Hello there.

Yep, Im really here, sitting behind a computer making a post. Not from my iPhone, I just got a few songs for it, and had to use a gift card but its ok.

I really got to get out there and look for another job. I cant really do it tomorrow, as my schedule is completely filled up with me shoveling snow and working more on the old house tomorrow. I make 15 dollars an hour shoveling snow so I cant really complain at all; and working on the house, meh that's easy, its just cleaning now.

with my job right now I can support myself and pay for both my cellphone bill and pay rent. But a little more money never hurt anyone right, and having a secure, stable full time job would make it worlds better. This recession thing has hit not just the United States but globally, every nation on this planet is feeling the pinch. While it seems like doom-n-gloom everywhere you get news from there are lots of things to be thankful for like holding down a job, putting food on the table and just living.

I think so far Ive racked a tally of 4 minutes and around 4 megabytes of data for the past three days Ive had my iPhone so I think im doing pretty good staying within my limits. Although I have a awesome idea for a new application in the App Store.

This is how it would work: Rather than looking through menus to see the minutes you've used and the data transfer on the cellular network, it would bring both of those to the home screen and would alert you if you are getting close to your plan limit. This would apply for texting too. That would be the free version.

The one you would pay for would go something like this: Parents set the limit on their child's data usage and if it comes close to that limit it would lock that portion of the phone to prevent them from going over. Especially for texting, since thats the one everyone hears about. Now this is where it really gets interesting. The parents would create 'Emergency Numbers' and passcode protect them so the kids cant change the 'Emergency Numbers' and if the phone comes close to the plan, it would turn off the phone portion of the phone. If its an emergency, they could call the pre-determined numbers and get this settled.

Is that not a genius idea or what? That way, rather than outrageous cellphone bills they can stick to their plan and save money but it wouldn't cripple the phone in an emergency. I really need to download the Software Developer Kit for the iPhone and start on this, I know I am not really into coding for computers at all. Found that out the hard way in college; but I really think this plan could work.

Workin'

I am on my lunch break so it's all right. Just seeing how well this
phone works over the network with 3G. Trippy how I'm on lunch making
a post. Laters

Post from iphone?

Yep! It can be done. I really, really like my investment in
technology. It makes me feel like I am on top of the world! But,
enough about that I am going to bed as I need to be at work in 14
hours or so. Goodnight.
Sent from my iPhone

iPhone Version 2.0

>_< I did it. I said I was going to do it all along and even I thought I wouldnt do it. I have an iPhone 3G charging in my room right now. Its the most wonderous piece of tech I own! Thats saying something considering how much I actually own!

I just did the rounds and put important numbers into the phone and the coolest thing is I can recieve an UNLIMITED number of messages! Yep, so when people are feeling down or whatever, they can send me a message. Take note that I only have 75 messages to reply with for a whole month but I hardly ever use that much anyway. Oh, Merry Boxing Day! For those not in the know, Boxing Day here in Canada is when we box up all of our food from last night's meal and go spend it with loved ones.

Well a long time ago it was like that but now its more of a shopping day than anything else. I dont really mind as much, because people will be people and do what they want. Im going to make this post short because I am going to play with my iPhone...I might buy some apps from the App Store and get some things on there first.

Hello World!

I am back! The internet was finally put in the new house that I am in right now, so I thought I would make a post. Things at work are getting better, life is going pretty smoothly right now; even though there are a few things left to do at the old house. I am pretty tired today, I woke up at 6AM and left the comfort of my bed and into winter clothes and taken to Ken's work. I cant really complain though, I didnt start work until 9 but only took a half hour for lunch and worked until 4. What was I doing you ask? Well...I was shovling snow from the doors of the storage units. Yeah its hard work, my eyelashes froze together a couple of times but the best part is I got paid 15 dollars an hour for doing all of that.

Sadly, I cant really do anything for Christmas for my family in the States. I am working Tuseday and Wednesday so flying or driving is out of the question. I knew I should have asked for it off, but being the 'new guy' and all, its not likely no matter how hard I try. The only thing I want for Christmas...is all of my stuff from the cold, damp, non-heated storage unit in Eugene! I know its kind of selfish, but it is all of my stuff that I have been without for a month already; its kind of a whiplash when I think about how long I have been here already. A whole month. 30 days, and Ive gotten a job, my Alberta Lisence, and tied loose ends in the States.

There are a few things I need to do here but I will jump on those this weekend. I was all bundeled up today working outside and sometimes I would stop for a moment or two and steam would come out of my jacket! It was alarming at first, but after a while I was like all right...I am working so hard I am making steam! Weird thought I know but it was really cool to see. Well...I think I am done making this blog post as we are about to go out. Later, and I promise more blog posting.

Moving.......again

Yep as the title suggests, I am moving again. No not back to the States or to a different Providence, just down the street aways. My grandmother decided we needed a bigger place and picked up the rent for 6 months and we have started to move all of her stuff. And she has lots of stuff.

We started with the storage room tonight, getting it mostly packed and away to our new place, but we still have much left to do: the living room, kitchen, the bedrooms, and the other storage under the stairs. I think I moved most of the heavy stuff like a wheat grinder and all kinds of heavy boxes but there is still lots left to do.

I am kind of worried about my job. I know I shouldnt blog about such things but these are my writings and if they contradict the social interaction or verbal communication outside of Safeway then...uh...too bad. Its my life and I should have a right to write about anything I want. Anyway, story goes is that I just had my 5th day working and I am getting to know the store and all of what Produce entails and I am rushing my brain taking it all in and it takes me a while to process it all. Well I went to work yesterday and was there for 8 hours and I took a look at my schedule for next week; I found a suprise on the sheet of paper. It had my name, and the dates for the rest of next week, but its completely blank. Nothing, zip, zilch, nodda. Im kinda worried about it, so I gotta call tomorrow and start getting some answers from Safeway.

Well, this post turned out longer than I thought it would tonight as its almost 11PM my time and my grandmother is planning on waking me up at the crack of dawn to get this stuff moved so I shall retire for the night.

Good Food...

Here is the situation: Its snowing outside fairly heavily and I am hungry. I know there are things to eat inside the house, but I discovered yesterday that the bus to take me downtown also goes past 16th street. What is on 16th street you ask? Only the best burger stop in the ENTIRE WORLD! Peter's Drive-In. Now, just to get down there is 2.50 and taking the bus back is another 2.50; so just for there and back is 5 bucks.

Would it be worth it to trudge through the snow, wait in the bus stop and travel down to 16th street for one of these fantastic burgers? I would have to say yes. Thing is, it would only be my 2nd time having Peters's since I moved here two weeks ago. Two weeks, thats how long I have gone without their fantastic burgers smothered in BBQ with relish and onions(I would take the onions off. Dont like 'em) and cheese. It gives me goose bumps just thinking about chowing down on one of those burgers.

Or I could do something smart like buy a pair of water-proof snowboots to surivie me the rest of the winter since all I have are my runners. Hm...I am going to make some hot chocolate and think it over before I do anything, since I have already been outside today.

HSM in real life...

When I think back to my memories, there are times when its filled with people dancing and acting in hallways and monolouging and generally having it be a musical. No its not anything from High School Musical its actually from my days in High School.

See, I went to a performing arts high school. Its exactly as it sounds. To tell you the truth, it was some of the most wonderful years of my life; I met new and interesting people and I shead my 'act' that I had when I first moved to the States and started being myself. There are so many good memories from that school, everytime I look at my yearbook, I know all the faces from the photos. I can tell you who everyone was in my Graduation photos. Then again, in total there were only about 150 students in the entire school, so getting to know everyone came quickly.

If I could change any portion of that experience, I wish I could have spent more time there. See, when I started I was a Jounior and had two wonderful years there. So many memories are there in ST. George UT and its sad that I have not been there in forever. I need to find a way down there, spending at least a week there and re-visit everything all over again. Lots of friends are still there I believe, though most said they were trying to make their way to California. We had our 5 year reunion, though only a small number showed up, around 12 people if I remember correctly. Those memories I will cherish always and even though the Class of 2003 has drifted apart; we will always remember each other.

Whew...

Third day of work done and I am there to stay! The past two days were topsy-turvey and I didnt know if my boss would kick me flat on my butt into the cold, bitter wind today, but thankfully, I made it through. I don't know why, but it takes me a while to catch onto things and I have been told on multiple occasions by different people that I am slow. So...I like taking my time and making sure its done right; is that a problem?

Enough about that. I am really excited and proud of my self that I am going to go pick up a treat for myself. Maybe a little technological gadget that could help me listen to...MUSIC! HA! you thought I was going to get an Iphone or something huh? Well...I keep on thinking that if I can get a iPod Touch and put some VOIP stuff on it, then it will be kind of like a phone...that only works with an internet connection... Hm...that suddenly seems like a bad idea. But I am looking to get something cool for myself as a kind of 'pat on the back' for not messing up work and being speedy enough to avoid getting let loose.

I just...dont know what to get. I could pull some money and put it all down on an iPhone and not worry about it for 5 months since I get two months included and it will pay for 3, or get another little techno gadget; what that would be I have no idea.

Its all about how...

You dress for an Interview! I wore a white shirt, tie, black pants + belt and had my hair moussed and lookin' sharp. Least to say, I got a phone call from the head honcho from Safeway and starting Monday I am going to be the second in command of the Produce section! Its quite nice, though we will start at 7AM meaning I have to find a bus schedule and get my butt out of bed and onto the bus! But thats not a problem...I just have to find out what time the bus leaves so I can catch it Monday morning.

