It’s that time again folks! It’s time for Deja Vuesday!!

In today’s Deja Vuesday, I look back at the post Why I’m Convinced That Ohio’s Becoming Tropical Again:

Hello everyone it’s the Andy-San here again on this unseasonably warm day. It’s 65°F outside, which makes it quite nice for a good walk (I can’t go on a bike ride due to my back tire blowing out and I also haven’t picked my bike up from my aunt’s).

It’s quite the opposite today! It’s 29°F outside and I just got back from shoveling a thin layer of ice and snow off the driveway. I also heard that the local area is under a winter weather advisory. Fun!

Eric and Ben went back to UU last week for the new semester. Actually, Eric left earlier than Ben to go to Ohayocon with Sean and the rest of Genshiken UU as well as the Wittenburg and I think the BGSU anime clubs. I bet they had a blast and it sucked that I couldn’t go, but what can you do?

Ohayocon is at the end of the month this year so they’ll be doing that later on. I still won’t be going this year because I have no money. This seems to be a recurring element for me, no?

I finally had my orientation at Taco Bell this past Friday after two reschedulings (if that’s a word) and I won’t start work until my uniform comes in, which they said would be a couple of days so basically anytime now.

I hated working at Toxic Hell!! Granted, it did serve its purpose of being my interim job between Andy’s Roadhouse (which closed last month) and Wal-Mart.

By the way, I’m still looking for a job so that I can pay my bills (which includes my $70-a-month internet). If you guys know of any openings for online or offline jobs, please leave me a comment below! You can also donate to me by clicking on the Donate button at the bottom of this post. I don’t know when my internet will be disconnected so I’m hoping to get a job and/or the money before that happens.

I felt like such a loser in front of my friends the last time we hung out because everyone seemed to know what they wanted to do with their lives and were working towards it except me. I know what I wanna do, it’s just that I can’t do it without a college education. I want to live in Japan, even if it’s for a short time. In order to do that, I need a bachelor’s degree because the main source of income for American gaijin besides the military and such is teaching English. By law, you are required to have a bachelor’s degree to teach English. They don’t really care what field the degree is in so long as you have one. My plan was to get my BA from UU and go into the JET program or something similar so I can go over to Japan and teach English. If I wanted to stay, I’d have to find another job in order to change my visa since you only get a one or two year visa with JET. If I changed my visa, I would only have to apply for renewal every three years unless something came up. Since I would have a BA in the IT field, I could go into that if I didn’t wanna teach English anymore.

I’m not beating myself up anymore over my collegiate underachievements or where my friends are in relation to myself.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still mad that I flunked out of college, but I’ve learned to accept and learn from my failures rather than let them consume me.

When I’m able to attend college again, I will put forward what I’ve learned and not let myself get caught up in a depression again. I have an article that I’m working on that’ll go into more detail about my college experiences.

Because it’s highly unlikely that I’ll be able to go back to college, I’m preparing a new life plan. I’d like to pursue a career as a musician, but I don’t wanna do it full-time until I’m able to sustain myself with it. The big problem is that I don’t know many musicians around here and even less that aren’t in a band. I would love to join Ben’s band, but they’re not doing anything at the moment because he’s in college and they like their current singer Goofy. We could shuffle Goofy into Ben’s spot while he’s away and put me in as singer, but I’m already sounding like a pretentious SOB so I’d better move on to a new paragraph.

The big flaw in this paragraph is that I’m putting the cart before the horse. In order to really succeed financially as a musician, I need to develop my skills first. Otherwise, I’m just bragging about nothing.

I still want to be a musician, but I want to go back to college before I do that.

Well, I gotta pee so piss, er, peace-out everybody!!

Andy-San

P.S: It’s been 636 days and 251 posts since I joined Xanga.

Today’s Deja Vuesday has been fun, but I’ve got another article to work on (I plan on having it out within the week, preferably tomorrow) so I’ll see you guys later. Bye!!

TheAndySan

P.S: It’s been 230 days and 485 posts (including my pre-TheAndySan.com posts) since TheAndySan.com was launched. Yay!

This Post Is Originally From: TheAndySan.com

Deja Vuesday - Why I’m Convinced That Ohio’s Becoming Tropical Again

Where Have I Been All Year?

I sent an email the other day to see if I got the job that I wanted. Turns out they already hired somebody else.

Yeah, I’ve been kinda depressed about not getting hired. It might explain why I haven’t posted in a year, hehe.

