Sickness... Blech

Do you remember the last time you were sick? Do you remember how annoying that headache was and how you didn't feel like doing anything? This isn't the not doing anything where you play games. This is the not doing anything where sleep sounds like an exhausting activity. This is what plagues me currently. I have no incentive to do anything, but a 9AM quiz pulled me out of my room. Rargh.

So being sick really sucks. And on top of that it's hot. I guess sweating out all the bad stuff isn't so bad, but I'm also terribly dehydrated constantly. I guess you take the good with the bad and I'm certainly getting a lot of good. I guess that's what happens when you get all that tons of bad like I did this summer. But thinking back on it, I really would be missing this good. I'm glad that shit went down, cause it certainly came back up! And that sounded worse than I intended...

Anyways! I hope to get better soon, cause I like doing things. Anything at all would be nice. I just don't wanna be bedridden anymore.

While(Lukas.has(girlfriend)){productivity--}

I guess it isn't a bad thing to want to put all of your free time and effort into another person, but it really makes it hard to do anything else. I can't imagine telling her that I would rather play a game or write up some random thoughts. I would just feel bad. It would seem to me like ignoring her, even though that's not what I'm doing. I have this guilt issue. I am a gentleman because I would be guilty if I wasn't. It's just the way I was raised. I like the fact that my parents raised me this way. It's not that I like feeling guilty, but rather that I like feeling this overarching necessity to do good, even when no one is watching. I suppose it would be strange to many people who are of the moral opinion that it isn't who you are, but how people view you. I just believe that I am better as a person for being good no matter what the situation. I also think that it's heavily in my honest nature. I am continuously honest. Since I can't lie about who I am, I have to be who I want to be, rather than putting up that front. I guess it all depends on standpoints and such things. It's very easy for many people to be selfish when there's no good reason not to. I guess that actually makes me irrational for acting in a certain manner without giving any reason.

Anyways, being completely honest makes it terribly simple to love a person. I don't care what usage of love you are thinking of, but I mean sharing everything with a person. I have this feeling with so many people. I share everything with more people than most. These are the people that I love. I'm sure that they love me too. Many couples stagnate when there's nothing left to talk about. Some would say the love is gone. Still, I have tons of things I still need to say to my best friends even though I've been unloading everything on them for years and years. I think this shows love. I've said everything to them, but I still have so many things to say. The difference is that when someone is around you all the time, it's easy to forget that there are things you haven't talked about. There are always random discussion topics. There's always that ability to think back to something you haven't remembered in years and just bring it up arbitrarily in a conversation. If you can't think of things then just google "discussion topics." It returns rather interesting results. There are so many things that I never thought to remember. Do you guys remember Dr. Suess books? Have you talked to anyone about them recently? What about getting lost in stores as a child? Was there ever a time that you had a unexpectedly great or shitty day at an amusement park? Have you ever just sat down and had an argument over the merits of chocolate vs. vanilla? I personally love both and could run both sides of that debate. Then again, there's the "flavorless" sweet cream ice cream. It's kind of amazing how good plain frozen milk tastes. Just remember that there's always something to talk about. If you can't think of anything, it's probably because your mind is full of all the wonderful things about the person you're with. Either that, or you're just trying to hard to think.

I think that it's important to keep putting all of yourself into a person. You'd be surprised how much they don't know about you. You'd be surprised how interested most people are in finding out about you. Just give it a shot. Open yourself to the world.

Sarcasm!

I like it. Sarcasm. I like sarcasm a lot. I use sarcasm a lot. I find though, that it's important that people understand when I use sarcasm. I know a person who can never tell when I'm being sarcastic. This was bad. Whenever I talked to her, she thought I was incredibly offensive. She thought I was seriously when I said that stupid people should go die. She also thought that I took everything terribly personally all the time. I'm surprised that she could survive having taken everyone at exactly their words. I feel that she would be left much too gullible.

So... I say things in a way that is incredibly offensive to tons of people. People who don't know me well find me to be a judgmental and arrogant. People who are closer to me think I'm nice and friendly. People who are even closer to me know that at heart I'm really just judgmental and arrogant. My sarcasm is sometimes a front, but other times it is truthful. This is to keep all my friends on their toes. Actually... only a few people can actually tell every time I'm being sarcastic, even in my close circle of friends. Sometimes it surprises me, but then again, there are still times when even I don't catch the sarcasm of others. This upsets me every time it happens. I wish I was more sarcasm aware.

Anyways, I think sarcasm is part of my whole hipster persona. I'm not actually hipster (in my opinion), but I have been described as such. There are many attributes I have that do contribute to the hipster image. For one, there's the whole sarcasm thing. On top of that I feel the need to be the first or best at everything. Competition is just one of those things that is inherent in my nature. However, the other part of it is that I have the need to be influential. I feel influential if I have persuaded certain people to certain activities or likes and dislikes. This is the case if I am the first to show my friends something cool. This is why I feel the need to have a strong indie cred. It's not that I wanna be cool, but that I want to fell like my friends like having me around because I introduce them to things that they like. I like feeling important. And to some extent, I think we all do.

Goodnight. And tomorrow, go out and make the world different, because you're in it.

Weekends and Megaman

Could anything be more depressing than a college kid who dislikes Fridays? I seriously wish the weekends could remain farther away. It's mostly because I don't find the school work any more difficult on weekdays and classes are often a joke, but my friends who go home for the weekend, I wish I didn't have to live without.

This weekend is especially annoying. Not only do I have to miss some friends, but I also have to miss some food. It's Yom Kippur and as a good Jew I have to fast. I don't mind fasting, but I need to find something to occupy my time with. The tradition is to fill that time with Torah study. I don't have any Torah to study, nor would I know where to start. Therefore, I think I might need to actually do my homework. I probably will end up procrastinating it like usual, but I wish it was not so, if only because of the fact that it's a holiday when we're supposed to study.

Anyways, I really wish that I had a more active social life. Sometimes I don't mind all the free time, but other times I wish it was just filled with more stuff. I guess boredom isn't that terrible of a fate, but it certainly isn't fun.

Anyways, I'm gonna feature another old school game because I like those things and I feel that they all need a bit of love.

I played through the first 3 or 4 Megaman games for the first time over this past summer. It was certainly an interesting experience. After having played many Megaman X and Zero games, the first Megaman games weren't as difficult as I had been led to believe. It's true that there's no dash or charge shot, but the simplicity actually means that it's no surprise when you meet the next piece of the stage. When playing Megaman X there were times, not often but there, when I didn't know how to get a particular secret or powerup. I did not have those moments in the original Megaman games. If there was an obstacle, you could either press A or press B and get through it pretty adequately. I was happy in the third (I think) where the slide was added into the games. I was waiting for it, but I wasn't sure when it would show up. The charge shot, for which I knew Megaman, only appeared in the 4th game (again... I think). This surprised me quite a bit. I was also surprised to discover that the first game didn't have the stereotypical 8 bosses, but instead 6. Though, they did have a couple terribly hard stages. After a play through, the whole thing became easy to repeat. I find that the first Megaman game was very much a memorization platformer. You had to remember where to jump just as much as you needed to time or place your jumps. I know I'm not saying it properly, but I mean that I need to remember where to jump. I can't just watch and jump in real time. These games were good. I wouldn't recommend them over newer Megaman games, which is strange because I tend to love retro games. Though, I would recommend Megaman games in general and I wouldn't say it a bad thing to play the first few games. I actually find them solid games and entertainment if you have nothing but a Nintendo emulator and tons of free time.

Too much Stimuli

Rargh... I wasn't planning on not updated yesterday, but I didn't realize that I wasn't going to get home until about 1 in the morning. I went to a concert. Actually, I was invited to a concert. I think it's the first time I've been asked on a date. I personally love the fact that I know a girl who is willing to ask out a guy on a date, rather than waiting for the guy to ask her out. Well... I did ask her out first, but I'm not one for waiting and watching and subtlety. I tend to just go out and do stuff. I do observe, but only when I don't have anything to actively accomplish.

The concert I went to featured a band named Ludo. There were other bands there too, but they aren't the ones that we went for. The band is really awesome, and all of its members are pretty cool dudes. (Resisting the urge to meme all over that sentence(That's what she said?). Okay, back to maturity.) The band members all came out after the show and talked to their fans. I was really surprised cause the singer acted like a douche on stage, but then was completely not a douche when talking to his fans. I guess he just has a stage presence that he kind of makes up. It isn't surprising that he does this. It just didn't register to me that he did.

Rargh. All this talk of bands makes me want to have music, but I think it would be pointless without a music player. I still want an Archos 5. On top of that, I would like a pair of Grado's SR60i with which to listen to my Archos 5. Most of Grado's products are wood paneled, which would make me feel awesome, but I recognize that the money I'd have to put into that wouldn't be worth it. The money I would put into a pair of SR60i would be worth it. They look awesome, and I've heard that they sound awesome too. I really have this strong urge to buy them. I've only heard good reviews.

One thing that really shouldn't factor into headphones buying but does is aesthetics. I know a lot of people find skullcandy headphones to look pretty and sound great. I really don't agree with the looking pretty part. The sounding great part, I can't rightly say since I haven't listened to them. Then again, I haven't listened to a pair of SR60i either. All I'm going on hear is reviews. I guess for the 30$ price point skullcandy has, it isn't a bad set of phones. Still, I have to believe that the 80$ cost for the Grado cans gives at least 50$ more worth of quality. Well, I don't have to, but I want to. It would make me feel better in justifying an 80$ purchase. Still, I need a music player before I can even begin to justify more money spending. I already have a headset for my computer. Getting headphones on top of that would seem just... stupid to me. Also, my headset is a nice pair of 60$ turtle beach cans with an adjustable mic boom and active noise canceling. This makes games much better. For music, I don't want to block out the world. I like the idea of still being able to hear friends while listening to my music. I feel differently about games. When I play games, I really want nothing to distract me. Games are important to me. Perhaps they are more important than they should be.

