Monday, September 12, 2016

August 2016 Entry

A very eventful month. 

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- Bought The Killing Joke (08.02 08.15) and watched it a couple weeks later. Some parts were a bit blah, but I enjoyed it overall. 



- Had a bit of an altercation with a homeless person on my way home (08.05). I had an extra drink with me and was stopped at a light where a homeless person was asking people for whatever. I rolled down my window, called out to him, and held out the sports drink. He then curses at me that he wanted money and not food. Cursed at me a bit more, yanked the bottle out of my hand, and hit my side view mirror. He continued cursing at me as I was driving away. Not the best way to end the night.  

- The Cruiserweight Classic has been going on for a while now. At first, I wasn't really into it because I wasn't invested in a lot of the contestants. I kept watching though to keep up with it and I'm glad I did. The matches have been highly entertaining. Johnny Gargano VS Tommaso Ciampa is a must see match. Every match thereafter has been incredible. Now I'm invested and want everyone to win, ha. 

- Hung out with a friend I made via the last flash mob I was part of (08.07). We had hung out a few times and she also enjoys escape rooms. Originally we were going to go play DDRA and go to a museum. Unfortunately, neither of those happened. First, DDRA was out of commission. Second, the museum exhibit we wanted to see was sold out. 

She had not seen much of the First Colony/Sugar Land area, so I drove her to see the town center and First Colony Mall before we went to a near by park. After the park, we ate at Jupiter and Ben & Jerry's. Then we went to my place to continue all the talking we were doing. Out of all the times we hung out in the past, we never really got to know each other. So this was a good time learning about one another. 

- Didn't get to see it live (as usual), but NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II was amazing (08.21). There was just so much to like such as a GTS, Bobby Roode's entrance (my new ringtone), the tag team title match, Bayley VS Asuka, and Nakamura's entrance. 

SummerSlam was interesting. Disappointed that Sasha Banks lost the Women's Championship. AJ Styles and John Cena had a great match. And Balor becoming the Universal Champion was awesome.  


- In preparation for a road trip, I let my parents know that we did not have cruise control on our new car. They contacted the car dealership about it (08.22). Turns out that we were not offered it. They were pretty upset about that and other options that they were not told about. I was told they raised some hell over there. In the end, they got their way and ended up with a trade in for the same model car with cruise control and other features thrown in at no extra cost. However, I was yanked around back and forth as I needed to be there to sign for it. Halfway there, I was told to go back home since there needed to be clearance that would have happened the next day. As soon as I got home, I was told to come back out as things could happen now. There was already a lot of chaos going on because of the car and this made me flip out. So much time was being wasted. and a lot of crap was just happening. I got there finally and just wanted to sign papers and go home. My mood was apparent to everyone. It took another 2 hours to get everything done and my mom still kept trying to negotiate. It was so frustrating. In the end, everything was signed and the new car would be ours 2 days later. 

I've been to car dealerships with friends and those always turn out fine and sometimes fun. Every time I go to car dealerships with family, it is horrible. Everyone gets mad and there is just so much time wasted. 

- It had been planned for months now, but I and a high school friend were going to meet another high school friend and her husband in Virginia (08.25). Since I can't fly, this was going to be a road trip; 20 hours going and 20 hours returning. My friend came to Houston around 11AM and we officially started the trip around noon. 

I took the first shift as she works late nights and had not slept since the day before. My shift was a total of 8 hours split into to rounds of 4. Our first stop was in Louisiana to eat at a Chic-Fil-A. Towards the latter part of our meal, a grandmother that was a few tables away from us fell. The table behind us called for help. Myself and one from the table behind us assisted in moving tables around to give room for everyone. A fire truck and medics arrived. We left shortly after to get back on the road. 

When night time fell, that's when we swapped. We did stop for a late night meal at Waffle House at 3AM. During that shift, I attempted to get some sleep. It was shortly disrupted as we got pulled over for going to fast. We were in Alabama at the time. It was an unfortunate thing to happen. 

The sun rose and we decided to swap again at another stop. My stomach wasn't doing too well so I got some Pepto before continuing my drive. I had to wake my friend up within the hour as I really wasn't feeling that good. I pulled over at the closest rest stop (the first one we went to) to take a break, throw up, and calm down before continuing. She took over driving so I could try to recover. This resulted in me asking her to pull over so I could throw up or use the toilet and buy medicine (Dramamine, then Etronol and Sea-bands). We were thinking I was just having an upset stomach or was having motion sickness. Partnered with those was also extreme cold or hot (more hot than cold), hot flashes, dry heaves, numbness, and no energy. We were also contacting our friend in Virginia for medical advice and just to keep her in the loop of what was going on. I was trying to do whatever it took to get better, but nothing was working. The only good thing that happened during this time was stopping at a Sheetz (always saw iJustine going to them and never went to one before). After a couple hours, I just couldn't take it any more. We pulled over at a hotel and asked if I could just lay down for a bit. During that time I asked if we could go to an emergency room/urgent care. Luckily there was one 10 minutes away. 

