#jordi rambles like a madman

[requiemforarainbow]

Little expansion on my last post. Under the cut too.

I don't know why I always feel this need to explain everything, but I'm gonna attempt to satisfy it. So here goes.

Regarding my Nintendo "collection": I am a packrat. Probably genetic; my mom is too. I don't like to throw things away that still work, and I still get enjoyment from this stuff. Getting rid of something I may never be able to get again just doesn't work for me. And getting a digital copy means I may lose access to that too, if the system it's on breaks, or a company decides to pull it. (Happened with Netflix; they took one of my fave shows off their service, and I only found out when I went to watch it again. I don't want the same thing to happen to a game I'm invested in, especially if I haven't finished it or transferred stuff off it.)

It would be different if a game/system breaks. If it's totally non-functional (like my cartridge copy of Silver), then I accept I may have to toss it. But I don't like it. Even busted, I still want to keep it to acknowledge I had it. I owned it. I played it.

And all these systems and games? They were purchased with my parents' sweat and blood. In my dad's case, sometimes literally.

My parents are both retired now, but when he was working, my dad was a firefighter. 30+ years, both as a volunteer and a professional (paid) one. Firefighter and paramedic, in fact. And a small business owner - he owned a gun shop. (No hate, plz. Seriously. I've heard it all. I don't need the BS.)

At one time, when I was about 8-9, he was working 3 jobs simultaneously. Firehouse, ambulance service, and the store. There was an entire YEAR when I only saw my father long enough to say "Hi, dad, love you."

That October, my dad had to sit my sister and me down and tell us we might not be able to afford Christmas. We'd still get something in our stockings, some candy maybe, but no "real" presents. I didn't care; I told my dad what I really wanted was to spend Christmas with him. That's all I wanted, and I was super serious about it.

I swear to God I think I broke his heart with that.

He ended up having to shut down the store in November (troubles with the rent and family shit), and believe it or not, we actually had enough money to afford a small Christmas that year.

This is to say that we have, for decades, survived on a civil servant's salary, and whatever my mom's job at the time brought in. (She's been a switchboard operator, a billing clerk for the same ambulance service my dad worked for, and then a billing clerk for an oral surgeon.)

I have never gotten a game or game system on launch day - except for one game. (Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I saved for it.)

I have always gotten a game or game system months or years after it was released. Traditionally for Christmas, or my birthday if backordered. Since the two are within a month of each other, if something comes out between late January and Christmas, I have to wait. And I don't mind doing so. I never have. Will people be "ahead of me" in the game? Yes. But that also means they'll have experience if I need to ask for help. What routes to take. What not to do. I may miss out on some limited-edition and time-sensitive stuff, like DLC, but that's life. I've missed out on events before because I hate leaving the house, so...nothing new.

With both my parents retired now, we literally live on my dad's pension. Considering how poorly firefighters are paid, it's sometimes tight. (He retired at captain, so it's at least a good amount. But honestly? Firefighters should be paid a SHITLOAD more than they are. But that's a rant for another time.)

What about my paycheck? Well...I'm disabled. I have 3 doctors willing to write the note to hopefully get me on SSI. But at my age (almost 36), I'll almost inevitably be rejected the first time and have to hire a lawyer to appeal. Are my parents willing to help with that? Yes. Why? Because they'd love to see me hopefully being able to support myself a little. (I've tried to mention to them that I'd still be living in poverty even with that, but...boomers.)

Is it possible for me to work at all? No. I can't sit for more than 90 minutes at a stretch. I can't stand for more than 30. I require a cane to walk now. I'm prone to migraine headaches both from overuse of a screen and from florescent lights. My mental illness also makes it damn near impossible to keep my mouth shut. I have no filter; I will call out stupid and not give a damn.

Work from home? See above re: overuse of computer screen, sitting time, and add in carpal tunnel.

Hence the doctors going "Yeah, Jordi, you're kinda fucked."

I've had 2 paying jobs in my life. One was retail, for all of 3 months. I'm pretty sure I got fired for getting injured on the job, but they couldn't actually admit that, so they called it "backtalking a supervisor." (I was TERRIFIED of confrontation back then. I would NEVER have said boo to my supervisor, so it's definite bullshit.) The other one, my first job, was as a filing clerk for...the same ambulance company my parents worked for. Best job I ever had; sit in a basement, file ambulance "run cards," not deal with people. ("Run cards" were the physical paperwork the paramedics had to fill out for every patient they transported. Name, date of birth, insurance, etc. Then they'd file it with the ambulance company billing department to bill the insurance - or the patient if no insurance - and then I'd file it away. They were required to keep them for a minimum of 7 years. Now it's all digital, so that job is, sadly, obsolete.)

Is it kind of embarrassing to still be reliant on my parents for money at my age? Yes. But at the same time, I know how goddamn privileged I am to be able to. How privileged I am that they didn't just kick me out at 18. That they recognize I'm disabled and actually care; not attempt to insist that I can work regardless of reality.

