February 2018 Entry
Thanks for tuning in to the next installment of this blog. Apologies for the change in text size and font (don't know why it's happening).
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- Don't know what possessed me to do so, but I tried 4 songs at 2x speed (02.04). It reminded me when I used to do dances on a daily basis and sweat it out. Felt great, but my body sure isn't like it used to be.
SHINee - Sherlock https://youtu.be/MkSpLO3e5N4
Shinhwa - Wild Eyes https://youtu.be/askghfiy
Super Junior - Sorry Sorry https://youtu.be/Nz59S-2
TWICE - LIKEY https://youtu.be/enKk2Wf
- Found time to sit down and watch TWICELAND - The Opening (02.04). That was a fun concert. Sang and danced along the entire time like I do when I watch other concerts.
- Batman: Gotham By Gaslight is a great movie (02.11). There were a good number of key moments I really enjoyed. Definitely recommend this animated movie to anyone.
— Arnell (@ArnellragasA) February 7, 2018
- Had dinner with a friend I haven't seen since our trip to Marfa a couple years ago (02.11). We first went to an Asian restaurant to get soup dumplings. First time I've ever had them. They were good, but not enough for the price they were selling them for. So we quickly made plans to eat more at Kura Revolving Sushi. It was my second time there and her first. Among all the eating at both places, we caught up on a lot of things. In the end, we had some brutal honesty going back and forth. Some of the suggestions she made, I took to heart and am considering (or have already started doing), but I definitely didn't agree with everything. Still, it was great to catch up with her.
- I was suggested to check out It's Just Lunch by a friend who saw an in-flight ad on a recent trip. I made a phone call to speak with someone and it took a while for them to reach back to me. But someone finally called me back (02.19). Everything sounded okay until she mentioned the price, $2700 per year. I tried to back away, but was convinced to come in for the interview at least. It was on off day and had nothing planned, so I went. The interview was...underwhelming. The questions were typical of what other dating apps would ask. The matchmaker did give more insight on things and asked more in depth stuff though that did make me think. Even with all the guarantees and shine she went on about, I could not say "yes" right then and there. So I left and texted a few friends and my best friend suggested I check out reviews. I'm so glad she did. The reviews were terrible. I don't know why I didn't bother checking beforehand. This solidified my choice of not paying that much money for this. Geez.
- H.O.T. reunited after 17 years (02.25). Thanks to Infinity Challenge, they came together and trained to hold a concert. It was fantastic. To see this group perform in their 40s after so long, wow. Similar to watching TWICELAND, I sang, danced, cheered, and cried along with everyone. The outpouring of support from long time fans and to see the emotions on their face as well as the from the group...fantastic.
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- New amiibo (02.07). Target was having an insane buy-1-get-3-free deal going on. The list was limited and I had a good amount of them. So I went for the Animal Crossing amiibo, but only ones that were on the Gamecube version as that is the only one I played. But this brings my amiibo count to 108.
- Double-dipped on Bayonetta 2 (02.16). I really enjoyed it on the Wii U so I wanted to continue supporting it on the Switch. For some reason, I decided to play through both 1+2 a chapter at a time as opposed to running through as much as possible. I would finish a chapter, post up a screen shot online, and then take at least a 10 minute break (watch a video, catch up on online stuff, etc). It was funny as I forgot that some chapters are only a boss fight making them very short. But I did beat the first one (02.20), started the second one (02.25), and beat the second game (03.04). It was great to be back in that crazy world with Bayonetta.
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- Another company meeting in the books (02.06). This one was special as we had our activity before the meeting. We had a guest speaker come in and talk to us about character development and marketing. She was fantastic and everyone took something away from it. We will most likely invite her again in the future.
- HER had a nice article posted on Voyage Houston (02.07). Take a look.
- Conducted our yearly evaluations this month (02.13). I do enjoy championing everyone and the raises they deserve. This was also a date I was I had deadlined for myself. This was the time I knew was appropriate for me to resign from being Personnel Manager. I had been thinking about it for a while, but figured it was now or never. At the end of my evaluation, which went better than I thought it would, was when I brought it up. I had a speech I went over in my head (forgot a few things) with my reasons as to why (frustrations, how I miss facilitating, not being satisfied with my managerial performance, etc). I did the managerial position for a year and it wasn't for me. I can still be important to the company in my former capacity. On this day, a friend on Facebook posted an image that said "Leadership is not about titles, positions, or flowcharts. It's about one life influencing another."
