Post 30: Coffee or Tea

Since the last post was about two different beverages, I figured I could use that and make this one about them as well. Specifically, tea versus coffee.

I love tea. Especially Chai tea; white chai, spice chai, double spice chai, chai, green tea chai, etc. I also love Orange Pekoe and English breakfast. As far as Starbucks goes, I like their Chai Tea Lattes.

I love coffee, as well. But, it makes my stomach sick if I drink too much. Even a Venti tends lead to grumbling. If I'm at Starbucks and not thinking about tea, I get a Pumpkin Spice Latte ('tis the season, right? Well, almost.)

The thing I dislike about tea is that if it isn't made right, it just taste bland and watered down.

Like, even the best tea can be ruined if the tea bag to water ratio is off. And it doesn't always help to let the tea steep longer. Sometimes, you just end up with cold and bland tea.

But coffee almost always has a huge kick of flavour, not always seen as a pleasant flavour, but flavour nonetheless.

I will be quite sad when Pumpkin season becomes Candy Cane or Egg Nog season. (Whatever the winter will bring.) Because it will mean back to chai lattes. And I like Chai Lattes when they are done right. But since not every place you go does them right, there are times when you end up feeling like you spent $6 on chai flavoured water.

But, I am a bit of a Starbucks Snob (as my friends and classmates have called it) so I can't complain too much about pricing. There are cheaper places out there.

That is all for today. All this coffee and tea talk has made me thirsty!

Post 29: Coke vs. Pepsi

For those who have ever asked for Coke or Diet Coke in a restaurant, you have probably been asked at one time or another if Pepsi was an okay substitute. There are people who get overly annoyed by this, they joke on the internet as being so angry that they want to respond with, "sure, is monopoly money okay?"

Which is silly, I think, because a good percentage of people can't tell the difference anyway. Not to mention, it isn't like they are being asked to pay more for something worse less. Pepsi and Coke would be the same price.

I think there is a flavour difference, though.

Pepsi is sweeter and tends to have a fruitier flavour. While, Coke has a more distinct cola flavour, and I think it has  a stronger chemical taste to begin with, while Pepsi has more of a chemical after-taste. Also, I've discovered, if you let them both sit for a long period of time Pepsi's flavour stays the same or gets stronger, Coke loses flavour as time passes.

Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi both taste like a duller version of the originally, though I find that Diet Pepsi seems less chemically.

I prefer Pepsi based on flavour, I also like the bubbliness. However, on the basis of nostalgia and availability I usually drink Coke.

So, generally, when at a restaurant I prefer when they have Pepsi.

Anyway, this is kind of a shorter post, but which do you prefer?

Can you taste the difference?

Post 28: What People Will Pay For

There are so many ways this title could imply things that would get me in trouble, and I have no intention of going there.

What I want to talk about in this post is art, characters, ideas and stories. There are many people online who are willing to pay money for these things.

Art has always made sense, but it isn't just pre-made pictures people pay for. People will pay for someone to draw there characters. Not just people, me. Not real money, though. I pay with virtual money earned through a gaming website, because I lack the drawing ability necessary to do my characters justice, and I love seeing them brought to life.

Two of my characters that I got art for were supposed to just be minor, fanfiction characters without really having a future as more than that. However, when I saw them they just had so much personality they practically took a life of their own. I have do have a bit of a thing for pirates, but I also have other supernaturals and everyday normal young adults dreaming of conquering the world in their own way. It started off as a fanfiction, Captain Jack Sparrow's daughters. And it became a coming-of-age story about a mother and daughter pirate who sail for different motives, and a daughter who wants to achieve her dreams on her own.

I have been paid to write stories for people. Some people can draw, some can write. Those can draw ask others to write for them.

But there are other things that people struggle with, like coming up with a story idea. I am considering opening a store on the website I use for stories and where I buy art, to sell story plots.

So, what I am thinking is having a survey about general things they want included and genre, and then sending them back some ideas they can use for a story.

I probably won't be paid much for it. Art sells for more than anything else, so I could probably only charge like 500 gold per plot. Which translates to only about a nickel.

But it wouldn't be a bad use of my ability to have story ideas.

Should I do it?

Do you sell art, stories, characters or ideas?

Post 27: Inspiration and Ideas

Writing is something I love to do, and I have started over 40 stories and I have the idea and general back story for another 20. I have had friends who asked where I get my ideas from. So, that is what this post will be about.

Well, it is hard to explain. For the most part, they just come to me - I think of a character, I see a picture, I have a dream, I watch a movie and think things should have been done differently next thing you know I have a totally different plot. 

When I am feeling really inspired it is more like someone is telling me the story and I am typing it, rather than creating it. It is like I'm hearing the story for the first time, the twists and turns can even surprise me. 

