Wishes That Never Were

I want this blog entry to be finished when I told myself it would be finished! If that was actually on my Christmas wish list, I wouldn't have received this, then. I'm going to be honest here: TV Tropes essentially stole about three hours' worth of potential typing time because it's so frakkin' addicting!

But no more! (For now, at least. I CAN QUIT WHEN I WANT TO!) I'm going back to typing this entry up so y'all can read something interesting! *cue three more hours spent on TV Tropes, playing Mario Kart 7, and/or eating din-din*

...

*adds "the opportunity to freely slap the magnificent bastard who introduced TV Tropes to me" to the Christmas 2012 wishlist*





CURRENT MUSIC:
Shigetoshi Gohara - "Nostalgic Fortress"
Super Mario Galaxy 2 Original Soundtrack
Anytime someone takes an awesome video game piece and transcribes it for use by a big band or jazz band setting, I cheer. It's like taking "awesome" and fusing it with "more awesome" - it's "awesome²" in music format.

The music team behind the Wii's Super Mario Galaxy 2 recognized that mathematical formula. Taking Koji Kondo's "Super Mario 64 Main Theme" and jazzing it up has now made it extremely awesome. Half the time I listen to this piece, I end up clapping along with the virtual clapping in the track.

I'm pretty sure this piece has inspired many gamers and video game music enthusiasts alike to want to start their own jazz bands just so they could play this song. I would, but as there's no piano bit in "Nostalgic Fortress," I dunno what I'd do. Cello, maybe? The bass line sounds easy(ish) enough.


Michael Kamen - "Austria"
Band of Brothers ~ Music from the HBO Miniseries

Band of Brothers has an amazing story behind it - namely because it's all true. I remember hearing about it years ago in 2001 when the HBO Miniseries began to play, but I never watched it (yay for being sheltered T_T). Then along rolled 2006, where my high school English teacher and my high school U.S. History teacher (who both taught in a block period program) decided to pair Stephen Ambrose's famed book with the context of American history in World War II. I loved the book and I began watching the series soon after, and I was just blown away.

Anyway, moving on from the praise. "Austria" plays during the final episode as Easy Company settles in the city of Zell am See in (guess where) Austria. The peace and calm encountered aurally serve as an accompaniment to the visuals of the city's landscape. Relatively untouched by war, Zell am See provides the soldiers with a lovely country view now that World War II was virtually over. "Austria's" calming tone just makes the air sound like peace... and that's a nice sound to have punctuating the atmosphere. (The harp helps, too.)





So some of you are here today because of what I said would be here yesterday: "my would-be Christmas wish list." As promised, I'm delivering the list, but unlike most promises that I've made and kept, this one was technically not a promise (and despite this part being crossed out, it is true) speaks in more of a depressing tone a bit of a depressing one.

Mind you, I'm actually feeling great - it's just the content that might sound depressing. And no, I don't mean that it made me sad. I'm saying that it might make you sad.





With Christmas Day 2011 now locked in the past, it's pretty safe to say that there's very little chance of me getting anything. That's right - I didn't get anything for Christmas. Now, while that sounds quite tragic and saddening, I'm actually not fazed. Sure, getting stuff would have been nice, but come on - what were the odds that I'd keep it forever? Not many things can last as long as the average human, and those things that do are often sold or traded before they even reach a quarter of that age.

Now I'm not saying I'd be less-than-grateful if I did get anything. I'd appreciate it and do my best to find some use for it - and sometimes that just drives me crazy. Of course, since I had nothing given to me I don't have to worry about any of that.

Me not getting anything can be traced back to a few possible reasons:

1. I was here where I live. Closest relatives that could've given me anything were at least five hours away via car, factoring traffic (San Diego or Las Vegas). Had I had Christmas Eve and the 26th off, I could've made a trip to and from, but I didn't have either one off. Yay, retail.
2. Not many people were in the financial shape to get gifts for people. I don't blame 'em - this economy's not too hot.
3. I never officially announced anywhere what I wanted for Christmas 2011.

All three reasons are perfectly valid points, but I think that last one is probably the most vital. If one were not to voice what they liked and desired for the holidays, they were bound to get something else that may or may not have been wanted. Such things are generic and include the following:

• clothes (that might not fit)
• money
• gift cards

Now, there's problems with each of those three.

Clothing can at best be awesome T-shorts with jokes you absolutely love or amazing cosplay outfits custom-tailored to your specifications. At worst, they can be a horrendous color that makes it look as if every clothing designer vomited their reject brands into a cauldron and let that concoction boil and left it to simmer and dry out in the sun. Or it could be a Hawaiian short so unfashionably tacky and big-collared that not even Ted Nguyen would wear it.

Money doesn't seem to be all that... awesome. Now, your mileage may vary on this one. By money not being all that awesome, I mean that on one end of the spectrum it seems as though the recipient was cheated out of a thoughtful gift and was given money as a sort-of "oh, well; here you go" thing. Of course, some people don't care - it's money that they can spend on whatever they want. Lot better than trying to pawn off that 26-year-old rum fruitcake as a scented paperweight.

