A new month in the new year means more days to work on my resolutions. It also usually means busier days at work because work just tends to be busy in January. I wish I could say that January was full of happenings, but it wasn't. I'm really hoping that February will be better -- I have a potential vacation week lined up (assuming it doesn't get cancelled!). Fingers crossed!
"Outings" / Events in January:
- Had an almost all-day "hangout" with a good friend.
- Had a voice-chat with a few friends via LINE. It was fun as always :)
- Had a 7-hour online co-op session with my sister to take down some difficult event bosses in Genshin Impact (we reached that 20k total points challenge!).
- Played chess online with a friend.
- Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn achievements / news: -I haven't logged in at all this month. I'm kinda starting to take this as a sign that I may not have time for FFXIV for a long while, sadly :(
Exposures:
- Nothing this month.
Finished...
Watching:
- Nothing this month.
Playing:
- (PS4): Yakuza 3 Remastered -- Well... I'll hold my thoughts for when I blog my review about it. I'll just say I was happy to see Majima again :) <3
Reading:
- Nothing this month.
Currently...
Playing (not all at once):
- (PS3): Borderlands 2
- (3DS): Tomodachi Life - (3DS): Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies - (GBA): The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition - (Wii): Fortune Street - (PC): UnEpic - (PC): King's Bounty: The Legend - (PC): Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When They Cry)
Here is my movie-watching (in theatres) history for 2020. Sadly, I didn't get to watch many in theatres due to the pandemic (I started working from home around mid-March and was very much stuck at home from that point).
There were a couple movies I wanted to watch during the pandemic, but I didn't look into how to actually watch them because I kinda figured that you'd need to have access to streaming services. I'm not subscribed to any services except for Crunchyroll and I don't want to start subscribing to them now. Sadly I don't know if I'd have much time to make the most of those streaming services if I subscribed. Also, if I subscribed to multiple the overall cost each month could get pretty pricey. With the pandemic still going on, I wonder if I will get to watch any new movies this year. Between watching movies in theatres or watching movies at home, I'd prefer watching movies in theatres, provided that other movie-goers behave decently and don't disrupt the movie-watching experience (no talking loudly over the movie or stuff like that).
I guess if I get desperate maybe I'll subscribe to one streaming service to watch movies. One movie that's coming up that I really want to see this year is The King's Man, the prequel to the Kingsman movies. I don't know if it'll be good or bad, but I gotta watch it.
SPOILER ALERT WARNING!!
There could be slight spoilers when I list the movies I've watched (not many this year). Any movies that will contain a spoiler will be marked.
MOVIE: Knives Out [SPOILER] DATE: January 15, 2020 RATING (OUT OF 5): **** COMMENTS: Watching this a second time, I cried more. This was a truly wonderful, tragic, yet fun movie. ************************************************************************************
MOVIE: Weathering With You [SPOILER] DATE: January 15, 2020 RATING (OUT OF 5): ***** COMMENTS: As good as the first watching. Visuals were still so stunning and the soundtrack was great. I missed the cameos on the first watching, but I caught them on the second watch. ************************************************************************************
MOVIE: Parasite DATE: February 17, 2020 RATING (OUT OF 5): ***** COMMENTS: Third time watching. Still so awesome. If you have not watched it yet -- watch it, please! ************************************************************************************
MOVIE: JoJo Rabbit DATE: February 6, 2020 RATING (OUT OF 5): **** COMMENTS: There were some heart-warming moments. ************************************************************************************
MOVIE: The Invisible Man DATE: March 10, 2020 RATING (OUT OF 5): *** COMMENTS: Definitely some plot holes, but I jumped a few times in my seat. ************************************************************************************
That's it for this blog. Thanks for reading! If you have any comments about anything (even if you greatly disagree with anything I've said, or if this made you think about the movies you've watched and want to share), feel free to comment! :)
Stay safe, take care, and until next time! *e-hug*
Well, here is the long blog I do every year -- taking an overall look at the previous year.
Sushi burrito -- one of the more creative foods I've tried in 2020.
