On Hold

If you ever wonder why I've not been updating my blog(s), I'll have to say that although I'm now on holidays, I'm not quite free.

Now it's almost the last few days of this year, and I have something to rush before the last day of this month, or before this year ends. So I won't be touching my blogs for a while.

But, I already know what I want to talk about after I finish doing what I want to do. I'll upload a new entry for both of my blogs.

If you want to know what's coming, I can tell you a little bit.
The next entry for this blog is nothing too important, and if you're interested to read it then, be prepared to see a long entry. I would say not all of you will want to read it because only people who have or once had something to do with it will most probably read it. So, haha... gamers are welcome. (Don't worry. No Maple Story.)

The entry for the other blog will be a little pessimistic. It'll be talking about the negative (but undeniably true) side of life (if you think it's negative). I think I've talked a bit about the topic in that coming entry before, but I'll talk about it in a more proper way and deeper then, and oh... it's also for the sake of a "Special Entry". I want to log it in the "Special Entries" section down there.
So, if you are happy then, you might not want to read it because it might disrupt your mood. Lol! But, if you have been, regardless of your age, contemplating..... uh... death, you're most welcome. *smile*

Last 3 Months...

My last 3 months......

......before I proceed to Degree.

Yes, my Pre-U is going to end soon... very soon. Three months aren't really enough to finalize the decision actually; the decision to take what Degree programme.

I think many people have tried this before: You've decided that you're going to take ABC course. And then you heard some of your friends' doubts about that course's future, the jobs, the opportunity, and those stuff. Now you doubt your own decision, whether or not to choose ABC course, or go for CBA course that is one of your options, or DEF course that is another of your options...

Now what should I choose... I'm not sure again. Looking at the courses available it doesn't seem that I've much choices. But I still have some unsettled doubts about it. Sigh.....

I know what I'm afraid of, and that is exactly why I doubt my decision.
Anyway, I think even those who still have more than 1 year until Degree should already have chosen a course. It doesn't have to be final though, just choose one, for whatever reason.

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Anime

These days I've got some anime again. It's not like I have nothing to do. I do have many things to do. But I just went and got them anyway.

Out of many, two of them I want to talk about are...

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ネギま!? (Negima?!)
Well this one is different from "魔法先生 ネギま！ (Mahou Sensei Negima!)". I was a little surprised that there is another version of it.

"Mahou Sensei Negima!" was released in 2005 by XEBEC, but "Negima?!" was released in 2006 by SHAFT. I heard that SHAFT wasn't involved in the first version of it (which was released by XEBEC), and so I didn't know how it will be like, until I watched it. Lol...

Basically they changed the way they tell the story, and the way they draw it too! They've changed the hair colour of some of the characters (i.e. Nodoka's hair from purple becomes blue), and Asuna's eye colour has been changed from 2 to 1 only.

Anyway, this second version is not bad, but the 19th episode of the first version is very lovely and poignant, and I like it.
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...and.....

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奏光のストレイン (Soukou no Strain)
This is a new one, very new; released in November 2006 (last month) by Studio Fantasia. A Sci-Fi and Mecha (oh, and Ecchi too) animation, this anime gave me a little surprise.

The names are all very special. I don't know whether they're given by the fansub group, or they're the original meaning.
For example...
"Strain" stands for "STRategic Armoured INfantry": the main attack machine of the Union.
"Mimic" stands for "Ministerial Instrument of Mercurion Interface Core": the device used by a Reisner (pilot of a Strain) to interact with a Strain.

So the terms popularly used in the anime are pretty interesting. Oh, and it contains quite an amount of 3D computer graphic scenes, mostly when the machines are on screen.

Oh yea, I like its OP and ED too (although the OP is more superior). I thought that Mecha type anime usually has a rough OP (I don't know, I don't watch this type of anime usually), but... hey....... this one's OP is soft! It's somewhat softly nice to listen to! I like it too.

Anyway, it only has 13 episodes. If you like Mecha anime, you might like this one. I'm not a fan of Mecha anime, but I still watch it, because of its story.

Wake Up

I don't know. I just feel that there is a..... uh... small... amount of people around me... are slowly "waking up".

Some of my friends, after all these days and hardship, they are becoming more like themselves... I mean, they are... yeah basically are "waking up". Previously they were quite lost, confused, miserable, sigh..... all sorts of mental agonies. But now, they are different.

I am pretty happy to hear that, for I was once a person like that too. In fact, every day is a new day for me, and I am sure to "wake up" everyday (from bed) right? Ahaha...
Since there are no two identical days with identical experience, I'm sure I'm learning something every now and then. Every next day is a next step towards (the) "growth" (of the mind, and... em..... wisdom).