It is pretty standard: Black pants, white shirt, and shoes that are polishable. Hm...not too sure about that last one, but finding shoes wont be a big deal. All I have are sneakers, and that probably wont be allowed. I imagine it will be black laceless shoes; but those work for me too. I will be making 10.95/HR and if the actual Produce guy leaves for vacation or something I get his wage! Cool huh? I don't know if I want this thing to be long term, since Costco or Best Buy or Future Shop calls and wants me in for an interview. Like to keep the options open ya know?

I am slowly but surely on my way to getting my own place and living on my own for a bit. Sure stuff is expensive, but other than work, what do I have? Nothin. Almost all of my tech is boxed away in a cold, damp storage unit down in Oregon. I might kind of scope out the scene for rentals or a roomate situation at work after a little while or something. Maybe even enough for an iPhone.

Interview

So I thought it went pretty well. I like to think I will be the one called back on Monday for the Produce section of Safeway here just a few blocks away from me. It starts at a decent wage and could hopefully transform into something I could look into for long term. But that is still a ways off since I want to get back in school and get a degree and work at a job I love.

It has been crazy for the past several days here. First I baby sat my cousin for a good part of the day, she mostly watched TV and played games on the computer. She was really sweet and nice, and now with my other cousins, they are quite the handful. One is about 4 and likes to smile and talk alot, and run kind of wild around the house sometimes, but hes a good guy. The other one, he is just a little toddeler and he gets into EVERYTHING. Any button that is within his reach absolutely must be pushed; several times for satisifaction. We had him in the high chair close to the stove and he was in the process of turning it on! Myself and Grandma had to react quickly and pull him away from that. Everything from buttons on the remote control for the TV to the Washing machine, every button must be pushed.

Oh, about the post about me traveling to the Canada in 4 weeks and me replying which country I like best? Not to be bias; but I prefer Canada. Sure everything is more expensive, but people don't seem to live in the underlying fear of Terrorist bombings or being invaded by a forigen power or whatever. I believe this was a really good decision for me right now in my life; it gives me some breathing room for things I want to explore and see what I am good at.

Well...It is pretty late right about now, and I am planning on going to bed, but before that; a Mental Note on Canada. Carry lots of change. At least 5 dollars worth.

...iPhone...

I want one. They are really good. Its a phone, iPod and GPS/Web Browser all in one package. My 'want' has turned into a 'need' since the contract expired on my old cellphone from the States. I have enough money to pick one up and pay my rent and I go for an interview tomorrow at 2PM and it would be nice to have another way for anyone looking for me to contact me. The plan is kind of good for my taste too, for 60CAN I get 250 minutes free evenings and weekends to the Calgary area, but not to the States along with 75 TXT message and one Gigabite worth of data to recieve.

Before, the iPhone was a 'want' but its a need now since I dont have a cellphone. I even made a pro/con list to see if I should just get an ordinary cellphone and for getting a replacement iPod and a new phone, I think it might work for me. What do you guys think about this?

I know its my money and I know I have enough but something keeps me from running to go get it. Maybe its the fact I don't have a job yet, or that something might happen and I wouldnt be able to pay my monthly fee and loose the phone or pretty much any sceniaro I could think up of could get in the way.

I would probably be running to get it right now, but its dark outside and I don't have a vechile with the exception of the bus, but I need the fare to pay my way to the interview tomorrow. Hm...Maybe I should run get it after tomorrow and see...or I might just walk there right now and pick up the iPhone...

Yippie!

So, I guess you all want an update on me huh? Well...I have to call Safeway back tomorrow and set up an interview on Friday or Saturday to(hopefully) do cashiering or stocking the shelves. There is another place that wants me(ha ha) and thats Superstore. I wouldn't mind working for Superstore, if the position was'nt temporary. And outdoors selling Christmas trees and strapping them to people's cars. Yeah Im looking for work but my first job being back in my own country being tossed outside and left for trees? Not my idea of a good time. Unless free hot chocolate was involved. But thats not likely.

Oh, I finally used my new bank card for the first time today and guess what I bought? Grande White Hot Chocolate from Starbucks. I should be ashamed. I should have gotten it from Tims but I wasn't thinking; but I was downtown and needed to kill some time before he hiring agency opened up. I told them I wanted to either fix or sell computers and they refered me to another company and I got there, I was seriously underdressed(I had a green polo with a longsleeve green shirt under) and I felt like kicking myself repeatedly. I could clearly see the guy rolling his eyes in his mind but was paitent with me...I really need my A+ Certification to do anything in this town....and live.

As long as Slurpees are less then two dollars I will stay. They are one of the best things about Canada. There is a serious difference in the quality of the food here when measured against the States. I cannot really describe it but after eating American food for that long my taste buds are amazed at the wonderful tasting food here.

Oh, I am making the rounds with the babysitting routine already, I am babysitting my Aunt's kids for a while but they are good girls. Then on Friday or Saturday I cant remember straight then I am babysitting my Uncle's kids. Oh well, its all good practice for my kids someday right?

Welp, the sun is shining right on the screen and fading fast behind Nose Hill and I am going to help my relative put up some more drywall. Most of the ceiling is done, its just the walls and the odd pieces on the rest of the ceiling. Talk to you guys later!

More stuff done...

Now I just need a job! Ive got my chequing account all ready up and running and awaiting some money! I need to make that happen pretty quickly and get some cash-flow into my pocket so I can do stuff.

I went tobogining today! It was really fun, we had a great time, watching my nieces slide down the hill, going over the jumps it was quite heartwarming. Nostalgic rather since I even went down twice! I had forgotten how fun it was until I got into one and slid down the hill... And afterwards I went to find the Beddington Towne Centre and look at get some applications and looking for a job but found RBC.

It was really nice to walk around today, the sun was out, drying off the sidewalks and keeping it warm as I went. Though the wind did pickup after I was done at the bank I kept going to the house and now here I am. I am proud to say I have an excellent sense of direction. Most of the time.

I noticed that Gmail came out with new Themes! I probably spent a solid half hour choosing the theme I wanted and finally settled on one: Terminal. It gives it kind of a Matrix-ly look to it that I like. Well, I probably should not spend much more time on grandmas compy but expect more from me in a couple of days as always.

First Day.

So. First day here in Canada, I managed to get my SIN number all right and I am up and looking for a job. But there are a few more things I need like my drivers lisence and a passport. I have both of those in an American flavour but since I am living here in the Great North I think it would be best to get them.

I took the buses down to the CTrains which is Calgary Trains and transportation. I am making a Mental Note right now: Always carry at least 5 dollars change. Coin change. I found that out the hard way today while the bus driver was very nice. Taking the trains downtown was interesting; its amazing how many people they pack into them and are able to make it almost on time all the time.

Yesterday my grandmother tells me where the Government of Canada building was, telling me it was taking a left and walking two blocks. Getting off the train I started right. However after the first block it came to a dead end where the road stopped. I traveled back to the Municipal building of Calgary and asked for directions. Turns out it was take LEFT two blocks. No problem so I cross the two blocks and get to the Government building; and I apply for my SIN card.

No joke the whole process from me walking in and walking out with a SIN number was about 30-45 minutes tops. I was really impressed with the speed and accuracy of Government of Canada. Comming home on the buses I picked up applications to Superstore, basically a Fred Meyer or a smaller WalMart and plan on filling it out tomorrow. However I would like to work someplace where I can apply my computer knowledge like Future Shop or Best Buy or London Drugs.

Well...My legs are achy from wandering around Downtown and waiting for the bus so I will bid you all goodnight.

Well...

After about 1 day and 17 hours I am finally in Canada. That is correct; I am using my grandmothers computer to make this post. The trip was all right, really long and kind of boring but most Greyhound trips are. I managed to pack most of my clothes into two bags since the carry on consisted of books; mostly of the drawing Manga nature since they are kind of rare and hard to find.

The roads were ok and it was interesting seeing all the stuff along I-5 and going to Seattle. My first thought when I realized I was there was: Oh hey, there is an Anime convention here... and the rest of the trip was mostly uneventful. With the exception of Border Crossing.

Since I was on a bus, the process is sped-up to allow lots of people to get checked and across and waiting for the bus. They asked me the usual questions: 'where you headed, how long, any gifts?' ect. If you ever travel the border use one of my Mental Notes: Always answer honestly. It will make your life easier. We lost one of the passengers there at Nexus because of[I believe] falsified travel documents and a resulting search of his person and luggage.

Again, the rest of the trip was uneventful, I kept thinking to myself: right. Everything is in Meters and Liters... No joke there were Tim Hortons(for those not in the know, Tim Hortons is a wonderful delicious donut shop where they create wonderful little donut balls called Timbits.) at every single little town we stopped. And it made me smile.

I encountered rain, snow, sunshine, and even overcast on my way there. I had forgotten the beauty of the Rockies covered with snow. Now I can say I have pretty much traveled the West coast.

Well...its pretty late here my time with the hour change and all so I am going to turn it in for the night. Letting you all know that I am not dead in a ditch somewhere or stranded at some bus depot. I have made it. Now starts a whole new chapter of my life.

The time is drawing near...

For me to go! Just tomorrow and then I am off. Is my stuff packed? No. Is my iPod charged? No. Is my Nintendo DS charged? Nope. I still have lots to do, but I know it will all come together tomorrow or at least today. There is still lots of laundry to do and things to pack into my bag and get ready.

Two bags and a carry on. Thats all I am taking up to Canada. Mostly clothes, since I don't really have the money to send my computer or Wii, PS3, or nice TV there. Or all of my Anime and Manga. It makes me sad that all of that stuff is packed away in boxes but I know I will be able to get it back. Hopefully sooner than later.

