- Got invited to a pool party with a group of friends I have not seen in a long time (09.04. Unfortunately, it ended up raining so none of us went in the pool (and I was really looking forward to jumping in). It was still cool to catch up with everyone. I finally got meet one couple's little baby girl. Me being the only single guy there, I was the only comfortable interacting with her, ha. Actually helped feed her. Hope to see more of these people sooner than later.
I would have stuck around longer, but another friend invited me to go karaoke. It wasn't just a normal karaoke outing though as he was going to participate in a karaoke contest. He got a few of his good friends together to support as it was based on crowd response. Even got meet his mom and another friend's mom that night. They were cool. The karaoke contest was alright. The sucky part were the people that won. While the person that was chosen for second place might have deserved it, the third and first place winner did not. Specifically for first place, no one knew the song he was singing. In regards to my friend, they told him that he had the crowd sing the majority of the song rather than him singing himself. While I agree with that, he should have at least been in the top 3. And for those curious, I did sing a song before the contest with a couple friends; New Kids On The Block's Step By Step.
- Wrestling has been great. Smackdown had their first exclusive PPV since the brand split. The matches were great, but I was really looking forward towards the Women's Championship match. My top 2 picks were Alexa Bliss and Becky Lynch. And I made a bet with myself and that resulted in a new replica belt for me (09.18). Can't wait to bring that to the next Smackdown coming to Houston.
- Had another day out with a friend (09.18). Started with lunch at La Olla, DDRA and other games at D&B, Happy Tea to chill and cool off, finding Escape Hunt (only wanted to confirm location and get prices, but ended up in a 25 minute conversation and getting insider information), Steel City Pops for something cool, failed hunting for art spots around town, going to a nice colored fountain, and then dinner at Grand Lux. Tons of conversation the whole time. I'm glad we're getting to know each other better as friends. Definitely a cool person to do random things with.
- And I keep craving snacks. So I bought some (09.23). Smartfood Popcorn was because that was an awesome snack choice my friend introduced me to during the road trip to Virginia. Came with 3 flavors. White Cheddar is definitely the best and probably why there were more of them in the package. The Choco-Pies have just been a want for many years, but never got around to. Still haven't tried one yet. Saving them for after the popcorn is done.
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice came out this month (09.08) and this has been the only game I've been playing all month. Any time I had extra time before work or no plans on my days off, this is what I would spend hours playing. It's great jumping back into that world.
- And in related gaming news, I have added another import Gyakuten Saiban game to my collection; Ace Attorney Investigations II (09.26). If you've been reading my blog, you might have noticed I bought one a year. So I'm only missing two of the international titles now, which are Dai Gyakuten Saiban and Gyakuten Sabian 6. It actually would have made sense for me to get 6 to go along with the US release, but for some reason I wanted to get the second Investigations game more since that had been sitting in the wish list pile for years.
For collection purposes. Only missing two of the international Gyakuten Saiban games. pic.twitter.com/M9HhfeFj0o
- The staff surprised me (09.01). I have a few inklings about how they found out, but I didn't bother to ask. I'm just grateful. There was only one other person to ever pull off a surprise on me. So once a decade, ha. Thank you, fellow Agents.
- We held another surprise proposal (09.10). This was our first man-woman proposal. Agent PQ was part of this along with me. I'm trying to make sure each Agent gets to experience these special moments. The man had told his kids what was going on prior so they were in on it and knew whey I was helping them. The woman had no idea and was focused on what she was doing. Even when he was proposing, she was moving books out of the way. It took a few seconds for it to click that he was on his knees with a ring. She said "yes" and we all celebrated. Cheers to the happy couple.
The surprises weren't over that day. Agent PQ is taking a sabbatical so she can concentrate on nursing school. We got some food together in our break room and decorated it a bit. Then it was just getting her into the room. Thing is she didn't notice anything even when Agent Ca$h said "surprise," ha. But it was a nice celebration for all she has done for the company.
- Another monthly meeting (09.13). We actually had a lot to talk about. Afterwards, we went to Harbach, a beer brewery. Had some good food, those that drank enjoyed them, and a good number of us played some corn hole.
On the way back, Agent Ca$h and Raynor and I had some good deep talks about personal subjects. We even stayed in the car for a bit once we reached HQ just to continue. After Agent Ca$h split, Raynor and I went into HQ to join Agents PQ and Majordomo and we started talking about stuff. At some point, Agent Chisel joined us and surprised us with his dog. That thing has a lot of energy, ha. He even destroyed one of the stuffed animals that was in our briefing room. Even after Agent Chisel left, we kept talking. I think we ended things around midnight.
