Category: IRL

Bundy’s 2025 in Review
It’s really hard to believe that 2025 is coming to an end already. I wanted to look back and see where I was, where I am now, and maybe look forward to the future!

Bundy’s Life

This year has been pretty wild in my personal life. Lots of positive, some negative, and a lot in-between. Some highlights:
- I directed my first High School Drama Club play (March 2025)
- I had a fantastic week of camp as a counselor (June 2025)
- Did audio/lighting/video tech for my local high school (about 13ish shows)
- Went on 3 work trips out of state for my full-time job
- Helped produce video for 2-3 major events for my full-time job
And the major lowlight? I was let go in November from my full-time job. It was a bit of a shock after being there for six years, but as of this writing I am still looking for a new full-time job. (If you’re hiring, maybe check out my About Me or my Portfolio?)

Not only did I do these things above, but I also had an amazing year as a content creator (which I assume most of you reading are here for) and I’m excited to show all of the different things that we’ve done as a community!

Twitch Highlights

Andy_Bundy’s Streamer Twitch Recap for 2025

No, I’m not just putting my Twitch Recap and calling it a day, but I like how it’s a great picture of all of the things I did in 2025! I did (as of this recap) 133 streams which I played around 65 different games (according to SullyGnome). As a variety streamer, I feel like that is a solid amount of games that I played, even when we would play the same game for weeks to finish them. Go figure, the top games that I played this year according to the recap were Donkey Kong 64, Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, Super Mario Party Jamboree, and Donkey Kong Bananza. Three out of the five were Rare games, one was a Rare spiritual successor (Bananza) and who doesn’t like a game of Mario Party?

Here were the games I played this year (excluding Teamwork Tuesdays):
- Among Us
- Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore
- Banjo-Kazooie
- Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
- Banjo-Tooie
- Castlevania (NES)
- Castlevania (N64)
- Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest (Bloody Tears%)
- Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
- Croc: Legend of the Gobbos
- Diddy Kong Racing
- Donkey Kong 64
- Donkey Kong Bananza
- Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II
- Final Fantasy VI
- Fortnite
- Gex: Enter the Gecko
- Hey You, Pikachu!
- Hop ‘n’ Marty (Demo)
- Kero Quest 64 (Demo)
- Klonoa: Empire of Dreams
- Marbles on Stream
- Mario Kart World
- Mario Paint
- Mario Party 2
- Mario Party 3
- Metroid Prime Remastered
- Microsoft Solitaire Collection
- Miitopia
- Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection
- Mouthwashing
- R.E.P.O.
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
- Sonic Superstars
- Spyro the Dragon
- Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage
- Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster
- Star Wars Episode I – Racer
- Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
- Super Mario 64
- Super Mario Bros. 2
- Super Mario Party Jamboree
- Superman 64
- SuperQuest
- TRON 2.0
- UNO
There were a LOT of games, and while I didn’t complete every one, we’ve had a ton of fun playing the games that we have! On top of that, I’ve had some amazing collaborations this year as well! We did our Banjo-Tooie Archipelago with VincentsSin, TheJewker, JoshJepson, and Aelita1234; a few podcasts and Mario Party games with ShellshockPrime; and we had a few Mario Party Shenanigans with Lady_Chuckleton, KirikTheOrc and Watermelon_Orc! However, there needs to be a special shout out to Bookslap, who was my top collaborator thanks to our weekly Teamwork Tuesdays!

Teamwork Tuesdays

This year I worked with Bookslap to make a weekly stream in which we would play cooperative games or other multiplayer games together and called it Teamwork Tuesday. We played these games:
- Split Fiction
- Super Mario Party Jamboree
- Mario Party 3
- Streets of Rage 2
- Mario Kart World
- PEAK
- Hexen: Beyond Heretic
- Mario Paint
- Minecraft
- PowerWash Simulator
- Castle Crashers
- Backrooms: Escape Together
- Pokémon Scarlet/Violet
- Overcooked! 2
- House Flipper 2
I very much enjoyed having Bookslap on stream and it allowed me to play some games that I may not have played before (see: Split Fiction, Hexen). We even got to the point where we have Teamwork Tuesdays shirts available in my Merch Store!

