Hey, ya’ll! Long time no talk. Sorry about that. Life’s been… fun.
So since we last spoke, and I’m no longer sure when that was without traversing back into my blog, was around… June 30th, 2021! Yikes. Such a long time. Well, when we last left off.. I had just visited my big Sis’s family in SoCal, and had an amazing time.. my TX family joined me there and we had a blast. That seems like ages ago that I got to Irvine super early after a long 12 hour drive, had to kill time until family arrived by plane so we could check into our hotel, so I ended up trying to sleep in my car (which I drove) in a quiet city park.. until it wasn’t quiet anymore. So then I aptly drove to a Planet Fitness to “workout” or “rest” on one of the massage chairs. (I’m so cheap sometimes.) Anyways, gosh.. so long ago. But it wasn’t. My Mom, Sis Kris and I stayed at San Clemente Hotel and had a great few days there visiting our older Sis and her fam. We ended up going up to Lake Arrowhead again, which I’d been to once before, and the place never ceases to amaze me! So pretty and refreshing! We did a lake tour on the ferry and did lunch, had a grand old time. We also managed to go to the Ocean Institute in San Clemente, CA (where Spongebob Squarepants got it’s inspiration after the creator worked there for the longest) and that was my second ‘Dolphin Watching’ ship tour.. so much fun! We saw hundreds of dolphins swimming together, perhaps even many hundreds. It was so beautiful! I also got to hang out with my good friends Dee & Rob who I met through an ex when I moved to L.A. from Dallas back in 2011 (before I moved to ABQ on Jan 1, 2012.) I actually drove out there, too, as I do, so the drive back through the outer rims of the Grand Canyon is always icing on the cake. This all happened around the middle of June 2021.
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So… since then, my insane neighbors had a 10 hour firework bonanza on the 4th of July weekend. It was scary and fun at the same time… watching thousands of fireworks all around me… while being scared of them setting fire to my new home. (But it was also amazing to watch!) Right after that, my cousin Tara (who I have a common love with The Beatles with, and 70’s music, hence the name of this post) has come down to see me and stayed for a few days back on the July 10th weekend… we had a blast. She knew I was penny-pinching after my recent trip so we kept it mostly cheap and low key. I took her to Santa Fe and we did the whole ‘Turqoise Trail’ route back to Madrid, NM, then on to SF. Such an amazing little trip I never grow tired of (after probably my 10th trip out there that way.) We toured Old Town ABQ and did the museum thing one weekend, which was fun. We also watched the final chapter of “Tales of the City” by Armistead Maupin on Hulu, which my cuz T told me about… which is funny, since I introduced her to the very same series about 20 years ago on PBS. (The books are better, but the series is amazing in its own right.. thanks to Olympia Dukakis (and this was her last performance before she left Earth last year.) It was so great of her to come down and I felt so blessed to see more family after such a long time of not seeing family the year before. (Thanks, Cuz T! I love ya!)
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2021 is all about OD’ing on family, right? Well, from a distance, at least. With a mask at the ready.
So after T visited, a few weeks later (this is about 3-4 months ago), I visited TX for my nephew’s 8th birthday party (so fun!) That long weekend included a huge water slide in her backyard for my nephew and his friends, and it was a fun time! Fast forward a couple months… About a month ago, my Mom, Sis Kris & her friend Jessica visited me for a few days to attend the Albuquerque International Hot Air Balloon Festival, and also, Meow Wolf in Santa Fe! More good times! Jessica was a sweetheart (I hadn’t met her yet until then) and we had such a blast.
About 3 months ago, I also began dating this guy (who I will call “G”) who is in his early 30’s… he’s big and tall like me, Hispanic, has a great calm aura and he and I got close pretty quickly. Then, about two months ago, he caught Covid and I haven’t seen him since. He’s recovered from that, but about 2 weeks ago he found out he had bronchitis and had to admit himself to the ER. He’s doing better now, still recovering, but.. I’m unsure where he and I stand anymore but we do text daily and I do miss him. Hopefully we will get to hang out soon! I miss his handsome face, our great conversations, and so much more 🙂 We text daily and sometimes chat, but with his bronchitis it has been hard to communicate any other way than texting.
About 2 months ago, I also decided to start my very first YouTube channel, focused on vintage gaming. I had agonized over the decision to make one for the past 10+ years, so I’m so happy I decided to take the plunge! It’s been fun, excruciating, embarrassing, definitely stepping out of my comfort zone on that one! At any rate, head on over to YouTube to check it out if you haven’t.. just search for ‘Ballistik Coffee Boy.’
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I’ve been hanging out with my friend Adam, too (my video game buddy) and also our friend Chris (I got to meet him in person a few weeks ago.) We all have a great time playing the Atari and Bally Astrocade, and I can’t wait to hang out with them both some more! At the time of posting this, Adam and I are hanging out again today after work, which is probably the 6th time we’ve hung out (or so) but every chance we get we like to, and its definitely a fun time of gaming, sometimes lunch or dinner, and its just so fun to geek out with a dude (or dudes) who ‘get it!’
I’m now on the board of directors for the LGBTQIA+ theater group I’m part of… I’ve been part of that for the past 7-8 months and it’s been fun, but time consuming. I stepped down from my marketing position to just be ‘member at large’ and that works better with my busy work and school schedule. (Yep, Still in grad school, and I have all A’s! My current class is called ‘career counseling.’)
In all, I’ve had a great few months! Despite ‘G’ getting sick, things have been good… I’ve also started collecting for the Atari Lynx portable handheld and the Atari Jaguar 64 bit system, both of which have been great. On the gaming front.. I upgraded to the OLED Nintendo Switch. I began a subscription service to Video Games Monthly last month (which is a subscription mail service where this company sends you 3-10 video games) and it’s been so much fun. I go into much more detail on my YT page, so visit me there.
Thanks for sticking with me, you guys…. and I hope every single one of you (yes, all 3 of you, LOL) is safe, healthy, and doing well. Much love to you and your families!
BB
Ballistik Coffee Boy. 
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