June Entry 2025:
June was full of things that happened.
MISC=========================
- Picked up my new glasses (06.03). They were ready the day before, but I couldn't pick them up during their store hours since I worked an opening shift. Made my way there before work. It didn't take long for them to get my glasses (little carrying bag, hard box case), let me try them on (very sturdy, doesn't fall off my head if I shake it, etc), had me read lines off a chart (could read all), gave me a lens cloth, and I was done. I didn't wear them that day since I didn't want any adjustments to them to interfere with work. So my first official day wearing them was 06.04. Took some getting used to, but I'm adjusting to them well.
I had to double check the blog to see when I got my previous pair of glasses. It was 07.17.16 (got during my time at HER). Almost 10 years. It definitely felt longer. The time frame between those and a previous pair (got during my office job) was 8 years.
- Plans to keep the Tesla rental were changed again. Insurance got approved and we had to return it by the fourth. Pretty much had it for a week. The original plan was to drop it off with my dad and we'd drive back in the new car together (06.04). But at the last minute he didn't want to go so I had to set up an Uber. I've ridden in Ubers before, but never had to order a pick up until now. I had set up an account a few months ago to go to work (didn't do) so I just had to redownload the app. $30 to get back home. Not bad, but still.
Drove out to JW's place. He was out of town so I was only going to drop it off. He sent me a photo of where to park it. I sent a photo in reply to be safe (I was). Then I waited another 20 minutes for the Uber. I set it up for a 1PM pick up just in case traffic picked up. Got picked up and had a quiet ride back home.
And that is the end of my time renting a Tesla. I liked the car overall. Lots of positives like the cameras for switching lanes, backing up, and security. Only downside is how long it takes to charge. From 20% to 100% would take 35 minutes and I did that twice (last time was the night before returning it). At least if I ever need to rent a Tesla, I'll be comfortable using it.
- Watched the 2017 Power Rangers movie (06.04). The internet went out 15 minutes in and I had to wait half an hour for it to return. I found the movie to be solid. My favorite thing was the cast of the Rangers. The different take on the original US cast was interesting. Tip of the hat to the surprise guests at the end of the movie (I knew they were in the movie, but I didn't know how and when they would show up). The overall grittier story, I didn't mind. My negatives were with how the non-human character designs looked. Alpha, Putties, and the Zords looked bad or generic. But in the end, I liked it. It's unfortunate they didn't get a sequel.
- Went to Aga's (06.05). This was supposed to happen back in February, but some unfortunate news happened for JC. Months later, NRM thought it was time to try again. Went to Aga's like originally planned, but also included JC's wife. I had only seen her in photos so it was my first time meeting her. Not only that, but that's when they let me know they were expecting, yay. I'm pretty sure that was the reason for wanting to meet up prior as November is the due date. Outside of the amazing news, we all caught up on things and ate some good food. We shared some grilled goat chops and mango lassi. Everyone had their own dish and mine was peshawari shrimp karahi. All good stuff. NRM gave us some goods before we all parted.
- A friend from middle school had some unfortunate news (06.07). I shared my condolences and offered to talk if needed. He started his post with a quote that really does hit hard; "Aaaand we are officially at that point in life where it stops giving you things, and starts taking them away." Stay strong, KK.
- Caught up on Worlds Collide and Money In The Bank the day after (06.08). Great wrestling action all around. Worlds Collide was almost a "blink and you'll miss it" event. Money In The Bank was nuts because of the titular ladder matches and the surprises that happened.
- My iPhone needed an update for a couple of weeks now (06.11). I hooked it up to my PC and started it. At some point the update stopped due to an error, but my phone was stuck on the progress screen. Looked online and found how to shut it down manually. Did that and it prompted me to connect to my PC again to redo the update. Tried it and it failed again. Did it a couple more times and kept looking online for possible solutions. I tried to find any online chat or call service I could do because I didn't want to go out to a Genius Bar to get this fixed. No live customer service unfortunately (obviously since they have the Genius Bar). I decided to try one thing before giving up and going out for service and that was to try another cable since the one I normally use is older. The newer one I mainly use in my car if I have to and they are the ones that came with my bluetooth earbuds. Attached that cable to my PC and phone and the update finished. Thank goodness. While the solution was simply to try a different cable, I saw no one online mention that and it took over half an hour to end up doing that.
- Finally watched my copy of the ITZY - Born To Be concert blu-ray (06.15). It was actually one day and one year after going to the concert when they were in town. I had seen clips of this particular concert. I definitely knew that I did when they showed Lia in the audience. While it was great to relive concert memories, I was very tired on this day and unfortunately was falling in and out of it. Not their fault, just very low on energy. Thanks for the boost.
- Hung out with the HeXagon crew (06.18). It was all you can eat KBBQ and sushi at a familiar place we go to. Met one of them for the first time in person. Normal affair of catching up, eating good food, and having some silly laughs. A highlight was NRM holding his phone synced to a TV on display so we could hear the famous line from A Few Good Men, ha. The majority of them went to get boba after, but I decided to turn in early. Until next time.
- John Cena's pipe bomb (06.20). Brilliant. Enough said.
- Went and completed a bunch of sidequests after work (06.23). The first was heading to EvePink to pick up my copy of TWICE (MISAMO) JAPAN DOME TOUR 2024 - [HAUTE COUTURE]. It was ready on Friday (06.20). Thankfully they hold your pre-orders for 2 weeks. I also got a pre-order bonus for an ITZY card. While I've gotten bonuses before, it's usually for something related to the artist/group. But this time I had a choice when making the order online. My guess is to get rid of extra stock as this was an older card from their CHECKMATE era. Took about half an hour to get there from work and less than five minutes to walk in and walk out with my copy.
