AnimeSuki Forums

It's been a while... happy birthday

Hospital? Hope everything's OK on your end. Either way, that was a pretty quick reply, so there's no need to apologize.

9 PM local time, right? I'm around 72˚N latitude, I believe, so I should be at least bit higher up than you are. I think it's still somewhat light up here around that time, but the days are getting shorter now. I'll start paying closer attention to the sky around that time. Thanks again! If I can get a nice shot of the stars I'll give you major credit and dedicate it to you

I'm so sorry, but I've been very very busy as of late (physics, hospital, physics, saimoe, physics, etc...) so I saw your message once and forgot about it...until now. I have to spend pretty much most of my free time on AS in the ISML thread because...I like numbers.

Anyways, I think I sort of know what you're talking about, and unfortunately I can't give you a crystal clear answer. Do you live in New York right now? If so, then I believe that you're within the latitude to see it (well you have to because I can). Apparently, the best time to see it is 9:00 PM in June (regardless of time zone, if you're within the latitude, which you are), so you're in great shape. Here's some basic instructions:

To find Polaris, first find the Big Dipper. If you follow the two stars at the end of the cup upwards (out of the cup of the Big Dipper), the next bright star you will run into is Polaris. The distance to Polaris on the sky is about five times the angle between the two stars at the end of the cup of the Big Dipper. Because they are so useful for finding the all-important North Star, these two stars are known as the Pointer Stars.*

Here's a picture of the big and little dipper:

http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/con...precession.gif

I tried to find the little dipper tonight and couldn't. I always used to be able to find it with such ease when I was a child. Will try again on another clear night... is there a way to know when it's in the sky? Sort of like knowing when the moon rises and when it sets, is there anything like that for constellations?

Sorry about that - I didn't intend for this to get into a more intimate discussion initially. I figured I'd do it as a public message just because you never know who might find it useful. I guess if you'd like to discuss it more in-depth we can cross over to the PMs.

Other than that, I agree with you on how inspirational anime can be regarding not giving up. Back then I put a lot of thought into trying to determine how to meet the right people (particularly girls ). The conclusions that I reached were frequently depressing, as my school's social scene seemed to revolve around the Greek system (of which I'm not a fan) and alcohol-driven parties (I don't like drinking as a main activity nor being around people who just want to get drunk). The change didn't happen over night, but it happened rapidly and without my really knowing what I'd done. Perhaps it's a matter of thinking about something so much and reaching a certain level of unhappiness that causes a personal change. Then again, it's probably more complex than that. Who we are and how we feel are factors that are shaped by many events.

Anyway, if you want further insights (including the conclusions I reached about meeting girls I dated twice and am currently engaged, so even though my experience is low it might be worth something!) feel free to PM or message back. Even if you're in a difficult place now I think you have the right attitude about things, so I'm not worried about you. As the saying goes, "A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials."

Well, I really can't say much in response to that except I hope I'll be like you and eventually find some (probably new) good friends. Thanks for being so understanding, and thanks for taking your time to reply with an essay. (I'm not being sarcastic here.) I'm pretty much where you're at some time ago, being very social in school but they all felt like acquaintances. If I have learned something from anime, it's the will to keep trying. I will do just that.

(By the way this is kinda uncomfortable to discuss outside of PMs. )

I see. If that's how it is, I'm fairly certain that things will change for you in the near future. My story is kind of similar, but in a warped way. I grew up in New York, and studied in a public school system that was incredibly small (graduating high school class size was 108 people, I believe). My friends were people I'd known seemingly forever. One of my friends I've known since kindergarten. I went to college in California, while all of my friends remained on the East Coast. I think there was only one other person who came out to school in California, but it was far from mine and I wasn't personally close to her anyhow. Everyone likes the idea of starting out in a place where nobody knows you and where you can redefine yourself, but not knowing a single other person made it very hard, socially.

It was suddenly very difficult. I'd never been a very social guy, but everyone I reached out to and made friends with felt to me like no more than acquaintances. Once you've had friends for all of your life, how can anything else compare? I noticed how often I was alone and how it seemed like everyone else had a group of friends already. I spent a lot of time on my computer because it was my main way of talking to my old friends and seeing how they were doing. I just couldn't figure out how to make new close friends.

I guess that was the parallel that I saw between the two of us. Eventually I met a guy who was very persistent about spending time with me, and so he became my first friend. I'd been fansubbing heavily and the next year a fellow fansubber was attending our university, so then we had a group of three. We mingled with other fansubbers in the area ("internet people") and it helped me to become more social. Then I branched out and started making friends with lots of people in my classes. I don't know what changed for me - if I'd become more social or if I had just stopped comparing every social link to my friends back in New York. Probably a bit of both. The idea that you could do things with someone but not hang out with them all the time and yet still be friends rather than acquaintances was a big one for me, I think.

The strange thing is that I've sort of lost contact with all but two of my friends from New York, and even then we don't communicate too heavily. I don't know whether your old friends were people you knew since grade school, but if so then I guess our situations are a bit more similar (except that my friends aren't upset with me). In my experience, it was a matter of meeting the right people at the right time and also having my outlook on friendship changed. If it's similar for you then I have no doubt that things will be different for you soon enough. At the very least, you sound like a rather social guy, so you have that over my past self Just keep your chin up and keep moving forward, you're doing just fine. [sorry for the huge message]

Wow, thanks, you're so nice. At least I'll tell my story because it's late and I can't sleep.

So basically, after high school I went out of town with some of my best friends to attend a university. I'm not really sure what it was, but things didn't work out at all there. Well, social-wise, things were great (meaning I got drunk more times than I wanted) but it was kinda hurting my GPA...a lot. After a year and a half I decided to call it quits and move back, but my friends didn't like me "ditching" them therefore they got mad. When I come back, all of my old friends have new friends, and it doesn't help that the house I live in is pretty much in the suburbs. Partly it's my fault because I didn't want to face them, and partly it was because I'm embarrassed to be quite behind in my studies. Well, I guess I'll admit that anime is my "escape" from life.

But right now I'm pretty much good, although I shouldn't say that. I have lots of friends (online of course), but I still miss having someone to hang out with. I make new friends at my new college, but it's not really the same. It seems like a big sacrifice to take, but I can at least say that I'm excelling in my studies to the point that I'm surprised I can be this smart. I often find that you can meet lots of nice people to have fun with on the Internet, although it feels weird to admit that. I don't have a problem with going outside and talking to people, but it's just that I rely on my computer much more now. I don't regret my current lifestyle, but I do miss my old one. The biggest change is that school used to be fun because of my friends, but now, school is fun because I enjoy learning what I learn. I guess that to take one step closer to something, you have to abandon something else. All I have to do now is find my balance and not take a leap towards the wrong direction. It's still a scary thought to me that I don't have many real life friends.

Hmm, I read that little remark you made about how you lost your "life" after moving in the internet vs. TV thread. Sorry to hear that - moving can be stressful. I hope you're not unhappy with your situation. Since I sort of went through a similar (or not) experience I just thought I'd reach out to you on that one. It was a really painful adjustment for me and in hindsight I wish I'd handled it better, but even looking back I don't know that there was any other way to progress through it. Feel free to trade notes with me or rant to me about it if you ever want to.

Good memory? Not sure about that, perhaps you're just very memorable?

Thanks for that information. It should actually be a lot easier than I thought it would. I think I can still find the little dipper without too much trouble. If I have any other astronomy-related questions I'll be sure to bring them to you.