Wil Wheaton Likes Gamers: Dorkness Rising!

Sat, 16 Dec 2006 23:25:29 GMT

That's right! The one and only Wesley Crusher saw The Gamers: Dorkness Rising, and liked it! I quote from the Dead Gentlemen Productions website:

“…where I discovered that I’d missed the movie. So instead of A Great Disturbance, I ended up watching The Gamers: Dorkness Rising in the room next door. The movie is hilarious, and if you know why it’s funny for a Bard to have twenty ranks in seduction, you’ll love it. Imagine watching Waiting for Guffman with community theater nerds who all have a sense of humor about themselves, and you’ll know what it was like to watch this film, about gamers in a d20 adventure, surrounded by gamers who just came from playing a d20 adventure.” -Wil Wheaton

I can't wait for it to come out!! m>.

Yubi Wa

Thu, 30 Nov 2006 05:44:46 GMT

namida ga ato kara afuredashite
saigo no egao ga nijinde mienai no
ikanaide ikanaide koko ni ite
sora e hikari kakenukete-yuku

As my tears keep overflowing one after another,
I can't see your last smile through their blur.
Please don't go, please don't go... Stay here.
Light bursts through the sky.

konna ni chiisa na watashi dakedo
anata wo dare yori sei ippai aishita
arigatou ikutsumo no
taisetsu na kimochi
tewata shite kureta yo ne

Even this insignificant me
loved you more than anyone, with all my soul.
Thank you for all of
the precious feelings
you've given to me.

"sono toki zutto, watashi wa
kie kaketa hikoukigumo wo mite-ita..."

"When you took off, I was
watching for a long time as the vapor trail disappeared."

wasurenaide
hitori ja nai
hanarete mo te wo tsunaide-iru

Please don't forget
You're not alone.
Even if we're apart, we can still carry on hand-in-hand.

hajimete no koi hajimete shitta
konna kanashimi ga aru koto

With my first love, I first realized
that there could be such sorrow.

nanika ga shoumetsu shite mo nanika ga
futatabi yadotte
wakare ni kureta hohoemi wa tsuyoku ikiyou to yuu
anata kara no
MESE-JI

Even if something lapses away, something will
live once again.
When you gave me a smile as we parted, it was
your message for me
to truly live with all my heart.

itsuka kitto aeru
futari naraba
tookute mo hitomi mitsumeau
kibou to yume no subete wo kakete

I just know that we'll see each other someday.
If we're together,
even if we're far apart, we can gaze in each others' eyes
Let's bet everything on all our hopes and dreams.

yakusoku wo shiyou yo
ano hi no hageshisa wo
daite
ashita saku mirai wo
ikiru

Let's promise each other
that we'll hold on to the intensity we felt
that day,
and live the future that blooms
in tomorrow.

(Music and lyrics by Kanna Youko. Performed by Maaya Sakamoto.)

B-Day Extravaganza

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 06:28:08 GMT

Prepare for an update... it's a long one...(fat wang?)

Tonight marked the second annual Birthday Extravaganza for my great friend, RyneTate. Tons of people piled into the Underground to hear the musical styling of Monmouth's own celtic rock band, Raging Clue, (comprised of Kurt Carlson on vocals, Matt Danahar on guitar, Mark Mullaney on the babpipes, Raleigh Moon on bass, and Jared Piepenbrink on drums), guitar solos by Ross Plunkett, and the Roasting of RyneTate by Chris Maurer, all hosted by Arjun Ahluwhalia and the Clubhouse. I hope I spelled all those names right!!

There was free tea, free coffee, and free cake to be had! Tonight was definitely a great night to party, and I needed it after all the work that has kept me from the Clubhouse lately (sorry Rossle!). I've been feeling pretty detached from them, and it sucks, big time. Hopefully now that things have died down a bit, I can spend some more time over there. ^_^

I'm still working on my essays for Japan Study. For those of you who don't read my Xanga, I'm pretty much already accepted to study abroad at Waseda University for the entire 07-08 adacemic year. This is an amazing opportunity for me, as I can finish my International Business degree and really develop my language skills at the same time as living some place utterly amazing like Tokyo, Japan! Plus, the incoming resident director (as seen on the website) Don Capener, is my current academic advisor! How cool is that?

Overall, though, the past few weeks have been tough. Pretty much since I got back from Fall Break, which was amazing, I've been drowning in papers, exams, presentations, and lab work. I'm keeping busy, which is better than wasting time, but I feel like my social relationships have been suffering. I plan to remedy that in the upcoming weeks!!

Another good bit of news was when I heard that RyneTate's new camera finally got here! With an amazing director, a near-complete script (I hope =P), new camera, and 5 incredibly psyched actors (at least I am!), this movie is going to rock socks. I'm still so stoked about this project that I'm mentally jumping up and down every time I think about it!

For those of you in Lansing or Lincoln, be prepared for one hell of a story/movie experience this summer!! =D It will debut sometime in March. If you're in the Monmouth (Quad-Cities) area, and would like tickets to the Jerry Spri- I mean, "Listen - the Movie" show, contact me and I will start making a list of people to contact when the date is finalized. It will be amazing!!!

