Today is going to be one of those stream of consciousness posts, because despite having a bunch of things I could be making full on posts about, it’s almost 110 degrees today, and my efforts to keep from melting are keeping me from the thought provoking stuff.

I have been playing games, as usual, but there is going to be a severe uptick in things I need to do in real life.

Many of you will recall that I moved away from my shitty little town-that-was-home for half of my life, back to an area where I had lived during the first half. Part of this was due to the fact that I had been laid off from a job, the job market where I was living was terrible, and also because I felt the need to find a new direction in life. I felt like there would be more opportunities out this way, and also needed a hand to square away some legal issues. It seemed like the best move at the time, and currently I have no regrets about the decision.

However, once here it was apparent that lacking a network makes things more difficult. Not having a history in a particular area also works against you. I set off on this journey just over a year ago, and some progress has been made towards bettering myself. First, I fixed the legal issues that had been a bane on my existence. Next, I re-enrolled in school. Lastly, I may have come across a cool job opportunity, but it requires some training first, and that training has to be paid out of my own pocket. More specifically, I’ll probably borrow the money.

I do feel like things are going in the right direction though. Hell, I even officially have a girlfriend now, which seems unreal. I hadn’t had a girlfriend in four years. Not that I couldn’t have had one, just waited around for the right combination of chemistry and other criteria — I.E. I wasn’t going to settle for mere companionship. I wanted something suitable and to be heading in similar directions, rather than just latching on to someone who would sleep with me. This is probably all TMI… but whatever.

The point is, I’m feeling pretty good about things. Better than I have in a long time and I think that stems from being in a better place overall and getting away from negative influences. I’m an alpha male in the fact that I will lead and forge my own path, but I can be just as much of a follower in that I’m easily swayed by the opinions of others whom I care about. It’s a curse and a blessing, because empathy can pull you in two directions at once. Empathy for self is easy, empathy for others is distracting at best, life changing at worst.

So I’m at the precipice of greatness. However this means a few things for this blog, my podcast, and my leisure time. Mainly, there will be less time overall to do the things I enjoy, and though I have no intentions of dropping out of Blaugust, decreasing the frequency of podcast episodes, or letting anything else slip, it’s a known fact that being busy in real life takes its toll on the rest of life. I shall remain vigilant, but I might stumble. You’ll have to forgive me if that happens.

Otherwise, it’s business as usual. I’m playing games, and I’m still bouncing around between titles as they strike my fancy. I will have something more substantial to write about very soon. That is if I don’t melt first.

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This time I make the run with Plant… and still die at the first boss. Is it just me or are dailies harder than normal runs? I swear I’ve actually made it to the Nuclear Throne before!