Last Blog of My Least Favorite Year So Far

Tonight, according to a lot of the world and the Gregorian calendar, is New Year's Eve. We transition tomorrow into 2011 CE and begin anew or at least promise to anyway. So far this year has pretty much sucked. 2009 was better, but these last 365 days had their good spots. I made two new friends and spent some time with my manager/friend outside of work. I started UCR. I still have my job and health, and my family is mostly well, too. But there is plenty of room for things to be better. As I am sometimes a sucker for the cliche, I have some things I want to start doing differently. They mostly involve seriously getting ready for grad school and getting back in the shape I was in five years ago. You could say those are my New Year's resolutions. I also want to work on finishing my stories and actually get some of that done this time. I need to become more disciplined. That right there is the root of most of my issues and the reason for the changes I want to make.

So here's to another year or being safe, sane, and successful. There is so much more to come, and I want to get there more than anything. I know I can do it. I just need to stick to my plan. This year I know things will finally work out in my favor. And you know what? Having to work in the bakery for a while will be kind of fun.

Year in Review: Personal

January
-start as a junior majoring in anthropology at UCR
-go to Disnelyand with one of my supervisors, Lynne

March
-Sprained knee on the day of my first final
-first UC research paper due (90/100)
-get the Droid phone along with Mom

June
-finish first year at UCR (ended with honors: A, A, A-, A-)
-start summer school; make a new friend (Jill); start using my scooter again
-sell my Droid
-pass the CBEST

July
-join night crew temporarily while in school as someone else is on leave
-visit Hsi Lai Buddhist temple
-get straight As

August
-vacation (hiking, clean room, get back into Pokemon)
-Pokemon Red: death and rebirth

September
-start fall 2010 quarter at UCR (first full year)
-make a new friend (Angela)

October
-renewed Pokemon obsession
-Halloween as a Pokemon trainer
-field trip for bio to Solana Beach; see lots of inverts in the tide pools

November
-register for winter quarter
-apply to go back to Chaffey
-invited to join Golden Key International Honour Society
-gain school pride finally

December
-new plot for Lost in Hyrule/GS Distress series'
-register at Chaffey
-visit Dampe, Windrows, park
-finish anthropology subfield upper division requirements
-play lots of Pokemon Red
-spend Christmas Eve with Lynne and her family

A Common Theme

So I have been playing Pokemon Red lately, and before that I was playing FireRed from the point I stopped (sixth badge, Fuschia City). Then I thought of something. My teams are very similar in both, even though I started and played them six years apart.

Red
Pikachu, level 43
Pidgeot, level 42
Lapras, level 38
Hitmonchan, level 39
Dugtrio, level 45
Bulbasaur, level 42

FireRed
Pikachu, level 43
Pidgeot, level 46
Lapras, level 39
Hitmonhcan, level 41
Geodude, level 38
Charmander, level 49

Just realized

When I was a teenager in nigh school (not that long ago- I'm not complaining about my old age of 24 or anything) we had AIM. Now these kids have Facebook. (We both had texting.) The difference? Everyone that you want can see your FB, including what you write, even if it is terrible grammar/spelling wise. It's preserved unless you delete it. It doesn't go away when you close your session.

Sigh. Even I, someone who was a fledgling MySpace member, do not like all of this social networking.

So yeah

Two things about yesterday:

1. I was stocking the pots and pans display on the front of aisles 5/6 when a customer approached me. I thought she needed help, but all she wanted was to tell me that she thinks I was the hardest working person there. IMMD

2. A guy I knew two years ago at Chaffey and the internship at UCR walked by the counter with a friend and looked surprised to see me. When they left, I think he said see you or something like that. He moved up north right after UCR. It was a surprise to see him and that he remembered me.

Year in Review: TV/Movies/YT

Legend of the Seeker (and its cancellation :O( )
Dragonball Z Kai on Nicktoons TV
Pokemon: Best Wishes online subbed
Shrek Forever
Alice in Wonderland
Shane Dawson
communitychannel
Pokemmon/Pokedubs

So...that was random

Just now I was on YouTube and clicked on a recommended video. It was from Tenchi Universe episode 24 where Ryoko gets Tenchi to Jurai to save Ayeka and take out the imposter Kagato. One of the comments was from someone with a screen name exactly the same as someone I knew in high school. A little more clicking and checking it out revealed that it was, in fact, her.

Also, her videos are...interesting. Props for dancing in costume and putting that online. I would never do that.

Year in Review: Music

Passion Pit - Manners
Pokemon 2000 soundtrack
Pokemon themes
Morgan Page - Believe
Lady Gaga
Owl City
Dragonball Kai themes
"Shark in the Water." - V.V. Brown
"Satisfy" - Vedera
"Collide" - Howie Day
"I Am Not a Robot" - Marina and the Diamonds
The Parlotones
Adam Lambert
Spice Girls
"Symphonies" - Dan Black

Interesting Day

Reasons

1. The roof at work started leaking. They covered up three checkstands and stopped using them.

2. The power went out at 5pm when we close at 11. We stayed open and used up all of the dry ice we had.

3. My car was flooded in so I got a ride. There was a river four feet wide in front of our house as it was the rest of our side of the street.

4. A drunk guy trying to buy Red Bull and vodka was detained and then kicked out.

5. My department closed at 6:30 so I could help try and save merchandise. Not that I minded in the least.

Kids & Science = Awesome

UK science journal publishes study done by 8-10 year olds

Anything that makes kids like/be into science is great.

I'll spread my wings and fly

"Home will always be here unseen, out of sight
Where I disappear and hide
I daydream of things as I'm waving goodbye
So I'll spread out my wings and fly

I'll spread my wings and fly..."

Since I have recently kind of become obsessed with Pokemon again, this part of "Umbrella Beach" by Owl City reminds me of Ash. At the end of every region, he goes back home to rest and figure out what to do next. He knows his mom and the professor and his Pokemon will always be there waiting for him. Then he sets out again to continue on, always looking forward to reaching his goal and the battles along the way. The spreading wings part is like he's growing up and making his own way, establishing a name for himself (even though according to canon he is still 10 after 13 years).

Anyway, just wanted to put that out there.

To the Sky

--Owl City


Shipwreck in a sea of faces
There's a dreamy world up there
Dear friends in higher places
Carry me away from here
Travel light, let the sun eclipse you
'Cause your flight is about to leave
And there's more to this brave adventure
Than you'd ever believe

Bird's eye view
Awake the stars 'cause they're all around you
Wide eyes will always brighten the blue
Chase your dreams
And remember me, sweet bravery
'Cause after all those wings will take you up so high
So bid the forest floor goodbye as you brace the wind and
Take to the sky

You take to the sky

On the heels of war and wonder
There's a stormy world up there
You can't whisper above the thunder
But you can fly anywhere
Purple burst of paper birds
This picture paints a thousand words
So take of breath of myth and mystery
And don't look back

Bird's eye view,
Awake the stars 'cause they're all around you
Wide eyes will always brighten the blue
Chase your dreams,
And remember me, sweet bravery
'Cause after all those wings will take you up so high
So bid the forest floor goodbye as you brace the wind and
Take to the sky

(You take to the sky)

There's a realm above the trees (where the lost are finally found)
So touch your feathers to the breeze (and leave the ground)

Bird's eye view,
Awake the stars 'cause they're all around you
Wide eyes will always brighten the blue
Chase your dreams,
And remember me, sweet bravery
'Cause after all those wings will take you up so high
So bid the forest floor goodbye as you brace the wind and
Take to the sky

You take to the sky

Of Pokemon and New Generations

So recently I have been into Pokemon again. I bought Platinum and Soul Silver before my renewed interest in the anime, but it took my original Red losing all of its data to spark this. My brother replaced the button battery (a 2032 in Energizer terms for those who need to know). Since school ended for fall term, I have put in 10 hours (1 weeks' time) on doing the quest on Red again. Currently I just beat Giovanni at Silph Company. I still do like Pokemon. I just do not like the newer generations as much.