Next stop was to Tea-Amo. I tried going to this boba place a few months ago, but it was packed. Literally no parking unless you went across the freeway. This time there was plenty of parking. There were no customers when I arrived. I asked about one drink because there was no description on their site. It didn't sound too appealing so I went for something new rather than my normal passion fruit or Oreo flavor. I went with Tropical Tango (pineapple, passion fruit, and peach) with boba. Nice looking place with lots of room to sit. No more than five minutes later my drink was ready. Took my photo and proceeded to location number three.
Third on the list was GameStop. It was five minutes away, which is why I chose Tea-amo (originally chose something close to EvePink, but changed my mind). The goal was to pre-order the Donkey Kong & Pauline amiibo. Needed to secure it. Didn't have to wait in line despite a couple customers in the store. Made my pre-order in a couple minutes and headed off to the final area.
The final sidequest was CVS to pick up more Rogaine. This would be my third bottle and depending on how it goes, possibly the last one I buy for now. The other item I wanted (Selena Gomez Oreos) was not available (only online, my bad for not noticing that). This CVS didn't have it locked behind plexiglass, but it did have that spider security holder on it. Brought it to the counter to check out and have the security device removed and the cashier proceeded to use all available coupons I had. I knew I had two specifically for $7 off Rogaine, but I didn't know if it would stack. It did, yay. On top of that was a 20% off coupon. So instead of paying $45, I saved around $19 and only paid $17. Pretty dang good.
After that, I headed home. Time spent in each store was no more than 5 minutes (20 total). Most of the time was spent driving from one location to the other with the longest being at the beginning and the end. All sidequests completed.
- Finally got license plates for the new car (06.27). That is all, ha.
- Ordered a new Snoopy shirt (06.29). That is all, ha.
- Watched Predator: Killer of Killers (06.29). I had heard about this because it was mentioned on Diggnation since it was directed by a former host of the Totally Rad Show (who has gone on to direct many movies). I did want to watch it on the original release date, but the Switch 2 just got released. And I kept pushing this back due to games or being tired etc. But once it was towards the end of the month and all the games scheduled were taken care of, figured this was the time.
I had seen the animation style before and I was still surprised with how well it looks. It's bloody and violent so viewers take heed, but if you're a Predator fan, you might be expecting it. While I knew there would be multiple protagonists, I didn't realize it took place over different time periods. I really liked that for multiple reasons such as seeing a Predator in a different environment and seeing them fight different styles. The culmination of characters was a good payoff. They teased a sequel and I hope it happens. Thumbs up from me.
- Because of the new car, I now have an additional bill to pay. I had a certain schedule for paying other bills so that it's not all at once. I figured it was good to alter them to make time for the bills to get paid and not get hit hard at any portion of the month. I might alter it again if it isn't working out as planned.
- PS: The shower still has not been fixed. Another worker came in early in the month to make an assessment. Drains are not the issue. It's the pipes. And the original person is "too busy" and won't even set an appointment, which is crazy. Tune in next month to see if this concludes.
GAMES=========================
- Demo Showcase Shorts continues. 19 total this month (2 carrying over to next month) The first (and only for now) demo for Switch 2 was Street Fighter 6. Some demos are exclusive, but I'm not going to separate them. The only thing that needed to be adjusted was searching for demos on the new eShop. While there used to be a specific button, you now have to go into the search filters and check off the box called Games with Demos. Thankfully the eShop is faster to navigate through.
Special note about the Boxville 2 demo. The developers responded to the post. It was in response to me saying there was no Pro Controller support. They said there was and to check again. I did even though I already archived the demo, but I figured to give them the benefit of the doubt. When I did check, I used both a Switch 1 and Switch 2 Pro Controller (the one I originally used) and still nothing. I explained that the controller would disconnect after booting up the game. Then they asked if it was the full game or demo. I let them know it's the demo and that the whole thread were my quick impressions of demos. Then the said the Pro Controller works for the full game not the demo, but maybe in the future they'll add it to the demo. A misunderstanding, but the first line of these posts is "Demo Showcase Shorts." To me this fell under a similar category of people who think I still stream.
- Neva was the last new game played on my Switch 1 (06.01). I had already scheduled this for June because I streamed GRIS in June back in 2020. While I still prefer GRIS, Neva is fantastic on its own. The visuals are stunning throughout. I took so many screenshots as expected. Combat was fairly simple. Nothing beyond a 3-hit combo and having Neva hold opponents. Dodging was easy and responsive. They really made you care about Neva immediately. Seeing it grow through the seasons and become more valuable reinforces your bond.
I had a few negatives. One is that there are times it feels slow going from one area to another. That hit more when going back to collect and find everything. That is where my bigger gripe comes from. It's not that they were particularly challenging, but there were 2 specific achievements that require you to do something specific multiple times. However, if you miss one and you didn't realize it, you can't go back to find/get it. You would have to do that sequence again from the beginning. It's okay if you die though. But using the chapter select to go back will reset that specific sequence progress. That happened to me in both instances and I had to spend half an hour in total for each one.
Other than that, if you like GRIS, you'll like Neva.
- My copy of the Castlevania: Dominus Collection arrived (06.02). Currently scheduled to play in October just like the previous Castlevania collections. I've played none of them so it should be interesting to see how these go. I definitely know that Order of Ecclesia is given high praise. Hopefully that hype doesn't weigh in on how I feel about it.
- Pool Blitz was the final free-to-play game of the month played on Switch 1 (06.04). Very good. Controls work really well, nice tutorial to start, and it's solid all around. Negatives include no local multiplayer (only online) and it has all the typical free-to-play tropes of in-game currency, achievements, dailies, timed events, etc for unlocks. But you have 8-Ball, 9-Ball, and Blitz. You can check the rules before jumping in if you need it. I forgot how 9-Ball worked at first, ha. Blitz is so fun. You versus another player on their own table. No waiting, sink all your balls before the other does. But there will be added effects such as pocket blockers and having balls added to your table from your opponent. If you like billiard video games, definitely give this one a shot.
