Tag: Fall

A Fall of Good Memories

The Kid in Me Has Reunited With Old Friends

I haven’t been on the blog since I ran my first half marathon earlier this year.

Since then, I’ve been training for a full marathon and have eclipsed the 13.1 mark 4 times since that first half marathon.

I didn’t think I’d ever be where I am now, running my first half marathon and my first full marathon in the same year, but, I’m still climbing.

There’s a journey involved with that story and once I cross the finish line in Dallas on December 13th, you will hear about it shortly after that.

Today will be about a different topic. Today is a little more about the kid who never thought he’d be where he is today for a different reason.

Today is about how this Fall has invoked special memories from my youth that I just had to discuss. I may jump around a bit, but please be patient with my thoughtful word vomit.

I’ve always loved the fall. One of my favorite things I’ve ever written was on this blog a couple years back about what the Fall means to me.

Football, flannels, the fall colors, and Halloween of all things are truly things that calm me down. In how hurried of a society we’ve gotten ourselves into, I rely on the fall to be the great equalizer.

Football season arrives with cool weather that has always soothed me. Leading right into my favorite holiday of Halloween just makes it even better.

So what is it about this fall that’s made me feel good? Well, the cool wind brings back warm memories of the past. This fall has been all about tapping into good old nostalgia and taking a much needed smelling of the roses.

I’ve also written about nostalgia on the blog before and while I discuss its positives and negatives, I’d like to lean much more into the positives this time around.

Video games are almost always that nostalgia kicker for me. But it’s not just me that’s feeling that nostalgic bump: the whole industry is!

With The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake soon to drop, it’s one of those games that stands as a legit attention threat to the highly-anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI release just a few weeks later.

Not only is OOT one of the greatest games ever made, it’s one that literally transcends time itself across its story and its legacy. People still have the original game as their favorite game of all-time and I don’t blame them!

The game itself was first introduced to me by my older cousin who had a Nintendo 64. And God bless him because I’m sure he was “made” to share his console with his younger cousins at family gatherings, but in my youth, this was one of the more formative experiences of my life.

While Mario Kart 64 was the prime attention-grabber at the time, I couldn’t help but still feel captured when I first heard the Song of Storms for the first time. I mean, nobody forgets their first time hearing this:

I eventually got to play through Ocarina of Time as it was brought to different consoles over time, never thinking it could ever be remade considering it was, indeed, a classic that as long as it got scaled up and was available on some Nintendo hardware, it was fine.

But, the people love Link. Our boy wasn’t in need of a modern remaster, but boy are we glad he is now. Look at this side by side:

The game isn’t going to be a 1-to-1 remake. They’re going to take some liberties and update the experience so it plays like a modern game. Good things like camera control and giving Link a jump button! If you said “Jump” button in 1998, people would’ve thought you were insane!

While some people are upset the changes are going to be made, I can’t help but be excited about the changes and what improvements have been made. I went back and played the original a couple years back and yes, the age of some of the controls and situations shows all too well. It doesn’t make it any less of a classic, but at the same time, it’s still frustrating.

With a modern game, OOT can continue to live on forever, building its legacy from the original audience to a brand new one that will carry the game and the fandom forward. I’ve been in the Zelda fandom for a long time and will be when I get to show future generations the OOT remake.

That’s how time is meant to be. And to quote Sheik from the original game to close out this section, I say this:

Another video game remaster has had my attention this fall.

Toy Story 3: Complete Edition is the remastered classic from the PS3 era that has, until now, been locked on the now aged PS3.

Sony has this issue with remastering and porting PS3 games to modern hardware. However, given peoples’ love and want for more experiences from the old days, they couldn’t help but jump on board with this.

Toy Story is in my Top 3 films of all time and always will. Sheriff Woody will always hold a special place in my heart. As shown in this comparison photo of me and my older brother from days past and when seeing Toy Story 5 this summer, that love will always be there:

Back in 2010, when Toy Story 3 came out, it became one of the first experiences I’d had where I cried in public. That film, to this day, makes me cry on the spot throughout the entire end sequence of the film.

We obviously took care of our toys from the old days, but coming home from the movie and being able to hop into the Open World “Toy Box” mode of the Toy Story 3 video game helped create new memories with Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the gang in a much more interactive way.

The Toy Box mode has dozens of hours of missions, activities, and more that brought the scenarios you once only played with your imagination and your toys to digital life. This game created a fun environment for our favorite toys to clash with aliens, Wild West bandits, and more in a free-for-all sandbox where the only limits are your imagination.

Having this game back on PS5 is like a hug to my 13-year-old self. The kid who wondered how long those memories with Woody could last, considering Andy had just decided to move forward from his memories in the climax of the third film.

