I’m in Toronto right now, at John’s house. He has the cottage for his birthday weekend, so I took two extra days off work to see him. It’s kind of strange how much I’ve been seeing him lately. In the past, we’d go over a year without seeing each other because he was in Windsor for law school and I was in Ottawa without a car. But now that he’s been called to the bar and I’ve obtained the Civic, things have worked out.

We plan on going to the Ontario Science Centre today — something I’ve wanted to do for a while¹ — then driving up to the cottage tonight. We’ll spend two days at the cottage², maybe take a day trip to another town, and drive back on Sunday. Aaron also called me yesterday about his co-ed baby shower on Sunday, which i’m not sure if I’ll be attending yet, since I’ll have driven eight hours that day.

Sunsets and Audiobooks

The drive was absolutely amazing. The weather was perfectly cool, and the sun took its glorious time setting over a few hours. I think the most satisfying part is getting to the section of highway where the 417 splits to the 416, and one can stay in the left lane and accelerate through the turn, leaving all the traffic behind.

I listened to some audio CDs of Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking on the way over. The concept is that our first reactions (made within a few seconds) are often intuitively correct, and that even after thinking about something for a long time, we end up going with our gut feelings anyway. We’re made to believe that the more important something is, the longer we should take to make a decision. I’m especially guilty of this³. Wally lent them to me in an effort to help me act faster so I don’t miss any opportunities. Not sure if they’ll help me, but the way it delves into processes of the human psyche is a very interesting listen nonetheless.

Feeding Butterball

Left Dolly lots of food, and I’m hoping she doesn’t eat it all. The reason why I feed her by hand is because she doesn’t have any sense of how much to eat, and balloons up if not controlled. In either case, I expect a lot of poo in the litterbox when I get back.

New Game

I bought John a copy of Assassin’s Creed for his birthday, which thankfully was on his list of games for which to watch. It was developed by Ubisoft Montreal, the same studio who made Prince of Persia, and plays very much the same way. An open-world concept with lots of stealth elements. Certainly a game I could get into. We take turns playing, and it’s made me realize that I haven’t been playing much myself in the last few months.

A Sense of Overstimulation

Life has been somewhat overstimulating lately, and I can’t blame anyone but myself. After spending a day shopping for housewares with Julie last weekend, the house is a big mess, with things scattered over the counters and floors. I haven’t even had a chance to write about the last time I came to Toronto. It seems like life is going faster than I can keep up. I’m just trying to enjoy it, especially when the weather is this beautiful.

After all, life is for the living. This won’t last forever. I get to look forward to some time alone when everything is settled.

1. I don’t think I’ve been since grade 4, so over 18 years ago. [↑]
2. Last time I was there was two years ago [↑]
3. John says that I tend to over analyze things to the point of paralysis. [↑]

A look into my current tastes, updated for 2007. This list is somewhat shorter than last years because the ones I haven’t checked off still apply, and I’ve been guilty of some spending this month; The first two seasons of Robson Arms on DVD (which I desperately waited two years for), season six of Trailer Park Boys, my mittens, a RAZR 2 (the cell phone I’ve had for five years died), an electric toothbrush, and various gifts.

Photography

• Bogen / Manfrotto Background Support System 314 ($280) — To quickly set up different coloured backgrounds in my photography room.

  Bought it on sale, which was still $260.

• Arca-Swiss Monoball Z1 Ballhead ($475) — My current tripod isn’t strong enough to hold most of my lenses in place, and the locking mechanism is extremely chintzy. Very frustrating when working with dark shots. A ballhead would give me tremendous flexibility.
• Gitzo GT3530LSV Mountaineer 6x Carbon Fiber Tripod Legs ($625) — Carbon fiber tubing makes for an extremely light and portable set of tripod legs. Packed with all the important little features like an anti-leg rotation system, the Gitzo leg locking system, and removable rubber feet.

Furniture

• Rubix Cube Ottoman ($129) — A black, two-toned square ottoman to go with my leather couch.

