Somehow another year has come and gone and Christmas day is once again upon us. While it seemed like the year 2015 was an even steeper uphill battle, I have to look back in fond memory of what has transpired over the past 350 or so days. Granted, there was not a whole lot that I accomplished, but here are some of my most memorable memories from this year.
Work (August)
During the summer I worked as a waiter for a restaurant in North Vancouver and finally got to experience receiving my first paycheck and the stress of working. I stopped working when the school year started, but I gained a fair bit of money (for somebody my age anyways) and experience.
Baby Stephanie (September)
I found out that my aunt was pregnant sometime near the end of the school year, and got reasonably excited. After a few months of patient waiting, a very welcome and loved addition to the family was born in early September. Little Stephanie was brought into the world and she has brought nothing but joy and positive feelings to our family.
There's so much waiting for her when she grows up, and I find it hard to believe that I have the chance to be a significant part of her life. It's absolutely baffling to think that I can give a hand in the development of a baby girl who will hopefully grow into a wonderful and well-mannered woman.
FIGO 2015 (October)
The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics was hosted in Vancouver this year, and somehow I obtained the opportunity to volunteer for this event. The event spanned a week but I ended up being shifted for the first two days (not including an initial training day). Over the course of my time volunteering at the Vancouver Convention Centre I racked up around 30 hours of creditable experience.
Days started early (we're talking 5:00 in the morning) and were tedious. I was thirsty most, if not all of the time, and in general felt terrible. While I definitely did not have the time of my life, I gained some invaluable experience working with foreigners and how a congress event runs.
Desktop (December)
Using the money that I earned from working this summer, I ordered my very first custom parts for a computer. I only got the email saying that the parts were ready for pickup today, so the desktop hasn't exactly been assembled yet, but nonetheless, it's happening. I'm proud that I was able to get enough to fully pay for my own parts (and still have a sizable amount remaining) and I'm super excited.
Merry Christmas!
It's a few hours early but I'll wish you a very Merry Christmas and safe holidays, seeing as I won't be able to do it tomorrow. Thanks for another wonderful year and for keeping up with this terrible blog.
December 24, 2015
December 14, 2015
No Filter (#1): Stagnation
As a 16 year old teenage boy, I am currently living in the stage of life known as adolescence. In the context of Erikson's stages of psychosocial development, the most prominent challenge of my life is fidelity and a sense of identity.
Fidelity, strictly by definition, is "faithfulness to a person, cause, or belief, demonstrated by continuing loyalty and support."
Never have I aligned so strongly agreed with a concept of psychology than the idea of fidelity being the common struggle of all adolescents.
It is true, I do not have the slightest idea as to what I am working towards. There is no feeling of direction, and it is all blind and hopeful wandering. Claiming that my goal in life is to achieve relatively high grades and find success in post-secondary ventures is go-to, but I cannot find motivation to even stand by my "goal".
I am sure that many other boys my age are going through the same thing, and it amazes me that I, along with them, can keep such a facade of being calm and collected on the surface. At times I find myself sinking in the quicksand of despair, where attempts to escape are futile and met with more despair.
However please don't misinterpret this wistful thinking as an indicator of sadness. On the contrary, I am a person who is healthier and happier than most. It goes without a doubt that I experience the sporadic mood shift, but I can sheepishly attribute that to my hormonal system being in overdrive.
There you have it. The thoughts of your average teenage boy (which can reflect those of a girl's, to an extent) who is facing the crisis that is a lack of direction in life.
Fidelity, strictly by definition, is "faithfulness to a person, cause, or belief, demonstrated by continuing loyalty and support."
Never have I aligned so strongly agreed with a concept of psychology than the idea of fidelity being the common struggle of all adolescents.
It is true, I do not have the slightest idea as to what I am working towards. There is no feeling of direction, and it is all blind and hopeful wandering. Claiming that my goal in life is to achieve relatively high grades and find success in post-secondary ventures is go-to, but I cannot find motivation to even stand by my "goal".
I am sure that many other boys my age are going through the same thing, and it amazes me that I, along with them, can keep such a facade of being calm and collected on the surface. At times I find myself sinking in the quicksand of despair, where attempts to escape are futile and met with more despair.
However please don't misinterpret this wistful thinking as an indicator of sadness. On the contrary, I am a person who is healthier and happier than most. It goes without a doubt that I experience the sporadic mood shift, but I can sheepishly attribute that to my hormonal system being in overdrive.
There you have it. The thoughts of your average teenage boy (which can reflect those of a girl's, to an extent) who is facing the crisis that is a lack of direction in life.
December 7, 2015
Changes (Ugh Again?) v.2
So what's the deal this time Kevin?
In my last post, I expressed that I was content with the status of this blog. However it is also worth noting that I came to the realization that blogging should be a passion, not a chore. For that reason, I have come to the conclusion that I should abolish the current system of schedules.
Replacing this will be a system where I can post whenever I want. The content however, should remain roughly the same. It'll consist of various anime reviews and cringey "I feel terrible right now" posts, along with the occasional casual posts. During the "trial run" I dreaded posting on Fridays the most, which is a statement to how much I actually liked my ideas.
