No Answers - R.A. Young - Mar. 5, 2024
No Answers
Around one year ago I managed to get my health insurance situated and was lucky enough to find a Principal Care Provider who was willing to listen and address each of my many untreated issues. I've seen a neurologist for a mysterious set of symptoms I've settled on referring to as "Internal Tremors," a dermatologist for an increasingly frustrating skin issue, received rounds of different meds to stymie various gut problems, dealt with that whole cut finger tendon surgery thing, and most recently found a psychologist I very much like working with.
Here's the thing -- as helpful as all of these medical professionals have been, as validating as their treatment plans are, as relieving as it has been to confirm my brain is intact, my heart is healthy, my gut is treatable, my finger isn't forever useless, my skin cancer free, and to get my brain medicated, I've gotten no answers. My tremors come and go, my skin's still bumpy and itchy, my gut still has its moments, and, well, I guess we'll see if Strattera helps with my new inattentive ADHD diagnosis.
I turn 40 in just over a month. In my head, I feel a bit like I'm falling apart. These non-emergent medical conditions do weigh on you. Today I saw my PCP again, going over blood tests and confirming I've made some dramatic improvements in general health. We're going back to biannual appointments. He says I'm as healthy as can be expected. Now I just need to persuade my brain.
Wrassle' Writing
Once again, mental health stuff has taken the spotlight in the newsletter, which unfortunately means progress on my book remains stalled. Strattera is supposed to kick into gear after 1-3 weeks, but I don't want to wait that long. The plan is to start digging back into outlining tomorrow. I've got a playlist prepared and my alarm set. Let's do some work.
Just because I haven't been writing my book doesn't mean I haven't been writing, though. In the past week, I've written up thoughts on a few subjects. Wrestling has been a particular focus, with this weekend's AEW Revolution PPV riling me up. I wrote up thoughts on the card, rumors and speculation, excitement over the final product, and expectations for the future. It's been nice just being excited about something to the point the words just spilled out.
For the wrestling fans out there, AEW Revolution is worth experiencing. Perhaps the best show in over five years, with both Ospreay vs. Takeshita and Sting's retirement match being instant classics. With Okada and Mercedes Mone's debuts expected in the next few weeks, and several awesome wrestlers returning from injury soon, this could be a banner year for wrestling unlike anything seen since NJPW 2015-2018.
That means lots of hot wrestling takes in the newsletter for the rest of the year!
Infinite Boredom
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is now behind me. I originally wanted to get the game's Platinum Trophy but settled for around 95% completion. It's funny to say that because, you might recall, I didn't much like Infinite Wealth. What can I say except I get way into RPGs even when I'm struggling to enjoy them.
Much of the criticism surrounding Infinite Wealth has to do with the game's story, which is a surprising thing for a game with dozens of hours of gameplay and an everpresent narrative. But I'd allege that the issues with Infinite Wealth go deeper. It's a design problem tied to Infinite Wealth's structure and high-level decisions to recycle a substantial amount of content from Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
The fresh content in Infinite Wealth, the game's Hawaii location, is quite good but doesn't last. If Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth ended here, somewhere around 20-30 hours, it would be decent enough. But it doesn't. It introduces two Japanese cities, a different protagonist, and asks the player to level up two separate parties. All without expanding the story substantially. Nostalgia isn't enough to carry this much extra and unnecessary content.
I finished Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth exhausted with the game, questioning if development was rushed or if the series' original creator departing the development team may mean it will never be the same. Sadly, I don't think I'll be buying the next game at launch.
Lightning Round
Here are some quick takes regarding the various media I consumed over the past week:
Poor Things [Movie] - Beautiful and ugly throughout, Poor Things sees fetus-become-woman Emma Stone struggle through a world determined to exploit her every want and need. The men throughout are each their own Dr. Frankenstien to Emma Stone's monster. There's a bizarre contrast here that's difficult to understand, though. A feminist message determined to never acknowledge itself. An anti-capitalist message left too subtle to be valuable. It's a shame because there was an opportunity here and most of the work to deliver it was done, but left unclarified.
Helldivers 2 [Game] - I picked up Helldivers 2 in an impulsive moment when I thought I wouldn't finish Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. It was a good choice. It's action-packed and so much fun to experience with friends. Blowing up waves of bugs and robots, desperately trying to survive with limited resources and controls designed to be stymying. It's lovely. Can't wait to play more.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth [Game] - I've only just dipped my toe into FF7 Rebirth, but I'm excited to delve in further. There's so much to do even early in the game, much unlike Final Fantasy 16. I'm still wary of Nomura's influence and anime stylings, but we'll get to that when it's impossible to ignore.
The Witcher: Sword of Destiny [Book] - After devouring The Last Wish, the first Witcher book, I'm having a harder time with Sword of Destiny. I think it might be the translation, which reads less like a Grimm fairy tale and more like an adaptation of an action movie. Hoping I'll settle into it a bit more and enjoy myself again in time.
That's it for this week. Thanks again for reading my musings, even as I struggle to get back to the point of this newsletter. Always happy to talk about anything I bring up in this newsletter if you want to message me on Discord or Bluesky. <3
Until next week,
Rory