Hey guys... Hope you're having a good break! Sorry I've been quiet, had stuff to take care of ya know? :P

hehe I'm just going to quickly summarize the stuff I've been up to...

This last weekend, I hosted a little DDR tournament... It was pretty fun seeing that many people devoted to the game all in one place. I also loved to organize the tournament. Thinking back on it, I loved getting everything set up and planned out. I think this is what I want to do now! Not organize DDR tournaments, but organize other things like events or such. Sounds funny to say that, seeing as how I even hate to plan what I'll be doing in the next half hour. It felt like I was productive. Odd...

Anyway, I was only able to spend a few days back home, and most of it was with family. Headed out to my aunts place for both eve and day... It was a little odd not having Jeff around this year. He's usually my backup, since these things do often get really boring. (imagine trying to relate with all these ancient, old people. I think the closest age wise were my cousins at about 10 years apart.) So... yeah... Sorry I wasn't able to hang with you guys! Next time you have to take me to the clubs :)

Ahh the day after christmas. I hope everyone got what they wanted... I didn't ask for a thing this year, but got stuff anyway! Parents got me one of those spachula (whatever, can't spell..) spreaders... You know, the one that I thought was extremely nifty when Jon was selling those dope knives? They thought I lost my original. So I guess I have two... I'm dangerous with them! And yes, I must admit, the cutco knife does get the job done better. I went out with one of my old, school friends (*note: I had to add the comma between old and school after reading this thing again. Damn the slang.) that day for video games and movies :) What can be better? I gotta introduce him sometime, he's a good guy... Anyway, the point of that was we went and saw Equilibrium that night. Um. Well... It's not ACTION PACKED! Like it so advertises, but it is somewhat interesting. It was definitely worth $3.00 to see it, but not regular admission. I had to keep from snickering at a few parts. I donno, you guys might like it... I'll go see it again just to point out the great parts and spoil the movie for you! Speaking of Drumline.... Nah, I won't waste my breath on such a stupid concept for a movie.

Next few days: Work work and work. Some fun was had... Well, not really. But I guess making money is good on some point. I need to find a better job soon. I am not going to stay there all of next year, I can guarantee. (Unless they get the next DDR that came out a few days ago!)

Today... Went out to Sacramento to take a look at the new DJ game they just recieved, Beatmania. Lots of fun, and dragged a few others along with me :) Just got back a few hours ago, and decided to post here!

The Point (hehe couldn't resist.)
I guess the point in telling you all this was to reflect on how greatful I am for the amount of freedom I have nowadays. For some reason, in the past few years, it's felt like I was following a set path, that I couldn't stray. I had invisible barriers blocking a lot of stuff that I could have been doing. It's like I finally woke up. I have all this freedom and I haven't been using it very wisely! I know I won't be able to do half of these things above if I had a girl to worry about! I guess it's time to live a little!

Mmm, as for Jon's post about Moulin Rouge... I actually liked that movie. The color was a little too bright, but the singing was really nice... I'm turning into more of the J-Pop fan now, but for american female vocalists... I can't name that many... Mariah Carey of course, but that's about it. Just don't get me started on J-Pop :P

Alright, that's enough from me. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon sometime to torture you all with my presence. Unfortunately, it may be cut short as I have to work on New Year's Eve (If it doesn't rain.) and New Year's Day. I'd just like to say that whoever would voluntarily spend their time at Scandia to bring in the new year should be, and will be kicked in the head. By me. Who will be there involuntarily because of said bitches. Peace.

Bryant
LOVE THE SOCKS. Thanks, man.
I already told him that, but I know how you all love reading about socks. Enjoy, chuckas.

Giftage
I can't wait til Christmas. I have you guys' gifts ready. [checks calendar] Dammit.

Ok, but they are ready and it'd be cool to get everyone together so I can dump them on you all at once and you can trade if you don't like the flavor you got (I like beef but to each his own... broth). Maybe we can make it a dinner party, just tell Brendan to boil 2 cups for you ahead of time.

I can wait if some people aren't ready or are being APhiO fanatics or are chained to the DDR machine at Scandia. But let's do this before "education" tears us apart once again.

Wanted: a girl with a sweet voice
I've always preferred male vocalists to female. Boyz II Men, Shai, New Edition, Soul For Real. Brian McKnight, Michael Jackson. Something has just appealed to me more about them. Maybe it's the range in the group harmonies. Maybe I like to sing along and pretend I sound like them. Or maybe I don't want to sing along about the guy of my dreams. But whatever the reason, I've never been drawn to female singers. The only female artist I'd claim to be a fan of is Janet Jackson (well I have Lauryn Hill's CD, but that's about the lyrics). This never bothered me, since I always have some kinda good music to listen to.

But then... "Come What May" from Moulin Rouge. Nicole Kidman. oooh. Her voice is like silk sliding into my ear, tingling and titillating sans mercy. Maybe it's the notes she's singing... maybe it's the accent... I don't know. But I like it, and want more. Unfortunately, Ms. Kidman is lagging on her new record release. So I'm left with a longing for which my only current cure is a single track on neverending repeat. Not the worst of fates, considering I really like the song and Ewan McGregor does a good job too... but the spice of life would be preferred.

I've been asking people lately who they think are outstanding female vocalists. I repeatedly get the same answers: Mariah Carey. Christina Aguilera. Maybe a few others. I can see how these ladies are talented, but they just don't have the same effect. I mentioned this to Alex, and he suggested that maybe it's because I'm looking in the wrong genre. This is a strong possibility. What with the current state of R&B and pop music, vocal talent is often not showcased to its potential. Catchy beats and girl power raps or just talking are all the rage, jump on the bandwagon and let's make some horseshiet. So maybe I need to listen to something old, or something different (from musicals maybe). But I don't know where to start. Someone help me out here.

Equilibrium
I am intrigued and excited to see this movie. We must go when Steve gets back. All the newspapers seem to hate it. My friend said it was really cool and recommended it highly. On IMDB it got a more-than-good score of 8.4, averaged from over 700 people. In contrast, Drumline only got 6.5, but the newspapers all say DON'T MISS IT!!! Soon, we shall find out who we can trust and who's full of shiet.