6.30.2004
 Mood: Relaxed, tired... and my thumb and middle finger feel a lot better
Listening to: DDR Freak Radio

Well, actually I'm not listening to it right now... I've got it loaded... and I'm waiting...and waiting... but its not loading... the playlist is up though... and I'm getting those lovely pop-ups that come with it... ::sighs:: ...its breakin' my mood... (checks to see what's up).

Oh...that explains a lot...weird how it was set that way... the "wave" volume on the Volume Control in Windows was set all the way down =/ ...have no idea why it was set so... hrmmm... oh well.

Anyways, my bud "Monkey" and I went out this evening to the mall and to 7-11 for some slurpees.  Fun time.  We spent time at that sword game (which I have grown to hate...or at least dislike...I prefer the real deal frankly), Time Crisis 3 (which is certainly a lot more fun than the previous TC games), and DDR among other things.  That DDR thing though... that's some fun stuff.  We played 3 games in versus mode.  Wow, man were we stylin' our moves... sure it was in "beginner" mode... but hey... we're still new with this stuff... and we don't have it at home... yet.  We were doing all sorts of crazy stylin' moves... I turned around and jumped twice... that was fun... til I realized I missed two or three of the next dance steps when I turned around... d'oh.  But that was sweet.

Then we played some old school Mario Kart 64 on his N64...haha, I suck... but that was fun.

I think I was able to get more of my upgrading on my site done.  Its about...70% done now...yeah.  So, anytime now... expect it to come up... and this layout is purely original.  I have to confess... this layout of version 2.0 was actually copied from another web site...so, not very proud of it... looks awesome, but its not really my work.  So, the next version might look like a downgrade... but I don't think so... at least that's this man's opinion.  K, catch y'all later!  ...I gotta sleep.

-VashMatrix

6.28.2004
 Mood: Relaxed, tired... and my thumb and middle finger are swollen
Listening to: DDR Freak Radio

No, I didn't make an error w/ my color coding up above.  Its a link to the station.  Great especially if you have a cable connection, DSL, or anything else faster than dial-up. 

Went to work today...and enjoyed it.  I will definitely work more hours tomorrow...only four today because... I had some training, and I did not bring any lunch with me... d'oh.  So, stomach called me home.  I'm going to try to spend some time today and update more of my site...we'll see how it goes.  Later!

-VashMatrix

*addition to 6/28/2004 entry*

Haha, to tell you the truth... I was surprised to see that I had already entered an entry here.  Anyways, just wanted to let you know that I have given a lot of effort to this brand new site.  Its about 65% done...its certainly well on its way to being finished.  I'm already anxious to change over to the next version...but I know its better to wait til its complete so... I'll keep you in suspense (but its just killing me how I can't post it yet...urgh!).  Later!

-VashMatrix

6.25.2004
 Mood: Relaxed, tired... and my thumb and middle finger are swollen
Listening to: DDR Freak Radio

Woot!  Went and bought myself a PS2 along with all the games I think that'll occupy me for quite sometime.  Soul Calliber II is just so awesome.  Now I understand why a friend of mine is so enthusiastic about it, and why he plays it when he's at the arcade... its a pretty rockin' game.

Just waiting on July 1st for the last accessories I have purchased for the PS2.  Hopefully, FedEx will deliver on time... or earlier... that's always a plus.  Oh, my bro and I checked out Great Lakes Crossing today (its the name of a mall for all you out-of-towners) and found out that there have been many store closings there... one of which was a gamers' store... if I remember correctly, the store was called "Stop N' Save"...and for most of their products... you would save some money... ::sighs::

K, not much else to report... I've got to sleep earlier these next few days... especially since I will be starting to work on Monday... good news is... they seem to be readily flexible to give me any hours I need for work... Lucky am I.  Yeah, I better get in some good hours... buying all that stuff was pretty pricy...  K, later!  ...oh, and no progress on the new website today... Hey!  I'm still sorting out my junk here in my room... and I also had to test out the PS2 to see if it was okay... which, if any of you are wondering, is perfectly fine... though I didn't think so at first, so I gave it another go... ummm... but rest assured that I will try to update the site's format... sometime this month... ::eyes at his PS2:: ...this summer... ::thinks about the shipment that will be arriving on the 1st of July:: ...uhhh, sometime this year... towards November... or December... yeah, soo.... ok... bye!

-VashMatrix

6.24.2004
 Mood: Relaxed, tired... and my thumb's got a little pain
Listening to: DDR Freak Radio

I just spent my evening with a friend of mine that I have not seen in quite some time since I've been busy in Mexico.  We were able to grab some grub, tried this awesome virtual sword game (one of my brand new favorite game to play along with...), danced on one of those DDR machines, swung on swings, fought with tonfas and nunchuku, and to finish it off... we watched the Shouten Open House footage from March, 2004.

Fun times I tell you.  That sword game is sweet! (If not a bit inaccurate =P)  You have to make sure the "sword" is always in between the red rectangular sensor ahead of you in order for it to read your swings.  I'm definitely going back there again to play that game... Man, they sure had a nice shipment of games there.  Also, they had two DDR arcade consoles there (both of which are the same version)... and its only 75 cents... not too bad... was expecting $1.  That sword game was only 50 cents though... that's one game I wouldn't mind spending time with... psst, its also a plus that you can block as well as attack monsters that won't really hurt you... sparring with other people is fun... but not without protective gear or appropriate full contact weaponry.

