Let's get ready to Rammmmmble... II

Oops, forgot to add my two-bits about Mick Foley in my earlier posts. So here goes...

Both my "Have a Nice Day!" and "Foley is Good" books have Mick Foley's autograph on them. Got them signed when he did a mall tour promoting WWE back when they did a show in the Philippines. I also had his "Tietam Brown" book during the signing, but decided not to have it signed for several reasons, 1.) the organizers of the event announced a maximum of two books per person to be signed; 2.) I only have two hands, already clutching both books while "Tietam Brown" was in my backpack nd 3.) dang it, I didn't even read the book, I started it but lost interest a few chapters in, and it's kind of disrespectful (at least for me) to have it signed when I haven't even read the book. Which reminded me of Terry Funk's book where he said the only reason he read Tietam Brown was because Mick Foley told him that a movie is going to be made out of the book and he (Terry Funk) would be perfect for the role of the father.

Let's just say that as an author, he's a pretty darn good wrestler! Which is why I'm not buying his other book; "Scooter" because I buy books to read them and not because I like the authors (though I'm keeping an eye out for his children books.) And yes, I do like Mick Foley, he's a great entertainer and an even better person. Part of the reason he joined the WWE tour in the Philippines was to visit a girl he was sponsoring through the Chritian Children's Fund. And, he was hilarious as the Boulder in Avatar: the Last Airbender

Oh, and the only reason I didn't get his signature on his third autobiography "The Hardcore Diaries" was because I didn't have it then, in fact it hadn't even been written yet (part of the book actually details his trip to the Philippines.) But ney, maybe I could get it signed in case the WWE decides to do another tour in the country. Maybe, by then I could afford to attend the show.

Books of the Week

I should probably accept the fact that when I do get a job, I wouldn't be able to read as many books as I do now (ironically, I'd be able to afford more books then.) Until such time and starting with this week's readings, I decided to keep track of what books I've gone through and how many.

Books read this week: 4
Titles:
Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
Long-Time Listener, First-Time Werewolf by Carrie Vaughn

And no, you didn't read that wrong, 4 books because Long-Time Listener, First-Time Werewolf is actually a compilation of the first 3 books in the Kitty Norville Series. Apparently, I made the right decision by not buying the 2nd book in the series which I saw a few months ago, thus could happily snap up the compiled series without second guessing myself whether to look for individual books or not. (because had I bought the earlier book, I'd be juggling the thought of buying the compilation and in effect "wasting" money on the earlier book or forego buying the compilation and hope to catch the individual books to complete it on a later date.) Bitten, on the other hand is part of the Women of the Otherworld Series (the first in the series actually,) I was introduced to the series thru Industrial Magic, the 4th book in the series. (I know, weird reading order and I just got my hand on Broken, 6th book in the series)

By coincidence, both books star female werewolves. Let's see, Bitten is a good read, with a strong, tough heroine, but I actually prefer the Kitty Norville series, the protagonist is, in her own words not the type one would expect a werewolf to look like. Someone who exudes sex and danger, but more like, "bully me, I'm weak and vulnerable." Not as exciting but so much more human.

Also, I like the part where Kitty works as radio talk show host. (I mean, if Spider-Man can be a freelance photographer, why can't a werewolf be a DJ.) It's a refreshing change from say Anita Blake or Anna Strong whose professions (Bounty Hunting) seems to be a too natural fit to their paranormal nature.

I also like the part where scientists are assigning scientific names to what are traditionally supernatural creatures, i.e. Homo sapiens sanguinis (Vampire,) Homo sapiens lupus (Werewolf,) and Homo sapiens pinnepedia (No idea, maybe the equivalent of AD&D seawolf?) Not an entirely original concept, I mean Marvel comics did it with Homo sapien superior (Mutants) and the Shadowrun rpg world already classifies humans into five major meta-types (the most common though there other "races" existing;) plain human (Homo sapiens sapiens), elf (Homo sapiens nobilis), dwarf (Homo sapiens pumilionis), ork (Homo sapiens robustus), and troll (Homo sapiens ingentis) I kinda like the idea that even when the world starts turning upside down, stuffy scientist types would still try to rationalize everything by trying to put them into proper categories by labeling them. (I'll probably be scouring the 'net for other variations.)

It's a SIGN!

I was back to haunting the streets of Makati last Monday to hand out resumes. By coincidence, the first firm I stopped at had for its next door neighbor, a Booksale office, not a store, an office! (although there's a bookstore branch on the first floor, so there's a definite upside to working in this building or near it.)

