The list of reasons why I like to smoke is quite long, but the reasons why I should stop is even longer. Upon further absorption of such thoughts this past week I have emerged strong and fully prepared to extinguish that flame. I have tried before and have failed with the realization that I was not ready to make that change, nor was I willing. But today I can truly say that this battle will soon come to an end and my victory will be absolute. After careful consideration, I have come to an understanding that I will need enough time to prepare myself mentally and physically, anticipating every possible repercussion that may take place. My date is set! On April 14th, the day after my birthday, I am going to quit smoking--cold turkey! You think I can do it? I know I can!
I am being consumed by manifestations of some insatiable craving for something sinfully sweet during this late hour of the night and I think I am driving myself crazy. I have been walking in and out of the kitchen, almost obssessive-compulsively, opening the refrigerator and cabinet doors only to stare at the open packages of candy, chocolate and Oreo cookies. I gape over it in hopes that perhaps it will be enough to appease this hunger. My eyes dart back and forth toward the Oreos and then to the jar of chunky peanut butter and then back again. Together in a pool of milk they are heaven! I feel almost like Louis from the Interview with the Vampire whom is challenged with the duality of his undeniable appetite for human blood opposed by his retained compassion for the people around him. I want it, almost need it, but I know I shouldn't. One bite will lead to (too) many. Despite having cooked up a fantastic dinner of curried vegetables and a pan-seared steak of tuna, this sudden desire is almost physically overwhelming and hard like a thrust to the gut. I think I will just go to bed to soften the blow. Sugar is pure "eee-vul!"
I enjoy cooking and often times enjoy making up recipes from ingredients that I may have lying around the kitchen. A few of my friends have been asking me for the recipe for my Spicy Shrimp Jambalaya, so I've decided to post it here on my blog so that they could easily look it up at home. The recipe is fairly simple and is a great dish on its own or as a side dish with baked salmon, the way I like to eat it. I hope those of you who haven't tried it will be willing to check it out, and I would love to hear any comments you may have. Oh, and just a warning, this dish is fairly spicy!
1 pound medium sized shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 stalks celery, split and chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
4 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 large tomato chopped
5 ounces chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
2 cups cooked white rice (or brown rice)
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add butter. Sautee 3 cloves of chopped garlic in butter and oil then stir in shrimp and cook for about 4 minutes.
Immediately add celery, onion, tomato, cilantro, salt, pepper and chipotle peppers. If you want to reduce the "heat" of the dish, you may want to omit an ounce or two of the chipotle peppers or perhaps just use the adobo sauce it was in. Stir until completely incorporated, cover and cook for another 10 minutes.
Add rice and the remaining cloves of chopped garlic and let cook for another 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning to taste and serve in a bowl or on a plate as a side dish. Quick and easy. Enjoy!
Communication is one of the most important and intimate interactions we as people need in order to experience some sort of "human connection" and understanding. However, it is sometimes hindered by barriers such as cultural differences, ethnicity and in this case, deafness which make it often times difficult in doing so.
"Sign Language" can mean different things to different people. I didn't realize until now that the United States has several different sign systems such as Manually Coded English (MCE,) Signed Exact English (SEE) and American Sign Language (ASL.) While MCE and SEE are structured similarly to spoken English, ASL is unique in that it is its very own language; and like English, it has its own slang expressions and dialects which vary according to a signer's background. These are often referred to as "regional signs." Although American Sign Language is the type of sign language often used by most deaf people in order to communicate, the language is not universal. Just as there is no universal spoken language, ASL users will not understand British or Japanese sign language users. Many people falsely believe that ASL is merely a system by which a person can "finger spell" English words, but in fact is more than just a set of signs made with hands. It uses the accompaniment of facial expressions, head movements and various gestures, which differentiates certain signs that may seem the same or at least very similar. I think it is unfortunate that not every high school makes it mandatory to teach American Sign Language as a "foreign language" elective, which is primarily dominated by courses in Spanish, German and French, because I believe it is probably the most important of all the languages and certainly the most useful. This year one of the goals that I had made to myself was to learn American Sign Language, or at least the basics. I often interact with many people from the deaf community when I am at work and I thought it would be make it a far greater experience for them and for myself if I could speak to them, even if just a little, in their own language. I contemplated taking a college course to help me learn but realized that at this point in time it might be a little hard to fit into my schedule considering how early I have to wake up for work, my second job, my commitment to my workout schedule and while still having some time for myself, my friends and my partner, but at the same time I also did not want to give up in achieving this goal. So, after considering all my options, I decided to take it into my own hands (no pun intended.)
