2009 - The End

I know I haven't been writing a whole lot on here lately.

I really don't know why.

It's important, I think, especially in these last couple of weeks before I'm outta here, to keep up with my thoughts and feelings concerning everything.

I suppose, perhaps, it's become a case of having so much to say that I don't know where to begin, and subsequently fail to actually begin anywhere.

By forcing myself to take the time to actually start something, I don't think it will be a problem to finish it.

Thirty minutes until 2010.

There is a lot to say about my life in 2009. It's the year, I think, that I will never forget. The year in which my life completely changed directions. Tomorrow, on the first day of my year of new beginnings, I shall reflect upon the past twelve months.

Failure

So, that whole deal about posting every day up until I leave?

Oops.

On Monday, I just flat-out didn't get around to it. No real excuse there.

Last night, I meant to get on, but my connection wasn't...connected. And it remained unconnected all night, which pretty much made me mad, as I lost a good nine or ten hours of torrent activity. Plus, there were a few other things I was wanting to look at, but didn't get the chance to do so. With so little time left, it really frustrating to not be able to use it as planned.

I need to sit down today and write up some sort of year-in-review for 2009. With any luck, it'll be done and on here before the day is through. If not, then tomorrow...

...or the next day.

The Next Chapter

Hmm...

I posted a Takahashi picture below that was meant to be temporary, but it's so darn cute that I can't bear to remove it ^__^

Also, I'd like to announce that, for the first time ever, there is a non-Hello!Project girl gracing my header. That Kashiwagi Yuki pic caught my eye and just seemed like it was made to be cropped and placed up there.

Anyway...

Three weeks. Then I'm gone.

I mentioned last night that I meant to sit down and actually write something of some importance today, but I...didn't. Which, honestly, it can wait. And probably should. I actually have a handful of things that I'm wanting to write before I leave, but I suppose there's no need to rush any of them.

I actually signed on here earlier today and began typing away about some stuff, then thought better of it, realizing that I was saying things that were probably better left unsaid. Yes, I'm being purposefully vague here, but this gives me a chance to mention that there are roughly nine gazillion thoughts swirling about in my mind at any given moment these days. I often find it hard to focus on any single task because I'm thinking so much that I can't think straight. I guess what I need to focus on over the next few weeks is my focus. And to not allow my tenfold emotions to get the better of me. I want to be able to feel that not a single minute was wasted. I want to enjoy my remaining time in this life to the fullest before I enter into the next chapter.

Hmm...

I could sit here for the next hour and write something interesting, or I could go to bed, get myself back onto a semi-normal schedule, and save any writing activities for the morrow.

...

G'night.

Meri Kurisumasu!

Merry Christmas (Eve)

Over a foot of snow today ^__^

Plus, my grandparents got in yesterday afternoon.

Also, I'm no longer bullseye-clad.

All in all, it's shaping up to be a wonderful Christmas.

Nice and quiet, kind of low key, but the sort of Christmas that will never be forgotten.

Kamei

So, how do I segue from my recent events back into my normal posts?

I don't.

Today was Kamei Eri's 21st birthday. She's a favorite of mine, and I'm thinking she might be able to move into the spotlight a bit more now that Koharu's gone. I love her extremely goofy sense of humor, and the fact that she's a bit of a dork. Plus, she's flat-out gorgeous. Happy Birthday, Eri!!!


Zero more days at Target! ^___^

The End.

Four years and eight months is a long time.

Couldn't have asked for a better day as my last.

Shaking hands, giving hugs, saying goodbye is heartbreaking.

There were tears.

There are still tears.

Such an odd feeling.

And now...

The Beginning.

Memories

Tomorrow is going to be full of mixed feelings.

There are a ton of memories at Target.

It's hard to say goodbye to the place.

And the people.

But it's a relief to be moving on.

Now my focus shifts entirely.

The past is the past.

There's nothing more to do than to look ahead.

Saa mirai ga hajimaru yo!

Now the future is beginning!

Two More

I can't even begin to tell you how nice it is to be back on Planogram.

Of course, it'll be infinitely nicer in a couple of days when I'm no longer on any team, but ending it on the team that I want to end it on is just swell.

Believe it or not, I had to set some Valentine's Day stuff this morning. It's not even Christmas yet, for crying out loud.

I've had my Bob Dylan Christmas album playing in my vehicle lately, and although I love it, I must say that Dylan singing "Adeste Fideles" in Latin is rather funny for some reason.

I've been entertaining myself lately by coming up with a list of things I'm glad my TI won't know about me. Thinking about yesterday's post, I've concluded that very high on that list is the fact that I enjoy (for the most part) a Japanese idol group by the name of C-ute. Oftentimes, I don't even understand my own obsessions.

^_^

243 down, 1 to go

Weeks at Target, that is.

Apparently this is my 100th post. Yay!

Don't tell anybody, but I'm strongly considering not going into work on Saturday, which would make Wednesday my last day. Truthfully, every day for about the last three weeks, I've considered not going in, but I've gone anyway. The beginning of this week ought to be fine as I'm back on Planogram, but I am reeeealy not looking forward to this coming Saturday, and don't want to make what is sure to be a horrible day my last.

My sleep schedule (rather, sleep no-schedule) is out of whack again. I fell asleep early this morning and didn't awaken until this afternoon, which is not at all what I wanted to have happen. Just another reason why I can't wait to be out of work.

Excuse me for a minute while I rant about the new C-ute PV:

The new C-ute single, SHOCK!, is not at all a bad song. And for that matter, the new C-ute PV is really not a bad PV (lighting effects not-withstanding). It's just that I'm disappointed in the fact that it has become nothing more than "Airi Suzuki plus four." Airi is front and center through the entire PV; Airi sings every single line of the song; Airi is twice as big as everybody else on the album cover; Airi happens to be the prominent member of an H!P sub-group; Airi, Airi, Airi. I really have nothing against the girl, but what bothers me is that she has taken over C-ute and she's not even the leader! That title belongs to Miss Yajima, who is older, prettier, and just as talented as Suzuki. Of course, Maimi is a bit out of favor with me right now following the horrid haircut (seriously, she looks like a dude with nice legs), but she still deserves to have at least equal screen-time with Airi. Instead, even she is pushed to the back and forgotten. As for Saki, Chisato, and Mai, they're still young and will have their chance to shine, but they could and should be utilized a bit more than they currently are. The whole situation is so darn frustrating.

Okay, I'm done. And, yes, I know I set up a whole other blog to talk about that kind of stuff, but I already talked about it there and I just needed to vent a bit more.



Three or four more days at Target!

^_^|/

2009.12.19

Not really a whole lot to talk about today.

Four more days at Target.

Off the Schedule

An unbelievably quick and easy day at work this morning allowed me to actually get to bed before I hit the 24-hour mark. Of course, I only managed about four hours of sleep today, but oh well. Tomorrow ought to be quick and easy too.

There are a lot of thoughts and emotions about a lot of things right now. I don't know that it's really hit me yet that a week from tomorrow, I'm going to clock out at work and never ever again clock back in. The two-weeks-from-now schedule was posted and I'm not on it for the first time since April 2005. It's all quite surreal.

I saw this stupid thing today where the University of Toronto conducted a scientific study in order to determine the "perfect female face." They apparently managed to determine an "ideal" arrangement between the eyes, mouth, and ears, coming up with perfect ratios and everything. I just don't understand how something that subjective can become a definitive equation. Unless, that is, their maths ended up adding up to this...

...in which case, they are correct ^__^

I wonder if I can take that photo with me to Basic and convince everybody that she's "the girl back home." Or is that just pitiful? <_<

Five more Target-days.

^_^|/

Almost Back on Schedule

One thing that'll be really nice once I'm unemployed here in about a week is being able to get back onto a set schedule.

For years, my schedule was basically:

9:00 PM - Sleep
3:00 AM - Wake Up
4:00 AM - Work
12:00 PM- Come Home
(Rinse and Repeat)

Lately, every time I wake up, I don't sleep again for at least 24 hours, then I'll fall asleep for 13 straight hours, sometimes in the afternoon, sometimes at night...

It's crazy.

I got up at around noon today, so I'm hoping to have a quick day at work tomorrow so I can come home before I get too sleepy; being zombie-esque at work on Tuesday was no fun, and according to people I interacted with, I was in a bad mood (but I suppose I was too tired to realize it).

Tomorrow is my final Friday at Target.

12/16/2009

Work this morning: quick and easy.

Six more workdays.

Ate some really good french fries from McDonald's today.

Watched Inglourious Basterds. Liked it a lot.

'Bout to play some Rubber Soul.

Then to bed.

No work tomorrow after six straight days.

