Hello everyone, fancy meeting you here on a Thursday.
I’m here to rant to you about impossibilities and WordPress.
I have this cool blog, right?? But I didn’t realize that the theme I chose displayed my ENTIRE post every time I post anything. Which annoyed me, because I don’t want my home page to be the only place anyone ever visits because they don’t realize you can click on individual posts and view them separately. Which may be a discredit to my perception of y’all’s intelligence, so sorry about that 😬
So I didn’t like my theme. But hey, there’s a cool different one that I was going to originally use!! It displays your featured image and a lil snippet of the first paragraph of each post!! All nice and lined up down your screen!! And a good-sized sidebar in which to put little doodads, like archives and a subscribe button and cool stuff like that.
But wait, we can’t use that one because we did something to it that requires upgrading our plan and paying money!! We don’t want to do that!! We still need money for books!! And the occasional over-weight letter that didn’t have the proper number of stamps attached!! This is not the first time this happened; I tried to use the Nook theme from the get-go, and the premium element forced me not to.
So there went that, because they’ll tell you that you have a premium element in your blog, but won’t tell you what or how to get rid of it. At least that I can see. Rather unhelpful. Which made me very sad and very mad, because I really liked that theme!!
*tears out hair in frustration*
Off I go, theme shopping. Most of them are weird. Odd colors. Interesting design choices. No images. No preview of post. I’m kinda scared to choose a new one. What if it happens again?? What if I’m stuck with this mediocre theme for the rest of eternity?? I might as well give up.
One or two weren’t bad…there’s this one theme called Creatio 2 or some such nonsense. It, too, has a lovely featured image and teaser paragraph, but no sidebar. It has a bar across the top instead. Better than this horrid Retrospect theme.
I was going to wait for a while before making any bloggish decisions, but I got tired of waiting (quite literally, I actually took a wee nap in a chair today) and just pushed the “Activate” button. Oooh, look how pretty…all my posts look so nice lined up all at once!! No sidebar though…I liked my sidebar…
Anyway it was beauteous. I messed around. Added a subscribe option at the bottom. Creatio 2 shows what category each post lands in, so I created some categories and assigned them to posts. Splendid. Splendid. The day is saved, the blog is gorgeous once again.
Which brings me to my next complaint. Those ads are atrocious. Argh. Go away and leave me be. Did I ask you to advertise on my blog?? No. Do I appreciate your advertisements on my blog?? Also no. Do I want you to GO AWAY?? Absolutely. I realize I could upgrade my blog plan and they’d disappear, but that requires money and I already mentioned why we can’t do that. Maybe someday. Until then, power through, my friends.
Thank you for bearing with me.
Always,
Ava 💻
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43 Responses
Ah yes. WordPress is most vexing indeed. I had to fight with them to remove. . . distasteful ads from my site a while back. (If you need to know how to deal with the ‘happiness engineers’ let me know! I got them to do something only after much trial.)
The site looks good now though!
Also, I read your about me page, and I must ask. Is the houseplant Chess named after Chess from Wonderland Trials???
I knowwww….why can’t it just cooperate?? We’ll see if I need to do battle with them about ads. I’ll keep your offer in mind. And thanks!! It came at great cost to my sanity for several hours.
YES. He is Chess. We love Chess. Fittingly, this particular namesake of his is a striped spider plant. Matches his pink-striped hair, right??
Can’t make things too easy on you.
And yay!!!! I hoped that was the case. Chess is the BEST. That is perfect!!!!!
They’re probably making things difficult for me on purpose, hoping that I’ll give them my hard-earned money to fix the predicaments I get myself into. Not today, WordPress!!!
I thought myself very clever when naming that particular plant 😉 I love chess only because of Chess 🥰
Oh I’m sure! “We’re making things terribly difficult for you. Can you please pay us loads of money?”
Uh. . . No thanks! I might pay for a better site at some point, but not through WordPress! (Although other places might not be much better. . .)
It was indeed most clever! I named my violin Tinuviel from the Silmarillion and was very pleased with myself for it. It is very fun to go about naming things!
As if I would want to finance a company that irritates its users to no end. *rolls eyes* We’ll see where I go from here. Blogging is a mere hobby at this point *shrugs*
AHH THAT’S GENIUS. I love that!!! I’ve only named a portion of my plants…the others are always on the brink of death and I don’t want to name them if I’m just going to be their murderer. Y’know??
Anne Shirley totally had it right. Naming objects is objectively the most pleasant pastime. It also fuels inside jokes.
Right? And it is a very nice hobby! (I say not really blogging. I’m not really sure what I do.)
