illusion_is_mine

Hey guys,

Long time no post I know. I've been somewhat busy for the most part, but I finally got a chance to sit down and make a new post. As you can see I've been playing lots of Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and I've been loving it so far. This game honestly feels more like the classic Tomb Raider games than any of the reboot titles so far. In this game Lara has kick-started the apocalypse by accident, and has to make things right. Aka typical Lara Croft moment. Here's a nice gif from the game.







As for other things I've been mostly working, and doing normal boring adult stuff. I bought a few vinyl records recently. I was surprised this online independent record shop had albums by Toe, a Japanese post-rock band I've been into for years. I was happy to find that both records were limited edition colored vinyl, and they both came with digital downloads. I also bought a limited edition version of the new Zeal & Ardor record "Stranger Fruit." I have a picture of it in all it's beautiful glory. I love purple so this edition was a must buy for me, and the record is one of my favorite metal albums of 2018 so far.

( Stranger fruit... )

As for other things I went to the doctor last week for my follow up appointment, and the doctor said my blood pressure was really good.  I've been trying to watch what I eat, and avoid too much fast food.  I'm glad to see it's finally paying off.  I plan to start exercising, but I need to build up the motivation to do it.  It's tough the older you get, but I really do need to for my health.  I also need to start doing some more artwork, and updating my deviant art page regularly.  I think I should take it one step at a time and try not to push myself too hard.  I'll figure it all out I guess.

I guess that's all for now.  

 I figured I'd post a few quick updates to let you guys know what's been going on with me.  

• My dad has his surgery this friday, and I'm a bit anxious about it.  This will be a pretty serious surgery so his recovery will be longer, but hopefully everything turns out okay.

• Things have been going well at work lately.  The only thing that's been going on outside the norm is that creepy guy finally stopped talking to me.  I think that's a good thing.  I think I finally pissed him off enough that he just leaves me alone...haha.  
• I beat one game in my backlog!  I know that it's just one among many but hey it's something.  The game was Tomb Raider (2011), and I'm glad I finally finished it.  Now I can really dive into Octopath Travler on my Switch.

• I've been listening to tons of music lately.  I've been really feeling nostalgic about 90's ska/punk so I've been listening to a lot of that.  I used to love that stuff as a teen and I just sort of fell off as I got older.  Bands like The English Beat, No Doubt (mostly Tragic Kingdom), The Clash, The Selector, Streetlight Manifesto, Black Flag, and Catch 22 to name a few bands.  

• I've also been listening to a lot of goth music, but that's nothing new...lol

• I joined discord a few months ago, and I've really been enjoying it!  I'm glad I found some great servers with friendly people that I can chat with on the regular. 

• Finally saw Avengers: Infinity War, and I enjoyed it.  I didn't love it as much as most people, but I'm not super into the Avengers either so I figured I wouldn't go crazy over it.  I do want to know what happens in the next movie since this one felt like it was unfinished.  I'm assuming they're making another movie, but I'm not sure XD! 

Today I decided to take a mental health day off work to recuperate from my long week. I'm glad I did because I ended up not getting much sleep last night. I went to bed around 8pm, and ended up waking up around midnight, and not going back to sleep until around 3am I believe. At one point I started reading to see if that would help.

Truth be told I was a bit depressed yesterday, but after listening to a bit of music I started to feel a little bit better. It's amazing how music can really make me feel better. My mom told me once that when I was first born they would put a radio in my crib to help me sleep. It seems that music still has the same effect on me as an adult.

As for what I've been listening to it's been mainly Utada Hikaru, Lacuna Coil, Chelsea Wolfe, Self Defense Family, Tiger's Jaw, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Oceans of Slumber, Zeal and Ardor, Jaurim, Trivium, and Dir en grey. Speaking of music I've Zeal & Ardor's new album on repeat lately. If you don't know who they are they are a unique black metal band that fuses elements of black metal with gospel, and slave chants. It's one of the most interesting bands I've heard this year.  This song is from their previous album, but I think the video is really cool so here ya go. I like how the first youtube comment is "I guess I'm a satanist now" XD!  

Hey guys.  I'm in the recovering stage after my surgery, and I'm doing better.  I mostly slept all day after I had the surgery, and the few days after that were rough.  This week is a lot better though because I'm in a lot less pain.  I get my stitches taken out on the 17th so it should be smooth sailing after that.  The scar still hurts a little bit, but it's not nearly as bad as it was right after the surgery. 

I've mostly been playing lots of Farcry 5, and God of War.  I've been progressing pretty well through both games.  I've been having a blast playing them both so far.

As for music I've been listening to a bit of everything.  I bought the album "Boxer" by The National and I've been digging it so far.  Also Haley Kiyoko's newest album "Expectations" has been on heavy rotation on my iPod lately.  I love her whole aesthetic, and her videos are really gorgeous.  The women in her videos are all really hot.  The girl has good taste xD!

