My trip to Arizona 2012

Good morning!!! =)

Awwwwwwww doesn’t that look beautiful? Blue sky, barely any clouds, and temperature in the high 60’s. That is what I woke up to every morning while I stayed at my cousins house in Arizona. Now that may not sound as great as being in Hawaii (which currently without checking I am sure is between 75-80 degrees all week long), but for someone who has lived in the NW all of his life it was perfect for February. 

So to explain why I went to Arizona I will have to give you a bit of back story. Besides the wonderful weather and just being able to travel to somewhere new. The biggest reason I have had to go to Arizona is because someone that is very special to me lives in that state currently. Someone that has been in and out of my life since I was old enough to remember. His name is Jason Heine. He is one of three sons from my fathers first brother Nelson Heine. Over the years we have spent many many many....MANY good times together. From when we were little playing over at my Grandma Heine’s house in north Portland to spending much of our teenage years together to the current days of seeing each other whenever he is in town and playing video games online as much as we can and such. Now the key part of that last sentence was “whenever he was in town”. See he still has family here and he comes back into town quite a bit to visit. I however have never made the trip down to see him. I had told him for years that I would one day make it down. Well, many years past and he has been living down there I believe 3 or so years. So I decided to do it. I mean all I really need is plane ticket and money for food right? I have no excuses. Sure I have plenty of medical bills and other stuff of that nature, but I can spare some money if I can find a good price for a ticket. So, I approached him about it. He was super excited when I brought it up. We actually started talking about actual dates and how much time he could get off of work. He even showed me a few tricks of how to get a good ticket price on Southwest Airlines. So after a little bit of patience I got some pretty good deals for tickets and then it was set. We started counting the days. See it was perfect timing too. He had around the beginning of this year broken things off with a long time girlfriend and moved into a house of his own. Yes, I said house. I have to bring this up because I am a bit jealous. Because of the housing market sinking there are many houses in Arizona that went way down in value. So he was able to rent a decent size house for not much more than I am paying right now. Yes, it was a bit further outside of Phoenix in one of the smaller suburbs, but if you were willing to commute a bit then you were definitely rewarded. Also, since this was a place for just him, he finally got to spread his wings a bit and take all his stuff out of storage. So he finally got to build the home he has wanted to for a long time. That might not make sense to you right now or sound like a big deal, but don't worry I will explain. See my cousin is a multi talented guy who has a love for video games, studio equipment, and anything electronic. So, with all this space in this house allows himself to build the studio he has wanted to build with all the things that he has and also to make a game room like he has always wanted too. Now the bigger part of the stuff he had in storage was video games stuff. He is quite the collector I would have to say. He use to sell quite a bit on eBay and still does. So over time has created quite the collection of video game stuff. He also has 5 arcade cabinets. Yes, you heard me right five fully working and excellently refurbished arcade cabinets four of which are in his living room in his studio. How awesome right. Ok well, I guess if your not into video games maybe not. I am definitely into video games and as he was explaining his new place to me before I went down to see him it sounded like video game paradise. Well, my cousin doesn’t like to disappoint and he definitely didn’t. It was amazing, but I am skipping too far a head so lets start at the beginning of the trip. 

Here we go....Oh BOY! =)

There is one thing about traveling really far away I don’t really like and that is flying. I wish it were the olden days with more trains going places. Because taking a plane has turned out not to be my favorite thing to do. I really only put up with flying because when I get on a plane it usually means I am going somewhere cool. Which is always funny to me because for the longest time as a kid I wanted to be a pilot. Oh how humorous life is sometimes. So, my flight to Phoenix is scheduled to leave about midday. I wake up early because I am just so damn excited to see my cousin, get some sun, and play some video games. I woke up and finished packing. I left my house about 10 o’clock to catch my flight at 1:35pm. I left so early because for the first time I decided to take the MAX directly to the airport on my own. No one dropping me off or flying with me. Feels good to do that sometimes. To remember the power that you have within yourself. Riding the max to the airport went so smooth it’s a bit scary to me. My last plane flight I believe was 2005 when I took a trip to San Diego with my sister for her birthday. So I was a little nervous I was going to do something wrong. The security checks are different now then they were then. So from a refresher course my cousin gave me over the few days before I left I was instructed exactly what I needed to do. It was great from the ride in to the airport on the MAX, to the wonderful woman checking in my bag (who was giving much praise for my progress on my weight loss after looking at my drivers license lol), to boarding the plane. Believe it or not I actually sat by the window. Why would someone who is afraid to fly and afraid of heights do this? Well, because I am trying to get better at flying and by putting myself next to the window I have to confront my fears. Also, from what I could tell from the woman that sat near me was having a way harder time than I was. I didn’t have it quite as bad as she did. She seemed a lot more nervous. I realized on this last flight that I really don’t mind the in air part so much. It’s the take off and landing. That is where the plane moves a lot more and from the moment that plane leaves the ground I can feel every movement the plane makes in my stomach. So for every landing and take off I try to close my eyes and relax. I have done so much better these days than the past flights I have taken. I even took a few pictures out the window that are pretty damn cool. Yes, I spent some good time looking out the window in between reading. Both snacks they handed out on the plane had wheat in them... I thought to myself...typical. I understand with the pretzels, but the honey roasted peanuts? Jesus people there is no need for wheat in roasted peanuts!!! I love honey roasted nuts too! Well, no matter I planned a head anyway and brought lunch with me. Stacey made me a wonderful wrap. I also brought honey dijon kettle chips and a Mahalo candy bar (which if you don’t know is a vegan imitation of an almond joy. WHICH by the way is way better than an almond joy ever was period!) to eat and the flight attendant gave me some water. Perfect meal on a pretty decent flight. I bring this all up because its part of my life now with where I am at in my life health wise and with eating. I have to pack food ahead where ever I go. The rest of the time in flight I read the book Game of Thrones. 

Pretty cool huh? =)

Just a little snow on top of that mountain.

