Blog Archives
Life Update 8/17/2022
Life Update
I haven’t been able to post a lot lately. You may be thinking it has something to do with my newborn daughter. You’d be right, to an extent anyway.
My daughter has a weird sleep schedule. She sleeps from 3am to some time in the afternoon. Not straight, though. As she’ll wake up every so often to breastfeed. As a result. She’s often asleep when I’m home in the morning. I work 12-9pm. Factor in the 45 minute commute and the only time I see her, awake anyway, is when I get home around 10pm.
It use to be I’d get home and work on blogs or videos or whatever needed to be done. Now I get home, eat dinner and suddenly it’s 11 and I’m just now able to play with my daughter. So, naturally, that cuts into time I put into videos and blogs.
I work a pretty stress free job. I had some down time and could work on blogs at work and turn them into videos at home. Recently I got a $4 raise for added responsibility. As a result, a lot of my down time at work has gotten used up by my time in other departments.
I have videos and streams planned, I just need to get my time management back right. As priorities and necessities have evolved and changed over the last four months.
But I like to make these life update post every now and then, so here we are.
I will say, one my favorite new hobbies is investing. Now, I work a very modest pay rate. And since Jessica and I just had our daughter, we are a single income family. As a result, we don’t have tens of thousands of dollars lying around. My boss invest and he got me to start. So, I’ll leave my Robinhood referral link below. With it, you can start investing and we can both get a free stock!
https://join.robinhood.com/wesleyh-69f6fa
So, I’ve got some video game pick ups, TCG unboxings, and some top fives planned. So please stick around as I try to get back in the groove!
Thank you anyone who read or will read these post
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas, everyone. The year is coming to a close. Jessica and I have a big announcement tomorrow for the blog. We will also be doing a channel update and a year in review post. But for now. Enjoy the holidays, everyone.
I Applied for My First Side Hustle!
Don’t get me wrong, I do love my job as I have alluded to in previous blogs. I get to put Pokemon cards online for my local hobby shop. Sadly, though, it just pays $10 an hour. Looking ahead to 2022, I have financial goals. I’d like to save more, make more, invest more and take two vacations. Greedy! I know!
However, I feel like my current job is only going to get me so far. Now, this new side hustle isn’t crazy money. But it is still money. It will allow me to make money when I’m off or have free time. That’s the exciting part.
Now I have applied and I’m just waiting to hear back. I’ll do an update blog whenever I figure out the verdict.
Coming Back
The last post I made was about our cat, Elizabeth’s vet visit. She is fine now. At that time, we were stressing out about keeping an eye out on her. Our AC unit broke, our hot water unit messed up and we were planning our honey moon. And to make things even worse, Crunchyroll stopped playing anime. We had watched the first 3 episodes of Tokyo Revengers and than boom… Crunchyroll stopped loading anime.
With all that said, our AC unit is fixed, our water heater is fixed, Elizabeth is fine and Crunchyroll is working again. We would like to make another comeback.
I know we were doing daily post for a while and you may think we got burned out. Well, due to our broke AC unit, we literally burned out. But, metaphors aside, we have just been sorting out things in our life. Personally, I really want to get back into the swing of blogging and keep any momentum going forward.
With that in mind, I have been making a lot of video game related videos over on my Youtube channel. Be sure to check those out as I’ve been talking about the Zelda 35th Anniversary and how to make collecting fun and affordable for example.
Anywho, thank you guys for reading and sticking with me. Again, not promising daily post, but I am going to try and get some regularity going back on the blog!
50 Followers Milestone!
So, I’ve been doing this blog thing for about 5 or so years and we just hit 50 followers. On the surface, that is about 10 followers a year. Not super impressive, but it is still something. So if you are one of those followers, thank you for following, reading and commenting/liking. I really do appreciate it.
Anyway, today is a short post. Have a great day guys. I’ll see you guys in the next post.
