Work this morning was as busy as ever, not necessarily because of customers, but simply due to how much needed done in my short eight hours there (I thought I would never admit to eight hours as being 'short').
Given that I was out of work at noon, I was planning to get lunch with Colleen directly after work, but that fell through at the last minute for one reason or another. Had I not driven halfway to her apartment and made it to the driveway before being told about the cancellation I would have been less hostile about the situation. Eh, I shouldn't complain, I've had to cancel last minute before too (although always with a damn-good reason).
But then again, I'm perfectly glad I was canceled on: today is the day I've been waiting for all summer. The sky is blue and sunlight abundant. The grass in our yard, dead and brown for months, is now a perfect deep green. A light breeze blows past my face as I grill a juicy hamburger. I'm bathed in nature, the beauty of the sky, and quite honestly: the perfect summer day. We've been flirting with high-90's and humid weather all season long, and I'm thrilled to be enjoying the single best day of the summer thus far.
A bike ride is in my future today. I've included some pics of Elli as a change to the norm.Out.
In thirty (30!) posts I'll have reached my 500th post on Critically Correct. Of course, you can expect some sort of small party to celebrate, and I'm already devising a few possible ways to make the 500th post extra-special.In other news, I'm loaded with school-work and going nuts already. I have dedicated a good portion of my weekend to getting work done, and so far it's working out wonderfully. Despite the heavy workload, I'm not finding too many problems balancing my weekend freedom with school work.Also - I've conceived a new short-story idea that I'm beginning to develop for my Fiction Workshop class. Because Event Horizon is a bit too long for the requirements of the class, I'm passing it up in favor of exploring new ideas for the time being, and I'm halfway excited about some of my new ideas.Anywho, back to work. Out.
And here I am. Hesitantly optimistic.Obviously, I have begun this semester knowing that I'm quite tired of school. After just a few days, I see that this will be my heaviest semester yet at BGSU. As worried as I am about how my performance will pan out, I do know that I have a wide-variety of classes: programming, designing, reading, and writing.More than any other semester, I'll also be involved in constant group work, which means I'll be spending lots of time on or near campus, and away from Meijer. On one hand I'll love being able to get lots done school-wise, but on the other, I'm loving making a ton of money at Meijer, so I guess I'll have to find a balance.Anywho, I'm off for class. My calendar is the easiest way to keep up with me. I'll be back soon, hopefully.
With summer all but over, it's time for me to reflect on the past three months and look ahead at the next school year. It'll be my last at BGSU.What Has Been...My summer began with big, bold ambitions. After a vastly disappointing spring semester, I was looking forward to three months of absolute relaxation. Before school ended, I said that I was going to sit on my ass and play video games every day of the summer. I was joking, of course, because I had devised the B3.0 Initiative, had several fiction works to complete, lots of biking to do, and other random tidbits of things to accomplish. My summer started right: the same day as my last exam was also the release day for Spider-Man 3, which I was looking forward to for years. The next day, I decided to purchase one video game to get my summer going - to help me celebrate another school year completed. Arriving at Meijer, I decided to play through The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. That was in the first week of May. It's now August, and I still haven't beaten the damn game. I blame my other purchase from that day: the summer-consuming World of Warcraft.Yes, more than anything, I reflect on this as the summer of wasted chances, bad decisions, and lost time. WoW is responsible for all of my summer waste. I neglected friends, writing, projects, biking, the B3.0 Initiative, and even my blog, in favor of playing WoW in the morning, afternoon, and night. I supported my job, of course, but mostly because it was paying for WoW. It wasn't until late June that I began to admit it, but it was true: I was addicted to World of Warcraft. Luckily, by early August my interests in the game were waning, mainly because other projects kept staring me in the face (Event Horizon, anyone?). Before