August 2026 Entry:
From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows.
MISC=========================
- NRM posted a story about some seasonal flavors at Dutch Bros. All looked good so I checked what was in them online and made it a point to get one soon. Before a virtual meeting, I went to the nearby Dutch Bros and ordered a large Supernova Fizz (08.02). I forgot how big their large size is, but I figured it would be good to last all day. Not bad. I was wishing the flavor was stronger, but it was a good drink.
- Watched both nights of SummerSlam on the same day (08.02). Watched the first hour of night 1 when I got home from work. Finished the rest in the morning. Iyo and Liv was a fantastic way to start the show. Seeing Nick Aldis wrestler after so long and coming out to Oasis, good stuff. Got to watch night 2 live and my goodness. Kevin Owens returning and Chelsea Green winning brought tears to my eyes. Cheers to the nods for Moxley during the World Heavyweight title match.
- Took another nap (08.05). This was right before work and it was close to two hours. The thing is that I could recall hearing the video I left on while I lay down. It felt like I was checking in and out of the audio.
- Watched Bubblegum Crisis OVA (08.01-08.08). I wasn't sure if I watched this back in the day, but I definitely didn't. The story wasn't familiar at all. I probably knew it by name and seeing clips of the characters used in fan videos. This was only available dubbed, which allowed me to multitask. The dubbing, art style, and music were definitely nostalgic in general. The main thing that threw me off was that every episode had a different runtime. Some were as short as 25 minutes while others were as long as 50 minutes. If they were all consistent (more episodes with short times or less episodes with long times) I would have been able to allocate my time better. In the end, I liked it.
- Finally watched my copy of MISAMO JAPAN DOME TOUR 2024 HAUTE COUTURE (08.09). It was a nice fun time that I needed so maybe it was good I watched it when I did. Performances were great, but I liked any time the three were being silly. Coincidentally I watched this hours before the news of Jeongyeon leaving JYP happened.
- Had plans to meet a friend for their birthday (08.10). Just a small gathering. I decided at the last minute to get cookies. I placed an order at Half Baked Goodness for a box of four. This was the place I wanted to go to on July 4th. I got there close to closing and there was a family in front of me. The kids were picking cookies that they were out of stock on. I said nothing as some of the ones they wanted were ones I ordered. Once it was my turn, she handed me my box and I said I was going to check it on the side as she took an order from the customer behind me. I originally ordered a Back to School Bash, Celebration, Chocolate Chip, and Peanut Butter Supreme. The box was surprisingly heavy, but it made sense when I saw the sample cookies on the counter. They were big cookies. As I opened it, I saw there was a handwritten note inside. Basically they were out of the Peanut Butter Supreme by the time I placed my order so she put in two cookies to compensate. Both were peanut butter flavored in the form of a Peanut Butter Chip and a Reeses Cookie. I waited for a bit for her to finish with the last customer before approaching her. I wanted to thank her for the extra cookie. I understand substituting for being out of stock, but was surprised with the extra one. She explained that they stop baking an hour before closing and that she wanted to make sure I got some peanut butter related. She also mentioned that the Reeses Cookie was something off the menu so it was special. I thanked her again, got her name, and mentioned it was for a birthday so that my friend would be very surprised.
Met up with my friend about an hour later when they got off of work. We did our normal catching up and enjoyed a cookie. Seriously, these cookies are big and thick so the rest are going to last a while. Good times as usual.
- Watched Bubblegum Crash (08.09-08.11). It continues from Crisis. Three long episodes kept everything compact and concise and at a nice pace. I liked this more than Crisis. Maybe because it was shorter. I wouldn't have minded if this was split into six episodes. Not much to say other than I liked it.
- Got a text the day before from G asking if I was able to take them to the airport the next morning. Thankfully I was able to. Met G at their place around 9:30AM (08.14). They were flying out of an airport I haven't been to in decades. Used to go there and pass by it all the time when we would visit family in the area. It was good catching up with G in general. An easy trip.
While I was in the area, I looked for boba and dessert places. The one that caught my eye was a Hispanic boba place called La Condesa. They offered some of the regular flavors you'd find anywhere else, but had specific Hispanic inspired flavors and that was what finalized my decision. It was about 10 minutes from the airport so I wasn't going out too much further out. Nice place. I let them know it was my first time there and I was coming from far away. I ordered the Gansito Smoothie. I knew the name, but had to look up what it was beforehand. I had that candy a long time ago so that was the reason I chose it over an horchata smoothie. It was very good. I stayed there for a few minutes (swiping on apps since I was in a new area) while drinking it. Before I left, I made sure to thank the server and get their name as they were very welcoming and informative. If I'm ever in that area again, I'll definitely swing by. It started to rain as I left for a short period of time, but I was able to make it home shortly after noon.
On the way to the airport, I did receive a message from Agent Ocean. Hard times, but I let him know that I would provide an assist if I could. So there was a lot of messaging back and forth while at La Condesa and finally when I got home before we decided on how I could help. I got you, friend.
- Had my last two sessions with my life coach (08.02, 08.19). The first (third session overall) was a virtual meeting since he was out of the country on vacation. It was a fairly standard affair with updates and suggestions on things to improve/work on.
