December, 2004

Thursday, December 25, 2004 - Happy Holidays, everyone. It's been a long month as our family struggles to recover from the tragedy. I've been working on a few Yu Gi Oh decks for awhile, and I'd like to post them up for your viewing. Made some fixes to the Ronin page, and finally uploaded the Samurai Warriors review for the Video Game Reviews page I forgot to upload months ago.

November, 2004

Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - If all of you have been wondering where the heck I've been, I've been spending time with my family caring for my mother. They barely managed to get a liver for her condition in the nick of time on October 31st, only to have her pass away from complications of the transplant (done on 11/1) just 4 days after it was successful (11/5). Our family experienced joy and sadness in less than a span of a week, and it has been an emotional roller coaster ride as we were preparing for her return one day, only to be preparing her funeral the next...

This was the speech I gave at the funeral... for your public viewing, in honor of my mother.

My mother...

Words cannot express the upmost appreciation I have for her. From the very day I was born, she nurtured for me, cared for me, and raised me without faltering for a single second. Despite the differences we've had, she's always looked out for the best of our family. Her presence in our family represented a kind of stability, a firm ground that the rest of our family could always depend on. She was always home, selflessly caring for us, and we simply knew that when we got home, she would be there.

One such example of her selflessness is back when I was at Iolani School for summer school at around second grade. She was always there to wait for me Ð coming to school 15-20 minutes before the bell rang just to pick me up. She'd always have something for me to eat, and we made idle chitchat before my dad got off work to pick us up. It was something I could rely on every day. Whenever school finished, she was there, patiently waiting for me, without a single complaint.

Heh.. here I was, prepared to make this long and extravagant speech about my mother Ð but I guess the best way to present this to you all is to keep it simple. My mother was a very good person - I knew this ever since I was a kidÉ her love and loyalty for our family knew no bounds. It is only right for her to be in a better place now, to finally reap the rewards of her altruistic dedication to our family, and to be able to look over us as we carry forth in life - forever staying in our memories, and in our hearts.

Now my family - my dad, my sister, and I will do our best to make our mother proud, to be successful in our lives as good people, to make the many years she has spent raising and caring for us well worth it. To honor her, and to cherish her love.

I'd like to thank you all for coming today to see her, to respect her. I am sure that she would appreciate your kind gesture to take time out of your schedules to honor this day, this day where we do not say goodbye to her, but rather to say thank you - thank you for always being there and for everything you have done for our family.

We love you, Mom.

September, 2004

Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - Then I learn that I'm suffering from anxiety and tendency for panic attacks, which has been affecting my mental and physical health. Got to see a psychiatrist and was placed on a couple meds - one anti-depressant and one for anxiety. I took the anti-anxiety one in the morning and the thing made me extremely drowsy... here's hopin' that within a couple of days it won't make me *too* drowsy. Knock on wood, but I'm doing my damndest to get mentally and physically better to help my mother out. Tomorrow is the day we go to see the transplant doctor to determine whether or not my mom will be eligible for it... I'm hopin' for the best.

Wednesday, September 15, 2004 - This has been one of the LONGEST months of my life, even longer than the drama I've experienced before. My mother got extremely sick a month and a day ago and our family has come to learn that she has a terminal illness. She badly is in need of a transplant if she wants any chance of living longer than a few months and her condition has been gradually worsening as the days have gone by. All those little things I worried about in life mean absolutely NOTHING compared to seeing someone who has selflessly cared for my family and I since forever wither away before my eyes... YGO DIP page and entrance page updated.

August, 2004

Monday, August 2, 2004 - The new school year approaches as the summer grows shorter. Got into a bit of Guilty Gear Isuka - great game for those of you who like chaos-based games. I know I do. About Me page updated with Planetary Sign. Small changes to "entrance" page and "main" home page.

July, 2004

Thursday, July 22, 2004 - Eighth deck gets a small side deck.

Tuesday, July 20, 2004 - Preliminary eighth deck posted in my YGO DIP page.

Sunday, July 18, 2004 - YGO DIP page updates to my seventh deck. About Me page updated.

Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - YGO DIP page updated with my seventh deck.

Sunday, July 4, 2004 - Happy Fourth of July! YGO DIP page updated.