Stress is one prominent result of everyday challenges, and we all know this. Even (8-year-old) children are being attacked by stress everyday. What a world...
Although life is full of challenges, we really can't be optimistic at every second! People think that being pessimistic is bad. I don't think so.

I have to be pessimistic in order to expect the so-called "unexpected". Normally the "unexpected" is something we aren't happy to see. If I don't expect it beforehand, I afraid I would be too messed up when it really happens. It's not really my style to face challenges unprepared. But I understand sometimes things just don't allow us to prepare ourselves. They just launch a surprise attack, and we'll have a hard time dealing with them.

Sometimes I feel that I'm somewhat pathetic. I think even the most optimistic person in the world would sometimes feel this way too. I don't know why I was feeling so. It was too complex for me to understand, yet. Uh....... well perhaps I know why but... ahh..... it's not easy to overcome. Thinking that I was able to solve a problem myself but ended up in failure... Hmp hmp..... There are truly a lot more I have to learn. No... There are truly uncountable things for me to learn. In fact, the number of things for us to learn is so mind-boggling.

As I've mentioned before, this year isn't quite an enjoyable year for me. I hope after this wave of problems (or rather... challenges), there are less, next year.
I'll meet some of my "old" friends (as in "good-old-time friends") to have a talk after so many months, or years. It's good to share experience with each other. I might learn something, who knows?
I'm always on my way towards learning "The Ultimate". (A few, very few, of my friends know what I mean by "The Ultimate".)

Now, what I can do is to keep living on, and fight away all those problems that stand in my way. I do hope things will get better.

Holiday Thoughts | Maple: Happyville

Holiday Thoughts

I'm now on a 3 weeks holidays. By now, I've already used 1 and a half weeks of it. Lots of things have happened in the last few months, em... In fact, lots of things have happened this year.

This year is the year I have the most worries, ever. Many problems start to surface, coming waves after waves. Chaotic.
After all, 2006 is going to end soon. We'll be welcoming 2007 in less than 1 month time. 2006 isn't a very nice year for me. Problems that happened, have happened, and are happening, are mostly related to education, obligations, family, and the inevitable: "$$$".

I'm not from a rich family.
I've never tried before driving a BMW, living in a fairy-tale-like "crystalline five-storey house" (not even three-storey), or swimming in the swimming pool in a garden of my house. I've never had a taste of how those kind of life is like.
But..., no matter what kind of life I'm having, education is something I cannot neglect. It's what I must try not to sacrifice even in the face of "$$$" problems. The costs aren't cheap. Yet, even though we know a cert is nothing more than a piece of paper, I still have to have a cert in this world to survive (not "live"). It's very sad.

The world is changing fast. Almost everyone is targeting some sort of degree at least. The future of this world will not be the same like our parents' time.

I'm not an academic type of person. I don't like exams. I don't like formal rules. I'm not very good in science or maths. I'm not a straight-A dude. I never am. I will never be.
But I still have to fight for those so-called A's. I need the scholarship! Or, I have to fight for a loan. Either one, I'm blasting my way through. (Looking at how I'm doing now, scholarship doesn't seem to be an option...) I'll use any skill of mine that can be utilized to do my best.

I know I'm not good in academic. I know I cannot beat those "top scorers", not even the top 10% or 20%. But I know I have my skills. I know what they are, and I know what they can do. But I still don't know how I can utilize them in a job in the future! The world is like this that the people care more for their possessions and money. Sigh...

Anyway, perhaps I've talked (typed) too much. Life is life. There is little I can do to the situations. But there are a lot I can do to myself (even though I'm having a d*mn hard time doing them).
Whatever it is, I think I want to end (the first part of) this entry here already. I really have typed a lot.

That's all. Farewell...

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Maple: Happyville (For gamers)

Today, just 2 hours ago, MapleSEA has released this place called "Happyville" once again. It can be accessed during December only (which is why I took screen shots). I don't find this place very very nice, but at least it can create some sort of atmosphere for Christmas. There's nothing much to do there other than 3 quests and some miscellaneous things.

The first quest is to deliver a letter from a little girl to her so-called Grandpa in Happyville. He's called "Cliff". The second quest requires you to be in Ludibrium, where I'm not in now, and so I won't do it. The third needs you to find a horn in Cash Shop (buy it with 1 meso) then talk to one of the NPC and he will give you a Red Nose. It's only for 15 days though. After 15 days the Nose will disappear.

