December 2024 Entry:
2024 ended on a crazy busy month.
MISC=========================
- I felt I was getting sick at the beginning of the month. I could tell that I was low energy and had a bit of a soft cough. But the next day was okay. It wasn't until the day after that I could tell something was creeping in. I was tired more than normal and coughing more than the last couple of days. Even though I did make myself sleep earlier, I woke up on the third having the dryest coughs that would last a long time. Those became painful. Called off from work on the 4th. That day was to see if my normal treatments would make things better (hot and sour soup, Day/Nyquil, etc), but it got worse. Called off from work on the 5th and had a virtual doctor's appointment where I was prescribed medicine for the cough as well as something stronger in case what I had became more. Turns out I had the same cough that my mom had a week prior as I was prescribed the exact same thing she was prescribed. That day was rough as I tried to sleep as much as I could throughout the day, but simply couldn't. The last couple of days was when I was super hot. I was constantly adding and removing clothing to help with my temperature and I was in and out of my blankets trying to sleep. I'd always get chills and be in a cold sweat. Add that I was low on energy in general, I couldn't eat like I normally could, and my coughing attacks lead to horrible body aches...and I was not in the greatest state.
On the bright side, the prescription was helping. So much so that the next day, the cough was down by 50%. Of course I'm still taking the medication until I'm out of it, but I was surprised with how much better I felt on the 6th. Not 100%, but I wasn't low on energy like I previously was. I even attempted to do more things on the computer and even played the monthly NES NSO game, which wasn't too attention grabbing. And then I threw up an hour after having dinner. I was easing myself into eating not only soup and crackers, but I might have had too much that it did not sit well. Could be a blessing as sometimes I do feel way better after throwing up. It depends. This time it didn't help. It might have been the catalyst of soon becoming very hot.
I asked my mom to massage my head. She then realized how hot I was. Thing is, I had been mentioning all this time that I'm really hot before this instance. She did what she normally does and asked why I didn't do what she said to which I responded that I did everything she asked. Then she immediately asks why I didn't do anything else to which I responded that she told me not to. Then she says that she didn't say that and that's when I raised my voice. Not only did she start to guilt trip me, but this happens all the time. Do what she says, but she can never be wrong and of course tells me not to stress out or be mad at her. It's frustrating, especially more so because I'm sick and I'm asking for help. In the end, she did say to start taking the z-pak I was prescribed because things were getting worse.
Before the z-Pak kicked in the next day, I had a really tough time as I was very cold to the point I was shivering. I finally put on extra layers and it helped somewhat. But I did my best not to freak out as it was close to the time I needed to take medicine again. Didn't want to take them earlier just in case. But once I did, it didn't take long for my body to cool off and feel warm again. And then not long after, the z-pak started to do its magic. Around maybe 6PM was when I felt some semblance of normal again. And I don't know if this helped, but I felt watching NXT Deadline boosted my adrenaline/endorphins/etc and made me feel better than I had in days.
The next day, I felt way better. My coughs weren't dry and weren't happening as frequently. I had more energy and made the effort to move around more (up and down the stairs). Felt confident to take on a little more while being cautious about it. Felt even better the next day and was pretty much back to normal. The only thing I had not done by Monday was all my morning stretches and my daily push-ups. But it was simply great to not be sick anymore. I was so worried I'd have to cancel all the events I had that upcoming week.
One side note; I normally get hot and sour soup whenever I'm sick and I mix it with white rice and have that as my main meal. This time I decided to mix it with some fried rice and that was a wonderful combination. I highly recommend trying that if it sounds appealing.
- I had been receiving many emails, calls, and letters in the mail the last few months about my medical insurance (12.09). Happens every year, but I felt this year it was way more than before. I did have it scheduled to take care of the week I got sick...but I got sick. It's not like it's the longest process, but I kept putting it off and that's on me. Stuck with what I currently use because it's been very beneficial. Only made a few changes to some information.
- Twitch Recaps for 2024 were released (12.10). Not much for me to really check as I wasn't streaming. I was surprised to see who all were in my top 5. I had a hunch who first place would be and it made total sense.
- Friendsmas was fun (12.11). I was worried I'd have to cancel due to being sick the week before. But it was good to be around familiar faces, eat some good food, exchange some gifts (I got a double unfortunately), and to be silly playing games together. Other than a few gifts, I provided two cheesecakes from Uncle Tetsu. Thanks for hosting, G and Rannchan.
