BLOG (PERSONAL) -- The "30-Day Minimalism Game", My Version -- Part 1 [Day 1 - Day 10]

As I've mentioned in my recap blog for July, I've been listening to a podcast about minimalism. At some point, the podcasters mentioned a month-long minimalism game. When I listened to the details of the game, I thought, 'Hmmmm -- why not?' So during the month of August, I tried it out.

There is a site that detailed this minimalism game, but I didn't check it out. I took what I learned about the game from the podcast and filled in the rest of the rules. Here is my version of the 30-Day Minimalism Game (I'll note if it's different from how it's mentioned on the site):

Game Details

-On the first day, you choose one physical thing to mark for throwing, donating, whatever. It just has to leave your collection / ownership. Then on the next day, you do the same thing, but this time for two physical things. For the third day, you find three things. And it keeps going like that through the whole month. The site says to do this for 30 days, but I did it for the month. Since I did it in August, I tried for 31 days.

-I'm giving myself until the end of the year to get rid of most or all of these things. I may have a few exceptions depending on if I'm going to give some of these to friends / family and it takes until next year to actually see them or if I want to try selling it. The site says to get rid of the things each day by midnight (just not do-able for me).

-I did this game by myself. The site says to do it with somebody else, almost like a competition (which is a very good idea!).

Me and Minimalism

I think I started embracing the idea of minimalism after I re-arranged my shelves some months ago. Weeks later, I'd buy a new video game, book, or movie and then I'd spend about 10-30 minutes each time trying to figure out where to put it in my room. My re-arranged shelves didn't have space for new items... and the stacked boxes already had enough things on top of them (yes, I have boxes of things stacked up in my room -- and things on top of those stacked boxes).

It got to a point where I felt overwhelmed and stressed to be owning so many things. It's not always apparent, but there is some responsibility when it comes to owning a physical item -- the decision of what to do with it; where it goes in your room; what you may not get because that item is already taking up space on your shelf (or wherever). I don't really want to keep living in a room where half of my things are displayed and the other half are in boxes... and moving to a larger space isn't really the answer, at least not to me.

That's when I started looking into minimalism. To me, the idea of minimalism is to "reduce the clutter", so there'd be less things to think / stress about, freeing up more time to focus on the things I want to focus on.

This doesn't mean to give up the things I love... but maybe the things I could live without. I've been guilty of holding several video games or movies because I thought, 'it would be great to show somebody'. It sounds easy enough to make happen, but not for me... so I could end up holding some things for many, many years.

I've also been guilty of getting things for the sake that they could be fairly hard-to-get. I can be a big sucker for collector's editions, limited editions, that kind of stuff... and then because they are rare, it could be hard for me to give up, even if I don't particularly care about them...

Now, I'll never be a "true" minimalist. Minimalism tends to encourage having a digital collection (scanning photos, owning media digitally, for example). There are some physical collections I will never, ever give up. Plus, I prefer physical books over e-books.

Since I am trying to get closer to a minimalist lifestyle, I'll probably have to update my gift list blog in the future. I'd rather not receive any physical gifts unless they are maybe food gifts (nothing spicy, though!!).


If you read this part of the blog, thank you! You are awesome :)


Without further ado, here are the things I marked for the first 10 days of this minimalism game, with whatever commentary I may have. A full list will be at the end of the blog.

DAY 1

I don't remember how I got this. I kept it for all this time because I thought it was cute.

DAY 2

I don't remember anything that's written in either of these books (my apologies to the books).

DAY 3

I do love that avocado plushie... but I think I should express my love for it by eating more avocados in the future :) <3

DAY 4

Those Cardcaptor Sakura manga volumes cover the last half of the original series (volumes 7-12). I do have the first 6 volumes, but they are in a different format and I was gifted volume 1, so... it'll be stuck with me.

DAY 5

Those Pokemon felt things are magnets. They're meant to be stuck on fabric, so you could stick them on your clothes and show off your Pokemon fandom. I thought the idea was really neat, but -- I don't have that many friends to show that off to! Also, magnets could be dangerous if I'm not careful. 