The reason for this is because they are just pumping it out for money now. The old days were still new and exciting. Yes, the original saga in the anime was there to promote the games, but the Orange Islands league was free from this. Even Kanto and Johto were not as structured while they were promoting the games. As I read somewhere, OI gave the writers freedom, and they expanded on it. There was tons of romance (this was the pinnacle of Pokeshipping/Ash and Misty). Brock was gone (I grew to like him, but Tracey is still my fave). Yeah, Tracey was a replacement made to look as Anglo as possible since the anime was spreading to the West, but I liked him better. He was a Pokeshipper, and he was funny. Even the movie that happened in this saga (The Power of One/Pokemon 2000/Pokeshipping the Movie) was good as I previously blogged about. It had a good lesson. Team Rocker succeeded at being good (what they're best at if they would just leave the team and go their own way together). And Ash was not the only one to have a part. Tracey was kind of forgotten, but Misty and the new girl Melody were major players. Plus you finally learned the two prof's and his mom's first names, and they all were supporting characters, not just background noise.

For me, the "filler saga" was the best. It still had story that was not all game-oriented. I say this as someone who has not watched much Advanced Generation and only catches Diamond and Pearl when it's on CN in the morning and I am actually awake. I just can't get my enthusiasm up to play through Platinum. I've had that game for almost a year and have only gotten one badge and five Pokemon. I'm halfway through Red, which I booted up in August. Guess nostalgia wins for me on this.

But one look at Gen V... *sigh*

All I can say is: though, I may buy Black and/or White, the original was the best (plus a little Johto).

If Only Tears Could Bring You Back

--Midnight Sons (Pokemon The First Movie Soundtrack)

How will I start
Tomorrow without you here
Who's heart will guide me
When all the answers disappear

Is it too late
Are you too far gone to stay
This one's forever
Should never have to go away

What will I do
You know I'm only half without you
How will I make it through

If only tears could bring you back to me
If only love could find a way
What I would do, what I would give
If you returned to me someday
Somehow, someway
If my tears could bring you back to me

I'd cry you an ocean
If you'd sail on home again
Waves of emotion
Will carry you, I know they can

Just love will guide you
And your heart will chart the course
Soon you'll be drifting
Into the arms of your true north

Look in my eyes
And you will see a million tears have gone by
And still they're not dry

If only tears could bring you back to me
If only love could find a way
What I would do, what I would give
If you returned to me someday
Somehow, someway
If my tears could bring you back to me

I hold you close
And shout the words I only whispered before
For one more chance, for one last dance
There's not a thing I would not endure

If only tears could bring you back to me
If only love could find a way
What I would do, what I would give
If you returned to me someday
Somehow, someway
If my tears could bring you back to me

In the Dark

--Morgan Page

Capture here a moment,
you know less if u don't notice
the way the moon shines down on us tonight.
Don't be so afraid to open up when its so obvious
that you and I are beckoned by this light.

Because you can fool yourself into wanting something else,
but you'll be running back to see me;
you can play this game
while memories remain,
I know you're holding out for something real.

Because you can see a spark somewhere in the dark,
but only when it's gone will you feel it.
You can feel it start
someplace in your heart,
but only if you try to believe it.

So take a minute of your time,
reflect on your life,
see how it feels living life alone again.
And I know you're afraid
to see yourself in that way,
but everytime you try
you step back in the light again.

Because you can fool yourself into wanting something else,
but you'll be running back to see me.
You can play this game
while memories remain,
I know you're holding out for something real.

Because you can see a spark somewhere in the dark,
but only when its gone will you feel it.
You can feel it start
someplace in your heart,
but only if you try to believe it

Why'd you keep your love from me?
Why were you hiding out from me?
Come to me, I need you close,
I need your everything the most,
so give' to me.

Because you can fool yourself into wanting something else,
but you'll be running back to see me.
you can play this game,
While memories remain,
I know you're holding out for something real.

Because you can see a spark somewhere in the dark,
but only when it's gone will you feel it.
You can feel it start
someplace in your heart,
but only if you try to believe it...

Something to remember...

When someone you know offers you pain pills, make sure you know exactly what they are before taking them. They will be what was joked about, not what you thought they were, and it will be a really bad day from that point on.

Grades Fall 2010

It was a hard semester, but I did it in the end.

Of booze, cigs, and Happy Meals

Warning: Rant Ahead

Okay, so I want to start with the new way cigarettes are packaged. Recently the FDA ruled to require that the cartons and packs no longer say "light" since that means some people may think it means light in tobacco, not light in flavor. Then just this week Washington state implemented a ban on alcoholic energy drinks (like Tilt, Sparks, and 4 Loko, the intended target). This was due to a college party in October where some no-so-positive things happen. No one died, however, and no one was injured. They just all got really really drunk.

So what is the point about linking these two things? The government is coming in and dictating what people can and cannot do beyond what I think should be their boundary. The argument for the tobacco is dumb because most smokers do realize it means flavor, not content or reduced risk. As for the drinks, they argue that caffeine and alcohol together in one drink makes people drink more. This is probably true, but what else are they going ban? Selling Red Bull and vodka to a person at the same time? Selling soda and alcohol? How about banning both from being sold in the same store altogether? Get real. Yes, I realize that is somewhat of a slippery slope argument, but it's true to a degree. They cannot control people's behavior. They also have to realize that folks have free will and personal responsibility. Hopefully they will not do the same thing again, and if they, who cares? It is their life as long as they don't hurt anyone else. If they die in a car crash, sorry, but that was their choice. They knew they were drinking and should not drive. Like they say, buzzed driving is drunk driving. Of course it is sad when someone young loses their life, but that's the way it goes. The same thing applies to those who banned Happy Meals in San Fransisco. If a parent wants to let their kid eat something that does not go bad or degrade after a few months, it is not your business. People can do what they want. Back off and let them.

Speech Communities and Cultures

Speech communities are tied to different cultures. I belong to a few different communities just as I belong to different cultures. For instance, I am a Southern California girl who says "like" and "I was all..." in place for more standard English. I also say um a lot. I can go between more formal ways of speaking, and I can talk in "supermarket lingo" as well as science talk. I can switch between all without having to think. I can analyze where I am and who I am with to decide what is appropriate, but sometimes there is slippage. Usually I get looks like, "What are you talking about?" Sometimes I even get told to not talk that way because it's like I am trying to sound smart (usually my mom when talking about science). She sees this as me trying to assert my knowledge that she does not possess over her to make her feel less than I am, which is not the case. I am not trying to sound smart. I just forget the different communities sometimes and have trouble keeping them separate in a way that is neutral to others.

So I guess I am not always neutral as I could be.

All of this is acquired, and all of this is arbitrary. I can say I am facing an aisle, and while I mean I am pulling product forward to make it look nice and full, to someone who has no insight into this language, I am speaking Latin to a Japanese citizen. The word face has so many meanings. It can be the face of a person or part of a geometric figure. I did not know what face meant in this context until I worked for a grocery store, and even then it only came after I was promoted to a GM clerk who stocked shelves. I learned this from what people said. I was able to pick up on the meaning just as I was able to discern the terms power panel and u-boat. This is all very specific to a culture and something I picked up and now use on a semi-daily basis.

Isn't it cool when school ties in with real life?

An Unfortunate Difference

The difference between being a science major and being a social science major, for me, sucks. Reading and getting info and being able to apply it is nice and all, but give me adventures in the field over papers and notes. In populations biology, we went camping twice and hiked into a canyon for five weeks. We got wet and dirty (and some of us sunburned). Hands on is just so much better. The nature of the social sciences, though, is different, I understand that. I just miss it. Guess I have to try and remedy that myself. Just because I don't have classes that go into nature and observe doesn't mean I can't for fun.

So that's where it stands, I guess.

Collide

--Howie Day

The dawn is breaking
A light shining through
You're barely waking
And I'm tangled up in you

I'm open, your closed
Where I'll follow you'll go
I worry I won't see your face
Light up again

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills my mind
I somehow find you and I collide

I'm quiet you know
You make a first impression
I've found I'm scared to know
I'm always on your mind

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the stars refuse to shine
Out of the back you fall in time
Somehow find you and I collide

Don't stop here
I lost my place
I'm close behind

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills your mind
You finally find you and I collide

Euprymna scolopes

What is your favorite marine animal??


Euprymna scolopes is a small (to just 35 mm ml) sepiolid squid endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. While nocturnal like other sepiolids, it is unusual in that it ranges into very shallow water just 2-4 cm deep. Most other sepiolids are found in relatively deep water.

E. scolopes can be found at night nearshore over sand flats by wading with a light or lantern or snorkeling with a dive light. During the day it buries itself in the sand. When it emerges from the sand it keeps a "sand coat" on its dorsal surface which is presumed to give it camouflage when attacking prey. The sepiolid is relatively short-lived, just 3-10 months from egg to its semelparous death. Eggs are 2.0 mm in diameter and laid on the undersides of coral ledges in shallow water. Paralarvae grow very fast; Hanlon et al. (1997) found E. scolopes to breed and lay eggs in the laboratory just 2 months after hatching from the egg. Juveniles are frequently found with adults in shallow water. Adults are sometimes trawled offshore in mid-water in depths to 138 fathoms. They have been reared in the laboratory on live shrimp in Hawaii and on mysids at Woods Hole.

