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2020!
6 years ago
General
Hello everyone!
It’s been a little too long since I’ve done a proper journal, and it’s become a tradition of mine to do one at the beginning of each year to look back at the past and ahead to the future.
So 2019 was an interesting year, but was pretty good to me.
In my position at work, I started receiving a little more respect, even to the point where I got to be floor support and assisted with co-worker’s questions rather than taking calls myself at times. If the project had continued through the year and on, there was a good chance I would have even become a supervisor.
But, due to a financial impasse between the company I work for and the client we served, the particular project I was on ended. This was more of a positive outcome than anything, since the client was refusing to give us reasonable wages that my company was fighting for, so it was a discontinuation on our terms. Everyone on the project still had jobs afterwards, myself included.
However, this meant I kind of had to start again with training for a new project. The training established some higher standards for the new project that got me a little concerned, but now that I’ve been out on the floor with it for a few months, it’s been rather nice. I’ve kept my later shift for this project, and in this case, it means the last three hours of every weekday are much slower due to some of the call queues closing early. On top of that, this project allows us to bring books to read while we’re between calls. This is a new thing I’ve been capitalizing on quite a bit, and I’ve already gone through a few books in my time on the floor. I’ve been going through some novels that I’ve had for a while but never got around to reading, starting with the classic “Tom Sawyer” and then reading through Jules Verne’s “Around the World in 80 Days”. I also managed to get through my copy of “Treasure Island” that I bought for myself several years ago.
Next on my list is FINALLY continuing Brian Jacques’ “Redwall” series. I was able to get through an audiobook of “Redwall” before, and now thanks to the changes at work I’ve gotten through “Mossflower” and started “Mattimeo”. The series has obvious appeal to furs such as myself, and I’ve owned a few of the books for the longest time without ever devoting enough attention to them in the past. Now, I’ve got the leisure time at work, and it’s been great! It’s also giving me the idea of maybe making a D&D campaign in this world to play with a few friends, but I’ve got another 19.5 books to get through before I can REALLY do that. It’s something I’ve been brainstorming on, though.
Another cool thing happened much earlier in 2019: I became a musician again!
It all started with a good friend of mine putting out a request for a drummer in order to help with a song parody for April Fool’s Day. I had a drum set lying around, and I didn’t think he knew anyone else to fit the role, so I took the initiative and volunteered! Prior to this, my drum set was sitting in a sad state for a few years. My snare drum mechanism and bass drum head(s) had bitten the dust long ago, and before finally getting my job in 2017 I didn’t really have the money needed to repair/replace what was needed. Then after getting my job, I didn’t have the time or motivation to do much with music, so still my drum set sat.
This opportunity to help my friend, however, was the motivation I needed to get it back up and running, and being employed gave me the funds I needed too! I ended up getting a new bass drum head and a totally new (and AWESOME) snare drum, then I was back in business! We got together and recorded the parody, and it went well. It was great tapping into this side of me for the first time in a while, and since everything was all repaired afterwards, I was able to keep at it and work in a good music session every now and then. To top it all off, I also got a new drum throne/stool for Christmas, and it is SO NICE!
If you’re curious enough to give the song parody a listen, you can do so here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/31124964/
And then of course, 2019 was a year of movies!
DC has really gotten their shit together and has been pumping out near-perfect movies in my eyes! “Aquaman” was a great adventure that embraced the craziness of the hero’s source material (in 2018 but still), and “Shazam” was funny, light-hearted, and just overall delightful. Then of course there was “Joker” in October! “Joker” was an absolute MASTERPIECE, finally bringing DC movies back up to the Christopher Nolan level of quality. Seriously, what the Dark Knight trilogy did for Batman, this film did it for the Joker. It’s THAT good! And the future is looking insanely bright, too! I’m incredibly hyped for the upcoming “Birds of Prey”, and even more so for “Wonder Woman 1984” later this year!
Then of course there was the MCU. We FINALLY got the big conclusion to the incredibly ambitious 10-year story arc they’ve been developing! “Avengers Endgame” was huge and amazing! I don’t think the climax and payoff of the film could have been much more perfect than they ended up being! I’m so glad I’ve followed this journey to fruition; it’s been worth every moment! I’ve been meaning to share more elaborate reviews for both “Infinity War” and “Endgame”, perhaps even together to try and pin down which one ended up being the better film. I’ve gone back and forth a bit on the subject myself, so we’ll see if I get to doing that in the future.
