"More than meets the eye!"
Looks like I've slipped back into my old routine of not posting ever. There's actually been a few things that have happened over the course of this break, most of which has some connection to anime.
Sadly, my manga collection has grown by about 25% since my last post, and unfortunately this is an addiction that neither my wallet nor my shelves can support. Actually, I've long since been out of shelf space, and have had to resort to stacking them on my desk, on the unused bunk bed and its ladder, on the floor... it really is a sorry sight. Unless you're the type that enjoys borrowing other people's manga so you won't have to spend your own money on in; in that case, your eyes would glaze over and you'd start to drool. I've managed to cut back significantly on my DVD purchases, thanks in no small part to the complete closure of MediaPlay and Tower stores. I've gone months (see, it really is an addiction!) without placing a large order online, but have made an occasional purchase of non-anime DVDs at Target and must-have titles, like Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society, or "GitS:SAC-SSS," if you will. That's right, it's pronounced "git-sacksssss"
Speaking of which, SciFi channel made a triumphant return to anime with the airing of its new Ani-Monday block. The first title or air? Git-sacksss. Awesome much? HELL YES! Did I pre-order the Special Edition DVD months ago, and still watch it on TV, and then see the DVD arrive in the mail a week earlier than expect? Pretty much. I'm glad Ani-Monday has picked up a decent lineup of shows. Noein and Tokko are both interesting enough - they're not deep by any means, but at least I find them entertaining enough that I probably would have torrented them at one point or another. Plus, it's great timing on their part, offering something that I'd stick around to watch now that Stargate SG-1 is over (sniff...) and Atlantis is on hiatus. timeLord knows I DON'T WATCH DOCTOR WHO.
Fresh in many peoples' minds, and laundry, is Anime Expo, which was held over this last weekend. Once again, I was not in attendance. More on that in a bit. Going back a few weeks, though, was another anime con. I was able to go to my second Fanime, and it was much better than my first experience there. First of all, WANDERING AROUND BY YOURSELF IN A BUILDING FULL OF FANBOYS/GIRLS SUCKS ASS! Thankfully, there was less of that this time around, but I still found myself going solo more than I would have liked. Another huge difference this time is that I didn't just show up for the last few hours on the final day. I was able to get time off from work so I could go the entire weekend. Okay, well, I didn't bother going on Monday, but at least I made multiple trips to the dealers room, sat in on a few panels, went to the first night's Music Fest concert, and made a special trip to the Play! A Video Game Symphony performance. It was pretty kickass to hear all these great songs performed by an actual orchestra, especially "Time's Scar," the OP to PlayStation's Chrono Cross, which has got to be my all time favorite opening theme. The downside, aside from the expensive tickets, was the fact that it was so short. At the end, most people were still sitting, looking around at each other wondering "that was good, but where's the other half of the show?" Seriously, it felt like we were ripped off. At least I didn't go overboard in the dealers room. I think I left the entire con with -only- five volumes of manga; three for $20 from a dealer's booth, and then vol 4 and 5 of Remote for $10 at the swap meet. I didn't pick up any models this year, as my wallet was practically empty compared to last time. Oh, how the 1/144 Dendrobium Orchis, Masterpiece Megatron and 1/24 Tachikomas tempted me, though. I snagged the Optimus Prime and Megatron Revoltech figures, which look so freakin' cool, as well as a few trade figures from Negima! for both myself and DCThief113. Oh, and back at the swap meet, I haggled two Gundam MSiA figures, a Lunamaria Hawk figure, and I could have sworn something else down from $15 to $11. Score! Add kicking a few guys ass at Guitar Hero II, and I considered it a full weekend.
