Gyakuten Meets Orchestra

The new Gyakuten Saiban orchestral album, released just 4 days ago, 16th July 2008.

Certain tracks were sort of a disappointment upon my first listen, either because it lacked the oomph or because of the recording quality itself. I like the new additions Villian Suite, Gyakuten Saiban 4 Courtroom Suite and Swingin' Zenitora though. This version of The Steel Samurai is also pretty nice.

And yeah if you noticed I finally uploaded a picture after so long. It's not much, but my current mood just beseeched me to.

I was just learning the Star Onion's version of Vana'diel March on piano. It's a very good arrangement and very fun to play.

Speaking of Vana'diel, I was just watching some Puppetmaster videos yesterday and they got me hyped up about leveling my puppetmaster(yet again). It's probably another short term kinda motivation, but I'll see how far it brings me this time.

Ah, FFXI.

Good ole AntiHero, and those before it - TheFatedOnes, Genocyde, thieveZguild.

One Week

The tissue paper argument still stands.

But that's not even valid for use for some, because it's actually turning the tables against us. That actually makes me think, a friend like this is better without.

Friday was a good example of one, though.

And speaking of Friday, Hokkaido Fair was great. I got lots of food I wanted, like those curry buns, the special croquettes, and those cheese sticks and chocolate souffles. What came as a disappointment to me though, was the horrifying 2-hour queue for that butter pancake thingy, of which the name fails me at the moment, the lack of cheese ice-cream(!), which was sold out by the time we got there, and the ramen. I guess it was just me, but the ramen wasn't really worth my 12 dollars.

My DS has been acting strange lately. No matter the game, the touch screen starts to move up and down slightly after a period of time which, to say the least, gets really frustrating. I don't know what the problem is, but I'm leaning towards the last time I dropped it. Although, it shouldn't have had much of an impact because it was in the case.

Uncertainty?

At this stage I'm pretty lost.

I read what they say and get optimistic for a bit but then it just dies down fast when I look at my position.

Yeah, pretty damn confused. No answers yet. Only thing I can do is to keep thinking.

There hasn't been any sheet music uploads for the new Final Fantasy XI Piano Collections yet. At least, I couldn't find any. I might just buy the damn book when I get my credit card, because I'm getting impatient.

There's like 3-4 more weeks of school left, then exams. And that's 3 more weeks to code our project. And hidden among these remaining weeks are 3 tests, all secretly laid out to ambush us at our weakest. Very sly, you cunning machiavellians!

I helped Xeo with Zilart mission 8 two days ago. It was the superman fight - that's what they call Eald'narche's brother. That thing died really fast, I barely got down my rotation of 4 songs. We didn't break the record though, figured we spent too much time on preperation in the battlefield.

Well here's looking forward to tomorrow's Hokkaido Fair - I've waited far too long to try out the food there.

ありがとう

Well, just gonna thank everyone who made my day today (or rather, yesterday, at this point).

Uh, be it those who wished me, who bought my present, and just all around celebrated it with me, and even the food seller who gave me an extra dish.

I appreciate it.

/bow

Dissenting Opinion

Nothing much you can do to change their view about you, because after all, they're far greater and more important than you are.

Isn't that right?

Final Fantasy XI Piano Collections

Final Fantasy XI Piano Collections was released just 2 days ago, 25th June 2008.

It features different tracks as compared to the piano collections from the Final Fantasy XI Premium Box Set.

Most of the tracks are quite nice. Just some thoughts on the tracks:

A New Horizon -Tavnazian Archipelago- starts the album beautifully. I thought it captured the ambience of Tavnazian Archipelago rather well. I was actually surprised to hear it at first, because I got it mixed up with Tavnazian Safehold. Different themes I know well, but my eyes somehow saw the wrong thing.

Ronfaure is the only track in this album originally composed by Nobuo Uematsu. It's not bad, but since it's almost a transcription from the original, I thought certain sections didn't sound too well on piano. But overall, still a nice piece.

