End of the Month Reflection

As it has been twelve days since my last entry (that is two days longer than the last time, so this is worth a double oops!), it's about time I get a move on and write up an entry so that you all know what's currently going on in my wonderful life!

I'll try to keep this entry focused on just a few key points that have occurred since my last update, because a lot of big things have happened since then!

Firstly, and probably the most prominently interesting to note for the people that follow this blog - I GOT THE JOB! The interview was absolutely stellar; in fact it felt less like an interrogation and more like a casual conversation, because she asked me only a couple of questions and we talked pleasantly for the rest of the time. One thing I can remember clearly that she asked me was: "Are you always this happy?" and to be honest, the answer is "Yes!". When I'm out in public and dealing with people (and this is especially important for a front counter position), I am very peppy and naturally enthusiastic. It makes the experience more enjoyable for not only myself but the people interacting with me, and I really don't see any reason why I should or would want to act like a plug. That's not fun for anyone. I officially start on Tuesday, and having looked at the schedule I was given, they certainly don't look to be giving me any training shifts - perhaps they have more confidence in me than I do, because I have next to no experience serving breakfast! I'm nervous, but I'm sure I'll get back into the swing of things again. Hope so! I'll be chronicling my adventures here, so you'll get to hear all about it.

Secondly, and what may come as a surprise to you (it certainly did me; I never thought I would see the day) is that I am once again an Administrator of NintendoWorlds. I had left quite a legacy during my membership there in 2007-2010 apparently, because my friend Michelle messaged me on Facebook asking what it would take to convince me to come back - being me, I said 'Tyrannical Overlord!' and, well... Now I'm an enlarged pink dinosaur on a rampage.

This is me claiming dominion over the VIP Usergroup

Joking aside, it's both great and a bit strange to be back on the site. It's a lot different from how I remember it! XenForo took a little bit to get adjusted to, being a VBulletin native and all, but the transition hasn't been too difficult since there are people more than willing to help me should I have any daft moments. It's been a log of fun interacting and reminiscing with some good old friends of mine - can't believe two years have passed since I actively conversed with them last! The site is currently in the midst of a rejuvenation period, and we're getting it all set up to relive those glory days in the modern era of the 3DS and Wii U. It might take some time, but it'll all be worth it in the end!

For anyone who might be concerned, let your fears be assured - Red Rogues is still my highest priority, and I currently have my days scheduled to accommodate for work, writing, the site, and some downtime (which currently is still Xenoblade Chronicles). Speaking of which, I feel like I'm nearing the end of the game - and what an adventure it's been! I plan on potentially writing a review of the game once I'm completely done with it, so you can look forward to that! The next game on my to-do list (which is probably 'October's' game) will be The Last Story, another JRPG for the Wii that is part of the trio from Operation Rainfall just as Xenoblade Chronicles is. I can already tell you November's game is going to be Paper Mario: Sticker Star; there really is no deliberation over that. :D

On a completely random note, Cartoon Network's 20th anniversary is tomorrow (October 1st). To celebrate the occasion, they commissioned a video to be made that references the milestones of their broadcasting tenure. While I didn't see Teen Titans in it (surprisingly), Dexter's Laboratory and The Powerpuff Girls more than make up for their absence. The video itself is artistic and very trippy, so if you're interested in checking it out, you can find it HERE. Nostalgic memories came up for sure. <3

Also, I started watching Downton Abbey yesterday. While I've only seen the first episode so far, I do quite like it and it feels like it holds a lot of promise. I know many people who love it (the parentals included!) so I do look forward to taking some time to sit down and watch all the episodes. I also recently acquired the first season of Game of Thrones, so I definitely plan on introducing Skye to the world of Westeros soon! :D

I feel like I might be forgetting something, but as I can't seem to figure out what it is, I'm going to finish off  the entry here. I can always edit the bottom of this post if what's been forgotten is important enough.

I hope you've all had a fantastic (or at least bearable) September; I know that mine has certainly been interesting! Let's hope for an excellent October!

Much love!

PS: Season 2 premiere of Once Upon A Time tonight! Yay!