I just watched She and Her Cat (it was a DVD extra for Voices of a Distant Star and I didn't realize it for all these years). The manga adaptation's not so bad. 

DAY 6

I don't have much to say here. I never did anything with that Legend Cocktails book. I only had the creepy-ish pink figure because I'm a Junko Mizuno fan.

DAY 7

The series is decent, but I don't really need it in my collection.. The 7th item is the empty mint container at the top.

DAY 8

I've never worn that headband after buying it. I would have kept the Miso T-shirt if it was in a different colour. White is such a see-through colour...

DAY 9

I took these from my sister's hubby who started reading One Piece a few years ago and he didn't want them. Even though I love One Piece very much, I never intended to own the entire series physically -- there's too many volumes! Instead, I opted to buy specific volumes for the stories that really hit my gut.

For anybody who's curious, the specific volumes I bought were: 16 (Chopper's story), 58, and 59 (Ace's story *hug*).

DAY 10

All the manga and DVDs here are good. I just... don't need them in my collection anymore. I wish the rest of YaWaRa! was licensed so I could watch the rest of that series. There was one story I really loved in Parasyte M. Maybe I'll re-read it before getting rid of it.

As for the paper fans, I just think I have too many paper fans. Even after throwing these out, I have three other paper fans I could use.


Item list (as best I can list it) -- split by each day
1. Small plushie

2. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People mini-book
3. The Worst-Case Scenario mini-book

4. Ditto mini-figure
5. Avocado plushie
6. Cheep-Cheeps plushie (Fish from Mario)

7. I was Here journal book
8. Acute manga
9. Cardcaptor Sakura: Volume 1 manga
10. Cardcaptor Sakura: Volume 2 manga

11. She and Her Cat manga
12. The Garden of Words manga
13. Pikachu felt magnet
14. Pokeball felt magnet
15. Pokeball felt magnet

16. Hatsune Miku figure
17. Meat bun mini-plushie
18. Meat bun mini-plushie
19. Water bottle
20. Legend Cocktails book
21. Junko Mizuno-styled figure

22. Streetfighter: Volume 1 graphic novel
23. Streetfighter: Volume 2 graphic novel
24. Streetfighter: Volume 3 graphic novel
25. Streetfighter: Volume 4 graphic novel
26. Streetfighter: Volume 5 graphic novel
27. Streetfighter: Volume 6 graphic novel
28. Happy Tree Friends empty mint container

29. Some arm scarf thing (I forget the actual name for it)
30. Headband
31. Miso T-shirt
32. PSP cartridge container
33. PSP cartridge container
34. Cat T-shirt
35. Striped tank top
36. Green tank top

37. One Piece: Volume 1-3 manga
38. One Piece: Volume 4-6 manga
39. One Piece: Volume 7-9 manga
40. One Piece: Volume 10-12 manga
41. One Piece: Volume 13-15 manga
42. One Piece: Volume 16-18 manga
43. One Piece: Volume 19-21 manga
44. One Piece: Volume 22-24 manga
45. One Piece: Volume 25-27 manga

46. Solanin manga
47. No Longer Human manga
48. Parasyte M manga
49. Parasyte F manga
50. Peach Girl DVD collection
51. YaWaRa! DVD collection
52. Boo mini-plushie
53. Plastic fan
54. Plastic fan
55. Smaller plastic fan


Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or comments, feel free.
Next blog will be Part 2.

For those in Canada, Happy early Labour Day!


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

BLOG -- Recap of August

August was... really emotional, and self-discovering. There were some sad times... and there were some really happy times -- things that I can't talk about here, hahaha, sorry...

To my new and old friends who put up with me to this day, thank you... I really appreciate you :) *hugs*

"Outings" / Events in August:

- A co-worker friend returned after being on an extended leave. Happy e-welcomes (from me) were shared :)

- Almost lost a friend because of me saying horrible things. We've kinda patched things up since then. I'm so old now but I can still make stupid mistakes like this. ><

- My Amazon Prime trial expired. I made the most of it while I had it.

- Had a LINE voice chat with my friends. It was a fun time ^_^

- I've been doing some minimalist "challenge". I'll have more details about it in my next blog.

