Let's Play 2023 - LUNAR: Eternal Blue Complete

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

I promise I'll get everything in Horam done tomorrow.

Naw, man, don't sweat it. I never want this to be something we feel obligated to do, so we just keep playing what we feel like playing. I'm in no hurry. Like I said, this is pretty much the only gaming I'm doing (outside of a little Dragon's Dogma on the Switch, which allows me to pick up and put down games for 10 minute increments easier). Just play when you feel like it!

This actually works out for me, too -- today has been a really long day, and I just got home. It's 8:08pm here, so you can imagine that it's been a long day. I'm also going to be waking up at 4:15am tomorrow morning so I can get into work earlier and do a morning jog, so I'm going to hit the hay here shortly.

Tomorrow I'll see about fighting Lunn and finally get those sweet new abilities for Jean. I find it kinda funny that the game just dumps several new attacks after that battle (or if memory serves me correctly that's what happens).

It's my first time doing one meal a day and it just hits different!

Sounds like intermittent fasting! I've done it before, too, and it can be a change. Great for weightloss, but it can be a real damper on the spirit. I've struggled when I tried and eventually landed on doing IMF for 18 hours a day and just gave myself a six-hour window to eat whatever I wanted, and normally one solid meal had me covered. Now that I'm running a lot, though, I have to load up more frequently.

I also ate like garbage today. A hot chicken sandwich and french fries for lunch, and then pizza for dinner. I normally don't eat that bad, and I'm paying for it. I feel gnarly, haha...

[VidKid369]

Ah, thanks for the reassurance, boss Boo! Oh it's just that LUNAR is really special to me and I don't want to mess up this playthrough especially since it's a dual-play and everything. Lol tbh sometimes I get a little annoyed when we're at the same spot, and you get a MEGA-chunk done in one sitting like a dungeon/town combo and I'm like damm Boo got so much done in such a short-session! :p

I'm really bad at time-management. I wish there was more hours in a day to get more stuff done. The one thing that annoys me the most is having to get 8-hours sleep. I feel like it's such a waste of time. Also if I didn't have to eat that'd be great too! lol I'm serious. I don't really have too many responsibilities besides taking care of the farm. My daily plan is usually play a bunch of Yakuza 0 cause I'm really into it right now, and but I always set aside time to play LUNAR 2, always. It's like my special treat for myself. I'm doing a lot more analyzing about video games, in general and like JRPGs, too. Yakuza 0's got me hooked though, man.

So I talked to everyone in Horam and Jean had an outfit change. Cool! I actually wanted to fight a bit more in the White Dragon Caves while Jean was still a dancer cause once she dons her martial arts she never goes back so I wanted to say goodbye.

You're right there was one line in Horam that took me by surprise. That would never fly by today's standards. Working Designs always did have a 'colorful' translation and I always thought they would always try to push the envelope with what they could get away with thru writing. I noticed reading a lot of books as a kid that you can get away with so much more through text, than what you can't show in movies and film.

I'll probably do the tournament tomorrow. From what I remember there's a lot of talking to people at the tourney cause there's a lot of participants, so I have to brace myself for that!

Catch ya on the flip-side, Boo!

Also yes. I've been experimenting with what I can do with diet/exercise but I realized I just need to move my ass around more and not worry about food so much. Sedentary is a scary word to me as a gamer so I try to get outside and do shit whenever I've had an hours-long session and was just sitting there the whole time. I'm also trying not to sleep a whole lot? I think the recommended 8 hours is a little long, so I try to be bad and maybe do 7. hee-hee And decrease, and decrease as I get used to it. I used to be a total vampire in High School I would go to sleep at 4:30am and wake up at 7:00 for school. I don't think I could ever get away with that now but I could sure try!

[VidKid369]

Hey, Boo.

Finished the tournament at the Zen Zone, as promised. It was a lot easier than I had remembered so. The funniest part was probably the Bunny fighters all their lines had me cracking up. Love seeing girls in bunny outfits in JRPGs. :thumbsup: The tournament was actually way, way too easy for me it makes me wonder if I'm overleveled? Anyway. Love Jean's new get-up. I used to not like her as much before this playthrough but after reading the storyline-text much more slowly and closely I got a better grasp of what her storyline's about and she's a pretty nifty character. Makes me love that I love LUNAR. I'm always learning new stuff about it and my feelings towards it each time I play.

