Since people have wanted to hear the story, I'll go ahead and post my whole roommate story at an anime con a few weeks ago.

Before the con started, he complained to me that he got screwed out of a hotel room (due to other people changing their minds) and wanted me to get a room, or if he could stay at my place during the con. Originally I was going to either commute 1 hour each day, or stay somewhere w/ a short drive to the con for less. To make it easier on him and others (there's no way I wanted to deal w/ driving two people to/from the con each day either), I decided to stay nearby for $352 (for two nights, includes taxes). He was not happy about the price he'd have to pay for the room (I wanted to split it 4 ways evenly). He thought about staying with another friend leaving the room available (which I paid for, non-refundable for cheaper price). He also tried picking who would all stay in the room, mostly people I did not know when he wasn't setting up the hotel...

Hey CAG, I wonder if people wondered what was going on with me since I use to constantly post blogs, then go MIA for 5 months. It's also funny that whenever I go MIA from posting blogs, the_grimace comes back blogging (and while I post, he's gone). I probably won't write much as for what is going on, but I'll discuss a few things.

First off, I'm the type of person who gets into phases, then moves onto something else. I had phases where I built massive things out of Lego's, then stopped. When I first started college, I had the phase of posting a lot on internet forums. After college, I really cut back on posting and got into blogging a lot. Now that I'm not posting or blogging, just what have I been doing? There's no denying work keeps me busy during the week where I don't have a lot of time to blog these days. I have opted to use my free time differently the past several months. My newest phase is cosplaying/going to cons (mostly anime). I started going to Otakon...

When Nintendo announced that preorders were starting for the WiiU on September 13th, I preordered right when Best Buy opened up preorders because of in-store pick-up. Despite having the fear my WiiU preorder was going to be canceled (due to going over the limit on the CC I put it in, which resulted in me calling BB to switch cards), I finally got it today and feel so happy.



I would have picked it up earlier at Best Buy, but I did not think they opened until 11am. Got there at 10:30am and was surprised to see the store open. Thankfully I had no line for in-store pick-up. The back of the store had a line for those who did not preorder.....who also got stuck with the basic model. I drove back home right away so I could open it (thankfully I live nearby Best Buy).


...

So last weekend was Nekocon 15 in Hampton, VA. For just over 5 months this year, I was living in Newport News, VA, which was adjacent to Hampton. I've been wanting to go to the con for sometimes, but always backed out because that and Anime USA were back to back. This year I decided to attend both. I figured Nekocon would be a con I'd love, and in the end I was definitely not disappointed at all.



I could not go on Friday since I was going to work on Friday, but reserved a hotel room for Friday night and Saturday night. Got down to Hampton, VA just after 11pm at night, unpacked my stuff, and got up early in the morning. I should have changed hotel rooms since mine was above the sprinkler room (made loud noises at night). So when I get them, my badge could not be located because I had to pick mine up through the Hampton Anime Club (since I'm a member). The person who had...

My October pick-ups were suppose to be pretty massive at the end of the month, but due to Hurricane Sandy coming, UPS had to close for a few days where many packages did not arrive until November. Anyway, I will still post what I got.


A very expensive day indeed, where I got a Samsung Galaxy S3 along with a hard case for it. Digimon, Un-Go, Demon King Daimo, and Dream Eater Merry also all arrived from RightStuf.


Yes, I finally got a new graphics card. That is the biggest shock ever. My PC was good, but the graphics card that came with it sucked. Due to trading in my iPhone 4S getting $330 giftcard for it, I decided to purchase this. It was $93 on Amazon, and gave me a $15 rebate on top of it (mail-in). Been playing more games on PC lately and utilize my Steam more because...

People on CAG are probably well aware I'm a picky eater. I rather not be that way, but I seem to suffer through some kind of condition which makes it difficult for me to try new foods or like new stuff I try. This is the article:

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs...s-of-food.html

Quote: Marla Lopez is 54 but eats like a toddler. She has never eaten a piece of fruit or tried a green vegetable. For as long as she can remember, her daily diet has consisted primarily of three kinds of foods: milk (and ice cream); white breads (including crackers, tortillas and pancakes); and potatoes (including chips and French fries). Sometimes she’ll also eat bacon. READ MORE: Is Picky Eating a Medical Condition? Lopez said her picky eating started as an infant. She would gag on her baby food. Foods that most people would consider mouth-watering - an omelet or a sandwich –

...

Since 2010, I would get a yearly eye exam ever since I got glasses following my doctor's orders. When I typically schedule my yearly exam, I was leaving my job and moving to another state. I called my eye doctor to cancel because I would not be able to fit in an eye exam before I left. When I moved to VA, I planned to get my eyes checked, but sort of held off on it since I didn't feel like searching for a new eye doctor (I only had one all my life). With me not wanting to search, job keeping me busy, and me being unhappy with my job wanting to move on, I decided not to other with an eye exam. Since I landed a job back in Maryland, I decided I'd see my old eye doctor again once my vision benefits kicked in. Since it was almost two years since my last eye exam, I had quite a vision change. My doctor even showed me my old prescription compared to my new prescription on the eye chart (big difference). It was unfortunate that I could not find a new pair of glasses I liked anywhere near...

