2008

We're well into 2008, so I thought I'd make most of my first blog post of the new year about the end of 2007.

I got some nice Christmas presents in 2007. This was the first year where I really didn't ask for anything major. In 2005, I asked for a new bowling ball. In 2006, I asked for a new video card. Last year, the only thing I asked for was an electric shaver. I had never shaved my facial hair before... All I did was trim it every once in a while. But, my mom thought the hair on my chin was getting a little too crazy, so she suggested I try shaving. I'm scared to have sharp blades close to my face, so I was very reluctant to try it, but my mom suggested I get an electric shaver because they supposedly won't cut your skin. So, I asked for one as a Christmas present and, sure enough, my mom got me one.

I really didn't use it until a few days after Christmas, though. My mom and stepdad had to go to work on December 27, so I decided to shave off my beard while they were at work. When they came home, neither of them noticed the change. So, the next day, I decided to shave off my mustache while they were at work. When they came home, they immediately noticed the change. I guess it was a little more obvious. So, I've been shaving every morning now. I think it looks better, but it's not really my opinion that matters, right?

The other gifts I got this past Christmas include clothes, money, gift cards (including one for iTunes--perfect timing ), Rush Hour 3, The Simpsons Movie, Mr. Bean's Holiday (w/bobblehead), and a bobblehead of this cute little pink creature. People always say that I'm hard to shop for, but I really do appreciate anything anyone gives me for Christmas. Honestly, as I've become older, Christmas has become less about presents and more about family. I've become much more appreciative of the time I get to spend with family members that I rarely get to see any other time of the year.

Of course, stories about spending time with my family are probably not very interesting, so I'll write more about Christmas presents... specifically the one that I got for myself.

Well, I finally pulled the trigger and built myself a new computer. My iBook has just become too slow to handle even web surfing nowadays. I found myself using the family computer more that I should have, so I decided to build myself a computer. After upgrading the family computer in September, I felt I had a good grasp of what parts to aim for, so I didn't need to do nearly as much research this time around. Here's what I ended up choosing:

Case: In Win Mountain Jade
Motherboard: ASUS P5E-VM HDMI
CPU: Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2160
RAM: 2x1GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2-667
Video: EVGA GeForce 8400GS
Hard Drive: 250GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10
DVD: Lite-On LH-20A1S
Wi-Fi: ASUS WL-138g V2
Card Reader: Super Talent INT-AIN1-C
Monitor: Acer X203w
Speakers: Logitech X-140
Keyboard: Logitech 967738-0403
Mouse: Logitech MX400

It's definitely not the most powerful system ever, but it ended up being relatively inexpensive. Plus, I have the CPU overclocked to 3 GHz, and it can handle everything I want it to, including 1080i MPEG-4 AVC. Watching HD video on this monitor is so sweet.


Anyway, moving on to 2008 (which is the title of this entry)... I've never been one to really make any serious New Year's Resolutions, but I do plan on blogging more often this year. I also plan on doing more Idoling!!!-related activities. I need to try to create more interest in the group, so I'll work on the group's wiki.theppn entries and maybe take on some other projects to generate more interest in the group. I'm a huge fan of Hello! Project and AAA, but I really want to see the Idoling!!! community grow.


Today's picture is a picture of my new computer setup. My sister was nice enough to make me a nice wallpaper with my two favorite Hello! Project members: Konkon and Junjun. Are they friends or something? I always see them together. (this picture, H!P summer concert, FNS)