Hey everyone, hope you’re all doing well. Before I get started, yes, this post is super late. Why is that? Well, I’ve been far busier than expected and haven’t had much downtime to work on this post and the one I meant to release at the end of the month, which is today. Ideally, I had hoped to have had this one out within a couple of days after the main subject of this post took place, but that obviously did not happen. However, it’s not a massive deal at the end of the day. This is meant to be a casual blog, and I have been wondering if sticking to a super rigid schedule is really that important. Spoiler alert: I actually do have an answer to this question, but it will be in the next post, which will be posted sometime in March, probably around St. Patrick’s Day. But for now, let me tell you about a couple of crazy things I’ve seen in the past couple of weeks.

So, as you can probably tell, this post will mainly be about hockey. In case it hasn’t been made blatantly obvious in some of my other posts, I am a huge hockey fan and a Canadian, meaning I was born to be a hockey fan. Don’t get me wrong, there are many Canadians who aren’t interested in hockey or sports in general, but chances are that if you run into some random Joe on the street in any one of our 10 provinces and 3 territories, there is a pretty good chance that they will have some rooting interest in hockey, whether that be their local team or our national team. Eight days ago, our national team played the United States in the climax of the first actual best-on-best international hockey tournament we’ve had since 2016. Why has it taken so long for something this cool-sounding to happen again? Long story short, it’s for many different reasons, which I suggest you research yourself.

However, unlike past meetings between us and the US, this one had much more going for it. I’m sure most of you often keep up with US politics, and I’m sure most of you are aware of how Donald Trump and his administration have been treating Canada, as well as other nations like Mexico, Ukraine, etc. In Canada’s case, I can’t say that I really blame him in some respects, given how awful our government has been for the last few years and Trump’s clear distaste of our sad excuse for a prime minister in Justin Trudeau. The flaws of mass immigration and not taking our borders seriously have also earned the ire of Trump, as well as several Canadians, myself included. That being said, millions of Canadians have been seriously angered over his suggestions of making us the “51st state”, the tariffs that he has either threatened to place on us or has placed on us and so on. Given the threats to our sovereignty, many of which I feel are Trump’s attempts to bully us into doing what he wants and not actually wanting Canada as a country, this naturally boiled over into the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off, where Canada and the US were basically fated to meet. So, what happened during this tournament, and what happened eight days ago?

We won, that’s what happened!

Yeah, I know I spoiled it in the excerpt, but who cares. Canada won 3-2 in overtime, thanks to our hero Connor McDavid (the best player in the world) ripping one past an American wall in Connor Hellebuyck (probably the best goalie in the world). To say this was satisfying would be selling it far too short. My dad and I watched it together, and we lost it after that happened. Believe me though, getting to OT was not easy at all. While we got the first goal early in the first period, it was a pretty rocky road afterward. The Americans kept shutting down our best players and converting on their chances, eventually leading them to take the lead partway through the second period. However, we tied it later in the second, and until we won it OT, we were basically surviving an American onslaught.

This game could have been over a lot earlier had it not been for Jordan Binnington, our goalie, channeling his inner Spider-Man and making great save after great save on the US’s best players. Binnington was much maligned by Canadian fans going into this game due to his inconsistent play in the previous games we’d played in the tournament, especially after we lost to the States in our first meeting. But, in the same arena where he won the Stanley Cup with St. Louis back in 2019, he held his ground, did his job, and ultimately helped us win the game on American soil. Well done, Jordan. At least I can say I believed in you while others didn’t.

Now, while it will pain me to say this, I need to make a concession. For many years, American hockey fans have been boasting that they’ve finally caught up to Canada after being in our shadow for the last couple of decades. Their winning the previous two World Junior tournaments is definitely a sign that they are definitely closer to us than they were in 2015 for example, and even though I could say that the only reason they won both of those tournaments is because Canada shot themselves in the foot by not sending all of their best players two years in a row, I’m going to refrain from doing that. When it comes to junior hockey, I think it’s very fair to say that the Americans have finally equaled Canada.

However, when it comes to big boy, best-on-best hockey, the finale of this tournament proved to me one thing: the US is very close to us now, but they still aren’t us. While they may have won our first meeting in this tournament 3-1, the US proved once again that when it comes to winning the whole thing, nobody is better at underachieving than these guys. Despite how talented they have been for the last few decades, the United States has not won a best-on-best hockey tournament since the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. It is staggering to think about this when they’ve had such great teams like their 2002 Olympic team, their 2010 Olympic team, and this year’s 4 Nations team. All of these teams were absolutely loaded to the gills with some of the absolute best players of not only their generation but of all time. Do you wanna know the one thing that all 3 of these teams have in common? If you guessed that they lost to Canada, you’re absolutely right! Sorry America, you may still think that you’re on our level or that you deserved a better fate that night, but I’d like to believe that you got exactly what you deserved.

Jokes aside, it would be disingenuous of me to not highlight how hard the US played us during that game. I’d be hard pressed to think of a better, closer game that I’ve watched recently, and I have to tip my hat to the Americans for giving us everything we could handle. That game meant a lot to many people, but it meant even more to Canada. Our national pride has been under attack, we have been wallowing in a pit of mud and despair over politics, the economy, and many other things. After everything that has occurred over the last month, seeing Canadians come together to cheer on the greatest hockey nation in the world was great to see, especially since we haven’t had a chance to do this for so long. Connor McDavid’s OT winner, along with Sidney Crosby’s golden goal in 2010 and Edmonton punching their ticket to the Stanley Cup finals last summer, is a sports memory that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Alright, the time for singing about the greatness of Canadian hockey is over. Now it’s time to get serious, and it’s time to talk about something that has invaded seemingly every moment of sports analysis and discourse with what I’d call deeply malicious intent. I’m referring to sports betting, specifically how widespread it has become and how it is now being featured on so many major sports broadcasts, whether that be the NBA, MLB, or the NHL, who I would argue might be the worst offender of them all.

The metastasis of sports betting is a serious problem.

If you have watched a televised sporting event in recent history, I’m willing to guess that you have seen a commercial for sports betting during one of many commercial breaks or that you’ve heard some of the analysts or play-by-play crew mention the current odds for various things that might happen in the game you’re watching. It might be the odds of how many rebounds a particular player might get in a basketball game. For baseball, it may be whether a particular player hits a home run or multiple home runs. Regardless of what you’re betting on and which league you’re focusing on, the point of betting remains the same: to make a wager in hopes of winning big. That’s why gambling can be so addictive; the thrill of winning (when you do) and the potential to win unbelievable prizes (which usually doesn’t happen) are both quite tantalizing. It’s why so many people engage in it, with several unfortunately becoming addicted to it and causing tons of issues for themselves.

