Hi all. Yes, I am still alive!
Just a quick but very important update!
I think we can assume now that daily or weekly updates just aren't going to happen, at least not consistently for periods longer than a month or two at once. However, my biggest aim for the Winter is to be on top of things - especially school stuff - and updating this blog would be a good testament to that.
I have some new friends to add to me list of secret people. I won't list all of them, just some of those I've been talking to the most over the last two months. Also included are previously alias'd people that I happen to have been seeing a lot recently:
A.C. <--Not a new one, actually my best friend of many years.
Ochibi-chan <--Short, quiet, tres kawaii! My g/f as of two days ago x)
Her Annieness <--Frosh week friend that I wish I saw more of these days! Friend of Ochibi-chan too.
Mr. Tengen <--Frosh week friend, really cool guy who is enthusiastically learning Go! 囲碁部員
::Continued writing this entry on 12/23/2011, after meeting up with JEFFBOT, Mimi and others for Karaoke. After that, Mimi and I met up with ANGRYM and two others for sushi, and yet more Karaoke!::
EmoJ <--1st-year friend from Japanese class. I spend a considerable amount of time with him, one of my good friends.
HappyJ<--A good friend from Go club who has a lot in common with me - Go, Anime/Manga, Magic the Gathering, Japan insterests, etc.
ANGRYKOREAN <-- Hehe, he's not a new one. He's a Go club friend, a good friend, and sometimes does other stuff with me besides Go. We always joke about other Go players, generalizations/stereotypes in Go, etc.
LittleD <--Since there's a BigD, there must be a LittleD! Actually, their physical sizes are probably roughly similar hehe. LittleD is someone who is currently helping me a lot with Go club management.
GARU <--Another new Go club member. He seems like a pretty smart guy, and is interesting to talk to.
There are more, I'll list them another time lol.
My first term of university was very poor in terms of marks, but really awesome in regards to my social life. I made a lot of good new friends, run a Go club with tons of new members, developed multiple more new social circles, and got a girlfriend too. For the most part, things are good~
I learned a lot from my university mistakes so far, like to stay on top of or, better yet, ahead on readings, to study as early as possible for everything regardless of how much time there is, to attend all tutorials and most or all lectures, to maintain a fairly strict schedule even on weekends in order to keep sleeping patterns regulated, purchase books as early as possible and deal with OSAP stuff as early as possible, plan everything in advance as much as possible, set up folders on computer for each courses (did this) into which I should put notes and things, etc.
Most of all, I must say it again that I should be ahead on readings and studying at all times. Then getting at least 70's on everything is automatic, and I can get much higher marks from there.
I fell so behind in some of my courses that I had to pull lots of all nighters and never finished studying for anything. My GPA is probably around 2.8 or 2.9 as of the new year, pretty horrible. However, I have calculated a lot of things, such as what I can get in the winter and what I can get later on (cumulative). I calculated GPA for bold goals, "expectable/realistic" goals, and modest goals. Even with modest goals for the winter, as long as I follow what I've learned from experience now, something like 3.3 is a good goal. Anyway, I will aim for 3.4. 3.5 is probably not possible for this year now, but at the same time, should be easy to avoid anything below 3.3 or 3.2. I will do my best to come out of this year with a decent mark, and make it a really good one next year. I can think of it as a trade.
It's like a Magic card that draws you cards in exchange for paying life, or in Death Note when you make "the deal" for the Shinigami eyes ;p
More soon.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Long Time, No See! HISASHIBURI~!
Hello everyone!
I apologize again for going so many months without any posts. At that time, I became really busy and the blog started feeling like a burden. I'm sure some of you know what I mean :)
I've decided to make sure I occasionally post on here, it's a good sort of release for me I guess, this sort of 'journal'. It's also something I can reflect on later, and gets things off my chest. Here are a few updates about my life, though I'm sure I'm going to neglect to post many things. There's just too much to recall.
Go: Barely playing lately, not studying at all. I've gotten weaker, and my recent games show it. Still, I'm hosting Go club every week and I'm still playing. More than playing, I'm teaching! I've been teaching at Golden Key Cultural Centre for a while now, and I teach people at Go club. The GO club is doing GREAT right now! We've been averaging 18 people! A large group of passionate beginners have flocked in, and they're already good friends of mine!
School: So I started school, my first year of university. Frosh week was fun, really tiring and sleepless but I made some good friends. This was the only important part for me. I took The Literary Tradition, Intro Psych, Intro Sociology, Pre-modern East Asian History, and Japanese. I dropped the English course because my course load had way too much reading and I'd fallen behind in some of my courses. Yeah... Although I've had tons of social fun so far, I've fallen behind. I've learned from SO MANY mistakes this term and I will never make them again. I guess it was worth it! I kind of bombed my Psych midterm, 53... Yeah, I was shocked. A smart friend of mine got even less! He dropped the course after that :) In Sociology I got only 73. I had basically no time to study for my midterms, never mind... Anyway, I think Sociology is easy and I will definitely get a high mark on the next midterm. Japanese is around 80, I skipped a lot of quizzes and stuff for other things, but I will raise it to at least 85! Premodern E.A. History wa chotto... (is a little...)
I once again had almost no time to study for the midterm, so I only got a 70 :( I probably won't get higher than 73 or 75 in the end, but whatever.. This is my Fail Term, haha. There are some issues with that course, but at least it's not something I'm going to get 65 or less in, so it's all good~ It's because at this point I don't see it as possible to fully catch up in all my courses before the Fall term ends, I've been trying all this time lol.
Right now I should be reading for Psych - I have 300 pages to read + studying, and midterm is in under 3 days! But it's okay... I wanted to relax for a few minutes and make this post. Hisabisa dakara ne~
At least I've already read a chunk of the pages. I will get back to it soon and continue for at least 6 or 7 hours (only 6 or 7, I have Japanese tomorrow at 9am and I need to stop skipping!)
After bombing my Psych midterm, I started calculating things to make myself feel better. I may be wrong in thinking that GPA calculation is this simple, but here's how I am looking at this stuff right now:
Psych is a half credit, making it one 40th of my total courses in undergrad. Then there's the fact that the midterm was worth just 30%, so roughly speaking, the mark acts as less than one 120th of my final undergrad GPA, ne? And considering I scored roughly half on it, I only *lost* something like one 250th of my possible marks affecting GPA. I still have a chance to get into the 70's or something in Psych this term.
The English credit I already have, ENG185Y (Intro to Literature) finished with a 77 (and taught me so much about writing and literature!!! Thanks Prof. Maher!!)
So If we look at my CURRENT state, which is going to be terrible compared to my final term marks due to my big crashes from being behind (such as my 53!!!!!!), it's not actually THAT horrible, take a look:
eng185 - 77
psy100 - 57 (+4 for freebie marks from experiments)
soc100 - 75 (+2 for free marks from end-of-year questionaire)
eas103(history) - 75-ish (free 5% from weekly reading response assignments)
eas120 (jpn) - 80
By my logic, we should create duplicates of the year-long courses (since the smallest units are half-year courses like Psych) and then divide by total number. So...
(77 + 77 + 57 + 75 + 75 + 75 + 80 + 80)/8
=596/8= 74.5 = What...3.1 or something? It's not good, but better than I would have thought. Anyway, something like 3.0 at least!
Then I got to coming up with some goals... I came up with 3 levels of goals for the end of this term (bad results without any extreme bombing, expectable results, and good-but-reasonable goal). Without looking up the exact numbers I wrote down, they were something like this:
Bad result, end of 2011:
eng185 - 77 (this is obviously set in stone, since I finished it in the Summer)
psy100 - 68 (Fairly LOW goal considering I have like 70% of marks left up for grabs right now)
soc100 - 79 (No problem. And yeah, this number is awfully specific ;p)
eas103 - 69 (Though I think getting less than 70's here would be weird... hard to bomb or ace I think)
jpn - 81 (To me, this is fail considering my prior ability in Japanese)
This would put me sitting at 613/8=~76.6 = ~3.3, not so bad~ I guess.
Middle would be like 77, 70, 81, 71 and 83, respectively. This would give me 77.8/~3.4 or 3.5
Actual/Ideal goals at this point, but maintaining some reason:
77, 73, 86, 74, 87
This gives me ~80.8/~3.7, almost 3.8!!
Then there are my Winter courses...
After learning from all the mistakes so far and getting the hang of university quite a bit compared to before, I plan to aim for much higher marks starting in 2012!! >:) Not unreasonable ones, because I know how much I like to relax and go out with friends though :)
Soc and Japanese will continue into Winter (come to think of it, I probably can't get Japanese up to 87 by the end of the Fall term haha, skipped too many quizzes and messed up my Matome Mondai's too much.), so I will increase their marks a lot! Psych and EAS103 will be replaced by AST201 (Astronomy, "Stars and Galaxies" and EAS105 (Modern East Asian History. Oh Joy.).
