Speed post because I already wrote a post today and still need to take the puppy for a walk. So we have LOOT CRATE in 100 Words or Less.
The Fear Crate:
It’s month 4 of my adventures into Loot Crating, and I have to say, this month’s theme didn’t really excite me. “Fear” seemed like an opening to a lot of Zombie stuff. That’s not to say I haven’t watch my share of “The Walking Dead,” but I wasn’t interested in a box of walkers.
My hesitation going into this box was probably heightened by my concern that maybe my Loot Crate experience had peaked my first month with the Villain Crate.
For those who are unfamiliar, Loot Crate is a subscription service. For about $20 a month, you receive a box of geeky goodness. I put my items into three different categories: His, Mine, and Someone Else’s.
His: The husband called “dibs”
Mine: I called dibs
Someone Else’s: That’s going in a Christmas gift
So let’s start.
Death By Kitten T-Shirt:
The Shirt: Oh my goodness, that shirt made all of my fears about this box vanish. Cats should certainly be feared, and this shirt is a reminder. This thing is hilarious, and oddly appropriate for someone whose cats tend to end up in her Loot Crate photos. I looked up the company, Super7, and found the shirt on their website for $30. This was absolutely worth it.
Conclusion: Ours. I’m cheating. I order the shirts in a men’s size that my husband and I are both comfortable wearing. We both said “THAT’S AWESOME. I guess you can have it…” so we’re to have to see who ends up wearing it.
How to Survive a Sharknado Book:
The Book: A fun play on the movies, this book does into have to fight and survive all sorts of natural events and highly realistic months, such as Ghost Sharks (Poltersharks), Piranhacondas and Dinonami.
Conclusion: Someone Else’s. The more I look at this book, the more amused I am. Despite never having watched the movies, I find it amusing because it doesn’t have much to do with the movies. The husband has declared that he has a plan for this book though, and since I claim more of the Loot, I gotta let him have this one.
Or I’ll just put it on the bookcase when he isn’t looking.
“Oh, Brother” Super Emo Friends Print:
The Print: At first I wasn’t sure if this was a postcard or a print because it’s wrapped in plastic and plopped on a supportive piece of cardboard, which I appreciate. Anything Super Emo Friends is generally entertaining. The art is adorable, which juxtaposes nicely with the death and violence (who doesn’t love that combination?).
Conclusion: Mine. Once again, the print is going to our Nerd Room.
We’re out of room in our nerd room. We either need a bigger house, or to expand the Nerd Room into the living room.
I’m okay with that.
Dead Rising Sledgesaw Hammer Pen:
The Pen: Okay, I didn’t realize it was a pen until I looked through the handy booklet that came with my box. That makes the nice little box for this even better. I don’t play Dead Rising and neither does the husband, but he knows enough that he was able to explain to me that the game allows players to combine items into weapons.
Clearly.
This thing is amusing though, and it didn’t feel as cheap in my hand as I expected.
Conclusion: Someone Else’s. Anyone a big Dead Rising fan who wants a pen? Anyone? Don’t get me wrong, it’s amusing, but I’m not exactly sticking that on my work desk.
The Walking Dead 132 Loot Crate Variant:
The Comic: In all likelihood, a lot of Looters are either going to be comic fans or Walking Dead fans (and a lot will be both). This is the same issue you could get at a comic shop, but with an alternate cover. I’m a little disappointed that it’s a zombie wearing a Loot Crate T-Shirt. I love looking at variant covers, but if I were a Walking Dead collector, I’m not sure this one would do it for me. Regardless, it’s a free comic. And a popular comic at that. Kudos to Loot Crate for getting it.
Conclusion: Someone Else’s. Okay, it’s going on eBay. I have a bunch of comics I need to sell, so it’ll get thrown online soon. It’s not that I don’t think it’s a good item. I’m not a Walking Dead collector (I think I have the first three trade paperbacks…), and I already have enough comics.
Everything Else:
The Stuff: I figured it would be easier to toss all the misc paper-y items here at the end. This month we got temporary tattoos, something pretending not to be a War Head, a “Smite Gift Card” (unlocks Thanatos and Jack the Reaper skin), and a pair of 3D glasses to read this month’s handy-dandy book (which isn’t weird at all…).
