Friday, December 31, 2010

Year's up!

Notable things from my 2010 (both good and bad):

  • Spent a year in an apartment that I never felt comfortable in
  • Ended a 3.5-year-long relationship
  • Started the second year of my current job
  • Brought Kai into my life
  • Attended the funeral of a dear friend
  • Made the President's List in college for the first time
  • Met Austin
  • Made some new friends
  • Had a wonderful visit with my parents in the Florida Keys after a year and a half without going there
  • Became infected with Scott Pilgrim Fever when the final volume of the comic was released, the movie was released and the game was released all in the same month
  • Decided to stop going to college indefinitely
  • Joined Nerdy Show
  • Bought a seasonal pass for Disney World and became a big fan of the parks
  • Experienced the brief return of my back problems
  • Lost my little Puck
  • Found a new place to live
So, that is a brief summary of my year. I might have forgotten to mention some stuff, and if so, I'll probably go back and edit the list later. It was quite a year, it had its ups and downs, and I think I'm happy to put it behind me. I hope that 2011 will be more pleasant, overall. My new year's resolution is to finish more video games. That was my resolution last year, and I didn't do a very good job. These are the only games that I completed:

  • Wario Land 4 (GBA) - 2/24
  • Heavy Rain (PS3) - 3/21
  • Braid (PC) - 3/31
  • Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (DS) - 4/28
  • Portal (PC) - 6/07
  • Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3) - 9/7/10
  • Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (PS3) - 9/24
  • VVVVVV (PC) - 10/21
My problem is that I start a bunch of different games without seeing them through to the end. I need to get better about that! More completed games in 2011! I swear!

I'm all moved in to my new place, and I'm quite happy with it so far. The move went really smoothly, and now I just need to get all my crud unpacked. I've been so busy with my family in town that I haven't been able to do much of that yet. I finally met one of the roommates that I hadn't met prior to my move-in, and she's really nice! We've already talked more than I talked to my last roommates in the whole year I lived there. I have a really good feeling about this place, and I think I'm going to be very happy there.

Look at what my roommate did!


That was so sweet of her! I feel so welcomed.

I visited my old place for the last time the other day, to grab any items I had forgotten and to leave the keys. My old roommates weren't even home, so I didn't say bye to them, but I did leave a note. It was really hard to say goodbye to their dogs, though. I'm going to miss them very much. I took some pictures with them before I left:


Bye bye, doggies. :(

For New Year's Eve tonight, my mom and I are about to go to the LAN center I always hang out at. I might be bringing my webcam and streaming it, so look out for that!

I hope everyone has a wonderful new year!

Sunday, December 26, 2010

PC build begins...?

Well, I bought the first part of my future PC last night: the video card!
I grabbed this one: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6651253&Sku=M452-0465

I wasn't planning on buying any PC stuff just yet. However, it was a really good deal ($50 off), and it's a sweet card, so I couldn't resist! I'm researching other parts now, and I have a couple picked out. I don't quite have enough money put aside for everything yet, but I hopefully should soon, then I'll be in business! I'm thinking I should have it all ready in a couple months.

Wow, I got more from adsense yesterday than I remember getting in a long time! Thank you to whoever clicked an ad! It wasn't a ton or anything, but I usually only get a few cents a day, so anything more than that is awesome.

My car's battery was out of power when I tried leaving work tonight, so I had to leave it in the parking lot for the night. Laaaaaame.

Moving tomorrow! SO EXCITED!

That's about how excited I am.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Christmaaaaas

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you've all had a splendid day.

I got a big haul of stuff (money, restaurant gift cards, blurays, a DS game, iguana statues, Sonic figures, jewelry, candy, cookies, other odds & ends). My family is so generous! It was great spending the day with them all, and delicious food was had. A very nice Christmas, overall.

Christmas card:

Edit: Here's a photo from my family's gathering.


Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Almost time to move!