- Met up with the HeXagon crew for NE's birthday (12.13). The whole team wasn't available and there were a couple of extra Kpop friends invited. We ate at Handam, which we've been to before. Lots of good food (I need to better pace myself, ha), lots of Kpop talk and singing. I had little gifts for everyone at the table courtesy of WR from Korea. And NR had gifts for everyone that were goodie bags of Kpop photos including one of himself, ha. It was funny that some of us wanted him to sign it and then he ended up signing all of them, ha. Shout out to the manager who was also our server. Not only did she catch it when I dropped my chopsticks (she gave me a new pair even though I thought no one saw it happen), she surprised NE with the normal restaurant birthday celebration. We mentioned it was his birthday when she took our group photo, but didn't request anything special. She just did it.
Afterwards we went to get drinks at R&B and to talk more before ending our night. Shame that the original plan of karaoke didn't happen, but we still had a good time.
- Went to Punch Line Houston for the first time (12.15). The reason being was that Jenn Sterger was performing. She was the opening act for Anna Akana when she was in town a couple months ago. After they show, she let us know that she was coming back in December and we said we'd be there. Met up with Agent Ocean and basically this was his birthday present from me. Front row and as close to the middle just like last time.
Fun show overall. We had four performers. One was the host Barry. The second act was Ainsley. She asked if anyone had done an escape room to which I gave a double thumbs up. She noticed and asked if I really liked them to which I replied that myself and Agent Ocean worked at one. Then she said we weren't going to like the next joke, ha. It was all good. Next was Kristin Chirico who was featured along with Jenn for the show. She gave me a death glare when she made a joke about presidents and how they all did something bad. The reason for the glare was because I said George Washington when the audience knew she mentioned him and what he did to her people earlier in the show. Then it was Jenn to close out the night. Most of her jokes and stories were the same from when she was here a couple months ago, but I didn't recall them for the most part until she got to the punchline. She also gave Agent Ocean fist bumps for certain jokes and even made fun of me a few times. One was for when she asked if anyone had lightsabers. I replied that I used to sell them 20 years ago. She said something else and I started doing lightsaber motions. She caught that and said "is that how you jack off?" Later she made a joke about how easy it is for men to make friends and pointed to me and the guy next to me asking if we knew each other. I threw up my fist for a fist bump and he reciprocated. We said a few more things and she jumped in to stop us from talking, ha.
After the show was over, Jenn came out to greet people and when she came to us, I asked if she remembered us. She said of course and that's why she felt she could use us for a few jokes. I took off my shoe to show her I was wearing the socks from Anna Akana's show and she took a picture of it to send to her. Others came to talk to her and that's when Agent Ocean and I found Barry. Chatted with him for a bit and thanked him for the laughs. We didn't get to talk to Ainsley as we did see her leave shortly after the show was done. Then we went to the lobby to take photos with Kristin. I apologized for the George Washington joke, but she was ecstatic about saying how she's going to post that to socials if the venue got a clip of it. She was a delight. Then we went back in to ask Jenn for a photo. I brought up how I felt weird to DM her about doing an escape room (we talked about it after the previous show) so I didn't. She said to do it next time. She wasn't sure when she'd be back, but we both said we'll be there and that I'll definitely invite her to do one of our escape rooms.
Yay for a great night of live comedy.
- Went to get a physical (12.16). I didn't know until a few days before that the address was different. It wasn't too far from the original, but I'm glad I caught it instead of just going. When I got there, there was a sign saying to go upstairs since they were still under construction. The placeholder office was unfortunately small. Some of the patients had to wait outside of the office. The doctor did their normal tests and of course gave advice like normal. Got my blood drawn at the end (everything was fine) and was recommended to go get a cholesterol test (didn't go from mom's advice). They also advised me to check my blood pressure every day since it was higher than normal. Even though I get white coat syndrome regularly, it didn't go down later into the exam. I was thrown off that my weight was 10 pounds higher than I thought. The last time I was weighed was the last time I was sick earlier in the year in April. So I had gained those 10 pounds in 8 months. Since then I started to watch what I eat with smaller portions and to eat at least a piece of bread or banana in the morning (which I used to do, but fell off).
- Went to pick up a late Friendsmas present from Kai who dropped it off at Rannchan's (12.18). It was convenient as my gift to Rannchan came the weekend after Friendsmas. Short meet to exchange it. Then I went to CVS to buy some Ritz Fudge crackers. Saw it posted in a Discord and immediately looked online. Coincidentally I had some coupons expiring that same day at CVS so it was good timing.
