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I’ll preface this blog with a story: As a motivated university student with a twenty-five year old brother who barely got through high school, one of the only ways he and I can bond is through video games. When I was five, and he was ten, I got my first console from him. It was a twofer, actually. I received both a chunky, gray gameboy (the original) and his old SNES. He had just gotten a Playstation, if I remember correctly. It was through him that I learned about Mario and Link and Contra. As we grew up, I remember learning about the finer points of stealth action games such as Metal Gear Solid, even though I was far too young for it. And ah, the joys of watching prostitution in Grand Theft Auto before I had even hit puberty still haunt me. When he hit eighteen years old, he stopped playing games. I continued buying consoles and games as I do today. For him, it was just a “boys will be boys” phase, and for me, it’s one of the most important things in my life.

However, when I see him, I still bond by letting him play games I think he might like. He’ll occasionally beat a game, about five a year. He’s playing Final Fantasy XIII right now, and before that, he beat Prototype. He plays WoW, but I don’t count that as serious gaming. Nevertheless, one of the things we both enjoy together is a casual game: Guitar Hero.

It was a few days ago when my brother and I were playing Guitar Hero 5 together that an interesting thing happened. I play on expert. I’m not sure if this has to do with the fact that I’m a classically-trained guitar player and brass-instrument musician, and I’m naturally inclined to do better, or if it’s the fact that my fingers are nimble from my years of video gaming. Either way, I play expert, and he usually plays on medium.

I was taking an ice cream break and sat down as I watched him attempt a song (I don’t remember what it was) on hard. He got frustrated and messed up. This sight of getting frustrated at a video game got me, as a gamer, thoroughly amused. Naturally, because of the type of relationship my brother and I have, I said, “FAILBOAT! LOLOLOL! What a casual.”

Because of how frustrated he was, he got up, slammed down the guitar, and screamed, “WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM?! If I wanted your opinion, I would’ve asked for it!” and started to walk away. Normally, a comment like this would have caused him to smile and strike back. Instead, he was seriously pissed off.

As he was walking away, I said, “YOU MADDDD!” and then yelled, “RAAAAGEQUIT” as he walked out the door.

Yes, I’m a troll. But this point has a story. I mean… this story has a point. You cannot get to a place where something as casual as video gaming gets you so angry. So, here are my tips on how to avoid ragequitting:

1. Remember that this is a video game you’re playing. It doesn’t matter if you play 50 hours a week on your level 80 tankadin, if you play Team Fortress 2 early into the morning, or if your idea of gaming is Peggle. The one thing all gamers, from hardcore to casual and everything in-between, have in common is that they’re playing an interactive fictional story which has little-to-no impact on their everyday lives. The game isn’t real.
2. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Yeah, I, myself, spend between 10-25 hours a week playing video games, but do I think I’m the ultimate gamer, a gift of the Gods? No. Why? Because I know that in the end, all I’m doing is sitting in front of a screen playing a game. You can tease people in good fun, but don’t take it too seriously. If you take yourself seriously, it’s the beginning of the end.
3. Get a life. I’m not trolling here either. Yeah, I spent a lot of time a week gaming, but I also go out at least 2-3 days a week, manage to get all my homework done, and I read and write just as much as I game. And if I get inspiration to write, if I’m reading a really good book, or if I have a lot of homework, I sometimes won’t game at all. Last semester, I went a month without picking up a controller. It happens, and if it doesn’t happen, then it’s probably a sign of addiction. You need to be able to put down the controller and step outside.
4. Try renting games. I’m not a fan of renting anymore, but there was a point in my life when I’d rent a game so that I knew I could only play it a certain amount. I rented Grand Theft Auto 3 when it first came out and returned it after two days. I didn’t pick it up again and buy it until a few months later when a break rolled again. It might be a strategy that works for you.
5. Just don’t get addicted. It’s the people who get addicted to video games that have superiority complexes and get really upset. If you think you’re addicted, test it out. Can you go a few weeks without playing something? If you can’t, have a friend hold onto your console until you get your life on track. Chances are, if you’re addicted, your real life could probably be in better shape.

In conclusion, don’t be like my brother. Have fun with life, and don’t let something that’s supposed to be fun get you down.

Note: It’s a little late, but it happens. I had a lot going on in my personal and academic lives in March. Comments, questions, suggestions for articles go here! As always, I’ll respond back!

