Personal: My pet cat Sparta, my twinkling star

Sparta

° 24/04/2008 –  † 13/07/2018

For those who don’t follow me on social media, I have to bring sad news today. My pet cat died due to the consequences of kidney cancer on 13th July 2018. I have to thank everybody who sends me supportive messages over Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, mail, Discord…

Sparta’s death affects me a lot. So, that’s why I decided that I wanted to write this article for her. I want to honor and thank her for everything she had done for me. Also, for everything she has done for my blog too. So, I’m going to talk a bit about her. I’m sorry if the article is a bit all over the place… Anyways, let’s not get distracted.

In my opinion, she was the mascot for my blog. She served as an inspiration to my nickname. In the past, I had only “Jonez” as a nickname. But, I quickly found that was a commonly used name. As a kid, I had the bright idea to make it “Jonez001”, which was a YouTube username suggestion spit out by the registration form.

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Japanese culture. So, I decided to work that into my nickname as well. At that moment, Sparta was enjoying a nap on my lap and that’s when I decided to rebrand myself to NekoJonez. Neko is the Japanese word for cat.

Sparta also served as inspiration for my blog icon. As you can see, it’s a Gameboy cartridge with my nickname on and with a cat paw print. When ZoeF and I were in a call deciding how it should look, I remember me saying that I really wanted a cat paw print on it.

Besides being an inspiration and mascot for my blog, she was an amazing family cat. She was one of the most affectionate cats that I have ever met. She was also a great companion. She jumped on the sofa closest to me while I was gaming and first watched the TV when I was playing before falling asleep. Sometimes she jumped on my lap, and I remember a few times she actually started purring when I finally had beaten a level or a boss. To be honest, the fact that I started to pet her might have something to do with it.

If the weather was clear, she spent most of her days in our garden. Watching that no other cats or animals entered the garden. She was a small cat, some people even though she was still a kitten. But, that didn’t stop her. She attacked or scared the other cats away if they dared to enter her domain. The fact that she does this surprises me since when she was one year old, we got another kitten. And those two became best friends. Sadly enough, that other kitten didn’t come home after a few months.

If the weather wasn’t clear and especially during the winter, she wanted to stay inside. She didn’t like going outside, besides when she had to do her “little room visit”. Something she will be remembered for is when you were sitting on our sofa underneath a blanket, she would jump on the sofa and then go on your legs and fall asleep there. She did that with my mom, my godchild, my sister and myself. And if she didn’t do that, she jumped on the nearest sofa were nobody was sitting and started to sleep there.

During her life, we had to move houses twice. And every time she moved with us. She adjusted pretty quickly after the move as well. It almost felt that she didn’t care where she was. The thing that mattered to her was that she was close to us.

Not long after Sparta was born, she became a stray. Her mother left her behind on the playground of the school where my father teaches. My dad brought her home and placed her into the garage. Not too long before her arrival, I was listing to the Mean Kitty Song by Mr. Safety on repeat on YouTube. That song actually gave Sparta her name. The song is about a very playful kitty that shows a lot of affection. The kitty bites a lot, but in a playful manner. And that’s how Sparta and I met. She actually bit me playfully and then started to play with the ropes on my sweater.

I can sit here and write a whole novel with stories about Sparta. How we found her once sleeping in a watering-can and how I helped her defending herself when she was young. Yeah, Sparta ate her food outside and she was too afraid from other cats to defend herself when they came and stole her food. That’s why I often sat down next to her while she was eating and scared all the other cats away. At night, I used a very strong flashlight my dad has to repair the underside of cars.

Also, for some stories, you had to be there. For example, in my garden, we have a wall covered with ivy. During the summer, the birds love making their nests in it. Sparta knew this and climbing in the ivy to get the nests out of the ivy. And yes, she even caught some birds. It was a funny sight, seeing Sparta disappear into the ivy and then suddenly appearing on top of it.

Something I will never forget about her is that she knew our routines. On 99 out of 100 times, she recognized when we came home or when our car arrived. When she heard that, she came out of her nap spot and sprinted towards the back door and waited to be let in for food. Very occasionally she climbed our garden wall to use the parking lot of our neighbor (which is a martial arts studio) to suddenly appear between your legs at the front door. We never expect this and when she does it, we jumped every single time.

