2000-2010: End of a rough first decade...

Midnight, tonight, marks the end of the first decade of the second millennium C.E. Happy 2011 everybody. Start off the "10's" with a bang. Here's to the upcoming decade.

I know I said I would strictly stick to vlogs but I decided to make an exception tonight. This past 10 years were the hardest years of my life. A lot of personal demons to struggle with; not that I don't have any to deal with in this brand new decade. In this new decade I really would like to change things about myself for the better. Not just so that I can feel good, it's also so that everyone else who has me in their lives could feel good too. Specifically my parents, who I've put through a lot of shit with from 2000-2010. I guess you can say my arrival as a responsible adult has not completely arrived since I left the blissful 90's. I'm still a naive human being with so much more to learn in life.

Here's an interesting story: we played a game within our group of family friends to describe one word about myself. I chose 'adamant'. It was something I was proud of but it was ironically my hubris as well. It meant that I could have a strong conviction for something and that I would never relent; but sometimes those feelings would lead to something negative. A Pyrrhic victory for my personality.

This hesitance and tendency to be indecisive coupled with my often temporary adamance can really lead me through a very hard path in life.

I haven't been the most spiritual person as the years have gone by, but somewhere deep in me, I still entrust my life with God.

I wish all of you a prosperous new year and a great decade. God bless.

Wow, I said decade a lot. Now it's starting to sound like a weird word....

Alan

Vlog #7 Dec.30, 2010 (Kross series preview!)

Vlog #6 Dec. 28-29, 2010 (Shooting of new online series--riiighhhttt)

Note:

-I decided to put these two together as Dec.29, 2010 was very uneventful

Alan

Vlog #5 Dec. 27, 2010 (26th Christmas party footage)

Vlog #4 Dec. 26, 2010 (Boxing Day & Canon REBEL T2i HD FOOTAGE!)

Notes:

-Not true 1080p in T2i footage, had to downscale to 720p, Laptop could not handle 1080p. I know; this paper weight sucks.

-I did buy some new fish for the aquarium, 3 Severums. They're cool. They can be briefly seen inside their bag, as I acclimate them with the tank, in the T2i footage segment towards the end.

-I wish some tablets were on sale =(

Alan

Merry Christmas to All...

And to all, a good night!



Alan

Vlog# 2, December 22, 2010

First Vlog EVA!!! Vlog# 1 December 21,2010

New blog format, let's see how far this gets.



Alan

Started New BG for blog face-lift.

Incomplete, just testing. Probably will redraw.

Alan

Need New Blog Layout

This generic-ness is so boring.

Alan

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn completed+ thoughts

Finally finished this game. Tough last boss. I thought I was gonna die lol.

My thoughts: 7 years since the last Golden Sun and Camelot and Nintendo finally release the sequel. I wonder what took them that long to decide? Anyways, good story, although script sometimes feels very incoherent, I dunno the personalities of the characters seem to change randomly, DAMN CLIFFHANGER ENDING!, gorgeous visuals and tantalizing music. If you're into RPG's the Golden Sun series, including Dark Dawn is one of the best in recent times.

I'm really looking forward to the sequel.

Alan

People, THIS IS NOT A HAT!

Alan

Look alive sunshine.....

....Gettin' close to start of my school year.

Advent season is here, my favorite time of the year. (It rhymes!) I know, cliche thing to say, but hey, it's true. TUF 12 Finale was alright (Jonathan Brookins, yea!) but Strikeforce's show blew it out of the water. 5 main events, 4 KO's, 3 in the first round. Too good.

Strikeforce KO's:


Hendo VS Babalu


Bigfoot Silva VS Mike Kyle


Robbie Lawler VS Lindland


Semtex Daley vs Scott Smith

Also, TUF 12 was the first event to host the lighter weights. (Feather Weight and Bantam Weight) and they did not disappoint.


Pablo Garza had the honor of being the first of the new lighter weight classes of the UFC and he did it with a brutal flying knee, knocking out Paixiao cold. He was out for 2 minutes.


Nick Pace just invented the "Pace Choke", some weird offspring of golgoplata, traingle chokeand guillotine? Campuzano got owned.

Alan

@Sheridan College Library

First time in the campus. The architecture of the school is certainly artsy.

Alan

Family Guy moment in MMA

Someone must be serving up Louis' clam chowder.



LOLLL

Alan

What events have been going on in my life?

Not much....for now. I've just been practicing art, playing SC 2, church, repeat. This Thursday though, I'm going to Sheridan to do my english assessment thing. It should go well.

Food for thought: Would you destroy something perfect in order to make it beautiful?

MCR's new album kick's ass. (My Chemical Romance)

Alan

Yea,

Aha, you know what it is
Errything I do, I do it big
Yea, Aha, screamin' that's nuthin'
When I pulled out the lot, that's stuntin'

Reppin' from my town, when you see me you know everything,
Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow
I put it down from my whip to my diamonds, I'm in
Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow

Song by Wiz Khalifa

Alan

Machida...

....lost a close and possibly controversial split decision. I was initially frustrated, but in the end I'm glad Rampage is fired up again, I'm glad Machida can take hard shots from a KO artist and I'm definitely glad Machida can still hang with the best.

AW HELL NAW!

LOL

Alan

The Dragon returns?

Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida, Karate Master, is going to fight tomorrow. This fight will determine how Machida rebounds from a loss and more importantly, his first loss that of which was a KO from Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, a KO artist and a very decorated MMA fighter is also coming from a tough decision loss from "Sugar" Rashad Evans. It looks like he's coming in focused, but at time he still looks uninspired.

