Santa hat.

Guild Wars was pretty entertaining today. Since it was 'Wintersday' there was a contest between the goddess Dwayna, life etc and the god Grenth, death. It was all about winter ending for spring, or winter continuing forever (as as the Avatar of grenth said until the sun came out, heh). At 6pm and 9pm I logged on and supported Dwayna, then Grenth respectively to get the free item when they won. With the goddess she gave out santa hats, and with the god reindeer horns. It was actually really enjoyable just chatting to everyone and people cheered on their respective god or goddess, not to mention that I got both of the special hats. So many people are probably going to bother me in the next few weeks with 'how can I get that hat?' but I'll be able to get evil joy out of explaining, in longer phrases, the term 'tough luck'. Heheheheh.

I'm also currently downloading Full Metal Panic, Full Metal Panic Fumoffu, the anime series Air, the movie Air, Yakitate episode 51, the Melty Blood Final Re-act Tuned fighting game (with the characters from Shingetsutan Tsukihime, one of my cult classic favourite animes), and the Ghost in the Shell Innocence OST. Since each one is going relatively slowly I figured I may as well have all of them running, then I'll at least use up some of the wasted speed. When I download through torrent it seems to hog all the bandwidth even if the download isn't that fast. When downloading on IRC I started a torrent which downloaded at a pathetic 4kb/s, but it cut off 100kb/s in IRC. Strange, but oh well. Yakitate should hopefully be done soon, as should some episodes of FMP and Fumoffu. If I'm lucky a few of Air will be done too. That's about all the news for now, so till next time.

Constant.

As of late I've been constatly getting posts done. Yay, go me. Moving on to the daily news, I finished watching the Ashiteru ze Baby series. In fact my previous plan went exactly as I wanted it. Not only that but I also managed to watch the movie Howl's Moving Castle. The Japanese voiced version just sounded much better than the english dub. Calcifer sounded strange with a debonaire voice... It now means that the only unwatched anime I have is the Ninja Gaiden OVA, the first episode of Full Metal Panic Fumoffu, and a few other random things my friend burnt for me. This is because I've only just started to download Full Metal Panic and FMP Fumoffu. I've wanted to see them for some time but never quite got round to it. At least I will now, though the lack of seeders and slow speed means I probably won't see them all for a week or so. I also have the Second Raid to get and watch, so it'll keep me busy for a while.

In the Soul Society forums one of my characters is currently sparring with his pupil. It's pretty enjoyable, and it means my own character is actually active. My other character, the main one Latenter, is still pretty much dormant since I'm waiting for the main arc to kick in before he appears again. It's nice to actually RP with my own characters amidst the endless Storyteller posts I need to make. Thankfully Guild Wars is still running well, though at times it freezes. This is quite irritating since it means I have to restart the mission I'm in and apologise to everyone else who was doing it too. I still have to do the last three missions, since the 'Ring of Fire' mission is just stupidly hard. Gah. Ah well, till next time.

Ashiteru ze Baby.

Well my plans went to hell. Instead of watching 1 episode, I ended up watching 13 in a row, going to bed at 8am and getting up out of bed at about 7pm. Erm. Whoops. It's a series that once you see one episode the happy feeling makes you want to see another. Then another. And so on and so forth. Even though the animation isn't top notch Yuzuyu is just really cute, and the whole story is really endearing. I'm liking it to such an extent that I'll probably get and read the manga after I finish the series. If you have a soft spot for cuteness and a good story, watch the series.

I'm also taking a very short break from Guild Wars now. As I said last post, I'm not going to go on it as frequently, but I'll still probably end up going on it today. It all depends. After this post I'm actually going to turn off my computer (zomg) and listen to music whilst reading a book. Dragon Wing, by Weis and Hickman, the first of the Death Gate Cycle. I've read this series of seven books so many times it's ridiculous, but they're still a fantastic read every time. After I get through a few more chapters I'll end up watching Ashiteru ze Baby again, and I may just end up finishing them all. After that, if it's still before midnight, I'll play a bit of Guild Wars. It's nice to have a plan eh? Till next time.

