Long Lines and Frozen Digits: The Sacrifices Made in The Year of Luigi

I know better.

I would not say I'm a veteran of standing in lines for launch parties and events at Nintendo World but I've stood in a line for Nintendo on at least four other occasions that I can recall.

I've seen the madness of many of their other lines and hence, I have only myself to blame for cold toes and getting there later than I would have liked, to partake in festivities.

But how can you blame anything on that adorable green-clothed man?

Is there anything in this picture that isn't adorable? Okay, maybe the one-eyed orange ghost thing is uh, questionable at best.

You just can't do it, can you?! Unless you're a Mario Loyalist, in which case, I am judging you.  Did you feel the glint-laden stare? That was all in jest...

...or was it?

None of the first world problem stuff matters though because lines (once you've secured your spot with a wristband that confirms your existence) can be rather fun things.

You meet like-minded people.

You meet crazy people.

You try to think of yourself as not being a crazy person but others may disagree.

But at the end of it all, you get to buy a game a day early and unwrap that new smell and take it up your nostrils.  I'm not sure where else you would take a new smell up into but I typed ridiculousness and so it shall remain.

With your new game in hand that you will probably throw on a backlog because after all these years you're still one of those people who refuses to start something new if you're already involved in another venture (and/or you're one of those people who just can't play multiple games at once), you happily collect your swag and head upstairs for the party.

This being the Year of Luigi (hey...wait, I thought it was the Year of the Snake?!), Nintendo planned something special for the launch of Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon. 

There's something completely amazing about a bunch of Luigis in one room and Nintendo decided to dress us up as the younger, better brother.  Moustaches and Luigi hats were given as the gift for this event with the purchase of the game (and if it's free, it's for me!) because somehow Nintendo knew it would be frickin' hilarious to have a bunch of people in over-sized Luigi hats take over a glass building and spill out into the streets.  Who knew?

There was a video chat with the dashing brother himself and he took questions from fans.  Someone asked him about Sonic and it must have been a hilarious response because the person was in a fit of laughter after the exchange.  I began wondering if Charles Martinet was stuffed in a tiny box behind the visuals so that the conversations could be so on point.

A cutie attendant decked out in a formal butler-type outfit operated the elevator to second floor where games of "Luigi Pictionary" and whatever else (I don't know, I did not stay that long as it was crowded as all hell and had a hungry friend awaiting my return for dinner plans - I was scared she would go all zombie on my face) were taking place.

He lied to me and told me there was some interesting surprise waiting at the top - and yeah, there were quite the number of Luigi folks shouting out their best guesses to some terrible drawings - but I was half expecting a Boo to pop out some place.  He made it seem all so mysterious!

There's a game of Pictionary going on in that sea of green hats.

Alas, disappointed at the sad lack of Boo, I watched the back of green hat heads for a while and then made my way out.  I have no idea what sort of prizes were given out but I hope someone got a Poltergust 5000.

Come now, surely the cutest thing you've ever seen, right?

Later that evening when my friend and I made our way to Grand Central with our Luigi hats on our heads, it was cool when people hailed us out.

"Aye, LUIGI!!!", was a pretty standard response and the sort of respect Luigi deserves.

"What's with the Luigi hats?", we were met with by some suits.

Why not Luigi hats?

It's the Year of Luigi, after all.

Time to party or alternately, go hide in a corner.

Fellow 3DS Cool Kids Met Via Streetpass: Only 26 because I did not clear my system.  Don't forget, I had a hungry friend and a zombie situation on my hands.  I'm sure there were so many more tags to be had.

Currently listening to: "I'll Be Alright" by Passion Pit.  At $2.99 on an Amazon deal, I wanted to know what the fuss was about.  Now I find myself oddly compelled to these almost trashy Euro synth, mix...hipster weirdness.  Not convinced that this album is great though but the catchy sort of songs are exactly the kinda things I need these days.  No worries, I'll go back to torturing myself with some The Black Keys soon enough now that I have that much more of an appreciation than I did just a year ago.

The Ides of March

The Ides of March visited my world one week and one day too early this year.

No, I did not get stabbed by Senators and no, in my dying breath I did not utter a very dramatic "Et Tu, Brute?" but it certainly felt that way when my boss of 9 years hauled my department in for an emergency 1:20 p.m. meeting on March 8th and began the meeting with the news, "It's not good, guys".
It was a gross understatement if ever I heard it.

For the 9 years I've worked at a large law firm in Midtown, I've been at the receiving end of a pay scale that supposedly meets "Industry Standards".  Speaking with colleagues employed in other sectors and other firms confirms that I'm an underpaid peon.  Perhaps it's my fault for staying so long but having a job lulls you into a sense of security.  That cushioned feeling one gets when a steady pay check comes in - enough for bill paying, saving, the occasional concert and maintaining a hobby such as playing video games - is calming.
In the 23 years that the collective 'we' were employed by our client, the news of a filing of bankruptcy took all of 10 seconds to tell and with that, 8 plus people (at least those we know about in our immediate circle) were left with looming unemployment.

The nature of the work has required us to wind down operations and without a fixed end date,  it's been nothing but mixed emotions coming into work every morning knowing that you are hastening the end of your job.

I've heard a lot of advice in the past few weeks:

"Start looking right away!", "Go on vacation, mope around your house for a month then dust yourself off and start looking then." 

"Wait for a severance package!" or quite possibly my favourite today, "Oh...don't rely on a severance package because you're probably not getting one of those that's going to be any more than a 2 week pay check for your almost 10 years of service." 

Well that's completely lovely, isn't it?

These days, I've started noticing a lot more too, now that I am not so self-absorbed.  As I make that death walk to work on mornings, suddenly there seem to be a lot of people with portfolios tucked under their arms.  I whisper "good luck" to them every time I see them under my breath.  It's a little prayer for them and certainly one for myself as I face the same grind in a week or two.

And then there are the moments that I try to be optimistic.

"Well hey, the job provided me the opportunity to buy myself some games.  In between looking I can catch up on that atrocious backlog!"

But my heart has not really been in it.  I've been struggling to play "Breath of Fire IV" amongst other things for the past few weeks and I have the occasional chuckle at some of the dialog but if I can play for more than five minutes at a time, it's a lot. 

I think this is what they call a funk.

Tomorrow though, I am off to pick up my copy of "Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon" at Nintendo World's launch party in NYC.  It was bought on a Christmas credit I had from my very kind sister.

It's probably the last game I will purchase for some while.  So, here's hoping that little green plumber can show me his brave stance against the scary things in this world and give me the courage to go out there and do same.  Well, you know...not become a Ghostbuster (although, any job openings in that field?!) or anything, but some encouragement to stay strong during the tough job hunt would be welcome.

At the very least, I hope he whistles that nervous little tune/theme song as he did in the first game. 

That always cheered me up.