The second (fourth and final session) was in person. I did ask for us to meet for our last one so that I could shake his hand. Again, more of the same. However there was more of a wrap up to what we've done and to carry over and continue without him. Of course he mentioned if we ever needed to meet up again, that it can be arranged. And he talked about referrals in case I knew anyone that could benefit from a life coach. He highlighted a few things such as how I sounded and came off more positive with each session, how I was only resistant to a few things suggested, and that I'm able to identify things easier and how to go about it. And as I requested, we ended our final session with a hand shake. Thank you, NR. Hopefully if I ever meet you, I"ll have many positive things to talk to you about.
- Met up with JR for dinner (08.19). It has been years since we last saw each other to the fact that we took time to figure out when it was (murder mystery Halloween event a few years ago). We caught up on almost everything (work, personal, etc) while eating some good food. Neither of us had been to Soho Chicken and they had a lot of good stuff to offer. As we were done eating and only talking and realizing it was tough to hear each other, we decided to walk over to Macu Tea for drinks. I wasn't sure if I had been there before. Once we got there, I knew I had not (it was another company a few businesses down). It was empty, which I was surprised about, but it was night time on a weekday after school was back in session. But it was an optimal setting to talk. Ended up talking about games and streaming/social media stuff. Started to walk outside for a few more minutes before we ended up leaving around 9PM. Good catching up with you.
- Went to EvePink to pick up my copy of TWICE [THIS IS FOR] WORLD TOUR IN INCHEON Blu-ray (08.26). Per usual, it was a go in and get it and done. Afterwards I went to Fuji Tea. Many options in that area, but I went for this one because of their options. Ended up getting a Watermelon Passion Fruit Tea. Very good. The flavors definitely stayed separated if you didn't mix them. I stayed there for a while before heading off to work.
- Got invited by G to join them and Rannchan to go eat at Kura (08.27). It's been a while since I had been there, let alone with them. The reason to go was because G was offered to collaborate with the Persona x Kura collaboration. They picked me up around 5PM and we got there early. Once we sat, G started preparing the cameras. We went out to shoot an opening shot and then a walk-in shot. Then it was to the food. We made sure to film the 3 specific Persona items as well as the screen any time an animation played and for when G got the Persona prizes. All the Persona food was very good and cost the same price as a normal plate. Our final plate count ended up being 27 (I contributed to 6 of those). Needless to say, we were all full. Left around 7:30PM.
When I got home, I immediately could tell the a/c wasn't running properly. Dad checked on it and then decided to check the unit outside despite it being night time. He called me later to help assist with holding a light. It was the capacitor. We had ordered a few not too long ago for this type of occasion, but one we bought was not working well. He needed help seeing which wire went where. I had no idea, but was able to glean the small writing etched inside. While I couldn't tell what was written, I was able to see what matched. Once that was established and the wires were transferred over, we turned the unit back on and it was correct. Took some time for the house to cool down, but thankfully it did. I wasn't ready to do another hot sleep not long after the last one.
- Someone tried hacking one of my social media accounts (08.28). I got a notification and thankfully nothing happened within the 10 minutes it happened. Changed the password and had to resign on mobile and desktop.
- Lots of wrestling to absorb (08.30). All In felt shorter than normal AEW PPVs and that's a good thing. So many new champions. Shout out to Britt Baker's return, The New Level debuting, Omega and Osperay's entrances, and so much more. AAA had that excellent triple threat match between Mini Vikingo, Nathan Frazer, and Jack Cartwheel. Heatwave was full of great matches. Congratulations to all the new champions (I did not do well with my predictions). If you were a champion in any company, there was a high chance you lost your title, ha.
- Watched 30 For 30 | Nature Boy (08.31). It was a pretty good documentary. There wasn't too much new information that I got from it. Although some interviews and clips were new to me. And anytime I see Ric or Charlotte talk about Reid, can't help but tear up.
GAMES=========================
- Demo Showcase Shorts continues. 16 this month. 7 ups, 4 sideways, 5 downs. Standouts include Maestro (good motion controls), Duskfade (a good Kingdom Hearts type game), and Onimusha: Way of the Sword (felt like a Souls-like, but I liked it).
2 (same game, NS1 and NS2) demos left on deck to try.
Speaking of demos, I removed 10 off my wish list. All 10 were from Demo Showcases on stream. The reason being is because some were on fairly deep sales and I still wasn't motivated to download them. The last time I did this was back in March. I might start doing them with some of the Demo Showcase Shorts as well.
- Got my physical copy of Just Shapes & Beats (08.02). Ordered it 05.04.26 shortly after it was announced. Played the demo for stream 21 Demo Showcase 05 on 10.29.18. Played it on stream with the Just Shovels & Knights DLC for stream 200 on 12.11.19. And played The Lost Chapter on stream 12.11.21 for stream 632. I also bought a shirt for the game back in 2021. Yeah, I like it, ha.
- I enjoyed my time with Rhythm Heaven Groove (08.01-08.03, 08..04, 08.05). The dates you see are when I started the game, when I beat the first set of 8 levels, when I beat the Flipside, and when I finished Beatspell. All of this was the bare minimum as I could only get 9 medals in my playthrough. Medals are earned for achieving the best rating per stage. I figured out early that this would be impossible for me. One, it's a rhythm game and even in the past I knew I couldn't be perfect. Two, I struggled with some stages; specifically Yum-Bot Simulator and Spirit Slasher. Not that I was getting the best rankings in other stages, but I was bad at reading and catching the beat for both, especially Spirit Slasher. Spirit Slasher was the first stage I actually failed and had to try again. Things were unlocking in general, but I didn't realize how much meals unlocked things. I did look up to see that Beatspell could take 2-3 hours, but that's if you earned enough medals to play anything beyond the fourth chapter. That is my biggest negative; the level of accuracy needed to unlock medals. Other than that, the game is fun and silly and full of great music. I wouldn't mind jumping back into especially to play the multiplayer stages with someone. But for now, I will move on.
