Suggoi Nakama
30 December 2006
I'm a bit happier in this update than I was on the last one. We actually managed to do some assaults last night even though we only had 5 people. As usual we chose the Lebros Cavern mission. On the first attempt we completed it with about 1 minute to spare due to the shortage of manpower. Had to kill a Qiqirn for the mine in the last 5 minutes and luckily it dropped on the first kill. The second attempt didn't go quite as well... We got to the last wall with about the same amount of time left as before so decided to kill the Qiqirns again. Unfortunately it didn't drop, not even after we killed another 3 of them. Time ran out and we failed the mission. For the last attempt we changed our tactic to killing the Qiqirns from the off instead of beating up the walls. This method works very well and we cleared the mission with plenty of time to spare. Overall I think I got about 2,100 points for the night which I'm happy with. I just hope we get to do it again soon and that people continue to be motivated to keep to a regular schedule.
I just read that my friend is returning to FFXI after a long absence. This is very good news as I've missed her company on the game since she left. I haven't spoken to her yet but I hope to do so later on tonight. This is yet another member of the linkshell to return to the game in the last month or so. Lots of familiar faces have come back and we're having a good time catching up. It reminds me a lot of the glory days of Guardians of Vana'diel. I just hope everyone sticks around for awhile.
Got the Morning Musume album "No.5" in the post yesterday. I'll post more about it when I get some pictures taken.Posted byHocchan at 8:02 pm 0 comments
Merry Pin Xmas
27 December 2006
This going to be a kind of rant. The reason being that I'm rather unhappy about the last couple of days. Christmas Day and today have been so crappy it's depressing. Last year was great, I had lots of fun with Ardel and Cata on FFXI doing BCNMs. This year, however, I did... absolutely bloody sod all. I'm also suffering from this infernal cold which has made me feel horrible for the last few days. I've had headaches, fevers, coughs, aching muscles and nausea. This hasn't exactly helped my mood. Sometimes I hate holidays, they ruin everything. All normal schedule goes out the window. Plan to do something and it doesn't happen, it gets cancelled to hell. I'm going to be really selfish now. I can't stand it when a commitment isn't kept. Planned to do Assault. No problem, we can do that. Didn't happen. Planned to go subligar hunting. Sure, why not. Never mind, do it tomorrow. When I'm busy! For God's sake. If you can't do it don't tell me you can. Sitting there for hours, waiting patiently for something to happen and then having nothing materialise really irritates me. God damn, I'm so annoyed!
Will probably regret this post in the morning after I've had time to reflect. But I'm not going to delete it. I think I do have some right to complain, no matter how small. Christmas? Bah, humbug!
Posted byHocchan at 2:35 am 0 comments
Kira Kira Fuyu No Shiny G
17 December 2006
I'm so happy!!!! Today has been an utterly superb day! I woke up this morning to find a lovely package lying on my doormat. It was the mini album I had ordered from YesAsia on the 12th December. I can't believe how quick it has arrived considering it's so close to Christmas. But damn! I'm glad it's here. This is my first Morning Musume album which I have bought brand new so it's quite an occasion. Obviously due to my rather obsessive side of my personality I bought the limited edition version. It comes with a DVD with a couple of tracks from their 2006 concert tour. Despite there only being 6 tracks and despite the fact I've only listened to it once at the moment, I'm still absolutely in love with this mini album. Every song is excellent in ways I couldn't have imagined. It's all done in a very Christmas style arrangement with bells and twinkly sounds everywhere. It certainly sets the mood for the season. Something else I've noticed is that this album has some fantastic bass. Even on a normal speaker system the bass with rock your house to the foundations. /laugh I give this album 10/10! Now go away, I'm going to put it on repeat for the rest of the day.
