Summer 2025 Update

Greetings, from the middle of summer! I’ve been a busy little bee, but now that I’m currently feet up on vacation, I thought it would be nice to sit down and capture some thoughts and provide an update on what’s been going on lately. Normally, I’d love to sit down and do this over a podcast episode, but that’s been a little challenging, so I’ll keep it to the reinstated blog today, and give you some quick updates as to what’s been going on lately!

• Well, first…this blog. As I stated in my last post, I’ve always found writing to be a fun, enjoyable way to get thoughts out and explore my hobbies, but it’s always the last thing I reach for in order to express myself. Right now, this is the easiest and most productive thing for me, so…here we are. What’s that old saying? “The best tool for you to use is the one you have available”...or some iteration like that. Either way, I have the time to write, so writing is the way.

• I’m currently on vacation in beautiful British Columbia, enjoying the sights and sounds of the Okanagan Valley. We’ve been coming out here for the last 14 years, and it never gets old. The last two years, I’ve missed most of the trip because I’ve been working; I’ve flown out to join my family for the last 3 days or so, and then head home. Last year, as we were driving home, I told my wife that I wasn’t going to miss another vacation, despite commitments to the baseball team or otherwise. True to my word, we’re here, and it’s been great so far.

  

  Me, doing my summer gig as the in-game host for our local ball team. Keeps things busy!

• Before we head out here, I decided to take the plunge and order a PS Portal to bring with us. Why? I dunno. Thought it would be nice to play some PS5 on the road and when we’re away from home. I have to say that it works better than I thought! There’s a slight lag, but nothing enough to make games unplayable and the streaming has been great, thanks to good wifi where I’ve used it. Not a bad little investment, and some rationale behind it, because…

• The next game I intend on playing is Sea of Stars, for the PS5. I’ve had my eye on this game for years, and have read nothing but great things about it, so I thought the Portal would be a great way to start it. There’s something about RPGs and handhelds that really hit the mark for me, and I’m looking forward to starting this one. 

Really looking forward to playing Sea of Stars

• And I plan on starting it while on vacation because I just finished Luigi’s Mansion 2 on the Switch, while we’re here. I loved Dark Moon on the 3DS, which I’ve gushed about many times before, and after having played the third game a few years back, I knew I’d want to re-visit 2 once it was released in HD. And, it was great. I have such fond memories of it and it’s always a special game for me. I had played most of it before we got here, so it was just the matter of putting some finishing touches on it.

• That gives me 8 games completed for 2025. A pittance compared to others, but my goal every year is to finish at least 12 games, or one a month on average. With my schedule, that’s about as fair a goal as I can give myself. I’m writing this in late-July, so I’m right on track with where I wanted to be, so hopefully I can see that through. 

• At the start of the year, I made a list of ten games I wanted to complete, and of my eight wrapped up this year so far, only four are from that list. It’s funny how sidetracked you can get by other games that somehow make their way into your collections, but…that’s what happened here. A random game here, a sale there and…boom. Derailed. But…I’m playing games, and that’s all that matters.

• Speaking of, I’ve been investing in ways to ensure that I play more games. While I’ve been a little back and forth on it, I totally disconnected my capture card from my setup. I found it was much more of a hindrance than I thought it would be. I would refrain from playing games because in order to get a proper capture, I’d need to be in a scenario where I could ensure I was able to start, play to a certain point to get a proper save or drop-off point (especially for games without quicksave features) and if I knew I couldn’t get that, I wouldn’t play the game. And that silly mindset really made me refrain from sitting down for a game session and play. It’s dumb, but that’s how my mind has worked, and it’s been limiting. So, now, I just play and don’t think about capturing. If I ever want footage for something, I’ll have to go back and actually capture and take more time, but…I’d rather not create something because I don’t have footage than not playing something because the capture conditions aren’t right. If that makes sense.

• To that point, I’m looking at investing in a Steam Deck. Handheld gaming is so easy at times, and to be honest, the thought of sitting at a PC after a day at work…sitting on a PC…is why I’ve always really struggled to get into PC gaming, despite investing in the ecosystem. I recently connected one of the ports of my GPU to my TV so that I could game on the TV when I wanted to, but…the Steam Deck will help with a lot of those lesser PC titles that I’ve invested in and can play on the go. Anything high end that I want to play, I’ll make a point of sitting at my PC, if it’s mouse and keyboard specific.