It has been proposed that E. scolopes can become an easily-reared cephalopod for laboratory research projects. Numerous laboratory studies have been done researching its symbiotic bacterium Vibrio fischeri which lives in the sepiolid's light organ to produce a weak light under the body of the animal. This gives it counter-shading and camouflage from predators.

Some of the things I love about the original Pokemon

-Dexter
-The randomness
-The Japanese culture references
-Misty (sans Togepi)
-actually seeing Ash learn and become better
-Team Rocket not being annoying and repetitive
-the original Team Rocket motto
-the original VA cast
-Misty vs. Ash
-Ash and Gary’s rivalry
-“Whose that Pokémon?” (original version)
-Pikachu’s Jukebox
-the original 151 (plus the next 100)

Stuff From My Childhood

Pokémon
Furby
POGs
ATC
Spice Girls
Aaah! Real Monsters
Rugrats
Doug
Eiffel 65
Animaniacs
Pinky and the Brain
Weird Al
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Bop It
Skip It
Beanie Babies
*NSYNC
Backstreet Boys
Britney Spears
Christina Aguilera
Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask
Dragonball Z
Tenchi Muyo!
Toonami
States
Silent Ball
Four Corners
Freeze Tag
Power Rangers
Brass Button Bears
Tech Decks
Yo-yos
Gameboy Pocket, Camera, and Printer
Tamagotchi, Giga Pets, and virtual pets
Star Wars prequels
9/11/2001
Human genome
Puff the Magic Dragon
Gullah Gullah Island
Allegra’s Window
Eureka’s Castle
Blue’s Clues
Invasion of Iraq 2003
Invasion of Afghanistan 2001
Pres. Clinton’s impeachment trials
Chevron cars
Lincoln Logs
Columbine

Update (my ff.net profile)

August 11, 2009

I haven't updated my profile in quite a while so here goes.

Storywise I am currently working on two crossovers. One is Tenchi Muyo and Dragonball Z (Legend of the Triad 3) while the other is Tenchi Universe and Dragonball Z (yes, there is a difference). The second one I haven't started to post because I want to finish it before I do in an attempt to be more consistent with updates in case it garners any fans. The other story, A Hero's Sojourn, is something I am working on finishing this summer. I wrote it in 2001 when I was only 15, and I am trying to type it up from the written version now that I am older and a better writer (hopefully). It's part of a much larger series that I am going to try and slowly revise and type up. If you can believe it, it's loosely related to GS Distress and GS Distress II, two Pokemon fics I have up. I don't know if I will ever redo those two, but there is a third I haven't posted here on ff.net yet so I might do that one. Then it gets fun and becomes another crossover, this time Pokemon and Zelda: Ocarina of Time. All of these were written when I was in eighth grade (hence the lack of quality in structure, grammar, etc). The plots are good, though, I promise.

So why have I decided to go back and bother with old stories? Mostly it is because I never finish anything I start. The last year or so has made me want to finish things. Something made me realize that, wow, we don't have time in this world. So I'll be working on all of that plus going to school (possibly finally transferring to a university if they accept me), and working part time at a grocery store.

Artwise, I don't draw much anymore because it just doesn't interest me. I take pictures mostly of animals and nature when the opportunity arises. I will try and touch up old stuff and at least make face portraits of my OCs, but that's about it.

Speaking of OCs, below I will link to some pics on my DA of some of my characters.

Pokemon and Education

Just a quick little thought...

When I was younger, I used to wonder why the trainers in Pokemon that were still kids didn't seem to attend school. I read one story where an author explained this away in an interesting manner, but I was just thinking myself. Education is something we here in the "first world" consider to be important and necessary. Pokemon doesn't even take place in this same world (possibly a variation of it since real world places are mentioned both in original Japanese and in the dub). So why would they necessarily think that our brand of eduction is important since Pokemon seem to be such a huge fixture in that world? They wouldn't necessarily, and there's nothing wrong with it.

Just the thoughts of someone studying anthropology and learning to appreciate other cultures, I guess.

Why You Should Capitalize the Names of Pokémon

Pokémon is the term used to describe a type of organism like plant or animal. Following this logic, you would not need to capitalize it when using it in that way. However, the individual names of pokémon should always be capitalized. Why? Because they are all different species of pokémon, and you capitalize species names, scientific or layman's. You would capitalize Growlithe the same way you would German Shepard.

To borrow from Wikipedia: "Proper nouns (also called proper names) are nouns representing unique entities (such as London, Jupiter, or Toyota), as distinguished from common nouns which describe a class of entities (such as city, planet, person or car)." As each species of pokémon is a unique entity belonging to a larger group, it should be capitalized.

In the end, who cares anyway??

Explanations for GS Distress series

The GS Ball was originally supposed to have Celebi inside , creating a story arc in the Johto journeys series. Then they abandoned the plotline in favor of giving Celebi a full movie; in GS Distress, Ash finds that Mew is inside (against canon but unknown at the time and oh well anyway). Jessie’s mother Miyamoto was searching for Mew at the time of her disappearance. She was also a high ranking Team Rocket member when she disappeared, searching on the orders of Giovanni’s mother Madame Boss, who she was close with. Let’s say she was able to capture Mew in a ball, and that ball went on to be lost. Eventually it was found and assumed to be ancient as no one had knowledge of Team Rocket’s plans and exploits let alone any of their technological breakthroughs. Professor Ivy and her team of triplets are tasked with opening it. When they cannot figure it out, they tell Professor Oak. Ash and gang then head to retrieve it. Brock stays behind, and Tracey joins the gang. In the anime, the ball is forgotten when it is left with another professor who specializes in Pokéballs.

In our story, it is not forgotten. This ball contains the Mew caught by Jessie’s mom Miyamoto. There is a flashback scene where she asks Mew to help her during an avalanche, but Mew presumably does not when it vanishes. That Mew, though, did come back to help her and wasn’t really disappearing to leave, just to get closer to her. The Andes are an unforgiving environment to those not prepared so Miyamoto would have had a hard time here even after escaping the snow downpour. Somehow she is able to make friends with Mew, which is how she is easily able to capture it. This was not how poor Mew wanted things to go down, and it is forever branded with the memory of a friend’s betrayal. Ash accidentally releases Mew in GS Distress. Mew sees memories of Miyamoto when he looks at Jessie, which is why he sends them blasting off. This catches Giovanni’s attention when Ash is interviewed on TV, and he departs for Pallet Town. When he comes to investigate himself, he finds out the truth about Ash being his son. He and Delia used to date and were quite serious, but then she left him for reasons unknown to him at the time. The girl Liz acts on her own behalf until Gio figures a way to use her to trap his son and rightful heir to Team Rocket. During his time there, Ash (Max) also is recognized as the boss’s adopted son. Jessie, James, and Meowth do not see him until much later on so they do not connect the dots about him being the twerp until Ash is 16. Liz was also brainwashed and brought back into the fold. Her original intention was to get close to Ash, which is foiled by his friendship with Misty. Though the two trainers are young, the feelings and potential future relationship make any other girl’s chances with Ash unlikely. When she figures this out, she wants revenge for what happened to her father, who was developing the technology that led to the creation of the GS Ball. Giovanni had him killed, and she was left all alone. When Liz meets Mew, the psychic cat senses her pain and bonds with her, which is why he attacks the others so readily, especially since Ash is connected to the organization that led to him being betrayed and his entrapment. Mew is eventually subdued and put back into the GS Ball, which is kept by Giovanni.

