A Year Later: An Update From Ryan
How We Doin? Welcome back to my blog! My name is Ryan B. Hebert, I go by Ryan, and it's a pleasure to have you reading today. From returning readers to new ones, welcome! I'll be writing about a whole assortment of topics today, that have to do with my entire year. Get ready, cause a here we go!
[Just a small note before we do get started; I had planned several posts throughout this year, and none of them made it too far past some rough drafts. However, I feel that now is a time to write something because I feel I'm in a place to do such a thing. I want to thank everyone who was reading and keeping up with me. I was reaching 250-300 views per post. I'm grateful for your time and energy to read what I post. Thank you.]
Where to begin. I left you all in suspense with my show, Waiting For Godot, happening in early March. It was a success and was the experience of a lifetime. I loved my cast, and I didn't even know what this opportunity would bring me the following year (that news comes later). The show went well and I remembered all my lines. I got to eat chicken on stage, and drink cran-grape juice out of a small corked glass bottle. It was truly a delight. I will post some pictures of me from the production below this. Morgan, who is on the board of DePaul Theatre Union, had her boyfriend (@connormudd) take the photos and they are absolutely gorgeous.
Now that you've seen me as a circus clown, you're probably wondering, Ryan, what Pokémon stuff is happening during this time. The answer is none. While I went to some locals around my area in Chicago, February, March, and April were quiet months for me. I had a busy spring ahead of me, and my focus was mainly on my show and school work. My priorities are aligned with my education. I fit in Pokémon when I can, and I manage both of them quite well. My club, which I was the President of, until the end of June, was also going very well. We were having active meetings and 8-12 members per meeting. It was going as expected, and I am content with how it all went.
Skipping past March and April, we come to May. May I just say, I don't think I can ever replace the memories and the experience I had during this month. This month, I took my Pokémon trip to Utah. Salt Lake City to be exact. I had never gone this far West, and I was certainly nervous about it all. Luckily, this boi had his two great friends, Patrick, and Warren by his side. I had nothing to fear. In fact, Salt Lake City had to fear me walking down the 75 Degree streets with no shirt on because I was envious of the temperatures and green exterior. Chicago was about a week and a half behind Salt Lake City's luscious green atmosphere and scene. I never expected the truly beautiful skies and mountains of the valley that we landed in. It felt like a dream to be in Utah. The Mormons certainly put a lot of money into the city to be sure that it was kept clean and made of some of the finest building materials.
While I was in Utah, Marvel's Infinity War had also come out that same exact weekend. Not only did I have the regional to look forward to, but I had an exciting movie premiere to go see as well. The regional event itself in Utah was breathtaking. We were a 10-minute uber ride from our small bohemian bungalow up on the side of the side of the valley and so that meant views in every direction when we finally got to the event location. I had been slightly skeptical of the event location because it wasn't clear online what the venue looked like. Most of them are dark, spacey, and open enough for there to be at least a thousand people inside. When we finally arrived at the venue, it was spacious, open and completely unique. I could walk in, sit down, play a set, and then walk outside for some fresh air. It wasn't too hot or too cold. One of the most perfect events and locations I had been to the entire year.
May I say, May was exciting, and I had no idea what the next month was going to bring. June was something special. With a combination of finals in the first week of June and then my first commentating gig the weekend before that, I had a lot going on. Not to forget, I plan all the trips for my club, so I was responsible for making sure all 4 of us were set on our way there and back. The trip was to Madison, Wisconsin. I had heard that Wisconsin had great cheese and great beer. I wasn't 21 yet, so I wasn't drinking on this trip, but I had to try some cheese while I was there.
The bus ride from Chicago in the late morning, to a chilly Milwaukee in the early afternoon, and then eventually a rural bus stop next to an Arby's in Madison, WI. Did I mention that I met Harambe while I was there? Well, I did. Anyways, the uber to the hotel from here was stunning because we got to see a lot of Madison from the car ride. While Utah's regional had stunning views of the valley in Salt Lake, our venue in Madison, WI, had views of the water and the luscious green tree lines. The city was the perfect temperature for June, so between the actual event and the farm stand with spicy, cheesy bread, Madison did not disappoint.
