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Archive for the ‘Vacation’ Category

Travel

Wednesday, May 31st, 2023 No comments

I haven’t done a lot of traveling these past few of years, but I’m easing back into it this summer.

I’m going to Seattle for a Madonna concert next month and hoping I can snag tickets for PAX for Labor Day weekend when they go on sale in an hour.

In August I’m leaving the PNW for the first time since 2015 and leaving the country for the 1st time since 2013. I’m going to Toronto and swinging by Chicago on the way back.

I already have ideas for next year. I’m just trying to narrow down where.

Christmas 2022

Friday, December 30th, 2022 No comments

This Christmas season was bittersweet. I couldn’t help but think that it’s the 1st Christmas without my boy Reese since 2007. Max is a great companion, however.

I had Thanksgiving dinner with Josh and Aaron again this year. We watched Disenchanted after we ate. We had ‘dim the lights’ at work the first part of that week (work from home, no meetings) and of I was off Thursday and Friday.

I was ready for Christmas this year. I listened to more Christmas music. I saw some holiday commercials on TV and at the movie theater that made me a little emotional.

We had a ‘dim the lights’ week at work the week between Christmas and my birthday. We had Christmas dinner at Josh and Aaron’s, but there was about 7 of us this time. We played video games and did our while elephant exchange. On Christmas Day we had Chinese Dinner and my friend Nir’s place. There were about 5 of us, 2 who I had never met before.

I started feeling a little sick late on Christmas day. I’ve been sick since. Covid tests have all been negative. When one things starts to feel better, something else starts to get worse. Overall, I’m better than I was at the beginning of the week. It sucks because this was my vacation week and I’ve spent it all isolated inside. I’m probably going to miss the NYE party I’m supposed to be going to tomorrow.

I didn’t get as much this year as normal. I still have 3 exchanges that were moved to January because of the hectic holiday season. What did I get?

  • a rainbow-colored beanie
  • several video games (purchased for myself)
  • God is Disappointed in You by Mark Russell and Shannon Wheeler
  • Arboretum board game
  • Finding Me by Viola Davis
  • some soaps and creams
  • Nike gift card

Update: 12/31/2022
I realized that I usually give end of year thoughts in the Christmas post and not in a separate post like I thought. At the past few years I’ve done it that way. So I’m updating this.

2022 has been challenging, most because of death. Reese passed away and exactly 1 month later one of my oldest friends died. My aunt passed away last month and last week we lost a cousin (I think he’s a cousin, but I’m not sure. I have a large extended family). Some people who I knew of in the local community passed and of course some celebrities I liked did to.

It wasn’t all bad. I got a new job, which is an FTE position like what I was hoping to find this last year. I’ve made some progress and adjustments healthwise and I still have a long way to go. I started playing guitar again. I incorporated PDX Gaymers as a nonprofit. I’ve met tons of cool people. And so much more.

I’m a little bummed out that I’m too sick to go out tonight, but the rest will be good for me. I know that likely nothing will be different tomorrow, but I am looking forward to seeing what 2023 holds for me.

Let the Good Times Roll

Monday, May 31st, 2021 No comments

This month has been amazing. Getting to go out and do things again has been great!

I went to happy hour at Robert and Alex’s place. I went to movie night at Aaron’s place. I’ve been to see 3 movies in the movie theater. I’ve gone to 2 clubs. I’ve been back to my gym. I wasn’t unmasked the whole time. I followed the rules at each establishment and sometimes wore a mask even when I didn’t have to.

Also, work has been going well. I’m really enjoying my job right now.

I was supposed to be in Sunriver with friends this weekend, but I was left without a dogsitter at the last minute, so I had to stay home. Maybe I need more close dog owner friends, not that I would feel comfortable asking a friend to take care of my dogs. It was nice to have my first holiday or vacation day off since last July. It’s weird waking up on a weekday and not working. It’s been a while.

Christmas 2020

Thursday, December 31st, 2020 No comments

Christmas was last Friday. It was another day in quarantine with not much happening.

I worked half a day. I streamed Overwatch for a few hours after work. I had Chinese takeout and watched Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max. The food was good, but the movie wasn’t nearly as good as the first one.

Hoping for better times next year. And snow.

