Board 8 > Andy Now Does Yet More Andy Nouns [ANDYMAN] Vol. 1: Self-deprecating, contained!

(+) Yeah! (+)

I love Casino Royale, I enjoy that song, but top 5 song is crazy.
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Tom Bombadil posted...

Self-care is good! Also that pizza sounds pgood

Understatements. Both of them.

Here's the picture of the FMTB from that place's website:


It's my favorite slice, but it's only there in August (due to the tomato and basil harvests). I get at least 6 slices every year, lol. It's pretty easy to make at home, too. Just remember to not put the basil leaves on until after you cook the pizza.
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Aecioo posted...

I love Casino Royale, I enjoy that song, but top 5 song is crazy.

It's one of the best Bond movies, that's for sure.

As for ranking JUST the theme songs from the canonical movies...

Iconic Tier
1. Nobody Does it Better
2. Goldfinger
3. The James Bond Theme

Impeccable Tier
4. You Know My Name
5. A View to a Kill
6. Live and Let Die

Pretty Great Tier
7. Thunderball
8. Skyfall
9. OHMSS
10. Licence to Kill

Great Tier
11. The World Is Not Enough
12. For Your Eyes Only
13. The Living Daylights
14. GoldenEye

Good Tier
15. The Writing's on the Wall
16. Diamonds Are Forever
17. You Only Live Twice

Acceptable Tier
18. All Time High
19. Moonraker
20. Tomorrow Never Dies

Parts of It Are Good Tier
21. Another Way 2 Die (that intro is amazing, but the rest of the song...)
22. Man with the Golden Gun
23. From Russia with Love

Should Not Exist Tier
24. The crap after the James Bond theme in Dr. No (only Bond movie to have multiple opening themes)
25. Die Another Day

imho
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Should have said "REALLY" great, not "PRETTY" great, but 17 Bond songs are pretty dang good.

I'd fix it but Leia can't edit posts until tonight >_>
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It's crazy how much people differ on Bond stuff.

Iconic tier is correct. Except I'd also add OHMSS. After that, well, I'd put...

A View To A kill
LALD
Skyfall
Diamonds

above it.

So I guess that would make it #9 on my list, and that's just at a glance. I haven't ranked bond stuff in awhile.
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Aecioo posted...

It's crazy how much people differ on Bond stuff.

Yeah... I think age has something to do with it - depends on who Bond was when you grew up. For example, my dad loves the Roger Moore movies, while I don't care for a few of them at all - but that's because Moore was always 007 to my dad. I can understand that. RIP, Sir Roger :(

But it also comes down to other tastes as well. I've seen crazy stuff like people saying YOLT was the best Connery movie or that FYEO isn't good at all. YOLT is good, but it's not From Russia with Love or Goldfinger good. FYEO is the most "Fleming" of all the Moore films and one they put a lot of care into making. It's a top-half Bond outing for that reason. I can get not loving it, but it's not in the dumpster like the two that came after it.

I wouldn't say OHMSS is "iconic" - it can be justified in the Impeccable Tier since it's one of John Barry's best instrumental compositions. It just isn't as iconic as Nobody Does It Better, Goldfinger, or the James Bond Theme. Those three are in a league of their own.

I probably had Diamonds too low in that quickie ranking there (oops, it's definitely better than Writing's on the Wall and GoldenEye). Not sure why I didn't move it up - perhaps that was because of Kanye. That's really the only difference we have in our top 9.

I think it was like two years ago when Stifled and I did that subsequent Bond rankings project? That was my second go at it here at b8. I haven't watched much Bond since. Perhaps I should rectify that even though I've watched every movie except Spectre at least four times (and half of them at least 10).
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Have you done the "watch Casino Royale and immediately watch Quantum" idea?

I haven't, but I heard it really makes Quantum better if you treat it as one long four hour movie.
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Aecioo posted...

Have you done the "watch Casino Royale and immediately watch Quantum" idea?

I haven't, but I heard it really makes Quantum better if you treat it as one long four hour movie.

I don't believe so. These days, I usually only have time to watch one movie in a single sitting. And I don't take the time to watch Quantum because of how bad it is, but I'll give that a go and see if it improves my opinion of it. Probably won't - it was a waste job of the Casino Royale storyline due to a highly incompetent director who rejected longstanding series traditions. I might have only seen that one three times, actually, since it really doesn't feel like a Bond movie. "Short and fast, like a bullet" = WTF? Since when has Bond cut corners? The script was also rushed because of that writer's guild strike, too, so that didn't help things.

Will try, though. Maybe it'll make me rank something else in dead last. Thanks for the suggestion.
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Thunderball too low. Tom Jones is iconic.
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Underleveled posted...

Thunderball too low. Tom Jones is iconic.

Well yeah, he passed out at the end of recording it after holding that final note for so long. Doesn't get more legendary than that. It's hard to not put that one in my top 5, but there's so much good music in the Bond-verse!
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I like having discussion like this - that's what this topic is for! ^_^

Gaming:
Played Xillia a bit last night. Nothing significant happened - just battles and Jude saying he's not returning to Rieze Maxia so long Gaius's ideals are alive. That's not significant, thought. It's too standard to be.

Also, how badly do I need to get Octopath Traveler? I haven't played my Switch in the past month and a half...

Weight loss:
Super happy with my weight this morning! I've lost five pounds since starting this topic. #wow

Step count yesterday was a compensation for my day off Thursday. My goal was to get enough to get 20,000 across two days. I succeeded. So 15,900 yesterday ^_^

Sunday: 1600
Monday: 12,800
Tuesday: 16,600
Wednesday: 12,100
Thursday: 4200
Friday: 15,900
Total so far: 63,200

Suddenly that third consecutive week of 70,000 is looking mightily doable.

Song of the Day:
This was the plan before the conversation yesterday (I have the next two picked out too):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaV-6qerkqI" data-time="

Simply because it's the best Bond song and anyone who says otherwise is wrong. Carole Bayer-Sager penned one hell of a lyrical gem here. It describes the character of James Bond perfectly, both his abilities as a spy and with the ladies. And Carly sings it perfectly. Really the only one that beats Goldfinger - while that's also definitive, it describes a one-off antagonist and only fits with that movie as opposed to the franchise as a whole. "Nobody Does It Better" is perfect to describe any movie in the series.

Other things:
Cooking: I didn't get that slice of FMTB yesterday. They were all out of the ingredients. One of the employees said it's been selling like mad to the point she hasn't even gotten a chance to try it. They advertise the HELL out of this slice because it's so freaking good. So I'm going to vigilante this and make one at home. Going to buy a frozen pizza dough at the store today and get my own tomatoes, basil, and cheese at the farmer's market on Wednesday (only the mozzarella will be the exact same). Might even make it that night. My pizza stone needs some love anyway. Still want to make noodles with that black pepper cheese tonight. The roll of meat I found in the freezer was a bacon sausage. That will work, too. I owe my parents some of that since last night they brought me home bacon-wrapped kielbasa (polish sausage). That stuff was so good. And it's not hard to do.

Moving out: I continue to amass more stuff for my flat. I don't want to forget so many things that I rack up a $100 bill at Target. I want to slowly accrue my necessities since the move-out isn't until my usual mid-December week off from work. I am going to miss free food but I'm not going to miss my mom using Fox News as a tactic to keep my dad and I at bay. We do not appreciate that. At least my mom has realized that Sean Hannity is obnoxious. About damn time - I've been saying that for years!

