House hunting.
I'm sure there are a billion forums I can read to get myself ready but I'm terribly unprepared to buy a house and that happens to be the big thing I'm trying to do in my life right now.
Why move with we have a perfectly good rental with a year option to renew in Fenuray? Well rent goes up again and would be able the same amount as a mortgage. Also I feel like I'm throwing my money away. Also, it's just too small. We need 4 bedrooms, not 2. Why 4? 1 bedroom, 1 guest room, his office and my office/studio. We could compromise on a 3 bed with an attached garage if I can just take over the garage. But there aren't many options in the area I want to stay in.
Today is the first day we're going to physically looking at houses. It's a lousy, drizzly afternoon but I have been waiting ALL week just for this. I don't care about my massage later, don't even care it's the weekend. Just that I'm going to be viewing houses.
A note on viewing houses though, don't wait until the weekend to do it. 2 of the houses I was VERY motivated about are already bid war and pending on. I'm so deflated about that. Now we're down to seeing 3 houses and none of them are the gems I really wanted to see. Further more I feel like we should have just lined up a butt load of houses so we can get our feet wet. Do we need to put in an offer today? Probably not unless we see a show stopper (which I'm not realizing a lot of the houses don't have dishwashers which I thought was just a given but kind of a must).
I'm anxious as we get ready to go but I will update when we get back!
The viewing.
So we saw the three houses. The first one was new construction and it had pretty much everything on my wish list and was very updated. The more I think about it, the more I want it but we need to see more houses.
The second house we saw was very small but absolutely the most adorable and visually appealing. Exposed beam, exposed brick. Fire place that goes in living room AND other side goes in bed room. Second house had 4 bedrooms but that were small and kind of weird. But is was VERY charming. Just not enough space. Plus the backyard was so deep it would take a long time to mow and a lot of maintenance with the fauna. Also no dishwasher.
The third house we saw was a dudder. Nothing particularly special, only 3 beds no attacked garage and although it was more spacious than the second house, it was still meh. The basement smelled weird and it was move in ready but just a big no for me. Too much to compromise on. Also no dishwasher.
So today was a good day to get our feet wet. We added central air as a must have to our list and I still pretty much want all the same things. If you wanna know my picky list see below. But I was happy to see a range of houses in only 3 and am looking forward to scheduling more viewings as soon as we can.
The list.
Must haves:
4 beds OR 3 beds and attached garage; possibly spacious basement would suffice
central air
appliances (prefer updated/newish)
specific areas
parking for friends to come over
garage/shed for outside stuff like lawn mower
newer furnace/water heater
dining room
Wants:
walk in closet
master bath (with shower/tub separate and double vanity
big rooms
spacious kitchen
gas stove
Saturday, July 30, 2016
Monday, July 25, 2016
2016 DokiDoki July unboxing ~oops~
I accidentally didn't cancel my Doki Doki box for July (I'm on a strict budget 1 box per month 30$ or less) because I have 2 accounts. I'm kid of happy it came because I misjudged the box in the beginning and I really like some of the stuff I got. Ever the stuff I didn't get the version I wanted more is useful. This month's theme is Summer Festival.
Disney Japan Tsum Tsum "wink" blind box. I'm not much of a fan of blind boxes because I'm not a lucky person. I always seem to get my least favorite thing. So the one I got, was of course, the one I wanted least. I got the Lotso one, the villain from the 3rd movie. I didn't like the box to begin with but I would of been okay with one of the other options like Monsters Inc. or the alien dude from Toy Story. This is up for grabs on my trading site. Trading.
Paper Fan + Character Handkerchief set is really cute festival style. The fan is actually useful because it's so hot in the city right now and I can use it when I got out Pokemon hunting. The handkerchief I might just start using because it probably works better than the paper towels at work and I'd feel more environmentally conscious. KEEPER.
Gudetama Kitchen clips is a little misleading. Makes me think I was supposed to get more than one clip. Regardless I think I expressed I don't care much for the lazy egg dude. Apparently there are four variations of the clip but I didn't see the others so there is nothing to be disappointed about. But this is a clip and I can still use it around the kitchen. Keeper.
The Tenugui (Japanese towel for around the neck) is an excellent idea. I've secretly always wanted one of these when I'm working on cosplay. Tie it up on my head and FIGHT-O! |:O So I'll put it to good use. Learn more at blog.japancrate.com Keeeeperrr.
Doki Doki Exclusive Plushie IS AN ADORABLE GOLDFISH! Following the festival theme but it's so dumb looking it's adorable. It's Kingy to Remon set has 2 different ones I could have gotten. The Orange (Kiko) or Lemon (Wawa) style. I got the orange on includes a little bell and fin on the top of his head. Another little plushie for the wall of plushies (picture update to come soon). KEEPER.
