Family Friday... on a Monday

Grandma's first selfie.

This is my grandmother. You are seeing this picture first because the rest of the pictures will be graphic in nature and I needed a buffer picture so my links were not immediately accompanied with a gross picture.

Anyway, my grandmother is 85 years old. She is borderline diabetic [this is a complicated statement], hard of hearing, has macular degeneration, peripheral nerve damage in her feet, and is a staunch Democrat. She is mobile, but needs a walker and has a lot of difficulty making it up the three stairs in her home.

She is adamant about living independently. She currently lives across the road from us in her ranch style home. It is all one level [save for the three steps it take to get to the attached garage] and even her washing machine is on the main floor.

I'm telling you all this as a background.

December 21st we [myself and my mother] get a call from the nice lady [and family friend] that helps grandma clean her house. She saw that grandma had an open wound on the back of her foot. When asked about it grandma said she first noticed a blister back there on Saturday [the 19th] and to not tell us about it because we'll just worry over nothing.

This is a normal statement from Grandma.

So naturally, she called us and told us about it and we went over right away to look at it. We found this. For size reference... grandma wears a 10WW shoe.

Grandma assured us that she was fine and didn't want us to worry about her.

We didn't listen to her and took her to the emergency room.

Once the slipper was removed we noticed something else.


The wound was just the top of a popped blister. A blister that measured 4.5 cm tall and 6 cm wide. That is a Post-It note sized blister... that we only were just told about!

Now I know that at least one person is out there going, "Why don't you do daily checks on her?"

We do... I do.

Grandma is a special case. She is kinda paranoid. Like "the government is trying to steal all my money" paranoid. She is considered "too rich" to qualify for an in-home care program and "too poor" to move to a care facility. So she has me as a care provider and our family friend as a maid. I take her to appointments, get her groceries, make meals, and pick up her prescriptions. If she needs something from me, she calls me up and I go right over. She has a Life Alert necklace [that she keeps on her walker because... reasons?] incase she can't get to her phone.

But mainly it is her decision to do anything. And she likes to prove this by not telling us about her ailments for a few days. Even when we are sitting in front of her.

So the ER doctor says that the blister is probably from either her cellulitis or her lymphedema.

In other words... no big deal?

They send us down to wound care for debridement... aka the removal of dead tissue so the wound can heal. It looks like this.

Just so you know, I'm apparently a ninja when I take pictures. The doctor didn't even know. But I knew I needed to be able to tell other family members what was going on.

So I became the Ninja Photographer!

Long story short, Grandma is healing well. Actually she only had to go to 2 debridement appointments. The doctor said she was healing nicely and that all she needed was someone to change her bandages.

That would be me.

Woo...

Holidays are hard for scheduling

As you can tell I've been doing really well at keeping this schedule together.

I'm gonna blame on the holidays but that's not really the reason.

The reason is because I'm lazy.

But I feel better blaming something I have no control over.
~~~~~~~

Trust me, tomorrow's blog is gonna be a doozy.

Workday Wednesday - Intro scene

I've been working on translating a story of mine into script format.

I have it titled "Gemini Falls" and that has been the title since before I ever heard about the show Gravity Falls. Actually, I only just thought of that correlation as I was writing this intro. Trust me, my story has nothing to do with that show.

It was a seed from an entirely different show.

I started this as a sort of Marble Hornets homage, but it has gone through a lot of tweaks and edits. However, this intro scene still has that sort of vibe.

So here is the opening scene. Please feel free to leave any constructive criticism in the comments.

Thanks.

~~~~~~

Fade In:

Found Footage Opening

Static gives way to dark foreboding trees dotted only with the light of a small flashlight. Occasionally the flashlight comes into view in the bottom corner. The camera person is obviously scared but continues into the woods.

Shelby [V.O.]

I can’t believe I’m trompsing through the woods armed only with a $15 camera and a flashlight. At least I sprang for the expensive one. No battery issues for this girl. I got one of those emergency shake-em-up torches reserved for the doom preparers.

She continues further into the woods. There is normal woods ambiance. Hooting owls, cicadas, etc.

Shelby [v.o.]

Of course I’m kicking myself for going alone. Then again, I have no friends and my only family thinks I’m crazy. Absolutely certifiable. She actually did commit me once.

She turns the camera onto herself. She looks absolutely haggard. Like she hadn’t slept in weeks. Her green striped hair stood out in random places under her black slouchy hat.

Shelby

But I will show them. I will show them all. [beat] I’m not crazy.

A twig snaps loudly behind her. She whips the camera around and tries to find the source of the sound.

Shelby [v.o.]

What was that?

