Where I've been these last few weeks: Animal Crossing, insurance anxiety, general update of a sort.

I haven't been doing a fantastic job of being a human being for the last few—well, months now, I suppose. Insurance anxiety has been ongoing for so long that at this point I'm just exhausted; my be-a-thinking-intelligent-person is shot to shit, and I haven't been able to read for weeks; my give-a-crap-about-anything is gone; I'm in full escapism mode and if you need me, I'm probably fishing in Animal Crossing as I pay off a massive final mortgage. Animal Crossing is one of those games I heard about ages ago (high school?) and said: it is perfect for me and I should never, ever play it. A social simulator that occurs in real time and has tons of collectables? A game like that could be more real to me than real life—which is why I picked it up in the middle of this period when overlooking real life is what I want most in the world. I'm so taken with it that I'm 95% sure I'll pick up Animal Crossing: City Folk next time I see Devon, which should be this week—it's on the Wii, which makes me cringe, but it's expanded and shinier and I know people that play it, and I'm almost but not quite running out of winter activities in Animal Crossing (GCN) and so a fresh set of things to do would suit me well.

The mature response would be to respond to concerned emails and resolve what insurance stuff I can resolve, but I just can't seem to find the wherewithal for that, or for anything else which could possibly be construed as responsible and adult behavior, so video games it is.

I'm behind on BPAL reviews and really should make final holiday records before I never do and then forget all there would be to record. At this point, chances of substantive and/or day to day blogging are slim. (Tried to sleep, watched Law & Order instead. Got some sleep. Woke up late, played Animal Crossing. Played Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings. Tried to talk to Devon but had nothing to say. Watched Law & Order while fishing in Animal Crossing. Had a brief, good conversation with Devon/Express/Sabrina/Dee; drowned out that positive in some more negative free-floating anxiety. Tried to sleep. Really there just ain't much to report.) So as usual there's little reason to write this at all, and when I do it sounds like a lazy cry for attention: pity me, who bare has the energy to pity herself. But for what it's worth (not a hell of a lot), there you go.

BPAL Reviews: A Wonderful Light, The Moon Gazed on My Midnight Labours, Pumpkin Masala Rooibos

A WONDERFUL LIGHT (LE, Yule: Little Match Girl 2011)
Three radiant ambers with honey, linden blossom, bourbon vanilla, and orange zest.
( Review. )

Verdict: A Wonderful Light is reminiscent of Khrysee, but drier and more pristine than Khyrsee's fleshy amber; it's also reminiscent of a white chocolate Gelt, sweet and powdery and dry. It's perfectly pleasant but doesn't move me—the scent texture is too dry, and it's a little too sweet for my taste, and I don't need to own it.


THE MOON GAZED ON MY MIDNIGHT LABOURS (LE, Yule: Frankenstein 2001)
Moroccan musk, black opium poppy, clove, and orris root.
( Review. )

Verdict: I'm not head over heels, but I am solidly won over. The Moon Gazed on My Midnight Labours is what I would expect from the notes, dark and warm and spicy; it doesn't try to play nice by offering up any sort of sweetness (even though musk is usually sweet on my skin), but is gorgeous in its own right. I expect it will age well, too. I'll hold on to my decant, but I don't think I need a bottle.


PUMPKIN MASALA ROOIBOS (LE, Yule 2011)
Rooibos tea with red ginger, green cardamom, fennel, peppercorns, almond, and licorice, sweetened with coconut sugar and jaggery.
( Review. )

Verdict: Pumpkin Masala Roobios is effective as a non-sweet, non-traditional spicy pumpkin—herbs and unusual spices over a savory pumpkin base. But the spices always seem a little off and unpleasant to my nose, and I just find nothing to like here, none of the warmth I was expecting, nothing palatable in the blend. I'll trade away my decant.

Me as an Animal Crossing villager, by Sabrina, who is awesome.

So I have the best of friends.

You may remember that a while ago, reddogdied illustrated me-as-cat, which is one of the more meaningful gifts I've ever received. In Animal Crossing, you play as a lone human living in a town of anthropomorphic animals. My friend Sabrina also plays, and she draws, and she was illustrating friends as AC villagers. I asked her to draw me. She drew this and then let me sit down and nitpick it to my heart's content, pulling criticisms and preferences out of me even I'd usually give an artist a wide berth around their art, and then Express concurred with the final design, because they both know how important avatar-equivalents are to me—which they are (read more).


And she made this. Green eyes! Floofy tail! Orange kitty, hint of tabby, and I would totally wear that outfit if I lived in a land without pants. AC-me is adorable, and I know awesome people, and I am blessed: behold.