- Drift Legends 2 was the free-to-play game of the month (08.06). Drifting was the key. If you can't get used to the drifting controls, you're out of luck. I was...okay at it, but not perfect by any means. You need to attain a certain drift point total (holding on to your drift without hitting a wall etc) within the time limit and you beat the course. I was able to do that until they added a lap limit for getting points in. There's a lot you can do (unlock cars, customization, etc), but it is fairly bland.
- NBA 2K26 was the latest Game Trial (08.07). This would have fit with last month's theme, but oh well. Pretty much just like previous NBA2K games. I liked it, but I wasn't good at it. However, I was enjoying looking at the legends teams and their rosters. So many familiar names mixed with some modern names. Good stuff.
- COBRA TRIANGLE was the NES NC game of the month (08.08). First time ever playing it. I think I've seen the box art or a few screenshots as the dragon boss was familiar looking. The game is tough in general so I'm glad the FAQ I had suggested leveling up all your abilities in the first level. You could do that thanks to a 1-up loop. Even with everything maxed out, it was still tough on some stages. The type of stage I had trouble with the most were the Reach The Finish stages. They threw obstacles at you and you had to avoid them. I kept running into them, ha. Definitely used the rewind feature so much during those. Despite the difficulty, I did like it.
- RIDGE RACER 64 was the N64 NC game of the month (08.09). Shortly into my time with it I realized that if you're not first, you're last in the Grand Prix mode. It was fine in Novice mode as attaining first didn't feel out of reach. I was only able to beat 2 out 3 tracks in Intermediate. Even with the second race, I was rewinding a lot to miss crashing into cars or walls to get first place. I wish it was a standard Grand Prix mode where you earn points. If it were, I would have been okay with not getting first every time and just trying to get enough points for the top spot. It's a shame too as I did like the sense of speed and all the cars you could possibly unlock and try. I originally had 3 days set aside for it, but it became a one-off I could not finish.
- VS. Excitebike (NES NC) was not originally scheduled, but I didn't know RIDGE RACER 64 would have been a one-off (08.10). I checked for something else to fit this month's short theme. I had heard about this version of Excitebike, but never played it until now. It's got the core Excitebike game in there with extra tracks and music, which I liked. I couldn't get first place after the fourth track so I settled for 5th or higher. I didn't know track 7 loops (glad I looked that up). Considered that being finished. I tried the VS mode to see what the split screen looks like and it's fairly good for what it is. Nothing wrong with more Excitebike, but this could easily classify as what is now called DLC.
- Plasma Sword: Nightmare of Bilstein was the last game from Capcom Fighting Collection 2 (08.11-08.16). I had played Star Gladiator back in the day. Not sure if we rented it or someone else did, but I know I played it a little bit. Never played this sequel though. It's fine. I like the fast paced combat and cool super moves. I didn't like that half the roster were variants of another character. I'd always find one better to play as compared to the other. But I liked it.
And with that, Capcom Fighting Collection 2 is completed. I really enjoyed my time with this. I can easily say that I like it more over the Marvel collection. That in itself is a great collection. This one just had more variety. Plus it had more games I really dove into when I was younger like CVS2 (which is quite possibly my favorite fighting game) and Power Stone 2. Even the ones I never played before I was looking forward to in one way or another. Top notch collection.
- Jack Move was a demo I tried in January 2024 (08.17-08.20). Got it on sale earlier this year for 85% off making it $3. The things I initially liked about it were still there. While there were a lot of soft/hardware you could buy and mix and match with, I barely did that. I stuck with the most powerful software attack types and healing spell throughout and equipped the best offensive/defensive hardware with either the counter chip or Jack Move gauge filler chip. I only had to change things up for the final boss. Everything up until the final boss was fairly simple (died a few times early on). I had to change software and hardware and follow a specific strategy to win after a 30+ minute fight. Didn't help that the ending was lackluster. I did like the story and setting overall, but sometimes found some of the cyberpunk dialogue to be hit/miss. I would have felt disappointed had I bought this at the original $20 price tag. For $3, I got my money's worth. I'd caution heavily in my recommendation by stating try the demo and be ready for the high difficulty spike on the final boss.
- Jack Bros. was an extra VB NC game that was finished (08.23). Main reason it was chosen was because it has Jack in the name, ha. This was fairly good. Simple controls. I did turn on the maps about halfway through to help make things faster because...time is of the essence. The timer doubles as your health so if you get hit, you lose time and if you lose all your time, you lose. There were a few times I had to rewind a lot to make up for time lost. And the latter half of bosses were very tough. I beat some by the skin of my teeth. All are pattern memorization to a degree, but the time/health to do it added to the difficulty. Played through as Jack Frost and that took a good 2 hours with rewinds and reloads. Could I have beaten it with the other two Jack characters, maybe. But I got my fill. I liked it, but didn't want to keep my head stuck in the cardboard Virtual Boy that much longer, ha. I could have, but I was good.
- The third of five Bust A Groove/Move game guides bought is Bust A Move 2 Dance Heaven MIX V Jump Books (08.13-08.25). I double checked on prices since it has been a while. Found a few at decent prices and put a few on my watch list. One seller made an offer, which was almost exactly what I was going to offer. Basically it was for $15 less making it almost free shipping. I waited a few days and then finally placed the order on the 13th. It finally arrived on the 25th. I considered this a going away work present for myself. It came in great condition and with a simple plastic magazine sleeve. This is the first of three Bust A Groove/Move 2 game guides I now own. It's the second one that was released, but the price was the lowest I could get out of the three.
