Excused Absence?

It seems like half my posts are apologies for not posting.

Well, I apologize for that, but this post is an apology as well.

So, I apologize. Not that I'm alone in my misdeeds. (*cough*ericjohnchristineaaron*cough*)

If you were wondering what's kept me away from the oh-so-beloved blogging community, I'll take the time now to expound upon them. If you weren't, it doesn't matter because I'm gonna expound upon them anyway.


Excuse #1: Biohazardous Basement

No, this excuse is not a joke. Our basement apparently contains high levels of radioactive, cancer-causing radon gas (Ra on the periodic table--heh, haven't forgotten my Chemistry lessons yet). When we bought this house, the owners told us that when they did the radon test, the results came back fine, but then when other people did the same test, they got results that showed the presence of dangerous levels of said radon gas. Well, we were more concerned about getting the house than worrying about conflicting results, so we overlooked it. So we bought the house, put the computers in the basement, and didn't pay much thought to it (at least I didn't--I hear that my parents wanted to test it right away but never got around to it). Well, a week or two ago, my mom decides she wants to check up on the radon, considering we were never sure about it. And guess what. High levels of radon gas. More than a year after we buy the house, and play computer down in the basement, we find out it's unhealthy. Great. However, from what I understand, a year isn't enough to pose a serious health threat. It's not good, but it doesn't mean I'm getting cancer now. And yes, I'm in the basement right now typing this, although my mom doesn't like it now that we know. She's been stopping me from going down as much as she can. Thus, blogging has been non-existent.


Excuse #2--Illness

What would a list of excuses be without the classic, "I was sick."?

It's true. I started what I thought was just a bad cold two Wednesday's ago, which got worse before it almost disappeared on Saturday. Then it got worse again. In fact, it became strep throat. So until last Thursday, I was sicker than I've been in a while. Which stunk, considering it was a school vacation. My sickness led me to invest more time playing on my Nintendo Wii, which leads me to my next excuse.


Excuse #3--Conflict of Interest

I know, I know. What could possibly be more important than blogging?

Well, sorry, but I know one thing, at least, that is.

I recently got back into playing the latest installment of what I consider the greatest video game series of all time. For some, The Legend of Zelda may mean nothing to you, but those who have played it will agree that it is an awesome, awesome game. I mean, it's awesome. Listen, I've played plenty of video games, many of them considered great games by almost everyone. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, however, has got to be one of the best. I know, it has a kinda girlie name. But trust me, it's definitely worth playing. Heh, it's worth buying a Gamecube or Wii to play this game, seriously. Even if you don't play/like video games, you'll like this one. My mom and my sisters want me to tell them when I play, because they consider it to be like watching a movie, only this one has an uncertain outcome, and the main character is figuring it out as they go along.

Y'know, I think I might as well add some beefiness to this post, considering my long absence.

"What makes the game so good? And why would I like it if I don't like video games?", you may well ask.

What makes this game so good is hard to put simply. It's something that needs to be experienced for one to fully understand and appreciate why it's so good. But I think the fundamental aspect of its goodness is its ability to make the player feel as if they're Link, the main character of the series. Not only do you feel as if you are the main character, but the depth of the gameplay immerses you in the video-game world of Hyrule.

How does this game accomplish more than what many video games, books, and movies do?

Hard to say. Maybe it's the storyline? Maybe it's because of the satisfaction you get of actually being the hero? Being a hero who's always doing good, squashing evil, and doing it all in a noble fashion? Maybe it's just that I like that kind of storyline, like being the hero, like doing good and squashing evil in a noble fashion.

Not sure, to be honest with you. I have a feeling, though, it's the little details that do it. The fact that everyone in the game calls you by the name you put in as your own. The freedom you have to do little side-quests in between the challenging dungeons (large...um, I dunno how to put this...levels, I guess, filled with little puzzles and traps before you get to the "boss", a huge, hard-to-beat enemy at the end). The way that even the most insignificant character you meet in town has a personality that is evident despite the fact that none of the conversations have any voice, it's all written in a text box.

Lemme sidetrack a bit to explain that last point. Actually, I'll just give an example. You walk into Castle Town, the largest town in the game, and, after talking with a few random passer-by, hear about this tent on the eastern thoroughfare with something new. The people you talk to don't seem to know what it is, though some seem a litrle suspicious. You decide to check it out, and upon finding the tent, walk in. A brief cinematic plays, in which you walk into the dark tent to be greeted by a slick-looking guy in a robin-hood like costume with a gameshow-host smile under a spotlight. With dramatic gestures and enthusiastic expressions on his face, he explains that this is a game, which, although it costs money to play, promises amazing prizes for the winner. After you have the rules explained to you and you pay the fee, the man wishes you good luck, but you catch a little snicker after his well-wishing (This probably isn't making sense to you, considering I said that there isn't any talking. Let me give you an example of what you'd see in the text box.)
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Thank you, good sir! The game begins as soon as you enter the cage! Good luck!......Heh heh heh......

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That little snicker gives you a little hint about what the guy is like. You realize that the suspicions entertained by the others you talked to are confirmed when you step into the cage and see the huge amount of glowing orbs you have to collect before the 30 second time limit runs out. You try, and fail. The man's condolences are also tinged with snickering. Now, this begins to get personal. You wanna teach this jerk a lesson! You're not gonna let him just take your money without a struggle! He thinks he's made an impossible game, but you know better. You have a special piece of equipment earned in one of the dungeons that'll help you in the game, but it still will take a significant amount of skill to beat. You try again, this time collecting all the orbs in the time limit. A bunch of ditsy little onlooking girls squeal. You exit the cage and talk with the man. The distraught look on his face is very satisfying. I'll go do another text box example for this one.

