• 30Dec 12

  I'll be home (and blogging) for Christmas

  I have to admit, this blogging thing has really become pathetic on my end. Yes I go to school full-time, yes I simultaneously work 20 plus hours a week but hey, this is a great place to spend time, mainly because the guys and gals around here are some of the very best. So to all of my friends on GS, sorry for being rather out of sight but hopefully not so out of mind because none of you have been far from my thoughts.

  The past semester went extraordinarily well. Some of the work was tough but I got through it and kept up the old cumulative 4.0. I spent my Halloween going to a party dressed as Lelouch Lamperouge. In case you don't know, he is the main character of the anime Code Geass. I originally did not plan on going to the party but a guy I work with told me he had an Ashford Academy uniform that he no long can fit into and said it would fit me well. He also said I had the hair for it. The length and style ok, but I guess he was color blind and thought Lelouch was a red head In any case, the few people there that actually knew Code Geass told me they really liked it. There was also a really sweet looking Claire Redfield. When it was all said and done, I was really glad I went.

  Getting home, I was ecstatic to sleep in a little and get some peace and quiet. I spent some time catching up with friends I haven't seen since August and went to The Hobbit. As a huge Tolkien fan, I was jacked for the movie but still a little leery of what the movie might actually turn out to be. Thankfully Peter Jackson did a fantastic job of creating a movie that didn't turn its back on The Lord of the Rings Trilogy but at the same time didn't alienate fans of the book. The first part of this admittedly too long trilogy was well rounded with a lot more action than one might expect from reading the book but it still retained much of the charm and humor from the source. I recommend the movie to those who are still sitting, rather like Bilbo Baggins, on the fence, unsure if they should have an adventure.

  Now let's get on with Christmas, I began by going to Mass on Christmas Eve and when I got home, I noticed a package waiting for me that I ordered some months ago. Yes, fittingly arriving on Christmas, I tore open the package to find the first press edition of the Evangelion 3.0 soundtrack! Your friend Roman couldn't have been happier, these first editions aren't made in very high numbers, don't see a release outside of Japan and when they're gone, they're gone for good! The next morning I ripped into more presents (more on those in a sec) and then had to help my mom get ready for the massive dinner she planned. The whole giant Irish family, both sides, always get together on Christmas Day and this year it fell to us to host. I helped with the massive roast and the gravy for my mom's insanely good mashed potatoes and even iced the gingerbread cookies (don't even think about joking about the irony, my sister already let me have it.) The night was a huge success and my crazy cousins and I spent the night messing around causing all kinds of mischief then finally winded down with a little Batman Begins. I know, not exactly a Christmas movie but hey, we all love Batman

  As for the gifts, here are the highlights, with games first:

  Call of Duty: Black Ops II (no surprise there.)

  Zone of the Enders: HD Collection

  And both DmC and Metal Gear Rising paid in full for when they come out.

  I got quite a bit of anime since I let my parents know Bandai was stopping sales of anime DVDs and if they didn't get some of my favorite shows, I would be out of luck for the foreseeable future. Gundam 0080 is so good it's practically perfect and 0083 was a real treat because I actually haven't even seen it yet!

  

  This is the entire Code Geass collection with exception of the first limited edition set, one that I already have. These sets come with the soundtrack, art books, manga and a few other extras:

  

  The complete Indiana Jones BD:

  

  The Dark Knight Trilogy BD:

  

  Quite possibly the greatest deluxe edition of a CD I've ever seen, which incidentally, is probably my favorite double album of all time- The Smashing Pumpkins' Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. I wanted you guys to see just how epic it is so I took a bunch of pics, here's the cover of the box:

  

  The super-sized book with linear notes from Billy:

  

  This book has the lyrics to all the songs with accompanying artwork:

  

  The case for the CDs and DVD:

  

  The velvet-lined inside of the case:

  

  And the artwork which you can make your own image collage:

  

  Finally, the Evangelion 3.0 first edition soundtrack: (you guys have no idea how happy I am to have this )

  

  Well I've already made this blog long enough so I'll leave any other random thoughts for the next time, which I PROMISE won't be THAT long. Trust me

  • Posted Dec 30, 2012 6:00 pm GMT
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• 16Jan 12

  Super Sonic break

  The breaks always go by too fast don't they? I did promise to blog again before the semester starts though and I try to keep my word (when I can help it ) I'm happy to tell you that the last few weeks have been nothing but luxury for me, with the slight exception of doing the chores my parents asked of me, and I wouldn't have it any other way. While I'm glad to be back at school, I definitely needed the time off after an exhausting first semester. As I said in my last blog, spending a long period of time away from my family and friends made seeing them this past month all the more wonderful.

