Wednesday, February 5, 2020

January 2020 Entry

January 2020 Entry 

We're already a month into the new year. Went by fast. One small change to the blog entries from now on is the labeling of sections. While I always knew what they were and kept them fairly consistent, now they will be obvious to anyone reading. 

MISC========================= 

- While this could be part of the gaming section of the blog, I felt starting the entry with this. I reached out to Nintendo at the beginning of the year (01.01). It was something I had thought to do towards the latter end of 2019 especially when I had heard more viewers in stream say that Nintendo "needs to notice me." I did it through a Twitter DM as I had actually talked to them through that years ago. To this day (02.02), I haven't heard back from them. Not the worst thing as they could possibly be watching without me noticing. It's also not a "no." If I do reach out to them again, I don't know when and the method, but I'll let this one simmer for a bit just in case. 

- Of course after I mention I'd been sleeping well in the last blog entry, I had a night that I couldn't sleep (01.04). It was an odd feeling since it had not happened in a while. At most, I might have had 4 hours of sleep only. And it had to be a work day too. The tiredness only set it once the work day was over. 

- For the first time in almost 4 decades, I dropped pizza (01.06). Had my plate of 3 slices, sat down, almost finished the first one, the phone rang, I got up and set the pizza on the desk...but not enough and the plate fell. Toppings fell off, but at least the slices landed face up on the recently cleaned floor. I ate the rest, but it was a sad feeling of having dropped them that was tragic, ha. And that phone call...spam risk. 

- Plugging my cousin's new business where she makes wreathes and dream catchers (maybe more) called Pauline Makes (01.16). If you can, give her a Like on Facebook or a follow on Instagram. 


- Got a text letting me and others know that one of our friends wasn't in the greatest moods and needed some cheering up (01.19). Without a second thought, I knew I'd go do whatever was planned to hang out with him. A few of us (and some new faces for me) went to Sushi King. It was a good night of talking and great food. Can't ever complain about those moments. 

WRESTLING========================= 

- Went to Worlds Collide with my cousin (01.25). Arrived a little later than normal so there were no lines. Still had to wait for my cousin so we could go in. What a show. Great action from start to finish. While it wasn't a TakeOver, it was still an NXT vibe. I always like spotting where wrestlers are from where we're sitting compared to seeing them on screens (Grizzled Young Veterans, Bro-serweights, Dakota Kai, Tegan Nox, etc). Fun night of wrestling. 




- The Royal Rumble is one of my favorite PPVs of all time and this was my second time going to one (01.26). Got up early to get ready to be picked up by friends. Ended up parking by HER and luckily got free parking. Decided to eat at Jackson Street BBQ, which was walking distance from HER (customers and coworkers went there all the time) and to Minute Maid Park. 

We actually looked the menu for a while in line and then went outside so other friends could find us. As we went back in and started ordering, I see Izzy and her parents enter. So awesome running into them out of nowhere. Immediately shared hugs and talked up the food. Little did they know, I actually paid for their meal as well. Of course they found us after they got their food and thanked me. We all had some good food, caught up, and shared many life stories with each other. Now those were some memories forged with fellow wrestling friends. 

After eating, we split up. Izzy and her parents went to Minute Maid Park while we went back to our car to get our titles. Walked over to Minute Maid Park and rejoined Izzy in line. During that time, one of my friends started to do my face paint. I never did face paint for wrestling, but I had an idea to combine both Asuka and Kairi Sane's Kabuki Warrior face paint. It didn't take too long and looked really good. By the way, this face paint combination is also my new Tier 2 emote on Twitch. 

My cousins met up with me and joined us in line. Shortly after, a manager (?) of Minute Maid Park came out to speak to everyone waiting. Mainly mentioned the rules that WWE had in place that were not the usual for Minute Maid Park (clear bags and size, season ticket holders, etc). He also made a few comments that were wrestling related such as not going to hit us with chairs or climb ladders, ha. He also took my Rated R title and made a comment about title belts. Then Izzy's dad started a "you deserve it" chant and everyone joined in, hilarious. Many minutes later, we were in. 

