Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Roundup!

Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome.
- Isaac Asimov

Greetings all! It’s postie time! HEH HEH! I felt the urge tonight, as my good friend Noe can attest to. It hit me. Like a friggin brick it hit me. In the head. I think it left a welt, I swear. I’m actually seeing a black spot. Anyway, once I moved past the sudden and painful urge to blog, it occurred to me that I had WAY too much to post on. Having been about a month since my last post, a great deal has happened to me and there is a great deal worth a bit of recap. Therefore, expect a lengthy post today. Sit back, relax, and allow yourself to be pulled into the black hole that is the life of Kennedy, for it is a happy black hole.

New Semester, New Digs
With this new semester has come new challenges. I have moved out of the dorm. I’m now living with a roommate in a small one-bedroom apartment about half a mile off campus. I mostly moved out to save my dad some money. Moving off campus is saving close to $2000 on room and board prices per semester. But, I also moved out because after being on campus for three and a half years I was ready to branch out a bit. I needed a bit of freedom and a bit of privacy. And, I’ve gotten it. It’s been harder to juggle my social life and I’m still getting used to the slightly more responsibility that comes with apartment living at my stage in life, but it’s getting easier and easier as the days roll by. This is a challenge I am having no trouble overcoming.

”Hello” Again
This semester I’m back at work after having a full semester off. I’m back at the phone-a-thon again. If you don’t recall, the phone-a-thon is my university’s student call center. I and a group of about 30 other students get on the phone 4 nights a week and on Saturday morning to call alumni, parents, and anyone else connected with the university. The purpose of these calls is to update university records, have a good conversation, and ask for financial donations. It’s a fine job and one that I am moderately good at, but it’s certainly not something I like doing very much. I survive fine, though. It pays well, has flexible hours, and gives me a chance to connect with people outside the university (something I rarely get to do).

One example of this happened last Thursday night. I was on the phone with a woman who had gone through my university’s program for working professionals. She had never received a call from the phone-a-thon before and she and I had a long conversation. Near the end of it she ended up giving what has ended up being the largest single pledge yet this semester. But, before I said goodbye I remembered she had mentioned she worked for an ad agency. Since I’m currently in the process of looking for internship opportunities, I figured I’d ask if her agency had an internship program or hired student help over the summer. She responded enthusiastically saying that her company indeed had an internship program and that she’d received an email earlier that week asking if she knew any college students who might be interested in such a program. So, my call took place at the perfect time. She took my information and sent me an email yesterday detailing everything about the program as well as contact information. So, the phone-a-thon has already ended up being more than just a job this semester. I hope this luck of mine continues throughout the rest of the semester. I certainly need a bit of luck right now, that’s for sure. ^_^

Conned
Yup, I’m off to another convention, Ikkicon. I went to this one last year on my birthday weekend and this year it’s the weekend after my birthday. So far, last year’s Ikkicon was the worst convention I’ve been to. It was crowded, there was very little order, the panel discussions were a disappointment, and it was the longest drive. This year promises to be better though. The drive is just as long (9 hours one-way), but the hotel is different. The cramped space was the root of most of the problems from last year and with these larger accommodations, the convention should move along much more smoothly. Hopefully the panels will be worth going to, there won’t be any spontaneous make-out sessions in the middle of the hallway, nobody will get carted off in an ambulance, and I’ll be able to navigate the convention with little difficulty. Fingers crossed!