People on CAG may remember how I blogged about smart phone decision and posting how I got an iPhone 4S. Let's just say at first I thought the iPhone4S was pretty cool, but it started to go downhill after owning one for a few weeks where I no longer wanted. Never did I dislike a phone so much in my lifetime.

Anyway, I had a Droid Incredible for almost 2 years. I was going to upgrade when my contract was up, but I lost it on a roller coaster so I had to upgrade sooner (thankfully I was eligible). I went with a Galaxy Nexus because I only had a short time to decide on phones. While I loved the speed of the phone and the nice screen, I hated how it took less than a day for the battery to drain and the camera was only 4Mega Pixel. The camera was the big deal breaker which is why I started looking for a new phone (I had 14 days to return the phone at Verizon). When doing more research, the Samsung Galaxy S3 was by far the phone I wanted the most, but was not releasing until...

Well, I seem to be having a problem with weight gain the past few months, which is starting to drive me crazy. The last time I weighed anywhere near as much was back in high school. I'm sort of trying to find a way to trim some weight.

Back in high school, my weight went as high as 158lbs where I needed to where a size 32 pants. My senior year in high school and my early college years, my weight started to drop significantly. I was down to under 130lbs. After college I gained a little weight up to 140lbs. For a while my weight was around the mid 130's at the most (pants size of 29-30). Ever since I moved back to Maryland and changed jobs, my weight has been going up. I first noticed my weight increase when I jokingly weighed myself on a package scale, where it said I weighed 143lbs. When I got home, I checked the scale and saw I was over 142lbs. Now I'm starting to feel a little down because I liked keeping my weight in the 130lbs range, or maybe a little less...

Well, this is one of the few problems I never openly admitted on the internet.

I had issues with reading ever since I was young. I was ALWAYS put in the lowest level reading group in Elementary school. Whenever we took standardized tests on reading comprehension (such as reading a story and answering questions), I would do VERY poorly on them where it actually took me a few tries to get passed one. I can remember getting a 20% on my Julius Caesar test (part of the blame is that I barely read the book). That is why I took the fewest reading classes I could in high school, taking public speaking and composition classes instead (which I did very well at being one of the top students). Despite having such horrible reading, my math scores would be through the roof. I never cared to be put in the most advanced math classes (I preferred learning everything I could), but I'd have by far the top grades in my classes on anything related to math or logic (like programming). On Chemistry/Physics...

All right, as I hinted in my last pick-up blog post, September was definitely a much bigger month of me buying new things. A lot of it had to do with sales on RightStuf along with me wanting to buy myself some birthday presents. So this is what I got.


I got a 3DS card so I could buy more Theatherhytm music while Battlefield 3 was $10 at Best Buy w/ coupon. I'm not a big BF fan, but multi was fun with friends.


Strike Witches was on sale at RightStuf, so I decided to pick it up. Kid Icarus was $15 at Best Buy, causing me to go ahead and give it a shot (fun game, even if the controls feel weird on ground). Persona 4 part 1 of the anime, while it's ENG only, I really enjoy it a lot and look forward to part 2. Fafner also arrived early, but did not start it yet.

...

Well, I think it's finally time I wrote a blog about one problem I've been having throughout the entire year........I'm in a pretty bad gaming slump right now. This has been the year where I completed the fewest games since my busy college semester with little money (back in 2007). This comes after 2009/2010 where I completed the most games I ever did, started to finish a bunch of JRPGs again like the old days, and so on. 2011 saw a slight drop because of me increasing my anime watching, but I still managed to complete a good number of games.

So how has it all started? January 2012 was a slow buying month, but I did purchase FFXIII-2 and Soul Calibur V for instance. I was beyond excited about FFXIII-2 since I loved FFXIII a lot (compared to most). While I did complete FFXIII-2 and Soul Calibur V story mode, ever since then, the only games I beat were Theatherhythm, New Super Mario Bros. 2, a few characters on Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generation, and Starhawk...

I was wondering why I never got around to posting this blog, until I saw what I bought in August. Well, due to having another expensive bill month, I did not order as much. September does pick up a bit though.



Persona 4 Arena, just had to buy that. Really fun game so far. Bought an iTunes card so I could get an app or two.



Since my place lacks lamps and does not have much lighting, I needed another lamp. After seeing this Baltimore Ravens lamp for a good deal, I had to pick it up. Also got Clannad, since I streamed the first two episodes on The Anime Network loving it so much (making me buy it).


Supporting my Baltimore teams, with a Ravens mousepad and new...

