Rosalia Rambles

Author: rosaliarambles

  • Redundancy Review: Day 11, “Hot two? Damn”

    (for context on what this series is, please see my Day 1 post here: https://rosaliarambles.wordpress.com/2025/06/11/redundancy-review-day-1-a-new-beginning/) 

    Good morning risers and shiners, welcome to Day 11 of Rosalia Rambles Redundancy Review.

    It is currently a wondrous 23 degrees Celsius outside at 9:15am (73 degrees in Freedom units) with the humidity at 59%. Combine this with the clay oven construction of the flat I live in and we get a formula for it once again being too damn hot. Thankfully the temperature is supposed to go back down to reasonable levels with 20 degrees being the peak instead of the lower part of the curve.

    Outside of the supply run I did with my partner yesterday, my productivity was minimised despite my best efforts to try to keep doing tasks – after a while of just moving small distances across the living room I turned into a sweaty mess that needed to sit down.

    Hopefully once things cool down and the flat returns to a reasonable temperature I can keep on my domestic quest to finish all the outstanding housework and tidying.

    Caught up with a friend and colleague of mine yesterday who mentioned that Poncle had closed applications for the QA engineer role, so hopefully I get to hear back soon enough (also cause I sent him the link to this site, if you are reading, hi!).

    Due to meet with the Jobcentre on Monday as well, hopefully I can get things sorted out with them and start receiving some extra money to help out with things.

    If you would like to help me out with my money situation, then I am available to be hired for writing work. Reviewing video games, card games, and board games are options alongside commissioning me for fiction – I love expanding my horizons and I would love working with you on your next project.

    So as part of my housework list yesterday, I resumed sorting my Magic: the Gathering cards. For those unaware, I own… a lot of cards…

    …possibly even too many one might say… this is not even a full representation of the entire collection, considering the amount of binders and commander decks I own.

    Though with consideration to today’s review subject, pictured above, keeping the collection organised has become easier.

    Those cardboard boxes are called BulkBox QUADs, being able to hold 3600 cards across four channels. They do require some assembly before use, and I will admit to minorly fucking up the construction on one of them but that is not a fault of the video tutorial I followed – created by Bulkbox themselves.

    Before purchasing this product, my cards were stored in a Fenrir Games 5000 count longbox that I had owned since around 2019. It definitely served its purpose for the time I had it but in my current living situation, it was difficult to use it without struggling to find a home for it.

    That is where one of the features of the BulkBox really appealed to me – a set of three QUADs fit perfectly into one IKEA Kallax cube. Having a massive amount of Kallax cube space already in my flat made it the ideal upgrade for my card storage solution.

    Picture taken from BulkBox’s website

    Even with the amount of cards currently spread across all three of the boxes I bought, I do not feel them bowing or bending whenever I pick them up – something I often encountered when needing to move my old 5000 count longbox. Even considering the somewhat botched job I did on construction, the Bulkbox holds up fantastically to the amount of cards I am putting into it.

    That said, I would consider Bulkbox to be premium-priced storage solutions. For a bundle pack of three QUADS (with free UK shipping) cost me £35. I do consider it worth it for serious collectors of cards and Kallax enthusiasts (that Venn diagram is a circle), especially if you want to minimise the footprint your collection has.

    Taking into account the rest of the collection I need to sort, it is likely I will need to buy from BulkBox again, and I know I can be assured of their quality.

    I think that covers everything for today, I am going to go focus on staying cool with soft drinks, frappes, and ice cream. Thank you for reading today, please stay cool and treat yourself to anything that cools you down.

    For more information on BulkBox products, visit their website here: BulkBox the best trading card game storage boxes

  • Redundancy Review: Day 10, “Running Up That Hill”

    (for context on what this series is, please see my Day 1 post here: https://rosaliarambles.wordpress.com/2025/06/11/redundancy-review-day-1-a-new-beginning/) 

    Good morning climbers and divers, welcome to Day 10 of Rosalia Rambles Redundancy Review.

    Might be a shorter one today as I have just come back from shopping at Asda to get supplies before a massive heatwave today and tomorrow. Plenty of drinks, snacks, and ice cream to get through a rough time – did involve walking up a very steep hill in quite humid weather all the same.

    Despite the heat though, I have been managing to keep busy domestically. It was a tough struggle but yesterday I managed to finally give the master bedroom a deep clean, picking up the floordrobe that had developed and giving the carpet a well deserved vacuuming. Being able to see the floor again and not have to walk around on eggshells is such a relieving feeling.

    I reconnected with an old friend yesterday as well. In the past we had helped each other get the multiplayer achievements on Borderlands 2 and he messaged me a few days back asking if I wanted help getting the ones on the original game as well (not the “Enhanced Edition” – quotation marks used quite literally there). He is in a similar situation to myself in terms of jobs so it was nice to shoot the shit for a bit about life.

