Monday, January 31, 2011
My birthday wishes
So I turned 19 yesterday. No big deal eh? Well really, I'd like to dedicate this post by saying that over 118 people wished me happy birthday on that great social network, Facebook; that amount was also bolstered by the many other people who personally wished me happy birthday. The only reason that I mention this is because last year, and the year before, I had only gotten a combine 40 wishes. But dang, this year I felt loved like no other! Thanks a ton guys!
Monday, January 3, 2011
WTF USA Hockey
We lost to Canada 4-1 tonight. Yeah, they're the "underdogs" and all and we had 8 returnees from last year's Gold Medal winning team, but jesus. We got thoroughly outplayed tonight, and I had to question whether some guys were even trying and made the effort; it was totally lackluster on our part. I mean, I know Canada's more prepared and all, but geez, it's not like they're THAT much better than us. Then again, I knew it probably wasn't very promising if our goalie, Jack Campbell, was our player of the game; when it's your goalie that gets that, you're kinda screwed. I'm just pissed that we blew our chance at playing for gold, for a second straight year. And knowing how we've played in previous bronze medal games, I'm not too confident about our chances against Sweden on Wednesday.
A Hellish Tour
As he stepped onto the bus, map in hand and sun shining down on him, he was expecting a fine day of soaking in the sights and sounds of the city. At the bus stop, he was studying the map, pouring over the information that it had to offer, knowing little of the nightmare that he was about to step in to. When the doors of the double decker bus closed behind him, his hell started.
"Wait a minute, what the heck is going on here?" he thought to himself. "Where is the double decker bus I just stepped in to? This is...a nightmarish puzzle!"
When he stepped onto the bus, he somehow found himself transported to not just the top, but a sadistic puzzle. There was maybe two feet of walkway space, going all the way around in a rectangle. In the middle of this realm, there was just empty sky, with an endless abyss for unlucky souls to fall into it, trapped for all eternity.
Fortunately, he knew what to do; it was like a voice in his head told him that he would never be able to get back into the world he knew, unless he could maneuver safely. He then set about carefully walking one step at a time to advance around the perimeter of the ledge. Finally, after an excruciatingly long time of careful maneuvering, he managed to find his way out, and was magically transported to the interior of the bus.
Inside, the bus resembled the average bus with some tourists and locals inside, yet it strangely had...poles to grab on and hang on to that were scattered all along the interior. And he was transported to a small mat at the back of the interior. His intuition, for the second time that afternoon, had told him something important to his survival-that the bottom of the bus' floor, once you got off the mat, was covered in land mines; one small step and he would be blown up into many pieces. The only solution? Having to swing from bar to bar and avoid touching the ground at all costs. Fortunately, he was a gymnast in his youth, so he was used to swinging on bars. In the meantime, there were laughing tourists walking in at every stop, while he was literally hanging on for dear life. Girls wearing clothes better suited for the Mediterranean were walking in, talking to each other and laughing, while he, he of all people, was desperately fighting to stay alive each second.
"How can they be smiling and laughing and not notice my plight!?" he furiously wondered. "And how can they walk on the ground without being blown up? Oh man, I'm in some sort of hell!"
While he was furiously pondering where and why he was in this situation, a sudden crowd of what he believed to be demonic pawns in this sadistic game impeded his sight and reach to the next pole. As he couldn't reach the pole, it gave him time to look up and see the sights outside of the "bus". It was funny, he thought that the apartments by the streets were unusually tall; they looked as if they were about eight or nine stories tall. And speaking of streets, there was only one street that he noticed; wait, has this bus been going in one continuous circle? And why don't I see any cars, shops, or people on the streets? I am in a twisted realm, and I'm probably being watched, and mocked, by some unknown demons, struggling to survive.
"I don't know where I am, but I will do whatever it takes to get out of this, this...nightmare!"
"Wait a minute, what the heck is going on here?" he thought to himself. "Where is the double decker bus I just stepped in to? This is...a nightmarish puzzle!"
When he stepped onto the bus, he somehow found himself transported to not just the top, but a sadistic puzzle. There was maybe two feet of walkway space, going all the way around in a rectangle. In the middle of this realm, there was just empty sky, with an endless abyss for unlucky souls to fall into it, trapped for all eternity.