- WR and JL were back in the states visiting. Their trip was for about two weeks and we made sure to meet. WR said that they wanted to do one of our escape rooms so they signed up to play Antidote (12.22). It was my day off, but I came in and did in-room facilitation. I tried my best not to nudge them too much, but I definitely wanted to see them succeed. But they did very well. They were a good balance and were complimentary of one another. Yay for them escaping the first escape room.
A few days before, I sent WR a list of six places to choose for dinner. I had only been to one of the places I suggested and the one I originally wanted to champion was closed on Sundays. Went to Willie's Grill & Icehouse, ate some good food, and talked about so many things (catching up, his students, my work, etc). Nothing like catching up for a few hours. They also gave me gifts which included snacks and TWICE's Strategy album.
After we parted, I realized we didn't take a photo together so we made plans to have Dough Zone the following Sunday. Unfortunately WR caught COVID that weekend. While he was feeling well, I didn't want to risk it. Plus I had gifts to give, which WR ended up picking up the next day (socially distanced). Until next time, friends.
- Finally finished eating my KitKat cereal (12.23). Why did it take so long? Because I was only eating 25 pieces a day to keep track. In the end there were 1085 pieces. On the final day there were 10 pieces so I ate them with the last batch of 25.
- Movie/Series of the month was The Iron Claw (12.25). I knew what to expect because I knew of the Von Erich curse and what it did to the family. Seeing those things happen...man. It was more about when for me because I really didn't know the timeline. While I got emotional, I didn't shed tears until the final moments. Definitely a must watch for wrestling enthusiasts.
Kerry Von Erich was my favorite of the family. I only knew him as the Texas Tornado and was immediately drawn to him. I never knew what happened at that time and that he was actually missing a leg during his time there. I knew over time because of wrestling videos and documentaries. But he will always be an all-time favorite of mine.
- I had some issues with my Amazon account for a few months. I basically couldn't view any wish lists I made and I couldn't view old orders I placed. The fact that friends could still view my wish lists and order from them was what really set my gears in motion to contact Amazon. I went with their chat at first because it was really good in the past when I'd be chatting with an actual associate. This person wasn't able to help so they gave me a number to call. Unfortunately that person wasn't able to help either. They did say they would push my issue up in priority and that someone would call me in 24 hours. That didn't happen. So I looked online for another number to call and immediately was connected to someone (12.27). They were very helpful in every way and were able to resolve my issue. I had to log in with my phone number, which I never did in the past. From that point I was able to see old orders and wish lists again. They mentioned I can delete the other account that was logged under my email to which I questioned because it was also attached to my phone number. So they said they would stay on the phone with me to properly delete the account. As I was doing it, I decided to check if I could view everything properly and I could. I let them know and they were puzzled as it seemed that the accounts merged. Thankfully I realized that and didn't delete the account otherwise it would have deleted everything. But it's all resolved now and everything is running like normal.
- Got a new phone case (12.27). I've needed one for the last couple months because the back was literally coming off. And I really didn't know until I saw it next to the new one, but it did yellow a lot over time. Ordered this on Christmas day thanks to seeing I had a $5 coupon expiring. A lot of cases were on sale too. The one I chose was normally $40. Got it for $23 off. Then minus another $5 with the coupon, good deal. It arrived 2 days later, which was awesome because it was originally slated for the end of the year. Immediately swapped the cases. It's a tight fit. Felt like I had to jam it in. It's a little thicker than the previous case, but I'm okay with that. Funny enough, I dropped my phone later on the same night, ha. Great way to test it.
- My birthday gift for NE of HeXagon were tickets to WWE RAW (12.30). I knew they were a fan and had only been to one show prior. For me, it was the first time since the Royal Rumble in 2020. Last time they were in town was when NE went with others. I wanted to go, but ended up getting sick. Picked him up that day and we ate at Wing Boss. Neither of us had been there so we gave it a try and we both liked it. I won't say they're must-try, but you can't go wrong with them. It was also close to Toyota Center. When we parked, we checked out the WWE trucks to see whose faces were on them. NE definitely wanted one with Liv Morgan and there was one. Took pictures of him with the truck and he took pictures of me by a truck with Chelsea Green. Inside, we walked around to check the merch tables and ended up bumping into another member of HeXagon with another friend. I recall he had mentioned liking wrestling, but we never delved into it. Cool to see him since it's been a while.