    The job search continues, albeit very slowly right now. Got an official rejection from Jagex for the producer role I had applied for, which whilst it sucks to be rejected, I do appreciate them sending a proper rejection email. It says something that actually receiving one is a rare courtesy these days.

    Still waiting to hear back from Poncle, which is definitely the main cause of my waiting room syndrome right now. I think getting an answer one way or another from them would help me move on to applying at a great speed. 

    If you want to help me out in the interim, I am available for writing work as always. Doing these redundancy reviews have really helped me out in staying in the routine and always thinking how to improve my own work, being able to tell my story no matter what also helps. I have always liked to think of myself as a storyteller above all else and maintaining a public journal of sorts helps me feel like I am making myself a better one.

    So, initially I was going to cop out today and review one of my favourite Magic: the Gathering cards for today, but me emphasising the quotation marks on the Borderlands “Enhanced Edition” makes me want to cover that, especially with playing the original yesterday.

    Borderlands is a first-person looter shooter initially released in 2009, with the Enhanced Edition coming out in…

    …well that does not link up. Wikipedia is telling me the Enhanced Edition released in 2019 whilst the Steam Store page is saying 2023… 

    Oh well, moving on.

    For my thoughts on Borderlands across both versions, I can summarise it simply as “very successful tech demo”. Borderlands was the first game to bring the looter shooter genre into the public spotlight, previous attempts had been made but this game made it mainstream. That said, outside of the loot system I do not think the original has much going for it in today’s market.

    Especially when compared against the vastly superior Borderlands 2 released in 2012, which I personally think is where the franchise peaked and has been struggling to live up to it ever since, but that is a different story.

    The driving mechanics are passable, but feels more like a way to get from point A to point B quicker than anything else – especially prevalent in the third DLC which puts a heavy emphasis on needing to drive everywhere. 

    Whilst there are some funny moments with characters in the base game a lot of the humour is told in flavour text rather than character dialogue. This is rectified in the DLC, where the comedy and writing style of the sequel starts to take shape with each passing addition.

    In terms of thoughts on the Enhanced Edition… I do not want to be kind to it. The graphical improvements and expansion of graphical options is a very needed addition, as the original game does not have VSync or a Field-Of-View slider – noticeable omissions especially when playing that version at 4K

    But outside of that I have encountered a lot of issues in my playtime, including numerous crashes and issues with the minimap being retroactively added into the game. Its inclusion does help with navigating the world better compared to the pure compass system of the original, but in multiplayer I have seen several issues with waypoints not working for me as the joining player.

    Borderlands 1 Title Screen
    Borderlands 1 in Fyrestone
    Borderlands Enhanced Title Screen
    Borderlands Enhanced Outside Fyrestone

    When looking at texture quality as well, I think the visuals of the original look better. Both games have the cel-shaded look but the original has sharper lines, a more defined style, one that especially shines considering the era of brown modern military shooters it came out in. The lighting in the enhanced edition is better on a technical standpoint, but I feel it loses some of the edge the original had.

    I will end on a positive note, and highlight one thing that always brings a smile to my face whenever I have revisited the original: Mordecai.

    Mordecai is the “Hunter” class of the game, with skill trees focusing on his pet Bloodwing, the usage of pistols, and my preferred tree of choice: Sniping. Whilst the trees are much smaller compared to later entries; Mordecai’s sniping tree is beautifully simple in its execution, boosting damage, ammo capacity, and ending off on a capstone of bypassing shields once fully levelled up.

    Trespass is a hilariously broken skill in this game, especially considering the endgame Eridian Guardian enemies are all shields and no health. What is supposed to be a tough enemy to break through their defenses while they bombard you with attacks becomes trivial fodder that dies to a single headshot, only rarely needing a follow up shot to finish the job.

    Playing as Mordy was so fun that my initial playthrough of Borderlands 2 was done using Zer0 and trying to do a similar thing, but he could just not reach the expectations I had – though this was not a bad thing, as I then switched to Salvador who is stupid amounts of fun to play as.

    But rambling about the sequel needs to be another day, especially as I uh…

    …liked that game a lot more.

    That does it for today, what I initially thought was going to be a shorter review turned into an over three page rant. Thank you for reading if you made it this far, please stay cool wherever you are and remember to hydrate regularly throughout the day.

    To purchase both Borderlands and Borderlands Enhanced, visit the Steam Store here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/729040/Borderlands_Game_of_the_Year_Enhanced/ 

  • Redundacy Review: Day 9, “Keep On Keeping On”

    (for context on what this series is, please see my Day 1 post here: https://rosaliarambles.wordpress.com/2025/06/11/redundancy-review-day-1-a-new-beginning/)

    Good morning roadrunners and coyotes, welcome to Day 9 of Rosalia Rambles Redundancy Review.

    Yesterday was definitely a day of me not feeling myself, but after a relatively early night and a long lie-in this morning it is a different story today. Having a brief hangout with some good friends at a coffee shop also helped my mood a lot – social connection is helping me a lot through this time.