Along with that, I’m SO happy that I am still 100% into the MCU! I was getting worried that I just wouldn’t care anymore after Endgame, but after the fact I find myself just as interested as ever! The Black Widow movie has an awesome trailer so far, I need to see “Eternals” just to find out how that’s gonna go, and I’m INCREDIBLY hyped for “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”!
Another thing helping me keep my interest in the MCU (as well as many other things) is the release of Disney+! While it’s currently put me on a Star Wars kick with the Mandalorian series and delving back into prequels territory, and it’s been great for going back through my Toon Disney childhood, I’m INCREDIBLY excited for the multitude of Marvel series they will be starting there later this year!
And yes, Disney+ is a dream come true and I highly recommend it. But I figure most of us furs have it already at this point.
Then, as usual, I got way too many video games in 2019.
Perhaps the biggest one that must be talked about is the long-awaited Kingdom Hearts 3 starting out this year! I ended up playing through a majority of the previous games building up to the release, and now that I’ve finished the new game as well, I can safely say…it’s not a new favorite. The graphics are practically perfect, though, and a lot of the new worlds, keyblades, and abilities are really awesome! If it weren’t for ONE CUTSCENE, the game might have actually been pretty amazing! Even so, Kingdom Hearts 2 remains my all-time favorite.
Then, for the first time since Ruby/Sapphire, I got a new main-line Pokémon game in the form of Pokémon Sword! I was basically just holding out until they put a Pokémon game on an HD console, and they did, so I picked it up and have been enjoying it! It’s been great revisiting Pokémon after so long and getting acquainted with the fun new species. It may or may not be giving me new sona ideas or look back at old ones.
And, as usual, I’m playing way too many games all at once at the moment!
I’m sure some others are worth mentioning, but this journal will already be pretty long without them. Perhaps another time or in the comments, if asked.
Now, for 2020…
While normally I have one big resolution at the start of each year, this time around I find myself with multiple resolutions and/or areas of focus.
First off, I do acknowledge that I need to get back to work on what I do here, the SUPERverse and otherwise. Of course, it’s a bad sign that it’s taken me weeks just to pump out this journal, so you can imagine how slowly the ACTUAL writing is going. It also doesn’t help that I’m getting distracted by other fandoms and away from superhero stuff at the moment, but with the things coming out later this year, that will DEFINITELY change! I have another plan or two to keep my motivation up, including a Discord server for SUPERverse fans, if that appeals to anybody.
In addition to continuing the SUPERverse and other stories, I also want to get back to writing reviews like I used to! I’ve got a ton of things – movies, music albums, and even TV series – that I want to share my views on, even going back to 2017! (Yes, it’s been THAT bad.)
In terms of the real world, I need to GET ANOTHER FUCKING PLACE TO LIVE!
This has been something that has needed to happen for a while now, as my parents are moving and trying to sell the current house. But now, it’s crunch time. March 1st is the provided deadline for my brother and I to move out.
The issue for the longest time had been the mystery of our third person to assist with rent. I had originally planned on rooming with a friend of mine, but they’ve moved in elsewhere. Fortunately, an old friend of my brother and myself has moved back into town, so he will now be our third. Together, we’ll soon be looking into some apartments around the area and trying to make a decision as soon as we can. I’m not too concerned and am more-so excited for this, really. My brother already has at least some sort of income, and the returning friend should have some money saved up from his work elsewhere. Searching in the area here, I’m finding some options more affordable than I initially thought. I just hope they are really as good an option as they sound.
I also want to try and keep my music practice going. My drum set has been made functional again, but I still want to get a few more things to upgrade it and give me more options. On top of that, I also have a piano and some piano books I’d like to keep working on.
The issue I foresee with this resolution would be with the apartment we’ll be getting. Being the nice person that I am, I’d hate to set up my drum set and play it while bothering all the tenants around us. I could ask around for when the time would be best to play, but I still feel that the nicer thing to do would be not to do it at all. Piano is still an option, though.
And finally, while I will still be gaming VERY often throughout 2020, I realize that I buy WAY too many games and want to try and cut back. There are already a few games I plan on picking up this year, with the Final Fantasy VII remake, Doom Eternal, and the Crystal Chronicles remake as high priorities. Whenever Biomutant FINALLY comes out, that will be there too.