What did I get for Christmas and my birthday this year.
  • a map of Portland neighborhoods poster
  • lots of fish food
  • fish cards and stickers
  • a bristlr worm trap
  • star wars card deck
  • an exercise ball
  • a pack of Reese’s trees
  • Star Trek: Picard Season 1
  • Overwatch Monopoly
  • Wakanda Forever board game
  • Star Trek Five-Year Mission board game
  • I treated myself to an Oculus Quest 2, an Xbox Series X, and a PlayStation 5, though the PS5 won’t be here for another couple of weeks.

    I’m at a point where I’m tired of hearing about how rough this year has been. Hopefully this will be one of the last times I mention it. Everyone can go into the new year with a new outlook and attitude

    There were many positives this year: finally getting a new job, making health a priority, getting to see Xander again, getting into a streaming habit, taking part in all the virtual events with PDX Gaymers, helping elect a new president elected, getting new gadgets, spending so much time with the dogs, and so on.

    As soon as the pandemic hit, I decided I wasn’t going to stress over that list of goals I set last year. It’s okay if I wasn’t productive as I wanted to be. I did meet a few of them I think. I’m not going to bother setting any for next year. Hopefully before the end of the year we’ll be able to start having game nights or going to happy hours again.

    Time will tell.

    Unfortunately, I had to work today and I’m working a half day tomorrow. Tonight, I finished a book to meet my book goal for the year. Now I plan to play video games, watch TV, and chat with friends while enjoying the most expensive bottle of wine I’ve ever bought.

    As always, have a great year and take care of each other!

    COVID-19 and Me

    Tuesday, March 31st, 2020 No comments

    So this is what living through a global pandemic is like.

    I think most people in the US are beginning their 3rd week of quarantine. I had already started canceling and skipping events about 2 weeks before then. If my memory is correct, I haven’t had any in-person social activity since the end of February. Trips to get food don’t count. I am going crazy over here. The dogs are great, but it’s not the same as being around humans. The loneliness and depression have definitely crept in. It was already bad from not working, but not being able to go out has made it worse. I envy people who are in relationships and don’t have to quarantine alone. Maybe they envy me.

    I’ve had video chats with friends and I’ve arranged some online events with PDX Gaymers, so that has helped.

    My trip to the UK and France in the beginning of May has been postponed. Once Expedia gets caught up, I should be getting a voucher that I can use up until April 30, 2021.

    Other than inconveniences, things have been pretty good. I’ve made good progress on some video games, TV shows, and books. I’ve seen a lot of movies. I’ve done so much cleaning and organizing.

    I got pretty sick a a few weeks ago. I think it was the first full weekend of the month, but this month has felt like a year, so who knows. It started out as puking and feeling lightheaded. I couldn’t sit up for long and I was sleeping pretty much all day. I figured it was food poisoning because I ate something the night before it started that didn’t quite taste right. A couple of days later I started sniffling and I had a sore throat. I was all better within days. I don’t know if it was coronavirus or not. Coronavirus seems to affect people differently. I’ve had some tightness in my chest most days for the past 3 weeks and sniffles. Could just be allergies. Could be paranoia. I had one of my daylong colds yesterday, but I’m all good now.

    I think coronavirus started to hit home for a lot of people when celebrities started getting sick. Most of us I would imagine don’t know someone who has tested positive for it or has died from it. I’m thinking that before this is over, we’ll all know someone who has. I’m worried about my friend Xander who works in hospitals. He told me the other day that he had to perform CPR on someone who they think has coronavirus. They were waiting for test results to come back the last I heard. I’m hoping that he remains healthy and safe.

    Not the downplay the serious of the virus and the lives lost, but I guess it could be worse overall. I don’t want to get too much into how our president mishandled the situation, but he it could be even better. Hopefully, this will pass soon and we can get back to some sense of normalcy.

    What Day is It?

    Saturday, February 29th, 2020 No comments

    One thing about being unemployed is that it’s hard sometimes to remember what day it is.

    Not much has happened on that front. It seems like companies are starting to hire again, but I’m just getting the same B.S. as before.

    I came down sick last weekend. Cold, flu? Not really sure. I’m feeling better now. I was on the couch all day for 3 days.

    February was a very busy month for PDX Gaymers. So much fun. I had to cancel 2 events because I was sick, but there were still so many. Attendance has gotten so much better.