I'm a fan of both fighters, but Machida is my favorite MMA fighter. It will be disheartening if he loses two in a row. Best of luck to both fighters and here's hoping Machida fights well and wins.



Bit of tension at the weigh-ins.


True that.

Alan

GG Pacquiao

Pacquiao blasted yet another opponent last night. It's getting kind of boring. Here's hoping that his next opponent will push him. Margarito had a lot of balls and heart to fight Pacman the way he did.

Alan

Holy crap....

I was just checkin' some Sheridan animation work from year 1-4 and the stuff these guys make are so awesome. Truthfully, I'm a bit intimidated, but at the same time I'm really excited.

This is gonna be a huge task, I knew this from the start. I never expected to just waltz in and take animation. Hopefully this Art Fundamentals class goes well and I greatly improve.

I am so ready to learn and take on the challenges this career path will bring me.



Animation project that was worked on by a 4th year named Timothy Chan and his group. Absolutely amazing. Inspiring.

Alan

Haven't said much in a while.

Hello.

Problem fixed.

Alan

Kenji Umetani

My favourite new "manga" artist. ;)

Alan

Hey Jerick, Kick me out?

....................../´¯/)
....................,/¯../
.................../..../
............./´¯/'...'/´¯¯`·¸
........../'/.../..../......./¨¯\
........('(...´...´.... ¯~/'...')
.........\.................'...../
..........''...\.......... _.·´
............\..............(
..............\.............\...

That says it all punk.

Alan

I'm delving into the female anatomy.....

And I am LOVING it!

Yes We Cain!

Viva La Revolución

Stay Awake

Figure it out
Boy, you're tripping
So pull yourself together
Or you'll wash up like the rest

I'll be fine
Even though I'm not always right
I can count on the sun to shine
Dedication takes a lifetime
But dreams only last for a night

Alan

(Lyrics by All Time Low)

Where's your sincerity?

You've got nothin' to offer me.

Alan

Dead Rising 2. It's a fun game.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Alan

Most people already know so...

I'm going to attend Sheridan in January for Arts Fundamentals and aiming to enroll in Bachelor of Applied Arts - Animation in Fall of 2011.

Huge transition from nursing.

Alan

I'm in!

To those who know, this is so awesome!

Alan

Most wins without a loss in MMA.

Accomplished by a beast of a woman: Megumi Fujii!

Damn this weather lately.

So depressing.

Alan

Need to do something.

Relevant and meaningful.

Life is short, but so is one's tolerance for moving forward.

How would you leap over that hurdle?

Alan

Last night.

Was one of the most fun nights I've had in a long time.

It's good to have friends.

Alan

Twenty One.

21.

More painting practice.

First time painting a vista. Yikes.

Lots o' hard work.

Alan

This is bugging me out.

Enjoying every moment of watching Jersey Shore.

There's been tons of buzz and a lot of people enjoy watching it. I know why now.

I have caught up with the series and it's basically a documentary of the adolescent lives of several men and women belonging to a subculture of Italian Ethnicity: Guidos and Guidettes. Entertaining stuff.

A few things...

Creep/Creeping: Girl hunting

Creature: A girl or woman you pick up

Herd: Several creatures (usually only 1 or 2 hot ones)

Grenades: Girls that are cock-blockers or ugly that your wingman usually sacrifices himselffor so you can take the trophy buck (creature) Several version are used, including but not limited to: Grenade Launcher or Hippo (BIG girl), Land Mine (Skinny girl) etc.

There's tons more I missed.

Peace out bitches,

Alan

System XI Redraw: System X: Optic: Glytch

A note: the line-art is not as crisp and clean as the first System XI art, because I did it by hand using a 0.03mm Sakura Micron Pen. Unfortunately, I'm not that great with inking until now.

Any hows, This is Glytch. A character I created for a long forgotten idea. Redrawing them. So if you haven't guessed yet, there's 11 of the badboys (and girls, yes there are girls..zomg ultima0chaotic's drawing girls?!)

He's cool, but if I ever revisit this project seriously, I would like to redesign him. He's very ninja inspired, if it's not obvious enough.

Alan

System XI Redraw: System XI: Fire: Excel

Redrawing old idea. Check it.

Peace.

Alan

Monkey Steals The Peach

A "legit" martial arts technique that will all but guarantee the incapacitation of your attacker.

Sakalados!

These guys need to come back.

Make it happen Blizzard.

Finished Starcrft 2: Wings of Liberty

Damn, what a story.

Overall progression, character development (such as Raynor facing his demons), amazing voice work (still, the original Kerrigan would have been a nice touch) and just an all around great atmosphere.

I thoroughly enjoyed that campaign. Last level was a bitch, but J helped me out on that. Thanks.

The only thing I can complain about is how weak the ending was. It kinda lacked that "oomph". There's a ton of loose ends. I'm trusting Blizzard to fix that up come time the other two of the trilogy come out.

I can't wait.

Heart of The Swarm.

Alan

6 Years in the making.

Got my G1 kids.




2 more to go. This is gonna take a while.

Alan

There's never an easy answer.

There's never an easy solution.

There's never an easy decision.

There's always an easy exit.

But there's always a right path.

I'm takin' the harder road and I'm glad I did.

-Alan Morales

Eruption.

The lava is flowing and it's extremely hot and agitated.

The wait will be quite a while before it cools.

-Alan

Farewell.

For now.


Alan

Pressure.

One can only hold so long before everything erupts.

And when it comes, it will be...well, let's just say whenever it comes, especially after letting it cook for that long....the only thing you'll have left to say is..shit just got real.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

Alan

Rap track 2

I just finished my second track for my Summerp EP project. I did a rough recording, prolly will re-record with audition later....right now it's just done with Audition.