All right, I decided to blog about how big of a nerd people think I am. I had some people tell me I'm very nerd, some say I'm somewhat nerdy, and some say I'm not nerdy at all. I'm very curious as to what CAGs may think based on all the blogs I wrote.

There are some things that keep me away from being a big nerd, such as I'm not a massive Star Wars fan, not into Star Trek, not into comic books (I despise them), I do not go to certain movie showings dressing up as a character, etc. I also look normal in public (although I'll wear video game/anime t-shirts a lot). One of my favorite activities is snowboarding, and I also go out and mountain bike every once in a while. I am a sports fan (Baltimore and Chicago teams) and love attending sports games. I listen to Rap/Hip-Hop on the radio station or on disc while driving around in my car (I'm familiar with rappers like Trey Songz, L'll Wayne, NeYo, Kanye West, Young Jeezy, etc.).

But what could make me nerdy?...

For some reason, I pay way close attention to plastic bag colors of stores. Whenever I see a plastic bag with someone carrying their lunch (at work), I can instantly identify what store that bag came from. For a while, it would go (in the state of MD)...

Blue bag = Food Lion

White bag = Safeway

Tan color bag = Giant

Yellow bag = Shop Rite

Kroger for years has used tan colored bags, when I use to shop there in the Midwest and VA.

I also notice when stores change their bags because it will completely throw me off. Wal-Mart right now is using gray bags, but I remember when they were white before, blue before, clear before, etc. While Best Buy Buy bags are currently blue, I remember when they were yellow, white, and clear before. Mars Supermarket used blue bags and now changed to tan. Giant really throws me off because they used tan bags forever, now their bags are white where I can get them mixed...

Hey CAG, been a long time since I blogged. Let's just say I haven't felt like blogging much as of late, and I just have too many things going on with my life. I did want to share with everyone something that happened over two weeks ago.

RightStuf has quickly become my "go to" site when ordering anime. Prices have been reasonable, shipping is pretty quick even if I select the free one, and their customer service has been fantastic. My loyalty for them has been pretty high, so I opted to make most all my Summer/Fall anime preorders there. I preordered No. 6 and Shakugan no Shana through them in July, and I ordered Clannad: After Story (blu-ray) since they had it for a cheaper price. To cut costs on shipping, RightStuf decides to ship my items together. I was okay with it and continued following the tracking. I was shocked to see my items arriving in Amarillo, TX wondering why is the USPS sending out my items all the way there from IA? I checked back later...

All right, really quick blog for me this time. Does anyone plan to go to NYCC? I only ask because I'm greatly considering going since I only live just over 3 hours away. Last year's event had some cool things go on. I also had tons of online friends go last year. While I am not a comic book fan, I do love games and anime. The only things holding me back from going are that I don't know NYC's public transit at all (never been to NYC), I heard Saturday is way too freaking crowded (only day I might be able to go), and I do hear mixed things about the con. But at the same time, I do love going to conventions so I feel I should definitely consider it. I have two cons planned for November, but none for October, so I could probably fit it in.

Any CAG plan to go?

Oh course I'd be tweeting, look at all those nerds!!

I know, I am two weeks past due on blogging about my Otakon 2012 experience at the Baltimore Convention Center (biggest Anime Convention on the East Coast). I held off since I was starting a new job the day after Otakon along with a lot of other things going on. Now that things are settling, I'll blog about it. Unfortunately, I'm only posting a fraction of the cosplay photos since most will just be left to my Facebook (I was too lazy to resize over one hundred photos for CAG).


LOOK AT ALL THOSE NERDS!!!


I'm a massive Eureka Seven fan, so this badge was perfect

As usual, Otakon was super packed even on Friday. Some areas you could barely walk due to massive crowds. Yes Otakon needs a larger venue, but Otakorp and the city of Baltimore are too close to ever move...

Gheesh, I've been having these blogs way too frequently because I keep on moving. Well, hopefully I settle into this location for a bit. Anyway, I ended up moving to another state again getting a new place. Personally, I feel I'm paying more for it than I should, but I just had to have Verizon FiOS and live in an all right area. The size of the place seems to be good enough for me, although I wish I had two bathrooms. Anyway, this is how it looks.

...

I know, my last blog was a pick-up blog and my next one is a pick-up blog. Lets just say the month of July has been very hectic where I had to go through job transition along with another moving transition. A few blogs should be posted this weekend such as my Otakon 2012 blog along with others. July started off extremely slow because I didn't want to buy much due to moving expenses. But when Otakon 2012 came around, I forgot I was trying to save money.



Yes, got an iPhone 4S, accessories, and Fractale (blu-ray). I lost my previous phone so I had to get a new one on short notice. Wanted a Samsung Galaxy 3S, but could not get it to work out. Oh well, loving the iPhone.



I got Moribito Part 1, Theaterhythm (very awesome game, absolutely love it), and Marvel vs....