Very messy to eat, but I would eat it again.
First thing is a review of my New Year's Resolutions in 2020 and how I did with them: (REVIEW) New Year's Resolutions for 2020 - Spend at least 100 hours on learning anything related to programming or game-making -- NOPE(I spent about 41 hours on this. I counted pretty much whatever time I spent creating my game.)
- Spend at least 100 hours on learning Japanese -- NOPE(I spent about 6 hours on this T__T)
- Create at least two games using any of the platforms / engines I have -- HALF(I created one on RPG Maker MV, but didn't get to create another)
- Create at least 1 story (short story, play, whatever) -- NOPE(Did not do this at all)
- Spend a total of 750 hours going through ANY of my media collection that I haven't experienced yet (watching DVDs / Blu-Ray, playing video games, reading books). Playing MMOs / never-ending phone games don't count -- DONE(I ended up spending more than 750 hours. Here is a breakdown of where all my hours were spent:
Video games - Completed at least once (about 673 hours total spent)
-Fable 3
-Story of Seasons
-Magna Carta 2
-Culdcept Revolt
-Kingdom Hearts Final Remix
-Yakuza 0
-Yakuza Kiwami
-Yakuza Kiwami 2
-Miitopia
-Fez
-Walking Dead: Michonne
-Bastion
-Never Alone: Foxtales
-Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls
-Dark Cloud
-Death Road to Canada
Video games - Tried out for the first time (about 125.5 hours total spent)
-Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero?
-Infinite Space
-Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier
-Tomodachi Life
-Yakuza 3 Remastered
-FFXV Multiplayer: Comrades
-Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighbourville
-Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies
-Fall Guys
-Among Us
Movies / TV series (about 113.75 hours spent)
-Parasyte (Parts 1 & 2)
-The Strain (Season 2)
-Forrest Gump
-Legend of Korra (Season 2)
-The Office (Season 7)
-Six Feet Under (All 5 seasons)
-The Bounty
-A Prayer for the Dying
-High Spirits
-Shining Through
-Kingdom of Heaven
-Pulp Fiction
Books / Manga (4700 total pages read - about 50.75 hours spent)
-Princess Jellyfish (volumes 3-9)
-Neo Parasyte f
-Neo Parayste m
-The Walking Dead: Compendium 2 & 3
-Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Rift (All 3 parts)
-Cardcaptor Sakura: Book 3 & 4
- Finish going through my Xbox 360 games -- DONE (I didn't have many games left so glad I was able to finish this. Now I can unhook the Xbox 360 from the TV once I'm done using it as a glorified DVD player)
- Read at least 100 chapters (or ALL) of One Piece -- DONE(I did the former, reading 143 chapters. I'm 77 chapters away from 1000!)
- Develop at least one positive habit / routine and keep at it for at least a month -- DONE(For about 3 months straight, I practiced writing katakana and hiragana everyday. I think it helped me recognize the characters a bit faster than before)
- Reduce my overall collection! This would be my collection for books, video games, music, movies, TV shows, figures -- DONE(I reduced my overall collection by 89 items. Sadly, my room is still overflowing with things)
- Clean my room. At least half of the floor should be bare -- HALF (I think about 35% of the floor is bare) To sum up: Out of my 10 resolutions, I completed 5 and two halves. Considering that one of those resolutions was super time-consuming, I'm pretty satisfied with myself. This is probably the year where I was close to finishing them all.
Unfortunately, just like last year, working late for wayyy too many weeks straight kinda ruined my chances. Just to rant a bit... this year I worked about 320 hours beyond my contracted hours... with just over half of those hours being paid out as overtime. I also have nearly 3 weeks' worth of unused vacation. Assuming the minimum hour workweek with about 2 hours of commute everyday, that comes to 142.5 hours of vacation time I didn't get to take for myself. For somebody who values Time very much, that is a lot of time!
Will anything change this year...?