Thank you!!!!! That makes sense. We had an Aloe plant named Herbert, but Herbert could not survive one hot Texas summer and so Herbert is now perished, which is most tragic. (We travel, and plants usually do not appreciate this, and so sadly they never survive all that long.)
So true!! Inside jokes are marvelous fun.
It’s…bloggish enough. From what I’ve seen. I believe it qualifies.
Alas. Poor Herbert. (I think I once named my snowman Herbert…he enjoyed sherbet. He also has since perished.) It seems odd that an aloe should object to heat, since he’s a sort of cactus-like plant. I feel like he should’ve coped better. Ah well. I’d offer you one of mine, but it would likely object to being shipped to wherever you currently are.
Alright then.
Aww. That is adorable! I know. He was a rather hearty little fellow, but Texas summers could probably kill most everything if given the chance. He lived a good life. *Sniff* I mean, he did make it all the way from Pennsylvania, so you know.
That is very nice of you to offer. I don’t think plants ship very well though. (Unless you happen to live in Colorado! Which seems doubtful.)
But I do appreciate the thought! I’ve been selling things at the farmers market and there’s a plant booth that sets up across from me and I am very tempted to buy one. (But we’re going out of country for at least a month and I don’t want it to die! Perhaps I’ll get a plant when we get back. . .)
Valid observation. I wanted to go to the National Bible Quiz festival last year, which was in Dallas in July. My team and coach objected. Can’t imagine why. So I missed out on the summer experience in Texas 😭 Herbert made it farther than I did.
Our postal service won’t even let us mail a poorly folded letter. I once got a lil wooden Texas (from a friend who actually did go to that Bible Quiz event) that was like a fourth of an inch thick in the mail, but they won’t let us mail out so much as a bracelet. It’s unfair. I actually just had to pay $6.12 because a friend sent me an envelope full of pictures.
Ooh, that’s fun!! What do you sell?? And where are you going??
That sounds fun. Too bad. At least you missed the muggy heat!
What? That is wretched. Postal service is most irksome at times. I have a friend in China who I want to send letters to, and I’m so worried they’re not going to make it!
I make little string figures I call Pocket Pals. They’re super fun to make, and I like going, meeting people, stealing overheard dialogue to use in novels and such.
We’re going to Italy!!!!!!!! We’ve been to all 50 states, but this is our first time going abroad and I’m so excited!!!
I would’ve really liked to go, but alas, ’twas not to be. Perhaps it’s for the better. *shrugs* But we HAVE to go this year. I absolutely insist. It’s in Tucson this year.
I know!! I don’t really understand the postal service, but I wish it worked better. Argh. That’s really cool though!! All my pen pals are in the U.S.
That sounds like so much fun!! Especially for a writer. I’ve read about dialogue-stealing, and it sounds very sneaky. And fun 😉
That’s so cool!!! I’ve never been out of the country, and I’ve probably only been to about half the states. If that. I would really like to go to London someday though. Or Prince Edward Island. Or New Zealand. Or maybe Australia!!
Indeed. Well, at least you have time now to convince everyone. Ooh, Tuscon is neat. There’s a cool wild west town place there called Old Tuscon where they filmed a bunch of western movies. Very nifty place. I hope you get to go!!!!
It is most perplexing indeed. I love writing letters!! (The only person who ever writes me back is my cousin, though. 😑)
It is! *Remembers she is supposed to be making more product today* Sometimes people say such clever things and I simply must steal them. People’s names too. No one is safe!! Mwahahaha!!!
Ooh, that would be fun!! New Zealand looks so pretty!! (I’ve watched Lord of the Rings like 40 times, so I feel I am a good authority on this matter.)
Also, Friday means new Silver Eye page!!!!!!!!!
Yes, but we must compete well…and I have a new teammate this year… there’s no telling what we’ll actually end up doing. Fingers crossed. And thanks!!
I actually have owed someone a letter for a month now…I’m a despicable human being. I’m trying. Honest. My pen pals write back with varying degrees of speed. One hasn’t written in over a year.
I am definitely due for a rewatch of The Lord of the Rings. However, we’re currently wading our way through the Marvel universe. It may be a while before we can return to Middle Earth. Also, New Zealand being Middle Earth is the sole reason I want to go there.
Yes it does!!!!! I’ve been periodically refreshing my Silver Eye page in the hopes that it updates soon. I’m so excited!!!! Especially since we’re back with the squad again!!!
Ah well. I’m sure they don’t mind too much! I am rather an inconsistent person, so I do the same thing. (And I always send birthday cards late too.)