- Nintendo Switch 2 midnight launch written about at the end of this entry. But the day of was still busy (06.05). Oddly enough, the other Switch 2 I got for Agent Ocean via the Nintendo Store came in on the same day (expected it a few days down the line). With that I also got my Yunobo amiibo (was available at the midnight launch) and an NSO Gamecube controller.
Before officially playing, I made sure to check all the menus I didn't go through during midnight. It was nice to try the mouse controls and to see any other differences. When I did finally start playing Mario Kart World, the other side thing I needed to be sure of was taking photos. Similar overall, but a few options were different and I simply need to get used to them. And at some point when I took a break from Mario Kart World, I also explored the eShop. Mentioned the demos earlier, but it's also similar with free-to-play games; no dedicated button, but can be found if searched with "free to play" in the search engine. But the majority of the day was Mario Kart World. Good stuff.
- Mario Kart World is the first Switch 2 game finished (06.05-06.11). Technically got credits to roll on the first day after beating the Special Cup on 50cc (it rolls every time you beat the Special Cup). At first I would do Grand Prix then swap to Knockout Tour per class speed. But once I unlocked Mirror Mode (06.08), I hopped back and forth instead of going all Grand Prix or all Knockout Tour.
I felt the game was easier than most Mario Kart games. I don't mean that in a bad way. I never felt it was impossible to come back from being far behind. Sure I didn't get gold every single time and had to restart, but it wasn't very daunting. Knockout Tour is super fun and I can imagine how a large group playing together could get very into it. Free Roam is nice. I went to it a few times at the end of a day or before work and liked exploring. This is the only thing left to do (as of now) and even with maps it is a little tough to find everything. Even if you find it, making the effort to beat a P-Switch or reach a ? Panel or Peach Medallion can be very challenging. I did get a chance to play online with Rannchan and others in her stream and actually liked how we were all going out to find things and would mention where we found something and would teleport to each other, ha.
Overall, solid. I can't wait for any updates to the game like 200cc (even though I'm not good at them), additional racers or tracks, and anything else.
- SOUL CALIBUR II is the first GameCube NSO (or Nintendo Classics) game of the month (06.12-06.14). It was either going to be this or F-Zero GX, but I opted for something "easier." I have more nostalgia for the first Soul Calibur game, but was familiar with the sequel. This also happened to be the last Soul Calibur game I played as I never had a system future releases were on. This was still familiar enough. Playing as favorites like Astaroth and Cervantes had a lot of muscle memory. I did switch fights to one round to help clear Arcade mode with everyone faster with only the last couple fights usually being the challenge.
I did forget about Weapon Master mode. Once I started playing it to unlock characters, I remembered how they had crazy challenges. Some were simple and fast, some took time. But I did playthrough to the end of Weapon Master mode to have credits roll. I did unfortunately decide to abandon the new missions that came out after meaning I did not unlock the final three characters. A tough decision that only I cared about as I do try to play as everyone and beating fighting games with every character. Playing through the mode one more time with more and tougher challenges would have needed an extra day or so from me in an already crammed schedule of games.
The GameCube controller is solid. It took me a while to get used to the ZL and screen shot buttons. But after a while it became natural.
- The Donkey Kong Bananza Direct was very informative (06.18). Pauline was officially announced. There were a lot of techniques that were shown off. More lore was mentioned. And there was tons of information on extra things (outfits, collectibles, etc). Towards the end was the surprise of a Donkey Kong & Pauline amiibo. It looks really good. You know I'm getting that when I pick up the game.
Now I have to figure out if I'm playing the game right away or later in the year. I've been debating back and forth ever since the release date was mentioned. As of now, it's either July or November. The main reason is because of the possibility (and now reality) of doing so much in the game. Do I want to 100% it or just do enough? We shall see what ends up happening.
- Finished Suikoden II off the Suikoden I&II HD Remaster (06.15-06.24). This took longer than anticipated, but it is naturally a longer game than the first. I kept the same goal as last time which was to collect all 108 Stars. Did that. There were way more sidequests and unfortunately did not have the time to finish them all especially since some items are missable or are rare to drop/find.
Side quests were one of my negatives. Another was the wars. I really liked how the wars played out in the first game. Simple rock-paper-scissors. While that's still in play, there are stats to worry about, who is in your unit, and the tactical movement on maps just made it not fun for me. Outside of doing specific things outlined in a guide I was using, I mainly left it for Apple to do and she would get the job done every time with minimal issues.
Much like the first game, the HD coat of paint, the music, and the battle speed options are awesome. Stripping non-active party members and optimizing others was good. Definitely spent less time in menus this time. I didn't play Chinchirorin outside of when you have to. It felt slower plus it was easier getting potch this time around.
Story wise, this felt almost 90% new to me. Very little was familiar. I didn't even remember that there was a true ending that could be missed, but we got thanks to the guide. Good overall.
- Got the Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong Power-Up Bands (06.27). Solace was going to Super Nintendo World and I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask if he could get them while there. He agreed to it and let me know when he purchased them. Then it was a wait for him to ship it out, but I wasn't in a rush. Outside of the Gold Power-Up Band, these are the only ones I have cases for since Solace bought them new. I like the aesthetic to these and that they come with a little extra handle to better hold them in place when wearing them. Good to have the collection completed again.
- Sixth game in the MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics was MARVEL vs. CAPCOM 2: New Age of Heroes.(06.25-06.29). At first I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to complete this because of how long it took to beat Suikoden II. But once I did the math, it was definitely possible. 19 playthroughs to beat the game with every character (one character got reused for the final team). Each team consisted of 2 Marvel fighters plus 1 Capcom fighter or 2 Capcom fights plus 1 Marvel fighter. Went back and forth between those team types. While it is understandable not to make 56 different endings, it made this process faster since I didn't have to worry about reloading a save file to make sure a certain character gets the last hit.
