~ * ~ 65 Random Things About Myself ~ * ~

I've seen this done on other blogs and I find them very interesting (it helps me realize I'm not as weird as I sometimes think).  Who knows!  Maybe I'll have something in common with you!

1. I started my first job at the age of 18 and have stayed with the company for the last 8 years.  (Talk about commitment!)
2.  I love to break the register at work (make it display funny error messages) and find out problems with the coding.
3.  I absolutely love the Asian culture (obviously), but I don't know exactly why or what started it.  [See #23]
4. My favorite type of food is sushi.  [See #32]

5.  I'm rather fond of things that are different/unique.
6.  I'm not a huge fan of cooking, but I believe that it's simply a mental obstacle and once I start cooking (or befriend someone who loves to do it) I will enjoy it much more.  [See #18]
7.  My favorite animal is a tiger.
8.  My bedroom could also be classified as a library because of how many books I own (and not having access to a library card doesn't help the decreasing bookshelf space).
9.  Up until recently, I had never flown on a plane.  It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be.*

*This picture may not reflect opinion stated above.

10.  I created my own daily planner using Excel and a mini binder.  I absolutely love it.
11.  I haven't listened to English music in over 8 months.
12.  My favorite music group is Super Junior, where my favorite song writer is David Hodges (though they are in no way related).
13.  In high school, I went through a "goth" faze, but never got around to dying my hair black.
14.  Now (ten years later) I can't seem to get enough bright colors in my life!
15.  I absolutely adore my co-workers and the people that I serve.
16.  I can easily spend hours on YouTube watching vloggers.

17.  My favorite holiday is Christmas as the Spirit is amazing, (and I'm not referring to the materialistic spirit).
18.  My mother suffered from a degenerative disease called Rheumatoid Arthritis for most of my life, and doing simple daily tasks were very painful and challenging.  [See #6]
19.  I am the "President" of a creative writing group with nearly a dozen of my friends, and I love being with them!
20.  My favorite thing to do with friends is go out to eat, window shop, or simply watch funny videos/movies with them.
21.  My favorite movie genre would be technically classified as "Family" or "Children" as I LOVE the animated movies such as Rise of the Guardians, Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar, Megamind for their stories and morals that are taught.
22.  I'm definitely a story-kind of girl.  If the plotline doesn't make sense or isn't interesting (mindless action scenes, etc.), I won't enjoy it.
23. When I was a child, my best friend growing up was from Cambodia.  [Possible reason for #3?]
24.  I am normally very suspicious of people due to my trust being broken in the past.  However I am working on improving this.
25.  I am an only child and wish I had siblings.
26.  Some of my favorite vloggers on YouTube to watch are: Dodger Leigh, Random Panser, Marikplier, and Mary Doodles.  [*Not all content on their channels I approve of, however I do love their vlogs when they simply talk about their daily life]
27.  My birthday is in February and lies on the border with the horoscope calendar, so I have mixed qualities of both Aquarius and Pisces (if you believe in horoscopes).
28.  My mother passed away April 22, 2011 and there's not a day that goes by that I don't think about her.
29.  I love fruit, especially during the wintertime.
30.  I have only experienced two "Snow Days" in my entire life, though I have lived in the state with the "greatest snow on earth" my entire life.
31.  My dad and I are really close and have similar personalities (you've been warned).
32.  I love breakfast meals (pancakes, waffles, eggos, bacon, sausage, hash browns, etc.).  It's probably my second favorite food.  [See #4]
33.  I have over 19 hours of kpop music on my iPod and I love every minute of it.

[Image Source]

34.  I wish I had a great sense of style and accessorizing like other girls with short hair, but I don't. [See #54]
35.  I don't even have my ears pierced!
36.  Thanks to my first boyfriend, I'm no longer afraid to be my true self.
37.  Overall I am a generally happy person.  I will act happy even when I'm not, but once you get to know me, you'll be able to tell when I'm having a hard time.
38.  My favorite New Testament story is the story of a man named Legion and how Christ heals him.  For some reason that story has stood out to me for years.
39.  My favorite Book of Mormon story is Alma the Younger's life story.
40.  I love looking for symbolism in life.
41.  I can't wait to go through the temple [See #40].  But I don't have plans to receive my endowment as I would really like to go through the temple my first time with my future husband.  I am temple worthy and hold a baptismal recommend however.
42.  My dream is to someday do an Asian tour and visit all the countries.
43.  I plan to meet someone "famous" in my life.
44.  My guilty pleasure is YouTube, Netflix, and DramaFever.  They will be my downfall.
45.  I love to set weekly goals and strive to accomplish them.
46.  I love video editing (mainly making movie trailers) but after killing my third computer, I stopped.
47.   I miss the days when life was simpler and my greatest concern was whether it was going to be sunny enough to play Power Rangers outside or not.
48.  I am not a big video game person, but I do have friends who are (and I obviously follow YouTubers who are HUGE gamers, but I myself am not one).  [See #26]
49.  I haven't had a serious boyfriend in years (mainly because I told the Lord what I wanted and He was kind enough to bless me with it... though now I'm not so sure I can wait for the blessing).
50.  I am on an adventure called Life and I love every moment.

