A Gamer With A Pen

In 2009, I have done many new things that I usually don't do because I'm so shy and reserved. I tend to avoid crowds and interacting with strangers. Friends say I'm overly paranoid, but I say I'm just aware. I love going out and meeting new people despite my withdrawn nature. And I think I have proved this by doing things this past year I have never done before, which was...

- Taking a martial art.
Every time I watch a movie with martial arts in it, my mouth becomes parched because I watch with my mouth open. I'm truly amazed to know that there are people out there that can do incredible things with their feet, legs, hands, elbows, and even foreheads! I enjoy watching martial arts so much that I always wanted to learn, but I always said, "naaah." First, I thought I would get my butt kicked if I enrolled into a class and secondly I thought I would look awkward punching and/or kicking air. The only experience I had close to it was working out with Billy Blanks in Tae Bo on VHS. I've gotten a lot of laughs from that, but it has actually helped me.

I enrolled into Taekwondo at the start of 2009 for the school semester. Because I learned how to balance and was generally coordinated with my punches and kicks from Tae Bo, I did just fine following the instructor's commands. She even complimented me on my kicks. Woo! But learning the palgwe forms (palgwe 1 for example) was my favorite thing to do. There were also a few black belts in there making all the rest of us newbies look horrible. However, all of them took the time to help each one of us learn the basics and foundation of the art. After the semester was over, I was sad to let it go, but I'll never forget the experience.

- Hiking.
This certainly wasn't my first time hiking, but it was my first time going through a few caves at the Pinnacles National Monument. It was a great way to take a step back from my normal daily activities to be surrounded by things that we all usually take for granted. The five mile hike involved uphill, downhill, rugged terrain, stairs, narrow paths, and even getting down on all fours to crawl under thick rocks that formed the caves. It was a blast and I would do it all over again.

- Water tubing (not me pictured)!
How fun this was!! I was a little concerned showing off my whiteness (even though I was tanned) by wearing a halter top with short shorts, especially in front of strangers. Luckily, no one gave a crap. Instead, everyone was concerned with the cold, greenish water that we all had to get into. About 30 mins floating down the river, we immediately get soaked by a random group of people. They were using their paddles to splash us, but they didn't realize we had super soakers. I was in front of the pack and was the first to feel the sharp cold sting of the water hit my face. I was ready to kick some butt UFC style, but with a super soaker! I filled it up with water and quickly aimed for the face of the dude that splashed me. I did it again, but aimed for another, who was sitting right next to him. They continued to splash us as we continued to blast them water. It ended with everyone being drenched and a ton of laughs afterward. It was pure comedy and I wished I had a waterproof video camera of some sort to record it all.

- Going to a Sharks game!
So much adrenaline! And the atmosphere of being part of something with a crowd full of 16,000 fans was exhilarating.

- Sitting in front of rowdy (yet comical!) men at a Roller Derby game.
Not my first time witnessing sweaty, noisy men, but definitely my first time going to see a Roller Derby game. It was hot, smelly, and difficult to see the game itself since the seats were on the rink. Not to mention we were sitting on the opposing team's side, which was full of their fans, family, and friends. The best part though was that the team we were rooting for kicked major butt and won the game.

- Laughing my head off at a comedy club (x2).
I can't believe I have never been to one of these before!! I went to see Steve Byrne and later, Bill Burr, who is officially declared as my favorite comedian.

- Standing in line at a midnight launch for a video game.
I went with my dad to pick up Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. We get there about two hours before midnight and there are 10 people in line, who are all guys. I told my dad, "I'll wait in the car." He laughed, got out and went to the Starbucks next door, and then stood in line. More people, mainly guys, started to line up. I eventually got in line and didn't feel so outnumbered once I saw other girls were there. When it turned midnight, they started letting people in one group/person at a time. By the time we got out, the line was nearly at a football field length. I walked out with the prestige edition of the game and random people yelled to express their excitement. My dad and I went home to set it up. He played for a couple hours and I played all night long without sleeping. It is definitely by far my favorite video game and it was even better that I was part of the midnight launch for it.

- Recording my gameplay.
This has nothing to do with being shy. I'm the complete opposite when it comes to gaming online. I'm much more assertive and I'm not afraid in trying new things to figure out new ways to win an objective. Funny how I can do that there, but not in real life. Anyway I've been wanting to record my gameplay for so long, but because capture cards are expensive and I don't have a job, the chances of getting one was slim. Fortunately, I have an extremely great friend, who bought me a capture card as a Christmas gift. Once I figured out how to connect everything and as soon as I got it to work, I started up Modern Warfare 2. My friend (DAYY116 featured below), who was unaware of me recording jumped into my first match of that session, so I decided to make a video out of it. It's nothing fancy and it's more of a test video to see what I can do with the software. That and I wanted to rub this video in my friend's face. Haha. Here is the finished product:



Thank you 2009 for giving me a great year with my family and friends. Each of these events gave me something of value, which will stay with me forever. I hope to continue to step out of my boundaries and meet new people in strange new places. I loved 2009 and I look forward to 2010!!