Code D

Today was actually a pretty solid day, everyone. I don't think I ever just generally summarize what a day in the life is like, but since I generally enjoyed work and whatnot, I don't have an issue with it! ::grins::

Anyway, today was a pretty average day. I woke up and went to class, the once-a-week Marketing You class I think I've talked about before. My roommate Ron and I biked to class this morning, but I was a little out of shape, so it was a rough ride for me, lol. Regardless, class was pretty interesting. We learned about resume composition and a lot of dos and don'ts. For instance, our teacher said that we should completely cut out the "objective" portion of the resume, because they already know that you're applying to work for their company. Makes sense when you think about it...

We've gotten to the point where we're starting to figure out what we want to do our final presentations on, but I've got no real idea what I want to do it on. We have to do a presentation on a career that we want to go into, but I'm finding it pretty hard to apply a lot of this stuff to writing. After all, how do you apply to be a novelist?

After that, I biked back to the apartment with Ron and we cleaned up for our bi-weekly inspection. The housing staff comes through and checks to make sure that we haven't decimated the place. Apparently our inspection went so well that they want to come in and take pictures of it for the website. Yeah, we pretty much rocked it. But I had to clean really quickly and then take off for work.

Work was pretty average today, but for some reason I was a lot cooler with it than usual. It was a short shift, only 5 hours, which I think helped a lot. And right near the end of the night there was a group that cheered for all the people coming off of the subs. I mean they cheered for EVERYTHING. When the sub pulled up, they cheered. I mean, outright, full-on screamed. When I came up to get out of the sub, I felt like a rockstar...it was totally awesome.

I closed the night by meeting up with some other Nemo Cast Members at Denny's. We call it a "Code D," and it was honestly just a great time. I'd hung out with other cast members before, particularly those in the college program since I live with most of them, but I never just did a co-worker get-together like that. And it was a blast. I really liked being able to talk about work and whatnot and just chill with those people. I hope we do it again soon.

Yeah, so that was my day! Exciting, huh? ::laughs:: I know this was a pretty lame/short post, but I'm planning on doing some Extra Credit tomorrow since I have the day off. We'll see what happens! If not, then I'll see you on Sunday!

-Josh

A Beginner's Guide to BlizzCon 2010

Before I get started, I have a confession to make: I don't play ANY Blizzard games. Not once have I built an SCV in Starcraft II, and the last time I built one in the original Starcraft I was probably still concerned about what kind of Megazord was going to be in the next season of Power Rangers. Diablo II has never entered my computer, and I've never been willing to make a foray into the World of Warcraft because I've traditionally believed in only paying for my games once. But after a trip to Blizzcon, I have to say that my perspective's changed a bit.


Anaheim Convention Center, host of BlizzCon 2010.

Blizzard Entertainment is the company responsible for World of Warcraft, Starcraft II, and the upcoming Diablo III, and is one of the largest names, if not the largest name, in PC gaming. They host their own convention, BlizzCon, in Anaheim each year, and thousands of people show up from all over the world. You've gotta understand that this company is a HUGE deal. Starcraft is a national sport of S. Korea. Tickets to this event sold out in under 3 seconds. That's right: UNDER. THREE. SECONDS.


Seriously, Blizzard is composed of a bunch of WINNERS.

So how did I get in, you might ask? The legendary PRESS PASS, hehe. Since I work for a gaming website, 411Mania.com, I was able to get press access to the convention. It was pretty...well, legendary.


About as legendary as this statue. I dunno exactly what's going on here, but it's still pretty awesome.

But what was more legendary, honestly, was the kindness I experienced from the people at the convention. I stopped to watch the Starcraft II World Championships, an event which was definitely standing room only on the Main Tournament Stage. And since I don't really play Starcraft, I had no real idea what was going on. It's an RTS, or a Real-Time Strategy game: that basically means that the player is a general commanding an entire army in real time. The more time you spend to think, the more time your enemy has to blow you to pieces. The people playing the game were taking on average 250-300 actions per minute. That's ungodly fast. It's like watching a high-speed chess match.


Just watch a few minutes and you'll get my drift.

