Vacation Time!

Alright guys, this will be my first big break from blog writing since I started. That's because I'm taking my first big vacation in over a year! This place does have internet connection, but I would have to go down to the computer lab they have, so it's a bit of a pain. Not to mention we will be busy with Disneyland!

That's right, a couple of friends and I are going to Disneyland. We leave on Tuesday, so I can still write a Monday post, but I'll probably be busy with work and packing. We come back very late on Monday, so the next post will probably be September 4th.

In other news, it looks like I'm track to becoming assistant manager of the Starbucks I work in. It's not confirmed, so don't quote me on it. I am getting more responsibility, and until one of my co-workers comes back from maternity leave, I'm third in seniority. Even if I don't become assistant manager, I'll still be working a lot during the school year, as I'm only taking one class. I'll have to help pick up the shifts that a couple of my co-workers will be dropping because of school. That being said, there will still be four of us not going to school, or only take a small amount of classes. And if you did your math correctly, then yes, there will only be six of us. When I first started, there were seven of us (including myself) and a new person looking to be hired.

So just a quick update for today. I'm going to go sell one of my old textbooks soon ad earn myself twenty dollars... Which I will give to my mom because I owe her some money.

One Year Birthday!

It has officially been one year since I started this blog! Yay! I'm rather proud of myself for keeping with it for so long. I normally get bored  and lazy after a few months, so the fact that I've only missed a few updates in the whole year is very impressive. So why don't I have you a look at the stats since I started this blog.

Page views per month
August 2012: 83
September 2012: 169
October 2012: 242
November 2012: 229
December 2012: 227
January 2013: 261
February 2013: 182
March 2013: 215
April 2013: 271
May 2013: 170
June 2013: 193
July 2013: 246
August 2013 (so far): 155

Fascinating, right? Okay, onto something a little more interesting:

Page views per post

1) Amanda Todd: 46
2) Pet Peeves: 18
3) Winter 2013: Day One: 17
4) The Emperor's Soul Review *SPOILERS*: 14
5) Love Is Not The Only Thing You Need: 13
6) Summer...: 13
7) Imma Just Going To... Sleep: 12
8) Name Change: 12
9) My Life in Seven Steps: 12
10) Protected: 11

And now the best part!

Page views per country

1) Canada: 1,635
2) Russia: 297
3) Germany: 243
4) United States: 193
5) South Korea: 70
6) United Kingdom: 45
7) Ukraine: 23
8) Romania: 14
9) Austria: 13
10) Malaysia: 8

And just for the record, Chrome is the most used browser at 36%, and Windows is the most used operating system at 73%.

A Work Fatigued Mind

About a week ago I posted something about what typically goes on in my mind. Now I thought you would get some entertainment from knowing what goes through my mind at work.

1) I'm hungry. Why am I hungry? I just ate at nine this morning. I wonder what time is is now. Holy shit, it's two.

2) I work in a grocery store and I still can't find some food to eat. Guess it's cheese buns again!

3) Ooh! New person! That means new friend material... Damn, the new person barely talks... Well this is awkward. I'll just go clean this thing...

4) Why do people keep thinking our sugar bin is a garbage can? *sob*

5) I should learn to swear in another language... I wonder if my dad will teach me some in Swedish.

6) Is that a wasp? Shit, that's a wasp. Shit shit shit shit shit... Okay, act calm. Shit, where'd it go? Can I get a manager to get rid of it? AAAH! There it is. Get away get away get away! Help? *sob*

7) It's three minutes to nine, why do you want coffee? *sob*

8) Damn this buggy is hard to control. Whoops, that's a wall...


And please remember this is all in my mind. I wasn't actually swearing out loud when I saw that wasp.

Worst Inventions Ever

Sorry for missing my post yesterday, I've just been tired. And because I have a head ache and just ate my first meal in ten hours, I'm a little cranky, so let's rant!

1) Decaf coffee. What's the point? The only useful thing about coffee is that it gives you an energy boost, but decaf coffee has had the caffeine roasted out of it, so it has absolutely no use.

