BLOG -- Recap of May

May was stressful and mostly uneventful. I hope I can get another break soon.

"Outings" / Events in May:

- Had a LINE voice chat with my friends. It was fun as usual! :)

- I ordered via UberEats for the first time (I was given a gift card at work).

- I had a sad day (May 22). No more details here.

- I shareplayed with a friend on the PS4 for a few hours to celebrate their birthday. It was a lot of fun! :)

- Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn achievements / news: 
-I haven't logged in this month. orz

Exposures:

- (Phone game): Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage -- I enjoy rhythm games so trying this out made sense. I enjoy it so far, but I'm going at it very casually (these fingers aren't as good as they used to be). I really hope they add "Romio & Cinderella" and "1/6 - Out of the Gravity". 

Finished...

Watching:

- (Movie): King Kong (2005 version) -- Good beginning, and okay ending. The middle was a bit too long.

- (Movie): Jupiter Ascending -- Pretty cringy.

- (Movie): Resident Evil: The Final Chapter -- I sure hope this was the final chapter. I think the least offensive was the first Resident Evil movie. One day I'll be brave and play through the video games.

- (Movie): Layer Cake -- This was interesting.

- (Movie): Charlie's Angels (2000 version) -- Aside from one very entertaining scene, the rest was meh. Too much fluff for my liking.

- (Movie): Compulsion (2016) -- Not good.

- (Movie): Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) -- It was okay. I liked Black Canary more than Harley.

- (Movie): Anna (2019) -- Pretty entertaining. Always nice to see Helen Mirren in a movie.

- (Movie): Good Will Hunting -- It was interesting.

- (Movie): Meet Joe Black -- It was long and just okay.

- (Movie): Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) -- It was okay.

- (Movie): Schindler's List -- It was very well done. It's kinda amazing that it was based off real events.

Playing:

- (PS4): The Ramen Sensei -- This can be addictive at times.

Reading:

- (Manga) School Judgement: Gakkyu Hotel by Nobuaki Enoki, Takeshi Obata -- I think I would have enjoyed this more if it was done in a high school or university setting or if the clothing was different. Seeing elementary school kids wearing... mature-ish clothing, and babies looking like grown men make me question things about the series way more than I should need to. >_>

Currently... 

Playing (not all at once):

- (PS4): Dark Cloud 2

- (PS4): Skyrim
- (PS4): Yakuza 5 Remastered
- (PS4): Trine 2 (co-oping this only, lol)
- (PS4): Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles Remastered
- (PS4): Moon: Remix RPG Adventure
- (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): Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When They Cry)

Watching:

- (TV Show): The Walking Dead (Season 9)
- (TV Show): Criminal Minds (Season 15)
- (TV Show): The Strain (Season 3)
- (TV Show): The Office (Season 8)
- (TV Show): The Goldbergs (Season 5)
- (TV Show): Huff (Season 1 - Episode 10)
- (TV Show): Stranger Things (Season 4 - Episode 2)
- (Anime): Log Horizon (Season 4)
- (Anime): Attack on Titan (Season 4)
- (Anime): Pyscho-Pass (Season 4?)
- (Anime): Kakegurui (Season 3?)
- (Anime): Basilisk: The Ouka Ninja Scrolls (Episode 2)

- (Anime): Gintama (Episode 13)
- (Anime): Way of the Househusband (Episode 4)
- (Anime): GTO - The Animation (Episode 21)
- (YouTube): StephenVlogs (Day 1058)

Reading:

- (Manga): One Piece by Eiichiro Oda (Volume ?? -- Chapter 1036)
- (Manga): Berserk by Kentaro Miura (Volume 2)


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

My UberEats order. I realllllly missed sushi and sushi pizza.

I want morrrrre... (>'...')>

A comic book anthology I supported on Kickstarter finally arrived (on the right).

Woohoo, I maxed out Merlin's bond level! xD

A screenshot from Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage. 

I got full combo for a song (on Normal difficulty). :)

We did pretty well during this month's GC.

"A beginners guide to Gamer Girls" by Josh Strife Says.

This makes me laugh and feel triggered at the same time, hahaha.

I still need to play Elden Ring someday... even though I am totally a girl, lol

Thanks for reading!

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

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

THOUGHTS [SHOW] -- Stranger Things Season 1-3 *SPOILERS*

Many, many years ago, a good friend recommended I watch Stranger Things. Having no access to Netflix at the time, I said I'll keep it in mind. Now here we are :)

This is probably one of many entries out there praising the series. But I will still blog about it and I will still praise it. What can I say -- I like talking about things I enjoy.

From this point on, I'll be talking spoilers for all the seasons, so if you haven't watched Stranger Things, please stop here! If you have Netflix, please give the series a shot. That's my recommendation to you.