    We had a somewhat in-depth conversation about the nature of career growth, and how it has really shifted over recent years. There is obviously the ever-looming issue of Generative AI in today’s world, especially when it comes to the creative arts, but in general I feel there is another “indie renaissance” taking shape right now in all sorts of industries.

    With big budget gaming going on the way it is and new IP in film struggling to make an impact, there is a lot of space forming for smaller scale teams in collaboration with contractors to make creations that create more impact with audiences.

    In a way, that is part of what inspired me to restart my writing work… even before getting hit with the axe. There is a disclaimer on my Home page that no Generative AI content will be hosted on this site, with the two main reasons being:

    1. I have integrity when it comes to my writing as my art
    2. I firmly believe human creativity and collaboration wins out every time

    Having tested ChatGPT once or twice, primarily as research into its capabilities, my main impression was being surprised at how well it can string a coherent story together from a prompt… but that was where it ended.

    What it pumped out felt soulless to me. It knew the beats of a story and how to put it together, but there was no love behind those words – no passion for the subject other than regurgitating what it could scrape off the internet.

    Emotion is what drives my writing, my lived experiences and mental misalignments come through in my work no matter what the subject is. It is the core of my writing identity and what I feel differentiates me from a GenAI tool. I try to convey the feeling behind my words each time, be it pain, joy, or absolute fury.

    Nonetheless, it is a scary time for creatives, especially in writing. But I will keep doing what I do, writing from the heart every day about the things going on around me and talking about things that bring me joy.

    Keep on keeping on, as it were.

    (I have been playing way too much Death Stranding lately)

    If my impassioned speech against the use of GenAI writing resonated with you, why not consider hiring me for a writing project? That barely restrained fury is not the only emotion I could bring into your work, and I would love to collaborate with other people on projects too.

    With a nearly full page rant against the current state of creative writing done, I think it is time to move onto the review. 

    Disclaimer: despite me wanting to pay for my friends at this cafe, the product I am reviewing today was received for free. Price will be considered in the review all the same.

    When meeting up with my friends yesterday, we started in Shrewsbury Square and were intending to see where the vibes took us. In a Discord conversation one of them had mentioned a venue known as “Daily Brews” as one they liked, and with it both in close proximity & being entirely new to me, it felt like the perfect choice.

    Given how extremely hot and humid it is in the UK, a cold beverage was on the agenda. They did have iced latte and whilst I was craving a caffeine hit but it did not speak to me.

    Cue my delight then when I decided to look over the milkshake page of the menu and saw that any milkshake can have a shot of coffee added to it for £2 – adding that to a chocolate milkshake gave me my usual mocha.

    First off, the glass it arrived in was extremely fancy, being almost like a full goblet. Whenever I picked it up I felt my hand automatically adjusting to hold it in an appropriate way and it made me feel powerful when I did… even if I was drinking a caffeinated milkshake at the end of the day.

    The glasses were not all the same though, so it was sheer luck that I got this one. Regardless, bonus points for the glass.

    The milkshake itself went down perfectly, being extremely chocolatey and refreshing in the heat. The thickness was ideal as well, not getting clumped into the straw at any point, keeping it smooth to drink without any awkwardness.

    Whilst my body definitely responded to the coffee shot I had put into it, it was not exactly the taste of coffee. When it comes to adding coffee to chocolate-based items there is an art in adding enough not to introduce the flavour of coffee, but to enhance the richness of the chocolate instead. This was the case here, which I do not consider a negative point against the milkshake, just a reflection of my taste.

    As for the cost, this was definitely more on the pricey end, even when considering luxury milkshakes in Shrewsbury, though it is with the coffee in mind.

    A base milkshake is £4.90, which I think is a reasonable price for what you get, especially if you get a fancy glass as part of the deal. That said, I think £2 is a bit much for a shot of coffee, especially when in my milkshake I could not taste the coffee all that much. 

    I do intend to return to Daily Brews though, and try more things out soon.

    That covers everything, thank you for reading the Redundancy Review today. I hope you keep cool wherever you are and have a relaxing day where you can.

    For more information on Daily Brews, visit this website: Daily Brews | Original Shrewsbury

    (for some reason Google says it is permanently closed… really hope it did not shut forever one day after I visited xD)

  • Redundancy Review: Day 8, “Too Damn Hot”

    (for context on what this series is, please see my Day 1 post here: https://rosaliarambles.wordpress.com/2025/06/11/redundancy-review-day-1-a-new-beginning/)

    Good morning lizards and wizards, welcome to Day 8 of Rosalia Rambles Redundancy Review.

    Summer is here in full force in the UK, and especially the humidity here is not doing me any favours. Makes it hard to focus during the day amidst everything else going on.

    Not sure if it is because of the heat, but I am struggling to write this morning. Everything I do for the redundancy review is off the cuff, nothing is written in advance so it is all my personal thoughts and feelings written out online.

    I think today might be a shorter one nonetheless. I took pride with how much I wrote yesterday but right now I just want to rest a bit more.