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

Exposures:

- (YouTuber): Frank James -- Before stumbling onto his channel, I'd often think that I'm an alien in this world -- that I'm misunderstood, because I'm not able to express myself properly -- or that my thought processes / behaviours are so different from everybody else's. I do... still think that, but there is some strange comfort in knowing that I'm not alone in those struggles... that there are others out there struggling with the same things as me. *e-hug to anybody feeling they are alone in their struggles*

I wouldn't say I agree with everything on his channel... but there is definitely a lot there I can relate to.

Finished...

Watching:

- (Movie): Requiem for a Dream -- The film score was great, but man -- what an emotionally draining movie. It's good, but so darn hard to watch. Not family-friendly!

- (Movie): The King of Comedy -- Wow. This was really good.

- (Movie): Cloverfield -- Aside from feeling slightly dizzy / nauseous after watching it, it was decent for what it was.

- (Movie): 10 Cloverfield Lane -- This was great up until the last 10 minutes or so.

- (Movie): Cloverfield Paradox -- Bad -- but now I'm done watching all the Cloverfield movies (that have been released so far), yayyy!

- (Anime): Evangelion: 1.11 - You Are (Not) Alone  -- This was really good.

- (Anime): Evangelion: 2.22 - You Can (Not) Advance  -- This was really good as well.

- (Anime): Evangelion: 3.33 - You Can (Not) Redo  -- I didn't enjoy this very much.

- (Anime): Evangelion: 3.01+1.01 - Thrice Upon a Time  -- Aside from some parts, I didn't really enjoy this very much either. While I can agree there is more resolution here than in the anime series, my overall impression of the movie series is similar to the anime series: hooked me in with great potential, and then was not able to maintain that potential... Maybe I'm missing something.

- (Anime): Fate/Grand Order -Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia -- This was really enjoyable. Now I'll have to get all the characters in the phone game (btw, I've continued playing FGO on my phone).

Playing:

- Nothing this month.

Reading:

- (Book): Street Fighter Classic by Udon (I think various people were involved) -- I started reading this series many, many, many years ago (back when it was called just Street Fighter) and stopped at volume 4 (Bonus Stage) when that was the latest volume at the time. I finally finished it. Overall I think it was decent.

- (Manga): Steins; Gate by 5pb x Nitroplus (art by Yomi Sarachi) -- It was decent but I prefer the video game more.

Currently... 

Playing (not all at once):

- (PS4): Dark Cloud 2

- (PS4): Skyrim
- (PS4): Secret of Mana
- (PS3): Borderlands 2

- (3DS): Tomodachi Life (STOPPED -- After collecting almost all the foods and watching two of my Mii couples get married, I think I'm satisfied).
- (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 7)
- (TV Show): Criminal Minds (Season 15)
- (TV Show): The Strain (Season 3)
- (TV Show): The IT Crowd (Season 3)
- (TV Show): The Office (Season 8)
- (TV Show): The Goldbergs (Season 4 - Episode 9)
- (TV Show): Huff (Season 1 - Episode 10)
- (TV Show): Legend of Korra (Season 3)
- (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 954)

Reading:

- (Manga): One Piece by Eiichiro Oda (Volume ?? -- Chapter 1010)
- (Manga): Platinum End by Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi Obata (Volume 7)
- (Manga): Berserk by Kentaro Miura (Volume 2)


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

A funny expression in Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies.

Once I heard there was a Goldbergs-themed cookbook, I couldn't resist getting it...

A new 5-star I got recently in FGO (Merlin!). Next one I want is Ereshkigal.

What I did when a friend told me that beating Minesweeper was impossible.

I played that olympic-themed game from Google (Doodle Champion Island Games)
when it was first "released". I joined the Kappa team.

This is just to show I got all the trophies in the game. Some of the mini-games were rough.
I didn't try some of the more challenging difficulties. My favourite was the
rhythm-based mini-game.

"How 16 Personalities Order at a Restaurant" by Frank James. 
Is this accurate for your personality type? 
I've done this a few times in my life. XD 

"16 Personalities Watching Netflix" by Frank James. It's true to an extent for me, hahaha.

