August 2024 Entry:
- Another month that went by fast, but felt long.
MISC=========================
- My PC died (08.03). It was in the morning and we had a rolling blackout. It has survived many of those in the past two years. However, this time the PC tower had a blinking yellow light. Never had that happen prior. Checked my phone for possible solutions such as trying a different power outlet, holding down the button for X amount of seconds, etc. Nothing worked. Went to Dell's website, but their online messenger and their phone tech options weren't available on the weekend. Went to work early that day and hoped everything fixed itself by the time I got back and it didn't.
I ended up taking it to Geek Squad the next day. It did suck that I had to wait about 15 minutes after my scheduled appointment (it wasn't busy and no one was in front of me). But once the staff member finally analyzed my PC, she said most things I already knew. She did give me a few extra options to try in terms of getting an actual diagnosis (paid), trying to plug and play various parts to see what is and is not working, etc. I also chatted with Kai to get their opinion since they were the one that built my machine. They did offer to help, but did not have spare parts to do a diagnosis. So I contemplated whether I should buy random parts and hope for the best, which I did not want to do and possibly waste money on.
Went with a trip to Micro Center to do a diagnosis (08.06). Did a bit of research and it seemed like the fastest and cost-effective path to go with. Had to wait about half an hour to drop off my PC. Then it was just waiting. I was told I would get lots of texts about updates about what was going on, but that didn't happen. I waited 2 days just in case the status online changed. Finally reached out through their online chat to see what was going on. I think that's what kicked it off as it was within 24 hours I saw the status changing online and then getting a text saying what was wrong. The power supply crapped out. They mentioned the price of replacing it and how much it would be if I had them install it, which is what I opted for since I knew I couldn't do it properly and didn't want to wait for anyone else to do it. The next day I got another message to pick it up. Waited about 10 minutes before being called up. There was an issue with my account since there was another one attached to the address (family). Then they finally brought out my PC and told me the price. I questioned it because it was lower than estimated. The worker double checked with their manager. Once they checked, he looked at me and said "Merry Christmas." They didn't say why, but I assume it's because of the days of wait when it could have been done in less than 48 hours. Plus the case doesn't close properly anymore and that was their fault. It's not horrible, but it wasn't like that before I brought it in. Again, that's my guess. It was a nice surprise overall. Took the PC to work and brought it home after the shift.
I didn't hook up my PC until the next morning because I didn't want to worry about setting things and checking to see if it was properly running and think about it while I slept. Hooked it up and everything was working (08.11). The next couple of days was spent catching up on a few things. Over a week without a PC was rough. I had to alter some routines and learn how to do stuff via mobile to keep track of stuff. Yay for learning new ways of doing stuff, but it's way easier on desktop.
The biggest change since then (probably jixing it now) is being able to sleep without any white noise since then. I think I've got a routine to help with it, but I haven't gone this long without white noise in many many years. Hopefully it sticks.
- Went back with my dad to repair the fence I helped him with last month (08.04). We basically had to remove the boards and reinforce them. At least I felt like I was doing something this time. Other than holding the fence up and handing over tools, I mainly hammered out old nails from the boards once they were removed.
- Picked up my copy of TWICE 5th World Tour 'READY TO BE' in Seoul (08.08). It was my first time preordering from a local store, but I was pleasantly surprised with how easy and fast the process was. I guess this might be a regular thing for future purchases if they're available. Otherwise I still have the reliable YesAsia, which I've used for decades.
I also stopped by a nearby boba shop (several in the area). I had not heard or seen any friends post from this place so I thought to see if they're good or not. What I originally wanted was recently removed from the menu, but I still found something I liked. Not bad, but nothing that stood out to recommend it over other places.
- Chose to watch the Twisted Metal series (08.09). The main reason was because of the fast/racing games I was playing this month. It's not bad, but there was more of an emphasis on character and world building. Not every episode caught my attention as I saw myself reaching for my phone to check on other things. Shout out to episode four WHZDARE as I thought that was the best one. I also wanted more vehicular combat, but it definitely seems that is what season two will be about. I do hope that's the case.
