Not-so-wholesome photo ahead…

.:You Call THIS Unplanned?:.

*Image removed. Didn't think I'd give you jabronis the satisfaction now, did you? Go to my LJ if you have access to it. :)*

Who the Hades are you kidding? That shot is definitely proof enough that Janet Jackson had this crud in mind all along…

.:On Birthdays And Appreciation:.

I am having a great time at Orkut lately. It's everything I was hoping Friendster could be for me... ah, well.

One of the people I really really appreciate is celebrating her birthday pretty soon, and I was hoping I could take her to lunch or dinner. She unfortunately declined, so I’m now thinking over what I should be able to do for her, considering the fact that she is one of the nicest people I’ve known. Sigh… I have yet to be able to make some headway with her, though. I haven’t gotten to really speak to her and actually… err… never mind. One thing’s for sure, though: she’s prolly not getting that blue rose, considering the amount of knowledge she already has. Err… yeah. Let’s move on. I’m not really going to get anywhere talking about this, since I’m still hoping it’s not really a closed deal.

I really, really appreciate her. I’ve known her for quite a while already, and she’s a genuinely nice person, although of course, I really have to maintain some distance, lest I scare her away by making her feel that I’m really going for her, which is not the case. She’s just really… fascinating, so to speak. Maybe I can muster up some courage to just out and out ask her to lunch, instead of just make it an invitation on the phone. Of course, I’d have to run into her first…

At the same time, there’re two other people I’ve been talking quite extensively to. One of them is pretty much set with what she’s up to. She’s very determined with how she intends to carry herself for until after she finds herself a new boyfriend. I admire her adamant resolve, and I don’t think she’s going to renege on her stand any time soon. It’s just an S.A.D. date she’d be declining, after all. I just hope that she doesn’t feel I’m too obtrusive and all, so I suppose it’s up to me to just maintain a conscious amount of distance from her so I don’t scare her off or something.

The other person, on the other hand, is someone I’ve known a bit longer than the aforementioned “Ms. Adamant”. I never really took much notice of her about a year ago, maybe because I was too caught up in so many other things. Now, when I got to know her as a person, I guess you might say that I ended up being more or less hooked to just making headway into my friendship with her. Of course, it helps to keep her in the dark about things, although she’s perceptive and she probably knows the status quo, anyway, but I’d still persist on not affirming it. She’s really great, and Grace finds her a very nice person. I’d say if Grace gives her a vote of confidence as a good friend, then I’m on the right track in actively trying to make this friendship mean for something before the both of us graduate… and I hope she got nominated in a certain category, too…

Four people. One down, one near-hit, but still three to go. I cannot possibly let myself be derailed from this goal, before I graduate. ::sighs::

.:Survivor All-Stars:.

I was never a Survivor fan. I said this before, but it bears repeating. In spite of that, I guess I can’t help but want to keep track of how Survivor All-Stars is going. It’s simply a great season, considering how a few of the people there were people I do recognize from the few times I bothered watching the show. That Richard fellow, the first one who won Survivor, looks to be pretty intimidating, but once his tribe isn’t immune, I have a strong feeling that he would be one of the first to go. And I really have no idea what the point is for him to be doing the challenges in the buff, really. Ah, well.

I really want to keep watching this season, no question about it. I guess it was all fine, and really interesting. This is the only season that has genuinely piqued my interest since Survivor Outback, wherein I rooted all the way for Colby to win. And yes, I looked carefully at all three tribes for this season, and I realized that Colby was in Richard’s team. Sigh. If that guy were to win, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. But since he’s in a high-stakes season, I guess I can also keep on rooting for that Chinese/Vietnamese girl in Richard’s team… hope she does well. I am so bloody racist… heh. Sort of.