- We unfortunately had a Hell Day (09.17). A lot of the staff had taken that day off or were not scheduled to work and we had one call in sick. No one was able to substitute. Thankfully, Agent Gig was able to come in for the last 3-4 hours of a the day.
That wasn't the only thing. Anything and everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Some of the props and puzzles broke so we had to go with a Plan B, one of the briefing doors came off the hinge and myself and Agent Obsidian hurt ourselves trying to quickly put it back on (that thing is heavy), and we had a good amount of rowdy groups that night. The good thing is that we all survived, a lot of things to malfunctioned were fixed up before we closed up, and we did a damn good job pulling together despite everything.
I feel like we've had a few other Hell Days since then and they have been happening on Saturdays. At least I am confident with our team that we can get things done.
- We at HER always look for ways to help out the Houston community. Agent Obsidian and others put together a Pet Food Drive to help donate food to the Houston Humane Society (09.20). I'm glad we had people donated. I think the next time we attempt something like this, it will be more successful.
- One of our newest trainees graduated to becoming an Agent (09.28). Her name is Agent Coda. She was deserving of being brought on to the team. She definitely is a different breath of fresh air that has already been making an impact on the company. Not only that, she has been the fastest member to become an Agent. Expecting more from her as she grows within the company.
- We jumped the gun, but we started gearing up for Halloween at the end of September (09.30). Other than decorations, we're going to alter our escape rooms for the holiday and have another costume contest.
The music video didn't sell me, but the performances did. Plus I subscribed to a Red Velvet subtitle channel so now I'm just delving deeper into liking this group. Hi, Irene.
- Eh Bee Family
I first heard about the Eh Bee Family from when there was an Adults React video. From there, I subscribed to them and would watch their new videos as they came. But then I saw that video posted above. I spent a good amount of September watching all of this family's videos on YouTube. To me, this is an ideal family I would like to have some day. If I ever got to meet them, I would be very happy.
- A message to my best friend. Stay strong. I'm here to help and support you and your daughter. You know I'm here for you whenever you need me. Hopefully I will see you both sooner than later. Love you both.
- And that wraps up September. Thanks for reading. Be healthy, be safe, be thankful, and be loved.
- Had a bit of an altercation with a homeless person on my way home (08.05). I had an extra drink with me and was stopped at a light where a homeless person was asking people for whatever. I rolled down my window, called out to him, and held out the sports drink. He then curses at me that he wanted money and not food. Cursed at me a bit more, yanked the bottle out of my hand, and hit my side view mirror. He continued cursing at me as I was driving away. Not the best way to end the night.
- The Cruiserweight Classic has been going on for a while now. At first, I wasn't really into it because I wasn't invested in a lot of the contestants. I kept watching though to keep up with it and I'm glad I did. The matches have been highly entertaining. Johnny Gargano VS Tommaso Ciampa is a must see match. Every match thereafter has been incredible. Now I'm invested and want everyone to win, ha.
- Hung out with a friend I made via the last flash mob I was part of (08.07). We had hung out a few times and she also enjoys escape rooms. Originally we were going to go play DDRA and go to a museum. Unfortunately, neither of those happened. First, DDRA was out of commission. Second, the museum exhibit we wanted to see was sold out.
She had not seen much of the First Colony/Sugar Land area, so I drove her to see the town center and First Colony Mall before we went to a near by park. After the park, we ate at Jupiter and Ben & Jerry's. Then we went to my place to continue all the talking we were doing. Out of all the times we hung out in the past, we never really got to know each other. So this was a good time learning about one another.
- Didn't get to see it live (as usual), but NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II was amazing (08.21). There was just so much to like such as a GTS, Bobby Roode's entrance (my new ringtone), the tag team title match, Bayley VS Asuka, and Nakamura's entrance.
SummerSlam was interesting. Disappointed that Sasha Banks lost the Women's Championship. AJ Styles and John Cena had a great match. And Balor becoming the Universal Champion was awesome.
- In preparation for a road trip, I let my parents know that we did not have cruise control on our new car. They contacted the car dealership about it (08.22). Turns out that we were not offered it. They were pretty upset about that and other options that they were not told about. I was told they raised some hell over there. In the end, they got their way and ended up with a trade in for the same model car with cruise control and other features thrown in at no extra cost. However, I was yanked around back and forth as I needed to be there to sign for it. Halfway there, I was told to go back home since there needed to be clearance that would have happened the next day. As soon as I got home, I was told to come back out as things could happen now. There was already a lot of chaos going on because of the car and this made me flip out. So much time was being wasted. and a lot of crap was just happening. I got there finally and just wanted to sign papers and go home. My mood was apparent to everyone. It took another 2 hours to get everything done and my mom still kept trying to negotiate. It was so frustrating. In the end, everything was signed and the new car would be ours 2 days later.