"Jiggly Souffle Omelette from Food Wars! | Anime with Alvin Zhou" by
Babish Culinary Universe. I'd like to try making this one day!

Thanks for reading!

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

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

BLOG -- Recap of July

July was... well... I feel some parts of me shifting. I don't know if it's my priorities or what, but I sense some change coming over me. I don't know if it'll show in my blogs, but... I guess we'll see!

One sad thing that's been bothering me is that I've been slacking a bit with my resolutions... I gotta stay on track! ><

"Outings" / Events in July:

- My birthday came and went. It was a good day, aside from the constant reminder that I'm older. I was able to take a day off on my birthday... but I had to work 48 hours in 4 days to do it >_>

- Started listening to a podcast talking about minimalism. I don't think I'd ever be able to achieve "true" minimalism (there are some collections that I would like to keep no matter what), but I'd like to try getting closer to it.

- Had a LINE voice chat with my friends. We played Broken Picturephone for a bit, which was really fun ^_^

- I got my 2nd dose vaccination. I experienced a lot of side effects for the next couple of days.

- A friend recommended "The Aleph" by Jorge Luis Borges. I listened to a reading of the story on Youtube and I really enjoyed it! It fills me with a lot of wonder and fascination. :)

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

Exposures:

- (Phone game): Atelier Online: Alchemist of Bressisle -- I was only able to play it for 2 days before realizing I wouldn't have the time to enjoy it the way I want to. From what little I played of it, it felt like another Atelier game, which is a good thing.

Finished...

Watching:

- (Movie): Boy -- This wasn't very easy to watch for some parts, but it was well done overall.

- (Movie): Hausu -- This is a Japanese 1977 movie. It's ridiculous and strange -- only watch it if you are looking for an... unexpected experience.

- (Movie): Cruel Intentions 3 -- Now I'm done with all the Cruel Intention movies. The first one is the only good one.

- (Movie): Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans -- I wouldn't watch this again.

- (Movie): A Quiet Place, Part II -- It's on par with the first movie, so... it's decent.

- (Movie - Anime): Fate/Grand Order -First Order- -- It follows the intro for the mobile game pretty well.

- (Anime): Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works -- This was good. I really like Rin here.

Playing:

- (PC): To the Moon -- This has a really beautiful story and music. Even though it's so old now, I'd recommend it. I may blog about it in the future.

- (PS4): Yakuza 4 Remastered -- I finished the main story -- just working on some extra things. A review with be coming! :)

Reading:

- (Book): Ask Iwata!, edited by Hobonichi -- This was a nice read. I cried a few times, just thinking that Iwata's not here anymore ;_;.

Currently... 

Playing (not all at once):

- (PS4): Dark Cloud 2

- (PS4): Skyrim
- (PS4): Secret of Mana
- (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)

Watching:

- (TV Show): The Walking Dead (Season 7 - Episode 7)
- (TV Show): Criminal Minds (Season 15)
- (TV Show): The Strain (Season 3)
- (TV Show): The IT Crowd (Season 3)
- (TV Show): The Office (Season 8)
- (TV Show): The Goldbergs (Season 4)
- (TV Show): Huff (Season 1 - Episode 10)
- (TV Show): Legend of Korra (Season 3)
- (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): Fate/Grand Order -Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia (Episode 1)
- (Anime): Gintama (Episode 13)
- (YouTube): StephenVlogs (Day 954)

Reading:

- (Manga): One Piece by Eiichiro Oda (Volume ?? -- Chapter 1010)
- (Manga): Platinum End by Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi Obata (Volume 5)
- (Manga): Berserk by Kentaro Miura (Volume 2)


That's it for July. Here are a few pics I took this month plus a couple YouTube videos.

Some macarons and dacquiose I ordered as a birthday gift for myself.

A new video game that I'll likely get to in about 5+ years... >.>'

A new flavour for Lay's. Of all brands that do All Dressed chips,
Lay's is probably my preferred version.

A screenshot of the Broken Picturephone game. The game is like Telestrations.
Here's a general breakdown of how it works. One person writes something.
Then that written thing goes to the second person, who draws it. Then the drawing
(without the written thing) goes to a third person, who writes what
the image represents. And it goes back and forth like that until everybody has had
a hand in that session. With a large group, it could get really fun!