As we were pulling in, I told her all my symptoms just in case I couldn't speak for some reason. She was helping me walk in to the urgent care and I started crying. It was a mixture off all emotions. I hated that we were there, but I was glad something was finally going to be done to help me. Couldn't walk after getting paper work done so I had to be wheelchaired into the doctor's office. After diagnosis, it was determined that I had food poisoning. They gave me a shot that would help with my nausea and actually help me sleep. The shot itself really hurt. Even with little energy, I was still able to tell everyone that it really hurt. No other shots/injections have ever hurt me that much. After further observation, I was cleared to leave. i was wheelchaired out and our road trip continued again. This was very reminiscent to when I was last at an emergency care. While I was glad it was being taken care of, it made me doubt my body again.  

I was knocked out the whole way. She woke me up hours later to bring me into a CVS to sign for the medicine that was recommended for me (Promethazine). Minutes later, we finally arrived at our friend's place in Virginia. We unloaded our luggage and settled in. Our friend's parents-in-law were also there and offered advice for me (the mother-in-law is a nurse). I called my mom to let her know what happened. Then I joined them downstairs for some soup and water. Unfortunately, we did not continue with our original plans for that day, which included going to an escape room. Although my friend's husband still went since they had other friends that signed up to go as well. I'm glad that our reservation didn't go to waste. After talking for a bit and playing with the baby (as best as I could), I took a much needed shower and then slept for 13 hours. 

The next, I was fine, back to normal. We continued with our normally scheduled plans of going to DC. We ate at Chop't to eat light before walking around and taking in the sights around us. As we were walking, I asked if I could push the kid in the stroller. I just wanted to get as much dad experience as I could. I only tagged out once towards the end of our time in DC. While we were walking towards the monuments, there was a family walking around with posters saying "Free Hugs." At one point, they turned around and asked me to take a photo for them. After doing so (they were impressed with how I was situating the photo), we hugged and took photos together (can't find them online). Very kind family. 

Lots of walking in the heat. The baby boy got to meet a horse up close and play inflatable sports, the girls did some volunteer work, I was pushing the stroller around and catching up with the husband, I enjoyed a slush and ice cream, we enjoyed the monuments, but we were ready to go back hours later. Our friend wasn't feeling that well either unfortunately. We stopped by to get some boba and returned home to rest for a bit before going to dinner. 

Dinner was in Korea town at a place called Iron Age. They had lots of seating and many monitors playing Kpop videos. There were quite a few songs and groups I did not recognize. The first group I recognized was AOA. Eventually Sistar19, Sistar, and f(x) songs played. I was actually dancing a big to Electric Shock "on stage" (tables were elevated off the floor) and got some looks. Only did it for a bit before we left (2 hours after eating all you can eat). After dinner, we went to a nearby trinket shop. I looked at all the Kpop stuff they had. Ended up buying a gift for a friend. I did ask the cashier if they had any BoA stuff. His reply; "she's old." Ouch, ha. Yeah, most of their stuff was recent artists and groups. 

It was back to home base. We were resting up and getting ready to leave and get back on the road. Got to talk with the husband more. Our friend was still recovering a bit, but did make sure to talk to us before we left. Thanked them for their hospitality and left at 10PM. It was fun, but we needed to return home. 

The trip back was better. I took the first shift. We also made sure to make our driving shifts shorter to about 2-4 hours each. While it was still dark out, we made sure to switch and sleep. I think we were again in Alabama when the sun was out. Other than the rest stops for gas, we stopped at a coffee shop called Octane. Everything about the place was great. The decor, the product (coffee and tea), the staff, all great. I even went as far to give them a business card to HER, ha. Highly recommend them for anyone in Alabama or Atlanta. 

We had one other major stop for lunch at Penn's Catfish & Chicken. Very good for fried seafood. It was at that time that I called up Bite Macarons to see if they can do me a favor by staying open late so I can pick up macarons for the next day. I would need them early in the morning before they opened. They said they would ask a few workers to stay a little later if we can guarantee being there between 9 and 9:30PM. Called them hours later into the trip to let them know that our time of arrival had not changed and to confirm pick up. 