Happy ^__^

Zombie

In order to get myself back onto a somewhat normal schedule, I stayed up last night, thinking that I would have a short day at work this morning. I was hoping to get home and sleep until the early afternoon. Things never work out as intended, and I didn't end up getting off work until 2:00 :P

I had a monster of a task to accomplish this morning, and I managed to do it in pretty good time, especially considering that for a couple of hours I was basically a zombie. I was walking around, trying to work, and couldn't keep my eyes open; but eventually, some sort of chemical kicked in and I got a new burst of energy and was able to finish. Then I came home and crashed. Tomorrow will be my sixth day in a row at work, and shouldn't (knock on wood) be a bad one. Then I'm off on Thursday, I work Friday and Saturday, I'm off on Sunday, I work Monday through Wednesday, I'm off on Christmas Eve and Christmas, then next Saturday is my last day. Wow.

I'm getting to the point now where, as I walk through the store, there are flashes of memories at every turn. When you spend four-and-a-half years at a place, a lot happens, and now that I'm approaching the end, I tend to spend a lot of time just reflecting on so many of the moments. It's often hard to hold back the tears, and I'm really not looking forward to my last day, as I can guarantee that the tears will not be held.

As glad as I am to be moving on, it's a bit hard to actually leave.

Seconds to Spare

I'd better type fast if I want my streak of posting every day this month to continue. I totally lost track of the time. Plus, I just plain forgot to get on here, which is funny, because all day I was thinking about something that I was going to post today. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm going to wait a while to post that particular thing...

Anyway, I guess I had to go and open my big mouth yesterday about it being such a great day at work and that today ought to have been the same. Yeah, right. Today was awful. At least I never have to work another off-the-wall shift, or work a job that I'd really rather not do (at Target, at least ^__^). From here on out, I'll be on familiar time and in familiar territory.

If I keep typing, it'll be tomorrow, so I'm gonna stop.

Easy Day

My computer's been running super-slow this evening for some reason. Rather irksome.

My workday today was pretty much the fastest six hours I've ever experienced. All I did was listen to my music and do the job that I was trained to do on day one, which has become rather second nature. The only trouble I had as far as multi-tasking was attempting to listen to my Morning Musume albums through my earphones whilst simultaneously listening to the Weekly Top 40 on the backroom stereo. I somehow managed. If tomorrow is anything like today was (I work the same noon to six shift), I'll be quite pleased.

"Michael's Last Day"

Seeing "Michael's last day" written on the big desk calendar suddenly made the whole leaving Target situation very real. Now that I can look at a specific date, there is a great sense of relief and a huge drop in the stress-meter. It's going to be important to have a few solid weeks before I ship out without having to worry about the goings-on in the backroom or stressing over confusing planograms. I think I threw the bosses for a bit of a loop, as they thought I would be on for a bit longer, but they'll get over it ^__^

I spent the day today playing my new Guitar Hero drum set, which is awesome. Yes, I know I'm about to leave in a few weeks and won't see any of my stuff for months, and that I probably shouldn't be getting new stuff this close to my departure, but a good deal's a good deal. I got the thing brand new for half the retail price from a cow-orker who apparently decided he didn't even want to try to learn the drums. His loss. I've actually been needing a new set (and new sticks) for a while now, as I managed to play my old Rock Band set to death. So I can now retire and replace that one. There was a bit of a learning curve at first on the new set, as it's arranged a bit differently, but it's really nice and so much better than the first-batch Rock Band drums. Kinda sad to say goodbye, though. We had fun together. T_T

Bed-time for me. I actually have to work tomorrow, which is crap. As long as I keep reminding myself that there are only two weeks left, I tend to be alright with whatever oddball things they come up with for me to do.

^_^|/

...and in the most bittersweet of moments, holding back the tears, he made official his date of departure...

T-minus Two Weeks

"Don't be disturbed today by thoughts of tomorrow; leave tomorrow alone and bank in confidence of God's organizing what you do not see." - Oswald Chambers

The reason that I am able to look ahead to these next few months without fear is that I know that I am on the path that God has set for me. And though every step is taken in almost blind faith, I remain confident that He knows where every step is leading. All that's left for me to do is to trust and obey. There's no other way ^__^

Have I mentioned that I'm getting fed up with work? My mind is just not in it any more, I think. If I were to simply quit right now and not show up tomorrow morning, I would be fine financially to make it until mid-January. But I have more integrity than that. However, I think I'm going to sit down with my boss tomorrow and let her know that I'm done in two weeks. I was thinking about staying through the first week of January, then thought that maybe I'd move my final day back a week to coincide with the end of the year. Now, I'm pretty sure I won't be able to make it that long without losing my mind. So my Christmas gift this year is leaving Target. That'll give me a few solid weeks to get everything all lined up and get myself ready to depart.

In other news, there's not a whole lot of other news.

Not Frustrated

I'm having a MUCH better day than I did yesterday. Spent a good amount of time last night re-establishing some of the basic Truths of God's Word. It's often necessary to step back a bit and remember the fundamentals. Gotta go back to work ^__^

Frustrated

I said I would post something every day this month, but all I can think about today is how much I can't wait to get away from Target. I was oh-so-very close to just walking out the door this morning and calling it quits. With everything that's on my mind right now, I really can't deal with a frustrating work situation.

Schedule Woes

It sure doesn't seem like it's 10:00. I had to work that weird noon to six shift today, which was really not all that much fun. Now I have to go back at the normal time tomorrow, which is only six hours away. I ought to sleep, but I haven't even eaten anything yet. I suppose I can skip sleep-time tonight and convince Josey to let me work a four-hour shift, so I can come home early tomorrow and ZZZ. Good plan.

Luckily, my DEP commander's call, which was originally scheduled for tomorrow, was pushed back a week, so that makes my weird schedule slightly less weird.

I have forsaken Team Deathmatch in Modern Warfare 2 and have been playing nothing but Domination, which I have discovered that I'm fairly awesome at. I justify all the Call of Duty time by pretending that it is in some way helping me to prepare for my upcoming military career ^__^

Michael Washburn needs food badly!

Slowing Down

I had to go back and edit my post ("Graduation Day") from yesterday, as it seems the explanation as to why I posted a seemingly random picture somehow vanished. Plus, without explanation, the title of my post made absolutely no sense. 'Tis fixed.

I seem to have become addicted to double quarter-pounders. This is not a good thing, because now I'm afraid I'm going to be experiencing McDonald's withdrawal at basic training.

Six weeks from today, by the way, is when I walk out the door. Yipes.

So far, it seems, the first few days of December have gone by slower than the entire month of November, which is exactly what I was wanting to have happen. Hopefully the trend will continue.

My church's super-spectacular-amazing Christmas program took place last night and tonight. I actually made a point to avoid the whole ordeal, as I'm trying very hard to keep myself mostly stress-free. I love playing my viola, but I've skipped out on playing at Christmas (or even seeing the program) for the past two years (maybe three...can't remember). I may sound like a Scrooge, but this really is my least favorite time of year. Christmas has turned into nothing more than an anxiety-filled, over-excessive, greed-gorged spectacle. All I want for Christmas is peace and quiet, and a reflective attitude whereby I can truly stop and remember what it is that should be being celebrated.

Yasuda's Birthday

This is going on my Hello!Online blog tomorrow, but I'm posting it here because it concerns today's date, and I don't want to post over yesterday's H!O post just yet. Make sense? I thought not...

A blast from the past today, as it is Yasuda Kei's 29th birthday!

I always felt like I shared a bit of a kindredship (I think I made up a word) with her, as I seemed to be easily able to relate to what her role was within the group, and how she was often treated. As the victim of so many (seemingly mean-spirited) jokes and running gags on Utaban, she was always a good sport, and took it all in stride. Of course, she was actually a highly favored and well-respected Musume, but that sort of self-depreciating humor can be fun. It's always nice so see her pop up every now and then, along with some of the other "old group," and she's still as lovely as ever.

Happy Birthday, Kei-chan!

Graduation Day

Looks like a Texas vs. Alabama national championship. Nebraska should have beat Texas just now. At least Florida lost, though.

I set up a new Yahoo email account today, as well as a new Youtube channel. Email is tenfold@rocketmail.com and Youtube is CyborgShibata and was set up for the purpose of uploading music videos and whatnot in order that I can link or embed them and have the quality I need without all the annoying comments and stuff. I love my account name and was overjoyed to find that it wasn't taken ^__^ As for what it means, you're probably better off not knowing.

Morning Musume is now officially an eight-member group, as Koharu Kusumi graduated today. Since I've been a fan, The Nine have been all I've known, so it's really quite sad to see the group dynamic change. Koha-chan, you will be missed.
























