Lets just say I met with a girl at an anime convention not long ago (we sort of met online and came across each other at a convention). She added me on a social networking site and we talked before we met (like on what cosplay I'd be). She shouted my name at the anime convention so we met up. We talked for a bit and she took my picture. A few weeks ago she sent me a message asking me how I was doing, then said we should grab some lunch together sometime. I said that sounds good, but we have yet to eat lunch yet. Most of that is because we had a hurricane coming our way one weekend, another weekend I was busy doing things on my birthday, two weekends ago I had a funeral, and last weekend I was away at a theme park staying busy (and too tired to do anything afterward). Now that I have free time this weekend, now I think it's time to setup a lunch date (she even said so when I talked to her recently).

Despite having other conflicting things happen recently, one reason...

The biggest shock to my August was that I only picked up two video games. I picked up fewer games for three reasons: not many game releases, already have a large backlog, and I've been more so in the mood for anime (or manga when I'm sitting around places). I decided it was best to only buy the games I really want, and some I don't want as bad I'll wait on. Anyway, this was the retail game I purchased in August:



No More Heroes Paradise. I was always wanting the game on Wii, but since I heard about the PS3 version (and since I had PS Move), decided I should pick it up. Game is pretty cool so far. Along with that I got Voices of a Distant Star (awesome director) and Code Geass R2 Part 3. I also got a PSN card listed later on which was used to buy Street Fighter 3rd Strike Online. I was already a fan of the game before and the PSN version is awesome. Those who never played before, I kick their butt. Those who are great kick my butt, haha. Here...

Yup, today is my 29th Birthday. I seriously cannot believe I'm almost 30 years old. Yesterday I picked up my birthday cake I ordered at Safeway.


I ordered a white cake, white icing, and white filling. I just love white cakes from Safeway, which is why I ordered one there. I only got a 1/8 sheet size since only I will be eating the cake. Had a stomach ache early this morning because I hate 40% of the cake last night. I should have gotten a keyblade or a PlayStation logo on it.

So what are my plans on my birthday? Originally I had absolutely nothing. I didn't care to go to the Baltimore Grand Prix although I like Formula 1 racing (I went to a race once before, since it moves so fast, can't really watch it....but I plan to watch on TV at least). I wasn't going to the MD state fair. Yesterday while texting a CAG friend, he wanted to take me out to lunch...

All right, this will be a quick blog to discuss two things. One about my birthday coming up soon and another having to do with a girl.

First off my birthday is coming up in 6 days. I honestly have no idea what I'm going to do on my birthday yet. Ever since CAG blogs came, I did the following things on my birthday:
2008 - I shipped off my PSP-2000 to get replaced and played Warhawk w/ CAGs at night. Mostly just sat around playing games, since I was still unemployed at the time.

2009 - I went to work. After work I didn't really do anything until Resistance 2 co-op multi-player night with CAGs. Lol, a co-worker talked about going to a strip club, but I didn't want to do it at the time.

2010 - My birthday was on Labor Day weekend, but I decided to work ALL weekend so I'd get a big paycheck. Outside of that, I just played some games and I believe I grabbed KFC for lunch.

Regardless, you can see my birthday parties haven't...

This has definitely been quite a week for me with all that's been going on. My Monday involved me going to a memorial service for one of my managers passing away (I was definitely sad to hear the news). Tuesday I experienced the earthquake. Tester voting has started. Lastly, never once have I thought I'd be in the path of a hurricane (sort of) in my entire life, but it's happening with Irene coming.

I'll start off with the earthquake. I was sitting in a room with a co-worker just like any normal day. We noticed the room and everything shake a little, so he starts to panic as to what is going on. Then it shook again much more and he ran out of the room as quick as possible. I looked outside to see what people were doing (people at work were running like crazy), but I just went back to work. I've been through an Earthquake before (although a smaller one) when it hit the Midwest back in 2008. They evacuated my work by turning the fire alarm on (so I had to leave)....

