The Blogtastic Blogfest That Is Getmeoutofthis.net!

I have a test today.

I have no fucking idea why.

The more I think about it, the more annoyed I get. Why do I have a midterm? What sense does that make? This test basically does nothing to actually gauge my skill. It simply makes sure I’ve read, which I have, because I’ve been discussing these novels in class for weeks. It’s just kind of crazy.

Hear me out. I’m a grad student, and this is a grad-student-only class. All of us in this class have degrees. We’ve done our time. We’ve shown our commitment to learning, and proven we learn. This is what tests are for: to provide a score that proves learning, and to give incentive to pay attention in class to people who aren’t fully invested. But we’re grad students. We’re fully invested. We don’t need to do matching on quotes to prove our commitment to this thing. You’ve already caught us. Just let us learn.

It just seems extra crazy to me, given that part of the test is a take-home essay assignment. The topic for the essay could, easily, be a much longer essay than required. I mean, I don’t particularly want to write a long essay on this stuff, but at least that would make a little sense. That would prove my skills at grappling with these theoretical topics, instead of matching quotes for no reason for half the test score.

Grad school gives me benefits when I’m working through complex topics in my own way. The reason I’m there is to be pointed at the “right” topics to be concerned about, and then see how I deal with and interpret them by working through them with other people. It’s not about memorizing quotes, and it’s not about getting 100%. It’s about actual learning, with people who want to learn. This test isn’t that. I don’t get why we’re having it, and it annoys me that I’m wasting a whole week of class time on this.

I’m writing this on my iPod.

You see, this evening was really quite horrible. Sub-par! Was decent before that, but busy. I changed some oil, beat a game, and so on. Therefore, my planned ramble about Lost Planet 2 never happened. And now I’m blogging on an iPod. Yeah.

This WordPress app isn’t great. Then again, any app designed around typing a huge amount of text is going to be a bad experience on an iPod, but still. The interface goes crazy when I rotate the screen, for instance. Not solid.

Still, I guess I have it to thank for having content today, however horrible, so thanks, WordPress app! I’ll probably never use you again.

Okay, time to try to sleep.

Edit: And now, it’s the morning after. How did it do?
Passable.
It claimed to have posted on the wrong day, which I fixed, but the twitter integration did work, which was surprising. I figured that also would have fucked up.

Yeah, as I said, passable. A passable app. Maybe it would work better on an iPad. Then again, on the iPad I could just use the web interface I’m using now, so it’s kind of moot. Oh well.

Linkdump day! Linkdump day! Hey everybody, it’s Linkdump day!
Sing that to the tune of the Cartoon Planet Mailbag song.

But yes, it’s that magical time again where I have way too many tabs open. I need to fix that! Let me fix that. Here, for your enjoyment, are some tabs I have open.

Here’s a very impressive little song and hand dance routine that I was linked by Brer. It’s fun! I can’t get over the expression on the guy’s face.

This link is me being excited that Tron Bonne was officially announced for MvC3. I know that’s kind of old news now, but I missed the offical announcement, and recently discovered it. I have excitement. Tron is my super favorite.

I laugh every time I watch this touching moment with Sonic the Hedgehog.

Val linked me this short film. It’s pretty damn solid, though I dunno, some of the music is weird. Still, impressive. Worth your 15 minutes.

Anyway, there’s some viewing enjoyment for today. I hope you have fun watching them. Maybe I’ll write something significant tomorrow! Then again, I always say that and never do, so…

Mercenaries is fun.

I had always heard so much about Mercenaries, but of course, not having given a shit about any Resident Evil, I never played it. In 5, I wanted to try it.

But fuck, it’s hard.

To unlock more levels and characters, you have to get A ranks, a feat I simply couldn’t do. My brother and I tried the first area multiple times, and didn’t even get close. Twitter came in and attempted to give me some advice, but to no avail. I couldn’t do it.

Then I realized there were Resident Evil fans out there, waiting to help me.

It only stood to be the case that anyone playing pickup games of Mercenaries online at this point was really good. I hopped on Xbox Live and joined a random game. My focus was purely on survival. I knew I was dead weight, but I figured as long as I stayed alive, everyone else would carry me along.
I was right.
Soon I had unlocked several characters and maps! Awesome! Of course, then I got to the point where I couldn’t survive without actually being passable, and I stopped progressing. Still, I was having fun. The combat of RE5 is intense, in it’s own broken way, and all the balls to the wall co-op combat was addicting. I kept hopping into games and playing rounds until they booted me out for sucking so much.

It was fun!

I still wish it would have been easier. I could really enjoy the mode with friends if the difficulty was dialed down just a little bit, to the point where I could unlock all the toys and everyone could play with them. Man, though, that really is neat. Something like that with some custom classes built into the mix… I’d pay 10 bucks to play that online, easily. It really is a huge little extra mode.

Of course, it’s only significant to me because this one has co-op, but, you know. That’s why I enjoy Resident Evil 5.