One reason I didn't go to AX this year, beside the fact that it was being held in Long Beach instead of Anaheim (surprise, surprise, people didn't like that), was that I had already asked for this last Saturday off from work months in advance so I'd be able to attend my aunt and uncle's 40th wedding anniversary. Which just happened to be held at AT&T Park during a Giants home game. It would have taken an act of god to keep me from going to my first game of the season. It wasn't all rainbows and kisses, though. Sure, we won (way to go, Lowry, you my boy!) but there was a lot of crap that happened. Literally! Before the game even got underway, those damn seagulls crapped on my jacket (which at least I wasn't wearing at the time), my cousin's wife's hat (which she WAS wearing), my cousin's backpack, and the shoulder of some random dude that was sitting next to us. Half of the people invited didn't come, and then of those that did come, half were senior citizens. And the elevator was broken on the way up, so we had to huff it up about three flights of stairs before reaching the escalators, only to realize we had to hike a further quarter mile before we got to our seats. The elders barely made it. And then to cap it all off, one of my great aunts' slipped and hit her head in the restroom. Nice. At least it was Barry Zito bobble head night, which was actually a lot better looking than I was expecting. And did I mention we won? Never mind that we're still in last place. Oh, and Bonds was voted in at the last minute for the All Star game! I know, I know... even I don't really care at this point.
Well, without going into any details, work SUCKS! I am so ready to leave. If anyone has any inside pull for another job, I'll definitely take a look. I have no idea what I should do, though, once I leave. There's no way I'm going back to school, and even if I did, I'd still need a part-time job. I've considered every so often getting back into biotech, but it gets so freakin' tedious, I just can't stand it. I love reading about it and keeping up to date with all the findings, but it's just not the right job for me. I actually do have an idea of what I'd like to try, but there just isn't anything like what I have in mind around here. I'd probably have to start my own business, but the capital to do so ain't exactly flowing in.
Well, whatever, I'm giving myself a headache thinking about it. I'll have to do something, though, because I absolutely MUST go to AX next year, never mind that it's going to be in the LBC again. Wow, that song by the Dove Shack was my favorite back in the sixth grade. Er, what?
I guess that just about covers it. I touched all the main points, at least. I did pre-order GH: Encore - Rock the '80s a while back, but it's going to be a few weeks yet before it ships. Goddamnit, I wish they'd release GH III for the PS2 as well. Bastards. Speaking of the '80s, only 19 MORE FREAKIN' HOURS UNTIL I GET TO GO SEE TRANSFORMRES!!!!!
Man, I can't wait...
Sadly, my manga collection has grown by about 25% since my last post, and unfortunately this is an addiction that neither my wallet nor my shelves can support. Actually, I've long since been out of shelf space, and have had to resort to stacking them on my desk, on the unused bunk bed and its ladder, on the floor... it really is a sorry sight. Unless you're the type that enjoys borrowing other people's manga so you won't have to spend your own money on in; in that case, your eyes would glaze over and you'd start to drool. I've managed to cut back significantly on my DVD purchases, thanks in no small part to the complete closure of MediaPlay and Tower stores. I've gone months (see, it really is an addiction!) without placing a large order online, but have made an occasional purchase of non-anime DVDs at Target and must-have titles, like Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society, or "GitS:SAC-SSS," if you will. That's right, it's pronounced "git-sacksssss"
Speaking of which, SciFi channel made a triumphant return to anime with the airing of its new Ani-Monday block. The first title or air? Git-sacksss. Awesome much? HELL YES! Did I pre-order the Special Edition DVD months ago, and still watch it on TV, and then see the DVD arrive in the mail a week earlier than expect? Pretty much. I'm glad Ani-Monday has picked up a decent lineup of shows. Noein and Tokko are both interesting enough - they're not deep by any means, but at least I find them entertaining enough that I probably would have torrented them at one point or another. Plus, it's great timing on their part, offering something that I'd stick around to watch now that Stargate SG-1 is over (sniff...) and Atlantis is on hiatus. timeLord knows I DON'T WATCH DOCTOR WHO.