Thanks for reading, take care, and until next time! :)

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Now... Stranger Things. There are lots to love about this series, at least for me. I love the mystery and how it unravels at a good pace. I love the characters. I love the acting. I love the humour. I love the emotion. I love the nostalgia (do you remember the days when the only way to connect with a person was via a landline phone, a walkie talkie, writing a letter, or meeting in-person? I do). If I talk about everything in detail, this blog would be super long -- and I'd probably be repeating myself a lot, saying this thing is awesome and that thing is awesome -- so I'll talk about some specifics. Just know that overall I really enjoyed all 3 seasons of Stranger Things. It started off strong and stayed at that level. I can't wait for season 4!

SOME THINGS I REALLY APPRECIATE

The opening theme -- It's perfect to set the overall mood and mysterious, eerie atmosphere.

Opening theme.

I will never skip this intro.

How each season wraps up the main focus -- While the end of each season had hints that things weren't completely over, I never had to agonize between them. Will is found in season 1. El closes the portal in season 2. That machine that re-opened the portal was destroyed in season 3. For somebody who doesn't like cliffhangers very much, I appreciated this a lot.

Details aren't forgotten -- I really liked that part of season 2 focused on Nancy trying to find closure for Barb's parents. I kept wondering how Barb's parents were doing throughout season 1.

Integrating Dungeons and Dragons -- I've never played Dungeons and Dragons (though I'd like to one day), but I can always appreciate nerdy things <3

THE ACTING

In short, the acting is spectacular. That's all I need to say. :)

THE CHARACTERS

So many of the characters are likeable in Stranger Things. It's definitely a good way to keep me watching. I wanna see how these characters grow. I wanna "be there" to share their joys and pains. Here are some extra thoughts for specific characters.

Joyce -- It was hard seeing her suffer so much in season 1, but I admire the lengths she'll go to find Will and protect her family. She is a great mom.

Will -- I feel so sorry for Will. He went missing in season 1, and then got possessed in season 2. And then had to deal with and accept Mike, Lucas, and Dustin growing away from Dungeons and Dragons in season 3. I really hope that season 4 will be kinder to him.

Jonathan -- He's cute. And my kind of guy, hahaha. I love that he's fine being his own person and that he gives support to those he cares about.

Nancy -- I respect her fighting spirit.

Hopper -- He is probably one of my favourite characters. He is flawed, being too rigid sometimes and not always open with his emotions and drinking too much, but his core desire to protect -- his drive to keep going despite the odds -- I can't help but admire him and want happiness for him. It broke my heart when he left in season 3.

Mike and El -- I love the way they care about each other. I especially love Mike's patience in explaining things to El and his always thinking about her well-being. I hope they stay together to the end.

Steve -- Steve was a pleasant surprise. He started off as a jerk and then developed into a really cool guy. He owned up on his love for Nancy and let that change him. He stayed open to change and developed a friendship with Dustin. In my eyes, Steve became a truer version of himself, finding and working on what's really important to him instead of caring about superficial gains. Also, he is really cool for accepting Robin as she is.

THE HUMOUR

For a series as dark and emotionally charged as this, having some moments of lightness is very welcomed.

THE DEATHS

The second Bob was introduced as Joyce's love interest, I knew he would die. It was sad to see him go, but... I want Joyce and Hopper to get together.

Billy's death was sad. At the same time, though, I think it was the best way for him to go -- fighting that Mind Flayer and trying to redeem himself. 

Hopper -- I tear up just thinking about it...

Rest in peace for all those who got flayed.

And of course -- will never forget about Barb.

Do I have any thoughts about the upcoming season 4? Nope. Since I prefer jumping into media blind, I haven't watched or read anything relating to it. I just hope it will continue to stay strong. Part of me really hopes that Hopper will come back (somehow), but at the same time it would ruin his emotional departure in season 3.

That's it for this blog.

If you read to the end, thanks for reading!!

If you have any questions / comments, feel free.

To anybody having Monday off due to Victoria's Day (that includes me), enjoy the lonnng weekend. I will be lazing about, either playing video games or watching something or... doing something else. ;)

Take care, stay safe, and until next time.

BLOG - My Typical Schedule (These Days)

So... I want to blog more. I've been feeling this for a long, long time. So I'm going to try harder. That could mean there could be more irrelevant blogs... so please only check out what interests you. :)

I'm going to try blogging shorter entries, though reviews could still be very lengthy. They'll be whatever length they need to be.

Okay. Now to the actual blog, hahaha.