I didn't get a chance to drop in, it was after all just my first stop and I have many more firms to visit. Still, it left me wondering if it was Booksale's main corporate office. If it was, and I do end up working for that firm, I'm going to find some excuse and drop by that office, I have some questions I need answered. Branches? (actually I can get that online.) Main Warehouse? (I want first dibs!) When do branches rotate their stock? (to better plan my shopping expeditions.) And where do they get their bookshelves and how can I get my hands on them? (I need them bad!)

Anyway, I'm doing the resume thing again because there were few nibbles on the first batch I handed out (I got an interview out of it with that but no definite offer yet.) At least, it wasn't as hot as it was two weeks ago. That because it was raining all day, ...and me with no rain gear. On the other hand, I was in my Sunday-best, (sigh...) because I want to make a good first impression (if only with the receptionist who'll receive my resume.) Besides there's a chance they'll hire me on-the-spot, proclaim me as a last-minute susbstitue to an ailing partner and hail my backside to court to make a case-winning argument. (Yeah, right! Also if that were to happen, it's more likely that I'll be making a motion for postponement, since that seems to be par the course with the hearings I've been in or have observed.)

P.S. I got an interview session out of the 2nd batch of resumes (again with the don't call us, we'll call you.) So now I got two interviews under my belt, I'll probably write about them in another post. (so many things to talk about, so little time.)

Let's get ready to Rammmmmble...

I encountered a Chapters and Pages Bookstore last Sunday. Now, you may be thinking "encountered" is a strange word to use when talking about a store, but that's only because Chapters and Pages (while having a few fixed location) is big on the travelling band of gypsy approach of selling books. They'd move from one mall to another, so it's basically several rows of bookshelves and a cash register machine doing the rounds.

They have pro-wrestler/color commentator Jerry "the King" Lawler's autobiography; "It's Good to Be the King... Sometimes" (hardcover too, not the paperback! though it's missing the wraparound cover.) in their 99 pesos Buy 1, Take 1 bin, which means buying it will only cost me a little less than 50 pesos. Which is great, except I already have it, bought it for roughly 250 pesos a year or so back. Thinking of what other books I could have bought with the 200 pesos I could have saved if I saw this sale back then...ugh! Now some people might say the extra money I spent is the price I pay to read them earlier, but since I actually frequent these places to save money and then I see the missed savings... well, forgive me for being irrational.

Now, pro-wrestling! I was a big fan of the sport (and yes i'm using the term loosely) when I was younger. Not so much now, especially since we decided to drop cable T.V. (In fact, I hardly recognize half of the current wreslers nowadays.) Still I try to buy wrestling books when I get the chance, it's actually a running joke during my college (of law) days, where my interest in the subject was well-known, one of my classmates quipped that I relax before exams by reading wrestlers' autobiographies (not particularly true, it could be any book,) still... I must have brought enough of them to school to elicit such comment.

Let's see... I own the following wrestler autobiographies:
Have a Nice Day! by Mick Foley
Foley is Good by Mick Foley
The Hardcore Diaries by Mick Foley
It's Good to Be the King... Sometimes by Jerry "the King" Lawler with Douge Asheville
TERRY FUNK More Than Just Hardcore by Terry Funk with Scott E. Williams
CHYNA If They Only Knew by Joanie Laurer with Michael Angeli
The Stone Cold Truth by Stone Cold Steve Austin with Jim "J.R." Ross as told to Dennis Brent
Hollywood Hulk Hogan by Hollywood Hulk Hogan with Michael Jan Friedman
To Be The Man by Ric Flair with Keith Elliot Greenberg
The Hardy Boyz by Matt and Jeff Hardy with Michael Krugman
Cheating Death, Stealing Life by Eddie Guerrero with Michael Krugman
The Rock Says... by Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson with Joe Layden
Adam Copeland on Edge by Adam Copeland
Heartbreak & Triumph by Shawn Michaels with Aaron Feigenbaum
It's True, It's True by Kurt Angle with John Harper
LITA A Less Traveled R.O.A.D. by Amy Dumas with Michael Krugman
The Fabulous Moolah by Lillian Ellison with Larry Platt
Listen, You Pencil Neck Geeks by "Classy" Freddie Blassie with Keith Elliot Greenberg
In the Pit wit Piper by "Rowdy" Roddy Piper with Robert Picarello
Bret "Hitman" Hart by Bret Hart with Perry Lefko
I'm Next by Bill Goldberg with Steve Goldberg
I Ain't Got Time to Bleed by Jesse Ventura

