Gift Woes

So, after two long weeks Theresa is finally back from her Pharmacy rotation. From what she told me via Skype calls she was stuck in this dinky town with nothing to do. Also, her roommates were kind of idiots but you didn't hear that from either of us.

So that's great. Except she's leaving for China in a week. And while she's there we're not going to be able to celebrate our 4 year anniversary together. And while I'm disappointed by this, I'm more worried by the fact that my Anniversary gifts may not be ready.

This isn't good.

I figured it's better to get an early gift than a late one. Who's ever been upset at receiving an early present? And I don't mind giving her her gifts early it's just that they mostly haven't arrived yet.

See, I generally like to order things online. I've had a higher rate of success with online gifts for Theresa. And normally I account for late shipping and what not by ordering early. Ordering a month or two in advance means the gifts arrives just in time for Christmas or her birthday.

But the fact that she's leaving before our Anniversary means my ordering schedule has been completely thrown off. And I'm now I'm being forced to think of what I can get her in replacement with the one week I have left before she flies away.

All I need is a towel and I'm set.

I've discussed Theresa's present preferences in the past. See, most girls are easier to buy for. They just point out a designer bag, fancy dress, some jewelry that they want and bam, problem solved.

Theresa hates all of the above items. In fact, I'm certain she despises all of the stereotypical girlfriend gifts including perfume, beautification products, lingerie, etc. etc.. The only thing she doesn't mind receiving is adorable plush toys but I've gotten her way too many Squishables so I might want to stop with those for a while.

Thanks to me, there's barely any room left for her to sleep on.

So, any ideas of what to do? I'm thinking of baking something for her (not cupcakes, she hates cupcakes) if I can't figure out a decent lunch combination to cook. Maybe I'll find something on a date that'll catch her eye? 

That's the other thing that bugs me. She's the kind of person that looks at something that clearly interests her but refuses to let you buy it for her. It's infuriating. And she wonders why I resort to buying things online in the middle of the night.

I'm pretty picky, just like her.

So if anyone has any ideas to share with me that's great. I'm hoping Theresa is too busy packing to read this post. Sweetie, please just make my life easier and give me something decent to get you. I'm not taking "nothing" as an answer.

Bastion: This Game is Glorious

It's been ages since I've done a review of anything but I've finally had a moment to dip into my backlog of books/games and decided to play Bastion.

I reviewed LIMBO many months ago and you might start noticing a trend. I'm generally only going to be reviewing Indie or uncommon games. I don't want to be discussing something like Battlefield, Diablo, or anything else that gets enough attention as it is.

I think this makes me a hipster though.

Nevermind, I only have 2 Xs on this thing. I'm still safe.

Bastion is the story of a boy know only as "The Kid" who wakes up, finds his entire world destroyed, torn up, and spat out by an event known as The Calamity. Guided only by a Stranger's voice he sets off to explore what's left of his world and find a way to start-up a structure called the Bastion. In doing so, hopefully the events of the Calamity can be reversed.

It's a 2D Adventure Role-Playing Game (or ARPG) with an isometric viewpoint. In other words, you control a character and make him do things in a 2D world that's made to look 3D. If you're confused by my description of how the world looks, take a look at the picture below. The world is done in this beautiful hand-drawn style and is a mix of both Steampunk and Fantasy.

But the visual presentation isn't what makes this game so wonderful, it's how everything else is presented.

Everything looks so pretty!

First, the story. A lot of games have trouble weaving a story with gameplay. Some games present massive blocks of texts, others have unskippable cutscenes, or wordy and boring dialogue sessions. All of these interrupt gameplay. Bastion gets around this by simply having the Stranger narrate chunks of the story as you play along.

For example, let's say you enter a new area. As you walk around, the Stranger will give a little bit of information, just a few sentences as you're running around. And then that's it. And he won't say anything else until you've done something worth saying. With this, you get a rich and unique narrative that's not overwhelming or intrusive.

Anything and everything you do can get a line from the Stranger. Doing well in a fight can get him to comment on how you breezed through, whereas nearly dying will prompt him to say how it was a hard fight, but you still did it. And this extends to the weapons you chose, the tasks you complete, the way you die, so on and so forth.

I know this sounds odd. But imagine if you could have Morgan Freeman follow you around for a day and give random commentary on everything you do, where you go, and give justification for why you did that. That is exactly what the narration feels like.

Every word this man says is liquid gold.

But this is also an action game so how does combat fare? Combat is also excellent. You are given a wide variety of upgradable weapons and skills to use so there is a large variety of customization. Nothing is better than the other, it all comes down to personal preference which is good. The enemies encountered are also unique and present their own challenges.

But there will be a point where you feel ridiculously overpowered and the game becomes too easy. Some people are going to like this but others are going to want a challenge. However, instead of a difficulty setting you eventually get access to a Shrine.

