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!

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. =)