january gratitude

at some point I dropped the habit of publicly posting these, but I'm bringing it back. lots of stuff to be grateful for:

1. notn final egg tally: 65. gonna make bank.
2. also it’s very chill post-notn not bonding with all unawakened familiars and just doing a limited roster
3. we love new year’s day (observed). leftover popeye’s for lunch, a leisurely walk to the pokestop of the day, and a long nap afterwards. living the good life
4. potato blob!
5. I love Wyrdwulf’s price check guide, which is just a step-by-step guide (with screenshots) on how to check the TC your own damn self. posting this in main never gets old
6. someone put an air freshener in the office common space and it’s legitimately like someone is baking cookies in here. cinnamon and vanilla. delicious
7. also, poke volcano bowl for lunch
8. wasn’t sleepy at all this afternoon! we love a big sleep buffer
9. watching the thrilling conclusion to dark souls 1. hgr just spammed attack on gwyn and he died?? no phase two??
10. hanging out with team. newbie got hgr ender lilies and he’s been streaming it. imagine a game with music and a stream with more than 10 fps (newbie: “I feel like standards have dropped”)
11. woo finally got to recall Tortellini (my Rav pup chaser) from the freezer and apply his design. storm boi with white merle and black wraith. the squad’s all together now! can’t wait until they start hunting
12. watching Taskmaster. woop [redacted] won! also a shoutout to [redacted] for being fantastic
13. made blob cookies! (sugar cookies with mini m&ms for eyes. redemption for the weirdo cookie incident of 2019.)
14. watching hgr stream Dark Souls™ 2: Scholar of the First Sin. he beat the pursuer! twice!!
15. grocery day! everything was in stock (no substitutions, nothing missing) and the deliveryperson even volunteered to help bring stuff upstairs. got a CHOCOLATE PIE
16. also, bacon cheeseburger for dinner!
17. this cinnamon-and-vanilla air freshener is still popping, thanks to whoever added it
18. new year, new Chinese takeout spot. appreciate google leading me to this hole-in-the-wall joint
19. philly steak pasta: so easy, so good. now with caramelized onions and mushrooms!
20. watching hgr play through blighttown 2.0. he did the whole thing all at once without dying/falling off the edge, and he found the secret bonfire. he’s kind of a gamer
21. slowly emerging from my new year’s fog. actual project prog! we’re doing it!
22. raid day, good times. turn yo music up
23. scam time: I screwed up Cachexia (what do you do if you get a green AND a purple debuff? if you answered “go to purple” you are WRONG) but did not die for my sins, instead killing others, and got a personal best parse (17%)
24. 2% and 0.7% enrages on Agdistis. we’ll get her next time!!
25. shoutout to my BOY, dr. martin luther king jr.
26. sometimes it’s the simple joys in life, like watching hgr stream the sanctum city from ds2 while complaining every minute. (to be clear it’s not unwarranted [spiders that drop from the ceiling and shoot equipment-breaking gas! so many ledges to roll off! what is this level layout??] but it makes for a good viewer experience)
27. Roundtable Rival hunting squad grew up today. go team go!!
28. heyyyy finished my project at 2:40 am. we love a reasonable bedtime (also I did no work until after midnight, out of respect for dr. martin luther king jr.)
29. mercs 5 is starting? wtf? Lopen and FFD are arguing in the exhibition match topic? I feel like I’ve fallen into a time loop?
30. building CLOSED due to elevator problems. working from home
31. first proper FR fanart! it’s my boi Zayin in a hoodie
32. meanwhile, newbie’s dinner: “butternut squash with garbanzo beans”
33. nostalgia bomb: discussing mercs matches with Dante and HGR
34. the nightchill marks are so good. cracks! wraith! undercoat!
35. traditional pork chops ft. potato wedges. so good
36. the Neverending Strife hunting squad hits the lifetime participation boards! they’ve been on the lifetime hunts board for a few days, and today they nudged onto the successful hunts board. (there’s only 3 slots, so they have to switch off, but they’re all eligible)
37. crystalline gala! feels like a long time since NotN, so this is extra hype. new slink! new apparel! stonks!
38. 2% enrage on Agdistis. we’ll…get her next time??? in all seriousness I think things are much better—I actually understand the harvests instead of running around wildly hoping for the best. I also quite like Kan’s static positions strat for harvest 2
39. the sun! o/
40. watching hgr stream bobo the cat. go bobo go! (he’s got a RIGHT sub. he needs a LEFT sub. submarines just can’t turn around, it’s too tough)
41. today I am thankful for my trusty laptop, which continues to provide me with computing power while my desktop is broken (and has all my work files)
42. office day! being on the town, enjoying the office vibe (I mean that unironically, somehow), eating nachos for lunch
43. everything I was concerned about today—disposing of the leftovers, my dentist appointment, walking home in the snow—turned out just fine. and my project is looking as straightforward as I hoped. life is great
44. productive pre-vacation day: took my morning walk and made mocha; showered and finished packing; bonded with familiars; cooked pork steak with traditional pork sauce, potato wedges, and rice (lunch for me, two meals set aside for later); made good progress on my case; and took my daily walk to the train station
45. Thai restaurant dinner! the pad see ew was great
46. it begins: Reinhardt (1618 stats) passes the lowest Rav child lead (DuskRaven at 1615 stats)
47. hanging out with family! glad to see they’re doing well. they’re a cute couple. their condo is so cozy and lived-in and has so much personality
48. hoooome
49. just an ordinary morning, sitting at my computer and drinking my morning mocha with a video game stream on. “yo??? Doom Eternal’s COMBAT LOOP???”
50. (to both our surprise, he’s genuinely enjoying the game. enjoying a game with guns what is this)
51. with 1633 stats, Reinhardt passes another Rav child (Astraeus at 1632) and makes it onto the top 20 leads! only four wolves stand between him and the leaderboard (Bleeding Moon, Vaulting Ambition’s nephew; Silk Sonic and keyleth of the air ashari, both Rav pups; and Prince Penelope, a rarerolling Addy pup)
52. I was thinking of skipping my daily walk, but I’m glad I didn’t. 15 degrees out (windchill of 6) but the sun was out and it was cheery and didn’t feel that cold once I got going