and got a Microsoft Natural keyboard.

It's really pretty nice. I'm not having to relearn as much typing as I thought, except for having to hit the 'y' key with my right hand. It's a bit more comfortable for IMing and gaming both, so I think I've got a keeper. Now if only I could get a more ergonomic mouse, I might be pretty set as far as my wrists go.

OK, it's official: the magic is gone from Christmas for me. This holiday was just plain bizarre.

Family: screw it. I have virtually no family as it is, but it took just one relative to throw off the vibe of my happy, healthy household. My mom's incredibly senile, almost deaf, almost retarded, almost-Alzheimer's father came down to visit. I woke up on Christmas Day by her yelling at him over the phone - he wasn't even here yet and she was already furious. From there it was only downhill. When a house contains 3 people, and one's a geriatric stereotype and another thinks the first one ruined her day, it's a house of bad vibes. I had two options the whole day: spend the day like any other, mostly chilling in my room, and feel guilty for not being with family; or endure a silent-but-angry mom and a sleeping grandfather. Lose-lose.

Friends: It felt like everyone I know here had a similar situation. The A-town crowd had a small gathering that night, and it was fun, but it seemed like the place took a while to warm up - we had all come in the door exasperated and it took time for us to relax and realize that we were free from family and just chilling together. I felt sorry, too, for not getting to chill with the Suck Factor 42 fellas. This post especially goes out to Patrick, who doesn't deserve to be sent away from home at Xmas time just for having too damn much fun for a couple semesters.

Gifts: Ugh. My little post with my stack of stuff is real cool, and I'm grateful to my mom for hooking me up with all of that, but I just really feel like I didn't need anything. I'll be making use of all the things I got, for sure, but at the same time I feel like a materialistic little bitch just for having gotten it.

Love: Not to make this into an emo post, but there's a girl I quietly had my eye on for a long time. She's awesome. She came home for Christmas and I was excited to see her after not getting to have a real conversation with her for a long time. And then once she surprised me by actually *being* home, she just dropped that she got real serious with that guy she was going out with, and she brought him home for the holidays. So I got jealous, like I do. That wasn't fun. I'm OK now though, so don't go getting worried or posting nice/thoughtful comments. I already know how awesome you guys are.

Luck: And I was among the lucky. I didn't get stranded in some random airport due to 1,100 cancelled flights. I didn't drown like 100,000 people after the fella upstairs decided to punch the Indian Ocean in the face. (And while I'm at it, go give some money to the American Red Cross.) I have a home, I have a family, and I was fortunate to be the recipient of some truly cool toys. But it wasn't the least bit magical.

New toys!

from me, to all of you guys. I've got an unbelievable number of things to be thankful for in my life, and everyone who reads this site - whether it's every couple of days or a couple times a year - is near the top of that list. Enjoy the day! If you end up being desperately bored or needing salvation from family, feel free to give me a shout (phone or IM) since family isn't a really big deal here around the blakerson offices.

Come the 26th we're going to have to start chilling like crazy - except for the guys who are leaving - because Clint is in town and he's around until the 28th when he joins everyone up in New York. Either way, sleep in, enjoy the toys, and eat some tasty food - and no, Max, leftover steak really *isn't* a Christmas present.

but who can resist the occasional condom joke.

First off, let's give it up for Saturn. One of their crazy American Shite designers thought it a brilliant idea to put the headlights right in the middle of the front end of the car, so it looks like two motorcycles riding dangerously close together, a car way out in the distance, or some kind of alien pod cruiser thing. As a result, I almost pulled out directly in front of this cursed machine from design hell, which would have resulted in my having to actually pay money to fix a bad American car. Dear Saturn: Suck a big one, die, and fire whoever was dumb enough to design those headlights and the idiot who approved them. Even all the worst car makers in the world (Russian, Indian, and Korean) can at least properly place headlights on their cars. Congratulations, Detroit, you've sunk to a new low.

Secondly, it's a WTF moment: my mom received a Christmas card from a couple she doesn't know. At all. They live pretty close by (Shady Valley), but it's this old couple that neither she nor I can figure out how we might know them. We can't think of how it would be a mistake, either, since it was definitely addressed specifically to my mom, and it had the correct address (ours) printed on it. We're clueless. Maybe she has a fan club or something.