I feel bad. I have not been keeping up with my friends so they are in the dark about the whole thing. I really need to get a hold of a nice Netbook so I have my own computer; since I will not be installing anything onto my grandma's laptop. I have enough money to go get one right now, but I know I will be paid next Friday, but by that time I will be there. And the plan for my cellphone expires in 6 days, so its kind of going out the window too. I will hold on to it, transfer all my contacts from that old phone to my new one.

I have the money for a netbook...But I wont have much for getting up there with. Food is kind of important and I like to eat. I might head to Best Buy and see what they have out there for netbooks...Yeah. Its kind of dreary and I need to get out of the house.

The last day...

Of work! Yeppers, the last day of work came and went, since they didn't make sales this week my boss decided to cut me working tomorrow. Sure it means a little less money, but hey, I'm not working at the moment. I am free as a bird. Until Monday.

That's when the bus leaves. I am seriously contemplating buying myself one of those little 'netbook' computers. I wont have any form of computer while I am up there and if I manage to sell my car, I would like to get myself one of those. Problem is that while they are kind of inexpensive, you've got to be aware of the one you are getting.

Ive researched them online, and I still think the best one came from Wally World(thats Wal*mart) for 400 dollars. I am hoping to sell my car and get one; It'd be nice to have a computer there rather than working from my grandmother's all the time.

I watched the Matrix last night. I love that movie. Its really kind of sad to see the rest of them fall downhill but the first is still the best. I am home alone for the time being; I don't really know where they are but oh well. I'm used to that.

Still Here.

Yep, as the title says, I am still here. I completely forgot how stressful it was living here before, and its all coming back to me. That goes with turf I guess; but enough about that.

I am only here until Monday, in which I leave for Canada on a bus. The bus will take 1 day and 17 hours to complete the journey though I did get a really excellent deal on it: 120 dollars. There is some sleep time in Vancouver so that will be good, and I bought some Space Bags to help me pack up some of my bulkier stuffs.

They are really cool! What you do is take out the air and it compresses the contents down, so they take less room! Whoever made these, I would love to shake their hand and say 'thanks' Anyway...Since my laundry is done I should switch it and do all that jazz.

Oh, by the way, I'm using the super-spiffy-speedy-awesome laptop of my brothers. Its wicked.

Hello all.

Why am I making a blog post at roughly 8 AM? Well...its not a long story so I will tell you: See, I was sleeping yesterday for a solid 10 hours or so, and then 1 AM rolled this morning and I decided to get some sleep, and here I am; 7 hours later and feeling good.

My bus ticket is all said and done. I leave at 10:45 AM on Monday the 17th. Thats in a week, and it costed me 120 for the entire trip, all the way to Calgary. My stuff is all packed away, TV, Wii, PS3...most of my life is packed away in boxes right now and I am staying at my older sister's until I leave in a week. In the mean time, I still have to rummage through my things and decide on what I am taking to Canada.

Really, idealy I would only take two bags and my carry-on. I am hoping to narrow my two garbage bags and two suitcases down to just the suitcases. Im really excited for this to be happening. That remindes me, I really need to call my grandmother today and tell her I am leaving on Monday and see if she will be in town to pick me up.

Well, the clothes will not organize themselves and I probably need a shower after my sleep. Long sleeve and long pants are my priorities since it will be snowing there in Calgary and thankfully I have winter pants and jacket to get me through the cold. Though I will take dry, desert cold rather than raining, wet cold any day of my life.

Also, I just realized the ironic: I voted, but am leaving the country. Oops. My bad.

PACKING!

Yes. The title deserves all caps. Both of my PS3 and Wii are packed away into boxes awaiting their storage. Next up is my computer, and I do not know when I will be able to make another blog post, so if I dont make it...uh...ummm...I am probably on a bus upwards to Canada, though that will take place next week, and there is much to do tonight, like packing up my computer, the rest of my stuff, stuffing my clothes into bags for the trip...

Lots happening at the house...We plan to be out of here by Saturday, or in other words: Two days. 48 hours. I don't know what 48 times 60 is but its a big number; but you get the point.

I will probably be able to blog from my sisters home with their super-spiffy-awesomely-awesome computer. Laters.

UGH...

I am feeling really tired right now. I helped my mother pack up more of her stuff and started packing my stuff. Moving heavy things like dressers and awkward-sized lamps out to her storage unit; not to mention I have to go to work to night at midnight and work until 8AM. So...yeah, least to say, I am feeling a little less than enthused to be working tonight.

I get paid on Friday which is really nice, it wont be that big, but at least it will put the money I need towards a bus ticket. So the whole '4 week' plan to Canada kinda fell through, but I will get there, one way or another. It just might take me a little while to get there.

Its kind of odd to see the bookshelf half empty but thats the nature of moving, putting all your stuff into boxes and moving it. We are supposed to be out of this house by Saturday so that the renter can move in and set up home there. I will probably wind up living back at my older sisters for a bit until I get the bus ticket to Canada. Its an exciting time, and I cant wait to be up there.

Oh, about my car...it still has not sold yet. Had a couple of nibbles, but nothing concrete. Ugh...more packing awaits me after I wake up tomorrow from work...but I need to get boxes from various fast food locations(their fry boxes are very well made) and use those to pack the rest of my Manga and video game consoles.

Its nice, taking charge of my life and deciding my direction which I will take. Ever since I graduated, I just went with the flow, didn't really care what happened to myself, and my circumstances gradually became worse; and I thought I didn't care but one day I woke up. I looked around at my life and said, "What the heck am I doing" I was headed in a direction I did not want for my life. Don't get me wrong: I like being near my family, its just one of those 'stretch your wings' kinda deal.

Every minute of every day, there are millions of paths life you can take. Sure mistakes are made, but we have knowledge to learn from them, and have the wisdom to apply them to the next curve in the road. When there are those days that don't go right for me, I always look for that other path and wander down it. I don't see the point in rushing through life; there is so much in each day that people just going through the motions are missing out on the majority of their lives. Stop and take a look around. You'd be surprised at what you find.

Only Time Will Tell...

I just changed the course of history. Want to know how? Its easy: I just filled out my ballot and intend to turn it in tomorrow. Its that easy. Changing the course of US History is as easy as connecting an arrow. Lots of people don't realize how easy this is.

Last time these elections were around I was not able to vote, but this time I am making a change: even though its only one vote, it could be the vote that changes everything. Thats what the elections taught me last time with the recount. 50 years from now, people will look back on this time and know that this was a pivotal moment in history. It feels wonderful to make a change that I know I helped produce.

Want that feeling too? Its easy: Break out your ballot, read it over and vote.

America wouldn't be America without voters.

Blast through the Roof!

SO! My life has had an exciting turnabout! I showed off the house today, even though I had cleaned it up, it was still kind of a disaster, but they didn't mind. So they call back later and say that they want the house as soon as we can move out! What was a nice, meandering pace has now become a NASCAR breakneck speed! Ive got lots to do tomorrow, such as calling both my father and grandmother and getting my car photo'd and up on Craigslist.

I even washed and vacuumed and cleaned it! Those that know me will remark this as a momentous event. Plain and simple: My car wont weather a Canadian Winter, which requires a block heater to keep the battery from being totally drained and driving it there is kind of a worry since I don't have money to get the brakes looked at or the Transmission looked at either. I can't say for certain if I would get behind the wheel of a full car without having the brakes looked at.

Lots of stuff is going to happen within the next week or so. I will probably be in Canada right on time now, haha funny how life turns inside-out to reveal another path to your destination.

Little bumps in the road...

So...there are those little potholes in the road that sometimes derail your objective. Mine happens to be a school bill that I left unattended and became a monster; gobbling up my paycheck. I have a whopping 9 dollars to my name. I dont get paid for another week after Friday so things are looking kind of grim to put it nicely.

But I am still determined as ever to get to Canada. I am sorry if I kind of jump around subjects here, I am folding laundry in between typing sentences.

I am totally serious. There is a little goblin, that resides in both the washer and dryer and he happens to prey upon socks. I have had that scenario where I put my socks into the washer and pull them out of the dryer and I usually find three socks without matches. Unless you put them into a mesh bag to transport them between the washer and dryer, they will become lost. I wonder where those lost socks go...

Post!

Yep, an update from me. Canada was AWESOME. Which is why I am moving back, and I even made a Must Do List. Its a 'To Do' list, but taken to the extreme. After Friday, I have to go get my car looked at for brakes and other mechanical do-dads associated with my car. Since I need to wake up for work tomorrow, Id best get some sleep. 7AM comes pretty early for me.

Back from the North

Yes. I am back from Canada. However, I am deeply thinking of returning not just visiting; but actually living there. Wages are incredible and its relatively easy for me to get to work, since I have dual citizenship in both Canada and the United States. This would mean a road-trip again(YAY) with all my stuff(packing OH CRAP!) but my grandmother already has a room all set up for me there, its just a matter of getting there.

Getting there however, might prove to be a challenge. My car is not in the tip-top shape it requires to travel 800+ miles to reach my destination. I am working on getting my car there though, as I bought a new air filter for it today, and plan on getting an oil change for it soon. There are also lots of mechanical hick-ups that need to be looked at inside my car, but I believe I can get there after all is fixed and done. My gas mileage will fall dramatically due to pulling a fully loaded trailer and filling my car with boxes and moving all that stuff.

I really liked being in Calgary, being back in my hometown. For some reason, it brought a sense of calm to me, and I would love to have that for the rest of my days if I could. Despite all the challenges ahead of me, I am willing to put it all on the line for this.

