Monday, August 8, 2016

July 2016 Entry

More than half the year is over. More things keep happening. 

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- Ended the night and kicked off a week off work with some karaoke (07.03). I got to meet my friend's fiance for the first time. Had a great time kicking back and talking with friends. But one girl that was part of our group turned to me and a friend and called us party-poopers for not going up on stage and singing. Granted she didn't see us rocking out the whole night from our seats and enjoying ourselves, but that bothered me a lot. She left maybe 10 minutes later...and then the song my friend and I turned in an hour ago finally got called on. We rocked. Yes, that bit with the girl bothered me (and still does). I just don't like people telling others that they aren't having fun "the proper" way. I was enjoying myself until that point. The night was still fun, but that one thing was definitely crappy. 

- A cousin invited me to join some family out in League City for July 4th. Her sister was also in town with her husband and baby boy so that was added incentive to out there. Food, stories, laughing, and rounds of NES Track & Field. So much fun.   

- I asked a friend to hang out on during one of my days off from work (07.05). We did some random stuff. We walked around a cemetery for 30-45 minutes, went to Kung Fu Tea to re-hydrate and talk, went to the bat bridge (her first time, my second after many years), ate at a Japanese restaurant (it was okay), and then finished the night with rolled ice cream (delicious). And of course we were just catching up and learning more about each other the whole time. Lots of random things, but very good day. 

- Picked up and watched the Scott Hall documentary (07.06). Very touching and emotional. That man has gone through tons of struggles and it is great to see him being healthy and happy now. 

- One thing I decided to do during my week off was get a massage (07.09). Ended up going to a place I've never been to, but had decent reviews. It was also out of the way from places I normally go so it was nice to just drive off somewhere else. Booking it was funny since I originally made an email request the night before, called about it since it was getting close to the time I wanted, got it rescheduled to a better time, and had to get it re-rescheduled for a few hours later since my assigned masseuse went into labor, ha. 

The place was nice and the staff was friendly. My masseuse was nice and very talkative. She asked me about Pokemon Go of all things, ha. And when I mentioned working at HER, she was very interested. The massage itself was okay. The cruddy thing afterwards was that I actually was in a lot of pain the next day. That had never happened before whenever I got a massage.    

- I had been putting off getting new glasses for a while now. Finally went to the eye doctor this month. I was worried that something might have been wrong in general as my eyes were getting dry more often and I they were twitching more than normal. But there was nothing wrong. They recommended upgrading my prescription just for improvement and suggested I wear my glasses more often (which I do now). Oddly, my previous glasses broke the day before I picked up my new ones (07.17). I really like these new ones. When I was choosing them, I asked for help getting something similar to my sunglasses. The person helping laughed every time I tried a pair and shook my head around, ha. Just wanted to make sure they don't easily fall off my head like my previous ones. These new ones are great and my eyes have felt better since the change. 

- And I got some new sunglasses shortly after getting new glasses (07.20).  


- 8 months since my last hair cut (07.23). Both times were for weddings. But since those 8 months, my normal place I go to get my hair done closed down. Fortunately, my stylist kept the same number and informed me about where she was now located. We caught up a lot and talked about many things. We realized that I've been going to her for over 10 years now. We tied it back to that I brought a girlfriend to her once and she and I were dating over 10 years ago. Crazy how time flies. It was definitely good to see that she's still doing well. 

As stated previously, the reason for getting the hair cut was for a friend's wedding reception. Another friend met me at my place and we carpooled over. We were early, but we got to talk to the new groom for a bit before the crowd grew larger. Got to see my highschool assistant principal (mom of the groom). While she was greeting other former students, she came to me and couldn't pinpoint who I was exactly and sad that was a good thing, ha. I did let her know that she made me shave once though, ha. Caught up with other friends and their kids that were present before the festivities started. 