2) Ipads/tablets/smart phones. I'll be honest, I have an ipad, and I love it. However, I really do hate it, and how it has affected me. I am so unproductive when I have it. I will even get up half an hour earlier than I need to just so that I will have time to play on my ipad n the morning. The only useful thing I have on it is my school organizer, the weather network (which I have no looked at in weeks), and my e-mail. Everything else is just a waste of time.

3) Tanning bed/spray tans. I have no idea why looking like a Dorito is so popular. It seems like everyone I know makes fun of the people who use tanning salons, but I know pretty much all of them would take the chance if someone offered them free time in one of those salons. Our society loves tanned people, and it's to the point that people need fakes tans. Just disgusting.

4) Guns. If guns had not been invented, who's to say that we still wouldn't be riding around in a horse and carriage and wearing beautiful dresses. Guns were really the first big breakthrough in technology. And of course, all the deaths they cause, but hey, people kill people, not guns, right?

5) E-readers. I have a completely irrational hatred of these things. A book is the physical form of the story, so if you're reading on an e-reader, you're not reading a book, you're reading a novel. It doesn't sound like much, but I will always firmly believe that books are the only way to read novels. (That is, until I have to move out and haul all my books around.) I love looking over and seeing my bookshelf and all the books. You cannot do that with an e-reader. It's just not the same.

The Rithmatist review *SPOILERS*

I just finished reading another book by Brandon Sanderson, this one about four times shorter than the last. It's called The Rithmatist, and is 370 pages long, so a nice quick read. I would say it's for a younger reader though, probably suitable for a middle school student or early high school.

You know way back when I said I didn't have many examples of historical speculative fiction books? Well, here's one! It's a steampunk type idea, set in a Victorian era United States. Except, the states include lower Canada, and are separated into large islands, so instead of being called the United States, they're called the United Isles. Furthermore, there are mentions of going ons in Europe and South America that do not match with history. So although it's a world that we're familiar with, it's been changed just enough to be speculative fiction.

Now the magic comes from chalk. That sounds strange, but it's kind of like the idea of witchcraft and the pentagrams, except in this book it's circles. If someone is chosen as a Rithmatist, they have the ability to bring 'life' to chalk. It's actually fairly hard to explain, but Sanderson does it very well. As in the previous book I read by him, he incorporates drawings, which is very handy when it comes to explaining all the chalk drawings that are possible.

Although I loved reading this book, it's not Sanderson's best work, by far. There was something that annoyed me every time I came across it, but I can't seem to remember what it was, so obviously it wasn't too big. But I suppose it was written for a younger reader, so there are bound to be things that I don't like. However, it was a pleasure to read, and I would definitely suggest it as a light read over a weekend.

And another beautiful cover:

Digging a Little Deeper Part 2

(So I'm not feeling all to well. I think I'm probably dehydrated still, but no matter how much I drink, it doesn't help my headache. I guess I should be drinking water and not juice or pop though... Anyway, because I'm feeling uncreative today, here is another few paragraphs from my first attempts at writing.)

Arica woke up gasping, sweat trickled down her brow. Damien was staring at her, concern filling his green eyes. As soon as he saw she was awake he sighed and leaned back.

“Finally your awake, you woke me up with all that talking, and the scream at the end, before you woke up. What were you dreaming about?” He asked and shook his head as if he would rather not know. Arica sat up from where she had fallen onto the ground.

“I- I don’t really know…” She stuttered. A beam of sunlight danced across the floor through the open window. All signs of the night's showers were gone, replaced with twittering birds and fluttering butterflies.

“We're almost there.” Damien said and point out the window. Arica joined him and smiled. It was true; they had arrived at a large white farm house. Acres of green grass rolled along the hills, showing off well muscled horses as they grazed in large paddocks. At the large oak doorway stood a well dressed woman, waiting patiently with an old butler. The wooden wheels of the carriage crunched along the gravel path as the house got closer. Finally it halted and the door swung open. The old butler was walking off towards the back, where Damien and Arica had thrown their bags.

