Funny how time flies.
Every once in a while, I get an insatiable craving to replay one of my favorite videogames. After all, that's why they're my favorites. And it's not to challenge myself or anything, it's just for fun. The only goal is to complete the game at my own pace and relieve stress. Total catharsis.
It's been a year since I've started at my current hospital job. Around the same time, one of my game cravings kicked in and I started a new file for Earthbound.
While I was training (for work), I managed to work my way through roughly 1/3 of the game. Eventually, I put the game down for a bit due to things getting busy between cons, testing, and the holidays. Eventually spring semester started up, and before you knew it, finals were over and I finished participating in the Voice Monkeys panel at AnimeNEXT.
And I was totally acclimated to my job. Well enough to go to a con AND still swing my usual night shift.
During the summer, I finally got myself a proper laptop to work on my audio projects while on the go. To break it in, I also threw in some emulators along with my audio software. This was a prime opportunity to resume Earthbound. Over the summer, I ended up playing through another third, and racked up a ton of hours at work doing coverage. I remember there was a week or two where I did nothing but go to work, sleep, and play Earthbound to blow off steam in between all the overtime.
And then fall semester set in, and I went back to the daily grind. Another birthday come and gone, and another annual NYCC trip conquered.
And then fall semester set in, and I went back to the daily grind. Another birthday come and gone, and another annual NYCC trip conquered.
And then the holidays came. As I wrapped up the semester, I got the opportunity to think long and hard about the past year, and the next direction my life should take as I'm wrapping up my time here at my current college. And as of late, I've been busy trying to work on filing another college app to continue my collegiate career, getting things back in order around the house post-school and holiday shenanigans, and prepping for this (hopefully actual) last semester.
And then this snowstorm hit. I recently got back from a hectic time getting to and from work amidst the snow and chaos, and I'm rather glad class got cancelled today. But after I got back, I had another bout of insomnia.
Before I knew it, I was fishing out my Super Nintendo pad and booting up Earthbound. No rhyme or reason, just doing it because I didn't know what else to do to fall back asleep. With all that's happened last year, I honestly totally forgot that I had left off where I did. Thankfully, I'm good at picking a solid stopping point so I can pick up relatively easily.
It's funny how time flies.
In a fit of insomnia, I ended up finishing the last third of Earthbound. And for those of you who aren't familiar with the game, you're given the opportunity to walk around the game's locales to experience the victory and aftermath of your journey after beating the final boss. And being a moderately sized RPG for its time, the victory lap can take a while. Despite beating the game thoroughly years ago, I found myself taking the scenic route home. I do this sometimes IRL too. Just to break the monotony of the daily grind and experience new things.
And it was during my journey home towards the little town where this journey began, I began to think about my real life journey over the past year. All the figure campouts, recording sessions, hangouts with friends, tough work weeks, stressful exams, and too close for comfort deadlines. An untold story of a quiet yet eventful journey over the span of a year.
I didn't realize it then, but I'd found some sort of stability in life. No more wondering if I'd finish school, or suffering through an awful retail job. No more wondering if I'd even get work hours for the week. No more wondering if I was good enough to record or write anything.
I'm finally in a solid and steady job at a hospital, where I'm being considered for a better position and bump in hours. I'm finally finishing my current degree. And I finally beat Earthbound.
And then I finally got some sleep.
In a fit of insomnia, I ended up finishing the last third of Earthbound. And for those of you who aren't familiar with the game, you're given the opportunity to walk around the game's locales to experience the victory and aftermath of your journey after beating the final boss. And being a moderately sized RPG for its time, the victory lap can take a while. Despite beating the game thoroughly years ago, I found myself taking the scenic route home. I do this sometimes IRL too. Just to break the monotony of the daily grind and experience new things.
And it was during my journey home towards the little town where this journey began, I began to think about my real life journey over the past year. All the figure campouts, recording sessions, hangouts with friends, tough work weeks, stressful exams, and too close for comfort deadlines. An untold story of a quiet yet eventful journey over the span of a year.
I didn't realize it then, but I'd found some sort of stability in life. No more wondering if I'd finish school, or suffering through an awful retail job. No more wondering if I'd even get work hours for the week. No more wondering if I was good enough to record or write anything.
I'm finally in a solid and steady job at a hospital, where I'm being considered for a better position and bump in hours. I'm finally finishing my current degree. And I finally beat Earthbound.
And then I finally got some sleep.
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