Friday, December 27, 2013

A Belated Holiday Greeting

Happy Holidays everyone!  I had a good Christmas myself, and hope whichever holiday(s) you celebrate(d) is/are/was/were excellent.  Good presents I got that were worth mentioning: a new laptop battery, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds for Nintendo 3DS, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team for Nintendo 3DS, excellent new earbuds, The House of Hades by Rick Riordan, Target gift cards, and an Amazon gift card.

Also, if anyone is interested, please visit my blog The W Zone to check out my latest YouTube videos where I review the first two episodes of Ultimate Spider-Man.

Here's to a great New Year's celebration!

- William Winkeler

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Applying to Go to Japan

Today I finished getting together everything I need to mail for applying for the Labo International Exchange Intern Program and mailed it off at the post office.  On February 1st of 2014, I will be notified if I've been selected for an interview.  If that is the case, and then I pass the interview, I will be able to go to Japan for a year to learn about Japanese language and culture, and help teach English to Japanese children (among other responsibilities).

I desperately want to do that, so please pray to whichever deity to which you normally pray that this works out for me.  I would appreciate it.  Oh, and wish me luck to.

For more info on this program I have applied for, visit: http://wp.labo-exchange.com/intern/

I really hope this works out, because I really want to go to Japan!!!

- William Winkeler

Monday, December 2, 2013

Facebook Still Sucks

Two days ago, I was considering reactivating my Facebook account for the following reasons:

  1. I have no way to contact some of my friends.
  2. None of my friends contact me on their own, presumably because they are too busy for me, have no easy/reliable way to contact me, have friends they'd rather contact/that are easier to contact, and/or never think to contact me.
  3. Few of my friends have Google+, the only major social network I use, and of the few who have Google+, few of them actually use it, and none of them use it regularly.
  4. I have had little social interaction outside my immediate family recently.
  5. I am incredibly lonely and miss all my friends.
However, instead of just reactivating my Facebook account on a whim, I did the smart thing and looked at the website for Social Fixer (a web browser application that makes Facebook user-friendly), to look up if Facebook had improved at all.  Needless to say, Facebook is still as user-friendly as a sloth is fast.  In fact, they've gotten worse because they forced Social Fixer to get rid of two of its many excellent features.  Ergo, my Facebook account is a long ways away from being reactivated (if it ever will be), and my hatred for Facebook has increased.

If only hundreds of millions of people were willing to boycott Facebook, then the crooked social networking site might get the message that it sucks, but alas, billions of people are too addicted to the virtual drug to even realize that there's a problem with it being not user-friendly.  So if you, the reader of this post, are able to realize how Facebook as a website is treating you like dirt, I implore you to at least spread the word that Facebook is annoying to use, and that people should complain about its user-unfriendliness.  If possible, please boycott it, or convince a group of friends to boycott it with you, but at the very least, realize that Facebook has many inadequacies, and that YOU SHOULD BE DISSATISFIED with its features and set up and that YOU DESERVE BETTER.

For info on how Facebook could improve, and/or to download an application to improve it somewhat, visit http://socialfixer.com/.

Facebook is evil!

-William Winkeler

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

R.I.P. Henry Thomas

I'm a week late on this, but better late than never, right?

On Tuesday, November 12, 2013, Henry Thomas, my great-grandfather, passed away peacefully at his home at the age of 99.  He was a WWII veteran who received a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts.  He was the only great-grandfather I ever knew, and the last of my great-grandparents to pass away.  I was glad to have met him, and especially glad I got a final chance to say good-bye at his 99th birthday party I had mentioned in a previous post.  I attended his viewing last Saturday, November 16th, and his funeral yesterday, November 18th.  I wish my great-grandfather a pleasant afterlife, and thank him for his military services.

Farewell Great-Granddaddy.

- William Winkeler

Friday, October 18, 2013

Another X-cellent Weekend

Yeah, this is a rather late post, but the reason for its tardiness will be made clear by the end of it.

This past weekend, my mother, father, and younger younger sister, drove up to Chicago to visit my elder younger sister at college.  Why did I stay home?  Well, one reason is because I HATE car trips, and the others reasons will be explained soon enough.

So, Friday night involved an extensive amount of waiting.  I had to wait until midnight reached the east coast of the United States (which was 11:00 PM my time), so that I could download Pokémon X onto my 3DS.  Unfortunately, thousands upon thousands of others had the same idea, and causing my download to take an exasperating 3 hours to download.  ><*  But finally, finally, finally I got to play Pokémon X and experience the epic newness of the game.  Of course with so much newness to experience, I didn't get much sleep that night.