So Lunn coughed up the Blue Dragon Aura, so heading to its cave is the next logical route. I found it kinda baffling that Lunn just spends all his time as one of the Four Heroes holding martial arts tournaments cause he enjoys it so much. Random? The Four Heroes are all just bad people in this game.

Anyways. Just wanted to wish you a good day and hope you're doing well. Keep fighting the good fight!

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

Dang, this week has been really tough for me to find time for LUNAR. My apologies for that. I know I've said it before, but I go into the office on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and they end up being like 14+ hour days, not to mention I sometimes have to go grocery shopping after or I need to go to one of my kid's school events.

I also have a new employee, so he's doing lots of shadowing and knowledge transfer. He's actually my replacement but he doesn't know it yet, as I was given a "promotion" at work some time back. It's a job advancement but doesn't really come with a raise, so it doesn't really feel like a promotion. Corporate culture is so stupid like that and I'm already tired of the grind. I just want to help people and have enough money to live comfortably. Why is that so hard?!

Anyway, I'm back in the game and finished the tournament, too, so we're in the same place.

Zen Zone

Every jRPG needs a good tournament event. Here we are!

First off, I find it hilarious that the battle site is called the Zen Zone. Not to mention the bloodthirsty insanity of the guard at the entrance.

Anyway, so the teams are:

• The Gale Karate dojo, which we met back in town. They're essentially cowards and get the name because they run away like the wind.
• The Drunken Karate dojo, which we also met in town. They mostly pretend to be drunk to catch people unaware, but seem to be decent fighters.
• Then here we meet the Bunny Karate gang, who are just anime bunny girls. Haha.
• The Armadillo Karate group are just heavily armored soldiers.
• The Assassins are just that (and apparently easily noticeable because they are usually covered in bruises). And they apparently only practice for less than 20 hours a day. And they have really smooth hands, which they claim is just from being so worn down from battle. Hilarious.
• The Wolf Karate group, which are wolf-like humanoids. Are they beastmen...? Vile Tribe members...? A new race we hadn't seen before...?
• The Shadow Fist Cult, which look the most like normal people. I guess because they're mostly stolen children forced to fight.
• And the Outsiders, who it took me forever to realize who they were. I kept walking around looking for them before realizing... Hiro and Jean and company are the Outsiders, hahaha... I'm an idiot. Haha!

Another thought -- I forgot that Jean gave up her fans here to do actual martial arts and fight with her fists. I do miss her ranged attacks, but her attacks hit harder.

Kind of hilariously, Lunn fights like a mix of Street Fighter moves and Dragonball Z. Once defeated, though, I'm glad that he repents and changes his ways and resolves to become a better man and learn the power of his heart and the Blue Dragon Karate style, but... the guy faces zero punishment for effectively kidnapping children and turning them into murder-machines. He absolutely should have been taken by the authorities or a mob of angry parents that have finally realized that Lunn was the bad guy. How annoying!

Anyway, tomorrow it's off to the Blue Dragon Cave to meet with the Blue Dragon!

[VidKid369]

Hola, Boo-san.

No worries on being busy. Lol at corporate life. This probably doesn't compare but when I worked at Chipotle Mexican Grill I was surprised at how American businesses are so corporate. I thought I was just there to make and serve food? You wear the suit, tie and sunglasses. I remember it'd be a couple free weeks and then someone from corporate comes in to check on us on one day, and they pull us aside to interview us and they check how we handle the food and they even wait in line to see how our customer service stands up to their wants? It was all kinda of just what-not to me it was my first job so I just acted natural all the time. I watch a LOT of Survivor so I know exactly how to handle "family person, works in office, 'business' person" all the time you just say all the right things just to moo-ve them along in your life. I kinda liked it/didn't like it. I was just all about the food there and talking to all the customers and making sure to keep them happy. Sometimes I felt I was too "perfect" for them, and that place really.