Now how have I come to bringing this issue up?  Well, my friend and I sparred with tonfas and nunchuku... both parties received minor bruises... but bruises none the less.  I've got my left thumb that's a bit...bigger (!?)... and my right middle finger (how appropriate, no?) is a bit bruised... but hey, I actually enjoy that... why?  Its the only way to learn.  Its my way of learning from mistakes and my inability to focus at all times.  So, bit by bit... its all good.

I still even remember this one time where I sparred with another friend of mine who whacked me on the side of my head, and I fell half unconscious... and that was with a thick tree branch... about 4 feet in length and about an inch and a half in diameter if I'm not mistaken.  But from every hurt, one gains experience that would not have been gained in any other fashion.

What else did I do today?  Well, I worked a bit on the new layout for the website... looking pretty good so far, but I believe it to be more geared to those who have a faster connection than dial-up... at least that's what I think... but we'll see.  I also bought Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai today... offers wisdom and experience from of old.  I love this kind of stuff... I think reading things like this helps one better in swordplay than books with kata forms.  Again, my opinion and experience... have I really gotten to learn katas and forms well?  No...absolutely not.  So, don't take my word for it... but it works for me.  ...catcha later!

-VashMatrix

6.21.2004
 Mood: Great

Alright!  I'm back on my good ol' trusty, but not rusty, computer.  Glad to be using my US keyboard w/ my optical mouse w/ gel padding for my wrists... things never felt soo good.  Right now I'm back at the dorm, getting reacquainted with my computer by playing music and maybe... I'll be playing some games and some DVDs in a lil' bit.  This summer, I will be working on a newer layout!  I always love a challenge.  Right now, I've at least changed the font that might be on mostly everybody's computer... I've found out that my favorite font "Tempus Sans ITC" was not showing up at all on people's comps, and only "Times New Roman" was showing... urgh.  That font is overused and boring.

At any rate, just thought I'd give you a heads up of things to come.  Also, I'm looking at buying a PS2 sometime in the future... I know, I know... wait for the PS3, right?  Cuz its 1000x faster than the PS2, yeah?  Well...I no have mucho dinero... and I think the PS2 is good enough by my standards... then again, I'll probably be kicking myself for not waiting... but we'll just wait for that day before I go ahead and have a head start.  That DDR stuff is fun!  I tried it when I was in Mexico... although their version is way different, cuz it consisted of four diagonal pads AND one center pad... much more interactive than the US... at least that's what I think... haven't tried the US version yet... I will one day though =)

That's all for today...its nice to be in a colder climate AND in a cleaner atmosphere... air here is sooo much cleaner than in Mexico.  Ja ne!

-VashMatrix

6.17.2004
 Mood: Excellent

After I had typed up an e-mail to a friend of mine... I thought I'd share this with all of you since it bears a good part of my experience in the missions of Cuana and "N'Pal" (I think that might be the nickname of it... but not sure)...

...I myself have just arrived from a mission in Cuana, a little village somewhere in Mexico, and am currently in Acapulco. Tomorrow, we will continue our travel from Acapulco to Cuernavaca...then Saturday we are going to travel from Cuernavaca to Mexico City...to Detroit. It will be so good to be back home in the good ole United States of America.

I know one thingīs for sure... poverty is not truly experienced until you are really immersed into it. Two other seminarians, Ben and Dave, and myself... left the one mission in Cuana to travel to another mission. We spent about 2 days there in the other mission where... poverty exists all around... the experience was truly unforgetable... but whatīs so beautiful... is the fact that all these people that we saw there... especially the children... they were all happy. They easily shared smiles and waves at us... even though they knew not Spanish...they spoke in their own Indian dialect for the most part. But I was certainly glad I went there and would not trade that experience for a tropical getaway where I can be pampered for a month. To see, read, and hear about poverty is one thing... but to be able to experience it firsthand is something totally beyond what anyone can or would expect.

Living here in Mexico has also made me realize how lucky I am to be an American... all of a sudden, all those patriotic American songs seem to have a stronger impact on myself than it ever has before. Before, I felt very unpatriotic... now everything has changed. Nothing like a third world experience to help me truly experience my life.

We arrived in Mexico, I think, on April 28... so its been a while since I've been on American soil...and I sure can't wait to go back.

Well, there you have it... I hope to type up some of my journal entries here sometime when I get back... so keep looking ;)

-VashMatrix

5.11.2004
 Mood:  A bit warm

Hey so I finally found some time to do a little updating on my web site...pretty cool. Itīs just the keyboards here in Mexico are kinda tricky, cause the buttons are in different places... well a few, but thankfully not many. I am currently living with a Mexican family... everything going much better than before cause when I first got here... I hurled up a storm every other hour or so... that was pretty nasty. And it wasnīt even the food here! It was the food on the plane and in Coney Island... so... beware of American food =P ...funny thing though... I havenīt gotten sick yet (thanks be to God) from Mexican food... Iīve been okay thus far and have been loving every single meal. No complaints whatsoever.

The weather is nice here...nice and sunny in the morning and most of the times in the evening, it is raining. I am certainly learning alot of Spanish here... its kinda interesting how the words that are most important are the greetings and asking how other people are. Muy interesante! I have been keeping a daily journal (which has been somewhat been wavering as of late... I find myself not having enough time to fit that in let alone other most important things). One day I plan to post some of that stuff online on this site... I may even give it its own separate page... like an "exclusive" sort of thing =P

Thatīs all for me to report today... I gotta pick up my laundry, and thatīs about it before I head on home.

-VashMatrix