I will be a lot more studies and NEVER fall behind again. I will stay ahead!! My aims for Winter:
Soc: 88?
Japanese: 87?
Astro: 86?
EAS103: 82?
Even if we assume results like 84, 84, 84, and 79 instead for these for some reason, then factor in the "middle/OK" goal idea listed above for Fall term (So, getting mediocre grades for both terms, but still pulling my socks up in the Winter) I'd get:
84+84+84+84+84+79 + 70+71+77+77 (each of these is 0.5 credit, = total of 5 credits by the end of first year) = (400+350+20+24)/10, =794/10=79.4, about 3.6 GPA. That's OK!!
If the trend from second year continues at least as good as yr1 Winter, the GPA will be at least 3.9 or so later! Even if I continuously slip up, I doubt I will fail to at least keep 3.6 or higher!!
Ganbarimasu!!
And now I'm thinking I should get to reading, so let me just sign out saying this...
Fate Zero~~ <3
I apologize again for going so many months without any posts. At that time, I became really busy and the blog started feeling like a burden. I'm sure some of you know what I mean :)
I've decided to make sure I occasionally post on here, it's a good sort of release for me I guess, this sort of 'journal'. It's also something I can reflect on later, and gets things off my chest. Here are a few updates about my life, though I'm sure I'm going to neglect to post many things. There's just too much to recall.
Go: Barely playing lately, not studying at all. I've gotten weaker, and my recent games show it. Still, I'm hosting Go club every week and I'm still playing. More than playing, I'm teaching! I've been teaching at Golden Key Cultural Centre for a while now, and I teach people at Go club. The GO club is doing GREAT right now! We've been averaging 18 people! A large group of passionate beginners have flocked in, and they're already good friends of mine!
School: So I started school, my first year of university. Frosh week was fun, really tiring and sleepless but I made some good friends. This was the only important part for me. I took The Literary Tradition, Intro Psych, Intro Sociology, Pre-modern East Asian History, and Japanese. I dropped the English course because my course load had way too much reading and I'd fallen behind in some of my courses. Yeah... Although I've had tons of social fun so far, I've fallen behind. I've learned from SO MANY mistakes this term and I will never make them again. I guess it was worth it! I kind of bombed my Psych midterm, 53... Yeah, I was shocked. A smart friend of mine got even less! He dropped the course after that :) In Sociology I got only 73. I had basically no time to study for my midterms, never mind... Anyway, I think Sociology is easy and I will definitely get a high mark on the next midterm. Japanese is around 80, I skipped a lot of quizzes and stuff for other things, but I will raise it to at least 85! Premodern E.A. History wa chotto... (is a little...)
I once again had almost no time to study for the midterm, so I only got a 70 :( I probably won't get higher than 73 or 75 in the end, but whatever.. This is my Fail Term, haha. There are some issues with that course, but at least it's not something I'm going to get 65 or less in, so it's all good~ It's because at this point I don't see it as possible to fully catch up in all my courses before the Fall term ends, I've been trying all this time lol.
Right now I should be reading for Psych - I have 300 pages to read + studying, and midterm is in under 3 days! But it's okay... I wanted to relax for a few minutes and make this post. Hisabisa dakara ne~
At least I've already read a chunk of the pages. I will get back to it soon and continue for at least 6 or 7 hours (only 6 or 7, I have Japanese tomorrow at 9am and I need to stop skipping!)
After bombing my Psych midterm, I started calculating things to make myself feel better. I may be wrong in thinking that GPA calculation is this simple, but here's how I am looking at this stuff right now:
Psych is a half credit, making it one 40th of my total courses in undergrad. Then there's the fact that the midterm was worth just 30%, so roughly speaking, the mark acts as less than one 120th of my final undergrad GPA, ne? And considering I scored roughly half on it, I only *lost* something like one 250th of my possible marks affecting GPA. I still have a chance to get into the 70's or something in Psych this term.
The English credit I already have, ENG185Y (Intro to Literature) finished with a 77 (and taught me so much about writing and literature!!! Thanks Prof. Maher!!)
So If we look at my CURRENT state, which is going to be terrible compared to my final term marks due to my big crashes from being behind (such as my 53!!!!!!), it's not actually THAT horrible, take a look:
eng185 - 77
psy100 - 57 (+4 for freebie marks from experiments)
soc100 - 75 (+2 for free marks from end-of-year questionaire)
eas103(history) - 75-ish (free 5% from weekly reading response assignments)
eas120 (jpn) - 80
By my logic, we should create duplicates of the year-long courses (since the smallest units are half-year courses like Psych) and then divide by total number. So...
(77 + 77 + 57 + 75 + 75 + 75 + 80 + 80)/8
=596/8= 74.5 = What...3.1 or something? It's not good, but better than I would have thought. Anyway, something like 3.0 at least!
Then I got to coming up with some goals... I came up with 3 levels of goals for the end of this term (bad results without any extreme bombing, expectable results, and good-but-reasonable goal). Without looking up the exact numbers I wrote down, they were something like this:
Bad result, end of 2011:
eng185 - 77 (this is obviously set in stone, since I finished it in the Summer)
psy100 - 68 (Fairly LOW goal considering I have like 70% of marks left up for grabs right now)
soc100 - 79 (No problem. And yeah, this number is awfully specific ;p)
eas103 - 69 (Though I think getting less than 70's here would be weird... hard to bomb or ace I think)
jpn - 81 (To me, this is fail considering my prior ability in Japanese)
This would put me sitting at 613/8=~76.6 = ~3.3, not so bad~ I guess.
Middle would be like 77, 70, 81, 71 and 83, respectively. This would give me 77.8/~3.4 or 3.5
Actual/Ideal goals at this point, but maintaining some reason:
77, 73, 86, 74, 87
This gives me ~80.8/~3.7, almost 3.8!!
Then there are my Winter courses...
After learning from all the mistakes so far and getting the hang of university quite a bit compared to before, I plan to aim for much higher marks starting in 2012!! >:) Not unreasonable ones, because I know how much I like to relax and go out with friends though :)
Soc and Japanese will continue into Winter (come to think of it, I probably can't get Japanese up to 87 by the end of the Fall term haha, skipped too many quizzes and messed up my Matome Mondai's too much.), so I will increase their marks a lot! Psych and EAS103 will be replaced by AST201 (Astronomy, "Stars and Galaxies" and EAS105 (Modern East Asian History. Oh Joy.).
I will be a lot more studies and NEVER fall behind again. I will stay ahead!! My aims for Winter:
Soc: 88?
Japanese: 87?
Astro: 86?
EAS103: 82?
Even if we assume results like 84, 84, 84, and 79 instead for these for some reason, then factor in the "middle/OK" goal idea listed above for Fall term (So, getting mediocre grades for both terms, but still pulling my socks up in the Winter) I'd get:
84+84+84+84+84+79 + 70+71+77+77 (each of these is 0.5 credit, = total of 5 credits by the end of first year) = (400+350+20+24)/10, =794/10=79.4, about 3.6 GPA. That's OK!!
If the trend from second year continues at least as good as yr1 Winter, the GPA will be at least 3.9 or so later! Even if I continuously slip up, I doubt I will fail to at least keep 3.6 or higher!!
Ganbarimasu!!
And now I'm thinking I should get to reading, so let me just sign out saying this...
Fate Zero~~ <3
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Too busy...
Sorry readers, I'm just too budy to post these days. I have too many aspirations and too little time. I will mention a few things very quickly, but don't expect another post soon, sorry. i was planning to make a giant blog post to summarize everything that's happened, and I still will, eventually.
School: Passed with a 77 and I start first year in September.
Go: Improved a little recently. Getting KGS 5d is very easy now and I did it with multiple accounts and made them more or less solid. I am also Tygem 7d! Not only that, but although it seemed a little difficult at first, I am winning most games now and, very strangely, it seems I will be 8d in a few days... 8d! wtf! Hehe
Thanks~ I will not forget about you guys or my blog.
School: Passed with a 77 and I start first year in September.
Go: Improved a little recently. Getting KGS 5d is very easy now and I did it with multiple accounts and made them more or less solid. I am also Tygem 7d! Not only that, but although it seemed a little difficult at first, I am winning most games now and, very strangely, it seems I will be 8d in a few days... 8d! wtf! Hehe
Thanks~ I will not forget about you guys or my blog.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Busy!
Sorry readers, haven't posted in quite a while. I promise to start posing again after my final exam (June 7). Until then... Yeah...
Monday, April 4, 2011
-Mini Post #10-
Yo~
Hmmm, although I won my first two games on Tygem since getting to 6d quite easily earlier today, I experienced many straight losses thereafter... I think I've been getting into Go again in an exciting way and trying hard, and as a result, I've lost that rewarding carefree manner of playing I had developed. I don't care though, I'm still going to try to get to 7d. Some of the losses today were out of over-thinking or being too tense - for example, ignoring a Ko threat I thought didn't work, fighting over a half point Ko in a game I had won. It was late and I was tired, so I didn't see a snapback, even at my level ^^ Quite embarrassing.