Rollin' on the Rails of Pop Culture

Hey all! It's been awhile (or a whopping 10 days, oops) since my last blog entry, and I do apologize for the delay for anyone that likes reading what I've been up to or are interested in at any given moment. Where I live at present the internet can be finicky at best so I tend to keep myself occupied with other pursuits while Skye tends to her online work at the desk (the only area we can get a wireless connection).

Soooo what have I been up to these last ten days?

Well, we can start with my birthday (September 10th). It has been one of the only days since I've been back thus far that's had absolutely abysmal weather (it rained hard and consistently for a good portion of the day, with the outskirts of hurricane/tropical storm Leslie battering us with wind and rain); I considered it Murphy's Law that it had to happen on my birthday of all days, but it didn't dampen my spirits any! In the card Skye gave me, she wrote "Have a great birthday Missie! - Sorry for the rain :(" and for some reason her apology I found really humorous. I got to webcam with my parentals and it was really great to see them (we'll have to do it again soon, hint hint Mom? :D) and finally got the recipe for one of my favourite dishes hamburger stroganoff. I carry the recipe with me everywhere with the intention of buying the ingredients, but I haven't actually got around to it yet, oops! My Mom also told me how to make coffee mocha cake, and I absolutely can't wait to try to recreate what I consider to be her dessert specialty. My brother's bound to agree - he and I used to ask her to make it for our birthdays every year! That and hamburger stroganoff (or tuna spinach bake) actually. Mmm... Makes me miss my Mom's home cooking. I know it might be a bit of a stereotypical thing to say, but my Mom really does make the best gourmet foods. <3

Later that afternoon we headed over to Bethley's house, because her Mom decided to be amazing and buy me a carrot cake! It was really greatly appreciated and I enjoyed hanging out with them before Debbie went line dancing. They got me a t-shirt exclaiming my awesomeness (really, it's a shirt that says I'm awesome) and a Japanese phone sock/cover with symbols on it I can't read. Yay language barriers! Looks pretty pimp; love them.

Speaking of love, Meghan (the friend I met in Victoria, and currently resides in Calgary) sent me a really thoughtful and amazing gift through the post - she knitted me a scarf! It's her first foray into the world of knitting, and it's downright impressive the level of care and precision that went into making it. She also accompanied it with an EB Games gift card that I already know what it's going towards - either Paper Mario: Sticker Star for the 3DS (comes out November 11th!) or maybe the deluxe version of the Wii U (releases November 18th). Ahhh, really good choices, can't go wrong either way.

The final few hours of my birthday were spent the good ol' fashioned way by drinking with Skye and Jordan at his house. Well, I guess I can't say that it's 'old fashioned' because I rarely ever drink, but we all saw my birthday as a good occasion to do so anyway so we went for it. It's probably the most I've ever had to drink (I had three glasses of vodka mixed with ginger ale and a couple of straight up shots after). We were all a bit loony but it definitely was a lot of fun - even if I had to be cautiously aware of Skye's inclination towards the ditch on our return walk home. We consumed the rest of the carrot cake then too. Haven't really hung out with any of those peeps since so I might just have to pop on over to their places and say hi sometime soon.