    My trip to Europe in May is being planned. I’m going to London, Edinburgh, Dublin, and Paris with Matt A, Matt H, and Mel. Hopefully, we won’t have to cancel because of coronavirus.

    Hoping for good news and good times in the coming weeks.

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    Christmas 2019

    Tuesday, December 31st, 2019 No comments

    Wow! I had so little Christmas spirit this year! Between not working, being by myself so much, and the warm weather, it didn’t feel like Christmas. I didn’t start listening to Christmas music until Christmas morning and after that I was done with it.

    Like Thanksgiving, I thought I was going to be spending the day hanging out alone with the dogs. Two days before, my friend Nir invited me to a Chinese dinner and a movie night he was organizing. The day after this I was invited to dinner at my former co-worker Aaron’s house, but I had to turn them down. My friend Jer and a guy named Dallas who I had recently met at a PDX Gaymers event were there for Chinese dinner, as well as some people that I had never met. I knew that people went out to restaurants on Christmas, but I didn’t know Chinese dinner on Christmas Day was a thing. This dinner was an experience. Some people’s orders weren’t quite right. The water tasted bad. I was pretty much told I couldn’t have what I wanted and I was told what I would get instead. After dinner, we saw Little Women, which was really good. I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did.

    A few days after Christmas, we had a holiday party at Alex and Robert Lee-Olson’s house. It was a great time. I got to see some people I hadn’t seen in while. I’ve been a little bit of a hermit lately and some people’s schedules or location make it hard to get together often.

    I don’t care what people say, presents are one of the parts of Christmas I still enjoy. What did I get this year? I hope I’m not forgetting anything.

    • dog treats for Max and Reese
    • a book on dog massages
    • Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair
    • The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl by Theodora Goss
    • a Black Panther build a bear
    • Astral Chain
    • a cross
    • Thor, Dr Strange, and Tony Stark pop vinyls
    • Reese’s candy
    • A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin
    • many wonderful cards
    • some stuff I treated myself to
      • a web camera
      • board games Pret-a-Porter, Ecos, 7th Continent, Shadows of Brimstone, Anomia

    2019 was a tough year. Two of my closest Portland friends moved away, Xander and then Cody. I don’t think I ever wrote about Cody leaving. I lost my job a few months after being promoted. I got sick with a bad sinus infection in October and have been sick pretty much since. I’m feeling the effects of not eating well and not exercising. Sitting here at home all day has taken a physical and emotional toll on me. I remember writing about how optimistic I was earlier in the year, but all that optimism left for a while. I’m feeling optimistic again about the new year, but if things don’t change soon, I could be right where I was.

    I decided to set goals for next year. Since I successfully completed every goal the last time I did this, I think one reason I stopped doing it for a while was so I wouldn’t fail. Here’s my list.

    • Lose at least 30 lbs
    • Go on at least 1 date
    • Arrange at least 1 dog play date
    • Leave the state of Oregon at least 3 times
    • Beat at least 3 video games
    • Learn at least 1 new board game
    • Attend at least 1 Meetup I haven’t been to before
    • Buy a new bike and ride it
    • Go to a convention or festival that’s new to me
    • Arrange a photoshoot so I can put my photography equipment to good use
    • Don’t be so self conscious about how I look. Post at least 12 pics of myself on social media

    We enter a new decade tomorrow. This past decade has been great to me. I spent the first 2 years in Starkville and last 8 years in Portland. Deciding to take a risk, uproot my life, and move to Portland was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. This decade has had some struggles: heartbreak, unhappiness with health and career, and some bouts of loneliness and depression. But overall it’s been great. Don’t they say your 30s are the best years of your life? So far I can’t disagree with that. Some of things I’ve done in this past decade:

    • moved across the country
    • met a lot of online friends, traveled with them, stayed in each other’s homes
    • became a social butterfly
    • traveled out of country for the first time
    • did a lot more traveling than I did before
    • became a leader at work and in the community
    • became a dog parent for the 2nd time
    • started podcasting
    • worked for one of the top tech companies in the world
    • dated a guy for the first time
    • started going to conventions
    • took up new hobbies
    • made many great local friends

    I hope everyone has a happy New Year and a great decade! Take care of each other!

