"I may be old, but I can still pull it off."

A lot of ups and downs for me in 2006: meeting of new friends, departing of old friends, buying of various DVDs and/or comic books, a relentless job hunt that will continue on into this new year, as well as other odds and ends that I probably won't recall until after the clock has struck 12:00 AM. (At least here in Pacific Standard Time.)

Nevertheless, I will have hope and not give up, since anything is possible. For all those who I've recently met, known for quite a long time, or for those who I haven't met, I wish you all a joyous, safe and happy New Year in 2007.


"You should never lie, cheat, steal or drink. But if you must lie, lie in the arms of the one you love. If you must cheat, cheat. If you must steal, steal away from bad company and if you must drink......drink in the moments that take your breath away." -Will Smith, Hitch

Other than having to deal with allergies, which nearly turned into a serious cold, this entire past week, my Thanksgiving went well for me. I spent it with friends and family, enjoyed turkey, ham, cranberry sauce, a piece of cake, mashed potatoes and was thankful that I was able to have a good time this year.

Earlier this afternoon, my mother and I went by the mall and I looked around inside Suncoast-a store that sells movies, mangas, etc.-and was tempted to purchase a CD but eventually decided to buy an InuYasha DVD from the 5th Season, which showed the death of Kikyo and Kagome's realization about her feelings toward InuYasha. The reason I chose to buy the DVD was mainly because it cost 50% off and cost a lot less than the CD would've.

So far, the beginning of this final week of November is looking good, which I'm pleased about. The song mentioned below is sung by Tackey & Tsubasa, which was heard in the first episode on the aforementioned InuYasha DVD. The translation for said song is Graduation - Good Byes are for Tomorrow One Version, which I think suits it very well.


"You should shut up and let me protect you!" -InuYasha

"InuYasha...!" -Kagome

Mother: What's that you're listening to? It sounds like classical music.

Me: (gravelly voice) It's The Batman. (Batman Begins soundtrack)

Mother: ...That's not classical.

Me: (regular voice; laughs lightly)


Said conversation took place quite early in the morning, around 7:00 AM so I felt it had to be 'immortalized' on the 'Net. My mother's instilled an urge in me to be up early and never late to wherever I go to, and it works at times-other times I find myself oversleeping, but that hasn't happened as much. The week went by fairly well, and the weekend so far is going by a bit slower but not much.

Tomorrow I had planned to go by Borders and buy a book but as Tower Records' percentage off continues to go down until they permanently close at the end of the month, I decided to head there instead and see if I can purchase myself a new set of headphones. Perhaps they will be at a price I could easily afford them in since I need a new set of headphones instead of wanting a book.


"I was wondering if you got cold feet about fighting me!" -Uzumaki Naruto

"...Chill out, you big dork!" -Uchiha Sasuke

The marathon went off without a hitch, in my opinion. Having to be there at a very early time wasn't something that I was thrilled with, but got over it. I managed to complete the distance and go the entire two miles despite my 23-year condition and the fact that my left leg started hurting when I neared the halfway point. I believe that says something about myself regardless.

Ten days ago, I completed my layaway stint at Wal-Mart and got the DVDs that I had out-one being the fourth InuYasha movie, which was very awesome from start to finish; I still have to find time to watch the Japanese version. Other than looking-and not succeeding-in finding another job, I would say things are half full. (With two out of the four InuYasha movies in my possession, when time permits I'll be looking for the first two movies to complete my set. Today marks four months since my birthday passed, so eventually an opportunity will rise.)

With the changing of the seasons, my sinus headaches have returned full force. My mother just got over being sick and I wonder how long it will be before I end up bedridden. After my plans to go pick up today's new Robin issue and get some milk at Wal-Mart, I may take a break from job hunting for today and resume tomorrow morning.


"Yeah, yeah-'roar, roar' to you too, buddy. Let's get it over with!" -InuYasha

Today marks the third month that I officially turned 25 back in June; today is also important to me because an old friend of mine turns the same age today. Wherever he's at, I wish him a happy birthday.

Last Monday I partook in another evening class and this one will be split in two-the first nine weeks taking place this year, and the remaining weeks done in 2007, ending in March. The weekend didn't fare so well for me, unfortunately. The cable has gone out within my area, as my mother has informed me. Basically, the majority of my time was spent either outside, on the computer or with my mother. (We watched The Two Towers as well as The Return of The King Friday evening, with my mother commenting on how "wrong" the saga ends.)

Next month, I will join my mother on a 2-mile walk. Walking isn't new to me, as I've done it a number of times before-when I've walked to Borders or Barnes & Noble-and with my mother a few times, but this will be the first time an unknown number of people will either be walking, jogging or running in addition to me. My mother told me if I didn't want to do this, I didn't have to; I signed the papers despite her advice. I can't back out of it now even if I wanted to, and I have to admit, I didn't plan on backing out at all.

