Hey all. I apologize for the lack of updates. I wanted to type out a blog going over my vacation in Florida along with my fisrt day at work. So, I decided that I say it all in a video blog which I haven't done in a long time. You'll notice how much I need to do more because I really rushed this one just so I can post something. If you become bored watching the vlog, I completely understand and won't hold anything against you.

And here is the video of my playing Gunstar Heroes.... again. =P

Ah, good stuff.

Anyway, there was something I wanted to mention in my last blog. While I was going out looking for jobs, I had asked SomeOddGuy if we could meet. The reason being is that we both live in the same state and are about two hours away from where we live. So we decided to meet at Opry Mills, and we both had a fun time together even though I had to drag him with me as I looked for jobs. =P  Nonetheless, I hope we meet each other again before the summer is over. Now are you happy, Odd? =P

That seems to be about it. I know there were some other things I wanted to mention, but I'm too tired, and the family computer hasn't been co-operating with me lately. Some of you may have noticed that I have been spending a lot of time on DA than here, and that's because I want to go through all the messages as quickly as I can without trying to worry about not being far behind. I may or may not watch what I missed out on this year's E3. If I had a faster computer, then maybe I would not have mind. Oh well.

You guys take care and have a good rest of the summer. I'll be drawing most of the time, and you all know where to find my uploaded stuff. :)

Until next time! 8-)

Hey all. I think now would be a good time to do a blog. It has been since Easter that I have done one. Now that school ended at the beginning of May, I'll give a brief report on how the semester went for me. Right now it's 12:31 in the morning as I type this.

SPRING SEMESTER 2009 REPORT

Drawing Fundamentals: I thought this course wasn't so bad. I actually enjoyed a lot of things I learned, and I'd say I improved on many things such as perspective, value, and a heavy emphasis on observational skills. For our final, we had to do three big drawings (debating on whether I should upload pictures of them) on any theme we chose. Mine had to do with video games in which 1) I'm sitting in front of a TV playing, 2) the screen goes dark as I ponder what is going on, 3) and then a light flashes from the screen while I cover it with my free hand. Now that I think about it maybe I should upload pictures of them. :)

Overall Average: B

3D Model Design: Let me start off by saying that this course was a big joke for most of us. From the things that we learned in Principles of Visualization were taught in this course. In other words, it felt like we hardly learned anything. After a few tutorials on how to use a few other tools on Maya 2009, we just worked on our final project after Spring Break was over. Yeah, it was rather disappointing that we didn't learn anything else in that class. :( I ended up doing a character model of an anthropomorphic wolf which ended up being much better than the one I did in Principles of Viz.

Overall Average: B+

Physics: Man, this was definitely the course from hell. Even after using Cramster.com I struggled to try and pass it. Fortunately, my homework average helped me stay afloat throughout the semester. After I took the final exam, I spoke with the professor who had started grading the exams about the test, and he told me that he would have to be lenient with everyone since the tests weren't looking so good. After a couple of days from coming home, I checked on my final average for physics, and I couldn't be any happier that I won't have to take it again. Plus, I'm even happier that our department allows us to take one semester of it. :D

Overall Average: D

Physics Lab: Even though the actual course was difficult, the lab was surprisingly enjoyable and fun. All we did was do weekly experiments and lab reports. The latter was very annoying because I always didn't feel like typing up a simple report on what we did. I mean they felt very repetitive after a few weeks into it, but I was glad that I was getting at least 8 out of 10 on them.

Overall Average: B

Game Modding: Whereas physics was the most stressful course, this one was flat-out aggravating. I'll admit that I now know what to expect when working on game projects, but having to go through this one was often ridiculous as to how I stuck to it. At first, the grad-student had planned his game prototype for a 5 - 6 person effort. However, it ended up being three of us including myself, the grad-student, and another person. Then, the other one dropped out because he wanted to work on his own project after having some issues with the grad-student. It was very nerve wrecking having to do a lot of work and not knowing what else to do for the grad-student. I say this because there were a lot of times when I expected something to do from him, and he would often not have his stuff prepared for me to do. From what I've heard, the grad-student was supposed to have a lot, if not all, of the things for his project done by the end of the Christmas Break. Well, you can guess who was the one that was not totally prepared. I will say that I had my doubts on the work that I had been putting out for the prototype, but my professor complimented on the good things I've been doing after checking on us periodically. In the end, we were able to finish it the game prototype, and I was thrilled to see the end result. When I say thrilled, I was glad that it was out of the way for I had physics to study during that time. :P

Overall Average: A

And so, my GPA for this semester came to be a 3.00, and that puts my overall GPA to a 3.21 out of 4. :D Before anyone asks, yes, I am still playing my tuba. It's just that I didn't bother saying anything about it. :P

WHEN I CAME HOME...

