Magic the Gathering makes me angry sometimes.

I was looking at cards that would make my deck better, I realized that it would take me at least fifty bucks to have all the ideal cards in my deck. That's not too bad considering it could take someone up to $300 to make a decent deck, but still. Also, the tournament locator is pretty lame. I got mixed up earlier this week and thought that there was a tournament today but it ended up being yesterday. Long story short, I'm going to end up wasting a shit ton of time and money on this shit.

I went to a Magic the Gathering tournament.

I just got back home actually. It's good news though, because I finished the tournament in third place. The one guy that bet me went on to win the tournament, so there's no real shame in losing this one. The tournament is a weekly event down at Jimmy's USA, which is a collectible toy place down in Whittier. There were a lot more Yu-gi-oh players there than anything else, but it is a pretty neat place. The guys at the tournament were pretty nice. They said that a lot of the more competitive players were out of town, so maybe the next time I go back I won't do so well, but for now, I will bask in the glory of victory.

My 2011 Christmas Wish List

Someone asked me this question earlier and I felt that it deserved its own post.  I would say that all I wish for is that everyone I know has a merry Christmas, but fuck that.  I want tons of shit.

• Enough money to pay back my student loans
• Magic the Gathering cards, especially Sorin Markov and Bloodghasts
• A Canon 5D
• New camera lenses
• An English Bulldog
• A date with Sandara Park
• Someone to pay for my flight to Korea
• An iTunes gift certificate so I can buy iPad apps
• New shoes
• A new laptop
• Starcraft II

I guess some of these are ridiculous to ask for as Christmas presents, but they are things I want.  I probably won't be getting any of these anyway.  My family's not big on Christmas.

5 Reasons Why I Hate Banksy

I'm know I'm not the only person to say that I dislike the guy and I definitely won't be the last.  However, it turns out that I might be the only one in my office that has these views.  Anyway, here's the top five reasons that I hate Banksy:

1. He's a dick.
2. He's a dick.
3. He's a dick.
4. He's a dick.
5. He's a dick.

Korean food is comfort.

I've been feeling a bit sick for the past few days, a pretty bad cough and nasal congestion. I just got some 순두부 though, and I feel better. It's nice having Korean restaurants so close to my house. Whenever I was in Korea and felt sick I would just walk down the street and pick up some soup and be good to go. I never really noticed how many Korean places there are in my neighborhood, but I guess it is a luxury having them all within ten minutes of my house. Apparently CL Blue has been to the place I just ate at before. I'm not sure if they went there before I left for Korea and I just noticed now, but it is pretty funny.

There's been a lot of cholos in my neighborhood lately.

It's not like I live in South Central or anything, but my neighborhood isn't a model suburban location. It's cleaned up a whole lot in my lifetime but I've been noticing more gangsters the past few weeks. Someone tagged up my fence two weeks ago and kids have been walking down the streets with shaved heads and only their collars buttoned like it's 1990. It's just weird to see these kids passing by my house while I'm outside smoking cigarettes. In truth, I'm more surprised than anything else. I don't really mind the gangs since they're not hassling me or anything. Besides, how else are the disenfranchised youth of America going to feel like they belong?

I called in sick today.

Yesterday, I left work two hours early because I wasn't feeling well and today I just took the whole day off.  The urge to vomit hasn't been too strong today, but I figured a day of rest wouldn't hurt.  Usually I wouldn't take the day off and just struggle through it, but since I have been working so much and the commute is such a pain, I decided I might as well.  Besides, I know I'm leaving the job at the end of January so I don't really have to worry about how productive I look.  That's probably not the best attitude for an employee to have, but oh well.  It's not like this is a career choice or anything.  Now it's time to enjoy the rest of the day resting and watching television.

Welcome to the Multiverse.

Here’s where it all starts for me.

