Blog Name and Creating

So if you've stopped by, you'll notice that things are a bit different now. Like the photo at the top is different now...and to be not so humble, it's super adorable. (Credit: lookanimals.com) And the big thing is that I've finally changed the name of the blog.

To be quite frank, I've never loved the name Once Upon a Time in Plain City. It never struck gold with me, but I was desperate to blog and I didn't want to wait for inspiration so I just figured why not start where I started which is here in little ol' Plain City, UT. It made sense, it was practical. Ever since then, I've been trying to find something that fits me a bit better and I find I Just Do My Thing to be a bit closer. It may not be a permanent title, but it's a start. I kind of like it.

So what have I been up to lately? I know I mentioned blogging about geeky things and such, which I do still plan on doing, trust me. I just need to find something to talk about, and I have a lot of things that I could talk about Lately, though, as I've been working through my graphic design program at school, I've been wanting to create things. I've felt a sudden feeling inside me that just wants me to make something from these hands. I have an entire pinterest board dedicated to that very thing, creating. And it's not even just a crafting sort of creation, I want to create art and mood boards and make my own edits of photos and images. I want to spread my skills and try all sorts of creative and crafty things.

So starting today, I plan on making a dreamcatcher. It's a small thing and it'll be so much fun. I'll let you know how it goes.

I've already made this collage that I want to make a hundred more of to express myself with. Maybe I'll make a bunch and plaster them in my room...hmmm....

Well, whatever happens, you'll be sure to be involved.

Thanks for stopping by, if you have any fun creating ideas, be sure to slap them on down in those comments.

-Kenra

Just a Little Tribute to the Library

I took a trip to the library today, and with my adorable library bag (featuring Prince Ren from Tiger's Curse, teehee) in one hand and my video camera in the other I metaphorically skipped into the children's section. I won't lie, children's books are some of my all time favourite kinds of books. They tend to have more adventure, less drama and the characters I feel are so much more unique and dynamic in children's books than they are in the ever dramatic young adult section. (You know...hermit girl meets bad boy...forbidden love...I've read a lot of of those).

Today I discovered a series that I've been wanting to read for a long long time. It's The Spirit Animals series that was started by Brandon Mull and now each book features a different author like Marie Lu, Garth Nix, Shannon Hale, and Maggie Stiefvater (a new favourite of mine). I'm pretty stoked to start this series because I found the first seven at the library. It was actually quite thrilling to prance back and forth through the aisles trying to find the next book. I liked that a lot.

Simple things like that, twisting through the shelves like a kid, make my day and make me giddy. It takes me back to summer days when I wouldn't just metaphorically skip into the children's section, I'd actually do it. And my eyes wouldn't know where to turn on the shelf because every. single, book, looked like a world just waiting for me enter and I had to choose very wisely which one I wanted to visit for that week.

You could compare my exploration of the library to a roller coaster. I'd jump onto my toes to look at the tall shelves and then just as suddenly swoop down onto my knees to look at all of the books on the bottom. Thanks to child Kenra, I still have habit of sort of bobbing my head and my hip when I'm looking through the shelves, like I'm dancing the silent tune of words.

Today there was a little girl that reminded me of myself. She made herself so comfortable on the floor and she'd read a page carefully and then put it back on the shelf and grab another, taking excruciating care that she finds the perfect book. Her knees were splayed out beneath her and I can only imagine that one of her white tennis shoes had an untied lace. Her hair was a bit haphazard, but she didn't look like she cared and she just kept reading. I hated it when I had to break her concentration when one of my books was behind her. Nothing ruins the magic of reading more than a complete stranger who barges in and forces you to move for them. I'm such a jerk.

Would it have been weird if I had taken that girl by the hand and led her to my favourite books? What would I have done had that happened to me as a child? Sometimes I'm tempted to do that, I see a person that just looks like a reader and I want to take them on a guided tour of my book-loves. Stack book upon book in their arms and just insist that they love it just as much as me. Let's be honest, if that happened to me, I'd be a little weirded out. I'll resist the urge.

If you can do anything for a child, I'd say that taking them to the library is one of the best things to do. Summer time was my favourite time of the year because I knew that my mom would take us once a week to get five new books to read. Now, I want to give every parent I see at the library a thumbs up and hug the child who picks up Fablehaven or Artemis Fowl with curious eyes and get in their face and just say, "Read it, you'll love it."

Again, that'd be a little weird, so I look at the books instead.

I've found that every library feels the same too. Even the ones at school, or across the country, they all have this aura of knowledge, adventure, wisdom. It has this feeling that no matter where you are in the world, there are books, and books mean sanctuary and home. Libraries mean home to me, I can find anything and everything I want and I can curl into the corner of the room and just escape for an hour or two. I go there to escape the messed up world and find solace. 

