I ain't givin' you no tree-fitty!

Yeah.

I'm tired, so I don't feel like talking or writing much tonight.

I WONDER WHY I AM SO TIRED?

Yeah.

Whatever.

~Don

Rated MA-17. Foul Language. Turn Away Now

Read At Your Own Risk!
What the fuck are all these potheads doing here on a Wednesday night?

That stupid bitch thinks that just because her mother and my father aren't here that she can throw a party in the middle of the goddamned week with me having to work tomorrow morning? HELL no.

There's wine and glasses and shit all over the kitchen, she's got crap all over the living room, every goddamned light in the house is on, she has the basement TV running and the TV in her room running plus the fireplace on. Oh wait, this was earlier, when they all went out. She's so fucking lazy that she couldn't even run upstairs and turn off her own TV and lights when she went out.

I'm thinking this: if I see all that shit in the kitchen out when I wake up to go to work, it's digital camera time. That's right. Let everyone see exactly what the hell happened when her 'mommy' took off.

See, here's the thing. Party all you want when I'm not here, I don't care. But I'm saying this now so I make it real goddamned clear when it happens...if I can't sleep, or get awakened by these reefer-lickers, there will be hell to pay. But not in the way you would normally think. Oh no.

No, I'll be patient and pay her back in smaller, more annoying ways. Like, waking Dad and Mara up in Washington DC so they'll be pissed off at her...like, tomorrow morning, when she's sleeping all of this off...I'll wake up by my alarm clock, except have the volume boosted three times the normal rate...then, I'll slam my door every time I leave my room like she always does, and I'll turn my stereo on and listen to some CDs while I eat breakfast downstairs.

This is just tomorrow. Oh yeah. Try me, bitch.

Gensosuikoden

I had one of those random epiphanies driving home from work today. You see, I've been thinking alot about finding the 'right job,' if such a thing exists, and the trail of thought basically left me wondering what it must feel like to have one of them. You hear about it in TV interviews and stuff, particularly with athletes and performers, how they often say that they are blessed to be able to get up and do what they love day in and day out.

I'm longing for that feeling. That time when I'll wake up, shake the sleep out of my body, and look forward to going to work, even if the pay isn't all that great. It'll be a time when I'll work hard, probably giving more effort than I give even now, and I'll be thankful that I'll be able to wake up in the morning. I'd love to be one of those people who walks into work whistling almost every morning, and is practically still doing so when he punches out to go home.

Not everyone ever finds that job, though, and that made me feel a bit depressed. Am I doomed to 'toiling' over things for the rest of my life? Will I be like thousands of other people who wake up each morning in a foul mood because I have to go to a place I utterly despise just to make ends meet? And then only give just enough of myself to the job to get by, hating every minute of it?

I imagine there's a certain reality to that, and I have to learn to accept it. Perhaps I need to grow up to a point where I can look at work as simply work, and not something that impedes on my free time. Maybe it's simply my immaturity that eventually makes jobs seem lifeless and frustrating; making me feel like half a man but somewhat more than a boy.

It all probably comes from a cycle of self-doubt. You know, not feeling like I'm capable of doing a real job. But I think I probably am capable of learning a great many things if I can just find a place willing to teach me.

How hard is that? Extremely difficult. It's a fast paced world, so it seems that many businesses have no desire to start teaching you these things themselves. Maybe that's why so many businesses are falling apart.

Maybe this is all nonsense and I'm wasting my time thinking about it. Oh well. I think I'll manage to survive somehow; I always have before.

~Don

Kuzu Ryu Sen!

I went outside to work on my sword techniques tonight and then went for a walk, only to be painfully reminded about how much I utterly despise this neighborhood already. A walk is a walk, so I thought, but in doing so I realized exactly how different walking in this neighborhood is compared to the other one.

It feels like no matter where you go, someone's eyes are always on you. Now, I'm not the kind to cause trouble when I walk, so it's not that I'm worried about being caught doing something to someone's property so much as that I like to walk alone.

There are more windows and lights on the section of the street I walked tonight then the amount there would be if there were two of my old neighborhoods up here, and that makes me uneasy. I often carry one of my "swords" when I walk, because it's become a trademark over the years dating back to when I used to hang out with like...Josh Gall and stuff, and I'm used to it now.

I feel like I'm going to be arrested just for wearing it here. I can't go anywhere to get out of the 'spotlight.' How can people live with such low levels of privacy? Every window is practically wide open. Do these rich folk honestly believe that the neighborhood is so safe with so many lights? That no criminal will bother them? That no one's looking in?

Please.