Upcoming.

Well New Year's Day is upcoming, and I can hardly contain my boredom at the prospect. meh, I'm not too sure why people celebrate it, it's only another day. At any rate I managed to get to the Fire Isles in Guild Wars, which is pretty much the end. Once I finish the three missions there, there will be another 3 or 4 big quests and that's it. Then I'll probably wander around the Underworld and Fissure of Woe for a bit, get as many of the Necromancer and Elementalist skills as I can and make another character. It'll probably be a Warrior/Necromancer mix, so I can inflict damage and steal health from my opponent as I do so. It's an entertaining prospect overall.

In the Soul Society forums the new arc is finally starting to gain momentum with more people posting in it, so in a few days it should be going at a good pace. It means more work for me, but I can easily handle it. I've also decided to actually start watching the series Ashiteru ze Baby that my friend burnt to DVD for me, and I'll watch 1 episode after this post and the rest in chunks over the next 2 or 3 days. It'll be a break from Guild Wars, which means when I return to it I'll be fresh faced and whatnot. Plus it'll please my dad and step-mum, they're slightly worried that I spend too much time on it, heh. That's about it again, so till next time.

Third hit.

Wow, a post just after midday. Well, what to add? Nothing much has happened at all for Guild wars, since I just spent the time getting gold. I did however manage to buy the very expensive 15k-per-piece Granite Citadel 'Cultist' Necromancer armour. It looks very nice. Admittedly it has the same stats as the 1.k-per piece Droknar's Forge version, but it does look much better. It's all about the aesthetics, heh. I also managed to find the next mission, though as of yet haven't managed to complete it. There's only about 6 missions left in the game to do, and then a few 'final game' quests which give large improvements to the character, so I'm not too far away really.

Also Lunar released Bleach episode 61 so I'm redownloading the episode from the better group, and chapter 209 low quality was released by Bleach 7. I'm downloading it now, so I'll probably read it once this post is written. Or slightly after seeing as how it's going quite slowly. Meh. At least there's Bleach goodness on the way. I'm currently listening to the song 'If I were a rich man'. t's quite old (i.e. not the Gwen Stefani version) and it's kinda slow, but still a really good song. It just seems 'right' for a song. It's a short post today I'm afraid, since that's about it. The only other thing is that it actually snowed today. that'll annoy the people who bet for a white Christmas, 2 days late, hehehe. Till next time.

Yet again.

I'm managing to post this before 12. That's not too shabby really. Not much has been happening at all, but I managed to get and watch a few anime updates. I was incredibly suprised and happy when I saw that Solty Rei had been picked up by another group. I was gutted when Shinsen-Subs dropped it (though for good reason due to licensing)but since I'm in the UK I won't get to see any licensed anime for a long time. As such fansubs save me. It was really nice getting to see the crew of Solty Rei again, so that perked me up. I also watched the new ep of Eureka Seven, that was cool. The characters are starting to forge unlikely or coincidental friendships, with Renton meeting some people which will most likely cause conflict. It's fun to imagine how everything will flare up later.

There was also another chapter of Ah! My Goddess manga, so that was just great to read. The artwork is really impressive now, and it's curious to see how different it is to the original work. Evolution shows. Other than that though there hasn't been much manga since I haven't really checked. I'll probably look for Bleach manga later on and so on etc etc. For Guild wars I managed to get my character to complete the three desert missions and then ascend. beating my doppleganger took 2 tries. The first I got nuked, but the second time took 9 seconds to beat him since I'd used 6 of 8 skills as 'sacrifice health to have an effect' skills, so he killed himself pretty much whilst I burnt him. It was fun, if brief, to watch. So, till next time.

On time.