There has been a TON of news since I last posted so I'm just going to list it with links to my site where you can find all the information. Here we go!

First, it was announced earlier today that June will be publishing Ayano Yamane's Viewfinder Series! *dies* Here's the press release.

Second, if you didn't already hear, Ayano Yamane is the official guest for YaoiCon this year! Yay!!! *dies again*

Christopher Handley was finally sentenced and his attorney emailed me with his feelings regarding the trial AND mentions yaoi specifically! READ THIS!!!

Media Blasters (Kitty Media) has laid off some of its employees and it appears one of their upcoming titles will now be delayed.

Some news on Breath Volume 5.

Is Aurora (Deux Press) quietly shutting down?

The new Hetalia movie finally gets a title.

A place to find tons of yaoi webcomics for free!

I picked a winner for my website banner contest (top of site) and here are the runners up who will be featured later.

Here are the three winners of my Starfighter fan art contest.

Last but not least, here is the winning AMV for my Valentine's Day themed AMV contest:

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As a college student and a person in today’s society, I’m constantly bombarded by tasks I must complete, some more menial than others. Last night, had I not had the skills I’m about to share, I surely would have had somewhat of a mental breakdown because of the sheer number of things I had to do (procrastination playing a large role in that, admittedly). I had a paper due at midnight, two short stories to read, a reading response to write, a quiz to study for, and a project to start. On top of that, I had student organization duties, the dogs needed a walk, and I had two stories I was working on that I couldn’t resist the urge to write. And, of course, I was out of milk.

Internally, I had to struggle between what I had to do, what I wanted to do, and the compromise I have to make with myself on a daily basis about personal growth and academic growth. One could argue that those two go hand-in-hand, but sometimes they don’t. What happens when you sacrifice essential items on your agenda for things of pleasure? Is there room in our daily lives to do both? Is it a smart idea to organize your life, prioritizing certain things that society deems important that you don’t agree with? I don’t care if your name is Jack or not, all work and no play will make you a dull boy or girl. However, all play and no work will surely not bring you happiness – unless your idea of happiness involves a street corner or a rich uncle.

So, where is the balance? How do you succeed in the 21^st century while maintain health, sanity, and happiness? Here are some of my observations:

Risk vs. Reward Analysis TO THE EXTREME!

Imagine this scenario: You’re lazy, and there’s a James Bond marathon on. Taxes are due at midnight. Do you want to go to jail? No. So, you’re going to get your ass out of bed and go get your shit done. That’s an extreme example, and outside of that, the world really isn’t so black-and-white.

If you’d been advising me last night, you probably would have said, “do your paper, skim the readings, write the responses, study for the quiz, and walk your dogs if you have time.” Right, that’s the socially acceptable advice. However, let’s look at where that scenario would have landed me. I would have spent all night working on homework, gone to bed at 1AM, and the dogs would have been bouncing off the walls all night from pent-up energy. And I would have lost all inspiration for my writing. To me, inspiration is fleeting, and when it comes around, I drop everything.

So, here’s what I did, and let me explain why: I wrote the paper, skimmed the parts relevant to writing a decent response, ran with the dogs to recover, and stayed up until 4AM writing stories. I walked into my class with the knowledge that I was probably going to fail the quiz, and I was alright with that. I analyzed how important an A on the quiz was to me vs. everything else I had to do. I wrote a slightly below-par response, but I’ll still get at least a B on it most likely. The dogs shut up and let me do my thing for the rest of the night, and I wrote 4,000 words before getting my lousy three hours of sleep.

Picture: the dogs

Knowing what was going to happen ahead of time, I was prepared for failure. Luckily, the quiz I had was postponed, but were it not, I still would have been comfortable in the choice I made. You have to analyze how important something is. For me, the paper was the most important things because it was a fail/pass drastic effect, so I knocked it out first. The next important thing was writing my story, so I decided to do minimal amount of work on the response paper, as much as I could without losing inspiration. I knew I wouldn’t get work done if the dogs didn’t get their walk.

Is it strange that I didn’t have milk for my cereal or coffee this morning? Yeah. Is it strange that I fed my inner procrastinator? Yeah. Is “I’m not going to procrastinate anymore!” a feasible promise? Probably not. So, when it comes down to it and you have all of these things closing in, you have to pick what’s most important for you because you’re the one who has to live with your decisions and be happy with them.

