I’m the laziest person in the world… normally. When left on my own, I’ll tend to find a nice, cozy field on which to sit and space out to the sounds of honking geese and the visual hypnotics of nebulous gas puffs (which are sometimes natural-looking enough to be considered clouds). But lately, I’ve been swept up into a tornado of activity.

Just to recap:

• Tmesis Magazine
• GRE exam
• PLC Summer Program (teaching)
• PLC Independent Learning Program
• Putting together a privately owned website for my boss/friend
• BLOGGING!

Sadly, I’ve been ignoring that last one, which is not to say that the list is in any particular order. I can certainly lessen my time doing one or two of those things, but I don’t think I have it in me. That’s a funny concept, now that I think about it.

One thing I’ve been mulling over on my many mental detours to Vacantville is the idea of whether I’ve been having too little time to myself or whether I’ve been having too much. Also in question is what having time to myself actually means. If I choose to use my free time to start or continue an obligation to myself, is it still considered free time? Hmmmm…

Anyway, that’s enough of that. Today - just moments ago, actually - I decided to stop and reflect, and inevitably to write up a long awaited blog post. As my mind is still very much exhausted from the day, don’t mind any ingenuous (yay for GRE vocab!) remarks I may have made.

I’m due for a magazine meeting in 10 minutes, so I’m splitting this post into a 2-parter. Tune in next time to find out what color socks I’m wearing, where I go to buy Grade-A frog meat, and what I do to ensure the impossibility of my students being talked down to in their young adult lives.

This is Ray for Ray’s Journal, signing out.

If you can step abroad to reach great heights
And still recognize what lows can be;
If you can swallow all your lonely nights
Yet have room enough to spare for me;
If you can wonder what it means to ‘know’,
When your knowledge dictates what you see,
Or through the cosmic things in life, you grow
By taking respite in its subtlety;

If you can force yourself to live and fight
For each resolve you have in spite of me,
And separate what’s wrong from right,
Yet still believe in life’s uncertainty,
And take its trial for a gambler’s game
Whose prize outreaches destiny;
You must be bold enough to stake your claim
Of being more that what mere eyes can see.
—
This poem © 2008 by me

It hit us like a ton of pollen, hurr! Like a brick oven? Like a… bottle of Tide detergent?

But all seriousness aside, this change in weather is ludicrous! One night, I bundled up with three blankets for bed, and the next morning I felt like I was being broiled. Not that I’m complaining or anything.

Luckily, today wasn’t too hot. I went in for an interview at Harper Collins, which I think went fairly well. I’ve been focusing so hard on Tmesis Magazine that it seemed like just another fun trip to New York. I mean, aside from the walking outside in a 2-piece suit part - that wasn’t so fun. I had to take shelter in an Au Bon Pain to cool off before going into the office. My interviewer seemed very nice, so it might as well have been a day-vacation. (Though, I am pretty serious about the job.)

Either way, I’ll be working full time, if not for Harper then for the learning center.

***

I’ve found myself in a new routine lately. Every weekday morning, I head down to B&N at around 9am, when they open. I basically use the place as my own personal library, and spend about an hour enjoying their couches while flipping through whatever catches me. It delights me to know that doing so is in fact legal in the State of New Jersey. If I play my cards right, I may never have to buy another book for as long as B&N lives.

Speaking of which, I’ve updated my GoodReads sidebar thingy. It now shows my “bookshelf” of the books I’ve read and for which I’ve written reviews. Specifically, the books I’ve read at B&N with some other ones thrown in there from way back.

***

Ah… It’s been a long time since my last Anime review. Let’s take a look at what I’ve been watching.

GENSHIKEN

Grade: A+ | Genres: comedy, slice-of-life

Genshiken is based on the manga of the same name, which has won critical acclaim in Japan for its execution of the slice-of-life genre, according to this all-knowing Wikipedia article. While I’m still in the middle of enjoying the manga, I’ve watch every Genshiken anime episode that has aired thus far, and I can confirm it’s greatness.

Outside of the traditional realm of anime comedy, its humor is less slapstick and more situational. It’s the type of comedy that you “just can’t make up”, unless you’re a genius like Genshiken’s original artist, Shimoku Kio. Aside from the funnies, the characters of this series have very subtle depths to them, which is also something that’s not common of anime, much less comedic ones. I dare say that I’ve not yet seen an anime with as much depth to its characters as with Genshiken.

The cast reveal themselves naturally, through the common, everyday trials of the otaku, which allows for an easily flowing storyline. It’s a must-see(read) for all contemporary slice-of-life fiction lovers.

THE THIRD

THE GIRL WITH THE BLUE EYE

Grade: C | Genres: action, adventure, comedy, sci-fi

It started off interestingly enough. Somewhere around the middle, I was intrigued. The ending became too terribly convenient.

If you like straight action with a fairly simple plotline, give it a shot. Oh yeah, and it’s also got some B-grade drama in there. Girls crying, tragic bad guy - you know, the usual.

NOEIN

TO YOUR OTHER SELF

Grade: B+ | Genres: adventure, drama, psychological, romance, sci-fi

This series is surprisingly good, and an excellent pick for the Sci Fi channel’s Anime Monday (though I think Noein has actually finished airing there.) I was nearly fooled in the beginning, believing that it would end up as just another action-driven blade fest, but found little bits of mystery that kept me hanging on until the second act, where the first big revelation happens. By then, I couldn’t have stopped if I wanted to.

The revealing plot twists in this story are pretty top notch, but what really impresses me is the detail in which the story explains the whole trans-dimensional merging business. Seems like the writers they did their homework. The characters are also well rounded, and the love story is able to hold its own in the arena of epic romances.

The only think keeping Noein from a ‘Grade A’ is the fact that I would rank Serial Experiments Lain with an A+. When it comes to psychological sci-fi dramas, Noein just doesn’t come close enough.
-Ray

Sometimes you can read the first few pages of a book and know right away whether it’s plot-driven or character-driven. I’m attracted to the latter myself; character-driven writing gives a story a kind of depth that’s typically hard to find.

It’s not too difficult to write either way if you set your mind to it, but I often don’t see the need to write a story of events just for the story’s sake. Within the characters are already many deeply involved stories that can be plucked out. They just need to be developed a little bit first.

It’s like when you’re out in public an you glance at strangers passing you by; you don’t really think anything of them. But when you stop and take a good long look at a stranger from across the room, you start to see their story, even if it’s entirely imagined by you. The same goes with a fictional character, only there’s the bonus of being allowed a much better look into what makes the person or thing whole since he, she or it exists solely in the mind until they’re written about.

-Ray

I took a quick interlude between putting together the pages of tmesismag.com to write a few words about the characters of John de Clare. I even made a couple of meager attempts at portraits. Check em out! You can also get there through the John de Clare Contents page.

I haven’t actually written Six or Jen into the story yet, but they’ll be in there… somewhere.