I rarely get to blog these days since I'm constantly busy with stuff. However, this is a quick topic I wanted to discuss. Have you ever gone out someone and have some stranger ask you for a car ride somewhere or some money/change? I was thinking I was the only person this was happening to, but I guess not. Then again, I live in Baltimore, MD.

This started because yesterday when I was pumping gas in Glen Burnie, MD (near Ferndale, MD and Linthicum, MD) because it was at $3.49. Some weirdo with long/somewhat curly hair wearing a plaid jacket (kind of a redneck) asking me if I'm going to Annapolis, MD. I just said no. He goes inside the gas station talking to a lady at the service counter. He then comes out complaining about that lady wouldn't help him out. He tells me he doesn't drink, car broke down, and needs assistance on getting down to Annapolis. He wasn't even standing all that close to me. He then asks me if I have change to give them since he wants to take...

All right, I decided sign up for the casting call to be on PlayStation Network's exclusive programming reality show "The Tester" season 3. Many of my local friends in the DMV area have been pushing for me to be on the show, and I agreed that I'd be a good fit.

Last year I started to follow The Tester closely because my close friend Cheska was on the show (I was a big supporter getting her on). I ended up really enjoying season 2 and felt I'd be perfect to be a cast member. Many of my local and online friends felt the same thing too. So once SCEA announced on the PS Blog about casting call for season 3 now being open, I decided to register.

I went ahead and created my profile. Took some time to upload a video, along with taking extra pics to add to my profile. I sort of wanted to add more pictures that show my personality well (like my picture playing Dance Dance Revolution, my cosplay picture, etc.), but I may swap a picture out to upload them...

I decided to post my Otakon pick-ups last since I purchased a bunch of things. Some may notice some similar stuff icebeast has, I have too. Along with my Otakon pick-ups, I'll post everything I purchased in July.



I got two free nico nico shirts along with lots of posters. Buying frames for most all will be EXPENSIVE.



All the figures and mugs I got. Most mugs/glassware was only $5, except the Madoka one was $20 (It's very special to me). I got another Hope figure since that's what I magically got in the FFXIII box.



All the boxsets and movies I got (blu-ray and DVD).



All the T-shirts I got along with K-ON! guitar pillow and notebook.



Some of my purchased artwork. Would have bought more if I went to the Art Gallery earlier (went later on Sunday with little money and time left).


...

I definitely had a busy weekend with Otakon 2011, co-workers wanting me to attend a party on Saturday (I went very late though for a short time), and Distant Worlds concert at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, MD. It took me a while to decide on going to Distant Worlds because I figured Bandai would have its panel around the same time. Eventually I made up my mind to skip the Bandai and Sunrise panel to go to Distant Worlds. The concert started at 7:30pm, so I left Otakon at 6pm taking MTA Light Rail instead of re-parking my vehicle.


Unfortunately, due to getting my ticket late, I could not get a cheap $38 seat. I went with a $58 seat which I paid $61 for after all the fees. I also asked friends if they were going, but some already got a seat or had other plans. I ended up hanging out with my co-worker’s daughter’s friend (quite a network of people, lol). It all...

I bring up this topic because I hear different reactions from people on what I eat daily compared to what others eat. Many are concerned about me getting the proper vitamins each day, but do people seriously try to eat a balanced diet every single day getting all vitamins?

For me, I never really think about having enough vitamins. I just eat whatever I feel like. On a Tuesday for instance, I eat cereal + water for breakfast (Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, or Rice Krispies....don't have milk with cereal), Pretzels + Pepsi for lunch, KFC Popcorn Chicken + Potato Wedge + Pepsi for dinner, and my dessert may consist of some sort of bread, rolls, cupcakes, or cookies (along with my third Pepsi or Gingerale). For Wednesday, swap out Popcorn chicken with plain hamburgers, while I'll have Spaghetti on Thursday. Other days can vary what I eat, where I may eat chicken fingers, steak, pork chops, etc. The only thing I'm somewhat concerned about is having a little meat in...