So the question remains: how did Delia, Ash’s mom, come to know Giovanni? The answer is kind of a simple one in the way that girl meets bad boy and falls for him when she knows she shouldn’t. He was born the son of the leader of Team Rocket. He was always destined to lead the criminal organization, even though his relationship to his mother was strained at the least. He had no choice in what he was to become. When he was still an elite, he led many missions and was very successful. On one of these missions, he ran into one Delia Ketchum, who was currently a student of Professor Oak. His team had set up an operation to capture Pokémon in Viridian Forest, the place where Delia was conducting research. The team was to lure trainers into traps and steal their Pokémon. As a researcher, Delia didn’t really catch Pokémon, but like her son would someday be, she had a knack with them in gaining their trust, especially if she helped them when they needed it. Unfortunately, being young and still learning, Delia would become a victim of this trap. Unlike previous trainers, she was set on making sure the Pokémon they were stealing was safe so she climbed out of the hole she had fallen into, something no one else had done up to this point. Giovanni recognized this resolve, especially when she landed him in a flying tackle. Even when they tried to leave her behind, she followed the group until Giovanni couldn’t ignore her presence anymore, especially since his mother would be irritated with him if he allowed a stalker to breach headquarters. Instead, he offered her a chance to join the gang, which would allow her to ensure the Pokémon was safe. He also knew, due to her own outburst, that she was a student of the great Samuel Oak, which he figured would be useful. She agreed reluctantly, and thus began their courtship. She was gone for eight months, thought to be missing thanks to Team Rocket and not her own accord. During this time, she and Giovanni spent time together, enough for them to both develop feelings for the other.

At the end of the eight months, she ran away and left him without a word or explanation. Though hurt, he let her leave since he was recently put in charge of Team Rocket thanks to his mom, who was retiring. She went back to Pallet Town to Professor Oak, who let her stay with him for a bit because of her predicament. There was not a chance she was going to let her child grow up in Team Rocket, and she finally realized that there was nothing that would get Giovanni to abandon his plans, even the prospect of a family. Giovanni is never made aware of his child with her until much later on. Samuel helped Delia set up a life in Pallet where she could raise Ash, and the two got closer. Later on there is even the possibility of the two being romantically involved because of how much he cared about her and Ash and how he was there for so much.

The Power of One

The first time I ever saw Pokemon 2000: The Power of One I was only 14.My mom dropped me off with two of my friends and brother. Initially it was another film where we got free cards with an admission ticket and it was Pokemon. The hopeless romantic I am saw and loved the Ash/Misty moments scattered through the whole thing, and I really wanted to see it again both because of that and because I wanted to recreate the fun of hanging out with my friends. We never did see it again in theaters. Maybe a week later we all got caught for sneaking out of the house. It was supposed to be our last time, and I was feeling so invincible. But then we saw his mom’s car. It was a collective ‘oh shit’ moment. He got sent off to New York for three weeks, taking the soundtrack for this movie with him. I found out from Jeanine a week after it happened. I confessed to my mom in Denny’s while we were on vacation in New Mexico, and I was pretty much off the hook. I tell you, that three weeks without him was hell. He wrote, and I wrote. I saved the letters. He had loads of fun, and I was alright. Life was life for the rest of the summer. Then when he came back he had gifts…but I digress (I still have that Bubbles keychain he bought me as well as the pictures he drew and sent).

Rewatching the movie brings back all of that as well as what the movie really means. Some guy disrupts the balance, and all hell breaks loose. It’s commentary on us humans. The Pokemon are all in tune with nature like our animals. They know when something is really wrong and want to fix it. The moral of that movie is that we humans have to live in harmony with nature and with Pokemon (animals). In the real world there is no chosen one who can fix everything by collecting treasures from three islands. The Deep Water Horizon that was leaking uncontrolled into the Gulf of Mexico for the last two and a half months is proof enough. We all need to be a part of the solution, whatever that is.

Still, I would gladly be that chosen one as naïve as that sounds.

Ash and his father

In the series, rarely do any of the characters, main or secondary, have both parents explained. I’m not sure of what happened later on in the show, but the only ones who had an explanation for both were Brock and May and Max. Back when Pokemon was still climbing its way to the top, there was a live musical special that introduced the idea of Ash’s mom Delia dating the leader of Team Rocket, Giovanni. My friend and I chose to run with that, making Ash’s father secretly Giovanni. We were not the only ones to think this way as evidenced by the stories I have found online, but our take is important to our stories.

The third movie established Delia as a former student of Professor Samuel Oak, and the live special (though not canon with the anime) established that she and Gio used to date. In the past, while she was a student, she got caught up with the mafia-like organization of Team Rocket. It is canon that Giovanni’s mother ran Team Rocket (Madame Boss) and that Jessie’s mother, Miyamoto, vanished while on a mission for her. He simply took over because he really had no choice thanks to his upbringing. Somehow he and Delia met and dated. At first she denied that the organization was as evil as it was, but when she finally allowed herself to see the truth, she was already in too deep. Giovanni was not a physically abusive person towards her or his Pokemon really (maybe emotionally but not hitting). It got to a point where she could not take that life anymore, so she ran away from him and that life. What she doesn’t tell him when she does (because she is unaware herself) is that she is carrying their child. She goes back to Pallet, to her teacher and mentor and stays in that town, where she opens a restaurant and raises her son Ash. This is why Oak is always around and is close to Delia.

When Ash is ten, he sets out on his own journey. Along the way he meets many friends, most importantly Misty. Our series splits off at the end of the Orange Island saga when he returns home to Pallet. His life changes after this, and when he is 16, after a 5 year absence, he destroys Team Rocket as it is known, destroying what his (unknown) father worked so hard to maintain. By this time he has found out that Ash is his son and plans to destroy the boy despite this. Then he is approached by a man named Neo who claims that if Ash is put under the right conditions and grows up, he will build an even more evil empire than his father. He will be unbeatable due to his pure skill and the fact he has his love and friends close by his side. Giovanni works with Neo, which ends up with Ash, Misty, and Tracey in Hyrule on a whole new adventure. Giovanni goes along because he is convinced that Ash will turn to the dark side some time during his journey, which never happens.

Head Full of Doubt / Road Full of Promises

There’s a darkness upon me that’s flooded in light
In the fine print they tell me what’s wrong and what’s right
And it comes in black and it comes in white
And I’m frightened by those that don’t see it

When nothing is owed or deserved or expected
And your life doesn’t change by the man that’s elected
If you’re loved by someone, you’re never rejected
Decide what to be and go be it

There was a dream and one day I could see it
Like a bird in a cage I broke in and demanded that somebody free it
And there was a kid with a head full of doubt
So I’ll scream til I die and the last of those bad thoughts are finally out

Summaries (spoiler alert)

Summaries: GSD and LIH

GSD: Ash, Misty, and Tracey return from the Orange Islands after Ash has won the league, GS Ball in hand. Gary shows up and challenges Ash but leaves just as suddenly due to a mysterious call. Right after delivering it to Prof. Oak, Team Rocket steals it. Almost as quickly does the gang get it back, and they also find out Mew is inside. They finally deliver it to be studied, and Tracey gets to help. Ash and Misty walk around for a little bit, and a new girl, Liz, shows up. She asks for Ash to go out with her, which he consents to. While on said date, she uses mysterious powers to get Ash to kiss her, which angers Misty. When the truth comes to light, she is actually a girl whose father spoke out against Giovanni cloning Mew. Why does she want Ash? Giovanni is his father. When he fails to fall for her, even under a spell, she becomes bent on hurting him and his friends. The final confrontation leads to Ash going missing, presumed dead. Misty and Tracey end up in the hospital, and it ends on them finding out Ash is gone.

GSDII: The basic gist is that Tracey and Misty find out Ash has been kidnapped and brainwashed by Team Rocket and Giovanni five years after his disappearance. His new life consists of pulling off missions with his team, including girlfriend Elizabeth (Liz). They save him, and he destroys the gang once and for all (or so they think). Giovanni comes back and tries to get revenge on his son, but it ends with Ash winning the day again with the help of his friends though Giovanni escapes. It ends with Tracey meeting a girl and Ash and Misty going on a quasi-date. From the bushes someone watches them, plotting something for our hero Ash.

GSDIII: Ash and the gang start out again on a Pokemon quest as Ash needs to earn all of his badges again since his were lost during his five year absence. On the way, in Viridian Forest, Ash discovers a legend of another land. After some weird dreams and experiences, Ash, Misty, and Tracey end up in Hyrule as ten year olds. Zoe gets left behind in their world. They run into Link. The plans Neo and Giovanni set in motion start to unfold in a new saga.

LIH: This whole story is just a vision of Twinrova when they want to know what would happen if the new trio were to aid Link. Link does pull the Master Sword and go into the future, but when they all reawaken, they have been separated. Ganondorf tells Ash and James that Link killed their friends and pits everyone against each other. They eventually find out the truth and defeat Ganondorf together. The dream ends with them being sent back in time and Ash and Co. going home. Twinrova then knows they cannot allow the four to meet.