This isn’t a post detailing gambling addictions, however. This is one guy’s opinion, and this guy’s opinion is that the mass exposure of sports betting to these respective leagues’ audiences is doing way more harm than good. Not only is it distracting the audience from the product they want to watch, but it’s also leading to an increase in gambling addictions, as well as several scandals across the sports world. In the last two years, all 4 of the major North American sports leagues have experienced some form of betting scandal, all with varying severity levels. For example, a smaller-scale incident happened in the NHL back in October 2023, where Ottawa Senators forward Shane Pinto was suspended 41 games after the NHL caught a US-based account of his engaging in what they called “unusual activity”. From what we know, Pinto was not betting on the NHL or his team, and he did admit to making a mistake. He has long since rejoined the Senators and there have been no follow-ups, which has been good to see.

Meanwhile, the NBA and MLB have been experiencing a lot of issues with players making bets, and both leagues have permanently banned certain players for life after they were discovered to have bets on their own teams or other teams in their leagues. The NFL has also had issues with incidents like this, although, to my knowledge, nobody has been permanently banned. My pick for the craziest scandal so far was when Shohei Ohtani’s longtime interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, found himself in deep trouble after Ohtani’s representatives discovered that he had stolen millions of dollars from Ohtani’s account to pay off gambling debts that he owed to a Californian bookmaker. He has since been imprisoned and has confessed to all of his crimes, debunking the theory that he took the fall for Ohtani. I’ll never forget the week that this story dropped; it was truly insane.

In case it wasn’t obvious already, the point I’m trying to make is that not only is the increase of sports betting ads affecting regular people, but they also appear to be affecting the athletes that regular people bet on. Even if it isn’t the commercials themselves, there is definitely a link between sports gambling becoming more normalized and incidents like the ones I described above happening more and more regularly. Heck, I’m sure we’re not too far away from an actual superstar player in one of the major leagues getting caught up in a betting scandal of his own. Maybe we’re not too far away from a repeat of the 1919 White Sox scandal, where members of the White Sox threw the World Series in exchange for money. The fact that I’m even bringing these up as serious possibilities tells me that North American sports (and otherwise) might be in serious trouble soon. How do we know that the players and officials are doing things the right way and not manipulating the game to suit their interests? We trust that the integrity of the game has largely been uncompromised, but how much should we actually trust that notion?

I’d answer by saying that we should still trust that the products we see on our screens are genuine and to also keep an open mind. Also, remember that at the end of the day, sports are primarily for entertainment. The athletes involved may feel differently, with it being their passions and livelihoods, but for us fans, it’s simply a hobby or a way to pass the time. At the end of the day, is a significant betting scandal in one of these leagues going to majorly affect how we live our lives? My guess is probably not. That being said, I will still encourage those around me to not engage in rampant sports betting and to fight back against the ridiculous number of ads we see on our screens now. This culture of wagering and thrill-seeking has become normalized when it never should have been. The negatives generally outweigh the positives due to its inherently addictive nature, and we must always be alert and aware of this.

That should just about cover it, I think. I don’t have much else to add, I feel like I’ve said all that I needed to on this issue. However, if a significant scandal does indeed show up in the future, chances are that I’ll probably highlight it in a post not long after it happens. Especially if it involves hockey, because I’d likely have way too many thoughts about it. It feels good to finally get this out after not being able to find the time to work on it for the last several days, it really does. This may sound a bit cheesy, but I feel a sense of accomplishment when I finish one of these and I submit it. It’s nothing special by any means, but it’s a hobby of mine, and I like my hobbies. My next post, as I alluded to at the beginning, will be on whether or not I will continue this self-imposed schedule of 2 posts a month that I started in January. Also a couple of other things, but mainly that. Sure.

God bless, and I’ll see y’all later.

Hello again. It’s the end of the month, and as promised, I’ve got a new post to share with all of you. I’ll start by getting something big off my chest, mainly hoping it’ll help clear my mind and allow me to relax. For many years now, January has been a tough month for me. There are various reasons for this, one of which I only realized a couple of weeks ago. To put it simply, I believe that for several years now, I’ve been suffering from seasonal affective disorder (or SAD) between the beginning of January and around halfway through February. It would explain a lot, as for many Januarys now, there have been many days where I’ve felt sluggish, unmotivated, confused, or just plain unhappy. Why did it take me so long to connect the dots? Good question, I’m not quite sure myself.

The best reason I can think of is that, before this January, I hadn’t had it quite as bad as I did this time around. It wasn’t at the forefront of my mind when I woke up in the past, and this time, it was mainly for reasons I’d prefer not to get into. Thankfully, I now have a much better understanding of why this happens and how its severity can be lessened. I think that from now on, I’ll be better equipped to deal with this when it comes around again next year and for the next several after that. Again, I give the Lord all the credit and glory for opening my eyes to what’s been going on with me. I’m also very thankful to my family and friends for giving me advice and sharing their own experiences with me, as SAD is quite widespread and has been for quite some time. What a fitting acronym, isn’t it?

Anyway, now is the time for me to talk about my hobbies. I have many of them, as I’m sure you know if you’ve read through or skimmed through all the other posts I’ve made. However, as I’m sure many of you can relate, I’ve gone through phases where I’ve been really into one form of entertainment. A few months later, I put what I was doing on the side in favor of something new and exciting. This is a benefit of living in a digital consumerist society, but make no mistake, it can also be a detriment if you make an idol out of said entertainment or hobby. I want to think I’ve largely avoided that in recent history, but that hasn’t always been the case. If this is an issue in your life, start addressing it now. It’s better to get it out of the way quickly instead of letting it fester and become a significant distraction.

With that out of the way, there are two things I’ll highlight from this month: the worst movie I’ve watched and the best manga that I read. While I have been playing or replaying certain video games more so than watching movies recently, I felt the need to give my honest, unfiltered thoughts regarding a film that I think not only signaled the death of one of my favorite media franchises but was also so bad that it may very well end up being the worst movie I watch this decade. And believe me, I’ve watched some pretty awful dreck throughout the 2020s. As for Rurouni Kenshin, the manga I’ll be talking about, it’s excellent. The author, though? Different story. I’ll get to that in a bit, however. Here’s my review (or rant, I guess) for the pile of crap that is Star Trek: Section 31.

What’s so bad about this movie, anyways?

