Life is Only What You Make of It

Hey everyone!

Two updates in a week? in two days?! Say what?!

My recent updates have been inspiring me to up my game because I have, admittedly, let it slide for long enough and there was only going to be so long that I was going to use grief as a reason little realising that the only way out is often through your circumstances. So if trying to write more is going to help elevate me even further then so be it, I'll commit the resources I can to do so.

I believe that life is only what you make of it so if you are living a life today that you are not happy with then you gotta ask yourself a question: -

What am I doing to change it? Am I doing anything? Or am I waiting for someone else to do something?

These questions, once answered, will help you paint a picture of the steps you need to take next. Never mind the bigger picture, oftentimes you only need focus on doing the next right thing to change your life...

Closer to Year End

Hey everyone!

Can you believe we're in the final quarter of the year? Already? I know for me it still feels like I'm running on an internal clock that still reads "summer" so I've been playing catch up this past few weeks trying to push my internal clock up-to-date again.

Such is the life walking through the grief journey, I suppose.

Today I want to talk about some of my goals for this blog in the run up to Christmas and beyond.

As always, in December will come my end of year review where I'll be celebrating all things entertainment that have impacted me this calendar year. The usual entries will feature from video games to movies and TV shows. Who knows, in years to come I may flip the script and create the antonym of my awards and celebrate some of the bad stuff too...

Beyond that, in the coming months heading into 2024 I'll be looking to officially restart my Off the Scale series in my illusive quest to one hundred. The book and film reviews will be continuing too.

Finishing the year strong is my only aim and that is why I'm trying to push to update my blog more frequently. Although that's only because I'm about to break  my post record for 2020, my only year-end target right now. I long for the days when I can get back to hitting three figures' worth of posts per year but that's the target in the long term.

Meantime -->> L.I.F.E. G.O.E.S. O.N.

Until next time...

Peace!

===TLP===

Grow, Then Continue Growing

Hey everyone!

Well, it's the first week after another birthday and I must say that, even though I feel like my home is in the valley just now, I can still see enough of the light to know that dawn is coming. The dawning of a new day of perspective shifting as I seek to follow Peter's advice when he instructed believers to continue their growth in Christ: -

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen. 2 Peter 3:18

This is a verse that has been repeatedly coming to mind at the moment as I remember that no valley experience is ever meant to be a permanent home for me; I am always meant to be transcending all circumstances to skate over the top of them. It doesn't mean I won't feel them, just that I am not meant to wallow in them so much that they end up becoming sinking sand to pull me under...

Everything is Connected to Everything Else

Hello everyone!

I'm glad to be sat here, writing this, in my local library given that I know it's been about a month since my last update. I'm trying to return to a more regular schedule with the ideal being to return to BAU, yet that is not as possible as I would like just now.

It'll come. In time.

Meantime, I want you all to know that I haven't forgotten about you, my dear readers however many or few there are out there. It may look that way but remember that appearances are deceptive oftentimes. The way things look in one season is not necessarily correlative or indicative of how they'll show up in the next season.

That's what this is for me; a shift in seasons...

Tempus Fugit...

How time flies when you're having fun... living life!

It's been a long time since my update and a lot of that I'm putting down to processing my grief since losing my father early last year. This second year has been soooo much harder on me emotionally than the first one and I think that's because every day it's becoming a little more real that I'll never see him again this side of eternity.

No phone calls. No more meet ups.

It makes you think... life is so short and goes by so fast that even if someone has been in life your whole life, losing them never really goes away; it's like a faint echo of who they were sings out through each of the days designed to remind you not to waste a single minute.

I'd be lying if I said I'm coping with it all as I'm currently signed off sick whilst I process this all. Or at least get to a level where I can move forward with enough traction that I won't slip backwards like I am at the moment.

But sometimes, you have to go backwards to go forwards again. Some things you learn never to let go of, but to move on from. It's all you can do. It's all I can do right now as I process losing pops each and every day.

Bear with me as I want nothing more than to resume normal service and restart every plan I had before this all started. It's just not possible yet...

Still, God is faithful and He'll complete what He started (Philippians 1:6) in the end.

God is still good and He still does good (Psalm 119:68), no matter how bad it looks today. If it's not good today, God's not done with it.

Peace!

===TLP===

XBox One Inbound!

 Hey everyone!

So, a fortnight ago, I secured a deposit on the OG XBox One.

I have until the end of May to complete my payments as I'm buying it on a reserve basis.

Already I have got (or had bought for me, luckily!) Ghost Recon: Breakpoint and FarCry 5 to enjoy with it when I get it home. But I fully intend to add FarCry: Primal, Sunset Overdrive and Ghost Recon: Wildlands  along with a couple of Assassin's Creed titles; Assassin's Creed: Odyssey and Assassin's Creed: Origins to it!

Finally taking a step over into the eighth generation around a decade later, it will be nice to get back into the current generation of gaming. Even if it is at the tail end of what is, in reality, the last one (convoluted logic much?) with the XBox Series and PS5 serving as current gen. It will be awesome to be able to buy some much newer games given that I've been in reverse for so long in PS3 and PS2 back-catalogue that I'm going to be surprised by what others take for granted in their games.

