Whoa People...

Just a brief little writing here, just had a thought or two and felt the urge to jot 'em down here. Overall life has been fairly "OK," nothing notable to complain about at the moment at the very least. I think that qualifies as "good." Been a little busy at work, more so in these past several days thanks to this rice shortage.

Now as I understood it, only rice such as Jasmine rice and 2 others were noted to being a little tight in supply. Some places have even gone as far as to limiting the amount which can be purchased. But I'll be damned, people have been coming in and buying rice as if the whole damn stock is going down. And I mean everything was going! I swear I've never seen so much rice being bought in my entire life!

In a way the panic seemed to have been for nothing, I mean we've had a little trouble keeping certain brands in stock. But overall, it surely did not appear as though we were going to be "short" for any significant period of time. Then again, maybe it was a little smart of an idea since there is talk about the price going up. Might be able to save a small bit of money in the process, though you do run the risk of bugs.

Remember! If you buy rice, keep it in a cool and dry place! Moisture is bad and heat will almost certainly ensure that your rice will have bugs popping out of it!

Wow, I feel like Smokey the Bear here, dishing out the fire tips and such. But being a lifelong rice eater myself and learning what I've learned at my job, it couldn't hurt to pass on a few tips right?

Why Do I Get That Feeling...? (Rant Inside!)

Why do I get that feeling as though my XBox is on the brink of dying? Well, besides that the machine is getting ever so slightly louder and it makes this sound like it just makes a sudden stop. Scares the shit out of me when it happens in the middle of the night and I'm dozing off while playing. It also developed this thing about how games suddenly become unreadable. I did have that one brush with those damn red rings of death.

Just this morning, while playing Oblivion, my XBox just popped that screen up "The disk is unreadable. Clean it with a cloth and restart your machine."

Yeah, sure... I'll just pretend to believe that a BRAND NEW GAME is dirty! Yes, I just paid up for a dirty disk!

I'm still holding out and praying that it isn't anything to be concerned over. But with each passing day I just get that creeping feeling that it's going to either die out or nuke my apartment. So if you happen to see that on any news station in Hawaii, yep, that could likely be me.

Back to Oblivion for a moment and a short little rant of sorts. If you've no interest in such things, skip ahead and proceed onto your normal internet viewing. Otherwise, let's vent...

So I went to the local GameStop the other day to pick up a copy of the game Elder Scrolls Oblivion and everything is going along just fine. I get to the counter and blah, blah, blah. General routine, nothing out of the ordinary.

The sales guy then asks...

Sales Guy: "Do you want a new or used copy?"

Me: "I'd like to get a new one."

Sales Guy: "Are you sure? A used one is only $54..."

Come on!? I mean why even bother to ask me if I want a new or used copy, then turn around and try and offer me something else. YOU ASK, I SAID NEW!! NOT USED, BRAND FUCKING NEW!!! If I wanted a second hand, I'd have grabbed the goddamn case off the shelf and brought it on up, don't cha think?

I swear my next job is going to be either and Wal-Mart Electronics Department or GameStop. I'm going to have a field day being either a) A fucking snobby douche bag or b) A fucking idiot or c) ALL OF THE ABOVE. Hell, I think I can pull that off I mean I am capable of being multi-talented when needed.

That felt good.

Uninspired at Best

I've been a little 'down in the dumps' lately and its a feeling I just haven't been able to shake off. I'm finding myself just dragging along through a day and my thoughts about whatever is in front of me (ex: at work) is generally uninspired and dreary.

Maybe it is because of the fact that I have this feeling like the company I'm with isn't going to let us all go in good terms. That is, whenever the plans get set and they (G.G.P.) start to tear the place down.

What I'm now kicking myself over is the fact that I've felt even a slight hint of loyalty to the company. But eh, this is becoming too much of a personal drama over a grocery store job!

Then again, I do depend heavily on the money made here, so getting screwed over isn't something I'd be happy with at all. I just hope it doesn't end up going down like that...

Anyway! Enough about that, it's starting to give me a headache all over again. On the flip side of things, a co-worker had recently sent me a Japanese wrestling match to see if I'd find any interest in it. Lo and behold, I have and now I'm looking for more matches like a junkie looking for another hit. The promotion of interest is a group called Dragon Gate, which I had to sit down and do some reading to kind of catch up with things.

One group within this promotion I like, though they might break since it's leader has been offered to jump to a different faction, is called Typhoon (Logo pictured above). They are a very talented group and I was absolutely amazed to watch them battle against the Muscle Outlaw'z (whom are the ones who offered a place within their group to the leader of Typhoon, a guy named CIMA).

I'd try to find the weekly shows, but goddamn folks... I still can't read/write/understand any Japanese and so that ended that. Blah.

