It's All about Coffee

Working graves is a whole lotta fun, said no one ever!

I was all compacted in my car yesterday at 6:30 a.m. we'll call it, huddled and resting my head on my car pillow! Passed the fuck out from the exhaustion and caught in a mega stupor. Phew! A 30 min nap to start the morning.

Like a cat that just woke the fuck up, I ambled outta the car and to the front. A little blurry eyed, a little outta it. But Saturday traffic was okay...and so home I went.

- S

Bonus round!

You've scrolled.

You are rewarded.

So far my favorite coffees.

Flat White ( SB)

Mocha Frappe (SB)

  The fucking OG!🤣🤣🤣😁😁😁

Golden Eagle ( Dutch Bros.)

7 Brew ( I dunno what the hell it was. A hybrid mocha frappe. It was blended the first time, forgot the name)

Drip coffee . So many at home!🤣🤣🤣

Honorable Mentions:

Mocha Frappe iced with the coconut blue cold foam!!! Fire!!!🥰🥰🥰😍😍😍🤣🤣🤣🤣

Your Resident Alien

 So far in 2026 a show I have watched is Resident Alien.

I think my dad got me into it.

It is truly hilarious and has some solid supporting characters. But Tudyk steals the show as the damn alien.

He is so goofy and out of touch with the humans. But he has some empathy when not trying to murder them.

It reminds me of an old book. My Teacher is an Alien, by Bruce Coville. In where if I recall- the kids that go to that school find their teacher is an alien. Also in that book I don't recall if that alien does destroy Earth.

The story in Resident Alien can be cheesy but it is not bad. I am invested. I want to see the hijinx that Harry will get into and the friends he will talk to. And I adore Asta she is fantastic. And she is really smart and beautiful being from some unknown tribe in Patience, CO. This show is pretty neat. 

I knew it was filmed in Canada. But that is my new obsession. The writing is really fun actually!

I am on season 2 and I am cutting through fairly quickly. 

Harry sometimes feels like destroying Earth will be great joy, but in doing so loses his human side. So he grapples. And that is kind of a really fun dynamic.

Update: I am sick.

:( 

How did I get sick in friggin' May?

New Jorb

 I am a clerk now.

Having left the Mail Handler craft.

It is only week 2 and I am on shitty graves again. Honestly, why in the hell does it feel like there are never any days open / shift wise?

It is very hard coming back to graveyards. But so far I am doing okay. Sleeping during the day is I won't say brutal. I have been here before. Does my body know?

And let's just get this going! I have to do a key test and pass of 750 . I got 600 last night but my accuracy is not good enough. The unit seems to be fine so far. The work is a little nuts.

One person or two per 8-10 chutes? Are they nuts. Again it is the start of week 2. And I am already prolly getting pretty tired from the duties. IPP is very banal. I make sacks with hopefully someone else and pull them out and dispatch them. Have to learn all the zips.

Just hoping I make the right friends and not the wrong ones.

Vamp Masquerade 2 the end of the Masquerade

 If they do make a third game.There has to be

improvements. And I loved the game but flaws indeed it had, indeed.

Combat was confusing. If you do a parry system make it good! Super flawed and not super responsive.

Story was fucking A++ . I could have done without the noir angle though. It gets tedious being Fabien. He progresses the story but in such a weird part of the game.Just lemme be the elder and fuck shit up! Or save Seattle?

But anywhooooo...still an insanely good story and great voice actors. And there is a twist. Which I liked and hated. I feel the story changes based on decisions.They did a fun job on that . And Bet of night needs to return. Iykyk! :) Whatta voice! I loved her!  And my ending was satisfying I suppose based on my actions.

Tech tree is god awfully confusing! Why in the hell can I not unlock main skills first? And why are they swappable? Why not do a regular goddamn tech tree. They fumbled there, they really did.

I wanted this pawn shop character to be more active. I would love if she makes it back in Masquerade 3. But there was so much dev hell.I thank Paradox and the Chinese Room. They made it happen! :) God bless those devs and publishers. The atmosphere is incredible. The game is gorgeous but does stutter a bit. But the patches will make it great! Boy howdy they dun fucked up making a vamp clan not in the vanilla game, whyyyyy????😕

Overall a sturdy 7.9/10 is good enough for me.First vamp game I played in this breeeeevvvvvvittty. And every boss fight was interesting. Just fix the tech tree and the combat. The powers were very cool if use them! Outside of the pen and paper game that hooked me on the lore . God bless you Vampire Masquerade tabletop! :) Thank thee lord I am a nerd and my friend ran a campaign,else Troika's og would have flown under the radar. But where is the RPGness? I dunno they opted for light, like when you ask for light mayo on a sandwich.