Don’t procrastinate

“Bu-bu-buh… you just said!” I know, I know! Do as I say, not as I do! …kidding. But in all seriousness, if you can avoid procrastination, do it. I generally do avoid procrastination and do work immediately (such as the fact that I’ve already studied for my quiz on Thursday!). It keeps me saner. The less times I have to do the risk analysis, the happier I am. Of course, I don’t kill myself when I do have to do it, but I try to avoid it.

This goes for life in general. Go shopping before you run out of what you need. Pack up your laptop before you go to bed if you have to take it with you. Just do it! And not later. Now!

Multi-task only if you have to and if you CAN.

If you can pick up your dry cleaning while holding a conference call, do it. If you can’t, then don’t. Be reasonable about it. If you’re painting your nails while reading a book, that’s reasonable. If you’re trying to talk on the phone, organize your iTunes, prepare a powerpoint, and do research for it all at the same time, you’re screwed. And I’ve tried that exact scenario before, and I wound up categorizing Angels & Airwaves as pop (not pop… at all) and including false information from an unreliable source on a project, while telling my friend to stay with her boyfriend who cheated on her three times. Sometimes enough is enough. Just sayin’.

Set goals (YOU CAN DO IT!)

Short term, long term, whatever! If my longterm goal is to be a published author, then I’m going to prioritize writing. If my shorterm goal is to get through school, I’m going to focus on classes. If your short term goal is stick to a schedule, then that’s a fantastic goal to have. Like I said, it’s whatever you want to do and are okay with.

Don’t let people get you down

I’ve said this from beginning to end, but I really think this is the most important thing I’m saying here. Do what you need to do. If you say, “I’d rather focus on getting an A in these two classes and get a C in that one, instead of getting an A in that one and getting Bs in the other two,” then do that. People may try to say “do your best!” or “shoot for the moon!” or “you can get all As!” or whatever. Truthfully, life doesn’t always work that way. I’m not saying “be alright with mediocrity!” I’m saying, if you’re at a point where you’ve tried your best and have to make that choice, do whatever you think is best.

If you’ve already dug yourself into a hole, find a way to get out that doesn’t compromise what you want. If your husband wanted to have kids and your friends were pushing you to have kids, you wouldn’t “give in” and just have a baby because of peer pressure, would you? I hope not. Seriously, guys.

The important thing is to be rational, think things through, and make a decision. Once you’ve made that decision, stick with it and be okay with the consequences. You have to be okay, and you’ll be surprised at how much less stressed out you are. If you can succeed in everything, try for that, definitely, but if life gets in the way, have a backup plan. You’ll be surprised at how happy you are, and sometimes, happiness is the key.

Actually, scratch that. Happiness is always the key. Don’t mean to sound preachy, but I figured I’d share some life experiences which are more realistic than optimistic.

As always, comment below and/or tweet responses!

Author's Note: I actually posted this blog on Tuesday over at my personal blog (clicky), and since then, here's an update: I got a 95 on my response, got an 18/20 on my quiz, and no word yet on the paper. Not condoning procrastination... just sayin' that things aren't always as grim as they seem.

So much new yaoi anime to look forward to! We've got Betrayal Knows My Name and Sekai-Ichi Hasukoi as well! Plus Junjou will be releasing in the states May 4th!

Thinking about YaoiCon yet? Well Digital Manga is! They tweeted recently that they have already booked their guest for YaoiCon but only teased us with the information. No news yet on who they'll be bringing. Who do you think it is or who would you hope it would be? I'm hoping they are going to announce licensing Viewfinder and are bringing Ayano Yamane but I think I may be dreaming too large for this year. XD

BLU Manga recently released Croquis but it appears there were some printing problems with this one. If you purchased Croquis in English and noticed some German mixed in there, here's how you can get a new copy without the German words.

Do you like a little academia with your boys' love? If so, I think you'll like this new book all about boys' love. It includes 14 essays from various contributors on the subject.

I've announced a new contest on my site and this one is a lot of fun. It's a funny dialogue contest and is contest number four of seven. Also, my Valentine's Day themed AMV contest ends THIS WEEK on Friday the 12th at midnight PST. The Starfighter fan art contest also ends this Friday at the same time so if you're hoping to win that signed copy of Starfighter, you need to get your entry in soon!

It seems my inclusion of some hot boys' love in AMV form has been a hit so here's another one for your enjoyment! This is of Hanamichi Monogatari (boys' love game) so again, if you don't want it spoiled, don't watch! :-)

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