Before now all the Bush=Hitler comments were just mean and unfounded.

Now they have a foundation.

Thanks to Maximus.

Just in case you liked Naruto too much and thought it a good idea to start taking Japanese like my dumb ass: Here's a warning.

And yes, I'm still going to attempt a major in it. :D

My new cell phone is in! This Motorola V400 is an OK phone. More importantly, I'm feeling lazy about inputting new numbers, so it would be extremely helpful if you guys were to call me (my number hasn't changed) so I can save a few steps and get all your numbers put in quicker.

And! My mom went on a shopping blitzkrieg after getting a raise, so by Christmas there will be a new HDTV downstairs in the living room and I should have a car connector for my iPod thanks to John, my guy at my dealer. He had an auxiliary input connector (like in Greg's 330i) just laying around, so he offered to give it to me. Mom offered to pick up the install cost as a Christmas present. I'm a lucky, lucky boy.

This many electronic toys is sure to be sensory overload.

1. I have my new iPod! It arrived half-charged which leads me to think that the units shipped by freeIpods.com are refurbed. Strange coincidence considering my friend Melody told me a Fry's conspiracy theory today: their low prices come from buying the units that don't live up to companies' usual quality standards. Sounds like an interesting thing to research. Either way, I'll still be found at Fry's this break and I still like my Pod, even though I have real no use for it unless I travel.

2. I am, in fact, home. I'm extending an open invitation to the A-town crowd to have lunch tomorrow with myself and Maximus (tomorrow being Wednesday, though this post will show up as on Wednesday morning). We'll be at Ton's Mongolian Grill at Cooper and Sublett in south A-town.

3. I've enabled a site feed for s.o. If you feel any need for it, I now publish an Atom feed and the url is:

http://snagger.blogspot.com/atom.xml

If you're a Firefox 1.0 or above user, you should see the option for a Live Bookmark in the bottom right corner.

Speaking of technical updates, I'd like to extend a *giant* Thank You! to Google for making this site possible. They were nice enough to purchase Blogger when those guys probably needed the cash infusion the most, and Google has just been adding nothing but cool features for the last year and a half since that transaction, as evidenced by my new photo and RSS capabilities. If by any strange chance a Blogger/Google person comes across this, please take my gratitude and pass it along to your coworkers. You guys are doing great stuff. Keep it up and don't sell out!

Anyone in A-town have an spare hard drive that's bigger than say, 60GB that I can borrow? I need to format and I'm wanting to back up all my media and savegames. As compensation I'll leave everything I back up on the drive. :)

External or internal is OK (though external's preferred).

So I got an email from mommy - she's changing her cell phone out, and she's come to me for advice. At the same time, I have the option to get a new phone too.

So here are my 3 options:

1. Keep my Nokia 8265.
Likes: Battery life, reception (sometimes), talk quality (sometimes), less crappy ringtones, *very* solid build quality
Dislikes: Bad reception underground (often), talk quality bad on windy days (probably won't be fixed by a new phone), monochrone screen has finally gotten old. Battery life is slowly dwindling down. Lack of GSM support (will be necessary in a couple years).

2. Get a Motorola V220.
Likes: Stylish, supports GSM, external display, color screen, downloadable tones/graphics, instant messenger, USB connector accessory
Dislikes: Bad software (could crash), battery life unknown, flip-phone construction, god-awful ringtones
Don't care: Camera, MMS

3. Get a Motorola V400.
Likes: Very stylish, supports GSM, external display, much better color screen, downloadable tones/graphics, instant messenger, integrated speakerphone, MP3 ringtone support might not suck
Dislikes: Bad software (could crash), battery life unknown, flip-phone construction, god-awful ringtones
Don't care: Camera, MMS

Update: My mom ordered a pair of V400's and they should be here in a week. My number won't change, but I will have a new toy to play with.

Blame everyone whose journal I've read lately.

