Alright!

      It's only uphill from here. It could get worse, a lot worse, but it stops now. I'm pumped! I just took my Drug Information midterm today and I know I aced it. Sure it's not a Drug and Disease course but it's going to be my starting point. I feel energized and recharged to get through this whole shebang. Two extended assignments that will take me hours to do? Let me at them. Boring teachers teaching us a year's worth of material in two days? Music to my ears. Infectious disease midterm next week? I am going to mess you up.
      It's time I took this all to the next level. Time to study. I don't do this often but I'll let you in on what I'm going to write tomorrow, just because I feel like it. So here it is; tomorrow will be a movie entry on Nicolas Winding Refn's 2011 production of "Drive".

You are not going to guess...

      How many days has it been since I wrote that entry about wanting a kitten? Like two? Well, guess what? Looks like we have a third member to our family here in the "Basement"! Yep, we got ourselves a fine young lad of a cat and I know what you might be thinking. "Wasn't he the one that just said that he wasn't financially ready for a cat?" That was me all right. It was also I who was practically jumping for joy when I heard that a friend that was willing to give us a cat, no questions asked, no money exchanged. My roommate looked at me and I gave him the immediate sign of approval, a smile two miles wide.
      There were a couple of "sound" reasons why I jumped at the opportunity. First, I'm a complete idiot. Secondly, the friend who gave us the kitten said that if we can't handle it, we can give the kitten back. Thirdly, who am I kidding? I wanted to recreate my childhood and live it the right way. The third one is a little far-fetched but you know what I mean. Want to know about the young lad?
      He, yes it's a boy, doesn't have a name yet. My roommate and I are currently working on it with no apparent success. I disliked all the names he came up with and the ones I came up with don't fancy his requirements. The little one's black with a white nose, paws, and belly. Even the skin leading from his eyes to his ears is white, on both sides. He has light blue irises and he's full of curiosity and is fearless. When we first saw him, he was hiding underneath a couch that has a bottom only a couple of inches off the floor. How he got under there is beyond my comprehension. But he was just "chillin" there. As we speak, he's sleeping in the corner of my room, underneath my bed, curled up into a ball. Look he just got up and is making himself  comfortable on my favorite pillow, oh wait, he just climbed on my back. (I'm laying down right now.) Oh no...What have I got myself into?!

New Follower Jitters

      September 1, 2011 marks the day when this blog received its first follower. Once I saw the news on my dashboard, I felt great and there was happiness just radiating out of me. Man, was I ecstatic. I called and messaged some of my best buddies and let them know what was going on and how excited I was. Then after descending from Cloud Nine, something else set in and took the emotion's place. Slowly, I started to become nervous and self-conscious. Uninvited questions started to tear through my train of thought and made things more complex. Would this person like what you have to say? Is your  blog going to be geared toward this person? Will you change yourself, like you have before, just to please people?  Are you going to be satisfied? Do you feel like the chase is over? Maybe it's not a big deal to some, but it's something I have been dealing with for a long time.
      There's something you should know about me. I'm always up for trying new and exciting things and I will be attached to this particular "thing" by the hip for a while. Then, I'll hit a milestone and then the thrill is no where to be found. Let's just take blogging for example. One of the main things about blogging is that people, that are not familiar to you, will read what you have to write. After this, they have to determine whether or not they will follow you so that when they sign on to their respective account, they are able to see any of your new entries that you posted. If the answer is "no" then the process stops here. If not, they have to either copy your URL identification and paste it in the managing section of their reading list. Or maybe there's a simpler way that I am not familiar with. There's always an easier way. Having a follower is one of the biggest accomplishments a blogger will have. Once I find out that there is a person who is interested and following what I have to say, I start asking myself; What should I look forward to now? If I have no answer to that, then it's on to the next best thing.
      After thinking about all the work that this person had to do to follow this particular blog, I started to become nervous. What do I have to do to keep this person interested so that he doesn't angrily eradicate me from his reading list? After talking with a good friend of mine, I started to remember exactly why I made this blog in the first place. This blog wasn't made to please people and force me to change to the beat of other people's hearts. It's main purpose was for me to share what I think and my experiences. If I lose that, then this blog will just be another unnecessary burden on my life. The very point other people come to follow your blogs is to experience a new way of thought and the person you are. If you lose your sense of identity, then you become the generic, lifeless, bland reading material that you promised yourself that you'll never become.
      Unfortunately, I have a loose sense of identity. Throughout my life, the only thing that stayed constant about me is my bad sense of fashion. Everything else just changes with the tide, it's why being consistent is so difficult to me. It may have been the way I was programmed or maybe I'm just a guy that bores easily. But nevertheless, this blogging experience has been great and is something that I do want to continue. If I ever do start slacking. I give you each permission to give me one backhand across the face until I regain my senses.