I do not have all the money to pay for gasoline or for assistance if my car breaks down on the side of the road, but as soon as I got it, I am gone. So, the earliest I plan on getting there is in about 4 weeks. My reasoning is that I get paid next Friday, but it will not be a whole lot; it will provide the finances for me to repair my car into the shape I need. The next paycheck will be my gateway to leaving. So, in 4 weeks it should all be done. Will I miss the States? Ask me in 5 weeks; I might have an answer for you.

Blog Post!

From the Great North! How is the rest of the planet? I'm having a wonderful time with all my relatives. Its COLD! Im glad I brought my layers of clothes, the wind and cold do not penitrate through them; its like a sheild. However, through my shoes and pants, it rips RIGHT though; no mercy from Mr. Freeze. Anyway, I am just making a post since I promised I would, and I know my friends read my blog and its all good.

I still have come Canadian money to spend and I might get something special for my brother-in-law, since he's awesome. Anyway, just making the post, good night. I've got lots of work fixing my grandmothers computers/television equipment. Later!

Road Trip Part Deux!

Well! I bet you were all waiting with bated breath for the update on the Road Trip huh? Wait...you weren't? Hm...need to change my approach. Anyway, my boss(being the AWESOME boss) he is managed to give me the days I require off for the Road Trip! Jubilations! It makes me really happy. I didn't honestly really have to drill it to him, I was kinda like "hey my dad called last night seeing if I could go to Canada for Thanksgiving" He was like, "oh. Ok, Ill see what I can do, you are going to work an extra shift for it."

Sweetness! So expect something from my when I reach my destination on probably early Thursday night since there will be adults who all can drive so we might just make a straight shot through the night. I Promise to bring my camera and take lots of photos. Only those of me and landscape and city sky-line you are going to see. While this is my blog, I am not about to spring the whole blogging thing on the rest of my family.

Im currently draining my Ipod for the trip so I can get a nice, full charge out of the thing. I don't know what Im going to do about my cellphone. It cannot keep a charge for the life of it. I cannot carry a decent conversation unless its plugged into the wall socket! Then, after its died from talking on it I will turn it back on and just joking! It comes back with a single bar of battery life.

Road Trip Part Deux?

I got a call from my father earlier in the evening with the proposition of heading back to Canada for Thanksgiving. I didn't realize it was already around the corner, actually being this weekend. The supposed plan is to drive to Washington and let the children sleep[since my older sister and her children are coming, both of whom are under the age of 3] and make a straight shot for Canada the next day.

This sounds like a wondrous plan to me if I didn't have to work for the three days of the plan. I am going to talk to my boss about it tomorrow and see if we can work some kind of arrangement for those days. Its been literally FOREVER since I have been to Canada. It brings a smile to my face just thinking about it. However since it is kind of a spur of the moment deal it might now flow over with my boss. That is acceptable since it is kind of in that nature.

I really hope this can float! I would love to have some quality chocolate again....Hmmmm delicious, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

The Update.

HA! see? It came around after all. Well, of course it would come but its a little bit sooner than you expected huh? Anyway, the status of the moving scene: End of October is the plan. Of course that means fixing the rest of the house, including the bathroom(which is really a mess, but workable) We have already had some people looking at the house even in its 'incomplete/moving' state. I am super excited to be moving down to California; someplace new and exciting.

Anyway, singing to a different tune, lets talk about the Bailout/Recession progression shall we? For the past(my memory is a little fuzzy this far back but I do remember Alan Greenspan talking about this) 8 years the Chairperson of the Department of Treasury was always saying that the inflated economy will eventually burst, resulting in a economic recession. However, like we are we didn't want to hear what he had to say and went about our daily lives, taking loans and mortgages and second mortgages in efforts to afford what we want.

Well, after all that time ignoring the one person who spoke about what was happening and after he retired from his position, Alan Greenspan wrote a book on the subject. Which judging by the current state of the economy, I surmise not a whole lot of people read it. Flash forward to present day. Lots of people cant make due on their loans, while the banks hand them out like water, and the banks go: "oooh crap! We dont have enough money to loan out to people!" Which causes everyone from the poor to multi-million dollar peoples of this country to default on their loans and not be able to pay them. Was the bailout of 700 Billion dollars worth it for the average American? For right now, there is not a lot going for them, because even though the bailout passed Congress and will probably be signed into action; then it begs the question 'where will the money come from?'

We won't know the outcome of this for years, probably decades later until we know the true impact of what the bailout means to the various banks and subsequent stocks and the world market.

While it is an interesting topic to ramble about for an entire post, I believe I will stop there. My eyelids are getting droopy and my throat burns--probably from the onset of a cold. Oh, one more thing.

Oregon is the strangest place I have ever been to. The people are interesting granted, but its the weather that really gets me stirred. Imagine this: You are driving with the window down, it being a sunny day, with only a few clouds in the distance when suddenly you see raindrops on your wind shield. Yes raining. Not just a little sprinkle, but a full on downpour; this is the weirdness of Oregon I cannot stand. It toys with my emotions...it makes me happy for the sunshine and sad for the rain at the SAME TIME.

With this post, I bid you all good night, as its quite late here, its past 1AM already, which means its time for bed, even though I had an energy drink at around 9PM of yesterday. Its a good thing I don't work tomorrow.

Updating?

Hey all, just giving an update ya know--letting you all know Im not dead in a ditch somewhere(thats the one my mother uses on me) Planning a pretty short post this time around, since Im still gathering my thoughts from the economic situation of Capital hill and Wall Street...expect a rambling or Mental Note on that one sometime soon.

*_*

If you are remotely attached to the gaming scene then you will know about Mega Man 9. If you are not aware, Mega Man 9 is the next entry in the fantastic Mega Man series that started on the NES, and has appeared on the SNES, Sony Playstation, Sega Satrun, with an anniversary edition on the Xbox, PS2, and finally the Game Cube.

What makes Mega Man 9 different you ask? Well, the biggest factor is the entire style of the game. Its fashioned after the early 8-bit games that appeared on the NES. Think of the original Mega Man games on that system and you've got the idea. now add really cool 8-bit music to it also and its a blast from the past. Supposedly this game is really hard, all reports from the press claim it goes back to the NES-toughness of the original games. Whats even better? The release date.

This wickedly awesome blast from the 8-bit era is set for release on WiiWare on Monday the 22 of September! *_* it makes me really excited, since Ive already picked up the originals on the Virtual Console for my Wii. Monday. I can't believe its already so close! I cant wait for this one...

tummy rumblings...

oooohh....my tummy is rumbling...I can hear all the loud, squishy noises. Hm...the last time I ate was...right around noon I guess...and its 8 o'clock. I guess I should get something to eat, since there is not much food there, there are plenty of cold liquids; but not much for food. I will be back. I am headed out.

Post number 80!?

Wow...that is a lot of posts! Anyway, I had the pleasure of taking Roo (the stepfamily's dog) out for a walk tonight. X_X it was murder...he has this idea that if he can overpower you, he can lead the way and go where he wants. I had to take the time to prove him otherwise. I will admit he is a powerful dog, I dont know its breed...I wish I knew.

Anyway, he likes to play with his food too. After a while he will nab his food dish and play with it, causing the food to go everywhere. Its a real hassle to clean up, but I am planning on getting him something other than kibble. Since I'm working tomorrow I can pick up some food from where I work and see if he likes it. No harm in trying right? And another strange thing...he eats ice. He will just chomp it down like food, not licking it at all; just munching it down. Really weird...

I dont really have much else to say...so I guess its good night then.

Moved Again!

Yep, as the title so boldly states, I have moved again. No its not the move to California. Not yet. I did manage to get a Twin sided bed which I am sitting on right now...and my feet don't touch the floor XD It makes me feel like a kid. Anyway, I have most of my belongings out of my old place, and I found several book cases for all my video games, Anime, Manga, movies, ect. Lots of stuff Im suprised it all fits in the book shelf I found in their garage.

Anyway enough about that. I have another piece of exciting news, I very early this morning bought my copy of The Forbidden Kingdom on Blue-Ray! It is one of the coolest movies that ever came to Blue-Ray and it is totally worth it. There were lots of other titles there too, like Kill Bill volume 1 & 2 but the Forbidden Kingdom was all I wanted. All righty...now after my long packing day I am headed to get some food.

Chrome!

So I found this spiffy, speedy browser called Chrome. It gives me back all the screen real estate that the other browsers I have used up. Its really fast, I have yet to find a site where I wait for it to load. Did I mention its really, really fast?

I guess I did already....Anyway, Chrome is amazing, and the best part? Its made by Google! Yeah, Google made a web browser! Its still in its Beta form, so its a little buggy here and there, but for the most part, this is a really cool piece of software! I encourage you to try Chrome when it comes out of Beta.

OUCH!

So I was out riding my bike on the trail just a little while ago, enjoying the sunshine and all that good stuff, when suddenly I felt this 'thump' on my neck and it kinda sat there. I reached for it and touched it, realizing it was a bee/hornet/wasp well...I had no idea since I couldn't see it and it stung me! Right on my neck! It hurts like crazy! This is the very first time I've ever been stung by anything mind you, but I never expected it to happen on my neck!

The slight swelling has gone away and all there is left is the twinges of pain and the redness. Since I've never been stung before, I don't know if I will get a severe reaction to it, but I'm hoping for the best. Geh...I can feel the reactions around the skin; it grosses me out. Its a good thing I looked up how to deal with this previously on the Internet!

Blurgh....to OH WOW!

Its raining. I hate the rain. I wouldn't mind mind if it was raining with sunshine like it sometimes does in St. George, but when its like this...overcast, cold and wet; count me out. Some people love the rain; I am not one of those people. I can live in a really cold place, the cold weather doesn't bother me much at all; but when its wet and cold, that I cannot stand.