I was at the local bookstore the other day and while browsing through various books and products, I came across a "Learn American Sign Language" kit that teaches how to sign basic vocabulary including the alphabet, numbers, useful words and a few phrases which I thought could be an ideal alternative to taking a class. I figure I could learn a few signs each day and doing so in my own pace. So, far I have learned several pronouns and have been practicing the alphabet over and over. I realize that this definitely is no easy feat and it will probably take a very long time to master, but I imagine if I can dedicate myself in learning the basics of ASL that eventually I will be able to at least have some form of conversation with another signing person, however basic it may be. While understanding another person is a significant part of humanity, being able to communicate back to them is equally, if not more so, important. The deaf have been learning the language of "the hearing" for the past 150 years, I think it is just as critical for us to learn theirs.
Bored? Here's another Flash based game that is sure to cripple the productivity at your workplace or at home. Dwarf Complete is a non-combative, rpg/puzzle-solving game from the creators of the strange and twisted Eyemaze games. The goal of the game is to find your way through a series of different rooms solving various puzzles and collecting weapons and armor using a combination of arrow keys and clicking certain items you've collected to move forward. You may feel "stuck" a few minutes into the game, but there is always a solution. It has an auto-save feature using your browser's cookies so you can start and stop whenever you like, just make sure to keep the page in your bookmarks. Enjoy and have fun!
Sometimes it seems as if there is nothing more physically and mentally demanding than getting out of bed. In fact I was quite surprised that I even got to work on time considering I only had three hours of sleep (two hours uninterrupted.) It was one of those mornings when the constant buzzing of your alarm clock goes in one ear and out the other; it wakes you up momentarily, but only enough for you to turn it off with one swift push of a button. The memory of it is always so unclear and no matter how hard you try, you never really seem to recall waking up at all. Luckily after passing out for another forty-five minutes, my body was suddenly startled in some urgent frenzy to check the time as if some inner subconscious voice was yelling at me to get up. The fuzzy glare of light emanating from my phone's display screen is quite blinding when it is the very first thing you see after your eyes have adjusted to the blackness of the back of your eyelids. After a few seconds of adapting to the dark, I realized I had exactly ten minutes to brush my teeth, wash my face, do my hair and get dressed in some sort of reasonably professional manner in order to get myself to work on time. It is times like these that your heart begins to beat a million times a minute due to the fact that you are trying to do everything all at once and you constantly swear to yourself and out loud because every tiny obstacle presents itself whether it is a cat walking in your path or whether you just can't seem to get one arm inside the sleeve of your shirt. I don't know how, but I did it. I arrived at work just in time with even a couple of minutes to spare. The rest of the day flew by faster than I thought it would, even though I felt brain dead for most of it.
