Too Tired to Think of a Title

I was just reading Aisa Koh's blog and it hit me suddenly that I won't be seeing either her OR cynthia hsu for a long time. A painfully long time. And it makes me really sad. These two people have been really...really good friends to me. It's hard to imagine not seeing them on campus. Aisa with her craziness and Cynthia with her glaring. Sigh...

I wonder what my life is going to be like after graduation.

Review: The Elder Scrolls IV - Oblivion

You know how this started off as a TV/Video Game/Movie review blog? Let's take a nostalgic turn and delve deep into the artificial realism of all that is Oblivion.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

So i've (...omg I can't remember whether it should be "i've" or "I've." That's not good, is it?)...

Ok anywayyy. I've posted on Oblivion before, and always with enthusiasm. As you may already know, Oblivion is Bethesda Softwork's fourth installment in their long-running Elder Scrolls series. Morrowind (Oblivion's predecessor), was a graphically impressive, extremely open-ended game filled with thousands of npcs and a deeply political/religious storyline. Oblivion continues along the same lines, except the graphics are about 1000 times better, the quests are even more interesting, and the combat has been improved significantly.

Strangely, however, the experience on a whole has not been as great as I would have liked. Sure, in the beginning all the little perks were very enjoyable, but the whole game on a whole started to feel very repetitive.

Gameplay - 4.5/5

Oblivion's gameplay is excellent to say the least. The Elder Scrolls series has always been about exploration, and Oblivion accomplishes this goal without flaw. The world is truly beautiful, and there are little points of interest, dungeons, quests, and just about anything that would pique your imagination just scattered all over the place. Not only that, but Oblivion allows the player to get horses, to speed up exploration, or to quickly get the player past the more dull parts.

Just look at that landscape. It's even more beautiful than the real world! Cuz you know, the people of Oblivion haven't polluted the heck out of it yet.

Combat has also been significantly improved over Morrowind's generic hack and hack system. Yes, not hack and slash. Hack and hack. Morrowind's combat system was inherently dull, and this can be evidenced by one of the game's settings: "Always Use Best Attack." Uh...who would want to use a weaker attack? Note that there were only 3 types of attacks, and the only difference was the damage they dealt based on the strengths of the weapon. For example, spears could do some nice piercing damage, but using it to slash or crush probably wasn't a good idea. But because of the design, if you moved in the wrong direction, these weak and essentially useless attacks would execute anyway. Thus the "Always Use Best Attack." A cheap solution to a bigger problem, but I digress...

Combat now no longer divides attacks into damage type. Now, players will damage enemies based on multiple factors, as well as being able to execute a series of power attacks and flourishes, each with unique abilities. Admittedly, the number of these special attacks was very limited and on a whole they didn't look all that impressive...but still, combat could get very intense, especially with opponents hacking away at you while you try to stagger them with your shield and counter attack.

Eep. This isn't going to be a good day for me, is it?

The roguish arts have also been enhanced. Archery now allows the player to zoom in on enemies for instant kill head-shots. And persuasion and lockpicking now require playing fun little minigames, rather than just simply pressing a button.

Muahaha! Suffer my wrath, wooden board!

Uh...did you not see what I did to that wooden board?

The one thing that I was disappointed with is the magic system. The Elder Scrolls has never been a very good game for mages. While Oblivion has improved the system somewhat - auto regenerating magicka, for instance, the whole design feels somewhat lacking. All the effects look the same, regardless of the strength of the spell...and to be honest, the damage effect spells (frost, fire, and shock) don't really look all that impressive to begin with. Further, while the game allows the player a variety of spells to cast, some of the spells are pretty much useless.

Yea, if only this was a spell you could actually CAST. GAH!

Still, overall the gameplay is decent, if not excellent, and certainly a large step up from Morrowind. And that is saying something, considering Morrowind was one of the top games of 2002.

Graphics & Sound - 5/5

I think most professional game-review sites seperate these two categories, but in my opinion, there's really not much to be said about them. Or actually, I've already said it. Oblivion's graphics are AMAZING. And EVERYTHING looks good this time around, not just the environments (which are dazzling - snowscapes, grassy plains, cities, rivers...all of them are breathtaking). Sound is...well, I've never really cared about sound effects, as long as they sound close. Which they do. And did I mention the game was fully voiced? Too bad they only had a few voice-actors...some of the people started to look & sound very familiar.