So while I was there, I started talking to this guy, Steve, who was standing next to me. I asked some of the most ridiculous questions, ones that were OBVIOUSLY the most basic-level ridiculous questions ever. I felt like the girl on TV who asks her boyfriend how much a touchdown is worth during the Super Bowl. But he answered my questions and explained everything pretty well without any condescension. By the second game of the match I was just as into the battle as everyone else.

Honestly, that's the vibe I got from the entire convention. People went around wearing whatever they wanted to, even some of the craziest costumes you'd ever see, but there was still this overwhelming feeling of equality. I mean, even people who were going around in wheelchairs and everything just flowed through the convention, and everyone was really happy to be around other people who spoke the same jargon as they did. It was a really strong, stereotype-breaking experience.


Though she looks like she's going to insta-kill you, she's probably pretty nice. Maybe even buy-you-a-cookie nice.

Frankly, I'd go again in a heartbeat. I had a great time, and I'm glad I was in California to witness it. Gotta say, being out here is giving me a lot of opportunities...it's so hard to figure this all out, lol. I love being able to go to things like this, but I don't know if they have many conventions back home... I'd love to just travel to them all and cover them for news articles and stuff. In the meantime, I'm just living it up however I can! Right now it's all about optimism! :)

All the Leaves are Brown...I mean, Green...

Alright, I didn't update last night, and that's pretty shady of me. ::sigh:: I've gotta stop being so lame. :)

Well, it's now mid-October, and the park's been all decked-out for Halloween. It's really cool to see all the different ways the park has gotten styled for the holiday, and I'm sure they're going to put up some pretty awesome things for the Winter season, too. Then again, this section of the country doesn't really HAVE Winter, they just have the rainy season. And I'm starting to witness it first-hand.

For those of you who've never left Southern California, you may be a little surprised to know that in the Midwest we have this little season called "Fall", a time where the temperature drops rather suddenly, and the leaves on the trees change color. It's the precursor to Winter, a season where temperatures drop even further, and a frozen precipitate called "snow" falls from the sky, often times in large quantities. It's pretty fascinating! ::grins::

Meanwhile, those of you who haven't been to SoCal or the surrounding area, the rainy season is a time where the skies are overcast all the time, and the weather generally shifts from sprinkling to pouring to maybe-I'll-rain, maybe-I-won't. It's not really that entertaining.

Really though, Californians, props to your warm weather. I imagine it'd be nice to trick-or-treat in a Halloween costume and not have to wear a giant puffy coat on top of the costume. And maybe California offers more full-sized candy bars? I can't prove that, but I'd imagine that's so. Disneyland runs a Mickey's Trick-or-Treat Party that's pretty good for the kids, and they give away a ton of candy. I want candy... ::sniffles::

I'm still getting used to the differences between here and home, and I can't say it's really helped me make a decision as to whether or not I want to stay out here. I want to at least go home for a week or so after I'm done with the program, but long-term plans are pretty unclear right now. The current to-do list consists of:

• Conduct interviews for my Marketing You class.
We have to take at least one weekly class offered by the Disneyland Resort as part of the College Program, even if we don't need the credits. My class is called "Marketing You," and it's a basic networking/professional development class. Our assignment for next week is one that we've had for a while: conduct two interviews with professionals and find out more about their careers.

I'm hoping to interview with a manager from Disney Interactive Media Group in California, but it'll be a 3-hour commute via bus to get up there...I don't have a car here, but I'm willing to put forth the effort anyway. I'm kinda excited to find out more about how non-car commuting works here, and I'm REALLY excited to see the company where Disney's Aladdin for the SNES and Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue! were created. (I played those games a ton in my youth...)


• Write up a speech for graduation.
Our program graduation takes place in mid-December, but instead of having an elected/default Valedictorian, a panel of people chooses two members of the program to give their stories. We have to write up our speeches and have them submitted by November 1st, which means I really have to get in gear. I'm still not sure what style of approach I want to use, but I really want to make sure that I say something worthwhile, something that people will remember. Have to stay away from the formulaic, hehe.