UPDATE TO POST: so I logged to weather.com just now and there is a Severe Weather warning right on the page Eugene's weather This is what it says: A funnel cloud touched down around the Eugene Airport around 3:16 today... Can you believe it? A funnel cloud here in Oregon! I'm used to hearing that about the Windy Valley and other spots but not in Oregon! This has me both scarred and excited at the same time, since I've never seen a real funnel cloud before, and the frightening fact that it could form into a full blown Tornado.

Another Update!

Yes, an update has come your way! Its little things, like tinkering with my Blogger page to make it more efficient and whatnot. What really interests me is the Followers thing that Blogger is making... It would be cool to be able to go back to your blogs and read them. I have the hit counter, but...that's so...90's.

Anyway, they(my mom's family) have a moving van and have started to load stuff on it, so the whole 'moving to California' is really happening. Its kind of interesting, since my he(the stepdad) has lived in Oregon for most of his life and really likes it here. Of course the two stepsisters have lived their lives here too, so its a different kind of shock to see him go through all of this for my Mother's sake.

An Update!

Yes! no reviews on video games/manga/anime/anything else here! An actual update about my life, though most of my family knows this already: I am...moving to California! Yes, land of Sun, Surf and BABES! Sorry, I got a little carried away there... I will be moving to Monterrey Bay area with my Mother and her step-family. Its a good thing I started cycling more and more...its helping me loose weight and save on gas at the same time! DOUBLE POINTS!!

So it will be goodbye to the 8 months of rain that Western Oregon is so familiar with, and hello to 10-11 months worth of sunshine! And since Ive been cycling more and more, I have gotten a TAN! Yea, a real-life tan! My arms are much darker than they ever were, so Im already getting myself to fit into California! I wonder if I should put some blond highlights in my hair...or maybe red to match my goatee?

Kicks and Giggles...

LOL I just found this for kicks and giggles...it makes me laugh. I dont know why, but tickles my funny bone.

Review: Stong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People

*whew*! that was a mouth full...How about we use the acronym from now on? SBCG4AP is an Episodic type game; meaning that its not just one game, there are more to follow in the story. Anyway if you have ever been a Homestar Runner fan or just got interested in it, this game is very true to the series. Great humor and writing abound, the characters seemed ripped right from Flash and placed in glorious 3D. The best part about this game is being able to control Strong Bad; the story revolves around him and the other characters.

Main story: Strong Bad wants to pummel Homestar who is involved in the Tri-County Race to the End of the Race for the Silver First Place Trophy of Ultimate Destiny. Strong Bad wants to beat Homestar in the race and uses all kinds of crazy antics from a pair of hedge trimming shears, balloons and plungers. The dialog is hilarious, especially when Strong Bad is conversing with the other characters; there are two choices to pick from: Nice and Mean. Mean responses are the funniest, but sometimes doing the Nice one responds with the game progressing.

All in all, SBCG4AP is a really awesome game, especially if you are a fan of the old-time point and click adventures of yesteryear. OH! The reason why this didn't go up yesterday was because the game crashed on me twice, but it wasn't a big deal, I just backed up the saves to my SD card and continued on.

Mental Note: Showering

Bear with me on this one. Its been really hot where I live like around 90-100 degree weather for quite some time now. Dont get me wrong; I absolutely LOVE it, but sometimes I need to cool down and what better way then a shower.

"What!?" you say, "How can you cool down with a shower of all things?!" Well the answer is quite simple: Cold Showers. At first I was not down with the whole cold shower thing, but after trying it a couple of times...I cant think of a better way to get cooled off. Unless you have easy access to a lake or river or another large body of water to swim in. I just go with whatever works, and cold showers do it for me. Only in the summer time though; I wouldnt even think about doing cold showers in Winter-time.

OH! I will have a Video Game review of Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People (or SBCG4AP) probably tomorrow, I plan on gifting a copy to my brotha TIMMAH! So look forward to that comming pretty quickly.

Another thing, My review of Xam'd will have to come at a later date, since I still need to watch EP 2 and 3 to get the ghist of the series. Talk to you all soon!

New DS Special Edition

If you want to buy a limited edition DS, now is the time! I heard about the sale of the Special Edition Onyx Pokemon DS from a news blog I frequent called DS Fanboy. This is the link for the article: Right here. The thing is, most of the time something like happens out in a rural area where people don't know about the street dates.

But this happened right here in Eugene! Yeppers, the Freddies off of W 11th are selling the Special Edition version...I already have a DS but I was thinkin about my friend who is big into Pokemon and would love a limited edition one. I am waiting for the email from my camera phone with the picture of the box.

Until then, if you are looking for a collector's DS now is the time!

Sadness...

My headphones of about 2 or 3 years died on me today. They are echoing or not producing some of the channels in the output. They are a nice pair of Koss over ear headphones...They've been with me...seemingly forever. Its kind of sad to see them go. So, I went to Wal-Mart to find a pair of new ones. I get to the electronics section and I ask where the headphones are. The guy shows me and goes off about the 'gummy' headbuds; about how comfortable they are, they noise canceling effect and so on. I wasn't 100 percent sold but they were inexpensive compared to the rest of them, so I thought, "meh, why not? they have the little earplug gummy end to them." Oh how wrong I was...

Leaving the store, I open the package to find...simply a pair of headbuds. No 'gummy' end like it says directly on the box and the electronics guy repeatedly told me. I was kind of disappointed and I went back to the electronics depot and kindly explained to the cashier my situation. "OH! don't worry, they're awesome! I use them all the time!" This was her basic response. I asked her about the return policy and I have 90 days to decide if I want to keep these...things.

Truthfully, I should have just returned them right then, but...Ill test them out for a couple of days and see if I want them. Now...Mental Note of the day...ALWAYS, ALWAYS get a different opinion from a different worker. Better yet, just trust your gut.

Funny thing I saw!

Yep, it was another funny bumper sticker I saw as I was driving home from Florence. It said: "Im only speeding 'cause I have to poop!" with a little dog do-do on the bottom left...it made me laugh really hard in my car.

Oh, the reason why I went to Florence was to get some of my stuff from the trailers my father owns. Ya know, important stuff like old Video Games, I found a old NES! *_* Its a piece of gaming history! Now I just need to find a: controller, game, power cable and a RF unit! If they still make any of the above...Anyway! I cant get downhearted, because most likely they will exist online.

Game Review: Soul Calibur 4

So, I picked up this game, and let me say this: It is one of the nicest looking games out there. Bandai-Namco did a wonderful job with this one, despite some minor quirks. For one, the Apprentice battles are WAY, WAY difficult. I don't know if it was just me, but I got my butt handed to me for a solid 15 minutes. It was painful to watch him kill me in about 18 seconds...it was kind of frustrating.

Now, I haven't unlocked everything in the game, but I have played with Darth Vader, and he is a remarkably well balanced character. I believe I found my new favorite character other than Kilik. As for the story mode, there is not much, its basically fighting people at random locals and after about 5 fights it moves to the final boss. OH! a note: the final boss was so much easier than the Apprentice. The character creation section of the game has been really revamped, anything you want customized, it can be done: from the pitch of the voice to the color of their eyeballs. Even their facial structure can be played around with to make your own perfectly unique character.

I have always been a big fan of the Soul Calibur series ever since the second game on the Gamecube featuring Link. The series continues to impress me with each entry. Though they all have their little quirks, they more than make up for it in other areas. If you have a PS3 or Xbox360 I highly recommend this one.

Not much...

Im just enjoying myself tonight. After tomorrow, my summer class will be already halfway over! Its flying by really quickly, but I'm not worried. I just makes it so I got to get things done on time! Previously my main email account couldnt send my assignments to my professor, but I used my alternate one and it went through fine! That was a big sigh of relief. Now I can get the work and get it in on time without worrying about turning it in the DAY OF.

I recently came across one of these Tetris Cubes and I have to say...ITS WRACKING MY BRAIN! Its really tough, since all of the pieces are different, supposedly there are over 9000 ways to put it back together! The best part is...I got it for 1$. Yep from a Dollar Tree close to where I live. I wonder what people would do without dollar stores...I am getting better at it though, when I use the packaging box the pieces came in; it makes it much more clearer...and also frustrating at the same time. I can make a cube...but most of the time it will spots missing or not in-line with a plane.

Just wanted to update you guys with a random tidbit of info...OH! now that I think about it, Sony revealed their TV/Movie side of the Playstation Network! and I managed to get a hold of a brand-new Anime called Xam'd Dawn of War! I only managed to watch it once, since it had a rental time of 24 hours. Expect the review soon!

Anime Reivew: Gurren Lagann

I had heard bits of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann(TTGL) for some time before Anime Expo, but getting there and meeting some of my fellow roomies, two of them were cosplaying from this wonderful series. Another thing that turned me to the series was a very well made AMV using the song "Be A Man" from Disney's Mulan.

The series follows Kamina, a hot-headed, 'no guts, no glory' kind of guy, Simon who is a kid still learning the ways of the world. They start in an underground village where the people have been living for untold generations when Simon discovers a small drill. After an attempted breakout by Kamina and his rag-tag of misfits, Kamina winds up in jail while Simon continues to drill to expand the village, but comes across a large face. Simon comes to rescue Kamina from jail who wants him to see the giant face when a massive earthquake rattles the underground village; falling from the ceiling is a massive monster!

