Mass Effect 1, 2, and 3 have by far been a very enjoyable series of games to play. Very few games have the ability to grab hold of my attention for hours on end, almost to the point of going a day or two without sleep just to finish the story. It’s not the “I just want to get through this and be done” kind, but the “I want to know more! GIVE ME MORE!” kind of attention grabbing that made me fall in love with the series. I played through all the DLC for the first two games and at the time of this post, only the “From Ashes” DLC for Mass Effect 3 was available, so I will be going off of that.

Now while the story is engaging and very thought out (and the ending was actually pretty decent, but more on that later), there have been a few things that have been gnawing at me that until recently I have not really paid attention to, or at least in the method of storytelling, have not needed a reason to pursue. Now that I have completed the 3 games, I have had some time to digest the information presented, and a few inconsistencies have popped up that the story does not explain at all, or just seems to omit entirely. I will go through them one by one, and hopefully be thorough enough in what I have observed.

Note: These are my observations and attached are a few opinions.

1. Nuclear Technology

Now I know that this is “In the future” and there have been advancements in the sciences that include safer energy sources (at least from a radiological standpoint) and more efficient methods of conversion. There have also an implied advancement in the arsenal of weaponry available due to galactic trade and resource sharing. That being said, the big glaring item missing here is the somewhat blatant removal of weapons of mass destruction. While I do believe that the weapons could be improved to give such a destructive force without the excess fallout associated, the fact that they are all but missing from everyone’s arsenal is a curious choice by the story writers. Its been discussed throughout many missions about the tendencies of the races to be at odds with each other and that not everyone can be trusted. There is still even a sense that although there is peace, the threat of Mutually Assured Destruction in one form or another still poses a risk. But what in this universe poses that risk? Only one race openly talks about using nuclear based weaponry and its only mentioned to illustrate the reason why the planet is in the state it is in. Are the authors/writers intentionally trying to advocate for an abolishment of nuclear weapons by subconsciously showing us that we can still fight without using them? If the ending is any indication of this, then its a very subtle play.

Now why do I bring this up? In one of the final scenes of the ME3, there is a large space battle, which is awesome to say the least, but I kept thinking to myself, “These Reapers are powerful and will tear the Alliances to shreds without a second thought…” My thoughts started to float towards military tactics and the advantage of technology/armaments and how the battle played out, and all I can think of is that the battle ships looked like they were throwing sticks and stones at the Reapers. Nothing they were firing could do very much damage, was slow and unable to compensate for the enemy moving out of the path of the “bullets” the capital ships were firing. And in this time, the reapers were firing lasers that had ultra-destructive power and could cut through these battleships like a hot knife through butter. Its now come to my attention that they were not using all they had to attack the reapers in a desperate “all-or-nothing” attack against aggressors who would wipe out the universe of organic/sentient life. In human history, we have been a race of untrusting beings. as much as we’d like to trust the next guy, we also remain vigilant in the event that that “trust” is ever broken. So why would something with the destructive force of a fraction of the Sun’s power be absent from the society? If not on the space ships as a weapon of last resort, what about the planetary defenses? One explanation could have been that they were worried about the fallout from using these weapons, but in a space battle, that is really not a concern. Why? Because Earth’s atmosphere naturally protects against such radiological incidents. A nuclear bomb detonating in space would have to go through the magnetosphere and the upper atmosphere (also the Van Allen belt surrounding the planet whose main duty is blocking the radiation from the Sun itself…). The secondary effect of a space detonation would also have been helpful in the land battles as one of the major side effect of an EMP blast (there is an article on Wikipedia that has a great deal about this) would have maybe disabled an electronic being such as the Reapers.

The game makes no mention of where this “lost” technology is and how it could have possibly been used to help end the war, possibly rising to a different ending. Missed opportunity…

2. Reaper Technology

The first game was the introduction to the story and the introduction of the main antagonist for the entire series, the Reapers. ME1 ends with a great battle that sees the defeat of a Reaper named Sovereign and give the races a glimmer of hope at maybe being able to beat this thing that is promising to destroy the galaxy. In the later games, we come to know this “Sovereign” is a class of Reapers that are, by far, the largest in their fleets.now, the time frame between the games have  for the most part been pretty steady and allowed for the boring parts to be explained away (ME1->ME2: Shepard gets regenerated, this takes a couple years, etc. ME2->ME3: Shepard is now a civilian adviser to the Alliance and a representative of the Reaper knowledge for the past couple of years, etc…). In that time there have been improvements on the Normandy (if you want to call it that) that increase its stealth, it’s range, all the way up to making it a ship capable of commanding an entire fleet. It is assumed that the other ships also have had some improvements, and with the coming reaper invasion, an investment would have been made to fortify and bolster the technology on the ships across the different fleets.