I've been to car dealerships with friends and those always turn out fine and sometimes fun. Every time I go to car dealerships with family, it is horrible. Everyone gets mad and there is just so much time wasted.
- It had been planned for months now, but I and a high school friend were going to meet another high school friend and her husband in Virginia (08.25). Since I can't fly, this was going to be a road trip; 20 hours going and 20 hours returning. My friend came to Houston around 11AM and we officially started the trip around noon.
I took the first shift as she works late nights and had not slept since the day before. My shift was a total of 8 hours split into to rounds of 4. Our first stop was in Louisiana to eat at a Chic-Fil-A. Towards the latter part of our meal, a grandmother that was a few tables away from us fell. The table behind us called for help. Myself and one from the table behind us assisted in moving tables around to give room for everyone. A fire truck and medics arrived. We left shortly after to get back on the road.
When night time fell, that's when we swapped. We did stop for a late night meal at Waffle House at 3AM. During that shift, I attempted to get some sleep. It was shortly disrupted as we got pulled over for going to fast. We were in Alabama at the time. It was an unfortunate thing to happen.
The sun rose and we decided to swap again at another stop. My stomach wasn't doing too well so I got some Pepto before continuing my drive. I had to wake my friend up within the hour as I really wasn't feeling that good. I pulled over at the closest rest stop (the first one we went to) to take a break, throw up, and calm down before continuing. She took over driving so I could try to recover. This resulted in me asking her to pull over so I could throw up or use the toilet and buy medicine (Dramamine, then Etronol and Sea-bands). We were thinking I was just having an upset stomach or was having motion sickness. Partnered with those was also extreme cold or hot (more hot than cold), hot flashes, dry heaves, numbness, and no energy. We were also contacting our friend in Virginia for medical advice and just to keep her in the loop of what was going on. I was trying to do whatever it took to get better, but nothing was working. The only good thing that happened during this time was stopping at a Sheetz (always saw iJustine going to them and never went to one before). After a couple hours, I just couldn't take it any more. We pulled over at a hotel and asked if I could just lay down for a bit. During that time I asked if we could go to an emergency room/urgent care. Luckily there was one 10 minutes away.
As we were pulling in, I told her all my symptoms just in case I couldn't speak for some reason. She was helping me walk in to the urgent care and I started crying. It was a mixture off all emotions. I hated that we were there, but I was glad something was finally going to be done to help me. Couldn't walk after getting paper work done so I had to be wheelchaired into the doctor's office. After diagnosis, it was determined that I had food poisoning. They gave me a shot that would help with my nausea and actually help me sleep. The shot itself really hurt. Even with little energy, I was still able to tell everyone that it really hurt. No other shots/injections have ever hurt me that much. After further observation, I was cleared to leave. i was wheelchaired out and our road trip continued again. This was very reminiscent to when I was last at an emergency care. While I was glad it was being taken care of, it made me doubt my body again.
I was knocked out the whole way. She woke me up hours later to bring me into a CVS to sign for the medicine that was recommended for me (Promethazine). Minutes later, we finally arrived at our friend's place in Virginia. We unloaded our luggage and settled in. Our friend's parents-in-law were also there and offered advice for me (the mother-in-law is a nurse). I called my mom to let her know what happened. Then I joined them downstairs for some soup and water. Unfortunately, we did not continue with our original plans for that day, which included going to an escape room. Although my friend's husband still went since they had other friends that signed up to go as well. I'm glad that our reservation didn't go to waste. After talking for a bit and playing with the baby (as best as I could), I took a much needed shower and then slept for 13 hours.
The next, I was fine, back to normal. We continued with our normally scheduled plans of going to DC. We ate at Chop't to eat light before walking around and taking in the sights around us. As we were walking, I asked if I could push the kid in the stroller. I just wanted to get as much dad experience as I could. I only tagged out once towards the end of our time in DC. While we were walking towards the monuments, there was a family walking around with posters saying "Free Hugs." At one point, they turned around and asked me to take a photo for them. After doing so (they were impressed with how I was situating the photo), we hugged and took photos together (can't find them online). Very kind family.
