Snackies

 What is my new year resolution gonna be?

Nothing.
Year of the Rabbit. Lets go.

Ophelia licks my nose to show affection- I'm invincible.
The holidays actually were super chill. I had time to turn off my brain for a bit and like, watch shows. Mr. Chicken surprised me with my own papasan chair. He created another space for me to snuggle in. Admittedly I was taken aback thinking what an odd thing to gift... but once assembled, I quickly realized how many fluffy throws I can nest myself in. Probably 9,000. He knew somehow that the next day, I'd sit in that thing for hours with every comfort within reach and rot happily.
At my computer, I'd watch Extraordinary Attorney Woo. At big comfy space; Bones. These shows are satisfying in that I resonate much with the protagonists. ^_^

Mr. Chicken and I spent all of Christmas day into the following morning in our own minds assembling these beauties, together.

It was the perfect scenario; Rich stove-top hot chocolate, rum spiked eggnog with cinnamon and nutmeg, holiday candles, the tree, and Christmas movies. Violent Night isn't Die Hard, but it's its own action-packed masterpiece. I cried.

It took over 12 non-stop hours to finish simultaneously. I savored every moment of it.

It's a wonder I don't own more Lego sets. But I think it comes down to the space they take up and the short term appeal. The finished product is a satisfying reward on top of the meticulous fun in assembly, I just don't know what to do with it afterwards. Though... the typewriter is pretty badass.

And the mechanisms work! They were both so involved, but a lot of fun.

Ophelia took over the papsan while we Lego'd late into the night.

This endeavor makes me want to continue it next year. I'd have to hope that another Lego set appealing enough to me comes out by then. I thought I wanted the Atari or NES (nintendo entertainment system), but upon further consideration thought, for what? I already had and experienced them.
The search begins.

Finally, in my last minute scramble to Target to gather stuff for delicious hot choccies, these Amiibo cards were in stock! It's the first I've seen of them, ever. In hindsight, I should've gotten more.

My in-laws returned with so many goodies. One of these was a pretty, acrylic Kiki puzzle with a frame. Its transparency added another layer of difficulty, which I very much enjoyed.

Winter recess was full of a lot of comforts.

We didn't go out anywhere, really. Not until after the New Year.

Cheers to 2023!

These ornate glasses were a special gift from one of Mr. Chicken's cousins who lives in Japan. He had our names etched on them with the date of our ceremony.

The first book I finished this year was written by my best friend.

There's a lot to say about this. Many layers unraveled around grief, fear and guilt. Personally, it feels appropriate given recent circumstances. From the bottom of my heart, I hope that this trilogy reaches someone with an eye for cinema who could translate this for bigger audiences. Ponies is an individual with a unique lens he sees life through. Much of it is beautifully expressed in his trilogy.

So, Christine one day was like, hey pick somewhere to eat and gimme a date lol.

Okay! :D

Tale as old as time.
Song as old as rhyme.
We all ate too much.

Ube supremacy.

Man, he and I both tried our luck and got rekt. Idk how some people do it. The claw was flimsy af. There's a trigger point where it actually takes hold and grabs, but idk where or when to trigger it. Every attempt we did, it like, would close around the toy but not hold on. And some dude before us got the blue and black dolls in one shot each lol. SOME DAY.

Mr. Chicken is back to working. I... am currently in a kind of serendipitous situation.
Back in early December, I got a work injury that has left me unable to return to work since. I've finished physical therapy, and am much better now. It was actually myself and another coworker. We're okay, just needed to let our bodies heal. And it was because of this that I've been able to mentally recover as well. It was a merciful pause, for a moment at the end of the year into the new one, that I got to really take in the calm before shitting myself studying for the licensure exam.

I've been potatoing every moment I can before returning to work and school. There's another exam waiting for me in the coming days. We'll see how I fare. I'm not stressing about that though, not anymore. That was used up on the licensure exam. I never have to take that thing again, thank goodness. At least not in this state.

 

Ophelia likes to watch tv at my desk. This is our compromise.

Finished Tormented Souls yesterday. Unlocked 2 different endings because I didn't like the result of the first one. Made me sad.
If you're a fan of old school horror games with precious ammo, needing a thing in order to save your progress, puzzles, and tank controls, Tormented Souls is solid. I'm biased here, but it was a lot of fun. I started it awhile back and stopped because it got too creepy and I was too stupid to figure out how to advance. It is a beautiful game with a lot of labyrinthian exploration. And as the title can imply, there's a lot of unsettling imagery, but... it's a horror game. So.

Anyway. Solid title. I'm gonna try to find more like it. It's why I liked Sense: Cyberpunk Ghost Story, too. It was 2.5D in art style but same vibe. Fuck yeah, indie horror games.

What else is next? Burnhouse Lane. Filthy Us. Since I recently finished Paper Bride 2, I wanna play PB3. Mineko's Night Market looks stinky cute, I wannit. It comes out this year at some point.
System Shock remaster's coming out in March. Butt is clenching for that. Darkest Dungeon II.
Plus the bigger titles coming out. It's gonna be a good year for gamers.

Man, I got some dried roses. They just add that extra $4.00 vibe.

Come through and I'll make ya one! Iced or hot ;)

• Vanilla soy milk
• Bourbon reserve espresso roast
  
• Rose syrup
  Topped with coco and dried roses

I should design a menu for our cafe nook, omg. I'm an idiot, why didn't I think of that before. (Probably because I can't envision anything other than grey nothingness, lol.)

NFDA keeps sending me stuff in the mail. It's cool. Just weird that like, Mr. Chicken comes in the room with a catalog for urns out of nowhere.
I'm musing over sweet nothings now. However, earlier this week when one of my mortsci girls came over to study for our exam, (we're trying to test out of an advanced law class LOLOLOL), future aspirations came up. It made me realize how many paths I can take with my education. I already know what I want for the short term, but I have so many options for the long term, and it's just... it's a great feeling. I just need to graduate and pass my national boards. I'm in love with my future.

LIFE'S FUNNY THOUGH, ISN'T IT? OFTEN TIMES, IN A CRUELLY IRONIC WAY. JUST PUTTIN' IT OUT THERE. :D

I'm not stepping foot outside my house with naiveté, no m'am. We're self aware in this meat-sack.

omg final thing.

BFF surprised me with a year-long subscription to this, and the first one arrived today. I wasn't prepared for the treasures that lay in wait for me.

Ah, this was fun to open. An experience in a box!

I don't well receive last-minute change of plans, which could be construed as a type of surprise. In spite of this, I'm quite fond of surprises. It's complicated.

Ophelia had first dibs.

This little box had a LOT of stuff in it.

There was a little pamphlet with an inventory of everything. It all looks so yummy and fun. We only tried one so far...

It's like our friend Jason staring us in the face, lol. Christine put photos up of his Anya cosplay. He's beautiful.

I'm out of touch, is season 2 out? The hype was obnoxious and I couldn't escape it, so I watched the first season. It was cute, but wasn't as earth-shattering as what people made it out to be. Though I do resonate somewhat with Yor's disposition. Thought it was funny she likes wine and has a meticulousness about dark clothing because of her profession, hehe. I digress.

I'm getting these boxes for the entire year. That means that I'll be crying during the semester yes, but nesting cozy and snuggley with 9,000 blankets in my papasan chair from Mr. Chicken, and stress eating Japanese snacks from my BFF. Surely, it's a flawless recipe for passing the semester.

Ah, I just noticed a scratch on my monitor. Awesome.
#justcatthings. #screaming.

Anywho. HAPPY FRIYAY. Snack time. ^_^