DRIFTING SAND漂流砂, HIDDEN WATER隠された水

Drifting Sand, Hidden Time

2011-12-21T07:50:00.000-08:00

Hi all. Yes, I am still alive!

Just a quick but very important update!

I think we can assume now that daily or weekly updates just aren't going to happen, at least not consistently for periods longer than a month or two at once. However, my biggest aim for the Winter is to be on top of things - especially school stuff - and updating this blog would be a good testament to that.

I have some new friends to add to me list of secret people. I won't list all of them, just some of those I've been talking to the most over the last two months. Also included are previously alias'd people that I happen to have been seeing a lot recently:

A.C. <--Not a new one, actually my best friend of many years.
Ochibi-chan <--Short, quiet, tres kawaii! My g/f as of two days ago x)
Her Annieness <--Frosh week friend that I wish I saw more of these days! Friend of Ochibi-chan too.
Mr. Tengen <--Frosh week friend, really cool guy who is enthusiastically learning Go! 囲碁部員

::Continued writing this entry on 12/23/2011, after meeting up with JEFFBOT, Mimi and others for Karaoke. After that, Mimi and I met up with ANGRYM and two others for sushi, and yet more Karaoke!::

EmoJ <--1st-year friend from Japanese class. I spend a considerable amount of time with him, one of my good friends.
HappyJ<--A good friend from Go club who has a lot in common with me - Go, Anime/Manga, Magic the Gathering, Japan insterests, etc.
ANGRYKOREAN <-- Hehe, he's not a new one. He's a Go club friend, a good friend, and sometimes does other stuff with me besides Go. We always joke about other Go players, generalizations/stereotypes in Go, etc.
LittleD <--Since there's a BigD, there must be a LittleD! Actually, their physical sizes are probably roughly similar hehe. LittleD is someone who is currently helping me a lot with Go club management.
GARU <--Another new Go club member. He seems like a pretty smart guy, and is interesting to talk to.

There are more, I'll list them another time lol.

My first term of university was very poor in terms of marks, but really awesome in regards to my social life. I made a lot of good new friends, run a Go club with tons of new members, developed multiple more new social circles, and got a girlfriend too. For the most part, things are good~

I learned a lot from my university mistakes so far, like to stay on top of or, better yet, ahead on readings, to study as early as possible for everything regardless of how much time there is, to attend all tutorials and most or all lectures, to maintain a fairly strict schedule even on weekends in order to keep sleeping patterns regulated, purchase books as early as possible and deal with OSAP stuff as early as possible, plan everything in advance as much as possible, set up folders on computer for each courses (did this) into which I should put notes and things, etc.

Most of all, I must say it again that I should be ahead on readings and studying at all times. Then getting at least 70's on everything is automatic, and I can get much higher marks from there.

I fell so behind in some of my courses that I had to pull lots of all nighters and never finished studying for anything. My GPA is probably around 2.8 or 2.9 as of the new year, pretty horrible. However, I have calculated a lot of things, such as what I can get in the winter and what I can get later on (cumulative). I calculated GPA for bold goals, "expectable/realistic" goals, and modest goals. Even with modest goals for the winter, as long as I follow what I've learned from experience now, something like 3.3 is a good goal. Anyway, I will aim for 3.4. 3.5 is probably not possible for this year now, but at the same time, should be easy to avoid anything below 3.3 or 3.2. I will do my best to come out of this year with a decent mark, and make it a really good one next year. I can think of it as a trade.

It's like a Magic card that draws you cards in exchange for paying life, or in Death Note when you make "the deal" for the Shinigami eyes ;p

More soon.

:)

2011-12-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

12 19 11 w00t ;p

Long Time, No See! HISASHIBURI~!

2011-11-14T15:05:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

I apologize again for going so many months without any posts. At that time, I became really busy and the blog started feeling like a burden. I'm sure some of you know what I mean :)

I've decided to make sure I occasionally post on here, it's a good sort of release for me I guess, this sort of 'journal'. It's also something I can reflect on later, and gets things off my chest. Here are a few updates about my life, though I'm sure I'm going to neglect to post many things. There's just too much to recall.

Go: Barely playing lately, not studying at all. I've gotten weaker, and my recent games show it. Still, I'm hosting Go club every week and I'm still playing. More than playing, I'm teaching! I've been teaching at Golden Key Cultural Centre for a while now, and I teach people at Go club. The GO club is doing GREAT right now! We've been averaging 18 people! A large group of passionate beginners have flocked in, and they're already good friends of mine!

School: So I started school, my first year of university. Frosh week was fun, really tiring and sleepless but I made some good friends. This was the only important part for me. I took The Literary Tradition, Intro Psych, Intro Sociology, Pre-modern East Asian History, and Japanese. I dropped the English course because my course load had way too much reading and I'd fallen behind in some of my courses. Yeah... Although I've had tons of social fun so far, I've fallen behind. I've learned from SO MANY mistakes this term and I will never make them again. I guess it was worth it! I kind of bombed my Psych midterm, 53... Yeah, I was shocked. A smart friend of mine got even less! He dropped the course after that :) In Sociology I got only 73. I had basically no time to study for my midterms, never mind... Anyway, I think Sociology is easy and I will definitely get a high mark on the next midterm. Japanese is around 80, I skipped a lot of quizzes and stuff for other things, but I will raise it to at least 85! Premodern E.A. History wa chotto... (is a little...)
I once again had almost no time to study for the midterm, so I only got a 70 :( I probably won't get higher than 73 or 75 in the end, but whatever.. This is my Fail Term, haha. There are some issues with that course, but at least it's not something I'm going to get 65 or less in, so it's all good~ It's because at this point I don't see it as possible to fully catch up in all my courses before the Fall term ends, I've been trying all this time lol.

Right now I should be reading for Psych - I have 300 pages to read + studying, and midterm is in under 3 days! But it's okay... I wanted to relax for a few minutes and make this post. Hisabisa dakara ne~
At least I've already read a chunk of the pages. I will get back to it soon and continue for at least 6 or 7 hours (only 6 or 7, I have Japanese tomorrow at 9am and I need to stop skipping!)

After bombing my Psych midterm, I started calculating things to make myself feel better. I may be wrong in thinking that GPA calculation is this simple, but here's how I am looking at this stuff right now:

Psych is a half credit, making it one 40th of my total courses in undergrad. Then there's the fact that the midterm was worth just 30%, so roughly speaking, the mark acts as less than one 120th of my final undergrad GPA, ne? And considering I scored roughly half on it, I only *lost* something like one 250th of my possible marks affecting GPA. I still have a chance to get into the 70's or something in Psych this term.

The English credit I already have, ENG185Y (Intro to Literature) finished with a 77 (and taught me so much about writing and literature!!! Thanks Prof. Maher!!)

So If we look at my CURRENT state, which is going to be terrible compared to my final term marks due to my big crashes from being behind (such as my 53!!!!!!), it's not actually THAT horrible, take a look:

eng185 - 77
psy100 - 57 (+4 for freebie marks from experiments)
soc100 - 75 (+2 for free marks from end-of-year questionaire)
eas103(history) - 75-ish (free 5% from weekly reading response assignments)
eas120 (jpn) - 80

By my logic, we should create duplicates of the year-long courses (since the smallest units are half-year courses like Psych) and then divide by total number. So...

(77 + 77 + 57 + 75 + 75 + 75 + 80 + 80)/8
=596/8= 74.5 = What...3.1 or something? It's not good, but better than I would have thought. Anyway, something like 3.0 at least!

Then I got to coming up with some goals... I came up with 3 levels of goals for the end of this term (bad results without any extreme bombing, expectable results, and good-but-reasonable goal). Without looking up the exact numbers I wrote down, they were something like this:

Bad result, end of 2011:

eng185 - 77 (this is obviously set in stone, since I finished it in the Summer)
psy100 - 68 (Fairly LOW goal considering I have like 70% of marks left up for grabs right now)
soc100 - 79 (No problem. And yeah, this number is awfully specific ;p)
eas103 - 69 (Though I think getting less than 70's here would be weird... hard to bomb or ace I think)
jpn - 81 (To me, this is fail considering my prior ability in Japanese)

This would put me sitting at 613/8=~76.6 = ~3.3, not so bad~ I guess.

Middle would be like 77, 70, 81, 71 and 83, respectively. This would give me 77.8/~3.4 or 3.5

Actual/Ideal goals at this point, but maintaining some reason:

77, 73, 86, 74, 87
This gives me ~80.8/~3.7, almost 3.8!!

Then there are my Winter courses...

After learning from all the mistakes so far and getting the hang of university quite a bit compared to before, I plan to aim for much higher marks starting in 2012!! >:) Not unreasonable ones, because I know how much I like to relax and go out with friends though :)

Soc and Japanese will continue into Winter (come to think of it, I probably can't get Japanese up to 87 by the end of the Fall term haha, skipped too many quizzes and messed up my Matome Mondai's too much.), so I will increase their marks a lot! Psych and EAS103 will be replaced by AST201 (Astronomy, "Stars and Galaxies" and EAS105 (Modern East Asian History. Oh Joy.).

I will be a lot more studies and NEVER fall behind again. I will stay ahead!! My aims for Winter:

Soc: 88?
Japanese: 87?
Astro: 86?
EAS103: 82?

Even if we assume results like 84, 84, 84, and 79 instead for these for some reason, then factor in the "middle/OK" goal idea listed above for Fall term (So, getting mediocre grades for both terms, but still pulling my socks up in the Winter) I'd get:

84+84+84+84+84+79 + 70+71+77+77 (each of these is 0.5 credit, = total of 5 credits by the end of first year) = (400+350+20+24)/10, =794/10=79.4, about 3.6 GPA. That's OK!!

If the trend from second year continues at least as good as yr1 Winter, the GPA will be at least 3.9 or so later! Even if I continuously slip up, I doubt I will fail to at least keep 3.6 or higher!!

Ganbarimasu!!

And now I'm thinking I should get to reading, so let me just sign out saying this...

Fate Zero~~ <3

Too busy...

2011-07-14T18:50:00.000-07:00

Sorry readers, I'm just too budy to post these days. I have too many aspirations and too little time. I will mention a few things very quickly, but don't expect another post soon, sorry. i was planning to make a giant blog post to summarize everything that's happened, and I still will, eventually.

School: Passed with a 77 and I start first year in September.
Go: Improved a little recently. Getting KGS 5d is very easy now and I did it with multiple accounts and made them more or less solid. I am also Tygem 7d! Not only that, but although it seemed a little difficult at first, I am winning most games now and, very strangely, it seems I will be 8d in a few days... 8d! wtf! Hehe

Thanks~ I will not forget about you guys or my blog.

Busy!

2011-05-06T22:09:00.001-07:00

Sorry readers, haven't posted in quite a while. I promise to start posing again after my final exam (June 7). Until then... Yeah...

-Mini Post #10-

2011-04-04T03:50:00.000-07:00

Yo~

Hmmm, although I won my first two games on Tygem since getting to 6d quite easily earlier today, I experienced many straight losses thereafter... I think I've been getting into Go again in an exciting way and trying hard, and as a result, I've lost that rewarding carefree manner of playing I had developed. I don't care though, I'm still going to try to get to 7d. Some of the losses today were out of over-thinking or being too tense - for example, ignoring a Ko threat I thought didn't work, fighting over a half point Ko in a game I had won. It was late and I was tired, so I didn't see a snapback, even at my level ^^ Quite embarrassing.

