home.

After nearly three months in a village in England, it was time to say goodbye. It was sad. I grew to really love the house we were staying in, the people we were staying with (Tom’s parents), and of course, the existence of pubs. I had to say goodbye (for now, at least) to people who had become my good friends and to the three awesome dogs who we lived with. So yeah, I maybe cried a bit.

We went to Paris. Tom ate raw ground steak, because apparently that’s what Tartare de Beouf means in French. 

We went to London. We took the Underground to a lot of places, saw a lot of the usual touristy spots, and went to the less touristy shops. 

Our return flight was Monday. We were stressed about the flight (I like flying okay, but 10 hours is rough), but even more stressed about the prospect of getting Tom through immigration. The US Border Control is known for being like “Eh, no” to people they think have been here too often, or too long, or whatever. We weren’t sure if it would help our case that we were married. But it went surprisingly well, and we walked straight through, grabbed our (three, very heavy) bags, and went outside to meet my family. I got us two black tea lemonades from Starbucks, because that Just Isn’t Done in the UK. We walked outside and discovered that it was (surprisingly!) really hot in Texas. Who knew?! 

We’re still in the process of unpacking now, but it’s amazingly good to be home. Between the two of us, we managed to bring back 30 books, several notebooks, a few extra items of clothing, two big stuffed animals, random animal figurines, a pair of New Rock boots (for me), and a crystal ball. 

But we’re home now. Back to our own couch, bed, kitchen, living room. Back to all my books. 

Now, of course, comes the part that we have to start being grown-ups in the real world again, get jobs, sort visa applications, etc. I have to find places in the house for those 30 extra books (we will likely be getting yet another bookshelf at some point). I need to save up money to buy a car (mine was totaled last year, and I sold it to the insurance company the day before we flew to the UK). So things will be busy. But life is good.

We’re home.

the pottermore bandwagon

There’s this little thing, this series of books, maybe you’ve heard of it but possibly not because it’s not particularly popular or anything, called Harry Potter. I think some lady wrote it. Last year, that lady came out with a website called Pottermore, which practically no one uses because no one really likes the Harry Potter universe or anything. So y’know, there’s that. 

Okay but seriously, I jumped on the bandwagon that is Pottermore and began the adventure. I really just wanted to know what wand I had and what house I was placed in. 

wand:

Cedar with dragon core (clearly), twelve and three quarter inches, surprisingly swishy.
Which basically means that I’m powerful and dramatic and pretty likely to go to the dark side.

And then there’s this: 

Who’s awesome? I’m awesome.

That’s all.

games.

I like games. 

Every once in a while I’ll go on a gaming spree and play a curated bunch of them, usually indie, usually adventure games. Last year I played through Braid about six times, Machinarium for the umpteenth time since I got it for my 19th birthday (the first present Tom ever gave me, actually), completed Samarost 2 and Gish (which was the least fun and most frustrating). Also Portal 1 and 2. A few times. Costume Quest, deBlob 2, and I think that’s it. A few others that I started but didn’t finish. 

The awesome thing about (and the problem with) point-and-click adventure games is that they’re usually intricately made, hand-drawn and completely beautiful - which is of course part of the appeal. Also: puzzles. I say problem, because making a game drawn by hand and then building puzzles around it takes a little bit of time. AND I WANT MORE GAMES. Ahem.

But fret not! Tom actually found these two games (on steam somewhere), but I played them. 

First and best: The Tiny Bang Story

Something happens and the entire world shatters into a bunch of puzzle pieces (which you have to find in each chapter), as well as figure out different missions and collect the materials for each one. Spatial puzzles, logic puzzles, being-aware-of-your-surroundings puzzles… all of those. It took me about fourish hours to complete yesterday (I think? It’s hard to tell because I did a lot of things in between, like make and eat dinner), and a couple of times I was all “UGH HOW DO I DO THIS I CAN’T FIND THE STUPID FREAKING PIPE.” But you know what? If you collect thirty dragonflies then it’ll help you. And that was a lifesaver a few times, though mostly I couldn’t be bothered to catch them. But yeah. Definitely one of the best games I’ve ever played.