If you can decipher that shirt, please let me know o_O

I don't go back to work until noon on Monday, so that'll be strange. Another semi-fun day today, though. For a while there, I thought my last few weeks were going to be awful, but I have to admit it's getting better; getting better all the time.

^_^|/

2009.12.04

I had never eaten at Taco Casa before this evening, and I must say that I can't believe what I've been missing. This burrito is pretty flippin' good. And reasonably priced. Two thumbs up, Taco Casa. I salute you!

I jumped into a nearly finished match in Call of Duty today, ended up on the team that my friend was NOT on, and managed to get the winning kill in a next-kill-wins situation by killing him. To make it even better, the winning kill (and losing death) is always replayed in slow motion for everybody to laugh at. Now I have an accomplishment to rub in the face of my buddy (he has too many on me...) ^__^

I haven't drawn Japanese style comics in quite some time, and find that I am a bit rusty. Okay, VERY rusty. A couple of years ago I was getting pretty good, but never really focused on it enough to become truly happy with the results. I managed a couple of character sketches this afternoon that are kinda meh, but kinda cool. I may post some stuff here if I deem it good enough, but not right now :P

Today was actually kind of a fun day at work, as it really felt like old times; a step back to my era in the backroom. It's like I'm getting to re-live my Target experience before I leave the place. Pretty cool. Tomorrow's going to be a bit strange, though; I don't really know when it was that I last worked on a Saturday. Hoping for a short day, but hope and a cup of coffee will get you three bucks (or something like that).

Every Day?

Can I actually post something every day in December?

Yes. Yes, I can. Just watch me.

Woke up later than I intended today. Actually, I didn't mean to wake up at all today...

Let me rephrase that. Since I slept much of the day yesterday, I did not actually mean to sleep last night, but ended up deciding to take maybe a two hour nap-type thingy, which turned into six hours. So now it looks like I'm awake until tomorrow morning after work. I've discovered that I really don't mind sleeping during the day, as long as I'm consistent about it.

Which leads me to this: in the four-and-a-half years that I've been at Target, my schedule has remained consistent and my availability has been honored. Early morning to no later than early afternoon, Monday through Saturday. Now, all of a sudden, I'm apparently scheduled to work next Monday afternoon (I'll find out tomorrow what the rest of the week looks like), plus the following two Sunday afternoons. I realize that it's the holiday season and everything, and I'm usually pretty easy-going about working when and where I'm needed, but the fluctuating schedule is getting on my nerves, not to mention the fact that I'm being told about these changes only a couple of days in advance. It may be because I know I'm on my way out, but that place has really seemed pestiferous as of late.

I spent the better part of today playing with Photoshop; doing some rather pointless but happy-fun-time projects, including my new banner up there (have I mentioned that Ayumi Shibata is astoundingly beautiful?) ^__^

Update:

Success!!!

My sound is back.

I welcome this happiness tonight.

^_^

Sound

Good news: I don't have to work tomorrow.

Really good news: I got the Metroid Trilogy for $28 today.

Bad news: My computer's sound is not working.

Really bad news: My computer's sound is not working. Considering that pretty much all I do all day involves sound coming out my computer's speakers or headphones, this is basically the worst thing ever.

Now I get to spend all night tying to fix it.

<_>

The Final Stretch

I went back and looked at some of my older posts today, and had to laugh at how much this blog has changed over the last few months. I've gone from light-heartedness to "here's what I'm freaking out about today..."

Time to switch it back around, methinks.

I think you can tell what kind of mood I'm in by the frequency of my posts. I only posted on half the days in November, and so far this month I've managed four. In one day. Sure, the others are actually meant to be for yesterday, but it was just after midnight this morning, so technically they belong to today. And I back-dated the (astoundingly beautiful) Ayumi Shibata picture I uploaded this afternoon, just so it would fall behind my real posts. So there.

I'm getting to that point where every time I clock in or out at work, I think about the fact that I'm only going to have to do that about 25 or 30 more times. It's kinda sad, but at the same time it's good riddance, you know? Over four-and-a-half years there; good times, bad times, lots of stories, lots of good people (a few bad ones), and an over-all great experience; but it's good to move on.

It's cold.

Like, seriously.

I think I'm going to end up wearing two pairs of pants tomorrow, and three pairs of socks, and my track jacket (obviously, I'll wear my heavy coat on the way to work - the jacket's for at-work time). And no, I'm not joking about the multi-layers. It gets cold in that place.

Ah! Good news! I have finally completed an Xbox 360 game, getting all 1000 achievement points in Viva Pinata. It's the first game I've completed; my friends thought it was never going to happen, as I have a bad habit of becoming distracted by a new game before totally finishing the one I'm currently on, but I proved them wrong and did it. Now they just make fun of me because the game of choice happened to be Viva Pinata (which is more complex than anyone seems to realize), but whatever. Now I can go for the sequel, Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise ^__^

I'm totally digging the new Melon Kinenbi song (and have I mentioned that Ayumi Shibata is astoundingly beautiful?)

Sinking In

I meant to sit down here yesterday (rather, Sunday) to update this thing, but got busy doing other stuff; then I didn't actually have time earlier today (rather, yesterday now), so here I am, and this technically counts as Sunday's post ^_^

And the thing that I meant to post on Friday (though it should have technically been Thursday) is just-finished and below, but not vitally important (sez you :P).

I'm going to go ahead and consider that last couple of weeks to be my official freak-out period. Not only was work stressful, which is expected this time of year, but I think some things concerning my imminent future kind of sunk in, and started to feel overwhelming. I've been going from being unable to sleep to sleeping too much and not wanting to get out of bed. The latter happened on Friday, so I ended up sleeping straight through Black Friday. Honestly, I think it was probably a good thing that I didn't have to go through the stress of that work-day, but I'm afraid I've created a perception of unreliability with the bosses, which is funny, because I've always been a go-to guy at Target. With only a month left, I don't want them to think that I've adopted an "I'm invincible" attitude, though I could if I was a lesser person. I know they need me there, and I know they won't fire in my last four weeks, so maybe I sub-consciously have taken that attitude, but it's for sure not deliberate. Nobody said anything about it today, though, so it's all cool.

Did I mention that I have to work six days in a row this week? >_<

On the Air Force front, a bit of an issue came up last week that got me conflicted and bothered, but it ended up working itself out, so I'm back to being much less freaked out about the whole thing. In fact, I feel pretty darn good about it; I even slept well today for the first time in a while.

I quit Farmville, because I was tired of my life being controlled by and scheduled around stupid fake raspberry crops =P I joke about it, but it really does free up a lot of time, and has helped with the lowering of the stress meter.

After work today (er...yesterday), I went over to visit with my friend Bryan, who was in town for Thanksgiving, and who I hadn't seen for a good long while. It's always nice to just sit and chat about everything and nothing, especially with someone you don't get to see often. I've realized that the next time he's in town, I won't be (unless, perhaps, we both come back here during the same holiday time or something), so that's just one more thing that makes this whole military ordeal that much harder.

I sometimes can't believe I VOLUNTEERED for this ^__^

Anyway, like I said, I feel like I've gotten through a massive stress-out period, and feel mostly good about everything right now. I just need to slow things down a bit and enjoy my last month-and-a-half before basic.

Oh, and since it's now the first of December, I must mention that today is my father's birthday! Usually, for birthdays, I like to make silly comments or post cute pictures (see the post below), but for this one, I'll forgo all that and just use my man-voice to simply say Happy Birthday, Pop!

Oh No...

Shame on me. In this past weekend's excitement, I forgot to mention that Thursday was Erena Ono's birthday. I don't mention every AKB48 member's b-day, because there are so many of them (42) and I only know a few, but Ono's one of the stand-out members, so HAPPY (late) BIRTHDAY!!!

Just ignore this; I posted it for a friend to see, and all he had to say was, "Meh, it's alright." I say 'tis gorgeous ^__^

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Yes, I know I'm posting this at 10:00 PM, and that Thanksgiving is nearly over and everything, but I really haven't had a chance to sit down at my computer today. I had to work from 4:00 to 10:00 this morning in order to get the store prepped for tomorrow's oh-so-exciting rush, then I went to bed after turkey-time because I had been up for about 27 hours.

I still love Thanksgiving. It still feels "right" to me; a day set aside where one can truly relax and reflect on everything that one has to be thankful for. I've actually grown to despise the month of December and all that Christmas has become. It seems impossible to have a quiet and reflective Christmas any more; the true meaning becomes buried deeper and deeper every year in all the high-value productions and greedy shopping sprees. Thanksgiving is the calm before the storm; all hell's about to break loose tomorrow (I'm really not looking forward to my 5:00 to 2:30 shift), and it really saddens me to see the "happiest season of all" be what it has become.