- Went for my annual CT scan (08.12). As I told the doctor, these visits get shorter and shorter. 40 minutes to drive there, 5 minutes to check-in and fill out paperwork (didn't even finish), 5 minutes for the scan, and 40 to drive home. That's not a complaint either. I'd rather things go smoothly with efficient visit/wait times.
- Went out to eat with part of the HeXagon crew (08.15). We went to Sip Tea Boba, which NE had suggested months ago. There were no customers until the last few minutes we were there when the store was closing. Food was decent and so were the drinks. Worth trying out, but nothing super amazing. We didn't stay too long as we could only meet an hour before the store closed. It was good catching up with the guys. Haven't seen them since the ITZY concert.
- For a change in scenery (I guess), I decided to make a small change to how I arranged things on my desk. It was a simple change, but kind of necessary now that I don't use my PC to charge USB devices. Basically things that have been on the left and right side of my desk switched spots. Not too long after, I accidentally dropped a mug (08.18). Granted it was close to 1AM so I wasn't really paying too much attention when I grabbed my water bottle. It's not the biggest loss as I do have other mugs I don't use lying around. But it was one I bought for myself on my birthday almost two years ago when I was in Austin. The handle broke off and that's it. It can still be used. I might shave down the rest of the handle and leave it like that.
- Had my second biannual ENT appointment (08.21). The parking lot has been under construction for about two years now. This was probably the worst time I had finding parking. Usually there were attendants around. This time they were only at valet parking. Myself and a few other cars could be seen circling the lot and the garage multiple times to find an empty spot. There was one point that I found one outside, but due to people not parking properly, I would not be able to fit so I abandoned it. Thankfully my next trip back into the garage was the one. I found one spot next to a pillar. There are red/green lights above each spot to let you know if it was available, but I swear I saw two cars pass it. The whole parking part took 15-20 minutes causing me to be about 10 minutes late. My wait was actually only about 10 more minutes before seeing the doctor. Then it was less than 10 minutes before he said we were done. According to my CT scan and from what he personally saw, everything was stable. It wasn't worse and there wasn't a lot to clean out of my problematic ear. As I mentioned when I left, I spent more time looking for parking than the actual appointment.
The ride home was...off. I had a hankering for boba and even thought of a place near home I never tried. Then I tried looking up spots nearby that weren't franchises and settled on one. Followed the GPS and it wasn't there. Not only that, I was in a small unfamiliar part of town next to the freeway causing me to go in a couple of loops to get back on. Then I decided to try another exit that wasn't normally riddled with boba shops. The thing is I chose a road that was devoid of boba places. By this time, I was out of the way from the boba place I originally thought to try. Decided to go for Dutch Bros since it had been a while since I had them. But then I glanced at the clock. While it normally took about 40 minutes to get home, it was close to an hour. I figured to just go home and not waste any more time. Not that I had anything pending, but I felt more time would be spent for no reason.
Usually after my ENT appointments, my head would be in pain. Whether the appointment went well or not, enduring the hurt of getting my ear picked at would make the day in general rough. So I figured not to do anything big after other than watch Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Three. I liked it. Good bookend end to this trilogy of movies. Part of me was really curious how it would go down. Not only that, I was waiting for the one clip I had seen online; Kevin Conroy's last recording as Batman. Wonderful.
- Rest in Peace, Sid (08.26). One of my favorites growing up. He was always opposing no matter what side of the fence he was on. You knew he was going to be hard to take down. And his powerbombs fit him so well. He was the Master and Ruler of the World for a reason. You will be missed.
- Exercise has not resumed. Ever since the ITZY concert, my routine dance and Fitness Boxing never returned. However, I have upped the amount of push-ups I do. Last month I did increase the number by 5, which meant 80 a day. This month I added 5 more so now it was 100 push-ups a day. But I did more sets. On work days, I'd still do the 100. On off days, I did 100-400, but that's split every 3 hours. Sometimes I would skip a set, but I definitely can feel/see the difference. It's not a lot, but it's there. And I think I can maintain this for now before adding more (in general) next month.