Housewares

• Bodum Assam 2-Cup Tea Press ($25) — I have one of these at home, but it would be great to have one at work too, so I can make more than one cup of tea at a time.

  Julie bought me a Stokes gourmet Formosa tea infuser for Christmas 2008. A little chamber for loose leaves dangles from the top, as opposed to a press, which can create bitterness in tea.

• Braun Impression WK 600 Kettle ($90) — A large kettle for my tea. Right now, I have to boil water in two cup intervals, which takes a while when guests are over.

  Andrew and Alex bought me a similar model for my birthday, and it’s SWEET.

• Tingler Head Massager ($15) — On Jason’s recommendation on my recent post about manual stimulation. The reviews say that it helps put you to sleep, and that can never be a bad thing.

  Found a cheep one at Zone for five dollars! Doesn’t vibrate or anything but still pretty good. Next is finding someone to use it on me.

Games

• Orange Box ($50) — A nostalgic trip back to the days of my favourite game ever: Team Fortress Classic for Half-Life. I hear the gameplay has changed a lot, but I don’t care. We’ll probably be playing this at the next LAN.
• Odin Sphere ($40) — A side-scrolling fantasy RPG for the PS2 that I don’t want to miss.

Movies/Shows

• JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure OVA ($52) — My favourite anime of all time: a combination of fascinating universe, and very intelligent action. I currently have a copy in Japanese with French subtitles. While this helps me learn more French, I also don’t understand much the phrases.

  Found a copy of this for download.

• Reno 911 seasons 2-5 ($90) — An hilarious, original look at law enforcement. Trailer Park Boys from the other side of the law. I have the first season (thank you Music World for going out of business and giving me 20% off), but I’d love to get the rest, along with the movie.

  Bought all of these on a lark. Did not regret the decision.

You know it’s getting close to the holidays when the fresh cupcakes at the local bakery start having Christmas tree sprinkles, so I thought I’d make a Christmas wish-list. Usually I have no problem spending money when I want something, but I’ve been saving my money as a goal lately. I’ve been good too, only spending $120 on myself in November (two movies, a toque, and winter shoe spikes) as opposed to the $500+ I normally do.

This isn’t a fantasy list by any means; these are practical things I eventually plan on buying. I just can’t justify getting them at this moment. Of course, I don’t actually expect any of these things to show up under a tree on the 25th, since I don’t celebrate Christmas, although this isn’t by choice.

Photography

• Canon EOS 5D camera body ($3800) — The 5D supports a very nice 12.8 megapixels, but most importantly, it has a full-frame sensor that would let me take full advantage of my wide-angle lenses.
• Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye lens ($950) — For those extra-wide group shots, and stylish fisheye distortion.

  Bought a used version of this great lens for roughly half the MSRP in early 2007.

• Speedlite 580EX flash ($600) — I currently have the Speedlite 420EX, which can used as an off-camera slave to be set off remotely. It takes a flash like the 580EX to act as a wireless master.

  Bought this flash with an umbrella and light stand in the summer of 2007. Extremely happy with the off-camera results.

• Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX ($750) — Macro photos have been especially difficult because of the exaggerated camera shake with a 100mm lens. A nice macro flash would allow me to increase shutter speed, and get evenly lit shots.
• Wacom Intuos 6×11″ tablet ($450) — For editing my photos in Photoshop. I have one of these at work, and I can’t get over how much better a tablet is over a mouse.

  I was starting to get shooting pains in my wrist and forearm, so I bought this tablet in early 2007 to ease the strain of mouse posture. It has greatly helped, and on top of that, working with brushes in Photoshop is a delight.

Games

• Playstation 3 ($650) — I’m currently waiting on this one, since none of the launch titles interest me, but it’s my next-generation console of choice. I wanted the Wii for the longest time (back when it was codenamed Revolution), but the lack of HD support and dated hardware quickly turned me.
• Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess ($60) — I can’t pass up the legendary last game in the Zelda series. It’s coming out in 12 days for the Gamecube, although I may see if I can borrow Pat’s/Aaron’s/Trolley’s Wii to play it with the Remote and Nunchuk instead.
• Neverwinter Nights 2 ($60) — I’ve been waiting for this game ever since I finished the original Neverwinter Nights over two years ago. My next purchase was either this or Company of Heroes, but John bought me the latter for my birthday and so we could play online together. It was as much of a gift for himself.