The Grand Duchy of Jeuno is one track I particularly like. I guess it's just refreshing to hear it on piano after listening to the orchestral version in game a million times over and over.

Whispers of the Gods is a nice piece, but the original track wasn't one that I took much notice of. I forgot where in the game this is played, Aydeewa Subterrane, was it? Regardless, it's very pleasent to listen to.

Stargazing is the theme of Windurst[S]. It seems the similarites between this piano collections and the one in the premuim box is that both feature the Windurst themes. This piece is pretty new, being that the OST for Wings of the Goddess was just released not too long ago, but comparing the two, this piano arrangement sounds pretty good.

Fated Strife -Besieged- is pretty interesting to listen on the piano. I was more interested in hearing how it ended, since the original track actually keeps looping. And uh, the ending was kinda lacking, at least to me.

Mercenaries' Delight is the other battle theme in this album. I'd have to say this one sounds much better than Fated Strife -Besieged-, not only because it's faster paced, but I like how they arranged it, they were careful not to miss out the trills and such.

The Sanctuary of Zi'Tah is a very tranquil piece, and on the Rise of the Zilart OST it was probably one of the better tracks. I was excited to see how it would sound on piano, but well, it wasn't as good as I had hoped. I guess I expected too much.

The Cosmic Wheel is another slow, melodious piece of Sarutabaruta[S]. It's probably as good as the OST version. I'm definitely going to learn this once I get the sheet music.

Griffons Never Die is the theme of San d'Oria[S]. It didn't quite stand out to me in the OST at first. After hearing the piano version I don't find it all that bad. But the bass part didn't quite match up to the OST version, somehow I don't think it worked very well on the piano.

And finally, Wings of the Goddess, the track I've been eagerly wanting to hear since the tracklist was announced. And it didn't disappoint. I was worried that it might be a duet, seeing how Vana'diel March #4 was, but thankfully it isn't. At least I can learn this piece. I felt the performer brought out the mood of the theme quite well. Certain sections sound difficult to bring out the melody, but heck, I'm gonna try it as soon as I can.

And that's about it. Just my personal opinion on the first few listen-throughs.

Rather, lost

I don't really know how to continue with this.

And uh, I don't think I'd actually continue to type something here this often, unless I see a good reason to. I mean, while it's sometimes a good way of leaving some thoughts and all that, I'd look at the big picture and find it a bit lame, I dunno.

Or perhaps I'm just saying this because I'm not exactly in the brightest of moods right now.

I'm a bit lost, actually.

Damn it, I should've known not to wear blue today. Fuckin' Monday blues.

Fugue

Samurai Deeper Kyo - probably the only thing Slayerofdark left me. Think I should check it out sometime.

And well, we met up with Mr. Ng for dinner. "We" refers to the MEP students of my batch. Except, the other two guys couldn't make it.

It was good to see them again, of course, but the chocolate fondue was great too. And it was Mr. Ng's treat.

He's leaving for America in August, so that was the main purpose of today.

My break is almost over; two weeks is pathetic.

Reactions

See, some people have this view about the rest of us. And you can't really change it. It's fixed with the individual, unless some great impactful something influences them. What that something is, I don't know. Could be an action, gesture, words and y'know.

What I do wonder is how people deal with things when they learn about something beyond their imagination. Well, maybe not something as great as beyond imagination, but something they weren't expecting.

And that's something I discreetly enjoy - seeing others' reactions, that is.

Prelude

I logged into Final Fantasy XI for the first time in months yesterday(not counting the viewer, I do that a lot).

Apparantly nothing much has changed. I don't do end game stuff, so there isn't really much for me to do. Haven't had the mood to party, either. The rest of AntiHero moved to WoW, so no one's really left. Orestia's mule left a linkshell message recently though.

What is left, is Deosil. While I don't really like it all that much, it's nice to see it still alive and kicking. Not that it matters, in any case; I don't really talk to them.