A wise man once said, “If you’re going to cut it, cut it close.”

This is about the closest I’ve cut it on my “daily post” idea since I started it. Seeing as it’s already the day of this posting. Still, I’m doing it! I mean, I teased Brer about writing a guest post, but I was going to get something up here, dammit!

Of course, I never promised it was going to be interesting.

Oftentimes, when I remember I need to write one of these, I sigh and wonder why I put such importance in it. I mean, I know some people read it, and that is super cool, but I doubt anyone would cry if I stopped posting. (And now it’s looking like I’m looking for people to tell me they enjoy this and blah blah… not what I’m wanting, really. Just being unable to think of another way to say what I’m wanting to say here.) It’s not a job or something like that. Having a website is something I am paying money to have. It’s something I’m doing for me on some level. But what if what I want to do is play a game? Or sit on my ass? Why do I make myself write?

Whenever I feel that panic that I haven’t written something and it’s getting late, I know why I do this.

I am damn, damn proud that something goes up on this site every day, even if it’s mostly useless ramblings and very biased game impressions. I think it’s fantastic that I am generating so much text. Am I proud of all of it? Not all of it. I find typos sometimes days later, and I’m not golden every day, or most days, even. Am I proud that I haven’t missed a day in years? That’s right, multiple years? You better believe it. This has been the most successful project I’ve ever undertaken, and I think that’s neat.

Am I going to let the fact that I’m busy as fuck stop this blog? Nope. You’ll get bullshit every day. Come back tomorrow! I’ll tell you about Resident Evil 5.

I’ve had a root canal.

This is always described as the worst dental procedure one could have done. Since it’s the only real surgery of any kind I have ever had done, I was extremely nervous about it, but in the end, it went fantastically well, and now you get to read about it, I guess.

All the people at the Endodontist’s office were quite nice. They were extremely informative on what was happening, what needed to be done, and what I should do in the future, but they also weren’t persecuting me for needing dental work done. This is something I had kind of worried about. I was really embarrassed by this whole tooth thing, and I didn’t really want to be embarrassed more. I wasn’t. I appreciated that.

Basically, the procedure consisted of me getting three shots in the mouth to numb me. I had never been so numb before: later, when drinking a beverage to take more painkillers, I could only feel half the rim of the can, which was creepy as hell. Still, what they gave me worked perfectly. I didn’t feel any pain at all during the procedure. It was really awkward and kind of boring sitting there the whole time, but it didn’t hurt. It was just time consuming. They even mentioned that they have a lot of people fall asleep on them while they were doing this, and I could see why. I nearly did at several points. You’re laid back in a comfy chair and have nothing to do. Napping is easily.

The worst part of the whole experience was the smell, really. I don’t know if it was because of infection, or if that’s just what it normally smells like, but oh god, the smell of drilled tooth was horrific. I felt it linger, imagined or otherwise, all day, and it made me feel kind of ill, more than anything else. I survived it of course, but man. It was that, not any pain, that was the problem.

I was told to take a ton of painkillers, and that would deal with any soreness. I followed that advice, and it actually worked to, which surprised me. Besides dealing with a bit of a numb feeling on one side of my face for awhile after, there was really no bad effects from this procedure. They apparently know their stuff at Cape Endodontics.

I’m glad it’s over with, of course. Not having my tooth hurt is a good thing. But I was just surprised by how much of a non-issue most of the thing was. Apparently dentistry techniques have changed a lot or something, for the stories to have been this bad and the experience to have been this good. Now it’s done. One more thing done, I guess. That’s good.

Yesterday was pretty horrible for me. Maybe sometime I’ll tell you about it. Not today, though. Not now. Not now.

However, it is my Mom’s birthday, and that’s something. Happy Birthday, Mom.

I recall a story about my mother not being sure if she should go to the hospital to have me because she was watching a March Madness game. Thus, it seems relevant (Okay, not at all relevant, shut up) to point you towards something to read today that has something to do with Basketball. That, of course, would be Kalir’s fucking amazing LP of Tales of Game’s Studios Presents Chef Boyardee’s Barkely: Shut Up And Jam Gaiden: Chapter 1 of the Hoopz Barkley SaGa. I think this game is amazing, as you can see. It’s so awesome, and Kalir has done an amazing job of documenting it so you don’t have to play it. Give it a read.

I’ll try to give you something to read tomorrow. Maybe about Dentistry. You never know.

I don’t think I can afford to buy a new copy of Kirby’s Epic Yarn.

For some reason, this is kind of a big deal to me. I feel like I’ve cut down my game purchases a lot. I only really buy maybe one game a month, if that, instead of the three or four I used to buy. Sure, I supplement that with a few cheap iPhone games, but mostly, it’s a net gain. I made hard decisions not to buy stuff all the time. But there was always this idea that, because I was making these hard decisions, I’d be able to have no problem playing the games I really wanted to play. I could still support my favorite franchises on day one, I just wouldn’t waste money on the filler stuff I used to buy all the time. I’d not buy the random chance games that my whims told me to. I’d just Gamefly those. It would work.