- Densetsu no Starfy 2 was the extra GBA NC game finished (08.26-08.28). Just like the first game, I've never played it before. And just like the first game, it was okay. However, I enjoyed the first game more. The main thing was the length of the game. The first one was just right where the sequel felt like it overstayed its welcome. Almost every stage needed any explanation of a gimmick too so there was a lot of dialogue to go through (if you didn't skip it).Since this wasn't translated either, some were very language specific that I had to look them up. The game also does what the first game does by unlocking all the collectibles after you beat the game. I knew I wasn't going to do that especially since this one took about 9 hours for me to finish. It's fine, but that's about it.
- Played the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Beta (08.31). I knew I wasn't going to be good at it, but I gave it a fair shot. Started with Multiplayer and died a lot, ha. But at least I got 4 kills. Then I tried out the Campaign mode. I thought I did okay, but there were quite a few times that I died too fast during respawns and that could purely be my fault. Finally I tried Warzone. Never was good at battle royale shooter games, but I was usually decent. This one I felt I was not good at all. While the team ended up in second place, I barely contributed to it. I also tried out the mouse controls just to see how it goes and those were fine, but again I wasn't good at them. For FPS games, I'm definitely better with a controller. Overall, decent beta.
WORK=========================
- 4PM shift on a Saturday (08.01). As soon as I got in, I was informed of a rude customer in one of the rooms. They called asking if they can play the room they chose and AB informed them they could, but they would have time taken off since the time had already passed and we had another team after. They still arrived late, had to do the waivers, and paid individually. HP took them back but informed them that more time would be taken off for the reasons mentioned just now. The main customer said the person on the phone said they would get their full time, but she debunked that. The main customer asked if they could take time away from the next team to which she said they could not do that. When asked about hints and nudges, the main customer said they didn't want them and wouldn't let his teammates ask for them. Regardless, they did not get out and I was asked to go get them with information in hand. When I came in, the main customer asked if I could show the rest of the room. I replied like I normally do with that I can explain it, but not show it as we have another team waiting to play. He kept insisting and I kept saying the same thing. He then brought up how they weren't given their full time, how he was promised the full time, etc. I said that I'll ask the staff member their stories to see how things line up, but that that's not something our staff would have said especially because they were late and had another team after them. Coincidentally enough, he dropped the black light in his hands when I said that. During the whole thing, I got the vibe from his team. None of them said a word. It was only the main customer speaking. They either were embarrassed or had enough of him as they started to gather their things. I said the normal things I do for every customer about taking a photo in the lobby and not to spoil anything. They were a little slow coming out and when they finally made it to the lobby, they simply walked passed me. Yeah...
The day wasn't our busiest, but it was non-stop with a total of 36 teams so almost no one was sent home early. I added the latest trainees to the list of GMs so they can be picked and have accountability. One silly thing that happened was a woman left a review and stated she was the "review queen." I joked around about giving a shout out to everyone on staff that day instead of just who helped her and she was on board. I listed everyone there and in the end everyone was mentioned in the review...except me. I asked DG who was with me whether I mentioned my name or not and she said I did...so we don't know where the miscommunication happened. Oh well.
For the majority of the day, DG was doing a lot of hosting for training purposes (got a lot of reps in for a busy day) and ultimately stayed later (upon asking if they were okay with it) to get some GMing in. She does need more work with her pacing as her last two teams did not escape (one team weren't good players in general). Plus she mentioned she needs to unlearn some habits from her previous escape room jobs. I talked about how CG had to do that as well.
And unfortunately the day ended with a prop being damaged. The customer that did it mentioned it to me thankfully. He mentioned he ran his hands through the treasure searching for the final clue, but snagged a wire that was attached to the maglock to keep the treasure chest closed. I thanked him for telling me, but also playfully giving him a little grief. After they left, I finally saw how bad it was. At first I thought it was simply disconnected for me to put back, but it was actually torn off. I took a photo and sent it into the manager chat. It would be an easy fix if we had a spare, but we didn't so one was ordered and it wouldn't be there until Monday. I was asked to block that room's bookings for the following day and Monday. I did that and let them know someone will need to call the one team that is booked for Sunday to ask them to switch rooms. Heck of a way to end the day. We left around 11:40PM.
- 4PM shift on a Monday (08.03). Not much at the beginning so I started doing inventory. I was also messaging the closer location to get confirmation about my acceptance. Once I got that answer, one of the ladies showed up to drop off things. I decided at that time to pull her aside and let her know that I accepted their offer. She was sad, but very glad that I took a big step towards a brighter venture. I mentioned that I had a text message ready to send to her and her sister, but was waiting on the answer when she just showed up. I said I was actually relieved to tell her in person rather than anticipating a text reply. She left shortly after and I continued with inventory.
There were initially only 3 bookings at the beginning of the day and it ballooned to 16. HW stuck around as the end of the day became the busiest. While we normally would reset final rooms as the last few teams were still active, it was a rotation of a team got out, I host them out, and as I'm through with them the next team got out. So we had to reset every single room one at a time at the end of the night. I at least got other closing duties done shortly before all of that. And before we left, I mentioned that there were shift notes that I left the lobby a/c on for three days in a row. I put in my report that I made sure after the first time it was mentioned that I double checked that I turned it off. This time I had HW be my witness to it. We left at 10:45PM.
