I’m so happy the holidays are officially here! The past 11 months have been extremely fun, but I am feeling the exhaustion that goes along with hitting the end of the year. I’m also ready for some time off to catch up on gaming. :)
Last month was full of travel and writing for me. A trip to Mexico, then a trip to my family’s for Thanksgiving, meant that I was on the road for a lot of the month. I’ve had a really fun month because of that. And because I was also participating in National Novel Writing Month, I spent every spare minute at home writing. I haven’t even played a video game in like three weeks. It’s insane.
Now that my 50,000 words are done (my novel isn’t finished, but I made way more progress than I expected!), I’m eager to retrieve a better work/play balance in my life this month. Here’s what I’m looking forward to this December!
Dishonored 2
While I had every intention of playing this game right away, I haven’t had a chance to yet due to the traveling and the writing. But my boyfriend was sweet enough to buy me the game as a reward for finishing NaNoWriMo, so I’m starting it now! I may not be the best at stealth — so yes, I will probably kill enemies instead of doing a clean hands playthrough — but I can’t wait to wreak supernatural chaos all over this new city!
Watch_Dogs 2
I have no idea what I’ll think of this game. The first Watch Dogs didn’t interest me, but just the fact that this one is set in San Francisco, where I live, has captured my attention. The main character also seems more intriguing than the last… and I love the idea of hacking my way through missions. This will be my big game to play over the holiday break!
Mobile Gaming
While I’m at my mom’s for Christmas, I’ll be playing on my handhelds a lot. It’s a great way to pass the time while I’m hanging out in the living room and the TV screen is already in use! I just have to remember to pack my Nintendo 3DS and see if my Vita is around somewhere…
Rogue One
It took me awhile to come around to Star Wars. I’ve always enjoyed the worldbuilding of it, but not seeing the movies until I was in my teens and/or an adult made it hard for me to fall in insta-love with them like so many people seem to. However, the movies have grown on me the past few years, and I’m very excited for the new releases. I loved The Force Awakens, and I’m hoping that Rogue One has a darker story and tone than the episode films. I’m ready for a little change of pace in that respect! I also credit Felicity Jones as one of my favorite actresses, since seeing her in Like Crazy a few years ago… but I guess I haven’t seen her in an action role before. That should be interesting!
More Writing!
I feel like I’m on a roll with my novel right now, so I’ll continue writing tons throughout the month. It would feel amazing to finish my book by the end of the year! I don’t know if that will happen or not, but I’m going to make every effort to maintain the good writing habits I fostered during NaNoWriMo — just minus the crazy no-time-for-video-games part. :)
Getting Healthy
Obviously it’s hard to stay healthy during the holidays, and I have no regrets about how much I ate and how little I worked out over Thanksgiving. But now that I am going to be home for most of the month, I’m planning a workout routine and some more home-cooked healthy meals that I can incorporate into my daily life here! For some reason, planning these things as part of a schedule — including the meal prep — really helps me stay on track. I’m going to act like this is a treat for myself, because now that my traveling and crazy schedules are over, I have time to work on myself and enjoy the experience!
What are you guys up to for the holidays/New Year’s?
— Ashley
Robo♥beat 
I already covered my holiday gaming plans on your last post, so there’s no need to repeat the whole long spiel. I will say I’m nearly done the storyline in the SW:TOR expansion (it’s pretty short), and it’s very cool so far. I like Vaylin as a villain.
Was thinking I might see Fantastic Beasts soon maybe. Crowds should have died down by now.
Currently reading the latest StarCraft novel. Kind of underwhelmed by it so far, but I did just start.
Not watching anything interesting — kind of between shows at the moment. Been watching Community on Netflix for lack of better options, but I’m not exactly in love with it. Will probably rewatch the Robot Santa Futuramas and Holidays of Future Past (my favourite Simpsons Christmas episode) at some point.
I’m going to try to overcome my endless writer’s block and write a story for my father as a cheap Christmas gift, as has become my habit. Totally drawing a blank on ideas right now, though.
Oh writing a story for your dad is a cool idea! I’ve never done that before. Probably because I’m very shy about sharing my creative writing! Good luck with your story.
I saw Fantastic Beasts last month, hope you enjoy it if you see it! I really had no idea what it was about going into it. I used to be a huge Harry Potter fan, but it’s been awhile since I kept up with J.K. Rowling’s work.
I can definitely understand being shy about sharing your writing. We tend to pour a lot of ourselves into our writing, so sharing it can be an oddly intimate thing to do. I used to be more open about seeking readers, but I had a lot of bad experiences, so I’ve kind of stopped. That carries problems of its own, though. I post stories on my blog sometimes, but my readers don’t seem to be interested, so I’m getting less inclined to bother.
My father has been a fan of my work from the start, though, and he always seems to enjoy getting stories from me.
I haven’t really kept up with the Harry Potter extended universe — too scattered — but I have been reading JK Rowling’s mystery novels lately. They’re pretty good.
Getting healthy is something I’d like to make a priority, but I’m lazy and like bad food so…
But anyways, I really think you might like Watch_Dogs 2, though I may be a bit biased. It’s an excellent open world game and Marcus is a helluva lot more likeable than Aiden.
Oh nice, I’m excited to give the game a try! Marcus seems like an interesting character for sure. As for being healthy… yeah, I know what you mean. I used to be very motivated about health, but I have times like the past month or so where I just kind of stop thinking about it… And liking bad food is the hardest part for me! haha
Well I wish you the best of luck! I know how difficult it can be to be disciplined on a lifestyle change.
Congrats on hitting your word count goal, Ashley! I knew you could do it. :D I’m hoping to finish up Dual Destinies before the year is out, but I caved into the temptation of playing some of Final Fantasy XV. I’m so bad, but the game is really fun and so pretty! I love it so far. Good luck with your health and fitness goals. Trying to stay fit during the holidays is tough, but we just need to incorporate good habits that become second nature in no time.
Oh yeah, so you’re liking Final Fantasy so far? I’ve heard a lot about it but don’t really have time to play it right now. I’m not a huge Final Fantasy fan anyway, although I’ve always enjoyed what I play of them! :) Enjoy Dual Destinies, I’ll let you know what I think of the Phoenix Wright game I pick up!