The job front, as dismayed as I am to admit it, has been rather silent for this entire period of time I've been here, despite printing out and submitting a TON of resumes. This is part of the reason I felt like I didn't have much to share, because for the most part, nothing has been happening! However, on a whim Skye and I decided to head to the McDonald's in Bayers Lake today, and our timing must have been superb because not only did we meet a manager genuinely interested in both of us (Skye's looking to get some part-time work to go along with her present marketing awesomeness to rake in the dough), but we both scored interviews for tomorrow! That lifted my spirits significantly - after not hearing from ANYONE in the entire duration of being here, I was starting to get a bit worried. We speculated that it may have been because of my phone number (perhaps they have a prejudice against different area codes? 778 Victoria is pretty far from Nova Scotia/PEI's 902 digits), but that doesn't seem very likely... Well, Bayers Lake might be a bit of a commute, but if I'm making money it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Relating to the title of this blog entry, I've recently been obsessed with the game I mentioned earlier (the one Mat bought for my birthday), Xenoblade Chronicles. I wasn't too sure what to think of it at first, but I honestly love it now - it has a deeply engaging/interesting story, the environments are gorgeous, the amount of quests you can partake in seem endless and the music... wow. I have loved the soundtrack for months prior to ever playing the game, so it's been really fascinating and fun to hear where the tracks are actually used in the medium they were designed for. After using the soundtrack as a muse for writing Red Rogues, though, it almost feels a bit disjointed and weird to hear them where they were actually intended to be heard! The game itself is a traditional Japanese role-playing game with real-time battles where your characters will automatically use their basic attack and it's up to you to coordinate your other skills into battle to get the upper hand. That might not sound as engaging as it actually is, though - the boss battles in particular can get very stressful and heated! I've currently logged about 50 hours into the game - that's including the occasional random exploration to fill in the maps and completing some side quests here and there - and I'm still nowhere  near finishing it. At least it's a long adventure! Really grateful that Mat got it for me; was a really worthwhile investment, to be sure. :)

Also, the voice-acting is entirely British. Can't go wrong with that!

Not too bad for a Wii game, eh?

The other main 'pop culture' support that both Skye and I have been up to is that we actually went to the HMV in Mic Mac Mall a few days back and each bought an album. That almost never happens so it was worth noting; Skye got the 'Torches' CD by Foster the People and I got 'Ceremonials' by Florence and the Machine. In terms of sound they're both as different as you can get from each other but they both sound superb in the car and we're quite content with our purchases. I'm quite happy listening to either when I'm in the car; I think Skye prefers Foster the People (unsurprisingly) but doesn't mind Florence too much and says "She definitely sounds like something I would hear you listening to". I am a schutbag who likes the D I didn't actually know most of the songs on the album when I bought it - I don't usually go for impulse purchases, but I went for it this time and am very grateful I did!

The above song is Strangeness and Charm, and that is what she relatively sounds like for most of them (sans the mild pitch adjustment so that this could actually be loaded on Youtube). Strangely, this song isn't on my album, though it's advertised online that it is (?) - a bit of a bummer, but the rest of the songs more than make up for its absence.

Well, Skye and I are going on an impromptu adventure to Bedford because why not so we're heading off for now. Hope you're all doing well everyone!

Edit: This is my favourite song from the album so far (it's so powerful with surround sound!). I demand you all take a listen since you're already at the end of this blog post. Thank you. <3

Edit 2: Also, forgot to mention it, but Glee's back. It's under the category of "I'm not too sure why I watch this any more but it's sort of a guilty pleasure or something". It wasn't too bad, but I do think that the writers deliberately make choices with the direction of the show that are there to make you groan and smack your head in disbelief. Sure the Glee club won Nationals last season, but I highly doubt the victory would have gone THAT much into their heads after the summer holidays (nor would the other students actually care that much after going on their own adventures during vacation time) and become jerks to everyone else because of it. I know you're supposed to suspend your disbelief and that it moves the plot forward (or something) but... at least try to have a semblance of reality somewhere in there show. Well, I guess it's never been too realistic, bursting into song in the hallway and all. Wow, this is more than I was planning on writing about Glee, oops. Yeah, Glee's back. End topic.

Birthday Presents

I think it's become an annual tradition for me to buy a birthday present for myself a couple of days before the actual day (which is on the 10th, for clarification). On September 8th, to be exact! Last year, inspired by some impulse and a barren dresser, I ended up purchasing a 24" Dynex Television for my second year in university. To "prep myself for Skyward Sword in November" was my excuse at the time, and for Skyward Sword it was used most often for sure! I distinctly recall finishing my homework days in advance before the release of the game so that I could enjoy it uninterrupted. That November was one of my most relaxed months despite the typical "November Landslide" that comes with being in a post-secondary institution.

Oh sweetums you so fly <3

This time around, after around a year of swimming in them, I decided it was time to invest in a new pair of jeans. Whereas last year was more a splurge and an unnecessary (though soul satisfying) purchase, this year was a bit essential as I had long downsized in stature and having ridiculously baggy jeans just wasn't cutting it any more. It's a $50 investment that should last as long as I don't lose or gain too much weight!