But, seeing her running from the back of the garden when I came downstairs, actually miaowing when we shouted out her name and just being a companion is the Sparta I’ll remember.

So, thank you Sparta for being in our lives these past 10 years. When I take another cat, I’ll give a name to that cat in reference and honor to you. But, you will be missed Sparta. Nothing will be able to fill the void that you left. Now, you are going to twinkle like the star you are in our hearts, where you will live forever in memory.

Thank you for reading this article and I hope you didn’t mind me writing this in honor of Sparta. It helped me mourning and processing her death. Thank you for all the support and amazing messages I got from all of you. So, until the next time and I hope to be able to welcome you in another article but until then, take care and have a great rest of your day.

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Creative Christmas #6: Transportation Time

So, I’m still in the collab with LaterLevels, where myself and a few other bloggers answer a question each and every until the 1st of January. Now, I have to warn you, tomorrow and the day after that won’t have a question to answer. So, after this article, this series will be back on the 27th of December. Plenty of time to think of a theme. Yeah, I haven’t forgotten about that. But, look, I’m almost done with the intro; this way I can pick up my phone that keeps ringing and tell you about the question for today. 

You’re woken from your drunken haze by another frantic call from Santa, who’s worried he’s not going to make all his deliveries in time. Which video game item or vehicle would you recommend for him?

An easy answer would be a portal gun of course. I mean, it would save Santa some time if he didn’t have to climb down each and every chimney.  Somehow, I feel that that wouldn’t cut it. Since it would mean that Santa has to focus on way too much.

He has to aim each and every time, guess where the tree is located in the house. In addition to that, he can run the risk of using the wrong portal and creating a loop. Oh dear, I think I have to look for another solution.

Maybe the elves can help him, while the elves are driving one of the carts from Mario Kart Double Dash, Santa can throw presents into the houses of the children.

But then again, that aiming aspect of him having to put it underneath the tree. This is getting trickier and trickier.

I have to find something useful that he can use without (m)any additional issues that he has to worry about. I need to keep it simple for sure. Or have I? I mean, I looked for a logical answer each and every time, I think it’s time to go fully off the walls crazy with this one. For this one time.

So, get this. What if I gave Santa a couple of Command Blocks from Minecraft. This way he can input commands to replace blocks. So, what if he has the elves help him to write a script that translates the wishlists of the children into commands for the command block and then with a 2nd command block, replaces the air underneath the Christmas tree with said presents?

Meanwhile, a 3rd command block and check for nearby letters for Santa, cookies and milk so those get to Santa as well. While Santa’s IT-department will call this idea nuts, I just think it might be as nuts that it might just work.

Besides, if Santa wanted a better answer, honestly, I think it would have been a better idea that he called me when I wasn’t in my drunken haze anymore. I did have a big party last night, with a kiss underneath a mistletoe you know.

Otherwise, if I was more awake, I would have been able to think about a more clear and not too crazy answer for him. If only he called me later, I would have been able to suggest a better solution. With the Time Pieces that Hat Kid, from A Hat In Time, has in her spaceship, Santa would have been able to mess with time and make his deliveries in time. Would have been way more practical than setting up all those command blocks. Oh well. Perhaps a next time?

So, that’s my answer to today’s question. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article on my blog but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.

More answers here: https://laterlevels.com/

Creative Christmas #5: Smooch… I mean smoothy.

LaterLevels has a collab this Christmas, but you should already know that since this is the 5th article in the series. I still don’t have a theme for these and I hope I don’t get on the naughty list for this. I mean, I’m trying my best to provide you with interesting entertainment and stories and feelings from my personal life. But, I still don’t have someone special to share it with. For those who didn’t get my subtle clue, I mean a girlfriend. So, let me think about a theme for these articles and meanwhile, you can enjoy my answer to the question of today. 

The party is still going strong and you find yourself conveniently positioned under the mistletoe. Which video game character would you call over for a cheeky kiss?

