26 Things About Me

Sorry, Cotton, it is not 26 things about you...

Found this on Xaya's blog, and decided to give you some words about me :D Let me know in the comments if you do this too, so I can go read your meme ^-^

All-Inclusive - When I go on a holiday, I hate hassle. I actually hate booking a holiday, since that is a hassle. I hate comparing prices, deciding whether this or that hotel would be better and trying to figure out if the location is actually close to any decent landmarks or public transportation. So my favourite type of holiday is an all-inclusive hotel booked via a travel agency. I can then just go and relax by the pool and when it is time to eat, there'll be something available at all times. We did this once on our honeymoon in Mauritius and now we're doing it again in Rhodes. With a small kid, I think it is the best way to go.



BJDs - my number one hobby - as you might have guessed! :D At times I'm tempted by other types of dolls (Dollfie Dreams, Azones... I count Nendos as figures), but in the end I'll always put buying BJDs first. Among BJDs however, my preferences have been quite fluid. I started out with petites and refused any fantasy dolls. I then shortly meddled with the slim mini before I found the cuddly SDs. And after I was rebitten by the Teeniefever I now even have two hooved dolls :D Now I'm thinking of getting a DD style resin doll. I just love the customs people have made of their DDs and SQLabs dolls, I want to try out if one would suit me.

My new baby is here! And it isn't resin XD #mirrorlesscamera #sony #sonya6000

A photo posted by Fyrd (@fyrd8th) on Apr 16, 2016 at 3:21am PDT

Camera - My new mirrorless camera is so small and light-weight, I can carry it with me in my bigger handbags and most of the time I do. Since the camera looks more like a point-n-shoot than a DSLR, I don't feel so conscious of taking it out and snapping photos of anything I find interesting. Now I just need to get over my fears of taking photos of people :D I really want to improve as a photographer and be more versatile.

Dieting - Once you get to the S, you'll find out why :D I'm usually dieting in some way or another all the time. It might be a 'real' diet or just a pact with Valentine that neither can buy any treats to home. If I let go, and don't think at all what I buy and eat, I'll bloat in days! I really need to watch my portion sizes, since food tastes so good, I'll easily eat more than I should if I don't.

Engineer - What am I going to be when I grow up? In elementary school, my answer to this question was an astronomer or a writer. A few years later, I had dreams of becoming a psychiatrist. Once I found out that it was quite hard to get into medical school or to go study psychology (I had given up on physics way before), I did something completely different. Never had I wanted to become an engineer. But now, that is what I am going to be, if my current studies go well. And I'm really hyped about it! I'm going to be an ICT engineer, and I want to become a software developer, hopefully for a game company.

Ford - Ha, you thought this would be Fyrd, didn't you! :P No, the first F-word that I always choose is Ford, Ford Prefect ♥

Gaming - I'm a gamer. I love playing board games, roleplaying games, card games, console games, mobile games. Even Minefield, Solitare and Tetris on a PC (otherwise I don't really like playing on a computer, the keyboard commands seem like a hassle to me). RPG is by far my most loved mode of gaming, since I love hanging out with friends while telling a good story and throwing some dice around. I'm more of a 'let's eat pizza and laugh a lot'-type of RPGer, although I do get invested in my characters and want to know where the story will lead us. In board games, I prefer the co-op games, or simple funny games and try to steer away from the mean strategic ones which (in our family) usually start some sort of a fight. Carcassone, it is banned from me and Valentine. My current love in gaming (since neither me nor my friends have the time to have long gaming sessions that often) are mobile games, which take up too much of my time. I can play the same game for months, or even years if the game is really captivating and social, but I do tend to drift to a new one once an old one is becoming stagnant. I'm always on the lookout for a new, captivating game.

A photo posted by Fyrd (@fyrd8th) on Jul 15, 2015 at 9:16am PDT

Heads - I usually have a couple of them lying around the place or at least waiting at the post... I've had a nicely steady flow of commissions this year and I have improved my face-up skills a lot. It is always like a LVL UP, when I get a Heureka!-moment and figure out how to do something a bit differently. My favourite types of face-ups to do are the all-pastels-kind (even with whacky colour-combos) and the naturals with smokey eyes. And if I do get that DD-style head, I'll have to try my hand at making an anime-type face-up, yikes! It is a very new territory for me!