I'm not even a criminal, but I bet I could get in and out of any of these houses with tons of stuff and never be caught with ease. And here we are in the middle of winter, and there are still several people a day walking around the streets throughout it.

Get curtains, people. Crominy. Does the house cost you so much that you can't afford to put a piece of fabric, or some blinds or something, over these things?

I almost drove to Westminster just to walk around my old neighborhood for kicks. Maybe I will tomorrow after work, if Bryce or someone is around. Hell, maybe I'll stop by and talk to Sara at her house for the first time since middle school.

That job I'm talking about, the one that's going to pay enough for me to move out on my own? I need to find it soon. There's too many people here, and they have too much money, and they have too many lights.

I guess, in a way, it's a bit like the terrorism attacks in New York. Is it going to take someone robbing you blind before you realize that you are no safer here than anywhere else?

I suppose I already know the answer to that.

~Don

Quoth the Dave- "Werd."

Happy days are here again, sort of. It looks as if Graham and Joe have signed on to hang with us at Otakon this year, filling the recently more or less emptied roster spaces from last year's group. I'm looking forward to it now more than ever, but that's probably just because we're all talking about it again. It reminds me a great deal of the "Road to Otakon" last year, the few months before we left and Vince and I were always discussing plans, getting money straight and such.

I had originally planned on writing one of those introspective sort of posts today; I actually had a lot in mind, but it all went out the window. I ended up catching the middle parts of Cast Away before Roger, Jess, and T Emerson came to play some Grand Theft Auto 3 and to trade a cold turkey sandwich with mayonnaise (Dude, I hate mayonnaise. I hate almost every topping. I'm weird. I know.) for a cold ham Lunchables thing.

The Lunchables 'ruled with an iron fist,' and it even came with a Capri Sun. Capri Suns are classic goods.

In any case, I'm too tired to write the introspective post that I started that last paragraph out with ( I fully intended to explain myself then, but you see where that got me), so hopefully I'll feel more like doing it tomorrow. Make a wish on a star for me that tomorrow will be like today...Mara and Lisa both up around the same time I was, and didn't get home until well after I did; the difference in days being that tomorrow...I am off. I'm almost willing to bet they'll be here, but it's pretty quiet right now. Maybe that means Lisa's already in bed? Which would mean maybe she needs to get up early?

I hope so, but I'm not expecting it. We'll see.

~Don

Armor of Wildfire!

Vince has pointed out that Yoroiden Samurai Troopers, better known to english audiences as Ronin Warriors is going to make it to DVD. I think I shall have to own said DVDs.

Today was boring. I'm feeling a bit better at least, but I still didn't do anything. More people here that I didn't really feel like talking to, so I spent the day in my room.

I really hope Mara goes to spend time with Dad in D.C. this week. And Lisa will disappear again for a few days. That would be killer, and I really need it. Desperately. I really need time to myself again...and not just alone in my room. I mean completely alone in the house.

Work tomorrow. Strangely, I like going there now.

~Don

...Is Fate Unchangeable?

I really enjoyed the latest Rurouni Kenshin DVD, and the latest Ayashi no Ceres DVD. Big props to the one called Vince, who found them practically as soon as they came in the shipment and pointed them out before I left yesterday (I had checked earlier, or maybe the day before, I don't remember...but anyway, they weren't there.)

Indeed. I went to the National Aquarium last night with Kevin and Becka, because admission was only five bucks. It ended up being just as cool as I expected, except that the dolphin stuff was all closed -- either for the season, or simply because it was a bit later at night. Anyway, I started feeling a bit ill and I still do today.

I feel like I should go out to dinner with my grandparents, my father, and his girlfriend...but his birthday was last week and I really just don't feel like going anywhere right now. I might feel like it later tonight, but by then it will be too late to go with them. Maybe I'll end up having enough energy to check out this party action that Dave was talking about. But then again, maybe not. Maybe I'll just relax here and eat some soup.

For now, however, I find an urge to return to my what...fifteenth or so replay of Suikoden, so I think that's what I'll do.

~Don

Answer Me One Question...

Here's some nifty test results that I thought were pretty darned accurate. Thank Kate once again, who seems to dig up so many online quiz test thingies that I always have something to do when I'm online. I don't do all of the tests people put in their Livejournals and Blogs and such, but I take the ones that are interesting and the ones that people claim to have accurate results for. Uh, anyway...the test is at this site, and I believe it's a personality test or something. Check it out, and check out my results.

Your view on yourself

You are down-to-earth and people like you because you are so straightforward. You are an efficient problem solver because you will listen to both sides of an argument before making a decision that usually appeals to both parties.

