Ok, huge update…I know it's been close to forever (sorry). I'm also going to keep this open for a while and come back and write some more, so it could be random, it could be confusing, it could be a work of art, who really knows.
So….I'm really excited for the upcoming release of the Nintendo Wii. And looking around the discussion boards and such, it just makes me want it more. Especially to play Smash Bros. Brawl (But that comes out next year). But I'm really excited for the new controller and just a lot of the simple games (Wario Ware and Wii Sports). And on a side note, I just saw a developer video blog for the upcoming Mortal Kombat…did you know Lui Kang died? I had no idea…I"ll have to talk to Rose and see if she can fill me in on the story. The same goes for Zelda. I really want to play the new one, but haven't played a Zelda game in so long, I'm lost on the story. I haven't been able to find a good Zelda Timeline online, but I'll keep looking (or if anyone can give me a rundown, it'd be appreciated). To see a funny ad G4 made, click here.
Yes I know, I'm a dork, but I am also looking forward to playing all the old games again (Mario, Duck Hunt, Sonic, etc) on the Virtual Console.
I helped Brad and Cat move into their apartment on Friday. Brad has all of his stuff in there, but Cat won't really move in for two weeks, but she started taking stuff there. After getting everything in, they worked on their rooms and I worked in the kitchen, washing everything and finding homes. It's a great apartment, it even came with a breadbox! When Ashley and Chris came over, they gave the two of them two more boxes, one of dishes and one of pots and pans, which was awesome. They are getting married next summer and have three sets of everything it seems (his stuff, her stuff, and stuff their families give them). The great thing is, between my house (which is near our friends Ashley and Chris's house as well), there are both of their banks, four gas stations, two shopping centers, bunches of restaurants, Target, Giant Eagle, Starschmucks and the porn store. What more could we ask for! I'm still really sore from all the moving, but it was a lot of fun.
Side note: Ashley Nord is still a ho. Just thought I'd share that (it wasn't totally random, I keep seeing her on the SVC website). And since I'm not around to proclaim that in the caf, I figured it should be said here.
I took a sushi course at the Pennsylvania Culinary Institue, which was great. Me and a friend (who works there) went down and for two and a half hours we were in the kitchen learning how to make sushi. At the end, the class had a huge meal (there were six students total plus the chef and his two assistants, so there was a lot of sushi!). I made sushi at home once since then, although I'm still working on the exact measurements (the recepie I have calls for 3 cups uncooked rice, and I need less than a cup for one person). Other than that, I've had a lot of fish (sushi is actually rice, and usually vegetables are added, although sometimes fish is added – which I like too), my dad made me some really good talapia and my brother made me some excellent trout. We're going to have swordfish next week too, and hopefully I'll make it out to Giant Eagle to grab some more fish and vegetables for sushi.
More fun times with the podcasts. Distorted View and Slate Explainer are still my favorites, but I'll listen to IGN every now and then as well. DV has had some great shows this summer and I love it so much, really, I think that's one of the things that got me through my senior year (yeah, was way too invovled, but that was my fault).
I've been working on a website for myself. Nothing spectacular, mainly just a way to put my portolio online. Although hopefully it can grow bigger in the future, we'll see. I haven't worked on it in a few days, but I'm hoping to have it done in a month or so.
I do however, have some awesome news on the job front, I have an interview next week with Impaqt, a seach engine and online marketing company. I'd be doing research for them and writing a lot. It sounds like a lot of fun, although to be honest, I'm just happy to have a real interview (unlike the group interview for the insurance companies). The only downside is that the company is in Bridgeville…so public transportation here I come (if I get the job that is). Other than that, I keep looking for jobs. One actually opened up at SVC, in Abbey Press, which I just sent my resume out for, I'm hoping that works out as well, it's closer, I like Wesmoreland County, and its in publishing, which I like even more!
Summer camp was good, I earned my Scoutmaster's merit badge and had a good time, it was nice to just be in the woods for a week. Other than that though, Scouts has been rough. My brother and I (along with a bunch of other volunteer leaders) have been run out of the troop becasue we're not Catholic. It also doesn't help that I don't have a son in the troop. Combine those two facts with my ongoing battle to teach the other "experienced" leaders that boy scouts is a youth-led organization (meaning the scouts set the program…wow, sounds like the adminstration at SVC not trusting students to run events) and I was attacked (as well as my mother, which was just below the belt). For two weeks I dreaded opening my email and it just made me sick. I've given so much to the organization, and now I can't be a part of it. I'm going to see if I can hep out in another troop, or at the disctrict level, but it's just disappointing, especially since the ones losing out are the scouts, their parents don't trust them (and only care about their own son, no one else's kids) and they lost one of the best Scoutmasters the troop ever had. Every singe family called my brother and asked him to stay, but he just can't, not after how our whole family was treated. It's so diappointing, and it's kinda like a void is there (having been involved in scouting since literally the first grade), so its tough, but I'm sure something will work out.