Conclusion: Who knows? There are always a few random things in the box that don’t add much value, but they’re fun. I guess. Temporary tattoos are always fun, and ’tis the season after all. The candy is kind of sad. It’s not necessary, and I feel like the box would almost be better off without it, because it’s small size makes you feel a little ripped off, even if you aren’t. The game code… um… okay. I’m not using that.
Final Thoughts:
Overall, I’m pretty happy with this box. It seems like it has a good range of items and that most people will find something they enjoy in it. Any time we get a t-shirt that we’ll use it feels like a win. The book is fun, the comic is a great idea, the pen is funny (even if I won’t use it). I was also relieved to have been wrong about the Walking Dead thing. Sure, they got it in a couple of times, but it was an amount that felt appropriate. Good job, Loot Crate.
But you know what I miss?
The magnet.
I know it’s a small thing, but I’d rather have a magnet than the misc. stuff at the end. Loot Crate has been making our fridge far more interesting, and I’m a little sad not to have something to add this month.
Still, I feel good at Loot Crate. The husband and I get excited when we get an alert saying it’s out for delivery, and it feeds our inner geeks.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some comics to sell.
Yes, it’s a cat post. I have a problem, okay? This week one of our cats did something besides roll around and be adorable though: She got sick.
Well, kind of. Here’s the deal.
Kitty #2 has never liked being carried. We got her from our local vet when she was about eight weeks old. Having lived amongst a combination of other kittens and plenty of worker humans, she had already figured out the hierarchy of her world. Cats were for loving and having fun. Humans were for feeding her, body warmth, and paying attention to her at select, Kitty approved times. That means that unlike Kitty #1, who we got when she was a tiny four-week thing, we were not able to train her to tolerate us picking her up.
Recently, her aversion to being carried seemed to grow worse, to the point where she would run away from us if we were remotely in a position where she could be lifted. This meant that unless we were practically at eye-level or she approached us on her own, she generally objected to being touched. At first we thought we’d pushed it to far: grabbing her when we got home from work or taking her upstairs at night had finally annoyed her enough that she was taking a stand.
I noticed something else last night. When she very casually shoved her butt in my face while I was grabbing something from under the bed, I saw it was red and inflamed. We both realized that we’d been wrong to assume Kitty #2 was mad at us. Her change in behavior, minor as it was, should have made us realize something was wrong. She was nervous about being touched because she wasn’t feeling well.
Here’s another thing you need to know about Kitty #2: She isn’t very smart. My husband has been saying for months that a bad fever she had at around 6 months old did some brain damage, because since then she likes to 1.) Bang her head into things 2.) Do this freaky tail twitch, and 3.) Eat things that will likely kill her. This list includes memory foam bed toppers, the tied ends of fleece blankets, and basically anything that will fit in her mouth.
We found out what was wrong late last night when some missing chunks of a blanket were deposited in a smelly mess on the floor. She’s been back to normal since. The scary part is we found that blanket almost a week ago. It’s long gone to some landfill by now, because we were mortified when we realized bites had been taken from random parts all over and I insisted on throwing it out to stop the behavior. We had no idea when this had happened, but it looks like the stupid thing has been digesting them all week.
Writing this, I can’t help thinking about the Hyperbole and a Half story where the writer gives her dog a test and confirms it’s mentally challenged. The cat isn’t quite to that end, and her problem with eating non-food isn’t nearly as amusing as that dog’s test. Mostly, I don’t want to look for one of those tests because I don’t want to know. We love our stupid little sweetie, even the only thing in the world she loves in Kitty #1, and she uses us for our opposable thumbs.
Maybe we jinxed her when we named her.
What, you didn’t actually think we called her “Kitty #2,” did you?
So we’ve accepted it. Our cat isn’t very smart, and needs protection from things she should be able to handle. We went through and cat-proofed our house (again), making sure she essentially has access to no cloth that isn’t built onto furniture, and we bought some wet cat food. The hope is that changing up their diet will keep her more interested in eating food, and less in eating things that will constipate her for a week. It’s not much of a hope, but it’s something.
Notes:
1. Picture is from the Official Doctor Who website. 2. Yes, we got rid of the memory foam when she repeatedly found ways to get to it, despite it being wrapped in multiple sheets, and kicking her out of the room at what we thought were all times. She might not be smart, but she’s determined. 3. Yes, she’s going to the vet 4. No, we didn’t realize she’d been constipated. Kitty #1 apparently made up for her sister’s lack of poop in the litter box the last few days, probably because she was eating all of Kitty #2’s food.