So I purchased the “Reign of Vampirism” intro deck and the 2011 Magic Fat Pack. I only picked the vampire themed deck since it’s a black themed deck and black’s my favorite color. It’s probably not the smartest way to pick the foundation of my deck, but from what I gathered in my limited research, a black deck would fit my play style.
I still haven’t played a match yet and I still have a ton of questions about actual game play. After a complete overhaul of my the intro deck, I figure that I can go over to my local comic book store and try it out. Hopefully, someone there will be willing to show me the ropes. Anyway, this is the start of a hobby that’s going to be time (and money) consuming, but I really am looking forward to this.

My life is boring right now.

I haven't really been blogging as of late, but it's really just because my life has been so dull lately. There really hasn't been much to talk about. Work has been taking up a lot of my time and so has the commute. Today, I spent about two hours driving in my car and that's an accomplishment. When I get home, I'm usually too tired to do anything else. Most of my time is spent reading and trying to learn how to play Magic. My brother is picking me up the cards today, so I really am looking forward to that. Anyway, I'll probably have a major cut in my hours after Christmas so I should enjoy the income while I still can. Hopefully word comes back from Chungdahm sometime soon. I have been really anxious about where I'm going to be placed, but like a lot of other things in my life, it will work out somehow.

I just went to the sickest arcade.

While I was looking for arcades in my area that had Tekken, I stumbled across Round 1 in the Puente Hills Mall. I have to say that it is the coolest arcade in the greater Los Angeles area. First of all, Round 1 is a Japanese arcade company and we all know that the arcade scene in Japan is light years ahead of America. That alone is nearly enough to make this place legit. It has some cool Japanese games that I have never seen in America. However, that's not all this place has to offer. Round 1 is not just an arcade. It's also a bowling alley, has ping pong tables, karaoke rooms, sticker picture booths, dart boards, and a bar. This place could keep me entertained for hours. Even if this place only had four of these things I could still probably spend a whole day at this place. I spent my time today playing Tekken and a little bit of Street Fighter so I didn't get to take really good look at everything, but the bowling lanes looked like they were taken care of and the place was clean. I know that I'll be definitely heading back again some time in the near future

I'm thinking about playing Magic: The Gathering.

Like all expressions of geek culture, the thought has always lingered in the back of my head. It has now become a real possibility though. My brother currently works for an online toy distributor and they sell cards, so I would get a pretty sweet deal on them. There are also a few guys at my brother's job that play competitively so they could even help me setup a solid deck. The only thing holding me back is that I probably won't have very many people to play against since I don't know anyone who plays. So... is anyone ready to hop on this with me?

I'm accepting the offer with Chungdahm Learning.

I'm a few minutes away from sending in my signed letter accepting the position. I have been thinking it through over the weekend since they are unable to tell me where I will be located until I get there, but I think I will take my chances. I do have my preference down for Seoul and I know that I won't be placed in a rural location since I said that I will not work in one. I think the chances are still pretty high for Seoul. My recruiter told me that my old co-teacher gave me a stellar recommendation [감사합니다 누나], so hopefully they'll take that into account. It also seems like it's worth taking the chances at this point. I know that Chungdahm is a good hagwon chain and that I probably won't run into a better salary offer. So in a few months time, I will be back in Korea, hopefully Seoul.

The first legitimate job offer I got

The Chungdahm Learning Institute has offered me a position with a solid pay rate that starts in February. Now the only thing left to do is make sure that the job is in Seoul and then I'm all set to go back.

Being a customer service representative at Cooking.com

I figured I should probably explain what it is I actually am doing at work nowadays. Cooking.com is one of the largest online retailers of cooking supplies. The site also powers the online stores of other brands, such as the Food Network, Starbucks, Betty Crocker, Kraft, and Pilsbury. There are a few others, but that's what I can list off the top of my head. The office I work at is about 25 miles from my house, so with all the traffic, I spend around two hours a day just commuting to and from work. It's fucking bullshit to be honest, but I gotta get that paper yo.

I spend my entire day in the call center with the rest of customer service. I answer phone calls and respond to emails. The things that customers will email you about are ridiculous sometimes. I had this dude that emailed me today about how much he hates Rachael Ray and how he wanted us to stop endorsing her products. So this is how I spend my days now. It's a little mundane, but a job is a job.