We land in Phoenix... I am always happy to hit the ground again. Such a land lover I am. I get my bag and right after there is my cousin to pick me up. Then we go out to where his car is parked on the top floor of the parking garage. I bring this up only because from the top you could get a good view of the surrounding Phoenix area. First things I noticed about Arizona was it’s very flat and very brown I mean pretty in its own right, but very different to the green hilly area of Oregon that I have always know. So we take off towards his place with a few stops a long the way. Before arriving in Arizona Jason had done some research to find some place like New Seasons Market in Arizona that was at least somewhat close to his house so that we could do a little grocery shopping. Out of the two places he took me Sprouts I think was fairly close to being a New Seasons Market. I got many of the things I needed to have food around that I could eat while being at his place. So after a little grocery shopping then continued on to his house. Now another thing about Arizona as my cousin explained is that the streets are very grid based and so it makes it hard to get lost. It also makes for a boring drive in my opinion. So we make it out to my cousin’s house in a suburb a little farther out from Phoenix in a place called Queencreek. It was really not way out in the sticks, but a bit farther out. Now I know we all would like to rent our own house to have all to ourselves, but this was a huge thing for my cousin to do. My cousin has had to move quite a bit over the last few years so finally being able to grow some roots in one area I know means a lot to him. I have already said it, but I must say it again my cousin has lots of COOL stuff. It’s awesome to see because of leaving his girlfriend of many years and being able to spread his wings. I am happy to say he did it in a big way. He is now able to have full access to himself and all he owns. We are talking the ultimate bachelor pad. A full studio in the living room with 4 arcade machines on the far wall, a full game room up above the living room, a room next door to the game room with more video game stuff, a room next to that one for guests (like me although I thought about sleeping in the game room lol), a master bed room for himself,  and even a place next to the kitchen to set up his very nice drum set. Now to say my cousin has stockpile of video game stuff is an understatement, but he doesn’t have every game or system...yet. He definitely has more than most of us would dream of. So that is a big reason why I came down to see him and do what we have done for years when he lived here in Oregon together. I'm talking about having a real face to face game night. In this day and age with xbox live and even video games we play together over cell phones there isn’t as much actual visiting friends and family in person. Every time my cousin and I get to see each other since he moved away that is exactly what we spend our time doing. This vacation brought all that back. Sitting in his game room and looking through his games asking questions, wondering what games were good enough to play, and just thinking back to all the memories we have from the video games that we have played in the past. So many great times at all sorts of different times in my life. I am not going to sit here and tell you all the games we went through because there was just way too many. I do want to mention a few. First off, the first night we ended up in front of his arcade machines. They all are just so awesome. All of his arcade cabinets have been redone from the ground up by my cousin and they truly are just amazing. Out of the 4 I really fell in love with Killer Instinct 2. I had played the first one with Jason quite a bit over the years and we did play on that cabinet before the second one, but the second one really caught my attention. The original Killer Instinct cabinet has an upgraded sound system put in by my cousin which took the sound to another level. Still the Killer Instinct 2 arcade machine sucked me in. We also ended up playing it on Jason’s N64 as well. Next up, Conker’s Bad Fur Day...wow where do I start with this game. I had watched a review about it a while ago on Youtube and was very interested to play it in real life. It’s definitely not a kids game and it amazes me what someone got nintendo(normally very strict as to keep their family image) to approve this game on their console. It was really fun and funny. I would definitely like to own that game one day. Lastly, was a more current game that Jason had been telling me about recently. It’s called Motorstorm: Pacific Rift which is only on Playstation 3. Wow, what a great racing game. What is more important was there we were like the good old days trading off the controller back and forth as we tried to progress through the game. Each of us trying to help the other find better ways to beat each level. That right there my friends is what I like about gaming. From board games, card games, sports, and video games. It’s the team effort. It’s the competition with that collective effort. Being there with my cousin and every time we get to spend time with each other these days we realize how much we miss that connection. We play games a lot online too, but being there next to each other opens up a lot more options to play older games as well as newer ones. So enough about all that I don’t want to put you all to sleep with all my video game talk.

Castles and Coasters! =)

Main floor of Castles and Coasters. HEAVEN! =)

Retro

Jason playing a racer...lol never. =)

The second full day of being in Arizona we actually made it out of the house and he showed me more around Arizona. One of the first places we went was a place called Bookman’s. I guess the best way to describe Bookman’s is to say it’s like a used media store that is only in the state of Arizona. They have used CDs, books, music equipment, and video games. Jason has told me lots about this place before I came down and I was very excited to go there. Although after the money I spent there maybe I shouldn’t have gone there. By taking me there though my cousin revived the collector in me. There was so many games there I wanted. It was lots of trouble for both of us and also something we love to do together is hunting for video games. It’s the hunt for that special game or a great game at a great price. Again I won’t bore you with all that I got, but it was a ton of fun to say the least. Also, on our day out in Arizona he took me to two awesome arcades. The first arcade he took me to was called Castles and Coasters. It was a mini amusement park with rides and such, but we didn’t bother with all that...we headed straight into the castle and inside would make anyone that is my age or bit older shoot right back to 1980’s-1990’s. See people of my age and older really know what it was like growing up with arcades. Way before the arcades made their way into our homes. It was awesome it had classic arcade machines upstairs, more current stuff on main floor and a wonderful selection of pinball machines in the center. I was in heaven. I mean between Jason’s video game palace and this arcade I didn’t ever want to leave. We played quite a few machines and got to meet up with friend of Jason’s named John who he met over Youtube from their video game channels channels. I got to see John in action on the Donkey Kong arcade machine  he talks a lot about which was quite awesome. I also watched Jason get in the zone with Miss Pac-man machine. He didn’t get the high score on the machine, but definitely did the best he has ever done. It was quite intense to even watch. Then before we left he went and ripped it up on the Batman returns pinball machine. So after a while of playing games at Castles and Coasters we had to venture out again to the other Bookman’s that was near by. I did better at this store and only spent a a little of my money. Then it was off to another arcade found in a place called Golfland. Because as great as Castles and Coasters was they were missing a very important machine that is in my opinion the best arcade machine to come out for this generation and that is H2O Overdrive. It's one of Jason and I’s favorite arcade machine. Its a boat racing game very similar to one I loved growing up called Hydro Thunder. Well, of course because some of the same people created both of the games. H2O Overdrive is everything Hydro thunder should have been and an awesome upgrade for this day and age. So we played that till the arcade shut down. Literally I played till the last minute before the machines shut off. 

Golfland Main floor 

Golfland Main floor

Back to the house and we went through our Bookman’s stacks of goodies and cleaned them and took off all the stickers. Then we played more Motorstorm: Pacific Rift. The next day filled with a stack of N64 games. I have been very interested in the system of late because I never got one growing up. I have been interested in getting a N64 so we went and played some games I didn’t know about for the system. Had so much fun doing so. More laughs and more memories created. Tuesday night John came over and I was guest on their video game podcast called “All Gen Gamers”. http://gamester81.com/all-gen-gamers-podcast-episode-82/ That was a so much fun and a blast to do. I love talking about video games and talking in general I guess. After that we played a game on the Kinect for the xbox called You Star. It’s a fun game where through using the camera on the connect it puts you into scenes in famous movies. My cousin streamed it on his TwitchTv account so you can go watch me mess up lines and look silly if you want. http://www.twitch.tv/theemureview/b/309410116 =) I had a hard time reading my lines on the screen because what I forgot to mention was I think it was the second night when I was getting into bed I somehow got my glasses under my bed I was sleeping on and broke my glasses. Regardless I had too much fun playing the game with those two guys they were too funny and a lot better at the game than I was. 

