# Parts of town flooded the other day while I was at work, thanks to snow melt and a storm passing over. Thankfully, I was able to make it home okay, but I was worried for a good couple of hours that I wouldn't.

# I finally moved the futon upstairs! \o/ I have swapped it for the wicker chair that was up there and the other rando dining table chair I have (there are two; they do not match). This means there is now more space in the living room and the front bedroom, and I am very happy. All I have to do now is another tip run, and I will be even happier.

# I watched a stationery haul from a website I've never heard of (Journalsay), so of course I had to go and look at it. But I was very good! I didn't actually buy anything! I wanted to, I really did. But I have lots of stickers and stuff, I don't need more! (I do)

So now I think I'm probably going to fall down the journalling video rabbit hole for a while. Possibly.

# And then the other rabbit hole I'm going to get myself in is art dolls. I have wanted to make some for a few years now, but been put off because a lot of the tutorials have specific looks to them. Anyway, tl;dr version is I can make the dolls look however I like, right? That's what makes them mine.

I think also I've been put off because I've tried to make dolls in the past (I have abandoned crocheted ones) and it's not always gone very well. But. I am trying to do the thing of, well, if it doesn't work, I don't have to show anyone!

What kicked this off was seeing one made from scraps of fabric. And oh boy do I have a lot of scraps. So. I'm going to muck about and see where this gets me.

# Finally, I have been thinking about rebooting my ko-fi! I have made next to no effort with it recently and that's frankly quite rubbish! As you probably know, I was very mentally unwell last year while trying to run it, and I know I didn't do a good job, and I think I used starting my job as an excuse to stop updating, even if I didn't realise it at the time.

Well, now I have a handle on my job, and I reckon I could manage monthly updates there at least. And overhaul the shop. I don't know when I will actually do it, possibly in the new year, maybe as late as my birthday. I need to do some research, and relaunching over Xmas seems like a bit of a daft idea. So. Yeah.

# I think that's all I've got for now!
Last Monday, I had nausea with a migraine that was so bad I actually thought I was going to throw up. I got the nausea before the pain, so initially, I thought it'd been something I'd eaten the day before. Turns out not!

So, anyway, I don't often get that as a symptom, which is why I didn't twig what it was at first, and when I usually do, I'm usually just a bit queasy.

I. I do not want this.

Then yesterday, I had an air pressure migraine, which was gross because I could feel it in my face. Like. I wish sinuses did not exist, because I hate it when I can feel that they're there and am reminded.

I do not want that, either.

~

I started playing FFXIII-2 again a bit ago, and I am currently around 7 hours in. I don't really have a lot to say, except I think I'm probably playing it wrong. I'm trying not to use my game guide unless I really have to (they say, having already looked up two bosses on the internet). I'm dumping most of Serah's development into Ravager/Medic/Saboteur (in roughly that order) because I think she has higher magic stats that Noel, and then Noel is Commando/Sentinel/probably Synergist? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I remember more of the early game than I thought I would. Snow's daft redesign doesn't bug me as much as it used to (although I still am side-eyeing that haircut because WHAT IS THAT).

~

In other news, I had to go out yesterday morning at short notice, and much to my own annoyance, so I bought myself some pens to make me feel better (nobody is surprised). I got a six pack of neon Stabilo fineliners, and two Uni Pin pens - one a brush tip, one a 05 dark grey. Turns out I already had a replacement brush pen, and the dark grey one's tip is bent (I didn't think to check it before I left the store). It's useable, but I am slightly annoyed about that. And I can't get a replacement because I didn't get a receipt, and I won't be able to go back any time soon :|

I'm really pleased with the neon fineliners, though, because they truly are eye-wateringly neon. I don't know what I'll use them for, but I'm sure I'll think of something.
I "accidentally" fell into watching journalling videos again, and omg that stuff is so soothing for my brain, and I have no idea why. Especially because most of the videos I see, the people making the spreads use things I would never consider using (doilies, lace, particular types of stickers or washi).

To which end, I have a book I made...forever ago...that I decided I would use as a collage spread book* (because, to me, those journal spreads look more scrapbooky or collage-y than they do what I would consider appropriate for a journal, but that's because I am an old man who yells at clouds). It's roughly the same size as a Traveller's Notebook, because you bet I thought about making inserts once upon a time. So it's not so big of a space to fill, and I don't have to do both sides at once if I don't want to.

And then I thought, "I need to sort some stuff out!", so now I have various folders full of various types of paper and card (supplemented from some general tidying I have been doing) that I can use for said collages.

I even categorised (some of) my sequins, because of seeing someone use some in one of their spreads. And came to the conclusion that I either need to sell or donate some, because I have a veritable mountain that I will never use. (Curse Poundland and that time they had massive bags of sequins in multiple colour sets! Like, it's nice having the different colour options, but oh boy, even if I encrusted every page in sequins, it would probably take me years to get through them all).

I also grabbed my mum's two seals out of writing sets she'd bought + the additional wax because IDK it looks cool when people on the internet do it. One has an interchangeable head, which is nice, and the other one doesn't, but that's okay. It's not like I have an alternate head for it at this point in time anyway.

I'm going to get one that is more "me", eventually. And one that has my constellation on it because I can! (hopefully; as constellations go, Aquarius isn't the most complicated, but it's also not the most simple).

...I just need to get everything a bit better organised in the living room so that I can access things when I need them, and not have to dig through layers upon layers of boxes (or whatever). And then I can collage to my heart's desire!

~

I don't think many of you follow me on twitter, but in case it does collapse in on itself, you can mainly find me in the following places online (as well as here, obvs):

wordpress: rootsandbonesart.wordpress.com

ko-fi: ko-fi.com/rootsandbones

society 6: society6.com/rootsandbones

my hilariously out of date website: rootsandbones.weebly.com

I am thinking about setting up a gumroad account for digital downloads at some point in the future! I will likely only put freebies up on ko-fi for reasons I'm not going into, because they are, quite frankly, really boring.