Seriously, that's just in the first 15 minutes or so! Least to say, this episode got me hooked to watching the rest of the series. The motion of the characters and the attention to detail to backgrounds is astounding. Looking through the end credits of the DVD set I found a multitude of other Japanese animation studios that worked with Gainax; for example Production I.G. and Studio Ghibli.

with the release of Gurren Lagann here in the states, I expected the disk to have English voice-overs like most Anime does. However, after everyone started conversing, I found that they were all speaking Japanese; looking to the Language feature on the disk revealed that the only language is Japanese! I believe this is a bold step for Aniplex and Bandai, but I am in favor of subtitled series, since they retain the orginal meaning when translated. Another thing about the two disks, was that they are a little bit cheaper than traditional one disk with dual languages. The English version of the series will premiere tomorrow on the SciFi Channel at 11PM, so if you have cable, check it out.

For anyone getting into Anime, or a longtime Otaku, I recommend this series to all.

Fat Princess

Is a game that is coming out for the Playstation Network sometime in the near future, the object of the game is to rescue your princess from the dungeon of the foe. Only problem is that they stuffed the Princess with sweets, meaning you will need lots of people to get her out. While this has drawn lots of attention for wrong reasons, I cant help but write a story about the game....Its my creative juices at work. Im going to put it in my blog first then update my Fanfiction.net archive.

"Counselor, we have discovered the location of the Princess!" A young man burst through the door, causing everyone in the room to turn to him, "Where is she lad?" The older man asked, beckoning him to him; the man walked into the room, standing in front of a table with a map covering the entire top. "Here, she is being held at their castle just cross the river..." Tracing a line with his finger from their castle to the other on the map. "You have done well Simon, we must do a covert operation to retrieve the princess at once! Simon!" The Counselor turned to him, "you found the location; you shall lead the team." Simon bowed, "Thank you." "WAIT!" One of the men spoke up, "What if that location is a trap?"
Bowing his head the Counselor spoke, "for the sake of the Kingdom, that is a chance we must be willing to take to save Princess Aleta." Lifting his head, he spoke again, "All those who are going to perform this task must meet at Dusk outside the gates of the castle; that is all." Simon walked slowly out of the drafty room, through the stone passages of the castle and finally reached the top; looking to the west to the other castle where Princess Aleta was. Simon had black hair and dark eyes, he proudly wore the crimson uniform of the Kingdom of Forland.
Dusk finally came, and a group of six men gathered outside of the castle walls when the Counselor appeared, "You know where Princess Aleta rests, deep in enemy territory, if you have any objections; now is the time." He said, looking over the group, "very well, go and retrieve the Princess." With that, the group left, being led by Simon; after several hours of walking they crossed the river and the enemy castle came into view. "Keep quiet now...their guards might be keeping watch..." Simon whispered to his companions, and the chatter dulled to silence; they slowly made their way to the castle. Breaking into the castle, they grabbed several torches, lighting the way down the dark hallways. "Wait..." Simon whispered after hearing footsteps, the group quickly dispersed, fleeing into the darkness.
The sun started to rise while the group had searched nearly every inch of the castle, "maybe this was a trap..." they began muttering, when one of them heard something and shushed them. Walking slowly, they came to a solid wall; Simon came to the front and started feeling the wall this his hands and found a block out of line with the wall and pushed it in. Slowly the wall rotated, revealing Princess Aleta. The entire group, including Simon had their jaws to the floor, their beautiful princess had become large and heavy! Simon was the first to approach her, "Princess? Is that you?" She nodded, various portions of flubber bouncing with it, "yes, however I am unable to walk very far since they have fed me nothing but sweets..." Simon looked back at the group, seeing that the majority of the group was in their older years, he turned back to Aleta, "I..." He started, "I don't believe we have enough manpower to get you out of here Princess..." She tried to stand, but could not get herself stable and fell on her bottom, "then you must capture their princess and do the same to her! Then come back with enough men to take me home." Simon's gaze fell to the ground, then he looked up to Aleta and nodded, "As you wish Princess," turning to his group, "You heard Princess Aleta, we are going to capture the Princess of Utsuho!"

HA! Killing two birds...

With one Stone! Well, I enrolled in a summer course at Lane this semester and one of the things the textbook suggests to do is to keep a Journal. Hm...Im pretty sure my blog counts as one, and also it says to just start writing about anything that comes to mind. Thats why its killing two birds with one stone: I get to do some of the extra credit for my class and updation for you guys! It totally works and I love doing it.

No joke, I could sit here all day and do nothing but update my blog. Sure other things happen in my life that I make a note of and it gets placed in here, and thats the best part: I get to write more. People who know me say that I can describe things very accurately while being 'On The Spot'. I really do not have a clue why I started my Major as Computer Programming....I suppose the dream was to make a Final Fantasy/Mario/Zelda/any name brand video game. But after a while; I realized it took much more programming savvy to even come close to what they do on a daily basis. I mean, I can make a simple webpage and a low-key game, but not like what they are doing: I feel its way beyond my grasp. Also I think the motivation was monetary gain; Computers are here to stay and companies need the skills from people to program the software and hardware to make everything work.

After taking several 'real' Programming classes at Lane I began to doubt what I really wanted to do in my life. Writing Algorithms(fake code) on paper is really easy for me to do; but when I actually put it onto the computer, it totally falls apart and its quite difficult to fix. It could be just me: I had a hard time understanding my professors, they pounded Syntax into my brain, but not the actual language. So there was a trade off, I could write Algorithms all day, but putting it onto the computer...was my Kryptonite.

Well....I think thats going to do it for right now.

Movie Review: The Dark Knight

All righty. I went to go see this movie; and I will say this:

This movie is AMAZING.

If you have not seen this movie, I HIGHLY suggest you go and see it. Christian Bale and Heath Ledger make an amazing pair onscreen. You can literally feel the crazy oozing from the Joker, its really intense. One scene is where the Joker makes a pencil disappear and its GOLDEN. There are some predictable parts of the movie that I will not spoil here, but all in all, this movie is very well done. Its broken various records even the 'Midnight Opening' record held by...I don't know the movie off the top of my head, but its impressive for any movie.

OH! Another thing I saw was a trailer for an interesting movie: The Day the Earth Stood Still. I have watched the orginal, and I cant wait for this one.

Best thing I saw all day...

Was a bumper sticker saying: HONK! if you like peace and quiet.

I was rolling on the ground laughing after I saw that on the back of a beat-up truck. Even thinking about it now makes me laugh really loud... Thought I would share the funniest thing I saw today; I'm going to make that into a regular thing, because I happen across lots of funny stuff that only I see for some reason.

The rest of the world deserves a good laugh too.

Anime Review: Rozen Maiden

I figured if I am doing reviews about movies, why not do them about Anime? I recently picked up a series called Rozen Maiden and I have to say: I like it.

The basic storyline opens with the kid named Jun who spends his days indoors, away from the rest of the world, buying paranormal items from various sources. One of these paranormal things however is a doll; but not an ordinary doll. Her name is Shinku, and she informs Jun that she is a 'Rozen Maiden' doll with the sole purpose of defeating 6 other dolls of the same make and becoming 'Alice' the perfect doll. The first episode begins with Jun buying junk online, while his sister tries to relate to her estranged brother with the mere mention of school, Jun becomes unstable. What happened is never fully explained; but left to the imagination. After answering a query if he will 'Wind' or 'Not wind' a mysterious box appears and inside he finds a expertly crafted doll.

After winding the it, the doll begins to move on its own accord, and suddenly springs to life, informing Jun that her name is Shinku. After a short while, another doll comes with the intention to kill Jun, since he awoke Shinku. She informs Jun that a pact must be made in order for him to live; the pact is a ring that he wears allowing Shinku to derive energy from Jun to defeat the doll.

Can you believe that's just a brief summary of the fist episode? All that happens in the first 10 minutes or so, and I got hooked and decided I needed to watch the rest, and found it online. While some of the backgrounds are a little lazy(various objects having fuzzy or saturated lines) the quality of the animation is excellent.

*whew* My first Anime Review! I plan to get in the groove of these and start posting more reviews from the long list of Anime/Manga/Video Games I have in my collection.

Car troubles....

soon to be fixed! I'm taking in my car to a auto shop to get it fixed. The price is a little steep, but if it means having a reliable form of transportation, then price does not matter. I'm glad my car has lasted this long...Its been through lots, driving across the Nevada desert, multiple trips to Portland and driving between Lane and home. I still haven't repaired the doors on it...those are way too costly to fix and finding another set of doors could be quite a daunting challenge. Truth be told...I can always find my car in a parking lot due to its 'battle scars'.

In slightly different news, My college class starts next Monday. I am nervous but at the same time, I know its definitely needed. Especially after what happened last time, but I am going to change my major; from Computer Programming to Journalism. I like to write and its one of the things I am good at. Working freelance and writing about Anime, Manga and Video Games...

Immigration.

Its no secret I was not born in the United States. I know everyone is making a big deal out of the Immigration movement. Seemingly everyone is worried that 'Spanish will replace English' with the influx of Spanish speaking peoples. I recall debate if English should be the official language of the US; historically, when immigrants from other countries where English was not their first language, they have gathered in various communities like Little Tokyo or Little Italy. The point I am trying to make is that peoples from those various countries settle into portions of cities where their heritage takes precedence.

Although that was just a round-about way of saying: it will take care of itself. It has for the pat 232 years this country has existed.

I'M BACK!

Yes its true. I am back from Anime Expo. I came into town around 3 in the afternoon and I feel pretty good since I got plenty of sleep on said bus ride. Taking a Benadryl helps. Anyway, you are all probably wondering about how the convention went: One word accurately describes it AWESOME.

There were so many people wandering around in Cosplay it made me smile. The video game room was nice and spacious without the fanboy funk that accompanies it most of the time. Also on a less happier note the AnimeMusicVideo(AMV) contest disappointed me. The majority of the effects found in the videos were either copied, ripped directly, I mean tastefully reproduced from another source. But in all seriousness, most of them were pretty good. I especially liked the Ghostbusters FF7AC spoof. The creator of that video is a genius.