Other wrestling books I have:
WWE Legends by Brian Solomon
WWE Unscripted
Can You Take the Heat? by Jim "J.R." Ross (WWE Cookbook)
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Pro Wrestling by Captain Lou Albano, Bert Randolph Sugar, and Roger Woodson (1st and 2nd edition...sigh< I could have saved money if I saw the 2nd edition first)
Sex, Lies and Headlocks by Shaun Assael and Mike Mooneyham
Hardcore History by Scott E. Williams
Drawing Heat by Jim Freedman
Slaphappy by Thomas Hackett
Wrestling's One-ring Circus by Scott Keith
Championship Wrestling by George Napolitano
Wrestling Madness by Matt Hunter

Some of them are a great reads (Mick Foley's in Particlular, but we'll talk about him later,) for the story behind the stories, as insights to (American) pop culture and tales of making it and the price for doing so. The only problem I have with some of them is that I don't think some of them deserves an autobiography. While I don't have a problem with say, Mick Foley or Steve Austin writing a book, because while relatively young, they've accomplished a lot in their carreer. On the other hand, with some of the other books, it seems the only reason for the book is to cash in on the popularity of the wrestler. Edge, for example hadn't even won the World Title yet when he wrote his book. Team Extreme (the Hardy Boyz and Lita) were too young to be releasing a book. Heck, I heard David Batista just released a book of his own, and I think I'm older then him. ('course if i ever see it, I'll be snapping it up as fast as could...sigh.) In fact, it seems that performers are getting younger and younger, as if the industry is using them up and discarding them faster and faster. Maybe that's another reason I stopped watching the thing, too many changes in too short a time and I couldn't relate to the sport anymore.

War, war never changes...

Finally! After several weeks of waiting I got my Defonten Poster in the mail. It's even more awesome than I thought it would be. Anyone who is unfamiliar with the Fallout Series of Games (Fallout 2 in particular and my favorite game of all time) might not appreciate it as much (if at all,) but it means a lot to me. It started when Bethesda (who purchased the rights to the Fallout Franchise from Interplay, the original developers) released a developer diary about the Brotherhood of Steel (a group in the game.) To hardcore fans, the article was contrary to canon. No Mutants Allowed (A Fallout Community) decided to hold a contest where fans can submit their on take of the why and how the Brotherhood ended up in Washington D.C. (the setting of the new game) considering their isolationist views.

I figured i got nothing to lose so I decided to submit a piece, and I won! I didn't win first place though, but my story was good to place as a runner-up. Initially, the first-place winner was suppose to be the only one to receive a prize, so I though that was that, I tried my best and placed second (or third, I wasn't so clear about that.) It's already a big thing for someone like me to get that far, I mean, english wasn't even my first language, and I always assumed that 4 years of law school has stifled any creative writing skills I might possess.

But then Defonten (the fan artist who put the prize for the contest) found a better (i.e. more affordable) place to print his art, enough for all three winners to get a poster print. So Finally I got it, YES!!!

Anyway to anyone interested, these were the prizes up for grabs, the winners can pick which one they wanted to get.

Cafe of Broken Dreams (the one I chose)
City Ruins
Brand New Reno  

...and here's my entry (there's also links there for the other winners.)

And speaking of contests, this wasn't my first time winning a Fallout related contest, I also placed 4th in Bethesda's design-a-perk contest from last year. My entry for that was:

Money Talks
You receive a bonus to your Charisma, Reputation and Speech skills in direct proportion to your wealth.

Man, this wasn't even my best entry, it was one of my throw-away entries (I didn't even bother coming up with a flabour text for it) when I was trying to submit as many entries as I can, 'coz the contest rules also says that they'll pick some entries at random to give everyone a chance at winning something. I was really hoping to place 1st in that contest, I really wanted that X-Box, what I ended up with is a graphic card I can't use until and unless I buy a new computer, since my old computer isn't compatible with the new card. Ah, well... I'm getting better at this anyway, another falout-related contest and I'd be topping it. Yeah, found my niche!

Am I an Idiot or a Dummy?