I have been trying to read Veronika Decides To Die by Paulo Coelho but I cannot seem to get into it. The synopsis is very interesting, but as soon as I start reading, it becomes almost a chore. I think perhaps I just need to be in the right state of mind. For the last month I have been trying to find something else to read in its place but after several attempts to uncover a new book at the local bookstores, I always end up leaving empty handed. Until today, I thought I would have to wait until Scott Heim's new book We Disappear was released in order to satiate this compelling urge to find and read another good book. (His previous works, In Awe and particularly Mysterious Skin, are both emotionally complex and works of genuine beauty.) As I sat down this morning eating Kashi Go Lean cereal (what people at my work like to call a bowl full of cardboard) during my lunch break, I noticed a hard bound, plain white covered promotional copy of a book sitting at the edge of my desk with big and bold lower case letters that read Beautiful Boy by David Sheff. Seeming as I had nothing else to do in the next thirty minutes, I picked it up and started reading. I read the first introductory pages and I was suddenly engrossed in this powerful story that was beginning to unfold. According to the quick synopsis, it is about "a father's journey through his son's meth addiction." Even as my break ended, I could not stop and put the book aside without forcing myself. I was anxious and excited to have finally found a new book to satisfy this sort of need to read. I later found out that David Sheff's son, Nic Sheff, also wrote a book called Tweak which is a memoir of his experience during those trying times. Beautiful Boy will not be released to the public until Tuesday, February 26th so I went ahead and ordered both books on Amazon.com. I guess I could have easily waited four more days for the actual release date to pick them up at my local bookstore, but I figure I can wait. Next week will be another busy week for me with more meetings and promotional set-ups to complete. In the meantime I can finally take that bookmark out from page eleven and give Veronika a chance to rest. I can't remember how many times I have gone through her initial suicide and I think I would like to wait a long while before I go through it again.
I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow. I have to get up at 3am in order to get myself to work by 4am. As soon I get off work, Robbie and I are planning on heading over to the hospital to see Kevin and Kristy. She just had her baby three days ago on the 17th and we wanted to take some time to visit them and their newborn baby girl, Kaitlyn. Later in the evening I will need to head over back to work to attend a meeting at 8pm which is scheduled to last until 11pm and then head back home to try to get a little sleep before I have to go back to work again at 4am the following morning. I should be preparing myself for bed just about now, but I can't help but get consumed by the television and particularly the show, Supernanny. It's fascinating (almost to the point of sickening) to see how many parents there are out there who cannot understand how to supervise and discipline their own children. It angers me to think that there are thousands of parents out there who let their children get away with the most alarming things like allowing them to run around screaming and throwing objects around like silverware in public environments like restaurants or do absolutely nothing when their own kids blatantly hit them or talk back to them. These children are suppose to be our leaders of tomorrow, but how can we possibly expect them to take care of our world's future if we cannot even show them how to respect the environment around them now, let alone their own parents. I don't deny that having children is no easy feat, but there has to be some point in time when a parent, whose own child is behaving inappropriately, should stop and realize that they need to regain control. It does give me a little perspective on all the difficulties that may arise when raising a child, and I am glad that I don't see having one of my own in the near future. Don't get me wrong, I love children and I love being around them but I personally am selfish with my time and I know I wouldn't be able to give them the full attention that they would need from a parent. I often times hear people criticize another person's child by referring to them as "the kids from hell" when in reality it is more fitting to refer to the adults as "the parents from hell." Hopefully Kevin and Kristy are better prepared and will have a little more luck than some of the parents I've seen on this show. I would hate to see their bundle of joy become that monster under the bed.
Blu-Ray and HD DVD have been striving for dominance as the industry standard in the high-definition home market for two years now. With recent announcements from the Time Warner Company, Blockbuster, BestBuy, WalMart and Netflix to solely back Blu-Ray, the fate of the HD DVD format was slowly but surely being decided.
For many of us, the format war not only was the battle for the best high-definition standard, but was also one of the deciding functionalities that gave weight between two major video game consoles: Sony's Playstation 3, which offered a built in Blu-Ray player, and Microsoft's Xbox 360, with an option to buy an HD DVD add-on.
Earlier today, Toshiba (the main force behind HD DVD,) delivered the fatal blow by admitting defeat and announcing that they will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders. The last three major movie studios who currently support HD-DVD--Universal, Paramount and Dreamworks Animation--are expected to follow suit and announce their support for Blu-Ray sometime within the next few weeks.
Now that the war is over, consumers who are looking to buy next-generation hardware and software can now do so without getting frustrated or confused. While Blu-Ray has reigned triumphant in this long, drawn out format war, the question remains: "When will content downloads do away with the need for any kind of disc altogether as mp3's and other formats are slowly doing with the Compact Disc standard?" While I doubt that will happen anytime soon considering the size of such a file would tremendously bog down a connection, that in itself is another story. Until then, hooray for Blu-Ray, Sony and the PlayStation 3!