Lots of walking in the heat. The baby boy got to meet a horse up close and play inflatable sports, the girls did some volunteer work, I was pushing the stroller around and catching up with the husband, I enjoyed a slush and ice cream, we enjoyed the monuments, but we were ready to go back hours later. Our friend wasn't feeling that well either unfortunately. We stopped by to get some boba and returned home to rest for a bit before going to dinner.
Dinner was in Korea town at a place called Iron Age. They had lots of seating and many monitors playing Kpop videos. There were quite a few songs and groups I did not recognize. The first group I recognized was AOA. Eventually Sistar19, Sistar, and f(x) songs played. I was actually dancing a big to Electric Shock "on stage" (tables were elevated off the floor) and got some looks. Only did it for a bit before we left (2 hours after eating all you can eat). After dinner, we went to a nearby trinket shop. I looked at all the Kpop stuff they had. Ended up buying a gift for a friend. I did ask the cashier if they had any BoA stuff. His reply; "she's old." Ouch, ha. Yeah, most of their stuff was recent artists and groups.
It was back to home base. We were resting up and getting ready to leave and get back on the road. Got to talk with the husband more. Our friend was still recovering a bit, but did make sure to talk to us before we left. Thanked them for their hospitality and left at 10PM. It was fun, but we needed to return home.
The trip back was better. I took the first shift. We also made sure to make our driving shifts shorter to about 2-4 hours each. While it was still dark out, we made sure to switch and sleep. I think we were again in Alabama when the sun was out. Other than the rest stops for gas, we stopped at a coffee shop called Octane. Everything about the place was great. The decor, the product (coffee and tea), the staff, all great. I even went as far to give them a business card to HER, ha. Highly recommend them for anyone in Alabama or Atlanta.
We had one other major stop for lunch at Penn's Catfish & Chicken. Very good for fried seafood. It was at that time that I called up Bite Macarons to see if they can do me a favor by staying open late so I can pick up macarons for the next day. I would need them early in the morning before they opened. They said they would ask a few workers to stay a little later if we can guarantee being there between 9 and 9:30PM. Called them hours later into the trip to let them know that our time of arrival had not changed and to confirm pick up.
Other than rain slowing us down (it rained at some point on our way to Virginia too), it was a smooth ride. There were some nice nature scenes that we passed by as well. We finally got to Houston at 7:30PM. It really put into perspective how big the city is as we did not get to Bite Macaron until a little after 9PM. We even passed by a Tinseltown that I did not know existed. But yeah, finally made it back home.
The worst part of the trip was getting food poisoning (from the Waffle House food). Otherwise, everything went well. The car ran smoothly and survived the whole way. Shell became our main stop for gas since they had good bathrooms and were usually lit up well at night. Not that we didn't stop at other gas stations if we needed to. And I had a great travel companion the whole time. We talked about everything and grew closer. There were a lot stories to share, music to play, and just memories to be made. I've been on shorter road trips with others, but I knew for this long one, I needed someone that could hang and she was the right person to pick. Thank you for riding along with me and taking care of me. You are a great friend and I'm glad to have known you for 19 years.
- Went to RAW live in Houston (08.29). Met up with friends there. As I was walking to the entrance, a camera man from KHOU stopped me and asked if he could interview me (stood out because of the NXT title). He just asked some simple questions like what do I think of the belt design, how long have I been watching wrestling, who I thought was going to win the Fatal Four Way, and a few others. As I was being interviewed, one of my friends stood behind the camera man to try to get me to laugh, ha. Our other friend joined us shortly after (great to see and hear he's a fan of Nakamura).
The show was exciting. We had a lot of being silly and chanting along. The ending with the Fatal Four Way, Triple H showing up, and Kevin Owens winning (my pick)...so damn crazy. The best RAW I have been to that I can remember.
After the show was over, I spotted a friend that I made from back in my GameStop days. Good to see he's doing well and is now a father of 2. He told me to get ready for the next video game tournament he's going to throw, ha. And you'll read about the promotional event we did at HER later, but a couple of the contestants found me and said what's up and thanks. Cool stuff.
- I'm a big fan of the Ace Attorney series. So I thought it was cool to see that the day of Phoenix Wright's first trial (08.03) actually rolled around. Can't wait to play Spirit of Justice soon.