The type of girl/boyfriend you are looking for.

You are not looking merely for a girl/boyfriend - you are looking for your life partner. Perhaps you should be more open-minded about who you spend time with. The person you are looking for might hide their charm under their exterior.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship.

You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you might that person.

The seriousness of your love.

You are very serious about relationships and aren't interested in wasting time with people you don't really like. If you meet the right person, you will fall deeply and beautifully in love.

Your views on education

Education is very important in life. You want to study hard and learn as much as you can.

The right job for you.

You have plenty of dream jobs but have little chance of doing any of them if you don't focus on something in particular. You need to choose something and go for it to be happy and achieve success.

How do you view success?

You are afraid of failure and scared to have a go at the career you would like to have in case you don't succeed. Do not give up when you have not even started yet! Be courageous!

What are you most afraid of?

You are afraid of things that you cannot control. Sometimes you show your anger to cover up how you feel.

Who is your true self?

You are full of energy and confidence. You are unpredictable, with moods changing as quickly as an ocean. You might occasionally be calm and still, but never for long.

I'm not entirely sure about the 'full of energy and confidence' part, but the rest of it seems like me.

A lot of people take the internet, IMs, and weblogs far too seriously. I see it everywhere, I see people taking me too seriously, I see people getting in flame wars through comment pages and stuff. I don't know. I was an internet freak when I first got it and I'm still on it alot, but it's not the be-all and end-all of my life, you know?

I don't know. I don't mean to be rude to them, but take my advice and get off the computer some if it's taking over your life so much.

That is all. Now for some Suikoden and sleep, for there is work tomorrow morning and possible hanging out tomorrow if I don't feel ridiculously sleep afterwards. I hate Fridays sometimes though, because I find that there's always some sort of conflict for me on Fridays.

In other news, maybe a party at my house next week. Don't get your hopes up, but it's possible because it may be completely empty.

~Don

r0xx0r

Apparently with this nifty chart, I'm actually starting to understand and read katakana.

That is all, and that is good.

There's some nuances I'm still trying to understand, but I think I'm getting it.

~Don

Megaman.EXE, transmit!

I'm a bit tired, but I suppose that comes with the sudden influx of standing that I've been doing with the past two days of work. It's been a nice diversion though and far better than sitting here with that stepsister of mine. She just left with that stoner guy again (left the house at 11 PM. Interesting.) and I'm sure she'll be back, because the stoner guy's car is still here.

I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was a fair amount of sex going on between the two. I can't see what else they could possibly have been doing behind that door with the music turned up so loud (you can't POSSIBLY be doing anything that would require conversation when the TV is that loud). I don't really care, but I'm curious what her mother and my father would think, since they seem to believe she's this like...studious, intelligent angel from heaven or something.

Either that, or they tell themselves that just to keep the constant sound of her voice from sending the spiraling off of a cliff in a spontaneous fit of insanity (Well, as long as they take her with them, I don't know that I'd mind all that much, you know.).

Graham sent me some songs, I don't know if I wrote about that or not...but I'm quite enjoying them. The X-Japan, Hide, and Siam Shade songs are all really cool ( I think I like Siam Shade the best ) and two Ayumi Hamasaki songs, which are cool too. Good times.

I want the problem that Julie describes in her hockey blog (the link's in an entry somewhere). Well, I'm not entirely sure it's a problem per se, but apparently she can't watch a lot of hockey games in english up there in the great Canada, bringer of NHL and CFL action and many other things. I'd do anything for foreign language broadcast of Washington Capital games.

Craig Laughlin (or however it's spelled) get's my vote for worst commentator EVER. I know I talked about this with...Vicki, I believe it was, and she doesn't even live on the east coast, if memory serves. Yes, he brings such great analytical statements as "To trash the Thrash," (the Atlanta Thrashers, for you non-hockey fans), "the Caps need [camera shot of the goal light] this thing to light up more than it has in recent weeks."

Oh, seriously?! You mean, they might win more games if they score more goals? You're freaking kidding me.

And that awful sneering "he put the biscuit in the basket" thing, and those stupid nicknames he gives to Caps players are just horrible. His commentary partner is fortunately more tolerable, but I don't find him very interesting, that's for sure.

Thank whoever that I'm not forced to watch Blackhawks games with those guys--no, I get the greatness of ESPN guys like Darren Pang and Barry Melrose and such. The tradeoff is, of course, that there are very few hockey games on in the states these days except if you're in a team's market, and obviously not every ESPN/ESPN2 game will be a Blackhawks game.

Ah well.

