Inner peace at Aliante to close out 2006

49 minutes till a New Year starts, and I am already spent as I begin writing this entry. I used to like being on the Strip to see the fireworks, but now that I have residency in North Las Vegas, I don’t feel like being on the Strip again because I feel like a tourist. I feel like I’m not seeing Las Vegas the way I want to see it: an ordinary American city that accommodates to everyone and anyone.

North Las Vegas was the answer to finding a suitable house for us to move to. Last year, when we filed escrow for it, the realtor told us that we are in a great neighborhood. Aliante, a planned residential community, is an elite, rich, luxurious place to visit, shop, enjoy entertainment…and we were just right next door! When he told me about this, I was grinning. But then, we had to leave the Valley. I had my Fall semester classes to take care of at Long Beach State, my mom had her preschool classes to teach, my dad and sister had to take care of patients at their respective hospitals.

The New Year’s Eve weekend was the first time we could settle in our new home, if only for a few days. As I walked inside and set my room up, I had a wide smile. No more hotel reservations. No more need to reserve a room on the Strip months in advance. We just had to drive down I-15 a few minutes to get to the destinations. I was enjoying myself.

But then, bad news happened. One of my mom’s friends who is also a surrogate aunt to me, was on the verge of dying from cancer. It had metastasized so badly that she was terminally ill. I was stunned. She was 65, and she was terminally ill. My mood became silent as I went through my rounds on the slots. I lost focus, and just a few hours ago, I broke down as we went back home to our house. The cold reality set in. 65 years old. I was anguished by the fact. She’s not technically a member of our family, but given her close ties with my mom, she might as well be. I hoped that she would be able to be alive enough to at least see 2007 begin, but my mom told me that she will be able to see it. She would just be bed-ridden.

Even so, I was anguished, and wanted to find a way to come to terms with it, and accept it. So, knowing that my family and I would leave for Long Beach early New Year’s Day, I took a walk up the street to Aliante. There was a park there where I could do some reflection and be at peace.

It wasn’t an easy walk. The path up was not finished yet, so my shoes had to trudge through dirt, a stone walkway, more dirt, and an unfinished crosswalk. This was nothing new; I knew North Las Vegas was still growing, and so it was. At last, I saw the entrance, with the community’s official logo: the silhouettes of two birds flying, combined with the letters enhanced by floodlights: ALIANTE.

I passed by houses, more houses, up and down winding paths. A young resident took a smoke as he cleaned his large SUV. But I was alone, by myself. The police weren’t there. Aliante, from what I know, didn’t have any intruders invade their property. But, knowing their status being residents of this community was a privileged one, I walked by, looking at the houses, eating some popcorn along the way.

Finally, I saw the park. Nature Discovery Park was a small park and activity center at the corner of Aliante Parkway and Deer Valley Road. Just across the street were shops and places to eat. The park had tennis courts, basketball courts, and courts where the young and young at heart would play shuffleboard. The park was sometime reserved for parties, weddings, and other socials. But no one was using it. Heck, they wouldn’t dare do it at this time of the night! Many of them were at home: they were either sleeping, surfing the Net, or watching the news or the New Year passing through other parts of the world. By now, most of the world had seen it pass through. The West Coast, Alaska, Hawaii and Samoa were yet to see it.

I found a gazebo, well lighted, near a senior community center, in the park. I sat down, ate morsels of the Orville Redenbacher Kettle Corn I popped earlier in the morning, inhaled the clean, crisp Nevada winter air, devoid of the pollutants of cigarette smoke that swirled all over the casinos and hotels in Las Vegas and the Cannery (North Las Vegas’ hotel and casino). And I reflected on the good things and bad things that went wrong, and I realized that when my time comes, will I be ready? And what if my dad’s time comes, or my mom’s or my sister’s? Will I be ready when that happens?

I knew that there was no way my aunt would be denied her opportunity to see the new year before she let go. Confident, refreshed, and with a smile on my face, I walked back home.

I passed by a couple of residents, saying, “Good evening. Happy New Year.” They said in unison, “Happy New Year to you too.” These residents have class.

It’s now 20 minutes to the New Year as I finish up this blog entry. As I went down, I could see the Strip and Downtown, and I know that I will be able to see the fireworks from out there. I can’t wait.

This being the last entry of 2006, I wish a Happy and Prosperous New Year to all of you.

Video of Saddam Hussein being executed

Originally posted as a link on the Something Awful forums, I saved and uploaded it to google video before the it died.

Saddam Hussein...is dead.

And so, 2007 will open with another less tyrant to worry about.

Viva North Las Vegas!

I can now use my laptop for the Internet. I'm posting here from North Las Vegas, and in the words of James Brown, "I feel good!" I’m watching the archived 2006 Hawaii Bowl downloaded via torrent from my iPod, which is charging as we speak (with my SLVR L7 and my Love Generation, my laptop), and things are looking up.

