Happy Belated Christmas

So, yeah, here's me bragging about what I got for Christmas, enjoy:

1. A 20$ Steam Gift Card with which I bought Darksouls Prepare to Die Edition for ≈9$ and Metro 2033 for ≈7.

2. An Xbox One

3. Call of Duty : Advanced Warfare

4. Three amazing sweaters. (I wear sweaters all the time, like the hipster I am.)

5. An electric razor. My dad was getting tired of having to buy refills :P

6. A book, Grasshopper Jungle.

7. An iTunes gift card.

8. A new wire for my headphones.

And, that's "it". Anyways, happy holidays and such.

See y'all next time.

O', Christmas Tree

As graceful as a butterfly, the great DiNoahsaur places the golden star atop the Christmas tree.

That's me, by the way, in a dinosaur onesie. I'm 6'4".

My Top 10 Favourite Jazz Songs

So, I've always been a huge jazz fan. My dad's been playing in a big band since he was 17 and it's natural that I grew up with it and learned to love it. Not everyone likes the same kinds of jazz, so I thought I'd share my favourites with you, just in case you want to learn more about jazz or find new songs. Just as a warning, there is going to be a lot of Bill Evans on this list, so if you don't like him, you're kinda screwed.

10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTJhHn-TuDY - C Jam Blues by Oscar Peterson

Just a fun little piece I like listening to. Funny thing about Oscar is that he sings the notes he plays as he's playing.

9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH3GSrCmzC8 - Waltz for Debby by The Bill Evans Trio

-shrugs- I like it.

8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrMGZ1Srcq8 - Differently, Still by BADBADNOTGOOD

This isn't like what BBNG usually do, but I really, really like this song, especially this live version.

7. https://soundcloud.com/bluenoterecords/otis-brown-the-thought-of-you - The Thought of You -Part 1 (feat. Bilal) by Otis Brown III

Don't really know what to say about it other than smooth.

6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKNzdBNJ7Bg - So What by Miles Davis

A classic. What else can I say?

5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6mfWun73vI - Tenderly by Chet Baker

Simply gorgeous. I don't like Chet's singing, but goddamn can he play the trumpet.

4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fh133ZO1AE - O Tannenbaum by The Vince Guaraldi Trio

I love winter, I love Christmas, I love Christmas specials, I love Charlie Brown, and I love jazz. This track is my favourite off of Guaraldi's album for the special.

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIi0xm_tlCU&list=FLIucMcanUctfWgDPBkSYniA&index=2 - Commeraderie by The Roy Hargrove Quintet

 The first song of this concert, after their tuning/intro, is crazy on a technical level, especially on the bass/drum level. Considering that I'm a drummer, there's no way I can't not love this song.

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Wd--YgSCfA - Someday My Prince Will Come by the Bill Evans Trio

Even though it's the song which introduced me to Bill Evans, it comes very, very close to tieing with number 1, which I love the most for personal reasons.

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_PUZkJ79BE - My Favourite Things/Easy to Love/Baubles, Bangles, and Beads by Bill Evans

My mother used to sing My Favourite Things to me all the time when I was a baby and I guess it's stuck with me all of this time. His transitions into Easy to Love and BB&B are perfect and I much prefer his arrangement of My Favourite Things to John Coltrane's, as I feel like it swings a lot more and holds much more creativity.


So, there we go. I hope you guys find some stuff that you like.

I really like my cat.

The title says it all.

Ain't he just a lil cutie?

Yes, he is.

His name is Purrcy (get it?).

Winter

So, my friend from Texas wanted to know what winter is like, up here in Canada. Well, hopefully, this picture illustrates it slightly, but here are some more details:

Every year, we always end up with a about two feet of snow at the apex of winter, unless there's a freak snowstorm or something. This does not mean that we can't go outside or drive or anything, because we have snow removers that send the snow from the streets either into our yards or into a dump truck. We also have little ones which clear the sidewalks. This also means that our roads never get icy, but in case they do, cars have winter tires that they put on at the end of autumn which have better grip.

We do not wear snowshoes on a regular basis. Snowshoes are only used for very specific activities like walks in the forest. Practically everyone knows how to ice skate, and this doesn't mean figure skating, this means at least the basics, so anyone can join in a game of hockey. When we go to play in the snow, we wear things called snow pants, which are big poofy pants we wear over our regular pants. They're usually made the same way as your basic winter coat.

Schools practically never get closed because of snow storms, the drivers here are just too used to it.

We also have heating systems inside our houses to keep us warm.

Am I missing anything? I guess you'll tell me in the comments or something, if there's anything else you want to know.

Have a nice day, guys.
Noah

Don't It Look Beautiful?

As you can see, I brought some changes to the page. I thought it deserved a more interesting re-skinning.

