Busy week

Got Starcraft 2 and finished the campaign. I really don't care too much about the game, but the story intrigues me. And I like the ending and it's predictable cheesiness.

Sucks about Tychus, but how the hell did Arcturus know this would happen?

Anyways.

Worked all week, except last night, I went to Little Tokyo(God, I hate DTLA) for some ramen at Daikokuya. Why, I'm not sure, as there was a branch 20 miles closer, but hey, it was pretty good.

My favorite is still Shinsengumi though.

Been thinking a bit recently about life, love, and happiness. Not much came of it, except maybe a reaffirmation of the desire to move out.

In other news:

Fires sprouting around us, and the State's running out of money.

What else is new?

What a Week!

Went bungee jumping/backpacking, just like I said I would. And it was a smashing success.

At least, I'd like to think so.

Mostly due to the inadvertent efforts of Ben and Will, two hikers that were also ditched by their friends whom I met on the trail. It was an overall good time.

Splashed around the river while waiting for ankle jumps

Mostly worked the rest of the week, and for once was the last bidder to leave the auction site on Thursday afternoon.

Also looted a big stainless BBQ grill today, brought it back, and it's now sitting on the deck next to the pool.

And speaking of the pool, I got dad to agree to fix to whirlpool today. Yay!

Now to see if he'll go through with it.

In other news:

It's that time of the year again, brush fires starting up all around. Joy.

Lone Ranger

Well, the trip tomorrow is down to one participant: myself.

It's amazing how one could attempt to plan an event more than a month in advance, with 7-10 initial participants, and have them all jump ship with less than a week's notice.

I'm still going, even if I have to go by myself. Three reasons why:

One: I want to get out of this city. I want to smell the fucking fresh air and hear the fucking water flowing. I want to see the trees and the animals and feel the wind and sun on my skin.

Two: If I let this event die, it would be a failure. And failure is unacceptable. I will not let the inaction, inconvenience, and/or laziness of others to lead me to fail. If all others give up, I will move forward.

Three: I will not be a boring person. I will not sit back on a couch and watch TV all day when I can do something exciting. Never let it be said that I sat by the wayside and let life pass me by.

To me, letting this go would simple be irresponsible. How could I face myself if I were to be so weak?

But others wonder why I do not simply postpone the trip?
Let me ask you this: I gave a month's advance notice. Do you think there would be a different result if I delayed two weeks? They are who they are, and I am who I am. In the end, I can only be responsible for myself.

And to those of you working , you need not my forgiveness, for there is nothing to forgive.

Here's to hoping I make it back without incident. This .45 should help.


In other news:

Watched Inception, which was quite the mindfuck. In a good way. Watch it, highly recommended.

All's Quiet on the Western Front

Nothing much has been happening these past few days.

Went on a pilgrimage for ramen, ended up pretty disappointed.

Received a new camera from Amazon, a "Shock-Proof, Water-Proof, Dust-Proof" Panasonic DMC-TS2. Never let it be said that I don't learn from my mistakes.

Pops came home today and handed me a new Toshiba T135D, which I equate to a large netbook. Told me I'll be needing it for work. Most ominous.

Watched the World Cup. Was cheering for the Netherlands, but knew that the odds were against them. Nice Kung Fu kick, but why no red card?

More lethargic than usual. Dunno why.

I blame the weather.

Oh, and that backpacking trip next week is down to four people over two days. Five if I can pull it off.

I bought all the extra gear already too. Damn.

Motorcycle Classes

A friend of mine(Nan) wanted to get a motorcycle for the longest time, and I told him that I would take lessons with him whenever that time came. Years later, the time finally appeared, and we attended a three day, 15 hour motorcycle class at our nearby community college.

It was fun and informative, and was also $250. I guess in the long run, it should be worth it, but it's still a hefty chunk of change. I'm told it's only $150 if you're under 21, which, unfortunately, I will never be again.

I nearly failed the evaluation when the beat-up Honda Rebel I was using ran out of gas in the main tank. We were supposed to switch to reserve, but I reflexively turned it to main when I mounted.

I dunno if I'll ever get a motorcycle, but suppose I'll feel a little more accomplished when I get that "M" added next to the "C" on my driver's license.

In other news:

The 4th of July is tomorrow. And my new-found friend is leaving for Baltimore and John Hopkins. Here's to her safe flight. Also, a note to myself: watch All Saints Day with her when she gets back.

Unfortunately, I've discovered that I'll have work tomorrow. And I was planning on spending time with a certain birthday girl too...

That's adult life, I guess.