Below are my resolutions for 2021:
New Year's Resolutions for 2021 - Spend at least 100 hours on learning anything related to programming or game-making - Spend at least 100 hours on learning Japanese - Create at least two games using any of the platforms / engines I have - Create at least 1 story (short story, play, fanfiction, whatever)
- Spend a total of 750 hours playing video games / reading books from my collection that I haven't experienced yet
- Get all caught up in One Piece :)
- Watch at least 100 episodes' worth of anime / dramas on Crunchyroll (movies would count as 1 episode per 30 minutes of runtime)l
- Sort through 2 years' worth of personal photos / videos
- Catalogue all the games I own physically - Clean my room. At least half of the floor should be bare
My resolutions this year will generally stay the same as last year's, but with a few new things. For the most part, I think I've kinda "optimized" what I want to achieve with each resolution -- at least for the resolutions that barely change. If I felt like I'd have more time, then I'd raise the "Spend a total of 750 hours" resolution to "Spend a total of 1000 hours".
I think today is the year I'll be allll caught up with One Piece. I'm less than 100 chapters away -- I'm excited but also a bit wary. If the latest chapter ends in a cliffhanger then I'll be agonizing over waiting for the next chapter! Hahaha.
For the "Watch at least 100 episodes' worth of anime / dramas on Crunchyroll", it's mainly to poke / remind myself to use the service since I do have access to it. Eventually I'll have to poke myself to try out more manga from Shonen Jump since I'm subscribed to that as well.
For the other new resolutions, it's a poke to myself to get more organized. Since getting a smartphone many years ago, I've accumulated tons of photos and videos. If I don't start cleaning those files up, I'll run out of space on my phone and eventually on my computer.
Cataloguing my games has been something I've been wanting to do for a long while now. It's kinda embarrassing to say, but I have been guilty of buying the same game a couple times because I forgot I already owned a copy. Just like last year, I'll reward myself if I can finish all of my resolutions. If Miku is still open by the time the pandemic is over, I'd still like to treat myself there. I'm being kinda stubborn and refusing to go unless I finish my resolutions first... so I better get on it! 2020 in Review 2020 was on track to be a continuation of 2019 in terms of attending concerts and conventions. I already bought concert tickets to FLOW and Hatsune Miku and an admission to International Fan Festival Toronto, one of my more favoured anime conventions. I was also planning to visit Japan this year. It's been a bi-annual tradition for me for the past 6 years. Then in mid-March everything turned upside down when the pandemic hit.
I don't think I need to say that I didn't get to attend any of those concerts nor conventions. My Japan trip's been put on hold. For the next 9 months, I was holed up at home. I only went outside a few times, and I always had to be driven. This might sound like an introvert's paradise, and it was to a certain degree. Unfortunately so much of my time was spent working that I barely had any chances to relax and enjoy being at home. The room that used to be my salvation became my prison. If I didn't finally put my foot down and fought back on the situation a couple months ago, I'm not sure how my mental / physical state would be right now.
While staying holed up at home, a couple video games affected my life in a big sense: Yakuza 0 and SINoALICE. I mention it later in the blog, but Yakuza 0 and the Yakuza series in general was my saving grace. SINoALICE allowed me to connect and build friendships. Those two games really helped me to get through the bleakness that was working so many hours for weeks straight. For friends whom I would usually see / hang out with throughout the year, we'd do either monthly LINE voice calls or we'd text message or phone calls. I do miss seeing them, though. We are long overdue for eating at a nice restaurant or relaxing at a Krispy Kreme shop or just lazing about watching some funny Youtube videos while eating some pineapple pizza (yes, pineapples on pizza can be delicious!). Looking at where I am in Life, things still haven't really changed. I think until the pandemic is truly over, my Life will be put "on hold" in terms of moving out and other Life things.
I usually share what would be my "theme song" for the year, but unfortunately I don't have one. I didn't really come across any songs that really resonated with my soul. Maybe I'll have that chance this year.
Notable/Significant Memories/Events in 2020 The pandemic that's still going on: This changed my life a lot. I started working from home on March 13, and I had to get a second computer monitor for my already small work desk. I also had to get a smaller keyboard to accommodate the work computer on my work desk as well as getting a webcam and microphone to accommodate sometimes showing my face and speaking during work meetings. The pandemic has also affected many other aspects in my life. I'm only thankful that I haven't yet experienced the negatives aside from working wayyyy too much because work was wayyy too close to home (maybe I'll blog about this sometime).