The next day and final day I was there we just did a bit more game playing and just hanging out with each other. Left for the airport little early to avoid too much traffic and to get In and out Burger one last time. Yes, I didn’t mention it, but I was so excited to be able to go and have In and Out burger even for my gluten free and Dairy free diet. It was an excellent treat. What I like about In and Out burger is that is didn’t feel like too much it was just the right about, everything is consistent, they didn’t ask me to super size it, and they didn’t hand me a 64 ounce cup when getting a small drink. That is very refreshing and although I really don’t eat at fast food anymore this really is the one exception. ALl I really had to ask for when ordering my burger was no cheese and wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun which is called "protein style". So awesome. 

YUMMY!!! =)

So we said our goodbyes on the ride over too the airport. Both of us very glad that I had finally made my way down to see him. We both agreed that this wouldn’t be the only time instead it would be the first of many. He is doing his thing down there and I am doing my thing up here so I don’t see either of us moving closer to the other anytime soon. So our face to face game nights will have to wait. The ride home on the plane I think was quite a bit better than the ride down there to Arizona. The pilot was also a lot funnier and cracked a few jokes that helped me and I found his humor very refreshing for someone who gets a little nervous on planes. 

So what did I learn? I got to see another state that puts me at 11 states of America that I have visited. I definitely need to increase that number. After thinking about how many I had actually visited that doesn’t seem like much. I realized how much I love the company of my cousin with just every time we actually get to spend quality time together. I will probably be asking him to move back to oregon for as long as I am living. Since the early days at my Grandma’s house we have always been close and I don’t see why we wouldn’t ever be. I have talked about it before about the need to take time to let those that are important and meaningful in your life know that as much as you can. None of us are here forever so lets appreciate the time spent together and not take them for granted. Love and laughter are essential in life so never stop trying to get them. Also, Jason awoke the collector in me was reborn with this trip of video game madness...lol oh no! There is just “TWO MANY GAMES!” because remember “two” video games is to many to play. For you can’t play two games at the same time and enough them, but I will just keep stacking them and get to them when I can who is up for another game night? =) I also need too stop talking about doing things and start making them happen I much coming soon so stay tuned. I had told him for years I would come see him and following through felt very good. So get out and explore and see the ones you love so dearly because those are the real things in life that matter. So get out and see the world! 

Till next time... =)

As always I bring this to you with Love and Pure D-lite. =) 

What do you see?

So I want you to take a long look at the picture above my writing. I want you to really look at it and see what emotions come up for you. It’s ok I will wait.... =) 

Why am I showing you this you might ask? Well, I was joking around with someone and was talking about what I was going to be in the future if I don’t get my shit together with my life and health. I literally typed into google under images “Fat old gamer” and this pic is what popped up. Now, I did use the pic to prove my point, but as I looked at it I realized that there was something more to this picture. I am very connected to this picture. See most of you know me as the happy, fun, “skinner” version of myself. I wasn’t always like that and as I look at this picture I am reminded of all the pain that I carried around with me everywhere I went. See the person I sent this picture to is on the opposite end of the spectrum skinny and afraid to eat or let go and eat. When they looked at the picture they commented...”I don’t know he looks happy”. I suppose to a person that struggles with trying to be skinny to be able to just let it go sounds nice. Because either way it’s very stressful to maintain with your health whether skinny and trying to stay that way or being over weight and trying to lose weight. We all struggle with it in some way. It’s really one universal thing we all share. 

So back to the picture...I feel so much pain when I look at him or what use to be me. I also feel that way when I see people like this. The people in the supermarket that are on motorized carts that at some point got to the point of giving up. I know there are other factors to why they might be there as well, but a good portion of them did it to themselves. See, I swore a long time ago that I don’t care if takes me my whole life I will not give up on myself. So far I have kept that promise. I try everyday to make the best me that I can. I am far from perfect and I am not really trying to be perfect or normal. There is no normal people... only the best you that you can be. Funny that the picture is trying to make a fat man sexy. The truth of the matter women didn’t look at me that way when I was that big. Unless they were having the same problem themselves, but really I didn’t get much attention back then. As I drop weight though its been weird dealing with the extra attention. It’s nice I’m not going to lie, but I also get frustrated. I feel like saying “hey, that’s nice that you like me now, but what about the other 20 some years I have been available?” I remember girls hitting on me when I was skinnier as a kid...quite a bit actually. I get it now though because they say you attracted a mirror of yourself. So until I started taking care of myself then how would I attract someone that would be doing the same? I remember crying to my mom not knowing why the girls didn’t like me. I get it now. You can’t expect someone to love you if you aren’t loving yourself to start with. I really hope the guy in that picture actually wakes up one day to what he could be instead of what he just accepts himself to be. 

Now I don’t want to sound like it’s just as easy as saying “I’m going to change myself into the person I want to be” and .... *POOF* There you are. It is a lot of work. I really do struggle everyday. The person I am dating has gotten a good idea of what it’s like for me day to day. It’s a lot of dedication, but it’s the highest work that we can do on this planet. How can we change the world without starting with ourselves first right? For those that see me day to day may not see it, but there is a lot of internal conflict that I go through everyday. I will tell you though the hard work is worth every tear, sweat, and struggle you may go through. See for me it didn’t all click till I got all three parts of my being in line. Because Doing just one never worked. I use to workout a lot with my close buddy Brait many years ago and I made some progress, but it never stuck. I see lots of regular people at the gym that don’t make any progress and I feel bad for them because they haven’t dug deeper to find what is holding them back. It’s like wanting to go back and tell myself what I know now. It wasn’t till I started looking at what I eat...like really look and why I was eating. Then when I started working on eating and then started working out again the wheels actually started moving. The last part was getting therapy. See putting on the weight and talking it off are a lot more emotional than just adding some extra weight. And as I have dropped weight there has been many of things I have had to deal with. It’s all part of the healing process.

So now I will show you a happier picture to look at. Well, at least for me it is. 

I was going through and getting rid of the old clothes I use to wear and making room for the ones I’m going to wear. It was a very hard, but a cleansing day for me. Putting on this shirt in the picture really put it all in prospective for me. It’s one of those landmark moments where you really see the hard work and why you do the work day in and day out. It’s these moments that motivate me to keep going to my next goal. Because for those that have seen me get this far...I am going further. It’s been harder than the 150 plus pounds I lost, but I know I can do it. Everyday I tell myself at some point “I am not done...I am not satisfied”. The picture above is a picture of me wearing a shirt that I wore to my dad’s funeral 8 years ago to the very minutes I write this entry. A shirt that was very tight on me and I had hard time keeping it tucked in I remember now it was like wearing a tent. It was because of my fathers death I woke up and decided to live life. I wish more than anything I could show him how far I have come. He too struggled with his weight. He would be so proud...he is so proud. I am proud of myself and that is something no one can take away. He gave me the greatest gift I could have ever asked for him to give me...life.  

So, where am I going with all this? Well, every year on the anniversary of my fathers passing I really try to put life in prospective for myself. I thought I would share a bit more of my story on being fat in hopes it might help one person keep trying. I know anyone that reads this can relate. Even those that think they can eat anything and not feel the effects. Everything is a direct effect of the choices you make everyday. I encourage everyone to keep trying. There is never a better time than the present. 