    On the days I am doing well though, I can smash through writing like nobody’s business. You can find out how if you decide to commission me for writing work – would not exactly use this as a shining example, but you can check out other pieces in my portfolio if that would interest you.

    The review section will also be shorter, but it will be covering my current favourite breakfast item.

    Right now there is nothing better for me to start my day than a delicious buttered crumpet, and when it comes to branded bakery products in the UK my pick tends to be with Warburtons. A pack of six is relatively cheap from most leading supermarkets here, and they crisp up extremely well with my toaster on its “3” setting.

    Whilst my preference is salted butter, my partner has a bit more of a sweet tooth and chooses to top his with Lotus Biscoff spread, making it a very decadent treat of an afternoon but one that tastes incredibly good.

    In my opinion, crumpets are also versatile in their applications outside of being eaten on their own with a spread – several recipes exist for crumpet pizza online and I have even gone as far to use crumpets as the bread for a breakfast sandwich at one point in time, shunning the conventional muffin.

    Short, sweet, and to the point. Sometimes it is good to stay in the habit even if you do not have much to say.

    I hope you have a good day, please try to stay cool and relaxed wherever you are.

    Warburtons Crumpets can be found in all good UK supermarkets.

  • Redundancy Review: Day 7, “Milestone”

    (for context on what this series is, please see my Day 1 post here: https://rosaliarambles.wordpress.com/2025/06/11/redundancy-review-day-1-a-new-beginning/)

    Good morning frontrunners and backmarkers, welcome to Day 7 of Rosalia Rambles Redundancy Review.

    As I mentioned yesterday, I tried adjusting my alarm clock forward by an hour to hopefully get some extra sleep in as I get used to a different/more flexible routine…

    …the problem with that is my body is so ingrained in my old routine that I ended up waking up around where I usually do anyway. Decided to use the extra hour of sleep anyway but I think it might be a while before my body catches up with what I want to do.

    However, we have cause for celebration today: I have now been writing Redundancy Reviews for a week!

    It definitely feels good to have been in this rhythm for a week now, even if the time of posting is inconsistent there is a certain joy I have experienced in getting to tell my story one day at a time. I still need to get into the rhythm of writing fiction again along with other types of articles I used to do, but having my portfolio grow brings a lot of positivity to an otherwise tough situation.

    If you want to help me grow my portfolio even further, I am available for writing work as always. Want your own topic on the Redundancy Review? Perhaps a custom fiction story? Do not hesitate to get in touch.

    So far we have had food, drink, and video games as topics for the review – today I am introducing a new category into the mix, whilst also getting to talk about one of my primary hyperfixations.

    I.

    Love.

    Hololive.

    Ever since coming across HoloEN Myth back in the tail end of 2020 and going into 2021, I have become obsessed with Hololive – and I do mean all of Hololive. What started with an introduction into EN led me towards JP and ID (Indonesia), exposing me to so many different talents with varied styles.

    There is so much I can talk about when it comes to Hololive things, but today I am going to be covering one of their original songs, the anthem of the 4th HoloFes: “Our Bright Parade”.

    But not the original version, I am covering HoloEN Advent’s production of it.

    Ever since their reveal, I fell in love with Advent. What started as admiring Shiori’s outfit turned into feeling a connection with her as she talked about loneliness in some of her early streams. 

    This then built further as Bijou/Biboo revealed her to be a total memelord, Nerissa being a very relatable and funny personality as she yapped on stream, and the in-sync compilations of Fuwamoco sealed the deal: they found a place in my heart as my favourite gen.

    Their version of Our Bright Parade was released almost a year ago now, and up until that point it had been difficult to find translated lyrics for the song. Even without that though I could always get the feeling of inspiration from the song, about always marching on through hardship with the positivity that these stories can bring.

    I was extremely glad to discover that this was the case with this official translation, and upon re-listening there are a lot of lyrics I emotionally connect with given my situation. In the intro there is the line:

    “A new journey awaits

    Just hit reset and we can start again”

    And following onto that is the first chorus line:

    “When disappointment gets in your way,

    Love will shine, keeping you safe”

    These lines speak to my current situation a lot, as everything that has happened has reset my life a lot, but simultaneously, the love of my friends has been a massive force in keeping me going. 

    That is me getting distracted though, and talking about my own emotions relating to the song.

    Everyone’s performance here is immaculate, and to me it helps reinforce Advent’s generational vibe of a group of misfits who have come together to become a found family. They harmonise perfectly but every member is distinct when they are singing together, with special mention going to Nerissa’s vocal performance though – she has an incredible singing voice and I love hearing it.

    In the second chorus, there is a line that I have used a lot in the last few months, especially when considering the news cycle around Hololive:

    “Rain or shine, I’ll treasure our kaleidoscope sky”

    It has been a difficult year to be a Hololive fan thus far. In the midst of a lot of celebrations and massive projects being undertaken there was a seemingly regular flow of graduations (retirements) for a good couple of months, leading to a fair bit of doomerism in certain parts of the community.