Alan

Nice chill out today.

Sometimes the best thing to do in a hangout is just to reminisce about the past.

I wish we was all back to the way we was. But the past will only remain one way...and that's the past. Perhaps it's a world that will remain back in high-school days and never reoccur and maybe it just might do the exact opposite. Who knows?

I don't.

Alan

I is a Viking.

Took the SC exam Alvin posted on his blog and got this:



Anyone surprised by the outcome?

Alan

Batista training with Cesar Gracie camp and "Rat-Pack"

Aww yea, another Filipino joins the fray in MMA in Batista. I hope he trains well and does well in his supposed debut against Bobby Lashley.



He's a lot smaller than you would expect, no?

Alan

UFC 116

@Alvin Yea, it seems to be that way....so sad.

This event has been the pest in a while. One of the best events possibly. All fights were BARN BURNERS. I don't say this conservatively. IT WAS AWESOME.

All I know is, to be able to go through what Brock Lesnar just did and still win and keep the Heavyweight Championship belt, well...that is extremely legit. Too legit to quit.

Also, came from Christie lake the Hamilton conservation areas. It was cool. Nice fishing spots, murky "beach". I caught myself a frog and crayfish, let the frog go and kept the crayfish. I hope it adapts in the aquarium.

That's it for now.

Alan

The Feds have nothin' better to do.

Ninjavideo was recently shutdown, along with several other streaming sites. That's just ridiculous. The FBI would rather stop a bunch of people just enjoying their time watching T.V. shows than something more useful. I guess catching serial killers, rapists, online predators and oh...I don't know...fixing up the massive oil spill are not on their priority list. Amazing.

Where in the hell do I find obscure and interesting documentaries now?

Alan

Congratulations!

To my sister Mariel.

All the best, I'll be there to support you always.

Alan

The Last Emperor

Fedor Emalianenko just lost. This is literally the biggest upset in MMA history. Fabricio Werdum (A UFC alumni who just makes the top 10 HW list) was knocked down earlier in the first round and came back with absolute Brazillian Jiu Jiutsu perfection, catching the now former #1 P4P fighter in the world in a submission duet: a triangle choke with an armbar. It was BJJ wizardry. It's sad to see Fedor lose because he's been such a dominatrix. He has not lost in NINE (9) YEARS. You gotta lose sometime though. His legacy has been cemented and he will still go down as MMA's best fighter ever. He may not be as relevant and as dominating today, but he still made history with his past victories.



I don't like to think that he is over, rather, I'd like to think that this is but a hiccup. I still think he has what it takes to be #1. I could be wrong though...for all we know we just witnessed the end of an era.

But The Last Emperor is a fitting moniker. When will we ever see another fighter who ruled MMA as long and dominating as he did?

What an upset....

Alan

CN Tower Pics

It's a bit late, but here they are:










The other guys prolly have more of them, but this is all that I got using my cell. We also bought a group photo from there.

Alan

Can I please get a little bit of Knowledge?

Somebody tell Roth that I don't love college.

(Opposite of Adults by Chiddy Bang)

Alan

Maligayang Araw ng mga Tatay

Happy father's day everybody and to their respective fathers.

Ate at a Japanese buffet today, I can safely say it was better than the one me and the boys ate @ in TO after the CN Tower.

MMVA's are pretty cool.

The effects of Toy Story 3 are still strong. I wanna watch it again. Let's go guys.

Alan

Review and Thoughts: Toy Story 3

Remember the year of 1995? I sure do. It was the year the first Toy Story film came out. It revolutionized animation and popularized the use of 3D in feature animated films. It, and its sequel, gave me a lot of laughs and memories to keep and cherish forever. But I knew that it couldn't end where it ended in Toy Story 2. When they announced the true sequel was going to be made, I couldn't contain myself. I had no idea what it would bring to the Toy Story universe. I only knew one thing. 2010 was too long of a wait.

I can't write enough about Toy Story 3 and how great it was, my words and text would never be able to do it any justice. The best thing to do is to watch it. But what I can do, is describe it for you.

It possesses every conceivable theme you can think of. (Friendship, hope, loyalty, betrayal, transition and moving on, loss and grieving, growth, imagination and creativity, justice, corruption, revenge and hatred, realisation and redemption and the list goes on.)

It possesses almost every aspect of a feature film. (Drama, excitement, thrilling, full of action, plenty of laughs, joy, sadness, emotionally involving etc.)

It is wonderfully animated and realized. To think that this was going to be a straight to DVD without all its wonderful stars (Tom Hanks, Tim Allen among MANY others) and its director, would have been extremely preposterous.

In short, it was perfect (3D or no 3D). Especially to those who have kept up and appreciated the series from day 1.

The only thing that I don't like about it personally, is the fact that it's the last major film in the series. The end of a saga. The end of Toy Story.

This is arguably the best trilogy series, maybe only LOTR giving competition. On that note, this is easily a 10/10

Verdict: GO AND WATCH IT ALREADY!

My Thoughts (Spoiler Warning):


Never have I been so emotional watching a film. To truly appreciate this movie, you must've watched the first two films over and over. There are a lot of references and inside jokes that really will hit something inside you. It's not a feeling you often experience. Nostalgia just doesn't describe it well enough, because it feels so much more than that. In addition to that, if you were a 90's kid like myself, you will love it 10 fold. This is our generations Star Wars Trilogy (The original one). This is our super trilogy.