- 4PM shift on a Tuesday (08.04). Before my shift, I sent my official text to the ladies in the morning. Got a similar response from the one I didn't say it to in person; sad that I'm leaving, but glad that I'm doing something for myself.
When I got to work, I fixed two things that CS mentioned were an issue. The first was our lobby mouse wasn't working. They had changed the battery since it wasn't working and it stopped functioning. I checked on things and looked up something online. Within a few minutes, all I had to do was unplugged the USB dongle for a minute, plugged it back in, and then it worked again. The next thing was a wood piece on one of the big props. It definitely was loose. After looking at it I saw that it wasn't on the screw at all which is why no one could simply place it back in. Unscrewed it, set the piece in, and screwed it in. It's not perfect, but it's not easily pullable.
It was a slow day. I already called off HW. Then after a few teams, I sent CS early followed by YB a couple hours later. Before then, I took care of the wristband inventory, asked for a quote for more light up wristbands, replied to an applicant, sent the ladies interview notes from April for someone that could be a manager, and fixed the a/c lobby. As mentioned previously, there was an issue of the lobby a/c being left on after I closed multiple times. Turns out someone turned on the timer on the remote. I checked on that after one of the ladies mentioned it in the group chat. I looked up a video, turned off the timer, but still set fair times to turn on/off in case someone else accidentally turned the timer back on. Thankfully it was set to 8AM so it wasn't on very early in the day. But I changed the timers to 10AM and 11PM.
I ran the last 3 teams solo. It's been a while since I closed by myself. Had a big wait time in between the last two teams as the last one was the second to last booking. They were HW's friends and they were at least cool and fun. They asked about HW and VO as they knew him too. Thankfully I had time to take care of everything beforehand and left at 10:10PM once they were done.
- 4PM shift on a Wednesday (08.05). Once I got in, HL asked if there were any issues with a maglock door the night before as they were having issues closing it. Once the team was out, they tried again and the issues were still happening. I took a look at it and actually got it to close, but it was without the front door in front of it. So my analysis was that there was too much empty space for whatever reason now. I did have to offer the team that was going to play it the option to wait or play a different room with the possibility that me fixing it would take more than 10 minutes if at all. They opted to play in another room thankfully. I Facetimed ZH as he was the last person to fix a similar issue with that door many months ago. He mentioned cleaning the magnet just incase (it had some dirt on it) and to tilt the metal piece so it catches on better to the magnet. The only issue with that is tilting the metal makes it come off the rubber stopper so it's loose. But doing that did allow us to close the door for each of the 2-3 teams after even though it takes a few extra tries now. I left notes for it in my shift report.
Other than that, the majority of the day was getting the trainees to get more shadowing, do more of their tests, and run some solos. Lots of progression. I also pulled them aside for individual conversations per request of the ladies for future-proofing. Shout outs to all the good teams for the end of the night especially to one that gave shout outs to everyone working that night even if they didn't specifically engage with them. Sent CF and SL home early since there was only one last team like the night before that DG needed training on. Much like the night before, everything was done prior to the final team and we left at 10:05PM.
- 4PM shift on a Thursday (08.06). Not much to say for this day. It was a little busy when I arrived, but eventually the earlier shifts left early. I also called off HW since between me and CF and SL, we would have been able to take care of everything. The day started with about 5 bookings and ended with 14 bookings. The end of the day had 5 bookings. I created a game plan with CF and SL as they were getting in their solos and also watching two teams at once while I took one. It could have been a little better with one group that had two rooms (started late, they didn't know what team they were going to play, wanted no hints, but thankfully they had a good time). I basically took the first team and exited the first three so that the trainees could concentrate on their tasks and they did well. Once the teams were all out, we each had one room to reset each and as I took care of the majority of closing tasks after my team was out. We left around 10:10PM.
- 4PM shift on a Friday (08.07). Agent Ocean was there to apply fixes to some of the props, which were great because they've been needed for a while. We talked for a bit about upcoming changes in regards to our tenure there. The big thing was a school's athletics team (not the players, but the trainers) were there for a big gathering. It went relatively smoothly. Out of the 8 pizzas they ordered, they ended up giving us 3.
Other than that, the training for DG, SL, and VO continued and I sent some staff home early. We had one customer have heavy criticisms about one of our rooms. I listened to all of them and thanked them for at least being detailed about it instead of "this sucks, one star." I offered a 40% discount if they wanted to play another game that night. They accepted and they liked it thankfully. I also offered the 40% discount to other teams as the tail end of our night was light on bookings, hence sending staff home early. I tried to leave early myself as I would be close to running into overtime, but no one else was able to stay and close with CP. I stayed to close with her, but I clocked out at 11PM. We ended up leaving at 11:25PM.
- 4PM shift on a Saturday (08.08). I wasn't asked if I wanted food along with the rest of the staff. Sure I had turned down food for at least the last month because I didn't need it, but the fact I wasn't asked especially on a busy day...let that sink in.
Shout out to LL for coming to visit and actually playing a room. She texted me the night before about reserving a room. It ended up being her, her boyfriend (first time I met him), and her brother. It was supposed to include her niece and her boyfriend, but there was miscommunication
The day itself was busy. Ended up with 43 bookings so we were constantly doing things. There were only a few issues that happened thankfully. One was a key not being put in the correct place (swapped with another). The other was a prop crapped out and wouldn't function so we had to manually trigger the endgame for that room (hopefully it works after being charged overnight). With 4 team members scheduled to close, I finally opted to leave early to avoid going overtime. I made sure the last set of teams were in, took out the trash, and made sure they were comfortable with me leaving. I left around 10:30PM.
