State of the Ryan

Ok, I'm a bit tired from the Männerchor's field trip to St. John's for a choral festival. (Note: 4:30 am wake up time is FAIL.) Technically, it wasn't a contest, but we still pwned. Not that I'm biased or anything.

So I finally found a nerdy outlet for some of my fandoms: music. Or, to a better extend, piano. I've already learned the Organization XIII theme (which was insanely easy; only 45 minutes before it was performance ready). I have ambitions to learn the Destiny Islands theme from the orginial game (it's such a fun little song), but that's probably the hardest piece in my "Nerd Binder," beating out both Still Alive and Professor Layton's Theme in one fell swoop. I'm currently working on a number from Phoenix Wright called "Fragrance of Dark Coffee." Now, I'm not really a fan of PW (in all honesty, I suck at the games), but I love this song and the story/character behind it all. 

That's one thing I love about video games today: their soundtracks. They've advanced far beyond the old 8-bit melodies from the NES or Game Boy (though I still have a faint nostalgic feeling whenever I hear the old Pokémon theme coming from a youngster's GBA). I have the Super Mario Galaxy soundtrack in my possession (I love the full orchestra behind it.). On top of that, one of my best friends loaned me her complete Kingdom Hearts soundtrack collection for my enjoyment. (My study playlist has been completely over-flooded now; shuffle doesn't really work all the time now. :P)

Those who have payed attention to my blog will note my repeated failures of maintaining my geeky tendencies and that I haven't found anyone to geek out about things to. That's been fixed now (w00t!), and the answer has been under my nose the entire time. Or rather, around the neck of someone sitting next to me.

You see, on the first day of Physics, I sat down where my traditional spot has always been: the front of the class, partly because of my overachieving ways, and partly because of my near-sightedness (glasses don't help when I'm far from the board; far away text has always been my eyes' failure point). A few minutes later, this guy sat down next to me. After the introductions had been made (multiple times, remembering my failure at remembering names: it took a few tries to remember his name as "Nick," not "Tyler" *facepalms*), I noticed the necklace that he was wearing. Generally, I don't notice such things, but it was fairly peculiar. It was kinda "X" shaped, and it triggered a small portion of my brain. I didn't expand on this idea, as the professor just entered and the pain that became to be known as "Physics" began. 

Later, after coming home one weekend and having a visit'n'chat with the Currently-Obsessed-With-Demyx Rachel sparked an idea about why that necklace had caught my attention. Again, I dismissed it, thinking "No, it's just a coincidence. That can't possibly be right..."

The solution presented itself this weekend on the bus ride down to St. John's. Being both in Männerchor, we got seated next to each other. The conversation unfolded as this:

Ryan: (finds reading light) Win!

Nick: Yeah, any bus with reading lights is win.

Ryan: I can play this now. (Pulls out original GBA that somehow got in his bag from home)

N: May I inquire on what game you have?

R: (nonchalantly pulls out game) Oh, just a little game from my childhood...

N: (looks at game, nonchalantly) Ah. Wait. Chain of Memories isn't that old, is it?

R: About 4 years.

N: Really? Let's see, the original one came out in 2002, I beat number 2 during senior year...

Conversation continues as such. Below are a few stand out points:

N: Yeah, I'm on like my 12th time through the game. I love it.  You might have noticed that my necklace is the same as Roxas'. I thought it was [can't remember exact adjective; it was along the lines of "prettier"] than Sora's.

R: (jaw drop) THAT'S why it looked familiar! I thought I'd seen it before, but I couldn't figure out why.

....

(In conversation of the FAIL that is the CoM card battle system, Organization XIII, the DS KH game, and whether Demyx's boss fight is FAIL or not)

N: I actually have a jacket like that [presumably an Organization coat].

R: (silent for a few seconds) That's a win of epic proportions.

....

Yeah, I think Concordia just got a bit less lonely a place for me. All I need to do now is find a Portal fanatic, and a tech fanatic (preferably not Anti-Mac) and I'll be sound as a pound.

Commencing happy dance in 3...2...1...

My nerdy-ness is beginning to show

And it's kinda scaring me. Without having the easy ability to converse about nerdy topics (Portal, Kingdom Hearts, Portal, Computers, and Portal) to others, my nerdy tendencies are beginning to manifest themselves.

Ok, so it began innocuously enough with Swing Night. The basic step that we're taught is counted "One-Two-Rock-Step." As the night when on, I started getting tired (and the songs started getting faster) and I started to get lazy on my counting. It eventually arrived to "One-Two-Roxas." Of course people heard me say it under my breath while dancing, but they just thought I was desperately trying to keep time (FYI, I was FAILing epically at keeping time).