As much as the whole series revolves around the toys and their loyalty to each other and their hard fought journey to return to Andy, I felt that this film really centered on Andy and Woody and their final moments together. In the end where Andy realized that he had grown up and had to make a tough choice on giving away his most treasured possessions was a situation any of us could relate to. That word, relate, that is something that was in my head the whole time. The truth is, as a kid of the 90's, as many of us are (referring to my friends), we grew up with that little guy. Sure we didn't get attached to toys as much as he did to his, but we feel for him. We know what he's going through. He's turning into an adult and he's on his way there by going to college and leaving his family to pursue his future; we all know how that feels. To some, it's not too big a deal, to the rest, well, it hits them more than others. I know it's still hitting me right now...growing up is TOUGH.

Although the Toys are what this movie basically revolves around, they can truly be seen as things that made us happy as children, things that simulated our imaginations and made us feel free and feel like we were in control of our own destiny. Toys..they seem so trivial and we take take them for granted and so the toys also represent things (in the case of the movie, youth and childhood and friendship) that are always around us that we don't fully appreciate or we may have appreciated them at first and later on forgot about those things. That is until we realize, such as Andy did in the end of the film, of how much joy, laughter and memories these things can give to us. Something we can never forget. That place will always remain in our hearts and in some cases, that is a place we never want to leave. But life is life, you have to move on when the time comes. And when the time comes, you have to make tough choices. The toughest choice is usually the right choice and is not something we are comfortable with at first. But we know, deep inside that what we did will be good for us and everyone surrounding us. It's a simple fact of life. Loss and transition (the gradual disappearance of Andy's old toys such as Bo-peep and Weezy, Andy giving away Toys, Lotso being replaced almost immediately by his original owner etc.)....one of the hardest things we can ever experience in our lives is so evident in this movie. The consequences, the effects and how individuals cope with loss; they are all brilliantly exhibited here.

This last entry into the Toy Story universe is the darkest and most serious of the trilogy, which I absolutely loved and enjoyed, all the while maintaining that imagination and fun that made the first two so endearing. The journey the toys make and as well as Andy and his family is just magnificent to witness and you can't help but feel the same things that these fictional characters feel.

I mean, Woody meant the world to Andy. He's been there for him since he got him and like Andy said "He never gives up on you" He made a tough choice by giving all his toys away, including Woody, to Bonnie a shy little girl with a big imagination, much like himself many years ago. Woody also made a tough choice, because although he was going to be with Andy, he did not want to leave his friends behind and also wanted to make another kid happy just as he did to Andy. I commend Andy (and also Woody for moving on) for such bravery and taking the final plunge to his first step as a man. He's grown up form a kid with a big imagination and a bunch of mismatched toys to a young man with a big heart. I just hope Bonnie plays with, takes care of and loves these toys as much as Andy did once upon a time. And when she reaches that stage Andy did in the film, I can only hope that she does the same thing. The right thing.


Live on Woody, Buzz and gang. To Infinity and beyond.

Alan

Lakers do it again.

Was @ Alvin's place. Defensive and close game.


MVP o' da season again, Kobe climbs higher and closer to the pedestal MJ's @.

I hope the vuvuzela's didn't ruin the night.

@Jerick, lol the Torn song is pretty funny. Who sang it? Some Asian (Korean) chick?

Alan

Sony + Nintendo @ E3

Nintendo first. It was a pleasant surprise. They picked up steam towards the end when they revealed the Nintendo 3DS.

What I liked:

-The reveal of Golden Sun. Excellent RPG from the GBA era, hopefully this DS game will do it justice. Main character looks like the old main character, although the setting in the new game is set in the next generation of the story.

- Nintendo 3DS. This thing's serious. Revamped with 3D, multiple cameras and finally...an analog stick! Plus the graphical capabilities have been bumped to the MAX. It looks like Wii graphics almost.



Kid Icarus means business!

-I hope the whole 3D thing works out and ends up being well integrated into game play rather than a novelty feature. Coming out soon to a store near you.

Next up: Sony. Sony was pretty good; great title reveals, PS move in action, Kevin Butler (EPIC SPEECH) and a new (black) kid on the block...Marcus! (Yes Alvin, it is the kid from role models; personally, I thought he was hilarious.)

What I liked:

-The PS Move looks more promising everytime it is shown. Although I have a feeling that it's probably extremely identical to the Wii, I still think it will cater greatly to the hardcore gamers. I hope they come up with some good titles. That insomniac all stars game looks good. (The one with Ratchet, Jak, Sly Cooper etc.)

- KZ3 (now with 3D..the kind with glasses!) This game still looks friggin amazing still.

-Gran Turismo 5. I was in awe.....Alex thought it was a car commercial. He didn't know it was in-game graphics. The damage makes me lol though...it feels so tacked on.

-Infamous 2. I need to play the first one. Looking good though.

-LBP 2. Endless possibilities; different game genres. It's all up to you on what type of game you will create. What more can you really say? Wow.

-Then the cherry on top of the whole presentation: the reveal of my childhood split screen obsession, Twisted Metal. The entrance was epic, with Sweet Tooth ridin' on his death Ice Cream truck. Game play has evolved, hopefully for the better. There seems to be a lot of variety. Graphically it looks OK.. you could not really see because it was zoomed out half the time. More importantly though....split screen is available! YUSSSSS!!!

-To a lesser note than the above, they finally added video rentals on PSN to the Canadian network. Still cool I think, to be able to get full HD movies without leaving the comfort of your home. But Bluray is Bluray and HD is HD.

- The speech of Butler that probably got every hardcore gamer out of his seat and salute him. And also the fact he noted that lame "french circus" and boxers with no arms.

I was expecting more announcements from Sony, like The Last Guardian, Resistance 3 and maybe even Siphon Filter PS3. I guess I'll have to wait for those. All I know is...Sony is on the right path and has a bright future.

