Sunday, September 2, 2018

August 2018 Entry

August 2018 Entry 

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- I've been using the same camera bag for almost a decade or more. It was slowly getting worse and worse. The fabric was ripping and some of the grips were breaking off. The final nail in the coffin was a zipper got stuck and it could not be undone. While I could have gone for something different, I ordered the exact same model, but in black. It actually arrived within a week when it was estimated to be over a month so that was cool (08.04). Still breaking it in as it was definitely tightly packed with all the items I would carry in it.


- Bought The Death of Superman and watched it the next day (08.07, 08.08). It is so good. Definitely makes up for Superman/Doomsday. The ending brought tears to my eyes. Highly recommend it. 


- Agent Blue and I went to the Ninja Sex Party Tour De Force Concert at Warehouse Live (08.10). We were in line 2 hours early, but there was still a big line in front of us. It rained while we waited and that was lame. Process of Illumination opened up the show and they were good. TWRP was next and they played a lot of songs and were awesome and funny. But NSP was amazing. There were probably only two songs they played I wasn't too big on, but it everything was high energy. They played something from each album and even their new stuff (they played "Heart Boner" live for the first time in Houston). Agent Blue and I were maybe 10 rows from the front (standing room). My body was aching and I was tired, but I had tons of fun and would absolutely see them again. 



- The following tweet is a story about the time I experienced love at first sight one year ago (08.11).



- Out of the blue, I decided to stop using my dating apps for the rest of the month (08.12). Was hoping to see if anyone would try to match with me while I'm not active. No difference unfortunately. I started using them again in September.

- I finally got a new Social Security Card (08.24). I was dumb for putting it off since February when my wallet got stolen. But I finally settled on a day to tie up a bunch of loose ends I was being lazy on and this was one of them.

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- I'm really excited to watch the Mae Young Classic 2018 (08.08). It has already been recorded, but I avoided all spoilers. It's cool to see some former Impact wrestlers in the tournament this time, some of the return competitors are great, and the rest of the field is stacked with talent. Kaitlyn got an awesome ovation. While I don't see her winning, I hope she wins a couple of matches and then stays with WWE for a bit.


- Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart passed away (08.13). He was one of my first favorite wrestlers that I can remember. I always enjoyed watching him wrestler and his look made him stand out. You will be missed.


- Caught up on NXT TakeOver Brooklyn 4 after it aired (08.18). Fantastic as usual. I got 4 out of 5 of my predictions correct. All the matches are worth watching again and again.


- SummerSlam was so good (08.19). From the preshow to the end, it kept my attention. Didn't take a break for dinner until the show was over. I got 9 out of 13 of my predictions correct, which is the most I ever had. There were tons of highlights, but seeing Finn Balor bring The Demon back was unexpected and had me the most excited. Becky Lynch turning on Charlotte Flair after the triple threat match was amazing too.


========================= 

- I started following a couple of game reviewers on YouTube; Retropolois Zone and Some Call Me Johnny. While I knew of Some Call Me Johnny, I began watching both of their videos while looking for reviews of Mega Man X6 (had to hear what others thought of the game). Retropolis Zone had long reviews and I did watch all of his stuff. For Some Call Me Johnny, I pick and choose from his old stuff, but for sure I watch reviews of series and titles I care about (Metroid, Sonic, Zelda, etc). Recommend both channels. 



- I picked up WarioWare Gold when it came out. (08.05) However, I did not get around to actually playing it until the end of the month (08.27). I wanted to finish up other games before moving to it. When I finally did, I was able to beat the story mode after a few hours as well as unlock more modes and collectibles. I thought to maybe play this off and on to collect the rest (play the microgames over and over to collect coins) as I have nothing planned to buy game-wise until Mega Man 11 in October. But I forgot I had The Messenger on my wish list. I was actually planning to get Hollow Knight during that downtime before The Messenger had a release date, but with the announcement of a physical copy coming out next year, I will wait until then. As for WarioWare Gold, it's more of the same, which is not bad. Recommended for WarioWare fans. For those that are curious, there's a demo to try out. 







- I finished the rest of Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2. That means beating Mega Man X7 (08.05) and Mega Man X8 (08.07). X7...was not good. The shift into 3D was poorly done. The stages and bosses were not memorable. X8 was better. I even considered completing this title until the rest would have boiled down to grinding for chips to buy the rest of the items. I'm glad I got to finish the series on a high note. The big downside was the Retry Chips over having normal lives. Not the best system by any means. 

And as for the entire Mega Man X series, now that I've played and beaten all of them, here is my ranking of the games from best to worst: X1, X4, X2, X3, X8, X5, X7, X6.
  