On the flipside, there are a couple of sports guys that I'm really enjoying watching, and those are the fellows on Pardon the Interruption. Particularly because the one guy (I haven't watched it enough to remember his name yet, but I'm going to get it soon) is a hockey fan and would love to discuss it more on the air, and when he mentioned how many good things the Detroit Red Wings were doing, he muttered something to the effect of "except for them beating out the Blackhawks," at the end of a list of things they were doing well.

Right on, man. Right on.

~Don

Fark

I've basically been online the entire day. During the Ravens game, or while watching hockey, or during games of Megaman Battle Network or something, I've been here.

I never thought I'd be so happy to be going to work at Record Town tomorrow. But it's really boring when you don't have a job, and the free time that you used to covet so much suddenly doesn't seem so useful anymore. So this working three or so days a week thing should be nice until I get a fulltime job up somewhere that isn't in retail. I won't be working as much as I used to, so I shouldn't be stressed out or angry about it, but it's enough that maybe having all this time on my hands will end up being more productive. I suppose however, that it remains to be seen.

Downloaded a couple of Maaya Sakamoto songs today because she has a very pretty voice. Kudos to Graham, who's been sending me some good J-Rock/Punk stuff too. And kudos to Vince for providing me with a new platform of emulation, but take it right back for him finding the Recca GBA game and not being able to show me where it was.

Ha ha. Baka bastard.

~Don

Escape From the City

I can't help but think a lot lately about some things. Without getting too specific, whether or not I want to wait a bit longer to figure out my feelings about "you know who," or if I really don't have any feelings about her and was just caught up in the moment or something.

I remember how I felt the first time we met, and a part of me wants to feel that way for the rest of my life.

A part of me says that it can't possibly happen.

And a part of me is trying to concentrate on other things that need to be done. And failing at it.

One part is restraining another part from going downstairs and killing every single person that lives in this house.

However, all those parts have one thing in common:

They all like Code Red Mountain Dew. Tasty, de gozaru yo.

~Don

Kaoru-dono.

I must have the new Kenshin DVD. I may end up needing to go to bloody College Park to find a copy, but I must have it soon. The motion picture will not tide the wait much longer, and there's only 3 OAV Samurai X or whatever they're called, none of which will help me see the rest of the battle between Makoto and Kenshin.

In the meantime, I shall have to settle with watching the much fun Digital Dojo's that Vince allowed me to borrow from his hallowed archives. I quite enjoy Ranma 1/2 stuff, and this only makes me enjoy more. It's too wacky for words, sometimes.

In other news, I got my job back -- sort of. Just a few days a week with decent hours so that I can keep driving costs to a minimum, but still manage to secure at least a bit extra on the paycheck to make up for my complete lack of a full time job. This will bide my time until I find something full-time in here or around Westminster that I really like at least, and I'll be able to hopefully stop dipping into my bank account with my ever dangerous ATM card

ph33r.

I could have worked today, but the snow kind of hindered both my ability to drive down there and my desire to go there. Next week, I'm on the schedule though, so I'm expected to be there. I'll definetly go, because of that. I suppose that's just the way I am; it would take some extreme circumstance to keep me home.

Even better, I found out the school was out...which means the mall will be busy, but it also means that the people that live here will likely be home, so Monday is the perfect day to work. Mega-sugoi, if such a thing is possible.

Kanji is hard. Dad and girlfriend need to go out to their damned dinner soon so I feel more comfortable leaving my room. I'm starving up here, de gozaru.

~Don

Webpage

Yes, today's going to be one of those days where the title of the entry actually corresponds with the subject of the entry. I've been thinking that I need a webpage of some kind, but I really don't know how to make them.

So I should beg someone to make me a webpage. Or better, I should learn to make one on my own. And then I just have to figure out how to put my blog on it and stuff.

Maybe I'll just go play Megaman X6 instead. I don't think I could study Japanese and HTML at the same time. Can you imagine it? [ ohaiyo href="gozaimasu.jpg" baka c:// oro?! degozaru.com>

Or something.

~Don

ohaiyo gozaimasu!

I'm glad I'm able to talk to Gina again, even if it's only online.

What should I do today? Eh.

Who cares?

I'll pretend I haven't any effort to find a job, and just kind of lay around and play games like I always do. That should create more unnecessary drama. Actually, my current plan is to just try being as nice (twitch) as possible so that Dad and Mara will stay out of my business as often as possible.

I'm sure it won't work. But hopefully I'll find a good job online soon, and then I'll have an income large enough to room with someone, be it Vince or someone else. Meanwhile, I'll listen to the Sonic Adventure 2 soundtrack and possibly watch Rurouni Kenshin if I ever get off the computer.