If that doesn't keep me busy, we just rented Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, plus we picked up Juno and Appleseed EX Machina. I heard the first two movies were good, but I never heard anything about Appleseed. Good or bad sign? I suppose I shall find out sooner rather then later...

Then again, the previous Appleseed movie wasn't bad...

The Price of Rice - Goin' Up!

I've noticed that I never really write about anything other then games and occasionally wrestling. I still enjoy both and no, this isn't going to be me writing all about how I plan to completely change my life or anything radical like that. But I have been thinking and thinking a lot about how I can mix things up and today I think I found myself the chance to start.

Now, working where I work (Marukai), I know that rice such as Hinode isn't what you could consider "high end" rice. Within the vast selection of rice out there, the Hinode brand doesn't rank that high up there and is generally down with others such as Kokuho Yellow Label and Tsuru Mai.

If you want to get truly extreme with your rice, I have seen a near $70 bag of rice (about 11 pounds) and yes, it does sell folks.

Anyway, today I read on the front page of the Honolulu Star Bulletin that the price for a 20 pound bag of rice could go upward to about $10 a bag. The price of these now is roughly about $7-8. The reasoning? The supply of rice is going to be tight, according to the article.

This is definitely bad news for us folks who aren't as financially set as we'd like to be. Surely, I suppose I could entertain the idea of simply dropping rice out of my daily diet. That would be healthier, right? But then, I was raised with rice being a main diet staple and that sort of change would be drastic. Remember how I said I wouldn't be writing about how I wouldn't be changing my life completely?

But man, with the way things are going these days... it seems almost impossible to function without having to make some sort of changes here and there. I suppose adaptation truly is the name of the game.

As the article also states, which I tend to agree, the price for just about everything here in Hawaii has gone up. It certainly makes me thankful that I don't own my own car, seeing how much the gas prices went up from the last time I had to pay for my own gas and such (about 6 years ago now). But then again, who's to say that the prices for bus passes here on Oahu won't eventually follow suit?

I am absolutely content with living in Hawaii, but with each passing year it looks like more and more of a challenge to simply stay "afloat." I even worry about the lease on the apartment that my girlfriend and I rent. If we were ever forced to leave where we are now, we would be in a world of hurt.

It is interesting to me to see how a simple article about the rising costs of food and a bag of rice in particular, can bring up so much worry. :(

Wings of the Goddess

Upon spending the past 2 days running here, there and everywhere, I've come to a very simple conclusion about the latest expansion for Final Fantasy XI. Despite a number of small gripes, I think I'm beginning to believe I actually like this expansion...

What appeals to me the most is the fact that it seems to be geared to everyone rather then just to the end game crowd, much as it has felt during the past few expansion releases. By this I mean the zones, while still having their fair share of threats, is actually traversable and you can actually enjoy the sights, much unlike things were when ToAU came out.

Even the cut scenes are enjoyable and they feel like they are playing out an actual story, rather then a bunch of stuff slapped together. I can honestly say I am now firmly interested in finding out how the Great War unfolded!

The two new advanced jobs added, Dancer and Scholar, are enjoyable. Personally, I thought the Dancer job was going to be a big joke. But after seeing what it can do, plus having been able to get a few levels in on the job, I admit that I was very wrong about it.

Now for my only gripe that I have for this expansion (so far anyway!) is on the Campaign battles. Yes, they are fun. Yes, they potentially can yield a fair share of experience points. But why does it take the mobs nearly 15 minutes for them to show up!? Maybe I am just overly too impatient for my own good, but I think that could be sped up just a little bit.

On the flip side, however, I also do understand that maybe it is done as such to give people a chance to make it to the battle, if say they were else where or still in transit to the battlefield.

Like I said though, my gripes with this expansion have been fairly minimal thus far and I find myself actually enjoying the game again. And believe me when I say that I'd never believed that this day would ever come...

Goes to show, you just never really know what can happen or how things will play out...

Givin' It Another Go

October 22nd, 2007.

That was the last time I was present in the world of Vana'diel and at that time, I was pretty set on saying that that was it. The end. Retirement had arrived for me and I was content to just walk away and forget it all, once and for all. Plus, a vast majority of the friends I had made online had moved on or retired from the game. So really, my list of reasons for playing had shortened considerably.

Fast forward to the present and after some (months and months) of urging from my girlfriend, plus the fact that one of our close friends had returned to the game, and now here I am, typing all about my return to the game called Final Fantasy XI.

And after nearly 3 hours of updates, I am a mere 30 minutes away from getting back into the mix. Now all I need to do is get the newest expansion (Wings of the Goddess) and I'd be up-to-date and ready to roll for certain.

