March 2014 Favorites: Viewables

Since I can be kind of picture-heavy, I've decided to do monthly favorites in sections during the last week of the month. Plus, it'll be easier to navigate doing a category per post rather than bunching it all together-- all pictures and sections. The categories will purely depend on what I'm into for that month.

Sounds good? Good.

Today, I'll talk about the things I've viewed this month that have really stole my heart:

Breaking Bad

Shut up. I know, I'm late... Extremely late... Hush...
Anyway I FINALLY finished Breaking Bad during my Spring Break, and IT. WAS. SUPERB.

I had pretty much all of the 5th season to watch, and toward its end, I was completely engulfed (per usual when I've decided to have a Breaking Bad marathon). Every time Netflix had a grace period between episodes, I'd yell "NOOOOOOO!! MOAR!! NOW!"

It's only natural.

The whole series was great, and the end was a roller coaster and masterpiece. I am over-the-moon about this work of art and every spec of brilliance involved in it from start to finish.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

This is another series I finally finished this month. I realized in the midst of a Netflix marathon that the whole show wasn't on Netflix.

A big ol' FAT "boooooooo."

Once my laptop was fixed, I went ahead and looked up the last chunk of episodes when I had the time. It was a very good choice to make, because the further it went along, the more I fell in love.

The ending was good, but I was honestly taking everything in because it's just such an awesome series!

In a nutshell (as best as I can describe), the show's about two young alchemists (people who can take chemistry matter, rearrange its molecules, and create something else or remold it) who try to bring their dead mother back. Bringing someone back from the dead is thee ultimate alchemist taboo, and they pay dearly for it.

So they go on a journey to find a way to make things right, and learn if it really is possible to bring back the dead.

My synopsis doesn't do the show justice at ALL. Each episode layers into more thought-provoking, and philosophical levels of awareness. The characters develop beautifully throughout, and there's plenty of twists and turns, and even tears (I've lost count at five... I've cried at least five times watching this series).

I'd highly recommend it! (P.S. I'd advise you to watch the first four episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist first, to kind of grab you in from the get-go and explain things a bit faster in the beginning, THEN start watching Brotherhood from start to finish. I did this on accident and loved the route it took me)

source: google images

This picture may not be giving the show its full effect... So here's my two favorite theme songs from the whole series (including what I've seen of FMA):

and

Loooooove it!

The Last of Us: Markiplier's Gameplay

So I'm into well-written zombie things now.

The Last of Us is a plot-heavy, moving, brilliant, video game (on the PS3 counsel) about the zombie apocalypse.

I know. My generic summary equals BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, SAME OL' ZOMBIE ISH. But wait! The reason I love this Let's Play so much is that it's so rich in its storyline. The characters develop, and are flawed. They aren't heroes... They just are trying to survive and make the best decisions during their conflicts (if they have a say in the matter, that is). I love how "statistic-y" this storyline is with its different kinds of zombies (bloaters, clickers, people that are newly turning, etc) and their ambiguous reasons for why each zombie exists as they are. 

Markiplier's commentary throughout keeps the watchers engaged with the story line, too. He brings up points and short discussions throughout his gameplay (I watch him all the time anyway, so there's that bias).

Things are getting.... Sad.
(source: youtube screenshot)

A clicker is a-comin'!
(source: youtube screenshot)

There's no slow start to this game. It kicks-off with a knee right in your feelings. And hey, if you'd rather watch the storyline and not Markplier (weirdo), then there are people on youtube who've recorded all of the cutscenes and played straight through with no interruptions to keep the story streamlined. Some people have it on easy, some had just the cut scenes... I'd suggest watching the one a little over 6 hours if you'd rather not hear commentary and not miss anything.

And if you'd like to skip all of this, there's been news for an actual movie based on this game in the making!

Ermo (1994)

I came across this movie on Netflix and the one-word, unknown, name caught my eye as well as the crazed-looking lady on the thumbnail.

Reading the synopsis, I found out that the movie is a satire on Western consumerism. A "keeping up with the Jones'", if you will. 

Set in rural China, a lady named Ermo tried to make a living for her sick husband and little boy by selling twisted noodles on the street. Her "advertisement" for her twisted noodles becomes a mantra throughout the film. 

Eventually, she gets a ride with a neighbor into town, and finds the biggest TV anyone around has ever seen.

Knowing her neighbor/rival even has a TV, she wants to get one, too (and stop her boy from going over to her neighbor's hour to watch television).

It becomes her focus. Her obsession as her husband worries about her priorities when he wants to put their money into their house instead.

How does this story end? Does she make the money? What kind of mess does Ermo get herself into while being possessed by consumerism?

Watch and find out-- sucked me in deeper than I thought it would. Couldn't bring myself to turn it off once it got a few minutes it.

I'm glad I finished it.

A little lengthy, but I hope you guys have enjoyed my favorite viewables for this month!

