Breanne told me tonight (or last night, I suppose it must be called) I should stop being an introvert and enjoy myself around people, and I should start by attending Dallas' wedding. A few problems with her advice:

1) I wasn't invited to Dallas' wedding. I don't care if he says it was merely an accidental oversight. I was the social reject in high school, and I see no indications of that having changed. He didn't send me an invitation because he either forgot I existed or doesn't want me there. In either case, he won't miss me.

2) After reading the article Seth posted in his blog, I'm closer than ever to understanding and accepting my own introvertedness. I really don't feel like invalidating this long year of self-examination.

In other news, I saw Grave of the Fireflies with Joe tonight. A very good movie, and some of the best voice acting I've heard in anime. As promised, though, it was a very sorrowful story. I daresay it left me somewhat emo the rest of the night, which is probably the reason for my mini-rant on Dallas' wedding.

My parents want the family to go back to Iowa to visit the relatives "one last time before everyone leaves the country." A nice gesture, but their timing couldn't be worse. The only week that works for both Joe and I is next week, and I don't think they can get ready in time (Mom takes days to pack). The week of August 3rd, Joe has rehearsals for Free Desmond Winkler, and the following two weeks Alisha is in town, so I want to stick around. The subsequent week sees me begin my college education, so that's no good. Bah and double bah. I'm going to bed.

Yet another benefit of laptop wireless technology: it allows me to play Tiberian Sun head-to-head with Ben, which means I get to see him more, which is good. Plus, cooperative comp stomps are a lot of fun.

We watched the last seven episodes of the Hellsink anime series last night. It was a very good series, and the ending was quite satisfying despite leaving most of your questions unanswered. We'll probably watch the Neon Genesis Evangelion series next, despite its length.

Bah, I need to go. My parking meter expires in about three minutes, and CSU has quite militant parking Nazis. I'm hungry, anyway.

My new laptop is great. Here I am, posting from a local wired coffee shop at DSL speeds. Oh, the joys of technology.

I've my doctor's permission to begin shotokan this Monday. I'm quite excited about this. I've been going to the dojo and watching the class train since July 2nd. I figured, if I can't participate, at least I can observe. In addition, I've had a chance to speak with Sensei Bower and several of the sempan, including Brian and Laura. It's nice to know I've not been forgotten during my six-year absence.

Much to my disappointment, however, there are insufficient resources available on ken-jutsu, so instead I must learn kendo, the way of the sword. I've been able to locate several videos and a supply store online, so I believe my training may begin in short order. All that remains is to wait for my inheritance account to activate so I may begin purchasing what I need.

Regarding my "imminent" employment, I've decided to forego wages until 2004. I found out the government wants some of the inheritance I received, so I'm now in a tax bracket. As such, I don't want to worsen my payments by adding to my taxable income this year. Bah on income taxes.

Curse the Can't Much Matter! Luke's right, there's no reason at all save it and it alone. She's a beautiful, funny girl who isn't afraid to be a dork. She's a computer geek, she flies planes, she likes my scooter....gah. Why must she live in SoCal?