SWNow :: Episode 6 :: Last Day :: 052107

The picture above is for a certain someone whom I really liked.
Click to Enlarge.---

I'm a bit sad today, since today is Cyndie's last day at IRRI. She has finished her OJT tenure of 166 Hours, so I won't be seeing her regularly from now on. Anyways, as Nelly Furtado have said (sung, actually), all good things come to an end...eventually. *sigh* It was really fun being with her everyday...

That aside, my little 'professional' job is driving me nuts. SQL is supposed to be easy, but no - it decides to go all sloppy on me. Well, I'm actually to blame, but still - no one said anything about schemas and servers until it was too late. Oh, btw, the nWoD Session went as I predicted, with almost three hours solely on character creation and prologue. Next saturday, we're still there at scene one, but I sure hope they cooperate more... -___-Those things aside, It's still the same around here...sorry I'm not in the mood to explain right now. I'm kindof gloomy.

*thinks of happy thoughts*

Last friday, we (Me and Cyndie) were attacked by IRRI's cursed printer. ^^ Hahahaha It was really fun, with the printer doing nothing as we predicted (It prints a lot of copies, puts pictures on blank templates etc...). The printer became normal again a few hours before closing, so in the end Cyndie was able to pass her trimmed printouts to her supervisor.

*stops thinking*

*goes all gloomy again*

---

SWNow :: Episode 5 :: Pouch of Sand :: 051507

---

Why the hell am I so damn sleepy today? I just can’t keep my eyes open. This is the first time that Cyndie asked me for some help (an improvement from her ‘I don’t need help’ behavior) though I only need to demonstrate things once for her to pick the tricks. I feel like my brain’s fogged up, and I can’t design properly.

Oh, and that reminds me, I got my very first outside-the-campus project. I feel like a damn professional. A damn sleepy professional. It was a relatively easy custom software job for this photography shop at Los Banos. An automated ID Creator, with database capabilities, preferably SQL. Unfortunately, I’m using Visual Basic.NET (I’m still learning its quirks) and I’m not very comfortable with SQL through VB.NET. Another problem is the print module of the software – I’m not sure how to print a form in VB.NET (There’s no PrintForm Function). Those aside, I hope I can finish the software by Friday morning, since that’s the deadline.

What else…The OJT night’s this Thursday, I still have 74 Hours left, Cyndie’s OJT is only until this Monday, and I’ve got to finish the story for the Storytelling Session (nWoD) this coming Saturday. I hope my berks won’t give me a hard time at the character creation, especially JM. They’re freakin notorious for spending a lot of time in choosing their options – the chapter’s good for one to one-and-a-half hours of gameplay, but I expect the character creation to span for about three or so hours. That’s four (or more) freakin hours. Anyways, I hope all would be well by Saturday. I guess that’s every thing about me for now, so Ciao!

PS> Take a look at my latest photo manips at my portfolio – LantisGaius.DeviantArt.Com! ^^
PS2> MAGIC:tG PLAYERS PLEASE READ: Toothless Strategies, by: The Ferret, more specifically the 'Five Common Novice Misperceptions In Deck Design' part. It's good stuff, very helpful.

SWNow :: Episode 4 :: Dentist :: 040707

---

---

The dentist was Dr. Rubio. I encountered him last tuesday, just before I went to Juner's house. It was labor day, so I've no OJT. Let's start from my innermost tooth (The molar? Whatever), 'kay? It was cleaned, calcified (Calcium + Amalgam + Pasta) before being lasered into place. Yes, the dentist actually owned a handheld blue-laser (cobalt?) that he used on one of my teeth. Thext tooth was extracted, which has broken off into three pieces. Each was taken off with minimal effort. The next was root-canalled, a process where the nerves inside the teeth are taken off and replaced by rubber. The next was cleaned and also calcified. I went back the next saturday for a final filling.