Good speeches all around. One friend (brother of the groom) actually mentioned the Houston Escape Room and pointed me out since he was talking about what happened during the bachelor party. Appreciate the shout out. I was also recruited to help with one of the surprises of the night. I was to greet, hide, lead, and unveil a mariachi band when properly cued. And there was just a lot of dancing at the end of the night. 

I enjoy weddings. Congratulations to the newlyweds. 


NXT came to Houston for the second time (07.30). I invited my younger cousin who I recently reunited with last year at a wedding. He said he had not been to an NXT show. So I bought us pre-sale tickets and got as close as we could (4th row). He had never been that close before. The show was great. 


- Mojo Rawley beat Buddy Murphy 
Fairly good match to open the show. Mojo got everyone hyped.  

- Andrade Cien Almas beat Wesley Blake 
Another fairly good match between the two. 

- Bayley and Carmella beat Mandy Rose and Daria 
Very good outing for all 4 women. The duos started with dueling hugs. The most memorable part of the match was Mandy Rose doing a sit out Pedigree. Everyone gasped and it was great. Mandy and Daria were both pretty decent. With some more seasoning, I would like to see them on NXT broadcasts. 

- Hideo Itami beat Austin Aries 
Incredible contest. I don't think I've ever been part of "welcome back" chants. Hideo Itami seemed genuinely happy to be back. He even laid down in the middle of the ring after winning to soak it all in.  

- The Revival beat Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa 
Match of the night. The Revival were making fun of the crowd a lot, ha. So many false finishes that got me and everyone out of their seats. I can't wait for them to have a title match at a Takeover. 

- Asuka beat Nia Jax 
Finally got to see these 2 in person. Great match. Nia Jax even imitated a People's Elbow with crotch chops as she missed a leg drop, ha. I had my 2 Asuka masks with me that night and held them up during her entrance and after the match. I swear she spotted me and pointed at me after she won. So good.  

- Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura beat Bobby Roode and Samoa Joe 
Prior to the match, the announcer (gorgeous) let us know that it was Finn Balor's last NXT match and they played a nice video package before he came out. Nakamura came out next and it was a blast to sing along to his theme. He actually did his "yeaoh" on our side of the ring. Bobby Roode was next and that was the first time I got to see him in person. His theme song is awesome too. And finally the NXT champ, Samoa Joe, came. Always fun chanting "Joe."  

After the match, Bayley came out while Nakamura and Balor were still in the ring. She said some nice words about Finn and then talked and brought out all the NXT stars that got drafted (Mojo, Carmella, and Nia Jax). Some kinds things were said about all. The locker room came out to the entrance and showed appreciation to all. Finn thanked them all and thanked the crowd to end the night. It was great to be part of Finn Balor's last NXT match.  

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- Friend came to visit and dropped off my Little Mac amiibo a while ago, but I only opened it up in July (07.07). 


- Megaman Legacy Collection (3DS) - Review  

Finally beat all of the 6 NES Megaman games on Legacy Collection. It was great to play through that series again. Every time I always excel at the first 3 and have to look up stuff for the last 3. 





- Shantae: Risky's Revenge Director's Cut (Wii U) - Review  

Normally I don't review older games, but I felt like it. I enjoyed Pirate's Curse more, but that's because it was more refined. Risky's Revenge is good on its own. But yeah, I'm playing the Shantae games in reverse. I did download the GBC Shantae and will need to play and beat it before 1/2 Genie Hero comes out in September. 



- I was doing alright jumping back into Twilight Princess (07.10). Beat another dungeon and some other side quest stuff. I know I'm towards the end, just a few more hours to go. If anything, I'll make it a goal to finish the game before the year is over.  

- I had been following the news of DDRA being available in the US. A dear friend had returned from a month long trip and wanted to catch up so we put the 2 things together (07.31). It was great catching up with him and listening to his crazy stories. There were only a few people at the DDRA machine (6 total including us 2). Other than the girl playing for the first time, they were all Perfect Attack players. When my friend and I went up, I definitely played older songs and was throwing in bits of freestyle when appropriate. The only thing I didn't do were any bar tricks. We ended up only playing 6 songs (2 playthroughs), but it was tiring and fun. I'll try to come back when I can to play some more. 