Fresh in many peoples' minds, and laundry, is Anime Expo, which was held over this last weekend. Once again, I was not in attendance. More on that in a bit. Going back a few weeks, though, was another anime con. I was able to go to my second Fanime, and it was much better than my first experience there. First of all, WANDERING AROUND BY YOURSELF IN A BUILDING FULL OF FANBOYS/GIRLS SUCKS ASS! Thankfully, there was less of that this time around, but I still found myself going solo more than I would have liked. Another huge difference this time is that I didn't just show up for the last few hours on the final day. I was able to get time off from work so I could go the entire weekend. Okay, well, I didn't bother going on Monday, but at least I made multiple trips to the dealers room, sat in on a few panels, went to the first night's Music Fest concert, and made a special trip to the Play! A Video Game Symphony performance. It was pretty kickass to hear all these great songs performed by an actual orchestra, especially "Time's Scar," the OP to PlayStation's Chrono Cross, which has got to be my all time favorite opening theme. The downside, aside from the expensive tickets, was the fact that it was so short. At the end, most people were still sitting, looking around at each other wondering "that was good, but where's the other half of the show?" Seriously, it felt like we were ripped off. At least I didn't go overboard in the dealers room. I think I left the entire con with -only- five volumes of manga; three for $20 from a dealer's booth, and then vol 4 and 5 of Remote for $10 at the swap meet. I didn't pick up any models this year, as my wallet was practically empty compared to last time. Oh, how the 1/144 Dendrobium Orchis, Masterpiece Megatron and 1/24 Tachikomas tempted me, though. I snagged the Optimus Prime and Megatron Revoltech figures, which look so freakin' cool, as well as a few trade figures from Negima! for both myself and DCThief113. Oh, and back at the swap meet, I haggled two Gundam MSiA figures, a Lunamaria Hawk figure, and I could have sworn something else down from $15 to $11. Score! Add kicking a few guys ass at Guitar Hero II, and I considered it a full weekend.
One reason I didn't go to AX this year, beside the fact that it was being held in Long Beach instead of Anaheim (surprise, surprise, people didn't like that), was that I had already asked for this last Saturday off from work months in advance so I'd be able to attend my aunt and uncle's 40th wedding anniversary. Which just happened to be held at AT&T Park during a Giants home game. It would have taken an act of god to keep me from going to my first game of the season. It wasn't all rainbows and kisses, though. Sure, we won (way to go, Lowry, you my boy!) but there was a lot of crap that happened. Literally! Before the game even got underway, those damn seagulls crapped on my jacket (which at least I wasn't wearing at the time), my cousin's wife's hat (which she WAS wearing), my cousin's backpack, and the shoulder of some random dude that was sitting next to us. Half of the people invited didn't come, and then of those that did come, half were senior citizens. And the elevator was broken on the way up, so we had to huff it up about three flights of stairs before reaching the escalators, only to realize we had to hike a further quarter mile before we got to our seats. The elders barely made it. And then to cap it all off, one of my great aunts' slipped and hit her head in the restroom. Nice. At least it was Barry Zito bobble head night, which was actually a lot better looking than I was expecting. And did I mention we won? Never mind that we're still in last place. Oh, and Bonds was voted in at the last minute for the All Star game! I know, I know... even I don't really care at this point.
Well, without going into any details, work SUCKS! I am so ready to leave. If anyone has any inside pull for another job, I'll definitely take a look. I have no idea what I should do, though, once I leave. There's no way I'm going back to school, and even if I did, I'd still need a part-time job. I've considered every so often getting back into biotech, but it gets so freakin' tedious, I just can't stand it. I love reading about it and keeping up to date with all the findings, but it's just not the right job for me. I actually do have an idea of what I'd like to try, but there just isn't anything like what I have in mind around here. I'd probably have to start my own business, but the capital to do so ain't exactly flowing in.
Well, whatever, I'm giving myself a headache thinking about it. I'll have to do something, though, because I absolutely MUST go to AX next year, never mind that it's going to be in the LBC again. Wow, that song by the Dove Shack was my favorite back in the sixth grade. Er, what?
I guess that just about covers it. I touched all the main points, at least. I did pre-order GH: Encore - Rock the '80s a while back, but it's going to be a few weeks yet before it ships. Goddamnit, I wish they'd release GH III for the PS2 as well. Bastards. Speaking of the '80s, only 19 MORE FREAKIN' HOURS UNTIL I GET TO GO SEE TRANSFORMRES!!!!!
Man, I can't wait...