In case you're wondering, that is my cat in the picture. His name is Purrcy (haha, get it?) and he's a Himalayan except he doesn't have a flat nose.


Sooooo...yeah, I might make another post today, if I get the time.

In the meantime, have fun.

Noah

The Goat from Hell with the Flaming Horns

So, like I mentioned in my previous post, I got into a new D&D group. I've been playing since I was around 10 years old, played excessively until I was 15 and then hit a lull in my playing because my old group never took anything seriously anymore and relied on meta thinking in order to solve all of my problems, like the wizard casting a shrink spell on a gnome assassin, who could sneak into anything his head could fit in, who would then get into all of the enemies' anuses and then unshrink, effectively making the explode, or tossing a pebble from  to another, which is a minor action, which in other means that it takes no time to do and can there for be done indefinitely, until it's speed is rival to sound, then tossing it at an enemy and killing it.

Needless to say, it got very frustrating as they wouldn't try to have fun and just wanted to fuck around with whoever was DMing.

Anyways, I wanted to talk about my first Dungeons and Dragons experience, which was in 5th grade. I had just changed schools and was walking around the playground, not sure what to do during the lunch break. Eventually, I spot a bunch of kids huddled around a table with books and paper strewn around them. Curious, I walk over and ask them what they're doing. The one who answered, and seemed to be in charge, tells me they are playing D&D. I vaguely remembered what this name meant, as one of my uncles had spoken about it to me once in the passed, so, still curious, I asked if I could join.

They looked weary, as if I were here to mock them, but they accepted anyways and the leader told me that since I didn't have a character and they didn't have enough time to make one for me, that I would have to play as his pet leopard (he was playing as a druid). I honestly didn't do much, but watching them play helped me learned the core rules and basics of the game. What they were fighting, however, stayed with me forever. As William, the leader called it, it was a giant, 20 foot tall goat standing on it's two hind legs with flaming horns that shot (obviously) fire and wielded a gigantic two handed axe.

The only way the PCs could damage the goat was by using a create water spell on the horns. It took them a while to figure it out, but, luckily, the wizard at the time, David, got tired of having to use cure light wounds for burns, and decided to see what happened to extinguish the flames on his head. After that, it was only a matter of bashing on it.

So, guys, that's pretty much it for today, hope y'all enjoyed it.

Things.

I haven't posted in a while. I knew this would happen. I just don't feel like what I post is in any way worth looking at and whenever I try to write something to post, it's either too personal or too uninteresting and mundane.

But whatever, here's for you, Kaneris, you asked for it.

My first semester in cegep is over. I have good grades, lowest being 80 and highest being 98 and I start my winter break tomorrow.

Things that happened to me this semester:
- I joined the student radio.
- I became an executive at the radio.
- For about a month and a half, I dated this second year girl from the radio, but I dumped her because of her drug problem (weed, speed, MDA, MDMA, hash, coke, cigarettes and alcohol) and because she was sleeping with another guy the whole time and made out with some guy she'd bonded with over drugs when she was drunk at a party.
- I've practically stopped playing drums.
- I've been doing more cooking.
- I made two short films. I'll upload them soon, I guess.
- I got into a new Dungeons and Dragons group.
- I've been invited to bars, pubs, clubs, etc. over 30 times because people assume I'm in between the ages of 19 and 23 even though I'm 17.
- I learned that I'm apparently a good kisser.
- I made half a dozen drawings. Maybe I'll upload a few.

Happy?

I'm going to take a nap now.

Date Night

So, recently, I went on a date.

._. It was fun.

Anyways, we went to go see Big Hero 6.

It. Is. So. Goddamn. Hilarious.

I literally could barely stop laughing for the whole first half. I think I was actually tearing up at the eyes from laughing so much. Anyways, it was really GR8 R8 it 8/8.

After it was over, we talked a bit, then hugged, then went our separate ways. She's a second year in my cegep (I'm a first), and I consider her to be very attractive, even if I don't necessarily agree with that many of her lifestyle choices. However, she's told me that she becomes a lot less...brash/wild in her decisions whenever she's a relationship, which kind of feels me reassured. Personality wise, we're kind of opposites, other than we're both extroverted, but, well, you know what they say :P

I work at the student radio, and that's where we first met. I didn't  think really anything happened in between us to make her ask me out to the movies, but she did. I would be what one would consider the oblivious type. Anyways, there wasn't really much precursor to the her-asking-me-out-on-a-date thing. Like, we didn't really have a quote-unquote friendship to build off of.

We both had fun, though, and this Sunday, we're going to this replica of the Notre Dame cathedral in my city, for one of my classes where we had studied mediaeval architecture. Should be cool.

d(^-^)d

-Noah

¿De que color es mi corbata?