December 1st is Upon Us
I’m sure as most of the frequent readers can tell, my posting has slowed way down. Again this comes down to having not read or watched anything lately (though I am watching Mandalorian!). Work has a large part to do with that. Even today, I’m working 12-9. Though now that school is over, Jessica and I are rearranging the house and cleaning up in preparations for the holiday. We know were getting a new mattress and dresser so it is time to readjust. When we get home and clean a little, we are typically tired and ready for bed. God willing, we will be done in a week or so and back on the Youtube and Blog grind. I have done a few things with my free time I will post about in the coming days. They just are not Manga or Anime related. We are also bracing for maybe an even crazier 2021 and trying to make sure all preparations on that front are made. Who knows what the future holds after all!
Alright everyone. Again, I just wanted to make an update post and try to get back in the swing of posting regularly again. It is always good to do a recharge post! I’ll see you guys in the coming day!
As always thanks for reading and have a great day!
200th Post Celebration Part 2!
Okay, here is part 2 finally. There may or may not be a part 3 just depending on factors.
Part #1: 200th Post Celebration Part 1!
This took so long because I wanted to go and reread those old post and really put myself in my former shoes. I try to be open and catalogue parts of my life. So, without further ado, let us relive those glory days.
Daily Blog For February 2016- I was not kidding about it taking 4 years to do another 100 post. We followed up the roaring success of the Daily Blog Challenge of January Pokemon Theme with an utter disaster, Legend of Zelda. Now Zelda is not the reason it was a disaster. The reasons were plenty abound. For starters, I was playing Pokemon almost daily back than. So needless to say, daily post about Pokemon were so easy. Zelda, I was really relying on nostalgia. Topics were not easy to come by and memories were not really rolling out either. Secondly, school. School was brutal. I started attending a community college in my home county Spring of 2015. I moved in the Summer of 15 and began taking online classes that summer as well. I did so poorly over that next year (Summer 15, Fall 15 and Spring 16), though dates blur a little. I fell really behind and daily blogs began suffering as a result.
Secondly, I got a job as a substitute teacher. What a weird time in my life, truly. I did not work much for the 4 or so months I was eligible to work. However, I went to bed before midnight every night and woke at 6 am everyday just waiting for a teacher to call out. It rarely happened. I mean, really rare. I subbed maybe 4 times in 4 months. It was probably more than that but I do not remember more than that. Honestly, one day I woke at 6am and waited by the phone. It finally rang (though it was a text, it is more dramatic to say rang). I answered the call (text). I got dressed and was there until about 4pm. When I got off I had to go babysit at Jessica’s grandmother’s house. She worked the night shift and did not get off until midnight. I got home that night around 2am. I got up at 6am waiting for the phone to ring again. That was kind of just what I did until I gave up on getting calls. In April, I moved back to my hometown and got probably 2 calls a day, no joke, asking me to sub. I did not even have a phone at this time (Jessica broke it.). That was one reason I would miss out occasionally. Jessica was at work and before she could respond, they would have already filled the role.
Yeah, I went into a sort of depressing lull during this time. First, Dollar General did not put me in their system to transfer. Than, I got grazed over for subbing (though ultimately they would pick me up). Next there was the Gamestop employment scenario where Gamestop hired me and never worked me once. Boy did that feel like a mirage. My parents were really getting frustrated with me but it was hard finding work at this time. I helped babysit everywhere I could. I helped Jessica’s parents, her grandmother, I even would go 40 minutes back home to help babysit just to try and make money. I also got sick during this time and it took forever to get over what I had.
So, Daily Post took a big L. I also hyped up 3 big projects. Let’s look at those. The first one was a forum. The forum is still active but it is hardly alive. See for yourself, https://dahubbz.proboards.com/ You cannot blame me. I was channeling my inner middle school love for forums. I got comments from several regulars. I’m not sure if any actually followed over there. Needless to say, once blogging took a hit, so did the forum. Plus, kids today love discord. Commenters on my YouTube channel ask for discord, so maybe one day.