I think that's about it for now. The rest of tonight will mostly be spent working on essays for Japan Study, which is Ã¼ber important. My personal deadline is to have everything submitted by the time I leave for Thanksgiving Break. I can do it, no problem.

That's about it for now. I'm sort of in the mood to write, so I may do that for a while. We'll see what happens.

---I just took an hour break from updating and played with clay with my roomie. =P It was great!!

I'll leave you with a quote from RyneTate tonight. He commented on something that Nathan bought at a thrift store today... the motor to a music box. Ryne was listening to the tune walking across campus and said, "You know, it's amazing that something so beautifully melodic can come from something so mechanical." It's true.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 03:11:37 GMT

I went to what I thought was a general Study Abroad discussion yesterday, but it ended up being Pei-sensei (Japanese professor), Don Capener (my advisor), and a lady from a financial aid office (not Monmouth College). They were the only ones there, and they were talking about me! I talked to Capener before (he is not only my advisor, but the resident director at Waseda University *basically Harvard or Yale of Japan* next year) about studying abroad, and he mentioned this Japan Study thing for the whole academic year. Being Waseda, it costs more than Monmouth, but he also said that the school offers scholarships on a need-based basis that he would push for so that I can go. He said he's about 99% confident that if I apply, I'll get accepted, since my grades are good, it fits my major, and they haven't had anyone from Monmouth do it in a while. Basically, I'm the poster child of the perfect candidate. The lady from the scholarship office gave me a whole list of online scholarships I can apply for (which I am), including one that will cover airfare AND gives me $800 a month while I'm there. That's amazing. Prof. Capener knows that the only thing holding me back is the money, but the lady from the financial aid place was very confident in my chances of recieving those scholarships as well, which makes me even more excited!

Anyway, the bottom line is that I'm going to apply for Japan Study for all of next year, with an 80-90% chance of getting accepted, and a 60-75% chance of getting enough financial aid to cover ALL extra expenses. They even brought up asking an alumn to help out! ^_^

The best thing about this is that next year, Don Capener will also be there for the entire academic year that I am. Not only is he very influencial at Waseda University, but has a lot of Business contacts there as well, and would be able to help me find a job while I'm studying and maybe even after I graduate. Getting a degree from or studying at Waseda University is a huge deal in Japan, especially in business.

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Take it in

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 06:31:03 GMT

Do you ever get those moments where time stops, and you really think about your surroundings? I had one of those tonight.

Riding in the back seat of the car
Hurdling down the highway
One headlight out
Half asleep
Curled in the arms of a close friend
Coldplay playing though a radio without bass
Windows cracked
Letting out smoke from a hand rolled cigarette
Letting in sprinkles of rain that chills my skin

Is this what life is all about? These moments that seem unimportant in the scheme of things, but make you feel most alive? I could stop and wonder, but life goes on...

Now THAT'S how you start Fall Break!

Sun, 15 Oct 2006 01:36:15 GMT

Fall Break began with a trip home, sponsored by Mr. Ryne
Tate, with Mark and Anthony along for the ride. No, not
Mark Anthony, but two different people. They dropped me off at my house
in Lincoln and proceeded to Spri-town to Ryne's house. Once I got
home, I called up my friend Jon, and we were off to the high school
football game.

The halftime show (which is the only reason people go to Lincoln
football games) was West Side Story, and was absolutely
fantastic!! I couldn't believe how far the marching band has
progressed since I was a member! Congrats to you guys!

After the show, I went home and got a call from Yuuki. He gave me
a disclaimer for any messages or phone calls I may get throughout the
evening, as they were planning a "silly" night. Tatles got on the
phone and told me that he was coming to pick me up, so I was like, "Hm,
Okay!"

We went to Spri-town where Yuuki got to pump gas! Apparently it's
illigal in Oregon. They'll cut you if you don't let the Mexicans
do it for you. o.o We got to Tatle's house and poured some mixed
drinks. We chatted about random things, watched bad horror movies
on TV, and generally hung out. I ended up pretty "silly" by the
end of the night, and passed out in about 30 seconds. w00t~!

The next morning Yuuki drove me home so I could go to Spoon River Drive
with my mom, sister, and brother-in-law. This was a bad idea
since Yuuki isn't from the Midwest, and got lost on his way back.
Ooops!

Spoon River was a bust. It isn't nearly the craft-fair it used to
be. It's more like a flea-market now, which is fine I suppose,
but not what we were hoping for. Meh. Now we know not to go
next year.

So now, I'm spending the rest of the night updating this thing and
reading. I'm going to sleep early because Terry and I are making
sushi tomorrow. ^_^ Oishii yo!

That's it for now!

Klutzy one day, amazing the next

Wed, 11 Oct 2006 19:47:58 GMT

So, I said I would update again, and here it is.

Fall Break is coming up this weekend, and after having a klutzy day yesterday, I've had an amazing day so far today. I woke up early this morning, but didn't get out of bed until 11:30. What can I say? I was comfy. ^_^

In Japanese today, we took a vocabulary quiz, which I studied for with Yuuki-kun last night until like, 1:30a. It went great. Unless I messed up a spelling somewhere, I think I got a perfect score. Also, Pei-sensei told us that we would be watching Orange Days tomorrow instead of Friday, so we could have the day off. Yatta!!

