Kellyable

  Being home more often, because of the new restrictions and curfews, has me thinking about a lot of things. Sometimes I see people treating others in awful ways and they call each other “friends”. When confronted about it, they just say that “it’s complicated” or that it is a “difficult friendship” ... I don’t get it! Friendships or relationships in general are not supposed to be complicated. They are supposed to make you feel safe, loved and respected at all times. You don’t need to see each other every day, you don’t need to talk all the time, but whenever you do, it should feel like no time has passed since the last time. Good friends are there for the good and the bad, they tell you like it is, while also giving you confidence. They are there for you and you feel like telling them everything, without fear of judgement. Trust me when I tell you, everyone else, all of those “friends” that give you less than this, don’t deserve to be called friends, and you should let them go. No...

“...It’s hard writing something like this again, but it seems that the world is going backwards. When the threat of this virus was taken a bit more seriously, we all went into lockdown. When summertime came, everything seemed better, promising. However, that hope was short lived. I don’t know if the government is to blame, if society as a whole is to blame, or if it is everyone’s fault, but more and more cases appeared here and the daily death rate has been on an all-time high. The government doesn’t want to shut everything down again. They say our economy can’t take it. Instead they impose measures that make no sense and that hurt small businesses... I don’t get it. The way things are going, I can imagine being home again, doing almost nothing, missing everyone I care about. I’m scared for my parents, I’m scared of losing the job I got in the summer and that I love, I’m scared of being away from my loved ones again. I’m just scared, and sad and angry...”     This ...

Yesterday, it was the last day of the Emergency State here in Portugal. Starting today, small businesses are starting to open, of course they have to operate according to security norms but still, this is the first step towards going back to normal. Whatever normal is now. Personally, I’m afraid. I’m afraid that people will want more and more, and that they’ll take this decision as a sign of “Oh, we can do whatever we want again.”, which is not true. And if this mentality remains, numbers will start going up again and the government will impose the Emergency State again. So, since no one wants to go backwards I can only hope that everyone remains focused on the greater good. The more we protect ourselves and each other, the more we follow the norms while they’re needed, the faster we’ll get over this. On another note, lately I’ve been feeling really anxious (the kind of anxious that takes all inspiration and motivation away). I’ve been struggling to sleep, my mind is at maximu...

I got my much-needed break and now I am back with a clear mind, a headset and many ideas! I can not stress enough how important it was for me to take a bit of a break from technology. If you’ve never tried it before, be sure to try it whenever you can. I’m renewed. Anyways, lately I’ve been getting the opportunity to meet and chat with many different people online and a question that I usually get is: “Why aren’t you working in something on your field?”. For me, that question is not hard to answer, now. But if my life had been different these last past months, I can imagine that this could be an anxiety inducing question. I’ll explain. I have a degree in Biology and a master’s in Forensic Genetics and, as you know, I love learning more and more and I’m also completing my “Introduction to Cancer Biology” course . So, it is normal that people get interested in all of those things and want to know what I do. But, so far, I haven’t had luck in finding a job in my field. ...

Today has been one of those days where I don’t want to do anything. Woke up with little energy and not even breakfast brought it back. I forced myself to take the classes I had planed for today right after breakfast but the idea of doing anything else after it was killing me. But not posting today was killing me more, so I managed to combine both and decided I was going to write about having a non-productive/lazy day. I guess that’s the reality of quarantine, right? We don’t always have the same mood or will to do stuff, or ideas even. I don’t know whether to nap, watch something or just stay still. And that’s okay. We have to recharge sometimes. At least I know I do. Back when I learned how to edit videos, my brain was “overheating”, I could feel it just bursting with too much information, and the day after that I only turned on my pc at 9 PM. I had to take a break. A break to do nothing or close to nothing. I don’t feel like I’m at that point now, I just feel a bit lazy. ...

