Life Updates

CParadox · **CParadox**

So . . . what are y'all up to . . . .

Me, I just graduated college (Tufts University) in May, with a degree in engineering science and a focus in film making. I want to make movies. Right now, I almost have a job at the Apple Store, because with this economy, I've been unable to get a job for the past 5 months. I'm living with my parents for the next 2 years or so, until I can build myself a demo reel and start making commercials and music videos for a living. I want to write/direct/edit for the rest of my life. I may or may not go to film grad school. If I do, it'll only be to either NYU or USC, because otherwise, it just won't be worth it for me.

What else . . . oh, I had my heart torn out of my chest by a girl I didn't even date throughout junior year. Then in Senior year, my best friend started dating her. I no longer talk to either of them. By contrast, a girl I developed feelings for 5 years ago (and a looooong time back, talked to JohnnyPsycho about via PMs) I'm still really good friends with. And I still have feelings for her. Though I wish I didn't. The short version is, that because I was such good friends with her, she took control of her own life and turned it in the right direction. If I want what's best for her, then I shouldn't mess things up by wanting to be anything more than just friends.

Oh! I started a blog. www.patheticninja.com In it, I talk about media stuff, and try to break it down in an effort to understand it personally, and try to enlighten and entertain anyone else that reads it.

In terms of gaming, I played Ragnarok on a private server for a while, where I met some great people, and we have our own little corner of the internet sliced out. After playing City of Heroes and Ragnarok so hardcore for a total of about 3 years, I'm pretty sick of MMOs, and now I'm trying to focus on film projects.

Anyway, that's what the Paradox has been up to. Curious to hear about a lot of you.

JJc14 · **JJc14**

My journey's been an odd one to say the least, and it's still in progress as I type this...

Let's see here. Graduated college in 2005 with a Bachelor in Business (minored in Music Studies). For those wondering, I started out as a CIS major, but was scared off by the math requirements and switched over to something "easier". Found out quickly that getting a tech job without a related degree was next to impossible, and after five months of unemployment, I settled with a dead-end casino position that barely qualifies as an industry gig. Basically, we do surveillance on slot machine readings and play phone tag with technicians if something's off. It pays next to nothing, but there's barely any work to worry about, so it makes for a relaxed environment...

My employer offered tuition reimbursement for anyone wanting to continue their education, and while it wasn't nearly enough for graduate-level or even four-year schooling, I hopped on board and started taking technology classes at the local community college in Spring 2006, doing all of my schoolwork at the office and flying through courses over the next two years. Graduated this past spring with Associates degrees in Hardware Technologies, Web Design, and Computer Systems Support. You're reading that right: I went BACKWARDS with my college education! I was going to start the job hunt right away, but that's about when the economy began to really crap out, so I delayed things a few more months and earned my certification as an IT Technician over the summer. This required passing two grueling exams, the second of which happened just last week. The plan from here is to take another week or two to rest my weary brain, then dive into the job market and find a position that will allow me to finally move outta the house. I want to get into networking and server administration eventually, but it will likely require a few more detours doing related work, more school, and additional certifications. At least I know what I'm getting into...

Outside of work/school, there isn't really much to say. The band I was in broke up after 2005's graduation, and the closest I've gotten to playing an instrument since then has been a plastic Guitar Hero or Rock Band peripheral. The PS2 still gets a workout, but I've gotten into the terrible habit of buying games faster than I play them. Let's put it this way: My PS2 library could very well rival Nobu's DVD library! Needless to say, I'll be keeping busy through this console generation catching up on all that. My cartoon consumption has gone way down in past years, though I still set the VCR to keep tabs on Adult Swim and Sci Fi's action offerings. As mentioned in the Toonami thread, my interest in the medium has been waning, but every time I consider stopping, the networks drop a Fullmetal Alchemist or Death Note or Now and Then: Here and There to remind me why I still watch. Same goes for wrestling, which I only continue watching because my favorites from the late-'90s (Edge, Christian Cage, Chris Jericho) are just now hitting their prime and winning the big belts, so I feel obligated to see their careers play out before tuning out for good...

Despite having the JJc14.com domain name for YEARS now, I've still been too freakin' lazy to do much of anything with it. I keep saying it's gonna become a portfolio site and transfer my weblog away from ad-heavy Xanga, but nothing ever becomes of it. The Xanga thing is really just a way to keep my writing skills sharp, as I try to type something up every month or so about what I'm doing, which with my dull life mostly boils down to reviewing video games being played at the time... =)

...and that's about it. Anyone actually take the time to read all that?
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"Life's a journey, not a destination..." -Aerosmith ('Amazing')
Current RPG(s): (None)

TylerL · **TylerL**

Quick bullet points:

Started a software company. I do that most of my time nowadays.
Got married, moved, and chillin' at my own place. With my....[sigh]...wife.
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My old sig was too long.