Furniture

• Saga sofa ($1400) — Getting this in a nice dark-brown leather is one of the options with which I’d like to replace my old Ikea couch. I wasn’t partial to leather until I saw the unit in the store, but it boosts the price closer to $1500.

  Bought a Scotch couch in October 2007 from EQ3 in a black leather instead. Sold my old Ikea couch to help pay for this.

• 2MORROW side table ($150) — To go with the sofa.

  Bought a frosted glass sidetable from the same series as my coffee table from Zone in late 2007 instead.

• B2C 36″ storage ($550) — A place where I can store my books.
• CONICK pendant light ($120) — I’d like to have this above my dining table. The light fixture I have now is a little dated.

  I bought a rail light fixture from Ikea instead. It’s better for directional light, and much cheaper.

Appliances

• Grind & Brew Thermal Automatic coffeemaker ($150) — This baby grinds, brews, and can be set on an automatic timer to do both right before you wake up. Unfortunately, it’d be all decaf for me.
• Ultra Power Series stand blender ($180) — For smoothies. Because lunch sandwhiches get boring quickly.

  Got myself a nice Hamilton Beach Eclectrics Blender at the beginning of the year. Been making smoothies almost daily ever since.

TV Shows

• Six Feet Under ($230 for the complete series) — I’ve been wanting to watch these with Bronwen for a while now. I only got to the middle of the second season, but it really put the hook in me.
• Trailer Park Boys ($150 for seasons 1–5) — I’ve seen up to season 3, and every year, the Trailer Park Boys keep me guessing about how much madder things will be in Sunnyvale Trailer Park.

  Bought these up to the sixth season in early 2007 to watch with Bronwen. She loved them. Still looking for the Christmas special.

• Battlestar Galactica ($100 for seasons 1 & 2) — I only got as far as the first season, and this is one of those shows that you can’t watch out of order because you’d be completely lost.

Movies

• Best In Show ($20) — This movie charmed me the first time I saw it. One of those movies you can watch at almost any time. Christopher Guest at his best.
• Punch Drunk Love ($16) — P.T. Anderson’s simple, beautiful love story.
• Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle ($15) — Because everything about this movie reminds me of summers with John.
• Contact ($16) — The beginning of my fascination with astronomy. And Jodie Foster.

  Louise bought me this for Christmas 2006.

• Boys n the Hood ($16) — A movie that touches me, even though it’s set in a world completely removed from my own.
• Waking Life ($10) — I wish I could explain what it is about this movie that draws me in so much. Maybe it’s the fact that every time I watch it, I understand something new. Also the first movie I ever saw high. Triptastic.
• The Breakfast Club ($18) — The ultimate teen angst movie. Also currently the only movie to use the term “Neo-Maxi Zoom Dweebie”.

After the last housewarming party, Pita stayed the night, having come all the way from Montreal, not wanting to drive back after a few hours of drinking. I asked him to stay on Sunday, and we ended up playing all the old Gamecube games that we used to play and master, back when we lived together. We never had the chance to do this since he moved to Taiwan and back to Canada over two years ago, so it was quite a reminiscent experience.

Discovering I had a free weekend, I invited him over a little while ago for two days of pure gaming. The invitation was extended to his roommate, after Pita said that I should meet her, being a hardcore gaming chick who apparently can kick his ass in Soul Calibur 2. I have yet to observe this ass-kicking chick phenomenon for myself, and unfortunately, I haven’t had any time to practice with Kilik or Raphael, so I’m prepared to get my ass handed to me. I’m hoping to make it up in Super Smash Brothers Melee.

This is the last weekend of fun before I start to get serious about work (aside from a LAN party I have planned for the first week of November). I decided not to take the job at the bookstore, and put my full focus on a web solutions business that I registered this week.

