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If We Were Having Coffee: Life Lessons at 24

Welcome to my first coffee post of 2017! My birthday was this weekend so I figured it’d only be fitting to use a coffee cake image for this post. I hope you all are enjoying 2017 so far. 

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you I officially started back to work this past week. So far, it’s been okay. It’s actually been pretty slow there so most of our hours are being cut. I don’t mind too much though because I’ll be working from 8:30 to 5:30 instead of my usual 10:30 to 7:00. So I’ll actually be getting done earlier, exactly like I wanted. I also haven’t been stressing out too much about the problems at work since I’ve been back, which has probably helped me significantly. It’s almost as if the storm has already passed and we are simply just drifting out to sea. I know having Monday off will definitely help. 

I think what’s helped though was I had time off away from work. Speaking of which (if I haven’t already), Christmas break went well. My grandmother was down through all of it so I spent my days with her doing whatever she wanted, whether it be baking cookies or decorating the Christmas tree. It was nice seeing her, even when she was getting on my nerves like she sometimes tends to do. The only disappointment with Christmas break has been my laptop. First my Internet connection wasn’t fully functional, now my charger doesn’t work anymore. So that’ll need to be taken care of at some point. Hopefully, I’ll just need to get a new charger and not have to replace it completely. But for now, I’ve been using my tablet for all my Internet needs, including my blog posts. And it’ll continue to be that way until the laptop situation is handled. 

Speaking of writing, I have some news for the new year. The platform I’ve been using for some of my video game posts and other posts, Creators is creating another platform. It’s going to be for Indie gaming and is going to be a great way for gamers and developers to interact with each other. If you want to know what I’m talking about, here you go. Anyway, I received an email after I signed up about that they are looking for writers and people to interact in the community, to email back if your interested. So I emailed back letting them know I’m definitely interested. So I’ll be doing that now too, which is really cool and exciting to me. This platform is supposed to launch this month so I can’t wait to see how this’ll work out for me. I think it’ll be an amazing opportunity to be able to write about one of my passions and hopefully make good connections within the video gaming industry. If you want to see some of my posts already on the Creators platform (some of which aren’t on my blog because I’m taking their Creators Academy course to become a Verified Creator), here is the link. 

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you I feel like I’m doing well with writing more this year. I’ve already written so much and we’ve just gotten halfway through January. And this is just the beginning. I saw a Flash Fiction Challenge the other day I’m very interested in doing. I’m not going to spoil you with the details because I want you to read it. All I’ll say is it’s probably going to be super personal. Either way, expect that to come as soon as I publish this coffee post because that’s what I want to write about next. Hopefully, I’ll be able to continue writing at this magnitude, but only time will tell. 

I’d like to also tell you that I think I’ll reach my reading goal for this year. Already, I’ve finished reading Lair of Dreams and The Book Jumper and am getting started with Crown of Midnight, the second book in the Throne of Glass series. I’ve also recently been playing The World Ends With You and just recently finished watching A Series of Unfortunate Events on Netflix. I plan on continuing to play this game and watch Criminal Minds whenever the mood sets me. 

I know I’ve already mentioned my birthday, but with getting older, I usually like to quickly reflect on what I think I’ve learned. What I can currently say about being 23 is that there were quite a bit of ups and downs. I know a part of my problem was that I was stressing out about work too much. To the point where it affected me emotionally both on and off the job. I also had a new friendship begin to form that’s continuing to grow in completely unexpected ways. At the age of 23, I was also struggling to continue to let my broken heart heal, to let go of the past and embrace the future and just not worry about things too much. In essence, I was somewhat emotionally unbalanced and reaching to my breaking point. 

But after some much needed thinking, I’ve been looking at things with a different perspective. And I’ve come to realize that there are only so many things that I can control. What other people do or say is beyond my control. How I react to situations is what matters. So what I’m hoping to do now that I’m 24 is not let things easily get to me. To try and stop the unneeded drama at work from  causing me stress and continue to realize I can’t please everybody. 

I’ve also come to realize I’m much stronger than I think. That I’m going to be alright even when things seem dark in the world. That my dreams are possible as long as I continue working towards them. I know I’m already healing and am proud of what I’ve accomplished this year alone, both with my writing on my blog and taking care of myself. I hope that with turning 24, life will continue to bless me in unexpected ways and I’ll be able to accomplish my dreams to the fullest. 

With this in mind, I wish you all a good weekend. I hope 2017 hasn’t been too bad for you so far and hope you have a wonderful weekend! 