I will mention the music in this game. Bethesda hired their long-time friend Jeremy Soule to compose all new music for Oblivion. Mr. Soule also did the Morrowind soundtrack, but while Morrowind's music was definitely very epic, eventually I got to the point where it all pretty much sounded the same. It was almost like the game only had one 30 minute long song and it was left on loop for the entire duration. While on a whole the composition was excellent, the individual songs didn't really have anything that made them stand out.

Oblivion's soundtrack solves that problem. Each piece is very thematic and unique. Did I mention I bought the soundtrack to the game...before the game even came out? It's just that good.

Story - 3/5

And here is where Oblivion left me feeling a bit disappointed. Morrowind's main story was filled with political intrigue, religious fanaticism, ancient prophecies and generally a very engrossing taste. Oblivion's on the other hand, is a rather generic adventure where you stop a great evil from devouring the world. And that evil really has no reason to do so, other than he's evil. The main characters along the story have no real personality (even with the excellent voice-acting). There were some twists and turns here that were somewhat interesting, but truth be told - the whole thing was generic at best.

That's a bad idea, my bony friends. A very bad idea indeed.

And that's not the worst of it. While Oblivion's quests are more interesting, the subplots that drive them are not necessarily. One of Oblivion's features is to allow the player to join multiple guilds (which they could in Morrowind as well). But the guild quests just didn't do it for me either. Really, Oblivion's story aspect is rather unordinary.

What did I tell you? You living dead are all the same...all bones and no brain. Wait, I guess that's kinda the point.

Story is very important to me, I guess. Without a good story, there's no sense of urgency, accomplishment, or anything.

Overall Score: 4.25/5

Despite its few weaknesses, I can not say that I did not enjoy this game. The storylines were just barely strong enough to keep me going, and I guess in the long run that's all that matters. I would definitely recommend this game to anybody aching for a good rpg-fest.

Anxiety

I really don't feel like updating...but I said I would. So now I feel obligated. Blah.

The truth is, I thought I would have more to say than I actually do. That happens to me a lot actually. Maybe I'm just tired and can't remember what I wanted to say.

I'm growing more and more anxious as the new school year approaches. I feel like I have so many more responsibilities this year, all of which I volunteered for. What madness is this?! My inherent laziness is waging a desperate war against my fear of not being able to find a job after graduation. I really just want to take time off and enjoy my senior year...really enjoy it. Even if it's just lounging around. Once work starts, there will be precious little time to actually do that.

I'd also like to have a school year where I'm not caught up trying to find that special someone. It's just too frustrating for me to deal with 3 years in a row.

...but then I think that it will never be as easy as it is now. Having to work really limits one's dating opportunities, simply because you don't have as much time. God, I'm such a wishy washy ambivalent arse. Make up my mind, slitch!

Making new friends/meeting new people is also kind of daunting. I seriously feel drained. I think my summer hermitty phase is in preparation for meeting people during the school year, but this summer has been so hectic that I haven't really had the chance to sink into seclusion. Sigh...I hope I'll be able to get along with my floor...

Sometimes I feel distant from everybody - like no one really sees me for who I really am. I think that might be because I don't really like who I really am. I'm a whiny, emotional, lazy, unambitious, depressed-when-he-doesn't-have-the-right-to-be son of a biatch. At least, I think if I didn't keep myself in check, that would be me. I always feel like sinking into that pit of self-pity, when honestly I don't deserve to. And there's no real point to it.

Woo...my mom is coming downstairs to tell me to go to bed. So byeee!

Maybe tomorrow will be better.

Update...later.

I was going to update...but now I have to shower. Okay, bye bye.

Eataholism

After 21 years of miserable existence, I have finally admitted to myself. I have a problem. A terrifyingly addicting problem: I am an eataholic.

They say the first step to a cure is admitting you have a disease.

Unfortunately, my disease is necessary to my continued existence. You see, eating, unlike drugs, sex, alcohol, or gaming, is a necessary part of life. And since I have no intention of dying (of starvation no less), I am in quite a pickle. Mmm...pickles...