Following the format and not cherry-picking made for interesting teams. My highest scoring team was Iron Man, B.B. Hood, and Dr. Doom. The team I had the most trouble with winning was Servebot, Storm, and Roll. I didn't try to use any of the silly teams I made back in the day like Team Evil or Team USA. Going row by row with the format worked out nicely and made it enough of a challenge.
- One last Switch 2 change; deleting screenshots. It's better (at least for me). Before you could only delete 100 at a time. Now you can delete 1000 at a time. Filter to the game, go to Quick Actions, choose Delete, and then select as many as you need to trash.
WORK=========================
- Summer schedule is in effect (06.02). First Monday of the month and first Monday in a long time. Opened up with PH and RL. There weren't too many bookings at the beginning of the day other than a birthday party (little girl booked it since her father's English isn't great). But we actually had four bookings happen around the same time. Not the toughest thing to manage, but we were already in set up and cleaning mode when the other bookings started to appear. Things went smoothly. I ended up going into the birthday party's room for a few minutes because they needed help.
At some point, KR popped in to visit us. It was nice seeing her. One thing I appreciate that she did was ask if it was okay to go into the control room. Main reason being is that she's officially no longer on our roster, but was one of the originals. She didn't act like she could just waltz in where maybe others might think they can just do whatever. I mentioned she should take a silly photo or leave her mark somewhere, but she said she'll come back to surprise others whenever she can.
- Tuesday mid shift (06.03). Funny that the room to the control was open until I arrived and it was shut shortly after. No customers to watch, no one loud in the lobby. I showed up and they closed the door. And I'm sure they weren't thrilled when they actually had to do things because I was on the phone with a customer. Plus why do you need to leave to get food when your shift is almost over? Should have said "just go home" or something, but didn't want to add to more negativity my way. Hopefully I won't have to keep typing stuff like this.
I could not wait for PH to come in for his shift and for the others to leave. I joined him in the control room and said "this is the longest I've been in this room." I know at some point I also said something like "I'll take care of everything that you need me to do unless I'm physically unable to because I'm doing something else." To which he responded "jump from a plane," ha. Either he has no idea or wanted to make sure I was okay. There were only 3 bookings to start (2 when the others were there). That turned into 9 with 2 of them being replays. Pulled in 5-7 reviews too. Got a couple from one team where the mom didn't want to do one of our rooms because it has something she's scared of (even though I said we could change them), but I put their team on the TV since it was slow and even pointed out where those things were and she was okay watching them.
At the end of the night, it was a smooth closing as once the last team was in, we locked the door, PH was the game master, and I was mopping the lobby and open-resetting each room one by one. By the the time the last team was done, only that room needed to be open-reset and the trash needed to be taken out. As we walked out and threw away the trash, PH said "this was like when we first closed together." He was the first person I closed with without Agent Ocean making sure I knew the closing duties. I thanked him for remembering that and for always being easy to work with. We fist bumped and ended our work day.
- Slow Friday (06.06). IB came in for 10 minutes and then asked if he could leave...because he had a date. I dapped him up for that. He had mentioned seeing someone a few months ago and would update me when he could. Proud of him.
Had a talk with Agent Ocean about a meeting that was supposed to happen. He assured me it was still going to happen and that he's got my back.
And to top things off, we together got 15 reviews on this slow day.
- The meeting happened (06.07). I won't go into all the specifics, but Agent Ocean sat back and let us talk things out. I was asked to start because they wanted to know my perspective. But apparently none of them feel comfortable talking to me because of my title (?). I "do whatever I want." I let them know that I'm always doing things and the reason they're usually upset with me is because I'm doing something else when they want me to do something, Brought up the example from last week. That and any other incident could have been avoided if they simply talked to me. I mentioned it a couple of times that I never put up a wall that no one could talk to me. That's on them. Other incidents were mentioned like me refusing to Game Master (but apparently that was over a year ago...so why bring it up now) adding more credence to the fact that some of the staff think I can't Game Master at all. To that I said that on the days I'm working solo I have to Game Master. Agent Ocean brought up how you put your best people in the right spots. For example, one of them refuses to ask for reviews so that's why they're not asked to Game Host. To the Game Hosting, apparently I take all of those. At the time I said that nothing is stopping them from Game Hosting. In hindsight I could have named a couple people that do and that the sister location always does it. Agent Ocean hammered it home a few times that they just need to talk to me instead of complaining behind closed doors citing how he and I talk business all the time and don't agree with each other 100%, but we respect each other enough to actually talk things out.
The meeting was about half an hour long (I didn't mention everything), but I did say I hope that there is change otherwise this meeting was a waste of time. The two of them went to get food after (I'm sure they talked about things). Shortly after returning, one of them had a meeting with Agent Ocean alone. He let me know about it later and it's ridiculous (I listened to his voicemails after leaving work). Talk about continuing to misinterpret what I said and only hearing what you thought you heard. We both had other points we could have made, but we forgot to and it would have leaned towards my favor and against them, to which they would have more reason to not like working with me. In the end, I believe none of us in that meeting think we're wrong, but only I'm willing to change. I thanked Agent Ocean again for having my back and being professional despite our friendship and he said the same back.
I give it 2 weeks to see if any change happens.
To end that shift on a high note, the customers from last week that bought a bunch of drinks and did replays returned with more people. They bought more drinks, but only played one extra game. Afterward, we talked about them eventually going to the sister location and I said I'd be there next week and they were hyped up to plan and head out there. Hey, look at me bonding with the customers who want to come back and see me.