The job I had in Madison was one I had been hoping for, for a long time, and the dream finally came true. It's not every day that you can say that "I commentated for a Pokémon Regional." Many friends ask me how I was able to get the job and it came down to a simple tweet. A man named Danny O. was looking for folks knowledgeable about VGC and I ignored his post the first time around. A day later, I saw that barely anyone had interacted with the post so I decided to reach out and see what was going on. I felt like I had struck gold when I discovered Danny wanted people to help stream Madison. I was excited and giddy and sitting at my current place of work outside Wish Field at DePaul University, admitting students into a springtime softball game. I couldn't believe I just got the gig. My next steps from there were to assemble a dream team to help me on the microphone. I had to bring on the man himself, Patrick Mont, one of my best friends at DePaul who is very knowledgeable about the game itself. From there, I needed 1-2 other people. Where was I going to find a duo willing to join myself and Patrick? It slid into my DMs when a stranger named Thwack reached out to me and asked how he could commentate. I looked over his profile, saw that he was a theatre student and a Smash commentator, from then on, I had a great feeling about him. He was even able to bring on another guy named Trevor. Trevor is a guy who consistently top cuts every event he goes to and does so on 3 or fewer hours of sleep each time. I'll link some of the videos of me commentating Madison here because I want you all to see what I was actually doing!
After the chaos of finals at DePaul, which started the weekend after casting in Wisconsin, I went home to Massachusetts for summer break and summer work. This summer, I had taken up a job at MSSA. An art/theatre camp for kids of all ages! This was going to be my second summer working for Ryan D, the camp director. The one thing I have to say about Ryan is that he is the kindest, most considerate and hardworking man I have ever met. His sense of humor is dry, satirical and witty, and his sense of pride for the work he does is really deserved. He serves this community in the best way possible by fostering young lives and experiences over the summer at MSSA. If you're interested in enrolling your child at MSSA this summer, click here to check out their site! It's probably the best place to be in the summertime.
My July was spent with campers young and old, and I was also prepping for my trip to the World Championships in Nashville, TN. I had been to Memphis the year before, and I was super excited to attend Worlds in August. The only thing that differed between this trip and some of my other trips is that I was putting myself in my friend's hands. What I mean is that I did not do a majority of the planning for this trip. I had no idea what the Airbnb was going to look like, or how the trip to Nashville was going to be. I decided to carpool to Tennessee with a group of friends that I am now very close with. I will never want to take back the experiences I had with all of them in Nashville.
There's a lot to say about Nashville and I could talk about it for the rest of this blog. I think what I want you to know is that you should hydrate and eat properly for long car rides. Use the bathroom no matter what, and when you get to Nashville at 11am after leaving Illinois at 12am, eat a great breakfast. Did I mention I made a new friend from the Netherlands? Yeah, Franz is amazing and I just wanted to put that out there. He introduced me to Stroop Waffles and my life is forever changed. The Airbnb was beautiful and themed after the 27 club, so it was also pretty morbid. I stayed in the Amy Winehouse room and I do not regret it. We managed to freeze over the AC unit after we were there for one day, so we all tried to survive the heat, with 15-20 of us packed in an Airbnb for 10 people at most.
The convention center in Nashville was stunning. The architecture of the building was lush and colorful. Beautiful wood and glass walls with trees surrounding the convention center, it was a paradise. LED signs lit up with the beautiful Pokémon Worlds logo, Pokémon Go players surrounding the center, and friends from all over recognizing each other was a beautiful sight. Inside the center, the Pokémon Company had really upped their game since I was at Worlds in 2015. The amount of set building and production that went into this World Championships was evident and super cute. The set helped set the scene for the entire weekend. The reason I travel and play Pokémon is for the people I meet, the friends I make, and the experiences I will always remember. I not only get to socialize, nerd out and laugh the entire weekend, I also experience I brand new place with the people I love to play Pokémon with. I didn't get a World invite last year, and so I was there supporting my friends who had made the tournament.
Overall, August was a great month before school started up. Before I went back to school and Mid- West-Pokémon, I met a girl named Emmy. I got to know her for a number of weeks and even went on some dates. We clicked and it felt really great to be close to someone again. Sadly, it didn't stick when she went off to college. I had told her it would be hard to be together and she wanted someone to be with someone at school. I understood and said goodbye. Last year I would have been extremely sad about this situation, and this year I look at that experience as an opportunity to strive forward and keep leaping into the future with an open mind and an open heart. She was really sweet and continues to be a great friend to this day.
Before I leave the summertime, I want to mention something that really tied the whole thing into a beautiful bow. A friend who I went to high school with, who is now ALLLLLL the way in California, found her way to Boston once again. A group meet-up was planned and so a whole bunch of us got together to go to a karaoke bar that ended up with us all on Harvard's campus, at 3:30am, looking at the night sky and the moon's reflection over the Charles River. It is a night I will never forget due to the generosity and kindness of all these beautiful people. Thank you, peeps, I didn't think I still had many high school friends. But I was really wrong.
