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08/26/2003 Entry: "Books, and getting drunk on them."

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So, haneoka.net's server moved for a bit, and as suits my brilliantly good luck, I lost the blog entry I had posted at that time. It was a beautifully long entry, full of descriptions of wimpy ninth graders, odd parents, and people hitting on Christina.

But the server ate it, so it is gone.

I went shopping yesterday - as my sister termed it, "back-to-school shopping". May I make a very childish comment? OH YUCK. But we only bought clothes, no school supplies (though I've already bought a TI-83+! Earl, I want the penguin game)... and it was a very long day. Bought two pairs of jeans, a pair of green cargo pants, four shirts (I think, it might be five), two skirts, and three - yes, three - bras, for a total of $320. Ouch. I think my dad thought we were kidding for a second when we brought him the bill.

I think it's slightly odd that I'm doing this back-to-school stuff though, because it's not like I A) don't buy clothes during the school year or B) am a guy that thus wears the same jeans and three shirts all week long. But what am I complaining? I like these clothes! And a thank you to my sister, who put up with me throughout the day (I think she was going to strangle me at one point).

I also bought Pikmin, which for those of you who don't know, is a Gamecube game where you are a spaceman (the height of a quarter) who crashlands on a strange planet and enlists the local radishes to help him. I'm not kidding, actually; the radishes are actually little 'pikmin' (he names them so after his favorite brand of carrots), which you direct by whistle blows and various other commands. You grow them by plucking them out of the ground.

Basically, they're your slaves, and you make them carry stuff around for you so that you can get off the damn planet. It's an extremely disturbing game, especially when you enlist your pikmin to fight enemies (nothing creepier than watching your adorable little helpers get eaten, except maybe watching them drown), but it's extremely fun and I like it a lot, that is, ignoring the odd statement this game makes ("Grow slaves and FEED THEM TO LADYBUGS"). I heard there's a Pikmin II coming out in October, so maybe I'll get that sometime - if I ever have time during this horrible school year.

Debate: should I tease the tenth graders I know about having Beidelman? I am very, very tempted - and I mean, what other benefits will I get out of having taken that class?

Went to a Key Club officer training session today at Mr. Thomson's. He has a really cute little boy, btw. Was not very productive, although I did hang out with Taleen and Tanya, which can't be discounted :) I also picked up Imitation in Death. When I got the phone call saying my book was in, I ran down to the damn bookstore (this is about 8 long city blocks) where I had been earlier that day (ASKING about the book) and bought it. It was really fun and entertaining, kinda like when you go for some cheap booze rather than fine wine, but it rocked :P and so I'm very hyper about it (nothing like trashy romance pseudo-horror books to pick up your day), and extremely glad that the next part Remember When is coming out in just a couple weeks, and will be even gladder (don't suggest the glad game, though, or I'll shoot you) that the next installment.

Book buying is an expensive habit, though. Today's book cost $7.72 or something like that, while Remember When is going to eat $20 out of my wallet in just a couple weeks. Bah. Our Key Club is putting a great big EmphaSIS on literacy for children this year, so we've suggested doing a fundraiser to earn money for new books and stuff - and our President was like, "How about we earn $500? That's a big amount, right?" and I replied, "Sure, that's a bit less than one hundred books, optimistically." [Realistically, we'll probably only hit about 80-90 books.] She seemed shocked. ?_? Does she not buy books? Children's books aren't any cheaper than your average adult book, except for the fact that they don't always come in hardcover (I'm pretty sure the Unfortunate series is pricey, and I know Artemis Fowl is - let's not get into HP [$29.99?]). Even if we get a good deal with a store somewhere (that can write off the loss into taxes), we are not getting a whole lot of books here.

Btw, the author that I keep buying is Nora Roberts, who is definitely like a drug - kinda addictive, really unhealthy, trashy, and a Hoover when it comes to money. She herself sucks in energy from around her or something, or how else could she have published so many books per year? She has two regular hardcovers (both of which I already/will own), the two In Death books (I own), and then the three Key books coming out in two months (which I will look at and possibly own, unless they're as stupid as they sound).

Hm, I want to go read book number one in the In Death series now :) for those who don't know, the one I was raving about (Imitation) is 17 of 17, not including two short stories and the one coming out in about three weeks. :P I own all of those, heh. So, back to reading #1. Have a good day, and keep your Pikmin alive (I lost 13 today - they got roasted by fire).