canceling my WoW subscription, I did accomplish many goals in-game, so when I return to Azeroth one day, I'll be poised to pick up with a great character, avoiding much of the tedium that killed this summer.Of course I set out to complete one work of fiction this summer, and Event Horizon has come along great. Although it'll be two weeks into school before I'm ultimately done, much of the final story came together this summer. The story was almost twice as long as I anticipated, but was worth the extra writing.The B3.0 Initiative, my plan of setting personal goals and methodically achieving them throughout the summer, has been met with mixed results. Two of the four original goals have panned out fairly well. I plan to pursue smaller goals related to the Initiative throughout the fall and winter seasons.Of course, summer break is supposed to be about enjoying time with friends. Suffice to say, this summer has been leaps and bounds different for me - I've had a pleasant mix of old and new experiences. Although I rarely reflect on Lacey, it's hard to not mention her: this was my first summer in six years that hasn't been focused on my time spent with her. That is not necessarily a bad thing, of course. To the contrary, I've found myself growing closer to a few of my core friends (...), yet I've also been separated by leaps and bounds from older friends. I've been able to spend lots of time familiarizing myself with fun from my past, including biking on the Towpath, river walking in the Maumee, and of course, eating tons of Campus Pollyeye's. It's been a summer of difference for me, but almost always in a positive way.The bottom line: was it a "good" summer? Most definitely yes.... And What Is to Come.I'm going into this fall semester with more worries on my mind than ever before. As my fifth year at BGSU, I'm quite sick of the campus. Yes, I barreled into last year with a strong start and great intentions ahead of me, but both semesters panned out as fairly "meh," mainly with middling grades and major problems arising with my social life.Nonetheless, I'm charging straight into this semester full-steam ahead. What is to come? I can only guess... time for a hit-list!I'm making a big effort to spend a consistent amount of time writing. Whether it is personal fiction or work for my two creative writing courses, I want to make sure my writing only improves, and constant experience is the best way to do that.In the last year I have become completely uninterested in my major, computer science. It's not that dislike the subject matter - to the contrary, I still love programming. To me, it's another form of creative writing, and I can't wait to complete my degree. However, the last two semesters of classes in CS have been boring, predictable, and uninteresting in the extreme. Luckily, I'm taking some very high-end 400-level courses this semester, one of which, Software Development, sounds like a blast. I'm hoping to rebuild CS into a major part of my life. The question is, what part of my life do I knock out to make room? Good thing I gave up World of Warcraft when I did...Socially speaking, I don't see much happening. I have a limited core set of friends that I love to death, but overall, I plan to spend a lot of time this semester traveling about Bowling Green on foot, alone. It'll be beneficial to my studies. As a whole, serious relationships with girls are on the back-burner to make room for school work, creative expression, and fun with my close friends.My overall prognosis for this semester? I'm cautiously stepping into it. I have no idea how it will progress, but I've already passed the point of "hoping for the best." At this point, I'm charging full-force into my last year hell-bent on one goal: finishing college.May the last be the best.B3 out.
What I have planned for upcoming posts (in no particular order):- Event Horizon - Of course, I'll be using my blog for the initial publishing of the finished Event Horizon. Coming in September.
- My Aristocrats Joke - I've become a big fan of the documentary The Aristocrats, and I've taken a shining to write my own version of the famous joke. I'll be polishing and publishing it in the coming weeks.
- Summer Review - How has my summer gone and what can I expect for the upcoming semester? This post will be up tomorrow. Stay tuned.
- Admittance - People seem to love digging up juicy details on other people. I love admitting hidden secrets about myself in ways so ambiguously confusing that no one bothers to care. I have something burning inside me that I have to put out there, and I cannot wait to see who connects the dots first.
Out.