There's a lot to be thankful for this year. I feel better about my personal life-situation than I've ever felt, and am thankful for the support from my family and friends in my decision to enlist. The thing that I am most thankful for, and the thing that I will always be most thankful for, is the fortune of being born into a Christian home and being raised by parents who instilled in me a high sense of morality and values. I came to know my Savior at an early age, and without Him I am nothing. Christ is the one constant in my life; the only part of me that can never be taken away. He is the reason I have a future; He is the reason that the future need not be feared. I know that as long as I listen to and obey the Spirit's leading, I will always be where I'm meant to be. And that's a comforting thought, and a great truth for which to give thanks. The fact that I was born into a situation whereby I am able to live this life of freedom is the most wonderful thing in the world.

Insomnolence

^I changed my picture up there back to Konno because I'm still upset at Maimi for chopping her hair off :P

I'm hoping to get a couple hours of sleep tonight before I have to go to work, but right now I seem to be rather wide awake. It may have something to do with the fact that I totally lost track of the time, as I tend to get overly chatty when the sister is around. She appeared this evening, by the way; home for Thanksgiving and all. So that's cool.

I've been sleeping rather erratically lately, and I feel like I should be tired, but I'm just not. Thinking about my looming future isn't helping matters. People ask me if I'm nervous about the whole thing, and I'm quite honestly not. The idea of basic training really doesn't intimidate me or make me anxious. It is, however, rather overwhelming at times, which leads to a bit of stress-out, freak-out, break-down moments. And lack of sleep. Not to a point where I'm tossing and turning and thinking, "Oh man, what have I gotten myself into - I can't do this!" but it does keep me up at night (or during the day, or whenever I end up sleeping). Part of me wants to stop time and further delay my enlistment, while another part wants to walk out the door tomorrow and get it over with. I'm torn. And I'm wide awake. But I'm not all out of faith. And I'm definitely not lying naked on the floor.

I'd better clarify that I'm referencing song lyrics there, lest anyone thinks I've lost my ever-loving mind ^___^

I spent a good portion of today just sitting back and taking a bit of a break from everything, and listening to some music that I've had but haven't gotten around to really listening to. A friend lent me a CD of Itzhak Perlman playing some amazing "Fiddler On the Roof"-ish Israeli music. The man's a flippin' genius. Of course, if I had his 1714 Soil Stradivarius, I could play just as well. Heh. Yeah, right. I also finally really sat down and paid attention to the Hangry & Angry album. (Yes, folks, I just went from Perlman to Hangry & Angry - a Japanese goth/punk/chick-rock duo - I have eclectic taste; what can I say?) Pretty darn good overall. One song, "Doubt," seemed like it was ready to break into total epicness, but ended up being four minutes of unrealized potential. Really nice song, though, and one that will be getting tons of play-time during the course of my work-day.

Being not in front of the computer ought to improve my sleep chances, so off I go.

Not So Bad

It is about 5:20 in the AM and I am not late for work (I usually go in at 4:00). The boss told me yesterday that I can go ahead and come in at whatever time I want this morning ^__^ I chose 6:00. I'm actually beginning to think that work is not going to be so bad this holiday season. The only day that I dread is Black Friday, which is now only a few days away (!), but once that's done, I think I might actually enjoy my job for the last month. It seems like they're letting me kind of float around between teams and tasks wherever they need me the most at any given moment, which is completely cool. Plus, it looks like Planogram is getting back together a lot earlier this year (the week before Christmas, if rumors are true), so I get to finish my final days on the team I love. It's always nice when things work out in my favor ^_^

J-pop news item of the day (because I can't seem to go a day without mentioning something even though I have an entire other blog dedicated to this stuff): S/mileage is graduating from Egg status to become a major group early next year! I've been rooting for this to happen, so I'm really proud of them.

Gotta get ready and get outta here.

Excuses and Fruit

Hmm...

Hold on a minute while I search for an excuse as to why I haven't posted since Tuesday.

Nope. No excuse. Honestly, I just didn't feel like it. The past week wasn't necessarily a bad week, per se, but it was kind of one of those weeks where nothing happened. Nothing. And when nothing happens, there's nothing to talk about. Plus, I personally have felt a bit blegh lately. Not in the sense that I'm getting sick again, but I've just been in one of those moods where I really don't feel like doing anything. Even the sorts of things that I can usually guarantee to positively alter my mood haven't been working as they should. One of the reasons I started this blog was so I could sit down every day and write about things like this; I find that it's rather therapeutic. I had to force myself to get on here this evening and write something, and it turns out that as soon as I started writing, I started feeling a bit better. Go figure. So, yeah: no excuse.

Quick updates:

Work sucks and I wish I was back on my old team.

Ohio State beat Michigan on Saturday!!!

And...you know, like I said, pretty much nothing else has happened since last I wrote.

I was thinking today about a bit of a pet peeve of mine. It irritates me to no end to see deep and meaningful thoughts and ideas become so free-and-easy due to familiarity. Specifically, I was thinking of how we tend to, even in adulthood, view certain Biblical passages as sort of "children's stories," because we learned them in Sunday School as youngsters (and it doesn't help that there are associated silly little songs and such to go with these stories). More specifically, and the thing that prompted this thought in the first place, is not so much a story, but it is one of those Sunday School things that we get drilled into our heads as kids, and that, I feel, for that reason, we tend to not take as seriously as adults: the "fruits of the Spirit." Pastor Bob has been preaching on these for the last few months, and I'm glad for that. That passage in Galatians is good to look at as an indicator as to how spiritually healthy one is. It's more than a list of happy qualities to recite. As a Christian, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control all become inherent traits, but we don't always bear them as we should. These are the not-so-obvious but ever-present (almost sub-conscious) things that the world sees in Christians and knows that we are set apart. Take some time to really think about what each of these attributes really means, and ask yourself if you are exhibiting each of them to the fullest. And stay away from the "anti fruits of the Spirit" that Paul mentions in Galatians 5:19-21 (but that's rather obvious, yes?) Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

And on a much less serious note, and because I would be remiss without doing it, I have to mention that today is Captain's birthday ^__^

Then and Now

My second physical fitness evaluation was held today with my recruiter and my fellow recruits, and I must say I rather surprised myself with the results. Compared to my initial tests, it's amazing how much I've improved overall. I increased my total push-ups and greatly improved my running ability. And, unlike then, there's no residual pain this time (I could hardly move for days last time). Oddly enough, though, my sit-ups fell drastically from the first time. Dunno why. But it was still good enough, so I can't really complain.

Sometimes I'll start thinking about this whole situation a little too much and the thought will creep into my brain that I'm not going to be ready. I try to strike a good balance between always working myself toward basic while not dwelling on it, but sometimes I can't help but dwell. But it's nice to be able to meet with the guys and gals who are going through the same process and build each other up. After this afternoon, I'm 100% reassured that I'm going to be more than ready. It's funny; if I had attempted a minute's worth of push-ups today by myself in the comfort of my own home, I would not have done close to as many as I managed at the recruiter's office. When a fellow recruit is kneeling beside you speaking words of (wisdom; let it be?) encouragement, it really becomes a matter of will over strength. There's a tendency to let oneself go farther than one thinks oneself can go. This comraderie will, I imagine, be vital in basic training.

Now I need to go strike that balance and watch some AKB48 concert DVDs to escape from reality a bit ^__^

Backroom

It looks like I'll be spending my remaining time at Target doing the job that I did for my first three years there, and that I worked so hard to get away from :P

My planogram team is now officially disbanded. Kinda sad. I really enjoyed and took pride in being a member of that team. We did some hard work, but we always did good work. We had a pretty laid-back work environment with a supervisor who allowed us to be us as long as we got the job done. It was the type of work that could be frustrating and stressful, but at the end of the day, it was always nice to take a step back and say, "I did that. Yay me." ^__^ As an added bonus, my fellow team members are pretty good friends, even outside of work. And now it's done and I will never ever have to set another planogram.

However...

While my friends all get to go work together for the next couple of months on the flow team, I am stuck in the backroom for the duration of the holidays. It's only fitting, I suppose, that I'm back where I started, but I really can't stand doing it any more. But apparently I'm just too darn good at it. Oh well.

In other news, Ohio State is going to the Rose Bowl. I can't believe they haven't been since the famous Arizona State game in 1997. That's a crazy long time ago.

I managed to throw my sleep schedule way out of wack again. I tried to stay up today, but didn't even come close to making it. I almost fell asleep while sitting on my bed with a bowl of soup while reading X-Factor. That could have been a messy disaster. I may try to grab a couple hours tonight, but I'll have to see how much I manage to get done with some other projects.