While that 13-year-old kid grew up and is still doing his best to figure it out, he’s still got a friend in Woody. The toys are still here to help after all these years. To Infinity and Beyond.

The final game I have to discuss is one that’s also boldly coming out in November to dethrone GTAVI as this fall’s top game:

This game actively referencing GTA in its marketing is the perfect way to go about the unexpected remaster of a beloved title from 2004.

Shrek 2 gripped the nation like no other. I’ve written about my love for Shrek on the blog before, but this game was one of the best multiplayer experiences on consoles, hands-down.

The PS2’s Multi-Tap, an accessory that allowed 4 controllers to be plugged in at once, was made almost specifically for this game.

The game loosely followed the plot of the film with a few deviations to help carry the plot out a little more.

I always played as Donkey where I could and his “Burro Blast” special move was always one of the top experiences of playing as him. I also can’t help but remember every sleepover from the years 2004-2006 almost always had Shrek 2 as a part of them because it was such a great 4-player game.

Everybody got a chance to find a character they liked or play as a new character in each level. The gameplay balance and challenges of this game was also spectacular because just when you thought you loved playing as Shrek, you’d have to play as the Big Bad Wolf for a few levels just to move things forward.

But, one of the most notable parts of this game was that at the end of each story level, the game would activate a “Hero Time” moment and a single player would have to pass a challenge to advance the game:

There was nothing quite like passing the controller around with siblings and friends as we all failed some of the harder “Hero Times” as young 7 and 8-year-olds.

While I’m sure myself and my friends have become better gamers in the last 22 years since this game’s initial release, I can’t wait to play this with them again.

To cap off this nostalgic section, I’ll just have to close it off with a banger from the Shrek 2 soundtrack:

I know I tend to wax poetic about nostalgia and compare what was to what is a lot.

I’ve realized this blog has become much more of a time capsule for me as much as it’s also my attempt to entertain through a kind of storytelling I don’t get to do on an everyday basis anymore.

A lot of the stories I have from my life experience wouldn’t be possible without the three games from above nor the ones from this chart below:

Now, none of the 9 games on this graph of mine are the three remastered games in this blog. However, almost all of them have modern remasters or ways to play them today.

As a matter of fact, now’s never been a better time to be a Kingdom Hearts fan like myself because you can finally take it on the go thanks to their most recent release on Nintendo Switch!

So, my lasting message to you from this blog is this: if you’ve ever had a favorite video game from when you were younger, there’s never been a better time to go dig it up and play it again.

Whether modern consoles have it available or not, you can recapture what you once had. A lot’s happened since you last played that game. I know it has. A lot of hard days with even harder situations you never thought you’d experience have happened to you.

But, these games can help center you and bring you back to a much more peaceful time, guaranteed. While we can’t rewind time, we can carry the happy memories with us into the present to create a better future. Whether it’s in a virtual sandbox with your favorite toys, listening to soothing tunes on an ocarina, or breaking an Ogre and his noble steed out of jail with your friends, the tales of our past can give us the right spark to fly into the future.

Enjoy your fall. Create some new memories.

~DS

The Perfect Way to Embrace the Fall

“Bother burgling, adventuring, and everything to do with it! I wish I was at home alone in my nice hole by the fire, with the kettle just beginning to sing!”

The winds of change have finally arrived.

It’s always a bittersweet feeling when a summer ends and a fall begins. While football, bonfire, sweater, and beer season begins, it’s sad to look back upon another summer over.

The summer is no friend to me. As I said in my last blog, I haven’t been as big of a fan of the summer as I was in my youth when it meant school was out. Now it just means normal life, but sweating.

Regardless, it’s finally time for the fall. My favorite time of the year.

I’ve always said that I have reverse seasonal affective disorder. When others get upset by less sunlight and colder weather, I’m the opposite. The fall is just my season.

As an enjoyer of football, fall leaves, flannels, jeans, boots, bonfires, and rotting on a pub stool for hours on end, this is the perfect time to do so. I find peace in it. Even if it brings a little rain.

I wanted to share this story when the time was right. Considering my last blog was all about a train ride, I didn’t want to make this entire blog about a train ride, but rather, an example to my overall point to writing this.

So, earlier this week, I took a train commute into the city for work. I was awake bright and early before the sun on a dark, rainy Monday morning. Wearing a light jacket and jeans, feeling more joyful than almost anyone ever could on a rainy Monday morning on their way to work.

Not only was I feeling joy at getting to wear my fall gear, I was feeling joy because I felt alone in my joy. Who else was feeling this joy this early on a Monday morning? I’d wager nobody.

I’ve recently picked back up on my audiobook journey through Middle Earth in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and that is what backdropped my morning commute that was already off to an abnormally joyful start in society’s case.