I don't know how much longer this game will last. Perhaps a few more years. For me though, I haven't really thought about seriously picking it up again. While I want to level puppetmaster, I never ever get enough motivation to do it. Xeo seems to still enjoy it though.

My mind has wandered somewhere else. It's been hovering around Warhammer, and since the recent delay, I went back to LOTRO. I'm still waiting for Warhammer to see how it goes. Depending on the circumstances, I might not even play it for long, I don't know.

That's as far as gaming is concerned. There's so much other shit to care about as well.

My diploma exam. I haven't signed up, but I think I'm going to this year. I can't imagine playing in a concert hall. It's far too overwhelming.

And then there's my theory results. I missed 3 marks to achieve merit, but I passed nonetheless. Well, it's all good, because I got the qualifications to teach piano now. All I need now is to learn how to teach and to gain experience. It might be fun, as a back up job.

Today's the first day of our two week break. And y'know the funny thing about breaks is that the school still doesn't let you off. I need to go back for at least three days this week.

I caught up with some friends today that I haven't seen in a while. Not a bad day.

Lacklustre

Heh, this semester's a mess. I failed 3 tests so far.

Like I said before, the people don't make it any easier. And what with all these shit that happened recently.

Either way, all I care now is just to manage to pass through everything, and then get the hell outta here. I never got the course I wanted, so this is just a waste of time.

So much for school. This school, at least.

Verklempt #4

I overslept again today -15 minutes past the first class. And then I rushed to school, tired as hell.

Monday is never a good day. My gastric acted up in the afternoon and then I got chased around by a mad man during night class. As if I wasn't tired enough. No offence, but you don't stand there and poke someone in the hips for 5 minutes. Such droll, childish behavior. And naturally, I never understand anything during night class. I am going to fail at this rate.

Xeo returned to FFXI recently, after finally getting his new discs, which he has been waiting for weeks. I do plan on playing at some point, because my initial goal of getting Puppetmaster to 75 never saw the light.

I've come to realize I don't particularly enjoy certain end-game content. I don't know, it's pretty restricting to me in many ways. It's like you're bound to some boring routine every week. It's enjoyable at first, but all the excitement dies down quickly enough.

At this point, I wish I have something more substantial to talk about, but I'm afraid I don't.

All I can say is that today demonstrated a fine case of paying the price of being kind, as one of my friends had put it.

Machiavellianism

There are those who are kind. But often times these people get taken advantage of. It isn't a matter of whether they're weak or not, but I'd think it's more of the situation they're in and the people they're dealing with.

See, sometimes these people just try to make everyone happy. And for ones with few friends, it isn't a stretch to say that they would want to please everyone in any way possible. Of course, I don't speak for everyone.

Then there are those who just love to take advantage of that. They demand for things, borrow things and don't return and the like. This has happened one time too many, I'd say. Know that while I might have closed one eye on the matter, I'll never forget your face, because it isn't just about forgetting, it's more than that.

And then it expands to something more. Every little action, every word said has an impact on something. Different people sense and react to these differently, and for those who display nonchalance, lucky you.

I don't exactly know where I'm going with this, because I'm tired as hell, but I'll probably sort it out at a later time.

Verklempt #3

Some people just want to make you feel guilty and down. They seem to enjoy it. It's almost like schadenfreude, in a sense.

And what he said was right - what are the chances?

Verklempt #2

I reached the final case of Apollo Justice, and it's interesting so far. The only problem I had was with the first witness. I couldn't percieve his damn habits. I mean seriously, (highlight for spoilers) who the hell sweats at their armpits the moment they lie? Damn, that was really a bitch to find.

School never got better. I wasn't expecting much anyway. Everytime it comes down to these grouping situations you really see how everyone hates each other's guts, so to speak. Seems so much like a facade in most cases.

I almost planned on skipping school today. I walk to school every day and my feet just seemed dead today.

These days I just feel like staying at home, listening to music and playing music I like. There's almost nothing much to look forward to, maybe except some new music albums coming out over the next few months, and until I save enough money to go abroad.