But surely, I could just sleep through the next day at my leisure, right?  Wrong!  My grandparents arrived with my great aunt to pick me up again at about 10:45 AM that Saturday.  Why?  So I could attend my great grandfather's 99th birthday celebration!  So after a long drive of good conversation, we arrived at our destination.  It had been several years since I had seen my great grandfather, so my great aunt warned me it might be a bit shocking to see him in his current state.  I tried to mentally prepare myself, but it was difficult to not be even a little shocked at his current state of frailty.  He could no longer lift himself from his chair on his own, his face was more sunken in than I remembered, and had only about 10-20% vision left in one eye, while completely blind in the other.  The biggest shock though was his deteriorated mental state.  Because he could barely see, we had to be very close to him to say who we were, and he would have to try to remember who we were.  When it was time for my introduction, I sat close to him, held his hands, and my grandmother explained I was her grandson, and which of her sons was my father.  I told him it was good to seem him, and eventually he was able to recall who am I.  While it was hard for me to tell, he seemed happy I was there, and mentioned that he remembered when I was a baby.  I was pleased my this small fact, even if that was all he could recall of me.

Eventually, more guests showed up, some of which I'd never met before, but at least has heard of.  My uncle, aunt, and two young cousins from last weekend (see previous post) also came by.  The elder of the two had previously met our great grandfather a few months ago, and developed an immense admiration for him when he had told her of his World War II exploits, and about the medals he had won.  Ergo, she was very pleased to see him again.

We ultimately sang happy birthday to him, helped him blow out his candles, and ate desserts.  Later, we took pictures, and eventually guests started leaving.  My uncle, aunt, and cousins still remained, so I played with my cousins once my great grandfather went off for a nap.  They too had to leave eventually, so I hung around with my grandparents, great aunt, great uncle, and my great grandfather's caretaker for awhile.  Unfortunately, the party had thrown off my great grandfather's sleep schedule, so he woke up, and was guided to his usual chair.  Worse still is he was somewhat delirious from lack of sleep.  Thus, my great uncle and my great grandfather's caretaker had to persuade him to go back to bed, which took a very long time due to my great grandfather's delirium and inherent stubbornness.  My grandparents, great aunt, and I left soon after.

After arriving home, I ate, waited for my food to settle, and then finally caught some Z's.  After waking, I ate, played Pokémon X, surfed the web, and told my parents about the previous day's experience via phone call.

As to why this post is almost a week late, I've been busy played Pokémon X of course!  If you have Pokémon X or Pokémon Y, and want to be friends in the game, leave your 3DS Friend Code in the comments, and then I'll provide mine!

Until next time, adieu!

- William Winkeler

Sunday, October 6, 2013

A Wonderful Weekend With Relatives

My mom and sister had to take a weekend trip for my sister's school band competition, leaving me all alone for the weekend.  While I enjoy having the house to myself, it gets extremely lonely rather quickly, especially for a whole weekend.  Fortunately, my grandparents were in town, so I spent the weekend with them at their condo in the area.

Friday night they picked me up, and after a quick stop at a vintage car show for my grandfather's sake, we arrived at a Mexican restaurant where we were to meet up with my uncle and my three-and-half-years-old cousin.  We had some fun, talked, and enjoyed some food.  My grandmother and I took my young cousin for a walk outside, and she made plans to look after her and her sister the next afternoon, so my uncle and aunt could relax some.  After dinner, we all went back to my grandparents' condo, and hung out for a little while.  Eventually my uncle and cousin had to leave, and we assured my young cousin that we would see her and her sister again tomorrow.  Shortly afterwards, I went to bed.

The next morning, I eventually got out of bed, and even managed to watch one of my Saturday morning cartoons live on TV!  (I never get to do this because I don't get the channel that airs said Saturday morning cartoons.  >:L )  Later on, my aunt dropped off my two young cousins, and we got to hear what she and the elder of the two cousins were doing while the rest of us were at dinner.  My aunt soon left, leaving me, my cousins, and my grandparents to have fun.  We played some games for young children, had a few treats, played some Wii, and listen to some music.  I was glad to find out that the elder of my young cousins was a huge Mario fan, so we played the Mario Wii games that I had brought, and listened to a few of the Mario songs I had on my computer.  Soon however, she wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese's to play some games, so my uncle came over so we could borrow his vehicle that had my cousins' car booster seats perfectly situated already.  This was the optimum arrangement that my grandmother and uncle have worked out.