Introvert - Actually, I don't know how people see me when they first interact with me. It seems to depend on the day, situation and what I'm wearing (it's true, lol!) but I can either come off as reserved/calm/timid/introverted or perky/funloving. Although even with the latter, I quickly mellow down to reserved... I'm a true introvert, I love just hanging out by myself or go out with just a few chosen friends. Internet is main main way of socializing :D And without IMs people wouldn't hear from me for weeks.

Jokes - I enjoy a good joke, but Valentine thinks I'm humourless. It is because I like dry, English humour and I detest fart-jokes or the kind of trash that passes as humour in Adam Sandler movies. But a good situational comic joke can really crack me up and I might laugh until people look at me like I'm crazy or something :D

Kanji - I've taken a few courses in Japanese at university and I can recognise some 100-200 kanjis. I really would like to brush up on my skills, but it is so tedious and would take a lot of practise. I just don't have the time... I'm waiting for a really good kanji-App to pop up that would miraculously solve all my kanji-problems XD

#ootd from yesterday ^-^ Wearing my #angelicpretty #quartetchocolat #salopette and #museedechocolat beret

A photo posted by Fyrd (@fyrd8th) on May 12, 2016 at 9:16pm PDT

Lolita - I came across this fashion a few years back and fell in love with the look. Full fluffy skirts, ruffled lace and elegance drew me in and pastel colours won me over. I have quite a few lolita brand items in my closet, but I rarely wear an outfit that would actually qualify as lolita fashion. But that's ok, I just want to wear what I feel comfortable in and what I hope looks nice on me :D I still do aspire to wear a more strict lolita coord (ah, Angelic Pretty's Romantic Rose Letter OP...) and I really want a bonnet to match some of my clothes. Maybe instead of just hoarding pieces I like, I should just set my mind on a single coord and buy what I need for that and only after it is finished, then move onto the next thing? :P

Mint - my favourite colour. I used to dislike mint - mostly because it was my mother's favourite colour and hey one can't like the same things as mom! :P - but ever since finding lolita (see L) it has really grown on me. Sadly I can't find that many nice clothes in mint that fit me, but I'm always on the lookout for them. I really want to finish a really minty coord someday, maybe with added browns so it'll be like mint chocolate :3 Btw, I also like actual mint chocolate. After Eights are a must on Yule and mint chocolate ice cream is yum! And you know one of the best ways to enjoy mint? In a mojito! XD (Or just crushed with lime wedges and soaked in Sprite, see V)

Nigel - Nigel Willoby (aka Nikki aka Vainary) is my current favourite OC of all time. First created for a Torchwood-type WoD RPG campaign as my player character he has now become my go-to NPC in my own campaigns, whether modern day or fantasy :D However his 'native world' atm is connected to my DeathGrip novels/RPG, where he is a hacker who has meddled with magic and is therefore a 'true tech-wizard'.

Oliver - Is the name of my child. We had the hardest time picking out a name for a boy, Valentine vetoed all of my suggestions! Finally I started to think about names in Disney films and remembered Oliver&Co. Valentine liked the name and finally we had a baby name! We also thought about Bernard (since The Rescuers is a movie we both liked), but it is so hard to say in Finnish.

Philosopher - My first Master's degree was in practical philosophy, so technically, I'm a certified philosopher :D However, I knew that I wouldn't be working in that field and soon after graduating I started a career in customer services. But I get my 'whatever works for you and doesn't harm others'-attitude and the knack of seeing logical connections from these years in University, so it wasn't all a waste! And I can still sing through the Philosopher's song :D See it on Youtube (by Monthy Pyton), it is a feat.

Quiz - I like doing quizzes. When Facebook started out and it was all about those Facebook Apps I did tons of "What X am I?" type of questionnaires. I also like brainteasers and IQ tests. Branching out, I also like to reply to memes and questionnaires like this one :D Funnily though, I suck at Trivial Pursuit and quizzes like that where you have to actually know something, not just follow logic. I have a good memory, but not when it comes to little details about who won a gold medal at what and who wrote which prize-winning book etc. I still like to play Trivial Pursuit, just don't pick me into your team if you want to win! :D

Rain - my name means 'rain' in Finnish. It's a cute name, chose it myself! :D Seriously, I never bonded with the name I was given at birth and once the opportunity knocked I changed it. I thought about a couple of alternative names, but once I saw this one, I knew that it was me. It took me some years to get fully accustomed to it though, I would turn my head if my old name was called (even if they weren't calling me) etc. It also took some convincing to some of my friends to start calling me by my new name. My sister and mother still don't use it. :( But it's not worth it to start a feud over. They can be childishly stubborn and not accept my right of identifying myself as whatever I bloody the hell want if they so choose. And I do now fully identify as Rain. And I actually like translating the name into other languages. As in when I was visiting Japan and they asked my name, I was sooo tempted to give it as Ame.

