The second of only two journal entries penned by famed game designer and accomplished competitive gaming champion, James Ellison.
Journal Entry December 17th, 2017 Jamish Ellison
These last two months have been really peculiar. Forget what I just learned about Diego. They have been very odd. They could be connected, but I don't know for sure.
I thought for weeks that I was living in a haunted house. I would leave something somewhere, and then it would disappear and I would find it somewhere else. Not like it would fall off the counter or anything, but it would be displaced. Sometimes I would come home and I would hear Diego moving about in his room and I would call out to him and head over there and there would be nothing. Nothing.
I have been feeling emotionally connected to him. Like, as if we were twins. I can sense when he is happy or sad or confused or exhilarated. It's super weird, but at the same time it's actually really intriguing. I haven't asked him if he is feeling connected to me, but I have asked him how he's doing after sensing a certain emotional state and have been spot on. Maybe I am just more sensitive to my friends and family now?
I am not connected to my parents though. I couldn't have guessed what they were going through. Short selling the house? Gambling addiction? I mean, my god. Who knew? Did you know that you can't short sell your house to a family member? My childhood home is gone. And I can't buy it, unless the current owner wants to buy it. Frustrating. They asked to move in. We don't have the space, so they went and moved in with my aunt. I'm sure they will be fine. She has room for a studio.
On a positive note, I got top 200 in that FPS I've been playing at night. That qualifies me for a few of the regional tournaments. It's been a while since I seriously competed in a gaming tourney, but I am seriously considering it. Heck, Di and I played SF2 and that brought back all the good feelings I had associated with gaming and competitive gaming. I mean, I've been stuck on platforms for like 3 solid years. A lot of those first person games nowadays require you to be online, which makes zero sense.
The tournament is for the first weekend in January. I think I'm going to sign up. After listening to Diego tell me his secrets, I feel like anything is possible. I know I have lost some of my reaction time because of my old age of 25, but, I know my instincts can carry me through a lot of the decision making and sometimes, just making smart decisions will get you passed a lot of the competition.
:Subject Change:
So, Diego. What a thing to say. He can teleport? I mean, what? I didn't believe it. But then he brought me a hot pastrami sandwich from a Jewish Deli in the Lower East Side. I mean, I've never been there myself, I had a sandwich once my dad brought us when we went to hang out for the day in Central Park, but, I've never been inside. He had it. He had the receipt. He showed me a picture of his little yellow ticket. I mean, what a trip. Also, it was just as delicious as I remember it being.
He told me how he went to Europe a few times. He bought sweet treats from this French bakery so he had something to trade for a wetsuit. And then he used said wetsuit to treasure hunt and he found something. I mean, come on. Is that a trope or what? Either way, I was instantly supportive. We're friends for sure, but I can't honestly say that I've been super connected to him like I have been for the last couple months. Thinking about it, maybe it's him? Maybe I'm connected to him? Ooh! Speaking of connections...
:Subject Change:
Cathryn from accounting. She and I have gone on 5 dates now. In two weeks I have seen her outside of work 5 times. I'm excited. She's really great. Smart, witty, does a mean clap back, her social media game is also pretty great. She is really good at her job too. I mean, I think we could challenge each other pretty well. She likes puns though. Like, a lot. She tells them all the time. I guess that's the one thing I'm not a fan of. Whatever, I can deal with puns if everything else about her is great.
I am going to ask her to be exclusive. I feel like I should be a little more nervous than I am. I think I'm confident she will say yes. We are going out again tonight. Six times in two weeks. Feels good man. Ooh. What did she say was her favorite flower? Gazania! That's it.
:Update:
I asked Diego if he's ever been to Spain. He said yes. He's even been to Valencia. I asked him to pick me up a few if any of the flower shops there had some. They did. It was expensive since they are just out barely out of season. Whatever though. I hope she's super impressed. I will give them to her tonight!
I have to be honest, it is fantastic having someone who can go anywhere in a moment's notice and pick you up something special to you that's normal to those there. I mean, wow. He could go get a Turkish rug IN TURKEY. He could get vegemite in Australia. I don't know why he would, but he could.
If we were terrible people, he would be the most amazing mule ever. We would be rich. Electronics. We could sell American cameras and computers to Chinese people in China. We could just do some research on some of the highest import taxes and circumvent them by just having him show up and sell things. Wow.
:Subject Change:
So the end of year bonuses are set to be handed out. I haven't gotten mine yet, which means I am likely up for a promotion. I guess the work I did on that parsed project showed them what I can do. I am nervous. Do I even want to be promoted? A senior title will give me a lot of wiggle room with salary negotiations should I decide to leave the company.
We will just have to wait and see. It's a couple weeks out.