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!

Come and Gone

Life goes on. 22 doesn't feel any different from 21, though I doubt I'll be saying the same when I hit 30. If I hit 30.

Raided a condemned house. Mystery in how they got some of the stuff into the attic, as most of the furniture up there is too wide to fit through the tiny loft ladder hole-thing. Eventual, I kicked out a window and passed things down from the roof. Fun.

Found a .20 caliber air pistol, which I gave to SuburbanDweller.

Pops and I had a talk, which ended up pretty deep. Made me respect him a lot more than I did.

Beyond all that, I'm headed to Taiwan again next week. Will need to post random house check-ers again.

In other news:

Trying to find a 1911 under $800USD out the door that I like.

Not easy.

So a lot has happened...

I'm done with school.

Theoretically, that is.

I've completed all the units I need to graduate, but I applied for graduation too late, and will have to wait an additional semester before I can put on that ridiculous hat. But it is as it is, and I'm done.

What does it mean though? I don't feel all that much different than I did yesterday, but I guess I'm supposed to become a full fledged member of society now?

I'll work it out as I go along.

Someone asked me how I felt after we finished that last final. I told them that I felt tired.

I suppose I am tired. Tired of school, of life...of work. Mental stress.
But as I sit here, I decided that it ain't so much as "tired" as it is "tired of being lonely."

Though what that means, I'm not too sure about myself.


Well, I suppose I should go to sleep. Wake up bright and early tomorrow for work.

Need to become respectable and all that jazz.

May as well start now.



In other news:

The ending to Red Dead Redemption is super lame. And I still can't figure out how to disarm someone during a duel. I know how to do it in theory, but it doesn't quite work out.

And I got that Recon Tanto, but more on it later after I field test it.

My Brithday Wish

For my upcoming birthday, I've been asked by a few people as to what I want for said birthday.

And after some thought, I've decided that I'd like to go back to the woods for a day or two. Backpacking, dayhike, fishing...whatever.

Though I wouldn't say no to a box of bullets(any caliber will do, shotgun shells, even) or a Cold Steel Recon Tanto(Which I will probably purchase for myself soon).

Yep.

Still busy with end of semester crap, and work ain't easing up any.

Longer posts will have to wait till I have more time to write them.