Heeeeeyyyy LJ.

Long time no see, buddy.

Sssso, how was April?


...


Yeah, sorry about that guys. LJ definitely took a back seat this year, but I haven't given up on it yet. I'll try to get back into the swing over summer and be using it bi weekly once I go back to Japan in August.

Holy crap, August. I'm no longer a college student, and I have a teaching job lined up through JET. Scary and exciting times await. Life as I knew it for the past five years is about to radically change, and I could be outside the US for five years or more depending on how life stacks up.

Weirder still is this time I'll be in Japan with other people I know. Alicia and Bill of ANO fame are already there, Steph is studying abroad in Osaka, Dan (a friend from early BG) is also with JET, as is Sara (one of the room mates this past year).

And now even Saker has a shot at going there too.

Wow.


Wwwooooowwww.

----------------------------------------------------------

So my last real update was in January.

Alot has happened since then... alot. Overall, the year was pretty awesome. Even with it being my final year I still met a ton of amazing new people, and living with Steph, Sara, and Erin was fun. I guess the biggest news I just covered above, but what else happened...

Animarathon VII

We had over 1600 people attend, which blew all the officers away. We prepped badges on card stock for 1500 and felt that was a safe estimate considering the 972 from the year before. Personally I had hoped for a jump of around 200, so 638 really caught me off guard.

Good luck to next year's crew, as I honestly have no way of trying to predict attendance. Hopefully BG will have the kinks worked out of the store and pre-reg can be used as more than an experiment.

--------------------------------------------------------------

What else...

My home is being almost entirely renovated. The kitchen and bathroom were already done when I returned home this month, and they are completely different than what I've known for the past 21 years. The floors have been refinished, and currently we are repainting the living room, hallway, and dining room.

With moving two college students back in on top of all this, the home is literally a war zone. Neither of us had much of an opportunity to unpack and put away stuff before the next round of remodeling started, and so everything is piled all over the place.


But at least the kitchen and bathroom look nice.

----------------------------------------------------------------

I think I'll finish for now. Once I can hook my laptop up to the net I can post pictures and such in the next update.


Later kids.

Hey Everyone!

I'm testing out linking YouTube and Live Journal together, which in turn will probably wind up on FaceBook as a note through even more linking.

What an age we live in!

As for the Ohayocon post, that will come in the next few days. In the meantime you can check some of the photos I uploaded to FaceBook.



Later.

Hey everybody!

What's up? Yeah, I figured I should try and do an update before January goes by.

I've begun my last semester at BG, which still isn't quite sinking in. Classes feel as though they'll go by without many problems, although picking Chinese back up after two years is a tad difficult. It appears I will manage though.

With spring semester in full swing, that also means Animarathon prep has gone into full gear. I've no idea what to expect this year, but as long as attendance goes up, I'll be happy. We've got some interesting plans put forward, and I hope they'll help improve the con as a whole. The big one we're looking into is using the university online store space provided to clubs to "sell" pre-registration, essentially just guaranteeing you a program and getting you a shirt for cheaper than you would at the con itself. That way we could start estimating attendance. But really, there's alot to cover, so who knows if we'll pull that off or not.

Speaking of anime, Ohayocon is tomorrow. Not only am I attending with many other ANO members, but am actually co-hosting a panel. Possibly two. Exciting to be sure.

-------------------------------------------------

Life in the apartment has been enjoyable. One of the roommates had work done on her jaw, meaning no solid foods for six (three done as of now) weeks. It sounds miserable, but she's taken it fairly well, and the rest of us have tried to come up with foods/snacks that work out.

We've also left up our Christmas decorations:



Offhand, I'd say it was because we didn't have them up for that long, and all four of us enjoy the lights at night.


But really, we're just too lazy to take decorations down and just let the holiday seasons bleed into one another, as this picture shows.

------------------------------------------------------

Break happened, that was alot of fun. It's crazy to have Saker permanently back, although weird to that be so while not having the group back together.


But that's not to say there wasn't comradery.
Adorable, adorable platonic male comradery.




Platonic.