Went upstairs and sat in our seats. I have sat in many spots for wrestling shows (front row, by the aisle, in camera view, etc). I have never sat on the production side where the wrestlers talk into the camera. We were also higher than I've ever been either (tickets are expensive now). It was a good view as you could look down and see everything in plain sight. We were actually one seat higher due to me counting rows incorrectly and we only knew when the seat owners showed up at the beginning of RAW. We moved down...and eventually moved down another row because the seats in front of us for the next few rows were empty. We could have taken the front of the section, but a couple did that a few minutes before we did. So we ended up sitting in three different spots, ha. Overall, fun show. Felt great to be at a live wrestling show after all these years.
Leaving, the staff had us line up for the elevator for some reason. We were fourth and fifth in line, but we were waiting for about 10 minutes with the line ever growing behind us. The staff eventually said we could take the stairs, but that it would lead directly outside. Only me and NE took that offer. When we got out, I thought we were on the street we needed to be on. Turns out we exited on the opposite side of the building, ha. No big deal. Got to the car, missed out on traffic, and it wasn't long before I dropped NE at his apartment. I took a different way home just to see the difference (on the way I took a path I had not in a long time). When I got home, I ate a light dinner and chugged a couple bottles of water since I definitely was feeling drained after yelling and booing so much, ha.
GAMES=========================
- Demo Showcase Shorts continues. I did miss 6 days at the beginning of the month since I was sick. I probably could have done one at the beginning or latter end of that stint, but I didn't want to push myself. Voidwrought and Angel at Dusk were added to the wish list. 38 demos remaining.
- Bright Side: Riddles and Puzzles was on sale for 20 cents (12.01-12.02). I bought it the same time I bought Chex Quest HD (04.30.24). I enjoyed it. There were 28 different themed categories that took about 10 minutes each. The number of questions varied as well as the type of questions (trivia, riddles, spot the difference, etc). I've seen some of these before, but only like a handful of questions. It was all voiced and animated. You really do have to pay attention as context to the questions could be in the audio or the visual or both. Having some outside knowledge could give you an advantage, but not by much. There are definitely times where I thought the answers were too specific or obscure (how was anyone supposed to know that). And some of the spot the difference questions gave you too little time to find multiple answers. I do think it would be fun to play with others, but I can also see some getting a little frustrated by it. But for 20 cents, money well spent.
- Guns At Dawn Arena was the free-to-play game of the month (12.03). Other than characters moving slowly, it's not bad. It is just one-on-one duels until the other person dies. Infinite bullets (have to reload), you can roll and hide behind things for defense, and sometimes you earn potions or other items to help. Each win earns you a chest full of money and items to upgrade your guns or unlock more gunslingers, which you can level up either. So it's basically a time sink if you want to have the best things (or pay real money). Worth a try, but you'll know if you'll want to play longer after a few rounds.
- Ice Hockey was the NES NSO game of the month (12.06). I had played this initially when NSO was released. I have memories of playing against Arda Ocal where he won. Good times. This was a nice short replay. No true goals could be made in terms of completion so I went with beating each team once. With the shortest time limit, it took around an hour to do and that's all I could really handle since I was sick at the time.
- Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons was the GB NSO game of the month (12.08-12.10). Played Ages back in September and used the code given to have things transfer. Although it took a while as I confused a few of the letters and symbols. And the biggest downside was that I didn't have another code to make use of other codes I was given throughout this playthrough. Other than not being able to do all the linked quests, I did pretty much everything else. I followed a guide for the overworld and only for dungeons when I got stuck and I think that made this seem to flow better as opposed to Ages. It's a shame I don't recall much of these two games because they are good.
For fun, everytime I had to change the season, I named each one after a member of aespa. Spring (Giselle), Summer (Karina), Fall (Ningning), and Winter (she was the catalyst, ha).
- 1080 Snowboarding was the N64 NSO game of the month (12.11). I wanted to like it especially since others would give it positive praise. But it wasn't clicking with me. Its speed was decent. Racing against the CPU...I could not win the first race. If I made any mistake, I could not catch up. I even tried changing boarders and their boards and nothing. The only thing I did okay on was the trick mode where I at least got second place. But I didn't want to force myself to play it longer than need be.