These types of stories are mainly possible when I just sit down and start writing, the more I have planned out before I start the less smoothly it flows. 

Though, while it may be more difficult when it isn't planned out when it gets later into the chapters, the biggest challenge with not planning is the potential to go off on tangents that are hard to come back from. 

Inspiration can really be found anymore. One of the story ideas I recently came up with is about a mermaid, who hates humans. She sees them as killers and doesn't want anything to do with them, especially after her little sister was caught in a fisherman's line and killed. Until one day, a child from a ship wreck falls into the water. She happens to come across it, if it was even four feet in a different direction she may not have even noticed. She rescues the baby girl and takes it to the surface of the water. But when she gets there and sees it, the child reminds her of her sister and she cannot bear to hand the child over to the human barbarians. So, she leaves the water and goes on land. In this, my version of mermaids, when the air touches her tail they start to split apart, until she has two legs covered in a scale-like pattern of purple and blue. She covers her legs and raises the child as her little sister on land. All goes well until she meets a pirate, the pirate claims to know the little girl's family and says that he can take her and the little girl to them. 

This is all I have for the story idea so far, but it is entirely inspired by my just playing around with Create-A-Sims with the new Sims 3 Island expansion. That is all it took and the story just started to unfold in my head. 

Now, as time has passed I have discovered that I have a tendency to give my characters darker histories. Perhaps because it makes it easier to explain there strength of character, as well as their faults. But also because darker backgrounds tend to be more interesting. 

Not all my characters have dark pasts though, and they vary in degrees. Another story I am writing the girl has a very light back ground. So light that she is ignorant and naive to the dangers of the world. 

Where do you get your ideas from?

What inspires you?

Post 26: I do, I don't

I Do...I Don't...

No, this isn't about the flower petal-picking activity to determine if someone likes you, or you like someone else. This is about a whole new game that I invented.

There are many games like this, so it may not be new, but it is fun-tastic!

Here is basically how it works....

It works along the same lines as 'I've never...'.

You say,

~~~"I do...like pie."

And anyone who likes pie, puts a finger down on their right hand. Only there right hand. So, if they run out of fingers on their right hand, but then some one says something they also do, they have to put their right hand on their head and keep it their until someone says 'I do...' and the person with the hand on their head does not.

~~~"I don't...watch horror movies."

And anyone who also doesn't watch horror movies, puts a finger down on their left hand. Only their left hand. And if they run out of fingers on their left hand, but some one says they don't so something, and the person doesn't do it either they have to put their left hand on their head.

If they run out of fingers on both hands they are out. And it alternates between I do and I don't.

So, if the person who starts says 'I don't' the next person to goes has to say 'I do'.

If there is an even number of people, when it goes back around to the person who started they switch to the other.

Make sense?

The idea is that, unlike 'I've never...'  it gets closer to what people like and don't like, rather than just what they have done. If you are looking to get to know someone better, what activities a person has or hasn't done isn't the same as knowing what a person likes or doesn't like.

Anyway, that was the idea behind it.

So, would you be willing to give it a try?

Post 25: Things Some Teachers Do That Annoy Me

Let me start off by saying, I have liked almost all my teachers. There was a period where I even wanted to be a teacher (but after seeing some of the crap that students put teachers through, I don't know if I want it enough to do it to the caliber that I think it should be done).

My point is, this isn't a rant against teachers. 

This is a rant against some of the things that SOME, not all, teachers do or have done. 

The first, and primary, thing I want to talk about is when teachers stop the class to make a point. For example, the video I saw that inspired this. A student yawned in class, and it wasn't the quiet and subtle yawn, it was the loud and obnoxious, fake-sounding yawn. It was rude on the students part, and seemed like a clear attempt at getting attention. 

The teacher then stops the class. He demands that who ever it is stands up. He then starts saying he won't continue the class until someone tells him who yawned. 

Then he spends quite an excessive amount of time yelling about how if anyone else in the class has to yawn they better go outside. He ends by telling the students to come forward and anonymously tell him who yawned. 

Someone I know had a teacher who would stop the class if someone fell asleep, and he wouldn't allow anyone to wake them up either. So, they just all sit in class silently and do nothing. 

Which I find annoying, because I'm sure there are some students who are happy to not have to do notes. But, as a student who actually wanted to learn in class- it is annoying. They aren't really punishing the student who did something wrong, they are punishing everyone in the class. 

When the teacher went on a rant about yawning, he blamed the student for creating a distraction and ruining the 'mood'. But it was a 2 second yawn, sure it might distract some people but only briefly. A rant about a yawn, and the stopping of class will do more to take people's mind of the lesson. 

And stopping the class because a student fell asleep? What good comes from that? 

Is an attempt to make the other students annoyed at them for falling asleep? Because, in that situation, I would be more annoyed at the teacher for not doing something about it. 