Everything. Ok, maybe not quite everything. The special effects, while forgettable, weren’t awful. I thought Michelle Yeoh (pictured above) gave an alright performance, even though she couldn’t sell her role as an evil intergalactic empress turned antiheroic femme fatale. I almost entirely blame the script and the direction, as I do, for why this movie failed so hard. However, a bit of context and history are needed to explain why this movie was so bad.

First off, Section 31 is a spin-off of the recently ended Star Trek: Discovery. Discovery was the first of many new Trek projects that have come out in the last several years and is also the longest-running of those new projects. Without getting too much into the show itself, I’ve never really cared for it. The first season, which began in 2017, had some good ideas, but it didn’t capture me as much as the old Treks did. The second season also failed to do this in many ways, and after it ended, I decided that it wasn’t worth my time, and I stopped watching. While several fans enjoyed Discovery, it is quite divisive amongst the larger Trek fanbase, with many feeling like I do. Much of the derision boils down to the fact that newer Star Trek, or “NuTrek” as many call it, often doesn’t feel like Star Trek.

But what exactly does that mean? I’m glad you asked. Star Trek, at its core, is a series about many things. The exploration of space and strange new worlds are what most flock to see, but at its core, it’s about the dignity of life, an idealistic future where racism, poverty, and strife have largely been eliminated or wiped out entirely, and ultimately having an open mind and being decent towards others regardless of what species they are, or what part of the galaxy they come from. For a series that is quite humanist at times, there are genuinely valuable and applicable life lessons that can be learned from great characters like Picard, Sisko, Odo, Data, and so on. There is a reason why Star Trek was so huge in the 80s and 90s: the messages it tried to present were both fun and meaningful, and it also had a lot of space battles and drama. People love that stuff.

In the meantime, even after mulling it over for a few days, I still have no idea what Section 31 was supposed to be or should be about. Was this supposed to be a spy thriller with bits of dark comedy spliced in? A bad rip-off of Mission: Impossible? Suicide Squad, but with quirky British aliens and “chaos goblins” instead of the Joker and Harley Quinn? Do the producers and actors even understand what was being made here? If you told me they honestly didn’t have a clue, I’d believe you without question or hesitation! This made The Final Frontier look like The Wrath of Khan (or, in more understandable terms, The Room look like Citizen Kane). This makes nearly every other bad or “so bad it’s good” movie I’ve seen seem like honest-to-God masterpieces, films that get rereleased by the Criterion Collection or preserved in America’s National Film Registry. Do you know how hard that is to do? Really freaking hard.

This movie sucks. The acting was ridiculous most of the time, the script made no sense, and there was never really a sense of deeper meaning or who was worth rooting for. Why were the characters doing what they were doing? What relevance did this have to the ultimate story of Star Trek? Was this even Star Trek? Well, at least I can say no to that. In fact, I’d even say this killed Star Trek as we know it. The past is obviously in the past, but I really wish it wasn’t in this case. Star Trek hasn’t been a true giant in the industry for over a decade now, and there are many reasons for that. This flaming dumpster is a testament as to why, and why, even though there are still some gems that get churned out periodically, like season 3 of Picard (according to my dad, the biggest Trekkie I know) or Strange New Worlds (according to people on the internet that I trust), Star Trek as a franchise is way past its prime. It is, for better or for worse, dead. Is it possible that a resurrection is meant to happen in the future? Possibly, but I’m unsure how or if that will even happen.

Alright, that’s enough of that. It’s time to move on to something that I think is worth talking about: Rurouni Kenshin. January was a great month of reading for me, especially regarding manga. I finished more than 5, with 3 of them getting a 10/10 from me (including Kenshin), and it was overall a good use of my free time, in my opinion. As I’ve talked about before, I get so much enjoyment from reading new books or manga nowadays, far more than I used to. However, when discussing Kenshin, there is something that always needs to be addressed that overshadows the series itself, and that’s its author, Nobuhiro Watsuki. However, instead of discussing Watsuki first, I’d like to talk about why I liked Rurouni Kenshin so much and why it’s more important than the artist who created it. By the way, mild spoilers ahead.

How did Rurouni Kenshin become one of my favorite manga?

I’ve always believed that the best stories are the ones that hook you immediately, keep your attention throughout their runtime, and end in a sensible, satisfying way. Rurouni Kenshin is unique because while it does have a very good ending that wraps up everything satisfactorily, I would definitely not call the beginning of the series great. While the Tokyo arc (chapters 1-47) does a good job of introducing the main characters, such as Kenshin himself, his future wife Kaoru, and their good friends Yahiko and Sanosuke, the story itself is relatively tame and doesn’t really go into tons of depth about the world and the characters. There are some cool moments where Kenshin beats up some bad guys with his reverse-blade katana (which comes from his vow to never kill again after living a very bloody life before the main story), some lighter moments where the main group of characters engage in genuinely humorous banter over simple things like getting groceries and Kaoru’s growing affection for Kenshin, and some nice little arcs where new characters are introduced and they fight some relatively small-scale villains. All in all, it’s fun and good, but nothing I’d call great.

Most who’ve read it will agree that the series picks up after chapter 48, where the infamous Kyoto arc (chapters 48-151) begins. It’s one of three major story arcs in Kenshin, and it is also the best one, in my opinion. The Kyoto arc introduces a bunch of new characters, including the goofy ninja Misao and the genuinely menacing supervillain Shishio, and it also does an excellent job of diving into the past of every main character and being a really fun adventure altogether. The pacing is very good, every character has their moment to shine, and the stakes feel quite high. This is what you want in an adventure story, and I have to give Nobuhiro Watsuki immense credit for writing both this arc and the Jinchu arc (chapters 152-255), which is the third and final major arc of the series. While Jinchu is not as good as Kyoto overall, it’s still an excellent piece of storytelling, and it is easily the emotional highlight of the series. It’s gripping, filled with intense feelings of regret and determination from the main characters, and overall a very good arc that serves as a great sendoff to an excellent manga. There is a sequel series that began in the mid-2010s, but I have yet to read that. I’ve heard good things about it.

So yeah, I think Rurouni Kenshin is excellent. It’s the best manga that I read during this month, and I would also say it’s one of the best I’ve read in general. While the Tokyo arc does prevent it from being higher on my top 10, the Kyoto and Jinchu arcs are both so good that it would be a disservice to not recognize them for what they are, which is a pair of truly awesome stories. And now that I’ve talked about why I like Kenshin as a series so much, I think it’s time to address the elephant in the room, and that’s Nobuhiro Watuski.