But this doesn’t happen.

After the defeat of Sovereign, the corpse of the Reaper is floating in space in the aftermath of the assault on the Citadel. What happened to this corpse? That Sovereign had the same destructive energy beam that all other Sovereign-class Reapers had. Why wasn’t it implemented in the capital ships or even on the Normandy itself? That would have been a spectacular weapon to have in a battle of the magnitude that ME3 had. Another item not used, the armor plating on the Reapers were strong enough to deflect most, if not all the damage from an entire fleet of ships firing their peashooters. Why wasn’t this plating researched and put on the Normandy, or any other space vehicle? If you are in a battle with someone and they have better weapons, and yet you manage to defeat them, you would take their technology and improve it to make yourself more powerful. Yet with all the Reaper technology at their disposal, none of it was used!

3. The Crucible

“Okay, awesome! A possible answer from beyond the grave that could hold the answer to defeating the Reapers! Let’s build it without really studying it thoroughly and exactly to the specifications that we are being told to build it in! Never mind that the Reapers themselves could have planted this generations ago and it might be a trap… You and your logic…”

…

“Also, on top of that, now that we know how it will interface with the “catalyst”, lets add all the extra stuff that will undoubtedly add to build time, and will be discarded leaving about, oh 30% of the total construction as the actual part that does anything! We are so smart! Anyone knows what this thing does?” “It’s called a hammer!” “Yeah, but what do you do with it?”

I’ll just leave that there…

In Conclusion

So here are just a few glaring points that I’ve come to realize a little bit after I let the game settle in my head. I have not read the novelizations nor do I plan to. I should not be expected to go out and buy books that give the basic points of the story outlined above that should have been included with the game to begin with (especially books which have been proved to completely bork the entire story by adding non-canonical references…). DLC maybe, but at this point the story is done. Where is my incentive to continue now that the story came to a conclusion? Maybe if they came out with a DLC that had a “True Ending” then I would be back to play and check out everything else that was offered, but I’m pretty sure this would anger the masses who assumed the game is complete with nothing left to tell…

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, there really isn’t any way to talk about Madoka without revealing some spoilers that can effectively ruin the suspense aspect of the show. Even attempting to give a description can reveal too much of the story and give you a bias before even seeing the show.
Granted it came out during a season where the quality of shows being presented was not what is has been in previous seasons. And the added bonus of a natural disaster didn’t help it any either as most shows were postponed or even outright cancelled (such as this show) following the disaster that befell Japan.

It has taken me a while to watch because of a number of factors. I just recently decided to marathon the series and although I am happy I got through it, I did feel like I was enduing some kind of torture going through it. I’ll say it outright: Madoka is not to my taste. And although I do appreciate the effort put into it, I don’t foresee myself watching this series again in the future. Typically, series that make me rewatch are those in which a lot happens and I need to take a step back and rewatch to catch any missing details. Unfortunately for this particular series, all the details were laid bare and everything is explained to the audience. I will be outlining a few things about the show that I thought were interesting, and the associated reactions to those things.

One of those is the outright mood of the story. It is a dark tale. This isn’t your average magical girl show where the heroine gains magical powers and can do whatever she can/wants without consequences. The overall premise of the show, “cause and effect”, is one that is often overlooked and this show brings it face forward. How many of us in our lives have ever wanted to have powers that defy human understanding? Have we ever thought how they would affect others? What about the consequences of losing? What if self-confidence and pride are just not enough to overcome the obstacle in front of you? What happens then?