  I spent plenty of time playing games, trying to reacquaint myself a little with FFXIII since I took the plunge and pre-ordered part 2 over the break. Now I know the latest installment in the classic JRPG series isn't unanimously popular, but I didn't loathe XIII, in fact, I enjoyed it and am willing to give this new one a shot with my hard earned money, so clam it if you don't agree with me. Jk. I tried my hand at a few of the games I got for Christmas, namely Sonic Generations, which, coincidentally, I just finished today. After completing just about everything you can do in the game, this old Sonic fan is happy to say that the blue dude hasn't been better in many, many years. All the different modes, including the many challenge acts and sub-bosses kept me busy with variety filled fun for quite some time. Keeping with the Sonic theme, I bought Sonic CD for my iPhone and have been having a blue blast with that as well.

  I also managed to watch a little anime over the break. I had to watch my favorite of course but I also squeezed in FLCL or Fooly Cooly if it makes you feel better, as well as Clannad. FLCL was as crazy insane and loopy as I've heard with fights being centered on guitars and robots popping out of people's heads. If you want something funny, lighthearted and just plain stylish, FLCL won't disappoint. Clannad was about as different from FLCL as you can get and IMO, not quite as good. I appreciated the story and its take on everyone's life being special but I felt like I had seen the show before with Kanon - an anime I felt was better. Now before I get hounded by the Clannad fans, I'm speaking only of the first series, I'll be getting to the second part – titled the After Story very soon and I will post my thoughts on that then.

  It'll be back to the books for me tomorrow so I'd like to wish everyone starting a new semester all the best.

  • Posted Jan 16, 2012 8:57 pm GMT
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• 30Dec 11

  The old in between Christmas and New Year blog

  A little closer to the New Year than Christmas but oh well. As a matter of fact, I've been trying to get this blog up for close to a week now but it seems every time I have 20 mins to spare, I get side tracked with some of niceties of Christmas. I also want to apologize for the lack of pics on this blog but seems GS and photobucket hate each other now and I am just way too lazy to switch all my pics over to a different site.

  In case anyone was wondering about blog inactivity, I'VE BEEN BUSY DAMNIT! My first foray into the unknown of being on my own and all that was just fine; oh wait, my PS3 was stolen. But besides that, my first semester was a resounding success and I enjoyed every minute of the dorm and campus life as well as the football games. Juggling the 15-20 hr work schedule with classes was tough but the money and education was definitely worth it as the combined effort was very satisfying in the end.

  When I finally did get home, I was treated like I was this long lost soul whom my friends and family haven't seen in months. Reflecting on this now that I'm writing it out, I guess it was months. Hmmmm. Ok, enough of the bad sarcasm, but then it wouldn't be me if there wasn't a bit of that right? In any case, I had a lot of fun catching up with my friends and I went to see a bunch of great movies the past couple of weeks; I really recommend Sherlock Holmes and Hugo for those who haven't seen them yet.

  I hope everyone had a great Christmas, I sure did! Being away from family for extended periods of time reminded me how important it is to be close and reaffirmed to me the true meaning of Christmas, which sadly so many just call "holiday." I ate my fill to be sure (really missed my mom's mashed potatoes) and immensely enjoyed spending time with my best friend and cousins.

  Now I'm sure all of you need to know what I got so here's the list with the games first:

  Sonic Generations

  Modern Warfare 3

  Portal 2

  The movies:

  Star Wars: The Complete Saga

  Rise of the Planet of the Apes

  Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: 25th Anniversary Collector's Edition (If I can get photobucket to work soon, I WILL post pics of this because it's hilariously awesome dudes!)

  The Music:

  Some Girls (Deluxe Edition)- The Rolling Stones

  Thank You- Stone Temple Pilots

  The Black Parade is Dead!- My Chemical Romance

  Murmur (Deluxe Edition)- R.E.M

  The last two were gifts from my friend, we went to The Black Parade together and R.E.M is a band she has long tried to get me into since it's her favorite.

  I also got a bunch of cash, a jacket and an Affliction hoodie and t shirt. A few educational things like Mark Twain's Mississippi Writings which includes The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and a biography of Alexander Hamilton

  Last but not least, I got a 64 gb white iPhone, which is nice since I will no longer have to carry around both my iPod and Blackberry.

  Well all, I'll certainly be checking back in with another blog before the next semester starts but until then, I hope everyone has a great new year. Don't be shy if you want to post any resolutions; though I haven't really thought of any myself

  • Posted Dec 30, 2011 5:45 pm GMT
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