Don't think I have anything else to touch on! Anyone have ideas?
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Gaming:
I'm just sad that Xillia is coming to an end. Aside from battling a lot, I viewed the pre-final battle scenes between the party members. Elize seems to have... forgiven Alvin because she feels sorry for him being a lone wolf, apparently. One thing that's so fascinating about her character is that, at the start, Teepo did most of the talking. Now Elize is the dominant talker. They grow up so fast! It was nice to see that Rowen had no indecision whatsoever - usually, it's "Oh no, what am I going to do? Ok, I'll just go with you." I knew everyone was going to join the fight. I mean, come on. It makes sense that Leia's the one who's struggling with deciding, given her age and whatnot. But her crush on Jude (which was obvious even if it was one of the lesser storylines) is motivating her. And her struggle with what she wants to do with her life if he really is better off without her is REAL. At the point in my life I'm at, I couldn't relate to this more (is my crush on Leia obvious? xD, she's not a real person, sadly...).

I forget what Jude and Milla talked about before Gaius showed up to acknowledge what was about to happen and give them Muzet's knife so they can travel between dimensions. I remember after that about the schism disappearing means that Maxwell and the Temporal Crossroads where we fought him disappear, too... and that might also mean Milla disappears. This love triangle where Jude likes Milla and Leia likes Jude is interesting for that reason: Leia is going to let Jude do his own thing but that thing can't be with Milla. It's dramatic. I also like how the final boss here isn't evil or psychotic, he just has a different goal and different philosophy. He's not an idealist and I can understand his take on things. If spyrites aren't going to be a sufficient replacement, however... I lean more toward his side. The "Department of Otherworld Affairs" wants to commit genocide to preserve Elympios, after all. I cannot sympathize with such cruel, savage people who don't realize what it is they're doing. Gilland, however, DID know. Balan doesn't, but is nothing like his father.

I'm going to play through a second time tbqh. I have the necessary Grade (4410 or so) and a strong motivation to play Milla's path at least once. Seems that Jude's is preferred since it has much more of the game in it.

Weight loss:
I got 8,000 steps yesterday! Impressive given that it was a Saturday with way too much humidity. That puts my total at 71,200 across last week. Stoked about that and am aiming for a repeat performance this week.

I also had 4.5 slices of a 12" pizza. Down from 5. Hoping to go to 4 with the next pizza and keep it there for two months before trying to go down to 3, my intended amount. I chose a healthier option for dinner - make-my-own smoothie. Trying to save money by buying various frozen fruits, apple juice, and Greek yogurt as opposed to the $3 mixes. I think I spent like $15 and that should give me 8+ smoothies. Definite improvement.

Will cook that pasta dish tonight.

Song of the Day:
this gives me all the feels:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzgPu93W51A" data-time="

;_;

Other things:
Anyone who hasn't participated in Save My RPG should!

I should finish the finale (but not the reunion) of Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains today. It's going slower since I'm watching with my dad. Also need to catch up on BB20, even if I hate most of the people in the house right now for one reason or another.

Not much else.
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The only hate-worthy people in BB20 are Brett, Angela, and mayyybe Sam. The rest range from fucking stars to harmless if boring.
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Underleveled posted...

The only hate-worthy people in BB20 are Brett, Angela, and mayyybe Sam. The rest range from fucking stars to harmless if boring.

Uh... Bayleigh and Rockstar are both Class-A bigots and are horrible people. Bayleigh is a Black Supremacist racist. Rockstar's extremely privileged yet accused Brett of being something he's not by labeling him based on him being a white male. Both are hypocrites and bigots.

Have you seen some of the shit JC has said?

What Angela did to Rachel was downright deplorable and I'm still not happy about that. HORRIBLE to treat a friend like that... when Rachel was nothing but honest.

And Fessy is a creep, even if he's hysterically bad at BB and everyone knows it.

All of them are worse than Brett or Samantha.
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BlueCrystalTear posted...

Bayleigh is a Black Supremacist racist.

This is just... what?!

BlueCrystalTear posted...

Rockstar's extremely privileged yet accused Brett of being something he's not by labeling him based on him being a white male.

I didn't like Rockstar pulling the "straight white male privilege" card on Brett but aside from that one moment she is so entertaining and Brett is a boring, mean-spirited try-hard.

BlueCrystalTear posted...

Have you seen some of the shit JC has said?

I really think there is a cultural barrier with JC. I know some of the outrageous things he has said on live feeds but I really think he just doesn't get it. He doesn't seem like a mean-spirited person and he's said/done plenty of funny, lighthearted things in the edit.

BlueCrystalTear posted...

What Angela did to Rachel was downright deplorable and I'm still not happy about that. HORRIBLE to treat a friend like that... when Rachel was nothing but honest.

I agree. Before this week Angela was just obnoxiously boring, that is, trying so hard to be relevant when she's clearly not. But after this week she's just plain horrible.

BlueCrystalTear posted...

And Fessy is a creep, even if he's hysterically bad at BB and everyone knows it.

Fessy is hilarious and his complete ineptitude at the game (his creepiness being a part of that) is one of the highlights of the season so far.
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Underleveled posted...

This is just... what?!

The truth. Have you not heard about her comments about white people? About the "Go back to Pakistan" one, too? Bayleigh is a privileged spoiled brat and a very unpleasant person.

I didn't like Rockstar pulling the "straight white male privilege" card on Brett but aside from that one moment she is so entertaining and Brett is a boring, mean-spirited try-hard.

She's said shit like that multiple times. Once someone offends me, it's hard for me to ever like them again. Rockstar labels people and judges them by those labels and I despise judgmental people like that.

I agree. Before this week Angela was just obnoxiously boring, that is, trying so hard to be relevant when she's clearly not. But after this week she's just plain horrible.

Case in point. I thought I was going to like Angela but nope. Angela had no reason to give a goodbye message like that. It's not beneficerary to her game at all and it's pretty clear to everyone that she's cold. Or it SHOULD be. She lost a friend for life when all she needed to do in her goodbye message was say "Sorry girl, it hurt to do this, but once you reacted like that, I had no choice. You put my game in jeopardy and I had to do what's best for me. I look forward to coming to Vegas for a sleepover sometime. Love you!" Then she'd have earned the praise the fans are giving her (which makes me sick). She's willing to sacrifice a friend to improve her game, but not at expense of managing relationships.

I really think there is a cultural barrier with JC. I know some of the outrageous things he has said on live feeds but I really think he just doesn't get it. He doesn't seem like a mean-spirited person and he's said/done plenty of funny, lighthearted things in the edit.

"Are you a real girl?" "Open up your vagina, it feels good." and using the n-word instead of "n-word" are all things he should have known would make people uncomfortable. Bayleigh also used "the m-word" in the same context and thought it was fine. Bayleigh is a hypocrite. JC is just... different. I don't think he realizes how people get offended by such intimate things like those first two quotes.

Fessy is hilarious and his complete ineptitude at the game (his creepiness being a part of that) is one of the highlights of the season so far.

Yeah, it is. Still makes me a bit uncomfortable. He's not that much worse than Brett, who at least has epic speeches (even if he is a dick)
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Gaming:
Xillia: Did not use fast travel so I could level up because I hear the final boss is a brutal fight. I am playing on Hard (started on Moderate, but it was too easy) so I don't know what levels I should be. The food shop is at level 83; the others are all 88 or higher. I have like 750,000 Gald even after I upgraded my gear. I might spend some excess to fill pages of my item book to get the trophy but I'll need to do a lot of transcribing for that. I might go for Platinum, but it might take a while to get the trophies associated with controlling the three party members I'm not all that comfortable with (Alvin, Elize, Rowen). I am great with Leia (I know a lot of the "tricks" with her by now) and good with Milla and Jude, so I got those three easily. I don't think Platinum will be THAT hard overall...