My second in-class essay mark was posted on the U of T web portal... I got a 70... Horrible... Seems like I'm bad at in-class essays after all. My average is now 75.33, barely over the 73 I need to move on to full time studies. The timing is okay though, as I was thinking I should stop playing so much online Go for a while. These next two weeks are going to be hectic, I have a lot of errands to win, a Go seminar for Kyu players that I need to prepare for, not to mention figuring out how I'm getting to the place in Mississauga, a mid-term mere days away, stuff to read, etc. I had decided to wait until I could study Go from my books again and solve some Tsumego (Go problems), and it seems it will have to wait until Summer. So for now...School, school, SCHOOL! Need to focus everything on my work, and extra studying. If I assume that my third and final in-class essay will be bad, it just means I need to do as well on the next out-of-class essays as I did on my first won, and get a similar mark (78+ will do) on the midterm and final exam. There's no way around both studying and 'extra' studying now. I'm still in a dangerous place, as there's no guaranteeing that I'm actually good (~80) at out-of-class essays in general, I need to do at least one more before I can make an assumption about the one after. Same goes for university midterms/exams. In the dark... I also really need to get back onto a normal schedule, my current one is completely vampiric!

Bye~

-Mini Post #9-

2011-04-03T03:16:00.000-07:00

Yo

Sorry for the lack of posting, so here's a little update. But first, an anime opening theme! This is Ore no Imouto wa Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai!

I like it around 00:09 - 00:10 ^^

I was going to do a big post, with lots of Go kifu of mine, but I'm low on energy, and I don't see a download function on Tygem...

Yeah, I started playing on Tygem under the account RKNINE.

Yeah dat.

There was a scoring bug and I lost 2 or 3 games illegitimately, but I kept playing and eventually got to 6d after about 33 games, with W>L(2), that is, more than twice as many wins as losses. I had registered as the maximum starting level, 5d, so i am now 6d and will henceforth work toward 7 Dan on Tygem. I wanted to just call myself rk9, which is cool because it sounds random, but sounds out the name of this Pokemon in a non-obvious way. Tygem didn't allow 3-character'd names... Oh well.

Participated in a Go tournament in Waterloo, drive up in ChengHappy's car with James and BigD. I need a nickname for James, but I don't know.. lol His KGS is his last name, and there's nothing particularly funny enough about him to call him something like ANGRYKOREAN or ANGRYM or SlipperyPete, etc. etc. (Some of my other friends haha)

Played Di in the first round - a good game with a favourable opening. It was close after I made some middlegame mistakes, and finally I lose after playing a false Ko threat and falling apart. Played Giftshop and won, played a great game with James and lost by 2.5, played a strong '3d' and won; both of my wins were kills, more or less, though I was also ahead on territory in both as well. All games had 6.5 Komi with Japanese rules, and were 25 minutes + 25 stones/10 minutes Canadian Byo-yomi. However, in the later rounds, the main time was 15 minutes and the Byo-yomi accelerated, increasing by 10 more stones each time.

As I need to hurry up and take care of my debts, I'm probably going to have to look for another crappy part-time job soon, but in the meantime, I'm trying hard to get more Go students. I'm going to be hosted on/help out with my friends up and coming website (though already accessible), LearnGo-Canada, and I will also try to involve myself with Allaboutgo and Goforall.

I'm planning to try following a set of daily routines centered around what I call a 'Wellness Pentagon', which requires me to do things concerning Work, Mind, Body, Social and Sleep each day. That is, mentally-cultivating things, work/project/school-related things, physical things, social things and proper sleeping habits.

As for school, I'll get my third mark - another in-class essay (this time on Oedipus the King) - back on Monday. I have a 72 from my first (bad) in-class essay, and an 84 from my first (good) out-of-class essay.

As for Anime, watched Ore no Imouto wa...(See music at the top) and loved it! It's still going, too, got to wait! Now watching To aru Majutsu no Index (season I, just started) <--not bad.

See ya!

Drifting Sand, Hidden Priorities

2011-03-18T13:09:00.000-07:00

Hello reader,

It's been a while since my last post, so I apologize for that. I've just been so busy and so tired lately, with nothing of interest to post.

(Japanese music)

As far as school goes, I received a 72 on my first in-class essay. I knew before even receiving the mark that I had a weak and possibly misguided thesis, and I had even mistaken the narrator. I thought the narrator of the short story No One's A Mystery was the 18 year-old girl, as if writing the short story as one of her diary entries, but what I failed to realize was that it was a more grown-up and matured version of herself that narrated the story. Anyway, I tried a lot harder on my first out-of-class essay and just got it back - an 80 - so now I just need to ensure I do that well for the rest... Before Wednesday I need to prepare for another in-class essay and also complete some extra-credit work worth up to 5 extra marks on my last essay (sweet). They will all be on the topic of Oedipus the King. Given 73 as the bar for moving onto full-time university studies next year, I can't let my guard down!

Pokemon: Bleh! It's impossible to make 'the best team' and even harder to do it with your favourites. I'm kind of sick of battling with people who all use the same teams... Why can't they just be original? There's no way those Pokemon are the favourites of all of those players. They'd probably answer that way if asked, but it's total B.S. So I've decided to eliminate all my different goals in the game and instead try to just make one good team. Just one, and be done with it.

Lately I've been so bored, as though nothing I do can entertain me... So I guess...I might as well use school work as my 'escape'. Funny, escaping to school work, the very thing I would usually escape from.

Time to get my priorities straight!

School Work - Highest priority for sure. Goal: 80+
Exercise - Yeah...I think this is pretty necessary. In fact, I want to practice martial arts again...!
Writing - Mmmhmmm... I should find some time to get my own writing done outside of school work.
Pokemon/Videogames - Low priority (I mean it!)
Go - Lately some interest has returned to me. Strangely, I've been winning pretty much every game I play on KGS despite how occasional they are... Anyway, I'll put this on 'low priority', but higher than Pokemon...

Here's one example game I played lately. My unranked account (3d? at the time, now 4d? with no losses) vs. a 2d

http://gokifu.com/final.php?kid=ixi

Thanks

Drifting Sand, Hidden Age

2011-02-27T13:12:00.000-08:00

Within me no adult
Only child and elder
No Winter in my life
But I am always Spring
And Later Fall will come
Much later, much later
A busy Spring of growth
Racing into the sky
Yet I yearn for Winter
I hide in cold darkness
Beautiful white silence
But come dreaded Summer
I may taste real Winter
My time always reveled
And in Summer's dry heat
For me a second Spring
No sun to make me cold
Forever is my Spring
Before the silent white

Hello reader,

The poem above was written completely on the spot, without any long pauses and without revision. I suppose you could say it was improv. There's a depth to it you probably don't expect, but I can't say it's a good poem or anything. It's just something I wanted to type after having gone for a nice walk in the snowy outdoors. Today is sort of my last day to finish my essay for school. Although it's due Wednesday, I intend to bring it in for some guidance in tomorrow's class. I'll then edit it a few times over before handing it in on Wednesday. I was feeling kind of shut-in and crappy this morning (I woke up at 7am!) so I went for a walk! One of my favourite walks to take is through the exploration trail(?) leading to Riverdale farm. I jogged for a bit at first. Later on, I felt really nice and refreshed as I treaded through the many inches of snow on the ground in the park. There were lots of people in the cool, wintry park; some sledding, some playing, and some just watching. It just felt good to get out like that, though I'm not really sure why. I walked along the trial toward Cabbage town/Riverdale park west, and as usual, I stood underneath the Weeping Willow tree for a little while. This time, they were a slightly strange sight to behold. The Weeping Willows, which, although seemingly sullen and anguished, always bestowed upon me a strange, almost nostalgic feeling of calm aliveness. These charismatically wistful trees that normally contrast with their lively, upright surroundings were doing just the opposite; they were budding! Budding amongst the thick snow and dead tree-brethren all around! I found that pretty interesting. Immediately after I got to thinking about it, I found myself overwhelmed by Winter's mystique! Everything around me covered in thick whiteness, from the sky dropped tiny speckles of what could only be rain, snow or hail - I couldn't even tell. It seemed as though they were floating down ever so slowly, and on whim I suddenly decided to lay on the ground right underneath the thin, drooping hair-like branches of the Willow tree, letting the deep snow absorb me. The first moment was the best: complete relaxation, coolness enveloping me all over, cold speckles landing on my face, and nothing but drooping branches ahead of me, with the emptiness of the Winter sky as the backdrop. I must have been lucky that no one was anywhere near me even though plenty of people were out with their dogs on the other side of the park. I let myself relax entirely, and eventually closed me eyes for a while. I didn't get up until the frost started to bite, and all the while, not a single person dared disturb my calm, revitalizing experience. It sounds strange, but I'm thinking the cool, "invigorating" air of Spring is, in fact, more of a "calming" air, and it's really the cold, pure air of Winter that's more rejuvenating.

Within me no adult, only child and elder.

-Mini Post #8-

2011-02-23T12:16:00.000-08:00

Hello, hello...

New Youtube!
http://www.youtube.com/user/EmptyTriangles

Here's my usual music vid post: I downloaded Windows Movie Maker n' did this:

Alright, so my goofing around is officially done. Even so, I do believe I have something to say for whatever I've gained from my leisure. For example: I battled on Pokemon Online at least 10-15 times over the last week (each battle is typically under ten minutes), so my Pokemon battling and team-building skills, however useless they may seem, have improved. I've learned from things I've read online, even Facebook - which can be a means to waste time and learn about people! Whenever I've thought of any ideas for things to write about, I briefed them into a notebook for later reference. Truth is, I haven't been feeling well for the last few days, although I feel fine today. Lately my teeth have been hurting from too much pressure and grinding. Furthermore, I developed a huge toothache yesterday :( This morning it was a lot worse, which is probably what caused me to awaken at ten in the morning. Thanks to two Advils(the little transparent liquid caplets), the pain is surprisingly minimal. For now.

I'm feeling pretty good about my future of writing - I'm able to come up with some interesting ideas quite often, and it doesn't seem so difficult to improve my abilities overall.

As for my Pokemon team, well, I'm still experimenting here and there. Currently my main team consists of Gliscor, Arcanine, Starmie, Scizor, Cinccino and Gengar. Arcanine, and especially Gengar, both of whom I really like, are the prime suspects of any 'failness' this team may have. Making predictions for Destiny Bond is pretty difficult and risky, especially when your opponent is counter-predicting it. His ghost type damage hasn't really helped me much when it comes to type coverage as opposed to power, and overall he's a powerful but fragile Pokemon. Well, if my opponents were disallowed from using OU legendary Pokemon such as Heatran and Zapdos, then my team is already really awesome, and would seem to win most battles. I'm also experimenting with variant teams, like switching Arcanine for Infernape, Gengar for Meganium (yes, actually trying this...but I think I'll stop now), Cinccino for Dragonite + Gliscor for Aerodactyl (but I may need to find a less fragile substitute-lead), etc. I should probably give Electivire, Dusknoir and some others a try.

Lately I'm reminded again of my long-term goals. I think they're quite achievable, and the idea of achieving them makes me feel a bit excited, although I'm not sure how others would see them.

A few of my goals (Just the beginning) :

Canadian 6-Dan Go player (This is more of a side goal, and shall be left aside for quite a while)

Established Author (The first step is to teach myself for a while, learn at school, and practice in the meantime - practice by writing my Fan-fic, for example. Second step is to start writing novels. The goal here is to write at least two novels and get at least one published. I should also write more than five short stories)

Poet (Develop a collection of poetry, both 'popular poetry' and 'sophisticated' poetry, amounting to at least thirty pieces. Should have at least one published)

Anyone know what "sophisticated" or "deep" poetry is actually called, if anything?
Also, anyone wanna tell me if I should be using ['] or ["] for those?? lol

Japanese Language Proficiency (Become fluent in all aspects of the Japanese language, obtain highest level certification, learn at least 800 Kanji, and create two or more examples of Japanese writing, which can include poetry, short stories, translations etc.)

