November Contender 2024
Writing
Indiegames
Signs of the Sojourner , In Stars and Time and Thirsty Suitors continue to be on hold but after playing Baldur’s Gate 3 four times I have so much I want to share about lessons I’ve learned. That spoiler-free post will be up soon for supporters! Not quite an indie game but it has been such a wonderful experience while I’ve been on my mental health recovery.
Boardgames
All of my board game reviews are done and going through the editing process with Board Game Quest! Once they’re published I’ll be sure to link them here. There aren’t any new reviews coming down the pipeline yet but I’ll also let you all know what I’m looking at once something is of interest.
Writing Challenge
The memoir begins this month! No daily or weekly word goals this time, just challenging myself to write something for it every day. I’m thinking that this will be a help for my brain gremlins, mainly because recounting all that you have been through and overcome can help provide evidence that “this too shall pass”.
Video
Streaming
Dave the Diver will likely come back nearing the end of this month as we make our way to the finish line of The Walking Dead Telltale Series, Season 2. We will also have a fundraiser on Native American Heritage Day and the plan is to do my first playthrough of Planet of Lana.
It’s also that time of the year when even the indie games announce their new releases and they have been making their way to my stream time too! Sunday November 3 I’ll be covering Europa, Saturday November 9 is dedicated to Robot Detour, and Sunday November 10 is exploring Wilmot Works It Out.
Personal
Currently Playing
Outside of Baldur’s Gate 3 having a big hold on me, I’ve been enjoying the new songs featured in Just Dance 2025. Having so much Ariana Grande material available to dance to finally has me up and out of my gaming chair. Later this month (November 21) there should also be a DLC update for Star Wars Outlaws which will likely have me glued back to the couch.
IRL
A big chunk of this month will sadly be occupied with more work days in the office as we approach some of our big company All Hands team events. I’m excited to see some of the team members that are located in other states and countries, but a bit apprehensive about spending what little energy I do have trying to socialize properly. Luckily they are accommodating everyone’s schedules so any commitments I have in the evening I won’t be locked down to spend with coworkers. Yippee!
Japanese lessons are going well and going strong, it’s also a great source of positive energy because I really like the instructor and I’m happy that even years after formal school that I can still learn something new. My sourdough bread journey, on the other hand, is still struggling. I’m not going to give up yet, especially because I rarely spend time on things that are not a sure thing. This will be the first time that I’ve continued to push for results on a new and unfamiliar activity, so I think there is potential for a lot of personal growth along the way if I keep at it. The one benefit is all of this discard is being reused to make some fairly tasty muffins :)
Picture of the Month
I had such a great time during the fundraiser for The Hunger Project! This incentive to draw a character while wearing an eyemask turned out to be super cursed. I present to you an attempt to sketch Lapis Lazuli from Steven Universe.
Feel free to reply directly to this email to let me know your thoughts, or perhaps any content that you'd like to see or questions you might have. Otherwise, sending you all my cozy thoughts for the month and I look forward to writing to you in December!