Frank saw it, but Phoenix saw through it - Wright's first day as a lead defense attorney was August 3rd, 2016! pic.twitter.com/b3OqmYbZLR
- I finally got around to playing the original Shantae (08.22). I was hoping to beat it before the release of Half Genie Hero, but I was actually having a lot of trouble playing this game. I died a lot and did not get far with the few hours I played. Tried to beat it in one day like I did the other Shantae games, but it did not happen. But with Half Genie Hero being delayed, I have more time to try and beat it (although most of my gaming time I make will be devoted to Spirit of Justice).
Yeah, not much gaming this month. I did try a few demos if anything.
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- I tried something bold and reached out to a customer (08.05). When this person came to HER, I was immediately locked on to her as she was really pretty. Even in the room, it seemed like she was flirting as she would move in close to me and made skin contact. I did want to tell her in person that she was really pretty, but there was not a good time since she was there with coworkers. Asked a couple of coworkers how to approach the situation. Unfortunately, nothing came from it.
- We had been in talks with Radio One about collaborating. As I mentioned last month, we partnered with them (97.9) and the WWE for a contest to win tickets to Monday Night RAW in Houston later in the month. At the beginning of the month was when we officially started promoting the contest (08.08). More on the actual event later in this entry.
- Got together at Agent Majordomo and PQ's place to play Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes with other coworkers (08.08). A few of us had been wanting to play that for a while now and it was frustrating and fun.
- We had our first alpha test for our fourth escape room (08.10). It's great that it is in a stage to be tested now.
- Got sick out of no where. Felt miserable all weekend. Called in sick on the 13th and 17th. Thought I was okay on the 16th and went in, but it got worse.
- Another month, another meeting (08.16). Our activity this time was to test out the fourth room. My escape room record is now 13 escapes out of 17 rooms.
- We conducted our second surprise wedding proposal (08.20). It went off really well. Everyone on the team knew what we were doing and the person to be proposed to was extremely concentrated on what she was doing that she did not notice. The proposal was a success.
- Finally, the day of the contest was here (08.24). Agents Majordomo and Agent Ocean (officially brought on to the team) were to run the sessions. Agents Widdershins and Ca$h were taking photos of the event. Agents Incognito and Obsidian took care of anything extra. I was the liaison between Radio One and ourselves as well as making sure things ran smoothly.
Radio One came in to set up a small table with merchandise and equipment. Spoke with them a lot. Some of the contestants started to arrive and sign in. Lastly, DJ J-Que arrived. He did some radio spots live on location and also did giveaways for 97.9 merchandise by asking wrestling related questions to the contestants.
I was a little disappointed with the lack of interaction between the contestants though. Thought that there would at least be some wrestling talk going on, but there really wasn't unless they actually spoke to me. I was also bummed that some of the contestants didn't show up. I don't understand that. It sucks that they took spots that someone else would have been excited to have. Although I was told I can call anyone I knew to fill in some spots. I made a last minute call to a friend I knew was wanting tickets to RAW. Unfortunately, he could not make it, which sucks because even if he were late, he would have been placed in the team that ended up winning.
Overall, the event was a success. It was good to dip our toes into a promotional event this big. Now we know what to expect for future events we may plan with others.
- It was almost a month later (on purpose), but we celebrated Agent Incognito's 1 Year Anniversary with the company (08.31). We set up a little Pokemon mission for him to do while the others set up a surprise dinner for him.
- The Ballad of Jessica Blue is the last set of videos that Christina Grimmie made before she passed away. It was great to see new stuff from her. I'm sure all of Team Grimmie enjoyed them and still miss the heck out of her.
- Agent Majordomo was asking me about my latest vacation I had asked time off for. In particular, he wanted to know when I would be back. He was saying how Agent Raynor wanted us to do an activity the early Monday after. I started to decline since I figured I could participate some other time. Later on, he called me in to do a video call with Agent Raynor (08.19). He was also asking if I could come back sooner for the activity. At that point, I said I could try. I also noticed that Agent Majordomo was filming me with his phone so I figured something was going on. It was then that Agent Raynor said that they had been setting up something with Radio One to thank me for the work I've put into the project. They were able to set up for me to meet Sasha Banks.
When I returned from Virginia on Sunday night, my friend got picked up as I got a late order from Bite Macarons, I went home, showered, ate dinner, and then drove to Agent Majordomo and PQ's place to spend the night there. Were I to stay at home, I would have had to leave at least 2 hours early (5AM) to get through the morning traffic to get to the Radio One studios. Caught up with both of them before heading to bed. 6 hours later, woke up, got ready, and Agent Majordomo drove me to the studio.
