JohnnyBGamer

Gamestop, Jedi, and a Simple Conversation

Wyatt and I went to Gamestop, on Sunday, to trade in some games. Wyatt was after Star Wars: Jedi Survivor for the PS5.

The store was empty of other customers when we walked in. It was just us and a Gamestop employee. I said hi. When I saw her name badge, I knew that we would have very little in common. According to twitter, pronouns should have stopped the conversation stone cold. Regardless of her being human, of having a soul, or even our common love of video games. Her, Wyatt, and I had a great discussion on Hogwarts Legacy (she’s a Hufflepuff).

Afterwards, while driving home, Wyatt said, “She was probably one of the nicest employees we’ve encountered in awhile.”

Twitter aside. Chosen pronouns aside. Here was a person who loved video games just like us. Was this an opportunity to witness? No. But a relationship was started.

Video games won’t get you to Heaven. I know that. But I often think we let things like social media keep us from even having conversations with those who think differently. How can we have those Gospel-driven conversations if we aren’t willing to engage at all? Treating people as created in God’s image is one of the first keys. Second key, by sharing the common love of something (in this case, video games) perhaps that could lead to sharing Jesus down the road. Baby steps.

It all starts with a simple conversation.

Without Consequence

When I was in college, I served as a senator in student government. It was my job to be a voice, an advocate, for the 30-something guys on my dorm floor. Kick Butt Club!

One of the issues we ran into, early on, was that our student body constitution was a poorly written document. Certain positions, procedures, and even powers weren’t spelled out or even covered. I served to bring awareness of the constitution’s deficiencies. In the end, a committee was formed to fix these issues.

From my time student senate, I learned that you are only as good as your foundation. To have a guiding document that is not clear on what to do or that omits certain things gives way to chaos. Or worse, leadership doing whatever it so pleases without consequence.

While you cannot prepare for every scenario, especially in a written constitution, you can lay the groundwork to allow your people to flourish.

And reign in those who would cause harm.

Dodging Bad Bosses

Was reading an article on red flags in a job interview which made me think of my own experience.

I remember one time I interviewed for a position at an insurance company. Before I could be interviewed, however, I had to take a personality test. So, I took the test and soon got a call to be interviewed.

I’ll never forget what the interviewer said. This was the big cheese, the one whose name was on the insurance company outside. The man I would be working for.

After explaining what he was looking to do (creating an internet sales division), he smugly said:

“We don’t normally hire people with your personality type.”

Almost like he was doing me a favor by considering hiring me.

I immediately thought, “Excuse me? You don’t even know me outside of the simple test I took for you.”

Instead, I answered him far more graciously.

The end result was that I was given a salary, for the position, which was too low for me to accept.

I’m thankful to have dodged that particular bullet.

Defenders of Liberty Air Show – No Go

Saturday, the Texas Halls boarded the Prius (*beep, beep!*) for a quick trip east.

Destination: Shreveport, Louisiana; The Barksdale Defenders of Liberty Air Show, at Barksdale AFB.

Last time I had taken Wyatt to the air show, he was 5 years old. I had asked him the other day if he remembered going with just me. Memory was hazy. So, I figured it was time to go and make memories as family.

We got to Shreveport in good time. Exiting the interstate, we quickly got in line for the air show. Now, traffic was backed up (read: not moving). I got into the other lane that was actually moving, and we made our way towards the base gate. I had thought that I’d just pull a California ninja move and sneak my way into the traffic that was turning left onto the base. Only a police car blocked the lane next to me. There was an officer walking from car-to-car telling folks that the base was at capacity. Tab quickly checked Facebook to confirm that no one was being allowed onto the base.

What do we do now?

We drove an hour away to be turned away due to too many people?

The base’s Facebook page talked about how the Brookshires Arena was a good place to watch the show. So, we drove over to the Arena. We could kind of see the planes flying, except when they dove down below the tree level. We hung out for a bit. Enjoyed walking around and just being outside (the weather was wonderful). Finally, we drove over to the boardwalk and Bass Pro.

I can confirm that what was once a busy place filled with shops is no more. The boardwalk had people hanging out but no shops to go into. Besides the movie theater and a smattering of restaurants, COVID clearly did the boardwalk wrong.

RIP – SHREVEPORT BOARDWALK.

We walked around. Ate some ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery. And then, made the journey back to Longview, Texas.

Overall, we had a great day. A little unexpected but fun. Sometimes it is nice to just get out and go somewhere.

JBG Video Game Reviews – 2023

I had thought I’d already written this blog post, but I haven’t. I have distinct memories of people liking what I had written, getting real life comments on what I had to say about JBG and reviews… Nope.

Moving forward, JohnnyBGamer will not be including a final score in our reviews. I don’t find a numeric score to be helpful in choosing whether or not to purchase a game. And it’s not like my reviews are aggregated on Metacritic for anyone’s use.

From now on, you’ll find an article or two with my initial impressions. Maybe some follow up posts with photos, maybe a post about a game mechanic that I find interesting. All of the above will be followed by a review that details what I disliked and what I loved about said game. That’s it. From reading the words of my review, dear reader, you can draw your own conclusions about whether you should take the plunge or avoid the game like the plague.