We got our tickets and went in. We all split up again. Some went to find seats, some went to the restroom, and I was trying to find Izzy and her family as they insisted to buy me a Royal Rumble shirt as thanks for lunch. By the time I found them, they bought one, but it was a medium. They asked if I wanted to exchange it and agreed. Saw some of the shirts on display and immediately saw the orange Astros inspired Royal Rumble shirt. We tried going to the sides of the merchandise booths to ask for a simple exchange, but they insisted we go back in line. Izzy's mom went and was able to move fast through the line to make the exchange and got the shirt. I thanked them, they thanked me, and we took photos before heading to our seats. Another awesome memory made with this family. We met at the Royal Rumble in San Antonio 3 years ago and here we are again making more Rumble memories. I enjoy our random encounters and can't wait to see them again. 



The set up for the Rumble was cool. One of the dugouts was the area the wrestlers would come out of. We were on the second floor section and had a good view. We settled in as the preshow started and then the main show. The only downside of the show was that a bright light on top of the screens was shining on us the entire time. It didn't bother me so much as I was still looking down towards the ring, but I completely understand why others disliked it. Regardless, I had a blast the entire time. I yelled and cheered for everyone and counted down from 10 so many times. The biggest reactions of the night were definitely Keith Lee squaring up against Brock, McIntyre eliminating Lesnar, and the surprise return of Edge. Right before he appeared, I remember looking down at the entrance area and seeing pyro set up. I wondered "who has pyro" too, ha. While it was rumored he might be there, I didn't expect it (me bringing my Rated R title was because I brought it to the last Rumble I went to). "You think you know me" hit and everyone got up and lost it. The sound was deafening, the loudest live event roar I've been a part of. I freaked out and yelled so much as I and everyone else could not believe what we were seeing. As much as I screamed during this, there was a part where I was mouth-agape and watching on in silence. At that point, I was tearing up too. I just could not believe my second favorite wrestler was back. After he hit his first spear, I immediately said "be careful." Unbelievable. 

What an insane night of wrestling. If this isn't my favorite event I've been to, it's easily in the top 3. The whole day was amazing. I'll never forget all of these moments and memories that were created. 



- And of course the next night, I ordered the new Edge shirt. And this one arrived the quickest out of any order I made via the WWEShop (01.31). 


WORK========================= 

- Our annual holiday party was at the beginning of the year (01.05). Agent Blue Heeler and I had been planning it together. Neither of us helped with last year, but we were asked to plan it this time around. We had it at our Memorial location, had a gingerbread house making contest, played Family Feud (with Double Dare physical challenges), exchanged gifts (everyone got one personalized for them), and then those that stuck around played Betrayal at House on the Hill (crazy fun). Fun day all around. 


- We had a very busy day at work (01.18). Not just for our location, but both. Downtown had 9 sessions and we had 8 for a total of 17. For me and Agent Ocean, we each took on 4 sessions each. There was almost no time to take a break. If we wanted to eat, it would only be for a quick snack and then back into the action. It was very rewarding. It reminded me of the days that we would have 15+ sessions at Downtown alone on a regular basis on Saturdays. 

- Towards the end of the month, we had a company meeting (01.28). Hasn't been one of those for a while. The majority of the staff was there and it was mainly to get everyone on the same page and give a bit of clarity on direction for the year. After we went out to eat, some of us went to the original location that the company started at over 5 years ago. That was when we were in an attic of a building shared by 2-3 other businesses. 

- And throughout this month, I've actually been working Downtown more than usual. Not a whole bunch, but almost one day a week. It's interesting to be there and see the staff more often. It's a different energy, but it's not bad by any means. 

GAMES========================= 

- Looking back on the games finished in 2019, that's a lot. Even looking back on the previous year, it doesn't feel like I'm playing that many games. It is crazy to see me beating 50+ games a year when there was a point not too long ago that I wasn't even beating 10-15 in a year. 