LIHII: Despite Twinrova’s attempts to keep them out of Hyrule, the villain working with Giovanni (later to be named Neo but not the one from the Matrix) manages to send them all to Hyrule. They meet Link as he is on the way to the Temple of Time. Along with Team Rocket, they all end up being trapped for seven years with Link in the Temple of Light. Though surprised to see the trainers, Sheik has no choice but to enlist their help. At first Ash is reluctant because he wants to get home and continue on his journey, but soon enough he comes to realize this, too, is important. They basically go through the plot of Ocarina of Time and defeat Ganondorf, allowing the Sages to seal him away. When Zelda tries to send them all back in time, she fails in creating two timelines, one where they can have those seven years back. Instead, everything resets, and Ganondorf is still free. Link and Zelda warn the current Sages, and they banish Ganonodorf with little trouble, similar to the backstory of Twilight Princess. Ash and the gang are supposedly sent home.

LIHIII: This is a weird and very violent dream that Link has during the time he is asleep in the Temple of Light.

AHS: Link goes to Termina to look for Navi while Ash, Misty, and Tracey are captured and remain in stasis by Neo because he wants them for later. He ends up being trapped (thanks to an unknown force, later revealed to be Judas). While there, he stays on Romani Ranch with the sisters and falls in love with Romani while becoming good friends with Kafei, Anju, and Cremia. He basically gets his life back, but a traveler from the future along with Zelda and the mysterious Exzavier push to get him to go back to Hyrule. He does this, thinking that Exzavier is a threat. He is given memories of saving Termina, but fake ones take over after that of him going through other lands thanks to Zelda for her selfish desire to keep him form returning eventually to his new family and friends. He reunites with Malon, keeping his promise to return her horse.

LIHIV: Neo lets the Pokemon trainers out of stasis with fake memories, and they roam Hyrule again still lost. Link is then “killed” by Neo, which is just an illusion. Malon is so distraught because she has lost Link again after finally getting him back that she kills herself. Ash, Misty, Tracey, and Mondo go into the future, where Link is alive and where they meet Exzavier (he lets them face his father in hopes they will defeat him because he is still fighting against his dark side). They also meet Erika, Sabrina, Stormy Rain, and Zoe, Tracey's girlfriend from home. Ganondorf dies along with Sabrina from Pokemon, whom Exzavier fell in love with. He thus vows to kill them all and gives in to his dark side. They go back to the past and have a party, where Link finds Malon is dead. Neo appears and wants Ash to join him. When he refuses, he kills Misty.

LIHV: They all go on a mission to bring back Malon and Misty, and they end up having to save Ash as well. They meet Maximus from Gladiator, Stormy Rain, and Krystle. Team Rocket finally appears again, this time married for some reason. They manage to save everyone at the end, and the Pokemon people go home so Ash can finish his journey. However, they remember everything. Ash and Misty finally get together (for reals this time). Link moves into the ranch but keeps his treehouse.

Strange Condition

At the end of Wind Waker, it is revealed that Ganon wanted power in order to help his people. He despised the Hylians for having a nice place to live and ways to lead good lives. His people lived in a desert with few ways to prosper hence their lives of crime. In the beginning Ganon was not even a bad guy himself, especially when he was a kid and then young man. Twinrova always saw in him a way to gain power. They say in-game that they are roughly 400 years old, which means they have seen at least three kings come and go. Each one presumably led the Gerudo people in the same ways of life they had always known, never really seeking out to expand their power or territory. From an early age, Ganon knew he was to become king eventually. He hated the way his people were forced to live but could do nothing about it quite yet. This is how he started off merely wanting to help his people. The sisters saw this desire for power within him and used it to their advantage to gain power themselves. They used him basically, which he never fully figured out. He also grew up with Nabooru, and the two eventually were close up until she betrayed him. He became convinced by Twinrova that the key to gaining the power he needed to help his people laid in obtaining the Triforce, something they had had their eyes on for some time.

Why was it so easy to convince him? Ganon helped the King of Hyrule during the civil war when he was still a teen and newly crowned king. At the end of the war, the Gerudos were still left to their home in the desert while Hyrule prospered. This angered the young man, who thought that helping the king might have gained his people better circumstances. This is when the sisters sweep in with their plan. If he can obtain the Triforce, then he will have all the power he needs to take over the world and put the king and all of the Hylians in their place as well as anyone who opposes him. He takes the bait. This new distorted view he has is still rooted in his desire to help his people. Between then and the beginning of Ocarina of Time this quest for power changes him into the man Nabooru comes to despise and plot against. Any connection the two have is broken when it becomes clear that he chooses his quest for power and Twinrova (whom she always hated) over her, and this leads to her plotting to take him and his followers down. He goes against the rules she, him, and others followed by taking from the weak. Eventually while brainwashed she will do the same. The sisters are alerted to her plans (they never liked her either, especially her influence on Ganon and thus watched her closely) and tell him. In outrage, he commands them to take her prisoner (scene after Link gets the Silver Gauntlets). It is their idea to brainwash her, and he agrees because of his anger.

Seven years go by while Link is asleep in the Temple of Light. During this time, Ganon is able to take over Hyrule and make it into ruins to symbolize the conditions his people have always endured. By this time, the power and his hatred have all but consumed his total being. The sisters want him to expand his empire, but he is reluctant, fine with ruling over the destroyed land of Hyrule. Still, they want more. They know of a legend quietly passed down that speaks of an even larger, bloodier war that took place between not just the races of Hyrule but different worlds. They know of a man who lives in a temple on an island, unable to leave for he is bound there. They know of the fabled Chosen Ones who will be destined to defeat that man and stop the coming of the Most Evil One. And they know that any child of the King of Evil would be able to keep those things from happening, allowing them to expand not just throughout the world where Hyrule is but to all of the other worlds as well. They come up with a new plan, one that involves finding the right female to have the King’s heir. Like their plans for domination, this is kept secret from him as well. While they hate to admit it, they know that the only one Ganon would even consider as a partner is his old friend and first love, the one they have under mind control carrying out raids that would make even the hardened Ganon double-take at. So they let her out of mind control sometimes and have the two of them spend time together in hopes of them somehow reconnecting. It takes a while for this to happen, and Ganon is fine with the arrangement, even though she is left in the dark about her actions and why her own people have this new kind of respect and fear around her.

Eventually the sisters get what they want when the two have a son, Exzavier., which is a surprise to all since only one male is to be born every 100 years. The reason, though unknown to everyone at the time, is because of her latent Sage powers. His new family softens Ganon if only a little bit, which the sisters do not like. Again they tell him that Nabooru is planning on rebelling against him (by this point he has ordered them not to place her under mind control any longer) and taking their son where he will never see them again. This is more outraging than the previous time because he had let himself soften up by giving her a second chance to be loyal to him and by forming an attachment to their child. This is the point at which the sisters turn her into the Iron Knuckle that Link later defeats. When Ganon is ultimately defeated by Link and the Sages, the sisters panic and send Exzavier 1000 years into the future where he will be safe. He grows up there with his father, who had escaped the imprisonment that happened in the reset past (kind of confusing). He despises his dad, not knowing the whole story about his parents. He also despises being taken away from his mother, which is a motive when he returns to the reset past. Unfortunately, this causes the timelines to split. His future and the future of the world he is visiting are now different. He stays in Gerudo Valley as the king to make things better for them the way his father originally wanted to.

During this time, Link is gone for seven years. Only he and Zelda have any memories about what happened in the future, and neither knows about Exzavier. The prince (Ganon is still recognized as the king, and Ex proves he is his son) wants to make sure that the dark future he comes from doesn’t happen. Sadly, Link is stuck in Termina. Even his power cannot reopen the portals, which were sealed by Judas to prevent Link from ever being able to meet the Chosen Ones as well as keep all of the beings who will fight in the war from coming to Hyrule. He ends up working with Zelda in secret, which even she does not like as she does not trust him. Link eventually returns to Hyrule. Exzavier even lets it slip about who his mother is. The Golden Goddesses can foresee that the adult Exazvier will be lost to his rage and power and eventually be destroyed. But they also see that if he were born again in this reset timeline, he would be an ally for good having been raised by his mother, who eventually leads the whole Gerudo tribe in place of its lost king. They allow the memories that were erased to be returned to her, and the two have a sort of weird reunion. When he returns to his future after Link comes home to Hyrule, she comes up with her plan on getting him back. This leads to a visit to Ganon in the void between realms, where he agrees because he sees their future son as a way for him to eventually escape. Also, part of him still cares for her, even after her betrayal. He is unaware of the future events that took place. Exzavier is born again shortly before the events of the Crossover begin.

