2024 was the year I declared I was going to get silly with it. I had just been made redundant from a position I’d held for nearly 10 years: the reason I moved to Melbourne. Thinking about it a year on, unemployment is the biggest thing to happen to me since I got married. Since I graduated, I’ve been gradually rolling up the university version of the corporate ramp. Free from the daily grind of emails, Teams meetings, office politics and deadlines, I was in the privileged position to be resourced to enjoy life, and enjoy life I did.
The first 4 months of this year were, with some exceptions, the most life-affirming I’ve lived since I first made the move to Melbourne. I got to enjoy the life that Carly and I had built, without reservations. There were times where I was so happy, I cried. I cried sitting with my dog at the local cafe, because it was nice to sit with my boy and drink exactly one beer.
All good things, as they say, must come to an end and I found myself employed once again. Tristan, the professional administrator developed in the blazing forge of the Pick n’ Pay Hypermarket and 2 universities was #Opentowork, as they say on LinkedIn in. I was still working in the tertiary education sector and still working in project management, but I learned some new things. I learned a little bit about university admissions and a lot about myself.
If you asked me what I wanted to be as a kid, I don’t think I would’ve been able to answer. If you asked me what I want to be now, I still don’t really know. All I know is that my time as a project manager is done (for now, at least).
I’ve decided I want to do work that is different to what I’ve done for the last 15 years, and I’ve got something lined up for this year. It will push me out of my comfort zone. That is terrifying. That is good.
As for what I’ve enjoyed in 2024, there hasn’t been a whole heap of change from what I enjoyed last year. Still, let me walk you through my garden of fun things.
Japan
Just before we were due to leave for Japan in February, we had a medical emergency in the family. Thankfully, it all ended relatively well, but it meant that our trip to Japan (which had already been delayed from 2020) was pushed back again. It was getting to the point where I thought I'd never step foot in the country I've been fascinated with since my early youth.
I am normally a very anxious traveller. When I actually stepped off the plane and was greeted by pictures of Pikachu and Major Motoko Kusanagi (who informed me of the legal drinking age in Japan), I felt like I was in a spiritual home. I was comfortable. I was at peace. Even with a train trip to our first hotel which required a few line switches, I was loving every second of it.
To add to that sense of comfort, was the Japanese people, who were, by appearance at least, happy to guide me and my oafish manner through every social and cultural interaction I stumbled into. While we were turned away from a few restaurants that were very obviously not full, the majority of my time in Japan was characterised by an overwhelming feeling of peace, quiet and respect.
A higher than normal exchange rate also contributed to the calming nature of the trip. It was essentially 1 dollar to 100 Yen rate, meaning I didn't have to whip out the calculator to see if I was onto a bargain (9 out of 10 times, I was). I could just take two zeroes off any price. I was able to secure one of the holy grails I was seeking (a Pokemon Centre exclusive Game Boy Advance SP), and a wealth of tiny treasures that continue to bring a smile to my face. Did I spend a lot of time in Japan shopping for old video games? Yes. Would I do it again? One thousand percent, yes. On a semi-related side note, the price of food and drink in vending machines and convenience stores should radicalise most Australians. 1 dollar for a can of hot coffee. 2 dollars for a 500ml can of Strong Zero (9%, no less!).
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the unbelievable quality of the food and drink I indulged in throughout my travels. Every day I'd say something to Carly along the lines of, 'This is the best [food or drink item] I've ever had.' After about a week of this observation, I came to the simple conclusion that food and drink is just better in Japan.
I love Japan. Nihon wa daisuki desu.
Gacha games
Daddy likes to gamble. I don’t like big stakes but I like to pull some tickets out of the machine. The games haven’t really changed, and the sensation is the same. That being said, there were some highlights and lowlights in the gacha scene in 2024.
Firstly, Hoyoverse, a titan of the gacha world released their newest title, Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ). ZZZ is such an oddity in this day and age: a 3D beat-'em-up with board game elements almost reminiscent of the PSone, Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast-era, smashed together with Hoyo's patented character development grind and seratonin-inducing gambling. For about 2 weeks I was hooked, and spent *so* *much* money trying to recruit entry-level furries to fight with (shark and wolf maids, cute little devils, the whole shebang). If my luck weren't so terrible, I might've stayed around for a bit longer; but so far I've lost almost every 50/50 gamble I've wagered on.