Anyway. So I'm in the Blue Dragon Cave. -I'm keeping in mind you're having a very busy week.- I'm planning on just staying in here and grinding. I had a few equips I couldn't afford to purchase in Horam and I did the tournament anyway lol! I went back to buy them and I think there's some lines-changes too. I also want to grind to be able to buy A LOT of Star Lights (I'm not gonna touch the Silver Lights.) because I hate keeping the boss in mind and not wasting MP or dodging fights, so I'll just use my skills and then Star Lights. The Blue Dragon Cave is very relaxing to go through fighting every battle because it's blue and Hiro's Batallion Sword or Jean's Blue Dragon Kick can insta-wipe out any battle.

Have fun, Boo!!! I'm wishing you well!!!

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

Hey man! So I didn't get to post last night, but I did stop to play for like 15 minutes. I didn't even get to the end of the Blue Dragon Cave, so I don't really have much to comment on story-wise.

Tonight is a father-daughter dance, which is a little nerve-wrecking. It's a full suit-and-tie affair. I have to dress like that for work, but it's not dancing and socializing with other dads that I don't know. Haha.

Today was a long one -- I had to take one of my kids to sports while my wife took the other to their sports. Then I had to come home and chop up a tree that had fallen on the territory, then  clean the chicken coup, and finally collect and take the garbage to the dump. We have to take our garbage to the dump about once a week, give or take.

By the way -- how many chickens did you say you have? I assume a lot based on what we've talked about. We only have six.

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

Blue Dragon Cave

Played tonight, but it was just more grinding in the Blue Dragon Cave. I'm currently near the end and I saved right in front of the boss.

A few random thoughts...

• Some of the creature noises in this game cracks me up. In this place, there's the squeaks of that one creature.
• We also get platforming here for the first time! Well... not really... but there's jumping! And it's automatic, so we can't control it, haha...
• I've playing around with the various crests and have gone all out to give Jean some evade... but I do miss her ranged fan attacks.

[VidKid369]

Hey, Boo! Sounds like you're quite the Super Dad!

As for me,--Not much going on just another sleepy day on the farm. We have about 200+ chickens just for the male ones, who knows how many hens + chicks there are probably a lot... lol. My Dad and the guys that work for us here really, really like to go cockfighting so that's why there're so many males. We've even won a tournament before (+ prize money!) and have been interviewed by a local reporter/magazine so. My Dad likes cockfighting in his retirement so I let him have his fun...

I've been busy with Yakuza 0 for PS4 which I beat tonight. It was pretty cool. I'm thinking about playing more of these just guys talking cinematic games cause it's really chilled-down and they have a lot of older characters like 30 and up and it feels more my age. I was thinking about getting Dragon Quest XI but I dunno if I'm ready for that epic of a JRPG with LUNAR 2 on my plate right now, ...

As for the game I'm still right where you're at just grinding in the Blue Dragon Cave. I didn't touch the game today for once finally. I still have to talk to everyone in Horam.

The pots I ordered for my herb garden was delivered today so I'm working on that. I also ordered a sushi roller + nori seaweed to make sushi rolls/kimbap cause I wanna to try experimenting in the kitchen, I'm sooo bored, and it's really down slow days here on the farm... My dog loves the bed/blanket/mat I got her she just sleeps on it all day while I'm inside gaming with me... I recently restarted my re-watch of Survivor (the T.V. series) so I've been recently really getting into that. I love it cause it's such a family show. I hear a lot of families sit down and watch it together a lot. I hope to introduce my kids (when I have them) to it cause it's such a big part of my life.

Anyway hope you're not TOO bogged down with work these days, I always look forward to your posts whenever you're like, "oMg!1 I had 2 hours of free time tonight so I got a LUNAR session in!!!!!1one" :p lol. Have a good one, Boo!

Sorry for such a late replay I was like I said on Yakuza 0 all day.

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

The pots I ordered for my herb garden was delivered today so I'm working on that.

Nice! We do a little herb garden every spring, with mint, basil, thyme, rosemary, cilantro, chives, etc. It's great to have such fresh herbs available. I generally use the basil and cilantro the most. I like to cook thai curries and tom kha gai, and basil is needed in a lot of thai cuisine! I also make a lot Mexican tacos, so the cilantro gets used in both pico de gallo and the guacamole. I wish I could grow avocado's -- we love them in our family! They're not the cheapest, though.