Don’t worry though! I sent out a couple more applications and there’s another job out there that’s very similar to the job I wanted, but it’s closer to home. This is good because if my car breaks down then I can either walk or ride my bike to work. Heck, I could just ride my bike back and forth to work during the summertime if I wanted to.

Why Am I Getting A Job Again?

I’m sure some of you are scratching your heads wondering why I’m getting a job after I decided to quit Wal-Mart to work on my blog full-time. Simply put, it’s because I haven’t generated enough money from my blog to live off of yet.

I’m not calling it quits though; if anything, I’m just getting started! I made $24 in December, which I think is great but I know I can do better. Way better! As I said in my New Year’s Resolution’s post, I intend on generating at least $1,000 a month from my blog by year’s end.

Where Am I Gonna Live?

According to my calculations, I need to make at least $2,000 a month if I decided to live on my own locally. Since the Midwest is insanely cheap compared to the rest of the US, I’ll have to increase my income when I decide to move away from it.

When I get a job, I’ll be looking for a local apartment that I can live in and move once I have the funds to do so. Once my online income increases to the point where I can live off of it, I’ll use that money to pay off my various debts.

When Am I Going Back To College?

When my debts are squared away, I will look into going back to college full-time. My mom wants me to go at least part-time as soon as I get a job and I think it’s a great idea. If I’m able to go back to college, then of course I’ll go!

However, I’m not sure if I’ll be allowed to since I owe money to UU and my prospective college needs their transcripts. I’ll look into this more once I have a job so that I have a defined income that I can bargain with in order to go at least part-time. Surely I can take a class or two and pay cash, right?

What Are You Going To Do With Your Life?!

I Wanna Rock! Rock!

But seriously, I plan on doing a lot with my life. I want to write, see the world, find a special girl, connect with others, meet my idols, and more. Oh yeah, and rock. Rock!

TheAndySan

This Post Is Originally From: TheAndySan.com

How I Plan To Live On My Own

Well, 2008 is pretty much done for. Now we have a whole new year to look forward to.

Let’s see, what should I talk about in this post? I already discussed what I got for Christmas and my resolutions for 2009.

I know! Let’s talk about what Paul of Inspired Money Maker wrote recently about getting out of debt.

The Real Secret to Getting Out Of Debt

Shortly after I posted my 2009 resolutions, I read Paul’s post about how to really get out of debt.

In a nutshell, I concluded that I must focus on raising my income as opposed to lowering my expenses or sinking further into debt in order to alleviate my other debts. That’s not to say I’ll be spending my money willy-nilly and ignoring my expenses. It’s just that I’ll be putting the bulk of my efforts in 2009 to increasing my income in order to pay off my debts.

Moving On & Out

As I discussed in my New Year’s resolutions post, I plan on finally moving out on my own this year.

I’d prefer to move in with Eriopolis when he goes to grad school, but it all depends on if he wants to get an apartment or dorm room. If he decides to dorm, then I’ll just get an apartment of my own.

I’m very tired of living with my parents and feel that my personal growth can’t progress any further until I move out.

The Write Stuff

I want to write an ebook in 2009. It’s not gonna be about getting rich or how to fix your life. It’s gonna be a story.

I have several ideas for an ebook, but I need to get off my keister and just write it already, hehe! I originally wanted to do manga, but since I can’t draw that well, I’ll just write an ebook. More on that later.

Well, I’m off to a New Year’s party at Cody’s so I’ll see you guys next year!

TheAndySan

This Post Is Originally From: TheAndySan.com

It’s My Last Post of 2008, And I’m Getting Out of Debt In 2009!!!

It’s that time again! It’s Deja Vuesday!!

In this post, we’re gonna take a look back at what I was up to last year in the post Have a Merry Boxing Day aka Merry Belated Christmas!!!:

Seasons greetings everybody, it’s the Andy-San here with a post-Christmas, err, post.

Compared to some people, I didn’t get much, but I really didn’t ask for much anyway so it worked out. I got a new stereo system for my car (no moAr listening to my headphones while driving or AM radio for me!), some socks (I was in desperate need for socks, you’ve no idea!!), a $15 iTunes card (good idea, seeing as how I should be buying music moAr), a gift card from my aunt for $10 or $15 at Wal-Mart (quite useful, read on), and a clock radio for my iPod.

