Event Log: 8/5/14 - 100%

Since my ear got cut yesterday, I consciously avoided lying on my right side. By the time I woke up, my neck felt strained. I looked in the mirror and it's mostly scabbed. I recalled that grade school advice, "Never pick a scab." It's a small cut and barely noticeable. Others have gone through much worst and recovered remarkably. Still, there's something about an injury that makes me squeamish. How would I react if I was shot? I'd probably be panicking out of my mind. Let's hope I get nothing more than scrapes in the future. 

Sometimes, it's not enough to merely "beat" the game; I have to crush it completely. I leveled up all my characters in Golden Sun to level 99 and maxed out my cash. Trust me, it's not as hard as it sounds. If you grind it out in the last area of the game, you get mad XP. Once I was powered up, I set my sights on the final obstacle. 

In my best Bonesaw impression, I said to my DS, "I'm coming for you, Dullahan, and I've got you for three minutes." The fated encounter with the most powerful boss didn't go as smoothly as anticipated. He was a bit irritating, but I knew I had him. It was just a matter of waiting it out. It must have taken me 20 minutes. With him defeated, I am officially, 100%, done with this game, and not a moment too soon, because now I can concentrate on things that matter...like Vegas. 

My friend and I started up Borderlands 2 again. After being duped into buying the season pass, I want to get my money's worth. There's still DLC I haven't played yet. I continued where I left off, which was right before what many consider to be the best DLC in the game, Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon's Keep. From what little I've played, I like it. Unfortunately, I had to cut our session short since today is a running day. 

I had more stamina than usual, which meant I ran more than usual. Hopefully, I'll still have enough in the tank for Thursday. It turned into night halfway through my run. Three patrol cars with blaring sirens drove down my usual route along the riverbank. Talk about good timing. If I didn't have that extra stamina and ran as much, I would've missed this event. I wonder what they were up to?

When I eat dinner, I usually watch Chris Smoove videos. After watching his UFC series, I've gotten more interested in the sport. If I played the game, I'd actually have something to add when conversation steer into this territory. There's no better way of becoming an expert in a sport than by playing a simulation. I can hang around if it's the NBA or NFL, but the UFC? Sorry, but I'm out of my depth there. 

I've been working on (and by that, I mean thinking about) something called an Incantation of Invincibility. Words hold power. It's why we pray, chant, and sing. It's how sports teams overachieve, running off the energy from the crowd. Individually, we should be able to motivate ourselves in the same way--through sheer willpower. 

"I believe in you." 

How often have you heard that? I'm talking legitimately, and not in a post-ironic way. If there was somebody encouraging us every step of our lives, we could do anything. Unfortunately, most don't have the luxury of personal cheerleaders. We have to find inspiration within ourselves. 

Hence, the Incantation of Invincibility. If I can concoct something to read, to refer to every time I needed a boost, some confidence, or an infusion of giant brass balls, then I'd be set for life.

/eventlog 

Event Log: 8/4/14- Endless RNG Battle

My entire day has been a struggle against that infernal thing known as "RNG." RNG stands for random number generator, and it's just a fancy way of saying "luck." Games are governed by probabilities. It determines whether this enemy will drop something awesome or diddly squat. When the odds I'm facing are 5% and .7%, it becomes an exercise in frustration. Any crafting system that forces players to reset to get what they want is in need of serious renovation. Don't get me started on the ridiculous drop rates. Less than 1%? That's insane.

I suppose that's why the definition of insanity is repetition. Fortunately, I'm a certified nutcase, so something like impossible odds doesn't deter me. It just makes me stronger. After all, how can you explain those three items in my inventory with .7 % chance of dropping? Okay, I cheated a bit. With a special technique, you can quadruple the drop rate, bringing it up to 3%. It's still amazing that I got my first one raw without using the technique. I was trying to get a sword called the Tisiphone Edge. It's apparently the best weapon for three characters in my party. Getting one is already a pain, but getting three? I can't believe I did it.

Did I forget to mention I'm still playing Golden Sun? I've already beaten the game but I don't consider it complete until I've cleared the secret and most powerful boss, Dullahan. Before I fight him, I'm gonna need the best gear. Commence the grind. I don't mind grinding out enemies for rare drops because I'm gaining experience and leveling up. What I hate is savescumming for crafting. There's a sword called Excalibur with 5% chance of being crafted from a rare material. I literally reset my DS for two hours until I got it. After that, I had to go through the same routine for my other materials. The developers must know players are gonna savescum for this. They should've made a crafting system that doesn't require exploitation.

In preparation for Vegas, I ran a few errands today. I took my shirts and blazer to the dry cleaners. My collars were filthy. The only time they got burn was during job interviews. Since I'm still jobless, they were wasted trips.

Target was running a promo on gaming cards. It was buy one get the second one 25% off. It's not brilliant savings but I'll take what I can get. I bought two $50 PSN cards for $87. That money went directly into a preorder for the Destiny Digital Guardian Edition. Before I saw Guardians of the Galaxy, my friend recommended using protein shakes as a substitute for small snacks. I still had money on my gift card balance, so I bought a four pack. I gotta say, this stuff is real heavy. It definitely works as filler.

My older brother got home early today, and since he's my barber, I asked him for a hair cut. I gotta look my best for Vegas. Unfortunately, he did something that hasn't happened in all 20 years of cutting my hair--he cut my ear. The ear is mostly cartilage and there's hardly any nerves so it felt like a pinch. It bled for awhile though. My brother panicked more than it actually hurt. I guess when I'm bleeding all over the place, it tends to scare people.

I'm thought about some things I'd need for the trip. Maybe I should get some swimming trunks for a dip into the pool. I don't know how to swim, but my friend assures me that nobody actually swims in a swimming pool. When I was walking through the aisle at Target, I eyeballed a nice bottle of Grey Goose. Costs about $30. The same bottle would run you $300 in a night club--probably more. That kind of pricing is absolute nonsense, but it works. Never doubt a wannabe's propensity to look the part, which, of course, requires spending the part.

It's funny that I spent the entire day grappling with computerized luck. I'm just getting my feet wet for the real deal. What is Vegas, if not one giant  roulette wheel? I hope the RNG gods will be smiling on me that day.

/eventlog