I also ordered a sushi roller + nori seaweed to make sushi rolls/kimbap cause I wanna to try experimenting in the kitchen ...

I've been experimenting with sushi (just making simple ones - california rolls, avocado rolls, etc) and I haven't quite nailed it. I've got the taste pretty much down (I wasn't using rice vinegar on the sushi rice for a while, and that was throwing things off), but I still can't get the rice consistency quite right. Like your typical gringo, rice isn't my specialty! Haha!

I've always heard that both sushi rice and fried rice work best if use rice from the day before that's been refrigerated. Not sure how true that is, but I have yet to try that -- I don't plan ahead well enough to know I'm going to make it the day before.

I recently restarted my re-watch of Survivor (the T.V. series) so I've been recently really getting into that.I hear a lot of families sit down and watch it together a lot. I hope to introduce my kids (when I have them) to it cause it's such a big part of my life.

I was at uni my roommate LOOOOVED Survivor and even applied to be on it several times. He never even got it to the audition process. But I have many, many good memories of sitting in our little dorm room watching CSI: Las Vegas and Survivor reruns on DVD.

We tend to watch some shows as a family. For a long time it was only adventure shows (Lost in Space, A Series of Unfortunate Events, etc) but we've recently started reaching out to cooking competitions like Iron Chef and some of the new Netflix series. I really like "Best Leftovers Ever," in which the home chefs have to use real leftovers to make new dishes. Anyway, I never even thought about Survivor for the family, but that's a great idea! I'll have to see what it's streaming on. My daughter, in particular, is a little naturalist and she'd love the nature challenges on the show.

Off topic, but there are so many good games out right now that I'm dying because I can't play. Hogwart's Legacy and Dead Space both come to find. It's not a matter of affording them, I just don't have the time. Because I tend to be a slow gamer these days (just due to lack of time), I tend to wait for games to go on sale before I pick them up, so I'll get them eventually... I actually really like survival horror games like Resident Evil, Amnesia, Soma, Alien Isolation, Silent Hill, etc... I actually re-played a heavily modded version of the first Dead Space game this time last year. So yeah, the remake is one I'm dying (ha) to play.

It's almost midnight here and I have to be up in about 6 hours, so I'm going to put in about 15 minutes of game time before I head to bed. I think I'm just going to grind a bit instead of advance the plot. Feel free to take a day off whenever you want -- I don't want to rush, but I also don't want to hold you back for when you're rearing to press on.

[VidKid369]

I've never planted anything (legal :p) before in my life, and I figured since I'm on a farm with a huge plot of land I might as well take advantage of it. The maids help me figure things out. Usually I spend a lot of time thinking of projects and I start it and I get the housestaff to help me out cause I'm usually very, very busy in my Man Cave lol. I got a few types of seeds but mostly I'm trying to grow Thai Basil, Sweet Basil and Cilantro. I think we have the same taste palate. The basil is for Italian stuff I make like pastas, and spaghetti, etc. And for a few specific Asian dishes like Thai Mint Chicken/Thai Basil Chicken. The cilantro I use for stuff like Mexican dishes. I used to work at Chipotle so I have the recipe for the Cilantro-Lime Rice memorized that I wanna kinda try making at home. I also have this huge idea to try to make Vietnamese pho which I think will be an endeavor but from what I've seen in YouTube videos it doesn't look TOO daunting of a task. There's some other seeds I bought that I planted like Chives, and whatever but I've never used those before. Time to make use of all the time I spent watching The Food Network as a teenager. :p

I've never made sushi before but it looks so easy. Lol I had to scoff a little bit no offense when you said you couldn't get the rice right!! :p As an Asian kid growing up I know how to make rice like pouring water in a glass, so. Lol, dude!! That's the funniest thing ever when I hear people say they can't make rice.