Another screenshot of the Broken Picturephone game but with the first prompt
being an image instead of a written thing. We went with a movie title theme.

"I'm Directing a Movie!" by Chris Stuckmann. I'm so happy for him XD 

"Ep. 001 | Declutter" by The Minimalists. This is the podcast I've been listening to
about minimalism. I think there's some interesting stuff in there.
This video is almost an hour long, just a warning.

Thanks for reading!

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

If you celebrate it, Happy early Civic Day!
Take care, stay safe, and until next time! :)

BLOG -- Recap of June

Some things happened in June, but I don't want to talk about them (sorry). Other than that, I'm still working away on my resolutions as well as now watching a bunch of movies. My birthday. is coming up next month I hope I get to celebrate it!

Also, a reminder that the PSP digital store closes very soon! So get whatever you need before it's gone. I still have a bunch of PSP games to play through...

"Outings" / Events in June:

- Attended Hatsune Miku's Online Concert Stream. It was fun, but I still think a live concert experience is best. I just want to be waving my glowsticks with others xD

- Started to use the Toronto Public Library's online streaming service (Hoopla) to watch some movies for free (8 titles max a month). The video quality isn't the best but I'm fine with it. I'm just glad I have legit access to some movies (I'm being a bit lazy with subscribing to more streaming services).

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

Exposures:

- Nothing this month.

Finished...

Watching:

- (Movie): Legally Blondes -- I think with this I've watched all Legally Blonde movies in existence. I'd recommend just watching the first movie and forgetting that the sequels exist.

- (Movie): Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction -- Too similar to the first movie, but not as good.

- (Movie): The Descent 2 -- Pretty bad. The first movie was way better.

- (Movie): Species II -- It was okay.

- (Movie): Species III -- Not that good.

- (Movie): Funny Games -- It was really well-done, but I think the original intent was lost on me, 'cuz I wasn't looking for entertainment with this movie -- I was wondering if I'd get some thought-provoking experience (since it was by YMS guy's favourite director [Michael Haneke]). I definitely got an experience -- not a feel-good one, though. A caution for anybody who's curious about watching this.

- (Movie): Buffalo '66 -- Some of the camera shots were interesting, but I wanted to punch the main guy so badly.

- (Movie): Amore Perros -- This was hard to watch. I didn't really enjoy it either. Partway through I thought, The overall feel makes me think of 21 Grams. Little did I know...

- (Movie - Anime): Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie Part 1: The Beginnings -- I know that this movie is pretty much a recap of the first half of the anime series. It was a good refresher. Overall, it was a good movie.

- (Movie - Anime): Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie Part 2: Eternal -- Same with this one. Very good movie and refresher.

- (Movie - Anime): Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie Part 3: Rebellion -- It was really good. Homura is still my favourite.

Playing:

- (PS4): Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut -- For an old game, it was pretty fun and challenging. Don't underestimate it just 'cuz it looks cute and features a female character.

- (PS4): Cafeteria Nipponica -- I spent way too many hours playing this. I've already beaten it two times, but I want to go through it one more time with all the recipes and jobs maxed out.

Reading:

- Nothing for this month.

Currently... 

Playing (not all at once):

- (PS4): Dark Cloud 2

- (PS4): Skyrim
- (PS4): Yakuza 4 Remastered
- (PS4): Secret of Mana
- (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)

Watching:

- (TV Show): The Walking Dead (Season 7 - Episode 7)
- (TV Show): Criminal Minds (Season 15)
- (TV Show): The Strain (Season 3)
- (TV Show): The IT Crowd (Season 3)
- (TV Show): The Office (Season 8)
- (TV Show): The Goldbergs (Season 4)
- (TV Show): Huff (Season 1 - Episode 10)
- (TV Show): Legend of Korra (Season 3)
- (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): Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (Episode 9)

- (Anime): Gintama (Episode 13)
- (YouTube): StephenVlogs (Day 954)

Reading:

- (Manga): One Piece by Eiichiro Oda (Volume ?? -- Chapter 1010)
- (Manga): Platinum End by Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi Obata (Volume 5)
- (Manga): Berserk by Kentaro Miura (Volume 2)


That's it for June. Here are couple pics I took this month plus a YouTube video.

