So, I entered this contest on the gaming blog, Kotaku, to make the coolest paper airplane in the hopes of winning Ace Combat 6 and some other swag.  I made one out of a giant piece of black cardstock and then hand-drew all sorts of gaming/airforce art on the surface.  And to wrap things up, cut together a video montage poking fun at the whole thing.  Well, I ended up as one of the ten finalists, and they're holding the voting now.  All in all, the entries are prettty cool, and you guys should check them out.  My video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc-FkgY6EVk, and the voting thread here: http://kotaku.com/gaming/contest/hey-readers-pick-the-best-planes-315790.php.  Go see and if you have a kotaku account, give your vote to the plane you like best (although I have an obvious preference for entry #1 ;-)). 

Well, despite my best intentions (yeah, yeah; the road to hell and all of that), this blog has been anything but a repository for random accounts from my life.  I'll make the defense that not much of consequence actually occurs that's worth documenting, but that can really only take me so far as I've definitely had enough to happen over the last few months to make at least an entry or two :-P.  But ultimately, it come down to a sense of purpose, or more precisely, the lack thereof.  I've never been the type to write a journal for my own devices, and putting something up of the interweb, it's hard to pretend I'm not doing it for other people to see.  So while I don't really need or expect (or want) an audience, it does make updating thing seem rather pointless without one.  That being said, I've felt a little guilty at various points for not making at least a cursory effort with the thing, and a combination of a few factors (a sudden nostalgic return to some old forum haunts; catching up with an old friend; a fight with my girlfriend) have put me in enough of a reflective mood to make a return, however brief, to this little corner of mine.

So what have I to say?  Well, I'm not entirely sure.  There's plenty of things I could say.  Even a few things I kind of want to say.  But thinking something and putting on display for the vast populace of the internet are two different things...and perhaps I'm stalling now.  First, while I certainly have enjoyed the freedom obtained by cutting loose my ties to that horrid den of soul-sucking misery that was my job, and while I have no regrets or qualms with having done so, being jobless, for any significant amount of time blows.  Especially when you're making an honest attempt to return to the working force, and that attempt fails, repeatedly.  I know, I know.  Each time I apply, the dice roll anew, and there's just as good a chance of hitting the jackpot as there was with roll number 1, but when you go a few dozen rounds, and still come up with snake eyes, it's hard to shake those dice with the same level of enthusiasm (and I wonder if there's something subconscious about using a gambling reference to relate to being broke O_-).  I haven't given up, of course, but I am getting pretty sick of bringing in no income, and I don't think I'll hold out for much longer before trudging back toward the dark world of retail.  It won't be longer than a year or two, at any rate, since we'll be moving to Seattle by then, so it helps make the idea of giving up my dignity again to know I'll get it back before too long.  But either way, I'm getting damned near desperate to see my girlfriend, and that can't be done without money, so my priorities are pretty much lined out there.

Which brings me to issue number 2.  It's been quite the ride returning to the relationship realm after so many years.  I want to say it's all clouds and bubbles, and to be sure, there's been plenty of that, but there's been some rough spots, too.  Rougher than perhaps I want to admit; either to myself, or her.  To be fair, almost everything that has been of any consequence has been pretty much squarely on my side of things, and related to my neurotic tics.  For her part, she seems as stable as the earth's orbit, and nothing I've done seems to have had the least bit negative impact on her, or her perception of us.  She's fantastic, is what I mean to say, and in some ways that's made things all the harder for me.  There's been too many little things, mostly silly and ridiculous, to really document them all here, but the most recent of them was also the most severe, and it was the first time I really, genuinely felt like there was a good chance we weren't cut out for each other.  There's been a few times that I've had my doubts, sometimes strongly, and in those moments I've always managed to convince myself it would be for the better if we called it off.  But when I stood on the edge looking into that dark eventuality last night, I didn't feel good about it.  I felt devastated.  Because it didn't seem like it was all in my head this time.  Didn't seem like I'd just get over it like usual and go back to realizing how really kick ass things were with her.  It seemed, in other words, like the end.  And I didn't want it. 