LOST Returns
And how I’m looking forward to it. Seriously, I can’t wait. This Thursday night I’ll be GLUED to my television. Will they actually get off the island? What was up with that flash-forward?! Who are the people on the boat and what are they actually looking for? Who is Jacob? Who is in that coffin? Does Kate like Sawyer more than Jack? So many questions! All of this stuff has been plaguing me since MAY! GAH! I swear, if they go that long between this season and the next I’ll have an aneurism. I know there isn’t much left to this show, but they have to keep the fans in mind when they determine their scheduling. Eight months is too long of a break. I'm a bit bummed they changed the night, too. By changing it to Thursday night screws up my schedule a bit. I work on Thursdays and on top of that with it being on Thursday I miss my CSI episode of the week. I guess I'll just have to watch CSI on Spike from now on. A bit of a bummer. But, at the end of it all, I just thank God the wait is over. It’ll be nice to have my LOST back. I’ve been…lost…without it. ^_^

Kennedy’s Best of 2007
If Stephen King can do it, so can I. Here is my run-down of the past year and my favorite things in it. To start off the list, here are my top ten movies:

1: The Lives of Others
2: Atonement
3: The Brave One
4: The Darjeeling Limited
5: In the Valley of Elah
6: 3:10 to Yuma
7: Paris Je T’Aime
8: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
9: The Bourne Ultimatum
10: Ocean’s 13

Now, I can promise you that list is by no means the kind of list that you’ll see any respectable movie critic publish. As much as I like to think I have good taste, the movies are still mostly about entertainment for me. Therefore, I see different things in movies than what the critics see. Anyway, the next list is my top ten music albums of the year:

1: Melankton - Kate Havnevik (US Release)
2: All the Lost Souls - James Blunt
3: Icky Thump - The White Stripes
4: Minutes to Midnight - Linkin Park
5: Little Voice - Sara Bareilles
6: It Won’t Be Soon Before Long - Maroon 5
7: One Cell in the Sea - A Fine Frenzy
8: The Reminder - Feist
9: Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace - Foo Fighters
10: Blood Stained Love Story - Saliva

Unfortunately the Foo Fighters CD is so far down on that list because I haven’t had the chance to actually buy it yet, which means I haven’t heard the whole thing. But, from what I have heard it sounds amazing, though I can’t be sure of that.

Lastly, I come to the list of the top ten happenings in my life. These are the ten things that most impacted me as a person in 2007, some of which are still having an effect on how I live my life today.

1: Move to Chattanooga, Tennessee
2: Anime club dispute and ensuing blog fiasco
3: Account overdraft
4: My 21st birthday
5: Fall semester without a job
6: Computer replacement
7: I become anime club president
8: Clumpies Ice Cream
9: Growing closer to old friends
10: A-Kon 18

Of course, some of those events had a CONSIDERABLY greater impact on me than others did, but overall they have each left a mark on me as an individual. I can’t wait to hear what else 2008 has in store. It’s already seen my move off campus as well as another convention, and that is only the first month and a half! Will this year be a good one? I really hope so. Have a great day everyone and I’ll see ya ‘round!

Phone image by chira-chira on DeviantArt.com

Caesar1280's Anime Ticker

.hack//Legend of the Twilight, Air, Air: The Movie, Akira, The Animatrix, Appleseed, Aquatic Language, Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror, Beck, Black Lagoon, Blame!, Blood the Last Vampire, Bokurano, Burst Angel, Castle in the Sky, Cowboy Bebop, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, Digimon Tamers: The Runaway Digimon Express, Egao, FLCL, Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala, Gankutsuou, Gatekeepers, Genshiken, Ghost in the Shell, Ghost in the Shell: Innocence, Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society, Gin-iro no Kami no Agito, Grave of the Fireflies, Grenadier, Haibane Renmei, Hellsing, Highlander: The Search for Vengeance, Hikaru no Go, Howl?s Moving Castle, Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade, Jyu Oh Sei, Karas: The Prophecy, Last Exile, Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, Midori?s Days, Milennium Actress, Mushi-shi, My Neighbor Totoro, Naruto, Naruto: The Movie, Nausicaa, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death And Rebirth, Ninja Scroll: The Movie, Other Worlds, Paprika, Perfect Blue, Pet Shop of Horrors, The Place Promised In Our Early Days, Prétear, Princess Mononoke, Read Or Die, Read Or Die: The TV, Samurai Champloo, Samurai Seven, Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal, She and Her Cat, Spirited Away, Steamboy, Tide-Line Blue, Tokyo Babylon, Tokyo Godfathers, Trigun, Voices of a Distant Star, Witch Hunter Robin, Wonderful Days, Wrath of the Ninja, X

