Upon reaching level 25, I reaffirm now that it's truly the coolest level. When I joined this was the rank I wanted to get to and then stop, now I don't know how to stop :? And of course, the level 25 is so round it's heavenly, second only to 50, but infinitely less depressing/lonely.

What's your favorite rank?

Jeez, I have a lot to do before January 1, so my holidays are going to be very busy. I have to finish my US History and AP English from last year (I was in the hospital for 9 months, subsequently missin my junior year) before I have my Counselor write my letter of recommendation for college and get it in to the colleges I'm looking at by January 15. The schools I'm most excited for are the University of San Diego, University of Washington, and the University of Puget Sound, looking at a Business/Economics major at the moment after realizing that being away from math for 2 years was not the way to kickstart a Computer Science education.

Not content to fill my time with makeup work and application/college stuff, I have to continue progress on my senior research paper (minimum 15 pages, a lot for high school) contrasting the reluctant hero archetype in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Huck Finn) and The Iliad (Achilles). I have a few small projects and assignments going on as well like a set of songs and corresponding essays evoking themes or movements of the various scenes of The Tempest. I also need to do a specific Individual Service Project for National Honor Society which I'm yet to come up with. Plus, of course, as soon as I finish with all of this, finals start in January. It will prove to make the second semester seem lifeless and serene :)

What sits atop all of this is that I have my 1-year check-in in Portland (I'm in Boise) in early January as well. This consists of a series of blood tests and more, the worst of which are a bone marrow extraction/exam, Lumbar Puncture, and a Spinal Tap to make sure than I'm 100% Leukemia free after a year away from my bone marrow transplant last January. I think the health stuff will go well (I feel tremendously better than I did atrofying in that bed for 9 months), but it's just another thing to worry about and to take time away from what needs doing.

Well, that's my ramble and complaining, but the key points are:

Defias Brotherhood = Exclusive and A-list

Lots of School Stuff to do + Community Service Volunteering

Blood work and tests in Portland

So I wandered over to Bestbuy today with my dad because we each had some coupons and credit at the store. While we were there, we picked up the 1/2 size version of Robosapien and the Robo-Raptor for my cousin who is turning 5 today. There are the normal, 1/2 size, and mini versions, so these guys are 1' tall for the robot and 1.5' long for the dinosaur. They're pretty neat little toys and I'm a little jealous that I didn't have them growing up.

Above Top: The RoboRaptor with control. The kid loves dinosaurs too, so it's a win/win. Above Lower: The Robosapien v1. As if I'd spend $160 on the V2 for a 5-year-old :P

I was glad to find a new chair that I have been looking for since April 05 at my birthday. I wanted this velvety one that was amazing to the touch and had just the right amount of plush feel and cushioning, but at the time it was that $350 chair or a new video card (or some other hardware, I can't remember), so naturally I went for a better comp. I found the following chair that honestly looks like it should be on the bridge of the Enterprise for $180 and since it was the floor model, we got it for $140. Not a bad discount and the chair is a lot better than the one I was previously using. So far, I really like it, it matches all my stuff too.

The last things I bought were Casino Royale Widescreen DVD, because it was such a great movie, and a game for my sister since she often teaches Bible study to young kids, I picked up a $5 PS2 game called The Bible Game, which I find really funny. To each their own though.

As for the new titles I have claimed over the weekend: The Dragon Festival has returned to Shing Jea Monastery in Guild Wars and I'm very pleased to say I've achieved both Hapless and Charmed in the Unlucky and Lucky title tracks, respectively. For some reason, things like this make me happier as a gamer. Although, every day I become a little more bored with both Guild Wars and all the games I play. Maybe it's that cancer has forced me to stay inside for the better part of a year. Same scenary and all that. Anyways, NEW TITLES!

That's right!!! I'm from Boise and this sort of thing is the ultimate satisfaction, deserved from a lot of hard work and dedication. In all honesty, I thought OU would take it, but through perseverence and heart, we won the Fiesta Bowl. Aww, that's great that our star player, All American running back Ian Johnson just proposed to our head cheerleader and she said yes. What an all around good day for Boise, pushing us further into the national spotlight.

Although I did have a few problems during the game, particularly the commercials *roll*. Idaho is shown as the hickest place around, the commercials I noticed most were for potatoes (I've never seen a potato farm :S ) and lumber. And by the way, it's pronounced boy-see, not boy-zee. That kind of bothers me, but whatever, we won so who gives a ****.

Congrats guys! I know a couple of the players and one or two might read this. So congrats, and what a way to start the year. I wish I could have gone to the game, but medical reasons held me home (see previous post). I can't wait to go see that trophy.