The problem isn't so much eating...as it is over-eating. On an average daily basis I would approximate that I eat maybe 3 meals worth of food in one sitting. And I can't help myself. Once I put something into my mouth, my brain no longer controls my body. My stomach does. No, not even my stomach. My stomach often cries out in pain as I continue to gorge on delicious treats. It's my mouth. Damn my mouth to the nine circles of hell!

But in all seriousness, my desire to eat truly dictates my life. Even when I tell myself that I'm going to control the size of my meals for the day, I end up failing miserably. The first servings only whet my appetite - appetizers for a grand feast that my brain doesn't want to consume. My god even right now I'm very tempted to stop typing this post to find a tasty snack to munch on. The SHAME.

...I need help.

...help me. Please?

Atrothesis, Dark Angel

So I totally got chewed out on sunday for being a big flake. Although this time it really wasn't me being a flake! Just a very bad planner.

Anyway me and the usual high school group I still keep in touch with made plans to get dinner sunday night. Then on saturday my brother told me he needed to be picked up on sunday around 7:30.

Yay for brothers. Especially kid ones.

Basically there was no way I was going to make dinner if I had to pick up my bro. By the time I got to the restaurant it'd be time to leave. Much to my surprise though, one of my friends got upset. Really upset. I couldn't understand it at first...it was just dinner right? And it wasn't like I couldn't hang out after.

When I asked him why he was so angry, he said to me:

"Because our group is falling apart."

For which I have newfound respect for him. This summer has been pretty craptacular for hanging out, what with some friends out of the country, others in socal, and what with work and internships and summer school, it's been pretty hard to coordinate events.

What struck me most though, is that this guy had the guts to call it out. And to challenge me to make the effort to keep it going. My feelings toward group-disbanding has always been that it's inevitable. People move away, don't see each other for awhile...it's only natural that things won't be able to stay the same. Even me just moving up the hill to Hedrick practically cut me off from my second-year friends.

...to be honest though, the biggest reason why I never keep in touch is because I'm insecure. I absolutely hate feeling like I'm unwanted, which is why I very rarely visit people in their rooms. I remember Peter and Michelle accusing me of no longer being their friend the next year, because I never visit them, and that I never make an effort to be a friend. The truth is I'm scared to have to make an effort, and end up being unwanted, annoyed at, mocked.

Which is why when this guy was fighting to keep our high school group alive, I couldn't help but admire his bravery. Maybe he didn't think it was anything of the sort, but to me his words are what I've always wanted to say, but what I've always been too scared to say. Too embarassed. Too weak.

I ended up apologizing to him about missing dinner. There wasn't much I could do about it though...my brother needed to be picked up after all. Still, we hung out afterwards and everything was good. I think. I hope.

I'm glad he chewed me out. Not that I enjoyed it...but I got to see a side of him that I don't usually. And I found out that as long as there are people like him around, even if groups do end, they don't have to right away. Not for a long time.

Pointlessness

I was going to write a post about my crazy wacky driving adventures and how I stare at people who are behind me when I drive (through the rear view mirror yes)...

...and then I realized how utterly dull and pointless that post would've been.

WHEE!

In other news,

...

I guess I have no other news. Bye!

Judge a man not by his words...but by what he puts on his Gym Reimbursement Form

Handling Boston Scientific's wonderful Gym Reimbursement Calculation is one of many exciting (you can see the sarcasm there right?) and amusing (sadly, there is no sarcasm there) duties at work. Boston Scientific reimburses its employees up to 150 dollars every 6 months for any gym memberships and such.

It's interesting to see to just what lengths some people will do to collect as much of that $150 as possible.

Among the more...unique reimbursement requests included someone who had prepaid 100 dollars for an entire year, and then said his monthly rate was $10. Now, I don't know how division has changed in these last few years, but the last time I checked, 100 / 12 months is not $10/month. Which makes me sad, because either this person can't divide, or he really wanted that twenty bucks, so much that he would lie on a Gym Reimbursement form to get it.

And then there was one person who was part of a badminton group. Everything on the form looked fine...until I flipped the page. The receipts he had submitted were for expenses that he had incurred paying for food.

...

Yea, that was entirely the point of reimbursing gym expenses. Not promoting health...promoting eating.

And here's my random nasty story of the day. On the way back from work, I ran into some traffic. I happened to glance at my rear view mirror, and from that wonderful reflection I saw a half-naked guy driving, smiling, and looking down at...you know what...every few seconds.