Survivor is pretty much my only other hobby/interest besides playing JRPGs. It's been a huge part of my life and I've poured so many hours into the fandom. I think the show is great. You should definitely try to watch the first season it's sooo good and I think you'll love the characters!! :p At work, my bosses would make small talk with me and ask me what I like to do and stuff and what my plans are for the future and I always bring up Survivor and how I want to grow my kids on it, and have different "themes" in ea. room of the house like a jungle theme, an Asian theme, a Fijian cannibalistic dark magic theme, etc. They go to different locations each season so it's fun to have a favorite season like whatever you're into. I think they teach you so much about surviving out in the wild like say there's no electricity or running water should that ever happen, and you need to know how to start a fire without matches? I think if you're a business person it helps with themes like money, and strategy. Tbh, I'm so old now I just watch for the hot women ea. season, lol!! :p They're always running around the beach in two-piece bikinis or by God just their underwear... Haha. I think it has a little bit of everything for everyone. AND KIDS LOVE SURVIVOR!!! There's so many excited kids in the audience at the finales and all of them love the show. I've applied before too right when I turned 21 but never got a call-back. I guess they weren't ready for someone like me. I'm glad I at least applied and tried-out.

Tbh, Survivor always felt like an old white man's show cause it's on CBS and I always see golf on there. Lol!! :p Sometimes I feel like an old man sometimes with the shows I watch. Like I imagine an old couple watching Survivor in bed or something, - Haha!!

I know (abt. - games) ever since I got a PS4 Pro I've been like so looking forward to new games I'll be getting to play. I just beat Yakuza 0 so I went ahead and ordered the next one. I didn't know it was such a good series. And I love how "Asian" it is? Feels right up my alley, finally. I'm pretty much eyeing Dragon Quest XI as my next epic JRPG adventure after I get through with what we're doing with LUNAR 2. I'm just waiting.

Oh. I was planning on just beating the Blue Dragon Cave today but I agree we should just take it slow, - lol Hahahaha. I'm so down for taking this game slow. I almost don't want our project to end. After I post this, I'll go back to Horam and talk to everyone and probably go through the Caves again and stop at the Boss. :shrug: Sounds good to me!

I'm alone at the farmhouse it's just me and the dogs so I've been staying up later than usual. I'm having an after-dinner dessert coffee cause I wanna PUMP PUMP before my workout at night, so.

I'm so glad you've watched Survivor before, Boo!! Anytime anyone brings up Survivor it's such a good way to get on my good side and it makes me insta-LIKE YOU!! Not that I didn't before already but I just feel Survivor's changed the way T.V. is now I mean it was a huge influence back in the day in 2000. Now everything's a reality show. Sometimes I like to analyze the show, pick up on new ways to say things in American-English (like soundbytes) but mostly it's vastly entertaining for me. I just like to see heads talking on T.V. now. I've kinda stopped consuming American media ever since moving here but Survivor's the one thing I brought with me here. I have about 26 out of the 44 seasons currently. It's a huge deal for me and I'm glad I have another hobby besides (GOD!!) video games.

Anyway, thanks for another interesting post, Boo. Love ya!! Take care, and have a good one!!!

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

I've never planted anything (legal :p) before in my life

420, baby! I'm pro-marijuana, so I say convert that chicken farm to a pot farm and have at it, hahaha... Jk, jk... I don't smoke pot anymore, but did a little back in my younger years. When I got married my wife had never tried it. I'd already stopped smoking, but I bought some so she could experience it. It was bad weed and she was tripping and it was a horrible experience, hahaha... If my work wasn't strict with drug testing, I won't lie, I probably would be using it to help calm myself and just chill after some really stressful work days (which are pretty common these days, unfortunately).

As for the rice...

I had to scoff a little bit no offense when you said you couldn't get the rice right!! :p As an Asian kid growing up I know how to make rice like pouring water in a glass, so. Lol, dude!! That's the funniest thing ever when I hear people say they can't make rice.

Look at you making fun of me! Lol. I'm gonna make fun of you next time you try to make a casserole, since that's the ultimate white people food! HAHAHA! /s

For real, though, I can make rice, and I do make rice dishes all the time. I make white rice with stirfry occasionally. It's just a matter of perfection for the sushi, haha... For example, you obviously can't just cook up rice and then turn around and use it for sushi, as the moisture level is too high. I'm figuring it out, but since rice wasn't a staple in my house growing up, a man has to learn some time! Hahahaha!

Survivor is pretty much my only other hobby/interest besides playing JRPGs. It's been a huge part of my life and I've poured so many hours into the fandom

Alright, I'll bite. What's your favorite season of Survivor? I admittedly haven't watched in over ten years. I had to look it up and I think Season 23 (South Pacific) was the last season I watched.