My second in-class essay mark was posted on the U of T web portal... I got a 70... Horrible... Seems like I'm bad at in-class essays after all. My average is now 75.33, barely over the 73 I need to move on to full time studies. The timing is okay though, as I was thinking I should stop playing so much online Go for a while. These next two weeks are going to be hectic, I have a lot of errands to win, a Go seminar for Kyu players that I need to prepare for, not to mention figuring out how I'm getting to the place in Mississauga, a mid-term mere days away, stuff to read, etc. I had decided to wait until I could study Go from my books again and solve some Tsumego (Go problems), and it seems it will have to wait until Summer. So for now...School, school, SCHOOL! Need to focus everything on my work, and extra studying. If I assume that my third and final in-class essay will be bad, it just means I need to do as well on the next out-of-class essays as I did on my first won, and get a similar mark (78+ will do) on the midterm and final exam. There's no way around both studying and 'extra' studying now. I'm still in a dangerous place, as there's no guaranteeing that I'm actually good (~80) at out-of-class essays in general, I need to do at least one more before I can make an assumption about the one after. Same goes for university midterms/exams. In the dark... I also really need to get back onto a normal schedule, my current one is completely vampiric!
Bye~
Sunday, April 3, 2011
-Mini Post #9-
Yo
Sorry for the lack of posting, so here's a little update. But first, an anime opening theme! This is Ore no Imouto wa Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai!
I like it around 00:09 - 00:10 ^^
I was going to do a big post, with lots of Go kifu of mine, but I'm low on energy, and I don't see a download function on Tygem...
Yeah, I started playing on Tygem under the account RKNINE.
Yeah dat.
There was a scoring bug and I lost 2 or 3 games illegitimately, but I kept playing and eventually got to 6d after about 33 games, with W>L(2), that is, more than twice as many wins as losses. I had registered as the maximum starting level, 5d, so i am now 6d and will henceforth work toward 7 Dan on Tygem. I wanted to just call myself rk9, which is cool because it sounds random, but sounds out the name of this Pokemon in a non-obvious way. Tygem didn't allow 3-character'd names... Oh well.
Participated in a Go tournament in Waterloo, drive up in ChengHappy's car with James and BigD. I need a nickname for James, but I don't know.. lol His KGS is his last name, and there's nothing particularly funny enough about him to call him something like ANGRYKOREAN or ANGRYM or SlipperyPete, etc. etc. (Some of my other friends haha)
Played Di in the first round - a good game with a favourable opening. It was close after I made some middlegame mistakes, and finally I lose after playing a false Ko threat and falling apart. Played Giftshop and won, played a great game with James and lost by 2.5, played a strong '3d' and won; both of my wins were kills, more or less, though I was also ahead on territory in both as well. All games had 6.5 Komi with Japanese rules, and were 25 minutes + 25 stones/10 minutes Canadian Byo-yomi. However, in the later rounds, the main time was 15 minutes and the Byo-yomi accelerated, increasing by 10 more stones each time.
As I need to hurry up and take care of my debts, I'm probably going to have to look for another crappy part-time job soon, but in the meantime, I'm trying hard to get more Go students. I'm going to be hosted on/help out with my friends up and coming website (though already accessible), LearnGo-Canada, and I will also try to involve myself with Allaboutgo and Goforall.
I'm planning to try following a set of daily routines centered around what I call a 'Wellness Pentagon', which requires me to do things concerning Work, Mind, Body, Social and Sleep each day. That is, mentally-cultivating things, work/project/school-related things, physical things, social things and proper sleeping habits.
As for school, I'll get my third mark - another in-class essay (this time on Oedipus the King) - back on Monday. I have a 72 from my first (bad) in-class essay, and an 84 from my first (good) out-of-class essay.
As for Anime, watched Ore no Imouto wa...(See music at the top) and loved it! It's still going, too, got to wait! Now watching To aru Majutsu no Index (season I, just started) <--not bad.
See ya!
Sorry for the lack of posting, so here's a little update. But first, an anime opening theme! This is Ore no Imouto wa Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai!
I like it around 00:09 - 00:10 ^^
I was going to do a big post, with lots of Go kifu of mine, but I'm low on energy, and I don't see a download function on Tygem...
Yeah, I started playing on Tygem under the account RKNINE.
There was a scoring bug and I lost 2 or 3 games illegitimately, but I kept playing and eventually got to 6d after about 33 games, with W>L(2), that is, more than twice as many wins as losses. I had registered as the maximum starting level, 5d, so i am now 6d and will henceforth work toward 7 Dan on Tygem. I wanted to just call myself rk9, which is cool because it sounds random, but sounds out the name of this Pokemon in a non-obvious way. Tygem didn't allow 3-character'd names... Oh well.
Participated in a Go tournament in Waterloo, drive up in ChengHappy's car with James and BigD. I need a nickname for James, but I don't know.. lol His KGS is his last name, and there's nothing particularly funny enough about him to call him something like ANGRYKOREAN or ANGRYM or SlipperyPete, etc. etc. (Some of my other friends haha)
Played Di in the first round - a good game with a favourable opening. It was close after I made some middlegame mistakes, and finally I lose after playing a false Ko threat and falling apart. Played Giftshop and won, played a great game with James and lost by 2.5, played a strong '3d' and won; both of my wins were kills, more or less, though I was also ahead on territory in both as well. All games had 6.5 Komi with Japanese rules, and were 25 minutes + 25 stones/10 minutes Canadian Byo-yomi. However, in the later rounds, the main time was 15 minutes and the Byo-yomi accelerated, increasing by 10 more stones each time.
As I need to hurry up and take care of my debts, I'm probably going to have to look for another crappy part-time job soon, but in the meantime, I'm trying hard to get more Go students. I'm going to be hosted on/help out with my friends up and coming website (though already accessible), LearnGo-Canada, and I will also try to involve myself with Allaboutgo and Goforall.
I'm planning to try following a set of daily routines centered around what I call a 'Wellness Pentagon', which requires me to do things concerning Work, Mind, Body, Social and Sleep each day. That is, mentally-cultivating things, work/project/school-related things, physical things, social things and proper sleeping habits.
As for school, I'll get my third mark - another in-class essay (this time on Oedipus the King) - back on Monday. I have a 72 from my first (bad) in-class essay, and an 84 from my first (good) out-of-class essay.
As for Anime, watched Ore no Imouto wa...(See music at the top) and loved it! It's still going, too, got to wait! Now watching To aru Majutsu no Index (season I, just started) <--not bad.
See ya!
Friday, March 18, 2011
Drifting Sand, Hidden Priorities
Hello reader,
It's been a while since my last post, so I apologize for that. I've just been so busy and so tired lately, with nothing of interest to post.
(Japanese music)
As far as school goes, I received a 72 on my first in-class essay. I knew before even receiving the mark that I had a weak and possibly misguided thesis, and I had even mistaken the narrator. I thought the narrator of the short story No One's A Mystery was the 18 year-old girl, as if writing the short story as one of her diary entries, but what I failed to realize was that it was a more grown-up and matured version of herself that narrated the story. Anyway, I tried a lot harder on my first out-of-class essay and just got it back - an 80 - so now I just need to ensure I do that well for the rest... Before Wednesday I need to prepare for another in-class essay and also complete some extra-credit work worth up to 5 extra marks on my last essay (sweet). They will all be on the topic of Oedipus the King. Given 73 as the bar for moving onto full-time university studies next year, I can't let my guard down!
Pokemon: Bleh! It's impossible to make 'the best team' and even harder to do it with your favourites. I'm kind of sick of battling with people who all use the same teams... Why can't they just be original? There's no way those Pokemon are the favourites of all of those players. They'd probably answer that way if asked, but it's total B.S. So I've decided to eliminate all my different goals in the game and instead try to just make one good team. Just one, and be done with it.
Lately I've been so bored, as though nothing I do can entertain me... So I guess...I might as well use school work as my 'escape'. Funny, escaping to school work, the very thing I would usually escape from.
Time to get my priorities straight!
School Work - Highest priority for sure. Goal: 80+
Exercise - Yeah...I think this is pretty necessary. In fact, I want to practice martial arts again...!
Writing - Mmmhmmm... I should find some time to get my own writing done outside of school work.
Pokemon/Videogames - Low priority (I mean it!)
Go - Lately some interest has returned to me. Strangely, I've been winning pretty much every game I play on KGS despite how occasional they are... Anyway, I'll put this on 'low priority', but higher than Pokemon...
Here's one example game I played lately. My unranked account (3d? at the time, now 4d? with no losses) vs. a 2d
http://gokifu.com/final.php?kid=ixi
Thanks
It's been a while since my last post, so I apologize for that. I've just been so busy and so tired lately, with nothing of interest to post.