Despite awkward abandonments by several, there was much hanging out and fun to be had, mainly by Chuck, Saker, and I. If I had to sum up Winter Break 2008 in one word, it would probably be:


Zombies.

Board games, video games, movies, we did alot of zombie related activities, and were they ever fun. Left 4 Dead is officially the game that made me regret not getting a 360.

It's holy shit amazing.

But alas, I must focus on financial survival for quite some time. At least the three console developers have for all intents and purposes said they're going to sit on this generation a while. A failing economy is good for something at least.


That and raiding failing businesses for dirt cheap stuff. Namely Godzilla figures and a working copy of Dynasty Warriors 5.

Alot of Godzilla figures.

Poor Baby Gamera had no idea he was in the wrong part of town.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

You know, I think I'll call that a night. I'll post meme stuff and more importantly an Ohayocon rundown later.

Later.


















Platonic.

Yeah, I thought I'd do one last LJ post before the year changed over.

And what a year 2008 has been. At the Japanese equivalent of this time one year ago (so as to ignore time difference) I was on a subway in Nagoya bound for the legendary Atsuta Jingu, resting place of the mythical Kusanagi. What a crazy way to kick off a year, stuck in a crowd waiting to pray for luck, fortune, or what have you for the new year.

In contrast, this year I kick off the turn over relaxing at home, considering half my friends made out of town plans and the rest made it clear they want alone time. No big deal though.

Supposedly 2009 is the year of "change", and not because of some over used political slogan. I have five months left of college left, and then I'm done with undergrad studies. I'll be stuck in the real world with all its currently failing industries looking for employment. There was a point in time where I was considering grad studies, specifically Pop Culture at BG, but the current administrative mess at BG plus the question of paying for grad school put that on hiatus (hopefully not indefinitely).

Ironically, as I went from Japan to America in 2008, 2009 may reverse that and put me right back in Japan. That depends on a lot, but if I do go, when I might return is anyone's guess. Even if I don't make a return to Japan, a year from now I still don't know quite where I will be.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Year in Review

Here are the first sentences of the first posts of each month from 2008:

January:
Hey everybody, I hope all found some excitement or fun for New Year's Eve.

February:
Back, and less than a week later.

March:
Hey there everybody.

April:
And so here I am yet again.

May:
So my semester is over, and I have one lone final to do next Tuesday.

June:
Well it's June 16th.

July:
Nope, no siree.

August:
Holy crap man.

September:
Whoops.

October:
Considering I didn't even cover everything I wanted to last post, I should get to this before too much piles up.

November:
DID NOT POST BECAUSE ED:
A) IS A BAD FRIEND.
B) WAS ENGAGED IN EPIC BATTLE WITH JAPANESE BEASTS.
C) FORGOT.
D) POSTED, BUT YOU DELETED SAID POST BECAUSE YOU SECRETLY PLOT ED'S DOWNFALL. (ED WISHES YOU TO KNOW HE IS ON TO YOU)
Q) ALL OF THE ABOVE.

Your answer is worth 139% of your final grade. Choose wisely.

December:
I haven't posted since October.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And lastly, a meme from months ago. So long that I can't remember who I took it from.

Hit forward and place an X by all the things you've done and remove the X
from the ones you have not. Answer the 30 questions at the end and send it
to your friends (including me). The questions cover your entire life!

( ) Gone on a blind date

(X) Skipped school

(X) Watched someone die
Only if videos count

(X) Been to Canada

( ) Been to Mexico

( ) Been to Florida

(X) Been on a plane

(X) Been lost

(X) Been on the opposite side of the country

(X) Gone to Washington , DC

( ) Swam in the ocean

(X) Cried yourself to sleep

(X) Played cops and robbers

( ) Recently colored with crayons

(X) Sang Karaoke

(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't?

(X) Made prank phone calls

( ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose

(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue

(X) Danced in the rain

( ) Written a letter to Santa Claus

( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe

( ) Watched the sunrise with someone you care about
Nope, have watched the snow fall though.