• The Steam Deck is also a way for me to play retro games on the go as well. I’m really interested in making it a handheld emulation machine as well for things like GameCube and PS2. I’ve been eyeing up that generation for awhile and re-visiting some titles that I never played much of over the years. But, there’s also the ability to play some earlier retro games and I don’t hate the idea of having an all-in-one handheld solution. I know the Steam Deck is older at this point and there are better (more expensive) options, but i don’t want one as much for high-end AAA titles; indie titles and emulation is all I need.

• This just feeds into my desire to ‘play’. No more excuses and captures and not playing because the ‘perfect setup isn’t ready’. I’m trying to eliminate excuses for not enjoying the things I want to and investing in something that helps me get there. I’m really doubling down on investing in ‘me’ and trying to break down barriers that don't allow me to do that. And to that end…

• I recently started talking to a therapist. Not for anything concerning or any real reason, to be honest. I just thought, “I pay for these benefits every year…why not take advantage of them?” Sure, like lots of folks there are certain things I struggle with from time to time, but I thought it couldn’t hurt to go and talk to someone, just to be proactive and see if there’s anything else there that could help me be a better version of me. I’ve only had a few sessions so far, but I’ve really enjoyed it. Sometimes, just getting things out of my head to someone else that isn’t a friend, partner, co-worker…it’s very helpful. I’m going to keep at it and see how it goes. So far, so good!

• One final gaming note…I just about broke down and bought a Switch 2 the other day, but fate intervened. I was at Best Buy with my wife picking up something and while she was at the counter getting her order, I saw a large shelf of Switch 2 boxes that were available. So, I thought, “EFF IT,” and took it to the counter. It was the Mario Kart bundle and I thought since I had the money, I might as well dive in, just in case I didn’t have the funds later when I really wanted one. After about 10 minutes of the two folks behind the counter looking at each other, confused, they finally said, “Oh…so, we have all of these boxes on the shelf, but we don’t actually have any of these in stock. Sorry.” And then they walked away. So…that was that. I don’t have a Switch 2, but to be honest…that’s okay. I’m still playing games on my Switch, and there’s nothing that I’m really itching to play that’s been released for Switch 2. Sure, Mario Kart, Donkey Kong and even the Bravely Default remaster would be fun…but eff me, those new video game prices sure don’t make me want me to jump in anytime early. Even when the rare Nintendo sales hit and these games are at 30% off, that’s a big leap. So, I’m content to wait for now.

• Some sad news, unfortunately. I recently had to put down one of my best friends for the past 17 years, my cat Echo. She was the greatest little kitty, even though she hated everyone and everything. Man, was she a miserable cat. Except…around me. She would always come sit with me, cuddle me, purr loudly and just generally show me affection. Recently, she was having some issues and while it was somewhat concerning, I was worried it might evolve into more. When I took her to the vet, the doctor thought (given her symptoms) that she had stage 4 kidney failure and a handful of other issues. It was difficult to hear, but I had the feeling things weren’t good. She also had a pretty major infection in her paw due to an ingrown nail.  The worst part was that the vet said, “We can treat her. And we can probably get her back to a good stable spot. But…once the treatment ends, she’s probably going to revert back to this stage meaning you’d have to start over. And, given her age, it might be worse.” Since she was going to prescribe a lot of treatment, and the fact that we were heading out of town for two weeks, she brought up putting her down while we can still ensure she passes in peace and not abandoned while we were gone, which was a real possibility. My heart was broken. Having to decide her fate, even though I went to the vet knowing this was going to be a possibility. She went peacefully, and I was a complete mess. I got to hold her and snuggle her one last time, and it was so hard. I’ve had pets growing up that I lost, but Echo was the first cat that was 100% mine, and not my parents’ cat or someone else’s. I adopted her and she chose me. She was my favourite little friend and I’m going to miss her so, so much.

My little fur babies. I'm going to miss my Echo cat. (Grey, bottom)

I didn’t want to end on a sad note, but I wanted to reiterate that despite the sadness and hard experience I went through, I am in a really good spot right now and I feel more in control than I ever have been. Maybe it’s because my kids’ schedules aren’t in full effect and I DO have more time. The real test will be when October rolls around and the family calendar is beyond full again. But I’m looking forward to that challenge.

Thanks for reading!