(Japanese music)
As far as school goes, I received a 72 on my first in-class essay. I knew before even receiving the mark that I had a weak and possibly misguided thesis, and I had even mistaken the narrator. I thought the narrator of the short story No One's A Mystery was the 18 year-old girl, as if writing the short story as one of her diary entries, but what I failed to realize was that it was a more grown-up and matured version of herself that narrated the story. Anyway, I tried a lot harder on my first out-of-class essay and just got it back - an 80 - so now I just need to ensure I do that well for the rest... Before Wednesday I need to prepare for another in-class essay and also complete some extra-credit work worth up to 5 extra marks on my last essay (sweet). They will all be on the topic of Oedipus the King. Given 73 as the bar for moving onto full-time university studies next year, I can't let my guard down!
Pokemon: Bleh! It's impossible to make 'the best team' and even harder to do it with your favourites. I'm kind of sick of battling with people who all use the same teams... Why can't they just be original? There's no way those Pokemon are the favourites of all of those players. They'd probably answer that way if asked, but it's total B.S. So I've decided to eliminate all my different goals in the game and instead try to just make one good team. Just one, and be done with it.
Lately I've been so bored, as though nothing I do can entertain me... So I guess...I might as well use school work as my 'escape'. Funny, escaping to school work, the very thing I would usually escape from.
Time to get my priorities straight!
School Work - Highest priority for sure. Goal: 80+
Exercise - Yeah...I think this is pretty necessary. In fact, I want to practice martial arts again...!
Writing - Mmmhmmm... I should find some time to get my own writing done outside of school work.
Pokemon/Videogames - Low priority (I mean it!)
Go - Lately some interest has returned to me. Strangely, I've been winning pretty much every game I play on KGS despite how occasional they are... Anyway, I'll put this on 'low priority', but higher than Pokemon...
Here's one example game I played lately. My unranked account (3d? at the time, now 4d? with no losses) vs. a 2d
http://gokifu.com/final.php?kid=ixi
Thanks
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Drifting Sand, Hidden Age
Within me no adult
Only child and elder
No Winter in my life
But I am always Spring
And Later Fall will come
Much later, much later
A busy Spring of growth
Racing into the sky
Yet I yearn for Winter
I hide in cold darkness
Beautiful white silence
But come dreaded Summer
I may taste real Winter
My time always reveled
And in Summer's dry heat
For me a second Spring
No sun to make me cold
Forever is my Spring
Before the silent white
Hello reader,
The poem above was written completely on the spot, without any long pauses and without revision. I suppose you could say it was improv. There's a depth to it you probably don't expect, but I can't say it's a good poem or anything. It's just something I wanted to type after having gone for a nice walk in the snowy outdoors. Today is sort of my last day to finish my essay for school. Although it's due Wednesday, I intend to bring it in for some guidance in tomorrow's class. I'll then edit it a few times over before handing it in on Wednesday. I was feeling kind of shut-in and crappy this morning (I woke up at 7am!) so I went for a walk! One of my favourite walks to take is through the exploration trail(?) leading to Riverdale farm. I jogged for a bit at first. Later on, I felt really nice and refreshed as I treaded through the many inches of snow on the ground in the park. There were lots of people in the cool, wintry park; some sledding, some playing, and some just watching. It just felt good to get out like that, though I'm not really sure why. I walked along the trial toward Cabbage town/Riverdale park west, and as usual, I stood underneath the Weeping Willow tree for a little while. This time, they were a slightly strange sight to behold. The Weeping Willows, which, although seemingly sullen and anguished, always bestowed upon me a strange, almost nostalgic feeling of calm aliveness. These charismatically wistful trees that normally contrast with their lively, upright surroundings were doing just the opposite; they were budding! Budding amongst the thick snow and dead tree-brethren all around! I found that pretty interesting. Immediately after I got to thinking about it, I found myself overwhelmed by Winter's mystique! Everything around me covered in thick whiteness, from the sky dropped tiny speckles of what could only be rain, snow or hail - I couldn't even tell. It seemed as though they were floating down ever so slowly, and on whim I suddenly decided to lay on the ground right underneath the thin, drooping hair-like branches of the Willow tree, letting the deep snow absorb me. The first moment was the best: complete relaxation, coolness enveloping me all over, cold speckles landing on my face, and nothing but drooping branches ahead of me, with the emptiness of the Winter sky as the backdrop. I must have been lucky that no one was anywhere near me even though plenty of people were out with their dogs on the other side of the park. I let myself relax entirely, and eventually closed me eyes for a while. I didn't get up until the frost started to bite, and all the while, not a single person dared disturb my calm, revitalizing experience. It sounds strange, but I'm thinking the cool, "invigorating" air of Spring is, in fact, more of a "calming" air, and it's really the cold, pure air of Winter that's more rejuvenating.
Within me no adult, only child and elder.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
-Mini Post #8-
Hello, hello...
New Youtube!
http://www.youtube.com/user/EmptyTriangles
Here's my usual music vid post: I downloaded Windows Movie Maker n' did this:
Alright, so my goofing around is officially done. Even so, I do believe I have something to say for whatever I've gained from my leisure. For example: I battled on Pokemon Online at least 10-15 times over the last week (each battle is typically under ten minutes), so my Pokemon battling and team-building skills, however useless they may seem, have improved. I've learned from things I've read online, even Facebook - which can be a means to waste time and learn about people! Whenever I've thought of any ideas for things to write about, I briefed them into a notebook for later reference. Truth is, I haven't been feeling well for the last few days, although I feel fine today. Lately my teeth have been hurting from too much pressure and grinding. Furthermore, I developed a huge toothache yesterday :( This morning it was a lot worse, which is probably what caused me to awaken at ten in the morning. Thanks to two Advils(the little transparent liquid caplets), the pain is surprisingly minimal. For now.
I'm feeling pretty good about my future of writing - I'm able to come up with some interesting ideas quite often, and it doesn't seem so difficult to improve my abilities overall.
As for my Pokemon team, well, I'm still experimenting here and there. Currently my main team consists of Gliscor, Arcanine, Starmie, Scizor, Cinccino and Gengar. Arcanine, and especially Gengar, both of whom I really like, are the prime suspects of any 'failness' this team may have. Making predictions for Destiny Bond is pretty difficult and risky, especially when your opponent is counter-predicting it. His ghost type damage hasn't really helped me much when it comes to type coverage as opposed to power, and overall he's a powerful but fragile Pokemon. Well, if my opponents were disallowed from using OU legendary Pokemon such as Heatran and Zapdos, then my team is already really awesome, and would seem to win most battles. I'm also experimenting with variant teams, like switching Arcanine for Infernape, Gengar for Meganium (yes, actually trying this...but I think I'll stop now), Cinccino for Dragonite + Gliscor for Aerodactyl (but I may need to find a less fragile substitute-lead), etc. I should probably give Electivire, Dusknoir and some others a try.
Lately I'm reminded again of my long-term goals. I think they're quite achievable, and the idea of achieving them makes me feel a bit excited, although I'm not sure how others would see them.
A few of my goals (Just the beginning) :
Canadian 6-Dan Go player (This is more of a side goal, and shall be left aside for quite a while)
Established Author (The first step is to teach myself for a while, learn at school, and practice in the meantime - practice by writing my Fan-fic, for example. Second step is to start writing novels. The goal here is to write at least two novels and get at least one published. I should also write more than five short stories)
Poet (Develop a collection of poetry, both 'popular poetry' and 'sophisticated' poetry, amounting to at least thirty pieces. Should have at least one published)
Anyone know what "sophisticated" or "deep" poetry is actually called, if anything?
Also, anyone wanna tell me if I should be using ['] or ["] for those?? lol
Japanese Language Proficiency (Become fluent in all aspects of the Japanese language, obtain highest level certification, learn at least 800 Kanji, and create two or more examples of Japanese writing, which can include poetry, short stories, translations etc.)
Fitness/Health/Martial Arts (Achieve 1st-Dan or equivalent in a martial art. Body weight <91kg, able to perform several 'tricks': Handstand: 12+ seconds, "Tornado Kick", well-done Cartwheel, "Wall-running" and at least one more. High flexibility: Able to come close to Splits both ways and kick over head both ways. I aim to get onto a good sleep schedule permanently, and follow a loose, but effective, balanced routine.)
Satisfying Independence (Living on my own, with a decent/good job, ample spending money, and a good atmosphere. No debts! Should have a decent collection of representative room things: scrolls, posters, games, books etc.)
Video Game Progress (Pokemon: Complete/near complete 'favourites' collection and finished, fully trained main and LC teams with ample substitutes/variations. Decent collection of games overall, including RPG's: LoZ etc, Fighting: DBZ, etc.)