(X) Blown bubbles

(X) Gone ice-skating

(X) Been skinny dipping outdoors

(X) Gone to the movies

1. Any nickname?
Ed

2. Mother's name?
Sue

3. Favorite Drink?
PEPSI!

4. Tattoo?
I don't get the appeal of marking up your body at all.

5. Body piercings?
Not at the moment

6. How much do you love your job?
Not a whole lot, but it's just for the moment.

7. Birthplace?
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKLAHOMA
WHERE THE WIND COMES ROARING DOWN THE PLAINS

8. Favorite vacation spot?
Um?

9. Ever been to Africa ?
Nope

10. Ever eaten cookies for dinner?
Probably

11. Ever been on TV?
Briefly, in the background.

12. Ever stolen a traffic sign?
No

13. Ever been in a car accident?
Nope, I'm a pretty good driver.

14. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle?
4-door

15. Favorite salad dressing?
I'll say Italian.

16. Favorite pie? Ice cream?
Pumpkin. Vanilla Swiss Almond.

17. Favorite number?
25

18. Favorite movie?
Tough call... I'll go with Raiders of the Lost Ark

19. Favorite holiday?
Tie between Halloween and Christmas

20. Favorite dessert?
A treat known as the crunchy fudge sandwich (not actually a sandwich)

21. Favorite food?
If you don't know, you don't know Ed.

22. Favorite day of the week?
Friday or Saturday, I can't decide.

23. Favorite brand of body wash?
Body wash? Ivory soap.

24. Favorite toothpaste?
Always been partial to Crest.

25. Favorite smell?
Uh...

26. What do you do to relax?
Video games or Godzilla movies

27. How do you see yourself in 10 years?
With a time machine, duh.

28. What is your favorite kind of music?
Parody or video game remixes.
'80s hair metal is a guilty pleasure.

29. Furthest place you will send this message?
Well, it will show up on Facebook, and people in Japan can see it.

30. Who will respond to this the fastest?
Uh, no idea

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Post anything that you want here, and post it anonymously. A story, a secret, a confession, a fear, a love, what you think of me, your parents, anything. Just make it honest. Make sure to post anonymously and honestly. Post as many times as you'd like. Then, put this in your LJ to see what others have to say.

And so that's that.

I hope you had a fine 2008 as you sit back in retrospective, and best wishes for the coming 2009.

Later.

I haven't posted since October.

OCTOBER!

Shame upon me, for I am a terrible friend. I used to be decent at this, and did not need photos to share with all around me.

But I digress. First order of business, FaceBook.

I do believe I have re-enabled commenting on FaceBook, as I disabled it long long ago, back when I thought I wouldn't use FaceBook that much, and didn't want to deal with two sets of comments on LJ and FaceBook.

Simply put, things change, it's a year later, and I find I use FaceBook more than enough to warrant comments being enabled.

Of course, it could be a mute point, but only time will tell.

--------------------------------------------------------------

So how 'bout I fought in this grand ol' war of humans against zombie kind. Holy shit was it fun, and holy shit was it forever ago. Bowling Green now has one of the larger player bases in the country, and playing got insane for one week where a green bandana meant you were either a hunter, or the hunted.

Long story short, zombies completely annihilated the humans to the point where they started quitting in poor sport. The final extraction was nearly 200 zombies versus 74 humans, and only 14 survived after 15 minutes in the final hourlong game.

Do you know how much fun it is to charge a group against a wall and see the fear in their eyes?


View Larger Map

You see, the humans' mission was simple, get from start (not mapped) to point A (actually the white oval above the marker). As long as one third of humanity's last hope arrived at point A, a helicopter would be called in to point B (actually the X area directly left of the marker).

Simple enough plan, two stops, with at least 23 people, and humanity continues.

Yet humanity was slaughtered...


So it begins, the Zeds in three groups of 60-70 zombies strike out to engage the humans, whose destinations we do not know. The humans branch out in an unknown amount of groups, at least two of meritable size. I set out with group 2, and we head off the southern passes sending scouts ahead.


The humans also send scouts, and they head straight for their rendeveau point, and group 2 fans out around East Hall to catch them (I take the north path) and keep the southern areas occupied. Group 1 may have also fanned out, but they do help in taking out the scouts. A human group changes course to go around the south side of East Hall, while the northern human group is surrounded by group 3.