So, I thought I would actually just wait a day before posting this, just so I could make sure that what I was saying is correct.

Yesterday, I learned that one of teacher's from highschool, Señor Miranda, died from cancer. As you can guess, he was a Spanish teacher. He taught sec 4 and 5 Spanish, but had missed practically 3/4s of the whole year, last year. We knew he was sick, just not how sick, and when he'd come to our prom, he's seemed fine. We'd been told that he was recovering.

Sadly, just because you're recovering, it doesn't mean you'll heal. There were more complications which resulted in his death.

Honestly, he was a really good teacher. Dynamic, fun, always cheerful, I truly appreciated his class. However, I find that most of the students in his class were always disrespectful with him. They never listened, did on purpose to antagonize him and were just generally bad students, which I find is too bad considering all the effort he put into doing something he loved.

I don't believe in any kind of heaven or hell, after life or nirvana, no what he believed in. I just hope that, where ever he is, whatever he's doing, he's happy.

Goodbye, Luis, I wish you luck and happiness.

-Noah

-LaTale Related- Me

So, after much pestering from one of my friends, I'm posting something about the 2D Side scrolling MMORPG I play, LaTale. It's currently one of the only games I play and I've been playing it off and on since it's debut in America, though I've been playing it more seriously (playing it "well") for about a year now.

If you're curious about what the game looks like, if you don't know what it is, you can go to this website : www.latale.ogplanet.com/en/main.og

So, this post is mostly going to be about my main character, Heiligen.

First things first, I'm the realest. (Haha.) Seriously, first thing: the name Heiligen is German for Holy, among other things, as she's a Sefirot (last class of the Guardian class line), and yes, I did say she. I kind of only play female characters when I play video games. No, this isn't because I'm a horny perv who can't get a girlfriend or something along those lines, it's just that video games are a method of escaping from reality, and, to distance myself even more from it, I play as a female character.

Anyways, (by the way, if you don't play LaTale, this will mean nothing to you), my stats and stuff are as follows:

Level : 187

HP: 21k
SP: 10.5k

Str: 1.3k
Stam: 1.8k
Mag: 1.2k
Luck: 1.5k

Equips:
+7 Seres armor
+8 Coli Knuckles (27min/33max)
+1 Luseria Earrings (4x luck, 4x stam)
+1 Luseria Cloak (+9 luck)
+1 Hell Stockings (+68 rope move)
Tiger Ring (3x luck, 2x stam)

All mini boss gems with basic enchants.

All superior leileis with basic enchants

+7 shining gems with basic enchants everywhere else.

Wooden Necklace

Devil Ring, GoS title, Steampunk set with Full Metal Eye piece, Royal Bullet gloves and FG earrings.

Now for some other bits and bobs of information:

I can solo hardcore and expert coli in ≈8 minutes and ≈2 minutes and a half respectively.

Did I miss anything, Ellie?

Anyways, I'll be posting something a bit more serious soon tonight.

-Noah

Yay! Drawing!

So, my friend in my school newspaper saw me drawing something a few weeks ago and told me I should make something for the newspaper, so I made this. Twas fun o3o

-Noah

Skool Drules

So, since my three hour class got canceled today, I thought I'd take the opportunity to talk about the Quebec school system (ironic, isn't it?).

So, after primary school (grades 1 to 6), you go to secondary school, which is grades 7 to 12. In both of these, you're taught general stuff. Math, science, French, English, etc. With the exception of sec. 4 where you choose either advanced or regular math and sec. 5 where you choose either Bio/Geography (together) or Physics/Chemistry (also together) (think of it as like a bundle pack).

Most people who choose advanced math go in Physics and Chem and those who choose regular math go in Bio and geo. This makes sense, because there isn't any math involved in the bio/history course. I was kind of an exception to that rule, because I didn't want to do math stuff for a living (I'm looking at director/screen writer for movies or radio personality), but I hate bio and geo. Plus the physics teacher was cool as ice.

Anyways, after secondary school, you have cegep, which is pretty much university before university. You go into a specific domain, you choose all of your courses, etc. It's way cheaper, so it allows for students to get their bearings and discover what they truly enjoy doing before moving on to Uni. I, myself, when into C.A.L.L. (creative arts, languages, and literature) into the Media Arts program. Cegep, which, by the way, stands for Centre Education Général et Professionel, usually lasts about 2 years. (It's costing me about 1.6k to go for the two years.)

And, finally, you have Uni, which still costs a lot less than in the U.S. I think for a 3 year program, it goes to about 15 grand.

Anyways, I'm doing well in college, I'm above average in all of my classes, which I all enjoy, so that's good.

Anyways, see y'all later.