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Becoming a Part of the Club

Note: This post was also submitted for my application to be a contributor to Book Riot. Since I haven’t gotten chosen for that opportunity, I’ve decided to put it here on my blog so my dear readers can enjoy what I’ve written. I edited this post a little because I decided I wanted to rewrite some of what I’d written in the hopes of improving this post.   

I have a hard time socializing with people. I prefer spending time alone: reading books, playing video games, writing, or coloring.

But despite how much I enjoy my alone time, I occasionally want to socialize. To be around like-minded people who share the same interests as me.

Which is why I want to become more involved in the book community. I want to be in a book club. I want to meet new people and talk about books. I want to be a part of discussions that broaden my mind as well as my reading selection.

And I don’t mind socializing. I don’t mind talking to people, having open ended conversations. I just have a hard time doing it, especially face to face. I’m much better at conversations through text and online because I feel like I can really express myself the way I want and have my voice be heard.

The problem is I don’t know a whole lot of people in a book club. I don’t have a lot of friends who enjoy reading as much as I do that I feel like I can openly have a discussion with about the books I read.

My older sister is in a book club with some of her friends. And while my sister and I are pretty close, I don’t want to be involved in her book club. I would feel weird asking to be a part of their group. Not because I have issues with her friends who are involved, but because I want to make friends of my own.

I want to become involved in the book community on my own. I want to make friends who share the same passion and interest in reading as I do. So while at times asking my sister if I can be a part of her friend’s book club is enticing, I need to do things myself.

And one thing I want to do myself is find a book club to be involved in. So if anyone knows of any interesting book clubs I might be interested in, send them my way. I’ll definitely check them out and see if it’s a good fit for me.

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Giving Something New a Try: If We Were Having Coffee First Post

If We Were Having Coffee Image One

For the past couple weeks now, I’ve read Zen and Pi’s If We Were Having Coffee posts. I find them to be very interesting, seeing her posts about what she’s been up to during the week that I’ve decided I want to do my own weekly #weekendcoffeeshare posts.

Part of the reason I want to become a part of the #weekendcoffeeshare is because I want to personalize my blog some more. I don’t want my blog to be just about the books I’ve read and video games I’ve played. And I’m trying to do that by including some of my own writing through flash fiction challenges and writing prompts. But I also want it to be somewhere readers can learn a little more about me, including them in my life because my blog is a part of my life.

I believe If We Were Having Coffee will be able to help with that. What I’ll be doing each weekend is writing a post directed at my readers, telling them what all I’ve been up to during the week over a cup of coffee. I’m planning on doing these posts starting today every weekend if I can to give my readers a glimpse into my everyday life. I hope these posts will allow more conversation to happen between me and my readers, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that I’m sorry but I don’t drink coffee. I’ll be having milk with our weekend coffee sessions instead and hope that’s okay with you. I’d also apologize to you for the lack of posts over the past two weeks. Two coworkers of mine who work nights at my job quit so I’ve been covering their hours with very little free time for myself to spare. These extra hours have caused me so much stress, frustration and exhaustion that I haven’t felt like writing as much until I got through the weeks I’d be working them. They’ve also made me realize how miserable I am with my current job and am ready to get a job in my field sooner rather than later. Right now, I’m working on that with my general manager at work, who’s offered to help me find a position for the company in my field. I’m actually supposed to meet with him tomorrow about this so fingers crossed he has some good news for me. But if not, I’ve been applying for positions while I’ve been home, both for a job during the summer and in my field so I’m not unemployed during the summer and so I have somewhere to work full time so I don’t have to go back. While I enjoyed working for them for a little while, I’ve realized it’s time for me to go because I’m no longer happy working there anymore. I’m ready for a different job and to get my career started.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you I had applied to be a contributor at Book Riot a couple weeks ago. I’d tell you how excited I was about the opportunity, but also inform you that I didn’t get picked. But I’d also let you know how okay I am with that now because the two posts I wrote for the position I can always put on my blog. In fact, I’d say, I’m planning on putting them on my blog. As soon as I get the chance to look over them one last time to make sure there isn’t anything more I want to add. I’d also tell you if you asked that what they are about is a surprise and that you’ll see them on my blog soon enough. I don’t want to spoil them for you my dear reader, I’d tell you.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you I’ve made friends in the most unlikely of places. Yes, I have friends both from high school and college I still talk to. But I also made friends with people I never expected to talk to me. In fact, I’ve been spending time with one of them quite a bit. I went to a couple parks with them last Sunday, some of which I’d never gone to before. It was lots of fun and I hope we go to some more very soon. But for now, this friend of mine is slowly becoming a part of my life in ways I didn’t imagine. We talk to each other every day and with each conversation had, I feel like I’m learning more and more about this person that makes me realize I want them to be in my life and someone I can continue to call a dear friend.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you about my best friend’s Mary Kay consultation party I went to last Saturday. I’d tell you how proud I am of my best friend for starting up her own business and about the good time I had at the consultation. I’d tell you I had such a good time that I even bought stuff, not only to support my friend but because I need it. I have a lot of problems with my skin getting dry and the stuff they have for dry skin I was able to try during the consultation. It seemed to work well so I’m hoping the stuff I’m getting works good for me. I would also mention there’s going to be another consultation next Saturday at 10. I’m going to that one as well so I can continue to support my friend and see what other products Mary Kay has to offer.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you I haven’t read a book since I tried reading Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, even though I’d gotten two other books on my Nook. I’ve been so busy playing Kingdom Hearts Unchained X whenever I’ve had the chance that I haven’t started reading another book. I just couldn’t get into this book right now so I’m hoping whatever book I start next will be better. But I can tell you that Kingdom Hearts Unchained X is pretty good, despite how annoying the battery life on my tablet can be.