- The Super Smash Brothers Ultimate Direct was awesome (08.08). Simon and Richter Belmont, Chrom, and Dark Samus as playable characters, nice. Shovel Knight as Assist Trophy, rad. 


- A game I really enjoyed a few years ago was Child of Light. There was an announcement of it coming to the Switch (08.08). I was going back and forth about double dipping on this one, but the announcement also came with a tease of a possible Child of Light 2. That is something I definitely would be in for.




- Okami HD came out on the Switch and that was an immediate download for me (08.09). I passed the original Okami on the PS2 for some other game (can't remember which). The aesthetic was wonderful and the style of play was similar to Zelda. Took my time with this one, but that was mainly because I was working more. But any free time I had was spent on this game similar to when I was playing Breath of the Wild or Odyssey. Then when I had a couple extra days off from work, I was able to finish the game (08.24). I did think to possibly complete the game until I realized I passed up a few things that were time sensitive and would not come back (lame). Other than that blemish, I really enjoyed Okami HD and am glad to have finally played it.




- I was on a roll playing Toreba this month. I won a total of 5 prizes (08.09, 08.15, 08.19, 08.21x2). Yes, I won 2 prizes on the same day. Haven't won anything since the last win, but I'm definitely paying closer attention with how prizes are laid out. Plus I will wait for more free tickets. I did spend some dollars to attain some of these prizes as I botched a few turns and didn't want to leave the game since I knew I could win the prize. Only one prize has arrived as Toreba's shipping has been backed up. That sucks as I was hoping to get a few of them sooner. But take a look at the videos and pictures of my wins with the links below. 


- After beating Okami HD, I finally got to try the DLC for Shantae, which was called Jammies Mode (08.26). All the extra modes/DLC that Half-Genie Hero has produced were great and Jammies Mode was no exception. It is not the best mode, but it was a nice reason to jump back into this world.




- Whoa, Streets of Rage 4 was announced (08.27). Incredible. This is a definite buy whenever it comes out. 

- Onimusha: Warlords got announced (08.28). I was always curious about this series, but skipped it when it when it was originally out. Now that I'll have a chance to try an updated version of it, I'm excited. Onimusha comes out 01.15.19.


- The Messenger is fantastic (08.30). The day it was released, I spent 10 and a half hours playing it. I've got over half of the main collectibles, all the upgrades have been bought, and somewhere between 100-200 deaths already, ha. Since I have no other games lined up for September, I am heavily considering 100% completing the game. 




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- During our second beta test, I was going to go check on the team, but actually smashed my finger in between the door while heading there (08.02). We have large office doors at the second location and that hurt bad. I actually had to tell them team I needed to go outside and scream. Spent the rest of the session watering my finger down with cold water (didn't have ice). This made me recall when I smashed my finger in a car door many years ago. That actually hurt worse as my nail got ripped out. But this middle finger getting crushed in the office door hurt for a couple days, but only stopped feeling weird towards the end of the month. 

- For the first time in about 3 months, I got 40 hours (08.04). Unfortunately, we reduced hours at the second location due to lack of sessions. So the hours fluctuate. Not only that, we leave early if there are no sessions. Have lost 2-4 hours per day because of that. Not good.  

- 4 years at the Houston Escape Room (08.09).

- The team went to Holmes Escape Room (08.15). It was the team activity for that month's meeting, but done days later. It was a nice small place. First time doing an escape room with the new kids. We split into teams and the company allowed us to swap rooms afterwards. Both teams succeeded in both rooms. Not a bad place. I would definitely recommend them for first timers. My escape room record is now 22 escapes out of 27 rooms which is an 81% success rate.

- An unexpected surprise came in the form of a stray kitten (08.29). As Agent PQ and I were leaving for the day, we couldn't help but hear multiple meows coming close by. We started to inspect the bush in front of our building as that is where the cries emanated. I was a little skeptical thinking it was a prank device as the meows sounded similar every time. But after further digging around, the little kitten popped up. We took it in and had Agent Widdershins join us as we started looking after her. We later named her Ame (Japanese for rain). I stuck around to take care of her as Agent PQ went to buy some cat supplies from a nearby. We did ask around if anyone we knew could take care of her. In the end, she became Agent PQ's new kitten. She is now a proud mother of 3 cats. 




- Frustrations, still got them. Other than summer ending and school starting again, I don't understand why customers aren't coming to us. We offered Naval Warfare for free, 50% off, and still at a lowered price and the response has been lukewarm. I'm glad that anyone is coming at all, but we should be booked completely. The lack of sessions lead to the cut hours and a change in schedules. Agents PQ, Ocean, and myself have been rocking it and we're such a great team...but no one is coming... 

Plus the new concept still has bugs. It's like we go a few steps forward and then a few steps back and it fluctuates all the time. I know we're only a month in, but I was hoping it would be more solid than it is at the moment. 

