This Weekend in Tallahassee

This weekend I got to go to Tallahassee for my youth pastor’s birthday. It was a surprise party for him, though I’m sure he knew, or at least had a feeling that something was going on. His wife planned this party for over a month for him and he was very happy he had that party. It was an 80’s party. I didn’t really dress up, because my housemate and I were on duty of keeping him “distracted” while the party is being planned and food’s being cooked.

My housemate, his wife, my girlfriend, and I all went up Friday evening to surprise him. He did not expect us to be there Friday and when he got home, we got him good. He told us he was hoping that we would be there for his birthday, and there is no way we would miss it. It was good to see him again, it’s been a long time. Last year around Christmas time, my housemates (both husband and wife) was able to go up to visit him in Tallahassee, but I did not go because of various reason (which I have forgotten).

This weekend was fun, and to say the least, I’ve learned a little more about the 80’s. I was born in 1985 and grew up in the 80’s, but there were a lot I didn’t know. I guess even though I was born in the 80’s, I would have been considered a 90’s kid or millennium kid. Regardless, there’s a lot about a certain decade of the year that makes

There’s still over half a year before my birthday. I usually get myself something nice for my birthday. I can’t say I know for sure what I want next, because I’ve already got all 3 latest game system. Well, 5 if you consider the handheld too, but my PSP isn’t with me at the moment. I could go for a new computer, like a Mac Pro, but that’ll be A LOT of saving. I’m looking forward to Christmas first though.

I’m sure I’ve talked about this Christmas quite a lot and how excited I am and how much I’m looking forward to it. I would like to go into the content a little.

My sister, her boyfriend, my girlfriend (Cheeky), and I are going back to Malaysia for Christmas. The main reason isn’t for Christmas though. It’s my grandma’s 80th birthday. She is turning 80 this year, and she is still pretty active in her daily activities (at far as I know). It’s been a while since I last saw hear, about a year ago from this summer. My family will get to meet my girlfriend and vice versa. That would be a fun time, and honestly, I think I could get quite defensive. So, I hope I’ll be able to relax and be laid back about it and laugh while things happen. Usually that could happen, but some times I get a little too defensive for Cheeky, which I’m sure she doesn’t like me doing that all the time.

There are a few things I hope to see happen. Cheeky loving some traditional local food of Malaysia more than her own American food ^_^ That would be number one, to find the best food she’d ever eaten in Malaysia. Second, she’d like one kind of Malaysian dessert. Ice kacang would be ideal and hopefully that’s going to pull her in within the first bite. Who doesn’t like ice kacang during a hot summer? Next, I would like to see her eat something she doesn’t know before I tell her what it is. It doesn’t matter whether she ends up liking it or not, I think that would show her bravery in things unknown (especially in food); I am a big food fan after all. This would also show that she’s adventurous… and that is a really good thing. I already know Cheeky’s adventurous, so there’s nothing more to think about, but this would be adventurous to something unknown, which is so much more.

This weekend’s been a blast, and it’s been good to know that my closest friends, though far, are still very dear and close in my heart. The ones that will always be remembered no matter what.

I am saddened tonight that Cheeky didn’t get to come back home with my housemates and me. Her family went up for the party too and stayed over because they’re going to visit their family (Cheeky’s uncles). Though I am sad, I hope she does have a good time. She wasn’t looking forward to it too, but if she can have some fun there, it’ll make things a lot better. I hope things go well for her and her brother, have fun while visiting relatives. I like visiting my relatives, because they all have the “Ling blood.” That’s what we call it, it’s the family blood that makes us love each other but there’s a little more to that than just blood. It’s our humor. I find it really easy to laugh when it’s around my family and it’s amazing how everyone are LOUD! I hope Cheeky can keep up and like it, because that’s the environment I grew up in, and I’m used to it and I love it. Not that I’m not loud or weird or funny when I’m in America now, but there’s something about being with my own family and in Malaysia that just feels very natural. It’s my mother country, my mother’s mother country, and it’s where I will always have my heart as far as love for country goes. I do love America, but if you ask me for my first love country, it’s always going to be Malaysia. The food is what we talk mostly about and the memories are what connect my heart to it. Memories will never die, as long as I keep them alive, and I do so by visiting Malaysia.