In summary, I need music, but I need a music player to justify music. I need cans, but I'd need a music player to justify those too. However, the music player I'm looking at is too expensive to justify. Therefore, I have to wait for a large sum of money to randomly come my way so that I can buy all 3 of these things. Then I can be the snooty hipster that I've always wanted to be (/sarcasm). Then I'd be less bored walking between classes or in other forms of transition between locations. Also, this summary is getting too long so... by for now.

Dexter Plug

I enjoy Dexter. I might enjoy this TV show a little too much. I certainly hope it doesn't say too much about my personality. I think the problem is that I agree with the show a little too often. The world could definitely be a better place if a couple of the people in it were missing.

One thing I noticed about the way I watch shows is that I continually put myself into the shoes of my favorite character of the show. Dexter happens to be my favorite character in Dexter. This doesn't mean that I go around killing people, but more that I think more objectively. I also replicate his stride to some extent. Watching this show makes me take his presence, while not reproducing all of the same actions that he does. I don't have to commit murders to feel emotionless.

One of the things that I noticed about Dexter is that he does have emotions. At least, he has had emotions recently, and he really doesn't seem to know what to do about it. I don't even know if he recognizes they're there. In fact, from re-watching the show with friends, I notice that he's had emotions since the beginning. They become more evident later on, but they don't just appear from nowhere. This reminds me of the movie Equilibrium (also worth a plug at some point). They all say that they have no emotion, but even the people who are on the special medication show happiness or depression. They just stifle it harshly. I believe this is kind of like what Dexter does. He doesn't actively suppress it, like the drug in Equilibrium does, but he tends towards behaviors that are wholly logical and this pushes out any chance of expression for the emotions that he does have.

Many have labeled Dexter a psychopath. This bothers me. Why is thinking something out logically make a person a psychopath? Most smart people already think they're above the law. The next step is only getting away with it. I know many smart people who do drugs because they know that they won't get caught. The only difference between them and Dexter is that Dexter knows how to not get caught for crimes a little more difficult to pull off. I don't see why executing justice can be considered a bad trait in a person.

Obviously, I don't agree with serial killers in general. Most serial killers have no moral reason for picking their victims. Many times the logic of a psychopathic murderer doesn't resemble our own logic. However, Dexter's logic not only resembles ours, but resembles the logic we sometimes wish we had. Dexter's emotionless is something many of us couldn't live with, but I still posit that he isn't emotionless, but has a very good control of his emotions. This is certainly something that many of us have wished to have at one point or another. I mean, his emotional control is the reason for his logical nature; the bits and pieces of him that look so desirable.

So here I stand, claiming that we all have a little Dexter in us all the time. We all have a little piece of logic that shines out even in the most stressful times of life. There is even a darkness inside each of us. I think it's amazing that Dexter can analyze situations so perfectly most of the time, even accounting for human psychology, but still can't see that he's not that different from other people. He just knows how to get away with it better. He continually tells himself that no one is like him, but he's not the messed up one. The people that he takes out are the messed up ones. He's just a cleaner of the scum of the earth. Dexter is an inspiration. He doesn't inspire me to kill, but to make the world a better place. Dexter is a positive influence and should be a staple of any TV viewer's diet. Watch it.

2 Week Hiatus

I was gone for a while. I did not die moving in. I was not crushed by a futon. I just had things to do. Sorry about being absent on a 2 week hiatus. It wasn't planned. It should have been, but I really underestimated how hard getting back to work can be. All that homework and stuff just started. There was no slow moving back into the school year, but rather 5 professors all giving me several hours worth of work a night. For some reason, I don't believe that they understand that I have other classes. Maybe it's because they consistently do only the work for their own class. I'd like to see professors have to go to other classes while teaching their own and not complain about the workload.

Many things have happened these past two weeks. I moved back into college dorms and got myself a new roommate. I didn't just meet him, because we've been planning to room together for quite a while now. Still, it took some convincing to get our room in order. Now the futon is all set up and both of the beds are lofted. I would really prefer if the projector was already set up, but I not surprised that it hasn't been mounted yet. I wonder if the power cord is long enough to reach where we want to put it. It should be, but I'd rather not just assume it is, because it's still possible that it isn't. Once that's done, I'll be showing fun shows to lots of people whom I want to hang out with more often.

This reminds me. The number of friends that I have has gotten larger. Lucy called me early on and invited me over a few times. I have been hanging out with her more often than last semester, but I don't know if it's her fault. It could easily be her roommate's fault. These are two of the people whom I hang out with considerably more than previously. There are also many new freshmen on our floor and I'm really not complaining about them. Most of them are pretty cool dudes. My roommate complains about the fact that they're all dudes, but I really like not having to fend of girls with a stick every time I return to my room from the shower. That would require actually bringing a stick with me to the shower, which would be awkward.

Regardless, I also have been playing less games and watching less TV shows. This makes it harder to review things. However, I have caught up on all 4 seasons of Dexter. I've been debating a Dexter plug (cynical way to say feature), but the series is still on going, so I don't know how proper my review would be. I think I'll do it anyways because the show definitely is good enough to merit the growth in audience.

Speaking of watching shows, my friend Scott got my Linux partition working a ton better than it did previously. Now I can actually play TF2 in Linux! Have I made a TF2 plug yet? I suppose I should get to that soon enough. TF2 is worth at least 5 or 6 plugs, but I have a feeling that people would be upset with me if I did that many.

But speaking of Linux partitions working, one thing that used to only be semi functional was the flash playing ability of Linux computers. Somehow, Scott's fix made my flash player work at crystal clarity. It runs full speed with no skipping (which used to be a very large issue). It's almost like a new computer. I also got my touchpad to start functioning again after a bug that seemed to plague all Lucid Lynx installations of HP laptops. The last issue with my Linux partition is that window borders randomly disappear, but the quick fix to that is to reload the window manager. I think it happened because my Linux wasn't sure whether it was using Compiz or Metacity. Selecting either one fixes the problem. If this means nothing to you then... well I'm not surprised. It means very little to me, other than the fact that I can have multiple desktops with pretty window animation and that when people are looking over my shoulder I can piss them off by making my desktop rain. This makes more sense than you think it does. Trust me.

I've gotten off track twice now, but the flash player working in Linux is actually really great. Since my desktop computer is all pushed into a corner, it isn't very personable. However, I can set up the laptop anywhere that is convenient. This means that I have tons of freedom to watch shows where ever and whenever I want, which leads to watching as many shows as I used to, and therefore having just as many reviews. This could be good or bad, depending on my commitment to finishing work before watching random stuff on the internet. It also depends on my getting a decent pair of headphones, and how visible they are in class. I might be a problem if I spend all my time on Toradora or Fruits Basket. I know these are both "girly" shows, but they have both caught my interest. No one ever did tell me the premise to them before, but then again, I never really asked.

Also exciting in the past 2 weeks is that I got delicious candies. Milkita's are like tootsie rolls, but for people who like good chocolate. This may be judgmental of me, but I really do believe that tootsie rolls don't use the best of chocolate (even they even use chocolate at all) in their production. I'm also pretty sure that these Milkita candies do use real chocolate, because the taste difference is like the difference between Hershey's and Milka's Alpenmilch. That, for all you confused people, is a chocolate bar that frequents the shops of Germany and makes it a much happier country than the one I currently live in. If Milka was introduced to America, policies would be changed. Grumpiness would no longer be allowed, but it wouldn't matter because no one would have any reason to be grumpy anymore. They'd all have German chocolate, and that would be all that matters. Basically, candy who's name starts with "milk" is an influential factor in my life. I wonder if that's a bias... I surely hope it is, because I don't mind loving things with milk in them.

Til the morrow, when I'll hopefully remember to post again...

Moving

Going to college today. I have words, but they do not convey what I'm feeling. I think that's how I've felt for a good chunk of "while." Well, now I'm sighing, because I know that I have to fit a couch into a dorm room, and I know I'll be rarghing when it inevitably doesn't fit. I really don't know if it will, and since god is still spiting me, I'm sure it won't. Then again, today could easily be a turning point. God could prove that he has feelings for me other than malice. I wonder how it's going to go. I wonder if god will forgive me. I wonder if my friends will.

That being said, I'm still not sure if I even believe in god. Though, I don't think that has much to do with moving. Maybe it does though, in that I have something to blame my moving misfortune upon, even though I know it was all my fault. He made me do it?

No. I'm the one sitting here and procrastinating by writing a blog post instead of actually working on moving. I wonder how late I can procrastinate this and still get all my stuff in on time. It really shouldn't be that hard, considering that I only really feel the need to move in a minifridge, computer, and clothes. The futon and other necessities can all come later since I live so close to home. Also, there won't be any space for the futon until at least a week from now. We didn't order bed lofts and there will probably be some repercussions because of that. For one, there won't be any space for moving in a couch.

I also don't know how I'm going to be able to set up all the electronics that I plan to move in. I will need a power splitter, and a surge protector would be nice. I think I will also need about 2 feet of extension cord, which is expressly forbidden from the dorm rooms. Thankfully, it would be hidden underneath a sleeping implement, be it futon or bed.

I wonder when most students are planning on moving in. Are they all going to come at 4 or are many going to wait until the last moment. And then, would that last moment be on Sunday at 10pm? I assume people will be moving in all weekend, but there's no easy way to be sure of that. I also assume many people are going to be late, but once again, I can't really know until I see it. I also think there are going to be quite a few people who showed up a little early, and will therefore be waiting for the 4pm opening time, so I don't really wanna catch the opening rush.

There are just so many things to consider when moving into a new room, and it only becomes a ton more hectic when hundreds of people are doing so simultaneously and in the same building.