Here's what I plan on spending in the Grade Shop, as I'll have 5000+ Grade:
1000: Gald
1000: Shop Levels
700: Accessories
500: Max CC +1
500: Item Capacity: 30
500: Devil's Arms
300: 2X EXP
300: Inherit consumables
200: Winged Boots + Artes Sphere
100: Arte Usage
TOTAL: 5100

...that's going to make Unknown easy, isn't it? Max shops + Gald = Instant Armor. 30 Items + Gald = super helpful. Devil's Arms = overpowered weapons immediately. Arte usage = extra power and lower TP. Accessories means Elize retains her Krona Symbol (prevents ALL ailments - great for your healer). 2x EXP is a bit low, however, but everything else will compensate.

If I get 500 more, I'll up the items to 99. Not sure if there's anything else I'd need. Although this all was more for self-reference, feel free to critique if you know anything!

I must add that I kind of like the combination of the standard TP with the CC from Graces. The problem with the CC system initially was that it regenerated itself so you had no reason to use regular attacks unless skills said otherwise. It became Arte spamming. Perhaps this combination was the result from combining Team Destiny (who did Graces) and Team Symphonia (who did Abyss and Vesperia)...

Weight loss:
The noodles turned out pretty good. My mom suggested pairing it with a tomato/pepper/onion platter with Greek seasoning. It worked great. I enjoyed the meal and it wasn't very high-calorie, either. Home cooking tends to be healthier than any pre-packaged stuff loaded with preservatives. I don't know my calorie total yesterday since I was too lazy to guesstimate, however, and I only got 1200 steps because I felt the need to be a slug. It was also quite humid and I don't like stifling humidity at all.

The weather today is even less walkable. Thunderstorms. Though they should go away by the time work is over, they'll prevent me from getting a healthy amount of steps over lunch. I'll still try to get 10,000+ - the more, the better. Just going to be harder.

Song of the Day:
I forgot which one I was going to do next a few days ago so let's do an undisputed classic (radio edit):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3ufNFpb18c" data-time="

Survivor:
Finished Heroes vs. Villains. Phenomenal season. Only con is Hantz fatigue... and then bullies voting him as the Player of the Season. Anyone who voted for him to get that $100K is a bully because they condone the deplorable way he treated people and his horrific social game. He doesn't get that not caring about social management is why he lost! Everyone here knows who I voted for, of course. Way over that one, though. Next up: I've convinced my dad to watch AUS2017 with me. A season on the level of HvV.

Nothing else to discuss right now.
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Your cooking bits make me hungry
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Tom Bombadil posted...

Your cooking bits make me hungry

It makes me hungry just thinking about the result, xD

So worth it, though.
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Gaming:
One thing I don't particularly like about Tales games is the way there are all of a sudden a bunch of sidequests when the final boss is looming large over the world That is no exception with Xillia. Without Gaius to lead Rieze Maxia, Kanbalar is falling apart and sheeple are actually learning to figure things out for themselves. That's something wrong with the real world, too - idiots refuse to learn to take life into their own hands and need to be told what to believe and what to do (much like in Abyss). We rescued Dr. Mathis and a miner from a partial cave-in and the former is proud of how Jude has matured into a rational decision-maker. Balan told an amusing story of how a 5 y/o Alvin got wet paint in his mother's hair by making fake light-leaf clovers, then cried into it and got it all over his face (I don't know what those thugs wanted the clovers for, however). I also learned that King Nachitgal approved Rowen's engagement to Princess Carrie, the king's sister, but she was wiped away in the tsunami since, like a typical Tales princess, she wanted to heal/help everyone. There are also dangers with spirit arte use causing spirit clime change - it's not THAT we use it, it's how. The same applies to reality. While climate change is getting better (the ozone layer is healing) because we caught it, it would worsen if we went back to the ways we abused nature before. Emissions restrictions are necessary. China needs to get better at that. (Please no politics! We can talk about the science if you'd like.)

Other sidequests I did include killing another Devil's Beast, the Xerneas-like thing in Xalien Woods that stomped me in 3 seconds once before. Easy fight with higher levels. I'll go kill the one at Bermia Gorge next, which will be the last one given how I got ambushed by one at Helioborg and killed the one that asked us to put it out of its misery - I didn't feel guilty since it didn't suffer through poisoning itself. Speaking of poison... Isla is vile for what she did to Alvin's mother. Murderer. We chased her and she tried to kill herself, but it instead resulted in her becoming deranged. Bitch got what she deserved. She now has to live like Alvin's mother did... but thankfully she has a wonderfully nice guy as her fianc who still wants to be there to care for her. She spit out where Elize was found and I'm heading there now - I know exactly where it is and might have gone into that house before. I believe that's it. A LOT of juicy development for the supporting cast.

I will keep with the sidequests before I go fight the final boss.

Weight loss
I had a little too much candy yesterday, but all I had was that candy, a bagel with cream cheese, and plenty of fruit. I survived. Weight is now down by five and a half pounds since the start of this topic! I have a long way (or is it weigh?) to go.

Step count was 14,000 yesterday, too. The weather was nowhere near as bad as anticipated. Awesome! Need to get 10,000ish today if I do yoga like I should... even if the weather is great.

Song of the day:
I need some more Weird Al smiles right now:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozlqNF5Bke0" data-time="

Other things:
-I am hoping to score a slice of the FMTB today, but I'll be making my own anyway since I have the dough. Farmer's Market tomorrow should allow me to buy tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella. Will contact my cheesemonger to bring some for me (he's the only one at this market).
-It's annoying how I get password change notifications for two weeks. Uh, I have plenty of time to change it. And it should be 90 days, not 60!
-Have I mentioned my caffeine of choice is cold brew coffee? Black, of course.
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forced password changes are the WORST
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Tom Bombadil posted...

forced password changes are the WORST

Agreed, especially when it's every two months. I get notifications for two weeks for every 45 days I don't. That's not a very good ratio. I wouldn't mind it as much if it was a quarterly change. Not having any for 75 days is nice.

I just use the same base password for two years or so and change the last 3ish characters. MUCH easier to remember that way and still secure enough since I change it completely on occasion.
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Did not have time to play Xillia last night. Had other things happening.

Weight loss:
That slice of FMTB was probably 500 calories alone, but my total on the day was closer to 2500 than it would have been months ago. It was probably more like 3000 but I couldn't say for sure. I barely had anything midday. I honestly don't know.

Step total I do know: 10,700. Impressive considering I did yoga class over lunch! But I'm not converting that into steps. I'm counting that as a separate necessary thing. Step total is therefore at 25,900 (1200 + 14,000 + 10,700)

Song of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0oJKedWpDs" data-time="

Really deep stuff here.

Other things:
Not much to report that I haven't already. Watching the Ponderosa videos for Heroes vs. Villains since those are as incredible as the actual show. That shows that a great cast goes a long way. It's just hard to cast a newbie season with the level of characters that comprise the cast of the show's most iconic All-Star season. Even if Russell Hantz being an asshole makes parts drag for a bit there, seeing as I don't like that kind of behavior at all and it often negatively impacts my view of a season unless a swift comeuppance occurs.

Was watching some BB20-related things yesterday, even if I hate most of the people still left. Bayleigh and Rockstar are the WORST.

I have the Mozzarella. Since the Farmer's Market is right outside, I can stock up on the basil and both types of tomatoes over lunch. This is going to be so delicious!

Yeah, yesterday was just work, eating the FMTB, walking, and coming home and shutting down, really.
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These are all short because they have to be.

Gaming:
Just an hour of Xillia. Plenty of guppy-slaying. A little treasure spot hunting. Elize's house wasn't there. That's why I didn't remember it. That's really it.