On a side note, completely unrelated to any FF game, I just got my copy of Suikoden I & II tonight (FINALLY). It brings back a lot of memories for me, but goddamn! I can't read Japanese at all and so that makes things a challenge to a certain degree. But eh, I've played through both games before, so it isn't like it is all Greek to me.

Well, it is just about that time for me to step back into the world of Final Fantasy XI. I hope this run is better then my last time in, but I am really here more for friends then actually going totally hardcore over the game. I don't think I'll be dedicating myself to level grinding to 75, so I guess I can say that, if nothing else, has changed for me.

Thinking Aloud or Just Making Noise?

I've been hoping for some peace and quiet so I'd be able to jot down some thoughts here and sure enough, that is exactly what I've got tonight. It is nights like this that I am grateful to be living across the street from a hospital, opposed to a block away and having to hear every ambulance, fire truck and everything in between at all hours of the day/night.

Another thing which I am happy with is Crisis Core, which I am still enjoying. The story is amazing and it definitely adds depth to the existing characters and it does an incredible job at bringing in the new folks too.

What actually amazes me is the negative "reviews" for the game. I didn't realize how many people thought the FF7 Compilation was crap!

I know it is impossible to please the world, but sheesh! Just reading about how the game "didn't live up to my expectations" and all that, it just amazes me how some people can go through a day at all. Surely Crisis Core isn't the world's most perfect game, but considering it is on a portable system, it does accomplish quite a bit in my own opinion. It still blows my mind with the amount of voice acting in the game!

Eh, but what can you do? We all have our opinions and regardless, I still enjoy Final Fantasy games and I'll definitely will continue to support it. In my view, I don't see any other RPG title or series that can truly stand toe to toe with FF. Am I a fan boy? Maybe. But then, what in the hell is a fan boy anyhow?

Definition of a "Fan Boy."

I don't honestly know if I actually fall into that category or not, but whatever. I enjoy what I enjoy and that is what counts to me here. I will say that the sole reason I still follow the series as strongly as I do is because I know that regardless of whatever other game SE releases, you gotta know that they go all out to deliver when it comes down to Final Fantasy.

Which brings me to Suikoden I & II (sudden change in subject!) and how, two weeks later, I still do not have the game. I never would have believed it would take this long to ship, but alas... I still don't have the game. In a very short reply from Toys n' Joys, they think my order will be shipped next week.

Well damn folks! If they don't even know what's going on, then consider me worried! Truth be told, this is the last time I ever try to order something through their site! Horribly slow service certainly will get me in a foul mood and fast!

On the flip side, at least one thing I ordered had come in. So with a PS1 memory card in hand, I have begun (once again) to play through Final Fantasy VII. In the near future though, I'm hoping to dig out Chrono Cross. Depending on the mood, I might actually try and hunt down more PS1 RPGs, with the original Wild Arms at the top of that short list!

The End of an Era

As a fan of Professional Wrestling, there is absolutely NO WAY that I can go on writing a blog without mentioning what went down this past Sunday.

On March 30th, 2008, "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair's wrestling career came to and end in a "Career Threatening Match" against Shawn Michaels by way of some Sweet Chin Music (pictured left).

People have been talking about his end would be met at Wrestlemania, but as a longtime fan... especially when it comes to a guy like Ric Flair, whom I've watched for many of those 10 years, those words are just too hard to comprehend.

And as I was watching that match, god those last few minutes felt like an eternity. I can't imagine what it felt like for those two guys. It was tense and emotional and the look on Flair's and even HBK's face was just unbelievable. But the bitter truth of reality sank in when the referee dropped down and made that long three count that signaled the ending of the match as well as one of the greatest careers in the history of pro wrestling.

When I think back, I remember what I used to think, maybe about 10 years ago, about the man named Ric Flair.

I echoed the same words that many "fans" had said during those days. He wasn't in the greatest of physical shape, his matches seemed limited at best and yes, basically he looked like an old timer who didn't want to give up his "spot."

But my, oh my... how the times have changed for me.

When I actually came to sit and watch his matches, they were far better then a lot of the younger guys' matches. Hell, even his final match at Wrestlemania this past Sunday was a very emotional, very, very good match in my eyes. I even made the mistake to think that maybe, just maybe, he had finally lost his touch.

After seeing how the man performed at 'Mania certainly changed my thoughts on him forever. Just thinking about some of the matches he has had in the past 5 years amazes me, with the TLC match against Edge standing out of that crowd as well.

If myself from 10 years ago could read what I am about to write, I think I'd have had a heart attack. But I honestly will say that I will miss seeing the man that definitely earned the nickname "Dirtiest Player in the Game."

Ultimately, I shall now rejoin the masses and once again I shall echo the same words which they, too, are saying.

Thank you Ric.