-Noah

Oops

So, I got caught up with a bunch of homework today, plus I went to go see Maze Runner, so I didn't have much free time. In this case, I'll just write about my thoughts on the movie:

It was good. Better than I thought it would be because of the reviews I'd read. The actors were good and the casting was well done. They did a good job of conveying the panic they felt whenever they got into fights or into tight places. All the movement felt very real. The monsters, Greavers, I think they were called, weren't the best CGI I've ever seen, but were passable.

The major flaw with the movie was that it gets kind of confusing, and I've read the book, although admittedly a couple of years ago. There are quite a few things that don't exactly make much sense, but I wouldn't say the plot is like swiss cheese or the roads in Quebec.

Overall, a good movie. I'll give it a 7.5 on 10.

QwQ

I promise I'll make a post tomorrow, okay, guys? Okay, thanks :)

It'll be about Quebec's weird school system and what I'm doing in it.

See y'all tomorrow. Sleep tight.

-Noah

Halloween, the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

So, a couple of days ago, I was at the local pharmacy to get some cereal which was half off (in case you're curious, it was Rice Krispies). After paying, I see what you see in the picture: a Christmas calendar.

This kind of frustrates me. WHY. THE. FUCK. WOULD. I. BUY. A. CHRISTMAS. CALENDAR. BEFORE. HALLOWEEN?

Anyways, this brings me to talk to what I'm going to be wearing for Halloween. My mates in the student radio, where I work, were pretty adamant that I should go as this after one of them suggested it. Finally, I'm going as Peter Pan.

You know what that means: I have to buy some tights.

This Halloween is also the first time I'm going to be going to a party (also courtesy of my radio mates).

In case you're asking yourself why this is the first party I've been to, since I'm 17, it's because the highschool I went to was not really the type of school where people party. I guess I'll talk about my school in a post later on.

Anyways, good night, everyone.

I'll see you all soon.

Noah

Oh, Canada

So, last week, while I was skyping with Ellie during school, she told me that it was 25°C where she was (the state of Texas) and that she was freezing her ass off.

I, being from the great country of Canada, scoffed at this and introduced her to the concept of Canadian winter, which I will now proceed to inform you.

Winter theoretically doesn't start until December 21st. However, in Canada, winter pretty much starts in mid October. Today is October 20th and it was around 3°C the whole day. Now, as a Canadian, I only consider this to be cool weather, not cold. I only wore a light jacket, scarf and hat while outside. Some Halloweens, it get's so cold that we have to wear our winter jackets and snow pants underneath our costumes.

This brings me to another concept which I introduced to Ellie: Snow pants. These magical sleeves for your legs go over your pants, are water proof and keep you warm. They aren't fashionable and are only worn when going out to play in the snow.

Speaking of snow, you may be wondering, "Noah, how do you drive in the snow?". The answer is simple, my friends, we have these things called snow blowers, which send the snow on the road onto out front lawns. We also have these wonderful objects known as winter tires, which have better grip and don't slip nearly as much.

At the apex of a Canadian winter, we usually end up with around 3 feet of snow, and we never really get school to close because of storms. I haven't actually had a day closed because of snow in over 5 years. I'm 17, by the way, just in case you were wondering.

Also, we can ski and snowboard from November to April, sometimes may. I can do both, but I prefer skiing.

Anyways, winter is my favourite time of the year and I'll explain more about why when the time comes (around Christmas). I guess I just spoiled the surprise about why. Oh, well.

Anyways, that's it for today, folks.

I'll see y'all soon.

-Noah

Starting Anew

So, a while back, maybe 3 months ago, I told myself I was going to start a blog, and that I was going to try and stick to it.

Obviously, that didn't happen.

However, the friend who I made over the summer who has a blog of her own (I'll post a link to it tomorrow or something, when I get to go on the computer) is making me go back to it, and I appreciate that she is doing this.

So, to start us off, I'm going to make a list of things I'm going to post over the next while. Ready? Here 'goes:

1. Drawings and paintings I'm gonna do.

2. Food I'm going to have cooked or baked.

3. Short films I'm making in school.

4. A guide to the Sefirot class in the MMORPG known as LaTale. I'll get to this in a bit.

5. Maybe videos of me playing LaTale.

6. Other stuff I find of somewhat interest.

So, that's about it.

Right, so about LaTale. I've been playing this game for about...a very long time. Since the Open Beta started, I think in 2007 or 2008. However, I played it on and off constantly and only got around to playing it well this past year. My current characters are a level 189 Holy Order (which I don't like that much), a level 184 Sefirot (which I adore) and a level 53 Treasure Hunter which I started on Sunday so that I can do some Ely (the in game currency) farming at later levels easier.

So, what else? Um...I look forward to posting some stuff. 4realz this time.

Also, thanks, Ellie.

Anyways,
I'll see y'all soon.