My self-built PC is still alive and kicking (1 year): I just have to say that it's still working. May it continue to run without many issues for many more years :) Worked 79.5 hours for one week: This was my record for most hours worked for one week. It's not a pleasant memory and I will never forget it. I also hope to never experience it again.
Posted on Reddit for the first time ever: I always thought I'd just be a lurker on Reddit. But after getting exposed to Yakuza 0 and finding such a respectful, nice subreddit for the Yakuza series, I couldn't help but say something. I still mainly lurk about, but am happy that such a community exists. Attended Undertale's 5th anniversary concert stream: This was such a fun, nostalgic experience. And to be able to share it with so many others who were feeling the same emotions... it was really nice. :') "Fought for my rights": I can't really talk about this now, but it happened. I was very scared, but I plucked up my courage and did what I believed was right for me. I also tried extending my fight for others, but sadly that didn't go as well.
Made some new friends via SINoALICE: I know I already mentioned this earlier, but I'll say it again. This was quite the pleasant surprise. I kinda thought I'd be a loner when I first played SINoALICE, but later I was able to meet some individuals I could consider as friends. Had monthly LINE voice chats with friends: These were nice and fun. Made a game using RPG Maker MV for the first time: It was a dinky game but I was very happy I succeeded. I hope I'll be able to create more dinky games using RPG Maker in the future.
Top Whatevers in 2020 This is my top list of what was released in 2020 that I experienced, which sadly wasn't very much. I only watched one movie that was released this year, and I can't put it on my list (it wasn't good enough, in my opinion).
(Video Game):Genshin Impact [PS4]
The things I love most about Genshin Impact are being able to explore almost everywhere and all the puzzles and secrets that are strewn about the world. The pretty graphics are just the icing on the cake.
Here's my exposure of the series. (Song - English): Freedom, Pt. 2 by an Unkindness Even though I think this song was created before 2020, it was released in 2020 so I'm counting it. Granted I haven't listened to too many music tracks released in 2020, but I do think "Freedom, Pt. 2" warrants a spot in my "Top Whatevers".
There's just something about this track that draws me in -- the voice, the instrumentation. I also really like the lyrics. I guess I really like that despite the overall negativity that I feel in the song, there is still strength and resolve to it.
"Freedom, Pt. 2" by an Unkindness (AKA YourMovieSucksDOTorg YouTuber).
If you are curious about the lyrics, they are in the comments section.
Top Exposures in 2020 This is my top list of what I was exposed to this year, regardless of what year it really came out in. Any titles with two years indicate the original release date, then the English release date. If I list here the same thing from my "Top Whatevers", I will also mention a runner-up. (Anime): Nodame Cantabile (2007-2010) This series was such a delight. I regret that I waited so long to seek it out and watch it. It is so hilarious and charming, with great music. What more could you ask for? :D Here's my review of the series. (Movie): Jurassic Park (1993) This is a pretty old movie, but it was able to retain the wonderment and fascination with dinosaurs. For me to watch it for the first time and still be awed, it must be doing something right. (Video Game): Yakuza 0 [PS4] (2015/2017) Yakuza 0 really inspired me and changed my life. I might be exaggerating it a little bit, but Yakuza 0 saved me. <3 Here's my review of the game. (Song - English): Two Punks in Love by Bülow (2018)
I love this song so much. The lyrics really hit my gut, but in a good way. :)
"Two Punks in Love" by Bülow.
I especially love the lyrics "I can't wait to waste my life away with you".
(Song - Japanese): Bakamitai -sorrow- from Yakuza Kiwami (2017) I just had to list a song from the Yakuza series, hahaha. This is so far my favourite version of "Bakamitai" -- the violin just conveys so much emotion. I hope to be able to sing this song for karaoke one day.
"Bakamitai -sorrow-" from Yakuza Kiwami.