If we were having coffee, I’d apologize for blabbering for so long and ask you about your week.

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Liebster Award

Wow. I can’t believe I was nominated for this award. Thank you so much Jia from Film & Nuance for this nomination. I really enjoy reading your blog and am glad to see you enjoy my blog as much as I do yours.

The Liebster Award is an online award for bloggers to gain more support, recognition and just to get to know the person behind the blogger. It also helps others to discover new blogs and to build a sense of community in the blogging world.

How does the Liebster Award Work? Here are the rules:

  • Thank the blogger(s) who nominated you
  • Answer the 11 questions the blogger gives you
  • Nominate 11 bloggers that you think are deserving of the award but more importantly help to promote newer bloggers with fewer followers.
  • Let the bloggers know you nominated them
  • Give them 11 questions of your own

Well, I’m really excited about this. Thank you again for nominating me for this award Jia.  Now, let’s get to answering your questions.

1.What is your favourite hobby other than blogging(if it already is)? And why do you love it so much?

Well, I have a couple favorite hobbies to be honest. And I can’t choose between all of them because I enjoy them all equally. But two of them do go hand in hand. My favorite hobbies are reading, writing, playing video games, and coloring. I really enjoy reading because I love stories, love being introduced to characters whose hearts bleed on the page, and just love seeing how a story develops. I just love being placed in a whole new world with no idea what I’m getting myself into. I love reading because I can go to a whole other place entirely without leaving the comforts of my home. And the same can be said with writing because reading and writing sort of go hand in hand with each other. But with writing, I also enjoy doing it because I love being able to express my own thoughts and feelings as well as seeing my writing improve. I love writing because I’m able to tell my own stories, create my own characters with a unique mindset of their own. I enjoy video games because they are very immersive. In a video game, you play as a character with their own personality who interacts with the environment around them. Usually with this character, there is some sort of story and conflict you have to deal with. But those aren’t the only type of video games you can play too. There are some video games where you create your own character and are placed in an environment where you have to deal with surviving and completing missions in order to gain experience and gain more abilities. I enjoy these video games as well because they allow the player to choose their own destination and broaden their imagination. I love video games because each one is different and I feel like when I play them, I’m seeing a different type of story unfold. I love video games because I love immersing myself in a completely different world and seeing the results of my character’s actions unfold. Lastly, I enjoy coloring too. I enjoy coloring whenever I get the chance to do it because it’s relaxing. Whenever I feel like I’m stressed out or am having a particular rough day, I feel like coloring helps me get out of that state of mind and put me in a more peaceful place where only positive thinking is allowed.

Coloring 22

An example of one of the many coloring pages I’ve completed.

Not to say I don’t enjoy blogging on WordPress. Because I wanted to talk about other hobbies outside of my blog that you might’ve not known about already (though I have a post about coloring on my blog and I blog about books and video games a lot).

2.What are your top 3 movies of all time? And your worst 3?

Harry Potter Image

Well, I feel like my answers to this question could potentially get people mad at me. You’ll see in a minute why. Okay, so I’d have to say my three favorite films would be all of the Harry Potter movies, The Hunger Games Catching Fire, and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Harry Potter, both the books and movies as a series are a big part of my life. If you don’t know this already, I’m a big fan of the series. Since middle school, I’ve been really into the series, reading the books whenever I get the chance and watching the movies to relieve the moments from the books that were included in the films. I enjoy Catching Fire because I enjoyed reading the series quite a bit, but out of all of the books and movies in the series/trilogy, Catching Fire was my favorite. I enjoyed watching it on the screen just as much as I enjoyed reading it, watching as Katniss once again enters the games she thought she’d never have to be a part of again. And Beauty & the Beast is one of my favorite Disney films because the main character Belle is a character I feel like I can strongly relate to.