- First game of the year was Sayonara Wild Hearts (01.01). I had been looking forward to this game ever since it was announced, but never found a time to schedule it. And wow, I really enjoyed my time with this game. It was short, but memorable. Those zodiac challenges...some are insane. I wouldn't mind a sequel or DLC for this one. The joke during the stream was that this is my game of the year. Still a solid contender for it. 


- First Demo Showcase of 2020 with Demo Showcase 28 (01.03). I had fun with each one of these demos. 

Bleep Bloop - A simple puzzle game. Move one color with one analog stick, move the other with the other stick, and get both of them to the goal. 
CONTRA ROGUE CORPS - Despite hearing bad things about this game, I thought it was silly fun. It's not like a traditional Contra game and that's probably what hurts it. If it didn't have the Contra name, there wouldn't be expectations. 
Lethal League Blaze - Only knew of this game from watching bamCRASHkapow play it on stream. Now I know first hand how fun it is. 
Venture Kid - A Mega Man clone, which is not bad. Wish it was a little longer as a demo. 
World Cruise Story - Another Kairosoft simulator. One of my favorites out of that crop. This also marked the last of the current Kairosoft demos at the time...and then 3 more got released not too long after, ha. 

All of these were enjoyable. In fact, I played through the first 3 two times each and the fourth game three times. Of course the Kairosoft demo went over an hour as usual and ended on a hilarious note (watch the clip). But my favorite was Lethal League Blaze. It is now on my wish list. 



- I thought I had never played Kirby's Adventure, but apparently I had on the Wii U Virtual Console. But now I have played it on the Switch NES app (01.06). Harder than I expected it to be. Not that it was impossible, but I died more than I thought I would. Regardless, this is the first of 3 months that I will be playing a Kirby game. 



- Our second viewer's choice vote on Discord was for a visual novel and Worldend Syndrome was the winner. I was looking forward to playing this one (01.07-01.14). Wow, this game sure had its fair share of twists and turns. Getting the bad ending was very surprising, but intended. And when I thought I'd only romance a few of the ladies, I ended up having to go through all of them to see the true ending. The endings prior to this one revealed a few things that lead up to the true ending, but nothing was truly solved until the last couple of endings. Things were resolved and it makes sense (so many twists and surprises) and I'm glad things got wrapped up. I just wasn't expecting the finale of this to be 11 hours. And the last 2 hours was watching the true ending and not making any choices, just watching it unfold. While I did enjoy it, I thought it could have been wrapped up faster. But as far as visual novels go, it's a good one. 


- Ordered my cheap copy of Starlink December 27th. Picked it up the beginning of January (01.09). Quality stuff for only $6. It's currently scheduled for August, but there's potential to move it around. 


- First purchase at my new GameStop were for the new amiibo (01.17). Richter looks good, but Dark Samus is hyper detailed. So good. 


- So today would have been our free game of the month. It was going to be DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2 Lite Version. Booted it up, got a screen shot, started the stream...and then it was offline. I did notice that the number for free games on the Switch went down by one...and this happened to be the game that was removed. I had no idea it was for a limited time and it happened to end shortly before the day I planned to play it. 

So after a short 20 minute stream of trying to figure things out with those in the stream, I ended stream (deleted it) and got everything ready to play Robonauts instead (01.17). This was the next game regardless and it got bumped up. This was the first of 10 free games from QubicGames. It was a game I enjoyed the demo of long ago. It was short, it had enough of a challenge, and I enjoyed it. 


- If you saw last month's post, one of the Christmas gifts I got from my cousin was a download code for Untitled Goose Game and I made sure to make it a priority on the schedule (01.20). Wow, what a silly and fun game. The main adventure is short, but the extra tasks unlocked definitely extended it. Other than the one thing that happened on stream, I really enjoyed 100% completing this game. That final to-do item that got crossed off was very satisfying. Highly recommend it. 