Also I figured out a way to film stuff at my desk, and it is not great, and I am not making any promises that that will happen, but hey! I finally figured it out!

~

*This is what I was wonkily talking about in the last entry, except sometimes I get carried away with myself, and also assume that because I know what's going on, so does everyone else.
No, you spent some of the last few days watching videos about what Final Fantasy Versus XIII could have been and got sad. And then watched some more videos where some fans took some stuff that happens in KHIII way too literally and got kind of annoyed at them (and also annoyed at Nomura, because if these people are right, then he just doesn't know how to let things be. I get not wanting to abandon a neat idea, and I am sad Versus XIII didn't happen, but also like, he had a chance to make it happen, and things didn't pan out, and maybe they weren't meant to. It feels harsh saying that, but it is kind of how I feel).

This started from reading how much of FFXV was cut before it got released. Which also made me sad, because I'm sure most of you reading this already know my feelings about the game we got. (tl;dr version: it could have been so, so much better).

~

In other game news, Johnny streamed the last part of The Excavation of Hob's Barrow yesterday and oh wow. That did not go where I expected (although I'm kind of glad about that).

It was definitely the right game for the season, and it definitely gave me the spoops, as I literally jumped when I got an email notification on my phone after the stream had ended.

I'd definitely recommend it, if you like point and click games that are kind of creepy.

~

And then, in me related things: I went to Burnley in search of cat food**, and ended up buying some new pens and pencils, because I'm me. And Dragon Age: Inquisition for the PS4.

I promise I did get the cat food, too. I actually managed to find it in the store I hoped would have it for cheap, so that was good!

The pens are Zebra Ola gel pens, and some Sharpie gel pens which I ordinarily wouldn't have got, but they were half marked price, making them £2 for three pens! The pencils are some Staedtler ones I've never heard of, but since my favourite ever pencils are the Noris yellow and black ones, I thought I would give these a try.

So yeah, DA:I.

I don't know that I will play it any time soon, but at least I have it now? I'm mostly excited about running around Crestwood before closing the rift there, because that's my favourite part of the game. I also like the deserty levels a lot, but I realised Crestwood is where my heart really wants to be, heh.

It's taken me a good nine months to get hold of it. Like, CEX's website has said repeatedly that Burnley's store has had one singular copy in, but I've never been able to find it until now, as it was not with the rest of the games whose titles start with Dragon, which didn't help! I think it's down to people not putting stuff back where they got it from, as I also picked up Code Vein to look at, realised it wasn't in the right place, and slotted it back where it needed to be.

Other than that, I now actually have a physical copy of Gideon the Ninth to read! It is sitting on my desk, awaiting my picking it up and looking at it. I think the writing style will be okay; I flicked through a couple of pages and it didn't seem grating, so hopefully I will get on all right with it!

And that's about it for now.

~

*By which I mean, Gamers™.

**Jazz is picky, and will only eat one brand of wet food, which I've been having difficulty getting hold of of late.
I'm going to be getting new glasses! Technically, I have had new glasses with all my optician appointments, but the last three lots were reading glasses, so they don't count :q

But these ones are everyday ones, and I am very excite! According to my records, the last time I had new everyday glasses was 2016!! So we decided that yeah, maybe I was overdue a new pair. But also my eyesight has changed a little bit - my right eye, which is the worst one, has improved a little! The optician I saw said it's not by a lot, but because my eyesight is so bad anyway, it's more noticeable to me. (I am -10 in both eyes, whatever the heck that means). So it's probably better that I get new glasses.

Unfortunately, they will cost money, because the NHS help towards paying for stuff is minimal. I get £15 off the total price of the lenses, and that's it.

But new glasses, though! With seafoam green frames! Or some form of blue/green, anyway.

I also had the dentist the day before, and we will not talk about the shenanigans I had with the buses. Instead, we will mention that he was relatively pleased with the state of my mouth, which is a good thing. This doesn't always happen, so it's always good when it does.

~

In other news, at the beginning of the month, I finally remembered to look up how to do graffiti style writing, found a tutorial on youtube, and actually followed it!

And then I've been doing lettering stuff ever since (but not specifically any graffiti style, because that's not my ultimate goal here).

I don't know if I've ever mentioned it on here before, but I really like lettering, I just have next to no confidence in my skills. I've done more of it in the past few years than in my entire lifetime, so it is a thing I'm working on but, like I said, I don't really feel confident in my skills, so I'd like to improve them.

~

And, in news that is likely no surprise to anyone, I bought some Zebra mildliners. I got a set of three that has the blue-green, pink, and yellow pens. And...the pink and yellow are WAY harsher than I was expecting! My Stabilo pastel highlighters are milder than those two! The blue-green is okay, though, in comparison (and no, I'm not just saying that because I like that particular colour). I got them for cheaper than retail price (£4 for the set), so I'm not massively disappointed, and I will probably use them for arting anyway.

(no subject)

Mar. 1st, 2022 10:37 am
muladhara: (koromaru)
# I bought babby's first ever pair of wireless earphones this Saturday just gone.

Youtube decided to randomly rec me some bloke I'd never heard of, reviewing Poundland's* current tech range. Which included said in-ear bluetooth earphones. He was so positive about them, I decided to go out and get a pair. So I did.

And honestly, he's right. They're WAY better quality sounding than they have any right to be (they're not perfect, though. There's too much bass, and I'm someone who likes the bass to be apparent in things). The bluetooth connection is a bit choppy, however, if you, like me, like to wander away from the device you're using. Which is the reason I bought them, but I guess if I mostly stay in the same room, I'll be okay.

