Angel Voice

So once again, I manage to not post anything for an entire year. Go figure. Anyhow, life is going alright I suppose. Rocky bits here and there, dumb decisions made, bad habits formed. But I’m working on it. On the anime side, Macross Frontier didn’t really deliver for me, and I’m not sure how to take it. The first episode, as you can see from my last entry, really impressed me. Sadly, the series didn’t carry through, the storyline going in a strange direction that ultimately was not very satisfactory. The combat didn’t deliver either, since we never got scenes and moves that would suggest that these things are supposed to be superior to previous modes in that a pilot can push themselves farther than characters like Guld or Isamu could in their YF-21 and YF-19, respectively. Some of the songs just weren’t very pretty either, though a good number is still alright. Gundam 00 is looking to not be all that bad, though the Second Season is kind of not doing the same, though I blame that mostly on 00-Raiser being ridiculously broken compared to everything else in the series. Well, its not absolutely terrible yet, so I’m just hoping that they work something awesome out by the end of the series.

Watched a marathon of Kamen Rider Kiva, just to get through the series despite not really warming up to it when it first aired. Unlike his son, Wataru Kurenai[the main character], Otoya Kurenai in the past arc of story is fairly awesome and does manly badass things every now and then, though he is quite the flirt otherwise. He makes use of the first IXA System to become Kamen Rider IXA, though the version he uses puts a lot of strain on the body, unlike the IXA used by Keisuke Nago in the present day. Nago is also quite a cool person, initially introduced as a man with an extreme superiority complex and a bounty hunter with an obsession with buttons. However, as the series goes on, Nago begins to change and becomes even more of a badass with several flipping amusing antics occasionally. While I didn’t like Kamen Rider Kiva when it was airing, I think its not a bad series to watch, provided that you marathon through it now that its done. The new Heisei Kamen Rider series has already started airing, though I have some mixed thoughts about it at this point. Kamen Rider Decade is a Rider that has to travel to nine different worlds and ‘destroy all the Kamen Riders’ in order to save the world(s). These nine worlds are the nine Heisei Kamen Rider series that aired prior to Decade, and the series so far has its mixed bag of good and bad things. Good things at the moment include the possibility to be the most awesome Rider series in history, though bad things at the moment include a slightly inconsistent plot and characterization as well as a rather disgusting ability, the Final Form Ride cards. Although only one has been used so far, Gouram Kuuga looks rather bad, stupid, or maybe even ridiculous. Still, only time will tell if Kamen Rider Decade lives up to its title as the 50th Anniversary Kamen Rider series.

On the game side, Left 4 Dead is quite a fun game. Its a typical zombie game, a horde of undead monsters versus a group of four just trying to get through and survive. But its rather fast paced, with zombies simply bolting at you with the intent to beat you to death. The gameplay has its good and its bad points. For both the Survivors and the Infected, there is no hitbox detection among your own type, though while that’s a good thing in some ways, its also a bit of a problem when people happen to walk right in front of you as your shotgun goes off. Whoops, sorry there. The Survivors also have a melee ability, shoving back zombies with brute force, and while that doesn’t shove back deadlier Infected like the Witch or the Tank, it does a good job of keeping pretty much every other Infected away. When the whole team is stacking it up in the corner, it tends to be hard to do much to hurt them. Regardless, its a fairly fun game to play, with four Campaign stories that you can play alone with AI friendlies or online with friends or other people. Two of these stories can be played in Versus mode, where four players form the Survivor team and the remaining four form the Infected team. Both get a shot at going through that section of the stage as the Survivors with the other team playing the Infected. Ultimately, the team that can get through the stages more intact than the other gets more points and the victory, so its up to the Infected to hinder them and make sure every single one of them dies.

So more or less, I’ve done some really stupid things, but I’m trying to look at things a different way and do things right this semester. Not sure what tomorrow holds, but hopefully… Its not a bad thing.

Reach for the sky! This is what you wanted!
Believe you can reach the blue sky!
Reach for the sky until you make it!
Even if it means sacrificing everything…
Who can control White Justice: The Individual System?