- Game Informer shut down (08.02). That sucked big time. I'll admit to not being the biggest supporter of the magazine itself, but I was a supporter of those that were part of it. While I've had a subscription to the magazine, I really got into things because of their videos on YouTube. The first video I remember watching was Smashed: The Guinness Marathon Documentary. I don't even recall how I stumbled upon it, but I liked what I saw and started to check their older videos. That's when I stumbled on their Replay and Super Replay series. The humor and personalities were fun to listen to and seeing them play games I was fond of or had heard of was awesome. The white noise I slept to for over a decade were those videos. For that being a staple of my life is something I'll be thankful for. Thank you for the laughs and the memories.
Shout outs specifically to the I Watched the Entire Overblood Super Replay Facebook group. I may not have been the most active there, but I did make a few connections thanks to them (also with Overslam). And cheers to MinnMax for celebrating Game Informer and for doing what they felt necessary to archive anything and everything that was GI.
https://youtu.be/qDl5Jl7ajdY?
https://youtu.be/_fuxxzDCMY8?
GAMES=========================
- Demo Showcase Shorts continued, but had a lot of breaks (PC, appointments, etc). While my PC was out of commission, I didn't try to push and do these even though I could. A few days after my PC was down, I figured out how to do all the typing and linking through mobile. I never really used spreadsheets on mobile before outside of viewing them. Took a bit to get used to, but I did it. Another special note was we had our first 5 thumbs up in a row. Our last Demo Showcase on stream was 5 thumbs up and this would only be the second time it happened.
- Arise: A Simple Story - Definitive Edition completed (08.02). Tried the demo in March and got it on sale for 85% off ($3). Only a few technical issues here and there. But there were a few times in the end where it was darker than normal. Coupled with the traveling light during those segments made it a tough end of the game. Not sure how co-op would have worked. I don't know if there is a difference from 100% the game or not. I would assume the ending might be slightly different. The story was the best part.
- Tray Racers was the free-to-play game of the month (08.03). Functionally not bad. There weren't a lot of people playing online when I was on (4 at most including me). I still stand by wishing it was a normal racer with laps. Using your best practice run (which could vary in how many attempts you get) and your actual race time to determine placement is an interesting choice. As I've said on social media, not bad, but could be better.
- Sonic The Hedgehog 2 was the Genesis NSO game of the month (08.04). Played through it once getting Super Sonic and then used stage select to get a Tails and regular Sonic ending. Felt like a glove. There's a reason this is one of my favorite Sonic games in general. I played this so much back in the day.
- Mario Kart: Super Circuit was the GBA NSO game of the month (08.07). I've only played through this game one other time on the 3DS thanks to the Ambassador Program. I think I would have liked it more had I played it when it originally was released. Not that it's bad, but having played other Mario Karts that came after, it was tougher to unlearn what it has evolved to. But it's still at the bottom of the list of my favorite Mario Kart games.
- Super Mario Kart was the SNES NSO game of the month (08.08). Played it when it originally came out...a lot. It definitely is different to how the series has evolved to. But muscle memory was kicking in. I also liked how the tracks were short. Mario Kart definitely got better over time, but this (to me) is still a great jumping off point.
- Got a copy of Sonic Superstars (08.15). It was on sale for 80% off at Best Buy brand new. Awesome deal. Currently have it penciled in to play towards the end of this year.
- Finished Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (08.18). I was looking forward to this and I wasn't. It's been 20 years since I beat the original on Gamecube (still have the game and strategy guide that I used while playing). What I wasn't looking forward to was what I've grown to dislike about Paper Mario games in general; they're slow. There were some additions made to help speed things along, but it's overall still slow. Fights take a long time, having to backtrack is still not fun even though there are modern enhancements, and the story itself rolls out at a slow pace. All the good still holds up like the characters and presentation. I think I should have not opted to do the Pit of 100 Trials after beating the game or at all. An extra 3-4 hours of game time, one death, and the boss being easier than some of the enemies leading there. After beating that, I pondered for a few minutes whether or not to do the additional secret boss. It would require doing the last 50 floors again and then fighting the new boss, but I was drained after the original run down there. I enjoyed the revisit overall, but it ended on a sour note.
- Nintendo Museum Direct happened (08.19). It looks so cool. Part of me would prefer going to see this over Super Nintendo World. I would still like to go to Super Nintendo World, but I don't feel like I'm missing out (although I know I'd have a blast there). But that museum looks really well thought out and would make me go wow looking at and experiencing everything.