Just thinking about all the things that are supposed to happen today is making me nervous. I generally am not nervous at all, but right now I can't stop the shaking. I've moved in to a college room before, but this is a new day. It's one I haven't experienced before.

The Beach!

I went to the beach today. I was almost dragged there. I guess though, that made me like it even more. I think when I expect something to not be fun, it ends up being more fun than I expected it to be. I think this makes a ton of sense.

Activities that were done today include eating breakfast at Bob Evans, going to an arcade, getting fries and ice cream, playing mini golf, buying candy, and eating calzone like foods.

I like eating, so that was great. I enjoyed my omelet smothered in hollandaise, even though I'm fairly picky about hollandaise sauce in general. However, they had good hollandaise and used it in the meal well. I am happy with Bob Evans. I will have to return to there at some point in the future. This is what I do with things I like. I repeat them. I also liked the calzone, though I'm not sure if that will be a repeatable experience. It may be one of those experiences that I like, but not love enough to do a million times. In fact, I probably won't seek out a Bob Evans, but I've seen them on the road before and I acknowledge that I would now be willing to go to one in the future. Boardwalk fries and ice cream are things that I already knew I loved and will probably get every time I go to the beach.

As for the playing mini golf, I enjoyed it much more than I usually do. Often, I find mini golf to be really fun, but today I didn't think I was going to have any fun. That all changed though, when I decided to own everyone that I was playing with. Winning always makes an experience better. Well, it doesn't always, but it is a common trend.

As for the candy, I haven't actually tried it yet, but I'm sure it will be delicious. I have chocolate things and caramel things. These are some of my favorite things to have. I also bought a box of taffy, because I almost feel like I have to every time I go to the beach. I think it's because my dad always buys a box of taffy that he shares with me when we go to the beach together. He likes taffy because it's one of the few candies that he can actually eat. Being allergic to bread sucks when even some puddings are thickened with flour.

So, all in all, it was a fun day. I enjoyed myself. I think I do that often when good food is involved. I still want to be a chef some day.

Packing

Or not packing, as I'm procrastinating by writing this post. I have to move in to my school dorm this week. I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I want to be with all of my friends. On the other hand, I don't think I really want to be around people ever again. Truthfully, the classes themselves don't factor into my feelings at all. Some will be boring. Others might possibly interest me. I'm not taking enough classes for it to really matter all that much to me.

My classes are strange to me. I'll be taking 3 electrical engineering classes and a physics class. I'll also take the required Scholars course. Variety is the spice of life, right? So school will be about as bland as white bread with a glass of water. I don't need to be interested in my classes, as long as I take them and do well in them. I just need to make sure that I care enough to actually put in 3 seconds worth of effort on my homework. I'm sure that my roommate will bother me about doing homework since I'll bother him about the same thing. It would be hypocritical of me to tell him to do work when I'm ignoring work that I have. Though, hypocrisy has never actually prevented me from being a douche before. It only makes me hate myself.

Anyways, I need to put stuff together for moving into my room with said roommate. We have plans on the room arrangement, but I'm not sure how we're actually gonna do it. There are still some factors that we aren't clear on yet. It is important to know whether or not the bed lofts are wider than the couch. This shall all be figured out soon, and truthfully we'll loft our beds either way. We will need to if we want enough space to set up the projector. This will be our replacement for the TV that we won't have.

Now I'm going to have to find a way to move a couch and a projector. After that I'll need to move a mini fridge and my computer. After all of those things, I'll still need clothing and toiletries. I hope that that's all, but I really doubt it. Last semester I ended up moving out with 3 times as many things as I moved in with. I think it's because we emptied out my room at my mom's house when she decided to rent it out and move in with her new husband in Germany.

My reluctance now involves lots of heavy things going up and down elevators, in addition to the thing about wanting to curl up into a ball and burn the whole world. If I burn everything that could possibly hurt me at some point in the future, then I'll never get hurt again. Except maybe by the flames. Also, I wouldn't be too keen on all the burning people. I generally like people. Having people burn would be a bad thing.

Anyways, I feel the need to give the disclaimer that this semester will be filled with lots of rarghs and sighs. Packing will get many of those out of the way. It's hard not to sigh when stuck with the daunting task of moving a couch into a dorm room, and it's hard not to rargh when said couch doesn't fit through the doorway. So then, let's kick it off with a long sigh inspired by looking around at all the things that I need to put in bags and boxes. *Sigh* I suppose it need to be done, and once it is, I'll be able to just crash and never get up ever again.

Kirby Superstar

I feel able to review this game because I've played through it in its entirety at least 3 times. I love it. There's something about power stealing that just draws me. It's there in the Megaman games too. However, the way that this game does it kind of floors me. It has several games in it, and though power stealing is in all (most) of them (not the minigames), it's represented differently in every single one.

Truthfully, this game has many games in it. They all play similarly, control wise, but they all present them differently. Spring Breeze is what you think of when you hear Kirby. It plays how most Kirby games do. Dynablade has levels. You can go to whichever level you like and carry powers between them. The Great Cave Offensive is one long expansive world with only doorways between areas. There are boss fights and checkpoints, but no over world map. If you want to get back to the beginning, then you have to play through it until the end, or start a new game. Revenge of Meta Knight plays like a Mario game, in that every level has a timer that you race against. Then lastly, my favorite game in the collection is Milky Way Wishes. You can pick any power at any point, but only once you collect the statue for that power. I think this is the best way to put powers into a game, since you can play whatever you want whenever you want. This is how most Megaman games operate, which is why I'm a fan of those as well. Though, I've been liking Megaman Zero more and more these days. I think that I just enjoy having multiple different ways to kill people at my disposal.

I also liked how Kirby Superstar allowed co-op in a game that used to be built for only one person. Your helper would take on the presence of one of the enemies of the power he was using. This meant that helpers using the plasma power don't have to touch the ground. They could fly wherever they like. Also, the wheel helper could actually be ridden by Kirby. This interaction added something to SNES 2 player games that I hadn't seen before Kirby Superstar. Donkey Kong Country 1, 2, and 3 were all great games, but they failed to provide the second player with anything to do while they waited for the first player to die. Kirby Superstar also provided a way for the second player to catch up to the first without things like the bubble in the recent New Super Mario Bros. The bubble worked out, but sometimes I found it easier to ignore than and let it find me, rather than going out and grabbing it myself. The recall feature in Kirby Superstar was much easier to use. It also came out over 10 years earlier... Games don't always progress as time goes on.

Another great thing that Kirby did was that it had very brightly colored maps. Some people don't like this, but I personally found many Donkey Kong Country stages to be very dark. However, Donkey Kong Country did have very beautiful graphics. Also, for those of you who think bright or light colors are bad, please play Yoshi's Island. This game was full of pastels, but the detail put into every single stage really shows that impressionist painters deserve much more credit than they are often given. Pastels and surrealistic shapes can also be incredibly detailed and shiny. I use the term shiny here to mean very nice to look at, rather than having a high spectral reflection value. I know that isn't really the definition, but I like it none the less.

Regardless, back to Kirby Superstar. This is one of my all time favorite Kirby games. It even has one of the best selection of powers. The only one that I can think of that has more powers is Kirby 64, but most of those powers seemed to be filler, rather than fun to use. I think they were running out of ideas on how to use those power combos at some point. Though I do really like the curling iron power. Ice and stone are not particularly fun alone, but together they make a ridiculously strong power. I think there should be more power combination games. I enjoy those.

So to sum it up, this is a great game. I've loved it enough to play through it multiple times, and still have the original cartridge. This makes me feel less bad in downloading ROMs to play on my laptop. If you can get a (legal) hold of this game, then I strongly suggest trying it out. I've enjoyed it on every single play through. It's even one of the few platformers that becomes more fun with friends. (In my opinion, NSMB did not become more fun with friends. At least, it wasn't because of the game that it was more fun, but because of having the friends around, which I could have with a single player game too.)

Bleached... Blond?

So I decided that I don't like my hair being as dark as it is. Or I should say, as it was. I decided to go ahead and bleach it. I asked my friend to come over to help me. Neither of us have ever done this before. By the way, the smartest way to do something is with someone else who has never done it before. This definitely ups the clueless factor when both people are meandering around asking each other if it's being done right.

The box said that the hair bleach should be left in for 30 to 60 minutes. I guess that would work if the bleach didn't take 2 hours to put in. Again, this was a first time sort of deal for both of us. It took much longer than it should have, but it all worked out in the end. My hair is much lighter than before.

I've got to admit, it does look rather artificial. I don't mind. Actually I like it. It has this neat effect where it fades from blond into brown near the tips. I'm not saying that it's bad. I'm just saying that it's easy to see that it is not a natural color.

Truthfully, the color isn't really blond. It's more like orange. It makes sense because there have always been red hair genes in my family tree. I just never thought that I got any of them. I thought that my hair turned from blond when I was young to brown as I got older, but it seems that it was actually a dark red hair color. I am pleased with this. I've always wanted to be a red head. Now, it is a fair bit light for red hair, but I like it.

The experience also had an interesting effect on my psyche. Now when I look in the mirror I say to myself, what is that poser trying to prove? Then I realize that it's me. This will absolutely make sure that I learn to not judge before I actually talk to a person, since I know I'm not terrible to hang out with and I currently look like the kind of person that I wouldn't want to associate with at first glance. I'm classically conditioning myself to be less judgmental. I'm happy with myself for doing this. I also feel like a nerd now.

Angel

That's the second show down. I think it says something when you watch an entire season of a TV show in 4 days. I think that thing that is says is that you have no life. I really don't think I do have a life anymore. I'm okay with that. I'll have a life again when I get back to school.

So anyways, I've finished Angel. I've watched all of it. The one thing I noticed is that after season 4, they kept mentioning Buffy characters, but never had one make a guest appearance. They almost did, but then they skirted around it very slyly. I wish they had actually pulled Buffy into the show, but I guess she wasn't important enough.