Drive from Tallahassee to Orlando sure is long. I actually typed all of this up on my laptop on the way home. Well, I know my entry has been all over the world, but my thoughts are often like this. Scrambled and unorganized ^_^

With Love

Being tired sure takes a toll on me. I’ve been sleeping at least 8 hours every day and I still find myself tired by midnight, but tonight’s entry isn’t about me.

I’ve been going out with a very lovely girl for over 10 months now. Time moves differently in this point of view. It feels I’ve been with her for a long time, but at the same time, being short.

She’s been good to me, and I can only hope that I’ve done the same to her.

She’ll be going to Malaysia with me for Christmas, let’s see how she fairs with my grandma, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I can only hope they’re not too harsh on her >_< My family can be a little traditional at times, but I think they’ll let me live my life and know that I will always want what’s the best for me.

Time for bed, work tomorrow, and only sleep will rid this tiredness.

A Very Unlikely Story

Yesterday I fought to stay alive. The fact that I struggled to survive. The very act, the very mind that scares me the most; to destroy the things that comes in my way. I’m only the man who wants to play.

I woke up from a dream, into what we call nightmare. Nothing there, no one cares. Everything was gray, even the animals lay dead in their own pool of blood. I called out, but I heard nothing; I reached out and I felt nothing. The only thing that stood out was something spherical. It glowed with light, but even the light was gray. Then I heard a voice. The voice told me to break the sphere. The voice was angry, the voice was scary, but within it was a voice that gentles my mind.

I began to sink, I saw color, but only silver. It was the light from the sphere, and nothing else, it was the light that shines silver. I stopped sinking when my knees were gone, below the concrete, below the ground. The voice came again, it asked me to break the sphere. It was still angry, it was getting softer. Within that angry, scary voice, I heard a gentle voice. I heard that voice, and it said something else. I couldn’t tell, I was confused.

I woke up from the nightmare, I saw people, I saw animals, I saw a place I call my room. The people and animals were still, they were in the spirit form as I was in my dream. I see color, but the spirits were gray. Then I saw silver shining from within me. I have the same silver light I saw in my dream. The sphere that gave off that silver light.

Tonight I want to go back, back to the gray dream I once had, the place where everything was gray. I will find the sphere, the sphere that gives off silver light. I will find it and know what to do. I will not listen to the angry voice, not the one that scares me, but the one that is still and gentle. I couldn’t hear it in my dream, but I will hear it tonight. I will return to my dream, and once again continue my journey. The light shines that shines, I know what to do with it, I know how to have the light in me again, the silver that will make the world into color again. The world will not be all gray, the world will shine with color.

I just saw the light again, the silver light within me.

Blue Dragon

After playing Eternal Sonata, I thought I would try a different game, something that isn’t quite in detail, more of the traditional RPG game and so Blue Dragon came up.

Another game borrowed from a friend, I tried Blue Dragon. I’m already 5 hours into the game and I have to say that in a way, I prefer Blue Dragon over Eternal Sonata, only because it resembles all the traditional RPG’s I’ve played. There is a mystery in Eternal Sonata that wraps me around that game, but this post is bout Blue Dragon after all.

If many of you didn’t know, there is manga out there for Blue Dragon, just thought I’d give some tid bits to that, and I believe the story’s completely different too (of course I have yet to read the entire thing, but the encounter with Marumaro is totally different, that I know for sure).

Now, Blue Dragon starts with Shu being the protagonist. His village have been attack for years by the Violet sky and Land Shark. He and his buddy decided to stand up against the giant shark (which you only see the fin in in the beginning anyway) and from there, the adventure begins for Shu and two of his friends. They find out Nene is the person behind the mysterious Violet Sky and decided to find a way to stop him. This is the main reason for this journey and for me, I’m 5 hours into this journey. I suppose I’ll write about this game when I actually finish it. It’s a 2-disc set game, so I could imagine it taking a while.