- Cozy Grove was a free Game Trial (12.12). The cozy in the name is very prominent. Simple with controls and it's easy to get addicted to the endless list of tasks to do. You're always getting something and expanding the grove. It's definitely worth trying if it's something you fancy.
- My Nintendo calendars arrived (12.20). Calendars plural this time as they offered two different ones. One is available for everyone to buy. The other was for NSO members only as it was NSO themed. Pretty neat.
- Finished Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (12.13-12.25). I was wary of this game when it was announced. The echo ability reminded me of Tears of The Kingdom and I did not enjoy Tears of The Kingdom. This is the first Zelda game in a long time I didn't play on release date. I did buy it when it came out, but wasn't in a rush to jump in. Although it wasn't as bad as I was expecting in relation to the echoes. Sure there were a few times I had to look up stuff online to solve a few puzzles, but it wasn't always 100% as some were using echoes I didn't have. Thankfully I didn't feel dumb like I did with ToTK. I'm sure the world being smaller and on the 2D scale was a big factor in that. The game itself was very charming and easy to get into. Part of me wanted to 100% the game, but given the time frame of the holiday season, I knew I wouldn't have as much free time if I played it some other time in the year. But ending the year on this was a good feeling.
- All champion achievements acquired in Fitness Boxing 2. There were 7 left before this month and the final one happened towards the latter end of the month. I thought there was a possibility it wouldn't happen, but now I have one less thing to worry about. All that's left is the punch count achievement (as far as I know). I wasn't sure how to tackle that as it would require me actually throwing punches to register. But I did recall there were a few auto options. While there isn't one for every type of punch, there was one I could do and leave on while doing other tasks much like I did for accumulating hours. I wish I thought about it ahead of time to combine it was the hours and I'd be closer to the goal. And like I said, it doesn't count every type of punch. So I can have around 100 counted automatically, but if I actually did the exercise, I could have about 500 counted. It'll be a long journey, but it's attainable and it's so close.
https://x.com/ArnellragasA/
https://x.com/ArnellragasA/
https://x.com/ArnellragasA/
- And here are my 2024 Nintendo Switch stats. Much like the last couple of years, it's not accurate due to time spent with Crush Crush and Fitness Boxing 2. Outside of those two games, everything else checks out.
WORK=========================
- I went to our sister location to buy a gift card as a Christmas present (12.01). We had a Black Friday deal going on so you get more bang for your buck. Originally I was going to buy it at the original venue, but I simply forgot. But getting one from the sister location was the better choice since there would eventually be more for them to choose from. On the way there, I stopped by Uncle Tetsu to buy the crew a dessert (I got myself the S'mores mini for myself, which apparently is a seasonal flavor). Surprised the team there (except CG since I had to ask if they had the physical cards). Stuck around to see the new progress, met the latest team member, and talked a bit of business before leaving around 7:30. Funny thing, Agent Ocean texted me saying he was nearby when he saw the photo I took with CG and SP. But the photo was posted half an hour after I left. The text from Agent Ocean came an hour later when I made it home. He ended up going there thinking I was going to stay until closing, but I knew I wasn't going to stay super long.
- Missed the first week of work due to being sick. Quite unfortunate to miss out on those pay days.
- First day back since being sick was okay (12.12). The Christmas decorations have gone up (minus the giant nutcracker, which I brought back a few days later). Unfortunately, I did find a lot of errors and general dirtiness. Myself and IB did clean up stuff especially towards the end of the night after his family played Lost City. Before he came, I did have to handle two teams at the same time solo. During that time, I had to ignore so many phone calls. I got to a few eventually, but the protocol is to handle customers in the venue first. Anyways, heck of a return.
- A typical busy Saturday, but I got a boost of energy from some return customers (12.15). They had been to us about times now and they were getting Santa done before it was gone again. They also brought their drink cups from previous visits to get a discount on drinks. It's easy to recognize them as one has blue hair, one has red hair, and then there's the guy, ha. I remembered his name, but couldn't remember the ladies' names. So I asked rather than guessing and being wrong (have learned that the hard way decades ago). I was walking blue hair to the bathroom and she couldn't remember my name either. I said it was okay and we shook hands to possibly cement the names in our heads. Before their session, I gave them one of our bonus cards as a thanks for being awesome customers and they were delighted since they knew they had a few rooms left to play. And since I've always been their Game Host, I insisted on being theirs even though some of the other staff members didn't know they were return customers. I had things I wanted to say to them and I forgot, but at least said some holiday farewells in case I don't see them again until 2025.
