I hate my work

I am having the hardest time getting motivated at work this week. I think its because the end is in sight and I am coming to terms with the fact that I’m not going to be doing this anymore.

Starting Monday, I start training to move to another division until either October 1st or I find another job. I don’t think that I ever realized how taxing this job is or how my clients just eat away at my soul little by little. I mean, I always knew how stressful my work was (without a doubt the most stressful job I’ve ever had), but I think I had subconsciously resigned myself to it because it was my job. Its just what I did and I was really good at it. Also, it helps a great deal that I have always been really good at leaving my work problems behind me once I leave for the day. But now that the possibility is here of not having to deal with the hassles and stupid requests that pick away at my brain, I am really excited about it!

That being said, I’m also a little nervous. The word coming down from the group of us that started training a week ago isn’t good. So I guess I’m in kind of a weird place right now. I haven’t done too much job searching yet because I’ve been ridiculously busy at work and just want to relax when I get home. Once I start training and things calm down a little I’ll start looking more aggressively. I do have one possibility I’m exploring that I’m trying to hold out for but I’m afraid to talk about it because I don’t want to get my hopes up and have it not happen, so that’s all I’ll say for now.

Just a quick update

Well, I got stuck in Patapon and just can’t get past the stage with the catapult and the huge enemy castle. Its been kicking my butt for weeks now so I’m giving up. I don’t want to because I really love the game, I just cant beat this level. I’m disappointed, anybody have any protips for me? Please?!?! I want to keep playing it.

Got Professor Layton and the Curious Village from GameFly. Love it, decided to keep it. Devil May Cry 4 showed up in the mail yesterday, will check that out this weekend. Still playing Crisis Core, but I just traded in my PSP along with my spare, pink DS so I can get one of the red God of War PSPs next week. I’m only going to end up having to pay about $10 bucks for it since I traded in my spare DS, PSP, and old copy of Chains of Olympus. I’m stoked!

Having an awesome time with GTA4! I am enjoying this game so much more than the previous GTA games. I think its because the story and characters are so interesting and compelling that I just want to keep playing it more and more. Going is relatively slow cuz a lots been going on at work with them laying us off and everything. Lame.

Bought Mario Kart Wii a few weeks ago, enjoying it. Its Mario Kart. About what you’d expect. I like the different size karts and the motorcycles. The wheel is pretty cool too. The only thing I don’t like is that there are WAY too many kill-everybody-in-front-of-you items. When I’m winning a race or in 2nd place I get hit by a lightning cloud, or a bullet bill, or a spiked shell about every 10 seconds. Its really annoying.

Still playing Burnout Paradise off and on, its THAT awesome. I’ve never enjoyed a racing game more in my life. I got 100% a few weeks ago and should have my online set up in a week or two so I’m really looking forward to playing it online.

Iron Man review

It seems that ever since the initial success and resurgence of the comic book movie, headlined by X-Men in 2000 and Spider-Man in 2002, Hollywood will not rest until every other comic super hero is exploited with similar results. Thus we now have Iron Man. Not being a comic book reader myself, I am not very familiar with the history of this character and cannot judge this movie’s accuracy and trueness to the original vision. However, taken strictly as an action filled two hours, Iron Man succeeds.

Tony Stark has taken over the helm of his father’s company, manufacturing weapons and selling them to the government. When a sales demonstration in Afghanistan goes bad, he becomes a terrorist prisoner. Once they discover who he is, they keep him captive and demand that he build them a batch of his company’s latest new-fangled missles. Instead, he manages to construct a complex battle suit and fight his way out of captivity. While the absurdity of fashioning a war machine in a desert bunker with relatively basic materials is obvious, it serves to have the required effect on Stark. Returning home and concluding that his company is doing nothing to help the terrorist problem in the world, he sets out to stop making weapons and privately begins plans in his own workshop for a perfected and enhanced battle suit.

One can’t help but make comparisons to Batman, mixed with Superman’s ability to fly. The head of a massive company with unlimited money and resources creates the means to deal with wrongdoing directly. Unfortunately, without being able to compare it to the comics somewhat limits my perspective. Because of this, and the similarities to other comic heroes, I can’t really say that Iron Man is any better or any worse than the other flicks of this genre. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, as the majority of them have been pretty decent in the last few years.

