Dan's Blogvent Calendar - December 10th

Hey guys. I'm at a bit of a loss for a single specific thing to write about at length for the tenth day of Blogvent (a pun that I feel more ashamed of every time I type it), so today's blog is going to be a jumble of different things. I'll try to keep it somewhat organised. Now where'd I put those bullet points...?

• I finally trained my first level 100 Pokémon in Pokémon Y on Sunday. My Blaziken crossed that esteemed threshold during a series of rematches with the Elite Four. Incredibly, this isn't just my first maxed-out Pokémon in the latest game in the series, but my first maxed-out Pokémon ever. Yep, despite making my way through a total of five Pokémon games this year (and counting), I haven't trained a single Pokémon to its fullest. I have owned lv100 Pokémon in the past, but they were obtained way back in Blue through the fabled 'Missingno./Infinite Rare Candies' glitch, so I'm not counting those as legitimately trained. It's a cool feeling, and if my tendency to relapse into Y is any indication, I'm sure little ol' Blaziken will be the first of many lv100s to grace this gamesave.
• A Link Between Worlds moves on a-pace, when I remember it's on my 3DS and elect to play it instead of Pokémon. I've now arrived in Lorule, the pseudo-Dark World that houses the back end of the game's seven dungeons. With so much of the game world open to me, I'm a bit daunted as to which of those dungeons to tackle first (if anybody here cares to recommend a good starting point, I'd be grateful). I am still loving everything about the game, and unless some aspect of it takes a nose-dive beyond this point, I don't see that changing.
• Assassin's Creed: Revelations is still a thing that is a game which I am playing. I just haven't picked it up in almost a week. Man, I really need to put some time into that, I don't want to break the upheld tradition of beating one Assassin's Creed game a year since 2010.
• Having finished listening to The Stand over the weekend, I've decided to return to physical books for my next read, and have picked up my tattered old copy of Philip Pullman's Northern Lights (American readers may know it better as The Golden Compass). The His Dark Materials trilogy was one of my favourite series as a kid, but it's been a long time since I last read it, and I've been meaning to return to it for a while. I'm only four chapters in, but I'm already feeling nostalgic comfort at being reunited with Lyra, Lord Asriel and their daemons. I'm looking forward to getting swept up in that epic journey to the North all over again.
• Tonight is the last band practice before the upcoming gig I mentioned on Day 4 of Blogvent. I think we're completely settled on a set list now, which is set to include Creedence Clearwater Revival's Fortunate Son, Clutch's Cypress Grove, and a rip-roaring AC/DC medley to close. The nerves are starting to bed in now, as the prospect of playing to almost four hundred people becomes a bit more real, but I'm still hugely excited to get up there and show the whole town what we can do.

Right, that's yer lot. I start work at 2, so I'd better go and get ready. Thanks for reading guys, take care, and I'll see you around.

Dan

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Currently playing - Pokémon White (DS)