This article attempts to aide and guide your conversations so that they will always be productive and never one-sided. I am aware that this is an exceedingly difficult goal to maintain at all times, but I believe we should all try our hardest to be “perfect” for each other!
Read MoreWhy Your Emotions are Volatile and Nobody Understands You: A Choose-Your-Own Adventure Game
Games are supposed to be relaxing and fun, right? Everyone likes games, right?? It’s not like a game’s ending could ever make you cry your heart out and question the way you’ve been living for the better part of your adult life, so let’s do this thing! C’mon grab your friends, it'll be FUN!
Without further ado, the following is a list of reasons why your emotions are volatile and nobody understands you. Choose the one that best suits your ADVENTURE!
BECAUSE THE WALLS YOU HAVE BUILT AROUND YOURSELF ARE SO HIGH AND IMPENETRABLE THAT IN ORDER TO BREACH THEM ONE WOULD NEED THE EMOTIONAL EQUIVALENT OF NAPALM
BECAUSE YOU ARE LOATHE TO EXPLAIN YOURSELF TO ANYBODY EVER DUE TO A COMBINATION OF LAZINESS AND ABJECT FEAR
BECAUSE YOU EXPECT OTHER PEOPLE TO BE UNDERSTANDING OF THE FACT THAT YOU SOMETIMES MAKE GODAWFUL DECISIONS, YET YOU DO NOT AFFORD THEM THE SAME PATIENCE IN RETURN
BECAUSE YOU RESENT HAVING TO BE THE ONE WHO CALLS FIRST, ESPECIALLY SINCE THIS PERSON ALLEGEDLY SNUBBED YOU THAT ONE TIME 4 MONTHS AGO AT A PARTY SO THEY MUST HATE YOU FOREVER, IT COULDN’T BE THAT THEY WERE JUST TIRED THAT DAY
BECAUSE YOU’VE FAILED TO REALIZE THAT YOU, LIKE EVERY OTHER HUMAN ADULT, REQUIRE OCCASIONAL / UNSOLICITED EXPRESSIONS OF LOVE AND APPRECIATION, YET YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO COMMUNICATE THIS TO OTHER ADULTS (WHO ALSO HAVE NO EFFING CLUE WHAT TO DO WITH THEIR FEELINGS)
BECAUSE YOU LIVE IN SEATTLE, A CITY COMPRISED OF SOCIALLY RETARDED, WELL-MEANING INTROVERTS WHO ALL JUST NEED TO GET LAID
BECAUSE EVERYONE IN YOUR LIFE (INCLUDING YOU) HAS THE EMOTIONAL MATURITY OF A JUDD APATOW CHARACTER, THEREFORE YOU REQUIRE AN EPIPHANY AND A SASSY BEST FRIEND TO HELP YOU GET OUT OF THIS FUNK
BECAUSE YOU FEEL THE NEED TO THROW YOURSELF AT OTHER PEOPLE’S PROBLEMS EVEN THOUGH THEY NEVER ASKED YOU TO, THEN YOU GET ANGRY AT ALL THE GOODWILL YOU’VE WASTED ON THE UNGRATEFUL BASTARD WHO WON’T EVEN ACCEPT YOUR SAINTLY ASSISTANCE
BECAUSE YOU AREN’T EATING ENOUGH KALE, HAVE YOU TRIED KALE? IT’S A SUPERFOOD ALSO CHIA SEEDS — HAVE YOU TRIED CHIA SEEDS? ST. JOHN’S WORT? GETTING LAID??
BECAUSE YOU FOOLISHLY BELIEVE THAT CALLING FIRST AND PLANNING A SOCIAL EVENT SOMEHOW SIGNALS THAT YOU ARE DESPERATE AND LACKING IN FRIENDS, THUS YOU HAVE DECIDED TO STAY IN AND BINGE-WATCH TEN EPISODES OF “ARCHER” CUZ THAT’S WHAT GROWNUPS DO ON A SUNDAY
BECAUSE YOU AREN’T GETTING ENOUGH SUNSHINE AND VITAMIN D — OH THAT’S RIGHT YOU LIVE IN SEATTLE — HAHAHAHA YEAH OKAY GOOD LUCK WITH THAT
PERHAPS YOU ARE GLUTEN OR PEANUT OR ALCOHOL INTOLERANT? BUT EVEN IF YOU'RE ABLE TO INHALE EVERY EDIBLE THING IN EXISTENCE LIKE A HUMAN GARBAGE DISPOSAL YOU SHOULD STILL GET THAT CHECKED OUT, I DUNNO MAN I’M JUST SAYIN’
Moment of truth: Which answer did you pick? Your choice will determine the fate of your character’s path—
Oh wait never mind, you lost the game because there is no good answer. Better luck next time!
