THERE IS NOTHING TO DO IN DALLAS

This Thanksgiving holiday my parents thought that it would be a great idea to take my brother and I to Dallas with them to see a football game and spend some quality family time together. While in theory this sounded like a great idea and we were all happy with the prospect of being able to forget about having a traditional Thanksgiving holiday, I have to say that it was probably the worst family trip I had ever been on, and I will never intentionally be in Dallas, Texas again.

We saw the Cowboys play the Jets, and went to Midevil Times.

Yep. Thats about it.

Giant Bluefin Tuna Cut Performance!

Mike and I went on a date this weekend to Mitsuwa Japanese Marketplace in Edgewater, NJ. Usually we just go there to eat some Japanese food (they have several restaurants including places for tenpura, udon, soba, ramen, etc.) and pick up some okaashi (sweets) and things to drink, but this time we went because of an event our nihongo no senseii told us about.

Pretty much this was really awesome. We got there around 1pm, it was incredibly crowded, we had to park at a different shopping center and walk over. We went to the honya (bookstore) first, and picked up a kodomo no hon (children's book) called Soremame-kun no bedo (Broad Bean's Bed). They had lots of cool Japanese fashion magazines and music magazines and that was pretty rad. I like going there because you can pick up a lot of Japanese conversation around you.

Then we went over to the marketplace, which was SOOOO crowded. We got some tonkatsu and rice and had a hard time finding a place to sit but eventually we did and that was relaxing, but it was really hot in there. We then watched the meguro (tuna) cut performance.

This tuna was bigger than Mike! It was over 400 pounds and the fish-cutter used a sword to cut it open! The man with the microphone said that the tuna was alive two days ago in Spain. He also told us that most sushi restaurants don't get this quality fish because its simply expensive. He went on to talk about the quality of the fish, and Mike decided that we should buy some (or he should buy some for us, rather). We waited in line for an hour but once we finally ate it we realized that it was completely worth every minute of the wait because it was soooo delicious. It melted in your mouth almost! It was the best sushi I had ever had. One of the guys making sushi flirted with these nihonjin onna no hito behind us. They had really tan skin for nihonjin - I bet in the homeland they hang out with ganguro!

We also bought some pocky, chocolate covered mushroom cookies, and of course I got saku-saku panda cookies. Don't ask me what that means, they're just really tasty. I got two bottles of Ramune but accidentally drank Mike's peach one. I also got party pop, which is a "children's party drink". Party pop tastes like sugared beer. I'm not even kidding you.

It took two hours for us to get home but once we did we played video games for five or six hours straight. We told everyone about our delicious adventure and they of course were all jealous. I only hope that these people come around again and when they do I have the 50 dollars to spend on the oishii meguro.

On the injured list..

Halloween night I sliced my thumb up with a kitchen knife while preparing bagels. Having an injured thumb really makes me miss having a not injured thumb.

Here are some of the things that I find difficult to do or cannot do with an injured thumb:

• Hook/Unhook a bra
  
• Pop zits
  
• Cut meat
  
• Operate a belt
  
• Text message my friends
  
• Navigate my iPod
  
• Use a game controller
  
• Put on a band-aid
  
• Channel-surf
  
• Ash my cigarette
  
• Light a lighter (I just thought of this one - but I haven't tried doing it with the injured hand)
  
• Use my hands as a cup when brushing teeth
  
• Screwing/Unscrewing toothpaste caps
  
• Shuffle cards
  
• Rip up things

Thats only the short list, too. There are a lot of things we use our thumbs for as humans, and I certainly am thankful that my thumb is only injured and not severed.

Here is a picture I took of my hamster this morning!

Pocari Sweat, nectar of the gods.

Mike and I went to the Azn food market last night. We got some omoshiroii okaashi (interesting candy) and five bottles of Pocari Sweat. Pocari Sweat tastes mostly like Gatorade, but in a lemon-like flavor that isn't available in the states. Its pretty much my favorite drink ever, and I am very thankful that I have that much of it to drink right now.

We also went to Best Buy, and played the demo of Rock Band. I played the drums through "Suffragette City", and tried to play the guitar through Faith No More's "Epic", but the guitar's buttons were a lot harder to press (I mean pressure wise) than a guitar hero guitar, and Mike and I could not finish any songs playing it. I did enjoy playing the drums very much, though I would have liked to try out the mic (but it had no buttons on it, we couldn't figure it out). I really can't wait to play the full version and rock out the mic and drums at the same time. I also almost bought Sing Star but then remembered, I have no money.

My Dad, Top of the Pops

I just remembered while driving home that I found out last weekend that my dad likes the Beatles. I never really knew that cause he was always listening to classic rock from the 70s. I knew he liked them but I didn't know he liked them. I said, "Hey Pops, do you like the Beatles?" as we drove up to Moon Base Alpha. Pops said, "Of course, they're the Beatles."

Duh.

The party stops here..

My brother is going to move in with me December 1st. Rather torn about it, but as I've been telling everyone I have to have a positive outlook on something since I've been in this rut for the last few weeks, and I might as well have a positive outlook on that.

Last night in Japanese class these two girls, one of whom I am sure is gay, kept talking throughout class and distracting me. I find that incredibly rude, and if one of them wasn't so unattractive than I might have been inclined to say something, but I figured looking like that has to be punishment enough.

Also in Japanese class one of Mike's friends kept talking about something regarding police being outside of her sister's apartment due to some kind of suicide. No one really cared, but she kept telling us about it, while Mike kept trying to get her to practice Japanese with us.

My mother made steaks last night, and these things were huge, I mean at least twice the size of a normal portion, and I cut mine in half yelling, "No wonder none of you lose weight! And don't put butter in the potatoes!"