A lot of things have been going on lately.  My mom is having surgery to have her gallbladder removed this Thursday so I'm very anxious about that.  She'll need 2 weeks to recover so I'm going to be doing the grocery shopping for the month.  I'm not really looking forward to that since I hate grocery shopping, but we gotta eat so yeah.  My grandma also had a minor surgery yesterday that I just found out about.  She's doing okay, and recovering at home. 

My mom's birthday was this past Saturday, and my sister had a cookout for her on Sunday.  It was pretty fun, and it was great seeing the family all together again. :)

I was supposed to go to the dermatologist today, but I called and cancelled due to a really bad thunderstorm coming through this morning.  The weatherman mentioned flooding, and a bunch of traffic issues so I decided to reschedule my appointment.  

Besides all the personal stuff going on I'm almost at the end of Super Mario Odyssey, and I gotta say I've been enjoying it quite a bit.  I really does remind me a lot of Super Mario 64, and how huge of a leap forward that was for the franchise.  I've also started playing Persona 5 again.  It drags in places, but the story is very interesting.  I finally feel like I'm getting to the point where the story is picking up.  I've also been playing Fallout 3, and Nier Automata.  My coworker says I jump from game to game way too much, but really I just play what I'm in the mood for at that moment.  I don't think there's a particular way to play video games.  Especially since playing games for me is a way to unwind, and shut out the world.  For certain games I usually have to take a break from them for a while or I'll get burned out on the (ei: Fallout 4.) I also purchased Farcry 3 from the xbox marketplace for my 360 since it was on sale.  I was initially looking at getting Farcry 5, but here lately I've been avoiding buying games at launch at least until they patch all the bugs, and everything.

As for music I've been listening to lots of Chelsea Wolfe, Fleetwood Mac, Lacuna Coil, and Turnstile.  A weird combination I know, but my music taste is very much reflected in my mood, and how I'm feeling at the moment.  

Well that's all for now.  Here's a trailer for Farcry 5 since the plot of this game is sort of interesting.

 This past week was very exhausting because I had to work overtime.  It will pay off financially, but next month should be a bit more relaxed for me I think.  

As for other things I've been playing lots of Dark Souls 2, and that game is definitely a challenge.  I'm finally understanding the mechanics of the game, and how to level up and what not.  The 2nd boss in that game is really challenging so I've decided to take a break from it.  Since they're remastering the first Dark Souls game, and it comes out on my birthday I'll wait until then to pick it back up again.  I've heard a lot of people really don't like DS2, and after playing it a while I understand why.  

I've also been listening to a lot of music.  Mainly my usual gothic rock, post-punk, and metal stuff along with a bit of Japanese indie.  I also heard the singer of the Cranberries, Delores O'Riordan, passed away yesterday.  I'm not a huge fan, but I did learn "Zombie" on guitar so I was sad to hear that.   I might make it a point to go back and listen to their albums.  As for other stuff I've been listening to The Gathering, Chelsea Wolfe, Pianos Become the Teeth, Nine Inch Nails, BTS, Epik High, and Citizen.  

Since I mentioned the Cranberries I'll post this awesome video/song.  I really need to listen to more of their stuff.

Well this week was very exhausting. I had to work Monday, and I was a straight up zombie all day...lol. All that aside I haven't worked up the courage to talk to my crush yet. I've been dealing with my anxiety, and how exactly I'm going to go about it. He's so chill though that he seems like he would be easy to approach.

My mom is having her foot surgery tomorrow, and I'll be on cooking and cleaning duty for a while.  I think i'll be okay.  I'm not the best cook in the world, but I can whip up some decent meals when I try.  She'll be laid up for about 2 weeks so I have to make the ham for Thanksgiving.  We're having Thanksgiving at our house so I'll have to clean up as well.  My mom asked people to help me clean up but we'll see how that goes.  I also have to work the day after Thanksgiving which kinda sucks, but what can you do.  

In other news anyone heard about the singer of the band Brand New apparently outed as being a total creep, and preying on underage girls? I will admit I didn't see that one coming. Although some of their earlier lyrics always rubbed me the wrong way. 
( Read more... )

Last night I played a round of Dark Souls 2, and the game completely obliterated me.  I was really trying to learn about how the leveling up works, the inventory, and overall combat.  Overall it was just a practice run, but It really makes me realize how long it takes you to get better at that game overall.  I'll be taking a break from it since I pre-ordered Super Mario Odyssey for the the Nintendo Switch, but it was good to get some practice in.  

I did manage to take Mass Effect 2 back to get a refund on Saturday to Half-Priced books. I ended up picking up Killzone (PS2), and 2 CD's: AFI's "Sing the Sorrow" since I'd been intending to buy it for years, and never gotten around to it until now, as well as MeWithoutYou's "Pale Horses".   I also ordered Trivium's "The Sin and the Sentence" from Amazon.  

