Author: Courtney Shek

Girl Online: Going Solo Book Review!

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment



Remember when I read the first Girl Online book and I said that the series wasn’t for me? Well, that was a lie.

Maybe not a complete one but still a lie. Especially since I have just finished reading the third book of the series.
Somehow Zoe managed to completely change her writing from the first book to the second and then kept up the momentum in the third book. Part of me likes to think it’s because she decided to ditch the ghostwriter.
So yes, here I am reviewing the third and final(?) instalment of the Girl Online series.
This story follows Penny Porter trying to get her life back to normal after breaking up with Noah and leaving his tour. She begins focusing on her photography and helping a new friend overcome stage fright.
Honestly, the story is nothing spectacular. I found the second book more gripping but it’s not like this one lacked any action.
I think it’s important to enjoy the “fluffy” stories like this one. And by that I mean no one dies (spoiler alert) and it’s got an overall upbeat tone. All my TV shows are very serious and full of mystery so I think it’s nice that the books I read don’t also have the same tone. It’s a nice break.
But even though no one died and there weren’t huge mysteries to be solved the book still had a lot going on.
It took me a while to come back to the world of Girl Online though because I couldn’t remember anything that happened in the first or second books. So the beginning of the book for me was kind of slow mainly because I was taking time to piece together what had even happened in the past to lead up to the current situation in the book.
But it didn’t take long for me to be sucked in. I guess it helped that I took some time off work and wanted to read something. So I got through very quickly. One thing that helped was that once the ball started rolling and action was happening it kept going. It made me want to read more. I wanted to know what was gonna happen with Penny and her potential new love interest. I was freaking out when I found out Noah came back. I needed to know who leaked Leah’s song.
And like I said, none of these things are actually that shocking or even big mysteries. It’s the writing that kept me coming back.
With the first book, I felt like the series was aimed at a younger audience because the language was very basic and not very interesting from what I remember. Since then Zoe has definitely stepped it up with the writing. So I’m a fan. I even got emotional towards the end when Penny finally got to meet the mysterious Pegasus Girl.
I think overall it’s a good read. Something kind of fun and lighthearted but also opening up about anxiety which is a thing we know Zoe suffers with on a daily basis. I liked that this time it wasn’t about Penny’s anxiety and it was about someone else’s. It’s important to show that anxiety can be triggered by lots of things and affect people’s lives in many different ways on different things.
I don’t think I have anything negative to say about the book other than maybe that I’m not a fan of Penny and Noah getting back together again. At least I felt like it shouldn’t have been right away after he disappeared and everything. But it is just a fictional story so I’m not too bothered by it. Of course, they were gonna get back together again. Gotta have that happy ending. I just think if you call the book Girl Online: Going Solo you assume Penny is gonna continue on with no man by her side. And she did for the most part.
So those were all my thoughts on Girl Online: Going Solo! Would I hope for another book in the series? I don’t think so. I feel like this was a good ending for Penny and her adventures. And I don’t think Zoe has hinted about there being another one. So I’m happy to leave this series as it is.
Now the only question is what will my next book be? I’m definitely enjoying reading again so now I’ve picked up momentum I’m definitely not stopping.
So follow me on Goodreads if you wanna know what I’m gonna be making my way through next. And let me know if you’ve got any recommendations for me because I’d love to hear them!
~ Courtney x

Wilde Like Me Book Review

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment
 
 
I picked up Louise’s book one day at Tesco after I had just moved house. I thought I should get back into reading and so if I bought a book then it would encourage me to read. That was a lie.
It sat on my bedside table for months. And finally, at the start of the year, I picked it up to read.
For my first book of the year, I would say it was a good one. I enjoyed it. I think it’s great when a YouTuber decides to write fiction rather than a memoir. Mainly because a lot of them are still young and maybe don’t have a lot of stories/experiences to share that they haven’t already shared online. And I usually prefer fiction to reading about people’s real lives.
This book is about Robin Wilde, a single mum struggling with depression and also trying to be the best mum possible. Very different from my normal reads that consist of teenager/high school drama. But also a welcome change.
I enjoyed the story a lot. I think it was interesting to learn about the struggles of being a single mum. Obviously, I can’t relate because I haven’t had a child but I can imagine it’s not an easy thing. That being said I did find Robin very relatable and I think that’s due to Louise’s writing style. It’s very casual and conversational like most other YouTuber books.
That being said that’s not always a good thing. Because of the style of writing and the way Robin acted it was hard to picture Robin as her own character. Throughout the book, I was constantly imagining Louise. The storyline is very similar to things that Louise has been through in her life. And I know people say it’s better to write what you know but I feel like I was expecting something more.
I kind of felt similar vibes in Girl Online when I read it. Zoe does pull on her own experiences with anxiety for that book but at the same time, it’s very much more fiction than based on her life.
But aside from picturing Louise instead of Robin, I enjoyed reading the book. I thought it was fun to learn about Robin’s first experience with online dating and also found the way she talked about depression interesting. I think she described it well in terms of it being “the Emptiness”.
Though I do feel that things happened to turn around very quickly in the book. For the longest time, we saw Robin struggling with everything, parenting, depression, dating, her job and then all of a sudden everything just turns out all right at the end. I guess it’s not a bad thing to want a happy ending I just felt it came on very fast.
I do like that Robin is surrounded by a lot of positive and strong women in her life though. That’s something I can always appreciate. I’m all for girl power and this book has a lot of that.
As for the age group for this book, I wanna say young adults. I don’t think younger viewers of Louise’s channel would be interested in it and as for older people, I don’t quite know. I guess it depends on what kind of writing you like. But it is one of those books that you can read at any age. (Possibly not children as I just remembered they do talk about sex…)
And how it compares to other YouTuber books I think it’s somewhere in the middle. I think it’s a nice read, and in a way, you get to know a version of Louise. Though as most YouTuber books aren’t fiction it is hard to do a real comparison.
Overall I did enjoy the book for what it was. Didn’t know what to expect when I jumped into it but I am glad I took a chance on it. Will I read a sequel if one arises? I don’t know. I might give it a go – it could be like Girl Online where I end up loving it. But I guess we shall see what the future holds.
But until then I am on to my next book which, funny enough happens to be the third book in the Girl Online series. I think it’s about time I got around to it, the book has been sitting on my bookshelf for over a year now. So hopefully I will have another book review for you soon.

 

~ Courtney x

Working Gal – Six Months On

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

It has been a while! I am not sure how often to make these posts although considering I only have five months of placement left, I think there might be one or two more. I guess it depends on how much there is to share about how placement is going.
Since the last time I wrote here I have obviously become more adjusted. I now feel like a part of the team like everyone else. I have recently been working on something with some other members of the team rather than an individual project and so I have been interacting with more people. Before I would only ever really talk to my buddy but that’s because he was the one giving me work.
I also feel like the addition of a graduate to our team has really helped the integration. Our team is kind of a quiet one, we only ever really talk to each other if we have to. So it’s usually very quiet around our bay. But with the grad there, he’s very outgoing and so he sparks a lot of conversation between us which has been really great. It’s good to be able to have banter between your teammates, it helps you get by.
Sadly though he won’t be on the team for much longer because he has to rotate to another team in a few months. So I wonder what the team will be like without him or if they will get another graduate to replace him. All graduates rotate between teams before they choose where they want to end up in the company. But for now, he’s on our team and I think he will remain there until after I leave, so the banter will continue.
Aside from the team banter, my workload has increased recently. This is definitely a good thing because it means time goes by a lot faster. Sure, it can be stressful but it’s not been too bad. Although it hasn’t really been any development work so I would like to get back into that soon. Coding is where I feel most comfortable, even though I know that isn’t all of the job.
I also recently had a meeting with my manager to discuss my year-end review, which sounds weird because I’ve only been working there six months. Everyone has to fill in a self-evaluation at the end of the year and that included me so I did the best I could. The meeting went really well and I found out that I don’t suck at this job which is great. My manager asked me if there is anything that I wanted to be doing while on placement and I said anything. I still don’t know exactly what I want to focus on when I leave uni so I really want to get the most out of my placement as possible. So basically anything that they are willing to let me do, I will do it. So I guess we see what comes from that.
Then there are the other placements, not much to report there. Although we have now kind of split off into smaller groups, we used to all sit together in the canteen but now we all do our own thing. Which was bound to happen because there are so many of us. But we are all still friendly towards one another and it’s so much easier to talk to people now that we have split off into smaller groups.
Overall working has been good, I don’t have any complaints. It’s been a great experience so far and I am confident that I will be able to survive in the working world now when I graduate from university. Whether that is with the company I am in now or somewhere else.
I still don’t know what I’m doing when I graduate but I think I should keep my options open. I never liked the idea of being trapped doing one thing for the rest of my life so that’s a big deal for me. But we see what happens. Maybe this is the job for me, maybe it’s not. At least I have some time to think about it.
In the meantime, I just have to finish up placement and then try to prepare for my final year of university. This year has barely started and I know it’s going to be a busy one and as always, I will try to keep you posted as the year goes on! And if you don’t want to wait for a blog post to know what’s going on in my life then follow me on Twitter because it’s where I update the most. Although be aware I do tweet a lot…
~ Courtney x

