First, something a little on the lighter side of things. Linkin Park announced the Meteora 20th Anniversary boxset. Alongside it, they released a “new” single, Lost. They recorded the song back in the day, and it did not make the cut, because it had similar energy to Numb. I feel it, but it also has a Living Things vibe to it. The music video is alright, but the animation seems a bit stiff in parts. Mike Shinoda did an interview with Howard Stern, and they played two other songs that did not make the cut. They both sound incredible. It makes me happy to hear Chester’s voice in “new” music.
I started tracking the books I read. I had a moment last year where I could not remember when I read a series. I started getting back into reading about five years ago by re-reading the Demon Wars Saga, but I cannot remember specifically when I read specific books. I can create some guesses based on my purchase history, but it bugs me that I cannot say for sure. I changed that with a database.
I read the Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson last year, and now I am fan of his Cosmere universe. I am reading The Wax & Wayne series right now, which is era 2 of the Mistborn saga. I am enjoying The Alloy of Law. The Stornlight Archive is on my radar, but my focus has been mainly on a video game.
I have been playing a ton of Horizon Forbidden West; like a lot. I was afraid I would not like it. Jeff Gerstmann loved Horizon Zero Dawn, but he bounced off Forbidden West. I understand his thoughts a bit. Zero Dawn was a satisfying, self-contained story until the last three minutes of the final cutscene. It really did not need a sequel tease.
However, I am glad there is more Horizon. I replayed Zero Dawn last year, and did everything plus the DLC. Afterwards, I was excited to jump into Forbidden West; jump in I did. I have been playing it for two months, and I am having a blast. Aspects of the gameplay are better and more streamlined. The main story is a little too much “We made up a new problem just for a sequel,” but the side quests are meatier and more memorable than Zero Dawn’s. I’m three quarters of the way through the game, and I am having a blast. I am contemplating doing a New Game +, and I am looking forward to the DLC, Burning Shores.
It’s time to go deeper than Forbidden West. I have been trying to connect with friends on a one-on-one basis lately. In highschool and college, I would watch TV shows with one of my friends; we no longer do that, mainly because I don’t watch a lot of a TV shows anymore. Up until a few years ago, I would grab a drink with another friend; we just lost touch after a few weeks of no contact.
I consider myself to have a lot of friends. We have a group chat, and hang out on the weekends. But I am missing something; something that I can only get from a one-on-one conversation. I am introverted, and I wall myself off in a group. When it comes to one-on-one talks, I break out of my shell and have deep conversations. I used to have them with my TV friend, and my beer buddy. Until recently, I never noticed I was missing anything.
After third grade, I moved to a new city. I started fourth grade with no friends. Over the course of the year, two friends really gave me a chance, and invited me into their circles. To this day, I still consider both of them my friends, but we haven’t talked deeply since middle school.
Something happened a few weeks ago. One of those fourth-grade friends texted me and said he was having issues with a computer he just bought. He wanted to bring it over and have me take a look to see if I could help diagnose it. He brought it over, and we determined it was either the video card or motherboard. He brought over a sampler pack of beer as a thank you. I asked if he would hang around for a beer. To my surprise, he said “yes;” his wife was on her way back from out of town, and he had nothing going on.
We just talked for four hours. This is the first time I have connected with another person in years in such a way. We opened up and learned from each other; he helped me see things differently, I hope I helped him out in a way. We shared similar feelings: we connect with people one-on-one different than in a group setting, and we prefer the one-on-one connections. We decided to not go decades without hanging out, just the two of us. We grabbed a beer at a bar later that week. We got together and watched a few episodes of Loudermouth another week. And last week we played some Mystical Ninja from the SNES.
It has got me thinking about re-connecting with my other friends. It’s easier to share ideas outside of a group setting. It’s easier to talk about issues. It’s easier to ask for help and not feel judged. I need to take the first step, and just ask when and where they would like to meet.