Tell us about your first day at something — school, work, as a parent, etc.

I don’t remember many of my first days of anything, just a handful at most. What I do remember, though, is that they can be filled with heightened emotions and confusion.

First days of school? I’ve been scared, excited, indifferent, but always at least a little confused. Moving up from elementary to middle to high school came with new buildings and layouts. Backpack hooks and desks with cubbies to lockers that were changed every year with new combinations and locations. One particular first day of school we were being marched off the buses, passing between lines of smiling and waving teachers. Mom had sent me off with one of those multi-packs of boxed Kleenex, and as I walked into the building a teacher grabbed it and said something like “let me take that for you.” It wasn’t until several years ago that I realized, while laying in bed, that that teacher took advantage of the first day excitement and confusion and yoinked it from me because I wouldn’t know any better. Smooth, unknown teacher. Real smooth.

First day at work? Each job I started filled with nervousness. Unknown territory and unknown people who are likely to know the job so well that I’ll just look foolish for even trying. In recent years I’ve learned that people are just as likely to make mistakes and are just trying to do their best, and I’ve been fortunate that where I’m at now is a job surrounded by people who all give each other grace to be human. I mention this because there is one particular memory from my current job, not from my first day but definitely within the first week or two, where I learned something about the culture of the organization that didn’t sit right with me. Professional or more formal meetings are typically opened with a short prayer, and I’m not religious at all. Previous office experience at different companies never had anything like it, so it was weird and I felt completely out of place to the point I actually texted my old boss about coming back. I’m glad he never answered, though, because this has been a great place to work even though I’m not religious.

Moving on to something else, what about the first day in a new apartment? Up until about the age of 25 I had always lived with family or friends, so when I got my first apartment and lived alone it was a strange experience. It was quiet. There was an air of emptiness or loneliness the first night, along with the confusion and sadness that came with such a drastic change. I went from living with my brother and his wife and kids, to living with nobody. They had helped me move and not 20 seconds after setting boxes down in my new apartment my nephew had a marker in hand ready to draw on the wall. We caught him quickly, only one red line (and thankfully it was dry-erase) but after that blip of excitement, energy, and laughter, they left and I had no idea what to do with myself in the silence.

Well, that’s how I look at the first days of things. Excitement, nervousness and anxiety, sadness, and confusion. But, we get used to it and move ever forward to the next first day.

Have you ever performed on stage or given a speech?

Courtesy of my sister, my family had some involvement in the local theater scene when I was growing up in Colorado in the late 90’s through early 00’s which saw combination of theater activities from school, church, and a non-profit summer youth program.

My sister was all over the place with it. Acting, stage and set management/direction, executive direction/production roles, and securing funding through grants. When our mom was still alive she helped with costumes.

Well, naturally, being younger siblings, my brother and I were brought along because mom had to keep an eye on us. Outside of the typical elementary school plays and choir performances, we ended up getting involved in theater a little bit as well. Myself more than my younger brother. When I got into high school I helped with set building and scene changes, script readings, etc.

However, all that being said, I didn’t really do any performances for audiences that weren’t my classmates. I did the occasional report speeches for English and History classes, and also one or two monologues for a theater-adjacent class. I was by no means terrible at any of it, but I didn’t do great either. Public speaking wasn’t my forte.

After college is a different story.

I’ve mentioned my brief stint of streaming here before (and it’s part of why I started the blog in the first place) and between that and my current job I’ve gotten much better and more comfortable with performance and public speaking.

Streaming helped me get better at ad-libbing and improv, as well as expose me to the stress/pressure that can come with suddenly being in front of an unseen audience of hundreds of people. It also helped me get better at speaking in front of people at work when on calls, especially during and after the pandemic when everyone was behind a camera (if they even had theirs on.) Now, I can give impromptu opening speeches on meetings when discussing processes and procedures, or even being brought in spur of the moment to stand in front of the camera in my managers office to explain a spreadsheet I made for our directors/VPs.

Okay, so that was a lot of back story and explanation. Now, a word of closing. The simple answer to the question is “Yes” but that doesn’t mean I 100% enjoy it. It still gets a bit nerve wrecking from time to time, but if I have to do it then I’m not afraid of the challenge.

What are your favorite physical activities or exercises?

I’m not a very physically active person, but this should come as no surprise to any of you given that I want to be a writer/author and also love playing video games. That being said, I do sort of still have some favorite physical activities.

I used to be a lot more active and on my feet when I unloaded trucks, but that was nearly eight years ago now. Was it a favorite physical activity? Not particularly, except that I got paid to do it. If I had to do something like it again it would be going to the gym to lift weights, which is something I need to get back to doing regularly.

Other activities or exercises that I enjoyed (when I was in much better shape) were typically competitive things like sports. If there was running involved, that was a plus, so soccer and football are easy to include. Obstacle courses and climbing, too.

But I don’t really do any of that anymore, even though I probably should. It’s just hard to fit into my schedule, not just from a time perspective (that part would be the easiest) but also mentally. Maybe I should work on that for next year.

What is something others do that sparks your admiration?

It’s been a busy day so far, so today’s post is going to be short.