...maybe my mind is just in the gutter, but what the hey was he doing?!

Nothing to do, Nothing to say...

This summer sure feels like it's going by fast. It's already the middle of july!

I guess having something to do really does speed time along. All I can remember is last year I was desperately waiting for summer to end, because I had nothing to do and was bored out of my mind.

I finally feel like a part of Boston Scientific. I was worried that I wouldn't for awhile...I was sort of antisocial the first few days (yea, that's always the best time to be antisocial), and that lead to me generally spending all day at my cubicle. Which I have to say, gets kind of dull at times.

But now things are going pretty good. There are a few people at work I'm pretty close with. Maybe not close close, but we can joke around and enjoy ourselves. And everybody else is still pretty friendly. Apparently I missed most of the drama, cuz from what my coworkers have told me, things were pretty bad before...

I guess I can still get bored, as evidenced by this conversation I'm having with David right now:

[17:37] wangxiuming: rawr
[17:37] durek08: meow?
[17:37] wangxiuming: cluck
[17:38] durek08: woof
[17:38] wangxiuming: quack
[17:40] durek08: chirp
[17:41] wangxiuming: snort
[17:41] durek08: squeek
[17:44] wangxiuming: mooo
[17:48] durek08: naaayyyyy
[17:49] wangxiuming: squawk

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

...what am I doing?

The Silent Excrement Wars

So I was at work today.

And suddenly I felt my stomach rumble and my intestines twist. (Yea, you know this is going to be a good post when I start off like that).

I rushed off to the bathroom...which I must say, is probably one of the most ingenious creations of mankind, along with the air conditioner and computer (games). Without bathrooms and their assorted utilities, we'd all be excreting into pots. Can you imagine?

Unfortunately, since I was at the office, the bathroom was public. And public bathrooms tend to be...you know, public. Which is why I don't usually like going numero dos in public bathrooms. For some reason, I am mortally afraid that people will hear me and know what I'm doing. All the *plop plops* and the even more humiliating gaseous sound effects that come with the whole dirty business.

Yea, are you disgusted yet?

So anyway, I rush into the bathroom and to my dismay, someone comes in after me. Dam you public restroom! I head over to the farthest stall from the door, and begin my daunting task: pooping with another person in the room.

So now began the difficult and somewhat counter-productive attempt to not only poop but to poop quietly. As I settled in (haha...), I realize that the person who had followed me into the bathroom was also...going numero dos. Not only that, but he was succeeding in my task...relatively well (relatively being the operative word). No way was I going to be shown up by some random stranger who works at the same place I do!

Thus commenced the Silent Excrement Wars. For 5 minutes, we sat there in total silence, each desperately trying to mask the terrible sounds of our unpleasant actions.

Who won? I have no idea. I waited until the guy left before coming out of my own stall. Thankfully no one else had come in, so I could wash my hands in peace.

And there you have it! I <3 my stories.

...maybe this is why I don't have any ... friends.

Disclaimer: This picture has nothing to do with my political opinions about our current President. Please do not sue me, arrest me, accuse me of terrorism, or in any other way violate my civil liberties. Thank you.

ADM: AOL Delayed Messaging

I've come to the realization, after having experienced 21 summers in this existence of mine, that summer is not a good time to Instant Message other people. I know this from both having sent messages that are never returned...and from not responding to messages other people have sent me.

So yea...I already have horrible AIM etiquette to begin with, but for some reason summer just sucks up my will to look at my messages. I think it's partly because when I live at home I naturally revert to hermit form. It's so easy to just stay home and not do anything, especially now that I'm working and I don't get much relax time during the week anyway ("that much" is relative...but compared to last summer where my work week consisted of 3 hours of tutoring English...).

So I just want to apologize in advance if you IM me and I don't respond. I try to respond eventually...but more likely than not I forget. Because I'm a horrible person. I'm sorry. There is no excuse.

And yes, you can ignore me all you want if I IM you. I guess I deserve it.

Resolutions...again.

It dawned on my today that senior year is coming up...and that it would be my last chance to do a lot of things. Seriously, I am going to miss college to death. Everything is so easily accessible here, but out in the workforce...

I can see myself being a hermit. I'm just a naturally hermity person.