It is nights like last night that scare the shit out of me sometimes.As lame as it sounds, my unconscious dreams sometimes scare me in waking thought. You might call this inspiration for Event Horizon, but I do take note of my dreams, and I sometimes wake up a person with a vastly different attitude toward something than when I went to bed the previous night.Take last night for example. I had a dream that involved one of my friends, and it's made me wary of even wanting to see them in person. The dream goes as follows:I find myself standing in a small courtyard lined with concrete lit only by the pale light of a midnight moon. On all sides of the courtyard stands the glass walls to a half-dozen high-end hotel rooms. I immediately notices that every wall of these rooms is made of crystal-clear glass: there is no chance for privacy.I move toward an open glass door that allows access to one of the rooms. Upon stepping inside, the room begins to flicker with shades of orange, red, and yellow. Candles flare to life all about the room, which seem to be accented by the reflecting and refracting of their light off the glass walls. A queen-sized bet sits in the middle of the room, although it sits lifeless.As I take a seat on the bed, I find myself becoming lost in a comfortable flurry of pillows, blankets, and a super-silky comforter. Without warning or comprehension, my friend appears next to me, fully nude. Unlike my my interactions with them in the real world, I take advantage of this moment to study their body in full detail. I use my hands to enjoy the smooth skin of their arms, my nose to study the nuances of their every smell, and my eyes to burn a memory of what lies beneath their clothes. I note details and peculiarities about them that I could not even begin to imagine if I actively tried.What happens next is vague, and although one might consider the obvious, I know for sure that it did not happen. Instead, I grasp my friend tightly but gently, and spend the rest of the night embracing their spirit, sharing their warmth, and ending the dream with nothing more than a small, simple kiss that resonates forever into the darkness of the night.Suffice to say, this dream has shaken my emotions in ways that are new to me. I'll be paying close attention to what happens next, both in my dreams and in real life.Out.
In a random twist of events, I've found myself in the past three or four days completely unmotivated by anything. I would like to blame it on work draining me five days a week, but I know it's not... I'm simply have a hard time being interested in anything that generally interests me. Video games, writing, biking, working out, sex, my gadgets... I'm just lost on it all.I noticed this most recently when my new phone came. Being a jack-of-all-trades, top-end, business-class PDA phone, I've been looking forward to getting it for weeks. Two days after getting it, I find it so integrated into my daily life that I have no interest in its "awesomeness." I'm the same way with video games - I play about five minutes of a dozen game everyday and then move on, uninterested in any of them. The same feeling is beginning to pan out to my friends.Yes, school is coming, and a certain amount of stress is expected with that. But to lose interest in every major aspect of my life? I've been in this place before, and I know that it's a precursor to many other 'bad' things... Shit, I don't even feel like blogging much anymore.Hopefully things pick up for me in a week and a half. Right now, the only thing that even mildly interests me is sleep and silence - in other words, complete loneliness.Ah, to be lonely again... such a wonderful feeling sometimes.Out.
What can I say? School is almost here.On one hand, I'm terribly excited to return to a (mostly) campus-based life. On the other, I'm growing tired of school - of the workload, the stress, and the bore of the BGSU campus.But I have a week of summer left, right? Right? Anyone? For fuck's sake, where has summer gone?This is about the time that I write about my summer - how it went for me, how my aspirations played out, etc. This is also about the time that I make upcoming predictions for the upcoming semester. Alas, both of these entries will be published this coming week, along with the beginning of my countdown to my 500th post in Critically Correct.I have a lot to say before I go back.
Out.
Once again I'm on a spending spree with the Wii Virtual Console. I've recently purchased a new game, which means it's time for my review!Review: Wave Race 64One of the greatest racing games in the history of the industry hits the Wii Virtual Console. Wave Race 64 was originally released in 1996, shortly after the release of the Nintendo 64, and immediately became known for its accurate water physics and tight control.It's been several years since I've played Wave Race 64, mostly because I enjoy its update, Wave Race: Blue Storm, so much. It was quite a surprise for me to play Wave Race 64 again and rediscover that it is just as fun and enthralling today as it was eleven years ago. The wave physics still feel right, and the game is as challenging as ever, particularly on the Expert Championship.As an emulated game on the Wii, Wave Race 64 suffers from the usual emulation problems: the Classic Controller's analog sticks are too sensitive for the degree of accuracy that this game commands, and it hurts the experience considerably. I could look past the issue with Super Mario 64 and Star Fox 64, but here I need to make very minor adjustments on the stick to maintain proper control on the waves, and it's extra effort that takes away from the experience. Luckily, a GameCube pad will fix this instantly, and provides very accurate, natural control that feels superior, in fact, to the N64 pad.Without a doubt, everyone who plays Virtual Console games should download this. More than ever, Wave Race 64 is a racing game worth everyone's time.Out.
Leave it to one game to single-handedly ruin my entire school semester before it even starts.I purchased Picross DS for the Nintendo DS today, and it's sucked every free minute of my time thus far...By far the most addicting game I've played in years. Definitely worth $20.
