When a Dragon's Soul Weeps...

I can't believe I just pulled a double shift today! As a rule, I don't pull doubles since I know that I'm not in my most productive by the end of my shift. But somehow, chugging down almost half a liter of coffee helped me get through both my shifts. I started my shift sluggishly around 9 pm last night, had a meeting at 5:30 am the next day, mini huddle for half an hour, then the department's general assembly at 7 which lasted two hours.

The gang had brunch, I had coffee with mine, and I managed to get a few more calls evaluated. I fixed myself quite a large mug of herbal coffee that my mind stayed awake until well into the afternoon. I really had doubts I wouldn't last working until noon--I'm quite capable of staying up for a day as long as the rest of the day doesn't involve work. =P  I even clocked out around noon expecting that I won't make it until four in the afternoon.

In fact, I even managed to wait until five for Dark Magician to come with me for a few rounds of IDAS4! Too bad only one console worked, and someone was playing, so we battled each other on the Ini D version 3 one. Dark Magician got the Akagi uphill, and I think I got the Akina and probably the Akagi downhills with the FC; I can't recall much since my brain had slowed down at some point before we played.

When we had our turn with the game we came there for, Dark Magician had finally fulfilled one of her ultimate goals when she defeated Kyoko in the Akina uphill. She couldn't hide her glee when she crossed the finish line ahead of her foreseen rival *coughforKeisuke'sheartcough*. She seemed content for a bit until she had it in her head to race Keisuke on the Akagi uphill. Three times. And lost all those times. Poor kid. But she has the tenacity, and I'm sure she'll be back for more.

As for me?

ME/Impreza v. Nakazato/R32, Myougi uphill  =         [X]   [O]
Rematch                                                               =         [X]   [O]
ME/FC v. Ryousuke/FC, Akagi downhill          =         [X]   [O]              ... what else? =P

I wasn't able to upgrade the FC since the shop only offered accessories, so I tried a diferent tact, and used the Impreza in all three rounds on various uphills.

ME/Impreza v. Keisuke/FD3S, Akagi uphill    =        [X]   [O]
ME/Impreza v. Nakazato/R32, Myougi uphill  =        [X]   [O]
ME/Impreza v. Nakazato/R32, Myougi uphill  =        [O]  [X]

Therefore...


Next mountain on the list will be Akagi, stronghold of the RedSuns--in particular, Ryousuke & Keisuke Takahashi's home course. I find that I'm having a harder time tackling the corners of Akagi than Akina for some reason. There are sharper corners in Akina, but Akagi doesn't have a lot of long straightaways. But damn! The brothers can still pull away so effortlessly, even Sudo on the uphill. Looks like I'll need to clock in more road time, and formulate a plan so that me and my cars are prepared for the more advanced racers. Clearing a course, I'm starting to realize,  isn't any smooth ride.

Buuuut at least, I kicked meself some NightKids guyliner-ing ass! HA!

Made a few runs on ID4 at Megamall on a Monday afternoon. I had to hold back because it wasn’t my ID card since I was just going to get the Imprezza for the owner of the ID card. Buuuuut, as luck would have it, I beat Kenta and Iketani at the Akagi and Akina downhill, respectively, using the WRX. Then, on my way home, I saw an exhibit by NextBase, showcasing their merchandise installed on what I knew to be a Miata. They took out the decals that would identify it with Mazda. Good thing the guy there didn’t mind me taking pictures. =)

   

Just sharing some stuff I did while slaving away in the office. 

   
Comfort by ~DraejonSoul on deviantART

 

I still can't believe I've churned out P400 on ID4 today! I had been vocal about getting the Impreza WRX to boost up my car lineup. And that monster doesn't come cheap: seven swipes of my card! But it was worth getting it. Good handling, stable on the corners, and the engine could very well ruin eardrums if it were the real thing. Some Initial-D fans would lovingly call it the Bunta-mobile, after the character that owns the Impreza in the series, a respected and crazy-ass racer.

Behold the Bunta-mobile!