In the realm of manga, Watsuki is well known for being the author of Rurouni Kenshin, its sequel series, and Buso Renkin, which has received mixed reviews over the years. He is also well known for mentoring several famous manga artists, the most notable being Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece. However, this pales in comparison to what he is most known for nowadays, which would be his conviction of possessing child pornography in 2018. When Tokyo police raided his office in November 2017, they discovered hundreds of DVDs containing some truly awful material, which immediately destroyed his reputation among nearly every manga reader. However, despite breaking the law in the manner that he did, he served no jail time, was fined the equivalent of $1900 in American dollars, and went right back to writing the sequel series for Kenshin. He has also seemingly been forgiven by several major artists in the manga industry, and people still collaborate with him to this day.

While many harsh criticisms can be thrown at the Japanese legal system, as well as how certain artists defended his actions, that isn’t the focus of what I want to say. Instead, I’d like to put forth the idea that despite the horrendous actions of Nobuhiro Watsuki and his seeming lack of repentance for his crimes, Rurouni Kenshin is still a manga worth discussing and celebrating. It’s a work of art that neither endorses nor includes the personal proclivities of its author, and tying it to Watsuki’s lack of moral decency is unfair to the story as a whole. I’ve always believed in separating the art from the artist because many great movies, songs, and books were created by flawed people who have done terrible things. Quite often, these works of art do not reflect their authors’ personal beliefs or actions and can be looked at as their own thing instead of an extension of their authors. The authors may draw upon their worldviews and experiences when creating a story or a song., but I believe that it’s ultimately up to those who consume these stories and songs to interpret them and decide what they’re all about.

Two things can be true: Nobuhiro Watsuki did some awful things, and he should have seen prison time or worse for what he did. In the meantime, Rurouni Kenshin is a very good manga about responsibility, redemption, and renewal. This can also be said: Kevin Spacey either engaged in or allegedly engaged in sexual misconduct with numerous men, and he is also one of the greatest actors of his generation. The person known as Kevin Spacey and the actor known as Kevin Spacey are two halves of the same man, and I believe the actor and the acting that he does should be recognized for how good it is, especially in movies like The Usual Suspects and Se7en, just as I believe Rurouni Kenshin should be recognized as a classic manga that is great despite the crimes committed by its author.

Before I finish this off, I want to make it clear that even though this is what I believe, it doesn’t mean that everyone else has to agree with it. Heck, I’m sure there are some reasonable people out there who would look at this and completely disagree with me. Some of those people may have been abused as children or sexually exploited in the past, and if that’s the case, I totally understand why they would disagree with me, and I think they’d have their reasons to do so. However, my opinion on this won’t change. I have my reasons for believing what I do, and I will continue to do so.

Well, that’s the end of this post. Honestly, it felt great writing this. I think a lot of it stems from me finally deciding to come up with a proper, rigid plan for this blog. Gone are the days of saying I’ll do something eventually and then not following through. At least, I hope they’re gone. My next post will be in mid-February, and I’m sure I’ll have a lot to say about whatever interests me at that point.

Until next time, thanks for reading, and God bless.

Good afternoon, I hope the new year has been treating you well. I know it has been a mixed bag for many of us, especially those in the United States. All I can say is that y’all had better get used to Trump again because, this time, he’s back with a vengeance. I mean, have you seen his official portrait? If looks could kill, that one most certainly could and probably would. Even though I disagree with some of them, I’ll give him credit for being efficient with passing all those executive orders; I wish my government were like that sometimes.

Anyway, that’s not why I’m here today. Instead, I’m here to discuss my plans for this blog and what I think would be best moving forward. I’ve been doing this thing since June 2023, and while I feel there’s more I could’ve done with it, I am happy with how I’ve kept this going semi-regularly. However, in the spirit of being honest, I’ll say now that my self-inflicted promises to get more posts out at specific intervals haven’t worked out how I intended. Simply put, my life is busy. Aside from my normal obligations like my degree, job, and family, I have several different hobbies that I consider more important than this, and those hobbies take up a lot of my free time. With all that I do, it’s just not feasible for me to do multiple posts on specific topics every month, nor is it necessary. There’s nothing wrong with doing a bit at a time, and compacting everything to ensure that whatever I’m thinking about gets on here without it being left in the dust or forgotten about.

So, from now on, I’ve devised a new plan. Starting at the end of this month, I will do a maximum of two monthly posts. The first one will happen sometime during the first half of the month, likely before the second week is over. That will mainly be my thoughts on various world events or things I’ve seen on the internet, while the second one will be on the last day of the month where I talk about my various hobbies, whether it’s the best manga I’ve read during that month, the best/worst movie I’ve watched during the month, and so on. I will add twists to both posts every time so that it’s not me regurgitating the same thoughts or observations every single time. That’s boring to read and even more tedious for me to go back and reminisce on.

Now, will I actually follow through with this plan? Here’s hoping. I mean, I took time out of my day to devise this and then put the words on a document, so I must be somewhat serious about this, right? This will only succeed if I stick with it and do what I say, so I’ll make sure this gets done. I should also mention that if this format ends up being successful, I may rebrand this blog and archive everything I’ve made before this point, but the likelihood of that is quite low. My main concern would be that going from what I was doing before to what I intend to do now may come off as a bit jarring, but at the end of the day, this is my blog and I will decide how to run it. We’ll see, though. Sometimes things don’t work out the way you expect them to.

Thanks again for reading, and God bless. My first post in this new format will come out a week from today, so look forward to that. In the meantime, it’s high time I replayed Doom Eternal. Fun game that I haven’t played since 2021, hope it still holds up.

Well, it’s that time again. As one year ends, another begins.
2024 had its ups and downs, as does every other year. In the case of my own life, the ups were tremendous, while the downs were broadly digestible. On one hand, I’ve read more this year than I have in practically every other year I’ve been alive. Over 100 manga/manhwa, several theology books by some of the greats, and even some autobiographies were among the many books I scoured. I’m so glad I picked up this hobby again. I also saw my hometown NHL team go to game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, and while they lost, it was quickly the most exciting time I’ve experienced as a sports fan.

It’s also been a productive year for me from a physical standpoint. While my weight has been a concern of mine for a while, this year is the first time I can say that while I’m not pleased with where I’m at, I’m much more hopeful about my health than I used to be. I’ve managed to keep 25 points off, my stamina has improved, and I’ve also gained some muscle. I thank the Lord and my good friends for pushing me to go to the gym and take better care of myself. I need to be more consistent with it, which is something I feel I can do eventually.

