A Post to Surpass

It's been a while since I've posted on here. I mean "posted" posted - as in "something that actually took me more than five minutes of thought and staring at a screen. (Meaning that despite those last two posts that came out of nowhere, they don't really count in my mind.)

It's strange... the act of typing on a keyboard almost feels alien to me now. Scary for someone like me - I don't think my past self would've pictured myself with this feeling ten years ago, yet here we are.

An 83% accurate depiction of what my room and I look like.

Let's see if my fingers can adjust themselves back.

Processing

I get so caught up in what I'm doing sometimes that I forget about all other things. But sometimes, getting caught up in whatever I'm doing gives me time to come up with something so awesome I just have to focus.

Keep it moving!

And when that happens, I just need time to process it all... get it unpacked from my mind and into something more physical, metaphorically speaking. I'm going to keep doing that while I sleep tonight. And then I'm going to wake up, go to work, come home, and figure out how this all plays out.

No Third Charm

I don't get it. I spend all of yesterday psyching myself to get things done. I get most of the night squared away and about 98% of the prep-work completed. Writing something today should have been a snap, and yet... I managed to achieve very little.

*shakes head* Somehow I saw this coming. I don't know if this is extremely poor time management skills or me getting distracted like crazy all the time, but I think I need to find a way to focus. While that may not seem possible due to my potential ADHD (I say "potential" because I show symptoms but I never officially had myself checked) or because I placed way too much on my plate, I know there has to be a way.

Also, on an unrelated-but-possibly-related note: stomachache from eating too much. This might have been a driving factor in my evening lethargy in regards to writing. Damn you, Past Josh.

You think that's bad? Give me an hour and tell me to stay on TV Tropes. When you come back, there'll be four windows open with an average of at least 20 tabs each (of which maybe 40% are for TV Tropes), about three other programs running in the background (not counting WinAmp), and at least one YouTube video that's three clicks away from the music video for Vat19's Das Beer Boot.

Anyway, I'm afraid I'm going to have to delay myself yet again. (At least I'm trying not to give you lame entries like the last few years. This actually has a lot of words on it.) Consider the above photo as proof that I am working on it (although you can see with the tabs on those two windows that I was pretty distracted). If I can get myself into gear, we'll see about finishing it by tomorrow night.

Taking the Black: A Nuzlocke Prologue

Nuzlocke runs are the Pokémon games' version of your local dominatrix. Apart from turning an already fun series into something out of the bowels of Hell, it's a great way to get into the psyche and mindset of the persons involved. It binds you into a routine that has you pulling your hair out of sheer agony, yet at the same time leaves you begging for more pain.

However, there's one glaring difference between a Nuzlocke run and a domme. One has you tied up against your wishes (even though you wanted it to begin with) and proceeds to put you through a session so blisteringly painful you wish you set up a safe word beforehand. The other is a dominatrix.

Lame bait-and-switch joke aside, I've played a few Nuzlockes (my first two are still ongoing as of this day). I've suffered minimal casualties on those runs (so far *crosses fingers*), and it helps that the games I'm running in - X and Omega Ruby - are games I've technically played before (via Y and Ruby respectively). Thing is, I don't think I fully appreciate the serious business that Nuzlockes are supposed to generate. And like a certain father voiced by Mark Hamill once said, "[I] will learn respect, and suffering will be [my] teacher." (Cue scar being made on the wrong side.)

Just hit "A" already...

This is why I'm going to start a blind Nuzlocke run on Pokémon: Black Version 2. Before I begin the prologue though, I think I need to explain a few things. I'm pretty sure I have so, considering that the average stranger probably has no idea what any part of that first sentence even means. So, we'll take a quick musical break and I'll explain both myself and those words above in greater detail in a bit.

A Preview of a Journey

Something's going to show up tomorrow on here!

You want proof? You can't handle the proof!

Come back tomorrow and you'll see that I'm not lying!

The Infancy of Infantry

Any decent military-minded person will tell you that infantry is one of the most important (if not the most important) resources of winning wars. There are some who would say otherwise and claim things like artillery, logistics, naval and air supremacy, or armour are paramount. The artillery can soften up the enemy forces; the supply officers can make sure the troops are well-supplied; the navy can control the sea and air routes; the armoured divisions can sweep across the battlefield and outflank the enemy.

However, without infantry, I believe all of the above are moot points. Well-entrenched soldiers on the ground can hunker down and keep casualties from artillery strikes to a minimum. Even if they're undersupplied, a well-trained grunt will keep the fight going in whatever way he or she can. The navies and air forces can sweep the seas and skies but they may miss a hidden trooper who can alert the rest of his/her forces. Armour can take on most ground threats, but the moment they run out of fuel or are surrounded, all the infantry has to do is bring in a cheap anti-armour weapon or shove grenades into the hatches.

