Don’t really know where to begin, as usual. I left for Boot Camp on September 17th and graduated November 17th. My division was 434 and we are Hall of Fame Gold. I mean, that’s all I really need to say, right?

But that’d be too easy and not very specific. I could also tell you everything we did each day, what I ate for breakfest, lunch, and dinner, and every single detail, but that would be incredibly dull and boring. So, what the hell did happen to me?

Emotionally, I was terrified. Nervous. People yelling at you for making the tiniest of mistakes. Eventually you would (read: should) stop making the same mistakes over and over again. If you don’t know me by now, I’m not confident in myself. I’m a bit better now, but I still get nervous. Really trying to stop though. I made mistakes (one mistake of mine could have lost our hall of fame status, seriously), but I got through and here I am.

Was it worth it? Yes. Would I go through it again, given the chance? Heck no. The eight weeks I spent there mean more to me than all four years of high school. I’m a much better person now because of what I learned from being around 80 other recruits trying to becoming sailors just like me. Whether they were good examples or bad examples, I still learned from their success/failures. I’ve never been much of a people person, but there are a lot more people I can turn to whenever I need help and I’d do the same for them.

Currently stuck here in Pensacola until the end of Feburary, I believe. I’ll be stopping in Rochester for Christmas. Hope you’re all having fun with college/high school/etc.

I’m hopefully going to get a multitude of blog entries done before I head to Boot Camp. So bear with me and hopefully I’ll achieve my goal! \o/

Thursday (Day 0)

• We went a day early to avoid having to deal with hotel registration along with con pre-reg/registartion.
• Went to the Mall of America
• I payed off my debts to the mob and the hotel.
• I spent some cash on Rock Band silencers, Boogiepop at Dawn (review coming soon), and some food. End result was just barely enough to pay for con registration.

Friday (Day 1)

• Long line was looooong. Seriously. 2-3 hours for regular registartion and pre-registered people shouldn’t have waited as long as they did.
• Need more staff. Srsly.
• I can’t take security seriously when they’re looking just as silly as the L cosplayers.
• Some of them had their security shirts wrapped on their waists. Really can’t take them seriously.
• Either I wasn’t interested in the panels, or they weren’t available when I finally registered and got my con badge.
• I spent most of that day playing in the game room. Mostly Rock Band.
• Maid Cafe was nice. :3
• This can be said for most of the days: I’m glad the music is being relocated because there was just way too much BASS.

Saturday (Day 2)

•  Went back to Maid Cafe. Friends I was rooming with made fun of me afterwards because I liked the maid that was serving us. Not my fault she’s perfect for my future maid cafe…oh wait. It kinda is.
• I spent a great deal of time playing Soma Bringer throughout my time at the convention.
• Dealer Room was a bit meh, but there was one dealer that has all the moe stuff I could ever want. Even a Kudo-chan towel. ;_; Either I didn’t find it, or they must not have a website.
• Like most of the days, I was mostly at the game room.
• Met two cosplayers there cosplaying as Touhou characters (Marisa and Reisen). Went with them along with another person who’s name I forget right now (sorry) to a panel about Geek Girls. Was more in line with what kind of thing I expect at SGMS, so I liked it. Only panel I went to.
• Something something something

Sunday (Day 3)

• Got my stuff packed early and went to maid cafe (no, really?)
• Talked to different maid and I mentioned my plans for a maid cafe (\o/)
• Met up with Touhou buddies and we went to DQ. Marisa bought me food because I was broke at that point ;_; Should hook those two up with actual copies of the Touhou games…
• Went home.

What startled me was how well I did this time compared to my first con @ Anime Detour. Met some great people and it made up for a fairly meh convention. I might volunteer next time. Still don’t know how it’s going to pan out though. Hopefully I fit in more conventions with all that Navy stuff I got myself into.

I’d talk about and maybe shoot a video with my Flip Cam I got today. Really, I would. However, many things pop up in between my desire to post something here and when I actually get around to it. Case in point, this video involving some Super Mario World hackery and choreography set to various well-known anime theme songs caught my attention and it deserves at least a day or two of my desire that everyone I know watch it. Five times, at minimum.

Since I know many people do not possess the ability to read Moonspeak (ie. Japanese), I decided to host a mirror of it here, with a link to the original video on NicoVideo below it. I still can’t navigate it properly without some assistance.

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I started writing this up on the 13th, when I can actually say Happy Birthday Chaz. Though, now it’s Happy Belated Birthday Chaz!

Almost finished with my Dresden Files book-a-thon. Started with the 4th book at the beginning of the week, and working on the 8th.

9th is the latest book and I’ll probably finish by Friday.
So about six ~400 page books in five days. Not too shabby, eh?

Between True Remembrance, possibly getting Wipeout Pulse soon, getting Audiosurf and converting people to Patapon, I think today will be alright.

…

;_; I lied.

True Remembrance: I haven’t played this yet, but basically this is the Japanese equivalent of Narcissu to us English-speakers. It’s just one of those titles that if you’re even minutely interested in the visual novel medium, you have to experience.

