Let's play pretend, act like it comes naturally

Ow. Whilst chewing ravioli or lip-syncing to my now-meager collection of MP3s, I think I snapped my jaw, because it hurts like hell now whenever I open my mouth. Let this be a lesson-- keep your mouth shut when it shouldn't be open! To add injury to... injury, I feel like I have a bruise or something under my left breast. It's the kind of feeling that gets me worried if I'm going to have heart problems or breathing problems soon-- neither of which I need for another 60 years or so. Blah, and my back... stupid chair with its lack of attached cushions...

Anyway. So I've been working on, of all things, Prophecy Girl Chapter 9. Yes, 9. I haven't got Chapter 3 out yet, but I'm working on 9. Atlantis is going to kill me. ^_^ Actually, that particular Chapter is very nearly done, save a few dueling scenes. And it led to a question that I asked on playthedamncard, though it might not seem related at all. Plus I went on a fanart and card image hunt, looking for variants and similar cards to Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl. -_- It suddenly occurs to me now that I should be looking for them under their original names... *hits self* Baka~!

I need to check out some Marik Structure decks and read pages re: the anime cards and their effects (one thing I hate about the dub-- the fact that they change the appearance of the cards so that they don't look like the Japanese *or* the English TCG!). Yep yep, Marik vs. Téa in Prophecy Girl! That's no secret...

While I was looking at stuff, I happened upon the latest fragmented summary of Yu-Gi-Oh-- I believe we're up to episode 213, now! Wow, Yu-Gi-Oh is longer than Sailor Moon... (not as long as Dragonball, but ugh, come on). In this particular ep, Kaiba ends up venturing into the Memory World and runs into... Kisara! And, unlike everyone else in the MW, Kisara can see him! Can everyone else realize that I'm just MAD with fic ideas because of this? And apparently Janime.net's updated their Seto/Kisara fanart section since I last went there-- I found some pretty neat pics, though a few of them look like doujin covers. Damn, I wish I were able to find Seto/Kisara or Anzu/anyone doujin at Fanime... grr. The one plus side of being in LA is that I'll probably be able to go to AX next year, just because it's so damn close to "home."

Hey, something interesting. ( Yet Another Challenge For You! #3: I Don't Want... )

I have to do the dishes and get to sleep... though I'd like to finish WDKY10 soon. I mean, seriously. I've pretty much finished packing; I need a few more boxes for some stray books, binders, and the like, but I'm pretty much done. Even all my clothes. I gave Mom back all her socks, too. O_O Shocking, isn't it? I know of the things I haven't put in boxes, it includes:
* My hamper
* My garbage can (it's so cool because it's huge and purple)
* My PGSM manga 1-9
* My video game binders
* A few artbooks
* My rollerblades
* My stereo and remote
* My Sassaby makeup box (Caboodles... whatever)
* My necklace/bracelet stand and my earring rack
* My 2 CD Binders... I still need to burn about 10 more CDs.

I know it might LOOK like a lot, but it isn't... okay, maybe the CDs are, since they take about 40 minutes to burn and everything, but I managed to take care of the majority of my MP3s today. I have a list of the remaining Program Files to grab, and aside from the obvious (My Documents folder), I'll be done with CDs. Whoo-hoo!

My schedule this week looks PACKED though.
Tues. - Mom's taking off work to... do whatever. Probably mope. I don't like being in the house on the 20th; it just gets too stuffy and uncomfortable. So I'm following up on tradition and going to Land's End. I'm considering doing an actual ritual of sorts out there, but we'll see what I can scrimmage up. If worse comes to worse, I can do a silent prayer with rosemary.

Wed. - I was supposed to go out with Steph and Michelle Bates (!) Wed., but if it ends up taking up the whole day, I won't be able to pull it off. I know I'm meeting Joe after work... perhaps I can use up that Aquarium ticket I have, and maybe if we're lucky, the boat cruise tix as well. Plus it'd be nice to use up the last of my RTA tickets and maybe snag some Trish's donuts before I go.

Thurs. - Dad's going to come by in Kathleen's pickup to get my stuff. I don't know how long that will take, especially if he a) is by himself, b) complains, or c) generally makes a mountain out of a molehill. We'll have to see. ^_^ I have faith in my Dad though-- he's not only a kick-ass teacher, but a Stanford trained one! :DDDDD Oh yeah, my dad r0x0rz! After Dad's gotten my stuff though, I'm free for the rest of the day. I've got Steph/Michelle lined up for a movie and some food, but I know I wanted to swing by Cris's at night and catch some Bruce Campbell. >_< Maybe I can ask Dad to come early...

Fri. - Mom's taking off work again (!!) and is actually coming to the airport to see me off! I see it as kind of a waste of her time, since she can't actually come into the airport with me-- she can only go as far as the Security Checkpoint. But it's a nice thought, so I won't complain. As long as I'm in the A or B boarding group, I don't care how long she bawls. ^_^ Yes, and for any other interested (HINTHINT~!) parties, I'm taking off from Oakland at 10:35am. So I'll be at the airport as late as 9:30... aaaaaand, pretty much, leaving my house around 8:00. Anyone wanna come see me off? Lemme know, I'm gonna miss you all!!!

Oh yeah, and on a completely different topic: where the hell did Marik get a cape from? Moreover, how did he dye his once-lavender shirt BLACK? It's the same shirt, too. Sleeveless hoodie. I'm like, totally positive. This is the same as the Duelist Kingdom complex, where they had to spend at least 3 or 4 days there, but no one was walking around with luggage or a backpack or even a purse.

I'm thinking, why the heck would Mai go around without her perfume and a spare tampon!? And Téa, without her MACE? What is the world coming to?

I was joking. At least about the last bit.

