Meet Allisenna Novelli

So while looking for something to do today, I decided to mindlessly play with my customized Lego stuff as I watched The IT Crowd. I had told my friends that I have yet to finish the series (I had stopped after the second season) and much to my chagrin, I found them chastising me for my failure to complete such a short show. I mean, four seasons consisting of six twenty-plus minute episodes each - how the frak could I not complete that in a day? So after re-watching the first two seasons, I began watching the third season and had a few laughs.

I think I have to put Richard Ayoade on my "Famous People I Want to DM (or at least Narrate) for Me" list now.

Then I got to the first episode of season four: "Jen the Fredo." Part of the plotline involved a tabletop roleplaying game hosted by Moss (played by Richard Ayoade, pictured above). Most of the other guys were completely skeptical (and almost antagonistic) when the session started. By game's end, however, they were so invested in what was going on that they were moved to tears.

While it was completely hilarious (I'm pretty sure my side was splitting by the episode's conclusion), it got me thinking about some things involving my future roleplaying prospects. I had to wonder what it was I was doing and why I wanted to do it. I questioned what it was I was trying to accomplish and how my actions would benefit me.

Mind you, I'm not questioning me and my desire to role-play. I'm questioning why I haven't come up with a character backstory for Erfrischen Allisenna yet. So, since I have time to kill between now and some plans for tonight, I figured: "Why not work on some roleplaying?"

The August Front

August is now officially here. Like the start of last August, I've succeeded in keeping all my entries posted on time thus far, and I have the feeling that it's going to be an interesting month (if not entertaining).

"Don't Forget to Do Good" is what this rock's message reads. The story behind this goes that one of my co-workers found this while zoning in our toys department over a year ago. Whether it was accidentally abandoned due to negligence by a guest or deliberately left behind in an attempt to promote positive thinking is something worth pondering about.

Unlike last August, however, this one promises to be even more memorable and ridiculously awesome than the other one. And somehow, I can tell that it'll be a good August this time around. (That's not to say that last August was bad - this one just holds more promise.)

So let's go off and have ourselves a war against last August - against monotony and dullards across the globe! Let's make this battle month a memorable one filled with camaraderie and entries! Let's perform good things and vanquish evil ones!

Non Sequitur 7: The 300 Milestones

Oh, geez, I slapped the "non sequitur" tag on here. I think we all know what that means...

Yes, I get to sort through multiples of these boxes all the time at work.
Why else would I be so cool? </narcissism>

...and if your guess involved the term "More Win," then you're absolutely wrong right.

A Defeated Response Spells Victory

Sometimes things fall through for a reason. Some don't.





CURRENT MUSIC:
Asian Kung-Fu Generation - "Rewrite"
Sol-fa

Anime fans will probably know this song best as the fourth and final opening theme to the original Fullmetal Alchemist.

It's one of my favorite Japanese rock songs not just because of it's use with Fullmetal Alchemist. It possesses a more aggressive tone than what is normally heard with most other J-Rock pieces.


Naoko Mitome, Atsushi Yoshida & Kanako Teramae - "Bittersweet Victory"
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance Original Game Audio

Path of Radiance was my first Fire Emblem game. Introduced to me by a friend when I was going through a craze of strategy games, I ended up becoming hooked, playing the game over and over because... well, I like being a tactician. I wish I had my save files for it, still (the memory card I had it all in got lost) because I'm itching to play it again.

Anyway, to the music. Just as the title indicates, the song is usually heard during moments where our protagonists' triumphs came with a rather heavy cost of some kind. It a way, it matches the feeling I have today - while I have to admit defeat somewhere, I can still say that I pulled something victorious out of this.


Michiru Oshima - "Reminiscence"
Fullmetal Alchemist Original Soundtrack 3

A rather short piece, "Reminiscence" is a nice little background track usable for brief and insightful self-reflection. In Fullmetal Alchemist it's also used to look back upon the happier times of the Elric brothers' lives.



"Paradoxically, the man who has failed and one who is at the peak of success are in exactly the same position. Each must decide what he will do next, choose the course that will lead him to the future."
- Jigoro Kano

Surprisingly, this little paradox makes a lot of sense. Most people would refute the truth of this statement, but to those that do, let me let you in on a little something: when someone fails something and that someone succeeds in something else, one of the most common responses after the stress and/or euphoria fades away is asking themselves some form of the question, "Now what?" Artists usually ask themselves this during every phase each one of their little projects go through, and big-shots and impulsive failures end up asking this whenever something goes right/wrong.

Doesn't this just apply to today, I asked? Why, yes; it does. *nods sagely*





Evening, everybody. How's your Friday treating you so far? Hopefully it's going just as great as mine!