Posted byHocchan at 7:22 pm 0 comments
Popcorn Love
13 December 2006
Quite a bit of news to report in this update. Where should I start? The arrival of 'Second Morning' in the post seems as good a place as any. As predicted I woke up to find it sitting on the doormat. The package was the same size as the previous parcel so I wondering what the extra gift could have been. I cut open the envelope and took out a neatly wrapped CD case. Still seeing no sign of extra items I assumed that they'd forgotten or something. I removed the bubble wrapping and took a look at the item. The outer box was in decent condition, could have been better but for 99p I'm happy enough. The photo book was of a better condition with only the front cover slightly worn from rubbing on the inside the box. The CD case was also in a good state with hardly a mark on it. Upon opening the case I was surprised to find there were two CDs contained inside. Taking a look at the top one I realised that it was the 'Mr Moonlight' single! Along with the front and back covers of the case it was originally in. All were in very good condition too. I have to say, as free gifts go this was one of the best. I couldn't have asked for much more. Thank you to the very kind seller for his generosity.
Having listened to the album a few times now I'm beginning to form an opinion on it. It's a mix of styles between the first and third albums. I don't think it has the charms of either though. It's not that it doesn't have any good songs on it - 'Senkou Hanabi' and 'Furusato' are classics. I think the main problem is that the other songs on there aren't really anything special. Overall I'd probably rate 'Second Morning' a 6/10.
Staying with Morning Musume news, they recently finished the 8th generation auditions. In the 'Hello! Morning' episode aired last Sunday it was revealed that Mitsui Aika was chosen as the sole winner. Personally I was very surprised by this decision as I thought that the other contenders seemed to have a better chance. However, I'm not disappointed and I think the new girl will do very well in the coming years. One thing that has left a bitter taste in this whole affair is the reactions of the so-called 'fans'. Many of them are being downright nasty and malicious with their remarks about Aika. Just because their favourites did not win they think it gives them the right to slag off the new girl, just because she was the least favourite out of them all. These people are totally despicable. I hope they sod off if they're so unhappy with the decision.
Finally after a couple more phone calls I've sorted out my missing benefits payment. It seems that due to a system error my claim had not been completed. The guy on the phone said that he'd now sorted it all out and that I should get my payment in my account by this Friday. This is all a big relief. I plan on using a big chunk of the money to pay my credit card which will take me back under the limit. The money I have spare I can use to treat myself. In fact I've already bought the new Morning Musume mini album, '7.5 Fuyu Fuyu' (First Press Limited Edition). Ordered it yesterday evening and had it shipped out the same day. Hopefully it should get here before Christmas. It'll make a nice birthday present /joy.
Posted byHocchan at 2:08 pm 1 comments
Show Me The Money!
09 December 2006
Still no news of when the stupid Job Centre is going to pay me my money. It's almost been 4 weeks since I first rang them about my claim. I'm going to call them again on Monday and if it's still not done I'll get very irate and start breaking things. They'd also better give me the money owed for the last two times they haven't paid me. If they try and fob me off with a single fortnight's worth of allowance I'm going to release some plague-infected rats into their offices.
Abdomen is still hurting, although the pain does seem less intense now. I'll take some Paracetamol and that should hopefully blank it out completely. I'm not of those people who takes medicines for every little ache and pain but this time I'll give into the drugs. Normally I'd just endure it and wait for it to pass. This time though it's been hurting for so long I'm getting tired and irritated by it. I hate pain. I imagine most people do (except for maybe flagellants) but in my case I hate it because I can't see the point of it. Sure, it's a way for the body to tell you that there's something wrong with a particular organ or whatever. But is there a goddamn need for it to hurt so freaking much?! Bloody primitive nervous system. I'd rather be a robot.
I was expecting my eBay parcel to arrive this morning but it didn't. I was really looking forward to it too as the seller sent me an e-mail saying that they'd included a Christmas present with my item. I doubt it's going to be anything special but it's a nice thought. I can't really imagine what it'll be though. An official photo of one of the members of Morning Musume would be superb but I doubt it very much. In any case I'm guessing that the package will arrive on Monday morning.