New Year, Same Goals

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Last year I made a YouTube video talking about my 2017 New Year’s Resolutions and they did not go very well. I only had four, I wanted to do things that were manageable and I knew that I could do. Yet I still didn’t come through with them.
I think it was because I wasn’t serious about them. I mean everyone makes New Year’s Resolutions. And most of the time people don’t really mean them. I did have good intentions but that went downhill pretty quick. I think it was mainly just because I forgot. I did write them down on a sticky note and I still have it on my desk but it’s not something I would look at often.
So I have decided to try again and hopefully this time things will be better. I don’t know why, but for some reason, this year feels very different. I feel more positive about things and setting goals. I guess I never really embraced the whole new year, new start thing because nothing ever changed. I think it had something to do with the last blog post I made. Seeing all the things that happened last year when I wasn’t even planning was amazing, so I guess I thought if I set some goals that things would be even better.
Anyway, these are not big goals, just small things that I think would help make me feel better and more productive. Things I know I can do if I actually put the effort in, better to start small I think. So here we go:

Blog More
I always neglect blogging. I just don’t make time for it. But when I do it, I love it. I don’t really have a focal point for my blog but I do plan to find something to write about! I think what discouraged me from blogging is a lot of the things I blog about can also be covered in my YouTube channel. I just need to find a way to split the content and how to cover it. Sometimes writing a long blog post is a lot better than an hour long video. So I guess I have to figure out the balance. But I do look forward to putting more out on my blog!
Of course, what comes with that is me again wanting a new blog or something. I would love a really pretty designed website to have my blog and other things on it, but every time I try to design one it doesn’t end well.
I used to always want to make my own website from scratch with HTML but now that I am older and actually have some experience with code, I know it’s not something that will magically just happen. It will take a lot of time and I would have to learn a lot about web design. So I think that might be something to aim towards in the future, but for right now I will stick with my blogspot blog.

Vlog More
Last year, my YouTube channel was all about Pretty Little Liars. I can’t even deny that. Which isn’t a bad thing I mean I loved Pretty Little Liars, but looking back I do wish I had vlogged more. So this year I am focusing more on follow-me-around vlogs and things less to do with TV shows. Or at least I would like to try.
I also want to post more videos in general – last year I tried to post at least once a week and I feel like I succeeded for the most part but I want to try and post more often if I can. What I will make videos about I don’t know. But there will probably be some TV show videos thrown in with other things.
And of course there is my Sims YouTube channel. I really want to finish my Sims 2 Let’s Play and also continue making videos for there too. So it’s going to be a busy year in terms of social media for me. 😛

Read More
I have so many books that I bought that I still haven’t read. And last year I wanted to get back to reading because for a while I was doing really well. That might have been to do with the fact that every YouTuber was coming out with a book at the time but it was good for me.
I want to be excited to read again. I used to finish a YouTuber book and be on the next one in no time. But last year I barely picked up a book.
So to help with this goal I decided to use GoodReads. I signed up for an account a few years ago because I wanted to win a giveaway (I didn’t win) but I got a notification the other day saying one of my Facebook friends was now using it so I decided to take a look again.
And it has a built-in feature for you to set a reading goal and keep track of your reading too. It’s the kind of thing I would be really into because I love to document things. So I have set myself the goal to read 12 books this year. Which I know, isn’t a lot. It’s one a month, but I feel like if I can do that and exceed it, I will feel super accomplished. Plus, it’ll be something else other than TV shows to talk about.

Save Money
Something I failed at terribly last year. Honestly, I don’t like to talk about how I spent money last year. It was not good. I mean, I guess everyone goes crazy when they start their first paid job but I feel like I went above and beyond.
So this year I am going to start saving. I still believe in living in the moment and spending money, don’t get me wrong, but if I can put even a little bit of money away at the end of each month I will feel proud of myself.
I have even set myself up with a different bank account to put the money in and so I will definitely not get to spend it. If I don’t see it, it’s not there. So hopefully this will be the better way to save. And it’ll mean when I finish work placement and stop getting a monthly wage that I won’t be super poor.

Learn To Drive
Finally, this is something I want to do, and not just because my boyfriend has been nagging me to do it. It would be great to be able to drive rather than take public transport. I mean I know public transport is better for the environment and cheaper but from being a student, travelling at weekends and moving house, all without a car…it can be a struggle.
Sometimes it would be handy to have a car and be able to drive, mainly so I didn’t have to lug half my belongings on the train every weekend and also so I could repay my boyfriend for driving us around for 2 years.
It’ll be scary but I feel like it’s something I should do. And then I don’t have to be waiting on public transport all the time.

Clear Out My Room
This is a recent thing that I really need to do. The past couple of years I have been living away from home and so I’ve just let junk pile up in my room at home. My uni room is nice and clean and uncluttered, but when I come home I feel like I just have too much stuff. And most things in my room I don’t use or need thrown away.
Plus it would be nice to come home at the weekend and not feel suffocated in my room because of all my stuff. I admit I can be a hoarder, I definitely keep onto things I don’t need but I think it’s time to start letting go of some things…
Plus it will make it easier for me to move out in the future/move back home after graduation.

I think these are all the goals I have for 2018. I probably have more but these are the main ones I know I can stick to. So let’s go with that. I’m hopeful that I will be able to accomplish these things. I mean even if I don’t completely succeed at least I will have accomplished some things. Or have tried to.
I know this year will be a busy one for me with uni and everything but I also want to keep doing things I enjoy. So here’s hoping this year is a fun and productive one! I really don’t know where all of this optimism is coming from. Not that I will complain. I will just use it while it lasts.
I hope if you have set yourself goals in 2018 that you will also achieve them. And if you haven’t set any goals that’s okay too. I have seen a lot of posts online that say you don’t need to wait around for a new year to change your life/begin striving for your goals and they are right. You just gotta decide it’s time.
Anyway, I’m going to go now. I seem to always end up getting really inspirational towards the end of my blog posts haha. That’s another thing I know I need to work on, ending my blog posts. It’s not something I’m good at, but maybe if I blog more I will figure it out.
So I hope you enjoyed reading, and I’ll be back (hopefully) soon with my next blog post!
~ Courtney x

2017!

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Another year has gone by and as always I am wondering where the time has gone. It seems like year after year time just keeps moving faster. I guess this is what happens when you get older. And as always with this time of year, I like to reflect on all the things I have done the past year and think about what is coming ahead.
So, 2017, what a year. Honestly though when I try to think of all the things I have done this year I can’t really think of any. Which I think means my memory is getting worse with time. But luckily with the help of the internet and social media, I can kind of piece together how my year was.
I started out the year with my boyfriend, which was a first for me. I have never had someone to kiss on New Year’s and have never even had plans to go out on New Years. Not that the kissing part was ever a big thing for me, but it was nice to start the year with someone special. And going out was nice and a good change from staying home and playing Animal Crossing to ring in the new year. That being said, I love playing Animal Crossing on New Year’s because it’s so cute and all the villagers wear hats. 😛

New Years

The first month of the year of me is usually a lazy one. Especially last year because I didn’t start back at university until the end of the month. That meant a lot of my time was spent playing Sims, watching Netflix and sleeping. Which is always an ideal situation. Not for too long though, mainly because after a while you do feel like you should maybe be a little productive and do something.
February in comparison was a much more productive month. I started back at university and started my level 2 Korean classes. I completely forgot that I took Korean for 10 weeks. As you can see I learnt a lot – I enjoyed the Korean classes though. It was interesting and I also think it is one of the easier Asian languages to learn in terms of reading and writing.
On top of Korean, I also continued to work on my second year Android game project. That doesn’t have the most pleasant memories attached to it. A lot of late nights staring at code. If I am honest, I know that I could have done so much more with that project but I let the other members of my group overshadow me. I think the learning curve really threw me. But I still feel like I learnt a lot and we did end up with a pretty great game in the end. Even if my contribution to it wasn’t the biggest.