- The Indie World Showcase + NIntendo Direct: Partner Showcase was really good (08.27). I will admit like others have pointed out, the Indie Showcase was a little weak while the Partner Showcase shined. I did find quite a few things I liked and have definitely added more titles to my wish list.
NEVA
Coffee Talk Tokyo (oh yeah)
Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope DX
Fitness Boxing 3: Your Personal Training (guess I have a reason to stop Fitness Boxing 2 now)
Capcom Fighting Collection 2 (originally I wanted just a CVS collection, but holy heck)
Suikoden I & II HD Remaster (amazing)
Castlevania Dominus Collection (finally will get to play these)
- Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy | Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies finished (08.27). I've only played this game one other time and that was when it was released on the 3DS (2013). I did remember some of the bigger plot points, but definitely forgot the new cast that were in these cases. When they popped up, I was all "oh yeah, that person." But I did remember who the big evils were and I definitely knew how it ended. The music surprised me the most because they're really good. But the game does still rank low for me in the overall series. It may be the reason it's one of the few Ace Attorney games I never went out of my way to replay. I have a better appreciation of it though.
- Minecraft Dungeons was a Game Trial this month (08.29). It showed up late in the month, but figured to wedge it in. There's a possibility it was offered before and I missed it (had it already listed on the spreadsheet). It was easy, but mindless. I felt there was a possibility I could finish it in the next couple days, but decided not to.
WORK=========================
- We held a surprise event for the owners (08.01). Agent Ocean put it in our group chat (that the ladies aren't part of) that we should do something for the ladies before some of the staff leave for college. I came up with an idea where we surprise them by me asking for a meeting where they're worried about what it may be about, but then reveal it's a set up, take them to each room where one of the college-bound staff members is hiding, they say nice words, and give them a letter that's part of a puzzle that ultimately leads them to our party room where everyone is. This has been in the works for a little over a month. First part was secretly telling the staff about the idea. Had to do it whenever I was able to pull them aside when it wasn't busy and if I was working with them (Agent Ocean and CG told a few that I never saw) or ultimately text/call a few. Then it was texting them in our group chat of the details of how the plan would carry out. We also had Agent Blue call us to "make a corporate booking." But we had to alter plans a bit because once the ladies saw that booking, they decided to block the rest of the day to have a company meeting. So our original plan of getting snow cones and snacks from a vendor across the street changed as we didn't know the food plans the ladies were going to do. Then there were updates here and there to the plan as some that were originally going to be a part of it couldn't anymore, making sure of the "payment" for Agent Blue's booking, and when I was going to ask for the meeting, which was the day before. They agreed to it and I was relieved as I worried they wouldn't be able to. During that time, they were worried I was going to quit, ha.
The day of...they asked if we could move the meeting time to later like before the meeting. Agent Ocean and I were texting on the side about what to say. I said I couldn't do it any other time because my family needed the car. They brought how I RSVPd to the meeting and I countered that things changed within the last 24 hours and I had to fight for the time I asked to meet. They agreed with the original time. Then my mom actually asked me for a favor close to when I was getting ready to leave and coincidentally that happened to Agent Ocean too, ha. And then there was construction happening on the road leading to our venue so we had to delay things by about half an hour. Then there were a few mishaps with one staff member forgetting to wait and started walking over (I caught them). One that was the son of the owner had to come up with an excuse because he ended up being in front of her on the road. Another wasn't checking the updates in the group chats. And of course everyone was waiting for the signal to go in. After I put my things away, I secretly let the staff that were scheduled to do what they were supposed to do as I went into the party room for the meeting.