Other than rain slowing us down (it rained at some point on our way to Virginia too), it was a smooth ride. There were some nice nature scenes that we passed by as well. We finally got to Houston at 7:30PM. It really put into perspective how big the city is as we did not get to Bite Macaron until a little after 9PM. We even passed by a Tinseltown that I did not know existed. But yeah, finally made it back home. 

The worst part of the trip was getting food poisoning (from the Waffle House food). Otherwise, everything went well. The car ran smoothly and survived the whole way. Shell became our main stop for gas since they had good bathrooms and were usually lit up well at night. Not that we didn't stop at other gas stations if we needed to. And I had a great travel companion the whole time. We talked about everything and grew closer. There were a lot stories to share, music to play, and just memories to be made. I've been on shorter road trips with others, but I knew for this long one, I needed someone that could hang and she was the right person to pick. Thank you for riding along with me and taking care of me. You are a great friend and I'm glad to have known you for 19 years. 



- Went to RAW live in Houston (08.29). Met up with friends there. As I was walking to the entrance, a camera man from KHOU stopped me and asked if he could interview me (stood out because of the NXT title). He just asked some simple questions like what do I think of the belt design, how long have I been watching wrestling, who I thought was going to win the Fatal Four Way, and a few others. As I was being interviewed, one of my friends stood behind the camera man to try to get me to laugh, ha. Our other friend joined us shortly after (great to see and hear he's a fan of Nakamura). 

The show was exciting. We had a lot of being silly and chanting along. The ending with the Fatal Four Way, Triple H showing up, and Kevin Owens winning (my pick)...so damn crazy. The best RAW I have been to that I can remember. 

After the show was over, I spotted a friend that I made from back in my GameStop days. Good to see he's doing well and is now a father of 2. He told me to get ready for the next video game tournament he's going to throw, ha. And you'll read about the promotional event we did at HER later, but a couple of the contestants found me and said what's up and thanks. Cool stuff.   


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- I'm a big fan of the Ace Attorney series. So I thought it was cool to see that the day of Phoenix Wright's first trial (08.03) actually rolled around. Can't wait to play Spirit of Justice soon. 

- I finally got around to playing the original Shantae (08.22). I was hoping to beat it before the release of Half Genie Hero, but I was actually having a lot of trouble playing this game. I died a lot and did not get far with the few hours I played. Tried to beat it in one day like I did the other Shantae games, but it did not happen. But with Half Genie Hero being delayed, I have more time to try and beat it (although most of my gaming time I make will be devoted to Spirit of Justice). 

 

Yeah, not much gaming this month. I did try a few demos if anything. 

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- I tried something bold and reached out to a customer (08.05). When this person came to HER, I was immediately locked on to her as she was really pretty. Even in the room, it seemed like she was flirting as she would move in close to me and made skin contact. I did want to tell her in person that she was really pretty, but there was not a good time since she was there with coworkers. Asked a couple of coworkers how to approach the situation. Unfortunately, nothing came from it.  

- We had been in talks with Radio One about collaborating. As I mentioned last month, we partnered with them (97.9) and the WWE for a contest to win tickets to Monday Night RAW in Houston later in the month. At the beginning of the month was when we officially started promoting the contest (08.08). More on the actual event later in this entry. 



- Got together at Agent Majordomo and PQ's place to play Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes with other coworkers (08.08). A few of us had been wanting to play that for a while now and it was frustrating and fun. 

- We had our first alpha test for our fourth escape room (08.10). It's great that it is in a stage to be tested now.  


- Got sick out of no where. Felt miserable all weekend. Called in sick on the 13th and 17th. Thought I was okay on the 16th and went in, but it got worse.  

- Another month, another meeting (08.16). Our activity this time was to test out the fourth room. My escape room record is now 13 escapes out of 17 rooms.  


- We conducted our second surprise wedding proposal (08.20). It went off really well. Everyone on the team knew what we were doing and the person to be proposed to was extremely concentrated on what she was doing that she did not notice. The proposal was a success. 

- Finally, the day of the contest was here (08.24). Agents Majordomo and Agent Ocean (officially brought on to the team) were to run the sessions. Agents Widdershins and Ca$h were taking photos of the event. Agents Incognito and Obsidian took care of anything extra. I was the liaison between Radio One and ourselves as well as making sure things ran smoothly. 

Radio One came in to set up a small table with merchandise and equipment. Spoke with them a lot. Some of the contestants started to arrive and sign in. Lastly, DJ J-Que arrived. He did some radio spots live on location and also did giveaways for 97.9 merchandise by asking wrestling related questions to the contestants. 