As always I bring this to you with lots of love and pure D-Lite. =)

The Christmas rush is through....

Its over...both trees are already put away and all the wonderful decorations tucked away in my Christmas storage container.Yes, even the snowflakes that hung so beautifully from my ceiling are now gone. Now the might seem a little harsh from someone who LOVES Christmas, but I have to move on after Christmas has passed or I kinda get a little depressed about it. I use to get really sad about it when I was younger. Christmas is so awesome, special, and magical and then it’s just...poof!..gone. Furthermore, I start the Christmas Season the day after Halloween. I do this in part to get my fill in so by the time Christmas passes I am ready to move on. So this year and the last few I have started taking down my tree and decorations very shortly after Christmas Day. Not going to lie the past few days coming home and seeing an empty space where the tree once brightened the inside of my home has been a little sad. Also by doing this it makes it special to have the tree in my home. That way I still get excited to put it up again next year. Which by the way I’m already plotting my thoughts of how I am going to decorate it next year. Excited! =) 

So, mark it dude...another Christmas Season in the books. Another year I have survived working in retail during the holidays. Three decades of Christmases logged in the memory banks. OK well, I am sure I don’t really remember the first three or four, but nonetheless I have had a few Christmases in my life time. Some of them good and some of them not so good. As I think back through them all I remember more good than bad though. Even though during the many years my mom was married to her second husband every Christmas Eve they would fight. To me I still remember more of the good things that happened during Christmas time then the bad. In comparisons to some of the bad Christmases I have heard about through other people I know even my worse Christmas wasn’t that bad. I have been lucky to always have a job during the holidays. Enough extra to spread the love, money, and always had enough for food on the table. I hope that is how it will always be. My parents never had a lot per say, but were never quite poor either. I just always tried to be grateful for what I got. Thinking back now it was way too much. That is something about my mom that I love. She loves to give. Sometimes the gifts don’t quite match up, but you can’t deny the love and thought she tries to put into everything she gives. Because having a meaning behind the gifts you give is what matters. So that’s where I get it. To me giving any gift has to have some sort of meaning behind it. Maybe it’s just something you saw that made you think of someone. Maybe it’s something they have always needed. See I love to enable people to do things that they love. One year I finally bought my sister a sander. Do you know how many times I heard her say “Yeah I need to sand that down and refinish it?” Too many to count. So that was my gift to her to try to help her get to do some of those things she always wanted to do. Maybe its something you think this person should have and or know about. To show a person something new is truly a gift in life where we are constantly learning. From new music that might be right in tune with where they are or are going to in their life. I love giving books that help educate others. So I know there is a very commercial part of Christmas that I am not about. To me its a time of year to bring in cheer, light, and love in to the more dark days of the year. I happen to do that through gifts. Not because its a material thing, but because it’s an excuse to spend more energy on others than yourself. A super boost of giving if you will. I don’t just give gifts this time of year. Some of the best gifts I have given are for no reason. Random acts of kindness. I remember the feeling of warmth that passed over me the year I gave $50 dollars to the family we chose to support through work. I remember how good it felt to give to someone I don’t even know with no expectation of getting anything back and to people that had no idea that it was coming. To maybe make that time in their life just a little brighter. Sometimes all we need is to see just a little light at the other end of the tunnel. One smile to spark the love inside us. Remember we all in this thing called life together. =)

A few years ago my sister and I watched a movie that talks about the history of Christmas. It’s called “Christmas Unwrapped: The History of Christmas” done by the history channel. I would suggest this movie to anyone that is looking to understand the holiday a bit more and find something in it that relates to you and why you may celebrate Christmas. For my sister and I it helped us stop focusing on it being such a religious holiday for neither of us are very religious. Because you will find in the movie that it talks about the fact that during this time of year there was celebrations of many kinds. Even before it became Jesus’s birthday. See the things that really spoke to me was bringing light into the darkest part of the year for a good portion of the planet, to celebrate family, and to give. There was many tries to cancel Christmas, but the people always made it happen one way or another. So after many years trying to reinvent Christmas for ourselves we finally had something to back our desire to do things differently and celebrate it in a way that makes more sense to who we are. So spend only what you have and make the money you spend worth it. I also have tried harder to make gifts for others. Don’t spend money you don’t really have. I have never opened a new credit card to make Christmas happen. I even remember the first Christmas I spent when I lived with my sister in the apartment we shared. We really didn’t have anything. I remember getting a few Christmas present for her and I did get a Christmas tree and that was all I really wanted for Christmas. So I did and I was so glad I did too. I love how a Christmas tree really warms my heart and home. To our surprise a few days before Christmas we received a big box in the mail from my mother who at the time was on the other side of the united states. She didn’t have much herself, but somehow put some money together and made it go farther by spending much of it at the Dollar tree. Man that made our Christmas. Even thought it wasn’t hundreds of dollars of presents it was still so nice to open stuff. Some of the presents we laughed and smiled at. Some of them we tried to figure out what my mom was thinking. Just so sweet of her and I have never forgotten how special that was to me. To be thousands of miles away and she managed to touch us. I still have a glass Christmas mug that I love to this day from that Christmas. My sister has the other one. I still love drinking egg nog out of that cup and is truly one of my favorite Christmas gifts. 

Why am I bringing all of this up you may ask. Well, I have been reflecting on the Christmas that just passed and I don’t know how the people at Hallmark draw up their idea of a “perfect Christmas”, but Christmas for me 2011 was one that I think really makes my idea of a perfect Christmas. It really started with the Monday after thanksgiving My Mom and Stacey went on a journey to get that perfect Christmas tree. It was a very beautiful day. Sunny and not too cold. We went to one of my mom’s friends  tree farms and found just a wonderful noble Christmas tree. Took it home and kicked of the Christmas season in the Heine house. Stacey made some of the most beautiful paper snow flakes I have ever seen. I am not just being bias each one of them was so creative and wonderful. Even when she said she was going to make them I had this idea of the crappy snowflakes I did as a kid. I mean now that I have seen her snowflakes mine definitely were very bad in comparison to hers.lol Having them hang down from the ceiling was something new and refreshing to add to my holiday decorations. I got to introduce her to some of the movies I consider classic Christmas movies. One of which was the History Channel’s movie I talked about earlier. 

Then midway through December we took on the task of making Dairy Free and Gluten free Christmas sugar cookies. Now, I am not going to lie our first attempt failed, but you know what it only made our second batch that much better. If you are reading this blog entry and you didn’t get any PLEASE don’t think that I don’t love you. Even after the 80 some cookies we made we didn’t have enough for everyone. Granted we ate a few ourselves because hey they were pretty damn good. One of my cooks at work called me a liar because she couldn’t believe that the sugar cookies were Dairy free and Gluten free because they tasted so good. I tell you what though it was so awesome handing them out to people especially the ones that didn’t know it was coming. The joy of sharing warms my heart. I love the reaction of one of my coworkers daughters who I sent home with some of the sugar cookies. She said “Oh mom that was so sweet of Derrick to do that. He is so cute and sweet”. She is adorable and constantly makes my heart smile. They are Muslim and don’t celebrate Christmas, but still enjoyed our Christmas cookies. See people it doesn’t have to be something that separates us. 