I've been browsing Booksale shelves once again (so what else is new?) it seems that they've reduced the price for some of the Complete Idiot's guide to stuff books (as well as similar books, such as the Everything Guide to whatever books or doing something or other the Lazy Way.) From the usual price of 300+ odd pesos to down to around a third of that (about 95 pesos,) so yeah, I'm making the rounds to look for interesting titles. So far, I've bought the one for Dream Jobs (useful since I'm looking for work) and Pirates (ARRRR, I need no reason for this, matey.) I've been keeping an eye for the 2nd edition guide to Professional Wrestling (I already have the first) and I remember seeing one about paralegals before (which I declined to buy because of the price) which might help me in my line of work... considering that the books are intended for a North American audience, probably not. I've already seen a book on Wills and Estates (there are significant differences from what I could remember from my civil law and private international law subjects,) and another one for Divorce (meh, we don't even have divorce, or at least absolute divorce here in the Philippines.)

About the Dream Jobs guide though, it's great to read that Used Bookstore Owner can earn up to 50,000 dollars a year, (and even then, that's probably secondary for a true book-lover.) I think I mentioned in one of my posts that it's one of the things I wish I could do, though I did say in another post that used bookstores aren't doing so well in the Philippines. Oh well, maybe that's why it's called a dream job, keep on dreaming...

One in a Million (or more)

Hmmm... the jackpot prize for the 6/49 lottery just went past the 100 million peso mark. The part of my brain that deals with logic and math says it's a bad bet. The odds of winning is 1 in 14 million (actually 13,983,816) and considering that the pay per bet has now been doubled to 20 pesos (and considering also how some of the payout for getting some of combinations rights, i.e. 5 of 6, 4 of 6 etc, weren't doubled even though the bet was, the payout is worse now,) the jackpot prize should at least be at 280 million for the payout to equal the odds. The gambler in me that relies on luck and fate will be placing a bet the next draw. sigh... (as if knowing the odds will make it more likely for me to win, meh!)

Still, I guess I can wait until the 6/42 or 6/45 draws to reach the hundred million mark, of course, these take more time, and the jackpot tends to get taken before it reaches those numbers. Easier to believe because odds of winning are better at 1 in 5,245,786 and 1 in 8,145,060, respectively, and at a more affordable price per bet of 10 pesos.

What I'm not going to do is bet on the planned new lottery scheme where people get to pick 5 numbers out of 55, and another number from 1 to 10 to make a combination (odds are about 1 in 35 million) and with a price per bet of 50 pesos and with the minimum guranteed jackpot prize of "merely" 50 million, odds are lousy. (I'm thinking the jackpot have to be at 1.75 billion to be worth it.) Man, the things the government do to make money.

Hah, you'd get yours two books later.

I just picked up Jim Butcher's Summer Knight, Book 4 of the Dresden Files series. which means I now have books one to six. Now some of you might be thinking, that ain't right, four comes before six so shouldn't that be the last book I got. Well, that's one problem with buying your books in 2nd-hand stores, you're not exactly sure what they'd have on stock at any given moment. At least in this case I mangaed to get 1 to 6, maybe not in order but at least now that part is complete (though the series is up to book ten now,) I mean, I have several series where I have holes in the middle of the sets. Let's see, off the top of my head. Andrew Vachss' Burke novels; Glen Cook's Garrett P.I. series; Robert Asprin's Myth series; James Swain's Grift Sense series; a lot of the paranormal with female protagonists books I've been getting lately (most of which I've only recently came across, usually with the second or third book, Karen Chance's Pythia, Jeanne Stein's Anna Strong, Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld, Several of Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake Books, C.E. Murphy's Walker Papers and a couple of others.)

Reading books out of order is one of the things I have to live with. It's not so much of a problem with books that only occur in the same setting, say the Shadowrun or the Forgotten Realms line of books. Sometimes, it doesn't matter if you read it out order, Stven Brust's Vlad Taltos series wasn't in chronoligical order (at least initially,) and of course most of the stories in one novel can stand alone by itself, still sometimes, established characters are introduced or events that have happened in an earlier book and is now refered to, and I have no idea who or what it is supposed to be. And its worst when you already know that such and such character would be dead two books later or how a plot device just introduced has already been settled 'coz you've already read the next book.  

It's even worse with longer series, not really a problem with say, the Hardy Boys or the Three Investigators series (Ahh, nostalgia...) where every book pretty much stands alone, but others... well, to give an example, the first book I got from Piers Anthony's Xanth series was Man from Mundania, already the twelfth book in the series. Hoo boy... and it's even worse with longer series that have since been concluded (for example, John Norman's Gor the Counter-Earth series of books,) there's no guarantee I'd even be able to complete it.

