Aside from video game related stuff, what’s been going on? Not much really… just been busy, trying to get things done as always (and stuff is getting done, which feels great, though not nearly enough I’m afraid). Hence why I’ve been laying pretty low; had to duck out on movie night once again this week and cut other social engagements off. But that?s how it goes.
Though last weekend I was able to relax a bit. Katie was in town, so I hung out with her which was super cool, along with MK and Robin. I recall one evening at the bar, I was talking about how crazy Koreans are (hey, as someone who’s half Korean, I have a free pass to say whatever I want, I’d like to think), which clearly annoyed the Korean guy in the group next to us (unfortunately, most people, not even other Koreans, can tell I’m half Asian).
MK & I also went out to Long Island to Dave‘s. She finally got to meet Dave’s mom and step-dad, which was sorta of a big deal in my mind since I’ve somewhat been adopted by the Roman family over the years, since my family is so far away. Also, I revealed something which I had never told anyone, ever before. Its one of those things that you maybe assume ever does or thinks and is therefore no big deal.
For me, ever since I was a little kid, I used to pretend that I was a robot or something, and wherever I looked, I would image all these charts and graphs and numbers crunching in the peripheral view. Remember how the Terminator saw stuff in the movies? Same thing.
As I grew older, the habit faded away (to be replaced with the idea that my eyes were a camera and that I was some walking cinematographer/director) but I do it every once in a while when I’m not feeling good. Specifically when my stomach is very upset and I really need to go to the bathroom. So to fight back the urge to go to hit the john, especially when I really can’t, such as if I’m in a subway train, I pretend that my “internal system” has to make adjustments or tap into some auxiliary power to prevent an accident. And when I start to feel that I’m dangerously close to, you know, shitting my pants or something, I imagine “DANGER! DANGER! CORE DUMP IMMINENT!!!” flashing across my vision.
Sounds really fucking crazy, I know. But hey, as someone who suffers from chronic irritable bowl syndrome, I’ve yet to crap myself! So it works.
Anyhow… I also did some light shopping over the weekend. Which I know sounds kinda foolish, since some might already know that my finances aren’t the best. But I’ve been pretty frugal and very good with money over the past few weeks, so I’m actually in a not so bad state right now (though selling stuff that I really don’t need anymore on eBay has really helped quite a bit as well). I took advantage of Virgin’s big sale by nabbing Wayne’s World on DVD for just $10, plus got MK Desperately Seeking Susan as a means to cheer her up, due to the hellish train ride out to LI earlier in the day.
When we got our seats on the LIRR train, I asked MK if she wanted to place her bag above her in the luggage compartment, but she thought it would be okay on the ground, near her feet. Then about 30 minutes into the ride, she went “Oh Jesus fuck…” and lifted her bag to reveal the entire bottom soaked with beer. And that’s easily one of the biggest reasons why riding the LIRR sucks dick: everyone on the fucking train is a god damn drunk. It was fucking 1:30 in the afternoon and yet people STILL had to having their fucking beers. Yeah, I know living if Ronkonkoma must be hell, but still, have a fucking grip. The dude behind us, who was obviously the culprit (and didn’t fucking apologize or anything) was the precise type of douchebag that one would expect of such a thing and that is so common on the LIRR: a skinny white guy in his forties with a scraggly mustache wearing a plain white sweatshirt, plus some New York sports team hat. What a piece of shit. And it wasn’t just him; to my right was some old lady, wearing a shawl, reading a Danielle Stelle book I bet, who also had a tall Budweiser in her hand. Fucking Long Island…
Thankfully MK’s bookbag is uber water resistant, so she placed it in the seat between us and dried it off with some napkins. When she put the bag away, there was some beer on the seat, which I wiped away. I then sat next to MK again, but after five minutes I realized that my jeans were wet. The beer had soaked through the seat and now were soaked through my pants. I had “beer ass.”
But back to the shopping…
I also got Cooking Mama for the DS as well. Yeah, there’s so many awesome games these past two weeks alone… Okami, Mega Man ZX, Rule of Rose, Rocket Slime… but instead of getting, say, the best Mega Man game in years, or the most beautiful looking game since Shadow of the Colossus, I got a cooking simulator instead. But hey, it was just $20. Anyway, its lots of fun! Though I must say, I’m not that upset whenever I fuck up and some hapless girl whom I’m suppose to protect gets eaten by zombies in Resident Evil 4 or am told “YOU DIED!”, but if I screw up and accidently over-boil some pasta and am told “Don’t worry. Mama will fix it.” I feel really horrible.
And since I’m talking about video games anyway, even though I wasn’t going to, I’m not go into any details regarding the Tokyo Game Show, but let’s just say that Sony is screwing it up big time. Yet, I now want a PSP once again.
Anyway, there’s quite a few things going on this weekend in the city. First there’s the Come Out and Play festival that takes place tomorrow, which I’m certain all my IGDA buddies will be expecting to see me at. Then later on in the evening is another chiptunes show at the Tank. Also, Michel Gondry’s new film, The Science of Sleep opens tonight, though I still haven’t decided if I want to see the exhibit at the Deitch before or after I see the movie.
But I won’t be around for any of it, because I have to take the train out to Jersey to put together books, for the Philly Zine Fest that happens on Sunday. There won’t be any new books from myself, nor MK, though I can’t speak for Robin or Liz who will also be joining us, but it will see the debut of the RMK Books “label”. And what does RMK stand for? Well… either Reed, Mary-Kate… Robin, Matt, and Katie… but not exclusively since Liz is also part of our crew. It can mean anything really. It’s just the one stop place for all our books at shows (and soon on the web). So if you’re going be around the Philly area that day, stop on by!
Alright, I’ve got a train to catch…