The only person a sleeping student really hurts is themselves. 

If I was a teacher, or what I think an appropriate response would be, is to tell everyone what a test question will be. Not the answer, just a question. The sleeping student will miss out, the rest of the class will realize the importance of staying awake and attentive and the learning atmosphere isn't totally ruined. 

Lastly, this one annoyed me the most at the time - but I have only seen one teacher do this and I don't think they were a very good teacher so this will be a brief mention - when teachers announce things they shouldn't. The example for this is when a girl in my class came in late. She wasn't the best student she was only in class about half the time, but when she was there she did try. And she came in late one day, only about three minutes, and in front of the whole class the teacher starts yelling at her and then tells her that it is no wonder she is failing, and if she bothered to show up once in a while she might have over a 50% in the class. 

What things have teachers done to annoy you? 

Has a teacher ever stopped your class to make a point?

Post 24: Conversational Monologuers

I'm sure everyone has run into a monologuer at one time or another. Some of the people reading this may even be a monologuer. What is a monologuer you ask?

A conversational monologuer is a term one of my friends and I came up with as a name for people who seem more like they are giving a monologue than having a conversation. They are commonly identified by their inability to stop talking.

There are two subsets in this group: the passive aggressive and the aggressive.

Passive aggressive monologuers can have a two-way conversation, but it is not a fun one. They are the people who talk and talk, and when you interject something they give you a weird look, they yawn, or they roll their eyes. Basically, they act like your response was idiotic, unnecessary, or worthless. Sometimes they look at their watch, as if you are wasting their time. It slowly diminishes any desire to continue contributing to the conversation.

Aggressive monologuers are the people who cut-off what you're saying, spin what you're saying back to themselves or don't let you finish your thought.

For example:

Monologuer: So, I went to this new restaurant the other day and it was bad....Undercooked...No flavour....Yeah, the food at that restaurant was pretty bad.

Other: It was. I ate there last Thursday. My chicken was kind of raw and-

Monologuer: Speaking of raw chicken, when I went to this Thai restaurant my chicken was kind of undercooked. But it was still better than the other one I went to....But the best one I went to was...

Yes, it is pretty frustrating. I must admit, through my experience, a lot of people who do these things don't always do them. Sometimes they just want to talk and unload their day on whoever will listen. But there are people who are constantly doing it.

For those who see this as something they do, don't take it personally. I don't think that most people realize how frustrating it is, or how rude it seems to the other person. So, for future conversations, it is a good thing to keep in mind.

If someone is willing to spend twenty minutes letting you vent and just talk, you can at least feign some sort of interest when they want to talk for two minutes.

Post 23: Excitement meets Sorrow

Right now I am in the Temp Pool at the University I am attending. Which is great, because full-time and continuing positions can be difficult to work out when you are in school. Especially University when you have to juggle classes, clubs and homework. 

My first position in the temp pool was a Program Assistant. And it is coming to an end. In fact, this Friday is my last day. 

It isn't that I really love the job or anything, but I do like the people and I like having a job that I feel good at. Plus, there is a nice, reassuring feeling when you have a job that tells you that yes, you can afford to eat and pay for school in the same month. 

Yet, at the same time it means that I am going to be transitioning back to a full-time student, which is exciting! And also means that I don't have to wear suit pants, jackets or business attire for awhile. 

If I want I can wear jeans or sweat pants, leg warmers or socks, baggy t-shirts or neon tube tops. (Not that neon tube tops are something that I would actually wear, leg warmers are a maybe.) 

I also know that Monday morning, I can sleep in. There is no where I need to be, which is both wonderful and terrifying. 

I kind of like having somewhere I need to be. Yet, I like having the freedom not to have to be anywhere as well. (Kind of cat-like, really.)

It is a weird feeling to both want something to end and want it to continue at the same time. 

Have you ever felt that? Happy and sad that something was ending?

What is your view on leg warmers and neon tube tops?

Post 22: 2,000 Characters

While I do have quite a few characters (in general, not main) for all my stories, and it isn't a total stretch of the imagination to imagine 2,000 of them, that isn't actually what this post will be about. This post will be dedicated to the daunting, stress-creating 2,000 character limit, almost as daunting as the 250 word short essay.

Now, there are probably many people who find 2,000 characters an easy thing to stay under. I am not one of them. As someone who not only likes to write and write...and write some more, keeping things under a limit can be quite a challenge for me.

Why has this come up? Three words. LinkedIn Profile Summary. Three more words. Loss for words.

I wrote the most beautiful profile summary ever. It was witty, it was well-written and it was informative. It covered my strengths. It covered my background. It was perfect. Except it was 5,000 characters. It didn't even seem that long, but it was.