- Opening shift on a Monday (06.09). I typed down "kids mode," but don't remember if anything specific happened outside of me being the Game Master. At some point I did have to leave my game as the water guy came to drop off more large jugs of water. I mentioned how we have so many and he asked me to show him. I unlocked the building next door and counted 20 with the 3 he brought. Then I pointed to the 15+ empty jugs we had. He asked why we had so many and I stated that there were a few times that the water was left outside if we were closed to which he replied that delivery personnel are not supposed to do that. He said to put a pause on our account so we don't charged for unneeded deliveries (relayed it to the owners). I helped him take all the empty jugs to his truck (he put 15 on his cart and I carried the rest). I'm glad I got to meet him otherwise we'd still have all those jugs.
One woman kept calling about her upcoming birthday party. I took care of it each time because at one point she called and specifically asked for me by name when I didn't pick up the phone. She wanted to be sure about everything and that things would be prepped so I don't blame her. I just found it funny as I would be so relaxed about things while she worried a lot.
And while I was supposed to leave at 5PM, I took a photo of a magnet that wasn't properly working since the day prior. I sent it into the manager chat and Agent Ocean knew exactly what to do. It was relatively simple, I just didn't know how to go about it by only looking at it. I took my time with it to not make it worse, but I was able to get it working right, yay. Good way to end the shift.
- Busy Tuesday from the jump (06.10). The reason being that Agent Ocean needed us to remote Game Master while he was unfortunately running solo at the sister location (someone didn't show up). So while we weren't super busy on our side, I had to assist PH with some of the rooms he wasn't familiar with over there while watching my own. Agent Ocean was also trying to fix an issue with one of the rooms there while keeping the customers happy and the flow smooth (there were 5-6 teams there). I even offered to drive over there, but everything would have been done by the time I arrived. But with the help of PH and myself, he survived.
A group of teachers came to our facility and one was really hot (she had a wedding ring). There was also a family that returned to play again. I didn't remember them right away, but the daughter remembered me. Surprised I didn't remember the hot mom, ha.
- Worked at the sister location for the first time in over a month (06.13). I got to meet SS who was hired before going on vacation. She's pretty good at hosting (showed her how I do things and recommended to work on her flow). She had not played any of the rooms yet so I had her play one by herself and then reset it a few times to get used to it.
Other than myself getting used to things again, it was a decent day. Not super busy, but busy enough. The rain might have been a contributing factor. Shout out to TR for going out in the rain to get us all boba (I got a fresh passion fruit tea).
Customer-wise, there were two sets of customers that recognized me from the main venue. The first was a couple that brought their parents for her birthday. They didn't recognize me at first, but I almost immediately recognized them because of how she spoke and her mannerisms. The other was the team that I served plenty of drinks to for two consecutive weeks. I let them know I was working at the sister location and sure enough they made the booking to play the rooms there and buy lots of drinks. They played two rooms and we spoke for a bit after their final one before closing for the day.
Cheers to the sister location staff for doing their thing without having to be prompted. Way to keep the ship operational. Happy Birthday to RW.
- First Saturday since the meeting (06.14). They were more proactive, good. I helped when I could, but I definitely had more time to rest now that I wasn't taking on the majority of the load. The majority of the time I was resetting rather than hosting teams in and out.
I did make sure to host the party of the person I spoke of earlier. I wanted to her to know my face and that I was the person taking care of the majority of her planning. In the end, she gave more of a tip even though she left a tip previously. She was relieved that things went smoothly.
To end the night, the closing shift filmed another social media video. It was another idea from RL who take part along with PH and AH. We filmed it after we wrapped up the closing duties and all the customers were gone. We did 4 different takes before being satisfied with the video and clocking out at midnight. Unfortunately, the video wasn't approved.
- Slow busy Monday (06.16). Slow in the number of bookings. Busy because we were constantly doing things. I myself was answering and returning so many phone calls with some being from the same customer/s. I also finally made something I wanted to on Canva. For a few weeks, Agent Ocean has started to write out the staff members' names on a sheet of paper to point out for customers that want to give shoutouts. Others have followed suit, but they kept using a new sheet of paper each time. I thought of a way to make it easier and to never waste a piece of paper per day. Basically a simple graphic with the QR code for reviews, but a list of names. There were enough names to have two columns around the QR code. Easy for customers to understand and read. It took a couple of tries to get the print out to come out properly. Not only that, but we ran out of printing paper (had to use cardstock).
I had to remake it the next time I had a shift because even though I tested it, the QR code wasn't sending customers straight to the reviews, only to the Google search. Agent Ocean let me know how to properly get the QR code and it worked. Not only that, but I had to add and remove some names after asking him. Regardless, a simple idea that has proven beneficial.
- A busy Tuesday (06.17). Other than working on the previously mentioned graphic, I got one group to do a replay (asked all four of them to leave reviews and they did). And one customer called earlier asking if they can do a room by themself. I made the booking and they showed up later. She was pretty and easy to talk to. She mentioned how she had time and figured why not try even though she normally goes with her sister and a few others. After her first game (normally a four person room), I did the general spiel about reviews and discounts/replays. She double checked her schedule and was down to do another room. Gave her a small discount because it's just one person. This time she played in a two person room, but I offered to play along with her if she felt she wanted another player. She declined as she wanted to prove to herself she could do it. After she was done, we talked a bit more, but then she had to go for her plans. A few minutes later, she walked back in saying her plans were cancelled so she was down for round three. Booked her again, had her wait since other teams needed to be tended to. As I was walking her to her room, we talked a lot in the hallway (playing with others, our style of play, Lego, games, etc). I asked if she had social media and she was cool with exchanging afterwards. I actually was her Game Master for the majority of this last room she played and would add "Cadet [her name]" every time I sent a hint. It was interesting to see her play as she was really good, but definitely would have realized things faster if she had an extra person in the room to bounce ideas off of. Took her out of her room when she was done (yes, I was pretty much was her Game Host the entire time she was at our venue) and she sat down to talk for a bit before we followed her on Instagram. She mentioned she might come back that Friday, but I wouldn't be working. I mentioned I'd be at the sister location on Saturday in case she was in the area and to do their rooms there. We shook hands and she left the building (for real this time).
