How are ya now?

[Carp]

.... Looking forward to grabbing some tacos from my favorite cantina on the way home.

How 'bout you lot?

[chrislognshot]

want to do more but virus has me on lock down and only go out when need or when 2 place we go to eat is nearly empty

[Jonnydread]

Lock down can be rough man, you been using this time to learn anything new or do something for yourself?

[gabe]

Same here. Caught the 'rona last weekend and despite feeling pretty rough on sunday and monday I've been fine since but can't go back to work for 10 days. Just been kind of puttering around the house playing video games and watching hulu shows alternating. Beat Farcry 3. Yeah, pretty boring stuff.

The boss still expects me to join in online meetings a few days during the week and the company culture is to keep working at least a few hours a day from home. Seems kind of lame that catching covid doesn't buy you some time off work but I guess that's America.

Hows Johnny these days?

[gabe]

Choose joy...now that's one I need to work on. I usually just choose caffiene and lowkey hating my job. The Covid paid time off relief from the fed ended yesterday and isn't getting renewed so all employees with covid now have to take 10 days minimum from their PTO or work from home and log at least 8 hours a day. Corporate bullshit is right.

Like most games I've been about 80% of the way through Farcry 3 but never finished it. Same for 4 and 5. Same for pretty much all the Fallout franchise and Skyrim as well. It's a good opportunity as any to get a few hours of gaming in.

[Jonnydread]

It's an active practice man, it can be too easy to fall prey to the negative shit cause it's familiar. Any chance of moving jobs? Or changing positions in your current? I really wish the Fallout franchise would come to Switch since all my other consoles are in storage these days.

[gabe]

Like everyone else has said, good looking out Jonny. Pretty cool of you to do a homie check.

As far as jobs or whatever, I think it's just a personal attitude thing. My job is great and they generally treat me well although it's customer service so I always feel like a bit of a whore faking good manners to people who treat CS people like crap. I'm almost on the other side of covid and being at home for a week has made me appreciate actually getting out and going to work.

I hear they put Skyrim on switch now. That platform looks pretty dope, I need to get one.

[Cdn_Cuda]

Great idea Johnny, thanks for doing this!

Generally I’m doing well, home life is great, everyone is healthy and mostly happy. Work has been very busy, and will continue that way.

Unfortunately I’ve lost my main recreational activity due to Covid. I’ve played on a beer league hockey team for over four years now. Hadn’t played due to Covid, but with vaccines available was hopeful. Long story short, my team has collapsed, so no hockey. I will be helping with my oldest’s sports this year, so at least I won’t be a total slug. I need to get exercise and an outlet.

Another issue I have had is people being complete asses to me for largely no reason.

The worst time was the head of my major client for work. He basically yelled at me and called me a liar in front of a room full of clients. Really inappropriate, disrespectful and frustrating. It was bad enough someone in the back of the room came up and apologized to me. It definitely made this person and the his organization look pretty bad. My company was worked with this client for more than 50 years, andI’ve worked with them for more than 15 years. We have never been treated as poorly as we currently are being treated.

And more recently I had volunteered to help assistant coach my daughter’s soccer team, as the coach requested help. It’s 7 year old girls playing fob a team for the first time. Head coach at a game thanked me for volunteering even. Show up at practice, walk into the field to help the coach, get completely ignored for several minutes before he and the kids run off, leaving me standing their like an idiot. Message received, so I returned to parents at the sideline and I even get asked why I wasn’t helping as the assistant coach. Clearly the guy doesn’t want any help. So now it’s awkward as hell. Am I helping? Am I not? No freaking idea and I don’t want to make any drama. I think next game I’m just going to bring a camping chair and sit there. He needs help he can ask.

[Jonnydread]

ah that's a bummer about your team man, that's such a blow to your extra curricular mental health. That's awesome you're getting involved with your kids' sports, I'm sure they'll be happy to have you around. Weird that the coach is like that. Between that and getting berated at work methinks some of these people really need a crash course in effective communication. It doesn't excuse anyone's shitty behavior, but I think the stresses & strains of covid are really starting to manifest in people. We all need to take a moment before we speak to one another to make sure what we're saying is productive and kind, it's really not that hard. I don't think anyone is their best self, especially at work, these days. It's fucking awesome that your home life is good, having an 'anchor' at home is so important for happiness.