Unfortunately, it didn't keep me from losing badly to DarkMagician's insane driving and her silver FD. I don't know if I was still trying to get the hang of it, or due to the mounting headache. But man! I was beaten on most of our battles together. I think I may have won one or two, we had a lot of races, and covered most of the courses, even the entry-level Akina Lake because I was just picking one at random in my frustration. I surely am not  a good loser.

On the upside, I did finally beat the smug Shingo on the downhill with this baby (heh, eat blue paint, arrogant Night Kids smartass! XD) and Iketani on Akina. I battled with other racers, like Impact Blue and a couple of RedSuns. It was pretty embarrassing when I raced Ryousuke. I had no idea what the hell I was doing stuck on second gear on the starting dash. Ugh. I think it's one of his tactics, to reel me in with his charisma. Whatever it was, it worked, dammit. Why'd he have to be so delectable?? X/

I told DarkMagician that I might beg off playing for a little bit. I hope that holds true, because I might go and burn money again! T_________T P400 might not be a lot to some folks, but it is to someone who's never done this before. But I have to admit, it was a great stress-buster! If I would ever find my steps leading to the arcade again, I'll try to pace myself. Payday's about a week away. =)

It was inevitable. It just HAD to happen.



I was able to finish up early Sunday morning from work so I decided to invite 2Fast to try out the Initial D arcade version 4. And yes, I grudgingly admit that this is waaaay better than version 3 in terms of graphic rendering and how you have to struggle with the steering a bit. And the gear's reaction time wasn't sluggish. One other thing I like about is that you get the spectator's view from the other 'console' (I don't know what it's called, sorry) when playing single.

And guess what I picked!

...
...
...

Yes! An FC. A red FC. XDDD Hope I can handle it once I get to the hard courses. I wish I took a pic of it, but that would be too n00bus of me, specially when there are kids playing Wangan Midnight beside me.

Guh, now here's another way to spend money like water. But I'll watch myself, of course. That, and provided I have the time.

But, dammit! Driving like a maniac was real fuuuuuuuuuuuuuun. And I cleared Akina! With the help of 2Fast, of course. I was still trying to get the hang of the gear shifting. Plus the fact that it's right-hand drive oriented. It was a little confusing at first, but then I was beginning to get the hang of downshifting when going into a corner. The thing I need to learn now is the timing. Kuuuuuuuuuuuru!

It's so humbling to know that you've inspired someone to do real nice art. Sure is a nice way to get your rest day going.

So, to you, MegumiTakani13, a HUGE thanks. You made this gerbil's day... ^_______^



Reclined by ~MegumiTakani13 on deviantART


EDIT: Enlarged the pic a bit for you folks to ogle at Aoshisee it better. ^^

Pardon my overzealousness in posting since it's been a looooooong time since I've drawn and loaded them up. Will see which goes to devart.

And please do credit where credit is due if you ever consider using them. Just a liiiiiiiiiiiiiiittle name-dropping wouldn't hurt anyone...

32. 30+2. 4x8. 64/2. 

Ooooooooooh. 

Damn, I almost forgot what I was here for. Oh yeah---

Right smack in the middle of the month! The month when anyone born in this time are suspected of, well, being a couple of days's short of a month. Hee. 

And my plans for Valentines? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! I'll just try to wade through the clutter of my house, snigger at my officemates who would have to wade through the damnawful traffic today, hopefully eat ice cream or something different for the day. Oooh, and I wish I could draw, if my hand isn't too tired.

... okay. So those things constitute a plan, doesn't it?

WHO CARES?!?!?! Happy Friggin'  Valentines to whoever, whereever and whatever!

Oh. My. I'm in my LJ again!

I'd spent the day and a half in the office trying vainly to meet my target, and kind of fell short. T____T

Agh, enough of that for now. Just wanted to share a few things.

Oh, and my sister got a good deal with a second-hand Ericsson G3 phone. I'm not good ad cell phone models, but this works for me so far.