Also, the joy of going over to my buddy’s house and bringing his two kids one gift each. Again I didn’t have much, but I found two gifts that meant a lot to me to share with them. They are my kids until the day I have my own and I love them dearly. So then lets move on to Christmas Eve in through Christmas Day. So Christmas Eve at work is busy day, but always fun. I worked the holiday table and so I got to sit and just enjoy the day. Just watching our wonderful family we have at New Seasons smiling and joking around with each other. There was so many special moments from my assistant manager dressing up over the top festive, to my boss giving me his traditional handshake to say thanks for helping making it through another holiday season before he left, to one of the night crew employees I don’t talk to much come up to me and wish me a very merry Christmas and even sealed it with a nice hug. I wish everyday could be filled with this much love. There was even a mess up with a cake and I ended up giving the people who ordered the cake for free because of some mess up with the frosting. They tried to argue with me about giving it to them for free, but then they decided that instead of spending the twenty five dollars they would have spent on the cake they would in turn put that money towards donating to buy meals for those in need at the registers. Wow...that really moved me. Here I was doing the right thing for them and then they took it a step further by doing an even better thing. That was truly amazing to me. 

So after work I headed back to my house and did a few things before my brother came over for our annual Christmas Eve brother bonding time. We usually play any type of games from video games to board games. This year it happened to be a few video games that we could play together. Just so lucky to have my brother. Having him in my life means the world to me. We have been through some tough times, but I tell him all the time I am so lucky to have a brother as cool as him to have fun with in my life. So we played games and relaxed. After this busy holiday season it was just what I needed. We both couldn’t stay up as late as we wanted and we both started nodding off while playing video games so we decided to go to sleep. Then after hitting my snooze button quite a few times Christmas morning I got up a little after 8 am and tried to get everything ready to go over to my sister house the “Magic Cottage”. 

Along with presents I also had to bring many dishes. Because this year I decided to make breakfast for everyone on Christmas morning. My mom showed up shortly after 9 am and we all packed into my mom’s car and off we went. I did a good job on remembering everything except the last of our Christmas sugar cookies that I was going to take over to my sisters for my family to eat sometime during Christmas Day. Which I ate later on don’t worry. We showed up to my sisters and the fire was burning brightly and all of our stockings were hung on the fireplace with care. After a little of mingling I started in on my breakfast as the rest of the family played a game. My sister and I worked away in the kitchen. See every year my sister was the one making Christmas breakfast. This year it was my turn to do something for my family that I always wanted to which was make a wonderful dairy free & gluten free Christmas breakfast. So what was on the menu you may ask? Well, to please everyone I made both coconut egg nog French toast and cranberry pancakes. Also there was chicken sausage, turkey bacon, candied pork bacon, potatoes and eggs. It actually came together very well. My sister helped me when I needed it and was cleaning as we went. Also, my brother did an excellent job keeping everyone’s drinks full between hot chocolate and coffee. So when it was all done and ready to serve and as everyone started moving to the table I had a moment in the kitchen with myself. It was a moment that felt so good that I got a little teary eyed. It just made me so happy that I was actually making Christmas breakfast for my family. It was also Dairy-free and Gluten Free, but everyone still enjoyed it. Words can’t really explain what that meant to me. Just a wonderful moment in my life. As I sat down and started to eat, my brother teased me about not talking a pic and posting it on Facebook like I always do with the other meals I make. So I took a second to take a picture of my masterpiece and posted it on Facebook. Also, my grandmother’s boyfriend sitting to my right leaned over and said during the meal “So when are you making this breakfast again?” lol. I replied “You are going to have to wait a whole year.” ;-) The meal was excellent and it was nice to put food in my stomach since I was living off hot chocolate up until then.

 After breakfast we headed over and went through our stockings which since they had been hung by the fireplace that was burning very well had melted a good portion of the chocolate that was put into them lol...oops. Then the presents where passed out and like most Christmases I was blown away with how much was passed out. So many awesome presents. There was a few repeats of presents, but actually that worked out later on, but I will get to that in a minute. Now thinking about all the Christmases I have had with my family I have always felt like I can always be myself and expect that to whoever I share that day with. I couldn’t imagine having a stressful and rigid Christmas. For my families Christmases are full of joking around and laughter. Something else I noticed this Christmas was the strong connection with my siblings. I know that one day we might have families of our own and such, but I really don’t think that will really change how we spend Christmas together. I really couldn’t imagine spending Christmas without them honestly. This year we even had my grandma with her boyfriend Hal to spend Christmas with. Also my aunt Natalie with her boyfriend Pete showed up later in the afternoon after visiting her own children for Christmas. 

Now here comes an awesome story of how cool my family is. So after all the present were opened we were sitting back relaxing, still digesting our wonderful breakfast, and trying to decide our next move. When we asked my mom when Aunt Nat and Pete were going to be showing up. Somewhere in that conversation she brings up that My Aunt bought presents for all of us. All I could hear was the sound of tires screeching to a halt. We all sat in silence for a second...then my sister starts saying “What?! I didn’t buy them anything! They didn’t fill out the Christmas survey we had put on the “Christmas at the Magic Cottage” event page on Facebook!”. Of course we all started saying the same thing. We all thought she was just going to stop buy later in the day. We all looked at each other and what happened next was awesome. We all started looking at our own presents thinking what we could give up. My sister started looking around her house for extra things she had or gotten from vendors through her work. Now we could have just sat there and just been okay with not getting Nat and Pete anything for Christmas and I am sure they still would have loved us just the same or we could go into Christmas crisis mode and make something happen. Well, you know what we chose to make something happen. It was awesome to see my family work the way they did. Through a few duplicate presents and things my sister had including a portrait of My siblings and myself that we took for my mom and grandmother we did a great job. So, when they finally got there later in the afternoon and we had them open all the gifts before we told them the story of the family Christmas miracle. All the while all of us giggling under our breathe with each present they opened. Then when they had no presents to open we told them the story. My Aunt and Pete were so surprised that we put it all together shortly before they got there. That is the Christmas spirit if I have ever seen it. 

By the way the gifts She and Pete came up with were awesome and so thoughtful. For me they painted a wooden stand sign thing that said “kiss the cook” which my brother read wrong as I was unwrapping it. Which got us all laughing when he said what he thought it had said instead of “cook”. lol Oh man I haven’t laughed that hard for a looooong time. That alone made that gift priceless. After that we all played Bingo were my aunt and my sister won most of the bingo prizes. I did manage to with an awesome Christmas decorative snowman that I can’t wait to use next year. Kudos to my mom for the sweet bingo prizes. Then after that my grandma and Hal left and then shortly after so did Nat and Pete. Which my aunt kept winning at bingo so we were going to kick her out soon anyway. lol So the rest of us played one of the games I got for Christmas from Erica called “5 Second Rule” which has nothing to do with the 5 second rule for food dropped on the floor. lol It was pretty fun, but would be better played at a party with more people. After that we all headed our own ways. I wanted to keep going as I think we all did, but we all were so tired. I love my family. 