I got to catch up with all my friends, even ones that I had not seen for quite some time, the Seamstress of this site recognized me from a crowed and came and talked to me! I was really excited to see her again, after falling out of contact. I promise not to leave her hanging again! With my roomies I learned about a really cool series called Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann which I'm hunting for episodes online to watch. The Phoenix Wright gathering we had went really well, many people took lots of photos and we all had a great time. I dont understand why AX cant be held year-round? I love being at AX. Or any con for that matter. But just the fact when I start talking about Anime that other people respond with conversation not just 'huh?' 'what are you talking about?' Anyway, I thought I would let everyone know that Im back from my Anime convention...though I might take a look at the school schedule and see if I can maybe -MAYBE- attend another con this year.

The Big Day...

Is tomorrow! I am really excited for this! ^_^ Going to Anime Expo recharges my batteries so I can take another year of crazy happenings with me and my family. Its the escape that creates the distance between me and the 'real world' that I desperately need sometimes. I leave from here at around 3:30 in the afternoon and we drive all night to reach LA around noon the next day. All of the preparation is done for the things Im doing there, gatherings, cosplay, everything. All I have to do is show up; which I will do.

It would take a divine act of destruction for me not to attend AX. Since I am going to be gone for a week, I wont be checking my Email or doing any blogging(unless I happen upon a free compy, but thats not too likely) Although I still have a full day, I am really excited about going!

Its closer...

^_^ Anime Expo is only 11 days away! I'm really excited for this to happen. All the sights, sounds and cool stuff to buy... *_* ...Sorry...I was thinking about AX. Anyway, I usually wind up rooming with my good friends, but they didnt get a room this year. This kinda saddened me, especially when I was told by my best friends that she might not come to AX.

That was a few days ago. Since that time, they have all decided to go, but since they dont have a room, they were kinda spinning their wheels. I was in the same boat just two days ago. I had my bus fare and my badge paid for, but no place to stay. So what was an Otaku like myself to do? Well...I jumped onto the Anime Expo forums and made a post; saying I needed a room. I am grateful I found a room almost the same day, and Ive made the transaction so all I have to do is show up. Well how funny when my friend decides that she IS going to AX. Least to say, I was excited. I had several room offers and I passed them off to my friends.

Now all I have to do is wait...and pack when the time comes.

*WHEW*

Well, Finals were last monday, and I thought I did pretty well. Yesterday a very cool piece of tech came via the mail and I get the feeling its going to change the way I use my Nintendo DS forever. I can use a Compact Flash disk and put all of my movies on it and watch them, whenever I want! This will make any future traveling painless. All of my videos without compressing them in the correct format take up around 8 GB worth of data on my computer. However, I managed to get most of them and a full length movie on there too, and it only take up 1 GB! Meaning I still have roughly 7GB left for pretty much anything I want, and I'm filling it up with neat homebrew programs that people have developed.

However, yesterday all was going really well with my card, though the instructions were a little iffy, I managed to figure it out. Now, when I try and put new folders on there, I cant make them inside of other folders since it will almost certainly crash my system and create two folders inside of the one. But I figured a way around this: Up loading everything first to the root, and THEN moving it around on the card has worked wonders for me. While it does not look too pretty, since the case that was to enclose the CF card was bugging out and the USB port does not work at all, I have to write everything directly to the card from my PC to the adapter. But its so worth it. I love solving my own problems, even though I get frustrated at times, when I finish something without the help of someone else, it brings a smile to my face.

Don't worry...

Be happy! Thats how my attitude should be, but in reality I'm very nervous. My math Final is today and I have a raging cold, which does not add to my concentration at all. But its a 'Do or Die' moment so its got to be done. In other happy news, Anime Expo is right around the corner!

...OK, well technically its not around any corner but it is coming up soon! I keep track of the days using this little webpage I like to stare at the milliseconds ticking away, waiting for my vacation to come.

Since I am traveling by bus again this year, I was going to be stuck without any movies or AMVs to keep me company. Until I learned that I could run Homebrew software on my Nintendo DS. For those not in the know, Homebrew is software developed usually by single people and not for profit and it bypasses the orginal software installed by Nintendo. What does this mean? Well, I can play movies from my DS using a Compact Flash card and a little program to convert my videos stored on my computer to a format that the DS can play. I have ordered all the parts I will need, and I just need them to get here before July so I can put movies onto my 8GB Compact Flash card.

Of course I might install a couple of games on there as well, since it can emulate other systems, but since I'm too poor to afford an iPod Touch or a PSP, I will make due with my modified DS instead.

There! now you are all caught up on my blog and whats been happening recently. When AX comes closer I will post more about it, and if I can get access to a compy there I might even make a post from there! In the mean time, I might post special memories of previous Anime Expos that I have been to.

Movie Review: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Go see it! Oh...you want me to talk about the movie? Let me put all your doubts to rest right now. Yes it lives up to the older ones. Yes it retains the comedy of the older ones. Yes it has an epic story filled with twists and turns due to the characters. Finally...Its Indy. Go see it, you don't really need my approval as I have been waiting for this one for quite some time.

And now for something completely different.

Different you ask? How so? Well I am going to share my political view with you all. I know that the majority of people are quite bored of anything related with politics but just bear with me for just a moment. This would be my slogan: "Lets take back government." Why? Well, this comes from the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States: We the People. Notice that it does not say, "They the Democrats, Liberals, Independent, Republicans..." I would advocate to keep politics out of the government and lets just get stuff done. Working together makes a nation, not sects of people who cannot stand each other.

I know some people wonder when American became a place for political views to get in the way of actually doing stuff and I think I can place the time at around when it shifted from "We the People..." to "They the Government.". The time would be after World War II when America started to play big brother to the rest of the world. But thats just me. I cant run for the presidency because I was not born American, but sometimes Im grateful for such an event.

Movie Review: Speed Racer

Ive been going to the movie quite a bit nowadays... especially since I got my tax rebate. From the title, the movie I went to see was Speed Racer. I have not watched the original series that the movie is based from, but the Wachowski Brothers have pulled off another amazing movie. The actors play their parts very well, especially John Goodman, whom I have not seen in a major picture....since Monsters Inc, though it was a computer animated film.

Even days later there are still scenes that stand out in my mind, one of them being around the middle of the movie where the race starts when the queen sees the rising sun. The racing sequences are very intense, and will make you slide to the edge of your seat; the original animation used lots of the same images, but the Wachowski Brothers gave the series a radical makeover and it shows. This movie is worth the price of the ticket and popcorn. I know that soda and popcorn is more than the movie, but it adds to the experience, and Speed Racer requires the full theater experience.

Movie Review: Iron Man

I went and saw Iron Man on Tuesday and I have to say...I liked it. The actors filled their roles very well, I was not expecting the comedy that flowed from it. There were lots of comedic parts that had me going from giggling to laughing out loud in the theater. The effects are done very well, and one of my favorite lines from the movie: "...how did you solve the ice problem?" this is one of the lines that made me laugh which is towards the end of the film and it keeps it comedic throughout.

One of the best sequences is when he is perfecting the suit...the way he interacts with the robots is hilarious. I am not even kidding. If you spend money on a movie this weekend, go see Iron Man.

Grrr...

I just got done doing my laundry and how happy was I to find my most FAVORITE pair of pants. What happened next horrified me to an other-worldly extent: My pants have a hole in them. Normally this wouldn't make me upset; however the fact that the hole is at least 6 inches long and runs from my back pocket down is the really irritating part. I mean...those were my good, reliable, trust pantaloons! Its really disheartening to see something tragic like this...

I was planning on making them into a pair of cut-off shorts a long time later when the bottoms frayed out but this totally ruins the plan now. *sigh* now I have to go around and find another pair of good pants to replace the one that was taken away from me. its melancholy to see my favorite pair sitting in my trash...

How cool...

how cool would this be? Ive always imagined something like this for when I was playing any racing game, and now it looks like they made it for one of my favorites: the original Mario Kart for the SNES. I just had to make a post about this, because its really cool to see the cart move in time with the on screen action.

Movie Review: The Forbidden Kingdom

So, last night I went to the movies. Its something that I rarely do nowadays since I don't really have money to do such thing, but I went anyway. I had no idea this movie existed until yesterday, and it caught my interest right away with two big names: Jakie Chan and Jet Li. Yeah, both of them are in the movie and they both FIGHT EACH OTHER! Least to say, it made me very happy to see both of them on screen for the first time. I thought the storyline was really quite good, think "A Kid in King Arther's Court" meets the Journey to the West story. The main character who stars also played another role I liked very much, being the lead in Sky High, though his name escapes me at the moment.

There be lots of cool fighting, with and without the wire technique and it all looks really good. All round, I thought this was a really good movie. I totally recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in Oriental films or just Kung-Fu films in general.

Mental Note: Customer Service

I want to take this minute here and let me announce something to the entire world: Nintendo has the best customer service. After finding out the cost of my repair, I wondered if my system was still under warranty, and when I called their 800 number after the menus, I found myself talking to the customer assistant and together we found that in fact my console was still under warranty and told me that they would try and keep the system data in tact; like all my Miis and my various saved games and what-not. After the pleasant conversation, she also told me that shipping it to the repair center would be free. Yes free. The best things in life are still free. Anyway, all I had to do was pack up my Wii into a box and drop it off at a local FedEx building and it was picked up on Monday, so its off on its way to Repairland.