Let's just say that my dad wasn't very happy when we told him that I was partly packed to go home. At the time, there were some nasty storms that were coming towards the campus area, but they happened to pass us up north on the way home. So instead of getting a week of sleep like my mom begged my dad for me to have, I was told to go out job hunting, and that's what I have been doing ever since I came home. :( I have just lost count by how many I have applied to, and I thought that I would not have any luck at all. During this time, my dad has been on me of what I had applied for and to where I should be looking. I have tried my best to do as he has asked, and it's like I have hardly pleased him. It came to a point that my mom called her father in Puerto Rico about maybe giving me some work at his bakery if I couldn't find any work before the middle of June. I would not have minded at all even if it meant to get away from my day, but the problem was that I had plans with a friend from college to go on a road trip to Michigan to visit some family of his. However, I was able to get a part-time job for a company that does food demonstrations much like I did at Costco. This time I'll be at my local Walmart (now spelled like this) giving out food samples to customers. It may not be much, but a job's a job with the way this economy has been going.

SOME CLEARING UP

Remember that stalker issue I mentioned back in March? Well, I decided to send her a note of apology after thinking it over, and I did not get a response until some time during April. I will say that I did stalk her. I wish I was joking about it, but I'm not. What I said back in March, I gave half of it. How so? There were things I left out like I would check on who her friends are and what they do. Whenever she had mentioned about the conventions she goes to, I had obsessed on the idea of meeting her in person and would often tell her about it. Now that I think on this, I should have known better to give her the space she needed, and I do regret for what I had done to her. So if there's anyone that deserves the scolding, I am the one to receive it. I'm saying all of this because she had pointed out what I wrote in my blog, and she is correct by doing so. Even after all that, she forgave me, and you have no idea how much I was happy to receive forgiveness from her. After reading it, I had thought that I didn't deserve to be forgiven; yet she did. All I can say is that I am more relaxed now that it's been taken care of, and I do apologize to all of you for not giving the straight truth when I mentioned it in March. Since then, I have made a promise to myself that I will be sure to act in a more civil manner for as long as I stay involved in online communities such as GameSpot, DeviantART, etc. By doing so, I have seen how much of a changed person I am, and I have received a lot of kind responses when I try to show the user some respect. Also, I told myself that I had planned on bringing this up when I believe the time was right, and now I am telling you all what I really did just so I can get it off of my chest once again. I guess now I have nothing to be afraid about it anymore. What will happen, it'll happen regardless. Thank you all for the much-needed advice. I did end up learning my lesson even if it was the hard way.

GAMING

Ever since I came home, I haven't been gaming as much even though I have been playing on my Genesis and SNES a lot. :P When I came home, I was told that we now have Mario Kart Wii. After playing it, I ended up sticking to the Gamecube controller for I can't stand using the steering wheel that was included. I mean it's often fun to use, but I find it to be a nuisance most of the time. Anyway, I do plan on trying to spend some time on Okami whenever I can along with my DS (DQ IV and Sonic Chronicles) and GBA (FF VI and Tales of Phantasia) games.

DRAWING

The same thing goes with my anthro drawing. Hopefully, I'll be sending a lot of my time doing a lot of drawing and digital coloring. You all know where to find me on DA. :P

RETURN TO YOUTUBE

As crazy as this may sound, I have decided to give YouTube some needed attention. So I will try to be very proactive on uploading more videos onto my channel. Speaking of which, I have already done so by uploading five more videos to it.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Wow. I think I will end this blog for it is 2:27 in the morning as I finish up. Anyway, I'll be in Florida until June 8. If I'm not mistaken, E3 will be taking place during that time, but I could be wrong. Also, one of my friends, hart704, will be doing a Retro Revival Week, and it seems that I'll have to start late after I come back... again. :( Oh well. Such is life.

Anyway, I thank anyone for taking the time to read this very long blog.

Until next time! 8)

Hey all!

I thought I'd wish everyone a Happy Easter. I was able to spend it with my relatives who live about thirty minutes from the college. It was great to be away from the campus, and I was able to relax a bit. Now that I'm back on campus I need to start focusing more on school and try to finish the semester strong. I thank you all for wishing me luck for this semester especially with physics. I had a few say that I'll pass, and I'm starting to think I will.