- I let the ladies know that my official last day with the company will be the 29th (08.09). I could have been super true to "the end of the month" and work one extra day on the 31st, but I figured it was best to end it without worrying about an extra day. Plus the payment period would have cut off on that Sunday so I'd have one day's pay sitting until two weeks later, ha.
- Started my application in for the closer location (08.11). I had some issues with it. I was on the second to last section before I got booted back to the beginning. I let the manager know and to check if it was done or not. Eventually he said he didn't see one for me. Oh well.
4PM shift on a Tuesday. Not very busy. Sent the opening team home early as I did inventory. In the end, CP and I handled the rest of the teams that totaled to 11. I was actually planning to leave early since I was feeling tired (only by half an hour), but CP asked if she could as she was exhausted. I was surprised in general as she normally tries to stay as long as she can. So I let her leave early and I stayed. It wasn't too long after that I was done. Left at 10:15PM and got gas on the way home.
- 4PM shift on a Wednesday (08.12). Slow day overall. Made a game plan with the trainees basically saying that they'll be running the show without me (unless necessary). I prepared some gift cards, did the shirt count, made a wine order, and conducted 3 interviews back to back (the real reason I had the trainees run the show). The interviews were good, no thumbs down. But DG and CF told me how the last two arrived and left in the same car, which I had no idea. It was some odd coincidence that their initial email applications were very similar, but their resumes and their interviews were not. And their last names didn't match so I didn't think they were related. Once the few games for the night were done, we left at 9:20PM.
- Finished my application (08.13). Thankfully everything was saved from prior so I only had to finish it and double check to see if everything I wrote prior was correct. We also hammered out a start date for me. Originally I thought October 1st, but it's at the tailend of the week so it probably wouldn't be the best time. So the official start date (as of now in case something changes) will be October 5th.
4PM shift on a Thursday. HL mentioned that the server was restarted. I brought up that it happened earlier in the week and that it's happening more frequently. Later on in the day I checked to see if there were any scheduled restart times and there were not. Hopefully this is happening because of the latest updates and that's it for now. She left shortly after.
Made a plan with the trainees for which rooms they would GM for and for cleaning. There were only four bookings that day. Once those teams were done, we wrapped up the final cleaning duties and closing duties before leaving at 9PM. First time in a long time I've left that early.
- 4PM shift on a Friday (08.14). Agent Ocean placed a Sam's order for me to pick up before work. Per usual, they take a long time so I didn't arrive at the venue until about 10-15 after my shift. But it wasn't a busy day. It did go from 3 to 12 bookings, which was good for training purposes. SL tried their hand a three games at the same time, but shortly asked for me to take one of them as he really needed to concentrate on one specific team that wasn't doing well. But those last few bookings kept us busy enough. Left the building around 11:25PM.
- 4PM shift on a Saturday (08.16). I was immediately greeted by customers that recognized me (I didn't recognize them at first, ha). There was a lot going on with the aftermath of the party that happened before I was there (cleaning, organizing, etc). Today the trainees got to do solos for their first Saturday and it was a busy Saturday with 38 bookings in the end. They got a lot of time in, but only CF didn't get to watch one game he needed a few more reps on.
Other highlights include a mom and son who have done all the rooms before. This time they brought her daughter and niece to play. Then a young girl left the scary room with her parents' permission. She was too scared. I said she could sit on the couch and wait and if she felt brave enough, I would take her back in. The mom from earlier was sitting across from her and struck up a conversation since her daughter is the same age. I thanked her for doing that as I couldn't stay to make sure the kid was okay at that moment. When she left with the kids, I brought the young girl into the party room to watch her parents playing on the iPad. She was really excited about that.
In the end, only two people left early while everyone stayed until their shifts ended. The last of us was DG, HP, and SL. We left only half an hour early, but we made sure everything was done before then. This was also HP's last day seeing us (she has one more shift the next day). She's heading back to college. I thanked her for being good at her job and that I appreciated anytime she worked. We all left at 11:30PM.
- Company meeting at 7PM (08.17). I brought cups from our location to theirs as they were running low. Others were already there and they had a few more customers still playing. Staff gathered in the lobby. I greeted some I never met before as did others. They had a laptop set up to show a PowerPoint presentation per usual. They had an additional laptop to have the third location be part of the meeting via Zoom (whether they were at the venue or not). Food arrived prior to me being there, but people were kind to wait. I double checked with the ladies and they said we could start and I let everyone know. Slowly they started to eat and I was one of the last to prepare my plate to eat while the meeting started.
They went over some of the usual points such as stats (escapes, reviews, etc). The main part came and they announced that Agent Ocean was leaving. The ladies lead the boos, which eased the pain. They mentioned how he got married (for those that did not know) and would be moving to live with her. And then they announced that I was leaving too. They booed again, but I had a good view to see that some were shocked about that (especially the last three trainees I was training). CG was next to me and gave me a hug. The meeting carried on. Awards were given out like always and I got one for having my name mentioned the most in reviews. That's surprising as I haven't been actively asking for my name to be mentioned for about a year now.
