Random Rambling #1

   The "#1" in the title really says a lot about my expectations, right? No, but really, I should name it Repeated Random Rambling, because I do expect this to be a regular thing. Ooh, Regular Repeated Random Rambling! I love alliteration! 
   What's the point in my rambles? Well, hopefully they'll help create a good habit of regular writing as well as provide ample opportunity for the odd gem-like idea to manifest. Gotta mine a lot of dirt and stone to get to the diamonds! Or emeralds, or gold, you know, whatever. So let's sift through a bit of dirt, shall we?

A Bit About Tea
   I like tea. The end!

   Seriously, though, I do like tea. I have a friend that tells me most of the teas I like are actually infusions and not true tea. ::eye roll:: But when I think about what makes a tea, it seems silly to exclude it to solely one plant. I mean... it is basically boiled plant water. Good luck getting the term "infusions" to catch on when peddling chamomile, red raspberry leaf or lavender varieties. Makes them sound all pretentious that way. Nah, let's just call it tea and leave the infusions to holistics and medicines. 

   I do like tea, though, in the strict or broad sense. As I'm writing this, I'm slowly sipping away at a green and jasmine concoction. Invigorating! But the caffeine and other energizing properties can be a bit overwhelming sometimes (particularly if I'm emotionally overwhelmed), so sometimes I have to settle for plain decaf green. Not ideal, but it's good as an everyday, anytime kind of deal. For relaxing, though, there's nothing better than chamomile lavender. With enough honey, it tastes like liquid candy! 

   There's so many tea/infusions out there, and I doubt I've tried even a fraction of them. It doesn't help that I don't drink nearly enough tea, and have months on end when I seem to completely forget tea even exists. But that's kinda how I operate with most everything, so... ::shrug::

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Let's Talk Writing
   I also enjoy writing. In the past, writing was my best method for communicating with others. I've had quite a lot of difficulty managing my thoughts and emotions while speaking to others throughout my youth. Even when I wasn't emotional, talking demanded concept recall more quickly than I seemed capable at times.

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   Writing became my way of freely expressing my thoughts without consequences. It shaped me into a person that instinctively introspects, analyzing my words from all angles: paper, voice, even thought! As exhausting as that might sound to others, I find it mostly enjoyable. It's interesting to pick apart my own phrases and ideas to find better ways of saying the same exact thing- and it's extremely useful because not everyone thinks the same way. So having several ways to explain something can really make a difference in being understood.

   Awhile back, I shifted the focus from being concise with the written word to being effective with the spoken word. As expected, it has had a tremendous benefit on my relationships... but not such a great impact on my writing. I hope to eventually combine the improved knowledge of speech with the fragments of writing skill left to round things out a bit! I really do miss the feeling of flow pouring through my hand into a pen or pencil, or through fingertips on a keyboard. 

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A Note On Resources
   From time to time, I'll have pictures (like the one above) or videos and all that goodness. Often the pictures are originals from yours truly, but I do also pull from free stock image sites. My favorite is Pixabay, which seems to have higher quality images than Pexels or Unsplash. But any given stock image could be from any of those sources. When I've added a picture as-is to my blog, it'll have a link back to the original. I usually like to include some way of crediting the source with the least amount of intrusion possible, so just clicking on an image seems the best way to go about that. 

   When I worked on Izanamikun videos, I'd also use sounds mostly from Freesound. I've used the YouTube audio library and other places, but Freesound has mostly come through for all my sound or music needs. Attribution is usually included in some way, whether required or not. I like to give people recognition when I can.

   Sometimes, though I forget. Or there's multiple sources I've edited into a new thing. Those, I drop the ball on attribution. For that, I truly apologize. Sometimes I put in so much effort I forget to recognize those free resources. I try to minimize this, but it does happen. 

   For those that I've noticed repeated in the resources previously used, I'd like to give a general shout-out for their work. If I ever forgot them in an instance, maybe this will help give them the credit they badly deserved:

geralt
BilliTheCat
TheDigitalArtist

   ~This will probably be a running attribution thing, so if I've forgotten anyone still, it'll get added to subsequent shout-out lists.

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   And that's all for today! Hope you found some joy in the rambling. Love you all, and see you tomorrow!