In other news, I am feeling pretty good about my Mathematics. After being away from school for a year, I managed to get As on my homework and a 70% on a quiz. I love the fact that my head retains information for quite the long period of time, and I feel pretty good about myself as stated previously. Programming on the other hand...is like a living nightmare...

Im not doing too well in that area...I can copy code all day and write Algorithms that will work on paper, but as soon as I sit down and try to write real code...it all falls apart. Its kind of disheartening. But, I will keep on trying and I will pass this semester of Java...although some of the questions are getting quite hard already...though they seem easy enough on paper; actually coding them is another matter entirely.

When a good thing breaks....

It breaks your heart. I just found that my beloved Wii, is broken. When I boot it up, it says that the System Files are corrupted. Since Ive been around computers for quite a while, I know how important these files are, and since they are corrupted, it means I wont be able to do any Brawling online for a while...I wonder if this is related to my other Wii problem I had recently?

The other problem was that I was getting an error message from the News Channel, when I started it, the channel stopped instantly and gave me the error code of NEWS000001. Far as I know there are not too many News channel errors or Wii errors in general, so its kinda a bummer that I have to send in my console to get it repaired, but I am still impressed with Nintendo's track record. Out of all the systems I have ever owned, going from the early NES to the Wii, I have only ever had problems with two of them: one being an SNES and now my Wii. Just received my confirmation numbers from Nintendo, so Im going to cut this short and see what they need me to do on my end.

Goin' Shopping!

Yep...its midnight, and Im going shopping. I know this seems weird to lots of people, but when you think about it this way it all suddenly makes sense and worthwhile: Since its in the middle of the night, most people have gone to sleep right? Meaning that the stores will be empty, letting you be free to walk around the store looking for stuff without the hassle of bumping into someone every 15 seconds during the day.

I know I should really be asleep, and I admit I have bad sleeping habits...like staying up late and waking up late. But I am proud to say that when I have to wake up early, I can do it. Waking up at 4AM for work is no big deal; In fact its kinda cool to be working when you KNOW most everyone is asleep. Also...I found a cool video from Youtube, and I cant stop watching it...so much that I managed to download the video and rip the audio from it... >_> I know its bad...but now I can take the song wherever I go with my Ipod! If you are really interested, I will post the video for you all...Trust me when I say that its a little bit out there for people who are not into Anime much.

谷口は大変な物をうおわっすまんごゆっくりぃ！v2 I think the reason why this video fascinates me is the footage and how its arranged...the song is really fast and filled with crazy unnatural pacing but its pulled off very well...there are hardly any flaws in this one.... plus I cant stop watching it...as stated previously...

Mental Note: Air Guitar

What can I say? I love to strum on my Air Guitar from time to time, shutting my eyes feeling like Im really there, playing my heart for the crowds, their screams piercing the heavens above...its quite the rush. But, I will admit, when Im walkin' down the street and I start wailing on my Guitar...I get some stares. However, the fine folks over at Thinkgeek have provided an end for their stares: Air-Musician Virtual Guitar. I think this would bring the entire world closer together, in harmony as we all rock out on our Air Guitars...

Stay with me on this one....

Its quite the dozy. All right, Schrödinger's cat is a thought experiment trying to explain a certain aspect of Quantum Mechanics the thought process goes like this: A cat is put into a box that detects subtle motions of a subatomic particle and it kills the cat[thats the sad part, but not the point I'm leading to] what Schrödinger tries to explain is that until the box is opened, the cat is in a state of both living and dead.

Think about that for a moment: Something both living and dead at the same time? Its physically and practically impossible[Not to mention sad for the kitty!] So, until an observer comes and opens the box the cat is alive and dead at the same time. I've racked my brain trying to understand how something could be in both states of being at the same time...Until something recently came back into my memory: the pseudo-vampires of I Am Legend.

Although its not the most logical conclusion to come from my mind, I believe it makes the most sense of the thought exercise: Schrödinger's cat is a Zombie.

Why?...

Why do people insist on talking when the teacher is talking? We managed to get some talkers in our math class, and even when she is explaining something up on the board, they are still just talkin' away! It irritates me to no end, because I am paying for my future; and they think they are still in grade school where its all right to talk any time they want...GRRR! it makes me frustrated.

Ahhh!

I feel ACCOMPLISHED! I just got done my Computer Science homework and it was quite the dozy, but I conquered it and came through and made a snowman in the Java language! That was the assignment and I finished it just now, and also my Math is done, though its more like a refresher course right now, but since Ive been out of school for a year, its kinda nice. I also picked up the Solutions Manual which is something I have not done previously, and hope it will help me later on in the term; I know I will need it! Happiness has come back to my little place...My water heater went KIA yesterday but seems to be back on...I hope it stays through the night so I can have a hot shower tomorrow. I finished the three assignments for my CS class a week early...They are due on Monday of next week, but I will attend on Wednesday and see if he will give any hints to how to do the extra credit.

Computer troubles!

I will say this: I have always had an interest in Linux. its something new that I dont really know at all, and would like to know better. Well, since I downloaded one of the distributions (the one called Ubuntu) everything seemed to go pretty well at first. I had wireless, I had a speedy system, and a new Operating System to play with. However....shortly afterwards, my wireless device cuts out, and Im left in the cold without internet. 'oh...well it just needs a driver...' I thought to myself and tried to bring the device back online; what a joke that was. the device wasnt even LISTED inside of the OS! it was completely removed! With that, I high tailed it back to Windows...just to find the same thing!
My wireless internet device was GONE! from both OSes! I couldn't believe my eyes, and I tried frantically to install a driver to make it work; but to no avail. After I would install a driver, it would give me Code 10: Device Cannot Start. and without an Internet, I couldn't find out how to make it work. So, in a fit of irrational thinking, I deleted the section of my hard drive where Ubuntu was located, which I thought was a good idea at the time...until I rebooted my machine...

Thats when more problems came knocking on my door. When Ubuntu installs, it also includes a program called GRUB. GRUB is a boot program that detects the different OSes on the machine and lets you choose between one or the other. With Ubuntu gone, GRUB couldn't find the proper files to boot up. It returns Code 17 and wont boot past GRUB and it just sits there...

So, how amazed I was this morning when I booted my machine into Windows after doing a System Restore and finding everything working! I downloaded a program called VistaBoot Pro to clean my system of GRUB, and I thought I had taken care of it, so I deleted the Ubuntu section of the hard drive again, and after doing a restart...guess what pops up again? You guessed it: GRUB! so now...the only thing to do is install Ubuntu again to get back to Windows to back up all of my documents and programs and create Recovery DVDs and restore this computer back to the factory settings...meaning all the customization I did to this system will be lost and I will have to download SP1 for Vista and all kinds of Codecs for making AMVs and all of my music too...

So! Moral of the story? If you want to experiment with Linux, in any flavor, go to Goodwill and pick up a junker of a computer and install it there. DO NOT do a dual-boot system with any other OS. Especially if you have no idea what you are doing in Linux(like me: nOOb)

The PC that will conquer Crysis

Ive heard that Crysis the PC game can hardly be run at full frame with all the effects turned up and all the bells and whistles turned on. Well...I just rounded up a bunch of components and I think I just made the PC to conquer Crysis and give it a run for its money.

First off, we are going to need a motherboard, this one should do, and of course we need a Processor, like this one. Next we need a case to house it, Since what is a computer without a cool case? Of course we need POWA to this beast, and we will be needing lots of this goodness right here too. This is the wallet-breaker but we are going to need two of these Monsters. And last but not least, we need some place to store everything right? This one should do the trick.

There, now we have a monster of a system that will play Crysis in its sleep. I just added up the total for this beast of a computer and you might be surprised: it came to less then 2,000 dollars. The exact amount is 1968.91$

Cooking and oh yeah...

Well, I just got done cooking my first meal in this house that didn't require a Microwave. I know, its a big step, I didnt quite realize it before but Cooking requires you full attention. Maybe its because I have a propane gas stove, and it needs to be lit with a match or lighter to activate. But I really like Cooking, its kind of cool...making something with your own two hands that you eat yourself...amazing! OK Ill admit it: that last line was corny less than I had imagined, but you get the general idea.

I like this freedom from being here in my own place, its strangely rewarding that I can do what I want without much of a backlash. Though this place has really-REALLY thin walls and I can hear every drop of rain that falls on the roof of this place. But, meh; that is a small price to pay, because no matter where you go, there will always be problems with something.

...Super Smash Bros Brawl owns my Soul... I have been playing it lots over the past week that it has been released. I have every character but no where near the completion rate I want to be...lots of things still need to be unlocked...and all of them will take time.

Brawl...and other things...

All right, first off, I waited in line last night and got my copy of Super Smash Bros Brawl. I will say this: This is one of-- if not the best Nintendo game ever made. I know this a big statement but its true. The flaws from Melee have been worked out and everyone feels like their own character, no cloning here. The battles have been refined so well, you can play with anybody and have a complete blast while doing so; the Single player sect of the game called the Subspace Emissary is really amazing. I finished it earlier in the day and I have to say...I was blown away when I started playing the game....When I got home at around midnight last night, I put the game into my Wii and the next thing I knew it was 5AM. Really.

In other news, I am officially out of my residence and into a new one. Its much different than before, but it works nicely for one person. There are still some things in boxes but its not a big deal, but everything is pretty much in its place. The more I look around this place, the more I grow to like it. Its my own domain. I am my own boss, and I don't have to listen to anyone but myself; and that I think is the reason why I like it so much. There are some issues, its not perfect but it works...like I hardly have any food....I had to make myself a bag of popcorn for dinner. Meh, I will probably go shopping tomorrow and get some food for my little fridge and freezer.