• Start looking at grad schools.
I've started considering going to grad school for multiple reasons. I figure that maybe it'll be easier to get my foot in the writing door/get my head in the writing mode if I'm back in class and learning new techniques. I'm not considering any college as out of my league.


• Write people back home.
Lately I've been getting some pretty strong bouts of home-sickeness. So I think it's about time to start sending some emails and catch up with the people I miss.


• Come up with my plot for NaNoWriMo
Yep, it's another November, and I'm making my third try for National Novel Writing Month. 50,000 words in 30 days. Generally I at least have an idea of what I want to write about by this point, but right now I've got NO IDEA what I want to write about. I've gotta come up with something, because I'm pretty committed to getting the "third time's a charm" thing going. We'll see how it works out...


• Go to bed.
I'm gonna do that one now. Hooray!

-Josh

Consider Yourself Rezzed

Well, ladies and gentlemen, something finally worked out in my favor this weekend. Sure, it cost me a couple hours worth of work to do it, but it was worth it in the end... I went to ElecTRONica! With a camera! And took pictures! So, in honor of the experience, the Song of the Day is, one more time (ba-dum ching!), Daft Punk:



Well, I was originally scheduled to work until pretty late on Friday, but I definitely kept feeling the drive to at least stop by and see what was going on in California Adventure sometime this past weekend. I ended up calling the Scheduling Office to find out whether or not I could switch my shift to something earlier in the day.

Disneyland's got a pretty solid scheduling department; if you have a day off and want to pick up a shift, or something happens and you want to try to rearrange a date, you can call your department's scheduling office and they'll try to help you out. If you have to call in sick or take a personal day you're not responsible for finding a cover since they take care of all of that. It's a pretty convenient system, one I wish more businesses would employ... Anyway, so all I had to do was call the day before and ask if they had an earlier shift that I could take instead of my late one. BOOM, I got to leave at 7:30. Before I knew it I was able to take this picture...


Welcome to ElecTRONica...

That's right, folks. It's the entrance to ElecTRONica, and they put on a pretty fantastic show inside. For one, there's tons of black-lighting and they use really strong blue lights to give everything a glow of its own...


We've all been rezzed!

Now, during the day the ElecTRONica area functions as the Hollywood Backlot, the area where the Disney Animation Studio attraction and Muppets 3D Theatre are, along with some other stuff. So in order to fully "take over" the area, they cast giant projections over the walls of the buildings. They're fully animated, and you can see things like lightcycles driving past you, complete with surround sound.


We don't like zombies on our lawn, but we LOVE lightcycles on our walls.


Everything in there's so gorgeous. SO GORGEOUS.

What still really gets me is how much the place looks like the concept art that they put together. I think it's amazing how one person's drawing of a place can become a full, life-sized reality in just a few years. I mean, look at the concept here:



And then look at this:



I mean, seriously. That's one giant freakin' Recognizer. And no, it doesn't move or suck people up or anything, but there's still something completely fantastic about seeing a small piece of your reality tweaked into the sci-fi dimension. After all, how often do you get to walk around and see people in glowing bodysuits dancing to techno music?


This is a picture of the guy in the costume in the middle, not the pool of sweat on the back of the guy on the left.


Blurriness is just a photo's way of describing excitement.


Even so, I could have used less blurriness here...

Even the concessions stands are all TRON'ed out. Though I couldn't get a good picture of one, they serve "Glowtinis" that have little plastic cubes in them which light up blue, making the whole drink glow...it's pretty awesome. The seating is all futuristic and lit too to keep with the design. After all, it wouldn't really make a whole lot of sense to have glowing drinks and costumes with normal chairs, would it?


So. Much. Light.


So. Much. More. Light.

One of the coolest parts of the area is Flynn's, the retro arcade I talked about a couple posts ago. There are tons of games there, and they all cost a quarter a piece to play.


None of that "Insert $1.00" crap in this arcade!


They created a "Space Paranoids" cabinet for San Diego Comic Con in 2008. 8 were created, and apparently one of them made its way to Disney...


...as did an authentic TRON cabinet! There are tons of other games there too...


...but I spent my time playing Asteroids.