New stuff abounds, and it's time for a hit list!- Event Horizon is turning out even better than I planned for it to, and I'm wrapping up the writing of two new scenes. If final proofing goes as planned, I'll be publishing it in the first week of September.
- I found out about a new concert in our area. One of my old-favorite bands, Saliva, will be playing in the K-Mart parking lot in Defiance Ohio at 5:00pm on Sunday, August 19th. This is a benefit concert; tickets are $12. Bloody sweet. I'm there. Any takers?
- On my calendar, I have added two week-long vacations from Meijer. I'm taking (or planning to take) a week in September off, as well as a full week for my birthday in October. I'm hoping to use this time off for a variety of things, but mostly to begin work on a new fiction project that I'm contemplating.
In unrelated news... I've just finished playing through Yoshi's Island DS - time for a review!Game Review: Yoshi's Island DSOriginally titled "Yoshi's Island 2", Nintendo was smart to change the title at the last minute prior to release. If this were titled "Yoshi's Island 2" the game would have been a huge letdown. Positioning it as a DS-only entry into the series, however, was a saving grace. If nothing else, Yoshi's Island DS could also be called "Yoshi's Island 1.1".Allow me: The game's over-world structure is identical to the original, level graphics are sometimes identical, and the overall story is almost a one-to-one copy of the original game. Save for all new level designs, a few new enemies, new items, and four new babies, this DS installment plays more like a level pack for the original game than an evolution of the design.This isn't, however, a bad thing. Yoshi's Island DS plays very, very, very well. Level design is still top-notch; certainly on-par with the original and exceedingly clever in many places. If nothing else, the game is hard, especially throughout all of World 5. As a homage to the original game, this installment plays very well, and although it is overall shorter in length, the new babies (each bringing some unique ability that plays into level design) help to flesh it out as its own game. There are few in-game touch screen elements, much like the New Super Mario Bros.Nintendo very deliberately created the single best 2D platforming game in the history of the industry back in 1995. To this day, Yoshi's Island stands as such. The DS iteration of the franchise is, in the end, more of the same game - very little new, nothing dramatically changed, and most definitely, not a sequel. It's still one hell of a ride, though, and should be played by any fan of the original game.Out.
Colleen brought up a very interesting point to me recently. I can't restate what she said word for word, but I can summarize/paraphrase it quite well:People seem to be stuck with the mentality that was last significant to them. For example, if a high schooler doesn't move on to college, they seem to be stuck with a high school mentality in life, which usually entails a dramatic approach to life.I've given this initially-overlooked concept some time in the ol' B3 Thinking Cap. My take on the idea:Personal attitude, lifestyle, and mentality are developed over the course of a lifetime - in other words, ever-changing. It's not uncommon, however, for these aspects of a person to conform to some general standard over some period of time - which can be loosely called "personality." As human beings are social creatures, it is no surprise that our most social situations can sharply define how our personality evolves.
Colleen is, for the most part, dead on. We evolve from stage to stage - our early years as children are defined by carefree playtime, from which we must learn discipline and responsibility. During our high school years, we learn the full spectrum of social interaction possibilities, after which we must learn to obey societal mores. In college we discover true independence, and must quickly learn to become respectful citizens and self-discovering individuals. After college, we begin our self-defined path, and must learn that we never... well, stop learning.And therein, I think, lies the heart of Colleen's statement. For as individual as every person wants to be, it really takes a full path of education, social interaction, and a variety of experiences to gain the insight that we are greatly influenced by who we surround ourselves with. Major milestones of our lives, such as those outlined above, can have a profound effect on the type of people we are.Well said, Colleen.
I've written my first week-long schedule for the first week of school. It is generally representative, at a minimum, of where I expect to be throughout my day. To be short: Damn, I'm gonna be all over the place all week long. I'll be working early (6am) when I do, and I'll be pushing close to 40 hours at Meijer.See my Google Calendar for the week of August 19th to see the live version, or click here to see the week-view PDF version. Items marked "Tentative" are those that I am only theorizing will occur on a regular basis.
