Strange Night

A Strange Night

Sunday night I had the closing shift. The 7:30 to 11:30pm shift. I honestly enjoy closing because it’s different from the everyday bagging I normally do. However, this shift was different. At around 10:30, thirty minutes before we closed, I was outside getting carts when I heard some loud noises. I heard some guy yell, “get the F*** out of my car”. I looked over and saw a man yank a woman out of the passenger side of a car across the parking lot. I watched from a distance making sure the man didn’t hit her or harm her. The guy jumped in his car and drove away. The lady sat on the floor where he left her and she was crying. She had sweats and a sweatshirt on. She had socks but no shoes. I waited till the guy left and I walked over to her. I crouched down and asked if he had hurt her and if she was okay.  She said she wasn’t hurt and that she didn’t know what okay was. A lady approached right after I did and talked to her. I had to get back to work so I left her with the lady. Roughly 15 minutes later I poked my head out through the window at Raley’s I saw her still sitting outside on the floor, where she was when I left her. I was ahead of my closing duties so I went out to get my wallet out of my car to maybe buy her something to drink or snack on. Instead she asked how I was so I said good. I told her that she is welcome to sit down at the café inside Raley’s where it might be warmer or more comfortable. So, I walker her inside. As we walked she told me her situation and that she had no family members and no friends to call. Once inside she asked if she could just sit and talk but I had to get to work. So, I left. I told her that I get off at 11:30 and we can talk then. So, I left and she went outside because we had to close. After I got off I grabbed a sweatshirt out of our lost and found and a cold-water bottle. When I went to go outside and give her the things she was gone and could not be found. So, I went home. Later that night I could not help but to think about her position and what had happened. It had made me thankful for what I have. My loving family, my friends, my job, and a roof over my head. This experience opened my eyes and made me feel grateful.

Is Call of Duty Dead?

Is Call of Duty Dead?

For those of you unfamiliar with the name Call of Duty, it is a video game franchise has been a prominent in the gaming community. Since its first game in 2003, titled Call of Duty, it has been a favorite of most. The popularity for the franchise grew rapidly and is still growing. Their units sold have been steadily increasing. Give or take a few backtracks. Advanced Warfare (2014) and Ghosts (2013) both sold less units than even Modern Warfare 2 (2009). Their growth is beginning to cap off. After the release of black ops 2 (2011), except for black ops 3 (2015), the units sold have been decreasing. Why is that. There is not one definitive answer. It might be consumer tastes or the game itself. Some say it’s the game company. How the game is so repetitive or how the gameplay is so abnormal. This argument is constantly brought up in forums around the internet. The Call of Duty games have been exploring into the future and many do not like the direction of this. They argue “give us more boots on the ground”. The new games also have jet packs and what not which is out of the ordinary for some gamers. The consumer might also be to blame for this. They might not like the shoot them up style of games. Their preferences could be shifting toward other styles of games. So, is Call of Duty dead? I personally do not believe so. I’ve enjoyed playing the game since I was young. The Modern Warfare series and the Black Ops series were my favorites. After that however I was not much of a fan of the newer games. Even though my love for Call of Duty decreased I will always enjoy the franchise. Also, I believe the game will make a comeback in years to come. I do not think it is dead. I believe the franchise is just going through a slump and will soon rise once again in popularity.

procrastination and distractions

Distractions and procrastination

               Every single human being has encountered procrastination at some point in their lives. For me, it’s a daily thing. I always save stuff for the last minute. My parents always tell me to get stuff done early and id feel better about it but I just don’t. when I do finish things early I feel great and it a very rewarding feeling. However, this seldom happens. Most of the time I wait to the things I have to. Weather that’s homework or household responsibilities around the house. I always wait to clean my car, to clean my room, to do the dishes, to do homework, etc. I blame it on the fact that I am lazy but distractions also have a large part of it to.

               When I am doing homework I tend to look at my phone A LOT. Just in that last sentence I’ve checked it at least twice. Also when I do my homework I’d rather do anything but that. I’m constantly checking to see what the rest of my family is up to. I can get my work done if I want to but to be honest, I really don’t want to get my work done. Also on the weekends I have more distractions to worry about. I play my Xbox on the weekends and I would much rather be playing that than doing homework or chores. You would think that would make me want to finish my work sooner but you would be wrong. I just sit there on my phone probably texting someone complaining that I have homework to do and that I’d rather be playing Xbox. I have procrastinated my whole life and, frankly, it hasn’t let me down yet. The last couple years however I’ve become less of a procrastinator and began doing my work instead of goofing around. I still procrastinate just one a less drastic of a level.

 Balancing work with school.

               Balancing work and school is a juggling act and frankly is a challenge at times.

I work part time at Raley’s in Manteca and working and having school can get hectic sometimes. I worked nearly every day over the summer and it was relatively easy because I had nothing to do but to work. Now, however I have daily homework, essays due these days, projects due those days. It just begins to get hectic and can be hard to manage. The first two weeks of school was a tough transition. I would get off school at 1:45, drive the 45 minutes to get home change and go to my 3 to 11:30pm shift. That was no fun. Let’s just say those were long nights. I also had some shifts overlap with school and I had to trade shifts with someone. And finding someone to trade shifts is not the easiest thing in the world. However, as the days progressed I was able to plan ahead and do homework ahead of time so I didn’t have to stay up that late at night. also my employer began to give me a more constant and more reasonable weekly schedule. Before it was random every week. Now I work Saturday and Sunday and Thursdays. Other than that I can focus on my school work and study where I need to and when I need to. It is so nice to have an employer that works with your schedule. Because they are so willing to work I am able to get my work done on time and completed.

what started it all

What Started It All

When I was about 8 years of age my parents got me my very first gaming console. It was a Gameboy Advanced. With that my parents got me my first ever video game, Pokémon Sapphire. I didn’t think much of it at the time but this is what started my love for video games. Ever since I played the Gameboy I’ve always wanted to play the games. After the Gameboy I got a Play Station 2. This was my first stationary console. I remember times when me and my brother would get up early before school and play Star Wars Battlefront 2. We played for countless hours together. This was a major way me and my brother bonded. A couple years later we got a Wii system and our whole family played it. Everything from Mario Kart to Super Smash Bros. My brother and I would have friends over and we would have tournaments on Mario Cart and Smash bros. we would also team up and dominate our friends on some baseball game on there as well. after a few years of that we got an Xbox 360 and this is where my love for video games really grew. I was really big on the Call of Duty series and was not too shabby at it either. After that I was shown Minecraft and oh boy did I fall in love. If I wasn’t playing COD I was wasting my hours away in that block covered landscape of a game. Me and my brother would play it till our eyes could no longer stay open. Now I have an Xbox One and I don’t play as much as I used to because of work and school but I’ve generated very fond memories with friends and my brother because of them. It was a lot of fun and I miss it sometimes. However, every now and again I find myself picking up the controller and playing again with the rush of memories flow through my mind. And it all started with a Gameboy.