There's no denying, I get a lot of packages come my way because I order online all the time (especially from Amazon). Because of this, I'm constantly dealing with various parcel carriers delivering me packages. Over time I've learned which ones I like and which ones I dislike.

In the past I never had issues with FedEX. They'd normally ring the doorbell and require a signature for package. Lately they've gone downhill. Whenever I have a package delivered to me from them, they just drop it off at my door. They don't knock on my door or anything, just dropped it off and I never knew it came. I had my PlayStation Move controller, a few brand new $60 games in a box, along with Nintendo 3DS all dropped off at my door. Seriously, dropping off a package in an apartment building is not a good idea. They could have easily dropped off my packages at my apartment leasing office for security. I had a friend who had them deliver an iPhone waiting at the door. He never heard...

Yesterday night, GenDV138, The Great BM, Atherius, Indifference, MCalvert1, nightmare452, dwhelan, bigrob029, and I all went to the Play! A Video Game Symphony in Vienna, VA last night.


Basically, one CAG posted in our thread about the event coming to the DC area. Many of us were not familiar with the group, but a bunch of us all decided to go together, giving us another excuse to hang out with as a group. With lawn seats only being $20 (before taxes and fees), we felt it was cheap and we could all sit together.

In case you don't know anything about play, this is what it says on their website:

Quote: From the creative team that brought you the ground breaking Dear Friends-Music from FINAL FANTASY Symphony Tour, comes an entirely new celebration of video game music and images: PLAY! A Video Game Symphony is a Symphony world-tour featuring music from

...

July 1st to July 6th, I decided to go back to my hometown to visit friends and family. Since my parents live 10 hours away, I've opted to travel via plane every time I flew back. Every time I fly I go from BWI (Baltimore/Washington Airport, my nearest airport) to Dayton International (one of the few airports w/ a nonstop direct flight, 2 1/2 hours away from family). The only way to get back to the direct city my family lives in is to switch flights, which ends up being quite expensive and sort of a pain. The four times I've flown on my own, TWO times I got flagged at the same airport. I'll admit that it's weird dv8mad had has Dad pass away the day I was back in his city (him and I come from the same area).

Yesterday I was heading home to the Baltimore/DC area. My Dad drove me to the airport. I had a great weekends where I spent time with old friends I haven't seen in 3 years, spent time with my best friend, spend time with my sister/brother in-law, along with spending...

People on CAG have learned I'm a picky eater, but also learned that I only eat very few food items each week. Lets say there's a lot of food I ate at one point and completely stopped eating, while some food I never ate before. Some of it is so common, many of you all would be surprised. I decided I'll write one blog about food I haven't eaten in many years, and another blog about food I never tried before.

Mashed Potatoes - I use to eat them a lot as a kid with a certain type of gravy. I forgot what it was, but it tasted pretty good. I honestly can't remember the last time I had mashed potatoes, but I'd at least say I haven't had them in 18 or so years (I'm 28 now). I honestly cannot fully recall why I haven't had them again, but I do remember my Mom cooking some mashed potatoes that didn't come out right, along with other bad tasting ones I had, that I probably never cared to eat them again. Honestly, I'd be sort of interested in trying them again, but I'm not about...

All right, this is my June 2011 pick-up blog post. Unfortunately with the maintenance that needed to be done with my car (had to replace my brake pads, control arm due to ball joints cracking, and outer tie rod. All for $1000) really hit me hard in June. So because of that, I bought fewer games and stuff than I normally would. A few sales and stuff changed that though. I also had the chance to play some games/watch anime I'll discuss in this blog. I actually didn't buy many games until the end of the month due to obtaining lots of Amazon giftcards (trading in games I no longer played) and selling my PS3 which broke to GameStop.

There were a few games I wanted, but most I decided to wait on. Shockingly there's no Resident Evil 3DS purchased, but I decided to wait for a price drop even before the Capcom news about the datasave got posted.











...

