Monthly HapPENings: November

So . . . November is over. That was a thing that happened. (Also yes, I know this is a week late, and I apologize for the delay.)

I had a few interesting things happen last month. Two of my sisters had birthdays, so we obviously celebrated those with great gifts and food and the like. I think they both felt loved, which is always the goal with birthday celebrations, right?

Two of my friends and I were planning to hang out in the nearby city on the first Saturday of November. One of them ended up not feeling great on the day of, and it looked like we were gonna have to cancel. As it turned out, my other friend could tell that I was really disappointed, and she said we could still go out for supper together even though she wasn't doing the best either. That was a good time.

All three of us did manage to reschedule for the last Saturday of the month instead, and we had such a fun time. It was great for just the three of us to hang out and do some shopping before getting supper. It's kinda funny, at one point I was shopping for some clothes for myself. It was a bit of a gender role reversal, if you will, because they had to hold my bags while I tried on stuff. One definite plus of having them along was their expert advice. I got some great clothes because of them!

On the second last Saturday of November, I bought a Nintendo Switch for myself. I'd originally been planning to buy it on Boxing Day, but then I was told Black Friday would have better deals. One of the stores in my city had a deal going on that, for the 23rd and 24th, you would get a free $125 gift card if you bought a Switch. I made a deal with my parents to take that amount off my room and board in exchange for the card, which would be a massive discount for me.

I'd initially planned to go after breakfast, but my mom recommended to go for opening time, 8am. I wasn't sure it would be necessary, but my youngest two sisters and I were there early enough. Once the store opened, we immediately headed for the electronics section. The two ladies ahead of us were also purchasing Switches, and I thought I'd heard one of the cashiers say that they only had two copies in. I geared myself up to be disappointed; when it was my turn, I asked for a Switch. The cashier went to where they were locked up behind the counter and said, "We have one left!"

That was very relieving to me, but the guy behind had been like, "Oh, that was the last copy?" He then left the store. Apparently, I'd misheard the cashier earlier, who'd said that they had two of the gray Switches and only one red and blue. I got a gray one, but honestly, color doesn't matter that much at the end of the day. I then swung by Walmart to pick up Pokemon: Let's Go, Eevee! for 50% off. I have not regretted my decision to buy the Switch, and I doubt I ever will.

Bookish HapPENings

I decided to reread this because I still hadn't gotten around to the sequel yet. Malice wasn't as good as I remembered, but it was still entertaining and enjoyable. I really do think the combination of the novel format with some comic panels and interesting formatting thrown in was a really cool idea. One of my complaints about it is that it attempts to do horror, but it sometimes falls a little flat. I feel like it could be scarier at some points. I'd still recommend it to anyone looking for a creative story, even if it isn't always as good as I'd like it to be.

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I thoroughly enjoyed The Copper Gauntlet! It took a different turn from The Iron Trial, which I was pleasantly surprised by. I'd thought it was going to take place in the school again, but the majority of the story didn't. Made for an interesting read! While it didn't have a big plot twist at the end like the first one did (or at least, not a plot twist on the same level), I still really liked it! I'm curious as to how the series will progress . . .

HapPENings on the Screen

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I've started watching S2 of Avatar, and it's awesome so far! I can already tell that the animation has seen improvements since S1, and even the cinematography has been more interesting at a few points. I can also tell that this'll be a bit more plot-driven than S1 was, and I'm very much looking forward to it. Watch this show if you haven't! It's well-worth your time.

So my youngest two sisters and I have been watching My Hero Academia a bit more frequently over the last month, and I can hardly believe we're over halfway through the first season! It somehow feels like we've seen very little happen, and yet, so much. It's a bit of a paradox. I feel like it's setting things up to get super intense and emotional later on, but I really have no clue what direction the plot's going to take. Can't wait to watch more!

How Attack on Titan seems to amp up with every episode, even with the "breather" episodes, I have no idea. But I'm absolutely loving it. I'm getting close to finishing the first season, and I don't know how they'll wrap things up--or if they even will at all. Honestly, I'm so thankful that I haven't really gotten any spoilers for this show, because I love experiencing it without knowing anything about the big plot points.

The Flash is another show where I'm nearing the end of a season--S4, in this case. It's been a really different season, and I think part of that is because the villain isn't a speedster like Barry. Don't get me wrong, though; this is a good different, not the bad kind. Despite the mixed things I've heard about this particular season, I'd have to say it's been very strong so far! I'm also rewatching the crossover section with my sisters, since we're further behind than I am on my own. But I think I've already expressed my thoughts about the crossover, so I won't repeat myself.

I'm finally finished the first half of S4 of Once Upon a Time, which means no more Snow Queen, so yay! But that means three new villainesses who look like they're trying too hard to be evil, so boo! Hopefully they'll turn out better than they initially appear. Again, I don't know anything about the second half of the season, but I'm hoping it turns out all right. Once doesn't exactly have a great track record when it comes to consistency in quality.

Trollhunters continues to both impress and entertain. Yet again, I am almost done the first season (apparently I'm going to be finishing a bunch of these around the same time). I've been really enjoying the plot of the second half of the season, and I look forward to its conclusion, which will no doubt be epic.

Gaming HapPENings

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How is it that I'm already on the final game in the original Phoenix Wright trilogy? And it's so fantastic thus far! The first case was really interesting and took a bit of a twist from the first cases in the previous two games. And the second case . . . my gosh, was that a thrill! I didn't expect such a complex and convoluted case to occur near the beginning of the case, but I'm thoroughly impressed that they chose that route. Also, Godot. That's all I need to say. Just Godot. (Play the game and you'll understand what I'm talking about!)

Writerly HapPENings

So NaNo went pretty well for me! As I said before, my goal for this year was simply to write 30 minutes a day, and I accomplished that goal. I ended up writing about 17k, which is decent. I haven't written at all this month yet, but it's been . . . interesting so far. Anyway, if you're interested in hearing more about my NaNo, I'll do a snippets posts or Christine's linkup, or both.

That was my month in a nutshell! What was your November like? For all of my American readers, how was your Thanksgiving? Are you done your Christmas shopping?