Fortunately, he knew what to do; it was like a voice in his head told him that he would never be able to get back into the world he knew, unless he could maneuver safely. He then set about carefully walking one step at a time to advance around the perimeter of the ledge. Finally, after an excruciatingly long time of careful maneuvering, he managed to find his way out, and was magically transported to the interior of the bus.
Inside, the bus resembled the average bus with some tourists and locals inside, yet it strangely had...poles to grab on and hang on to that were scattered all along the interior. And he was transported to a small mat at the back of the interior. His intuition, for the second time that afternoon, had told him something important to his survival-that the bottom of the bus' floor, once you got off the mat, was covered in land mines; one small step and he would be blown up into many pieces. The only solution? Having to swing from bar to bar and avoid touching the ground at all costs. Fortunately, he was a gymnast in his youth, so he was used to swinging on bars. In the meantime, there were laughing tourists walking in at every stop, while he was literally hanging on for dear life. Girls wearing clothes better suited for the Mediterranean were walking in, talking to each other and laughing, while he, he of all people, was desperately fighting to stay alive each second.
"How can they be smiling and laughing and not notice my plight!?" he furiously wondered. "And how can they walk on the ground without being blown up? Oh man, I'm in some sort of hell!"
While he was furiously pondering where and why he was in this situation, a sudden crowd of what he believed to be demonic pawns in this sadistic game impeded his sight and reach to the next pole. As he couldn't reach the pole, it gave him time to look up and see the sights outside of the "bus". It was funny, he thought that the apartments by the streets were unusually tall; they looked as if they were about eight or nine stories tall. And speaking of streets, there was only one street that he noticed; wait, has this bus been going in one continuous circle? And why don't I see any cars, shops, or people on the streets? I am in a twisted realm, and I'm probably being watched, and mocked, by some unknown demons, struggling to survive.
"I don't know where I am, but I will do whatever it takes to get out of this, this...nightmare!"
Random thought, inspired by Narnia
So while I was watching the latest Narnia movie (see my last post for my review of it), I was wondering, why can't my legacy be known as some hero or some stoic figure? I mean, yeah, I probably don't have those certain qualities, but damn if I don't want to be known as somebody, whether it's in life or music or whatnot. It'd be nice to get recognized, but hey, it's wishful thinking on my part.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader review
So I saw The Voyage of the Dawn Treader last night, and I came away very impressed. The acting was very solid and the special effects were solid as well. It may not have been as action oriented as the previous two movies in the series, especially Prince Caspian, but it was a treat to watch.
Moving away from the previous two movies in the Chronicles of Narnia series, TVotDT focused on Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, as both Susan and Peter Pevensie were "too old" to return to Narnia. Personally, I liked this more because it got to focus more on Edmund and Lucy's characters more, instead of glancing over them in the last two movies. And I was surprised, as I liked both of their characters, and Caspian as well; I don't know what it was, but they all were very likable characters that you were rooting for them from the very outset. A new character that was introduced in the movie was the Pevensie's obnoxious cousin Eustace. Eustace is a kid who, to put it very bluntly, is a tool. He complained a TON and was greedy; I wanted to smack him several times. But the beauty of it was that the actor totally brought his personality out and was highly successful at making him be an asshole. Though at the end of the movie, he went through a personality change (more on that later). The acting was great throughout, and I thought that it was one of the best parts of the movie! You felt connected to the actors, you felt like you were there with the characters, and you felt happy/sad when their journey was over (literally).
The thing that I thought brought the movie down a bit, but not too much, was the plot. While yes, it is based on C.S. Lewis' books, I felt that the course of the movie was a bit odd; the end was a bit anticlimactic in my opinion (but again, that's just my opinion) while the beginning and middle parts started off rather fast. And come to think of it, it's a bit vague why the Dawn Treader was sailing around, and why Lucy and Edmund were summoned there in the first place; these questions were asked in the very beginning, and unless I missed something, I don't think they were ever answered. Thankfully, these minor faults do not get in the way of your enjoyment whatsoever!
