Friday, October 31, 2008

Not So Much

Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
- William Shakespeare

Greetings All and Happy Halloween! It is now time for what has become my monthly blog post. Honestly, I’d post more often if there were a sufficient reason to make a post. Unfortunately, life in college this semester is exceedingly boring with very little excitement or activity to speak of. Oh, I wish I could say things were different, I really do, but alas they are not. I am stuck, frozen, static, and have been trying my best to break that monotony when possible. The best way I have found to free myself of boredom is the weekly Anime Club meeting. But, even in that there is monotony, for the weekly Anime Club meeting has become routine as well. But please, take not my woes as complaints. Rather, I ask you to look on them as incentive. They are an incentive for me to persevere. After all, I have little more than two months left here in college, then I am free. With that freedom comes change and with that change comes the unknown and with that unknown comes excitement. For us both this is good news. Something worth posting is rapidly approaching… ETA two months (and therefore two uninteresting posts) and counting.

Bad Karma or the Like Thereof
About a month ago I was asked to help a friend of a friend move a carload of possessions from one apartment to another. Halfway between the old place and the new, the “check engine” light on my car came on. Never is this a good sign. Fortunately, I was able to make it to the new place and get them all moved. I decided to head for a gas station where I could get some light to look under the hood (this move occurred at 10PM for some reason). I had almost made it to the gas station when my car started behaving like my last car did before the transmission blew. I started panicking. I made it to the gas station, but my car never moved again. It died there in the parking lot, perpetually stuck in park. A friend had to drive out from school to pick up my friend and I. A tow truck hauled the car to the nearest transmission shop.

I was now limited to two modes of transportation, my bike and my legs. The bike didn’t last much longer. The day after my car died, in fact it wasn’t even a full 24 hours later, the rear wheel on my bike quit spinning as I was on my way to Anime Club. I carried it the last half mile and after anime club a friend agreed to take a look at it for me. We discovered quickly that the bearings in the rear wheel had completely shattered. This was unfortunately no easy fix. According to the guy at the bike shop, it was going to be $60. I could almost buy a new bike for that price, so I did. Or rather, my parents did when they drove out to Arkansas with my replacement car. That’s right, a friend of theirs out in Tennessee had an “extra car” which they gave to me free of charge. That’s about the only silver lining to this tale. My parents drove it out to me about a month ago now and it has been running wonderfully. My deepest thanks goes to the Masseys who will be receiving a cordially worded note from me in the very near future.

About East Asia…
My move to Thailand is getting all nailed down. My dad was able to get in contact with a couple dentists over there who gave quotes on price and duration of treatment regarding the issue of my teeth. Unfortunately none of the treatments seem possible or promising, so I’m going to be putting off the medical portion of my trip to a later date. I’ll just tear my food for the time being, biting it will come later.

But, this hasn’t put a brake on the trip as a whole. I still plan on going to Thailand early next year to do graphic design work. It’s a job, it gets me out of the country for a while, and keeps me active until my hopeful trip to China in August. I’ve been in the application process for a while now and have only to get a couple references submitted along with my transcripts. The transcripts are still trickling in, but I have no idea what to do about the references. One of them has me downright puzzled. The application asks for a reference from a pastor at my church who knows me well. I don’t currently have a church and even at my last church none of the pastors knew me all that well to begin with. There is only one woman I would consider asking for a reference, so lets hope that works out. As soon as the application is done, which it looks to be within the next month, I’ll have a short personality survey and an interview between myself and a ten-month trip to China. It’s so close I can feel it!

The Firefly Syndrome
Six years ago a phenomenal sci fi show called Firefly was cancelled prematurely by the Fox network after it had received bad ratings. This is primarily due to the fact that Fox pulled all advertising for the show a full two weeks prior to the series premier as well as not airing the episodes in the order intended by the producers. Another of my favorite shows looks to be coming down with this same fatal disease. Pushing Daisies, a beautifully made dramedy on ABC which received wonderful ratings last season before the writers strike, has been receiving below average ratings this fall and looks to be one of few shows that is going to get dropped. I’ve never seen a show like it. It is highly stylized, hilarious, and has unique and charming characters with a story to match. Nothing about this show deserves to be canceled, but due to poor advertising on the part of ABC (I didn’t even know the show was back on the air until two weeks after the premier) it looks to be ready to push up a few daisies of its own. An unfortunate fate for a show that deserves so much better. Catch it while you can.

What I’m Looking Forward to in the Rest of 2008
To end a bummer of a post on a happier note, I figured I’d share with you a few things that I am looking forward to before the years end. First of all, in the area of music, three of my favorite artists are scheduled to be releasing CDs. Not necessarily are they all going to be released this year, but the mere prospect of their release has me all giddy. Dido, Kate Havnevik, and Imogen Heap are all working on new albums. Dido’s new album (of which two songs have already been released) is scheduled to hit shelves in two weeks and I will be there money in hand when it does. Kate and Immi are in their respective studios in Europe working hard to put out new albums as well. No release date for either one has been made known, but I am looking forward to both with great anticipation.

On the movie front there are a few flicks that have caught my eye. The new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace is nearest in its date of release. A few friends and I plan on attending the film on opening night dressed in suits and ties with martini glasses in hand. ^_^ It shall be fun. Other films in my scope of vision include the Oscar buzz-worthy Doubt, the Israeli animated film Waltz With Bashir, the English-language samurai western Sukiyaki Western Django, the 70s drama Milk, and the new Jim Carrey comedy Yes Man. Each of them looks promising and I can’t wait to see ‘em. A couple are already out, actually. I think Waltz With Bashir and Sukiyaki Western Django have already made it to the U.S. but neither are playing in Arkansas. I’ll probably have to rent them.

In other news, I’m sorry about the graduation countdown clock not working for some people, so if you can’t see it just know that as I type this there are exactly 50 days left before I am free of my undergraduate life. That’s definitely worth looking forward to. There have been a couple instances where it didn’t look like I was going to be getting out of here, but those have been resolved and all is okay with the university. Against their wishes they will let me leave. ^_^

Lastly, I am planning a ski trip in late December. It has been two years since I was on the slopes and since I have a free round-trip flight to anywhere in the U.S., I figure I’ll used it to go skiing some place I haven’t been… some place expensive. I’m thinking some place like Vail would be nice. Or perhaps I can avoid Colorado altogether and go somewhere out in Utah or Wyoming. I’ve never been skiing out there before. So, options are open to me. Since I effectively have my own snowboard (my dad can’t use his anymore and it fits me) and I have the free flight, all I’ll have to pay for is a hotel room, food, lift tickets, and transportation to and from the slopes. Yes, it’s still an expensive trip, but without having to pay for transportation or board rental, it is a lot cheaper. It’ll be a great way to end the best year of my life thus far.

Well, with that I’ll call it a post and be done. I hope I haven’t depressed you all too much and if I have, I’m sorry. I hope you all have a wonderful day and I’ll see ya ‘round!

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

Comments (1)