Things were pretty quiet until I found this shirt.woot! that featured The Cake That Was A Lie. I promptly (and eagerly) showed my roommate. He didn't understand.

Next, while at lunch, a group member ('cuz I still eat with my Orientation group, when they don't eat without me; I forget times occasionally) got a package. I looked for my multi-tool key to help her out. I didn't find it and while I was trying to explain to someone what I was looking for, this slipped out:

"Remember that little key-blade thingy I had? I can't find it..."

I assure you, it was completely unconscious. Of course, after I said it, I think I turned red a little bit, but I doubt they noticed.

Then my roommate got me addicted on Solitaire again. Guess what's awaiting me when I start up the Solitaire XL program after a few years of dormancy?

If you can't tell (or don't know, whichever), the card back is two things: 1, it's the Nobody emblem, mostly used by Organization XIII, and 2, it's Luxord's weapon of choice (Luxord being an Organization member). I feel incredibly nerdy playing Solitaire now (in a good way, though).

And the last thing is whenever someone says the words "still alive" and (somewhat) referring to someone or something, I'll reflexively ask, "And doing Science?"

EXAMPLE: "Then, at the end of the novel, I found out that so-and-so was still alive."

Ryan: "And doing Science?"

[blank stares]

Yeah, so I really need to get to Gaming Club sometime and see if they play some of the games I have. A preliminary scan of Facebook reveals that no one at Concordia has a reference to Kingdom Hearts on their profile, or a Portal reference. This could be a very lonely place for me, especially since I've picked up Chain of Memories again (and then found out why I stopped playing it, and that the 3D, PS2 version is coming over the Pacific). Ok, my nerd rant is over. Back to homework.

My new friend

He came in a box...which was in another box...inside another box (not very environmentally friendly, is it?)
Isn't it beautiful? An new Acer Aspire one netbook. What? Just because I'm in college doesn't mean I have to give up on my infatuation with technology.

It is the smallest little computer you'll ever see. I had to make a tough decision, though, for my birthday gift to myself: new iPod, or this? Needless to say, I found more usability out of the little computer. Now I just need to teach myself Linux commands...

So it's my birthday and all...

And no, that's not a lie.

So I've officially made it to that point in life where I can vote, apply for a credit card, and some other things, I guess. I didn't think that today would be anything special (the post office on campus was closed...why? Mail happens on the weekends. Saturday, at least...), what with a choir audition, some homework, and whatnot. But my Orientation club (who have become my best friends on campus) baked a cake for me, and my roommate went out and got some balloons and streamers. Unfortunately, though, no candles. Dorm policy.

And that symbolizes what I love about Concordia. It wasn't how pretty the campus was, or how nice the food was, or the mascot (no, it definitely wasn't Kernel that made the choice over St. Thomas clear). I felt the community sense of the campus was the greatest aspect of the college, and ultimately what made me choose it over the engineering-centric St. Thomas. And, if any Cobbers are, in fact, reading my blog, I don't have anything against Kernel. He kinda grew on me in time (haha. He grew on me. Corn humor.).

Of course, though, now I have to do laundry tomorrow...[sigh]. I guess everyday can't be your birthday.

FAILing, Cobber-dom, and Dining Services

...Yeah, that blogging history is kinda EPIC FAIL...but cut me some slack. I've had a very busy time.

So I'm in college now. Took a bit to get here (ok, I didn't really experience the "OMG, I'm leaving for College!" until about the day before), and some last minute shopping expeditions, but I still managed.

But now on to the first couple of days. I'm dead tired every night. The orientation schedules are crazy intense. I understand that the point is to make us tired at to encourage socializing and networking. Believe me, it is working. I am making new acquaintances (I like to think, anyway), but sometimes, you just want some free time to lounge around, or to catch up with old friends.

The food's amazing. Sorry Rachel, but you will have to envy Concordia for that aspect of life. Though, I would like to assume that by not partaking in the breakfast service (and instead opting for a pop-tart or an instant breakfast), I can at the very least make the Freshman Fifteen down to a more modest Freshman Five.

I got to experience my first college discussion. Of course, it was about the dull global warming book, but I still managed to bring in a topic or two of interest for discussion. That's quite an achievement for an introvert like me.