Battle for the Future?

I think not.

iPhone 4, 3DS, or PSP?

Not much to say except that the iPhone will never be competition for true hand held systems no matter how great they design the phone for gaming. Many (like me) are turned off by the fact that you have to sign on with AT&T to use it. Plus after having a Droid for a short three months, I would stay away from the iPhone, even if it came to Verizon. The other two are designed for gaming and appeal to folks from the casual crowd (my mom wants one) to the hardcore gamer. Apple is getting a little too big for itself it seems, and there are plenty of iSheep (borrowed term, not mine) who will go out and get whatever shiny new thing Apple puts out no matter how pointless (iPad anyone?).

Besides, the 3DS isn't even out yet, and Sony is still going strong with its original PSP. I honestly cannot see developers ever completely jumping ship to hop on board with a phone no matter who makes it.

Tribute to my Scooter

Back in the good old days, my mom used to travel a lot for her job and earned rewards (thus allowing us to take a vacation in New Mexico almost for free). One of the airlines gave her points, and she was able to pick from a catalog of stuff. My brother had received a scooter from my dad the year before (2001) when they were just starting to become popular. I always wanted to use it, but he was a stingy little brother. My mom then used her points to get him for Christmas a new blue Razor with a kick bar from Sharper Image (i.e. it had their logo on and that was it). He ended up getting a goped, which was a motorized scooter. He traded a part for it for my ownership of his new scooter. The blue Razor became mine after that. I used it extensively when I was 15 through 17 (to get to Jon's house and to get to Wyatt's so we could walk to school together). It got so beat up and scratched from me.

Flash forward to when I am 24 and going to UCR. I noticed many people using scooters and bikes to get around our sprawling campus so I decided to use my Razor in the summer to get from the engineering building to my anthro class since the passing period was only 10 minutes (talking about a half mile walk here and the still slightly sprained knee along with the desire to not rush). Then I realized just how well this thing had served me. It saw me through high school and watched as I gave it up for my car. It was left in the garage alone to sit there, waiting for the day I would once again pick it up. I used my bike on more occasions that I used it. That is, until university.

Sure, the foam handlegrips are falling off, and the plastic end caps for the handles are also falling out, tethered only by the old elastic bands. It has more scratches than I can account for, but it is still mine. I find it funny how, as a teenager, it brought me closer to my best friends of the time. Now it brings me closer to my goals (and yes, makes less sweaty and hurried walking between classes). I never took the time to appreciate it so this blog is kind of dedicated to that fact.

Viva la scooter.

Destroy She Said

Smirnoff Black Cherry reminds me of when my dad died.

That seems strange, doesn't it? Why would cheap alcohol take me back to one of the worst times in my life? The answer is fairly simple. It is also sort of why listening to "Destroy She Said" by CIRC reminds me of then (still a good song that I do play when I feel like it).

The time was August 2006. My mom was called to Las Vegas for work and took my brother with her. I asked for the weekend off work and got Friday through the next Monday, an added bonus of one day. I was going to drive out there to meet them, but first I was going to take my dad to the store like my bro always did. That Thursday night I worked 6-11pm as a bagger. Before I left, I called and talked to him to confirm everything. He was really happy because I generally didn't spend much time with him. I went to work like always. That night I came home and drank the rest of my bro's vodka, not at all worried because he would buy me more the next day. He did almost anything I asked of him when I did ask. So I went to bed.

The next morning I got up and got ready and called him to see if he was ready to go. There was no answer, which was odd for him because he always answered the phone. I waited and called a few more times. This was when I knew something was wrong. I got into my car to go to his house, and "Destroy She Said" played on my radio on repeat until I got there. I was already expecting it, but he was dead.

That song and that vodka remind me of then the same way some weird Asian horror movie with Wyatt and Carri, Denny's with Jose, and the song "Jellyhead" do. I'm not sure that will ever go away, and when I listen to that music or drink some cherry Smirnoff, it takes me back to those days. I do have good memories like how he was so happy that I might get the chance to work in the lobby at my store. Two weeks later I was scheduled back there, too late to tell him about. I also was hanging out with Wyatt more, and there was a funny power outage at my store the week prior. It's weird to have nice memories mixed in with sad ones, but I know he could rather me hold onto the good things than the bad. He always laughed at stuff in between complaining, and I miss all of those things dearly.

It has now almost been fours whole years since he became a big mass of energy floating around the universe. I miss him every day, especially as I go on in life and get closer to my goals. I know he would be so proud of me going to UCR and doing well and having a plan in place. He would listen to me bitch about work and make me feel better. The day I graduate I know he will be there in spirit, but I selfishly wish he could be there in flesh, even though he was sick and suffering until his death. I would give almost anything to hug him and feel his Santa Clause beard tickle me again. Yeah, he might have smelled since he couldn't shower, but when I hugged him, that didn't matter. He was my daddy, the only one I would have. So those things that remind me of when he died also remind me of his life. And you know what? I smile inside because I know he would be doing the same thing.

Dumb Comment of the Day

Awesomesauce

Rant.

Why do the networks always cancel the shows I like? The list goes on...Invasion, Eli Stone, The Reaper, The Middleman...and now apparently the Legend of the Seeker.

Pissed.

All of those are good, new, and different.

But they get canceled presumably because they cost too much to make versus the profit they make off of the ones who watch. I though in the beginning that reality TV was a fad...sadly I was wrong. People are stupid and easily amused because their lives are so empty they can watch that other nonsense and be entertained hence make the networks money. Well screw them.

See, this is why I hate being a fan fiction writer and reader. Someone comes up with something that is really good and interesting, but they do not finish it. I myself am guilty. You get into it and then...canceled! Too bad. And yet they come out with Shrek 4 (and I love Shrek).

I'm just irritated right now.

Multiverse Theory

"In my heart..."

...there's no doubt of who I want to be."

A few blogs posts ago I talked about my feelings on finally going to UCR. What I failed to articulate was how different this was for me so I will try and rectify that with this entry.

The school system I went through was set up like this:

K-5 is elementary
6-8 is middle school/junior high
9-12 is high school

For me, 6th grade and 9th grade were pivotal years. What I mean is that these were years when I had to do a lot of adjusting as a child and teenager. I repeated the same pattern by not doing my course work and not getting the grades I should have been getting. I was capable, but something made me stray. That same thing made me f'up my first year in community college. This is why I know I could not have handled uni right away (among other things...I am so grateful to community college and my wonderful professors).

But when I transferred to UCR, even under a major that was not my first pick, it was my choice. I did this. I wanted this. I earned this. And guess what? My first quarter I got a 3.67 GPA and made honor roll. I am so enthusiastic about graduating and grad school and teaching that now it is part of who I am more so than anything else has been (at least in public).

Life may not be what I imagined it would at this age, but life rarely works out the way you plan. You learn to adjust, and you take things as they come. It makes you who you are. I mostly like who I am with the occasional discouraging reminder of what I am not happy about at that moment, but I am getting there through the rough spots. And I am learning along the way.

Things to do instead of...your anthro short paper

1. Go the store where you work on a day off and shop

2. Watch TV and half read your education textbook

3. Browse Cracked.com

4. Check Facebook

5. Play with your bokken in the backyard

6. Play with your plastic sword in the backyard

7. Ride your old Razor scooter

8. Write a blog of things you did instead of homework

Quiz Time

No idea where I got this, but I found it saved in one of my folders when I was doing some cleaning. Bolded careers are ones I have considered, and one is what I am going to school for.

Your personality type:

Quietly forceful, original and sensitive. Tend to stick to things until they are done. Extremely intuitive about people and concerned for their feelings. Well-developed value systems which they strictly adhere to. Well-respected for their perseverance in doing the right thing. Likely to be individualistic, rather than leading or following.

Careers that could fit you include:

Counselors, clergy, missionaries, teachers, medical doctors, dentists, chiropractors, psychologists, psychiatrists, writers, musicians, artists, psychics, photographers, child care workers, education consultants, librarians, marketeers, scientists, social workers.

And so it goes

"I never thought I'd get here / I was so far away."

Okay, that line is from a song about love, but it fits with how I feel about transferring finally. I was thinking about this last quarter as I waited for the signal to change to cross the street. I graduated high school and went to Chaffey because it was expected of me. It wasn't necessarily something I wanted. I was still floating through life trying to figure it out. Not that I was not intending on graduating high school, but this was also something I was doing because I was supposed to. The same kind of goes for getting a job and then staying there (for five plus years so far). It was expected, not what I wanted.

