- A friend invited me out of the blue to an art exhibit and
then the zoo at night on the 8th. Glad he asked because I was feeling bored
that day. We met up and walked over to the Gaia
Marshland Art Exhibit at Rice
University. It was the
last day for the exhibit to be open. I thought it would be a little bigger, but
it was interesting. You can see his photos he took via his flickr.
Afterwards we ate and then went to the zoo for Zoo Lights. They decorated the zoo with
Christmas lights all over. I always knew about it, but never went. Thankfully
the weather wasn't too cold that night. Lots of great light creations made. I
actually filmed the whole hour we were there. I took some photos as well, but
mostly of the live giraffes that were in their holding area. We also saw an
elephant from far away as well as here a lion growl. It reinforced that I want
to go to a zoo and interact with animals again. It has been a long time since I
last did that.
- Friends had a Housewarming
Party on the 14th months after having moved in. It was fun. Haven't stayed
out this late in a while with friends. Hot pot, Bears, Kill Doctor Lucky, Game
& Wario, Nintendo
Land, silly talks. Good
times.
A week later, a few of us gathered again to play Munchkin
Legends. It took a while to figure out how to play and then the game took a
good 3 hours to play. It should have ended at least 30-60 minutes prior, ha. So
many false finishes.
- On the 15th, a friend and I went to attend WWE's TLC pay-per-view. I always have
tons of fun at live events. I bring my Rated-R title, wear a wrestling related
shirt, and scream my head off with the thousands in attendance.
There were a few gripes. There were audio issues. And there
was an unsavory fan sitting behind us getting mad at the concessions worker
getting in his way trying to sell beer etc. Other than that, it was a fun
event. All my predictions were correct except for the final match which crowned
Randy Orton as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. A
shocking ending, but I'm glad they just didn't go the safe route with John
Cena.
On the way back to the car, we ended up joining other fans
at the garage exit where the wrestlers were leaving from. I don't remember
everyone we saw, but I'll rattle off who I can remember. Everyone was in cars
except for the first person I saw. There was Michael Hayes, Vickie Guerrero
(reacted the best to us), apparently Fandango and Summer Rae, Tensai, Brodus
Clay, Renee Young, apparently either Stephanie McMahon or AJ Lee, Booker T,
Antonio Cesaro and apparently Jack Swagger, and a few more I can't recall.
During the half hour we were out there, we noticed a big shuttle bus driving
around. Eventually it parked close to us and lights and a camera crew were
getting ready. In the end, Daniel Bryan
and Brie Bella came walking out and
onto the bus. Bottom line, it's possible we can be on season two of Total Divas for a brief second, ha. We
left after that.
- I was supposed to enjoy a 5-day weekend off of work
starting on the 21st. Unfortunately I got sick the night of the 22nd after
having dinner with a friend. The cold front did come in that day too. Being
sick cancelled plans the following Monday with friends from out of town. We
were going to visit Sensei's grave, visit our friend's macaron shop, and mainly play
games with her family. The sickness didn't go away for Christmas either. I had
to skip a family Christmas Eve party unfortunately. At least I started to feel
better Christmas day.
The hardest part of having the flu for almost a week was
that I couldn't fall asleep. Sure, having my body racked with pain from the
constant coughing sucked as well as not being able to keep down any food, I
just wanted to be able to fall asleep and I could not. Nyquil's sleep effects
did not work at all nor did any other sleep aids (leaving a podcast running for
white noise, melatonin, nothing worked). My body was either too hot or too cold
and I was never comfortable enough to fall asleep. At best, I'd get an hour for
the first few nights before I got better and all of those times I woke up
drenched in sweat. The easiest time I was able to sleep was when my dad gave me
hot scotch (or was it whiskey...don't remember) with honey. For one thing, that
was strong to drink down. Two, it actually did the trick and I was asleep about
15-30 minutes later. For a while I was only able to sleep while reclined like
in a hospital bed with 3 pillows under me because my heart rate would jump up
for some odd reason if my elevation was any lower. I slowly had to adjust back to
normal once I started to get better. I was losing it from the lack of sleep. It
was similar to how 2012 started and I couldn't sleep because the boils were too
sensitive. Yeah...sleep is a great thing to have back. I still haven't
recovered all that lost sleep yet since I feel overly tired throughout most of
the day.
