I guess things have returned to an actual semblance of normality. If there's anything I've learnt from June to July, it'd be:
1. My current physical state.
2. Time seemed to pass by much slower even when I look back at those two months.
As a result, I had to tell my superiors that I would only help out no longer than end of July. Physically and mentally, I don't want to run myself to the ground. And it clearly didn't help that work-life balance remains a challenge in Singapore. Or maybe even nations with an East Asian majority for all I know.
Asia, August, and the letter A
August, I have to say, may be the most surreal month of the calender. As a national disgrace, I couldn't do well in mathematics and science. As a henjin, I seemed to be some kind of natural in terms of history. Even until today, I can't tell you why history remains the only reason why a toxic educational environment was wrong about me.
So what's uniquely Asian about August beyond the letter A? We have three days of note related to Singapore and also the reason why South Koreans should pay attention to Singapore beyond Jackson "not Yee" Wang.
1. 6th August. This was the day when an atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
2. 9th August. This was the day when an atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki. Twenty years later, Singapore declared independence. In short, National Day in Singapore is also the Memorial Day for Nagasaki and effectively South Korea's National Day.
3. 15th August. This was the day Japan officially surrendered. It's also the day Singapore was officially liberated together with the Korean Peninsula. In short, the National Liberation Day of Korea is also the National Liberation Day of Singapore.
Before I continue, let me just wish my own nation a happy 9th August and 57th National Day. I may behave like a henjin together with the facial features of a Yamato+Ainu+Slav, but that doesn't make me any less a Singaporean. Last time I check, Singaporean isn't a race unless it can be proven an American race actually exists.
Final Fantasy XIV: It's never here I come because it's now here I am
I have to admit it: I really like the Shadowbringers theme song. There's this unique identity in the form of guitar playing along the feel of an apocalyptic Wild West type. Then you have the lyrics that just scream Dark Knight (not the American one). It's a dark song, but the tune is surprisingly uplifting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ugtWT_iNqw
So long story short, I'm now part of the FF14 community. No, Asmongold has got nothing to do with it. Actually, the reason why was due to me being encouraged by two names:
1. Tonberry
2. Kujata
There's a reason why FF14 is the national MMO of Japan. Most MMOs are developed by the West. Hence, the main audience would be the Western gamers. After all, every brand has to grow its own local audience before taking flight abroad. For Japan, gaming developers don't seem to be that gung-ho on the idea. Yeah, they gave us the Phantasy Star Online series. But any wagers on whether we're going to see a PSO3? Personally though, it'd be good if PSO2 can be seen as the sci-fi counterpart of FF14.
The fact that FF14 is made in Japan means a great deal to me. No, it has got nothing to do with my facial features. Rather, it'd be the timezone issue. One major hurdle in playing MMOs from Neverwinter to ESO was the perception that the majority happened to be in the Western half of the world literally. As a result, I had to deal with the fact that many players were like 12 hours behind. This greatly impeded my desire to do the more end-game stuff. For FF14, however, being made in Japan means there are quite a number of players (to say the least) being only 1 hour ahead. For your info, Japanese time is only 1 hour ahead of Singapore. But there's a problem: In every Japanese server, the players are clearly Japanese. Yes, I know that's a terribly lame thing to say.
The good thing about curiosity is that you're bound to discover unexpected things. Imagine my pleasant surprise when I came across this. So I had two choices: Either heading to Materia (timezone in Oceania would be like 5 hours ahead if I remember it right) or the obvious Far East. Originally, the idea was to enter Tonberry. However, it seemed that it's relatively congested with Kujata being the only available server for someone like me. So yeah, here I am in Kujata.
Guess I'm going to stop here for now. If there's anything I've learnt about myself, it'd be that I'm no content creator and it's always better that I'm not one myself. But yeah, I believe I'll be back talking more about FF14 very soon.
Add note: No, I'm not one of them. Someone else sent me a FC invite and I accepted. And besides, I chose Order of the Twin Adder as my character's Grand Company. Raubahn Aldynn's speech of a fair and just Ul'dah was truly stirring while Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn's dream of liberty and unity resonated with my rationality. But it was Kan-E-Senna who made me realise a life of peace without conflict is the life I want. Ironically, I chose Halone as my character's deity.
