So I recently decided to check back into this site after a lengthy hiatus.
(Apologies to those of you that had been reading my posts, and saw the drop off. I did not know so many people had gained such interest in my blog!)
The job search hasn’t really been treating me well. Matter of fact, my benefits ran out and I’ve had to take to alternative methods. In fact, I’m planning to try to rebuild my blogging habit.
(That’s actually a LOT thanks to so many amazingly positive and uplifting comments I saw from those of you that said you found insight in just what I was sharing from my day to day.)
I used to write a lot, especially doing restaurant reviews when I was able to afford to dine out a lot with my wife. As well, I also did a lot dealing with literature when in High School, as well as my photography.
Anyways, so where I’ve been lately. As many of you may know, that found my site because of my stream, I’m a Twitch affiliate. I made Affiliate earlier this year, and that’s actually where most of my time was spent.
That’s right, I finally started building a streaming habit. It’s not a lot of followers, but it’s mostly my wife and friends watching while I either play Magic the Gathering Arena, or play Magic the Gathering with very old friends on SpellTable.
I’ve actually found that a small group of people enjoy watching me hang out and play my favorite trading card game that I’ve played since High School. So I took the idea and ran with it. Since then I’ve made upgrades to the stream, however I was running into lots of issues where the old GPU in my computer couldn’t do what I wanted it to do.
I started talking to my dad about the issues, and he led me to a site that is crazy addicting to hunt for deals on! It’s called Nellis Auctions! This place is ludicrous! They post daily auctions and the inventory changes quite every day!
In addition to my streaming, I’ve managed to get a lot of opportunities tutoring a great learner on Varsity Tutors who as of recently requested that I no longer tutor him, and he convert to paying me to just finish his site for him. (Business picked up too much and the site kept going by the wayside.) That means that F.W.I.W. Tech then sprang into action to build his backlog of everything done, and got it all completed in a short 1 week sprint!
Because of the recent fortune on those endeavors, since it’s the only bit of income I’ve been able to get lately, I decided to do things to my hardware to try to improve my stream as best I can, without breaking the bank. That’s where I’m thankful for my father for leading me to this site.
While doing this, my brother decided it was time for him to build his own PC, too, so it was kind of a joint project. Since I could not find a case that fit my needs, I just gutted my favorite case that continues to serve me well, my CoolerMaster HAF 912. So the first ridiculous find we got for the PC’s that prompted us to know we were ready to finish these off, was the badass graphics cards!
I needed something with more than 2GB memory b/c my old GTX 950SC wasn’t cutting it. That’s where we both found Intel Arc A750 Limited Edition graphics cards! We managed to win these for an average of $100 each! So needless to say, we knew exactly what came next. My brother, Josh, had to get everything, since he was starting from scratch. Maybe one day I’ll do a follow-up from this post, with what all he got and how much he paid, to show a comparison of how he did a straight build from this site, for my readers to compare, if you’d like that.
That being said, while he shopped for the rest of his build I was ready, then to take some of what I had earned with F.W.I.W. Tech and Varsity Tutors, and use it to invest in a motherboard bundle from MicroCenter. So I got their Intel i9 bundle with DDR5 ram, because I wanted to keep myself from having to upgrade again for a long time to come. It was all $550 and I got the processor, GSkill ram, and an Asus motherboard. Once I knew the processor I was getting, I also found a Be Quiet! Dark Rock 4 200W TDP CPU Cooler to go with it, for only $12!
Once I got everything up and running, I noticed the mobo only had a headphone jack for my soundbar. I would’ve been willing to accept that, except for the fact that my cable connecting the soundbar is so old that a LOT of attenuation was happening. This made me miss the Fiber sound my old Asus motherboard had, from my Pro Gaming Aura 970. The ASUS Z790-V Prime was a bit of a step down from what I had been running. However, it still works great.
So I took back to Nellis for one last smash and grab. That’s where I stole this ridiculous soundcard in an auction for only $30! The Creative Sound Blaster AE-7! What’s crazy, too, is that I don’t need the ACM that comes bundled with it, and I’ve found it on eBay selling for up to $150! So if anybody happens to have need for a Creative SB1521 ACM for their computer, or any other audio setup, please consider hitting me up on my social media, either by whispering me on Twitch, or messaging me on my Instagram for Malak’s Beerkery, we could possibly arrange something if I still have it, as I use wireless headsets. So it’ll just sit collecting dust. (And I will give you a FAR better deal than the $357 on Amazon. LoL!) I also snagged a new keyboard and mouse to give me a more ergonomic work and gaming environment with a KINESIS Gaming Freestyle Edge keyboard for $56 and a Zelotes Wired Ergonomic Gaming Mouse With Joystick for $6. (I fought a bit harder for the keyboard because I knew I wanted a split keyboard to let them be set shoulder width apart. I love it and haven’t looked back!)
In addition to the awesome upgrades, I also found the greatest vest for Tesla, that came with Service Dog patches, that I hope he’ll someday be trained well enough, and properly credentialed, to deserve to wear them. He’s seriously become my awesome little dude that helps ground me in times of high anxiety. Just wanted to also brag about that and give an excuse to share a picture of Tesla in his new vest, looking all Tacti-Corgi! Check him out!
So now that all that was complete and my computer is upgraded, while also being able to stay with the case and configuration I already had, I’m uber pleased to announce that I’ll soon be returning to my regular streaming schedule, and POSSIBLY with the addition of a Throwback Thursday stream, where I’ve been considering starting my FIRST EVER playthroughs of the Fallout series, starting of course with Fallout 1. (I feel I’m going to catch a LOOOOOOOT of flak for that secret I just revealed, especially from those who have already seen my social and know about my Fallout vault dweller cosplay I made and wore to my good friend Diablo’s halloween party!)
Speaking of Diablo, too! Before I wrap up this post, that’s the other thing I’m happy to announce is that F.W.I.W. Tech not only has our first rebuild, we also have our first new build with my good friend’s site selling Redcat RC racing cars! You can purchase them in his store, and more information can be found about his affordable RC cars by checking out Diablo RC!
So I’m really hoping that once I kick this depression from the issues finding full time work, with the improvements I’ve made, I hope to get back into the habit of streaming.
Oh! And one more thing I forgot to mention, too! When Diablo told me he wanted to play SpellTable with Slowflood and myself! I managed to find him a great mount that I knew I could afford, even with my minimal income, to give my friend a birthday gift that I wanted him to have, so he could share in the SpellTable experience. I actually got to play my first solo game with him, and I hope to have him and Slowflood on a SpellTable stream one night, soon. If I can’t get my brother to join, I want my old friend ShadowRavenclaw to join, and DreeFrugs can just join in chat and chill with us. But either way, I think it’d be fun!
If any of you reading this happen to enjoy Magic the Gathering, please be sure to follow my stream at twitch.tv/malaktrebek and drop me a message in chat, I’d love to hear from you and chat!
Hope everyone has a great day!
