Alyssa's blog

QotD: Thanksgiving

What are you thankful for?

Most of all, I'm thankful for my family and my boyfriend. Life wouldn't be worth living without them. I'm thankful for my health, and the fact that I have a roof over my head and everything I need to live comfortably. Sometimes I have to remind myself how lucky I am.

I hope you guys have a great Thanksgiving and stuff yourselves with as much food as I did today! ;)

Happy Harvest

QotD: Top 5 Video Games

What's on your Top 5 video games list?
Submitted by mileena.

Of all time:

1. Super Mario Bros. 3
2. Final Fantasy VI
3. Resident Evil 4
4. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
5. Chrono Trigger

Other games that stand out in my mind: Doom, Silent Hill 2, Secret of Mana, Legend of Mana, Metal Gear Solid, Parasite Eve, Super Metroid, Commander Keen, Psychonauts, Unreal Tournament, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Diablo 2, Half-Life 2, Tekken 1-3, Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and most of the Final Fantasies. I play too many games. :P

Boring geek stuff

Two games I miss playing: World of Warcraft and Animal Crossing: Wild World.

Pirate Dextra

I stopped playing WoW earlier this year for two reasons: a) lack of money and b) it got annoying. It seems as though everyone plays it these days, and running into person after person who's only playing because it's popular and doesn't have a clue what they're doing grates on your nerves after a while. It became super hard to find a good raid group, and finding a good guild was even more difficult. The guild I had been a part of since the beginning eventually dwindled down to nothingness and there was no longer anyone decent to play with around my level, so it got sort of lonely after a while. I do miss it, though. I really miss beta and when the game was first released. Not as many people played and it was more magical and epic then. Everything was new. I'm thinking of starting over as a draenei when the expansion comes out. I know there are going to be thousands of people doing the same exact thing, but still...I want to.

The reason I haven't played Animal Crossing is simply because I no longer have a DS available. I played it on my boyfriend's, which he ended up trading in to go towards his Xbox 360. I'm asking for my very own DS Lite and a copy of the game for Christmas, though, so I'll hopefully be playing it again soon! It's amazing how much time I can waste on that game...

QotD: My Fictional Counterpart

What character in a book can you connect with or relate to the most? 
Submitted by Eating A Book.

Luna Lovegood

Hmm, it's hard to think of who I've related to the most. I'm going to take the easy route and choose a Harry Potter character. There's someone for everyone to relate to in those books! ;)

I've always sort of connected with Luna Lovegood. I'm not quite as out there as her, but I'm pretty quirky. We're both the independent loner types, and we're both very into conspiracy theories (I don't always believe in them, I just find them fascinating). Luna is just one of countless characters who I've found myself relating to in books, whether because of personality or situation.

QotD: Total Transformation

What's the most drastic change you've ever made to your appearance?
Submitted by Laurie.

Redhead

I never touched my hair until last year when I had it dyed cherry red. I'd never even had highlights or anything before that. It was a big change from my natural dark blonde color. I recently had it dyed auburn, which I think suits me better.

QotD: My Dream Career

What's your dream career? 
Submitted by Something.

A spy/assassin, sort of like Ada Wong from the Resident Evil series. Seriously!

When I was little, I desperately wanted to be an archaeologist, and I still think that'd be awesome, traveling around the world uncovering secrets.

Lastly, I'd love to work as an animator/cartoonist, but I don't have the skills or motivation for it. :/

I'm back?

I really should stop getting all these accounts at blog sites only to neglect them...

Books I'm Currently Reading:

Selected Tales by Edgar Allan Poe. It's Poe! He's a genius! What more could you ask for? His stuff is perfect for autumn and Halloween. I actually chose my new layout because it reminds me of "The Raven".

From the Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury. Bradbury's books are also very fitting for this time of year. He seems to have a soft spot for autumn as many of his books and stories revolve around it. I love the lyrical way he writes, and I can't help but feel nostalgic when I read his stuff.

Deerskin by Robin McKinley. This book isn't quite what I expected. I've read some of McKinley's other books and they all feature strong heroines, but this one is different. It's far more than a fantasy story; it's an exploration into the mind of a girl who was terribly abused by her father and the account of her recovery. I adore Lissar. She's stronger than I could ever be.

Songs I'm Currently Loving:

"Disenchanted", "Sleep", and "Mama" by My Chemical Romance. I wasn't really a fan of MCR until their newest CD came out and my boyfriend made me listen to it. One review actually compared them to Queen, and I honestly don't think that's too far off. The Black Parade is very much a rock opera.

"Envision" and "City of Light" by Theatre of Tragedy. I discovered Leaves' Eyes and fell in love with Liv Kristine's voice before I found out that she was originally part of Theatre of Tragedy. Now I'm enjoying her beautiful, mesmerizing voice combined with gruff vocals, heavy industrial music, and poetic lyrics. I haven't heard any of ToT's stuff with their new singer and I have to admit that I don't want to. I love Liv too much.

"Room of Angel" by Akira Yamaoka. The Silent Hill soundtracks are awesome. Akira Yamaoka is a musical genius. The end. :)

Muse's entire Black Holes and Revelations CD. Muse has reminded me why I love them so much with their newest CD. In fact, they've taken the number one spot on my list of all-time favorite bands. Matthew Bellamy is known for his falsetto vocals, amazing guitar riffs, and classically influenced piano arrangements. If you haven't heard Muse yet, now is the time to do so.

Movies I've Recently Enjoyed:

Borat. It's been over-hyped (or maybe that's just me, but I've been seeing Borat everywhere and it's getting a little annoying), but it's definitely worth seeing. If you're open-minded and in the mood for a different kind of comedy, then Borat is for you.

The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D. I'm a huge TNBC fan. Seeing it in 3D was...cool. It wasn't extreme pops-out-right-at-your-face 3D, but it was still pretty neat. Above anything else, it was just great to be able to see it in the theater, which is something I missed out on as a kid.

That's it. I haven't seen many movies lately. :-/ I'm dying to see The Prestige! It looks amazing.