u/GhostyTheSchooner

I am a middle aged dad who took over cooking for the family when my wife was diagnosed with cancer. I fell in love with it immediately as it was an emotional outlet that I could share with others. Since then, I have geared up and upgraded my kitchen and outdoor equipment. I have everything that I want as a cook. But, today, when needing to dice an onion, I opened up the drawer and saw my trusty old pairing knife. Have had it for 15 years. When I didn’t know what I was doing, I did everything with it! Ha ha! It kind of made me a bit emotional dicing that stupid onion. The effort of breaking the onion down into quarters to even get the blade through. How completely rough and uneven the quarters were. Making slices that could then be diced. It all looked so far from how I have done it with the nice Japanese knife set I have. Maybe it’s cliche to use this word, but it just looked so rustic with all of the uneven dices on the board. It really made me look back with so much gratitude cooking that onion. I blamed all the emotion on my face on the onion, which was a nice feature as well. It just makes want to put my arm around a beginner or someone who is intimidated by cooking and just say “go for it”. I did not have that moment on my radar at all. It made me wonder, what is that thing for others who love cooking that just makes them nostalgic for the days when they were just trying to figure it all out. Cooking is a hobby of failure, we go through a lot to get proficient at it. It’s kind of the best part of the journey outside of being able to consume what you create. Ha ha!

What’s your nostalgia?

I have been kind of down about the game. Only level 30 after about 25 hours of playing (that’s my avg. time available every 2-3 months). I struggle finding friends who play (they played server slam and free week, but refuse to buy) or adding a connection through crew fill or Dads of Marathon. It’s fine, everyone wants to grind. Why slow down for others when you are high level? It sucks, but I get it. I don’t know, I just felt skilled out of the game. But, I took two pieces of advice to give this game one last hurrah. I literally turned in my entire vault to the cradle. (Can’t fear losing it if it’s already gone…) and just grinded as Rook. I hit quite a bit of the map on Outpost, which I hadn’t ever seen. Snagged some loot that had purples that were worth more than any loadout I have had yet. I didn’t see any runners, but the PVE against the guards was dead useful. Figured out how to use guarded exfils with the special ability to make it out. Forced myself to knife combat UESC guards, which is actually fun as hell. Also, forced myself to stick in on gun fights and combat 3-4 guards instead of hightailing it out. Learned so much in 2 runs that turned into 10.

One successful exfil as Rook is all it took to really turn it around for me. Can’t say anyone carried me. Maybe insignificant, but it sure felt nice.

This game requires an insane investment, but I’ll be damned if you don’t feel accomplished when it goes your way. Don’t get hung up on the value of your vault. It doesn’t matter. Just run and have fun. It’s wild how one or two lucky finds can absolutely make a sponsored loadout pretty bitchin’.

It’s nice to have a little perspective change. I appreciate people who have shared these insights. It really does matter to many of those who read it.

Much Love, Runners.

Anything similar to Acceptance - Colliding By Design

Look, this album hasn’t been mentioned anywhere on Reddit in over 3-years and not many others to speak of in the 9-years it’s been out. It is CRIMINALLY underrated. It’s one of the main anthems for summer in our house, but I never realized how much it flew under the radar since its release. I can’t find too much that sounds similar, so I am taking a shot here.

Give it a listen and totally hit me back with albums/bands who sound similar. Dying to add more before the weekend.

I never see much talk about this album, but it is on repeat during the summers in our house. At this point, the sound is nostalgic for us. They will always be known for Phantoms and rightfully so, but in my humble opinion, Colliding By Design is their best work and remarkably well produced. For me, it’s the evolution to a more ballad driven sound. Lots of tension to it and the lady finds it romantic. Can’t beat when an album gets you laid. Am I right?

Seriously, there isn’t a bad song. It may be one of the most underrated albums of all time.

Just bought my daughter a portable CD Player and gave her all of my old CD’s. Saw The Jealous Sound in the corner of my eye and my whole soul about left my body. Literally couldn’t do anything until I listened to the damn thing at a deafening level.

“You could burn like a constellation…”

Fucking banger after fucking banger. I feel so alive right now. Inject this straight into my veins.

40‑year‑old, once‑a‑week gamer here. After hearing everyone dogpile on Marathon, I figured I’d boot it up just to see how “unplayable” it supposedly is. Yeah… about that. I ended up playing five straight hours and didn’t even notice the time. The story? Sick. The art? Gorgeous. The sound and music? Straight-up intoxicating. But the thing that really hooked me was the thing everyone seems to be screaming about and that is the full loadout risk. I love it. I get why some folks hate losing their stuff, but to me it finally feels like a game with actual stakes again. Not everything needs to be a padded, participation‑trophy power fantasy. Sometimes losing should sting. Sometimes you should feel that adrenaline spike when everything you brought in is on the line. It reminds me of old‑school SNES/N64/PS1 days when losing meant starting over, not getting a pity checkpoint. I still remember taking a picture when I finally beat Mike Tyson in Punch‑Out. Same with Contra. Those wins mattered because you could actually lose. Marathon brings that feeling back, and honestly? It’s refreshing as hell. If this is the game people are “warning” me about, then keep the warnings coming. I’m all in.