I simply adore Lord of the Rings!!!! Did you know there are extended editions?? That have even more? They are absolutely marvelous, and a lot of things make much more sense! I have been converted to those versions and can now never return to the shorter versions. *refrains from going on a long rant about LOTR with some difficulty*
I know!!! At least every time I go look and it’s not there I get to look at the last page with Melly. (I love that page!!!)
Oops. I may have forgotten about your comment 😬 I saw it, but I hate doing bloggerly things on my phone. It’s unnecessarily difficult.
Me too!! I love Lord of the Rings!! Although I technically haven’t read through the trilogy on my own. It’s a problem. Dad read it to us when we were younger, but I’ve never made it past halfway on my own. I did know there are extended editions!! They’re the only way to go. My older brother and I were watching the extensive behind-the-scenes content last year before he left for college, but we didn’t make it all the way through. At this point I suppose we have to start over. What a shame… *manic laugh* I just love the whole thing to pieces.
But the new page!! AAAAHHHHHH APEN GET IT TOGETHER!!! *weeps*
Tis alright! I’m just glad you haven’t tired of me yet. 😉 I tried to respond yesterday, (we had to drive all the way to Denver to pick up our cousin from the airport.) But then my dad closed the tab by accident and I didn’t have time to retype it. 😖
YAY!!! Lord of the Rings is the BEST!
I can understand that. I first read them when I was 7 or 8 and sadly did not fully appreciate them. Right? Once you’ve seen them there’s no going back.
Aww. My brother is leaving for college soon too. Luckily my younger brother is the one who I watch them with, so I have plenty more time! The extra discs are such fun. There are fan magazines too, which are delightful.
You’ll have to start over? What a shame. So sad. *Cackles*
I know. Come on, kid. (Although I would probably also handle things poorly/probably worse, so you know.)
Oh, it’ll be a long time yet before I tire of your company 😉 Similar commenting problems have happened to me. I just hate typing out an entire answer and then losing it!! The wording was perfect, and my short-term memory is unreliable!!
You…read the entire trilogy?? On your own?? Of your own volition…when you were 8?!?!? I do believe I’m impressed. Please don’t tell me you also read the Silmarillion and the Book of Lost Tales when you were that age.
My older brother is an absolute LotR fanatic. My younger brother is more likely to want to watch the Andy Griffith Show or Hogan’s Heroes. I could watch them by myself, but it’s no fun to tell myself that Viggo actually broke his toe in that shot or that that individual there is Peter Jackson. *sniffs mournfully*
Honestly, I would handle that situation poorly too. Which makes me feel a bit bad for yelling at poor Apen. I’m sure I’m way worse at…flirting?? is that the word I’m looking for?? than any fictional characters ever.
Oh good!!!
I know. That always happens to me. This is why I am glad emails save drafts. Otherwise I would be forced to type them all twice!! My second attempts are never as good. *Sigh*
I did indeed. We were at some campground and it was in a little free library there. It was the entire series in one volume, so I am sure it looked quite absurd for me to be lugging it about. I was a determined little thing though, and I got through it and promptly forget it all. Then I watched the movies later, (I was about 13, I think.) and it rekindled my interest. Nope! I only first read the Silmarillion a couple years ago. (I’m rereading it now. My library hold expired though, so now I have to read a digital version, which isn’t nearly as good.) I’m trying to read some of Tolkien’s more obscure works too. He wrote a lot of things!
My older brother is not, sadly. He would rather watch dingus action movies. (So he can rattle off firearm statistics.)
Luckily my younger brother and my cousin fit firmly in the ‘Ringer’ category, so I can tell them all about how Eowyn actually stabbed a guy or how Peter Jackson lost his glasses in the wind at Edoras or how they used skateboard rubber and didn’t break a single prop sword or which props are made of cardboard and they don’t mind too much. (I need people to obsess about things to!!!)
I. . . have never had occasion or desire to attempt such a thing. But I surely would be dreadful at it. I am positive. But it is still amusing to make fun of fictional characters for their inadequacies. (Even if we share them. . .)
Autosave is a lifesaver. I can only be creative once.
That is insane. I was trying to read through the trilogy (similarly, in one volume) when I was like…twelve?? I made it almost exactly halfway through before I had to give the book back to the library. We did have our own copies, but they were Dad’s “pretty books” (kinda like Easton Press books, only slightly cheaper) and there had always been a strict policy surrounding those. You absolutely had to have clean hands and put the books back on the shelf the instant you finished reading them. And, well, that was just too much. So here I am, a dichotomy of someone who knows significantly more than your average Joe about the lore of Middle Earth but has managed to never read them. They’re on my absolutely-must-read list. You have my respect (for reading the trilogy when you were knee-high to a grasshopper, RE-READING THE SILMARILLION, and searching out Tolkien’s various other works) *doffs hat respectfully*
And all those obscure movie facts prove that I really do need to rewatch those behind-the-scenes discs again. I know the obvious stuff, but apparently I’m missing some more less-known trivia. I know some trivia from other movies though!! I enjoy the director’s commentaries, and my little sisters think it’s so boring. But how else can I discover that they weren’t sure about what to do with Caspian’s accent in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader or that Matthew Macfadyen was a really horrid horseman??