Two things came out of that pretty sickly moment of reflection.  Two things that weren't entirely compatible, and one of which has since overridden the other.  The first, was that I started to really feel like the incompatibilities between us might be too great to be overcome.  The other, was that I knew I loved her, really loved her, and whether or not things worked out for us, that wasn't going to change.  The good news, super wonderful news, really, is that I finally decided to seek out some perspective from someone other than me or her, and the way they reacted to my concerns pretty much made them all seem more or less inconsequential, in the end.  Not trivial, mind you, because they understood entirely why I felt like I did.  But they were issues that weren't in any way big enough to deteriorate everything else about the relationship that was so right.  So, coming out of this, I kinda feel like I've stepped back from the light, and gotten a new lease on my love life.  That's kinda sappy, so my apologies to any innocent bystander who walked unawares into that block of cheese, but the hell with it; this is my blog, and I'll post what I damn well feel like. 

Now I've just gotta get myself a job and follow that up with a long sought after plane ticket.

...In entirely unrelated news, I have ascended into the Rock God pantheon.  Granted, it's only as a low-level demigod, forced to do embarrasing tasks for the Gods themselves, like scraping puny mortals of their sandals, and cleaning the pegasus stables, but still.  GHII on expert: mission-fucking-accomplished.

Rock, rock on.

Well, far from being the frequently updated source of all things inane as hoped, I still haven’t given up on this thing just yet.  Fortunately for those of you still around, the long absence has allowed me to amass a smorgasbord of random anecdotes and pointless trivia.

First off in the minds of my imagined readers, would of course be the promised visiting that occurred a few weeks back.  As was expected, everything went awesomely, and much enjoyment was derived.  Chief amongst our exploits was a trip up to Niagara Falls, which was a stunning site, in spite of being stranded on the American side due to the new border regulations demanding a passport for reentry.  I suppose I shouldn’t gripe too much, though.  Who knows how close we were to a total invasion of cultural debauchery by those skeevy Canadians?  I for one don’t trust any peoples that call themselves Canadians, but don’t hail from Canadia.  Plus, that ‘zed’ business is just plain weird.

Even restricted from the head-on view afforded by our neighbors in the north, though, we managed to get an incredible overhead view thanks to a park that runs along them.  I still need to pore through the various pictures I took, but I promise to get some up in the nearer future.  Still, if you mange to make it up to see them, make sure to bring a passport.  With the sole exception of that fabulous park, the American side is in a pitiful state of neglect, with very little to offer compared to the tourist’s utopia across the way.  Whereas the Canadians have ritzy hotels, shop-lined streets and weekly firework shows, our stateside offerings are mostly limited to the likes haunted houses and other fare not even suitable for a high-school carnival.

Moving on, though.  The rest of her stay was comparatively quiet, but none the less a blast.  We played lots of Pikmin, watched some nostalgia-laden films from out collective past, and had plenty of pizza.  Even managed to break ourselves away from our controllers long enough to go see Spider-Man 3.  (Which, for those not yet aware, is good, but not as good as the first two.  The action is definitely still there (if a little over the top), and there is definitely emotional drama, but the characters were less fleshed-out and more contrived.  Worth watching, though, if you’re a fan of 1 and 2).

Ultimately, the week went by faster than either of us preferred, but it was well worth it.  Besides, with any amount of luck, it won’t be long until I’m able to return the favor and head in the opposite direction to see her.

On another side of things, specifically one involving the rawkage of the house, my mastery of the five-buttoned guitar has progressed quite satisfactorily, and I’ve managed to make it to the final set on expert (though, whether I can claim to have played the preceding tracks expertly is up to much debate :-P).  The game is inexpressibly awesome, though, and with both Guitar Hero III and Rock Band on the horizon, it’s going get very busy and verrrry expensive around here in the near future.

Speaking on the topic of expenses, I’m going to be even more broke than usual for a while as a direct result of my recent taking a stand against the man.  Yes, I am soon to be jobless, but the path to unemployment has been paved with victory and fuck-yeah.  See, we got this new manager at OfficeMax (I’d take the time to render that as some mildly witty insult-pun, if the actual name didn’t evoke enough horror on its own), and not to put to fine a point on it, but she’s a bitch.  To make a longish story shorter, she tried to keep me from leaving to do something more important to me than my job (for all of two hours, no less), and I told her that was fine, I’d just up and quit, then.  I’ll provide more details in my theoretical next post, but suffice to say that despite not ultimately needing to quit over that, it was enough to make me realize I wanted out of that particular circle of hell, anyway. 