But then they showed up a week later, ha(12.22). They said they didn't want to accidentally forget about their bonus card and let it expire. Got them their usual drinks and I decided to ask what their dynamic was. They were quick to say that they were a throuple. Part of me thought they were to begin with, but part of me also was hoping blue hair was single, ha. They're still a fun team and I'll miss them once they finish their last room at the current location. Yes, there's a possibility I could see them at the second location, but I've only worked there officially once.
- Agent Ocean asked if I could take one of his days since he had to do stuff with his dogs (12.17). Good thing he caught me after I just showered, ha. This was also RL's first day back at work from college. It didn't take long for him to get back into the swing of things as a Game Master. But during the first few hours, myself and RB were making more goodie bags for Saving Santa. One of the ladies dropped by to bring more mini candy canes and stickers. It wasn't much, but we did the best we could with them. At some point I decided to start packing odd things in the bags because I didn't want there to simply be only bags of stickers (which is what we were down to). This included a bag of chips, peanut butter crackers, a wine cup, balloons, tiny babies, and miscellaneous things from our lost and found (toys, jewelry, etc). The best beneficial thing for a customer to get would be a Bonus Card ($50). We did think customers would think it would be dumb, but customers have been reacting positively to them. Quote of the night was "I got a green baby" and that others on their team wanted to trade for it. Since then, I've heard how balloons were a big deal too. I'm glad they're liking them because I was just doing whatever, ha.
And cheers to Agent Ocean for showing up later in the day to let us play with his dogs. Nice treat.
- My first official working day at our sister location (12.19). Got CG to text me a bunch of things to know about opening/closing the venue. Other than that, I was familiarizing myself with the duplicate rooms they have for any differences (there were a few) as well as having VV and TR show me how to reset Antidote and 7 Deadly Sins. We only had one walk-in that played Scooby.
Afterwards we worked on getting one of the fog machines to work in 7DS per the ladies' request. After a few attempts, we looked at the other one in the room to match them up to see if maybe a cord was unplugged or a button was/wasn't depressed. Because we tested it quite a few times, a lot of fog was released...and the fire alarm went off. Unfortunately none of us knew how to shut it off. At some point, I pulled one of the alarms in hopes it would shut it off. It did not. Then VV found a key attached to one alarm and showed me how to open it up to find a switch inside. It did nothing. Then I called the ladies who I knew were at an event. They walked me through things over the phone as not even CG or Agent Ocean knew how. By the time I was able to shut it off, the fire department arrived. I explained things and showed them where it was to turn it off as they wanted to be sure since we were a new building. While I was with two of them doing that, VV and TR were simply giving a tour to the other two, ha. But one of those two asked me about what happens when the electricity is shut off and if customers were trapped. I showed one example in one of the rooms. After that, he suggested having them come by again because in an actual emergency, they wouldn't know what's a door and how many rooms are in each escape room. After the fire department left, I had a chat with VV and TR about what we might have to do in the event of an actual fire. Shortly after, we closed up shop. Hell of a first day there, ha.
- On Christmas Eve, it hailed (12.24). The rain was expected, but the sudden pick up in intensity was not. I asked a few families to stay in after their session due to the weather. We also blocked off our final row of bookings to compensate for any late arrivals as a few calls came in letting us know they were going to be late. Then I remembered that rain seeped through the side of our building during the last big storm we had prior to the hurricane. The absorption bags were all outside, but we needed a few on the inside as it did start to leak in a bit. With NL's help, I opened each door to bring in a few bags as he placed them on the inside. Unfortunately, to keep the outside bags set in place, I had to stay outside and go through our front door. Fortunately, I already removed my work shirt. Unfortunately, I figured I should get my jacket from the car so I got soaked from head to toe. Plus I got hit a few times by the hail. Never been hit by hail before. Went to the bathroom, dried up as much as I could (went the rest of the day with wet socks...), and changed shirts. I also let the staff know how we were to handle games if the power went out. Thankfully the heavy rain and hail was only around for two hours at max. The rest of the day carried on like normal. I did stay a little longer as there were a few small issues before heading out for Christmas Eve plans. Good thing I called ahead of time to make sure it was still on (they actually did not get any rain).
- Worked at the sister location again (12.26). It may be a weekly thing for the foreseeable future. I was asked to come in an hour earlier than originally scheduled. No big deal. When I got there, there were issues with one of the rooms. I had not even played that room so I couldn't help so I worked on getting other rooms ready. They eventually got the room up and running and we didn't have to cancel any bookings for it.
