Let’s Blog Award 2020

Let’s Blog Award, huh? Alright, why not? Seems like fun! Thanks to Anime Rants for nominating me and shoutout to the creator of the award, Renee at Renee’s Corner!

Here are the rules.

Rules of Let’s Blog

Mention the creator of the award and the blogger who nominated you.

Copy paste the rules.

Answer the 10 questions sent by the nominator.

Write your 10 questions for the nominees.

Nominate 5 bloggers for this award and let them know via comment on one of their posts.

Keep the thumbnail as the thumbnail of this post.

Answer your own questions.

Alright, seems simple enough. Let’s answer the ten questions sent to me by Anime Rants.

1: What is an anime that significantly effected you on a mental level? For example, something that made you question or realize things about yourself, goals, or beliefs.

Wow. Coming out with the hard swinging ones already. Okay.

There are a ton of anime that made me feel this way. But if I had to pick one, it would probably be ‘Hyouka’. Particularly with its protagonist, Oreki Houtarou. His lazy, ‘better off gray’ approach to life in the beginning reminded me all too much of myself when I was in high school. His inability to acknowledge his own talents, acquainting them to mere luck, made me wonder: am I giving myself the credit I deserve for my work? Or does my negative self esteem leek over into my creative efforts.

And that’s only one example. This series made me ask all kinds of uncomfortable questions about myself. Am I living in my own gray little world, like Houtarou? Am I lazy or am I just depressed? You know, fun questions like that. This show often inspired some serious self-reflection time.

2: Are you part of a religion and if so what is it?

Nah. My family used to attend a Mormon church, but we left when I was seven. Since then, I’ve embraced the Atheist life style.

Which hasn’t always been fun. I grew up in a very religious town, so my lack of faith often earned me the ire of the other kids and their parents. Growing up, I didn’t have many friends, partially because of our religious differences, and the few friends I did have had parents that weren’t exactly fond of me. So, I often had to keep quiet about my beliefs in order to fit in.

But now I’m a grown ass man and I’ve moved well beyond the point of caring. Nowadays, if people try to chastise me for my lack of faith, I just shrug and say “Fuck ’em.”

3: What does the word spiritual mean to you?

Ooh, this is an interesting one! Let’s see…

I’ve never been all that spiritual a person myself, but my mother is, so I grew up surrounded by this kind of stuff. To me, spirituality is all that which can’t be explained by science. This ranges from religion to things such as the soul, physical and emotional energies, and one’s connection to nature.

While I personally don’t believe much in spiritual stuff like that, I do find it fascinating. They often make for fun themes to explore in storytelling. That, or a great conversation starter.

4: Are you interested in psychology- why or why not?

I’ve never been all that good at understanding people. Or social cues. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always felt this odd sort of disconnect between me and my peers. Like there’s a glass wall between me and them. Something keeping me from connecting with them like a normal person.

So, yes. I’d say I’m very interested in psychology. I love being able to explore someone else’s viewpoint of the world. To figure out why they act or think they way they do. It makes me feel a little more comfortable, like that cold glass wall has a few gaps I can reach through.

Wow, this has been depressing so far, hasn’t it? Thank God for the next question!

5: What’s the last thing you remember that made you laugh?

I recently rewatched the second season of Kaguya-sama: Love is War for an upcoming review. No matter how many times I watch it, it can always get a hearty laugh out of me.

6: What’s the last thing you remember that surprised or startled you?

That’s a tough one. I tend to try avoiding surprises or frights. Not a huge fan.

Let’s see… Oh! I found out that an old roommate of mine works at my new job! That caught me off guard! Thank god for it, though; having someone I already knew has made it so much easier to get comfortable.

7: Do you like to do crafting and if so what kind of things?

I’ve never been much one for crafting things. Not because I don’t like it, mind you. But I’ve got a mad case of what I like to call ‘vibrator hands’. If I were a surgeon, not a single patient would survive an operation. Similarly, not a single craft I’ve ever worked on has turned out the way I’d like it to.

Not that I can’t appreciate it. My roommate works in a wood shop and my little brother got into metalworking. I’m honestly kind of jealous of them.

But I can write an at least mediocre story! So… I’ve got that going for me!

8: Pets! Do you have any and what are they?

I don’t keep any pets in my apartment, so technically no. But I grew up with two dogs, Lucy and her puppy Pig (don’t ask why). We call the ladder ‘Piggles’.

Please don’t ask me their breed cause I got no fucking idea. If you do, I’ll just answer ‘dog’.

9: Do you have a favorite number and if so what is it?

Wow, I haven’t thought about this since I was in grade school.

I’m tempted to go with the meme numbers, like 420 or 69 or 666. But I’ll go with a more serious answer and say 10. I don’t know why, but that one has always seemed kind of… satisfying. Like it’s just the right number. When I was a kid, I remember being startled by books that were longer than ten chapters long.

I was an odd child in many ways.

10: Do you like tomatoes or tomato products?

One of these things is not like the other.

I mean, I guess. I’m not extremely passionate about the subject. I’m not the type of guy to actively go out hunting for tomato products, but I won’t complain if they’re there. So… yes? Sure, let’s go with yes.