Yeah me neither…This is why we need fictional characters. To a) show us how NOT to do things, and b) to give us someone who doesn’t care what we think of them to despair over/mock/laugh about when they inevitably fail.
Me too. After that it’s just hollow mockery of the original thing I can’t really remember. I always forget half of what I said anyway.
Well, my birthday is on International Hobbit Day. (Frodo and Bilbo’s birthdays and the day Frodo sets out from the Shire.) So I was born to be a Ringer!!! I would be way too nervous about touching books with such strict policies!! Roverrandom is my favorite of his other books so far. It’s this super cute book about a toy dog who comes alive that Tolkien wrote after his son lost his actual toy dog at the beach one time. Much easier to get through than some of his other works for sure. *Gives a sweeping bow*
Well, some of those I learned from the fan magazines. There are about twelve of those, I think. I found them online somewhere I think. I am most interested in such things, and so I made it my business to learn as many of them as I could. I have only watched the bonus discs from movie 3 though, sadly. I only have the last two extended editions. (I have been looking for the first for about two years now! 😭 I have watched it, I just don’t have it. The store in town here has it, but half the discs are missing!!! I was quite devastated by this when I found out. *Sobs disconsolately*)
Indeed. Fictional people are the best!!!!! (It’s a bit sad though when you really like them because they’re not actual people and outside of the books, there is no more.)
Exactly!!
WHAT NO WAY REALLY??? Your birthday is on Hobbit Day?? That is the absolute coolest thing ever. I think I’m jealous. I actually have never read Roverrandom either…though I did skim through it once. We got the Tales from the Perilous Realm book from the library a time or two, but I was always more interested in Tolkien’s poems. Particularly the Shadow-Bride.
Ooh, fan magazines *momentarily gets distracted by searching for said fan magazines and discussing that one time I was a dictator with Copilot* OOH OOH I FOUND THEM MWAHAHAHAHA KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!!!!! Alas, you are missing out. Actually, so am I. We didn’t make it to the third movie hehe. *pats you on the back consolingly* I have every confidence that the first extended edition will soon be in your possession.
I’m actually currently wearing a shirt that says “Emotionally attached to fictional characters” 😂 I feel like if they were real people though, I would be an awkward unfictional character and botch our interactions. But on the topic of the end of books meaning no more of that character: this is why fan fiction was invented. And if there is none for your book of choice — write your own!!!
I was SO excited when I found out!!!!!! (Any excuse to eat seven meals in a day is a good one, right?) And yay, finally someone realizes how cool this is. (Everyone else just tends to look at me funny when I tell them this. 🥺) I need to read his poems!! Why have I not??? WHYYY???
They are great. I had such a fun time reading through them and gleaning all the backstory no one else cares about BUT I DO. Well, I’ve watched it before. My brother has a digital version he procured who-knows-where. (He actually has all of them, so we can watch them on the airplane without having to lug about a dvd player. TSA would likely not be pleased.) BUT I NEED THE DISCS!!
I’m sure I will find them someday. After years of long searching. . . Stumbled upon in the back of some dusty thrift store. . .
I need that shirt!!!!! That is wonderous. True true. Most fictional characters would probably find me irksome. But since they aren’t real, they don’t get to dislike me, which is the nice thing about fictional people.
You know, I’ve actually never written fanfiction before. I’ve written a ton of other stuff, but not that. I guess since I sort of skipped the natural progression from fan fiction to short stories to novels and skipped straight to novels. I never have been one for doing things the typical way though. *Shrugs*
Perhaps I shall someday. . .
Oh, it’s definitely cool. We’ve never actually celebrated Hobbit Day (only three meals 😢), but I’m determined to remember and acknowledge its existence this year. And now I have to go read through all those fan magazines. I have oodles of time, I can totally fit that in…(ha. no I don’t. Well, I might have time if I stopped procrastinating and just did the things I don’t want to do. But where’s the fun in that??).
It’s one of the great things about fictional characters. They don’t judge you. But also one of the sad things about fictional characters. Because if they were real, would I care if they judged me?? It remains to be seen.
