Everything at the apartment is now in the garage. Finally found a place in Hacienda Heights, so the moving has begun. Only 2 days until we need to be out of Riverside, which in some ways is rather sad. When I'm not moving, I have been helping my sister find her place in Long Beach. I've gone there at least a half dozen times now, and nothing ever comes up that looks remotely good or even just half decent. I am still currently unemployed but have been looking diligently for work. It has been a very hard second half of the month but the month is almost over and maybe it'll be lighter on the shoulders. To add to agenda, I also need to start moving out of Arcadia. The house is going to be sold sometime this year and it's got to be cleaned up for buyers to see. Not sure where the future "permanent" address will be at this time.

Went to Long Beach Aquarium today while my sister was at orientation at CSULB. During the middle of the behind-the-scenes tour, apparently there was a 5. something earthquake that was never felt while on the 3rd floor feeding the fish. I think this time I pet every ray and shark that could be pet.

After getting the coolant yesterday, I started flushing the system of its OEM red. Right away I noticed that there was a leak somewhere. With some water in the system, I tried to start up the car. No problems now with firing up, but the car kept revving on its own. A warning for low coolant levels apparently or a leak in the cooling system. I took off the throttle body again and couldn't pinpoint the area. Did it a few more times with water running through the radiator and found that the coolant would spill out from the throttle body. I guess an O-ring must have fell out when I took the TB off. After a couple hours of messing around and using an O-ring that I had (fit, but not perfect), I got the car to start up and run fine. The only thing left is to deal with any leaking coolant. I called around today for a TB gasket, but most places say to just do it yourself using a liquid gasket or gasket paper. That's not much help. The dripping I'm noticing underneath the car isn't bad right now. I'm wondering if it's leaking at all or if the fluid is just what's been built up and sitting in the under engine covers.

While getting ready to take off for lunch at PF Chang's for my sister's birthday, I find out that the car has some idling issues. I noticed it already for a while, but it was never anything serious. More of a slight vibration than a visible idle problem up until today. Well the car starts, but the idle is so low that it shuts off. With some advice, I went ahead and took off the air filter to get to the idle air control valve. I cleaned that, and the 2 throttle bodies (this is for the RX300). Now it's all put back and I'm waiting to put some red coolant back into the system.

iPod Touch has a new update which seems cool, but is a lot of trouble for me. Since I'm in the process of moving, all my CDs are already packed away. The new update, which I payed for but have yet to install, will format the songs off my iPod. Booooo... I don't have the songs on my laptop anymore because it consumes way too much space. I plug in the iPod to listen to the songs, which to me seems more efficient when trying to save portable HD space, no? So I finally found a software called PodWorks that actually works! It's the greatest discovery of the month. Senuti crashed on me and it does not transfer unicode song names (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) which is a turnoff since I have a bunch of Asian albums on the iPod. PodWorks also transfers over the album cover for most CDs except for the ones that I "get album artwork" for through iTunes, which needed me to go through each album to check if there was already artwork. It all sounds good right now, but both troubles aren't completely solved yet. After the coolant is put in, I still need to start up the car to check the idle, and as for the iPod, once the update downloads and installs, I need to see if all music can be transferred back with artwork without a hitch. Fingers crossed.

Crisis Core is starting to be an addicting game. Scratch that, by the time I considered my addiction level to this game I must have already been suckered in. I'm a huge fan of Final Fantasy VII, and this game definitely doesn't disappoint in supporting the franchise. Not that FFVII was lacking in story, but now other questions are answered. This game also gives Aerith and Sephiroth the chance to shine and, in a way, show how Cloud was a nobody until he met Zack. Speaking of Zack, he has a lot of character and could have easily replaced Cloud's fame and hero status had he been alive in FFVII. The game also shows the importance of the Buster Sword, which to me is a huge part of what it means to be the main hero. The sword defined who Cloud was and it's nice to know where it came from.

Now, as for the quote, aka Zack and Aerith's operation, we can learn that given an opportunity, one should try to make the most of it. Why not use what you have whether it is an ability or resource and turn it into something profitable. Perhaps the obvious just needs to be pointed out sometimes, but if you got flowers, build a cart and sell flowers. Now, shouldn't Square-Enix re-release FFVII for PS3?

Being back in Arcadia means I have access to the internet again. I also get some basic cable! What a nice change to be able to wake up in the next few days and be able to just go online. No more sitting outside in the sun in 100 degree heat to use some unstable WiFi. (At least not until Monday ). I also get to update my PSP firmware. WooHoo! In Crisis Core I'm at the beginning of chapter 5 now. It's the only thing I've progressed in this week, heh.