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- Tiffany Young - Over My Skin (MV)


Good Day LA (08.21)


Interview (08.23)


Tiffany, you are killing it. I can't wait for more from you.

- Red Velvet - Power Up (MV)


The song didn't catch me at first, but I've grown to really enjoy it. Their variety show appearances have been fun too. 

- TWICE - [BDZ] (MV)


- Can't believe we're at 18 years of BoA (08.25). Been there since the beginning. 


- That's it for August 2018. Thanks for reading. 


"Reprise the theme song and roll the credits." 

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Wednesday, August 1, 2018

July 2018 Entry

July 2018 Entry 

July went by fast. Didn't realize it until the last week.

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- Met up with former Agent X for brunch (07.08). Despite the heavy rain, we still met up at Jupiter Pizza & Waffles. I had not been there in a long time and both of us really like that place. It was a 30-40 minute wait outside, but we were catching up the entire time. He's a good guy. Always got along easy with him from his interview and after. We're going to try to meet up more often just to check in and update each other on life. 
 

- Had a jury duty summons scheduled (07.09). Slept early the night before, but could not get a lot of sleep. Woke up early and drove out to be at the courthouse at 7AM. Went into the building with a few others filing in and we were told that the jury duty selection was cancelled. Would have been good to know ahead of time. That's time I spent going out there and I could have gone karaoke the night before. 

- My cousin had her baby shower (07.14). I had actually purchased items from their wish list and had it sent to their home as early as possible so they got them a week before the shower. Drove with my parents to the log cabin-ish building they rented. As soon as I got there, I immediately started helping and continued throughout the day (blowing up balloons, taking care of trash, helping with drinks and food and cake, etc). It was great seeing everyone. 


========================= 

- Congratulations to the women of WWE. You deserve the all women's PPV; Evolution (07.23) 


- Reading the spoilers as they were coming in were crazy, but actually seeing Tommaso Ciampa win the NXT Championship was magnificent (07.25). 
 

- Couldn't believe that both Nikolai Volkoff and Brian Christopher passed away on the same day (07.29). Rest In Peace.  


========================= 

- Picked up Crash Bandicoot 'N Sane Trilogy at the end of last month. Finally got around to playing it. Beat each game one after the other (07.01, 07.04, 07.05). Having not played the series in the past, I was excited to play them now. But my excitement quickly went away during the first game (it took over an hour to beat Road To Nowhere...). The controls weren't great. I never felt like I had complete control of Crash and had compensate when needed. I will say that the games got better with each installment. Overall, glad I got to play the Crash games, but I would have been fine not playing them at all. 
 
- My arm was hurting a lot, so I caught up on some more of SGDQ2018 (07.03) . The even ended with a run of Final Fantasy VI. The crowd was awesome especially as the goal for the event was reached towards the end. Very fun.


- Death Battle - Ryu VS Jin (07.04) 


- Pocket Rumble finally came out (07.08). I had been interested in it when it was announced and was surprised when it was announced for release days before. The game...was okay. It was an interesting fighter, but not the most intuitive. I liked the characters and style, but wasn't impressed. I did beat the game with everyone within a couple hours. 
 

- I won my third prize from Toreba (07.12). It was a Moogle dressed up as a Tonberry. If you look at the video linked, it seemed so simple...and it was. I was just trying not thinking it would work and it happened. The plush arrived 10 days later. 
 


- Had some extra free time, so I played more Fortnite (07.12). Played it when the new season update went live too. Found a spot I like going to in solos and also started to explore the map more. But I was doing well in my matches (picture below is my solo). Also got to play more with Agent Striker. The last time I played was a duo with him and we were doing so well. I think we ended up 6th place. Haven't played since then, but that was a great way to end it for now. 
 

- Downloaded the update for Sonic Mania to turn it into Sonic Mania Plus (07.18). While I wasn't high on Ray, he was alright. I liked Mighty since he had a better defense so I could be more reckless. After beating their respective campaigns, I took on and beat Encore Mode (07.22) Remixing the stages and being able to swap partners was pretty cool. The special stages for the Chaos Emeralds were tough, but was able to get them all. It was fun jumping back into that game. I did contemplate buying the physical copy (still might at a lower price), but I opted for the Limited Run Games release of Thumper (Limited Edition). 


- Got Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1+2 (07.24). Was looking forward to this one for sure. It was great completing X1 and X2 on the same day (07.24). No problems with either one. Then I completed X3 (a little tougher than from when I last played it on Wii U) and then X4 for the first time since it was released on the Playstation (07.25). I only beat X's story that day, but beat Zero's the next day (07.26). 