Posted byHocchan at 12:51 pm 0 comments
Samishii Hi
08 December 2006
The pain! In so much pain! Last couple of days have been excruciatingly painful. It feels like I'm being stabbed in my abdomen by a large pitchfork. I hope it goes away soon or I'll start to get worried. I swear this is a conspiracy by MySpace who have poisoned me with Polonium after I've started to slag their website off. Damn you Tom, you sod-monkey!
I received the 'First Time' Morning Musume album in the post a few days ago. I haven't had chance to get a decent photo yet as the weather has been rather crappy this week. I'll get them done when I get the other album that's on the way - 'Second Morning' - sometime in the next few days. I've not listened to it much yet but first impressions are good. I dare say it could be one of their best albums. There's something very pure about the feel of the album. This is very much the classical sound of Morning Musume. One of my favourite tracks is the last song called 'Samishii Hi'. It's very slow and sad which really makes you feel melancholic. The vocals and arrangements are hauntingly beautiful. The title translates as 'Sad Day' and it fits perfectly with the mood of the song. I'll definitely be listening to this album a lot more.
Completed Final Fantasy XII today, which came as rather a shock. I didn't expect the game to end so soon, it feels very short compared to the other games. The ending sequence wasn't a disappointment though. Rendered in glorious 3D graphics it tied up the plot perfectly. I can't say I understood all of it but there was enough there for me to feel satisfied. All that remains now is for the UK version to be released so I can finally understand what's being said.
Posted byHocchan at 7:05 pm 1 comments
Ai Wo Kudasai
01 December 2006
Feh! is all I can say. Still not received my first Job Seekers Allowance payment yet despite the fact that I applied for it more than 3 weeks ago. I rang them earlier but they could only tell me that it was still in processing. They told me that it should be done soon though, and that I should ring back on Monday morning. I guess it's good news that they have it in the system. I hope it gets done in the next few days so I can get some money. Otherwise the credit card company will be on my back bugging me for payment again.
Against my better judgement I bought another one of 'Morning Musume's albums on eBay. This time I won their first album "First Time" for a measly $6. With the exchange rate at almost $2 to £1, it hasn't really cost me all that much. I really wanted to get their 5th album "No. 5" so I put in a bid early on but was outbid. I planned on using my last minute bidding tactic again but unfortunately I fell asleep and didn't wake up until 30mins after the auction had ended. Normally a 3am finish wouldn't have been a problem for me but I guess I must have been pretty tired that night. Oh well, I'm sure there's going to be another copy for sale soon. The seller is one who regularly sells various Hello! Project CDs.
Whilst I'm waiting for more 'Gokusen'/'Nodame' episodes to be released I'm giving 'Teppan Shoujo Akane' a go. I've only seen 2 episodes so far so I can't really an accurate review of it yet but first impressions are good. It reminds me of 'Yakitate! Japan' a lot. The plot is about a girl who's searching for her Father, all the while trying to perfect the family's famous Okonomiyaki flavour. The drama isn't getting a very good reception in the forums but I don't agree with their criticisms of the show. I'm going to reserve judgement until after I've seen a few more episodes.
As I have no Final Fantasy XI to play at the moment I've been playing XII instead. I've clocked up around 80 hours so far but I don't think I'm too far into the plot yet. Most of my time has been taken up by doing the Monster Hunts that are in the game. The difficulty of the targets range from Rank E to Rank X. I'm currently clearing up the list of Rank H (one level below X - of which there is only 1). The fight with Gilgamesh was the most memorable. Whole thing took about 1 hour from start to finish, though it was split into 2 parts. After beating him I received a Masamune katana which is so DAMN GOOD! Add to that the full set of Genji armour which I stole during the fight with Gilgamesh and you have one powerful fighter. Of course I've given it all to Ashe as she's my favourite character. The amount of combo attacks she does now reminds me of how my FFXI character is with the Soboro Sukehiro. I guess I should carry on with the plot a little bit now. At least until I feel the urge to go hunt King Behemoth. /laugh
Posted byHocchan at 4:55 pm 1 comments