This year for Christmas, I bought myself a spiffy new SD memory card (4GB at 60x speed, bitches!), lunch at Wendy’s (I ate way too much though), and a padded guitar strap for my Epiphone SG Junior that I bought earlier this year as a birthday/Christmas present to myself.

Now on to some potentially good news. The clock radio didn’t work right for my iPod (it’s a 3rd Generation if you’re wondering) so my mom wants to return it so I can get something else. I have some things that I’d like to get, but I can only get so much so I’ve narrowed it down to these: a new computer desk, a new speaker system for my computer, or a digital camera. I will need a computer desk for when my room is built in January, but I could probably get one later. My current speakers that came with my computer are starting to peter out, but I usually use my headphones so it could wait. I’ve wanted a proper digital camera for ages and it would’ve been especially helpful to get me through my depression in college, but I’m unsure about the quality of a camera that’s under a C-note (that means $100). Alright, now it’s a toss-up between a digital camera and a computer desk since a new speaker system for my computer can wait.

Man, that iPod has been giving me headaches lately!

I sold it on eBay to a guy in Canada. The battery was dead when I sent it to him because I don’t have a Firewire port to charge it with (one of the reasons I sold it) and Jon has the only charger for it. He claims that it’s a total dud, and I asked him if he charged it with Firewire since it’s an older iPod and can’t recharge via USB. He says that it doesn’t work at all, which is untrue but it does have a crappy battery life in my opinion (another reason I sold it).

So now, he wants a refund (reasonable) and $20 to ship it back. Uh, no. I’ll be more than happy to refund him once I get the iPod back, but I’m not forking over $20 for shipping! I looked it up, and it’s against eBay’s policy to do so. Technically, I shouldn’t refund him since he issued the complaint more than 7 days after he received it, but I’m a good sport and will refund him anyway once I receive the iPod. Whew, that felt good getting that off of my chest!

Anyway, back on topic. It’s been a year since that post and I still don’t have my own room. Bollocks I say! Oh well, I’ll just have to wait until I move out to have my own room (or should I say apartment?).

My desk is pretty cool, but it wasn’t built to have a bulky CRT monitor on top. The thing’s all up in my face! I can’t wait to get a flatscreen monitor so that I don’t go blind.

I like my current camera, a Sanyo Xacti CG6, but I’m not against upgrading. It’s not a priority to get a new digital camera, but if I have the spare scratch, I’ll probably get one.

As for new computer speakers, well, I’ll wait until I have my own place before I even think about it.

Just when you thought the Planet Express Ship was done delivering Good News Everyone, it has moAr Good News Everyone (gotta love the CopyPasta)!! I now have a new job working at Taco Bell. Yeah, it’s not my dream job, but it’s but a step in my plans to move out on my own. Since I will have a job that’ll allow me to live with my parents at the expensive rate of $250 a month (steep, but at least I don’t have to deal with my weed-smoking cousin or my always negative aunt anymore), I don’t have to worry about going homeless like I thought was gonna happen. In the meantime, I’ll save up a bit and I’ll try to get a job at Wal-Mart in the upcoming year by bugging the ever-loving shit outta their personnel department. Cheap, but effective. After I get a job at Wal-Mart and work for them for around 6 months, I’ll try to look for another city’s Wal-Mart to transfer to. I’m thinking of either Bowling Green or Urbana since they’re both pretty good towns and close to bigger cities like Toledo and Springfield respectively. Then, live it up as only a single white boi can, lol!!

Toxic Hell: almost as thrilling as my job at Sodexho. Remember children, being a ho of Sodex is dumb (inside joke)!

Also, I can’t believe that I actually wanted to work for Wal-Mart again! Ahh, to be young and naive…

I still want to live in a college town like Bowling Green though. If I get that job as a customer service rep, it’ll give me the experience I need in order to procure a job elsewhere.

In other news, I learned a couple new riffs like Jessica from the Allman Brothers Band. I’d love to join Ben’s band as either a singer or rhythm guitarist, but I dunno if I’m good enough for that. Although Ben did say that I’m better than the guitarist from Bowling For Soup, which isn’t saying much, but it’s something. I don’t know a lot of people, much less musically-inclined people, so I feel weird asking someone I don’t know very well, “Hey, you wanna start a band?” Also, my bro wants to go to Berklee to study music there but I dunno if he’ll be up to their standards in less than a year’s time even though he said that they are open to students of all experience levels. I wish him luck and hope that he doesn’t fall into the same pitfalls that I did.

Well, I’m gonna go take a crap so I’ll see you cats on the flip-side. Laterz!