Fitness/Health/Martial Arts (Achieve 1st-Dan or equivalent in a martial art. Body weight <91kg, able to perform several 'tricks': Handstand: 12+ seconds, "Tornado Kick", well-done Cartwheel, "Wall-running" and at least one more. High flexibility: Able to come close to Splits both ways and kick over head both ways. I aim to get onto a good sleep schedule permanently, and follow a loose, but effective, balanced routine.)

Satisfying Independence (Living on my own, with a decent/good job, ample spending money, and a good atmosphere. No debts! Should have a decent collection of representative room things: scrolls, posters, games, books etc.)

Video Game Progress (Pokemon: Complete/near complete 'favourites' collection and finished, fully trained main and LC teams with ample substitutes/variations. Decent collection of games overall, including RPG's: LoZ etc, Fighting: DBZ, etc.)

Singing (Not aiming to be 'good', but I would like to become 'decent'/'far above average' at singing in Karaoke - a voice that's easy to listen to - and specialize in at least five English and five Japanese songs)

So yeah! Indeed, I added some things to this list that weren't there before, and of course getting a university degree is one of my aims. Singing, Video games and Martial Arts are more or less new to this list, and expectantly less important. Video games are just a passion of mine that's hard to live without, so might as well improve upon it when I can. Singing, well, I would consider it a social 'skill', if you will. As mentioned in my last post, martial arts would be a big plus for me, 'nuff said.

Ok I'm out, peace!

Drifting Sand, Hard Work

2011-02-22T01:44:00.000-08:00

Hey! I feel good right now, but surely it's just a cruelly temporary thing. Why do I feel so good! Because I just did a lot of stretches! Sure, it may be half past three in the morning, but I slept through Monday because of my topsy-turvy schedule, so what can you do. I even tried to brute force myself awake until it got to a "normal" sleeping hour, but I failed... So I'll just go with the wind for now, see what happens. I'm definitely going to try getting some exercise in a few days a week. Yes, that's what I've decided! One might reason that exercise causes even more loss of what little energy they had, but it doesn't quite work like that. It seems to actually bestow energy! Being all stretched out and flexible - I mean really stretched - is like feeling...Alive! Infants are really flexible, right? Old people are usually more mechanical and rigid from age, so it seems to make some sense to say that flexibility is a form of liveliness.

My friend MelodyofOblivion and I talked about something mentioned in the Naruto Anime. Two kinds of strong people, 'geniuses of talent' and 'geniuses of hard work'. Although he classified me as the former, it's not really true. For some things, it might be partly true, but for others, not at all. When it came to strength training, for example, I was a genius of hard work, big time! I'm not just saying that, like so many people who always remember the past in such a positive (or overly dark) light. When it comes to writing, particularly the use of imagination, but also the acquisition of knowledge or ability, I feel as though my friend might be partly right. I do think I have at least some talent. Still, I cannot be grouped into either category of geniuses, and I may be required to become a real genius of hard work in order to reach any kind of level that could ever be mentioned in the same breath as "genius". Although it almost sounds like we can group 'geniuses of talent' into two subcategories - 'physical talent' and 'mental talent' - a notion I've long pondered, I can hardly say that things can be labeled and categorized so sharply, so simply...

So now I need to get started on my essay, which is due on March 2nd. I have a bad feeling about my recent essay, which I have yet to get back, so this one needs to be good! I musn't underestimate this course, I need a 73 to become a true university student! This is no time to slack off! In school I've always had a pattern of 3-1-2 in terms of academic success throughout a given year. It's like some 'fail' essay with the climax inside the first body paragraph. I believe it's supposed to be 2-1-3, but correct me if I'm wrong. When it comes to a school year's progress, 2-2-2, or better yet, 3-3-3 is preferable. So in other words, I tend to do my best at the beginning of the year, but plummet in the middle and then desperately claw my way back up at the last minute. I'll try to avoid that this time...

I think in the future, when I have more time, I'll totally take up Karate again, or maybe another martial art. Maybe I'll take up a martial art that I think will be the most challenging for me, like something really acrobatic and/or requiring amazing flexibility. After all, I already know a lot about the basics of Karate, and it's not the kind of martial art that forces you to really bend or reshape your body, at least not like TKD, Capoeira and such. Even though my body is more bulk>agility oriented (probably not like that originally, I worked extremely hard in the past to gain brute strength...), I've always been really interested in flashy techniques, including the kind that aren't even martial arts-practical, such as wall-running! Parkour? Back in grades 10-11, I was part of the martial arts club, where I learned 360 ("Tornado Kick"). During that time, I was able to teach myself (by brute-forcing it, sans-research...) some other cool things, such as Handstand (Including hand-walking, max duration: 14 seconds), Cartwheel, and Wall-Running (I progressed enough to call it what I call it, 3-4 steps up, occasionally getting really high up a wall by fluke). Of course, my Wall-Running only worked on high-friction walls, such as brick or stone walls, or anything no more slippery than drywall. Not only would a martial art greatly improve my (now-lacking) health and fitness, it could come in handy in various ways.

Going back to my course - I've decided to do my essay on "Hills Like White Elephants" and "Cat in the Rain". I think I understand them, at least better than I understand the other short stories studied in class. Neither of them are terribly long, and we were given one example essay comparing the two. There are 18 different questions the students of our class have to choose from for our essay, but unfortunately, I read them all and put stars next to seven of them. I might just have to try writing each of them and see which one I have the easiest time with... If I don't sound terribly enthused, it's because these kinds of stories are not really up my alley. I prefer fictional literature of the most fictional kind: Fantasy fiction to be precise, hence all the Anime and Manga I watch and read. Videogames allow me to venture off into other worlds, and the same can sometimes be said for music! Even martial arts can provide this function - I'm Gohan! ^^ It's Ovaaa Niine- TH$#**$&#*$&#!!

In everything I do, I always push for the maximum possibility of customization - I suppose the same can be said for my life! That's why I even like things like Pokemon games; I have 649 Pokemon to choose from for a team of six, and everything from their stats and natures to their moves and items can be authentically me!
If you look at a few of my favourite Pokemon: Arcanine, Wartortle, Ninetales, Vulpix, Lilligant, Espeon...
What do they all have in common? It's not as though I noticed it before choosing them as my favourites. All of them are among the most "beautiful" or "aesthetically pleasing", particularly Ninetales, whom I think is the most beautiful of all Pokemon (yes, sorry Milotic) and all of the others in that list.

Wartortle is the second stage of three evolutions, all of which I like: Squirtle, Wartortle, and Blastoise. So why Wartortle?

It's simple. Wartorle's face gives him a certain 'coolness', but without following the idea with the rest of his appearance, like Blastoise, who is cool and not ugly at all, but also not very "beautiful". Wartortle has little circular marks on his cheeks that give him seemingly more character than his two counterparts, and his dark blue skin offers him additional 'coolness' that, although apparent in Blastoise, is not characteristic of Squirtle. Last but not least, his tail is larger, of a lighter colour, and designed to look more "beautiful" than the others'. Even his ears are lighter, longer and more graceful than the others. I like Wartortle a lot, and water happens to be my favourite type.

Getting back on topic, I think what this says about me is that I'm somewhat aesthetic-minded; one could even jump to the conclusion that I see things in a superficial way, but let's not jump to conclusions :)
After all, this is just Pokemon, and who doesn't love Beautiful things? I'm an artisan! I mean, when it comes to the other extreme in Pokemon, we have some really ugly (in my opinion) Pokemon with high battling stats as their main attractions. This leads everyone to use them, monotonously, in a conforming manner...
Here are some examples:

Ferrothorn - Very high stats, super-commonly used.

Heatran - A lengendary Pokemon... But allowed in OU tier... I'm so sick of him.

And perhaps ugliest of all, as if drawn by a 3rd-grader. A new legendary Pokemon, Kyurem (Dragon/Ice)

BLEH! Let me heal your eyes with a few "beautiful" Pokemon:

Starmie! So much dignity-->Still strong/useful for battling, and not ugly!

Meganium! The most beautiful of all fully evolved 'Starter' Pokemon!

Lilligant! Finally a nice Pokemon from the ugly fifth generation set:

Adios for now!

-Mini Post #7-

2011-02-20T00:34:00.000-08:00

Well, just a short little post tonight.

My new trial Pokemon team:

Gliscor, Starmie, Scizor, Arcanine, Gengar and Cinccino.
The addition of Gliscor, with Stealth Rocks and high defense, adds more dimension to my team.
Give his 4x Ice weakness, Dragonite was removed, and Cinccino is back :)
Team substitutes: Dusknoir, Volcarona and Infernape

Team Version 2 (Dragonite variant):
Aerodactyl, Starmie, Scizor, Arcanine, Gengar, Dragonite
Subs: Dusknoir, Volcarona, Infernape, Gliscor and Salamence

When I was watching the video I posted in the previous blog entry, Naruto Shippuuden Ed 15 (not the one above, the one in the previous post), I decided to write a poem inspired from it.
It probably sucks, but I wrote it in about 3-4 minutes:

I'll post the video again, and the poem below it. Please play the video ^^

Against the window, waiting
Looking out again
The white stars falling, drifting
And rain on the ground
A false sun shines in the sky,
Covered by the clouds
But one tiny star remains,
Quietly waiting
The rain continues to fall,
As always will
Until two white stars are there,
Together again

-Mini Post #6-

2011-02-17T10:08:00.000-08:00

Well, hello again!

Due not only to my lack of posts as of late, but also for the sake of my own boredom/curiousity/mood/writing skill development, I post for you a poem.

I sit here in light's way
To sleepless light,
Myself I do condemn
Of seizing night,
To sunless dayless days
Of sunless skies,
But dreamlessly I dreamt
Like fireflies,
For suns a vibrant grey

I'm hoping to hear a comment or two about what you notice about this poem, what you think it means, or what's wrong with it. Whatever you want to say! Thanks!

Pokemon: Crimson Destiny Fanfic Chapter II

2011-02-17T05:41:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! So first, here's a brief summation of current stuff.

Wrote an in-class essay worth 5%, I kind of procrastinated the preparations, so I don't think I did great, but I'm thinking I didn't get any lower than, say, a B-. We'll see! After the break (Reading Week) an out-of-class comparative essay (750 words) is due, which means I have to get to work within the next three days or so...
Not much else to say... Still writing poetry here and there, but I think I should refrain from posting it all online...

Here's Chapter two of my Fan-fic! I plan to write many chapters, since it's a preliminary for myself as an aspiring author. Since it's Pokemon, I probably can't ever get it published, but if I can do well with this, I'll at long last be able to move onto an original novel! I'm already almost done part 1 of chapter 3, so here's all of chapter two!

Note: I'm planning to completely edit/revamp the whole thing later, so sometimes you'll notice something is capitalized when it shouldn't be, or certain things are described in detail and others not, etc...
You'll also notice weird spacing, but it's not so consequential at this point...

Here you go! Suggestions, criticisms etc. Lemme know!

Pokemon: Crimson Destiny

Chapter II, Legends and Rivals Part I

"Pokemon, go!" shouted Crimz as he tossed his Pokeball into the fray.

With small, stout legs and short arms reaching out into the sky, each with three tiny fingers, the Pokemon sprung joyously forth from its Pokeball. The large, brown shell on its back distinguished its body and round head from the backdrop of the clear, blue sky. The Pokemon landed artfully with its curled blue tail wagging out on one side.

"Squirtle, go!" Crimz commanded, and Squirtle trotted quickly toward the big, green, crooked-faced Cacturne.

Aware, Cacturne turned its attention away from Lance's Pokemon and charge boastingly toward Squirtle. The red Gyarados was still hanging in there.

"Squirtle, slow it down first with Bubble!" ordered Crimz.

Cacturne's arm was swinging again, preparing for another thrust of its needly arm, but from Squirtle's mouth a huge flurry of bubbles swarmed and enveloped the Cacturne's body. It's sinister face flushed with panic, lifting away all traces of earlier moxie.