Right now I've been listening to music from the Hearts of Space website, and they've picked fifteen variations on the hymn Amazing Grace. It's incredible how much that song has been played by so many. :)

Before I go, I did my very first art trade with a friend who just so happens to be on GameSpot and DeviantART. He goes by the username SomeOddGuy, and this is what we ended up doing. :D

Odd's part

My part

I was really pleased with how ours came out, and we both thought the experience of doing an art trade (our very first) was rather fun. :) I wouldn't mind doing these if I had more time. What's even better is that he lives in Tennessee, and we do hope to meet sometime during the summer in the Nashville area.

Speaking of the Nashville area, it seems that I won't be getting the internship at Magnetic Dreams. :( I'll explain about it in another blog.

Anyway, I need to be on my way and focus more on my school work. I hope you guys do well for the rest of your semester. Also, please let me know if any of you are bothered to see anthro art through my blogs. I know there are many who are a bit disturbed of the art, and I can understand why many find it weird due to how ridiculous it can go. Yes, I've seen it, and I don't like it at all. It's a waste of talent if you ask me.

Until next time, Giant Bombers! 8-)

Hey all.

I think it's time that I share with you what's been going on since my last blog. So far it's been a lot of ups-and-downs, and lately I've been getting the feeling that I'm not sure how I will make it this semester due to a class. First, I'll start of with an something that is going to be painful for me to mention, but I think it should be said in the end.

STALKER

Many of you know that I am involved in Deviantart with my anthropomorphic drawings. Well, there's someone on that site who I've taken a liking to her style, and I thought it'd be neat if I could be good friends with this person. For any who have kept up with my blogs, you may have an idea who I'm talking about. If not, you'll eventually know who. I won't give out her username though because I don't think it would be necessary. Anyway, we eventually became good friends, and you could say that I got a little too friendly when I mentioned about one day meeting her at an anime convention she normally goes. She seemed okay with the idea at first and had no problems with it. That is, however, I kind of grown an obsession with talking to her and visiting her DA page just about every day. No doubt a lot of you are thinking where this is going. I mean I did do two maybe three fan art drawings of her character because I wanted to thank her for some of the help she's given me and for the commissions she was kind enough to take. In return, she was very pleased and complimented them. To be honest, I wasn't really concious of what I was doing for I thought that could form like some sort of buddy alliance with this person just like others have on DA. It wasn't until I got her note last month that it finally hit me. In her note, she stated that she had some concerns that she wanted to point out, and she gave me a breakdown of all the actions I've done whenever I speak to her. When I read it, it did sting, but the final blow was when she said that she was safe to assume that I'm a stalker. Man, it was awful having to read that word. That's something that will stick with you throughout however long you decide to stay on the internet. I never really saw myself as such until I read her note. I've even questioned myself if my actions have been that of a stalker's with other users. I mean it was really awful having that run through your head. Then, I started getting all these thoughts that maybe word had spread about my actions and that I would be hunted down and whatnot. I know that may sound crazy, but this is the internet you're talking about. There are people out there that will do a lot of crazy yet stupid things because they are not careful of what they do. I, for one, just happened be one of them with this person, and I deeply regret for what I've done. What I should have done was give her plenty of space and just talk to her from time to time instead of every day. So that's lesson learned on my part even though I was too late to stop myself before things got out of hand.

All in all, I just want to say I'm sorry to anyone who has experienced any of this behavior from me. What I did was very foolish, and it may take some time to gain some trust from her again. Before anyone asks, no, I haven't spoken to her since her note because 1) I was at a loss for words to even reply back, and 2) I think it would have gotten a lot nastier if I did reply back on the same day she sent me the note. For some time now, I've been thinking about apologizing to her because I want to show her that I'm much better than all this that you've read so far. Also, I want to give myself another chance at becoming a more mature person not just on DA but with any website that I'm involved in. Right now, I'm just afraid of getting a note from her that is far worse than what I received a month ago. Any advice for this would be very helpful.

THE WORST WAS YET TO COME. THEN AGAIN...

On that same week, things didn't get any better. It was the same week that I had received my first physics exam back, and... Well, let's just say it wasn't good. Later in the evening, I had told my mom about the test. She was rather shocked, and I assured her that I did my best studying for the test. Also, I had told her that I wasn't the only one that suffered. So, I requested that she and my sisters come visit me over the weekend, and she said that she would knowing how much stress I've been going through. When she came, I couldn't have been any happier. So, I spent some time with her and m sisters as we visited a few stores like Barnes & Noble (where I got a few CDs by Philip Glass) and Circuit City (where I got Sonic Chronicles at a cheap price). To be quite honest, having her visit me has been one of the best Valentine's Day weekends I've ever had, and I'm very thankful that she did come to see me.

