Just Leaving This Here...

It's been awhile!  And this post doesn't have a picture.  There are times when I wanted to write about something, but didn't have an image that matched, so those posts went unwritten.  I'm still doing picture posts!  Because I like pictures.  But I'm going to try more posts without pictures as well.  Thoughts.  Ideas.  Whatevers.  Wanderous Whatnots.

Not going to talk much about the situation at large.  We all have a myriad of experiences.  Some similar.  Some very different.  Luckily where I live we didn't go into complete lock down, so random walks and drives were allowed.  Even so I still feel claustrophobic and struggling with motivation.  We're all fighting our way through, and it's good to keep fighting so we don't lose ourselves.

I am getting stir crazy!  Several days ago I dreamed I was in Japan and dropped off two suitcases to be held in two different locations.  When I went to get them, I couldn't.  Translation barrier.  When I woke up I thought it meant I wanted to start traveling again.  Then I decided to look up dream meanings out of curiosity.

One website said: "To dream of lost luggage represents feelings about having lost your ability to “keep it together” during or after a transitional moment. Feeling unprepared or not ready for something you expected to be ready for."  That feels pretty spot on.  Another website said: "Losing your luggage or items from your luggage is actually a good symbol in a dream. It is a request to let go of baggage or past issues that you are carrying around. It doesn’t matter in the dream what is in the bags. The bags represent issues that are holding you back."  Heh, so it's hard to know which meaning is more fitting.  Maybe both are applicable!  Honestly, yeah, I think both meanings work, and I did have two suitcases that were lost.

I'm trying to figure out if I should keep doing movie reviews, as the theaters are closed.  I've seen Emma and Onward, so those will get reviewed.  Maybe I can talk about classics, or movies that have meant something to me.  I'm still not quite sure how I feel about the digital releases taking place.  I understand the need for studios to make immediate money, but are theaters going to have movies to show when they do open?  And after all this time will they be able to open?  Hopefully.

There is a locally own theater that created an impromptu drive-in several weeks ago, and that seems to be doing well.  But there's just something so nice about going to the movies and getting a bucket of popcorn.  Hopefully the industry can pull through.  But also, these movies getting early digital releases are going for around $20 for 48 hr. access.  There are movies I want to see that my family doesn't, and in the past when that happened I would go to $5 Tuesdays.  Tuesdays are what made it possible for me to see so many movies.  We'll see.  There are so many unknowns.

And that has me now thinking about Disneyland.  So many thoughts on this matter.  I think Disney World will open, most likely partially, before Disneyland.  The situation between Florida and California, plus the different ways the Governors are approaching the situation, means one might open before the other.  Honestly, I think Universal will probably open first in Florida, and Disney World will watch.  It will be interesting to see how this all happens.  I wonder how different things would be if Disney didn't buy Fox.

One thing I don't want is virtual queues, which is something I've been reading is a probability for managing crowds and social distancing.  Not saying this will happen, as I haven't a clue, but this speculation is popping up.  I didn't want to deal with Rise of the Resistance when I went last February.  The thought of crowding into the park before opening, trying to get a spot for a ride that has limited availability, and then having all the spots filled within minutes, possibly missing out, was something I didn't want to deal with, especially since my two nieces and Mom were with me, and all of us would have needed to be in the park at the same time to get the boarding passes.

Can you imagine doing virtual queues for all the rides?  All of the spots filled up within the first few minutes of park opening, people desperate just to ride a ride.  Can you imagine going to the parks early, paying all that money, and not being able to get on any ride?  And people are going to crowd around waiting for their boarding group to open.  It would be a mess.  It's a tricky situation.

I have other thoughts, but I think I'll bring this post to an end.  Oh, I really wish I had a Nintendo Switch or lite.  Both are impossible to buy as they're all sold out, and I really don't have the money, but that Animal Crossing New Beginnings game does look like fun.  Heh, so maybe it's a good thing I don't have one, as it would suck me in and I'd really lose all sense of time.  I have a Nintendo 3DS that hasn't been turned on in the last few years, and I have games I got on sale that haven't been played, so priorities.  I should see if I can even charge the 3DS up.  Hopefully it still works.  Heh. :/

Until next time.

It really is weird not attaching a photo to this blog post.

Pokemon in the Real World!!!

Pokemon in the real World.  Just think of it.

Traveling about to catch real Pokemon.

That's what the new Smartphone game, for Android and iPhone, will be like.

Pokemon GO!

And a handy trailer was just unveiled in all its epicness.

You wear this watch like device that vibrates when you get near a Pokemon, and then you catch it, and are able to battle Pokemon with other players.  Sounds cool.  I'm curious to see how it'll actually work.

The game will be free with in-app purchases--you know what that means--and the price for the watch like device hasn't been announced.

I guess this will be a good way to get people moving about while gaming, instead of sitting in front of a computer, T.V., handheld.  That aspect will be fun.

Pokemon GO will be released in 2016.  This is the article I read regarding the announcement: Pokemon GO for iOS and Android brings Pokemon into the real world.

Note 1: I think it's funny that the commercial shows adults in their 20's and 30's, probably because we can afford stuff now, and grew up with Pokemon. (Though I was in late High School when it became super popular.  My siblings lived through the school hype, and I watched the show with them, not really playing the game.)  Still, adults getting excited over Pokemon.

Confession: I'm excited.

Note 2: Those cards pictured at top of this blog post are mine.  No, I never actually learned how to play, I just bought the cards with best of intentions and never got around to it.