My game’s Menu Screen

February was also the month that I celebrated my anniversary with my boyfriend. It’s weird to think we have been together for so long but at the same time, I couldn’t imagine not being with him. We just spend so much time together that being apart from him for too long feels weird.
I also spent February wrapped in some new TV shows, and they happened to take up a lot of my time this year. It was a big year in terms of TV for me. Mainly because two of the biggest shows in my life ended in 2017. Pretty Little Liars and Vampire Diaries. At first, I really did wonder what I would do without them, I always looked forward to the new episodes, but now part of me is glad the shows are over. I guess all good things must come to an end. And it makes way for new TV shows. But I will say, I will miss making Pretty Little Liars videos, I don’t think I will find another show that will get me as worked up as that one.
March seemed to be another blur of uni work and Sims. But one super exciting thing for me was meeting YouTubers for the first time. I had the opportunity to meet James Turner aka TheSimSupply and Dylan Clawson aka ConflictNerd. They decided to hold a meet up in Belfast and I just happened to have a free afternoon from class so I thought I would go and hang out with them.

ConflictNerd and TheSimSupply!

I was super nervous. I am not good in situations where I am meeting new people by myself. But I am really glad that I went. It is super weird to talk to people you have only seen online, I mean they are just people so you talk to them like you would anyone else. But at the same time, it’s crazy because you have gotten to know them through their online persona, so when you meet them in real life they are different. And I don’t mean that in a bad way, from making my own videos I know that you can’t expect people you watch online to always be so energetic and happy in real life.
James is actually a quiet person in real life, especially when the rest of the people at the meetup and I started talking about Northern Ireland and James didn’t have any idea what we were talking about because he is from Australia haha.
I really enjoyed meeting them and I am glad that the first time I met YouTubers I was able to sit down and talk to them rather than a standard meet and greet. Plus, there were only a small number of people at the meet up which made it a lot easier to talk too. It was very relaxed and I am a fan.
April was spent doing a lot of coding and playing Another Brick in the Mall. I haven’t played Another Brick in the Mall in months now, but it has updated a lot so I think I should revisit it again soon. But, I was watching Conflict Nerd’s Let’s Play of the game and I thought it would be a fun thing to try out and it was. I was very invested for a couple of months.
I also got to attend my second ever hackathon with my boyfriend at the end of April. I was nervous about it because I never have ideas for those things and also I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to contribute anything and just be sitting doing nothing for 12 hours.
But things took a surprising turn as we ended up joining up with a team that was working next to us, they had a similar idea and instead of looking at them as competition, we decided to team up. And I think it worked out in our favour as we ended up coming in second.

The hackathon team!

It was really fun and interesting teaming up with new people and getting to know them in a short space of time. Again it’s not something that I would immediately think of when attending a hackathon but I enjoyed it a lot. And when you are all working together 12 hours can feel like nothing.
I have yet to attempt a 24-hour hackathon but I don’t think I would be able to do it. Normally after a hackathon, you feel drained and all you want to do is sleep. So I feel like after a 24-hour one I would need a lot more than one night’s sleep. But who knows, maybe 2018 will be the year of the 24-hour hackathon?
After the hackathon came the final stretch of university – finishing my Android game and exams. I remember sitting with my flatmate working on our project and then Git went down at like 5 a.m. It was not ideal, we sat refreshing our laptops for an hour before it came back up. Talk about cutting it close to the deadline. Luckily everything was submitted and I was able to get a well-deserved rest afterwards.
Then in June, I headed to my second hackathon of the year, again a 12 hour one with my boyfriend and a couple of my university friends. I have to say this one might not have been as productive as the first one as this one was from 4 p.m to 4 a.m and I had been at a technology event during the say so got pretty tired.

Hackathon snaps

Actually, everyone ended up leaving the hackathon early because we had to come back in the morning to present our ideas anyway. So we thought it was better to work a little bit more on the project from the comfort of our house rather than in the hackathon space.
But the next day we were able to pull it together for our presentation. I had to present our idea at this hackathon and it was kind of scary. Public speaking is not a thing I enjoy (I feel like there’s a theme in this blog post…) but it went well. I just always think that people will look at me like I don’t know what I am talking about but I did know what I was talking about and all was well.
Again we came second, but it was okay because we did win a lot of prizes throughout the actual hackathon. Even though the prize for the hackathon was a trip to Dubai to present your hackathon idea to a company. It would have been amazing but I guess there’s always the next time.
June was also exciting because I got to go to England to visit my friend Jasmine. It was her first year at university and I hadn’t seen her in ages. It was also the first time that I was going to be travelling by myself – I had planned to go over and see her with some other friends but all our schedules didn’t line up so I went on my own. Again, a scary thing but I feel proud of myself that I was able to do it.

Visiting Jasmine!

It was so great seeing Jasmine, especially because it was the first time I was going to meet her university friends and her boyfriend. I had heard so much about them so I was excited to meet them. They were all so lovely and it made me so happy to see that Jasmine was settling in well to uni.
While I was there we went to the beach, the arcades, played mini golf and went bowling. It was an eventful few days. And the weather was great while I was in England which was also great. It was my first time in England and it was such a change from being in Northern Ireland. I mean you wouldn’t think it would be because it’s still the UK but just the weather difference was so strange. Not that I was complaining.
Overall it was a great trip and I know I would gladly go back over to see Jasmine anytime.
Not long after my trip to England, I was off to Dublin for my 20th birthday with my boyfriend. We ended up in Dublin during Dublin pride which was super fun. I had always wanted to go to a pride parade and this was my first ever one. I have always loved the idea of pride because everyone is all dressed up and spreading love and it’s just overwhelmingly positive and fun So if you have never been to pride I highly recommend it.

Twitter’s pride float

In June I also pushed aside Another Brick in the Mall for Stardew Valley. It was a birthday present from my brother because I didn’t know how I would feel about it but it turned out to be a really addicting game. I don’t know how to explain it but I really enjoy it. And when it was released for Nintendo Switch I was obsessed all over again. It’s one of those games that is perfect to have in a portable format like Animal Crossing.
After a super exciting month of June, I feel like July was a lot calmer. I was enjoying the last few weeks of summer before I started work placement. Starting work was something else I was nervous about because I was super worried I would have no idea what I was doing but again, not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I feel like I don’t have to say too much about my work placement because I have already made a blog post about starting work, so if you are interested in that you can check it out here.
I need to do an updated blog post about work placement because I am now halfway through. It’s weird to think I have been working for that long but I feel like once you settle into a routine it’s not so bad. Plus, I was able to settle into work and not feel like a total idiot in a couple of weeks. Plus it helped that I was starting with a group of placements rather than being thrown in by myself like other workplaces. So I am thankful I was around with people who could relate.
August was a crazy month as I settled into work and tried to keep up with making time to see all of my friends who were back for summer break before they went to university again. I was probably the busiest in August than I had been in a long time. Because not only was I working 9-5 but then I was also immediately going out to meet my friends. It was kind of crazy but I was also grateful to be kept so busy.
One of the most memorable things in August was going to see Bianca Del Rio and Charlie Hides at Belfast Pride. I didn’t get ready in time to really see the parade but my friends and I got tickets to see Bianca and Charlie and I couldn’t wait.

Meeting Charlie and Bianca!