    That is to not downplay the feelings of a good majority of people though – these talents weave stories that a lot of people can relate to, and knowing they will not be around to continue that story can leave a lot of worry and sadness in someone.

    But in the midst of all those graduations, along with having some doubts myself, I listened to Our Bright Parade again, and that lyric stood out.

    Hololive has inspired me to be better, the stories I hear about give me courage to improve myself and to never give up, like so many of the talents have done themselves. Even in the darker moments, I will treasure the memories I have made, and when the sun shines bright I will celebrate what they have accomplished.

    Plus

    She is so fucking cute oh my god.

    That was possibly my longest review segment to date, especially when compared to how short the preamble was. I hope it translates a small fraction of the joy I feel for Hololive. 

    With that, we come to the end of today’s piece. Thank you for reading, whatever you get up to today I hope you have a great day and can find some relaxation where possible.

  • Redundancy Review: Day 6, “Sluggish”

    (for context on what this series is, please see my Day 1 post here: https://rosaliarambles.wordpress.com/2025/06/11/redundancy-review-day-1-a-new-beginning/) 

    Good morning slugs and snails, welcome to Day 6 of Rosalia Rambles Redundancy Review.

    Part of what I have been emphasising in this series and my job search in general is the idea of staying in a routine – keeping to a regular wakeup time, having a regular breakfast, and writing this series of course.

    However, I am finding myself wanting to adjust exactly what my routine entails in terms of sleep schedule. Thus far I have been trying to operate on what has been my average working routine, waking up at around half 7 to start doing things at 8 and working through to around half 4. 

    The issue with this is that I have lost the reasoning behind that routine. I liked coming in early at both jobs I have had because a lot of other people would start later than me, and having a longer amount of time before the daily stand ups started let me organise what tasks I wanted to get done before everyone else came in.

    So I am doing a trial run of setting my alarm an hour later, and taking a more flexible approach in how I tackle the day in terms of what I get up to. Whilst I am eager to get back into work for a variety of reasons, there is no denying that I still have some degree of burnout from my previous roles and having some extra sleep each day will probably make me more effective at what I need to do.

    In terms of the job search the main thing I am waiting for right now is waiting to hear back from a handful of roles I feel extremely passionate about. Considering how effective seeing people’s LinkedIn posts have been in finding roles I am interested in, it is actually paying off more to scroll the main feed and search out recruiters/roles rather than actually going to the “Jobs” section of the site.

    That said, I am still available for writing work if you want to hire me. I can range from concise and to-the-point writing or developing a long elaborate piece that explains everything in minute detail – if anything I have written interests you, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

    Considering how warm it has been lately near where I live, and the temperature gauge on the fan in my room is reading a lovely 29 degrees Celsius, I think today’s review will benefit from being my other choice of hot weather beverage outside of a milkshake.

    I fall into two specific categories when it comes to alcoholic beverages:

    1. I can’t drink, on account of being on medication that is advised to not drink while I am on it
    2. I don’t drink, specifically because even without the medication I am a goddamn lightweight

    Outside of that, I am also not the biggest fan of the taste of alcohol – it always hits the back of my throat in an unpleasant way. 

    All this to say, I was absolutely elated when I saw the Asda near me had stocked Old Mout Berries and Cherries No Alcohol Cider. My partner introduced me to this stuff near the end of 2021 and, along with other no/low alcohol ciders, has become one of my treat drinks of choice.

    Especially prevalent in the no alcohol version is a greater appreciation for the flavours of the fruit in the drink itself. Getting a pleasantly tart hit of cherry followed by the smooth & sweet flavour of raspberry makes each sip a delight, each component having its time to shine without an overabundance of alcohol.

    My preferred way to have this is usually along with some kind of spicy food, with my top two picks being either my homemade chicken wraps paired with some kind of hot sauce, or an Asda Pizza Counter pizza topped with sliced jalapeno. I can not think of a better way to relax in the evening.

    Think that covers everything for today. Thank you for taking the time to read my work as always, and I hope you are able to stay cool in the summer heat – treat yourself to something cool and refreshing.

    For more information on Old Mout, visit their website here: https://www.oldmoutcider.co.uk/ 

  • Redundancy Review, Day 5: “Familial Ties”

    (for context on what this series is, please see my Day 1 post here: https://rosaliarambles.wordpress.com/2025/06/11/redundancy-review-day-1-a-new-beginning/)

    Good morning allfathers and allmothers, welcome to Day 5 of Rosalia Rambles Redundancy Review

    If you can not tell from today’s iteration of my silly greeting, it is Father’s Day – which is appropriate for using “allfather” cause of Odin, but the only usage of “allmother” I can find is “Narwa the Allmother” from Monster Hunter Rise… which I love to pieces so it might be a redundancy review topic in future.

    I actually did go out with my dad today, which is why I am writing this piece a little later than usual, but I did get a subject for the review portion thanks to it so that has made me happy.

