A pause from reflection for a brief life update
It's been about a month since I finished my master's degree. Overall I have been taking it easy and catching up on a lot of the stuff that has stacked up over the last year. I have been applying for work and sat for my first interview on Friday. The interview went well, but they kept basically telling me that I was not experienced enough for what I would be doing. Oh well.
The whole job search thing is moving slower than I expected. Figures. You send your resume someplace. They get it and respond days later. They want to interview immediately, then things get pushed back. Then they have to figure out if you're what they want. It's so annoying.
Other than that, I suppose I've been doing alright. Been getting a little lonely and a little gloomy as of late. Perhaps it's because I know deep down that I'm running out of reasons to stop delaying on something important...Things seem to be a little off with friends lately...perhaps I'm just taking things more personally than I should be, or maybe I've hurt things and haven't even realized it. Or perhaps I just haven't been able to perceive a change in dynamics...
I've been able to do some nice, good old fashioned relaxing and playing games that don't have to be played hastily at the sacrifice of sleep or quality of work. I've completed Metroid Prime 3, Ultimate Spider-Man, and Brave Story: New Traveller since school has been over. Metroid Prime 3 was a spiritual experience...that's really all that needs to be said about it. Ultimate Spiderman was sort of an impulse buy, but I greatly enjoyed the sandbox Spider-Man experience. I personally felt that at least on the Gamecube version that the controls could have been tightened some, and that the game was a little short, getting perhaps a little too much milage out of chase missions, but fun all the same. I'd love to see a sequel down the road. Brave Story was perhaps the most well presented RPG I've played in years. In a world where console RPGs are in decline it was wonderful to have something that could so perfectly represent where the genre could have gone if Style over Substance did not take over.
Just started playing Kingdom Hearts II. I was holding out for an American release of Final Mix, but a friend loaned me their copy a few days ago. Wouldn't you know that as soon as I start my game of it that I hear a pretty strong rumor that we're getting Final Mix in America. Fuck. Hopefully it'll be like the Japanese one where you can use clear data for a quicker play through and get right to the funner stuff. Anyhow, I'm liking it so far. It's been verrrrry slow to start...while the story has been fun and interesting thus far(just made it to Hades), that first few hours really did not belong there...or at least there was a better way to go about it. That's really not how you start a game. Fun all the same.
Been watching more anime lately. It was nice to finally own Eva Platinum(special thanks to John) and rewatch the first part of the series all over again...I think after this being the 20th or so time I've seen those episodes that it's starting to wear on me. That, or my metaphysical nipples are rock hard at the prospect of the Rebuild movies. I had actually forgotten my favorite line from the series until I rewatched the third episode-when Shinji's class is asking about him being the EVA pilot, one of his classmates asks "What is its ultimate attack!?" With how EVA turns out, that is the last thing it has. Though I would LOVE to turn that into an Internet Meme...anybody have a picture of cats or monkeys or something interacting that might make that line look appropriate?
I've also recently fallen in love with a little show called Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. It's pretty heavily hyped in a couple of my online haunts, so I figured I'd give it a try. HOLY SHIT. It's some of the best hot blooded super robot action I've ever seen. Not since GaoGaiGar have I been completely pumped during transformations and super attacks...has some interesting mechanical design. By interesting I don't mean "strange and organic" like the present trend in mechanical design, but sort of takes a step backwards in that respect, using exagerated proportions and this style that's sort of a hybrid of traditional "real robots" design and some of the cartoonier super robot design of yesteryear. Plus, HOT BLOODED. Great stuff. Not a show I can in good conscious recommend to my female audience, as it seems to have a lot of plot that I think only a guy could really appreciate.
Gundam Double O premieres soon...I can't get a straight story on it. Some say that it takes place between 0083 and Zeta Gundam in the UC timeline. Most sources seem to indicate that it's yet another alternate universe story, particularly since it seems to have fallen back on "Custom Gundams" mentality prevalent in Gundam X, Gundam Wing, and G Gundam(and to a lesser extent Seed/Destiny), and seems to have the "one pilot is the messiah" feel of your Seeds. I'm pumped for it all the same.
I've been getting more interested in figures lately than I have been in a while. I love figures and all, it's just that models are usually cheaper...particularly with what's being put out figure-wise in Japan(let's face it, it's really the only place they make figures anymore) is getting more expensive...and smaller. Your HCM-Pro, the big Gundam figure franchise at the moment, is like $40 for something proportionate with most $6 toycrack, albeit with a lot more detail. Your Gundam Fix Figuations are a little more expensive for something bigger, but they seem to have a phobia about releasing not-as-popular designs for that series. Honestly, if I can spent half as much and gets something that looks just as good, probably 3-4x as big, then I'll get the model.
Anyhow.
What's particularly gotten my attention is the new run of figures for the Rebuild of Evangelion film. The HCM-Pros look really nice, but are probably about as short as their Gundam brethren. For shame, too, since they have some of the coolest diaorama stuff included, like the rifle building for Unit 01 and EVA-00's launch catapult. Of course, for cheaper you have your Revoltechs that have some really cool pose stands and are hyper-posable. Might get the EVA-01 one. Fewer accesories, but look better for display purposes. I'm also excited about Revoltech making more human figures coming up, as opposed to almost purely robots and popular game characters. In fact, it almost looks like from convention pics that you'd be able to buy your own Revoltech frame and kitbash onto that. Posable Shion, here I come!
See you next time.