Here are some of the screen shots. All of the names in the pictures have been censored by the way.

Happyville (Scene 1)

The old man in the small window is Cliff. I'm the one sitting on the green chair. Look at my Red Nose! Lol!

Happyville (Scene 2)

Near the end of the town. The entrance is at the left side. This is towards the right.

Happyville (Scene 3)

The NPC you first see when you come in (and the NPC you last see when you go out).

The Hill of Christmas (Scene 1)

This place is a special room for you to decorate a Christmas Tree.

The Hill of Christmas (Scene 2)
The full view of the not-yet-being-decorated Christmas Tree.

The Hill of Christmas (Scene 3)
The top of the tree. Nice night sky...

The Hill of Christmas (Scene 4)

Now this tree is being decorated. Not by me. Those 2 other people are doing it.

Relief

My exams are all gone! I'm done (once again)! They're final exams! That means I now will have to take some time for a rest...

I've not really been too hardworking, but I did do quite many things for my exams. I've done my best, and I've no regrets. I am now very interested to know my results.

Recently, I've realized something..... more... already. I found myself pretty stupid and foolish previously (compared to now, as in this second). I've done some foolish things in the past, and now I've realized them. I've realized what I should have realized some years ago. Sigh...

Now, I would like to have a good time for myself to take some rest; the kind of rest I've not really experienced properly before...

美鳥の日々 (Midori no Hibi)

It's an anime I've just watched, today. (Uh... I finished watching all 13 episodes of it in 1 day. Ahahah.. hahaha.....)

(Before I continue, let me warn you: This entry contains spoiler!)

I don't really have a reason if you ask me why I am talking about this anime here all of a sudden, but I just feel like talking about it. Em... I might mention why if you read this entry till the end.

This anime is not so recent anymore as it has been in the market since 2004. So some of you might have already watched this before. This anime is about romance. The thing is, I'm not a fan of love story anime, so I may not have watched many of this type of anime. But, what I found quite interesting is the way they write the story. This one is different, at least from anime of the same genre that I've watched before.

It shows a strong contrast between life of a delinquent and the softer side of the delinquent. Of course, the main male character is that delinquent and the main female character is a girl whose spirit somehow comes out from her original body and ends up being the right hand of Seiji, that delinquent. (Well people say he is a delinquent because he fights and he is rough. But his life with Midori, the main female character, as his right hand, is very different.) Midori is a shy girl who cannot express herself very well and she has been in love with Seiji for some years.

The writer of this story brings out the romance in the anime by having the male and female characters stuck on 1 single body so that they're forced to live on like that for some time. Then Midori suddenly disappears and her spirit returns to her original body, with her memory of being the right hand of Seiji gone as well. So in the last episode, Midori sees Seiji in front of the gate of her house and when Seiji walks away, she runs out to find him. And then they meet and... she confesses... and..... they live "happily ever after"...
It's just the kind of ideal ending you'll find in anime.

The success of this anime is the ability of the story to slowly present the romance in it by having the relationship of the two characters subtly developed while they live together, then having them seperated, and having them meet again with Midori's memory gone.
Haha, if you like romance anime, you might enjoy this one. By the way, this anime is a little ecchi since there are some occasional scenes of nudity involved.

I've talked about this anime. Later on I'll talk about things concerning fantasy, fiction, dream world, and all those "dreams" that people are always talking about.
By saying "later on", it's not now. I'll continue talking about that in an individual entry on my main blog. (Hah... That topic is what I actually want to talk about.....)

Talk

A talk...

It's getting more and more difficult to find someone to talk nowadays.
Talk, as in exchanging thoughts with someone trustworthy..... Yea... "Trustability" (if there is such a word) is the problem here. How "trust-able" is "trust-able"? (Did I hear someone say "CTS"?)
All of you know I do not trust people "that" easily. Something has to be done before one can earn my trust.

Just a few days ago, I had had a talk with a counsellor. It was totally impromptu, and the talk was an unplanned one. It was just that my final class of the day was Psychology, and of course the one who taught was someone from the psychology field.

So we talked, talked, and talked...
We talked, from the classroom, to the corridor, to the main hall, to the lower foyer, to the front door, to the car park, to the middle of the car park, to the counsellor's car, into the counsellor's car, (then I was sent...) to my car, and finished off the conversation. The entire process took me 1 hour (and) 45 minutes, and we talked a lot.

Wonderful. It has been such a long time since I last talked with someone about things that are stuck in my heart. The only thing I felt not that good about that day was... that..... I afraid I might have taken too much of the counsellor's time. (不好意思)

Well, that was it. Life is life...