27 days ago I posted, announcing my return and promising that I would share my memories of Orlando. The time has come.
My day began at 8am on Friday 16th December 2006. I had spent the whole of the night before until 4am finishing off my final piece of coursework, only to be stopped in my tracks by being unable to send it off. Thus upon waking up, the first thing I do is send my coursework off and then freshen up and get ready to leave.
By around 10am we're all ready and are joined some time later by our family friend, Peter, who will be travelling with us. He and my mum work together, and it's the company that's paying for the holiday. Around 11am-ish we set out and make our way to the nearby bus stop to catch the bus to Heathrow, where our flight will be leaving from Terminal 4 at around 3pm. Upon arrival, it's a long wait and so we pass the time by eating a somewhat hearty meal, and then just before boarding, my mum, Peter and I sample some new brands of Baileys. I quite liked both mint and orange, and the original.
We had a good flight and landed in New York at around 6pm local, UK is about 5 hours ahead of NY, so it'd be 11pm UK time. We stood in the queue for customs and waited...and waited...and so on. My mum asked a nearby assistant if we could make it in time for our connecting flight, which was around 7.30pm, the assistant's reply was positive. So we waited. Then came our turn and we went through the procedures we encountered almost 2 years ago in Los Angeles:
1) Print the Right Index Finger
2) Print the Left Index Finger
3) Look at the mini-cam and have your picture taken
For some reason the customs officer was taking her time, and her supervisor walked past and informed her that after doing us she should go on her break. She completed my mum and I, and then led us to their main Customs office, I think it was Homeland Security. Here, she handed my brothers' passports to a guy behind the desk and told us to take a seat and wait. We waited. He talked on the phone. We waited. He gossipped with his colleague. We waited. He talked on the phone some more while gossipping. We waited. He slowly got to work. By now it was nearing 7.15pm.
No-one had informed us as to why we were brought here. Peter came to check in on us, since he had to go to another officer. He tried to find out what was going on, since we still had to check-in, but the guy told him to go back outside and wait. Just how long did we have to wait?! After a while, the officer called my mum up and started asking her questions about our purpose and whether we had been here before. Honestly.
Since we weren't given any information and they pretty much refused to tell us, we can only assume that they held us back just because my youngest brother's name is 'Mohammed'. Oh My God! Terrorist Alert! Good grief. I felt like yelling out "Bomb!" just to drive them a bit more crazy. It certainly would have made my time a little bit better.
In the end we managed to get across to the right terminal in about 10 minutes, leaving us just 5 minutes to check-in and board. Unfortunately, no go. The gates had been closed and we were screwed/stuck in NY, since the next flight wasn't until early tomorrow or same time that evening. Ducking Shastards.
While trying to decide what to do, Peter took us aside and held a group meeting. He swayed us to the idea of making the best of our situation and to take advantage of it, i.e. spend the night and the next day in NY, catching the flight to Orlando same time that evening. We agreed to this idea, plus we could use some sleep, and so the tickets were booked with a 50% discount. They still made us pay for tickets they made us waste ¬.¬
We then contacted a hotel and spent the night there, ordering delivered take-out. While there, I remembered that America has better Anime than we do, and so I made my brothers surf for Adult Swim, which comes on later, after Cartoon Network. We caught the end of ZatchBell!, which doesn't seem my type of Anime, though the PS2 game looked fun to play. We then surfed around a bit and tuned in again at around 11pm and caught Trinity Blood and Bleach! I squealed in silent excitement at Bleach, since I love the series and have seen the first dubbed episode via downloaded means, and now watched episode 15. The dubbing was superb! But I really shouldn't gush so much, or it'll get jinxed o.O Heaven forbid!
After this, we went to sleep.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Saturday, January 27, 2007
A thought
Sometimes...I feel like ripping my shirt off. You know, Hulk-Style.
It looks to promise wonders with anger/frustration/stress relief.
It looks to promise wonders with anger/frustration/stress relief.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Gaming and New Additions
Hey all,
Been taking time out for playing games. As of sometime early last week, I completed Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII and have started playing Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga. Allow me to discuss the former at some length, and highlight some news regarding the latter for you fellow Europeans.
Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII
Hmm...it was somewhat so-so at best. That's me being nice about it, because I feel that it should be owed something for the effort. The story was generally good, but there were points where it was incredibly iffy and left me wondering "What the hell?". Examples of such situations include the scene between Vincent and Reeve, and the one between Shalua and Shelke. Oh and quite a few scenes with Lucrecia; I gather that this game deals with Vincent and revolves around Vincent, much like Advent Children was for Cloud, but these scenes seemed to exhude a strong amount of attraction between the two...something that most fans have been rooting for since Final Fantasy VII. I was personally disappointed with Hojo's voice; they did what I feared, and gave him the cliche "crazy-scientist-bastard" voice. They also pushed him a bit further off his rocker, and his appearance was far from what I had assumed; I mean Sephiroth has to get his looks from somewhere, right? I don't see very many Lucrecia features in him, and I see quite a lot of no Hojo.
It also felt like Vincent was given the role of Cloud, and one of the lines I found annoying was when Cait Sith exclaimed that Vincent did care for the rest of the gang...well DUH! I never would have picked up on that! Really, you'd think he'd get some feeling for the people he took up arms with, after traversing the world with them to take part in a battle he could have walked away from as soon as he settled his score. By the end of FF:VII the guy was comfortable enough to crack a joke!
I feel that a lot more could have been done with this game, or maybe a bit more care could have been taken. I guess this could be the price paid for a company that wants to finally milk it's cash cow.
I admit, when getting this game, I had hoped that I would get to see more of the other characters, that everyone would have a decent part and not just be random cameos thrown in at the end. Looks like I was asking for a tad too much there. However, the night before I completed the game, a thought occurred to me: No other title based in the world of FF:VII would ever tie the characters in, except for the sole reason of helping their comrade protect the world from the evil they encountered.
You see, in FF:VII everyone had a reason to fight. Their own personal reason that gave them depth and purpose. A purpose that came first and foremost, with the smaller reward of saving the world, which soon became a secondary reason to fight. Now, however, with the story complete, the characters have nothing to do in the spin-off's except for running around with pom-pom's and leaving the big-bad to be dealt with by whoever encountered them first. Nothing will ever tie them to the story apart from that.
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga
About a third of the way through the game and I'm loving it. I need to order the second part, and aim to complete all the little bits so I get all the bonuses in the second game. Oh oh, speaking of which, I aim to get the Collector's Edition, which comes with some kick-ass stuff.
Original Programming
That last header was not necessary, but the following had to be differentiated some how. Yup, I've added two new web-comics the list. Go check'em out.
Been taking time out for playing games. As of sometime early last week, I completed Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII and have started playing Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga. Allow me to discuss the former at some length, and highlight some news regarding the latter for you fellow Europeans.
Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII
Hmm...it was somewhat so-so at best. That's me being nice about it, because I feel that it should be owed something for the effort. The story was generally good, but there were points where it was incredibly iffy and left me wondering "What the hell?". Examples of such situations include the scene between Vincent and Reeve, and the one between Shalua and Shelke. Oh and quite a few scenes with Lucrecia; I gather that this game deals with Vincent and revolves around Vincent, much like Advent Children was for Cloud, but these scenes seemed to exhude a strong amount of attraction between the two...something that most fans have been rooting for since Final Fantasy VII. I was personally disappointed with Hojo's voice; they did what I feared, and gave him the cliche "crazy-scientist-bastard" voice. They also pushed him a bit further off his rocker, and his appearance was far from what I had assumed; I mean Sephiroth has to get his looks from somewhere, right? I don't see very many Lucrecia features in him, and I see quite a lot of no Hojo.
It also felt like Vincent was given the role of Cloud, and one of the lines I found annoying was when Cait Sith exclaimed that Vincent did care for the rest of the gang...well DUH! I never would have picked up on that! Really, you'd think he'd get some feeling for the people he took up arms with, after traversing the world with them to take part in a battle he could have walked away from as soon as he settled his score. By the end of FF:VII the guy was comfortable enough to crack a joke!
I feel that a lot more could have been done with this game, or maybe a bit more care could have been taken. I guess this could be the price paid for a company that wants to finally milk it's cash cow.
I admit, when getting this game, I had hoped that I would get to see more of the other characters, that everyone would have a decent part and not just be random cameos thrown in at the end. Looks like I was asking for a tad too much there. However, the night before I completed the game, a thought occurred to me: No other title based in the world of FF:VII would ever tie the characters in, except for the sole reason of helping their comrade protect the world from the evil they encountered.