It looks like someone in the movie industry has completely run out of ideas. Even after past lame and desperate attempts in film history to put "marginally" popular comic/cartoon and toy icons to the big screen (e.g., Garfield, Richie Rich, Alvin and the Chipmunks and Bratz to name a few,) Paramount Pictures it seems have greenlit the computer animated adaptation of the 1980's classic cartoon series "The Smurfs," which is scheduled to be released sometime during the second half of this year. But what do I know? Perhaps I am being too pessimistic. The film is still in early production stages and I haven't even given the mere idea of it a chance. And who knows? There is still a slim, (might I add very slim,) chance that an emotionally charged, and perhaps even action packed, blockbuster can come out of these little blue creatures whose main drive in life is to avoid being eaten by the evil sorcerer, Gargamel. I can't smurfin' wait to see!
Phoenix: At age 82 you finally kick the heroine habit! Congratulations. Unfortunately you stopped because you died from an overdose.
On a serious note, I have recently been pondering on the idea of what happens to us when we, as human beings, depart from this mortal life. By no means am I a religious person, but is there life after death? Do our souls go on to another plane of existence? Are we bound by some karmic web and reincarnated into new life on earth until we reach Nirvana? Or is this life just a series of meaningless experiences and that when we die, there is complete nothingness; that we as entities simply cease to exist. Others rely on the faith of their religion and that by abiding to the practices of their particular beliefs, they will either be blessed with salvation and be given passage through the gates of "Heaven," or be condemned to torment into the fires of "Hell." Personally, the concept of "Heaven" seems too unlikely and quite frankly a little boring; and what could be worse than the cruelties in which we, as humans, bring on to each other? We punish ourselves much more than any loving "God" ever would.
Someone once told me they believed that when we die, we just die and life ends. But how can that be? I know that there is no possible way of providing any kind of evidence to support this and that the mere idea of life after death is pure speculation, but how can anyone simply accept the fact that nothing exists beyond this life? I have contemplated on all the different theories of the "afterlife," or lack thereof and I simply cannot comprehend why anyone would believe that once we die there is just darkness and utter nothingness. There are too many experiences and too many enlightening "lessons" that we have encountered and will encounter during this "mortal" journey and it brings me to the conclusion that life itself is way too short for us to even reach our full potential, so there must be something beyond the black veil of death that gives substance to our perpetuity. The particular concept of reincarnation is especially interesting to me because I believe we all are interconnected in some way or another and events of past lives transcend into the next in order to fulfill some sort of karmic lesson. Why do we connect with certain people more than others? Is it really because of personality clashes and personal interest similarities, or is it deeper than that? Perhaps we connect with some people more than others because they unknowingly teach us specific life lessons, as we do to them, that we may not have yet mastered in our "previous" life. We each have a great responsibility and however small and insignificant they may seem, what we do in this life may not just affect us, but everything and everyone around, pulling it all into one perpetual string of motion. When we die in this life, there will always be a part of us that will go on, stretching into the boundaries of the infinity.
There is a tingle in my nose and a slight stinging in my eyes that is telling me, this year I need to go to my doctor for allergy medication that actually works. I have tried many medications, from over-the-counter drugs to high-end perscriptions, and it seems after several doses, my body begins to create an immunity. I have gone the last year without having a real need to go to the doctor, even though there had been a few days scattered throughout the seasons that were memorably intolerable. But since the beginning of this year, I have already had more than a handful of unbearable allergic reactions, which seems to me the very glimpse of the long road to come.