Madoka also brings to light the things that we as humans know to be true, but often lie to ourselves about. The character of Kyubey perfectly outlines what the cold calculating world is really like. It does not understand concepts of right or wrong, and it is not a fault of the character that we place our own emphasis on our emotional attachment to things. He even outright says that humans are strange creatures in that respect. Many have called him evil because he may have been perceived to have been deceptive in getting the girls to become Magical Girls, but he does say something that later reveals the truth of the matter: if you don’t ask, I won’t tell you. He lets them know the consequences of their actions and also the fundamental law of the universe: for every action, there is an opposite reaction. For every decision taken, there will be a consequence. The characters and the audience illogically get angry at Kyubey for what seems like deception, but again, the character has no concept of deception, which is heavily rooted in emotion, which confuses Kyubey to no end.

The concept that you can do anything you want without a care in the world is thrown back at the character’s faces with violent consequences. The deaths of the characters at first seem unfortunate, but as the series progresses, you realize it is inevitable. Well, not so much inevitable, in as much as already ordained. The characters also come to a realization of what they really are after one character performs an act that sadly makes matters much worse in the long run. In an attempt to save one person, many are affected, and that is exactly the point of the story. Is there really something that you wish for that you would be willing to sacrifice your life in order to obtain? Can you live with the consequence of having affected every living creature for your own selfish desire?

Let’s take the bedridden boy in the hospital, Kyousuke Kamijou, for instance. His story is a tragic one, but not fully explained. How he got there is of no consequence, and thus no mention is made. All that matters is how he is now, and what one of the girl characters feels about it. She goes out of her way to make him, as she perceives, comfortable and happy, only to find out that she makes matters worse by giving a false hope to the boy that will never be able to play music again. She is given an opportunity to perform a miracle and believes that he will benefit from it more than she would. She in turns makes the contract to become a magical girl to cure the boy of his ailments, and he fully recovers. The end result: He doesn’t even acknowledge her and ends up in a relationship with her best friend. Some would say she should have taken the chance and confess, but he would have shunned her for it. The reason being that she would show her true self: selfishness. She realized that in pursuing him, she would be seen as a selfish person whose sole purpose for even seeing him through the hospital was not only to make herself feel better, but also as a “reward” for putting up with his tantrums. In the end she realizes that she must continue saving people in order to feel better about herself, and comes to the realization that those she are saving don’t care to be saved, and in fact may be adversely affected by being saved. As with the boy, he becomes a virtuoso and plays for a large orchestra house, but what happened to the person that was supposed to be there? What was his or her outcome? How much has the world shifted now that this boy has changed the order of things?

Another theme that is prevalent: you can’t change the past and expect a different outcome. Paradoxes, in their very nature, cannot exist. The paradox of a particular outcome being prevented in of itself causes the outcome to occur anyways, as then there would have been no reason to go back in the first place, which would have allowed the outcome to occur anyways. Attempts are made to change the fate and destinies of the characters, but in each attempt, the deaths are more gruesome, or the relationships are more splintered. In the end, the very thing that was supposed to be avoided is created, and another attempt is made. Eventually it turns on itself and, like a Mobius strip, can no longer be determined where the beginning started, and where the end will come. Even Madoka’s supposed attempt to end the infinite loop continually perpetuates the loop. The end result is a universe that is constantly looping on itself, forever locked in a struggle to reach a balance that will never come. Madoka is shown to remain immature even in her omnipotence as she believes that getting rid of the bad will only leave the good, but this begets worse to replace the last. To be able to strike a balance, you can’t have all of side A without an equal amount of side B, otherwise there is no balance. Madoka wishes to eradicate side B, but doesn’t realize that side A is just as bad. Attempting to remove the effect from the cause only causes another effect. Another loop…

The reactions that I have heard about this series bring to light another aspect of humanity: objectiveness. We get from this series what we bring to it, and when we bring our baggage along and are shown what’s in that baggage, we become despondent. The fact that people view Kyubey as an evil entity solely for revealing the truth when is asked the right questions, is something I find interesting. We all want to hear things that make us feel better about ourselves, no matter how dire the situation, or how utterly opposite the truth may be. We are a species that thrives our own emotional well-being and it is shown that when we are emotionally compromised, we no longer have the desire to continue being human. This is played out multiple times, both in the suicide attempts, and when Sayaka Miki gives up her humanity and becomes a witch. The thought of self-sacrifice for the greater good is a concept that humans have come up with. It is a noble thought that is often played out, but the results of which do not make any sort of impact in the grand scheme of things. To prevent one person from dying, you may have killed another. I’m not saying that making the attempt is not something that should not be done, as we humans define our character in how we do things, not what is done. In life, there is death, and in death, there is life. In between that is up to you how you live your life.