You see, in FF:VII everyone had a reason to fight. Their own personal reason that gave them depth and purpose. A purpose that came first and foremost, with the smaller reward of saving the world, which soon became a secondary reason to fight. Now, however, with the story complete, the characters have nothing to do in the spin-off's except for running around with pom-pom's and leaving the big-bad to be dealt with by whoever encountered them first. Nothing will ever tie them to the story apart from that.
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga
About a third of the way through the game and I'm loving it. I need to order the second part, and aim to complete all the little bits so I get all the bonuses in the second game. Oh oh, speaking of which, I aim to get the Collector's Edition, which comes with some kick-ass stuff.
Original Programming
That last header was not necessary, but the following had to be differentiated some how. Yup, I've added two new web-comics the list. Go check'em out.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Whoop-de-FREAKING-Wii!
Pun intended!
I finally got a Nintendo Wii! Like OhmiGod! A Wii! I've been searching for one since I came back from holiday, and I know it's most likely sold out and I wasn't in that big of a rush anyway because of the demand, but the opportunity presented itself and I grasped it by the balls with both hands!
Let's see, allow me to recount my tale...
T'was nearing one mark past the noon, when my family and I quested unto Game, situated in the quaint town of Staines. Okay, I'm going to ditch this gig, I suck and it uses up to much words.
Well yeah, we went to Staines on Saturday for my youngest brother's driving simulator top-up, the new law states that he has to do two hours extra. We were early, so we decided to hang about the town and I wanted to pop into Game so that I could exchange my brand new copy of Tales of Eternia for another new copy, because the cover was damaged during delivery. Yep, I ordered the game from their website, because it was the only place I found that had it at a decent price, and wasn't sold out.
So I asked the sales assistant if I could exchange the cover of my game, and he was nice enough to oblige. While he was doing that, my youngest brother hovered around me and asked if I knew that they had Harvest Moon for the PS2. Of course I knew, but I wasn't sure which version of HM: A Wonderful Life it was, so I sent him back. He reported that it was the special edition, and since I couldn't leave the counter and check it out, I thought I'd check it out later. Unfortunately I never got around to it, I then asked if I should ask about the Wii, and my youngest brother replied that of course I should...like that was the whole reason we had come here, which wasn't. The following is what took place, once the assistant had completed my request:
Me: Thanks for that...um, do you have the Nintendo Wii?
Sales Assistant: We've got plenty *smile*
Me *eyes bug out*: Plenty?!
Sales Assistant: Well not "plenty", but we've only sold 6 of the 28 we received...
At this point my brain temporarily shut down and then rebooted to confer with my family on whether I should get one or not. My mum said it was up to me, and naturally I would have gone for it. My youngest brother, however, was saying 'Yes' like I was buying it for him.
Me: I'd like to buy one please.
Sales Assistant: Will you be purchasing more than one?
I temporarily consider the prospect of buying two, but my current funds would not allow it.
Me: No, just the one, please.
Sales Assistant *smiles*: Alright *calls to the other assistant to get him a Wii* Would you like anything else with it? Like a game or another controller?
Me: A game, Zelda: Twilight Princess, please.
The assistant gets the game and his colleague returns with the Wii.
Random Kid next to me: Oh my God! Look! A Wii! *motions to whoever's with him* Look! Look!
I feel like I've just created a scene, and while the assistant is sealing up the box, my mum asks if we can see the product. This is to make sure that everything's in there and that we weren't short-changed in any way. The kid next to me continues to make a fuss, and once everything's done, I pay for it and my brother and I head back to the van to tuck it away, to prevent further fuss, while my mum and youngest brother go back to BSM.
We came back to the shop afterwards to get Red Steel for my youngest brother, and by this time there's a huge queue, where everyone was either buying a game or a Wii.
True Story.
Sad thing? I forgot to ask if they took NUS, which they do...I could have saved £20!
I finally got a Nintendo Wii! Like OhmiGod! A Wii! I've been searching for one since I came back from holiday, and I know it's most likely sold out and I wasn't in that big of a rush anyway because of the demand, but the opportunity presented itself and I grasped it by the balls with both hands!