Do you remember? The very first night of September? I don't, to be honest with you. I remember September and it was full of exciting opportunities. I was working at Good Games once again, and I was also taking some more classes that I was really excited to be a part of. This fall was easily more positive and exciting than last fall. Teachers were eager and ready, Midterm elections were getting underway and the year was bright and new. I went to the gym regularly, and I even found about auditions for a musical called, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. I was obviously going to audition for this show for a couple of reasons. I felt locked into the friend groups from the past couple of years and I wanted to meet some new people. This was my best way to meet some new people I would love to spend time in the coming months. The director, Morgan, is someone I do like and appreciate as a theatre artist. I trusted her and she has delivered some great ideas and work so far! September was also the beginning of school in general! Getting back to the daily grind was going to be exciting for me. I missed seeing my Chicago friends over the summer, and coming back makes it that much more exciting.
September passed and soon enough October was upon us. I celebrated a birthday, college was in full swing and the parties were plentiful. Lots of fun with friends at house parties, and the occasional trip to the stereotypical college bars once I turned 21, it was a pretty rad time. The bar was packed, the Karaoke was killer, and people were just having the time of their lives. October also marked the first month I was fully invested every weekend into Pokémon. From my annual trip to Memphis Regionals to a road trip with my good friend Adam to Fort Wayne, Indiana.
I went to Memphis Regionals this year as a caster. Contrary to my participation in the event last year, this year I was once again given a chance to commentate with Legendary Gaming Network. It went exceptionally well, here's a link to some of the videos. I recommend watching them because you can see what I do when I travel to "commentate." Commentating Memphis had different stakes compared to Madison. Madison Regionals, we were newbies. We had a lot to learn, and this regional was the time to show the community that we had done the work and come ready for a great event. There are many details that I cannot get into. Due to the nature of confidentiality, I can only say, the event itself had some drama, and because of that, folks were not on their best terms when it came to being on stream. Luckily, we upgraded our stream ds to a 3DS so that no player had to use a 2DS in a Bo3 set against an opponent. Overall, I felt that my commentary was solid, and well respected by many. The critique on the event and the commentary is always important to keep improving, and I appreciate everyone who chipped in!
With there being so much Pokémon in the month of October, a lot of my free time was rushing by me and my school work seemed to be slightly struggling. In the end of it all, I got the work done, and ended the quarter with mostly A's! This is a big "Don't Worry" to all my family reading this, school still comes first for me.
This is part one of my past year. I thought I'd end this here, get it out to all you wonderful people, and then release part 2 at a later date. Thank you so much for reading. If you were mentioned on the blog in the past year, and want to talk and reminisce about any of the events, please send me a message on Facebook or Twitter. I'd love to catch up and talk about the events again!
Tah-tah for now-
Ryan
Topics to come in Part 2...
November: Getting back on the horse, and riding high, 3.8 GPA, Break, and Premier Challenges! Thanksgiving, Endicott Audition, and more.
December: Premiere Challenges's, Reuniting with Warren Warren, Homelife during break, Moving???, Instagram music account, Pokémon Youtube and Podcast, Where I'm at compared to last Christmas.
January: Rehearsals, Winter Quarter, the College Republicans
February: The show. Getting myself out there.
[Just a small note before we do get started; I had planned several posts throughout this year, and none of them made it too far past some rough drafts. However, I feel that now is a time to write something because I feel I'm in a place to do such a thing. I want to thank everyone who was reading and keeping up with me. I was reaching 250-300 views per post. I'm grateful for your time and energy to read what I post. Thank you.]
Where to begin. I left you all in suspense with my show, Waiting For Godot, happening in early March. It was a success and was the experience of a lifetime. I loved my cast, and I didn't even know what this opportunity would bring me the following year (that news comes later). The show went well and I remembered all my lines. I got to eat chicken on stage, and drink cran-grape juice out of a small corked glass bottle. It was truly a delight. I will post some pictures of me from the production below this. Morgan, who is on the board of DePaul Theatre Union, had her boyfriend (@connormudd) take the photos and they are absolutely gorgeous.
 |
| Pic cred to @connormudd |
Now that you've seen me as a circus clown, you're probably wondering, Ryan, what Pokémon stuff is happening during this time. The answer is none. While I went to some locals around my area in Chicago, February, March, and April were quiet months for me. I had a busy spring ahead of me, and my focus was mainly on my show and school work. My priorities are aligned with my education. I fit in Pokémon when I can, and I manage both of them quite well. My club, which I was the President of, until the end of June, was also going very well. We were having active meetings and 8-12 members per meeting. It was going as expected, and I am content with how it all went.
