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.

The Last of Us & The Zombie Survival Guide

Such an amazing game! I finished it a while back and now I'm almost done with the game a second time, on the Survivor difficulty, trying to collect everything. It's such a surprise to see how much I have missed on my second run (and I thought I was thorough my first time around). Survivor, in short, is a rage-quit festival. Be prepared to die. Like, a lot. It's a miracle I've come so far on so little (I'm at the Fireflies laboratory), and once this adventure's over, I'll probably jump over to the Wii and replay Zelda's Twilight Princess and play Skyward Sword for the first time (I can hear your exasperations already :P). 

Enduring the harrowing dangers of The Last of Us's post-apocalyptic world has got me reflecting about my physical abilities, firearms experiences, and wilderness survival training. Or rather the lack thereof. If the end of the world as we know it ended today (here's hoping it doesn't), I don't think I'd have what it takes to survive. My chances would be astronomically low. Of course, nobody can really prepare for the end of the modern world, but some chance of survival is much better than not having any at all. 

And that's where Max Brooks' The Zombie Survival Guide comes in. Half-humorous and half-serious (in my humble opinion), it provides an overview of effective combat tactics for fighting or running away from the walking dead, assessing one's environment/situation, and even providing suggestions to the most ideal weaponry/armor of any class (short-range/long-range/silent/hand-to-hand, etc.) It's quite in-depth, but not overwhelmingly so. I've been taking extensive notes (hi-lighting, underlining, and even writing) all over the book, and from all of these marks I'm making, it's helping me forge out an ideal plan of attack - my weapon of choice, what to stock up on, learning new skills (especially ones I should know by now!), and motivating me to be more shape (fear of death is a great motivator!). Reading the book and taking notes is giving me inspiration to learn more skills and try new experiences, all the while giving me some hope that I won't be the first to die. As you can see, I've been taking the book quite seriously, perhaps more than I should, but I'm not bothered by it - the note-taking process is preparing me for the upcoming school fall semester!