-S.

Play itttt! There is enough game there to enjoy. My time in the wolrd was new and interesting. The characters are vamp-great! Vamp-tastic? Blood- great? 

Applying for new jobs in 2025 is a tad nightmarish

 Seriously!

I know it is now possibly only 7 jobs applied for but not 1 stinking interview!

Plus allowing an ai to help you write a resume is a tool.

It is helpful.

I have written probably more than a 1,000 resumes and you descend into tedium.

Ouch!

It is between this and taking a clerk position on night shifts.

I must trudge on!

circa 2025 11/13

Vamp Masquerade 2 problems

 Hello there,

My name is Andres.

And I waited 13 years for Vampire the Masquerade 2. Having never ever,ever,ever,played the first one because it was overshadowed by other games, I was very curious. What was the gameplay?

Well we are in '25 and fucking A Cotton! It has been a blast so far. But something that befuddles me is the combat. It makes no sense. Parrying should flat out not be in the game. Running into an enemy an parrying is so goddamn dumb! It does not work! Attacking normally is sheepishly stupid as well. And Vamp powers , what the actual fuck? They are not powerful! At least to me. Anyway! Seattle is gorgeous! This version. I assume is just so atmospherically-pop tarts insane and oozes creativity. I love the neon glows. The other vampires . The blood you suck from others as there is different blood. Super neat. Extremely detailed. Ty Paradox and Chinese Room! I have a ways to go peepz. But I am quite satisified outside of combat. Also tech tree! What are you? I don't understand this tree, they should have settled for basic.

I have a ways to gooooooooo! 

-A.

IT had been since OCTOBER, when my book was released of 2024.

 Aside from blogging I had no idea was going to be able to amble my way back into writing.

And to make a note...it is August 20th . 5 days before my bday and here I am hacking along.

I did it for me!

 I did it because the joy of writing to me having finished my first book ever. Means there is more left in the tank. For chrissakes I am only 37, and 5 from now will be 38. I did it because it is hard! I did because I know there are so many more stories to tell, and a story to finish.

You can't force writing. You can't . There were days this year . Where my mind needed solace and rest. There were days where I can hardly blog. From 6 blogs to just 1 is absurd. The only writing I even tried to do was show writing for my podcast. Which is sputtering kind of. I have new off days. Wed/Thrs. I have new off days and it shows. No longer Tuesday/Wed for a whole year and a half. But WED/THRS where the world feels different. I will have to set my podcast for either Wed or Thrs . I am torn this day.

But it is great! I feel like me again! Writing me. Andres me. The ability to just blast out a sentence. And I have unfinished business lol!

AND YES I AM KICKING AROUND AN IDEA FOR A BRAND NEW STORY.

AND FOR FUCK'S SAKE IT IS NOT A SEQUEL TO MOURNING CLOAK. New always feels good, Andres, you coot!

:)
 But that doesn't mean I would never revisit it. The time is not now or 5 years -10 years.

:)

It could be earlier or later. I need more reviews . And more reception.

It is good to write again!

11 months of not writing has awoken something in me!

Stay tuned!

Luigi and Mario

 If there is a Lugi Mangione.

Is there a Mario Mangione?

:)

But srsly so far he has not been charged with anything. I still hold what he did was completely wrong.Murdering another person needs to be met with the death penalty. Sure, that CEO was a piece of dog meat but there is another way of handling this. Murder, is not the fucking way!

-S

Post Zero

 I am not sure why I titled this post zero.

Life continues to go nuts. What with the car problems and all. My book editing  on THE FINAL FINAL DRAFT continues to make immediate progress. But sometimes because this has been so rewardingly arduous . I get tired from work and want to watch anime or game and I can't edit. Simply cannot. And that is very bad. Because I am trying to finish this dang book!!

But I think it is a process. And trust me I want it done. DONE ! DONE! And yet I am still not done. So...hopefully before this month dies or ends I  shall be finished.

This does not account for the book cover art, the KDP information I need to fill out, the serial numbers or anything like that. It just means the final draft of writing is done. Plus, you know there is the for page. Like for the people that have unfalteringly supported me on this most -super-insane journey. Which my grandma is in there . Though, I did mention in passing I was writing a book. My mom. And then the other people such as the beta readers. And also I feel that there have been 2 outstanding editors I prolly should have paid , but did not pay. I told them they are getting the edited by on the front cover. I will have to include my name because I am the final editor. I didn't want to be. But as Dawes says, "These things happen, that's all they ever do." 