    15th Annual Great Pumpkin Beer Festival

    Tuesday, December 31st, 2019 No comments

    The first weekend in October my friend Matt A. from California came up to visit. I know Matt through podcasting and I met him in person at the Twin Peaks festival a few years ago, but hadn’t seen him since. He had presented the idea a few weeks earlier of him coming up here and traveling to Seattle for the GPB Festival. I was all for it.

    Matt flew in from Denver (I think) on that Friday night, where he had attended another festival. From what I understand, Matt works for a chain of stores and helps decide which beers and how much they stock. So this is like work for him. We watched that Stephen King movie In the Tall Grass, which had just debuted on Netflix.

    We got up pretty early Saturday and got some donuts from Voodoo Donuts before heading to Seattle. We stopped at a brewery at met someone Matt knows, I think it was the manager. We then went to the festival which was a lot of fun. We drank sample after sample of pumpkin beer for hours. Since Matt knew some of the people there (I think they worked for one of the breweries), we got extra drink tickets. There’s a giant pumpkin beer filled with beer. Later in the day they had a costume contest near this giant pumpkin and later on a parade. After the parade they tap the pumpkin and served beer from the pumpkin. Leading up to them tapping the pumpkin, the excitement is building up. They had music playing. People (including Matt and myself) were holding cornstalks, dancing to the music, and chanting “TAP THAT GOURD!” It was kind of crazy, but fun to be a part of. After we left the festival, we had dinner with Jonathon Pope, a Washington resident who I know from podcasting but had never met before.

    Sunday we drove back to Portland. We visited a couple of breweries around here. I took him to Powell’s. At this point Matt was feeling sick, probably from all the traveling, and I was starting to get sniffly too. He tried to get his return flight moved to Monday instead of Tuesday, but it was going to be too expensive. Matt wanted to play board games on this trip. We played one game at one of the breweries earlier and we ended the night playing board games with some of my local friends at the Lucky Lab.

    On Monday, we didn’t do much. I remember going to a brewery, playing a game there, and getting a tour of the brewery’s expansion. That night we watch Hereditary and Midsommar.

    On Tuesday, I had an interview so I had to take Matt to the airport earlier than I would have liked. We stopped at the library in Hillsboro and played a couple of games before heading to the airport.

    I’m so glad Matt got to come visit, see Portland, meet my dogs, and play some board games. I wish more people would come visit -hint-hint-. The only negative is that once the sickness he gave me fully kicked in, I was miserable and out of commission for 2 weeks. Oh well, it happens.

    PAX 2019

    Sunday, September 8th, 2019 No comments

    This past weekend was PAX West in Seattle. I rode up with Cory and Chris. We met up with mutual friends and friends of just theirs throughout the weekend. We decided to go only Sunday and Monday this year instead of all 4 days.

    We drove up on Saturday. We left that morning because Cory and Chris had been invited by a friend to attend the Blackberry Festival in Bremerton, Washington. We arrived there around 1:30. We met up with our friend Justin, one of his friends, and one of Cory’s friends. We had fun walking along the boardwalk taking in the sites and food. I had some good blackberry cider and tasted some wine. I bought a bottle of wine to take home. We also met 2 groups of random strangers and had a good time talking to them. We took the auto ferry across the sound to Seattle. We had sushi with a friend of Cory’s and her boyfriend. I think we made it to the hotel around 10. The hotel was about 7 blocks from the convention center.Blackberry Festival

    Cory and Chris left early for the convention center Sunday so they could get in line to get tickets to play a game. I think they both got to play the ones they wanted to. I think I made it there around 10, which was 30 minutes after the convention center opened. Because of all the shootings around the country, they had a different procedure for entering, which involved going through metal detectors. It was so great being back at PAX. Since we were only going to be there 2 days, part of me felt like I needed to hurry to see everything, but it turned out to be plenty of time. I tried to check out every square inch of the main floor. I didn’t make it to any panels this year though. Friday and Saturday are the best days for cosplayers, so I didn’t get as many pics of them as I normally too. I played a game called Code Vein, which I think I want to buy. I saw a lot of indie games, which I still need to go through my notes and further research many of them. I got to meet the guy the guy who created Gloomhaven, a popular board game. There was an indie game expo a few blocks from the convention center that day. I went later in the day. I bought a game because it reminded me of Deja Vu, a game I played on the NES. I met up with Cory, Chris, and our friend Tyler James there. I didn’t feel like being out late, so I went back to the hotel room and ordered Subway on Uber Eats while they went out to dinner.Code Vein