No posts this week then?
Yup. The way things are panning out, I won't be posting for the next week as I try to change and play around with a few things. It'll be a welcome break for you, but unfortunately for you, I'll most likely be back by next week.
Seeya loser.
Later suckers, I'm trashing this popsicle stand.
In my last post, I expressed that I was content with the status of this blog. However it is also worth noting that I came to the realization that blogging should be a passion, not a chore. For that reason, I have come to the conclusion that I should abolish the current system of schedules.
Replacing this will be a system where I can post whenever I want. The content however, should remain roughly the same. It'll consist of various anime reviews and cringey "I feel terrible right now" posts, along with the occasional casual posts. During the "trial run" I dreaded posting on Fridays the most, which is a statement to how much I actually liked my ideas.
No posts this week then?
Yup. The way things are panning out, I won't be posting for the next week as I try to change and play around with a few things. It'll be a welcome break for you, but unfortunately for you, I'll most likely be back by next week.
Seeya loser.
Later suckers, I'm trashing this popsicle stand.
December 5, 2015
Noname
Hey! Things on this blog have been coming along (though not as smoothly as planned), and in general, I am satisfied with where it stands. Sure, I would like to see more posts being produced, but the reality is that I can't do it. I recently had an epiphany of sorts, where I realized that blogging become more of a chore than a passion. Having my thoughts and ideas restricted to being expressed on one day of the week was repressing and something that I struggled with. One day I would be worked up about a single thing, but blow it off because it wasn't Monday, and then when Monday rolls around, those intense emotions have vanished.
I do not fully know what point I am attempting to convey to you. What is running through my mind is a remodel of the label system to something with more freedom in terms of when I post. Everything is scattered, but with any luck I'll be able to put these thoughts together.
Posting will most likely be sparse at least for the next week, although that is a relief for many of you.
Farewell comrade, and let us meet when the winds are right one again.
I do not fully know what point I am attempting to convey to you. What is running through my mind is a remodel of the label system to something with more freedom in terms of when I post. Everything is scattered, but with any luck I'll be able to put these thoughts together.
Posting will most likely be sparse at least for the next week, although that is a relief for many of you.
Farewell comrade, and let us meet when the winds are right one again.
December 1, 2015
WW (Week 7): Unexpected Sweetness in Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate
Hello all, and welcome back to another disgusting installation of Weaboo Wednesday. The reason why I haven't been writing lately is because I have been binge watching a romcom anime that goes by the name of Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate, or its shortened form, KoiChoco. It's been an entry in the backlog that I had been longing to get around, and I finally finished last weekend. What I expected was a boring and unoriginal high school romcom, but instead I got something that was more engaging than that.
Story
KoiChoco starts off with quite an interesting hook. A high school student (who is spy by night) has captured evidence of an underground deal between (what we can presume to be) two different school organizations. However she is found out and is run over by a car, and the driver gets out to destroy the evidence, leaving the spy in a coma.
We're taken away from this intro to find out that the focus on the story is, in reality, a group of students in a Food Research Club. Everything and anything that happens in this club is eating and testing out snacks, which means that it is simply a group of friends having fun together. The club is one of many at Takafuji Private Academy, an institution that boasts over 6,000 students and is largely ran by a school government compromised of students. The main conflict rides in when a new presidential election for the school is called, and it is discovered that the leading candidate plans to shut down the Food Research Club. Yuki Ojima, our MC-kun, then runs in to save the day, and reluctantly accepting the position of candidate that is forced onto him by the club.
The rest of the anime (anything that was described above happens during the first few episodes) describes the election and campaigning process, while Yuki grows closer to each respective heroine, helping each one with their problems. The struggles with running such a large student body surface, and MC-kun finds himself having more and more problems as the date of the election nears. Eventually Yuki finds out about the incident, and endangers himself, his close ones, and the election.
For the short 12 episode span KoiChoco had, there was a large amount of great storytelling. The entire time I was watching the anime I felt saddened that such an interesting plot was being condensed into a measly 12 episodes. I think the show would have been better with a longer run, but then again, a lot of things would have been.
Negatives included some cliche and cringey scenes, but those are natural. At times it felt very loose and elements of the story didn't come together completely. I understand that the large character cast was a way of staying faithful to the source material, however it did make for some unnecessary complications. Asides from that, very solid and interesting story coming out of KoiChoco.
Characters
It is hard to create originality in characters, seeing as most things possible have already been done. However, you can still make unoriginal characters interesting with backstory. You have seen all of the characters in KoiChoco in one form or another, but it is their histories that make them multi-dimensional and far from plain.
Let's take MC-kun for example. Yuki Ojima is your standard overbearingly kind high school boy, surrounded by female companions who each have their own reasons for trying to get with him. Sure, we have our straight-out-of-the-factory character, but he's actually got a troubled past. I don't want to say anything in fear of spoiling (even though this diminishes my point), but trust me that he does turn out to be an interesting guy.