On a related note, I'm joining the APO section staff as the newsletter editor, so for all the brothers reading this, you'll see me every now and then!
Remember the old game Jezzball (came with Windows 95 I think), I found it online, along with Maxwell's Maniac and Chip's Challenge. Oh, how much fun, and how old I feel…I remember going over to my friends house and playing Chip's Challenge for hours (I only had Windows 3.1 at the time so I couldn't play it).
I've been reading like a madmad, and I love it. I went to the New Ken library sale and bought around 15 books for under 10 bucks, which just rocked my socks. I also got an encylcepedic, unabridged dictionary for 75 cents. I'm making good progress in The Wheel of Time and Discoworld, and most importantly, I'm learning how to protect myself from zombies by reading the Zombie Survival Guide. I've also reread all the Harry Potter books twice (no real order, just when I felt like reading them), and a bunch of other misc. books. All in all, great reading so far this summer.
Side note II: I've had the music to Carousel and Phantom of the Opera in my head a lot recently.
I haven't gotten anything from the site yet (and won't until I have a job and actually have money to spend), but woot.com is really cool. They have a daily deal (called a woot) and cheap shipping (five bucks flat for everything I've seen, including some very heavy things). They also have winewoot, but won't ship to Pa., which is very sad, as I really like wine. On a related note, I finally won on eBay for the Buffy the Musical poster, I"m so excited! Here's what it looks like (sorry if this doesn't work, first time trying to put an image up using Deepest Sender):
(Deepest Sender is a firefox plugin that allows me to post to LJ without going to their page, I like it a lot)
And now, a rant: When I've been flipping around on the TV, I come across MTV (you know, that channel that used to show music videos), and I always see horrible shows like Next or that one where they plan 16th birthday parties. Honestly, these people need to be hit repeatedly in the head with a blunt weapon…preferably a frozen tuna (for comic effect). If I ever acted like any of these spoiled kids I would have been beat to a pulp, and the people on next are just as horrible, just in different ways.
I saw Pirates II and really liked it. I thought it was funnier at some points than the first, and a littler darker, but overall, I loved it. I also finally saw V for Vendetta. This was amazing. My whole family also got together to see The Aristocrats (a documentary about the dirtiest joke in show business). Yes, our family is seriously messed up, but we love it. This is my favorite part from The Aristocrats (now family appropriate, safe for work etc, click at your own risk). It may not make sense if you haven't seen it, but funny nonetheless. Also, I saw the comedy act "arguing with myself," also a great DVD, so really, just all around good things. Addendum: I just got back from Brad and Cat's place and I watched Chicago finally, which I really liked. It took me forever to place the woman reporter, but I looked it up and she was in the Birdcage (another great movie).
I've also grown to really like community art projects. Post Secret is my favorite at the moment, people create post cards with secrets they've never told anyone and mail them in. It acts as a glimpse into the life of others, group therapp and entertainment, all at once. I try to explain it, but it doesn't do it justice, and some people just don't quite get it. Found is also pretty cool. It's a collection of different things found in books, on the ground, etc. They each tell a story, and it's awesome and heartbreaking to read some of them. They have a bi-yearly magazine and two books out (I have one book). The last one is The Bubble Project. I still have to find the book though, Borders and Barnes and Noble don't have it yet. It adds cartoon bubbles to ads and posters and then other people fill them in. It's great (and ironic, since I majored in Ad and PR).
Another small rant: Sometimes I really regret going into advertising and public relations. Mostly becasue my mind always thinks like that, and I'm always in that "mode." And for whatever reason, people feel this gives them the duty to discuss advertising (and usually how much they hate it or how annoying it is) with me. I love discussing ads and such, especially the funny ones, but people get way to passionate about how much they hate certain ads, when in all actuality, they work (the fact that they are talking about it and can recite it proves that). Ok, small rant over (granted, I'm sure I'm just as bad with friends and their majors, so really, you could substitute anyone and any subject in this).
So two days and a lot of typing later, Mike finished his huge update. I hope you enjoyed it, I had fun typing it out. Hopefully I'll keep better tabs on this and update more frequently, but either way, talk to everyone soon!