    For those who know me, my history with family has always been a little checkered and difficult, especially in the wake of my transition. There was a lot of friction after I came out properly to them and I reacted in quite a negative way to it, which led to more negativity on both sides as we both dug our heels in.

    Whilst I do not explicitly regret how I acted; there is definitely some element of knowing I did some things I should not have really done, and better ways to approach things.

    But my life philosophy is focusing on the here & now, whatever decisions I made have brought me to the point I am at and I should not dwell on things I could regret, instead choosing to try to live life the best I can.

    Concerning everything I talked about yesterday I actually feel remarkably calm and composed today. Maybe it was the longer amount of sleep I had, or the fact my dreaming was not a nightmare like it so often is. I am relaxed today, despite everything going on in my life currently, and it feels so relieving to actually be relaxed for a change.

    Helping with that is another food delivery from my mother – she works at a food hall so I often receive any product that needs to be wasted due to expiry dates or damaged packaging. These deliveries have been happening long before my redundancy but they are a genuine lifeline now in terms of helping to plan for meals and minimising what needs to be spent during the week.

    Granted it does mean my freezer is full up again when I have been actively trying to empty it out, but y’know, worse problems to have.

    A pretty positive mental state summary today, with the next positive note reminding any readers that I am available for writing work if you want to hire me. I have experience writing sci-fi, fantasy, and grounded pieces of fiction along with a vast swathe of professional business and creative copy in my line of work, I would love the opportunity to work on live projects again.

    Time to move onto the review, which actually does come with a disclaimer today. I will be reviewing the meal I had at Peaberry Grand Cafe in Shrewsbury, whilst I will be including the price in my assessment of the meal it was paid for by my dad (thanks for that!)

    To drink I ordered an Iced Frappe Latte, with the addition of some chocolate syrup. Something like this is a halfway point to what my choice of caffeinated beverage in summer usually is, being a Mocha Frappe. The chocolate flavour was not as pronounced as I would have liked it to be and honestly the coffee flavour was also a bit lacking compared to my taste, but as a vector of caffeine on a hot & humid day like today, it still hit the spot nonetheless.

    Plus I have a soft spot for drinks served in mason jar style glasses, there is a pleasingly rustic charm to them for me so bonus points to Peaberry for that.

    However, the main event was my usual brunch option of choice: a cheeseburger. To some it may seem weird, but to me there is no better option than that to keep me going for the rest of the day. Usually I would order an egg on top of the burger as well, but considering I was on my dad’s dime I did not want to take the piss.

    Even without my extra topping of choice, this was a beyond fantastic burger. The moment I bit into it the juices flowed into my mouth, the homemade beef patty being perfectly seasoned and not at all dry. The pickles underneath the burger were crinkle cut circle ones as opposed to strips, making each bite easier to manage and delivering acidic bursts of joy every time.

    The sauce was about what I would expect from “burger sauce”, some unknown mix of mayo, ketchup, and whatever else the chef might have put in to act as an extra layer of moisture to the burger – perfectly passable but nothing noteworthy.

    And finally, those chunky chips. Proper triple cooked chips with an incredible thickness, seasoned lightly with salt shortly after they came out of the fryer so it adhered properly, not needing any additional salt adding – only thing I needed to add was a small pot of mayo to make them the perfect accompaniment to such a beautiful burger.

    Now, as mentioned this was paid for by my dad, but the total cost of this meal was £18.65, breaking down into £4.65 for my drink and £14 for my food. For the price of the drink whilst it did give me the hit I needed, I definitely think it could have been better as well and if/when I return to Peaberry I will likely pick something else.

    The burger however I think was worth its price and then some. There are a fair few decent spots to get a burger in Shrewsbury, including an award-winning restaurant just a stone’s throw away from where I was today in the form of The Beefy Boys (if I get the resources I am definitely doing a review on them – fucking love that place).

    Peaberry’s cheeseburger though stands out as being of an exceptional quality without going far beyond what I would be expecting to pay elsewhere. At another local cafe I am about to get a standard cafe bacon cheeseburger with chips for around £10, and whilst a £4 jump is a fair bit to consider; the quality is definitely worth it.

    With potentially making a few people reading this hungry, we reach today’s conclusion. Thank you for reading my words today, if you are around your father figure today I hope you have a good day, and if this day is more difficult to you for whatever reason, I hope you are able to take care of yourself today. Treat yourself regardless, you definitely deserve a relaxing Sunday.

    For more information on Peaberry, visit their website here (a little outdated, but it has the vibe): my-peaberry.com | Shrewsbury Grand Cafe & Party Venue

  • Redundancy Review: Day 4, “Uncertainty”

    (for context on what this series is, please see my Day 1 post here: https://rosaliarambles.wordpress.com/2025/06/11/redundancy-review-day-1-a-new-beginning/)

    Good morning friends and foes, welcome to Day 4 of Rosalia Rambles Redundancy Review.

    Yup, I am going to be writing this even on a weekend, even if I did slip a little bit on my wakeup routine and slept in an extra hour.