This was the second time I would be seeing Bianca perform because I had seen her earlier in February while she was on her comedy tour. But I love seeing Bianca perform. She was the first Drag Queen that I ever got to meet and see in person. And now anytime she comes to Belfast I feel like I have to see her.
And on top of that, pride was the second time that I got to be on stage with her! I had another opportunity to lipsync for my life and this time I was more than ready for my moment. It was so much fun and I loved it. And as always it was great to see Bianca again.
Aside from Bianca, I also got see Charlie Hides perform and she was great too. I was a fan of her on Drag Race but she was put out of the competition for her lack of lipsync performance. Luckily she more than makes up for it live and in person.
As well as Charlie there were also local drag queens who performed and they were amazing too. I can’t really describe how it feels to be at a drag show. It’s just not like anything else I have ever experienced – they are just so much fun and I highly recommend them.
Another big thing in August was that it was time for me and my flatmates to move out of our university flat. One of my flatmates moved out early because he was going abroad for the year so we had a temporary replacement flatmate for a month. The moving out process was kind of crazy – especially because we left it so late. We didn’t intend to leave it until the weekend we had to be out of the flat – we had just been so busy with work and trying to house hunt for a new place to live.
Luckily we were able to have the place spotless and had our stuff moved in one day. We didn’t live in a big house so there wasn’t that much to clean, but because it was the first place we had ever rented we didn’t want the Landlord to have any reason to deduct money from our deposit. But luckily we got it all back.
I really liked living in our flat, I was unsure about it moving in but it actually turned out to be super cosy. And as for it being the first time I was living away from home I thought it went really well. I lived with great people and it was always warm. And I consider that to be a good uni flat, and if our third flatmate hadn’t have been going abroad this year we totally would have stayed in the same place.

Our flat keys

But for our second house, my remaining flatmate and I decided to find a place closer to where we are working. So far this house has been nice, I don’t really have any complaints although we did have some heating trouble when we moved in. And so I finally got to experience what an actual student house was like because it was so cold, but we have the heating sorted now. Well, we did until we ran out of oil a few weeks ago but it’s all sorted now haha.
I definitely prefer gas heating because it’s so much easier to top off and a lot cheaper than oil. So hopefully when we go for our third and final university house we can get somewhere that’s got oil heating.
Then we move on to September, which was a pretty calm month. Though I do remember that this was the first month I really got to enjoy having a paycheck as a splurged and got myself a Nintendo Switch. I think it was a perfect purchase for me. I mean, I’m not really a console kind of gamer in terms of PlayStation or Xbox but Nintendo always seems to do it for me.
And like I said earlier, they brought out Stardew Valley for the Switch and that made the console worth it entirely. I am excited to see what other games they bring out for the Switch because I am enjoying playing it. Whether that’s battling it out with siblings in Mario Kart, or trying to teach my family how to play Overcooked – it’s just a great console.
Plus, I always thought I would only play it in handheld mode, but I have been enjoying TV mode too. I mean honestly, this is the console dreams are made of. And I’m so excited for them to bring Animal Crossing to the Switch because I need that in my life.
From what I can tell October was also a pretty calm month – towards the end of the year I guess things start to wind down and everyone is working hard at uni so I didn’t really get to see them. Of course, I was still working but there’s not too much to report on that.
One thing that definitely perked me up in October was the fact they announced an Animal Crossing mobile game. This was the first new Animal Crossing game to be released in years and I was more than ready for it. I just got so excited starting to think of what it would be like. I won’t say too much about it here but I did happen to make a blog post and a video about it if you are interested in knowing my first thoughts on the game.
Obviously, when the game was released in November it completely took over my life. And with the screen recording tool on iPhone, I have been capturing gameplay non-stop. It’s all so cute and I love it and it gets me excited for the Nintendo Switch game and what it could be. So yes, there’s that.
Animal Crossing wasn’t the only thing that made November exciting though. I also got my very first tattoo in November. I have thought about getting a tattoo for years, and I finally decided to bite the bullet and book my tattoo. I always wondered what kind of tattoo I would get too, and one night when I was searching I found the perfect thing.

My tattoo!

To most people, it probably looks like nothing, but to me, it means so much. It represents Animal Crossing (surprise, surprise). But I thought it was super cute and also a perfect first tattoo because Animal Crossing has been a huge part of my life. From getting my first Animal Crossing game for the DS to making online friends in Animal Crossing: New Leaf. It is my childhood and I still love it today. And I know it’ll be a part of my future.
I also think I did well on the tattoo placement, it didn’t hurt that much and it was also a good place in terms of hiding it if I need to, but also showing it off. And it was also really great when it came to cleaning it and keeping it moisturised. Once I started getting into the routine of washing and moisturising it I started wondering how people cared for the tattoos they couldn’t reach or see, but I guess that’s why you have family/friends haha. But the tattoo has healed now and I couldn’t be happier with it. Sometimes I forget about it or catch it in the mirror and I still can’t believe I have it.
Another super exciting thing for me in November was that I got to see Steps in concert. They were my favourite band when I was younger and I was never able to go to one of their concerts. And when I grew up and found out the band had broken up I was heartbroken, but luckily for me, they reunited for their 20th anniversary in 2017.
My sisters always promised they would take me to a concert and they came through with this one as we all went as a big group. I loved every second of it. It was my childhood dream come true. Words can’t even explain how I feel about it. It was just an amazing night, I sang my heart out and danced the whole time. Such an amazing experience.

My Steps ticket

Also in November, I became obsessed with the musical Hamilton. I have never been a musical person before but my boyfriend recommended it to me and I really love it. And not only that, but I was able to get tickets to see Hamilton on the West End for my boyfriend’s birthday. So I am super excited about that. It’s only a couple of weeks away now and it’s so crazy. It’ll be my first West End show, and I know it’s not going to disappoint.
December was mostly a calm month for me, work was winding down and I was thinking about Christmas. I also considered doing Vlogmas this year, as I have done Vlogmas every other year I have been doing YouTube but this year I was mostly working so I wasn’t doing anything worth vlogging. Although I did my best to be more active on YouTube because in between the time of finishing uni and starting work I had slacked on videos.
I also got to go to see the Christmas Queens in December. It was the first time I was going to see a drag queen stage show and not just a club performance. I was super excited but also super nervous because I was once again, going alone. I was mainly worried about what I was going to do at the meet and greet because I would have no one to talk to and I had no idea what I was going to say to the drag queens when I met them.
But I am so glad I decided to go because it was so much fun. Even though I had some awkward moments on my own when waiting in line and sitting by myself at the show, it didn’t matter too much because I was enjoying myself.
The show itself was incredible, most of the queens sung live and are amazing performers. 100% worth the money and also it was amazing to be able to meet all the drag queens too. I knew all of them from RuPaul’s Drag Race and to meet them in person was so crazy. They were all so lovely and wonderful and I wish I was able to say more to them when I was with them but I think I was so starstruck I couldn’t say anything. But I still loved it.
I also vlogged a little bit when I was there so if you want to see some of the performance and know more about how the meet and greet was, you can check it out here.

The Christmas Queens!

Aside from the drag queen excitement, the rest of December was pretty calm. I spent Christmas with my family and friends and it was really nice and chill. It was a well-deserved break from work too and I was able to catch up on all my sleep haha.
And I guess that wraps up a pretty amazing year. Honestly, when I started this I had no idea what it was going to turn out like. I had really forgotten a lot of the things I have done this year, and being able to reminisce about everything in this blog post has been great. It really makes me appreciate what a good year I had and all the amazing people I spent it with and all the things I’ve experienced.
As the new year begins I can only hope that it’s going to be as amazing as 2017. And as always I hope to share my year with you throughout social media. I’m hoping that I vlog more in 2018 because I love looking back at vlogs and seeing all the fun times I had, I guess that’s also why I take so many pictures.
Anyway, that was my year. Kind of crazy and all over the place but at the same time things seemed to all flow well for me. Like I said I can only hope my 2018 is as good as my 2017 if not better. I guess we see what happens. But I’m looking forward to it, and I can’t wait to share it with you guys in a similar post next year! 🙂
~ Courtney x

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp | Nintendo Direct Thoughts

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

As soon as I heard about the Animal Crossing mobile Nintendo Direct I knew that 140 characters was not going to be enough to express my thoughts and excitement. I also realised that some people would not appreciate a one hour video of me fangirling and talking about Animal Crossing either. So I decided to go for a blog post. This way I can say everything I need to say, you can read it or not and things will make a lot more sense. When I make videos when I’m excited they tend to be all over the place and I talk really fast so can be hard to understand. So here I am trying to be comprehensive and more structured.
I’ve decided to base this off of the way the Nintendo Direct flowed and also throw in additional comments about other things I’ve seen online. Like I said I have a lot of thoughts so, let’s not waste any more time!

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
First of all – the name. It’s not the best spin-off name. It kind of follows along the lines of Animal Crossing: Let’s Go To The City. Very literal. It would have been nice if they had gone along the lines of New Leaf or Wild World but I don’t know what else they would have called it.
Not that I can really be annoyed at something like the name. If anything everyone will probably just call it Animal Crossing Mobile anyway.

