Virginity is a funny thing.  Most people understand it as a precious quantity, something that you can lose, and never regain.  When I was taking health in high school, a speaker came in and offered up an interesting concept.  She said that it's possible to become a virgin again, that if you want to start over, maybe try at exclusive or fresh relationships, just abstain and wait for the love you want.  I have a different theory.

Virginity is a state of mind.  What does it comprise of?  Well, some would agree it's a feeling of awkwardness or inexperience, others will say it's the feeling like you'll never get laid, no matter how badly you want to.  It's very possible for someone who is technically a virgin to feel completely otherwise, either because of confidence, or some other magical devices of positive self-esteem.  Conversely, it's equally possible for someone who is experienced (well-traveled is also a fun euphemism) to feel like a virgin again.  From my own personal experiences and those of my friends, I hereby present various ingenious and geeky ways to become a virgin once again, no matter how experienced you may be...
(Feel free to add to the list!)

HOW TO BECOME A VIRGIN:

-Correct someone on the pronunciation of a word or name from an obscure lexicon (e.g. Lord of the Rings terminology) or from a language you barely know but learned from anime.

-Play multiple pen and paper RPG's like D&D concurrently (some may claim that one is too many).

-Watch a Star Trek or Star Wars fan-film and enjoy it.

-Seriously argue over the rules in a pen-and-paper RPG or tabletop game.  Rule-lawyers are insta-virgins.  So is anyone that knows what a "rule-lawyer" is.

-Participating in a LARP.  (NERF games don't count, 'cause they're awesome)

-Writing a cross-over fan-fiction of ANY genre.

-Catalog your anime collection alphabetically... or in any order, really.

-Try to argue/explain why an MMORPG is the best or better than the others you've played.

(to be continued)

The sun had long since dropped below the horizon, and my brother and I were jettin' down Route 32 highway to 95 while groovin' to some 80's tunes.  About twenty yards ahead, a deer jumped out into the road, and I thought, "Woah, didn't think I'd see a deer on the highway, better slow down just in case there's another--OH SHIT!"  Right when I started slowing down, another deer DID jump out just in front of my car, and I smacked right into it.  The poor thing shot out a little and was flung to the right, so it didn't go under or over my car -- just to the side, thank God.  Apparently my expletive was said out loud and, funny enough, my brother said the same thing at the same time.  I pulled off the nearest exit and checked the damage with my brother.  Thankfully, the deer just cracked the grill a little bit (it's plastic), disabled my right headlight, and took my front license plate clean off.  Little patches of fur were scattered around the front of my car -- it left it's mark, as I'm sure I left mine.  I felt sorry for the deer, but man, I'm so glad things went the way they did.  I'd hate to think of the infinite other possibilities...  Oh well, at least my bro and I can still laugh about the incident a little.

Just got back from a pretty awesome concert.  I owed my friend for drinks at a previous outing, so I got him (and myself) tickets for the DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist show at the 9:30 Club in D.C.  Their set was amazing tonight: 8 turn-tables, 4 for each DJ, and they did live mixing with 45 rpm records (vinyl records just slightly larger than CD's).  For the average person, it'd look like they were up there just walking around and playing records -- but if you watched their hands, man, they were going nuts.  These guys were mixing and scratching everything from 50's malt-shop tunes to 80's new wave to Metallica.  The venue was practically packed to the roof (balcony level), so there wasn't much room for going nuts.  If you like electronica or DJ antics and are searching for someone with solid skills, DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist are excellent picks.

Just got back from a night of Rock Band and Cloverfield which, despite the resemblance to The Blair With Project, is actually a decent movie.  Mind you, it's not a great movie, but it actually makes damn good use of mimicking amateur video footage.  The jittery camera, odd angles, and poor lighting do a great job of playing with humans' inherent fear of the unknown.  They could've gone the entire movie without showing the monster at all and it would've been just as horrific.  Also, by making it look like it was taken from some Joe Schmoe's camera intrinsically makes us care for the characters.  Every now and then it does feel like a cheesy monster movie playing out all the tricks and whatnot, but damn, it's the best giant monster movie I've ever seen.  DON'T RENT it, watch it in the theater -- not because it's a great movie (it's not), but for the sense of total immersion.