~Don

Sayonara....aishite'ru..

I need more stuff from Maaya Sakamoto, who has one of the prettiest voices I've ever heard. This includes anything from Tenkuu no Escaflowne, The Heroic Knight Lodoss Saga, and especially her new minialbum, which I can't seem to find MP3s for as of yet, but I read about it on a website.

The good news is that I purchased a few decent things today: the much-coveted Sonic Adventure 2 soundtrack, the Kenshin movie that I'm trying not to watch, and a new Evangelion DVD. Unfortunately, I didn't find new Kenshin series or Ceres, but I guess what I have will have to do.

On the bad side, this place really pisses me off. Now I don't really feel like getting into it anymore, so I think I'll not for tonight. IMs are fun. I'll use them as my anti-homocide.

~Don

Dude.

My lazy freaking stepsister parked her car next to mine in the driveway, instead of behind it, where it's supposed to go. See, I don't usually have a problem with people parking besides me, but in this case she's blocked off the two cars parked in front, those being my father and her mother's car, both of which are going to work tomorrow morning, I believe.

So tomorrow morning, when I get that knock on my door at around 6 in the morning and someone asks me to move my car (because I'm willing to bet money that even though I park my car in the EXACT same spot EVERY day and she's the one who blocked them in by being lazy...that they're still going to wake me up and not her. We wouldn't want to wake up the Lazy Bitch Princess that sleeps until like...3 in the afternoon on 805 of the days she's here, you know? No, of course not.) the shit is going to hit the fan.

Of course, I could always tell her to move her car when she comes home, if she's not home now, but a part of me really wants one of them to wake me up so I can yell at them. That stupid bitch has gotten away with so much already, and it sickens me. Of course, since I'm always here, I always end up cleaning up after her disgusting ass.

This is the same girl that...if by some fluke of God she ends up out of bed before I am, makes no effort to keep her TV down or to keep her conversations with her friends (or even worse, those two goddamned cats) quiet as to not wake the others in this house up. This is the same girl who's mother banged on the bathroom door to tell me to stop wasting so much hot water because then the Princess wouldn't have any (even though I was running the water cold, so I wasn't using hot water...)...yet, when I wanted to take a shower this morning, she was in there for a half hour. This is the same girl who took the phone from downstairs and left it in her room all day...and before she went to bed, I got this from her mother "Make sure you put the phone back on the hook when you're done with it."

Don: "I didn't use the phone at all today."
Her: "Ok, just make sure you put it on there so it can charge so I can use it tomorrow."
Don (thinking): "What the fuck part of "I DIDN'T USE THE PHONE" don't you understand?"

Where's the phone?

In Lisa's room.

Yeah. I'm going to bitch some people out if they wake me up over this shit, I promise you.

I need out of this house. And I don't mean out in the sense that I need to spend more time out of it, I mean...I need out of the goddamned place completely. And it's just stupid shit, always.

Like the other day. I'm watching TV downstairs and have my game on pause up here...I'm watching TV because I'm eating dinner, which I saw no point in dragging upstairs, only to have to bring the dishes back down. Mara and Dad come home, trivial banter is exchanged, and after a minute or two I finish my dinner and start back upstairs. With this weird look on her face, Mara says "Don't you want to watch TV down here? You don't have to go upstairs just because we're home."

I just stared at her.

Seriously. Don't flatter yourself into thinking your presence is so important in one way or another to me that I change floors when you're around. You don't mean that much...hell, you don't mean anything to me.

It's just her. Dad's actually pretty cool still, but the problem is that he's always with her now, which makes part of the reason I moved up here sort of moot. We were starting to get along better, and I was hoping to spend time...I don't know, sort of fixing things with him by staying here, you know? Complete opposite. He's at work, or he's with her.

Yeah. Maybe I should beg Mom to let me move in with her. Living out there in the wilderness would have to be better than this.

~Don

And How You Play It

Megaman X6.

Just as a short entry, I found it relatively cheap. So far, this is by far the most difficult Megaman game I've ever played. At the same time however, it's extremely cool.

I never thought I'd be happy about a company not making a very good effort to translate something. Yes, the english subtitles are written poorly, but I'll gladly accept that misfortune anytime for the original Japanese voice acting. It rocks! They even left the vocals intact!

We all know this was because Capcom was in a hurry to release it, and that's fine. I'm glad they left most of it alone, you know?

~Don

It's All About The Game

Another boring Monday. Today brought pretty much nothing but watching TV and playing video games. Ah, I did spend some time watching Escaflowne, because I'm finally able to watch the Club Escaflowne extras on the DVD without spoiling the story. Much to Mimi's delight, I'm sure, was lots of Tomokazu Seki and a few other seiyuu that put on a relatively long conversation about all sorts of things.

