Kendo, MGO: Beta, Iron Man, Carnival & GTA IV MADNEsS!!!

Yes, it appears I’ve been neglecting my blog. Nani sure hasn’t failed at pointing that out to me at all! I’ve been so busy... or lazy. I kinda prefer posting at work; it seems to help pass the time. Though I really should be working… :P

There are so many things to post about. Such as my first time in bogu during keiko (practice) for kendo. After almost a year of kendo, I finally took my first test about 3 weeks ago, and I passed… whew. That allows me to practice with the intermediate class in full bogu (kendo protective armor). With the completion of the test, I’ve officially gone from noobie beginner to “white belt.” Man, is it tough! The bogu is heavy, and you are always on the move. I never thought running around with a bamboo sword could be so exhausting! I’ve also had my left calve cramp up a few times. But, I have to admit: it's great cardio ;P.

If you’re a Metal Gear junkie like me, then you MUST have pre-ordered Metal Gear 4: Guns of the Patriots by now (It’s launching in a month!1!! 06/12/08). Additionally, you would have sampled Metal Gear Online: Beta, which came as a preorder bonus. The beta launched on 04/25/08, a week after the original beta opening. Servers at Konami were apparently crashing as they didn’t expect a huge surge of users accessing the beta. C’mon man, it’s the closest we’ll get to MGS:4 until its release date! After playing it for a few days, I have to say that the game was awesome. It’s not your typical FPS like Counterstrike. It actually involves more than just racking up headshots. The game is essentially a Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater style of gameplay thrown together with an MMOFPS like Call of Duty 4. Only difference is, you can hide in your trademark cardboard boxes, sneak up behind your enemy and choke them to submission, throw your opponents to the ground using CQC, hack your opponents nanomachines to locate the rest of his squad… etc. etc. Controls can be a bit frustrating at first, since they don’t follow the basic FPS control scheme, but you do get used to it. It can be a really addictive game. Too bad the beta closed two days ago. I’m sure the official release of the game will be great!

This past Friday, Nani an I went to go see Iron Man. That movie lived up to my expectations. I used to watch the cartoons on Fox when I was a kid, so the whole movie was a bit nostalgic. Nani enjoyed it too. She actually didn’t think it was gonna be that great, particularly because Robert Downey, Jr. was playing the leading role. She don’t like that man ;p. But she thoroughly enjoyed his acting, and saw that he played out Tony Stark’s role pretty well. I thought so too. I can’t wait until the second installment, sometime in 2010 :(. War Machine has GOT to be in the second one. He was so cool in the cartoon! I also wish a had an Iron Man Mark 3 suit ;(. Iron Man is the shizzle.

This is how War Machine would look in the next movie, I hope. It's a photoshop job, but it's still freakin awesome.

If you’re a regular reader of my girlfriend’s blog, then you may already know about the cruise I’m planning for both of us this July for our 4 year anniversary. July 14^th to July 18^th is when we'll be in Paradise, lol. It was originally supposed to be a surprise, but Nani, with her supernatural powers deduction, found out. ;P. Last time I was on a cruise was when I was 18. I went with my family on the exact same boat Nani and I will be embarking on: the Carnival Paradise. This should be a far different experience, since it’s going to be just the two of us. It seems so far away. I just want it to be July already!

And the last thing I want to mention is… that I am addicted to Grand Theft Auto IV. This game is by far the best installment in the series yet. The effects are almost realistic, from the lightning during rainy weather, to surfing the internet, to getting ejected out of your car after running into a wall at high speed. ;) Best of all is that the protagonist antihero Niko Bellic is a well developed character. He is no cardboard cutout. His character has depth, and his story is great. Anyone else playing it?

Well that’s it for me. My hands are tired. That’s what I get for neglecting my blog I guess.