Wipeout Pulse: I haven’t played any sort of racing game since Mario Kart DS. Now, I have no problem with Mario Kart DS. That is, except that when I bought the bundle with the phat red DS, I didn’t think that would be the only game I would purchase for quite some time. I didn’t buy a single game for the DS for about a year. I played Mario Kart nearly nonstop in that time. I was entirely burnt out and sick of the game. But Pulse…there’s just something there. The polish, the speed, and it’s one of the best PSP games to pick up right now! Just need some more friends with PSPs so I can show of some custom ships. Hatsune Miku, Haruhi, Shana…Need to purchase the dang thing though.

Audiosurf: What can I say? Music games are in. I played the beta with some Daft Punk, Haruhi, you name it. It’s a really enjoyable experience that anyone can pick up and play fairly easily. I’d argue that with its current price point, putting it only on Steam won’t get the creator as much money as say…releasing it on all the major consoles. But having the Orange Box included is such a nice plus.

Patapon: The other great game this month coming out for the PSP. Rhythm and strategy? It’s addicting. Getting my friend who mainly buys Nintendo interested in purchasing a PSP for this game really assured me that this game is going to be a hit. Price point doesn’t hurt it either at around $20.

Being lonely: Bawww. ;_; /me hugs Hinagiku body pillow

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For Atron.

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Dedicated to Jim, who suffered a dango overload watching this video.

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Here ya go, Jess.

I was just at the mall today, and decided to stop by GameStop to see if they had the demo-disc for the upcoming game, Patapon. Patapon is developed by the same company that made LocoRoco, one of the best games for the PSP out there. The Patapon demo disc is an exclusive to GameStop when you pre-order the game. The savefile from that demo carries over to the official game with a preorder item. Lo and behold, they don’t have the demo. Wait, this is supposed to be an exclusive preorder, but they don’t have it in yet? C’mon. They announced it more than a week ago, and the game is coming out at the end of the month. You have got to be kidding me.

Anywho, I was a bit disappointed with GameStop’s in-store selection of PSP games. There were quite a number of used games, but not a very strong showing of the best PSP games out right now. I already had Final Fantasy Tactics, Jeanne D’Arc I can borrow from my brother, and I’m waiting for the price to go down on Ratchet and Clank. Personally, the sweet spot for me when it comes to PSP games would be $30. $35 up to $40 seems a bit much for me, but $29.99-$20 on new games for a solid game and I’d probably buy it. Planning on getting Disgaea from RosenQueen with the two moé folders and strategy guide, and the new Wipeout.

Downloadable games on the PS Store is meager at best. I truly think downloadable games and demos are the best way of getting people trying out new games. But why so few games in the store for download? And the ones they do have I really could care less about. Nintendo’s Virtual Console has the benefit of having a great deal of the old Nintendo games plus some games from Sega’s consoles. Microsoft’s XBox 360 has Xbox games and a ever-growing number of downloadable games made exclusively for it. I’m really glad Sony is getting FlOw and Everyday Shooter ported to the PSP, but then what? I really think they should get a lot more development going on for more good, exclusive titles.

I’m hoping to get this blog updated on a more regular basis and maybe improve my writing a bit. Valete!

Protip: Don’t say you’re being sarcastic when it’s just a pitiful excuse to be an asshole.

Anime Club: Seriously, don’t start one until you’re in college. Or if you’re willing to start one in High School, limit it to Seniors and maybe Juniors. There are exceptions, but for the most part, more than likely you will end up with some loudmouthed, obnoxious 16 year old who can’t STFU when asked politely. I know in the American fan-base there are going to be a lot of middle-schoolers with ADHD, but seriously, just grow up. It’s not hard to be polite. I don’t mind if you’re talking while watching an episode, but don’t just blurt crap when we can tell there’s a fscking knife stabbing going on. I’m hoping we can do more stuff on Sunday’s because it’s easier for the upperclassmen to go places without having to get our parents to drive us.

Final Fantasy Tactics: Delita’s story reminds me of a Shakespearean tragedy, and I really do believe Ramza and Alma survived. I think all the cool people with Ramza went with him somewhere else where they didn’t have to deal with Delita’s kingdom. I think Alma and Ramza’s relationship is one of a deep love as brother and sister who’ve formed a bond in all this fscked up crap. How deep is their relationship? We can never really know as they never quite dwell upon it in the written history. I recall skimming the boards on GameFAQs regarding this game, but I found myself frowning at some person bitching at the possibility of Ramza’s and Alma’s relationship being incestuous. I’m not very fond of close-mindedness and this is one of those times. Does it matter to the game if their relationship was incestuous or not? The extent of the love they shared isn’t for an outsider to judge. It’s a story, and a fairly well done one at that. I actually think Ramza, Agrias, and Alma threesome to be kind of hot, but that’s just me. …did I just type that?

Seriously though. This game needs a true sequel badly. Screw FF7 and the fan hoard. If there can be cameo appearances from FF7 and other Squenix games in Tactics, they can most certainly place Ramza and gang somewhere else.

Contact: Seriously, with the f-ed up schedules for second semester, I really am having a hard time seeing people. I really wish there was a better way of getting a hold of people, but I don’t know how…

ToF.Net: Uh…I dunno.

Neverath: Uh… I dunno.