On that same day, I got to play X5 for the first time and completed it and got X's good ending. X5 was rough at first, but I grew to like it. Was able to go back and completed X's bad ending (07.27) and then Zero's ending (07.29). 
And then I started X6. I do not like X6. I could not believe how much trouble I was having. But after doing some research, it's not my fault. The game is not good. The picture below was only the 3rd stage I was trying and I maxed out the timer. That has been the worst so far, but there are far too many difficult and easy death situations throughout the game. I keep hitting these roadblocks and spend a lot of time on them. Because of that, this was the first game in the X Legacy Collection that I did not beat in a single sitting. I knew before beating the game (07.30) that I already decided that I will only beat the game once, not bother getting everything (although some things are mandatory to proceed), and not replay it to get the other 2 endings (watched them on YouTube). Even though X7 is supposedly worse, I'm glad that I'm moving on from X6. 
 

- Ridley, Inkling, and Wolf amiibo for Smash Ultimate were finally available for reserve at GameStop (07.26). I had been waiting and skipping the Amazon and Best Buy preorders, but I was worried and preordered through Target. But once the GameStop skus went live, I got those and then cancelled my Target order. And then I cancelled my GameStop orders as they had a bundle that was cheaper (saved money on shipping). Glad to have those preordered. 


- More Shantae 1/2 Genie Hero DLC announced (07.31). And it's free. Yay. 


========================= 

- Work had been done at our second location. I was growing frustrated that I wasn't actually there helping and that I was getting very limited hours. But I did get one day to go there (my second time there) to help set up the banner (07.03). It took a while as we had to drill into some cement, sheet rock, etc. Plus we had to take a trip to Home Depot to buy stuff. After doing that, I helped break down, move, and clean some stuff. Agent Ocean took a photo of me while I was drilling and I have added it to my dating profiles. 
 

- Had another monthly meeting (07.06). I was actually named Agent of the Month. Wasn't eligible when I was Personnel Manager and I never wanted it. I still don't think I deserve it as I was barely getting any hours and others were doing way more than I was as my list of tasks and responsibilities were greatly diminished. 


- I was actually given hours. I came in the morning to help paint set pieces (07.16-07.20). It was hot down in the basement. But it was good working with Agent Widdershins and getting time to zone out and listen to music the entire time. 

My big complaint that happened at that time was on Friday when I was supposed to go to the second location, but was told last minute to go downtown (literally got a text message as I was about to leave the house). Then there was nothing for me to do there as Agent Widdershins wasn't there to lead me with painting. I texted with Agent PQ to see if they needed me at the second location. If they didn't, I requested to just go home. But I was told I was needed so I started to leave. In my car, Agent Raynor called and asked to see if I can call Agent Widdershins to see if anything can still be done. Called him up, and he gave me directions. But by this time, I was pissed that my schedule was changed multiple times within an hour. It probably was a good thing that I was painting in the basement by myself as I didn't want to talk to anyone. 

The next day I was able to go to the second location for real this time (3rd time only). More painting and cleaning. But I also helped Agent PQ put together a desk and helped Agent Ocean put up some insulation (check the links below as he livestreamed some of it on his Twitch channel). This would have been a 40 hour week, but we left an hour early as we were all tired and had nothing major to be finished. Went to eat dinner at Sushi Pop with former Agent Majordomo. 
 




- It was finally announced that we are having a soft opening at the second location (07.29). Our first beta test happened a few days later (07.31). Despite a few things not being ready, it went off well and the teams enjoyed themselves. Good start. Hopefully it keeps getting better. 
 

- And of course we have another blog entry (07.31). 
 

- As I mentioned last month, I have frustrations with work. I actually got the lowest amount of hours ever with 10 one week. It would have been only 6 had we not had a customer ask to do a last minute mission where Agent Wolfman and I were able to come in for 4 hours. I was glad to get a lot of hours the week after. Would have been the first time I hit 40 hours in a couple months (close with 39). It has kicked up more now that things at the second location are happening. But I still have my concerns and complaints about things are being handled there. We're not ready for the soft opening (we haven't tested everything and have to purposely leave things out etc). They actually wanted us to run a session (07.28) and we had not even finished putting some of the crucial set pieces together and made sure the puzzles actually worked. So many things like are incredibly frustrating for myself and Agents PQ and Ocean. 

This doesn't even include the frustrations and concerns with the downtown location. There was never a plan to train and transfer knowledge of responsibilities and tasks when the 3 of were going to leave. It slowly become a realization. The 3 of us had talks with Agents Blue Heeler and Striker as they were the ones most concerned and were to be taking over in our stead. I know my talks with them were long and extensive as we needed to plan things out in regards to how to run things and handle the new staff members. Basically, there was no plan in place and we made one. They both brought up how that's unfair that they were getting these tasks dumped on them without compensation. So I pushed for both to ask for a pay raise and/or a promotion (they deserve it regardless). But over the last month, I slowly pulled away from my duties so that those 2 can do them and the team can be familiar with them running the show. It was rough during one incident (required a long talk and a short meeting with the new team members and Agent Ocean). Things seem to have gotten better since then. Wishing them the best as the transition of us leaving is happening. 

