Tag: Apex

Living in a Post-Covid World

While Covid isn’t technically over with yet, it has slowed down enough for the world to return to somewhat normal. We don’t need masks anymore. We don’t have restrictions on where we can go or what we can do. Life is back to how it was…or is it? With cases on the rise again, we might wind up doing this whole thing all over again.

Looking back on the last two years, all I can think about is how weird it really was. We all essentially lost two years of our lives. It’s like two years just didn’t exist. We couldn’t go anywhere. We couldn’t do anything. Nothing was open. We were confined to our homes.

While Covid did mess a lot up, (like my trip to Germany that’s been put on hold for over two years) it also showed us that there is still good in the worst of times. Because I was required to sit at home when Covid started back in 2020, I met some really awesome people through Twitch and Discord and through playing games like Fortnite and Apex.

But this blog post isn’t about a time during Covid. This is about after it. Basically, my life is back to normal. I’m working full-time. I can go and do whatever I want when I want. I can try to regain some of what was lost over the last two years. I’ve even gone to a few concerts recently.

But going back to normal also comes with a price. I don’t have as much time to play video games. I don’t have as much time to just hang around on Twitch or Discord. And sadly, I don’t really talk to most of those friends I’ve made during the pandemic. Life just got too busy it seems. I do hear from a few every now and then, but we don’t talk like we used to.

The two years we weren’t able to do anything were truly some of the weirdest moments of my life. The world came to a halt and it’s something I never thought I’d see happen. It’ll be interesting to think about Covid times again years from now. How we reacted. What we did. What it was like. It was just such a strange time, and one I won’t forget.

Random 2 a.m. Thoughts – Part 1

It’s roughly 2 a.m. and I’m getting ready for bed. I may actually make this an ongoing series where I write about things that cross my mind at before I go to bed for the night.

I just got finished playing Apex Legends with a couple of friends. Tonight’s games weren’t as good as other nights. Everything about my game was off. I would get killed super quick, I couldn’t knock anyone down, I couldn’t hit my shots…it happens though.

I was playing ranked and it was a train wreck. They did a soft reset on ranked so it felt like people that were ranked way above me are now playing in my ranked level. It was NOT fun. I was always getting knocked down before I could even see where the shots were coming from. It takes all the fun out of the game.

The best game of the night was the last one we played. We played in unranked and we placed third. We didn’t get a third player for our trio, so it was essentially 2 vs 3 the whole game. To finish in 3rd that game was pretty impressive.

Sometimes I miss the days of old. Last year at this time the world was vastly different. Covid was in full force. Things were shut down. I wasn’t allowed to go to work because it was shut down. And if I’m being completely honest, as much as I hated being home all the time, I did actually enjoy it. I did whatever I wanted all day, every day. It was a very unique time.

I’m currently working full-time at the same job as before the pandemic. I really do enjoy it. I have excellent healthcare and all of the other benefits that come with being a full-time employee. Technically speaking, this is my first ever full-time job. I’ve worked 40+ hours a week before, but I was classified as part-time.

Since going back to work things have slowly improved. As of this post, things are just about back to normal. We still have to wear masks, but that’s not all that bad. In fact, I feel so weird when I don’t have a mask on. I’ve gotten so used to it, that it feels odd to walk around in public without one.

Friday night I’ll be going to the Cubs game. It’ll actually be my second game in 2021. The first one I went to masks were required and the stadium was at about 25% capacity. When I go Friday, masks aren’t required if you’re fully vaccinated (which I am) and the stadium is at 100% capacity. I am excited to go. I love baseball and I love watching the pros play. There’s just a certain feeling you get from being at the game that you don’t really get from watching on TV.

While the future is still uncertain, it is nice seeing things go back to how they used to be. Businesses running as normal, people being able to hang out, concerts returning. I did miss being able to go anywhere I wanted when I wanted. Being stuck at home made it feel like house arrest. The only places I went was the park and the store. Now, I can go anywhere I want.

This pandemic is something that should be remembered. It was a time of chaos and uncertainty, but we’re going to make it though it. And once we do, we’ll be grateful for all the things we do have. Because it wasn’t that long ago that the entire world shut down and our lives changed forever.

A World of Battle Royale

The first battle Royale I ever played was Fortnite. Fortnite was a new kind of game for me. It was something I had never played before. Playing a shooter was nothing new. I’ve been playing shooters since Wolfenstein 3D. But Fortnite added a new element to the game: building.

Fortnite exploded. And I firmly believe it was because it was the first full cross-platform game. PC players could play with Xbox and Playstation players. And later they added Switch and mobile to the list. It was truly a game you can play with all your friends. And while it was fun at first, Fortnite had become stale and filled with try hards. Playing casually doesn’t exist anymore. Maybe I’m just bad at the game, but always being out-built makes me want to rage quit.

I spent some time on Warzone but it felt like there was too much going on. I’d always get killed super fast. I couldn’t kill anyone and my team always carried me. I don’t think I’ve ever won a game of Warzone either. But that’s ok. Warzone is the past.

Aside from Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, the only other game to really have my attention is Apex Legends. Apex is a game I dabbled in earlier on. I’d play a game here or there and then quit. It was fun, but I wanted to play other stuff. Recently that changed.

I’ve been all about Apex lately. I love the gameplay. I love the pace of the games. I love the choice of weapons and the legends to play as. Apex takes some getting used to, but once you figure out the mechanics. it’s super fun to play. It’s been the one game I’ve played the most in the last week or 2. I just can’t stop playing it.

I don’t win often, but when I do win, it feels like a major accomplishment. It feels like I earned a win. Fortnite wins don’t always feel earned. They are sometimes really easy to get. Apex is hard, but not impossible. And while I’m still learning about all the little aspects of the game, I’m sure I’ll be playing Apex for a long time to come.