Some macarons I ordered for Pokemon's 25th anniversary.
That Pikachu was delicious.

This is the first time ordering an actual meal after the pandemic started.
The shrimp was really good.

A screenshot of the Hatsune Miku Online Concert Stream.

I bought this class in SINoALICE. Their 1st year anniversary is
coming up very soon! :D

This character showed up in the SMT Dx2 game.

I just find this so amusing. Sonic is a demon in the SMT Dx2 game. XD

"150-Hour Chocolate Cake" by Alvin Zhou. This is so soothing to watch.
I wish I had the time and tools to try this out.

Thanks for reading! 

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

If you celebrate it, Happy early Canada's Day / Independence Day!
Take care, stay safe, and until next time! :)

BLOG -- Recap of May

This was a month of working on my resolutions. When I took my vacation, I played a lot of video games and also worked on a lot of my resolutions. I really want to try to finish them all this year!

Also... I really can't wait for the pandemic to be over. Despite enjoying myself at home for most of the time, I really miss restaurant food and hanging out with friends. I haven't even seen my sister during this whole time ><'

"Outings" / Events in May:

- Had a 2-week vacation using up the rest of my vacation days that were carried over from 2020. I still have 20 more vacation days left to use this year, haha...

- Had a voice-chat with a few friends via LINE. This time we tried to baked some brownies. I used a brownie mix and it turned out okay.

- Got my 1st dose vaccination for COVID. It was a very smooth experience. It was the first time in a long time that I was out of the house and I took advantage of that... by buying more potato chips for myself! Hehehe :3

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

Exposures:

- (Oculus): Beat Saber -- It's okay. As a workout thing, it's pretty light so far since I've been doing most songs in Normal/Easy difficulty.

Finished...

Watching:

- (Anime): Demon Slayer -- Animation is very nicely done. I'm just waiting till I can watch the movie.

- (TV Show): Nodame Cantabile Live-Action -- Finally I finished it. There were some nice moments. When I find the time I'll update my review blog with my thoughts.

- (TV Show): Nodame Cantabile New Year Special in Europe -- This is the "second season" to the Live-Action. Just like in the Live-Action, there were some moments.

- (TV Show): Nodame Cantabile Movie I & Movie II -- Ditto here, although I personally preferred how this season was handled in the anime.

Playing:

- (PS4): The Walking Dead: A New Frontier -- I re-played this fully two times just to make a different choice at the end. Overall, it was okay, though I didn't like how some of the choices didn't properly reflect what would happen when you choose them.

- (PSP): Patchwork Heroes -- This was a pretty fun but tough game. I ended up switching to Easy difficulty halfway and I still often found it quite difficult.

Reading:

- (Manga): Voices of a Distant Star by Makoto Shinkai (art by Mizu Sahara) -- I think the manga took more liberties than other manga adaptations of Shinkai's works. I'd have to re-watch the anime to say which one I prefer. Right now, I say the manga and the anime complement each other in a way, even though slight details go in a different direction (I think).

Currently... 

Playing (not all at once):

- (PS4): Dark Cloud 2

- (PS4): Skyrim
- (PS4): Yakuza 4 Remastered
- (PS4): Secret of Mana
- (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)

Watching:

- (TV Show): The Walking Dead (Season 7 - Episode 7)
- (TV Show): Criminal Minds (Season 15)
- (TV Show): The Strain (Season 3)
- (TV Show): The IT Crowd (Season 3)
- (TV Show): The Office (Season 8)
- (TV Show): The Goldbergs (Season 3 - Episode 15)
- (TV Show): Huff (Season 1 - Episode 10)
- (TV Show): Legend of Korra (Season 3)
- (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): Gintama (Episode 6)

- (YouTube): StephenVlogs (Day 954)

Reading:

- (Manga): One Piece by Eiichiro Oda (Volume ?? -- Chapter 1010)
- (Manga): Platinum End by Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi Obata (Volume 3)
- (Manga): Berserk by Kentaro Miura (Volume 2) <-- may he rest in peace *bows*


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

Some brownies I made a couple days ago.
The edges were a bit burnt -- just how I like it.