On the other hand, there were some significant challenges. My great-aunt and great-uncle, both of whom I was very close to and respected deeply, went home within a few months of each other. My great-aunt died of an unexpected infection, while my great-uncle succumbed to a nasty case of Parkinson’s dementia. I would not be here today without their guidance during the most challenging times of my life (so far), and I will carry my memories of them wherever I go. Indeed, they were special to me.

I also lost my betta fish earlier in the year, but that wasn’t as hard for obvious reasons. Fish are fantastic pets, but they don’t live too long. I replaced him shortly after with another one, and he’s also been great. While I fear that he might be coming to the end of his life as well as I write this, owning both Zeke and Lando has opened my eyes to how cool keeping fish and maintaining an aquarium can be. I am considering owning a cat or a dog in the future, but that won’t stop me from having a fish or two around the house. They’re great, man.

Originally, this was meant to be a post about the best media I consumed this year, but I opted for a simple reflection like last year. It’s more fitting, I think. Sometimes, it’s good to write out some notable events you experienced and meditate on them. What did I do right? What did I do wrong? What can I do better next year or even tomorrow? These are all good questions and ones we need to ask ourselves constantly.

Now, with that all being said, I wish each and every one of you a happy new year and the best going forward. As for me, I’m going to have some ginger ale and get back to reading some things on my very, very long list. I hope to have it shortened considerably by this time next year.

So, 2024 is nearly done. This has been a pretty good year for me overall. I’ve deepened my faith and broadened my interests (especially in reading), and I’ve come a long way since I started the year. How I feel now compared to how I felt around the same time in 2023 does feel like night and day, and I couldn’t be more grateful to the Lord and those around me. Honestly, I am very thankful.

In a strange twist, I didn’t play many video games this year. Part of that is due to me simply choosing to do other things, but a lot of it was because many of the new games that came out this year didn’t grab my attention. This was not a strong year for gaming in many ways, and many would agree with me when I say this. Don’t get me wrong, though; there were some good ones! Astro Bot (which won Game of the Year), Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth are all excellent titles I would recommend. That said, this isn’t a post about any of those games. Instead, it’s about Balatro. Let’s talk about it.

To give a brief summary, Balatro is a roguelike deck-building game made by a Canadian developer who calls himself LocalThunk online. It’s themed around poker, and while there is no actual gambling involved in the game, it will teach you some of the fundamentals of poker, mainly the several different hands that can be played in a game of actual poker. The game’s main objective is to play hands that score a lot of points, defeat enemies (Blinds) and precise levels (Antes), and make your deck of cards stronger and stronger until you reach the eighth ante and defeat the final boss blind. After you clear the eighth ante, you can then continue in an endless mode until you die, which is eventually a given because of how ludicrous the point thresholds become. You can play with multiple decks, some of which provide you fewer turns (Hands) and others that completely trivialize the game until you hit higher stakes, which are difficulty settings you can unlock for each deck after beating a run with said deck. There are also special cards you can acquire called Jokers, which give you special powers to beat Blinds more easily. I won’t waste time going into how they all work because that would take forever.

The main thing about Balatro which makes it my game of the year, is simple: it’s incredibly fun. Like, wow, this game is addicting. It’s super easy to get into, the tutorials explain everything clearly and concisely, and the gameplay loop never gets old. No run in this game is exactly the same, and that’s how a roguelike should be. There’s always a new way to win, a new way to lose, and a new way to experience things. Generally speaking, I get tired of games similar to Balatro after around 70 to 80 hours, mainly because I’ve seen everything I need to see, and the gameplay loop has gotten stale for me. Eventually, that fire dies out and is replaced by something else.

Balatro is an exception. I have unlocked every deck currently available on both my PC and my Switch, and I also got it on my phone recently because of the Christmas sales. I’ve won over 70 runs total on these three different systems, and whenever I feel like playing a game that isn’t one of the many story-based ones I’m currently slogging through (Disco Elysium being one of them, post about that might be coming soon), I play a couple runs of Balatro. My interest in this game has never waned, and my enjoyment of it has stayed about the same. It is exceedingly rare for a video game to grab me as much as Balatro has throughout 2024, and that deserves tons of praise in my book. That tells me that the developer did something right. Good games keep you interested for a bit of time, but truly great ones stick in your minds for months, maybe even years. I think you can guess which category I think this one falls under.

So yeah, I really, really like Balatro. It’s an incredible work, and I don’t feel any shame in calling it one of the best games I’ve ever played. Now, instead of me continuing to gush over it, I advise you to buy it when you have the time and try it out yourself. I have yet to find someone I know who’s played it and hasn’t fallen in love with it. Trust me, you’ll probably enjoy it, even if it isn’t as much as I do.

Thanks for reading, as usual. I’ve got a couple of posts I’m going to try to get out before the end of the year, one of them probably will be on sports betting, which is a topic that I’ve been thinking about a lot recently.

God bless, and I’ll see all of you later.

Before I get into anything political, I’d like to congratulate Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers on proving the entire baseball world wrong and winning this year’s World Series. I made an earlier post on my bracket for the now-finished playoffs, and needless to say, it didn’t go so well. Baseball is hard, but these playoffs were fun, so it’s all good. It’s very late to say this, but this post is also very late, so it makes sense. Or does it? Probably not.

Anyways, the US recently voted to install a new president. I’m sure most of you are aware of this, as practically every country worldwide was waiting with bated breath to see who would be the next to run what is allegedly the most powerful country in the world. In nearly every one of my conversations with other people regarding this election, the notion that neither candidate was suitable for the job was brought up. While my friends and family were all in agreement about Trump being the lesser of two evils, some of them, rightly so in my opinion, questioned his ability to lead America for not only a second term but to lead America during this incredibly turbulent time in their history. The economy is terrible, identity politics have divided everyone, and mass immigration has also led to several instances of both violent conflict and intense public rhetoric. I want to add that America is not the only nation struggling with these issues, as I’ve been seeing their effects on my own firsthand. Many in Europe would say the same thing as well.

Around the Western world, we are currently witnessing a rightward shift, born not too long ago and now maturing into a dominant worldview. As a young adult who would call himself a believer in this worldview, I am pleasantly surprised to see it take over and somewhat relieved as well. The average person is starting to wake up and see that the world is headed in an alarming direction, one that lacks a true moral center and is propagated by liberal thinkers and godless husks who call themselves politicians. These ideas being pushed on the public are dangerous to humanity as a species, and many of them directly undermine what the Lord wishes for all of us. While there are many voted for Trump who do not have religious convictions, it’s still reassuring to see more and more recognize the insanity that we were headed toward, a fate that I still feel is inevitable before Jesus finally comes back. I hope more people realize this before it’s too late.

