[07-07-02] 6:55 PM  Listening to: "Shooting Star" (Onegai Teacher opening theme), "Theme for R.O.D. ~Long Version~" (Read or Die opening theme), "Tatakae! Otaking!" (Otaku no Video opening theme), "Miracle Started by a Kiss" (Steel Angel Kurumi opening theme), "Raison D'Etre" (Chobits ending theme), and "Last Piece" (Great Teacher Onizuka closing theme.) Today's lesson: Though extremely tiring, hard work offers a multitude of rewards (like money.) Whoo, I'm kinda tired. After all the fun I had with my friends, I proceeded to work 26 hours in three days. Bleech, like I said last time, working in the Garden Center sucks. Anyway, I had yesterday off (which was great, despite the fact I did next to nothing.) It's actually been a little while since I last sat back and did nothing. I've recently been busy with work, ingesting anime with long-time otaku, showing off anime to newly budding anime fans, and then cleaning and preparing for aforementioned gettogethers. Well, aside from some time on Super Mario Brothers 3 and a bit of music downloading, I've really gotten into another new series (for me, that is.) Now, while romance is nice and all, and I do have a number of series incorporating various aspects of romance into the storyline (Ranma �, Tenchi Muyo, Oh My Goddess, Nadesico, and maybe even some aspects of Slayers Next), I've never actually gotten into a series that can almost be classified entirely as a romance series. The others I've mentioned all have numerous other genre qualifiers (well, maybe just a couple qualifiers.) Anyway, I've only seen the first three episodes of Onegai Teacher, and I really want to see the rest now. If only my good friend would be so kind as to post the episodes on his FTP server so I could snatch 'em (which is how I got Chobits episodes 1 through 11 and the first two Tenchi Muyo GXP episodes.) Yeah, but he's running on his own schedule, and I can be patient. But not for long. I'll give him a few days, then resubmit my request. Also, I've gotten around to watching Read or Die. Goodness, if only the OAVs had been longer than three episodes! It's like the feel of Giant Robo crossed with the quality of Cowboy Bebop. Excellent music (the opening theme sounds just like a composite between the old Bond theme and the Mission Impossible theme, though better than either of the originals!) The character designs are awesome, the action is quite gripping, and the scenes and backgrounds are so beautifully rendered I can't wait until they (being some random American company) release them on DVD. I've got to see how good the quality actually is. Unfortunately, the series is only three episodes long, which I figure to be the only down side to the entire show. Regardless, it's quickly climbing the list as a good favorite of mine. Damn, I gotta show some other friends this series. They'd eat it up. In an unrelated note, my future is looking only slightly bleak. Tomorrow I have a dental appointment at around 10:30am, during which the doc'll examine my teeth, tell me I'll probably have to have my wisdom teeth out sometime soon, recommend I start flossing more, and then send me on my way. Phooey, he said during the last checkup that I have a one in four chance of keeping my wisdom teeth. I hope I do, 'cause I don't really want to go through the procedure involved in removing them. One sedated tooth-pulling is well enough for me, thank you. Afterwards at about 4pm, I work again. That won't be as bad, if I keep pulling commissions back in Electronics. Yeah, it's nifty that I work in a department with the greatest chance of employee commissions, and I've been earning more than most lately. Whee! I guess I'm something of a salesman/people-person after all. ^-^ Hell, Jon told me he'd never been able to speak freely to a passing individual. I do it all the time. Now I can shoot the breeze with over three quarters of my customers, provided they're not looking for something that's over my head (not too often; I mean, would you look for advanced electronics in a department store?) Either that, or they're having a bad day, or they're just an asswipe to begin with. Or else they're a crotchety old lady who'll bitch about anything from the air conditioning to the fact that you don't have Driving Miss Daisy on VHS. Guhh... Sorry, wandering train of thought. Please step away from the tracks lest you be overrun by a looming hunk of black steel. Anyway, during my work shift tomorrow, I've got to call the circuit court and see if I need to attend the trial the day afterwards. Yeah, that's right; I'm on jury duty. And yeah, I've been bitching about that for a while. Anyway, it'd be nice if I didn't have to go, 'cause that would mean another day off. Otherwise, I'll get to check out