The idea that you could search through cracks, things, stones, etc. for little things such as medicine, 10 gold, 1 gold (>_<), exp, and more makes the game more explorable. You’re unaware of what you would find in different places, on shelves, in boxes, in vases, cases, etc. Looking through some of these places are important because you might find a key that will open up a treasure box that has a valuable item, especially in the area you’re going through. Though I have to say it takes up time and you can get tired of it after a while. I just stop searching through every crack, only when I’m close by.

Well, I believe I’ve said enough. It’s not like Blue Dragon’s a new game that I started playing when the game just came out. It’s old enough that you could find a used Blue Dragon game in almost every EB Games or GameStop.

Next post, probably not about games. I’ll alternate so it won’t be all about games or anime I already found a place where I could do that quite often.

Current Song: Suna no Objet
Artist: SunSet Swish
Album: My Pace

Happy Father’s Day

To all father’s out there who’s been doing a great job, thank you.

I am not a father, and I won’t be for a while. Being in college is just what I should be doing now, and probably getting ready for the real world of work. Probably then will I be ready for fatherhood, but here’s a few things when I talk with people about fatherhood. Most students who goes straight into college from high school are young, and when talking about fatherhood will often talk about how cool they would be as a father. I personally think it’s simple enough to be a cool father, but to be a cool and strict father is a totally different matter.

It’s tough when the kids are not raised correctly, and without manners, it’s even tougher to be a cool and strict father. I know a man who has three kids, one daughter and two sons. I think he’s an awesome man, but it’s not only that, all his kids listen to him, they understand when he says stop, they stop and yet they still love him very much. Of course at this point, they’re not yet in teen-hood. His daughter is pretty much there and I think it’s coming to him as a shock more than to her. I believe he’ll do just well, but some times, raising teenagers is a whole different ball game, and as they get older, their perspectives change, and it really does depend on their foundation, that’s what I truly belief.

I am a son, and I believe I am the way I am through the foundations I have been built upon since I was young. Not all by my father per say, but it’s still the foundation, the culture I was brought through. When I become a dad, I would want to instill into my kid’s mind, heart, and soul what life is about and what does being a lady or a man is about. I would want to show what love and relationship is all about.

Of course saying it is one thing while doing it would definitely be another. Until that time, I await my destiny. I will see what life brings and I will definitely wait with anticipation. My baby life passed and it was fun, my learning life passed and it too was fun. My teenage life passed, and I’ve learned so much, and my college life’s about to end in a year. I might still go for a master’s degree, but I will definitely hope I would have a job by then, and I would consider that an adult’s life. Another season of my life is coming to an end, and what the new adventure will bring, that will be up to my decision in life. I believe that I have a say in how my life unfold.

To all the fathers out there, love your kids like you love the things and person you love the most. Show them what integrity means, what true character means, what leaving life to the fullest and what it means to show respect. I think fathers make a difference in their kids’ life because they’re watched everyday, the decisions they make, the way they talk and walk, the character it brings to the family and the way they show their love.

I have a father, though I grew up not being around him a lot, I still see his love. Whether I love him or hate him, it was never his fault I made those decisions in life, it was always mine to choose. He believes he’s doing the best he could for me. I know I’ve grown to be a pretty well taught young man, but I cannot say that it’s all due to my father. I dedicate this Father’s Day to my grandpa as well, the man who I look up to when it comes to patience. The man who sees the good in people. I thank these two man for being in my life, no matter how short it could be.

The matter that I wasn’t raised in a core family doesn’t show who I am. I’ve been raised and taught by many men and many women, and they all have shown me what life could be all about. All people that have shown me good parenthood, thank you.

I finally thank my one Father in heaven. It is he who gives me knowledge and wisdom. It is he who gives me strength and peace. I am young and foolish, much more to learn, but I have a feeling that I’ll turn out just fine. I’ll turn out just fine.

Thank you all dads in the world.

PS. I think there should be a Sister’s Day and a Brother’s Day. Then I could dedicate some stuff to my sister too ^_^

Current Song: Someday
Artist: Nickelback