Well, much like the final boss of Metroid Prime, getting to the PRAXIS was a lot harder than actually taking it.

Eh, it wasn't really that HARD getting there, but it was certainly much more exciting. See, the website closes from 1:00-7:00 AM, so when I went to check for the exact time (I believed it to be 9:30), I could not find the information. The aforementioned final boss had a hand in that, actually, as I lost track of time and actually lost to the boss once...wasted time, and I might have been done sooner and checked the information....but that's irrelevant.

The point was, when I checked the computer at 7:24 this morning to find out what time the exam was, I saw that the exam was scheduled for 7:30.

Now, I don't run that much, a disappointing lack, I must say, but I pounded out five blocks like they were nothing. The pathetic "breakfast" of peanut M&Ms and last night's spaghetti begged to differ from the "nothing" part, but they stayed in. Of course, even when I reached the seventh block, there were still no buses...finally, one came, and thanks to a lack of traffic, I was able to run up ANOTHER hill and get to a point where I could print up my admission certificate...at about 8:00.

I would miss the first exam, or only have ten minutes to do it, but I would have the next two under control!

Well, I thought so, anyway.


It turned out that the exams were very similar to the SATs, including that absurdly long time they spend forcing the proctors to go over all of the instructions. Information, name, date, location, all that stuff...point being, I was actually there two minutes prior to the examination's start.

A miracle, truly a miracle.

First was reading. Some questions were woefully tricky ("I think the answer is 'a', 'recise,' but 'd', 'small' has a certain promise to it, too...why isn't 'simple' a word here? That's what 'neat' means in this sentence! 'Simple'! 'Organized'! 'Convenient'! 'recise' leans too much in the opposite direction...but it's still the right one..."), but for the most part, it was child's play.

The math section, the one I was worried about beforehand and had actually considered studying for (I didn't) was also very easy. I'm willingly attempting to jinx things here by saying that I think I got them all correct--I dare the exam to prove me wrong. Make me see that it was a challenge. I want to have made a mistake. But I don't think I did.

And then came the writing section, where, after having to run a gauntlet of horrific sentences with deliberate grammatical errors (THE FORMS!!! THE VOICES!!! THE "HAS"ES AND "WILL BE"S IN THE SAME SENTENCES...AAAAAAAAH!!!), I had to write an essay on whether or not I believed advertising needed limits. In which I referenced everything from radio jingles to the creepiness of the Burger King (yes, he made it into my PRAXIS essay...FEAR HIM). I even included the "congratulations, you won!" ads that always pop up around the web! I went wacky, I went serious, I tore that thing apart like Greed tears apart an armored car. And, of course, ended it with a statement asserting my approval of the essay.

Easiest examination of my life. Compared to the SATs (the REAL SATs, not those silly analogy-deprived excuses for examinations that you post-high-school-class-of-oh-fivers had...I kid, I kid, I'm sure they were more challenging than these three wimps), they were nothing. Again, child's play.

Of course, now I have to register for the Latin exams, which will probably be in a whole different league from these. I'm going to have to take that seriously.

I'm also going to have to study for this Contemporary Literature and the Classics exam on Tuesday. Best get started. Sometime soon. You know. No hurry. I've got a post-exam high, and I think that Metroid Prime 2 is going to be a release.




Am I being overconfident?

Yeah, sure. I guess so.

But you didn't take this test. Seriously.


And guess what, neither did I! HA!!! *slaps thigh*

No, really, I did take it seriously. Which was why it was so disappointing....

SO.




TODAY'S LESSON.

TODAY'S CLASS.

The syllabus for this course describes multiple meetings of flailage and plot-forwarding. There are surprises scheduled on multiple pages, and the final pages will count for only ten percent of the overall grade. Be aware that there will be spoilers and Incredibly Lame Puns found throughout the terms. Refer to the online site TV Tropes for further information on some terms.



In our first class, we will be studying the Return of the King. This is not the classic Tolkien book, but rather, a reference to Bradley's sooner-than-expected reappearance, consisting of him getting out of the water in an ominous way. Remember this information, because it will be important later on.