Pic of me wearing the Oculus. I think this covers my face well enough to post.

A commercial for the BTS Meal in McDonald's. I find this amusing.

Thanks for reading! 

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

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

BLOG -- Recap of April

What a month... sorry I don't want to talk more about it.

"Outings" / Events in April:

- "Attended" an online concert stream for Phoenix Wright. The Japanese voice actor for Miles Edgeworth was the host and other voice actors popped up here and there. It was really nice, though I didn't recognize some of the tracks.

- Had a voice-chat with a few friends via LINE. This time we tried to cook some spam. I didn't have any spam at the time so I cooked some... boxed stuffing, hahaha... ^^;

- I saw this link on Reddit (below), and got excited. Then I remembered it was April 1st... :(
https://www.reddit.com/r/yakuzagames/comments/mhv2iu/the_day_has_come/.

- I won an Oculus Dream 2 from an online raffle draw at work. It was very surprising! I know nothing about the Oculus, except that Beat Saber is on it.

- Spent a couple weekends organizing my shelves.

- I tweeted Adam Johnston (the YMS YouTuber) a Happy Birthday. Later that night, I popped into his Twitch stream and gifted 10 subscriptions anonymously while he was out picking up a package. Psst, don't tell anybody! :)

- Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn achievements / news: 
-My subscription's expired. I probably won't re-subscribe for a long while.

Exposures:

- Nothing this month.

Finished...

Watching:

- (Movie): Joker -- Nicely done, but it was very dark and brutal.

- (Movie): Nobody -- Some nice action scenes, but the premise was very weak.

- (Anime): Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story -- Way too rushed. The mobile game gave more care to the story in fleshing out the main characters. If a second season ever came I would give it a shot.

Playing:

- Nothing this month.

Reading:

- (Manga): No Longer Human by Junji Ito -- This is based off the novel by Osamu Dazai. Quite horrific, surreal, and explicit. Don't think I'll ever re-read it.

- (Manga): The Garden of Words by Makoto Shinkai (art by Midori Motohashi) -- With the time I  spent reading this manga, I could have watched the 40-minute animated movie and had more enjoyment. If you could choose between watching the movie or reading the manga, watch the movie.

- (Manga): She and Her Cat by Makoto Shinkai (art by Tsubasa Yamaguchi) -- This was kinda cute. I'd like to check out the animated version if I could.

- (Comic): Bodie Troll by Jay Fosgitt -- I took my sweet time, 'cuz I knew I would enjoy it too fast if I didn't.

Currently... 

Playing (not all at once):

- (PS4): The Walking Dead: A New Frontier

- (PS4): Yakuza 4 Remastered
- (PS4): Dark Cloud 2

- (PS4): Skyrim
- (PS4): Secret of Mana
- (PS3): Borderlands 2

- (PSP): Patchwork Heroes
- (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)

Watching:

- (TV Show): The Walking Dead (Season 7 - Episode 7)
- (TV Show): Criminal Minds (Season 15)
- (TV Show): The Strain (Season 3)
- (TV Show): The IT Crowd (Season 3)
- (TV Show): The Office (Season 8)
- (TV Show): The Goldbergs (Season 3 - Episode 15)
- (TV Show): Huff (Season 1 - Episode 10)
- (TV Show): Legend of Korra (Season 3)
- (TV Show): Nodame Cantabile Live-Action (Episode 7)
- (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): Demon Slayer (Episode 8)

- (YouTube): StephenVlogs (Day 954)

Reading:

- (Manga): One Piece by Eiichiro Oda (Volume 98? -- Chapter 990) <-- 10 more to 1000! xD
- (Manga): Berserk by Kentaro Miura (Volume 2)


That's it for April. Here are some pics I took this month plus a couple YouTube videos.

A screenshot of the Phoenix Wright Orchestra online concert stream.
On the left is the Japanese voice actor for Phoenix Wright,
and on the right is the Japanese voice actor for Miles Edgeworth.