I still need to play Alpha Sapphire on my 3DS . . .

Note 3: Can you believe they've been making Pokemon games for 20 years?

How old do you feel?

How old?

In the Name of Black Friday Madness!!! . . .

I fell asleep super early tonight thanks to everything that has happened these last couple days . . . and then awoke at 1 a.m. this fine morning, deciding that this would be as perfect a time as any to pen (aka write on my cell phone) a blog post.

Now it's 1:15 in the morning as I sit here, a lively Boccherini classical Quintet playing in the background, as I calmly question my sanity, droopy eyes aside.

This is a bad idea.

If driving tired is equivalent to driving drunk, is this equivalent to drunk blogging?

Yup.

(Backing up a little.)

I hate the idea behind Black Thursday, because it's no longer enough to wait till Friday.  We must now encroach upon Thursday, turning a relatively quiet day of cooking and family drama into a madhouse dash between one good deal after another.  And all those poor workers who were dragged away from their families to work 8+ hour shifts through the midnight hour.

Last year I boycotted Black Thursday.

This year I participated.

Curiosity overcame any sound judgment . . . and I'm $90 poorer as a result.

My Mom wanted to check out the Mall and the adjacent Target store.

We explored the Mall a little, most stores were closed at 6:30 p.m. (Some stores opened at 8, others 10, all stores had to be open by midnight).  The girl working at the Games and Calendars store worked a 13 hour shift, from six that night to seven the next morning.

Most of my shopping was done at Target.  No big screen for me, though the multiple rows of TV boxes towards the front of the store was quite impressive.

I headed upstairs where I scored three Nintendo 3DS games at $15 each: Mario Kart 7, the new Donkey Kong 3D game, and Super Mario 3D World.  Each game is normally $40.  I also found the board game "Pandemic" for $31.  (I've known about this game for years, hearing how much fun it is, but ever since the Ebola outbreak I've thought about this game and how much I want to play it.  Blame my sick twisted humor). And I got the Nashville season 2 part 2 Target exclusive CD with 21 tracks for $7.  Love the music on the show, so that was a huge win, especially since the album normally retails for $16.99.

With tax it all came out to $90.28, when the normal pre-tax price would have been $176.99.  So that's pretty good.

(It's almost 2 am and I need to finish this up so I can catch some more z's.  I'm feeling my mind drift)

My Mom and I finished shopping right before midnight, which was when Bath and Body Works opened.  (It was apparently a madhouse, so I'm glad I didn't stick around to experience that insanity).  We got home around midnight, and then got caught up watching a Christmas movie on the Hallmark channel, so 2 a.m. was about the time I fell asleep last night, which already feels like ages ago.

Though, while still at the mall and right after a frozen yogurt break, my Mom commented that Black Thursday must be nice for those without families, because it gives them a chance to be around people, when they would have otherwise been lonely.  I can see that.  The mall was lively and festive, even with the late hour.

Personally I still feel Black Thursday is wrong.  Thanksgiving is a day for friends and family, and not a day to take other people away from their friends and family, but despite this I still had a good time.

It was fun.

And after I awoke yesterday morning I found out my Mom went back to the mall at 4 a.m.!!!  Totally getting no sleep at all.  Crazy!

And now I must get back to bed.

Good morning and good night.

(2:34 a.m.)

(With the way I wrote this blog you can tell I'm in that weird "is this morning or night" "today or yesterday"? stage.  There's a strange blur between days this early in the morning).

-_-;; zzzzz

1-Up Health Points, Mario and Luigi Style: A New Health Plan

What does Mario have to do with my new healthy checklist plan I just created and am trying out?  Absolutely nothing, except whenever I accomplish a health goal I feel like jumping up and claiming a 1-Up, Mario mushroom style.

I've tried many health plans that work and then fail, so this time I created a plan that's all about competing with myself and adding healthy goals.  My hypothesis is that if I add positive goals and positive motivation, I'll find success.

This plan isn't about eliminating food groups.  And it's not about failure, either, because if I mess up one day the World won't end. Life's not over.  The next day is fully open and ready for more positive accomplishments, whether big or small.

My Plan is a point system.  1 point for every item, with a max of twelve points a day.  At the end of the week I have an opportunity to earn 30 bonus points, but earning them will not be easy.  Earning bonus points will be an accomplishment!

Each day I can earn:
1 point for eating 3 veggies
1 point for eating 2 fruits
1 point for exercising a minimum of 30 minutes
1 point for 8 hours of sleep
1 point for drinking 8 glasses of water
1 point for being in bed by 11:00 PM
1 point for walking 10,000 steps
1 point for not eating at a restaurant/fast food
1 point for not eating a sweet treat
1 point for keeping a food journal
1 point for staying within my allotted calories
1 point for taking time to meditate

End of week Bonus Points:
10 points for not eating sweets at all that week
10 points for exercising 6 days that week a minimum of 45 minutes each day
10 points for not eating at a restaurant or fast food during those 7 days

Every time I earn 10 points I give myself a dollar to spend on something fun, non-food related, like buying an accessory at Charming Charlie or Icing.  Buying a book on Amazon/Amazon Marketplace/downloading an eBook to my Kindle.  Downloading a song or album.  Going to the supermarket and buying myself flowers for my desk, just because.  Fun stuff like that.

Essentially the money is already mine, only this is fun money I allow myself to spend without feeling guilty, because I earned it while forming positive, healthy habits.

For once I'm excited to try a health program!  This will be fun :0)