Weight loss:
Yesterday was about 2,000 calories. Light dinner - delicious mango/orange/yogurt smoothie. I can't budget the 1,000 today because of the Night Market tonight. This only happens 3-4 times a year so I don't want to miss the opportunity to have things I can't usually access.

Step count yesterday was great, too. Total on the week is looking great.
Sunday: 1200
Monday: 14,000
Tuesday: 10,700 + yoga
Wednesday: 16,100
Total so far: 42,000

Great progress! I can make it four weeks in a row that I get to 70,000.

Song of the Day:
Ultimate classic stuff today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXQUu5Dti4g" data-time="

Other things:
I got the needed things at the farmer's market to make that pizza. That will be Saturday lunch.

Not much else to report.
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I didn't play anything last night because of fatigue, Big Brother, and sorting out Save My RPG.

Weight Loss:
Weight is constant from earlier in the week. I did 1,000 calories from 3 pm Wednesday to 6 pm Thursday. Night Market was quite small because of the rain, but I at least got to get a melt from my favorite food cart (that I haven't seen in two months since their profit near my work was WAY DOWN). Of course they remembered me. I remembered them but names escaped me because, y'know, I haven't been seeing them. Sandwich was good as always. My favorite is the Southwestern Bacon: Bacon, cheddar, tomato, chipotle aioli ranch. It had more of a kick than I remembered but that might be because I got desensitized to it having one a week.

I can treat myself like that once or twice a week provided I don't overdo it with the calorie intake. That was probably wasn't TOO bad (600 maybe). As long as I keep mindful of my calories... I can pull this off. I want to lose 20 pounds by the end of the year. If I reduce pizza intake, shrink the size of side dishes, and walk a lot, I think I can pull that off. (It's worth noting that I only have one soda a week as it is). Will be tough, but I need to do that. That would make 10% of my starting body weight in total.

Step count yesterday? 13,100. Total on the week is 55,100. Makes me happy! I'm going to pull this off for four straight weeks. ^_^

Song of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvCgSqPZ4EM" data-time="

Garth has to be one of the few country artists with universal appeal.

...there's really nothing else for me to talk about. What's up with you guys?
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Nice on the food and weight loss

Not much going on with me. I work at a school and this is my last day of summer :(
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Tom Bombadil posted...

Not much going on with me. I work at a school and this is my last day of summer :(

Sorry to hear! Hope you enjoyed your summer and did a lot of fun stuff.

To be honest, I kind of envy that. Those who work 40-hour weeks yet get two months of work off while retaining job security have it good, provided they can save up for summer food/rent/utilities/etc. I refer to support staff like techs and aides more than teachers. Teachers have to work excess - lesson plans, grading papers, talking to parents - so I admire them more than envy them. That is a LOT of work! No matter what you do for a school job, I both envy and admire you in different ways.

Instead, I have a six-month vacation probation that prevents me from doing things like going to Hearts of Reality (going on in Orlando right now - and I'm long overdue to meet any Survivor contestants) or going to see my family two hours north of here. And sometimes I wish I had someone I could just drive to nowhere with. Getting lost is fun if it's you and someone else - and it's great to figure out where you are with an actual map (or Google Maps with no GPS to tell you where you're at) and feel your way around. Who knows what secrets you might discover? Sigh... if only I had the time to take off... I could enjoy life again.
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Gaming:
Just doing Coliseum cleanup duty in Xillia. About time I went back there to take care of it. I don't like that you can fall off the edge - I died cheaply several times where I got ragdolled and/or my own artes took me off there. I hate it because it makes it more about the skill of not falling off as opposed to the skill of being able to use the character in a typical battle setting. It's less fun if you're trying to be more mindful of where you are on the battlefield so none of that stuff happens. It's atypical. I've only cleared it with Leia and have cleared the Beginner Group. The unfair Advanced Group final fight with the Chimeriad is pretty brutal - I mean, they can get Overlimit every ten seconds, while it takes me MINUTES to fill my gauge... I popped the pimple first (can't stand to hear it talk, can summon lackeys, lowest HP), and once it burst the others started falling. They abused Mystic Artes A LOT, though, because the design is bad. How can they do that when the party can only get one off in a typical battle? I would have greatly preferred a cameo battle, to be honest.

For sidequests, all I've done since are the ones with Prinn (finding out that Gaius personally told her that Agria/Nadia was dead) and Driselle (attacking Fort Gandala again to get rid of the golems and re-open the Fennmont trade route so Sharilton doesn't go bankrupt). That's it. I might find more that skits don't point me to along the way. Going to need to find a few more to get another elusive title.

Weight loss:
I got 11,200 steps yesterday! Total is 66,300 on the week now. Even though I'm yet to take a walk today due to taking two consecutive naps, I should be fine. My dad and I scored free tickets to an amateur baseball game thanks to a co-worker of mine, so that'll get me 3,000 steps easily. I will make sure that it does.

Here's my version of the pizza (compare to the top of the page - that picture IS accurate, unlike something from the mega-chains):


Song of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jtpf8N5IDE" data-time="

If only Freddie didn't become mortal... he and Brian could have continued making awesome stuff like this.

I'm about to head off for the game, so I'll catch you guys later!
---

Xillia: Haven't done much. Just a few odds and ends. Why must the Dark Wings be such a lame ripoff of the ones from Abyss? It's not an homage if it's that lame, you know.

Steps: 4300 yesterday - so I got over 70,000 for the fourth consecutive week! ^_^

Eating: Was fine. Only had an order of cheese curds (Wisconsin's state appetizer), a root beer, and a single scoop of ice cream at the ballgame. Did not overindulge in the slightest like I have been known to do. I would estimate my calorie count above 2,500 though, but that's fine to do once every two weeks

Song: Not today. Sorrys.

...sorry for the brief update but that's all I really have to say right now.
---

Gaming:
Just odds and ends in Xillia. More loot-gathering. Mysterious Jewel hunting. These two odd caretakers appeared out of nowhere in Xalien Woods Temple by that Transcendental Ring thing I'd investigated multiple times before. I found their appearance bizarre, and well, it turns out they were ghosts awaiting the release of their "pets" inside that thing. The fight was long but not overly difficult despite my use of Lemon Gels.

Weight loss:
As of this morning, I am six pounds down since starting this topic. Awesome!

Step count yesterday was a measly 1700, but I needed to slug around. My mom made dinner: Salmon burgers. I converted mine into a BLAST sandwich (Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado [Guac], Salmon, Tomato. Around 400 calories, too. Side was sweet potato fries. Dessert was key lime pie. All of it was delicious! And it was cheap, efficient food too.

Today is a 1,000-calorie day. Currently at 350. Had goat cheese with crackers for breakfast (160 cals or so). And orange juice and my cold brew coffee. Hoping to pair that with 15,000 steps... at 3600 at the moment, so 15,000 is entirely doable.

Song of the Day:
I haven't done enough females. So let's show Benatar some love:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjY_uSSncQw" data-time="

RANT INCOMING!!!!!!!
Please be prepared for when I rant. Things may get out of hand.

I am SICK of this 40-hour slavery. America has regressed to a second-world country due to a fucked-up work culture where people are expected to give their lives to their job. It's bullshit. I don't WANT to spend all my time and energy toward work while maintaining my health and a clean home environment. What's worse is that more jobs are expecting free overtime out of their slaves (slavery is illegal, yet very common in the States) - thank goodness I'm hourly, so that's ONE positive. Our work culture has regressed to "the American Dream" becoming a nightmare - to quote the great George Carlin, "you gotta be asleep to believe it."