But it still throbs. Darn it, the extracted tooth was a bit decayed, and maybe the gums was affected by its taint. My gums hurt a bit because of it.... Anyways, that's that about my teeth.

OJT matters: Cyndie told me this morning that she's planning to do some overtime this week. Up until 9:00pm, since the last shuttle goes off the Institute by 9:15pm. And guess what? I'm going with her! This arrangement has a lot of benefits - from adding almost 4 hours per day at my Daily Time Record and an extended bonding period with Cyndie, I'd love to do overtime.^^ That aside, I sure hope this OJT finishes quickly (120 hours to go). Btw, Cyndie was chosen to be a candidate at Mr. & Ms. OJT Night at our (Guess what?) OJT Night this May 17. If you guys want to attend, just ask me (through text or through the cbox) for a ticket (p15) since outsiders are encouraged to come.

Darn it, my PCs still busted, and my dad needs to use laptop...so Ciao, I guess...
---
Mood: Mixed
Music: Emo
---
PS> Happy Birthday Dad! ^^
PS2> Congrats grace, and for your new boyfriend...
F*** Y** you S#**-eating Man-Wh***! ^^ Yes, I do hate the bugger.

Magic:tG :: Something Dredged :: 050207

---

I was searching around in the MTGSalvation forums for a competent Jhoira Control deck that won’t cost me a fortune when I accidentally clicked this curious little thread named ‘Something Blue, Something Dredged’ at the Decks for Critique subforum. The list at the first post contatined the barebones of a very powerful Combo deck, and the second post completed the list with Aggro-Control elements as a backup plan if anything goes awry. Believe me, I was impressed by the poster’s boasts of turn 4-6 kills, and (at a God hand) the deck even managed a turn 3 kill. It was running under an inginous engine that looked like a pile of crap(cards) at first, but they’re really damn synergistic once you playtest the deck. Here’s my take on NarcoBridge.dec –

// NAME: Dredge.mwDeck
// Land
6 Island
4 River of Tears
4 Gemstone Mine
4 Terramorphic Expanse
2 Swamp
1 Forest
1 Svogthos, the Restless Tomb
// Critters
4 Drowned Rusalka
4 Narcomoeba
4 Magus of the Bazaar
4 Thought Courier
4 Stinkweed Imp
4 Golgari Grave-Troll
2 Flame-Kin Zealot
1 Blazing Archon
1 Mindslicer
// Other Spells
4 Bridge from Below
4 Dread Return
2 Nightmare Void
// Sideboard
SB: 4 Leyline of the Void
SB: 4 Darkblast
SB: 4 Krosan Grip
SB: 3 Damnation

The Combo: During early game, play draw enablers (Drowned Rusalka, Thought Courier and Magus of the Bazaar) and dredge (Golgari Grave-troll, Stinkweed Imp and Nightmare Void) like crazy. The goal is to hit Bridge from Below, Dread Return and Flame-Kin Zealot at the graveyard. When there’s one or two bridges at the graveyard, flashback Dread Return (Sacrificing three creatures as a cost) targeting Flame-Kin Zealot. This will trigger a chain reaction that would end on the destruction of the entire universe, depending on the number of Bridge from Below in the ‘yard. A single bridge would net you three 3/3 zombies with haste and a 3/3 elemental with haste (12 Damage Total), two bridges will produce six 3/3 zombies with haste and the elemental (21 Damage Total), three bridges: nine 3/3s plus 1 elemental (30 Damage Total) and if you somehow got all four bridges at the 'yard after the combo, then its 12 3/3s plus 1 elemental (39 Damage Total). Don't forget that these zombies are fast - they've got haste because of the elemental.

The Aggro/Control: If the combo goes awry, such as when a stray critter hits your opponents graveyard and the bridges remove themselves from the game, the deck suddenly becomes an aggro-control hybrid. The dredging would continue, but the Imp and the Narcomoebas would act as control elements (plus the Nightmare Void) in order to stall the game. Control would have a pretty hefty problem of countering the dredgeable and huge Golgari Grave-troll, but when that monster takes the bat and swings for damage, it will score some huge damage.