Andy-San

P.S: this is my 249th post and I’ve been on Xanga for 624 days.

I’d still love to collab with Ben on something. Eights and Aces is in a rough spot right now. I heard that they fired their drummer Dan and Tylor’s now singing & playing rhythm guitar. Oh boy…

I haven’t been practicing guitar that much lately because I’ve been too preoccupied with where my life is (and isn’t) going. Once that’s cleared up, I shall practice more seriously.

Well, that’s it for tonight’s Deja Vuesday! Take care!

TheAndySan

This Post Is Originally From: TheAndySan.com

Deja Vuesday - Post-Holiday Edition - Have a Merry Boxing Day aka Merry Belated Christmas!!!

Contrary to popular belief, I am not dead. Just wanted to clear that up.

The Year of The Ox Is Upon Us

So what have I been up to this past week? Well, I hung out with my friends and watched UFC. That was fun. We also ordered an enormous pizza from Cole’s Carry-Out called the King Cole. It was definitely good to get out of the house and do something with my friends again!

Besides that, I’ve been feeling trapped inside the house. Although I now have the freedom to go anywhere since I have a car, I don’t want to waste gas because my savings ran out and I have no money now.

Despite all of that, 2009 is gonna be my year, especially since I was born in the year of the ox (1985)! Here is a list of my new year’s resolutions:

1. Get a Job

Let’s face it, I don’t do much offline. Aside from eating, sleeping, showering, or shitting, I do nothing.

Getting the right job can help me get back on my feet mentally because it’ll be a break from my monotonous routine and I’ll be around some like-minded people for a change.

Also, I’ll have money again. That’s a plus! With this money, I’ll be able to fulfill several of my other resolutions as well as meet my needs.

2. Live On My Own

I was debating on living with my parents until all of my debt had been paid off, but after reading Steve Pavlina’s newest article on overcoming indecision, I decided to make moving out on my own a priority.

Although I’ll have less money to allocate towards my other debts, my growth as a person is far more important. If I continue to live with my parents, then I’ll be constantly stifled and will be too scared to commit to paying off my debts. I noticed this when I looked at some of my old posts about my debts. I still haven’t done anything towards fixing this problem, and I blame it on living with others that hold me down instead of striking out on my own. Speaking of debts:

3. Budget My Money To Pay Off My Debts

I’ve been in debt for far too long, and I want out! By properly budgeting my money, I will set aside money to pay off my debts. Before I pay off anything, I’ll get my credit report so that I know all of what I owe.

To start things off, I’ll pay a little on my student loans so that I don’t go into default and then I’ll work my way up focusing on one debt at a time. I don’t expect to be 100% debt-free by 2009’s end, but I do expect to have at least taken out a good-sized chunk of my debt by then.

4. Buy Myself Some New & Exciting Things

With all this talk about getting out of debt, I also want to have some fun too! There are several things that I’ve been wanting to buy for years, but I never got around to it because of one reason or another.

I want to get myself a new computer first. Two actually. I want to get the Acer Inspire One netbook so that I can have the portability advantage of a laptop without the outrageous price tag. Also, the thing’s pimp as hell!

The second computer that I want to get is a Dell XPS 420 desktop/monitor bundle. It features a quad-core, which will make everything that I do online a breeze. Also, a flat-screen monitor and USB 2.0!! It’s pretty sad to admit that my desktop still uses USB 1.1, hehe. My current CRT monitor is so bulky that it’s right in front of my face when I sit down at my desk. My eyes will thank me!

Ever since I first heard of Carvin Guitars by listening to housethegrate and his brother Ashane, I’ve wanted a Carvin axe of my own!! For 2009, I want to get either a DC-127C or a V220C model. They’re both under $2,000 (the Dc-127C is $1,709 and the V220C is $1,654) and will be simply amazing!

Buying a new guitar amplifier is also on my list. Even though I started playing guitar again on January of 2005 (I can’t believe that it’s been almost 4 years already!), I still have the same amp I started out with. It would be different if it sounded good, but it’s just a crappy 15-watt practice amp. The two amps that I’m debating between are the Bugera 6262 combo and the Peavey Vypyr Tube 120 combo. I’ve read great reviews and watched demos of both on YouTube, and I gotta say that they have what appears to be a dynamite sound! I’m leaning more towards the Vypyr since it’s so versatile, but I’m not for sure until I play on them both.