Singing (Not aiming to be 'good', but I would like to become 'decent'/'far above average' at singing in Karaoke - a voice that's easy to listen to - and specialize in at least five English and five Japanese songs)
So yeah! Indeed, I added some things to this list that weren't there before, and of course getting a university degree is one of my aims. Singing, Video games and Martial Arts are more or less new to this list, and expectantly less important. Video games are just a passion of mine that's hard to live without, so might as well improve upon it when I can. Singing, well, I would consider it a social 'skill', if you will. As mentioned in my last post, martial arts would be a big plus for me, 'nuff said.
Ok I'm out, peace!
New Youtube!
http://www.youtube.com/user/EmptyTriangles
Here's my usual music vid post: I downloaded Windows Movie Maker n' did this:
Alright, so my goofing around is officially done. Even so, I do believe I have something to say for whatever I've gained from my leisure. For example: I battled on Pokemon Online at least 10-15 times over the last week (each battle is typically under ten minutes), so my Pokemon battling and team-building skills, however useless they may seem, have improved. I've learned from things I've read online, even Facebook - which can be a means to waste time and learn about people! Whenever I've thought of any ideas for things to write about, I briefed them into a notebook for later reference. Truth is, I haven't been feeling well for the last few days, although I feel fine today. Lately my teeth have been hurting from too much pressure and grinding. Furthermore, I developed a huge toothache yesterday :( This morning it was a lot worse, which is probably what caused me to awaken at ten in the morning. Thanks to two Advils(the little transparent liquid caplets), the pain is surprisingly minimal. For now.
I'm feeling pretty good about my future of writing - I'm able to come up with some interesting ideas quite often, and it doesn't seem so difficult to improve my abilities overall.
As for my Pokemon team, well, I'm still experimenting here and there. Currently my main team consists of Gliscor, Arcanine, Starmie, Scizor, Cinccino and Gengar. Arcanine, and especially Gengar, both of whom I really like, are the prime suspects of any 'failness' this team may have. Making predictions for Destiny Bond is pretty difficult and risky, especially when your opponent is counter-predicting it. His ghost type damage hasn't really helped me much when it comes to type coverage as opposed to power, and overall he's a powerful but fragile Pokemon. Well, if my opponents were disallowed from using OU legendary Pokemon such as Heatran and Zapdos, then my team is already really awesome, and would seem to win most battles. I'm also experimenting with variant teams, like switching Arcanine for Infernape, Gengar for Meganium (yes, actually trying this...but I think I'll stop now), Cinccino for Dragonite + Gliscor for Aerodactyl (but I may need to find a less fragile substitute-lead), etc. I should probably give Electivire, Dusknoir and some others a try.
Lately I'm reminded again of my long-term goals. I think they're quite achievable, and the idea of achieving them makes me feel a bit excited, although I'm not sure how others would see them.
A few of my goals (Just the beginning) :
Canadian 6-Dan Go player (This is more of a side goal, and shall be left aside for quite a while)
Established Author (The first step is to teach myself for a while, learn at school, and practice in the meantime - practice by writing my Fan-fic, for example. Second step is to start writing novels. The goal here is to write at least two novels and get at least one published. I should also write more than five short stories)
Poet (Develop a collection of poetry, both 'popular poetry' and 'sophisticated' poetry, amounting to at least thirty pieces. Should have at least one published)
Anyone know what "sophisticated" or "deep" poetry is actually called, if anything?
Also, anyone wanna tell me if I should be using ['] or ["] for those?? lol
Japanese Language Proficiency (Become fluent in all aspects of the Japanese language, obtain highest level certification, learn at least 800 Kanji, and create two or more examples of Japanese writing, which can include poetry, short stories, translations etc.)
Fitness/Health/Martial Arts (Achieve 1st-Dan or equivalent in a martial art. Body weight <91kg, able to perform several 'tricks': Handstand: 12+ seconds, "Tornado Kick", well-done Cartwheel, "Wall-running" and at least one more. High flexibility: Able to come close to Splits both ways and kick over head both ways. I aim to get onto a good sleep schedule permanently, and follow a loose, but effective, balanced routine.)
Satisfying Independence (Living on my own, with a decent/good job, ample spending money, and a good atmosphere. No debts! Should have a decent collection of representative room things: scrolls, posters, games, books etc.)
Video Game Progress (Pokemon: Complete/near complete 'favourites' collection and finished, fully trained main and LC teams with ample substitutes/variations. Decent collection of games overall, including RPG's: LoZ etc, Fighting: DBZ, etc.)
Singing (Not aiming to be 'good', but I would like to become 'decent'/'far above average' at singing in Karaoke - a voice that's easy to listen to - and specialize in at least five English and five Japanese songs)
So yeah! Indeed, I added some things to this list that weren't there before, and of course getting a university degree is one of my aims. Singing, Video games and Martial Arts are more or less new to this list, and expectantly less important. Video games are just a passion of mine that's hard to live without, so might as well improve upon it when I can. Singing, well, I would consider it a social 'skill', if you will. As mentioned in my last post, martial arts would be a big plus for me, 'nuff said.
Ok I'm out, peace!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Drifting Sand, Hard Work
Hey! I feel good right now, but surely it's just a cruelly temporary thing. Why do I feel so good! Because I just did a lot of stretches! Sure, it may be half past three in the morning, but I slept through Monday because of my topsy-turvy schedule, so what can you do. I even tried to brute force myself awake until it got to a "normal" sleeping hour, but I failed... So I'll just go with the wind for now, see what happens. I'm definitely going to try getting some exercise in a few days a week. Yes, that's what I've decided! One might reason that exercise causes even more loss of what little energy they had, but it doesn't quite work like that. It seems to actually bestow energy! Being all stretched out and flexible - I mean really stretched - is like feeling...Alive! Infants are really flexible, right? Old people are usually more mechanical and rigid from age, so it seems to make some sense to say that flexibility is a form of liveliness.
My friend MelodyofOblivion and I talked about something mentioned in the Naruto Anime. Two kinds of strong people, 'geniuses of talent' and 'geniuses of hard work'. Although he classified me as the former, it's not really true. For some things, it might be partly true, but for others, not at all. When it came to strength training, for example, I was a genius of hard work, big time! I'm not just saying that, like so many people who always remember the past in such a positive (or overly dark) light. When it comes to writing, particularly the use of imagination, but also the acquisition of knowledge or ability, I feel as though my friend might be partly right. I do think I have at least some talent. Still, I cannot be grouped into either category of geniuses, and I may be required to become a real genius of hard work in order to reach any kind of level that could ever be mentioned in the same breath as "genius". Although it almost sounds like we can group 'geniuses of talent' into two subcategories - 'physical talent' and 'mental talent' - a notion I've long pondered, I can hardly say that things can be labeled and categorized so sharply, so simply...
So now I need to get started on my essay, which is due on March 2nd. I have a bad feeling about my recent essay, which I have yet to get back, so this one needs to be good! I musn't underestimate this course, I need a 73 to become a true university student! This is no time to slack off! In school I've always had a pattern of 3-1-2 in terms of academic success throughout a given year. It's like some 'fail' essay with the climax inside the first body paragraph. I believe it's supposed to be 2-1-3, but correct me if I'm wrong. When it comes to a school year's progress, 2-2-2, or better yet, 3-3-3 is preferable. So in other words, I tend to do my best at the beginning of the year, but plummet in the middle and then desperately claw my way back up at the last minute. I'll try to avoid that this time...
I think in the future, when I have more time, I'll totally take up Karate again, or maybe another martial art. Maybe I'll take up a martial art that I think will be the most challenging for me, like something really acrobatic and/or requiring amazing flexibility. After all, I already know a lot about the basics of Karate, and it's not the kind of martial art that forces you to really bend or reshape your body, at least not like TKD, Capoeira and such. Even though my body is more bulk>agility oriented (probably not like that originally, I worked extremely hard in the past to gain brute strength...), I've always been really interested in flashy techniques, including the kind that aren't even martial arts-practical, such as wall-running! Parkour? Back in grades 10-11, I was part of the martial arts club, where I learned 360 ("Tornado Kick"). During that time, I was able to teach myself (by brute-forcing it, sans-research...) some other cool things, such as Handstand (Including hand-walking, max duration: 14 seconds), Cartwheel, and Wall-Running (I progressed enough to call it what I call it, 3-4 steps up, occasionally getting really high up a wall by fluke). Of course, my Wall-Running only worked on high-friction walls, such as brick or stone walls, or anything no more slippery than drywall. Not only would a martial art greatly improve my (now-lacking) health and fitness, it could come in handy in various ways.