(Did you at least learn something about yourself? Okay, now go improve your interpersonal relationships!)
Our Home Is Now A Mid-Century Modern Greenhouse
Sam and I moved into a highrise condo a while back, the nicest place we've lived in to date! It's caused me to go on an obsessive decorating spree in an attempt to recreate the West Elm catalogs that keep showing up in my mailbox. I also learned that Overstock and Amazon are a godsend when you live downtown; nearly all of the items pictured below were bought online and shipped to our door. Details and product links are listed at the bottom!
My goal was to create a minimalist zen aesthetic, believing it'd be the easy thing to do. (It's not.) Sam, being the practical one, seized the opportunity to push for a massive Spring Cleaning before our big move. In an effort to simplify our lives, we donated/tossed two-thirds of our possessions accrued over the past 2 years! I was really happy to finally kick my compulsive hoarding habit. Adulthood status attained! I still misplace things constantly and forget that the glasses I'm searching for are on my face, but that won't never change.
This also marks the first time ever that I've made an effort to buy non-IKEA furniture — the kind that won't fall apart after two more moves. The live edge walnut coffee table was my biggest splurge; it was custom built by a talented woodworker from Kansas and I intend to treasure it for a very long time.
The open kitchen is my favorite area; it's been totally utilitarian and brightly sunlit for all of summer. I feel somewhat pressured to keep it spotless, but I am lazy by nature. So I sweep food crumbs under the rugs.
In the midst of all this decorating, I've acquired something of a green thumb. I am convincing enough that people ask me for recommendations, despite the fact that I selected every plant in our home based solely on hardiness. (Also, that orange orchid arrangement is fake.) I am pretty happy with how the driftwood terrarium turned out, though! That one was fussy as hell and took three tries to get right.
Living Room
Live Edge Slab Wood Walnut Table 24" x 48" - Custom built by WickedGrain
Bloom Sofa in Sand - Dania Furniture (Seattle Branch)
Wooden Hand-Carved Walnut Oil Twist Tool - Overstock.com
Wood + Glass Terrarium - West Elm
Big Dipper Arc Floor Lamp - CB2.com
Green Vine 18" Embroidered Pillows - Amazon.com
Safavieh 18" Brown and Green Dandelion Pillows - Amazon.com
Pleated Square 22" Decorative Pillow in Avocado - Overstock.com
Stratham White Mid-century Modern Chair - Overstock.com
Safavieh Ultimate Cream/Beige Shag Rug 8' x 10' - Amazon.com
Idabel Dark Wood Modern Desk w/ Glass Top - Overstock.com
Kitchen
Winsome 24" Rush Seat Walnut Bar Stools - Amazon.com
Live Edge Slab Wood Walnut Cutting Board - Custom built by WickedGrain
Shang Mu Wood Large Flat Cut Root Bowl - Overstock.com
Ginsu 12-Piece Chikara Signature Series Block Knife Set - Amazon.com
Safavieh Ultimate Cream/Beige Runner Rug 2.3' x 11' - Overstock.com
Small Plants
Mini Succulents (terrarium)
Mini Cacti
Jade Plant
Aloe Park Avenue
Tillandsia Air Plants
Large Plants
Heart Leaf Philodendron
Silk Orchids (I cheated a bit)
Xerographica Air Plant
Green Hydrangeas (table vase)
Prayer Plant (keyboard)
An Introduction: Why I Write Badly & Intermittently
When I was in school, I remember vividly how I would spend hours crafting my websites and blog posts: a staple of my youth. I kept a Livejournal throughout most of high school and college, back when the site was a bustling online community for maudlin teens to twenty-somethings with an abundance of feelings and a lack of spellcheck. These days, reading my old journal elicits both warm nostalgia and second-hand embarrassment in equal measure. Yet there's a small part of me that wishes I could return to a simpler time in my life. I will never be able to write in that overly sentimental, foolhardy style of days long past. But perhaps I can connect with you all the same, kind reader.
I look back fondly on my "LJ Days," as it were — full of silly memes, surveys, fandom blogs, and RP chatrooms. When you are a lifelong introvert, you tend to express yourself far better through written words than face-to-face interaction. The older you get, the more you learn to appreciate those little time capsule remains of your younger self — decidedly less subtle and self-aware, yet brimming with hope and optimism. Nowadays I'm older, wiser (LOL), and slightly less prone to spelling errors and snap judgments, so maybe this time capsule will be less embarrassing for future me to revisit.
So that's the gist of why I started blogging again. Please feel free to lurk, comment, or subscribe to this blog if you find something that interests you. Thank you for your time, kind reader!