“I can’t believe it!” Damien said as the woman walked over. She scowled at their rumpled clothes then turned towards the butler, who was dragging both heavy bags around the carriage.

“Bring those bags inside and tell Cecilia to take them to the rooms.” She said then turned back to the cousins. “I am Annette, Lady of the house.” She said briskly and turned around. “Follow me.” With a wave of her hand, Annette strutted up the driveway. Arica and Damien exchanged amused glances before racing after their aunt.

“Wow.” It was the first thing Arica said as they entered their new house. Damien stood at the entrance, mouth open wide in shock.

“Come on then, don’t just stand there. Lars is waiting for you in the study.” Annette said and led them into a well lit room. Three walls were covered in large wooden bookcases while the remaining wall had an oak desk against it. Behind the desk was a rather large man, who looked up from the fat book he was reading when they entered.

“Ah, yes, the children. I am Lars, the man of the house. I do hope I’m guessing correctly when I say you are Arica?” Lars said and took Arica’s hand into a firm handshake. She winced at the pain and managed a weak smile. Next he turned to Damien and gave him the same warm welcome.

“Now, I hope you don’t mind, but I’m pretty busy here.” Lars said and shuffled back behind the desk. Annette turned around and hustled the kids out the door, where they were instantly turned up the stairs and towards two doors.

“This is where you two will be sleeping; your bags should already be inside.” Annette said. Once their aunt had gone downstairs and was out of sight, Damien and Arica rushed to their rooms. 

Delve Into the Mind

It's quarter past eleven here, and I've had too much sugar today. I have a stomach ache and I'm probably dehydrated, but I'm in the mood to ramble. So I introduce a few things that goes on in my mind.

The thoughts that pop up the most often are about the future and my choices for it. Although I say my biggest fear is deep water (you never know what's down there...) it's actually about my career choice. I think most people have these thoughts, whether they're heading for something as unstable as a writer or musician, or as solid as, well, pretty much anything other career. And I know I haven't gotten very far in the eight or so years since making this choice. By the winter, I will have two short stories published in my college's anthology, but that gets me bragging rights only, and it's money that'll keep me alive. Of course, you read any blog or comment by a published writer, and they'll tell you that the worrying and second guessing is as much a part of the job as math is to an accountant. I guess it keeps us on our toes. The moment you slack off and stop worrying is the moment that you have something to worry about. Sounds like a great life, right?

Well, at least I've had training as a barista, so if all else fails, I'll open up a coffee shop combined with a book store.

But apart from the constant worrying and self loathing for my procrastination, I'm honestly a happy person. That is if you love making your characters suffer by ripping our their heart. No matter how terrible that sounds, every book worm loves it. What is a book without drama, and what is a writer who cannot create this drama? Now I'm far from the person to create this drama in real life. Oh no, I hate teen fiction novels for this very reason. If I ever wanted to live the drama of a book or character, I would pick something far more exciting. Then again, pretty much anything would be more exciting than my current average life. I'm still amazed I did so well in my Personal Narrative class when half my stories featured other people.

Which brings up my thoughts on my current life. Of course I wish it was more exciting, and I'm constantly coming up with situations in which something could make it more exciting. I might see some guy, envision him asking me out. But I would have no idea what to do or say, so would probably end up blabbering some excuse for why I can't go out, then look down, wishing that my hair was long enough to cover my increasingly reddening face. It's rather pathetic when my imaginary self cannot even handle a situation like that. I think it's best if  just remain on the computer the rest of my life.

I guess I did pick a fitting job after all.

A Tour of My Room

As you may have guessed by now, I'm a huge fantasy fiction nerd. I'm the girl that has to correct people when they call me a 'sir' or a 'he' in RPG games, because let's face it, how many girls actually play RPG games? And my room reflects this nerdiness, so I'm going to give you a few glimpses of it.

Also, I apologize in advanced, because the only camera I have is my phone, and it sucks.

I made these family crests in grade eleven for an English project. Each one is supposed to represent a major character from Macbeth (The one in the top right is Macbeth's) It took me about an hour or two each day to make them, so probably somewhere between seven and ten hours in total. I got perfect on the project, by the way.