All and all it couldn’t have been any better of a Christmas in my opinion. Even the mistake of not getting gifts for my Aunt and Pete turn out to be quite a memorable event that I won’t forget. The beauty of just people loving people. So what ever your holiday means to you is fine. You can make it be anything you want it to be. That goes for life in general actually. My coworker doesn’t celebrate Christmas because it’s tied with the birth of Jesus. I told her it can be whatever you want it to be. I do not celebrate Christmas for Jesus’s birthday at all actually. For even if I did celebrate his birthday he wasn’t really born in December anyways.lol I use the Christmas season to love everyone around me. From family to friends to anyone I encounter. Life is about connections. Christmas 2011 will go down as one of my favorite Christmases and one that the people at Hallmark couldn’t recreate if they tried. Christmas with my family has always been priceless. Thank you for reading and I hope you made the best of your holiday. Till next year Happy Holidays.

As always I bring this to you with love and pure D-lite. =)

As a little extra here is my sisters cat Ellie passed out midday from all the excitement of Christmas morning. Soooooo cute! =)

There is something I need to tell you about myself....

Although It may seem that there is a lot that I tell the world through this blog. There is much that I keep to myself. There is definitely a method to my madness. Almost everything in my life has a reason. Down to things in my house and how I arrange things in my life. One thing that I know confuses people about me is some of my thoughts and choices on certain things. One of those choices is why I steer away from alcohol more and more as I get older. I have steered away from trying to make the world do as I do a long time ago. I can only control what I do, but there are some good reasons to why I have kind of a hate towards alcohol. One big one that I am going to get into for the first time publicly in this blog entry is something very dear to me. 

I don’t remember exactly when it was...that I fell for her. In my younger years I never paid as much attention to time and dates as I do now. I refused to wear a watch for a long time because of that. I know this time in my life when things started happening between her and I was very close to when my father died. So that would put it around 2003 to 2004. She worked at the Bakery next to the coffee shop I worked at for so many years. I remember going over to get sandwiches and soup from the bakery. Every time I would talk with her a little more and more each time I visited. I cannot lie that I wasn’t watching her pass by my drive thru window to take out the garbage to the dumpster that our two jobs shared. Now to explain how weird this next part of the story was for me I actually have to explain how I was in the early 2000s. To be quite blunt I was NOTHING like I am now. I had low self esteem and definitely not enough confidence to approach any woman...let alone this woman. To make a move on this beautiful woman that worked next door to was not like me at all. Overtime it just kept advancing like it was out of my hands. Eventually, I got her number.... I think I was so shocked I don’t even remember how I did it. It was a huge step for me back then. My celebration was cut short when trying to call her I got just a voicemail and no response back for days. I asked the other bakery girls next door were she was when I noticed she wasn’t at work either. They kind of got little weird, but eventually one of them told me she had been checked into rehab. I was blown away. I really didn’t know what to think. I had no idea that something like that was going on or what was really going on at all. So what did I do? Well, being the person I am I wanted to help. I called again and left a message telling her that I had heard what happened, but to still call me back. She did finally get a hold of me from the pay phone at rehab. We talked a lot and I remember making her laugh...oh how that made me so happy. Here she was going through something so hard and I touched her. For a brief moment I brought some joy into her life. That was a remarkable feeling. She told me years later how much that really meant to her. Writing about it now I realize how much it meant to both of us. Our chats continued while she was in rehab whenever we could. She finally got out and our talking didn’t really stop at all. It actually got worse a lot worse. We talked quite a bit and hung out one day after she got out. Although our day hanging out was very weird. I spent the day just ogling over her and how wonderful and beautiful she was. While she was busy mentally walking herself through her days before rehab as we walked through her old apartment were she spent the last days with her last ex that break broke up with her not that long before. She also kind of went through and talked about some of her earlier days of drinking. Things progressed very quickly between us we started texting so much that even thinking back about how much I text her it was crazy. Easily thousands of texts in a month. We did get somewhat serious and dated for two weeks about. I still tell her it really never counted though, but just as fast as it started it also ended. She relapsed and fell back into her disease. I lost her and that would only be the first time...for our connection had only just begun. It got messy because we worked so close together and all the people we knew between us. I don’t really want to go into all of what happened, but it wasn’t good. I got my heart stomped on and totally crushed in many mean ways. From her just saying mean things while drunk to sleeping with coworkers of mine. So after a long time I tried to move on. It was very tough. Even in the short time that we got to know each other and talk to each other there was already a long list of songs that got stuck to my memories of her or us. It was very much the same way for her she told me years later. Like they always say the only thing that heals a break up is time. A long time went by, but I must admit she never left my memory. 

Over the next few years we shared a random e-mail or two. See I have this thing about clearing the air with all the women I have been with. So at some point my exes and I find each other to say our sorries if you will. With her and I we did it more than once. I think part of my heart really just couldn’t let go. So we went back and forth for years. Every time would start off friendly and eventually she would start drinking again and then that was the end of it...or until the next time we would try again. One time she actually text me from the bar...*RED FLAG GOES UP* ... what is wrong with this picture? I remember saying something to her about it right of the bat. She blew it off and like a sucker I went a long. Ha, I have learned so much since then. Then next time after that I went looking for her on myspace. Who am I kidding... I had her page saved on my favorites so no searching was needed. lol One time checking it I got blown away. Form pictures she posted I figured out that she had recently given birth to her wonderful daughter Serenity. I didn’t even know what to say... I remember that I just sent an e-mail with one word “Wow...”. The response I got was not very nice because (in here defense) our routine break up from the time before got very heated and I said some very mean things. So after reading her very defensive response to my confusing e-mail. I wrote her a nicer e-mail back. To some it up I told her I was actually very happy for her. Having her daughter might be the only way for her to really get help and make it stick. Deep down I was hurt. Her having a kid with another man was a permanent thing that reminded me that she had been with someone else and not with me. It was a tough pill to swallow. Again a reconnection that started out trying to be friendly ended again because there is no way that I could ever be “just friends” with her no matter how much we tried to fool ourselves. Years went by and still it went back and forth. You couldn’t not deny the chemistry and connection between us, but she continued to live in here disease, battling the thought of breaking up her daughters family with her dad, and she ended up taking on much of her father’s disease who is also an alcoholic as well. Then there is all the damage he did to her through his disease as well which just piled on to her own struggles with her disease. It’s such a horrible cycle they get stuck into were the guilt of what they have done through there disease pushes them right back into it. There I was in her life always just on the outskirts of a person battling alcohol. This is how it always seemed to go. This back and forth thing has gone on for the last 7 years in between relationships I have had. Although we have in many ways gotten close to being with each other over the years during each one of these “reconnection periods” through many of the steps she has taken in her life. In the end it fails and I always take back seat to a drug that destroys a woman that I love and enjoyed so much when sober. I guess it’s the person I am... I can see the greatness in so many. It’s hard for me to just accept that some people may never see the wonderfulness and Beauty within themselves as sad as that maybe. 

