So there’s at least three things to remember March 3rd for.  The Nintendo Switch launched on March 3, and it’s also Macross Best Girl Misa Hayase’s birthday.

It’s also when I decided that the internet NEEDED to be subjected to my periodic rambling about… well, it started out with some school and general life related kind of posts but it has mostly become me ranting about video games.

Back then, I was a 30-something late returner to college, what they euphemistically called an “alternative student” with plans to go to school, get a degree in Japanese and get into translation work for cool stuff.

I did complete the degree.  I never got into the translation work.  At some point I started getting older.

Eventually I got old enough that I really want to show off some new bins and acrylic drawers I bought to whip my office closet into shape.  So I’ll do that and then keep rambling after the picture.

I mean, it’s only a matter of time before this goes to madness again but for now it looks so dang organized.

I’ve been posting far less about video games because I’m sucked into no less than FOUR live service style games and honestly it’s hard for me to get back to the days when I would play a game for 3 or 4 days and feel a sense of satisfaction at the end credits.  My most recent one is Blue Archive, and there will probably be a post devoted to that soon, but I’m also playing NIKKE, Genshin Impact, and World of Warcraft.

Pro tip: For the love of God, don’t do this to yourself.

Anyway, while I never got that job translating cool Japanese stuff into English, I’ve been doing well enough at the career I sorta accidentally landed on that I get to take the occasional trip to Japan and my wife and I are considering spending some time there once they open up their Digital Nomad visa.  The benefit of my current job being 100% work-from-home is that this is a real possibility, though of course it would involve being “at work” from 2 AM until 11 AM Japan time which could be a bit of a problem when it comes to having a reasonable work / life schedule.

If that goes well, we may even try to live there for a full year at some point.  After our last trip it became very obvious that it’s a nation that may have some problems but also has its act seriously together.  Like, we have been hooked on watching “tiny apartment” videos – not that we want to LIVE in a tiny apartment, mind you – and it still befuddles us that you can live in Tokyo and spend like 300 bucks a month in rent, though admittedly you are living in basically a shoebox with a front door at that point.

But setting that aside for the moment.

In the last 17 years I have graduated, moved twice, shared our home with as many as five cats at one time, lost a ton of weight twice, gained it mostly back twice, held five jobs, gotten a motorcycle license, had one motorcycle accident involving falling over at roughly 5 mph while trying to make a turn that I should not have tried to make, visited Japan multiple times and China / France / Brussels / the UK once each, and generally had a pretty good time of things.

Oh, and my wife has put up with my nonsense the entire time which is more than I could possibly deserve.

At some point the following sort of statement is going to become increasingly less likely but for now I’m still on the right side of average lifespans to pull it off:

It’s been an interesting 17 years.  Here’s to 17 more years.