It pisses me off that I'm expected - by both my job and my parents - to be a slave, a sheep, an idiot. I'm supposed to "just do it" and "not question it" since I'm "supposed to work 40 hours." Bullshit. My parents pressuring me is only serving to make me care less and less about my job. I don't think they realize I see their bullying tactics as reverse psychology to get me to snap and rebel against the system Persona 5 style. I'm not going to be one with the collective bystanders like my parents want me to be. What am I supposed to do with my life if it has no fucking meaning? I don't have a girl to come home to every night. I don't have anything except a job I hate (love the people and location, though). And what's the fucking point to life, then? Huh?

It's downright depressing. There's a reason I WANT to be on GameFAQs at work - I don't care about doing my job. I have the security of State employment and, since I'm support staff, as long as I get whatever shit they give me done, I can give the impression that I'm working. When I'm not (well, this 570-page Epic record with poor inking won't scan itself into SharePoint, but it takes FOREVER). That's largely due to the lack of tasks they give me to compensate for me getting everything done despite my insistence to broaden my workload. So, at the end, it feels like work is a waste of time. What's the fucking point? I don't know what I want to do with my life, but it certainly isn't this. I am bored out of my mind at a job I've been working for four years - through contractors and now State - and I don't know what to do...

Rant over. Thank you for listening.
---

Gaming:
No gaming updates. I was so winded last night (due to the humidity) that I thought I'd play something mindless. So, yes, I played The Sims, what's it to you? Sims 4 specifically - with a few expansion packs and mods, it has the best character creator I've ever seen. I spend way more time on creating characters and building houses than I do the actual supposed "gameplay." That tells you where they put the emphasis. Everything I've bought for Sims 4 has been on sale, so I'm telling EA that none of it is worth full price because it isn't. I'd never boycott EA - just individual games like the newer Battlefront 2 where it's meant to be a money trap. Sims 4 is fine at sale prices.

But yeah, you guys don't care about Sims, so not going to bother talking about it more.

Weight loss:
My scale is a bit inconsistent, if you'd remember. Probably will take it with me when I move (my parents have a backup that's newer and probably more reliable - but it's my dad's choice between the two). So that's the explanation as to why I was a pound and a half down from yesterday. Eating like 900 calories and walking 13,000 steps shouldn't do that in a single day, but hey, I'll take it.

I know I said my goal was 15k, but I legit did not feel like doing that much. The humidity. I wouldn't have gotten anywhere near the 13k I did if the temperature had done more than just scratch 90. While I am thankful it never gets truly scorching hot where I live (I've never seen a triple-digit raw temp), that doesn't change that the summer humidity can be stifling, especially when the temp does get into the upper 80s and 90s. And because of the Dew Point, the humidity is way, way worse than the SoCal variety. That said, I don't envy those around the Gulf of Mexico, having three-digit temps AND humidity. Mad respect to anyone reading who deals with that shit.

So yeah, 14,700 steps on the week so far. Not horrible. Could be better. The humidity is continuing today so my step count will probably be low. Yoga, though.

Song of the Day:
Goin' local again. I have a friend who I know needs this kind of thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUb-MU5K3J0" data-time="

For a project at a songwriters' workshop, Shawni did a damn good job here.

Other things:
Finally started showing my dad last year's Australian Survivor. Truly a masterpiece, that one. King Luke is already making an impression on him! Seriously, who DOESN'T love King Luke?

No sign of bedbugs.
Trying to put myself out there more. Makes me happier.
Job is boring but I'm dealing... for now. I need the health insurance I'm getting in September.

Not much else to report right now!
---

Sims can be very fun/funny if not taken seriously.
---

Underleveled posted...

Sims can be very fun/funny if not taken seriously.

Definitely agree. I like spinning silly tales with it. Sadly, a lot of my "stories" have gotten shelved for one reason or another, though.

The best one I pulled off was in Sims 2 with a slut I named "Amora." She was sleeping with three guys: A random NPC, her mailman, and a cop which I controlled. I had the cop propose to her. Another of her boyfriends kissed her in his presence. He smacked her silly, then... lost a fight to the other guy (I don't know how since his fitness stat was at 7 or 8). He evicted her. She gended up pragnent with babby and grew to Elder. Unfortunate ending for her, but hey, it was a fun story to spin.

I tried in Sims 3 to have a pair of dating teenagers to instigate their single parents dating (her mother had died; his father had left). That... was boring.

I haven't done many storylines in Sims 4 and I've barely gotten any Sims married. Most of my playtime outside of character creation/outfits for the girls/house building has been getting a feel for what the game has to offer with my initial Sim (until I maxed all her skills) or the sorority (was originally going to have a fraternity, too, for a lot of rivalry/dating, but that never happened). Or waffling on which hairstyle looks better on September (from the sorority):



I change my mind a lot on that one. She looks good either way. I prefer the braid, but it reminds me of her. Which do you guys like?
---

I start to reply in IE, then I remember how much it sucks. The pictures don't resize (I thought those were smaller, my bad!), the browser crashes at least five times a day, and there are general issues everywhere. So I'm using Firefox for non-work stuff until I get Windows 10 this fall.

Please note I have three accounts because I want to. It's not to circumvent the ignore list. Hence why I don't change accounts in topics that aren't mine.

Gaming:
I'm keeping September's hair as the braid. I looked in detail at those pictures and realized the actual reason I resisted the change was that the braid+hat looks legit better. The short hair makes her forehead look too large and doesn't mesh with her facial contours.

As for Xillia, still trying to go Platinum. I'm going to need to control Alvin, Rowen, and Elize for a while... two of which stand in the back and spam spells. Doesn't sound like fun. I will do those on my second playthrough. Most of what I did last night was harvesting loot spots (I'm at 777/800 - so very close!) and one sidequest where I randomly ran into Princess Carrie, who had amnesia and was living in Elympios since the deluge at the Battle of Fezebel was the same event as the Zenethra puncturing the schism. That didn't occur to me - when Gilland punched the schism, only spaceships came out, no water - but it is logical. Carrie didn't know anything about her past until we met her husband, who asked Lady Driselle about Rowen after trying to figure out who he was. We did the right thing and took him between dimensions back to his wife and 18 y/o daughter... where he gave Carrie Rowen's ring, suddenly restoring her memories (this was strangely left to the player to infer). It's nice how he can be like "It makes you happy, which makes me happy." even with the lingering feelings. Quite the story.

Weight loss:
Weight stayed the same from a day ago. Always awesome to see that on a day I'm not restricting my eating. The goal is for me to lose a half pound twice a week for the next 10 pounds. It's going to be slower after that since it means a larger percent of my weight.

Step count yesterday? Ridiculous. Not only did I do yoga over lunch, but my dad wanted to walk after work so my step count inflated to 13,900. WITH YOGA! If I hadn't done yoga, we'd be talking 16,000+. But raw step counts are what matter, so...
Sun: 1700
Mon: 13,000
Tue: 13,900
Total so far: 28,600

Andy likey. When will this humidity end, though?

My mom unexpectedly made a BBQ pork roast last night - she never has the time or energy during the week, so it was a shock - so that was nice. White meat pork is a healthier meat choice so it wasn't damning. The ice cream might've been, but I didn't gain any weight so I'm happy.