Discord Highlights

If you’re not a part of our Discord, you’re missing out on a big part of my community! That’s where the community part of it comes in! I’m so thankful for the growth that has happened in the Discord this year. According to statbot.net, as of the time of this writing, we’ve sent 55,617 messages in the Discord between 110 unique members in our 38 unique channels. We’ve also collectively spend 9,512.97 hours in voice chats among 52 unique members. Thank you to everyone who has hung out and listened and chatted and reacted. The server is much better because you’re in it!

Movie Nights

One of the big things we did this year was scheduling regular movie nights in which we would either pick a movie or vote from three different films in a giant list that the community created! We watched so many films this year, and I’m so thankful for the people who showed up to watch with me! The films we watched are below:

Podcast

Yes! The Life in the Bear Cave podcast returned! The podcast that I have made episodes off and on for years came back at the tail end of the year! Instead of doing it myself, I asked Bookslap to assist me as a co-host so I have someone to bounce ideas and talk to during the podcast! We’ve done an episode in October and November (perhaps one might show up in December?) and I’m happy with how the podcasts have turned out!

Conclusion

With all of the ups and downs this year, I remain grateful. I look forward to what 2026 has in store! The sky’s the limit, and I can’t wait to see what shenanigans are in store for me! I’m not 100% sure what my goals are for this upcoming year, but it’s something that I’m working on and I might share that in a later post if not discussed in stream/Discord/etc.

Thank you for taking the time for reading this post, and if you contributed in any way this year, whether it’s lurking in a stream or liking a post or donating/subscribing/etc., thank you. I have definitely felt the love from you online and I hope to foster that more in the upcoming year!
December 20, 2025
Recap: GalaxyCon 2023

I happened to have the opportunity to go to another convention! I went for one day to GalaxyCon over in Columbus, Ohio!

According to its website, GalaxyCon describes itself this way:

GalaxyCon is a FESTIVAL OF FANDOM with celebrities, artists, writers, voice actors, cosplayers, entertainers, creators, wrestlers, fan groups, panelists, and PEOPLE LIKE YOU!!

The convention took place at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, which was a lot larger than the Expo Center that we went to for TORG. The convention was a bustling hub of excitement and creativity, with a myriad of booths and displays to explore!

I went again with my brother-in-law to this convention. My sister didn’t come along because she was sick, but I was able to meet up with Obiwan362 and some other friends to get the show on the road. My brother-in-law and I got there first and were able to stand through a LONG line that moved relatively quickly and received our lanyards.

While we waited for people to arrive, we were sitting out in the lobby and I found a group that did some cosplay as crewmates from Among Us, and OF COURSE I had to get a group picture with them. I don’t know about you, but pink seems sus.

Once we finally entered the convention, we did a lap or so around the convention center to get an idea of what was around and what we could potentially see or do. Three halls worth of artists, vendors, and more and I couldn’t decide where to start.

As we ended the first lap around the center, my brother-in-law found a gigantic replica of Appa from Avatar: The Last Airbender and you were able to pay to get a photo in front of or on top of. It was so fluffy and incredibly well made!

Near the Sky Bison was the video gaming area which was obviously an area in which I was drawn. In this area, I was able to meet the content creator Abdallah Smash who was there as a guest. I was able to challenge him to a game of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (and lost miserably) but he was great to interact with in-person and I was also able to grab three mini-figures from Super Mario RPG!

If you’re not aware from my Twitch stream, I’m a man of many hats both literally and figuratively. I was on the lookout for a unique hat that I can add to my collection to wear on stream. Thankfully one of the vendors had a bunch of Pokémon hats and I purchased a Bidoof hat! I don’t normally talk about Bidoof but it’s probably in the top ten or at least 25 of my favorite Pokémon.

It was approaching lunch time and we ended up going to lunch at the North Market, which is a marketplace a block or so from the convention center. I love going to the North Market because of how varied the food choices are there.

We returned to the convention, and I wanted to make sure to hit a few stores and see a few people! I went over to the Hero Strong booth where one of my friends was and entered a raffle and was exposed to the art that was “Cosplay Wrestling.”

I went back to Abdallah’s booth and ended up getting the other two Mario RPG mini-figures and re-challenged him but to Smash Ultimate this time. I really should practice these games more. I didn’t win again…

We ended the night by going to Pho Social and then driving home. I was incredibly energized from the experience and cannot wait for my next convention (or expo) adventure!

The convention itself was a fantastic experience, but my feet were so sore at the end of the day. I kind of wish that I was able to attend longer than I did, but unfortunately, I was unable to due to previous obligations.