I go through each year telling myself that people who do not have allergies could not even begin to understand how easy they have it, and I hate them for it. Ok, the word "hate" may be a tad bit strong, but it's true. I "hate" them! Having severe allergies, those without them will never understand the pure torture that one goes through, and how easily irritated one could get when one is having an attack. Seriously, the extent of my suffering gets so bad that it feels as if my eyes were bleeding and that relief would only be justified if I could rip off my nose. Alright, I probably would not want to really rip off my nose, but that is the only way I could possibly describe it. It gets to a point that it almost feels as if I have a very severe case of the "Cold." It is often accompanied with a slight fever and throbbing sinus headaches, depending on the degree of it's severity. Sometimes it hinders my ability to function and all I can really do is bury my face inside my pillow and hope to fall asleep until the irritation subsides. Unlike those who simply can divert themselves from coming into direct contact with specific allergens, it is virtually impossible for me to avoid pollens, environmental triggers and air-bourne particles. Until a cure is developed, all I can do is either get temporary alleviation by the use of grade-A pharmaceutical drugs or I can sit here, take it and bitch. There is also possibly one other form of treatment that I could possibly look into called Immunotherapy in which a patient is "gradually vaccinated with progressively larger doses of the allergen in question [until it reduces] the severity or eliminate hypersensitivity altogether" (Ross RN, Nelson HS, and Finegold I, 2000). Seems like the perfect solution, but according to medscape.com, the treatment can have an estimated cost of $1200/year. Considering the price, I'll stick with my measly $10 co-pay.
Vivien and I took a short walk around Central Park today, or what most people refer to as Lake Elizabeth. It was a nice day out for a walk I suppose. I invited her to go perhaps to help in motivating her to complete her daily work out, and perhaps it was also a way to deviate myself from the normal routine of heavy lifting that I do on Mondays. I normally enjoy my routine workouts, but there have been days when the mere idea of it would be the very last thing that I would want to do. One of those days was today. I convinced myself that since I worked out the whole time during my "vacation" last week, that I would take it easy today and continue with my intense exercise sessions starting early tomorrow morning. I kept thinking to myself over and over if this was okay? I have been somewhat obsessed with exercise and nutrition for over a year now that throwing myself off track just a little felt so strange and out of the ordinary. I suppose looking back in hindsight, it really was just a poor excuse not to follow my usual régime and justify the simple fact that I was being lazy. I feel almost inclined to complete a few sets of push-ups and maybe a few crunches now just to counterbalance this inconsistency. I can't help but feel a little guilty. Some might say that I am being too hard on myself or that this way of thinking may be unhealthy. But it can't be too unhealthy to want to be healthy, can it?
Eat, poop, sleep and repeat. Suki and Atrus have it so easy; No work and all play, and I am convinced that even they know how easy they have it.
It was quite strange calling my store today for my schedule tomorrow. I had gone the last nine days pretending as if that place was non existent, and it was great. I have enjoyed every moment of not having the weight of responsibility hanging over my shoulder this past week, but all good things must come to an end. I suppose tomorrow isn't so bad after all. I know a handful of people who just despises Mondays, yet for me it's actually one of the easier days of the work week. My schedule tomorrow confines me behind a desk for eight hours filling out paperwork, managing payroll, burying myself in a pile of reports and staring at a computer. It's sort of a transitioning period that slowly prepares me for the rest of the week. Real mental drainage begins at 4am, Wednesday morning.
Looking back on the past week, I feel as if I have accomplished a lot, probably more than I originally thought I would: I have completed my 2007 tax return, Robbie and I have done our grocery shopping, I have made some time to hang out and have some fun with my friends, I have gotten back into writing and keeping a journal of my thoughts, I have leveled my new World of Warcraft character from 34 to 41, I have made some extra money working a few extra days at my second job, I have gotten this blog site to look exactly the way I want it and I have finally thrown out some trash and gotten my apartment cleaned up (Thanks for the help, Viv.)
So, with the last few minutes I have remaining, I think I will try another hand at stage 18 of an awesome online game called Bloxorz. It's a free puzzle game where the object is to figure out which direction to tumble a rectangular block along a predetermined set of tiles in order to deposit it into a square hole. Using the arrow keys, guide the block along a series of bridge-opening switches, block-splitting switches and transporters to proceed to the next stage. Compared to the hundreds of lame and unengaging flash games on the web, this one will actually make you think, and yes, it's quite addicting. Check it out and enjoy!
