Work

I hate working saturdays and I hate working OT. I always come home in such a bad mood. I need to get out of there soon so I can get back to my old self again. It's also ruining my love of video games. When I come back home, I don't want to play any of my games that are actually fun because I've been playing bad games all day that leave a bad taste in my mouth... oh. well.

Sony!

2nd interview at Sony friday!!! I think this may be it!!! Have everything crossed for me!

Friends and MySpace

Wow, 2 entries back to back! I guess I feel like writing. Anywho, I've been thinking about MySpace lately, and about these blogs. I've never kept a diary or anything, and lately I've been posting a lot here. I've always been one to work things out myself and only talk to people about it if I really need advice, and a lot of the times it's just to hear myself say it. You know? Just talking stuff out helps. It seems like MySpace has become a little outlet for me, a diary type place I can write about stuff, how my day was, and keep a log of some of the things I did I can look back on and say "oh yeah!!" if I forget.

But then the difference with MySpace is that everyone can see it. It makes it really weird, because I may want to say something but then I would hold back because of who may be reading.

I think lately I've finally come to the realization that I am off on my own now. No more going back home for summer vacation, no more winter break, no more spring break, no more school. Just me in the real world. I know my parents are there to help me along and everything, and I've got some great friends that I know will be there too (hopefully for life) but it's just...... scary. I think it was because I just got my first big check from my first real job. It was the biggest check I had ever gotten, and realizing every last bit of it will go to pay rent was a wake up call. Since this transition from student to working stiff is new, what I do now can affect everything I do later. So it's been a period of reflection of what the future has to offer, and now is my chance to mold it into what I want it to be.

That being said, I've been thinking a lot about the people I know. People that I call aquatence, the people I call friend, and the people I know I will always be friends with for the rest of my life. I don't mean to sound rude or like a terrible person or anything (see, the only reason I wrote that is for the people reading, if it were a true diary, I would never have said that) but I feel like now is the chance I get to choose whom I want in my life and who can get left by the wayside.

It's like one of those things where you started off as their friend and slowly but surely, you realize the way you work and the way they work is very different. Your views and their views clash, and there are just certain things about them you can't stand. One of those people that when you talk to them, they say something, and when you reply, they don't pay attention, they're just waiting to say what they want again (and sometimes they don't wait.) I have very few pet peeves, but damn! I can't stand people that don't pay attention to you or wait your turn to talk! I know sometimes I may jump in at inapropriate times in a conversation, but I usually just stop to be polite and et them finish, or consciencly remember what they were saying and ask them to go back to it. Anyway, the hard part is you're pretty sure they don't feel the same way about your friendship. And also, you may have mutual friends, so you can never truly just drift apart, which is what I want to do. Don't worry people reading this, I can guarantee it's not you just by the fact you're reading this. So the tricky thing is what to do. You want this person to move on and do their own thing, but that probably won't happen. I could go into soooooo much more detail, and I really feel like blowing off steam, but this isn't the place to do it.

So much reflection lately, so much thinking. It feels like my head is going to explode. It's so damn scary too. But damn, it's sure is exciting! One quote that I always keep in mind when I'm feeling a bit down or overwhelmed is from the very last Calvin and Hobbes strip. At the time it came out, I thought it was stupid. But the more I have thought about it, the more I believe it and the more true it has become:

"It's a wonderful world Hobbes ol' friend. Lets go exploring."

That's what I feel like I'm doing, exploring this wonderful place....

To Elaborate

Yeah, so as my last post said, I don't want to work at EA anymore. I was super depressed and mad about it, so now that I've cooled off a bit, I'll elaborate.