They should be here any minute.

I haven’t been able to get into anything in the last little while. Keeping myself occupied has been difficult. There are distractions everywhere, and I don’t think this will end until I move.

I’d really like to get into a book, but I’m never in the mood for what I have available. I’ve decided to take a break from Thus Spoke Zarathustra, which is why the Zarathustra sessions are on hold. I zealously read it when I was searching for a greater meaning to the problems I was going through at the time, but now I’d prefer to read something that’s easier to get through. I still have my copy of Doctor Zhivago that Christie gave me, but I would need to be in a certain cultural mood (i.e. Russian) to enjoy it, and I’ve read enough Russian literature in the last five years to keep me satisfied for the next little while. I’d like to start Moby Dick again (and possibly even finish it this time), but I want to be a little more settled in my life before I try reading such an epic again. I’d try to finish the Story Of O, but I generally try to stay away from hardcore erotic literature when I’m on the bus or before I go to sleep. I’m not in the mood for sci-fi right now, which is too bad, because John got me a copy of The Butlerian Jihad a few years ago at Christmas, one of the only thoughtful gifts I’ve ever recieved from him. After reading Tigana I can’t get into any other fantasy books, because they all seem shallow and cheesy in comparison. I’m in the mood for something modern, so maybe I’ll go to Chapters and pick up a copy of The Stone Diaries.

There aren’t any decent games to get into at the moment. I don’t completely agree with the new matchmaking policies introduced in the 1.17 patch of Frozen Throne, so I don’t play on battle.net anymore. Usually it’ll be a tower map against John, or a big free-for-all with Trolley and Aaron, but nothing compared to how addicted I was to Starcraft or TFC. I also know better than to get into something like World Of Warcraft if I want to retain any semblance of an actual life. It’s tragic to not be able to play what could easily be one of the most significant games of the next decade, but I’m not willing to take that risk.

There isn’t any TV I can get into lately either. I’m waiting for the fourth season of Trailer Park Boys to come out on DVD. I’ve watched the first seasons of Arrested Development and Clone High over and over again. I’m waiting for Trolley to recieve the first three seasons of Six Feet Under to come in through Zip.ca before watching it. I got half-way through the second season with Louise, but it started to get pointlessly depressing. Maybe this is just in contrast with shows like Trailer Park Boys and Arrested Development, where people who are placed in the worst situations still manage to keep their chins up and their hopes high.

The only thing that has been able to keep me occupied is music, which has been coming in at a regular pace. After hearing Cochise by Audioslave, I wasn’t too impressed with what has become the aftermath of both Soundgarden and Rage Against The Machine breakups. Perhaps this is due to the fact that I’ve always been on the Nirvana side of the Cobain vs. Cornell debate. Some may think that grunge died with the dissolution of Soundgarden, but Nirvana fucking started it all, mock Pixies band or not. In any case, my first impression of Audioslave’s sound was that it was flat and repetitive. What else can be expected from a bassist known for mimicking the main guitar riff in flagship songs like Bulls On Parade and People Of The Sun? I had been listening to Audioslave’s Shadow Of The Sun from the Collateral soundtrack for two weeks now, but it was only two days ago that it really hit me. And yet I’ve been going through so much music lately, that the song becomes as significant as any another I’ve decided to keep.

So yeah.

Got my hair bleached blonde. I’ve always wanted very pale blonde hair, but midtone is about as far as it goes.

Trolley, Aaron, and wheaties got me Half-Life 2 for my birthday. I didn’t have a chance to really play it until this weekend, but I decided to play through Half-Life: Source first, because it was four years five years since I last finished it, and going through the game again would help me appreciate all the little details being put into the sequel. The odd thing is that I remember taking weeks to play it through, whereas I started playing HL:S Friday, played a bit last night, and am almost done now. It’s nice to be able to sit and play through a game, taking my time, not having to worry about classes, or assignments, or tests, etc. This makes me realize that I haven’t really gotten into a game like this since I finished university.