Another thing I noticed is that Buffy took the entire last season wrapping up the series. Angel took about... 2 episodes. I was watching and waiting to see if they were going to get some big bad to show up, but unlike in Buffy, they actually go out and look for the evil, rather than waiting for it to mess shit up. I like this about Angel.

Also unresolved was... everything. They gave a cliffhanger to a season ending show. I guess it isn't as bad of a cliffhanger as is the Sonic the Hedgehog ending, but I still wish that this show had another season more than I wish Sonic did.

Joss Whedon did as Joss does. He made me like every single character in the end. Unfortunately, then Joss did as Joss does again... I'll leave that one unanswered for the people who still want to watch the show.

I feel like I haven't laid down any spoilers yet. I wasn't planning on it. Though I feel the need to say that there's one thing I notice in almost every TV series that I kind of dislike. They always start out funny, in order to draw us in, and then become really serious after a season or two. Buffy does it after about 4 seasons. Angel managed it in 1. I understand that Angel is supposed to be dark and dreary, but I like myself some comedy. I want a reason to laugh. Unfortunately, decapitation does not make me laugh. Angel surely had a lot of that. If I found that funny, then I would have been set.

So if you're asking, then yes. You should watch this show. I've heard it described as Batman in LA, which is fairly adequate, except that Batman has no sidekicks and never actually kills anyone. Angel also makes villains that I can like more than the heroes. Which reminds me. Angel has also made me refer to good people as "champions" much more often than I did before. It seemed to be a keyword of the series. I don't find this a bad thing though. I like calling my friends champions. I hope they don't mind being called champions.

So the show has adventure. It ventures into comedy. It has deep seeded themes and messages. It really is a sophisticated show, at least compared to most of what I watch. I will always have complaints with Joss, as I will with any director or writer, but that he makes bad shows isn't one of them. For those of you that didn't follow, this means that he makes good shows.

P.S. This is an opinion. You don't have to like the show, but I do recommend that you give it a try.

Workless Summer

Work was fun. Then it became boring. Then it started being pretty terrible because I was making quite a few mistakes. Now I have no more work, and I'm not feeling any better about where I am and what I'm doing. I'm not saying that the grass is always greener, but I realized that there's as little to do at work as there is here. I thought here would have games and free time to travel and visit friends, but I was wrong. Friends don't want visits. They have a ton of stuff already on their plates.

For example, school is coming up. I need to move in on Thursday. I thought it was Saturday, but I was wrong. I need to check in and move shtuff on Thursday of this coming week. Then I get the one weekend to hang out with friends before I have to get back to the grindstone. However, this grindstone will involve tons of friend meeting and happiness. Though I doubt I'll be able to participate in this happiness. I'm going to have so many things on my mind that I won't be able to emote much at all.

Then again, I find that will be much better than being bored here. Still, the grass is not always greener. Before I had a job, I knew that I didn't want one. When I was in school, I wanted it to not end. I know where I want to be. I want to be in an endless semester. Of course, if it's endless then I don't have to worry about finals and grades, since I usually only worry about that stuff the last few weeks of any semester anyways. I just want to live with the people that are the most important to me, and make sure that they stay that way.

Anyways, bitch bitch bitch, moan moan moan. I think I'm just complaining into the internet know, because I do have things to do. I just don't wanna do those. I want to do other things. Things that I can't necessarily do. This is just laziness turning into boredom. Really, I'm complaining about nothing, but like complaining, so I'm giving myself a reason to do so. Well, if you read my blog, then you already know that I complain frequently, so I don't know how much you mind me doing so again. Hm... I think I shall go back to game reviews. I do have time to do them, since school doesn't start up for another week. I guess then I would appease myself while helping my wonderful audience. It would be a win-win! Yay!

Car Troubles

It's amazing, really. I think some higher power is trying to stop me from going to capoeira anymore. At first it was just leaving work a little too late and then getting lost. That was Monday's class shot. I figured it was my fault. However, today I was on my way to Wednesday class when my car broke down.

I was driving through Silver Spring, going to Takoma to get to my class, and got to a red light. I stopped the car. Then, standing there, not moving at all, I heard a pop. All of a sudden there was this white gray smoke flowing up into the air from under my hood. I was so frightened. I thought my car was going to catch on fire. I pulled over and called AAA. They came and towed my car to the local auto shop, where I waited in the rain for an hour when my dad finally came to pick me up.

Sometimes it's just bad luck. This was torrents of terrible. It's like tons of little sucker punches. The first few don't hurt, but eventually you're bruised and they're still hitting you. It just doesn't feel good. Unfortunately, my first hit was already a sucker punch that knocked me flat cold. Now fate is just kicking my body all over the asphalt. I really cannot wait for school to start up again. I need to get out of this hell hole called Silver Spring and this depressive funk called my life.

Work is over

I'm done with it. My work will be ending soon and I will be preparing to go back to school. I have quite a few things on my list of stuff to do. I have to make sure that my class schedule works. I also have to pack up what I want to bring to school. It shouldn't be hard, because I planned out most of what to bring last semester.

There are also a few things that I want to do before school starts again, but don't particularly need to. I was thinking about bleaching my hair. I've been thinking about it for a good chunk of time now, maybe half a year, but this is truthfully the first opportunity I will have to do so. I don't know why I want to do it. I just feel like it. This is good enough for me.

On top of that, I feel the need to hang out with friends one last time before school starts again. Though, this probably won't actually happen. It's unfortunate, but realistically I'm just going to hide in my room for a week and a half. I'll emerge when necessary.

Also, status update on my personal goals for change. I am getting in fights with the father very infrequently. It only happens when he yells about something I didn't say. He asked about my school dorm bill and I said, "Okay. I'll find the information. I don't have it off the top of my head because I didn't know that it was my responsibility to remember it." He heard, "Paying the dorm bill isn't my responsibility." He yelled that it is. I said that I'm sorry, and agreed that it is. He said, "And you remember that." Okay. All in house fights are now started and ended by him. This makes me happy. Not that he fights himself, but that I'm not involved in the fight.

I also resolved long standing issues with my mom. I apologized for all the fights that we get in constantly. I said, because it's the truth, that they are my fault. I would defensively accuse her of being passive aggressive, when I should have been solving the problems that she was hinting at. We had a great talk. It was one of the best that we've had in years.

I am recognizing when my mind is formulating assumptions and stopping myself most times. I can make general assumptions, like that a store is open if the mall is open, and harmless assumptions, like that most stores stay open until 8, but no specific or dangerous assumption. I will not assume that I know what someone is thinking. This goes for judgments as well. When I see a person, I will talk to them. I will not think that I know who they are based on looks or what they like. I will also not judge things that I have not experienced personally. I do not know if Prototype is a fun game. I have never played it. Then, even if I do play it and find it boring, I cannot tell someone else that they shouldn't like it. I'm allowed to not like it. They are allowed to like it. I'm not allowed to tell them that I have rights they do not.

I was already trusting. When Paarth told me that he was playing as a scout in TF2, I never questioned it until I was backstabbed by him. He plays spy far too often (not that spy is bad, but that I like living and can't continue doing that if he's a spy). Now I need to be more trusting. In the magnet, everyone had reasons. If they said "I don't know" then you knew that they were lying. However, not everyone is a magnet student. Not everyone does know why they do something or like something. I should be okay with this. Then again, if they do know and still tell me that they don't, they probably don't want to tell me, so I should let it go. This is who I am being. My dad asked me what a person who spoke to him was thinking. Instead of saying 'Maybe this or that...' I just told him that he should stop guessing what other people are thinking. He could ask them. If they want to tell him, then he'll know. If they don't want to tell him, then he won't and he should be okay with that. I'm learning to be okay with that.

I learned also, that arguments with no end are useless and frustrating. This will help me in leaps and bounds while rooming with Ben. I will not try to convince him that science is another belief. He says it isn't. I think it is. We won't agree. Therefore, we can continue to not agree and still be happy within the vicinity of one another by understanding the views of one another and not trying to change them. In fact, we can not try to change them even without understanding them.

I'm so glad that I have so many friends who support me. Even the ones who completely don't understand my new way of thinking accept it. Even the ones who think it's a terrible idea understand that it may not be a terrible idea to me. Then there are the friends on the other end of the spectrum. Some promise to hit me when I start to think too much. It doesn't sound like the best promise, but I am pleased that they are willing to do this for me.

I will be a new man. I will have money from my job. I will have better relationships with everyone around me. I will like who I am. Yet, I will still be me. I will just be a more friendly me. I won't stop being analytical, but I won't make other people be analytical. There's a reason that people who aren't analytical are called practical. Their methods work. They know what they need to, and accept that they don't need to know more. It's truthfully an enlightening and relieving view on life. I don't think I could do it, but I can live with people who can.

My mom is a practical person. I think that my resolutions of long standing problems with her are definitive proof that I'm getting better at interacting with people. It already shows that my goals aren't nearly as hard to attain as I thought they were.

As was once said by some famous person (William Arthur Ward), "The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails."

I cannot complain about people being practical. I cannot change them. I can change how I interact with them so that we can get along great.

Relationships

I have come to a conclusion. It is unsupported by any data that I know of except for that which is completely anecdotal. Still, I believe it is an... insightful thought. I guess it's more of a musing than a conclusion.

Relationships will have high points and low points. People are not the same. They never will be. No two people can agree 100% on everything. It's hard to even do that with anything. When you put two people in close proximity for a long period of time, then they will talk about the disagreements more than the agreements most of the time. They will cause drama for little reason.

I've read that it is because of entertainment that we do these things. We see them happen on television and in plays and wonder why our lives aren't like that. We want our lives to be exciting, so we add our own excitement. I don't know if this is the case, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was. It wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't either. It would surprise me if all of our drama was created by aliens sticking to our bodies throughout our entire lives. However, I've only heard that theory from one group and they are often not thought of as reliable.