51.  I would not change anything in my past, for by doing so, I would change the person I am today and I don't want that.
52.  I'm far from perfect, and I hope my future husband has some flaws or I'm going to feel extremely inferior.
53.  As a child, I was never into "girly" things.  In fact, when McDonald's would have the different toys for girls and boys (barbies for girls, Hotwheel's cars for boys) I would cry if I ended up with a barbie because I wanted the car.  Yeah, I was THAT child.  But look at how well rounded I turned out! :)
54.  My entire wardrobe could do with a makeover [See #34].
55.  I can't speak another language, but if I could, it would be Korean.  But I am trying!
56.  I do not have a single scar and I have never broken a bone.  (as of yet)
57.  I graduated with a degree in Family, Consumer, and Human Development, with an emphasis on Community Services.  Basically, I want to work with helping families have a better life.
58.  I originally wanted to major in Psychology, but I hated the medical diagnosis side and loved the application side.  [Hence #57]
59.  I took art all 4 years in high school, but I don't consider myself an artist in the least.
60.  I enjoy writing and coming up with stories.  It's the organizing different scenes into a coherent storyline that I struggle with.
61.  When I was little, I used to eat chapstick; specifically the strawberry flavored kind (Smackers brand).
62.  I didn't like raspberries until after high school because of the "little hairs" but yet I love to each peaches with the skin on (fuzz and all!).  (Side note: I did wash the peach first.)
63.  I'm a total geek at heart. <3
64.  I enjoy playing European table top games ("Euro Games").  My favorites include Dominion, Carcassonne, and Tsuro.  I even wanted to start a weekly game night with friends!
65.  I would LOVE to adopt Asian children once I'm married.  They're ADORABLE!!

I'm going to stop it here.  If you want to get to know me better, feel free to contact me. :)

Random Panser

For a while I have kept my "obsession" with this vlogger to a minimum... but I figure it's finally time to let the cat out of the bag so others might enjoy in her epic randomness!

Meet Panser.

She's my age.

And she has pink hair.

(Though she has been known to change it quite often)

She's also a complete gamer.

(Her favorite games being World of Warcraft and League of Legends)

Who even has a YouTube channel
dedicated to gaming news (Tradechat)

 

Not to mention,
she's a huge Pikachu fan.

Even competing in the TBS series, "King of the Nerds."

So why do I like this girl so much?  She's hilariously funny.  Panser has such an addicting personality.  I can't help it that time seems to slip into another dimension when I watch her videos.  She has brought more smiles to my face than any other YouTuber.

Speaking of smiling, she also promotes making the choice to be happy.  You have to make a conscious choice to have a good day.  I firmly believe in this because I try to do it everyday and it works.  Seriously.  To quote Panser, "You just have to be like, 'Oh wow, that happened and that sucked.  Now I'm going to go eat a cupcake.'"[Source] ^-^

Panser is also a source of inspiration when it comes to doing crafty things.  She makes a TON of things, especially these amazing SpiritHood feather accessories:

The feather accessory I purchased yesterday.
I can't wait for it to come!!!! ^-^

Her creativity has stirred within me a desire to try new things.  I'm quickly becoming a fan of DIY (do-it-yourself) projects.  In fact, I have an entire playlist on YouTube dedicated to creations I want to do sometime.  I thank my own mother for the crafty hobby she had, but I also blame Panser for igniting that spark within me.  I wish it would have ignited sooner, because I could have done so much more with Mom while she was here...

But "No regrets!"

Anyway, even though I don't understand most of what Panser says when she talks "gamer," (aka: mentioning specifics of games I have never played, leveling up a certain character, or why it is difficult, etc.) I do understand enough--and I'm entertained enough--to keep watching.

Aside from gaming, much of what she talks about is complete and utter...
  

 

...but I still enjoy it.