    There is not going to be any job search update news on weekends, specifically because I intend to try and keep weekends to myself unless a seriously good role appears that I will make the extra effort for.

    Got plenty of mental state stuff to ramble about though, so I will launch straight into that.

    What is taking its toll the hardest right now is the waiting, or as the title suggests, the uncertainty. Currently I am waiting to hear back from a handful of jobs I am pretty excited about, but also waiting for the government services to get back to me with news of either my redundancy payments or my unemployment benefit.

    I have never been good at waiting personally, the sense of anticipation that builds when I know something is coming usually puts me into a state of limbo until the thing arrives.

    Uncertainty is not just coming into play when it comes to waiting though. In general recently I have had a lot of self-doubt creeping in, both in regards to jobs and my writing. It usually comes as a result of tiredness and my brain becoming overactive in regards to how I perceive my writing.

    In the end, I am doing this for myself more than anything else. Writing is a passion, and one of the best pieces of advice I have ever seen in relation to art in general was “don’t let it die inside your head” – which is my intention as I get back into the groove of things.

    That said, I continue to be available for writing work. If you want fiction, fact, or fun topics covered with my writing style, please do not hesitate to get in touch. I would love to get involved with people’s projects.

    So yesterday I reviewed some local food, and today I will be reviewing another local place but instead covering a cold, refreshing drink.

    During lunchtime yesterday my partner decided to treat me out for a milkshake, and in Shrewsbury there is only one place we go to for it: Simply Sweet.

    It is actually a fairly recent addition to the lineup of independent businesses in town, having only opened a year ago, but in that time it has become a firm favourite place for its varied offerings in terms of both milkshakes and desserts.

    Specifically I usually go for what is known as an “Out of this World” milkshake: Milkyway, Mars, chocolate sauce, and coal dust. This goes down extremely smoothly, the mix of chocolate bars and ice cream blended together make a rich but not stodgy drink – especially welcome as the weather heats up.

    I also have to give a shoutout to the owner as well, he is an incredibly genuine guy who always seems happy to see us as regulars, chatting happily about what we have been up to and how he is going with the business. His attitude about working for himself shows through in the quality of his work.

    In terms of price, Simply Sweet does position itself more at a higher end, with my regular sized milkshake being £6.50, however I feel this price is extremely worth it given the quality of what you receive.

    That covers everything for today, more concise for weekend reading. Thank you for taking the time to read today, and whatever you get up to today I hope you have a good one. 

    For more information on Simply Sweet, visit their website here: https://simplysweetshrews.com/

  • Redundancy Review: Day 3, “Mixed Emotions”

    (for context on what this series is, please see my Day 1 post here: https://rosaliarambles.wordpress.com/2025/06/11/redundancy-review-day-1-a-new-beginning/)

    Good morning alligators and crocodiles, welcome to Day 3 of Rosalia Rambles Redundancy Review.

    Have to admit, waking up today was a struggle. My body felt extremely heavy for some reason and the temperature under my duvet was damn near ideal for me to just go, “screw it”, and sleep in a bit more – but I persevered, so here I am with buttered crumpets and my mug of coffee.

    Something that is keeping me going a lot in recent days is social connection, being able to talk to friends or have unique interactions with random people online. In the leadup to the axe dropping I struggled a fair bit to be around my friends, but now I am striving to hang out more, arranging coffee dates or informal meets with people.

    With regards to the job search I applied to that Jagex role I mentioned yesterday, but shortly after I was scrolling LinkedIn and I saw a post saying that Poncle was hiring a QA engineer.

    For those unfamiliar, Poncle are the developers of Vampire Survivors, and well…

    …I really like that game.

    The application itself was also interesting for one specific question: “What is the most interesting bug you’ve ever found and how did you go about reproducing it?”. It was a difficult question to nail down what I wanted to write.

    Breaking software might be my career, but if I am honest it is also a way of life for me – if just because I am a magnet for bugs even when off shift.

    I eventually settled on a story from my Codemasters days, which ended up being so long I could not send it as a Discord message for my friends to check out, and I will tell that story another time.

    It had the blend of a difficult bug, a consistently inconsistent repro method, collaboration with another person, and a positive knock-on resolution. I was actually somewhat proud of reading the forums after the fact and seeing the chatter around that crash dying down to some degree.

    Forum horror stories on the other hand are for different day though.

    Time to move onto the review, and you might be wondering what topic might be next, considering I went from video game to instant coffee.

    Well, today the topic is food – specifically my lunch from yesterday.

    This is a chicken and coleslaw baguette from a local sandwich shop near to me in Shrewsbury called “Brambles”. I was out doing an errand walk and it was next to me as I started my walk home, so I decided to treat myself.

    In addition to the main fillings I requested the baguette to be buttered and for the sandwich to have salt & pepper applied after it had been made. The chicken was a breast that had been shredded up which did admittedly leave it a little dry if it were to be on its own, but the butter and coleslaw more than helped make up for what it lacked.