Anime I've Seen - .hack//Legend of the Twilight - .hack//Sign - 5 Centimeters per Second - Air - Air: The Movie - Akira - The Animatrix - Appleseed - Aquatic Language - Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror - Baby Blue - Beck - Black Lagoon - Blame! - Blood the Last Vampire - Bokurano - Burst Angel - Castle in the Sky - Cowboy Bebop - Cowboy Bebop: The Movie - Digimon Tamers: The Runaway Digimon Express - Doorbell - Egao - FLCL - Fullmetal Alchemist - Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala - Gankutsuou - Gatekeepers - Genius Party - Genshiken - Genshiken OAV - Ghost in the Shell - Ghost in the Shell: Innocence - Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society - Gin-iro no Kami no Agito - The Gokusen - Grave of the Fireflies - Grenadier - Haibane Renmei - Happy Machine - Hellsing - Highlander: The Search for Vengeance - Hikaru no Go - Howl's Moving Castle - Innocent Venus - Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade - Jyu Oh Sei - Karas: The Prophecy - Karas: The Revelation - Last Exile - Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi - Midori?s Days - Milennium Actress - Mushi-shi - My Neighbor Totoro - Naruto - Naruto: The Movie - Nausicaa - Neon Genesis Evangelion - Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death And Rebirth - Ninja Scroll: The Movie - Other Worlds - Ouran High School Host Club - Paprika - Perfect Blue - Pet Shop of Horrors - The Place Promised In Our Early Days - Prétear - Princess Mononoke - Read Or Die - Read Or Die: The TV - Samurai Champloo - Samurai Seven - Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal - Serial Experiments Lain - Shanghai Dragon - She and Her Cat - Spirited Away - Steamboy - Tekkonkinkreet - Tide-Line Blue - Tokyo Babylon - Tokyo Godfathers - Trigun - Trinity Blood - Vampire Hunter D - Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust - Voices of a Distant Star - Witch Hunter Robin - Wolf's Rain - Wonderful Days - Wrath of the Ninja - X Total: 93

Anime I Haven't Completed - .hack//Roots - Ah! My Goddess - Angelic Layer - Avenger - Baccano! - Bamboo Blade - Basilisk - Binchou-tan - Black Cat - Bleach - Blood+ - Boogiepop Phantom - Case Closed - Le Chevalier d'Eon - Chobits - Chrono Crusade - Code Geass - Coyote Ragtime Show - D.Gray-Man - D.N.Angel - DearS - Death Note - Dennou Coil - Desert Punk - Digimon - Dragon Ball Z - Ergo Proxy - Eureka Seven - Excel Saga - Fighting Beauty Wulong - Final Fantasy Unlimited - Flag - Freedom - Full Moon - Gantz - Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Gintama - Glass Fleet - Great Teacher Onizuka - Gundam Seed - Gundam Wing - Hayate the Combat Butler - Hellsing OVA - Higurashi no Naku Koro ni - Ikki Tousen - InuYasha - Jigoku Shojo - Kage Kara Mamoru - Karin - Kino's Journey - Love Hina - Loveless - Lovely Complex - Lucky Star - Makai Senki Disgaea - Marchen Awakens Romance - Meine Liebe - The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - Mononoke - Monster - Moon Phase - Mr Stain on Junk Alley - Naruto Shippuuden - Negima?! - Negima! - Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion - Nerima Daikon Brothers - NHK ni Youkoso - Night Walker - Ninja Nonsense - Noir - Peacemaker Kurogane - Pokemon - Prince of Tennis - R.G. Veda - Ragnarok - Rec - Red Garden - Robotech - Romeo x Juliet - Rosen Maiden - Rurouni Kenshin - Saikano - Sailor Moon - Samurai Deeper Kyo - Sci-fi Harry - School Rumble - Scrapped Princess - Shin-chan - Shingu - Shion no Oh - Shuffle! - Shrine of the Morning Mist - So Long, Mr. Despair - Solty Rei - Sousei no Aquarion - Speed Grapher - Spice and Wolf - Super Milk Chan - Tales of Phantasia - Tenchi Muyo - Tenjhou Tenge - Texnolyze - The Third - Tsubasa Chronicles - Urusei Yatsura - Venus Versus Virus - Welcome to the N.H.K. - Winter Cicada - X-1999 - Xenosaga - XxxHolic - Yu Yu Hakushou - Yume Tsukai - Zero no Tsukaima - Zipang Total: 116