I found out that I got a C in FIN 300. I got the bare minimum. I know that I will get at least a B in ECON 333, but if I did well enough on the final to get an A, it’s gonna be a 3.0 average for Fall, because the A and C cancel each other out. Fine by me, as long as I get that core stuff out of the way, because an Info Systems-heavy Spring with BeachSort, Anime Club, and Rugby on the side, as well as Super Fan duty (at games and with the Union), topped with a shot at selling my talents at the Job Fairs, are on tap when 2007 begins.

For the meantime, I’m gonna soak enjoying life as a Nevada citizen, and get to know my second city a bit more. Viva North Las Vegas!

Weird dream, but a colorful one.

This was one of the few dreams I can remember in full.

The dream started with the Moon Angel Troupe going on another of their missions, Milfeulle was hanging on to a ladder connected to a truck that Vanilla was driving. The truck was passing through a boggy swamp that was 6 foot deep of mud and water. She almost lost her grip, but when they got to the other side, the ladder lowered so Milfie could land.

So the team went to this house that had another of the lost technology tidbits they were looking for. Forte, Ranpha, and Mint were searching one room, Vanilla (with Normad) in another, and Milfeulle was looking in one room, where she stumbled on a large pink, cute, bag. Hey eyes were turning to stars, and she was madly blushing, because it was the cutest, most gorgeous looking bag she had ever seen. So, Milfeulle was about to touch it, when…the bag swallowed her whole! Save for a flower from her headband that the bag spitted out.

The bag had grown eyes and a face. Indeed, Milfeulle (as the bag) was pouting, saying, “Nande~~~!? Why the heck am I inside this bag?” So she opened herself to find some appendages. She used a scissor and pliers for arms, and two scalpers for legs.

Soon afterward, the bag swallowed everyone else, and it turned into Ranpha wearing a gorgeous, long-flowing yellow dress, and she was wearing high-end lipstick. She was about to be engaged to this hot guy that the was talking to-her “dream guy”-but the lost technology was about 6to be destroyed, so she kissed the guy and whispered as tears flowed from her eyes, “I’m sorry.” She vroomed like an engine, spat out a little bit of blood that turned into a shadow impression of Ranpha dancing in her dress, with a ribbon underneath, and blasted off, going through the guy and killing him in the process, and blasted through the roof off the house.

From there, Ranpha exploded, turning into her and the other angels flying their respective frames, and the ending credit of that scene was the original Galaxy Angel game logo, with the Moon Angels’ emblem, accompanied by the anime series’ typical fanfare music.

In this dream, I watched all of A, AA< st="on">Vatican, on Via Fiorentina, whatever that was. But GA in the Vatican? Unbelievable.

The final part of my dream was that me and the other members of my fraternity were climbing up and down this large jungle gym. One part of the course had me go through a hole, crawl through a gauntlet, and go out the other hole. Unfortunately, I couldn’t squeeze through the hole (due to my large size, perhaps), so I went out a bigger hole to the side. The others were laughing. At the end of the course, we tied pink paper ribbons, each ribbons with our favorite maxim, on to end of the jungle gym. A large number of pledges were waiting for their first event on their road to being new members. We would lead the way.

And thus ended my dream.

Props to the local boys from Hawaii

Let me give my Christmas shoutout to the people of Hawaii.

First off, I want to extend my congratulations to the University of Hawaii football team for bouncing back to win the 2006 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl over Arizona State. That was a sensational performance and this puts the 2006 team as the best since 92. Hawaii, you bloody beauty!

Secondly, June Jones. I have placed you at the top of my favorite football coaches at the college level. Now you are one of the greats. You are now the winningest head football coach in Hawaii in the modern era, passing Dick Tomey, whose Spartans won last night, by the way. Let's see if you can solve the mystery against Boise next year.

Finally, Colt Brennan. Man oh man. Words can't describe how important you are not only to Manoa, but to the state of Hawai'i. You decided to change your life the day Coach Jones opened the door for you, and you took advantage of it. Where you go from here is up to you, but I advise you: make the right decision that you will be happy with in the long run. And also, you have made the Mission Football Conference, and especially Mark McElroy and the Gauchos of Saddleback College, very proud to have seen an alumnus break Klingler's record.

And to the staff of the Honolulu Advertiser, the Star-Bulletin, KKEA 1420 AM, and everyone who follows the Warrior football team, you are the best. Keep it up, and keep believing. Enjoy the holiday, enjoy life, and let's do it all over again next year.GO WARRIORS! Aloha to you all.

One good shot leads to another!

There’s this song by the Fixx called “One Thing Leads to Another.” It’s a great tune, and it’s one of the few songs from the band I actually like.

But let me cut to the chase. If you were here in the Spring 2006 semester (yes, the Spring before this one), you will have been familiar with a guy by the name of Aaron Nixon. Combined with Kejuan Johnson, they are touted as “The Next Big Thing.” Well, if you saw the Big West Semifinal against a group of players from that shithole known as UC Irvine, Nixon made the game-winning shot that sent the Beach Nation into frenzy, the likes which I want to be accustomed to every fucking day.