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What??? How??? Impossible......
....Well, it seems we have a new star! Here's your prize, good sir!

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(He hands you a quiver with a greater capacity than the one you have, a very useful prize, actually. He continues...)

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Since you've done so well, I'm sure you won't mind if we construct a new setup especially for you! It'll take a little while to complete, but you must come and try it out when it's finished!

.....I will GET you for this...

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And thus, you walk away happily with your prize, which is all the more satisfying for having foiled the game owner's scheme.

Keep in mind, this is only a little side "quest"-like thing you can do optionally, it's not actually part of the storyline. Anyway, that should give you a taste of how the little details add to the appeal of the game.

I guess that maybe this game isn't the kind of game that a non-gamer would easily enjoy playing. I can almost guarantee, though, that if the person is patient, and likes to read books or watch movies, they would at least enjoy watching. In my opinion, this video game's story has an advantage over stories in movies, and even some books. Instead of just being an onlooker, you actually have to be the one solving the puzzles, fighting the bad guys, figuring out what to do next. It's a whole new level of immersion. And personally, I like being immersed in a story.

Final note: If you like The Lord of the Rings, chances are you'll like Twilight Princess.

Okay folks, that post took me a collective two hours to put together (lol, I've been working on it over two days so it isn't as bad as it sounds).

Hope that makes up for my silence, and covers me if I am silent for a little while longer.

Harvard?

You may remember my being absent from the blogosphere with the excuse of college applications.

If you don't remember, I applied to Tufts, Harvard, and UMass Lowell.

Now, in my opinion, 35,000 dollars a year is too much (Tufts tuition), and 40,000 a year is even worse (Harvard tuition--neither of these include room and board). Especially as opposed to 0 dollars a year, which seems to be almost guaranteed with UMass (scholarships for valedictorian). Naturally, UMass is looking very good right now, and since Tufts and Harvard are extremely selective schools, I was sorta hoping that they would pass me over and UMass Lowell would give me a certain scholarship that pays for everything including traveling expenses. To be honest with you, I was hoping that God would let me know where He wants me to go by letting two colleges reject me and one accept me, and not leave me faced with choices.

He still may do so, but an unforseen (on my part, of course) event has occurred.

Harvard had an alumni interview with me on Sunday.

Now, this really doesn't mean that they're going to accept me, or that they're even interested in me. They try to do this with all their applicants, from what I understand. But I was hoping that they'd ignore me completely, heh.

Anyway, I didn't write this post to discuss college admissions.

On our way to "Not Your Average Joe's", where the interview was to take place, my mom joked around with me saying, "Wouldn't it be funny if we got into a car accident, and it ended up being the guy who's going to interview you?"

I played along with the joke, adding to it and whatnot. We got to the restaurant, and before my mom dropped me off so she could go to Market Basket nearby, she said, "Wouldn't it be funny if I got into an accident with the guy here in the parking lot, so that the guy came late and tells you, 'Sorry, I got in an accident with a dumb old lady'" I told her, "I hope he doesn't really get in an accident, with anyone, because if he does and he tells me, I'm gonna crack up."

We laughed, and went our separate ways.

Anyway, the interview began with no incident. Half-way through, the guy got a call on his cell phone, and excusing himself, took the call. When he was finished he apologized,

"Sorry, I got in a car accident...yesterday..."

I managed to keep it down to a slight smirk.

Do Us All a Favor.

This post is written partly to appease the request of a certain illustrious Shodan (shodan=Japanese word for "black belt"; illustrious shodan=Mrs. B) and partly because I was gonna write this anyway when I got the time.

I will not even mention by name last Sunday's painful occurrence, it's still too fresh a wound to touch. Obviously. I won't go into reasons why--I don't even want to remember.

This last Monday I found the time to make it out to karate class (which the aforementioned certain illustrious shodan found herself absent for--a very, very rare event, I can assure you). The whole class was happily beginning the workout, when a certain purple-belt with an apparent lack of common sense decided he would talk about that occurrence-which-we-shall-not-mention.

Not only did he decide to talk about it, but he had to comment on how it was a good event-which-we-shall-not-mention.

What???? <-------(general response of a class that was filled with brown-belts and above)

Oh, he was just being "objective". Oh, he tries not to root only for one team, but appreciate the skill and good plays of everyone. Oh, we all have to admit that it was a good game, and that we don't have a right to complain, cuz it was a good game. Oh, we have admire along with him that Mann--*cough choke*--managed to--*urk*--squeeze out of a blitz.

Pffft.

I wasn't the only one annoyed. A certain illustrious Sensei was annoyed as well. In fact, he expressed his annoyance with an eloquence that I aspire to emulate. He grabbed a tanto (the short knife samurai would carry and commit suicide with--seppuku--rather than be dishonored by being captured in battle), unsheathed it, and placed it in front of the annoying purple belt.

"Do us all a favor."

(Unfortunately, Mrs. B., this was the most exciting part of the class. Combinations, stances, strikes, and self-defense are good, but not interesting.)

Anyhow, the annoying purple belt shut up.