And...I am still unsure of my future with the company. So many things have been going wrong with the company and how it effects me. The latest is that the company can no longer provide health insurance. So I have contemplated on various days that I can just quit and get rid of all this stress at once. I have thought of possible plans for if I do quit. But right now I'm sticking with my plan I've had for a while in regards to the company. 

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- Tiffany Young - Over My Skin (choreo dance video) 

 

So damn good. I have also never been so attracted to Tiffany than after seeing her in this video. Can't wait for her music video. 

Also, Over My Skin was played on a radio station in Houston. She also came on Facebook Live to do an interview with that station. Yay, Houston. Hopefully this is a nudge to her visiting the city. 


- TWICE - Dance The Night Away (MV) 

 

Fun summer song. Really like the music video. 

- That's it for July 2018. Thanks for reading.


"Reprise the theme song and roll the credits." 

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Sunday, July 1, 2018

June 2018 Entry

June 2018 Entry 

Hello. Before I forget, I'm going to make a section just about wrestling now. Unless it (or other topics) are related to one string of events, it will be separated as you will read about shortly. So it's random things, wrestling, video games, work, ending. Now let's talk about June 2018. 

========================= 

- Can't recall where I saw or heard about the Cherry Cola Oreos, but I ordered them as per my monthly snacks. They came in (06.03) and I actually haven't tried them yet. That happened with the last set of Oreos I bought. For now, they're in a snack drawer in my room (yes, I now have a snack drawer in my room). 


- Unfortunately, my trip to visit a friend in Austin was cancelled (06.03). We had been planning it for a couple of weeks and she cancelled it the week of. It really sucks because we used to be really close and this would have been great for us to reconnect. Perhaps some other time. This just reminded me of so many other plans in the last few years that didn't pan out.  

- My shirt of The IIconics came in on the same night I went to see RAW (06.04). I was waiting for my close friend to show up, but he was late coming from work. We ended up missing the preshow and part of the opening to RAW as the lines for food and drinks were also long. That was also the first time I ever bought a drink at a wrestling event (it was hot outside waiting for my friend). I normally don't like to buy food or drinks at any event, but I really needed it this time. The show was great (never been to a live show that wasn't). 


Afterwards, we went to Tout Suite to eat and talk. I didn't know their kitchen closed at a certain time so only some food was available. I got a milk tea and brownies. Had a good talk. Left a little before midnight. 

It was a good thing we left when we did. A few minutes after I returned home, my dad called me as his car had stalled and needed to be picked up. The battery was dead and would not charge with the charger we had. We ended up hauling the car back home and thankfully it wasn't that far (normally 2 minutes). What sucked was that the ropes we were using kept coming off. It took about 15 minutes to get this done. We then secured the car and covered it up (couldn't roll the windows back up) and we were done (1:45AM). 

And it was a good thing that ended when it did. Shortly after, the brownie and milk tea ended up being too sweet for me and my heart was reacting to it. I tried to just go to sleep, but it was something I've had to deal with in the past so I knew my normal methods would not work and they didn't. Maybe an hour after trying, I noticed my mom was still awake so I went to her for assistance stating the issues of why. She gave me some Advil and then a massage to calm me down. I ended up sleeping some time after 3:30AM. I was incredibly drained the next day. Had to take a nap at some point, which I rarely do, but I needed to. 

On a positive note, I procured Smackdown house show tickets (09.15) for myself and my cousins. And I know what shirt I will be wearing for that event.  

- Was supposed to have my first official day at the second location (06.08). That unfortunately didn't pan out as the a/c broke and we had to go to the downtown location. I didn't let that stop the plans I had for that night though even though tons of signs pointed to no. Normally I would listen to my intuitions, but I needed that night out.  

- Woke up from a dream involving the Eh Bee Family (06.10). They are absolutely my favorite family on YouTube and really enjoy their content and who they are. From what I can remember, we were at a futuristic amusement park. I didn't do any of the crazy rides because I don't in real life, but I do remember we drove a test car (or something similar). At some point, Papa Bee and I were talking about the new security system that scans eyes for authorization. When I was trying to get back home, the security system could not read my eye. Luckily the Game Grumps were there to help me break a window to get back in. 