The Omamori is an amulet with the Doki Doki characters on it. I put it instantly on my cell phone. The charm is a little awkward but I really like the look. Learn more about charms at blog.japancrate.com. Keeper.
I put my Omamori lucky item (frog) into my amulet pouch. The frog is supposed to made of wood but the one I received is plastic. Nevertheless it is supposed to symbolize the following: The word for Frog (KAERU) has the same pronunciation as the Japanese word "return, "change" or "go back". Thus FUKU KAERU (Fortune Frog) can also mean fortune is returned. Therefore we wear a small frog which made by wood and earth as a good-luck charm. Additionally we give a BUJI KAERU (safety frog) to a person who will go traveling and give a FUKU KAERU to a person who is sick, to get-well soon. Also we put a FUKU KAERU in a wallet or purse, because it is said that money you spend will bring you fortune in return. Keeper.
Bonus Gachapon: Ice cream keychain. I kind of hate these "keychains" that come with the metal snap in chain rather than a hook screwed into the item and a traditional chain with a hoop. They unhook and fall off much easier. Anyway it's a cute capsule item that I will likely be putting on my keychain soon. Keeper.
The Summer hair elastics is just a regular hair tie with a size-able piece of fruit attached to it. I got watermelon. Would have probably preferred they lemon but the watermelon is cute. I have some dresses I want to make work with this. Keeper, maybe.
Monthly Hoppe-Chan is cute beat the heat on the beach style. Keychain worthy but chain link suspicious. Need to buy a few real keyrings for these keychains. Keeper and collectible.
Rilakkuma Towel, ok so this one I AM disappointed. There were a few variations: Rilakkuma, Kirritori or Korilakkuma. I got the duck, would have preferred the bear so much more. It will make good around the house though. This size towel is good for a lot of things and you know, I like spilling things! Ha! Keeper.
Lastly, the tattoo stickers are great. There are a bunch of them and they are all different, I would prefer a way to turn these into real stickers so I'll do some experimenting. Keeper.
Only 1 out of all these items I feel compelled to trade out. Really good box! I wish I could afford to continue it and the YumeTwins box but they are both around $30 each. Ugh if only they cost a little less.
For things I want to get rid of I trade on some make up trading sites! Check them out below:
Monday, July 18, 2016
Reflection: How do we end up where we end up?
I'm so sorry I forgot to post this yesterday. I will make up with a post during the week..
Every post like this starts with, "When we were little we were told we could be anything. We could do anything," but that's a lie. All of us adults know it. There are a few we strive and succeed at becoming their dream, some of them without feeling after all they've accomplished. Most of us, I would think, end up somewhere else. Maybe not at the very bottom but not where we expected to belong.
I am one of those people. I never wanted to go to college to be honest. It was expected. Maybe a figment of my imagination but I felt the pressure. If I was going to get anywhere, I needed to go to college. The problem is that I was like any other college student. Completely unprepared and under-taught. I didn't know what I wanted to do. I jumped from Interior Design/Japanese, Fine Arts/Japanese, Japanese/Pre-Vet, Photography to finally, either Computer Science or Anthropology. I took a class that defined my passion and I choose Anthropology. Not the right choice for the market. But the right choice for my soul. I discovered so much during those brief years, I discovered my passion for learning. My sense of accomplishment. I felt like what I wrote mattered. I just needed to settle on a topic to go back to school for. However, that didn't happen. I needed a job. A non-dead-end job that I could feel something for. I decided to go back to school for software engineering. Something I was always interested in but never tested myself on.
How I passed? I don't know. I put in as much grit as I could but I don't feel like I learned a damn thing. I still can't code. I know how to do loops, I know the basic functions but when to use them? No clue. how to write software? No clue. I can make a pretty interface and I can make HTML sites if I try hard enough but backend, the thing I really wanted to learn, never clicked for me.
Then I ended up on an internship far too under-qualified. Apparently my employers liked my demeanor but my potential was never realized. I never learned python and I wasn't far along enough in coding or personal coding to know what I was doing. They threw me small bones and I couldn't chew on them. Unceremoniously I was let go. One of the biggest let-gos of my life. I really thought those people had my back. We had some serious moments. But it wasn't meant to be and I went along my way.
Eventually all my hard work, all those hours of searching lead to a pivot. I applied for an internship as a WordPress intern at my current company. I thought, 'hey I can easily learn WordPress, how hard could it be?' but found myself interviewing with a team and a job title I have never heard of before. It's like an in-betweener job. Something you don't have to be code heavy on but a lot of responsibility rests on your shoulders. I'm used to responsibility, talking to clients and organization. These are all desired soft skills. It's hard for me to believe there aren't more better suited candidates but so many people don't possess those skills.