This changed, and I can still pinpoint the times it did. I was driving home from Target in 2008 and just the idea of being a teacher made me happy in this way I could not express in any other way except to speed and drive without care (which I had to hold in). Then after I applied to UCR in July it was still something I felt I was doing because I needed to for someone else (my grandma).

That day as I stood there at the signal, I thought, gosh, I really am here at UCR. I earned this. I wanted this. I did it. Now I am actively working towards graduation, and every so often, the feeling hits that, wow, I'm at the university I dreamed of (I don't care what anyone else says about UCR). Who would have thought I would end up here, especially after dropping out last spring and changing majors abruptly?

Sometimes life discourages me. Then I think of what I have accomplished despite the bumps, and I feel like I've done what I wanted after all. I even think that, if my dad's energy is floating around out there, I've made him proud since he couldn't stick around on Earth long enough to see what I have done. That above all makes me happy.

Now...onto graduation, grad school, and teaching.

Life

So let's talk about what has been going on in life recently, shall we?

So I am now almost half way (!) through my second quarter at UCR. First quarter I made the Dean's Honors List. Then I signed up for summer school and applied for aid though I secretly found out that even if they don't give it to me, my grandma has the dough to pay. After the summer I will only need 36 units to earn my degree with a minimum of 4 anthropology classes, 5 to get the BS. I was thinking of trying to graduate by the end of winter, but I think I'll just stretch it out until spring.

Also, two days before St. Patrick's Day, I was leaving school having done the final presentation for my class when some guy on a skateboard slammed into me. We both landed on the sidewalk hard and knocked a plastic cone from the ground. My poster went flying, and I was dazed for a good ten seconds. I ended up spraining my knee (among other bruises and sore muscles) and was off work for the rest of the week. It still hurts a little, especially to lean on it, but it was a nice vacation. I also saw Alice in Wonderland with my mom the day after it happened. Good movie but not a comfortable position with a messed up leg.

That's probably about it for the time. Peace.

Times are a changin'

So wow. I have been a Dragonball fan for ten years already. I first started watching it back on Toonami in the summer of 2000 right before high school started. I used to make fun of it with my friend in seventh grade (Dragonballz was funny back then I guess), and I loved staying up to midnight to watch the "uncut" episodes on Midnight Run. Then the next summer I came across some tapes at Wal Mart of the new saga where Gohan is a teenage superhero in a trashcan and cape. I started begging my mom to buy them every time they came out, and I'd call my friends and race down there as soon as they were out of summer school. We'd sit around in the living room of the house we always hung out in and watch the six episodes. It was memorable and so much fun. I have fond memories of that time. There was just something about ripping off the plastic wrap and popping them in the VCR.

Starting last year they started airing Dragonball Kai, a series where the filler has been cut out and it is set to be around 100 or so episodes. Gone are the days where we have to wait for them to be dubbed and released here. Technology has allowed people to capture the episodes streaming live on Japanese television. Then teams of people subtitle them and release them online to stream around the world. It's crazy for me to think about that. Funimation is releasing Blu-Ray discs starting in May, and they are airing it on the Nicktoons network in May also, I think. I do want to get that network to watch it because I am not buying Blu-Ray (I don't even have a DVD player, just my computer). I want to see Funi's job on it, but I love the fact I can watch it online less than a week after it airs in Japan. It's amazing.

I also watch (when I remember) Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari, a show by the creator of the Tenchi universe about his younger half-bro Kenshi who gets dragged into an alternate universe. It's an OAV, and I don't know if Funi will ever pick it up since they have the rights to Tenchi now (Geneon/Pioneer left the anime game a while ago). Doesn't matter, though. Fan subs work fine, and the quality is usually really good. It's way better than the fansubbed DBZ tapes I bought back in 2002 at least. My VCR ate the first Broly movie even. I never saw it until last year when I streamed it (guess where?) online. Now don't get me wrong. I support the official release. I have all of the orange bricks and am patiently waiting for the Dragonball sets to get cheaper so I can collect them, too. I would even buy the Dragonbox sets if I could afford it. For now, though, I'll have to stick to watching it online. Which is so cool.

Just like Gohan here.

Success!

Walmart, I Choose You!

World's most gullible supermarket chain falls victim to online scam

The # 1 Most Half-Assed Scam That Was Shockingly Successful from here.

Sadly, the company I work for was bought out just under a year after this happened.

Sigh. People are dumb.

I know...

Couldn't agree more

Lesbian sgt. discharged after police tell military

"To you people who say it was her fault because she didn't cooperate when she was at her home, so they contacted her at work, they contacted her while she was at the military base. And as a general comment to those who think gay marriage is an abomination against god's laws, marriage or even monogamy is evolutionarily pointless. If you're argument it that it violates you're own view of proper "morals" realize that you're "morals" are social constructs and are a "violation" of natural human rights. By the way, i totally appreciate "Joe's" use of quotation marks, because he's right, it's not "gay" marriage, its' just marriage plain and simple, there should be no distinction based upon sexual orientation or gender, to do so would be a violation of homosexual's human rights, i'm sure you people who oppose gay rights on "moral grounds" would be riling against the law if it chose to prevent you to marry or practice your religion, but of course when it's something you don't personally believe in, naturally it doesn't matter if they have rights or not because you only care about you're own personal views. Shame on you all for being so selfish." - someone on Yahoo!

Whatcha doin'?

Listening to: Passion Pit

Reading: Nightlight, a Twilight parody and my anthropology of risk paper

Watching: Teen Titans

Playing: Pokemon Platinum

Eating: nothing

Drinking: Vitaminwater XXX

Fireflies

--Owl City

You would not believe your eyes
If ten million fireflies
Lit up the world as I fell asleep

'Cause they'd fill the open air
And leave teardrops everywhere
You'd think me rude
But I would just stand and stare

I'd like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay
Awake when I'm asleep
'Cause everything is never as it seems

'Cause I'd get a thousand hugs
From ten thousand lightning bugs
As they tried to teach me how to dance

A foxtrot above my head
A sock hop beneath my bed
A disco ball is just hanging by a thread

I'd like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay
Awake when I'm asleep
'Cause everything is never as it seems
When I fall asleep

Leave my door open just a crack
(Please take me away from here)
'Cause I feel like such an insomniac
(Please take me away from here)
Why do I tire of counting sheep
(Please take me away from here)
When I'm far too tired to fall asleep

To ten million fireflies
I'm weird 'cause I hate goodbyes
I got misty eyes as they said farewell

But I'll know where several are
If my dreams get real bizarre
'Cause I saved a few and I keep them in a jar

I'd like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay
Awake when I'm asleep
'Cause everything is never as it seems
When I fall asleep

I'd like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay
Awake when I'm asleep
'Cause everything is never as it seems
When I fall asleep

I'd like to make myself believe
That planet earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay
Awake when I'm asleep
Because my dreams are bursting at the seams

Connections

The part circled in red is something we just started talking about in visual anthro. The website I found it on is one I was looking at for my archaeological interpretations class.

More "Theories"

So this is kind of addendum to my previous post. I started out thinking about this as the key point, and then it transformed into something different.

Alright, so a lot of people who talk about theories dealing with Majora's Mask like to ponder about counterparts. It is no secret that many characters in MM look the same as Ocarina of Time (thanks to the reuse of character models). The first thing I want to address is the idea of Link's Termina counterpart. Let me say this: he does not have one. Now why do I think that? First of all, not everyone in Hyrule has a counterpart in Termina. As another point, some new character designs (such as Kafei) were made. Many like to think of Kafei as Link's cp, which I don't buy. Yes, you did gain the ability to control him for a brief time in the side quest against Sakon. And yes, he was a very important person in the game (so was Anju but no one mentions her). Their sidequest together was the most extensive, but it was not simply about him so that argument holds no water for me.

Now who doesn't have a counterpart? Ganondorf and Zelda come to mind. What do they have in common, you ask? They are main characters who hold a piece of the Triforce. Oh, wait a second...so does Link. All I mean to say is that not all people in OoT must have a counterpart in MM. Onlyone of the Sages have one, and there are no Kokiris at all. And Kafei is his own person. Link is just passing by trying to leave so he can get back to his quest of trying to find Navi. People sometimes make a deal out of the fact that Cremia has the Triforce emblem on her belt buckle. But how can this be??? They don't seem to acknowledge the Goddesses or the Triforce. Simple answer: she is a reused model. I'm pretty sure the creators were not thinking that there would be controversy over something so simple or that they would put a hidden meaning in there by leaving it alone.

