Where I’ve Been

You wanna hear a really obvious statement? Life gets really busy sometimes.

My life has been super busy lately, let me get you up to speed.

As of right now, I work two part-time jobs, one as an early morning custodian at BYU, (4am-8am baby! Sleep is for the weak!) and the other as a Deli Clerk at Day’s Market, a local grocery store. (SCHLICE SCHLICE) On top of that, I’m taking a couple of classes at BYU still. Only like 6 credit hours though so not totally insane, just partially. Also I’ve started writing pitches in an attempt to get a few freelance writing jobs, figured I should actually try and make money at this at some point right? With all that the few spare moments I have left over I try to make sure that I’m spending enough time with my wonderful and lovely girlfriend Lindsay.

This leaves just no time to do much of anything, let alone sit down and try to write blog posts that aren’t absolute trash. Now should be the time where I present some sort of remedy for this problem, but frankly, I don’t have much of a solution worked out. The best I’ve come up with so far is to get back on a regular sleeping schedule, but anyone who knows me knows that me and sleep have just never worked out. We’re like Ross and Rachel, one of is always pining for the other but it’s just not gonna work out. Maybe it will one day, I haven’t finished Friends yet so I really don’t know. I’m just trying to use the references now that I actually know them. (I wonder what the equivalent of “WE WERE ON A BREAK” would be in this analogy? it was only a nap? I don’t know, probably stretching it too far)

There is something I can promise for sure though. If and when I do manage to find some time that isn’t dedicated to something else I’ll be sitting in my chair, slapping away at my keyboard to try and write blogs. Just be aware that because of time restrictions I won’t have time to research anything so I’m just gonna have to write about what I already know really well. So lots of movie and League of Legends ramblings are coming your way! (YAY everyone loves league of legends!) Later!

20 Hour Days

Here’s something I find myself saying almost everyday right now, “OH WAIT! It’s that late already? Welp no sleep tonight I guess”

Seriously though, uh where did all the time go? Not like in the sense of “wow I can’t believe September is almost over already time really flies!” more like the “Are there only 20 hours in a day now?” I cannot for the life of me find the time each day to do the things I want to do. Something about taking a full course load, working, writing this freaking thing, trying to actually have a real social life, being involved in church activities, going to the gym, jeez why did I have to start making positive life choices? What a mistake that’s turning out to be. I can barely even find the time to see one movie a week let alone the 3 or 4 I was rocking in the summer.

You know what’s even crazier though? I already have just no time to spare, but all I want to do is add more to my plate. Remember when I made movie reviews and they sucked? I really really want to start doing that again, but like not have them suck. Also streaming? I messed around with that a couple of times over the summer and holy crap it was actually so much fun. Also, I have this idea for like a series of blog posts but I’m a little worried it might actually be too nerdy for even me. Screw it no such thing.

Just no time for any of that though… Maybe I could try like Adderall or something. Or proper time management. Yeah, that second one is probably a better starting point. Don’t wanna jump all the way up to Adderall just so I can make some YouTube videos, cause then I’d be like everyone else on YouTube right? I mean there’s gotta be something they’re doing to be so darn energetic and upbeat all the time..it’s cocaine, isn’t it? That’s how they’re all so energetic? Anyone know a coke guy in the Provo area? (Kidding mom, and also any law enforcement surveillance going on, sod off big brother!)

Bad drug jokes aside I just wanted to vent a bit about how little time I seem to have these days, but also I think it’s important to note that even though I’m complaining right now, I’d rather be too busy than straining just to fill the day. Later.

 

Life Lessons from WoW: Battle for Attention

It’s been a few weeks since Blizzard released the newest addition to their flagship title and my favourite game of all time; World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth. It’s a really good expansion, there are endless tides of content for players to participate in both casual and hardcore, the quest lines are not only fun and interesting but actually expand the story of the Warcraft universe in ways that don’t make you want to slam your head into the table like most Blizzard writing does. Don’t get me wrong, some of it is still really cringy and feels like Blizzard doesn’t quite get their own characters, but overall it’s better than the average Warcraft writing.

It’s just not grabbing me the same way the previous expansion Legion did. I have been playing World of Warcraft on and off since the release of its second expansion The Burning Crusade in 2007 all the way till now. That’s right, I’ve been with this game for over a decade now and through that, I’ve found that the various expansions to WoW have fallen into two general categories for me based on the quality of the expansion and where I’m at in life. The first of these categories is, “This is the best game I’ve ever played, why do I need to talk to other people?” and the second being, “Yeah this is fine, I’ll play whenever they release new dungeons and stuff, but I’ll like also go outside.”