Oh dear lord, there is a lost of superstition when you kiss somebody under a mistletoe. I mean, I’m not that superstitious, but just in case the girl is that I kiss, is superstitious; I do have to make this one count. So, who would be interested in a 24-year-old Belgian guy who works in education, writes about his life in video games, collects retro and modern games… Wow-ah there Jonez, you aren’t writing a profile for a dating site here.

I mean, maybe a simple British woman would be interested. A classy but adventurous lady. Someone like Lady Croft. She was my first crush when it comes to video games. (Just like many other males I think).

Actually, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’m not that adventurous in real life and I think I’ll just get in her way. So, Lara Croft, I’m sorry. I have to pass on you.

Oh, I have an idea! Maybe Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite! A lady I have a who lot of respect for. I mean, just look at her, she is a smart and caring lady that I can get behind.

When things get heated, you can be sure she can take care of herself. She got into multiple heated firefights with Booker after all.

Alas, I don’t think this would be a very wise choice. Without spoiling anything, just play Bioshock Infinite or look at it’s ending to understand what I mean. There is something about her that would make it pretty hard for her to have a boyfriend you know.

Maybe I’m thinking about this too much. Maybe, I’m taking this question a bit too serious. I mean, a cheeky innocent kiss. That isn’t a confession of love right? It’s not that I’m saying that I like her, right? Besides, I might get myself in an anime style war called that “Waifu” war here if I take things too seriously. Gosh darn, I’m raising the stakes even higher for myself now. I have to take something that offends almost nobody to avoid the “Waifu war” in the comments.

That would mean that somebody like Sakuya from Stella Glow would be a bad pick too. Since, if I would pick here, fans from the game will maybe argue with me that Popo or Risette is a better girl.

In addition to that, if I had to choose between her songs and Popo’s; dear lord, I would have a big problem on my hands.

Oh yeah, maybe some context for the people who haven’t played the game yet. In Stella Glow’s world, nobody can sing apart from witches who can use magic by singing. Yeah.

Also, I will have an even more hard time with Sakuya since one of my absolute favorite characters in the game in Nonoka, Sakuya’s servant. So, I think I won’t ask her.

So, I still don’t have an answer to this question. Besides, I think I should answer honestly since this is my blog after all. I pride myself on giving my opinion to the world about the games I recently played. I think I might be superstitious after all. I think about this too much.

… Princess Zelda? No! Link would be so mad and besides that, Zelda’s fate in the legends is always so hard on the emotions, I think I will be able to handle that.

… Princess Peach, well, I think Mario will stomp me to a pulp. So, no. I think I’ll pass there too.

Maybe Frederica from Etrain Odyssey Untold? That would be a lovely idea too, but then again; she is urhm… Well; just play the game and you will understand why. On second thought, I think I wouldn’t mind a kiss from her.

I can relate somewhat to her. When I meet people for the first time, I’m a bit distant too. But, I open up more and more when I get to know the other people and to trust them.

I also have difficulties to express my feelings to others. I’m also shy as well. So, I think I might be able to match with Frederica.

I wouldn’t mind a kiss from her under that mistletoe from her. At those moments, I wish that the superstitions were true, you know? Since she deserves all the good luck she can get. Or did I look too deep into this? Who knows, who can say?

Maybe I was playing a role all along in this article you know. So, while I’m standing underneath this mistletoe, Frederica you want a smooch– I mean a smoothy? Phew, nice save there.

And this is a perfect time to end this article. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.

More answers here: https://laterlevels.com/

Creative Christmas #4 – Jamming those tunes

Another day and still no good idea for a theme for these articles. Maybe I’m having a writer overload. You know that feeling when you have so many ideas that you want to write about but you are unable to decide which idea is the best one to go with the article? Perhaps that’s going on. Oh, you started to read this article as the first one? Well, let me explain something then. This is the 4th article in the “Creative Christmas” series, where LaterLevels asked several bloggers to answer a question each and every day. Let me introduce today’s question while I play some music and try to focus on getting the perfect idea for a theming of these articles. 

It’s now Christmas Eve and you’re throwing a lively party for all your friends, family and favourite characters. Which video game soundtracks would be on your playlist?