And that my friends has stuck with me.

Onward and onward as they say.

-S

Pressing on

 Ya'll I have made great progress thus far on the 4th edit.

That is all.

Feeling good about some of the edits I am making. Not overthinking it. Just looking for that good flow that readers will enjoy.

-S

Fiasco

We will call her Dratini.

Draitini had a month for the last draft edit. Instead, Clyde her bf told me that not to count on her. I have had a hard date set for June 1st, or even May 31st. One whole month. To make matters worst she did not even tell me she has a new job. I messaged her like 3 times and no messages back. I am feeling gutted and lost as my book is still not published. I feel betrayed. :( 

No idea what to do.

February is dragging its sweet toes

 Maybe it is me but man is this month dragging.

The damn extra day doesn't help at all. A leap day? 29 instead of 28. Just me?

The last part of the month has been rough.

 Finding out a classmate died is never easy.

I had known my friend Chris for a very long time. And I found out he died in March.

Shit really sucks because he was a good day.

And a couple weeks or a week or so later a co-worker of mine had died as well. This time I found out.

NOW...my best friend is in the hospital.

Thank god for his sister for contacting me via text. I did find out why.

But I still need to know and pray and send vibes for a recovery. We have known each other 25+ years. I got extremely worried when she texted me he could not talk.

I think he is out of the ICU.

Will update.

I am hoping things get better.

I am a positive person but this a lot for anyone to take on.

I have experienced a multitude of deaths in my life. Each one impacting me and hurting just the same.

It is incredibly sad. I get it that death is loss but everyone grieves different. I may be in those stages now.

I am just happy I am eating!

Stay happy ya'll!

-S

MY life be like like like

 A new job.

A new promotion.

A new everything.

I work graveyards now and my world has changed. I am exhausted more. I sleep during the day trying to get 7-9 hours of sleep. And I have virtually no time do anything. Though, this weekend I got to experience Pride for the first time. I am an ally. And I am happy to be. Iam also a non-denom chirsitian and think everyone is entitled to live life, and not have liberities or their humanity stricken from them. People are people plain and simple! So that was pretty damn fun last night with my friend and his bf.

I am on season 3 of Demon Slayer. Okay, sure I explain no time at all; but by jove I can watch and veg on animez! Also, watching Always Sunny in Philly season 15. And I finally got to watch Dune. I thought it was too long and Paul was great. But some stuff in the book that did not happen in the movie was annoying. Overall it was still a fun watch and well acted. I liked the suits. Zendaya does Zendaya things in the film. She is a treasure and a great actress. Chalamet was something else with just raw emotion. I did get to see Dr. Strange inthe Multiverse Madness, movie was great. I saw Evil Dead Rise and had mixed feelings but  mostly was not scared. I see what they were trying to do and applauded them for it! But overall it was an okay film. Evil Dead remake was far more scary. And the ending was way more fucking bad-ass!

I am reading:

IT. I am still not finished but in the homestretch. 

The Nuggets won the NBA Finals. The rockies suck and traded away Mike Moustakas for a minor league pitcher. The Rox have injuries everywhere. I can't wait for football season. The start of this June has been magnificiently violent, weather wise. We have been under two tornado watches as many of weeks. It has rained basically since the start of June. It was like 90 yesterday. I enjoy the heat but suffered a sun burn face yesterday.

What else? If my editor can get back t o me. She has been doing her own thing. I expect this to take loads of time, she can maybe get back to me. I can start sharpening up a third draft and then publishing my very first book of so many years 7+ at this point. Also, I would like to maybe finish two short stories by summer's end, or possibly the beginning of 2024. I know if I push myself I can probably finish one. I still have a wacky goal of reading 40 books. I have maybe tackled 3.  

I would love to travel but given the new job not going to happen this year. I wanted to go to Cali but the timing got soured by this new job. I work 1 job instead of 2. And it feels better. But I do get exhausted. Finally, with working graveyards I can somewhat get up at 3 p.m. and go have a nice dinner, or go walk around in the sun. I sorely needed it.