"Now blast it with your Water Gun!" Crimz commanded.

A stream of water bursted forth from Squirtle's mouth, knocking the incopacitated Cacturne onto the hard, stone-paved ground.

"Hey hey, kid, don't get too confident now. That little squirt can't possibly take down my Cacturne!" said the Rocket girl. "Cacturne, get up and prepare yourself, now!"

"Alright squirtle, let's do Bubble again--"

"Sucker Punch!" the girl hastily commanded.

Cacturne suddenly sped up and pounded Squirtle before it could prepare its attack. The hit was hard, the damage high; Squirtled crashed down hard into the ground, bouncing once on its shell before landing on his stomache. It couldn't get back up.

"No, Squirtle..." muttered Crimz, disappointed.

"Hahaha, there's no way that little Squirtle of yours could get up after a hit like that from my high-level Cacturne. You've lost!" concurred the Rocket girl.

"Ruby, just finish them off for good!" yelled the Rocket man.

"No need, no need. Haven't I done that already? Let's just let him cry."

"Do you..." Crimz mumbled quietly.

"Huh?" Ruby turned and looked in his direction again.

"Do you really think...that I could be beaten...SO EASILY!?" Crimz yelled in anger. "Squirtle!"

...

Squirtled remained flat on the ground, still as stone. Suddenly, a blue aura began to luminate about its body as it lifted itself up from the ground with its small arms. A new look of determined adamance posessed the glowing Squirtle, as though its personality had been wiped away.

"I'll teach you not to under estimate me, FOR GOOD!" shouted Crimz.

The bewildered Ruby glanced over at her colleague. "Toxin... What's up with that--"

"Torrent." said Toxin, the Rocket man.

"Squirtle, first use Bubble!" Crimz commanded, brimming with confidence.

Again, Squirtle blasted out a barrage of bubbles, but this time the attack was a lot bigger and stronger!

"Cacturne, break out of it! Right now!" Demanded Ruby, but Cacturne was almost completely immobilized.

"Let's finish this! Water gun, go!" Crimz commanded.

Squirtle let loose a huge blast of concentrated water that completely overpowered Cacturne, sending it slamming into the temple wall.

"Cheh... Cacturne, return..." said Ruby as she beamed the Pokemon back into its ball. "Beginner's luck!"

"Gyarados, return." ordered Lance as he beamed back the exhauted red dragon.

I wouldn't have thought that an unevolved water type like Squirtle could have taken down that grass type Cacturne, but I proved that wrong. This Squirtle should be pretty low level though, can I even take out that guy's Nidoking? Squirtle may have the type advantage, but what does that matter against a fully evolved, high-level Pokemon?

...

But I have to try!

"Squirtle, go!" ordered Crimz.

"Hey you, little punk." said Toxin.

"Huh?" said Crimz in surprise, and Squirtle also stopped to listen.

"You think you're real tough now that now that you've beaten that pathetic Ruby and her pathetic Pokemon, am I right?" asked Toxin.

"What!?" shrieked Ruby vehemently.

"I think you're weak too, filthy Rocket." said Crimz with bravado.

"What moxie, condescending little punk. Well, you are correct that most Rocket grunts are weak, all with nothing but hollow confidence. Weak in numbers, defenseless on their own - That they are. Compared to me, that is." said Toxin. "Ruby is soft. Little punk, I'll show you how weak you and your Pokemon really are."

"Bring it! Squirtle, Water Gun!" Crimz shouted.

"You can't! ... Go Dra--!"

"Wait." said Lance as he blocked the robed girl with his right arm, eyes still focused on the battle.

Squirtle ran over toward the towering Nidoking and blasted out another power-pumped Water Gun attack, a perfect hit. However, Crimz and Squirtle were surprised to see that Nidoking barely cringed from the attack and easily stood its ground.

"Surprised? Little kid, I can see into your heart. Right now you're thinking, '~I don't stand a chance, I was wrong. I shouldn't have gotten myself involved...~' Am I right?" said Toxin mockingly.

...

"Now you're thinking, '~It's alright, Lance the dragon master is here. He can't possibly lose, he was once the champion of the Elite Four. He would never lose to the likes of Team Rocket!~' Am I right? Of course I am... Nidoking, Thunderbolt."

Before Crimz could even give out a command, Squirtle was completely encased in a shroud of electrifying yellow!

Super-effective damage from a strong Pokemon's Thunderbolt left Squirtle unconscious and completely unable to battle anymore. Defeated.

...

Crimz was stunned; speechless and completely disillusioned.

"Hey, little punk. What's with that shocked face? Your Pokemon is the shell-shocked one, hahaha! I can tell you what your Squirtle is thinking, kid. It's thinking, 'Why was I cursed with such a pathetic little punk for a trainer?'" Toxin laughed darkly. "Oh, and that Cacturne from earlier? It had already taken heavy damage from that Gyarados before you came! Hahahahaha!"

"S-Squirtle... Return..." said Crimz in a fragile voice.

"That's about enough of that." said Lance. "Go... My friend."

Out from the ball came a huge Pokemon. Its body towered over Nidoking, strong and dignified. It's enormous tail was like a second half of its body, casting off a mild wind whenever it swayed. With arms and large legs each tipped with three jagged claws, tiny bat-like wings and a white serpentine underside extending from its neck to the tip of its tail, the Pokemon's skin shone a bright orange under the beaming morning sun.

Dragonite.

Pokemon: Crimson Destiny

Chapter II, Legends and Rivals Part II

"Nidoking, Giga Impact!" Commanded Toxin.

"Dragonite, Hyper Beam!" shouted Lance.

Once again, Nidoking became engulfed in its own aura, then charged briskly toward the valiant dragon standing before it. Dragonite's head reared back, gathering speckles of energy into a ball. As soon as Nidoking had closed in, Dragonite fired the powerful Hyper Beam. Nidoking's Giga Impact attack was easily overpowered by the immense force of Dragonite - Lance the dragon master's strongest known Pokemon!

"Nidoking, return." Said Toxin as his Pokemon was transported back into its Pokeball. "Heh, i would expect nothing less of the former Pokemon League Champion. No, in fact, I actually expected more. You disappoint me, 'dragon master'.

-[Kssssshhhhht - Toxin, we failed. Some young punk messed things up on our end. We're movin' out! - Kssssshhhhht]- Toxin grabbed the Walkie Talkie from the belt at his waist. -Kssssshhhhht "Fine, we're moving out as well. Notify headquarters."

"Not so fast!" said the robed girl as she pulled out a Pokeball, but Toxin and Ruby excaped with a ball of smoke.

...

The Rockets were gone, the temple safe, but Crimz was still on his kness, shocked and depressed.

...

"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!! WAY TO GOOOOOOO!!" The people around were clapping and cheering. But why were they so happy?

Lance and the robed girl stepped over to Crimz, giving him a hand getting up.

"They've seen your bravery, kid. This is the village's way of thanking you." said Lance.

Crimz stood up and looked out in the crowd of people, wiping away a tear from his eye. He smiled proudly for a moment, but cringed in frustration immediately after. He wanted revenge.

"Was that your first battle? That was some decent battling. I saw you storm into the temple earlier, did elder Carnellius give you a Pokemon?" said the robed girl as the crowd began to dissipate.

"You're--" Crimz mumbled, interupted.

"Oh, that's right! I haven't introduced myself, I always forget! My name's Roary! Roary the--"

"Dragon trainer." Crimz interrupted. "Having lived on the plains just an hour from here, I've heard all about the famous dragon trainers. Lance, the dragon master and former Champion of Johto's Elite Four, and Roary, a child prodigy who became the rival of Blackthorn city's Claire, but lost to her many years ago, along with the right to become the Blackthorn gym leader."

"Humph! I've gotten a lot stronger since then!" claimed Roary, irritated.

"Then there's Claire, the female dragon master and Blackthorn gym leader, currently on the rise again as a new Elite Four candidate." Crimz added.

"Hey hey, you're pretty knowledgeable." said Lance.

"Grrrr I'll defeat her! Come on, bring her here, that Claire wouldn't stand a chance now!" Roary exasperated.

"Well, it's about time for me to leave..." said Lance.

"Where are you going?" asked Crimz.

"He's going on a new journey!" said Roary excitedly.

"A new journey..." said Crimz.

"Yeah, it's been a long time since I've journeyed around like the old days. I'm off to rediscover myself... ...

...And the world of Pokemon..." Lance replied. "Crimz, this is only the beginning for you. Your very first journey. Have fun with it, and take care!" said Lance, the dragon master.

... "Crimz." said Lance as he turned around, facing the road.

"Become strong." said Lance as he walked off, heading back toward the Waterfall entrance.

... Cool

"Keep this a secret, but truth is, Lance has been in a slump. Ever since he was defeated in the Pokemon League, he hasn't been able to battle with his former power. That's why he's going on a journey! I'm on a journey too, Crimz! And it's just about time for me to leave! Who knows, maybe we'll meet up somewhere. I don't know about the dragon master, but I'll give you a battle once you've gotten good and strong! Bye!" Shouted Roary as she jogged away.

It couldn't be seen clearly from so far away, but she eventually summoned a Pokemon from a ball and disappeared into the sky. On what, Crimz did not know.

"Crimz!" yelled a voice right behind him, startling him badly.

"WHAT!" Crimz turned around and yelled back. ... "Uh, sorry, you startled me... Wanna' try not yelling in my ear next time?"

It was the robed man from earlier that was guarding the village entrance with Roary.

"Hahaha." laughed the man, patting his back amiably with brutish force. "Come on."

"Hey, um..." Crimz muttered.

...

"Who are you?" asked Crimz.

"EEEEEHHHHH!?" the man yelled with a comical face. "Ugh... My name's Jagg! Got it? Jagg!"

"Ooh... You're..." Crimz paused.

...

"Nope, don't remember anyone named Jagg..."

"Ghaaa!" sighed Jagg. "At any rate, let's go into the temple, your grandfather, I mean, Elder Carnellius has asked for you to come in, now that all the commotion's over with!"

...

"You, over there! You too..." said Jagg.

Standing several meters away, leaning against the temple stood a tall young man, not much older than Crimz. Black pants, a silver belt, and a blue jean-jacket over a buttoned white dress shirt unbuttoned around the collar, with short, dark, parted hair and cold, dark, confident eyes.

"That was a pathetic battle you made me watch." he said.

"What... Well why don't you--" Crimz caught his tongue, and the young man turned away and stepped slowly toward the temple doors.

I can't ask him for a battle, I don't have any useable Pokemon right now... That jerk, thinks he's so cool... I'd like to seehim battle a Cacturne and a Nidoking...

Crimz followed him to the Elder's room, while Jagg waited at the entrance.

"Welcome back." said Elder Carnellius. "First, give me your Pokeball."

"Uh, okay Grandpa. Here." said Crimz as he handed it over.

A robed, hooded lady who had been standing in the other far corner of the room, completely unnoticed, stepped over and received the Pokeball from Carnellius, then bowed and left.

"She'll take care of your tired Pokemon for you. Your Squirtle will returned to you in good health very soon."

"So that was your very first Pokemon. No wonder you were weak." said the young man. "You picked a water type, so... Elder Carnellius, please give me a Charmander."

The elder passed one of the encased Pokeballs over to Rane. "Here you go."

"Although it would seem the two of you have met, let me introduce the both of you." Said Carnellius. This is Crimz, my grandson. And Crimz, this is..."

Rane.

Drifting Sand, Hidden Bleach

2011-02-08T19:52:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! That is, if anyone's reading this! Please comment from time to time if you are!

