Hamlet

There are no more classes.  There is only the work to be done.  Time to be spent.  Papers to be written.  Friends to miss already.  Foods to eat.

Hamlet to watch.

I guess I've never mentioned David Tennant.  He's super awesome.  He's a good actor, and so is Patrick Stewart.  And together, they are the respective protagonist and antagonist of a production of Hamlet.  It is a glorious thing.

He also happens to have played the Tenth Doctor on Doctor Who, which is also a thing.  And by a thing, I mean a thing that you should watch, because it's good.

This morning I played the last of the Guild Wars 2 beta up to three in the morning.  It was excellent.  There were terrible giant fiery moa birds.  We died a lot.

That's about it for today.  Talk to you tomorrow.

Manic Monday Morning

Last day of GW2 beta.  It goes till 3:00 in the morning for me.  MUST PLAY.

MUST WRITE PAPER.

MUST DO ALL THE THINGS.

Church this morning was good.  That was a thing.

Um....?  Finals week starts Wednesday, and I have till then to get it all done.  Life is good.  The Legend of Korra is a good show.  You should definitely be watching it.  But only after you've watched Avatar:  The Last Airbender.  Because that show is pretty much the best thing.  Do those things.  That's my contribution for the night.

I really don't have much else to say.  Sorry to be lame.

-shrug-

The Journal of Gregory Nime, entry 2

Nilbog made a mistake.  I suppose it was only a matter of time before he did something overwhelmingly stupid.  We let it happen.  He was so adamant about it, and we weren't about to force him to wait at the inn.  He struck out in the night to try the prison on his own.

I will have to wait until tomorrow to learn whether he survived this foolishness, but I know from the noise of the guards that he did not accomplish our mission.  It's going to be a terrible three days.

I know that I should not care so much about this.  Nills has never made overtures of friendship to me, despite having saved my life on nearly half a dozen occasions since we set out from Bach's inn together.  But he has saved my life more times than I can ignore, and—perhaps I'm overly idealistic—I still feel he's a better man than he knows he is.

I cannot leave him to rot in that prison.  I have to know if he still lives, and if he does, I have to give him freedom again.  Even if Ansley and Dreyfuss and Cobbermark decide to move on, I will stay.

I'm a mad fool.

A To-Do List and GUILD WARS 2

So here's what I have left for this semester:


English Grammar:  One eight to ten page research paper, and one take-home final exam due Wednesday morning.

Pres. Speaking:  Two short papers analyzing speeches due Thursday morning.  Exam 8:00am.

New Media:  Exam 4:00pm Monday, May 7.


Writer workshop:  Finished manuscript and a portfolio of my finest writing due during Finals Week.

It's the final stretch.  And yes, this is what's on my mind today.  This, and

GUILD WARS 2 BETA EVENT.  A little less than two hours from now, the floodgates will open, and I will... be in a meeting with some peers about my writing.  Then!  I can come home and log in. Maybe.  If my wife isn't buried in it on my computer.

At any rate, I am ridiculously excited about this.  Maybe I'll take some pictures or something.  Yes, I am blogging now so that I don't have to do it while I could be playing Guild Wars 2.

Sounding a Note

So I presented this video in my New Media and Society class this morning, and now I'm sharing it with everyone else.  I might do another blog today, or I might not.  We'll see.  I do have a lot of work to do preparing for my speech later today, and then working on some of the other projects I need to get done before the semester's over.

To watch the video, either follow the link above or watch it below:

Enjoy!

No Time for Blogs

I've spent all day trying to work on this speech, and it's still nowhere near acceptable.  Honestly I think I'll be okay so long as I don't somehow fail the speech, but I'm just not feeling this.  It's awful.

Yes, that is the dichotomy I am currently in.  It's gonna be okay.  This is awful.  Life is good.  I'm a honey badger.  Eat some pound cake.

Chocolate chip cookies.

Nope.  No stress here.

Madness aside, I'm excited because the Guild Wars 2 client is on my computer and the beta event's coming up.  And school is winding down, and I think (maybe?) I'm gonna survive this.  Most of my effort is going into maintaining a productive mindset.

As such, that's all I have to say today, and I'll ramble about some other stuff tomorrow, probably after I've lost it in front of my Presentational Speaking class.

Shruggety shrug mcshruggers.  Bye.

BIRTHDAY FEVER

So it's my birthday.  I was born twenty-two years ago today.  This is probably the first birthday I will spend not anticipating some sort of party, or some other shenanigans.  I feel like being a mature adult and just kind of going on with my life.

There's a sullen pit in there, somewhere, that wants nicely wrapped presents.  Maybe an iPhone or something stupid like that?  Video games.  The point being there's some part of me that wants stuff because that's what I got every birthday for a lotta years.

I don't particularly like that part of me, though I have come to terms with the fact that giving and receiving gifts is one of the languages that speak to me.  So I guess I'm actually spending quite a bit of this nonplussed at myself.

I'm also spending it reading Homestuck because HOLY CRAP HOW AM I NOT CAUGHT UP YET.

I am about to commence with feverish writing time for Workshop, then feverish bored/anxious time while I listen to speeches, and then feverish dishes-doing, and then feverish meatloaf eating, and then feverish I HAVE SO MUCH TO DO WHERE IS MY LIFE.  The latter will likely take place in my office, and I will probably be doing it late into the night.

