Hello again! Once more, it's been quite a while since the last post I've made here and if you're wondering why, there's not really a definitive answer. I guess there wasn't anything really worth mentioning in the lapse, but I think I should at least give some tidbit updates every month or so. I'll try to keep that in mind, but for now, let's see what I've been up to...

Well, for starters, I think I'll should post my New Year's resolutions just to get it out of the way. I know that it's a little late to state these, but at least it's still January and still have another eleven months to attempt to fulfil these. Like the title of this post says; better late than never. Now, onto the list!

1) Start working out again and do weekly exercises

Nothing to do with an insecurity towards my appearance, but for the sake of my own health. I'm physically trim and consider myself at average strength at worst, but when it comes to exercising, I'm quite out of shape. X_x

Back when I was fourteen, I went to the gym about three times a week to stay in top shape for playing football (and was probably at the peak of my physical ability), but afterwards, I really slowed down over the years due to school and work occupying my time, thus, most of that muscle pretty much went to flab. XD Now that I've got my own place, though, I think it's time for me to start hitting the weights once more and getting some of that muscle back. Somewhat of a personal resolution, but I feel that this is one of the most important to me.

2) Get an Xbox 360

Needn't say much about this one. Many of you know already that I've been trying to acquire one for a long time now, but judging from all the different opportunities I could've gotten one and didn't, it doesn't seem like it'll come easy. Seems like I'd have to smurf somebody just to get one! Don't worry though, I guarantee that I'll get this console eventually... and hopefully without smurfin' anyone. (What the hell does that even mean?) XD

3) Keep studying more Japanese and perfect comprehension of the language

Yeah, I know. I got this one from Sen's own list of resolutions, call me copy-cat if you wish. XD But really, although I know well more than the average stranger to the Japanese language, I wouldn't stand a snowball's chance in a Japanese town to get by with what I know. ¬_-'

I really should get back to try studying again, but the biggest walls I face towards accomplishing this are lack of motivation (COPY-CAT ALERT! XD) and lack of resources. I suppose I'm to blame for the motivation, but there's not a lot I can do about having a deficit of resources. Perhaps I should look into saving up for the widely praised language-teaching program, Rosetta Stone, but I'll try to be smart about this and see if it's what I really want, since this resolution is more about personal enrichment than actual necessity, and in any case, I'll attempt to continue expanding my knowledge of the Nihon-tongue by any other means if possible.

4) Grow my hair out for the whole year

I know this one's basically a total walk in the beach compared to the other resolutions, but I haven't actually done this kind of thing since seventh grade due to a mother's complaint and endless lecturing. I really liked when my hair was a bit longer than normal, and now, I'm free to get my 'fro back and I've already gotten a haircut before X-mas, so it's a perfect time to make this a resolution this year. 12-inch curly afro, here I come! XD

5) Take learning how to draw manga/anime stylè stuff seriously

Even though this one might not be as high priority as the others, I still want to keep it in high regards as a goal. I've been wanting to learn how to draw this stylè of art ever since I've first watched Sailor Moon on television when the show made its debut here in the U.S. as a youngster and yearned to practice the stylè when I got older.

Nowadays, I may be slowly progressing in this field, as some of you who have checked out my handful of DBZ artwork might know, but in reality, I haven't nearly applied myself to improve as I should be. Although I can draw basic manga stuff (face, eyes, hands), I haven't even practiced how to do upper/lower body or hair properly, not to mention clothing. Keep in mind that I haven't progressed from these basic stages for three years now, so there's basically no excuse for expanding my skill in this. I'll attempt to get back on track with this one sometime, so here's hoping I don't lose focus again. ¬_-'

Oh, and this one brings me to my last resolution, which is...

6) Start watching some damn anime again!

Just to put it simply; anime has become a part of my life. It might be a silly comparison, but these Japanese cartoons were just as important to my viewing entertainment as when the Looney Toons were still showing here. Unfortunately, much like my exercising resolution, I've hadn't had the time to check out any new anime for a good while now, due to work and school. Thus, I really feel obligated to watch more series sometime this year and get the enjoyment I used to have when I was watching Yu Yu Hakusho! back when it was on Adult Swim (Uncut version = good times), so if you guys were to suggest some shows for me, I'll be glad to put them on my list of series to look for, and thanks in advance!

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Now that that's out of the way, I guess all that's left to say is what's going on for me right now. Can't say that there's a lot going on, but my little twin sisters' 14th B-day is this Saturday, and one of them happens to like the Bleach manga series, so I'll have no problem getting something for her. XD

I'm also really enjoying my new computer that I've got for X-mas, as well as the awesome games that came with it. I feel so spoiled right now with all this stuff, but I won't let it get to me. School is relatively easygoing right now, but my work is getting a little demanding lately; might be due to the cold snap we're experiencing here in Florida (it got to 22° last night, which is ungodly freezing down here) but nothing to worry about. If anything, I should worry about keeping our restaurant afloat with this damn economic recession we're still in. No lay-offs are happening thankfully, so it's all good for now.