Second and shortest: Lume

Not quite as detailed as The Tiny Bang Story, Lume is more of a solve-this-puzzle game than a find-this-thing game. Some of them are actually quite tricky, which made it last a bit longer than an hour for me, while still being a pretty tiny game. Basically the power goes out at Lume’s grandad’s house and she has to unlock doors and solve codes to do stuff. It’s not as linear as most games, since you’re based in one big area, so sometimes it’s difficult to tell what you’re supposed to be doing next. The finale of the game is a really lovely video thing that makes me want to build tiny houses, and it promises to be Part 1 of a bigger thing, so here’s hoping for more. 

So yes.

Now I just need to find more games. Or maybe eat lunch.

i must go!

As everyone* may (or may not) have noticed, I installed instagram a few days ago and proceeded to be an absolute hipster with it. You can judge me. It’s okay. I deserve it.

That said, I’ve been really unproductive lately. I’ve neglected writing letters, stared at the covers of books, separated the pieces of a puzzle (twice), and made lunch today. I think the most exciting thing that happened this week was a birthday party this past Friday. 

Oh wait, there has been another awesome thing happening lately. Tom has begun a photo series called “I Must Go!” I know I’m married to him and all, so I’m a bit biased, but it’s really hilarious. 

The point of it is absolutely nothing. But we’ll be trying to take this sort of photo in various settings, hopefully one more hilarious than the last. 

I actually don’t have anything else to say. I’m such a fascinating person, I know.

*everyone = the three people who read this blog :D

Things to do

This is basically my exact to-do list. I’m not even lying.

easternelf:

I’m going to have a bunch of days off soon, and there’s some stuff I would like to get done.  LET ME TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT.

• have a garden party It will probably end up being indoors, because the outdoorsy area at my house is somewhat upsetting, but there will be tea and children’s stories.
• catch up on Vlogbrothers videos  I haven’t watched any of their stuff for months now.  Shame on me.
• draw something  Or perhaps a few things.  What, I haven’t decided.
• paint something  See above.
• write some poems  I usually don’t try writing poems, but I’ll keep an eye out for poetry-inspiring things over the next couple of weeks.
• clean my room  I haven’t cleaned it properly in Quite Some Time.  Yeah.
• clean the whole house!  Or, I mean, just the bathrooms.  Why am I the only one who thinks the bathrooms are nasty?
• read, read, read  I keep starting more books without finishing other ones, so I have a pile of unfinished books of various kinds.  I plan to finish some of them over the next fortnight.
• write, write, write  Besides poetry, I will also be writing in my journal and in my ~writer’s journal~ for my creative writing class.  There’s also a story I want to write, and I’ll make an effort to make time for it.
• eat less junk food  I’ve been eating a lot of prepackaged foods and stuff like pancakes or random handfuls of chocolate chips.  It would probably be an okay idea to, um, stop doing that.
• bake something  This may completely disagree with the previous idea, but…shut up.
• send a few letters  I kind of just want to send people stuff in the mail.  I also need to mail my old Preserve toothbrush back so it can get recycled.
• go for a walk  Just because.

Okay.  I am going to get started on some of this NOW.  I am going to leave the computer right here and go out on the porch with my journal and a sketch pad and some writing/drawing implements, and I will not return until I feel I’ve made some progress.

Bloody guts.

x

P.S.  I’ve thought of more things to add. (9:49 pm 4/7/12)

• read the newspaper  I never do this, but perhaps I should.
• meditate  I’ve been meaning to do this for several weeks.  I just felt like I needed to take care of other stuff first.  So I’ll take care of the other stuff!  Huzzah!

Blue makeup day! (Taken with instagram)

part of a doodle I’m currently working on. (Taken with instagram)

spring is sort of here, at least. (Taken with instagram)

FLOWERS. (Taken with instagram)

pub afternoons (Taken with instagram)