.:Out Of Place:

Clearly, I am not much of a party animal. After the tournament I was hoping to hold for RAW Deal last Saturday was canceled due to a dismal turnout, I went to Megamall for a while to play some KOF 2003, then headed home for Caren’s birthday party. Not much, really, as she didn’t have a formal debut, although her party was catered. The chicken barbecue was really great. Anyways, I guess that while all that is fun, what I realized was that Caren’s crowd is simply not my crowd. I’m the kind of person who tends to be introverted in gatherings where I don’t know too many people. I really feel my way through a group of people before I’m at ease with them, so I’m far from being the “life of the party”, although I can be rather extroverted when that ice is broken. I guess it’s just the case that I really am not into the fast lifestyle, which is reflected by my choice of friends, and even how I celebrate.

I remember that time when we were at Sacha’s house, and she was telling us people were asking where the liquor was when Sach has a party, because Cathy, her elder sister, usually gets people wasted by the end of the party. It was pretty obvious that it wouldn’t be the case with Sach, cool though her parents may be, because she rarely drinks, especially when she knows that “orange juice” your handing her is pretty spiked. Ah, well. That’s the way it goes, really.

With that being said, I guess I can’t help but recognize that I really can be quite a loner. No doubt about it. In spite of that, I suppose I can’t complain. Life is good, no matter how “alone” I may seem, no matter how “out” I may appear to be as far as the “in” crowd is concerned. So there. I really don’t see any reason for me to beat myself up all over it. It’s just the way my life has always been: highs and lows, emotions that I never can quite get the hang of expressing correctly.

.:Gaming Stuff:.

I finally finished KOF 2003, with Iori, Clark (Clark), and King. It appears that Mukai, the boss, is a sucker for cross-up attacks, especially Iori’s cross-up kick, to the point that I did knock Mukai dizzy, if I recall correctly. Iori was severely castrated this year, as if they haven’t done enough to him last year, where they stopped the chaining of standing C and forward + A into combos. This year, that stands, plus his cross-up kick now pushes an opponent away when it’s blocked, unlike before, where it actually pulls them towards Iori. At the same time, the timing for his combos off of Scum Gale has been somewhat changed. It doesn’t feel the same way that it did even in SVC Chaos. Also, his Deadly Flower is now more predictable and is easily punishable. The only benefit he got this year was that he can do a tag-in combo safely off of his Scum Gale. That’s good enough for me. Scum Gale, tag-in Clark, half-circle back + B, half-circle back + AC. More than half your lifebar, out in one pop.

King is fairly different, but she’s as annoying as ever. She can do easy chaining combos, has a nice anti-air high fireball, and can combo her super with ease, even off of a tag-in combo. At the same time, her moves tend to be relatively safe, so it’s hard to punish her for any whiffed attacks, because she recovers quite quickly after executing her moves. It’s been the case with KOF that they tend to make these female characters almost broken, most of the time. Of course, that’s a subjective observation, as there are broken characters who happen to be male, but you know what I mean…

Clark? Still as brutal as ever. I could’ve sworn that his damage this year is actually bigger than last year’s. Nonetheless, Clark is very solid as usual, especially since most characters are heavily weakened in the air-to-air department when they lost their CD blow-away move. Thankfully for Clark, he only needs his jumping D for air superiority. Still, they made it difficult for people to combo his standing C’s into Ultra Argentina Backbreakers, which is why I do his super only off of a tag-in combo.

Other characters I’ve been using as of late are: Ash (Guile wannabe!), Duolon (Plays a lot like Lin.), Gato (Funny dude, very tricky.), Billy Kane (Amazing damage, annoying reach.), and Terry Bogard (New combos, I’d love to figure them all out soon.). The rest, I’m not too keen on using just yet, although that new grappler, Griffon, does seem a bit promising. He’s got nice damage.

On the RAW Deal front, the tournament may have been canceled, but it will happen this coming Saturday, instead. What’s more, I borrowed Raymond’s Undisputed Title, and I’ll be holding on to it for quite a while. I hope to use it for my pictures on Monday for the Blue Roast Awards, as I was nominated for “Crush ANG Bayan” and “Gifted Child”. With things looking really up for me right now, I don’t know what else I have to do just to ensure I don’t go wrong with all this… I’m overall satisfied with how things are for me, academically speaking. I’d like to get a copy of my transcript and get it stat, though, so I can start applying for the Philo department. I fully intend to teach there for at least a year, before moving back into my Comm-related career eventually.