Got another two days off to celebrate the New Year. What do I want to do?

I plan on spending a lot of time practicing music and working on the Star Wars RPG. As mentioned before, there’s a lot to take in as GM. This involves reading the rules, watching YouTube videos, understanding the species and specializations, as well as creating an adventure or selecting a premade one.

My first session I plan on mostly building characters and setting introductions, then play a quick game to get a feel for it.

Also have music practice.

Not sure what to play or watch today and tomorrow. I try to stick to one or two games as much as possible, but I can never commit (I get really bored and angsty if I limit myself). With that said, I’m currently playing Destiny 2 on PC, Atelier Ryza on Switch, and Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order on PS4 Pro.

With anime, I’m watching primarily Carole and Tuesday. I’d like to get back into JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure or Kimetsu no Yaiba but I’m holding out until I read the manga.

I’m thinking of playing a simulator or strategy game as well, but I need a significant amount of time for some of the games I have.

That’s about it for now, Happy New Year!

For some time now, I’ve been meaning to get back into Roleplaying. I just couldn’t find the time or energy to start a new game.

Well now, I managed to find five players interested in a Star Wars RPG. I have a lot of source material to work off of, and given most of my knowledge is from the EU, I need to brush up on the newer lore for my first game.

As GM, there’s a lot of things I need to do. I need to work with everyone’s schedules, create stories, learn the rule system, teach the rules, show everyone how to create characters, and make it all entertaining for everyone.

The most fun, I think is creating stories and characters. As someone who aspired to be a writer growing up, going into roleplaying fills that creative void that I can’t get in my current field as a technician. I get to finally create stories that I wanted to as a kid.

Coincidentally, my first experience roleplaying is Star Wars. Late 90’s I used to frequent the AOL chatroom “The Cantina”. I’d roleplay as a bounty hunter and meet fellow geeks into Star Wars lore…in character.

It would be great to do that again with NPCs I create, in a story that other players build upon.

I have much to work on over the next few weeks, however. Learning the rules, combat, and how the dice work. Studying up on the available races, classes, specializations. Reading up on the lore, planets, influential characters and organizations, ships, weapons, enemies, etc.

It’s a lot to take in, and one of the reasons I gave up on my last game of D&D 5e was that I was taking most of the load, where the other players weren’t contributing as much (nobody even so far as made/maintained character sheets, or purchased books). It was a disaster, though hopefully with some new players interested in roleplaying and fans of Star Wars, I hope this time it’ll work out.

Hey blog,

So the new year is about to start. There’s a lot for me to work on in 2020.

First off, I’m going to attempt to store, sell, and give away some old figures, collectibles, and clothes. I’m cutting down on preorders and picking up only the best of the best stuff (such as detailed Hot Toys figures). Game purchases will be to a minimum. I’ll be saving money and paying off most of my credit card debt.

I have no more space at home, so it makes no sense to keep buying stuff. I also have limitations on time, so there’s no point in buying more games that I will probably never play. Money is also an issue.

I’ll focus more on hobbies (such as music, model kits, etc). I’ll make it a habit before I do anything else on my free time.

I’m going to do more with socializing. Now that I’m back on a Monday-Friday schedule, I can set up the weekends to do more activities such as Magic, Board Games, Roleplaying games, etc.

Lastly, I plan on just having fun any other free time I have. Basically playing video games, watching TV, and reading books. I don’t want to get burned out, and I want to enjoy what I have in life.

I want to look forward to coming to work, putting in some hours of hard work, and coming home, continuing to grow as a person. Much of 2019 has been pretty stagnant as far as self development, and it hasn’t really kicked up a notch until recently as I started my new job. I’m on a good trend and I want to keep that momentum.

With that said, what’s going on right now?

Doing well in my new job. Had to leave early today due to an issue with me forgetting my meds and running into some anxiety/ADD issues. With the holidays and a really slow day at work, I figure I’d get more done at home by doing some much needed cleaning and reorganizing than just staring at my e-mail inbox at work for 9 hours.

Playing Destiny 2 on the PS4 Pro. Also messing around with PS4 Remote Play on the PC. As I spend most of my time in front of my computer, it can be an issue at times to play games in the living room, particularly when the TV is already in use. I am finding Remote Play to be excellent as far as latency and performance so far while running at 1080p over my network.

With the Switch, however. There’s really no need for Remote Play as it’s already a portable system. I have a docking station connected to my PC monitor just for that purpose.

Unfortunately, going from the PC to the living room has been problematic. The only software capable of remote play is Steam Link and the controller doesn’t seem to work with some 3rd party games (such as on Origin, Epic Store, or Uplay). Also the Apple TV seems to have connection issues with my controller. Not sure how to work around that just yet.

Haven’t been watching a lot of anime lately, though I have caught a few episodes of Carole & Tuesday. Also been enjoying the shit out of The Witcher. Really good show so far.

Nothing much else going on. Have a great rest of 2019 and a fantastic 2020!

Well, as of today I am officially unemployed. I’ll be taking a week off, then I’ll be working on rockets and spacecraft.