Guess that's it for now, I might try updating this blog more often, like say... every other week, but I doubt I can ever keep my word for that. (Hmm, perhaps I should have made that a resolution, too) XD Anyway, we'll see how everything will play out this year and hopefully find it to be even better than 2008. Wish you all good luck with your own resolutions and I'll hope to catch you guys later!

(P.S. I just realized that twelve days ago, I have been here at Gamespot for five years... damn, just saying that sounds so long ago, but anyway, I'd just like to thank all my awesome friends here for all the great times we've shared here ^^ Here's to another five years!)

Well... this is a surprise, huh? You know, me making a blog entry and all, but I just thought it's time for an update.

I've been gone for at least two months now, and it could have been longer, but I think I dicked around long enough to get back into gear here. I could write essays about going in depth of what I've been up to, but for the sake of hindering laziness, I'll try to keep most of it summarized.

Back in early July, I've just started moving my junk out of my parent's house and getting it all transported to my new apartment building. Lucky for me, I don't have a lot of junk that I keep in my room, nor any over-sized furniture (I'm a very basic kind of person), but I do keep a decent amount of stuff in my closet. It's mostly boxes of my old toys, books, heirlooms, and special outfits/costumes. Through only two trips with my Tacoma pick-up did I get my entire room into the apartment, which was a breeze to set up. The real hurdle of this move-in, though, was helping my big sis (A.K.A. my new roommate) with moving her junk, which was a pain in itself, but also getting a new table, television, washer/dryer, couch, etc. was exhausting to say the least. But in the end, our "pad" now turns out to looks pretty swell. XD

After finally getting our apartment settled in, I've made plans to go to New Hampshire and meet my great-aunt Jill and great-uncle John, if I was able to get moved-in before my upcoming B-day (July 27th, BTW). I can be happy to say that I've met the deadline. ^_^ I haven't been up there since I was eight years old, and after eleven years later, it's as gorgeous as I remembered as a child. I've went fishing, went to a waterpark, drove a tractor & large boat, water-skiing, and finally, went up the tallest mountain in the Northeast, Mt. Washington. To top it all off, I've got to have my B-day up there, which meant a lot to me, since both my aunt and uncle are the most generous and kind-hearted people anyone will ever meet in their lives, and I was lucky enough to share it with them this year. Truly a wonderful feeling I haven't had ever since I first met Li...zz...

*sigh*

Speaking of Liz, however... I say with a heavy heart that Liz and I have split up, just last week and only a few days after I came back from New Hampshire... sure was a moodkiller... -_-' Well, it's not so much that we've broken up that tears me up, but it's that she told me that we don't see enough of each other anymore and it's not want she wants in our relationship. I can see her reasoning behind that, because after we graduated high school, we both went to separate universities and had different schedules with work all the time, so we've had a bit of a hard time to secure a day dedicated for both of us, but we've managed at least one day each week. We've been like this for months, but I never actually thought it was hurting our relationship so much, that we'd drift apart like this. It's upsetting, especially since she didn't tell me that she felt like this until recently... makes me question if even the love I've felt for her can be distrusting. -_-'

Well... I guess the only bright side of this is that she did say we'd still be friends, which I can live with I suppose, since she and I do get along like friends would (even though we were once a couple), but I doubt it'll be anytime soon when we see each other again. Right now, I just feel like not having to talk about or to do with intimate relationships and crap like that, so please pardon my bad-moodiness if I reveal myself as such. ¬_¬'

Anyhow... back to my new home; by this time, I've got Comcast cable & internet installed in our apartment, so I can finally say that DSL no longer plagues me as my ISP! (but I appreciated having it, even though it annoyed me with the constant disconnetions, plus it was better than dial-up XD) Also got a new job at this neat bistro restaraunt called "Panera Bread" nearby my place a couple weeks ago. Feels just like when I worked in Subway, but with more pay. ^^ Now getting to the present, I've got my next college semester starting next week, meaning that I'll be officially on my second year of college. Sophomore FTW! XD

So that just about wraps up my last couple months of life as I keep moving ahead. Feels great to have somewhere that I can call 'my place'. I visit my parent house ever so often, when I can, or if I need food. XD I'm still kind of hurting over the whole break-up, but I'll try to come around soon. I'll see if I can post in my friend's union as I catch up on stuff and see how everyone's doing. After some time, perhaps I'll even start playing & buying games again, since I haven't really touched my game systems since I moved out. -_-'

Whatever the case, thanks for taking the time to read this. I could get more in-depth about stuff, but I said I'd keep this brief (even though it might not look it), so that's it for now. Hope to see everyone again, soon!

