Hello! Lots of things have been going on around here. First, I'd like to apologize for those that sent me PMs that I never replied to -- I promise I will find time to get to them.

Saturday is a graduation party at a friend's house, so I'll be gone all afternoon and most of that evening. But it's going to be fun, since I've only seen one friend from school since graduating this summer.

Yesterday I finally got my phone upgraded. Now, I don't think I ever brought this up, but my old cell phone was probably one of the first ever made. Yes, it was large and bulky. All it could do was basically call people like a regular house phone. But I was fine with that -- may seem odd for a high school graduate, but I'm not all up to date with all that new tech stuff. I don't care about text messaging, camera phones, internet phones and all that. As far as I'm concerned, all I want my phone to do is call people, usually only for an emergency (hence why it was rarely even on). However, the college I'm attending this fall, McDaniel, requires that all student cell phones have text messaging capabilities, in case of an emergency. Since they, like most colleges I assume, usually contact students through email, they want to make sure we stay in contact should all the power go out or something. Makes sense. So I upgraded. I told the person at the store that I just needed a phone that could text message. I don't need any of the camera/internet/whatever stuff. So that's what I got (except she did throw in the internet connection, which I don't care either way since I doubt I'll ever use it). So I've been learning the ropes with all that, which is far more complicated than I would've liked. Oh well.

Anyway, my order from S@H came today: Mistika! Yes, I like them. Granted, I only bought the six canister sets and Takanuva, since the vehicles are so expensive and I'll need that money for college. But Takanuva was just too cool to pass up. I have to say, these guys have a lot more style and personality than the Mahri and Phantoka. None of them seem slapped together sloppily (a la Hewkii Mahri), and all the little extras like the fins and Tahu's leg spikes just look neat. I like little decorations like that don't necessarily serve a function, like Hewkii's shoulder spikes of yesteryear. Tahu's mask is pretty awesome, and Gali's isn't nearly as bad as some of the pictures have been. But the Pakari Newva = so very win. Seriously, Onua's new mask is really freaking sweet. In fact, I'd say Onua is the most reminiscent of his 2002 self, next to Kopaka. And the Mata red doesn't look as bad as I thought, there's a decent balance of it between the jet boosters and the fins. The fact that he has only one shield on his left shoulder just adds to his unique design, and I prefer this to him having two. And the extra... "thing" that attaches to the top of his launcher is pretty slick.

Speaking of which, the Nynrah Ghost Blasters are pretty neat. They don't fire all that far, which is kind of an issue for someone as sniper-like as Gali, but they shoot far enough. They also make a cool popping sound when fired. They're also not huge and bulky like the Cordak Blasters and Midak Skyblasters, which is a huge pluse. It follows the same pumping method as the Cordaks, but is much easier, since the pump is rubbery and soft. Also, yes, Krika is made of awesomeness. His ponytail thing is longer than I thought, though.

As for Takanuva, he's beautiful. Huge and complex, especially the legs. Also, he has a new color: that's right, his gunmetal is not the same as the past gunmetal colors. It's actually a lighter gray, almost a mix between gunmetal and silver. His mask is fairly large, though I think the Olmak still holds the record for biggest mask. The power lance is ginormous, I have no idea how he carried that thing around before growing. His light gunmetal pieces include two Takadox heads, the new Avohkii, an Onua shield/Bitil wing, and two Pohatu Phantoka forearms (as thigh armor). He's also extremely poseable, almost as much as Maxilos (Maxilos himself still has that extra shoulder joint that Takanuva does not), including the double-jointed neck that was introduced in said 2007 set. Though technically he's even with Maxilos, since his thumbs can move, whereas Maxilos had no thumbs.

Anyway, I'll see if I can get some pictures and stuff up tomorrow. I will say that I'm impressed with these Mistika, considering how few new pieces are in them; but those new pieces are cool, especially Gali's shoulder armor. I can accept these Toa as our old Nuva, since they really do look like themselves: Tahu looks like a fierce warrior, Onua looks tough and wise, and Gali... well, not so much, but I think she does have a bit of Gali-ness in her. And yes, she does look kind of like a bunny.