Yikes. I’m updating again. Usually this means I have some free time. *shock* Anyway, irrelevance.org has been updated with a more sophisticated sub-layout format, as well as a couple new images (1 in PSP, 2 in PS and 1 in 3D max). I was going through the portfolio beforehand and realized that the Photoshop section is painfully empty. Now that I think about it, I do work the least with PS. The only time I utilize it is when I need the “Save for Web” option that PSP doesn’t have. It ensures good quality designs in JPEG format. I actually really want to learn a bit more about PS, but unfortunately I don’t have the time, even during the summer. Aside from my studies, I’d like to do some quick designs and update here and there. Learning a program usually takes more time. I can’t do what I used to, spend all day fooling around in a design program, using trial and error to succeed. I also need to uninstall PS 6 and install Illustrator CS, Photoshop CS. There is so much stuff I want to learn more about, but I simply don’t have enough time to. For instance, I have Illustrator, PS, Flash MX, etc. etc. However, I don’t usually use them. I suppose PS would be the easiest to learn; I just have to get accustomed to the unusual settings and tweak the preferences to my liking. Then there are programming languages like PHP (I know minimal at the moment), XHTML, C and C# that I want to learn. I had planned to learn those languages this summer, but I don’t know if that can be accomplished. Time simply flies during breaks. All this wishful thinking and not enough willpower nor time to do it. ~_~;

BTW, the K2 Kill Me Kiss Me manga is the least covered manga on the net. I could not find 2 decent links covering the series that I didn’t know already by reading the manga. n_n It’s a pity, the manga’s kind of neat. The artwork’s kind of like a cross between FLCL and Bleach and the plot’s kind of like Peach Girl gone badass.

Oh yes. I don’t know why this didn’t occur to me before, but it suddenly dawned upon me a few nights ago when I came across some post-Acen images. I could have gone to Acen. *faints* You see, the only reason I couldn’t go this year was because we had plans to go to China during May. However, those plans were canceled due to family complications, so I COULD HAVE GONE. *sob* I knew there was going to be a surplus of Naruto cosplayers because it’s one of the most popular series along with FullMetal Alchemist right now. The funny thing with Naruto cosplayers is, you can never have too many. You can just think of it as “they all did the kagebunshinojutsu (shadow-clone) technique.” So me and Di were going through Naruto cosplayer pictures and going “how many Kakashi can YOU spot?

I just noticed that the last time I updated this blog was exactly 1 month after the previous one. ._. It’s not so much that I’m too lazy to post, but more the fact that my life during summer break consists of the same routine day after day. We had some tornado warnings yesterday, with sirens going off and all that jazz. They picked the most appropriate time for it too; smack dab in the middle of the Alias season finale. >O Ever 2 minutes, a “brief” news report would come on warning the viewers about tornados in the local area. X_X I missed the first 15 or so minutes of the episode. My mom was hilarious though, racing upstairs to grab our valueables before rushing us all into the cold, unpleasant basement. My dad and I were too skeptical, but we followed her down and played ping pong while she surveyed the basement for food if we get stranded down there. ~_~ Seems we had a ton of V8 Splash juice and good old H2O. We won’t starve! Anyway, nothing happened, and after 10 minutes I went back upstairs to resume my show while my parents talked on their cells. I do hope those in nearby towns were ok though. :3 It turned out the tornado had passed our town and headed Northeast.

Aside from the fact that I was periodically interrupted by tornado warnings while watching Alias, I enjoyed the finale. I think I was expecting a little more though. The opening was probably my favorite part, since it had a very good hook to keep the audience watching. There were a few decent surprises and some cliches. Overall I was pleased with the ending and looking forward to the next season. I normally hate cliffhangers, but this one was strategically thought up so that viewers are left content, but cliffhangers will have them coming back next season.

Mmm, this is the week where I’m supposed to start heavily studying. Today, the first day, was a failure. Although I managed not to turn on the computer all day till now, I spent the majority of the day reading. I read a bit of Time Stops for No Mouse, then got bored during the afternoon and decided to run down to Borders, the local bookstore. There I read Full Metal Panic Vol. 1, K2 Kill Me Kiss Me (by a Korean author based on Korea culture) Vol. 1 & 2, and skimmed through some Fruits Basket, Gravitation as well as Tokyo Babylon Vol. 1; all of which I had read scanlations of. After reading some of Shiori’s reviews on Gravi and TB, I wanted to see for myself how bad they got.

*crosses fingers* I really hope I can find the willpower to start studying soon. =_=;;;

Grades have come in! I’m usually extremely nervous about checking my grades, because it’s like asking yourself when would be the best time to feel depressed. Anyway, I decided to wait until I was about to go to bed to check the grades, because I figured I could sleep it off and then feel depressed in the morning. XD; But they were better than I thought. I had all A’s and 1 B+, sustaining a cumulative GPA of 3.5. The only thing I dislike is the B+, because I hate being on the edge of something. I loathe the feeling of knowing that I was 1 or 2 points away from an A. It’s one of those bang-your-head-into-the-wall feelings.

I’ve been trying to get into the habit of studying for next semester’s courses during this summer break, but I’ve been failing miserably. Studying in a friendly environment such as your own house is too tempting. With the wide screen TV inches away and the ever-addictive computer only a staircase away, it requires incredible willpower (which I don’t have) to stay on track. I really need to figure out a place where away from home where I can study. Maybe the local cafe or bookstore? Without a car, I’m stranded. ._.

As the usual tale goes when one doesn’t stay on studies, I’ve turned to designing. Having abandoned PSP and any sort of designing equipment for 3 months, I wasn’t sure where my abilities lied. I wanted to whip up a new layout for aiNET, but I hadn’t the faintest idea who I should feature. So ingeniously (*coughcough*), I didn’t feature any. Instead I featured scenery, since nature’s one of my favorite themes to work with. The result is what is now the 9th version of aiNET. Although I attempted to make the underlying color as pale pink as possible, I predict that I’ll dislike this layout sooner than many others. The pinkness will eventually get to me. –; Anyway, I won’t ramble on about the layout too much. The layout archive is the ranting place for that, which *gasp* has actually been updated. :O

And to make up for lost TV time in the Uni, I’ve been spending quite a bit of time assuming the luxurious role of a couch potato. Unfortunately, nothing on daytime TV interests me, but I did find amusement in VH1’s 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs Ever. Firstly, “awesomely bad” is an non-sense oxymoron. I’m not sure what they were trying to get at by making statements such as “songs so bad, they’re awesome.” Has trying too hard to be hip ever been successful? Seems to me that they’re only confusing the viewers further. Anyway, some of the songs included were J.Lo’s “Jenny on the Block,” Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs,” and some oldie song called “Mmm mmmm mmm.” Although most statements by the critics were just as bad as the songs themselves, some of them were pretty funning. Case in point, one mentioned that it would be hard for the audience in a concert to yell “We want Mmm mmm mmm!!” XD; Some of the songs were indeed terrible, such as “I’m Too Sexy For My Shirt” and “Barbie Girl.” *shudder* I believe there was a song where the rapper was comparing a girl to a Jeep (is that suppose to be flattering? O.o;), complete with terrible lyrics such as “I want to wax you.” *barf*

Actual decent TV shows are all having their finales around this time. :/ I myself am definitely looking forward to Alias’s season finale this Sunday. I cannot WAIT to see Vaughn tell Lauren in the face that he hates her and loves Sydney. I’ll take great pleasure in seeing that. It’s just so cliche but still great to hear. :3