The northern human group is embroiled in a cacophony of chaos. I know not what occurred there, but let it always be known that there was a general large area of senseless slaughter, and the humans within were lost. Meanwhile, the southern group of 30-40 humans see a gap as the lower group 2 back away momentarily, unaware that the rest of group 2 and group 1 descends upon them from the north.


The pitiful band of humans is backed up against East Hall as two small hordes keep their distance to the west (my path) and south. The group slowly inches eastward, unaware of the large group waiting to charge around the corner.


The cry of "FOR THE HORDE" is given as the the waiting Zeds turn the corner, and all groups rush in on the last hope for humanity. Nerf weaponry cannot fire quickly enough, and for each Zed lost, two more are left unphased to take the reloading human down. The humans realize this before we even reach their huddle, and their weapons pull back as they embrace their fate with fear.

And it is over. A New Legion of Sufferance descends from the northern battlegrounds and sweeps the playing field to pick off the remaining scouts and humans who dared to strike out on their own. Only 15 make it to their destination, and the choppers refuse to select a landing point for a lost cause.

The sweet taste of brains and victory was ours that night...

--------------------------------------------------------------

What else is new?

Let's see... I filled out and turned in the JET application, and what an ordeal that was. But, if it's all good, then I get to interview in February, and then potentially return to Japan for the third time.

I think my granddad thinks I'm an ex-patriot or something.

HEY, speaking of grandparents, the last of me dad's parents passed on about a week ago.

As such, I spent what may be my last time ever in St. Louis this weekend attending the funeral, which was fairly impressive. Since she served in the Coast Guard, she gets her own grave in a military cemetery next to her spouse, rather than on top as the case usually goes.

Just like the other grandparent, the lack of any consistent interaction didn't leave anything to really be missed. On top of that, being told "This is it." for about two and a half years or so kind of takes the impact out of it. A year ago it had been assumed I would be in Japan when it happened.

Go figure.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Break happened.

I got to hang with Saker, Jeff, and Chuck, while see very briefly Kat, Andy, and Brandon. Fun times.

We pulled out ye olde Perfect Dark on Katanaka and rediscovered what an amazing FPS it still is. Especially when I posses the nightmare gun that is the Farsight: the alien xray sniper rifle of doom and joy. Also went bowling for the first time since... nearly... two years. It's an activity the group doesn't do nearly as much as it should.

Wanted to roleplay, but schedules didn't quite allow a decent amount of time for play with everyone. Somewhat disappointed at that, but I will play Privateers with everyone sooner or later. Far too much work has been put into the characters, setting, story, and historical research to let the game just fade.

-------------------------------------------------------------------



Dear God,

Thank You.

Faithful Believer,
Ed.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

And finally, a meme, for you all:

RULES:
1. Pick 20 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them for everyone to guess.
4. Fill in the film title once it's guessed.
5. NO GOOGLING/using IMDb search functions.

1.)"I merely chewed in self defense, but I never swallowed" - clnyboi232

2.)"My friends need to be punished." - violetessence

3.)"Welcome to Earth." - clnyboi232

4.)"If I were my real size, your cow here would die of fright." - clnyboi232

5.)"Swingin' the chain. Swingin' the chain." - jedite333

6.)"Your entrance was good. HIS was better."

7.)"Now I'm not one for blasphemy, but that last one made me laugh." - clnyboi232

8.)"Good God."
"Yes, that's just what the Hebrews thought." - clnyboi232

9.)"You can't just go around killing people."
"Why?" - saturn_firefly

10.)"Hey Claudius! You killed my father. Big mistake."

11.)"I guess it never occurred to you that you might actually have to bleed to pull off this little coup. "

12.)"It's because I'm white, isn't it."
"Larry's white."
"Larry's not white. Larry's clear."

13.)"What's that odious stench? Smells like... teenagers..." - clnyboi232

14.)"Do you guys remember a couple of years ago when that guy was lighting homeless people on fire in the subways?" - jedite333

15.)"The word is no. I am therefore going anyway."

