Darker.than.Black.the.Sequel.

One of the things I did while on leave last week was just to sit back and catch up on some anime series. The one that didn't have time to watch previously was the sequel to Darker than Black, named Gemini of the Meteor (Ryūsei no Gemini). Shorter than the first season, the sequel has only 12 episodes - but it was as good as the first. I was thinking of a good and short way to describe how the story picks up from the last...but I think the following from anime-access does it better than what I was able to come up with :)

Two years have passed since Hei and Yin escaped the Syndicate after the events of the first season. Making their way to Russia, Hei encounters a young girl named Suou Pavlichenko, whose family is gradually pulled into the war between contractors and various intelligence factions. Meanwhile, Misaki Kirihara has quit her position in Foreign Affairs to begin her own investigations into Hei, the Contractors and the Syndicate.

The opening for Gemini of the Meteor by Stereopony is catchy - called (Tsukiakari no Michishirube lit. means Moonlight Signpost) and one that I have downloaded for the collection. It was hard finding a version on Youtube that Sony hasn't already blocked out the audio - or removed completely. However, I did manage to find a version of the opening from the anime (let's see how long before this gets blocked as well) and also of the full MV by Stereopony. If you haven't watched this anime yet, go check it out :)

Opening from Gemini of the Meteor

+ Stereopony - Tsukiakari No Michishirube

No Mere Mortal pt.II

A burst of flames suddenly engulfed the dark figure. The dragon eyed lazily at what would be just a pile of ashes – the only other thing left would be the stench of burnt flesh. To its surprise, there he was standing untouched as the fire cleared – a blue light crackled around the intruder. Sensing that magic was at play, the dragon took more interest now and focused its senses on the origins.

Ah…a ring of protection…and a powerful one too. No wonder. But no matter, thought the dragon.

The dragon’s name is Naz’garoth, one of the great fire dragons of the realm. And like all dragons, it is a proud and powerful creature and thinks nothing more of this fool than a fly that needs to be swatted away. Naz’garoth shifted its body and raised its head to full height. With a sudden move, its tail swiped out at the figure, covering the distance in a mere second.

Something’s not right, through the dragon. The figure has disappeared. But even as Naz’garoth recovered from surprise, a pain lanced out from its side – a long thin blade now lodged itself at where the wing joins the body. It roared thunderously, shaking the grounds of the cavern – angry for being caught unawares and wary too, realizing perhaps too late, that this was no ordinary foe.

Perspectives

OK...random thoughts up ahead...trying to write to keep rust from building up.

So I was thinking...and realized that most of us today kind of take it for granted that our eventual goal would be to live as long as we can. It doesn't matter what we do with it, the important thing is that we get to live longer. With this expectation, some of us try really hard to have a healthy lifestyle (eat organic or "go green", take up yoga, etc.), buy various types of insurance (think life and medical), invest in retirement funds and so on - all with the thought of preparing for old age (be it for their family or otherwise).

Then there are others who take life as it comes by without much thoughts whether it's going to end the next day or the next decade - who wants to worry about things like this when it's really not in our control, right? That would be too negative a thought to ponder upon. You might even ask why in the world I'm writing these sort of things on my blog. Like I said, random thoughts :)

As I was chatting with a few friends over dinner on Friday night, we broach the subject from a different angle by asking the question "How long do we think we get to live?" It was a asked in a lighthearted way, mind you. Although it did kind of put things into a different perspective for me. Is living till we are in our 70s or 80s really that important?

Having lived three decades of my life already, if I can reach sixty, i.e. another thirty years of life - wouldn't that already be a great gift? I could be living another "lifetime" or so to speak. Of course, I haven't achieved much in life yet, and certainly no legacy to leave behind, but I have by and large, enjoyed the last three decades.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that, "Hey, I got another 30 years to work on!" (Or so I hope I would have that long to live) - so instead of taking life for granted, perhaps I should assume I only have another thirty years to go and really set out to achieve something within that time (let's worry about the retirement fund later). Because I might not live past sixty to begin with. There is a saying that we should live everyday as if it's our last. Well, it's easier said than done - so perhaps I'll think that the next thirty will be my last.