Going back to my course - I've decided to do my essay on "Hills Like White Elephants" and "Cat in the Rain". I think I understand them, at least better than I understand the other short stories studied in class. Neither of them are terribly long, and we were given one example essay comparing the two. There are 18 different questions the students of our class have to choose from for our essay, but unfortunately, I read them all and put stars next to seven of them. I might just have to try writing each of them and see which one I have the easiest time with... If I don't sound terribly enthused, it's because these kinds of stories are not really up my alley. I prefer fictional literature of the most fictional kind: Fantasy fiction to be precise, hence all the Anime and Manga I watch and read. Videogames allow me to venture off into other worlds, and the same can sometimes be said for music! Even martial arts can provide this function - I'm Gohan! ^^ It's Ovaaa Niine- TH$#**$&#*$&#!!
In everything I do, I always push for the maximum possibility of customization - I suppose the same can be said for my life! That's why I even like things like Pokemon games; I have 649 Pokemon to choose from for a team of six, and everything from their stats and natures to their moves and items can be authentically me!
If you look at a few of my favourite Pokemon: Arcanine, Wartortle, Ninetales, Vulpix, Lilligant, Espeon...
What do they all have in common? It's not as though I noticed it before choosing them as my favourites. All of them are among the most "beautiful" or "aesthetically pleasing", particularly Ninetales, whom I think is the most beautiful of all Pokemon (yes, sorry Milotic) and all of the others in that list.
Wartortle is the second stage of three evolutions, all of which I like: Squirtle, Wartortle, and Blastoise. So why Wartortle?
It's simple. Wartorle's face gives him a certain 'coolness', but without following the idea with the rest of his appearance, like Blastoise, who is cool and not ugly at all, but also not very "beautiful". Wartortle has little circular marks on his cheeks that give him seemingly more character than his two counterparts, and his dark blue skin offers him additional 'coolness' that, although apparent in Blastoise, is not characteristic of Squirtle. Last but not least, his tail is larger, of a lighter colour, and designed to look more "beautiful" than the others'. Even his ears are lighter, longer and more graceful than the others. I like Wartortle a lot, and water happens to be my favourite type.
Getting back on topic, I think what this says about me is that I'm somewhat aesthetic-minded; one could even jump to the conclusion that I see things in a superficial way, but let's not jump to conclusions :)
After all, this is just Pokemon, and who doesn't love Beautiful things? I'm an artisan! I mean, when it comes to the other extreme in Pokemon, we have some really ugly (in my opinion) Pokemon with high battling stats as their main attractions. This leads everyone to use them, monotonously, in a conforming manner...
Here are some examples:
Ferrothorn - Very high stats, super-commonly used.
Heatran - A lengendary Pokemon... But allowed in OU tier... I'm so sick of him.
And perhaps ugliest of all, as if drawn by a 3rd-grader. A new legendary Pokemon, Kyurem (Dragon/Ice)
BLEH! Let me heal your eyes with a few "beautiful" Pokemon:
Starmie! So much dignity-->Still strong/useful for battling, and not ugly!
Lilligant! Finally a nice Pokemon from the ugly fifth generation set:
Adios for now!
My friend MelodyofOblivion and I talked about something mentioned in the Naruto Anime. Two kinds of strong people, 'geniuses of talent' and 'geniuses of hard work'. Although he classified me as the former, it's not really true. For some things, it might be partly true, but for others, not at all. When it came to strength training, for example, I was a genius of hard work, big time! I'm not just saying that, like so many people who always remember the past in such a positive (or overly dark) light. When it comes to writing, particularly the use of imagination, but also the acquisition of knowledge or ability, I feel as though my friend might be partly right. I do think I have at least some talent. Still, I cannot be grouped into either category of geniuses, and I may be required to become a real genius of hard work in order to reach any kind of level that could ever be mentioned in the same breath as "genius". Although it almost sounds like we can group 'geniuses of talent' into two subcategories - 'physical talent' and 'mental talent' - a notion I've long pondered, I can hardly say that things can be labeled and categorized so sharply, so simply...
So now I need to get started on my essay, which is due on March 2nd. I have a bad feeling about my recent essay, which I have yet to get back, so this one needs to be good! I musn't underestimate this course, I need a 73 to become a true university student! This is no time to slack off! In school I've always had a pattern of 3-1-2 in terms of academic success throughout a given year. It's like some 'fail' essay with the climax inside the first body paragraph. I believe it's supposed to be 2-1-3, but correct me if I'm wrong. When it comes to a school year's progress, 2-2-2, or better yet, 3-3-3 is preferable. So in other words, I tend to do my best at the beginning of the year, but plummet in the middle and then desperately claw my way back up at the last minute. I'll try to avoid that this time...
I think in the future, when I have more time, I'll totally take up Karate again, or maybe another martial art. Maybe I'll take up a martial art that I think will be the most challenging for me, like something really acrobatic and/or requiring amazing flexibility. After all, I already know a lot about the basics of Karate, and it's not the kind of martial art that forces you to really bend or reshape your body, at least not like TKD, Capoeira and such. Even though my body is more bulk>agility oriented (probably not like that originally, I worked extremely hard in the past to gain brute strength...), I've always been really interested in flashy techniques, including the kind that aren't even martial arts-practical, such as wall-running! Parkour? Back in grades 10-11, I was part of the martial arts club, where I learned 360 ("Tornado Kick"). During that time, I was able to teach myself (by brute-forcing it, sans-research...) some other cool things, such as Handstand (Including hand-walking, max duration: 14 seconds), Cartwheel, and Wall-Running (I progressed enough to call it what I call it, 3-4 steps up, occasionally getting really high up a wall by fluke). Of course, my Wall-Running only worked on high-friction walls, such as brick or stone walls, or anything no more slippery than drywall. Not only would a martial art greatly improve my (now-lacking) health and fitness, it could come in handy in various ways.
Going back to my course - I've decided to do my essay on "Hills Like White Elephants" and "Cat in the Rain". I think I understand them, at least better than I understand the other short stories studied in class. Neither of them are terribly long, and we were given one example essay comparing the two. There are 18 different questions the students of our class have to choose from for our essay, but unfortunately, I read them all and put stars next to seven of them. I might just have to try writing each of them and see which one I have the easiest time with... If I don't sound terribly enthused, it's because these kinds of stories are not really up my alley. I prefer fictional literature of the most fictional kind: Fantasy fiction to be precise, hence all the Anime and Manga I watch and read. Videogames allow me to venture off into other worlds, and the same can sometimes be said for music! Even martial arts can provide this function - I'm Gohan! ^^ It's Ovaaa Niine- TH$#**$&#*$&#!!
In everything I do, I always push for the maximum possibility of customization - I suppose the same can be said for my life! That's why I even like things like Pokemon games; I have 649 Pokemon to choose from for a team of six, and everything from their stats and natures to their moves and items can be authentically me!
If you look at a few of my favourite Pokemon: Arcanine, Wartortle, Ninetales, Vulpix, Lilligant, Espeon...
What do they all have in common? It's not as though I noticed it before choosing them as my favourites. All of them are among the most "beautiful" or "aesthetically pleasing", particularly Ninetales, whom I think is the most beautiful of all Pokemon (yes, sorry Milotic) and all of the others in that list.
Wartortle is the second stage of three evolutions, all of which I like: Squirtle, Wartortle, and Blastoise. So why Wartortle?
It's simple. Wartorle's face gives him a certain 'coolness', but without following the idea with the rest of his appearance, like Blastoise, who is cool and not ugly at all, but also not very "beautiful". Wartortle has little circular marks on his cheeks that give him seemingly more character than his two counterparts, and his dark blue skin offers him additional 'coolness' that, although apparent in Blastoise, is not characteristic of Squirtle. Last but not least, his tail is larger, of a lighter colour, and designed to look more "beautiful" than the others'. Even his ears are lighter, longer and more graceful than the others. I like Wartortle a lot, and water happens to be my favourite type.
Getting back on topic, I think what this says about me is that I'm somewhat aesthetic-minded; one could even jump to the conclusion that I see things in a superficial way, but let's not jump to conclusions :)
After all, this is just Pokemon, and who doesn't love Beautiful things? I'm an artisan! I mean, when it comes to the other extreme in Pokemon, we have some really ugly (in my opinion) Pokemon with high battling stats as their main attractions. This leads everyone to use them, monotonously, in a conforming manner...
Here are some examples:
Ferrothorn - Very high stats, super-commonly used.
Heatran - A lengendary Pokemon... But allowed in OU tier... I'm so sick of him.
And perhaps ugliest of all, as if drawn by a 3rd-grader. A new legendary Pokemon, Kyurem (Dragon/Ice)
BLEH! Let me heal your eyes with a few "beautiful" Pokemon:
Starmie! So much dignity-->Still strong/useful for battling, and not ugly!
Meganium! The most beautiful of all fully evolved 'Starter' Pokemon!
Adios for now!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
-Mini Post #7-
Well, just a short little post tonight.
My new trial Pokemon team:
Gliscor, Starmie, Scizor, Arcanine, Gengar and Cinccino.