TEN Random Things About Me:
10. My friends use my laptop more than I do.
9. I've paid for one CD for myself in the last 4 years.
8. I was dropped as a baby.
7. My dad blames *me* for having been dropped.
6. I was born in California.
5. I thought the University of Texas was the *last* place I'd end up. Quoth my high school freshman alter-ego, "what a hick school, why would I stay in Texas?"
4. I have never finished a Final Fantasy game on my own.
3. I haven't been weighed in years. I think it's still around 180.
2. Every time I brush my teeth, my childhood friends who lived across the street from me come to mind. I can't explain why.
1. I really, really can't stand seafood. At all.

NINE things I absolutely have to have:
9. Cell phone, although most times I call other people.
8. Dr. Pepper - caffeine addiction got me bad.
7. Watch, I feel naked without it.
6. Chap stick, I go insane without it.
5. Wallet, I get paranoid without it.
4. Hugs.
3. Car keys, see wallet.
2. Chinese food
1. Email.


EIGHT things I want to do before I die:
8. See Japan.
7. Drive the Nurburgring. Beat 10 minutes.
6. Drive Highway 1.
5. Return to Hawaii.
4. Write a book.
3. Get married. Never get divorced.
2. Own a race-level car.
1. Have 15 minutes.

SEVEN ways to win my heart:
7. Brains.
6. Beautiful smiles.
5. Dark hair and eyes.
4. Loads of maturity.
3. Music.
2. Being a good kisser never hurts.
1. If you laugh at the same twisted things I do, you win.

SIX Things I believe in:
6. Myself.
5. Love at first sight.
4. Gay marriage ain't that bad, really.
3. Karma.
2. International cooperation.
1. Things working out in the end.

FIVE Things I’m afraid of:
5. Not being successful.
4. Animals.
3. Being alone forever.
2. Death.
1. Storms, sometimes.

FOUR of my favorite items in my bedroom:
4. Bed.
3. Computer.
2. Picture of pre-skank Michelle Branch.
1. The pimp robe.

THREE things I do everyday:
3. Brush my teeth - usually once but I have a Sonicare so it's ok.
2. Drink something caffeinated.
1. Listen to badass music.

TWO things I am trying not to do right now:
2. Think about my philosophy final tomorrow morning at 9am.
1. Evidently, properly replace Erin's answers with my own.

ONE person I want to see right now:
1. Claire Potter - if for some strange reason you see this, I miss you!

My sexy arse, Joshvar, Ruthie and Renee unwittingly become my guinea pigs for posting pictures online directly to the blog.

Edit: That went well. Expect to see more random picture posts in the future.

I thought it a good idea to stay in tonight so I would get some decent rest and get some quality studying in tomorrow for my philosophy final (last one!) on Monday. Sure enough, it's 1AM, I'm still wide awake, and there's not a damn thing to do since my buds all went out to a concert.

So I surfed around until I wound up on Drew's blog, and I'm once again impressed with the quality of his posts. The Kool-Aid Man picture is golden, and his entry about life at OU (even though it is OU) is good stuff. Over the last couple weeks, I've started to feel the same way:

I don't want to leave here.

Not that it won't be awesome chillin, coffee sippin, lanning, and partying with the A-town crowd, but I've finally settled myself down here. The figurative tree that is blakerson has finally had its roots take hold in the ground after being transplanted. I'm even used to the taste of the tap water.

A lot of this has to do with the fact that I signed my lease for my apartment next year. It's going to be myself, Adam (linked on right), and the Brothers McMillin, both of whom fucking rule. I'm not going to get any sleep, and I'll be cranky as shit until it finally clicks for me that I'm *supposed* to not sleep and enjoy every hour of every day with these guys. Not to mention it's a complex full of Greeks, so it's going to be a constant party around us whether we like it or not. I'm hugely psyched. I'm finally starting to get my own identity on this campus, and it's really pretty damn fun, and pretty damn not fun to have to drop that for a month.

So I've already decided to return to campus the day the dorms re-open along with the aforementioned guys, which is over a week and a half before classes restart, just so we can all waste time together and try to find some cool stuff to do and cool places to go. But that's still 4 weeks and change in A-town, so really guys, don't think I'm shortchanging you or avoiding you or anything.