16.)"Ouch time."

17.)"I'd kiss you, but you're so damn ugly." - clnyboi232

18.)"Now you deal with me, young prince. And all the powers of Hell!"

19.)"If you think it over, let me know. After all, I'm not in the book you know." - violetessence

20.)"Talking... parrots?" - clnyboi232

---------------------------------------------------------

Later.

Considering I didn't even cover everything I wanted to last post, I should get to this before too much piles up.

I've really lost the rhythm for updating LJ, I need to get back into a bi-weekly grove (ideally).

As per the subject heading, it is now October. I am overjoyed in this fact as a year ago I was in a nation that doesn't properly celebrate one of the greatest month's ever.


Oh yeah, greatest month ever. I missed you cold nights and Halloweeny atmosphere.

But I get ahead of my self slightly, let us pick up where I left off once upon a previous entry.

Which in rereading, I find wasn't much outside of a tour of me place of residency.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Let's recap life through a ( photo blitz. )

What else is going on...

Went home for Fall Break a week ago, which went alright. I got to at least see everyone again and Step Brothers. I tried to get the lot of people to go to the Scaregrounds, but that ended in epic fail, and then I went home.

But I did get out to the haunted house held near BG in Maumee. That's where I took the above picture. I ended up going with a few members of the anime and Japanese club and most of the Japanese exchange students, and had a ton of fun. Terror Town has a few large animatronics, one of them a twenty foot devil, although the highlight was probably one of the Japanese guys, Rei, shouting "I have to pee!" over and over again after one of the displays jumped out at him.

If all goes well I'm going to a different event in Michigan with the housemates and a few different people this Saturday.

Man I've missed this stuff.

------------------------------------------------------------

Well, Chuck was the only taker of the last meme to ask back, and here were his five:

1.) Having completed the first of 5 presidential debates, as well as the first vice-presidential debates, where do you stand? I remember you were leaning toward Obama for a while, but you admitted that depending on the useage of Palin, you could be persuaded back over to the party you are registered with.

Well, to be honest, I did miss the VP debate. However I can say that the excitement and optimism I had for Palin when the announcement was first made has been whittled away. She may even be the biggest factor costing McCain the election should he lose.

That said, I still don't know who to vote for. I like both candidates and where one falters, the other makes up, so I'm pretty much stuck in the middle at the moment.

2.) What issues do matter to you in this presidential election, and why?

How the Hell are they going to manage the bailout and keep it from being the equivalent of this:


Withdrawing from Iraq without making the mess we've made worse.

While not a terribly pertinent issue, I like Obama's stance on healthcare.

3.) If asked by a romantic partner, who you trust, would you beat a homeless person for a Klondike bar?

Probably not. I actually don't like Klondike Bars that much. There are far better ice cream bars out there.

4.) How long has it been since you last lost the game?

I hate you.

5.) If, in a game of apples to apples, you were judging, and the green card "Flavorful" was drawn, which would you pick out of a)Angry Rhinos, b)Helen Keller, c) The Holocaust, d)The Great Depression, and e)Pokemon?

Poke'mon.

493 flavors and counting...

-----------------------------------------------------

While on the topic of Chuck Memes:

IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?
So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool...
7. When you're finished tag some other people to do it!

Do note, my music folder is filled with all sorts of audible trinkets, as Evil and Angry Man Eating Flea should have let you know long ago. This meme further reflects this fact, and so...

Opening credits:
Metropolis Zone - Metaljonus

Waking up:
Audiotrack 20 - Gundam Wing Soundtrack

First day of school:
Remember His Name - Jurassic 5

Falling in love:
Hero - Machinae Supremacy

First Song:
Exodus From the Underground Fortress - Akira OST

Fight Song:
Chemical Juice - Jivemaster

Breaking Up:
Ghost Circus - MazeDude (Insanely fitting)

Prom:
Orson Welle's 1938 War of the Worlds Broadcast (all 57:09 of it, although it would make for poor dancing)

Life:
Water on the Dancefloor WIP - Akumajobelmon

Mental Breakdown:
A Few Words from the Bride - Uma Thurman

Driving:
Venus Signed Banana Peel - Injury and Aquas

Flashback:
Gerudo Peeples - Scott Peeples

Getting back together:
Doggy Dog - Yoko Kanno (What the Hell?)