It would be the coolest thing if TAMUSIC
did an arrangement of this track.
-----------------------------------
And that's that for my review of 2020. In my last entry, I noted a few things I wanted to do in 2020: -Start playing the Yakuza video game series (I started Yakuza 0 and never looked back) -Start playing the Nier video game series (This didn't happen) -Exercise more (It wasn't much, but I definitely did exercise more in 2020)
-Have less stuff in my room (I think I'm starting to see some more floor in my room) For 2021, below are some things I'd like to do: -Start playing the Nier video game series (I'm a few Drakengard endings away from this!! :x) -Stay on top of the ones I want to keep following and supporting (ex. Active NEETs, TAMUSIC, YourMovieSucksDOTorg, etc) -Spend less in SINoALICE and other gacha games
If you've made it this far, thanks for reading! Below is a % breakdown of my spending in 2020 compared to 2018 and 2019. This breakdown excludes necessities like my cell phone plan, transportation expenses, etc. Click on the image to enlarge it.
I'm not surprised the top expense in 2020 would be for my phone games. This was a new category, so nothing was recorded in 2018 nor 2019, even though I did spend money on phone games during those years. Fingers crossed I'll be able to get that expense down in 2021!
Thanks again for reading! May the pandemic finally be over and dealt with in 2021 so more "normalcy" can be restored. Take care, stay safe, and until next time! :)
December came and went too quickly. Aside from trying to work on my resolutions, other things happened and with a busy work schedule on top of that, there just wasn't much time at all to really relax.
I'm currently off work until the first week of January, and I already know that lots of work will be waiting for me when I get back.
"Outings" / Events in December:
- Opened a package a friend had meant to send a couple years ago. It took quite a while but it finally arrived!
- Had a voice-chat with a few friends via LINE. That was fun :)
- Had a private Among Us play session with some friends. It was really hilarious and fun xD
- Had a phone call with an old friend. Maybe this doesn't warrant pointing out but I was happy to hear from her so I'm mentioning it.
- Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn achievements / news: -I haven't logged in at all this month ><''.
Exposures:
- (Video Game): League of Legends -- A friend asked if I'd be willing to try out the new season and I said okay. I used to think League of Legends was a game that had lots of toxic players (maybe they do exist but I've been lucky enough to not run into them). My expectations have been very subverted. It's quite a fun game. Out of the champions I've tried, my favourite so far is Caitlyn.
Finished...
Watching:
- (Movie - Anime): Anohana -- This was a nice wrap-up to the series.
Playing:
- Nothing this month.
Reading:
- Nothing this month.
Currently...
Playing (not all at once):
- (PS4): Yakuza 3 Remastered
- (PS3): Borderlands 2 - (3DS): Tomodachi Life - (3DS): Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies - (GBA): The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition - (Wii): Fortune Street - (PC): UnEpic - (PC): King's Bounty: The Legend - (PC): Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When They Cry)
- (Anime): Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story (Episode 4)
- (YouTube): StephenVlogs (Day 941)
Reading:
- (Comic): Bodie Troll by Jay Fosgitt - (Manga): One Piece by Eiichiro Oda (Volume 92 -- Chapter 923) - (Manga): Berserk by Kentaro Miura (Volume 2)
That's it for December. Here are a few pics I took this month plus a YouTube video.
This is a book that I backed on Kickstarter. I had been a fan of Justin Currie's work for
a few years now. Thought this was a good chance to give some more support.
The package my friend sent me. We met while playing Final Fantasy XIV, so
receiving Final Fantasy-themed stuffs totally makes sense. Thank youu! ^-^
A creative way to do an activity with friends on LINE. We were trying to complete a word search, and would take turns altering the image whenever we found a word.
"POV You're A Delivery Boy In Genshin Impact" by Tectone YouTuber.
Those who did the food delivery event in Genshin Impact will be able
to relate to this video.
Thanks for reading! Happy New Year!!! As usual, if you have any questions / comments about anything, feel free.
Take care, stay safe, and until next time! (which will be the super-long blog I do every year) :)