It's nice to be able to watch Japanese people speak the language without having to watch animated Japanese characters to hear it, which is why I enjoyed the extra. Anime does a pretty good job of using speech, but nothing is better than listening to real conversation. I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the Club sequences, but I don't feel like playing DVD monkey. I'm going to wait until I get to each DVD in sequence, and then watch the extra before the featured stuff.

In related news, both the Escaflowne and Evangelion movies are supposedly making their way to DVD this year, so hopefully that means I'll end up with The End of Evangelion that has better film quality and better written subtitles. Evangelion takes awhile to understand to begin with; having to read it in poorly translated subtitle makes it far more complicated. Still, it's a great movie if you've seen the rest of the series. The Escaflowne movie I know little about, though I think...judging by the trailer at least, that it's sort of a retelling of the series in a much prettier, more theatrical presentation.

Seriously, you people should be watching some of these things. I need to buy the latest Rurouni Kenshin DVD as well, because I'm pretty sure it's out. That, and the latest Ayashi no Ceres DVD, because if that's not out already, I imagine it should be relatively soon.

Otherwise, there's very little to buy right now besides Megaman X6. That's good, because I have no income to supplement purchases. So it's down to buying things I absolutely must have (save anime, because I have a one hundred dollar gift card for Suncoast to blow, so that should last me a visit.). Of course, if I wanted to buy tons of stuff I still could. I have plenty of cash in the bank, but I'm the kind of guy who doesn't like to spend more than he makes whenever possible, so as long as I'm not working, I don't want to be spending on any more than I have to.

I suppose that's part of the reason my trips out have mostly been limited to hanging out with Aaron, Sven, Durand, and Dan at Sven's house. When I go down there, I know it's going to be fun without spending money. We play the games and watch classic BWF tapes and such. I don't bother going anywhere by myself in town just yet, but I suppose I really need to. After all, I'm not doing anything else?

In the meantime, I need to write a check for my car insurance. Hopefully they'll accept it with me scratching out my old address and writing my new one on there. I can't move my bank account until this check gets cashed without risking the check bouncing, so I guess that pushes my bank trip back even farther.

Good. I don't feel like going there anyway.

~Don

Flip-mode

Another week is coming up, and I already know one thing I probably won't end up doing tomorrow, and that's look for a job. I'm almost completely sure that I won't bother on Monday. It's both sad and somewhat nice to not have to turn around and go straight to work in the morning each day.

I figure though that I can't be completely ready to go back to work, if only because I don't feel all that inspired to do so. Sooner or later I'm sure, I'm going to wake up and find myself tired of sitting around here and playing video games and such, and when I do, I guess that's a clear sign that I need to go back.

It's not that I'm not looking, it's more like I'm not going out to look. I'm going to find a bunch of retail jobs if I go out there anyway, and that's exactly what I'm not looking for. The internet and newspapers bring pretty good opportunities that won't require me to be in retail, so thus far, I'm keeping my search to those areas.

I have no desire to take a job simply to have one, particularly in retail. In fact, I hate cleaning, but I'd rather be a janitor than work in retail anyday.

I need income, I know. I'll get it. I'm not worried about it, honestly, though very slowly I'm starting to wish I had solved this whole problem already. Of course, once I get a job, I'm sure I'll just be complaining about that, so I suppose you can't really win.

Unless I get a parttime job and maybe go to school or something, but so far I haven't found a school that teaches the things that I want either.

Eh. Megaman.

~Don

Sakura Diaries

Aaron: "Innntttterrrresstttinnnng."

And it was, I just finished watching it.

Nothing else really to say, which seems to be a trend, as of late. Spent about forty five minutes going through my nihongo lessons today. That's a trend I hope to keep going, and I did really well with everything until I got to days of the week, numbers 1-10, and the months of the year...all in the same chapter. I'm going to have to spend a bit more time on that chapter just to make sure I have it. I would say those are pretty important ones to learn.

The next chapter should be easier, because I'm a bit more familiar with introductions and the like.

Last night was full of good times. Orange County certainly is an interesting movie. Not the funniest thing I've ever seen, but I was entertained. Food and friends. Glad I had the time for it. Today, I'm staying home...or at least within the county. I've been in Westminster for the past three or four days, and it's killing that full tank of gas I just got.

Oh well. Off to do nothing again.

~Don

BWF

Good times.

Last night came more time at Sven's. Durand, Aaron, Sven, Vince...and I, even, got in a bit of working out and then began watching some classic BWF tapes.