First, here's an awesome new Bleach ending. Although Bleach had tried my patience for a while, episode 308 was really good! 308?? That means I've wasted at least 7,084 minutes on this one Anime alone! That's about 118 hours or so? Well I'm doing this in my head, so I might have made a mistake, but that looks like it could be right... Actually, that many hours is a lot less than I thought! That's less than half of my Pokemon Platinum version game hours! Haha Anyway this video is really awesome...

There's something inspiring to me about that music, it just sounds nice. Because of that, I sit here writing this. But what will I write? Will I keep blathering along? Nope.

I hope I can write a really great Pokemon fan fiction! The first chapter, which will be completely redone eventually, can be found in the last blog entry. I've had some very positive feedback so far, anyway. I've got a lot of interesting ideas for how the rest will go, at least in Johto anyway, so I'll probably write at least twenty chapters before I even think about quitting it. I'm hoping to develop and continue to expand a readership and eventually become known for this literary Pokemon fan work on the web. I'm using this as practice; a kind of preliminary for myself as an aspiring author. After this, or perhaps during, I'll start on the story idea I was most previously working on and talking about in my old blog, Duelist Domain, located at
http://ramenboya.blogspot.com, not to be confused with my old old, Dreams of a Go Player, http://honinbou.blogspot.com.

So there you have it - My first two projects: Pokemon: Crimson Destiny, and The Blade of Mimzus.
I'll also be doing some poetry here and there, so hopefully in the coming years I'll be able to build up a big collection of them.

Another thing - I created a Youtube account called EmptyTriangles. It probably won't be possibly to get even a tenth of my GoWeiQiBadukIgo (what a horrible account name) subscribers and such to make the transition though...

My plan for EmptyTriangles is to do various awesome things!
1 - Gaming talk, tutorials etc.
2 - Go tutorials/lessons/talk
3 - Funny videos (Just random stuff I thought of to make people laugh...)
4 - Martial arts tricks<--Which will force me to get in shape and re-teach myself 'wall running', 'handstand/walk', 'tornado kick/360' etc.
Might do other stuff as well, but yeah... I plan to do this when I'm in university next year (the REAL thing) and hopefully living on/near compus.

One day I would like to get good at singing, at least on the Karaoke level... I think I can get decent with some practice, anyway. Once I do that, I'll be sure to post videos of that, too!

But let's not get carried away! I know what my priorities are. I think the beginning of my establishment as a writer is coming! Things are really starting to happen, I can feel it.
And so, to you I say Good day.

But Fez-

I SAY GOOD DAY!

Pokemon: Crimson Destiny Fanfic Chapter I

2011-02-06T20:06:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, here's the completed version of Chapter I, separated into two parts! Skip the first part if you've already read through it in my previous entry!

Cool music! Turn off the annoying annotations though!

Pokemon: Crimson Destiny

By Ben Mantle

Chapter I, Part I

He opened his eyes, glistening with sun-lit determination. He knew in his heart of hearts that this fateful day would eventually come. That day was today; the day he would receive his Pokemon partner and begin his long-awaited journey. But he knew, he knew that it would be no ordinary Pokemon journey. His grandpa told him so. The birth of dawn was all he needed; he couldn't wait another second.

Eyes ablaze, Crimz scuttled out of bed, slipping into his black shirt and buckling up his jeans. As soon as he finished getting his jacket on and the rest of his things together, he made his way downstairs to the living room. He knew it was really early, his mother was definitely still asleep. Still, he had to go, he couldn't wait any longer. He wasn't even hungry, so he skipped breakfast and grabbed his backpack, which he had packed all up the night before. In fact, he was so anxious that the very thought of eating nearly made him sick. As soon as he was all set, he wrote his mother a note and left in haste.

Mom, I left already to see grandpa. I'm sorry, but I couldn't wait. You must have seen this coming though, am I right?

-Crimz

The sun was growing brightly on the horizon, and the sky was mostly clear; blue and boundless, but still a dull colour. Crimz and his mother lived in a rural area on the outskirts of Azurus. He ran most of the way there, hoping to avoid wild Pokemon along the way. Although he spotted several observant-looking Rattata and Sentret along the way, none of them seemed hostile enough to jump out at him. He was about half way there and stormed right through a small group of Pidgey as though they didn't even exist. Luckily for him, they didn't throw a fit over it; they were too preoccupied with some berries that had strayed onto the path from surrounding trees.

He could already see Azurus ahead; that is, the large waterfall that hid that place from the world. Up ahead, a small dark lump stuck out of the ground, right in the middle of the trail. As he continued running as to skip right over it, he was suddenly bashed onto the ground by an oblivious Geodude, levitating out from the earth. He grumbled in pain as he lifted himself up onto his dirty forearms, and the Geodude, unperturbed, hovered away without so much as a hint of curiousity. Crimz got up and dusted himself off. He decided to walk the rest of the way; the falls already lay before him.

The vast, curdling falls washed over the steep cliff of a massive piece of land. It was like a whole different continent, but the two were connected deep under the river. He'd been here many a time and knew there was nothing special about thispart of the waterfall. Like always, he would have to take the natural trail, which was nearly impossible to find without prior knowledge, down to the base of the river. He stood at the top of a narrow cliff, and from there, he stepped over to the thicket on the right. Kneeling down, he separated the bush with his hands and crawled through a tunnel space over which the thicket arched. Once through, he took a small wooden ladder down which, too, was enveloped by the long, thick bush. He stepped down onto a small mossy boulder, and from it, hopped down onto the dirt path. The dirt trail ramped down in a short spiral along the cliff, leading down to the river.

The river was calm, but some strong Pokemon such as Gyarados and Ursaring lived there, so it was best that it stayed that way. Crimz approached the side of the river, then stopped and took a few steps back. He scurried forward, hopping onto and off of a stone protrusion in the river and landing on a platform right next to, and leading behind, the waterfall. The enormous waves plummeting down thundered in his ears, frothing up the river. The local area was nearly hidden in the cool mist of the falls. Refreshed and ready, Crimz stepped into the underground city of Azurus!

Pokemon: Crimson Destiny

Chapter I, Part II

Crimz stepped into the village, immediately greeted by a robed, middle-aged man with short brown hair, a tanned face and mangy-looking stubble. Beside him, a pale, cheery-faced young lady wearing the same kind of robe, with long dark hair mostly hidden in her hood.

"Yo~ Long time no--" the man turned around abruptly. A thunder of explosions suddenly rumbled through the village!

"What in the world's going on!?" shouted the robed man.

Before the man could turn around, Crimz was already far ahead, racing straight ahead toward the source.

"Wait! Crimz!" He yelled. "... ...Hah?"

The robed lady tailed Crimz toward the large dome at the far end of the village. The commotion was coming from the temple!

"Good grief," muttered the robed man as he jogged slowly toward the scene.

Along the way, many people had stepped out of their marble-white houses. The underground village of Azurus was mostly blue and white, coloured by the luminous white buildings and pools of water located throughout, like a miniature Sootopolis City. A narrow path of stone on the dirt defined the main walkways. The village of Azurus was a sacred place, home to many water and dragon type Pokemon.

"There!" shouted the robed young lady, having caught up with Crimz, and now unhooded.

"You're...!" Crimz whispered as he turned to the lady running alongside him.

"Look," she said. A huge serpentine beast of crimson stood before them, facing the temple and roaring atrociously. A red Gyarados, and standing behind it...

A caped man, with hair to match his Gyarados, stood valiantly in the midst of battle. Lance, the dragon master, was battling! Facing the Gyarados, a Cacturne and Nidoking stood proudly, rearing to go. Behind the Pokemon, two figures in black. Behind the Cacturne on the right, a young lady wearing a tight black shirt, grey gloves, black skirt, long black boots and a matching hat stood in defiance. Her long, blond bangs hung out of her hat along the sides of her face, and at her waist, a metallic silver belt held her pokeballs and little else. On the left, a young man wearing nearly the same getup stood behind his Nidoking with a confident smirk. He wore no hat over his wild, violet hair, however. Both of their shirts bore a large, red 'R' that could not be mistaken.

"It's Team Rocket!" shouted the robed lady as she arrived with Crimz at the scene of the ongoing battle.

"Gyarados, use Aqua Tail!" commanded Lance the dragon master.

Gyarados focused its power into a wide, swinging lash of its long, white-finned tail, but Nidoking jumped into the air, successfully avoiding the attack. The windy aftershock of the forceful swing breezed the surrounding people with a sandy wind, from which they shielded their eyes in dismay.

"Nidoking, use Giga Impact!" said the Team Rocket man.

"Gyarados, you too!" Lance commanded.

Nidoking's purple, armoured body was enveloped by an intense, fire-like aura, preparing for an enblazened charge. Gyarados quickly matched face, nearly camouflaging its scaly red body in its own raging envelopment. The two Pokemon adversaries raged forward, deafened by their own roars.

"Cacturne, it's time to go! Use Needle Arm, now!" Ordered the Team Rocket girl.

Cacturne launched its prickly green body forward, building up momentum into one of its spiky arms through constant swinging. While Gyarados and Nidoking were still locked together in a heated power struggle, Cacturne lurched forward, heaving its jagged arm into Gyarados. Gyarados writhed and roared in pain as it began to give way to Nidoking.

Crimz hustled over to the temple and snuck in behind the Rockets.

"Grand--"

"Stop." demanded a robed old man, mostly bald with a short, scraggly white beard. "Oh, Crimz, it's you! You're here to see Elder Carnellius?"

"I'm in a hurry, can't you see what's happening out there?" said Crimz as he anxiously held up his clenched, determined fists.

"Okay, okay, go ahead. Hurry!" the old man replied.

Crimz jogged deep into the temple, careful not to slip on the wet, stone floor. The hall was made completely out of stone, with large pools of water occupying the sides. Various aquatic tunnels led out from the bottoms of the pools, allowing Pokemon to go in and out freely. There were various dragon-head statues and enscriptions carved and etched into the high, allabaster walls, and a small lamp hanging from the central point of the cieling illuminated every corner of the room. Thin but heavy, stone doors located directly ahead of the temple's entrance led to the sacred room of the elder.

Grandpa would be there.

Crimz pushed his way through the stone doors and hastily proceeded into the room.

"Grand--"

"Crimz..." his Grandfather interrupted, as if having anticipated his arrival. "It's good to see you again."

A red robe, looser and longer, spread along the floor around the sitting elder.

"Grandpa, right now--" Crimz beckoned, interrupted once again.

"You've seen all the ruckus going on outside? Those fools in black who steal and mistreat Pokemon will never understand true power. Don't ever be a fool, Crimz." said Carnellius.

Crimz waited calmly for whatever would come next, but began sweating impatiently, anxiously.

"Today was the day you would receive your first companion. Yes..." noted the elder, Carnellius. "And that you shall."

Crimz lit up with uncharacteristic excitement. How he had waited for this.

"Knowing you, young one, I trust you've already made your decision. Here they are, go ahead."

Presented with a golden-framed box with a luxuriously designed gold and navy covering, Crimz lifted the top open.

There they were, six Pokeballs nested neatly in the soft velvet inner lining. Crimz grabbed a Pokeball and bolted out of the temple without a second thought, nearly slipping on his way back through the hall toward the exit.

Outside, Lance's Gyarados was struggling in its two-on-one battle with Nidoking and Cacturne. Lance reached for another Pokeball from his waist.

"Go--" Lance's voice fizzled away in surprise. In came running a boy from out of nowhere!

"GO, POKEMON!"

Drifting Sand, Hidden Author

2011-02-06T02:37:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody! It's really late (early) and I'm pretty much on a vampiric schedule now, but I'm really happy with my recent literary improvements. It's all thanks to having begun university! For a while now, I've been an admin on a Pokemon Wifi page (PWP) on Facebook. Some of the others got into writing Pokemon fanfics, and I decided it might be a fun idea for me, and a great chance to test my authoring ability! Here's what else I've realized: Although it may not be a legitimate strategy, I have a much easier time of writing a story when I don't plan anything out! When I go with the flow my imagination does half the work! Here's something I typed up on a whim a few minutes ago... But first, here's some music! The story is below.
Turn the annotations off, they're really annoying.