I've currently mostly used them for listening to music on my commute and it's been a delight.


# I also bought some pens for EXTREMELY CHEAP as my local Clinton's seem to be doing away with their stationery range, and thus all the pens are 20p each. Which basically meant I got three Pilot pens and two Stabilo ones for an entire quid, and I am very happy :D


# I saw a white deer, and it was bloody amazing! I've never seen a white one before, so it was really cool! I am not going to say where or when, because it feels special, and also I remember what happened to that one that innocently went wandering about in Liverpool a few months back.


# [personal profile] hmpf bought some more mugs from my Redbubble shop, as I have updated it a couple of times recently and I had some designs in that she liked!

EDIT: I'm not going to mention every time someone buys something from me, but right now it just seemed like a convenient way of reminding me that I updated, and I meant to tell y'all. [/edit]

Also a reminder that anything that's available there is available as a print directly from me, and likely for cheaper (although only in A6/A5 format at the moment), if you fancy buying one!

# And that's all I've got for now!


~

*It's called Poundland because everything used to cost £1 (one pound). Anyway, now most things cost £1, some things are slightly cheaper, some are more expensive. Apparently it's roughly equivalent to Dollar Tree?

220222

Feb. 22nd, 2022 10:16 am
muladhara: (Default)
# I bought more notebooks and stickers, no-one is surprised.

BUT. They were bought with a purpose. Wilko sell stationery, and one of the things they sell is cheap exercise (composition) books. Obviously, they're not as chonky as my Pukka ones* (they're half the page count), and I don't expect them to play nicely with fountain pens, but I thought I'd try a couple out for comparison**.

And then I saw they had woodland themed stickers on a roll, so I had to buy them, because I'm weak and I like that particular theme for things. Also one of the designs is a bear in a sweater that says "bear with me" and IDK if you know, but I am very fond of terrible puns. So I am looking forward to using those!

EDIT: Hahahahaha OMG I'm in this post and I don't like it! (reddit link to the notebooks sub) [/ETA]


# I am FINALLY coming to the end of the notebook I am using for an analogue diary! It has 208 pages, and it has taken me almost a year to fill it! (I started on 31 March last year). I dare say if I had written in it every day, it may have taken me (slightly) less time to fill it, but I don't always know what to write about, or even feel like doing it, so I don't.

I am right now, though, because I want to fill that hecker and be done with it. Back to smaller notebooks for some time, I think! (I have another one that is 300+ pages, and I don't think I'll be using that as a diary any time soon).


# I discovered I can play the original version of Yume Nikki via Steam! I do have the original version on my external HD, but knowing I can access it via Steam is nice.

(Oh no, it's so sad that it's so long ago since I played it that I don't even have a tag for it on here :( until now, obvs).

I was looking for older games that my new computer can run (turns out the processor isn't as fast as it was supposed to be), and for some reason, I've been on a Yume Nikki vibe lately, and that was what made me think to look for it. So now I'm probably going to go back and see if games like .flow and Ib and similar stuff like that are still around. hashtag gaming like it's 2010 again

~

*Though I have bought chonky books in there in the past.

**THAT SAID, I got one from Home Bargains a couple of years ago, that I fully expected to be terrible with fountain pens, and it was actually great! So it just goes to show that you don't always need an expensive notebook, though obviously paper quality is choppier with cheaper ones.

(no subject)

Feb. 12th, 2022 11:53 am
muladhara: (koromaru)
I finally have some crisps! I wanted some since watching that video of Johnny's that I linked to, but all I had were tortilla chips (which I like just fine, but they're not crisps, dangit!)

I don't eat them as much as I used, but I do like them as snacks, I just never remember to buy them. So of course, because I was out of the house yesterday, I actually remembered to buy some. I started off with some Aldi own-brand, but ended up with some others as well because apparently I wanted them!

TL;DR version: Aldi own-brand Salt and Vinegar are WAY better than I was expecting them to be!

~

So yesterday, I had to go out for a nurse appointment in town, which took ten minutes, and was barely worth the bus fare, so I decided to get a day ticket and go to Burnley for fun shopping as well!

Which is what I did. I almost changed my mind about it, but I had some vouchers I'd been given that I wanted to spend before they expired. Not that either was near its expiry date, but between the pandemic and work, I haven't had a chance to go fun shopping as much lately.

To absolutely nobody's surprise, I bought more notebooks that I don't need!

This is, in part, because I could use one of my vouchers in TK Maxx, and they always have lots of nice notebooks. The last time I was in there, I nearly bought a Leuchtturm, as it was the only time I've ever seen one in the wild, except I didn't, and I've been kicking myself since. So I thought I would go back. Except because it's TK Maxx, and it's been several months since I was last in there, there weren't any Leuchtturm notebooks any more.

There were, however, the ubiquitous Moleskines - of which I bought one because the cover was a colour I like, and because like with the Leuchtturms, I want to see what the fuss is all about.

AND THEN. I found a three pack of Pukka notebooks. They are described as composition books, which I didn't even know Pukka made! This is the set I got! (And I didn't them as cheap I initially thought, but I paid £4 instead of 7, so that's still not too bad!)

This is more what I know Pukka Pads for, so I was pleasantly surprised to see the composition books. (And now I know they have a sales website, I can buy more of them :D )

Also I know Pukka paper is really good to use with fountain pens - there's no feathering, and very minimal ghosting (and no bleeding), and since I've been writing with fountain pens for the most part for the last year, I thought I would pick them up.

Like I said, I absolutely DO NOT need them. I already have enough notebooks, but on the other hand, it wasn't like I was actually spending money on them, since I used the voucher to get them.

I also bought some Elmer's glue sticks - yet another thing I don't need - but they go down purple and I am easily amused!

There was other stuff I bought, which is way less interesting, so I won't bore you with that. I did a lot of walking (over 11K steps! according to my tracker) and now I feel crunchy and old.