UPDATE: Stage 18 - FAIL! This really is the end of all things! Good night!
In all honesty I really do love my job. But I have come to a realization that my "vacation" is almost coming to an end and I just really am sick of "working" in general. The one panel comic strip I found (posted to the right) explains more of how I feel in full color detail.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a lazy person but in the past week while I had been doing absolutely nothing but working out and blogging, I feel more accomplished than I have in the last year. The following few paragraphs were actually suppose to be posted yesterday, but alcohol is a purely enjoyable "eee-vul" that has inadvertently thwarted such plans. So, pressing on, here is yesterday's unposted post:
Strangely enough, considering that I am on "vacation," I went in and "worked" last night at "the Bistro," a fairly new wine bar in the newer section of the "Auto Mall" shopping strip in Fremont. I have to say I was pretty impressed. Unless it's a late Friday evening, I can almost assure you at least one tumbleweed sighting, but business last night was unusually very busy for just a weeknight. I suppose it was due to the fact that Audrey (the owner) was hosting her very first "Murder Mystery Night." There was a great turn out for the event and the crowd seemed to have been really enjoying the game as I could hear their boisterously nonsensical conversations and constant "Ooooh's" and "Aaaaah's" through the kitchen door, even over the loud hiss of the overhead fan and the blaring of my iPod. Unfortunately, it seems that she had accidently gave away "who dun it" halfway through and ruined the game. Luckily everyone left in high spirits and no one was offended or went away feeling cheated.
Halfway through the night one of the customers tapped me on the back and greeted me with a "Hey how have you been?" I paused for a moment and hesitantly turned around for I wasn't sure who or what to expect but was pleased to find out it was Bruce, a very old customer of mine whom I've met when I was just a barista at Starbucks and whom I haven't seen in the last three plus years. I was slightly shocked that he actually remembered me but even more so I think I impressed us both by remembering his "then" regularly ordered drink: A Grande (sometimes Venti) nonfat Latte. "We always remember the people we genuinely like," he said to me and I thought to myself, such small and simple words weigh a ton in absolute truth, but all I could say in return was "For real." We continued to chat momentarily while I ordered a glass of wine and parted words before I made my way outside to smoke a cigarette with Vivien and Erika. I didn't intend on staying for as long as I did but Bruce later joined us as he was leaving the bar. We immersed ourselves in what I thought was a drunken exchange of words but things had begun to get very interesting as our conversations progressed. It seems that Bruce is really good friends with Michael Goorjian, an actor/director who is better known by his character portrayals in Party of Five and SLC Punk. He went on saying that he has a small part in a new documentary directed by Michael Goorjian called You Can Heal Your Life, and when invited to a "table reading" at Sophia Coppola's house, was asked to play a small part as an "annoying accountant" in an upcoming movie. He also said that he would try to convince Michael in screening the documentary at "the Bistro" sometime in the near future and perhaps even have a "Q&A" session with Mr. Goorjian afterwards. As cool as that may be, I have taken that comment with a grain of salt. Nothing interesting or nearly that cool ever happens in Fremont. All in all I just thought it was very interesting and pretty darn cool how directly or indirectly connected we are to the multitude of people we interact with on a daily basis without even knowing it. Now if only I could find a connection towards paid bills for no work, free rent, a clean apartment and to master the art of "Cobra Kai" style Karate so that I could "sweep the leg" without hesitation. Defeat does not exist in this dojo. Does it? No, Sensei!
I woke up this morning dry mouthed and thirsty. Last night's drinking has left me drained in spirit and physical energy. It is also a little discouraging waking up to the mess left behind from the night before, which of course is piled on top of the mess left behind from the last week or so. Seriously, I have made plans tomorrow to really clean this place up. I just need to make sure I don't let anything distract me from finishing (or more so "beginning") the task. And Vivien, I'm still going to hold you up on your offer. So expect a call from me sometime in the early morning! ;-P
Although I am sad to see this week come almost to an end, I am really glad the weekend is almost here. I always treat myself to a nice fatty meal at the end of each week. After a week of healthy and nutritious food and protein shakes, I have been holding back on an intense craving for a real Mexican entrée. So, I think tomorrow I am going to splurge on more than a few tamales, perhaps from El Patio. So, Robbie, if you are reading this, let us feast on some tamales tomorrow!