Somethings you just need to take at face value, and this is one of those things. Some people look the same, some are new, and some are missing. All the characters there are meant to draw you into the game, not the have you make connections back to Hyrule. They may look alike, but their personalities are different, and therefore they are different.

So don't worry about it.

Games and Theories

The Zelda series leaves a lot of room for interpretation and theorizing, and the creators apparently design the games to be that way. As a fan this is a fun thing to do as it allows players to look deeply at the games to try and see what is hidden. Of course, sometimes they will see what isn't there. This in itself is subjective because what one person believes will not necessarily be what others believe. A good example of this would be trying to pair our main hero up with someone, especially in the later 3D games (Ocarina and beyond). There are in-game references and "hints", but these are loose at best. Until the time when something is presented not as possibility but as canon, there will be debates on who he settles down with (if he ever settles down at all).

Apply this same thing to Majora's Mask. Admittedly I have never fully beaten the game (I've only gotten to the part where you save Lulu's eggs from the pirates), but as I am rewriting my old MM fanfiction tied in with the Lost in Hyrule series, I've been looking into fan theories for fun, thinking maybe I could incorporate something into my narrative. Although this game is almost on par with Ocarina, I think people are looking too deeply into things. From what has been revealed, the game Shigeru Miyamoto wanted Ocarina to be was not the final product that was released. It was still a great game, and many fans, including myself, got into the series through it. Still, he wanted a game that was far more immersive and larger. When it became apparent it was not feasible, they stripped it down and thus Zelda 64 became Ocarina of Time.

Two years after Ocarina of Time was released they put out Majora's Mask. Termed Zelda Gaiden at first, many people were looking forward to a follow up game. Then it came out and right away it was apparent at the reuse of many characters (among other things like control scheme, the fairy partner, and so on). One could see this as being lazy, but really, it was only a two year difference between games. Then it become obvious these characters are more than just NPs put there to interact with. They take on personalities and have problems aside from the impending fall of the moon. Link is then put in place to help them solve their problems, which aids him on his own quest plenty of times. If nothing else, you get the most powerful mask ever. What this game does is make a world that is deeper and connects the player to the other characters the way Zelda 64 was envisioned to do. Sure, it reused character models and ran on the same engine, but these shortcuts allowed the game to be as it was. And it was dark in many respects with some believing Twilight Princess can not compare. There are plenty of things to do and stuff to see, which has led to the many theories.

Theories are fun and all, and maybe there is credence to a lot of what is said. Maybe some of us are getting things right, or maybe we're not getting it at all. Who knows really? But it is fun to interpret. It does make for a richer experience, especially when you go back and play after you've aged a bit. Just don't take things too seriously, especially when there might not be answers. It did what its prequel couldn't and did it well. That in itself makes it a great game. So have fun, beat it, get all the masks, and slap on Fierce Deity to kick some Majora butt.

Linky time

Go here. I dare you.

Of Zeldas and Timelines

At the end of Ocarina of Time it is implied that two futures have been created. In what one would term the Adult Timeline, the entire land of Hyrule gathers to celebrate the defeat of Ganondorf at Lon Lon Ranch. The Sages can be seen watching over everyone and then flying across the sky. The ones they left behind look on sadly but will eventually realize that the ones they love will always be with them. The scene then cuts to Link, who finds himself once again a child in the Temple of Time with the Master Sword laid to rest. Navi flutters out the window without a word, leaving Link forever as their partnership is over and because he is not a true Kokiri child. This would hurt him as evidenced by the fact that he leaves to find her, ending up in Termina for a time. The very last scene of the game has Link once again running into the castle courtyard to meet Zelda.

From what is revealed in Twilight Princess, the outcome of this was Zelda warning them of what Ganondorf would do if he was allowed to remain free. He would never get the Triforce in this timeline since Link never opened the Door of Time, but as it turned out, he still had it since his alternate counterpart possessed it. Link left on his personal quest while the Sages tried to execute Ganondorf at the Arbiter's Grounds before he could commit any crimes. While one may argue this was wrong, it does not matter since thy failed in their attempts anyway. The piece of power saved the king, and he killed one of the Ancient Sages. They were then forced to banish him to the Twilight Realm through the mirror that was the only connection between the two worlds, left by the Goddesses themselves.

Sometime in the far off future Hyrule has had plenty of time to grow and prosper. The new hero, also named Link, has lived a quiet life far away from any hustle and bustle of the kingdom as a ranch hand. He eventually defeats Ganon again as the king of evil has used Zant, a powerful but insecure Twili to escape the realm and once again try to take over Hyrule. Again this Link bids farewell to the one who was by his side the whole time, and nothing is known of what becomes of him. Skip back across the divide to the other timeline, where Wind Waker takes place. A new Link sets out to save his sister this time, ultimately having to face the escaped Ganondorf. He finds out the pirate who he has been running into and sort of adventuring with is actually the last in line to Hyrule's Royal Family, and the King tells the two after the final battle that they need to find a new land to call home and set up a kingdom that can prosper. Link, Tetra, and her pirate crew head out on a new adventure, running into a ghost ship and defeating a new bad guy, Bellum. Skip a hundred years into the future, and their kingdom is flourishing. They even have seemingly begun an industrial revolution with the main mode of transportation being by train. A new Link once again has to set off on an adventure to save Zelda's body and stop Chancellor Cole from bringing back Malladus the Demon King. This Zelda is all but outright stated to be the granddaughter of Tetra, and Niko is still around and kicking as he narrates the game's opening sequence.

Now what does all of this have to do with two endings? Everything. The opening sequence of Wind Waker references the events that take place in Ocarina of Time. It prefaces it all by stating it is legend, which some use to discredit the whole thing, but why was it not more exaggerated then? Why did it stick so closely to what happened? When Ganon returns, there is no hero to fight him because Zelda sent him back into the past, thus erasing his existence. The Goddesses heed the peoples' cries and flood Hyrule to keep Ganon away from the Triforce and the Master Sword and to save everyone by telling them to take refuge on the mountaintops. They then go on to live on the Great Sea as seen in Wind Waker.

In Twilight Princess it too reveals what happened with Ganon. He comes back in this future as well, and events described in the game tie it to neatly to the Child Timeline. Both games reference the first defeat and return of Ganon, and those events are quite different from each other. They describe two futures that also vary greatly. Now how could Zelda send him back in time and create two timelines? Simple. She was the seventh Sage, after all. With her power as well as those of the Ocarina of Time, she told Link it was time for them to say goodbye and gave him back his lost childhood.

The very end of the game supports this with two different things going on (celebration and Link meeting Zelda again). Link and Navi kept their memories. Why wouldn't Zelda have also? Why did she look so surprised to see him? It was because she had never met him before. It seems apparent that Zelda fully intended to cause the timelines to diverge in this way, which would unfortunately lead to the destruction of Hyrule. She wanted to give Link back his time as a kid, but she also wanted to save her kingdom from destruction (kind of ironic due to what happens before Wind Waker). That second part was always her main goal, and Link, just as the Link in Twilight Princess, is a means to an end. Not to say that she didn't care about him because she obviously did, but this came later after she had grown up in hiding for seven years. She did the only thing she thought she could do that would be good for both Link and Hyrule. It probably was bad for both since her Hyrule would eventually be lost under a sea of water, and Link most likely had to deal with being an adult in the body of a child. Plus he lost Navi.

So in so far is placing these games (Ocarina, Majora's Mask, Twilight Princess, Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, and Spirit Tracks) creating an orderly version of the split timeline is easy. The creators wove into the storyline of each game connections to the others before it on both sides of the split. Unless they had thought about connecting them, they would not bother doing so.

This is not to say that they have always known which way the series would go. This is not possible. It started off as two games for the Famicom/NES, and it is doubtful even Miyamoto knew how far this would spread out. Still, the world of Zelda is a living, breathing thing. Each new game adds more to the universe while still maintaining the distinct sense of it being a Zelda game. At this point in time they probably do have some semblance of a timeline, even if it is not complete. It may never be cut and dry and neat, and who knows when or if the franchise will ever come to an end. For the time being, Zelda is still riding strong with rabid fans everywhere debating over a timeline that may never be fully revealed officially. What is true is that Ocarina left two timelines and endless possibilities to fill in gaps and make sequels. The latest two games continue on after Wind Waker, and with one in development for the Wii, fans can only wait and see where they think it will go.