Now, as for Trump himself, I’ll confess that I used to be a very big supporter of his. I was enthralled at how he ventured into politics, dismantled the Clinton and Bush dynasties, and spearheaded what is still the single largest political upset I think any of us have ever seen. His first term in office definitely had warts and there were many times I was super critical of him, especially when it came to matters of personal conduct and general attitude towards the issues that America was facing in 2020. It was no surprise that he lost to Joe Biden in that year’s election, questions regarding election integrity notwithstanding.

Going into this year, if you asked me if I was a Trump supporter, I would say I was a reluctant one. It doesn’t take a genius to see that this man has no strong moral center. It also doesn’t take a genius to realize that some of these crimes he’s been accused of probably have some weight to them, especially when it comes to his interactions with women. His cult of personality is quite suffocating, and I feel he has used it to manipulate many people. To put it simply, Donald Trump is a dangerous human being. The power that the American people have given him holds much more weight than it did in 2016 because of just how charged the political landscape of the world is. What he will do with that power remains to be seen, hopefully it’s nothing too egregious or insane.

That being said, why am I still relieved that he will be the 47th president instead of Kamala Harris? While I have several concerns about the man, I support his ideas—making your nation better or great again and focusing on the issues at home, and the real issues at that. Not floundering over what your pronouns are or whether or not you’re a Nazi for being a right-leaning person, but figuring out how to fix the economy. How can we reintroduce strength and faith into society and not perpetuate chaos? These are all things that I believe the new government of the United States may be able to address, despite my questions about several of Trump’s appointees to critical levels of the government.

Donald Trump is merely part of this rightward shift I’ve mentioned, as we’re also seeing it in Canada, Britain, Germany, France, and several other prominent countries in NATO. All these countries are dealing with virtually the same issues as America, and similar change is coming for all of them. There is a real awakening happening in this world right now, and it started when Trump was nearly killed in Pennsylvania a few months ago. I hope that this change continues to spread and spread rapidly and that it’ll hold out for as long as possible until it’s time for the liberal ways of thinking to reassert themselves and take over the world. I pray that a day like that never comes, but when I look at the state of things and the Bible prophecies, I’m afraid that it is a day that will indeed come, and it will surely be a terrible day when it arrives.

But for now, that day is a little far away. Until it comes, I’ll stay satisfied with how things have unfolded thus far, and I’ll keep praying that they remain this way for a long time. And I’ll keep praying for more and more people to wake up and see what we’re all seeing now. There’s still a lot of time left, so why not do that?

It feels good to have another post out after so long finally. I know I say this a lot, but I’ve got more on the way. Hopefully, I can get them out in an orderly fashion. Until then, God bless, and I’ll see you later.

As those of you who’ve checked out my other posts may know, I am a massive manga fan. I got into it during the pandemic after reading some suggestions I had gotten from some of my friends, and at the time I am writing this, I have completed 115 total series of varying lengths and varieties, with the vast majority of those being from this year after I decided to make it a goal to reach 100 total manga and 20 total theology books completed by the end of the year. I started the year with around 46 manga completed and four theology books completed respectively, and I figured it would be a better use of my time instead of constantly playing video games. If I had it my way, those two numbers would’ve been flipped, but theology books are more challenging to come by online and are often quite expensive, making it more difficult to read them. Thankfully, it hasn’t stopped me, as I’m on number 14 out of 20 right now.

All that aside, a few months ago, I wanted to read something more on the suspenseful side. I’ve always loved a good murder mystery or psychological thriller, and so I scoured the web to find manga that fit that category, which I did. Just before starting one of them, I got a message from a good friend suggesting that I read this Korean series called Bastard. She sold it as something that I would like and something that would get under my skin. Naturally, I was interested. I looked it up and read about the plot, what content was featured within, and how many chapters there were. After doing all of that, I decided then and there that it was time to take the plunge into manhwa, and I haven’t looked back since.

Now, this was the first time I had read a manhwa, which was partially due to some preconceived notions that I had about the medium. One of the main criticisms thrown at manhwa is that too many feature the same plot ideas with little to no difference when comparing series and that there is a lack of originality. After doing some research, I feel that this is a somewhat valid opinion. There are so many stories about antisocial guys finding themselves in their favorite video games or web novels or girls reincarnating into princesses in a fantasy world, and while some of these stories are done quite well and subvert these tropes, many are just generic and don’t serve much purpose. Another reason I was hesitant was because of how many boys’ love stories and girls’ love stories there are and just how popular many of them are. Quite frankly, neither of those types of stories produced any good feelings within my soul for very obvious reasons, and I made the generalization that most manhwa were full of things like that and that they should be avoided in general.

I’ll say it now: I was wrong about that. Entirely wrong. Remember Bastard, the story that my friend recommended to me? I read the entire thing in a day, all 94 chapters of it. As it stands, it is still in my top 10 series of all time, and it is a story that I recommend to anyone who likes a good scare or the feeling of being on the edge of your seat. It’s an excellent story about finding purpose, connecting with people, and standing up to the evil you see in life. In this case, it’s the main character, a teenage student, standing up to his rich serial killer of a dad and trying to protect a fellow student of his from being his dad’s next victim. Spoiler alert: he is successful, but instead of saying how that happens, I encourage you to read the story yourself. There are some pretty crazy twists that I don’t want to spoil.

After Bastard, I was hooked. I updated my goal of completing 100 manga and added that manhwa would count towards that goal because there is a decent amount of overlap between the two genres. My next series was Sweet Home, which is by the same author as Bastard and has a pretty successful live-action adaptation. While I didn’t enjoy it as much as Bastard, it was still a fun read and a unique take on the zombie apocalypse trope. Afterward, the same friend who recommended Bastard also recommended Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint (ORV for short), a currently ongoing series that sounded similar to the “antisocial guy finds himself in his favorite video game or web novel” trope I outlined earlier. While it fits the latter in many ways, it also takes that trope and completely turns it on its head with a crazy meta plot and some insane plot twists and worldbuilding. If I had to recommend a random manhwa to someone wanting to get into manhwa, ORV would be one of two main recommendations that I have. It’s easily one of my favorite ongoing reads and has one of the more badass protagonists you’ll come across.