Tonight I'm working another shift at "the Bistro." As much as I love the people that work there, I have to say there has been more than enough times I've hated going in to pick up the slack of the previous cook and "undo" a dirty kitchen. I hope Manny is feeling better and doesn't call out sick again. I have to admit, he is the burst of energy that helps time pass by and gets me through working a second job. Perhaps I'll run into someone else I know. If not, I know I could always look forward to the free alcohol per after shift and another night of drunken fun!
On the geek side of things, there have been some exciting news floating around the rumor mill around SquareEnix's thirteenth (fourteenth if you count X and X-2 seperately) installment(s) in the Final Fantasy series. Square has been working on this project since 2006 and from merely watching the extended trailers (FFXIII and FFXIIIV) released not too long ago, I can definitely say that these are going to be two of Sony's bigger guns! With all the highly anticipated games that were due to be released late last year and then hit with last minute delays, there is yet hope for all of us Final Fantasy fanboys and fangirls alike.
In a recent interview with gaming director Motomu Toriyama of SquareEnix in Japanese magazines Famitsu and Dengeki (translated by Chas at ff-xiii.net,) he states that:
"2008 will be the year. There will be tons of news bits, info on characters and summons, and an unexpected connection between the keywords Cocoon and Farushi. [...] We're aiming for a demo to give players a hands on on the battle system."With that being said, it's hard to say exactly when the demo will be released to the public let alone a finished product, but expect PS3 sales to soar as these titles (Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII Versus) will be two of the several "PS3 exclusive" titles that will definitely showcase the sheer power of Sony's Playstation 3 system and bring them back and running into the midst of the console war.
Yesterday afternoon I decided to finally get my hair cut. A partner of mine where I work had suggested I check out her mom's new salon that opened about a few weeks ago in old town Newark. You see I use to go to a high end salon next door to where I work, but that was when my hair was long and I was willing to pay an arm and a leg to make sure it got cut right. My hair is very coarse and straight, and a simple snip just doesn't cut it (no pun intended.) After cutting my hair really short, I was no longer willing to pay much for a quick trim. That's when I started going to a small vietnamese owned salon on the newer side of Newark. The problem there was that I had to make sure to recieve a hair cut from a specific person, a lady named Miki. No one else there seemed to know what they were doing. So, considering I kind of wanted to try something new, I took her up on her suggestion and went on my way to visit her mom's "new" salon: Tu Estetica.
The "new" salon is slightly hidden between two other buildings and a few shrubs down Thornton Avenue. There didn't seem to be a parking lot when I first drove past so I parked down the next road across from a worn down apartment complex, in obvious shambles. I walked toward where the sign was posted on the street and noticed that there was a small parking lot and right behind it was a small aged and weathered down building. There was a wooden fence door beside it with the words "Open" spraypainted in red within a small circle and an arrow pointing inside. I figured that it must have been the place I was looking for, and if not, I would be walking right into a stranger's backyard. The closer I got, the scarier the situation became, and the sun suddenly was eclipsed by thick grey clouds. I walked past the fence and into an open door. Used cans of paint were stacked near the unlit entrance both inside and out. It felt like I was headed straight into a horror scene and I thought to myself if I get murdered, they'll never find my body in here. Down the darkened corridor I found myself in a room dimly lit by flickering fluorescent lights and as I entered I was greeted by my co-worker's mom. She asked me to wait while she finished up. She seemed to have been working on another customer's "head." "No problem," I said and sat down on a pleather couch placed against the wall to the right of me.
As I waited I couldn't help but look around my surroundings. This "new" salon was small. So small that it only had one salon chair and one mirror. The place also seemed a little run down and together with the flickering of lights and very dim atmosphere, it reminded me of a dirty and almost grim hospital room that one might see in the movie Silent Hill. Ok, maybe I am just "slightly" over exaggerating. Across from me was a small porcelain sink, and inside was what seemed like a bloody pair of scissors. Upon looking closer, it was just drenched in red hair dye.