Again. Good times.

Tonight should be fun too, if we can just think of something to do.

~Don

And The Foul!

I just returned from yet another night at the Magee house. Again, we opted for the fantastic frustration of four player March Madness. Good times, but that game can be extremely frustrating sometimes. Like many sports games, we all found ourselves screaming at it every so many plays, and the computer seems to make just about every shot.

Bastards.

But it was still fun. It's almost becoming a tradition now between me, Sven, Aaron, and Dan. I'm glad I went. If things don't work out with hanging with Vince tomorrow for some reason, I'll probably head down again to work out with them and the ever killer Durand. It's better than sitting here, that's for sure.

Speaking of here, I came home tonight to something which left me completely and utterly shocked - the stepsister is asleep. And it's just after midnight; normally she goes to bed around 3 or 4 in the morning. I'm hoping this means what I think it does; that she'll be getting up early and going somewhere tomorrow morning. I could wake up to an empty house for the first time in two weeks.

I really really hope that's the case, though I expect to be disappointed.

The job hunt is...well, it's going alright considering I haven't left the house for it. The internet is a pretty good tool for finding things that are out there, or at least getting an idea of what's out there. I haven't really bothered calling just yet, and seeing as I may be doing something tomorrow during the day and I still need to buy a cartridge for my printer so that I can print one of those re-su-mehs (I know that's not how it's spelled, but I hate using the character map to get the little symbol for it) to use, I have a feeling I won't be really looking until next week.

I am getting a bit concerned at my ability to push it back for any number of reasons, though. But it's always on my mind, and I know it has to be done, so I'm sure I'll take care of it. The main thing is that I want to get a good look around while I have the opportunity and not rush into something I'll end up hating in a few months...and also something that either pays well to start, or has the opportunity for advancement, unlike Weis and Record Town. I'd like to take something out of a job other than the ability to piss off customers and give people change, you know? Maybe get some kind of professional experience.

Fortunately, I've seen a few entry level positions here and there. One even at a large State Farm complex that's not terribly far from here.

Who knows. I can work hard, so I know I can handle pretty much anything. I just need to build my confidence up a bit more, then go and just..put myself out there. I'm sure I'll find something soon.

~Don

Who knew?

Continuing on the online survey/quiz/test thing, once again I got the result I expected from a test without cheating. Good times, there.




You are Alex
Hero boy.

Take the Which LUNAR Character Are You? Quiz!
by Emystica.

Who would have guessed I'd have tested as Dragonmaster Alex?

Let's see, living here still sucks and I'm still unemployed and horribly bored.

But Triple H is back. Some would consider it sad, but I was looking forward to that moment the entire day. It's made my week.

Yeah. Back to the boredom. I can do that, because I'm that damned good.

~Don

The Fighting Robot....Megaman!

The Megaman cartoon show gets my vote for worst cartoon theme song ever. On that note, I found out that there's an episode of that series where apparently Vile and Spark Mandrill from Megaman X come back in time, and possibly Megaman X himself. I wouldn't mind seeing that episode; if memory serves, that was long before Megaman X was released here on Super Nintendo.

That series may be my favorite videogame series, even out of all the RPGs I love and play fanatically. I don't know, I always want to get more Megaman games.

Yesterday was a bad day, and I don't feel like talking about the event that transpired in the mall with the "family." Let's just say I hate living with people who think they're just...better than every employee they talk to at a retail store. I was appalled, frankly.

Among other things, I'm starting to wonder if moving in with my father was a mistake. I thought I was going to help out our strangely growing friendship and that I could find a better job opportunity here, and so far, neither has happened. I suppose I shouldn't be expecting a whole lot out of the first two weeks, but still.

I don't know. On the plus side, my computer isn't having too many problems streaming audio lately, at least not as many as it used to. Now I relax to the rocking sounds of Rockman Radio.

Good times.

~Don

Not Getting Out Of The House

Yeah, I'd love to call Roger and tell him to not wait for me at Target, but the only phone line capable of calling long distance in this house is being hogged up by that stupid whore beast and her damned internet and she won't give off it.

I really fucking hate living with her. To coin a phrase I saw once, I hope she gets 'clipped by a bus.'

Guess I'll just sit here and play more video games, since I can't make any calls.

~Don

Get Me Out Of The House

Interesting to finally have a separate line solely devoted to my internet access. Now I can talk on the phone and be online at the same time, which opens up a whole new world of things I can do. A plethora, even.

Alright, it really doesn't, but still. I suppose in some way it's kind of neat.