Meanwhile, the other one I would recommend to first-timers is a story that I often find hard to describe. There is a good reason for this, trust me. When my friend, who recommended Bastard and ORV, said that I should read The Boxer, she prefaced it by saying that it was easily her favorite manhwa and that it was written by a Christian. That startled me! A Christian man writing a manhwa? That was quite surprising until I took a step back and remembered that Christianity is quite big in Korea and that several believers have very sound theology there. Upon hearing that, I set everything else that I was reading aside, found a good time to start it, and did so with gusto.

Before I go any further, I want to give a shoutout to my friend who recommended all these series. She’s a real one when it comes to her faith and her tastes in games, food, and especially manga/manhwa. Without her explaining what manhwa can really be like sometimes, I’m sure I wouldn’t have taken the chance that I did on series like Bastard, ORV, Seasons of Blossom (another masterpiece that I highly recommend), and so on. I also wouldn’t have given The Boxer a chance, despite my affinity for boxing stories like the Rocky movies and Raging Bull.

Anyway, about The Boxer. It is amazing. It’s just amazing. Like I said before, I often find it hard to describe this series. Not because the plot is overly complicated or because the themes are jumbled, but because the core message hidden within is so important and powerful that I almost get emotional whenever I talk about it. What is that message? Simply put, The Boxer is an allegory of the journey many take before finding solace in Jesus Christ. It is the story of a troubled young man who finds himself roped into boxing due to his natural talent for fighting. The man who brings him into this world, his mentor and later coach, is meant to be a metaphor for Satan, with his twisted view of the world and his desire to dominate everyone he meets hanging over the story and Yu, the main character. K, Yu’s mentor, eventually molds him into the greatest boxer to ever step into the ring, a soulless killing machine whose only purpose is to crush anyone who opposes him, no matter who they are or where they come from. Without spoiling the finer details, he eventually breaks free of this cycle of soulless violence, thanks to what I would call a form of divine intervention. This breakthrough happens in chapter 103, and boy, let me tell you, it was tough to see what was going on when my vision suddenly became obscured by tears.

I’ve always found it interesting that the author of The Boxer decided to give the main character the name of Yu. While it is a somewhat common surname in Korea, it also has a deeper meaning behind it in this context. In this case, I believe it refers to the person reading the story. While Yu has a past many do not share and goes on a journey that many may not be able to relate to personally, he still represents many people’s lack of inner purpose and general waywardness. So often, humans live their days going through the motions, never really questioning whether there’s something bigger out there and never really deciding to venture within and see what life means to them. Many of us also suffer from past traumas silently like Yu, and choose to either bottle it in or cope with it using various means, many of which are unhealthy. However, as The Boxer teaches both Yu and those reading it at the end, there is indeed a light at the end of the tunnel, there is indeed hope, and there is indeed a Redeemer who both loves and cares for us, despite where we come from and despite our sinful nature from birth. Jesus is the answer to our traumas, our questions regarding purpose, and our waywardness. While I don’t think The Boxer is the best Christian allegory I’ve ever read, it is one of the stronger ones I’ve come across, and I commend the author for writing such a powerful story and integrating his faith into it. That takes guts not only to do but also to pull off successfully. He did both, and he did it excellently.

So, what is the point I’m trying to make here? If it wasn’t obvious already, manhwa can be good, and the best manhwa can be on par with the best manga. There are so many other stories that I could talk about or recommend, but I will leave it here. If I had to request anyone reading this, it would definitely be to check out The Boxer. Even if you aren’t a Christian, it is still a great story with lots of action, good laughs, and really unique characters with lots of backstory. I can guarantee that you won’t regret reading it.

My next post will be out eventually; I’m still thinking of what to talk about and when to submit it. I want to try to be purposeful when doing these things, because I think it’s good for me to moderate myself. With that being said, God bless, and I’ll see you later.

There are times when I forget really important things. Sometimes, I’ve missed birthdays; other times, it’s an appointment that I scheduled a week in advance and didn’t bother to note on my calendar. I’ve done that second one more than once in the past couple of years, and thankfully, those I was supposed to be seeing were merciful each time, even when I didn’t deserve their kindness. Do you know who that reminds me of? The Lord.

God’s patience and mercy are always displayed in the Bible and the present day. Every day I and those I love to wake up is a testament to that, for not only are we granted more time on this planet, but we also have avoided being smitten where we stand. This goes for everyone, not just those who know God and acknowledge his holiness. So many people live in complete ignorance or willingly turn their backs on the truth, all to live a lie, doing whatever makes them happy regardless of moral or spiritual implications.

I can’t lie; it makes me sad. I know quite a few with good intentions and tons of kindness who try to positively impact the world and those around them, yet they don’t believe. I’ve tried talking about my faith and my beliefs with them. While many interesting conversations have been had, they always end with the other party politely rejecting any offer of coming to church or checking out the Word for themselves. While some would look at that and decide not to press any further, I’ll say here and now that I’m not one of those people. I don’t want these people I know to stay wayward; I want them to see what’s going on in the world. I want them to see that there is a living God and that he is just and righteous. I know I’m not their savior, but I want to tell them the good news. It’s the least I can do.

I encourage any Christian who reads this to do what I’m talking about here. We all have friends who don’t know the Lord, yet we still care about them as human beings. Take a more active role in their lives; tell them about your faith if they’re willing to listen. Even if they turn you down or scream bloody murder at you, don’t give up on them. Even if they give up on you, don’t do the same. That won’t be easy sometimes, but it’s not the right move. We screw up every single day, we are not righteous people, yet the Lord doesn’t give up on us. If he doesn’t give up on us, why should we give up on those who may have done so to us? It wouldn’t make sense to do that.

Bit of a ramble this time around, apologies for that. I felt the need to write this after having a conversation with a good friend of mine about his experiences in trying to share his faith with his non-Christian friends. We both encouraged each other to keep being these for those who don’t know the Lord, even though it can sometimes test our patience. My next post will be not too long from now, looking forward to sharing that one.

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

Hey all, another short post here. I think I might finally be getting into some form of consistency here, which is good. I love writing these posts and I want to do more, and so I’m doing just that.

First, I don’t believe I’ve ever mentioned this about myself on here, but regardless of whether I have, I’ll say it anyway. Last year, after not having been in school for over a year and a half, I finally began taking courses for a business degree with some elements of computer science sprinkled throughout. At first, it felt like the right decision. I’ve always enjoyed coding with different programming languages and found it especially fun in high school. I had planned to finish my degree, find a comfortable office job or a spot in a big software company, and then go from there. This was before I stepped back and realized an uncomfortable truth about the computer science industry, especially in Canada.