Also, I might have to put some money towards my car just in case this one dies on me. If all else fails, I can temporarily put all of my saved-up money towards either fixing the car or purchasing another car.

5. Go On A Trip

I’ve always wanted to take a trip around the country, especially with my friends! The big question is where. I’m thinking someplace on the west coast. I’ve never been to that part of the US and I really want to.

There is also the possibility of MAGfest. According to their site,

MAGFest is a video and computer gaming festival run by fans, for fans. It’s similar to most fan-based (anime, scifi, etc) conventions, but aims to be more of a laid-back video game party atmosphere. No crowded show floors here, but rather lots of fan art, film and music, and room to relax. Our special guests fit right in and socialize with the rest of the crowd. Game movies and cartoons are shown weekend-long. In addition to our 10 000 square foot game room, lots of attendees set up games in their rooms and invite others inside.

Perhaps most importantly, MAGFest has a huge focus on game music — multiple concerts worth — filled with video game music tributes, some even with the original composers! On Friday and Saturday nights multiple bands perform on our main stage, and our ‘JamSpace’ is open 24 hours for collaborative music and special treats alike.

Although I’m not as big of a gamer as I used to be, the main reason I would go is for the video game music. Since I can’t attend the MAGfest that’s coming up in a couple days, I would be aiming for the one at the beginning of 2010. What a way to start off a new decade, huh?!

6. Make A Living From This Website

As I’ve said before, I want to make this website my main source of income. Right now, I’m making about $24 a month. For 2009, I want to make at least $1,000 a month by year’s end. This isn’t an unreasonable goal at all considering that the income for this site seems to double every month ($5 in September, $10 in October, $20 in November).

So how am I going to make $1,000 a month? First, by continuing to make quality content. Second, by selling private ads here. Lastly, by searching for new methods of making money that I’m currently unaware of and experimenting with them.

Throwing It Back At You

So what resolutions are you planning to do for 2009? Are you going to buy something that was previously out of your financial reach? Are you gonna go on a trip? Or are you going to do something completely different?

Tell me what your new year’s resolutions are in the comments. See-ya!

TheAndySan

This Post Is Originally From: TheAndySan.com

Resolutions For A New Year

Totally festive!!

This Christmas is absolutely fabulous, just like Pegasus!

I’m quite angered that Wal-Mart’s not open so I can get my presents with my Christmas money. As the super-special-awesome picture says, “Screw The Yules, I Have Money!”

Attention duelists, my hair has to go take a dump…In America!

TheAndySan

Editor’s Note: TheAndySan is too preoccupied by Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series to write a decent article. Or do anything else of worth for that matter. So if you’re looking for an insightful article, I’m sure you’ll find one in the archives. Maybe. Probably not.

…In America!

This Post Is Originally From: TheAndySan.com

Merry Christmas!

In this holiday edition of Deja Vuesday, I’m going to reflect on the post, “Twas The Night For A Dillema”:

Yo it’s the Andy-San here with potentially bad news.

I have been suspended for a semester from UU for my crappy grades. I am appealing it so I may or may not be back at UU this coming semester. But being able to come back is only the beginning. If I do come back, I’ll have to get at least a 3.0 GPA which will require a lot of effort on my part. I talked with E, Dan, and Phil about it and they say that they’ll help me out if I can come back. In the event that I can’t return, I’ll have to get a full-time job and forgo college unless I pay for an apartment near campus. Needless to say, I’m an emotional wreck right now. UU was the best thing that’s happened to me in years and if that’s taken away from me I just don’t know what I’d do.

Oh boy, do I ever remember that night!

The main reason that I was suspended that semester was because I goofed around a lot. I didn’t party too much or anything like that; I just hung out with my friends and didn’t do my homework. That’s pretty much the long and short of it really.

If and when I do go back to college (it might be awhile since I owe a lot), I’ll take it seriously. I don’t know if I would start off part-time or go Steve Pavlina on their candy-asses, hehe! It would depend on my focus and determination, but graduating in 3 semesters would be easier for me than it was for Steve mostly because I have previous college credit (he had to start over from square one). I also know how college works now so I can make sure that the financial aid department is doing their job.

In other news, the DoD project is on hold for the holidays. Once Christmas is over we’ll start work on it again. Thus far, we have the first half of the main track and a rhythm track done and recorded. All we need are a rhythm and lead track, a little ending riff, and possibly another rhythm track. E, Ben, and I have a good feeling about this project and I hope you’ll like it once it’s done.

