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Friday, 12 December 2008

Currently
The Beatles - Revolution
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Yay, last blog ever.

So this is my final blog to write in English 103. After this, I will no longer have to worry about a blog grade and thus will no longer be writing blogs. I understand why we had to do this on a weekly basis, but I'm not going to lie: I still hate blogging, and I still think it's one of the most useless things on the internet.

After this blog is graded, I'll be deactiving this account and will never touch it again. I just do not like blogging, at all.

The class of English 103 has been fun, and I admit that I do like writing papers for a class, but I will not miss Xanga or blogging in general. If I never have to type www.xanga.com into a web browser again, I'll be perfectly fine with that. It's a little sad that the class has come to an end--that I'll probably never see most of the other kids in the class, or even Hailey--but I'm extremely happy that my blogging days are over.

I have English 104 next semester, which of course means a lot more writing in general, but I seriously hope that I'm not required to do another bi-weekly blog, or a blog at all for that matter. Writing papers for a class is fun, writing blogs is not.

I admit that my opinion is obviously biased--for what reason, I don't really know. I just know that I despise blogging, and always have. I never want to do it again.

But aside from that, yes, I did enjoy the class.
More About D&D

So for the past few weeks, my friends and I have been playing a decent amount of Dungeons & Dragons. At night, after dinner, when all of our classes are over, we come to Stu-West and play. We come to my room, grab the books, dice, etc., and then find an empty study lounge and commandeer it for a Dungeons & Dragons campaign.

Considering that I have so much additional money on my Dining Plus since I'm on a 10-meal plan, I typically buy everyone snacks and drinks before we begin. So we go down to the Micro-Cafe on Stu-West's first floor or grab some stuff from Lafollette's similar mini-market and I swipe it all on my card. I mean, what's a game of Dungeons & Dragons without some munchies and soda?

So we take our snacks, books, and all of our other nerdy stuff into whatever study lounge we find (typically it ends up being one on a different floor, just for the heck of it), and play. We of course grab comfortable chairs, and then move everything around a single table to play in the most effective manner. Don't worry, though, we always put things back when we're finished. We're geeks, not douches.

If hearing that I play Dungeons & Dragons doesn't make me sound nerdy enough, I've also being Dungeon Mastering a campaign for my friends since nobody else has been putting forth the effort. For being my first time, I think I'm doing pretty well. Then again, I'm pretty arrogant and self-confident in anything I do--but the fact that I acknowledge this doesn't stop me from believing in my awesomeness.

Friday, 05 December 2008

Currently
The Beatles (The White Album)
By The Beatles
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Yay, Christmas!

So Thanksgiving and it's wonderful food has past, and now Christmas is closing in on us. Oh, how fanstastic Christmas is.

I'll be real honest with you--I'm spoiled. Really, really, spoiled. If I was a selfish, loveless child I could get anything and everything that I ever wanted from my parents. However, I have learned as I've grown older that I shouldn't think of only myself, and must give love and thought to all those around me. To be honest, I've grown to care and think of those around me before I ever consider myself.

But the fact is, I still like receiving Christmas gifts. I've gotten expensive presents before: a PS2 when it was new, an Xbox 360, etc. But I prefer to keep the expenses that my parents willingly spend on me to a minimum. This year I've only asked for two gifts.

The first gift is the new Prince of Persia video game on the Xbox 360. The game came out just a few days ago, and will provide me with an activity (aside from D&D) for over Christmas break. I've always been a huge fan of the Prince of Persia series (I've played the Sands of Time trilogy several times through on my PS2) and have been waiting for this game for quite some time.

The second gift I've asked for is Beatles -- The Complete Scores (http://www.amazon.com/Beatles-Complete-Scores/dp/0793518326/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228503845&sr=8-1). The book contains scores of music for all of the Beatles' recorded sessions. I would really enjoy learning to play the music on bass, guitar, and piano. I also play the trumpet, for that matter.

So yeah, that's my 2008 Christmas.
Yeah, I play D&D. So what?

What's the nerdiest, most antisocial activity that you could possibly thing of? I'm guessing Dungeons and Dragons is probably the answer.

Dungeons and Dragons has always had a negative connotation in society. In the "Bible Belt," as this region has been aptly named, Dungeons and Dragons has been slandered as witchcraft, satanic worship, and numerous other ridiculous insults by the more superstitious denominations of "Christianity." And if a person doesn't give in to that nonsense, chances are they probably thing Dungeons and Dragons is just a lame hobby for kids who'll never have girlfriends. Well, that last part actually may be true, but still...

But I don't care. Not that I'm a nonconformist--I would never claim to go out of my way to be different--but I love the game and refuse to give into the pressure of society. Dungeons and Dragons is a lot of fun, if you have a good imagination. It's like playing a video game, but more personal. You have infinite possibilities in almost every aspect; you develop your character's personality, you choose what you say in a conversation, and you decide how you're going to slay that orc standing in front of you(shall you tackle it and throw it off the cliff, or will you just impale it on your pike the old fashioned way?). The game is all about freedom and creativity. There is no worship of idols, no dark magic. It's just pure, innocent, no-evil-involved fun. And I love it.

Friday, 21 November 2008

Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving. If it isn't the best holiday of the year, then it's a close second behind Christmas. All that wonderful food, it's so great! Thanksgiving dinners are one of the things that I look forward to as the year comes to a close. Best part of all, I get to have at least two Thanksgiving dinners this year, one on Thanksgiving and one on the Saturday after.

Pumpkin pie is most definitely the greatest pie around, and there's always at least one sitting on the counter at a Thanksgiving dinner at my house. Turkey is absolutely delicious, as is the accompanying stuffing. Speaking of stuffing, I always feel sick after eating it, but it's so awesome that I do it anyways. Mashed potatoes are the only way to serve potatoes (aside from perhaps some really good french fries) and it's guaranteed that you'll be seeing some of those within a Thanksgiving meal. And then there's this "fluff" stuff that my mother typically makes, and I'm not really sure what goes in it but it tastes amazingly good as well. Speaking of Thanksgiving food makes my hungry right now...

I've also spent some of my BSU meals on canned food, like Ravioli, Spaggetti-Os, Lasagna, etc. that I'll be donating to a canned food drive for people that don't have the money to make true Thanksgiving dinners. I'm up to 10 cans so far.

Everything about Thanksgiving is awesome. The food, the atmosphere, the fact that I'm not required to go to class--it's all too perfect. I love Thanksgiving.