Day 238/365: Enervation + Pokégo

[nanila]

[Screenshot of a rainbow around a Pokéstop at Parkrun.]

I wish to shoehorn in this screenshot from our Pokéhunt at our (not so) local Parkrun, so a brief Pokégo progress update:

• I finally caught a Shuckle! Sadly, it is not a good one, but I will walk it as soon as I've got enough candies to evolve Quilava as I don't have much faith that I'll ever see another.
• I'm Level 35 and slightly-more-than-a-half. It feels like progress has been happening more rapidly over the past month. I'm guessing this is at least partly due to the Friending process. I mean, if you pop a Lucky Egg just before becoming Ultra Friends with someone, you get 100,000 XP for the pleasure. That's not to be sneezed at.
  
• I love that Pokéfriends make an effort to send me geeky Pokégifts. Thank you. I try to reciprocate with gifts I know people will like.
  
• My only regret with my Pokéfriends is that I'm never physically close enough to anyone to trade.
  
• I have solo-raided with the children. Somehow it's more fun with them? They like battling in the gyms way more than I do. It's very cute. Keiki: "Can I foyght?***"

I have impending end of holiday lethargy. There are dozens of things I should do before I go back to work, but mustering up the will to do them is a herculean effort. I've just about managed bashing down the laundry Everest to a mere foothill, rearranging the wardrobe, essential shopping for the children, non-essential shopping for the children, and (with the bloke) figuring out what to do with the gigantic crop of courgettes which flourished during two weeks of neglect. So far, lentil & courgette dal in the slow cooker has been achieved. Tomorrow I'll make zucchini bread*, and courgette and potato soup to put in the freezer. I can probably fling the overgrown runner beans into that as well.

We got the car thoroughly cleaned. I had washed the children's car seat covers** after the mountain pass puke-a-thon but the full sparkle-shine service made it feel like even the faintest trace of vom had been banished.

In practical terms I'm fairly sure we're ready to go back to the usual routine. I can't shake the feeling that as soon as I go back to work, I'm going to be able to magically prioritise all the other things I should have taken care of whilst I was off, except I won't have time to do them.

* I still can't bring myself to call it "courgette bread". It just doesn't sound right.
** By hand because Center Parcs lodges don't have washing machines; all hail the cleaning power of Daz.
*** This is my attempt at phonetically spelling the Midlands pronunciation of "fight", which somehow has an "o" in it.

Comments

[perennialanna]

I think that oi in foight/foyght (and many other words, including Dudley, which comes out more like Dudloigh) is more West Midlands than East Midlands - East Midlands is a lot less distinctive.

[nanila]

I noticed this from hearing someone with a Nottingham accent speak on the radio the other day. Yep, the children are definitely West Midlands!

[angelofthenorth]

You can also make courgette cakes

[nanila]

I may give that a go this weekend. I have more giant marrows to defeat...

[lurkingcat]

I love it when there's an in-game rainbow - good screenshot!

I think you're right about the Friending process speeding up XP gains. Personally I think that's a good thing as the later levels can be a bit of a disheartening slog otherwise. And I do enjoy the tiny gift postcards from other places. It's a lovely little part of my day.

[nanila]

The game's tracking of the weather is such a lovely touch. :)

Yes, I was finding it pretty tedious getting through the thirties, and now it's a lot more fun. Plus, some of my Pokéfriends do a fair bit of traveling, so I get to follow along through their postcards. Bonus!

[silveradept]

Hooray for getting stuff to a manageable level.

I think the process of getting experience has gotten a lot easier with the revamped gyms, the presence of raids (and finding a raid group), and the friend system rewards. When it was just catching and spinning and evolving, the ideas of levels that took millions of experience to achieve were...eep. Now, they're a strong aggravation.

[nanila]

There's such a rich variety of tasks in the game now, and the addition of each feature has done a great job of enhancing play. I may be a tiny bit addicted.

[silveradept]

I think this is much closer to the way we envisioned the game when it launched, so now is a good time for new players to get involved and addicted on their own.

[evilsusan]

Ah, but the friends far away have a different use. If you open our gifts when you have an egg space, you are very likely (but not guaranteed) to get an egg in the gift. The 'Mon that come out of those eggs have a lot of km when you trade them to local people, and you get a lot of credit on the badge.

[nanila]

Yes! I look forward to being able to trade with someone local at some point. I've got loads of distant 'mons saved up but thus far failed to be in the same location as any of my Pokéfriends for trades...

[shirou]

I love seeing the postcards from your UK gifts! I'm afraid mine aren't especially interesting or geeky--just gifts from the stops in my neighborhood. I do try to send gifts consistently, though.

Have you been doing A Ripple in Time? That's also a good way to get some quick XP.

[nanila]

Consistent gifts are much appreciated! I often go a few days without being able to hit up a Pokéstop, so they really help to keep the ball/berry stashes topped up.

Yes, I've started doing A Ripple in Time. Currently saving up Rewards until the next egg... :)

[kaberett]

hello, the next time one of us opens a present from the other we'll make Ultra Friends and gain 50,000 XP -- before any bonuses. Do you want to try to coordinate doing a Lucky Egg? Or shall I just send you a present so you can get the XP when doing a Lucky Egg in your own time? <3

[nanila]

Yes please, we should do the coordinated Lucky Egg thing, if you are able! Maybe next week when I'm in London? Weds eve (after 8 PM) or Thurs morning (before 11 AM) would work for me.

[kaberett]

Weds evening I am usually at the allotment but Thursday morning should work :-)