Camp Manager
In this spin-off, we are not going to be mayors. We are taking on the role of Camp Manager. Which makes sense, I mean I hardly expected them to give us a full Animal Crossing game on mobile. So when I saw the concept of decorating your own campsite I thought that would be it, kind of a watered down version of things like the Mario mobile app. And the way you decorate the campsite is the same as you would in Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer which I am already very familiar with so I thought that would be okay. Definitely something simple and easy to do for mobile phone.
But finding out that this is only part of what you can do with this app is amazing. If anything, I feel like this is the kind of thing Happy Home Designer should have been because it gives you so much more gameplay than just designing a campsite.
So I am very excited to take on my role of camp manager and to design a campsite – especially if it means it’s not the only thing we get to do.

Helping Villagers
Something that every Animal Crossing player is familiar with. I like the idea of doing quests for villagers in exchange for crafting materials. I also like the new friendship level that they have added to the game. This way you know exactly how friendly you are with a villager and it’s easier to see the friendship progress over time. In the other games, you kind of just guessed how close you were with a villager.
Not sure if your friendship level can decrease with a villager like it does in other games though. I mean it would be interesting if it did so you would have to keep in contact and talk to the villager to keep the friendship level up. Although I don’t know how interested people would be in that feature, but I think I would like it.

Also, I noticed in the video that when the villager shook the fruit tree, it told you a time for when the trees would replenish with fruit which is interesting. In other games, normally fruit would just reappear the next day but it’s good to know the waiting time is a lot less for this mobile game. Although I guess it would have to be to get those materials.

 Crafting furniture



Instead of buying all our furniture from Tom Nook, we have to craft our furniture by gathering materials. Something that I think will be very time consuming, as items of furniture take time to craft. Also, I don’t know how many items Cyrus can craft at a time so this is something that could be very frustrating for me.
I have never been the most patient of people, especially right now. I mean I can’t contain my excitement for this mobile game. Every time I look up things about it or think about it, I just get super hyped up. So waiting for furniture to be built is going to be kind of annoying…but I guess that brings us to the next topic.

 Leaf Tickets

People are very divided about this. But honestly, how can you expect a mobile app not to have in-app purchases?
I guess it does suck though because it’s not something we ever had in Animal Crossing. You just paid for the price of the game and that was it. But this game, is free to download, so essentially free to play. They gotta make money somewhere…
And of course, Tom Nook is the one to be handling your real life money transactions. That was definitely on purpose. I’ve spent years paying off debt to Tom Nook so it makes sense he would be after real money now.
On a serious note though, I don’t know how to feel about the Leaf Ticket thing. I mean you can use them to have things completed faster and everything but will they become a requirement the further you get in the game?
If so that would be a serious turn off for me. As an avid player of mobile games, I have always refused to make in-app purchases for things such as lives in Candy Crush. So I probably won’t be spending money just to have something built quicker for my Animal Crossing campsite. I would rather pay an up-front price and not have to pay again.
So, as long as you can get plenty of gameplay without the purchase of leaf tickets then it’s fine. But I definitely think it should be left as an optional thing. I don’t like paying real money for virtual currency. It just feels wrong.
However, if they added certain features that you had to pay for it may be different. But I guess we just have to see what happens…

 Villagers Move Around?
This isn’t actually talked about in the Nintendo Direct but I noticed it while watching it – the villagers move around? I think this is great because it means you don’t have the same five villagers around. And I was wondering how you attracted more villagers to the campsite.
I’m not sure how many villagers you can have on a campsite at one time either but I know I will be constantly checking my app to see what villagers are around.

 Throw Nets and Honey
I have to admit I was pretty excited about these. Not that catching fish or bugs in Animal Crossing has ever been hard, but finding the particular one you need for a quest can be annoying. So this makes things easier, as you can catch large amounts of fish/bugs in one go.
But I’m pretty sure this is something that you have to pay for. So something I think I could probably live without.
I am excited to see if they are used in a new console version of Animal Crossing in the future though. Because not only was I watching the Nintendo Direct and getting excited about the mobile game, I was also watching and getting excited on what they could bring to Animal Crossing for the Nintendo Switch. So I think these would be cool additions to the game. But instead of paying for them you could only use them once a day or something. Would be something to think about.

 Play Real Time
This is one of the reasons why I got hooked on playing Animal Crossing so much. Playing in real time means you wanna play every hour of the day to see what changes and things you can do at different times of the day. Obviously, you could just cheat and change the time of your device, but where’s the fun in that? So for sure, playing in real time on mobile means I’ll be playing morning, noon and night.
Not to mention HOLIDAYS! This has always been a huge thing in Animal Crossing for me. I love the holidays in Animal Crossing. They are always super cute. And it was only really with the release of the 3DS game that we got to experience the most holidays. So I am excited to see what they will be like in Pocket Camp, especially because we will get mobile app updates regularly so they can always create new things for all the events in the world.
It’s just one of those extra things that makes Animal Crossing special. So I am super excited to play all year round, and basically forever…

 Shopping
I would have been surprised if this was something that was left out of this mobile app. Shopping is a big thing in Animal Crossing. And dressing up your character and customising things is also a big part of it. So I am super glad we have this.
Plus the marketplace and all the camper vans are super cute so I am definitely a fan of this.

Designing Your Camper Van
I was waiting the whole video for this. I needed to know if we could decorate the camper van. It’s a necessity. Like, if you’re going to be driving it around all the time we have to be able to personalise it. So yes. We can. All is well.
Not only that but we have NEW characters! (Honestly surprised that Tom Nook just didn’t get into the vehicle business). But yes, new characters! This is always exciting. I don’t know a lot about them but they upgrade your van.
They also bring loans back into the game, something that we are familiar with because of Tom Nook. But we don’t need leaf tickets for these upgrades. As far as I know, these are strictly bell loans. Which means we can pay them off by selling things in the game. Which has been something I have gotten really good at in Animal Crossing. So I am not worried about some loans if it means I can have a really fancy camper vans.

 Friends!
Want to be my friend on Animal Crossing? I’m all for it.
The summer that Animal Crossing: New Leaf came out I made so many new friends. And I don’t have any people in my real life that share my love for Animal Crossing so I need people like that in my life.
So yes, I am open to having all the friends on Animal Crossing and visiting people’s campsites and all the other things we can do with that.
And as soon as I get the game, you can be sure I’ll be posting my friend code online 🙂

 Customising Your Character
This is something that they introduced in Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer and I am here for it. Mainly because ever since Wild World, I use the same character and it’s annoying looking up face guides haha. So being able to choose whatever you want your character to look like is great.
It also means we can choose a skin tone which is also great and I approve of that very much. So no complaints here. All is well.

 Amenities
I got super excited about these! Mainly because it brings us more animations of villagers interacting with items and it’s super cute. Honestly, the main appeal of Animal Crossing for me is that it is super adorable.
But yes, so amenities are bigger items you can add to the campsite and take a lot longer to build. I don’t know how easy it will be to swap amenities out or how many we can have but I want to be able to have all of them at least once to see the villagers use them. And again, it gets me excited to see what they could bring to Animal Crossing for the Switch.

 Controls
The final thing I want to talk about, that wasn’t in the videos is controls! So okay, I know it’s a mobile game, so all the controls are just going to be touching the screen.
But I think this is going to be weird. Mainly because Animal Crossing has always been on console so I’m very used to using buttons for all my Animal Crossing actions. Apart from the occasional use of the DS touch screen.
It will be strange to only use touch screen with the game. Especially when the instinct will be to press A to talk/interact with anyone or anything. And also to use the joystick to move your character. So I think it’ll be interesting to see how that goes. But I also think it will take away a bit of the playing experience just because tapping everything could get in the way of things. But I guess we just see what it’s like. Not that something like this could ever stop me from playing this game.