I was nervous. Waiting in the parking area for a bit due to the construction traffic, I typed out a list of bullet points so I wouldn't forget anything. I actually used that as part of what I was going to say. I started by saying that nothing has been decided, I was seeking advice and guidance, and that I wanted to say everything first before they chimed in. Basically I talked about how the former owner of HER, Agent Raynor, has been catching up with me and wanted to revive the company. This part went on for maybe 5 minutes as I wanted to lay out the whole story and give time for the surprise to be set up. When I referenced Agent Raynor, I said something to Agent Ocean because he knew the type of person he is. Later in the day he said he had to look away because he wouldn't be able to keep a straight face if I kept looking at him, ha. But the ending was that I was to play an audio message that Agent Raynor wanted me to play for the ladies. As part of the planning process and to keep it as authentic as possible, I contacted Agent Raynor and we had a call while he was on the road. He really liked the idea and recorded the message in one take. The message was him mentioning how busy he was (pickleball), he sold his last business, and how now is the time to revive the company. He mentioned how me and Agent Ocean had been holding it down where we were now, but he wanted me to work with him full time to bring back HER. He also gave me a time frame to give him an answer (hence me needing to have this meeting). And towards the end of the two minute message, he said how he wanted to play the message for the ladies saying how they're wondering who he was and what's going on. He ended it by saying how it was all an elaborate set up and that he was turning it back to Agent Ocean and myself.
The whole time I was doing my speech and playing the audio message, I was paying attention to their faces. One was stoic and the other couldn't hide what she was feeling. As soon as Agent Raynor said "this was a set up," they immediately yelled "what?!" and their faces lit up and were caught by surprise. All my nervousness went away at that moment. I asked them to stand and confirmed with Agent Ocean of what he needed to do; message the group chat to let everyone know to come in after I lead the ladies away. I told them we were going on a tour of the venue. They were wiping their tears away and making comments like "I'm not dressed for this" and "my hair is still wet" as we were going down the main hallway. We stopped in front of the first escape room and I said "this is my favorite of all our rooms," but let them know we needed to see what was inside. Inside was one of the college-bound staff members. The ladies exclaimed as RL said some kind words to them. I stayed outside the door to give privacy, but kept the door ajar so I could hear when I needed to lead the staff member out and take the ladies to the next room. But before each member left, they presented a letter of the alphabet to the ladies. Before each room, I said something, but I actually forgot what I originally wanted to say for a few of them. After RL was CP. Then it was copy and paste to each room. Of course the ladies were catching on to what was going on, but the surprise now was who was going to be in the room, what they were going to say, and what letter they were going to get. From CP to OW to RB to PH and ending with AO. The ladies then had all the letters they needed and easily deciphered that they needed to go to the party room. And that's where the rest of the staff that were available were waiting to surprise them. The reactions the ladies gave were what we were aiming for. A few words were said and then Agent Ocean played the audio message from Agent Raynor for everyone else to hear. That's when I got the laptop ready to present a Kudoboard on screen. We each read our messages out loud for the ladies (for those who weren't there, someone else read it). And that was it. Mission accomplished.
A few more things were realized like the corporate team that didn't show up (thanks Agent Blue) and why I needed to have the meeting when I asked. Of course the company meeting was still happening, but it wasn't happening until a few hours later. The ladies said we could buy some Chic-Fil-A and chill in the meantime as they went to go take care of things and prepare for the company meeting. All of us went to Chic-Fil-A to get something (I got a shake) and came back to work to play Jackbox. This was amazing fun. It's been a while since I've played Jackbox with a group of new people. It was so good to see our senses of humor and to hear everyone laugh it up.
Then it was the actual meeting. Talked about new things we'll be trying, some stats, the second location (we were told of the month it would hopefully launch), reviews, etc. They took a nice jab at me since I was the person that got a 1-star (mentioned in a previous blog entry). I thought I had more, but they reminded me the other one was a 3-star. Cheers to everyone that got a reward and recognition. I was actually the male with the most review mentions and got a cash reward. I offered to give part of it back due to the 1-star review, but they mentioned they already did that, ha. And one of the last things shown was a surprise to the staff that I had a hand in. Part of it was a distraction sidequest for the ladies to put together while we had their surprise stirring, but I knew it would be a fun surprise for the staff who wouldn't think they'd get one since they were part of one. Over time, the staff had idolized the creator of the company. Those that got the chance to meet him took photos with him and those have been posted in the control room wall. Those that haven't met him gush when one of us does. He's basically reached celebrity status with them. The surprise was a video of him giving the college-bound staff a personal shout out, thanking them, and congratulating them on going to college. Their faces, priceless. I wish I took a photo/video of them. The meeting wrapped up and we were told about our team activity; laser tag.