Anyways...based on content and presentation..I think Sony takes the cake this year for best E3 presentation. But I'm more hyped on the Nintendo 3DS, simply because of the number of improvements it's supposed to have.

Here's hoping to seeing more awesome title come out of this year's E3.

Alan

New Blog Template

It's about time for a template change. I really like this new one. Also time for a new motto. Guess where that is inspired from?

Nintendo and Sony press conferences today....should be interesting.

Also..working on a project, will try to finish ASAP for y'all to see...or hear.

Alan

E3 Day 1: Micro$oft and more.

Things that stuck out:

- How crappy Micro$oft's line-up in their presentation were. Everything announced....everybody knew (Gears of War 3, Fable 3, Halo: Reach). Oh and there was the New Xbox. It looks sleeker..and bleck. I guess they took Chad Warden's advice. Oh and please, take your failed Kinect product and go work on your Xbox 720 already. Your reign in this era of gaming is done. Admittedly though, there is a sort of novelty and intrigue you get when you look at Kinect...but you also get a filling of kitsch and gimmick. Catch 22.

- EA had Crysis 2 3D, using old school 3D tech (3D glasses). Kinda cool, but nothing new. Looks good though, but I can already see the fan boy comparisons of PC to console.

- EA also had MMA. As much as I love the UFC Und9isputed series, MMA is lookin' fine.
The Last Emperor and The Natural are revealed as the front-men of the game.

I didn't catch Ubisoft. I'll comment on it once I catch the videos.

Nintendo and Sony tomorrow and more.

Alan

E3 has commenced!

E3....once again. It just feels like yesterday since I watched E3 2009.

Anyways, I'm psyched to see what the future holds for video games.

First thing I saw and that stuck out is Marvel VS Capcom 3. The visual art style and graphics (not sure if it is in-game) are top notch. Amazing. Impressive. Etc.

Dante and Deadpool have arrived.



Who the hell is that?



Also Rock Band 3 game play with the new modes and instrument. I am real excited for this one too.

Video Games | Rock Band 3 | E3 2010: In With The New Interview HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

There are a ton of games that I did not mention, just cuz of the sheer amount of them. Lookin' forward to Sony's conference and all the other game announcements.

Microsoft's conference starts soon and it's lookin' thinner than an anorexic girl on a diet. Haha.

Wish I could attend E3 live at least once in my life.

Alan

@Alvin's blogpost: "Life in HD"

That my good friend, is an excellent documentary series.

There are a few scenes borrowed from other excellent BBC Nature series (such as blue planet), but man....it's larger than life.

Remember my other recommendations for documentaries.

Good choice though.

Alan

Acrophobia.

It has been a lengthy day.

Went up the CN tower for the first time..finally! After living here for 9 years or so I finally conquered (took the elevator) up that thing. The result: magnificent. The view is spectacular and belittles everything you thought belittled you when you are ground level and compared to the CN tower, well..it makes you feel insignificant and humbled. I also got through some of my fear of heights today. The ride up was absolutely terrifying and conversely, the ride down was quite easy.

After the free-standing structure, we ate at an all you can eat Japanese restaurant. It was iite.

Then, we headed over to the steam town brewery, which we never got to see due to time constraints.

Lastly, we chilled at Justin's, watched Jackass, NBA finals game 3, Pizza (from...guess......Pizza Pizza) and to top off the amazing day: Scrabble. I won the last game.

That's it. Finally a day lived well in the summer.

The time is at hand; time to pull the trigger.

Alan

P.S. Will update with pictures and media later.

Summer List

I made one so I always have something to do and look forward to.

This summer sucks so bad cuz I can't go anywhere at any time.

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

Alan

Sinkhole

This thing is insane. Like...holy crap. The power of earth and her elements man. Holy crap. Tropical storm Agatha hit Guatemala and apparently caused this sink hole. A huge building was apparently swallowed along with the entire intersection.

Check out my new tunes. That's some good shit.

Alan

When Life Gives you Lemons instead of diamond rings...

......get the juice out of your eyes because it f*ckin' stings.

Life is a long journey of trials and hardships. It is for me at least.

Life is a bitch, life is so cruel at times, no matter where you live, north, south, west or east.

So remember one rule of thumb that won't leave you so cold,

When life gives you a shit load of lemons, paint all that shit GOLD.

Alan

Wednesday night frustrations #1

L4D2 is a fun game.....until you play expert; in which case you will have your ass handed to you several times. The boys and I have invested about 4 hours into trying to beat the Dead Center map legit. We ended up using cheats to win. Don't get me wrong, we'll get our revenge on that map. Just not right now. F*ckin' Tanks & Jockeys.

On another note, American Idol season 9 finale was on earlier tonight, ending another season of the perpetual TV singing and popularity contest. Simon Cowell spent his last nigh as a judge as he desires to head back to his home country. He was the best judge and character on that show, without him I don't know how it will go for another season. I wonder who the next judge will be? Hopefully someone who has good experience in music too. The best moment was when they rallied up all Idol contestants of the past to sing for him. I don't now who won, Lee something....another artist to sign and get big bucks from I suppose.

That's it for this moment. Alan, out.

Keyboards?

Hot damn.


Is anybody else excited for this?

I sure as hell am.

Alan

Needs me a job....! I feel like I'm gettin' suckerpumched by life.

Victoria day, parents were home and so we did garden work all day. The sun is so strong today..gah.

Anyways, It's been a month since I got off school and no job calls. No luck lately...I hope I break this bad luck streak soon.



For those of you who remember, remember this sucker punch? Paul Daley gets into the bigest MMA promotion in the world but lets his rage kick his sorry ass out. Too bad too...Semtex had one hell of a left hook.