Once the meeting was done, everyone mingled around. CG and I talked for a bit in the control room about me leaving until others kept walking in to interrupt. The post-meeting plan was going to D&B. CG went to give them gift cards in exchange for player cards for everyone. At that point I approached the trainees who were gathered around staring at me, ha. I let them know that the plan for me leaving was in the works for a while and that my last main project was to get them ready. Other than a few small things, they were ready and have demonstrated that they could do their duties without me. SP came up to me at one point to give me a hug saying that we needed to hang out and have a meal again. I told her and CG that would be great especially with having September off. AM and SS also came up to me to wish me well, which surprised me because I've worked with both 2-3 times together at most, but they felt went out of their way to say something to me. CG came back and gave the trainees and other new-ish staff that has never visited the location a tour of their games. After that, we locked up and went to D&B.
Fun times. We all had a card to play (some unlimited plays, some not). I got a game of DDR, basketball tic-tac-toe, 4-player soccer, a racing game (can't remember what it was called, might have been Cruisin'), 4-player motorcycle game, UFC game, and PONG. Got a free ICEE and talked with CG and SP a bit more. Pulled Agent Ocean aside for one thing I was suspecting might happen and to advise if it was to be very specific (I mentioned how). If it happens, great. If nothing was planned, no big deal. He and I bid adieu to a few before heading out around 10:20PM.
- 11:30AM shift on a Tuesday (08.18). Open to close. SL joined me for their shift and I called off YB. In the end there were only 5 bookings, which SL took care of when they came through. I answered emails, updated a few inventory lists, cleaned the lobby, updated a wine order, conducted an interview last minute, replied to reviews, and worked on issues with one room for a while (I tried my best and even did things the ladies reminded me of, but ultimately it couldn't be fixed by me). We left a little early and I put the water jugs out before leaving. 10 hour shift ended at 10:10PM.
- 4PM shift on a Thursday (08.20). SL left early when myself and CF arrived, and HL left early after she took care of a few more things. They only had 3 bookings and there was only 1 for us. We cleaned and even made plans to go get some bahn mi if we closed early. Well...we didn't leave early as we ended up with 5 bookings on our shift. 2 were replays and 1 was a team that was supposed to go to the second location. We left for the night at 10:15PM.
- Was taken off work (08.21-08.22). You'll read why at the end of this entry. Definitely needed the first day off. I wanted to work the second day, but was advised not to. I even offered to work remotely (both locations), but they were able to survive without the assistance.
- 11:30AM shift on a Monday (08.24). My last open-close and my last Monday. There were customers outside waiting to book. I asked them to come in, but they said they'll come back, asked for the price, and never came back. Sticker shock probably.
Shortly after starting the opening processes, the fire extinguisher inspector came by. Didn't know that, but he came by to inspect them and change the tags out (I forgot that there was one towards the back of the building). Shortly after he left, the alcohol distributor came by to drop off the last order I made. I asked if he wanted a water or soda before he goes and he declined. Then I said Gatorade and he was down for that, ha. We laughed that it just takes the right thing to say to get someone to agree. And then shortly after he left, one of the ladies showed up with her husband. They were moving houses so they were utilizing the space next to us to store some of their things. We talked for a bit, she told her husband that this was my last week, etc. She said she would come back one more time before the week is over and he wished me well before heading out.
Then it was down to regular business; set up the rooms that were booked, replied to emails, etc. I put away the alcohol and started to restock them. Unfortunately I dropped a bottle of beer. It's odd because I picked up a six-pack and the bottle came from another six-pack that I didn't touch. Spent time cleaning that up because there were shards everywhere and the smell was strong. By the time I finished that, DG showed up. Gave her the game plan for the day. She started to clean things while I did inventory updates. I cleaned some stuff too before and while customers were around. There were only 4 bookings throughout the day and the last one was for a friend (APW) and her boyfriend. I had DG leave an hour early. APW and her boyfriend did really well. It was good to catch up with her (how long they've been dating, the accident, etc). Appreciate the generous tip. Closed up for the night and left early at 8:50PM.
- 11:30AM shift on a Tuesday (08.26). My last opening shift. Replied to emails, prepared gift cards (one customer came through to pick theirs up), took care of the venue inventory, and did some cleaning throughout the day. There was only one booking and they asked to swap rooms, which was no problem.
As I was cleaning after them, RB showed up saying she was having a meeting with the ladies who showed up about half an hour later. Once she left, I spoke with the ladies. Updated the other sister about latest developments, we talked about the next few of staff to hire and let go, and caught up on a few things. This was possibly my last time seeing them so they wanted to thank me and say bye. I thanked them back, we hugged, and I did get emotional after they left.
Agent Ocean was scheduled for 3PM, but had to take care of things and said he'd be in by 6PM. Traffic turned that into 6:30PM. I was off at 6PM. I did have plans to do things after, but I decided to stick around until closing. It was our last shift together so I wanted to catch up, talk about the future, etc. There was only one extra booking made before he showed up, but then we got two walk-ins. Even though I was off the clock, I still helped out with hosting them in and out, resetting rooms, and the closing process. As we left, we hugged and thanked each other. It was the end of the chapter, but obviously we'll still be in touch and will plan get-togethers with the other HERetirees when we can. In a silly final scene, I tripped while walking backwards to my car while talking to him, ha. He helped me up and said "survive this week." I almost broke down there because...yeah. We left around 9:30PM.
