A “Lemonade Free” Zone…

I’m back! Long story short; over the summer everything pretty much imploded, and is finally starting to get back to normalcy (whatever that is). Even with things starting to settle down a bit, life is still regularly trying to keep handing me a fresh batch of lemons. “Why is that important”, you ask?

Well since you asked…

(steps up on soapbox)

This is one situation where I believe the “conventional wisdom” for handling the situation is rubbish. Most say that “When life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade”. That simply means that when life deals you a bad situation, you should just accept it and try to make to best out of what you are given. I don’t agree with that. I don’t believe that anyone should be limited by just what they are handed by life. When life deals you a bad situation, I believe you should fight back and try to make it what you want.

The funny thing is,  this little nugget can even be found in such an unusual place as a video game. For those that just jumped ahead of me there, yes I am referring to Cave Johnson from Portal 2. His rant about life’s lemons may seem like a nice gag along the way, but it also makes so much sense.

Imagine a world where all anyone did when life handed them a bad situation was ‘make lemonade’. To put it bluntly, this world would suck. If all anyone did was ‘make lemonade’ then we would not have had Neil Armstrong walking on the moon,  Felix Baumgartner’s record breaking jump would have likely never happened, even most technologies that we enjoy today likely wouldn’t exist. This Country may not have ever become independent if no one challenged what life tried to hand them. Many of the greatest achievements that have been accomplished were after numerous failures, then fighting through the failures to finally find success.

Not ‘making lemonade’.

This year will already be coming to a close soon. In looking back at the year, I find that I have been doing a lot of trying to ‘make lemonade’. Trying to just get by and survive, instead of trying to turn life into what I want to make of it. We all have the choice: to either just accept what life hands us, or to challenge it and fight back. Sure, obstacles will still come up, but the choice is ours how we react to them.  I may not have any combustible lemons to use in burning life’s house down, but I am done with lemonade.

Who is with me in striving to make their lives a lemonade free zone?

…but there was time now…

I feel a bit like the main character from the Twilight Zone episode “Time Enough At Last”. I finally have more time to blog and game, and I am left without a reliable internet connection…

My broadband connection looks like it’s going to be out for about the next week or two. At the moment I am tethering to my smartphone to be able to post this. With my only readily available internet connection being tethering, I will be unable to post new videos to my Youtube channel until my connection situation is sorted out. This hasn’t stopped me from working on videos; I just can’t upload them just yet.

At any rate, life goes on, the clock keeps ticking, and the world keeps spinning. At least I think it is…

I guess I never realized just how dependent I was on always having a readily available broadband connection until it wasn’t there. At first I felt lost and disconnected (no pun intended), but when that initial shock had worn off I realized something. I realized that I finally have the chance to get things done that I have had to keep putting off. I have no distractions except for my own ADD addled… oooh something shiny…

*ahem*

First up on my to do list is to try and put a dent in what I call my pile of shame. That’s my pile of unfinished games, movies, or books. Yes, books. You know, those things with the pages and words in them.

I had recently bought a few books by Haruki Murakami that I had been looking for. As you have probably guessed they have been mostly collecting dust along with a few games I had also gotten recently. I enjoy Murakami’s fiction, but every time I try to make some progress something comes up. So, first thing I am going to do is finish those books, and then get started on finishing up some of the single player games that I have been neglecting.

To the young ‘uns out there that have ever asked their parents the question: “What did you ever do before the internet?” there you go…

Unplugging for a while (even if it is against ones will) can be nice once in a while.
Maybe I should do this more often…

The light at the end of the tunnel, and this time it isn’t a train…I hope…

Pic related, and very true.

Well, after my first couple of days at my new day job I am feeling pretty good. So now (aside from a car I would love to blow up) things are starting to turn around for me. I just hope that the light I see at the end of the tunnel is not an oncoming train.

Lately I have felt kind of like the frog from the classic game Frogger; trying to cross the highway time and again only to keep getting flattened. Things had even gotten so crazy there for a while that I didn’t even have time to blog or work on any new videos.

My sanity (or my wife for that matter) couldn’t stand me not blogging or gaming. For some reason I guess I’m not a very pleasant person when my two favorite outlets are unavailable. So, I was sure to set aside time to hammer out a new video (which will be posted soonish) and post a blog update.

Between enjoying my new day job and finally having time to blog/game, I’m starting find some form of normalcy… as normal as my life gets anyway…

So, here I am; listening to music (ahhh sonic therapy) and getting ready for the holiday tomorrow.

At any rate, sorry for the recent lack of updates. There is more to come (what? I really mean it this time…). If you are in the USA, have a great 4th, and if not in the USA well… I guess you can still have a great day anyway.

Beats and Tunes

Ok, I admit it. I am a hopeless beat junkie. So bad that when my playlist shuffle landed on ‘Battle Without Honor or Humanity’ by Tomoyasu Hotei, I caught myself walking to the beat. It’s not just that either. Whenever I’m listening to music I tend to get really absorbed in it.