Alan

Stop sippin' on that haterade!

Naruto...ah the series that got us all hyped back in the early high school days.

The series I trolled before I started watching and reading it. Though many of us have dropped of the Naruto train for prolonging the series and changing the overall style of the fight sequences, I've faithfully stayed on because I wanted to see the series through, till the end (I hope it ends).

I have not been impressed with any of the writing in the manga recently, but this chapter kind of got me. Check it:














To fully comprehend the situation, you must be up to date with the manga. But basically, the dark Naruto is the hatred in his heart and he has to defeat it. Rather than taking the light vanquishes darkness route, Kishimoto took, what I think is a clever route, in that he suggests that Naruto should just accept his hatred and acknowledge that it's there but there is no reason to tap into it. Hatred is such a strong emotion that you can never truly extinguish it, so the solution Kishimoto proposes in this manga is truly ingenious in my opinion. Though the dialogue is not the most complex, the message is certainly there. This type of stuff is something that the shounen audience can not fully comprehend and understand. I'm guessing that what they take from this is that the hero always prevails.

I always said that despite being a shounen, Naruto has a mature side. It definitely shows in this chapter.

Alan

Back from GWL

Fun times. Fun Memories. Except that poor excuse for internet but I guess we're lucky enough to have internet. Besides, we were there to have fun in the water.

Over too fast though, what can you do?

Got water in my ears again though. All the damn time.

Back to job hunting....anyone have any luck yet?

Alan

@ GWL

At Great Wolf Lodge with the fam and some fam friends. Chillin' and having a good time.

Shout out to y'all niggas.

Alan

Post UFC 113

Despite the devastating loss Machida received last night, it was fun as hell yesterday.

Iron Man 2 was nice, UFC 113 fights were good for the most part and SSF4 FFA against Alvin was whack.

Machida is still the LHW king in my eyes. Despite his dead-ness post fight, lol.

Till next time,

Alan

UFC 113

It's time to settle the score. Tomorrow evening at Josh's place, it's all gonna go down.

Much respect to both fighters, but I am and will always remain a Machida fan, no matter how badly he loses tomorrow night. I'm too psyched for this.

Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida (204 lbs) VS Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (205 lbs)



Let's go!

Alan

@Alvin's blogpost: "r4 dealer"

Cool stuff.

Lol @ the R4's. Those are getting obsolete though. AP hacks don't go through in the newer cards.

Propane tanks failed.

Ran out of gas in the last minute yesterday while bbq'ing with the gang (Albert, Alex, Alvin, Jerick and Reinard). Other than that little stint, everything else was great. Good wholesome fun.

Alan

And it begins.

It has been almost a week since I got off school, and summer time boredom has come 'round to knock on my door. If I don't get a part-time job this summer, not only will I have another summer break lacking a sizable monetary fund, I will also most likely develop cabin fever if all I do is stay home for 4 months.

I wish I had friends/guests come over often. My cousin's family from Australia left last Saturday and my hunch was verified. I miss my little nephew and nieces. They followed me wherever I went and I had to divert their eyes away from me at times just so I can get a break. Hah. I wonder if he'll remember me? I helped him build a Saint Seiya or whatever model from a very noob model kit. There weren't even any stickers because it required a manual paint job. That is kind of hassle for a 5 cm tall action figure....

But anyhow, ditto again on the first "paragraph".

Alan

Let it all out, Rip it out, Remove it...

.....don't be alarmed when the wound begins to bleed.

You said I know that this would hurt.

But if I don't break your heart, then things would just get worse.

If the burden seems to much to bare remember; the end will justify the pain it took to get us there.

Lyrical content credit goes to Relient K.

It's been a crazy week.

I'll leave it at that.

@Alvin's blogpost: "picture fridays"

I kinda had this idea, like @'ing on twitter for responding. So if you particularly enjoyed or hated someones blog post, make one of these response things to make a short comment or something.

Anyways, hilarious stuff Alvin. Here is my response:

I can't find a youtube clip cuz of those damn copyrights, but here is the script, enjoy.

"The Simpsons: A Tale of Two Springfields (#12.2)" (2000)

[the residents of Old Springfield discover gold in the river after Homer turns off the dam]
Kent Brockman: Thanks, Mayor Simpson! From now on, we'll all be taking golden showers.
[muffled laughter is heard in the background]
Kent Brockman: What?

Will update if I find a clip.

Alan

Three....Free? No, definitely Free.

With the Stats exam out of the way, I'm don't with dreaded academics.....at least for the next four months. Whatever happens, happens. I already expressed my feelings on these academic evaluations; it is what it is. I thank you for favours granted St. Rita, St. Jude and St. Joseph of Cupertino.

Anyways, summer seems to be starting off well. My cousin, who I have not seen for over 10 years and her family came and visited all the way from Australia (Os-trail-ya). I'm developing a nice (noi-rse) Aussie accent (ax-int) from continuous conversation from my little nephew. I can already tell that I'll miss that little dude when he goes home, back down under.

I also changed my blog music, the A7X song was getting a little stale. The song I chose was Paradise Lost by Minori Chihara. For those of you who watched Ga-Rei Zero, you'll know this upbeat piece. Enjoy. Hmm...maybe I should watch some obscure anime that didn't do too bad but is not a masterpiece either.

Anyways, I hope to have a good summer.

I'll see you guys when you finish your examinations, good luck,

Alan

Lawdy lawd.

My laptop was attacked by viruses/malware/adware whatever the f*ck you want to call it. This is some pure bullsh*t man.

No option but to reformat, it's disabled any and all of my virus/malware/adware softwares.

