Summer is in full swing here in the sunshine state. If July were a person I imagine she'd be an awful show off (yes, July is a girl), she rides in on a tropical depression, she's a pyromaniac and insists on a fireworks show to celebrate her arrival; she's a real diva that one. But still everyone loves her because, annoying as she may, be she knows how to throw some great parties. 'Round these parts the heat drives us all inside and makes us wanna hibernate, it's a great time of year to catch up on Netflix. Next year, however I'd like to drive across America with my best friend the way kids my age do in movies and YA novels. I plan on finding a small town to settle down in when the trip is done where people can have weird jobs that don't necessarily advance society but make them happy. Does such a place really exist? Probably not. Would I move there if it did? Not likely, I'd get lonely without my family. Will such a trip even actually happen? Signs point to no but I'll leave it in the hands of fate. But hey, a girl can dream. To be real with you, gang, such dreams probably fill my head because I haven't left the state in eight years and while I love my home I'm getting kinda stir crazy and I'd really like to see some more of the world before I'm in the dirt. Honestly I'd really just be happy with leaving the house a little more but that, my friends, is a rant for another time. That's gonna be it for now, gang. Until next time. Much Love, Gabby
*Insert lame apology for another long absence partially due to illness*. Okay, I think I've mentioned before how I suck at handling any kind of illness but summer colds are like top shelf kinda stuff. Imagine, gang, the house is 80 degrees, you feel like you've swallowed a razor blade and hot sauce cocktail, the world is basically coming to an end. What is one to do? Well, I have decided to compile a list of the things I've found key to surviving the horrors of such an ailment.
1. Netflix, Netflix, Netflix. You're gonna need some distraction from your suffering and Netflix'll give you everything from Pokemon to period dramas right at your finger tips.
2. Enough soup to fill a bathtub. I opted the kind that comes in a cup because when you're ill can openers are a no.
3. Animal Crossing. Soothing music, friendly neighbors, boring chores, it's just the ticket for reminding you what life is like for the healthy.
4. A trip down the Youtube pit. I swear, that website is like a black hole sometimes. Recently I've been binging on E3 and Splatoon walk throughs.
5. Keep a pet (or at least a stuffy) around for cuddling. When your fever or is high and the end seems at hand you're gonna need something to hug.
6. A family member to be your personal butler. Just somebody to get you juice and tissues and all that jazz. Be careful you don't milk the situation though because then you won't have anybody to fetch and carry for you next time you find yourself feeling under the weather.
7. Don't underestimate the healing power of a slurpee. Those things are magic I tell ya.
8. Keep your electronics charged. There's nothing worse than falling down the Youtube pit only to have your device die halfway into a video.