She was just a cool person. Other than escape rooms, we both are into video games. I did think to ask her to dinner afterwards, but I didn't want to push my luck. Figured exchanging social media was a good foot-in-the-door if we were going to connect more. Hopefully I get to see you again in the near future, APW.
- Slow Thursday, but I was busy (06.19). When I came in, I was told by those that were there that one of the pipes in a certain room was removed by a customer. That tells me that whoever was watching them...wasn't watching them otherwise they would have stopped them. But basically they got something faster without solving puzzles leading to it. When I went to fix it, I saw that the pipe was put back on backwards. The fix only took a few minutes and is fairly easy. The staff asked if I could lower the camera in that room to help see that area. I noted that in my second week working at the company, I adjusted almost every camera and that some are impossible to move. I made the attempt and this one was very much in its place, but I managed to lower it enough without breaking it.
The next thing I took care of was the a/c when the a/c guy came by. I immediately told the staff that I was going to be with him until he was done. I texted the management chat that the a/c leaked a couple days prior and they let him know. He asked how much it leaks and where. He asked how long does it usually take for the leak to happen after turning it on and I said 15 minutes at the least. I turned it on, got the ladder, and he went up to check on it. No issues so far so we brought the ladder next door to check the drainage pump. Nothing wrong there, but he wanted to wait for the possibility of a leak. So he chilled in the lobby and we talked as we waited. I went to the bathroom and when I came back, the leak happened. Coincidence? No, ha. The puddle was just as much as last time. He assessed it, we cleaned it up, and then went next door. He noticed the pump was on, but not activating. And that was the issue, the pump was activating late. His solution was to bypass the pump and connect the tubes to each other and let gravity do the work. That did the job. We saw it drain properly and the a/c was running properly and the lobby felt even cooler. He said he'll come back to check on things and to bring the part needed when he gets it. But at least for now it works and we know what to do if it leaks in the meantime.
The rest of the day was normal. I did finally send out an email draft I was making with ideas for the company. And I updated the shirt count spreadsheet (I was given the task to do it at the sister location as well). While I left half an hour before the final booking could be made, the rest of the staff left an hour early. There was a question mark of why I was staying, but I did have things to do like the shirt count and other miscellaneous things (happened to make a booking over the phone for that Saturday). But my question was why they were ready to leave as early as they were since I never said anything and we aren't supposed to leave that early anymore unless given permission. Anyways.
- First Saturday working at the sister location (06.21). I ended up Game Mastering more than I normally would, but it was good to get more experience with the rooms that aren't at the main venue. Had one bad team to start the day that simply was not good for their first time. Other than that, no major issues. It wasn't the busiest Saturday either so there wasn't a lot of scrambling to get things done.
I did get to be part of their weekly weekend meal. We got Arby's. I didn't mean to do this on purpose, but I wolfed down my food fast and then exited a team as we finished around the same time. When I got to the back, I mentioned if food is around, staff at both locations will take their time eating and not everyone is going to jump out of their seat to do something with food in their hands. Not scolding them, but giving them insight. At some point, CG and I walked to Somisomi as I mentioned to SP that dessert was on me for her birthday a few days prior. This location was big. You could fit three of the ones I normally go to in there. I got Cookies N Creme with Ube since I've never had those combined together (and it was a weekly special). We walked back and CG and SP had theirs and really liked it (their first time). The rest of the staff wanted to know what it was and where to get it. TR was off his shift, but went to get some for others and they all enjoyed it. Yay for introducing them to a nice dessert place within walking distance.
At the end of the night, CG and I talked about things. I let him know to be proud of how he's been running things. That led to letting him know how things at the other location aren't perfect. He knew of some things as he and Agent Ocean have spoken about it before. But I gave him more of my perspective and gave examples of things I do there that he also has carried over to the sister location and how the contrast of how (some of) the staff takes it is vast. I clocked out half an hour after my shift, but stayed until closing as all we were doing was talking about work things. I gave him advice on what else he could do (social media, in-store ads, etc). But it was a good talk overall. He's doing a good job.
- Not a very busy Monday (06.23). It was myself and RL opening and we did some cleaning. At one point, I closed one of the doors to a room and it didn't lock like normal. I took a ladder and looked down from above and saw a magnet came off the rail and was simply stuck onto the other end. Now I could have climbed in from up top to fix it, but then there wouldn't be much wiggle room. So I asked RL to help remove a heavy wall panel. Joked around that this what he was going to the gym for, ha. He removed it and set it aside and I went to check on the magnet. I found the screw that came off, but not the bolt and washer to hold it in until a couple of minutes after. Once I tested it a few times, I asked RL to put the wall back up. Thankfully that did the trick as no issues were reported since then.
Around the same time, we had to stop cleaning as there were last minute calls to come in soon. The customer asked if they could split their Groupon (bought one for 8 and wanted to do two rooms of 5 and 3). I let them know I would need clearance from upper management as I didn't want to promise or do something I wasn't allowed to. Management later said that's not allowed, but I could allow it since it wasn't busy. I made sure when I called that customer back to let them know that this was not something we normally do, but that we would allow it this time and how they should go about it next time. And that team came late, ha. But RL and I each took a room where I took the one with Kids Mode.
Left at 5 when my shift ended so I could complete the sidequests mentioned earlier in this entry.
- Not a super busy boys day (06.25). Switched KA to on-call since there weren't too many bookings. There was an issue in one room that has a bunch of screens, but this one has a lock attached to it and they couldn't get it to lock before I got there. They let management know, but I wanted to take a crack at it. After a team was done, I went in and checked it out...and got it to work in less than a minute, ha. ZM was surprised, but I said we should try to make it happen at least 2 more times. We did, but it was inconsistent. Almost every other attempt it would lock until it just stopped. I reported my findings to upper management, which was that if I opened the frame all the way, it would sometimes work. To which they surmised it definitely was a wire issue. We blocked the rest of the bookings for that room.
