So I am in a bit of a dilemma...

In case you didn't get the idea, I'm a rather avid Okami fan. (Read: addict, fanatic, enthusiast, etc...) I bought a PlayStation 2 for the sole purpose of playing it, I imported the official soundtrack from Japan, and now I'm facing a problem.

Feast your eyes on this!

It's a big ol' 288 page book containing art, maps and sheet music to Okami. As you can see, it's Japanese. Even to the point where the book is backwards by American standards. (At least it seems that way.) From the place I bought the soundtrack from, this book is about 42 dollars. From Amazon Japan, it's nearly 50 dollars after you go to the trouble of dropping it in the shopping cart, creating an international account, and applying international shipping. I've heard rumors of Capcom concocting an English translation, so I held off on purchasing this.

Fast forward to today! Behold, the English cover:

Finally! I have some idea of what the English version is going to look like! Translated, obviously, but I'm disappointed to discover that the cover seems to be mirrored... It's not just bound to read from left to right, but the very image on the cover is flipped! The bar on the right is completely different, too... The Japanese version doesn't have the Okami title, it has a nice sun, instead. Here's the Amazon page for this version, scheduled for release on July 28th, according to Barnes & Noble. Also, notice that it's clearly a paperback print, as declared by both Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

I can't read Japanese, but when I try to translate the title of the Amazon Japan book using Google, I get: "Large God storybook bond - large God setting book of paintings - (large-sized book)". Okay, what's a "large-sized book"? Hardback? Coffee table size? Can anyone who knows Japanese please accurately translate the title for me?

This is, and has been since the beginning, my main problem. I would, without hesitation, buy the English translation right now... Except, actually, I have two problems. One is that I'm afraid the entire book might be mirrored and all the art be backwards, and I'm afraid that the English translation is a lame, small, paperback copy while the Japanese version is a big, hardback, coffee table copy!

I might possibly end up purchasing both, just because they're different enough, and I want a NICE book. If, somehow, I find out before hand that the images inside the English translation are NOT mirrored, and the binding and printing is the same quality as the Japanese version, I'll get just that. But, right now, it looks like they're different and I'll need both... One for the original unmodified prints of all the art in Japanese, and one so I can actually read anything that might need to be read!

It's college time again, woohoo... (Real enthusiastic there, eh?)

Classes start on August 20th and end December 15th. For anyone trying to do anything with me during those weeks (all one of you... hi, Iaian!), be warned that we'll need to work around my schedule. Actually, it shouldn't be too hard, considering I only have one class on Tuesday that I'm supposed to be in a classroom for... The others are all internet classes, but I'm not sure how tough they're going to be.

Officially, I'm still taking a 2-year Microsoft Network specialization, and will run an extra semester of light classes to get my Cisco Network and Network Security specializations. Afterwards, I might focus on computer programming, but I'm not sure.

I'm currently signed up for:

• Network Fundamentals (Internet Class)
• Adv. Operating Systems: Linux (Internet Class)
• Essentials of PC Support & Tech (Internet Class, technically A+ Certification)
• IT Technician (Internet Class, technically A+ Certification)
• Intermediate Algebra (Tuesdays, 6:00p to 8:50p)

I don't know the schedule for the internet classes, yet. Last time, they were all on Tuesdays, too... At least for when you had to submit your information. I usually got all the work done on the weekend and submitted everything on Monday.

So there you have it! Hopefully these classes will be more challenging than the last ones... They were so incredibly boring that it pretty much killed my interest in taking further classes, but I'm giving it another shot. (If Dad would ever finish filling out the Financial Aid papers... Geez... Taking his precious time.)

I also took liberty to switch my mathematics class to the professor I had last time! I had some weird guy who I'd never heard of, and my advisor said I could switch classes once the names of the teachers were published for the classes... So they were, and I did! Gotta love Professor Caldwell... He'll give you quite the verbal thrashing for being lazy and stupid in his class. It's awesome! I envision myself as a teacher to be exactly like him... It's almost... Creepy... But at the same time, very awesome.