So, long story short, there will be issues. You can work them out if you don't ignore them. I'm not sure if teenagers, or young people in general, understand that there will be issues. I think many believe there is a relationship waiting out there for them with no issues. I don't know. There may be one. There probably isn't one for me. However, I also know that if I work out the issues -- if we work out the issues -- then the relationship can end up being better for the both of us than it was to begin with.

Since I believe that no relationship is issue-less (given enough time) I continually try to resolve said issues, instead of just escaping them. This often results in more issues than there were to begin with, because often the person who was trying to avoid said issues isn't exactly going to love the idea of confronting them.

So here I face another problem. Is it worth it to bring up the issues? In my heart of hearts, I really do believe that both people will both end up happier if things are resolved. I know that I can't be sure of this, but I feel like it is true.

So I guess I'm asking you to give me a chance. Another chance. Let's try to resolve this. Let's see how far we can go. If the same issues come up again, if you find out that these things cannot be resolved, then I'll drop it. I'll let you go. But if you find yourself happy again, then just remember, happiness fluctuates. One little dip shouldn't break the whole curve. Joy units in your life are as reliable as money in the Stock Market, but I will always be your wholesale supplier.

Work

I've been at it for almost 3 months now, embroidering and printing on shirts. I have money because of it, but I didn't enjoy most of my summer. It isn't a normal retail job, where I deal with customers the whole day. Instead I only get the terrible customers and the great ones. There are none in between. For example, my current customer.
Me- "What can I help you with?"
Customer- "I'm an architect. You don't need to ask me those questions."
First thought- "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?"
Second thought- "Okay. I have better things to do anyways."

Really. I do get my helping of the worst. However, this process is so strange that if I don't get the worst, then I end up getting people who have done it before and really know exactly what they want and how they want it. I'm not kidding when I say that there is no middle ground. Even that lady from earlier this week went from one extreme to another without so much as touching anything in between. This is part of where my madness lies. When a person walks in, I don't know whether to hate them or love them, until they've already starting making their order. One person made it really hard to tell. She came in and was really easy going, and then came back a couple days later with the person who actually cared about the order, and looked over my shoulder for half an hour to make sure his graphic was perfect. This job is a roller-coaster ride between having to apologize for not getting everything perfect and having to hear apologies about not knowing what they want on the clothing. Sometimes both happen at the same time, because they don't know what they want, but they know that what they have isn't it.

Anyways, I loved my job. It's fairly light on the customers, so dealing with the bad ones really does feel worth it to me. I just didn't love the not having free time, but I believe that the free time I have later on will be better with the money I am earning now.

Meat

For a good solid chunk of time, I ate nothing but vegetables. I had very little desire for any meat products. Recently though, I told my family that I would eat fish. Their reaction to this was rather unsettling. I now think that I'm eating exorbitant fish. I think they heard "I want fish at every meal" when I said "I'll eat fish sometimes too." Every time my dad has brought home fish, he has informed me of the treat he is bringing me. I really could care less about this fish. However, if I don't eat it soon (he literally says soon every time) then it will go bad. Then I eat it, so he buys more because he saw how much I liked it. I keep telling him to buy fish less often. I really don't want it. Stop it. This is annoying. This much fish is actually giving me more of a distaste for it than did not eating it for a year.

I think the idea stems from the common current human idea that meat is the substance in a meal. My dad actually one time told me to cook enough for two, but leave his portion in the pan. Then while I was eating he added chicken. I asked why. He said he needed substance. Did I not eat anything substantial? This is kind of offensive. Even more offensive is my brother "welcoming" me back to the realm of human when I had chicken wings.

I don't eat meat very often. In fact, I rarely order something with meat at restaurants. It's just another ingredient. It would be like saying that a dining room is needed for a house to be a home. I can't remember the last time we used our dining room as something other than a hallway. My dad continually packs junk on the dining room table, and then tells us how messy it is. I'm constantly trying to get stuff off of it so we could eat there, if we ever ate anywhere other than in front of the television. What I'm trying to say is, no room is essential to a home, as no ingredient is essential to a meal. We don't need meat, and we really don't need it as much as we have it. I'm not telling you what to eat or that you're a terrible person. What I'm trying to say is that I don't want it forced upon me. It's like I mentioned in the libido article. I know I'm the strange one. I won't even pretend I'm not. I just don't think that's enough of a reason to pick on me or judge who I am.

The real reason that I eat meat so little is the same reason that I do most of what I do. I like to do what my friends do and hang out with them. I don't want my eating meat to make my vegetarian friends feel awkward and I don't really think it affects my meat eating friends at all. I feel like it's just easier.

Also, I will eat other kinds of meat if it means people are less willing to shove fish in my face. Fish does get kind of boring after 3 months of constant fish dinners.

Customers

Sometimes they suck. People. It's not who they are, but what they do. So far, twice this week alone, someone has called 10 minutes before closing to ask if I can stay open for them. I'm nice and I say yes, but it's exhausting. This is my job. You need to realize that I do this because I need money. I don't do this for fun. Please respect that I want to get out of here just as much as you want to get out of your office.

Anecdote time!
Yesterday at 5:52 I was just starting to pack up when the phone rang. I answered it. The lady on the other end of the line asked how late we were staying open. I told her 10 more minutes, because I didn't want to sounds stingy by saying 8. She said she could get here in 8 minutes. I thought that was a cool statement. By using a number that isn't in some interval of 5, it seemed like she actually knew how long it might take. No. She got in at about 6:08. That is 16 minutes. 16 does not equal 8. This felt bad. She didn't get into the store until a time when I would normally already be on the train out of here. This does not bode well. Then she proceeded to ask me what fonts I have. I had to hold in a sigh as hard as I could. Font selection is inevitably a 15 minute ordeal. Most people feel the need to see every single font, and then evaluate their top 15 selections. Fun stuff. Then she had to decide between brown and grey thread, which she called copper and taupe. Grey does not equal taupe. I think she might have had fading eyesight. She decided on the brown. We actually have colors called copper and taupe, but she didn't want to see those. Now I'm afraid to see what the finished result is going to look like. I surely hope that she likes it. I will not be responsible if she thinks it looks bad. I suggested tons of options to her. This is her creation. I'm just the man with the machines that do what she tells them to do. By the time we got through the color, font, and size selection, it was already 6:28. She didn't leave until after 6:30 and I didn't leave until after 6:45.

Now I wonder. Would this lady stay at her work for an extra half of an hour so that I can browse randomly through their selection books? I don't really want an answer. I just want people to put themselves in my shoes. I like going home at 7 rather than leaving for home at 7. I don't enjoy losing my free time. It's also frustrating that I have tons of time with nothing to do and no one around, but they always show up right before work ends. I understand they have jobs too, but if I need to go to the bank, then I use my lunch hour. I don't beg the bank to stay open another half hour. I suppose that my workplace isn't like a bank, but they are both service stores. The bank sells money insurance and safety. We sell embroidery and screen printing.

There are many customer that I really like. I just feel like this lady isn't one of them. There are others that frustrate me too. I like it when people know what they want. I understand that sometimes people just want to come in and browse, but please don't use my time to do that. Use my on-the-clock hours. Basically, I'm asking that I get paid for the work I'm doing, rather then getting paid to sit around (which is less fun than sitting around at home where I have TV), and not getting paid to actually help customers (since I get no overtime payment).

UPDATE:
The crazy lady that annoyed me yesterday came in again today. I pointed out one or two fonts and she picked one instantly. I made up a sample that she loved and she even went to go buy another product from us that she also wants embroidered. I really don't hate her anymore. I actually feel bad for hating her earlier. I was wrong.

Libido

"Did you see that girl's ass?"
"No. Did you?" -Me
"Yeah. How could I not see it?"
"Well... I didn't." -Me
"Were you not looking?"
"No." -Me

Often times people assume I'm gay because I don't check out and comment on women. Is that really a norm? I would understand if it's accepted. I accept it too. I'm just surprised that it's so far past accepting that there is something wrong with you if you don't do it. I'm reminded that I'm not the norm who's pointing out everyone else's perversion, but rather the strange one pointing at everyone else and wondering why they're normal.

I find I do this much too often. I just don't see myself as this strange entity, but then again, to me I'm not. I need some sort of reminder that I'm not the norm. That's where my friends come in. They are similar to me. I have friends who have slightly higher libidos, and then there are the ones with libidos much lower than my own. It actually feels strange sometimes, to hang out with a group of people in which we don't comment and physical appearances all that often. I just don't like that one person can yell Hooters, and all of a sudden everyone is moving in the direction of Hooters. I've never eaten at Hooters. I don't know if I like their food. Since I can't evaluate their quality based on food, I find that I often think of them as a libido inducing establishment. I suppose I should eat there once to figure it out, but I have no desire for chicken wings and beer among rabid football fans. I like sports. I just don't like the stereotypical fans of sports. The fans I know personally are never terrible. I love them all. It's just the guys I see in sports bars and on TV that I don't like.

I really have to take to heart my statement that you should evaluate people as people, and not as whatever group you put them in. I could say hi to them and find out whether or not I really do like talking to them. If not, then I could always ignore them like I was planning to in the first place. Otherwise, I might find great new friends. I don't know. I guess it all depends on my initial reactions. I should really have none. Reactions shouldn't be on whether a person is yelling or not. They shouldn't be based on the games they play. Initial reactions are fine if a person pulls a knife on me. I do have the right to find the offensive and get the hell out of there, but barring physical harm, I see no reason to not give everyone a chance.