Sugar - I'm addicted to it. I have more cavities than my dentist can count. When something sweet is offered, I cannot say no. I love candy, my favourites being flavoured liquorices, salty liquorices (salmiakki, it is a Finnish thing) and soft and chewy fruity candies. I love chocolate, especially white chocolate, but also mint brittle milk chocolate or Daim and such. I looove ice cream, Ben and Jerry are two of my dearest friends. :P And in ice creams, there can never be too much chocolate in it! I like donuts and cupcakes and other sweet pastries, but I can't eat that many of them before I get sick (unlike candy). I'm really picky about cheesecakes, I don't like NY cheesecake at all (it's not sweet enough). My favourite cheesecakes are the ones you don't bake at all. And now I'm really craving for something sweet...

Tea - I'm not a tea freak, just a casual drinker, but I do prefer it over coffee. (Unless the coffee has yummy suryp in it and whipped creamand sprinkles on top, then I can go for 'coffee'.) I prefer black tea flavoured with fruits/berries, something that smells sweet. And then I drown it in honey :D I can try our geen tea from time to time, but I find it bland in comparison. Rooibos tea is not to my liking either, it tastes funny. But black teas, I'm game for almost any whacky blend :D

University - I loved studying at the University of Turku, they were some of the best years of my life. I always knew I would go to a university, it seemed given since both of my parents had studied there and being an academic was the standard. I didn't get much out of the degree, but I did gain some useful skills and more importantly, grew up a lot :D I still feel like I'm a uni-student at heart ♥ It was so hard for me to realise that I wasn't one anymore and it took years to really grow out of it!

Virgin - drinks :P I do occasionally drink ciders, frozen drinks and wine, but mostly I stay non-alcoholic. I don't like the feel of getting drunk, and I hate the taste of alcohol (and I can taste it if there's vodka added to my coke, never mind how little) so I only drink if the beverage tastes genuinely good (as in, I'll drink it for the taste) and only a few during the night, then I switch over to virgins. And boy, bartenders actually can make very good, interesting and innovative virgin drinks! I've had virgin colada (since pina colada is one of my favourite drinks, but only if I can't taste that bloody rum), virgin margarita, countless nameless virgin long drinks that the bartenders just mix up when I ask for 'something sweet', even virgin shots! :D That's basically just grenadine in a shot glass, but it's fun :P

Wishlist - I make wishlists, related to dolls, lolita, decorating etc. Mostly they help me clear my head and focus on things I absolutely really want, since seeing an overwhelming list tends to turn itself into dollar signs that turns me into a scrooge. Having a wishlist helps with impulse buying and budjeting. Of course, it takes the fun out of impulse buying too... :D And now that I'm mostly browsing through second hand markets, I have to take what I can I find and having a really set-in-stone wishlist might not even work.

X-men - Right up confession: no, I haven't read any Marvel comics. ever. In fact, I've only read very few fluffy DC comics and then a lot of Donald Duck and various manga. I'm not a comic book kind of gal. But, I do like superheroes *cough*-villains*cough* and after Batman (oh, those 90's movies!) X-men was my first real introduction to this movie genre. Back then, I had no idea of the whole Marvel/DC divide, let alone the varying movie rights of different hero-teams. When X-men movie was released, I loved it! It was the first DVD I bought :D I had a soft spot for Toad ♥ Now there isn't a Marvel movie I won't go see in the theaters. (Yeah, I can however skip any Superman movie, just not my cup of tea.) Too bad that young!Charles lost his hair in the Apocalypse though... But I can always re-watch Days of Future Past :D

Yatzy - My first contact with multiple dice thrown at once :P Apparently the rattle of plastic and the anxious hope that it would give me a good score stuck with me all the way to RPGs. :D Well, no, I don't really think so. But do you know how hard it was to come up with a good word starting with Y?? Yandere? Not me, I don't like violence at all. Yin&Yang? Not really my think either. YouTube? Only use it for watching trailers that are advertised in FB and the occasional tutorial when I'm stuck. Yellow? Don't really like the colour...

Zero - Coca-Cola Zero. The black death for my teeth. If I choose a soft drink, this is the go-to choice. :D I have cut back on this a lot though, we can now go a whole week without buying it! XD And whether it is just in my head, but it does taste better than any other type of coke.