I'm so dang excited about moving! I've had enough of this place, and I'm ready to get out. I have a nice-sized moving crew assembled, consisting of some family members and friends. I'm so happy about moving that I started a countdown off to the right of the page! I also have a new poll that goes with this theme.

I'm getting ready to spend time with my family. They'll be in town soon for Christmas and all that jazz, so it'll be nice to see them once again. I predict going out to eat a lot and seeing a few movies. I can't wait to eat my mom's Christmas cookies!

The boys and I beat Castle Crashers last night. It's about time! It only took us, what, TWO MONTHS?!

Jed and Cody and I have been playing ModNation Racers. Those two have been really serious about track-making! I made a couple of really quick tracks so far, and I'll probably work on some more serious ones later on. Fun game!

Here's the house I grew up in. I miss it very much.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Went to Disney Again!

My Disney friends came to town, so we visited the parks together yesterday. We went to Magic Kingdom, then Epcot, then Hollywood Studios, then back to Epcot! We just sorta went with the flow and did whatever we felt like doing. Had a blast! Man it was FRIGGIN COLD, though! When it got dark, I had to wear a big ol' coat and some gloves.

We recorded some clips, and I compiled them into a short video here:



And there's also this one, which is a special light show that they have at Disney's Hollywood Studios every year during the holiday time:



It was so incredible! We watched it happen 3 times, and they used a different song each time. I was blown away.

One of the highlights of my day was filling up an empty water bottle with VegitaBeta, my favorite drink from Epcot that I mentioned in one of my previous posts. You can see me doing it in the clip. I actually drank the bottle down to about 1/3 and then refilled it! Teeheehee. I still have the full bottle, and I'm saving it for a special occasion. Oh yeah, that cookie was pretty amazing, too!

Here are a few photos from the day:

Sarah and I in front of the famous Spaceship Earth at Epcot.

Test Track ride photo. I have a special method of getting some ride photos for free!

The sunglasses pose was completely accidental. I was in the process of removing them, and my friend happened to take the photo at that second. It was perfect!

Disney is fun.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Wow!

I just got a donation! Thank you so much, Michael! I'll be adding your drawing to the queue I have built up. I'll try to crank those drawings out for you donors soon, I've just had a lack of inspiration lately.

All donations I get are going into my "PC building fund". Every little bit helps tremendously, and I appreciate it so very much.

Man, I need a new poll! I'll make one now. There we go! Vote!

Monday, December 13, 2010

Keepin' busy

I've been trying to get out of my room a lot lately, since it's been really sad in here without Puck around. I went to the LAN center a few times last week, had some good games with the guys. I can't really stand playing anything on my own computer anymore, since most recent games run so poorly. I also went to Disney on Wednesday.

This visit, I spent the evening at Epcot. It was quite chilly outside! It was very refreshing, though, and a very enjoyable evening overall. I was thrilled to see that my favorite drink had returned at "Club Cool"! It wasn't there last time I went, so I feared that it was gone forever. It's called VegitaBeta, and it's a drink that isn't available anywhere else in the world, except for "The World of Coca Cola" in Georgia. It used to be a drink sold in Japan, but they stopped making it. I wish it was something that's available to purchase! Pretty much the best anyone can do is just sneakily fill up an empty bottle with it. I'll probably do that next time I go! I'm so naughty. I was ever so happy to see Captain EO again, which never EVER gets old. I sing along with MJ every time I watch it. Pretty much the main reason I decided to go to Epcot this time was because their Illuminations closing fireworks show is extended right now for the holiday season. The regular version of the show is spectacular enough, but the extended version was amazing! It's a very powerful show. I'll be going to another Disney park this Wednesday, since my friends will be in town. Not sure which one yet.