Song of the Day:
I did a lyric topic on this one. Which bombed. So...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTu4yQH8KBs" data-time="

And the remake too because Wynaut?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB5JRS6JOck" data-time="

Other things:
I went and voted yesterday. Was the Wisconsin primary. As we're sophisticated, you don't have to register for a political party - you can vote for whichever you choose in any given primary so long you only mark your ballot for one party. It was a choice between Democrats for Governor or Republicans for US Senate. As I am antipartisan (want political parties abolished), I voted for Mike McCabe for Governor since he's not a member of any political party for reasons similar to my own. I got some of his propaganda Downtown, skimmed it and went "I like this guy." No regrets, even though he got 4th of 7. Idiots only voting for a name they recognize -_-
---

Gaming:
Nada. Didn't play any video games yesterday. Just did crossword puzzles on my phone. That doesn't count as a video game. Phone games only qualify as video games if they're NOT a digital representation of something you can easily do physically; this means that crosswords, Sudoku, Solitaire, etc. are not, while Candy Crush, Flow Free, and other similar puzzle games are.

Weight loss:
A pound up from yesterday, but that's fine. I ate much better than I would've under the same circumstances a few months ago. One step at a time. Going for 800 calories today. That shouldn't be too hard.

Step count was once again 13,900 yesterday! That makes for a total of 42,500. Pretty sweet! If I get 12,500 today, that puts me at 55,000, which should make it easy to get 70,000 once again.

Song of the Day:
I should've done this yesterday for irony purposes, but this isn't about a girl named September, is it?

EWF ~ September

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs069dndIYk" data-time="

Gonna label these from now on. This is a rare disco song that I actually LIKE.

Other things:
Ep. 2 of Australian Survivor 2017. The beautiful trainwreck of Samatau is still incredible television. I knew the first time I watched it that it was AK who found the idol, but on the rewatch I noticed just how fuzzy it was edited. AK having it was the obvious conclusion, however. And Adam going... well he did it to himself through horrible play. If he hadn't been so paranoid, if he hadn't looked for the idol out in the open, if he hadn't claimed to be the boss and that his allies should be at his beck and call, and if he hadn't targeted Anneliese... he could have stayed. Instead, he fostered excessive distrust with multiple people - Tara (ugh, her), Anneliese, Locky, even Ziggy (who voted with him).

...not much else to add.
---

If anyone was watching Big Brother last night and isn't participating in the Survivor/BB topic, my tweet was featured at the end of the show! Said tweet was an honest feeling worded in a way that they might notice. It worked. Still mindblown about this!

Because of Big Brother and a computer issue I was trying to troubleshoot, I did not play any video games last night. Just another crossword and Sudoku on my phone as I was in bed. I've been getting better at drifting off to sleep - physical activity helps! And sleep helps with everything.

Weight loss:
I only had like 700 calories yesterday. My weight this morning was down two pounds from yesterday. Yeah, about my scale being inconsistent... that'll do it.

Step count for the week is fantastic despite the lackadaisical Sunday total:
Sun: 1700
Mon: 13,000
Tue: 13,900
Wed: 13,900
Thu: 12,800
Total so far: 55,300

Yesterday would have been slightly better if not for the looming thunderstorm. But I intentionally didn't go for the extra thousand to protect my head and got home just in time. Unfortunately, it's still raining, so today's step total won't be so great, either. Don't want to get sick, plus the rain feels cold even when the temp is still nice. The only things that stop me tend to be rain (a drizzle I can deal with and don't feel), snow, frigidity (single-digit temps Fahrenheit or below), or the most suffocating humidity. That's 1-2 days a month, 2-3 in winter.

Days like today tend to produce 8,000-10,000 steps when I'm at work; only 6,000 if it's REALLY bad. I'm at 2,000 right now (the past few days I was around 3,500-4,000 at this time and this will affect me throughout the day). It might clear up by the time I leave work, however. I've heard "late afternoon" so that's between 3:00 and 6:00. I leave at 4:30 today due to runover time earlier in the week.

Song of the Day:
Let's do the other song with that name, shall we?

Daughtry ~ September

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJzBcKM3ZIE" data-time="

Just for fun/irony's sake. Extremely different tune, but just as awesome. I mean, it's Daughtry.

The only thing I'd put under "other things" was at the top of the post. So that's it!
---

Gaming:
Played Xillia for like a half hour before my dad wanted to watch some Australian Survivor. Only ran around a bit, getting a few more loot harvest points. Getting close enough where I can just go kill the final boss and get the rest in the final dungeon.

That's it. I think I might've booted up Sims and experimented with alternative hairstyles for no reason but that's what you get when you're tired on a Friday.

Weight loss:
Step count yesterday was 12,200, putting my total at 67,000. As I already have 3600 today from getting stuff done (grocery shopping, paying off my bed, exploring a closing store, laundry, hosing down the dirty recycling bin, etc.), this marks five straight weeks of 70,000+ steps! That's pretty remarkable. Given how that's improving my heart rate and I'm eating less overall food - smaller meals, portion control, no excess, under 1000 calories twice a week, etc. - my weight is looking good. It's another half-pound down as of this morning. Counting calories is so helpful. Walking a lot is even more helpful. Strengthening my core via yoga is also "beneficerary." But unlike that guy, I'm NEVER going to smile at every one of my abs individually in a mirror, even once I can see them.

Song of the Day:
Let's just relax for a bit.

Kelly Clarkson - Catch My Breath

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEValZuFYRU" data-time="

I'm going to try not to duplicate artists too frequently, but I can't help but do multiples of my favorites.

Other things:
AUS Survivor: Last year's season still. I mean, this is one of the best seasons ever. What transpired at the Samatau trainwreck was beautiful - AK went from being the clear first boot to a critical member of the alliance and now he's establishing his foothold of running the show. And Tessa's playing hardball with Tara at Tribal was incredible. At the end of it all, Tarzan flipping his vote to ensure Tessa stayed and Kate (one of three duds in this group, alongside Odette and first boot Joan) went home. Kate was the only person in this cast of 24 who I couldn't pick out of a lineup before this rewatch - she was so forgettable. Also, Henry is a moron for trying to throw a challenge this early. You NEVER do that! You only throw a challenge either when you have a huge numbers advantage and want to take someone out to unify your tribe through a vote OR after a swap when you have a majority on your tribe and your ally is in trouble on the other tribe - you get rid of someone who'd never be with you and protect someone who is with you. Just Survivor 101 there.

Not much else to report. Buying a lot of things for my move - the collection is certainly coming along. The more I get now, the less I'll have to get later. It's a process!
---

Gaming:
Finally got that elusive achievement in Xillia! Going after the final boss tonight, most likely. Been waiting too long.

Weight loss:
Was unable to weigh myself this morning. Step count yesterday was 8000 even, putting my total at 75,500 - a personal best, I believe. Well, an ACCURATE personal best. My 3DS is wonky with whether it's accurate or not. My phone is much more reliable - I get free steps on the bus but that makes up for the ones it doesn't count, usually in my bedroom or in my office (the two places where I spend the most time).

Have not been eating that healthily today but I don't care. We had a special brunch with my sister and brother-in-law so I can cheat. Then, tomorrow... 800 calories or less, to make up for it. Only worry right now is acid reflux - I can feel it in my esophagus. It'll get better as I lose more weight. For now, I'll suppress it with omeprazole/Prilosec (I had to buy it over-the-counter for a much more expensive price than I'd get it in a prescription; my doctor thought to prescribe it thinking my frequent coughs were caused by excess acid. He was right.)

Song of the Day:
This is from a PM conversation with one of my friends on the site who may or may not be reading this...

Paul Simon - Graceland

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9M4XJXnCcw" data-time="

Catchy, timeless pop that sounds nothing like what you'd expect from the mid-80s.