I'm slowly starting to depend less and less on the internet. I guess it could be a good thing, but I am missing out on a few job-related emails. Even 30 minutes of TV to connect me to the world would be good. Since I don't have any service at the apartment, I decided to load up my TV and just bring it back home. I've kept myself occupied by playing with the PSP. Crisis Core is quite addicting! I did my laundry yesterday evening, and decided to play Final Fantasy while I waited. The laundry was done, I kept going. The laundry was dried, I kept going. The laundry was hung, I kept going. The laundry was folded and put away, and I still couldn't put the game down. Zack is a very interesting character and you just want to continue to find out more about him and how his story ties in with FF7. But yeah, in the end, Crisis Core is still a game and if I had the internet at my disposal I'd be job searching still, haha. (By the way, connected to internet at the UV again today out in the heat. For some reason I'm getting a weak signal as opposed to Tuesday when it was working at full blast.)

So this is the second day I'm forced to leave the apartment in order to use the internet. Apparently I missed some funny scenes on Wipeout and Japanese Game Show yesterday. Oh well, I started playing a bit on the PSP (Crisis Core). It's pretty awesome. The PSP is a noisy device when the disc spins compared to a completely silent NDS. Anyway, like how I appreciate mobilenet for still working at the UV, I appreciate the A/C and WiFi at Panera Bread. Now, it's time to eat :)

Lately it seems like my daily life is giving me the blue screen of death. Last week, the water was not running. This week, I have no internet and no  television. I guess you can say others have it worse, but come on!?! A little sympathy here? I've been moving boxes every time I head back to Riverside, and believe me, it's tiring and hot every moment. This morning though, AT&T called me up telling me they're turning off my service due to a late payment. This is not my fault and I can't get it clarified at least until next week. So you may say, no big deal, just a couple of days. Wrong. I need to check my emails for job-related responses. That is my peace of mind even if nobody contacted me back. Also, I'm missing the summer shows Wipeout and I Survived a Japanese Game Show. Both are rather unproductive but they keep me sane after a day of moving stuff. Anyway, I'm still able to write on the blog because I've head over to the University Village by UCR. I'm sitting outside in 100+ degree heat (the price you pay to go online). Thank goodness for mobilenet still working. If I post again tomorrow, you'll know I'm back out in the sun.

On this July 5th, the sound of silence at home is the constant background buzzing of my running air conditioner. The outside temperature in Arcadia is nowhere near as bad as it is in Riverside, but until it is time for bed, I have the luxury of leaving it on for the evening. In my room, I hear the whirling of my aged-old fan and noisy PC as it sucks and spews warm air. Nobody is home tonight except for myself, as my sister has gone to a sleepover and my dad is out to an all-nighter meeting that'll end in a morning hike. Without commotion a little lonely, yes, but a pleasant change from the loud bangs of last night's fireworks. The night was lit with greens, yellows, reds, purples, and whites on the 4th of July, some of which I contributed to, but today I am surrounded by the darkness of the all the empty rooms in the house. A little late, but hope all that read this have a happy 4th of July. If you didn't get to see fireworks, I'll post some pictures up shortly so you can enjoy some views from America's birthday.

A lot of my boxes have already been moved to the garage. Riverside's summers' hot and dry weather really do not help in these situations. All my figures have been boxed away and my shelving units are all moved downstairs. The walls are now bare with the posters taken down and my desk has been completely cleaned off, as is the hobby table in the living room. Moving should be a 2 or 3 person job, so doing most of it alone is really strenuous on the back. Just 2 days ago, I was moving my glass display case on my back down the stairs. I'd say it's a good 250lbs. o_O! I'm now 4 days into the move and most of my unneeded daily toiletries have been packed. What sucks is THERE IS NO RUNNING WATER today. That means I can't flush the toilet, wash my hands, my face, wash bowls, wash plates, etc. It's something taken for granted that you don't realize how much you need until it isn't available. I wake up in the morning with sweat on my forehead (79 degrees sleeping temp upstairs, not cool) and I just want to wash my face and splash water on my eyes to get up; but can't even do that. Oh, and the 79 degrees...it's not like I'm trying to suffocate myself in heat. Downstairs temp is at 72, but the disparity between floors is huge. What I need now is the water to come back on. Too much to ask? :(

Unhappy. Too many things to do and a lot of things on my mind.