My two week vacation ends today, and I don’t regret a single part of it. I feel refreshed and excited about new projects.
I also feel a few pounds heavier, but that’s a different story.
Some things I did on vacation:
1. An absurd amount of cleaning
2. Played a lot of goofy card games
3. Saw How To Train Your Dragon 2. Twice. And cried. Twice. Both times. I even hatched my own dragon!
4. Went to RTX in Austin, TX
5. Made some super yummy cupcakes. Seriously. They’re wonderful. I mostly followed the recipe on Sally’s Baking Addiction, and made some minor changes based on what I had in my house, plus changed the icing for my own.
6. Watched a ton of The Legend of Korra. I’m loving this season, which is nice. I felt like I spent season 2 trying to convince myself that I liked it. Considering my husband and I joke that we don’t have a song, we have an episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender, it’s nice to be enjoying the sequel so much again.
7. Opened an Etsy store, and made my first sale! I’m going to work on restocking/prices this week.
8. Promised a cat I’d buy her a new shower curtain
Ummmm…
Yeah. That happened.
The Shower Curtain
In brief explanation, Kitty 1 was tiny when we got her – too tiny to be separated from her mother. For the first couple of days we had her, we kept her locked in a bathroom while we were at work so she wouldn’t kill herself falling off something or knocking something onto her 15 ounce body. As a result, she’s unusually comfortable with bathrooms, and similarly, with water.
She has a morning routine, part of which is to sit between the shower curtain and the curtain liner while the shower runs. Those running beads of water are a ton of fun, it turns out. We had to replace the liner before we went on vacation, and the store was out of clear liners, so we had to get a cloudy one.
Fast-forward to our return home. We expected her to be pretty angry at us for leaving her for so long, but rather than give us the cold shoulder, she was clingy for a solid two days. She took turns chasing each of us around the house, and even her naps were within two feet of one of us. When I ran out to the store that first night, she was running around the door meowing like a mad kitty when I came back.
In case you were wondering, Kitty #2 ran up to us with about as much excitement as she does when one of us gets home from work, then went about her life.
That first evening, Kitty #1 followed me into the shower as usual, but when she climbed between the curtain and the liner, she couldn’t see. I’m not sure if she was complaining, or if she wanted to make sure I knew she was there. Maybe she was playing a game I couldn’t see. Whatever it was, she meowed repeatedly through the whole shower.
And that is how my pet-owner guilt triggered. The next morning, I promptly ran out and got a new liner.
My cats totally don’t control me.
Today, friends, is a special, fantastic day. Today I have no commitments. No schedule. Being the huge introvert that I am, a recharging day is long overdue.
Here’s my plan:
The Dresden Files, and relaxing with my kittens. Be jealous, world.
My other goal is to get the first chapter of the novella ready to share. I don’t care if my followers read it or not. That’s not why most people are here, and I understand. When it gets down to it, we write for ourselves more than we do for other people. This is about developing my own creativity. Wish me luck.
Like a lot of people, I spent a large portion of Memorial Day weekend in a vehicle.
A lot.
I couldn’t help noticing all of the stick families on the backs of people’s cars. I had expected people to be over them by now. Maybe they are, but they’re too lazy to pull off the stickers. I’m not sure. The way I see it, if the stickers make them happy, then I’m happy for them. They just won’t be on the back of my car.
On the off chance you don’t know what stickers I mean, here’s an idea of one:
Okay, I may have gone a little over the top with the words.
In addition to the standard family, I saw a bunch of goofy decals: A dinosaur eating a stick family, Star Wars figures (with Luke and Leia as the parents – I was a little disturbed), military themed figures (very appropriate for the weekend) and all sorts of others.
One was missing.
If someone had this, this sad, lonely guy, on the back of their car, I would want to be that person’s best friend.
Of course, then that would ruin the whole thing, because lonely guy would have a crazy girl waving in the distance:
Look, it’s me! With fancy hair and everything!
Actually, better yet, I want to see this person:
I’d love the see the single figure, happily haunting the back of the car. Who needs to show off kids when you’ve got a fun gold crown?
So what about my family? I think I’ll go design a figure of two cats giving orders to humans and frame it in our living room. That’ll show the world who we are.
…
…
…
Now I’m going to go reflect on how depressingly accurate that statement was. Maybe this is why I don’t have a stick figure family on my car…
thought bubbles 
Recent Comments