Therefore, bringing the current tangent back to the topic, I should not avoid people who have libidos. They haven't done anything to me, and it's unlikely they will. I can still have conversations with them. I can even talk about attractive people. I mean, did you see that scene in Inception where Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ellen Page kissed? I was awestruck. I love that scene. It might have to be on a poster in my room. The poster will have a button in the lower corner that will start an audio file. "It was worth a shot." I would adore this item if it existed. Is it wrong that I would want to be with both of those two at the same time?

So, I have a libido. I just don't have one that is based on looks. There are several other things that do it for me though. Intelligence works for me. The smartest people give me the best feelings. I don't care how wrong that sounded. I said it and meant it. I love smart people. I don't care what they're smart in or how they express it. A painter can paint something just as beautiful as something a mathematician can derive. I also love well built, witty, characters, like those in Buffy, Angel, Ouran High School, or Inception. I suppose this is why I love romance comedies. They are made for witty and smart characters.

In the end, I learned something new about myself just by typing out words. I'm just as easily seduced by actors, as long as they use the correct seduction techniques. Or alternatively -- libido, I have one.

Rule of Eight

I thought this was really obvious, but after talking to some of my friends, I found it's not quite as well known as I thought it was, so I figured I would bring light to the situation.

Nintendo likes eights. Actually, it's more than just Nintendo. Many games for the original Nintendo console used eights even if they weren't Nintendo made. My first and foremost example is Mario. When was the last time you played a 2D Mario game. Did it have 8 main worlds? Of course it did. They all do. Even Super Mario World, where there was no distinct world breakup, had 8 castles. If ever there was a 2 dimensional Mario game made that had any number of worlds that is not 8, then people would be confused. They would look left and right and wonder where the missing one is, or which one isn't really considered a world.

The legend of Zelda is similar. It also has 8 recurring throughout. There are 8 dungeons in many of the 2D Zelda games. Even the 3D Zelda games work with the number 8. Majora's Mask had 4 dungeons. This was split up into getting to the dungeon (which was still a considerable amount of work) and then defeating the dungeon. To me, that is 8 chunks of separable information for a walk-through or guide.

Then, even non-Nintendo companies started to pull from this numerical motif. All Megaman games all have 8 bosses through X8, except for the first. The first only had 6. However, when it was redone, they added 2 new bosses for good measure. They made it 8 again. They actually retconned an 8 into their work.

There are tons of other examples of 8 in the Nintendo era of gaming. The system was even 8-bit. I actually think that's where this fascination with 8 came from. I think 8-bit inspired 8 distinctions within the games.

I suppose I'm exaggerating the actual expression of 8 within Nintendo console video games, but I truthfully don't see any other number more often. Then again, I do know that when you look for a specific number you see it way too often. I suppose it is unimportant, but I found it interesting and I hope you do too. I hope you notice the 8's in your games and feel free to show them off to those around you while you're playing.

Flowing

There are two ways to do things. You can plan them out, or you can just let them flow. I truthfully couldn't think of anything to write about, so here I'm just letting it flow. I think it has something to do with the music I'm listening to. Listening to music apparently makes acting without thinking a lot easier. I sit here at work swaying it my chair. I'm only in my chair because of this blog post. Otherwise I would be standing at the counter, prepping some shirts for pressing. I don't have the words that I need to press onto the shirts, so it isn't that important to prep them. Regardless...

This how many of my poems are. They are unplanned. In fact, most of my writing is unplanned. Even with an outline, I still generally don't know what comes next. I don't build up to a specific point, but rather build upon what's already written. That may be why my writing seems to have little structure. Because... it does...

Anyways, if my writing is so unstructured, then why is my speech and analysis so step by step? I really need to just, throw my thoughts to the wind. I need to randomly blurt out about avocados (they are tasty) and all the thoughts that come to my mind. Did you know that I can memorize song lyrics in just the first listen? Someone told me they could do this, and I said "okay." They looked insulted and told me that I should be impressed. Most of my friends can do that. Is it really impressive? I guess it is. I should take this on the road. I'm a very lyrical person when it comes to songs. I care about what they're saying just as much as I care about the method with which they are saying it. Guitars are awesome. Drums are awesome. Vocal chords are awesome. But there is something about the way that the brain puts together words that outpaces any staff of notes. The number of thoughts that a single line can be made of is incomparable to the few number of notes in one octave. So why is musicality so important? Harmony, pitch, and tone all convince the person to actually listen to the words that you're saying. Otherwise they just trash them. This is what notes are to me. They are a carrier for words. They act as a chip does for salsa. The chip has a taste, but would you ignore that taste if it meant you could experience the taste of salsa? Some people say yes. Others say no. I guess it's an interesting question, because it is so absolutely subjective that it seems pointless to even try to argue. Then why bring it up? I find that the unanswerable questions are the ones I want to hear. I don't want to answer them. I just want to know them. I like questions. (See? No structure.) I like thinking about things and pondering. I do know, that knowing the answer opens my eyes, but also that not knowing the answer used to frustrate me, while now it's the asking I care about, rather than the answering. In fact, maybe not even the asking, but the inquisition. They are distinguished to me. One requires verbal expression of an expression. The other does not. I don't know if I'm defining them improperly, nor do I really care one way or another.

It is unlikely that there will be a day when I stop being curious. However, not asking a question doesn't torture me. It just means that the people around me can't join in on the discussion. Then again, can you really join in on my internet discussions? (I know you don't actually leave comments and I don't care whether or not you do. This is for me and not for you.) Maybe it's just the expression, and not the response to said expression, that makes a difference. Actually, I like having readers too, so please distribute this blog as much as you can between all the people you know.

Also, structure. It doesn't exist when I write.

Change

Surprisingly enough, many people are told their flaws on a daily basis, but many ignore them or hear them and just do nothing about it. They know that no one should be that peppy and another high five would just make everyone around them explode. They know that their toes have a frequented vacation home next to their tonsils. They know that they grate certain people just a little too much, but then decide that they didn't really want blood on their pasta after all. But they don't change.

So I decided I'm going to do it. Change. But for some reason everyone I knew and grew up with seems to be working against me. They aren't trying to. This is just how they're built, and why I used to fit in with them so well.

I tell people that I want to be a better person. They ask how. Okay. I tell them I want to be more accepting and tolerant. They ask how again. Okay. I tell them that I will stop arguing arguments that are over and will accept that a person may not know or care for a reason. I'm sure there's one there, but no one has to know it. Then they ask why. Not okay. Really? You have to ask why there doesn't have to be a reason? And better yet, why I want to be a better person? I just don't like people disliking me. I know there will always be people who will, but I'm sure I can make the number much smaller if I ask less questions that people don't want to hear or answer. I really don't need to know why a movie is considered good, as long as I know whether or not I like it. It is similar to how artists don't need to know how the forces of the universe work, as long as their paints still stick to their canvases.

I've only been doing it for a week now, and I've found myself much happier already. Instead of being frustrated that people won't agree with me and tell me I'm right, I'm happy that I don't have to hear them talk about things I would rather not listen to. Now the only frustration comes from knowing that I won't agree with someone, telling them so, and having them continue to tell me things I've already heard. I understand it now. People were always upset with me. I wouldn't stop. Now I'm upset at people who won't stop. I doesn't seem like it could be any more obvious or any less serendipitous. (By the way, that was sarcasm. It's quite the opposite of serendipity.)

I might note, for your convenience, that I haven't given up asking why. I haven't given up having an opinion. I just have to recognize when the other person doesn't care why or when that opinion isn't going to add anything to the equation. It would be like walking into a pudding shop and telling them that pudding sucks. You can say you don't like pudding, and they may ask you why you walked into a pudding shop, but they wouldn't dislike you. However, if you started telling them why they shouldn't eat pudding and how they're already fat slobs, then they'll get angry and not want to deal with you. I know people who do this very thing with politics. They just yell issues about Republicans and Democrats to everyone. If a person responds with a "no," then that inspires more discussion. How could seeing that a person loves pudding inspire you to tell them not to eat it?

I am determined to be the one pissed off, rather than the one doing the pissing off (lovely sentiment, I know). I am determined to listen to my inner voice telling me when it's time to shut up. I am determined to be the me that I would like to hang out with on any given day of the week. I am determined to change my personal behavior in order to be the man that I wish to be.

I argue that this goal is valiant. I suppose you could make an opposing statement, but I know we wouldn't get anywhere, so please accept that I view this goal as valiant.

Ouran High School Host Club

This show... Its effect on me was only compounded by the fact that one of my career choices is to be a host. There seems like few jobs that are more fun than this one.

Many shows make me smile. Slightly fewer make me laugh. Many fewer make me cry. Only one show makes me do all 3 at the same time. This show. Ouran has more than enough elements to cater to most audiences. Unless you only watch grindfest movies, then this should be something you're interested in.

It starts out ridiculous, like many good shows do, and then progressively becomes more serious, again, like many good shows do. Obviously, this upsets some of the people who like the funny and holds off some of the people who want the drama, but if you give it a chance, it can only take up 13 hours of you life. These 13 hours will be great. You will love them. You will smile. You will laugh. You will cry. You will experience conflicting emotions simultaneously. I am not one to scream "Moe!" or "Kawaii" but I found that this show even inspired this in me. Though it takes until about episode 12 in the 26 show series for anything of any lasting value to happen, the shows that do last will stick with you forever.

I just plead for you to watch the subtitled version, rather than the dubbed version. I'm not one of those fans that believes everything should be subtitled, but the dub voices in this show are just plain annoying. I'm not trying to be mean, but I really couldn't take 13 hours of English speaking Haruhi. This show is set in Japan with Japanese culture and puns and just things that wouldn't work in English. Please keep this one original.

Now, if you choose to read this and ignore my recommendation, I will not be offended. I just want you to know that you aren't skipping this because you don't think you'll like it. You're skipping this because you don't yet know how much you love it. If the first 3 episodes don't catch you immediately, then you must be the kind of person who hates yourself.