Some of the things that most amaze me, that cause me to pause and admire some people, is when they can stick to their convictions in the face of adversity when trying to do good in the world for the betterment of those around them without any expectation of reward or recognition. Then there are those that recognize that effort and lift them up, support them, and make sure that they can continue to do what they do best.

What’s your favorite cartoon?

…but my favorites have changed as I’ve gotten older and consumed so much content. For those of us lucky to have access to Cartoon Network in the 90’s, you’ll know a bit about what I’m talking about.

When I was growing up in Colorado school started at 7:30am, which meant I was generally up somewhere between 6:00am and 7:00am. There were a wide variety of Hannah-Barbera cartoons that I would catch in the mornings. The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby Doo, etc. I enjoyed most of them but I don’t recall ever really having favorites among them. Maybe some I preferred over others, but that was about it. Then came along Pokémon. That was one I could say was a favorite as a kid.

Beyond that, when I was going into middle school, Cartoon Network eventually added the Toonami block in the evenings, and that was where I got hooked on anime. Dragon Ball Z, Big O, Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star. So many that passed through the Toonami timeslots that I greatly enjoyed. Cowboy Bebop and Outlaw Star were definitely my two favorites at that time.

Through high school, my siblings and I got our hands on DVD sets for a few different anime that we all still talk about to some degree. Hellsing, Fushigi Yugi, The Twelve Kingdoms, and Trigun. I watched through Trigun dozens of times! That one was definitely a top favorite at the time. I’ve gone back and watched Hellsing and The Twelve Kingdoms once or twice in the last ten years, so they’re definitely up there as well.

Early on in college I got sucked into Naruto and Bleach but eventually gave up trying to keep up with the anime, and I read the manga instead, so those won’t count. However, it’s at this point that I really deviated from anime as a whole. It wouldn’t be until after college (and really, after I finally moved out on my own) that I dove back into watching anime.

Aside from the rewatches, I learned I was a huge sucker for the Isekai themed stories, which shouldn’t be surprising considering how much I enjoyed The Twelve Kingdoms and Fushigi Yugi. (If you don’t know what Isekai is, it’s basically when someone gets transported to another world and has to survive there. Think Spirited Away.)

Once the Isekai genre started to dominate the market, it became kind of stale, and I eventually had to start being picky. They can’t ALL be great, but that’s my completely subjective opinion. So, after watching probably a dozen or two, I did come to a few I could say were favorites. Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy is right up near the top of the list from recent years, along with the first season of The Rising of the Shield Hero. Those two had great concepts/premise, and character development. I haven’t watched Shield Hero beyond that first season (again, I got hooked into reading the manga) and I’m eager to see a second season of Tsukimichi. Then there’s Kumo Desu ga, nani ka?/So I’m a spider, so what? which was a lot of fun in its own way. Sadly, again, nothing new to watch yet for that one.

Well, this could seriously go on for a while, so I’m going to stop with the reminiscing and close out with a favorite that I’m watching right now called Spy x Family which has quickly become a favorite to the point of watching each new episode as soon as they’re up on Crunchyroll. A world class spy from a neighboring nation has to go undercover and needs a fake family to help him get close to his target. What could go wrong when he adopts a little girl who can read minds, and fake marries a woman who is actually an incredibly strong assassin from the nation he’s spying on? (And of course they don’t know each other’s secret and the only one who knows their true identities is the little four or five year old telepath they adopted.)

Alright, I need to leave it at that. This post got way longer than I initially thought it would. I need to go to bed.

What could you do less of?

Almost feels like the prompts lately are trying to gear us up for the new year, and resolutions. Reflection, brainstorming, and goal setting.

Well, there are plenty of things I could “do less of”. Let’s make another list, because apparently I like those!

• Less procrastinating
• Less drinking soda/pop
• Less overeating
• Less giving in to feelings of self-doubt/imposter syndrome
• Less eating fast food
• Less spending money on things I want but don’t need (like Magic cards. Murders at Karlov Manor is looking good so far, damnit Hasbro/WotC!)
• Less making excuses to get out of doing healthy things or making healthy habits.

This list is not exhaustive, by any means, but these are the things that came to mind as I was driving to work this morning. A lot of these things are bad habits that I would need to work on, but I’m taking on one at a time. That one smack in the middle is important to me right now and is why I’ve been writing so often. I need to do less self-doubting and actually DO things that I say I want to do. Like NaNoWriMo, and getting a novel written (and eventually published, fingers crossed!)

23 days until the new year. 23 more days of writing for the year. 23 days and beyond to keep up the fight against self-doubt.

What positive events have taken place in your life over the past year?

I get asked similar questions at work.

“What’s something positive that has happened this week?”

“What successes have you had recently?”

So, you would think answering this question would be easy for me, but it’s kind of difficult because I always try to see the positive side of things even when they go bad. I usually do that to help those around me not feel so defeated or beaten by the challenge they’re facing, so in that regard it’s beneficial.