Gift cards can be seen as a step-up from the money issue. For those of us who get the wrong kind of gift card, however, it can be seen as fifteen steps down - especially if it's something extremely disliked.

Moving on.





The reason why I didn't show anyone about my wish list was that to me, it'd seem like I'm just begging for someone to pity me and get me something. I didn't want to give off that image, so I instead opted to keep it a secret. Besides, if anyone were to read my original Christmas wish list (yes, I had more than one draft), they'd probably double-take in confusion, because half the things I put on there had explanations that made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

I could've just given them calculus homework that's easier to decipher.

But enough talk - you just came here to see what would've been nice for me to see under my Christmas tree two days ago. My grandiose list of things (complete with short descriptions why) are as follows:



Anything That Shows My Support For the Alliance

FOR THE ALLIANCE!

Because all you Horde supporters can just suck it. =P


Dance Dance Revolution PC-Compatible Dance Mats

With enough skill and dexterity it is possible to dance along to the songs one found to be more difficult in StepMania. However, some songs are specifically tailored to be played with your fingers - because trying to constantly double-tap on "Sandstorm" with your feet is just suicide.

Hey, if video games can double as a sort-of work out session, then I'm all for it.


Digital Camcorder

Preferably HD, internal memory plus expandable via SD, long battery life, high zoom.

The filmographer in me wants this.


Kagami Hiiragi Figma

Kagami Hiiragi from Lucky Star
(photo taken from dannychoo.com)

Because when I have an awesome office in an awesome company (hopefully owned/run by me) or in my dream house/mansion, I need something cute to decorate my desk. Why the desk? The bookcase will be filled with all the awesome books, albums, and movies I have. The walls will have a bunch of demotivationals, posters that adorned my past rooms at some point of my growing-up years, and maybe even a bunch of geeky wall decals.

With all the awesome surrounding me, I need something close by to keep me from being too manly (hah!), so... Kagami it is.


Full-Size Piano Keyboard w/ Weighted Keys

Probably the next best thing to owning a (baby) grand.

Why practice on a 66-keyed dinky keyboard with no actual key weight when you could practice on a full-blown 88? (Hey, I'm not asking for a baby grand here. Cut me some slack...)


Microwave Oven

If your microwave looks like this after you're done cooking...
...you're nuking your food wrong.

This wasn't mine, but the last microwave I got to use in my household probably ended up like this by now.


Money

Don't you wish money was this disposable?

Who doesn't appreciate money? Idiots, that's who.


Netbook

Netbooks. Not to be confused with laptops, even though they're technically the same thing.

Only because my giant 19" desktop replacement laptop with a battery that lasts for an hour isn't really that great to lunk around when all you want to do is sit under a shady tree on a nice, sunny day and type your feelings out.


Party

Pong optional. Alcohol required.

Technically, I went to one. At the same time, though, it's not a party until I know, like, at least two-thirds of the people there.


PlayStation 3

It does (almost) everything, mang.

How else am I supposed to play the Metal Gear Solid games properly?


Toaster Oven

This image seems all too familiar because as a child, I almost did set the house on fire. (SUPPOSEDLY.) Like how my biography stipulates that I am a nice person no matter how much I deny it and how jackassed I'm behaving, I will deny this event from happening tooth and nail.

"Once upon a time, there was a boy named Joshua. One day, he decided he wanted a sandwich, so he placed two pieces of bread in the toaster oven in the kitchen near the sink. After setting it, he left to take care of another errand before going to school.

"Suddenly, there was smoke in the kitchen, so Joyce (his aunt) went see what the problem was. She called the kids, and asked them whose food was in the toaster oven because it was burning. Josh also smelled the smoke, so he rushed in. He saw that his bread was burning, so he grabbed a paper napkin to retrieve them before they burnt the house down.

"Unknowingly, he did the worst possible thing: he placed the napkins in the toaster oven. The paper napkins were soon ablaze, so he quickly withdrew them. Unfortunately, the air in the room enlarged the flames, so he threw the napkins into the sink and turned the water on.

"Thankfully, no one was hurt. That day, Josh learned a valuable lesson: never place paper napkins in the toaster oven. Now all he does is drive in his new car and comes over to eat take out and drink a lot of Mountain Dew."

- from a blurb one of said cousins wrote on my laptop one day



Any of the Following Video Games:
- Ace Combat: Assault Horizon (PS3)
- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (WII)
- Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
- Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (PS3)
- Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)

It's-a Mario Kart-a Seven!

Averted. I ended up getting a used copy of Mario Kart 7 at my local GameStop today after one of the workers I know there tipped me off. I had previously paid off my reservation towards Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 3D, and seeing as how it's not coming out 'til March '12, I figured, "What the heck; let's just transfer some of the funds over and get me a new game." (As if I really needed a new game after getting a whole bunch...) So, in a sense, I got the game for free. Yay, me.

But those other games would've been nice to have, too.





Well, that's it for today. Mario Kart 7 is calling my name, and since I just unlocked Princess Daisy, I'm going to be playing this for a while.

*evilly laughs* Evilly laughs. Oh, fu- *facepalms*

...I really need to stop reading TV Tropes. *laughs*

Alright. Until the 'morrow, everyone.