24 December 2016

The year is done....kinda...

And that's a wrap for 2016 for me! Now that I'm in the last leg of the year where I have my final week to start my new habits (yeah I start it 1 - 2 weeks before 1 Jan so I'm already in the middle of the habit so it makes these new year resolutions easier to keep).
I am done with all my gigs and stuff and have a 4 day super long weekend to basicaly catch up on all my outstanding items for the year so 2017 isn't about "catch up" but more about "moving forward".

Well I just went nuts and bought like US$200 worth of comics now that Comixology is having a mad sale, all those stories I read when I was growing up in novel form (because I couldn't afford to buy the comic books, so I'd borrow the novels from the library) are in my collection so I can feel like a kid again. I got a tonne of video games to still play (namely Doom to finish) and a heck of a lot of TV shows and Netflix stuff to catch up on.

So yeah, this is usually my favorite time of the year as I close shop and count things off as I count down to a new year. So much has changed since 365 days ago and chances are if you told me about my present to my 1 year ago self, I'd have a hard time believing it (although I'd be super duper excited about it).

So here you go, happy what's left of 2016 and see you in 2017!

15 December 2016

The end of the year, let's make next year awesome feeling

Hello everyone. So we're nearing the end of 2016 and I'm going through this "oh let's end with a bang and start with an even bigger bang" mood. Got to say, I've learned something new about myself this year -- when I have too many loose ends in my life, if they don't get tied up within say a month, I lose a lot of motivation to deal with them and that item that wasn't finished, now becomes an item in my to do list graveyard. I bet a lot of people have something similar, but for me it's an conscious decision to throw away that item mostly because I have my never-ending to do list and eventually the value of that particular thing I wanted to do fades away as new things replace it.

I've also come to realize that it's really myself that plays the biggest role in what I do. I mean, this year has had me go through some rough patches, some new territory and a lot of burn out moments. To the point I still haven't figured out when it is I'm nearing burn out, but I have figured out when I am burnt out. Like last night, when I got home, literally everything felt like a chore. But good thing is, I realized this and knew the only thing I could do is wait it out and also take those items that were burning me out and either deal with them or throw them away. In this case, it was my messy room. Over the last few weeks, after building my new rig, my room was a haven for boxes because I needed to go through the packaging, manuals, etc. and sort them out.

Finally, after using this mess as a perfect outlet for me to vent out my burnt out mood, my room is back to 90% normal.

So I guess every now and then, you just got to acknowledge your situation and either back off or face it head on, rather than just feel helpless/hopeless.

Speaking of situations, I got featured in a recent infographic.

So hey, check it out if you're looking for a little inspiration or end of the year ideas. Otherwise play where's wally and see if you can find my little quote :)
The graphic was created by the folks at Invoice2go.

Either way, happy holidays!

13 December 2016

Doom Quake 2 Doom

First, stop everything and listen to this
If you know me, you would know the opening Doom track is one of my favorite (after BFG Division) and the middle Quake 2 track is also my favorite quake 2 track.....and to top things off, Mick ends it with....BFG Division.

Yes, that's me totally geeking out big time. Oh and I finally started playing Doom on my brand spanking new rig. So when Doom came out, I had promised myself I would only play that game on a brand new rig at the highest settings. My current computer is around 5 years old, it's having issues here and there where the CPU overheats now and then and the motherboard has to reset stuff...oh and my 2 trusty 20" monitors are totally dying but they're like 8 - 10 years old so they've served their purpose.

All in all, I am playing Doom on a 25" screen at the absolute highest setting I can get it on with some kick ass headphones (simply because I wanted to make sure I totally dived into the game).

Now comes the problem. I'm still busy with my work and all my gigs/work only die down by the 23rd of December, which means I'm really just slipping in a few sessions of Doom to keep me going without totally crashing into "I don't care anymore, I'm going to play all day" and regretting it at night when I look at the clock spitting out 5AM in my face.

Otherwise, there we go, 2nd last entry for 2016 and boy this year has been a wild one. Bad times, good times, crazy times and scary times. The good thing is, just like every single year, somehow I survive it and that's become my motto in life now. One way or another I'll get through it. And that's also the motto I'm living now as I count down my gigs and get ready for the 1 week of the year when I do zero work and just enjoy myself guilt-free.

So hey, it's time to make all those resolutions you never got to happen because you still got a solid 2 weeks! And if you're not motivated, check out the video above. If that doesn't work, check out the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 sound track
It's totally become a sound track I listen to when I need a little pumping up.

And when you're ready to go listen to this.
If you're not ready to rock, then chances are you hate your work :P

Alright, now that I'm all powered up to get stuff done, time to make the most of it!

Happy 10 days!