AwesomeJamie

I started playing video games as an adult in 2008 when my husband, Ben, got me playing Portal. It started with just PC games but when I got the opportunity to work for Nintendo on a DSi promotion I realized I had to have one. One of the games we showed at the event was Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box.  I got my DSi and started accumulating games, beginning with some basics like Crosswords and Brain Age. One of the packs I got included the first in the series, Professor Layton and the Curious Village. It was hard not to love the game. It was challenging while still being enjoyable, with some of the most beautiful cut scenes I have ever seen. It became the second game I ever beat and one of my all time favorites. Since then, I’ve acquired and beaten every single Professor Layton game and even watched the movie! I had to get a 3DS just for the latest one, but it was well worth it!

One of my favorite parts of this game is that it challenges you to use your mind and really think about the solution, and it might make you feel a little dumb sometimes, but it’s never impossible! You always know there’s a solution just waiting to be found. 

There are currently 5 Layton games released in the states right now, with a 6th coming soon! I definitely suggest it for anyone that loves puzzles and a beautiful storyline! Go play :)

Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

Professor Layton and the Unwound Future

Professor Layton and the Last Spectre

Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask

and coming soon Professor Layton and the Azran Legacies!

This weekend I took a break from writing and reading and focused on learning something new. Something I’ve wanted to learn for a while, HTML and CSS.

I spent the majority of my Saturday morning with this amazing tutorial site, learning the ins and outs of basic HTML. After that I moved to CSS and then intermediate tutorials of both.

These tutorials were absolutely phenomenal. I have learned so much in just a few short days and I love finally learning how to write my own simple webpage. It’s been such a great experience and I’m so thankful people like HTMLDog exist!

If you’ve never learned HTML/CSS I strongly encourage you to do so! Or if there’s something else you’ve been wanting to experience, go for it!

I’ve never been good at confrontation while on the job. Today, I got yelled at while at work and I thought I was going to cry. I did nothing wrong and the problem wasn’t my fault, or even a problem at all really. Someone goofed and sent an email that had already been sent. I knew that it wasn’t the end of the world but I could not help myself feel bad for what was happening. I was shaking, my heart was racing, and I could hear my voice falter. I tried to stand my ground and reiterate that I’d only done what I was supposed to but that didn’t help the pit from developing in my stomach.

I think the issue comes from feeling inadequate and incredibly subservient in the workplace. I have none of the assertiveness at work that I do while out in public or with my friends. I feel like my role as an employee immediately diminishes any voice or accuracy that I may have when an altercation arises. As a rational person I understand that isn’t true and that I must stick up for myself when the need arises, but it’s hard to remember that when I’m in the midst of a disaster in the office.

Yet another aspect of myself that needs work and is constantly being improved upon.

I recently read the short story, In The Tall Grass by Stephen King and Joe Hill and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since. I’ve had multiple dreams with similar story lines, characters, and events. It’s really stuck with me and I can’t quite pinpoint why. It was fairly short, only took me an hour or two to finish, but jam-packed with gruesome details and well built characters. I found myself rooting for the main characters and absolutely distraught with the outcome. Above all else, I was terrified. The story managed to infect my subconscious with dread and fear like no book has in a long time.

My hat is off to you, Stephen and Joe. You have truly created a masterpiece of fear.

I used to have a lot of trouble eating alone in public. I’d feel out of place, like everyone else in the restaurant was judging me on my single-ness. This caused me to miss out on quite a few restaurants and experiences that I would have greatly enjoyed. My fear of being alone in public was detrimental to the level of happiness I had in public and it was hard to overcome. I actually don’t even remember when I did overcome the fear, I think I just decided one day that I wouldn’t allow my embarrassment to limit my life anymore. Since then I’ve started enjoying doing things on my own. I’ll go see movies that no one else wants to, eat the foods that I want to, and enjoy my hobbies outside of my stuffy apartment. I started reading and knitting in public as much as possible. I went out to lunch or dinner whenever I felt like having something I knew only I would like. 

Being alone is still hard sometimes, especially since I’ve been married for 4 1/2 years and almost constantly have someone at my side, but it’s almost always a treat. Now to conquer the anxiety of meeting new people…

I remember reading Ender’s Game for the first time when I was younger, but most of the details were lost on me then. I decided to re-read the book when one of my new brothers-in-law told me that it was his favorite book. Best decision ever.