Wedding:
McVaffeQuasi Ultimix - McVaffe

Birth of child:
Link's Underworld Pressurecooker - Wrenchpilot

Final Battle:
Matsuri Japan - Re-Venge (Excellent)

Death Scene:
Morning Sunlight - Sephire, Sirrus

Funeral Song:
Yoshi's Lullaby - McVaffe (again, fitting)

End Credits:
El Salsa - DJ Pretzel

---------------------------------------------------------

And one last one for the road:


1. Where is your cell phone? - In my pocket.

2. Your significant other? - In the space between spaces.

3. Your hair? - My head, face, arms, chest, legs, and... well you see where this is going.

4. Your brother? - In the space between spaces.

5. Your sister? - Case A) In her room, across the hall. Case B) Not far enough away.

6. Your favorite thing? - Faraway Monster Island.

7. Your dream last night? - Uh, my brain?

8. Your favorite beverage? - In the upstairs refrigerator.

9. Your dream/goal? - ABSTRACT THINGS CANNOT HAVE LOCATION!

10. The room you're in? - Bowling Green

11. Your ex? - Not up for discussion, sorry folks.

12. Your fear? - On Mars.

13. Where do you want to be in 10 years? - No idea, every place has its advantages and drawbacks.

14. Where were you last night? - Home.

15. What you're not? - Where is What I'm not? This question sucks.

16. Muffins? - Not here, that's for sure.

17. One of your wish list items? - At a store, specifically their electronic section.

18. Where you grew up? - Hel... Youngstown, OH

19. The last thing you did? - I've never had sex with "things". Next question.

20. What are you wearing? - THIS IS NOT A "WHERE IS" QUESTION! YOU FAIL!

21. Your TV? - Off to my right.

22. Your pets? - Sadly far from here.

23. Your computer? - This question is so dumb I can't even begin to fathom the stupidity required to ask it.

24. Your life? - Earth, third planet of the Sol System.

25. Your mood? - Again, my brain?

26. Missing someone? - Another Logistics error, next question.

27. Your car? - Parked outside.

28. Something you're not wearing? - My closet.

29. Favorite Place? - Hmmmm, a tough question. I don't think I can answer that.

30. Your summer? - When, you stupid meme. This is a "when" question.

31. Love someone? - In private.

32. Your favorite color? - All around the known universe.

33. Last time you laughed? - My room.

34. Last time you cried? - My old, old room.

35. Who will repost this? - Where are they? I have no idea.

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AT LONG LAST

Spoiler free for your enjoyment!

I already have the Japanese version, as those of you with excellent LJ memories should remember. However playing it in a language I don't fully understand was slow and time consuming. Eventually I got to a major plot point and realized I had missed what had happened. I stopped, checked online, found out it was something of huge ramification, and then stopped lest I miss too much of the story. The point was delivered in round about dialogue, that didn't say exactly what happened, which is to say it did, but in doing so skipped over the basics which a student of the foreign language is looking for.

Play the game and I can explain better after the first chapter.

Now I can play the full game at a reasonable pace, although I learned that, had I continued playing from where I left off in Japanese, the plot point I missed was kind of shoved in the face of the player. Extensively. So had I played for another five minutes or so, I would have figured out what happened.

On that note, I am a little over four hours into the game after a day, and wow. There are some obvious reasons I think Nintendo didn't want this one crossing the Pacific officially. Which is ultimately their loss. This game was a chance for Nintendo to show they're willing to push their audience, and if they had let the 64 (they are the same game, this has been well established) version run its course, Nintendo would have potentially had an RPG to challenge Sony with. Unfortunately I must say potentially, as Shigesato Itoi's skill at manipulating 3D scenes is untested. What we did get to see did show potential though.

Whatever, the case, we the Earthbound fans finally get to play the next chapter, sadly acknowledging Nintendo's loss. It's a good game, if only Nintendo didn't buy into the bullshit ideas that killed the Saturn.