Thursday, July 1, 2004 - Wow... 3 days gone that quickly? I could've sworn I wrote that update yesterday. Small modification to YGO DIP page. Modification to the black entrance page. And a random note to say that I've become a fan of an anime series called Galaxy Angel. They've been up for a good three seasons already, and their fourth season is already starting soon. Basic recipe: Take a crew of five with distinct personalities, throw them in a space setting, mix them together with some craziness and add a dash of insanity and this is what you get. Seriously, they really go nuts with the cooking references. The first and second seasons already hit American shores, so grab it and you'll see what I mean. And if you know me well enough you probably know which one is my favorite character. Hint: She's pretty stupid and naive. "Let our invincible success story begin!"

June, 2004

Monday, June 28, 2004 - A little more than a month of summer is already gone - dang. I've gotten into BitTorrent, so I've fully jumped on the anime bandwagon. Made a small update to the quote section of my About Me page. I also posted a very rough draft of my new deck in my YGO DIP page. 8:20 PM update: "If you use a Mac, you have style. If you promote the Mac platform, you have passion. Internalizing and acting on either of those traits (style and passion), you will have enemies. There are people who will hate you." Low End Mac Article

Thursday, June 24, 2004 - Oh yeah. I forgot to mention something that I should've said last month: I finally, finally got a job. $7.40/hour for doing fairly basic clerical work at Kapiolani Community College. Got interviewed on the Monday of the last week of April and got the confirmation call on a Friday. No resume was needed, I just had to show my interviewers that I was ready and willin' to dive into a job. I work in the back area, and you know what that means? Yep, I am spared from having to deal with stupid people. My co-workers are awesome and my supervisor is very nice. I get a lot of independence and freedom at work, which gives the work environment a fairly relaxed feel. Despite that though, there's always something to do, which keeps the job from dragging and the independence I'm given motivates me to work better. Knock on wood, but I think I got myself a pretty decent job. :)

Sunday, June 20, 2004 - I'm 20. I was reminded of how old I was because of this site: The Mushroom Kingdom. There are a whole buncha Mario games there and Mario stuff I had that are featured in this site, and I kinda wish I didn't toss all this stuff back when I was a kid. Seems like only yesterday when I got a grand spankin' new Nintendo Entertainment System with the Zapper gun and 2-in-1 Super Mario/Duck Hunt.

Friday, June 18, 2004 -

Disorder	Rating
Paranoid:	Low
Schizoid:	Very High
Schizotypal:	High
Antisocial:	Moderate
Borderline:	Low
Histrionic:	Moderate
Narcissistic:	Very High
Avoidant:	High
Dependent:	Low
Obsessive-Compulsive:	Moderate
-- Personality Disorder Test - Take It! --

How screwed up are you? :P If you're a friend of mines and feel like sharing with me the results, send them to my e-mail address in my About Me page.

Thursday, June 17, 2004 - YGO DIP updated with a bit more stuff. Man am I tired.

Tuesday, June 8, 2004 - YGO DIP updated.

Monday, June 7, 2004 - After getting some suggestions to fix up the font face on my webpages, I've done so. I came to realize that I did not supply a default font on my webpages. This was fine in Mac OS X, as most browsers used the wonderful and crisp looking Lucidia Grande font as their default. However, OS 9 and PC brethren usually had their browsers default to using the ugly as heck Times New Roman font, which made this page look a tiny bit unbearable to read. This has been remedied - fonts on all my webpages defaults to Arial. Additionally, I put up a review for Samurai Warriors 2 in the Video Game Reviews page. Oh, and because I spent a good 10 minutes whipping up the links for a friend of mine, if you want to know how the King of Fighters voice actors look like, I put up a really really quick and dirty page for it in the following link: KoF Seiyuu

May, 2004

Wednesday, May 26, 2004 - Good friend of mine pointed out that I cannot add. YGO DIP page fixed to reflect the fact this is my FIFTH deck.

Monday, May 24, 2004 - YGO DIP page updated for the return of my Light deck. I know I've been kinda slow on the site updates as of late... but I'm running outta material to update. Feel free to throw me some ideas. E-mail's located in my About Me page. Old site has been nuked and link removed from my main page.