This is one of my most prized possessions. And yes, it is a light. Isn't it beautiful? My parents finally agreed that I needed a new light after they took my old one down to replace the bulb and found a ton of dead bugs in it. They said they would spend $50, so I looked around for a while. I fell in love with this one, but it was eighty, so I paid for the last $30 of it. Since it doesn't exactly match the rest of the house, my parents are going to let me take it when I move.

(Also notice the Mad Hatter poster in the background. Everyone thinks it's creepy to have hanging over my bed...)

Now this is something to brag about. My dad made this shield when he was in high school, and had given it to his mom. When she moved into a care home, I claimed it as my own. It now hangs above my TV, and I'm still searching for a pair of swords to hang below it.

This is a bad quality picture, but here is a real beaver pelt top hat, with a scarf and a peacock feather. I wore it to school in grade twelve for Halloween, and I've kind of claimed it as my own now... I believe it used to belong to my great grandfather... Or maybe my great great grandfather. Either way, it's old.

A your of my room wouldn't be complete without a picture of my bookshelf. Please note that there is another shelf at the bottom of this picture that I wasn't able to get into the frame, and another shelf on a separate bookshelf. I also trim my collection down by a few books every once in a while, so there are about thirty or so book that I've donated. 

So there you are, a few of the best aspects of my room. There's more, so maybe I'll do this again later... Maybe when I have a better camera. 

The Way of Kings Review *SPOILERS*

I've finally (almost) finished it! This is the book I mentioned forever ago, the one that's 1,252 pages long. I'm almost done it, with a little less than 100 pages left, but I got a little excited and decided to do the review now. I highly doubt my opinion will change in the last few chapters.

I think we might have the beginning of a series that will be a contender for my favourite book series. This book is amazing, but definitely not for anyone who hates world building. The Way of Kings is unique because of the new world that Brandon Sanderson has created. The biggest detail is something called the Highstorms, which are pretty much hurricanes that come every few days. The world also includes massive exoskeleton creatures, plants that are either made of rock or disappear into the ground at the slightest wind or touch, seasons that last only weeks, and of course magic. Of all of Sanderson's books, this is definitely the best example of world building.

Of course, creating a new world can be confusing for the reader. I love it, as it gives you the chance to use your imagination and see old things at new angles. However, I know there are plenty of fantasy fiction readers who hate it. They don't like trying to figure out what a simple thing is, and don't understand why it has to be given a new name. For example, the end of a year is called a Weeping, money is called spheres, and devices that use some sort of electricity are called fabrials. But the best part is how Sanderson shows all the new details. Of course he uses words, but in addition he created a character who is very skilled at drawing. It's through many of her drawings that we see things such as Chulls (large lobster-like creatures with a thick shell), skyeels (basically flying eels...) and the many plant forms.

Every author and book has flaws though. There were several grammatical or spelling errors that I noticed, but the those were easy to pass over. The largest thing I noticed, and one that may have been deliberate, was the use of the omnipotent narrator. Normally this'll mean getting into the mind of several characters, but being separated by a page break or a chapter. He does this, but in the same chapter, and even in the same paragraph, he'll switch between two or three different points of views. It's very distracting, but probably not that big for someone that reads, but does't write.

Despite the flaws, this is definitely one of my favourite books. Anything by Brandon Sanderson has been amazing, and I would suggest any of his works to other fantasy fiction readers. He's one of those authors that you might have heard of a few times, but never thought to pick up his books. Do it! You'll never regret it!


And some additional art:

Meet Nug

I guess I kin of just ended the character conversations, but I still have characters. Here is one I've just kind of come up with. I'll probably use him as a small side character in a novel.