Her light bounces around on the trees. The trees in this area grow source close together that you’d think it was just one giant tree.

Shelby [v.o.]

Shelby, pull yourself together. It was probably just some random animal. You have a reason that you are in the woods tonight and you’re gonna see it through. You are gonna find this … thing.

She walks through some trees and finds herself in a perfectly circular clearing. She rotates around showing just how strange looking it is.

Shelby [v.o]

We’re here. The last time I saw him he was here in this clearing. And now I’m here… alone… talking to myself in the middle of the woods with only a camera as my friend. Maybe I am crazy?

Thing [v.o.]

I don’t think you’re crazy.

She stopped moving. Her hand shake at the sound of his voice.

Thing [v.o.]

(close and evil)

I’ve been waiting for you, Shelby.

She brings the camera up slowly to point it behind her. Right behind her shoulder is a giant blacker than black silhouette. It is vaguely humanoid in shape but has no discernible features.

Thing [v.o]

(cocking his head to one side)

Now… why did you go and do that?

She drops the camera and it falls, but manages to capture the following action. In one swift movement it wraps its “arms” around her and pulls her backwards into the darkness.

Fade to:

Title Screen

This is where the title goes.

Trans to:

~~~~~~~

Monday Review - Fallout 4

I was going to start my grand re-entrance into movie reviews with the most recent movie I watched.

But that was Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

And since my reviews tend to be a bit heavy on the spoiler side of things, I am forbidden to review it for a couple of months.

At least until the statute of limitations is lifted.

So instead I’m gonna review Fallout 4.

I finally finished my first play-through of the game, which says a lot as it is the first Fallout game I’ve been able to finish. And there’s still a lot of things for my character to do in the Commonwealth, but I’ve completed the main storyline.

Here’s a brief rundown of the expedition of Tara.

• After watching my husband get shot and my son taken, I am freed to wander the vast barren landscape of Massachusetts.
• I find a dog.
• I help find a synth detective who helps me find out information on who took my son.
• I travel into the mindscape of said kidnapper and then kill him.
• I saved the DJ from a bar fight and thus help him become a more manly man.
• I become the Silver Shroud… and get some poor ghoul killed. (But I reloaded like 8 times trying to not get him killed. It was very sad.)
• I then go on a brief killing spree out of anger.
• When I come back to my senses I find out that my son is at the Institute.
• I go there and find out that my son is actually 60 and in charge.
• I vow to help him because he is my son and I love him and I don’t really care about anyone else in the commonwealth.
• In doing so, I kill a lot of people that I have met along the way.
• Son dies and I become the new director of the Institute.

And that’s it.

From what I’ve read about the game, I got the bad ending. The Institute is bad and should be destroyed. But they were doing so much for the betterment of the world and technology I just had to agree with them. Cause I’m all for science!

Overall, I had a pretty good time playing the game. I got rather good at sniping. And extremely good at become over­-encumbered and not being able to run.

Fallout… the game that teaches hording.

I’ve already started a new play-through. The one is my “dicking around” character. His name is Jim and for a good number of days he was dressed in a green dress and matching hardhat. He only carries a 10mm and a shotgun – named Yvaine and Zeus respectively.

I highly recommend this game.

New format!

After much deliberation I have decided that I need to spend more time on this pet project of mine. So I have painstakingly mapped out the followed schedule for myself.

Monday - new(ish) movie review
Tuesday - new video on YouTube
Wednesday - in depth discussion of story I'm working on
Thursday - new video on YouTube
Friday - personal journey discussion
Saturday - new video on YouTube
Sunday - off... because sometimes you just need a day off.

I need to make this blog my own so I've segmented it into the three areas of my life. Personal, work, and hobby. In this case "work" is the book I'm working on. Because someday I'll actually publish something and then silly update posts like this will be a thing of the past because I'll be too busy travelling and signing books.

Hey... a girl can dream...

Monday's movie review may alter to include book reviews, tv reviews, and general anything I like reviews.

Friday's personal days are important. Because doing something for yourself is necessary.

So... yeah... new schedule incoming.

Just in time for the new year.

I don't think I could've planned that any better.

:)

this is my blog, right?

My YouTube persona.

If I cared about this blog as much as I do my YouTube channel...

well...

I would post more often.

Let's see... I have a Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday schedule for my gameplay videos, so let's do a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule for blog posts. Sounds reasonable.

Except I don't know what to talk about.

What do I want my blog to be about? What do I want to despense to my loyal readers?

I guess I need to figure that out first.

It's NaNoWriMo

So I'm gonna post some bits of the various things I'm working on. Enjoy.

This is from what I'm tentatively calling The Fool. It's a mystery/thriller type thing.