I'm finally catching up with my comic book reading. Allow me to nerd-out for a moment and mention the utter brilliance that was Matt Fraction's year-long Iron Man story that just wrapped up, entitled "World's Most Wanted." It was (I say redundantly) utterly brilliant. Tony's journey across the world and across the whole history of the Iron Man saga was awe-inspiring. To see this man's last-ditch heroic effort to save not only his own skin, but the skins of pretty much every super hero in the world was, at times, painful, but I've never felt a greater sense of respect for Mr. Stark. I won't say where it all leads (I don't know where it all leads), but Tony Stark and the whole Iron Man idea will never be the same. The supporting cast was also astounding, especially Pepper Potts, who is now officially awesome. And Norman Osborn's reign of tyranny is almost up. I can feel it. So, again, thank you Matt Fraction for the outstanding story-telling. I can't wait to see what's next.

Another Birthday(s)

As expected, today was a very short and simple day at work, and I am off until Monday.

Also, I have my car back and it seems to be okay now, so I'm very happy to have one less thing to worry about.

Of course, today is Veterans Day, and I really don't think I have to explain how meaningful that is to me. I mean, I went out and enlisted, for crying out loud ^__^

Appropriately, I spent a few hours today playing some team multiplayer in Call of Duty with my buds. I am insanely better at Call of Duty than I am at Halo, and I know it's only been out for a day, but I'm really starting to feel that Call of Duty's multiplayer is a better overall experience than Halo's. More fun, more balanced, a better ranking system, cool perks, great customization, spectacular graphics...

Sorry, Halo. I still love you, though.

Today was also (or would have been) my dog Winston's birthday. There's some carrot cake in the fridge that I'll eat a bit later in his honor. That guy loved carrots. The old "man's best friend" saying was never more appropriate. Greatest dog and greatest friend anyone could ask for. Happy Bithday, Buddy!!!


There's another much less important birthday today, and I'm about to head over to Hello!Online to gush about it, but I always like to mention these birthdays here too. Morning Musume's Reina Tanaka is twenty. Hooray! Ah, what the heck...here's a picture:


I'm looking forward to the five day weekend; hoping to get a lot of this and that done. I've managed to fall behind once again on my DVD burning, so I really ought to catch up on that. Plus, I still have a four-inch stack of comic books that I'm behind on. Hopefully the lack of work will help to take care of those.

Modern Warfare 2

The new Call of Duty came out today. It's spectacular, of course, but I went through a mission in it that left me completely emotionally drained. I honestly don't feel like going into the details of it, but it was absolutely one of the most horrific and disturbing things I have ever experienced. Not just in a video game. Period. I was literally in tears and actually felt a bit nauseous. But it provided a no-bull look at the sort of terror that our military is fighting against, and caused my inner-pride to well up, knowing that I am soon to be a proud part of that military. But...yeesh...that was one of the most awful things ever.

I've only been running for a week now, and it's amazing how far I've come in such a short time. Tonight was a particularly good run (possibly because I needed a bit of release after Call of Duty) and I'm no longer getting that pain in my legs and ankles. Of course, now the pain has decided to move up into my abdomen, which has been cramping up pretty badly the last couple of nights. I suppose that'll pass, too. I look at how much progress I've made in a mere week, and I realize that I ought to be in pretty good shape come time for basic. My stress meter is lowering.

I took my vehicle in today and the dude said I have to have my whole door sensor thingy replaced. I should have my car back tomorrow, plus I'm getting reimbursed for what I had to pay last month when he failed to fix the problem. So that situation is soon to result in a huge drop on the stress meter.

Looks like I can get back to worrying about frivolous things instead ^__^

I hope tomorrow is the last day of work this week. I can't imagine there's too much left to be done now that Christmas is all set. Today we all got stuck resetting bras. Generally, we're supposed to ask guests, "Can I help you find something?" but whilst working in that department, I refrain from doing so, as that could be construed as a bit...inappropriate ^__^ Plus, we have to put up with our fellow co-workers and their "hilarious" comments. Such a mature group of people <_<

*Yawn*

Sleep time.

Happy 20th!!!

Today is my sister's 20th birthday. I only know this because my mother informed me of it a few minutes ago. What is that girl's name? Catherine? Yeah, that's it.

Happy Birthday, Catherine!!! I guess I kind of liked something about you at some point a long time ago.

Goodness, I'm just a big fat chump aren't I?

Re-do:

Happy Twentieth Birthday, CAITLIN!!! Wow, we're both in our twenties now; how bizarre is that? I got you a Wild Wump, but changed my mind and decided to write you a stupid song instead ^__^

The parents and I (and the pup) went to Baylor U yesterday to visit the sister and had barbecue chicken and carrot cake for her birthday, so that was cool. She'll have to wait until she's up here for Thanksgiving, though, to receive her from-me gift, as I tend to be absent-minded when it comes to such things. It's not that I forget, it's that I simply fail to remember at the appropriate times.

In other news, the old "Parker luck" hit me full-force this morning; I hate having real problems. Life is so much simpler when the only thing I'm stressing over is what the J-pop girls are doing with their hairstyles ^__^

I have to take my car in tomorrow morning to hopefully have it fixed for real this time. 'Tis dead again. Plus, I fell asleep outside at around 4:30 this morning after having locked my keys inside. This, of course, was after I lost my cool a bit after finding my car in its incapped condition and decided to take my frustration out on the house. One guess who won the battle between my fist and a brick wall <_<

Once I got to work, the day got better. Looks like it might be a short week too, which is fine by me.

Oh, and Tampa Bay won yesterday. Finally. There's magic in those creamsicle uniforms.

Again, Happy Happy Birthday...dang it, I forgot her name...Caitlin!

I love you, I'm proud of you, yadda yadda ^_^...HUZZAH!!!

Four Shut-Outs

Go Buckeyes!!!

Congratulations on your fourth shut-out of the season!

What's that? You say Penn State scored a touchdown?

I'm sorry, but that 4th-and-goal "touchdown" from the one-foot-line never crossed the plane and I simply refuse to acknowledge the points. Ohio State stuffed 'em, then proceeded to embarrass them for the duration of the game. Finally, an Ohio State game to feel 100% good about.

Iowa next week at home. Cake.

Then _ichigan. Cupcake.

^__^

Happy Birthday!

Generally, when I make a happy birthday post, it is in reference to a cute Japanese girl. Such is not the case today.

Today's is much more important, as it is my wonderful mother's birthday! I believe it's her 40th, but I might be mistaken ^_^

With my bizarre work schedule this week, I kind of failed to remember to get a gift, but it will be forthcoming.

Though the fact that I'm finally leaving the house (and a vacant room) soon should be gift enough ^___^

Anyhoo, Happy Birthday, Mom!

I love you!

^_^

Remember, remember...

...the fifth of November,
The gunpowder treason and plot.
I know of no reason
Why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

Work-week is done.

Ankle is better-ish.

I need to figure out how to get back on a normal sleep schedule.

I held Modern Earfare 2 today; can't wait until Tuesday.

I just realized that I typed "Earfare," when I obviously meant "Warfare."

Dual-layer DVDRs are expensive. I can get 50 normal ones for $20, but 25 dual-layers cost $35. Not cool.

The paperwork for one section of my planogram today was so confusing that it took four of us and way too much time to decipher it.

I never knew that the word "guy," referring to any random man, actually derived from Guy Fawkes. Interesting.

Stupid Ankle

I didn't go running last night because I needed to give my poor ankle a bit of a rest. It felt much better at work today, so I was glad that I was going to be able to get back out tonight. That is, until my "friend" decided to run over my Achilles with a flat, which hurts really really bad. There's no way I was going to be able to run on it tonight.

I'm just glad I'm going through this pain and these problems now, rather than at basic. I feel bad for (though I really can't be sympathetic towards) anybody who shows up physically unprepared for basic training.

As good a day as Sunday into Monday at work was, the last two nights have been...not as much fun. I guess last night into this morning was okay, but Monday to Tuesday was awful. It was one of those days that was only eight hours long, but seemed twice that. But the major Christmas set is set, and tonight we get to get out of Christmas for a bit and do some other piddly stuff that needs to be caught up on. Then next week, we're back on the normal schedule to do the "mini" seasonal set. Don't be fooled by the "mini" - it's going to be way more irritating than the major set. Tedious.

In happy news, I found a set of Elixir lights today that I didn't know I had. I don't want to use them now, because I believe my current set of guitar strings are relatively new. Maybe I'll "accidentally" break one so I have an excuse...

And I'm not going to comment on Maimi Yajima's newly and drastically shortened hair.