PART I. PHYSICAL
Full name: Brannug, more commonly known as Nug
Date of Birth/Age: March 18, 1156/ 33
Address: N/A
Race/Ethnic Background/Nationality: Scottish
Height: 5”5
Weight/Body Build: pudgy and round, but muscular
Hair: red with flecks of blond
Eyes: a murky grey-green colour
Peculiar Physical Traits
Glasses/Contacts: None, but probably needs them
Smokes: loves his pipe
Nervous Habits: laughing at inappropriate times, accidental eye winks, also at inappropriate times
Distinguishing Marks: A scar on his chin that is partly hidden by a shaggy beard
Health: Could be better
Smell: Sweat, smoke and salted fish
Voice: More high pitch than would be expected of a man of his girth, heavily accented to the point of being hard to understand
Usual Walking Style: A kind of waddle-strut
Mannerisms: Big ego, very outgoing, hides any nervousness being humour
What type of clothes/shoes/accessories does he/she wear?: A once white-now grey- shirt under a well-worn vest that has lost all its buttons. One of his ‘lucky’ boots was once half eaten by a wolf when it attacked him, now leaving it an inch and a half shorter than the other boot.
Any peculiar tastes in clothes/shoes/accessories?: He hates to change his clothing, thinking that the longer he’s had this current clothes, the more lucky they are. Most of the things he wears have holes and stains on them.
Eating habits/mannerisms/tastes: A hearty eater, but surprisingly picky. If he finds something he likes, he will eat only that until he tires of it.

PART II. GENERAL
Occupation/Social Class: Soldier, lower class in the army.
Views on Money/Spending Habits: Money is meant to be spent, why bother keeping it?
Education/Intelligence: Some insight he has gained simply from living, but otherwise his only training is from the army.
Marital Status: Single, probably forever
Political Party/Views: Loyal to his Lord and superiors, even if he disrespects them from time to time. He makes it very clear he is not a mercenary , and would never switch sides for money or other bribes.
Religious Beliefs/Strength of Beliefs: Attributes his good luck to God, but otherwise does not have much belief.
Sexual Orientation/Values: Likes women, but gets nervous around them.
What is his/her usual disposition?
Optimist/Pessimist?: Most definitely an optimist
Introvert/Extrovert?: Shows off an extroverted image, but is still partly an introvert
Confident/Self-conscious?: More confident than he deserves to be
How does he/she feel about his/her appearance?: Knows he’s not much to look at, but doesn’t care. It’s personality that matters.
Most important possession: His lucky boots
Hobbies/Recreations/Sports: Loves to playfully spar with other soldiers, but also secretly likes the more elegant art form of dancing. Despite his heavy set body and short legs, he’s actually fairly good, not that he would let anyone know.
Talents: A fairly good fighter with a short sword (he wasn’t allowed to use a long sword), and a decent brawler. He’s also a pretty good dancer
What is a normal day like for this character?: Wake up, eat breakfast, spar, eat brunch, more sparring, eat lunch, take a nap, eat supper, brawl, eat dinner, gambling and drinking, sneak a snack, sleep
Greatest Fear: Being sent away from the army and everyone he knows
Major Goals
1. Gain more status as a soldier (maybe save a superior’s life?)
2. Find the perfect food
3. And the perfect chef
4. Live long enough to retire with the rest of the soldiers in his squad

PART III. RELATIONSHIPS
Significant Other/Relationship: None, and nothing in the foreseeable future
Who does he/she live with?: A bunch of other men in a barrack
Who does he/she spend the most time with?: A dozen or so other men he calls his closest friends
Father/Relationship with him/Occupation: His father was a forester for a small Lord; died during an uprising of the peasants
Mother/Relationship with her/Occupation: Housewife; died in same uprising
Siblings/Relationships: Single child
Children/Ages: No children
Feelings toward animals: They’re alright, but best as food
How does he/she view his family?: He misses them from time to time, but they’ve been dead for years.
How does he/she view his friends?: Pretty much the only reason he stays wit the army
How does he/she view his boss/co-workers/employees?: With admiration, if not always respect
How does his family view him?: They’re dead…
How does his friends view him?: He’s fun to be around, though he could use a bath
How does his boss/co-workers/employees view him?: he’s just another soldier to them
Who is his hero?: Anyone who can as well, or better than him

Other comments: He joined the army after the death of his parents, seeing no other reason to stay and feeling regret that he could do not do anything to help them.