Ender’s Game is one of the most well written books I have ever read. The whole series is absolutely beautiful and incredibly well thought out. Orson Scott Card manages to meld science fiction with such raw human events and in doing so creates a realistically magical world. The series continues through Andrew “Ender” Wiggin’s life, as well as those who live around him. 

I often compare the Ender series to the Giver series, as the storyline plays out quite similarly. The first book tells an almost complete story but ends with a fairly substantial cliff hanger. The rest of the series leads you down similar paths but never quite the same as the first. It’s no wonder I love both books so dearly. 

I recently learned, from the same brother, that West Point actually uses Ender’s Game as a learning tool. It’s presented as a good execution of battle strategies and I find that incredibly brilliant of them.

I strongly suggest those that love science fiction, or really any genre of books, to read these at once! Especially as there will soon be a movie, which I really cannot contain my excitement about. 

That sleep paralysis is a common symptom of narcolepsy. The only reason I learned this is through Stanford’s twitter, which I was browsing for work. They mentioned a new blog for the sleep lab at Stanford and I was curious as to what resources would be listed there. I quickly searched for the sleep disorders I occasionally experience and found really great descriptions for all of them. Sleep paralysis was listed and it had one of the most concise and helpful explanations I’d ever come across.

I remember the first time I experienced sleep paralysis, back in 2009, as one of the most frightening moments in my whole life. I had “attacks” every day for a week and I was beyond exhausted by the end of it. I did some research and intrepidly told my new husband about the episodes. He was worried for me but didn’t really seem to understand what happened during the attacks. Since then, they’ve happened sporadically and haven’t warranted too much attention. 

Recently though, I’ve been sleeping even worse than normal. I’d be in bed for upwards of 8 hours but would wake up tired and drowsy. The Fitbit has helped me to put to words how rough the nights are. It tracks movements in the night to show when the wearer isn’t fully asleep and estimates the actual amount of “sleep” that is gotten each night.

Reading the articles about sleep disorders and seeing the reports from my Fitbit have cemented one thought in my mind: I need to see a sleep doctor.

Life in Silicon Valley can be rough. Don’t get me wrong, I love living here. Sharing the same zipcode as Google is probably one of my favorite things ever. I love driving by the home offices of some of the biggest tech names; I feel like we’re living where the best of the best are. Which is also incredibly intimidating. Meeting new people here can be nerve wracking. Sure they’re tech geeks and book nerds like me but the majority of them got degrees from big names like Cal Poly and Stanford. The majority of them have a couple startups already under their belt. The majority of them truly know how to work this scene and I am not in any majority. Being still fairly new to the bay I am a little overwhelmed sometimes, simply by the crazy amount of geniuses in such a small radius. 

This means new friends could be perfect fits (like my good friend Amity whom I met from Reddit) or they could leave me feeling like I really just don’t belong here.  I’m hoping that as time goes on I become more comfortable in the vast knowledge that I have, but right now I’m feeling a little out of my element.

Maybe it’s time to learn some programming so I know I’ll at least have that to talk about…

Today I received a Fitbit One and a Fitbit Aria wireless scale c/o Ben’s awesome company.

I hooked up my tracker as quickly as I could tear open the box and went through the set up. It was super easy and I like that the wirleless dongle is small enough that I can keep it plugged into the usb port on my sweet DAS keyboard at all times. I immediately attached the One to my tank top and played with the bright little screen that is absolutely fantastic. The funny thing was that I was disappointed I was done with all of my walking for the day, because I wanted to make that little flower grow and get some badges! They do a great job of instigating exercise with the smallest rewards, like making a digital flower grow. 

I also set up the Aria scale in our bathroom which is a really chic looking and incredibly smart scale. The wireless was a bit of a hassle to set up but it was worth it when I stepped on it for the first time and it knew who I was! The scale can register up to 8 different people and will know who is weighing in and when. The greatest thing about all of it is the wireless syncing. This means I don’t have to plug anything in or make sure I’m pressing the right buttons, which means there’s one less thing for me to forget to do.

Fitbit has really seemed to simplify the fitness hardware world with some nifty little tools. I’m looking forward to using mine more!

Note: I was not paid to write this, nor were the gifts given so that I would write a review. I simply like the product so much that I wanted to share my thoughts!