For a bit of humor, there's a neighbor's cat that seems to enjoy stopping by my place and lay down on a chair perched on the patio for an undetermined amount of time. Said cat has possibly done this for quite some time since we've moved in a few years back, and I enjoy his-or her-presence. My mother discovered the cat yesterday afternoon and was a bit surprised at first, but had no objections. I've wanted to take a picture of the cat but can't as I have no camera-or at least, no film for a camera; I have an old camera somewhere in my room.

I plan to rest for a while in the hopes that when I wake up, the cable will be back on in my area. Perhaps then I can get rid of this feeling of restlessness. There might be another reason why I have this feeling, but if there is I'm sure I'll discover it in time.


"It's not what this team can do for you...!" -Robin, Teen Titans #38

Normally, today would be the day that I get the opportunity to go to the comic book store; today is still that day, but I have to wait around 6 1/2 hours before doing so because I'm looking after a 9 year old who chose not to listen to either myself or my mother yesterday afternoon concerning a pair of shoes that-strangely enough-have wheels on the bottom of them!

I agreed to look after her; I'm not upset by that. I went by said store yesterday afternoon and requested that they hold an issue that's supposed to come in, and they agreed to hold onto one for me. I'm upset by the fact that throughout the course of the afternoon afterward, I told my cousin to be careful regarding those shoes, as did my mother, and she was nonchalant about it...at least until the wheels caused her to slide into the back end of the cart-we'd gone grocery shopping-which did hurt her leg a bit.

I thought she'd learned her lesson, but she didn't-she would still slide on those things, holding onto my mother for balance. That didn't work once our day was over; after we'd gotten dinner and came home, almost immediately after we got out of the car, the wheels come into play again: causing her to slip, which gave her a slight bruise on her leg, which isn't noticeable and caused her to spill her soda. That meant that both my mother and I had to share a bit of our soda with her to make up for it. It didn't take us both long to tell her that she wasn't wearing those shoes again while visiting us-ever.

(sighs) The rest of this week can't zoom by quickly enough for me, especially after what happened yesterday. The morning's quote comes from last week's purchased issue of Robin.


"...It's all about forward progress!" -Robin, Robin #153

The week has literally been an up-and-down roller coaster. I hate the fact that my emotions are running rampant-I feel positive ones within the course of half a day, then feel negative ones the remainder of the day/evening.

Example-earlier, I was excited about the upcoming Spider-Man 3 and hoping that May 4 would get here soon; now, I'm doubtful about my own abilities since it feels like I'm in the same spot I've been in for some time. There is a silver lining that counters that thought-I took in some vital information, and completed some forms-this past Tuesday and am hopeful that it will result in my getting a job.

I'm currently not up to doing my usual reviews on my purchased issues from the past few weeks, but will see if I am when the weekend comes to a close. The quote comes from The Amazing Spider-Man #534, which features the confrontation between Spider-Man and Captain America.


"...As I feel this whole situation starting to unravel all around me, I just hope to God that I'm...right." Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man #534

The day so far, save for finding out something concerning my friends that upset me, has gone rather well-and since I've picked up two new issues of Supergirl and Teen Titans, I'm stunned and amazed over what's taken place.

I hung out with my friends yesterday afternoon near my home, but still within the complex. One of them was nice enough to bring sodas for us. However, it was afterward that caused my evening-and part of this morning-to sour. One of my other friends, after the former had left and I had to head back, left our empty cans littered on the ground and assumed that I would be back and put them in the recycling bins! I had been informed about this last night, and that got me irked.

This morning, upon my return from the comic book store, I knew that I would have no alternative but to do just that-otherwise, the office would be alerted to the incident and my mother would get in trouble-hence, I would be in trouble. I don't plan to hang out with my friends during the remainder of this week, and perhaps not next week either. My mother told me that my friends were high-maintenance; I'd have to agree wholeheartedly with her.


( Batman #654, Supergirl #7, Teen Titans #37, The Amazing Spider-Man #533 )

A new month begins, and with it came my grandmother's birthday-which was on the first of this month. She would've been 79 years old officially this past Saturday.

A new quote of the month is up, and my weekend ended up going pretty well; I was able to see Superman Returns on Friday, and in a later update I plan to review my thoughts on that, as well as The Amazing Spider-Man #533 and Batman #654. The quote below is from my recently purchased Angelic Days manga.


"You certainly are high-maintenance, aren't you?" Asuka Langley Sohryu, Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days

The past few days-Monday, Tuesday and yesterday-have been unexpected, but well worth the unexpectedness, in my opinion. Sure, turning 25 was eventful, but it's been the aftermath of my birthday that's been just as memorable as the 18th.

( Supergirl, Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days, Robin #151 )