In Bastion, praying to the Gods will benefit your enemies, not you. Depending on who you pray to your enemies may gain increased defense, health regeneration, dropping explosives on death and many more. In return, you get an experience bonus which will help you level up faster if you can survive.

Why do the Gods hate us so much?!

Any problems with the game? Some of the challenges I found were very challenging unless certain upgrades were purchases which can be frustrating, but I guess that's what makes it a challenge. Another feature of the game is that the world pieces itself together as you explore it. A path will literally form in from empty space in front of you. This can be disorientating at times, running around, trying to find the trigger to activate the next chunk of world to form.

Other than that, I can't think of any other complaints.

The music is lovely, the art is lovely, the story could be considered cliched but the way it's presented should be applauded, and combat works great. The game is only $15 on Steam for PCs or 1200 Microsoft Points in the Xbox Live Arcade. You're looking at anywhere from 8 to 15 hours of gameplay depending on whether you do the challenges and/or the Story+ mode upon beating the game.

I highly recommend this game, one of the best I've played as of late. Trailer is down below:

And that's the voice of The Stranger in case you were wondering.

And I know this post is a few hours late. Still going to try and stick with my every third day posting schedule. Next post will be on Saturday.

Me not Healthy: Intestintal Adventures (Part 2)

Alright, it's been a while since I've talked about my health conditions. Not sure if anyone still remembers when I went and got the ultrasound and fluoroscopy but the results have been in for a while and I think it's about time I shared them.

Basically, it boils down to the picture below:

I'm serious. There is nothing wrong with my gastrointestinal track so far as the tests show. The fluoroscopy showed nothing. The ultrasound revealed microscopic kidney stones but my doctor assures me that if you search hard enough, you can find these in just about anyone.

Still, I probably should keep drinking copious amounts of water. I've heard enough horror stories of people passing these things.

I can only imagine the pain.

So, what's the cause behind my intestinal issues then? Doctor's not sure, he thinks that maybe my fibre intake isn't enough. And that's quite possible, I mean, my favorite food group is meat. So he suggests that I get some Metamucil and try that for a while.

Also, my frequent chest pains still haven't been explained. We thought it might be due to acid reflux but the antacid tablets did nothing for me. Though it could just due to stress. Who knows. None of the tests have revealed anything.

It really does feel like heartburn some days though.

But let's focus on the positives! I'm not as unhealthy as previously thought. Maybe this is just a few small things that are causing major problems with me. Though I guess it is kind of obvious that stress does all sorts of horrible things to your body.

It could also be due to lack of sleep as well I guess. I'm not going to think too deeply on that though. I'll talk about my sleep problems another day.

A Summer of Possibilites

Awesome, my 4 month long summer break is finally here. Now I just need to figure out what to do with it. It always feels odd, not having the threat of an oncoming exam or paper breathing down your neck. Being able to sleep in, relax and goof off.

So much spare time.

Free!

Usually at the start of each month I do a recap of my progress on a list of goals I've set for myself. But let's be honest, how much progress was I going to make during finals month? But now that I have time, maybe I can get some work done.

I haven't gotten any proper exercise in weeks, I haven't practiced baking or cooking, done any book or game reviews, job hunting has gone poorly and who know what else has been neglected lately. But hopefully that can and will change in the coming weeks.

I've got a new pile of work for me now.

I've been sleeping better, so I have more time and more energy now so that means I can get back to trying to not be a scrawny twig. Oh, and that means I'm healthier or something too. Exercise is good for you, blah blah blah.

One of the things I want to do for Theresa before she heads of to China is cook her a proper meal. Usually the most I've been able to do is supplement her lunch with a simple soup or something to that nature. So it be nice to cook her something decent.

Any ideas? Some good steak recipes? I want to make a leek and potato soup, maybe a potato gratin. Thing is, I have no idea what works well together for a lunch. Sure I could just slap together random recipes together but if they compliment each other that be nice.

I don't want her eating some monstrosity like this.

The job hunt is not going well. Most research jobs are either already taken or I don't qualify for them. Same with a lot of the other jobs offered by the University. I've applied for what I can but from the looks of it the best I've got is working at FutureShop for 4 months.

And that's assuming I get an interview. I sent an application a while back, still nothing. Same with the other job I applied for. Getting a bit discouraged here because it's not like jobs are jumping at me, begging to be taken.

Very worried about this happening.

But all in all, I think I should try and relax a bit. My family has confirmed that we will be going to China again this summer. If you haven't read my first experience in China, you can see it here.

Which means that my blog posts will probably be reduced to about once every week. I won't be able to visit anyone else's blogs. Actually, there's a very good chance that I'll have no internet. I mean, I can get past the Great Firewall of China, that's no problem, but it will be a problem if I have no internet.

A nightmare come true.

But we'll see how things go. I've still got 4 months left. Let's see how things turn out.

The Further (Mis)Adventures of Yu

Ok, Blogger hopefully won't end up deleting this post. A lot has happened to Yu in the past few weeks and none of them are really good. In fact, it has gotten a bit ridiculous and I'm not sure how much of it is true. But I'll let you decide for yourself. Posts about Yu are here and here.