But now, looking at this prompt, I’m seeing that in doing this ‘silver lining’ perspective so often I elevate the negative events which makes them seem less bad, and subsequently I am mentally devaluing positive events a bit. Balancing everything like this makes it hard to pinpoint a memory of something I could talk about as a “positive event”. It’s like that meme of Syndrome from The Incredibles.

Beyond this, though, I also have to over analyze the prompt itself and think about what qualifies as ‘events’. So I have to stop and remind myself that no matter the scale or magnitude of importance, everything at any given time is an event.

At least, that’s how I’m going to look at it for this question.

Alright, anyways, here. A short list for you all of some positive events in my life this year.

• My roommates (one of my best friends and his partner) brought a little baby boy into the world. He is adorable and gets the biggest smile when I pop in and say “Hi!”
• Got news at work that a promotion is finally in the works for my team (which my manager has been working on the past few years)
• I fixed my motorcycle and got to ride it a handful of times after neglecting it for a few years
• Had one of my other best friends visit a couple of times
• I proved to myself that I have the capacity for sitting down and writing enough to meet the 50k word goal for NaNoWriMo, even though I didn’t hit the goal this year.
• I got to have a couple of my favorite burritos from the little family-owned burrito place near where I grew up in Colorado

Looking back, I think I need to do more to celebrate my successes and positive events so that they aren’t so hard to pick out. Well, maybe next year.

Do you ever see wild animals?

Do I EVER see wild animals? Unless I were to stay inside all day every day, it’s almost guaranteed that I see a wild animal every time I leave the house.

Squirrels and birds live in the trees around the neighborhood, and somewhere nearby is a little rabbit warren. Last year the squirrels found our pumpkins and started eating them little by little. I didn’t know this until I came home for lunch one day and found one of the small ones looking like it had been smashed. I caught them on a couple of occasions in the middle of their snacking.

Driving around town I see these smaller animals all over.

On rare occasions we see deer in the area, but typically they’re seen outside the city. Driving along the interstate is where I would usually see them, along with hawks and eagles.

Out at the farm we’ve seen several eagles soaring overhead looking for their next meal. There were also some raccoons and opossums over the years but those sightings have dwindled.

So, yes. Yes I see wild animals.

Do you have a favorite place you have visited? Where is it?

This is a tough one to answer because I like several places for specific reasons/qualities that are mostly unique to them.

Washington State is where my mom’s side of the family is from, and before she passed away when I was a kid we used to go visit about once a year. I fell out of touch with that side of the family, so I haven’t been back, but I always enjoyed that Pacific Northwest atmosphere.

Going to the opposite corner of the country, Florida is where my dad’s parents lived. I only recall going to visit them once, though. Again, as a kid before mom passed. So, while I enjoyed some places there as well, it has been over 20 years since I’ve visited either state.

I’ve visited Kansas City a couple times because my sister used to live there, and out of the couple of places we went to there I think the coolest place was this antique store in an old warehouse.

San Diego was fun, and although I didn’t do a lot of exploring because I was there for TwitchCon, the Gaslamp Quarter at night was interesting to walk through.

So, outside of those limited experiences, growing up in Colorado for about half my life and living in South Dakota the other half (so far) has afforded me plenty of opportunities to explore and visit different places, but I don’t know that I could call any a favorite. I feel like for me to do that would mean that I like visiting that place enough to go back multiple times of my own accord, and it would also feel like a cop out if I just said ‘Colorado’ or ‘South Dakota’ because there’s so much to do and see in each.

Since I didn’t have much choice in the matter of the places I visited as a kid, and I haven’t done much vacation traveling as an adult, because I don’t take much time off, I guess this means I need to make time to go visit more places and possibly find one I enjoy enough to go to multiple times.

Share five things you’re good at.

This feels like a tough question for me. I don’t ever think about the idea of being ‘good’ at something and then actively sharing that information. Not just because I believe I always have something to learn and improve on, plus being ‘good’ at something could be subjective based on subject matter and preferences, but primarily because it feels a little like I’m stroking my own ego when I DO share. I’m not big on bragging, and I struggle to accept compliments (though I’m getting better and saying “thank you” to the complimenter for the recognition.)

So, what could I be good at? I guess I’m good at painting miniatures but I still see loads of little details that I could work on my technique. I’ll let you all be the judge of that and share a few pictures. (I did paint some of the “Black Rose Wars” figures a couple years ago but hadn’t finished the rest of the sets for the Andromeda and Landsknecht. I’ll show before and after pictures another time.)

I like to think I’m good at cooking and baking.

The third thing that comes to mind is I’m good at playing Magic: The Gathering. My friends and I love to figure out how to create combos with new cards, so we spend a lot of time talking about that weekly/monthly.

Fourth… What could I toss out as fourth? Maybe driving? Seems like something I could say I’m good at considering my post about pet peeves, but maybe I could include navigation in there. I’m decent at the whole defensive driving thing and know how to get around my city fairly quickly.

I don’t know what I could say for a fifth thing I’m good at. Would you all accept “Googling answers for Excel/Microsoft Power Platform” as something someone could say they’re good at? I’ve learned a lot in the last several years just doing that.

That’s what I’ve got. Maybe I should make notes about things like this in a success journal so I can reference them later. Oh well, on to the next!