So, What Have We Learned?

Quite a bit, actually.  Let’s recount.

1) Before I get too ahead of myself, let me start by saying this: thanks to all of you who have shown compassion over the past few weeks.  I know it’s not easy to come up with the right words to say, or the right advice for dealing with it, but just the fact that there are people who’ve reached out and tried to help me means a lot.  So thanks.  It means a lot to me, and I hope I can do something to repay your kindness.

2) With that in mind, content will start flowing here on the blog from tomorrow on, starting with the now-completed “Let’s discuss BioShock Infinite” post.  Or should I say posts; I think it’s the longest one yet, so I’m breaking it up into three separate posts over three separate days.  There’s much that I felt like I had to say, and whether I praise or criticize it (and I will do both), I can’t stress enough how much I approve of the overall product.  Honestly, the fact that I WAS able to write so much should speak for its quality -- and I hope that once they start going online, we’ll be able to talk about matters thoroughly.  It’s not a discussion if I’m the only one talking, after all.

3) One of the things that’ll also start showing up very soon -- maybe sometime in the next couple of weeks -- are new chapters of I Hraet You.  I’ve been incredibly productive on that front, well beyond my expectations; it’ll be hard to say how people will react to them (if they read it at all, which is something I intend to work on before the “season premiere”), but if you’re looking for absurdity, I think I’ll have you covered.  You can also look forward to a post on my progress of sorts -- among other things -- once I’m done with Infinite.  Gotta spark interest somehow…

Now, let’s move on to something else!

1) Apparently I have some sort of freakish mutant body, which I have to admit I kind of suspected but never really had confirmed until recently.  Clothes-shopping (especially for suits) is…problematic, in that I’m all vertical and no horizontal.  I was under the impression that I’d gained at least a little weight, but I guess not; finding pants that are both long enough and slim enough is something along the lines of a miracle.  Also if I was a gangster, I think my nickname would be “Baby Face”, because friggin’ nobody can ever tell how old I am.  Granted that’s because most of the people I’ve seen over the past week last saw me when I was struggling to tie my shoes, but come on.  Perceptions can only be colored so much, right?

2) Cripes a la mode, my family is enormous -- on my mom’s side, particularly.  She was an only child, but my grandma had more than a few brothers and sisters (and who knows how many extended family members like uncles and aunts).  So you can just imagine my surprise when I meet one cousin, take a few steps, meet another cousin, and then turn around and meet another freaking cousin.  And I’m talking cousins that are more than capable of being parents -- even grandparents -- in their own right, so that just makes the family tree branch out even further.  Incidentally, I think there’s going to be a family reunion in June.

2) And to go a step further my grandma (and by extension my mom) knew/know a crapton of people.  It’s just insane.  Okay, it’s partly to be expected, because my grandma was a teacher at several schools across a couple of towns and states -- and beyond that, a member/supporter of the National Association of University Women -- and on top of that, a devout member of the church…but man, to be able to touch enough people to essentially fill five separate sections of a church is beyond belief.  Guess that’s the power of a good teacher.

3) In all seriousness, though, this little adventure has gotten me thinking about religion in my life.  No, I’m not about to convert or join some big group or anything; it’s just that I feel like I’ve gained a little perspective.  I’ve never been much into religion -- thanks to some events that would best be explained at another time -- but in a nutshell, I don’t automatically think that there’s no God just because I put more stock into science.  I just think that free will and choice and intelligence (and human potential, most of all) make the need for a higher power not quite a requirement for daily life; we can do better for ourselves and others because we want to, and out of the goodness of our hearts.  That said, I can see and appreciate why people would look to religions for guidance and comfort, even if I personally wouldn’t.  It’s a source of strength and wisdom -- and while I’d prefer to rely on my own strength and my own wisdom, there’s a level of credibility that I recognize.  Is there a God?  Maybe.  Is there a need for a God?  That answer changes from person to person.  But what’s important is that there’s always something there, within or without.  And now I’m going to shut up about religion before I eat a big, tasty foot sandwich.