That being said... If I could work, I would in a heartbeat. When I was younger, I had so many volunteer positions - assistant teacher at Girls Inc. for the dance teacher, ceramics teacher, sewing teacher (who just happened to be my mom). I volunteered with political campaigns - most of which my grandmother ran. To be fair, I didn't do these things for nothing in return - my high school required at least 20 hours of community service to graduate, and all the volunteering counted. (I ended up being the 2nd highest community service holder in my class - over 1000 hours over 4 years.)

My "dream job" is to write. Novelist. Editor. Hell, Presidential Speechwriter, if I could snag such a position. (That's my only "political" goal.) I've got more WIPs than I can name. I've got a 2 TB hard drive, almost half full with writing. If I ever managed to get published, believe me, my position will not be "Oh, I did this all by myself." NOOOOOOO. Not even close.

My parents will be thanked. My grandparents. My sister. My friends. Hell, my neighbors.

I don't know why I'm so defensive sometimes. I think it's because I've heard basically everything someone can throw at me and accuse me of regarding everything I've just mentioned.

"You don't know how privileged you are!" Yes. Yes I do.

"You must be rich to have <insert whatever here>!" No, just very fucking lucky.

Stuff like that.

And man, do I know how lucky I got with the parent lottery. Supportive, fairly permissive, and just damn nice. (I have friends that, by the end of their first visit, were already calling them "mom" and "dad".)

Wanna watch that R-rated movie and you're only 9? Okay, but you have to watch it with us so we can answer your questions. (Watched Braveheart in 5th grade. Used some knowledge from that movie to answer a question in class correctly and end up with a shitload of candy. Yes, I made a lot of friends.)

Raised Catholic. Sent to Sunday school. Oh, wait, you want to quit because your teachers have completely disillusioned you are actively trying to sabotage your education? Okay, that's cool. (8th grade Sunday school teacher tried to get us to not take sex ed. Which was rolled into health class in my school. If you failed it, you had to retake it. Until you passed. And sex ed was a whole quarter. And no exemption for religious reasons - you got an F for that section if you sat it out. I got snarky, teacher got pissed, I said "fuck this.") Rejected the entire religion and became pagan? Okay, that's cool. (Yes, they wished me a Blessed Yule again this year. And every year for the last 16.)

Brought home a boyfriend? Awesome. If he breaks your heart, I break his face. (Both parents said this) Figured out you're bi? Awesome. I don't care who you date. But if they break your heart, I break their face.

Don't want biological kids? Okay. Disappointed but understandable. (Long story short, I'd have to go off some meds, and NO ONE wants that.) And adoption is a thing. To be honest...that was always my first inclination anyway.

Okay. I think that need to explain is satisfied. Sorry this is a long-ass rant again. Probably no one will read this anyway, but that annoying voice in my head is quieter now.

And I'm gonna go play Pokemon.

#jordi rambles like a madman #part 2 ramble

[requiemforarainbow]

Loooooong story, so a Read More is needed. Click through if you enjoy talk of Nintendo, handhelds, and a shitload of Pokemon talk.

Earlier today I went on a hunting spree, looking for all my gaming handhelds. All of them are Nintendo, and I have at least one of most versions going back to the original Game Boy.

My original Game Boy is actually a "recent" acquisition. When I was a kid, I had the grey brick. It was my favorite thing in the world. When the Game Boy Pocket came out, I got it for Christmas. My original? I was "asked" (read: guilted/forced) to give it to my sister's then best friend, so she could play games with us, as her parents weren't able to afford to buy her one. I hated doing it then; I see the wisdom now and honestly, I'm a little angry at my younger self for not just offering it.

Anyway. For years it was the ONLY one I was missing of the line. I had and kept the others (Pocket, Color, Advance & SP, DS, 3DS, 3DS XL, and Switch), and legit, ALL of them are still in working order. But not the original.

At a con in 2018, I spotted a games vendor with tons of Nintendo stuff. And there, lying on their table, was a beauty. An original Game Boy...in green. The vendor informed me that the green one was a Japanese import (not sure if true, didn't care if not). I informed him it was the only one I was missing, and that green is my favorite color, and inquired on the price.

$45.

SOLD.

I had about $300 total to spend on souvenirs. This was a FIND. If it had cost ALL my spending money, I would have spent it.

It works like a dream, btw.

My Pocket and Color have been MIA since about 2013. I know they're around here somewhere. Just not sure which box I put them in. It's probably the same box that has my Advance SP's charger. I also managed to find my GB Advance: a special one, the gold New York Pokemon Center edition. (My sister and I were very lucky that year.)

(I do know I sound kind of spoiled, having all these things and not having had to ever sell them. I know I'm privileged. Trust me. If I can manage to not ever have to sell my collection, I won't. If I have to ever sell my things, they'll be the very last things I do. And hopefully to someone who will appreciate them.)

What spurred me to do this? I wanted to finally catalogue all my Pokemon games. The name I gave each Trainer, what starter I picked, and any relevant notes.