So, what did I do? I tried to cut it down. I took out the extra bits, the details and specificities. 4,000 characters. I took out the descriptions, a lot of my background and some general information. 3,000 characters. Then, I took out the jokes and witticisms. 2,000 characters. The perfect length.

Except now it was less interesting than reading the phone book. And that can be interesting when you come across unique names or names of people you know.

It doesn't help that I'm not good at describing myself either.

And they say 'tell a story', how am I supposed to do that with 2,000 characters?

Do you have difficulties with word and character maximums?

Do you use LinkedIn?

Post 21: Monday Mornings and Lyrics

Since it is Monday, though not actually morning any more. (It hasn't been for awhile.) I thought I would dedicate this post to Monday mornings. Something Garfield, office employees, and high school students (generally) hate.

I actually don't have a problem with Monday mornings. You see, I have this inane sense of optimism on Monday that is telling me that the week will be the best week ever. My job will suddenly be amazingly fun, I will not be elbowed getting on or off the train, and I will leave work at the time that I am actually supposed to leave - not an hour later.

Tuesday mornings are the worst for me. Because Tuesday mornings, that optimism is gone. Tuesday morning I already have bruises from elbows, stared at the same spreadsheet for three hours, and left so late I almost missed my train.

Tuesday mornings are the mornings where hope is dead. Wednesdays are okay, though. At that point, you can convince yourself you are already half way through the week and all you need to do is not go crazy.

Also, because it is Monday. I have included a short limerick/lyrics/poem/something I wrote when I was in high school. I must admit it was not based on my own experiences, but on my friends. (Loosely). 

She was a ditcher, and Monday mornings were the days she was least likely to show up on time, if at all. Until she started liking a guy in her class, and she would always joke that he was the only reason she came to class. (It might be of interest to note, she did have some crush-stalking tendencies.)

Seven o'clock in the morning

Just want to crawl back into bed

It's just another miserable Monday

Wish I could call in dead

The only thing keeping me going

On this horrible day

Is the thought that I'll see you smiling

And maybe you'll look my way

Oh, you're my high school crush

The unreachable love, just two feet away

I see the back of your head, the back of your chair

Can barely hear what you say

Yet I'm wishing, praying, hoping

That today will be the day

The day you realize, you have eyes for me

So, please make today the very best Monday

How do you feel about Mondays? 

What about Tuesdays?

Wednesdays? 

Do you really give them that much thought?

Post 20: Horror Movies: Gore vs. Suspense

Just the other day I was talking with one of my friends about going to see a movie. She wanted to see the Conjuring.

We didn't end up going to see it, but it did get me thinking about the different types of horror movies. I don't just mean supernatural versus human villains, but gory versus suspenseful.

Some horror movies have little to no suspense, they're just blood and gore, and violence everywhere (they also usually have  a half-naked woman running around for no apparent reason at some point.) 

Then there are horror movies that are almost all suspense, and no one really dies or there is like no blood or violence. These tend to have the endings that leave you going, 'really?' There is a movie like that I saw in theatres a long while ago. I don't remember what it was called but the basic plot was a mother and her kids move into a house and the mom becomes convinced there are ghosts. She starts to go crazy, then it turns out in the end her and her kids were the ghosts all along. And the people she thought were ghosts, were actually the new owners of the house.

I like ones that are mostly suspense, but still have some action. I mean, suspense is like when you start going up on a roller coaster. At some point it goes too high and it takes either an amazing (and I mean, absolutely amazing) ending or it is just a let down. Like climbing up, higher and higher only to meet a slow decline, or worse, nothing at all. Ones with all blood and gore is just all going down, or just tiny little bumps, it isn't the same.

But, that doesn't mean that I don't like ones that have gore and violence. (As long as they have a good plot. That is a MAJOR factor in whether I like it or not.) For example, I really like Repo! the Genetic Opera and Sweeney Todd (yes, I am aware they are both musicals) but they are also very bloody. But they both have an interesting plot. And strong, well-developed characters.

And Repo! especially brings up some really interesting social conundrums. In the movie, murder is almost acceptable. Drug addiction is wide spread. But no one seems bothered by these things, it reminds me some of Hunger Games. People accept that kids are going to their deaths, the same way people accept that there is a group of assassins that go around killing people and removing their organs for not paying their loans in time legally in Repo!. Everyone in both, or at least the people with enough power to do anything, are too occupied with the spectacle they are being given by the head honcho.

My friend who wanted to watch the Conjuring, watched Repo! the Genetic Opera with me and her eyes were closed almost the whole time. She was so freaked out! It wasn't really even scary to me.

Gore and blood are what scare her in horror movies, while suspense doesn't. Suspense is what scares me in horror movies, gore and blood don't.

What freaks you out more in horror movies? Blood or suspense?

What is your favourite/least favourite horror movie?