foreverdawning

 I just realized I don't have a Doctor Who icon. That'll have to change soon since I've been binging all the New-Who episodes. I forgot how much I absolutely adore Rose Tyler and the ninth doctor. It is also funny seeing how hard they're trying to push viewers to watch the now canceled Torchwood. 

I was originally going to watch in order but I'm not a huge fan of David Tennant as the doctor or Donna Noble. I think they're good, but they're not my favorites by any means. I mostly just want to cry my eyes out whenever the doctor regenerates. Why am I watching Doctor Who again after all these years? I think I just needed a break from Twilight nonsense.

"She looked at me like I did not exist in her world; but here I was, and she did not know what to do with me."

I just saw this article and it's very interesting. Link.

My parents both tested positive for the virus a few days ago while on "vacation" visiting my grandmother. Since they came home I've been living in a hotel and not going home. Thankfully this hotel I'm staying at has a washing machine so I'm able to do laundry there and not have to find the nearest coin operated laundromat. 

I'm just thankful I'm working and not going insane by myself in a hotel room. 

 I finished Heather Rose Jones' Mother of Souls this week. I liked it a lot. I'm a bit sad that the world of Alpennia is more or less finished, but I'm glad it ended on a bang and not a fizzle. The book starts off with a character we met briefly in the previous book: Serafina Talarico, a Roman born from Ethiopian parents, who moves to Alpennia to learn how to perform mysteries. Serafina left behind a negligent husband who doesn't even know she's gone. 

( Read more... )

I really liked the book. It was especially fun to read a non-white perspective in this fantasy world. As always, it is nice to step back into a world you're familiar with but with a fun twist. This is also the first time we see an average person in Alpennia as opposed to the uber rich or anyone in nobilitiy. Lucie Valorin is an interesting character herself. I was a bit disappointed in the end but it was a good disappointment that fit within the story. Very cathartic.

(Major Spoilers)( Major spoilers )
(End of spoilers)

Overall: Highly recommend this book to everyone. I bought it off of the Bella Books website. I wish I had bought the bundle after I fell in love with the first book. You can buy the bundle here and the individual book here. 

I just finished Margaret Atwood's newest book The Testaments. It was really fun to read. I was a bit hesitant to pick it up but ultimately glad I did. It really redeemed some characters that were given awful treatment in the television show

( Now for major spoilers for both the books and the television show )

tl;dr Fantastic book with satisfying beginning, middle, and end.

I went to Galveston Island about a week ago with Seth and I had so much fun. 

• Punk show. I'm not a fan of punk at all but Seth is and he was so nice as to purchase tickets for me for both nights. It was the No Sleep Fest and despite it not being my typical kind of music I still had so much fun just seeing the small punk scene in Galveston. Funnily enough, I think I had more fun than Seth but we won't get into that. 
• Shopping. We didn't really buy a whole lot while we were there. Seth bought a few Fiesta ware dishes for his parents and I bought Seth a few 70s Sci-Fi books
• Galveston Book Fest. One of our former coworkers wrote a book and we decided to drop by. I purchased her book just to show my support and I'm trying to get through it but it is a toughie. It's well written just not my kind of genre.

Those were the highlights and I'm just really glad it happened. 

I went to Minneapolis to visit friends from college. It was so fun, especially considering I surprised all of them (except for one) and I got their reactions on video. I just got back and immediately went to work the next day so it is kind of jarring going from having fun and soaking up midwest sun to doing my normal boring work. 

Highlights of the trip

• Got a free piano lesson. My former roommate's boyfriend is a piano teacher and since I started my new nanny job, the piano teacher (in not so many words) basically said I should re-learn how to play so I could help her with her piano playing
• Went tubing in the Apple River and did not lose anything. Last time I went to that river I lost my glasses (which was a big deal considering I was the designated driver of that trip and became effectively blind); however, this time my friend who was visiting from California at the same time lost her brand new iPhone XR that her father just paid for in full because she broke the last one. She's not normally irresponsible or anything like that it's just that river takes no survivors. Otherwise tubing was pleasant and relaxing.
• Played games. I bought a game called For the Girls and it was so much fun to play. I liked being able to stay in and keep us all together. The plan earlier was to purchase tickets for the new Lion King movie, but a lot of us weren't going to be able to make it to the late showings that were still available. I suggested we stay in and played a game instead. Doing so much during my entire stay was fun but being able to relax and just spend time in one another's company was so much nicer than wasting our time watching a movie together. 
• Went to Minnehaha Falls. It was so beautiful. The last time I went it was in the winter time so they were completely frozen and barely trickling. They were just as gorgeous in the summer as they were in the winter. Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to take any pictures because I left my phone at the house. 
• Visited the Como Zoo again. Every time I'm in Minnesota I take the chance to visit the zoo. I love it for many reasons the most important of course for being free and depending on donations. I'm used to going there in the winter time so it was nice being able to see all of the summer animals outside. It was very pleasant outside as well. I love going to the zoo there because here in Houston it's just too hot to be enjoyable.I'm linking a "candid" photo I took in the conservatory where posed photography is not allowed. 

During that whole trip, I spent quite a bit on Caribou Coffee. It's my guilty pleasure and I only allowed myself to indulge because I can't get it here. Overall, a lovely little vacation before I have to buckle down into working full time and going back to school part time. 

I finally bit the bullet and turned my Ko-Fi from a supporter to a creator page. I even opened up $5 writing commissions because that's just how I am I guess. (Here's a link if you'd like to take a look)

( Bitching about my life (as usual lol) )

I made pescatarian gumbo (twice!) but the second batch I forgot to get onions so I swapped it for tomato and extra garlic. I was worried it wasn't going to be good since I've never made gumbo before let alone pescatarian gumbo. My dad liked it a lot he had three bowls of it. He's normally a vegan but decided to eat it anyway since I made it.

( Complaining about my mom )

I digress. Kwanzaa was nice. The first night, I invited a bunch of folks but they didn't show up since I live boonies-adjacent which is fine. I liked being able to spend time with my dad and keep it small and intimate.