Overall I really enjoyed the movie. It has action, beautiful CGI, and great acting. What more can you want from a movie? I give this, 4.25 out of 5 stars.
Moving away from the previous two movies in the Chronicles of Narnia series, TVotDT focused on Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, as both Susan and Peter Pevensie were "too old" to return to Narnia. Personally, I liked this more because it got to focus more on Edmund and Lucy's characters more, instead of glancing over them in the last two movies. And I was surprised, as I liked both of their characters, and Caspian as well; I don't know what it was, but they all were very likable characters that you were rooting for them from the very outset. A new character that was introduced in the movie was the Pevensie's obnoxious cousin Eustace. Eustace is a kid who, to put it very bluntly, is a tool. He complained a TON and was greedy; I wanted to smack him several times. But the beauty of it was that the actor totally brought his personality out and was highly successful at making him be an asshole. Though at the end of the movie, he went through a personality change (more on that later). The acting was great throughout, and I thought that it was one of the best parts of the movie! You felt connected to the actors, you felt like you were there with the characters, and you felt happy/sad when their journey was over (literally).
The thing that I thought brought the movie down a bit, but not too much, was the plot. While yes, it is based on C.S. Lewis' books, I felt that the course of the movie was a bit odd; the end was a bit anticlimactic in my opinion (but again, that's just my opinion) while the beginning and middle parts started off rather fast. And come to think of it, it's a bit vague why the Dawn Treader was sailing around, and why Lucy and Edmund were summoned there in the first place; these questions were asked in the very beginning, and unless I missed something, I don't think they were ever answered. Thankfully, these minor faults do not get in the way of your enjoyment whatsoever!
Overall I really enjoyed the movie. It has action, beautiful CGI, and great acting. What more can you want from a movie? I give this, 4.25 out of 5 stars.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Winter Classic 2011
Caps win 3-1 over the Penguins! I can't think of very many ways to start off the new year, and man oh man this is great!
2010 in Review
Well it's that time of year again, or at least, it's the start of the new year. Since today is the first day of 2011, I figured I'd do my year in review feature here. The best of and the worst of will be here, or at least how much I can remember from the last year. Here we go:
- January 1, 2010, obviously
- USA Hockey winning gold at the World Juniors!
- Getting through the last half of senior year
- Turning 18. Not the best way to celebrate (long story), but hey, I became legal, as scary as that is.
- Making it to All-District Band, which I was really proud of, even if I was the top chair in the second band; it's the fact that I made it that counted
- Winter Break, round 2
- The fact that no matter what, nobody else in high school will likely ever get that much snow and that long a break. Totally was the best way to really wrap up senior year. =)
- Playing a ton of hockey, despite not being able to play high school hockey in senior year. Eh, I guess it actually worked out better for me after all, so I'm not to mad about that.
- Getting broken up with the day after my birthday. In retrospect, it a) probably was my fault that I didn't live up to my half of the relationship and b) it's actually kinda funny now that I think about it. Gotta live and let live, after all.
- Reston Spring High School hockey. While we went 1-8-1, it was still a blast playing with you guys. We had some amazing times in the locker room. Thanks guys for having a great season regardless of our record.
- Hanging out with people you've known throughout high school and realizing that you may never see some of them again
- Graduating. I'm gonna miss you guys.
- Skipping the day of prom to go play pickup hockey (and to get new skates)
- Then skipping prom to go play pickup (outdoors roller) hockey. And not caring that I missed prom at all.
- Okay so I'll admit, I was slightly jealous afterwards when I saw the pictures of everybody dressed up for prom. But then I realized, I'm doing what I love to do, and nothing is better than hockey.
- Playing a ton of pickup hockey over the summer
- Going to Montreal and Quebec City in August. Amazing people, amazing sights, amazing food, and an amazing time.
- Going off to UMW orientation, and being nervous as hell for it
- Meeting tons of people at UMW, and having a great time
- Starting college classes, and also being really bleeping scared
- My very first college test/quiz
- Meeting awesome people in my classes
- 8 AM classes every day in the week, which actually wasn't too bad as you may have thought
- Russell Hall, 4th floor. That's all that needs to be said.