As the fourth day of my vacation begins to come to a close, I figured I'd blog on the more... "important" things going on in my life right now.





Responding Response
(Or: responding to the (few) commenters who said something to me.)

You know, I owe it to the readers to show them that I actually care about what they think and say even though I say I don't. It's been a while since I've responded to people, so let's change that by throwing some responses on here. Yaaaaaay for my responses! Right?



(Author's Note: When necessary, all comments have been edited for grammar and spelling as per my Nazi Germany Grammar upbringing in my high school and college classes. Yay for my perfectionist streak. -_-;;)

"One of my brothers has just recently started dating a Filipino woman and I am going to send him the link to this so he can cook it as part of a romantic dinner. It will either make them or break them!"

- Amateur Cook
(from "Spaghetti ng Pilipinas")

Wow, I'd never expect anyone to actually take my recipes into consideration. Thanks for suggesting that to your brother! I sure hope it made them (because if it broke them, that'd just be sad).

Oh, and I'm not sure if you saw, but there was a technical problem with the recipe I posted. Hopefully you didn't use that one. As of 16 September it's been rectified, so please use what I tossed on the page.

Han shot first. On a side note, ever see The Star Wars Holiday Special? It's like... the most AWESOME THING EVER.

- せしゃ
(from "A Great Disturbance in the Force")

Damn right he shot first! Sure, having Greedo pop off a shot makes the situation seem a bit more tense and dramatic, but it also kills the bit of thought processes that made you think, "Wow. Han Solo's a jackass."

As to your side note... to be honest, I haven't seen The Star Wars Holiday Special, and I personally would like to keep it that way. From what I heard and read about it I've rated the aired-once special somewhere between "so bad it's good" and "so bad it's bad." George Lucas regrets allowing television to make it; Harrison Ford is deeply embarrassed by it; Carrie Fisher uses it to shoo away people after a party ends.

So, unless I'm knocked unconscious and come to tied up with The Star Wars Holiday Special playing on a television in front of me, I'm not going to watch it... though I wouldn't mind seeing that section that introduces Boba Fett.

"No Vaporeon?"

- n8navarro
(from "The Top Ten: Pokémon")

Nope, no Vaporeon. There was a reason for that.

When I was in the middle of making the Top Ten list, I knew right away that at least one Eeveelution would make it on here. They were a popular set of Pokémon since the beginning. They were made even more popular when the fourth generation answered every trainer's dream of possessing a Grass-type Eevee (in the form of Leafeon).

As a Pokémon veteran, I've been pretty fond of the Eeveelutions - even more so since the fourth generation, which aided the quirky family in two ways:

1. Leafeon and Glaceon.
   Adding Grass and Ice to the mix brought the potential Eevee army count to eight (assuming you're like me and you count Eevee - otherwise it's seven). Plus, it was now officially possible to have a six-man Eeveelution army.
2. The physical/special attack split.
   This changed gameplay tactics drastically for most Pokémon, but it didn't faze the Eeveelution army any - except for Flareon. Poor Flareon had been suffering in the first three generations because of its ridiculously-high attack stat, which did no good for a Fire-type. The split made Flareon a more worthy contender, and the fifth generation helped even more by bolstering its physical Fire attack capability.

Historically, I've actually used Vaporeon at least thrice in my gaming history:

• my third-generation Eevee Army
• my fourth-generation Eevee Army, dubbed "Roman Eevees" due to their naming
• my primary Platinum Version team (named "Rhine")

Not counting the Eevee Armies, this places Vaporeon as the most-employed in my unit, and it's a great Eeveelution. However, as true as that may be, I'm just more of a Psychic-type fan. Thus, Espeon. I know - I'm biased, but what can I say?

*shrugs*





A Dream Shattered
(A dream restored.)

If you remember, back in the beginning of June I posted a series of challenges that I wanted to complete by today. I called it "Operation: DREAM EATER." The list was as follows:

• find the "perfect" look for this blog
• get Gefallen (US-Tichondrius - Human Rogue) to Lv85 and figure out a workable Combat PvP spec
• get Chariselle (US-Ravenholdt - Blood Elf Paladin) geared for end-game PvE raiding
• finish the first 30 pages of a new screenplay
• work on and complete the next chapter of my Street Fighter fanfic Unincorporated
• begin and complete Radiant Historia (NDS)
• lose some weight / get more fit
• write a poem
• work out and organize the rough basics of an epic roadtrip I want to take next year
• clean my room and maintain its cleanliness
• complete at least 50% of a cosplay outfit of my choice

I failed miserably. And I mean miserably. While it will be said that I've failed Operation: DREAM EATER quite horribly, I can't say that I didn't escape with some kind of victory.