In Accounting, we went over notes, and then Professor Peterson told us that she would be out of town at a conference for a week, so not only do we not have class on Friday (yatta!), but we don't have class the week we come back, either! Ba-bam!

This day is going amazingly well. Let's hope band continues in this fashion, and I don't have much trouble with the parts today. Other than being cold, it's all good. ^^

Saturday, September 30, 2006

Sat, 30 Sep 2006 05:32:32 GMT

Wow, I really don't do this often enough.
Phew.
H'okay. So. Since my last post a lot has happened. A lot of the same, but the same is good and fun. Most recently, I took my first exam in Political Science 202: Modern Japan, and recieved a 72/100. Kinda crappy. This Sunday, though, Anime Club is hosing a campus showing of "Grave of the Fireflies," and Farhat (my prof) turned it into an extra credit opportunity for my class since we're studying WWII. Go me!

I also took my first exam in Business 345: Globalization and Management. It was okay, I suppose. I've had this professor before, but I still felt rushed, and a little underprepared for this test. On the essays, I felt like I had too much to say, but when I summarized, it didn't really capture what I really meant. I hate it when that happens.

We had a DDR night tonight in Cleland. About 15 people total showed up, though not all at the same time.
More later.

"Listen"

Fri, 15 Sep 2006 19:15:40 GMT

Such is the title of the new movie by the one and only Ryne Tate. It is a super hero movie that depicts how powers can also be a curse when dealing with school, friends, and life in general. It centers around three college students, their unknown connection with one another, dealing with their own lives (and also the lives of others), and resolving their insecurities. I won't give away too much, but let me tell you that this movie is genius. Pure, absolute genius.

The other night I discussed the story with Ryne until 5:00a. Everything was rolling so well; we solidified so much of the grey areas that were giving him problems previously. The dialogue hasn't even been written yet, but I'm starting to play some of the scenes in my head. I walk to and from class thinking, "How would my character be acting right now? How would she react to (insert event here)?" I am so excited for this! It's going to be phenominal!

I will definitely be updating on the progress of the film. I won't give anything away, as there are a lot of twists and turns that are better left unknown until it's seen. The premier is scheduled (hopefully) for mid-March, and will definitely be a major campus event!

I think that's it for now. Jonathan Meyer is coming to visit me this weekend, which is amazing. I hope he doesn't get bored, though. I hear Mike is also visiting and possibly running a one-shot campaign, so that will be fun. Other than that, we will probably get together with Pei and the Japanese students to play video games again. Shota is really fun, and keeps asking us when we'll play again! ^_^*

Harrison Heilman is a great giggler. ^_^

Time to play Catch-up!

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 01:46:13 GMT

I know it's been a while. I've been busy. Marching camp went great, as well as our first parade and game. We still have some things to work out, but we're going to be fine.

I've settled back into my classes for the semester. So far, I like them all. I'm taking Political Science 202 and 270, Modern Japan and International Relations, respectively. I'm also in Business 345: Globalization and Management. Required crappiness is Accounting 213, but balance that with awesome Japanese 201 and it's gold! I'm also in Music 185 and 189, Wind Ensemble and Marching Band, respectively.

So, I'm rooming with JenJen (aka Death) this year. So far, it's been fun. We have pretty different schedules, and I don't think either of us has really settled into each other, but it'll work. w00t! Next year, I'm going to try to get into a single in the International House. I think that will be fun.

Also along those likes, I don't know when I want to study abroad anymore. I know I do, but there are still so many things I want to do in my last two years of college. I know Waseda University has a graduate program to get an MBA, so that's definitely a possibility. The other options are going in the Fall of '07 and missing out on being Drum Major another year and Anime Club President (possibly). If I go in the Spring of '08, I miss out on Graduation. I still graduate, of course, but I'll miss the ceremony, which means I won't be here to celebrate with Miles and everyone in my class. It really hinges on whether or not I get to go on the Japan trip in the Spring. It will give me the travel credits I need for my major, even though it's not studying abroad for a whole semester. If that happens, then I will probably wait to study at Waseda to get my MBA. We'll see!!

I've met the three Japanese exchange students on campus. Two are from Kansai and one is from Waseda (if I remember correctly!). Shota is raelly fun, and has shown up to Anime club, as well as random video game days we have with Pei. He even came to our Japanese class to visit! He's a Business major, so hopefully we can become friends. The other two are girls, Emi and Eriko. I have Eriko in my Poly Sci 270 class. She's pretty quiet, though. Both Emi and Eriko have been to The Grounds a couple of times, so I see them once in a while. They came last Saturday and played Taiko Drum Master with me, Marc, Pei, Shota, Jen, Sharon, and my mom. I think I'm forgetting a couple people, but the point is that it was fun. =P

I think that's long enough for this one. I'll try to update more often, but it's hard to find time to sit down and write a lot. *shrugs* I don't even know if anyone reads this, but it's good therapy for me to sit and lament, I guess.

College rules!!!!!

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