;_;

Basic Training Training

Forget "Gonna Fly Now" or "Eye of the Tiger."

THIS is my training montage music:


The fact that it's November means that I have gotten serious about training for basic training. That means running every day, doing push-ups and sit-ups, gaining a bit of weight, and all that good stuff. The above song actually has been my workout music for the last few days. It may be the fact that the video is military-themed, but it seems to motivate me for some reason.

By the way, if the Japanese army looked like that in WWII, I, for one, would have just let them win. ^_^

I measured out a two mile route through the neighborhood for running purposes, and my ankles hate me for it. It shouldn't take too long to get running-acclimated, but until then I fear I shall be in pain. The fact that I am constantly on my feet at work doesn't help.

I love working overnights. I went in at 10:00 last night and got off at 9:00 this morning. It was a long day but we got a lot done. I always love when people get to work with us that don't normally get to see what it is we do; it seems they are always blown away by how much we are able to accomplish within a given time. Am I bragging? Yes. Yes, I am. But I'm part of a good team, so I'm allowed to brag a bit. ^__^

I need to go take a shower and get ready to go back at 11:00.

Ow, my feet...

Happy Halloween

And thank you, Ohio State. I know it was against New Mexico State, but it's always nice to blank somebody, especially with the second (and third) stringers playing the entire second half. Three shut-outs this year is impressive; if only we could rid ourselves of the two losses, I'd be happy.

Here are some Halloween-themed photos for your enjoyment:

I Love LC

Today was one of those new-video-game-came-out-today days, so the ol' Xbox pretty much ate up my Thursday. I find it hilarious that I actually purchased a game called "The Ballad of Gay Tony." It's actually the final Grand Theft Auto IV add-on, which is kind of sad; the Liberty City saga will be over soon, but it'll always stand as one of the greatest experiences in gaming, as well as some of the most biting and spot-on sociological satire in any medium.

As promised, my work-day was quick and painless, which was super cool.

I was thinking today that I hope I'm not freaking any Airmen out whilst at work. You see, I often catch myself gazing dreamily at them when they come in the store in their ABUs. Aaaannd I'd better clear that statement up. It's not as though I have a don't-ask-don't-tell thing for guys in uniform (although, girls in uniform...), it's that I have an I-can't-wait-to-wear-that-uniform thing for the...uniform. I see it; I can't help but stare. Nothing...funny. When I first started the military-joining process, I decided that my first moment of overwhelming pride would be at the time I swore in. That turned out to be very much the case - the proudest moment of my life. The next moment, I think, will be when I first put on that camouflage and lace up those boots.

I'm now only six weeks behind on my comic books. I got a lot of reading done this past week when I was sick, and am hoping to get a couple of weeks read within the next couple of days. I managed to pretty much catch up on one of my projects (the Hello!Project project), so that frees up some quality reading time. I'm also trying to get through a stack of about twenty Stephen King books, so I have quite enough reading material to last me a good long time ^_^ Plus, I've really been itching lately to read Frank Herbert's "Dune" saga again, because four times through is not nearly enough.

Halloween is on Saturday and my mother still has not even started making my Spider-Man costume. I always wondered how Peter suddenly got the amazing seamstress (seamster?) skills necessary in order to create his outfit. As far as I know, spiders (genetically altered or not) don't possess any innate costume-design abilities; though they are rather keen at thread-work, so I guess that half explains it. Of course, EIC Quesada would just write it off as "magic." And since nobody got that joke, I'll stop here and go to bed.

Status Ailments Removed

I think I finally feel better. For real this time. On Sunday, I felt pretty good, but I guess I had a bit of a relapse yesterday, because I simply could not function at work and ended up leaving at 8:00 in order to come home and sleep all day. I'm not entirely sure how many hours of sleep I got yesterday, but it was a lot. And now I'm fine. I'm still coughing, but it's not sick-related; I got a piece of gummy candy lodged in my throat earlier and am still feeling the discomfort from that. It's a funny story, actually (though a little disgusting, for which I apologize beforehand). I kept swallowing, hoping to dislodge the candy, but to no avail. I figured since it wouldn't go down, I ought to try and bring it back up. After a couple of pretty weak coughing attempts, I bent over and gave one final mighty effort, expecting the object to come flying out of my mouth. It did not. But it was no longer there, so I assumed it had slid down (though I didn't feel it). Some time later and because I have a bit of a runny nose, I let in a sniffle, only to have the candy particle re-enter my mouth from where it had been resting in my nose-hole. And so far, that's been the highlight of my day.

Tomorrow promises to be a short day at work; one of those side-caps and revisions days. Then I'm off until Sunday evening at 10:00. After that, I work starting at 11:00 PM Monday through Wednesday (into Thursday morning), which I really don't mind. Working while the store is closed is much easier and much more productive; plus we usually get fed ^_^

Which reminds me: I'm hungry. All I've had to eat today was Pop-Tarts, ice cream, cheesecake, and some...nose-candy. Heh.

October 26, 2009

You know, I think I prefer the actual being sick part of being sick over the post-illness sneezing, runny nose and clogged sinuses part. Yesterday, I felt like I was back to 100%; then I went to work this morning and felt bad again. More than likely, I imagine, it was because of the shock of being active and actually having to walk and employ some effort for the first time in days. I actually started to feel better as the day progressed, but for a while there I just felt like going home. Or maybe it's all simply because I didn't want to be at work >_<

I need to give a one-day-late (I think) congratulatory shout-out to my MaMa and PaPa, as they celebrated their 57th anniversary! Sorry, I didn't make a cheesecake, but there's still some left from the last one ^_____^

I just realized that I need to update my "About Me" thing, since I now know when I'm going to basic and what AFSC I'm going into. But I'm too lazy to do it now, so I'll do it...eventually.

Yesterday I got to watch what will more than likely be the only Buccaneers game I'll get to watch this season, which may not be such a bad thing. Watching Tampa Bay is an embarrassing and painful experience. Yet I try to convince myself that there is potential there that just needs a couple of years to grow. We'll see.

Ah, yes; I have to mention this. On this day in the year 3019 of the Third Age, the Council of Elrond took place. The Shire date is October 25th, but that corresponds to October 26th on the modern calendar. I messed that up on a Facebook post yesterday and am rather ashamed of myself :P

Aaaaannd...I'm a geek.

Frodo lives!

<_<

Captain Trips?

I woke up on Wednesday evening and my throat hurt. Then my head started hurting, so I felt like crap all day at work on Thursday. Then I felt crappier all day Friday, but at least I was off work. When I woke up this morning, my throat wasn't so bad, but the pain decided to move into my ears, all the while remaining in my head. And neck. And back. And eyeballs.

I hate being sick.

I've felt like I was getting sick for the past couple of weeks; lately I've just kind of felt like blegh, but I guess it finally decided to really happen. Basically, I feel as though I've spent the last couple of days doing nothing but sleeping, showering, not eating, wandering around aimlessly, and not getting anything done. My sense of concentration was better today, though, and I was able to read a bit, do some item crafting in Infinite Undiscovery, finish my Hello!Project backup discs, and watch Ohio State finally do some good (at least in the second half) against Minnesota. I finally felt hungry too, and ate some pizza, which is much better than my last-48-hour diet of oatmeal and tomato soup. That's two different food items. Oatmeal. Tomato soup. Not oatmeal-and-tomato soup. That would be gross.

So now I only feel like semi-crap. Hopefully this'll be over very soon.

^_^

Abbey Road, Risa-san, and...something,,,

I cannot for the life of me remember what I was going to post about today. Hmm...I was at work today and I remember thinking, "Ah! Great! I have to write about that on the ol' blog this evening!" And now I can't seem to recall anything about what that particular topic may have been. I guess it wasn't important.

Work was ridiculously long today. It was actually only a ten hour shift but seemed twice that. Plus, I only managed to get through two-thirds of my work. One easy, non-frustrating, sunshine-and-rainbows day is all I ask. *sigh* At the beginning of November my job as I know it is over. I'll never have to set another planogram after the Christmas set goes up. We're going overnight for that, which means I'll have to sleep during the day, which is something I despise, but oh well, right? The boss is sure to bring in food during that week, like she did last time we were on that schedule for the electronics department overhaul. Ribs. Please. Yum.

The entire Abbey Road album was released today for The Beatles: Rock Band. Someday, I'll have to make a set list and play through the entire thing in one session. Father and I played through a few songs this evening. Always fun, and I like showing off my amazing fake-guitar skillz; I'm not a half-bad drummer either ^_^ I do need a new drumset, as mine is one of the original Rock Band sets and has seen quite a lot of usage. The RB2 drums are supposedly better, and I really need a Guitar Hero set, which is significantly different than what I have now. What I don't need, however, is more than one drum kit cluttering my living area. Between my four Xbox guitars, my three Dance Dance Revolution mats, and my drums, I am developing quite the horde of rhythm game peripherals. Thankfully, DS rhythm games just use a simple little stylus.