~

In other news, I finished up watching Johnny's stream of OlliOlli World, which is a skateboarding game, and now I want to play it (or not, because I can feel I would potentially get frustrated by it).

I thought I had more to say about it, but all I really have to say is it's cool, I liked it, and this stream is shorter than their usual ones (2hrs versus 4) because they were ill, and honestly I'm surprised they even streamed at all.

~

Now I'm going to go away and figure out what to do with this frankly massive pile of notebooks I just sorted out that were ones I already owned (in fairness, most of them were ones that had been mum's, not mine, but now they're all mine so...*nervous laughter*).
It's currently very windy outside, and Do Not Want. I guess at least it's not raining as well, but ugh.

~

Anyway, in other news, I bought a new computer and external HD (4Tb)! I've been meaning to for some time, and I could afford a cheap one, so that's what I did!

I got a Dell Inspiron, which is a make I've had before (my first ever computer was Dell, so I know they're good/reliable). It's not the best Dell ever, but it will suffice for how/what I want to use it for.

It came with Windows 11, and I'm surprised to report that, at the moment, I don't hate it! It reminds me more of classic Windows than whatever the nonsense that was 8 did (screensavers are available, and that just threw me right back to 2002, y'all. Honestly surprised the maze and pipes ones aren't in there).

I have downloaded most of the things I think I will need thus far (I don't use my computer very much these days, except to do a bit of internet/image edit). I am about to download the Steam app, because eventually I want to buy Dorfromantik and probably Loop Hero (thanks, Johnny Chiodini!) and I am aware this is a terrible and dangerous thing and also they have a Lunar New Sale on right now oh my frogs.

But anyway, my question is this! What other things (not games) are good to download? I have a video editor/image editor/Libre Office/Firefox/Discord/VLC. What are your recs for antivirus programs? What are good add-ons for Firefox? I have an ad blocker and spell checker, and IDK what else I might need, since it's some time since I've done a fresh install like this (I haven't used Windows in EIGHT YEARS OMG. It will be so nice to see what I'm scanning as I'm scanning it, though).

I don't regret using Linux, but there were definitely a bunch of things I couldn't/didn't do because the means weren't available to me, or were too complicated for me to get my head around. It's great for some things, but not so much for others (imo). I am kind of sorry to see it go, but also I'd like to be able to know what I'm doing if someone asks me for help with their computer, heh.

~

Thanks to that bullet journalling video I linked the other day, I got out my Stabilo highlighters, and colour coded the days in my planner and...it's like a magic trick. Suddenly, everything stands out where it had all kind of blurred together before.

But because I only had six highlighters, and there are seven days in a week, I decided I needed more, so I went and bought six more, oops? Although now I have 12/14 of the current pastel range so yay? And I'll use them for other things besides highlighting, as that's the thing I use them for the least.

I also rearranged how the journal's laid out, as my current way wasn't cutting it, and it's nice to have a space to write any notes if I need to at the bottom right. Not that I write notes all that often, but it's nice to have the option?

I also sorted out all my stickers, in the hopes I will use them more. A lot of the videos about journalling/collaging I've been watching use stickers quite a lot, and ofc I want some of them (wouldn't be addicted to stationery if I didn't!), but I thought I should use up some of the ones I have. I thought it would be an absolute mission since there's a lot of stickers, but it only took around an hour to sort everything out into broad categories, so that wasn't so bad at all.

~

And that's everything I have for now! I'm still playing FXIII, but I might make a separate entry about that at a later date!
The parcel I had to arrange re-delivery of was indeed my gel plate! \o/

I have only played with it a little bit, and not done anything fancy, but I'm glad I got it. It does exactly what I want it to.

(also did you know that rose pink and medium yellow make an AMAZING orange? Like, it's nearly neon. I LOVE IT).

Anyway, I was thinking about scanning the prints I've made so I can use them in other things. I thought about using them for, I guess, digital collage. I thought that I could use the same backgrounds with different items on, and suddenly I had this weird vision of my future which I didn't hate, but which certainly made me feel odd.

(An artist I've been following for just over a year does this sort of thing. She makes pet portraits, but already has all the elements drawn on her tablet, and just puts the relevant bits together to make the portrait, and customises it a bit so it actually looks like the owner's pet. I could do this, but obviously not with pets!)

I also thought about cutting up the originals to use for collage, though I am nowhere NEAR that point yet. Also I would want to check they scanned okay first before I put my scissors anywhere near them! (I scan to memory card because my scanner can do that! so I don't know how something's scanned till I look at it on the computer).

~

In FFXIII news, everyone is on the Palamecia, so I guess I will be grinding for CP for a bit. You can go round in a massive loop, and the enemies respawn every time, so it's easy to do, it's just...grinding, ugh. Although I've not been having trouble with the enemies so much, so YAY.

I am unfond of the boss fight at the end of this area although, since you fight this boss more than once, this isn't even the worst version (the next one is).

ALSO. I beat the last boss in Palumpolum first time, and that NEVER happens! (Unless it did last time I played, but it was five years ago, and I can't remember).

~

Shoutout to Asda for having Mx. as one of the honorifics available when you fill in your details for a delivery! I thought WH Smith also do it, and they do, and I know this because I just bought some wrapping paper and a Sakura sketchbook in the sale. For reference: I do not need either of things.

I really absolutely do NOT need the sketchbook, as noted in the last post wrt sketchbooks, but it was £2 off, and I am weak! Also it's the perfect size for throwing in my rucksack and then never using!

(no subject)

Dec. 31st, 2021 11:08 am
muladhara: (art)
The other day, I made a Cult Pens order, and bought my first bottle of Waterman ink, because obviously I need more bottles of ink, I say, staring hard at the ones I already own, and the ones that were my mum's.

