not-so-FAQ for a new era

Well, I'm trying streaming again after almost four years away. Here's some things you may (or may not) be wondering:

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Why were you gone for so long?
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I still had stream ideas in late 2021 - but really nothing that was super motivating. But that was also right around the time we decided to move from Colorado to Wisconsin. Also around that time I ended up having a job transition. So with all the stress of that, I just never got around to setting up a streaming area in our new house. More seriously though, I was experiencing a pretty serious mental health crisis. I have obsessive-compulsive disorder, and the last several years were probably the worst episode I've ever dealt with. At times even leaving my house felt impossible - streaming just wasn't going to happen. The exact details of my situation don't matter, but it was a tough season.

(I feel it's important to clarify that it is a common misconception that OCD is about wanting things clean or orderly. This couldn't be further from the truth. OCD is a serious anxiety disorder in which anxious thoughts get stuck in your head and you feel you have to do things about it to make things feel better. At its worst, it's like being stuck in a panic attack 24/7. Helpful diagram: https://www.reddit.com/r/OCD/comments/iuaowo/psa_ocd_is_not_just_being_obsessively_clean/ and "what OCD isn't": https://centerstone.org/our-resources/health-wellness/what-ocd-is-and-what-it-isnt/)

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Why back now?
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Well, my mental health is (hopefully) back up to a point where I can handle a bit more. Lately I've been seeing screenshots from the DKC games and just really longing to play them again. The upcoming 25th anniversary of FF9 has me excited about the idea of another E2PG. I want to prove that an (almost) 40-year old can still do this thing.

But mostly, it's because my son is starting to get interested in the gaming content creation space. He's started doing his own Hollow Knight speed runs and making Starcraft content. That's making me excited about dipping back into this myself, but also I don't want him to feel like he's doing this stuff alone. It's a different and pretty cool thing that we could be doing this as a father-son duo. (He's not streaming to Twitch, but checkout his speed runs on YouTube @Kelux35 and his Starcraft content at @KeluxGaming)

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So you're back for good?
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Who knows - maybe I'm just back for a few weekends and then done again. Maybe I'm back for another several months or even several years. I'm not making any promises! I'm not doing this to try to keep up with anybody else's standards or expectations - just whatever sounds fun and works for my family.

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When & how often will you stream?
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At first I'd only expect only a couple hours over the weekend. Especially through the summer. If I get going with this, it's possible some evening streams find their way back into the schedule. I doubt it will be as frequent as it was before.

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Will you be back on Twitter?
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No. Absolutely not. I'm not going to use social media ever again. (And I'm absolutely not going to ever call it 'X')

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What happened to the X-Wing avatar?
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I don't really love Star Wars like I used to. I mean... I still love Star Wars. But I don't love what Star Wars is *today*. I've even thought of changing the name "Antilles58"... but I've just been that for so long that it's basically a brand now. Is what it is. I've had this Mega Man icon on YouTube and other places for a long time, and I like it, so we're going with that.

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What should we expect to see?
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Well, I'd really like to see if I can get another PB at DKC2 102% (of course). It may be too difficult - my hands and schedule may not be up to the task. But I want to try. The dream would be able to do another DKC 306% run some day. As mentioned, I still feel like I've got another FF9 E2PG run in me. If I find myself sticking with streaming, there's a decent chance I do this. And I've never been able to fully let go of the idea of Mega Man and Mario speedruns.

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What other games have you played?
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Games that I've loved over the last few years are Hollow Knight, Hades, Persona 5, and FF7 Rebirth.
I've also played and (mostly) enjoyed Diablo IV and FF16.
Looking forward to Switch 2 coming out soon - I was successfully able to get a pre-order, but I don't really trust Wal-Mart so we'll see if that actually worked.
And I really want to play Spider-Man 2 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

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What else have you been up to?
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I still like running and exercise (though I'm dealing with some chronic hip and lower back injuries).
Still keeping up with the MCU - oscillating between being really excited for it and disappointed by it.
Most of my kids are in baseball/softball, so I'm helping coach their teams.
They're also in some drama programs, and I've started to participate in that as well.
I've started learning how to play the Piano in the last few months! I'm very excited about this.