Coach Pete, you did an amazing job and takeover of the program and we couldn't be more proud of you.

    I got diagnosed and admitted to St. Luke's Hospital on August 22, 2006. It's been a really scary, whirlwind experience. A lot of friends have come by, but it's still kind of scary. I have to write this on a laptop at the hospital. I have to be in the hospital for at least 6 weeks, so this is all very....weird. Everything has been so sudden, but I'm responding verey well to chemotherapy, so hopefully this will go very well. James, I tried to tell you the day I got diagnosed, but you were around :( I hope Codablack filed you in. Bye guys, thanks for the support.

Well, I'm not sure if that's his title, my sister's husband's brother. His name was Jay and he lived outside Washington DC and just graduated this year. He was living with his parents and was going to move out soon. He was a very deeply rooted Christian, and performed in a Christian rock group often with his twin brother.

Tonight, he died in a car accident.

I don't know how to feel. Honestly, I didn't know him that well, I had only met him twice. Once when their family came out to meet my family when my sister was considering marrying his brother, and during/for a week after the wedding. I last saw him only 2 weeks ago. Only two weeks ago, I knew him as a long haired boy, along with his twin brother.

Jesus, I can only imagine how his TWIN brother feels. It must be hell, losing essentially another half of you. They were very close, playing in the band together, spending most of the days together. I spent a night on the town with them and some of their closest friends, and they were all great kids. None of them drank, smoked, or did anything illegal. God, the kid was still a virgin! He had a very close girlfriend though, I wish he could have lived simply more of his life. He had barely graduated for God's sake.

I barely knew the man, I'll admit that now, but I am having trouble knowing what to feel. I am admittedly sad, it's terrible when people pass on, especially at such a young age. But it just feels infinitely worse when I think of his family, they are all so close. And it's just unreal to think that the guy I joked and talked with only weeks ago is now simply gone. Oh my god, and his mother has had a previous miscarriage as well. That's two children she's lost. I want to cry, but I just can't. I feel terrible, frustrated, furious, tired. My mom gave me the news just now as I got home from work. This was not a good day. That poor family.

Rest in Peace, Jay. May God be with you.

I was very excited that I passed my drug test and now am a happy member of the CompUSA crew in Boise, Idaho. W00t woot. So now I am a cashier at my very first preference for a job :) I start training tomorrow and did some survery and certifcation stuff today. I don't make a lot of money ($7.50/hour), but I also make commissions and like what I work around. Plus, my customer discount is buying thing's "at cost," so I think this is gonna rock. :D

This weekend, a friend and I set out to do a level in Oblivion. It has turned into a passion and we are going to release more and more. Our team name is Mod4You and we are getting a website soon. Our first mod, a simple bandit dungeon underneath Bruma is available now at http://www.oblivionsource.com/?page=modforge&op=viewproject&project_id=235, so download it there. It's very short, but is a lot of fun and has pretty decent drops. I'm so excited to mod some more and get even more Oblivion goodness out to the public. Wish us luck! :D

It's been 1 year since I joined up here at Gamespot. Well, just over a year (March 8, 2005), but I digress. A lot has changed in my life, but Gamespot has remained a constant, always returning for bits of news or forum posts, but as of the one year anniversary of my arrival, I am moving up in the Gamespot classes. I'm not talking about levels (which I've been gaining incredibly rapidly of late, for reasons unbeknownst to me), but in the community. Everyone knows me around the HCU, OT is now starting to know me, and I'm bringing the Beatles Union to glory. I have been made an officer of the Beatles Union last week or so and brought it from MIA to active within that short amount of time. Also, just today, I was made an article writer for my favorite union on GS, The Headcrab Union. I've had thoughts about doing this since I joined the union, but I'm finally doing it. I feel like I"m really moving up in the community and it's kind of nice. Although now I feel as though I have even less of a social life :P.

So I picked up Oblivion on release day (Tuesday, March 21) and started playing it that night. It started off gradual, playing a few hours at a time, rarely more than two; until friday, then I just went nuts. This game becomes so addicting as you move into it. The sheer volume of quests, main and otherwise, is enthralling. I am focusing on doing mage guild quests, but then I got distracted by a sweet little guild called the Dark Brotherhood. I am working on doing so much and I'm only level 11 as of this writing. I'll probably be updating this journal with info on my char as I keep playing. This game is incredible, and I highly recommend it to any RPG fan who has MANY hours to kill.

My Char:
Davimus The Wood Elf
Born under the sign of the Thief
Specializes in Stealth
Uses a bow and steals everything I come across :)

Check my totally kickass new banner. Thanks Insane_Snake for making it. I <3 it.