So yeah, haven’t posted an entry in ages, but finally, here’s the latest! I now go to San Jose State, Aerospace Engineering major. Just finished my first semester of college, which was pretty good, all things considered. As far as confirmed grades go, I got a B in Calc I and an A in ME96A, which isn’t too bad. Expecting an A or a B for Chem and Engineering though.

Though on non-academic stuff, I’m doing Boxing Club now, and that’s pretty fun. Not exactly sure what else I want to say at the moment, but at home, I’m doing alright too. Not too much time to spend on my other interests, but with the break, I’m slipping in some time. Currently watching Gundam 00, which is a pretty good series. The plot is alright, though iffy at some parts, but all in all, its not bad, once one considers the animation quality and the music. The mecha in the series have great designs, with fresh looks, which has to do with the new mechanical designer for the series. And looking forward to the airing of Macross Frontier this coming April, having seen a preview of the Director’s Cut of the first episode, and really, I’m impressed by the animation quality. Hopefully, this series will turn out very nicely, but only time can tell.

And about other things on my mind… I always believed that magic existed out there. Whether it’s the type you see in fantasy stories, or the type that one does. As a person once said, “Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” I still believe that is the case with everything in life. Everyone is capable of this magic, simply as long as they have the power to dream and help people in need. You don’t need to be a superman or a rich person. You just need to have the will to help others and a young heart not afraid to dream…

It it’s okay if it’s only once.
Please let me see your dream on this evening only.
I can surely say “Sayonara” to my once cowardly self.
If we can meet…
What kind of last song shall we dance to until morning?
No one can come between us on this midsummer night.

So yeah, classes began at SJSU last week on Thursday, on the 23rd of August. The first few days went alright, since I was able to rearrange my schedule in a way so that I’d have a majority of my classes fit in. Currently taking 14 credits’ worth of classes: Introduction to Chemistry(CHEM10), Calculus I with Precalculus(MATH30P), Introduction to Engineering(ENGR10) and Empowering Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Students(ME96A). I’ve seen quite a few people from Independence going to SJSU, which is pretty amusing. I see Cecilia and Minh every now and then, especially since we have the same ENGR10 Seminar. XD But yeah, I’ve met quite a few people in my classes and stuff, and a few people from Orientation.

Probably going to try Work/Study, since I don’t have much better to do in the various time gaps between classes I have here and there. But yeah, everything is coming along alright so far. Nothing that bad so far… My Calc teacher is very picky about notation, but that’s not something to really complain about on my half. But yeah, I visited Indy this last week too! I visited already on Thursday, but I visited again on Friday because Dong told me to go visit during her Modern Dance period. Made it back to SJSU just in time for my ME96A class. XD

But yeah, in other news… Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is continuing to deliver. Very epic stuff you’re giving us, Gainax. I would heavily recommend checking it out ASAP, though if you wait a bit, ADV should release it, since they have it licensed already for North American distribution. Simon’s drill truly is a drill that pierces the heavens. Can’t wait to see how this series ends. Kamen Rider Den-O is coming along rather nicely itself as well. Looking forward to seeing how this series ends as well, as well as a fansub release of the Kamen Rider Den-O Movie: I am Born!, though that might not come out till next year. But I’m not complaining~. In the series though, Den-O’s Climax Form is rather amusing. Looking forward to seeing how Liner Form is like.

Recently rewatched Gun x Sword. Still love Ray and the Vulcan, especially when they start decking that thing out with heavy weaponry. Wouldn’t say its exactly say that its plot-strong, but it is somewhat consistent in statements made throughout the series, and the mecha combat is amusing, as well as the various references made to other mecha series. For example, the Mexican combiner robot, El Dora Five makes multiple references to various mecha of the Brave Saga in the poses it makes, the concept, as well as in its attacks. The Original Seven, mecha originally designed to keep guard over the prison planet that the series takes place on, are somewhat interesting mecha as well, each of these machines corresponding to one of the seven days of the week. I’m not going to elaborate on these, but I will say that if you’re not exactly picky about your anime having super-elaborate plots, Gun x Sword isn’t a bad anime to check out.