We next move to a continuation of some information from a while ago, involving a character study of Major General Olivia Armstrong and those around her, with particular attention given to her relation with the one called Buccaneer. Several pages are devoted to reminding us how he fell like a wintastic hero against the Wrath of King Bradley, and yet passed away with a smile, which reminds us not to mourn him too much. In this part, we explore a softer side of Armstrong, as this is pretty much the first time she has really had an important figure taken from her--Smith brought out her Mama Bear, but this really hits home. And she turns away and is actually...quite hug-inviting. In the same way that one may want to cuddle a sulking polar bear. But she mans up (though a woman is she!) and continues onward, and that will conclude this section. More will follow in future courses, but this is all that we need to study here. There is also a very annoying political figure who is punched out in yet another one of this series's Crowning Moments of Awesome.

The rest of the course is devoted to the life of Roy Mustang, though the main focus at the beginning is on Riza Hawkeye. She, as you will remember from your last issue, was given a would-be fatal blow (in a very cruel, horrific way). Mustang faces a choice here, and it is designed to make you readers think, as well--what is the value of human life and relationships? Keep this material in mind. Hawkeye, of course, being a stubborn person, not only refuses to let Roy Mustang open the gate, but also refuses to die because he told her not to.

Immediately after, there is a surprise entrance by an unfamiliar figure--Mr. Frog Chimera. He shuts up the meddling Doctorwhonobodylikes and then introduces the legendary, lovable Mei-Chan. Who, along with Xiao-Mei, lays a complete array of butt-whoop upon all of the enemies present, with one of the greatest panels of her that has ever been seen (see page 23 for reference).

On the 24th page, Scar-san shows us all his own "I am going to destroy you" face. Which is scary. And glorious. And does not disappoint--he destroys every fool who touched him. Roy Mustang also owns several clones with their own swords (see Hoist By His Own Petard at TV Tropes).

The next few pages are then devoted to a game of "Inconvenient Keep-Away", which is ultimately won by the interloper, King Bradley of Wrathdom. Of important note, though, is that Mei-Chan could have won the game, but threw it because she went to save the life of Riza Hawkeye. One of the most obvious Mei-Chan/Xiao-Mei parallel panels is there, too, which may or may not lead to Fridge Logic regarding the question "Why didn't Mei-Chan save Hawkeye while Xiao-Mei got the bottle of antidote to the poison Indiana Jones just drank?" (there may not be time to address this in the course, though).

The 29th page is a review day, in which we notice that Mustang FREAKING HUGS HIS HAWKEYE. PULLS HER TO HIM AND HUGS HIM. There is also mention of eye signals--don't forget to go back and study those just to see how they worked.

There is a bit of untranslated text on the next page, that is definitely worth studying. The class is assigned to find out what it means, no matter how irrelevant, and turn in their findings as soon as possible. It is for extra credit, so you are all encouraged to do so.

It is also noted that Riza smiles there.

When classes meet again after Mush Break, though, much attention is drawn to the awesomeness that is King Bradley--coming in to finish off his wearied opponents, with a look of death in his one remaining eye that is TERRIFYING, this is not to be taken lightly. As a Homunculus who has always seemed to be gunning for an "Incomplete" score, he nevertheless continue's to maintain straight A's by being Ambiguous and Awesome. He gives a smile while saying that he is angry, and yet reminds us of how he is not regenerating like the other Homunculi. He spends several panels talking with Mustang about the value of people close to him, and wraps up the unit with a cryptically soft smile. Mei-chan ends this unit with an examination of the area below, sensing that there is something happening down there.

But everything then comes from above, as someone enters the scene in a much less flashy but no less deadly manner than Bradley--Pride has once again come. Pride cometh before a fall, and there are falls aplenty in the next few pages.