As she finished, she asked me to go ahead and sit in the chair. After sitting down I realized that the customer who had been getting his hair cut while i had been waiting was the same person who was going to cut my hair. Oh my God I thought to myself and almost died. I already was uncomfortable upon entering, but now I was one hundred percent reluctant about proceeding with the session. I took a deep breath and continued anyway.
He asked how I wanted him to cut my hair. I went on about how I usually get it cut and with the length it was at the moment, I was ready for something different. He studied my face and said, "Okay, I have an idea."
As much as I would not trust him holding a pair of Crayola Cutters, let alone a real pair of scissors, I decided that I have already entered into the Twilight Zone and that I might as well get the full ride.
Half way through the session I noticed that my hair was being cut exactly the way I normally have it cut, the way in which made sure to told him not to. But being only halfway done, perhaps he was going to do something special. Being halfway done, perhaps I should have told him to stop. As he finished up, I took a glance in the mirror and thought to myself I could have just shaved my head at home. As I left, I reluctantly paid him the twelve dollars I was charged and hurried home. In retrospect, I suppose I paid twelve dollars for the frightful experience and recieved a mediocre hair cut for free. I definitely won't be going back there anytime and even revisiting that place several years into the future would be too soon. Until then, I suppose I will be going back to Miki. At least with her I know exactly what I am paying for.
There is nothing like being woken up at four in the morning by a pair of paws and relentless unworldly meowing begging and pleading, "feed me! feed me!" Even with my head under the covers, they "know" I'm under there. Who "needs" an alarm clock when you have two cats who have retained the exact timing of when they will get their next bowl of dry, tasteless (yes, I have nibbled on one just to see what the big fuss was about) kitty chow. Just train your kitties to swap at you at whatever time you choose. What a bunch of geniuses!
Today is officially my first day of so called "vacation..." And I'm still up at the butt crack of dawn! Besides relaxing throughout the week, I have plans to finally get this place cleaned up. Let's hope I don't push that project aside until the very last minute. Well, I've gulped down 16 ounces of my vanilla flavored protein shake+1 and am now ready to complete another routine workout. Time to endure a couple hours of squats, lunges and other tiresome lifting. At least it's paying off. Later I think I will finally go and get my hair cut. It's becoming too much of a nuisance in the mornings trying to get that one part to just stand or sit right. Even a handful of "hair gum" sometimes just doesn't do it! Enough said, time to crank up the music.
This is epic! I have always wanted to start a blog site just so that I could document the random series of events, interests, obstacles or whatever else it is that this life is going to hurl at me, but I "suppose" I had just been too lazy to really go and find out where and how to do it. With a little help from Phluid, I am proud to say that this site is now up and running, and while I am still in the process of learning how to use the different elements of blogging, I now have somewhere I can record an online journal of my life... this journey onward... this "moonlit path." Although a handwritten diary of events is somewhat more intimate, who likes "writing" anymore anyway? Besides, too much "writing" can get quite tiresome and typing it all is far too easy not to.
In due time this site will soon come along. So far I'm happy with the layout and placements and such, but who's to say where it may go and when I will change my mind? As it is, it's already making me feel giddy and funny inside, as if I have uncovered something monumental; some secret treasure of some sort. It's like "needing" a smoke just when you have run out and finding that one last cigarette hidden inside one of many seemingly empty boxes piled on your desk. Or maybe it's like going into Dynamis in Final Fantasy XI Online hundreds of times and "finally," that final hour passes when you feel as if your eyelids and fingertips are about to just fall off and somewhere in the very back of your head a voice is trying to convince you to manually "D/C" but out of nowhere, a Summoner's Horn drops and you are now 5 out of 5 on your Summoner's relic pieces. If you've never experienced something like that, in Layman's terms it is pure "awesomeness!" \m/(>_<)\m/ And I suppose that's how blogging should feel.
