31.3.04

Longest. Day. Ever.

Forget about the whole “days get longer in the summer” deal. I just experienced the longest day ever… Quite literally, it was well more than 24 hours. I’m too tired to count it all up, but a quick estimate shows it to be around 40 hours in all. How did I pull this off, you may be asking? I’ll tell you, the International Date Line, she is a bitch. Our plane left Hong Kong at approximately 10:30AM on March 30th, and, after a 5 hour layover in Tokyo, Japan, we landed in Honolulu, Hawaii, at 7:00 AM the same day… OW.

So, what did I do with my extra big day? Quite a bit, of course. Waking up early sucked hard, especially since I’d stayed up until about 1 that morning. It was worth it, however, because in the extra time I had in Hong Kong’s airport, I picked up the one, the only, the tape-deck that is far superior to 6 construction trucks, SOUNDWAVE. WAHOO!!! Oh, and Lazerbeak, or Condor, as the Japanese box declared. WHEE! I’m pretty sure that I can’t pick this guy up in the States, so he was well worth the $505HK – about $65US – at the time. He is an absolutely awesome Transformer, even if he is just a reissue from the 80’s. He can fit Lazerbeak, or any other Transformers Cassettes I have, in his chest compartment, but that was to be expected. The big surprise for me, actually, was that his guns, both the shoulder mounted thing and a cylindrical missile launcher, both “transform” into AA batteries to power Soundwave as a tape deck. As a tape deck, the only way I can describe his form is ‘tight’, both as a synonym for awesome, and as in, not loose. He just sits there, you know, like a little box, being awesome. It rocks.

Anyway, after the short hop over to Tokyo, we meandered around for a little bit. Little Clara took to walking like she’d been doing it all her life, and apparently the only thing holding her back was the tight spaces of the hotel rooms we had been staying in. Also, at the gift shop, I picked up another Transformer I didn’t recognize at all, actually: Skids, so now I have an Autobot to bow before the majesty of Soundwave. Er, I mean, heroically defeat him, of course! I also managed to pick out the one thing I had been unable to locate in China: manga in English. It’s a bilingual edition of Love Hina 1, the story about a 19-year-old HS graduate who is trying to pass the entrance exams to Tokyo University, where his true love was supposedly waiting for him. He has failed for almost 2 years now, with his abysmal grades making it seem hopeless for him. His parents finally got fed up and kicked him out, and here the story begins, with him arriving at his grandmother’s hot springs hotel, hoping for a little charity, only to discover that the hotel is now a girl’s dorm! Full of very good looking young ladies, too boot! After a series of misunderstandings, the lucky guy (who I’m too lazy to look up the name of right now) is given the job of caretaker or the facility while his grandmother is off on a globe trotting adventure. Yep, you pinned me, I’m a sucker for Girls Manga, it seems, though this one is a lot more male oriented than Chobits was, plus I read Megatokyo and .Hack//Twilight, so I’m not ALL girl, or w/e. Anyway, that’s enough of that.

The plane ride from Tokyo to Honolulu was aboard a nice 777, complete with personal view screens, and so on. I got to watch a couple of movies. Loony Tunes: Back in Action was alright, as was The Rundown, though neither was “Oscar Quality.” Who wants to watch Oscar Quality on an airplane, anyway? Actually, I did watch Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon on my last trip to Hawaii. It was n the way back actually, and the movie really wasn’t easy to follow along with. Subtitles plus tiny screen equals no good. Meanwhile, the two today were just stupid fun. I didn’t even pay much attention to The Rundown, actually, because I found Zelda to be more entertaining, while The Rock did his thing as a background to my Hyrulian adventure. On further evaluation, though, I need to stop passing up the complimentary head phones, and claiming that “I have my own. While it’s true that I do, they hurt more than the old ones did, because they clamp onto your earlobes with springs… They’re not that bad, and I like them because they will easily fit into a pocket, unlike most hard-form head phones. The ones I got are the Sony “W.EAR” ones, or “H.EAR” or something. They’re round, and have detachable covers to make them look schnazzier. “Yay” for non-endorsed plugs.

Anyway, I got to Hawaii safe and sound, and somehow before I had taken off that morning. It was odd to know that after all that traveling, I had to live out another day still. Oh well. I did manage to get in a shower, a nap, a trip to the beach, another shower, and still some time to chat on the computer. Oh, and for those of you interested, the time difference between here and Texas is four hours, New York is 5 hours, and California is 2 hours. I have yet to meet anyone online who lives in the Mountain Zone, though, which is odd… someone had better move there.