Finally, enjoy some photos from GalaxyCon!

Waiting in line for a ticket/registration

The Among Us Crew with Andy. The

Andy and his brother-in-law with Appa the Sky Bison

Andy and Abdallah Smash

Andy and his brand new Bidoof hat

Andy’s crew at lunch!

Andy and Sir Lefty!

An amazing Spring Bonnie/Glitchtrap/Springtrap/etc. cosplayer!

Andy and the heroes of Hero Strong!

An amazing Wolverine cosplayer!

December 4, 2023
What I’m Thankful For: 2023 Edition

American Thanksgiving is this week, and every once in a while, I like to take some time and write down what I’m thankful for in my life.

Health

Despite having a kidney stone at the end of October, I feel like I’ve been able to be relatively healthy the past few years. I’ve definitely been thankful for the Fit Fam community in my Discord, especially Zerkeo who has been solid in the commitment for fitness.

Streamer Friends

I love streaming. While it has its ups and downs it’s been a crazy experience. I don’t want to name every streamer I’m thankful for as there’d be too many and I’m afraid I’d miss one.

Stream Viewers

I’m definitely thankful for all the viewers that have taken the time to watch my streams. The viewers make the experience that much more enjoyable and I wanted to thank you for it.

Have a great Thanksgiving if you celebrate, and thank you for reading!

November 23, 2023
Recap: TORG Gaming Expo 2023

This past weekend (November 11, 2023), I had the pleasure of going to the TORG Gaming Expo in Columbus, Ohio! My brother-in-law found out about the expo and I happened to have the day available that I could go with him!

The expo itself was massive. It was set at the Bricker Building in the Ohio Expo Center, which held 225,000 square feet of Video Games, Comics, Toys, Art, Trading Cards and a whole lot more with over 400 vendors. I only went for the day, but they also had an after party (which from the photos looked amazing!)

We started the day with a perimeter perusal of the venue. There were a ton of retro game collectors who were selling their games and some cool companies and indie devs, etc. I didn’t purchase anything in that area, but my sister and brother-in-law who were there found some really neat things to purchase, including a gift to me of a 3D Printed Retro Rareware Logo and a Banjo-Kazooie Lenticular Art frame (they know me so well…)

There were two things that intrigued me before the convention: They were doing a competitive gaming tournament with a fair amount of retro games, including Goldeneye 007, Smash Ultimate, Space Invaders (PS1), Donkey Kong Jr. and more. The other was that they had invited four voice actors as well as some YouTube influencers as their special guests. They invited the narrator of Runner 2 himself, Charles Martinet, as well as the voice of Peach/Toad, Samantha Kelly, the voice of Bowser, Kenny James, and the voice of Rosalina, Laura Faye Smith.

So, the first thing I did after our perimeter perusal was to head to the tournament area to make sure I was signed up for the day. I went and talked to the staff and found out that the ticket I paid for was not only for one of the games but rather for all the competitive games that day. For every game you would get points based on either your high score or how you placed in the bracket. With that being said, I sat down and played Space Invaders on the PS1. Granted, I had never played this version, but I figured “How different could it be?” Let me tell you, reader, it was different. While the idea is still the same, they added things such as power ups, bosses, and a level system based on planets. I spent 45 minutes on that game and racked up a score that was over 600,000 points before I got my game over.

I went after that and picked up some lunch from a food truck outside the venue which was great. When I went back in, I went back to the tournament area to make sure I was signed in for the Smash Ultimate tournament later that day. As I approached, the guy in charge of the tournament came up to me and asked if I wanted to be in the Goldeneye 007 (N64) tournament. I hadn’t planned on participating, but I decided to join. Through some incredible luck, I happened to win the Goldeneye tournament! After that I signed up for the Smash Tournament and went to wander more.

While I was there, I was able to see my best friend from high school as well as Obiwan362 (my best friend from college and one of my Payday 3 co-hosts) and made a bunch of new friends!

After I wandered a bit, I played in the Smash tournament and lost both of my matches in the double elimination tournament. The players were really good, but I’m going to blame my loss on the fact I played with controllers I’m not used to…. I should have brought my Pro Controller (I played with Joy cons for my first match and a GameCube controller for the second).