The first half of my day today revolved around me trying out all sorts of little codes for Grand Theft Auto 3 that resulted in me not making any more progress in the game itself, but it certainly made my killing sprees that much more entertaining. One of them summons the exclusive and extremely rare tank to just fall from the sky (I actually had one of them land on a crowd of people after I put the code in...the sound of all those screams was hilarious). Just hop in the tank, and let the fun begin.

I don't think there's a vehicle in the game that can actually damage the tank; I'm pretty sure it can only be destroyed by flipping it over, although I'm not entirely sure. What I do know is that damn near anything that crosses paths with the 'wheel-things' the tank has pretty much explodes on impact, and the ability to fire the tank's cannon is certainly a plus, too.

Here's the code for that: Anytime during regular gameplay, hit circle six times, then R1, L2, L1, Triangle, Circle, and then Triangle. If you do it right, the bloody thing falls from the sky somewhere nearby, although it may not be right within your area of sight. A smashing good time.

Further codes can be found at the ever-wonderful Gamefaqs.

Well, I'm off to find something better to do for a change. Might get an entry tonight.

~Don

Go Away

That only applies to people that live in this house. The rest of you are ok.

I actually sent in an online application to work in a mailroom on a whim. That's got to be better than customer service. Either way, I'm going to keep checking papers and the Internet for now, because I don't really feel like going out there and looking just yet. Part of that is how difficult it is to find a non-retail job when you're out there. My guess is I'll find better opportunities online and in the newspaper than I will driving around looking for a 'Help Wanted' sign.

Please get my step sister and her friend out of here. I finally got quiet again when father and his girlfriend went to bed, and then all the sudden they showed up (after midnight, no less.).

Here's to hoping they go right back out to the door in the next few minutes, but somehow I doubt it.

Goddammit. I had 'plans,' too.

~Don

Alpha and Omega

Since the picture of Link finally loaded from that last test I took, I get to give it one more go. I'm pleased to announce my results for this next test, because...well...she is my favorite, after all. And I didn't have to cheat to get the result, either. Hurray, I suppose.



You are Sailor Venus!
You are graceful, beautiful, and
the incarnation
of love and heart.
You're athletic, and you're a good friend...
Even if you do have a tendency to be late.
You might even be famous someday!


You fight with the power of love and beauty!




Take the Which Sailor Are You? Quiz!

...created by Kenzie.




I love Sailor Venus. She's so cool.

You know, 2001 was an interesting year. It was a year of firsts for me, I suppose. It was the first year, for example, that I ever met someone in the outside world whom I only knew on the Internet, and it turned out pretty well. It was the first year I went to Otakon, which turned out very well. It was the first year that I really ever drank an alcohol based beverage, though on both of those occasions I didn't bother to finish them off. But I didn't hate them, so I suppose it's a step. I made a few friends and re-established ties with others; ties that hadn't severed so much as thinned.

2001 was also the first year that I spent far too much money on anime. I'm going to have to learn to be more careful. It's also the first year in roughly eleven that I find myself living in a new town, in a new home, with new people. It's the first time in a long time that I've been without a job.

It's the first time in a long time that I've felt so...dull. But I suppose that will change with time.

I told myself I was going to learn Japanese, and though I haven't worked as hard as I should have, I haven't given up on it yet, and that's a step in itself, I think.

Yeah, some bad things happened this year. Colorado won the Stanley Cup, for example. There was the terrorism in New York. But for me personally, I'd say I came out of 2001 better than I came into it. I can only hope then that I'll continue moving upward on that path.

Because I think it's the first time I've ever looked back on a year and actually thought I did rather well. Hopefully I'll write the exact same thing next year.

~Don

Good Times

I rang in the New Year with Dave and company and had the 'good times.' If I had realized that I could make it back here from Ellicott City in a half hour or so going the way I went (which I chose on complete whim, honestly), then I would have stayed longer. Still, it was nice to get out and hang for a little bit and then be able to come back to my house again in time to get some sleep.

Good times, indeed.

I was going to post a sort of 2001 wrapup post, but it's already pretty late, so I think I'll save it for tomorrow. In the meantime, I'm going to attempt to post one of those wacky quiz result things on my blog, just to see if it shows up. Obviously, if you see a bunch of HTML crap, it failed completely. Everyone else gets to put these little quiz results in their blogs and livejournals and such, so once in awhile I don't think it would kill me to do it. Kudos to people like Dave and such, who's LJ's provide for me many quizzes to take.

This one actually came from Kate's blog or her livejournal, though. At least, that's where I saw it first, so I gave it a go.

>

Take the >'Which Nintendo Character are you most like?' quiz by !


~Don