It has been raining all day, non-stop. For me, that’s “series” weather ! I have accumulated a ridiculous amount of series over the years. Some are over and I watched all the way through, some are still going but I stopped watching a while back. I know sooner or later I’m going to complete all the episodes I’m missing; I have faith... At the moment, I’m only really into competition-style series, so I’m watching MTV’s The Challenge (LOVE IT); Rupaul’s Drag Race ; I was watching Ink Master but the finale got cut because of the Corona virus; and I also enjoy watching Total Bellas (and I’m still a WWE fan). You’re probably wondering how I keep track of all of this madness. And the answer is: DuckieTV . DuckieTV is a google extension in which you choose your favorite series. If they’re currently going on, a calendar will appear with all your current series’ episodes. If not, you just need to click on the series you like, select the season and find the episodes’ info. Che...

Usually, this time of year, is where a lot of people decide to clean the house, change things around and create a new, fresh environment. Right now, more than ever before, I feel like investing our time in such a task is essential in order to not only keep us busy, but also to renew the air and energy in our homes. Today, my target was my room, I got up early in the morning, had a good breakfast and got ready to face the clutter in my room. I started with the bed, gave it cooler clean sheets, then I went to tackle the closet. Stored away winter clothing and hung up everything I have for a nicer weather. I organized my books, my notebooks, and with all that, I was organizing my ideas as well. In the end I dusted, cleaned the floor and furniture and finished it with a delicious smelling candle, for that comforting feel. I’m really into energies and renewing them from time to time. I consider myself a part-time witch , but I’ll leave that for another time. But I’m re...

What changed in a month? Staying home without a job is stressing but we’re managing for now, at the same time it has allowed me to broaden my horizons as a creator. It gave me the time and space to focus on trying new things, establish new goals and discover new things about myself and my abilities. It started with returning to writing, then taking pictures to go with the posts, then I wanted the pictures to look nicer so I started editing them, but then I figured some pictures needed movement so I took better pictures and made GIFs. Then I decided I was going to share another big part of my life: games. So, I wrote about them, then I recorded them and then I started to learn how to edit the footage to make funny videos. I did that. At the same time, I’m taking a course. What’s next? A lot of things. Why? Because I love lots of different things. I have enough interests to fit at least 5 different people. I like gaming, reading, writing, music (not sure how I’ll ge...

You guys, today was a challenge! I previously mentioned I might get into streaming/recording soon, and I did just that. I decided I wanted to record and edit my gameplay. But before that could happen there were so, so many obstacles... I’m going to take you through the journey and then you’ll get to see a teaser of the final product. First things, first: I had to choose a game . My laptop is quite decent, but it’s also not new. It can run some heavy games in low settings but then to add recording to the mix would even make things harder. I chose Darkest Dungeon . I love the aesthetic of the game, I love the mechanics and all the intricate things but the only knowledge I had of the game came from the few streams I saw, so even the game was fairly new to me. Then I had to get the game to record . I had OBS installed from when I delved into streaming a few years ago, but OBS wouldn’t properly record de game, no matter what I tried. So, I decided to get another program. I ...

As the days pass, all I can think about is the amount of dates I want to go in, with my boyfriend, whenever this pandemic is over. I miss him so much that I started searching for interesting and different date ideas! After mixing some ideas up, I ended up with these: I made a ton of date ideas and separated them according to price range . Green is for free or inexpensive ones; Yellow is for medium priced ideas; and Red is for the more expensive ideas. I’ll leave you some of the ideas I’ve gathered: The best part about this little “game” is that while searching for ideas, you can select only the ones you see yourself doing with your partner, they’re all completely optional! In my case, me and my boyfriend are normally up to everything, but we are very indecisive, which causes problems sometimes, so I figured this would be an interesting and exciting way to bypass that! Can you tell that I’m excited?! Let me know what your dream date is! ...

I was so, so tired of looking at my desktop ! It was a mess! It was completely disorganized because I hadn’t touched it since I started writing my Master’s degree thesis (so, almost a year ago). I think I spent a good half-hour organizing everything, and now it’s much more satisfactory to look at. Check this out: Before After While tidying up everything, I noticed a screenshot that I took from an old tweet of mine and I couldn’t stop myself from giggling like mad! Storytime This was an interaction I had a few years ago, in 2014. I was 17, almost 18, and getting started on Twitter. On this particular date, it was night-time and I was probably in my room doing something like watching videos or playing games, as per usual 17-year-old me, and I saw the biggest, ugliest moth just flying around in my room... I have a HUGE insect and spider phobia , but the ones who fly and/or move really fast are the worst! I literally feel like dying when I see one. Anyway...