Thursday night I had an epiphany: EA is teh sux0rz. I realized that I didn't like working there, I didn't like doing overtime, and I didn't like working weekends. I don't want to sound like an ass, or I'm full of myself or anything, but I know that I'm the best guy there and I can't stand stooping down and testing other people's games that suck. I should be making the games, not testing some other person's crappy idea because I know I could make it so much better. Yes yes, I know it's a temporary position, and I know "you gotta start somewhere!" and I know it could be a lot worse and I know I should be glad for having a job there and I know it pays the rent, but still. I hate it. I can't wait to get the hell out of there. It feels like a job, and I didn't go to college to get a fucking job, I went to college so I could have fun with work and do what I wanted. Why the hell did I decide to major in animation?? If I wanted a "job" I would have majored in business or something equally as boring. At EA, all I do is find other people's crappy mistakes (bugs) and tell them how I found it so they can fix it. Fun huh? Oh yeah, and I found out today overtime is now mandatory! So that means working 9am-9pm mon-fri and saturday 10am-7pm on something I don't fucking care about! Woohoo! So EA sucks, and I want to get out the hell out of there. I can stick it out for a little while, but man I hate it. It actually makes me depressed working there, and I'm never depressed. And when I am, I fucking hate it. Fucking EA.

(wow, that was a pretty mean entry, huh? Lots of nuaghty words...)

EA

EA is cool and all, and I've learned one thing since I've started working there:

I don't want to work there.

You're really weird...

Just saw Charlie and the Chocolate factory last night with my movie buddy Jess. Oh man, it was weiiiiiiirrddd, and ackward, and hilarious. I liked it a lot. It was disturbing and the jokes were great, but not everybody got them, which led me to start cracking up and then hold back to make sure I didn't look like an idiot for being the only one laughing. It was a fun movie though, and it was very very close to the book. Before the movie, Andrew, Mike and I went to Chipotle, (Chipotle!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and Jess met us there. She stopped by the ATM and then we headed to the movie. When we sat down in the theater, she realized that she threw away the $20 she just took out of the ATM! And then I relized Andrew didn't have his keys to the apartment! So after the movie, we went back to the ATM, dug through the trash, found Jess' money, picked up Andrew and came back here. Crazy night, with crazy food, crazy movie, crazy adventure, with a crazy full moon out. And yes, you guessed it, it was crazy cool.

Trying not to be excited

Well, I talked to Sony again tuesday. They said that were talking about me that day and that they're still trying to figure out what to do about the hiring situation (whatever that means) but the fact they were talking about me still was good! They said they should know pretty soon! I'm trying for the life of me not to get excited, because I don't want to be let down if nothing happens.

But what if it does? the interview went so well, and I know I impressed the hell out of 'im... Gak!

We came, we saw, we conned.

Comic con. Comic-con. SDCC. Connnnnnnnnnn! However you spell it, thats what we did last weekend. It was intense! Me, Mike, Jess, Andrew, Derek, and Eugene drove down friday night after work, got to Derek's at around 1ish, got up Saturday early and got to the con at 10am. Saturday was crazy crowded, but crazy fun. Started off the day by browing around the floor for about 2 hours. I got a cool Edgar Allen Poe book illustrated by Gris Grimly (think Tim Burton, but this guy can actually draw) which is awesome, and a Ragnar art book too, which I wanted to get since last con. Then I was super suprised that I could get a King Randor from He-Man and they weren't sold out, so I got that and got it signed by the 4 Horsemen, geeked out a little, but tried to keep it to a bare minimum, and we all headed to go see the Quick Draw panel.

Quick draw was really fun. It was 3 of the top comic strip artists drawing what is suggested as fast as they could. Quick, if you will. It was really funny. A good time was had by all (even if we were kinda falling asleep.) Then after that, was the panel I came to see. Ray Harryhausen.

If you don't know who Ray Harryhausen is, then you haven't truly lived. And if you think you have lived, then I will come to your house and kill you just to prove my saying true. Or maybe I won't.... But I most likely will, most likely. He's the guy that did the stop motion animation for films like Jason and the Argonauts, Clash of the Titans, and Seventh Voyage of Sinbad single handedly! He's an amazing fellow and the way he incorporated animation into live action paved the way for todays CGI boom. Just listening to this man talk was incredible. Oh yeah, and Ray Bradbury was there too, and he was pretty kick ass as well lol. You can learn so much from people who have been in the biz for the last 60+ years!! I also got a DVD of his early works and tests which looks awesome too.

After that, I went back down to the floor only to meet the author of my favorite comic ever (Usagi Yojimbo), Stan Sakai! He was such a cool, nice, humble guy. I completed my Usagi collection, got an action figure, and he signed it all and drew a sketch in every book as well! Kick ass!!!