I just want to cut back because I realize that I don’t finish the large majority of games that I get. There are things way back on the GameCube and Wii that I have yet to get through!
To help with this last resolution, though, I am putting more focus into an older game that I already own!
I decided about halfway through 2019 to take up video game SPEED-RUNNING, and the GameCube classic Star Fox Adventures is my game of choice to start off! I’ve already joined the game’s Discord server, gotten lots of runs and tips from some of the runners, and been practicing on my own to eventually do a run myself.
I’ve run into a couple of hurdles with running, but the game does have a perfect category for starting out that involves just playing through the first quarter of the game. That’s what I’m trying for, hoping to get a decent run for that before eventually branching out into the full game. I’ve loved the game ever since I got it back in the day, and I’ve come to realize it’s the game I feel the most comfortable and feel I have the most potential with. There are a few other games I have my eyes on too, though, if all goes well!
And at last, for another New Year’s tradition, here’s a list of my writing projects and their priorities for the time to come!
PRIORITIES (will hopefully/surely get to):
- SUPERverse stories (S.U.P.E.R., Fire Fox, etc.)
- Kingdom Hearts: The Greater Chain
- Other character/sona stories (Dante Ciaran and more!)
- Tale of the Fiction Fox (Fursona story)
- Some random AR stories
- Reviews of movies, TV series, music albums
- Padheart
POSSIBLES (will possibly get to if special circumstances occur):
- Zootopia: The Blue Fox Caper (fan-fiction)
- Zootopia: Under The Collar (AU story)
- Balto -4-
- Okami: Path of the Gods
- Star Fox Adventures 2
- Weight Gain / Fat Fur stories (Savannah and Forest, Fiction Fox, etc.)
- Oblivion (canon character fighting game scenario story)
- Boltro: Lightning Force (old project with unposted chapters sitting around)
NOT VERY LIKELY (practically giving up on these unless a miracle happens):
- Plush Kingdom
- Untitled Kung Fu Panda fan-fiction
- Various story requests/commissions
It’s been a little too long since I’ve done a proper journal, and it’s become a tradition of mine to do one at the beginning of each year to look back at the past and ahead to the future.
So 2019 was an interesting year, but was pretty good to me.
In my position at work, I started receiving a little more respect, even to the point where I got to be floor support and assisted with co-worker’s questions rather than taking calls myself at times. If the project had continued through the year and on, there was a good chance I would have even become a supervisor.
But, due to a financial impasse between the company I work for and the client we served, the particular project I was on ended. This was more of a positive outcome than anything, since the client was refusing to give us reasonable wages that my company was fighting for, so it was a discontinuation on our terms. Everyone on the project still had jobs afterwards, myself included.
However, this meant I kind of had to start again with training for a new project. The training established some higher standards for the new project that got me a little concerned, but now that I’ve been out on the floor with it for a few months, it’s been rather nice. I’ve kept my later shift for this project, and in this case, it means the last three hours of every weekday are much slower due to some of the call queues closing early. On top of that, this project allows us to bring books to read while we’re between calls. This is a new thing I’ve been capitalizing on quite a bit, and I’ve already gone through a few books in my time on the floor. I’ve been going through some novels that I’ve had for a while but never got around to reading, starting with the classic “Tom Sawyer” and then reading through Jules Verne’s “Around the World in 80 Days”. I also managed to get through my copy of “Treasure Island” that I bought for myself several years ago.
Next on my list is FINALLY continuing Brian Jacques’ “Redwall” series. I was able to get through an audiobook of “Redwall” before, and now thanks to the changes at work I’ve gotten through “Mossflower” and started “Mattimeo”. The series has obvious appeal to furs such as myself, and I’ve owned a few of the books for the longest time without ever devoting enough attention to them in the past. Now, I’ve got the leisure time at work, and it’s been great! It’s also giving me the idea of maybe making a D&D campaign in this world to play with a few friends, but I’ve got another 19.5 books to get through before I can REALLY do that. It’s something I’ve been brainstorming on, though.
Another cool thing happened much earlier in 2019: I became a musician again!