So here I am, doing my IT related job, wishing i could go back to school. I never thought I would wish to go back to school. But there is so much more I want to learn. I want to know how to speak different languages, I want to learn the fundamentals of fine arts, I want to expand my knowledge and pick a thesis and write that journal about it. I want to continue academia. But I also want to grow and expend on my IT experience. I want coding to 'click' with me and I want to become the expert on many things.
I'm torn between worlds. Three of them actually. Art, Anthropology and Computer Science. I want to be great at all these things but I just feel mediocre at all of them. I don't create nearly as often as I should, weekly if not daily. I don't read journals of write opinions or follow up on new discoveries in Anthropology. Code STILL hasn't 'clicked' and I only am an expert on specific tools. Some that probably aren't even used elsewhere. Who knows?
The point is I'll be 30 soon enough and I won't feel accomplished. Something has to change. I have to want something enough to make it work. Personally I want all these things to work and I try to hone and improve my skills every second I have the energy to. Do I always read a scholarly journal when I get a free moment at work? No. Do I always start and finish a new art project when I get home? No. Do I strive to learn a new language for even a little bit of time a day? No. Do I try to code a new program whenever the chance arises? No. I don't do these things and I have no one to blame but myself. To make myself a well rounded person I need to force myself to see the reality and just DO these things regardless of where my heart or mind is. If I lead they should follow.
So in summary, I have not perfected an art skill but I will continue to strive to create. I have not written about my thesis but I will try to follow the articles that pop up on anthropology reddit because I can't go back to school, at least not right now. I will force myself to write small programs until it 'clicks' and I understand coding enough to start solving and automating processes that need to be automated.
I will make it. I just need to take it one day at a time, like my bipolar. Don't look back and pine. Don't worry too far in the future. Do what I can do right now and be happy with what I have accomplished and what I will accomplish regardless of the time it takes.
Every post like this starts with, "When we were little we were told we could be anything. We could do anything," but that's a lie. All of us adults know it. There are a few we strive and succeed at becoming their dream, some of them without feeling after all they've accomplished. Most of us, I would think, end up somewhere else. Maybe not at the very bottom but not where we expected to belong.
I am one of those people. I never wanted to go to college to be honest. It was expected. Maybe a figment of my imagination but I felt the pressure. If I was going to get anywhere, I needed to go to college. The problem is that I was like any other college student. Completely unprepared and under-taught. I didn't know what I wanted to do. I jumped from Interior Design/Japanese, Fine Arts/Japanese, Japanese/Pre-Vet, Photography to finally, either Computer Science or Anthropology. I took a class that defined my passion and I choose Anthropology. Not the right choice for the market. But the right choice for my soul. I discovered so much during those brief years, I discovered my passion for learning. My sense of accomplishment. I felt like what I wrote mattered. I just needed to settle on a topic to go back to school for. However, that didn't happen. I needed a job. A non-dead-end job that I could feel something for. I decided to go back to school for software engineering. Something I was always interested in but never tested myself on.
How I passed? I don't know. I put in as much grit as I could but I don't feel like I learned a damn thing. I still can't code. I know how to do loops, I know the basic functions but when to use them? No clue. how to write software? No clue. I can make a pretty interface and I can make HTML sites if I try hard enough but backend, the thing I really wanted to learn, never clicked for me.
Then I ended up on an internship far too under-qualified. Apparently my employers liked my demeanor but my potential was never realized. I never learned python and I wasn't far along enough in coding or personal coding to know what I was doing. They threw me small bones and I couldn't chew on them. Unceremoniously I was let go. One of the biggest let-gos of my life. I really thought those people had my back. We had some serious moments. But it wasn't meant to be and I went along my way.
Eventually all my hard work, all those hours of searching lead to a pivot. I applied for an internship as a WordPress intern at my current company. I thought, 'hey I can easily learn WordPress, how hard could it be?' but found myself interviewing with a team and a job title I have never heard of before. It's like an in-betweener job. Something you don't have to be code heavy on but a lot of responsibility rests on your shoulders. I'm used to responsibility, talking to clients and organization. These are all desired soft skills. It's hard for me to believe there aren't more better suited candidates but so many people don't possess those skills.
So here I am, doing my IT related job, wishing i could go back to school. I never thought I would wish to go back to school. But there is so much more I want to learn. I want to know how to speak different languages, I want to learn the fundamentals of fine arts, I want to expand my knowledge and pick a thesis and write that journal about it. I want to continue academia. But I also want to grow and expend on my IT experience. I want coding to 'click' with me and I want to become the expert on many things.
I'm torn between worlds. Three of them actually. Art, Anthropology and Computer Science. I want to be great at all these things but I just feel mediocre at all of them. I don't create nearly as often as I should, weekly if not daily. I don't read journals of write opinions or follow up on new discoveries in Anthropology. Code STILL hasn't 'clicked' and I only am an expert on specific tools. Some that probably aren't even used elsewhere. Who knows?