Where to begin? Well I think we should start with Yu's recent re-hospitalization. From what I heard, he suddenly passed out during a final and had to be carted away in a stretcher to the hospital.

This is not surprising. The kid brags about how he sleeps in random places on campus instead of going home, fueled on Red Bull and other energy drinks. And then when he's feeling stressed, he takes double if not triple the dosage of whatever prescription anti-anxiety drugs he currently has.

The outcome was never really in doubt.

He claims that the reason why he was in the hospital was because not only did his stomach ulcer re-open, but also because he had an aneurysm. That's right, an aneurysm.

Yu, I'm fairly certain that we would have noticed signs of this much, much sooner if you had actually had an aneurysm. Also, I don't think they'd let you out of the hospital only after a day or two had this occurred. Of course, if anyone out there is more knowledgeable about these things, feel free to share.

So, Yu comes out of the hospital. Do you think he's learned his lesson?

Of course not.

Looks like the guy is only school-smart.

This is further confirmed during one of our study sessions. I see him guzzling more energy drinks as he tries to stay awake long enough to read through his notes. He fails, crawls under a table and tries to sleep. Maybe he was tired of me telling him that energy drinks are bad, and that he should go home and get some proper rest.

Then he gets up, tries to study again, drinks more Red Bull, mutters random incoherent messages to himself and then start shoving cigarettes up his nose.

Followed by "Yo man, my cigarettes are wet".

I WISH I COULD FACEPALM THIS HARD.

But the other day I get a message from Yu and it looks a bit odd. A bit of backstory first, he had recently found some other drug that was supposed to boost your memory. To give you an idea of how suspicious it sounded, my girlfriend Theresa didn't recognize the name, and she's getting close to graduating from the top of her  Pharmacy class.

Yu decides to take triple the recommended dosage the day before his last final.

And the message he sent me went something like this:

"Hey man, I don't feel so good. I should have listened to you. I don't think I should have taken so many of those pills. I haven't even covered half the material yet".

Off the charts.

And where is Yu now? Not sure. He's been fairly quiet. But now that we're done classes maybe he'll start taking better care of himself.

Hopefully.

Oh wow, 100 posts.

I had my post ready to go, the one meant for last time but Blogger deleted. Today's post was going to be about Yu. For those of you unfamiliar with he escapades you can read about them here and here.

But then I noticed something. This is going to be my 100th post. This is a pretty significant milestone if you ask me. It took me nearly 9 months to reach it but hey I did.

I guess we should celebrate or something.

 
Mother Nature celebrated by snowing again. I'm not kidding. It actually snowed again.

But I'm done all my exams now. All the papers have been handed in. I'm actually able to sleep and what not so that's great news. Actually being able to get 8 hours of consecutive rest is amazing. And I'm waking up before noon.

Ok, it's more like I keep passing out before midnight so it's sort of like I'm sleeping responsibly. I think the sleep deprivation from the rest of the year is catching up to me. But let's focus on the positives.

Yay!

So I'd like to thank everyone who continued to visit even though I've been neglecting everyone else's blogs. Now that I'm pretty much free I'm going to be able to put a bit more effort and time into my posts. As opposed to the hastily written and fairly similar ones about me being tired or covered in schoolwork.

Now you guys can watch me try and cook again, Jean and I will be trying to do some things over the break and same with my friend Adrian. Hopefully I don't waste my entire summer break in front of a computer playing Starcraft.

Master race reporting.

And hopefully I can get a decent paying job. I wasn't able to grab one last year and it would help me out tremendously if I could finally earn a bit of money. I'm still several thousand in debt to my parents.

Oh, and Theresa is gone for two weeks. Off on a Pharmacy rotation. And then when she gets back, she's going to be gone to China for a month.

Man, I'm going to be lonely.

Accurate representation of what I'll be like during her absence.

But yes, thanks again to everyone who reads and comments. Any suggestions for topics or criticism is appreciated as usual. Just leave a comment or even send me an email.

Next post will be an update on Yu. Don't worry, as of the time of this post, he's still alive.

I think.

I'm Not Enjoying the New Blogger Format

In my tired stupor I managed to post and publish something but now Blogger has gone and deleted it.

This is just great. I'm not going to bother retyping it, I'm going to bed and I'll figure out something later. I guess this counts as a post that I didn't make on time but it's Blogger's fault so I'm ok with that.

Yeah, I'm still tinkering with the new format. Not fun to come back to your blog and find everyone asking "Where's the video?" on your last post.

In better news, all my finals are done and I just have papers left so I'll finally be able to do my rounds in the Blogosphere again. I'm excited to see what everyone else has been up to lately.

Now if you'll excuse me, sleep time.

EDIT: Great, now Blogger is claiming I have comments to publish but when I go to moderate them the screen is blank. Hopefully this issue resolves itself soon.