March 12, 2016

Today was a pretty good day. I replied to two discussion posts, which means I'm done for that discussion but I'll probably respond to another one tomorrow and Monday just to be safe. I probably should have done some reading but I've got all week to do that. So I took the rest of the day off.

I found this free-to-play “game” on Steam called Viridi which is basically a potted plant simulator. You pick a pot, the type of plant arrangement you want in the pot, and then it grows in real time. I had to water the plants once today and I'm assuming I will have to do it again whenever real plants need to be watered. It's an interesting concept. It is kind of like watching paint dry but it has relaxing music, so I can see bringing it up for background music while doing something else.

I played Rocket League for the first time today and I get it. When I first started watching people play it I instantly saw the appeal and it is a lot of fun to watch. Turns out it is also fun to play. It's easy enough to pick up and play but it is also really hard to be good. I played through the tutorials and struggled through some of the early ones and couldn't even get through the beginning of the harder ones, so I switched over to playing against rookie bots. Even that was a bit difficult at times but it was fun. I jumped into a few online games and it reminded me a lot of little kids playing soccer, where instead of staying in their positions they all just flock around the ball. Still fun though.

I played Castaway Paradise and made a lot of progress. I log in everyday to get free stuff and unlock items but don't really play, just like with Tera. I lost interest pretty quickly because I think it was either the first or second time I played I got saddled with three quests (which is the max) that I couldn't complete. One involved catching a crab, which is done through fishing and seems to be completely random and every time I went fishing I never caught a crab. Another one required two bananas which I didn't have and couldn't afford. And the third was opening up a bridge to another part of the island, which required nine puzzle pieces, something you get from quests or by purchasing them. Again, I didn't have the money and I couldn't get them through quests because I couldn't complete any of the quests. I'm not sure what happened today but I managed almost immediately to complete all three of those without really trying and then knocked out several more. The game suddenly became kind of fun again.

And to keep things going, I also played Crashlands for a bit, completely several quests, collecting resources, and unlocking some new stuff. I'm still enjoying that game but I haven't been able to play it recently because it sucks me in and I haven't had the time for that. Kind of the same reason I haven't bought Stardew Valley, even though I really want to play it. I know that it will be detrimental to my schoolwork.

I sewed four more bookmarks today and had great timing with my bobbin thread. After sewing the the first two pieces of fabric together I checked the bobbin and it was empty, with about five inches of thread coming up out of the bobbin compartment. Pretty much perfect. I was worried it would happen in the middle of a project so I'm glad that didn't happen. Also, the bookmarks turned out well.

For dinner I made pasta with fake chicken and a sauce that was inspired by Indian food. I think it was Tikka Masala but I could be wrong. Regardless, it was pretty tasty. I was a little worried it would be spicy but it wasn't actually that bad. I'm a little worried about my stomach because it tends to not like changes in my diet, but we'll see.

I also exercised and did laundry, so overall I did a lot of stuff today. That is surprising. Tomorrow I am going out of town for my step Grandpa's birthday. There is a family lunch at the house and then a reception somewhere after that with a bunch of people. I think my sister and I are only going to do the lunch, which will be awkward enough, at least for my sister and I, because we haven't been to any family gatherings in quite awhile. It should be fine, though.

Not it is time for bed because it is almost half past one o'clock in the morning. And it is technically almost half past two o'clock in the morning because of Daylight Savings. I don't like springing forward, especially when I can't sleep in the next day. It might make for a long day.