[Cdn_Cuda]

Thanks Jonny! And after reading through what some people are going through it's all pretty minor stuff. But it feels good to talk about it and vent. Although the one that hurt the most was when I selected my Personalized Amazon Music Playlist when taking the dog for a walk and the first song it played was Beck - "Loser" lol

[Jonnydread]

Cdn_Cuda Ha! The universe definitely has a sense of humor. Perspective is important, but not holding shit inside is importanterer

[homerj]

My oldest daughter is pregnant & her husband won’t keep a job. I haven’t heard from my youngest daughter in over 2 weeks because the piece of $h!+ she lives with is a piece of $h!+ & did i mention she lives with the piece of $h!+?

Oh, i also just spent waaaaaay more on a car repair than i should have because a local dealership totally screwed me.

But, hey, whatever doesn’t make me stronger will kill me right? Or is it the other way around in reverse?

[Jonnydread]

Wow man. I don't have kids, but that sounds heart-rending. I hope your daughter's partners get their shit together and take care of each other properly. Bummer about the car, what happened? Something worth making a stink about to recoup anything?? As long as you keep your head above water I truly believe you WILL be stronger for it. Play any good classic games lately?

[homerj]

It’s all good. I’m hoping when the baby actually gets here it’ll snap some grown up in him. The younger daughter will come around sooner than later i think. I’ve played a little Contra & Megaman. I don’t have the skills/patience for games like them anymore. I’ve been spoiled by modern games. When i was a kid EVERY game was punishingly difficult so that was just normal. I’ve been playing a lot of PSVR & just started The Messenger. I’m going to Retropalooza in 3 weeks so I’ll hopefully come back with a decent haul. If there’s something you’re looking for just let me know & I’ll be on the lookout for it there.

[Jonnydread]

homerj Nothing right now, thanks man. Have fun over there though and good luck with the kiddos.

[BrickHaus]

Me?

First of all, amazing topic. Our society puts such a shadow on vunerability and mental health, its nice to see so many share raw emotions on here.


Man, depends on the day., and the lense I have. Over all, lifes great. Just got back from a week long vacation celebrating 5 years of trouble free marriage. Have a decent paying job thats stayed busy through this whole covid deal. We are getting a new puppy ( pending adoption process) after having to put both of my old girls down this year, so we are excited to start a new life of awesome with a new fur baby.

But on the other hand. I came back from vacation into a storm of OT at work. Over 40 hours already today, and the stress of work pressure is already settling back in 4 days after my return. Ive been battling with my self talk, and mental health as of late. Even though life is seemingly good, I struggle with feeling worth while at times. Been on the verge of tears for no good reason for a while now.

To boot. My company does DOD contracts, and sent emails to my non vaxed co workers to give verbal confirmation they arent getting vaxed, or present their cards. That being said, looks like Im gonna lose a bunch of co workers real quick which only stresses me out nore. We found this out yesterday.

Ive been working out every morning in an attempt to feel better both mentally and physically. Its been helping, but as I type this, Im laid out on my floor. I was trying to get back into my regiment this week after a vacation. I just put 155 lbs on my squat rack as thats where I worked up to prior to my vacation, and felt a twinge down low on my second set. Now Im hoping I can get my ass to work today. This is not helping my self worth a lick worst part is, I looked at the rack, and thought I should just put 135 up for a welcome back, but decided Id feel it out at full weight and now Im gonna have to work just to be able to tie my boots.

Thats where my head space is this second. It may change in the next few hours, so we shall see.

Hope you all have a great day!

[Jonnydread]

Covid-related work stuff is awful. My wife is in healthcare and her hospital is slated to lose ~600 employees due to covid vaccine and she has been a ball of stress. My heart goes out to you mate, I hope the work stuff ends up working itself out. So fucking stoked for your new pup, please make sure to post up pictures cause 99% of this site is bonkers for critters. On that note, post up some pics of your old girls too! Nothing say love like fond memories. Dude take it slow with lifting/exercise, putting your pride before your body is a great way to get a snap back on your health. I dove head-first back into lifting a bit ago and tweaked my back the first day then had to wait another 2 weeks to get back, getting older suuuuucks.

[Tarsun2]

2 kids (2 and 4).
4yo started preschool and the entire class got sick. he gave whatever he had to us and the 2yo.
the 2yo got the worst of it. (nothing some meds cant fix)
now the 4yo keeps coming in our room at 12-2 AM and kicking me out of my own bed. lucky for me though, i actually like his bed. The wife got him a full size memory foam incase this happened. lol

but all in all, these problems are immediate and fleeting. in the grand scheme of things, its going well. Projects are taking hella long but im told thats the norm for a full time job, wife, and 2 kids.

