It has been awhile since I have posted. In the beginning, this blog was about an outlet for my comics. I loved them, and I still draw some (albeit drunk) but I do not draw enough to post 5 comics a week. I had also posted an opinion article about motorcycles. That is closer to what I want to start posting about. I need an outlet for my work. I'm interested in a lot of things so this is me rebranding my blog into posting about whatever I want.
I have a lot of mechanical sort of projects going on. The Benelli will soon be done and I can post a super thread about it, but until then I have something that interests me: the Nintendo 64.
I just recently introduced my nephews to Mario Kart 64 and Super Smash Bros. and they loved it. There is one that talks a lot and he keeps asking me to play it. I am not sure what it is but I have always had a special affinity for the N64. My first exposure to it would be my older sister had a boyfriend (well now he is her husband and she has the nephews I mentioned before) that would bring his 64 over here or let my sister borrow it. I would play Mario Kart 64 endlessly. Then for a summer she moved back home from college with us and kept the N64 here and let us play MK64 whenever we wanted. It was great. I played it a lot. If it was up to me I would have played it endlessly. Then she moved away and the only chance I had to play MK64 was when I went to my best friends house. He lived 15 miles away so that was not terribly often. However, it did not get old when I got to play it. Then, I got an idea. I should get my OWN N64!
By this time it was around 2003. The Gamecube had been out for a year or two but I still only wanted one thing: an N64. So I went to a consignment chain and they had two of them on their shelves. One in the box (looking back I should have bought that one) and another one that had two controllers and "Super Mario 64". Well obviously 11 or 12 year old me wanted the one that had the same as the boxed one plus a controller plus a game. I put in on layaway and went to earning the money. The fall and winter before I had worked for my Dad helping install drainage tile for $2 an hour to buy a Game Boy Advanced. I needed more so I helped my Mom with stuff for $1 an hour and other work (like mowing the lawn I think) for $2/hr. In like a month and a half I raised enough money to buy my N64. It was great. I was pumped. I played Super Mario 64 and beat it, bought Lego Racing. It needed a memory card to save progress. The card I had was too small, so to beat it I had to play in one continuous session without turning the console off. I did it. Once. Never again have I been able to do that. That was a great summer.
The Christmas after that I asked for my beloved MK64. I got it, in a fashion I could not completely appreciate until years later. It was the Christmas of 2004 and I had a sealed copy of a game that came out in North America in 1997. I was shameless and ripped that factory plastic off and played the shit out of the game; I played it the way it was meant to be played. I would not take back a single minute of game time. I played it with my sister (a different one than the one who brought her boyfriends 64). We played it now and again for years. A year later I even bought a Gamecube and me and my sister still would play the last two circuits in MK64.
I guess everyone my age has a video game special to them, that brings a flood of memories at the mention of the game. MK64 would be mine. A sealed copy of the game brings a few hundred dollars today. I guess thinking back I wouldn't trade a stupid factory seal for the time I spent playing that fantastic game.
This all brings me to my current thoughts. I have been wanting to collect SOMETHING for a while, and I finally decided what it is going to be: N64 games. Fortunately I kept the box to my MK64 as well as all the paper work. So I have one game with a nice box (sadly not sealed). So now I've graduated college. I am going to be married and need to save my money. So, I'll spend my money on a cheaper hobby (the alternative is motorcycles and parts). Hopefully I wind a bid on "Banjo Kazooie" and "Banjo Twooie." Another game I always loved was "Rayman 2." However, the reason I love that game is another story.
This has been therapeutic. For whatever reason there are stories from my short life I want to share. You all will hear those stories. I'll keep you updated on my N64 collection. If I get a chance too I'll upload a few comics. Keep it real folks!