That brings us to the end of all my thoughts on the Animal Crossing Nintendo Direct. (Way more than 140 characters).
As you can see 99% of this blog post was positive. I really don’t think I could have said a bad thing about this mobile app if I tried. Obviously, as a lover of the Animal Crossing franchise, I was going to be all for anything new Nintendo wanted to bring out to do with it. And this mobile application is definitely worth the wait.
It doesn’t even feel like it’s a mobile app. This is a full Animal Crossing game in its own right. And I can’t wait until I have it. I know they’ve released it early in Australia and it’s killing me because all I want to do is download it right now.
But I will be patient. And I guess I will have to be even more patient and wait to see if they are going to be releasing a new Animal Crossing console game in the future. I just know that they can go above and beyond with Animal Crossing if they brought it to the Switch and that is what I’m really hoping for.
In the meantime, I’ll probably be torturing myself by watching gameplay videos and looking at the Animal Crossing tag on Tumblr. And also playing the other Animal Crossing games to keep me satisfied until the release of the new game. They say it’ll be released late November but how late in November is what I wanna know. An exact date would be ideal but I guess we just see what happens.
If you guys are interested in following me and my adventures in Animal Crossing then feel free to follow my Animal Crossing Tumblr blog! I haven’t been very active recently but I will definitely be posting more when the new Animal Crossing game is released. And as always, find me on Twitter for all my real-time up-to-date fangirling.
~ Courtney x

Working Gal – Two Months In

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

This year, instead of going back to classes and assignments, I am entering the world of work. This is the start of my placement year at university. Which means for the next nine months I am going to be working full-time.

So, to go along with my placement year, I thought I would have a mini blog series kind of thing. Basically, just sharing my thoughts and experiences, maybe even giving advice if I have any. I think it would be fun, and also a great way to keep the blog alive since I haven’t really been blogging lately.
Now where to start?
Well, I’ve decided not to name the place where I work, why? Mainly because I don’t think it matters? I won’t be going into too much detail about actual work anyway, I think I’ll talk more about general things. Because let’s be real, when anyone talks in specific detail about what they do, you’re not really interested unless you also work in that field. At least from my experience, that’s what I know because when I talk about code with my friends they look at me like I’m speaking another language, which I guess I am. But anyway, the point is I am not going to take you through and talk about the things I work on in detail.
I have been working now for almost two months and I would say I am now well adjusted. I know a lot of people say it’s a shock to the system, going from the university lifestyle of sleeping most of the day and going out all night, but for me, I’m really glad to have some more routine in my life. That’s not to say that I don’t struggle to get up in the morning because I do, especially now that it’s colder in the mornings, bed just seems too good. But my fear of sleeping in and being super late stops me from sleeping in too much, so I always make it to work on time.
As for working hours, I work 9-5, Monday to Friday. Which I really enjoy because like I said, there’s routine there and also I get weekends off. My other friends that are on placement have flexible hours where you can work 8-4 or 10-6 if you want to but to me, 8-4 is too early and 10-6 is too late so 9-5 works the best for me.
I should also say that I study Software Engineering at university and so, my placement is technology based. I was super nervous about going into placement because we work on real applications that real people use and I was super worried that I was going to break the programs and people would be angry. But that hasn’t happened (yet) and I’ve been kind of easing into work at a good pace too. So it’s not like they were throwing me in the deep end with a bunch of new things that I didn’t know anything about.
I’m really glad that I have been going at a steady pace of getting work to do because it has allowed me to familiarise myself with the things we use at work and programs and things I have never heard of. It’s a lot different than sitting at uni and writing code that they tell you too. But it’s good, and that feeling when you finally get your code to work is always a favourite of mine. I mean, I remember how excited I got when I could print “Hello World” on my computer screen haha. It also makes you feel like you could actually do this job and it’s not impossible.
Aside from the actual work, there are the people you work with, your team. I am still getting to know mine. When I joined the team I was given a “buddy” who is the person on the team that looks out for me and gives me work. So my buddy is the person I talk to most on the team, and he’s really great. He’s really helpful and easy to talk to, so I didn’t feel like I was bugging him with my 100 questions a day haha. That really helped with settling in, because I usually hate asking questions, especially ones that sound stupid but if I didn’t ask the questions then I probably would still be sitting at my screen feeling useless. As for the other members of my team, I still haven’t talked to them very much. So I still have to get to know them, but I’m sure I will get to know them more over time.
Along with the team, there are also the other placements. I joined with 17 other placements and so I never felt like I was alone in being the newbie. And even though I didn’t know the other 17 placements before coming into work, I am so glad that I met them. Before coming to university, being thrown into a room with people I didn’t know was my worst nightmare because I hated talking to new people. But on the first day of work, I was so glad to have been thrown into a room with these people.
Having other people in the same position as you is good because it means you have people to talk to that are your age and you also have people to sit with at lunch. It also means you get to make new friends and you can kind of compare how your placement is going compared to others. Everyone is on different teams and so you also get to learn what the other teams in the company do from talking to those people. So all in all, everyone at work is really nice, don’t have any complaints.
And then there are extra things I have been involved in. Such as organising lunch for the whole floor. Sounds kind of crazy and I guess it was but also it was fun. Never in your life would you ever wonder how many slices of bread were in a loaf of bread until you have a budget and have to cater for around 80 people. And of course I didn’t do this alone, I did it with some other placements, which made it easier.
Then there are volunteer things, social things and things outside the office which help make work feel a little bit more enjoyable. I think we are actually going on a Segway tour at some point so that should be lots of fun. I’ve never used a Segway so I don’t know if it’ll be good or bad, but I guess we see.
And so yeah, all in all, I would say that the past two months have been pretty good. I don’t really have any complaints. Obviously, at the beginning, things were going kind of slow because of training and just adjusting to a new environment but I feel like this is where I’m meant to be.
I always worried about going into working in software development because I felt like I would not know what to do at all, but now I know I can do it and it’s not that scary. And I’m also really glad I get the experience because as someone who has never had a job before, I was definitely worried about going out and getting a job. Especially one in technology, with no previous experience. So I’m glad that I’ve got this job and as for it being my first ever one? I would say I chose a pretty good one.
I think that’s all I wanted to cover in this first blog post in this mini-series. I feel like this is a good start. I don’t really know what else I will update with or how often I will do one of these but I feel like every few months should be good. Even though I will only be working for a total of 11 months, I know I will get a lot out of it and hopefully a lot to share with you? Who knows, but I’m excited to take you along on the journey. Until next time,
~ Courtney x

Stardew Valley First Impressions | My First Year in Pelican Town

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

At the start of June, my brother asked me what I wanted for my birthday and so I asked him to buy me Stardew Valley. The reason why I asked him to buy it for me as a present was because, one, it was the only thing I could think of that I kind of wanted. And two, because I wasn’t sure if I would like it or not but I thought I would give it a go. So the purchase was made via Steam and I was playing it within five minutes.
The reason why I was unsure of whether I would like the game or not is because the game is heavily influenced by the Harvest Moon series and the one Harvest Moon game I played, I was not a fan of. So it only made sense that if I didn’t like Harvest Moon, I wouldn’t like a game heavily based off of it.
Well, I was wrong.
You start off in a farm which you inherited from your grandfather, it is an overgrown farm so you have to clear the land in order to plant any crops. Which, was the first thing that I thought would turn me off of the game. I tried to watch a Let’s Play of the game to get an idea of it, but when I saw the player start with a huge farm they had to clear, I thought it would be super boring to watch and therefore super boring to play.
However, clearing up the farm didn’t end up being too bad. You just need to clear a little patch at first to get going and then over time you can clear the whole land.

Planting my summer crops!

The farming aspect of the game is actually quite enjoyable, for me anyway. (I think it has something to do with the Farmville addiction I used to have). Every time a new season starts I go straight to the store to get seeds for that season. In the first year, I didn’t do much farming because at the time you had to water each and every crop and it became tedious. For the longest time, I didn’t know that when you upgraded your tools it allowed you to water and hoe more than one piece of land at a time. So that probably would have saved me a lot of time haha.
As the game goes on you can also craft sprinklers which makes it a lot easier to farm, you just have to plant things and let the sprinklers take care of the watering. You can also craft scarecrows to help scare away crows from the farm.
Of course, there are also animals which you can get on the farm which comes with building coops and barns for them, they are also pretty easy to take care of as long as you have long grass on your farm. During winter though you have to keep them indoors and stock up on hay.
Winter was probably the hardest month for me to play through because you can’t grow any crops during the winter unless you have the greenhouse. In the first winter, I hadn’t unlocked it yet so I had to find other things to do. But I definitely missed planting my crops.

Meet the villagers!

