Rainy Day's Books, Video Games and Other Writings

Hello everyone! Wow, it feels like it’s been awhile since I’ve written one of these. Luckily, I actually have a lot to say this time around, partly due to not doing one of these last weekend. But also partly due to having some good news to share along with it. Anyway, I hope you’ve all been having a good weekend so far. I know I have, and I haven’t really done anything since I’ve been awake.

Hmmm… where to start? Okay, I guess I’ll start with what I’ve been up to during the week leading up to going to the beach last weekend. I mostly spent a lot of that time sleeping, reading, watching television, and playing app games on my phone. Seriously, I really didn’t do too much else leading up to when my sister Laney and her boyfriend Lawrence came to the house Thursday night. Though since my last weekend coffee post, I’ve been a very productive reading reviewer. Since my last coffee post, I’ve completed a total of four books, each uniquely different than the previous. I liked each of these books for a variety of different reasons. But I find myself surprised at being able to read this many books in this amount of time. I think part of it is because it’s been awhile since I’ve given myself the chance to really sit down and enjoy reading. And now that summer is here, and I have so much free time, I feel like I can do that. Not that I haven’t enjoyed the time I’ve spent on the books I’ve been reading while I’ve been employed. It’s just that I haven’t quite had as much time to sit and enjoy them, though I’ve definitely made the point in doing so when I was reading them.

Along with reading these four books, I discovered two other games in the App Store that I’ve started playing and enjoying, one of which I’ve actually played before a long time ago but quit because I felt like I couldn’t really do too much with it at the time. The first game I came upon made me chuckle because I was amused by it, but now I’ve become really hooked to it. And that game is called Pokémon Magikarp Jump. It came out last week, actually on the day when I first heard about it so I figured I’d give it a try and see how I’d like it. So far, it’s been very enjoyable and addicting to me. It has some Pokémon nostalgia that really makes it a fun game to play, even though the Pokémon you’re raising is one of the weakest ones in the games. The other one is called The Sims Freeplay, which is pretty much a mobile version of the games out on PC and console. I think part of the reason I stopped playing it the first time was due to it not having as much stuff for you to do. I remember the first time playing it I spent most of the time in my house working on filling my Sim’s needs and not going out in the world to really do anything. But this time around, it seems like there’s more things to do, and I have quests to complete too. I’ve also been making sure to keep the Sims I have busy by sending them away to work or having them compete in a competition because these things take them hours to do in real time. This allows me the chance to do other things while they are increasing their skills and making money, but can also be a hindrance for playing the game. Especially because the Sims games normally don’t have that time feature in them. Usually when you’re having a Sim do something, you can make time go a little faster and be done with it within a couple minutes. You unfortunately don’t have that option in this one, but that’s okay because these things always give me something to look forward to whenever I do go back to check on my characters. While it’s yet to be as much fun as the ones I know and love, I know once I unlock and build more of the town the game will get better for me.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you how much fun I had when my sister came to visit us last weekend. On Friday, Laney and Lawrence actually had to put in some hours for work so I for most of the day hung out in the living room playing Pokémon Magikarp Jump and reading. I also got my hair cut short, the pixie cut style I love because I like it so much while Laney had a job interview she had to go to. After all of that, we hung out at home for a little bit before going out to eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant with the people we love. We continued the night after dinner by buying some wine and beer at Total Wine to enjoy at our house. Then on Saturday, we drove two hours to go to Charleston and Sullivan’s Island. We first stopped by the Charleston Marketplace to see what all they had to offer. We saw a collection of all sorts of different things, from necklaces and jewelry to paintings to spices and even Christmas decorations. Then we drove around Charleston to show Lawrence some of the different homes and historic landscapes before heading to Sullivan’s Island to spend the day on the sandy beach. We also grabbed some barbecue to eat for lunch, which turned out to be really delicious.

As a family, we’ve actually never gone to Sullivan’s Island before. We’ve been to other beaches before, but this was our first time at this one and it was really nice. It was a beautiful day outside, which was something we hadn’t seen for a little while due to dealing with a lot of rain. The only downside was that it was very windy there so I didn’t do as much laying out in the sun as I’d have liked. But that was okay because I didn’t have to worry as much about getting burned. It was so windy that when I attempted to lie down I struggled because my towel was trying to blow away from me. I also ended up getting sand all over me because the wind was so crazy that it was blowing the sand along the beach. So I ended up going into the water to wash myself off, which proved to be a little difficult since I had sand in places I couldn’t reach. Once again, I enjoyed the feel of the sand between my toes along with the touch of cool ocean water brushing against my legs with the smell of the sea lingering in the air and the wild winds blowing against my face. I felt the sense of peace and tranquility I normally feel when I’m at the beach but it was wilder this time around, like the wind was nowhere near close to slowing down. It was a lot of fun though, despite the harsh winds because I was spending relaxing time with the people I care the most about. After our time on the beach, we went and grabbed some pizza to eat before heading back home. On Sunday, we showed Lawrence downtown, then went and grabbed some ice cream to snack on before heading back to the house. After that, Mum, Laney and Lawrence went to the gym while I took a nap. Once they were home, we started cooking food out on the grill for dinner and invited a friend over to eat and watch some movies we rented. After watching these movies, we then all headed to bed so we could rest and get ready for Monday. On Monday, we woke up early so that Laney and Lawrence could start packing up their things. We then went to Cracker Barrel for one last meal together before Laney and Lawrence headed back to Tennessee. Overall, I enjoyed the time we had together, and it was nice to meet Laney’s boyfriend for the first time.

And that’s pretty much all I have to say besides one more thing. The good news I have to share with you is that I have a job interview coming up on Tuesday. I have a friend that works at a new deli that’s opened up downtown and in several other places, and he’s mentioned my interest to them. So after completing my application, I heard back from them about meeting with them for a job interview. This is exciting/good news because I might finally have a job again so that I can make money while the other place I work at is closed. It sounds like they really need some good people so I’m really hoping this interview works out so I can get started right away. I also hope it works out to where I’ll be working full time or something because then I can leave the company I’m at now, since I’m not happy being there anymore. That place has just gotten so full of drama that I’m ready to be somewhere else where I don’t have to worry about that anymore. So wish me good luck because I feel like I really need it.

I hope you all are having a good weekend so far. I can’t wait to hear all about it.