I'm kinda glad I decided on Concordia. I mean, no, the "happy Cobber" ideal isn't the overarching idea for the campus (I have seen...jerks), but everyone is genuinely nice and seem to enjoy being here.

On that note, I am a bit weirded out by the mission statement's presence nearly everywhere on campus. It isn't a bad mission statement ("The purpose of Concordia College is to influence the affairs of the world by sending out thoughtful and informed men and women dedicated to the Christian way of life."), but it shows up on signs, in buildings, PowerPoints, and everyone seems to know it to some degree. Then there's the whole Cobber ring thing...

Overall, I think I'm gonna like it here. Granted, there are a few thing's I'm not terribly fond of, but isn't college suppose to be an experience into life, exploring new paths and new conflicts to solve, in the goal of becoming prepared for the burdens of society.

...that was way too philosophical for 11 o'clock at night. Must have been something in the ice cream.

It's been so long...

Yeah, I've put together exactly how long it has been before I have actually posted anything to me blog, but the buzzwords of the summer has been productive and physical fitness. Which translates into get Ryan off the computer and doing something. Not that that's bad, or anything. If anything its very helpful, since I have a rather poor family history with diabetes, any kind of exercise would be beneficial.

But on to more important things. For instance, in the playing of "Spot the Prius" over vacation, I counted 75. In 4 days. And half of them were from California. Which, to me, seems almost stereotypical with the whole California-environmental-hippie image that tends to plague my mind. Of course I know it's completely false (heck, one of my best friends is from Cali. Where, exactly, escapes me at the moment...). Also, during the white water rafting excursion we decided to do, the river was around 8 feet higher than normal, and I'm pretty sure I almost died 3 times. One of the boats following us tipped over, but thankfully everyone managed to get back alive and on the boat.

Also, after we came back, Rachel and I went to go see WALL-E. I kinda liked; it was much better than the Ratta..Ratte...the French cooking one with the rat (you know, that last one). I was glad to see that Apple does take over the world of computing (Mac references abounded), but I disagree with the Buy 'N' Large/Wal-Mart take over taking 100 years. I see it more like 50. Also, I do have one other question: if the auto-pilot (which pulled a HAL-esque takeover of the spaceship) is, in fact, in complete control of the vessel, why does it still have to push buttons on the console? 

In the car, Rachel and I started talking about the moral of the movie (computers should never be placed in control). One part, I brought up how a company could have lost an artificially intelligent computer, and how embarrassing it would be to find it again. I thought (inside) that that could have the potential of being a very entertaining short story. I plan on pursuing it.

I went to some grad parties, and found that I managed to spread the Mac gospel even further. Austin, my Windows-centric friend, had decided to go the Mac. Also, my other friend Mickey stated that he ordered his Mac. His case, however, I'm not sure I influenced. Nevertheless, Austin joins the growing list of converts I have founded, including two cousins, my grandparents, my parents, my sister, and Rachel (the French speaking one).

Speaking of Macs, I finally got mine. A nice, slightly toasty MacBook Pro. I currently love the thing, and have already installed Windows on it (hey now, don't look at me like that. It was for Portal/engineering. It was necessary.). I'll have to show Rachel what lag-free Portal is like (assuming I don't need the internet to launch Steam games.).

Well, I guess that's it for now. I'll try to keep more posts coming in. Bye.

Day 1

Well, not much happened today. Just cleaning up and packing. And waiting for the call to leave (we had to pick up mom from her work before we could go). Then began the long, 4.253 (not precisely) hour drive to our first destination: Souix Falls, SD. The former stomping grounds of Bre (why her parents chose Sartell over Souix Falls, I'll never know). We met up with the Beans, great friends of ours, with whom we're partaking in this great 14+ hour trip to Yellowstone. But enough about that. I came up with a brilliant game while driving up. Ready to hear it?

SPOT THE PRIUS!

Yes, as the hybrid becomes more and more prevalent in society, I started counting all of the small, fugly Toyota's I could spot. I came up with 14. Scary.

Also, all the gas in Souix Falls has 10% ethanol added. And I wonder Why? Ethanol is not the answer to high gas prices. It just creates more problems, like slightly higher food prices. Especially since ethanol doesn't get as good a mileage as regular gas gets, so you have to fuel more, which defeats the point. But I digress.

I finally played Portal tonight on a computer that doesn't lag. And it's AMAZING!!!

Well, that's about it, I suppose. TTYL (I'll be playing Wii in the car tomorrow. How? Well, if there is one thing I learned in Engineering, it's that you can do anything with the correct amount of adhesive. XD).