I recently re-watched nearly all of her Vlog videos... (Multiple sittings, of course).  But it has made me appreciate vlogging and the uniqueness of her style in particular.  Maybe I just haven't seen very many good vloggers, but I enjoy hers because unlike the normal vlog, hers are always in one take... so we see everything, even the bloopers.  That's one of the reasons her vlogs are so funny.

So as I was re-watching her videos, I decided it would be fun to create a sort of collage of my favorite parts in some of the videos.  These are the moments where I laughed the hardest; the events that make me appreciate Panser for her unique, spunky personality.  If she lived near me, we would be friends.  Anyway, enjoy!
  

Disclaimer:  She does swear occasionally in her videos (not in the one above, however).  But she's normally pretty good about not swearing too often (unlike some other YouTubers I have seen).

"I love you all.  

I hope you are having a wonderful day.

You're in my ♥ ♥ ♥ (hearts)

And I'll see you so soon!"

~ Panser

Nothing Smells Better

There are few things in life that smell as good as a new book...

Or, in my case, a new game.

And by "game" I mean board game.

Yes, I went shopping this weekend (for my birthday) and absolutely loved it!  Friday was spent at a [board] game store, Barnes & Noble Bookstore, Toys 'R' Us, Deseret Book, and a party store!

This is what I ended up with:

Birthday 2012

 So, as you can see, I obviously prefer getting things over clothing and such. ^-^

It boils down to 3 games (2 full games, 1 expansion), 2 CDs (both Kelly Clarkson), and 3 books...

Yeah, I spoiled myself... But we all deserve at least 1 day out of 365 to spoil ourselves!  Yesterday just happened to be my day!

The Harry Potter Clue was actually cheaper to buy from Toys 'R' Us than from Amazon (because of shipping) so I had to pick it up.  (Can you blame me?)  I've since opened it and analyzed the contents and how to play, and it looks awesome!!!  It is the game of Clue, but with some serious twists and turns!  I can't wait to play this game!

Agricola is a game I have heard a lot of good reviews about.  My dad offered to buy me either this game or Dominion and I opted for this game.  Granted, I have never played this game and I honestly don't know anyone personally who has, but it has great reviews and was listed on the "often bought with" recommendations from Amazon on other games I own and love.  After pulling everything out of the box and looking over the pieces and rules, I'm stoked!!  Those people over in Europe can make really good games!!  I only have two complaints about this game:  1) The box is not nearly sturdy enough to hold all the heavy pieces (my box already has a slight bend to it, causing a crease in the back image), and 2) I hate the blocks and round pieces meant to represent everything from sheep to bricks (they are simply different colors).  Are you kidding?  Luckily, Mayday Games specializes in making game pieces and I plan to order some from them (they have cute sheep and food, not to mention a way cute farmer set!!).  Unfortunately, the big combined sets on this site are only available for preorder, and I have no idea when I'd be able to get the (I assume the big sets are cheaper than trying to buy them individually).  Can't wait to get these ordered so I can do away with the cubes and round tokens and thus fixing my complaint problem.  This will make the game excellent in my opinion.

Moving on...

The last game I purchased was actually an expansion pack for Smallworld.  It's the Cursed expansion, which will spice things up a bit with the main game.  I look forward to implementing this expansion!

The two Kelly Clarkson CDs ("All I Ever Wanted" & "Stronger") I have been meaning to get for quite some time.  I saw those at a really good price (one of which was the same price as a used copy, which I couldn't figure out because they are the same CD!).  Also, the advantage to getting new music is adding to my writing playlist for my Destroyer Series.  The song, "Save You" will be added to the playlist. =D

Lastly, for the books...  (Not that I need more books to read this year... have you seen my current list of books I want to read this year already??)

"Ranger's Apprentice" has been screaming at me for quite some time.  When a book does that, it often means I need to read it because I will like it.  The reviews on Amazon were raving about it, so I decided to get the first book and try it.

"Of Grace & Chocolate" is an LDS fiction novel about a girl named Jillian, who lives alone and has her life in perfect order--the only messy part of her life involves a novel she is writing and chocolate.  Her life gets turned upside down when a guy pulls a joke on her (by taking a few critical things of hers) and her long-lost sister arrives on her doorstep holding a baby.  Her sister stays the night but disappears in the morning, leaving the baby.  Now, Jillian's world will never be the same...  This book appealed to me because I instantly related to the main character in certain ways, and the story seemed rather amusing.