Simply put, it’s oversaturated and nearly impossible to find good tech jobs in Western Canada. This is due to many factors, including foreign nationals scooping these jobs up for themselves, a lack of overall employment, and a struggling economy. It’s also a fact that Canada isn’t a premier destination for those in computer science and software engineering. At this rate, your best hope is to go down south into the United States or move somewhere in Europe, where you can hopefully run into something there. In case it wasn’t apparent by now, I had decided to change my career path and go into something that I, as well as my entire family, think would be far more suited for me, as well as something that I would have a chance at finding good employment within.

What is that, you might ask? Glad you did. I plan on becoming a sportswriter or a media relations specialist for a sports franchise, hopefully focused on the NHL here in Canada. If you’ve looked through my blog, you’ll know I am a big hockey fan and love talking about it. I’ve been a fan for over a decade; I’m always putting my nose to the ground and trying to find out information about possible trades, prospects, etc. My parents had been urging me for the past couple of years to get into this industry instead of computer science, but I brushed it off at first because I thought I would enjoy coding more than I did. Also, there was still a chance for me to get into something like Google or even Microsoft eventually. That will continue.

It’s not just my parents that were urging me to change my mind as well. Many friends said similar things, and some church mentors even suggested I consider it. Looking back on it, I feel that the Lord had been trying to direct me towards doing this for some time, but I just hadn’t gotten the message. Now that I see it for what it is, I’m grateful to everyone who’s given me their support and encouragement throughout these last few weeks. I feel emboldened and excited to start this journey, and I can’t wait to see where it takes me. Whether it takes a couple of years or longer, I’m in this for the long haul and want to make the most out of it.

Now, in slightly less important news, the MLB playoffs start today. Until the last month or so this season, they hadn’t grabbed my attention as much as the last few had. There are many reasons for this, but the main one is due to how the Atlanta Braves, my team, have performed throughout the year. To put it simply, injuries and a surprisingly dire lack of offense have caused this team to go from a surefire World Series contender to having to settle for the 5th seed in the National League, a position they weren’t even guaranteed to get until yesterday when they played their very last game of the regular season. The Mets nearly kicked them out of the playoff race entirely, but they thankfully decided not to score any runs in the second game of yesterday’s doubleheader. No matter how epic it was, we don’t talk about that first game.

For what it’s worth, I’m really glad I started paying attention at the beginning of September. Lots of crazy things happen, from Shohei Ohtani becoming the first player to ever hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season to the Tigers and Royals beating the odds and making the playoffs for the first time in 10 years and 9 years respectively. I also watched Tarik Skubal and Chris Sale wrap up what should be unanimous Cy Young seasons. For all the problems the Braves have experienced this year, their trade for Chris Sale before the season began has been nothing but a tremendous win for the organization. Sale, 35 years young, pitched what might be the best season of his excellent career and he always gave the Braves a chance to win, which they generally did when he started.

So, who do I think will win the World Series this year? It’s hard to say, but after taking a look at how evenly matched a lot of these teams are and taking past years into account, I came up with this bracket early this morning:

Fun fact, the Astros and Phillies actually met in the World Series back in 2022, albeit under significantly different circumstances. Houston was a juggernaut and was easily the best overall team in baseball that year, while Philadelphia was the 6th seed in the NL and hadn’t made the playoffs in quite some time. Because the Astros are inevitable, they closed out the Phillies in 6, although the series was actually quite close throughout all 6 games. This year, I have them meeting up again, but the Phillies winning in 6 this time. While I absolutely despise the Phillies as a fan of a division rival, I cannot overlook how complete they are as a team, from the batting lineup all the way to their starting rotation. When you can roll out Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez and Christopher Sanchez as your 4 starting pitchers, you’ve got something really good going on. I would personally rather put a fork through my brain than see the Phillies win this year, but I also wouldn’t be shocked to see them do it.

Then again, baseball is really weird, and things never go the way you expect. Who knows, maybe the Dodgers and Yankees won’t choke and go all the way. Maybe it’ll be something super weird like the Brewers beating the Royals. Truly, I have no idea what’ll happen, and neither do you. Isn’t that the fun of it all, though? Probably.

At any rate, here’s to a good playoffs and hopefully more entertaining results than last year. With all that being said, God bless and I’ll see you later.

Hey all, I’m back with another post. I keep saying I will release a couple a month, and I still haven’t gotten into that rhythm yet. Oh well, I’ll get it right one day.

I will touch upon something I discovered during my vacation to Penticton at the end of August. For the longest time, I’ve never been able to get into any kind of alcohol, nor have I understood the fascination that so many have with it. Sure, I get that people like the tastes or the effects that it has on them, but nearly every time I’ve sipped anything, whether it be over-the-counter beer or the finest champagne in Alberta, I’ve just never been able to drink it without feeling at least a little bit disgusting afterward. The same goes for red wine, which I’ve had a few times. I’ve had it at family functions, weddings, and fancy restaurants, and I still think it tastes terrible. Why did I have it all those times even though I don’t like it, you ask? I think it was because everyone else was trying it, and also because I was a little curious. If I hadn’t been so eager to fit in, I probably would’ve stuck with my usual order of ice water or Sprite.

I had never been to either the Okanagan or Penticton before my trip, and out of all the things I will remember from going down there, the wines I discovered are definitely up there. Admittedly, I was initially hesitant to try any of them due to my past experiences. I eventually relented when I saw they were all specialized fruit-flavored wines. These flavors ranged from peach to pear and all the way to haskap. If you don’t know what a haskap is, it’s a very sour and tasty blue-colored berry you can find at various farms and shrubs across Alberta and British Columbia. My dad tried the haskap wine and thought it tasted like gasoline due to the sourness, but I ended up liking it. Unfortunately, we didn’t buy any bottles of that. However, we did buy several bottles of cherry, strawberry, plum, and so on. Many of them ended up going to our various relatives across central Alberta and Edmonton. We ended up keeping a lot of them for ourselves, because my house does like a good drink once in a while. We also bought a myriad of jams and syrups, all of them being fruit-flavored as well.

It’s been quite fun trying a lot of these flavors, and I’ve now really grown a taste for cherry wines and pear rosé. We’re definitely going to try and order some more bottles of pear rosé for the winter; it should definitely go well with our traditional turkey dinner.

That’s about all I have for now. It’s a short post, I know, but I still haven’t gotten around to polishing up and publishing the other posts I’ve had on the burner for a while. I’m definitely going to try and change that for October because I have a lot of things I’d like to talk about that are coming up.

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