Anyway, it is in Tender Purple (not Intense Purple, as I erroneously said on twitter; I think that's a Diamine ink colour). And, as I also said on twitter, the German for Aquarius literally translates to Waterman, so I was astrologically compelled to buy some of their ink at some point ;)

I also got three refills for my Pentel Energel pen, which I was given by someone I work with about a month or so ago. I've really been enjoying drawing with it, so I got a black refill (as it's black anyway), and also sky blue and turquoise refills, because my colour choices are extremely predictable.

So now I'm tossing up whether this is just me spending money, or whether it can come off the Xmas money I was given (maybe the ink yes, but the refills no). I feel like the Xmas money should go on stuff I wouldn't normally buy. Like the hand-dyed sewing threads I have just spent some cash on!

~

When I haven't been watching Inscryption LPs/anything else that is a Let's Play of a game by Daniel Mullins, I have been watching a lady who is primarily a junk journaller. I found her through a sewing video she did, but I've been watching some of her other videos as well. I've discovered she has a two shops on Etsy - one of which she sells junk journalling supplies through, which includes lengths of yarn she chops up and bunches together.

Which is a thing I thought about doing almost two years ago, since I have some yarn I'd never knit or crochet with. But I never did, because I didn't think people would buy it. But they do! So mostly I'm mad at myself for never going through with that.

She also does a thing called Gelli Printing, which I have heard of, but I didn't know what it it was. It's basically monoprinting, but first you have to buy an expensive piece of synthetic gelatine*. (You can make your own, from actual gelatine, but obviously that isn't vegetarian/vegan friendly, and it only lasts around two weeks, and I know what my weasel brain is like). Websites say it's for printing without a press, which I am all for! However, I know the gel plate will give me textural issues, so I'm going to have a go at this and use a piece of glass as my plate instead.

It's interesting, because I've always wondered how people get these sorts of backgrounds (if you search for gelli printing on somewhere like pinterest, you'll see what I mean), but I am not interested enough in junk/art journalling to actually go and look it up, and I wouldn't have known what to search for until now.

So obviously, that is another thing my weasel brain has latched onto wanting to do - although I have wanted to do monoprinting for some time now, I just haven't got to it yet. Hopefully I will in the new year!

~

In other news, I am playing FFXIII on my PS3 and I:

1) forgot how loud the fan on the console is, and

2) forgot how fast the horizontal camera moves. I honestly can't remember if it's like that on the Xbox version, but there's no way to change the speed it moves at, which is annoying, because it's legit making me feel slightly nauseous.

Anyway, I feel like I'm not very far in - I'm at the end section of the Vile Peaks - but the recap text informs me I'm in chapter four, so really IDK!

~

Now to go and do something that is not internet related, I think!

~

*The smallest plate, for example, that Jackson's Art sells is 6x6", and costs £22. I realise 6x6" is quite a big size, but I don't want to be spending that much on something I might not use.

(no subject)

Nov. 24th, 2021 10:50 am
muladhara: (harry mason)
List post, because:

A. I got the FRANKLY MASSIVE memory card for my new tablet, so that is all good to go now! I just have to make some WiPs to post on ko-fi! (I mean, I have a doodle on the go now, but I think I will abandon it, because I don't feel it's working).

I also have to think of some more perks for subscribing, because just having access to my WiPs (even though NOBODY ELSE will see them) won't cut it (allegedly).

B. I found out earlier today, thanks to [personal profile] honigfrosch, that The Black Cauldron, AKA that Disney film that nobody ever talks about, is based on a book by Lloyd Alexander and not only that, but I actually own a copy of it! My mum bought a book that is the first three Chronicles of Prydain, and The Black Cauldron is the second book in that! All this time it's been sitting in my living room, and I never knew! So I thought I might try to give it a read and see what it's like.

C. OH NO CULT PENS HAS BLACK FRIDAY DEALS. HELP.

I only went on there to drool over this limited edition(?) Platinum Preppy that I keep telling myself I don't need. I didn't need to be attacked like this!

(I didn't buy anything, but that didn't stop me wanting to).

D. I went back to work on Saturday, and am consequently all achy and somewhat tired (to nobody's surprise).

The buses are still ridiculous - I had to call my brother on Sunday evening to ask him to pick me up, as the bus I usually catch home didn't turn up, and I had no desire to wait for another hour in the freezing cold to see if the next one would arrive.

E. I don't have an E, but five things make a list, right? ;)
I bought a half price sketchbook and some cheap Pilot and Uni-ball pens because I absolutely need them, right? ;)

Other than that, I've just been at work the past few days, so not been up to much! Other than buying things I don't need, obviously.

So here's the questions I've missed off the Square-Enix meme!

11. What's your most memorable fight from a Square-Enix game?

The first thing that sprang to mind is fighting the Four Fiends in the Tower of Bab-Il in FFIV. The first time I did that, I was chronically underlevelled, and I think I did it so many times before I eventually got through it that I have Battle With The Four Fiends seared into my brain, and hearing it still brings me out in a cold sweat to this day.

12. Who's your favorite character from a Square-Enix game?

CAPTAIN BASCH FON RONSENBERG OF DALMASCA

Oh come on, did you really think I was going to say anyone else? I mean, really?

There are A LOT of characters across all of even just Final Fantasy that I like, but Basch is my favourite from my favourite game ever, so, uh, yeah.

13. What Square-Enix game has your favorite soundtrack?

Final Fantasy XII - it's my go-to to listen to when I don't know what else to put on. And also it just hecking kicks arse.

I love all the FF soundtracks, and I think they're all great (of the ones I've heard, because obviously there is stuff I haven't played), but XII is definitely my most favourite.

14. What Square-Enix game has your favorite character designs or visuals?

At the risk of being the most me I've ever been: FFXII.