In other news, upgraded the ol' PC with a new GPU. ATI Radeon HD 4670 1GB DDR3. It was around 80 dollars which is an excellent price for what it can do. It's capable of running Crysis all on high settings, at 1280x1024 resolution and 4x AA. I'm very happy with it to say the least.

Final exam in several hours.

Then it shall be done.

Screw this virus,

Alan

Two, through

Yep, Microbiology is done. Allotted time provided was 2 hours, completed in an hour and 12 minutes.

I feel confident and content with my performance, but as always I have these dreadful doubts.

None the less, no matter the results, I thank you for favours granted St. Rita, St. Jude and St. Joseph of Cupertino.

On to the next one (Not the song, cuz I hate it),

Alan

Exam One Done

Time for exam status blog titles. The week-in reviews are done. I only used them cuz I've been busy ever since the start of second semester.

First exam was a breeze, Death and Dying in Canadian Culture. A lot of writing though, many became fatigued at one point or another. Plus the room was like boiling. Air-conditioning feels goooodd.

A bit of luck today, I bought a chocolate shake from a vending machine and it costs 2$ to purchase one. I got two instead of one, woopee. I also found a 4GB flash drive at the computer lab, but pulled a good Samaritan and gave it to the lost and found.

My laptop is not repaired yet, but it's supposed to come back today. Hopefully I wont wreck this new fan.

Haven't done Judo in weeks....bahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Just two more exams.

Speaking of which my microbiology exam is tomorrow, which will be moderately difficult, if not more so.

Back to the books,

Alan

Week-In Review 10 and 11

Laptop is on the fritz. Getting it repaired, currently borrowing a laptop.

Nothing new to report, PBL and Clinical is done. Last class tomorrow. Last class in t-minus 16 days.

UFC 111 @ Josh's was great. Very, very enjoyable. The hangout was pretty big, it was the other group (Marcus and company). I missed that. Happy Birthday again Josh, enjoy the UFC magazine.

Till next time,

Alan

Week-In Review #9 (Late Post)

Damn, late week-in review. I've been busy. I have two major presentations this week, gah. But after this week, I'm essentially free from anymore major assignments, save for a few. (They shouldn't be too much of a hassle)

Tomorrow should be alright. I finally get to watch a surgery! A left total hip, which is pretty standard. But damn, this will be an experience to remember for sure. Then after clinical, I will be heading to my Death and Dying seminar about children and their understanding of death.

2 more clinical days! (1 more after tomorrow)

2 more PBL days!

So awesome.

Gotta start exam review early and stufy bit by bit this time. My stats exam is 55%, open book. I need to ace this exam or I'm done. I left math behind, but math never leaves you. O well. C'est la vie.

Did not go to Judo last Saturday, my arm is still under recovery. I hope I can go this weekend. During exam times, I will not be able to go.

Speaking of martial arts, UFC Versus was such an awesome free card. All main events finished, no decisions. Brandon Vera lost though, which is unfortunate. Jon Jones proves to be continually rising, that was an excellent job. For not being an official judoka, his Judo is top notch and his Greco-Roman wrestling is sublime. Vera had three different fractures on the left side of his face. I pray for the best for both fighters, and a speedy recovery to Vera. Vera, no matter how many losses you get, I'll still be a fan. Just find the confidence and drive again man, I know you can make the comeback we've all been waiting for.

I haven't given into Nintendo and have not bought myself an official copy of Pokemon HG/SS. I am still playing it though. I'm currently in Kanto with 4 badges from that region, totaling 12. This game was and still is the best Pokemon title to every grace the Nintendo hand-held systems.

Anyways, that's really it.

Until next week.

Alan

Week-In Review #8

Here it goes, no.8!

3 more Clinical Classes!

4 more PBL classes!

Last week was busy with game releases. I will list a few I am interested in.

Yakuza 3. Played the first one and halfway into the second one. Awesome series with the most visceral hand to hand game-play I've played. Besides UFC 2009 Undisputed, but it's so much more than that.

Final Fantasy XIII. I have been extremely prejudice towards the FF series ever since the release of XII. I used to worship FF and was even inspired by them to make my grandest untold tale yet. I don't know why...XII just rubbed me the wrong way I guess. I still intend to play and complete it. I'm hearing some good things about XIII, so I also want to check it out.

Pokemon Heart Gold/ Soul Silver. The golden years of pokemon and one of my most blissful memories as a kid. Hours upon hours of gameplay with a simple yet fun story and loads of creatures to catch and mess around with. The original sequel to Pokemon Blue and Red was the best sequel ever made for the Pokemon series. It created genuine anticipation and provided real discovery the first time it came out. It was simply amazing. Right now the ROM has an anti-piracy patch. I hope they come out with a fix soon.

God of War III demo was sublime. I need that game. So fun, so brutal, so visceral. The demo blew me away and I just need that game.

That's it for games.

Judo was quite dangerous this week. I almost broke my arm. I was grappling with a brown belt and resisted his throw and put to much pressure on my right elbow joint and a large cracking noise was heard. We immediately stopped and the pain was crazy. Probably 8-9/10. It's gotten a lot better now since then, so that's a relief. I hope to be full force this Saturday. I hate being sidelined by something like that. I only go to Judo once during school, I don't want to lose any more time. Hopefully come summer vacation, I can go Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Been applying for jobs already. I hope I get one soon.

For the next Week-In review I hope to be able to talk about a PATCHED Pokemon SS (U) ROM and also a successful Judo session.

The last few weeks of the school year is what always propels one to go all out. I feel that right now.

Time for the Hail Mary play.

Alan

Week-In Review #7

What a life we live in huh?