I have not lifted in 2 months. And that is bad. Health wise I think I am doing okay. Gotta cut the sugars down from time to time. I have maybe hung out with only 1 person in a span of 2 months. Well maybe 2 lol. I want more social time. But working basically 40 hrs a week is really difficult to do that. But I love the summer because everyone is moving around and doing stuff!

With this promotion I will have real benefits for the first time in my job history. And I am overly excited to have something finally. I feel like I have worked extremely hard for this in my other jobs. 

Stay tuned--

Andres

Have a fun summer dawgs and dawgettes!

Car Problems Fucking Suck!

 I never know what to expect with cars.

Specifically, my 2006 Hyundai Elantra was falling apart at the seems.

Then it got broken into .They fucked up the ignition cylinder. The assholes. I hope they burn in hell. Or at least burn somewhere where there is not a fire extinguisher. Seriously, you fuckers don't deserve much.

Breaking into people's cars is some absolute bullshit. And I hope the long dick of the law gets you!

So on to the new /used car.

I have a new used 2016 car now. Nissan Versa by way of my cousin which is fine. And then it began.

Here I though the car troubles were done but I was so mistaken. So mistaken to the point where the serpentine belt had cuts in it on an oil change, you shitting me. The car is new used. Then you hear the brakes, and they were shot in the front. So now I go from a car that was working to two gigantic repairs.

And the worst...the car the other day just stops working. The battery and dash lights were on. What the hell? I was trying to go visit my best friend Alex, and the car just dies in a neighborhood .  So I get him on the phone and tell him I bought coolant. Maybe the coolant was low. Try to accelerate and it won't even register!

What in the fuck is the issue.

So a tow today and a nightmare begins. I am really hoping it is minor. I really pray it is minor. I had a littany of problems with the 2006 Hyundai Elantra. It was creeping to 170,000 miles. So yeah it was dying but this Nissan has been work for no reason. What did the previous owners do? What did my cousin actually do car maintenance wise or her ex wife? It has been stressful and exhausting.

I was wrong so wrong : Attack on Titan Season 4 SPOILERS AHEAD

 SPOILERSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

Attack on Titan season 4 has shown us some sheer brutality. Dafuq, is with all the murderin'?

It also showed war with battleships. And then I got confused.

Yes, so anyway Attack on Titan season 4 or AOT , phew that may be better to actually say it that way; has turned dark. It was already dark. But when I started watching the fucking show I was like okay this world is bleak, the world is dark, this is a void, this be a WDW. (Walking Dead World) 

And it is!

It so is.

But the story is going into some bat shit territory. Genocide? The idea of the Marleys and Eldians warring against each other for all glory. For one to survive? Nutters. We thought the Titans were the central focus. But the Japanese to me have an obsession with the Nazis. Fucking most of the goddamn character's names are German. Not to say that is bad. Eren is my favorite character. But this Eren Jaegar is something more akin to a murdering savage now. And the scout squad has seen so much fucking blood . They flat out really do not care. Mikasa cares about Eren like she did from the beginning. But she now sees this reflection of Eren that is a shadow of his former self. He is not necessarily evil, he has seen atrocities but now he has the founding titan in his hands. And also when the Titans broke from the fucking walls it was really cool to see animated.

Devastation.

Mikasa is wifu. She stays by Eren. She is compassionate. She is loved and revered. She is a survivor. Do I ship them. You bet. But that doesn't matter . I hope she survives. Anyway, I titled that Devastation because Levi dies in the most awful way. I was devastated. A new character Gabi entered the fold. And she was straight mercin' Eldians. And I wanted to know why. I found out why lol. I still do not like this little shit. She has grown on me a little bit. 

Is it so bad to want the Eldians to win? Is it so bad to want Eren to win?

No.

Even if Eren is ultimately wanting to wipe the world out. We saw him grow from the 1st to the 3rd season. Are the other titans neat? Sure. But they are not Eren. And are we even sure Eren is good or bad? 

Who knows. 

I am team Eren. :)

Penguin Drum finale

 SPOILERS

Hard to put into words how much I love characters. From Bleach to One Piece animes can move you.

Penguin Drum was one such an anime that moved me.

I did not cry. But I was just confused by  how the show wanted to end. It blew me away Shou and Kanba basically not existing or being a memory was shattering. Their not real sister Himari basically on her death bed throughout the whole damn show, survives from sacrifiice. And also Ringo switching her fate with Shou and Kanba.

But the best scene to me was the ripped bear that Kanba and Shou stitched back up because they ruined it. Himari looks at it and starts weeping because inside the bear is a note.

