I passed.

Looking at my last post, I realize:

1. It’s been a month and a bit since my last update.
2. My last update was about a storm so crazy it turned 101 into a parking lot.
3. It’s only been a month and a bit since we’ve had weather this crazy, where “crazy” includes but isn’t limited to rain pouring so hard I swear the heavens are shooting Super Soakers at us earth-bound people; cherry and peach blossoms blooming waaay earlier than expected; and 75-degree high temperatures in the midst of winter’s grasp. Oh, and there was a lake in the middle of the frickin’ road as I was driving back home. Sorta like the aforementioned 101 incident, except it’s not 101, so it doesn’t matter as much.

I’m not sure what to think of the weather here in California anymore, except for the fact that somehow, it manages to surprise me every year. I’d say “every season”, but in retrospect, summer always comes just the way I thought it’d come, which is let’s break out six table fans and point them all at my body hot.

Oh, wait a minute — there was a time in the middle of July last year where the highs suddenly dropped into the 80s, huh?

Yeah, like I said, I’m not sure what to think of California weather anymore.

There’s a bit of a storm outside; specifically, the third of four fronts hitting the San Francisco Bay Area this week. And despite the storm, business — and thus, the ever-so-popular commute by automobile — continues.

On Twitter and Facebook, the image of a flooded freeway (shown above) is being passed around, notably by people who didn’t go to work, aimed at people who did.

The most hilarious part of this image is the fact that this happens to be a depiction of Interstate 101 — perhaps the most notorious freeway used for commute. Normally, at this time of day (4 PM), 101 slows down to a crawl for most of its length. ABC-7, one of the local news stations around here, has footage of one lane, still submerged, open for commuters to wade through — a pretty painful sight to watch.

Abandon hope all ye who enter here? Why, yes. Yes indeed.

My contribution to the current trend of stickering Technika cards to personalize them and make them stand out in the local arcade’s card line? A reference printed on the back side of any given Technika card to what many people would regard as an injoke.

Until beholders of this card actually realize that Shoreline is probably one of the greatest songs in the game, and Para Q occupies a ranking far, far below.

Hidamari Sketch x☆☆☆’s first episode was oh-so-sublime. Also, it might be the whole buildup-of-hype thing, but I think the OP and ED are probably the best OP/ED yet. I’m especially liking how the ED is faster-paced than both of its predecessors, keeping that signature marble synth violin thing while rocking out.

I’m anticipating the second episode, if only because of those last two budget-saving minutes…new characters, banzai!

I’d be continuing the streak of posts I’ve got about character birthdays (today’s Kanon’s Ayu Tsukimiya), but in about six hours from the time of this post airs the first episode of the one thing I’m committed to following during this 2009/2010 winter anime season: Hidamari Sketch x☆☆☆. And thus, all of my hype is being focused accordingly.

Therefore:

Yeahuh.

I swear I didn’t get into (and write about) Quiz Magic Academy on New Years’ on purpose…

Happy New Year’s Eve!

With that said, here’s my resolution: by the end of the year, I want to be able to play Quiz Magic Academy confidently. And by that, I mean “man I can actually read Japanese to the point where I can play online and not look like an enormous gaijin by missing obvious questions I’d get if I could actually read”.

Trying to play Quiz Magic Academy DS (single-player, of course!) while I’ve only got not-even-a-3-kyuu’s worth of Japanese language knowledge is interesting. A lot of the questions I get right are the ones that are heavy on the katakana, because they’re references to Western (pop) culture –

Q: In the movie ‘Star Wars’, what’s the name of Mark Hamill’s character?
1. Luke / 2. Knight / 3. Bishop / 4. Mark

– or are pretty simple Anime & Game category questions like the following:

True or False:
Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star) has a character named Heart, who is female.

I figure QMA would be a fun game if I knew how to read the Japanese it throws me, which is most often heavily draped in kanji, unlike the original equivalents of the two examples above. When I can read the questions, it’s an enjoyable experience. When I can’t, it’s a less (but still somehow) pleasant experience in guessing.

That, and the fact that I’ve wanted to get into QMA for a while (I played it once two years ago during a visit to Japan, and never again, for that meant that I would actually have to play against people who could actually read Japanese!) combine to make this New Year’s resolution.

And, lastly, as an aside, it only helps that Aloe, the character I chose, is voiced by Ochiai Yurika. Which makes sense; the script changes according to character, and Aloe’s is all too reminiscent of ToHeart 2’s Konomi. Too good!

Amusingly enough, I’m celebrating the birthday of a girl who’s supposed to be born in 2018, but if you set it relative to the series’ end (meaning it was 2037 two years ago), she’s 21 and thus legal to drink alcohol in America! Although, of course, she’s only studying in Oregon for one more semester…

Other character birthdays I celebrated this month (albeit without this much fanfare) were those of Nayuki Minase (12/23) and Kuga Kokage (12/19).

Happy Holidays to everyone who celebrates them!