Tuesday, May 15, 2012

I'M ON A PLANE YOU CAN'T TOUCH THIS

Hi guys, I'm back in Orlando in front of the computer and I can't really post anymore.  So I'm winging it--here goes.

I had a good two weeks with the family in the nice big house.  I was sad to go.  These breaks I have off are a real reality check, man.  One day, you're with your family, pets, and old friends staring at the water and the trees.  Next day, you're back in the cell again locked up with a bunch of homies who rave nonstop about Mass Effect and drinking beer.  Okay, that was low, sorry dudes.  But really, just strange to see people that aren't in that 25-35 age bracket for once.

Anyway, I flew home on Delta Airlines and I had a layover at Atlanta's Hartsfeld-Jackson Airport.  Yeah, reppin' the ATL, ya dig.  I was the guy with the Daytona Speedway hat.  Missed the 9:50 pm flight to Orlando cause the previous flight swerved out of the way of bad weather and took forever to let people off the plane.  Yeah, try running to another terminal while carrying two laptops in one bookbag.  So I ate a Burger King cheeseburger (that must've taken 10 minutes to make, so much for fast food) then I sweated it out, waiting for standby as the packed me into the 10:50 flight to the same destination.  So that's great.  I didn't lose my bag with the Xbox 360 & Rock Band Keyboards so that's a great, great success.


I really want to know what's the deal with these fancy airports.  They're like high class malls but you can't just park and chill out--you gotta fly somewhere or get lost.  So they have the food court and the book stores--I get it, but there must be a BILLION book stores, phone accessory stores, jewelry stores--they sell all the small things.  And they manage to cram these fancy restaurants like steakhouses or sushi bars in these narrow little concourses surrounded by boarding gates.  You see that Chili's over there?  Feels just like home!!  It seems awfully sporadic but I'll take it cause I like malls so yeah, it's cool.  Too bad you're usually hauling ass to the gate so you have time for nothing, not even a shoe shine.

On both flights, you get schooled on safety instructions.  Which makes sense--guess it's some sort of federal mandate.  But you can't simply fly anymore without being reminded "oh, you're gonna crash."  It's like trying to eat McDonald's without someone tapping you on the shoulder, "oh, you're gonna be get fat."  Debbie Downers.  On the flight to Orlando, stand-by put me right next to the emergency exit and I was like "ooohhhh noooo..."  I gotta rehearse opening the door!  And when do I open it?  I didn't ask for this!!



I can't believe they put the Delta In-Flight video on YouTube but they did.  My life is complete.  Nooooo smoking!!

I was listening to music on the plane.  First up was Steve Miller Band!  Fly Like an Eagle!  Jet Airliner!  Next up is Tom Petty.  Free Fallin!  Yeah, that was weird.  What's weirder was how the flight attendants took my Coke away and made everyone turn off the electronic devices 10 minutes before landing.  What's the big deal guys???  Breakin' my stride.  At least I got to show you fools what's up by playing Super Sprint at 30,000 feet!  Wait, should've busted out the Supermodel emulator...what a wasted opportunity.  They have the Mile High Club--well I got the Mile High...Video Game Design Club.

Considering the cost to fly, the hassle of having to bring all the stuff, waiting at the terminal, and sitting next to random strangers, it's much cheaper and about just as quick to drive home for 8 hours.  I haul my own damn luggage--no bag fees, no size restrictions, nothing.  Crank the volume up and take those interstate exits OutRun-style.  Just need to get behind the wheel of that bad boy and cruise on home, not slowing down for anybody (except the toll booths and the occasional state trooper my radar detector picks up).

Back in Orlando, I already miss home.  Made my rounds about the mall and got to pet the dogs one more time.  I had my doubts before leaving and I sure have a lot more of an emotional bond with things than my fearless teammates who work anywhere and on anything without question.  But that's okay because as you get older, you start to get used to these things.  I've been through high school for 4 excruciating years.  Been through Southeastern Louisiana University for another 4 years.  Now I'm here.  3rd time I left the house for FIEA.  This ain't new--I can make it.  And we're closer to finishing those super l33t games.  Plus I might get to go to the second Daytona race on July 7.  Also I don't have to worry about my little brother getting on my 360, embarrassing my good name on XBL by dying a lot on Black Ops Zombies so that is good news too.

So I'm spending a lot of my time now working on Super Sprint and Battle Fortress Tortoise so I may not post as much in the future.  It's not that this semester is hard but I'm also feeling glum about Sega.  Not that they're doing bad, but when you look at the games, I'm having a hard time getting into it.  Sonic & Mario at the Olympic Games sold 3.3 million copies.  Who's buying this?  Lots of kids and Sonic fanboys.  I saw next to nothing in terms of enthusiasm on the sites I visit.  But then again, the ability to shoot stuff as Vector the Crocodile almost makes it worthwhile.

Then after that, there's Sonic Generations, Yakuza, Football Manager, etc.  Sales are good but I'm having a hard time getting hyped about any game, Sega games included.  Yeah, there's Sonic & Sega Racing 2 (I refuse to call it by its actual title) but I still have slight doubts that it'll cater to hardcore racing fans like me and the OutRun 2 gang or is it all the Sonic/Dreamcast scenery porn at the oh-so-lousy 30 fps?  Let's see what you got, Sumo--make that damn racing game.

Well, that's it.  I got a lot of stuff on the stack of stuff to talk about, Super Sprint included, if only I have the time & focus to do it in a cohesive manner.

EDIT: There's one more thing I forgot to mention.  I sat in a window seat on the night flight home (twice actually...the flight going home two weeks ago).  Got to see the city lights as far as the horizon.  Very rarely do you get to see the forest from the trees.  Roads, window lights, parking lots, cars all lit up.  Outstanding--reminds me of a Billy Joel song.  I only imagine what it looks like at Christmas.  I only wish I had brought my camera so I'm gonna steal one from Google.  (Attribution)

Orlando at night.

2 comments:

  1. Do what ya gotta do, man. You certainly have more important things to do than blog all the time, and besides, you blog a lot more often than your average site as it is. You can afford to slack a little. I had a weird synchronicity with music the first time i flew in a plane, too. 10 minutes into the flight the stewardesses were handing out 2 dollar headphones to plug into the seats to listen to their custom radio channels. I hadn't any technology with me, so I bought one and plugged it in. Cycled through the few channels they had and settled on a station and heard Dave Grohl sing "it's a shame we all have to die my dear, no one's getting out of here alive!" DOA by the Foo Fighters. So a song basically titled dead on arrival, by a band named after supposed ufo's seen by world war 2 pilots, right off the bat on my very first flight experience. Good job, airline. Way to make people feel comfortable. That kind of shit happens all the time, haha. Take it easy, manz, and let's hope the next sonic racing is a good'n.

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  2. Thanks, I blogged a lot up until a year ago when I entered grad school. It's tough but I still try. It's one of the few outlets I have to express my thoughts. I'm in a slump but I'll get out of it. I also heard the DOA song--Foo Fighters are fairly decent...

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