Murphy is God

You know the most famous of Murphy's Laws? I'm sure you do, even if you don't know who the heck Murphy is. Here it is: Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. But Murphy wasn't a pessimist, he was a realist. He looked at the world around him, saw how things happened, and wrote up a list of hilarious-but-true "laws." And I most certainly abide by that one...

For starters, I'm back to my old bad schedule-- sleeping in the day, waking up in the evening, and putzing about at night. Damn. I don't mean to be nocturnal, I just am. For now, anyway. Aw, screw it-- why don't I just go in order, hmm?

The Good: Well, as I said before, I'm almost done packing. Which is a good thing. Even if I do have a few more things to pack, and a brand new situation (see UGLY) to deal with. Tomorrow is Michelle's memorial, and hey look! I'm still alive. Also a good thing. But of course, every silver lined something is undoubtedly a cloud...

The Bad: The bad is that I'm starting to feel the pressure. I'm torn between being sick (okay, summer in San Francisco = winter in some countries) and just going crazy. There always seems like more for me to do, and not enough time or resources in which to do it. Friends to say goodbye to, things to pick up, last minute purchases of things I won't be able to get in LA...

The Ugly: The creme de la creme came when I called Dad today. I did so to find out when he's coming on Thursday, and he still is, it's just the plan has sort of changed. He was going to come with Kathleen, or at least, in her pickup-- that nice, big, silver F-250. Loads of room for all sorts of boxes. But they got into a fight, and Kathleen, who was 90% moved into my Dad's place, has suddenly moved out, and they're pretty much on "broken up" status. I feel really bad for my Dad, who sounded very upset-- and I think that when I said "hi," at first, he thought I was Kathleen.

*sigh* I really hate seeing people --especially family members-- bummed out. I'm perfectly content being uber-depressed and suicidal on my own, because I always bounce back from it. But other people? Nope, I gotta take it upon myself and at least make the effort to help, because... I should. Because I want to, because it's the right thing to do. I like seeing people happy, because it gives me a sense of satisfaction? Is that so wrong?

I suppose there's three options here-- one is to give Dad advice from the female side of the tracks, and, if Kathleen calls, or something, then he'll just say what she wants to hear (even if he's lying through his teeth): "I'm sorry." Apparently Kathleen is being a bit too clingy and not so understanding-- I mean, according to Dad, she was pretty much demanding that he stay in Petaluma, despite the fact that hello, he's getting his teacher's credential at STANFORD!? I'm so proud of my Dad, and I wanna brag to everyone I can. My Dad rocks. He used to suck, but now he rocks. ^_^ And if some chick is going to bring him down, then maybe it is best that they're apart.

The second option is to not say anything, as he's an adult, she's an adult, and it's really none of my business. This is the safe route, and probably the one I'll end up taking. The third option is to admit all the horrible things I never liked about Kathleen in the first place. Nothing like agreeing with someone wholeheartedly when they bash someone to make them feel better. But... it might not work. That kind of happiness over completely trashing someone is only temporary, and believe me, I know.

But, since I'm here, I might as well tell you guys... Kathleen was cool, and nice. But then, so was my Dad's other ex-girlfriend, Melissa, who'd moved in with us and was with us for years. And she ended up cheating on Dad with the leader of a band. Go figure. Kathleen's always made me a mite bit uncomfortable, but I guess it's because I'm one of those post-Divorce kids that didn't try to hook their parents back up, but never liked seeing either parent "move on" and get new BFs or GFs. I hate it more with my Mom than with my Dad-- frankly because I think my Dad has better taste, and also because my Mom is a lot more insensitive to me as of late. At least with Dad and his girlfriends, he's never forgotten that "Oh yeah!" he has a daughter, too. :P

Kathleen got stressed out way too easily-- I remember back at Brooke's wedding shower, she went to such trouble to park her truck, when she easily could have let the valet handle it and come in with me. And SHOCK! The valet didn't cost any extra... -_- Well, so she missed most of the event, and it was pretty awkward when she came in and got introduced to the other females-- as she was adult, and I was sitting with "my age" cousins. And at the few family gatherings-- Thanksgiving, Passover, and Brooke's Wedding, she got very short-tempered very easily. She's one of those types that doesn't yell and scream, but twitches and kind of whines. I mean, I liked her in the long run, but...

*sigh* I just feel bad for Dad. We've been through way too many rough relationships, the both of us. Yeesh, now that I think about it, maybe it's hereditary!? Gah.

1) Go to Newgrounds. Check out the Super Mario's Mishaps. Laugh your ass off.
2) Go back to my previous entry. Respond to my Challenge #3: I Don't Want...
3) Keep your eyes peeled for my Challenge #4, which I hope to post by the time I get to LA and am relatively settled. I already know what it'll be: Challenge #4: A Picture Is Worth 1000 Words. Of course, it's not what you think...
4) Keep nagging me to finish my remaining challenges (unless I'm mistaken, there are 2-- from Mamono and AkaVertigo), along with WDKY. Atlantis needs to nag me to work on 3-8 of Prophecy Girl. ^^;

Welllll... I still have to rearrange some boxes and stuff... Dad just called, and he's coming between 9-11am on Thurs. He hopes to get to LA by 7pm that night, so if he actually sleeps, then he might be the one to pick me up at Burbank. And then, Sunday is the World Championships! Whoo to the hoo hoo!

Last minute things... gotta go to Japantown before I leave. Armed with a mere $20, I will walk away with YGO 37 and 38, plus Peach Girl 18, assuming they have it. If not, special order it and have them ship it to me in Northridge... or find out about a Kinokuniya in LA Central. Or perhaps just give in and buy the Peach Girl Fanbook, since Tokyopop might never translate it. Yep, yep. Must convince Mom to give me MOONEY!!!