The hardest part, especially as a lead, is realizing how much of an impact I had on the crew I worked with. There were a few tears yesterday. Then when I went into my car after work, I realized I will not see any of my co-workers again.

Still, I must move on. I must grow and follow new opportunities when they become available.

With that aside, I have a week to do some rearranging in my house. I need to free some space for some 1/6 scale figures and a few statues as well. I also need to get back into piano practice…and any other free time I have will be spent on playing the huge load of games that just came out: Age of Empires II Definitive Edition, Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order, The Outer Worlds, Pokemon Sword, and Death Stranding.

That’s not to mention I need to catch up on The Mandalorian and other shows that came out. I have a lot to do, and there’s no reason to sit idle.

So now for the big news:

New job, I’m going to be working on rockets! I’ll be back to the Monday-Friday schedule, commuting long distance, working 9 hours a day. It’s big money though and it’s in a field I totally love. I’m excited for it.

With that out of the way, what else is going on this week?

Working on finishing up some anime. I’m on the last episode of Kaguya-Sama Love is War. I also want to finish up a few other series: Rising of Shield Hero and Reincarnation of a Slime this weekend.

Some big figure purchases to celebrate. I’ll need to work on finding some space in my room to put this all. Still, here’s my latest purchase:

Bioshock is one of my favorite games, and getting Elizabeth in a torn outfit looks really kick-ass. It was expensive, but it’s well worth it.

Haven’t done much piano practice this week, but I’m going to try to force myself to play later today.

Also have to figure out something about gaming. I’m itching to play Fire Emblem this week or something like it. Will try to work that out when I can.

I just need to figure out an evening schedule and try to stick to it if I can. Otherwise I’m tempted to crash, close my eyes, and just sleep the rest of my day away.

Well, my biggest life change in the last three years just happened yesterday. I can’t make any announcements just yet, but let’s just say it involves…rocket ships. I’ll go into more detail later this week.

With the stress and time involved with my latest endeavor, I haven’t spent too much time in gaming and music practice. Still, with that said, here’s a glimpse of what I’ve been doing the last week, and what my plan is for the rest of the week.

One thing I have practiced a lot on is Japanese. I’m bouncing back and forth between Duolingo and Lingodeer. Both are programs which teach Japanese in really different ways. I’m starting from the very beginning as a review. It’s a bit tedious on Duolingo, but Lingodeer I feel like I’m actually learning something new. I’ll probably post something about this more thoroughly in a separate article.

With gaming, not much happened. I played Yakuza Kiwami for a few hours, but that’s the only game I’ve touched in the last week.

This week however, I plan on playing Planet Zoo. It reminds me a bit of Zoo Tycoon, which was a really fun game back in the early 2000s. Plus Frontier’s recent games, Jurassic World Evolution and Planet Coaster have solidified this company as a good creator of strategy games.

I also plan on playing Death Stranding when it comes out on Friday. Some mixed reviews on it, but I want to make the judgement for myself whether it’s good or not.

American Truck Simulator also has a new Utah expansion coming out this Thursday. I haven’t played much ATS since the Washington expansion came out, but Utah is a beautiful state, and driving through it sounds like a treat. Now if only I could drive through Idaho to get to Utah…*hints to SCS Software?*

With TV, I’ve been watching The Morning Show from Apple TV+. It’s a really engaging show. I’m also watching The Watchmen and American Horror Story Season 2. Lastly, I’m watching The Good Place to satisfy my comedy cravings…really good show so far.

That’s about it for this week. I hope to most more later this week about the good news :).

Not too much going on this week. Though in my personal life, what happens this week may ultimately decide what happens in the chapter in my life. That’s huge, so understandably, there is a lot of anxiety.

With everything else. Here’s what’s going on:

Playing Yakuza Kiwami. I love the Yakuza games, and it’s nice to go back to the beginning where it all started. It’s just a good linear game with a fantastic story. I’m putting FFX on hold since I’ve barely played it at all last week.

Watching American Horror Story – Season 1. Been watching this off and on the last few weeks. I’m aiming to finish this season today, hopefully. There are only about 4 more episodes left.

Practicing Piano. I started going off on my own last week by working on a few difficult songs. That has put me back a bit as far as my readings and lessons go though…so I need to work on that this week.

Read One Piece. This is a mammoth undertaking that will take me weeks, if not months to do. I have a Shounen Jump subscription though, so I don’t have to put in hundreds of dollars to get current, fortunately.

Practice Japanese. Going back into this. Working back and forth between Duolingo and Lingodeer, though I am preferring the latter.

This week I am going to need some sharp focus if I want to tackle these three tasks. There are a few other tasks I’d like to put in as well, but these are the big ones.

It has been a bit difficult the last few months trying to figure out the system of choice for gaming. Do I pick the PS4 Pro for the comfy couch, amazing soundbar, and 55″ 4k HDR TV? Do I pick the Switch for the sweet handheld experience? Or do I pick the PC for the ultimate experience?