The whole idea can be put into two songs. In fact, I'll make it a mixed drink of rock. Find a nice glass, no ice necessary, and put in:

Something Corporate - 21 and Invincible, one part
Jimmy Eat World - 23, one part

Hey, imagine that. I found a good use for emo. I guess such things happen when you stay in on a Saturday night.

I managed to make it a while without needing female contact at all. It was great. No stress, nothing but good things happened, and then December just had to happen and it had more patience than I did and it broke me down, bit by bit. I managed to resist the applause of the girls at Mr. Plan II (which was surprisingly awesome, thank you very much). I held my ground at the after-party.

Then I had to be stupid and go on a date last night. And now it was a slow Saturday night and I felt like bonding and driving around with someone more than anything else. This silly month cheats - that whole holiday thing makes you think everything's more significant than it really is.

But there's not a whole lot I can do about it. I'm still keeping my eyes peeled for mistletoe, even if I try to avoid it. Ugh.

We will play Halo2. Until then, add me (blakerson) to your friends list and I'll get it confirmed once I get home to my very own box.

And that is a perfect segue for the announcement: I get home Tuesday the 14th.

I now shamelessly (but very lovingly) plug the art of Sarah Canavan. Cool lookin' stuff and she's cute as a button too.

It began Thursday night at midnight. The infidels (those who believe "tomorrow" starts at midnight) were sweet enough in their little infidel hearts to send me 'happy birthday' IMs and Facebook messages. Earlier that night, I had found out that my iPod was on its way, so I was already in a pretty decent mood.

I woke up the next morning to find even more messages of the same sort. They trickled in all day, so I got to spend the whole day thanking people for their generosity. There was also an email from Monica who's settled in in New York, so I was slightly relieved to hear she's OK and on her feet. I had one more present that day - It was the last day of class. My last day of philosophy was just like any other, but that was really because I'll have that same class next semester. The last day of my history of music class was really cool because the instructor, who I liked, got on his soapbox and explained his theory of how to define music (which was pretty cool, it had a lot to do with abstraction and symbols) and expounded his thoughts on the value of education and pursuit of what makes one happy. Definitely a class I left with a smile on my face. The last economics class was same as always, just a crunch time for a page full of stuff that I'll get tested over. But we liked our prof a lot, and he was the only one I had this semester who got a round of applause at the end of the class. But the real touching moment was the end of my Japanese class. I had the last day of class with my favorite TA, and it was all exam review, but at the very end of the period, he addressed us all collectively using vocabulary that most of us couldn't understand, and in an unexpected gesture of respect, he bowed to us in silence. In unison, we all replied "Domo arigato gozaimasu!" [The same thing as you would expect from the famous song, but replace "Mr. Roboto" with a mark of respect.] Definitely tugged at my heartstrings. I'll miss those TAs (and not my professor one bit) and I really wish I could keep them in my Japanese training.

But moving on to the rest of my awesome day. My weekend of break time had begun. My dear friend Melody graduated that same day, and she threw a quick pre-grad party at her house. I walked over, did some meets and greets, congratulated my favorite attractive female Quake player and went on to do my chore for the day.

I headed over to the Villas on Guadalupe, the complex where I'm looking into living next year, and got a little more information and a lot more paperwork and my mom officially OK'd my move over there. Assuming this process keeps working out like it has been, I'll be living in the coolest complex in town with 3 of my best mates next year. Very exciting.

Dinner with Kris. We met at our favorite Mexican place after he offered to treat me to it. Happy at free food and a meeting with the brother, I found him there exhausted by his constant trips between here and Oklahoma. His car died, and the semester kicked his ass, but the good news definitely outweighs the bad. As a graduation present, his mom's paying for a big chunk of his new Mazda3 that's so cool it makes me jealous. And better still, he's been outright offered a job (which is really rare in the music-teaching industry) by his alma mater, OCU. So, he'll be staying kinda closeby and teaching jazz music for the forseeable future, which will be awesome for me since he's not moving cross-country, and awesome for one of the 36 Emilys I know since she has a jazz musician fetish.