So the main reason that I talked openly about this part of my life is a few reasons. She taught me so much about alcoholism. Alcoholism is a real thing people, it destroys good people and the people around them. I cannot even imagine how tough it is to have an addiction and I sympathize with their struggle. It’s not just as easy as just stopping. Some people don’t have the power to say when to stop. I also learned that there is nothing I can do to fix it. The work they have to do is their own, but I can support a healthy positive lifestyle by promoting life in a way that move them away from there disease. I also learned that just because they are an alcoholic doesn’t mean that is all they are. When she was sober there is so many great things about her and as she continues to get sober she will start to find herself and all the good that there is within her.

So back to how I started this blog entry. There is a strong hate that I have for alcohol because it has always kept me away from a woman that I truly love. Last time we talked she was working hard at going through the 12 steps program. This time for herself and here daughter. Hearing her say those words “I am doing this for myself and for my daughter” is nothing short of just awesome to me, so wonderful, and so important for her and her beautiful daughter. I really do hope she does stay sober the rest of her life, for both of their sakes. For one day finding out that she has stayed clean and has a normal life with her daughter might lift the pain of my heart that has been caused between us for not being able to be together...at least a little I hope. Till then I promote being alcohol free which I have done for many long periods in my life already. Being alcohol free also helps me continue to make progress on the path I am on for my health currently. For every time I drink I feel like I am taking so many steps backwards. I understand not all of you will feel the same way as I. For I understand that most people find drinking a very causal thing. The problem is alcohol is too excess-able in our society and makes it hard for people trying to get help. It’s everywhere and getting away from it is not as easy as it sounds. Especially when people don’t take the problem seriously.  Some people feel they need it to relax or in my opinion to be themselves. For many people like being around me when I am drunk. They think I’m funny and so much fun to be around. Well, I have been working on being just as fun to be around without alcohol. You say it can’t be done well I disagree. I think we all should take a stab at letting ourselves be ourselves without anything else just the wonderful energy that makes you...you. Some people use it like other drugs to check out and numb themselves from the pain that this world and life puts us through. Well, I am a feeler and I choose to feel all the emotions. All the bad and all the good. That also is not as easy as it sounds. I was talking to the woman I mentioned in this entry about that very topic. She mentioned many times of how when she is sober its very tough because she has to relearn how to deal with all that life throws at her. I told her I know it sucks to feel all those sad and hard times, but to miss out on all the good times as well is not worth it. Lucky for her, her daughter is still very young and she is getting a grip on her life at the right time. Because I know several people who are very effected by what their parents did to them through alcoholism and drugs in general. Please all you parents out there remember what you do effects your kids more than you may realize. Don’t get it confused it’s not about being perfect it’s about making that extra effort and respecting your kids and just everyone in your life. Things like alcoholism doesn’t just effect the person going through it. It effects everyone that person comes in contact with. Life is a gift...every day is a “present” (pun intended lol) so let us not waste any of it. Live life to the fullest and everyday like your last. 

This is her daughter Serenity. I actually got to meet her just a few times. She is just the cutest little girl I have ever known and now I see that she is a blessing for her mom. Because how could you not want to be a better person for that beautiful and wonderful little girl smiling right back at you? I know I would. =)

As always I bring this to you with love and pure D-lite. =)

My summer Vacation Part 3: PAX PRIME 2011

The most epic picture ever actually. I am
trying to figure out which one is "awesomer". lol

So this it... This is what I have been leading up to. The third and final part of my first summer vacation in I don’t even know how long. Now please get something to drink, maybe grab a snack as well, and sit back in that chair your are sitting in... I have a lot to say and I will trying to keep it as focused as I can. 

Yes, I do brush my teeth on vacation. 

Let's see where do I start with this... Well, maybe I should start at what got me to plan my summer vacation in the first place. For that I will have to take it back a bit further than that to my cousin and close friend Jason Heine. See Jason is part of the online Youtube video game community. Which led him into being a part of a video game podcast that he does with three other well know Youtube video game guys that are also well known in the video game community. So I guess I should introduce them so you know who I am talking about. First there is Johnny Millennium who does a channel on Youtube called “The Happy Console Gamer”, next there is Pete Dorr who does a channel on Youtube called “Pete’s Gameroom”, then there is John who’s channel (the first of his many channels...lol) on Youtube is called  “Gamster81”, And last but not least Jason Heine who’s channel on Youtube is called “The Emulator Review”. All powers combined they become the “All Gen Gamers Podcast” which you can find on iTunes under video game podcasts. Plug plug plug....lol. =) So how does this all tie in together with my vacation? Well, they have been doing the podcast for over a year now and way back when they started they talked about meeting up at a video game convention called PAX Prime. Which at the time I had no idea what PAX Prime was. All the guys that are on the podcast live in all different areas of the world. So, they thought this would be an awesome way to meet up with each other and fellow gamers. One of the guys actually lives outside of the country in Canada. So not only was this an awesome event to go to it was the first time all four would be together. The location of PAX Prime is in Seattle Washington. Seattle is only a few hours from where I live. My cousin Jason lives in Arizona very close to John, but I don’t get to see Jason as much since he left Oregon a few years ago. So I thought there is no reason I can’t take a few days off and travel up north to be a part of this video game fun. So that is what I did. I bought my tickets for PAX Prime back in like March or April for the event that was happening in the end of August. On the podcast they talked about it about every episode and telling people to buy tickets before they sold out because they eventually do. They apparently have a set amount that they sell. Regardless I had the tickets and I would figure the rest out later. My arrangements changed a few times over the next couple of months. I actually talked my coworker/friend Austin into going with his girlfriend. The three of us also ended up staying together while we were up there. I also talked my brother into going. Although by the time he had money to go he ended up getting tickets through a friend of his that was selling them. My brother also when up separately with his good friend Jason. My cousin and the other guys of the podcast went up separately. I know all that may sound confusing, but the point is it actually turned into quite the event. 

On the bus on my way to PAX Prime

Lets fast forward to the end of my part two of my vacation. I spent god portion of the afternoon in conversation with J’Anne till Austin called me to come pick me up. We had to meet at the Fred Meyers near by because J’Anne’s house is invisible to any navigation device....EVER! So after that was all said and done. We (Austin, Christine, and myself) showed up at our hotel outside of Seattle in Bellevue Washington. We had decided to stay outside of Seattle because it was about $100 less per day than staying by the convention center where PAX was being held. It was a pretty nice hotel that Austin Picked out and the best part for me was that there was a Whole Foods store diagonal form the hotel we stayed at. We are talking like 5 minute walking distance and most of that time was waiting for the light to change to cross the street. lol Now why is this so important for me to bring up. Well, see eating while on vacation with my limitations can be a hard thing for me to find the right foods I can eat. Having a Whole Foods near by was like having my work right next door. I loved it and we ate there pretty much every day we where there. It was my first time in a Whole Foods. It’s not just because it’s my companies competition it’s that there is no need for me to go into a store that I can get all the same things at my store with a 20% discount. lol Anyway, kudos to Austin for hooking that up it worked out really good for me. I will say their customer service is NOTHING compared to ours PERIOD.  