Anyhow, I’m just about out of ideas on what to talk about, so its about time to wrap this post up! The song of the day is from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and serves primarily as an insert song, though it was used in Episode 16 as the episode’s ending theme (Episode 16 was a recap episode). Its sung by Nakagawa Shouko, who also sings the series’ opening song, Sora Iro Days, which translates to Six-Colored Days.

Happiness has a tiny sorrow to it, wherein we always realize
For the first time that it was happiness once we part with it.
I’m sure we can still make it even now, so I have only one wish…

So I’ve more or less copy-pasted a copy of a few posts I’ve made on my trip at a message board I frequent, with an edit here and there.

Anyhow, I’ve been spending the last few days since my return from Taiwan catching up on stuff, more or less. Went to see The Simpsons Movie with Michael and Thor on Saturday. It was certainly hilarious to epic proportions. I don’t usually watch The Simpsons, but I do have to say, it was very amusing. Saw the Fox11 report on “Anonymous, Hackers on Steroids”, and it was hilarious, if only for the report’s complete inaccuracy, but was to be expected of Fox News, once one considers the articles they’ve made in the past, such as the one about child molesters and pedophiles being able to exploit children through the NDS’s wireless capabilities.

In other things, Gurren-Lagann is looking very nice. Caught up to the end of the first arc, the defeat of Lord Genome, and that fight was rather cool. Rossiu, among a few other characters, are looking to be very unlikable after the timeskip, though the introduction of the Human Extermination System and the Anti-Spirals makes one wonder at what amazing levels of epic win this series is clearly going to be at the climax scene. And speaking about climax Scene, Kamen Rider Den-O is coming along very nicely. We’ve seen more about Ryoutarou and have seen him evolve from a luckless sucker to a still-luckless sucker, but one that we can see courage and strength in. They’ve also been building up for the Kamen Rider Den-O movie not just in commercials, but even in-series as well! Episode 24 showed us the very stylish Wing Form that is to appear in the Den-O Movie, although the cameo was a bit short. Episode 25, on the other hand, made me laugh quite a bit. Cleverly slipping in eye candy in the form of short bits from the movie, the Den-O Movie is connected to the series much more than most Kamen Rider movies have been connected to the series in the past. In both Rider and Lagann, I’m expecting to see win of very epic proportions.

As for the title of today’s post? A song from Macross 7, a very nice series really, despite the flaming it gets from those who can’t accept the emphasis placed on the power of song over other elements that make it Macross.

God is too busy at the moment, he cannot lend us a hand.
This world is a bit weird, like a merry-go round.
Not everything can be good,
Sometimes the storm comes.
Love will save your heart,
The honest eyes sketching dreams.
Love will save this world,
Someday we will see the light…

Anyhow, me and my siblings went to a theme park of sorts called Leofoo Village with my aunts and cousin. The rides were alright, and they had some pretty nice stuff there. Since the place used to be a zoo, they still use a lot of animals in some things, like a bird show, which was pretty interesting. Some of the rides seemed kinda corny though. XD Saw a white tiger there.

Can’t really recall if anything of note happened from Tuesday to Thursday, but I’ll assume not, since I can’t really think of anything that happened. Friday, we headed to the airport at about 8 or 9 PM to see if there was space on the next flight to SFO. Found out our visas expired that day. XD Anyhow, mom got pissed since we were next on the waiting list, but they went and gave a seat to some guy that came hella late. Even had the nerve to demand a better seat. Asshole.

Came across another woman waiting for a flight back, but she’d been waiting since yesterday. Eventually ended staying the night in the airport. Couldn’t really get much sleep upstairs at the departure hall, so some time in the morning, we moved down to the arrival hall at the first floor. Much more comfortable, also because they had couches down there. Slept a bit, woke up halfway to a little kid screaming “I DON’T WANT MY SODA ANY MOOOOREE!!!” at the top of his lungs. I assume something went down to make him upset or something. Went back to sleep… somehow.