The point is I'll be 30 soon enough and I won't feel accomplished. Something has to change. I have to want something enough to make it work. Personally I want all these things to work and I try to hone and improve my skills every second I have the energy to. Do I always read a scholarly journal when I get a free moment at work? No. Do I always start and finish a new art project when I get home? No. Do I strive to learn a new language for even a little bit of time a day? No. Do I try to code a new program whenever the chance arises? No. I don't do these things and I have no one to blame but myself. To make myself a well rounded person I need to force myself to see the reality and just DO these things regardless of where my heart or mind is. If I lead they should follow.
So in summary, I have not perfected an art skill but I will continue to strive to create. I have not written about my thesis but I will try to follow the articles that pop up on anthropology reddit because I can't go back to school, at least not right now. I will force myself to write small programs until it 'clicks' and I understand coding enough to start solving and automating processes that need to be automated.
I will make it. I just need to take it one day at a time, like my bipolar. Don't look back and pine. Don't worry too far in the future. Do what I can do right now and be happy with what I have accomplished and what I will accomplish regardless of the time it takes.
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Attention actual readers and not bots: Changes!
Attention please.
Since I'm going to be posting more, I should have some soft of rhyme and reason to my scatter brained thoughts. I've decided to take LAGGG a little more seriously and in considerations I'm going to be posting in certain formats. I will also be switching over to my own website within the year (set high goals Heather!) crafted by myself probably in HTML5 but maybe also some PHP and/or Jquery, I don't know. I need to practice my coding.
Anyway back to the post thing. I will be posting at least once a week. I'm going to set the date as Sunday AM at the very least once a week. Then if I feel like I have more to say it will be blurbs every other day.
So posts. They are going to be:
There may or may not be more types of posts, possible Reactions: blah blah blah, but generally I will be sticking with these four. Eventually I'll be phasing out Mental Heath Updates to a personal blog but for now I'll keep them here even if I just need to fill a once a week requirement I set for myself.
I actually found out most of my readers are bots! Yay. So I'm probably only talking to 2 people out there. No, that was sarcastic moobot.com. I do not like you boosting my ego making me think 20 people read my post. Just stop.
So I'm going to now tag line my posts because I want to hear from YOU. Yes you! So comment, like or whatever you feel so I know you're out there and I'm not just talking to myself. Not interested in the post? It's cool this is why I have long titles. But with the new posts you might have to read the second title to get the full sense of what I'm talking about. If you hated my post just say boo. If you want to react, go for it. If you want to discuss, please be my guest. If you totally agree SHARE with a friend. I want to help people out there if I can especially on the mental health stuff.
So with that, I fulfilled my Sunday requirement and will become more organized for weeks to come because I just found some gold nuggets that I have much, much, much to say about.
Thanks for reading!
Since I'm going to be posting more, I should have some soft of rhyme and reason to my scatter brained thoughts. I've decided to take LAGGG a little more seriously and in considerations I'm going to be posting in certain formats. I will also be switching over to my own website within the year (set high goals Heather!) crafted by myself probably in HTML5 but maybe also some PHP and/or Jquery, I don't know. I need to practice my coding.
Anyway back to the post thing. I will be posting at least once a week. I'm going to set the date as Sunday AM at the very least once a week. Then if I feel like I have more to say it will be blurbs every other day.
So posts. They are going to be:
- Personal: Mental Health Updates (title)
- Personal: Life and Adulting (title)
- (LAGGG) Chapter (#) on Gaming and Geeky stuff (title)
- Unboxings/possible hauls (including separate posts for figurines when I can start buying them again)
There may or may not be more types of posts, possible Reactions: blah blah blah, but generally I will be sticking with these four. Eventually I'll be phasing out Mental Heath Updates to a personal blog but for now I'll keep them here even if I just need to fill a once a week requirement I set for myself.
I actually found out most of my readers are bots! Yay. So I'm probably only talking to 2 people out there. No, that was sarcastic moobot.com. I do not like you boosting my ego making me think 20 people read my post. Just stop.
So I'm going to now tag line my posts because I want to hear from YOU. Yes you! So comment, like or whatever you feel so I know you're out there and I'm not just talking to myself. Not interested in the post? It's cool this is why I have long titles. But with the new posts you might have to read the second title to get the full sense of what I'm talking about. If you hated my post just say boo. If you want to react, go for it. If you want to discuss, please be my guest. If you totally agree SHARE with a friend. I want to help people out there if I can especially on the mental health stuff.
So with that, I fulfilled my Sunday requirement and will become more organized for weeks to come because I just found some gold nuggets that I have much, much, much to say about.
Thanks for reading!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)