9. Stay the away from Facebook. You're suffering enough as it is, you do not need that nonsense in your life right now.
10. Sleep it off. Make sure you have lots of comfy pillows and get some rest.
Well, that's gonna be it for now, gang. Until next time. Much Love, Gabby
Sometimes I get hung up on the most ridiculous things and people think I've gone a little crazy. Whether it's a single line from a book, a work of art, heck, even a certain Peanuts comic, odds are there's a creative type somewhere with a deep emotional attachment to it. Seriously, kids these days will cling to almost anything like we're at our first day of pre K and it's a security blanket. And the funny thing is it's not usually even a material object; for instance I was just watching some Wind Waker videos on Youtube with my brother and if my emotions were stars my place would look like a middle school hipster's Tumblr. I honestly feel like video games are seriously underestimated even in this day and age. In all likelihood 99.999999% percent of us won't get to sail around the world, and none of us will end up taking off in a spaceship powered by smiles with Goofy and Donald Duck (to all y'all who don't know about Kingdom Hearts that probably sounds like nonsense) and while books are a great way to live vicariously through fictional characters it's not actually your actions that are influencing whatever world the story happens to take place in. In a game you may just be solving puzzles and mashing buttons but in some small way you really become the hero and I think that's dandy. In a way video games can be more than just an escape from the dullness of the day to day, they make you feel powerful; you're saving worlds, your helping solve that universe's problems while forgetting your own. Now the games I've referenced both evoke very different emotions and this can be summarized pretty nicely by talking about their opening themes. Let's start with Wind Waker, if you've played this game you know that cheerful tune that plays in the main menu, it makes me want to do a jig and run off on an adventure shouting "HYAH HA!". And then there's KH... Oh Dearly Beloved, what words shall I use to describe you? Kingdom Hearts was one of the first non Mario type games I ever played and the melancholy menu music has all the workers in the thought factory slamming their first on the nostalgia button. Now don't take this as me putting books down or saying they're not as good as gaming, that's not it at all. Both of reading and gaming are different escape roots from metaphorical dungeon of anxiety and they're both amazing. Basically, guys, it's three in the morning, I've got a lot of emotions, and what I'm trying to say is video games are really something else and I'll always have a special place in my heart for them. I could go on and on but that's gonna be it for now, gang. Until next time. Much Love, Gabby
This past weekend a trip to Disney was taken which I didn't talk about because I am a superstitious piece of crud and thought if I counted the imaginary chicken it wouldn't hatch like the last time. It was a real whirlwind of a time and wasn't without incidents but we all made it home alright. On the way up there we saw a hearse with a hitchhiking ghost sticker on the back window and I got the worst picture of it ever which isn't even worth posting. I have to admire the drivers sense of humor though. We stayed at a place just outside Disney property that had a bunch of peacocks running around for some unknown reason; they woke me up at 6:30 AM the first morning. We saw them everywhere we went, they were just chilling by the pool with some random cat, I named the first one I saw and then promptly forgot what it was I had named him, the second one I came across I called Archie. The hotel was nice and more like an apartment than a hotel, I suppose it was a time share or something, and it was pretty homey. We went the Magic Kingdom the first night and then had to leave thanks to a serious thunder storm but we at least got to walk down Mainstreet which always puts a little pep in my step. The next day myself, my mother, and sister sneaked off for breakfast at Waffle House and I had orange juice for the first time in probably a few years. I then realized why I had been avoiding it for so long. After that was the trip to the pool where the peacocks and the cat were sighted and I thought my sister was going to get her eyes pecked out taking a picture of those birds. That evening it was back to Magic Kingdom, this time to actually make it onto some rides and such. Riding before we left we were having ice cream on Mainstreet and I was singing along to the Hello Dolly instrumental and this girl a few tables over was also singing along. She forgot the lyrics for a minute and then I started singing and then she started singing again. We didn't acknowledge it or say anything to each other but it was