Pokemon GO, Fall Saturdays, and Noodlers
It has been a few months but I am attempting to jump back into it! I realized I have been putting WAY too much pressure on making this blog deep and existential that I donāt write because I am afraid anything I have to say will fall flat. Why? I donāt have the most existing life and I am constantly telling myself that that is not ok when that is actually crapā¦.
You donāt need to be rich, or travel the world, or write books, or have kids to have an exciting life. While all of that stuff is amazing and fun, not doing any of those things does not make your life any less interesting, and I need to start embracing that.
I think if I took half the energy I spent in my life worrying about the future or āhow far behindā I am in accordance with other people around my age and channeled it into more hobbies or activities Iād be better offā¦. Or maybe I wouldnāt? Thatās the thing, Iāll never know so all I can do now is focus on being more present now and enjoying where I am, when I am.
With that being said, Iām going to continue to embrace the small stuff more often and not worry about doing anything astounding to write about here. (Itās not like a drink tasting night is akin to climbing Everest or a vacation, but you get the jist.) So, to kick off what I hope will be the first in a long line of more regular posts, letās talk aboutā¦
Pokemon GO, Fall Themed Saturday, and Noodlers.
First off, one big thing I wanted to focus on with this blog aside from trying new things, was rediscovering old hobbies or activities that I enjoyed but fell off of for whatever reason. A few weeks ago, one of our friends recently reintroduced me to Pokemon Go and I forgot how fun, yet addicting it is. At first I thought it was just going to be a fad for a few days but I have been hooked ever since I redownloaded it. Not only does it still have the same charm of when it was released back in 2016, but since I stopped playing a few years ago some new features have been added. They now have a route feature where players can create routes that start and end at a Pokestop and you can āfollowā them to gain XP and complete certain challenges or field research. They also have new Max Spots where you can gain max particles and battle max Pokemon. I'm not great at this part yet so Iām not going to write poorly about itā¦
I also somehow forgot how seriously I take my walking when playing this game? Nothing really encourages me to get my daily steps quite like the combination of closing my rings and hatching a ton of eggs and gaining buddy Pokemon candy on the regular. So in summation, with some newly added features and the same surge of excitement from finding a new Pokemon in the wild, if you havenāt played Pokemon GO in a few years, I highly suggest dusting it off and re downloading it. Also- I thought the community was dead, but I see more activity now than when I originally got into the game, so put that worry out of your mind! I also took a night this week and crocheted a little nest for the Pokeball Plus (let's you auto spin Pokestops and attempt to catch Pokemon with clicking a button on the ball) because when it goes off it makes a very loud vibration and it can be crazy distracting at work!
āIā¦ am an Autumnā -Richard Gilmore RIP
Listen, I have always enjoyed the late sunsets and the warm nights that summer has to offer, but I always have been and always will be a Fall Fanā¢. A few weekends ago I fell into a rabbit hole of Tik Tok after Tik Tok of people taking down their American flag merch from the Fourth of July and starting to decorate for Halloween in the same breath and I immediately became obsessed. Ok, not fully obsessed because I did not run to the shed and pull out the decorations because it was hot as hell. But I had an afternoon where my fiancee was busy working in the garden then laying out to sun tan (another thing I cannot stand about summer is I canāt be outside for more than 20 minutes before my skin starts to sizzle.) so I didnāt feel like working outside so I took advantage of it. I pulled out my current crochet project, lit an apple clove candle, got the dogs snuggled up on the couch, turned on Vampire Diaries, threw dinner in the crockpot, and had a little Fall afternoon all to myself. Honestly 10/10 would recommend. So I am starting a new thing I like to call Fall Saturdays, where dinner in the crockpot, a candle, and sometimes a craft is a must! Sometimes if the summer heat (or anything) is getting you down you just need to remember that we have free will. Candles donāt have to be seasonal, holiday vibes donāt necessarily need to be seasonal, and doing anything for yourself, big or small, can go a longs ways to help you feel a little bit more sane. After all, the world is on fire,everything is made up, and we're all dying. So mine as well do whatever makes us happy, right?
Growing up my parents were really into baseball. Like to the point where my mom had dreams of me being a player for the Yankees (not kidding). I was not very good at baseball, so I did not stick with it. But I did learn to enjoy watching it occasionally, especially in person. Peanuts, a flat beer, hot guys in tight pants? Sign me up!
When I moved to Tulsa in 2021 I planned on getting season tickets to our local minor league team, the Drillers but then, you knowā¦ Covid. So that dream got shelved and forgotten. Fast forward to last weekend when my fiancee got us tickets to the Tulsa Noodlers, yes I said the Noodlers not the Drillers. Apparently in 2021 for a few games, the Drillers took on the alternate identity of the Tulsa Noodlers to pay tribute to Oklahomaās tradition of noodling. If you are unfamiliar, noodling is essentially fishinā for catfish with your hands or feet, typically by dragging it out of a hole in the water. Itās apparently only legal in 16 of the 50 states. Maybe because there's the whole risk of grabbing a snapping turtle or a snake, but whatās a little redneck fun without a fear of danger, right? Anyways they had a whole display right inside the front gates and a noodling tank, Danny took a dip and grabbed a catfish. I was not dressed for the occasion so I sat this one out, but next time Iāll be in (literally). Supposedly it was supposed to just be for a few games but it stuck and itās a tradition now! We were one of the first 1,500 people in the door so we got a free Noodlers hat! They lost which sucked, but it was a fun night!
Alright, now that iāve talked (typed?) your ear off. Thatās my last few weeks! This week Iām going to try and work some more on my crochet blanket and make it through the week in one piece! Hope everyone has a great week!