Making a Home

Tomorrow I get added to Gil's lease and the two of us will sign the new lease for another 8 months. We have slowly been moving my stuff over from my apartment, slowly been adding my books and movies to his. We are starting to build our home together.


After getting our couch, we got me a desk that can fit in the living room, some chairs for the kitchen table, and hung up some of the items that have sitting on the mantle.  And now that those are up we have more room to display all of Gil's figures and collectibles. We had to buy another DVD shelf to fit all of our stuff combined. I brought a few shelves from my place and have already put them to good use. I still have most of my larger furniture at my other apartment. I did manage to get one of my larger bookshelves here all by myself. Yeah me!

We finally decided to put stuff on the walls since we won't be moving anytime soon. Gil has a lot of posters, most of which we won't be putting up. There are a few we want to hang up, but we would like to frame them first. Mostly movie posters like the Incredibles, and The Princess and the Frog. We're kinda at a loss for what to put up in the bedroom. We don't really have anything we want to hang in there. 

Jeremi finally was able to move his stuff out of our sun room. We have blocked off the door in the living room that goes back there. We needed the space. We still have access to it through our bedroom. Which is another good reason to have my computer desk in the living room. The sun room is quickly turning into a library. As soon as I get my larger bookcase over here we'll have quite the collection. Now that I think about it I'm gonna move some stuff around back there. Hm.

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Also, we have been wanting a pet for some time now and finally he managed to get one. Say hello to Ted Danson. Isn't he adorable. 

 

Yes he is snuggled in my cleavage.

He is the perfect pet for us, he doesn't bark or make a mess. We would like a real pet but, right now this is the best we can get. 

Couch update

So it's been a little over a month since our last post, or more specifically my post. We were in the process of maybe getting a couch or futon. We were very afraid that once we made the decision to get one there would be none for us to get. Just like last time. Because Wal-mart is a place of disappointment. But more on that later. We made the decision and went to go get our couch. Then we realized that neither of us has a vehicle that is capable of transporting a couch, assembled or not. Or so we thought. We decided to go and see if the box that the couch would come in would fix in my car, as it is a hatch back and could maybe work.

So we got there and looked at the boxes and thought, 'Sure that would fit in Kim's car, but how the hell do we get it there and up the damn stairs when we get home?' You see, our problem wasn't size or weight, our problem was the fact that everyone of those boxes looked like shit. There was no way for us to lift the damn thing, they looked like they were kept together with spit and lots of cheap tape. So, with sadness settling in our hearts we looked around to see if they had more of those futons. Not surprising they didn't, what they did have was a nicer one for forty bucks more. Only problem was that the nicer slightly more expensive one had a bigger box.

We had no idea what we could fit in my car, and neither of us had any thing to measure it with.

Oh wait! We were in Wal-mart! So after a trip to the hardware section, we measured the box, then bought the tape measure( it was $1) and then went out to measure the car. After a few measurements we decided we could fit the box in the car. So, back into Wal-mart we went, to get our selves a futon.  

Getting that thing to the car was a bitch. We had to get it on top of a cart, which sucked. I managed to crush my hand in the process. Then we had to wheel it to the front, while we couldn't see around it. We ended up pulling it backwards all the way to the front. We paid, and then got it to the car where we found out that we were right in believing that we didn't have a vehicle that would fit a couch in.

I had forgot to measure the spot in my car where the seats fold down. That one spot managed to be less that an inch too small. The couch was soooo close to fitting in the damn car. I had wanted to buy some twine or rope to see if we could tie the hatch closed, but there wasn't anything we could tie it to. Nothing.

So, I had to drive home with the hatch of my car all the way up. not even partially closed. Our only saving grace was that the Wal-mart we frequent is pretty damn close to our apartment. I mean, it's about a five minute drive.

So we get home and have the craptastic job of getting all the way to our apartment on the second floor and in the only building without direct access to the parking lot.  It sucked. Add to that the fact that the box started falling apart two thirds of the way up the small set of stairs that lead to our apartment. When we finally got to the stairs for out building we ended up rolling the damn thing up the stairs.

After we got it into the apartment, I had to put it together. Which took a while, but was totally worth it. Now we don't have to sit on the floor. And it was a huge step to making our place feel like a home.

Couch in the future?

We here at Observations are hopefully getting a couch sometime this week. YEAH!

We used to have a nice purple couch, but when we moved from the nice furnished apartment we had no furniture. At least not any that we could sit on. The funny thing about us moving is the fact that the apartment we left and the arpartment we are in now have the same layout. So when we first moved it felt like some one had stolen our couch, because everything else was in the same exact place.

So this whole time we have had no couch. Why didn't we just buy one, you may ask? Beside not having a lot of money, we only planned on staying in this apartment for seven months, then moving to a much nicer and bigger place. That plan won't be going into effect, as we 1) don't have the money; 2) can't find a place that fits enough of our criteria, and 3) it's a huge pain in the ass to move. Another big reason is that we both have about a year left at school. And if we stay for another seven month term, we will know if we should be graduating on time or not. This is important because we don't plan on staying in Dallas. We plan on moving to Austin if we can't move to the West Coast.

But now that we're staying we need a couch. Mostly for me, and my craptastic back. And my habit of going into the bedroom to sleep/read. It'll also make having people over better, no one will have to sit on the floor unless they want to. We're gonna get a futon so, if need be, people can stay over. Yay!

Without the Right Side

This past week The Right Side has been out of town. Gil had to go be with his family during our one week off from school, leaving my all by my lonesome. And I have to say, it wasn't bad.