Since I read about this anyone hear about Jessicka Addam's from Jack Off Jill's FB post basically saying that Twiggy Ramirez a.k.a. (Jeordie White) of Marilyn Manson, and a Perfect Circle raped her while they were dating?  I thought i was very heartbreaking.  I sort of had an idea since she indicated it in a few JOJ songs, but I had no idea what actually happened.  My heart goes out to her, and any victims of sexual assault.

Speaking of that one of the huge gaming forums Neo-Gaf shut down recently because apparently the site owner was accused of sexual assault.  Apparently most of the mods jumped ship after the news was released, and many people who frequented the forum asked to be perma-banned.  I mainly just lurked on the gaming news side of that forum, but never joined.  I heard it was really hard to join anyway because they had very strict requirements for joining.  I'm glad I never did after hearing about these allegations.  They were also a bit of an echo chamber when it came to certain topics.  They would ban people for having different viewpoints from the mods which is pretty idiotic.  I sort of understand why they were so strict, but it got ridiculous after a certain point, and then this happens.  

I do hope they out all these sexual predators in the entertainment business though because it's just horrible how often this happens.  Really it happens everywhere, but you get what I mean. 

Today I'll probably play a few games, listen to music, and just chill since it's Monday.  I'll catch you guys later.  

     Yesterday mom and I went to the store to get some groceries. I've been trying to eat healthier since I found out I had high blood pressure. I haven't been too successful because I kept falling back into my old eating habits. This time though I'm going about it seriously because I'm tired of eating food that's generally unhealthy, and makes me feel awful. I ended up getting fruits, salad, grilled chicken, and other healthy things that I could take for my lunch at work. I think this is really going to help me feel better overall, as well as help keep my body healthy. I will say that eating healthy can be expensive though. That being said I think it will help me have more energy, and feel better in the long run so I'm going to try it for a while and see how it goes. I'm not cutting out everything I like completely just cutting back a bit on the unhealthy food. I will admit I splurged on chocolate last night though xD!




     As for other stuff I've been playing a few new games lately. I bought Yakuza Kiwami yesterday at Walmart, and Cuphead on steam for PC about a day or so ago. Cuphead is amazing! I love the 2D animation, and the whole 1930's style cartoon look the game has. Since I did animation in school this game is such a joy to look at, and play. I've been playing a few more indie titles lately, and I've been enjoying them quite a bit. The studio who did Cuphead really outdid themselves.



     As for Yakuza Kiwami I started it yesterday, and it's really fun. I ended up getting the steel book edition, and the back cover design is really beautiful. It's a very nice looking beat em' up type game and Kiryu (main character) is such a likable guy that it's easy to enjoy the overall story of the game. I'm loving the amount of detail on the character models in that game, as well as the gameplay. Overall I think it's a great game so far.  As for Nintendo Switch games I'm looking forward to that are coming up Super Mario Odysessy, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 are absolute must buys for me.  I also kinda want Stardew Valley that comes out on Oct 5th for the Switch, but I'll probably get that one later since I've started some other games.

Also I managed to login to my old deviantart account.  Take a look if you're interested in seeing my artwork!  I still need to add more new stuff on there.


     I also got a few new CD's from Pvris, and Klimt 1918 (Italian post-punk band) recently, and they're both super nice.  In fact I need to rip them both to my computer right now.  That's it for now. :)

Well I'm still a bit sick from last week, but I'm recovering. I went to pick up some of my meds today at the store, and pick up a few things. My sister went to Vegas over the weekend, and her facebook posts imply that she had a blast. It makes me look forward to our upcoming trip to Panama even more. I believe I've gotten everything I'll need as far as luggage, clothes, and other things I'll be taking on the trip.

I called about my student loans which I've been having trouble paying, and they informed me that they wouldn't actually help me until my account was behind for 15 days which is ridiculous.  It's a shame they want you to get behind, and be in trouble before they will help you.  I guess I'll just have to do that.  I'll probably just pay what I can, and when they call hopefully they can lower my interest rates, and payments for those particular loans.  Sigh...

I've been trying to avoid going outside anymore today because my dad is mowing the lawn, and allergies are no joke. As far as other things go I've been playing a few games. Mainly Persona 5, Chrono Trigger, God of War, Batman: Arkham Knight, and Metro 2033 Redux. Apparently Metro is based on a book of the same name, and the story is a bit sad. It's a survival horror game so avoided playing it the few days I was really sick since my reflexes weren't too great. I also bought a digital copy of Resident Evil 5 for pretty cheap on PSN.

Well that's it for now. Here's a song of some music I've been digging lately. I've been on a huge Depeche Mode kick lately since I picked up their "Ultra" album. That bassline tho! <3