Hey all, here with a new post. October was generally been a good month for me, asides from the occasional migraine and cold spell due to the cooling weather. I think I’ve mentioned this on here before, but I generally prefer the coldness of winter to the blistering summers we sometimes get. But of course, in-between those two seasons is fall, which I love the most. Not too hot, not too cold, a bit rainy, and generally pleasant to walk around in. November has been good so far as well, although I’ve been getting antsy being stuck inside my home with no job to go to. That will hopefully change soon, when I either find part-time employment or get recalled to my usual job.

Anyways, there’s a few things I’d like to talk about today, starting off with an event I won’t soon forget.

Blue Jays vs. Dodgers was incredible.

While the NHL is back and I’ve been following the NFL a lot more than usual this year (mainly due to a fantasy league I’m in, currently 7-3 at the time I’m writing this), the thing that everyone in Canada was paying attention to during October and into the beginning of November was the Toronto Blue Jays and their incredible run to the World Series. While I’ve made it clear on here before that I’m a fan of the Atlanta Braves, I gained a lot of respect for the Jays over the playoffs, especially with how they dealt with an arrogant Yankees squad and a very likeable yet cursed Mariners team, who I still feel bad for after they blew their 3-2 series lead in the ALCS.

This time around for the MLB, I picked the Dodgers to repeat. It was really quite simple for me: after a long season where they had their ups and downs, the defending champs were finally getting healthy and they had been hot going in. An easy wild card matchup against a weak Cincinnati Reds team would jumpstart what was a rather remarkable run for them: beating a tough Phillies team in 4, and then sweeping the best regular season team in the Brewers in the NLDS to clinch their second straight World Series birth. Nobody gave the Jays a chance, and I didn’t either. It’d be over in 5 games, I thought.

Nope. 7 game series, hotly contested the entire time, and easily the best series of baseball I’ve watched since I started seriously following the sport back in 2021. It had everything: extra innings (including in game 7), lots of home runs, incredible pitching and grit shown by both teams, and above all, narratives. Toronto infamously fell short of signing Shohei Ohtani at the beginning of 2024, and now that miss has come back to haunt them in an even bigger way than thought possible. If I had to be honest, the Jays losing this series is probably one of the most heartbreaking defeats I’ve seen in any sport. They lost an 18-inning game 3, but managed to take a 3-2 series lead afterwards, only to lose game 6 on a miraculous double-play and a controversial ruling regarding a wedged baseball. Game 7 was pain unlike no other, though: they led for the entire game despite the Dodgers slowly whittling away and getting runs at the board, and with only 3 outs at the top of the 9th, they gave up a game-tying home run to a Dodger player that hadn’t hit a ball that far in forever, and then proceeded to absolutely squander chance after chance at the bottom of the inning, and in the 10th as well. When Will Smith hit the eventual series-winning homer in the 11th, I think everyone knew it was done. And it was. Dodgers win, I finally get a World Series winner right, and everyone outside of LA is pissed because they won again. I’m not really, but it would’ve been cooler if Toronto won. Oh well, things happen.

The US is really, really beginning to worry me.

Yeah so, the US government is pretty freaking incompetent right now. I don’t really need to explain why, I’m sure if you’re reading this you already know exactly what I’m talking about. The US government was shut down for 43 days?! Really, guys? I’m not about to pin blame on any specific person, because I think whenever that happens, the entire breadth of those in power are sorta responsible in their own way. But it’s really easy to blame both Trump and the Democratic leadership for that mess, so I’ll do so. Trump because it seems like he’s trying to find the quickest way to torpedo both the goodwill of his base and his ability to govern, and for the Democratic leadership for flip-flopping and caving to his demands, which has enraged their own voter base. Simply put, despite Canada’s long list of issues they seemingly have no real answer for, I’m really grateful I’m not living down there right now. I just don’t know how I’d deal with all of that nonsense.

And now with these Epstein files finally beginning to see the light, I have to wonder just how much trouble Trump and others on both sides of the floor will be. Even if Trump didn’t actually commit any criminal acts with underage or vulnerable girls, his clear association with him and potential for having committed illegal acts is such a massive distraction that I’m not sure how the government will be able to focus on getting anything done with him in power. I’m not sure he’d actually be properly impeached unless something comes out which is irrefutable, so who knows what will really happen. I’ve prayed long and hard that my friends and family down there will be safe in the event things become really unstable, but even then the US is not the only country currently experiencing serious political turmoil. Seems like everywhere you look, it’s bad and it’s going to get worse regardless of what we do. That being said, prayer is still good and important. Don’t stop. Hopefully something is figured out soon.

I’ve been gaming again.

You ever get the itch to go back and finish something you started a long time ago but never followed through on? Or to finally do something you’ve wanted to do for a while but just never got around to? Well first off, congratulations, because that’s something I think we all feel at some point in our lives. Secondly, this year has been full of me doing just that, whether it’s finally finishing Vinland Saga after waiting a couple years for it to end or me finally take firmer control of my investments and seeing where my money’s going. Spoiler alert, both went very well.

Amidst that however, I’ve been replaying games from the past and finally getting around to playing ones that have been on my radar for a while. Notable examples include Silent Hill 2, which I’ve always wanted to play and finally did via the remake, Red Dead Redemption 2, and this Plants vs. Zombies fangame which had been on my radar since seeing this crazy video around a year ago. All ended up being worth my time and then some, although I’m still far away from completing Red Dead 2 because it is very, very long.

I want to highlight what I’m currently replaying, that being Mass Effect 2 on the trilogy’s Legendary Edition. Long ago, I played the first game and the second and really enjoyed both, but never got around to playing the 3rd due to it not being on Steam. When I finally bought the Legendary Edition last year, I made it a point to eventually set some time aside and play the trilogy properly, as I had always intended to. Last week, I finally got the itch to do so, and so I blitzed through the first game and am currently around a third done the 2nd. I’ve been having a great time, especially with the reworked graphics and gameplay in the first and the nostalgia that has come with both the first and the second. These games are really quite special, and it feels really cool to play something which was developed in the city I’ve lived in all my life. I am well aware of the reputation Mass Effect 3’s endings have, but like always, I will go in with an open mind. I’ve stayed largely unspoiled for the 3rd game throughout the years, and I’m sure once I finish replaying 2, I will enjoy it just as much as I have the others.

And that’s pretty much it. There will be a post next month for sure, as Metroid Prime 4 is finally coming out and I’ll be eager to give that (and the whole series) a review. Those games mean a lot to me, and I can’t wait to finally get my hands on it.

Until then, God bless, and I’ll see y’all later.