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It's 2016, where have I been?
10 years ago
Eddie the Wolf's Cool Crew
Hey folks! Once again, it’s been awhile, and I’ve been meaning to do an update ever since the last one. So here we go as we just jump right into things!
The Christmas season just wasn’t there for me. I couldn’t get into the holiday spirit as things at work were super stressful and tiresome. There were many times I just wanted to keep to myself even though I longed to be in the company of others. So this past holiday just wasn’t the best for me. I didn’t get a whole lot that would warrant my annual video post of Christmas goodies. All I can say was I got three books (all Star Wars related), a movie (Princess Mononoke on Blu-ray), a game (Tales of Xillia which I ended up trading it in for the sequel), a model of the DeLorean from Back to the Future to put together, and a handful of t-shirts from Tee Fury. I know it’s not really about the gifts and more about being with family. Maybe that was what I had missed the most even though I knew I had to work through those holidays. Sure, the paycheck looked great, but I was more concerned about my well-being more than anything around that time.
Now that we have moved into the new year, there are plenty of things I would like to try to accomplish on a more personal level. For starters, I really want to do my best in not stressing over the littlest of things. I’m 28, and it’s time that I shouldn’t let things get the best of me or worry over stuff that wouldn’t benefit me. I really need to learn to appreciate and love myself more because one should really try to focus more on oneself before anything else. From what I have seen of others that have done similar methods, they seem to be more content with their lives, and that’s something I need greatly. I will say that there are certain aspects of myself that I have improved on, but there is always room for more improvement. We are all human beings after all.
As always, I want to try to get into being more active whether it be swimming or walking. I think what I should try to limit myself on how much soda I consume and see if that does reduce my weight. I really want to aim for a bit of a beach body as silly as that may sound. In all seriousness, I would like to have a more lean form even if it means sacrificing on certain things. Not having this gut of mine would be a big blessing. So we shall see what happens. Other goals in mind include improving on my art, setting aside some time to work on my video game idea, and, as always, work at my backlog of video games I have sitting here.
Speaking of games, I’m happy to report that I have completed the PS2 Grand Theft Auto trilogy! I finished San Andreas I believe around the middle of December, and I have to say that I had a much more pleasant experience playing the game this time around than I did when it first game out. Mind you that I had borrowed the game from a friend back in Tennessee for the original Xbox. I just couldn’t get into the game because of how foul it seemed to me, and I wasn’t a fan of its control schemes and dialog. Now that I have matured enough and have played GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas, I can see the appeal and historical achievement these games tried to accomplish. San Andreas is without a doubt technically superior of the three games in this collection. The world was bigger than III and Vice City combined, and there was a lot one could accomplish if given the time to uncover everything it had to offer. Driving is actually a joy this time around especially with how terrible it was to get around GTA III’s setting. Even the missions are much more varied and fun despite a handful of them being a pain in the butt… Believe it or not I did enjoy the game’s soundtrack this time around! However, Vice City’s soundtrack tops anything any day of the week. The biggest thing that makes San Andreas stand out from the collection is that there are NO load screens when going in-between areas. For a 2004 PS2 game of this scope, I have to say that’s really pushing the limits of what a game can do on a system. Vice City is still the best game in the series with my score of 10, but San Andreas comes real close with a 9.5. It shows that either of the games deserves to be in any greatest games of all-time list compared to GTA III. Seriously, that one really hasn’t aged well…
Another game I got around to finishing recently was Undertale via Steam. For a short game, it left such a big impact. It’s definitely a quirky game for folks that love very off-beat humor and a heavy dose of well-developed characters. That’s something I know I need some work on with my very own characters. I have to say that Undertale has probably set a very high bar as far as indie games are of concern, and I highly recommend checking this gem out if you have a few hours to spare from your daily life. So there will be some fan art of this game very, very soon. Be on the lookout for that!
With those games out of the way, I jumped right into Yakuza 2 for PS2 ever since Yakuza 5 came out for PS3’s PSN store. That has my mention these days, and it’s quite an improvement over the first game particularly how improved combat is along with the game’s pacing. I understand that a few fans that follow me will shake their heads when I say that I’m also doing some of the game’s side missions this time around. I know it’s not all that important to the game, but I am one that wants to get the most out of my game. However, there are some that are just absolutely ridiculous and would probably make one throw his/her controller against the wall especially with how demanding some of these side missions can be. I kid you not! I probably spend a good portion of the game’s fifth chapter doing a couple of dumb side missions. With that said, there was one in particular I actually grew fond over, and it happens to be Japanese mahjong (YouTube it if necessary). Now I won’t say that it has made me a fan of this particular game, but I can appreciate the basics and wouldn’t mind giving it a try if the mood strikes up. So far, I’m having a blast, and I hope to have it done soon.