a soul sibling moment. The next day I was up incredibly early for my oldest friend's graduation which would've also been mine had I not opted out of walking. It was the first I'd ever been to since both of my siblings also opted out and if I remember anything about it it will be that one kid said he wanted to be a Ninja Turtleologist and the rap a very white kid did about his homeschooling experience. Homeschool graduations are two things, 1. Cringey and 2. Incredibly long. When the last girl walked across the platform she got one of the biggest cheers I'd ever heard in my life. Now I can honestly say that I don't feel bad for not walking anymore, after talking with my friend's future sister in law about how she might not walk at her college graduation I realize that it's something that's not for everyone and that's okay. Honestly I'd been dreading it a little because I felt like I was letting a lot of people down by not doing it, the night before I even had a good long cry about it, but now it just seems silly. After pictures were taken and lunch was had we took the graduate back to our hotel so we could all change and head to Disney. We ended up going to Epcot for about five seconds so I could get a Whisper Of The Heart print. I got to chat a bit with the girl working at the counter about the movie, which was cool. Every time I go to Epcot I find myself fangirling with some random stranger. I love the way fandoms bring people together, it's just the neatest thing. And then it was off to MGM (or Hollywood Studios if you're more with the times than me and my family) for the last night of Star Wars weekends, which meant dancing to some club remixes of things in front of where the hat used to be, taking a ride on Star Tours (one of my favorite rides), and watching the fireworks show set to the music from the movies. And then finally the next day we said goodbye to the peacocks and headed to Animal Kingdom before heading home. There it rained for a bit, and then if we hadn't already been soaked enough the whole group got on the rapids ride which we rode twice and got stuck on once. And then after a terrifying ride on Dinosaur it was time to leave. On the way out I found an initial necklace on the ground. It's a golden J and a crystal Mickey and we didn't find the owner. I hope J was able to get another necklace though. It's siting on my bookshelf right now because I'm not really sure what to do with it. Well, that's gonna be it for now, gang. Until next time. Much Love, Gabby
Things have happened, gang. Not very interesting things but I figured if I let them all pile up after a while they'd amount to something mildly interesting. Firstly I take back everything I said about Payless being a window into tennis shoe heaven; it is, in fact, more like a cat door, I can see what's there but I can't get to the other side. Of course I had to be in between sizes, naturally they didn't have a seven and a halves, and it made perfect sense that every pair I went to try on had one of those security things latched on to one shoe so they were impossible to lace up. I am trying to come to terms with the fact that I'll have to wear ugly slip ons that look like something out of Zenon because of my gosh danged flat feet. In other news Mothers Day is a thing that happened and a very nice time was had. Myself, mother of mine, and the sibs packed into the car to go to a green market by the by some water in another town. Window shopping was done, the ladies of the family got matching necklaces (I suggested my brother get a carved wooden turtle to commemorate the occasion but no dice), and a walk was taken on a boardwalk sort of thing that lead nowhere where I carved Bad Wolf into the railing with my house key. All in all it was a pleasant sort of day and apparently we're going back that way again this weekend to check out a flea market. Also earlier this week I was organizing my brother's video game collection (which he didn't ask/want me to do but I did anyway) and I found our Gameboy SP chargers. Once my pink one that was a gift from my grandparents was charged I indulged in a bit of retro gaming by playing my old favorite, Dogz. When I tell you I spent months worth of time over the years training pixelated puppies in this game it probably isn't an overstatement. I was impressed to see I actually still really enjoyed it. The setting in the some random Japanese town and chibi graphics mix in a really charming kawaii overload sort of way. Speaking of kawaii today I said to myself, "You know what, self? I'm running out of shows to watch, Pokemon is on Netflix, let's do this!". To which I then replied, "Why? Why are you such a five year old?". Let me tell you I wasn't instantly on the train. I ended up texting a friend about it. And I quote,
I have so much to do today that I started watching Pokemon.
It's one of the dumbest shows I've ever seen.
I'm on episode six.