Later kids.

Whoops.

Kind of let the entire month go by, almost without updating. Sorry 'bout that everyone.

So... what's been going on?

Ah, yeah, that's nice.

Really?

Cool, that's cool.

Me? We'll I'm well into Year Five I guess. It's not so bad, aside from being the final year, meaning I am supposed to have a halfway decent idea of what I'd like to be doing a year from now.

In the real world.

Which as of about a week ago became a very scary and financially unstable place.

At least classes are going alright. In fact, I am learning, or rather relearning, just how much I liked math. I'm back in Calculus (Calc 2 to be precise), and I am kicking its ass. Although it is giving the occasional headache in defense. It's a lot better than what I feared would happen, ie I remember nothing of Calc at all and fail the course viciously and humiliatingly.

Although the humiliation angle is still slightly there as every student but me in that class seems to be a freshman. And there are rough spots. We reviewed definite integrals today and the professor calls on me to get the problem started.

I explained I hadn't seen a definite integral in five years.

But life goes on.




Hey, here's an idea, how about a ( tour of the apartment. )

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Five Question Interview Meme is back. Alicia asked me five questions and I answered. Comment asking for an interview, and I'll give you five of my own.

1.) If you encountered Godzilla in reality, what would you do?

Did you see Cloverfield? Kinda like that, only I'd be chasing Godzilla down to film him.

2. If all the anime were to disappear off the face of the earth forever, except for one, which would be played on tv over and over 24-7, which would you save?

I'd say Akira, but it's much too easy for one movie to get old. This is a pretty cliche' answer, but Cowboy Bebop. Adult Swim has kept it going for a reason.

3. What do you like best about college life?

...

I

...You know... I have no idea. That answer changes depending on what's going on at the given time. College life sent me to Japan, gave some great experiences, and others I'd love to forget.

Running a con is pretty sweet. I'll go with that.

4. Would you rather be a pirate or a ninja, and why?

Pffft, ninja, duh. Why would I ever prefer drunken smelly buffoonery over being a disciple of the shadows and allied with mutant reptiles, Irish doctors, and Gray Fox.

5. What would you like to see as the next big advance in video gaming?

2-D gaming and simpler graphics to reemerge and become a constant and respected genre among the big three. If Mega Man 9 does well enough, who knows what could be next.

Mega Man X9?
Streets of Rage 4?
Super Mario Bros. 4? (Or 5 if you consider World to be 4, which it pretty much is.)

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Why do I love making cookies so? I've already utilized the new kitchen once so far, and I immediately restocked supplies and am ready to make more at a moments whim.

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So I just got back from a screening of Nerdcore Rising, a documentary about MC Frontalot's first national tour (and nerdcore hiphop in general as a side). I'm not a fan of hiphop in general, so the content is really the only draw to the genre, but the film was really good.

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44 words

Typingtest

The PSP Campaign in a nutshell.

A nutshell you can take outside.

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That's all for now kids. Play the meme and I'll be back again.

Later.

Holy crap man. I only posted once in all of July. Poor form, sorry folks.

What's been happenin'? A lot, actually.

Currently I'm posting from the Student Union at BG, seeing as I have so recently moved here and not yet have acquired the internets. We're working on that one.

What's new, well as I said, I moved back to BG where I'm sharing an apartment with Steph and friends. That's the biggest developement so far. That and acquiring the family Cavalier as mine own. That will greatly help out in ANO matters, and I guess Japanese Club too.

Oh, and I guess it means I could be stopping by every once in a while, and not just vacations. Could be. No guarantees.

Also went to St. Louis almost a month ago. Fun city, although visiting decrepit relatives hinders the amount of free time one has there. Granma isn't really in any shape to be leaving her ward, let alone visit the greatest free zoo on the planet. Yeah, that's right, free. I love St. Louis, they are what happens when townsfolk vote for their levies (happily and without communal blackmail) and park systems and republicans.

Okay, I'm not so sure on that last one, but Youngstown is the complete opposite of St. Louis, so it's a safe bet.

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It's much more funny if you've seen Godzilla, King of the Monsters.

