October 2021 Entry:
October felt short and long. Does that make sense? And as I was posting this, I realized the link for last month's entry also is labeled August. Can't fix it either, d'oh.
MISC=========================
- Still having days where I lose sleep. Other than my normal methods that help me fall asleep, I have started thinking of ranking random things. Lately it's been ranking TWICE songs. I've been able to lock in the top 5, but the rest is when I keep nodding off as I'm trying to remember all their songs.
- Got my Collector's Edition Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom (10.02). Such a good game. I now own 2 copies of the game as I previously bought it. I still remember not being able to get the game in person at a Best Buy and do price matching, but was able to get the price matched online.
- Bought a bunch of fortune cookies and Misfortune Cookies for stream purposes (10.03). They are now channel point redemptions with the Misfortune Cookies being specific for when we streamed Little Misfortune.
- I mentioned in my last entry that I was apparently still able to receive unemployment even though the program had ended. I received a file to continue doing it and I did. When I went to claim for those two weeks, I received a message to call TWC (10.04). I was met with a very kind and patient customer service worker named Tracy. She explained the issue as others were mistakenly receiving the files too. Furthermore, she said I had to re-register and explained the process (which was a lot) while answering all my questions. At the end of that conversation, she asked if I wanted her to help me register on the spot, which I opted to do. It wasn't smooth as she had issues with her computer to the point that she had to call me back after getting that resolved. The whole call was about 2 hours long. Throughout it, Tracy was fun and entertaining and provided me with laughs and a strong impression of how much she cared. I was registered and did my job searches that were required.
Unfortunately it was all for naught. As I went to file for that two weeks, I was asked to call TWC again (10.19). The person on the other line (I forget his name) understood what was going on and answered my questions thoroughly. In the end, it was determined that there was no more unemployment for me to collect. Tracy had thought I was still able to receive some, but this person confirmed it was over. He did say if there was a possibility of me being eligible for another unemployment program and that I'd be contacted about it, but there was no guarantee. And that is how my story and collection of unemployment ended.
- Ordered a Pocky & Rocky shirt (10.05). Can't recall seeing any Pocky & Rocky merchandise ever so I had to get the shirt.
- 10 years on Twitter (10.05)
- I received an email about my upcoming Metroid Dread amiibo order saying that part of the payment wasn't accepted. So I called up GameStop and received another round of great customer service. This time it was Alexis from GameStop (10.06). It didn't take long for her to figure out what was wrong and provide an answer. But the fact that she asked me what my weekend plans were and we talked for a few minutes about our gaming history was a surprise. Great customer service is always appreciated no matter what profession it comes from.
- Went to pick up my copy of Metroid Dread (10.08, 10.09). I received a call the day before per usual and I asked if they had copies of the Collector's Edition and was told if I was there early, I'd get one. The store opens at 11AM normally so I decided to get there half an hour early. I didn't expect a line, ha. While waiting in line, I learned that other things other than Dread and the OLED were being released. Plus I only learned recently that this store was big in card collecting. Most people in line were there for the new Pokemon card set. This was the first time since the Switch originally came out that I waited in line for any game. I was there for about half an hour and the line moved smoothly allowing only 2 sets of customers at a time. When I finally got inside, they still had 2 copies of the Collector's Edition for Metroid Dread, yay. The next day, my shipment for the Metroid Dread amiibo arrived. Everything Metroid Dread related is so dang good.
- My Switch OLED arrived in the mail (10.08). I only opened it up that first day since I had plans, but I started to transfer everything the next day. However, I made a mistake. Called up Nintendo's customer service and it took a while to get a solution. Thankfully I was informed one way would have wiped and deleted my account so I'm glad I didn't do that. But basically I had to move all my save data one at a time and that took a long time (10.09-10.10). But I also went the extra mile to download everything in the exact order so that the thumbnails matched my original Switch (10.10-10.11). Unnecessary, but I wanted to do it. In the end, not everything could be transferred over such as demos and free-to-play games that have been delisted and a few titles that were straight up non-transferable.
- A highschool friend was in town for her birthday (10.08). Not only that, but a mutual friend from streaming came to visit making her the second person I've met through streaming. We first went to eat bun bo hue. Next we went to the hotel they were staying at and played Bargain Quest (very fun board game). I was also gifted a bunch of snacks. We then went to find a place to eat for dinner. Had to change our choice a few times and ended up at a small sushi place (recommended by my friend's brother who joined us). We couldn't find it at first since it was in a building with other small food places around. But it was a good way to end the night. And that was the first time I had been out in such a crowded place where lots of people weren't wearing masks.
I did hang out with all of them (plus their younger brother) again a couple days later to eat dim sum. Been years since I had dim sum. Always good stuff. And it was was good to see all of them one last time before they left town.
I did hang out with all of them (plus their younger brother) again a couple days later to eat dim sum. Been years since I had dim sum. Always good stuff. And it was was good to see all of them one last time before they left town.
- Went for a cleaning at the dentist (10.13). I ended up getting sick that day. Not sure if it was in correlation to the dentist or the Jack In The Box I ate afterwards. It was a bad stomach bug that I needed a couple of days to recover from.
- Finally got back to doing some Ring Fit (10.19). Friends coming into town and getting sick made this the longest gap of time I had not done an exercise session. 15 days is a long time.
- Injustice was good to watch (10.19). Really liked the liberties they took from the original story of the game. Kept it fresh and surprising. Highly recommend it.
- You can now officially post to Instagram from a desktop (10.21). That was something I've been wanting ever since officially using Instagram. However, I noticed something odd a few days later (10.24). Posting videos from desktop actually cuts off about half a second even if you had not edited it. So it's back to emailing myself to post from my phone.