Sometimes I'd buy a book which starts off in the middle of the series, I'd promised myself not to touch it until I get my hands on the earlier books, just so I'd get continuity. But more often than not, I'd break down and read them anyway. Oh well, gives me more reason to go after the entire series anyway.

People should read more

In the past couple of weeks, I bought a dozen "new" books and maybe half a dozen or so magazines. By new, I mean stuff I haven't read yet, it's because my favorite place to buy books is BOOKSALE, a store that sells previously-owned books and magazines. There are actually several other such stores in the Philippines (Books for Less, Buy the Book, Chapters and Pages,) but the ones with most branches, widest selections and cheaper prices would be Booksale, so I spent a lot of time there. Don't get me wrong, I also frequent the regular bookstores in the country, but I actually prefer the smaller, out-of-the-way, hole-in-the-wall bookshops that specialize in second-hand books (for one thing the choices aren't limited to the popular authors.)

Right now, I'm reading James Swain's book Deadman's Poker, part of his Tony Valentine/Grift Sense series, that after finishing Kelley Armstrong's Industrial Magic, which is part of her Women of the Otherworld series. I already have a few other books already in line to read after that, Technobabel from the Shadowrun line of books, Rachel Caine's Heat Stroke from the Weather Warden series and a few others, in fact in between chapters of the novels I'm currently reading, I'm sneaking in a few pages of George Carlin's When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? Now, it's been a few years since I could consistently read 2-3 books a week, but sometimes I managed to pull it off.

Of course, even if the price is low, it does add up, especially considering how many books I buy (also, I'm unemployed and with the economy in the state it is in, well...) Everytime I pick up a book, previously-owned (possibly by an owner who does not care much for theirs books as much as they should,) dog-eared, spines cracked, pages yellowish with years, and being priced for 80-90 pesos (when they should cost half that, if at all, still, a new book would probaly sell for three times that, so I'm grateful for the savings,) I'm also thinking if it's still a good bargain. Sometimes I put them back in their shelves, but usually I manage to find it in my heart (and money in my wallet) to buy them anyway. You see, I want Booksale (and all the other stores like it) to last for as long as it can, and if it means pumping in my money (as little as it is) in their tills, then that's what I'll do.

I remember the days when there were, I think six or seven Booksale stores in the University Belt Area, there's just two there now. Ditto with the ones in Cubao, only two remain when there were as many as four in the years past. Back in my Undergrad days, there were two such stores right beside my college, before I graduated both of them were gone. There were a few places where there was at least one such store in the area, but is gone now. When I went to Baguio several years back, with all its pretty places and tourist spots, I was happiest when I found a Booksale outlet in one its crowded marketplaces, Today, I wonder if it's still there, it seems more and more of them close their doors down as the years go by. I wish people would read more, and then maybe this trend would reverse itself.

Fat Fighters Unite!

I've been handing out some resumes to a few law firms in Makati (the premiere business hub in the country) trudging around in formal wear all day is hard (not to mention hot) work. Still, I manage to end up in one of the Malls on the way home and was able to pass by the local video game arcade hall. A lot of things have changed since I hanged out in one of these places. Games nowadays are all in 3D, Fighting Games, shooting games and what nots. Man, back in my days it was all in 2D and we didn't play these games in brightly-lit kid-friendly hallways, no, we play it in small, dingy tightly-packed rooms, whose walls are all covered with game posters and advertisments, move lists or strategy guides of some sort, maybe a list of high scorers, a list of songs available for the ubiquitous karaoke machine, the occasional "no smoking" signs, and the only lights available are those coming from the video game screens. It's like stepping into a different world and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Which leads me to my topic for today, I mentioned before that my nickname "Chang" came from playing KOF. This was maybe a dozen or so years ago back in my undergrad days, students would usually have breaks between subjects and guys like me tend to hang out in the local malls during such breaks, it wasn't big and usually I end up inside the arcade section of the mall. Now, most of us then didn't really know each other, yes we tend to beat each other('s character) up day in and day out, that doesn't exactly inspire camaraderie, so guys are usually known by the character they used and tends to be refered to as by that character's name (heck, we have a guy we call Shermie, and he's male, where Shermie is definitely not male.)

Now, anyone who've played KoF would know that it's a 3vs3 game, so why was I called Chang when I could have just as easily have been called Kim or Choi (Chang's stablemates in Team Korea.) That's easy coz I'm FAT, not horizontally-challeged, not big-boned, not overly healthy, or whatever new politically correct term or euphemisms it is now used for overweight guys like me.