- For at least half a year, my computer speakers have had some issues. The main thing was that when I would turn the speakers off, turning them back on would be a hassle. If the button is pressed the whole way, it won't always be on. I would sometimes have to tap the button or press it with enough pressure and they will work. But it finally came to a point where that simple solution took multiple tries and minutes to get them to work sometimes. So I ordered some new ones on Amazon. Didn't install them until a day later after they were delivered (06.16). These are a lot better. Same brand as the previous speakers and were at a decent price. I have thought to replace my keyboard and mouse soon because they were just as old as the speakers (5-10 years), but those are still functioning properly. 

- Another dear friend texted me earlier in the month saying she wanted to take me to a restaurant with a lot of cute girls. We finally went and it was a Korean restaurant called Ohm (06.20). When I first walked in, TWICE's "Cheer Up" was playing. The place had a nice wood aesthetic and monitors all around showing different Korean videos. My friend got there and she mentioned how none of the cute girls were working. So we were both disappointed by that, ha. Some other time. The food was good though so I would definitely go again. We then went to a milk tea place in that same strip. They also served ice cream and offered board games and comics to read. We ended up playing Jenga and got it to a point where we couldn't continue without the tower falling. We left it that way and continued talking. Her husband joined us there after playing basketball. He mentioned how he might go out to eat with his friends so that me and her can hang out longer. Once he split, we went to another place to hang out. After that, I took her back home and talked in the car for a bit waiting for her husband to come back since he had her keys. All in all, a very fun and memorable night. 

=========================  

- I didn't get to see NXT TakeOver Chicago II live as usual, but I did catch up on it after work (06.17). As usual, it was incredible. 

- Money In The Bank was the next day (06.18). Great card. Only one match was a dud if anything. Definitely a great PPV. 


- Rest In Peace, Vader (06.20). I actually remember being scared of him when I was younger. He was big and intimidating and his strikes looked very legit to me. But he was always a great performer. Too bad you weren't inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame while you were alive, but hopefully they put you in now. 

- Got a few more wrestling shirts (06.24). It was a buy one, get one for $1 deal. Got an Alexa Bliss and Matt Hardy shirt. Both are of a different material that only a few WWE shirts have so they are very comfortable. 


- The second United Kingdom Championship Tournament was fun (06.25, 06.26). I don't think it was as good as the first one, but it still had great matches. British Strong Style VS The Undisputed Era was an amazing match. 

The second day for the tournament finals was stacked with great matches. it was pretty much another TakeOver. Mustache Mountain VS The Undisputed Era started things off hot. Velveteen Dream and EC3 VS Ricochet and Aleister Black was fun. Baszler VS Storm was a great outing for the women (Storm was one of my favorites in the Mae Young Classic).  


- And finally, finally Bayley goes off on Sasha Banks and it was incredible (06.25). 


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- Beat the first half of the Legacy Collection last month. This month, I finished Mega Man Legacy Collection 2. Beat 7 and 8 on the same day (06.03). That marked the first time I played 8 since it was originally released. Same goes with 9 (06.04) and 10 (06.05). I did miss the rewind function that the first 6 had added on to them as it would have been great to have on these titles too. But I definitely took advantage of the save state function. All in all, it was great to go through the entire Mega Man Legacy Collection. 

- Finally got around to playing Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition (06.06). It was great to get back into it, but I forgot how challenging it actually is. I was able to finish the Story Mode like I had planned (06.10), but I still went back to it with a goal of unlocking the rest of the characters. I did manage to do that (06.19). Had I read stuff online a little closer, I would have unlocked the last few earlier as their paths were laid out  fairly easy to unlock them on the Adventure Maps. I ended up trying to unlock more weapons rather than characters and that was actually proving to be more of a challenge at times. There were 2 more characters to unlock, which were Ganon and Cucco. That had to be done via the Challenge Modes with Ganon, who you automatically have to use. To unlock the Cucco, you have to beat the last and toughest survival battle with Ganon and get an A rank. After 42 minutes and 23 seconds, I beat that challenge with a B rank (06.24). While I had a system down, it was tough and I could have died in one hit for the last 10 minutes. 

I really enjoyed my time playing Hyrule Warriors again, but after that last challenge, I knew I was done. There's so much to do in that game and I know I would not be able to do it all within a time frame I had left before other games came out. But it was a fun adventure. I put in more time this second time through the game than I originally did. I would be willing to play it with a partner if they ever wanted to try it. As for solo, only if I had nothing else to play...maybe. I definitely need to be better about my duration or play style as my arm would definitely hurt a lot after playing the game for many hours. 


- E3 2018 came and went (06.10). It was good all around. Below are the presentations that stood out to m.  

Bethesda - I don't play any Bethesda games, but I really enjoyed their entire presentation. I did download Fallout Shelter since it is free, but I have yet to try it. Maybe during a gaming lull in the future. 
Ubisoft - They show a lot of emotion and excitement. It was cool to see them do another game with Nintendo support (Starlink + StarFox). 

