I'm making a mark here. Something incredible happened this week, and so that if I may look back years from now, I'll have all the evidence I need that this life is worth living.

Nothing Machinima related, just a chance to face the one regret that got me started down the path of, "If you must have regret, it is better to regret what you have done, rather than what you have not." It took me YEARS to reach that point, and truthfully, I'm still working on it.

Like Atreyu beyond The Oracles, I must now face myself.

Wow!

These were -OLD-

Like, antiquated! Look at our college freshmen fat-asses!


And this, I don't get it, but it sure is stylish!


Man, I was awesome, like a real cowboy!


I think they won that year! For SCARIEST SHIT of the SEASON!





All in all, these mystery pics were a nice nostalgic look at 2001/02. I think.

So had some lunch with mom today, and we found two old un-developed rolls of 35mm film in her center-console. Ironic, I was just thinking to myself that when we got back from Ottawa in 04' that I took more pictures than I ended up with... but who knows what's on these mysterious rolls?! I'm going to stop by the local 1 hour this weekend, and we'll find out the hard way if mom's center dash proved a cool-dry place to store film! If they're worth a look-see, I'll post the highlights on the ol' blog here!

Ike is said to be so big, that it may still be a hurricane when it hits us way up here in the Dallas eastern outlands. We won't get the ocean surges, but tornadoes and flash-floods are notorious around these parts. I plan to hunker down in the Warhammer Online Open Beta, and ride out the storm with a Dwarven Ironbreaker.

So, I sit here today, extremely busy with start of year operations. Moving computers, fixing projectors, doubling up on allergy pills, and munching on some leftover doughnuts from yesterday’s staff meeting.

Then I reflect back to March, when we (Pepper, Cody, and I) spring-breaked in Tokyo, Japan. I don’t really need to be reflecting right now, I’m very busy, you see. But there it is, persisting, festering in my brain. As I eat my day old doughnut, I think about how normal it tastes. It’s almost not quite bland. It does have the familiar easy-going milk chocolate that I love oh so much, and the glaze is sweet, but hardly overwhelming. There isn’t anything notable about this doughnut. I will not call across continents and oceans to report on its flavor. (Granted, that detail is a purely situational anomaly.)

As I scarf down my doughnut, I think about the many sweets I enjoy. Yankee Doodles, imported to Texas from my loving aunt in New York, Little Debbie’s, Cookies ‘N Cream ice cream, heck, even the typical Cheeto crosses my mind. Each one gets cross-referenced with a similar treat I enjoyed in Japan. Then I start to recall the taste… I once ate a regular looking doughnut that was so chocolaty and sweet, that I reported it back home that day. The day before I ate a stack of Denny’s pancakes sweet enough to be called a desert. (Oh yes they have Denny’s in Japan, one day I’ll blog about the bell system, you’ll learn to really hate typical American restaurant service once I do!) About the only meals not saturated with sweets were from traditional shops, such as the tempura and noodle houses.

Even the chips, which were indeed salty, still had a powerful sweetener. They were familiar in many ways, but quite unique. I even recall making a remark about it when chowing down on some Japanese Cheeto equivalents from the 100yen shop. At the time I was too awe-shocked with adventure to dwell on the fact that my taste buds were bombarded with so much sweet stuff. Then, with the ruckus of homecoming and such, I had forgotten. But now, like a cold slap on a hot date, I suddenly want to know. Why?

Thus begins my quest. I type this up without a shred of googling, research, or any real knowledge, only the question. I now embark, to seek out why everything is sweeter across the pacific, and with each discovery I will update my blog. It may take a few hours, it may take a few years, but my hunger for knowledge must be fed! Shared!

So, you may have noticed the site was unavailable a bit over the weekend, turns out there was a massive power outage at the NOC where my hosting service is based. When the power goes out, a diesel generator fires up automatically, and with the aid of a huge array of UPS batteries the servers are supposed to remain up and running without interruption. However, this past Friday, when the site suffered a blackout, a component of the UPS array failed. Ironic since it was recently inspected and a replacement was ordered for the exact part that failed. It was due to arrive the 27th of May. More

I, however, didn't care about any of this. I was trying to go camping.

Friday afternoon, we drive. Friday night, around 10:30PM Mike, myself, and my Bro arrive at the camp grounds. We relax around a fire, with friends who had been there all day. Saturday 7:30AM, Mike and I hit the road to Waco, a 2 hour drive. At 11:15AM, I can be found in a church parking lot washing my hair. Nearly an hour and a half behind schedule the bride and groom to be collect everyone they need for the wedding practice. All goes well. We go for lunch, and by 2:30PM Mike and I are on the road again, headed back to camp. After a few stops for additional steaks and cookies, we arrive to the fire around 7:15PM. Steaks are cooked with a Tequila based marinade, and served by 8pm. Everyone is happy. Sometime in the midnight hours, while telling stories, a creature is stirring in the woods. Lights are drawn, and a hunting party is formed. Half hour later, the culprit is discovered, a small armadillo. Sunday dawn, I awake, look around, and go back to sleep. Sunday 9:00am, I stumble my way to the park showers, I use a travel vial of shampoo leftover from Las Vegas. A number of insects and arachnids join me. After my return, we play cards. About 1PM we break, some go to town for ice, I choose to hike and take some pictures. Miles later, thirsty, drenched in sweat, and exhausted, I stumble into the main road. Somehow Carrie and Chris happen to drive right up, I hitch a ride back to camp. We have some lunch, and everyone decides to call camping a done deal. Mike and I have not even had full day, but since it's 90 something degrees and humid has hell, we concede that Memorial day may best be spent at home under an AC. Sunday 9PM, everyone has been delivered to their homes and I'm sitting at my computer, wondering what the hell just happened to my camping trip. We make plans to do it again this Winter. The next morning I shaved my beard, and made plans to get a haircut.