Ah yes, I told you this was something I considered to be the best day of my life. I got Soundwave, and successfully completion of my goal for the Japanese airport (getting a manga book). Being in Hawaii is another plus, but the REAL big news, I guess, is that… I GOT ACCEPTED INTO COLLEGE!!! Texas Tech, to be precise, among others, but TT is where I’m going. I’ve currently got Matt researching what all needs to be done to make me his roommate next year, which will kick ass. We will have quite possibly the 1337357 dorm out there, and definitely one of the most sleep-in-iest. O.0 W00t.

Oh, and a quick note on hotel accommodations, the one thing dampening this otherwise perfect day. I’m stuck sharing a room with my grandfather and Uncle David. First off, having my own room in Hong Kong after PJ and Danny left was a very nice thing, even if it was just for 2 nights, and now I’m jammed into a room with two people again, and stuck on the rollaway again and this time, they’re both older, and more uptight (although PJ could be a little annoying on his own, riding my ass about how I’m always on the computer, and how I couldn’t get into college. On the one hand, I’m glad that he can’t make fun of my non-college-ness EVERY DAY anymore, but on the other hand, “Can you spell ‘COLLEGE’”, which he said at the dinner table, was really quite funny. Sorry PJ, if you’re reading this, but the joke is only funny in moderation.) And the worst part – Uncle David snores. Ugh.

Okay, here’s a trivia note, this is the second blog I wrote in Word instead of just in the Blogger page like usual. The reason? The stupid guard downstairs didn’t want me plugged into the wall there, and that’s where the internet is in this damned hotel, so I’m only getting one hour bursts on the ‘net. Oh well… See you guys later!

29.3.04

AGH!

Okay, this is probably stupid, ranting at like midnight, the night before a big flight... More on that later. Anyhow, howdy from, er... Hong Kong, actually. Yeah, I sorta managed to miss resetting and telling you all where I was.. My bad. Anyway, I'm back online, and have a bunch to talk about... Here goes.

Stage 1: Traffic - (Where the hell did that format come from?!) Here in Hong Kong its not nearly as bad, but both here and in Beijing, traffic is a nightmare. It doesn't help matters that traffic signals, when they do appear, are regarded as mere suggestions by the local drivers. The funny part about it is, that even though there is nearly 0 KPH (Kilometers per hour - more on metric in a bit) traffic constantly, people are actually nice about it. You don't yell at the jerk because he cut you off, you respect him for being the better driver and making the gap. You're gonna get there eventually. That seems to be the prevailing logic. And for all the amazingly dangerous-seeming driving done by nearly all of China's one billion people, I've seen not a single accident my entire stay here... Freaky, no?

Stage 2: Metrics - (Don't worry, I won't keep this up any more after tonite...) Why is America still using Imperial Measurements, when the rest of the world has adapted to the wonders of metrics. Metrics, quite frankly, rock. They are like what we use, on crack, or speed, or acid, or all three, or whatever it is that make you see colors and understand the universe better. And no one else still uses the Imperial Measures, even England, and they fucking invented the stuff! Metric are the world standard, and the U.S.'s refusal to accept them just shows what big jerks we are. Ugh, take me now, Australia...

Stage 3: Manga - Dunno if I should be saying this, but, (not like its a top secret project, I guess) I've recently joined up a project with a couple of friends to make a real live manga, hopefully to enter TokyoPop's "Rising Stars of Manga" contest, number 4. Even if that doesn't work, I'm still pushing to get our work published online, the way Megatokyo is. In any case, I unfortunately have no artistic talent at all (even my handwriting is terrible, as anyone who's seen it knows), but I DO have the ability to write. I had an unused story idea bouncing around my head, which involved an imaging effect that a written would never be able to convey fully, so I jumped at the chance to get it into manga format... I'm just hoping my friends can draw the effect based on my crap-tacular description of it. (Don't worry, its not the plague survivors story I mentioned months ago and never got around to starting.) I don't really want to tell you that much about it, because very little has been finalized at this point, and so much of it is up in the air, but... AHHH!!! I'm just bursting with excitement about the project, which I guess gets the code name of "G.S. Calista". (I'll leave you to wonder and guess at the meaning of that title.) I had to tell someone, even if its just to tease you with a lack of information. Hell, if you got me online, I'd prolly spill a little something about it... ^-^