I've gotten into work with projects - some on this list, and some placed elsewhere. I'm not beating myself over the head with this failure like I normally would in the past. It's kind of hard to explain, but I don't have the time to do so. I'll save that for tomorrow - for now, just know that while this could be considered a giant failure, there is a glimmer of hope and success. It might be a cliché, but it's true. Know it.





Yeah, I'm cutting myself short. I'm going to blame two of my friends who decided to show me (the guy with the addictive personality) the wonder that is Battlestar Galactica. Damn them. Damn them, because now I'm hooked. =D

I'll post more on things tomorrow. Until then, stay frosty.

I Be Talkin', Mon

I have to apologize for posting so bloody late today. I've been busy sorting out my Lego collection. Tuesday's antics (as explained in this past Thursday's entry) ended with us throwing all the Lego pieces I had into boxes and plastic tubs without any regard for the "sorting system" I originally had implemented. We were running out of daylight, so we were in a bit of a pickle.

Now that I've finished sorting all of my Lego pieces (between the "minifigs and models I'll be using for a future comic idea" pile and the "shit I'm throwing in storage until I need to go digging again" tub), I figured it'd be time to deliver on what I said yesterday and how I'd be responding to reader comments. Granted, there's not much for me I could respond two - only two people said anything, and it was from Thursday's entry.

Here goes.





Three Dimensional Moon Building

"This is such an odd mash up of topics. I think playing army makes up for girly anime- so keep your man card. But I think your adult card may be at stake - assuming you didn't trade it for a loly-pop years ago."

- John

To be honest, I thought I lost my "adult card" eons ago. Part of it stems from that whole "3 to 300 years old" thing I lightly skimmed on when I first did a reader response. Another part probably has something to do with psychological conditioning and trauma from the past - and I'm no expert on that field (I speak from experience - the trauma, mind you). And finally, part of that is due to my constant misplacing of things all over the place all the time.

Of course, John, your theory could be correct. Maybe I ran into some stranger in a white van who offered me candy in exchange for a vow to never fully grow up in a mental aspect. Me, being the naïve and then-manipulable self I was, probably bought the lies that were told and sealed the deal.

"The 3DS is getting its price cut because it failed horribly as a handheld. Look at its sales and the sales for its games."

- Arelfel

Like I said, a number of factors contributed to this. Yours is also one of them, but the Nintendo fanboy in me simply overlooked that problem. However, I'd say that it didn't fail "horribly." My guess is that people were finally starting to realize that all this hype on three-dimensional everything was just the latest technological fad for this generation and therefore mistakenly realized that the 3DS' graphics would be stupid. =P

Anyway, while this announcement would at first seem to be a financial loss for the hundreds of thousands of gamers (like me) who bought a 3DS, there's actually a huge amount of gain for anyone who decided to fork over a quarter of a grand. Nintendo simultaneously released news of an "ambassador program" that I heard about at work last night. According to the video game company (link as of 30 JUL 2011), anyone who had a 3DS before the price drop will be getting 20 free games from the online store. The first 10 will be on special pre-release before they hit the e-market for paid prices while the latter 10 will consist of "ambassador-only" exclusives from the Game Boy Advance virtual console.

I look at the sales and go, "Okay. People aren't buying a 3DS." Insert economy issues or incorrect usage during their first encounters or misinformed word-of-mouth or some other financial statistic here. However, in the long run this might aid Nintendo in the fourth quarter. (Someone remind me at the end of the fourth quarter to post my results on this.) Potential buyers who were hesitant are now excited to have a new toy to play around with. 3DS owners who've had the system before this announcement welcome the announcement (probably just for the freebies, but hey, that's something). And I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords believe this could very well be a case of financial equivalent exchange in the future.





I'm refining my Lego military forces while I have Burn Notice playing in the background, so I'm just going to call it a night for today's entry. Ciao!

Some Kind of Educated Response

Introducing the first "reader response" - a tagged entry dedicated in part (if not whole) to responding to a comment a reader left me. This proves to be an interesting endeavor that helps three-fold:

• it shows that I listen to my readers and their comments
• it helps promote increased viewership and interaction, and (more importantly,)
• I get something to write about in the event that I'm lacking a topic to discuss.

Keep in mind, though, that this won't be responding to outright offensive-stanced flames, suggestions about social events or what-have-you - that's what a social networking site is for. Do it there.

Anywho, now that I've gotten through with introducing a new tag, let's move on, shall we?





CURRENT MUSIC:
Gorillaz - "Feel Good Inc. (f. De La Soul)"
Demon Days

I looked outside my window and saw a cloudy sky. Although I'm one of those people whose mood can sometimes be affected by the weather outside, today feels like one of those days where it'll be a good one regardless of the cloud content in the heavens above.