Limited Run Games - I almost missed out on this one as I don't follow them, but they had some good reveals. I am contemplating buying the physical version of Thumper when it comes out.  

Sony - Sony's presentation started off odd, but then they showed off some great games. Ghost of Tsushima and The Last of Us II look so good, but the Resident Evil 2 Remake was incredible. 


Nintendo - Great presentation that was dedicated primarily to Super Smash Bros Ultimate. While I did wish for a few more games to be highlighted, it was hard to not to be excited about everything Ultimate has. I reserved it the next day (GameStop attendant said the sku title changed minutes before I reserved it). 


- Rumors of Fortnite coming to the Switch were true. I downloaded it and decided to give it a try (06.12). It took a while for me to like it. The first 2 games I played, I died via the storm. Fortnite would benefit from having a simple tutorial mode as it took me some time to get acclimated with the controls and how to play the game. I definitely suck at building so I don't really concentrate on doing that. Sure, I won a Victory Royale, but I didn't do much in that game. Thankfully, I got to play with Agent Striker a few times and had a lot of fun in those matches. He taught me quite a few things I wouldn't have known had I not played with him. He's very good at it too. Wouldn't mind playing a few more rounds with him as playing with others I don't know are blah. 

- With Hyrule Warriors story mode completed, I was thinking if there was time to play Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection. As I mentioned last month I was unsure of how I wanted to tackle this game. But with a time frame set, I knew it was going to be an all Ryu play and that started with the very first Street Fighter (06.13). That game is tough. I spent a longer time playing that game than the rest. It's an old school game and the computer hits hard. I knew I had to take advantage of save states. My final fight with Sagat became a fight of when I would create damage, I save otherwise I would not have been able to beat it. That same day, I beat all versions of Street Fighter II. 

I was looking forward to going through the Alpha trilogy as that series is my favorite of the Street Fighter games (06.14). I like the style, the music, the characters, the game play, everything about that series. It felt great getting to play those titles after many years. 

A few days later, I beat all 3 of the Street Fighter III series (06.18). Other than Street Fighter V (never touched yet), I was the least familiar with these games. I knew of the characters, but their fighting styles were unfamiliar so I had to learn. But I definitely see whey 3rd Strike is as highly acclaimed as it is. It's very refined. After a few hours, I was done with them. And that made the entire anniversary collection finished for me. I'll pop it in and play it with others if they want, but other than that, I don't see myself going back to it. 
  

- During a break between Street Fighter II games, I hopped on to play my daily round of Toreba (06.13). I had seen the prize for a Famicom before, but I wasn't able to get it in my past attempts. While watching a few others try, I saw a technique for making it drop that I never saw before. So I got in the queue and waited my turn. I knew I was at least going to use up my free credits, which I had 5 at the time, and maybe spend a few additional dollars if I were close. But on my third turn, I got it to fall. I was extremely excited, but then was worried as the prize didn't show up in my cart. A few minutes later, I got an email confirming the win accompanied with a video (you can see it linked in the tweet below). It shipped a few days later (06.18). And as of typing this, I'm still waiting for it to arrive. 

It finally arrived (06.26). For some reason, I thought it was an actual Famicom system, but it's a knock-off called a Game Computer. Smaller system and smaller controllers with 28 built-in games. Didn't get a chance to try it yet, but somewhere down the road I will. Posted it a few days later as I forgot I took a photo of it, ha. 


- Lumines Remastered was available to download (06.26). I did pre-purchase it on the 13th making it the first time I ever did prepaid for a downloadable title. Never played the original Lumines or any other iteration before so I was excited to finally play it. It's a tough rhythm game with great music and visuals. I did have to turn down the HD Rumble as it was a bit much for some songs. And there is a lot to do and my skill is limited so I made sure I was able to at least finish the VS CPU mode (06.27). That itself wasn't easy. I know I lucked out on a few matches. Regardless, I did it. 


- Limbo and Inside came out on eShop (06.28). I've seen a play through of Inside so I have it on my wish list to possibly buy it at a discount. I have only played a demo of Limbo on the Xbox 360. So this was finally my chance to play the game. I definitely had to look up a few of the answers to some of the puzzles as there were a few tough ones. I did see there were collectibles to find, but after seeing how long it took me to play the game, I decided on completing it and just finish it. Glad I got a chance to play it. 