4) Speaking on more earthly matters, it’s good that my grandma had such an impact on so many people…but I wonder if it’s possible for me to do even more.  I don’t want to be that guy, but I can’t help but notice that (as you’d expect) about ninety-nine percent of her students are black…with about a one percent margin of error, I’d guess.  Race aside, what I’m getting at here is that she had an effect, but it’s a very specialized, very specific impact -- a sphere of influence, if you will.  More importantly, her sphere of influence is now something that I need to surpass.  If I’m going to be a writing hero -- in the age of the internet, no less -- I feel compelled to reach out as far as I can to leave my own impact.  My grandma was a hero to plenty of people, and now I’m going to be an even bigger hero than she ever was. 

5) It’s just a shame that I’m terrible in social situations.  I can have a conversation with one or two people in a room, but any more than that and I just collapse.  I walk into a room and there’s a half dozen people in front of me (with three more on the right) and then all of a sudden they all start talking to me in sequence.  And my immediate thought is, “Who do I talk to?”  And physical contact?  Forget it.  Even so…

6) I’d like to think that I’ve actually got a bit more resilience than I would have thought.  I used to be the crybaby of the family -- and as the youngest, I still am relatively speaking -- but I’ve found it interesting that I haven’t cried at all since this whole thing started.  It’s weird, because I was expecting to break down into tears at one point (probably at the most dramatically-opportune moment), but the most I’ve gotten is a little itchy-eyed.  Honestly, there might be a chance that my brother’s been more shaken up than I was, and he once burst into laughter at the concept of feelings.  Maybe I’m just at peace with the goings-on; I have had time to both mentally prepare myself and accept it.  Maybe I’ve just gotten more callous over the years.  Maybe I’m over-compensating, and pushing myself too hard.  Who’s to say, really?  All I know is that I’ll take my feelings as they come -- and right now, I’m feeling fine.

7) Can I just take a minute to talk about how cool my parents are?  Because they are.  And by extension, the rest of my family is, too…even if they can be more eccentric than the kooks in IHY.  And yes, that includes my brother, even if he is a pain in the ass sometimes.  I have a newfound respect for him considering that he helped me confirm…

8) Call of Duty is just terrible.  I watched my brother play through some more of the campaign (“more” in this case being past the first thirty minutes), and it just gets worse and worse the farther you go in.  Here are some highlights: BLOPS2 finds ways to make skydiving and wingsuit-gliding boring; double-agents will apparently murder everyone on both sides; I hope you’re ready for more levels that are a healthy shade of goldenrod; there’s the stupidest mountain-climbing gear ever created; and of course, there’s my personal favorite: the traitor among the good guys is, naturally, one of the only two non-white characters.

9) It took me two years, but I finally managed to beat Etrian Odyssey III.  I think I need to talk about that game at one point, because I’ve got some things to say about that.

10) I think I have a newfound appreciation for Iron Man now.  Granted I’m still a fan of Captain America (if only conceptually), but I feel like I get him now.  Tony Stark is a guy that solves his problems via technology and by dint of his mental prowess -- and his super suit along with an absurd amount of resources, but you get the idea.  There’s something to be had from a man that uses his mind as well as his muscles to handle the bad guys -- and if the Iron Man movies have taught me anything, it’s that the introspective element to Stark’s adventures -- his struggles with his vices, conceit, and of course his scientific pursuits -- is even more vital to the movies than the action.  Granted there’s still a balance that needs to be maintained (the final fight with Whiplash is…underwhelming), but for what it’s worth I like the character more than I did.  Side note: I miss Obadiah Stane.  He was cool.

11) It’s good to be back.  And I’m ready to start fighting for real.  Time to be a man…and a hero.  One could argue that they’re interchangeable, though.  

But seriously?  Thanks, guys.  I mean it.