I just really like Akihiko Yoshida's art, y'all. And the concept art for XII was the first time I'd ever seen any of his stuff.

And I love the environments, as well. I'm actually surprised I didn't take more screencaps when I was playing through Zodiac Age, because I just love everything about the design in this game! (Also after having seen some gameplay from Vagrant Story, I love how very similar the aesthetic/design is! Although I daresay that was done on purpose, and possibly more than for any other game set in Ivalice? I haven't played FFT, so I can't say for that).

I also think the Fal'Cie designs in the FFXIII games are awesome, but I couldn't tell you why (but I like the summon/god-type designs across all the games, so that's probably a part of it). And again, the environments!

15. How about control? What Square-Enix game do you think is the most fun to play?

What a good question! With regard to Final Fantasy, I prefer the turn based games, and then of those, the RPGs over the strategy games (I love you Tactics Advance, but I am very much No Good at you!)

I think FFX is the most fun, because of the way you can see when an enemy's turn is coming up next, and the fact that you can disrupt that in a visible way, and then see how many turns you have until the next move by that enemy. It feels a lot more interactive to me than just smacking an enemy until it dies, which is what I usually do in video games.

Final Fantasy aside, probably Bust-A-Move! I just really like matching games because it pleases my brain.

~

I do like that of the people on my reading list doing this meme, while we have similar opinions about a lot of things, none of us have the same favourite FF game :D which is great! I love seeing y'all squeeing about the things you love about your favourite games! Which I guess is part of the point of the meme to begin with!
In stationery news:

I got two more of those notebooks from Asda. I thought I might as well while I remembered what brand they were. Also, as I said to my boss, if I use them as sketchbooks, at the rate I draw, they'll last me best part of a year between the three of them, as they're 100 pages each, and I know that means it will take me about 3 months to use one up.

Also it's nice to have books that play nicely with ink! I have actual sketchbooks that don't handle ink this nicely. Looking at you, Winsor & Newton, and Derwent! Yes, you've got 150GSM paper, but you can't deal with inks AT all!

If we're talking proper sketchbooks I do like, I'd recommend Daler-Rowney all the flipping way. Their paper is lovely, and handles most media really well! I'd also recommend Seawhite as well, since their cartridge paper is nice, and the books aren't expensive compared to other brands. Also Seawhite do SQUARE sketchbooks, if you're into that kind of thing! Caveat, however, that both brands may not be available outside the UK/might be more expensive because of importing.

I also bit the bullet and bought a 72 set of Staedtler coloured pencils (the fancy ones that they've rebranded as Design Journey. Mine don't say that on the box, but they are those ones). They come in a tin, and should have cost £45! But I got them for a tenner, which is part of the reason I decided to go for it.

There's SO MANY COLOURS! I've never had a 72 set of pencils before - my current biggest set is 50 (also in a tin) of WH Smith own brand*. Oh, and there is also the 50 colour set of Crayolas (not in a tin :( ). So now I have even more coloured pencils. But I do intend to use them, and I have been thinking for over a year now about getting rid of some of the stuff I don't use any more. I just don't know where to - as I don't live in a city, my options are a bit limited.

Related: I just wondered if there's a coloured pencils subreddit, since there seems to be one (or more!) for everything and whaddya know...

~

In vidya:

# I'm slowly getting through NEO: TWEWY. Being tired from work and my hands hurting isn't conducive to playing, sadly. But I'm getting there! I don't really have comments on anything at the moment, except to say that I was absolutely right about a plot element, and I think I misread something on the TWEWY subreddit, so now I have a loopy theory about what's actually going on. Also I'd like to punch the antagonist because they're a dick.

# I also started watching Aoife from Eurogamer streaming Boyfriend Dungeon. I haven't finished watching it yet (because tired brain, wehhhhh). It's that game where people (specifically men?) can turn into weapons which is weird, but okay? (I'm sure I've played games with weirder premises than that). You might like it, you might not? I can't say because I've only watched about half an hour of the stream so far!

~

In books:

I started Lords and Ladies! It's weird, because I thought I wouldn't remember anything at all, but I do! My memory isn't quite as bad as I thought! Though I did read this, like, five times at least, so no wonder parts of it are seared into my brain, despite my thinking otherwise.

~

And that's all I have to say right now!

~

*They used to be my mum's, but I think I've used them more than she ever did. I guess they are vintage, too, as I remember using them on GCSE coursework Back In Th'Day™
Yesterday, I only did the morning at work because I have to open up on Thursday morning, as my boss will not be in till a bit later. She had wanted me to swap the entire day, but I like doing half days, because it means I can spend the afternoon mooching about in town if I want to. Which is exactly what I did yesterday.

I went to explore Asda because I was going to buy some household stuff, as my sister in law says they're good for that (I think she is biased because she shops there a lot ;) ). Anyway, I also wanted to look for some Crayola pencils since, I don't know if you know, but I am addicted to buying pencil crayons. And I had seen this video by Doodle Date, where Steph had mentioned the Colours of the World sets that Crayola have released (there's a pic of the pencils, which is what I wanted, but it turns out Steph wanted the pens). So I thought I would like to have some, and I got them for almost half price! (£2.25 versus £4!)

I also bought a blank notebook, because I'm me. But also because it's a really nice size (7.5x10inches), and you don't tend to get blank notebooks smaller than A4*. I'm going to use it as a sketchbook**. It turns out, by weird coincidence, to be the same size as a notebook I already have, and that I used one of as a sketchbook many years ago! (But it has less pages) I am tempted to go back any buy a couple more but a) I don't know what the paper is like, and b) I already have the aforementioned other books.

And then the only other thing I bought that wasn't useful/food was a nail varnish that I've been wanting for about a year now, which is a blue one by Barry M called Blue Margarita. It's a lot darker than it looks on the picture in the link. Anyway, I'm really happy with it, and definitely glad I got it!