Andy losing at Smash Ultimate

After losing, I decided that I wanted to try and get into the Charles Martinet line to meet Mario himself, but as I got up there one of the staff members made me aware that the line was closed as the convention was ending in a half hour and the line was incredibly long (It had been all day). Not letting it get to me, I ended up getting in line to see Kenny James. I went up to him and chatted and he was such a pleasure to chat with.

Andy with Kenny James, the voice of Bowser in the Mario Series

After meeting Kenny, I hopped to the next line for Samantha Kelly. As much as I love Waluigi when I play games, Peach has always been a main character of mine in Mario Party (and sometimes Kart) games. I went up to Samantha and found out that she ALSO plays the voice of Toad! With this newfound knowledge I slipped into a slight Toad voice myself and had a Toad conversation with Toad herself! This was probably the highlight of the convention for me!

Andy with Samantha Kelly, the voices of Peach and Toad in the Mario Series

The expo definitely gave me such a boost of serotonin this weekend and I’m so glad I found out about it! Unfortunately, due to other obligations I was unable to go both Saturday AND Sunday as it was a 2-day expo, but I’m hoping to go again next year! Maybe I’ll come home with a tournament championship next time! (I ended up placing 3rd overall!)

November 13, 2023
Overcoming Failure: Learn from Mistakes and Succeed

I feel like I’ve made a post like this before, but it was something on my mind and in my goal of writing two blog posts a month in 2023 I thought it would be a good way to start the year.

“You know, it’s taken me a long time to learn. It’s okay to fall, to make mistakes. I’ve made lots…The trick is to embrace your defeats as well as your victories. You pay for both in the end.”
– Willow Ufgood, Willow (2023)

I knew that I wanted to write about this subject, but I wasn’t really sure where to start. Thankfully I had some inspiration from the new Disney+ show, Willow, based off the movie of the same name.

Personally, I’ve dealt with a lot of failures and disappointments in my life. However, I’ve always liked to remember another quote from Batman Begins (2005):

“Why do we fall sir? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up.”
-Alfred Pennyworth, Batman Begins (2005)

I promise that this won’t be a blog post of just movie quotes, but those are some of the quotes that just kind of popped up in my mind as I was typing this. You may not be aware of this, but I actually took a year off of college after a year and a half of classes. It wasn’t because I wanted to, though. I had overextended myself so much that my academics suffered. I started as a Computer Science major and failed through almost all of my major classes. Even after switching majors from my advisor’s advice, it wasn’t enough and I was actually asked to take a year off to “re-evaluate” myself.

It shook me.

I didn’t go to a cheap college either. The three semesters I already accrued some debt, and I wasn’t going to just sit and take it as I moved back in with my parents. After about a half year of working at the grocery store I worked at in high school, I realized that it wasn’t what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Because of that, I took the initiative and re-applied to the college I left. Amazingly I was able to re-attend with some tools to help and four years later I graduated from that college with my degree in Broadcasting and Digital Media, focusing in Digital Film and Video!

The story here is to say: You are going to fail. It’s inevitable. The question stands: What are you going to do with that failure? Are you going to wallow in the pity that you didn’t achieve your goal or are you going to learn from that failure and carry on? The choice is ultimately yours. Let me tell you from experience that the latter feels a lot more fulfilling.

Do you have any stories of how you overcame a failure? Let me know in the comments or let me know in my Discord Server!

January 13, 2023
Looking Forward to 2023
2022 has kind of been a blur, hasn’t it? At the same time, it’s dragged on. Explain that one to me.

ANYWAY, I wanted to make a post on here and kind of recap what happened to me in 2022, and what I plan to do here in 2023. Theoretically, I should then be able to look back in a year and see if I was able to achieve the goals I’ve set. One of my friends Benjee, in their Discord, does a community “Sum Up <year>” channel every year that shows your goals and at the end of the year opens it back up as well as a new channel to set the next year. It’s a cool concept!