Finally get to go for some pho with Loo today. We haven’t been almost two weeks.

Aaron bought me a quadruple/quadruple from Timmies yesterday, and it was good. I’ve been trying to cut down on sugar and creme for years now, so four of each being so satiating (almost candy-like) is very scary.

I took my first puff from a cigarette yesterday. It was a Matinee Extra Mild, and it wasn’t pleasant. I was stoned, and the weed tasted way better.

The Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex tracks that Number18 sent me are amazing. She rules.

Been busy as fuck.

That’s all. I’m going back to sleep.

I wonder if anyone understands how much the release of HL 2 means to me. I wonder if anyone can understand how emotional I get just seeing the concept art. The first Half-Life defined more than a year of my life, the way decades have defined phases for previous generations. Half-Life was my favourite game of all time, not even second to Chrono Trigger. It was an experience, a journey, not just a game, and the sequel is being released tomorrow.

I formatted my machine yesterday (something I haven’t done in over a year, even though I used to every quarter before the release of XP), to clean up my system in preparation. I’m hoping I’ll be able to run it on a decent graphics setting; my video card is a little dated now, but it’s still a DirectX 9 generation ATI Radeon.

I can’t wait. The entire idea that something I’ve been waiting more than four years for will be released tomorrow hasn’t quite set in my head yet.

I was on gaming hiatus for a few months (my longest yet), but now I’m back into the old swing of things with Soul Calibur 2. I didn’t play much of it before because I didn’t know anyone else who played it, but Aaron and Jessie have been addicted since the beginning of the month. Now I actually feel like I can invest some time into training a character and learning their fighting dynamics. The game is so deep and involved that I can practice for weeks and weeks and still be considered a beginner. I mean, Virtual Fighter 4 had a pretty involved system, but SC2 extends past the “basic” guard>attack>throw>guard with added sidestep>vertical attack>horizontal attack>sidestep, and mid-guard>high/mid attack and low-guard>low/high attack, not to mention the options that open up with soul charging and unblockables.

The problem is that SC2 has so many cool characters that I want to use. There’s something about using a character that matches the personality. It’s like a projection of the self in a fantasy world. Whenever I do RPGs, I usually create a character that’s like me (although with height modifier +6 when the option is there). That’s why I never use the “evil” characters in fighting games.

I started SC2 with Kilik since he had the most recognizable traditional Shaolin fighting style (my favourite), although Xianghua’s and Yunsung’s moves have fairly obvious Chinese roots as well. Kilik ended up being too boring for me (no personality, predictable moves), so I switched to Yoshimitsu, cause he’s really cool and sneaky, but his moves ended up being too awkward. I realize that this is how Yoshimitsu is supposed to be played (with off-timing balance), but the character didn’t click for me.

Right now I’m using Raphael, who happens to be the most interesting character move-wise, but also the biggest pansy out of all of them. He can go in and out of stances easily, with several attacking options in each stance, making him an offensive, but difficult-to-master, character. He has amazingly variable combos, and in between hits, his foil guard-impacts, just like a fencer. He’s unlike any other character in the game, and I have to applaud Namco for coming up with the idea and making him so realistic.

My nerdyness is coming back. The same nerdyness that used to say, “Why make out with you when I could be playing a game?”.

On a side note, I’m also back into big breakfasts with bacon, sausages, and milk tea on the weekends. My arteries hate them, but I forgive them and love them all the same.

I had the chance to hang out with Sonas on Wednesday night. He brought over some wine and cigars just as a chance to relax. He graduated last month and is looking for a job before he looks for a law school. The thing is, he’s not tied down by anything at all. His girlfriend is in Seattle, finished her studies and working as a pharmacist, but he has no plans on moving there. He’s perfectly fine with moving back home, out west, or even overseas to find a job. I have to admire that kind of freedom, especially since he’s in a relationship. There’s a trust there that really goes beyond most of the other relationships that I know. We ended up ordering in and hanging out on the balcony. I can’t relate to him very well because I don’t know much about him, but I can definitely say that he’s an easy person for me to talk to, which is a rarity in itself.