We went up to the studio since we had been there before. Right there waiting outside the door were 2 Toyota Center workers, a WWE person, and Sasha Banks herself. We made eye contact and I immediately went shy and couldn't do/say anything. I rarely get star struck, but I definitely was during this instance. We were all outside for maybe 5 minutes before they had someone let them in. Our contact (gave a box of a dozen macarons to) let us in through another door minutes later and we all met up again outside of the radio booths. During that time, we were catching up with our contact. At some point the Toyota Center workers asked when our radio spot was going to happen. That's when our contact mentioned that I was actually there to meet Sasha because of our collaborative promotion. That's when she and I formally exchanged greetings. I was still shy, but the talk among all of us was about escape rooms. Some of the Toyota Center employees have been to HER and Sasha has done one in Orlando (I knew about that and challenged her via Twitter).
After minutes of waiting, 97.9 was ready to bring us all in. I got to stand 2-3 feet away behind Sasha as she was being interviewed. It was a good mix of her being in character and being real. I'll admit that I did take that time to check her out more (not that I wasn't sneaking peeks when I could). She was absolutely gorgeous in person and wore a great dress.
The interview itself wasn't that long, but it was cool to be part of. Afterwards, she took photos with the DJs and then took pictures with me. With her heels on, she was little taller than me. That's why I thought she squatted down. I told her she didn't have to, but she said she was "popping a pose," ha. I requested we take a silly photo by making a heart. It was at that point she called me out for wearing a Bayley wristband and for having an AJ Lee phone cover. We laughed and I said I had her gear as well. Agent Majordomo took photos with her as well even though he wasn't going to originally. Then I gave Sasha a box of 2 dozen macarons before saying the following (as best as I can remember):
"I have been a wrestling fan for over 30 years and you are actually the first wrestler I have ever met in person. All I ask is that you take care of yourself. Thank you."
And that was it. While I was hoping I would get more time to just talk to her about wrestling, Kpop, etc, it was an absolutely amazing experience I will never forget.
That is it. August was eventful. If I'm catching up with anyone, the stories from this month will be what I mainly talk about. Thanks for reading. Be healthy, be safe, be thankful, and be loved.
More than half the year is over. More things keep happening.
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- Ended the night and kicked off a week off work with some karaoke (07.03). I got to meet my friend's fiance for the first time. Had a great time kicking back and talking with friends. But one girl that was part of our group turned to me and a friend and called us party-poopers for not going up on stage and singing. Granted she didn't see us rocking out the whole night from our seats and enjoying ourselves, but that bothered me a lot. She left maybe 10 minutes later...and then the song my friend and I turned in an hour ago finally got called on. We rocked. Yes, that bit with the girl bothered me (and still does). I just don't like people telling others that they aren't having fun "the proper" way. I was enjoying myself until that point. The night was still fun, but that one thing was definitely crappy.
- A cousin invited me to join some family out in League City for July 4th. Her sister was also in town with her husband and baby boy so that was added incentive to out there. Food, stories, laughing, and rounds of NES Track & Field. So much fun.
- I asked a friend to hang out on during one of my days off from work (07.05). We did some random stuff. We walked around a cemetery for 30-45 minutes, went to Kung Fu Tea to re-hydrate and talk, went to the bat bridge (her first time, my second after many years), ate at a Japanese restaurant (it was okay), and then finished the night with rolled ice cream (delicious). And of course we were just catching up and learning more about each other the whole time. Lots of random things, but very good day.
- Picked up and watched the Scott Hall documentary (07.06). Very touching and emotional. That man has gone through tons of struggles and it is great to see him being healthy and happy now.
- One thing I decided to do during my week off was get a massage (07.09). Ended up going to a place I've never been to, but had decent reviews. It was also out of the way from places I normally go so it was nice to just drive off somewhere else. Booking it was funny since I originally made an email request the night before, called about it since it was getting close to the time I wanted, got it rescheduled to a better time, and had to get it re-rescheduled for a few hours later since my assigned masseuse went into labor, ha.
The place was nice and the staff was friendly. My masseuse was nice and very talkative. She asked me about Pokemon Go of all things, ha. And when I mentioned working at HER, she was very interested. The massage itself was okay. The cruddy thing afterwards was that I actually was in a lot of pain the next day. That had never happened before whenever I got a massage.
- I had been putting off getting new glasses for a while now. Finally went to the eye doctor this month. I was worried that something might have been wrong in general as my eyes were getting dry more often and I they were twitching more than normal. But there was nothing wrong. They recommended upgrading my prescription just for improvement and suggested I wear my glasses more often (which I do now). Oddly, my previous glasses broke the day before I picked up my new ones (07.17). I really like these new ones. When I was choosing them, I asked for help getting something similar to my sunglasses. The person helping laughed every time I tried a pair and shook my head around, ha. Just wanted to make sure they don't easily fall off my head like my previous ones. These new ones are great and my eyes have felt better since the change.