Now on to the aesthetics of the series. The choice of differing animation style to represent the opposing natures of the characters was both confusing as it was interesting. From a distance, the characters look whole, like what we would expect to see at a glance. But as we get into closer views of the character’s faces, we see the pencil drawing, showing that although we perceive them as complete, they are pretty much still concepts being drawn. No solid lines are really defined on the characters and that gives them the appearance they themselves are incomplete. The use of light and shadows also plays an important role as it shows the change of demeanor of the character, and the emotions drawn on the character while shown in darkness shows that in reality, the deception is being done by the character, not to them.

The use of surreal landscapes in the witch’s domains also shows the fragmented realties that often accompany those who are emotionally compromised. The indiscernible visage of the witches and the inability to really pick out what is the witch and what is nothing more than a familiar really brings home the fact that we do not understand ourselves enough to really see the other person. It is only through trial and error do we find the target, and by then, we have cause massive damage. Also, the possibility of being sucked into someone else’s fragmentation is shown when Madoka is sucked into Sayaka Miki’s domain and herself becomes almost surreal.

The eeriness of the sounds and music, none of which is cheery or upbeat, only adds to the disparity, and makes it so the viewer feels the despair as well. They want you to feel the pain and the suffering. Why? Because you stood idly by and watched it unfold and did nothing to prevent it. So as a consequence, you are given the same treatment. Some will say, “Well what could I do to prevent it? What can be done?” This is the despair that is conveyed using sight and sound. There really is nothing you can do, and you have to live with that fact.

The series is very much an attack on our inability to see beyond our emotions, and that we base our lives on how we feel rather than what needs to be done. Some have been emotionally distressed by the series darkness and others have been unaffected. There are those that feel the need to be emotional for those that cannot afford to be, and then there are those who do not want to be compromised, so they build a wall around their own emotions to prevent contamination. Overall, the series was very well thought out and made. I would recommend it to be seen at least once, if at all. The psychology involved portraying how frail our emotions are and what happens we don’t have control of them was well thought out. I do, however, see a trend where this concept is overlooked, very much like what the series is charging to being with. Maybe, in the subconscious, the details and the meaning is cleared for all to see, but if we don’t look beyond ourselves, the meaning behind it all is easy to miss.

So I jumped onto the Dollfie bandwagon and now have one of my own. At first, I just really wanted to create something that I liked, and so I picked a character that I liked a lot. Little that I knew that she would grow on me so well. I have to thank my sister again for introducing me to the craziness of the whole ordeal, and of course, to the available outlets that let me be totally creative. I created a twitter account for the Dollfie after my sibling showed me her Dollfie’s own twitter. I was a little apprehensive about it at first, and thought that maybe I  might be going too far… then it hit me while I was fooling around making both do silly scenes: I have a way of telling a story and bringing these dolls to life the way I want to. I promptly made a twitter account, which can be followed at @DollfieSuika, so that my Dollfie can have a voice. Over the course of the week, I realized that I use her account more often than I use my own, which I try to keep professional. Here, my own eccentricities and imagination can run wild (within reason, of course), and I can make my story on the fly.

Then I started thinking some more… Now I have a Facebook Page dedicated to her as well. I thought about adding a tab to this blog that would be just for her, but it made no sense to put her in a location that would otherwise be mostly ignored. Suika is loud, rambunctious, and loves to be around people. What better place than Facebook to cater to her needs? SO now I have a Facebook page just for her.

People have been helping me, since I was planning to purchase all the parts, in setting her up. A very good friend of mine and my sister’s helped by doing the Faceup (putting the details on an otherwise blank face), and I must say, from the sample pictures so far, I am astounded at how awesome a job she has done for me. I was literally jumping around excited after seeing the picture because she was so damn CUTE. I asked her to take pictures of the process so I have a record of the creation and build of the Dollfie. I want to chronicle her creation so others can find a good resource when they want to create their own Dollfies from scratch. I am also working on the Dollfie as well in making the additional parts she needs to be completed, such as the horns, the charms, the leather belt, and the Sake Gourd. I have another friend who is working on a life size version (aka Cosplay) of an alternate version of the same character. Her input is invaluable as well as it gives me ideas on how to create and manufacture the parts I need. the first subproject after the “Original” Suika Dollfie is completed will be to make the same version my friend is making.