Well, Déjà vu can be an angel. And it came on the night of December 22, 2006 against Loyola Marymount at Gersten Pavillion. 1.8 seconds left in the game. Kevin Houston lobs a pass from mid-court over to a certain guy wearing number 55, who drains in a three-pointer from 35 feet outthat sends the visitors into orgasmic heaven and the home fans into celibate, Scrooge-like [sic] impotency.

And you know who was wearing the number 55? Yes, you probably know now. It was none other than Aaron Nixon. The guy made the zots orz, and now he made the Lions orz. By the way, in this paragraph, orz means “fall to their knees and bed over in failure.” It’s a Densha Otoko thing.

But anyway, I thought that this was going to be one of those typical collapses, but instead, the Fixx came to town and said, “One Good Shot Leads to Another.” Aaron Nixon, you bloody beauty. For once, there was a glimmer of hope for Larry Reynolds after all.

(And I got another song to put to my iPod, the SUV of media players…)

Coincidentally, or even apocryphally, the title of the album that includes the song in question is called, “Reach the Beach.”

Super Fan comic by J.R.: Volume 1

I open my comic strip side with this piece.
I will never forget my club's URL again.

World, ease your mind and Kananize!

My mind's been eased with reading Galaxy Angel. And that, I think, is the power of seeing the art of the greats in shoujo manga. From Miho Obana, to Arina Tanemura, to Naoko Takeuchi, to Kanan and between, the best mangaka create characters that are immortal in appearance, memory, and character. It's those characters, and their development into something special that make them unique.

Kanan's rendition of Galaxy Angel (which is different from the Galaxy Angel anime for a few obvious reasons: continuity, character development, and the type of storyline that mixes comedy with drama, romance, and great art) is no exception to this rule. I have all volumes of Galaxy Angel 3rd (or Galaxy Angel II) to date, as well as all 5 volumes of the first arc so far, and I love how she molds the hooks with the uniqueness of the characters. The scenes with little of text are the best parts of the chapters for a number of reasons (mostly, having to do with graphic design ideas for your sites), and after my iPod charges up (it died just a few hours ago; I had to get over to campus to charge my iPod, iMilfeulle, up), it's off to a few more rounds of scanning before stuffing up at Round Table.

Wings are the type of attribute that I have embraced to most of my recent drawings. I like how Kanan draws the wings on Milfeulle. I gotta try doing some tone one of these days; she's a cut above a number of other mangaka, but in the league of Arina, Naoko, you know, the Bishoujo Mangaka Masters...If the plotline in the manga follwed in the anime, I know that GA as an anime would have been in the top 30, instead of the middle of the top 100 list by Anime News Network. Maybe top 20, even.

And that's why Sailor Moon, even though it's seen by people in North America as a mere stepping stone for those who were first exposed to anime and manga in the 1990's, is in the Top 30. It doesn't have the strongest following, after ending its run nearly a decade ago, but the impact it had in blazing a trail for the bishoujo plotline (led by a certain pigtail-and-bun immortal in a fuku and her company of soldiers doubling as a princess of the past and queen of the future) makes it a memorable one.

If only Galaxy Angel's anime plotline followed this, using what Kanan came up. At least my mind is still at ease before Big Thursday comes rolling in less than, I don't know, 40 hours.

Buy backs are love.

I am so glad I was able to buy back my Management textbook. I got enough money to buy a new set of headphones that replaced the worn-out ones I had for my current iPod, which I call iMilfeulle. (I call my SLVR with iTunes iApricot, and my current USB iNano-Nano, all Galaxy Angel characters.)This new set of headphones is from this company called Skullcandy, and it's called GIs. This headphone set was designed for those who want the best out of their headphones. It's much better, and more stylish and versatile, than the other ones I currently have. It's cooler than those earbuds, and easier on my ears.You can see these headphones, plus the many other Skullcandy logo stickers I posted around the Beach, on my updated gallery at SeiyaUsagi.net

(Note: you may have to register to view it.)

What I want for Christmas

I have a list of what I want for Christmas 2006. Here is a partial (but not complete) version of the list.

Nutella
All the Galaxy Angel manga volumes available
More pictures of Milfeulle Sakuraba's younger sister Apricot-she's a study in drawing the moe aesthetic!
A PS3. For obvious reasons
A power-conserving mp3 player, the iPod is like an SUV
Jackpots at the slots in Vegas
Taking a break at my other house in North Las Vegas
Prepare for 2007 the right way

More to come...

Finals on the way...

Hmmm, let's see, now...I've already come up with a list of what I want for Christmas. It's not much, but then again...it is much. I'm posting on an empty stomach, my face burning from breathing on the Horn Center sofas while sleeping, and feeling rather miserable (for now), because I haven't gotten my Spring tuition paid yet.

For starters, I want to ace all my Finals. At least this will put me in a position to have an A and 3 B's for the semester. I was so thrilled to have another score of 90 or more on my recent Econ exam. I feel awesome when I receive a score like that because it shows that things have turned around for me.

I don't want to sit on my laurels too early, because those Finals will be what I'll have to focus.

There's more stuff I want for Christmas. See my next entry.