The addition of Gliscor, with Stealth Rocks and high defense, adds more dimension to my team.
Give his 4x Ice weakness, Dragonite was removed, and Cinccino is back :)
Team substitutes: Dusknoir, Volcarona and Infernape
Team Version 2 (Dragonite variant):
Aerodactyl, Starmie, Scizor, Arcanine, Gengar, Dragonite
Subs: Dusknoir, Volcarona, Infernape, Gliscor and Salamence
When I was watching the video I posted in the previous blog entry, Naruto Shippuuden Ed 15 (not the one above, the one in the previous post), I decided to write a poem inspired from it.
It probably sucks, but I wrote it in about 3-4 minutes:
I'll post the video again, and the poem below it. Please play the video ^^
Against the window, waiting
Looking out again
The white stars falling, drifting
And rain on the ground
A false sun shines in the sky,
Covered by the clouds
But one tiny star remains,
Quietly waiting
The rain continues to fall,
As always will
Until two white stars are there,
Together again
My new trial Pokemon team:
Gliscor, Starmie, Scizor, Arcanine, Gengar and Cinccino.
The addition of Gliscor, with Stealth Rocks and high defense, adds more dimension to my team.
Give his 4x Ice weakness, Dragonite was removed, and Cinccino is back :)
Team substitutes: Dusknoir, Volcarona and Infernape
Team Version 2 (Dragonite variant):
Aerodactyl, Starmie, Scizor, Arcanine, Gengar, Dragonite
Subs: Dusknoir, Volcarona, Infernape, Gliscor and Salamence
When I was watching the video I posted in the previous blog entry, Naruto Shippuuden Ed 15 (not the one above, the one in the previous post), I decided to write a poem inspired from it.
It probably sucks, but I wrote it in about 3-4 minutes:
I'll post the video again, and the poem below it. Please play the video ^^
Against the window, waiting
Looking out again
The white stars falling, drifting
And rain on the ground
A false sun shines in the sky,
Covered by the clouds
But one tiny star remains,
Quietly waiting
The rain continues to fall,
As always will
Until two white stars are there,
Together again
Thursday, February 17, 2011
-Mini Post #6-
Well, hello again!
Due not only to my lack of posts as of late, but also for the sake of my own boredom/curiousity/mood/writing skill development, I post for you a poem.
I sit here in light's way
To sleepless light,
Myself I do condemn
Of seizing night,
To sunless dayless days
Of sunless skies,
But dreamlessly I dreamt
Like fireflies,
For suns a vibrant grey
I'm hoping to hear a comment or two about what you notice about this poem, what you think it means, or what's wrong with it. Whatever you want to say! Thanks!
Due not only to my lack of posts as of late, but also for the sake of my own boredom/curiousity/mood/writing skill development, I post for you a poem.
I sit here in light's way
To sleepless light,
Myself I do condemn
Of seizing night,
To sunless dayless days
Of sunless skies,
But dreamlessly I dreamt
Like fireflies,
For suns a vibrant grey
I'm hoping to hear a comment or two about what you notice about this poem, what you think it means, or what's wrong with it. Whatever you want to say! Thanks!
Pokemon: Crimson Destiny Fanfic Chapter II
Hey guys! So first, here's a brief summation of current stuff.
Wrote an in-class essay worth 5%, I kind of procrastinated the preparations, so I don't think I did great, but I'm thinking I didn't get any lower than, say, a B-. We'll see! After the break (Reading Week) an out-of-class comparative essay (750 words) is due, which means I have to get to work within the next three days or so...
Not much else to say... Still writing poetry here and there, but I think I should refrain from posting it all online...
Here's Chapter two of my Fan-fic! I plan to write many chapters, since it's a preliminary for myself as an aspiring author. Since it's Pokemon, I probably can't ever get it published, but if I can do well with this, I'll at long last be able to move onto an original novel! I'm already almost done part 1 of chapter 3, so here's all of chapter two!
Note: I'm planning to completely edit/revamp the whole thing later, so sometimes you'll notice something is capitalized when it shouldn't be, or certain things are described in detail and others not, etc...
You'll also notice weird spacing, but it's not so consequential at this point...
Here you go! Suggestions, criticisms etc. Lemme know!
...
Wrote an in-class essay worth 5%, I kind of procrastinated the preparations, so I don't think I did great, but I'm thinking I didn't get any lower than, say, a B-. We'll see! After the break (Reading Week) an out-of-class comparative essay (750 words) is due, which means I have to get to work within the next three days or so...
Not much else to say... Still writing poetry here and there, but I think I should refrain from posting it all online...
Here's Chapter two of my Fan-fic! I plan to write many chapters, since it's a preliminary for myself as an aspiring author. Since it's Pokemon, I probably can't ever get it published, but if I can do well with this, I'll at long last be able to move onto an original novel! I'm already almost done part 1 of chapter 3, so here's all of chapter two!
Note: I'm planning to completely edit/revamp the whole thing later, so sometimes you'll notice something is capitalized when it shouldn't be, or certain things are described in detail and others not, etc...
You'll also notice weird spacing, but it's not so consequential at this point...
Here you go! Suggestions, criticisms etc. Lemme know!
Pokemon: Crimson Destiny
Chapter II, Legends and Rivals Part I
"Pokemon, go!" shouted Crimz as he tossed his Pokeball into the fray.
With small, stout legs and short arms reaching out into the sky, each with three tiny fingers, the Pokemon sprung joyously forth from its Pokeball. The large, brown shell on its back distinguished its body and round head from the backdrop of the clear, blue sky. The Pokemon landed artfully with its curled blue tail wagging out on one side.
"Squirtle, go!" Crimz commanded, and Squirtle trotted quickly toward the big, green, crooked-faced Cacturne.
Aware, Cacturne turned its attention away from Lance's Pokemon and charge boastingly toward Squirtle. The red Gyarados was still hanging in there.
"Squirtle, slow it down first with Bubble!" ordered Crimz.
Cacturne's arm was swinging again, preparing for another thrust of its needly arm, but from Squirtle's mouth a huge flurry of bubbles swarmed and enveloped the Cacturne's body. It's sinister face flushed with panic, lifting away all traces of earlier moxie.
"Now blast it with your Water Gun!" Crimz commanded.
A stream of water bursted forth from Squirtle's mouth, knocking the incopacitated Cacturne onto the hard, stone-paved ground.
"Hey hey, kid, don't get too confident now. That little squirt can't possibly take down my Cacturne!" said the Rocket girl. "Cacturne, get up and prepare yourself, now!"
"Alright squirtle, let's do Bubble again--"
"Sucker Punch!" the girl hastily commanded.
Cacturne suddenly sped up and pounded Squirtle before it could prepare its attack. The hit was hard, the damage high; Squirtled crashed down hard into the ground, bouncing once on its shell before landing on his stomache. It couldn't get back up.
"No, Squirtle..." muttered Crimz, disappointed.
"Hahaha, there's no way that little Squirtle of yours could get up after a hit like that from my high-level Cacturne. You've lost!" concurred the Rocket girl.
"Ruby, just finish them off for good!" yelled the Rocket man.
"No need, no need. Haven't I done that already? Let's just let him cry."
"Do you..." Crimz mumbled quietly.
"Huh?" Ruby turned and looked in his direction again.
"Do you really think...that I could be beaten...SO EASILY!?" Crimz yelled in anger. "Squirtle!"
...
Squirtled remained flat on the ground, still as stone. Suddenly, a blue aura began to luminate about its body as it lifted itself up from the ground with its small arms. A new look of determined adamance posessed the glowing Squirtle, as though its personality had been wiped away.
"I'll teach you not to under estimate me, FOR GOOD!" shouted Crimz.
The bewildered Ruby glanced over at her colleague. "Toxin... What's up with that--"
"Torrent." said Toxin, the Rocket man.
"Squirtle, first use Bubble!" Crimz commanded, brimming with confidence.
Again, Squirtle blasted out a barrage of bubbles, but this time the attack was a lot bigger and stronger!
"Cacturne, break out of it! Right now!" Demanded Ruby, but Cacturne was almost completely immobilized.
"Let's finish this! Water gun, go!" Crimz commanded.
Squirtle let loose a huge blast of concentrated water that completely overpowered Cacturne, sending it slamming into the temple wall.
"Cheh... Cacturne, return..." said Ruby as she beamed the Pokemon back into its ball. "Beginner's luck!"
"Gyarados, return." ordered Lance as he beamed back the exhauted red dragon.
I wouldn't have thought that an unevolved water type like Squirtle could have taken down that grass type Cacturne, but I proved that wrong. This Squirtle should be pretty low level though, can I even take out that guy's Nidoking? Squirtle may have the type advantage, but what does that matter against a fully evolved, high-level Pokemon?
...
But I have to try!
"Squirtle, go!" ordered Crimz.
"Hey you, little punk." said Toxin.