Stage 4 - Departure: Once again, it's time for me to get on a plane. No, I'm not going home, though that reminds me of something strange. The most common question I've gotten while on vacation is "What time is it there?" followed by "Oh, its 'X:YZ' over here." Sigh... But the second most common one is "When are you going home?" or "Are you back home yet?" by people I have never met IRL before... It's downright disturbing, and makes me wonder how bad it will get if I'm ever in Fred's (of Megatokyo) position with Calista. But no, tomorrow I head to Hawaii. WHEE!! People will finally SPEAK ENGLISH! WITH A MOSTLY RECOGNIZABLE ACCENT!!!! Heh. For a place with one of the official languages being English, they really don't speak it that much... It's better here than in Beijing, but still.... Plus, tomorrow I'll be staying in the Japanese Airport for 5 hours... I think I've mentioned this, but... gotta get some anime / manga stuff in Japanese, so I can learn it! Heh... *Puts on "Real Emotion" from FFX-2.*

Stage 5 - More on China: I have had some fun out here, yesterday I went to see the giant Buddha on some island I'll never remember the name of, but, whoo boy was it BIG!!! It was foggy, though, so he wasn't really clear. I got to go up, see the "Relic" (a tiny crystallized piece of the Buddha this temple is made for, or whatever), and then I saw his face. It was smiling. ^-^ My one note, though, and this isn't the only place, but several temples (all the ones I went to) had merchants selling tourist crap to everyone. I just keep thinking back to that one biblical story, replacing Jesus with a chubby Buddha, going "YOU HAVE TURNED MY HOUSE INTO A DEN OF THIEVES!!! *Lifts up table to try and flip it, but is too fat to do it.*" (I know he's not that fat, and could easily take the table, but he's also enlightened, which I'm hoping involves pacifism. It does for me. ^-^)

Alright, Stages complete. For your bonus question, here's a quote from the Jackie Chan movie "The Medallion" I saw tonite:

Jackie - "What are you doing? That's a temple! You can't take guns in there!"
Cop - "It's alright.. See these guns? They're holy guns."

22.3.04

Okay, Enough Barbie



What's with you people? Do I need a sign? "I WANT READER FEEDBACK!" Somehow, I don't think that will work. If my "guess the quote" thing, and then this "vote on Barbie" poll failed to attract ANY attention... I dunno, is anyone reading this thing? Not that I care, it's just... Talking to your echo ain't always that entertaining, you know?

But echo I shall. Went to the great wall today. And lemme tell you... It's not so great. That whole "visible from space" crap is just that: a load of BS. Its like 10ft wide. Literally. And I don't care what P.J. says, walls should be even and flat, NOT built with stairs going up at sixty-plus degree angles. Ugh.. I'm getting tired just thinking about it. I'll talk about other stuff later. Like the traffic that only Matt would feel at home in. Later.

19.3.04

Who Wants To Marry An American Idol?

I know, I know, you want to hear about how awesome Beijing is (and it is pretty awesome, at least some of the time), but tonight, something far more important has arisen.

...Holy Crap, I just checked CNN.com looking for a link, and I saw this. Please note, this is NOT my original intent, but this could spell trouble for me and my vacation. (!.!) My new background, which this thing won't let me show you, is very amazing, and fits my reaction perfectly. Ask me about it some time, won't you?

But back to my original story: Barbie and Ken have broken up. This should be old news, but anyway, the new question is, who's next for Barbie. The question was posed by my cousin, who promptly shot down many of my suggestions. I thought they were good, though, so I'll tell you, after I finish the set up. Back in America, Lena, my cousin, saw the commercials for the new Fox reality show, where a girl tries to pick from 10 guys, 5 straight, 5 gay(my cousin is to young to understand this; she just saw them as being poor picks), for her soul mate. If she picks a straight guy, they split the $100,000 prize. If she picks a gay one, he wins it all for himself. Anyway, Lena suggested this format for the dating selection of Barbie's new boy from my long list of fictional characters. This time, instead of using Gay choices to fool her, a few characters are thrown in who already have girls for them. (Actually, that rarely came up, but when it did, that was how we explained it.)

Here are your candidates, in no particular order.