It doesn’t help that I have Pandora going while typing this…or rather trying to type this.

Even though music can tend to be a bit of a distraction for me at times, I find it is also a big source of inspiration/relief/etc for me. For example, a certain song may trigger certain thoughts or feelings. Where as a different song may bring something completely different with it. Some songs may tell a story, while others may stick to a certain thought or emotion. While working on anything creatively based I always have music of some kind playing, because you never know where a song may take you.

That being said, music of some kind is the operative phrase here.  My musical tastes tend to befuddle people. In the course of a playlist I may go from listening to electronic, to rock, to jazz, to classical, to oldies, and back. Whether that is a blessing or a curse has yet to be seen.

It’s not just different styles of music either. I also enjoy music from other countries and cultures. To me a different language isn’t an issue when it comes to music. Music should be able to stand up regardless of the language it is made in.

Sure, my musical weirdness has it’s advantages. As I had mentioned before, different music brings different experiences/thoughts/etc. On the flip side, some people just can’t seem to wrap their head around it. In the end trying to explain my choices of music usually ends with brains dividing by zero, and people just giving up.

At any rate, I’m just glad that through some great services on the internet I can enjoy exploring a wide variety of music.

For those curious; in the process of typing this post I have gone from listening to Parov Stelar, to Eric Clapton, to Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and now Deadmau5.

I’m curious to see what types of music all of you listen to as well. Please leave a comment with bands/songs/musical styles that you like. I would love to see this topic continue in the comments.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Ch-ch-ch-changes

After having just passed the mid-way point of the week, it has really turned out to be quite the roller coaster. The great part is that changes are on the way. Those that have been following this blog may have read that I have been contemplating a career change for a while now.

Well, now it’s finally happening.

Yep, I will finally be done with technical support (hopefully for good). Sure, I will need to refresh myself on a few skills I haven’t used in a little while for my new job , but in the end it will be well worth it.

I start in two weeks, so the countdown is now on.

In all honesty, I will be making a bit less on this new path I will be taking. One thing I have learned through all of this is that the money earned is not always proportional to actual enjoyment of the work. I am a firm believer that, whatever it is that you choose to do, you should make sure it’s something you enjoy. A soul-crushing job is not worth a little extra money.

The great part of this is I will still have a good chunk of time to spend on this blog as well as my Youtube channel. So, awesome stuff is still coming.

All in all, the second half of this week is starting to shape up to be pretty great.

tl;dr: New job. Less cash, but happier with less stress. More cool stuff on the way.

I made you a bass…but I dropped it…

This post was originally going to  contain a lot of me lamenting my Monday, but then I just drowned that thought out with lots of Klaypex and Glitch Mob music. Copious amounts of bass helping to melt away the Monday that would soon be over.

Bass drops really can be therapeutic at times…

It’s true that it has been a long day, but as much as I would love to say that I am glad it’s over… I’m not.  I know that may sound kind of odd, but here is what I mean:

The way I see it is that every day is a set of choices and opportunities. Not all days may seem like it (today for example), but they all are. Some days it’s just to a different extent that other days.

Every day is a new set of choices, experiences, and opportunities. So, is it really that odd to not really want it to end? You see, the reason being that once the day is over, then so are all of the experiences and opportunities that were held in it. If any were missed or wasted, then they vanish along with the day once it is over.

The thought that then comes with the end of the day is if  I made the best of the day. So, even if it is a bad day, it is still a day that you have the opportunity to be able to pursue all of the great stuff therein.  The best part is that with each new day comes a new set of choices, experiences, and opportunities.

I know this may sound like a fortune cookie/motivational poster/etc, but it is true.

That being said, it’s time for me to get some sleep before I wake up drooling on my keyboard. Hope everyone has a great week, and thanks for reading.

Strange Phenomenon

UPDATE: New gameplay/commentary video is now up on my Youtube channel here!

I should have a new game play video up on my Youtube channel tomorrow. This one I am somewhat proud of. Not because the quality of the video itself is great (but I’m getting there), but because it is a video of me going flawless on a match of MW3. Those that play MW3 know how difficult this can be, so when the match was over I nearly passed clean out.

I was so exited that I immediately switched to my capture card and recorded it from my vault. I should have it up in the afternoon and will update this post once it is available.

There is also one other thing I wanted to mention while I am at it here. Over the short time I have been writing this blog so far I have noticed a strange phenomenon.  I have noticed that it is far easier to write when I am not thinking about the possibility of someone I know reading my blog.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I enjoy writing this blog, and hope that at least someone has enjoyed my ramblings. However, the thought of someone that I know (or worse, family) reading my blog  just makes me want to cringe and forget about ever having a blog.