Fright Night

     Yesterday, I postponed reading The Second Messiah, to watch Craig Gillespie's "Fright Night." I stumbled upon its movie trailer, earlier in the day, and I was immediately intrigued. Maybe, I was excited to see what Colin Farrell had come back with after his satisfactory performance in "Terrible Bosses." Or maybe I was happy to see Anton Yelchin as the lead role? I shouldn't have been so excited. I have been dealt with crappy hands twice already after deciding to watch something new. Actually, I was more pissed off about the fact that Yelchin, with his substantially growing talent, has been brought down by these movies. At least, that's what's going on in my perspective.

      "Fright Night" is a vampire flick about young Charley Brewster, Yelchin, whose life is turned upside down when he learns the truth about his new neighbor, Jerry. You see, Jerry here, played by Farrell, is a puffed up brainless bloodsucker straight from the depths of hell. I should have to stopped the movie once I realized that Christopher Mintz-Plasse, known for his roles in "Role Models" and "Kick-Ass", plays a prominent part in it. I couldn't take the movie seriously anymore. I mean, sure, it's a fantastical movie about Dracula but just for that hour and a half, I try to forget that it's not real. They could have done wonders with this movie. Take out Plasse, allow Farrell to play the role of a semi-intelligent monster, keep the graphics, keep the musical score, and let Yelchin loose. Do this and you'll have a movie to contend with.
       I dislike movies that lack smooth transitions and a significant build-up to the plot. Especially with this kind of story, the director can't bring out the plot too quickly or viewer start thinking of the word "fake" a little to early. But I have to give respect where respect is due...Yelchin has started to show up actors who have been in business for years. When he talks in character about something, whether it is about how he feels or what he's going to do, I can't help but believe him. Give this guy a decent movie and he will soar; I have no doubts. Furthermore, I enjoyed the graphics that were spread, although sparingly, throughout the movie. But if you're thinking about watching this movie, I'll give you a piece of advice. Don't. Instead, watch Shia LaBeouf's Disturbia. It's essentially the same thing, given that there are no vampires, but you're sure to enjoy it.
   

New addition!

      I've been fine tuning the site the last couple of days and I came up with an idea. Nothing too crazy... actually not even remotely crazy. I added something that probably won't do anything for the site but I thought it would be nice. I love to read books especially those that are part of a series. The fact is, I don't like good novels to have endings. So, as a result, I'm adding a "My Book List" column so that you guys can see the books that I am sticking my nose in. Picture that for a second. I'm doing this for several reasons. One. I could keep track of the books that I have read. Two. Maybe, you'll be interested in one of the books and end up reading one of them. Then all the credit will go to me. Three. I'll get to talk about the book if I come across something interesting. And Four. It's been a while since I read a book. So, I'm going to stick with it.
      The Second Messiah, written by Glenn Meade, is going to kick start this whole thing. I went to the library today for the first time in months to grab a couple of books off its overflowing shelves. You might ask why it has been months since I went to the library? Well, I owe them money and I was over the fine limit. This means that I can't take out books without paying it off which was about seven dollars! Do you know how many days it would take to accumulate seven dollars in fines? Anyway, let's talk about the book.

       I was skimming through the titles of new novels and after one good look at this book's title it was a no brainer. I knew, right away, that this book had to do with adventure and people looking for some deep dark secret that other people doesn't want to let out. Not really, but I knew that this was a good choice because it fit my requirements well. The main characters have to be unlocking a heinous conspiracy. There must be life threatening chases in every three pages. Finally, the book has to be one that I could finish in a matter of a week. I have a good feeling about this book.
       On another note, I just saw a trailer today for "Fright Night" and I have to say, I'm excited. As an added bonus, the main character in the movie is played by Anton Yelchin. I thought he was great in "The Beaver" and I'm curious as to what he brought to the table this time. Honestly, I'm going to leave the reading for tomorrow night and watch it now.

Conan the Barbarian

     There were only a couple of movies this year that I was looking forward to watch. These included: Captain America; The First Avenger, Transformers 3; Dark Side of the Moon, Real Steel, and Conan the Barbarian. Let's try something. Imagine yourself stumbling upon a trailer of a movie that picked feverishly at your curiosity. Now, your friends started talking about it and they even sent you little links referring to the movie that brought your excitement to new levels. So you wait and wait until the months have passed by and the movie finally went public. What if it ended up being half of what you thought it would be? That's what happened to me with Marcus Nispel's Conan the Barbarian.