G.I. Joe - A Real American hero, Joe is a classic match for Barbie after her break up. He just seemed like the next in line. Problem is, he's almost TOO cliche. Plus, with the recent war in the Middle East or wherever, Joes gonna be going a lot more, and coming a lot less. So this may not be the best time for him to get in a relationship.

Michelangelo - The Orange Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Of all the Ninja Turtles, Michelangelo seems to be the one who's most likely to end up with the blonde bombshell. All of the anamorphic ninjitsu were dismissed by Lena as just being flat out wrong, but I'll counter that with my end all statement, "Ninjas can do ANYTHING.

Optimus Prime - The Autobot Leader. If there's one thing a girl likes more than a guy with a cool car, its a guy who IS a cool car. Plus, he's gentle, caring, and kind, a perfect gentleman, er, gentlebot. And he will kick ass if you're in trouble, a good trait in any boyfriend.

Bumblebee - The Autobot, um... Volkswagen. Okay, I cheated and did two Transformers. But still,you gotta admit, he's a lot cuter than Prime. The friendliest Autobot by far, he also has the added bonus of being a VW Beetle, a car Barbie has been known to drive. AND HE'S CUUUTE!!!

Batman - Billionaire Super Hero. He's rich and amazingly suave as Bruce Wayne, and then he's the ultimate fighter at night. And again, going along the car theme, he's got a fast one. A little dark for Barbie, but still. And Barbie's been a superhero, so she can keep his secret, and maybe help a little in the insanity department as "psychiatrist Barbie."

James Bond - The Sean Connery One. None of the others work, really. But Bond, James Bond is every bit as suave as Bruce Wayne, even while he's actioning it up. His car is almost as cool as Batman's, not as fast, and not the same bells and whistles, though it does have the same amount or more of weapons. And it looks better, for Barbie's purposes.

Luigi Mario - Italian Plumber in the Mushroom Kingdom. The problem with both Bond and Wayne is that they are not know for keeping girls for long term relationships. And they ARE somewhat secretive, not much to tell Barbie when they get home. No, what she needs is someone like Luigi. He's got a steady job of plumbing (I think he works for the Mushroom Kingdom as they're personal Green Pipes repairman and Turtle Remover). He has super powers (only when he eats a Magic Mushroom - Drug Therapy Dr. Barbie, anyone?) And though his brother always gets the girl, he still trucks along; he's determined! I think it's high time he got a girl.

And some other random ones for you to consider:

Bob The Builder: This suggestion was by PJ, and made me laugh out loud.
Pikachu: More as a pet, but still.
The Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: Ummm... Maybe not.
Link: I'm pretty sure he's not really with Zelda, she just tells him stuff to do.
Ben: Rhymes with Ken.... I don't know who Ben is, but it means that Barbie will only have to change one letter.
Anakin Skywalker: He's taken by Padme`, but he's still a Jedi, and that's worth points.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: The Episode II version, not the old/dead one from the classic trilogy, more Jedi, less female attachments.
Piro: After all he's been through, he DESERVES Barbie. And look at him, he's practically beating them off with a stick.
Largo: Wait, no, that's not good.
Han Solo: Everyone loves a scoundrel. (Including his wife, Leia... D'oh!)
Indiana Jones: On a par with Bond, Wayne, and Solo, but he has a track record of KEEPING the ladies throughout out a whole movie.

Okay, there are your many candidates. I'll leave the voting up to you. Write in candidates are allowed, and guess what, I'll even add them to the blog, with YOUR NAME! Wheee....

Holy shit, that last bit took a harsh turn towards giddy, so I'd better get to sleep. G'night, and good voting.

17.3.04

Greetings From Beijing!

WOW! I GOT FREE INTERNET!

Okay, that's out of my system. In other news, English fluency has dropped approximately 400%. And this place is drier, which doesn't help our problem of non-drinkable drinking water. And I get stuck on another cot.... Oh yeah, you guys don't know the story yet. Here goes: We arrive in Hong Kong, and as soon as we realize that I am sharing a room with my brothers, I got out-dibbed by PJ and Dan, and was relegated to the cot. The Whole Time. Flash forward to the room, and I find that the cot is, in fact, much preferable to the singular Queen bed the other 2 now have to share. ^-^ I used this opportunity to remind them that they had insisted that we not rotate, so they could be nice and cozy the whole time. Wasn't that nice of me? Of course, we eventually got traded into room with 2 beds, and I still was stuck in the cot... Until they leave and i stay. Course, I'm prolly gonna get stuck with Uncle David, and he SNORES! And he's gonna go to sleep at like 7pm, or whenever we get back in from dinner, whichever comes first. That will make it VERY hard for me to get online... OR, it will make me go to sleep and wake up earlier. Yeah, I actually like that idea, so I can talk to you all when its evening over there. ^-^ again.