Man, what a day? Could it get better? Hell yeah! Two words: Umm, well, one word that's hyphenated? Err.... Two words (I guess): He-Man! The classic He-Man finally came out on dvd last week, and I was able to pick it up at the con. That was cool in itself, but what was even cooler was the fact that the people who made the dvd were there to sign it, along with a he-man.orger I had known from online. Cool stuff.

That was a crazy day...... oh wait, I almost forgot! We also saw a Tenacious D concert!! It was sooooooo fun. The D is so funny, and they know how to rock the house. Top it off with a little Juanitas, finish it off with some Nick Arcade starring Mikey, our video adventurer, and you have a pretty awesome day.

Oh, and we also ran into PB$, and we invited him to stay with us at Derek's so he wouldn't have to sneak into the hotel across the street and sleep in the kitchen again (!) So that was cool.

Sunday was spent mostly recovering from Saturday. We woke up later, got to the con later, and mainly just wandered all day, and that was fine with me. The highlights were getting to see the head animator of the Corpse Bride (Peter Dodd) animate Scraps the dog and being able to ask him a few questions, meeting Ray Harryhausen again and getting his autograph, and mostly wandering around checking stuff out. I found Captain EO on dvd (bootleg of course) and I spent about 3 hours looking for a Rocketeer comic from the 80's done by Dave Stevens. I finally was able to find one (just one!) which I bought with 10 minutes left of the con. I got the guy to drop the price $10 so that was cool. Andrew picked up a sweet Sin City poster and an even sweeter Pirates of the Carribean 2 poster (if thats even possible) so now that means I need more frames! And of course I spent too much money, but thats what overtime is for, eh?

We got back to Derek's pad, chilled out a bit, had some cookies, some brownies, some pita, some hummus, and shared stories. We then packed up and rolled out. Headed to the local New York pizza place, ate and started the long traffic ridden trek home. Good music and good company made the time past quickly. Good times.

MAT!

and as a frequenter of the Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con, Comic Book Guy would say, "longest........blog........ever........"

If you want it done...

Why is it if you want it done right, you have to do it yourself?

It seems like that's been the case lately for me. If you want to make sure you get anything at all done, you sure as heck better take care of it. There are fewer and fewer people you can count these days.

Sometimes I just kinda want to go along for the ride, because it takes tons of effort to be the organizer, especially since it seems I am always the organizer. But the problem is when I feel like standing back and watching, nothing happens and I end up taking control anyway.

If you want it done right.... you better do it yourself, or it won't get done.

Lucy Moment

oh man, I had a Lucy moment today (like from I Love Lucy). Now, I've done a lot over the last 22 years, but apparently, I've never used a dishwasher by myself before. I mean I've washed dishes, dried them, loaded the dishwasher and unloaded the dishwasher, but I've never actually put the soap in and turned the dial. Anyway, today I decided to clean up the joint and I wanted to do the dishes, but we were out of dishwasher soap.So I found some regular concentrate dish soap like you use in the sink to clean dishes. Same thing, right?? Anyway, I poured that into the dish washer, pretty much filling the little place to pour it, and (you guessed it!) I guess I used too much and soap started pouring out!! It was going all over the kitchen floor and I kept turning off the dishwasher to stop it! I was sliding all over and then after I thought I got it all out of the dishwasher, I turned it back on and it did it again!! AH! It was really funny, straight out of I Love Lucy. Rickyyyyyyyy....... I wannahhh go ta da showwwwwww!!! Wahhhhhhh!!!

Sony?

Well, I started at EA monday. It's pretty chill. I pretty much play new games they are making, try to break them any way possible, document the breakage and report it to be fixed. No too bad, but kinda boring...

Anyway, wednesday I get an e-mail from Sony asking me to go in for an interview today. I got lucky because we got today off from EA. So I go in, and the interview went really well. It's for wat they call a Web Designer position, and it's pretty much making website assets using all the programs I know. I talked to 3 different people, and I think it went really well. They seemed impressed by my skill set and it seemed it was exactly what they were looking for. Hopefully they felt the same way! So now I've been at EA about 4 days, and might leave already lol. Sony's a much better job, and I'll actually be able to use my skills. Wish me luck, and hopefully I'll get it!