Halo with the guys. We got Suck Factor 42 together to play a few rounds. Since Bungie released the most recent H2 update, matchmaking has been kinda hellish and games are more laggy to compromise for the speedier matchmaking process. So after the first 3 games we play (and are winning) get lagged out, we decide to call it a scrub night and not count any of the games toward our record. Once that happens, we play 2 lag-free games and lose HORRIBLY. Like 25-3. So we all pull a Dane Cook, throw our controllers on the floor and shout, "Fuck this game!" and run out for a late-night Chinese run.

Before we even walked into the door to Wan Fu, we all felt better already. It was a trip over filled with laughs and comedy, and the night just kept getting better and better. After a 2-hour meal over ridiculously good Chinese and a never-ending game of What's Better, we gave up and came home and crashed.

Saturday was a short day. Woke up, goofed around, went to rehearsal for the first-ever Mr. Plan II pageant (which I was in), and watched football for hours and hours.

Sunday was all about Mr. P2. This pageant was hilarious. It was just like Miss America: formalwear, swimwear, talent, and interview parts, judged by some P2 celebrities (the boss in charge, an advisor, a professor, and a famous graduate from last year). It got really crazy on stage. The talents ranged from reading poetry to fire-eating. I sang a cappella and it got a pretty nice response, so I felt really cool even though I didn't win anything. The party afterwards was great. I got lots of love for my birthday, for singing, and there were lots of attractive girls there and a hoppin' dance floor, so I was happy. Late that night, I got home to an email from my mom saying she wanted to go to New York over Spring Break to see the new Monty Python on Broadway show.

That would be a killer trip in the making: travel with Mom, tour the city with my cousin Kelly, chill at NYU with Andrea, see Monty Python live, and have a classy night on the town with Monica. Sign me the hell up.

I've got a ton of reasons to be damn happy with my life right now, and the 40 or so people who sent me birthday wishes are 40 of those reasons. Thank you guys so much for your love and wishes. Yay for being 20!

I love doing long, in-depth reviews. But there's too much stuff for me to sift through, so I'm giving the short versions on each before I entirely finish and digest them, or else it'll be March before I can give decent reviews on each.

Doom3: Repetitive, easy, but the production value is top-notch and id's done a great job of putting the psychological element of survival horror into an FPS. Give it a go if you're an FPS player.

Jay-Z and Linkin Park: Collision Course: This is a really good idea. I'm serious. Take the sound of Linkin Park, but get rid of their god-awful lyrics and replace it with some Jay-Z goodness. It's really done in the style of a battle between Jay-Z and LP songs, but the mixing is so seamless that you really don't mind when the LP lyrics rear their head. Jay-Z's verses are hardcore as always and it just puts a giant grin on your face.

Ludacris - The Red Light District: This album fucking owns shit up. Think of the first time you heard "Move, Bitch" or "Roll Out." This is *way* better. The first track "Number One Spot" is alone worth a $15 purchase. It's seriously that good. Get it. Or at least get the first track, and I dare you not to get a giant grin on your face listening to it.

GTA San Andreas: It's everything you expected and more. This game is huge, and if you don't spend 50 hours on it then you're sure to have missed a lot. I've put in maybe 6 hours and I already feel like I've left a ton of stuff behind to make progress in the game. To the GTA-hating cynics, it *is* more of the same, but for those of us who aren't idiots, it's much bigger, a bit better, and the formula's been tweaked to get even closer to gaming perfection.

Eminem - Encore: It's more of the same. A little bit of funny, a lot of darkness, and mostly good rhymes from everyone's favorite whitey. If you're a fan, grab it, and if you're a passive hiphop listener, I'll have to get back to you.

So I got $100 in cash from my grandfather for my birthday. Generous, but not entirely unexpected.

That $100 was spent in its entirety today paying my 4 parking tickets. I kinda left my car parked right outside my dorm for 4 days straight and racked up a ticket a day. Whoops.

But I have another present headed my way. Go to www.dhl.com. Enter in tracking number 16273642372.

That's my iPod, on its way, bitches. I win.