Never, I repeat, Never have you seen such an emotion inducing anime. Hell, I've never seen such an emotion inducing show. Buffy definitely came quite close, but it never did jump this hurdle. If you ever feel like you want you life to be enriched, then I implore you to jump into this pool of scrumptious cake flavored jello thickened using character development. (More kosher than horse hooves!) It will make you a better person.

Ouran High School Host Club. Do it.

Running a Shop Alone

Woah. This is a bit more than I expected. I have to make sure to handle multiple customers coming in at the same time. I even have to make sure to handle one customer coming in at the same time.

Customers... They kind of annoy me. One pair came in and they were arguing about the shirt they wanted the entire time. I thought they had a nice design, but it had a heart in it and they didn't want to pay for art charges. I guess I could look if there's a heart in wingdings. But they asked for Bookman. I can give them that font. Now what color do you want the printing in? Red. What kind of red? Oh... It doesn't matter. Okay. I think I'm going to go with a cherry red or a cardinal red. Hopefully they will like it. So I'm going to have to send the design out to the screen printer and have the warehouses ship the shirts there too. Then they'll come into the shop, I'll fold them, and the customer will receive a bag from me that contains all the wonderful they were willing to pay for. I hope they like what they ordered. Otherwise... I won't be responsible for the rage that ensues.

Also, a guy came in asking about tote bags. I haven't seen him since. Another wanted me to embroider a medicine ball. I told him the sand would fall out. He asked if I could print on it. I said I'd look at the ball, and unfortunately had to tell him I couldn't fit a foot diameter ball on a vinyl press machine if I couldn't empty it first. Doesn't press imply that it has to be flat? I'll never understand what goes through their heads.

Well, now I understand why my boss said people are so difficult. I mean the lady who said she needed napkins by Friday still hasn't come in to pick them up yet. I'm just going to have to handle being able to give people things, without being 100% certain what they actually want. Most of the time my boss does it and the customers love it. I suppose I'll learn how to in due time. I can use it as part of my practice. I will learn how to not know everything. I will learn how to not argue with people. I will be able to train myself over two weeks using people I will be paid to deal with.

Ugh... Tired...

So, drama over. Not exactly in a great way, but less there than usual. I'll deal with it later, I hope.

So Otakon was a blast. I wandered quite a bit. I saw many people in costumes. Some were kind of bad. Some were kind of good. Some were great. I loved most of the costumes I saw. There was even a pair of scouts (TF2) who had down all the animations and sounds to the T. I really enjoyed all the cosplay, for the most part.

There were also some panels and workshops that were interesting. I saw a Miyasaki panel and now I know that I have to watch a dozen more films that I had never even given a second glance to earlier. My friends also dragged me to a panel about Mechas and I dragged them to a workshop on Calligraphy.

Also great was the Artist Alley and Dealer's Room. I managed to get out of the whole experience only buying one thing, and it wasn't even for myself. I'm surprised though, because I was really tempting to just go on a shopping spree. There were so many things I wanted. This was the first time I had any inclination of how to decorate my walls, my shelves, and even myself. I want some of the hats they had there. I just don't ever feel responsible when I spend money on myself. I have no problem spending money on other people though. I guess it's just in my nature to avoid selfish tendencies. That doesn't stop me from being selfish when I don't realize that I'm doing it, but I usually feel best when I'm making sure other people feel their best.

Still, there are things I like to have for myself. Those things include the items that were on my Christmas List which has now gotten longer. It now also includes a set of Steampunk goggles and a hat to match. Though, these are all material things. What I really want for myself isn't quite as tangible. I want caring. I want people who will listen. I want to share myself with as many people as I can. This is what is important to me. Having a person who can help me with those things is important to me. Knowing how to change who I am in order to happily communicate with anyone and everyone that I meet is important to me. I want to be the people I look up to. Xander ranks high On the list of people I look up to. But I understand that Xander is only a character. Still, he has a personality. He would give up everything if he could protect his friends. He doesn't get down often. He knows where he stands most of the time. He has some rage and some jealousy, but he never lets it ruin his relationships.

I need to figure out a half decent way to cosplay Xander. I could style my hair like his, and maybe even wear an eyepatch, but I don't think it could outfit clothing properly to display Xander. I would have to do it all with personality. I think it could be done. That's my goal for Otakon 2011. I want to cosplay some Buffy character. It could be Angel, Spike, or Xander, but whomever I choose, I need to perfect it. For some reason, this is important to me.

Single

It really happened. She broke up with me. Waterworks ensued. I have been called a girl in the past, and not I can do nothing but agree. I can't believe it. I loved her. I still do. I love her. I guess sometimes there's just nothing I can do. She's independent and irrational. I give everything a reason and always make sure someone is on my side.

There are so many things I shared with her, and so many she shared with me and the only thing I can't believe is that it's over. It really is done. Why is it done? Because we aren't compatible. I... Well I guess I don't give up.

I noticed she was avoiding me all day and I talked to my friends. I told them, the only thing that would upset me is if I wasn't surprised when she does it. That would be now. I'm really not surprised now. I expected it all day, but mostly since the AMV contest. It was when she pushed my hand away when I tried to hold hers. That was when I knew. I knew she was upset. About the argument we just had? No. We didn't argue about anything that was important to her. It was the arguing itself. And not this arguing, the fact that I always need to figure it out. Sometimes, it just doesn't need to be figured out.

I still can't believe it. I can understand it and rationalize it, but... To me, it's unbelievable. I just wish she cried too so I wouldn't be alone. Alone sucks. Single sucks. That's why I continually try to un-be single. And then attempt to be not single. I know it really won't work, especially if I couldn't fit with her, but I thought love was enough. I guess it isn't. I guess sometimes you need something else too. I just wish it would be enough.

So there it is. Me, alone, crying myself to sleep, with no one here to console me. Otakon is mean to me. I don't like it anymore. Rargh.

And so it begins

Otakon is here. Well, it's there. It's on. I'm just not there to experience it because we're waiting for the guy with a car so we can get there. The girls are preparing their outfits and the guys are sitting around waiting. When our ride gets here we'll have to wait for him to get in costume too. And my hair is all messed up. I forgot my brush. Thankfully I can borrow a hair brush, unlike a toothbrush.

I guess it's really late for a post when we're supposed to leave in 15 minutes, but that happens some times. I hope it's fun. It's likely I will have fun. If I don't it won't be because of the lack of fun things. It will be if she absolutely ignores me. They said the best friend's boyfriend didn't have fun last year. They say I'm like him. I know how he feels. There's all this great stuff around, but it's hard to enjoy it when it seems like she's actively ignoring me. You know people would suspect less if you acted like I'm actually one of your friends. Oh well.

So our ride is here. That means we have to be going soon. I guess I'm not going to be writing a long post. Well, long story short, still upset that she'd rather play online games with people who are in the room with her (and live in NJ with her) than sit down with me. I'm pretty sure she can do that when she's at home and I'm not around. It makes me feel like we don't have anything in common. This makes me feel more like I need to conform to her activities than does her telling me what they are. So instead of me being swayed by her, I have to investigate enough that I can be swayed by her, which makes me feel stalker-esque and desperate. Huh... Sometimes I hate myself.


EDIT:
Lukas does not censor his own work, but must note that hindsight is 20/20. She was debating breaking up with me during this time period. I would have avoided me too. I certainly wouldn't want to cuddle with someone who pissed me off for a month and didn't even look sorry for it.

I Give Up

I'm frustrated. I'm upset. I can't believe how apathetic everyone is. I guess it should be attributed to everyone being self-centered. I love my friends, but they can only assume I'm sleepy. I'm really not sleepy. I'm sad and upset.

How is it then she can drive 3 hours and then not even sit next to me? Well, she has to set up her knitting. Ok. Now that's done. Then what? Well, to the chip bowl. Ok. She's hungry. Then story time with the friends that she had three hours with in the car. But she doesn't have anything to say to me. I see. Ok. And then. Now it's the internet. She's not even noticing that I'm typing. No one is. I have no fear of insulting my friends within eye-shot because I know they don't care enough to look over.

They even ignore the words that come out of my mouth. I talk and no one hears. Am I even here? I think sometimes that I'm not. And even when I am, my opinions aren't.

So... she doesn't tell me that she cuts her hair. She tells Ben. I ask her if there's anything new and she doesn't mention it on the phone. Does she not want me to know? No. I doubt that. She doesn't care if I know? Much more likely. It really isn't hard to call or text or instant message maybe once a week. I would call once a day if I didn't think she would hate me for it.

I just want to know. Why can't they show that they care? I feel really broody sometimes. Maybe it's because I just watched a ton of Angel... I hope it's because I just watched a ton of Angel.

Argh...

EDIT:
Lukas does not censor his own work, but must note that hindsight is 20/20. She was debating breaking up with me during this time period. I would have avoided me too. I certainly wouldn't want to cuddle with someone who pissed me off for a month and didn't even look sorry for it.

Mischief Makers

I wasn't kidding when I said my game reviews would be really late. This is for a system three generations old, but still stands strong to this day.

Mischief Makers is a game for the Nintendo 64 and was one of the first few games to feature 3D models on a 2 dimensional playing field. This was surprising, as many developers were trying to move into 3D at the time, and showing you had the ability to, without harnessing the potential felt very awkward to quite a good chunk of people. Many developers were also trying to follow in the popular footsteps of Super Mario 64 by making their own 3D platformers. One of the few that succeeded was Banjo-Kazooie. It tried to build itself into an individual game that happened to be a 3D platformer, instead of trying to ride on the tail of Super Mario 64's fame. Many developers tend to do that, trying to make money off of a simple Nintendo game clone. It happened when Pokemon and Metroid Prime came out as well. I suppose this has nothing to do with Mischief Makers though, since the first 2.5D game they made was Yoshi's story (unless you count the Virtual Boy game Warioware, which had 2D sprites in a 3D landscape) and that came out much later in the life of the N64.