Which gets me to my next point, I started a Youtube channel! I kept telling myself I was going to so by gally, I did. It was wild. I was unemployed and could not find work. Jessica and I agreed a Blue Yeti was unreasonable right now. I spent one day watching videos about budget mics and finally picked the Samson Go for 30 bucks and used OBS to screen record. Sony Vegas and Adobe Premier are expensive, we were able to buy a life deal license for AVS video editing. That held us over until my brother got me a code for Vegas 14 for Christmas. Now I am onto Vegas 15. Back than though it was not great but it was enough to get us by. Watch our first video here. Here’s an example of a newer video
Up next was all the update post about Pokemon Sun and Moon. I was working with my dad when this game came out so I had some money. I bought Jessica and myself each a copy of Sun and Moon when they came out. We did not have capture cards so we recorded a make shift episode #1, laying in bed, both of us starting our new adventures. I don’t recall if we ever aired this episode.
And than, oh boy. Nintendo would unveil to the whole world The Nintendo NX! It amazes me we even had these questions (pulled directly from my blog in 2016) “What do you guys think of this new console? Will it reinvent the home console? Do you believe it is just a gimmick? Will this revitalize Nintendo or officially run them out of business.” However, the Wii U was considered the dark days but I braved it better than almost anyone and was rewarded with one of my favorite consoles ever, The Nintendo Switch.
Let’s back up and revisit the drought as I dubbed it. Daily blogs wrapped up on Feb. 20. 4 post would dribble out between than and March 14th. An update post. On March 14th I was still complaining about being sick. That sickness stuck with me and kicked my butt. Once this took me out and sub spots never existed I would sleep half the day. I also blame being unmotivated. I said I waited to the last minute and the quality was bad. This is still sort of true. Now, instead of it being almost entirely from a place of almost depression (though I will hesitate to use that word.), it comes from craving being productive in my real life. I take 6 classes and work 20-30 hours. Trust me, I am not bragging. It is more so to do with the fact I am a bad college student and balancing 6 classes during Covid is crazy hard for someone like me. I kick myself when I go to write a post, read a book, or play a game when I could be doing school. As a result, I don’t always have something to talk about.
Than I moved! April 6th I believe (maybe the 5th). That day changed my life. Things were getting bad for our mood and overall mental health. We had to move. We needed new work opportunities, no more online classes, more space, and, most importantly, a change in scenery. I already had a room picked out for an office and I was so excited for the new energy and what that would mean for the blog and channel.
Was I right or wrong about that energy? Find out in part 3. I never meant for this to be a multipart series but I have been enjoying reliving everything and reflecting. It is kind of the point of the blog now. Tomorrow I have class at 10:50 and than work until 9pm most likely. So, maybe I’ll make a post Thursday when I am off again? Really not sure.
Have a great day guys and thanks for reading!
200th Post Celebration Part 1
We hit 200 post a week or two ago. Let’s reflect on how the blog has done since its first 100 post.
Disclaimer: This is part 1 where we reflect on post 1-100. Part 2 will look at later post. It may be multiple parts just due to the nature of the beast. All Links seen in this post should lead directly to the post they are referring to. None should be spam or anything of that nature.
It did not take me long to reach 100 post. We wrote our first post on June 9th, 2015. Almost 7 short months later we hit 100 post. Some of the highlights from that era were:
Food Wars Season 1 Review. This post exploded in the first year getting a huge 37 views! It paced all non-home page post by a total of 9 grand spanking views. This review was a big deal at the time. I enjoyed a lot of post I was doing at this time, but to me this one was the game changer. I had not reviewed a whole season of an anime up to this point. This one gave me confidence moving forward.
Top Five Animes You Should Watch This Summer– This was another hype post. I was just falling back in love with anime after what felt like a forever hiatus. I watched some animes that I absolutely enjoyed. Amagi Brilliant Park, Death Parade, and Parasyte (just so I do not spoil the whole list in case you want to read it for yourself!) were animes that really commanded my attention. I watched them all in such close proximity that, instead of reviewing them separately, I just lumped them all into one review. I need to rewatch some and give them proper reviews.
We did a review for every episode 1 of the summer of 15 animes. Ushio and Tora, Gate, Monster Musume, Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers and I think Charlotte was also a part of this group. God-Eater got delayed to kingdom come if I recall right and I was not ready to jump into Dragon Ball Z Super. There’s a chance I’ve gotten some things mixed up. I feel like Gangsta also came out around this time? Summer animes were hyped. Rokka was actually our most viewed post that summer with 15 views. Even with all those hyped animes, Monster Musume was the one Jessica and I actually finished. That’s kind of insane.