Well I’m gonna go do something else so peace-out to all my homies and wish me luck with my appeal!!!

Andy-San

Damn man, I miss working on projects for DoD! For those not in the know, DoD stands for Dwelling of Duels. It’s an online song contest where people would submit a cover of a video game song and other users would vote on it. All the rules are explained here on their website. I’ll submit a track for DoD someday, I promise!!

Well, that was fun reminicing about college (even the bad times) and DoD, but I need some food so I’ll see you guys later!

TheAndySan

P.S: Check out United States, Paul Gilbert’s newest album with Freddie Nelson. Freddie Nelson sounds a lot like another Freddie I know…

This Post Is Originally From: TheAndySan.com

Deja Vuesday - Holiday Edition - Twas The Night For A Dillema

Recession = Reset. This is the equation that the world is experiencing right now.

Rosebud…

Billions of people (that’s right, billions with a B) perceive this equation as the end of their self-contained world. All that they have slaved for is being wiped from existence right before their very eyes.

People are not only losing their jobs, their homes, their cars, and their toys. As the world is shattering, so are their families.

My stepdad is straining my family’s connection with one another. Because he quit his job and has been unsuccessful in finding another job, he’s taking out his frustrations on us. He’s nitpicking our every move and acting as if all of his decisions are absolute.

The Big Cleanse

Although there are a lot of people that buy into looking at the recession in a negative light, there are others such as myself who see it as an opportunity to start over. To us, Recession = Refresh.

If you look close enough, you can see that the world isn’t crumbling into nothingness; rather, it’s shedding its skin.

The world is changing, and as people change their views on what is really valuable to them, the old makes way for the new.

What Does This All Have To Do With Anime?!

It’s simple, really. Despite the world shedding its skin, there are several things that this new wave of change will have  rooted in the old skin. As far as anime goes:

1. Everyone will always enjoy a good story:

Since the beginning of time, man has explained events by telling them in a story.

Stories bring relief to those in despair and in boredom. They capture our faults, our joys, our sorrows, our passions, our losses, our pasts, and our futures.

One of the reasons I enjoy anime is because it presents an exciting exotic culture. It encourages me to further explore, within reason and reality, the culture firsthand.

2. Sex will always sell:

Despite what you might think of the FCC and the RIAA in trying to regulate sexually explicit content, I believe that they’re doing us a service. Let me ’splain, Fraudian style.

Our id is the crazy part of your brain that tells you to eat, drink, and to fuck anything with two legs. Our super-ego is the obsessive-compulsive part of our brain that strives for the ideal and the flawless. Our ego is the rational intermediary between the instinctual id and the perfectionist super-ego.

In other words, The Joker and Adrian Monk are fighting for control of your brain and the only one that can stop them from wrecking the place is Spock.

When an external force, such as the FCC or your mom, tells you that you shouldn’t look at lewd pictures of the opposite sex or watch stuff that glorifies gore, your inner Spock tries to subdue Joker.

Although Spock is trying his damnedest to uphold the external request, Joker will at some point overtake him and you’ll go against these external principles. Monk will then make Spock feel guilty about not keeping Joker in line. Spock will then put the Vulcan Nerve Pinch on Joker, stopping you from acting against these outer rules.

To put it simply, we desire what we cannot have. If properly controlled, our id and super-ego can help us work towards our goals in ways that the ego cannot.

The Joker, despite making rash decisions and goals that are incredibly short-term, can allow us to grasp onto abstract concepts and propel us into experiencing new things. Monk, though he may be over-organized and a total nag, can help us differentiate between right and wrong as well as help us strive to improve ourselves.

Just think about this before you go super-ego on ecchi anime, okay?

3. Animation tends to bring us into a state of wonder:

Although escapism should never be a permanent respite against the harshness that reality can bring us, breaking away temporarily can allow us to reflect and become open to new possibilities.

Do you remember when you were a child and the world was as open to interpretation as a box full of Legos? Do you also remember when your parents and society glued your Legos together in what they see as the world?

Although your Legos are tightly stuck to one another, you can still pry them loose and make your own world! It just takes a little resolve and some elbow grease.

4. We’re constantly looking to connect with ourself and others:

This goes along nicely with my first point. By telling our stories to others, we can share ourselves with people and through their perspectives, learn something new about ourselves that we were unable to do otherwise.

We can also relate to characters in a story that are similar to us or people we know. This brings a sense of reality to the story, thus making it more compelling.