Well, I finally gave in and got a DS Lite this past Friday in lieu of MAGfest (Music and Gaming Festival).  Whilst gathering provisions before we set out, my sibling and I fancied a jaunt to the local video game shoppe.  Though we arrived having an N64 controller in mind, I spied a black DS Lite, thoughts of which had been swimming about in my mind for the past month or so.  Well, in spirit of the upcoming festival of games, I summoned the shop keep and divulged my desire for said trinket thusly: "zOMG DO WANT LOLOLOL GIVE ME MOAR DS LITE PLOX!!!!!!1!1!1111ONEONEONE"

So, yeah, now I have a DS Lite with Warioware Touched! on it, hoping that I would draw many a pen0r in Picto-chat while at MAGfest.  The event was pretty cool, though we brought way too much stuff.  All you really need is a controller (and maybe a Warhammer 40k army) and you are set for the whole weekend.  The best part of it was playing all the arcade games I wanted for FREE -- gave me a chance to finally see the ending of the Simpsons arcade game I used to play when I was a little kid.  The music was alright, though I'm pretty sure I missed some of the better, higher-energy bands while wandering around the hotel.  Ah well, c'est la vie.

Despite the swaths of DS users at the festival, there were no chat rooms open in Picto-chat D:  It's all good though -- inspired by my friend meepus, I now have an M3 Real with Rumble Ram pack on its way to brighten up my day :3

Side note: If you ever play the ParaParaParadise arcade game, spin around in a circle really fast -- you still pass!

Hope everyone had a great New Years and a decent start to 2008!  I know I had a wonderfully warm and blurry start -- but how symbolic, that I spent the remainder of 2007 in a stupor, the haze of worries and problems and anxieties from the previous year, cleared away by the sobering shower of 2008 :D 

I sure hope that Microsoft cleans up its act this year... okay, that's a bit of a stretch.  I at least hope that Xbox Live is finally fixed to end the laggy, horrible torment that is the glitchy limbo between game sessions.  I've always hated Microsoft, pretty much to the point that I don't hate them any more... it's really hard to abhor something beyond your own capacity for loathing.  I also put up with their crap 'cause, well, dammit I love Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3...

Why you do this, Microsoft?  Why do we always have to pay for your mistakes? *sob*

...until you've sat in a hot tub to the point that the water just feels like air, your toes and fingers are wrinkled with heat and moisture, and then you run out and make snow-angels in your backyard.  THAT is an invigorating experience, hands down.  Stupid?  Maybe.  Incredible?  Totally.  Definitely something that, after you leap back into the jacuzzi, panting with excitement and surprise at the rush of pins-and-needles heat after having taken a dusting of snow, you feel like an entirely different person -- a very relaxed, healthy, ready-to-take-on-the-world kind of person.  I've been away in Minnesota for the past five days without internet, but I needed an escape.  I think I'm about recovered from school, and I'm set to take on the rest of the break and have a load of fun.  I'm trying to save any in-depth descriptions of the trip for my travel blog, but here are some pics -- enjoy!

In the hot tub after taking a dip in the snow	Me and my little Spam buddy!	Aaah!  Blanket ghost!  (My little cousin)

Is now stuck in your head.

But yeah, trying my hardest to keep on track and finish [start] my damned final examination.  I may be suffering form a tad bit of desperate escapism, as I have been all semester: the more something matters, the greater the cost at not doing it, makes me, well, want to avoid it.  If I'd started this exam the moment I woke up on Friday, I probably would have gone through with it, riding the buzz I had left over from "finishing" my homework from the night before.  Alas, I slept through the weekend, my body recovering from the sleep deprivation I've suffered this week.  Well, less than 23 hours to go on my ENAE788K final... better get crackin'...

Well, the show tonight was great success, number 1!  I performed with my mom's studio in a production of Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol (a few of my friends and my brother were in it too, it was great!)  It's a great load off since now I don't have to worry about rehearsals, and the production provided a great distraction from my recent anxieties.  I took a shower the second I got home, and I literally felt my worries slip away.  To polish it all off, Fight Club was on HBO again.  Nothing makes you feel good like the antidisestablishmentarianism and anitmaterialistism of Chuck Palahniuk's brainchild.  That's one of the few movies that makes me laugh, think, and cringe the way it does.  Somehow, when Edward Norton stands with Marla, silhouetted by a doomed skyline, I can't help but feel released from all my cares the moment he utters, "Everything's gonna be fine."

Yeah, pretty much got what I expected... though I didn't speak as smoothly or freely as I meant to (sleep deprivation does that sometimes).  He gave me the usual "let's see how you do on the final" condition, though not in the usual "let's see what you can do, sport!" kind of mood.  It was more along the lines of "let's see how you do before I pass judgment upon you."  Don't get me wrong--he's a good guy--we had a fun little convo about a potential project--but he's very to-the-point.  Oh well, all I have to do is ace both my final exams and get the bonus points...

...no pressure, right?