This is an interesting question. While I have written various articles about gaming music in the past like the one where I talk about my favorite soundtracks per platform, I think I should think about the situation here. par

First of all, define lively. If it needs to be a party with a dance floor, I think I could go with the soundtrack of games like Electronic Super Joy.

The whole soundtrack can be considered as party numbers. Too bad, that I’m such a bad dancer, so I think I will just enjoy myself watching the people dance on this soundtrack.

It’s strange, I enjoy listening to these tracks, but dancing on them is a no-go for me. I just don’t like dancing, to be honest.

The big issue to answer this question is that most games I play don’t have a soundtrack that is energetic enough to have a lively party. Or I need to go with remixes and video game medleys like this one of Dunderpatrullen. These can bring so much joy in parties since you start to remember your favorite games and their memories. Oh, and LaterLevels, if you are reading this; surely listen till around the 3-4 minute mark. You are welcome.

In that same spirit, The GAG Quartet also made an amazing medley in a rock/metal version. This one could be on my playlist as well.

But speaking about remixes, I think the artists who created the Essence of Lime and Lime of The Season are just amazing. They pull onto my nostalgic strings so much since they remixed almost the WHOLE soundtrack both games. This is just mindblowing and the art as amazing as well.

I could also mention Overclocked Remix, if you know about a game, there is a chance there is a remix or something along those lines ready for you there. I think I would get my complete party playlist from this website, to be honest.

If you mean lively as in, background music since the party is already loud; well, then I have a few suggestions too. The soundtrack from Breath of the Wild, Minecraft, OneShot can be such relaxing music to listen too.

So, before I close off this article I want to leave you with one soundtrack that amazed me this year. The soundtrack from Outlaws. If you love western music, seriously check this one out. It’ll be right up your alley.

In any case, that’s everything I wanted to say for this article. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article but until then, take care and have a great rest of your day.

More answers here: https://laterlevels.com/

Creative Christmas #3 – Help Santa!

So, today is another day and another question to answer in the mega blogging collab of LaterLevels. I’m still unsure if I should theme these articles since the goal is being creative. But, if I start a theme now, it’s a shame that the first two articles in this series didn’t have a theme. Actually, I think that shouldn’t be such a big problem. Yet, I think that editing my previous articles in this collab to fit a theme would be a bad idea to do… Hrm, while I think about it, here is my answer to today’s question.

You receive a call from Santa, as the elves desperately need a hand in the workshop getting all the toys ready. Which video game character would you recruit to help out?

So, who could help Santa in getting all toys ready? It should be a character that can work fast for sure. Sonic, maybe? Nah, I don’t think that will be a good idea since he most likely will break a lot of the tools since he is too fast.

I could put in “Sinterklaas“, a tradition here in Belgium & the Netherlands that’s extremely similar to Saint Nick. You know, you can call them almost brothers. But, since he isn’t really a video game character in the first place and more of a tradition, I don’t think it would count.

Maybe Asterix & Obelix? They got powerful druids who can make special elixirs that make them super fast and super strong. But then again, they are more comic book characters who got some pretty amazing games and they will have the same problem that Sonic has, they would be way too fast and the tools might not be able to follow.

Oh, maybe Putt-Putt? He had a Christmas book, called “The Night For Christmas“. That might work if we would live in car town that is. And sadly enough, we aren’t. Man, this is getting tricky.

Each time when I think of a character, something doesn’t click with me. Something deep inside me tells me that they aren’t the perfect character to help Saint Nick out to save Christmas.

You know, I was also thinking about some ridiculous ideas that might just work. Somebody like Paperboy could help with his experience in delivering newspapers in the craziest neighborhoods, but then again, that might not help a lot in creating toys.

At this moment, I dove in my game collection and looked through it. There had to be one game with a character in it that could help Saint Nick to create all these presents? I quickly threw Elf Bowling 1&2 on the DS to the side. I still shiver at the idea of putting those characters in my article to answer this question. I mean, that might be the reason why Saint Nick needs help since the elves are on strike and he doesn’t want to use them as bowling pins since that idea became a terrible game…

For real, this question stumped me for a while. I kept looking through my collection. I didn’t want to give a cheap answer and tell that Saint Nick can help too since he appears in various games, or say that a whole cast of characters from some game could help since they are with a lot of people…

Various characters passed my eyes as a possibility. Steve from Minecraft and the Sims are just two possibilities. But, then again, those aren’t too memorable characters since you create their story and you decide it all for yourself.