For other WoW players who are probably just a touch curious, the expansions that fit the first category are Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, and Legion. Cataclysm, Mists of Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor, and now Battle for Azeroth all fall into the second one. Basically half of the time I can’t pull myself away from this game, and the other half… well I can.

I should be enjoying Battle for Azeroth (its too long just using BFA from here on out) more though, it’s putting a significantly larger emphasis on the central conflict between the Alliance led by the Humans and the Horde led by, I guess the undead Forsaken, although the Orcs are clearly still the face of the Horde. Particularity for me as an Alliance player I’ve enjoyed that this expansion has gone out and given me more of my favourite Warcraft character, Jaina Proudmoore, especially since she’s been vindicated for her correctly placed mistrust in the Horde and she’s got a flying ship with magic cannons… hold on my glasses need to be pushed all the way up for this don’t they? The point I was getting at by nerding out was that if my favourite game is taking the time to focus on my favourite character I should like be super for that right? I’m just not though.

I’m not really sure why I’m even writing this out. Who honestly cares if I’m enjoying the new WoW expansion or not?

I guess I just feel like since WoW is my favourite game that I somehow need to justify why I’m not enjoying myself playing it as much anymore. Which is silly, it’s a game, the entire point is to enjoy oneself. Like I was doing my 10000000th run through of Skyrim before BFA launched just to give myself something to do, but I was having sooo much fun doing it, then I just dropped it like a soggy cracker when BFA came out. I think I’m gonna go back and resume my playthrough of Skyrim, and then when I’m done that I’ll play some more single player RPG’s like it. It’s just kinda what I’m in the mood for right now.

What’s that you say? I don’t have time for any games because of school? Nonsense! I’ll just skip sleeping, it’s optional, right?

I think the point I’m really getting at here is just because you’ve done something for a really really long time doesn’t mean that you should necessarily feel obligated to keep doing it, especially when something new has come up and taken its place in your heart. Sure you should carefully consider why you’re not enjoying the old thing as much before up and abandoning it, but there’s something there.

Yeah, Jonny, way to dig a nugget of life wisdom out of you complaining about World of freaking Warcraft. I always knew I would learn something from playing that game other than the essential life lessons of “Don’t stand in the fire idiot”, “Even if you did stand in the fire if you die its the healers fault”, and “How to kill all the time in the world without even trying”. I must be like one of the wisest people alive with all the stuff WoW has taught me. I should write a more these nuggets of wisdom… hmmm

Fallout

Well, it’s been a hot minute, hasn’t it? I wish I could say that the reason for my absence was something productive or useful like, “I wasn’t blogging because I was taking a class on how to get paid for writing.” or “I forgot to blog because I met this girl and fell madly in love.” (My family would certainly get behind that one)

But it wasn’t that. The real reason is just so…. so much lamer. I booted up a new game of Fallout.

“Really Jonny? You didn’t write for some 2 weeks because you were playing a game?” Uh Yeah, have you ever played Fallout games before? They pull you in and they pull you in deep.  Well maybe not everyone, but I get really into these games and that’s for one major reason. If you’ve never really played a Fallout game, you just don’t get it.

If you want it to be Fallout games can be an incredible grindfest and there is a masochist part of me that just loves to endlessly grind away my life in games like this. If you need another example you can look at my collection of 223 mounts in World of Warcraft I’ve accumulated over something like a decade of playing that game. That certainly doesn’t make me king of the grindlords, but I feel pretty safe in saying I am one of them.

Fallout works in a similar manner, except even more extreme because I don’t need a group of 20 people to finish everything in Fallout. I can’t really call a run complete until my character has one of every weapon, outfit, has maxed out all the skills, completed all companion quests, and this includes all the DLC stuff. Basically, when I boot a game like Fallout up I’m saying to myself, “This is your life now.”

“So Jonny now that you’re blogging again you must be done with the game though right?”

Nope. Not even close, like I’m maybe 10-15% through this run. It’ll probably take me all summer to fully finish it, but I can’t just stop blogging for the whole summer just to wander a post-apocalyptic America. So I’ll cut back on Fallout. Because I still need to constantly shove my opinion out onto the internet about everything and isn’t that what blogging is really about?