Woo Hoo!

I have auto insurance again!!! WOOHOO FOR TAX RETURNS!!! That's one less stressful thing to be worrying about.

I hope everyone has been enjoying Weezer Jam Session.
I've been playing it all morning. I know it's only two songs, but
I'm addicted. There's also another game that I found that it's
pretty cool as well. It's called Kitten Cannon.

The basic object of the game is to shoot the kitten as far as
possible. Current high scores are over 3,000 ft. My highest
so far has only been 731 ft. Let me know how far you can get.

Weezer Jam Session

I found this link to a game called Weezer Jam Session. It's a simple little flash game based off Nintendo's Donkey Konga. Fun times, check it out.

I found my map by the way... ;o)

Okay, Time To Write Something

It's funny how certain music, combined with the right kind of setting, can bring back feelings and emotions of old. As I sit here, I'm reminded of the comfort once accompanied by said music and setting. This has been happening a lot recently with the weather being the way it has. I'm reminded of the good days of my senior year in college. Sitting outside at Pete's, cheering on two strangers kissing nearby. It's those things I miss. Life was easy back then (funny thing is, it was only a year ago). I think I miss the comfort of knowing that my life was easy. Sure, exams, projects, term papers; that all sucked. But still, that kind of stuff is a lot easier then worrying about how you are going to pay your next student loan payment, or how you are going to afford food for the next week. College was great.

I've recently started working with a couple of girls at my other job. Nikki is a freshman at Ball State and Kendra is a Sophomore. It's refreshing to see them talk to each other about their lives and the problems they face everyday at school. I don't really know how to describe it, but, one the one hand, I feel like I could be these girl's mentor of sorts. I've lived through everything they're living right now and I want to encourage them enjoy college while it's still happening. But at the same time, I feel old talking with them for the same reasons. It's strange hearing them trying to figure how to deal with their problems, when they don't even know what living in the real world is like. I think I may have been spoiled by the college experience.

I got use to the easy life, and while I think I've made the "transition" to adulthood, I think I should have prepared myself better. I made some wrong choices right out of college. Instead of going with my gut, I tried to think too rationally about things (ex. thinking like an adult when I wasn't). I was trying to figure out my future when I hadn't even figured out my present. That is a common mistake I think people make right out of school. You think to yourself:

"Alright, school's over... time to get a job, buy a house, start a family, etc."

But really, you should be thinking to yourself:

"What do I need to DO to get to the point where I can start thinking about a career, a house, a family, etc."

I skipped that step.

I've learned a lot from my experience here in Muncie. I know it probably sounds cliche, but I grew up too fast. I had a plan, I just went a different route, and now I'm lost. If only I could find that damn map...

The Waiting

I'm trying to figure out whether or not to do several small updates during the day, or just save everything till the end of the day and make one BIG post. While I sit here in the store, a lot of thoughts go through my head, stuff that I think I should post, but I'm afraid that if I wait till the end of the day, I'm going to forget stuff. But at the same time, I don't want to become too addicted to blogging (I think that may already be too late).

The weather has been really great recently and it would be great to get out and enjoy it once in a while. Granted, that doesn't really sound like something I would normally do, but the weather here in Muncie has been pretty shitty most of the time, so it's a nice change of pace. I wonder how long it's going to last...

Why, Oh Why, Doom 3?

I left work today, excited about picking up a copy of "Doom 3"
for myself. I drove home, grabbed a few games and movies to
trade-in at my local Blockbuster, and began my journey. Upon
arriving at Blockbuster, I traded in my stuff and received about $74 in
store credit, more then enough to purchase a copy of Doom 3: Collector's Edition, retail price $59.99.

Isn't it pretty? I thought so. Anyway, I started looking
around the store for my soon-to-be copy, only to find nothing. I
asked the clerk at the register if they had any copies in stock.
He looked it up on the computer and found that there were two
left. So began the great search... The clerk checked
everywhere, even having another employee looking as well. Let's
just say he found nothing. After looking at the computer again,
turns out that the two remaining copies were pre-ordered by store
employees. Those bitches!

I asked him to call the other local Blockbuster to see if they had a
copy as well. Same situation. They had copies, but were
holding them for employees. DOUBLE BITCHES! I left the
store, saddened by the fact that, as lame as it may sound, the game I
had been looking forward to for over a year now would not be played by
me, tonight. When I got home, it hit me... why not call the
Blockbusters in nearby town (i.e. Anderson, New Castle, Gas
City). But, as hard as I tried, I did not succeed. I guess
it was not meant to be, but for tonight, I do not own... Doom 3.

BUT, let it be known, I will own Doom 3, and as soon as I get it,
impressions will be posted... I can't wait to kill things... hehehehehe...

And on a side note, it came to my attention today that Gmail is in
fact, still in beta testing. As mentioned before, I do have 50
invites to give out if you are so inclined.

Mozilla and Gmail

I just want to encourage everyone to start using FireFox and ThunderBird. These two programs are way better then their respective counterparts (those being Internet Expoler and Outlook Express). They're free programs and open-source. DOWN WITH MICROSOFT!

Also, Google's own web-based email "Gmail" has just celebrated it's first year of existence. It's probably one of the best email services out there, plus Hotmail has been really pissing me off as of late. I'm not sure, but I think Gmail is now public (it was previously still in beta testing, and you had to be invited to use it), which means everyone can use it! If for whatever reason I am mistaken, I do have 50 invites, so if you're interested, I can hook you up.

First REAL Post... For REAL This Time

There are ups and downs in life. It's the ups that make us want to keep living, and it's the downs that make us want to die. Right now I'm somewhere in the middle. I'm not really looking forward to the future, but at the same time, I'm glad that certain things are behind me. It's kind of like... I'm a blank slate. I'm just kind of waiting for SOMETHING to happen, and when it does, maybe I will have a better idea where I am.

As I'm sure a few of you know, the movie "Sin City" came out this weekend. The movie is written and co-directed by Frank Miller. Frank has been working in the comic industry for quite a while now and has had a major impact on how comics are portrayed. From "Daredevil", to "Wolverine", to "The Dark Knight Returns", his impact is clearly visible in almost all current books. Comics just aren't for kids, and Miller really made that apparent to public perception.

The reason I bring all this up is because today while I was watching a special on Frank Miller, I remembered that I actually have an autographed issue of Wolverine Ltmd. #1 signed by Frank Miller... HOW COOL IS THAT!? I'm such a geek. I have to thank my friend Seth for that one. ;)

Speaking of Seth, he has been drawing comics for a while now, including one that he has just brought out of retirement. It's called "Karate Sphincter Boy". It's the story of a young man who thinks he's a great master of karate, when in fact... he's pathetic. It's quite funny. I'm actually trying to design a website in which to display said comic, something similar in the style of Penny Arcade (a site I suggest everyone visit at least once). Once I actually have a good amount of time to sit down and really come up with something cool, I'll post it here. The strip may actually show up here now and then, so stay tuned.

Finally, this brings me to the reason why I have created this BLOG in the first place. For starters, it's free. Sure, I could design a website, buy a domain, and pay a server to host my site, but this is just easier for now, plus it's easier to update. I plan on posting regularly about anything that interests me. I am also going to be posting some of my own writing and photography work in an attempt to get some feedback. I encourage everyone to leave a comment when you feel the need.

With that said, I say goodbye for now.