Aside from that, you also have a whole town full of people to meet when you first arrive which I struggled with at first. When you start a game and they give you a task like “meet everyone in town” you think it’s going to take about two minutes. It took me about two hours. There are so many people to meet and it’s such a big town so it was a bit of a struggle. Luckily, as the game goes on you begin to recognise villagers and their routines so it’s a lot easier to track them down.
My main problem at the beginning was trying to talk to people who were in their rooms. You can only get into their rooms if you have enough friendship hearts with them. So building relationships in the game is also important.
However, if you are like me, and your focus in the game is anything but talking to villagers, then you can slowly build relationships by giving presents on people’s birthdays. I missed the first few birthdays in the Spring, but other than that I made sure everyone got a present on their birthday.
Although it is beneficial to build relationships with the villagers as they can help you as the game progresses and there are several villagers that you can marry and start a family with in the game. I have not decided who I want to marry yet though, there are a lot of eligible spouses and they all have their own charms about them. So I guess I just see who I end up with.

A Linus heart event

When gaining friendship hearts with villagers you will also get to experience heart events. I didn’t know what they were until I stumbled into one without knowing. They are little cut scenes that you have with the villagers and you get to learn more about them. This adds a lot more depth to the game because even though it’s a cute game on the outside, a lot of the villagers are dealing with real problems. So I do recommend befriending the villagers to learn more about their story.

The Feast of the Winter Star (Winter Event)

You also get to spend time with the villagers during special events. I make sure to go around and talk to everyone at events because they are all in one place. I imagine the special events get boring after the first few times you experience them but the first time around it’s interesting to see what goes on. Every season has two special events, and each is different but take up the whole day which means farming and other ventures have to be put on hold.

Completing a room in the community center

One thing I really got into during my first year in the game was completing the community center bundles. You have to collect certain items and bring them to the community center to restore it. I know there is a different way you can do this where you buy a Joja Mart membership but if you do that, you just have to pay a lot of money to restore the community center. Which, doesn’t seem as fun.
Plus, I feel like you feel more accomplished when you get a certain item needed for a bundle. I have completed three sections of the community center so far, so I just need a few more to go. It can be a little frustrating having to check the community center bundle list every time you pick up a new item, so my solution was to write down the ones I needed on a piece of paper. That way, when I played the game I could always have the sheet in front of me, rather than trying to navigate back and forth from the menu.
When you complete a bundle in the community center you also receive items or unlock special things which will help you in the game, such as the beloved greenhouse that I need to grow crops in the winter.
Another thing which I really enjoyed in my first year of the game was going into the mines. It was the thing I would do when it rained because that’s when I didn’t lose any energy watering crops. The mines are procedurally generated each time you enter, meaning each floor is different each time. You make your way through mining for ore to turn into bars which help craft items. You also have to be wary of monsters lurking in there too.

Reaching the bottom of the mines

One of the tasks you get in the game is to reach the bottom of the mines, it’s not that difficult, however, the further you go down the mines the more you have to be careful of losing all your health/energy and passing out. If you pass out, you lose items, money and “forget” previous levels in the mine which you have to revisit. I was usually good at making it down there without passing out, but towards the end, it happened a few times and it was so frustrating because I was so close to a checkpoint.
By checkpoint, I mean that every five levels in the mine was an elevator, and when you unlocked that elevator you could travel directly to that level in the mine the next time you went there. I didn’t know this was a thing for a while so every time I went into the mines I started at level one, which meant I hardly got past level 10 before I had to leave before I ran out of energy or health. It’s good to know little things like that.

Trying to catch that fish!

I also was really determined to get the hang of fishing in the game. It was difficult when I first started because it’s not something I had experienced before. Basically, when you go fishing you have to keep the fish within the green bar to catch it. Sounds easy, but not when the fish is moving and never staying in one place haha.
Usually, when I go fishing in Animal Crossing it’s super easy, you just gotta press a button when the bobber goes down. So, fishing in this game is a bit of a challenge. But I think it makes it fun. My advice is to use your mouse when catching fish and just slowly click and release it and you should be able to catch most fish with ease. I still have no chance of catching fish that jump crazily up and down the bar but, one day I’m sure I will get them. I hope haha.
After I played the game for the first time, I found myself looking up videos about it on YouTube to find out useful information about starting a new game. The game has been out for a year, and so there are lots of useful videos and resources out there to help. I still always play the game with the wikia page up in case I need to know something. It really helps, especially with villager locations and finding out what the best thing is to give someone on their birthday.
You can also download mods which can allow you to basically cheat or just little ones that can enhance gameplay and change appearance of things in-game. I am familiar with using mods and things like that because of playing Sims, I can’t play Sims without some nice custom content clothing. So when I found out there were mods to make things in Stardew Valley cuter, I was all over that. I only started using mods recently, as I thought I would play my first year in the game without any mods. So I could experience it without any help.

I used mods to change the appearance of my farm buildings, cows, horse and hairstyle

I now use mods mostly to change the appearance of things. But I also use a UI mod which gives you more information in the game, I mainly got it so I would know what area scarecrows and sprinklers cover. I didn’t realise scarecrows covered such a big area in the game, but I still overlap a few areas because I want to protect my crops.
There are lots of other mods out there that I don’t even know how to begin to get into. I don’t want to mod the game too much because I do think it can take away from playing it. Although I know a lot of people prefer it that way. At the start, I did consider downloading a fishing mod because there are loads out there that make fishing a lot easier, but I was determined to be able to catch the fish on my own. So I guess mods are really just a player’s preference.
It’s recommended that you back up your files before you mod so you can always switch them back. Modding in this game is different to modding in the Sims. With the Sims, you just need to have a mods folder, but game mods for Stardew Valley require you to replace game files. So be careful, and make sure you follow install instructions on your desired mod.
I think that wraps up everything that I wanted to share about Stardew Valley now. I knew I had a lot to say but I didn’t realise just how much until I started to write this blog post haha. I just wanted to share my thoughts in case it would help other people. Although, like I said, I have only completed my first year so I might not be the best person to get advice from, but this is just what I have experienced so far in the game.
I am excited to see what other things the game has in store for me as I continue to play. I also look forward to playing in the other farm layouts you can choose from when you start the game. I didn’t mention it earlier but when you start the game, you can choose a farm layout that focuses on building a particular skill. But because it was my first time playing the game, I decided to go with the default farm. Although the other farms look kind of cool too.
Anyway, I’m sure I have more things to say about Stardew Valley but I will leave it here for now.
If you guys are interested in more updates of how my Stardew Valley life is going you can follow me on Twitter or Tumblr. You can also add me on Steam, my username is fangirl1901.
~ Courtney x

30 Things I Did In June

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

This month was definitely a busy one. That’s why I thought that I would finally be able to post one of these and say I didn’t struggle to get 30 things but even when a lot of things go down in a month, I still seem to struggle. I got to about 20 and then I was stumped.
That being said I think this might be the end of these type of blog posts. Which is kind of sad because I wanted to keep doing them to see it through to the end of the year. But at the same time, I want to do a bit of redesign on the blog. Every so often I get these bursts of inspiration for things like writing and it makes me want to drop everything and start fresh.
But instead of deleting yet another blog, I have decided to just change this one. I have now had this blog for about 3 years and I think that’s a pretty big accomplishment so I want to keep it going, but change up the style. Hopefully this means that I will post more often but I have no idea. Let’s just see where it goes.
Anyway, for the last time, here are 30 things I did in June:

