Just Call Me Ana Somnia

Hey friends! Am I the only one who's been having trouble sleeping?

In the summer (and when I was in high school, like the sprite youngster that I was~), I would stay up until 6 am and jet off to class or work no problem.

So imagine my surprise when my "boundless" energy has finally run its course and I actually need sleep now. Unfortunately-- maybe my body has gotten so used to not sleeping much-- I have a lot of trouble getting to sleep and then staying asleep. Anyone else have that problem?

My friend suggested lavender scent would put me to sleep but "natural lavender" or lavender incense or anything isn't as easy to come by as it sounds (just kidding-- there's no way it sounds like that's easy to get). Good thing I remembered a website I found years (and years and years) ago!

<<<<<< It's called Ana Somnia. >>>>>>

It's an interactive art project which explores "the nature of our dreams" while also trying to help you sleep. It's light-sensitive, so you need to turn the lights off in your room or it won't work.

It goes through a cool but soothing animation and motivates you to keep your lights off. I know that when I can't sleep, I flick my lights back on and get things done. I read a book, clean the kitchen, shower again, and all it does is keep me awake.

Even if you're not going to use it to sleep, Ana Somnia is really cute!

PS. Kind of a creepy animation but I promise nothing jumps out at you.

What I'm Wearing: Blue Sunday (by The Doors)

Little known fact, I'm a huge fan of The Doors. Now, as cool as that might sound, let's just establish something: I'm still not cool. I'm still very, very uncool (and okay with that!). I probably can't name 5 Zeppelin songs, I've twisted my ankle while standing still on flat ground, and when I put on a leather jacket, I look more like those babies that hip parents dress up in designer clothing than any bit of badass. 

I was kind of going for a cross between someone who plays Jet Force Gemini on my N64 on a lazy Sunday morning and someone who has great taste in rock music.

Plaid Button-Up [Boyfriend; apparently Walmart]

Crystal Necklace [Little Burgundy]

White paint-splattered, frayed denim shorts [Forever 21]

Tights [eBay]

This one comes with a nice Sunday playlist of some of my favourite old songs (minus most of The Beatles stuff, which would make this playlist too long): [PLAYLIST HERE]

Can't Take My Eyes Off You: Frankie Valley and the Four Seasons

Love Me Two Times: The Doors

Tears in Heaven: Eric Clapton

Wonderful Tonight: Eric Clapton

Hallelujah: Jeff Buckley

Lilac Wine: Jeff Buckley

Penny Lane: The Beatles

Angie: The Rolling Stones 

Layla: Eric Clapton

Love Her Madly: The Doors

Everyday: Buddy Holly

Blue Sunday: The Doors

Beggin': Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons

Change the World: Eric Clapton

Working My Way Back To You: Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons

Touch Me: The Doors

Day[9]: Not Just a Pro-Gamer. Also a Perfect Human Specimen.

WARNING: This is pretty shameless fangirling, and probably not my most hard-hitting post yet. But I feel like it needs to be on my blog at some point. 

I know what regular celebrity crushes are like. Typically, they fall under the category "super buff movie star who plays superhero and/or quintessential nice but tough guy", i.e. Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt.... obviously it helps if their name is Chris. 

(and I ain't complainin')

That, or they fall under the category of "nerdy best-friend-type who likes tie clips, vinyls, and coffee shops".

And it's probably the giant nerd in me, but I genuinely think all of those celebrities are blown out of the water, literally do not even compare to Day[9]. 

So who is Day[9] (as a lot of my friends have to ask me, to my dismay)?

Possibly the most average man that average can be while still qualifying as semi-famous AKA having a wikipedia page. 

He gained his fame through being a professional Starcraft player in championships like MLG and then later became an e-sports commentator for things like Dreamhack. Last year, he also attended an invite-only Magic: The Gathering pro tour.

 Yeah, you heard me, the man of my dreams achieved fame for literally the nerdiest thing imaginable. 

And I'm fine with that. He may not exactly be the strongest, fittest guy on the planet. Actually, other than being an avid gamer, he's also a game designer, and has a degree in Mathematics. He's the definition of dork, and that makes him pretty damn precious.

He gets scared playing Amnesia and he embraces it. He can't figure out a puzzle in Tomb Raider and you can bet he's going to be giggling and smiling the entire time we're sitting here waiting for him to cut the rope on the platform and just jump already Sean oh my god. 

Nothing cheers me up more than the amount he loves his stuffed bunny, Manfred. Except maybe when he's wearing a corgi onesie.

And when he's sad:

(The 2011 Valentine's Day Story) 

He's still a perfect human being who deserves all of the happiness in the world.

And actually, he's comparably... not that great at shooters, RPGs, and anything that's not strategy.

But it's fine. Yeah, he's a precious, hilarious geek. So funny, and so ridiculously genuine. But what's better: Sean Plott's the most uplifting, positive person I've ever come across: in fiction, real life, on the internet, I've never encountered anyone as sunny as him and his alarmingly white smile.

The ultimate sweetheart. 

Found my Dream Job: CUDDLING.

Okay so apparently this lady gets paid to cuddle strangers?

Which I know sounds cute-but-sad at best and emotional-prostitution at worst, but I literally do not care what it sounds like.

Her name's Samantha, she charges $60/h, seems super smiley, and always reminds clients who mistake her service for emotional attachment that on her end, it's just a job, not the start of some beautiful Zooey Deschanel Rom-Com type deal.

I mean, it sounds super weird and like a service that I would never, ever, ever pay $60 for because I can spend that money on sushi and video games, but good on her, because this sounds like one of the most fun jobs ever.

I'm saying that I understand the knee-jerk reaction, the stigma, the initial "wow this is super weird, I wonder what kind of people use this service..." because that was my reaction. At the same time, now that I'm over that, cuddling with a stranger sounds lovely (not that I would charge people for that, nor would I drop money on the cuddle training sessions she's trying to put together because I like to think I'm an A+ cuddler).

I think it's a pretty good idea. Sometimes you need a little emotional TLC. I know there are days when I just want a hug, and it helps that the people handing them out are my friends, but there's a reason the 'Free Hugs' sign guys on the street get so much hug-action. Sometimes the physical act itself is enough.

Friendly reminder that the Potato Salad guy is a real thing.

Yeah, you heard me. And no, it's probably not what you're expecting.

The Potato Salad Guy asked Kickstarter to donate just $10 to try out a new potato salad recipe without wasting money in case he totally messed it up. It started out pretty jokes, and he probably wasn't expecting the internet to pay for his lunch. Humble guy with a humble project right?

WRONG.

BAM.

I don't know what it is about this specific potato salad that lured strangers from every corner of the globe, but I'd imagine Zack Danger Brown can now afford goldleaf potato salad because he's got over $50,000 worth of donations. For his humble-beginnings-potato-salad.

I don't know what is attracting people, because donating to this cause gets you ridiculous, ridiculous paybacks, like Zack promising that he will "say your name out loud while making the potato salad". You can bet I have been and will be checking on this page until August 2. Until then, we can only speculate the potato-salad-heights this wonderful visionary will reach.

If this isn't a testament to how far humanity and our civilization has come, I don't know what is. I honestly don't know what is.