So, jobless, yes.  But free.  Like a bird….a free bird.  Rawk \m/

That’s all for now, but not by no means all there is.  With as much material as I’ve gathered, I’m gonna be smartlike for once, and space it out.  For the time being, though, I leave you with this; spikey bug penis: http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/1380

Oh dear god.   

And so begins the second post in this grand experiment.  Long overdue, but not without good reason.  Well, not without acceptable reason, anyway.  To put it bluntly, I didn't really have much to say.  Introductions aren't really my style, and I think proper anecdotal evidence is far more useful in providing accurate perspective on people's personalities.  But enough rambling--I think it's high time for an update in the ways of Aaron.

First bits, first--I have procurred for myself (straight from the Halls of Valhalla) the very vessel through which Rock Godhood is aquired, the famous and much sought after Guitar Hero II.  There's not a whole lot to say that hasn't already been plastered over the web on every gamer blog from here to the Mushroom Kingdom, but  suffice it to say that few things are as capable of making your average nerd feel like a total badass.  *Bwadda-bra BRAUUUU!!!!*

So, heroing aside, not much has changed since my initial precense here on Mindsay.  It is of definite worthwhile mention, however, that things in the word of romance have progressed unbelievabley well, and I am just starting to recover from the utter bewilderment of new love.   I'll try and avoid turning this post into a endless gushing of over-saturated sweetness, but it's highly likely I'll be unable to avoid making mention of it from time to time, so better to just accept the inevitable and move on, I say.

On a related note, I have a visitor arriving in a week for several days of festivities.  Should be an absolute blast, and I'll make sure to document the course of events for your presumed enjoyment.  I just got myself a brand new camera, so you can be sure that there will be plenty of visual aids available.

Anyway, a minor update, but an update nonetheless.  Maybe if I ease myself into it, I'll actually start up a realiable blog, here.  For now, I thank you for your patronage and promise more frequent posts from here on out.  And for those of you dissapointed by the lack of a proper introduction--welcome to the random world of Dudeman.  Where nothing is as it seems, and the only thing you can expect is the unexpected.....which you can't expect either, so there.

*AWAY!*

Hello, all you out there in internet land.  Welcome to yet another installment of Aaron's Attempt at Virtual Journal Entry.   With this account, I think I have successfully started and then promptly neglected five full blogs, which has got to make me a contender for Record Blogs Ignored, if only because there can't be that many more to sign up for :-P.  This time, however, stands to be different.  No longer shall the impetus to write be left to my own devices--I now have a solid external force applying motivation; the inexorable power of the girlfriend.  It's one thing to write for oneself and an anonymous fan base which may or may not exist (more likely the latter), but not only do I now possess an audience, however small, it happens to be one of the most rewarding of readers available to a humble scribe such as myself. 

So join me, if you will, as I endeavor to once and for all make a constant effort at autobiography: dispensing with anecdotes of daily happenings, various pearls of wisdom, and general inanity in an attempt to keep this thing from completely stagnating.  It won't be easy, and it almost certainly won't be pretty, but with a little luck (and perhaps a little friendly nagging) it will be done. 

As for the actual introductions (which you might have reasonably expected from the subject of this post), I will leave those for another time.  Let it be a test of your curiosity and interest to see if you're compelled to return and learn the identity of this mysterious toneless bard.  In return for your continued attention, I promise to make it as interesting, or at least, not mind-numbingly dull, as possible; sure to be chockfull of ranting, raving, and genuine, bonafide rambling as any blog out there.  Incoherence guaranteed, or your money back with interest.  (I'll even throw in some 0% APR.  That always works for car dealerships, right?)

P.S. This thing has been steadily updating itself with earnest, but entirely unhelpful suggested tags as I've been writing.  While "blog introductions" is fairly appropriate, if rather general, I don't really have use for "make money", "make money quick" (I knew that APR was a good idea), or "make time".  But when it came up with the gem of "pretty poem thing", I couldn't resist.  Whatever bizarre and overly complex algorithms they employed for this thing, I tip my hat to their engineer.  Simply, rawk.

P.P.S. Can someone tell me why the hell Word doesn't have "bonafide" in it's spellcheck dictionary, but Google does?  I mean, seriously.  Major business level word proccessor and document creator, or search engine....actually, when you think about it, you could probably make a case for the latter needing better spell checking....but not by much.  Shame on you Microsoft, shaaaaaame.