I used to go to a video game rental store every Monday night. My brother and I got to rent 2 video games. He would either get Mischief Makers or Pilot Wings and I would either get Wave Race, Space Station Silicon Valley, or Blast Corps. I loved all of these games, but Mischief Makers is my focus right now.

Mischief Makers used the D-pad. How many N64 games used the D-pad? I'm guessing that number is about three, and the other 2 sucked something fierce. The analog stick was so new, and many developers thought it would add so much to their games. They were right. Still, Mischief Makers was smart for sticking to the d-pad. In true 2D platformer spirit, there is no reason to even have 8 direction, let alone 360 degrees of movement. This meant that the game would have been suited for play on the Super Nintendo, had the 16 bit graphics been up to par for this game (which they wouldn't have been).

The mechanics of this game still shine through the years. The movement is very similar to Megaman games, pre-wall slide. You can dash and dash jump. You can dash before jumping, while jumping, or both. You can also dash in all directions, though down is not useful when on the ground. Actually, a down dash while on the ground does a roll. Anyways, this is turning into a summary when it should be an analysis. The most interesting movement aspect was the up dash. It didn't make you fly much higher, so could only make you reach places you were almost already at. Mostly it was useful when I needed to stay in the air a little longer. puzzles that made the up dash useful are what this game is all about. Small little quirky ideas build a great game.

One of those small things that was expanded into a game defining mechanic was the mixing system. You really don't know what you're missing until you understand that shurikens and boomerangs are both made out of flowers. In fact, there are no ingredients in a boomerang that aren't flowers. How cool is that? The mixing used the game's signature "shake shake" to power itself. This shaking could change many numbers of things. Shaking people made them drop gems or items. Shaking bombs made them tick faster. Shaking poles could extend or retract them and shaking some balls could reorient gravity. Basically, the game inspiring picking up and shaking everything they wasn't hinged to the floor.

The story was weird. I still don't understand it fully. They steal your grandfather because... they want to distract you, so you don't save the world? And then you try to rescue him anyways. You do math because... the townspeople are having a carnival. Wait... your grandfather is the 1st place trophy... Yes, this plot totally makes sense. Still, the game is intense fun, and I'm sure you could understand all the plot once you beat it once or twice.

Unfortunately, the emulations of this game aren't all perfect, so I can't actually get to the end. I own this game so I have no qualms downloading the ROM, which is much easier than would be finding my N64 and hooking it up. However, the ROM has one major flaw. There are several other flaws in the ROM that are little enough to overlook, but the big one is the invisible boulder in later levels. The sprite file must be missing. This sucks because I can't dodge a boulder if I can't see when it's going to fall on me.

Yes, the difficulty does get progressively harder, but that shouldn't be a problem since it starts out at such as easy level, and only gets more interesting level designs as the difficulty ramps up.

I would suggest going out and getting this game right away. If you don't have an N64, finding one for cheap on eBay would totally be worth it (especially if you grab other N64 games I will inevitably review later). If you can't, please find some way to contribute to the developers who are so great before you go out and download it (in the most legal fashion as I assume you all to do. Some places say it's legal for 24 hours before you have to delete it. I'm not sure if this is true).

All in all, I give this game a great out of 10. It is immensely fun and has kept me engrossed for the greater part of a decade.

Oh noes!

I missed a day. This is a bad thing. I'm so sad...

Oh well. It happens. Webcomic artists do it all the time. This reminds me. I'm a webcomic fanatic. I think it's my (self-diagnosed) partial ADD that makes me able to understand many plots at once much easier than several longer plots. My latest count was that I am completely caught up on 94 webcomics with a dozen more that I'm trying to catch up on. I have thought many times about making one myself, but I just never liked my own drawing. My writing is something I can be proud of (regardless of whether or not it is deserved), but my art is notably bad.

Many people have questioned the number of webcomics I read. They ask how I could possibly follow them all at once. The truth is that I wouldn't be able to follow one at once, so attempting a few more doesn't actually make me understand any less. In fact, most of my webcomics don't even have a plot. They might be gag strips or commentary comics. Even the ones that do have plot are still funny, even when taken out of context. They are an easy hour to laugh at the world, and with as many as there are out there, I can be much more selective than the newspapers are and still have twice as many comics.

In my opinion, the ability to show a face or landscape increases the storytelling medium tenfold. This is probably because my imagination is shot. Well, it would be if it ever existed in the first place. I'm an engineer. We aren't made to think up new stuff. We just have to make existing things better. I can do better. I have a very keen attention to detail. Many people have said so, but they also say that I can't sympathize with others or get the feel of a piece. I suppose this might be true, but I still have my favorite music. Though I put more emphasis on lyrics than most do.

Well that was off topic. Still, it kind of relates to webcomics. I care about the writing and the things that can be seen in the drawing, though I don't focus on the art. A webcomic can have good art and still be bad or bad art and still be good. I guess what I'm saying is that shiny is nice, but that's all it is. Shiny. A shiny watch can still be terrible if the hands don't move.

I'm an advocate of the theory that form follows function. Things that work are beautiful in their ability to work. Things that don't work are ugly, even if they have a nice paint job. Eventually trends catch up and things that work well become the "in" look. I don't really know if that's always the case, but I've seen it happen many times. I guess maybe I just see it because that's what I want to see, but if that's true, then so be it. I like seeing things that work as being nice pieces of equipment.

My Feet Hurt

For a month now, I have been going to Capoeira classes. It's a Brazilian form of martial arts that was made to look like dance. In Tae Kwon Do I was always taught to follow through. This meant hitting the other person in a sparring match as often as possibly. In Capoeira, hitting the other person is actually considered a bad thing. This makes things difficult for me.

Truthfully though, I'm glad the other person isn't hitting me. I'm hurting myself enough in this class as is. On the first day I did a handstand and my arms buckled. I was cut next to my eye by my own glasses. Also, the wooden floor (with nails sticking out in some places) does torture to my feet. My feet are getting callouses, yet they still manage to hurt after every class. My feet feel horrible. I don't like them right now.

I've had this before. It used to happen every soccer game, but the difference is that it was only on my big toe, instead of on the entire front half of my foot. Still, I go to my foot torture class twice a week and enjoy every single one. I just wish my feet would cry a little quieter tonight. I don't want to have to hit them again.

Sleep

You know that thing where you go to bed and close you eyes and then hours later you open them and get out of your bed? Yeah, sleep. I don't get enough of it. It may be my fault, but I really try my best to find as much as I can and never let go. Unfortunately, it isn't easy to find when you plan on working 8 hours with a 2 hour commute ad still want some free time and it isn't easy to hold on to when you have someone living with you who will yell at you even though he gets into the work transportation vehicle after you do. He always says it's my fault when we leave at 8:47 rather than 8:45, but do I say anything when he starts his shower at 8:32? The answer to that question is yes, but I don't say any of it to him. I leave the complaining for elsewhere.

Regardless, summer is a time for teenagers to catch up on all the sleep they lost over the school year. Now I can't do that and I've been walking around like a zombie day in and day out. I need some relaxation time, which is never gonna happen on my current schedule. As it currently is, I get maybe 6 hours on a weeknight and 8 each night of the weekend. 8 hours is not enough to bring my schedule back up to speed.

This is why I dislike having a summer job. It isn't that I hate money and it isn't that I dislike work. I just feel behind on my sleep. The problem is that I wouldn't catch up on sleep if given a week off. I would catch up on tv shows and games. Perhaps sleep too, but it would be sleep from 3:00 until 14:00 rather than from 22:00 until 9:00. That's one of the biggest problems. In order to sleep well, I would have to go to sleep an hour or 2 after I arrive home from work. That would mean I would spend all my time doing nothing but sleeping and working. Is that how a man should live? I say no! I say a man should work 8 hours including commute. This would leave a person with 8 hours to sleep and 8 hours to do anything he or she pleases every single day. If you split the day into thirds this evenly, then you would never have too much of anything, because you would have the same amount of everything.

Imagine what you could do with 8 hours of free time. You could watch TV for 2 hours, play games for 2 hours, and still have 4 hours for any other hobbies you like. You could use some of that free time for sleeping if you missed any the night before. The whole day would be yours to do with what you see fit.

The real problem here is that I wake up for getting to work on time at 8:00 and I don't get home until 19:00. That's almost half the day. It is half the day when the metro is acting up. That means I have some 5 hours of free time if I don't want to miss sleep. I'm trying to steal back my free time, but since I can't take it from my work or boss, I end up taking it from my sleep. Instead of having 8 hours of sleep I general have 5, which gives me my usual 8 hours of free time. However, this means the only person I am punishing is myself. Though really, what teenager would act differently, given the same situation?

I suppose, I should be getting to sleep earlier. That is not what I want to do. I want to have fun, sleep, and enjoy my summer. Money helps, but it does not make my life tons of better.

Also, UPDATE: On Tomato Mozzarella
I bought a Tomato Mozzarella from the Bagel Bakery today. They call it a Howard Beach. It was incredibly delicious. It might even rival Santucci's sandwiches. The were still a few key differences though. The sandwich was on French Ciabatta bread instead of a Kaiser roll, there was pesto and vinaigrette in place of the olive oil, salt, and pepper, and they put roasted red bell peppers on it. The sandwich still had its regulatory thick slices of mozzarella and sweet tomatoes, but the whole feel was different. It seemed drippy, because of the sauces, instead of solid like the Santucci's sandwich. Also, the size and shape of the bread made in less holdable, though slightly more crunchy, which I like. I think they both stand in the ranks of greatest sandwich ever made, and one cannot be placed above the other. I guess it really all comes down to whether or not you like salt, olive oil, red peppers, or some of the best creamy pesto I have ever tasted.