BACK TO SCHOOL

So, I've been trying to focus more on school seeing that I've been caught up with school work. If there's anything that I've experienced during my time in college, it's that the spring semester is ALWAYS the busiest especially when you're taking a difficult class such as physics. The second exam I took just now I did a bit better, but I was just a couple of points away from passing. All I can say right now is that I hope that I can make a B or a C in the class, but I'll be happy with a D if push comes to shove... or however you want to put it. Now I really can't wait to be done with college. *sighs* Only one more year to go after this...

SPRING BREAK

At this moment, I'm on my spring break, and I'm really glad to be having one right now. However, I do have some school work to do, but I can do it a much more relaxed pace than what I've been doing at school. It does feel great to be home for a short period of time. One of my plans is to see Watchmen with my sister since she's been wanting to see for some time now. I also managed to play a couple of old PC games on my computer like Myst and Riven. It was great playing those two games, but I was suprised with how much fun I had with Riven. When I was a kid, I had difficulties with the game because I didn't know what to do. Now that I'm much older, I had to go look up two hints for the game. I find that to be pretty amazing. Speaking of my computer, I'm currently trying to do a birthday picture for my sister who will be turning eighteen shortly. I hope the piece goes well though.

IN THE END

I guess that's all that I have to say right now. The first part was something that I really needed to get off my chest because I had been getting the feeling that I've been a coward for not mentioning it. Sure it may seem like I should have just kept it to myself, but that's why I have those who could lend me some of their advice if they choose to help out. Despite some of the things that I've done in the past, all I can say is that I'm really grateful for having people that have stuck around reading what I've been up to and the like. I just wish there was something I can do in return. Maybe I can, but we'll see.

Thanks for reading, everyone.

P.S. I went up to Nashville to meet with a person that works for a company called Magnetic Dreams. I had asked them if they were giving any summer internships, and he said that it was a possibility. They're primary focus is character animation and motion graphics, and I heard from someone that they started doing some gaming using an engine called OGRE. After meeting the guy, I was surprised when he asked me what hours would I like if I were to take the summer internship. I was really excited about it, and I hope that I do work for this company come summer. :D

Whoa! Things have been rather hectic for me, and I thought I'd get this blog out of the way. So many things have been happening, but I'll start off with what is mentioned in the title. Ready? Then press the start button to play! :D

SUPER BOWL XLIII

I'm sure a lot of you were rooting  for the Steelers this past Sunday. I, on the other hand, went for the underdog, the Cardinals, in this year's Super Bowl. At first, I was rather disappointed that this was going to be a boring Super Bowl, and one of the reasons for that was because the Tennessee Titans were beaten by the Ravens. >:( I mean they had a pretty good year which came to a surprise for me even though it would have been nice if they were undefeated throughout the season. :( Now I know I said i was rooting for the Cardinals, but that was after becoming extremely disappointed with the commercials. Seriously, I was expecting to find some entertainment out of them (one of the reasons why i watch the Super Bowl), but man I never thought the vast majority of them were going to be that boring. Oh well. I guess there wasn't enough money to go around for everyone with these commercials. How about the one-second Miller commerial? Wow.  As for the game, there wasn't anything worth mentioning in the first half, but the second half was when things started to get really exciting. It was just one turnover after another with both teams including that ridiculous 100-yard touchdown by the Steelers. I'll admit that they gave it their all in the second half, but I was heartbroken when the Cardinals lost. If you ask me, I think the refs just gave the game to the Steelers. That last play should have been an incomplete pass. Nonetheless, it was one of the best games I've seen in a long time.

Also, that 3D feature was just plain tacky. Yeah, there were moments where it did work, but I'd rather go to an IMAX feature for a true 3D experience.