Maybe Guybrush Threepwood? Then again, rather not. I think he will just create something that looks like a toy and steal it afterward since he is a pirate, har har! Nah, I need somebody else.

This was becoming a real tricky puzzle for me to crack. I really had to have somebody who is kind hearted, a hard worker and a gentleman or a gentlewoman.

I wasn’t able to solve this one, but I’m sure that Professor Layton will know some tricks. Wait a minute. I think I can suggest him.

Yeah, he would really be able to help Saint Nick and with his knowledge of solving puzzles, he might be able to quickly think of a solution to help Saint Nick in his quest to finish all toys in time. This will work out just fine. If Layton is on the case, I know that this issue will be resolved no matter what.

So, that’s my answer. Thank you for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article on my blog, but until they have a great rest of your day and take care!

More answers here: https://laterlevels.com/2017/12/21/creative-christmas-santas-workshop/

Creative Christmas: A Gaming Collaboration – Day 1: Gifting

So, today something special starts. A collaboration with my friends from LaterLevels about Christmas. For the upcoming days, I’ll post an (short) article every day apart from the 24^th and 25^th. In these article’s, I’ll answer a question asked by LaterLevels. Keep your eyes peeled on this since a lot of other bloggers are joining in! I’ll be retweeting other articles that I come across. In any case, I think it’s enough stalling here. Time to get into the first question!

Question: You need to choose a gift for someone special and go online to check out the video game item catalog. Who is this person and what present would you select for them?

This would highly depend on the person I would choose. You can take the “special someone” in such a broad way. At this moment in time, I’m a single man, so I can’t buy a gift for my significant other.

If I would take some coworkers who would mean a lot to me, as the “special someone” in this situation, I think I’ll come up short handed with the second part of the question. As far as I know, none of my coworkers is really that into gaming, so a gaming related gift wouldn’t be suitable.

The same thing goes to almost every member of my family. Apart from three people. First is my sister. She plays games but very occasionally. She plays games like League of Legends, The Sims, Rollercoaster Tycoon and a few others. But, it isn’t her main interest. Besides, a few years ago, she gave all her games to me to add to my collection. So, let’s go to the second person.

That would be my uncle. He plays a lot of stealth and country management games. When he has the time, he boots up a game and starts playing. Keyword being time here. My aunt and uncle got a daughter a few years ago and his focus goes more to his daughter then to video games. I see him rarely online on Steam and he mostly plays Assassin’s Creed or GTA. I think that the 3^rd person who plays games in my family would be more happy with a gift actually.

That would be my cousin. While she does play games from time to time, according to me, her favorite gaming moments are the moments she shares with me. Together we played through so many different games. We played games like BoomBlox (Wii), Kirby’s Adventure (Wii), Mario Kart 8 (Wii U) amongst others. Often she likes to watch me play games, that she finds too difficult to play herself. I commentate over them and let her make the decisions here and there.

She also loves taking a look at the games in my collection and when she sees a game that she really likes, she wants to buy it for herself.

A few years ago, I bought her a copy of Minecraft for the PC. And let me be real here, I can’t keep count anymore for how long we played Minecraft together. The annoying thing is that her laptop isn’t that powerful so she has to play Minecraft at the lowest setting to be even playable.

If I would have the budget, I would love to buy her a laptop that can run Minecraft better. Why a laptop? Well, since she would love to take her creations everywhere she goes without having to save her worlds somewhere on a USB or in the cloud. She isn’t that tech savvy and just buying a laptop would make that easier.

I could also buy her a NEW 2DS and a copy of Minecraft on that. I think she would be extremely happy with that too.

So, why would I gift something to my cousin? Why is she so special to me? I’m her godfather after all and I want nothing more for my godchild that she is happy and has a great time.

That’s my answer to this question. Tune in tomorrow for another question! Also, keep an eye on LaterLevels, since they are going to show an overview of all the answers.