- 8 months since my last hair cut (07.23). Both times were for weddings. But since those 8 months, my normal place I go to get my hair done closed down. Fortunately, my stylist kept the same number and informed me about where she was now located. We caught up a lot and talked about many things. We realized that I've been going to her for over 10 years now. We tied it back to that I brought a girlfriend to her once and she and I were dating over 10 years ago. Crazy how time flies. It was definitely good to see that she's still doing well.
As stated previously, the reason for getting the hair cut was for a friend's wedding reception. Another friend met me at my place and we carpooled over. We were early, but we got to talk to the new groom for a bit before the crowd grew larger. Got to see my highschool assistant principal (mom of the groom). While she was greeting other former students, she came to me and couldn't pinpoint who I was exactly and sad that was a good thing, ha. I did let her know that she made me shave once though, ha. Caught up with other friends and their kids that were present before the festivities started.
Good speeches all around. One friend (brother of the groom) actually mentioned the Houston Escape Room and pointed me out since he was talking about what happened during the bachelor party. Appreciate the shout out. I was also recruited to help with one of the surprises of the night. I was to greet, hide, lead, and unveil a mariachi band when properly cued. And there was just a lot of dancing at the end of the night.
I enjoy weddings. Congratulations to the newlyweds.
Back from a Hispanic/Hindi wedding. Very fun and colorful. I haven't danced that much in a looooooooong time. pic.twitter.com/6ttgiOpajg
- NXT came to Houston for the second time (07.30). I invited my younger cousin who I recently reunited with last year at a wedding. He said he had not been to an NXT show. So I bought us pre-sale tickets and got as close as we could (4th row). He had never been that close before. The show was great.
Fairly good match to open the show. Mojo got everyone hyped.
- Andrade Cien Almas beat Wesley Blake
Another fairly good match between the two.
- Bayley and Carmella beat Mandy Rose and Daria
Very good outing for all 4 women. The duos started with dueling hugs. The most memorable part of the match was Mandy Rose doing a sit out Pedigree. Everyone gasped and it was great. Mandy and Daria were both pretty decent. With some more seasoning, I would like to see them on NXT broadcasts.
- Hideo Itami beat Austin Aries
Incredible contest. I don't think I've ever been part of "welcome back" chants. Hideo Itami seemed genuinely happy to be back. He even laid down in the middle of the ring after winning to soak it all in.
- The Revival beat Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa
Match of the night. The Revival were making fun of the crowd a lot, ha. So many false finishes that got me and everyone out of their seats. I can't wait for them to have a title match at a Takeover.
- Asuka beat Nia Jax
Finally got to see these 2 in person. Great match. Nia Jax even imitated a People's Elbow with crotch chops as she missed a leg drop, ha. I had my 2 Asuka masks with me that night and held them up during her entrance and after the match. I swear she spotted me and pointed at me after she won. So good.
- Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura beat Bobby Roode and Samoa Joe
Prior to the match, the announcer (gorgeous) let us know that it was Finn Balor's last NXT match and they played a nice video package before he came out. Nakamura came out next and it was a blast to sing along to his theme. He actually did his "yeaoh" on our side of the ring. Bobby Roode was next and that was the first time I got to see him in person. His theme song is awesome too. And finally the NXT champ, Samoa Joe, came. Always fun chanting "Joe."
After the match, Bayley came out while Nakamura and Balor were still in the ring. She said some nice words about Finn and then talked and brought out all the NXT stars that got drafted (Mojo, Carmella, and Nia Jax). Some kinds things were said about all. The locker room came out to the entrance and showed appreciation to all. Finn thanked them all and thanked the crowd to end the night. It was great to be part of Finn Balor's last NXT match.
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- Friend came to visit and dropped off my Little Mac amiibo a while ago, but I only opened it up in July (07.07).
Finally beat all of the 6 NES Megaman games on Legacy Collection. It was great to play through that series again. Every time I always excel at the first 3 and have to look up stuff for the last 3.
Normally I don't review older games, but I felt like it. I enjoyed Pirate's Curse more, but that's because it was more refined. Risky's Revenge is good on its own. But yeah, I'm playing the Shantae games in reverse. I did download the GBC Shantae and will need to play and beat it before 1/2 Genie Hero comes out in September.