Obviously, it's easier to call me Chang since there is at least some physical resemblance between me and the character. Some people play games to escape reality, so I really don't why I didn't go for any of the buff badasses or bevy of bishies available, but I usually pick the fat characters in fighting games. In the Street Fighter 2 series, the first guy I picked to play was E. Honda; in Fatal Fury, it was Big Bear; in the World Heroes game it was J. Karn; Earthquake in the Samurai Showdown games; Sasquatch in the Darkstalkers series and so on. It was as if their size, their fat-ness exert their own gravitational force, sucking me in, to play as the Fat guy over and over again.

Don't get me wrong I could actually play a decent game with most any character in any of the fighting games during my time (excluding maybe Mortal Kombat and any of the 3d games already available during those times, i.e. Virtua Fighter, Tekken and Soulcalibur) but I was always drawn to the eccentric, rarely used underdog characters. Fat fighting game characters usually fall in such category.

Also a lot of good things can be said about these characters, they were fun and simple to use (no big unlimited juggling combos to keep track of,) they tend to do good damage even with standard attacks, and while usually slow and lumbering, they usually have a special move whose speed belies their bulk or allows them to move across the screen in an instant. And because they aren't usually used by the other guys, fighting against them gives me a bit of an advantage due to the unfamiliarity factor. Good times, good times.

That's what wrong with fighting games nowadays, darn few fat fighters.

Legal Thrillers

As mentioned in my first post, I admitted to being a bit of a geek. Again, and this is very unfortunate, it does not extend to things technological (I can use the computer just fine, surf the web, etc. but not much more than that.) My geekiness leans towards my others interests, foremost of which are novels and anime/manga.

Given the chance I'd want to own and run a a bookstore or library of some sort with regards to my love of books and with regards to my Otaku nature, maybe head a publishing studio for my own manga (unfortunately I also am bereft of any artistic talents, so any endeavor in this area would be strictly editorial)in the future.

My interest in books run the gamut of genres available, primarily focusing however in fantasy and science fiction (I'll probably talk about some of my favorite books in the future.) Anyway, I was thinking despite being a lawyer, I don't read much legal thrillers at all, I've read one John Grisham novel (The Testament) started two others (The Firm and The Street Lawyer, but finished neither,) and two of William J. Coughlin's books about lawyer Charley Sloan. Although decent reads, I don't actively look for books in this genre, in fact, the only novels that came from a Lawyer/Author that I really liked is the Burke series of novels from Andrew Vachhs (and these books are about street crimes rather than courtroom dramas.)

With regards the anime side of things, I never know why I didn't get on the Phoenix Wright bandwagon. Actually, scratch that, I know exactly why I didn't get on that ride, I don't own a GBA or DS to play it on, and wasn't interested enough to look for its spin-off manga. Of course, even if I was, I'm not even sure if english-translated versions of it will even reach the Philippines.

Now that i actually entered into lawyerhood, I was thinking should I have read more of these books? (or watched the movie versions, maybe, or follow some of TV courtroom dramas that propagated the last few years?) Would they have helped in my education, make me look forward to being a lawyer or would they have disillusioned me from my career choice? Hmmm...maybe I should pick up and read some more of these books and maybe watch a dvd collection or two of these legal-thriller movies and TV series, you never know I might pick up a thing or two.

Welcome to Chang's Court!

Welcome! If you can see this, then I've succeeded in starting a blog.

Mainly it's just a thing to do while I'm looking for work. Oh yeah, the name of the blog, excuse the grandiosity (is that even a word?) To explain, Chang is a nickname I got from playing the KOF (King of Fighters) series specifically from Chang Koehan of Team Korea.

Court? well, I was thinking more of King Artur's Court than anything, though maybe my chosen profession has something to do with it as well. You see, i'm a lawyer (we'll do a post about lawyer jokes later.) Recently passed the Bar (after my 2nd try) just took the Lawyer's Oath the other week (along with 1,200-odd other bar-passers) and signed the Rolls the other day. Of course now that I'm a full-pledged (if fledging) lawyer, I'm unemployed. Hence this blog.

Oh, and never mind about the lawyer thing, I'm more Rain Man than Rainmaker anyway, so I'll try my best not to talk about it or anything related to it in the blog. Anyway, this is just a means of familiarizing myself with the Web and web publishing (I'm not even sure if I'm using the terms right,) earning geek cred (yes I'm a geek, unfortunately not a tech-oriented one,) and as way of passing time.

For now, welcome, if you like it, tell your friends; if not... well, let's just keep that between us, okay?