Pokemon: Crimson Destiny

Chapter I, Part I

Mom, I left already to see grandpa. I'm sorry, but I couldn't wait. You must have seen this coming though, am I right?

-Crimz

He could already see Azurus ahead; that is, the large waterfall that hid that place from the world. Up ahead, a small dark lump stuck out of the ground, right in the middle of the trail. As he continued running as to skip right over it, he was suddenly bashed onto the ground by an oblivious Geodude, levitating out from the ground. He grumbled in pain as he lifted himself up onto his dirty forearms, and the Geodude, unperturbed, hovered away without so much as a hint of curiousity. Crimz got up and dusted himself off. He decided to walk the rest of the way; the falls already lay before him.

To be Continued...!

-Mini Post #5-

2011-02-04T23:12:00.000-08:00

A real 'mini post' this time. As mini as a post from me can get, anyway.

This song is called Key of the Twilight, part of the .Hack//Sign Anime sound track. It actually means a lot to me; it makes me feel like I'm in another world, another place all by myself. It's one of my "escape" songs. There are various situations in which I enjoy it, such as when going to sleep, but especially when a bright twilight moon is in view. The feeling of being somewhere else is of great satisfaction to me.

I've gotten off to a good start on preparing for my in-class assignment; I may be able to finish the first stage of preparations by tomorrow night. I'll create a labeled essay skeleton and show it to the the prof, along with my revised prep notes. I might have to actually set up the meeting, but it seems I still have at least a week before I'll be writing this thing, so I'm sure if I just keep repeating today's diligence I'll get at least an 85 or a 90. Today I actually played a few games on KGS. Wow. Well, my rust is more than evident, but it surely nothing a month or two of training can't fix.

Tomorrow I have a seminar thingy to go to. Why does it have to start at 10:30am...? T__T I'm hoping to buy a thick booklet of lined paper and get my hands on a copy of "The Fox" while I'm out. Che'.... I already have but six and a half hours left to sleep. No, less... I wanted to read Sunwing some more, but I guess it's a foolish idea. I'm going to try sleeping in the relatively noise-free basement...

To Do

Attend Feb. 5 seminar (10:30am)
Buy a thick booklet of lined paper
Buy "The Fox"
Learn all unknown vocabulary from all school papers and "Break, Blow, Burn" analyses
Try to maintain a regular sleep schedule, then commence posted routine
Finish new poem from Feb. 4
Finish preparing in-class essay prep notes and essay blueprints
See prof about in-class essay plan, recreate prep notes
Get strong at bib/ref
Write up two story ideas (Pokemon-esque adventure, Loser-->genius)
Study 10 poems + analyses from "Break, Blow, Burn"
Read up on 'existentialism' ahead of time for class
Retrieve grammar drill papers from prof
Finish fixing my story's plot issues, type up and print story plan, character info, place desc. etc.

Off to bed... There's a good chance I'll end up failing to sleep, getting back onto the computer and deciding against the seminar.

See ya~

-Mini Post #4B-

2011-02-03T16:45:00.000-08:00

'Sup again.

Continuing from the post from earlier today, entitled '-Mini Post #4', I decided to leave the house coat-less. For some reason my warm-looking coat is completely useless, so useless that I left with only a sweater today. Usually I wear a sweater with a coat on top and still feel very cold. Today was only slightly worse, the omission of said coat caused minimal detriment. That coat also happens to magnetize cat hair... It practically vacuums it off of them... Stupid useless coat...

So I journeyed forward, seeking out patches of sunlight at every chance. Halfway down to Gerrard, I crossed over the celestial barrier and continued down Logan. I made my shifty appearance at Gerrard Square's EBGames, loitering on the outskirts as I received my coveted Suicune. I then packed away my pink DS and scuttled away into the darkness. Seconds later, I reversed my path and waltzed invisibly through the food court toward Subway, camouflaging myself in the unsuspecting old people. Shortly after reaching my destination, my dignified spot in line was butted. Piteously I watched as a six-inch sandwich was stuffed empty with meat, cheese and sub sauce. Then, I took my turn, believing things might turn out for the better. A foot-long Cold Cut Combo with extra lettuce, extra tomatoes, everything else and topped with salt, pepper and mayonnaise was ordered. A strong sandwich, but still lacking much-needed power. I watched in horror as my beautiful foot-long was abused and mishandled in her hands, white sauce dripping all over the place. Yes, the mayonnaise was everywhere. My sandwich was ruined. I paid for my meal, took a seat disdainfully close to the rampant old codgers, and ate my sandwich. Discombobulated awesomeness it was.

After such a horrible, life-changing event, I arrived at the Riverdale Library. Little did I know the horrors that lay ahead. I took out Silverwing and Firewing, having greatly enjoyed Sunwing. I used the washroom, which smelt of death, and found a place to sit near a dead old Chinese man. I gazed out the glass wall, then took out my long-lost poetry book/journal from high school; Dark red and hard-covered, with a pretty silver ribbon as a built-in bookmark. I began writing a promising new poem about the coalition of man's creations and nature; the interdependence of Reason and ambivalence of the world; the futility of dividing the world into black and white. The old man coughed. Okay fine, he wasn't dead, but he looked it. The first few minutes of writing went smoothly.

And then the teens came.

They wouldn't shut up.

They were only the half of it. Not a second went by without the moaning and shrieking of lungs being coughed up. Well, people were coughing, with emphasis on 'cough'. And 'ing'. People were KOFFING! I waited and waited, and coughing evolved into wheezing. There was this old lady who kept circling around the library, occasionally passing behind my chair, and every time she passed behind me, there was a familiar shriek, followed by a pleasant mist at my neck.

Then came the last straw. A French dude. Well, he looked French, and he was wearing a burret. Yes, a burret. His posture was abnormally emphasized, especially when he walked, like standing before an imaginary urinal. He sat in the chair to the left of me and opened up a big book of paintings with a big picture and a little text on each page. I glanced over and noticed a big picture of an egg plant. The guy started leaning his head side to side, and I continued on with my little poem. "Mmmmmm", he hummed. ... About twenty seconds later, it came again. "Mmmmhmmmm...hmmmm.... ... ...Hmmm!" ... "Hmmmmm-"

"OH NO YOU DI ' NT!!!!!1"

I left the library.

You know, in my day, libraries were quiet, and didn't have French painter dudes from Paris in them..

-Mini Post #4-

2011-02-03T12:16:00.000-08:00

Yo.

So I was reading some poetry from a couple of books last night. Incidentally, I fell asleep before midnight for a change. One book was (Camille Paglia's) Break, Blow, Burn: An analysis of fourty-three of "the world's best poems", the other was the Broadview Anthology of Poetry (Second Edition), a huge collection of hundreds of poems without analyses. The beginning of the Anthology featured several really really old poems in a form of English I had seemingly never seen before. It was like a dialogue from a Tolkien novel of some verbally challenged, toothless dwarf. I could just barely make out the words, so I chose to bypass these poems, as they'd be of no help to me right now (ever?).

   Ther was also a Nonne, a Prioresse,
That of hir smiling was ful simple and coy,
Hir Gretteste ooth was but by saint Loy;
And she was cleped madame Eglantine.
Ful wel she soong the service divine,
Entuned in hir nose ful semely;
And Frenssh she spak ful faire and fetisly,
After the scole of Stratford atte Bowe--
For Frenssh of Paris was to hire unknowe.
At mete wel ytaught was she withalle;
...continues.

That's just one example, and although I can understand... ...most of it...it's not something I want to read. All of these poems, seemingly dwarven or normally spoken as they may be, usually seem to require their own background knowledge about random people, places and times around which they revolve. Seems like a big pain in the ass, if you ask me. Combined with a lot of easily read, but still-above-my-head poetry, as well as everything else I've studied so far in Intro to Literature (poetic structure/technique/meaning, drama, prose and general grammar), it seems to me that it's all just beginning. I feel as I did nearly five years ago when I started learning the game of Go; as though I have overwhelmingly unlimited room for improvement. Of course, I still doubt it can be as hard as Go. Some people thought I had a knack for Go; my passion for it was unlike anything before in my life. I studied and played Go all the time and even traveled to S. Korea to advance my prowess. Even after becoming a Fifth Dan-level player in Canada, which is comparable to a Fifth Degree Black Belt in Karate, it was clear that I still had (have) a long, long way to go, but never to achieve mastery. It seems a little less impossible to comprehend the end of the road in the study of literature, but as far as human limits are concerned, it may as well be equally futile. Yesterday I read some poems from the last century: relatively easy reads. Although relatively easy, it seemed like I could never understand them on my own. It was frustrating for me, made me feel stupid. Made me feel like I could hope to write novels, but never poetry. Then I found some other poems amongst them: simpler, and seemingly more literal.

Surprisingly literal.

Although it dawned on me that I might just be too dimwitted to see their true meaning, it also occurred to me that "simple" poems, or "shallow" ones if you will, may in fact be just as significant in the world of poetry as Shakespearian sonnets or other such poetry so charged with meaning and edifying depth. I'm referring to the kind of poetry with the depth of any person's capacity, whilst at the same time, requiring depth and fluorescence of imagination to entice a fine eye.

I stand within the stony, arid town,
   I gaze forever on the narrow street,
I hear forever passing up and down,
   The ceaseless tramp of feet.

I know no brotherhood with far-locked woods,
   When branches bourgeon from a kindred sap,
Where o'er mossed roots, in cool, green solitudes,
   Small silver brooklets lap.

No emerald vines creep wistfully to me
   And lay their tender fingers on my bark;
High may I toss my boughs, yet never see
   Dawns first most glorious spark.

..continues.

Anyway, that's enough talk of poetry for now.

Here's a little riddle:
"What walks on four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three at night?" said Sphynx.

Although one of the things I plan to do today is go to EBGames for a Pokemon giveaway (they're wirelessly giving out special shiny Suicune right now, as well as "Ash's Pikachu"), I'm not so much as touching my DS for a while, except to use as an alarm clock :) I'm also going to go to the local library, hopefully to borrow Silverwing and Firewing, having finished reading Sunwing with unanticipated satisfaction.

All this talk of novels and poetry reminds me that I need to pick up a copy of "The Fox", or anything containing it. More importantly, I have to prepare for next class's in-class essay! I've decided to just do it on No One's A Mystery, the short story we did in our very first class. As I mentioned a while ago, I got 77% on the half in-class half out-of-class diagnostic assignment that my class received immediately. Despite my mark, the paper was littered with mistakes of all kinds (though few were grammatical). This fact has played a part in my decision to do this story. Our assignment is to talk about the design of the story, and all its elements.

On that note: Adios!

Drifting Sand, Hidden Meaning

2011-01-31T22:55:00.000-08:00

WARNING: The following audio is a Japanese song called Mizutamari ^^

Of bright flames reaching,
Seeking and fleeting
Red rose unearthing,
Hesitant and lurching
Balancing a candle,
Burning in the water
Above the mantle,
Never the hotter
Of rain so shallow,
But daggers and bullets
Cometh falling cowl,
Returning thy cullet
Enduring the tides,
Making them crimson
Continue a bide,
Or open its prison

Even though I can tell I have a whole lot to learn about poetry, and look forward to it, I do feel this poem is pretty good given my goose egg poetic foundation. I guess I'll go ahead and explain the meanings next entry or something, as I'd like to thereby do my poem some justice. I'd like to hear some of your ideas though. That means you! =D

I wrote up this poem on a whim just now, took about twenty minutes. Please tell me what you think! To be honest, there's A LOT of hidden meaning in most of it, though it's not all that deep. At least it's far deeper than any of the poems I wrote for fun in high school, not that those were necessarily illegitimate. I haven't actually studied poetry yet besides hearing some stuff in class, but from the few classes I've had so far, I've learned quite a bit about various sects of English and felt confident enough to give this a try. I'm aware that my line breaks are *probably newbie, too much like normal prose. I hope you'll let me know what kind of symbolism and general idea you see in this poem. I don't think it's all that hard to figure it all out; if anything, it's probably still too simplistic compared to poems like The Tyger.