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So the other day I rented Earth Killer and went down to Columbus to pick up furniture from a relative. Earth Killer is the name I have dubbed the gargantuan truck required to perform said task. EK's floor started at just below my waist, and it's tires were even bigger. I won't even try to tell you the MPG it told me it got. Why any company would support such a helpful device in an anti-Gore monstrosity like that is beyond me. Any sane customer looking to buy a new vehicle would (or should) look at the read-out and refuse to drive it out of the lot.

On the reverse end, Earth Killer could crush hordes of cars in its wake, and I can't begin to tell you how tempting doing so is when some idiot in a Volkswagon is going 60mph in the fast lane. Perhaps this is what it feels like to pilot the Gundam, or maybe the Super X.

I wish I had taken a picture, but A)my camera is on the fritz and B) I'm using school computers which makes uploading time consuming and difficult.

It was one of these. Too bad there's no size reference in those pictures. Suffice it to say, they could rape Jeff's truck.

In summary, it was fun to drive for a day, but I weep for anyone who owns (or even wants to)one of these sins against humanity.

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Lunch now, more posts in the near future, preferable when I get internet.

Later. (and no, I'm not in A-Town til Saturday)

Nope, no siree. In fact it looks like I move back to BG Aug 11, which means I've got less than a month.

Wow.

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So, it's been a while. Even longer considering the last post I did (while hilarious at the time of posting) didn't say much.

'Cept I had me a ton of cookies.

Various stuffs been happening. I turned 23 a few weeks back; family and friends went out to Sawa's to celebrate. Tried to see Forbidden Kingdom but lack of time/interest prevented that. No big deal.

Fourth of July happened. Austintown lacks patriotism, and forced its residents to seek elsewhere for firework shows. Ended up in Canfield for a decent show.

Saker came back, twice. And last weekend's visit rocked this world. We ended up karaokeing out at Quaker Steak and Lube. Very few people signed up, and so we sang numerous entries. That alone made it a good night, but the guy decided to stay till close, giving us more time at the mic. I think I did seven songs in all... let's see...

Dare to Be Stupid - Weird Al classic, and a great warm up for me since it's relatively easy to sing.

Welcome to the Jungle - I had wanted to sing it in Guns N Roses high pitch, but came off really low in the first verse. Like, It's My Life low, and thus next I sang...

It's My Life - Saker demanded it, as Chuck has for quite some time. It's been ages, and I hadn't done that with my voice in so long I thought I would never do it again. After Welcome to the Jungle, it seemed plausible. Turns out I still can.

Turning Japanese - It's true. It's so true.

Love Shack - Two older ladies liked Saker and my theatrics so much they wanted us to do Love Shack with them. Slightly creepy...

Larger Than Life - Saker and I dueted. Holy shit I love singing this song.

Amish Paradise - I don't like repeating artists in one night, but man, we got to sing alot last Friday. This can't be it, as I do believe I'm forgetting something.

Still, Chuck, Saker, and I rocked the house like we used to long ago.

...

And I drank so much Pepsi I felt kind of nauseous and couldn't sleep til... sixish.

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Man, what else have I been doing. In periods of boredom, I've been pegging at the LewisVerse, even putting some work into the old ( site. (If you've no idea what the LV is, you'll be pretty lost within this cut.) )

What else... I've upgraded my RAM finally. I went from 256 MB to 1.25 GB, and it's made a noticeable difference. For one, AIM doesn't run at a lethargic speed anymore. Everything I ask it to do, it does immediately. Even better, Adobe Premiere loads in a reasonable amount of time, and doesn't crash when loading pictures any more. It also can operate at a tolerable speed when moving clips around.

With that new found breathing room I've begun toying with Premiere again, and decided to splice together a few tidbits from Animarathon IV of 2006.



I've been going through all my videos from my time abroad, and I'll hopefully add a few more videos to my account before Fall Semester.

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Hey, I was in Japan, wasn't I? I kind of left you guys hanging, which is slightly rude.

I believe I left off in Tokyo with this image:



( But where does this scenic road lead? )

And now I give you the last and ( final: )

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Later.