Here were my goals from 2021 for 2022:
1. Get to another convention, maybe even do another panel
2. Get back on the fitness train.
3. Do more collaborations
4. Make more content, not just Twitch Streams
5. Get back into Speedrunning again – DKR has been calling my name
6. Pay off more school debt
Summing Up 2022

Here are a few things that happened to me in 2022:
- Went to Florida for work in January
- Started going back to the gym regularly (with Discord accountability) [Goal 2]
- Celebrated my dad’s 50th birthday
- Ran camera and video for Country Concert 2022 (in Ft. Loramie, OH) for over 30,000 people
- Did an “August Appreciation” campaign where every day in August I picked random friends off my list on Twitter and took time to let them know why I appreciate them [Goal 4]
- Dressed up as an Orc to the Ohio Renaissance Festival (Twice!) [Goal 1, kinda?]
- Had some great collaboration streams (through Mario Party mainly) with: [Goal 3]
  - CurbyB0i
  - Sir_Lefty
  - TheArcadeBear
  - JFriesTV
  - JackCox
- Commentated a Diddy Kong Racing competition between TridentTail and Obiyo [Goal 5, kinda?]
- Made some amazing new friends and discovered some new communities to be a part of
- Witnessing my friend Obiwan362 stream 48 hours of Pokémon to both raise money for Extra Life as well as to (pending verification) breaking a world record!
- Acquired a client independently for social media
While 2022 has definitely had its ups and downs, I’m happy with what I’ve accomplished!

Orc Outfit from Ohio Ren Fest

Country Concert 2022!

Some highlights from 2022!

Content Creation (Twitch)

Twitch has been an on and off thing for me this year. In 2022 I only streamed 82 times, but had some really good streams. I finished Earthbound, Pokemon Legends: Arceus, Shining Pearl, and Kameo! I even played some things like Mario Party Superstars and a Banjo-Kazooie randomizer!

A huge shout-out to those who’ve supported me with follows and subscriptions and all of the chat messages that you gave me this year! While I didn’t reach my 1,000-follower goal, I did get up to 885 followers on my Twitch Channel despite not streaming as much as I’d like.

2022 Twitch Recap for streaming

One of my favorite clips from 2022. Fweet Gang, where you at? Mario Party with WatermelonGhost, KirikTheOrc, and Tigre5012 (November 2022)

Fitness

July 2022 (left) vs. December 2022 (right)

It’s been quite a ride getting back into the fitness “lifestyle” and one of the biggest things that has helped me has been the #fit-fam channel on our Discord. With a special shout-out to my friend Zerkeo, I’ve posted in there whenever I have a workout and he does the same, and it’s been great being able to know that we’re both making the gains and staying consistent so we can stay healthy and in shape!

I’ve basically made my own exercises based on what I remembered from my weight lifting college classes and some of the input from friends and searching I’ve done online. I do 3x a week exercises, following a loose push/pull/leg split.

2023 Goals

Setting goals is hard. Looking at what I set for 2022, I’m honestly surprised how many of the goals I actually touched and/or completed! I know there are a few things that I have planned for the year:
- Starting January 1, I’ll be opening a dedicated merch store on my website. It is hosted through Fourthwall, and will be a small way to increase some revenue as well as promote my branding in the upcoming year. You can use the “Store” link at the top of the page to visit it.
- I will be directing my local community theatre’s production of Hello, Dolly! that will be performed at the end of February. It’s my directorial debut and I will be performing as the lead Horace in the production. This is a transfer from when we were supposed to put it back on in 2020.
- I want to get back into podcasting. I really enjoy sitting and chatting with friends, and doing that in a podcast setting could be really fun.
- I want to delve back into YouTube again…and I want to do it through weekly(?) vlogs. Back in college, I tried it and I enjoyed it. I also enjoy video blogs from people like Josh Jepson and Colleen Ballinger, so why not do it myself, at least for a little bit?
- I do enjoy Twitch Streams, and I want to do them again, but I’m not sure with my schedule when those would be, especially when I start doing other shenanigans. Maybe once or twice a month?
- I’m bringing back the Question of the Day bot in my Discord, which will put questions every morning to spark discussions in the server.
I realize that half of these are “I want” statements, but depending on my schedule, which seems to always be turbulent, I can’t definitively say yes or no.

Here are some other things I want to do, especially with my Discord Community:
- Bring Back Movie Nights in Discord
- Community Game Nights (Jackbox, Mario Kart/Party, Among Us, etc.)
- Podcast Recordings (Either Twitch or Discord, not sure yet)
- Voice Chat hangs (I’ve been doing this a lot in TheGigglepussGang’s Discord, and I’m really enjoying it)
I know it’s a bit early, but I like to say that 2023 is going to be the year of the Bundy! I’m excited to see what I can look forward to this year!
December 22, 2022