- And now to talk about what I did in June 2013. I really am
more busy than ever.
- A friend came from out of town to go fishing. A few others
were to join us, but it just ended up being us two. We went a little later than
usual. Normally we go when it's still dark and flashlights are needed. This
time we saw the sunrise as we rode the ferry to Galveston.
The wind was blowing roughly, which was good and bad. Bad
because it splashed the water on the rocks onto us a lot. Good because it did
deter the heat. We didn't catch any fish, but we caught the most crabs ever. 14
total with 9 caught by me. I was very proud and the crabs were delicious. By
the way, I'm typing this out after another fishing venture. Tease for next
month, ha.
Oh, I also finally got to meet his baby boy. I briefly
greeted him as I was all dirty and exhausted from fishing/crabbing. He's a
chubby one, ha. I also did give the parents a gift for their boy, a jade dragon
with a Cintamani (a wish-filling jewel) in its mouth. I found it very appropriate
since he was born in the year of the dragon.
- New WingedVoX Adventures have gone up throughout the
month. I was actually bad at remembering to upload them at noon, but some new
things that I'm part of have delayed those as well. That's okay, this series is
almost done. Unfortunately, it seems like this has been the least popular
series I've posted as it has the lowest view counts of any videos I've posted.
Oh well.
- E3 2013 happened (by the way, this starts a large chunk of video game talk). That was a fun one. Some of the TGF
staff were actually there, which was cool. Hopefully I get the opportunity to
go some time. I am going to PAX later this year. Excited for that.
I did have an E3 experience since Best Buy had their Wii U
Experience at one of the local stores in Houston.
Unfortunately, it wasn't that great. I actually wrote an article for the TGF
site about it. Please check that out (click the following link).
- Speaking of The Game Fanatics, we finally started season 3 of The Game
Fanatics Show. It was also the first episode with the new crew. To make it
short, the first episode of season 3 was the most stressful episode for me.
1. We filmed using the Kube's equipment. It took time for me
to get used to (still not used to it yet). That did make the exporting process
longer as I had to stay afterwards longer to transfer the footage to an
external instead of me taking my cameras home and exporting them while doing
other things.
2. We used the green screen for the first time. It took time
to properly light it. It also tripled the process during editing since keying
out the green screen and rendering out backgrounds took a long time. Not only
that, I couldn't key the green out well enough with my editing tools (I've
upgraded since then). It's obvious if you saw the episode.
3. There were too many chefs in the kitchen. Too many were giving suggestions and corrections when that was supposed to be what I do as well as facilitate them. But I couldn't because before I could say anything, others already have. When I direct, it's to make it easier for them and myself and to make the end product work. I appreciate help, but I don't like it when it is forced upon even if the intentions were in kind. I'd rather you ask if I/we need help instead of imposing your help.
4. There was A LOT of time wasting in between takes/mistakes.
I even mentioned beforehand that it's okay to joke around, but don't do it too
much. We started at 7PM, didn't finish until close to 10, and I didn't leave
the studio until 11 since I needed to get the footage.
It really took its toll on me and I was incredibly
frustrated. While it was good to finally shoot with the new crew, I am not
proud of that episode. The next episode was easier to shoot since we went back
to the old backdrop from season 2. But that had horrible audio issues. Again,
I'm still not used to using the Kube's equipment, audio equipment included.
Another episode I'm not particularly proud of. Thankfully the following episode
(July 2nd) went incredibly smooth.
Anyways, the rest of the Comicpalooza videos went up
throughout the month. Please check out the vendor videos, interviews, the
cosplay contest, and more. Those were definitely less stressful to put together
(15 videos total).
- With how busy the month has been (haven't mentioned it all
yet), I'm surprised with how much gaming I've squeezed in.
I beat both of The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages/Seasons
for the 3DS VC. Great adventures. That just leaves one Zelda game I have yet to
play and beat.
Since Mega Man was announced to be in the next Smash Bros,
Nintendo released Mega Man II, III, and IV on the Wii U VC. I already had them
for the Wii so I paid the extra dollar to have it for the Wii U. Played and beat
each one of those. Mega Man III is still my favorite of the classic Mega Man
NES titles.
I downloaded the DLC for New Super Mario Bros U, New Super
Luigi U.