Would you like to go on an adventure?

Go to the library.

Blogging When You Can't Sleep Makes for Real Interesting Writing

It is 1:00 in the morning and I am awake.

This is the last thing I want to be right now.

For the past two hours I've been tossing back and forth in my little bed and trying to find that "comfort" spot in my bed. Switching between being too hot or too cold I finally resorted to stop trying to fall asleep...because obviously sleep doesn't feel like its time yet.

So I finally just gave up trying and here I am now.

You're probably asleep right now. I rather envy you, fellow reader. I wish I were asleep. I wish my eyes would just close and that my lids would just settle down. I wish my body would relax and that my mind would still...sadly my mind has a lot to think about right now.

Would you like to know what is on my mind?

If you said no, it'd be best to stop reading now because I'm about to go into great detail about what is on my mind. Thanks for stopping by, feel free to go back to sleep. I envy you too.

Where to begin.

1. I want a pet.

This weekend I had the absolute privilege to tend my brother's dog. His name is Casey and is the most adorable little fluff ball. I spent two nights with him and just had the best time bonding with him. I didn't hardly leave my brother's house (except for when I realized I left my toothbrush at home...Macey's run!) and just chilled on the couch with this little dog. AND I didn't binge on Netflix once. I did force my friend to watch Winx Club with me though...we'll come back to that. And I did start the extended edition of the first Hobbit film...but I fell asleep. Though I was delighted to see the extended scene of my baby Thrandy. I adore my elf king. And the whole time, Casey would curl up right next to me and sleep or he'd lick my toes....which is weird....but in Casey's case, it was cute...in a weird way...I need to change the subject now.

I brought Casey home with me today (technically yesterday as it is still 1:00 in the morning!) and while he was outside with my parent's dog, I felt so overly protective of him. I wanted to check on the little baby every five minutes and I wanted to cuddle with him on the couch even though I know dogs aren't allowed in the house. And even though he's just a couple rooms away from me right this very moment I'm already beginning to miss his sweet sweet company because tonight is my last night night with him before my brother and his wife come home from their vacation. I'm gonna miss my little buddy.


2. Snapchat.

For the longest freaking time I was a major anti-Snapchat user...and I keep wanting to say that I still am....but how can I after I put up like five photos on My Story today. I'd be a hypocrite.

I still believe that its stupid to use Snapchat as your go-to tool for communication, especially if you're only going to snap a blurry picture of your carpet just so you can respond with, "haha, you're so funny! #funny2016". Seriously people. That's stupid. But I also now understand the appeal after I was juggling two separate Snapchat conversations about monkeys with one and big beds with another. And all of the photos seemed to keep in pace with or even add to the conversation. Gosh, I've turned into a convert guys...I don't know how to feel.

3. Tumblr
Another social media outlet that I have conflicted feelings about. I do believe I've mentioned it before. It's a great place if you like a certain movie or show or video game because tumblr is the place where fans go to discuss and share their enthusiasm for the things they love. I currently follow about 200 blogs dedicated to Winx Club, Uta no Prince Sama, The Hobbit, and the Lord of the Rings along with various art blogs. My blog is pretty new and I don't visit it very often, but I imagine over time, I'll start to pull in a few other fandom-related blogs. I could really go for a nice Zelda blog. Yeah, that's what I need.

The thing I like about tumblr isn't necessarily the community, I could take it or leave it, what I love is the inspiring creation that people make, even if its just a cheesy quote made on photoshop, those are some of my favourites actually. I just think its a great place for people to create inspiration and to be inspired. And I'm a pro inspiration kind of gal.

4. Fangirls

Now this goes hand and hand with my tumblr section. As I mentioned I can leave or take the community of tumblr. I find myself detesting certain kinds of people on there. There is a constant stream of critically brutal comments and judgmental snobbery. "Oh, you mean to tell me that you like this show but don't know every single fact about it??? Well then you're not really a true fan!" "You mean to tell me you haven't read the Silmarillion?" *Sniff sniff*. I feel that this kind of behavior is so unnecessary. We've all been given a voice and I get it, there are some people that have opinions that are dark, twisted and bit sadistic, but I think overall every person deserves to be given a chance to say how they feel; especially when it comes to such minor and trivial things like The Avengers or Adventure Time. Not to say that these things aren't important to us, but they are just forms of entertainment, it shouldn't be a big deal whether someone has less or more knowledge than you about it. It shouldn't matter that someone doesn't like that character. What matters is the show, not their opinions. It all just seems so petty to me and it bugs me. Why can't we all just get along people?