Throughout the building of the suit, learning to use it skillfully, and inaugural attack mission, we are treated to some cool special effects and light comedy. The suit definitely looks cool as hell, the villians are not quite as memorable as the Joker or Dr. Octopus, but there is certainly a payoff villain that more than gives Stark a run for his money.

Basically, if you are a comic book fan or enjoy other films of this kind then you’ll probably like this one too. If you’re not much into that world, then you can safely skip it without losing sleep. It didn’t strike the same chord with me as the original Spider-Man did when it first came out, but I thought it was a cool action movie all the same. I’ll definitely be buying it on Blu-Ray.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Fans have been itching for a new Indiana Jones film for 20 years, and they have finally been rewarded for their long wait. It has been said that one of the major reasons for the delay has been getting a script that George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Harrison Ford all liked and felt passionate about. Also, with as busy as these three are, I’m sure getting them all together to pull another movie together took some juggling in their schedules. Well, I am happy to report that the time taken to make sure everything felt right has paid off. It is easy to get back into the character and for the most part, the story holds up.

Indy 4 wastes no time in setting a familiar tone. It starts out just as you would want it to, with a major action scene in a fondly familiar setting from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Shortly after things calm down, our aging hero meets a young man by the name of Mutt (recognizable to those who saw Transformers) who has been instructed to find and recruit him to assist in the recovery of Mutt’s parents, who have been kidnapped in the quest for the Crystal Skull. The enemies this time are not Nazis, but Russians, and the particular reason why the Russians are searching for said skull, its origins, and the ultimate result of returning it to where it needs to be are a bit outlandish, even for an Indy film, and no doubt feel out of place with this iconic character.

That small detail aside, this is an Indiana Jones flick through and through. The boy becomes his constant companion, and while he is clearly inexperienced and nervous in exotic ruins, Jones is in his element here and shows that while he may be older, he can still hold his own. Mutt eventually shows great enthusiasm for the hunt and is more than capable in the action packed, improvisation-filled fight scenes that Indy always seems to get himself into. He proves himself to be a worthy successor to the ragged fedora, in more ways than one. There are plenty of winks and subtle nods to the previous movies and the characters that filled them, including one major player returning from the past that is a perfect fit and very welcome. The grin-inducing John Williams score is present and accounted for and the obligatory jokes about Ford’s age are surprisingly kept to a minimum.

There are a few missteps however. The action mostly holds up, but there are a few over the top moments that are just too ridiculous, including taking shelter in a refrigerator at the end of the opening sequence and some absurd Tarzan style vine swinging toward the end. Also, the previously mentioned origin of the skull makes the last 10 minutes of the climax having you wondering if your watching Indiana Jones or some other big name summer blockbuster that hasn’t come out yet.

These two flaws are easily overlooked when looking at the movie as a whole and there is definitely enough here to please fans of old. If you’ve been clamoring for an archeology fix ever since the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles TV show ended, this is what you’ve been craving. A great addition to the franchise.

Ah, summer!

Here we are, another summer upon us and another batch of blockbuster movies. There looks to be some really good ones coming in the next few months. Here’s a quick breakdown of the most notable ones.

National Treasure 2 (on DVD) – Still on the fence about seeing this one. Anybody see it? The first one was merely decent so the sequel didn’t really grab my attention.

Horton Hears A Who (out now) – I still haven’t seen this one and will now have to wait for DVD. Missed the theater window.

Narnia: Prince Caspian (out now) – This one should be just as good as the first one was. Devon is really stoked about it.

Iron Man (out now) – I was never really into Iron Man but the trailers make the flick look pretty cool.

Indy 4: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (out now) – Not really impressed with the title but how could I NOT be super excited about a new Indy movie?! I’m seeing this one this weekend.

The Strangers (May 30) – The commercials look cool. Its been a while since there has been a really good scare movie. BTW, see the new Halloween (2007), its great!! Written and directed by Rob Zombie, it provides a lot of back story to one of the oldest horror villians around. This makes it more real and disturbing.

Kung Fu Panda (June 6) – This animated film looks really cute and funny.

The Incredible Hulk (June 13) – Don’t know how I feel about this one, I’ll probably see it just because Edward Norton stars in it.

Get Smart (June 20) – Not sure about this one either. The TV show was pretty funny but a little before my time.