So I guess, maybe, I have birthday fever?

I miss home.  I miss my college friends already.  Life is a weird thing.  I'm not even very unhappy.  Just a jumble of annoyance and excitement and contentment and discontentment all rolled into the semblance of a guy who needs to shave.

I'm gonna go write now.

-shrug-

I WROTE THIS IN PAGES BECAUSE THE INTERNET IS DUMB

I’m writing this blog on my word processor because the internet is being SO MANY BUTTS RIGHT NOW.  I mentioned a while back that I’m a bit, well, stuck on Homestuck.  This thing has only been going for—what—three years?  It’s huge.  A huge, labyrinthine timey wimey mindsplosion of amazing things.  Did I mention convoluted?  Because it is that.  To the point of hella.  Which is not an adjective a writer should use when speaking in his own voice.

Don’t judge me.  I have a degree.

Or I will in, like, two weeks.  I wrote eeks at first.  Did you know all you really need for a bachelor’s degree in writing is to frighten a couple mice?

On more serious topics, I punched myself in the face again today.  The unpleasantry was my own fault, and I hope it gave you a great deal of happiness.  Or, once again, whatever perverse name you have for what you feel when you watch a guy hit himself.

-shrug-

No wait!  I’m not done with the blog yet!  I did more than Homestuck and face punching today!  I also worked on those things I need to get done to accomplish that elusive goal I have set, without which my life is pretty much over.  There will be worse things to see than face-punching if I’m not BA by the end of May.

The Shallows is an interesting book, and I’m glad I was forced to read it for a class—for what that’s worth.  As a result of a speech I’m writing for my other class, incidentally, I fully intend to drastically increase my deep reading (or reading of physical books, or whatever you want to call the old way of doing things) so as to balance that part of my brain with the internet part that’s been getting stuffed full for the last four years.

Also, this week I should be downloading the client for Guild Wars 2, which has a Beta Weekend Event this weekend.  Wow that was redundant.  At any rate, I hereby bind myself by bloggery forespeech that I will not play the game until I’ve got my reading, a good amount of research, and one of those pesky papers out of the way.  It’s an undertaking, but with a juicy, delicious prize like GW2 waiting for me, I shall not want for motivation.  

It doesn’t hurt that if I don’t play the game, my wonderful wife certainly will, and enjoy it immensely.  I can enjoy it vicariously through her if necessary.

I think my rambling is finished for the day.  

-shrugs off-

Penance Mark II

So I was so busy yesterday that I forgot to do a blog.  As such, here's a video of me paying for my crimes.  Enjoy.  Or whatever it is you do when this happens.

Cats and Immortality

My wife wants a Maine Coon if we ever get a cat.  And I have to admit that such a cat would be pretty spectacular.  The only problem with getting a cat is that I have hopes to spend stupidly high amounts of time with my cousin, who is pretty allergic to cats.  I don't really like the hairless types much, either.

I also have this thing where I love animals but I don't really care for having pets.  My family had pets when I was younger, but they all died/disappeared/were re-homed by the time I was fifteen, and I've never really wanted one again since.  I got a bit attached to the ones we had, and knowing the stories of all their endings saddens me a lot.  I also go to know how much work goes into having a pet, and I don't really want to put that much effort into something that, ultimately, is categorically incapable of loving me back.

You see, I don't believe animals have souls.  Not that I don't believe heaven will be bereft of animals.  I believe there will be all sorts of creatures in the place I'll be after the end of time, but I just don't think my dogs Buddy or Midnight will be among them.  They aren't people.  There's nothing immutable about them.  Nothing to preserve.

Actually, I feel rather strongly on this issue.  Maybe it was that one girlfriend I had who believed the opposite that fashioned this rather vehement streak in me.  Maybe it's my pain at the loss of my pets.  Maybe it was my upbringing (I will be the first to say that my parents were always loving to their animals and never spoke with bitterness about their status as not-people).  But there, that's a thing about me that you may not have heard about.  You probably haven't heard it because it's never come up, or because I keep to myself because there are those out there who would string me up by my small intestine if they heard me say that animals other than humans don't have souls.  I really rather wouldn't have that conversation.

I mentioned earlier that I love animals.  And I do.  Because while rocks and blue skies and lakes are pretty enough, those things can't touch the heart-swelling (or panic-inducing) beauty of living things, be they trees or German Shepherds or giant squid.  Earth is full of these wonderful creatures who should be respected and protected.  Just not at the cost of human life.

That's where I draw the line.  Never, when a human's life is weighed against the life of any other creature, should the other creature's life take preference.  Not unless that creature is proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to be a sentient being with an immortal soul.  For me, that is one definition of the sanctity of human life.  It's also my big beef with utilitarianism.

The idea that the few be sacrificed for the many never really sat well with me.  Yeah, there's Christ.  I have feelings about that, too.  Not heretical feelings.  Just "Sometimes I wish there was a better way" feelings.

Now, though, I think I'm getting into deeper territory than this blog was intended for.  If you're interested, hit me up about truth and right and God's plan some time.  Preferably not during Finals week.  Once I have my writing degree would be nice.

Right this instant I'm going to eat some bacon and watch Star Trek:  Voyager with my wife.

Shrug out.