Sure, over time, support is likely to end for PS4 and XBox One titles now that the XBox Series and PS5 has, what I feel, got a better grip on the industry. But I'll take advantage of it whilst I have the advantage of it because there are plenty of other games I want to play aside from the above. Like Cyberpunk:2077, No Man's Sky, Outer Wilds & Red Dead Redemption II for instance, that I'm sure I'll get enjoyment out of and hopefully, be blown away graphically like I was the first time I saw footage of Assassin's Creed: Odyssey.

That footage alone showed me how I'd de-tuned myself from current and last gen gaming under the proviso that, if I can't buy it, there's no point making it worse for myself by looking at games I just do not have the tech for...

Until now!

Well, May at least!

Naturally, expect reviews for these titles as and when I deem it relevant/appropriate to do so. I'm not going to review as soon as I've played; I would rather play the game enough to be, hopefully, balanced in my assessment.

Peace!

===TLP===

Borderlands

Borderlands,

A game I've sunk plenty of hours in over the years whilst both loving, yet hating the experience all in fairly equal measure.

It's an enjoyable videogame with a script that has all sorts of puns and who can forget the adorable, dancing CL4PTR4P.

I'm not normally one for self-aware videogames yet there's something about this that's endearing as the game never takes itself too seriously even going as far as to make jokes at its own expense.

The problem is that for every silver lining, there's a cloud attached to it.

Shaun White Skateboarding

I remember, growing up spending countless hours on the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater franchise.

From the free roam aspect of being able to skate how you want in the level, to pulling off ambitious, death defying tricks only to see your character hit the dirt in a manner that would have killed them outright in real life to have attempted something so ridiculous. But then, you see them in real life do these stunts and wonder just how they pulled it off and didn't have to bail out prematurely without serious issues.

Then along comes Shaun White in 2010 with a game, partnered with Ubisoft, trying to capitalise on the capitulation of the THPS franchise. Now, I cannot comment on anything post THPS4 as I have limited exposure, if any, to those games. So I'll stick to what I do best and that's review a game I am playing.

Mortal Kombat (2021) Review

Well...

It's review time again and, this time, I'm looking at a film I've had in my Prime video watch list for some time now; Mortal Kombat (2021).

I've some very strong things to say about this, so I'll save it for after the jump.

Onto the specifics...

The Noise by James Patterson & J.D. Barker

This was a very intriguing read.

Whilst the premise gave very little away, to its credit, the outcome was very, very questionable to say the least.

I'm going to try and review this book as evenly as I can do, although separating it from my belief system will be a challenge. But it's one I'm up to as it's a work of fiction so has to be treated independently from that where possible.

Here we go...

The Noise by James Patterson
& J.D. Barker

Empty of Head, Light of Heart II: Forget the Past, Embrace the Now, Run to the Future

Hello,

I wanted to follow on from what I wrote a couple of days ago. I couldn't leave it there. I was pressed for time on a public access computer so had to wrap it up prematurely.

As somebody who struggles with managing my mental health, I find it helpful to write my way through my journey. Though, admittedly, most of that has transferred to my personal journal so won't make it on here. But the fruit of what I discover will, I'm hoping.

Let's carry on...

Empty of Head, Light of Heart

Hello everyone!

Today I'm going to be sharing some thoughts with you that I think will be helpful to you, especially if you are stuck in the mode of mediocrity. 2023 now has taken a hold, sufficiently I feel, for me to begin to restart my posts on my blog.

As you know, last year I lost my dad so had to take some time away from blogging to process my grief. Now that the first year has passed and I've made it through the 1 year anniversary hell, I can look to become regular in my posting again.

It's a long time overdue, but I also knew that I could not afford to rush the process because a process rushed is never going to produce lasting results.

Let's take a deep dive into this, shall we?

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)

 Hey everyone!

Last night I finished a video-game I've been thoroughly enjoying for the past few days; the og Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Given that I've been going backward to fill up my catalogue of video-games on PS3, it makes sense to review my latest capture having bought it last year, yet only played it this, meaning that it will qualify for my 2023 awards I do in December.

So how did I find it...?

Justice League Review

 Hello everyone!

As a fairly new convert to Amazon Prime Video subscription service, I thought I'd kick-off this year with a review of a film I saw over the weekend; Justice League. Now, bear in mind this is not the Zack Snyder cut, but the og release. So if you like my style, stay tuned this year as I aim to restart my reviews I used to enjoy doing so much in the early days of this blog.

Let's go...

New Year, New Start?

Hey everyone!

Happy 2023!

This is it, the new year and the chance to reset some habits afresh.

Expectations begin and reality soon collides with them. Before we know it, all of the chaos surrounding Christmas is quickly forgotten as we go back to our busy, busy lives forgetting God in the process.

I'm trying to make an effort to update my blog more frequently from now.

I've dropped the ball compared with previous years, but it's an adjustment period, losing your pater. It's unlike anything else I've experienced.

I'm learning to return to regular updates so I ask of you one thing this year; patience.

That's all.

===TLP===