~

Meanwhile, in NEO: TWEWY, spoilers!

Read more... ) And that's mostly where I am with that, at the moment.

~

I finished reading Equal Rites when I got home yesterday, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! 10/10, would absolutely recommend to anyone. I really liked Esk, she was amazing, and obviously Granny Weatherwax was also amazing. Also I made the mistake of looking through some of the bad reviews on Goodreads - usually I enjoy reading bad reviews, but these ones just made me sad that they didn't see what I did.

Reading it really reminded me what I love about Terry Pratchett's writing, and how amazing he was with words regardless of whether it's leading into a joke or not. And it made me sad that I've spent so long not reading Discworld, when they are evidently such enjoyable books (but problems with concentration/feeling sad about PTerry's death are contributors to that, as well as a layer of "but what if I don't like it any more?" on top). So obviously, I am going to rectify that, although I'm going to read a different author next, I think.

~

*At least, not in the UK/not round where I live/work.

**Yes, I know I already have all these others, including the ones I made [nervous laughter]

some things

Apr. 16th, 2021 09:40 am
muladhara: (Default)
Totally didn't buy a notebook and a pen I don't need because they were on sale. Nope, not me. Nor any MT washi tapes in neon colours. Nope, don't know what you're talking about.

~

I have more phone woes! My landline is almost completely dead! Like, not even fuzzy, there's nothing that happens when I press the call button. And it's like it was before, in that I can get incoming calls, but it doesn't register them as having been answered - but it's only been like that since yesterday. I wouldn't have even twigged anything was wrong, but that I have had a suspicious lack of spam calls lately. This was supposed to be fixed, ISP!! *shakes fists*

I've reported it to them - that was almost two weeks ago now, and I re-reported it on Wednesday, but I didn't get a text saying they were looking into it, so who knows what the heck is happening. (I just checked on the website, and they say they're looking into it, and will try to resolve it ASAP. So hopefully that's what happens!)

~

After a while of being as gluten-free as possible, this is what I've noticed:

food related stuff )

~

I'm considering buying a copy of Monster Hunter World! I've previously been put off the games because I have a friend who is very into the series, and talks about them a bit like the way people talk about Dark Souls - i.e. "You need to learn enemy attacks and that's how you win!" (he thankfully doesn't call people scrubs or tell them to git gud, however). So I've always kind of avoided them. But I've been watching gameplay videos on youtube, and it looks like it might be fun? Also I want a cat friend!

There's a copy available at my local CEX, so I'm hoping it'll still be there tomorrow before/after work (I could click and collect it, but I'd rather do it this way, IDK why).
Not even back at work yet (that's tomorrow), and I'm already mad at my schedule. I will have to alternate between a four and a two day "week" (because it straddles the weekend). My manager knows I don't like switching days, and yet I have to work alternate Saturdays because we have no other paid staff (yet; I hope this changes soon, and not for selfish reasons). Hence the switching around. Which I don't like, because I am a creature of habit, and I like knowing I am working the exact same days every week.

Anyway, moaning aside, I woke up this morning to discover maybe two inches of snow everywhere! In April! I also discovered it had knocked my rose bush over, so as soon as I was able, I had to go out and fix that. The snow must have melted during the night, but then refroze, as there were clumps of ice on the rose bush, which made it top-heavy, and it fell over. It's really leggy because I am a bad gardener and have no idea how to look after it, and this also contributed to its falling over. I cleared what snow/ice off that I could, and the sun's taken care of the rest. It's looking more upright now, so hopefully it will be okay!

I have also bought myself another fountain pen. A Platinum Preppy, to be precise, and only because it cost less than £5. It is purple, and I bought some more purple cartridges for it. I'm going to syringe refill them with ink when they're empty, as a converter would cost more than the pen (although it's not the only Platinum I own - my friend Rosie gave me one of her extra fine nib drawing ones - so a converter would be worth it for either pen, but maybe when I've been back at work for a bit).

I found this post on the fountain pen subreddit, which feels absolutely like it's calling me out (if you don't want to click, it's basically Massive Pen Collection versus Tiny Amount of Writing, but with a picture, because it's a meme). Also it's not just my fountain pens, it's all my pens. I miss the days where I could just write for hours and hours. I don't know where that me has gone, but I hope they come back one day.

Finally, there was another huge Among Us stream! (this links to Ellen's POV) and they used the proximity chat on the last hour, and it was hilarious and chaotic, and I hope they use it again.
1. food related stuff )

2. I learnt Japanese four hole binding the other day, and it's super easy! (Like most book binding techniques I've learnt). I really like it for making short side bound A5 books.

3. It's The Return of the Mungus! (This is Outside Xtra's POV stream but there are THREE others from Outside Xbox, Dicebreaker, and Eurogamer, should you want to watch).

4. I realised yesterday that maybe I should have gone into a sciencey job because I like collecting data. I've been tracking the local temperature for nearly three years, my migraines for five, and various other bits and bobs for almost two. But then I remembered that science likely means maths, and I hate maths A LOT, so maybe not.

5. I gave up on Dark Souls II, probably to absolutely nobody's surprise.

6. I want to buy more fountain pens, because of course I do, but I am at least going to wait until I'm back in work again, so at least I can justify it because I'm earning money. I don't want to buy anything even as expensive as my Kaweco - I want a few more cheap ones, just to see what they're like.

knurling

Mar. 24th, 2021 11:35 am
muladhara: (oracle and neo)
I went to the dentist yesterday. I hate going at the best of times, but this just felt straight up weird, and the entire time I was there, I kept apologising in my head for breathing on him.

