Why Would I Write

  • Tardiness

    “Do you ever wonder about the tardiness of people? You know when you’re in traffic, and you see another car on the emergency lane, skipping lights, and putting everyone’s lives in danger – do you ever wonder why?” asked Captain Prompt.

    “I do sometimes. Maybe they’ve got somewhere to go, somewhere to be, and they’re willing to risk their lives because it is that important.”

    “But sometimes they might just be assholes who don’t give a shit about everyone around them.”

    “Yes, that too. Like Ronny.”

    “What about him?”

    “He comes in late for his shift sometimes, and you know, since I’m a guard, I can’t really leave my post til he’s here, so I have to wait for him. That makes me late to pick up my kids, and I have to get an earful from their teacher and then from my wife when I get home.”

    The security guard of the theater continued, “I know! I’ve brought this up with Ronny many times and at first, he became more punctual. But after a few weeks, he slipped into his routine again. The manager can’t let him go because it’s not late enough according to the rules, but it’s a pain in the ass for me!”

    “I feel you,” replied Captain Prompt. “I’m doing the same thing right now. Waiting for our dear villains to show up.”

    “What are you going to do to them? Do you need my assistance? I can help you out while it’s still my shift.”

    “That depends on when they will show up.”

    “Shoot, looks like you’ll have to work with Ronny, I should be gone by then.”

    Captain Prompt stood at the entrance of the theater and looked around for something to do. “Guess, I’ll just grab myself some coffee and catch up on my tweets.”

    “It’s going to be a while, the Grand Wizard hasn’t even arrived yet.”

    “I’ll be waiting.”

    Writing Prompt from Reddit: [MP] Rather than “just in the nick of time”, the hero shows up 4 hours early, and awkward smalltalk ensues

  • Raging Inside Me

    “All memory of your existence will be wiped from reality. You will die, and no one will mourn.”

    “And that is how I would like it to be.”

    “No, wait – then why would this be your punishment? That doesn’t make sense – you’re not supposed to get what you want!”

    “Well, it’s too late now, I’m here and you have to obliterate me.”

    “No, there must be a mistake…”

    “I assure you, it isn’t. Now, erase me.”

    God looked me in my eyes – I had him in a bind. He couldn’t break his own rules or the universe including himself would cease to exist. I had already set my plans in motion, this was the final step. Too bad I wouldn’t be around to indulge in the aftermath.

    The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.

    Writing Prompt from Reddit: [DP] “All memory of your existence will be wiped from reality. You will die, and no one will mourn.”

  • “Bullshit, you fucking miss me,” there I said it. I’ll talk to you in a few months

    Another December, another post about how little I’ve accomplished this year, how little I’ve written on this blog and bla bla bla. Oh wait. It doesn’t have to be. I like breaking tradition or acting out of the norm. I like doing whatever I feel like.

    That’s how I thought I would start this post and as I put those words down, I realized it was a lot of padding for what would be essentially nothing. A collection of my thoughts translated into sentences for viewers to read. Which doesn’t mean it’s futile. Not everything needs a grander purpose. If everything had meaning, nothing would. Right?

    2021 has been an interesting year. Spending most of it within the confines of the walls I call home. Waking up in my office (very different from my Inspidea days) was something I hadn’t done since I was in Ubergizmo. Moving from my bed to desk didn’t involve getting dressed or enduring a commute – an experience that not many people shared with me pre-pandemic. Now, other people know what it’s like.

    That’s not to say it was something I truly enjoyed. I had left the work from home routine to rejoin the “regular” workforce in 2015 for a reason. The pandemic sent me back in time. Fortunately, restrictions have loosened a bit and I’ve been able to work outside. Despite it being a mental thing, I enjoy the distinction between my bedroom and workplace. I used to revel in the fact that being in my room meant I had no reason to think of work at all.

    I guess this living-in-the-office mindset has contributed a lot to how I’ve been feeling about work. Knowing that I’m capable of writing at any hour of the day to cover breaking news has led me to work way past my office hours. Sure, I didn’t have to – nobody was holding a gun to my head, but if the opportunity is there and news is all about serving the freshest content, why wouldn’t I do it?

    On the other hand, I have also spent a lot of time indulging myself in things I enjoy. Gaming, watching shows, playing music, and so on. I probably do the former too much, to compensate for my working routine. As a result, I’m sacrificing sleep. Not the wisest of choices (in the long run), so that’s something I’ll hope to rectify in the near future.

    In terms of productivity, I finished Animal Bus, which was a huge achievement for me. It was an ambitious project that took up more time than I liked but I was happy that I made it through. I’ve also been hosting a weekly podcast for over a year. It started off quite easy to do, became routine, and I’ll admit a bit difficult to power through for a bit. But once I realized it was only about an hour of my day each week, it wasn’t so hard anymore. Last week, we took a break for the first time in a long time. I didn’t want to treat my audience to another poorly executed, unrehearsed, live performance 😂.

    I thought I would spend some time getting back into game making or learning a new skill but the burnout is real. A new year isn’t going to change anything (for real, it’s just a calendar reset, there’s nothing significant about that. However, research has shown that these resets are great starting points for humans to try out a new behavior, it’s a psychological thing). I’ve relaxed enough since my last creative project, so I guess it’s time to do something about it.

    There are still some fun goals I want to complete – playing the Dark Souls series (I’m on 2 right now, 50% complete), reading Berserk (only a few more volumes until the finale 😢), watching Adventure Time (5 more seasons to go), and some other low priority stuff (more games, books, and shows). If the world permits, it would be great to continue playing at open mics. Performing online isn’t the same. Properly recording my songs should also be a thing. I’ve been linking people the same 2010 EP for years now and it’s about time I share tracks that were written over a decade ago. Also, I should make use of all the recording equipment I invested in.

    This blog also needs a new banner – I don’t even own the two keyboards featured on it anymore. Fun fact, people keep finding this blog through my Tokyo 60/Tofu HHKB post that I wrote ages ago. Another two keyboards I don’t own anymore. I guess there is demand for keyboard content, so I could explore writing about that more. I’m not sure what I’d write about though. Feel free to give some suggestions.

    My streaming hobby hasn’t taken off, but that’s okay. I have two regular viewers (you know who you are, Good News Gang) I am thankful for. The other day I played Dota 2 with some viewers. That was fun, they carried my ass. Maybe I should pick up Tagalog to increase my demographic.

    This has been one of the longest pieces I’ve written (not for work) in a while. It feels good to know I still have the ability to spew out bullshit. Hope this was enjoyable for you to read. I’ll come back to this in a few years just to see how far I’ve come.

    Happy new year everybody, happy birthday to COVID-19 in a couple of weeks.