That show I think actually challenged me to write out of my comfort zone. I love anime and Japanese culture, but I find the idea of sexualizing half woman half mythical creatures a bit odd. Still, I initially went to college for Film and Television and minored in Film Studies. I challenged myself to dig deeper past the objectifying woman and find some actual symbolism and meaning. I think I did that. I remember being proud of that post.
We also did a raise awareness series each month to spotlight a different awarenesses. I use to work in a Dollar General and in September we started selling Breast Cancer Awareness pens. Now, I certainly believe Breast Cancer is an absolutely appalling evil that no human should ever have to suffer from. Yet, September is Prostate Cancer Awareness (to name one of the potential many awarenesses.). There was no sign of blue pens anywhere. So, I did the only thing a blogger could do. I spoke out. Here’s an excerpt from my post.
If the stores around your area are like mine, you will never see that little blue ribbon. That’s a shame. September 3rd and there’s already pink Breast Cancer Awareness ribbons and shirts set up in some stores, which is great. I discovered this last year when I was working at Dollar General and we started selling Breast Cancer Awareness pens at the counter at the start of September. I asked the manager on duty why don’t we sell Prostate Awareness month merchandise. She did not know. Again this year, I see no Prostate Awareness Month merchandise.
5 years later and I do not remember seeing any blue ribbons. It is still a shame.
Lastly, I would be absolutely remised if I did not speak on the daily challenge in January. One of the biggest reasons we hit 100 post so fast. We got at least 31 post in that month alone. We had a lot of fun with post such Top Five Type Pairings That Need To Happen, What Occupation Would I have, and Which Region Had the Best Starters. Those are all included if you click the January 2016 link. The most popular post from that stint was What Is Your Favorite Pokemon Evolution Line with I believe had 7 or 8 views.
Well, that does it for part 1. Honestly, this wasn’t meant to be a two parter. However, this is the first time I really got a chance to fall down the rabbit hole of past me so I indulged in the opportunity. I will try my hardest to have part 2 out tomorrow, but Tuesdays are always interesting.
Again thanks for reading this post. If you’ve read the old post from 2015 and 2016, maybe consider revisiting them? If you are new, perhaps go give an old classic a chance?
Anway, that is it for me. Have a great day! And be on the look out for part 2 very soon.
My New Job!
Tuesday I started my new job. I now work for a very awesome collectible store. It is very hard to know what to call it exactly. It’s not a local game store, not quite a local card store. It is a mix of both. It sells action figures, board games, video games, TCG card games. You name it. We even took in a collection of Barbie Dolls not to long ago. In other words, it is a wonderland. (Though for the sake of this blog, I am going to refer to as an LCS since I work with the cards and buy my comics from there.
I’m mentiong all of this to say this is now going to be a big part of my life. Right now, on Wednesdays and Thursdays I work 12-9. So yeah, I’m basically over there all day those days. Tuesday I have class 10:50-12:05pm than I work 12:30-5:30pm and back to school from 6:10-7:25pm class.
My job is super tedious but super sweet. We get traded in a lot of Magic the Gathering and Pokemon TCG cards. My job is to go through and assign them a grade on a 5 point scale. (Near Mint, Lightly Played, Moderately Played, Heavily Played, and Damaged.) I sleeve them up in the corresponding sleeve and list most of them on our TCGplayer site. We have a 2nd crew that handles the storing and shipping of the cards. I just see to it that they get properly logged in the site.
However, I have been a nerd with several hobbies for my whole life. They have more stock than they could list before. Eventually, I will move onto comics and other collectibles. For right now though, we need to get all our cards up to date.
It is a desk job. I mostly sit at my desk for 9 hours except for my lunch break and the occasional bathroom break or so to stretch my legs. However, it is literally the coolest store within probably 100 miles of me, so I love it. My boss is a real good dude. My card grading co-worker also seems nice. They work around my classes. And, as I like to point out, the cards never give me sass. So, it is tough to complain with a job like this.
