this year.

Favorite Night[s] out?
The night we went to The Americana and caught the water show.

Any regrets?
Never.

What do you want to accomplish in 2015?
Get this baby talking!

What would you change about 2014?
Eh.

Other than home, where did you spend most of your time?
Los Angeles.

Have any life changes in 2014?
A couple deaths in the family. :(

Change your hairstyle?
Does longer count?

Get a new job?
 Still Pro Mom.

Do you have a New Year's resolution?
Something realistic, like 'get out more.'

Did anything embarrassing?
Constantly.

What was/were your favorite purchase[s]?
My Star Trek ring.
Jude's flip-board.
Comic Books.
Fleece pants.
Imaginext for Jude.

Get married or divorced?
No.

Did you get sick this year?
As ever.

Start a new hobby?
Does narrating my life through song count?

Are you happy to see 2014 go?
It's been a year.

Drank Starbucks in 2014?
Yes.

What are you wishing for in 2015?
Seeing my family would be great.

Double Autism

It was time for the MMR booster, anti-vaxx was just taking off, another parent aware of my condition asks my mother if she'll risk it.

There are a hundred appropriate responses to this my mother could have chosen. Should she explain that vaccines don't cause Autism? That the person responsible for this 'study' has already lost his medical license? Should just slap them? Should she remind them that Autism is a fate indefinitely better than death, particularly death from Measles? My mom turns to them and says, somehow with a straight face, "What's it gonna do, give her Double Autism?"

Of all the ways my mother could have responded, this is probably my favorite. The other parent had no idea how to react other than to take a good hard look at what they had just asked. Because really.

I'm not an RPG character.

The other night Aaron was having trouble falling asleep so he started listening to music on his phone.

Earlier I had been playing Bravely Default. When it was time for bed, rather than turn off the 3DS I had just put it in sleep mode (to collect SPs).

Barely able to hear the music, but able to tell that is what was happening, I was jolted back to consciousness because I thought the DS had turned back on and was blaring RPG music in the middle of the night and I was ruining everything. So I start rolling and flopping around trying to solve the problem and Aaron is just like, "...?"

I mumble, "Is there music???"
"Yes."
I flail around ineffectually some more before realizing the 3DS is still in sleep mode.
He says, "Sorry, I didn't realize it was that loud."
At which point he turns it down and I, relieved it wasn't my fault, apparently declare, "I'm not an RPG character."

Which I guess meant to imply that I don't have background music? So none of this was my fault? I don't know precisely because I don't even remember saying it.

Bravely Default

For Christmas, Aaron got me Bravely Default, which is great because I've been wanting to play it since it came out. So far it's been enjoyable. The art is reminiscent of Tactics, which I adored. The music, while not up to the immersion standard found in the Final Fantasy title (yet) is still wonderful, granted this is not a Final Fantasy title. The story has been fabulous, yet very Final Fantasy-esque (harmonious crystals and impending darkness, etc.) which seems a little strange given how mindful they were to set the titles apart. Not that it's a bad thing.

I won't go into too much detail pertaining to the story because A: spoilers, and B: I'm stilling playing it. While it has many Final Fantasy elements despite not part of the franchise, it also has a lot of JRPG elements similar to Tales games and Silver Star Story which isn't a bad thing. It may take you by surprise though. There is also a story-related mini-game that has a lot of potential.

What's really unique about the game is the combat system. It's based on a job system a la original Final Fantasy, Tactics, FFXIV, and so on. You obtain new jobs by defeating bosses and gaining their job Asterisk. Each job has its own unique skills, attributes, and costumes. During combat you have all the basic options: attack, magic, items, skills, escape, etc., but you can also either Brave or Default. This is where things get creative.

You can Brave to get more turns at once or you can Default to defend (taking less damage) and then Brave later without going into the negative. If you Brave without Defaulting, you have to wait however many turns you Braved for afterward. So depending on what/who you are fighting you may want to incur the wait penalty and Brave right away or you may want to Default to avoid a big incoming attack and then Brave later. Really depends on preference and situation!

If you put the 3DS into sleep mode with the game running rather than turning it off, you can also gain 1 SP every 8 hours this way for a maximum of 3. You can expend SP to immediately have your turn in combat. Whenever you want. This has the potential to be game changing if used correctly, it is, however, not necessary at all. So if you'd rather just turn your 3DS off, you won't feel entitled to leave it on.

