academic zombie

What luck! I've been having issues with my laptop lately. Either the browser keeps freezing, or the entire system will lock up for seemingly no reason, even if I don't have anything running in the background. Trying to do CTRL + ALT + DEL for the task manager either doesn't work, or the task manager itself freezes and doesn't respond. I've done a disk cleanup, searched for malware and virus issues, and even turned off some programs from immediately starting up with a reboot. So far, nothing.

idk, I've had problems with this laptop since I got it. It's a Lenovo Legion, and as nice as it was, I feel like my Asus was a better system. Maybe it's because I try and play a game, or I have more stuff on it lately. Either way, it might be time to consider building an actual desktop computer. My brother's been offering for years but I just never took up his offer. Now, I just might have to.

Aside from this problem, I'm trying to be okay. I'm trying to get out of my depressive funk and straighten up my space. I need to move a new mattress and bed into the bedroom soon, so I'm trying to empty out some items a little bit at a time. I got a softer mattress than my current one, so that's going to be a treat!

I finished another book. This time, it was Landline by Rainbow Rowell.

Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble; it has been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems beside the point now.

Maybe that was always beside the point.

Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn't expect him to pack up the kids and go home without her.

When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.

That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts...

Is that what she’s supposed to do?

Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?

And here's my review of it on Goodreads.

( Spoilers, of course. )

1. I finished Hunted by Meagan Spooner, and wow, why are people sleeping on this BaTB take? Go read it right now if you're a fan of the fairy tale, seriously.

2. Guys, Oppy the Mars Rover is probably dead, and I'm so upset right now. I may or may not have cried because its last words were so sad.

Rules: List 10 words and/or phrases that have something to do with a work(s) in progress.

I was tagged by no one, because I saw this on Tumblr, a mutual who did it just tagged whoever wanted to do it, and I like to insert myself in fun writing exercises. I can't sleep so HERE I GO.

1. Betrothal.
2. Unsupportive friends and family.
3. Paladins.
4. Meet cute.
5. "Oh no, he's hot."
6. Training dummy.
7. A quick lesson.
8. Accidental flirting.
9. An interruption.
10. "I...think that's the man I'm going to marry."

I tag whoever wants to do this, because I hate pressuring people. I love seeing what words/phrases come out of people's works in progress, though!

I got a few new followers/friends, so I thought I'd write a proper introduction. (The pictures are very tiny. I don't know why. My head hurts too much to figure out why.)

( Picture and About Me and the Pets! )

Today I spent the day catching up on "This Is Us" with my mom, ordering pizza dinner, and watching the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet. I checked out the Super Bowl Halftime show, and it was just as bad as I expected.

I've got two hours left of the audiobook "We Are Okay" by Nina LaCour. I'm enjoying it so far. It's very character driven, which are my kind of books, and the main character Marin is very relatable and a cute sad bean that I just want to wrap in warm blankets and feed her hot chocolate and cookies until she's done being sad. I'll most likely finish the story tomorrow or Tuesday. I've been playing Stardew Valley while I listen to my audiobooks, and it's actually a very relaxing way to get through them so I'll probably continue with that.

And speaking of games, I picked up and played a little of Kingdom Hearts 3. It's all right so far. I've decided long ago that Kingdom Hearts lore doesn't have to make sense for me to enjoy the series. I'm taking selfies with Donald and Goofy, cooking with Remy, and getting into fights with the god of the underworld. As far as I'm concerned, it's a fun sequel. My only complaint is we're revisiting worlds that I didn't want (Pirates *hiss*) and not seeing any characters I expected to find from the last two games. (Where's Yuffie? And Leon? And emo Cloud?!)

That's it for now. I'm working from Monday to Friday this week, so that ends my mini staycation. Later today is a 10AM-6PM shift. The rest are much earlier, and I'm already dreading them.

questionoftheday asks: What’s the silliest thing you’ve ever seen someone get upset over?

My answer:

I love the headline for this question is about retail, because hoo boy have I mets loads of people who got upset over silly things during the holidays. I feel like our store is relatively drama free until Christmas rolls around the corner.