I haven’t written a lot of fiction, period. I’d love to, but I just don’t know where to start. So I write poetry, where I can be as ambiguous as I please and plot is nonexistent. I do want to write a fic where Flynn Rider goes through Rapunzel’s wardrobe and ends up in Narnia though…
It is a most marvelous holiday. We’re flying to Italy the 23rd though, so it will likely be spent packing. (Totally worth it though!)
Yess!! READ THEEEMMM!! Exactly. Procrastination is a way of life for some of us.
It is indeed a double edged blade. Some of them I think I would get along with. (At least I hope.)
Writing is super fun. That sounds awesome!!!!!!
Also, I have been participating in the Silmaril Awards. (Which is a thing where you nominate characters from fantasy books in different categories and YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN LORD OF THE RINGS PRIZES!! It’s kind of lots of fun. And I had to tell someone about it. If you get some free time, it might be something to look at. (I’m not being paid to advertise for them, I swear!!! This is entirely of my own motives.)
https://www.silmarilawards.com/
oooh, what is this marvelous thing?? How does it work?? HOW DO I WIN???
Totally relate to advertising for free 😂 I honestly should be paid to promote all of Enclave Publishing’s books. I already do all the work.
I thiiiink you just nominate however many characters you want, and that gives you entries. (I definitely did not read the details thoroughly enough.)
BUT. There is also a piece of a. . . Poem? Thingy? On each of the sites and if you get all nine of them then you get NINE extra entries!! (I did it wrong at first, so hopefully I still get those. . .🤞)
It is also fun to nominate the characters though. (I did Chess for a couple of them. IF YOU DO HIM TOO MAYBE HE WILL WIN!!!!!! No pressure though.)
I wish I could do Silver Eye characters, but I believe it is only for book people.
Hmm. I shall have to nominate some characters. CHESS MUST WIN!!! But what’s this?? No Silver Eye?? *weeps* And here I wanted to nominate Ayran for the dragon one…
Indeed. HE MUST!! I wanted to do Enel and Berlyne and ALL OF THEM! I mean, you could ask and see what they said about it. They might let you. You never know.
Maybe I will…though I believe ’tis a rather niche fandom and wouldn’t get that many votes…
lol reading the rules and such and I think it’s too funny that all Narnia characters have lifetime Silmarils. Tolkien and Lewis are inseparable.
I would upvote it!! And I’m coming to find Nerdarians are a bit more common than I thought! I just found out that one of my writing friends was commenting under a different name!!
It is, isn’t it? And I kept thinking of my own characters while completely forgetting all others. 🤭 (not that anyone would even know who they were!)
Tolkien actually didn’t like the Narnia books though! Which is interesting. (He did like Lewis’ other works, though.)
I wouldn’t know who to ask 😂 That’s so cool though!! I just know you…and my friend who I also converted but won’t even comment on my blog posts, sooo…
I must go home and search through all my shelves for the bestest nominees. (currently at my grandparents’ house for the day) I’M EXCITED THIS IS SO COOL I MUST NEEDS TELL ALL MY FRIENDS
I know!! It’s honestly hilarious, when you consider that like, the gold standard of fantasy is LotR and Narnia 😂 I hear Lewis put the lamppost in Narnia simply because Tolkien had said that no good fantasy would include a lamppost. And also that Tolkien strongly disliked Lewis’ choice to include Santa.
I asked a question on one of my comments and got a response. Otherwise there is a contact form. I used it to inform them that the comments on the dragon one wasn’t working.
Indeed!! I went back through all my book recommendation posts scouring them for characters. (I have a bunch of half finished ones that aren’t posted.) I KNOW!! I DON’T KNOW WHY BUT IT’S JUST SO COOL!!!
The irony is not lost on me. I think it’s very amusing that they both became the pinnacles of fantasy when there was a bit of a rivalry between the two of them.
Now that I didn’t know. (Can you imagine Narnia without the lamp post??? It wouldn’t even be the same thing anymore.)
I could totally see myself doing something like that though if my brother or my cousin said such a thing. (I do not have such a dynamic with any of my friends, probably because I haven’t actually met most of them. 🙁)
What? But Tolkien wrote all those Santa letters. . . (Which are simply adorable.)
Perhaps he just didn’t like that it was in a fantasy world. I suppose such things could be seen as taking away from the authenticity of the world. But in those instances they totally worked.
(Also I use the word though too much. I used it twice right in a row in that last comment. Disgraceful!)