Quite excited when this got delivered. I hope I get to read it soon!

One of my cleaned shelves.

This got delivered today. Hopefully I can clean up my room soon.

"Adam gives life and time management advice", clipped/edited by YMS Highlights. 

I admire Adam's strong work ethics, but I really hope he gets to take a break soon!

"YMS: The Walking Dead Season 1&2 (Part 1) by YourMovieSucksDOTog.

I've re-watched / re-listened this video series so many times during the pandemic.

Very insightful and observant. It spoils Season 1 and 2 of The Walking Dead,

so keep that in mind!

Thanks for reading! 

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

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

BLOG -- Recap of March

I can't believe three months have already passed in the new year. It's also now been a year since the pandemic started. Sadly, even with vaccines now developed and slowly being distributed, Toronto doesn't seem to be doing any better. Another lockdown will be happening tomorrow. I'm anticipating still staying home for probably the rest of the year.

"Outings" / Events in March:

- Started setting some daily / weekly tasks for myself to push myself to finish my resolutions on time.

- Had a voice-chat with a few friends via LINE. We tried another cooking activity. This time it was poutine. I decided to make Japanese curry instead of gravy.

- The headaches I was having since February 18 stopped around March 7. I theorize that I likely consumed too much sugar in a short timeframe, and my body was trying to process / break it all down. I'll definitely be more careful about my sugar consumption from now on (if that really was the cause).

- I streamed a couple times on Twitch for a friend while I tried out Skyrim. So far I'm not using a mic nor webcam. If I ever feel comfortable in the future, I'll try connecting a mic. 

- Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn achievements / news: 
-My subscription's expired. I probably won't re-subscribe for a long while.

Exposures:

- Nothing this month.

Finished...

Watching:

- (Movie): Sonic the Hedgehog -- Better than most video game adaptations. I can't say how faithful it is to the video game series, though.

- (Movie): Bill & Ted: Face the Music -- It was okay and surprisingly surreal at times. Out of the three, I enjoyed the first movie the most.

- (Movie): Synecdoche New York -- Very trippy and thought-provoking. I'd like to blog about it one day.

Playing:

- Nothing this month.

Reading:

- (Comic): The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn -- I've been reading this series on and off for more than 10 years. Can't believe I finally finished it. I didn't agree with some of the directions the comic took but overall, I'd say it was a good series.

Currently... 

Playing (not all at once):

- (PS4): The Walking Dead: A New Frontier

- (PS4): Yakuza 4 Remastered
- (PS4): Dark Cloud 2
- (PS4): Skyrim

- (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)

Watching:

- (TV Show): The Walking Dead (Season 7 - Episode 7)
- (TV Show): Criminal Minds (Season 15)
- (TV Show): The Strain (Season 3)
- (TV Show): The IT Crowd (Season 3)
- (TV Show): The Office (Season 8)
- (TV Show): The Goldbergs (Season 3 - Episode 15)
- (TV Show): Huff (Season 1 - Episode 10)
- (TV Show): Legend of Korra (Season 3)
- (TV Show): Nodame Cantabile Live-Action (Episode 7)
- (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): Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story (Episode 4)

- (YouTube): StephenVlogs (Day 954)

Reading:

- (Comic): Bodie Troll by Jay Fosgitt
- (Manga): One Piece by Eiichiro Oda (Volume 93 -- Chapter 940)
- (Manga): Berserk by Kentaro Miura (Volume 2)


That's it for March. Here are some pics I took this month plus a YouTube video.

Fixed up some Japanese curry (from a box) and dumped it on some fries.
This was my "poutine".

A bunch of games cluttered on my bed while I organized
my shelves one weekend.

A new class in SINoALICE.

I just had to have it, after reading the story behind it.

I tried out League of Legends: Wild Rift.
This was the first champion I chose.

I prefer playing League of Legends on the PC, though.

"Python Tutorial for Absolute Beginners #1 - What Are Variables?" by CSDojo. 

I'll be going through this video series to help me learn some Python.
I'm #6 so far, and it's been really helpful.

Thanks for reading! 

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

Take care, stay safe, and until next time! If you celebrate Easter, Happy Easter! :)