Yesterday I had the chance to hang out with Pat, and just kick back with some Soul Calibur II. We were pretty evenly matched, although I had the upper hand because I actually own the game and have a steady character. We’d really learn each others moves, so it ended up being a game of reflexes and feints, instead of button mashing like it is against most people. He’s the only person I know who used to be a hardcore gamer the way I used to be, so it was great to be able to talk about fighter styles and relate on that level.

I’m generally not a superstitious person but I have this one superstition when I’m listening to my iPod. I always have my songs on random, and if two songs ever play in a row that were meant to be played in a row (i.e. in order on an album or if the second song develops the motifs from the first) then I think I’ll have a good day.

I think it started when I used to play ladder matches in WC3 with Jacky. She always listened to music when she was playing, so she had her 8000 songs queued up. If Sigur Rós ever came up, she would know that we’d win. I don’t think she was ever wrong.

I can’t study without rewards. This may possibly be the fault of my parents, telling me from an early age that I’d earn something for every spelling test I got perfect. I told some of my classmates at the time, who would earn nothing but the paltry praise of their parents, and they rather precociously told me that such a system was unhealthy. Of course, I was too young to understand such things at the time, and now I find myself unable to be motivated to study without thinking that I’ll get to do something fun as a break.

I’ve been trying to study for my accounting mid-term all week, and couldn’t actually get started until I knew that there was something entertaining I could do. At first it was playing Chrono Cross, but my emulator was just too buggy. Then it was trying to make a new background, but it ended up being too much thinking for a break. I moved onto Uru, and I’ve been playing it ever since. I have to admit that there are worlds that completely take my breath away. It’s one of the few games that really make me appreciate a high-end GPU. I wish I could be playing with Trolley, but I rather like being able to solve the puzzles by myself. I’m always, always, ALWAYS the slowest one in figuring things out, and never the one who gets the answer if I’m playing in a group.

One of the “problems” around the holidays season is the flood of quality games that come out. Publishers are always vying for that Christmas market, and set release dates so that people have ample time to wrap up a game and put it under the tree. I’m currently addicted to Tony Hawk Underground for the GBA. I’ve been playing some Prince of Persia, although without a controller it’s very frustrating. I can completely understand why so many people have such good things to say about it, but I’m thinking that it’s only playable as a console game. There’s also Uru, which I still have to play and finish with Trolley. Then there’s Double Dash for the GC I haven’t tried yet, and Wind Waker I haven’t finished yet.

Good thing I already finished Call of Duty before Christmas, and the Thief III and Half-Life 2 release dates have been pushed back or there would be no way I’d be motivated enough for class.

It’s seven in the morning, and the sun still hasn’t come out yet. I’m completely exhausted. I’m going to try to take a six hour nap, and then stay awake until night to put my system back on track. Nick says he’s going to go to sleep now and wake up at noon. I say, “Hahahhhahah good luck buddy”. I’m too tired to go to practice (I’d be scared of falling asleep on the bus ride there), so I’m just going to spend the day fighting sleep. Maybe I’ll watch Midway, Ghandi, or Seven Samurai to keep me busy. Maybe I’ll install Sands of Time so I can stay awake. Gaming is the only thing that I can do without falling asleep. After all, I’m still awake at this hour.

Dina bought me a platinum GBA SP! I can’t believe it; I actually gasped when I figured out what it was. It’s been a pretty rough day, so this was a really nice surprise. I can bring it with me on my trip to Hong Kong so I can play on the plane. Now I want to buy so many games, like the sequel to Paper Mario on N64, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Fire Emblem, Tony Hawk’s Underground, and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. There are actually more I would buy if I won the lottery, but for now, I can download a few and upload them to my flash cartridge with the linker.

I snapped and bought Viewtiful Joe. I’ve been waiting for a game like this with old school play mechanics for a long time. Capcom heightened the sensation, and added in a bunch of great effects and depth. It’s a very difficult game, but extremely satisfying. I should really stop spending money like this, because I’m starting to look for things to sell.