That dictated a song that seemed to be a "feel-gooder" no matter the situation. After a few songs played, "Feel Good Inc." began playing, so I figured I'd stick with it until it finished. Good song to listen to on a good day, and since I'm picking up that "good day vibe," it works.





Afternoon, readers. Welcome to today's entry in the White Knight Chronicles.

So, it was suggested that I write about "concrete ideas for improvement" on my next (good) blog entry. If you're too lazy to go back and re-read "The Familiar Taste of Poison" and the few responses that it inspired (sad face; I considered that entry a milestone...), then here's the comment (edited for grammar):

I have a request for the next blog post: your concrete ideas for improvement. It sounds here that you've identified a problem; how are you going to fix it?
- John

Excellent question, John. You've inspired me to make a page here where people can ask me questions and I'll respond as best as I can. Matter-of-fact, I think I'll start developing that page right now!

...but after I respond to this, of course.



*clears throat*



To be honest, I'd like to think I've made some progress so far this year. I've been holding my head higher than I've probably ever done before, been less of an unreliable person and become less choleric. It's been quite a rewarding experience. Friends want to hang out with me more; I've taken in more joyous moments throughout the day; I've been enjoying work much more (wait, what?); I've been able to work on my personal projects with the same unbridled passion I had when I started years ago. It's... ineffable, really. I could attempt an explanation, but why bother? I'm content with life like this.

Romantically speaking, however... well, progress in that department will be more of a challenge than I originally thought. "The Familiar Taste of Poison" ended up being a self-induced slap-in-the-face to shake me out of my romantic depression. While I'm no longer saying "fuck you" to the notion of love like I was for over 2.5 years, it's left me with a hole in myself that I'd like filled.

Gimme a sec', folks; need to get that hole patched up! *rushes off*



=== ONE HOUR LATER ===



Sorry about that folks; got hungry. Guess that hole was my stomach.
Nothing like sugar-glazed spam, fried Italian eggs and rice to start as your first meal of the day. Hehehe.

Where was I? Oh, right: improving myself by fixing the identified problem.



There's an adage I heard before: "Women are like parking lots - all the good parking spots are taken." I personally subscribe to that theory, but at the same time I've found a few that haven't been. I could just very well circle the parking lot for what seems like forever. Two months ago, I probably would just given up and driven off, citing a "waste of time and gas" or something similar. Now, however... I'll just keep circling the lot. I happen to like driving, anyway, so it works out in the end somehow (metaphorically speaking, of course).

From what I see, fixing the problem is a two-part solution involving me and a currently-unknown party. I can only do so much on my part, but it won't be enough to fix this. I can't just go ahead and claim that "unrequited love" or "limerence" will solve this issue of romantic longing - that would just make mine a tragic (and downright pathetic) love story. There's got to be some kind of trade-off here where I don't do all the work. I'm not saying this because I'm lazy - I'm saying this because a solid and truly loving relationship requires output from both parties.



Which brings me to this potential conclusion and my response to this reader-asked question. While the preferences of most women around my age would only prove the "nice guys finish last" adage to be true, there's that select group who know better than that. Men and women out there have proven to themselves and the people around them that they're mature beyond their years.

Despite my apparent childish behavior and my naïvety, some people who know me have said that I can be anywhere from "3 to 300 years old" - at times I'll be stupid and silly, but when the call of duty arises, I'll grab my sagely coat and be that person that helps out when the time calls for it. I'd like to think that I've gotten a bit more sagely as of late. (If you feel like disproving me, go ahead - at least I know I can still be a kid (at heart).) To me, I think I have it where it counts, so it's a matter of presenting myself without looking arrogant or desperate.

Maybe that's the crowd of ladies I've been looking for - or rather, the ones I should be engaging in conversation with more often. The ones around my age range who know when it's time to be serious and when entertaining chaos is allowed to run rampant. Someone who's... balanced, I guess. As mentioned before, most will prove to not be in this sector, but I'm sure I'll catch someone's eye (or the other way around) if I keep circling the parking lot in a careful and analytical pattern.



So... balance, maybe. It sounds like I've beaten around the bush, but that's what my answer will be. Find a harmonious balance within myself while searching for an empty parking spot a single lady. (I'm done with that parking lot metaphor; I promise.)

I hope this constitutes as a proper answer, because to be frank: I honestly don't know what will solve this problem. I know it's a start, but it may or may not be enough to get me to the finish. Only time will tell, I assume.





Until the 'morrow, readers! Day four of six at work awaits! *takes off*