May 2017 – Book of Jen

Dining Out Requires Research

For my birthday, I wanted to go to a fancy place downtown that my husband and I have never been to. They have an outdoor balcony, and I thought it would be nice to sit there, drink wine, and have a nice dinner.

But, because I have a ton of food allergies, I cannot simply go out to dinner, especially at a place I’ve never been to before. If I want to live through the experience, I have to do a ton of research first.

This particular restaurant seems to be one of those places that likes to change up its menu, maybe seasonally, maybe whenever the spirit moves them, I don’t know.

Hearthstone: On My iPad

I have an iPad mini that I use to play video games. It didn’t occur to me until March 30, 2017, that I could put Hearthstone on my iPad mini. Previous to this realization, all of my Hearthstone experience happened on my Mac computer.

I learned that the Hearthstone app syncs with the Hearthstone game that I play on my computer. The best part of playing on an iPad is the way it feels. I mean, Hearthstone is a card game, so it makes sense to use your fingers to move cards around and fling cards on the virtual table.

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Out of Spoons, Spoonie Writing 0

Rheumatoid Arthritis Ruined My Day

Today, my husband and I went to Target. Technically, it’s one of those Target “superstores” that have all the usual Target stuff and a grocery section. I got a gift card as an early birthday gift from a relative – and we needed some stuff.

The plan was to buy a rug to put underneath the kitchen trash can and recycle bin, some socks to replace the ones I have worn out, and an 80′s looking headband (which I will wear at an 80s themed birthday party for a relative that is coming up soon).

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Neko Atsume, Other Video Games 0

Neko Atsume: Mr. Meowgi

Mr. Meowgi is a Rare Cat in Neko Atsume. The way to attract a Rare Cat to put the things that the Rare Cat likes into your yard/home. Eventually, the cat you are trying to collect will appear. Several other cats will also use the special item.

Mr. Meowgi likes two items: the Sakura Pillow and the Scratching Log. It took a very long time before Mr. Meowgi sat on the Sakura Pillow, but he used the Scratching log almost right away.

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Flight Rising, Other Video Games 1

Flight Rising: Enduring Goblin

Flight Rising is a browser-based game where players control a Lair full of dragons. There are several different things you can do with your dragons, including dressing them up and giving them Familiars (which are sort of like a pet for your dragon).

The Enduring Goblin was the holiday Familiar for the 2016 Riot of Rot, which took place starting on October 23, 2016, through October 29, 2016. The Riot of Rot celebrates the Plague Flight.

All of the artwork in this post is copyright of Flight Rising.

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Kitchen Scramble, Other Video Games 0

Kitchen Scramble App: Pittsburger (Part 2)

Kitchen Scramble is a time-management app game where you make food and serve it to customers. It was originally created by Playdom, and has since been purchased by RockYou (who made it into an app).

Pittsburger is the first town in Kitchen Scramble. It starts with a tutorial that teaches you how to play the game. By the time you get to the second half of Pittsburger, the tutorial is mostly finished.

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Candy Crush Saga, Other Video Games 0

Candy Crush Saga: Dreamworld – Funky Factory

In order to unlock Dreamworld, a player must complete Episode 4 – Chocolate Mountains in Candy Crush Saga. It seems to me that Dreamworld is some sort of expansion.

Players do not have to play through the Dreamworld content in order to progress through Candy Crush Saga. That’s a good thing – because the Dreamworld section of Candy Crush Saga silently disappeared shortly before I put together this blog post.

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health insurance, Out of Spoons 1

Freaking Out Over My Health Insurance Subsidy

I’m going to greatly summarize what just happened. A little while ago, my husband got a bill from my health insurance company. For some unknown reasons, my premium went up DRAMATICALLY because my subsidy had been taken away from me. He later explained that when he got this bill, he was afraid that he would have to get (another) job.

Let me put that into context. My husband is legally blind and gets Medicare as a result. He has optic nerve atrophy, which cannot be cured. He has tried, in the past, from time to time, to get a “regular job” – but is greatly limited by what kind of job he can do because of his vision. In addition, he already has a job doing freelance writing and audio production.

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Gardens of Time, Other Video Games 0

Gardens of Time: Chapter One

Gardens of Time was originally created by Playdom. RockYou purchased it and made it into an app. I’ve been playing it on my iPad. The app is a bit crashy, but the content of the game is mostly the same as it was before.

Chapter One of Gardens of Time starts with a tutorial that walks players through part of Chapter One. The tutorial is mostly over by the time players hit Level 2. Here is what the rest of Chapter One was like.

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Hearthstone, Other Video Games 0

Hearthstone: Fight Promoter Card

On May 20, 2017, Hearthstone offered a free card to everyone who logged into the game. All players had to do was log in. There was no catch. Players didn’t have to do anything at all – other than log in on the right day. If you have found this blog after that date – you are too late to get the free Fight Promoter Card.

I find it somewhat amusing that some commenters on the Hearthstone post about the free card felt the need to create a conspiracy theory about it. In short, some believe that this free card was a test to see if giving away free stuff was enough of an incentive to make players log into Hearthstone. As conspiracy theories go… this one seems harmless.

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