I nearly posted a sob-induced rant on Why I Hate Squaresoft last night, but I was far too into my book, which I had nearly finished, to be bothered. And then I wanted to go to bed. So lucky you, you get the coherent version.

We finally beat FFX last night. Ryan and I have a tendency to just quit playing Final Fantasy games about 5 or 6 play hours before the end. This happened with 8, with 7 (which I played after 8), with 9. Now 10. The only explanation for this that I can come up with is that we sense that we are nearing the end of the game. If we beat it, there will be no more Final Fantasy. And then, about a month before a new Squaresoft game is released, there's a renewal of excitement and we whole-heartedly tackle it. This has been the trend everytime, except with 7 thrown in there somewhere for me because I didn't know about Playstation joy back then.

Let me tell you something about me and Final Fantasy. I cry. Every freaking game has, as some point along its storyline, made me cry. FFX was no different, and possibly worse. The part of me that remembers high school has shame that a video game can make me cry like Last of the Mohicans, or like the season 2 finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I realize that some of the other things that make me cry are also Geeky. But there's something inherently geeky about crying over a video game. That's why I hate Squaresoft.

And also why I love them. I know people make fun of the FF storylines. Yeah, they're cheesy. Especially FFX. They kinda slacked on the creativity and metaphorical front and just straight up said, "Hey Look! The bad guy is SIN! Guess what we're talking about here!" Maybe because they slacked in that area, they got to go a little deeper in others. Tidus's relationship with his father. Auron's relationship with the world. The levels of Right and Wrong. Love, and Sacrifice. Especially sacrifice. Is it any wonder I spent a good thirty minutes bawling my eyes out? Storyline-wise, I think that it rivaled seven in its complexity, in the way that it hovered on the boundaries of that grey area. The area where, if you stop and think, you realize that the characters are human- sick and twisted, just like you. I'm thinking of Cloud's relationship with Tifa, Wakka and Lulu, Jecht and Tidus. It lacked in other areas- towns with unique personalities, non-story related mini-adventures, etc. Note that this isn't a complaint- simply an observation. It did, after all, make me cry.

After you get over the story, your eyes are starting to dry up. There's a feeling of accomplishment (I just played 80 hours worth of game! And I'm done!), but there's also a sense of loss ( I've spent 80 hours with these people. Gee. I'm *sniff* going to MISS them...). But life goes on.

It certainly doesn't hurt that Kingdom Hearts comes out on 9/18. In fact, it helps a lot.   ¶ 9/07/2002 10:14:00 AM

  It has occurred to me that I should rename the Friday Five the Faulknerian Five, in light of recent episodes. Therefore, I'm going to try something new. One word, dammit.

1. What is your biggest pet peeve? Pouting. Why? Unproductive.

2. What irritating habits do you have? Pouting.

3. Have you tried to change the irritating habits or just let them be? Yes.

4. What grosses you out more than anything else? Maggots. Why? Nasty.

5. What one thing can you never see yourself doing that other people do? Nothing.





  ¶ 9/06/2002 11:20:00 AM

  The CD drive on my computer is whacked. I'm trying to copy some Loreena McKennitt cds that Patty brought in for me, and it refuses to read them. I finally got the first one by reinserting the CD about eight times. So far, no such luck doing the same with CD #2.

I hate problems like that- the ones that are problem enough to annoy the piss out of you, but you know that if you put in a work order and demanded it be fixed, then they'd probably have to just replace it, which would mean taking my computer away. Even if its just for an hour, I cannot stand to be at work without my computer.

And so, I'm inserting it again, and again, and again, and hoping that maybe it will eventually work.  ¶ 9/06/2002 09:10:00 AM

  I completely forgot to mention what happened at the football game because I got all distracted, as I am often wont to do, by Doggie Porn. Well, not often distracted by Canine Porn, but often distracted. You know.

My hair turned all blonde. Saturday morning it was a bronze-y brown with sort of copper highlights, and Sunday morning, I noticed it was most definately a dark, honey blonde (Roots, which were a bit darker to begin with, not included). I have been in the sun, even recently, for much longer than the length of a football game, and this has never happened before. Interesting.   ¶ 9/04/2002 12:07:00 PM

  The long weekend is long over, but the good news is... it's already Wednesday!

Saturday we grilled out pre-game in honor of Alicia's belated birthday and the beginning of Football season. I made little dog biscuits so that the doggies could party, too (The cast- You should know Puck by now, and Court brought over her lab, Russian. Nate has a Snoopy-Dog named Owen Meany). It turned into a big Puppy Porn Fest. Russian humped Owen for 3 hours, Owen enjoyed it, and Puck followed them around and took advantage of their awkward positions to get in some good butt-sniffing action. All in all, it seemed to be a success.

And speaking of doggies and Puck, he had one big, followed by four smaller, seizures yesterday around lunchtime. I'd already left to come back to work, but luckily Ryan was there to take care of him. And he's fine now, I think, and I'm hoping that the new medicine dosage that we started him on after last time just hasn't really gotten into his bloodstream yet and will start to be more helpful SOON. And that's really all I've got to say about that right now.

Yes, denial is the key to a happy existence. Well, not so much denial as acceptance and then Not Thinking About It Until You Know More and There's Something You Can Do About It. So far that system has worked pretty well for me in life. I highly recommend it to everyone.

But I digress (as usual). I didn't even work a full day yesterday- I went home early to watch over the Pucky Dawg so that Ryan could go back to work. And I realized that today is Wednesday, when I leave early to go to the airport and play dinner escort, and then the work week will be nearly over. Hip. Hip. Hoorah.
  ¶ 9/04/2002 11:49:00 AM

  Coffee Maker Update- It worked fine this morning. I think I must've shamed it.  ¶ 9/01/2002 10:39:00 AM