Thanks to Agent Ocean for the ride. I haven't played laser tag in decades. Never been to Battlefield before. It was fun. I didn't do well in terms of kills or anything. I know I got killed a bunch, ha. But there were moments where I could help direct people and provide cover. The music being played was a lot of wrestling music so I was singing those out loud. We sweat, we shot at each other, and we had fun. My thighs were in so much pain for the next few days (darn stairs). Others were as well, ha. We walked over to have a company dinner at Soto's Cantina. Never been there before, but the food was so dang good (I took some home). Good food and good talks to end the company gathering. Cheers, everyone. Agent Ocean and I went back to the work building to clean up a few things and because my car was there.
Thanks to everyone that took part in the surprise. It was a reminder of why I like doing stuff like that and a reminder of why I don't. It's stressful especially with more people involved. The end result is always fantastic, but I don't think it's always understood how much it takes to coordinate things like this. It has been a long time since I've set up something like this and it felt great and that's what matters.
- A couple things happened this day (08.13). First, I was given a secret project to work on. It was prefaced with I might not like the task, but I'm the best person for it...and I can see what they mean. The second was Agent Ocean was without a car. It was thought to be stolen, but a couple days later was found in a tow lot. But he asked the first day for a ride home. I had never taken him back to his current home before so I was totally lost with where we were. When I went home, the path was more familiar, but still not one I normally took regularly.
- A long Saturday as summer comes to an end (08.17). It wasn't particularly bad, but you could tell the staff was getting worn out as we were getting closer to closing. Shout outs to ROCKS, ha. And the silliness of thanking each other for doing a good job as we left.
- While the previous Saturday was busy, the first Saturday post-summer vacation was slow. It was the first time in a long time we were able to close early on a Saturday (08.24). That was due to the lack of bookings. This might have been the first time some of the staff ever got to leave early on a Saturday if they were familiar with staying until close to midnight. It was a fun day regardless because we were all being silly, but it did suck that we didn't have many bookings. Cheers to all the reviews we received though.
- Little by little, the college-bound staff members were leaving. We knew it was coming, but it did suck to see some of them off. I didn't get to see all of them off due to scheduling, but knowing that we don't have a solid set of consistent employees around anymore is an odd transition. Some aren't far away, but they'll still be missed.
Along with seeing a chunk of staff leave, we have a small set of new trainees. As of typing this, there are three new members on the team. As of typing this (08.25), I have my reservations for them. Some more than others. All of them have potential, but some are stronger in some aspects where others don't. Together, they're one good employee, ha. But hopefully more time and seasoning will get them to be reliable.
- The last work day of the month was rough (08.31). More like a rough sandwich. The beginning was good, especially as one coworker came back from vacation and a former coworker visited and helped for a bit. Then there were all these little problems that consistently happened. Resets weren't solid, props broke, etc. It just reminded me that this wasn't my week. I had to just be silent otherwise I would have had an outburst. However, there was one set of customers that enjoyed themselves, but mentioned how they weren't told they could do something by their game master. I defended her as she is new (and I let her know about it after). After I exited them and took their photo, one of them asked if I was the owner. I asked if they thought I was. She replied with "you seem like you really care about all of this." I thanked her for the kind words and let them know I've had a rough week and hearing those words made my day. They all shook my hand and left with smiles. That made the rest of my work day better. And thankfully the last couple of teams were fun and easy to manage for the remaining staff members.
ETC=========================
- BoA Debut 24th Anniversary (08.25)
- HyoYeon (DJ HYO) announced a show in town. I immediately got my ticket as soon as it was available. Got that cheap early bird price of $25. Only one other person in HeXagon was going. I passed the information about the show to MC and he decided to go as well. The plan was to eat at Dough Zone (5 minute walk from the venue) at 7:30 and then head over at 9PM.
