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Sunday 28 November 2021

BLOG -- Recap of November

Aside from one outing, November has been pretty busy for me in terms of trying to get my New Year's Resolutions done. On top of treating myself to some fancy sushi, there will be another reward for myself if I can get them alllll done this year (just four more left).

What is that reward? If I finish all my resolutions this year, I'll tell you ;)


"Outings" / Events in November:
- Had a LINE voice chat with my friends. It was nice and... insightful.

- I woke up around 5:30 AM on a specific day to catch a glimpse of the lunar eclipse. I didn't set any alarms -- I just happened to wake up around that time that day. The moon was very bright.

- I went karaoking with my sister, her hubby, and a friend when COVID cases weren't too bad in Toronto. It was really fun!

- A friend stopped talking to me -- after I spent about 10 months trying to help him get his finances together. There's a bit more to it... but I've just about had it -- I might be done helping others that selflessly for a long time. >_____<


Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn achievements / news: 
-My subscription's still expired.


Exposures:
- Nothing this month.


Finished...
Watching:
- Nothing this month (is this a first for this year??!).

Playing:
- (PS4): Secret of Mana -- This was very nostalgic for me -- keeping its strengths AND flaws, haha. I spent about 20 extra hours just making sure I could platinum this (it was a childhood game, after all). The re-arranged music was awful, though. If you ever play this for nostalgia's sake, play it with the original music.

Reading:
- Nothing this month.


Currently... 
Playing (not all at once):
- (PS4): Dark Cloud 2
- (PS4): Skyrim
- (PS4): Yakuza 5 Remastered
- (PS4): Trine 2 (co-oping this only, lol)
- (PS3):
 Borderlands 2
- (PSP): Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure
- (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)

Watching:
- (TV Show): The Walking Dead (Season 7 - Episode 8)
- (TV Show): Criminal Minds (Season 15)
- (TV Show): The Strain (Season 3)
- (TV Show): The Office (Season 8)
- (TV Show): The Goldbergs (Season 4 - Episode 9)
- (TV Show): Huff (Season 1 - Episode 10)
- (Anime): Log Horizon (Season 3)
(Anime): Attack on Titan (Season 4)
- (Anime): Food Wars (Season 5)
- (Anime): Pyscho-Pass (Season 3)
- (Anime): Carole & Tuesday (Part 1 - Episode 5)
- (Anime): Basilisk: The Ouka Ninja Scrolls (Episode 2)
- (Anime): Gintama (Episode 13)
- (YouTube): 
StephenVlogs (Day 1001) <-- I finally broke 1000!

Reading:
- (Manga): One Piece by Eiichiro Oda (Volume ?? -- Chapter 1030)
- (Manga): Berserk by Kentaro Miura (Volume 2)


That's it for November. Here are some pics / screenshots / videos I took this month plus a YouTube video.


A poor quality shot of the lunar eclipse.

Shin Megami Tensei V! I thought this was going to be the last physical game
I buy for the year -- and then the Black Friday sales rolled around, hahaha. ^_^;

I like how this class in SINoALICE has a bunch of vegetables floating about.

The last Gran Colo for this guild in SINoALICE. The guild will be disbanding soon.
This was probably the best we ever did while I was part of the guild.
What a send off.

Me singing "Baka mitai" from Yakuza 0. They actually had the song!! <3
This is audio only (except for the last few seconds), so just hit "play" and do something else.
I was originally resigned to possibly singing this the next time I went to Japan,
so being able to sing it so much sooner was a really nice surprise.

Me and my sister singing "If You Could Read My Mind" by Gordon Lightfoot.
For some reason, the Stars From 54 version wouldn't queue so we settled
for the original version (which isn't bad -- I like the original version, too).
I really like our harmony. We messed up partway through,
but not that badly. This is audio only so just hit "play" and do something else.

"Mal Has Endometriosis ·10.28.21" by StephenVlog. 
This is to raise awareness. It's awful how this could go for years without being
properly diagnosed. The video is an hour long, but the second half
covers their battle with their health insurance.
Since the video, Mal has had the surgery and it was successful.
Stephen and Mal are probably some of my favourite YouTubers, so I'm really glad.


Thanks for reading!

As usual, if you have any questions / comments about anything, feel free.


If you are going on shopping sprees due to Black Friday sales, have fun and keep an eye on your wallet! ;)

Take care, stay safe, and until next time! :)

Saturday 6 November 2021

BLOG (PERSONAL) -- Happy 10 Years... of Blogging!

So... today marks the 10th year I've been blogging. 10 years... where has the time gone??! >_>

When I started this blog, I just wanted a space to share my thoughts about... anything! And I did just that. This space became an online journal of sorts. It's nice (and sometimes embarrassing) to re-read old entries and take a peek at how I viewed the world those many years ago (spoiler: it's not that different from how I view the world now). It's also nice to have a record of some things I've experienced through the years.

It's reassuring to me that despite me still changing and evolving (hopefully for the better), most of my core values have stayed in-tact.


