IRL EXP Nov '12

Yeah, it's December now. Get off my back. Like, ERMAGURD.

Where was I? Oh, so Black Friday, right? Imagine the scene; people huddled in the cold, forming a line of anger and frustration. Each one, sizing up the competition in the mad rush that will shortly begin. Suddenly, all eyes slowly turn to the front doors, where everyone cam see a nervous, frightened employee. Instantly, the crowd is quieted by a soft squeak of a pair of sliding doors opening at 5:00 A.M. For just one second, the employee is calm, thinking that the good people will behave in a reasonable manner, purchase their goods and leave as nicely as they entered.

A rush of mad grandmas and angry housewives dispel this daydream as fast as it appeared. The employee is crushed under the mass of greedy feet and grasping hands. Fights break out over mundane items not even on sale. Self defense weapons are used vigorously and violently, bringing a dark irony to their original intent. As a squad of law enforcement officers approach the mayhem in this building, a small sense of dread fills them. One of them may not make it out alive.

Imagine this scene for a moment. Feel the tension building from these events. You may think this is a silly story, but mark my words; somewhere in America, this really did happen.

Was I there? F--K NO, my happy a-- was in bed! So for today's EXP, here are these two lessons:

1. Learn from your own and other's mistakes. The last time I went Black Friday shopping with the masses, it sucked. So I chose my battles, and chose wisely. I did go shopping later that afternoon, and lo and behold, everything I wanted was there for me to buy. So HA.

2. Role playing for EXP works.

I Got 99 Pokémon, and Nuzlocke killed everyone

First off, I seriously need to get better about updating.

Secondly, no real complaining today. All's quiet on the western front, and all that jazz. The Mrs. is happy, my twin terrors are docile, and I'm gonna be a Dad of three soon. Why, you ask? Because I still have money that the other two haven't eaten yet. *Eye roll* Do I need a reason? Babies are awesome.

And now, main topic; The Nuzlocke challenge and the hardships that go with it.

I thought it would add a layer of depth to my gaming experience. I got that and then some. I am getting seriously emotional with every loss. I lost my starter, a Pignite, to Lenora, a Normal-type gym leader. With his death, things just started going downhill. Three dead in that battle. Lost my Woobat to a not very effective crit. My Palpitoad and Sandile died shortly after Burgh. Now I'm down to three Pokémon left.

The biggest plus to all of this is that it's helping me with my depression. Go figure, right? I know it's a game with self-imposed rules, I'm getting way too attached, and I can stop at any time. But by pushing through all of this digital heartbreak, I am slowly learning coping techniques and learning to let go. Life doesn't have a save point, and will allow me to reload at the slightest mistake. In fact, I could do everything perfect and still lose because of someone else. I think this game is forcing me to let go of the pain and push through with everything I've got. Learn my weaknesses and build my strength thought daily torment.

I still have a long way to go, and will hopefully not have to restart this adventure anytime soon. Just pray that my Audino, Romeo, doesn't bite it anytime soon. He's the only one holding my broken little boat afloat.

Still Not Dead

At this point in my life, one might ask me (in a joking manner) if I was a bit stressed out.

I would reply by taking my left hand, shoving it into your chest cavity, ripping out your heart, and then force-feeding it back to you (in a joking manner).

My wife is with child (YAY!) and she is definitely feeling the "joys" of being pregnant again. Because of this, she needs my help more than ever. (Yay.) She needs me to help her with the kids, the house, the cars, and help with her as baby Emerson is a bit more parasitic than my first two kids. (Yay?)

I just had to evict a man from my mother's house. She was renting it out to him and the guy didn't pay rent. Ever. Just kinda coasted past the security deposit even. She went to court and he got the boot today. I had to move his stuff out and was even nice enough to bring it to his next dwelling; all while maintaining a happy smile and not wanting to cut him then and there. While enduring him trying to find ways to sue us as we move his stuff out.  While listening to my mother worry about him returning to hurt my family.

I returned to work. I was hoping to hop in right where I left off, but everything feels different. I have new responsibilities, students that are leaving, Halloween to deal with, and a condescending feeling that I get everytime I approach my colleagues. It's like I don't belong anymore.

I am failing college. You'd think I'd be use to that by now, but I was seriously trying this time around. I had to attend a three-week military training session and they had no easy-to-access internet. Even if I did have internet, I'm not sure I could have gotten my work done, what with everything I was doing. To make matters worse, only one of my two classes know that I was even gone, so I might not be able to withdraw. OUTSTANDING.

Oh, yeah. I'm in the military. Not going to try to hide that. You could find out if you really wanted to. I'm a regular Citizen/Soldier. Should also mention that I have to put together a class as all this is going down and present it to my unit. Oh, just got an email from my superior saying that I failed my mission. Let's just add this to the reasons why I reenlisted.

I really didn't want my blog to become a b---h session, and that's kinda what's happening here. But frankly, I just need to let this out before I explode. I'm starting to get the impression that no one reads these, and I'm okay with that. Like I said, this blog was for me. I'm just hoping that now everything is said and done, I can slowly recover and get back on track. Right after I get chewed out by, like, everybody.