The other game I’ve gotten back into is Tales of Symphonia. I have played the Gamecube version of it, and I’m using a guide to see what else I might have missed this time around with the PS3 version. I never realized just how much grinding there was to do. Then again, this is a J-RPG, and that is to be expected. But man! Grinding in this game is a bit ridiculous at times. However, I have experienced grinding much worse than this (Final Fantasy II via Dawn of Souls), and the guide has been helpful for the most part on what my characters will gain in the long run. I guess once I get either Yakuza 2 or Symphonia done I would like to dedicate a month on a couple of original Xbox games based on what you guys would like have me play in a voting session. Stay tuned for more on that in a future post.
This might be the part where I’ll try to wrap things up as I would like to have this journal out of the way. All I can say is that I am drawing when I can, and I will do my best to share what I’ve drawn on my Twitter account. There is a project I am working on examples for, and I would like to offer a few spots for commissions in the near future. About five of them have been sketched out, but I want to sketch out a few more before I begin to ink and color them. For those that follow my art accounts, stay tuned for more on that.
Other ideas I want to come up with are journals for discussing on certain topics in general. In a few days I may do just that in hopes of sharing some of my favorite video game songs and remixes of late. The way I would do it is title the journal as if I were making a mixtape based on a theme or a mood. We’ll see how that goes as the year progresses. The same can be said on any books or movies you guys can recommend depending on the genre I’m in the mood for. Lately, it’s been science fiction, and I’ll be sure to type that up a few days after I post some music favorites. I’m kind of excited about it because I want to try to be a bit more active even if it means that it’ll be awhile before I post anything art related on my art accounts.
With that said, I think this will do for this journal update. I hope you guys have an awesome 2016! Lots to do and accomplish! Go out there and make the most of it!
Thanks for reading, guys. And thank you to those that have helped me along the way. You have no idea how much I really appreciate some of the support and advice I have received.
Here’s to the new year!
Eddie the Wolf signing off!
The Christmas season just wasn’t there for me. I couldn’t get into the holiday spirit as things at work were super stressful and tiresome. There were many times I just wanted to keep to myself even though I longed to be in the company of others. So this past holiday just wasn’t the best for me. I didn’t get a whole lot that would warrant my annual video post of Christmas goodies. All I can say was I got three books (all Star Wars related), a movie (Princess Mononoke on Blu-ray), a game (Tales of Xillia which I ended up trading it in for the sequel), a model of the DeLorean from Back to the Future to put together, and a handful of t-shirts from Tee Fury. I know it’s not really about the gifts and more about being with family. Maybe that was what I had missed the most even though I knew I had to work through those holidays. Sure, the paycheck looked great, but I was more concerned about my well-being more than anything around that time.
Now that we have moved into the new year, there are plenty of things I would like to try to accomplish on a more personal level. For starters, I really want to do my best in not stressing over the littlest of things. I’m 28, and it’s time that I shouldn’t let things get the best of me or worry over stuff that wouldn’t benefit me. I really need to learn to appreciate and love myself more because one should really try to focus more on oneself before anything else. From what I have seen of others that have done similar methods, they seem to be more content with their lives, and that’s something I need greatly. I will say that there are certain aspects of myself that I have improved on, but there is always room for more improvement. We are all human beings after all.
As always, I want to try to get into being more active whether it be swimming or walking. I think what I should try to limit myself on how much soda I consume and see if that does reduce my weight. I really want to aim for a bit of a beach body as silly as that may sound. In all seriousness, I would like to have a more lean form even if it means sacrificing on certain things. Not having this gut of mine would be a big blessing. So we shall see what happens. Other goals in mind include improving on my art, setting aside some time to work on my video game idea, and, as always, work at my backlog of video games I have sitting here.