Ellen Joe, the ice shark maid girl from ZZZ
For those who don't know what a 50/50 is in the context of gacha games, I'll try and explain. Every 2-4 weeks, new characters are introduced to the games via their banner. When you 'pull', you get a less than 1% chance to recruit a high-tier character. You are also guaranteed a high tier character after 80-90 pulls (depending on the game). Once you pull the high tier character, you then get a 50% chance of recruiting the new character. If you lose the 50/50, you recruit one of the standard high tier characters. That mathematics of the gamble is woeful, and it's even worse when you consider the cost of entry. Let's just say, the horrors of gacha persist, yet so do I.
My other gacha mainstays, Nikke: Goddess of Victory and Honkai Star Rail continue to rake in huge amounts of money but have faltered when it comes to the story and actual playing of the games. Nikke made some much-needed changes to its end game, and introduced some mostly good and some fantastic mini games. At the end of the day though, the core action is very much the same despite some attempts to tweak your team's damage output. Honkai is the master of end game combat challenges (which I will continue to come back for for the foreseeable future), but the story has had some huge bumps towards the end of the year. Also concerning, the mega publisher that brings in tens of millions of dollars every month is reticent to pay its voice actors well or guarantee that they won't be replaced by artificial intelligence. Grim stuff.
The Steam Deck
A couple of weeks before we were due to leave for Japan (as in, acutally leave for Japan), my PlayStation 5 died. Rather than replace it straight away, I opted for the portable equivalent. This then lead to a weeks-long campaign of adding more games to my Steam library which I have no hope of finding the time to play.
The Takealookaround Toilet Feelings Station 5 is dead.
Still, the Steam Deck is a great machine. Pretty much any game one would want to play on the go with a controller layout is supported by the device. Most 'Verified' games (as in, Valve certifies they are good to go on the Deck) run like a dream, and even those that are 'Playable' perform much better than I expected. I opted for the OLED model which has a fantastic display. It also comes with a really solid case, which is the first thing you'd think to buy for a $1000 machine that travels with you.
I'm expecting to do more travelling this year, and the Steam Deck will be coming along for the ride.
The Princes of Persia
When I learned that The Lost Crown, the first of 2 Prince of Persia games to come out in 2024, was going to be a Metroidvania (ie. heavily influenced by Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, which required continuous backtracking after attaining new abilities) I resigned myself to liking it. It was easily the best Prince of Persia game I’d played since the Sands of Time on the PlayStation 2. It wasn’t the most original game, and the boss fights stunk, but the movement was just wonderful.
Then came The Rogue.
The Rogue: Prince of Persia is, as its title suggests, a roguelike. Once you die, you start from the beginning. Each time you play you'll find new clues and items which open up new locations and abilities for your next run. I would go into a fugue when playing this game. I'd start, and then I'd only stop when my Steam Deck battery was close to dead. Also, the soundtrack whips.
Protest
One of the few things I knew about my dad, the person (before he became a dad), was that he loved to drink and smoke and drive dangerously. He also protested against apartheid.
One of the great ironies of my life is that I worked at the supermarket which my dad picketed back in the day. Pick n’ Pay Hypermarket was a South African supermarket chain that had expanded into Australia when apartheid rule in South Africa was still very much a thing. Taking that irony even further, South Africa’s current leaders were the first to engage the international legal process to try and halt israel’s genocide in Gaza.
I have felt my heart buoyed by the constant presence of protestors in Melbourne’s CBD every Sunday. That warmth is felt all the more intensely when I stand with them.
Dad was more than just a father. He was a loose unit who cared about humanity, about people. Then he became a dad. He was less loose, and he focused that care on his three boys. I will take that love and continue to share it back with the people of Palestine and Lebanon.
I miss my Dad.
I do not exaggerate when I say these beautiful, graceful people are the first thing I think about when I wake, and the last thing I think about before I sleep. May we all live long enough to see a free Palestine.
