Keeping Up And Catching Up: That Is All

Alright, this is my first non-fanfiction related post (in this blog, I mean, after all, I still remember fondly the days of pure and soul-wrenching and soul-gripping life experiences at my livejournal one), and as much as I am flooded with work, I guess, as my friend quoted it succinctly, inspiration does come at the oddest of times. A lot of things have happened since I decided to close down my 'emo'-ings at my livejournal blog and start out afresh here, some happy, some sad, some meaningful and some not. Nevertheless, life goes on, I guess, and, well, I would rather not have it any other way than this.

I've been getting busier and busier by the day nowadays in INTI, what with the sudden increase in my workload (which is not helped at all by my excellent procrastination methods) and my obsession with a particular light novel/manga/anime series which goes by the name of Toradora!.

Of course, life in campus seems more interesting as well, as I've recently became closer with a certain dorm mate of mine of which I've been sharing the same block for like, 2 whole years, and have only come to realise that now, at the end of my venture here in INTI how interesting he was. No offence meant, Gerard, but you are a social science student, and you just know how your kind are...*twiddles thumbs and whistles innocently*.

We had more than a couple of late night conversations and we exchanged a lot of insights. I found out that he adores canon in whatever interests him (Star Wars, Star Trek, *gasp* Harry Potter, even the games he play) while he uncovered my secret fetish for non-canon, or AU (particularly for Harry Potter). He was the nice boy with the nice dreams of nice superheroes (as evidenced with him fanboying Superman) while I prefered the twisted bad good guys (I like Jack Sparrow. Need I further clarify on that?). He's a little OCD-ish when it comes to certain things (Morrowind and his sleeping routine) while I couldn't possibly be more haphazard than I already am.

Still, we had a lot in common, and even if we hadn't, it still makes for interesting conversations.

On the academic perspective, classes are average-ish, and I'm pretty surprise that I've hadn't flunk out of any yet (particularly Mr. Koong's, but I guess I've learnt my lesson). Dr. Borges' class couldn't be possibly be more interesting, what with abstract philosophical matters being thrown randomly across the classroom which were only the stuff of my dreams prior to PHI 101. Physics II seems to be progressing as well, though probably not as well as I hoped it would be. All in all, I won't be acing any class this sem, but if my current progress is maintained, at least I won't be flunking any either.

Alright, on the entertainment front, I've mentioned earlier that I was currently crazy over a Japanese series known as Toradora!, and I would seriously recommend this series to any romantic (and otaku-ish) fan out there, as the rapport and relationship between the two leads develop is simply amazing. Toradora! is simply a story about two friends, Aisaka Taiga (tiger, or 'tora-) and Takasu Ryuuji (dragon, or '-dora') and the life they share together, first as classmates, then neighbors, friends and eventually lovers.

I particularly adore this anime because I simply like the inimitable interaction between the both of them. Nevertheless, while I was watching this series, a question kept occuring to me: Can a guy and a girl simply be platonic friends without going any further? People who know me would know my stand on this (and why I hated Harry Potter canon) and this series just reinforced my views on that. Well, this obsession is really taking me far, much further than any other anime I've watched this year, as I've even taken to reading the light novels (translated, of course).

Fans of Rie Kugimiya would be please to note that she still rocks as a tsundere character while the relatively unknown seiyuu of Ryuuji, Junji Majima performed pretty well as well (in the anime). I can go on and on about this series, but I would probably do it separately later on (if I were to ever do that...hehe). Suffice to say, it's good, and I would recommend people to watch/read it.

The game that entered my life (and contributed to my current work-inundated situation) would be Morrowind, courtesy of Gerard. A real-time RPG game published by Bethesda and Ubisoft, Morrowind is the third game to be set in the fictional realm of Tamriel, after Arena and Daggerfall.

As with all of the other Bethesda games, Morrowind is particularly loved (and hated) by RPG fans because of its non-linearity and is specifically hated (or loved) again by RPG fans for its numerous bugs. Set in the realm of of the same name as the game, a home of the proud and cruel Dark Elves (or Dunmer, as they prefer to be called) Morrowind portrays a brilliant new look into the world that Bethesda painstakingly created. With a new culture (that of the Dunmer) that goes far beyond common stereotypes and an expansive lore (books are particularly numerous in the game), Morrowind is a truly immersive game, and quite certainly an excellent RPG to waste away one's free time at.

An additional item to note would be the Construction Set that it comes with, and one can simply just create one's own story and game. Brilliant, I'd say!

Woaah, I've actually been typing for almost an hour straight (see how easily I waste an hour?) and since I've yet to prepare for my class, further revelations I've recently discovered have t be put on the back-burner, at least for a while. Till the next time my muse visits me, ciao, and adios, amigos!

P.S. Khairy won the Youth Chief post, so I'm happy!

P.P.S. Shahrizat won as well, so I'm doubly happy!

P.P.P.S. I've actually seen Zaid Ibrahim in person, so I'm triply happy!