I remember they went to Palau like two or three times, and those were always my favorite seasons. I had a girlfriend in high school who was half-Palauan (her dad was from Palau, her mom from the States), so I was always interested to see the country and see what it was like. I admittedly love island culture. My grandfather also fought in WWII in the Pacific Rim and always spoke positively about his experiences in the various Pacific islands.

Thinking of beautiful island culture -- if any place in a video game was real, I'm pretty sure I'd want it to be Besaid from FFX. I would absolutely love to live there. The song from the game is ballin', too!

Just looking through pictures of the Philippines, ya'll got some BEAUTIFUL scenery. All the rocky stonefaces with tress sprouting out of them, and the greenish-blue water, it looks beautiful.

As for the game, I played on my lunch break. I may or may not play more tonight.

Blue Dragon Cave

I went on and fought the boss. I actually found him pretty hard -- he had that rain-like / tidal wave group attack that did major damage to the entire party. Ouch. I used up a few Star Light just to keep the MP healing going.

Going on into the dragon's chamber... I don't remember if we saw this in SSSC. It looks new to me, but I may not be remembering it. Same with the Blue Dragon -- is this design different than from previous games?

Anyway, the Blue Dragon sort of sucks, haha... S/he obviously has some sort of prophetic dreams or can see world going-on's when asleep. It saw, through dreams, Hiro adventuring and finding Lucia. And then of course it gets loose-lipped and spills the beans about Lucia possible destroying the world once she gains the powers of the four dragons to destroy Zophar... So she probably really is the Destroyer! I can't recall much about the rest of this game, so that part doesn't ring a bell, but it totally makes sense.

I Miracle Litany'd out of the cave and pressed on.

It took me a minute to gain my bearings and know where to go next. The game never really gave you any direction. I finally got on the right track and encountered Neo-Vane, which is powered by the Black Dragon. Alas, I've lost the Dragonship Destiny and must go on foot.

I've gone into the mine but only fought one battle. The little guys that charge at you say "whooo" as they run at you and it's yet another hilarious monster sound. This game really has some of the best-worst monster attack sounds. Hahaha!

[VidKid369]

No offense, Boo but I knew you had to be some form of a stoner back when we first started talking, call it a hunch or my stoner-dar blipping off!! Haha it's probably just the way you talk. Well I'm from San Francisco and everybody smokes weed there so I dabbled when I was younger for sure. I don't smoke anymore either and I don't plan to. I've had some wild adventures regarding marijuana I could probably tell you a few wacky stories. :p It's definitely fun to look back on and think well at least I enjoyed my 20s.

Lol, to be honest I don't know what white people eat. :p Couscous???? Lol. I just think it's funny when people/non-Asians are like "oh I make rice all the time" and I'm sitting there thinking like imagine having rice with literally every meal: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's just always apart of the/your meals. And there's always gonna be sacks of rice in the kitchen. I ALWAYS laugh when people say they don't know how to properly make rice/or it comes out with a certain unfavorable consistency. Lolol!! My Grandpa taught me how to make rice when I was young, and I make it like no problem. You should just pour the amount of rice you want in the rice cooker and add about a thumb of water. If you don't have a rice cooker at home well I don't know what to tell ya. Cooking it on the stove is definitely harder. And more prone to burning. But some people like the burnt rice on the bottom.

YAY!!! Survivor talk. My favorite season is probably Season 6 - The Amazon. If you think "jungle" the Amazon has to be one of the most popular jungles out there, so I thought it was amazing that they went there for one time. The storytelling, and the way the competition unfolds is great. It produced one of my favorite winners. There's a lot of drama, but just the competitors being in the Amazon jungles and trying to survive was great to watch. The soundtrack is really good. I think the producers get actual natives to create music for them and they record it so it sounds really authentic. It's also one of the earlier seasons too so it's great to experience Survivor in it's hey-dey.