God, I just got shocked by my computer. It sucks over here. The dryness, or something, is causing a great deal of static electricity between me and any other metal surfaces. This country HUUUUURTS... I wanna go home! And I miss all of you so much, even the one's I only know online. It's weird, I know, but I'm a weird kinda guy.

OH! I gotta tell you about my mini adventure today. See, the rooms power needs for you to insert your keycard in a certain slot for it to work. And as my brothers left for dinner (I wasn't hungry) they took the card, draining my power. And then I couldn't find them. I ran down to all the restaurants, and no joy. So I ran to the lobby desk, and got an extra key. Yay. Hey, I told you it was a MINI adventure.

Okay, I gotta go off. I love all you who I usually say that to, and tolerate the rest. Bye.

16.3.04

Even More, Still In HK

Hey, short one today. I finally got an internet card, so I have some more online time. And... Um... I saw what they called a "Laser Light Show," which was really just some lights and lazers on top of tall buildings, moving from left to right. It was cool, because it had some music going to it, and narration in Cantonese, so I couldn't understand it.

Anyway, then today I went to the famous Ocean Park. It was alright, as theme parks go. I saw a panda, and more advertizements with pandas. Eating WAFFLES! And the Cartoon picture of it was just... I know it's the wrong language, but, KAWAII! ^-^! They had outdoor escalators there, the longest in the world, it seems, which is nice, until you realize it's the only way up, and a tremendous bottle neck when its closing time. U.U

Couple of things. Tonite, in a few mins, I'm going to eat at the Bostonian. Last night I was at the Main Street Deli, which is fashioned after New York. So much for foriegn food, eh? At least I've avoided the McDonalds. Also, I noticed something I've never seen in America: Billboard advertisements for BRAS. I remember, before reading it, thinking "Whatever they're selling, as long as its not the bra, I'm gonna buy two of it." So, I guess their ad failed.

Alright, I really MUST eat now, or so my blonde cousin tells me. BTW, apparently she's such an oddity to the locals, she got stopped several times to get her picture taken at the Park. Go figure. Okay, bai bai.

14.3.04

More From HK

Ah, the sites. Still no sighting of the blitzball stadium yet. But I'm sure it's here. It's just hiding. How the hell do you hide a giant floating ball of water? I don't know. But I'll ask them when I find the thing. Maybe I'll learn to breath underwater.

Anyway, today was about being a shopping tourist. Or maybe a touristy shopper. Either profession works over here. There are many malls, most of which are English oriented, at least partially. I went to one earlier this morning which was like an old-timey market place, where you could haggle. It was cool. I found some magic booster pack that were selling for less that 2$US. I thought that was rather good, and wanted to try and get some Chinese Language cards, so I went and bought five of them. So I open them, and… they’re counterfeit. They were a mix-mash of Onslaught, Mirrodin, and 8th, and they each had one WHITE BOREDED foil… WTF? Anyway, um… Anyone out there want a couple of very fake Broodstars? ^-^

Later we went to the mall, and I managed to get PJ somewhat lost while attempting to find the Toys’R’Us so I could view the transformers. Unfortunately, all I found were the ones I already had. Major bummer.

The internet here is a tad odd. I got a Dial-Up Card so I could use the internet , and it went stupid on my ass. Then I plugged in the network cable, which costs me even more money (Though not much, thankfully), and THAT’s being crappy, too. Sigh. Why do I even bother. I’d better get off this and quit wasting my grandpa’s money. (I’m gonna pay him back!...)

Oh, for those of you curious, the last post, which I put up an hour before writing this, was written the night before. So… It’s all screwy. But if you’re dying to chat with me over AIM, like I am with all of you, well... I’m on at around 7-9AM central time, so wake up early to talk to me. Bye.

Greeting From Hong Kong

Okay, I’m in China now. Or rather, Hong Kong. It seems they’re not as connected as you would think… I’m still going to need a passport to get into Beijing… Who the fuck runs this country? Oh yeah, commies. Oh yeah, they’re probably reading this now. Umm… Thank you very much! ^-^!