Later,
drednot37

Well, thought it'd be time to update, and what better time than now, when I'm in a really good mood and also have good things to talk about? XD

For those who don't or didn't know, my girlfriend, Liz, had her 19th birthday just yesterday, and of course, it's pretty much obligatory for me to get the best present for her. (at least, that's what I've been told Xþ) Now normally, I'm downright terrible when it comes to getting the "right" gifts for someone, but luckily, Liz likes to play video games as much as I do, which definitely saves me hours of browsing through the lingerie and "Victoria's Secret" sections of the mall. XD

Being interested in the DS and the game "Nintendogs", it was clear that these were going to be my gifts to her... and they were. ^^ But...! Since I love her so much, I decided to throw in 'Super Mario 64 DS' and 'Tetris DS' right along with them. So does that sound excessive? Well, it may be to some, but all I know is just seeing her face light up in blissful happiness to her presents was all well worth the money spent. Oh, and of course, love factors in a bit, as well. ^^

But hey, that's not all; I'm also pleased to say that after almost a year since I've last used it, I've finally been able to get Photoshop installed back onto my computer, thanks to a good friend of mine letting me borrow his set. =) Now, back then around last year, I've had and used PS pretty often and loved making some neat artwork, that is until complications arose that led to my computer hard drive being reformatted and thus, deleted PS. ~_~, Since then, I've used alternate picture-editing programs until I could get PS again, because I think I can only get the most out of my artwork when they're made in PS (in my opinion). And now, looks like my wish has been granted. ^^ First thing I'm going to do with it is try making a new banner, one that sticks with the Super Smash Bros. theme that I employ in all my banners in the past. But I'll hold that off until I re-familiarize myself with everything once more; no doubt that I've forgotten quite a bit after a year of no-show. XD

Well, that's pretty much it for now. Oh, and I guess the excitement for SSBB coming in only two more days is worth mentioning, as well. ^^ So far, I think '08 has already surpassed '07 in terms of good breaks, rather than being a suck-fest of misfortune, and I have a good feeling that it'll continue so long as I keep looking forward. So for the first time in long duration... I can honestly say that I'm feeling good about my life. =) Hope that everyone else is doing great, as well, and find their own "silver lining" down the road so that you can all say the same one day. ^^

So it's been a whole year since the last post I've made in my profile; basically, it was a whole year of silence when it comes to this, but those who know me better knew that behind the speechlessness was due to many reasons that had burdened me so much last year.

So to summarize, 2007 really just flat out sucked... I mean, even though I began college last fall and had turned 18, all this seemed insignifcant as a whole. It was just a mishap going on after the other, but it really didn't get as bad until the second half of '07. Because of this, I felt very introverted and less cheerful, apparently trying to avoid anything that will cause more stress for me than I was already dealing with. Thus, this is where the silence is rooted from and had stretched on for a good while before I finally had the nerve to carry on, again. But! ...With some luck and encouragement, I slowly began to fade from my shyness and eventually, I found the resolve to put the hardships behind and forgotten, where they should be. With this redeemed outlook as we've entered into 2008, things began to be easier to deal with and thus, making most of 2007 nothing more than an afterthought.

So yeah, that's pretty much it in a nutshell. I'd have posted this anytime this month, but I'd thought it'd be more appropriate to wait on until the entire year had went by and on this particular holiday, which I find to be just as endearing as it was last year. Something else that I felt would be best was to erase my previous blog posts to make this "re-entry" official. But enough about that; no more talking of 2007 and let's move on to the "now'!

Now... it's been a really great Valentine's Day sharing it with Liz once again. We've spent most of the day together at Skyler's (a cool club for the older folk) and bowling (which she thoroughly schools me in XD) and then went to go eat at a normal restaurant called the Ale House (don't worry; no alcohol for us). Definitely had a great time with her and hope that a lot of you couples are having a great V-day, as well. ^^

Oh, and for a bit of a gaming update twist (since this is supposed to be a gaming site XD), I'm completely psyched for SSBB to be released at last! I'm sure that for those who know me better that I like to bring this game up quite a bit, so I guess you're not that surprised to hear this. XD But what can I say? I'm too stoked about it, I guess. Anyway, for those who have a Wii or plan to get one soon, I'd love to add your Wii Friend Code so that we can meet up in that game when it comes out and you can find mine right above my "Friend's List".

Whew, well, that should do it for now; I'll be updating this from time-to-time once more, so expect to hear from me again later. I'll catch you guys later and once again, Happy Valentine's Day!