Back in December, I was working BOPUS (Buy Online, Pick Up in Store). We moved our pickup line away from the customer service desk closer to the stockroom. Not only did this clear up the congestion problem between people picking up online orders and people coming in for holiday returns, it just made associates' lives a lot easier until the holiday season was over. We usually had one person stationed there to get the BOPUS orders, while another associate was responsible for handling phone calls canceling and extending BOPUS orders.

I had one woman who expressed her unhappiness that she waited in line at customer service for ten minutes before discovering we moved the line. She expressed we should've changed the location in the e-mail when their orders were ready for pickup.

(Never mind that the move is temporary, that we more than likely have zero control over what the automatic e-mails say, and she most likely walked past our new area, which had two huge signs indicating it's the new pickup area, but I digress.)

I apologized and guaranteed I would definitely pass the message onto my management and see if we can put another sign up at customer service, or see if there was a way to edit the automated e-mail message.

This wasn't enough, though. She complained as though I hadn't said anything. She just wanted to rant for the sake of ranting, specifically targeted towards me. The boyfriend who came to pick up the order looked embarrassed and was polite with me and my other co-worker while we did our jobs. When I went in the stockroom to retrieve his order, apparently she'd told her boyfriend, "No, I used to work retail. I know for a fact these people are idiots."

All because she and her boyfriend waited in the wrong line for ten minutes.

To get annoyed, I understand, because if I were in her shoes I would've been annoyed. Resorting to name calling at someone who has no control over what the automatic e-mails say was a little silly.

And it's very doubtful she ever worked a day in retail. She was younger than me. lmao do you really think the workers have any control over what management does in their store?

And the same day, I had an old woman tell me over the phone that I personally ruined Christmas because her granddaughter's Peppa Pig pajamas were shipped to the wrong store (ours) and that I couldn't get them shipped to a different address because we don't have a system set up for that. Like ??? what little kid is absolutely devastated because they didn't get PAJAMAS on Christmas??????

questionoftheday asks: If you were going to work at a mall-type store purely for the discount, which store would it be? (question submitted by azriona)

My answer: Hot Topic, or Bath and Body Works. One is great for cheap band and fandom shirts, the other for my favorite soap and shower gels.

Brandy Colbert's Little & Lion was one of my picks for Book of the Month, and I just finished it today.

The book is about a girl named Suzette and her stepbrother Lionel. Suzette was sent away to boarding school for a year while her family dealt with her brother's recent diagnosis for bipolar disorder and getting him started on the right medication. Not only does she have to contend with her brother's illness and a secret that he's keeping from their parents, she's also in the midst of figuring out her sexuality, which inevitably ends with her caught in a (sort of) love triangle between a boy and Lionel's new girlfriend.

I really enjoyed it overall. Without spoiling anything major, I was a little concerned how the book was going to handle the topics of bisexuality and exploration, mental illness, and the romantic subplots, but everything was wonderfully woven together. Colbert handled the nature of Lionel's diagnosis sensitively. Suzette's bisexuality was also an interesting asset of her identity to explore, given that she's also black and Jewish, none of which she could've been comfortably open about at boarding school; her struggle to understand herself, while also dealing with a prejudiced environment and the ramifications of remaining in the closet, was something that hit very close to home for me.

I think the only complaint I have about the book was the ending. I can't go into the exact details about it, given that it's heavy spoilers, but I finished the book feeling that Lionel and Suzette's relationship should've received more focus in the very last few chapters. Their issues wrapped up a little too neatly, which made the ending feel completely rushed when the pace throughout the story felt fine otherwise.

In light of the recent Tumblr bullshit, I might have to start using this space more often. I'm already on my way out thanks to the censorship of LGBT content, not to mention I'm starting to feel uncomfortable expressing fandom-related opinions at the risk of inviting unwanted feedback. It's not like have extremely unpopular or problematic opinions, mind you, but still, it's starting to feel weird posting anything anymore.

I have no idea where to go, though. I wouldn't mind using this platform more often--I got my start on Deadjournal/Livejournal, so I'm actually very comfortable using sites like this--but I have no idea where to begin.