the local court system and hope that the movies have been right all along (I'll probably be proven wrong... damn reality and all it's mundaneness.) Then, I work again Wednesday evening, which involves another call to the local court. Which might again lead to jury duty on Thursday. And then I work Friday evening again. Notice a trend here? At least I have Saturday off again. I work Sunday morning, but that's nothing new. And again Monday evening, and that involves yet another phone call. Possible jury duty Tuesday, and then again Wednesday. I must be prepared for anything... and after that, my schedule is all dark, cold, and nebulous... *sigh* Not much of an end in sight. At least not a pleasent one. Hope Ling's having fun in China; it's gotta be moreso than the random boredom that sets in around here. (Well, maybe the kinds of excitement she's been having over there just might not be what I'm looking for...) Heh. Oh well. Time to check my regular webpages again, then check Jeremy's FTP. I'll chat with y'all later. Ja ne! - JR

[07-03-02] 11:05 PM  Listening to: "Panama" by Van Halen, "Animal" by Def Leppard, "Dude Looks Like a Lady" by Aerosmith, "Don't Fear the Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult, "Renegade Master" by Wild Child, "Jump" by Van Halen, "Golden Brown" by the Stranglers, "Fat Bottomed Girls" by Queen, "The Final Countdown" by Europe, and "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba. Today's lesson: When scheduled in the Garden Center of a department store, be certain to provide your own entertainment. Heh. Took a small breather, but that should be condoned considering what I've been up to in the meantime. First off, the Evangelion viewing last Friday went very well, although we only managed to get through episode eleven before people needed to either leave or hit the sack. I'd have gone through the rest of the series, of course (the last half, while the more depressing, is the best part of the series.) Unfortunately, I had to work for eight hours the following morning/afternoon. So, after sticking around for another two hours and chatting until about one in the morning (and covering all topics under the sun; heh, idle conversation kicks ass), I left for home and managed about five hours of sleep before heading in for work. Afterward those grueling eight hours, I jetted back across town, picked up my mom at home, and headed for the five o'clock evening church service that Saturday. Then, we had dinner at La Huerta. WHOA, BABY, white cheese dip kicks total ass. There's nothing like a runny bowl full of slightly spiced white cheese and a basket of freshly warmed chips. Oh yeah. Then after chowing down on a big beefy burrito and a beef enchilada, and sampling some of my mom's stuff, we both headed for the Witherspoon auditorium on the Tech campus. It was the second night of the local production of "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," and incidently, both of my brothers were stage hands for the show. The performance was excellent, and since I hadn't seen that particular play before, everything was new and interesting. The two leads sung magnificently, and a number of the supporting cast could act very well. The most exceptional actor of the bunch, in our opinion, was the one playing Gideon, the youngest of the seven brothers. He could really play his role well, although the rest of the cast could hardly be slighted for their performance during the town social/brawl. I'll tell ya something else, too: local productions can be just as, if not more, filling than a theatrical release. Well, after the show, my mom presented both of my brothers with a cactus, in lieu of flowers. After they scurried off to help reassemble the set for the following day, another cast member (a lady in her 40s or 50s) stepped near the edge of the stage, and my mom and I showed off our thoughtful gifts. She took one look at the cacti and muttered, "That's just wrong." Despite agreeing with her, I could help but laugh. Anyway, it was about a quarter until eleven, and since I had to work the following morning/afternoon as well, we decided to head home and get some sleep. I actually managed to climb into bed at midnight, and was subsequently rewarded with an extra hour or so of sleep. Didn't help me at work, though, since I ended up doing nothing. Being the efficient worker I am (yeah right; actually, I can be, thanks almost entirely to my mom's own workaholic habits and genetics), I finished putting out all the electronics freight after four hours the day before. So, I had nothing to do except for watch the Disney movies playing on all the screens and keep people from pilfering CDs. However, Jon decided to pull a usual number (I suspected he'd