As a U.S. Navy brat, it almost feels wrong for me to admit to preferring the typical (army) foot soldier over a navy's sailors, but the ocean can't sustain life on a grand scale - land can. And how does one win land wars? With actual people on the ground, armed and ready to take the land from the other guy (or stop the invader from doing so). The other things I listed above can support the infantry, and at times they may prove to be superior. In the end, artillery is useless without someone on the ground calling in the strike. Supplies are useless if no one can use them. Naval support (in the case of a marine force) and air support also need a set of eyes on the ground to ensure lethal accuracy (or to call off a strike if friendlies are getting hit). An armoured vehicle is (from a financial standpoint) a much more valuable target than one measly soldier and is more likely to get hit hard with something.

Of course, everyone will have their own counters to my lines of reasoning, and I'm sure there's some general who's going to dismiss my logic simply because "tank beats everything" - and in some cases, it does.

A New Leaf

It's been ages since I've written anything of any import. *checks back* Nearly... geez, I'm going to guess about two-and-a-half years. I'm pretty sure most people thought I've given up on writing on this blog (or for that matter, writing in general). To be perfectly honest with you, I thought I had (subconsciously) done that myself and just wrote myself off as "mentally checked out of enjoying life."

For a while, I thought I'd just leave - walk forward, never come back, and do everything in my power to not finish another sentence.

So why come back here if I've all but officially thrown in the towel? Well, when it comes down to it, you need to receive a swift kick in the ass to get things going sometimes. (And every once in a while, that swift kick in the ass you get can't be a metaphorical one.) In a manner of speaking, this entry is me kicking my brain's ass and saying, "Hey, Josh: write something you stupid Flip!"

And you thought all of this entry was going to be serious. No, I need a non sequitur somewhere.

And that's what I'm going to do. Right after I'm done dancing the new year in with my town assistant/secretary. Excuse me.

Sad Gamer Day

*salutes*

...I don't know how to feel about this. This comes as a major blow to the gaming industry (and obviously Nintendo as well) and to the gamers around the world who grew up with titles such as Pokémon: Gold/Silver Version, Earthbound, or the early Kirby games. A lowly programmer fresh out of college who would become one of the best CEOs of a leading video game company (maybe even one of the best CEOs, period)... we don't see that often - and we probably never will again (at least in our lifetimes).

Rest in piece, Iwata-san. Hopefully one day the world will come to understand.

Furious Reconciliation

I'd like to say that I've become more of an optimist than I was before.

Back in my days as a teenager, 83% of the things I said to people online were depressing and generally negative in nature. I'd whine about how life sucks - how I couldn't land a girlfriend; how no one understands the source of my angst and the plight of trying to figure out who I am; why I wasn't "cool" enough and why people thought I was a freak and a geek.

Now, I just look back and laugh at how stupid I was. I'm currently in a great relationship with a wonderful lady (Loves you, Wendy! <3); I've found what causes me to become angry and try to keep myself from thinking of those things; I've figured out that being "cool" enough really only matters to the people you hang out with; I've embraced my geek side with pride. It's great to know that I've matured into someone who clearly seems better than his 15-year-old self.

Some days, you just have to knock your troubles away with a shot of some good ol' fashioned liquor.
...or if you're broke like me: a shot of warm maple syrup. Either way, it doesn't end so well...

Sometimes, however... I regress. Let's face it - we all do.

Birthday

Happy birthday to me!

More Shining

Another day spent breeding and Wonder Trading Pokémon instead of writing something.

However, I think this was well-spent time.

Distracted Egg

I originally was going to post something on here.

Unfortunately, both the Internet and Pokémon breeding happened.

5IV Female Jolly HA Dratini? Well, Wendy's gonna be happy!

Well, at least it isn't a total loss. For me, at least.

Gambling Time

Sometimes in life, you have to venture out into the unknown and take a gamble. Oftentimes you'll lose, but every once in a while you'll net yourself a nice little victory. Today was one of those days for me. As I somehow scored a Saturday off (wat is this i didnt even request it off lolwut^*), I figured I'd spend some time gambling my luck. Between trading for unknown-quality Pokémon on the GTS and driving around looking for yard sales in search of random treasures and other interesting cheap trinkets, such a day relaxing like this offers quite the opportunity for some kind of loot to be won.

Two collapsible shot glasses and a cool book about Calvin and Hobbes... all for $1.50. SCORE.

And after two hours of driving around town looking at the various yard sales, I think I had a small victory - even if I gambled precious, expensive gasoline.