This is if I don't have a family and then the only reason for hanging around is to provide for them and to ensure everyone is doing alright. Perhaps it's a little bit of a selfish thought right now and I'm sure the above perspective will change again when other considerations comes into play i the future. But for now, I just found it interesting to look at all this from a different light.

Perhaps?

I think it's been such a long that I sat down at the Starbucks in Borders with a laptop and had the urge to start blogging. To be honest, I haven't been to Borders in a while, much less bring a laptop to its coffee shop. *Well, that's what it is essentially, isn't it?*

It's nice and quiet here now - it's dinner time after all. And I think I missed doing this. Just don't know why I stopped. I read less these days too. Perhaps there is just too much on my mind. Perhaps I have just lost interest on stuff. Perhaps...perhaps...perhaps...hm...isn't that a song?

Anyway, I think perhaps a change will do me some good. I believe a stagnant life is worse than no life.

Yes...there isn't much point to this post apart from waiting for time to past before catching Haywire...as well as taking some time to scrape off the layer of rust around this brain of mine...hope my writing gets better again. After all, I don't have magic dusts to help me with nor do I grow magic mushroom ;)

Off to the movies. Oh...Happy Valentine's Day to those who are celebrating :)

Torch Bearer

And for the second time during his duty as the guardian of the temple, Arundal lights the torch and stands vigilant in the dead of winter. Light from the torch cast shadows around him and his dark cloak fluttered as the wind blew winter chill. But Arundal's face is a mask, expressionless, unyielding. His eyes shows a calm resolution, faith that The One will one day return to release him of his duty.

Twenty Eleven Plus One

Another year has come to past and the river of time has not slowed its pace. Many things have occurred in 2011, but many too seems like it was just yesterday. At the end of 2010, I said that I was looking forward to 2011, thinking that life will be better, much better. What a surprised it turned out to be.

Let's just say that the journey wasn't as smooth as the one I have hoped for. And I'm now back at the same position as I was last year, saying the same thing again, just that it's now for twenty-eleven-plus-one. I'm hoping that this will be a much better year.

2011 hasn't been so great after all. Too much unnecessary personal stuff, got myself into situations where I had no control over, and lost of interest with work. Confident was low and everything looked bleak. I'm just glad that it's over and it's time to gear up again.

I'm sounding melancholic. But as I sit here, thinking and typing, I do recall some brighter sides to the year. And in a way, these memories helps to remind me that there are always a more positive side to life and that how a year goes by really depends on how we make the best of it. The rest of the stuff, you just have to deal with it as they come along - as they always do.

Here are some good things to note for the year:

• Visited New York (more like Lower Manhattan) - short holiday after a business trip to the US. Missed the Chinese New Year's eve dinner though, but it couldn't be helped. Memorable for the 60+ hours getting back from New York to Penang.
• First time watching a live baseball match in the US during the summer, which was part of a team outing and the match was between the Cubs and Marlins. The Cubs won that match :)
• Have a new work partner, after the last one decided to graze in greener pastures. Yes, I'm talking about you good friend - make sure you let me know when there is an opening :P
• Went to Phuket with a bunch of friends, had lots of laughter and fun, especially when we had TGO around. It was simply good quality time with some really good friends. Spent a lot of time soul-searching too, which kind of led to some of the decisions I have made for 2012.
• Ran two half marathons in the span of two weeks - One was the Penang Bridge International Marathon and the other was the Standard Chartered Marathon in Singapore. Completed both below 3 hours - pretty good considering my usually poor cardio level.
• Work was good and not-so-good. Good - being rewarded for work done on projects and also non-project related stuff (always nice to know that you have not been forgotten). The not-so-good part was due to delays in projects, which in turn allowed me to have too much time at hand - made me think too much. I slowed down a lot during the last half of the year and the brain has started to exhibit a layer of rust. 

It could have been a much better year, considering the many opportunities that presented themselves. But we can't have everything, can we? ;)

2011 is still a very memorable year for me, despite the bittersweet-ness of it all.

Reminder to self, yet again: What's done is done. Just do better in 2012.

Happy New Year 2012 everyone!