More or less wasted a few hours at the airport. Sis wouldn’t let me play OG2 on her SP, so add to the boring factor. Auntie came around 9-10 with food and drink, and I was happy, for I could feast away my hunger. Decided it wasn’t worth it to stay at the airport, so we went home. Not exactly fun, hauling up the luggage that was a pain in the ass, mostly because my oldest sister stuffed some suitcases full and not others, so we had two that were much heavier than the rest. Killed time till nightfall, watching the Yugioh movie. XD God, it was more or less just an extended episode that was corny and overblown as usual.

Sunday, we went to where my grandmother and grandfather (both on my mother’s side, my grandmother that recently passed away was on my father’s side.) had their ashes kept. Later went to Fa Gu San/Dharma Drum Mountain, had lunch there, looked around. Very beautiful place.

Monday, we went back to the airport. We had three seats for sure, but we needed two more. =| The lady we met at the airport on Friday was still there, as upset at China Airlines as usual. Anyhow, paid our visa fines and waited to see if there was any space. There was one, but the lady got it, which we didn’t mind either, since she had waited at the airport longer. So on the flight, I sat next to someone who did real estate, and we had a bit of a conversation, though that didn’t last too long. Blew time on the flight playing F-Zero since the only way we were able to get seats was to upgrade our tickets from Economy to Dynasty class.

Arrived at SFO at around 7:15 PM. Going through customs was no problem. Its never really a problem coming into the country compared to going out of it. Got home, and everything feels so… big now. Got a newer monitor to replace the older one I’ve been using as a replacement, and it is much bigger than my last one. Still, using my mother’s comp for now, since we’re lacking a VGA cable for it.

So random things about my trip that I feel like stating. Damn, I will miss drinking loads of Yakult. The ones they sell in the US just aren’t as good. Might miss the movie channels, since we don’t have cable at home. Damn, it was one heck of a way to spend time, watching martial arts movies and all. XD

Still, I am very happy to be back. I have returned. I am home.

Whole load of crap has been going down, can’t really recall the stuff closer to the beginning of the month, but I do remember a few parts. So from what I can last recall… We went with my uncle to go sightseeing, stopping by Yeiliu Geopark, some crazy looking rocks there, man. Spent quite a large portion of the day looking around there, but when we got back, we went to a national monument of sorts, with soldiers in uniform and all. We got to see them close up the place, with two of those guys doing a whole buncha stuff. But what was more amusing was that this tourist kid, for some reason, either couldn’t tell that the soldiers were real, and got up on the raised platform that one of them was on. Prompt bang from soldier slamming butt of rifle on the platform, and kid goes, “Oh shit, he’s real!” or something like that. That was amusing.

Anyhow, since my memory is utter crap, I’m going to skip to yesterday. Went with little brother to a MtG tourney, got a whole load of cards, and had a great time. I got owned more or less, but a player I had played against in the second round kinda gave me some pointers on how I should make my deck, since the tournament was Sealed Deck format, where you more or less make your deck out of boosters. Didn’t notice it when making it, but I had way too many sorceries and instant cards, not enough monsters. XD But hey, I got some pretty nice cards. Phage the Untouchable happened to be in the pile I made my deck out of. XD Still, it was a shame that I couldn’t get a Reya Dawnbringer card, mostly because they ran out of supplies.

And for random other comments now… Played some Dynasty Warriors 4 at my cousin’s house, it was rather fun. Also, it appears that my mum is pushing up the date of our return, Tina says its because she feels that its way too hot here or something. Also got to hear the difference between a German-made cello and an Italian-made cello when we went out to a few instrument shops to find Tina a cello. But aside from that, missing you guys.

So on Sunday, the 24th, my Grandma’s funeral took place. Went to my aunt’s house early in the morning, arrived before my other relatives. And then after they arrived, we recited the stuff for the meal offering. Afterwards, we all drove down the mortuary, or however it is spelled, and then we had the main section of the funeral. About 4-5 hours later, I rode with a smaller number of my relatives to where my grandmother used to live to move her nameplate for the funeral there. We then left and returned to Taipei, driving up a mountain to reach where my grandmother’s ashes were placed. After that, we went back to my aunt’s house and ate dinner. Saw a documentary on Ferrari on National Geographic over dinner, and joined my siblings in another room to watch a small bit of Monsters Inc. We then went back to my other aunt’s house to sleep and whatnot.