I give it a 4 out of 5. It was a good platformer, but I wasn't a fan of the
short timer. I realize it makes it more of a challenge, but I would have
enjoyed it had it just been a regular adventure and not a rush to get to the
end while trying to find everything. I also thought it probably should have
cost less, at least by $5. But I do recommend it.
Game & Wario came out in June. I thought it was supposed
to be months later so it snuck up on me. And they weren't available at Best Buy
on release date. Had to go to GameStop. Regardless, 3 out of 5. The single
player lacks a little and isn't as chaotic as previous Warioware games.
Although Gamer stands out as the best game on the disc. The multiplayer shines
and is great for parties. I recommend it especially as a party game.
Vegas Stakes, an old gambling game on the SNES, came out the
Wii U VC. I had to get it since that was an favorite game of mine for the Super
Nintendo. It didn't take long for me to achieve the 10 million dollar game
goal. Good times.
And the game I was looking forward to getting this month, Project
X Zone came out for the 3DS. This game is so awesome. So many characters from
so many franchises in a convoluted story, excellent. Although it is getting a
bit long since the fights get longer and longer (most clocking in at least an
hour now). I'm still enjoying it especially when new characters are introduced.
I'll speak more on it after I beat it.
And a couple more game related things, got me a new plush.
That Hello Kitty M. Bison is so awesome. I preordered it almost half a year ago
and actually forgot about it until I got an email reminder. I'm glad it's
finally here.
And I bought me some new art from Angela Song. I had bought
one before when her store opened. She put one of Final Fantasy VI and I
immediately bought it. I actually bought it after one of the stressful TGFShow
episodes. It's amazing. She had done some FFVI art before and I knew if she put
one up for sale that I'd try my damndest to get it. Check out her store and her
Twitter for her daily drawings.
- Got around to seeing Man of Steel at the end of the month
with some friends. I give it a 4 out of 5. I understand the criticisms people
had with it, but I enjoyed it overall. My favorite parts were actually the
scenes with Ma and Pa Kent.
The downside of the experience was the family that sat
behind us. They were fine until one of their kids joined them (probably coming
from another movie). The boy kept asking questions and the father kept
responding...loudly. They spoke through almost all the quiet non-action scenes.
They also stood up multiple times looking for other family members. It got to
the point that 2 of my friends got up and moved farther away from them. I did
turn around and give them death glares, but those didn't work since they were
in their world and the rest of the people in the theater were non-existent. I
don't mind children in a movie theater as long as they were taught theater
etiquette. I appreciate it even more if the parents have proper theater
etiquette.
- I've also made time to catch up with a few friends. It was
just great catching up with them and sometimes exchanging awesome hugs.
- Mid-June, a friend asked me out to lunch out of the blue.
I figured there was a reason behind it and there was. He asked me if I were
interested in working part time at the company I left 3 years ago. He did a
good job of letting me know how the company has changed and really surprised me
by actually saying he loves his job. He wouldn't not have said that 2-3 years
ago. After lunch, I dropped him back off at the office and then made my rounds
to greet everyone since it had been a long time. And...it was different. The
job was pretty much mine if another guy didn't want the position, which he
didn't. I started the week after.
My title is Operations Assistant. Didn't have a previous
title before since I did way too much back then. But I'm pretty much an IT
assistant. I'm not the most tech savvy, but I'm being taught well. I do have
more tasks than IT, but I've been adamant in telling them I don't want to do a
ton of tasks like before. Otherwise they'd have to pay me more. I'm actually
making a few dollars less than when I used to work there and I'm only working
part time, 20-25 hours a week. Thankfully I am allowed to be flexible with my
schedule. The standard schedule I set up for myself is Monday, Tuesday,
Thursday, and Friday from 9-2, 5 hours a day. Friday is the only mandatory day
and I asked for Wednesdays off so I can edit the TGFShow if we film on
Tuesdays. The biggest draw back is that I have less time to devote to games I
really want to play, ha. Minor things, not that big a deal.
It's strange being back there. I'm not even there that long
a day to feel acclimated there. It's good to see all the positive changes that
are in effect, but I still see some of the negatives. Honestly, had they not asked
me to come back, I probably wouldn't have especially if nothing changed. But
the timing is good because I'm unfortunately low on funds due to other ventures
and plans not panning out.
- Sistar!
- That's all. I'm busy, but I'm still trying to make time to
play some games to relax and catch up with anyone if they're available.
Thank you for reading. Be healthy, be safe, be thankful, and
be loved.
Take care.