Then it rained. We didn't have a proper rug so a temporary one was brought in so that customers wouldn't slip. Not only that, our sign got knocked over and was soaked. It was intact, but it definitely was face down in the water for a while. Customers and walk-ins were still happening and we were at least thankful the power didn't go out (it did on Christmas Eve).
But we were understaffed. It would have been only four of us, but one of the owners and their husband were there before I arrived. They were very helpful (checking in customers, answering the phone, etc). I think we would have been run rugged if they didn't stay almost the entire time. Good that we were busy. I made sure to get a Green Apple Ice Blended with Crystal Boba and Ice Cream drink from ShareTea before heading home. Felt well deserved.
- Had a busy Friday (12.28). There was a good chunk of bookings to begin with, but more started to fill up as the day went on. In the end we had 41. Not that it hasn't happened in a while, especially during the holiday season, but I can't remember the last time we had a 40+ session day. Cheers to the team for doing what needed to be done.
Then we had a busy Saturday right after (12.29). Had a good chunk of staff on board (PH was back for a shift in person), but we still called off a few and also had some leave early. In the end, some stayed later than their shifts including Agent Ocean who was back from vacation. 44 sessions and a few minor mishaps occurred. Again, cheers to the team for doing what needed to be done.
And I'm not sure if this has happened before outside of helping build the sister location, but this might have been the first time I hit, was close to, or went over 40 hours. Definitely feeling the exhaustion and pain, but this certainly makes up for being sick at the beginning of the month.
- The last day of work was busy (12.31). We were also understaffed as a lot weren't available due to it being New Year's Eve and one was sick (originally scheduled). No one picked it up when they asked in the morning. Then it was brought up again by upper management because they saw how filled the bookings were and the fact that I blocked a few spots to compensate. Some staff could not stay long either because they had plans. LT was able to stay until closing (supposed to leave at 7PM) and in the end RB was able to take the shift to help close. It really was hectic before RB arrived because there was a mix of traffic and starting teams late and things broke...almost anything that could set us back happened. The few moments of calm were very welcomed as well as the food the owners bought for us for the night (Chili's). Cheers to AH coming to play a session and Agent Ocean for stopping by since he was in the area. And thanks to the returning customers that were kind enough to let us know how much they liked us.
Eventually things caught up, but it was still stressful. Originally I was supposed to leave at 7PM, but ended up staying until 9PM (I opened that day). I was exhausted and sore more so than usual. The phone was ringing off the hook. I was requested to do a specific inventory count so that they could order more, which we needed. I hosted in the majority of teams that day as well as hosting them out. I did a lot of resets solo as well. Thank you to the team for being reliable in what they were doing and listening to what I was asking them to do. My brain was all over the place, but I'm sure it wasn't that noticeable outside of the few times I took a time to catch my breath. What a way to end the work year. Yay for the car ride being not so bad with the fireworks going off.
ETC=========================
- TWICE - Strategy (MV)
Took me a bit to get into it. It didn't help that they unfortunately had less performances due to issues in South Korea. Understandable. Plus this came out when I was sick so I wasn't indulging in every piece of media coming out for it. PS: Why no Megan Thee Stallion photo cards?
- BabyVoX reunited and performed during the plethora of end of the year performances (12.20). The smile on my face, ha. They've done appearances and activities here and there solo or with 1-2 others. Seeing all five together was too good. I could be critical of their performance because it wasn't perfect, but nostalgia and joy far outweighed everything. Seeing fancams of them when that term didn't exist when they were at their peak was crazy to process. And then there's just the muscle memory of their classics coming back to. That same week I went back and listened to their albums. They were there at the beginning of my Kpop fandom. To see them perform 20+ years later, wow. Thank you.
- Originally, the BabyVoX paragraph was where I ended this blog post. Something in me thought to say something about 2024 in general and expectations for 2025. 2024 was fast and busy. A good number of downs, but more ups. Not enough ups, but I can't complain too much as I made it through the bad times. 2025...I have no expectations. I should have a plan, but I really don't. If anything, I'll watch how much I eat and watch how much I spend. Maybe take a few more chances on things in general. We shall see.
That's a wrap on December 2024. That's a wrap on 2024. Thank you for your support. Be cool and be kind.
"Reprise the theme song and roll the credits."