Everything below is more for me, so it may not be interesting for you. You could stop here if you like (and if you do stop here, thank you for reading!).

I've listed an entry from each year that I consider to be really well-written. I usually take care with my blogs, but I took extra care with these entries -- either because I enjoyed the topic or because it was about something close to me and I really wanted to make sure I expressed myself properly. Honorable mentions are other entries I wanted to list ('cuz I can't just list one).

I didn't really include any of my Japan blogs (except for one) nor any convention blogs, but I definitely enjoyed blogging most of them. It just seemed too easy to list so I didn't. 



YEAR 1: Nov. 6, 2011 - Nov. 5, 2012
REVIEW/THOUGHTS [Movie] -- Battle Royale
This is probably one of my most proudest reviews. I like that I experienced everything to do with Battle Royale before writing it.

Honorable Mentions
REVIEW/THOUGHTS [Movie] -- The Mist

REVIEW/THOUGHTS [BOOKS] -- The Hunger Games Trilogy

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YEAR 2: Nov. 6, 2012 - Nov. 5, 2013
BLOG (PERSONAL) -- My Deepest Condolences to William Sleator
This still saddens me.

Honorable Mentions
REVIEW/THOUGHTS [MOVIE] -- Warm Bodies

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YEAR 3: Nov. 6, 2013 - Nov. 5, 2014
REVIEW/THOUGHTS [ANIME] -- Mushi-Shi (First Season)
This is one of my favourite anime series. Even now I think about to some of its messages and themes. And the beautiful music.

Honorable Mentions
BLOG (PERSONAL) -- A Few Blatherings About My Singledom

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YEAR 4: Nov. 6, 2014 - Nov. 5, 2015
REVIEW/THOUGHTS [MANGA] -- Kodocha: Sana's Stage
This is my all-time favourite manga series. It speaks to me on so many levels. Nothing past, present, or future will ever take its place. :)

Honorable Mentions
BLOG (PERSONAL) -- My Thank You / Good-Bye to Satoru Iwata

BLOG -- Some of My Favourite Quotes/Moments from Odin Sphere

BLOG -- The Top 5 Superpowers I Would Like to Have

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YEAR 5: Nov. 6, 2015 - Nov. 5, 2016
BLOG (PERSONAL) -- Some of My Non-Negotiables
It's been 5 years since this entry and it's still true for me.

Honorable Mentions
REVIEW/THOUGHTS [VIDEO GAME] -- Hatoful Boyfriend

BLOG -- Hatsune Miku Expo 2016 North America @ Sony Centre (May 20, 2016) + Miku Expo Short Film Festival (May 21, 2016)

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YEAR 6: Nov. 6, 2016 - Nov. 5, 2017
REVIEW/THOUGHTS [MOVIE] -- La La Land
In my heart, I will always be a hopeless romantic and a dreamer.

Honorable Mentions
BLOG -- Late Thoughts for HMV Canada's Closing

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YEAR 7: Nov. 6, 2017 - Nov. 5, 2018
REVIEW/THOUGHTS [VIDEO GAME] -- 428: Shibuya Scramble
I still think this is one of the neatest visual novels I've played so far.

Honorable Mentions
REVIEW/THOUGHTS [ANIME] -- Yu Yu Hakusho (TV series)

BLOG -- My trip to Japan V.3 -- EXTRA -- My down time in the hotel

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YEAR 8: Nov. 6, 2018 - Nov. 5, 2019
BLOG (PERSONAL) -- My PC Building Experience
I'm not really a tech-savvy person, so this was a big deal to me.

Honorable Mentions
REVIEW/THOUGHTS [VIDEO GAME] -- UNDERTALE

REVIEW/THOUGHTS [ANIME] -- Your Name.

BLOG -- Man with a Mission: Chasing The Horizon World Tour @ Adelaide Hall (September 21, 2019)

BLOG (PERSONAL) -- Why Time Is Very Important to Me

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YEAR 9: Nov. 6, 2019 - Nov. 5, 2020
BLOG (PERSONAL) -- My Anime Crushes
This was a fun entry. I haven't come across any new anime crushes since. I have met my ultimate video game crush, though :)

Honorable Mentions
REVIEW/THOUGHTS [ANIME] -- Nodame Cantabile

REVIEW/THOUGHTS [VIDEO GAME] -- Yakuza 0

BLOG -- My Good-Bye to Magia Record (ENGLISH version)

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YEAR 10: Nov. 6, 2020 - Nov. 5, 2021
BLOG (PERSONAL) -- My Idea of An Ideal Date
This was also a fun entry. This still holds true for me.

Honorable Mentions
BLOG (PERSONAL) -- My Small Words to My Former, Former Boss



Thanks for reading!

If anybody's been reading since the beginning or have read all my blog entries... thank youuuuuu so much for taking that time... I am deeply honoured, and I really appreciate it :)

Will I be able to keep this going for another 10 years...? Will I still be alive in 10 years? Hahaha... The future fills me with so much uncertainty. ^^;



Take care, stay safe, and until next time :)