At one point, the power went out. It was out for about a good minute or two before coming back on. It happened while we had one team in and they started walking out of the room since they knew it wasn't part of the game. I lead them to the lobby and let them know we'll make sure everything is working properly before putting them back in. Took a few more minutes to get the internet back on and to turn off the fire alarm. Once the room was back up, we brought them in with their remaining time (they were in there for less than 10 minutes). HW was their Game Master while ZM and I went to make sure everything in the other rooms were working. The story about the power going out was that there was a car that fell into a ditch very hard at the turn in for our shopping center. All of us in the venue heard it and so did other businesses around us. But according to our neighbors across from us, that was enough force to jostle one of the transformers and that's why we all lost power.
ZM left when his shift was over and I checked a couple more things to make sure they were fully operational. During this time there wasn't much going on. After doing so (cameras, timers, alternate monitors, etc), I went to check on a fog machine. It didn't go off during the last game that played there. It wasn't low on fluid (had half), but I filled it up anyways. It still wouldn't work. Looked up YouTube tutorials that all pointed to stuff with the motor that I wasn't going to mess with. Reported it to upper management for them to check along with the lock. As I was checking on that, HW informed me that we had a walk-in. He booked them and I wrapped up what I was doing. He hosted them in and shortly left as his shift was over. I ended the night with Game Mastering this duo, leaving the fog machine accessible for the ladies to check, and closed up for the night.
- Slow Thursday (06.26). Came in with the staff telling me of another issue that happened. The DMX lights for one of the rooms was not working and that was something I didn't check the day before. At least they realized to give the team more flashlights to use as everything else in the room was working.
I thought the ladies were going to be fixing things before I got there, but they were there around 5PM. Not only did they get the lock fixed fast (apparently I showed them how to do it before and I have no recollection of that, ha), but they were there to find out another TV went out and had to replace it. They also checked the fog machine and figured out it was an issue with the motor and ordered a new fog machine. Then they checked on the DMX lights. In the end, they couldn't fix it at the time, but had an idea of what it would be (the lights weren't plugged into the power supply for some reason). We blocked the rest of the bookings for that night even though we had plans for alternate lights. They fixed it the next day.
At the end of the night, it was myself and HL cleaning until we were going to leave early. But someone called and asked to book a room. Even though the room was to start at 8:30PM, they asked if they could come in at 9PM. I tried to fight against it, but they paid and there was no real reason not to since the technical last booking for any room was 9PM. And while we were still cleaning for another hour waiting for the last team, someone else booked online and chose the actual last room of the night. Once both teams were in, I did a few small things before Game Mastering one of the teams. Ended the night like normal and I messaged the team about the lights and fog machine and left around 10:30PM.
The one thing I didn't mention to anyone was a customer call I took around 7PM. The customer called asking to either reschedule or get a refund for a booking they had on Saturday. The reason being that one of their team members unfortunately lost their 7-month year old fetus. They asked what they could do and I let them know the corporate answer (no refunds, rescheduling, etc). But I offered that if a refund was necessary to email the owners and let them know what happened to get it processed. I was being as detailed as possible to not miscommunicate anything and to let them know what I was doing on my end. They decided to move the booking up by one month and to call us whenever they want to choose an actual date. If the need for a refund is needed, they will email us. And while it seemed like everything was understood, I gave some words of empathy/sorrow/etc. That was a few extra minutes as the customer was still in shock about what to do to help their friend. If I recall correctly, I said something along the lines of "you'll do whatever you're able to do to help your friend. You may not know it now, but you'll do something." They thanked me for the kind words and then we hung up. After that, I rescheduled them as I said I would and left a long note in case any other staff member were to do anything with it. This was one of those instances that I was glad I was the one that took the phone call. I believe some staff members wouldn't know what to do or say, or know what to do but not be as empathetic. Will I ever tell anyone? Maybe Agent Ocean and maybe the ladies. But this to me is similar to the time at HER I saw someone pass away and didn't tell any of the staff what happened (I think I wrote about it in a previous blog entry).
- Another Saturday at the sister location (06.28). TR wasn't feeling well (you've got this, man) so he was sticking to being Game Master and resetting. A high point for me was seeing a friend I haven't seen in years come in. It was great seeing her and it was like no time has passed other than commenting on how the last time I saw her, she just had a baby and now he's 5+, ha. I made sure to be their Game Master for the majority of their time. It was funny hearing her say things because that's who she is and how she reacted to things in the room. There was one time she looked right at one of the cameras and said "no hint, we're not ready." When I went to escort them out, I let them know my hand was hovering over a hint, ha. I also applauded her for figuring out something in the room that I normally have to give a clue for. After their team photo, we took a photo together. Yay, friendship.
Our meal of the night was Freddy's. Had not had that in many years. I got a chilli dog and a shake. But that wasn't enough for any of us so CG and TR went to get Somisomi (I got a dalgona flavored ah-boong). The only downside was a bad father coming back to do another room with his wife and son. They were there when I first came in for my shift. SP told me a few things about him that rang true such as going "mm-hmm" or "yeah" or "uh-huh" after each line of our briefing speech. I got to experience that when they were there for round 2. He also came out saying "we don't want hints" even though they asked for a bunch the first time. They later asked for a lot of hints as this room was harder for them compared to the previous one they did...which is statistically our hardest room. When I escorted them out, I had to explain so much stuff in a way that wouldn't make them feel bad. Thankfully there weren't too many customers left or another session for that room they did as I was in there for longer than I should have explaining things. At least they weren't upset.
Did a few extra tasks specific to that location and left half an hour later than I was supposed to.