7th week-in review already. Almost 2 months since I started this method of blog posting. Damn, c'mon summer vacation!

Last week school went normal, as it always does. Gotta kick it to overdrive real soon.

I've fallen in love with the music of Avenged Sevenfold, they're musical maestros with lyrical prowess to boot. They have a song that would make Tim Burton proud. Check out my new blog song/video to see what I'm talking about.

PS3 apocalypse looks like a freak event, but could re-occur again on an even year, because apparently fat PS3's think that all even years are leap years, but they error out cuz they aint.

Judo is getting better and better. I love being a judoka.

The Office's very own Pam and Jim Halpert have finally given birth to their baby daughter! If you still don't watch The Office, please do.

Oscars were iite. Personally Up was the coolest thing ever. Disney never stops to cease its legend of animations. Oh the other movies are gold too. I've watched like 90% of them.

-District 9 was crazy and a refreshing sci-fi movie.

-Up was just brilliant and touching.

-The Blind Side was touching and funny.

-Precious had some heavy drama and heavy subject matters. Great "no compromise" look at the lives of confused and abused pregnant teens without a concrete support system.

-Inglorious Basterds was glorious, please excuse the pun.

Did not watch, The Hurt Locker and Avatar....yet, An Education and a bunch of others.

The movies I'm talking about are the Film of The Year nominees btw.

Kudos to everyone, film-making just grows and grows each year, never ceasing to amaze the public and pulling them out of reality even for just a little bit.

Anyways that's it. I can not reiterate enough: I can not wait for summer!

Week-In Review #6

Another standard week with standard school lectures, tutorials etc.

With a few things just to keep me sane. And a little bit of crapiness too, just to keep me grounded.

Judo went nicely, shorter class though cuz there are sooooo many late comers. We lose Uchi-Komi time man. We need that. I was happy though cuz I was able to dominate a brown belt on the ground and I was able to do a clean osoto-gari sweep for the first time. Progress!!!

Also, a lot of time with family friends spent. Also went sledding a lot. 'Twas very enjoyable.

That's about it.

Also, the PS3's are apparently under siege by some systematic error, regardless of offline or online status. FAT PS3's ONLY. Which includes mine. I haven't touched it since Saturday, but it probably got hit. It started Sunday. Basically it's a date based error (remember Y2K?) and it won't allow you to login, play games and can ruin your trophy information.

Finally, snapshots of the week:


For those who know what's going on in the pic, isn't it nostalgic? Back to basics.


Our house also created its own snow guy. Complete with a snow penis.


Also the engy guys in the house built a snow castle/fort, complete with peeking whole.

That is all,

Alan

Time

Non-existent.

Endless.

Intangible.

Tangible.

Irreversible.

Valuable.

Devastating.

Healing.

Enemy.

Teacher.


It.

Passes.

Through.

All.

Of.

Us.

No.

One.

Is.

Immune.

Not.

Even.

Time.

Itself.


Alan

Week-in Review #6

Reading week was once again, toooo fast, as with any other day offs we get from the school. It's never long enough.

It was cool though. A lot of rest, a lot of sleeping and a lot of demon's souls. Also a lot of aquarium revamping. I chilled with the guys, the venue being Wong's house. It was fun, the regular smash sessions, with a bit of crazy pong. NEVER throw a hard punch at a ping pong ball cuz when you create all that momentum for something that doesn't even weigh a gram, you will get owned. i had to go home like, 3 hours earlier than the rest of the crew, due to my home being in Milton, a 15 minute drive.

Midterm results were subpar-good. Nothing really surprising. Thank you St. Rita and St. Jude for favours granted.

I can't wait for the week to be over.

I just can't.

Approx.6-7 more times of going back to Kitchener. Then....it's the summer time.

Aww yea.

Alan

Week-In Review #5

It's been a weird week.

New things have been introduced in our lives, which makes living pretty interesting, for the first few weeks....or months.

The basement room didn't work out. I hated it anyways. My living quarters are yet to be determined. For now, I'm kinda just sleeping anywhere.

75 Gallon tank was sold to some nice Filipino guys via kijiji. My main tank has been reset to the 29 Gallon, but I made it look real nice with some new plants and Malaysian drift wood. I'm happy with it. I'd be even happier when I eventually restock it. Hopefully no more ammonia death spikes occur.

Nursing is still going good. Not many assignments for reading week, but there's still work to be done. Also, I should start on my later assignments sooner rather than later.

Had a Valentines/Family Day Family/Friends gathering. It was pretty fun. Got to play some "Family Feud" with some questionable statistics. It's unbelievable how many people believe that dogs possess superior intelligence when compared to dolphins and monkeys. I also taught some striking techniques to some little kids. They fought it out for 3 rounds, 3 minutes each round. No real punching. But damn, they went at it. There were a few good takedowns. I know what I'll be looking forward to in the next gathering. =)

That's it for this week's review. 'Till another time,

Alan

Week-In Review #4

'Twas an alright week. I had my first surgical patient and got to do some dressings, it wasn't too bad.

My fish tank is slowly recovering and has gotten better, thank God. I have added 2 corys and an otocinclus for ground scavengers so food bulk doesn't build up.

Judo was fine. I sparred with a girl for the first time, a black belt Ontario champ infact. She's

kinda cute. This was also the first time I've had a girl "on top" of me. In Judo terms though, I was on the losing end. So like, I was getting my ass handed to me.

Today, our group was accused for academic integrity issues aka plagiarism, I'm happy to find it was not my contributed info that was not the cause of this.

My room (at home) is also now in the basement. Ghetto stylez.

Midterms this week, it should be a blast. Only 2, hehe.

Alan