I went to the beach and killed my camera

So yeah. I went to the beach. It was pretty much a spur of the moment thing. I was invited nearly a week before the event, but I had work.

But then I thought to myself: It's summer, and I ain't gone to the beach yet. I live in Kalifornia, and the last 3 times I've been to the beach, it was a lakeside beach. This cannot stand.

So I skived off the last few hours of work and headed for the sand, waves, and bikinis.

Unfortunately, the sand is as much a bane on beach-goers as it is an attraction. It got into my camera, and now that camera is dead.

The last picture this camera ever took.

Thanks for your year of service. Rest in Pieces.

Meet Taylor

I picked up a Citadel 1911-A1 made by Armscor in the Philippines the day after my return, but only made it to the range last Friday.

I'm loving her. The groups are tight, the expected super-smooth 1911 trigger, and the sheer point-ability of the thing make it hard to find fault with her. I would have liked better sights, but for the price($550USD), I can't complain. I'll have to see about finding a gunsmith in my area and getting some new ones. Tritium would be nice, but not really necessary.

Also pictured is the newest addition to my collection of ocarinas. I like it well enough, but it's a bit too high pitched for my ears to put up with for very long.

In other news:

Not much going on that peaks my interest at the moment. Politicians are making laws and spending money when they ought to be cutting back and repealing(in whichever order they choose), and the world keeps on turning.

I'm tired.

New Chair

Lakers won the NBA Finals. Was pretty exciting, but not epic.

Jumped straight to work after returning. One vacant house had a bunch of trash, but found two brand new neckties and a solid wooden chair. Purported to be a Gunlocke, age questionable, but a tag stapled on the underside states "1921" but may be a serial number. The varnish was pretty badly damaged. Searching online revealed it to be a model no longer produced.

I brought it home, sanded it down and re-stained it using CLP. That's right. CLP gun cleaner/oil. Turned out alright so far, but going to need to finish it somehow with a sealant. Paraffin wax that I use as lamp oil seems to be the readily available choice.

More on this later.


In other news:

The most epic game related post I've ever seen:  

Japan's birth rate is abysmal, among the lowest in the world at around 1.21. Japan needs more babies.

Miyamoto is trying to help.

Young Japanese men often have neither the time, money or local facilities to play sports or take women on dates like bowling, tennis and the like.
...
Miyamoto creates Wii Sports.

Young men who are out of shape have a tougher time getting women to play Wii Sports with them, and don't look nearly as suave when they do.

Miyamoto puts out the Balance Board and Wii Fit.

Young, attractive, single women are still all over Japan, and Miyamoto begins to wonder if these young salarymen are hot-blooded males, or if the reason it seems like they are oblivious to the women around them is that they have become walking zombies.

Miyamoto creates the Wii Vitality Sensor.

Miyamoto realizes that there are men out there with a pulse who aren't in bad shape, and are interested in women, but simply have no social skills whatsoever when it comes to the opposite sex.

Miyamoto explains to men that women are like cats.

 

Last Day in Taiwan

Here I am, sitting in the MRT station to receive WiFly signal.

It's been a while, but as I said, net connections' been spotty.

Spend most of my time worrying over an essay.

Pretty hard up...well, more hard up than usual.
I'll be getting on a plane tomorrow night and headed back to LA, so hopefully my unwanted abstinence could come to an end soon.

Although I find that supremely doubtful.


What have I discovered during my trip?

That I love my family.

That mosquitoes love me.

That I am definitely heterosexual.

That I miss the smell off cordite.

That I have an additional(new) requirement to gradutate, even though I technically finished my requirements a semester ago.

That my principles and (supposedly extreme) straightforwardness may not get me any women, but it gives me more satisfaction to maintain them.

And that Mister Donut is awesome.

In other news:

I wish this would happen more often. Prefereably in locations I frequent.

I'll be picking up that Citadel 1911 when I get back.

I'll also be starting on that garage door business thing. Probably.

Hiatus, maybe?

As stated in the earlier post, I'm leaving for Taiwan tonight(technically, tomorrow morning).

My internet connection will be spotty during the trip, so I'll post even less than I'm posting now, probably.

I am slightly worried though, as the person whom I was assisting with her English essays has her final essay due next Thursday, and I may not have a chance to look it over before she turns it in. This is very not good, as there is no doubt that her professor will become suspicious over the sudden change in her writing style and the drastic decrease in her grammar skill.

I suppose it will work itself out.

Beyond that, I have the usual concerns about the house, but my armed neighbors and friends assure me they will assist me in keeping watch over it while I am away.

My next post will likely be from Taiwan.

See ya'll later!