But even if that is the case, I want senior year to be great. So at least when I'm a hermit I'll have some memories to look back on and say "hey, i wasn't always a hermit! biattchhh!!!"

Goals:

Goal #1 - Find that special someone.

This is probably my most pressing issue. That I have lived for 21 years and still have yet to engage in even the slightest bit of romance is probably the most depressing part of my life. haha. It's my own fault, I know...but I had issues.

To be honest, the opportunity has presented itself during these last 3 years...just not the right kind of opportunity. For which I feel horrible for the people involved... Heartache sucks. I probably should have told them...I'm a coward. All I can do now is apologize. :(

Still, back to my original point, college is probably going to be the easiest time to meet people. Because they're right there. When I actually have to work...who am I going to meet? My co-workers? (ew accountants! *barf* haha jk) I don't go clubbing, I'll probably be a hermit...yea, things don't look too good.

Even if it's only for a year...or less...(probably less...wait no, probably not at all. sigh) I really want to - feel.

...I never knew I was so emo. Damn. I hate being emo.

Goal #2 - Stop liking people who can't like me.

I guess this sort of ties in with Goal #1...but whatever.

Seriously, this has been the most frustrating thing ever. And I always come out of it feeling like an idiot. BLEARGH.

Ok I have to go work...more on this later. Maybe.

Return of the Super

So...yeah. As you can see, I am bored, otherwise I wouldn't be blogging.

I started watching Full Metal Alchemist again...it's been exactly a year since I started watching that fantastic series, and it's still quite good. Depressingly, it's also been a year since there's been any semblance of quality in Naruto. The fillers keep on coming, and there seems to be no forseeable end. BOO!

In other news, Superman Returns made its super debut today, generally to critical acclaim. Better than X-3 anyway. Personally I'm not sure how well Brandon Routh is going to fill Christopher Reeves' shoes (he seems kind of...vapid. And a little like a mannequin :X), but the reviews are heartening. I also hear Kevin Spacey's performance as Lex has been good...and that's with two excellent competitors (Michael Rosenbaum on Smallville, and Cartoon Lex from Justice League).

I just realized I praised Smallville. How odd.

That is...the only expression this guy has. Poor Lois.

The internship is going well...although I do wish they would give me something to do besides stare at invoices all day. I swear, if I see another invoice I'm going to explode.

Still, my boss and coworkers are really nice, and I even have my own cubicle and everything. That was really exciting for some reason. My first day I kinda just sat in my cubicle, grinning.

...yea, that passed fast :P Still, it was fun while it lasted.

Calm Before the Storm

Last few minutes before I head off to my internship!

...i hope i don't get fired.

EEP

Somebody remind me to sign up for classes!

The End.

I just want to thank all the wonderful people I met and got to know this year. You know who you are. Or maybe you don't. Well, now you know. I mean YOU.

:)

I'm cold.

Fee Fie Fo Fum

Fook.

I had the strangest dream the other day. I was dreaming that I was running for VP of Finance for some random organization, and then this random girl from my high school started attacking my character. She accused me of being VP of Finance for some organization and squandering all of its money.

The strangest thing is that I haven't seen or talked to her in AGES. We barely knew each other to be honest. I remember being really shocked during the dream when she started slandering me.

I ended up telling her off...but I don't remember what happened next. Maybe I woke up.

In other news, BAY, PIC, and ECON 160 are going to take over my life this week.

Smallville's season finale was...disappointing. The whole show just disappoints me. I don't know why I still watch it. BLEARGH. Yea, I'm going to keep saying it until it changes.

I've been very hermitty this quarter...but I lack the energy to care. Every weekend all I feel like doing is going to sleep and wasting away. Lovely waste.

Stay in your own lane, bitch.

So I went swimming today. I got there relatively early (around 9) and the pool was almost empty except for a few other swimmers.

I got into one of the middle lanes, and started doing laps. About 10 laps in, I saw some random guy approach my lane.

...and I was like, no way bitch.

...not really, but there were at least two other open lanes! He asked me if we could split the lane, and I was like...uh....sure....

..and of course once he got in he swam so fast that he lapped me multiple times. Granted he was wearing one of those paddle-glove thingamajigs, but still. boo. boo on him.

anyway, that's my rant for today. Huzzah!