Inigo, the Exiled (and Friends)

One of the things that I started to do with friends is play Dungeons and Dragons (here is a link to a page in the official site that goes in to far more detail than what I can do on my own), at the insistence of one of my closest friends. To be honest, I was very apprehensive at trying the game, as I often struggle with the idea of role-playing and embodying a persona that can be drastically different than who I am in real life.

For instance, my character that I have created for the campaign that I'm a part of is a half-elf/half-human bard named "Inigo, the Exiled". As a traveling musician, Inigo's very much charismatic: social, very playful, lighthearted/easygoing, and at times sassy/sarcastic, in a "charming scoundrel" kinda way. Totally not me, to a great extent. So naturally, I struggle getting into this sort of headspace when it comes to acting conversation, or talking out the actions that he'd take (as opposed to what I'd do in that same situation). I don't know, for me, this is very difficult for me to perform, so I'm quite grateful that my companions are very patient and understanding as I fumble my way through the rules of the game.

Overall, playing as Inigo has been an uncomfortable (but in a good challenging way) exercise in being more outgoing and creative in a way I didn't think I thought I could be. I still need more time to find an appropriate voice for Inigo, as I feel it's just me in a costume, instead of Inigo being his own 3-dimensional character that I'd want him to be. Before now, I've never played D&D before this year, and the closest I've come to playing was with Stranger Things, and even then I didn't know what was going on. Also, I occasionally watch Critical Role to get ideas on what I can do differently for my character, as well as get ides for other characters when the time comes.

Recently, as some of my companions can't be present for every session we hold together, we've been doing these mini-campaigns that let me explore different races, classes, and backgrounds, as a means to change up gameplay without having to compromise our main campaign. I've been trying different voices (a lá voice acting), as well as trying to project different types of personalities and such to add more to variety and color to my gameplay experiences. I still feel awkward and goofy for the time being, but I'm having a good time and I'm amongst good company, so I feel like I'm in a safe enough space where I can be goofball and fail spectacularly from time to time. I think I'm going to love this D&D stuff, even if it's much more grandiose than what I could ever anticipate.

Trip to the Ghetty (Late Post #2)

The front entrance of the Getty.

On a beautiful Friday afternoon in July, one of my friends had to go to the Getty Center in Los Angeles. I say "had to" since he was required to make a trip to examine art from the Renaissance Era and write a concise, yet detailed, report on his observations of said art. He didn't want to go alone, so I asked if I could tag along. It's been years since my last visit and I also vowed to revisit this museum some time this year, and the timing was impeccable. 

Even though it's been years since my trip to the Getty, nothing much has changed. It all felt nostalgic and natural, which my friend felt relief for (since he never visited the Getty until that trip we made) so we had no trouble having to be where we needed to be, which was the west wing, where all European art could be found.

After a good hour and half (maybe two) of examining art, having an on-going conversation with my friend about the art and applying his knowledge to the works that were present, we spend our remaining time exploring the rest of the museum. We found some great architecture (like the photo to the right). While, in honesty, it was something that I couldn't comprehend entirely, it was something that I appreciated simply because it exists. Maybe that's the powerful effect of art: sometimes we don't understand what we see, hear, or feel, but all that matters most is that someone was creative or insightful, or even just lucky enough to create something into existence that didn't exist before.

My Social Experiment: Day 0 (Nervous)

Before I begin what I set off to do, I feel like I should type down my thoughts as to how I feel. First off, I'm nervous. I have approximately 230 friends listed on Facebook: 50% that were added randomly these past few months, about 30% that I know by association, 15% that I don't even communicate with anymore, and the remaining 5% are people that I do communicate with. Only the 5% will be excluded (since there is no point in reconnecting with them when I already do communicate with them). SO...yeah, many will be complete and total strangers. Second, I'm pretty there are a several that are either married, or at least in a very serious relationship, so I can anticipate a lack of response (but hopefully a polite decline?) from these people. 

So yes, I can say that I'm nervous: who will respond? Who will actually want to participate? Can I maintain communication with approximately 150 people (that's the amount of people I'm hoping to interact with)? Can I even initiate some sort of dialogue to begin with (after I post the initial question)? 

I hope to seek some answers soon.

My Great Social Experiment

I don't have many quality friends on Facebook. Most of the people that I have on my friend's list are mostly mutual friends or (much more honestly) acquaintances. For a good while, this didn't bother me at all, since I was just randomly adding people relentlessly over the course of several months. However, now I have this lengthy list of strangers who are, apparently, deemed "friends" of mine. Only...they're not. Rather than to eliminate them from my friends list, I decided I would try to befriend them, to know a thing or two about who they are. While that's a daunting task to do, I'm feeling confident that not everybody will respond to the message I will send them (which I'll mention in a moment). Instead of having, say, 100 ongoing conversations, I might only have to deal with 70. 70 is still a high number, but at least it's not 100. As for the message, I plan on sending, I'm thinking something along the lines of this (keep in mind that this is only a draft question, and may be changed sometime in the future):

Hello. It's embarrassing for me to admit this to you, but the truth is, I don't know you at all, other than your name. I don't know who you are, where you come from, and where you belong in this mad, blue world (and if I do know who you are, and you got this...sorry that I forgot?). However, I do want to know you: what makes you happy, your favorite art and its myriad forms, your regrets, your dreams, the last time you cried, something you hope you'll never be, what keeps you awake at night. At the very least, describe yourself in one word. I'm not asking you to reveal your authentic, personal self all at once, but I am asking that you'll slowly (even if you're hesitant - and that's ok: I'd be hesitant myself!) reveal yourself to me. For the sake of equivalent exchange, I'll share something about myself also, giving you something in return for what you have given me. The hope is that someday, in the distant future, we can become friends (even if this is just upon this digital landscape), rather than remain a subconscious, subtle blip in our lives. I trust that you'll read this lengthy message and take the chance to meet somebody new, or at least, somebody who subtly lingered about your news feed and friends list for some time.