Do I have all the games? Not myself. But between my sister and I, we do. And yes, still have them. Some don't work, but they're still in the collection. (My sister no longer plays. Hasn't since Black & White. Wish me luck in attempting to nab her copies! And no, I will not overwrite her games. I want to keep them mostly intact and maybe try to bring over any 'mon I can.)

I've tried to give each Trainer a unique name since Gen 2, so that when I trade up a 'mon, I can trace it back to what game/gen it originated in. In cases where I own both/all the games in a set, each one has a unique name, as well as alternating gender for games you can choose it.

For instance: - My sister had Ruby; I had Sapphire. Trainer's name was Lilya. - I have both Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. BD's trainer is Melpomene; SP's trainer is Morpheus. (I'm a Greek mythology nerd; it's also a reference to the book series I've been writing. Two royal siblings, and Morpheus is older.)

So I found the games (most of them, at least), and piled them up. Charged the systems that required it, fresh batteries in the ones that take 'em. (BTW, the 3DS and the 3DS XL can use the same charger. I misplaced one of them, so this is a nice realization.)

Games in, on, check Trainer/starter. Enter data in spreadsheet. Save game, turn off; insert next one. Repeat.

Here's what the cataloguing revealed:

- 1 game currently MIA (Sun) - 2 games busted and data loss (original Silver cart. and Pearl cart.) - 1 game half-busted (Sapphire's internal clock borked) - 4 games total with original trainer and starter long gone (reset, likely multiple times in some cases) - majority of transferrable Pokemon transferred out and up (Pokemon Bank, Pokemon Home, or on higher gen cart.) - at least 6(!) total games with some version of my name (Jordan/Jordi) as the trainer name, so would make figuring out provenance of Pokemon very fuzzy for earlier gen catches - I FOUND MY SHINY MEW! It's in Ultra Moon.

I don't remember if Legendaries/Mythics can be traded into Bank/Home and up. I HOPE they can. My Shiny is a "recent" trade but... I have a legit Mew I've had since Yellow. It's ALSO in UM. And I desperately want to make sure I can keep it. The Mew was given to me in middle school by a friend who got it in either Japan or Korea (I can't remember which) and hated it. Mew's always been my fave 'mon, so he gave it to me. It's been my lucky 'mon. It's level 100 now. If it can't be transferred out and up, at least I know where the little one is now.

I'm pretty sure the Shiny Mew is a hacked one; I got it in a Wonder Trade, so no idea of the provenance of it. Don't care. Shiny Mew is my absolute fave; it's blue, it's Mew.

I also have tried the Mew glitch in Yellow multiple times over the years. It's never worked for me. But...my Yellow is one of the games that I evidently reset and reset and reset (after trading stuff out and up). So I might try it a couple hundred more times. I know I still have the cables somewhere that the old systems required for trading, and we have enough systems that are compatible with the cables and games. So theoretically, if I can get it to work, I can get the Mew out.

I've also had some people try to get me to admit my "legit" traded Mew was also hacked. My friend's parents confirmed their vacation to...I think Japan or Korea, really can't remember after all this time. Met his pen pal there, and his pen pal had an extra Mew from an event that he gave my friend. So it is, as far as I know, and as far as my friend knew, legit. (Looking at the Mew events from around that time and prior, they were all in Japan. So it's a Japanese Mew. But I'm not sure of my friend's pen pal's nationality, and can't remember what country they resided in that his family visited on vacation.)

And while on this cataloguing excursion, I discovered that I have 2 copies each of Yellow and Silver. One each of a hard copy (cartridge), and one each of a digital copy on my 3DS XL. Neither digital copy has been completed, either. The digital copies are nice because I'll be 36 in two weeks and the original Game Boy's screen is a NIGHTMARE for my broken-ass eyes now. (Diabetes isn't helping my eyesight any, either.) So I can play Yellow on a screen that actually lets me SEE SHIT.

And as for Silver? The cartridge is busted. The internal stuff is so old that not only is the internal clock broken, but it's corrupted to the point it won't save. So if you start a new game, you either can't turn it off EVER, or you have to start over from the beginning every time. Kinda gives an old Nintendo fan war flashbacks of Super Mario Bros. 3, actually... The digital copy of Silver ACTUALLY SAVES. I've apparently got a game started on it, too. It's one of the Jordans. I might restart that and give them a different name, since I'm not too far in.

The other totally busted game is my hard copy of Pearl. I put it in the system, tap it to play, and...the system crashes. So that's nice. It's sister title, Diamond? Either I let my best friend play it, because the trainer's his nickname, or it's a copy I bought that just coincidentally has that name. At least I have Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, and they're basically the same game as before.

If I can't snag my sister's copies of the other games, I might see about attempting to buy them. Slowly. Probably from newest gen to oldest, though at the rate I could afford them now, the Gen 1's might end up prohibitively expensive. I might also at some point attempt to snag physical copies of the digital ones I own. Just in case. Physical media will always beat downloads for me. It's the reason I still have DVDs.

Okay, this is seriously long enough. I'm going back to playing Pokemon. Scarlet, this time. Maybe with a side of Arceus if I get bored.

#jordi rambles like a madman #nintendo #pokemon