Kinda Funny Thank You Letter

I felt like telling you my Kinda Funny story because I think it's time I have it written down somewhere for the eternity, or as soon as servers will go down and Google just deletes everything. And 280 characters are not enough. :D

I have been a fan of Kinda Funny from day one, when the boys stopped working for IGN and founded their own company for our entertainment. I knew Greg Miller from IGN of course and always thought he is a person I like to hear more of. When the news broke that Kinda Funny is now a thing, I went back and watched all the videos on the YouTube channel in just a few days. The Gregways, the Conversations with Colin, the Oreo Orations, the weird one offs that were kinda funny... (I thought I won't make cheesy puns.), really everything.

I found that I have a lot in common with Colin Moriarty, not politically speaking but rather his personality, his fears, anxieties, etc. - his character. I liked him a lot and enjoyed all the content with him. The first time Greg really noticed me (notice me senpai!) was in a Killing Floor 2 live stream on Twitch when I tried to explain him how to play on PC. It was super funny as we were screaming at each other (me from my little home here in Berlin, Germany) and the chat was so engaged and we would make each other laugh. But I knew Greg was always trying to be in touch with his fans. So both, Greg and Colin were the two that I could identify with and/or try to tell my thoughts to.

I was trying to spend more and more time with the community and found the forums to be the place where I belonged. In 2015 PS I Love You XOXO started and I wrote up notes and got all the questions together from the community and discuss the episode with them afterwards. I soon became a support mod with Joey Noelle and Damian. On a weekly basis, we were having calls with Kevin and I couldn't believe how close I got to Kinda Funny by just staying engaged and basically having fun with others from the community. Greg and me were constantly exchanging info about the show and he helped me having the threads for each episode ready before the episode even got released.

In early 2017, Colin left the party. I was shocked and didn't know what will happen to PS I Love You which became my baby on the forums. I also became less active on the forums due to me getting a full time job in 2016. I didn't know what will happen to Kinda Funny in general and was truly scared. So with my new job and the Kinda Funny bubble I was in being broken, I completely cocooned myself in my job and got further and further away from Kinda Funny and the community. I left the forums, I didn't have much contact with anyone else from the community. I followed both, Kinda Funny and Colin, and was happy both were doing their own thing. Life moves on.

I really wanted to get back into the KF spirit and find like-minded people. So when KF Prom got announced, I immediately decided to go, no matter what. My colleague, who I became good friends with, came with me to the US and we did a two-week road trip around the country. In the first days we were in San Francisco and KF Prom was only hours away. We went to some community meet ups but I was not feeling like I can just talk to them. So I never did. Sure, on the streets of SF, people would recognize my shirt and we'd say hi and bye. But I couldn't get in any conversation with anyone.

That changed right before Prom in the summer of 2018. I went totally alone (my colleague not really being a KF Best Friend), I met Cool Greg and Matt Scarpino on my way to the venue, they were leading me to it and I queued up. The people next to me were quickly looking to have a conversation and that opened me up. I also set a goal for myself to go to as many people and say something positive to them, mostly the KF crew as I didn't really know anyone else. Like I said, I got disconnected from the community pretty much all the way. But here I am, walking around, dancing next to Emmett (one of the Prom Princes), telling King Franchise that I like his shoes, saying hi to Amy, talking to Joey and telling almost all of them something positive. I reached my goal, came out of my shell, met so many great people and had a great time, even with the small jet-lag I had.

After the party was over, the VIP ticket holders got together and had a bit more intimate time with all the guys and girls from Kinda Funny. I had a nice conversation with Paula and Kevin and walked around and met many new faces of Best Friends and shared my feelings with them. Everyone was so welcoming and good-hearted, I really couldn't believe the situation I was in. Meeting Greg for the first time and telling him what he meant to me was really taking the weight off my mind. The strangest moment I had was when he and a few people were in a circle and just hanging out, I joined them and Greg was like "Hey, have you met JerriKoe yet?" Everyone was saying no and I was thinking, "dude, they don't care anyways." Greg pulled me to him and said "this is him" and everyone shook my hand and were very nice to me. Greg left and we stayed having a small conversation. "What is even happening?" is all I could think the whole time.

The next day, the same people from the VIP after party met at a bar for a Meet and Greet. And this really opened my eyes and I wanted nothing more than to be with all those people and hang out, play games, tell what's on my mind, listen to their problems. I really took my time to be around Joey and Andy as those were the people I knew from the community and from the early days. And I gotta say, it was really turnin... Er, I mean, I had a great time at this bar.

Only a couple months later, Kinda Funny came to London for RTX. I met so many wonderful people there, mostly hung out with Vitz and Kumail, Lucy, Nick and Rahul who were all the best. When I say "hung out" I mean that we were really hanging out the whole two days. I really feel like we were becoming good friends. The time I had with those people was one of the best times I ever had with Kinda Funny related things in general. We are all still in touch regularly and love to chat. Unfortunately I missed the Meet & Greet MC Fixer planned but I did have a moment with the guys at the panel. Again, a really strange moment for me. I was going up to the microphone that was open for questions, I asked my question which was a bit of cringe and funny mixed together (that pretty much sums my whole life up), and I threw Andy a bag of Goldfish up on the stage. Right after that, Greg told the crowd who I am, came down and hugged me, thanking me for what I did for the community and being a long-time fan.

I flew back home happier than ever. I am a fan of Kinda Funny and Colin Moriarty and am really happy that both have had so much success and found their places online and in my heart. The Kinda Funny Day 2019, the 4th year anniversary, was a shocker in the sense of seeing how many new shows are planned and how many old shows are getting revived.

I think this story is more a thank you letter than anything. So let me say thank you to Kinda Funny, the people on the internet that work their asses off to entertain us, and most of all the Best Friends for accepting me, for giving me a great time outside my usual life, for being really good friends.

JerriKoe - Game on!

100% / Platinum Club - Update December 22, 2015

Here is a list of all the games I have completed 100% or that I have 'platinumed' with links to some screenshots (PS4) or to their PSNprofiles.com game page with my stats. Sorted chronologically.
I made this list mostly for me, to gawk at it from time to time to see what I have "accomplished" in my gaming career. :D

100% Club - Update October 19, 2015

Here is a list of all the games I have completed 100% with links to some screenshots. Sorted chronologically.

Street Fighter V Beta in Detail

Capcom just announced some new info about the PlayStation 4 beta of Street Fighter V. The first kick-off will be on July 23rd in North America and July 25th running for five straight days in both regions.

Some iconic characters will be playable on day one throughout the beta phase - Ryu, Chun Li, Nash, and M. Bison. Cammy and Birdie will be added a few days later. That's to test out the new delivery system Capcom as got in store for the new Street Fighter game.

The beta will be online only, no local versus modes are active, as this beta is exclusively to test the online stability and features on a higher scale.

Three stages are available from the get-go, which are Bustling Side Street (China), Terminal Station (London), and the brand new stage the Forgotten Waterfall, see picture above.

I already signed up and can't wait to get the message that I am a beta tester. Try your luck right at http://www.streetfighter.com/ and save your spot in the beta for PS4 only. The dead line is set to July 15th for Europe.

JerriKoe - Game on!

Check our blog I mainly write for over at G2G:Evolved.

The 100% Club - Update June 20 2015

Here is a list of all the games I have completed 100% with links to some screenshots. Sorted chronologically.