I’ll still get to play Epic Yarn. Hell, it’s going to be a short game with limited replay value. I probably SHOULD just Gamefly it. But Kirby is one of my most beloved series. I love the SHIT out of Kirby. I want all the Kirby I can wring out of Nintendo without ruining the charm the series has. Kirby Super Star has to be one of my most replayed games of all time, probably only topped by, say, Space Channel 5. I love this shit, I love the new art style, I want to be a fan and get it day one, even when others wouldn’t. I really do.

In the big scheme, it’s not like it’s a big deal. I’m working on big deal things, you know? That’s why I don’t have any money for such purchases. Maybe it’s just part of growing up, having to start making these choices. Maybe I should just deal, and move on. In fact, I know I should. I don’t have enough money for VIDEOGAMES, for fuck’s sake. I’m not starving or anything. I’m doing fine.

But there’s still something lost there, even if it’s just a tiny little thing that I’m being too emo about. That feeling that, if I work my ass off, things will work out… it’s just a tiny little example of how they won’t. I’ll work hard, and I still won’t have money for all the games I want to support, even if I cut it down to the bare minimum. If I can’t have a stupid disc with a program on it, what else am I going to miss?

Bleh. Should really just get over myself.

Driving home from St. Louis, I stopped for a beverage, as I often do. In town, I know the exact energy drink stock of every gas station, but when I commute, I find it interesting to see if there’s anything I haven’t tried or that looks good. Popping into a QT I hadn’t visited, I noticed cans of Rockstar Recovery. The attractive-looking cans triggered something in my tired mind, and I thought for a moment. Then I recalled: Jeff Gerstmann of the Gigantic Bomb tweeted about drinking one of those a few days ago! He is a crazy man who knows his energy drinks, I thought. He tries everything. Surely if he had picked this for his morning routine, it must be pretty solid.

So I bought two.

I always do this. I can dodge Buy One, Get One sales now, but something about “buy two for less than the cost of two” sales always get me, especially with energy drinks. I’m always going to need another one, right? Might as well get two now, and stash one at the office or something. I suppose I have worse habits.

If the title didn’t tip you off, Rockstar Recovery is completely disgusting. I cannot remember a worse beverage experience since I tried my first Red Bull. It tastes like incredibly watered-down lemonade kool-aid with a strong, plant-like aftertaste that makes me want to puke. Seriously, just recalling it to describe it for this post is making me feel kind of icky. After trying this and being amazed at how bad it was, I noticed one of the ingredients listed proudly on the can was “Milk Thistle.” What the fuck. No wonder it had such a horrifying aftertaste.

Jeff Gerstmann, you have failed me! At least in the purchasing drinks department. Still enjoy your work at Giant Bomb. But yeah, now I have a second, unopened can of this crap. What am I going to do with it? I have no idea.

I had a Dentist Appointment Monday. I hadn’t been to the Dentist in years. Like, seriously, a whole lot of years. But I have a tooth that’s giving me hell, so I knew I needed to go. It would probably need some sort of surgery, and I was worried as fuck. I haven’t had anything even vaguely like that done before. No surgery of any kind. Plus, I knew it was going to cost a lot, but I didn’t know how much. My mother was nice enough to promise to pay for it, but I still feared how much it would set her back, and being a burden. I was sick to my stomach until my appointment, really.

Showing up, things went pretty straightforward. No lectures. No real problems. Of course, what I needed done was obscenely expensive. It would blow through all my savings if it was on my dime, and I felt like shit about her covering it. My mom was trying to tease me playfully and get me to relax a bit, but her teasing about all the things she could spend the money on just made me feel worse. Maybe these things were partially true, and that’s why she was teasing, but I could tell she really did want me to calm down and she didn’t feel like this was a waste. A stressor, maybe, but not a waste.

In any case, I made another appointment for another person to look at my teeth again next week. Then I get to make another appointment for surgery if the first appointment goes well, then after that another appointment for more dental surgery. I had kind of hoped to just put a stop to that whole particular problem that day, but of course nothing is that easy. Now the stress gets to be drawn out over the next month, on top of everything else I have going on. I am super-excited by that.

Gods, I have so much shit to deal with. That’s why I totally fucking slacked off for the rest of Monday. But more on that some other time.

Still, the appointment wasn’t for nothing. I got some antibiotics, because I was told that the tooth was hurting because of an infection, and that the infection was draining when it stopped hurting. This made perfect sense to me, as I’ve been sick and coughing up stuff that could easily be that drain: it would make sense that that ick would be making me feel worse. Hopefully those antibiotics will kill two birds with one stone that way. That’s a benefit, right? Or something similar?

Eh, just like everything, it’ll be fixed in time. But fuck, I’m tired of things taking so long. Really am.