~~~~~~

The crisp morning air burned her lungs, but it was a good burn. The kind of burn that made you feels glad to be alive. The kind of burn that told you exactly what time of year it was. The kind of burn that lets you know exactly what the weather had in store for you the rest of the day. It was a beautiful mid-October morning and there was a hint of rain in store for the evening; not much, just a sprinkle. Davina breathed in deeply as she jogged along the sidewalks. Considering everything that had happened within the past year, she was very lucky to feel alive. The subtle creak of the prosthetic leg – attached mid-thigh – also reminded her exactly how lucky she was indeed.

She bounced down the sidewalk, humming along to the song on her player. She had always had the habit of jogging an hour each morning, but she had finally been able to regain her top distance of five miles. She glanced at her watch/heart monitor – half way done and beating in range. She finished the block and arched around. She was a full block further than yesterday, an estimated distance of 2.7 miles. It was a completely new record for her since the incident, and she picked up her step on the way back.

A breeze fluttered through the trees, rustling any loose leaves to the ground. One landed in her ponytail, a bright red maple leaf in near perfect condition. She reached up to put it out, but instead left it there. She would get it later, if it didn’t fall out by itself first. If you didn’t know better, it looked like she purposely placed the leaf in the bind that held her hair. She continued along bouncing down the way, and her long, dark ponytail bounced conversely to her steps.

~~~~~~

And this little nugget is from a weird alt-history/sci-fi number I've been working on for a long time. No title.

~~~~~

“Good-bye, Alice.”

The farewell didn’t register at first. She was too preoccupied with her own plans. It was the feeling of his hand slipping out of hers that made it click. She spun around and saw him scribble something on the frame.

“No!” She slammed her hands against the glass, the glass she was once able to phase through at will. She pounded and cursed the man the put her there. She pounded until she couldn't and rested her head against the pane.

"Nikola, please..." she sobbed but he could not hear her.

He looked at her with remorse and placed a hand on the glass. He mouthed just two words before leaving her forever.

"I'm sorry."

~~~~~

And this final piece is from a completely different story that has a bit of romance but is mainly just a character piece. Funny story, this started as a bit from an In Plain Sight fanfic. 

~~~~~

Annie woke with a start. The bedroom was completely dark, save for the soft blue glow of her alarm clock. She stared at the ceiling waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dark. She didn’t want to look at the clock. Somehow she had fallen asleep but was rudely awakened by some strange noise. If she lay there long enough she was probably fall back asleep, but she just had to know what the noise was.

She sat up and looked at the clock – 1am – it had better be Eli. She climbed out of bed and adjusted her camisole. Apparently she was quite the rowdy sleeper and even though she was alone in the house, she needed to look presentable.

“Eli?” she peered her head into the darkness of the hall. A wind rustled through the blinds in the distant living room but no other sounds came forth. She tip-toed down the hall. The whole scene racked her senses. The dark caused her eyes to water and her ears perked at every slight noise.

She stumbled over a shoe and landed loudly into the wall. This was enough to knock the fear out and she laughed at herself.

“Good, Annie,” she scolded herself, “laugh it up. Just turn the damn light on and get it over with.”

She felt around for the light switch and lit up the hall. However, as soon as the light came on she met a Louisville slugger to the face. It sent her spinning to the floor.

“You should have stayed in bed,” the batter sneered.

Several blows landed on her back and sides. She tried to crawl away, but her assailants kept beating her down. One pulled her over and grabbed her throat.

“You’ll leave a great message. We were just gonna trash the place,” it was a man, but Annie couldn’t see him through the white fireworks in him mind.

“Wrong place, wrong time, right, boss?” this voice was female with a slight Boston accent.

The man let up his grip and turned to his partner.

“How many times do I have to tell you? Don’t call me boss!”

The lights dimmed and the only thought that went through Annie’s head was get to the phone! She tried to pull herself toward the coffee table. It was a foot away, but it seemed like a mile. The two intruders were too busy arguing to see her reach for it.

Reach! Come on girl. You got it! Now unlock it and call him!

She had the phone in her right hand and brought it close to her face to see it. Her left eye had started to swell and her hands were covered in blood. Somehow she managed to open it and get to her favorites. He was first on the list.

The woman saw her first, “Boss, the phone.”

“Why you little bitch!” the man kicked her in the face and the phone went sliding under the couch. She just hoped it connected as she braced for the worse. It came in abundance. She felt her right arm snap before she finally blacked out. As the darkness overcame her, she thought she could her Eli’s voice calling her name.

~~~~~

Now I must get back to writing. 

Happy NaNo everybody!!!