Aaaaaannnd, I can't possibly not mention the fact that today is my favorite Morning Musume member's 21st birthday, so this is me mentioning it. Happy Birthday to the lovely Niigaki Risa. Yatta!!!


Yes, folks, I've completely lost it. I no-baked the girl a cheesecake. I blame my inner wota ^_^

:P

Three Months

Three months from today I'll be in basic o_O

Also, I'll be out of Target. That place is beginning to drive me up the wall. For the umpteenth time in the last few weeks, guess who had to stay later than the entire rest of his team and finish the stuff that they couldn't? Ugh...my nine hours worth of work was done in about five; a co-worker's three hours worth was still being worked on after seven hours, then I had to go finalize it, as he had to go to his other job. Every day it's like this. Grr...

But I purchased Guitar Hero: World Tour for twelve bucks today on clearance, so that was very cool. Plus, a great new AKB48 Undergirls video came out, which was nice to see.

That Dylan Christmas album that I was sort of poking fun at turned out to be rather extraordinary. I gave it a couple of listens and, though I'm not even close to being in the mood for Christmas yet, I absolutely enjoyed it, and am certain that it will be spun many times come December.

Marvel Comics' January solicits come out tomorrow, which is going to be strange, because I'll be able to start to see all the books that are going to be released while I'm in basic. I'm finally catching up with my reading, though. I just read Amazing Spider-Man 603 (608 came out last Wednesday), so I still have a ways to go; I've been missing some really great stories, too.

There was a cheesecake in the house, but now it's gone. I loooove cheesecake. I think I may have to purchase and create a new one tomorrow. Now that the sister is back in Waco, it's more for me ^_^ Plus, tomorrow is Risa Niigaki's birthday (she's the one in the picture on top of this page), so it's a good excuse for cake.

"We did this for the show."

^Quote of the month. Thanks, Balloon Boy!

So let me get this straight: This Heene family, (allegedly) thinking that their two appearance on Wife Swap were not fifteen-minutes-of-fame enough, (allegedly) hoaxed the country by (allegedly) causing everybody to think that their six-year-old was floating away on some experimental home-made helium UFO/balloon thing, when in fact (not allegedly), the child was doing his best Anne Frank impersonation by hiding in the attic. This, of course, was discovered to be the case only after all the king's horses and all the king's men were called in to bring Balloon Boy down safely. In the aftermath interviews, Balloon Boy was interrogated by Wolf Blitzer as to why he wouldn't come out of the attic. Well, here:

"You guys said that we did this for the show." Ah, priceless. They say the darndest things, do they not? The "OMG we're so screwed" reaction of the father is an amazing thing to behold. And as if this whole thing couldn't get any better, the kid goes and pukes on The Today Show the following day. File this one under "You Can't Make This Stuff Up."

I can't believe I haven't posted since Tuesday. I'm so ashamed. On Wednesday, I pretty much slept all day, and on Thursday, I got off work late, played Halo, and went out for sushi. Yesterday was kind of a boring do-nothing day, so I guess there really hasn't been all that much to post about ^_^

(This space is left intentionally blank and is where I would have written something about the Ohio State game earlier, had Ohio State actually decided to show up and play a game earlier).

Back in July, when I was sent home disqualified from my initial military processing and qualification, I sent in a request to get my medical records from St. Louis, as I was told that I still had a chance to be...dis-disqualified if I presented my records. My parents also had the hospital on base request them, which is where I was able to pick them up after only a couple of weeks, much to the surprise of all parties involved. I was then able to go back down to Dallas to finish the process and swear in. Today, in the mail, I received a copy of my records - nearly three months after having requested them!!! If the hospital hadn't gotten them...yikes.

Speaking of three months, I have almost exactly that amount of time until I'm outta here. Yikes again.

o_O

Panic

I just woke up thinking for a brief moment that the time was actually 7:00 AM of tomorrow morning. That would have been bad.

I came across (was directed toward) this today:

The writer kinda cheated, as "no direction home" is a lyric and not a song :P I looked at the actual track list today and I absolutely must hear this thing; picking it up tomorrow, methinks.

I've pretty much felt like crap all week; seems to always happen right around this time of year. I'll go through my day sort of feeling that I'm kind of outside myself; like my body is somehow lagging behind my mind (or maybe vice versa). It's almost as if I'm spectating on myself as I go through my daily routine. It'll pass, though; and I have actually managed to keep myself in a good mood in spite of feeling blegh, so that's cool.

I'm gonna go eat some Johnny Marzetti ^_^

Tomorrow

Tomorrow I will catch up with all the things I've been trying to catch up on. I promised myself I would do it all over the weekend, but didn't quite make it. And now my stupid computer's stupidness has gone and cost me two hours of work, which was heac-inun to beit.

Sorry about that. That was meant to say "headache-inducing to begin with," but my keyboard just decided that it needed new batteries. This is the kind of day I'm having. Grr...

It hasn't been all bad, though. Another good sermon this morning; I've always been fascinated with the life of David and learned some stuff that I had never discovered before. Plus, my viola cooperated with me this morning, which is always nice. I came home and watched last week's service on the television, as I missed it last week. Also good. Ohio State's defense beat Wisconsin on Saturday. Also good. I finally got to see C-ute's "Everday Zekkouchou!!" dance-shot PV; also good. I got another Firefight achievement; frustrating but good. My mother made chicken pot pie. Extremely good (hi, Mom!) :D Um...I'm currently drinking orange juice...also...good. Alright, I'm done.

See? Not so bad. As the very very wise Eric Idle said, "Always look on the bright side of life."

^o^ - *whistle*

A Robert Zimmerman Christmas?

I just got off the phone with the sister, and she informed me that Bob Dylan has a Christmas album coming out next week. How the heck did I miss this? "A Hard Snow's A-Gonna Fall," perhaps? Or how about "I Dreamed I Saw St. Nicholas"? "Stuck Inside the North Pole With the Memphis Blues Again"? "Tangled Up In Tinsel"? But seriously folks, apparently it's a proceeds-go-to-charity thing and actually and truly consists of his renditions of classic Christmas tunes. Very strange, but I can't wait to hear it.

Speaking of music, I fell in love with a new song today and ended up looping it and listening to it over and over while I worked on some stuff. It's from a group called ZONE: a four member, all-girl, basic set-up (two guitars, a bass, and drums) band from Japan (duh), who were active from 2001 to 2005 before they disbanded for some reason. I was thinking today that it was about a month ago that Oasis broke up, but since then I have discovered two groups that have become new favorites, one being ZONE and the other being The Gazette, which I mentioned in a post sometime last month...September 3rd...with a video of their goosebump-inducing song "Cassis." This is ZONE's single "Secret Base ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono~" and is equally goosebump-inducing:

Momma Knows

I spent the better part of yesterday at my home-boy (home-boy? really?) Andy's house. It had been quite a while since we had gotten together to play some guitar, but it was really nice to be able to go do that. We discovered, however, that our hit song, Momma Knows, is rather rusty, and it took some brainstorming to even remember the words. Sometime here in the next couple of months, we need to get a decent recording done of it so it can go on Youtube, but before that, I feel that the song needs to be tweaked and re-worked a bit; it needs polishing, and I kinda feel that some of the parts of the song don't seem as funny six years later. The version that we came up with on one fateful night in the Mardel parking lot is pretty much the version that we have accepted ever since; not really any revisions to speak of, so it's probably a good idea to sit down and polish it.

The Bonus Track, however, is perfect ^_^

I was just playing Firefight with some friends for over an hour when I lost my online connection, which I believe means the game ended for everybody. I bet they're quite perturbed at me. I shall be sure to avoid them, as I do not wish to be pummeled.

Morning Musume's Kimagure Princess PV was made available for viewing today, but that's a topic for my other blog (although I did embed the video in a separate post below this one).

When did I play in the compost? Saturday? Because the yard still smells of you-know-what. Seriously. Five days later and the stench refuses to dissipate. I'm beginning to wonder if it will ever be safe to go outside again.

My co-workers and I managed to finish everything early this week, so we're off tomorrow. This will be the first three-day weekend in a couple of weeks, and I'm glad. I need sleep.

I like trees.

Kimagure Princess PV!!!

^_^

Tough Decision

And everything was going so well.