Up until recently, it’s been the PS4, and I’ve actually had to rebuy a few games (and play them from the beginning again…ughh) because I already had them on Steam. Honestly, most of the time I just prefer to chill on the couch and play games…and not sit on a desk, which I already do 40 hours a week.

Well lately, things have changed. Steamlink is available on Apple TV and iPad, and I couldn’t be happier. With my new home mesh network I’m now able to play all my PC games on the TV in 1080p quality. Additionally, Remote Play for PS4 with Dual Shock support is also available so I’m now able to play my PS4 games on my iPad or my PC. I also have a Switch docking station connected to my PC so I can play Switch games on my desk as well. It’s the best of all worlds.

Other than that, it’s been a rainy week in Seattle. Some big positive changes are going in life that I’d prefer not to talk about in a public space…at least not yet.

I haven’t done a lot of piano practice as I should. The difficulty lies in the type of music I can play, and how I should practice. I’m focusing primarily on the music the teacher gives me (which is just one or two easy songs), so after I “master” those songs, there’s not a whole lot for me to go off of. So I’m doing my own thing, which is a bit difficult as I don’t have the right guidance for that.

The difficulty lies in matching the music to my level. There are three big programs out there for learning: Flowkey, Simply Piano, and Playground Sessions. They all have their pros and cons. Flowkey has a nice selection of music, but it’s very basic as far as teaching how to play it. Before you know it, you’re thrown into some really complicated songs and no idea how to play them. Simply Piano is really good, but can sometimes be too forgiving when I make mistakes. Playground Sessions is okay, but it’s not forgiving at all with mistakes, and it lacks…something?

So I’m just going to stick with my books and teacher for the moment. Just let it be I suppose.

It’s been about two weeks since I started playing piano again. Where am I at?

I’m pretty much over trying to learn through apps and software. It can be done, but I feel can only go so far with it. I decided to get formal training and I’ll be taking lessons for half an hour a week, starting tonight!

In the meantime, this weekend I’ve been tinkering with the more popular iPad app, SimplyPiano. It’s game-like, but I like its training structure over other apps and software. I find as a supplementary tool, it’ll be nice to work with along the side of my actual formal training.

As cheesy as it sounds, it feels like this is a new stage in my life. I think with the amount of music I listen to each day, moving towards actually making music seems like a good positive step in the right direction. Both of my doctors really suggest it as far as getting ahead of my anxiety and depression issues I’ve had on and off for the last few years.

Since my last update, I finally purchased a piano.

To put in perspective, why did I get a piano when I already have a guitar? Well, I’ve always been a big fan of piano. My grandmother is a pianist and always bragged how I had pianist fingers. I simply love it, and I listen to a lot of piano music daily and watch pianist streamers on Twitch/YouTube.

In fact, I originally purchased a piano about 6 years ago during deployment. It was a small portable keyboard, but it was really limited to what it could do (4-note polyphony) and only went up to two octaves. It honestly was more for synthesized/electronic music than it was for actual piano playing. I ended up trading it for my electric guitar for the next deployment (though in retrospect an acoustic would have been a better choice).

The idea was that I’d practice guitar, and when I get my own bigger place, then I’d get myself an 88-key digital piano. That never happened. I wasn’t playing guitar, so why would I buy a piano, again? Even if I could, I had no space in my house for one.

So going back into guitar, I’m finding myself asking two questions: Can I learn two instruments at once; can I find a spot for a digital piano?

Learning two instruments at once shouldn’t be an issue. It’s more about motivation and time. Both of which I have, it simply means I need to cut back on anime/gaming time. Space, however is another issue. I could squeeze it into my room, but it would be rather uncomfortable.

Anyways after a few weeks of thinking things over and rearranging the house, I cleared away some old stuff around the house to put my piano and acoustic guitar in a nice spot.

As far as learning, however, that’s a bigger issue.

With guitar, I’m satisfied with where I’m at in learning. Justin Guitar is a great free online resource that I’ve been utilizing. Guitar Tricks is another good pay resource, though I’m not a big fan of the progression so far. I’m at six chords right now and trying to utilize at least 15 minutes daily to work on transitions.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many similar resources online for Piano. For the iPad there are a lot of “games” that look like educational tools such as Simply Piano and Yousician, but they are quite costly and I doubt I could learn something as complex as piano through a simple format such as that. There’s also Flowkey, which is affiliated with Yamaha; the problem is that the training is a bunch of videos of some guy’s hands, I can’t print out sheet music, and it feels like I’m not progressing far as I’m just reciting Jingle Bells three times in a row with no consequence if I don’t play it perfectly.

On Mac, there is a program that I’m using called Playground Sessions which seems pretty legit. I’ve clocked in about 8 hours and learned more than any other resource so far…though I feel like I’m missing something? Maybe it’s because I’m more focused on looking at the finger positions than I am on the notes of the sheet music.

I could turn off finger numbering, which solves that problem. But I still feel like my progress is moving a bit too fast.

I’m considering taking formal lessons. Not sure who to talk to, where to go, or what level they will put me at. I’m just afraid of going from playing Game of Thrones with two hands back to Twinkle Twinkle on one hand.

So a lot of decisions to be made.