So, my grandmother and I took my young cousins to Chuck E. Cheese's.  We played some games that the girls enjoyed, and they took turns riding this ride that lets them pedal a bicycle-like contraption that goes vertically upwards like a helicopter.  After some food, we played more games, and my grandmother and I showed the girls skeeball, a game we both enjoyed.  Eventually, we ran out of tokens, and my cousins traded in their tickets for candy and temporary tattoos.  My grandmother drove us back to her condo, and my uncle took them home for some chicken noodle soup my aunt had made them.  Worn out, my grandmother and I still had a good time with my two lovely young cousins.  After I talked to my parents over the phone, my grandmother ordered some Chinese food, which my grandfather picked up.  We ate this late dinner, and then we listened to some of my music before my grandparent went off to get ready for bed.  I did a few things on my computer, then went to bed myself, exhausted from the day's events.

The next morning, I talked with my grandparents a little, and then packed up the stuff I had brought over.  Eventually, my grandmother was able to drive me home, where a magazine with my father on the cover was waiting in the mailbox.  After my grandmother left, I ate and played a little 3DS before my mom and sister finally arrived home.

In conclusion, I had a wonderful weekend.  It was much better than any weekend I could have had alone!

Sorry, for the long post, but it should make up for my lack of activity as of late!

- William Winkeler

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Why I Haven't Been Updating

Yeah, I haven't updated in a while...  To my friends and family who read this blog, I apologize.  Not much has happened worth mentioning, and I haven't felt like updating because of this.  So I'm sorry.  Hopefully things will pick up soon; in the meantime, keep checking this blog!  (Probably just once every few days.  There's really no need to check it daily at this point.)

Until next time,

William Winkeler

Sunday, September 1, 2013

The Scare Beyond Compare

Those living in or familiar with the St. Louis area should have heard of the local pizza chain Imo's (pronounced "ee-moes").  Well, during the day trip to Peoria, Illinois my family and I took yesterday, we saw a restaurant named "Emo's."  We all laughed like crazy, and when we noticed the mascot was a clown, we laughed some more.  I don't think I would ever want to eat there.

Friday, August 30, 2013

Star Crossing Quest VIII: Trek of the Animal King (Or, What I Have Been Doing Lately)

If you can't figure out from the title what I've been doing lately, read on for better detail.

Sometime after being released from the hospital, I finally decided to start watching something I'd been meaning to start watching for a while now: Star Trek: The Original Series!  Still in Season 1 of that, but I'm definitely enjoying it.

This past Tuesday I stopped by Game Monster (a local used video game store) to see if there was anything I could purchase with my store credit there.  And I was fortunate to find a PS2 game I had my eye out for; Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King!  Having played most of Dragon Quest IV and Dragon Quest V (and greatly enjoying them), I picked up DQ8, and now I'm enjoying it too.

But that's not all!  A day after that, I was compelled to download a game for my 3DS, so I'd have a new portable game to play.  After scrounging together some digital funds, I managed to purchase and download Animal Crossing: New Leaf!  I am also enjoying that, and I'm digging the new features within the game.

And with that, the title of this post should have a clearer meaning now.

Warp factor 3, Mr. Sulu; I've got to decorate my house and defeat some slimes!

- Mayor William of the Starship Metal Slime

Sunday, August 25, 2013

I Am Never Mowing the Lawn Again (At Least Until I Get a Beekeeper's Outfit)

Received two more yellow jacket stings today while mowing the lawn.  This time, the stings made me break out in hives, and my face began to swell.  This called for a trip to the hospital via ambulance.   I received many drugs to reduce the swelling and other effects,  but it was apparent that I had developed an allergy for the venom of the stings.  I managed to take a nap at the hospital, and while it wasn't torturous, it was incredibly boring.  

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Numb and Number

Went to the dentist today for some dental work.  After a half an hour wait, I got through the worst part (the anesthetic shots).  While a prolonged bitter taste lingered in my mouth, they took care of what need to be done in my lower right teeth.  However, when they started to do work on my upper front teeth, I began feeling pain.  Thus, more anesthetic shots were required, leaving my upper lip heavy and useless, along with my nose numb and immovable.  (I'm certainly glad I shaved yesterday. ^^)  Many slow minutes later, the job was done, and though I could finally rinse out my mouth of the still lingering bitterness, my lame lip made the task sloppy.

After having been in the dentist office nearly 2 hours, I was able to leave.  At home, I managed to swallow 2 ibuprofen pills.  Feeling hungry next, I started eating yogurt.  However, feeding myself yogurt with a numb upper lip felt like I was feeding a baby said food, except that I could control the baby's actions.   I can't smile as well as normal, and I have trouble speaking certain consonant sounds.  As my lip and nose still cannot register pain as I write this, I dread having to continue to deal with this lack of feeling throughout the day.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

I'm Starting to Know How Nicolas Cage Must Feel...