It all started with a good friend of mine putting out a request for a drummer in order to help with a song parody for April Fool’s Day. I had a drum set lying around, and I didn’t think he knew anyone else to fit the role, so I took the initiative and volunteered! Prior to this, my drum set was sitting in a sad state for a few years. My snare drum mechanism and bass drum head(s) had bitten the dust long ago, and before finally getting my job in 2017 I didn’t really have the money needed to repair/replace what was needed. Then after getting my job, I didn’t have the time or motivation to do much with music, so still my drum set sat.
This opportunity to help my friend, however, was the motivation I needed to get it back up and running, and being employed gave me the funds I needed too! I ended up getting a new bass drum head and a totally new (and AWESOME) snare drum, then I was back in business! We got together and recorded the parody, and it went well. It was great tapping into this side of me for the first time in a while, and since everything was all repaired afterwards, I was able to keep at it and work in a good music session every now and then. To top it all off, I also got a new drum throne/stool for Christmas, and it is SO NICE!
If you’re curious enough to give the song parody a listen, you can do so here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/31124964/
And then of course, 2019 was a year of movies!
DC has really gotten their shit together and has been pumping out near-perfect movies in my eyes! “Aquaman” was a great adventure that embraced the craziness of the hero’s source material (in 2018 but still), and “Shazam” was funny, light-hearted, and just overall delightful. Then of course there was “Joker” in October! “Joker” was an absolute MASTERPIECE, finally bringing DC movies back up to the Christopher Nolan level of quality. Seriously, what the Dark Knight trilogy did for Batman, this film did it for the Joker. It’s THAT good! And the future is looking insanely bright, too! I’m incredibly hyped for the upcoming “Birds of Prey”, and even more so for “Wonder Woman 1984” later this year!
Then of course there was the MCU. We FINALLY got the big conclusion to the incredibly ambitious 10-year story arc they’ve been developing! “Avengers Endgame” was huge and amazing! I don’t think the climax and payoff of the film could have been much more perfect than they ended up being! I’m so glad I’ve followed this journey to fruition; it’s been worth every moment! I’ve been meaning to share more elaborate reviews for both “Infinity War” and “Endgame”, perhaps even together to try and pin down which one ended up being the better film. I’ve gone back and forth a bit on the subject myself, so we’ll see if I get to doing that in the future.
Along with that, I’m SO happy that I am still 100% into the MCU! I was getting worried that I just wouldn’t care anymore after Endgame, but after the fact I find myself just as interested as ever! The Black Widow movie has an awesome trailer so far, I need to see “Eternals” just to find out how that’s gonna go, and I’m INCREDIBLY hyped for “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”!
Another thing helping me keep my interest in the MCU (as well as many other things) is the release of Disney+! While it’s currently put me on a Star Wars kick with the Mandalorian series and delving back into prequels territory, and it’s been great for going back through my Toon Disney childhood, I’m INCREDIBLY excited for the multitude of Marvel series they will be starting there later this year!
And yes, Disney+ is a dream come true and I highly recommend it. But I figure most of us furs have it already at this point.
Then, as usual, I got way too many video games in 2019.
Perhaps the biggest one that must be talked about is the long-awaited Kingdom Hearts 3 starting out this year! I ended up playing through a majority of the previous games building up to the release, and now that I’ve finished the new game as well, I can safely say…it’s not a new favorite. The graphics are practically perfect, though, and a lot of the new worlds, keyblades, and abilities are really awesome! If it weren’t for ONE CUTSCENE, the game might have actually been pretty amazing! Even so, Kingdom Hearts 2 remains my all-time favorite.
Then, for the first time since Ruby/Sapphire, I got a new main-line Pokémon game in the form of Pokémon Sword! I was basically just holding out until they put a Pokémon game on an HD console, and they did, so I picked it up and have been enjoying it! It’s been great revisiting Pokémon after so long and getting acquainted with the fun new species. It may or may not be giving me new sona ideas or look back at old ones.
And, as usual, I’m playing way too many games all at once at the moment!
I’m sure some others are worth mentioning, but this journal will already be pretty long without them. Perhaps another time or in the comments, if asked.
Now, for 2020…
While normally I have one big resolution at the start of each year, this time around I find myself with multiple resolutions and/or areas of focus.
First off, I do acknowledge that I need to get back to work on what I do here, the SUPERverse and otherwise. Of course, it’s a bad sign that it’s taken me weeks just to pump out this journal, so you can imagine how slowly the ACTUAL writing is going. It also doesn’t help that I’m getting distracted by other fandoms and away from superhero stuff at the moment, but with the things coming out later this year, that will DEFINITELY change! I have another plan or two to keep my motivation up, including a Discord server for SUPERverse fans, if that appeals to anybody.