Andy Serkis is the narrator for the latest audio book version and he does a masterful job at bringing Tolkien’s world to life. As I boarded the train and went to my car, there was almost nobody on it. It was perfect.

My joyful internal solitude could further be enjoyed with more external solitude. I put my bag on the seat next to me, slouched in my very own seat, rested my head against the cool window, and closed my eyes enjoying the sound of the train rumbling over the tracks with rain pattering against the window.

With Serkis’ narration along with the sounds, I was transported to Middle Earth in my solitude. With the comfort of my internal and external lonesome and a good story to backdrop it, I found peace there in what is normally, not a peaceful time.

Eventually, the peace had to be disturbed, but I felt more relaxed on a Monday more than I ever have.

The reason why I’m writing about the perfect amount of solitude is I believe the Fall season is the perfect time to appreciate it. I’m enjoying my Fall by writing, both at work and here on this blog listening to the following fall vibes soundtracks:

Following a summer full of hangouts, ballgames, dates, and family parties, and before a holiday season full of hectic schedules, family time, and more, the fall is really the only season you get to enjoy that solitude.

Spring is a close second, but spring has this pre-summer excitement quality about it that the Fall doesn’t. That’s what makes the Fall much more enjoyable.

There doesn’t seem to be a rush to get anywhere, rather, just a brief moment in time to just sit, breathe, and enjoy life as it’s moving along.

Halloween is my favorite holiday. I enjoy dressing up, eating candy without judgement, and hanging out with my friends; it’s the buildup to that social gathering that makes this alone time during the fall even more special.

While I already look back upon my peaceful Monday and as I look forward to Halloween, I want to speak now to the peace that is being alone.

Being alone is not a bad thing. A lot of the time, people confuse being alone with the feeling of loneliness. They are not the same at all.

Loneliness is a horrible feeling. Loneliness is feeling like you have no where or no one to turn to. Being alone is not that. Being alone is the bubble of “me time” you’ve earned in between time spent with loved ones.

I frequent concerts, baseball games, trips, expos and conventions, and movies by myself a decent amount. There’s a certain peace to it but also, I think it makes an experience more meaningful at times.

Yes, life in most cases is better with others than it is by yourself. However, when you go to the movies alone, you don’t have to worry about other people’s schedules or whether or not they want popcorn, it’s up to you and you alone! You can sit in whatever seat you’d like without worrying about anyone else’s preferences. It’s just more relaxing than having to figure out plans with someone else.

You’re on your own wavelength and you can operate with your own thoughts and beliefs without worrying about someone else’s opinion or feelings changing or bogging down what you might think about the movie, concert, experience, or whatever it is.

Don’t get me wrong: my friends and my family are the most important things in my life. I am who I am because of them. Spending time with the people I care about is my favorite thing in the world to do and when I do get that feeling of loneliness, I know it won’t last long because I have so many great people to rely on that give me strength when I’m weakest.

But, it is because of that fact that I enjoy my alone time so much as well. It makes me appreciate my friends and family more. They’re with me in my alone time in a certain way, and that’s what makes the alone time better. It’s a small portal between interactions with my loved ones that makes the interactions more special.

If you are feeling lonely, then lean into those that make you feel like you’re not. I know it’s easier said than done: the peace I’ve been able to find in being alone hasn’t always been there. I used to tie being alone with loneliness a lot. It’s not healthy. And if you don’t feel like you have that, then give me a call. I’d be happy to help you find that peace.

I felt like writing this blog would help me arrange my thoughts. I am, in fact, alone, at peace with my thoughts, and have never felt more confident in my ability to describe how I’m feeling.

It’s the wind outside. The warm tea in my mug. The leaves changing. The happy memories of summer fading away. The eagerness of the Halloween holiday as a portal to the winter togetherness with family and loved ones. This moment right just now was carved for me to do this thinking, reminiscing, and smiling.

While there are things to frown about, and the winter along with another new year is creeping, it’s this peace of fall that has me as relaxed as I can be. I feel as peaceful as a Hobbit in the Shire that is happily between adventures. And before I close, enjoy this peaceful Shire ambience that helped me write this:

Time is fleeting. It always moves by us faster than we can even comprehend. Days can sometimes feel like weeks. Weeks can sometimes feel like seconds. Seconds can sometimes feel like years if you want them to.

Before you know it, the moments you’re experiencing now will be the stories of tomorrow. You’ll probably never share the stories of your time spent alone, which is why it is important to spend some time alone. Keep that for yourself.

When you do that, you’ll appreciate the time spent with loved ones so much more. I promise. It’ll make your stories from the time spent with them better as well, because you’ll be speaking from a place where all the time spent enjoying the moment, both alone and not, will be the soul of your stories.

Enjoy your alone time. Enjoy your time with loved ones. Each little moment is important to who you are.

~ DS