Skipping past March and April, we come to May. May I just say, I don't think I can ever replace the memories and the experience I had during this month. This month, I took my Pokémon trip to Utah. Salt Lake City to be exact. I had never gone this far West, and I was certainly nervous about it all. Luckily, this boi had his two great friends, Patrick, and Warren by his side. I had nothing to fear. In fact, Salt Lake City had to fear me walking down the 75 Degree streets with no shirt on because I was envious of the temperatures and green exterior. Chicago was about a week and a half behind Salt Lake City's luscious green atmosphere and scene. I never expected the truly beautiful skies and mountains of the valley that we landed in. It felt like a dream to be in Utah. The Mormons certainly put a lot of money into the city to be sure that it was kept clean and made of some of the finest building materials. |
| Me at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. |
While I was in Utah, Marvel's Infinity War had also come out that same exact weekend. Not only did I have the regional to look forward to, but I had an exciting movie premiere to go see as well. The regional event itself in Utah was breathtaking. We were a 10-minute uber ride from our small bohemian bungalow up on the side of the side of the valley and so that meant views in every direction when we finally got to the event location. I had been slightly skeptical of the event location because it wasn't clear online what the venue looked like. Most of them are dark, spacey, and open enough for there to be at least a thousand people inside. When we finally arrived at the venue, it was spacious, open and completely unique. I could walk in, sit down, play a set, and then walk outside for some fresh air. It wasn't too hot or too cold. One of the most perfect events and locations I had been to the entire year.
May I say, May was exciting, and I had no idea what the next month was going to bring. June was something special. With a combination of finals in the first week of June and then my first commentating gig the weekend before that, I had a lot going on. Not to forget, I plan all the trips for my club, so I was responsible for making sure all 4 of us were set on our way there and back. The trip was to Madison, Wisconsin. I had heard that Wisconsin had great cheese and great beer. I wasn't 21 yet, so I wasn't drinking on this trip, but I had to try some cheese while I was there.
The bus ride from Chicago in the late morning, to a chilly Milwaukee in the early afternoon, and then eventually a rural bus stop next to an Arby's in Madison, WI. Did I mention that I met Harambe while I was there? Well, I did. Anyways, the uber to the hotel from here was stunning because we got to see a lot of Madison from the car ride. While Utah's regional had stunning views of the valley in Salt Lake, our venue in Madison, WI, had views of the water and the luscious green tree lines. The city was the perfect temperature for June, so between the actual event and the farm stand with spicy, cheesy bread, Madison did not disappoint.
The job I had in Madison was one I had been hoping for, for a long time, and the dream finally came true. It's not every day that you can say that "I commentated for a Pokémon Regional." Many friends ask me how I was able to get the job and it came down to a simple tweet. A man named Danny O. was looking for folks knowledgeable about VGC and I ignored his post the first time around. A day later, I saw that barely anyone had interacted with the post so I decided to reach out and see what was going on. I felt like I had struck gold when I discovered Danny wanted people to help stream Madison. I was excited and giddy and sitting at my current place of work outside Wish Field at DePaul University, admitting students into a springtime softball game. I couldn't believe I just got the gig. My next steps from there were to assemble a dream team to help me on the microphone. I had to bring on the man himself, Patrick Mont, one of my best friends at DePaul who is very knowledgeable about the game itself. From there, I needed 1-2 other people. Where was I going to find a duo willing to join myself and Patrick? It slid into my DMs when a stranger named Thwack reached out to me and asked how he could commentate. I looked over his profile, saw that he was a theatre student and a Smash commentator, from then on, I had a great feeling about him. He was even able to bring on another guy named Trevor. Trevor is a guy who consistently top cuts every event he goes to and does so on 3 or fewer hours of sleep each time. I'll link some of the videos of me commentating Madison here because I want you all to see what I was actually doing!After the chaos of finals at DePaul, which started the weekend after casting in Wisconsin, I went home to Massachusetts for summer break and summer work. This summer, I had taken up a job at MSSA. An art/theatre camp for kids of all ages! This was going to be my second summer working for Ryan D, the camp director. The one thing I have to say about Ryan is that he is the kindest, most considerate and hardworking man I have ever met. His sense of humor is dry, satirical and witty, and his sense of pride for the work he does is really deserved. He serves this community in the best way possible by fostering young lives and experiences over the summer at MSSA. If you're interested in enrolling your child at MSSA this summer, click here to check out their site! It's probably the best place to be in the summertime.