- Second Demo Showcase of the month with Demo Showcase 29 (01.22). Very mixed bag of demos here. 
APE OUT - High energy, easy to understand, and tons of action. Short, but sweet. Being an ape was fun. 
Bot Vice - Similar to Wild Guns. Didn't expect that. It definitely had its own level of challenge, but I had a blast playing it. 
Disgaea 4 Complete+ - I'm not the biggest fan of strategy games, but I've played a few in my day. I've also played the demo of Disgaea 5. I liked that one. I didn't like this one that much. It didn't help that the tutorial was pretty much an hour long. Too much reading and not enough action. 
ONINAKI - I've heard good and bad about this game. I will say the battle system was repetitive, but the story had me hooked. Wasn't expecting that to happen. 
The Tower of Beatrice - A nice point and click adventure. The controls took a little getting used to, but then it was all about making things happen. 

The favorite out of this Demo Showcase was APE OUT, no doubt. Started the stream strong with it and it left an impression on me. ONINAKI was a close second, but I know I would have more fun with the shorter of the two. Who knows, maybe ONINAKI goes on a crazy sale and I pick it up anyways. By the way, it just occurred to me that I liked both games that that were all in caps, ha. 


- Our SNES game of the month was Breath of Fire (01.27-01.31). My only experience with the series was with Breath of Fire III on the Playstation. I think I beat it...not sure. But this was definitely an old school RPG. Very of its time and that's good and bad. I did level up off stream for 4 hours two separate times and it helped make things smoother. Following an FAQ helped as well. Overall, I enjoyed it. Breath of Fire II is scheduled for May, but it's still a maybe for now.

https://www.twitch.tv/collections/4mCiJAzo7RXUzg 


- Got my copy of Blazing Chrome from Limited Run Games (01.28). Can't wait to play it...some time. But I also tried out Byleth in Smash as well. Fun character. He/She is strong and I like my strong characters. Probably my second favorite DLC character for the game. 


- I asked in Discord if anyone wanted to see summaries for games after I beat them. While I normally gave my thoughts on a game on stream after I beat it, I handcuff myself due to timing. Thankfully a good number of people did want to see them and thus the Game Summaries section was born. Since it was toward the end of the month, I started to release them every other day until I was caught up. After that, I'll give myself 48 hours to come up with the summary. They aren't long reviews like I used to do way back in the day. It shows positives, negatives, and then a paragraph for the summary. And this will be exclusive to Discord so if you want to see them, join The Loading Screen. 


- Special shout out to my cousin for making me a Twitch banner as a Christmas present. She emailed them to me on the 6th and it was a pleasant surprise. Then I asked her about making my Tier 2 emote. That slot has been vacant for a couple months now. I asked a few others to make it, but they weren't able to or didn't have the time. The idea for it has been the same for a while too so I sent the idea to my cousin. A couple days later, the Kabuki Warrior emote was created on the 9th (took almost 2 weeks to get approved). Since we were on a roll, the last thing I asked were to update my Twitch Panels. At first I didn't have any ideas, but knew that I really liked what abomination1212 has. Using those as an inspiration, we got talking and idea generating. Took some time, but the new Twitch Panels were finished on the 26th. I swapped them out a couple days later and they are awesome. Go check them out on my Twitch profile.  


ETC========================= 

- TaeYeon - Dear Me (MV) 

- Kara - Runaway 

This song came up when I was sorting and arranging songs for my phone (01.24). I binged a few videos of their performance. One of my favorite Kara songs. 

- I mentioned it last month that my dreams have been very vivid recently. It continues. I do find it fascinating that the majority of them are with people I haven't seen in years. One dream that I can recall is a group of them ignoring me, but only one of them actually being nice and reaching out to me. Even last night (02.04), another one was reaching out to me saying things like "do you remember when this thing happened? It's almost the anniversary of that. Do you think you can come celebrate with us?" I don't yearn to reach out to them because I did make some efforts in the past and efforts weren't made from their end. Not to say they never tried. But the door is not closed to all of them. Some yes, others no. There are definitely some that I know the connection is there as reaching out to them for work purposes had raised curiosity and just general conversation to meet and catch up. Hopefully reconnecting with some of them can happen. 

- That's a wrap on January 2020. Thanks for reading. Thank you for the support. Take care. 


"Reprise the theme song and roll the credits." 

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