Tuesday, October 15, 2013

21 Pilots

21 Pilots performed in Syracuse a few weeks back. My roommate introduced me to the band and convinced me to go to the concert. I was almost going to skip, considering the crazy amount of work my graphics class demanded. But thought, what the hell.

The opening band was...not impressive to say the least. It was horrendous. All those flashing lights and shouting, and the constant "MAKE SOME NOISE" shouts. Sigh. Not my cup of tea, but I think others probably thought they were bangin. I didn't. It was just UGH. I had to wear sun glasses. INSIDE.

But, thank god 21 Pilots came on right after them.
Let's just say. IT WAS AMAZINGGGGGGGG. Tyler and Josh are absolutely amazing performers. And I mean they make their performance enjoyable. They talked to the audience, they get you so pumped up and not just through the singing. I can't get over it. In the end they came down into the crowd, brought their drums down, and did this drum circle bit. So they rotated, and drummed together. I don't even know how to describe it.

To future Jackie,
Are you still listening to them? What new music are you listening to now? Been to anymore concerts? Hopefully you're loving the playlist you're listening to now.

Pokemon X!

I just picked up my copy of Pokemon X, and despite spoiling it for myself by watching some playthroughs, I'M SO EXCITED.

Unfortunately, I won't get to play until this weekend with all the homework I should be doing instead of typing this blog post.

There's more customization, graphics, animations, and new species! From what I've seen, there's not as many new species as I'd like, but, hooray for new Eevee evolution!

Call me a geek, or nerd (I can't remember which one's proper for this situation) but there's nothing wrong with holding onto a part of my childhood that always makes a smile. Some kids had legos, I had Pokemon! And I never plan on letting it go.

Gotta create a dream team and explore Kalos when I get the chance :)

To future Jackie,
How many more Pokemon games have you accumulated since then? Hopefully it's still as addicting and loveable ^^.

--
Edit: 12/1/13

End of Thanksgiving break, and I've pretty much finished the game! Even some of the post game plot.

To be honest, I think story-wise, it could of used improvement. I felt like I finished the game too early and didn't enjoy it as much as the Black/White series.
However, the graphics! Oh my god the animations! I can't get over it. They've outdone themselves for the 3D features.

I'm finding trouble continuing the game and finding more things to do now that I've beat the post game. The Elite four was somewhat of a joke and I just wish there was more to do.

Maybe I'll find out about anything else that I can do in the game, but until then, it's working on the Battle Chateau!

SASE National Conference 2013

As mentioned in my last post, I attended a conference and oh boy did this one weekend encompass a whole bunch of up and downs.
But I think I grew as a person after it all and I'm glad I attended.

Aside from the kickass John Saddington that blew my mind, there were some other highlights.
Our team winning $2000 dollars in the Innoservice Design competition held by SASE.
Matt Mattson from Phired Up giving a talk about social excellence and maintaining an organization. He's one amazing public speaker! I'm not sure if I'm able to practice all that he's taught us, but he sure had some nice advice.
The Viet and Chinese food in Philly was amazing. Pho and dim sum, I miss it already.

And there were the downsides,
We were upset at first about not winning 1st place, and that led to a lot of arguing, stubborn tantrums. I still believe we're not sore losers, we might not be the most professional students out there, but looking at it from an engineering perspective, we genuinely felt like we deserved better. And I still stand by that.
But, with a few days to cool down, we're grateful for 2nd place. Our design team works days and nights to earn a title and a place on the map for our Syracuse Chapter, and I couldn't be more proud of them. Seriously, we might not be the most successful chapter, but I'm so glad we have the team we have now.
We didn't get to go to dinner with the chapter leaders, and that probably disappointed the regional coordinators, but we made a promise to our eboard we'd spend time with them, and I'm glad our president made the decision to skip this time around.

This is probably the most eventful conference yet, being it is my 4th time at a SASE conf (2nd National).

Although it seems like it had more downsides, the upsides definitely count for more.

To future Jackie,
When you read this, remember this time as a drama-full, frustrating, but fun time. :)

And so it begins...again

I always wanted to start blogging, journaling, documenting, what have you, about my life. I really enjoy the idea of being able to relive a moment later on but I have a less than impressive memory.
I can remember the more milestone moments in life, but I want to hold onto the little moments that happen from time to time that I wouldn't want to let fall through the cracks of my memory.

I recently attended a student organization conference (SASE National Conference 2013) in Philly. I picked a workshop called How Web Technology Creates Limitless Opportunities for Success held by speaker John Saddington. He was as he would put it, badass, and indeed he was. There aren't many times a speaker's presentation can resonate with me, but he sees the value in each individual's passion, and not the typical skills they'd showcase on a resume.

He's motivated me to actually start blogging and highlighted the importance of having an online existence, to create your personal brand on the wonderful thing that is the internet.

He encourages people to take whatever passion it is they have, be it gaming, or baking, and use it to identify oneself.

John, thank you. I'm very relieved to know that there are people out there who think the interests we have in life, even if it's not directly related to our career paths, are important and valuable. Man, I wish all managers can be like you. It'd make this whole almost-graduating anxiety go away.

Thank you for your insights and wisdom :)