- New wrestling shirts (10.27). Been a while since I bought any.
- Round 19 done. My top 3 were Attack the Block, Coherence, and Zombeavers. It was also great watching Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture after so many years.
- Glad to have received my Genesis controllers (10.29). Part of me was wondering if they would arrive on time before streaming my first Genesis NSO game.
WRESTLING=====================
- Leaving this part empty as I can't remember what happened and nothing popped up while looking at highlights to type this out.
H.E.R.========================
- I caught up with the owner of HER (10.30). It was good to see him and to share stories. I had a reason to speak with him and it turned out well. That's all I'll say about that at this time.
But to tie that with a story/memory, Agent Raynor was always reachable to speak to if necessary. It was great to have him come visit us when he could, but he would schedule any extra time for anyone that needed/wanted to talk to him. One thing he used to do was schedule time with new hires to talk with them for a good 30-60 minutes. Whether it be a long walk around the building on a slow day or to grab a snack or nothing special, he would take the time to form a bond with them since he wasn't always around. I think the last person he was able to do that with was with Agent Ocean with whom I think they actually played basketball together while talking. I do think those that didn't get that opportunity missed out.
GAMES=========================
- Played through all of the Contra Anniversary Collection (10.01-10.17). It was interesting to see the differences for each game that I never played and to relive the ones I had and do more. Like I never got all the endings to Hard Corps and I never beat the NES Contra without the Konami code until now. Contratober (coined by Rannchan) was really fun.
- Rannchan played Agent A: An agent in disguise on her stream after watching me play part of it (10.02). It was cool watching her go through it. I even gave her hints when needed similar to how I used to at HER. Glad she enjoyed it and we both want a sequel.
- Sora being the last fighter for Smash was the perfect bookend (10.05). While I'm not high on Kingdom Hearts (only played the first game), his reveal gave me goosebumps. And like with every Smash character that gets revealed, I tried him out (10.19). He's too floaty for my liking, but I like how they interpreted him.
- At the end of Contratober, it was fitting to play Blazing Chrome (10.18). I got a physical copy a long time ago, but never got around to it. It's not perfect, but it is fun to play.
- Demo Showcase 74 (10.20)
- PAC-MAN 99 for stream 599 (10.21). Prior to PAC-MAN 99 being a thing, we played Tetris 99 for every 99th numbered stream. PAC-MAN 99 is very fun. And and and...I got 1st place! The goal was to break the top 25, then top 10, then top 5. Then it happened, ha. Shout out to those that played with me. Can't wait to continue this new tradition.
- IdolDays was voted on for stream 600 (10.22). I really enjoyed this visual novel. Thank goodness for a fast-forward feature to allow getting all endings easy. Outside of the game, it was disappointing to have a low turnout for the stream. Sure, the milestone of 600 streams may not be as interesting as an anniversary stream to some, it is to me as it shows how much time I've put into this. Of course any time anyone chooses to spend in my streams is appreciated.
- The second half of October was dedicated to games with the word Little. Little Nightmares Complete Edition was first (10.24-10.25). I had seen lots of people stream the game so I remembered quite a few things that happened. However, I don't recall seeing anyone stream the DLC. All that was new to me. I did correctly predict how the DLC ended once something happened towards the end.
- Little Nightmares II was next (10.27, 10.30). I had not watched anyone play it so I didn't know what to expect outside of the demo. Definitely more refined than the first. To me, it was creepier too. 2 blemishes for these streams though. One was that I had to delay finishing the game due to harsh winds knocking out our power 4 times. At first I was going to keep the few parts that I was able to stream, but decided to scrap them and play through chapter 4 and stop where the first stream ended. The second bad thing was that one hat was not attainable through any alternate means because it was a pre-purchase item. Minus that one item, I 100% the game.
- I knew of it, but I actually hit the 100 shelf limit on Twitch playlists (10.27). I'm slowly going through and deleting un-needed playlists. And by slowly, I mean I only removed about 5. For example, all 3 games of the Phoenix Wright Trilogy don't need their own playlists anymore and just need the big one for the entire trilogy. But I also need to change links in spreadsheets that use those old and soon-to-be unusable playlist links.
- Upgraded my Switch online subscription to the Expansion Pak (10.29). I am very excited to play through the Genesis and N64 games. I already figured out how to fit them into the stream schedule. I understand why many are upset about the price, but I do know I'm a rare customer. It's not that I'm a fan of Nintendo. I do think the price is too high. It actually hit the highest I would have considered paying, ha. A few things though. I don't pay for many monthly services/subscriptions. Plus, I play at least 2 games off the NSO service already. If the games were at their original retail price or even at a discounted price, I get my money's worth. Again, I get why others might not like it, it's fine for me.
- Ended the Little portion of October with Little Misfortune (10.31). My cousin recommended it for me earlier in the year and this was an appropriate time to play it. Myself and chat really enjoyed the dark humor and how out there the dialogue and visuals got at times, ha. And thankfully we got the true ending in one shot. I thought it would have needed subsequent playthroughs because you technically can't find one sprinkle spot regardless, but that one choice counts for both no matter which you choose. Were the game shorter, I would have streamed the other dialogue/choice options, but I ended up watching them on YouTube.
ETC=========================
- ONCE + TWICE 6th Anniversary
- ITZY - WANNABE (MV Japanese ver.)
That's a wrap on October 2021. Thanks for reading. Thank you for your support. Be cool and be kind.
"Reprise the theme song and roll the credits."
