PixlBit

Hello to everyone here on Pixlbit. It's been way too long since I last blogged but 2018 wasn't an easy year to keep in touch for reasons I'll soon explain. My last blog was in late March '18 and that was after I had been let go from a decent paying job and not knowing what my next step was going to be in regards to keeping my residence and not falling behind in bills.

I applied for a custodian job to the University of Arkansas through a local temp agency around that time. I got the job and while it wasn't a huge paying job it kept me housed, fed and able to keep the lights and water on and fuel in the car. I fell behind on my payments to the internet connection i had at the time and to be honest it wasn't the greatest internet service so that was easy. The options for internet service are few where I live and the only other option available was Cox Communications. I don't have any problem with that service but I owed a past due balance on the account I had before I moved 2 years ago. Trying to budget myself on a temp job that payed about $317 a week meant that some things had to be sacrificed, so aside from the data plan on my phone, I didn't have consistent internet service at my house for about 10 months of 2018. And when money got tight, I had to sell/pawn some things: one of those was my PS4 so there's a LOT of 2018 game releases that I've missed out on. 

The UofA custodial job is still going strong. I became a full time university employee in mid October (the HR department tends to drag their feet when it comes to the application process for no good reason), so now I get paid more and with full benefits (health insurance, 401k, vacation/sick time; shit i never had in the previous job). The paychecks now come monthly instead of weekly so getting used to that has been a challenge. I've also found that paying rent and bills this way is easier.

Another good thing about the job is that I work for mostly great people. I'm one in a crew of a dozen workers who clean selected buildings owned by the university (none of us have any of the actual campus buildings, thank God). I have a huge portion of the building where we all meet and the workload is enough for a full time position. And unlike the previous custodial job, where it was never-ending sporting events and school events, it's a mostly stress free responisbility. Even on nights where the crew has to pool their resources together (if a few couldn't make it to work), we work well together. Are there some goofballs on our team? A few but they're harmless. The biggest annoyance is that their chatterboxes but it's nothing that's caused any drama. For the most part, these people are sweethearts and we're all in this together. 

So, because the income situation improved, I was able to pay off the past due amount for Cox and welcome back their excellent internet and cable (which i can now afford). I have had a lot of catching up to do in regards to films and tv and it truly beats living off of a shitty over-the-air antenna.

While I haven't replaced my PS4 yet (the PS3 is still around and going strong), I recnetly acquired a replacement for the Xbox One and that's my main gaming concentration platform right now. Games I'm playing right now: Gears of War 4 (Horde especially), Stardew Valley (big surprise), Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Titanfall 2. I recently started Apex Legends although the recent server problems means that I've only played a few matches. It seems to be a solid battle royale game but it would help if I could play with friends or randos who don't mind using their headset. 

And there's plenty of games that I own or have access to: Halo Master Chief Collection (holy shit, am i rusty on Halo), Celeste, Forza Horizon 4, Sea of Thieves (need friends plz), Hitman, Mass Effect 3 (i'll still play MP), Paths of Exile, KOTOR, Witcher 3 Complete Edition, In case anyone here still plays those games, my gamertag is still MongoSantaMaria and I'd be glad to join you. 

My podcast, The Past & The Pending, hasn't been updated for two years so that's something i'm working on creating more content for. If your curious or need a reminder it's still active. I didn't get a lot of feedback regarding the last episode (NES-era game music) but I'm proud of it. Here's the url: https://pastandpendingpodcast.podbean.com

So, I suppose that as this year continues, I hope that everything will go more smoothly than it did and I can keep avenues of communication open. I have missed this community and not being able to read your blogs and articles has truly sucked. I love this community even during the periods where my appearances were slipping. So, I'll try to be a better member of this site from here on out. 

I hope that everyone else I'm following is doing well or better.