Ok, so I found the contact button and have sent my inquiry. I’ll keep you posted. Couldn’t help but add a lil TSE plug in there 😊
I DON’T KNOW EITHER BUT IT’S THE ABSOLUTE COOLEST THING EVER AND I’M ENTIRELY HERE FOR IT!!! Now I really wish we could leave soon. I must find characters!! I must second other characters!! THIS BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN MY GOVERNMENT HOMEWORK WHICH I INITIALLY SAT DOWN WITH MY LAPTOP TO DO!!! I sent an email to my one friend (the one who ghosts along my blog) about it. I’ll make her nominate peoples too. I also sent her a looonnnng list of blog recommendations today 😉
Well, it was hearsay on Pinterest, so take it with a grain of salt and go do your own research. Consider yourself warned. It’s truly iconic and all lamp posts mean Narnia. And all wardrobes. Just as rings equal LotR.
I’m seriously considering taking up authoring so I can do that sort of thing. The inside jokes will be stellar once I become an author of more than poetry. I assume your friends are online?? ‘Tis very sad indeed 😢
Oh oh you’re right!! He did!! I love those Santa letters!! Idk. *shrugs* Again, pretty sure that info came from Pinterest, so my disclaimers apply here as well (my information really needs fact-checking more. I ought to depend less on Pinterest to supply my amusements…)
I also catch myself deleting redundant “thoughs”. It’s a slippery slope.
But we’re packing up!! We’re going home now!! MY BOOKSHELF AWAITS!!! So I’ll likely disappear for a good while here. Unless I try to reply on my phone. Not likely. But stranger things have happened… Many thanks for bringing this marvelous thing to my attention!!!
Hoorah!! Let me know what they say. And of course. TSE world domination doesn’t come out of nowhere.
It IS INCREDIBLE!!! I MUST DO THIS EVERY YEAR NOW!!!! I knew you would appreciate it!!! And, er. . . Sorry for distracting you from your homework. . . (This seems to be one of my great talents in life.)
Hopefully she will pick good characters!!! Ooh. Book blogs?
My cousin is always giving me dubious information via pinterest. (She loves telling me all about horrific diseases and how much blood people can lose before they die and such. It comes in handy for writing, but can get a bit disturbing.)
Indeed. I love how certain objects become symbolic with certain books. Tis truly marvelous.
Writing is both incredibly satisfying and immensely frustrating. *Deeply wants you to become an author but also does not want to shove such trauma upon you*
But the in-jokes are extremely fun. Shakespeare, LOTR, random song lyrics, and now TSE have all wormed their way into various projects of mine. (I love spelling people’s names backwards. Nieklot, for instance, is one of my character’s names.)
Indeed. I never thought I would be the sort of person with online friends, but here we are. And one of them lives in China, so it is not as though I can visit all that easily. *Sigh* maybe someday. They’re all marvelous people though, and I am glad to know them. It’s just different than real-life friends. (The internet does not count as real life to me. Tis just one of my numerous oddities, I suppose.)
I read them last Christmas, and they’re such fun! Tolkien is always viewed as sort of stuffy, but he had a wonderful sense of humor and whimsy.
Thoughs are tricksy little beasties. So are ‘justs’. It’s just so easy to use them, though.
FARE THEE WELL MY FRIEND!!!!!! Phone typing is one of the more tragic things in life. It takes soooooo looooong. You are most welcome. Thank you for getting excited about it! (I simply adore foisting things upon people, but not all of them seem to appreciate it, sadly. I do so love it when people do.)
Drive safely! (I mean, you’re presumably not driving. But you know. Whoever is driving.)
Byeeee!!!
It is done. I have finally nominated and seconded and thirded all the characters. We shall see results. Now I must go back and find book recommendations. And second new nominations. (and later I’ll give an actual reply to your lovely comment that I’m pretending to reply to right now)(first I must do responsible school-ish things)
Aw it looks great, Ava!!!!
*Neiklot, I mean. (Totally not spelling my own character’s names wrong over here. . .)
Apparently there is no way to edit comments. This is deeply disconcerting.
Well. I never received a reply to my query. Alas, Ayran can’t win the Most Magnificent Dragon Silmaril.
Distract me all you want. I’m always looking for new distractions with which to peddle away my time. I am the undisputed Queen of Distractions, and if you weren’t distracting me, I’d find something else to distract myself. Clearly I’m capable of ignoring distractions though, seeing as how I’ve waited nearly a week to properly respond to your comment (I’m also the Queen of Procrastination. It’s quite the combination).
She, alas, did not nominate anyone. That I know of. Perhaps I can convince her to vote?? Yes, the list I sent her was mostly book blogs, but a few lifestyle-ish blogs were thrown in there. She needs more blog exposure. Mine is not the only worthy blog in existence!! Fill your inbox with joy!!