:)

So, now one person's idea for a movie back in the 80s transformed into this huge entity that I can walk through and hang out with my friends in. I mean, I guess that's basically what the whole of Disneyland was at one point in time, an idea in one person's head that slowly developed into a massive powerhouse of creativity. Now thousands of people show up every day to get immersed in what used to be one man's dream. Not only that, but Disneyland is the product of the ideas, dedication, and hard work of hundreds of thousands of people over the years. So many lives have been changed for the better just as the result of this idea...

A part of me is enamored with the idea that one day some idea that I create could entertain millions of people, become a part of their reality, and in more ways than one. I mean, think about it: back when Star Trek first came out, the idea of flipping open a device and talking with someone wirelessly was nothing but a dream. Now tons of us do it on a daily basis with our cell phones and don't even give it a second thought. How many inside jokes do you have with your friends that involve a book series or a movie? How many little kids play Power Rangers out on the playground with their friends? All of these things originate from a singular idea that came from one person's head, one person with the courage and the determination to bring their dreams into reality.

Pretty amazing when you think about it.

An Introduction to The Big Time

It's Wednesday, which means it's time for another post. That's a good thing, right? I think so...I love opportunities to talk and have people listen. Or write and have people read, in this case. I think I'll start off by linking you up to today's Song of the Day...it's by Daft Punk, of course. I'm telling you, this ElecTRONica thing is really going to my head...you should listen to it while you read! Great idea!



Well, I'm now quite a few weeks into the program (8 weeks, I think), and the question all across the board has been "What are you going to do next?" Well, the whole "I'm going to Disneyland" line is pretty played out now, and life is forcing me to put on the big-boy pants and make some pretty tough decisions. When the program started it seemed like January 2nd was an eternity away, but the seasons are already starting to change, and winter is bringing a ton of opportunities and challenges with it. After all, once the program ends I don't have good 'ol Eastern Illinois University to run back to...I've already got my degree. And a TON of student loans. Welcome to the big time, right?


I want YOU to pay back your student loans...or else...

So, I've started making a list of stipulations that my next professional decision has to fulfill. I don't want to end up having a career in something that I hate, and I want to make sure that I make enough money to enjoy life (which can be pretty difficult when you have a BA in English), so I want to steer my life in a direction that does both of those things. These stipulations include:

• Must push towards a productive career in writing
• Must provide ample time to do writing for pleasure
• Must provide enough money to start paying back debts
• Must move UP the ladder, not sideways

I understand that the last stipulation is going to be a hard one to fulfill, as the job market right now is TERRIBLE and it could take a whole lot to start climbing any sort of professional ladder. But the way I see it, I've got a degree, a pretty stocked resume, tons of charisma and charm, and a pretty great writing style to boot. I think that if I market myself correctly and make some of the right connections here at Disney or wherever else, I should be alright. And let's not forget that I'm a recent graduate, so I work CHEAP!


Notice that they're all 1-dollar bills. I don't mind working for those, so long as they come in large enough quantities... (Note: I wonder if this is really how rappers make it rain...)

So, considering all of that, I've nailed down the list of possibilities to these:

• Find a job (perhaps out here on the West Coast, but honestly wherever) doing editing, script-writing, or game journalism
• Go to grad school and get a stipend that lets me live and pay back student loans
• Go home and get a real job that makes enough money to pay bills, and focus on writing books

I think that I ended up listing those ideas in order of preference, though I have to admit that each of those options has some really great pros that the others don't have. Option one, working right now in some sort of writing-related industry, would finally give me the introductory experience that employers are looking for in more advanced jobs. Not to mention I've been DYING to get a chance to really stretch my creative wings on a project that actually gets some sight time in the public eye. Option two sends me on the track to an MFA in Creative Writing and (hopefully) gives me increased marketability.

Option three somewhat caters to the dreamer in me, the part that believes that if I just really buckled down and wrote a book series, it'd be a best-seller and I'd be loved and adored by millions of readers worldwide...if only I had the time and the inspiration. But I also acknowledge the fact that the option in question really caters to the realist in me, the part that feels like I'll never really hit it big, never become the famous writer I want to, never break into the literary market as anything other than a possible footnote. And therein lies a lot of the problems I'm confronting as I speed on through the program...