The Problem: It lacks removal - this is done deliberately in order to make sure that accidents won;t happen. A critter dying in the other side of the playmat means that the bridges on your 'yard disintegrate. Vs. an aggro matchup however, well, that's why theres three damnations on the sideboard. The Leyline on the board also prevent the critters on the other side of the table from going to their graves.

Anyway, this is the deck I'm going to build this TimeSpiral Season, and probably the deck I'm going to bring to the Regionals. ^^ So, good luck to all of us, and Comments and Critiques are very much appreciated. Ciao, for now - I'm off to playtest!

SWNow :: Episode 3 :: Toothache :: 043007

---

---

I HAVE A FREAKIN' TOOTHACHE DAMN IT! +_+ Arrggghhhh! Darn it, one of my teeth started aching this saturday, and I can't think straight. I still need to design a CSS File on the IRRI Website, and I can't freakin' think straight, I can't feel my fingers coz' of the awful cold, and I'm having a freakin' toothache! +_+

As you can see, I'm really happy fucked-up annoyed at my current state of delirium. I'd love to finish Final Fantasy 12, and I'd really like to download Naruto: Accel (Whatever) for the PS2 right now, but unfortunately, my stupid OJT is sucking up most of my daytime energy. Oh, and the monitor at my house is freakin' busted. Sorry for the fragrant language, but I'm having a freakin' toothache right now, and I just finished lunch. With iced tea. ICED tea. +_+ That aside, the lunch was great, I just noticed how sexy Cyndie has become after 3-4 years. And her voice... just wow. I love her voice...

Anyways, last week was boring, just like this week. The OJT is just a tiring repetative exercise of the mind (just like magic), and even though I'm learning quite a lot from it, its kinda boring. I love Imeem, my source of music here in the training center. Aside from work, nothing happened this weekend (aside from my usual anime-filled schedule). Ah, just remembered, tomorrow's supposed to be Labor Day. That's 9 hours off my OJT Schedule, and another day here at IRRI to be made up. *sigh* 154 Hours and 45 mins to go...
---

---
My toothache can withstand 500mg of Mefenamic Acid (Painkillers). It wants me to die. Die an ugly, painful and gruesome death.

I. Hate. Toothaches. Period.

---
Mood: I have a freaking toothache
Music: I have a freaking toothache by: the freaked out guy with a freaking toothache

Anime :: Blood+ :: 042807

---
Wow. I just finished the 50th episode of Blood+, and the ending was complete. This is one of the very few animes that left me satisfied after the last episode. Right now, I'm downloading episodes 10 and 11 of Naruto:Shippuden and Gilmore Girls Season 7 - Episode 19, as well as the first 10 episodes of Pokemon Diamond & Pearl. *sigh* A lot to watch, and since the toll my OJT is exerting on my body is quite steep, I can only watch during saturdays. Which is really annoying. Anyways, here's what I can say about Blood+.

"Saya, Tatakaitai!" ~ Haji, Saya's Chevalier, telling saya to fight.

The last episode of Blood+ was full of emotion - from Diva's duel, Saya's breakdown, Amshel's defeat, to Haji's Last words... it was damn complete. Saya and Diva's fight felt real - with Saya's indecisiveness and Diva's 'I've-got-nothing-to-lose' attitude. Diva no longer cared about herself since she already has babies, and her reaction after she alone 'crystallized' after the two queens both skewered each other was superb. I loved the part when Saya begged Diva to take her with her, and when Nathan appeared by her side with the twins. "She just wanted to have a family", Nathan said. The scene was very well done, and the ending more-so. Haji, for the very first time, disobeyed Saya's wish and told her to live - his usual 'Saya, Fight!' became 'Saya, Live!'. It was a very sweet moment for the two.