My Ten Questions

Oh boy! Wasn’t that fun! Well, now it’s my turn! Here are my ten questions!

1. When did you first decide to make a blog?
2. How long did it take for you to figure out what kind of content you wanted to make?
3. Do you find blogging to be satisfying immediately or did you need to put some time into it before you got invested?
4. Have you ever written an article that you found to be exhausting or stressful?
5. Aside from blogging, what do you do to unwind?
6. Is there a subject you consider yourself highly knowledgeable on?
7. If you could re-write one article that you’ve done, which one would it be and why?
8. What is a story you think everyone should experience? (Movie, game, book, anime, whatever)
9. Would you rather live in a sci-fi world (with spaceships and aliens, stuff like that) or a fantasy world (with magic and fantasy creatures, stuff like that)?
10. How much time do you spend exploring your imagination?

I thought I’d make the last two a bit more fun.

My Nominees

sopantooth

animegoodreads

nightmaresunleashed

Glyn Hnutu-healh

terranceacrow

My Answers

1: When did you first decide to make a blog?

I had wanted to make content on the internet for a while, but I decided to start blogging around February of 2018. At the time, I had just started a minimum wage job while living with my sister and her boyfriend. I needed some kind of new hobby to help me get through the days.

But if I had known I’d end up here, I’d have started way sooner.

2: How long did it take for you to figure out what kind of content you wanted to make?

I don’t have an exact timeframe. I knew that I was experimenting with a lot of different kinds of articles for a while. When I first started, I think I had intended to make some sort of online diary out of it.

I know that it took more than a few months to really figure out what I was doing. I found that writing reviews and analyses was more fun than anything else, so I ditched the diary idea and went all in on that.

Even then, I’m still doing a lot of changing. I doubt that this blog will look the same in two years. But who knows?

3: Do you find blogging to be satisfying immediately or did you need to put some time into it before you got invested?

Initially, not really. It felt like something I could, and likely would, drop at any moment. It wasn’t until I started getting actual readers that I started getting really into it. At some point after that, I found that this had become the most important part of my day.

Hope that didn’t come across as too sappy. Actually, you know what? Fuck it. That was sappy as hell and I’ll own up to it.

4: Have you ever written an article that you found to be exhausting or stressful?

Too many to count. If I’m writing a particularly long review or analysis, it starts to feel less like I’m sitting at a computer typing and more like a just ran a marathon. And if it’s something I’m particularly passionate about, I find myself stressing about how you guys will like it.

Luckily for me, you guys are super cool and supportive, so that stress is often unfounded. But I have anxiety, so most stress in my life is like that.

5: Aside from blogging, what do you do to unwind?

If I need to relax, I like to lay in bed, pop on a pair of headphones, and listen to music. What kind depends on my mood. If I’m feeling sad, I’ll listen to somber music. If I’m in a better mood, I’ll gravitate towards indie rock or heavy metal. I just like to close my eyes and enjoy it.

I especially love foreign music. Mostly Japanese, because I’m a huge god damn weeb. But I’m also pretty fond of German music. It’s got a certain bite to it that other music just doesn’t have.

Although Russian rap is pretty cool, too. Thanks, Jack.

6: Is there a subject you consider yourself highly knowledgeable on?

Godzilla lore. Useful, I know.

7: If you could re-write one article that you’ve done, which one would it be and why?

If I had to pick one, it would probably be my Deadpool 2 review. I wrote that one right after I saw the movie, so I didn’t have the time to properly think it over. That review was way too positive; I didn’t bother going over basically any of the flaws that movie had.

Because rest assured: there are plenty of those.

8: What is a story you think everyone should experience? (Movie, game, book, anime, whatever)

If I had to pick one, I’d say Shin Godzilla. That movie has so many layers of depth that you can spend days trying to peel them all away. It’s thought provoking, chilling, engaging, downright terrifying at times, and most of all: it’s intelligently written. This is a super smart, super fun movie. Easily my favorite of all time.

9: Would you rather live in a sci-fi world (with spaceships and aliens, stuff like that) or a fantasy world (with magic and fantasy creatures, stuff like that)?

Initially, I was going to go with fantasy. Magic seems cool and I wouldn’t mind living in a world with hot elf ladies. But then I remembered that they don’t have plumbing or showers, so I decided to lean into sci-fi. At least in that one, I can be comfortable and explore space with a laser gun!

10: How much time do you spend exploring your imagination?

On average? Fifteen hours a day. If I actually need to socialize, then maybe about five or ten. Either way, I like to spend a lot of time in my own head, whether I’m just playing out a little fantasy or coming up with plotlines.

People think I’m pretty quiet and introverted. That isn’t necessarily true, I just spend more time thinking than I do talking.

Conclusion

Oh my god, this took so much longer than I thought it would. Sure, it was fun! But now it’s 2 in the morning and I am super tired! So I’m gonna wrap it up here with a clever remark!

Uh… gimme a second, I’ll think of one…

Yeah, I got nothing. See ya.