Figures I'd get the piss cup.

I think part of what makes this whole "growing up" thing so difficult is learning how to confront "reality" and overcome it, if that makes sense. There's a part of me that keeps saying, "Josh, you'll never make it. You're too scatterbrained, you don't follow through on ideas, and you NEVER focus on your writing. People out there with more talent are certainly doing better than you, and there are even people out there with less talent who at least have more drive than you, and they deserve what they're getting. You should get ready to bag groceries." By the way, I've bagged groceries, and though I did it at a pretty great company (shout-out to GFS Marketplace!), I really want to expand. (By the way, if you look REALLY hard you can see my ego showing through my self-denigration! YAY! :) )

But honestly, I've decided that I'm pretty sick of listening to that realist in me. I think I'd rather fail really hard in writing than succeed in mediocrity, so I'm slowly taking steps to establish a more credible, stable me. These steps include:

• Making schedules and sticking to them
• Spending time with productive people to inspire productivity in myself
• Carrying a small notebook to record writing ideas (Great birthday gift, Kelsey!)
• Keeping in contact with friends and family to stabilize myself
• Writing more often in whatever way I can
• Making lists to showcase my list-making abilities

I've started trying to write more for the news site that I work for, 411mania Games. Even if it's just putting together a news article or two once or twice a week, that still keeps me in the mode of writing and processing gaming news. And recording the writing ideas at least gives me a solid resource to go back to...and it reminds me that I AM creative, that I have a lot that I can put on the table. I consider it my playbook, hehe.

I feel like I spend a lot of time trying to get the answers from other people, but now I think I just need to check my own playbook, both physically and metaphorically speaking, to get the answers I'm looking for. Maybe we all just need our own playbooks to find the answers we're looking for? Food for thought! G'night all, and see you on Sunday!


You know what food is delicious? Chinese food. I'm getting some tomorrow.

An Apology and Disneyland Events

It's Tuesday, and maybe you're wondering why I'm posting? Well, it seems that I've finally been called out for missing a post. I took a bit of crap from one of my followers for not posting on Sunday, and I've gotta admit, it felt kinda good! I'm glad that I've got a bit of accountability out there, and I'm addressing that concern by posting tonight. And I'm sending out an apology to any one who was looking forward to reading on Sunday night/Monday. So, here we go...

California's been pretty hectic lately, to be honest. Even just talking about the things that are going on in the park takes a lot of time, partly I guess because I haven't been updating as regularly as I should... :\ (that's actually the first time I've EVER used that emoticon). Still, we'll start by flashing back to a couple weekends ago.

So, let's imagine that you decided to come to Disneyland one day, and you happened to be wearing your favorite red shirt. It can be pretty much any shirt you want, other than a St. Louis Cardinals shirt. I'm not really a Cardinals fan. In fact, though I'm primarily a Cubs fan, you could call me an anti-Cardinals fan. I can't even root for the Arizona Cardinals, and that's a completely different sport (football vs. baseball, so you know).


The official position of this blog.

Anyway, so you're walking around with your red shirt on, having a good time, and then you notice that there are TONS of other people walking around with red shirts on. Hooray, you start to think, it must be "Red Shirts Get In Free Day!". Well, you'd be wrong about that assumption. What's going on at the park, you ask? I'll give you a hint:


Uh, I don't think this hint really needs a caption...

For those of you who guessed "Unofficial Disneyland Gay Days," you were spot on the money. And for those of you who suddenly felt a rush of, "Uh, I kinda wish that someone had told me that before I wore my favorite red shirt to the part today," I can guarantee you that there were plenty of people in the park in that same position. But I think that's maybe part of what the event was going for...I mean, after all, wearing a red shirt doesn't mean that you're gay, right? And even if it did, why would it matter? You'd still just be a person in a theme park looking to enjoy the weather and attractions just like everyone else, right?


Ummkay, so some people take the theme park experience a little seriously...