Okay, a few ground rules here – I don’t have a decent internet connection, nor a dependable power source. Yet. For a big name international hotel, you’d think there’d be at least ONE American style power outlet, but NO... And the internet costs $4HK ($0.50US) per MINUTE! So I’m getting like five minutes online per day… and no, I don’t know when that’s going to be. I’ll most likely be just long enough to send off e-mails that I wrote previously. That, unfortunately is it for me. (u.u) I’m already missing AIM.

The flight was… Well, technically, it was 16 hrs long. However on the one hand, it didn’t really feel that long. And on the other hand, well, I could believe in the 30 hour time zone difference from when I’d left. That is, the 16 hour flight plus the 14 hours that I now am ahead of all you Texans. Those of you in other states, attempt to calibrate using your own knowledge of time zones. You guys are smart. I know you can do it. (If you don’t, then cheat and e-mail me. I’ll try and get a reply out quick as possible.)

Hrmm… bedtime approacheth (I’m writing this at 1130 local, and I am TIRED from a 16 hr flight, so shut up.) However, before I sleep, I shall give you my first impressions of Hong Kong. It’s an awesome city! I mean, its beautiful. I drove in from the airport in the early evening (on a bus actually, and guess what, my family is large enough to merit our own bus at 10 people. Whee!). Anyway, the view was spectacular. There was a heavy fog, so you could just barely make out the hazy outline of green mountains behind a brightly lit cityscape. And the city is just… If any of you have ever played FFVII, or whatever, and looked at the cities in that, well, I used to think that they were just fanciful imaginings of futuristic cities, until now. Yeah, that’s right. Hong Kong is Zanarkand. Tomorrow I’m gonna go find their blitzball stadium.

Oh yeah, and in the airport, they had the coolest signs for in case of fire emergency. It was a white on green drawing of a stick man running from wavy flame, I think. The sign was just SO FUNNY, though, that I got my aunt to take a picture of it. After she gave me a funny look, she took it for me, and I’ll show you as soon as it’s loaded onto a comp. Its just… O.O! hehe.

Okay, that’s enough for day one. It’s almost Sunday out here, so I’m gonna hit the hay. Night night, even though when this is actually posted, it will…. Agh, temporal headaches galore! L8r!

11.3.04

More Pre-China Madness

Hrmm... I just got an interesting letter from Texas State University. Basically, it was just saying they got my SAT scores, which is nice. Included in the letter, however, was the following little bit:

"Your SAT score report indicated Undecided as your first choice for a major. The program at Texas State that best corresponds to this is Undecided. Your name will be forwarded to that department for further information."

They have an Undecided Department?! Wahoo!!

In other news, and in continuation of my last post, which is frustratingly below this one, making it hard to chronologicate between them. Anyway, as I was saying, I finished Chobits. That done, I have moved on to a new series. .Hack//Legend of the Twilight, a rather interesting tale about two adventurers who take on the roles of the legendary dot-Hackers of old, in a MMORPG called, originally enough, "The World". Oooooh... Anyway, it ends up being a story somewhat like the Matrix crossed with Lord of the Rings, in style. I can't really explain it, because my head hurts right now, but, rest assured, I am enjoying it.

Actually, I am enjoying it so much that I now have a new goal. I want to save up enough to buy my own PS2 (yes, that DOES end up being redundant... Fuck you, Redundancy), along with a network adapter and FFXI, plus the HDD. I believe that whole package costs near $300, but its not that bad. Maybe 3 weeks worth of working. Well worth it. And yes, you read that right, I want to get FFXI. I don't know why, but I suddenly have a great urge to play a MMORPG. All I needs is the money... And I'm not really dead set on FFXI, either. But something cool and new. If I get back from China and EGM says its no good, then I'll find something else. Are there any good ones you guys play, so I might find you while online? Hrmm... Oh well.

And now, the long awaited review of "The Passion of The Christ." Normally, I dislike spoilers, because I'm never good enough to not read them, then I get mad at myself for spoiling the movie. However, this movie merits them, so, here goes:

***WARNING - SPOILERS***
Jesus dies.
***WARNING - SPOILERS***

Yeah, anyway, that's the whole movie. It is a powerful one, I suppose, for what it is. That being two hours of Jesus dying for our sins. Whether you believe that or not, you do have to admit he went through a lot of punishment for it. Personally, I don't believe He, or anyone else, is responsible for my sins but myself. I suppose I'm just odd, but I don't like the idea that the actions of one man (I don't care who's son He was, He's still a man) 2000 or more years ago can really have any impact on me today. I don't see the correlation. That said, if you want to see the visual representation of Christ being beaten, tortured, and dying, then go see the movie. It delivers that, if not much else.