Let's see, allow me to recount my tale...
T'was nearing one mark past the noon, when my family and I quested unto Game, situated in the quaint town of Staines. Okay, I'm going to ditch this gig, I suck and it uses up to much words.
Well yeah, we went to Staines on Saturday for my youngest brother's driving simulator top-up, the new law states that he has to do two hours extra. We were early, so we decided to hang about the town and I wanted to pop into Game so that I could exchange my brand new copy of Tales of Eternia for another new copy, because the cover was damaged during delivery. Yep, I ordered the game from their website, because it was the only place I found that had it at a decent price, and wasn't sold out.
So I asked the sales assistant if I could exchange the cover of my game, and he was nice enough to oblige. While he was doing that, my youngest brother hovered around me and asked if I knew that they had Harvest Moon for the PS2. Of course I knew, but I wasn't sure which version of HM: A Wonderful Life it was, so I sent him back. He reported that it was the special edition, and since I couldn't leave the counter and check it out, I thought I'd check it out later. Unfortunately I never got around to it, I then asked if I should ask about the Wii, and my youngest brother replied that of course I should...like that was the whole reason we had come here, which wasn't. The following is what took place, once the assistant had completed my request:
Me: Thanks for that...um, do you have the Nintendo Wii?
Sales Assistant: We've got plenty *smile*
Me *eyes bug out*: Plenty?!
Sales Assistant: Well not "plenty", but we've only sold 6 of the 28 we received...
At this point my brain temporarily shut down and then rebooted to confer with my family on whether I should get one or not. My mum said it was up to me, and naturally I would have gone for it. My youngest brother, however, was saying 'Yes' like I was buying it for him.
Me: I'd like to buy one please.
Sales Assistant: Will you be purchasing more than one?
I temporarily consider the prospect of buying two, but my current funds would not allow it.
Me: No, just the one, please.
Sales Assistant *smiles*: Alright *calls to the other assistant to get him a Wii* Would you like anything else with it? Like a game or another controller?
Me: A game, Zelda: Twilight Princess, please.
The assistant gets the game and his colleague returns with the Wii.
Random Kid next to me: Oh my God! Look! A Wii! *motions to whoever's with him* Look! Look!
I feel like I've just created a scene, and while the assistant is sealing up the box, my mum asks if we can see the product. This is to make sure that everything's in there and that we weren't short-changed in any way. The kid next to me continues to make a fuss, and once everything's done, I pay for it and my brother and I head back to the van to tuck it away, to prevent further fuss, while my mum and youngest brother go back to BSM.
We came back to the shop afterwards to get Red Steel for my youngest brother, and by this time there's a huge queue, where everyone was either buying a game or a Wii.
True Story.
Sad thing? I forgot to ask if they took NUS, which they do...I could have saved £20!
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
It's a me...Shahnaz-e
For some reason I had that sounding better in my head. Anywhatnots, I'm back from my holiday and have been back for the past week now. I just needed to take out some 'me' time before I went back to my "responsibilities".
Well, it's not like anyone out there even reads this blog, but for those who do "Hi!". I wish all a very belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope it goes well for you. Just three more years and it's the big 20-10! By then I'll be out of the finiancial security I've grown to depend upon, no thanks to unlucky job-hunting, and I'll have the carpet pulled out from under my feet as I'll have to carve out a new path in life. One that doesn't include education.
I could continue on to fill up this post with a retelling of my holiday, but that'd take a long time and a lot of space. So what I've decided to do is create a series of posts title "Memories of Orlando" or "MOO" for short. Come to think of it, I still have to post my remaining past blog posts. Meh.
Well, it's not like anyone out there even reads this blog, but for those who do "Hi!". I wish all a very belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope it goes well for you. Just three more years and it's the big 20-10! By then I'll be out of the finiancial security I've grown to depend upon, no thanks to unlucky job-hunting, and I'll have the carpet pulled out from under my feet as I'll have to carve out a new path in life. One that doesn't include education.
I could continue on to fill up this post with a retelling of my holiday, but that'd take a long time and a lot of space. So what I've decided to do is create a series of posts title "Memories of Orlando" or "MOO" for short. Come to think of it, I still have to post my remaining past blog posts. Meh.
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