In liking or disliking a story, we may also find common ground with others. Although their extreme devotion can be annoying at times, a fan base is a godsend if you want to spread your story to many people. The anime otaku subculture is also one of the biggest fan bases of this generation. So if you like anime, you’re in good company!

Is It All About The Benjamins?

Did you guys notice that I didn’t mention how anime can still make money in a poor economy? It’s because money doesn’t matter. Money is mearly a tangible form of value. There are millions of different ways that someone can present value to the world and to those who present value of their own. Money just happens to be a common way of expressing value.

Once you realize that presenting value to the world is much more important and fulfilling than simply making money, then you’ll be one step closer to being unafraid of what omnious economic storm clouds may come.

TheAndySan

P.S: If you want to buy what I’m currently listening to, just click on the link. I thought that I’d mention that.

This Post Is Originally From: TheAndySan.com

4 Reasons That Anime Will Thrive In A Recession And Help Us Live Consciously

Intro

Girls! Action!! Shiny!!!

Do I have your attention yet? Good. Let’s review the fan-service anime Sekirei, shall we?

Summary

We follow the exploits of Minato Sahashi, your basic loser everyman Keitaro clone. He has failed the college entrance exam twice, is awkward around women, and is unemployed.

One day, Minato meets a girl named Musubi, who quite literally falls from the sky. Minato soon learns that he’s an ‘Ashikabi’, who are humans with special genes that allows them to partner with ‘Sekirei’.

Sekirei are super-powered beings created by the mysterious MBI corporation. Made up of cute girls, excessively buxom women, and bishonen (pretty boys),  the Sekirei fight in a dangerous and at times deadly competition called the ‘Sekirei Plan’.

With the entire city of Tokyo as the battlefield, the Sekirei seek out those humans who are destined to become their Ashikabi partner. Minato soon learns that being the partner of a beautiful girl is not all fun and games, especially when he discovers that an Ashikabi can have more than one Sekirei partner, and that’s where the real trouble starts.

Character Overviews

Sahashi Minato - The basic, loser everyman male lead.

Musubi - The bubbly female lead and Minato’s first Sekirei. She specializes in hand-to-hand combat.

Kusano - The cute little girl who can control plants. She’s Minato’s second Sekirei.

Matsu - The smart and stealthy computer hacker who works behind the scenes for Minato. She’s Minato’s third Sekirei.

Tsukiumi - The overly aggressive member of the group who can manipulate water. She’s Minato’s fourth Sekirei.

Homura - The aloof bishonen Sekirei who secretly protects the unwinged Sekirei.

Asama Miya - The group’s fearsome landlady. She’s also the very first Sekirei.

Story: 3/10

Sekirei is an anime that doesn’t bring much to the table story-wise. Pretty much all of its storyline has been rehashed from various manga, and not in a good way.

Normally in cases like this, I would look for the creative spin that would set this anime apart from the rest. Unfortunatly, I couldn’t find it.

Also, whenever a character was in trouble, someone would save them at the very last second every time. Every single time!

I give it a 3/10 for a storyline that follows the magical harem cookie-cutter genre to a T without adding its own uniqueness to the mix.

Animation & Music: 6/10 for Animation and 4/10 for Music

The animation quality of Sekirei has some flaws with proportions (watch the female characters for two seconds and you’ll know what I mean). The backgrounds are decent, but nothing notable.

One good thing about the animation is that the characters are really unique to each other. It didn’t take me long to figure out who was who in this series.

The opening and ending themes fall flat for me. However, the second ending theme was okay.

I give the animation a 6/10 and the music a 4/10 for a disappointing job.

Characters: 5/10

I was annoyed by pretty much all of the characters in Sekirei except for Kusano. Little Kuu-chan made me laugh several times throughout the series!

Fun Fact: Her seiyu (Japanese voice actor) is also the same one who did the voice of Potemayo, everyone’s favorite little face-raper!

Like I said before, the other characters are pretty bland and predictable. There are a couple plot twists, but they’re either “saw that coming a mile away” or “WTF?” The W stands for “Why” by the way.

5/10 for mediocre characters that have both predictable and weird plot twists.

Enjoyment: 5/10

One good quality to note about Sekirei is that each episode went by fast. I can’t believe that I watched the whole 12-episode series in two nights. Normally my anime ADD would kick in and I’d do something else for awhile, but not this time!