I will be looking at how to set up the creation site, either putting it here and having it linked in as many places as possible, or just letting my sister, who has a very high visibility site, make the post with all the steps taken. I hope that together with everyone, we can look at making more of these projects to create other characters, and even some totally custom ones.

Ooh! I has an idea!

For a while now, my fellow sibling in arms has been more voracious about a different aspect of the Japanese culture, namely figures and dolls. While I did have some interest in a few pieces of merchandise here and there, I never really caught on. Now, I’m as fervent about collecting as she is, and I understand the appeal. I’ve been collecting figures of a particular series because I thoroughly enjoy it, almost every aspect. I’m talking about the Touhou series in general. The story is very engaging and with the mix of eastern and very few western mythologies, the possibility of creativity using legends and history makes it more and more a tool that opens up new worlds.

A friend of mine is a very meticulous collector of the written form, and has also latched on to this series, mostly because of the creative juices that flow from the community as a whole. Many an epic journey has been had by the characters created by a single man, spawned from a project that was done entirely by one person. The flow of creativity from the people who latched on is nothing short of amazing, and now I have it too.

As I stated before, I have been collecting figures of these characters. I’ve been sticking to one manufacturer, mostly because I believe the representations they provide to be the most accurate possible. I’ve come to love many of the characters, with a few on the top of the list. Those being Reisen, Tewi, Suika, and Tenshii. There has yet to be a character that I do not like, as each one has a different story, and they all complement each other nicely. Some of the creative ideas include wanting to make small films or video projects, some craft work, or other items of interest.

Now comes the crux of this post. Another flow of creativity has hit me, and this one is a project I am hoping to finish pretty soon. My thoughts on this particular set of fandom were, as most were, one of awkwardness. It both fascinated and terrified me all at the same time. I am talking about Dolfies: almost true to life dolls that can be almost completely manipulated down to the last detail. It came to a head when my sister acquired one that she had been eyeing for quite some time. Once I had an opportunity to view and manipulate it, my fears disappeared, and I began to see potential. There was so much that could be done! That’s when it hit me…

Looking online, I found that there were other dolfie owners who were also Touhou fans as well, and were showing off thier own creations. Some were impressive, and some… not so much… But, it did present me with an itch. An itch to create. So I began to research with my sister’s assistance and found that despite the complete collection dolfies the likes my sister owns, actually building your own set from scratch was not a difficult or expensive proposition. And thus began my spiral towards madness.

As of this writing, yes, I have taken the plunge. I am building my own Dolfies, and am intent on getting it completed. So far, I have not seen anyone tackle this character, and I intend to be the first, with it being as accurate as possible. My timetable is short, but I have already achieved 60% of my task in just purchasing the required parts to make the complete doll. Now is the part where my friends, who have stated they will assist me, comes into play. I am hoping that I will have pictures here very soon of the Dolfie project that I am now desperately hoping to complete. I have invested so much, I will not allow this to fall by the wayside.

Wish me luck!

So here is a part of my first rant. I will keep this generalized because there is no need to stir the pot at this point. Things are sorta moving along fine, but any imbalance can throw the whole thing off and then it’s back to square one. I am not a totally creative person, and when I do come up with something, I tend to want to try it out as best I can. Granted not all of it are successes, but that’s the beauty of the whole system; eventually you will get it right and all in the world is well. But to be constricted and denied any leverage or to be molded into just one operation, that irks me a bit, and it becomes uncomfortable. When I have to put a lid on my own thoughts, I’m no better than a trained monkey trained at the art of button pushing.

Moving along, another step in the rant ladder has me up in arms about particulars in the methods some employ to perform tasks of great importance. Namely that lack of information is known, and that no accountability is required or desired to prevent errors of judgment. Simply put, if you were blind folded, nose plugged, hands tied, and mouth opened, and told to choose something solely on the name of said item, and you recognized none of the items named, would you eat it anyways? What if its poisonous? What if its bitter? What if its the sweetest candy in the world, but you’re a diabetic? Can you really make informed decisions?