Thursday, May 13, 2004 - Index page modified. YGO DIP page modified to reflect my current deck.

Tuesday, May 4, 2004 - About Me page updated.

April, 2004

Thursday, April 29, 2004 - YGO DIP page additions. About Me page modifications. Yadda yadda yadda.

Friday, April 23, 2004 - Very, very busy month. That's all I can say! New quote!

March, 2004

Friday, March 18, 2004 - Background for the entire website has changed. I know it's not much of a change but... ehh.. it's different enough for me. :P Expect an addition to my YGO DIP page soon.

Friday, March 12, 2004 - Video Game Review page up with its first review. Won't guarantee how often I'll post up reviews, perhaps once every 2 or 3 months at worst.

Sunday, March 7, 2004 - About Me page updated. Playin' a new game. Realized people actually READ this stuff so I'll try to be a little more informative.

Monday, March 1, 2004 - YGO DIP page updated. Deck #3 will probably be my deck for awhile.

February, 2004

Wednesday, February 25, 2004 - 7. "It's been a rocky journey, but I've traveled way too far to give up now. I've faced many challenges and struggles in life that tested me, and I still have no idea if I've passed or utterly failed them. Each day is a step up of overcoming the rocky mountain of my past; I wonder when I'll finally be able to reach the summit - to be able to leave behind the despair, rage, envy, anger, melancholia, and sorrow (dreams) that have so plagued me. To be able to look at the other side of the mountain, where the grass is greener and the trees are taller. Maybe it'll be today, maybe it'll take 5 years, but I know it will happen. Until then, I'll have to endure. That wonderful downhill slide after getting to the top will be there, and once I get there, the journey of life will resume, with me being a little older and a little wiser."

Friday, February 19, 2004 - Realized my Links page had a messed up navigation bar with the inactive "Links" page Link being in the wrong row. Too much crap happened this week! Changed back entrance page to the original.

Saturday, February 14, 2004 - Temporary modification to the entrance page in "honor" of Valentines Day. Credit goes out to adeyke from The Amazon Basin for making this. Will be changed back to the original in a few days.

Tuesday, February 3, 2004 - Minor grammatical corrections to my Yu-Gi-Oh! Decks In Progress (which I will henceforth shorten as YGO DIP) page. Oh yeah, I now know how to take apart the older PowerMac G4s. Got some new stuff from New Egg to throw into my continually aging Mac - had a hell of a time figuring out how to pull out the CD-ROM/Zip drive compartment mount thingie on the front of my Mac. A quick call to Mac Made Easy helped me figure out that the only thing I was failing to do was not pulling hard enough on the compartment. A quick yank and it was free. I replaced the Apple DVD-ROM drive with an awesome Plextor 708-A from NewEgg and installed an additional 160 GB drive... unfortunately I have to get a PCI-based UltraATA/133 controller card to take advantage of the full 160 GB. I say this will give my computer an extra year or two before I'll have to upgrade! Links page updated with links to Mac Made Easy and NewEgg.

Monday, February 2, 2004 - I made this addition a few days ago but I totally forgot to indicate I did. New Yu-Gi-Oh! Decks In Progress page up for those who are interested. Page lists just that - decks for the Yu-Gi-Oh! that are currently in progress. The navigation bar at the bottom and the index page has been reflected to indicate this new change.

January, 2004

Friday, January 9, 2004 - Spring semester draws near. Are you ready? Marathon Netfilms page had a few errors on it that I fixed.

Wednesday, January 7, 2004 - Happy New Years everyone... yeah, I'm almost a week late, but hey, at least I said something, right? Hope everyone's year turns out to be a good one. I definitely hope 2k4 is better! Links page text slightly modified. Made link to About Me page in Links page an actual link. Other minor rearrangements.

December, 2003

Friday, December 26, 2003 - New quote for About Me page!

Wednesday, December 24, 2003 - Merry Christmas everyone! Guess what I got! That's right, absolutely nothin'! Index page didn't have an updated date for the What's New page.