- Last work day of the month was simple during my shift (06.30). There were three games at the beginning of the day and I took one as RL took two with each of us having a Kids Mode. Got some reviews from two of those teams. Other than resetting, followed up on an email of random ideas, made/took phone calls, taped up something that was falling in one of the rooms (it was part of the puzzle that had a knock that we fixed a few days ago), and replying to reviews. Before I left, I made sure the others knew what to do in case the power went out because it stormed heavily after our initial group of teams left. It rained heavily later on in the day as well.
ETC=========================
- ITZY - Girls WIll Be Girls (MV)
Good stuff. They rocked their performances and wore amazing outfits. It's not my favorite of their mini albums, but it's not at the bottom of the list.
- ITZY - Killing Voice
- aespa - Dirty Work (MV)
Yeah, I like this song, ha. I like the grittiness of the music video too. Can't wait to see performances.
- Wendy & Kan MiYoun - Missing You
- I had two catfishes this month. The first was a person named Lisa. We matched on an app and they did the thing where they ask to talk on a different messaging app. I went along and we talked for a long time. They only shared two photos of themselves (pretty) and a few of their clothing designs. The fact that they were into fashion was a small red flag. But the big red flag that went up was when they eventually talked about money and kept asking how I earned money. I still played along without giving too many specifics. I didn't mention how they also conveniently left the city a few days after talking and they were actually from Los Angeles so there was little to no hope of getting to meet them in person anytime soon, but I never leaned into that angle. Our conversation went from 06.07-06.15. At that point they stopped contacting me and I figured that was it.
The other person was named Alice (06.09-06.11). They found me on Facebook and we friended each other. They kind of quickly established possibly wanting to date even though they were also from California. The conversations were decent. We shared a bit about previous relationships. And then the red flag went up when they started to talk about crypto. I repeated myself saying I wasn't interested and wanted to change topics, but they were adamant as to why I wasn't interested. I mentioned how catfishes normally talk about crypto and they asked if I thought they were now to which I replied "the alarms went off." They thought I meant I called the police so I clarified a red flag went up. Then they turned it around on me saying that they wanted a relationship of trust and said goodbye. And that was that...until they messaged me the next morning simply stating someone else's name that baffled me. I shared that with Agent Ocean and he was also stunned. I asked who that person was and there was no reply. About a week later I checked to see if they were still around and their profile was gone. Bottom line, it is possible that someone I know made a fake account or asked someone to make a fake account to mess with me. Things like this is why I worry about anyone matching with me.
Sticking with the topic of dating apps, I found someone that specifically mentioned their hobby was Kpop. Their profile was good and they had nice photos of themselves. I replied to their Kpop prompt asking who they were currently listening to and who I was currently listening to. That was around the 20th. No reply. Even with something distinctly in common, there's never a guarantee.
- Went to my GameStop's Nintendo Switch 2 midnight launch (06.04-06.05). They called the day before letting customers that had pre-ordered one that we could come in early throughout the day to pay off any difference left and that they'll start lining up customers at 10PM and letting us go in to pick up our consoles at 11PM. I remembered the last two things, but not the first. I figured to get there around 9:30PM to pay off the rest and thought that would be enough. I did not know they had been handing out numbers for everyone to line up throughout the day if they came in to pay early. I ended up being number 94. The manager and I caught up a bit as I paid things off and headed out to my car. I was only in my car for about 10-15 minutes before I saw people getting out to begin forming the line. I got out and got to the back, which was close to where I was when making my pre-order. And I was one person away from standing next to RelaxedRuthless who I chatted with during the pre-order. But once we greeted each other, the staff let us know that they wanted us to be in number order (and a few minutes later we swung the line around the other side of the building). So he and his family went up to the early 20s while I was at the back of the line with number 95.
95 and I greeted each other and talked almost the entire night. I admitted I saw her get in line from my car and was hoping we'd be close in line to talk and here we were one number apart (she's pretty). She told me she just pulled up when she saw me leave the store before she walked in to see if there were any extra units to pre-order. We talked about games (of course), what we do for work, our distance from home and the store, she talked about how her brother was at a different retailer waiting in line for a system at the same time, talked about family and friends, learned that she was married (she mentioned husband at some point) and that's when I let her know I was checking for a wedding ring, which lead to us talking about dating (showed her my dating app profiles and she made suggestions), and we were line buddies all night. We spoke to others around us as well. We were even asked to be interviewed for someone's YouTube video (https://youtu.be/FoCU5muIYFI?
Yeah, there was a possibility that we could have made it out before midnight, but there was a large handful of customers that left or stayed in their cars until close to midnight before getting in line. At one point, we were 10 customers away from entering, but we got pushed back by at least an extra hour when those people showed up here and there. That was probably the worst part of the night. Other than that, I got to see My Retro Life and his family in person. As much as I wanted to talk to them, I didn't want to disturb them. I tweeted at them when they posted their video and got a reply saying not to be shy next time. I didn't show up in their video, but it was nice to see another view of that night.
I got home later than expected. Somewhere between 12:30AM and 12:45AM. The original plan was to pick up the system (plus game, controller, and amiibo), unbox it, set it up, transfer the files, and go to sleep. Well...I did do all that, ha. I took my photos of everything and posted them online. Then I unboxed everything (except the game and pro controller). It was cool to actually have a Switch 2 in my hands. I did have issues putting on the screen protector. I actually messed up 1 of the 3 and had to throw that first one away. The second one worked well thankfully. Once everything was set up, it was time to transfer files. I knew it would take a while since I have a lot of things on mine compared to others. But it took 30-40 minutes only. I was expecting to see hours to the point that I'd leave going overnight while I slept. The fact that it took less than an hour wasn't bad. Everything was transferred by 2:22AM. I went to sleep shortly after.
All in all, great night.
That's a wrap on June 2025. Thank you for your support. Be cool and be kind.
"Reprise the theme song and roll the credits."
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