I'll try to get the next category up sometime this week. More-than-likely food'll be up next. ;)

Motivational Whispers

I have the Bible app, and you can sift-through plans that'll give you a couple minutes of inspirational readings each day until the individual plan is complete.

I read the plans I subscribe to under a towel at night as I'm steaming my face.

Since I'm currently under this towel chilling, I thought I'd share a few screen shots of words that really spoke to me; I hope they do the same for you:

Have a great week, everyone.

Clarity is in Doing

I had my clinic "midterm" last week, and came to a realization: after four years of studies, I no longer think my path is in speech therapy.

I've LOVED and thoroughly enjoyed everything I've learned in this major, and that's not hard to do. You can love learning, but there's only so much a textbook can do.

Experience is what really tells you the truth about yourself.

I think it's very important to live life. Explore options and get your hands dirty.

Look at what really drives you, and what you enjoy doing in your free time. See that keyword? Doing?

Actions speak louder than words, yeah?

Anyway, although exploring is a wonderful epiphany, I feel I may need a bit more guidance. A great push is this site I found a few years back called theunlost.com. It has hundreds, maybe thousands of articles written in such a casual way. They're filled with "ah-ha" moments, plenty of space to converse with the community, and one of my favorite ways to get my doses of their site in: email subscription.

I subscribed to their Mini-Kit emails a couple of years ago, but lost track and didn't really do much more than skim over each one. I now signed up under my new email address and find the helpful nuggets so refreshing.

There's no way you can lose. You can unsubscribe anytime you want, and each Mini-Kit they send comes around every few days so you're not bombarded with emails day-in and day-out.

Please give it a chance! A nice change from the dreaded emails you have to reply to on a daily basis might be nice.

 

A Link for 5 Ways to Mentally Spring Clean

Hello, first day of Spring!

We have nowhere to go buy up weather-wise, right?

Yeah?... I truly hope so...

Anyway-- weather-permitting or not-- the awareness of our mindsets can alway be reshaped and heightened, yes? Well I follow Free People (that overpriced hippie hipster clothing store) on Bloglovin', and read a very reassuring and eye-opening post from them that goes well with the new beginnings of Spring. And hey, it costs absolutely nothing to follow and read their awesome blog (surprisingly enough).

These 5 whispers of advice really started making my mind jog. I'd suggest taking 10 minutes out of you day to read this and scribble down some brainstorms for your OWN personal life.

It is your life to do with as you please, and I hope this prompt treats you kindly.

Until next time. Good day.

Here's the link: http://www.bloglovin.com/frame?post=2478953209&group=0&frame_type=a&blog=237509&link=aHR0cDovL2Jsb2cuZnJlZXBlb3BsZS5jb20vMjAxNC8wMy81LXNwcmluZy1pbnRlbnRpb25zLXNldC8_dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1yc3MmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1yc3MmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPTUtc3ByaW5nLWludGVudGlvbnMtc2V0&frame=1&click=0&user=0

(Trying) to Cope with Sadness

source: Tumblr

Do you ever have happy days but in the back of your mind, you're consistently anxious?

You're not being negative... You just know you're going to have an emotional relapse. You always hope the worst is over, especially on the great and mellow days... But in the back of your mind you know the dark days will be back.

And very recently, my own emotional relapse hit. As soon as I left campus today I became almost intolerable of existing.

Just like that I'm sad and scared because I don't want to feel this way; I want it to end. I doubt I'd ever off myself... But living becomes such a pain, and it's very very hard to try and find something to cheer you up.

This isn't like heartbreak. It can't be completely distracted with the aid of friends or a hobby that completely engulfs you... This is a storm that can't be stopped.

source: Tumblr

Here's how I try to cope to the best of my ability:

1. Sleep... It's one of the only surefire ways that I can be okay for a little while. Temporary escape.
2. Games... Play something minute like a flash game online or download one on your phone. They're made to be quick and fun, so to me? It won't become something to automatically depend on too heavily. Click here for one of my favorite sites for flash games. The third one on the top right with the jellyfish has my favorite calming track to just listen to).
3. Write... If you feel like you have no one, write how you feel somewhere. Keep a notebook for just these types of days. When you want to vent and share but feel there's no one there.
4. Collect quotes... Maybe writing doesn't work for you. Maybe writing actually frustrates you more because your mind is racing faster than your hand can keep up with writing. So look online for great, inspiring, quotes and just collect them. They may not even make you feel 50% better, but even a prick of light is better than nothing.
5. Breathe... Focus on your breathing. Take deep inhales through your nose, and exhale slowly through your mouth. Sit with some mellow music-- or any music that just makes you feel good most days-- and just breathe. If you're into yoga, you could do a bit of that and hold poses to let each moment sink in for you. But finding just enough space for breathing is easy. Meditate, pray, focus on the music... I feel that even if your mind wanders a little bit, you're not doing anything else that'll stress you out even more.

So how do you deal with moments (maybe even days, weeks, months...) like this?

Let me know; we'll share ways to stay strong through these trying times.