But it is impossible to give every character the depth and backstory that they need, and there are really only two or three characters who get that. The rest of the characters remained relatively flat, but were still likable nonetheless.
Sound
The opening theme is addictive and upbeat, and I've quickly come to love it (I'll most likely play the hell out of it on repeat for a while until it becomes dreary). As for the ending theme, nothing wrong there, pretty average stuff. Didn't really notice an amazing soundtrack with profound presence, and therefore there's not too much to say about the music or the sound effects.
There are no annoying voice actors in KoiChoco, and I can as far as to say that all the characters were casted extremely well and the voice actors did an awesome job.
Art/Animation
To add on to the already solid foundation of an anime KoiChoco is, the art and animation are slightly above average. Everything looked natural and there was no choppy animation (everything was reasonably fluid). Aniplex worked with a lighter pastel set of colours in this adaptation, and I thought that it paired well with the overall tone of KoiChoco.
Personal Enjoyment
There were no fatal flaws or anything, but KoiChoco doesn't really go the distance to become a heavenly anime. This can be attributed to its short run, but a lack of sophisticated and complicated plot is the main reason why. I am not saying that the story is simple or anything, it just isn't on that next level.
However the reason why I liked KoiChoco so much was because everything about it spoke to me, and it was a very enjoyable watch. I came in expecting nothing but a run-of-the-mill romcom filled with random panty shots, but instead I found a small gem. While no masterpiece, KoiChoco definitely deserves more praise than it currently gets.
Thanks for the laughs and great times KoiChoco. I'll send you off with a wonderful 7.7/10.0.
KoiChoco on MyAnimeList
Story
KoiChoco starts off with quite an interesting hook. A high school student (who is spy by night) has captured evidence of an underground deal between (what we can presume to be) two different school organizations. However she is found out and is run over by a car, and the driver gets out to destroy the evidence, leaving the spy in a coma.
We're taken away from this intro to find out that the focus on the story is, in reality, a group of students in a Food Research Club. Everything and anything that happens in this club is eating and testing out snacks, which means that it is simply a group of friends having fun together. The club is one of many at Takafuji Private Academy, an institution that boasts over 6,000 students and is largely ran by a school government compromised of students. The main conflict rides in when a new presidential election for the school is called, and it is discovered that the leading candidate plans to shut down the Food Research Club. Yuki Ojima, our MC-kun, then runs in to save the day, and reluctantly accepting the position of candidate that is forced onto him by the club.
For the short 12 episode span KoiChoco had, there was a large amount of great storytelling. The entire time I was watching the anime I felt saddened that such an interesting plot was being condensed into a measly 12 episodes. I think the show would have been better with a longer run, but then again, a lot of things would have been.
Negatives included some cliche and cringey scenes, but those are natural. At times it felt very loose and elements of the story didn't come together completely. I understand that the large character cast was a way of staying faithful to the source material, however it did make for some unnecessary complications. Asides from that, very solid and interesting story coming out of KoiChoco.
It is hard to create originality in characters, seeing as most things possible have already been done. However, you can still make unoriginal characters interesting with backstory. You have seen all of the characters in KoiChoco in one form or another, but it is their histories that make them multi-dimensional and far from plain.
Let's take MC-kun for example. Yuki Ojima is your standard overbearingly kind high school boy, surrounded by female companions who each have their own reasons for trying to get with him. Sure, we have our straight-out-of-the-factory character, but he's actually got a troubled past. I don't want to say anything in fear of spoiling (even though this diminishes my point), but trust me that he does turn out to be an interesting guy.
But it is impossible to give every character the depth and backstory that they need, and there are really only two or three characters who get that. The rest of the characters remained relatively flat, but were still likable nonetheless.
The opening theme is addictive and upbeat, and I've quickly come to love it (I'll most likely play the hell out of it on repeat for a while until it becomes dreary). As for the ending theme, nothing wrong there, pretty average stuff. Didn't really notice an amazing soundtrack with profound presence, and therefore there's not too much to say about the music or the sound effects.
There are no annoying voice actors in KoiChoco, and I can as far as to say that all the characters were casted extremely well and the voice actors did an awesome job.
Art/Animation
To add on to the already solid foundation of an anime KoiChoco is, the art and animation are slightly above average. Everything looked natural and there was no choppy animation (everything was reasonably fluid). Aniplex worked with a lighter pastel set of colours in this adaptation, and I thought that it paired well with the overall tone of KoiChoco.
Personal Enjoyment
There were no fatal flaws or anything, but KoiChoco doesn't really go the distance to become a heavenly anime. This can be attributed to its short run, but a lack of sophisticated and complicated plot is the main reason why. I am not saying that the story is simple or anything, it just isn't on that next level.
However the reason why I liked KoiChoco so much was because everything about it spoke to me, and it was a very enjoyable watch. I came in expecting nothing but a run-of-the-mill romcom filled with random panty shots, but instead I found a small gem. While no masterpiece, KoiChoco definitely deserves more praise than it currently gets.
Thanks for the laughs and great times KoiChoco. I'll send you off with a wonderful 7.7/10.0.
KoiChoco on MyAnimeList
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