I was a little disappointed with the lack of interaction between the contestants though. Thought that there would at least be some wrestling talk going on, but there really wasn't unless they actually spoke to me. I was also bummed that some of the contestants didn't show up. I don't understand that. It sucks that they took spots that someone else would have been excited to have. Although I was told I can call anyone I knew to fill in some spots. I made a last minute call to a friend I knew was wanting tickets to RAW. Unfortunately, he could not make it, which sucks because even if he were late, he would have been placed in the team that ended up winning.  

Overall, the event was a success. It was good to dip our toes into a promotional event this big. Now we know what to expect for future events we may plan with others. 
  

- It was almost a month later (on purpose), but we celebrated Agent Incognito's 1 Year Anniversary with the company (08.31). We set up a little Pokemon mission for him to do while the others set up a surprise dinner for him. 


It was also the first day for our new Agent In Training. She has been progressing well and is fitting in nicely with the team. 

- Agent Solaire was the writer for this month's blog post. There's a photo of us playing Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes. 


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- SNSD - Sailing (MV) 

- Yuri x SeoHyun - Secret (MV) 

- The Ballad of Jessica Blue is the last set of videos that Christina Grimmie made before she passed away. It was great to see new stuff from her. I'm sure all of Team Grimmie enjoyed them and still miss the heck out of her. 


- 16 years of BoA (08.25). It's crazy to think that she has been a major part of my life, almost half my life. Continuous support from me to you.  


- Agent Majordomo was asking me about my latest vacation I had asked time off for. In particular, he wanted to know when I would be back. He was saying how Agent Raynor wanted us to do an activity the early Monday after. I started to decline since I figured I could participate some other time. Later on, he called me in to do a video call with Agent Raynor (08.19). He was also asking if I could come back sooner for the activity. At that point, I said I could try. I also noticed that Agent Majordomo was filming me with his phone so I figured something was going on. It was then that Agent Raynor said that they had been setting up something with Radio One to thank me for the work I've put into the project. They were able to set up for me to meet Sasha Banks. 

When I returned from Virginia on Sunday night, my friend got picked up as I got a late order from Bite Macarons, I went home, showered, ate dinner, and then drove to Agent Majordomo and PQ's place to spend the night there. Were I to stay at home, I would have had to leave at least 2 hours early (5AM) to get through the morning traffic to get to the Radio One studios. Caught up with both of them before heading to bed. 6 hours later, woke up, got ready, and Agent Majordomo drove me to the studio. 

We went up to the studio since we had been there before. Right there waiting outside the door were 2 Toyota Center workers, a WWE person, and Sasha Banks herself. We made eye contact and I immediately went shy and couldn't do/say anything. I rarely get star struck, but I definitely was during this instance. We were all outside for maybe 5 minutes before they had someone let them in. Our contact (gave a box of a dozen macarons to) let us in through another door minutes later and we all met up again outside of the radio booths. During that time, we were catching up with our contact. At some point the Toyota Center workers asked when our radio spot was going to happen. That's when our contact mentioned that I was actually there to meet Sasha because of our collaborative promotion. That's when she and I formally exchanged greetings. I was still shy, but the talk among all of us was about escape rooms. Some of the Toyota Center employees have been to HER and Sasha has done one in Orlando (I knew about that and challenged her via Twitter). 

After minutes of waiting, 97.9 was ready to bring us all in. I got to stand 2-3 feet away behind Sasha as she was being interviewed. It was a good mix of her being in character and being real. I'll admit that I did take that time to check her out more (not that I wasn't sneaking peeks when I could). She was absolutely gorgeous in person and wore a great dress. 

The interview itself wasn't that long, but it was cool to be part of. Afterwards, she took photos with the DJs and then took pictures with me. With her heels on, she was little taller than me. That's why I thought she squatted down. I told her she didn't have to, but she said she was "popping a pose," ha. I requested we take a silly photo by making a heart. It was at that point she called me out for wearing a Bayley wristband and for having an AJ Lee phone cover. We laughed and I said I had her gear as well. Agent Majordomo took photos with her as well even though he wasn't going to originally. Then I gave Sasha a box of 2 dozen macarons before saying the following (as best as I can remember): 

"I have been a wrestling fan for over 30 years and you are actually the first wrestler I have ever met in person. All I ask is that you take care of yourself. Thank you." 

And that was it. While I was hoping I would get more time to just talk to her about wrestling, Kpop, etc, it was an absolutely amazing experience I will never forget. 






That is it. August was eventful. If I'm catching up with anyone, the stories from this month will be what I mainly talk about. Thanks for reading. Be healthy, be safe, be thankful, and be loved. 


"Reprise the theme song and roll the credits." 

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