Well today I didn't miss a post, even though it's Christmas. Not too shabby really. As expected I did spend much of the day playing Guild wars, but last night I actually had some time off since my mum was using my room, so I couldn't get at the computer. Other than Guild wars it was a pretty normal day, opening some presents, watching some bad TV and having a meal. There was the usual pulling of crackers and so on and so forth and I also managed to update the Soul Society forums in a few minutes of spare time. I actually managed to find time to write this too, so it wasn't bad going today. I didn't get to do much else however but it wasn't much of a big deal since there were no anime or manga updates as far as I know, so I didn't really miss anything. I still have an anime series (26 episodes), a Ninga Gaiden OVA and the movie Howl's Moving Castle to watch. I really should get around to seeing that movie, I've prolonged it for ages now.

In Guild Wars I managed to get my character to complete 2 of the 3 needed ascension quests after countless tries. The third mission still eludes me since everyone seems to die and therefore fail. The closest I've got in it is 4 minutes from the end, only 4 lousy minutes. It's quite frustrating really, but oh well. I would keep on trying, but again my mum is using my room so no late night computer for me. Dang. I'll probably try tomorrow, but since I made a self promise before I play Guild wars I'm actually going to have to do some Law revision. I'll probably read through causation or something, that should do it since I have a month to revise. That's more than enough time for me. That's about all the news really, so till next time.

Secondly.

Ah, the second post of the day, technically. Not much has really happened, but I caught up on the manga and then watched the Fullmetal Alchemist movie, Conqueror of Shambala. Well damn, it was just cool. If you're a fan of the series watch it. If you're not a fan of the series fair enough, you'd probably not enjoy it. In Guild Wars I also managed to induct a person into the Guild, the very first one. I made him an officer so he can induct but so far no luck, just the two of us in the guild overall. Since I'm aiming for about 20, this may take some time.

As the most observant ones amongst you may have noticed, it's Christmas Eve. This holiday period doesn't really get me excited, but this time I am, purely because in Guild Wars they implemented PVP snowball fights. It's sad I know, but nailing someone in the head with a snowball, augmented by the hidden rock skill, just cracks me up. I really enjoy it, more than usual PVP, heh. Tomorrow will most likely be a day of family and whatnot whist I spend most of the time in my room. Yay for the holiday spirit, heh. My mum's actually coming over to stay for Christmas, so it'll most likely be crowded. Oh well, after Christmas it'll be one hell of a lot of law revision... Till next time.

Faster.

Well Guild Wars happened faster than expected. I'm already level 20 thanks to the Christmas quests. There's 2 of them, involving a lot of trekking and finding stuff, but they award 5000 exp each. That's one hell of a lot, and I'm now already halfway to level 20 (again) since that's the level cap. At least I'll get more skill points. I'll most likely take a break from levelling and focus on buying and selling stuff for a while to bulk up my gold, since once I get a Guild Hall I'll probably start recruiting new members, which costs gold. Once a few people are in I'll get a general consensus for whether the Guild should be RP or PVP and I can go from there.

For anime I've actually managed to get relatively up to date. I've watched all the anime updates and I just need to read 3 chapters of mahou Sensei negima to catch up with that. I also have the series Ashiteru ze Baby in reserve since my friend gave me the first episode and it was pretty good, so he burnt the rest for me. It saves me downloading it, so that's quite handy. Unfortunately I missed thursday for a post and this counts as saturday since it's a tiny bit after 12. Ah well, it means today should get two posts. I really am trying to remember updates but they keep slipping my mind thanks to Guild wars and anime, heh. Other than that there isn't much news really, so till next time.

Few days late.

Unfortunately this update is a few days late. That'll be my own fault, due to playing Guild Wars too much. I have been updating the Soul Society forums though, so that's all good. In Guild Wars my character Xanthier Lizarous is now halfway to level 18. With any luck by tomorrow he should be past level 18 by a tiny amount. I have quite a few quests lined up to work on, so it's all good. Other than that not much has been going on recently, since Guild Wars has been eating most of my time and I only have 2 episodes of anime to watch currently, Blood+ episodes 9 and 10. I'll be leaving them till the weekend most probably. Bleach should be out today, so I'll download and watch that right away since it's Bleach.