Friday, December 19, 2003 - Christmas draws near. What are *you* getting for Christmas? Introductory text for webpage (the white text on a black background you see before you get to the actual main page) has been changed. Minor change to About Me page. Now that KoF 2003 is out... well - I hate it. "WHAT?" you say? "He's not playing KoF?!" Yeah. You heard me. This game broke it for me. I'll play the older ones, but I'm not gonna actively play 2003. It just... sucks. Links page has a creation and modification date added. Other minor changes code-wise that aren't visually noticeable.

Tuesday, December 2, 2003 - Fixed up messed up table in About Me page. "Links" link was in the wrong place. Subdivided the stuff in this What's New page into separate months with years.

November, 2003

Saturday, November 29, 2003 - Just got ahold of this awesome shareware utility called ShapeShifter. It does one thing for OS X that was previously exclusive to Windows: Theming! Yeah, you heard me, you can now change the way your Mac OS X interface looks with NO risk to your desktop environment. To install a new theme with ShapeShifter active, it's as simple as a double click! I've added a link to a screenshot of my OS X desktop theme - Aluminum Alloy, Cyrogenic - on my main index page. If you don't wanna go back, you can take a look at it here. There is little to no performance slowdowns with this theme installed, and it makes OS X look very cool. If you're an OS X user, I strongly suggest downloading this from Unsanity Software. You won't regret it! Now only if iTunes was theme-capable... Made a new "Links" page that has links to websites that I believe are interesting. All pages' navigational thing on the bottom and main page have been updated to reflect this change.

Sunday, November 23, 2003 - Site background and text change. Also added little banner things at the bottom of my main index page just for fun.

Saturday, November 22, 2003 - Entrance page (the page with the black background before you enter site) was modified... and rest of the page went with it. In Final Fantasy X-2, which I picked up a few days ago, it had an ending song that kinda struck a nerve... and it struck pretty damn hard. About Me page modified to reflect the fact I'm playing this game now.

Sunday, November 9, 2003 - About Me page modified. Fixed up major typos in this What's New page. Oh yeah, for you Mac OS X users, get Panther! It's an awesome upgrade. I'm pretty much hooked to Mac OS X for good because of it. One more thing... I've finally been convinced into playing Yu Gi Oh the card game. So if any of you know me in real life and would like to duel me, feel free to ring me up for a friendly match!

Monday, November 3, 2003 - Yeah, I guess my page got stale... Marathon games pretty much died down due to our totally interchanging schedules. Yesterday (November 2) was my birthday! So sing a little birthday cheer for me as I turn the big 2-0! My birthday gift to me: Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends that's coming out tomorrow! Other than that... just a quick update to the quote section in the About Me page.

September, 2003

Wednesday, September 25, 2003 - Changed my semi-monthly quote in my About Me page. Found way too many good ones to let them be wasted. Marathon Netfilms page has a new small batch of films up. Removed a lot of introductory text for the index page.

Monday, September 15, 2003 - Added a new film pack for the Marathon Netfilms page. Play for this game has been tapering off, but will be starting up again once we get more interested players into it (and once my playing partners' college schedules stop kicking them in the butt).

Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - Added a new film pack for the Marathon Netfilms page. Well, the pack only consists of one film... but hey, it's better than nothing.

Thursday, September 4, 2003 - Made a small cosmetical change to the entrance page. The text should be slightly clearer. If it's not - well - I'm fairly sure it's legible for most people... except for those who like running things in MicroVision (1600 x 1200 or whatever the heck it is).

Wednesday, September 3, 2003 - Made a welcome pass-through page. If you access the website without specifying a particular part of my page (like most normal people do), you'll get a nice dark entrance page. Forgive me for my shoddy HTML coding abilities and my lack of a decent image creation program. Also updated the navigation bar on the bottom so that the "Home" link will point to the main page, and not the entrance page. Oh, and a friendly public service announcement/reminder: please remember to use my V3 redirect address http://zip.to/skywalker for my website and bookmarking purposes. That way if this site ever goes down or gets moved you'll be able to find my new location with an easy to remember address.

Tuesday, September 2, 2003 - Additions and modifications to my About Me page.

Monday, September 1, 2003 - Redoing of website. Will pretty much make it look like my old site, but with a new paint job and a generally cleaner interface. Newest stuff: Updated and revamped Marathon Netfilms page and the return of The Ronin page.