That's it! I've been busy checking boxes instead of doing things that are worth talking about in here. Next weekend will be different: It's convention time!
---

Gaming:
BEATED: Tales of Xillia
Okay, so I stayed up late because the final sequence took so damn long. Wingull went down without much of an issue - but the poor guy caused his own demise by injecting that technology into himself and misusing it. Gaius's first form was easy despite it being just Jude and Milla. His second... yeesh. That fight took me 32.5 minutes and I was overleveled! I'm glad I got reminded to steal to stop them from using their items, but Muzet was leeching off my TP and they were abusing Stop Flow and Overlimit like mad. I can't imagine doing that at a lower level. I'd have given up, possibly on the entire game due to the poor design of having no ability to save after all the buildup before a long, brutal final fight. Also, why didn't Muzet get hers via the Lance? The Lance was an afterthought in the ending...

Jude never told Milla how he felt when she decided to follow in her fading father's footsteps. It was nice how she restored eternal night to Fennmont - which made the place so unique. Jude made progress on spyrites with a very similar scene to the opening of the game. Only character anomaly was Elize putting Teepo away so he didn't open his fat mouth. That makes sense, but she's still shy. At least she's making friends her age in addition to the Pinkists who gave her the best rod in the game (necessary since Elize is one of the most ridiculous healers I've ever seen in a JRPG and never leaves my party) - oddly not the Blue Crystal Rod to which my username refers. Rowen being employed by Gaius is interesting - but being a military instructor is what he was meant to do, after all. Alvin and Yurgen... interesting combo, but necessary to keep the peace in Xillia 2. Leia... I knew she turns up as a journalist in the sequel, so her ending was no surprise. I do wish they'd pursued the Leia/Jude relationship a little more. It felt... stagnant and understated.

Overall, despite a few flaws in the plot, it's still a damn good game and my second-favorite Tales after Abyss. I'd give it a 9/10 since it starts out slow, but man does it have an interesting world, a great cast, and a lot of fun in battles. You can AMA about Xillia if you'd like.

Song of the Day:
This is advice per Xillia - hence the out of order:

Billy Joel - Tell Her About It

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0pM5dm--yQ" data-time="

Weight Loss:
Despite indulging a bit, I somehow lost more weight and am now 10 pounds down. I might be going a little too fast. Because I am fasting twice a week, probably. I will continue but Pocky at the convention this weekend will make it tough. What kind of convention doesn't have Pocky? The vendor list makes me leery, so if they don't, they'll be hearing about it. It's not easy/cheap to get here!

It's going to be tougher to get 70,000 steps since I don't do as much walking at a convention as I do when I go to work. This one is a stone's throw from my place so I can stay at home. I'll get about 5000-7500 steps each day. I got 5300 yesterday - pretty good for a Sunday. I'll need to get plenty today through Thursday if I want to make goal for the sixth week in a row. Won't be easy today. Because... here's a SECOND song of the day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZUE4_PtOk0" data-time="

Flood warning starts after noon. It's going to be pouring buckets, folks.

#SurvivorAU:
Still last year's. What a shame to lose Tarzan so early. He was colorful and his storyline with Tessa was remarkable. But seriously, THIS CAST is epic. Jericho's cookie munching was hysterical. My dad thinks it's not going to work out for him... lol. There's a lot going on and it's going to be a fun ride!
---

__LeiaRolando__ posted...

What kind of convention doesn't have Pocky?

the con I generally go to isn't allowed to have its own food for sale inside, so maybe it's not a guarantee!
---

Tom Bombadil posted...

__LeiaRolando__ posted...

What kind of convention doesn't have Pocky?

the con I generally go to isn't allowed to have its own food for sale inside, so maybe it's not a guarantee!

This will be my fifth time going to this con and it's had a vendor selling Pocky each of the past four. All three cons I've gone to (one once, another thrice) have had Pocky in droves. I do hope that hasn't changed. Would be shocked since the hotel itself operates a concession stand.
---

__LeiaRolando__ posted...

Overall, despite a few flaws in the plot, it's still a damn good game and my second-favorite Tales after Abyss.

Second-favorite game or second-favorite Tales game?
---

What the hell, Goldeneye is top tier.
---

Underleveled posted...

__LeiaRolando__ posted...

Overall, despite a few flaws in the plot, it's still a damn good game and my second-favorite Tales after Abyss.

Second-favorite game or second-favorite Tales game?

Tales game. Definitely top 50 somewhere, too.

HanOfTheNekos posted...

What the hell, Goldeneye is top tier.

The song is pretty good. U2 did a good job crafting a song with that "Bond" sound and Tina Turner was a perfect choice. It's just not as memorable as the rest of the movie. Perhaps that's why.

Anyway, I'm thankful to be alive. It was a hell of a night last night.

My mom extracted me from work, so only 8900 steps (total 14,200) and it's unlikely I'll get 70,000 - but dammit, I am going to TRY. But I'm glad I got a ride. I've never seen anything quite like it, honestly, and I was reminded of that old children's story where that Noah guy built an ark to save pairs of every single species of animal on the planet from a Great Flood. It's an egregious story, I know.

I am in no way joking, mind you.

The streets were rivers. The thunder occasional. The traffic slow. The power unstable. It occurred to me that the world was coming to an end.

...and yet, somehow, I am here. The world is fine. I don't know how this happened.

The end verdict is that everywhere within a two-mile radius of me got SEVEN to THIRTEEN inches of rain, the latter being a record for the entire freaking State of Wisconsin for "amount of rain in a 24-hour period." Some of the streets are still flooded. The little pond behind our house is twice the size it used to be. The bus was ten minutes late to pick me up. Everyone here at work is freaking out, but we all get a free pass for just being here in one piece.

I'm lucky that no damage occurred, there was no flooding in my place, and the power was on for most of the storm. One man went missing, a lot of homes didn't have power for a couple of hours, the Internet came and went, and yet... everything seems okay. I've never seen anything like this and probably will never see a storm with this much flooding everywhere ever again. The state hasn't seen something like this for centuries. The storm just did not move and battered the hell out of the entire western half of the county.

So, that's the update. I played Xillia up until the power went out. I didn't lose that much data and the PS3 still works fine. My PC is okay. I am at work in one piece, on time and with absolutely nothing to do because I've gotten all my work done. I've asked for more duties enough, so I don't need to do that because it's clear they don't want me to have any.

I guess I can just walk. I'll do that during lunch, too, seeing as yoga class got canceled. I may have to do a different class. Perhaps the Pilates class on Thursday will suffice. Though that's rather brutal, I need the core-strengthening. This is if the Bunker (where the class is - it's the third basement level at work) didn't flood. I don't think it did based on the cancellation message...

Song of the Day:
Gotta do something about a Great Flood... here, one from one of my lyrics topics:

Led Zeppelin - When the Levee Breaks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwiTs60VoTM" data-time="

Other things:
No Survivor last night due to power instability and my own fatigue.

Did not weigh myself this morning as my mom was still holed up in the Master (the Master Bathroom is the only logical room in the house with space for the scale).

I am alive!!!!
---

Seeing as I have a paltry amount of work to do, I can do a second update.

I maintain the "Bait Jar" at my Bureau as bequeathed to me by its founder when she left for a different government agency. I brought Twix bars in for that today (a STEAL at Walgreen's) and, per usual, had several. And I made myself sick, which is unusual! I actually LIKE that - it's teaching me I shouldn't overindulge in candy. That includes Pocky. So I have to be smart with my food intake at the convention. If there isn't Pocky at the con itself, it's half a mile away (maybe a little more) to World Market, so it's not like there's no hope. I'll only have one major meal a day (there are many nearby options). I will try to be healthier.