Once it hits Christmas I should hopefully have level 20 in GW and with any luck a Guild Hall of my own to go with my Guild. Then I'll probably start recruiting and whatnot, build up a decent amount of people, and start practice matches in PvP. Since I'm still working out the best combination of skills it could take some time to get a winning tactic and strategy. But hey, that's part of the fun of Guild Wars. I'm constantly doing missions and quests whilst on, and because of it I've built up quite a few friends. Unfortunately they mostly have a guild, but I'm bound to find some people eventually. The main problem is the hall, is costs 25,000 gold or so. Since I only have about 12,000 after 6 days getting the gold by Christmas may be a bit of a tall order. Not only that but after Christmas I'll cut down on the playing and I'll start doing more law revision since I have an exam in january. Till next time then.

Sweetness.

I've actually had the internet now since the 14th, so I've been lacking in punctuality as of late. Sorry about that, I'll try to get back to my once-a-day posting system, since I should have a lot more to write about, namely Guild Wars. This game is just cool. God damn cool. It's cool enough to blaspheme endlessly whilst being an atheist. Yes, it is that cool. Buy it and play it. There's a ridiculous amount of people that already do, and I've made several friends there so far by questing with others. The system is pretty good, when you enter an area that isn't a town, the world is personal, you're the only adventurer there. If you're in a party with someone obviously they get the same world. This means that there's no camping, no stealing of quests, and it gets rid of many of the annoying aspects of other online RPG's.

It also has a plot, but that isn't set. I actually completed some of the beginning quests, went off to later in the game thanks to a higher level person taking me there, did some advanced quests, then went back to do the first mission. This freeplay style is excellent, since it allows me to play how I like, whilst also providing a good story to follow, should I want to. Yes, I know this sounds like I'm marketing the game, but it's just so good I can't help it. In the 3 days I've played (since I haven't yet today) I've got to just past level 13, out of 20 levels. My character happens to be a Necromancer/Elementalist, and the Necro skills are just magnificent. Seriously, killing something, getting energy from it's death, then using that energy to make the corpse explode killing more things and getting more energy is pure enjoyment. However since I don't use the Elementalist profession that much I'll probably change it to Mesmer once I Ascend at level 20. I have no idea how long that'll take, since obviously the higher the level, the harder it is to level up.

I also managed to make my own Guild, with a Guild Emblem on the cape. It's quite funky indeed. So far no one is in it but I don't care, since I made it to a) have a cape and b) so my friend can join it once he gets the game. Once he's in and a reasonable level then both of us will probably go recruiting. If you play Guild wars, my character is Xanthier Lizarous. Drop me a whisper if you're around and point out that you read this, it'll be pretty cool.

Back to other previous news, I watched a whole bunch of anime and read a shedload of manga updates after my connection was set. It took quite some time, 4 technical help calls and a lot of swearing to get it to work. At first the software was just bad and needed to be resent and reinstalled, then there were cabling issues, phone line issues, activation date confusion and a lack of filters. Now it's all happy though, so that's all good and I'm more than pleased with a 2.2MB connection. It's very handy indeed to download anime and manga so quickly (based on the availability of seeders). I've also been updating the Soul Society forums and keeping that place alive, even with my Guild Wars play time. Seriously Guild Wars ate up most my day yesterday. I started playing at 3pm, and finished at 4.35. Am. Gah. I only meant for 2 hours, but it was just so good. It means I'll have to write these earlier, that's for sure. Till next time then.

Soon.

No internet today, but it's only the 6th working day anyway, so it should happen tomorrow. I'm now looking forward to it more than ever since I managed to persuade my dad to buy me an early Christmas present - Guild Wars. This is pretty much like World of Warcraft but slightly smaller and much cheaper in the long run. Plus I think the graphics are actually better (less clipping etc) and the mapping is just cool. The classes are reasonably standard, but the sheer amount of skill combinations are immense as there's no downside to having a second class. At all. Woohoo! I certainly plan to be a Necromancer first and foremost, and I'll probably either be an Elementalist as a second class, or a Ranger. The combinations are just funny, and they complement eachother quite well.