    Speaking of, the coleslaw was an absolutely amazing addition to the sandwich. In general I am someone who adores a good homemade coleslaw and this was no exception, the dressing was perfectly creamy whilst not being runny/watery and there were massive pieces of onion and cabbage within the mix, making it the ideal chunky sandwich topping.

    What made it the perfect lunch though was the price. When compared to other chain shops around town who charge extortionate amounts for a subpar sandwich, being able to get a modestly sized meal for the price of £4.10 which goes to support a local business, there is no question I will continue going to Brambles for the foreseeable future.

    That does it for today, a little bit shorter than yesterday but a bit more reflective of my tired state. I hope reading about the stuff I have been up to has been a positive influence on your day, and whatever you get up to today, I hope you have a good day. You deserve it.

    For more information about Brambles, check out their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/Bramblesshrewsbury/

  • Redundancy Review: Day 2, “Adjusting”

    (for context on what this series is, please see my Day 1 post here: Redundancy Review: Day 1, “A New Beginning” – Rosalia’s Rambles)

    Good morning dalies and mentlegen, welcome to Day 2 of Rosalia Rambles Redundancy Review.

    I kept saying to myself yesterday that now the hard part is ahead of me: actually keeping up with writing this every day and maintaining the routine. My therapist has always said to me that it takes 21 days for the brain to start adapting to a change, so I guess that is the informal goal for myself currently.

    Trying to get back into my previous routine is definitely hitting hard as well. In the days before getting the official news of my redundancy I really slipped in getting out of bed at my usual time – got a delicious mocha next to me to help with shaking off the sleepiness.

    The mood has shifted as well. Whilst in the immediate aftermath I felt a lot of relief of finally having the axe come down; I feel a fair bit of melancholy today. 

    All of my colleagues are insanely talented people who were absolute joys to be around, and while we do have a Discord server for us to stay connected there is a twinge of sadness about the lost potential of what we had become capable of as a company, especially as we were on track to do some amazing things.

    In terms of my job search, I am intending to apply for a Producer role at Jagex today, working on their new game in the Runescape universe. Fully remote with travel into the office 4 days a year for team days, which sounds exciting.

    Also sorted out both my redundancy application and Jobseekers’ Allowance application yesterday as well. Filling out government forms can be extremely demoralising and degrading at times if you ask me, especially when it comes to repeating information across both of them, but whatever can help keep me afloat whilst I find my next role.

    That said, I am available for writing work of any variety still. If you need professional copy, script writing, or bespoke fiction I would love to hear from you and discuss your project – any experience would help me round out my portfolio and gain a better understanding of a wide range of clients.

    Now, time for us to move onto the review.

    “But Rosa! How are you going to ensure you have enough things to review for however long this series goes on?”

    I am very glad you asked, strawman representation of my audience that I just made up. There are two main factors that are going to keep this series going as long as it needs to. 

    The first of which being that I enjoy a massively wide variety of different activities like cooking, card games, video games, music, films, and plushies. I often refer to myself as a “collector of fine things”, and these fine things will ensure I do not run out of topics for review any time soon.

    The second factor being that out of all the things I enjoy, I am not above picking an extremely esoteric item to discuss, which segues us nicely into today’s review…

    Yup, I am reviewing a pot of instant coffee today.

    TrueStart is a brand I have only recently taken notice of, but upon searching out their story based upon what is written on the packaging they have quickly become my go-to instant coffee now.

    For a brief background on the company, they are what is known as a “B Corp”, an accreditation designed to offer distinction to for-profit entities that are striving to have a positive impact on people and the environment, maintaining transparency and accountability. Considering the coffee industry is mainly dominated by Nestle, it is refreshing to see a company actively striving for change within that space.

    That was partially the inspiration for making the switch to TrueStart Instant. I was a prolific drinker of Nescafe Azera specifically, and whilst it went down pretty smooth for an instant coffee I was on the lookout for moving away from the Nestle ecosystem. Cue a trip in Asda where their packaging caught my eye, and I put it in my basket – prompting what is now a permanent change.

    Outside of the care and concern for the environment, TrueStart Barista Grade Instant Coffee is absolutely incredible in terms of taste and strength. As someone who primarily drinks mocha due to the flavour of standalone coffee being a bit too pungent for my taste, I still appreciate a strong hit of coffee within my drink of choice.

    TrueStart definitely delivers this.

    Additionally as well, at least in the Asda where I shop, picking out TrueStart products does not break the bank – especially compared to the prices of other leading brands, letting me enjoy a smooth coffee flavour whilst knowing my money has gone towards a positive cause.

    I think that covers everything I want to talk about today, a bit more of a ramble than what I posted yesterday, but I hope reading it has made your day a bit brighter. Whatever you get up to today, I hope you have a good day. I know you will smash it.

    For more information, and to buy TrueStart coffee, follow this link here: TrueStart Coffee | Feel Good Coffee | B Corp | Carbon Negative