Speaking of games, I’m happy to report that I have completed the PS2 Grand Theft Auto trilogy! I finished San Andreas I believe around the middle of December, and I have to say that I had a much more pleasant experience playing the game this time around than I did when it first game out. Mind you that I had borrowed the game from a friend back in Tennessee for the original Xbox. I just couldn’t get into the game because of how foul it seemed to me, and I wasn’t a fan of its control schemes and dialog. Now that I have matured enough and have played GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas, I can see the appeal and historical achievement these games tried to accomplish. San Andreas is without a doubt technically superior of the three games in this collection. The world was bigger than III and Vice City combined, and there was a lot one could accomplish if given the time to uncover everything it had to offer. Driving is actually a joy this time around especially with how terrible it was to get around GTA III’s setting. Even the missions are much more varied and fun despite a handful of them being a pain in the butt… Believe it or not I did enjoy the game’s soundtrack this time around! However, Vice City’s soundtrack tops anything any day of the week. The biggest thing that makes San Andreas stand out from the collection is that there are NO load screens when going in-between areas. For a 2004 PS2 game of this scope, I have to say that’s really pushing the limits of what a game can do on a system. Vice City is still the best game in the series with my score of 10, but San Andreas comes real close with a 9.5. It shows that either of the games deserves to be in any greatest games of all-time list compared to GTA III. Seriously, that one really hasn’t aged well…
Another game I got around to finishing recently was Undertale via Steam. For a short game, it left such a big impact. It’s definitely a quirky game for folks that love very off-beat humor and a heavy dose of well-developed characters. That’s something I know I need some work on with my very own characters. I have to say that Undertale has probably set a very high bar as far as indie games are of concern, and I highly recommend checking this gem out if you have a few hours to spare from your daily life. So there will be some fan art of this game very, very soon. Be on the lookout for that!
With those games out of the way, I jumped right into Yakuza 2 for PS2 ever since Yakuza 5 came out for PS3’s PSN store. That has my mention these days, and it’s quite an improvement over the first game particularly how improved combat is along with the game’s pacing. I understand that a few fans that follow me will shake their heads when I say that I’m also doing some of the game’s side missions this time around. I know it’s not all that important to the game, but I am one that wants to get the most out of my game. However, there are some that are just absolutely ridiculous and would probably make one throw his/her controller against the wall especially with how demanding some of these side missions can be. I kid you not! I probably spend a good portion of the game’s fifth chapter doing a couple of dumb side missions. With that said, there was one in particular I actually grew fond over, and it happens to be Japanese mahjong (YouTube it if necessary). Now I won’t say that it has made me a fan of this particular game, but I can appreciate the basics and wouldn’t mind giving it a try if the mood strikes up. So far, I’m having a blast, and I hope to have it done soon.
The other game I’ve gotten back into is Tales of Symphonia. I have played the Gamecube version of it, and I’m using a guide to see what else I might have missed this time around with the PS3 version. I never realized just how much grinding there was to do. Then again, this is a J-RPG, and that is to be expected. But man! Grinding in this game is a bit ridiculous at times. However, I have experienced grinding much worse than this (Final Fantasy II via Dawn of Souls), and the guide has been helpful for the most part on what my characters will gain in the long run. I guess once I get either Yakuza 2 or Symphonia done I would like to dedicate a month on a couple of original Xbox games based on what you guys would like have me play in a voting session. Stay tuned for more on that in a future post.
This might be the part where I’ll try to wrap things up as I would like to have this journal out of the way. All I can say is that I am drawing when I can, and I will do my best to share what I’ve drawn on my Twitter account. There is a project I am working on examples for, and I would like to offer a few spots for commissions in the near future. About five of them have been sketched out, but I want to sketch out a few more before I begin to ink and color them. For those that follow my art accounts, stay tuned for more on that.
Other ideas I want to come up with are journals for discussing on certain topics in general. In a few days I may do just that in hopes of sharing some of my favorite video game songs and remixes of late. The way I would do it is title the journal as if I were making a mixtape based on a theme or a mood. We’ll see how that goes as the year progresses. The same can be said on any books or movies you guys can recommend depending on the genre I’m in the mood for. Lately, it’s been science fiction, and I’ll be sure to type that up a few days after I post some music favorites. I’m kind of excited about it because I want to try to be a bit more active even if it means that it’ll be awhile before I post anything art related on my art accounts.
With that said, I think this will do for this journal update. I hope you guys have an awesome 2016! Lots to do and accomplish! Go out there and make the most of it!
Thanks for reading, guys. And thank you to those that have helped me along the way. You have no idea how much I really appreciate some of the support and advice I have received.
Here’s to the new year!
Eddie the Wolf signing off!
Groups
I'm kidding! lol!
don't forget to take some downtime here and there too!!
I'm sorry you missed out on the holiday feeling, I really am a romantic about that sort of thing. Christmas, family, gifts, I wish we could all have that every year.
I hear you on the improvement, I'm putting out some of the best writing I've ever done. I know that if I'm given a free hand and let to work at my own pace, I put out some truly mind blowing things.
I'm eating better than I once did, drinking more water... I still drink a good amount of soda, but I do each much healthier so that's one thing. I drink less soda than I once did, so that's something too.
For me, I'm working on Mortal Kombat X and Fallout 4.. :)