Other than that I'm basically hanging around and not much is happening. I do however have the Acid music software, and since a have a micraphone I can record some weird and crazy stuff. If any of you know about 2 the ranting Gryphon, then good for you. If you don't, go find his site NOW and listen to his work. At any rate I'll probably be doing something similar, but instead of rants I'll just be talking about random things. It's all good, heh. I'll be able to have weird little trance sequences in the background. I'm quite looking forwards to it really. I've also managed to update the Bleach forums again, showing that even without an internet connection I can be pretty prompt with maintaining the forums. That's about all the news really, apart from the fact that I also bought an old game, House of the Dead 2 for my PC. Blasting zombies relieves stress. Till next time.

Updatage.

Aha, it's been some time since the last update, so there's a hefty bit of news for all you avid readers you. So basically Enjin, heh. Cheers for reading this blog by the way. At any rate, the working computer arrived last tuesday, and was put together by my friend Jake on wednesday. Luckily I was at the right house at the right time on tuesday, had I waited for my mum to finish work before going there I would have missed it. Delivered at 4.25pm, convenient. Once it was built we started it up and it worked happily, so I went about installing all the drivers and programs as per normal. That's where it went downhill. Damn. After a while it started to have startup problems, and eventually either kept restarting or freezing during startup. My friend and I were just confused, and neither of us knew how to fix it. After he'd gone several hours later, still with no idea, I had an epiphany. Using a system restore I went back to before the installation of the drivers and the computer worked! Therefore I went through testing each driver and it ended up being the nVidia chipset drivers that were screwing it up. Since the computer works anyway, I'll probably just go and download new drivers off the nVidia site once I have internet.

About the internet connection, it should be up on monday or tuesday, since it was said to be ready in 7 working days from last friday. Unfortunately they don't count saturday as a working day as then it'd be today... ah well. I can easily wait for another few days after waiting for several weeks, but it's still quite irksome to have a new working computer and no internet to use on it. Nevertheless I managed to update the Soul Society forums today, and once I get the connection I'll be launching the next big arc. All the characters available have easily had more than enough time to get into 'ready' positions and areas to join should they notice the opening post. It'll be excellent and nice to get back into RP'ing full(ish)-time again.

Also another of my friends was kind enough to download me updates of Naruto, Bleach, Mai Otome, Shuffle!, the last episode of Ghost in the Shell 2nd Gig and the last 2 episodes of Girls Bravo second season. I actually managed to watch all of them on my old computer since I pretty much got it working again thanks to uninstalling several troublesome programs and putting in safer newer versions. Oh the troubles that can be fixed with a program change. The anime episodes are now on my hard drive for my new computer, and I'm looking forward to downloading the updates for Gun X Sword, Blood+, Eureka Seven and Solty Rei amidst others. So, with that good prospect, till next time, in a few days!

Jubilation.

Good news, good news indeed. My dad contacted our internet broadband provider at my request and they've upgraded my 512 broadband to 2MB for free, and they're sending the installation disk again to help with my new computer. Not only that but I actually ordered all the parts for my computer today, and they'll arrive at my mum's house on monday. MONDAY. God damn that's good! By the middle of next week therefore I shall have a nice, new, much better, faster PC with a 300GB hard drive for all my anime and manga needs. Sweetness. SWEETNESS! A huge thanks to my mum for making this possible. All I'll need is for my friend to come over to build it, and that'll most likely happen on wednesday as long as he isn't ill anymore.

Due to his illness the plan may be slightly delayed, but once the disc from the internet provider arrives I should be able to set up internet on the craptacular computer still in my room. That will be handy till the new one comes into fruition. So hurrah, huzzah, and all that jazz. Not only that but the hard drive for my new machine will be 300GB for all my anime and manga needs. That's pure amazingness. On tuesday I'll be getting a bunch of anime from my friend, so I'll have many many updates to watch and even more stuff to put on the new computer when it's built. Since my old hard drive was only a measly 40GB I'm going to have a lot of fun filling the new behemoth up. Woohoo! You can tell I'm excited. Anyway, till next time.