    On Monday I got there a little earlier than the day before. I had gone back and forth the day before about whether or not I wanted to get there early to get tickets to play the Final Fantasy VII Remastered demo. I had finally decided not to when I went to bed. When I got up I got a text from Cory saying we needed to check out before we left. They were downstairs getting breakfast. After we checked out, we starting heading toward the convention center and met up with Tyler James along the way. The 3 of them wanted to do some XP thing that requires you to go to certain locations in the area, so I went to the convention center by myself. I arrived right as they were about to start letting people in. I decided to stop by the FFVII booth even though I figured they would be out of tickets. Luckily, they weren’t. The ticket gave you a time range to come back and line up to play the demo. I hope this system becomes popular at PAX. I know several companies were using it this year, if not all of them. During my first few years at PAX, I remember hearing about people waiting in line 8 hours to play demos of some of the more popular games. This was my first time trying to play one of the more popular games and it was pretty painless. I went back at my allotted time and had to wait about 30 minutes before I could finally play. First they played a short movie for us and then we got to play. It was awesome! Before I went back to play the demo I went to the annex to check out some PC games and the console free play section. I watched a little of the Rocket League tournament in the arena on both days. Other than that, all I did this day was play board games. I played Wingspan, which I had been interested in for a while. I’ll buy it some day most likely. I met up with Cory, Chris, Justin, Tyler James and his husband Shawn Tyler, and a friend of TJ’s. We played a couple of rounds of Coup before we called it a wrap. Cory, Chris, and I left for Portland. We stopped for pizza along the way. I made it back home around 10 that night.

    PAX was a blast again this year. As usual, it lit the gaming fire in me again. I play Overwatch almost every day, but my goal is to make time for other games. We said that next year instead of going 2 consecutive days, we may skip a day in between and do some things in Seattle. There is a small part of me that wants to go to PAX all 4 days next year. Crazy, right?

    Christmas 2018

    Saturday, December 29th, 2018 No comments

    Overall, this Christmas has been much better than last year. We actually decorated a tree this year, which we didn’t do last year. There were times when I wasn’t feeling the spirit much, but it always came back. One of the things that helped me get back into it was Overwatch’s Winter Wonderland event. The music, skins, and map decorations are so festive it’s hard not to feel happy, at least until the match starts.

    I won’t go into too much detail, but someone close to me is having a hard time and it has put a damper on my mood at times, but we can usually turn things around.

    I took a 2-week vacation from work and 1 week is now over. I think I think this is the longest vacation I’ve ever had professionally. So far I’ve done exactly what I planned: played lots of video games, watched a lot of TV, worked on my podcast websites, worked on projects at home, and spent time with friends. I listened to my Christmas mix all the way through this year, but I don’t think I heard “Last Christmas” at all, which is a shame.

    I know material things aren’t the most important part of this time of the year, but gifts are still one of my favorite parts of Christmas even though the excitement isn’t the same as it was when I was a kid. I always feel fortunate that people think about me. Here’s my haul this year:

    • Princess Mononoke on blu-ray
    • Marvel trivia box
    • Dancing Groot pop vinyl
    • Lucio and Junkrat pop vinyls
    • Jupiter’s Legacy Vol 1
    • Lunch bag for work
    • Card game and emoji toys (I regifted these)
    • Rainbow socks
    • Tardis fish tank ornament
    • Many Christmas cards (I’ve forgotten to mention these in previous years)
    • Some stuff I treated myself to:
      • Gloomhaven, Founders of Gloomhaven, and Spirit Island board games
      • a new car (post coming soon)
      • an Instant pot

    Overall, this has been a fairly good year. There were difficulties, but I think I got through them okay. Professionally, I was thrust into a leadership position around mid-year, and recently I got great feedback about how I’ve been doing. I think I surprised a lot of people. Health-wise, there have been ups and downs, but I’ve done well these past few weeks. I’m eating more home-cooked meals and less junk food. I think I’ll have a workout partner in January, so that should help keep me motivated.

    I’m so ready to take on 2019! I think some good changes are coming! I know that January 1 is just another day and it doesn’t mean that anything is going to change, but I think it’s a good opportunity to start over or make a course correction.

    As always I hope everyone has a happy holiday season and a great new year! Take care of each other!