I only got one present for Christmas from a couple of aunts
(Best Buy gift card, used to purchase High
School of The Dead on blu-ray). But I got parcels in the mail on Monday. I
was too sick to open them on Monday so I opened them on Christmas day. One was
my Cloud/Akira shirt from TeeFury. The
other was my blu-ray copy of Dear Mr.
Watterson. I actually didn't know it was the blu-ray since I was expecting
other items I ordered to come in the mail soon (thought it was my Club Nintendo prize, which I got a
couple days later). I finished watching it (including the extras) on Christmas and
thoroughly enjoyed it.
And as I do every year, I bought myself a Christmas present.
40% off and a $50 gift card (given at a work lunch party) was a deal I could
not pass up. It had been on my Amazon wish list for a while.
While I was feeling better by Friday, I had already
cancelled weekend plans to go to Dallas
again with a couple of friends. I didn't want to have a relapse while out of
town. We were going to check out a few museums on Saturday and then spend the
day at King Spa. That would have
felt so good. So this flu (that a lot of other people caught apparently) ruined
a lot of plans I had for the end of the year. I'm all better now at least.
- As far as games are concerned, I didn't play as much as
November, but still played a good chunk. 2 VC games I downloaded were The Legend of The Mystical Ninja and Super Punch-Out. Both were SNES titles
I previously had on the Wii so these were discounted.
The Legend of Zelda:
A Link Between Worlds (3DS) - Review
An absolutely amazing adventure. I beat it 100% for my one
and only play through. Most satisfying game I've played in 2013.
NES REMIX (Wii U
eShop) - Review
A great challenging mix of nostalgia. A little frustrating
at times, but good fun.
And a month after beating it, I went back and started the
process of 100 percenting Super Mario 3D
World. Almost there. That will be my first big gaming achievement of 2014.
And at some point I need to finish Senran
Kagura Burst. I have time. The next game I plan to buy is Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
(02.21.14)
- 2013 is over. Was it good? Kind of. Better than 2012. I
really don't know what to think about it. I started with ambitions and goals
and again...none of it came true. Whether it was my fault or the fault of
someone else, none of those goals happened. One was to be part owner of a dance
studio and the other was being a producer/director of a TV show. Despite things
not working out for me in the past, I always stuck with never quitting
entirely, never lay down and give up. I do feel that over the years that it
takes a little longer for me to get back on and try something new. 2014, I will
be trying something new again. I'm highly motivated to do it, but I can't help
but think back on past failures. Chalk them up to learning experiences, but I
don't want this to fail as well. I just hope the small team I've gathered so
far will pull through and make things happen.
I initially wanted to make a long rant about one main thing
that bothered me the most in 2013. I actually thought a lot about it a lot on
December 31st and felt sick to my stomach with how things turned out. I came so
close to doing a CM Punk style pipebomb and just let it out. I think I'll let
it pass, but at some point I might just put a few people on blast so others
don't get mistreated.
One great thing for sure was getting back into shape. While
it has only been for the last 2 months of the year, my body feels better. My
back feels better, but it is still not back to full mobility. My heart is still
a mystery, but it has definitely been better than the last couple of years when
those issues began. Wii Fit U has done wonders.
Also, for the first time in 31 years, I did not celebrate
New Year's Eve. I probably would have gone done something were I invited, but I
also didn't have the energy to call around and see if any friends were doing
anything. I did however spend it online with a game community I'm a part of. We
watched a series of videos of a play through of a game that brought us all
together. They're a fun community.
Do I have any goals or resolutions for 2014? Yes. The new
thing I want to start is one. Continuing to get my body back into shape is
another. Those are the most important. All I can ask is for the support of
those that care to help push me forward to achieving these and anything.
Support...THAT is something I always yearn for more of because I really do
believe that with the proper support, I can do anything.
See you in 2014, everyone.
Thanks for reading. Be healthy, be safe, be thankful, and be
loved.
Take care. DFTBA.