- Picked up the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy (06.29). I have only played a few levels of the first game on the Playstation (at least the first...3 levels) and have never touched the others. So I am excited to beat each one. The plan is to beat each one in a single sitting since each averages around 6-8 hours. I don't plan to complete each one as of now. I'm going to go into the games blind and not look up anything unless I'm really stuck. If anything, I do want to try the hardest stage that was a thing for a while when the game came out on other consoles. And in case my schedule gets messed up for outside reasons, I have some time in between this and the next scheduled game I'm planning to get. And I do not plan to put the Micro Blocks figure together (275 pieces). I do like that it is a crate like in the game though. 




- And I don't remember when I started doing this, but I started to rewatch episodes of X-Play. Someone in the OverBlood Facebook group posted a video and I watched it and random ones that popped up that were recommended. Some of it still holds up. It's also interesting to jump back and forth from TechTV and G4 episodes randomly to see the differences. 


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- Completed the trailer for Episode 05: The Countdown and released it to the public (06.04). My cousin is the male lead. He's done a couple of our escape rooms so I'm glad he was able to be part of the trailer. I did have to ask him to come by the house on a separate day to record one small audio clip (the ending). Check it out if you haven't. 


- June 2018 meeting (06.07). First meeting with 3 new faces and our second one to happen in the middle of the day. We played 3 Monkeys afterwards as our activity before getting back to work.


- Speaking of new faces, we hired 4 new trainees. The hiring and training process was much different this time as I was not involved in it really (maybe 10% at the beginning). I did have a talk with the first 3 that started at the same time to let them know that it was different. Mentioned it to the 4th the week after. I still don't think it's the best way to train anyone whether they're seasonal or not, but all 4 did pass and were hired on. I have been continuing their training as there are still rough edges on all of them, but it didn't help that I was not told of the entire plan of what the trainees can/can't do/learn. There is actually a 5th one that I haven't met yet as he works in production and only a few hours a day that I'm not around. Nonetheless, welcome aboard Agent Apollo, Hourglass, Wolfman, Greenbean, and Hypnotic.  

- As mentioned earlier, my first official day at the second location got delayed. They were still setting up things and then the a/c broke. So those of us that were to be working there had our shifts stay at the original location. I still think we could have done some work there. The a/c would have been the main thing to stop us, but thankfully that is fixed now. I was even supposed to start helping at the end of the month, but was once again changed to just work at our original location. It's frustrating. 

On the topic of hours, I don't get as many now. Even before I was management, I was getting 40 hours a week. This past month, the lowest number of hours I had was 16 and that is below the minimum we set of 20. It is upsetting to see my paychecks be incredibly low at times. Had my lowest one ever this month. While I don't have many projects to do (although I'm getting tagged and asked about things I have nothing to do with), I could still have assisted in the second location. Agent Voxel mentioned how an extra hand to hold things, move things, etc would have been great and I would have been able to help. On top of all this, a lot of tasks I used to be in charge of were slowly and silently given to others. Just tell me I'm not doing those things anymore instead of me finding out about it through other means... 

The joke that I say nowadays is that I'm sorry for complaining and nagging more than I used to.  

- Agent Ingenue has taken over the monthly blogs, yay. Here's the latest blog for June 2018. 

http://www.houstonescaperoom.com/blog/2018/6/30/to-the-moon-in-the-month-of-june

- Agent Gig has left the company to pursue his Master's (05.29). I knew of this as soon as he told me about getting accepted. A few others knew, but he announced it to everyone at the last meeting. He's leaving really big shoes to fill and I don't think we ever can get someone as passionate and awesome as him. I salute him, I will miss him, and I know he will continue to become better and better. 

On his final day, I came to work an hour early because we would have missed each other. I went straight to our basement and found him playing a piano (don't know when we got that). We hugged, said some words to each other, and then I stuck around with him as he finished out his final day tasks. It was great seeing everyone saying "bye" to him as no one wanted to see him go, but were all happy for him. Walked him out and said a few more parting words. You will be missed. 

He also mentioned to check my locker. He left me a mech to build, ha. He even left a tool for me to use. He knows it's not my jam, but said this would be a good start. I will try it some time. Thank you so much for the parting gift, Agent Gig. 




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- I'd be open to trying a speed dating system like this. If anyone I know wants to set this up for me or set me up on a regular blind date, I'll gladly welcome it. 


- TWICE - I Want You Back (MV) 


I didn't expect the song to be a cover of the Jackson 5. Very surprising. 

- TaeYeon - Something New (MV) 


- TaeYeon - Stay (MV) 



Something New didn't really catch my interest like her previous solo songs, but the rest of the mini album is good. I liked Stay a lot more. 

- Red Velvet - #CookieJar (MV) 


Not bad for the Japanese debut. 

- Tiffany - Over My Skin (audio) 


Tiffany, you're fantastic. Seeing how she was when she debuted to where she is now, she's had quite the journey. Very proud of her. 


- That's it for June 2018. Thanks for reading. 


"Reprise the theme song and roll the credits." 



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