Damn. How did you find this 10 year-old picture of me?

You might not see it, and you might not even feel it at this exact moment in time. But speaking from experience, when you get out of that dark hole where everything feels hopeless and devoid of any meaning or substance, you will be so happy you chose life. It won't be easy, but it will be worth it.

Don't let the depression win. You're better than your depression. You are so much more than what goes on inside your head. You have so much value, so much heart, and so much of your soul to give to the world... to give to yourself. Even if you don't see it in your own self.

In case no one has told you this lately; you matter. You are worthy of living. You deserve love. From yourself and from those who surround you. You deserve to be happy and you deserve to be healthy. Whoever you are, wherever you are, whenever you are, choose life.

Call your loved ones and check in on them. Tell them you love them. You never know what people are going through. Sometimes you think you would know if something was wrong, but you could still end up blindsided. Even when all the signs are right in your face.

Shadow of the Colossus (2005), BioShock, NieR: Automata, Doom II (1994), Celeste, Half-Life, Super Mario Bros., Tetris Effect, Portal, Ori and the Blind Forest.

I could go on, but I'm really trying to think specifically in terms of what games have something unique, special, or significant to offer.

Yes! I have a weird relationship like that with video games, too! Sometimes I'll find myself either unwilling or unable to finish a book or a game. Not because it's bad, but because it's so good, I don't want my time with it to have to come to an end.

I'm working on not doing that anymore. 😅

Qobuz might not have all the songs I want at all the times I want them but it's still my favorite of the three. I go to Qobuz and Bandcamp for digital purchases, and I begrudgingly have a Spotify account because it has most of what I want. Everything else I want is a local file or on physical media.

Qobuz is definitely still an "in-progress" with "active development" website/app (which is a good thing in some ways, not so much in others). I haven't touched Tidal since trying it *years* ago. Spotify is awful in a multitude of ways, and I find it increasingly frustrating to use.

I never got along with Tidal. Regardless of audio quality. I didn't get along with the UI, didn't get along with the way they sorted artists, didn't get along with the way artists showed up in my LastFM scrobbles (if that matters to you), and I found it always had to buffer. It was a bad time.

I like Qobuz, and it *is* my choice, but after trying it out for a number of months, I kept running into situations where they just didn't have certain artists I wanted to listen to. Granted, I would check again every so often, and sometimes, the artists I wanted to listen to would get added.

Isn't that the internet in general? Everyone has an opinion, everyone's own opinion is right, and everyone else's opinions are wrong. And if you dare to disagree, then it turns into the equivalent of two dogs barking until they forget why they were barking to begin with.

I don't care if I have 500 used tissues; I want 500 more.

I leave you with a quote from "The Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius. This is not strength. This is not leadership. This is not good. Innocent people will die as a result of what we're seeing.

Damn. My shitty internet all the way over here in America made it across the pond? Sheesh. I'm sorry. That's probably my fault somehow.

Oh, yeah, and if you by chance have an FM stereo lying around somewhere, there *are* good radio stations if you go searching for them. I've been enjoying a local jazz station with my evening reading sessions as of late. Pairs great with a cup of chamomile tea.