I think I'm done with this journal, won't be updating anymore. Not that anyone cares, or will even read this. Facebook is just much easier to use, and people actually read my posts there :p.

Eh, apparently Crysta can be used to pay for FFXI subscriptions now.  I bought 1 month's worth of Crysta back when XIV came out, but seeing as that will never get used, I suppose I'll give XI a go for a month.  Nothing long term, just for nostalgia's sake and to pass time before the big game months arrive.

Being furloughed for 3 months during summer is kinda cool.  Feels like summer vacation from school when I was a kid.

I can't believe how many new drawings I've made, feels good to actually stay up in the wee hours of the morning just doodling, something I haven't done since I was in high school.

I've finally got around to finishing that MG Sinanju from Gundam Unicorn which is the best designed mecha EVER. I'm not joking, look it up.  It's like the Sazabi, but about 74x awesomer.  I'm about halfway through the MG Deathscythe Hell Custom, which is also one of the coolest Gundams, I loved this one ever since I first watched Endless Waltz on Toonami in the late 90's, can't believe it took this long to get an MG.

The amount of TV I have watched is just staggering. I have devolved into the worst form of couch potato  I've watched FMA: Brotherhood, Claymore, Soul Eater, High School of the Dead, Xam'd, Blue Exorcist, Dragonball Z Kai, Camelot(AWFUL),  the 2 seasons of Spartacus on Starz, and Game of Thrones.  I could go on forever about Game of Thrones, but I'll say just watch it if you subscribe to HBO, if not, read the books or wait a few months for the Blu-Ray/DVD.  Amazing, amazing, AMAZING, perhaps the best show I have ever watched.  I have the biggest crush on Daenerys too, and my burning hatred for Joffrey may even eclipse my hatred for Holiday in Cambodia, I would seriously punch the actor Jack Gleeson in the face in real life for playing such an obnoxious, spoiled prick.  The opening is downright awesome, I even went so far as to teach myself how to play the theme on piano. Sooooooooo good, the 10 month wait until season 2 will be excruciating. At least book 5 comes out next month, so that should make the wait less painful.

Other than that, my dark skies seemed to have turned bright blue.  Don't know what it was, but I feel like a new person. I don't feel tired 24/7, I also am more outgoing, and I don't have this hatred for humanity like I kind of used to.  My ankylosing spondylitis doesn't bother me any more.  I can easily sleep 8 hours straight every night, I have finally let go of the pain of losing my dog of the past 20 years.  People say not to get too attached to your pets, but I'm 26 and my little dog Smokey died just before turning 21, so it was really rough for me.  Then I realized I was incredibly blessed to have her that long, most peoples' dogs don't live half that long, and she never had any health problems.  Upon realizing that, I know she died living a full life and it was easy to move on.  Since then, we've brought in a new 1 year old Chocolate Lab to the family and she is basically a 60lb ball of pure energy.  Still prefer small dogs over big ones, but her energy is damn infectious. 

I also have my first niece/nephew on the way in August. Soooooooo excited, gonna try to visit my twin sister shortly after she gives birth.  I have certain issues, mainly genophobia, that kind of make me feel I will never be a father, but I really do love kids and hope my sisters have plenty of them!  All I know is, I am totally going to spoil this kid and (s)he's going to beg Julie every day to come visit her Uncle Stevie.  I dunno, this may sound weird, but the thought of having a little niece coming to visit and running up to me and giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek just makes me melt.  I keep telling her I hope she has a girl, but a boy will be awesome too. I'll teach him all the bad things his dad can't, like my uncles did to me! mwahahahaha

Anybody ever play Limbo on XBLA?  Definitely one of my favorite games this year,  so creepy, so AWESOME!

Halo: Reach came out on Tuesday, as expected it's a great game.  Sure, it didn't reinvent the FPS, but Bungie has polished the Halo franchise and Reach is one of the best all-around packages in gaming.  Very action-packed campaign, albeit a little bittersweet considering the ending and the fact that this is Bungie's final Halo (I'm pretty psyched to see what new IP Bungie is going to unveil now).  My brother and I did co-op on Heroic, and it was a much bigger challenge for us than Halo 3.  I can't even imagine this on 4 player legendary, since difficulty scales.  Always up for some co-op campaign or firefight if anybody wants to play.

FFXIV Collector's Edition comes out this week, I have it coming from amazon with release date shipping (got it for 5$ because I racked up a ton of videogame credit from preorders!). Anybody have their server decided? I'd like to play with some old friends from FFXI if possible, although I've regrettably lost contact with a lot of them.

Anybody playing the FFXIV open beta?

I finally got the version update to finish, and here's my new character:

Scott Pilgrim is a pretty sweet movie, such a shame it's not making any money at the box office.  Also, be sure to download the game on PSN or XBL. It's soooooooooo fun, a lot like River City Ransom on the NES.

Just a short update, and in case you didn't see it yet: meierjr.deviantart.com/#/d2wknkt

Last month I went to see The Last Airbender, and while it wasn't great (i.e. The kid who plays Aang can't act to save his life), it did pique my interest in the cartoon.  I had watched a few episodes before, mostly because I left the tv on Nicktoons after Wolverine and the X-Men was over and never thought much of it. 

However, after watching 2 and a half seasons (I just watched The Puppetmaster episode where Katara learns bloodbending), I'm literally enthralled by this show. Sure, it's definitely aimed towards the younger crowd, but  I can't believe how mature and deep the storyline is. You don't really expect something like that on Nickelodeon.  Book 2: Earth was amazing, as were the final few episodes in Book 1 where they defended the Northern Water tribe.  Zuko and Iroh are my favorite characters by far, Toph is pretty badass too. 

Sure, there are some fluff episodes, the Beach episode in season 3 comes to mind, and also the voice actor for Aang isn't the greatest, but it's definitely the best cartoon to ever be on Nicktoons.

Something I've been working on the past few days.  My line art has become much much cleaner, now I just need to color it, but I'm still not so good at that ><

:-D

Nothing much new in the past 8 months.  My sister adopted a cat for me! He's all black, and looks ornery 24/7, so he's a perfect fit for me! Named him Azrael (after Gargomel's cat). ....still a dog person though~

Other than that, been going to tons of family weddings, my twin sister was married on the beach last weekend, it was pretty sweet.  So now my brother and I are the only 2 in the entire extended family that are unmarried.  First thing out of my grandma's mouth every time I see her is, "Stephen Andrew!! Where is your girlfriend?!? You need to get married and give me more great-grandbabies!" lol  The thought of getting married scares me enough, I can't even fathom being a father O_O