PixlBit

So, let's get my bellyaching out of the way: as of this posting, my custodial team and I are in the last week of stripping and waxing floors for 2 buildings of the school district where I work. The past month or so saw an uptake in work activity and the waxing has fallen mostly on my shoulders (long story, don't want to recount it here) so the nights have been longer and the majority of my time at home has been sleeping. I've fallen behind on housework, gaming gets regulated to the weekends, I haven't watched all the movies and tv shows that I've wanted to and honestly, I spend most of the time sleeping on my couch, falling asleep to Youtube videos (which has to be the new all-time low). 

As I'm posting this, I recently finished up the recent Ratchet & Clank. I did unlock Challenge Mode but I'm going to send the rental copy because 1) hoping I can get Uncharted 4 or Doom next time, 2) someone else needs to play this fun-as-hell game, 3) I plan to buy R&C and when I do, I can launch into challenge mode. I finished the story with all gold bolts collected, a majority of holocards collected and the RYNO acquired at the end. 

Where it not for the occasional allergy attack which ruined my Saturday morning, the close to this past week wasn't that bad. Aside from the sleep patterns that get to get more crazier and unpredictable (some days I'll get a nice 7 hours, some days it'll be 4-5; I tend to take short naps at work - but not in any of the classroms, mind you. ), work is managable. It's also taken on a flavor of positivity as there is now 3 more school days until the year is concluded and next week, I'll transition to summer work and day hours. It'll be nice to have a schedule that's more normal. 

Last night, I finished the behemoth that is Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, in terms of its story mode and most (but not all) side missions. It lasted a little longer than I would've preferred but as an AC game in the current mode, it's quite the winner. It doesn't change a lot of the trademark mechanics although there was some nice additions to traversing buildings with the hookshot-like device (thanks for the fast travel points) and some of the more hated kinds of missions (follow some goobers as they have a conversation) have been trimmed down or made easier. I really was invested in the story line concerned the sibling assassins and thought they were great characters. I liked how both controlled differently: Evie is suited for stealth (my style) and Jacob is more confrontational and aggressive. Some of the side missions from famous dead white European males (Charles Dickens, Karl Marx) were incredibly dopey but not impossible. 

Recently, I completed the story for Dying Light's The Following DLC. And it was bizarre. Without spoiling anything, lemme say that you're given a choice and one choice (the one I chose) is a logical one despite how it arguably nullifies everything you've done in the game. Of course, either way, once you beat the final mission, you can go back to the game world and finish any side quests. I'm stuck on at least one, where I have to go into a cave full of Volitales (think the Reaper vampires from Blade 2) and kill them all. It's damn near impossible, especially in the instance where I have to fight more than two (as many as five have ganged up on me eventually). I'll probably get some help from a few friends who regularly play the game in the hope of "strength in numbers". 

As per usual, my plan to blog more often is thrwarted by a number of things: work, exhaustion, distractions, shitty weather, napping and high school basketball. None of these things are interesting (no matter how I try to prove otherwise) so I won't waste time with that. Instead, I'll talk about Dying Light, which has dominated my spare time in both its campaign and The Following DLC.

Since I last posted, I spent a good deal at work finishing up what I didn't want to attend to in the past 2 days. When I don't have enough time for gaming or catching up on films or tv (and good heavens, does the list for those keep growing), I'll always have podcasts to listen to. As a matter of fact, I've been considering posting about podcasts since (aside from music) they are a daily constant. 

As I'm writing this, I'm nursing a couple of cuts to the face. I bought a new shaving razor to replace my dreadfully worn down Gillette Mach 3 model and got a little careless in an area near the mouth. I'm not going anywhere until the bleeding (which isn't much) is less noticeable. At least the blades are sharp. I do feel rather stupid as a 35 year old man who can't seem to shave himself without getting clumsy.

Aside from some shitty weather and some much-needed vehicular repairs for my truck, 2015 ended about as good as any year.

The value of co-op/competitive gaming isn't something that I thought I could be a part of until I got involved with Halo LAN parties in college. The joy and sensations I got from those long nights (usually once a week; most of these guys were law students) would be something I would pursue in the future. These days, I game alone and rely on a decent internet connection and like-minded randoms to fill that void. It can go wrong and ugly from time to time.