- 4PM shift on a Wednesday (08.26). RB and CF were there before me and they had finished all the cleaning tasks since there were no bookings. RB left early as there was nothing else to do and that was my last shift with her. We only had one booking lined up and it was Rannchan, Kai, and Triple-S. Before they showed up, I was showing CF old HER videos. When the gang arrived, I greeted them, Kai bought a shirt with the remainder of their gift card balance, and I was their in room Game Master. They did fairly well and escaped. Talked for a bit before they went to eat a little before 8PM. I blocked off the rest of the bookings for CF and I to leave early at 8:15PM. We actually went to eat banh mi after. It was the place we wanted to go last week that was a few minutes away. Had a good talk in general while eating some good food. I had full intentions of paying for him, but he insisted that he pay this time. Thank you, CF. We left shortly after 9PM.
- 4PM shift on a Saturday (08.29). My last day. It was a slow Saturday. HL said the ladies asked me to give my key to DG. AB left shortly after I arrived, HL left at some point (didn't see her leave, oh well), CF was sent home early. DG stayed for their whole shift, YB asked to leave early, and I closed up with SL. To all that I saw leave, I said some words of encouragement, left words of wisdom, some of us exchanged information, each said their thanks, and some said they'll come visit me at the other location. Shout out to the one cool couple that let me talk games with them (specifically Zelda). And shout out to the final couple of the night for being a good team. I let them know they were my last team before transferring and thanked them for ending my time there on a good note. Closed up and left around 12:15AM.
As time was passing, I was slowly getting sentimental about things. "My last snack here," "the last time I'll restock the fridge," and other similar things. I made sure to take a couple of the hard plastic cups to use at home. There's also a counter on our clock-in app that shows how many shifts you've had. Mine said 514 shifts. That may be wrong as I was there for 3 years on almost a full schedule the majority of the time. Plus I think it only counted it for that location and didn't add up the second location. The other thing might be that we weren't using that app when I first started there so days might be missing because of that as well. And I also took a photo of the outside of the venue. It's very similar to the photo I took on my first day. One chapter ends.
- I completed the onboarding for the new location I'll be transferring to (08.30). Standard application stuff. It's definitely different from how I was onboarded three years ago. Different ownership, different methods. It made me curious to think what else is handled differently.
ETC=========================
- Beast Wars and Beast Machines
- Red Velvet - Surfin' Boy (MV)
- Tiffany Young - Edge of Calm (MV)
- SNSD-HRS - Skibidi (Performance Video)
- Got into a car accident after work (08.20). Per my attorney's request, I will not discuss everything in detail and post it. I have it typed out for my records, but I will only give minor details of the accident itself and then talk about things that happened the next few days.
The accident happened on my way home from work. I normally take different routes home and I chose to go this path for whatever reason. Around 10:30PM is when it happened. 3 SUVs were involved. I called my dad sometime after and he and my brother were able to find me about 40 minutes later. After taking photos, exchanging information, getting a police report filed, and having the cars towed, we left. I went to a 24 hour ER to get checked on. It was around 1:30AM when we got there and it was around 3AM when we left. When we finally got home, I talked to my mom, ate a very late dinner, and went to bed.
I had about 3 hours of sleep as I woke up around my normal 7AM time (08.21). I asked to not come into work so I could take care of anything pertaining to the accident. The whole day was full of phone calls and texts back and forth with the attorney, friends and family checking in on me, and more. The only thing I did other than rest at home was go with my dad to get a prescription and buy some Gatorade.
While I was feeling better in general, I asked to have someone take my shift again (08.22). Better safe than sorry. The day after was more resting and preparing to make calls for things for the upcoming week in regards to the accident.
Finally got a rental car (08.24). Originally I was going to ask JW again as they helped us last year after my dad's accident. However, the options for cars was strictly electric and the price was unfortunately higher. I thanked him for still wanting to help, but we ended up choosing something on Enterprise. I made the reservation the day before and my brother dropped me off around 10AM for me to pick it up. After a lot of waiting, I finally got the rental. They upgraded me for free. Then it was off to work right away. To wrap a bow on the rental car stuff for this month, I extended it for an extra week on the 31st.
Right before going to my first physical therapy session, I got a call that the police report was made public (08.27). I was worried about that as a lot of what I and the attorney's office had been doing was waiting. Thankfully it's out now.
The first day of physical therapy was one hour. Had the doctor run an assessment (questions and tests) followed by half an hour of physical therapy. That involved having pads stuck on my shoulder and wrist for electric pulses while lying down on a heating pad bed that moved up and down my back. The electric pulses I've had before so I was familiar with them. The heating pad felt so good. I just laid down for at least 15 minutes in the dark. When the heating pad was done, there was a loud ding, which I'm sure was for the staff to hear and know it's over. I mentioned how it made it sound like the toast was done, ha.
The second day of therapy was only half an hour (08.28). No assessment. Just signed in and went into a room minutes later. Pads for electric pulses were applied again, but for my shoulder and back this time (not my wrist). I was still lying down on a heating pad, but this was also a massager. It would actually move and shift you around, which I was very surprised by as I've never used one of those unless it was a massage chair. I laid in the dark while having this done for 15+ minutes. The last few minutes of my session was having a gel applied to my wrist while the staff member used a device to warm it up and massage my hand/wrist.
I did call the attorney's office later that day as I had a few questions about the process and about what I was able to do in terms of the car, the rental, what I could pay for, etc. Thankfully they were very good about explaining things. It's basically a waiting game, but I could do a few things on my end.
And that's all in terms of this accident for this month. I'll provide updates in next month's entry.
That's a wrap on August 2026. Thank you for your support. Be cool and be kind.
"Reprise the theme song and roll the credits."