WAN...MOA...SING!

Does anyone agree with me that it's kind of shitty that some of us get marked in school, in university no less, for remembering random people's names?? Not even a history course! I hate having to memorize/study useless things. I'm talking about the kind of names I'll never ever have to refer to in any way for the rest of my life.

Ever.

WAN...MOA...SING!

Tonight's class was almost completely focused on the poem The Tyger. These classes are so abstract and vague, it makes my head hurt. It seems like even though the prof is doing a good job of teaching us and explaining everything - no complaints there - all of my classmates and I time and time again find ourselves confused and stupified<--With emphasis on 'stupi'. Well, I'm exaggerating, we're doing our best and contributing a lot of interesting (but often too shallow) conceptions. Mr. M is totally correct in his perception of us as a detail-oriented class, seemingly dull in terms of imagination, or at least our ability to visualize the verses of poetry and prose. And here I thought my imagination was great. Mind you, I've gotten the hidden meanings right in some of the discussions, but once or twice he must of misheard me, having corrected me with the exact same thing I had just said. In such instances, as long as my peers continue to turn to meet my eyes with dignifying glances of comical sympathy, it's all good.

Mr. M is a really sharp-minded old dude, I must say. His hearing is not bad either, contrary to what I must have implied ^^ I'm happy that he thinks I'm the best or one of the best in the class when it comes to grammar. He mentioned this on two occasions so far, and seems to have made note that I'm putting in a lot of effort. Tonight, for example: I was the only one out of the entire class who handed in all the work sheets/mini tests assigned last class. Although I may be obscuring his exact words, he said, "Even you had at least a few mistakes in here. It's strange that no one's handing these in for correction when their grammar is worse than yours." Even though I'm already aware by now, it still feels good. Gives me a feeling of confirmation that the next four, five years may, no, will go smoothly!

WAN...MOA...SING!

I became more than a little irritated today upon realizing that in order to most easily succeed in this kind of course, I must be familiar with not only Greek mythology (which I don't mind, I'd be almost happy to brush up on a bunch of fun myths), but also the bible... Bible=need to know=*knows nothing about it at all, and doesn't care (no offense to those who do)=destroyed person.

Solve for I.
E=MC^2, therefore I=destroyed person.

WAN...MOA...SING!

Bye for now! Sayounara~

-Mini Post #3-

2011-01-30T14:12:00.000-08:00

So...

I went ahead and changed the look of the blog - a complete makeover. My brother said it was hard to look at, and at the very least, I thought the sand background was unappealing. I switched the background for something cool, refreshing and simple: Water, and matched face by tweaking the blog title. I'm still happy with the blog title and it doesn't clash with my epic first blog post. What do you think? Is there any detail of this blog that you disagree with?

Just a tiny little Pokemon update right in the middle of today's post --> I think I really like the ice type. I've gained a bit of an urge to raise up an ice-themed team, but there are some clear drawbacks. For one thing, Hail does not pump up the team members very much, only activates some mildly appealing abilities such as Snow Cloak and Ice Body. It's nowhere near as powerful as Swift Swim, Sand Throw or Chlorophyll, which are activated by rain, sandstorm and sun respectively. There are some cool ice types I've always wanted to use, like Lapras, Furiijio (5th gen.), Jynx and Cloyster, not to mention Weevile. However, I'm really not a fan of Abomosnow - a Pokemon with the ability Snow Warning, which whips up a hail storm and is a must for any ice team. Oh well...

So anyway, I've been reading Sunwing, and it's been quite enjoyable. I started a couple of days ago but just from reading it in bed, I'm nearly finished. It drew me in quite powerfully. I've decided to read a lot more in general so that one day I can become a successful author. By the way, do you know of any good fantasy fictions written almost as though they were poetry? I thought up this writing style, but I had no idea it actually existed. ~Zannen datta na~~~

I played a quick little game on KGS today because my online student never showed up, and wow do I suck. I'm sure if I practice for a few weeks I can get some power back, but man, oh man... Well, I'm probably still CGA Fifth Dan, but... That may change soon, and if it does, then that's IT!! I'll have to do something about it, won't I?

A reminder to myself --> Buy a huge booklet of lined paper! -->Once I have it, trail-blaze it with prose!

Whenever I've written story ideas on keyboard, I've gone a bit slow, but I've gone amazingly fast on paper, so that's what I'll do! The hard part is forcing myself to write just one story, rather than thinking about my other, what, nine well-developed story ideas? Sometime or another I'll take a crack at writing *deep* poetry, the kind we analyze in my class. Although I need to focus on my school stuff, I would like to complete a novel within the next 2-3 years. Guess my New Years Resolution's already out the window ^^

Oh yeah... I should start working on stuff now, byebye~

Drifting Sand, New...Pokemon?

2011-01-29T18:04:00.000-08:00

Hey!

Well, as I've said before, I love games. Card games, board games, video games, I love them all! I especially love rpg games such as Pokemon and The Legend of Zelda. I guess I'm pretty loyal to Nintendo. Although it may seem a steep contrast to my other posts, allow me to go ahead with a Poke-post. I'm a bit anxious to receive my copy of Pokemon White version, which comes out in early March. Thus, I've been preparing for it by doing some [labourous!] breeding and training in my Platinum version, preparing to shift it all over. I would just like to post a few lists and details for my own reference. Hopefully someone else who plays Pkmn will see this and find it mildly interesting. Having finally finished a pile of school papers, consisting of drills, lessons, practice tests and other things to that effect, it's time for a break! Hence this post!

Main Team~

Well, yesterday I came up with a bit of a team formula and decided to divide my team into six themed slots, but without strictly adhering to said themes. Each slot contains one main battler, one substitute battler, and then either another substitute or a special circumstance battler.

Slot 1 - Fire Type

Main~ Arcanine[fire]
Sub~ Ulgamoth[bug/fire]
Special~ Vulpix[fire]

Slot 2 - Water Slot

Main~ Starmie[water/psychic]
Sub~ Tentacruel[water/poison]
Special~ Wartortle[water]

Slot 3 - Grass Slot

Main~ Scizor[bug/steel]
Sub~ Serperior[grass]
Sub~ Doredia[grass]

Slot 4 - Electric Slot

Main~ Jolteon[electric]
Sub~ Zoroark[dark]
Special~ Pikachu[electric]

Slot 5 - Flying Slot

Main~ Gengar[ghost/poison]
Sub~ Dragonite[dragon/flying]
Special~ Zapdos[electric/flying]

Slot 6 - Miscellaneous Slot

Main~ Chillaccino[normal]
Sub~ Doryuuzu[ground/steel]
Sub~ Bronzong[psychic/steel]

This list pretty much confirms My Style once again: >>Fast Pokemon >>Slightly special attack oriented >>Balanced >>Using favourite Pokemon, not strongest

It should go without saying, but my battling team at a given time will consist of one Pokemon from each Slot. Below, each Pokemon choice and purpose will be explained...

Arcanine~ My favourite Pokemon, learns a variety of great attack moves such as Flare Blitz, Flamethrower, ExtremeSpeed, Wild Bolt, Close Combat, Crunch, Dragon Pulse and more. Although his speed is not so impressive compared to other prominent fire types, his attack power can be as high as three hundred and fifty, with decent special attack power and HP remaining. He also has the useful ability, Intimidate. I like to hook him up with the Focus Sash item. One of his greatest assets is his almost exclusive move ExtremeSpeed, which is a Quick Attack with double the power, perfect for finishing unfinished business.

Ulgamoth~ One of the big hits of the coming Fifth Generation. His speed equals that of Charizard and Ninetales, and this fire bug boasts an impressive four hundred and five maximum special attack power. With the amazing new move Butterfly Dance to raise speed, special attack and special defense in one go, Ulgamoth is truly a force that cannot be questioned.

Vulpix~ My favourite unevolved Pokemon, and within my top four overall, Vulpix will be one of my 'Little Cup' team members. I plan to use Vulpix in regular, non-LC battles when battling an unskilled player. Bred with the table-turning sleep move, Hypnosis, Vulpix has the potential to cause upsets. I plan to equip it with the fifth gen. hold item, Evolution Stone, which increases both defenses of an unevolved Pokemon by fifty percent. I believe it is one of the cutest and beautiful Pokemon, like Ninetales and Milotic.

Starmie~ Starmie has been one of my favourites ever since the First Generation games, Red, Blue and Yellow. Even as far as the games have come since then, Starmie is actually one of the top Pokemon because of its great speed, great assortment of special attacks, and useful move Rapid Spin. This move is really important for removing Stealth Rocks, Spikes and Toxic Spikes from the field. My move set is Rapid Spin, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt and Psycho Shock (a move that applies Sp. Atk damage to opponent's Def stat, making Starmie harder to 'wall'). Psycho Shock can be replaced with Surf or Hydro Pump, which makes up the usual set for Starmie, I think.

Tentacruel~ Tentacruel is decently fast, has decent special attack power, and marvelous special defense. Not only can he use strong strategic moves such as Toxic Spikes (which, if used by the opponent, is eliminated when he is sent out), he can also use Rapid Spin to clear the friendly side of the battle field. He's a useful Pokemon in various ways: A special wall, a spinner, a hazard producer and a special attacker.

Wartortle~ Within my top three Pokemon of all time, Wartortles stats are not as bad as one would expect of a Pokemon in its second of three evolutionary stages. As for his move set, I've concocted an interesting plan: To get some "free" damage on the first turn with Fake Out, which forces a flinch, then hit as hard as he can or use a strategic type of move. Even when he's about to be knocked out, he can get an additional "free" hit using the priority move Aqua Jet, which nicely contradicts his slowness. With the amazing Evolution Stone item mentioned about my Vulpix, his defenses can both receive a fifty percent increase. In Wartortle's case, it means his defense can be higher than four hundred! This means that he's completely superior to Blastoise in terms of defense.

Scizor~ Scizor is one of the greatest forces in the current meta game. With nearly four hundred attack power, high defense, and all the resistances of the steel type, Scizor is very versatile. With the ability Technician, his priority move Bullet Punch is pumped up, which helps him with his slowness. The move is of course also powered up by Same Type Attack Boost. With U-Turn he can hit and switch to another Pokemon, with Super Power he can deal some enormous fighting type damage, and with Swords Dance he can double his attack power to eight hundred! After one Swords Dance, he becomes hard to 'wall'. Speaking of walls, he himself makes a decent physical wall.

Serperior~ The grass type starter of the Fifth Generation's Unova region. His speed is great and defenses more than decent, and with the amazing ability Perversity, which he can obtain through the game's Dream World, all changes to his stats during a battle have opposite effect. This means one thing and one thing only: The powerful move Leaf Storm, which normally severely cuts the user's own special attack power, instead doubles it! Serp does heavy damage and hugely increases his power at the same time. After just one of these, even grass-resisting Pokemon can receive heavy damage, and after two of them, he can often sweep an entire party of Pokemon. He use a huge and scary threat that acts fast! Serperior's only con is the lack of type coverage of its available moves.