do this anyway) and decided to show up for our anime shindig a couple hours early. Sometime around 2:15PM, he showed up at the electronics desk making commentary regarding "Chicken Run" which was currently playing on a television in the upper corner of the two level TV lineup. Anyway, we chatted for a while amidst my attending to customers. Had a job, after all. But we caught each other up on the goings on. During that time, it came to light that I still hadn't seen "Spiderman," and thus he graciously offer to cover the charge if we saw it later that night. Well, we had no other plans yet, so I agreed. Well, 4:00PM was a long time in coming, but after it did, we both scurried home, assembled Jon's computer, kicked the machine for crapping out on us (well, we didn't really kick it...), and then preceded to ravage my computer for any videos or episodes I had that he hadn't seen yet (like Chobits episodes 3 through 11.) Well, we didn't actually get to them before covering a couple more videos and then scanning each other's fanfiction. I also showed him my previous blogs, since he apparently doesn't check my website. >:P Then mom made tacos. Ah, has got to be one of my favorite home cooked meals. Jon agreed, as did another guest, one of my brother's/sister's friends who showed up for din din. Well, after that... we did some more stuff. Probably some of the stuff we mentioned a moment ago. Or maybe we went ahead and watched Chobits 3 after that. Whatever. Regardless, at about 6:30PM, we left for the theater, paid for our movie, and entered a theater containing the same number of members as the Partridge family (jeez, where do I get off making old references like that?) Anyway, the movie was pretty cool. Though I was jaded because of the anticipation for the anime shindig that I'd been harboring for the past week, the story and effects were pretty nifty. I'd never actually read any of the Spiderman comics, especially not anything containing the story presented in the movie. Anyway, I think my favorite effect would probably be the opening sequence. I liked the later effects too, but I just get ta drooling after pure CG (when it's rendered very well.) Well, we came home, and watched Chobits until episode 8. Heh, if you desire a WAFFy aura, just watch episodes 5-8 late in the evening. I'm really gettin' into this series here. Hmm... looks like I'll have to build myself a Persocon or something. Maybe get the help of Washu or Jordan... (Not Boyd-Graber, you goobers. The teenaged, lesbian, angsty, arm-cannon-wielding Jordan.) Heh. Anyway, we hit the sack, woke up early, had some breakfast, then proceeded to piddle-fart around until Matt and Adam showed up around ten thirty or so. Well, I'd like to say that we were all quite decisive and aptly chose a single series to watch and enjoy. Why is it that I always find myself in the situation of wanting to entertain, but having to choose all the attractions? I love giving people the option, but when they don't take it... arg! Anyway, we watched a lot of new material these past two days (well, mostly new; I believe that at least someone had seen each episode shown that weekend, though not the same person each time): Great Teacher Onizuka (4 eps), Read or Die (3 eps), Giant Robo (2 eps), All Purpose Cultural Catgirl Nuku Nuku (6 eps), Dirty Pair (5 eps), Those Who Hunt Elves (1 ep), the Adventures of the Mini-Goddesses (24 eps), Ranma � (4 eps), the Shinesmen (2 eps), Hand Maid May (2 eps), Hanaukyo Maid Tai (3 eps), Chobits (2 eps), Excel Saga (1 ep - number 26!), Love Hina (4 eps), Slayers Next (1 ep), and Otaku no Video (2 eps.) Not a bad run. Got a lot of different series in that batch. Also in the interim, we saw the MST3K riffing of "The Final Sacrifice," as well as "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." It was hella cool. Oh, and I kicked some ass as Ukyo in one of the Ranma fighting games I have on my SNES rom player. A-heh. And, after getting minimal sleep, I headed back to work today as well for 10.5 hours in the damn garden center. After watering the plants for three hours, I proceeded to sit on my ass and daydream for the remainder of the evening. I swear, it's the easiest but most boring paycheck I've ever earned. I'd honestly prefer never to work there again. Anyway, the first day of possible jury duty is fast approaching (July the 9th.) Hopefully, I won't have attend any of the trials, even if I don't get paid for skipping. I'd much rather take the day off and chat with Adam or post comments to Ling. Well, I'm tired. It's time for some sleep anyway. More work. Bleech. I hate working on holidays. (Although the double pay is somewhat rewarding...) Ja ne! - JR

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