And then I went food shopping and a) bought too much and b) as a consequence, spent too much. Although it's two weeks (exactly!) since I did a Big Shop, so I shouldn't feel too guilty, but I do, wheeeee! I also regretted it, as I didn't take my trolley with me (because dentist), so I had to carry everything and now I have very sore shoulders, as well as a bruise on my left shoulder. I could've got a taxi, I guess, but I already had a day bus ticket, and a taxi home would've cost as much as the bus ticket did. So I am sore instead. I spent a lot of yesterday once I got home not doing a lot because it was too much effort.

The reason I went a bit loopy with food shopping is because I think I have a wheat or gluten intolerance (I'm not going to say it's coeliac, because I don't think it is). I've thought for several years now that things with flour in make me bloated and, the other night, I realised that it may also be contributing to my migraines. Which started getting worse around a year ago. When we went into first lockdown, and I started baking more, didn't I. So yesterday, I was buying what gluten-free stuff I could find to try out (the answer is woefully little. Especially since there aren't gluten-free alternatives to a lot of things I like). Also gluten-free stuff is expensive! Which I kind of knew anyway, but now I have bought some, I know for definite.

So I'm going to try to eat less gluten-y stuff and see how it goes.

~

In other news, my pens came on Monday, as did a lamp I'd ordered from Ikea. All three things are great, however I will not be ordering from Ikea again ever. I booked my order to be delivered on Sunday, and they didn't even process it till that day! I mean, it at least did get delivered on Monday, but that wasn't the day I asked for, nor that I was offered! It is a good lamp - it's very energy efficient for starters - and it didn't cost much (because Ikea), but that whole palaver with the delivery has put me right off.

Anyway, my pens are amazing, and they both write really nicely, and feel nice to use. I don't think either nib is a fine point, as claimed, but I don't think that matters, really? I'm not that fussed. As long as they work, which they do, then I'm happy. Also they both came with converters, which I'm pleased about (basically I can put any colour or type of ink in*/it's better for the environment because I'm then not throwing small bits of plastic away).

Other than that, I rewatched Zoe and Aoife playing Dark Souls II. Because I suck at Dark Souls and wanted some tips (I did not get them, because they're doing a Let's Play, not a walkthrough).

And then I went back and am currently rewatching Aoife and Johnny playing Dark Souls III, which I could swear I remember nothing about, but I've kept going, "OH I REMEMBER THIS!" quite a lot. So evidently I remember more than I thought I did.

I've come to the conclusion that DS3 is the lovechild of Bloodborne and Demon's Souls. It feels very Bloodborne like, and the enemies remind me of the enemies in that, but also like, the Firelink Shrine is very like the Nexus in Demon's Souls. And there's a reference to Yuria, who's a character in that (which means absolutely nothing, really, it's just From referencing their older work). But you know me, I'll look for connections where there are none!

Also Resident Evil is TWENTY FIVE YEARS OLD THIS YEAR HOLY HECKINS. I wish I could pretend I wasn't aware of that, but I actually am. It's 23 years since I first played through RE2 with my BFF.

Talking of game anniversaries, FFXII was FIFTEEN not so long ago! It only feels like two minutes since I was saying I should've done something for the tenth anniversary and now...blimey. I was unprepared for that one.

And on that note, I think I'm done now!

~

*Except India ink. Don't ever put that in your fountain pen, because you will heck it up. Possibly for good.
Two entries, in one day, what the heckie??

I thought I'd put the meme stuff separate from everything else, just to make it a bit smoother/less of a massive entry. I had been going to post the meme post earlier in the week, but then real life happened!

There is Some Stuff going on at work that I don't really want to talk about yet, except from my work friend, Katy, is leaving and I am really sad! But she's going to what is literally her dream job, for an actual living wage, and I am very pleased for her.

I had an interview this Friday just gone, for an extremely similar job to the one I'm already doing. It's almost four times as many hours as I'm doing right now, although the pay is the same. But more hours would be good! I don't know that I will get it, but the interview went all right, I thought, and it's all experience for the next one!

I bought a bunch of art supplies that I needed/didn't need which ended up including Too Many Gel Pens, but in my defence, some of them of were dirt cheap! I got seven Zebra gel pens for £1.78! That's a bargain! (this is the type I got, but I got a set of three, and a set of four, not a big multipack. Though I want a big multipack now, drat it).

I also finally got some gesso, for my canvases, and because I discovered a whole bunch of paintings that I don't like any more, so want to paint over. So I'm going to do that. And then paint stuff I do like on top of them! \o/

I have also bought my first Posca pens! Just in a basic black and white, for outlining stuff, or maybe doing monochrome pictures, we'll see. I really want one of the pastel multipacks, but I can't justify the price of them to myself (I know it's because they're imported, but blehhhhh).

I find it absolutely hilarious, in some ways, that Posca pens are the in thing with a lot of artists in the past few years, as I remember seeing them in stationery catalogues when I was younger, but not really knowing what they were for (not art, not back in the mid-nineties). And then when people started posting art with them on the internet, I was like, omg, those are still around???

I have also just bought myself an Animal Crossing jigsaw puzzle, as I saw one the other day while mooching around pre-interview, and I was like, "even though this is in a cheap place, I have already spent a lot of money, and cannot justify it to myself!" And then I went and bought it online this morning, because the chances of me getting back to that shop and it being in stock still are minimal. Anyway, it was this one, primarily because it has Beau on it, and I am a sucker. (Now I look at it again, I see all the animals on there are some of my fave villagers, so YAY).

I've been looking for a nice jigsaw to do since chatting a bit to [personal profile] honigfrosch about them, but most of the ones I've seen either at work or in shops have been downright twee, or just a subject I'm not interested in. Until now!

I think this is a long enough entry for now, and I don't think y'all really need to know about the table I got from work, or the roast chicken I cooked, so I shall end this here! (I did want to talk about Diablo III, but that can wait till later!)

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