A decent amount of Pokémon with four or more IVs is good, but...
HOLY SHIT SHINY SKARMORY WOO

Yes... yes, I think today's gambles have been totally worth it.




* = If I ever sincerely talk or type like this, feel free to slap me. Hearing/Reading such a bastardized version of the English language is a sign of unintelligence, and while my wisdom scores may be low, I'm not that dumb.

The New Old Guys

It's no secret that I hold disdain for the Pokémon franchise's fifth generation of games. The overall in-game experience wasn't that exciting and gripping. I didn't really feel as much love for it as I showed the prior generations, and I found playing White Version to be a complete chore (surprising for someone who placed the series in his top three). No wonder it took me three years to take down the Unova region's Elite Four.

Despite the present negativity, I feel like I owe my team in White Version an apology. Yes, the game was boring and dull (of all the times for the story to have a twist, it was at the end - far too late for me to rekindle any genuine interest). Yes, my overall experience was not one I'll cherish for the rest of my days. However, "Team White" stuck with it - even when I didn't - and pushed themselves to their limits from day one all the way to their conquest of the Elite Four. They gave their all so that I could move on and say "goodbye" to Generation V forever.

This is my "Team White."

They don't deserve that kind of treatment. They deserve to be remembered.

Task Completed; NEXT!

Sometimes, things take much longer than you'd want it to. Whether life, the elements, or the ever-in-motion "X factor" get in the way, the task at hand suddenly transforms from a normal task to one of gastronomical heights. No, I didn't mean "astronomical" - said task suddenly becomes a huge knot in your stomach, paralyzing your digestive system (and maybe your psyche) until you can somehow stomach the strength to carry on with yourself.

We've all faced difficult obstacles like that in our life. Anyone with any kind of project currently on the backburner knows this feeling. You want to continue working on it, but every time you do, you get nauseated with how arduous it has suddenly become. You don't even want to deal with it anymore - it's that bad. At that point, going through physical torture sounds more appealing than hitting the "Continue" button.

For those of you just tuning in, I had a task like that a few days ago. It was thrown on the backburner for a little over three years - mostly because I lost interest in it. It wasn't grabbing my attention like I thought it would, and its entertainment value ran itself dry much, much earlier than I expected.

It took a while, but I finally completed it that's made me... well, I wouldn't call it "happy," so let's just go ahead and use the term "relieved."

After three years of self-loathing and dissatisfaction, I finally beat Pokémon White Version. With this done, I can now move on with my life and continue my Pokémon journey the way it was supposed to go: as far away from the Unova region as humanly possible.

Okay; what's next to do...?

Leaving So Soon

Something's coming tomorrow. Mostly because I ran out of time today.

A Thorn and Some Tweezers

So in a starting effort to begin typing things on here, I decided to try something new. (Gee, I sure haven't tried doing this before.)

I take that back. I'm not trying anything new. Matter-of-fact, I'm trying to finish something I started a long time ago. In my current pattern of "fail and fail some more," I figured this would be an interesting way to (yet again) attempt to break the cycle and yank this throbbing thorn that's been in my side for ages now. Yesterday's entry was a sign of this, and today you'll see what it was exactly that I rebooted.

Round... Whatever

I honestly don't know what I'm doing anymore.

I mean, I've been posting here with a catatonic, "I'm done with the world" approach for half of 2014 now. It's been one or two sentences at best, with an occasional attempt at revival every few months or so. It's left me feeling apathetic, lazy, and unsure just how well the future may go (at least in terms of "here").

I'm sick of it. I'm so sick of myself and how recursive my morale has been on here. Sure: there's no inspiration (or so I claim), and there no way I can get myself back to where I once was. An endless cycle of nothing followed by more nothing with a side of nothing and nothing for dessert. It's all I've seen myself give off on here, and it looks as though my creativity, inspiration, and willpower has become everything but extinct.

That's what I think. Thing is, I don't know how tomorrow will end up - or the next day, or any other day from here on out. I just don't.

I just know that I want to break this loop. I want out so badly...

A gaming artifact of my past days... nostalgic.

...and it looks like I found just the way to start that process once again. *boot-up sequence*

FTL 1-1: Meet the Voyager Voyeur!

Alrighty, ladies and gents. It's time to traverse the galaxy and run away from the evil clutches of the guys who want us dead because we're on the losing side! It's time to look at my first-ever Let's Play! (Or at least the first part of it.)

Take it away, FTL: Faster Than Light!

On The Way

To be honest, composing this entry is much, much more writing-centric than I thought it'd be.

Whoo, boy, that's a lot of things I'm multitasking between...

But don't fear! I'm not putting it off or anything - I'm working on it! We'll see if I can get the whole shebang finished by tomorrow.