Getting together with the Lemmings of Destruction after a year apart to play music together again.

Years ago, maybe in Rock Band 2, we noticed that while we were pretty close to the top of the charts for band scores on a number of songs, there was always another band either right above or below us – The Sweet Little Honey Bees.

I sent a message to the person behind that band and declared them our rivals. They accepted my xbox friend request.

Now in Rock Band 4 there is an expansion literally called Rivals. At first, the Lemmings treated it as an big track pack and didn’t pay too much attention to the rivals gameplay. We didn’t really understand what it was or care much about it. Then one day we realized that we could be earning cool outfits and things for our avatars, and started to take it sort of seriously.

But with a crew of 4 (a crew can have up to 10) who only played on Tuesday nights (the weekly competitions end on Tuesday nights at 9 PM Pacific), we were about to climb our way up the ranks to the penultimate tier, but never break through to Bloodstone.

A some point, xbox began telling me how our scores compared to someone named “Cheep Therapy” and I couldn’t remember who that friend was. I wrote and asked if they used to be the Sweet Little Honey Bees, and my guess was correct. Offered to have them join our crew. Months went by because messages on xbox are trash and notifications are nonexistant. By the time we got back around, they already had a crew and offered to let us join them.

We did, and we made it to Bloodstone for the first time right before the pandemic hit.

Of course, none of the Lemmings could come over and play during lockdown, so for a year, we’ve been dead weight. It was a surprise and a delight to still be part of the crew, and it has been a blast putting some time in to actually earn our spot on the crew roster.

1. The trees have leafed out. It’s always a relief to see the leaves come back. We’ve lost some trees, but not as many as I had feared, and I am happy to see the survivors living relatively normal tree lives again. Plus, there’s just no green like a new-leaf green. I love this time of year.
2. Since instituting two screen-free days per week, we’ve played a lot of board games with the kids, because on those days we’re all bored and looking for entertainment. Whatever game we play, we almost always end up laughing so hard that we can hardly breathe. That’s a good kind of laughter.
3. At work, I managed to get through another deadline without any problems. I’ve got a few more deadlines coming up, and they’re not the forgiving kind, but having sailed through this one, there’s a chance I’ll sail through those, too. One can only hope.