Third, and this one is a big one, is the lack of respect I seem to have gotten as of late. Its not everyday someone does work for you and only does it on principle and not for any gain. I could have used the time to be more constructive in other ways, but I chose to be of service to those in need, mostly because I felt strongly about what those in need signify. Now, this doesn’t mean I’m going to go postal or anything of that nature. I realize that things happen for a reason, even if that reason isn’t made clear. But what makes it really rant worthy is that I did not want to go that route to begin with. So why does it bother me so much? Why rant about something I didn’t want to do in the first place? Because I was told I wouldn’t be allowed to, that’s why. Its one thing to tell me whether qualifications are met or not, directions in vision, or even something as low as seniority, but to be told that I simply had no chance because I would not be allowed to proceed is utter nonesense and all it does it flare up my sense of competitiveness.

I don’t like to be held back by anyone other than myself. If I don’t want to do something, it is by my own decision. To tell me that I would be denied if I attempted to proceed beyond my current status, is basically a challenge that I will make damn sure is beaten. But thats where it creates a bigger problem for me. For starters, I began with no expectations of going beyond what I was doing, but it soon became much more after some communication about reliabilty and the like. But once I finally had gotten employed, my desire to be any more than I was already had dwindled, and for the most part, I had pretty much written off any expectation to do anything about it. But then, something changed, and the opportunity presented itself. I contimplated it, and I decided that for my own sanity I would refrain from any attempts at making a change in my current state. But then the challenge was made, and that above all, made me rethink my position. I was being denied the very thing I didn’t want. But that was the problem, I was being denied.

Needless to say, I am not the happiest of people at the moment, and issues are arising that I could easily solve and have solutions for in place quickly, but because I now have an indifference on the position, I really could care less what happens at this point. I’ve made my sacrifices, and I got it thrown back at me with disdain. And its because of such behavior that I no longer have any inclination to assist where I am needed, unless I am called upon, which as the days linger, seems less likely.

A few updates, one of them being that I work again. I can afford to do stupid things, and I enjoy doing them profusely. Now with my not-so-new-anymore HDV Cam, I’ve been dedicating my time to working for SPJA and Anime Expo for thier AX Live programming. SO far the numbers coming in since my arrival have increased, and whether or not that has anything to do with my involvement remains to be seen. I enjoy working with them, and it makes me feel good inside when I can do something I like and have fun at it.

Also, I just finished reworking my virtualization server, so now the everything-involving-internet-services machine is not only optimized, but now is being regularly backed up! What a concept: having backups! Now if the server ever decides to KO, I’ll actually have a useful backup, not one from 6 months prior… But I digress. I must get back to rebuilding this new server that will become my master backup system. For the time being, I’ve the the current backup system using chewing gum and twine until this system is in place.

Thus begins the story. We awoke at a good time on the first full day of the trip and went on to make our way to Trafalgar Square. Being that it was the weekend, the London Underground had a few lines that were closed for construction, which made travel to certain parts of town convoluted, or just plain inaccessible by other than foot. We finally arrived and had ourselves a grand view of the square, taking in all the sights and sounds of London on a Sunday. The bells of the churches nearby were ringing, and the crowd thick with tourists wanting to take photos and other opportunities.

We had attempted to make sense of a mad we had on hand to no avail. Nothing in London makes sense, and attempting to find north or gather your bearings was practically an exercise in futility. After an aggravating attempt, I realized after getting angry at my parents, that I had my phone with GPS and Google maps. Needless to say we got to our destination: The Original London City Tour Visitor’s Center.  We purchased our tickets for the tour and a few attractions, and made our decision on what and how we would be able to fully utilize this opportunity.

In short order, the whole thing fell apart. We got on the tour, which was great, and decided after we had toured the city twice (in different areas) to stop for lunch. Originally, the plan called for us to hop on another bus on the tour lines (there are 4-5 routes) and continue the tour. Well, my father wanted to walk instead and we took a detour across the Thames to get on the London Eye. Mind you, the tickets were valid for 7 days and we had planned to go the following day, but it was insisted we go at that moment.  For a giant Ferris wheel, the view was really nice, although the warped Plexiglas bubble shape made it hard to take pictures.We ended up walking some more, this time over the Westminster Bridge. After a short while, it was then decided that we attempt to catch another tour bus, but lo and behold, the time had run out and the final tour had just passed us. All in all, we wasted the tour tickets and only got to see half of London.

