POI: Becca

A tale of cats, succulents, and bees.

Welcome to Acquired Tastes, our newsletter about the unique folks in the Hashtag Survival community.
While frequency hasn’t (quite) been narrowed down, we may send these out bi-weekly on Fridays- it remains to be seen.

For our inaugural POI (Person of Interest), we highlight Becca, part of the Hashtag Survival website staff.

POI: Becca

I’m a geeky girl at heart and enjoy trying my hand at anything creative- mostly photo manipulation and drawing, though I also knit, crochet, and play piano. I’m a homebody and enjoy spending time with my eight cats- and occasionally my husband. (Jordan- aka Sifner- and I have been married for almost eight years.)

I collect Tarot decks, crystals, and a crazy amount of incense. I’d love to collect more succulents and cacti, but apartment space limits my obsession. While gaming, I like to watch musicals, catch up on my latest show binge, or listen to music. Always drinking tea! I am obsessed with bees. 🐝

Survival

When I was younger, I loved spending time outdoors, fishing & foraging. With adult responsibilities (and arthritis), it’s been nice to continue those pursuits- just in game form. When Jordan started Hashtag Survival, I was exposed to more and more survival titles, especially indie games. My favorites are The Long Dark, Frostpunk, and Subsistence. I find Frostpunk the easiest with my builder roots, but I love The Long Dark… in Pilgrim mode. I'm the dedicated builder in games because Jordan and Dee hate it. I'm the navigator, too, because they have no sense of direction. Other than that, I'm typically fishing or tending to the crops to avoid combat -or zombies. I’ve recently started writing articles for the Hashtag Survival Substack; I’ve done one for the Homeseek demo and one about the demo for Infection Free Zone. 

Outside of survival games, I enjoy watching the survival reality show Alone. 

Check Out Some Games I Love!

• Pharaoh + Cleopatra - or the more modern remake Pharaoh: A New Era. I love this game for the city building and the economic aspects - it’s my OG love in terms of city builders. The remake is on my wishlist, but I haven’t picked it up yet.

• Table Top Simulator was my introduction to the world of board games. I’m hooked! It’s enabled me to play various board games that I might not otherwise afford or can’t play because I lack a physical gaming group. My favorite is Spirit Island, though Aeon’s End is a close second.

• The Sims franchise. I’ve played every version of Sims and plan to play the fifth version when it drops—one day. Next to MMOs, I probably spend most of my gaming time in the various Sims games- currently, I’m working on Sims 4 because of the Horse Ranch DLC that just dropped. I’ve also been developing some mods for the game in my spare time! (If you’re interested in learning more about them, comment!)

• ANNO Franchise.This entire series is filled with beautiful and detailed worlds, with an attention to detail and complexity that I love. Easy to spend tons of hours in it- and very customizable.

• MMOs and (some) Open World Titles. I love being able to play at my own pace and explore, whether it’s with or without other folks in the world with me. My favorites would be ESO (which unseated WoW after 10+ years), Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, and Red Dead Redemption 2.

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My Personal Recommendations

• Leaf Shave. I have a Leaf Razor and a Dermaplaner. Jordan has a Single Edge Razor. I love that I switched from disposable plastic razors and consider this one of the best upgrades I’ve done for my beauty regime. It saves me a ton of money, especially because I just use replacement razer blades, which are super cheap on Amazon. Also I’m producing less plastic waste!

• I love Tarot decks, crystals, and all that type of stuff. My favorite Tarot deck is my Pagan Otherworlds Tarot and my favorite oracle deck is my Mystical Shaman Oracle. I typically will carry one or both decks with me when traveling, just depends on space. Working with the decks and crystals is just a nice, relaxing hobby.

• Anything that makes cooking and baking easier- or faster- is amazing. I’d say my top two items in the kitchen are my Vitamix Blender and my Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven.

• Out of all of my gaming peripherals, my Razer Naga Pro Wireless is my absolute ride or die. I’ve used a Naga since they were first released by Razer, and went wireless the second they offered that as an option. 20 buttons allow for a lot of customization!

• I listen to podcasts at work, at home, and at house sits. They’re useful to keep me occupied when I’m cleaning or walking a clients dog. My favorite hands down would be The Last Podcast on the Left, closely followed by Sounds Like A Cult. Both podcasts are informative, with just enough comedy to not be scary or boring. And of course I also enjoy the Hashtag Survival podcast! (It needs a second season! 🫶🏼)

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