Yesterday, my boss treated all of my co-workers and I to a delicious dinner at an Italian restaurant. We did a gift exchange, and everyone picked a gift out of the pile. I got a pink bunny scarf made by my co-worker. The bunny has a mustache. It is really cute and funny, and I would probably actually wear it if it wasn't pink (I hate pink). What a shame. I did get something else along with it that I actually like, though. It's a little painting of a lizard/alligator creature holding a cup of Italian ice. Very cute! The boss also gave all of us gift cards to some breakfast restaurant, which was super nice of him.

So I'm moving at the beginning of January! I finally managed to pick out a place I like. I think I'm going to be a lot happier there! I'm really really looking forward to moving. Not to mention, the internet speed at that place is FANTASTIC! I am drooling in anticipation!

What would go along well with a great internet connection? A great gaming PC! I am currently planning to build one. I've held off for so long because it's so expensive, but I think I'm finally ready to go for it. My parents offered to give me a little bit towards it as a Christmas gift, so that will definitely help. I need to be careful about my expenses for a little while so it doesn't hit my wallet as hard. Once I get that built, I'll finally be able to play all the newest games that can't run on my laptop, and I'll be able to record and all that good stuff!

I saw a free screening of Tron: Legacy tonight! I found out about the screening like an hour before it started, so I ran out immediately to try to make it in time. I managed to get in just fine, and I even got a pin and a poster! The movie was great, and I might go see it again when it's actually out. Awesome visuals and music (of course, since the music's by Daft Punk)! I recommend it!

I'm sorry these posts are always so long. I'll try updating more frequently so they're shorter. I hope people actually read them. Here's a blurry pic of my mom and I:

Monday, December 6, 2010

About Puck

This is the story of Puck. Puck the hedgehog, my little baby.

I just laid him to rest last night. He was my little guy for a very short two and a half years, but he made such a big impact on my life that I'll never forget him.

In the summer of 2008, I was ready to get a new pet. I was still feeling the loss of my iguana, Lantz (and I still do to this day), but I had healed enough to allow a new little friend into my life. Browsing craigslist one day, I spotted an ad that grabbed my attention. Someone was rehoming an adorable little hedgehog! I saw the photos of him and immediately fell in love. These are the original photos that were posted:


So cute!

When I saw the ad, I started researching everything involved in hedgehog care. After learning what I needed, I thought it over for a bit, and then I decided that he would be a great pet for me! I contacted his owner, and then the little dude was mine!

He was two months old when I got him, so he was still pretty small. His original owner had named him "Dexter", but I wanted something different. It took me forever to settle on a name for him! I asked my friends to help me come up with one, but nothing was appealing to me. I'm not sure what made me think of it, but I started calling him "Puck" as a placeholder name. As time went on, I got so attached to that name that it remained as his permanent one.

Most people hear his name and assume he was named after a hockey puck or something, but I was thinking more along the lines of the character Puck from English folklore. He is primarily known as a shape shifting imp creature who is very mischievous.  The character is most well known from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. I felt that the name was appropriate because my Puck would do some things that revealed a bit of a mischievous nature in him. I often called him Puckie, too.

In the beginning, I tried holding Puck a lot in order to calm him down and get him used to human interaction. As much as I tried, though, it never made much of a difference. He wasn't really a people-hedgehog. He would calm down and be quiet if I was holding him, but if he was in his cage or walking around somewhere, he was always extremely nervous. The smallest little noises and movements would make him curl up into a ball and do his trademark huffing/hissing sound. Oh, what I would give to hear that sound now.

He always made the funniest noises. They're probably the most unforgettable thing about him. His huffy/hissy sound that he did from breathing heavily any time he was startled was the most prominent, of course. I would hear that sound in response to nearly anything I did in my room, whether it was turning on the lamp, opening the closet door, rustling through bags and boxes, or whatever else. I found it so funny that he felt the need to continue doing that after being in my room for so long. Surely he was used to it all by then! Silly little dude. My friends and family were always amused by that sound as well. 