There's a lot to say about Nashville and I could talk about it for the rest of this blog. I think what I want you to know is that you should hydrate and eat properly for long car rides. Use the bathroom no matter what, and when you get to Nashville at 11am after leaving Illinois at 12am, eat a great breakfast. Did I mention I made a new friend from the Netherlands? Yeah, Franz is amazing and I just wanted to put that out there. He introduced me to Stroop Waffles and my life is forever changed. The Airbnb was beautiful and themed after the 27 club, so it was also pretty morbid. I stayed in the Amy Winehouse room and I do not regret it. We managed to freeze over the AC unit after we were there for one day, so we all tried to survive the heat, with 15-20 of us packed in an Airbnb for 10 people at most.
 |
| Huge shout out to the World's Mid-West Crew. You all welcomed me and truly made it an experience to never forget. |
The convention center in Nashville was stunning. The architecture of the building was lush and colorful. Beautiful wood and glass walls with trees surrounding the convention center, it was a paradise. LED signs lit up with the beautiful Pokémon Worlds logo, Pokémon Go players surrounding the center, and friends from all over recognizing each other was a beautiful sight. Inside the center, the Pokémon Company had really upped their game since I was at Worlds in 2015. The amount of set building and production that went into this World Championships was evident and super cute. The set helped set the scene for the entire weekend. The reason I travel and play Pokémon is for the people I meet, the friends I make, and the experiences I will always remember. I not only get to socialize, nerd out and laugh the entire weekend, I also experience I brand new place with the people I love to play Pokémon with. I didn't get a World invite last year, and so I was there supporting my friends who had made the tournament.
Overall, August was a great month before school started up. Before I went back to school and Mid- West-Pokémon, I met a girl named Emmy. I got to know her for a number of weeks and even went on some dates. We clicked and it felt really great to be close to someone again. Sadly, it didn't stick when she went off to college. I had told her it would be hard to be together and she wanted someone to be with someone at school. I understood and said goodbye. Last year I would have been extremely sad about this situation, and this year I look at that experience as an opportunity to strive forward and keep leaping into the future with an open mind and an open heart. She was really sweet and continues to be a great friend to this day.
I went to Memphis Regionals this year as a caster. Contrary to my participation in the event last year, this year I was once again given a chance to commentate with Legendary Gaming Network. It went exceptionally well, here's a link to some of the videos. I recommend watching them because you can see what I do when I travel to "commentate." Commentating Memphis had different stakes compared to Madison. Madison Regionals, we were newbies. We had a lot to learn, and this regional was the time to show the community that we had done the work and come ready for a great event. There are many details that I cannot get into. Due to the nature of confidentiality, I can only say, the event itself had some drama, and because of that, folks were not on their best terms when it came to being on stream. Luckily, we upgraded our stream ds to a 3DS so that no player had to use a 2DS in a Bo3 set against an opponent. Overall, I felt that my commentary was solid, and well respected by many. The critique on the event and the commentary is always important to keep improving, and I appreciate everyone who chipped in!
With there being so much Pokémon in the month of October, a lot of my free time was rushing by me and my school work seemed to be slightly struggling. In the end of it all, I got the work done, and ended the quarter with mostly A's! This is a big "Don't Worry" to all my family reading this, school still comes first for me.
This is part one of my past year. I thought I'd end this here, get it out to all you wonderful people, and then release part 2 at a later date. Thank you so much for reading. If you were mentioned on the blog in the past year, and want to talk and reminisce about any of the events, please send me a message on Facebook or Twitter. I'd love to catch up and talk about the events again!
Tah-tah for now-
Ryan
Topics to come in Part 2...
November: Getting back on the horse, and riding high, 3.8 GPA, Break, and Premier Challenges! Thanksgiving, Endicott Audition, and more.
December: Premiere Challenges's, Reuniting with Warren Warren, Homelife during break, Moving???, Instagram music account, Pokémon Youtube and Podcast, Where I'm at compared to last Christmas.
January: Rehearsals, Winter Quarter, the College Republicans
February: The show. Getting myself out there.
Thanks for updating and sharing your last year! Always fun to read your posts. Love you!!
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