Inkheart Movie Poster

Now for my three least favorite films, time to deal with some mad people. I would have to say my least three favorite films are Forrest Gump, Finding Nemo, and Inkheart. Now, I don’t dislike these films completely, just don’t like them as much as other people might. With Forrest Gump, I thought the story was interesting. My problem with it is that I felt like the movie was too long and I didn’t find it quite as funny as most people think it is. I just had a hard time sitting through it and just didn’t see the appeal of it like everyone else and don’t plan on watching it ever again unless I feel the need to give it another chance. With Finding Nemo, I did enjoy it the first time I watched it. My problem with it stems from the one daycare I went to whenever I was in elementary school. Whenever Finding Nemo first came out and I saw it for the first time, I really enjoyed it. But whenever it came out on video, our daycare got it and all of the kids at daycare kept asking for us to watch it. Every. Single. Day. Now, I know that doesn’t bother some people, but I’m one of those people who just can’t watch the same thing every day over and over again. Because whatever it is I’m watching loses its appeal to me then. And that’s what happened with Finding Nemo. I enjoyed it the first couple times I watched it, but then its charm wore off on me after seeing it for the twelfth time in a row. And I haven’t really watched it since those days because even though I know the chance of me still disliking it are slim, I still have no interest in watching it because of the amount of times I’d seen it when I was younger. Inkheart is a movie based off of the book by Cornelia Funke, which is a book I really enjoy reading. It had been made into a movie whenever I was in high school and I was really excited when I found out it was being made until a film. Until I saw the trailer and realized how much of the book isn’t actually in the film. But I still saw it anyway, hoping against hope that it wasn’t going to be a complete disappointment. And it was good, not overtly horrible, but it still wasn’t as good as the book. They took out so much from the book that I get sad thinking about how much better the film could’ve been if they’d just stuck to the way Cornelia Funke wrote the story. So I was more disappointed with Inkheart than anything, even though I do find the movie to be somewhat okay and find myself watching it from time to time.

3.If you had a chance to rewind life to any point in your life, would you? If yes, then to which point in your life? If no, why not?

 I’m going to have to say no on this one. Because while there are some moments in my life I wish I never had to live, I wouldn’t be the same person I am today. I’ve gone through so much in the 23 years I’ve been alive and I feel like I wouldn’t be the same person I am today if I hadn’t gone through all of those struggles, dealt with all of those personal things. So while I do sometimes wish I didn’t have to deal with certain things in my life, I’m glad I did. Because I wouldn’t be the person I am today without having to deal with all of those hardships.

4.Name your most anticipated 2016 movies?

whiskey-tango-foxtrot1-poster

While Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is already in theaters here in the United States, I still have yet to go and see it. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is centered around a reporter named Kim Barker (played by Tina Fey) who takes an assignment in Kabul, Afghanistan. While there, she finds herself in the middle of a war zone and meets a fellow journalist who takes her under her wing.  I want to go and see it one day because it looks like a film I’d be interested in and because Tina Fey is a great actress. It also has to do with journalists going to report in war zones, which is something I’ve heard of happening but have never actually seen.

The Jungle Book 2016 Movie

I would go into the details of the plot of The Jungle Book, but if you’ve ever seen Disney’s version then you already know the premise of this film. Despite that this movie is a remake, I want to see it because it looks like it’ll be a very promising film. I want to see it not only because I enjoyed The Jungle Book as a kid, but because the cast in the film is full of names I don’t recognize.

Allegiant Film

Since I’ve already seen the other two films in this series (though, I’ve not read the books yet), I might as well see this. Yes, I know it’s already released, but I want to see it since I’ve seen the others already, though the second film didn’t excite me quite as much as Divergent.

The Forest Movie Poster

And lastly, I also want to see The Forest. Another movie that’s already in theaters since January this year, this film is a type of movie I’d want to see because it looks scary and looks like something I’d enjoy.

I’m sorry all of the movies I’ve chosen that I’m excited about for this year are movies that have already been released. But these are the movies that have come out this year that I’m really excited about seeing.