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- We received a nice card of recognition from Yelp (07.03). Thanks to everyone that helped make this happen.  


- I had a week off I requested a while ago. That time was actually supposed to be for San Antonio that happened last month (wouldn't trade it). Unfortunately, I could not find anyone to do anything with during that week. Other than July 4th and the day after, no one else I contacted was available. Schedules conflicted. If anything, I did get to re-energize that week off from HER.

- 2 years have past since I went to my first escape room (07.12). It's been a crazy ride so far.  

- Another month, another monthly meeting (07.13). There were a lot of us that day including Agents Raynor and Husky Panda. And by this time, our latest trainee has now graduated to being Agent Ca$h. Agent Voxel also got to choose and host the activity for that meeting. We all really got into playing Magic Circles. 


- Agents Raynor, Majordomo, and I were invited to visit the Radio One studios (07.14). As of typing this (08.08), I can actually talk about and promote it. HER + 97.9 + WWE = contest to win tickets to RAW. Yes, things I like are combining. I will go into more detail in next month's entry. For now, click the links to enter to win. 


- Agent Gig has now been with the company for over a year. We surprised him with a special event weeks later (07.16). We deceived him to coming to work as we were closing stating that Agent Ca$h wanted to hang out afterwards. What ended up happening involved decorations, night vision, lasers, and a betrayal virus for him to eradicate. It was crazy fun. After we were done, Agent Ca$h had to go. Myself, Gig, Blue, and Obsidian went to Ninja Ramen for dinner. We had fun singing in the car and just celebrating a great Agent. 

- Agents Majordomo and PQ invited some of us to their new place for a game day (07.18). We played a lot of board games that day. Other than those 2 and myself, Agent Blue was there and Agent Solaire and his wife. Lots of fun. 

- Agents Yeti, Blue, Majordomo, PQ, Widdershins, and I went to a newly opened escape room called Escape Hunt (07.25). It was alright. Can't say I was super impressed or disappointed with the place. My record is now 13 escapes out of 16 escape rooms. 

- Was asked to purchase new chairs at IKEA. Ended up going with my dad since I knew I wouldn't be able to lug everything by myself (07.31). It was my dad's first time in IKEA so I don't think he was ready to walk so much, ha. And the place was under construction so a lot was blocked off. Anyways, found the chairs, went to the service area and picked 12 of them, paid for them, and went to HER to drop them off. At least my dad knows exactly where the HER is now. 

- And our monthly blog was written by Agent Voxel. Take a peek at it. 

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- Got my copy of TaeYeon's Why album (07.11).  



- Whenever I fill up for gas, I always buy a drink and a snack. This time I picked Big Red Vanilla Float (07.22). It was delicious. I then checked online to see if I can purchase it, but it's a limited edition flavor. Did more research and could not find any place that sold it. Looks like I would have to be lucky finding it anywhere. The gas station I originally bought it from does still have it so at least I know it's there for the time being. If anyone ever finds it anywhere, please let me know. 

- It has been 2 years now since Grandma Gina passed away. Didn't do anything out of the ordinary that day, but it just happened to be a rough day at work. It is still unbelievable that she's not here. Although I have to thank her for being where I am now. This ties in with the Houston Escape Room. 

I was actually supposed to have my interview with them the day the funeral happened. I do remember thinking that when I emailed them about her passing that my chances to get hired were gone. It might have been a week or two after that I thought "would she have wanted me to miss out on the opportunity" and I don't think she would have. That's what made me reach back out to them to see if the offer for an interview was still available. And that's where I am now. 

She was a factor in that. I'm glad that I can tie her with HER. Thanks, Grandma Gina. 

And that's it for July. August will have a lot to type about. Thanks for reading. Be healthy, be safe, be thankful, and be loved. 


"Reprise the theme song and roll the credits." 

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