The last book is entitled, "Unearthly".  Now, first of all, can I just say that this cover looks amazing?  I love the artwork and the font is great!  As I read the back of the book, I went... Wait a minute!  This sounds a LOT like my Destroyer Series!!  The story did sound interesting, but I think I bought it more to compare it to my own story than anything else.  I'm a little nervous, because if this story is too similar to mine (which I pray it is not), there's no way I would get Destroyer Series ever published because the publisher will know the story has already been told.  *face plant*  Here's the summary from the back of the book:

"When Clara Gardner learns she's part angel, her entire life changes.  She now has a purpose, a specific task she was put on this earth to accomplish, except she doesn't know what it is.  Her visions of a raging forest fire and a mysterious boy lead her to a new high school in a new town but provide no clear instruction.  As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make--between the boy in her vision and the boy in her life, between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil... When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?"

- Cynthia Hand, "Unearthly"

So, with that, let me tell you a few similarities I see between the "Unearthly" story and my own (keep in mind, I have not yet read "Unearthly" but I am simply sharing my first impressions):

• Both stories involve a young girl realizing she's an angel
• Leah (my character) has her powers awoken within her, for she is chosen instead of having been sent to Earth for a specific purpose.  But she also has to come to the realization she is an "angel" and she does have a purpose.

• Both stories involve a fire
• However, Leah's fire is a village burning, not a forest.  But it's a fire nonetheless... one which makes Leah realize exactly what she is and the power she is capable of--power which she does not want.

• Both books deal with facing the main character's "Destiny"
• This is a big deal with Leah, especially in the third (and final) book of my series.  She is constantly questioning her destiny and if it really is something she can choose or if it is per-determined for her.

• The phrase: "As [enter character name] tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make..."
• This could be easily applied to my own story as well.  Leah is literally thrown into a world she does not understand and as new characters are brought into the picture, there will be critical decisions that need to be made.

• There appears to be a love triangle
• This is not new to the YA genre (especially since Twilight entered the scene), so I can't hold this against the author in any way... but my story also has a love triangle, and if that boy that Clara sees in her visions is a demon or can shape-shift into a wolf... I might just cry...

So really, I guess the series will be different enough (I hope) that it won't cause problems.  I am a bit interested to see how this story evolves and turns out.  Unfortunately, I will have a little critique in the back of my head constantly comparing this book to my own, but I will try to control it... =D

Until I get around to reading my books, I plan to play my games and keep listening to my new CDs!  This birthday has been amazing and I am truly grateful.  After all, this last year has not been an easy one, and there has been a lot of growth that has occurred.  I am truly very blessed to be in this life.

And nothing smells better than new books and new games... <3

Game Nights

Recently, I got together with a friend and we played the game Dominion.

I don't know how many of you out there have played this game, but according to Rio Grande Game's Official Site (the publisher of the game), it is their #1 selling game.

After having played it, I now see why it's so popular.

It is a strategy card game that is different every time you play it, which is one of the draws to the game.  There is a great amount of strategy involved, but there's also a fair amount of luck since your strategy will depend on what you draw out of your pile of cards.

This specific game piqued my interests when I stumbled across a review on YouTube who simply raved about it.  I was hesitant to purchase it because, being a "Euro Game" (made in Europe) the game isn't exactly a $10 game you can pick up at your local Walmart store.  These types of games are often more complex than your traditional Sorry! or Clue, and are extremely well built!  The playing pieces for any Euro Game I have come in contact with are usually a very sturdy cardboard and beautiful artwork.

I recently became interested in board games (like "Euro Gaming") a couple years ago when I first played the game Carcasssonne.  I simply fell in love with it, and since collecting is something I enjoy doing, I made it a point to collect the expansions, and currently have nearly all of them (aside from the Cardcassonnne and other "side" games).

Carcassonne opened the door for gaming into my life.  And since that fateful day I bought my first Big Box, I have loved gaming ever since.

Therefore, I would love to have a big game night and simply play tons of games--some new, some weird, some favorites, etc.

I have another friend who used to do a weekly game night.  Her and a group of friends got together once a week and played Killer Bunnies.  They did this for nearly three years before they had to quit due to people getting married (some of which met at this weekly game night!), people moving away, and life getting busy.  I attended a couple of these game nights and they were a BLAST!  Granted, they all knew how to play the game and I easily became lost and confused, but it was way fun!

And talk about a good wholesome activity to get people together!

I would gladly (and seriously) host a weekly game night, but unlike my friend, I would probably vary it up and play different games.  My only problem (and the reason I haven't already done it) is because of spacing reasons.

But perhaps someday I will host a weekly game night!  After all, what better way to play new games and socialize than once a week with friends?

What type of games would you play at a weekly game night?