INTERNET RADIO: PANDORA VS. LAST.FM

One day I thought I would check out two internet radio servers to see which one I would like most. I have real life friends that love Pandora while most of my online buddies have Last.FM. So, I took it upon myself to create accounts on both sites, and I ended up loving Last.FM. Now why did I decide to check out an internet radio server? Well, 1) I'm getting tired of the quality I'm listening to with my Yahoo Launchcast station, 2) I would have to be a paid subscriber if I want mp3 quality tunes, and 3) my iPod is limited to what I have that I need to listen to something different every now and then that's not on my iPod. I'm rather pleased with getting a Last.FM because it feels somewhat similar to my Launchcast station. As for Pandora, I didn't like having to create a station and then having to rate something that I'm not entirely familiar with. Plus, the features didn't seem too user friendly with me. So if you want to see my Last.FM profile, it's right here. :D

WACOM BAMBOO TABLET

A couple of weeks after my semester started, I decided to purschase myself a Wacom tablet. Seeing that I have a working version of Photoshop, I thought it would be useful to have one so that I won't go through the trouble of using a mouse when drawing and coloring. I bought it for at least $60 at Amazon, and I'm rather pleased with my purchase. I really love it a lot! :D I hope to improve myself even more now that I have some power in my hands. :P

FACEBOOK

I know I've kept telling myself that I would never get into MySpace or Facebook, but I finally caved in with getting a Facebook. Why did I do that? Well, I'll tell you all about it in a video which will be posted over there. I may post it on Veoh, but we'll see. So if you'd like to add me as your friend on Facebook, DON'T, I repeat, DON'T leave me your name when commenting. Instead send me a PM (GameSpot)/ Note (DeviantART)/ Message (Giant Bomb) and we'll talk about it. It would be the best if you guys did so.

Well, I think that's all the play time there is. I hope you guys are having a good week.

Thanks for playing, Giant Bombers! 8-)

Right. How about that video? :D

Man, now I want a 360/PS3. :(

WHAT I'M TAKING IN COLLEGE

Taken from the syllabus of each course.

Drawing Fundamentals: This is a 3 credit course exploring drawing concepts. This course will cover representational drawing, design concepts, drawing techniques, and form development. Some of our topics are: hand/eye coordination; understanding depth, volume, value, space; elements of design and composition; gesture and expression; perspective; concept and theme.

General Physic I: General Physics I is the first semester of a two semester survey course in algebra-based physics; topics will include motion, forces, energy, the properties of solids, liquids, and gases, and heat and thermodynamics. (This bit is where it talks about General Physics II) The two semesters should be taken in sequence, and General Physics Laboratories I & II are strongly recommended to accompany the basic lecture courses. (The rest is if you need help just contact the professor and whatnot)

Game Mod: There's nothing much to say in this syllabus, but what I'll be doing is working in a team to create a short game for a graduate student in the digital media department. His thesis is going to be on storytelling in video games, and the project we're doing feels a bit intimidating by what he's presented us. I just hope I don't get all stressed out by the amount of work we have.

That's pretty much about it, but that's because I haven't added in the music courses. For this semester, it's a total of 17 credit hours which is two more than last semester. I hope to come through. :)

SNOW... FROM USAGI

Remember in my video blog I showed you how much snow the ETSU campus got? Well, one of my good friends, usagi704, sent me a message saying that he was going to make a video response to my video. When he said that, I knew that he was going to best me against my video, but I just didn't know by how much. Congratulations, good sir! :P I miss Ohio. :( I have to go back and visit someday.

Until next time, Giant Bombers! 8-)

I said I was going to make another video blog. :P

I apologize if you have a hard time following later part of the video. I ran out of things to say making this not one of my best vlogs.

BONUS!

Here's a life lesson that I found rather humorous. :D

 One of life's lessons! 

2 QUARTERS or a DOLLAR BILL

A young boy enters a barber shop and the barber whispers to his customer, 'This is the dumbest kid in the world.   Watch while I prove it to you.'

The barber puts a dollar bill in one hand and two quarters in the other,

Then calls the boy over and asks, 'Which do you want, son?'

The boy ta kes the quarters and leaves the dollar!

'What did I tell you?' said the barber..  'That kid never learns!'

Later, when the customer leaves, he sees the same young boy coming out of the ice cream store & says ; 'Hey, son!  May I ask you a question?  

Why did you take the quarters instead of the dollar bill?'

The boy licked his cone and replied,

 'Because the day I take the dollar, the game's over!'

I think it's time that I did another video blog. Man, the last one I did was after my birthday. That's a very long time if you ask me. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy. :)

Hey!

I wanted to make a quick blog to let you all know how I did during the semester. So, here is a breakdown of my fall semester for 2008.

Principles of Interaction: A-

This course wasn't so bad. The most that we did was create a website, create an interactive flash video, and create a level based on one of the buildings on campus which I hope to upload a video of it someday. For the most part, it was just a lot of tedious work that went into the projects as mentioned. I was actually happy that I got an A- in the class. I think what helped me get that grade was probably the level my partner and I did along with the video we had to create for the project. :D If you're curious to know the website, here it is.