Hey there sexy... Come here often?

I am not the most photogenic of people; never quite knowing what to do with my face in those awkward "TAKE MY PICTURE" moments. I just really wanted to show off my jeans. 8x32, awww baby! I can fit in 7s depending on the brand, so I'm content. I don't need to weigh more or less; I'm pretty much where I'm should be right now! Happy camper.

Enjoy the intimacy of my face in TIRED MODE

You may have noticed that down in the (this is jokingly titled but we're totally going for it anyway) "Currently Playing" corner (the bottom left of the second picture) that a box of Xenoblade Chronicles is being displayed there. That is a very thoughtful and nice gift from my friend Mat, hailing from Victoria! I haven't got very far in the game yet, but I've enjoyed what I've played so far, and looking forward to playing more. I'll be sure to write an entry on my thoughts concerning my experience with it; commenting on what was done right and perhaps what wasn't in detail.

The other main short obsession I've had in terms of pop culture recently is entirely the fault of my friend Bethley, who did not need to make much effort to coerce me into watching the first few episodes of Young Justice with her. I've always been a fan of animated superhero cartoons (primarily Teen Titans, back in the day), so consider me hooked. Almost done the first season already, and I just started!

Last news to report of the day is that today was the mass-handing out of resumes that I alluded to in my previous entry. From EB Games and Chapters to Dollarama and Hallmark, no one was spared from my resume spree! Well, except for fast-food restaurant chains, which I have opted to wait in applying for to allow some chance to hear back from another business first. I have nothing against fast-food companies (in fact, I absolutely loved working at the McDonald's in Victoria), but I do wish to expand my horizons and my repertoire a bit. I will take any employment that comes my way, though! Not too picky; any job is a good job in my eyes, and it is what you make of the place you work at that defines the experience that you have with it. 

Of course I will update this blog with how the job hunt is going, but for now, it's time for some food and Xenoblade Chronicles, I think!

Have a great evening/night!

On the Prowl

Operation: Acquire A Job

Procedure: Update and beautify resume. Write personalized, targeted cover letters to each individual company being applied to. Proudly boast a shiny reference letter. Go out and submit these highly glamorized packets of professionalism to aforementioned businesses. Next, ???. End game: Profit.

That's how it works, after all!

Perhaps it is unsurprising after an introduction like that to learn that I am currently in the midst of writing cover letters towards pretty much any company in the Lower Sackville/Bedford areas. I am not too pressed for time yet, but I would like to get hired soon so I can start saving up some money for future investments! I am hoping to get employed by either of the EB Games this time around, as I've always had an aptitude for games and organization that I am sure would be useful in that particular retail environment. I am a former employee of McDonald's, so I do have experience in the food service industry should I wish to apply to any restaurant chain in the region. I'll keep you all updated on how the job pursuit goes!

I am currently sitting in a Starbucks inside of Chapters in Bayers Lake - Skye is having a lunch meeting with her boss over at Montana's. I hope that all is going well! Looking forward to hearing the news. :)

It's been an odd but enjoyable experience to be back here in Nova Scotia so far. There is always a weird sense of nostalgia being back in the area, knowing where all the roads connect and (roughly) where all the buildings are. Of course there are always new additions after a year or two, but for the most part it still looks the same! No one has changed very much either; they may have acquired a couple of new obsessions (one has a hearty interest in the art of cosplaying and in the animated television show Young Justice) but they still possess the same relative personality traits. It's been a fun few reunions so far!

I'm going to end this off here because Skye's done her meeting and is on her way over to me now. I hope you're all having a great week!

Teen Titans Go!

WHAT.

How did I not learn of this sooner? They've been showing brief animated shorts as a test run since February! Why was I apparently looking in all the wrong places at the wrong time back in February when this started up?