       Jason Momoa, known for his roles in Baywatch and Game of Thrones, played Conan who is a scarred wanderer who is on the lookout for those that killed his father and villagers. In his defense, his expressions and the aura of blood-lust around him added to the viciousness of his character. But as the movie went on he started to resemble Karl Urban's Ghost in Pathfinder. Guess who directed that movie? Marcus Nispel. Makes sense but I enjoyed watching Pathfinder. What's Nispel's excuse with this? The lack of character development and unsatisfactory transitions in this movie was something that could have been easily avoided. There is no doubt that Momoa had great potential for this movie but, unfortunately, what can one do if the writers took one night to write the screenplay? At least, that's how it seemed.
       On top of all this, the movie included a narration which sounded extremely out of place. The voice in the background sounded strangely like Morgan Freeman and I believe the movie would have been better off without it. It made the movie seem a little less believable than it already was. I know it's a fictional story, I don't need Freeman to indirectly repeat it to me whenever he speaks. (The voice actually did belong to Morgan Freeman.) The battle scenes of this movie were slightly above average solely because of the attitude Momoa brought to the table. Other than that, don't expect to have a lot to say to your poor friend who you dragged along with you to the theater.
     

India Trip Day 7: Memories

       "Here I am, in the land where my true roots are and always have been. I don't know what it was but once I stepped into the car heading for my dad's younger brother's house, good feelings flooded my system. I was happy with the thought of seeing familiar faces again. These faces have slowly faded during the eight years I spent away from India. My dad's brother, Shaji, and nephew, Binu, both came to pick us from the airport. It was one dingy airport. When my dad and his brother locked eyes, I knew they were truly excited to see each other. They both looked at each other with grins on their faces, then for a split second looked away to their left, and then locked eyes again. It might seem weird but to me, it's common. I even do it sometimes without thinking. It's a "I can't believe you are here" look. In the split second they spent looking away from each other, they decided to cast that extra happiness into the air so that they don't make a scene. Or maybe they just had something in their eye.
        The car ride, which was supposed to take four hours, ended up just being two. Recently, there was a more direct road specifically made for people to travel to and from the airport with ease. This turned out to be very convenient for most of us. Unfortunately, these 2 hours were worse than the 13 hours I spent sitting nonstop on the airplane. The odor that my sister was giving off was gross and she's the type that uses it to her own advantage. "Move a little that way if you don't want to smell it." It was her way of getting a little more leg room. My mom on the other hand was happily sleeping and drooling on my right leg. The one thing that was in my favor is my dad's arm that he spread behind my head so I could use it as a head rest. At least, I think he did that to help me out after seeing my ill-fated situation, right? Well maybe not. Anyway, it was great fun talking and cracking jokes with my uncle and cousin. We hit it off just in a couple of minutes. Can't wait for what's going to happen tomorrow.
        We arrived at Papachen uncle's house, Shwetha Bhavan. Shwetha Bhavan is the name of the house which my uncle named after his daughter. Bhavan is the malayalam word for refuge. Cool stuff ain't it? What would you name your house? I have to think about mine, I'll get back to you on that. Eight years since I've been here last, eight years, and everything is pretty much the same. My dad's two brothers, Papachen and Shaji, are neighbors. Each of them own dogs which both my dad and my sister are afraid of. Losers. They don't seem to mind the six rabbits in the house. All three of Shaji Uncle's sons are all grown up and in school. I think the only real difference about this house is that they moved the glass table from the center of the room to the wall. The house is still the warm welcoming house its always been and Papachen uncle's wife, Suja, is still beautiful like the last time I saw her.
      You know one thing that surprised me ever since I set foot on Indian soil? My Malayalam speaking skills have sky rocketed. My mother's really happy about that. Things were a little quiet between my dad and his brother but they are the closest of brothers. I think everyone just needs to get sleep, it's 2:50 in the morning. Shwetha, their daughter, is coming back home tomorrow from school. She's all grown up and I just got word that she is going to become a chartered accountant. I wonder what her personality is like...My mom has been nonstop reminding me about her good grades so I can't wait to meet her. I'm having so many flashbacks, too many for a full nights time of typing. My battery is going to run out so hopefully I could find a computer that allows me to charge it. Night!
       Wait up, I found a computer right here in the house. What you know about keeping up with technology?
(The following entry was written the same day but in the afternoon)
        We just picked up Shwetha from her hostel and she is so funny. I thought our meeting was going to be a little different but this will have to do. She just ran right past us, crying?! Sadly, she got a third place award in a dance competition today. She kept saying that she wanted to kill the judges and that she was rightfully supposed to get the first place medal. Of course the killing part was a joke. She's very fun loving and witty. The way she talks to her friends is like the way a heroine talks to her best friend in movies. She totally forgets that I'm in here too. At least introduce me? I see a little bit of myself in her. It's fun to listen to her.
        Guess what? Shwetha is turning out to be my younger girl clone. She likes everything I like and hates everything I don't like. For example, she loves the actors I like to watch in cinema and she hates the food I can't stand to even look at. Good stuff, eh? I think, we're off to a little slow start though but I think we'll do just fine, we got 2 weeks!"