I'm a pretty staunchly liberal ally, so it's nice to see some corporate tolerance going on, particularly out here in California. I think us humble folk from Illinois grossly over-estimate San Francisco's influence on state politics...truthfully, in my experience I've found life is pretty conservative out here. I certainly heard about people issuing complaints about Gay Days taking place at the park and how they felt it was offensive, and I suppose I wasn't surprised. But I'm the type that equivocates the Gay Rights Movement with the Civil Rights Movement in the 60s...I'm sure there were people complaining about all the black kids at their children's schools and whatnot for quite some time.

Regardless, I was pretty surprised to see that Disney even "unofficially" recognized the event as taking place. I've been pretty amazed at how liberal and open the company seems to be in the modern age. I think I was always under the impression that the Disney Company would be hyper-conservative, but they do little things like stock up on tons of extra Rainbow Mickey pins, pins which end up selling out anyway...and even though the company's exterior seems pretty squeaky-conservative, there are lots of organizations and people at Disney that support gay rights and whatnot. Open-mindedness is always refreshing, heh.


The official Disney Pin description: "This colorful, Open Edition Mickey Mouse icon pin features the true colors of the rainbow." Change takes time, but even small changes are good changes.

But Gay Days has come and gone, and things are still continuing to change in Disneyland. Queue up my new favorite part of the entire Disneyland Resort, and it takes place every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night in Disney California Adventure:


Even though I'm quoting my roommate Sloane out of context, it still applies: "It's so sick I could puke."

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to ElecTRONica, the newest addition to the Disney California Adventure Hollywood Backlot (that's a mouthful (that's what she said :D )). The attraction's meant to increase hype for the Disney movie TRON: Legacy, and it sure did for me... I wasn't even that excited about the movie before going to ElecTRONica, but now I'm TOTALLY PUMPED.

Now you're probably wondering where the pictures are...well, I didn't take any. ::collective groan:: I've only seen the area during a cast-exclusive preview event before the attraction officially opened up, and since I wasn't sure if they'd let me take pictures at all, I didn't bring the camera. That's why the above shot is just some concept art of what goes down in ElecTRONica...I would have taken some pictures this weekend, but I worked every day while that section of the park was open, so I couldn't go. Of course, luck would have it that I'm working those same times this weekend too, so I won't be able to go this weekend. I'm hoping I'll be able to trade a shift off or get out a bit early...


Trust me, this isn't too far from how the thing really looks. When Disneyland does something, they do it BIG.

For those of you who don't know, the world of Tron takes is an entire civilization that exists inside a computer. ElecTRONica is supposed to be a representation of an area in Tron: Legacy where the programs cool down and relax. This attraction's got everything from a huge center dance/rave area to a retro-themed arcade based on Flynn's Arcade from the original Tron movie. All the Cast Members working the area are in costumes designed to fit the aesthetic of the new movie, so it's all reflective black-and-white in computer-chip style shapes. Oh, it's SO AWESOME... I can't wait to get pictures to show you.

They play all sorts of techno and house music, including a ton of Daft Punk, the French-phenom duo that put together the soundtrack for Tron: Legacy. I've heard the whole soundtrack for the new movie is Daft Punk and Journey...sounds right up my alley. I think I'll actually buy that music... ::grins::


I love Techno. I love Daft Punk. And now I love Tron. Perfect combination.

So, if I get the chance to go this weekend, pictures and video will soon be coming. It's a fantastic combination of lasers, music, and technology that anyone who gets the chance to check out definitely should. In the meantime, I'm going to peace out so you all don't have to read anymore for the night. See you tomorrow, everyone!

It's Wednesday! And I'm Posting!

Hey, a post that's actually on time! Well, kinda...yeah, it's been a little bit of time since the last post, but I'm getting my stuff together. That's why I've even got a VIDEO this time around! Woo-hoo!

I won't take a whole lot of your time this time around, just point you straight to the video! You Facebook followers had a chance to see an advanced screening of this, but here it is in its entirety anyway! See you next post!



P.S. Thanks much to Katie for pointing out a critical error I made when displaying my address...I didn't give the whole address! This is my COMPLETE mailing address:

Josh Boykin
180 W. Center St. Promenade
Apartment 320
Anaheim, CA 92805

Hope that helps! Have a great night!