A New Leaf

It's been ages since I've written anything of any import. *checks back* Nearly... geez, I'm going to guess about two-and-a-half years. I'm pretty sure most people thought I've given up on writing on this blog (or for that matter, writing in general). To be perfectly honest with you, I thought I had (subconsciously) done that myself and just wrote myself off as "mentally checked out of enjoying life."

For a while, I thought I'd just leave - walk forward, never come back, and do everything in my power to not finish another sentence.

So why come back here if I've all but officially thrown in the towel? Well, when it comes down to it, you need to receive a swift kick in the ass to get things going sometimes. (And every once in a while, that swift kick in the ass you get can't be a metaphorical one.) In a manner of speaking, this entry is me kicking my brain's ass and saying, "Hey, Josh: write something you stupid Flip!"

And you thought all of this entry was going to be serious. No, I need a non sequitur somewhere.

And that's what I'm going to do. Right after I'm done dancing the new year in with my town assistant/secretary. Excuse me.





CURRENT MUSIC:
Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori - "Neon Night"
Halo 3: ODST Original Soundtrack

Everyone has a specific music album/artist/genre that resonates in their ears as "everyday ambiance." No matter the location, no matter the mood, hearing it puts the listener in a state akin to relaxation.

For me, the soundtracks from the Halo games (mainly 1 through ODST) qualify as my "everyday ambiance." I could be working on chores, writing something up for a friend, sorting files on my external hard drives, grinding levels in an RPG - anything, really - and the music will somehow go along with what I'm doing. (Except when the soundtrack starts screaming "FLOOD INVASION OMG WHERE'S MY SHOTGUN" - but even then it works half the time.)

In particular is today's featured track from Halo 3: ODST: "Neon Night." As I've stated ago long before, game composer Martin O'Donnell said "the designers of ODST wanted to create the atmosphere of a 'film noir' detective story along with the high energy feel of a Halo game." And while the "Haloverse-meets-film-noir" feeling is perfectly captured in the album, I personally think "Neon Night" highlights it perfectly.

It also goes without saying that this track (and the album as a whole) sounds amazing as background music while it's raining.





Hello, everyone, and welcome to the first day of 2016!

*blink*

Wow. Saying a sentence like that almost felt alien to my lips. Too long... it's been too long since I've written anything on here (or anywhere else). While I could say that this years-long absence from the keyboard wasn't in any way my fault (hey, life happens), I can't say that with one hundred percent certainty. I could have fought to keep my fingers on the keys, but I chose to let life (read: unchecked apathy) win. The once-great joy I received from writing has somehow become a nagging nuisance in my mind, and I've no one to blame for it but myself.

But hearing me whine like a teenage brat about how "life is, like, totally not fair" and how "the whole world seems like it's against me and it's so uncool" is not why you're here. (And while I can admit I can moan and groan more than a seventeen-year-old whose parents recently got divorced and whose significant other just dumped them a week before Prom, that's not my intention. At least not today.) You're here wondering why I suddenly decided to throw down much more than a six-word "blog entry" and calling it a day. (Really, calling it that seems disgusting.)

We're here to see if I can actually stick to it and actually write. Those of you who've been reading back (or those of you who know me) have seen me regress before. I'm not proud of symbolically retreating advancing to the rear on one numerous occasions, and I'm not going to disown and deny my apathy in regards to this blog. I'm going to instead see if I can pick myself up - because after all, you can only go so low.



Anyway, I'm going to end it here for now. I might as well keep it short and sweet, because if I were to strain myself and keep typing, I might just shut down and retreat yet again. We don't want that to happen, and I most definitely don't want to not write.

I'll catch you all later! Until tomorrow! *waves*