In times like these, it is easy to become a victim of social media. All you see is friends and influencers posting about all the productive things they seem to do all day, every day. Don’t get me wrong, being productive is important, no matter the circumstance, but it’s okay to just relax sometimes. It’s not a productivity contest In my non-productive moments I love playing video-games . My Steam and Origin accounts are not the most amazing, but I pride myself in owning a good variety of games to choose from. At the moment, I am taking a good stroll down memory lane and I’m playing The Sims 3 . In my opinion, looking past all the lags and bugs, this is the best Sims game. Well, to be honest, I’ve never played the Sims 1 and I’ve only played the Sims 2 for a short while in my childhood. So... yes, I’m biased. The Sims 3 is my childhood/ teenagerhood game. A screenshot of my own gameplay. I’m also really into questing-based games and another game I’m playing at the m...

I was going to say that today was pretty uneventful, but then I thought about and it actually wasn’t. I’ll start from the beginning. Sephora Collection Green Clay Mask – Take 2 I decided I was going to try the Sephora Collection’s Green Clay mask again, but I wanted to spread it out more, from the nose to the cheeks, because I have a ton of visible pores in there as well. It works ! I can’t tell you why or how but my pores were shut, my skin was smooth and I just stared at the mirror for ages! When this quarantine ends and it is really safe to go out there again, I’m planning a field trip to the nearest Sephora ! Easter Celebrations Today it was just me, my parents and my cats, but usually this humble home is full on this day. I’m not religious, so I usually stay out of the religious parts of the celebrations, but my parents and sister like to have the house blessed by the priest every year, which obviously didn’t happen. To me, dates like these are a good reminder...

Easter is tomorrow and, even though this might be the most different Easter of our lives, we still wanted to keep the traditions that we could. That means today was BAKING DAY ! We usually have to do a lot more than what we did today (because the family gets together and all) but since it’s just me and my parents we decided to do the three sweets we’re most used to: sponge cake , chocolate roll and French pudding . It always fun setting up everything to start baking with my mom: getting all the ingredients, the utensils, prepping up the oven... I always help with mixing, either by hand or with the help of a mixer. Usually mom mixes by hand (she’s a really strong lady) but age starts getting to everyone so I’m always around to lend a helping hand! I love the bond that comes with these little moments in life, of sharing, laughing and loving. It’s incredible how food can bring people together, but it does! Here are the final products: ...

Today marks the beginning of the third week since the implementation of the Emergency State in my country. So far, not much has changed in terms of security measures, besides a bigger control in car travels. Specially now, that Easter is coming, people are used travelling to visit their families, but since yesterday, leaving the state where you live is forbidden, unless you are going to work or have an emergency. This rule will be enforced until Monday. On a lighter and even funnier note, in the beginning of all the chaos, people were running to the supermarkets to stock on alcohol and toilet paper, right? Can you guess what’s the most purchased thing at the moment? Flour. Yes, by the end of all this there will be an extraordinary number of self-taught bakers! Anyways, today I started my online course and I can’t tell you how happy I am! I love learning and I haven’t experienced lessons in over a year (the last year of my Master’s degree was only lab work). I missed ...

Today was a thought provoking, decision making day. I decided I was going to enroll in an online course at Coursera (an online platform I mentioned before ). I chose the course “ Introduction to the Biology of Cancer ” because I felt it would be an interesting addition to my curriculum. Even though I studied Biology and Genetics, I never focused on anything related to cancer. Many studies are conducted in relation with these diseases, so I figured it would only be an advantage to enroll. It is a course offered by Johns HopkinsUniversity and I am really excited to start! I’ve also been craving some sweets lately, so I figured gelatin was an okay way to try and distract me from them. I had many flavors of gelatin to try out but I found one that was completely new for me: currant gelatin . It was so delicious! I’m used to using currant syrup mixed with water for a quick refreshment but I never tried it as a gelatin flavor. I love it! Speaking of gelatin, have you che...