Hooray! I've been waiting for this for months!

I am going as Yuna (dressed in her Gunner dress sphere) from Final Fantasy X-2. I think I'm the only person I know who has actually finished the game--which is superb, by the way, I thoroughly enjoyed the non-linearity of the whole thing, which, from what I understand, thoroughly confused linear-minded males to whom Final Fantasy games are generally targeted. However, I thought the design of it was brilliant in terms of creating strong female characters and taking a series that is heavily male-centric and allowing female characters to shine instead of simply support. I also liked the way Spira is explorable in a web-like matter (but still triggers storylines in each different area that work independently, but also narrow towards the end to create a cohesive whole) instead of simply from point a to point b like in, for instance, Resident Evil 4. However, I will admit that the shortness/jumpiness of some areas can be tiring as not everything is entirely necessary to the plot, but that's what Final Fantasy is all about anyway (the side quests and epic storylines).

I feel like this game paved the way for Okami in two ways: 1) with areas don't have be explored linearly and 2) the incorporation of dress spheres that harbor specific abilities is reminiscent of the different brush strokes that contain different celestial powers. I know the dress spheres rub a lot of men the wrong way, which I find sad, because I really enjoyed that feature. The dress spheres reinforce a theory I have about Sailor Moon (that the performativity of femininity [in the form of fashion] is a source of power for women, as opposed to a sense of bondage).

Anyway, two days, baby! Two days! I've been wanting to go to Comic-Con since I was 18, but I never lived near San Diego and I didn't have the money to go specifically fly in for the event. And when we finally moved to SoCal, we could never work out the scheduling in terms of money (lack thereof in 2004), scheduling (Writing Program orientation got in the way in 2005) and last year we weren't sure when we were going camping, and B was sure he couldn't get time off for both Comic-Con and camping two weeks in a row, so we went camping instead.

In other news: Ralphs opened up a block away from us and life is sweet. My exact words to B were, "It's better than I dreamed it could be!" They have three different kinds of salad bars, soup bar, cheese island, sandwich center, and a fancy deli section. The seafood section has frog legs, giant jumbo prawns bigger than my hand, octopus, and lots of other yummy stuff. And better yet? They will fry your fish for you--free of charge. Because I usually like eating fish, I just usually can't stand to cook it because it's quite stinky. Not to mention the huge selection of items in general--this Ralphs is as fancy as the Ralphs in Beverly Hills, except, I dare say, in some ways fancier, but stocked much better. The Ralphs in Beverly Hills is fancy, yes, but it only has one salad bar (gasp!), but the bigger complaint is that they only have few different kinds of items, instead of lots of different kinds of items. So the selection of a normal grocery store + the fanciness of Beverly Hills (x3--this figured derived form the number of salad bars) = Happy Jilly. It's the first grocery store in downtown in 57 years. I feel lucky that we've only lived here for two years without one.

Now if I wasn't just so tired all the time... I went to the doctor a couple weeks ago to get some help for my carpal tunnel, my tiredness and to get some moles checked, but that was an aggravating experience. After talking about my carpals (they suggested that I do everything that I'm already doing, which is improve my posture whilst typing and continue to wear my Power Ranger Gauntlets that keep my wrists straight), I told them about my tiredness. But when they asked how long I've been tired, I couldn't directly answer. I have been tired since I started grad school, which I started in 2005. And I felt really tired this last Spring. I thought once summer started, I'd have more energy, but then I took summer classes, and felt tired all over again. Now that I'm out of class, I still feel tired. I've been sleeping. A lot. And I keep wondering when I'll have energy again. But then I realize I've only been out of class for two weeks (this will be the third), so maybe my body is decompressing or something. They drew some blood and said they'd call if there were any abnormalities (no calls yet).

Lastly, I wanted to show them some moles. I have had some moles appear as if from nowhere all over my body (including beneath my eye socket) in the last 6-8 months, but particularly worrisome, I have a funny looking mole on my hip, which has actual tissue beneath it and looks suspiciously like melanoma, but not the black mole melanoma, the sneaky kind with a white tip. It is getting progressively bigger beneath the surface of my skin, which is kind of scary. And being fair-skinned, with a history of melanoma in my family, well, I'm mildly concerned. My mom had melanoma, and she had a particularly big one removed from her hip which started to grow when she was 24. Although my mom had an advantage over me: hers was a black mole that actually started to split, so doctors took her mole more seriously. When I told the docs my family history and showed them the moles, they looked at me like I was a hypochondriac (which I am not--I just try to be aware of my body), and said they would "watch" the mole.

I didn't even bother asking what that meant. I already felt treated like a cow, shepherded to wait in a small (waiting room) stall. I seriously thought to myself: what do I need to see a doctor for if I have WebMD, apparently diagnosing myself and following their advice is just as effective. This was a waste of $30.

I don't know if I should go see a dermatologist. I feel too tired to go see any more doctors.

Comic-con! Woo!

Labels: comic-con, downtown, final fantasy, final fantasy x-2, los angeles, ralphs, video games, yuna

( 2comments )

at July 24, 2007 10:58 PM  Alex_Knight said...

Hey now, I finished FF X-2. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The only thing I didn't care for was the Yuna as pop-star idol. I rather expected her to be a strong leader.
Brother, however, was the man.
::sniffs:: I can't go to Comic Con, I can't go to Games Day... ::sighs:: Have fun and get pictures! Is B cosplaying?

 

at August 2, 2007 5:53 PM  Lindsi said...

If your dissatisfied with what your Dr. told you I would see someone else. I'm not trying to push it, but after what happened w/my mother-in-law and the crap I was put through in Cali I will never take it so lightly.