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Since working from home due to the pandemic, my schedule / routine has changed in big and subtle ways. The biggest change was eliminating the commuting time to and from work, which allowed me to wake up just a bit later (yayyy). Subtle changes would involve checking my personal e-mail, Facebook, doing any online ordering. If you're wondering why working from home resulted in those subtle changes, it's because of my set up at home...

In my room, I have only one desk. And on that desk, there is my home computer, my work computer, one mouse, one keyboard, and two monitors (one monitor is set up vertically due to lack of space). Both home and work computers are hooked up to the monitors but the mouse and keyboard can only be hooked up to one computer at a time. To minimize the frequency of switching (and as a way to keep work and home separate), I decided to keep the mouse and keyboard hooked to the work computer on work days and to switch to the home computer on other days. Now... if you're still wondering why this would affect me checking my personal e-mail, Facebook, etc.: there's just no way I would do any of those on the work computer. And I'm too lazy to do those things consistently on my phone. ^^;

Having said all that, here's how my schedule looks like these days. 

MONDAY - FRIDAY (When I'm working)

7 AM: Wake up (if I wake up earlier I do my stuffs earlier and then laze about until work)

7 - 8 AM: Morning stuffs + phone games (brush teeth, shower, exercise, playing SINoALICE and Fate/Grand Order)

8 - 9 AM: Genshin Impact + free time + breakfast (If I do have any free time after Genshin, I may switch games or continue playing)

9 - 5 PM: Work + lunch (5 PM is the ideal end time for work but the reality is that often I finish much later... between 7 - 10 PM)

5 - 10 PM: Genshin Impact + free time + dinner (I'd only go on Genshin a second time if I'm working on the battle pass or if there's an event going on)

10 - 10:20 PM: SINoALICE Colo (phone game)

10:20 - 11 PM: Getting ready for sleeping (brush teeth, playing SINoALICE and Fate/Grand Order)

Sometime between 11 PM to midnight: Sleep!

With the free time, I usually end up playing video games on my consoles / handhelds, but sometimes I also read, watch YouTube videos / Twitch streams, sing, or clean up my room a bit.

Once a week (usually on Thursday), I like to use the Toronto Public Library's streaming service (currently Hoopla) and watch a movie.

SATURDAY

7 AM: Wake up

7 - 8 AM: Morning stuffs + phone games

8 AM - 10 PM: Genshin + checking e-mails, Facebook, gaming news, etc + free time + breakfast, lunch, dinner

10 - 10:20 PM: SINoALICE Colo (phone game)

10:20 - 11 PM: Getting ready for sleeping

Sometime between 11 PM to 1 AM: Sleep!

SUNDAY

Sometime between 7 - 8 AM: Wake up

8 - 9 AM: Morning stuffs + phone games

9 - 2:30 AM: Free time + breakfast, lunch

2:30 - 8-ish PM: Co-oping something with my sister + watching something on Netflix (We usually co-op Genshin if we're working on the battle pass or if there's an event that's co-op-able)

8-ish - 10 PM: Free time + dinner

10 - 10:20 PM: SINoALICE Colo (phone game)

10:20 - 11 PM: Getting ready for sleeping

Sometime between 11 PM to midnight: Sleep!

On the weekends, my free time is often used in the following order / priority:

-watching shows my LINE friends are watching (currently Masked Singer and Dominos Master)

-watching 1-3 movies / shows on My List that will be leaving Netflix soon. If nothing is leaving, then watching 2 movies or a few episodes of a show

-watching 2-4 episodes of something on Crunchyroll

-blogging (I'll make this a priority, lol)

Once I feel I've satisfied the above, I can use my free time for other things like playing video games on the computer, playing around with Ren'py or RPG Maker (very rare but I do get urges from time to time), or other random things. Before the pandemic, I would sometimes hang out with friends or go out shopping / watching a movie.

Sometimes co-oping with my sister could be moved to Saturday or to a later time, depending on each other's schedule.

Once a month, I try to have a voice chat with my LINE friends.

Somewhere in my schedule, I am also doing these everyday:

-playing Wordle and Quordle (if I remember)

-logging into Dx2 SMT: Liberation and doing the daily missions

-using up my AP for SINoALICE

-using up my AP for Fate / Grand Order (when there's an event or I feel like using the AP)

Annnnd that's it.

Please don't get the idea that I'm a person who needs rigid schedules, because that isn't true. I do tend to list out things to do on the weekend, but I'm very fluid on when I do them, if I do them at all.

To anybody who actually read this, thanks for reading! :)

As always, feel free to comment if you like. What kind of schedule do you have, if you have one? :)

This was meant to be a warm-up to blogging again. I was intending this to be short, but it got long-ish, hahaha ^^;

Take care and stay safe. Until next time! :)