So we continue walking and look at some of the older buildings, pass by Whitehall and 10 Downing street (PM’s residence/office) and found ourselves in the Winston Churchill War Cabinet Memorial. It was a very detailed look at the war room used during WWII and had an audio tour that was very interesting. There were some pictures here and there, including one of Hitler in Paris with the Eiffel Tower in the background on the day he marched into Paris. There was also a lot of memorabilia and items that Churchill used and owned and even had details of his life from the house he was born in and every one he lived since, to the decorations and achievements he received, to the fateful letters that politically burned him from the PM’s office after 1945. All around, a very interesting exhibit, and one that should be seen.

After a few more sites, we headed back to the hotel where we prepared for the following night, and went off to sleep. The day was very eventful and we had a lot to see, although out of the original order which left us not utilizing the tickets and tours to thier full extent. It also made me so tired from the walking that I nearly just passed out after having dinner.

On to day 3…

My flight had me sitting in the left aisle of the middle section and as luck would have it, a pair of beautiful Swedish girls that were fun to talk to throughout the flight. My flight consisted of 10 hours flying from the Western US to London’s Heathrow Airport and as the two swedes had apparently been on the plane longer (far longer considering the origin was in Auckland, NZ) they had a cheerful demeanor and we talked at length, mostly of what attractions to see, life in NZ, and a few other conversations.

My parents and sister on the other hand did not fair so well. As the story goes, they got placed behind the most unruly pair of kids on the plane, a 2 year old and a 10 year old. They screamed, kept moving the seat backs, and generally made a disastrous racket that caused that entire  half of the plane to complain to the flight manager on board. My father even asked the mother, who was not caring much to attend to her children, to manage them as there were people attempting to sleep. She apparently had the audacity to yell at my father and cause a scene herself.

I was told that the annoyance started from the very beginning of the flight, but the last straw was when halfway through the flight, night fell and people were sleeping. The noise generated by those two little “monsters” (as everyone had called them) was enough to keep everyone awake. A few people couldn’t stand it and even my sister became hysterical when she had been denied sleep after near 32+ hours of being awake. The sentiment was clear amongst those passengers: if allowed, they would have tossed the kids and the uncaring mother out of the plane over the Atlantic and think nothing of it.

I saw them after the flight and even at the port of entry where you must present your passport, they were completely wild, escaping and running in opposite directions into staff areas and protected sections. I was surprised by the lack of any kind of reprimand from security. Those two caused multiple security violations, such that if they had done that in the US, they would have been taken away by airport police. She left her bags unattended multiple times and not one person did anything about it.

Other than that, the trip was very comforting and the staff very friendly. I talked with the on board concierge about different venues and attractions in London and I was give a few explanations and suggestions on what to look at and what to see. All around it was very helpful.

The next part was the bane of the trip. It had to be our luck that the weekend we came to London, the Underground rail services that headed to our hotel were all closed. We traveled by tube, bus, and finally after my mother was fed up with the mess, by taxi. This place is confusing and the streets make no sense what so ever. Whoever designed this place needs to be shot…

The hotel we have is a nice little apartment and it is very cozy. The thing I have to get used to is the power system and a few other things that I have to keep in mind, especially with regards to the toilet and the shower. Nothing really major though. There are shops and food establishments on the other side of the apartments and a few grocery chains that allow us to buy little amenities like fixings for sandwiches and the likes. All around very convenient.

So so far Day 1 was as expected, tiring and nerve wracking. We had already written off this day as a travel day and spent some time taking naps, getting situated and of course, reconnecting back with the States to those waiting to hear of our journey. I will be attempting to make a daily blog of this as we’re here with great detail of the things we have done, so for sure, keep this site in your bookmarks and check back. It is midnight here now, which is 5pm PDT. I must get some sleep as we have our first action packed day in London planned out.

