Liquid Nonsense

The last two weeks have seen some pretty great story-telling activities.

Last Exile (DVD): I finally finished watching it. About a year or two ago a friend burned me a copy of the entire series on DVD, and I dutifully placed it on the shelf. Then, about three weeks ago I had one of my occasional anime cravings and recalled that I had this interesting series just sort of hanging around. I started watching it from the beginning again, not that it mattered since I only got through the first two episodes last time, and by episode four I was absolutely hooked. I proceeded to watch all 26 episodes in three days. It may very well just be my opinion, but I thought the whole thing was astoundingly good.

Legend of Zelda- Twilight Princess (Wii): We return to the land of Hyrule where all the usual characters are engaged in their usual stop-ganon-from-getting-the-triforce antics. This time Hyrule has been plunged into "twilight," a neat air-filled-with-black-squares-and-light-bloom-around-everything situation. It's probably one of the most interesting Zelda games available, and also one of the least intuitive. Maybe I'm just an idiot, but my idiot friends agree that a lot of the game mechanics are somewhat non-obvious and a lot of time is spent floundering figuring out what to really do. Either way, it's still some pretty captivating game play, especially on the Wii. I can't malign it too much, I've already sank some 20 hours into it.

Kafka on the Shore (Book): Heidi periodically gives me reading assignments, and to refuse them is to take my life into my own hands. Twice now she has asked me if I have finished it, and twice I've had to tell her no, which implies twice she's asked me that if I truly valued our friendship why I would not have already read it. Well, I finally read it. The first 150 pages didn't intrigue me, but from page 151 (approximate) to the end I was ensnared. She was absolutely right, the book is brilliant and it is like reading a dream. Haruki Murakami takes you on a pretty crazy adventure that comes across as so matter-of-fact that you can't help but believe it's all really happening. Spirits, sex, genderless characters, self-referencing metaphors, and time bending- it's all there. Great read. Chris gives it 5 stars. Next on the list is One Hundred Years of Solitude.

Meeting the parents (Real life): In a surprising development that caught me off guard, I met Phil's parents over the weekend. They were evidently traveling through Arizona and decided to have dinner with their son, when it was decided that I would join them all for brunch the next day. The following morning, Phil and I arrived at their hotel and went on what can only be described as a "road trip" to get food that was really just down the street. After faulty directions, twists, turns, and needing gas, we arrived for a supremely nice buffet at the Tempe Buttes. I am going to assume for the time being that I made a good impression since we were all laughing and having a good time. The bottomless mimosas definitely made the whole experience more enjoyable for me. Yes, I was somewhat tipsy while getting to know my boyfriend's parents for the first time.