Hey, I remember this thing! I guess that means it's time for my semi-annual update! So, what have I been up to you ask? No? Well I'll tell you anyway.
 

Well, I think it's time for my semi-annual journal update! A lot's been going on.

Just got back from my trip to California, and man was it great! Then again, I'm always very happy when I get to spend time with my sweetypie Mandie. Highlights include the two of us blasting our way through Lego Star Wars 2 (gamer chicks ftw), going to Little Tokyo, eating tons of delicious food, and going to Disneyland! Even got some pics!

After having sent out approximately 15 million resumes (give or take) I finally got a call back! I've got an interview tomorrow at 3pm! This is a great opportunity for me, so I really hope things go well. The only thing is, I feel bad leaving my current job. Why? I'm glad you asked. The answer is kinda silly really...

It's my sense of loyalty.

I'm a very loyal guy. When I find a person or group of people I like or respect, I'll pledge myself to them whole-heartedly and stick with them through thick and thin. Over these past 2 years, I've met and befriended a lot of people at my current job. Heck, I'm one of the most popular people there. I know it's not the best job in the world, but I'll feel bad leaving it, even if it's in my own best interest.

My mind is made up though. I know if I let sentimentality get the better of me, I'm never gonna go anywhere in life, so I'm gonna go in there tomorrow with everything I've got! Who knows? This could be the start of something great. Wish me luck!

It's been a rough couple of days for me. I'm worried that I'm falling back in to my old, heavily depressed ways. I'm not eating as much, not sleeping so well, and I can't shake this illness I've had. I've barely been able to talk to Mandie at all lately either. She's been very busy with Midterms, she's been trying to spend less time on the internet, and we're trying to take it easy on the phone calls, since she had a huge bill last month. Unfortunately, these all add up to us spending about 2 minutes a day talking when I call her. It's very hard when talking is all we have save the 4 times a year we can see each other.

I'm meeting Mandie's father next month. I'm very worried about this, as I'm pretty sure I'm not what he wanted for his daughter. I've been trying very hard lately to improve myself, but it's not going so well. I've been looking for a new job every day, but I haven't heard back from any of them yet. I know these things take time, but I'd kinda like to have something lined up before my trip so I can at least have a decent answer to the "What do you do for a living?" question.

To make things worse, today I had to say goodbye to one of my favorite people at work. My friend Carlina got a promotion, but the new position is in another store in Staten Island. This is very good for her, since the pay is much better and it's a lot closer to her home so she can spend more time with her son. I'm happy for her, but at the same time I sure am gonna miss her. I don't think I'll ever see my friend again.

I could sure go for some of that positive energy people used to tell me I had.

So I recently dug up my copy of City Of Villains again, and decided I'd give it another try. Don't get me wrong, I still love FFXI, but it's a very time consuming game. Basically, there's not much point to logging in if you don't have at least 4-5 hours to kill.

Lately, I haven't had 4-5 hours to kill.

Enter City Of Villains. Basically, it's a diet cola version of an MMORPG. You can log on, have some fun, log off an hour later and feel like you accomplished something. It lacks the depth and complexity that heavier games like FFXI provide, but sometimes you just want a bag of chips and not a 16oz steak.

Anywho, here's some pics of me having more fun with the character creation screen.

( CoV: The New Class )

I just got back from spending a week with my girlfriend Mandie. Like I mentioned before, she lives 4000 miles away from me in California where she goes to school. We talk every day, but to actually be able to see her and hold her... well, those moments are few and very special. It's something that most couples take for granted. This week was exceptionally special though.
I met Mandie just over a year ago. We were friends for most of that time. We had our first kiss about four months ago and we've been a couple ever since. She's everything I ever wanted in a girl; Smart enough to teach me things I never knew, funny enough to make me smile when I'm angry or sad, supportive enough to make me feel like there's nothing I can't do, and beautiful enough to make me forget about everyone else when I look at her. I often struggled to find the words to tell her how I felt, but when I was finally able to hold her again this past week and look her in the eyes, I knew exactly what I wanted to say. I told her something I've never told anyone else. I told her I was in love with her. She told me she loved me too. The word 'amazing' doesn't come close to describing how that felt.
We had an incredible week after that. Unfortunately, it was only a week. Saying goodbye and letting go of her hand at the airport was probably the hardest thing I ever had to do... I miss her so much already.
Well, time to start planning my next trip out to Cali to see her. It's just a matter of time until we can be together again, and knowing that she loves me is enough to keep me going until then.

I love you Mandie.

Since I was tagged by darkgunner, I give you...

Four...

Jobs I've had in my life: Professional Dog Walker, Asst Teacher for a Children's Ceramics class, Intern at a design studio, Support Staff at Victoria's Secret (not as fun as it sounds).

Movies I would watch over and over: Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Snatch, Azumi, Shaolin Soccer.

Places I have lived: More than four places, but all were either in Brooklyn or The Bronx, NY. Does that still count as four?

TV shows I love to watch: I don't watch much TV since I discovered teh intrawebs. Can't really name four. -_-;

Places I have been on vacation: Puerto Rico, Las Vegas, Santa Monica, and... uhh... that's it. I suck at this "Four" game...

Websites I visit daily: http://www.livejournal.com, http://www.stormsoffate.com, http://www.yahoo.com, and http://www.timeanddate.com/counters/customcounter.html?month=6&day=17&year=2006&hour=12am&min=00&sec=00&p0=179 W00t! Four!!!

Of my favorite foods: Tacos, Sesame Chicken, Mac and Cheese, Porkchops. I could go on, but I'm only allowed four.

Places I would rather be right now: California, Japan, England, Vana'diel.

Things I always carry with me: cellphone, wallet, keys, hat.

~Fin~

So lately I've been playing Capcom Classics Collection on the PSP. It's pretty cool and has a bunch of the old games I used to play at the arcade when I was just a wee dorkling, like Final Fight, Captain Commando, and Strider. It really makes you realize how much the industry has grown and matured. In the videogames of the 80's it was totally acceptable eat meat that you found in the garbage (Final Fight) and if your whip shot out knives everytime you swung it (Black Tiger), it needed no explanation. It was just bad ass.

As fun as this compilation is, there is one game that is driving me mad: Street Fighter. I've managed to struggle through the stiff, unresponsive controls and the unfair super-powerful enemies to reach the last boss, Sagat. However, this is where it becomes clear that in the old days they lacked the AI to make a boss fight challenging, so instead they made it damn near impossible. Sagat will kill you with 2-3 hits, his Tiger Shot is unblockable, lightning fast, and takes away about 80% of your life. He's not afraid to spam it either. Here's a picture of the screen I've seen about 500 times so far:



His god-like strength and speed aside, I know I could beat him if the controls would only agree with me. I push punch and Ryu assumes I meant kick. I input the motion for a dragon punch and Ryu thinks I meant "jump face first into Sagat's Tiger Shot". It's clear to me now that the only way I'll win 2 rounds is by pure luck. I've made ground beef out of my left thumb, but I WILL beat him!