The HD seasons are also really good too. If I could recommend a newcomer to the show I'd probably recommend they start with an HD season cause you can't go wrong with the visuals and if they like the show they can go back and watch the earlier ones. Gabon is a good place to start. They go to lush Africa and it's a pretty epic locale. Cause like. Africa. lol

Ok. Now that you've given me the go-signal I'll go ahead and try to beat the Boss in the Blue Dragon Cave. Last night I just talked to everyone in Horam and watched the first season of Survivor all night WIRED-out on coffee lol. I took a 3-month break from drinking it but I decided to have a cup before my PUMP PUMP nightly workout, and it hits you a lot different for sure!!

I've been staying up a lot later than usual lately so I'll have plenty of time to play catch up. I'll catch you around, Boo!! Take it easy!!

Edit:

Here are the chicken pictures, I promised. It just took a while cause I have to resize it on my computer and then send it back to my phone again.


Here's one part of the chicken part of the farm and how all the chickens are set up.


Here's a handsome one.


I like the white ones I think they're lucky.

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

Sorry for being MIA the past few days, one day was Valentine's Day and my wife and I went on a date night (the second time in three years, so not often) and we were out until like 1:00am. I had to turn around and wake back up at 5:00am, so I have been sleep deprived. Both last night and today I had like 14 hour work days, so I'm just now getting to a place I can step back, take a breath and relax.

Tonight I'm going to play some LUNAR for a bit and maybe catch the newest episode of Star Trek: Picard. Admittedly, I'm a pretty hardcore Trekkie. I have been since I was a kid and it's comfort food television for me. Sometimes I leave it on when I fall asleep just because it's generally comforting to me.

If you don't have a rice cooker at home well I don't know what to tell ya. Cooking it on the stove is definitely harder. And more prone to burning. But some people like the burnt rice on the bottom.

Oh yeah, I only use the rice cooker. I quite using the stovetop probably 20 years ago. I also quit using any instant rice. It's just cheaper and tastier to buy rice by the bag and just cook it up yourself. 20 minutes and you're good to go, and I'll cook a veggie stirfry or something during that time. We always keep a big bag of basmati or jasmine rice, and then I keep a small bag of Japanese nishiki rice on hand for my sushi. I'm still an amateur on the rice front (and probably always will be), but at least I'm better at it than my wife! Hahaha!

I actually have a really sensitive stomach. Some fried foods just make me super sick to my stomach. We eat out, but it's not uncommon for me to end up with a stomach ache. Heavily processed foods do it, too. Rice is one of those foods that's just really easy on my stomach, so I would absolutely eat it every day if my wife was down. I do like to make a huge helping sometimes and will make lunch portions for the week. I like to eat white rice with a little cup of miso soup or something simple like that.

My favorite season is probably Season 6 - The Amazon.

I know I saw this season, but they all sort of run together in my head at this point. Somehow my parents have a two-degrees-of-separation from one of the producers. I feel like it's David Burris, but I can't recall. When I was in college I was thinking about going to Hollywood to try and become a screenwriter, and my parents were trying to connect me with him to try and become a PA. I can't remember exactly why I never got in touch with him, but there are some days I regret not going for it.

As for the chickens, you got some pretty ones there! We have a little white one like that (some kind of brahma bantam with feathers on her feet). Her name is Merigold and she's our favorite. She's the sweetest of our chickens. Because she's so small, she tends to be picked on and doesn't like to sleep in the coop with her "sisters" -- she can sort of fly, so she'll fly up and sleep in tree branches, haha... For about six months I would take a latter and get her down every night, but I've since given up on her. If she wants to sleep in a tree, well, I'm going to let her sleep in a tree!



Now, on to the gaming!

Zaback Mines

Alright, I'm fighting through the mines and moving on! This is a level I don't care much for; it's just so large and maze-like and there are a lot of enemies!

Zaback

This town reminds me of Reza from SSSC. I wonder if it's the same town, just a thousands years in the future? At this point I can't really tell by the world map how it corresponds with the lands from the first game, so no telling...

Regardless, what a sad town. A lot of the cities in this game are obviously sort of sad, but this one is probably the saddest. Not just with the class divides, but some of the stories are heartbreaking. The lady who drinks at the bar every day because her son went to live in Neo-Vane at her urging and doesn't come back anymore... The schoolteacher that didn't know magic and was forced to work in the mines... The poor family that has a son about to sit for the magic test...