KQ and MC got to meet for the first time. We shared Kpop stories and general stories in general as we ate some good food. During that time, we talked about the show. Earlier in the day, I was curious how long the show would be and I saw that other places advertised it from 10PM-2AM. KQ was more familiar with the scene and he said that sounded about right. He said we'd probably have 1-2 openers before HyoYeon's set and that most likely that would be after midnight. That concerned myself and MC. KQ already said he'd stay the whole time. MC was hesitant and wasn't sure. I had already given myself a hard leave time of midnight because of plans for the next day, but that was before the realization of when HyoYeon would perform. I was hoping we'd have an opener for an hour at best before HyoYeon's set and if she went on the rest of the night, I'd at least see her for an hour. Also the original plan of leaving my car at Dough Zone was derailed as the staff member we asked about parking said they weren't sure if towing would be enforced. KQ was already parked at the venue so he rode with me. MC and I both got street parking nearby (I was 2 cars behind him). KQ needed to move his car since he originally was in the valet lot before they were starting. He ended up behind me. We were waiting in line for about an hour (literally they let us in at 10PM).
We were one of the first (maybe first 10) in there so we immediately got to the center of the barricade. The DJ was already playing as the crowd was filing in. We were having a good time, but I was keeping tabs on the time. The DJ went for about an hour and forty-five minutes. At that time, I was okay with staying an extra hour if HyoYeon was next on stage. She wasn't. Another DJ went up and started. I was thinking maybe she was getting a trial and would only be on for ten minutes. KQ found the DJ's IG story and it showed her set time ending at 12:50AM. Midnight struck...and I had to tap out. I told the guy's I was going and they understood. I walked out and headed to my car. One of the workers said bye to me before I got in and I should have asked if there was a chance I could see HyoYeon and why I was leaving, but I didn't think about it until I started to drive away and she was gone.
Why did I leave when I did? Why didn't I stay the whole night? I needed to take my mom to the hospital the next day to get her pacemaker battery replaced. It was the earliest date she could have it done. Not only that, but the hospital she was going to get it done was over an hour away. Her appointment was at 9AM and we were going to leave at 7:30AM. I got home from the club a little over 12:30AM and didn't sleep until 1AM. I got about 5 hours of sleep before getting up to get ready. We hit traffic on the way there, but we were thankfully not late. Then it was waiting from 9AM to about 1PM. During that time in the lobby, I just caught up on social media and watched YouTube. I did go to the in-building Starbucks and wanted a turkey sandwich (saw it on the menu and haven't had turkey in a while). Unfortunately it was a day that sandwiches weren't being made due to the doctors only performing surgeries and it wouldn't be super busy. Ended up eating banana nut bread and marble bread with Gatorade. My dad and I were asked to come talk to the doctor at close to 11AM. We were surprised it was already done. As the doctor was talking, we saw them wheel mom away to another room, but the doctor brought us in another direction to see her. He opened the door and it obviously was not her. There was a mixup in names and that was unprofessional. It was about another hour later when we were officially brought back to see her. Procedure went well. Then it was another ninety minutes of them getting her ready to leave. Another hour to head home. Took another route and we ran into traffic again. Stopped by Walgreens to pick up her medication and they told us it was sent to another store, which was two streets behind us and away from home. Mom and dad started to complain and I already had enough. I wanted to go home and did and they went to get the medication. The rest of the day, I was lying in bed and watching YouTube videos. I was out of energy and my eyes were heavy the entire day. Thankfully I went to bed a couple hours earlier than normal and got a good night of sleep.
However, it is not lost on me that I missed out on another opportunity to see HyoYeon. The first time was 13 years ago for the Soshified Field Trip (link provided so I won't have to explain it all). This time, she was in my city. We were literally in the same building at the same time. I just couldn't stay. If I did, I would not have been good to drive my mom to her appointment. I would have been more miserable that day. I still felt miserable in general for missing HyoYeon, but I needed the sleep that I got otherwise I would have been a liability while driving. Well-being and medical appointments take priority. I do wish the venue advertised it better because there were clearly fans in attendance wanting to see HyoYeon. Some even cheered for her between the first two DJs thinking she was coming up next. I think if I knew ahead of time, I wouldn't have gone. Plus things felt off the entire day (scheduled tasks were mostly pushed back, my left eye felt swollen, etc). While I had a good time with KQ and MC, it really hurts that I missed out on seeing my Girls' Generation bias again.
That's a wrap on August 2024. Thank you for your support. Be cool and be kind.
"Reprise the theme song and roll the credits."
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