Wait. Does your cousin’s dubious information come FROM Pinterest?? Is she getting odd disease information from Pinterest?? If so, that’s insane. I can’t imagine what her home feed looks like. I just give people unreliable facts about Narnia/Middle Earth. And send occasional memes to that one friend when I’m extremely bored.
Honestly, I didn’t think I’d be the sort of person who had online friends either. And yet, here I am, and here you are. I agree, the internet doesn’t quite count as real-life. It certainly is a method of connection with others though. Similar to letter writing, I suppose.
Yessss, it takes so long…and when typing in wordpress you can’t see what you’re replying to and it gets so irritating to scroll up and down and back and forth and argh. It’s passable for short comments and acknowledging that you see someone’s comment by liking it, but anything past that is rather horrid.
It truly was my pleasure to enjoy what you foisted on me. You were returning the favor, I suppose, since I’ve foisted the Silver Eye on you. I suppose it’s my turn again. I, in turn, foisted it upon my cousins, and one has gotten invested. He used the name Iskavir (and once Islamir, bc again. Typing on phones). He tried to foist it upon his own friends, but he hasn’t met any success yet. Alas.
(We did indeed drive safe, in case you wondered. No deer were hit — all in all, a successful trip)
This is most tragic. Ah well. Hopefully Chess will win something, at least. (He had a lot of seconds, so we shall see.)
Yay! Distractions take up about half of my time. Procrastination takes up the other half. (Except sometimes I get distracted from work by other work. This is productive, right? . . .) And this is perfectly alright. You still said some other things, so I was reassured that you were still, you know, alive and breathing. So it’s all good.
This is also tragic. But ah well. Perhaps next year. Or voting. Book blogs are simply lovely and I am glad to have discovered them. (Because I reaaally need to add to my 500 book long to-be-read list. 🙄 But they are fun and I adore them. And now my inbox is filled with random blog posts every morning. Which is nice but also. . . A bit much. I really need to mess with my notification settings. It does not help that I am always entering book giveaways and getting signed up for a bajillion email lists. And I have not yet actually won any books. Alas. One of these days it will all pay off! (I did win a popcorn seasoning giveaway once though. So there is that. I don’t really like seasoned popcorn, but still.)
Yes. She does. I am not sure it is the most accurate source of medical information, but she loves telling me how printer ink costs more than human blood and plants that cause horrid symptoms and poisons and all sorts of lovely and slightly dubious information. Her home page is filled with nasty diseases and pretty sparkly dresses and it is rather amusing.
Middle Earth is a wonderous place. And since Tolkien was much, much better at worldbuilding and such than I, there is all manner of fascinating information and such about it. (And some people make very amusing Lotr things. My dad shows them to me sometimes.)
Yes yes. It is terribly convenient. My younger brother is always informing me that I cannot possibly be friends with people I have never actually met, but I very much disagree.
It is indeed most irksome. We couuuuuuld switch to email, if you were so inclined. I am fine either way.
This is simply wonderous. I am very glad. And it is indeed your turn. I expect something good. (You have set the bar very high with The Silver Eye, so good luck topping it!)
I ensnared my cousin, and hopefully maybe some random people on wordpress and also discovered that one of my other sort of friends is also on there. (She was using the name Maple instead of her actual name and it took me a while to realize it was her.)
This is good. Someone hit a deer near here the other day. Twas most tragic. (And then my older brother revealed that he KNEW the guy who hit it. My brother knows people I don’t now and I do not know how to handle this information. It is crazy how many people you get to know when you stay places three months, as opposed to three days.)
Alright, I shall stop rambling on. I do hope you have a good. . .weekend? No, that’s over. Rest of the week then!
Perhaps one of these days I’ll get a reply, and then we can spend our time between now and next September furiously converting everyone we meet in order that when we do nominate our beloved TSE characters, they’ll get oodles of seconds and end up winning every category ever. Perhaps.
I am indeed still alive and breathing. For the most part. I have yet to truly disappear, like one blogger I know of and am getting kind of concerned about…😬 I just spend 37% of my time doing school assignments, 50% of my time working, 64% of my time distracted/procrastinating, 15% of my time reading, and 23% of my time messing around on my laptop (that number doesn’t add up to 100 but it’s fine).
Yes!! Book blogs are amazing. Well, I’m kind of a fan of blogs in general. I think they’re pretty cool. My inbox is also getting crowded…and I too have yet to win any of those books. I did recently win a drawing at our little local thrift store for a plushie, so my fortunes are looking up. Any day now I’ll win something I actually want. Like…a book.