Wall-E (June 27) – A new Pixar movie. Seriously, does anything else need to be said???

Wanted (June 27) – Based on a comic book, this one is about a regular guy finding out he has special powers and joining a team of assassins. Sounds a bit like League of Extraordinary Gentleman (which I was disappointed with) but the trailers look cool.

Meet Dave (July 11) – Eddie Murphy films havent been of the best quality since he started making nothing but kids movies, but we’ll see.

Hellboy 2 (July 11) – I started watching the first one, but didn’t finish it. Haven’t decided on the sequel. Maybe I’ll give the original movie a another try first.

The Dark Knight (July 18 ) – Batman and a truly creepy-looking Joker, together again. NICE!

X-Files: I Want to Believe (July 25) – Almost as highly anticipated (and demanded) as Indy 4 by some, including me. I can’t get enough of Mulder and Scully and their paranormal adventures!

Fuck you very much!

So, yeah.

I just got the notice about 20 mins ago that we’re all being laid off here at work. Last day being July 15. But its “business as usual” until then. Yeah, right. That’s funny.

Oh but they thanked us for being such an awesome team for the past six months of rough times. Great. Thanks. I feel better now.

I’m feeling a lot of things right now that I’m having trouble processing and expressing. There are so many things about this whole situation that are so fucked up on so many different levels that I’m not allowed to go into in a public forum like this. Don’t really know what to say. I put in 3 good years here and now I’m gone. I was offered an opportunity to stay and help out in another dept, which will give me a stay of execution until Oct 1st, but after that I don’t know.  I just want outta the mortgage business all together.

Awwww!!!

Two-wheeled adreneline

It was recently pointed out to me by a friend that we are well into spring and I had yet to comment on the motorcycle I bought last november. Well, its time to remedy the situation.

I found the 2001 Suzuki Katana 600 on Craig’s List last november for a great price and decided that I could no longer go another summer without owning a motorcycle.  I have been riding two wheeled vehicles since I was 14 years old, but had never owned one of my own until then.  It’s been in my dad’s garage all winter, and I’ve been itching to get it out on the road.

One of the reasons it was so cheap is because I bought it with an S-title (salvage title).  As you can see from the pic, the previous owner had laid it down on the right side, scraping the Katana label and breaking the blinker lens cover and passenger foot peg in the process.  Being a salvage, I have to have the bike inspected by the BMV before I am allowed to get a clean title or license plate to make sure there are no stolen parts on it.  Last week I received a new foot peg, lens cover, and helmet from BikeBandit.com and went to my dad’s house to install the new parts.  My inspection is scheduled for June 3rd, so I still have a little while to wait, but I am definately making progress.

I am also pleased because a bike is much cheaper to insure than a car.  Come the 2nd week in june, I should have insurance, a clean title, and a license plate.  It’s been a while since I’ve riden and I can’t wait to get back out there.  The last few times I was at my dad’s house, the bike started right up and ran great.  I can almost feel the wind in my hair and the rush of the road racing only inches below my feet.  With summer just around the corner, my mind is constantly fantasizing and craving the thrill and feeling of freedom that can only be understood by fellow riders.  Summer cannot come soon enough!

I want one!!!

Check out this video detailing the construction and demonstration of a giant fully functional NES controller coffee table. It’s obvious a lot of care went into building it. I never tire of watching people’s obssession with video games manifest themselves in unique and creative ways.

The Creed

I just finished Assassins Creed last night and I’m pretty pissed.

I loved the game itself.  The tasks you have to complete are extremely repetitive and the last 2-3 missions I stopped trying to complete everything just so I could finish the game.  But the story, characters, and the things you do are so cool that I didn’t really mind the repetitiveness of it until the last couple missions.  I NEVER got tired of climbing to the top of a tower, moving the camera around to look at stuff and jumping all the way down.  Not very realistic but very very cool!

What pissed me off so much was the ending.  I don’t want to spoil it but I hated it.  I need closure!  Grrrrrr!  Oh well, maybe they’ll take care of it in the sequel.

Now that Assassins Creed is out of the way I can dive into GTA IV.  I played it when I first got it and got about 2-3 hrs through, but now I can really put some time into it.  With everything I’ve heard, I can’t wait.