I'm not sure what I think about the new art style or the more comedic-driven nature of it yet (the seriousness of the original animated series is what largely got me into it, though the comedy was a welcome sprinkled addition in the episodes), but I will celebrate the existence of this project anyway because THE WHOLE ORIGINAL VOICE CAST IS RETURNING and YES YES YES.

I was obsessed - and I mean, obsessed - with Teen Titans in my junior high and early high school days. I was always a bit disappointed when it was not given the green light for a fifth season even though it was a proven and successful series by that point. I don't know how the end product will turn out when it premieres in 2013, but I will guaranteed be a faithful viewer regardless. Here's to hoping it's good! The same group is producing it, so I just have to trust in their judgment with the direction they've chosen with the established animated material.

Dug around Youtube a little bit to see if I could find some of the shorts - just watched "Blackfire's Babysitter", that's hilarious! Won't spoil the punchline if you haven't seen it already, but... yes, they went there. Faith renewed immediately.

They seem to be drawing (pun totally intended) their art style from the more 'anime' styled moments of the previous series, but with a heavy emphasis on chibi forms. Not quite used to seeing them as something other than their relatively 'realistic' selves, but it's something I'm sure everyone will grow adjusted to.

Wow. After that one, consider me excited. It's been a long wait since those 2003-2006 days, but I'm really glad they're coming back! Looking forward to the full 22 minute episodes next year! TEEN TITANS GO!

Autopilot

It's something I've always noticed, but it especially comes to the forefront when you're suddenly out of it - your mind and body gets into a routine that it grows adjusted to and dependent on, and when something conflicts with that engrained schedule there's immediately warning bells or notable "Wait, what?" moments to alert you to the changes you're exposed to.

I'm not really referring to time zones this time, though that is definitely a mind game in itself to see my laptop say it's 11:00AM when every other clock around me (including my phone, which auto-adjusts based on the region it's in) says that it's 3:00PM. Of course that plays with my internal clock, making me tired or having issues concerning when I consume food - if I eat before 11:00AM Pacific time, my stomach gets really unsettled, it's just something I've always had so I've learned to deal - but what I'm referring to this time with this entry are the small expectations that come with living your life a particular way and then removing yourself from that environment.

This mainly came to mind when I was freshening up in the bathroom an hour ago - I had turned the fan on, and I found myself mentally timing how long it would take for the fan to turn itself off. In Victoria, our bathroom had a fan that you could turn on with a timer; I'd always set it to 15 minutes as a "You should be out of here when this ends" reminder, but at my friend Bethley's it is simply a switch that you turn on and then flip off when you are done. There is no timer, but I found myself listening and looking to hear the ticks that the other timer would make. I had trained myself to listen to and expect that noise. It's really weird not to hear it now.

There's a more humorous example of subconsciously training myself and then having it flipped around and messing with my head though. When I lived in British Columbia, I would always work out in my head what time it was in Nova Scotia whenever I was texting a friend from there. I would always add four hours to the time I saw to convert it to Atlantic time. Today, I woke up and went to check out what time it was on my phone - it said 11:30AM, and I had a slight panic attack thinking it was 3:30PM where I was (which is near the time I'm supposed to be going out to meet up with another friend), having completely forgotten that again, the phone automatically adjusts to the new time zone. In my confusion I had to check a clock behind me to confirm that it actually was 11:30, and then found myself surprised that I had woken up before noon. I have speculated that I managed that because both Skye and I had stayed up the entire time on the overnight flight, so our internal clocks were not still set to the Pacific coast. It is nice to be able to enjoy a few extra hours of the day you were not expecting to be awake for; you just have to be aware that there's likely to be more than a few times that what you're doing will feel "off" to you, because your schedule and environment has changed.

I'm staring at my laptop clock and it still is a bit hard to wrap my head around that it's only 11:20AM there now. Maybe it's because I don't feel like it's that time of day for me (though neither does it feel like 3:20, it might as well be 10PM in my head), but it's also likely the fact that my friends have only now just started their days with work/whatever when I've been up for awhile.

Another expectation I always had was how the internet would always have interesting things to look at upon my waking or in the early hours of the afternoon - with the Pacific coast being mostly behind everyone else, updates on webcomics/videos/Facebook/etc came a lot earlier in the day. Now it feels like nothing's ever happening on here; it's quite odd.