Well maybe the next break, which is probably the only peace I'm ever gonna get for a long time to come.

How to disappear completely

Yeah that's what I feel right now. Disappear from this mess I'm in. Well, "mess" isn't exactly the best word to call it, but it'd do for now. It is pretty messed up, after all.

Many issues can be drawn out from this, if you think about it. This isn't just a simple project group anymore, it's much more than that. It's more than a misunderstanding, more than communication breakdown. The point is, this is some of the craziest shit I've ever seen in school. Never did I think people would act this way.

Like I said before, I won't deny I am a last minute kind of person. I can't work without stress, and probably not till the last minute. The other members? Well I think they're far better than me in this aspect. They can do work way before the deadline, I can't. Main point is, no matter when we do the work, we will get it done in the end. Doesn't matter if it's 1 hour or a minute before the deadline, the work will be done.

To what end would you go to get your"justice"? I presume you know the situation clearly, well enough to know who's at fault. Your intentions and your disposition at the time are totally two different matters, don't link them if you can't control your emotions. We didn't need to tell anyone anything. Your actions that day told them everything.

I fail to see how anything you did that day was morally correct. Your intentions, yes. Your actions? No way in hell. If you choose to insist that you are right, I'm prepared to be scribed as your villian. Your story, after all, is none of my concern.

And what's left of it? You've just left an indelible mark upon yourself.

I'm only doing this because the soft approach didn't work. Besides, I'm not counting on you to read this. Like it would even matter, really. Some people just don't listen.

Cavalcade of anger and fear

Steini linked me this, you should take a look.

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1739601,00.html?cnn=yes

Some of those points mentioned are actually quite true, I think. And using the virtual world as a sort of therapy, who would've thought.

And speaking about people and their qualities, this morning held one occurance which displayed the zenith of varying dispositions.

I'm typing this through the course of 2 hours. (Of course, I'm not just staring at the screen for 2 hours, rather I'm busy with work) Up till this point I can't find the correct words to describe this situation. All I can say is that it looks really bad, people in my class should know.

Perhaps when this rather tense atmosphere has settled down, I shall attempt to write about it.

I should've seen this coming. As if what happened when I awoke wasn't heralding anything. I woke up in a cacophony of noise, of half dead alarm clocks and the drilling sounds of renovation works in the apartment below mine. Needless to say I was half deaf before I even left the house.

School is probably my most dreaded place now. And probably for a long time to come.

Farewell, Allian

I was checking my friends list today on FF and then noticed that Allian left a final message in the game.

"Allian quit - 5/6/08"

I think he's actually using the MM/DD/YY format, so that's 6th May.

I missed the chance for a proper valediction. Guess I wasn't that much of a friend, was I.

I've known him way back since my bard in the 40s. I was actually levelling white mage sub at the time, and got into a party with him and his lousy connection in Qufim. He couldn't zone; everytime he does he goes into a long loading screen and then disconnects.

In any case, he was a good friend. Helped me a lot, particularly with the Evisceration NM and supplying weapons to the dunes.

Good luck out there, Allian.

Silenced

Day 4. Pain gone, but as a counter reaction, I've temporarily lost my voice.

I wonder how tomorrow's presentation will turn out with me in this state. Either it miraculously heals within the next couple of hours, or I continue with his hoarse, deep voice. Creepy even, someone called it.

Past week has been full of tests. They just have to clutter everything within a few days and give us hell.

And, thank you Steini for the songs. X) I haven't yet had a good listen to all of them cause I've been busy, but I'll find some time this week.

Well now, I got slides to prepare for tomorrow.

Miasmatic Monday

Monday sucks. It always does, at least when's there's school. To top it off I got a damn sore throat that hurts like hell. It's been a while since I had my throat act up this bad.

And school always has this effect on me. I don't know, makes me feel lousy over nothing. Couple that with the fact that I got no music to listen to.

I think I really need a new mp3 player or something.

That's pretty much all I'm going to say. In fact, today sucks so much I don't even know why I'm even talking about it.