Talking about the weather just doesn’t cut it anymore
Jun 5th
Have you ever been in the position where you’re waiting together with someone and the other person starts talking to you? What do you start the conversation with? Most of the time a simple chat like that is just idle conversation, but sometimes really amazing things can stem from a conversation with someone you don’t know. I recently found myself at the local job centre in search of a job. Browsing around, I was just minding my own business until this guy starts walking up to me. I didn’t give it much thought and continued looking at the openings, but the guy had other intentions. Before I knew it I was talking with him about his entire life story. How he had joined the army and did several studies, but he still couldn’t find a job and had been looking for over three years now. The one thing that really surprised me however, was the fact that he could tell what sort of personality I have. He could tell I’m more introverted, he could tell that I wasn’t sure on what to do with my life.
The guy told me he was the same. This makes me wonder if I’ll ever end up like that. The chances of something like that happening aren’t even as small as you’d think they’d be. Currently I’m doing an HBO study in the Netherlands, which is a Bachelor’s Degree in a specific field. No, it’s not the general BA or BSc, but rather a Bachelor of Business Administration for example, and other degrees like that. If you want to get a BA or BSc you have to go to a University over here. Admission into a University in the Netherlands is not as easy as it is in some other countries, because of the fact that all the Universities are state-owned here. That means they all have a specific set of quality guidelines they have to uphold. Personally, I’m not made to go to a University, although some people seem to believe I should go. I don’t know. I think that HBO studies have an advantage over the WO studies, they not only teach you the scientific part, but they also teach you how it’ll go when you actually get a job later in life.
I don’t worry about something like that. I’m someone that would rather work than study. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I don’t really feel the need to get a higher degree. Although there is one side of me that’s sort of tempting… It’s telling me to give it a shot anyway, but then I realize that I’m no intellectual. I could probably finish it if I tried, but then I’d have to change my attitude and actually really start studying… Ah well, it’s not like the degree you have means that much. Sure, it makes things in life easier, but you can still get along fine with a lesser degree. I just want to do something that’s fun to do, and not something that’s not-so fun to do but makes you a lot of money. That reminds me of the other time I was sitting on my flight back to Netherlands from the US. Once again I found myself talking with someone who was also waiting. Apparently the guy was supposed to be promoted and get his PhD when he was younger, but he couldn’t do it. However! He’s living the life he wants to do now, and that’s something that really inspired me. Of course I would be nowhere qualified enough to get a PhD in the first place (but one can dream! 
), but it’s something to think about.
To be completely honest? I’ll just go wherever life takes me. If life decides I belong on the back of a garbage truck… so be it. If life decides I should attend a University… so be it. Either way I just want to be happy in the end; that’s all that matters to me.
Revolution!
May 24th
Go against the regular way of doing things! Unite yourself and rise against society! Society has been infected with so many bad influences, that we’re going to start a revolution! Except I won’t be the one doing it. Instead, I shall go where no man has gone before; I shall search high and low to find what I’m looking for; I shall look under each and every stone to find what I want to find; I shall keep a weekly blog of events that happen in my life and other stuff that you people on the internet don’t really care about! Yes. I, Maarten J.J. Hoek, shall accept the challenge of doing so. You, dear commenter, shall post something every now and then that could potentionally be related, and! When we finally hit the moment where we’re both bored into oblivion… We shall prosper! Our time shall come, dear reader. For when one is alone, one cannot achieve a thing. Together, we shall withstand even the greatest of obstacles! Viva la revolution!
So yeah, there you have it. Finding things to write about it going to be a pain, and it may appear like the site is being run by some guy that didn’t even finish elementary, but that doesn’t take away that we shall indulge ourselves into the topic of… uh… we shall penetrate the fourth wall that keeps a distance between you, the reader, and myself! Yeah, it sounds fancy when you put it like that… Does it mean anything, though? No, it does not. Why am I even posting this? I have no idea. I can already foresee that this is going to be a pain.
It don’t matter if you’re black or white!
Apr 20th
Some of you may have noticed how I rant about Pokémon sometimes. It actually makes me wonder if I’m still secretly in love with the series… Probably not, but past games in the series have been enjoyable. After the recent release of Pokémon Heart Gold and Soul Silver you’d think the DS has seen more than enough Pokémon for at least another decade. The opposite however, holds true. Nintendo aren’t done yet. In fact, they’re far from done. Recently they announced… *drum roll please* …
Pokémon Black and White!!
I jokingly said how they must be running out of colors and noble metals once, but it seems like this is actually the case. Then again, black and white aren’t even colors. Personally I think this will be a very interesting addition to the Pokémon series. There is one thing I wonder about though… What will the differences be between the two different versions? Does the white version support more jobs than the black version? Will the black version support other benefits such as… positive discrimination? Will the black version support gang wars– I’m just going to stop here, but Nintendo, please!! The names just ask to be joked about. Couldn’t you have picked some other colors such as Pink and… Uh… Cyan? I don’t know, anything other than this. You could have even used the metals again! You could have used other things such as Shade and Light! You could even go as far and use random objects such as Microwave and Dishwasher!
To be honest, I don’t think Nintendo really cares. I think it’s sort of a wasted generation by releasing it in the DS. Couldn’t they at least have waited for the 3DS? They could have made use of the new technological advancements the new system offers, instead of sticking with a system that already had a generation and remakes. Even the graphics look extremely similar to Diamond, Pearl, or any other Pokémon DS game for that matter. You know what? I was… *gasp* Planning on buying Soul Silver, something I’m still planning on doing, but what’s the use of another generation at the moment? Nintendo wantz ur monies, that’s what. D:
Excuse the lack of a decent image. I don’t have Photoshop anymore and I had to use Paint to create the image above. I know I haven’t been updating the blog all that often the past few months, but I hope to change that! … Again. I hope you’re all doing well out there, though! What’s your opinion about the new games? Do you think Nintendo should have waited?
What good have games ever done to me?
Apr 16th
I find myself writing this post with mixed feelings. On one hand I totally love video games and everything else around them. On the other hand I know that video games are a big part of my expenses and social life. What good have video games ever done to anyone? Why do I find myelf wondering this?
My parents had no idea when they bought an NES back in the day of course. It was meant for my sister, but something happened. A little Akiranon saw his sister play Super Mario Bros. He saw her jumping over pits and defeating enemies. He saw her being the hero that rescues the princess. He saw her… having fun. Something happened that would change my life forever at that moment in time. Everything fell into place as I picked up the controller. Not knowing what the controls were, I walked Mario straight into a pit. I did it again, and again, and again, until I started to notice that the A button made Mario jump. Could it be? What if I did this at the right time when I saw one of those pits? I still see it front of me. Mario, a pit… I walk… and… Jump! What was that? What did I do? Mario was alive and waiting for me to tell him what to do. I was in control and loving it.
Tingle is not gay
Jan 13th
He’s manly!
You could say that I recently had an epiphany. For some reason the planets aligned in a certain way and I nearly felt like wearing a green spandex suit, but luckily I only needed to play Tingle’s Rosy Rupeeland for the Nintendo DS to stop this awful craving. I know many of you readers out there are most likely weary of the 35 year old man, but let’s discuss his game for a bit to find out it isn’t all bad.
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