Well, I have to get ready to head out, so I'm going to end this entry here. Hope you're all having a great Sunday and that you're enjoying the long weekend! Peace!

Embarking on Adventure

I don't know why I wrote this in... uh, 'free verse'. It's awful, unedited, and the result of a mind that's been up for 24 hours. Lord help us all. Tells the story of the past 24 hours loosely, if you can get over the presentation of it... :p

---

T'was the longest day of the summer, one of which has not yet ended;
a tale of two weary travellers set to unfold anew.
Their final day on the reputable Vancouver Island came
after a night of little rest and much stress
and final preparations were made for the journey
in the wee hours of the morning.
Cleaning and polishing and sprucing
were done to prepare for a showing with the landlords,
which by all accounts went well and
the stress rendered completely unnecessary.

They rode the Majestic downtown and immersed
in the crowds of a busy bee Victoria,
buzzing with the knowledge of the pending long weekend.
A miracle burger and sub cured their unease and, satisfied,
made their way back home.

They hung with their friends,
true British Columbians in nature;
Sophia, the amazing  fashionable roommate
and
Mat, the man with a heart of gold.
They idly conversed while surfing the net and
watched a rather bizarre episode of Dr. Phil.
Soon, it was time to say farewell
and sadly, they bade it to Sophia then, who was scheduled to work that day.
The time spent with her over the past year has been an awesome and enjoyable experience,
and I wish her the best of luck with all of her future endeavours.
There is no doubt that she will be successful at anything she puts her mind to. :)

Mat remained with the two as wonderful company and invaluable help in their time of need.
Selfless and caring, he took the two to their destined destination, and the pizza they gave him
would never be enough to thank him for his friendship. The parting was bitter-sweet
but left on good terms - though the exact time itself is uncertain, the trio knew they would reunite someday.
That time is very much eagerly anticipated.

So it was that the two weary friends
began their journey across the country.
Leaving Victoria felt surreal to both of them
as they admired the beautiful mountains and islands laced in the strait.
Their first stop would be Edmonton, a relatively unfamiliar territory to either of them.
The clouds presented themselves with illuminant grace,
as lightning streaked across the sky and  lit up the fluff in various shades of purple.
It was the first time either of them had ever experienced seeing a thunderstorm in the air.
The effect was mesmerizing.

Edmonton itself was a short but memorable experience,
with oddly designed bathrooms and confusingly timed Tim Hortons hours.
Faced with little options, the travellers chose to wander further down the terminal
and discovered the holy grail of food - a Montana's restaurant lay nestled conveniently next to their gate.
Omelettes and quesadillas were much appreciated in their grumbling bellies,
and in the ambiance of the restaurant they temporarily forgot they were even at an airport.
They'll be back someday, Edmonton. An intriguing location you are, indeed.

They boarded early and sat on their pedestals near the front of the plane,
and there they engaged in some mindless viewing of Teletoons Friday cartoons.
American Dad, Family Guy, Robot Chicken were welcome distractions,
as was The Dating Guy... though that show was incredibly weird.
The pair would doze for around fifteen minutes and skip a short portion of Ontario,
before, in their wakefulness, they would continue the new day as part of their current one.

In the darkness of the night they felt closer to space and the stars that govern them
over the land that dwelled far, far beneath them. The big dipper playfully twisted
over the course of the journey, and with a start they saw the sunrise brightly illuminate the sky
in enthusiastic reds and oranges over the novelistic lands of Nova Scotia.

There they reunited with one's lover and the other's friend,
and with bewilderment have enjoyed a homecoming in lands entirely nostalgic and familiar.

And here the story ends for now, but what shall become of the travellers? What will they do, where will they go?

Only time will tell... and this blog will seek best to document those moments.

Eventually, hopefully, I'll fall asleep. I should not still be awake, but it is so bright, and I'm overtired to the point I'm no longer tired... Ahhhh. :G

So, uh, morning all? Not regular for me to post in the early hours, is it? Hope you all have a great long weekend!