5. Recall your favourite childhood memory or a particular instance where you felt overjoyed?

 I don’t have a particular favorite childhood memory. I have a lot of moments from my childhood I enjoyed, such as whenever I first discovered my love for video games and all of the moments I spent time with my family. Most of my time with my family I particularly enjoyed was whenever we would go to visit my grandmother in Pennsylvania and see my aunt, uncle and cousin in Boston. So to answer this question, I don’t have a particular childhood memory or instance where I felt overjoyed.

6.If you could be any character from any movie/tv series/book, who would you be? And why?

Luna Lovegood HP

Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter series is one of my absolutely favorite characters. She is an odd duck who gets picked on by her peers, but is still friendly and nice to people, even when they treat her badly. She is someone who doesn’t care too much about society’s standards, but cares enough about the people she calls friends. She’s someone I would want to be because she’s one of the few people who believes Harry when he says Voldemort is back in Order of the Phoenix and is the type of friend I would love to have in my corner. She is a unique personality, which is something I strive to be.

7. Would you rather lead a safe, conventional and routine life or a life bound only by your own rules? Why?

I would probably want to lead a life that’s bound to my own rules, whatever those rules may be. There’s nothing wrong with a safe, conventional and routine life. It’s just that I have certain morals that I stand by and I would want to make sure I follow those. And if living a safe life interfered with my own conscious, then I would have to break out of that life. I also want to follow my own path in the world, wherever that may take me. I don’t want to follow society’s standards of what I should be doing with my future, I want to do what’s the best for me. Even if it means not leading a safe, conventional life.

8. What are the collectibles (e.g. posters, toys, figurines, plushies etc.)/ objects do you have and are most proud of? It could be movie/book related or anything really.

Beanie-Babies-Poster

When my sister and I were little, we would collect these teenie beanie babies from McDonald’s. And we really loved them quite a lot. We would play with them, snuggle with them and just have them around with us. They are some of the nicest plushies I own and I’m proud that I was able to get so many of them and hope to one day pass them on whenever I have children of my own.

9. Walking in the park or walking in the city?

 Walking in the park would be nice because you’d have lots of pretty trees and nature surrounding you. Unlike with the city, you wouldn’t have to deal with the hustle and bustle of everyday life and could enjoy the peace and quiet.

10. If you could be fluent in one other language, what would it be?

 Hmmmm… tricky, tricky question. There are multiple languages I’m interested in learning. I tried French in college and while that didn’t work out so well, I want to try learning French again. But I’m also interested in learning Japanese and Hungarian as well. I want to learn Japanese because I’m really interested in their food and think it’d be cool to go there someday. Plus I watch Japanese anime from time to time so it’d be a whole lot easier if I knew Japanese so I wouldn’t have to worry about subtitles too much.  And I want to learn Hungarian because my mother’s side of the family is Hungarian. So I think it would be nice to learn some of my family’s language so I can better understand my family ancestry.

11. Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging in July 2015 because after I graduated college, I wanted to get back into the habit of writing again and wanted to gain more writing experience by writing in a format I knew I’d enjoy. I experimented with blogging during the blogging class I took at Columbia College when I wrote my blog Healthy Body Peace of Mind and discovered how much I enjoyed it. But with this blog, I wanted to do something different. Instead of focusing on heart health, I wanted to write about topics I enjoyed, such as writing about books and video games. I then quickly realized I enjoy sharing my personal writing with my followers too, which is how I decided to post some of my fictional pieces. And that is how Vook: Books + Video Games was born.

The eleven blogs I want to nominate for this award are:

Zen and Pi

World of Horror

BookMarked

Siobhan Tebbs

The Dunne Files

A Drip of Truth A Drop of Lies

Echoes From the Path

She’s a Seeker

Prophecy Six

All-purpose and semi-sweet

Mindoftannguyen

And here are the 11 questions for the bloggers I’ve nominated:

1. What inspired you to create your blog?

2. What is your favorite book? And what book did you read that you think is overrated and why?

3. What is your favorite animal? How did you come to love that animal?

4. What books are you looking forward to reading this year?

5. What are your thoughts on video games? Why do you see video games in this way?

6. What is the biggest challenge you’ve experienced since creating your blog? How did you overcome that challenge?

7. Recall one of your favorite places to travel. What do you enjoy about this place and what are some of your favorite memories that you’ve created there?

8. What are some of your writing habits?

9. Are you a morning person or a night owl? Why?

10. What are some of your favorite television shows, both from your childhood and currently? Why did you enjoy the shows you watched as a child and why do you like the shows you watch now?

11. What is your dream job? What are you doing now to one day get that job?

I look forward to seeing the blogs I’ve nominated respond to these questions.

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