Manga I've Completed - Cowboy Bebop - FLCL - Manga Messiah - Manga Metamorphosis - Q*Ko-chan - Saiyuki - Shirahime-Syo Total: 7 Manga I Haven't Completed - .hack//Legend of the Twilight - Black Cat - Blame! - Chobits - D.Gray-man - Darkside Blues - Death Note - The Demon Ororon - Desert Coral - Disgaea - Eureka Seven: Gravity Boys and Lifting Girl - Fruits Basket - Getbackers - Hayate the Combat Butler - Kamunagara - Legal Drug - Love Hina - Loveless - Megatokyo - Naruto - Negima - Read Or Die - Rurouni Kenshin - Tactics - Trigun Maximum - XXXHolic Total: 26

Anime I'm Currently Watching
Samurai 7, InuYasha, Samurai Deeper Kyo,
Boogiepop Phantom, and Shrine of the Morning Mist

Manga I'm Currently Reading
Read Or Die, Hayate the Combat Butler, and Megatokyo.hack//Roots, .hack//Sign, 5 cm per Second, Ah! My Goddess, Angelic Layer, Avenger, Basilisk, Binchou-tan, Black Cat, Bleach, Blood+, Boogiepop Phantom, Case Closed, Le Chevalier d'Eon, Chobits, Chrono Crusade, Coyote Ragtime Show, D.Gray-Man, D.N.Angel, DearS, Death Note, Dennou Coil, Desert Punk, Digimon, Dragon Ball Z, Ergo Proxy, Eureka 7, Excel Saga, Fighting Beauty Wulong, Final Fantasy Unlimited, Flag, Full Moon, Gantz, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Gintama, Great Teacher Onizuka, Gundam Seed, Gundam Wing, Hayate the Combat Butler, Hellsing Ultimate, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, Innocent Venus, InuYasha, Jigoku Shojo, Kage Kara Mamoru, Karin, Kino?s Journey, Love Hina, Loveless, Lovely Complex, Lucky Star, Makai Senki Disgaea, Marchen Awakens Romance, Meine Liebe, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Mononoke, Monster, Naruto Shippuuden, Negima?!, Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion, Nerima Daikon Brothers, NHK ni Youkoso, Night Walker, Ninja Nonsense, Noir, Ouran High School Host Club, Peacemaker Kurogane, Pokemon, Prince of Tennis, R.G. Veda, Ragnarok, Rec, Red Garden, Robotech, Romeo x Juliet, Rosen Maiden, Rurouni Kenshin, Saikano, Sailor Moon, Samurai Deeper Kyo, Sci-fi Harry, School Rumble, Scrapped Princess, Serial Experiments Lain, Shingu, Shuffle!, Shrine of the Morning Mist, So Long Mr. Despair, Solty Rei, Sousei no Aquarion, Speed Grapher, Super Milk Chan, Tales of Phantasia, Tenchi Muyo, Tenjhou Tenge, Texnolyze, The Third. Trinity Blood, Tsubasa Chronicles, Urusei Yatsura, Welcome to the N.H.K., Winter Cicada, X-1999, Xenosaga, XxxHolic, Yu Yu Hakushou, Yume Tsukai, Zero no Tsukaima, Zipang

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