I now find myself in the position of having to make a very difficult decision regarding my immediate future. Due to a recent happening, I have discovered that some changes may be necessary; and I am not generally a fan of change. But these things seem inevitable. Every action has consequences, and I need to find the courage to suck it up and do what has to be done.

Are you ready to hear this? You'd better sit down. It's a big one.

I...

I changed my blog's title picture and now it doesn't match my color scheme.

I am quite fond of my gray background and my orange title text and my blue link text. The pictures of me and my violin are suitable and very earth-toned, and the old picture that I had in my title worked, as Konno was wearing white and it was a bit desaturated. Then I went and put this Risa-san picture with her bright yellow bow and her very colorful necklace and a hint of her bright blue shirt, and...it just throws my whole palette off. I don't know what to do. I saw the picture and I said, "Yep. There's my new blog banner, yessiree Bob," but I didn't think it through. Do I change my color scheme to suit the photo? Do I try to desaturate the pic a bit? Do I *gasp* use a different picture? But I really like this one. I mean, look at her. Actually, now that I think about it, I only have about a million pictures of her, most of which are much less colorful. I may try to find one of those. But this current one screamed out to me; it just seemed to want to go on my blog. Oh well. Maybe I'll fix it tomorrow.

See? Tough decision.

^_^

In real news, I got my car back today, and it's good and fixed. Turns out the passenger side door sensor was screwed up, which is why my car always thought I had a door ajar when I obviously did not, and explains why my alarm kept activating randomly. I only had to pay 90 bucks, which is cool, so I'm pretty happy about my transportation situation now.

I get to play in the furniture aisles at work tomorrow. That calls for a sarcastic "Yatta!" Last time I had to work in that part of the store, I managed to just about knock myself out with a metal bar. Ah, such fond memories. I had a gash on my forehead for weeks. My cow-orkers thought it was hilarious, though.

=-[

10/05 Random Thoughts

I was self-conscious all day at work today because I, dummy that I am, wore my work shoes the other day when I was knee-deep in that pile of sh...er...compost.

The smell lingers. The neighbors are preparing their uprising, and we will be driven out of town; I just know it.

I dropped my car off at the service center today to get it fixed. Hopefully I'll get it...fixed.

I didn't let my co-worker drive me nuts today, although I did have to work with him/her. The usage of "him/her" is not to question his/her sexuality or gender - that would be rude. I'm merely attempting to maintain some semblance of anonymity, though I honestly have no idea why. It's not like he/she (it?) reads this.

My Fallout 3 bobble-head collection is growing; I finally have ten of the things.

I have a theory that there are actually two girls named Sugaya Risako, who are exactly the same age and look like distant cousins, and one just happened to be around as a replacement when the other decided to leave Berryz Koubou.

2009-1994=19

I want Final Fantasy XIII, and I want it NOW.

Same for Golden Sun 3.

Every day, I become more and more proud of my decision to join the Air Force. Much of that has to do with the fact that I can tell that everybody who knows me - my family, friends, church, co-workers - are just as proud. There are times when I start to think about it, and it completely freaks me out, and I'll lose a bit of sleep over it; but I suppose that's to be expected. All-in-all, I'm really not all that worried because I know that it's the absolute right decision. I was talking to a co-worker about basic training today, and told him/her :P that it was going to be strange walking out of the house, on my way to being gone for months, and taking only a half-full duffel bag with me. Scary thought. But any frightening notion can be countered by considering that the most important part of me can never leave me or forsake me. The knowledge that I have a Friend in Christ, whom with I have a literal walking/talking relationship, keeps my spirits up every step of this journey. I consider it miraculous that I was even able to get into the service, as the "rule book" says that I'm disqualified. But I never worried, because I knew that this was meant to be. When the path is clear, the path is clear.

The verse I live by is not a well-known one, and is kind of buried in Isaiah (30:21):

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

Oh; and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. I want that as well.

:D

Zombies, Japanese Girls, Compost, and Football

That was my Saturday.

I have a strange array of interests. Actually, compost is not really an interest. Plus, it smells really bad, and the smell refuses to go away after a long shower. Why compost, you ask? That would be my father's fault. He brought home a giant pickup truck-load of the stuff to spread around all the plants, and I shoveled it out of the back of the truck. Somehow, I couldn't help but think of this guy. In some odd way, I actually kind of enjoy doing stuff like that. But now I stink and I have a headache; I think something in that pile of...stuff...got to me.

I managed to get some things done today that I've been meaning to get done, and was even able to catch up on some of my Japanese cuties' recent television appearances that I missed :D

Other than that, a buddy and I killed a few hundred zombies in Left for Dead earlier today, and I just finished watching Ohio State beat Indiana. I hate when a team scores on us with mere seconds left, making a blowout seem like not such a blowout. Actually, I hate it when teams score on us, period. Ohio State has a way of being frustrating even when you know they're not going to lose, and they have a substantial lead. Such is the way of defense-oriented teams, I suppose. Tampa Bay was the same way a few years back (when they were actually good); even in their Super Bowl year. We manage to win, but sometimes it feels pretty sloppy.

I think I'm going to go take another shower.

Three in a row?

How great would it be for Ohio State to shut out Indiana tomorrow evening?

Pretty darn great, if you ask me. But a win's all I really care about.

This week seems to have leveled out a bit after a rough start. I actually ended up having to work this morning, which makes two five-day weeks in a row. Next week is probably going to be pretty heavy too, so at least my paychecks are improving. Before too long, my fellow Planogram team members and I will be done for the year, as there are no resets done during the Christmas season. As soon as Christmas is set, we have to matriculate to Flow for the remainder of the year, and I can already tell that that's going to feel a bit awkward for me, seeing as how I was in charge of Flow last year. Or, I was set up as a proxy last year, or something. I'm not entirely sure what happened. But I'm over it. Really. I am.

Really.

One of those weeks...

When nothing goes right, nothing goes right, right?

I'm sorry, I don't know what that means. What I meant to say is that this week at work has been one of the worst weeks in who knows how long, and my vehicle is out of commission (and they can't service it until Monday), and I can't seem to stay awake during the day (today was fine, though), and...there was something else. Oh, right. I can't win any Halo matches. Granted, that's not very important in the whole scheme of things, but it's still frustrating as heck.

Yesterday was awful, though. I honestly haven't really had a bad day in a while, but between my ride not working, being late for work, and a co-worker making me want to pull my hair out, it was terrible. I was flat out angry all day yesterday. If the pastor's fruit of the Spirit sermons continue their orderly trend, Sunday should be "patience," which is something I often desperately lack. I tend to have a short fuse.

But today was fine, and tomorrow will be better.

I was looking though some stuff this afternoon and came across a story (of sorts) that I started but never finished, due to the fact that it became too difficult. I had attempted to write a narrative consisting only of single-syllable words, with no words repeated, and exactly 100 words long. For fun. Yes, I am abnormal. I think it's sitting at 57 words right now, and I'm considering an attempt to complete it. If it happens, I'll share it here.

I suddenly got the strangest urge to play Dance Dance Revolution.

And...I'm off!

Konpyuta wa baka desu.

I've mentioned before how much I hate falling asleep in the middle of the day, but there was absolutely no preventing it this afternoon. I actually dozed off while watching ESPN and playing my guitar :P

We had a short day at work today, so I was able to come home and catch up on a few things that I've been meaning to catch up on. Of course, if I hadn't fallen asleep, I could have done quite a bit more...

I haven't been updating this thing like I should; I meant to do it last night, but didn't have a computer. Then I realized that I can actually use my computer. That statement sounds like it needs an explanation. For some bizarre reason, I cannot get into a number of websites on my personal computer. These include Google, Marvel.com, Facebook, my Hello!Online blog, any of my email accounts, IGN.com, and other random sites. About a year-and-a-half ago, my computer got sick (viral) and freaked out on me. As a last ditch effort to save its life, I ended up installing my sister's Vista, which actually worked, and saved my machine from a complete meltdown. However, the computer gods don't seem to like the fact that I am using a previously-registered operating system, and a lot of things don't seem to work properly any more, which is not a huge deal. Most of the problems are really just minor annoyances. But ever since then, I've not been able to access those sites. Sometimes I forget that I actually can get on this blog from my machine. I need a new one, and I'd kind of like to get a laptop, but we'll see. I'm still thinking about checking out where my Target discount gets me on Dell.com.

Quickie-updates from the last few days:

*Ohio State beat Illinois 30-0. Our defense is unbelievably good this year.

*Tampa Bay was shut out by the Giants. Leftwich is now the backup to the backup.

*Good sermon Sunday. The PEACE!!!

*ZONE is (was) a really cool band; and am I finally giving in to Berryz?

*I still suck at Halo.

All right, that's good for now.