People have probably learned by now that some of my favorite food to eat is chicken fingers, chicken tenders, chicken strips, popcorn chicken, and whatever they may call them somewhere. The majority of times when I eat out at a restaurant or fast food joint, I order chicken fingers. Many may wonder why I continuously order them compared to all the other food out there.

There are a bunch of reasons as to why I like chicken fingers so much. Main reason is because they are easy to eat. I don’t have to cut them up like I do a steak, pork chop, etc. While I like steak a lot, having to cut it up takes a lot of effort to do, so eating the food isn’t as worthwhile. The biggest mess chicken fingers leave is a few crunchies around. Spaghetti or pizza, I risk getting sauce on my shirt (I usually have to wear dark clothes when eating them). I also prefer eating food with my hands over a fork. While I usually use a fork when eating steak, hamburger meat, etc., I just don’t like...

I'm surprised I didn't blog about this yet, but I actually had an interesting evening on Tuesday night at DuClaw Brewing Company (restaurant in Maryland, 3 locations that I know of). It was the restaurant I was tricked into trying calamari last year.

I was planning to go to DuClaw on Tuesday because CAG member G-Nitro was holding his birthday there. I told him you are ruining my KFC day, but he told me to go get KFC and join them at DuClaw. DuClaw has Happy Hour's on Tuesday, along with $2 off of drinks in the bar area. I went last year, so I decided to go again (even if I had no drink the last time). My co-workers were asking me if I'd be interested in mountain biking on the same day, but told them I'd be at DuClaw. They told me I better have a drink, but wasn't sure what to drink (it wasn't the started Miller Lite, Bud Light, etc. you see at most places). I was told that the Bare Ass Blonde was an entry level beer just like American light beers. After they found...

All right, I know this blog is going to get a lot of laughs, so I rather be as careful as possible posting this. To warn people right away, some content I say MIGHT be NSFW, but I will try to keep it as clean as possible.

Back in 2009 when I told my co-workers it was my birthday (keep in mind it was my first one at my current job), they mentioned that we should all go out to Norma Jean's. In case you don't know, its some strip club in downtown Baltimore area with the finest black women in the area. They advertise it a lot on my favorite radio station, 92Q. I opted not to go, spending my birthday playing Resistance 2 co-op with friends. I didn't know my way around the downtown area much and preferred a more quiet evening. I heard about some of my co-workers going, but they spent $80+ there.

All the time people ask me about going to a strip club, but I just won't go (never been to one in my life). I use to be against going to bars and various nightclubs,...

This is a topic I sort of want to discuss with people. Let's just say I got a call over a week ago from a company wanting to interview me. Since it was just under 4 hours away, they were going to put me in a hotel room and take care of other travel expenses. I'll be perfectly honest that I never traveled over 200 miles away alone before (via car) staying in a hotel. Usually when I traveled in the past, I was with family members, friends, or a school group. It was a brand new experience for me overall, which had ups and downs.

Before making my trip, there were a lot of things I needed. I didn't have my own cooler for drinks (previously used a small lunch bag for carrying two sodas), so I bought one at Target. Purchased some ice packs since I don't have much ice in my freezer. I spent a lot of time making sure I had my clothes together and everything I needed. My interview was on Friday morning, but decided to leave on Thursday. Since I'd be close to Busch Gardens...

I've been wanting to go to Busch Gardens Europe for many years. Ever since I saw the rides on various Discovery Channel theme park specials, I dreamed of going to the park. Never thought it would happen. Since I needed to be somewhere near Williamsburg, VA, I decided to go there. Picked up $15 off discount coupons at Food Lion before going.

I went there on last Thursday, despite the temperature being over 100 degrees. I got to the park right when it first opened, and right away I was in awe over its scenery. I took several pictures along the way.



The first roller coaster I went to was Griffon.







I honestly didn't follow the Griffon much before I went on it. It's a floorless roller coaster having a 200ft. 90 degree drop. The ride was really thrilling because it felt like I was falling. I originally thought I'd get wet on the ride too. The train design...