After that, the days after were a bit… well, monotonous. Watched a few movies and anime, amongst other things, like a good couch potato. And then Sunday, the 1st came. We went back down to where my grandmother’s nameplate was, to join my relatives again for another recitation for post-funeral purposes, or something like that. Lunch came along, and we ate with kids at one table, adults at another. We had the job of eating our table clean, which was a bit difficult with the vegetables alone, a losing battle once another of my aunts brought fruits and buns into the picture. Still, we managed to clean a good number of the plates, compared to what was going on at the adults’ table… Returned to Taipei with my relatives and family, went to a Buddhist facility, not really sure whether it was a monastery or another classification of location. We spent about 2-3 hours reciting a sutra of some sorts, and after that, returned home. Went over to my aunt’s house, where me and my siblings split, my sisters going with my aunt to make some soap at her office and me, my mother, and my brother off to my other aunt’s house where my mother’s computer was, and we spent a couple of hours catching up on things back home in the states, online. Watched a few unit vids for Original Generations, and I do have to say, the Armorlion is very impressive. Good job, Ryoto Hikawa. Set up my mom’s computer for internet here, and she spent a sizable chunk of time handling her bills and whatnot.

Today, we went to my aunt’s house again, and my sisters spent time catching up on their internet biz, I updated Starcraft: Brood War today, and though I didn’t get to play, I’m hoping I’ll be able to play against the peeps in the chat some time, though I’m expecting that playing once I get home is probably the more likely time. Sisters spent one heck of a time on the comp, and we went back to my aunt’s house where we were staying. It was rather monotonous from then on, though we got a laptop we can use for the time being. I do have to say though, I have no goddamn idea how you manage to live on Dial-up anymore, Aki. Maybe its because I’ve been spoiled by a DSL connection.

And on random notes, ice cubes melt hella fast here, noticing that Sanz is racking up the mass posts in A3, and a bit sad that the time difference is so huge here. Missing you all, though on another note, I might have to come back a bit sooner, with SJSU’s orientations looking to be not so flexible… Anyhow, hoping you all are doing great and farewell, till we see again.

So we left for the airport on the 19th, yadda yadda. The bus ride was rather… uneventful, though after we got to the airport, that was a bit of a different story. After a slight mistake where we got into the wrong line, we eventually got past the ticket counter stuffs, and then came the security checkpoint. Oh goodie, the national security level was orange, of all things, so we had a limitation on how many liquids we could take on and, being the idiot I am, had packed a small bottle of sunscreen with my carry on stuff. That ended up being thrown away, anyhow. 1:45 AM came along, and we boarded the plane.

The flight itself was rather uneventful, and the food they served to the vegetarian passengers wasn’t… anything to write about, really. Watched a few movies here and there, slept for the most part, and ended up in Taiwan at around 5:50ish. Got through Customs, or whatever they call it, and went to the baggage pickup. Lo and behold, we got our baggage… Well, most of it. Turns out that someone else on the flight had a very similar bag to the one me and my brother had packed our stuff in, though the weight difference was certainly a big one, since my brother had lugged along books for his AP summer homework. And the fact that they had even made their bag more recognizable with a red ribbon on theirs, they had managed to take ours. So until we got back in the afternoon, I was kinda deprived of clean clothing after showering.

Got to our aunt’s house, dropped our stuff off, and ate breakfast. And then we took the bus to my other aunt’s house to do some praying for my deceased grandmother. Rinse and repeat for the last few days, save me getting online yesterday, attending my cousin’s elementary graduation the day before, visiting my cousin’s house today and hanging out(aka, watching anime), and the obligatory channel skimming when we really have nothing better to do. Watching a lot more TV than I normally do at home, mostly on the anime and movie channels. XD

On the bus line we take between both of my aunt’s houses, I happened to see what appeared to be a hobby store of some sorts. I saw a large Great Mazinger and Grendizer in the window, still have yet to take a picture of them though.