5. Podcasts and Radio Shows

My dear dear friend rather casually brought up how she had gotten into listening to the radio show, "Welcome to Night Vale." It's this totally rad show that updates you on the rather erratic and obscure things that happen in the fictional town of Night Vale. It is both eerie and hilarious to listen to and I too have now become hooked on it. Listening to Cecil Baldwin's voice as I drive to and from school/work has become a regular routine now. I suddenly wanted more shows like this to listen to...and while I haven't exactly found anything close to Night Vale, I discovered some wonderful podcasts. Popular Youtubers, Rhett and Link have their entertaining show called, "Ear Biscuits." Ted Talks have some great podcast episodes as well; but my all time favorite podcast show it NPR's "Pop Culture Happy Hour" where for forty minutes four radio hosts discuss the latest news in pop culture. I have become addicted to it and am suddenly so attached to the hosts of the show. It's thrilling to listen to them and I get so inspired by them and their vast vocabulary and pop culture knowledge. It's impressive and very stimulating to the brain.




6. Winx Club.

I mentioned already that in my house/dog sitting adventure I forced my friend to watch about five or six episodes of the cringe-inducing first season. Thankfully she's still my friend and she even said she was beginning to enjoy it! It's true that Winx Club is a very different show...and it's very juvenile in every meaning of the word. I have been a huge fan of Winx Club since I was in the second or third grade when it first started. It's an Italian-made cartoon about fairies who kick butt and save the world with their handsomely stupid boyfriends! It's full of sparkles, magic, friendship, boys, fashion, and the most chaotic adventures six girl-fairies can go on....but it's seriously my all time favourite cartoon (next to Avatar and W.I.T.C.H. of course). I can recall many times my mom trying to get me to grow out of it or watch a show with less boys....and she would subtly hint that I shouldn't spend my money on all the DVD's, but come on mom, not very many twenty year-olds can say that they own the complete first two seasons on DVD in both of the English dubs, plus half of the third season (literally one of the most rare DVDs in the U.S. *cough, cough*) and two full length films, huh?

And this is where practically everything that's been on my mind besides Snapchat and fangirls come together. During my time with Casey I had a lot of free time which I spent watching Winx Club and flipping through tumblr looking at Winx Club blogs. During my tumblring, I found a blog that was actually a podcast where they discuss anything and everything Winx Club. Not even joking. I listened to one episode already and am in heaven. They literally said everything I've thought my entire life (except for Sparx shipping, I have a better ship than that...hehehehe) and it felt so great to hear other people my age connect through a silly little cartoon. We all agreed that Season 3 was by far the best season of all time and had the best villain (may my baby Valtor be blessed forevermore) and the best fairy transformation (Enchantix) and probably the best plotline with the least amount of plot holes. I realize that none of you will get this, but if you watched it, you just might.

So is that the end of the story? You found a Winx Club podcast and you're happy now?

Nope, that's not the end, though we are getting close because I'm finally starting to feel a bit tired. (It's now 2:00 in the morning....ugh)

So all of these silly things in my mind have me suddenly thinking about Winx club, podcasts, and blogs and all that stuff. I feel like I've brought up ideas very similar to this one before; but I'd love to blog more about the fandoms and the geeky things that I like. I know that this blog is a bit more personal than it is geeky, but who owns this blog? Me. And whoever said that rules couldn't be broken? I mean have you read Harry Potter? Rules get broken all the time in that series and look how great everyone turned out? Harry has a bunch of kids named after dead people, he seems pretty content now. Oh geeze, I can't believe my 2:00 am fingers just typed that...

So I'd like to make myself a goal, whether it be on this blog or my tumblr blog (I'll let you nonexistent followers know just because I know how desperate you are to read my words as if they were written by the goddess J.K. Rowling herself. Ha. ha. Ha.). The goal is to write a geek/fandom related blog once a week. I think at first I'll start with just telling you guys about a fandom I'm in and what the show/book/movie is about and sort of give a review of how I feel about the show....and if it goes swell we can start delving deeper into certain shows, because I'd love to start a discussion on just how simply ah-mazing Valtor is and why he needs to come back to Winx Club and wreak some havoc and sweep Daphne off of her feet (that's right Sparx shippers, I totally blew your minds by shipping Valtor with a girl he's never met....but let's face it, they're perfect for each other. Forget Thoren. It's Valtor all the way for big sister Daphne). Or we could discuss why Cloud Strife is literally perfection. Or I could bore you all with my unhealthy obsession with all things Tolkien. And I will not forget to have a Ren Jinguji appreciation week...because my Japanese boyfriend. I think this could be a lot of fun...even if I am writing to myself....at 2:00 in the morning.

Okay, I think I'm going to leave this where it's at. Thanks to anyone who actually read this and thank you to Rainbow, for making the show that is Winx Club....I wouldn't have anything to blog about right now if Winx Club didn't exist, and I would probably have a boyfriend by now if it weren't for you....but you know what, that's okay. I'm still young.

Oh heaven help me in my quest for sleep now....