This is my "main" con since it's ten minutes from where I live. My other conventions are in November and February (the big one, Anime Milwaukee). I am 100% going to Anime Milwaukee 2019 because the very first guest announced? Leia. So yah. 100%. Will get my ticket for cheap at THIS con, then work on getting a proper commission art to get inked. That'd be 1/3, provided nothing bad happens like when Laura Bailey canceled on AMKE 2017 because the Great Deluge prevented her from leaving LA (which I understand 100% after experiencing it myself last night), I didn't get a Rise thing inked. Getting Tear's is hopeless since Nicole Karrer is a hermit. Ah well.
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Gaming:
In Xillia, I began infiltrating the EX Dungeon, Magnus Zero (the name is not a spoiler). The dungeon itself being subconscious memories of the world is actually kind of cool. It doesn't feel like they were lazy and just re-used existing areas - it feels like they designed those areas with a double purpose. I've only made it to the first save point, which thankfully had a shop as well. I was able to donate a bunch of things and now my Armor Shop has hit max level! Weapons and Accessories won't be far behind. It's looking like I'll have 6000+ Grade by the end of it. Trying to accrue as much as possible for my Unknown Milla run. I really do like this game a lot. And Leia. Can't wait to get her autograph.

Weight Loss:
I've decided that I should indulge a little more, as I think my fatigue is partly due to my lack of nourishment. I need to make up some calories, yes, but I should do so with more healthy choices. I need the nutrients my body is accustomed to - but not excess sugar like yesterday. Despite that, I am officially 11 pounds down from my starting weight! In five and a half weeks. I've somehow managed to lose a ridiculous amount of weight while doing so at a healthy pace (you're not supposed to lose more than two pounds in a week). With the convention, I'm going to take it slower. I need to.

After a ridiculous "make-up" step total yesterday, I should be okay for the week. I'll walk around more at work today because I need to goof off due to their refusal to give me additional work, so I should be able to make it six straight weeks. Totals so far:
Sunday: 5300
Monday: 8900
Tuesday: 14,300
TOTAL: 28, 500

The goal today is at least 13,500. I 100% need to be at 42,500 by the end of today and 55,000 by the end of tomorrow. That way, I can get 7500 a day at the con and be golden. I will post my Friday total in here as a bump probably. This is partly for self-motivation, after all.

Will also figure out what I should cook next after the convention. Maybe I'll throw together a stir-fry using fresh ingredients from the farmer's market. Will get those next week.

Song of the Day:
I keep repeating artists excessively. So SURPRISE CLASSIC T-SWIFT:

Taylor Swift - You Belong with Me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuNIsY6JdUw" data-time="

What's funny is that Taylor went from the geeky hero of this to the villain - and she played both! Was her portraying the snotty cheerleader a sign of the sellout she'd ultimately become? It really sucks, though - I miss the lovable girl next door that Taylor used to be. Speak Now will always be her peak imo.
Speak Now > Fearless > Red >>>> Taylor Swift >>> 1989 > reputation

I couldn't get through reputation. Only song I liked of what I did hear was "Gorgeous." Is there any "old Taylor" stuff on there that I might like? Or does nobody care since the singles suck?

Nothing else to discuss right now. I'm too bored to come up with something.
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Tracks 6-12 on Reputation are great. The rest are okay. Yeah I agree overall it's probably her weakest but that stretch is fantastic.
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I didn't really like "Look What You Made Me Do" at all, however (apparently that's track 6). It just sounded so... sleazy. It didn't have the charms or character that Taylor's songs used to have. The Taylor of her first four albums was a sweet, charming girl next door that was so easy to relate to. The Taylor of now is this slutty, stuck-up, big-city diva who no longer has those charms. The plastic surgery didn't help that. Her vocals also had plastic surgery - in the form of auto-tuned monotony instead of bubbly emotion.

I feel for the teenagers of today who go back and don't like her older stuff because "there's no way that's her." I feel the exact opposite. She's not the same person she used to be. And the old Taylor was the better. There were still some signs of that Taylor on 1989, but those signs are gone on reputation.

I'll give it another spin on YouTube later and see... but I highly doubt I'll care for it.
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Gaming:
All I did in Xillia was delve deeper into the EX Dungeon. Only to the second save point. I'm fighting most of the monsters that get in my way simply because I want to get everyone to the max level. More Grade = more goodies in my Milla Unknown run!

Weight loss:
I gained like a quarter of a pound yesterday! Happy to see that even when I do overeat a bit, I don't damage myself. Today I'm back to the <1,000 calories and I'll lose what I gained. Should be sufficient.

Step count yesterday was my goal of 13,500. Total is 42,000. Need to get at least 13,000 today, which should make getting to 70,000 again pretty simple. Will probably go for a walk tomorrow morning to ensure it. Con opens at 10 but doesn't really start until 2ish. I have a few things to do in the morning, anyway.

No further updates. Going to load up on farmer's market goodies next week for... something. Might make that bacon lover's duck egg quiche again. This time of year is so great with all the farm-grown stuff that's peaking. (Peaches are so delicious in particular)

Song of the Day:
Something many of you probably haven't heard, but a favorite of mine:

Jim Steinman/Pandora's Box - Good Girls Go to Heaven (Bad Girls Go Everywhere)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDYAq4QI7sU" data-time="

Many people haven't heard of this project by Jim Steinman (who wrote a lot of songs for Meat Loaf), but they should have. That album is GREAT - and it produced the originals of "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" (later made famous by Celine Dion) and "Original Sin" (covered by Taylor Dayne) and many more...

Australian Survivor 2017
Episode 5 down! It's so nice to see Samatau have an uprising, even if it's at the expense of the delightful Aimee. That said, she was pretty terrible at Survivor - and I wonder if Peter changed his mind at Tribal when she opened her big mouth. Jarrad's method of convincing Peter to flip and take out Aimee was A+ level Survivor - say you want to make a move, but make Peter feel like he's the one deciding what that move is when it really isn't. It's also laughable how Tara was thinking that it would be "a Big Move" and a "massive blindside" to take out AK, who was 8th. Uh, no. Switching the order of 8th and 9th is barely a move at all. And he had to have recognized the possibility that Tara and Locky would also want to use Tessa's vote while she was there. Tessa by all means made the right decision - AK would have longer-term plans for her. Tara and Locky were always just going to use her for one vote and throw her away. Easy choice. I hate Tara so much given her hypocrisy, whining, and narcissism - by far my least favorite of this group.

I have no further updates.
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I will be heading to the convention immediately after lunch, so here's to a fun day! Quick updates...

Gaming:
Xillia: Defeated the Golden Mage Knight - the spirit behind Lilium Orbs and, well... a lot of things. It was a long fight, but I took care of him. This unlocked the Devil's Arms, which now have ridiculous power and I can steamroll pretty much any fight. I've done a lot of exploring, sidequesting, and trophy hunting. My next go won't be anywhere near this long. Need 6700 Grade for my budget... have 6450. Going to max out the Food Vendor (the others are done) and get Elize to level 99. Healer's Reward + Spicy Chicken Rolls + Encounter Links = a crap ton of EXP. She'll get there in no time.

Weight Loss:
Calorie counting yesterday didn't go overly well, but that's okay. I'm on vacation now. I can treat myself for a little, provided I don't let it spiral back to the way it was. Oh, and my step count? 17,200 ^_^

That ridiculous day puts me at 59,200 on the week. Add the 1800 so far today and that's 61,000. Looks like a guarantee I'll make it - but I'll go out of my way just to make sure. Not going to go out of my way for anything else at the convention except bumping my topics.

Song of the Day:
Apropos stuff.

"Weird Al" Yankovic - White & Nerdy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9qYF9DZPdw" data-time="

One more note: The flooding here is horrific. We're getting MORE rain that we can't hold. That may present a problem... will keep you posted. I don't think I'll be as bad off as many other people in the area are. My heart goes out to them...
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