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Happy 11/11! Can you believe Skyrim was released 12 years ago? I remember that day clearly. I was in 7th grade and my little brother used his birthday money to buy it on release. I was in a phase of my life where I pretended not to care about things I thought were interesting. Even still, I would watch my brother play and secretly wanted to pick up the controller when no one was watching. I eventually did play the game years later when I was about 16, and I’ve loved it ever since.

Skyrim was the first game I played in first-person POV, and it made me so dizzy! I had to play in 3rd person mode for the longest time. I got the hang of it eventually! Though I had played open-world games like Bully, Skyrim was my first foray into open-world RPGs. The aspect of Skyrim that drove me to keep playing was building up my house and providing for my wife and adopted children LOL! I loved RPing as a mercenary mom who came home to dote on her wife and kids. The cozier aspects of Skyrim like this remind me a bit of Harvest Moon or even Animal Crossing. I wonder if putting Skyrim into this perspective may entice players who otherwise wouldn’t think to pick it up.

Every so often, I feel the urge to pick Skyrim up again. I always have to tell myself, ‘Mari! That’s the devil talking!’ The devil, in this case, is the ghost of Todd Howard whispering in my ear HAHA!

⬅️ Todd Howard, to me

Skyrim aside, life is going okay. I’m still looking for jobs and am getting a bit nervous. I have another batch to apply for, but if I don’t start hearing back, I may try to look for work in other fields in the meantime. Oh well! I am trying not to take it personally that I’m not hearing back. The job market is fickle these days, and it may not be me or my resume that’s the problem. I just need to keep my chin up and have patience.

I hope everyone is doing well! Is it getting dark earlier for you? It’s dark before dinner time here!