Outside of PAX Prime

So instead of driving in to Seattle and paying parking we decided to take public transportation. It actually worked really well. We all had passes to go all three days of the event.  Looking back now I’m very glad that we did. So early Friday morning we made our way to downtown Seattle. There were a few groups of people at our hotel that were there for PAX as well. You can spot some of them from a mile away even if they weren’t wearing lanyards with their PAX passes attached. lol We arrived at the convention center and it was a little confusing on where exactly we needed to go. Eventually we made our way into some very long lines. Glad we left so early and next time we probably could have left earlier. They masses all of us in this huge room where we got a bag of goodies. Then stood in line till it was 10 o’clock. Then in a somewhat controlled made rush we all were let into the main floor area. Now here is where it gets interesting. There was so much stuff to look at right from the get go and it didn’t stop the whole time I was at PAX actually. To start I made my way to the Battlefield 3 booth because that was the main thing I wanted to experience and was willing to wait in line for, but there was so much going on that it took me awhile to find it. I first followed Austin and Christine to the OnLive booth because before they let us through the doors they announced that they were handing out free OnLive consoles (that normally retail at around $99) at the OnLive booth. So of course everyone and their mom headed to their booth to get one. I followed them, but decided when I saw how long the line was that I was not interested. I instead played the demo for the new Zelda game coming out in November called Skyward Sword that was right next to the OnLive booth. It was pretty dope and then I resumed my hunt for the Battlefield 3 booth. I found it eventually in a back corner with a big hummer all decked out military style parked outside of the booth. I immediately got in line and didn’t look back. After waiting in line for about an hour maybe hour and half. I got my chance to play. My game froze while playing and the guy that I was playing co-op with bailed after just playing a few minutes. Thank god he did because they paired me up with another guy who was a lot more fun to play with. We actually talk to each other and worked together. Awesome that is exactly how that game is supposed to be played team work. Here is the best part when waiting in line they asked you for what name you want on the custom dog tags they make you. Of course I put my gamer tag XgS.Dirty Dongles on there and was super stoked about it. What an ingenious idea! I wore those dog tags all three days.  

Oh yeah...come to daddy..lol. =)

The rest of the day I played a few more things, but really the first day was about going around to all the booths and getting what we all called “Gamer Swag”. What do I mean by gamer swag? Almost all the booths were handing something out from T-shirts to posters to jackets to key chains just all sorts of stuff. So awesome I think I ended up with 5 shirts for free and one more later on that I paid for. TONS of cool stuff. Really it was a gamers paradise. Anything and everything relating to games was there. We aren’t just talking about video games we are talking board games, D & D, Magic cards and on top of all the video games stuff. For the first day we were there from basically 9-5pm. Austin and Christine were a bit tired and burnt out in the afternoon and when they asked me if I wanted to go back to the hotel with them I actually said yes. Because honestly it was all a bit much. I really didn’t think that I would say that, but it definitely was and this was only the first day. That is a short version of day one. Just so much going on. Including the fact that I missed the All Gen Gamers podcast meet up outside of the convention center where PAX was being held. I went into some detail for the first day because of just the raw feeling of experience of going to PAX Prime. The next two days was a lot more of the same and more exploring and trying to get things I didn’t the day before. As a gamer it was just awesome experience. 

So just a few of the highlights. Over the other two days.

Second day I got to meet up with Jason and my brother experience more of PAX together. Telling each other what “Gamer Swag” we got and what games we played and tried out. Just some awesome video game talk. 

I met two of the other three podcast guys while walking around with Jason. Both of them were really just down to earth nice guys. Just very cool to see them in real life. Pete Dorr was the only one I missed.... and I’m still angry about it. lol 

There was a very cool moment we had when we were exploring the upper level of this event. We came across a room where they had pretty much most popular video game consoles and they had a library of games you could play for certain amount of time. I was with my cousin Jason and my brother Justin. We glanced at the list of games, but yet again we were a bit overwhelmed. Lucky for us John Gamester81 was already in there playing a game. So we walked over and joined him. He was play a newer game that had just came out call Katherine. Very weird Japanese puzzle game, but like with any game my gamer buddies and I play we can make anything fun and funny. So there we were all four of us just lined up in a row passing the controller to the next person when the other one fails and the on lookers trying to help and joke around when not playing. That is what I love about playing any games and that is how it use to be for my generation of gamers. Before the days of the internet you actually had to go to other peoples houses and sit together while playing a game. I was passing out the bunny fruit snacks that I love so much and that make an appearance at all the game nights I have at my place. 

I wonder how much this cost to make and
who designed and made it. 

Sickest and Biggest LAN Party

Those were just a few of the many things that happened over the course of the three days. Now I want to talk about just my overall thoughts about PAX Prime and just video games in general. So much went through my head while just looking around PAX. Just so overwhelming to experience what this form of media has done and what it is doing to my generation and generations to come. Looking at all the booths and seeing how much money big companies are investing in the gaming industry. One of the big things that I noticed was just how diverse video games have become. How very much mainstream video games have become. It isn’t just something that nerds geek out to in their moms basement. Video games are now something that everyone plays. Don’t get me wrong there is still a big group of people there that it may have been their first time out of their moms basement to attend the event, but mass majority of people were people of all walks of life. Just awesome. Someone said that they sell like 70,000 tickets for PAX Prime. Well, I am not sure if that is true all I know is Saturday and Sunday were crazy busy compared to Friday. I think often about what I will look back on in my life and think about when I am older. This was definitely one of those experiences. Video games are a huge part of the culture of my generation and definitely our form of art. There is so much that goes into each game. I have already seen the generations below me take it for granted. Back in the day we were lucky to get one game and you played the hell out of it. Because thats all the money your parents may have had for video games back then. Now days kids finish games within days and then move on to something else. Some don’t even explore the whole game. From the music, images, and even down to the coding of these games there are many people out there putting in a lot work to make something to be enjoyed by so many. From someone that actually knows people that work in that industry take sometime to read the credits. Take time to take in the full experience of the game. Explore the whole experience and even if you don’t I will.

Oh and that dark haired girl with the Star Wars shirt & cute skirt on that I had a moment with in passing between the two main floors at PAX and I will admit I also did a double take.... I will never forget you. Thank god beautiful women are on board the video game wagon too. lol I love it! 

With love and pure D-lite. =)

My Brother getting Jiggy with the Turtle
Beach Babes. lol

Talk Nerdy to me... lol