To be honest, despite the fast pace, I didn’t really enjoy watching Sekirei that much. Kuu-chan’s interaction with Minato and Tsukiumi was the only noteworthy aspect to this series. Although the ending leaves things open for a second season, judging from how this season faired, I doubt I’ll watch the second season as intently. If I would watch it, it would only be to see how the loose ends were tied up.

5/10 for a small amount of enjoyment, and that’s being generous.

Overall: 4.6/10

Sekirei really needs to develop their story if they want to make a second season that’s worthwhile. Although I didn’t like it, I encourage you to make up your own mind about it and watch it for yourself!

TheAndySan

This Post Is Originally From: TheAndySan.com

Anime Review - Sekirei

For those of you who follow my exploits on Twitter, you know that I had a job interview on Monday. The interview went well, despite several frustrating moments before I got to the interview.

To start things off, I got plates for my car (and donated $1 to hungry children; yay, karma boost!). We had freezing rain Sunday night, so putting on the plates was a disaster-and-a-half! My right arm is still a little wonky from screwing on the plates.

After I get the plates on, I drive up to the closest gas station two miles away. Jon left very little gas in the car so I was praying that we would make it to the gas station. We did, and after almost filling it up with $20 worth of gas, I went to fill the tires up since they deflated a bit from not being driven on. The pressure gauge was frozen so I had to wing it. I’m positive that I didn’t put the right amount of air needed in those tires, but I did notice an improvement in maneuverability.

Once that was finished, I set out on my way to my interview, which was about 22 miles away. I knew how to get to the town, which I famously got lost in trying to find the McDonald’s.

One Man, One McDonald’s, Several Buns

True story: while I was working at McDonald’s one day, my manager sent me out to a town that I’ve never driven to in order to get buns. He gave me very vague directions via pointing to his hands and mentioning some road names. It seemed simple enough so I drove out in search of the nice rack…of buns.

I make it to the town with little difficulty, but I came in through the other side of town. As I’m trying to get to the McDonald’s on the other side, I can see the McDonald’s sign out in the distance, mocking me in my futile attempt to reach it.

After what seemed like an eternity of passing through pointlessly placed stop signs and crazy-ass roads, I found McDonald’s. Once I came in and asked for the buns, that store’s manager told me that my manager was on his way to this store to guide me back since I might get lost again trying to find my way back to my McDonald’s.

What should have took around 45 minutes to an hour to complete took me 2 hours. By the time I came back, I had ten minutes left of my shift, much to the chagrin of my boss. I ended up pokin’ around for the remainder of my shift and went home.

Okay, Rant Time Is Over - Interview Time Is Now!!

So I managed to find the place with no problems. When I was being interviewed, the guy said it’s a running joke that they don’t have a sign and if you find the place, you should be hired. Like I said before, the interview went extremely well. My interviewer said that although I look to be the best candidate for this job, he has a couple more interviews to do, so he’ll tell me if I got the job in a week or two.

After the great interview, I decided to celebrate by eating at the local Wendy’s. Although I was able to find my potential job’s location fairly easy, finding the Wendy’s was a bit more difficult. After some guesswork and going down a couple wrong streets, I found Wendy’s and had two of their 99-cent Double-Stack cheeseburgers. Awesome!

So Why Are You Getting A Job Again?

Oh yeah, I forgot to answer that question. The reason I’m getting a job again is to be able to support myself until what I do online can support me. Also, I think that it’ll be fun to do work involving computers for a change (the job I’m looking to get into is a full-time customer service position) instead of boring minimum wage jobs that can’t support me outside of my parent’s home.

I really want to move out into an apartment of my own, and making a full-time income is the first step in doing that.

So I Hear That Your Alexa Ranking Needs A Boost

You heard right!

About a week ago, I decided to install the Alexa Sparky add-on for Firefox. I did it in order to not only boost my Alexa ranking, but to see where other websites stand as I browse them. I like using it so far. It’s informative enough to be considered useful to me, and it’s also not intrusive (ie doesn’t take up gobs of browsing space or RAM) so that I can browse in peace. I highly recommend downloading it if you use Firefox. For those of you that are using Internet Explorer (what’s wrong with you, lol?), you can download the Alexa Toolbar instead.

Well, I do believe that I’ll call it a night. Sweet dreams, everyone! Wish me luck on getting that job!!

TheAndySan

This Post Is Originally From: TheAndySan.com

Why I’m Getting A Job Again And How You Can Help Me Improve My Alexa Ranking