After the small kiss, Diva's first chevalier came back for more beating. Amshel's remaining bit of strength pushed both Saya and Haji to their limits - their synchronized movements was the crowning glory on all of the fights in the series, second only to Solomon and Amshel's quick brawl on Episode 40 (I think). Although Haji defeated Amshel, he was forced to remain inside the soon-to-be-bombed opera hall while Saya were forced to run. His last words was...very touching.

After that, they (Amshel and Haji) were both crushed below a ton of rubble. Really sweet. Anyways, the final episode left a few hanging threads for a sequel - not a small feat mind you, since the last episode did a good job in capping the series. Here's a few that I think I recognized as a good plot device for Blood+'s sequel:

1.) Saya awakes after 30 years - and Diva's babies would be teenagers while Kai becomes their father figure.
2.) Loulou, the last surviving Sif, is still around - the place where she was created (Kherbet) was only mentioned in passing. There might be more Sif.
3.) Nathan was in a small scene after he died. It was implied in last few episodes that he was a Chevalier of Diva's mother - which has a chance to be true since he was the least understood amongst Diva's chevaliers.
4.) If Saya and Diva's mother were killed while it was pregnant, this meant that her counterpart (the other queen) might still be alive and kicking...

I guess that's that. All in all, I give Blood+ a 9 out of 10. ^^; Nankurunaisa!
---
Disclaimer: Blood+ is an anime series, produced by Production I.G and Sony's anime production arm, Aniplex.

SWNow :: Episode 2 :: OJT :: 043007

-- -- --
...img src="WaterCourse1_files/image012clr.gif"
style="width: 407px;
height: 267px;
border-style: none;
border-style: none;"
width=542
height=356
border=0...

~ IRRI Knowledgebase
-- -- --

*sigh* Darn it. So, I got the OJT for IRRI. The 200 hour 'On-the-job' Training on the International Rice Research Institute Los Banos, Laguna. First things first: The food sucks, and the transportations.... well, there's no transportation. Add to that the ridiculous prices on the canteen and the jeepney fare from my house to here, and I'm really starting to reconsider my choice. And I'm really thankful that I didn't go to Intel, Cavite - or the transportation would be the least of my problems.

So, my external OJT's going on right now...and I do mean right NOW. I'm typing this blog post inside Mr. Atienza's Office - more like a computer laboratory - at the workstation assigned to me. The workstation has two monitors by the way, and you can drag windows from one monitor to the other. Very cool. Anyways, I found out last week that Ms. Glaiza, a beautiful young psychology student from Letran is also here (at the other department) while just this morning, I found out that Ms. Cyndie Rose (Hi Jm!) is with me, inside the same office. She's still as beautiful as I remember her back in High school. Aside from that, my job in the Institute is quite simple - though terribly tedious. The gist of it is that I', going to recheck & repair this website currently being maintained by IRRI - a part of the Rice Knowledge Bank. The pictures are small (and need to be enlarged and re rendered through photo shop), the pages are unlinked (which needs to be linked) and the CSS is buggy (Debugging CSS is not that hard though - just delete it and the bugs go away. No seriously, that's what I did).

I guess that's that for the external OJT - now lets move on to the Internal OJT. Here's the longest explanation I can say about it: It most thoroughly suck. It really does. The trainees go room to room at the ITCC Bldg, cleaning keyboards, mouses, CPUs and monitors. It yucky and messy and I hate it. And I have 100 hours of that shit. T_T Anyways, I guess that wraps up this episode of SWNow, so until next monday, Ciao~!

---

Click to Enlarge... ^^; Ehehehehe...

---

Btw, about my M:tG post - Here's a few keywords I missed: Fortify, Indestructible & Fear ^^ Total Number of Keywords: 49 - Just one less from the total number of keywords in the whole Magic:tG Card game before Future Sight. Sheessh. XD

---

Mood: I'm realllly cold. There's an aircon in front and at my back... >_<

Music: Irreplaceable Male Version ^^