Level 20

As 9:15 this morning, I had accumulated enough experience that I was no longer a mere teenager. Now I am twenty years old, starting a new decade, or maybe a new era, in my life.

I feel old.

In most pen and paper roleplayer games, or western RPG video games that ape their systems off D&D, level 20 tends to be the level cap. After that, new life experiences will no longer effect abilities. Going by that qualifier, I am done. I am who I am and will forever be.

Mass Effect 2 instead had the level cap be thirty. However after level twenty the amount of skill points afforded to the player seriously decreases: from two a level to one.

Though some might find this comparison to levels a case of overabstracting, I feel as if am faced with a truth. The amount I am able to learn at my age is considerably diminished, if not completely removed. My writing can improve, so can a lot of other things. But it's not like I can just pick up a new language now, and expect to learn it, like a child or even a lucky teenager can.

I also have to face the fact that I'm no longer a child anymore. As such, I have new responsibilities, and there are things I can no longer do.

I no longer have the hope of ever attending a prom. As of today, that experience is no longer afforded to me. That ship has forever sailed, though my chances of ever attending did diminish when I skipped my senior prom two years ago. (I have regrets).

To that point some of the last people I know from my high school are graduating today. Argo is now to become a foreign entity to me.

I no longer have the ability to claim teenager culture. Justin Beeber and Miley Cyrus are no longer a part of my domain. I count this loss as a blessing.

I am now one less teenage anime fan. That means I'm still an anime fan, but I have to list myself among those old farts who still watch the original Mobile Suit Gundam, which I do, and yell at youngins for watching Naruto and shows with Moe girls in them.

If it wasn't before, liking lolicon would be extremely creepy at my age. Thankfully, I can count that as one of the things I don't fap to.

On that note being twenty does have it's perks. Or perk, as the case may be. I can now stay out past eleven in the state of Illinois. Apparently, that was illegal here, for some reason.

Yet, I still can't drink, gamble, or rent an automobile. Well, legally, anyways. I'm still in draft range too. I'll be for awhile.

In two years time, I'm going to be out of college, unless I go to graduate school. The chance to be a young fuck up is starting to slip away. Soon, I will have to get a job, and live life in the confines society.

Damn, am I old.

Yet, a strange thing has occurred as of late. As old as I am, I notice things that filled my childhood are now being peddled to youngsters.

Last weekend, the fourth Shrek movie was released. The original came out when I was eleven years old. Assuming that the movie was targeted to children who were my age, to tykes as young as three, no one who in the target demographic when the first movie came out is a child anymore.

Then you think about Toy Story. The first movie came out when I was five. For the second, I was nine. Next month, the third Toy Story movie will come out. At this point, some of the kids who saw the original in theaters a decade and a half ago have children, who will be begging to take them to sequel to something that was part of their parent's childhood.

Then you think about what ABC Kids is doing now, and it's just baffling. Nearly twenty years after the original broadcast, the original Power Rangers is being aired. Sure it has stupid new special effects added in. But it's still the same show that captivated me when I was three years old, 17 years ago.

Every Saturday I turn it on, and I'm reminded how old I've gotten. In retrospect, a lot of seems really stupid. Bulk and Skull antics especially, though I've noticed one or two parental bonuses from them. That the green ranger 5 parter seemed scary to me then is astounding to me now. That Zordon would choose a group of “teenagers with attitudes,” instead of say, a highly trained group of fighters, seems like a decision based more on marketing than out of the wisdom of a interstellar entity.

It's also gotten really easy to spot the cheapness of the whole thing. Like, I can tell the parts that the American producers did themselves from the stock footage they took from Super Sentai shows. I can also spot that the mechazord looks like cheap toy.

But somehow, somewhere in me, is still the kid who was in love with the damn cheap costumes, the giant robot, and the poor dubbing. (Well, at least until I see one of those damn stupid new effects plastered over my precious childhood.) I guess as old as I get, the kid in me won't die completely. Heck, for completionists sake, I'm probably going to go see the new Shrek movie and the Toy Story 3 as well.

Growing up, after all, is overrated.

A Musing on Who

Sorry for not updating for two weeks, dear blog. It's been a bit weird. And busy. With papers and scripts and stories needing to be done. It's been very hectic as of late. I just haven't been afforded time to update you. However, there's been a lull in the action, and a thought just occurred to me, one I must get down.

Since this season of Doctor Who began, I've been a fan of Amy Pond. She;s been smart, sassy and sexy, not to mention I really, really like the sexual tension between her the 11th Doctor. I've been sincerely shipping them.

However, after this week's episode...I'm not so sure. I was somewhat put off by her actions in that they reminded me of a certain someone and a certain situation. I mean, I know this guy that Amy is supposed to marry is going to be set up as a total douche, or not as awesome as the Doctor at the very least, but her infidelity to her fiance and her inability to take accept “No” from the Doctor is totally reminiscent of what happened.. The Doctor's reaction was also similar to what happened, and I think that's what set me off.

Then again, the romantic development so far has been nice, so part of me still wants them to get together very badly. It's just that I've been the normal guy put up against an amazing guy, and it was not fun at all. In fact, it was very horrible. Situations like that are not as fun and clean in RL as they are on the telly.

In related and ironic news, I'm planning to cosplay as the Eleventh for Anime Central. I'm going to need to lose a little weight, and get another haircut, but I should be able to pull it off. I even have a Sonic Screwdriver. It is among the reasons why Acen is going to be totally awesome.

Now all I have to do is get through the next couple weeks. Then I'll be living it up, convention style, and I'll finally be able to write to you dear blog, without restraint.