You see in this world. Shou and Kanba exist but they are not brothers with Himari. Incredibly sad. But the only redemptive thing is that Ringo in this world , is good friends with Himari. This anime took me on a crazy fucking ride.

As the whole premise is Himari is going to die. And the brothers have to find a way to save her. And when the Penguindrum is revealed it is really neat. So much of the anime is tied into Fate / Punishment. It was sensational the symbolism in it.

And yes I needed to further understand by looking at how others interpreted the ending. I was confused. But once reading what they wrote it started making sense. Shou and Kanba are amazing characters. I wish even in the flashbacks we find more about Momoka. Momoka you see was Ringo's sister who died. She was killed because of Kanba and Shou's father. Where there is a syndicate element to it makes it even more intriguing. Plus Kanba killed I dunno how many goddamn people .But he dies but in a peaceful way. ANd then Shou dies switiching fates with Ringo and assuming the scorpion fire.

I also loved the Idols. Though, they could have been fleshed out more.

Goddamn it I want season 2. But I doubt we get it. Oh well, what a crazy interesting anime from start to finish. Brilliant!

_S

Update on One Piece

 Given that if you want to watch One Piece, it feels like a life adventure.

All joking aside I have now crossed into the Wano Arc.

SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOILERRRRRRRRRRRRRS

It is extremely strong. Zou arc aside from like 20 eps was absolutely awful. I hated the vast majority of the arc. Mama is okay. The rest is ridiculous. Just dumb. And omg the pacing was so goddamn awful. Nowhere in the arc is Buggy. He is amazing. And on top of this Luffy is getting his shit tossed for a vast majority of it. Characters drag on and on. Carrot is stupid. She becomes aight towards the end . But she is dumb. Viper Cat was my favorite as I trudged on through how bad this really was.Impel Down suffered from pacing issues as well but at least I saw Buggy and some other pirates I liked. I don't give a shit what anyone thinks. Zou arc was a major headache to get to the Wano one. There's pacing issues here as well but not as horrendous. And now that Luffy prolly will got to a 5th or 6th gear that is interesting. He fights like Ichigo, for their nakama. So  when you fuck with his friends he'll tear your ass a new one. Brooks is still my favorite character. He is a bad-ass. I love Luffy but he has gotta show me something in this arc.  I am now a bigish fan of Hawkins. And ever since I saw Law I knew he'd be integral in the story. But where is Nami and Robin? There's this little girl who is adorable but unnecessary so far... Chopper is still chopper he has not grown that much. In 900 fucking episodes I have not seen that much from Chopper .You kidding me? The doctor who is part comic relief part just Chopper does not have much growth. Disappointing.

Oh and I am on 925 now. I feel burnt out of One Piece but I have to catch up. And I am not done doing so but we are talking 3 1/2 months of watching me has gotten me this far. Wait, there's Robin lol. As I watch 925 whilst typing. There's Nami! Once I catch up. I will wait for 4 episodes and then give up on the anime entirely, and start reading the manga. That's it. I will have reached the mountain top once and for all. A journey that started in 2013 will end. Finally. Oh dear god finally.

Hope you have a good day and night.

-S

One Piece is extremely boring right now

 This Zoa arc has been awful.

Mama is a terrible character. Just terrible. I need her to be defeated so the other arc can start.

Even our main characters are less awesome right now because the arc is so bad.

I dunno what Oda was thinking with this crap.

Get better One Piece.

-Andres

800

 I understand I started OP back in 2013.

And I also understand I should have caught up  in at least a year or two.

No but here we are!

And I am hitting 800 on Sept . 2021.

To me it has been a journey. One of the reasons for not catching up with OP was Bleach. I hit a mile marker and decided to watch and read all of Bleach. And it was worth it. But that put me back a full year. And watching Full Metal and more anime. The point is ...Iam 192. I have never been this close of actually catching up to a show that has made me watch the most episodes of my goddamn exisistence.

It has been a journey just like the journey of the show itself. I have seen Luffy and his crew grow. And the show's arc now is not strong at all. But I am told the next arc is better. Zou is not really fantastic. Kind of a slog but I know the show will be 4x better than what it gives me now.

I won't be writing about 900. I am just going to catch up. I did ep 700-800 in 3 weeks. So I know I can watch faster. And I owe it to myself to finally wait for new episodes when I get there. 192 is a great number . I can get there. Considering that 800 was the goal for a year. I am well ahead of that goal.

-Andres

One Piece and Bleach Fan.