Not sure if I am the only one that has experienced this or not, but it’s the strangest thing. I can crank out ideas and hammer out a post in no time, but when considering the possibility of someone I know reading it my brain just kind of locks up.

I’m sure that I am not the only one to experience this, but it’s still so odd. If anyone else has experienced this and has any tips on dealing with it, please drop them in the comments. I would be immensely grateful.

That being said, sleep is calling, and I cannot resist it’s siren song for much longer. I hope everyone’s weekend gets off to a great start, and I’m out.

Me v1.0

After a long weekend and a bumpy start to the week, things are finally starting to look up. As of this writing I have the first of (hopefully) many game play videos posted to my Youtube channel.

This time around it is from Modern Warfare 3, and is a Hardcore Free-for-all match on Bootleg. That being said, throughout the process of starting this blog, deciding to start a Youtube channel, and working with video/audio recording I have learned quite a few lessons.

The biggest of these is that I have a long way to go. Not just with my blog or Youtube, but in life in general as well as in gaming. I have a long way to go to be the me that I want to be, as well as reaching the level in my gaming pursuits that I want to be at.

The way I envision it is like software versions. Software versions progress as they get closer to being complete or being finished. So for example, it may start at 0.1, and will then go through 0.2, 0.3, and so forth. Eventually reaching 1.0 for release, then 2.0, 3.0, etc. as new features are added.

The way I see it is that it is kind of the same with all of us as well. We know where we want to go and what we want to eventually be. Just like the programmers have a plan for what they want their software to be. However, that eventual end could be many versions down the road, and many changes or developments for us as well. The key here is knowing that we all begin at version 0.1, and that we can only reach that eventual goal by working and building at it until we have reached that vision.

For me, right now, I know I don’t get a whole lot of blog or channel views, but I am only at version 0.1. I know what I want to eventually be, and, while that may be version 10.0 for all I know, I am going to keep working at it until I can get there.

Allons-y!

Update #2: Yeah, the ping was strong with this weekend… Gameplay/Commentary video will be up on Youtube tomorrow evening.

Update: Yep, distracted by something shiny. Vlog post should still be up tomorrow though.

Ahhh, the weekend is here at last. Now for some Glitch Mob, gaming, and other craziness…right?

Maybe.

Hopefully a little progress gets made on a few things I have in the pipe, but as this guy can attest it is not always that easy. Things can sometimes come out of nowhere, and even the most awesome things can sometimes be the largest distractions.

I’m just hoping that I can make it through and have at least a few things checked off of my ‘to-do’ list.

As for my weekend, it starts off, strangely enough, with a yard sale. Normally I avoid these like they were Justin Beiber, but, in this case, I may not have much of a choice.
(Read: Wife and MiL)

Saturday night will more than likely not be very productive either. I have (despite what some people think) a life.

No, seriously…stop laughing…I really do…

So I have a short window of opportunity in the afternoon to actually get stuff done. As much as I would like to say I will be productive… chances are I will just be distracted by something shiny. My poor, poor Youtube channel. You never had a chance.

At the end of it all, I should have at the very least a new vlog entry posted over on youtube. Also maybe, just maybe, even a gameplay video/commentary depending on how much I can get done.

Fingers crossed.

At times like this there is an old saying, a phrase of great power and wisdom and consolation to the soul in time of need.

Allons-y!

Here’s hoping everyone has a great weekend!

And then there was…

I wanted to kind of expand a bit on a thought from my last post, ‘Life is a Creeper’. I mentioned at one point in the post that people should try to figure out what brings them the most happiness and pursue it. Deciding your objective and then organizing your life/career/etc around that makes things so much easier.

Now, that ‘something’ is going to be different for each individual, but I want to give a few examples here. Maybe it will get some folks to think. By no means will this list cover all of the possibilities. These are just the ones that immediately come to mind.

• Money
• Rank/Title
• Fame
• Leave a legacy
• Freedom

By no means an exhaustive list, but these are some of the more common ones and should serve as a good example at least. The objective here is to at least spark your own thought about what yours would be. The key is to just be honest with yourself and think about what that ‘something’ is for you.

For example: if you just want to make money and that is what would make you happy, then just admit it and go for it. Whatever that ‘something’ is for you, let that be your compass and go for it.

Sometimes pursuing a certain goal may lead into some aspects of others. Like someone that is trying to climb the ladder and reach the highest rank or title that they can may as a result also make a lot of money. Or a person that has become famous may also as a result have a unique legacy to leave behind.

The point is to just find your direction and go for it. In my case…well, my own ‘something’ is to have the freedom to explore any ideas I have. I guess you could say that this blog (and a few other projects I have in the works) are really my first step in that direction.

If anyone can think of any other examples or have any thoughts to add, please post them in the comments. I would very much enjoy continuing this  as a discussion. As always thanks for your time and for reading.  Have a great day!