Not to be denied his spotlight, Wrath seizes some swords (PEOPLE NEED TO MAKE MORE OF THOSE KINDS IN TOY FORM...ARGH...) and leaps into the fray in the next section. He makes it brief, though, using his abilities to curb-stomp Mustang. The discussion topic for that part is in regards to whether or not he blinded his other eye to do so.

The next part is very open-ended, as Doctorwhonobodylikes declares his joy in Bradley's actions--though Bradley continues to be ambiguous with a dark look that does not show pride, while being overshadowed by a text box that makes him seem like a pet dog.

The Doctor's ego then gets gouged out by the Pride-man himself, who does not appear to take kindly to people belittling his "father" or any member of his species. He then prepares the final part of the chapter, which reveals that Bradley does seem to have both eyes--and then dissolves both Bradley and Mustang into the same fragments that Izumi, Al, and Ed all became. Which brings us to the conclusion of this course with the shade of an eclipse coming overhead. Material continues in FMA-102, scheduled to begin next month.

Participation counts!



For further reading, I would suggest Sunwing, the second book in the Silverwing saga. The final panels of this chapter have so many vibes....

A REAL journal entry!

Okay, so, this weekend I went home to work after a rough week that was mainly composed of self-inflicted pain. I worked on Saturday for most of the day, a decent shift that was not too long and not too short. Played some Heroes III with the little brother, got some sleep that night, got to see that the cat actually had a smooth coat (her name is Matilda, and there is almost always a heavy emphasis on the "mat" part..."clump" might be a better word, but....it's nice to see her doing well), got to wake up at a decent time and go to church and participate in discussions with the adults over different versions of the Bible (I contributed in the lingual factor...one thing that I've learned from Latin is that translations of ANY material can leave something to be desired), got some more literary inspiration during the service, and then went home to a house that was...actually acceptable for the Bible-study that night!

Which I participated in, and got to hear some stories from the elders of the church...there are some awesome people there. I mean, a lot of comedies and popular views look down on "old people," but they are AWESOME. Building a house from more or less scratch, including gas and water pipes...they worked hard. And getting a measure of inflation and understanding that you got paid...50 cents a day, with good wages...yeah. It's fascinating.

Still got to go to bed at a decent time, then got up in the morning and went to the doctor's to get a prescription filled out, then went to Giant Eagle and spent the morning shopping with my mom for groceries (she bought me food! she's putting me through college, and STILL buying me food...<3 <3 <3...and I mean GOOD food, like bananas and hamburger and gyro packets and...whatever....it's....<3) before picking up the prescription. Then, I went off to class, got there EARLIER than I usually do, did a decent job translating, and then got my exam from Wednesday back.

A, A-, C, A-. Excellent. Provided I don't drop the ball on the final, I'm going to get an "A" in the course.

So, after that, I went back to the apartment and worked on a Lesson Plan for homework tonight...and then e-mailed it to myself...and saw a very, very interesting e-mail.





I got placement for field experience.

I was nervous about when it would happen, but I FINALLY GOT EVERYTHING TOGETHER AND HAVE BEEN GRANTED PLACEMENT FOR FIELD EXPERIENCE.

LIKE, INVESTIGATING MY JOB AREA.

*FLAILS*

The best bit is that it's at a school of pretty good reputation around here.

It's not student teaching, of course, but it's the next-best-thing.

IT'S A STEP.

It's like, today, things are just going really well.

Gotta go to class soon. Print up stuff for it. All that jazz.

And then...then...I get to come back to the apartment and watch a Steelers game. Steelers vs. Broncos. Big game. Probably not gonna win. But it has been a GOOD day so far. And now I have Black Eyed Peas stuck in my head. Splendid.

And there's a new Fullmetal Alchemist and a new Soul Eater right around the corner!!!




....


....


....and a PRAXIS exam on Saturday. I should enjoy the happiness while it lasts.



ETA: Well, there's the karmic payback or whatever you want to call it. I can't find my cell phone. I've had other people try calling it three times, and it always jumps straight to voicemail, so it's either somewhere where it's out of reception, with someone who turned it off (and is thus probably not planning on giving it back), or it's been destroyed (run over by a car, perhaps). It wasn't too low on batteries, I know that.