I've upgraded my gear (mostly) and will probably go back into the mines to grind tomorrow. But for now, I'm officially done and headed to bed. See ya, homie!

[VidKid369]

Hey, Boo! How are you? Just wondering where you are lol?

So I figured you'd be busy for a couple of days which's why you haven't posted. Don't worry though I don't plan on moving too far ahead. I've actually just finished talking to everyone in Zaback and I'm in front of the teleporter to Neo-Vane. I've forgotten what exactly happens at this point; I think the party gets separated as Ronfar & Lemina have magical power and pass the Trial while Hiro and Jean are forcedly dumped into a dungeon. I'll have to make sure to only buy equips for Hiro & Jean then.

So I was musing to myself about all the residents in Zaback and was laughing at some of the text. So as we mentioned before we're both former stoners so I guess you're familiar when you're all talking and someone says something to "harshen the mellow" or is basically a downer or a buzzkill of some sort. I like to keep things light personally but some of the text in the game I've noticed is almost pretty negative... like how they have neighbors spying on one another and gossiping and wishing ill upon the other. I myself don't really like that. Sometimes I like to keep things "up" and just stay positive and happy all the time.

If I don't hear from ya, I'll probably use the transporter to Neo-Vane and see what happens from there!! Thanks a lot, Boo--stay safe and take all the time in the world you need to take care of your shit!! Bye, man.

[VidKid369]

Hey, Boo! We sorta cross-posted and posted at the same time, lol. Oh, I've always wanted to get into Star Trek but it seemed already on-going when I was a kid so I figured it wasn't worth catching up to it. I kinda regret that today since the fandom seems so big. I always thought Seven of 9 was pretty hot when I was a little kid, though.

Lol. The rice. My Indian friends and I have a little inside-joke about it since it's always around in our lives we call it "rices." Lmao. Maybe we're the only ones that think it's funny? Anyway. I made some sushi / kimbap today. I didn't really use Japanese rice I figured any rice you like the most would suit just fine... and I made like a tuna w/ mayo one with cucumbers and carrots. I made like two big ones and I lathered the outside with sesame oil. It's more of a kimbap I think that way. I'm gonna try to make more tomorrow thinking of other toppings probably gonna make one with scrambled eggs.

Ooh. In High School, I used to think I had IBS or something. But I think now I just don't think about it anymore and the problem goes away. My only stomach problem I have now is because through dieting I have a really small stomach! My eyes want to eat so much but I can only fit in a small serving of rice and a small bit of "ulam" (in Tagalog it's the meat or main dish that accompanies the rice). I never have dessert except for a piece of fruit usually a banana or mangoes are a'plenty here. I just have to work on my mid-section now because I sit down a lot and I'll be good I've been keeping up my daily walk and I do sit-ups and whatever calisthenics I can fit in at nighttime before bed. :thumbsup: It's great being old! lol

Ooh. That you know David Burris. Yeah he was like an Executive Producer for the show for a number of seasons/years of the show but I dunno if they show him in the end-credits anymore. That's pretty spiffy! Right now, I'm watching the First Eight Seasons cause I think they're the hey-day of Survivor and I'm on Season 2 right now - The Australian Outback. I enjoy just re-watching the show cause I enjoy just seeing heads talking. Nowadays the show's really interested in showing a lot of "woke" types of people like there's a new rule that 50% of the cast has to be minorities - before it used to just be all-white people and no one complained, and they have a lot of like trans contestants now. I mean, don't get me wrong it's good to know about those types of people but I guess I miss the early days of the show a lot cause it's what I watched growing up. Seeing a lot of Southern, farming-type people on the show is really normal for me. :thumbsup:

Ok, onto the game ... I really don't like the mines so I don't want to grind in there. I was thinking about just upgrading Hiro & Jean's equipment only and just stepping onto the transporter to see what happens. I'm pretty sure those two, and only those two get dropped down into a dungeon of some sort. I try to pop in LUNAR everyday but I'll keep in mind we both like to take it reaaaalllyyy sloooooowwwww... LUNAR 2 is like a slow-burn. lol

Lol. Anyways. Have a good one, Boo and take it easy!!! Btw I'm playing Yakuza Kiwami 1 for PS4 right now.