[Jonnydread]

That is hilarious! Just start chucking the kid out of his bed and calling it your bed, see how he likes THAT! Keep your family close and keep your optimism. Good on you.

[Jonnydread]

Thank you to everyone that has shared so far. Keeping an eye on one another is what bros do and I extend that to mental health as well. I've loved and lost people that I wish I had checked in with more often so now that the seasons are changing and seasonal depression looms I want to make sure we are keep tabs on each other. Happy goddamned October y'all!

[Grendel]

I'm good, happy to be back south with my daughter's family all under our one roof. Being around my toddler granddaughter reminds me to have fun.

Work is good and busy (the way I like it) and only makes me scream at my monitors a few times a day.

I'm getting old and the body reminds me of my misspent youth. You younger guys do all the fun stuff but when you get hurt admit it and let your body heal/go to the doctor. Just because you can tough it out does not mean you will not pay for it later. Currently not sleeping well because of a pinched nerve (s) in my neck that was caused by past injuries that I toughed through.

Overall I'm good and looking forward to next month playing some paintball with old friends and MCB members at Fulda Gap scenario!

Miss you and the reprobate at Dave's outlaw field Jonny hope you guys are having fun!

[Jonnydread]

Miss you too bud, we're still doing weird shit in the woods of RI, just like always. Have a new group of guys joining us with a young blood (~12ish). Trying to get him started on the Tao of Pump good and early!

[punkncat]

Over the course of this progressing year our genetics and knees came to call on my 74 YO mother. She had a knee surgery back some years ago that was a complete nightmare and she did NOT want to go through it again. On top of this she has several conditions that make surgery very dangerous to her. We spent the months since June being beyond worried about the situation, and her knee progressively getting worse. She was supposed to do the surgery back in July and the COVID situation among other aspects made her opt not to have it. Almost immediately she developed a really bad cyst on the back of that knee and stopped being able to get around properly. Way too much sitting, serious edema. She rescheduled the surgery for Sept. and I have been a mess of worry, taking it out on others and causing concentration and performance issues in every aspect of my life.
The surgery itself went well, thank goodness, but the "outpatient" aspect they like to pull turned into a real shit show. Mom had a really bad reaction to the anesthesia and they wanted to just put her in the car and send her home. I had already reserved time off work to help take care of her but the situation quickly went beyond my ability to deal with. All of this on top of the rona thing taking up all the available beds in the hospital and care facilities. I ended up having to show my ass pretty hard at the hospital and apparently voiced my concerns to and in front of the appropriate people. They opted to allow her to stay the night in the maternity ward and after a lot of calling around I was able to secure her a spot in a retirement home/rehab. Thank goodness that we did and her first week was very difficult due to her other conditions.

She was at the facility for 10 days of a planned two weeks. Another COVID outbreak at that facility put it on lockdown and she wasn't getting the PT she needed to recover. I went down, checked her out of the facility and came home with her, where I have been for the last two weeks. It's been a lot of work, but it's also been a tremendously rewarding opportunity for us to spend time together, talk, and for me to 'return the favor' as it were for all the years she has been so awesome to myself and our family. We spent a lot of time talking, eating together, just having wonderful fellowship and it's been a blessing in disguise for sure. It's the longest time we have spent together since I was a much younger man and something that couldn't be replaced at any cost. I count this among some of the best time of my life even if I am half worn out and darned ready to go home tomorrow. I have to get back to the grind and have responsibilities to take care of at home. It's been a really awesome time in spite of the challenges getting here.

[Jonnydread]

Props to you for advocating for your ma and being able to spend some precious time with her. I don't think anyone lies on their deathbed and wishes they logged more hours at the grind, but they sure do wish they spent more time with their loved ones.

[chrislognshot]

i live with some and have some one next door to use that should not or can not catch virus i have health issue that do not want me to get virus too.

[Jonnydread]

Totally valid concern, stay safe man

[flyweightnate]

It's cool hearing from everyone - get a better idea of the crazy folk that make up this weird, awesome site.

I've been pretty good. My wife got a new job (public school teacher, cuz two kids wasn't enough?) that's been good, especially financially, but has her worn out. No surprise there.

My five year old is on a Nerf kick right now. His school has a father-son nerf night coming up, and he is STOKED. So I'm spending almost an hour a day shooting him and getting shot. I highly recommend the Roughcut 2x4 - a pistol grip pump that holds 8, and shoots in pairs. No batteries so it matches the school rules.