But yeah, so far, its been relatively uneventful, I suppose. Tomorrow, we be having the funeral, so I might be a bit more free after this Sunday. Not that I’ll be able to be online as much as I normally am, but that’s aside from the point. Missing you all, about a month and three weeks to go now… See ya guys!

This year is more or less closed, with the end of Senior Finals. High School was a fun time for me, filled with good memories with the people I spent my time with, with bitter memories cementing a beautiful portrait of my life. I want to thank everyone that I’ve spent these last four years with, though I might not have known you all very well. I don’t know what to say, really. These next few people are the first ones that come to mind.

= Dara S. - You’re a great person. You kinda showed a more rough side this year, but you’re really thoughtful to others, and you’re a beautiful dancer. Keep on till you grasp your dreams with your hands!
= Janan H. - We get along alright. Partners for various things all across these four years, and I hope we never let each other down in all that groupwork. I can’t remember, really. XD
= Andrew T. - Fun stuff went down this year. I’m sure you’ll do fine next year, and keep on with the guitar. By the way, you need to give me a recording of you playing Psyga, Wondrous Power when you get around to finishing it. You did an amazing job with Trombe!, those small errors be damned.
= Lance W. - Hopefully, we’ve both gotten over those issues we had earlier this year. Good luck in college, and keep in touch! By the way, you should get around to unblocking me on AIM some time, since you seem to be forgetting or something.
= Jennifer L. - You’re a fun person to be around, and we’ve always gotten along rather well. If you need to talk to me about anything, you know how to find me.
= Arthur L. - You kinda got annoying at times, but you can be quite a fun and knowledgeable guy. I know you’re having issues with High School and all, but you and I both know that you can overcome them. You just gotta put soul into it, man. Keep your dream in sight and never take your eyes off of it. Never stop trying to reach for it, because if you let go of that dream, you’ll lose sight of everything you’ve worked for up till now.
= Michael J. - What better than to save the best friend for the last and final comment? You’ve been a great friend to me, ever since elementary school. Our relationship has been through fire and storms, and we’re still good friends. Good luck in your future, and let us both reach towards the future with our own hands.

I didn’t name all that much people, since these were the only ones that really came up to mind, mostly in chronological order, though my best buddy gets the last and final slot. If you’re disturbed by the lack of your name and a comment, then drop me an IM.

Anyhow, I wish everyone good luck and farewell. The world is a small place, and we may yet see each other in these next few years. May you live a long life filled with joy, happiness, and success. Reach for those dreams you have, and never let go, because dreams are one of the most important things that humans have. What we can become is not dictated by our past, but by what we do now. By reaching for those dreams we have now, we have the power to change the future that lies within our hands. We all have an inevitable fate, but it is what we do that forges the destiny at our hands. The future is in your hands. The present is what you make of it, and the past should remain in your heart, behind you, but not out of sight.

Good luck everyone, and many blessings to you all!

The frozen earth, in someone’s arms,
Cracks apart, lost in the darkness.
Neverending - this time, with our hands,
The one truth we can grasp,
Rising Force…

Wow. I ended up being worth more than Tina. That surprises me. But yeah, anyways, life is going along alright… Not that smooth, with homework lately though. The car had serious issues around Wednesday, so me and Kevin ended up pushing it a half-mile home. Don’t know what to talk about much right now. I have a ton of homework to finish. Well, I started watching Kamen Rider Kabuto. Really awesome stuff. Tendou is pretty amusing, especially how he and his sister frequently quote their grandmother. His Counter Kick is pretty cool as well.

As far as games go, I haven’t played much lately except for a bit of replays on Super Robot Wars Original Generation 1. Still a pretty awesome game, and I’m liking the parts of the Ryusei storyline, which I hadn’t had a chance to read due to having played the Kyosuke storyline before.

I renovated my computer’s desktop, having installed ObjectDock, which is a really nifty tool. Well, not much to talk about aside from minor stuff, really…

Anyways, keep it cool.

Here you are,
Daylight’s star,
Made out of miracles…
Perfection of your own,
You alone,
Oh so incredible…
Each atom sings to me,
“Set me free,
from chains of the physical…”
Oh free me, Oh free me…