Doredia~ Doredia is a beautiful Pokemon, which appeals to me. It's part of my style to use Pokemon that look cute, beautiful or cool, but not ugly. On its own, Doredia is usually not as much of a threat as Scizor or Serperior. It's stats are not amazing, but they're respectable. Decent speed, above average defenses and great Jolteon-level special attack. The biggest selling point is its almost exclusive move, Butterfly Dance, which pumps up its speed, special attack AND special defense in one go, as mentioned earlier about Ulgamoth. Although Doredia has about the same lack of type coverage as Serperior, it has access to some excellent strategic moves, such as Aromatherapy, which heals the status ailments of all the party Pokemon. In sunlight, Doredia's Chlorophyll ability doubles it's speed, so with the right support, it's even more of a force to be reckoned with!

Jolteon~ What can you say about the good old speedy Jolteon from the first generation. He's one of the fastest in the game and has great special attack power. Even his special defense is quite decent, and with moves like Thunderbolt, Volt Change, Charge Beam, Shadow Ball and Signal Beam available, he's certainly a force. His greatest selling point is his amazing speed.

Zoroark~ One of the most interesting Pokemon of Unova. He has the unique and exclusive ability, Illusion, which causes him to take on the name and appearance of the last Pokemon in your party. Your opponent will normally have no way of knowing that your Pokemon is actually Zoroark, so you can trick them into using moves they think will be super effective, but are actually neutral or don't even affect Zoroark at all, such as Psychic! Your opponent also won't know about the moves Zoroark can use until it's too late, such as Dark Pulse and Flamethrower. His special attack is even higher than that of Doredia and Jolteon, and his speed is greater than that of an Arcanine, Charizard or Salamence. His attack power is also decent, his only poor point is his defenses. Paired up with the right Pokemon in his party, such as Gengar, Zoroark definitely finds his place and is a lot of fun.

Pikachu~ The mascot we love, I just can't resist using him. I would like to obtain a Surfing Pikachu, one that can make effective use of the powerful water move, Surf, but I'll just talk about a normal Pikachu for now. He wins the cuteness prize, and with special Pikachu-specific hold item Light Ball, his offensive power goes over four hundred! It's assumed that this item was created to replicate the powerful Pikachu from Pokemon Yellow, or in other words, something like Ash/Satoshi's Pikachu. His moveset is decent, stuff like Thunderbolt, Volt Change, Volt Tackle, Grass Knot and Signal Beam are all advisable. As expected, his defenses are terrible, but his speed is the same as that of Doredia, so he's a really fun Pokemon to use when battling a player who has room for improvement.

Gengar~ One of my favourite Pokemon, another badass from First Generation. His speed and special attack are quite high, and he can learn a great variety of special attacks such as Shadow Ball, Thunderbolt, Focus Blast and lots more. He also has some other useful moves such as Destiny Bond, which causes the opposing Pokemon to faint if they make Gengar faint, and Gengar's speed takes full advantage of this tactic. One of Gengar's main selling points is his use for switching into enemy attacks, with the ability Levitate preventing him from receiving ground type attacks, and his ghost type preventing affection by normal and fighting type moves.
Can't argue with Gengar, very strong and useful and can replace a team's flying type necessity.

Dragonite~ The defensively bulkiest of the Dragon 'brothers', Dragonite is always a force to be reckoned with, considering his huge attack power of over four hundred and access to the move Dragon Dance, which increases his attack and speed. In the Dream World, he can now obtain the ability Multi Scale, which cuts the first damage he receives by half. His move set is great and he can serve a variety of purposes powerfully well.

Zapdos~ A legendary Pokemon, but not considered 'Uber', that is, banned from the main battling tier. Although I don't like to use legendaries, I do like Zapdos, so I'll keep it in store for certain occasions. Zapdos has decent, Ninetales-level speed and good stats overall, but the main attraction lies in its maximum special attack stat of three hundred and eighty three. Personally, I think it's really useful that Zapdos can be taught the powerful fire move Heat Wave, which is really great for an electric type. Zapdos deserves its 'legendary' status and won't serve as a "weak link" on any team.

Chillaccino~ The evolved form of Chillarmy, Chillaccino is one of the cutest Pokemon of Unova and is a lot stronger than Pikachu, despite its similar cuteness and size. Although a Jolly natured (+spd -sp. atk) Chilla's attack power doesn't quite hit even three hundred and its defenses are low, it makes up for it in various ways. For one thing, it's as fast as a Starmie, which is saying a lot. That means it's faster than Gengar, Espeon, Latios and even Serperior. Besides its speed, it's strong points are its ability Skill Link, which causes multi-hit moves to always strike five times, and its move set. Its best moves include Bullet Seed (grass, power 125 with Skill Link), Rock Blast (rock, 125), Aqua Tail, U-Turn and last but not least, Sweep Slap. Sweep Slap also has 125 power after Skill Link's effect, but it's also pumped up by Same Type Attack Boost, since Chillaccino is normal type. This boosts the power by fifty percent, bringing it to 187.5, and with the hold item Silk Scarf, it can be boosted to something like 205. Normal jewel, a one-time use hold item that boosts normal moves' power by 50%, would bring it to around 280, which is well above even the power of Selfdestruct!

Doryuuzu~ A popular Fifth Generation Pokemon with huge attack power whose speed doubles in a sandstorm. Even without a sandstorm, Dory is pretty decent, so I have him in place as a solution for fighting against the now-popular sand teams. I like to equip him with Choice Scarf, allowing him to out-speed pretty much anything at the cost of move selection.

Bronzong~ Although I've never actually put him into practice, he seems like a really useful Pokemon for acting as a wall, and setting up Stealth Rocks, a move that damages Pokemon the opponent sends onto the field (and acts as rock-type damage). Both of Zong's defenses are great, and even his offensive power seems respectable. He can also make use of his low speed with moves like Trick Room and Gyro Ball, which can be deadly! With great defensive abilities such as Levitate and Heat-proof, his weaknesses are pretty much cleared. I don't know, that seems pretty strong to me.

Over and out!

-Mini Post #2-

2011-01-27T00:09:00.000-08:00

For a night owl to go to sleep early and successfully succumb to the moon's will is easier said than done!
Feeble nocturne, wouldst not thee gain thy effect through the drowsing power of literature? I will give this a try.
No, I have never studied old English. I don't even know if that right there was the time to spell it 'olde'. One more thing I need to delve into I suppose.

Okay, off to read...

-Mini Update # 1-

2011-01-26T14:33:00.000-08:00

Yo!

I have to leave for my 6:30pm Lit class soon, as in about five minutes from now, so I'll make this quick.

Having stayed up super late and right into the morning, I decided to sleep in really late too. I thought sleeping until right before my class might give me the mental energy needed to survive being talked at for over two hours. This class is really abstract, and really difficult in that respect. It seems like everyone in my class is completely confused and pwnd, and this is a class of 45-55 students. I guess it's about time to get going. No, it didn't take me five minutes just to type this tiny paragraph, I was just distracted ^^'

BY THE WAY!

Please let me know anything about this blog that should be changed! Anything you don't like about the way the blog looks or the way it's formatted can be changed easily! I didn't spend very much time fixing it up.
Any suggestions about anything to do with my blog will be taken seriously.

See ya!

-Crimz

Drifting Sand, New Journey

2011-01-25T19:10:00.000-08:00

Hello, reader.

My name is Crimz. That is not my real name, it's an alias. Ahem... I hope to be referred to as Crimz.

Up until, well, now, I've made updates about my life and my thoughts on my Live Journal page, Duelist Domain. Gaming was the intended theme, as most of the content was focused on the game of Go - one of my greatest passions. Having just begun my literature course in the University of Toronto's Academic Bridging program and put Go somewhat aside, I've that decided a new blog befits a new beginning. So there we have it, my new blog.

So you might wonder why I've named the blog 'Drifting Sand'. I was thinking about the way my life's been going, with all the sudden changes and all of my supposedly whimsical thoughts about how it should be lived. You've probably heard a ton of metaphors about the course of one's life, and an hourglass is probably one of them. All the sand in the hourglass is initially concentrated in the upper half, but slowly funnels its way down into the bottom half. I was thinking of that process as a straight and narrow kind of life, imagining the glass itself as the way we limit ourselves based on an understanding of our environment. What would happen if the glass weren't there, one might wonder. But of course, the sand would be carried off by the wind. The thing to remember though is that many of us have full control over the direction and velocity of the wind.

As the whole thing explained above hopefully suggests, I'm one of those people who values their free will; their philosophy; and their dreams. When it comes to choosing my paths in life, I'm pretty outgoing. Up until around the beginning of ninth grade, I wanted to become a martial arts master! I've always been an idealist, realism made the world seem dull. I've always tried to view the world with a tint. It's not as though I was overly naive, I just preferred to live inside my own imagination whenever it was mostly inconsequential.

During the first half of high school, I wanted to become a personal trainer. You see, it all started in elementary school. Because of my overly childish and clown-like behaviour, among other things, I didn't have a whole lot of friends. I never conformed to things I didn't like, even if they seemed beneficial. This way of thinking had a powerful connection to my own eventual discrimination at school, thus I was only able to befriend the kids that were in the same boat. Things got a little better in juniour high because there were a great number of kids who loved to play video games and card games. What can I say, I loved those, and still do. Anyway, all the pent up angst of being isolated and picked on was still growing. Something about all of that torment combined with stepping into puberty boiled together in a powerful way, invoking a lot of motivation for change in me. I spent the entire summer before high school putting myself through rigorous physical training. Back then, my will power was pretty unbelievable. By the time high school had started, my physical fitness and strength seemed to have multiplied. It wasn't long before I became known for my physical strength all around the school. It seemed the only rivals I had in that respect were a select few of the seniours. Yes, back then I was far stronger than my current, twenty-one year-old self. However, I feel that those experiences have granted me a new level of will power inside.

That little recap above might as well be my life story, for it was one of my really amazing accomplishments. However, little did I know that my life was about to once again change in a big way. In the eleventh grade, I started playing Go. Go soon became my greatest passion ever and completely took over my life. I made a lot of new Go playing friends and the sands of my life were blown in a new direction. I learned a lot of important things from my Go playing friends, and I was able to reflect on myself a great deal during my time in Limbo. That is, the time I spent out of school after graduating. I even traveled to South Korea by myself to join a Go school, an amazing experience that I will never forget. I learned Go for about three years and reached the level of Fifth Dan in Canada, and I've currently been playing for about four and a half years. I've learned all sorts of interesting things from Go: Rationality, reasoning and logic are just a few. I was always an underachiever in school, having failed a bunch of courses and gotten lots of fifties and sixties. However, I was so passionate about the unbelievably difficult and amazing game of Go that I became quite studious about it. That, in turn, affected me in a big way. In my final years of high school I achieved mostly eighties and nineties with ease, something I had never come even close to in all my prior years of education.

I eventually stopped improving so quickly at Go and had great difficulty trying to make the transition to Sixth Dan, and I became impatient with the sluggish flow of my life. It was as though I had become frozen in time, my clock had stopped ticking and I ceased to take any steps forward. When it came to jobs, I could only get the crappiest variant, and I hated them. So eventually I finally let go of my dream of becoming a professional Go player, which was unreasonable to begin with, and decided to go to school. One of the many tools I've extracted from Go was the ability to make sacrifices for 'the greater good', so it was as though I was given this as a test in my life. I'm not the type to give up on a dream easily, but I'm also not the type to let myself become blinded by the idea of 'fighting spirit' or anything like that. I've finally realized that although that kind of value can bestow the power to persevere, it can also blind one's sight of the great plethora of paths that lay afoot.

I Just need to get 73% or higher to become a true student of U of T!

So here I am, here I am. I truly feel like a transformed being, but of course still far from perfection. Humans are so ironic. We seek perfection, something so unthinkable. Yet at the same time, our satisfaction is fleeting. No, it's not fleeting, we run away from it.

Signing off,

-Crimz