The game makes use of the internet in fun ways. You can call upon friends for help during battles, you can fight people you've passed on the street gaining Nemesis, you can borrow friends' skills, you can gain villagers. Entirely optional, of course. The game seems to have a lot of neat, optional content. Which is also nice. You can partake, or not, and it's totally fine either way.

I have to say though that, as per usual, Square's English voice cast is... bad. However that is easily remedied by going into the settings and either turning the voices volume all the way down or setting it to Japanese with English subtitles just so that not everyone sounds like a emotionless 8 year old boy who had been raised by robots except for the women who sound like sexy 5 year old girls (???) who were otherwise also raised by robots.

You'll want to mess with these settings regardless because by default all the volumes are set to 8, which means they are all competing for your attention. All the time. It's not really problematic until there is a cutscene and you can barely make out what anyone is saying. I found turning the music to 5 and leaving the voices at 8 was a workable solution. Except then I could tell just how horrible the English voice acting was and had to go back in to make the previously mentioned changes.

Penguin Bombs

Aaron surprised me after Christmas Eve dinner with a finely wrapped box of Lego. We built them together after feasting on Chinese food as per Jewish tradition. Look at my little bomber penguins. They are the coolest. Look at them!

I have no idea what is going on with my formatting right now but I'm too excited to go to sleep so that I can wake up and open gifts with the family tomorrow. So... Enjoy none pizza left beef?None blog left pictures? idk.

Happy Holidays!

My Favorite Things (Foods)

1. Popcorn
Preferably with just butter. Sometimes kettlecorn style. Rarely with caramel. Even more rarely with cheese. I love popcorn. It is the perfect snack and I will eat an entire bag of it all by myself in a single sitting. No regrets!

2. Potatoes
I don't care how you cook them, they're going to be fucking delicious and I'm going to eat more than a single serving.

3. Waffles
Fancy pancakes with syrup dimples. You can't go wrong. It's the perfect breakfast food. It's the perfect anytime food. Dinner time? Make a waffle sandwich. I feel compelled to type YOLO.

4. Bean & Cheese Burritos
Pockets of molten bean and melty cheese. I ate these things everyday for years and would do it again because they're awesome.

5. Pirogi
Potato pockets with stuff inside. Pirogi were the staple of my diet back when I lived on my own and there's a reason for that.

6. Pot Stickers
Pockets of meat and vegetables (you're probably noticing a trend with me and pocket foods). Serve with a side of sugar snap peas and yum.

7. Ravioli
Pockets of cheese and meat or vegetables (another pocket food, huge shocker) drown in some savory sauce. Mmm...

8. Pizza
I love pizza. I don't want to meet the person who is like, "I hate pizza."

9. Peanut Butter & Jam Sandwiches
I never outgrew this classic elementary school packed lunch staple. I enjoy them enough to make on a regular basis, even now that I'm a full fledged adult human with my own pb&j eating offspring.

10. Soup
I really like soup. Pretty much any soup, stew, or bisque. There's just something soothing about a nice hot bowl of soup. Especially potato soup.

Honorable Mention: Rainbow Sprinkles
I know, you're thinking, "That isn't a food really..." but they are. You can put them on any dessert and it's instantly better. Ice cream, pie, cake, cupcakes, pudding, mousse, donuts, candy bars, whatever. You can just grab a spoon and eat them on their own. They're delicious and I won't be told otherwise.

Favorite Things: Movies!

1. The Fifth Element
Everything about this movie is fantastic. I've seen it countless times and it somehow never gets boring. Easily everyone involved's best role.

2. Labyrinth
I used to dream about running away to the Goblin City. My go-to movie for all nostalgic needs.

3. Star Wars
My love for Star Wars is not unknown.

4. Interview With The Vampire
Strangely, this movie reminds me most of childhood. I was a creepy little girl.

5. Forrest Gump
One of the last movies I watched with my little sister before we were separated. We finally found each other again, but this movie still holds a special place in my heart.

6. Dead Poet's Society
My favorite Robin William's movie. Just watch it.

7. Kill Bill
The way this story was told blew my mind when it first came out. It's rare a plot keeps me guessing and Kill Bill managed to do that.

8. The Matrix
Go noob, see the truth, save the world. I like when the hero spends the entire first movie derping around confused.

9. 12 Monkeys
???
????!
Yes, okay.

10. Silence of The Lambs
My grandpa took me to see this movie in theaters because I really, really wanted to see it. I was eight. Did not regret that choice!