- I was doing alright jumping back into Twilight Princess (07.10). Beat another dungeon and some other side quest stuff. I know I'm towards the end, just a few more hours to go. If anything, I'll make it a goal to finish the game before the year is over.
- I had been following the news of DDRA being available in the US. A dear friend had returned from a month long trip and wanted to catch up so we put the 2 things together (07.31). It was great catching up with him and listening to his crazy stories. There were only a few people at the DDRA machine (6 total including us 2). Other than the girl playing for the first time, they were all Perfect Attack players. When my friend and I went up, I definitely played older songs and was throwing in bits of freestyle when appropriate. The only thing I didn't do were any bar tricks. We ended up only playing 6 songs (2 playthroughs), but it was tiring and fun. I'll try to come back when I can to play some more.
Returned to the DDR stage after so many years. Felt great. Apparently I'm still the only freestyler in town, ha. pic.twitter.com/gmeoNRLpbs
- I had a week off I requested a while ago. That time was actually supposed to be for San Antonio that happened last month (wouldn't trade it). Unfortunately, I could not find anyone to do anything with during that week. Other than July 4th and the day after, no one else I contacted was available. Schedules conflicted. If anything, I did get to re-energize that week off from HER.
- 2 years have past since I went to my first escape room (07.12). It's been a crazy ride so far.
- Another month, another monthly meeting (07.13). There were a lot of us that day including Agents Raynor and Husky Panda. And by this time, our latest trainee has now graduated to being Agent Ca$h. Agent Voxel also got to choose and host the activity for that meeting. We all really got into playing Magic Circles.
- Agents Raynor, Majordomo, and I were invited to visit the Radio One studios (07.14). As of typing this (08.08), I can actually talk about and promote it. HER + 97.9 + WWE = contest to win tickets to RAW. Yes, things I like are combining. I will go into more detail in next month's entry. For now, click the links to enter to win.
- Agent Gig has now been with the company for over a year. We surprised him with a special event weeks later (07.16). We deceived him to coming to work as we were closing stating that Agent Ca$h wanted to hang out afterwards. What ended up happening involved decorations, night vision, lasers, and a betrayal virus for him to eradicate. It was crazy fun. After we were done, Agent Ca$h had to go. Myself, Gig, Blue, and Obsidian went to Ninja Ramen for dinner. We had fun singing in the car and just celebrating a great Agent.
- Agents Majordomo and PQ invited some of us to their new place for a game day (07.18). We played a lot of board games that day. Other than those 2 and myself, Agent Blue was there and Agent Solaire and his wife. Lots of fun.
- Agents Yeti, Blue, Majordomo, PQ, Widdershins, and I went to a newly opened escape room called Escape Hunt (07.25). It was alright. Can't say I was super impressed or disappointed with the place. My record is now 13 escapes out of 16 escape rooms.
- Was asked to purchase new chairs at IKEA. Ended up going with my dad since I knew I wouldn't be able to lug everything by myself (07.31). It was my dad's first time in IKEA so I don't think he was ready to walk so much, ha. And the place was under construction so a lot was blocked off. Anyways, found the chairs, went to the service area and picked 12 of them, paid for them, and went to HER to drop them off. At least my dad knows exactly where the HER is now.
- And our monthly blog was written by Agent Voxel. Take a peek at it.
- Whenever I fill up for gas, I always buy a drink and a snack. This time I picked Big Red Vanilla Float (07.22). It was delicious. I then checked online to see if I can purchase it, but it's a limited edition flavor. Did more research and could not find any place that sold it. Looks like I would have to be lucky finding it anywhere. The gas station I originally bought it from does still have it so at least I know it's there for the time being. If anyone ever finds it anywhere, please let me know.
- It has been 2 years now since Grandma Gina passed away. Didn't do anything out of the ordinary that day, but it just happened to be a rough day at work. It is still unbelievable that she's not here. Although I have to thank her for being where I am now. This ties in with the Houston Escape Room.
I was actually supposed to have my interview with them the day the funeral happened. I do remember thinking that when I emailed them about her passing that my chances to get hired were gone. It might have been a week or two after that I thought "would she have wanted me to miss out on the opportunity" and I don't think she would have. That's what made me reach back out to them to see if the offer for an interview was still available. And that's where I am now.
She was a factor in that. I'm glad that I can tie her with HER. Thanks, Grandma Gina.
And that's it for July. August will have a lot to type about. Thanks for reading. Be healthy, be safe, be thankful, and be loved.