The rape at MCCC didn't happen, as I predicted, no offense to real rape victims out there, but to you women who think its cool to make claims like this - this is why the real victims sometimes don't win their cases, you assholes. I hope you go to jail. And I hope you get raped there.

I really need a T.V. in my room. I also had a dream where I lost most of my teeth last night, while wrapped up in some kind of Power Rangers Mystic Force plot. This morning I woke up when the alarm went off at 7, but I was still tired, so I did what I thought was setting the alarm to an hour later. What I did however, was set my regular clock an hour later, so when I woke up at "9" and freaked out getting ready for work skipping my shower, it was really 8, and I felt very silly.

Mike and I have a date tonight! We are going to the Asian Market and then to the Halloween Store and then we are going to play Wii together. I enjoy spending time doing things with him. I do not enjoy spending time on the couch watching TV with him. I don't like doing that with anyone, to tell you the truth.

Tomorrow is Halloween!

Here is your picture for the day!


Outhouse by Pops with appropriate rainbow.

Rabanastre Declassified Information

Heres a conversation Dan and I had back in August about ffxii.

me: dude i had the most awesome fight last night too
i fought three marks and like, 4 minibosses last night
Daniel: damn!
me: can i tell you about them
i only want to talk about one mark and one miniboss
Daniel: of course
hahaha
I've narrowed this topic of conversation down into two subtopics.
me: so i started reading about the marks because i wanted to speed up
haha
so i started reading about the marks because i wanted to speed up how long it was taking me since greg was leaving shortly and taking his game with him
Daniel: hahaha
me: and there are two marks that i set out to defeat last night, one in the Necrohol of Nabudis, and one in the Nabreus Deadlands. Two very obnoxious places to be in.
I read about the one in (I'm saving this so i can finally blog about a game)
Daniel: (okay)
me: I read about the one in Nabudis first, and figured it wouldn't be too much of a problem - the one in the Nabreus Deadlands was incredibly foreboding (right word there?) of danger and even began with "So you're at this mark, eh?" so naturally I got scared and decided to revisit that one after a few more levels
Sent at 9:42 AM on Friday
me: However I had to go through the Deadlands to reach the mark in the Necrohol. I thought I was lucky because the one in the Deadlands was "hidden" in a "secret area" and I didn't think I would have to worry about it.
Sent at 9:43 AM on Friday
me: SO I'm running through the Deadlands for a bit because I figured while I am here I might as well get the stupid map, and as I'm running through this little tight piece of land before I get to the map urn I decide to try to find a secret area, which blows my mind, because I KNEW that the mark was IN a secret area..
Sent at 9:44 AM on Friday
Daniel: hahaha
goofball
me: I mean I kind of stumbled across it and kept traveling deeper into it but I knew what I might find - For some reason though I thought since this was the Deadlands (which in itself is a very scary place to be, its filled with thick mist and theres, well, dead shit in it everywhere) there had to be at least more than one secret area and maybe I'll find a chest because even though this was that "area through thick fog and tall grass" I thought maybe there was more than one
Well I'm running around like an asshole
And I start going up the side of this hill.. and all these skeletons are popping up at me, I mean, every three steps, I'm fighting 3/4/5 at a time
Daniel: sweet combo boost though
me: And believe me I am not really plowing through them but I'm doing alright so I keep going up a little bit more until suddenly somehow my fucking brain starts to function properly and I says to myself, I says, "Oh, so this must be the hill of skeletons you have to fight your way up before you get to the mark, oh and HEY LOOK THE HUGE RED DOT right up the hill past this fuckin army of undead right
Ok Molly, fuckin you're here, just deal with it"
Daniel: good good
me: And I'm pretty terrified, I'm using a LOT of magick to keep everyone alive and this mark is a magick user and uses fear on my people to drain their magick and holy shit its fucking HUGE its this GIGANTIC GOLEM LIKE THE SIZE OF RABANASTRE
All the while the fuckin skeletons are still comin at me
Daniel: hahaha
me: So I don't know, I kill off about 30 of those skeletons and finally get up to the golem who isn't really moving but hey thanks for casting fear on Penelo and draining my MP
Oh, thanks, there goes Fran
So here I am, with my arsenal of status spells, Blind, Silence, Slow, ok cool slow sticks, Dispel
I don't know how I did it, it took me a good fuckin 20 minutes to kill this thing just because ... ok well if you focus on the golem the skeletons stop coming at you but since Fran is magick using and bow using and in the back she kind of drums up a few of them here and there
So I'm running back and forth trying to save her while more skeletons pop up since I stopped fighting the golem and the golem is casting Blizzaga on me and shit and I'm just like
THIS SHIT IS BANANAS
Makes me wish I had this one Esper Greg was telling me about who's only ability is, well, to cast DEATH on everyone.
So I get up to chain 50 something at least with those skeletons
I kill that Golem.
I feel so fucking good at this point
I go and I kill the mark in the Necrohol, another Golem.
I go back, and I get mad shit as rewards.
So then I head back and visit Montblanc, he's like, man you are so slammin, Vaan, and I'm just like, yeah yeah I gotta go man see ya
Daniel: the only tim vaan will get a compliment.
me: I head out to The Port at Barlthformheim or whatever silly name they gave that pirate town
I talk to Reddas
Plot, plot, plot
I end up at this fucking huge dungeon
Greg says, you're only on the first ascent, or descent, or whatever the fuck they call it
"Don't even bother me"
There are three minibosses already in the first hour I have been in there
They have all gone down with ease
I mean I am slaughtering these guys
But I've got about five more marks I have to kill
An Esper I want to get, and some side quests I want to look into
However, I might just beat some more marks and end the game, and then go back and revisit once I move.
So thats my ffxii story, I can't stop thinking about it, right now all I want to do is go home and play it.