I probably missed the point, but, eh, so what. I'm done.

So Much Blogging, So Little Time

...And it's So Damn Hot.

Tomorrow I leave for China. Woo. Don't worry, folks, I'll keep an online diary of sorts here of my exploits, if I can get online, anyway. So you can look forward to that.

Sorry if this post jumps a bit, my mom is making me clean before we leave. So I'm getting sidetracked easily. Speaking of which, my doctor seems to think I may have a slight case of ADD. Whee. In other good medical news, I got my self retro-actively withdrawn from ACC. Take that, temporal physics. Heh. *Plays "Johnny B. Good" at parents prom.* Whee, time travel is fun. I wish I had some of that. Mmmmhmmm.. I'd use it to get my ticket taken care of ON time, instead of a week late like I did yesterday... u.u Luckily, I was able to write a letter to the nice Judge and ask him to forgive my one week late-itude. Because it wasn't my fault. Like, honestly. Seriously. ("Sewiouswy, you guys..." - Homestar Runner)

Hrmm... On the Manga front: I CAN'T FUCKING PRONOUNCE THAT WORD. I keep trying to say it "Man-Ga", with an "EY" sound at they front, when it should just be "ma-n-ga". In short, the first a should sound like its from the word "Ma", not from the word "Man." Or maybe its like the word "man" when said by a Jamaican. In any event, I finally finished Chobits. And all I can say it, the ending is awesome. Like, I was nearly in tears it was so good. It's beautiful. I'm not going to ruin it for any of you who've not yet reading (i.e., you lazy bums) but... Wow. (BTW, if you want spoilers, read on a bit for my review of "The Passion of The Christ.") So, now that that's done, what now? Well, I still have Megatokyo to read and collect. I've been searching for the reissue of book one for the past few weeks, because Waldenbooks said it should have come out Feb 12th. Course, then Suncoast Video says this morning that it will be released the 20th of this month. AND I'M GONNA BE IN CHINA THEN! Fuck. Agh.

Um... I'm being called on a lunch break. I can't decide whether I should edit this same post later, or just do another. Oh well, I guess you'll just discover what I did later on. Bye

9.3.04

Back From The Underground

So I'm back from being grounded. And my leg muscle is spazzing out beneath me. Not so much that it's like jumping around, but more like a twanging of a guitar string. I shifted my legs, though, so now it is alright.

Where was I? Oh yeah, being grounded. I had a doctor's appointment a few weeks ago... Friday the 10th, I believe. And I went and missed it. Now, usually, when I do something like that, miss an important event, it's more of me going... "eh, fuck it" and just ignoring it. This time, though, was different. I completely forgot I had the appointment at all! It never once registered on my brain. So its NOT MY FAULT! But I got grounded from the computer and TV for it. It was only supposed to be for a weekend, but I got caught going back online again, so it was extended. Twice. Anyway, here I am, back in freedom.

And now that I'm free, I'm going to tell you people something, just so I don't stumble on it in the future. I've prolly already told many of you this, but for the rest, well.. Here goes. I'm bi. Wow, that feels good to get out. But yeah. Not like really really bi. For starters, I still dislike the idea of anal sex, with a guy or a girl, giving or taking. Assholes are not fuckable orifices in my book. And 2nd, all you ladies out there who are starting to get disappointed cuz there's gonna be less of me to go around, don't fret. I'm still mostly heterosexual. There is just one guy who I consider my boyfriend. I'm not going to say who he is, because I respect his privacy on this matter, and realize its a sensitive issue, but he knows who he is. And he knows that I love him very much, and that he is the only guy I could ever think of the way I do him. *sighs.* !!EDIT!! Oh, and btw, I only have this guy as a bf online. I've never met him in person. I'm still every bit as virginal with my own gender as I am with the fairer sex. !!EDIT!!

Okay, enough with the mushy. For those of you who are worried, don't be. I'm still the same Greg I've always been, and you can feel free to ignore that whole last paragraph. It just feels good to get that out in the open. Just remember: for the most part Greg <3 (o)(o)'s. ^-^