Several weeks ago, while mowing the lawn, I was stung by a yellow jacket twice; this was the first time I was stung by any sort of stinging insect.  Today while mowing the lawn, I was stung by a yellow jacket again.  I am very angry now. 

Saturday, August 3, 2013

OMG! WTF?! ...RIP...

A dead bird randomly appeared on our backyard patio when we weren't looking.  It was very creepy.  Then I had to use a shovel to move its corpse to the edge of the street.  The whole experience was mildly disturbing.

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

My Mom Is Not Quite the 80's Expert I Thought Her To Be...

Apparently my mom didn't know what Rick Astley looked like, because the other day she was taking a Sporcle quiz, and couldn't identify him from his picture because she thought he was black...  She obviously hasn't been Rick Roll'd enough...

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Not My Day...

Things are not going well today.  I cannot find a decent place to host the videos for my Pokémon Worst Wishes series, a certain website I go to keeps failing to connect me to the chat room, I feel unmotivated to do most of the stuff I want/need to do, and the things I do feel motivated to do, I'm not making progress on.  Plus, it's just one of those days where my family just gets on my nerves way more than normal.  What is wrong with me that I cannot tolerate those I care about?  *sigh*  Gotta find a way to chill out...

Friday, July 19, 2013

An Excellent Day With My Friend

Today my friend came over.  He told me about his fun experiences at an anime convention, and I showed him some videos on the internet.  We talked a bit, and I lent him the video game "The World Ends With You" for Nintendo DS, because I knew he wanted to play it, and had a feeling he would really enjoy it.  Finally, we watched some episodes of Digimon Season 3 (a.k.a. Digimon Tamers) and enjoyed providing amusing commentary about it.  I had so much fun!!!

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Restart!

I recently decided to erase my save data for the game Super Smash Bros. Brawl so that I could start anew.  This time, to make things interesting, I'm not playing Subspace Emissary until I unlock all the unlockable character (with the exception of Jigglypuff, Toon Link, and Wolf, because they can't be unlocked in Subspace Emissary until it's beaten).  I'm really enjoying it, and have already unlocked Luigi, Ness, Lucario, Snake, and Marth.  Wish me luck!

- William Winkeler

Links to My Other Blogs Added

Wanted to announce that I added links to my other blogs in the sidebar of this blog.  "The W Zone" is a blog to get my opinions about stuff I like out there (video games, movies, anime, etc.), while "Pokémon Worst Wishes" is a blog for my Pokémon Black & White anime parody series.  Neither one has much on there now, but if either one interests you, please feel free to bookmark it, and check back in the future for them to get updates.

Until next time, everyone!

Saturday, July 13, 2013

First Post Welcome/Info

Hello, my name is William Winkeler.  I have started this particular blog as a replacement for my Facebook page, because I'm sick of Facebook and no longer wish to support it.  This is mostly so my family and friends can keep up with my life if they want, without me having Facebook.  Here is some basic info about me:

Age (at the time of this post): 21

Sex/Gender: Male

Place of birth: Baltimore, Maryland, USA

City of residence (at the time of this post): Fenton, Missouri, USA

High school attended: Rockwood Summit Hellhole

Employment (at the time of this post): Unemployed

Religion: Roman Catholic

Political views: Neither liberal nor conservative, and very against both the Democrat and Republican parties

Hair color: Medium to dark brown

Eye color: A green & brown hazel

Main interests: Video games, anime, manga, American comic book heroes, the internet, Japanese language and culture

Favorite video game series: Pokémon, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Harvest Moon, Ace Attorney

Favorite anime: Tenchi Muyo! OVAs, Kenichi the Mightiest Disciple, Vandread, Karin, Azumanga Daioh, Nana Seven of Seven, Dragonball Z

Favorite manga: MÄR, Chibi Vampire (American name for the Karin manga), The All-New Tenchi Muyo!, Change 123

Favorite Marvel comics heroes: Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Fantastic Four, X-Men, The Avengers

Favorite DC comics heroes: Batman, Superman, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan and John Stewart, specifically), The Flash (Barry Allen and Wally West, specifically), Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow

Musical interests: "Weird Al" Yankovic, video game songs, anime and cartoon themes, internet meme songs, misc. songs

Favorite movies: Most Marvel comics films, Batman (1989), Disney's Aladdin, The Back to Future trilogy, various Disney films, UHF

Other info: I have Aspeger's Syndrome, an Autism spectrum disorder

Not sure what else to put, so until next time everyone... Do the Mario!