It might be out of reception, but the room where it would have been...I scoured it, even the trash can and recycle bin. It just wasn't there.

SO....

If there's still no reception tomorrow, I'll contact Verizon and/or my parents and see what I can do about it. SIGH....


But, still.

Life's fun.

Life's good.

Steelers are down 3-0, but I'm still optimistic.


ETA: STEELERS WIN. STEELERS WIN.



So, all in all, a great day. Except for the cell phone thing.

Which is going to make waking up in the morning VERY difficult. 8(

This is the second Friday in a row that I've been up all night for. I dunno why. Last week, it was caffeine...there was no such thing this time. Maybe it had something to do with the Snickers and peanut-butter-jelly sandwich I had. No, I did not put Snickers on the sandwich....

Either way, there was Bleach and Naruto this week. Naruto finally got back to the part that matters. And Bleach, well, it continued being Bleach, and really didn't get anywhere except to actually take some time setting up plot-relevant information. Which was nice.

Unohana just didn't say what I wanted her to say.

*spoilers for Bleach*
*fine, I'm putting spoiler tags*




*spoilers*





I was expecting her to say something that would heighten her own power...let us know that she's on Captain Broken's level...but instead, she actually said something that confirms a number of theories and also sets up another plot point. Now, standard rules of drama say that it can go one of two ways: either Ichigo sees the shikai release and has to find a flaw in its design, or Ichigo will have to fight to not see it. Of course, the money really leads toward the former.

HOWEVER...

Bleach has already defied a number of rules. Perhaps the most grievous violation being "When you introduce a threat that is stronger than the strongest good guys and the good guys outnumber this threat, certain good guys are going to die sacrificing themselves against them." It broke that one to pieces. Words said in dramatic expository tones have proven empty later on.

It is also straying dangerously close to violating the ultimate rule of doors in stories: when a door is revealed to be locked and a key's presence is made known, the key will be used to unlock the door. It's a law that's older than written word. Pandora's Box is an example. Which actually traces its origins even further back to the absolute very beginning, when God put a lock on the Forbidden Fruit. He said, "Do not eat." And Adam and Eve ate.

Trace it onward through every sort of literature. Pandora's Box. The winds of Aeolus. Several instances with King Arthur and his knights. The wardrobe to Narnia. Pippin and the Palantir. Raiders of the Lost Ark. When Luke Skywalker was told to stay behind on the Death Star but found out that there was a door to the princess, he went to that door. Final Fantasy VI. Ocarina of Time. Avatar: the Last Airbender, many, many, many times. Remember Zhao and the Moon Spirit? Aang said that he had no idea what kind of imbalance a murder of the Moon Spirit could bring...and sure enough, we got to have an idea. The third-floor corridor in Hogwarts.

And this is not just literature and fiction. Any number of instances have happened in the Bible, in history, and I'm sure in your lives. Door-peeping might not be the exact case here, but tell me the last story that you've encountered where a door and a key showed up but weren't opened....

Speaking of doors, FMA comes out this week. YAAAAAAAI!!!

Unohana was fun in this chapter.

And Mayuri is back to his old evil ways. Very good. I like him evil.

And Yammy is a complete joke. A JOKE.




Good manga coming out soon, though.


PRAXIS next Saturday. I am...TOTALLY unprepared.


I need to study my math.








Oh, and it's my dad's birthday today. So I'm gonna wish him a happy one.

....I just noticed that Xiao-Mei's ears match Mei-Chan's hair.

How about that.

I'm so slow, sometimes.



New issue coming out soon!

And I have a Latin exam tomorrow that I'm completely going to bomb....*wringing hands nervously*




Also, what do you think the odds are of Ed getting his body back to normal and then having his right arm chopped off when he tries blocking a blade with his now flesh-and-blood arm?

In case you haven't worked it out yet, I post journals when I'm stressed.

Exammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....................