  1. Played a lot of Sims 4 with the new Parenthood game pack. It’s just so great. I haven’t been this excited about a game pack since Dine Out was released last year.
  2. Got annoyed at the bugs that came with the new Sims game pack. With every new addition of course things aren’t going to run perfectly but still, experiencing bugs aren’t great.
  3. Enjoyed seeing the return of Nashville. It was on a super long hiatus and I almost forgot about it. But it’s back and it’s fabulous.
  4. Got sucked into playing Stardew Valley after my brother bought it for me as a birthday present. I resisted for a while because I didn’t think it would be my thing, it is heavily based on Harvest Moon and the one Harvest Moon game I played, I didn’t like. But I have been really enjoying Stardew Valley.
  5. Played through my first year in Stardew Valley. Kind of sad that during winter we can’t actually plant any crops. Makes for a very long month.
  6. Attended my third hackathon. We threw together a team last minute and powered through from 4 p.m to 4 a.m. Definitely a challenge but I had a lot of fun. We didn’t win but we did come close, another team just had a better idea.
  7. Went to England to visit my friend Jasmine at university. I flew on a plane by myself for the first time and I survived so I think that’s pretty great. It was also great to see Jasmine again.
  8. Had Stardew Valley withdrawals when in England. I missed the farm life.
  9. When in England, at the amusements the ticket prize people were super nice and one of them gave us a free wonder woman bobble head haha. It was worth 2000 tickets but we got it for free.
  10. Died in the heat in England. So much warmer than I’m used to and trying to sleep was next to impossible. How people wear jeans in that weather I will never know.
  11. Crashed a 7 year old’s birthday party with Jasmine. She was invited by her boyfriend’s family but we literally knew no one else there haha. Still had fun though.
  12. Played Overcooked with Jasmine and her boyfriend’s family. I really liked the game and decided to buy it when I came home from England. It’s definitely not as fun to play by yourself but it is twice the challenge haha. Definitely something to play with friends and family.
  13. Celebrated my 20th birthday. I made last minute plans when coming back from England so basically no one was available because they are all working. Such is the struggle when all your friends are growing up but I still had a good time.
  14. Went to the ballet for the first time with one of my best friends. She had to review it for a magazine and got a plus one and who was I to turn down such an offer? It was interesting and I enjoyed it as my first ballet.
  15. Went to Dublin with my boyfriend for the weekend as a birthday surprise. He’s so cute. I love him.
  16. Celebrated pride in Dublin. It was my first time ever going to a pride parade and I loved every second of it.
  17. Got rejected entry from a bar in Dublin as you had to be 21. It was kind of a bummer because it wasn’t something I was expecting but we found somewhere else to go.
  18. I was sad that another year went by that I was not able to attend Vidcon LA. I will one day though.
  19. Freaked at the PLL finale. 7 years of my life and it’s over. It’s just kind of hard to believe. I mean the finale lacked in some areas for sure but I am content enough with the finale to let the show go. Hopefully the show I find to replace it is just as good.
  20. Made a lot of Pretty Little Liars videos coming up to the end of the show. I had to get my thoughts out there into the world and with so little episodes left there was so much to say.
  21. Loved the crowning of America’s Next Drag Super Star on RuPaul’s Drag Race. This season they did the finale differently and I wasn’t sure how to feel about it but when I saw Sasha lip sync I knew she was the clear winner.
  22. Binge-watched Orange is the New Black in 2 days. Guys, this season was kind of crazy and I found it hard to believe everything that happened in the riot only lasted a few days. Also hate how they ended on a cliffhanger. I just need to know what happens now.
  23. They finally announced the release of Dr. Kawashima’s Devilish Brain Training: Can You Stay Focused? In Europe. I have been waiting for this game basically since I found out there was one. I have the other two Brain Training games so naturally I was excited for this one. So I got to preordering and I can’t wait to get it.
  24. Started an Instagram for Sims 4 gameplay. I’m not really sure why but I had all these pretty screenshots from a Sims wedding and thought, yes Sims needs Instagram haha. I don’t post anything different than what I post on my Sims Tumblr but I thought why not? Just something a little extra to do.
  25. Turned my Snapchat map off. There’s something not right about knowing the exact location of someone all the time. Although I did see a meme about it trying to be the next Gossip Girl spotted map and I totally agree.
  26. Showed my family my Echo at my birthday and now they all want one. I honestly didn’t think they would be that interested but apparently I was wrong.
  27. Unsuccesfully tried to make plans with people now that I was off for Summer break. Everyone is working and then there’s just me… 
  28. Celebrated my 4th year being mayor of my Animal Crossing: New Leaf town. Can’t believe the game is 4 years old now. I can remember how exciting it was to get a new Animal Crossing game. I’m patiently waiting for them to announce the game for the Switch. At least I hope they will make one.
  29. Slept a lot. Basically just enjoyed not having to stress over uni work for once haha.
  30. Became obsessed with the song One Last Time by Ariana Grande after the One Love Manchester concert. I never properly listened to the song until then and I really love it.
Overall I had a really great month. I kept myself busy and got to rest after another crazy year at university.
Now that this is my last list, I can’t promise monthly updates on the blog. But I will try to post more often. I also want to stop posting so much about TV Shows. I didn’t mean to get so into posting about TV Shows here but that became a really big thing for a while. So did YouTuber book reviews which I liked because it meant I was reading. These days, not so much. So I need to get back onto that.
So yeah, here’s to looking forward to a (hopefully) new redesigned blog!
~ Courtney x

20 Things I Did In May

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment
Another month where I tried to get 31 things and failed. It was hard this month because most of my time was spent stressing over deadlines. But it’s fine. I’m not mad. I still accomplished a lot. At least I think so. Whether all things were productive or not is another story. Anyway, as always, please enjoy 20 things I did in May:
  1. Went out with a friend for drinks for the first time in ages. Sometimes it’s just nice to get together and gossip.
  2. Got sick. I feel like I get sick a lot, I think it has to do with stress weakening my immune system…
  3. Pulled an almost all nighter finishing off a project before the deadline. Sometimes you just need to do that last minute refactoring.
  4. Had some issues with my tablet. It kept restarting itself so I left it for a week and it reset to factory settings. Not sure what that’s about.
  5. Finally set up my Amazon Echo and kind of fell in love with the speaker. The Amazon Dot is great for most Alexa functions but if you want a music player the Echo is where it’s at.
  6. Made several videos talking about PLL because with the final 10 episodes, of course, I have a lot to say.
  7. Spent so much time revising for exams. Tis that time of year.
  8. Stressed a lot about the exams. They all went well but that didn’t stop me from freaking out jus ta bit.
  9. I didn’t cope well with the random heat wave we had when I was trying to study for my exams. As a computing student I need to see my laptop screen so sitting outside wasn’t an option, so I just tried not to melt in my flat…
  10. Played Sims for the first time in a month and it felt great. I kind of abandoned it for Another Brick In The Mall…
  11. Started to get back into writing again. I go through phases where all I do is write and then I don’t do it for months. Uni usually keeps me busy and I usually forget about it. But when I’m in the zone I love it. I used to write all the time when I was younger, fictional work and blog posts. It was great.
  12. Watched a season of Project Runway: Junior and a season of Project Runway: All Stars. While I like the spin-offs no one can replace Hiedi Klum and Tim Gunn as hosts for the show.
  13. Was surprised when one of the best queens from season 9 was sent home from RuPaul’s Drag Race after a terrible lip sync. If you don’t know the words you’re going home, we all know the rules.
  14. I bought a capture card to try my hand at recording console games. Specifically Sims for the PS2. I have never completed a single Sims game for PS2 but I have about 5 of them so I want to do it. It’ll make me feel accomplished. So watch out for my Sims channel this summer.
  15. Got excited for a new Sims 4 game pack being released this month – Sims have just been doing some great things lately and I’m excited for more.
  16. Started playing Magikarp Jump and fell in love. It’s a really simple game but I love how it’s designed. Just so cute. If I could have made that my game for uni I think I would have had so much fun.
  17. Went out for drinks with some people on my course. I was hesitant at first just because I am not the best at socialising with new people but it actually turned into a really good night. I definitely think since coming to uni I have become more confident.
  18. Left it too late to make plans to go see Latrice Royale whenever she was in town. I always want to see the queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race when I’m in town but it usually never works out. The only queen I have been able to see and meet is Bianca Del Rio. Which I have to say was one of the best experiences of my life. So I hope to meet plenty more drag queens in the future. It’s a magical experience.
  19. Tried to go to a cool bar twice but the first time I went, it was dead and the second time it was packed and so I didn’t end up staying long both times. It was kind of disappointing because the place sounds so great. Too bad I haven’t really been able to experience the awesomeness.
  20. Started posting on my Sims YouTube channel again after finishing exams. I am motivated to get back into making videos, I always do when I have a lot more free time.
There you have it. My month in a nutshell. It’s so weird to see it written out like this because honestly half the time I don’t remember what I do in a month so looking back at this is kind of interesting. I try to write the post as the month passes so I don’t forget things.
But now that another uni year has finished I am back to having a lot more free time. Well, only for a little while because I start my work placement in a couple of months. It’ll be interesting though as someone who has never worked before, I think jumping into work like this is definitely going to be a change. But I’m up for the challenge and I am sure that I will adapt to it over time.
In the mean time I’m just going to enjoy the freedom I have left haha.
As always, feel free to come back to see what I get up to next month!
~ Courtney x