He also made so many adorable sounds while he was sleeping. Since he spent the majority of each day asleep, he served as a constant soundtrack for my room. The cutest of all were his little chirps and squeaks. They always made me smile. I wish I had recorded them. He would also often thump his foot against the bottom of his cage, which I found funny.

Puck spent the majority of his time hidden under little towels. Since he didn't really like human interaction, he pretty much only came out on his own to eat and drink. Hedgehogs are nocturnal, so I would feed him each night before I went to bed. For the last two and a half years, I've fallen asleep to the sound of him crunching his food every night. It's hard to get used to not hearing it anymore.

One of the problems I struggled with throughout his life was his weight. I fear this is one of the reasons why he passed so young. He gained weight so quickly without me even realizing until he was quite big, and so I spent the last two years trying so hard to get him down to a more healthy size. It was difficult, because he never wanted to do anything but stay curled up all day, and he wouldn't eat anything except his dry cat food. I believe he had dropped his weight down a bit in the last few months, but it ended up not making a difference in the end. I even built him a huge multi-level cage several months ago in order for him to get more exercise. Here's the cage:


It took him a little time to get used to using the ramp, but he seemed to enjoy his new cage! 

One thing I loved to do was bring him outside and have him walk around in the grass. I doubt that he enjoyed it very much, since he always just wanted to be bundled up under his towel, but it was good for him to get some exercise and fresh air. Whenever I did that, people would always come up and ask tons of questions about him. They were so fascinated to see such an unusual creature walking around like that. 

I also enjoyed giving him baths, and it was so fun watching him swim around in the bathtub. He used to be terrified when I'd wash him in the sink, but he got used to it over time, and he eventually wouldn't freak out at all when I scrubbed his quills nice and clean with a toothbrush and some baby shampoo. I loved snuggling him in a towel after he was all clean from his bath.

Despite what a nervous little guy he was, he was actually very easy to travel with. Whenever I went on a trip, I would put his travel bin in the back seat of my car, and he was always very well behaved while on the road. If I had to make a stop somewhere, I'd bring him inside with me in his travel bag. The next road trip I take is going to feel very strange and empty without bringing him along.

I always wished that Puckie and I could have bonded better. I wanted so badly for him to get used to people, so that he could be touched and handled without always getting so scared of everything. Despite the way he was, though, I loved having him around, and he brought so much joy to my life.

For the last couple nights, Puck hadn't been eating his food. This had happened a few times in the past, and he was always okay afterwards, so I didn't think anything was seriously wrong, since he wasn't showing any other symptoms. However, on Saturday, he was breathing heavily all day. I was very concerned, and I was planning to make a vet appointment as soon as possible. It was too late, though. When I got home from work that night, he was gone.

The following day, my dear friend Noah helped me look for a nice place to bury my Puckie. We found a beautiful little spot between some trees, and on Sunday evening, December 5th, 2010, Puck was laid in his final resting place. I plan to visit him often. He left a few of his quills behind, and I am keeping them as a memento.

Goodbye, Puck. I don't know what the reason for your passing was, but I'm so sorry that I wasn't able to prevent it. I wish I had taken better care of you, so you hadn't left us at such a tender, young age. I wish that we could have had more time together in this life. I know that you're now the happiest you've ever been, and I look forward to seeing you again, my little sweetie. I love you so much, and I miss you already.

Puck the Hedgehog
May 20th, 2008 - December 4th, 2010

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

More generosity!

I got a very generous donation from someone! Thank you soooo much, Rob! Are you sure you don't want a drawing? The offer still stands! For everyone who has donated, I have a thank-you gift in the works. It might be a bit longer before they're ready, but I'm keeping track of all donors, and each of you shall be receiving one!

I drew a little something for Jed. It's an icon of his character, Trill. Here it is:


You can see a drawing of her by Jed here: Attack Phary Trill
She's a cute character!

Kai is fat. I've got Skink Cam on now, so go watch him be his fat self.