Great thoughts of Fleeting substance

Okay, yes, it is *technically* true that a month has passed since I last updated. And yes, that might *seem* like a long time, but consider it compared to the amount of time the universe has been around. Hundreds of billions of years! Doesn’t seem so long now, does it?

So allow me to hit some of the highlights. The Video Games Live concert was awesome. The Hollywood Bowl, a place I’ve not been before, was also terrific. We drove just a little bit down the street from my old apartment (more on that later), parked in a big lot, and a great big bus drove us down to the concert venue. We were in bench (as opposed to box) seating, and you’re allowed to bring food and even wine along with you. So J(5) and I brought some sandwiches and some peach wine (delicious) for dinner and had a nice little pre-concert dinner. We then cuddled up for warmth until the concert started (the whole venue is outdoors). The concert itself was tremendous fun. I actually squealed when they started playing Zelda. They also had Tron, Mario, and the like, as well as some more modern games whose musical scores are already pretty orchestral. Metal gear solid, Advent Rising, Halo, and Brothers in Arms, for those of you that know these things. Anyway, great concert, great venue, great fun.

Also, I have a new address. I’ve been spending more and more time with J(5), and that’s quickly become *all* of my time. I can’t remember the last time I’ve slept over at my place. And it was quickly becoming just a nuisance for me to have my stuff at another location. Concurrently, my license expired, requiring me to go in and get a new one. So I made a couple of big leaps: I transferred my *computer* over to J(5)’s apartment (now that’s commitment) and I changed my drivers license so that I now live in El Segundo. That second one is nice because I am now eligible to get an El Segundo activity card, which means I don’t have to pay $3 every time I want to go swimming. At 3 or 4 times a week, that can quickly add up. Most of my stuff, by volume, is still over at what I’m now calling my ‘Roommate’s apartment’, but our lease is up in December, and neither of us are renewing. I’ll be slowly transitioning my stuff over here over the course of the next couple of months. I’ll be sending e-mails out to friends and family with my new address, but it’s a good idea to keep that sort of thing off the internet. That’s how people get your address for junk mail.

Other big news! I’m totally addicted to Castlevania for the Nintendo DS. Ok, maybe not so big. Anyway, it’s an absolute blast to play, and I’ve been bringing it along for car ride and all manner of time-wasters. I do, however, still put it down to make sure plenty of cuddling gets done. Also, my Roommate just spent a nice, long vacation over in Japan and other points in Asia and, because the Nintendo DS is region-free, which is to say it will play games from any place in the world, I had him bring me over a funky Japanese game that I’d heard some about. The name is Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! It’s a music game, it’s bizarre, look it up.

Oh, and speaking of Japan, and I’ll be a little vague here so as to maintain privacy, but it looks like I definitely have to make some plans to go to Japan soon, thanks to my Grandfather. Thanks, Papa!

I think I’ve managed to work out some details for what I want to do to my rewrite for my book. It’s mostly character development and world development stuff so that everything doesn’t feel so flat. I’m also clipping off a few dangling plot ends. Well, only one really. I mention ‘magic’ once, and then never again. That’s just silly. So with new ideas more firmly in mind, I can actually get back to re-writing. Thought that is, of course, likely to take a while.

Oh yeah! Late breaking news! Just happened today! I just passed the physical fitness portion of my ‘one-black-stripe’ test for TKD. Mile time: 7:58. Pushups and sit-ups, no problem. Flexibility, above average. That’s the hardest part, right there. The next trickiest part is the board break. It’s tough to hit a 1’ x 1’ board while jumping up in the air, backwards. It’s called a jumping back kick, and I have to do one through two boards. If I can hit it okay, it should be a breeze, but I’m still practicing. Anyway, they’ll check my form and board break and give me the ‘ok’ to test probably next week, so look forward to that.

Mmm…Oktoberfest tonight, lots of birthdays over the past few weeks, hanging out with people and generally goofing off…Don’t think there’s anything too much more critical to write about. So one last thing, and then I’ll sign off.

This happened to myself and J(5) a couple of weeks ago. We were walking to Barnes and Noble to look at books, because books are awesome, and I spot a homeless guy in the parking lot. Now when you live in LA, you see homeless a lot, and generally they’ll just ask you for change and let you go on your way (though I did get a ‘god bless you’ once). I recognized this guy as homeless mostly by his clothes, but initially I wasn’t sure, because he had just come out of Trader Joes and was pushing a shopping cart with bottles of water in it. So I wasn’t really sure until he passed J(5) and I, pushing his cart, and actually asked for change. The guy was buying bottled water and actually asking for change! Now those are some strange financial priorities.

This has been an ‘Only in California’ moment.

-N