WhtHawk · **WhtHawk**

I graduated college, and am currently living in the air capital of the world doing work in general aviation.

I'm the AMV Contest coordinator for Anime Festival Wichita, and do miscellaneous other things too.

I occasionally get motivated and post essays to my, largely neglected, website.
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To do two things at once is to do neither. —Publilius Syrus, Roman slave, first century B.C.

Alshoff · **Alshoff**

JJc14 · **JJc14**

WhtHawk · **WhtHawk**

I got tired of math when partial differential equations came poking it's ugly head around my schedule. Crying or Very sad

_________________
To do two things at once is to do neither. —Publilius Syrus, Roman slave, first century B.C.

Kaos_Dragon · **Kaos_Dragon**

I ended up dropping out of high school in my senior year due to some issues in my life. I then traveled across the country to california to try to make it out there. Shit happened out there and I had to head back and stay with some friends until I started getting back on track. Now I'm planning on getting a GED soon and getting into a college after that.
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Formerly known as The_Dragon_Master

Nobuyuki · **Nobuyuki**

CParadox · **CParadox**

I failed Calc III!

To be fair, it was the semester that I switched from Engineering to Film Making. That was one hell of a semester . . .

Alshoff · **Alshoff**

Well, I got a C in Calc II, and a B+ in Calc III. (Though, Calc II was known to be harder than Calc III. That, and spring semesters always sucked for me, grade-wise.)

Discrete Math was incredibly easy after all that Calculus.
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Able and Baker is nice.

Andromaton · **Andromaton**

Unfortunately there isn't much to tell. Animation has been a wash for me. I even went back to school for a second degree in game design but stopped about 6 classes short, my heart just wasn't in it. So now I am kind of drifting rather aimlessly. I've been contemplating trying my hand in the culinary world; I'm gonna have to make the choice fairly soon. I've mostly been keeping myself busy with the life dominating WoW.

I am though glad to see that a lot of you are doing fairing well for yourselves.

rizwan787 · **rizwan787**

AdmiralGreer · **AdmiralGreer**

People actually still post here. On occasion anyway. Wow.

Still failing community college (going on five years now, and it's hard as hell watching your friends graduate from prestigious universities with engineering and science degrees and making 60k+ a year while still in their early 20s. it HAS helped to light a fire under my ass though), still feeding off the parents in suburbia, still on the road to being a 40-year-old-virgin, but actually making efficient use of time and not watching nearly as much horrible "foreign media" as before (almost nothing really). On the other side, I now blend in fairly well with society in general, the only problem being that as my skin is "yella" (i'm not "mella" at all however, and have become one of the bitter asian men), I stick out when not in the realm of nearby Seattle or Portland. But hey, nobody's perfect.
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Ice cream has this erotic sense to it- kinda like the one choclate and strawberries have.
-Me

JJc14 · **JJc14**

To update my update (and give me an excuse to post something here in 2009), I'm still looking for that next job. My credentials can land the interview, but the down economy's making it so local employers are relying almost exclusively on experience when hiring (even moreso than usual), which is rough for someone like myself who has the education but just needs that first big break in the IT industry. I still have my current job though, as our department has managed to dodge wave after wave of company layoffs, so things could be much worse. Just gotta ride it out and keep improving my skills. I can't afford graduate school right now, but I'm studying for Network+ certification and hope to pass the exam sometime in the spring...

My musings about taking a break from action animation late last year have basically come true in 2009. I'm still following Bleach, Naruto, and Code Geass on TV, but dropped Gundam 00, while [adult swim] chose to drop Moribito for me. Geass is so unbelievably absurd at times, but it keeps me watching just to see what else they can come up with. Bleach was popular with a bunch of guys I went to school with, so even though I consider it a poor man's Yu Yu Hakusho, I'll keep watching for now. I don't particularly care for Naruto either, but since it's basically the last link to Toonami, and I recently acquired some of the PS2 games, I'll keep up with its TV run for the time being...

Not much else to say. I still check the Infolink boards on a daily basis, so if I'm needed for some reason, you know where to find me...
_________________
"Life's a journey, not a destination..." -Aerosmith ('Amazing')
Current RPG(s): (None)


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