It occurred a couple weeks back. Many things had happened and they all seemed to overlap in a fashion that announced that it was absolutely imperative that I break the cycle that I had been placed. This required some drastic measures that I was unsure I was prepared to perform, but diligently pushed forth and strung together with as much needed lead time that it would still be short notice, yet not under planned. Reservations of all kinds were dealt with and a trail had been mapped out. I had originally intended to make this trek alone, but I had decided that this would not be the best course of action. So I recruited one of my best friends and charged him with the sacred task of guarding me from perpetual stupidity whilst he kept himself entertained.

The journey began as it always does… at the beginning. We had packed lightly and with just enough to last us for approximately one week with a little overhead. I had planned the traveling entertainment, and the rest, well, it just fell into place nicely. The biggest obstacle that first day is the one that seems to claim many: the flight from Los Angeles. Not flight in the “fly in a plane”, but “I must escape!” Traffic at the very beginning reminding us of why we are leaving in the first place. As soon as we surpassed the limits of the city and crossed the great divide between Southern California and the rest of the state, the road cleared for us, almost rewarding us with the clarity and unobstructed path towards the first of many destinations this expedition had in store for us.

The first leg was mostly uneventful, save the fact that I decided to gamble on something that I would not normally use: an energy drink. For those that are unfamiliar, energy and high sugar drinks have a reverse effect on me. An example of such was when Monster Energy drinks first came out and were distributed to LAN centers, as a sudo-employee of one, I Guinea Pigged one to test its effectiveness. One sip and I was out cold, hard asleep on the couch.

Back to the story, I purchased a 5 hour energy shot and told my friend that in the event that it did not work, he would be tasked to getting us to our destination. First off, let me say this, it was nasty. It tasted really, really horrible.  What happened soon after was a surprise to both of us… and pure comedy. I had been awakened so much that my mind was racing! I was charged with so much energy that I not only was fully awake, but I started coming up with crazy, yet totally plausible plans and ideas. I even long distance raced against an idiot who thought he could out race me. The music we had going kept me rocking throughout the drive. We arrived at our first hotel in record time and at the moment, the energy drink wore off. We climbed up to our room and set our equipment down for the next couple of days. The sight of the fluffy comfortable beds made the loss of energy even more prevalent and thus I passed out.

The first morning of our trip we drove to San Francisco. It was my third time that year, and astoundingly, my friend’s first ever visit. Our first order of business that morning was to obtain sustenance, and at that moment, I decided that Fisherman’s Grotto would be the best thing for us. We had probably the best Clam Chowder in Sourdough bread and Calamari that afternoon than any other time I’ve gone to San Fran. We continued onwards taking in the sights and sounds of the city via the cable car system and enjoyed the travel towards the center of town. After our trip, we gathered back to my car and decided to hit Japan town. Mostly hitting the shopping district, we took in the many sights and sounds of the bustling mall that contained many Japanese items of interest. After our tour there, a few things came to mind: 1) we needed to learn to read Japanese, and 2) we need to go to Japan.

Now, by this time it was early evening and I apparently was oblivious to my surroundings that indicated that we were not in town just to escape the evil that is St. Valentines. It had come to our attention (by way of a courtesy call from friends) that at that very day was also Lunar New Year, and we had inadvertently descended upon Chinatown (apparently the largest outside of China) amidst the celebration. This was added upon by the explosions of fireworks that surrounded us both in the vehicle and when we decided to walk around the town. I couldn’t help myself and I ended up joining in the festivities and purchasing fireworks to throw around. We also took a plunge and stopped in a restaurant, which surprisingly turned out to be a great gamble. The food was excellent. After which we decided to conclude our evening and retire for the next day.

The following day was moslty aimless. We spent most of the day driving around town seeing the many different parts of town. We were lucky to be able to see the golden gate bridge during the early afternoon as the fog rolled out, and we also got to see many of the areas around town that you wouldn’t normally see unless you got lost. We had no aim for that day and it was grand. We finished the evening up by going to North Beach (Little Italy) and eating at an authentic Italian restaurant where they made the pasta fresh and you can taste it. Overall the day was particularly good for the fact that we had the top down on my convertible and the day was sunny and warm.

The adventures continue on the next post, Wonderment and Wanderlust (Part 2)!

Also, there might/will be a post next week after I regather myself. I’m doing something secretive this week and I intend to keep the lid on it whence I am back at this desk.

*puts on black hat and sunglasses and fades in the darkness…* Yes, I know its night time…