In addition to continuing the SUPERverse and other stories, I also want to get back to writing reviews like I used to! I’ve got a ton of things – movies, music albums, and even TV series – that I want to share my views on, even going back to 2017! (Yes, it’s been THAT bad.)
In terms of the real world, I need to GET ANOTHER FUCKING PLACE TO LIVE!
This has been something that has needed to happen for a while now, as my parents are moving and trying to sell the current house. But now, it’s crunch time. March 1st is the provided deadline for my brother and I to move out.
The issue for the longest time had been the mystery of our third person to assist with rent. I had originally planned on rooming with a friend of mine, but they’ve moved in elsewhere. Fortunately, an old friend of my brother and myself has moved back into town, so he will now be our third. Together, we’ll soon be looking into some apartments around the area and trying to make a decision as soon as we can. I’m not too concerned and am more-so excited for this, really. My brother already has at least some sort of income, and the returning friend should have some money saved up from his work elsewhere. Searching in the area here, I’m finding some options more affordable than I initially thought. I just hope they are really as good an option as they sound.
I also want to try and keep my music practice going. My drum set has been made functional again, but I still want to get a few more things to upgrade it and give me more options. On top of that, I also have a piano and some piano books I’d like to keep working on.
The issue I foresee with this resolution would be with the apartment we’ll be getting. Being the nice person that I am, I’d hate to set up my drum set and play it while bothering all the tenants around us. I could ask around for when the time would be best to play, but I still feel that the nicer thing to do would be not to do it at all. Piano is still an option, though.
And finally, while I will still be gaming VERY often throughout 2020, I realize that I buy WAY too many games and want to try and cut back. There are already a few games I plan on picking up this year, with the Final Fantasy VII remake, Doom Eternal, and the Crystal Chronicles remake as high priorities. Whenever Biomutant FINALLY comes out, that will be there too.
I just want to cut back because I realize that I don’t finish the large majority of games that I get. There are things way back on the GameCube and Wii that I have yet to get through!
To help with this last resolution, though, I am putting more focus into an older game that I already own!
I decided about halfway through 2019 to take up video game SPEED-RUNNING, and the GameCube classic Star Fox Adventures is my game of choice to start off! I’ve already joined the game’s Discord server, gotten lots of runs and tips from some of the runners, and been practicing on my own to eventually do a run myself.
I’ve run into a couple of hurdles with running, but the game does have a perfect category for starting out that involves just playing through the first quarter of the game. That’s what I’m trying for, hoping to get a decent run for that before eventually branching out into the full game. I’ve loved the game ever since I got it back in the day, and I’ve come to realize it’s the game I feel the most comfortable and feel I have the most potential with. There are a few other games I have my eyes on too, though, if all goes well!
And at last, for another New Year’s tradition, here’s a list of my writing projects and their priorities for the time to come!
PRIORITIES (will hopefully/surely get to):
- SUPERverse stories (S.U.P.E.R., Fire Fox, etc.)
- Kingdom Hearts: The Greater Chain
- Other character/sona stories (Dante Ciaran and more!)
- Tale of the Fiction Fox (Fursona story)
- Some random AR stories
- Reviews of movies, TV series, music albums
- Padheart
POSSIBLES (will possibly get to if special circumstances occur):
- Zootopia: The Blue Fox Caper (fan-fiction)
- Zootopia: Under The Collar (AU story)
- Balto -4-
- Okami: Path of the Gods
- Star Fox Adventures 2
- Weight Gain / Fat Fur stories (Savannah and Forest, Fiction Fox, etc.)
- Oblivion (canon character fighting game scenario story)
- Boltro: Lightning Force (old project with unposted chapters sitting around)
NOT VERY LIKELY (practically giving up on these unless a miracle happens):
- Plush Kingdom
- Untitled Kung Fu Panda fan-fiction
- Various story requests/commissions
RyanMonkey
~ryanmonkey
I wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavors!
Blaze Brander
~jxaxp
OP
Thanks! ^^
tripleccc
~tripleccc
Wow, that is quite a lot on your plate! O.o I wish you all the best, buddy. :)
Blaze Brander
~jxaxp
OP
Thanks. ^^;