I am now on episode 20 or so. I took a tumble down the rabbit hole, gang, and it looks like I'll be floating around in this black hole for a while. The reason I started Pokemon aside from sheer boredom? I finally finished the very last Artemis Fowl and now I have nothing to read again. During this I was in the waiting room of a doctors office surrounded by judgmental snow birds so I couldn't shed any tears; but in all honesty, peeps, it didn't traumatize me as much as I had expected it to. Perhaps that was because I'd had the ending spoiled a bit for me and knew how things would pan out? Maybe it had something to do with me being jaded by endings of various other series? Who can really say? I must say this though, I'm very depressed that there are no more new adventures to be had with Arty and company. Artemis was with me through some real dark times and I'm sure gonna miss reading about my favorite criminally inclined genius. Well, that's gonna be it for now, gang. Until next time. Much Love, Gabby
Whenever a trip to any kind of clothing store is taken and I find the exact thing I have been searching for for a dogs age two things happen: 1. I don't have any money. 2. My mother isn't with me so I can't ask her for said thing if it's something I need. Today it was tennis shoes in Payless. Finding shoes is a great challenge for me, I have flat feet that hurt like I'm 80 years old so finding something nice and comfy that is also cute is the struggle. And then today I was there with my sister (who walked out with a very cute pair of flats that I am muchly jealous of) and it was like the clouds parted and I caught a glimpse of tennis shoe heaven. They were all squishy, cute, and on sale. I, of course, didn't have a penny on me, nor the proper time to find the right fit (because in addition to my feet being flat they are also wide, I'm basically a duck). But what truly made this detour to Payless noteworthy were the people that were there. Let's start at the beginning. My sister and I entered the store and she went straight for the tiny shoes because she's got the feet of Cinderella; said aisle was half women's shoes and half children's and there was a mother and son shopping for sneakers, nothing wrong with that, but then things took a turn for the odd and exasperating. Firstly the kid was whizzing around the store like Speedy Gonzales, which is perhaps would be forgivable if the store weren't so tiny and he didn't almost crash into everyone in it... Secondly there was the fact that these people were foreign, nothing wrong with that either, but the kind of nasty foreign people who cut lines at Disney world and make salespeople's lives a living hell. The mother kept speaking in this throaty language that I at first thought was German, and then something middle eastern, and then my sister guessed it was South American in origin. And I was having such a tiring day and was so mentally sapped that it took everything in me not to crack up because whatever language this was sounded completely ridiculous, like something out of Star Trek perhaps. And then when I moved on to look in my size in came a mother and teeny bopper daughter. I was just minding my own, lookin' at shoes, and this nasty English lady gave me the dirtiest look for no reason whatsoever. Perhaps she could read my mind because she said something to her daughter like, "Not those, you'll look like Minnie Mouse" and I thought to myself, "The heck is wrong with looking like Minnie???". Finally my sister decided to check out. The line was very slow going thanks to some kinda something wrong with the card machine and the first nasty foreign lady antagonized the life out of the poor girl behind the counter. Then the same problem occurred while my sister was checking out and I was sorta roaming around the store looking at things and this woman in line behind us was starring at me with her mouth open wide like I had just bitten the head off a live puppy. Trust me, gang, if it weren't for all those glorious tennis shoes I wouldn't be going back to Payless for a long long time. That's gonna be it for now, guys. Until next time. Much Love, Gabby
Is it really already May? This year is getting away from me faster than a hyperactive five year old on a sugar high. My days have been filled with unremarkable nothings, a bit of reading, a lot of Animal Crossing, many episodes of House Hunters, etc. "Unremarkable nothings" probably sounds like something a student would put in an essay when trying to hit word count but I am fond of simple things and have been known to take pleasure in the right sort of nothing. I feel like such of nothings are a rarity these days and a true and proper something is practically confined to fiction. To put it plainly, life is boring, gang. I suppose it's just that time of year where nothing is really happening and everyone is putting all their hopes and dreams toward a perfect summer when in reality they'll all just end up going about their regular routines. I find summer to be an overrated season and really don't understand people's tendency to romanticize it. It's like June and July are race horses that people wait all year to bet their happiness on. Oh, I've finally gathered the courage to read the last Artemis Fowl book. I've heard this one's a real heart breaker so I shall have to see about getting some tissues as well as finding a rebound book. Just once I'd like to read something that wasn't emotionally traumatic in any way. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed the writing, characters, and world of the Artemis books so it's going to be a serious bummer when it's all over. It's always a pity when you reach that last page and realize that in that world, with those characters, there are no more adventures to be had. Sometimes I feel like life's like that too. There's so much cool stuff to do in the world but I feel like most of us won't ever get the chance to do any of it. It's like getting all jazzed to play Age Of Empires or something only to get stuck at the loading screen forever. (Does that make any sense? Probably not). I know my example is seriously antiquated but those games were the coolest. I think we still have a couple of them somewhere...I should see if they work on this old laptop of mine. That's gonna be it for now, gang. Until next time. Much Love, Gabby