"Huh?" said Crimz in surprise, and Squirtle also stopped to listen.
"You think you're real tough now that now that you've beaten that pathetic Ruby and her pathetic Pokemon, am I right?" asked Toxin.
"What!?" shrieked Ruby vehemently.
"I think you're weak too, filthy Rocket." said Crimz with bravado.
"What moxie, condescending little punk. Well, you are correct that most Rocket grunts are weak, all with nothing but hollow confidence. Weak in numbers, defenseless on their own - That they are. Compared to me, that is." said Toxin. "Ruby is soft. Little punk, I'll show you how weak you and your Pokemon really are."
"Bring it! Squirtle, Water Gun!" Crimz shouted.
"You can't! ... Go Dra--!"
"Wait." said Lance as he blocked the robed girl with his right arm, eyes still focused on the battle.
Squirtle ran over toward the towering Nidoking and blasted out another power-pumped Water Gun attack, a perfect hit. However, Crimz and Squirtle were surprised to see that Nidoking barely cringed from the attack and easily stood its ground.
"Surprised? Little kid, I can see into your heart. Right now you're thinking, '~I don't stand a chance, I was wrong. I shouldn't have gotten myself involved...~' Am I right?" said Toxin mockingly.
...
"Now you're thinking, '~It's alright, Lance the dragon master is here. He can't possibly lose, he was once the champion of the Elite Four. He would never lose to the likes of Team Rocket!~' Am I right? Of course I am... Nidoking, Thunderbolt."
Before Crimz could even give out a command, Squirtle was completely encased in a shroud of electrifying yellow!
Super-effective damage from a strong Pokemon's Thunderbolt left Squirtle unconscious and completely unable to battle anymore. Defeated.
...
Crimz was stunned; speechless and completely disillusioned.
"Hey, little punk. What's with that shocked face? Your Pokemon is the shell-shocked one, hahaha! I can tell you what your Squirtle is thinking, kid. It's thinking, 'Why was I cursed with such a pathetic little punk for a trainer?'" Toxin laughed darkly. "Oh, and that Cacturne from earlier? It had already taken heavy damage from that Gyarados before you came! Hahahahaha!"
"S-Squirtle... Return..." said Crimz in a fragile voice.
"That's about enough of that." said Lance. "Go... My friend."
Out from the ball came a huge Pokemon. Its body towered over Nidoking, strong and dignified. It's enormous tail was like a second half of its body, casting off a mild wind whenever it swayed. With arms and large legs each tipped with three jagged claws, tiny bat-like wings and a white serpentine underside extending from its neck to the tip of its tail, the Pokemon's skin shone a bright orange under the beaming morning sun.
Dragonite.
Pokemon: Crimson Destiny
Chapter II, Legends and Rivals Part II
"Nidoking, Giga Impact!" Commanded Toxin.
"Dragonite, Hyper Beam!" shouted Lance.
Once again, Nidoking became engulfed in its own aura, then charged briskly toward the valiant dragon standing before it. Dragonite's head reared back, gathering speckles of energy into a ball. As soon as Nidoking had closed in, Dragonite fired the powerful Hyper Beam. Nidoking's Giga Impact attack was easily overpowered by the immense force of Dragonite - Lance the dragon master's strongest known Pokemon!
"Nidoking, return." Said Toxin as his Pokemon was transported back into its Pokeball. "Heh, i would expect nothing less of the former Pokemon League Champion. No, in fact, I actually expected more. You disappoint me, 'dragon master'.
-[Kssssshhhhht - Toxin, we failed. Some young punk messed things up on our end. We're movin' out! - Kssssshhhhht]- Toxin grabbed the Walkie Talkie from the belt at his waist. -Kssssshhhhht "Fine, we're moving out as well. Notify headquarters."
"Not so fast!" said the robed girl as she pulled out a Pokeball, but Toxin and Ruby excaped with a ball of smoke.
...
The Rockets were gone, the temple safe, but Crimz was still on his kness, shocked and depressed.
...
"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!! WAY TO GOOOOOOO!!" The people around were clapping and cheering. But why were they so happy?
Lance and the robed girl stepped over to Crimz, giving him a hand getting up.
"They've seen your bravery, kid. This is the village's way of thanking you." said Lance.
Crimz stood up and looked out in the crowd of people, wiping away a tear from his eye. He smiled proudly for a moment, but cringed in frustration immediately after. He wanted revenge.
"Was that your first battle? That was some decent battling. I saw you storm into the temple earlier, did elder Carnellius give you a Pokemon?" said the robed girl as the crowd began to dissipate.
"You're--" Crimz mumbled, interupted.
"Oh, that's right! I haven't introduced myself, I always forget! My name's Roary! Roary the--"
"Dragon trainer." Crimz interrupted. "Having lived on the plains just an hour from here, I've heard all about the famous dragon trainers. Lance, the dragon master and former Champion of Johto's Elite Four, and Roary, a child prodigy who became the rival of Blackthorn city's Claire, but lost to her many years ago, along with the right to become the Blackthorn gym leader."
"Humph! I've gotten a lot stronger since then!" claimed Roary, irritated.
"Then there's Claire, the female dragon master and Blackthorn gym leader, currently on the rise again as a new Elite Four candidate." Crimz added.
"Hey hey, you're pretty knowledgeable." said Lance.
"Grrrr I'll defeat her! Come on, bring her here, that Claire wouldn't stand a chance now!" Roary exasperated.
"Well, it's about time for me to leave..." said Lance.
"Where are you going?" asked Crimz.
"He's going on a new journey!" said Roary excitedly.
"A new journey..." said Crimz.
"Yeah, it's been a long time since I've journeyed around like the old days. I'm off to rediscover myself... ...
...And the world of Pokemon..." Lance replied. "Crimz, this is only the beginning for you. Your very first journey. Have fun with it, and take care!" said Lance, the dragon master.
... "Crimz." said Lance as he turned around, facing the road.
"Become strong." said Lance as he walked off, heading back toward the Waterfall entrance.
... Cool
"Keep this a secret, but truth is, Lance has been in a slump. Ever since he was defeated in the Pokemon League, he hasn't been able to battle with his former power. That's why he's going on a journey! I'm on a journey too, Crimz! And it's just about time for me to leave! Who knows, maybe we'll meet up somewhere. I don't know about the dragon master, but I'll give you a battle once you've gotten good and strong! Bye!" Shouted Roary as she jogged away.
It couldn't be seen clearly from so far away, but she eventually summoned a Pokemon from a ball and disappeared into the sky. On what, Crimz did not know.
"Crimz!" yelled a voice right behind him, startling him badly.
"WHAT!" Crimz turned around and yelled back. ... "Uh, sorry, you startled me... Wanna' try not yelling in my ear next time?"
It was the robed man from earlier that was guarding the village entrance with Roary.
"Hahaha." laughed the man, patting his back amiably with brutish force. "Come on."
"Hey, um..." Crimz muttered.
...
"Who are you?" asked Crimz.
"EEEEEHHHHH!?" the man yelled with a comical face. "Ugh... My name's Jagg! Got it? Jagg!"
"Ooh... You're..." Crimz paused.
...
"Nope, don't remember anyone named Jagg..."
"Ghaaa!" sighed Jagg. "At any rate, let's go into the temple, your grandfather, I mean, Elder Carnellius has asked for you to come in, now that all the commotion's over with!"
...
"You, over there! You too..." said Jagg.
Standing several meters away, leaning against the temple stood a tall young man, not much older than Crimz. Black pants, a silver belt, and a blue jean-jacket over a buttoned white dress shirt unbuttoned around the collar, with short, dark, parted hair and cold, dark, confident eyes.
"That was a pathetic battle you made me watch." he said.
"What... Well why don't you--" Crimz caught his tongue, and the young man turned away and stepped slowly toward the temple doors.
I can't ask him for a battle, I don't have any useable Pokemon right now... That jerk, thinks he's so cool... I'd like to seehim battle a Cacturne and a Nidoking...
Crimz followed him to the Elder's room, while Jagg waited at the entrance.
"Welcome back." said Elder Carnellius. "First, give me your Pokeball."
"Uh, okay Grandpa. Here." said Crimz as he handed it over.
A robed, hooded lady who had been standing in the other far corner of the room, completely unnoticed, stepped over and received the Pokeball from Carnellius, then bowed and left.
"She'll take care of your tired Pokemon for you. Your Squirtle will returned to you in good health very soon."
"So that was your very first Pokemon. No wonder you were weak." said the young man. "You picked a water type, so... Elder Carnellius, please give me a Charmander."
The elder passed one of the encased Pokeballs over to Rane. "Here you go."
The elder passed one of the encased Pokeballs over to Rane. "Here you go."
"Although it would seem the two of you have met, let me introduce the both of you." Said Carnellius. This is Crimz, my grandson. And Crimz, this is..."
Rane.
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