That's not to say I didn't miss him, because I did. It wasn't like the times I had to go stay at my "real" apartment because the parents where coming to visit and they don't know about my living with Gil (I think they do, but they're gonna let me bust my ass pretending I'm not). Most of the times I have to leave him for a few days  it sucks. Part of it is, I believe, is that we are so close but still apart. The apartment we share is in Dallas, my other apartment is in Grand Prairie. Close, but so far away. It's a really easy drive to make, and that makes it harder.

The other thing that makes it more difficult to be apart during those times is that that place is no longer "home" to me. Gil is now my home, being with him is being at home. Wow that was weird, he just called me as I finished that sentence. Where was I? Oh, yeah. Right now I'm in a place that is connected to Gil, his stuff is here, the bed we share is here. I still feel connected to him, even though he is not here.

So this time apart hasn't effected me as it has him (He's rather homesick), but it has made me realize how much I love him and what he has come to mean to me. And while to hasn't been bad, I can't wait till he get back tonight.







P.S-Happy Birthday honey! I love you.

The Tension Sucks

Last night we had four hours of tension and fear. Not for us, but for the woman who lives above us. While the people that live above us are usually ass-hats on the weekends; when the fighting started we kept our ears open. The argument started a few days ago when the chick kick the guy out. There was some screaming then some banging on the door when he got locked out, but nothing more.
Last night around one it started again. At first it was yelling, then some thudding, slamming doors, more yelling, then screaming. Not the "I'm pissed" screaming, more like the "OH HOLY GOD!!!!!!" screaming. Around then is when we called 911 for a domestic disturbance. They sent an officer, but as it usually happens the dick weed was gone by then.
We think, we're not really sure what happened, because after about thirty minutes the fighting started again. Why the hell would you let him back in, and when the hell did he back inside? And it was bad, we could tell whatever was happening was going on in the bathroom. From the thuds, crashes, screaming and crying, someone was getting the shit beat out of them. So, we called the cops again, this time though we met up with them and attempted to tell them what was going on. But as all of us have learned, Dallas PD are ass-hats, who didn't let me finish telling them that we could hear the chick in the bathtub crying. They told us to go back to our apartment, where we tried to listen to what was happening upstairs. The cops went up to the door and knocked...and knocked, no answer. All noise from upstairs stopped. Well, except for the muffled sobbing. So the cops stood there and knocked, never said anything, and then left after a about ten minutes. They didn't come and see if they could hear someone moving around from our apartment, because you could. Or come and ask if we could still hear anything, they just left.
They left after not trying very hard to find out if some one might me in danger or need medical attention. You would think that us having called twice that something bad might have been going down, or the fact we had reported screaming and then there was silence when we had just heard screaming and crying right before we went to get the cops. Thanks for nothing DPD.
After that we continued listening in to see if anything happened. It was eerily quiet, and then the sink started up and someone kept moving shit around. There was no more crying or screaming, only some masculine mumbles.
It had been four hours, and nothing was happening any more. We were pretty wound up, I mean we were very concerned about this chick. And we wanted to help, but couldn't really do anything. It really sucked. Trying to help others is fucking nerve wracking.
We're pretty sure a cop was up there earlier today. Hopefully everyone is ok.

Left Standing in Heavy Rain

Gil just finished his first play through of Heavy Rain and it was fucking intense. There was attempted rape, epic 

fights, dismemberment, children in danger, LOTS of death, electrocution and urination. 

Heavy Rain is like a movie, those choose your own adventure books, and point and click games combined together into one giant quick time event. Sounds weird but it works. Really well. 

The story is very engaging. You grow attached to the characters and truly concerned for their well being. The plot twists were completely unexpected, even for Gil and I who predict almost everything correctly. We had dozens of "What the hell?" moments. The controls are rather intuitive; Gil says they correspond well to the motions the characters are doing on the screen. There were a few times the controls wouldn't work, but nothing major. There were three times Gil meant to do one thing and messed up and got the opposite reaction that he was wanted. The first time it was funny, the other two not so much.

Graphically it's not bad. The load screens between the chapters are especially pretty. The animations during these times are also very nice, very subtle. The animations during the rest of the game are good overall, but the dialogue animation a pretty hit or miss. Sometimes it's nice, other times kinda disturbing. The textures are nice through out, but it's funny to see them load every once and a while when a chapter starts.

Gil's first run left him with 55% completion, and as a type this out he is trying to get trophy where you get to the end with everyone alive and then fail in the last chapter. And I've got to tell you it is hard to watch these people you have been helping fail, either by not getting to help or by death. It's really sad. 

We can't wait to find out all the other endings, however sad and crazy they may be.        

The Left Side Thinks You All Should Shut the Hell Up!

So. The trailer for Sonic 4 is out. And all we have to say is Fuck Yeah!!

The teaser trailer shows us everything we had wanted from a Sonic game. It's side scrolling classic Sonic.

 The thing that makes me want everyone to shut the hell up, is the amount of bitching coming from the fans. OMG! Sonic looks like crap with green eyes! Why isn't he a 2D sprite? He's so skinny! He doesn't even look like a hedgehog anymore. Shut the hell up!

Does having green eyes make him look all that different? When was the last time you saw a major title that's been in pixel sprites? Why does it matter that he lost some weight? He runs a lot, seems to me he would get skinnier. HE NEVER LOOKED LIKE A FUCKING HEDGEHOG!

The only thing that needs work, as far as us animation students are concerned, is the run cycle. It looks a little slow. That will probably be fixed before the game is released. 

The saddest part about all the bitching is that it's going to discourage SEGA from continuing on this Path of Awesome. 

But, we here at Observations from the Other Side of the Couch are very excited about Sonic 4. Way to go SEGA.