It helped me in my little sojourn in a mall in Cubao when I got out of the office around noon. My toy-collecting officemate tasked me to hunt down the Lancer Evolution VI for him and he'll pay for it. I didn't find any, but I did find a 1:50 scale models of Evo 9's. I SMS-ed him and waited for his decision if I should buy it for him or not. So, while I waited for his reply, I stumbled upon this:



I don't know if I should be insulted or honored for Shuichi Shigeno (creator of Initial D, folks) or Ryousuke (the driver of this... 'vehicle'... in the series).

Speaking of the FC, I've been seeing a replica of Ryousuke's FC in a garage on the way to the office! It's an almost exact replica, with the exception the hood. I thought it was nieshka's, so I sent her a message. She said her FC was sent to a different garage someplace else. Ah. That car brings a smile to my face whenever I see it... I definitely will get a diecast model of this! XD

Got a few hours to go before our sendoff party for our beloved supervisor who's on his way abroad. I was tasked to do his caricature, and I'm barely done. T________T

Oh, and I got a four day's rest days today, and this is the second day. I spent yesterday working (well, what else is new?)., but it looks like it'll be busy rest days as I will be going to my aunt's tomorrow since she and her daughter had come back abroad.

No rest for the wicked...

My first December post after weeks of neglecting my LJ, and it's a whine-o-rama!

Yesh, whine-o-rama. I haven't had a decent pair of days off because I'm always scrambling like a mad dog trying to meet my target every week. That leaves little for me to do on my single measly rest day. I did manage to do something (I think) last week when I wrote in a few lines for my fanfic. Oh, and I managed to post an Initial D snippet. Then I've got a rock-themed company Christmas party to go to. Youngest sis managed to wrangle me a skirt from a flea market (read: ukay-ukay) for a hundred. Next dilemma is trying to sausage myself into it. I might have to buy a pitchfork on my way home. Anote note on my organizer. =P

Add to the whine-o-rama was that I didn't get into a spending spree after I got my bonus. I couldn't make up my mind Friday night, but youngest sis understood that we were going somewheres. And, as expected, middle sis was too damn lazy to get her ass out of the house. I got so ticked off that I gave her the finger, and I inadvertently told my niece off for not eating. I was so upset that after eating lunch, I went back to sleep and didn't wake up till 3 am to prep for work. Damn. A day wasted.

There's always some constant clamor going on on my desktop at home without my knowledge. Like dominance on the monitor, for instance. They give Aoshi a wide berth, even if he doesn't have his kodachi.



But one mechanism dared opposed his reign of my PC---and before you think it's a certain red-and-blue leader of a robot faction---



So dear Aoshi-sama gave him the ol' welcoming bandwagon, the Oniwabanshu way. And order was restored then.


 

Though I gotta commend the folks on top of my CPU. They're pretty much behaved. It must help that they're in the same gang, and one big mother's keeping a close eye...


 

Got only one day off since I came to work yesterday to orient new agents of our department's guidelines. At least my productivity will be reduced by doing that and I won't be overloaded.

And I played badminton with three of my officemates in the afternoon! We played doubles for two hours in a badminton court near the office. Everybody in the office has been wanting something like this, but it got put off for some lame  reason or other. So even if there were only four of us, we pushed through for a couple of rounds.

And damn! The only guy in our group was good. The team he was in would always win. And though he was mercilessly teased about his 'arthritis', he'd outrun and out-smashed us all. Oooooh, I want another game! This time, I want to play against him. Though it's gonna take a while before I'm in fit form and trash his ass. Wakekekekkeke~

So now I shall slowly slink away sore but content...

Still sore from all the swimming and walking we did yesterday. We went swimming in one of the pools in Laguna, then went to Tagaytay's Picnic Grove the next morning to walk around and do some team building activities. Might add in a few details later, but here are some pictures I took from the Zire. Just click on any pic to check out the rest. But let me just tell you that I hardly took a pic of my officemates; they've snapped pics like crazy, so I  know I'm gonna get them. =P

 

Got it last week. It was so great to see it so crisp and clear on TV. Got little sleep when I watched it, but it sure made my day. XDDDDDDDDDDDD