- The various things thrown out the window(s) on our floor
- Thanks to Beijing, our first fire drill due to a lack of water in his mac n' cheese mix
- An additional two fire drills due to improperly microwaved popcorn bags, on 1st and 3rd floors
- Failing 6 of 7 fire drills in the semester
- 1.7 gpa for the first semester =(
- Landing on academic probation cause of said gpa =(
- The promise of next semester
- Playing street hockey for an hour and a half in the pouring rain
- Winning the Eagle One Cup, our holy grail of our street hockey club
- Playing for 2 and a half hours in that championship. We won 10-7, 8-10, 3-0 to clinch the cup.
- Beating a certain S. Brown once again in that game
- Having a blast for the Club Tennis team
- The random late night mayhem with friends
- 3 AM Sporcle quizzes
- Sporcle-offs in the downstairs lobby
- Getting our floor fined for doing stupid stuff, for god knows what reasons
- The stealthy stealing of chairs from both sides of the floor
- Going on break for a month, and missing all of your friends
Well, here's to an even better 2011. Cheers.
- January 1, 2010, obviously
- USA Hockey winning gold at the World Juniors!
- Getting through the last half of senior year
- Turning 18. Not the best way to celebrate (long story), but hey, I became legal, as scary as that is.
- Making it to All-District Band, which I was really proud of, even if I was the top chair in the second band; it's the fact that I made it that counted
- Winter Break, round 2
- The fact that no matter what, nobody else in high school will likely ever get that much snow and that long a break. Totally was the best way to really wrap up senior year. =)
- Playing a ton of hockey, despite not being able to play high school hockey in senior year. Eh, I guess it actually worked out better for me after all, so I'm not to mad about that.
- Getting broken up with the day after my birthday. In retrospect, it a) probably was my fault that I didn't live up to my half of the relationship and b) it's actually kinda funny now that I think about it. Gotta live and let live, after all.
- Reston Spring High School hockey. While we went 1-8-1, it was still a blast playing with you guys. We had some amazing times in the locker room. Thanks guys for having a great season regardless of our record.
- Hanging out with people you've known throughout high school and realizing that you may never see some of them again
- Graduating. I'm gonna miss you guys.
- Skipping the day of prom to go play pickup hockey (and to get new skates)
- Then skipping prom to go play pickup (outdoors roller) hockey. And not caring that I missed prom at all.
- Okay so I'll admit, I was slightly jealous afterwards when I saw the pictures of everybody dressed up for prom. But then I realized, I'm doing what I love to do, and nothing is better than hockey.
- Playing a ton of pickup hockey over the summer
- Going to Montreal and Quebec City in August. Amazing people, amazing sights, amazing food, and an amazing time.
- Going off to UMW orientation, and being nervous as hell for it
- Meeting tons of people at UMW, and having a great time
- Starting college classes, and also being really bleeping scared
- My very first college test/quiz
- Meeting awesome people in my classes
- 8 AM classes every day in the week, which actually wasn't too bad as you may have thought
- Russell Hall, 4th floor. That's all that needs to be said.
- The various things thrown out the window(s) on our floor
- Thanks to Beijing, our first fire drill due to a lack of water in his mac n' cheese mix
- An additional two fire drills due to improperly microwaved popcorn bags, on 1st and 3rd floors
- Failing 6 of 7 fire drills in the semester
- 1.7 gpa for the first semester =(
- Landing on academic probation cause of said gpa =(
- The promise of next semester
- Playing street hockey for an hour and a half in the pouring rain
- Winning the Eagle One Cup, our holy grail of our street hockey club
- Playing for 2 and a half hours in that championship. We won 10-7, 8-10, 3-0 to clinch the cup.
- Beating a certain S. Brown once again in that game
- Having a blast for the Club Tennis team
- The random late night mayhem with friends
- 3 AM Sporcle quizzes
- Sporcle-offs in the downstairs lobby
- Getting our floor fined for doing stupid stuff, for god knows what reasons
- The stealthy stealing of chairs from both sides of the floor
- Going on break for a month, and missing all of your friends
Well, here's to an even better 2011. Cheers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