I hope that at least one person bravely responds back to me...

Quality Time With "Veronica"

Recently, I did something that I haven't done in such a long time on my university campus - I had quality time with a friend and we spent almost 2 hours just talking, making lame jokes, and just having some bit of fun. Considering we're down to the wire (our final week of the Spring Semester), I was somewhat surprised that we somehow made some time to just talk and develop our friendship together, and getting to know more about each other.

Spending time with "Veronica" (not her real name, but she did request that I use that pseudonym for her) was quite an exquisite respite from the inexorable pressures of these remaining few weeks. I haven't had this type of quality time with a fellow friend and classmate in months. It seems that I have spent just about all of my free time studying and conducting research for two demanding essays and reading the text for four classes in our campus library. Now that it's all behind me (for the most part), it was a nice change of pace to be outside, enjoying the gentle breeze, the flora, the fauna (just some squirrels, really), people watching, and the company of a friend. I hope to have more experiences in the future. I can't help but feel these little moments create those defining "college moments" that many of us fondly recall as we age over time.

DEVILS NEVER CRY (because they) NEVER SURRENDER!

I had the pleasure of spending time with a dear friend almost a week ago. We were driving back home after visiting friends and seeing old familiar faces when he played a familiar song through his phone (which was hooked up to his radio). Only I couldn't place the name of the song. So I gave up asked my friend, "Who is this again?" He looks at me and says, "You don't remember? This is Combichrist - this song is the main theme from the latest Devil May Cry!" 

Of course! How could I forget! That's why the song was familiar - this song plays during the introductory cinematic scene of the game, highlighting Dante's exorbitant lifestyle of women, fast times, and all-around recklessness. It's been quite some time since I've played DMC: Devil May Cry since I had already accomplished all that I could do (such as maxing out the Life/Devil Trigger bars, earning all combos, finding all secrets, ect. - I pretty much got my money's worth playing the game). Since I've done all that I could do gaming-wise, perhaps the only reason why I'd revisit the game would be for its music. 

Much of the in-game music was composed by both Combichrist and Noisia, two electronica  groups (in the broadest sense: they're actually Aggrotech and Neurofunk/Grime, respectively). The music composed for the game is fantastic and flawless - their styles compliment the re-imaging of the Devil May Cry franchise perfectly. As I mentioned a whiles back in my Da Octopuss post, this is the type of music that belongs in gothic, underground dance clubs of sorts. I've been loving this style of music, and quite frankly, I want more of this type of music in my life. Julien-K is somewhat similar, as well as Da Octopuss, so I've got that going for me.

Anyhow, here is the theme song of DMC:Devil May Cry, called "Never Surrender," the one my good  friend was blasting in his car radio:

And here is one of Noisia's offerings from the game:

Maybe after I'm done with this year's CD collecting quest, I'll devise a new list that'll focus more on this type of music.

The Bridge to Nowhere

On the 19th of March (a Thursday), my brother, one of my best friends, and I ventured into the San Gabriel Mountains to find The Bridge to Nowhere. Like our second hike a whiles back, we also decided to bring Nanuk along for the journey. Rather than spending time describing it all, I'll let the photographs that we have taken show you our journey instead! Enjoy.

"Rachel! RACHEL!! (WHERE IS SHE?!?!)"

About the title, sorry, but I couldn't help myself - I just HAD to! You understand, right? =3

Side note: I meant to write this MUCH sooner, but life (school, work, and even "Rachel" herself) manages to overwhelm me daily (parts of these recent posts have, in fact, been written at work!) Also, "Rachel" is a She Wants Revenge song.  

To begin, Rachel and I first met through a mutual friend. Whenever I meet new people, I try to be more outgoing/friendlier than my usual self, mostly because I've been told I can come across as a cold, distant, or a dick in the past. So like with anyone new in my life, I gave her a simple handshake, a friendly smile (the hope is that it's warm and welcoming, not awkward and creepy - I should practice smiling more), and just like that *snaps fingers* we became acquaintances, though we both took to liking each other almost immediately. It was obvious: we smiled at each other and looked around for each other. Like, a lot. Though, I didn't do a thing about it. Mostly because I felt like I needed a much needed break from chasing girls (the masquerade incident still lingers in my mind) and I realized (after said incident) that this year just wasn't my year and I decided to accept being single for a few months more (this was about a month and a half ago, if I recall correctly). A couple of days later, I'd give up that resolution and asked our mutual friend if Rachel was seeing anyone (I'd eventually learn that Rachel had asked the same of me). 

After that, it became incredibly easy. At first, we mostly communicated via Internet (which worked great for us - our bizarre schedules and geographic distances would make it difficult to go out for coffee or frozen yogurt or whatever us kids are supposed to do for a meet up these days). Soon enough, we exchanged numbers and we began messaging and (eventually) calling each other. And to elaborate, before we exchanged numbers, I had asked her out on a date. But as I reflect on it now, I would have liked it more if I could have asked her out in person, but I had no way of meeting her in person to do so: the wacky schedules, remember?

Thus, our one date became a series of dates; our acquaintanceship grew into a friendship, which, in turn, maturated into a romance;  and I'm left in the center of it all, wondering how all this came to be. 

So there you have it: the simple story of how I met your mo--err, my girlfriend. It's, in no way, this passionate, Hollywood movie-type of thing, nor this boy-meets-girl kind of story (it's its own thing, I've come to realize), but I'm still amazed to have found somebody who likes me for me, and who I like for who she is. And she is someone I didn't plan to have in my life (at least for a few more months, that is). That alone makes her all the more special to me.