Yeah, I don’t entirely trust information from Pinterest…but I never fact check it properly, so it lodges in my brain whether or not it’s truthful. I need help *facepalm* I should tune my feed so it only gives me aesthetic pictures of rain and books and teacups. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen all the Narnia/Middle Earth related pins on there at this point. I can’t even describe my current home feed. We’ve got embroidery inspo and writing advice and some quotes and book-related tumblr screenshots and some fanart and a tad bit of the MCU since I was bored during lunch break today and once more I really want to watch Spiderman and more book stuff and yeah. It’s crazy. And then those ads that aren’t aesthetic but neither is my feed so we’re at a stalemate.
Well, my brother asked the other day “Who just looks up blogs to read?” and I was like “…me”. Look at that, I’ve proved once more that I’m not the stereotypical teenaged girl. I’m friends with random people I met at the playground when I was nine. And that one girl taking the ACT with me. And that other girl I met at camp when I was eight (we were besties that week, but I never saw her before or since). Why limit your definition of friendship??
We shall see how long we can stack replies before we hit a limit. If there is one.
Yikes. I should have lured you in to my blog with something a little less impressive. How can I top The Silver Eye?? (speaking of luring people in to blogs, I have no idea how people find mine. I feel like Rapunzel sometimes. “Who are you, and how did you find me??”)
Deer getting hit by vehicles is, unfortunately, somewhat common around these here parts. I’ve never known who actually did it though. (how did your brother know who did it?? I’m in awe. I’ve lived here my whole life and I can’t even identify the people who come into the library on a weekly basis!!)
I wish you a good week!! May the best characters win the Silmaril Awards!! aka the ones I voted for lol. I look forward to seeing the results soon!!
This is a most genius plot. I also sent a query about. . . Something else I can’t quite recall, and I got no response. Ah well. If they say yes we shall ensnare everyone we know!!!!
This is good. Yes, it is always rather concerning when people drop off the face of the earth. (Usually they are just busy though, thankfully.)
This is good too. I have always disliked math because of how absolute it is. (And also because I have a long running feud with numbers. And also because I am really bad at it.)
Indeed! I started reading blog posts because I wanted to drive more traffic to my new and sadly desolate little website, but I soon discovered how wonderous they are and so now I just read them because I like to.
Oh yes. You have reminded me. I did win a nice art set from the library at the end-of-summer-reading party. And I was so excited when they called my name that I leapt to my feet, forgetting that I was wearing roller skates, and promptly crashed back to the ground again, much to the amusement of everyone else there. (Never jump to your feet while wearing roller skates, as I have come to learn. Unless maybe you actually know how to use roller skates and are not a complete novice like moi.)
I am in the %0.1 of girls my age who does not have pinterest. Embroidery? Oooh. When I took up the hobby I thought it a dying art, but since then I have discovered that about half the people I know are embroiderers (embroiderists?) and so now I have been unconvinced. I am not very good at it, (probably because I have zero patience,) but it’s super fun and very satisfying.
This is brilliant. I am not either. In fact, I pride myself on being very NOT stereotypical. Tis one of my main selling points. (And also means I am utterly bewildered by most people my age. . .)
And that is so true! I mean, I am friends with people double my age, and some people half my age. And some people related to me. We meet a lot of people traveling though. It is one of the most interesting parts of living on the road, actually.
This is a good plan. Hopefully we will not break WordPress. Also hopefully this does not count towards the 1 gigabyte limit for free websites. (I suppose you could just delete them all but the thought seems strangely tragic.)
Perhaps. But now whatever tops it is going to be truly incredible, so it’s worth it! Or perhaps you can restart at ground level. Either way!
Well, I found it by stumbling across the random Silver Eye post. I can’t remember if I was searching for something or what. And I often wonder the same thing. I mean, I can see a bit from the stats page, but not enough! Every loooong once in a while I get a view from a search engine, and I want to track the people down and demand to know what they were searching for and why, but alas, I cannot.
That is sad. Let me see. The whole reason we did the camp hosting gig was because my brother wants to go to college in that town, because he wants to be a gunsmith and that is THE gunsmithing school to go to, apparently. So I think he knew the guy from a summer course he took. (The guy was the head of the shooting range at the college, I believe.) And he was going to the game store to play this card game sometimes, and the people there knew the guy who hit it and told him. *Feels this was an unnecessarily long explanation*
I did not think we were going to meet that many people while we were there, but we met a ton of people, through different outlets. And it was so weird because I’m used to being in new towns all the time and not knowing anyone, and all of a sudden I would recognize people and it was the strangest thing.
You too!! Good luck with your school and all. Yess!! May all the people you voted for win! Me too. *Crosses fingers*