And my daughter just turned three-nager, which is actually pretty awesome.

[flyweightnate]

When we first got married, my wife got me a pair of nerf pistols. We played maybe twice, then as she ducked into cover, I shot... and it missed her eye by an inch, on account of the ducking. So that was the end of that.
Safety glasses and turning it down a notch.

[Jonnydread]

Nerf is a great pre-cursor to paintball! Congrats to wifey, teaching is super rewarding (and fuckin' exhausting). I come from a teaching family so I have some semblance of an idea of how wonderful and terrible it can be.

[Dusty Bottoms]

hey man, I read you were getting into Nerf with your son. My son and I have been into it for a few years now, and go to these big local Nerf wars hosted at a gymnastics center. We have an entire arsenal of blasters now, and by far the one I'd recommend the most isn't even made by Nerf. It's the Adventure Force Villainator, $20 bucks at Walmart, tommy gun style pump blaster with a removable stock, a drum you can reload on the fly, and shoots faster than most Nerf blasters. Definitely a best buy for that hobby!

[alpha_q_up]

Glad it's Friday and I can rest and get my head straight, kinda a bag of mixed emotions, I had an incident with a relative that led to a crummy Sunday of dealing with police, and to be honest I just wanna laugh so I've been listening to a lot of my favorite comedians podcasts and stand-ups, I think it's helping. I'm sure I'll be on the up, next week is a short work week for me.

[Jonnydread]

Here's to short weeks and humor for balancing out all the pitfalls! Hope you had a restful weekend.

[alpha_q_up]

Thanks, things have gotten a bit better, slowly but surely, things keep chugging along, seems as if getting away this weekend will be very helpful

[glaman5266]

Good- It's a warm weekend, I get to play paintball next weekend, I'm back to purging rooms in the house, and I'm slowly working through a couple Metroid games in preparation for Metroid Dread releasing in 6 days. I am so excited!

Bad- My younger boy has been a bigger pain in the ass than usual as of late, and Dad's got cancer again. F'ing yay. Been doing a lot of driving for his appointments.

So good and bad. But I'm doing OK overall I guess.

[Headshotted]

Hey, a net okay is always better than a meh! Rootin' for ya.

[Jonnydread]

Sorry about your dad man, that's hard. Thanks for reminding me about Dread, I am super stoked for a classic side scrolling Metroid. I wish I still had a DS, I'd love to play Fusion again.

[Siress]

More going on than I care to think about. On the good side, in the past week I've not only played paintball on the company dime - but I've also found time to mountain bike a little...my two favorite hobbies that have been neglected for many months/years. Both of my electros were shooting perfectly so I got to loan them out to my colleagues. The new house is coming along nicely. Wifey is super involved and making sure everything goes well.

On the temporarily-sucks category, most of my stuff has been boxed up for the better part of 5 weeks, haven't seen much of my family, and our new house has been a much bigger project than expected - both in time and money, though we're getting more for our money than we expected.

And the sucks category - new commute really takes the wind out of me M-F and won't be much better after the move. Is what it is. Just need to get a car that lets me sleep while it's on the highway.

[Tarsun2]

oof. i feel ya. i havent ridden my bike in 4 years. i used to go to creek, blue, windom, and even a yearly highland bike park trip. had a nice little santa cruz v10 with a PUSH tuned rear shock. (i went air and by buddy with a newer v10 went sprung). sold that when i wife to to cross country with her and the occasional switchbacks on my own. bought her a trek marlin hard tail and swapped out everything but the frame and rims. god, the fork i installed cost more than the bike lol.

i picked out a kona precept 130 that i converted to a 150 and swapped everything but the rims and frame. it was set up perfect for me and now it collects dust and extension cords in the garage.

house projects never end either. so far we got the plumbing straightened out, septic replaced, well pump/pressure tank/everything else fixed, flooring in process (room by room), light fixtures, faucets, and fire place taken care of. oh yeah, paint, paint, and more paint. i hate painting.

[Siress]

You have nice tastes in bikes, Tarsun2. I ride a Santa Cruz 5010 C myself.

[Jonnydread]

Home ownership is a practice in entropy, best of luck man! I don't even have kids and I feel like there just ain't enough time in the day (or energy in the body) to get to everything done. It's good that you're able to to get out and do stuff for yourself, I know self-care is a buzzword these days, but it's really important for happiness.