4/24/2005

Childhood...

So anybody who really knows me and has talked to me on a personal level knows that I don't remember much of my childhood. I'm not really sure why - all I get is small bits and pieces, little shards of memories, like individual pages ripped out of a novel.

I came across a link (included later this post) that reminded me of one part of my childhood - Final Fantasy III (VI Japanese). Man, does that bring back memories. I remember begging my mom to go pick it up for me right when it came out, and I remember how excited I was when I was actually holding the box in my hands - it was close to winter time if I remember right, and I was SO excited to sit down and start playing it. It's pretty amazing how a little image of a box can bring back all these memories of childhood joy - I can practically see myself as a kid in my old living room staring at the box with a big, goofy smile on my face.

Anyways, that game has a lot of memories attached with it - I remember constantly playing it, I remember being pretty young - looking at the release date, I guess I was thirteen. I remmeber Mike would come over all the time and watch, because he hadn't got a copy yet - man, that was fun. I don't know if I've ever got as caught up in a video game plot as that one. For any of you who say that video games are not a respectful story-telling medium and that a chunk of pixels cannot create emotion, I say you have never experienced the Opera scene of FFIII - it's a spectacular piece indeed. I think I actually shed a tear or two when I played it (I know I did in later replays of it). That, and the final section of the game was just awesome - it was like living an epic. I guess it was just easier to immerse a kid back then - I'm glad it was that way. Even listening to the music brings me back... man, I need to play that again...

I had been looking for the original ads for a long time - the real debut of Mog in a large role - as a badass ;) Thanks to the internet, I finally found 'em! I wish I could higher quality pictures of them, though... Part 1...Part 2...

Anyways, the thing that reminded me of it was this - a spoof of the ending of it where the PSP is trying to take over the world and the other game systems are trying to fight it off. If you've beat FFVI and have a knowledge of old game systems, this is actually the funniest thing EVER. ^_^

Yeah. Work is going crazy, I'm getting close to finishing the project I've been working on for two weeks (soooo close....), and with CU and EP3 going out very soon, things are only going to get crazier. But it's all good. ^_^

I've been thinking of getting a motorcycle - a dream a couple weeks back brought it on. It doesn't help that a week or so after that, my roomate got the fastest bike on the planet - not exaggerating - the Limited Edition Suzuki Hayabusa. Now I would never want to get a bike that expensive or that powerful, especially since I've never driven a motorcycle.

I think I found one of the reasons I want it, too - I always loved riding a bicycle when I was a kid, I'd bet this is an extension of that - the agility and openness of riding in a bike, it really appeals to me. And for anyone who thinks this is a terrible idea, keep in mind that I believe in driving safely. I DON'T intent to drive like a madman, or without safety gear. I fully intend to ride my bike (if / when I get one) like a responsible person at the speed limit and wear a helmet, gloves and padded jacket (I haven't tried any padded pants yet, so I dunno about that...)

Anywhoo, here are the ones I'm looking at: my boss, who's ridden on bikes more than he's driven in a car prefers cruisers and is strongly recommending the Honda Rebel, which is appealing because of the low price, and low power. But I really prefer the look of a sport bike, and I think I'd just constantly be waiting to sell it off and get a bike that is more visually appealing to my style as well.

The ones I'm seriously considering (in order of increasing power and price) are the Ninja 250R, a great low power bike at a low price - not the best looks in the world, but not too bad, my concern would be that I'd get tired of a low power bike and want one a little more powerful, not an issue with the others (all the minimums of the sport bike realm). That and I'm not sure my giant 6'2" self would really fit comfortably on it. The Ninja 500, a more powerful version, a little more sleek, looks nicer, and would probably last longer. The GS500F, supposedly another good but powerful starter bike, although the looks of it are a little goofy. The YZF600R , powerful, large, sleek and sexy, but the price matches it...

Really hard to decide, I want to get a nice bike, but I also don't want to ruin it, since it's my first one (the chance of laying it down...) So yeah, I dunno -_-. Then there's the, "if money were no object, and I already knew how to ride a bike" - the CBR600F4i, and the absolute top of my list - the sexy YZF-R1. Although it's probably good that I'm not even CONSIDERING either of those, cuz I would probably either destroy 8 - 10k of motorcycle, the chances are my killing myself are way too high o_O.

The other decision is new / used - both have their merits, most obvious being the price. New - brand new bike, guaranteed quality, but I have to tax, title and license. Used - might get a lot off the price, will probably already be broken in, but no guarantee on the quality of the bike, have to settle for some scratches or dings.

Anyways, so that's me - back to work tomorrow, and then to pack things up to get ready to move up north. How about you? How are you doing?

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