I was officially no longer Personnel Manager at the end of the month (02.27). I am now a Senior Facilitator again with my big responsibilities being hiring, training, and onboarding. Slowly over time, my permissions and abilities that I had as a manager have been removed and transferred. I do feel less pressure and a lot better coming in to work now.
- This month's blog was written by Agent Incognito (02.28).
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- BoA - One Shot, Two Shot (MV)
- Red Velvet - Look (dance practice)
- Red Velvet - I Just (MV)
- TWICE - Brand New Girl (MV)
- That night I met up with a friend, an unfortunate incident happened after we split (02.12). I ended up going down Beltway 8 from Bellaire towards Beechnut, which I normally don't do. I just happened to be in the left turn lane and had to turn. I ended up being close to the truck that was also turning. That truck then started keeping pace with me down the road and I thought they were trying to yell at me for almost hitting them. I ignored them for a while, but saw they were still side by side with me. So I figured to make eye contact, take the tongue lashing, and continue. But they informed me that my back right tire looked wobbly and offered to let me pull over to check it. So I did. The guy pointed out what he claimed and suggested we go to a gas station where it is lit and safe. I was actually worried as I had changed that tire not too long ago after getting a flat.
We went to a nearby gas station and he and a friend started inspecting the tire. I waved at his family the truck and offered to get them snacks and drinks from the gas station. But then they hooked up a cable from their truck to my tire and I got a bad feeling. I then remembered stories and news reports of people scamming others in a situation like this to extort money. And that's was going on. When they were "done," the guy spoke about how much money he saved me from going to a mechanic. I thanked him and then he asked for compensation. I told him I had nothing. He started being aggressive about how he used his gear that's worth thousands and kept bargaining with how much he would take. It went from thousands to hundreds. I started to play off being panicked and stressed, but it was true. I said how I just came from a club and spent a lot of money so I couldn't get money from an ATM since I maxed out my spendings, started raising my voice, and also was playing a more pathetic character. He stopped being as aggressive and said he would take anything I could give. I knew how much cash I had on me, I just didn't want to give him anything. So I took my wallet from the passenger side, showed him all the cash I had, and gave him $100 out of $101 I had saying that I need to go home with something. He then started speaking a language I wasn't familiar with to his friend and said to undo the cable. I threw my wallet back in the passenger seat and he said I should start my car. As I went around to the driver side and opened the door, I saw him open the passenger side and take my wallet. I called him out on it and he denied it as he passed it off to his friend. They then quickly hopped in their truck and sped off.
Things that were in my wallet included my driver's license, my credit card, business credit card, $1, insurance cards, discount cards, social security card, a gift card (had $32, but I still had the number on me so I put $30 of it into my eShop account), business cards, and some novelty items. All replaceable.
It was around 1AM at night. I screamed. The gas station was actually closed so there was no one there to help or talk to. I called my dad and I was frantic. I asked him to stay on the phone with me as I drove home. There was a small part where I called the police to ask what to do. I didn't want to stay where I was as it was late and cold and I wanted to go home so I planned to file a report the next morning. When I got home, I immediately called the owner of HER to let him know what happened and to cancel my business card since it was in my wallet that was stolen. After that, I called my bank to cancel my credit card too. My mom eventually joined my dad and me to help calm me down. We hugged and I went to my room to do calm down. My dad gave me some Zzzquil to help me sleep better too.
The next day, I texted some friends about the situation and to be careful. My dad drove me around that day. We went to file a police report first. The officer was very helpful and narrowed a few things down as the story is not new to them. So they had some sort of idea who they need to look out for. We then went to the DMV to get a new driver's license. Unfortunately, I didn't have any documents that were necessary to get a new one so we wasted time and had to return and wait again. That night, I also bought some Identity Protection insurance. Thankfully, nothing has happened since then to worry about.
This incident has made me incredibly paranoid. I did avoid that street for about a week and I am instantly triggered when I see a white truck drive near me. Plus I knew those people had all my information including my home address and work address and could easily find me or do something to those around me. I've been less paranoid over time, but it is definitely still there.
2018 has been very crappy so far (and still as of typing this 03.10). I am glad that nothing worse happened in this situation. I was ready to be assaulted and defend myself, but that didn't happen thankfully. Thanks to one of my dear friends who made himself available to meet up a few days after the incident to be a pillar of support (02.15). Everyone else that had kind words and advice, thank you. To everyone, be safe.
That's it for February 2018. Thank you for reading.
"Reprise the theme song and roll the credits."