I’ve got to look at so many cool Magic cards. That’s a real perk. I could not afford/did not want to spend money on half of these cards. So, it is awesome to get to hold and look at them. Some of the highlights for me have been: Cavern of Souls, Teferi Hero of Dominaria, Sensei’s Divining Top, 4th Edition Lightning Bolt, Revised Blue Elemental Blast, Karn Scion of Urza, Sylvan Library, and Priest of Titania. There’s been some other stuff. One collection had some cool legacy elves pieces, one collection had the dominating Red Deck Wins from about a year ago. It is wild, truly. My co-workers stack had a foil version of Dark Confidant.
It is now more easy than ever for me to get my hands on TCG stuff. I’m strongly debating on bringing some of that stuff to the channel, maybe? I might do a TCG Singles pick up video as I’ve bought about 15 Magic the Gathering singles. I’m looking to add some Pokemon Singles or even do some unboxing on my Youtube channel. So, if that sounds interesting, make sure you follow me on here and subscribe to my Youtube channel here.
Well, I need to go to bed now. I hope you guys look forward to hearing about interesting stories and awesome finds.
Thanks so much for reading! Have a great day!
An Unplanned Break
I love this blog. And this year in particular, I have made what feels like several post marked as life updates. This is just the next one in that long running tradition.
This break was completely unplanned and one of those things where I had to sit down and make sure I prioritized ending the long draught of post. Which is a shame. I wrote what I consider to be some of my favorite reviews this years. I had watched a handful of animes that I planned to review (including Tower of God Season 1 which I actually did write up.)
So, if I love the blog and had all these plans, why has it been over a month? Let’s break it all down.
School- School also ruins my motivation towards hobbies. It’s a shame. It’s not always a bad thing though. Sometimes it is because I enjoy my classes so much, I actively prioritize school (weird, right?). Other times, school provides that good ol existential crisis of what am I doing with my life? This semester has been a mix of both. For starters I’m taking 6 classes which is near, if not, the maximum amount of classes you can take in a college semester. Only one is actual hard, but it is plenty hard. 2 or 3 require a lot of reading and video watching. and about 2 of them are actually pretty easy, thankfully. Well, 2 of these classes encourage me and are helping me decide what I want to do for work. Others, are making me reconsider everything. However, I am way too deep into the college tank to jump ship. Regardless, I was on a tear over the summer and during the covid break. School being back in session has hurt motivation which, in return, has hurt production.
Hobbies- I am a collector. I collect a lot of stuff. Mangas, comic books, and video games are some of the bigger hobbies I have. That’s without counting how much anime, movies, and Youtube/Streaming I watch. As a result, I rarely stay on the same hobby too long. These last two months my interest shifted from animes to video games. Now, I’m mostly reading comic books and I’ll occasionally fire up a game when I’m in the mood. This blog mostly centers around anime. When you’re not watching anime, it makes it hard to constantly write about anime. I’m trying to reprogram my brain into anime but is tough with all other good forms of media that exist right now.
Youtube Channel- On top of running this blog, I run the companion Youtube site, Dahubbz, I run a completely separate Youtube channel with some friends. That channel uploads almost daily this entire year. I am in almost every video as well as edit every video and I come up with most of the ideas. I would not call it a full time workload but it keeps me busy. (In fact, I have put off editing the video for today to focus on the blog.). I’ve tried to teach the other members how to create their own concepts and edit the videos, but they are not ready for that yet. Which is fine. The 2nd channel was my idea and I’m super proud of it. Nevertheless, there are definitely days, weeks, and sometimes months, where I am focusing on that channel more than this one. Back in August I came up with several high profile video ideas. However, I was really struggling with which channel I would put them on and as a result, I just have not done those videos yet.
As it stands, I have big plans for this blog and the channel. However, I might have to consider one day I’ll shift all my attention on to one channel. That time is not here yet. So, let us continue to enjoy the ride together. If you watch any of our videos or read any of our post, thank you.
I don’t want to make any promises, but tomorrow I plan to review One Punch Man Episode 1. Fingers crossed.
Da_Hubbz 