MILES to GO || before I sleep

Blurbs of my day:

-Remembered at 7:29am when I accidentally woke up (I thought I'd heard a computer alarm go off) that today was the Sundial Orientation, which meant no Clubs & Orgs Fair and no work (well, I could have gone to work, but for one measly hour? It wouldn't have been worth the $8.45). I ended up starting work on one of my Sundial stories... (see below)

-Got pretty excited about working at the Sundial this semester-- 2 stories/week minimum might seem daunting, but it also means I'll be getting published regularly. And stories I thought might be sucky or boring AREN'T. My first ones are about the health effects of diet sodas, the upcoming meteor shower on 9/1, local restaurants offering student discounts, a possible third expansion to the Westfield Shopping Center in Topanga Canyon, and the new bookstore complex's food offerings (which, by the way, I saw today. I'll bring my camera tomorrow and take pictures, because IT LOOKS GREAT). None of that seems horrid or boring to me (unlike a CSUN student's murder or some project about mapping the wetlands). My editors so far are pretty cool-- people I know from class and just seeing around. It's a good feeling, and I hope it lasts.

-Finally got to watch "The Bourne Supremacy." It went pretty fast, I felt, and some bits went right over my head. It was also predictable in parts. I'm thinking if I'd rented "The Bourne Identity" WITH the Supremacy, everything would have made more sense, but both Shawn and I had seen Identity; he might have remembered it more than I did. In any case, we just didn't have the time tonight for multiple movies, and tomorrow we're going to some screening in West Hills for a new Owen Wilson comedy. But squee for two date nights in a row! I have no complaints about that~

-Didn't get my financial aid check. Grr. But I did get some of the things I ordered from Publisher's Clearing House (which I've become a junkie of): my new onyx and freshwater pearl necklace, bracelet, and earring set. Their jewelry is gorgeous, and I'm ordering more! Nothing pink, though... :P They wanted me to get some monthly cubic zirconia set that was PINK, and I was all "I don't care if buying this would make me part of your Elite Club, it's PINK!" So blech, no to that. I can wear rose blush and rose sweaters, but I draw the line at pink jewelry. I'm 22, not 12.

-I'm getting involved in a few more online projects too: editing a Draco x Hermione doujinshi, beta'ing for a few people here and there (if they'll have me), trying to work on my OWN fics and websites (always a challenge), and maybe even trying to tutor people (for a fee, of course) with web design-- I overheard someone in the Sundial mention that, so I KNOW there's a market for it, even if it's just a small one limited to the people that think Shapiro's Graphics class is impossible. :D

-Need to remember to call the internship people so I know who to address my cover letter to and how to write it! Good thing I have the book (and the smarts, of course), and even better that Manley (aka Prof. Witten from last semester) gave me a great idea for said cover letter! :D

-Finally reconciled my bank accounts (all four of them) after refusing to touch Quicken for a while. And now I'm relieved that it's done, because a few transactions WERE missing (big ones, too) and were driving me batty (I didn't see them in any of my statements online-- and I have a lot). There's a lesson to be learned in that: always stay on top of your finances. When it comes to money, it's better to be overzealous than lazy. It shouldn't be the touchy, sensitive subject that it is, comparable to asking a woman about her age or weight. People should be more open about their finances, and thus more comfortable dealing with them. If my parents had been comfortable about THEIR money situations when I was younger and just starting to understand it, I think I might have had a better grasp on things NOW.

-Gave the fuzzball a bath. She smells sort of like apples. Anyone want to take bets on how long THAT will last?

-Gotta swing by the optometrist tomorrow to see if they have my new glasses catalog! I "virtually" tried on a few pairs online at FramesDirect, and wrote a huge list of pairs and brands I liked. This is one time where I'm overwhelmed with choices that weren't in front of me-- I think in this case, it's paying to be picky. It's one thing to pay $5 and get an "okay" burger, but if I'm going to pay upwards of $100 for anything, it better be DAMN GOOD QUALITY. And why shouldn't it be? Especially where my health (eyesight) is concerned.

-Cleaned my room up more. Apparently I'm quite lacking in school supplies (well, dividers for my binders, at least). I mean, I have pens, erasers, white-out, pencils, lead, paper and all that jazz, but I still feel like I'm missing things. o_o I wonder if I'm becoming a hoarder! I don't want to end up like my mom in that respect (or in a few others, but I won't go into that now)... I DO need to go back-to-school shopping for clothes, though. I need new jeans and lighter-colored slacks (gray and light khaki, to be precise)! Also, in relation to the finances: throwing out old receipts is not "cleaning" unless said receipts pertain to CLEARED transactions in one's register!!!!!

-Gotta transcribe some of my old stuff from "The Eagle" (zomg) so I can POSSIBLY use it for my online writing portfolio. I'm thinking I should put them in PDF format or something and watermark them. Has anyone else ever done something like this before?

-So thrilled my jaw is feeling better. I had "real" food today-- a donut, pizza, ravioli, a plum, and iced tea! So at least this means if this trend continues:
a) I can at least eat normal for the rest of the week
b) I can recover from intense pain that fucks up my eating habits pretty quickly, given the right pain relievers in big enough doses :P
So I shouldn't be TOO worried about Friday... I hope... (but I want to make sure I get as much done before than as possible JUST TO BE ON THE SAFE SIDE)

I should be asleep by now, though. I've been staying up till 2 or 2:30 am the past few days, and it does NOT help when I need to be awake around 10am. I start dropping off like I did earlier today-- even sitting in the frontmost seat isn't motivation enough. When I'm exhausted, I will pass out. I've done it even when I've known better-- and that's been in plenty of places besides college! (I will not start drinking coffee and/or Pepsi, so don't even mention it.) I have to get my Circadian clock in gear for the upcoming semester, anyway. Gotta start somewhere, right?

You Are A Green Girl

You feel most at home in a world of ideas. You're curious and logical - and enjoy a good intellectual challenge. You're super cool, calm, and collected. Very little tries your patience. Your only fear? People not realizing how smart and able you are!

( ETA: dragonfayth, dreams, food, mentality )


Which Egyptian God are you? Find out at egypt_stamping
Sorry, Obelisk the Tormentor and Slifer the Sky Dragon are not valid Gods and will not be used in the results.

I got tired of the pastel look of my old LJ layout (I'm not as creative as other LJers with their original and unique LJ layouts... I'm so fickle, I just change whatever's available in the LJ styles), so I switched to the new limited-edition "Havaianas" blue and pink layout. It's kind of cute, nice and bright.

Today I came to work late because of a dermatology appointment at Kaiser... FINALLY! I had to call them, even though my substitute primary physician told me THEY (being the dermatology department) would call me since she put a referral in for me. Anyway, so I showed the dermatology doc the funny spot on my left side. The nice doctor, Schweitzer by name, just smiled and said we'd biopsy it. And biopsy we did! So I guess he carved the odd bit off. Apparently I have more moles than I thought-- things I thought were just freckles are "warning spots," so I guess it's a good idea that I heeded the advice of Glamour and made the appointment to see my dermatologist, just because I fit into the "danger" group (one of them, anyway: fair-skinned and freckled folks). The results will be available in one week. And whatever they are, they probably won't surprise me. I think when it comes to medical stuff, nothing short of an STD could surprise me. (And considering I'm lacking in the S department, a D would be pretty hard to come by.)

Grandpa was nice enough to take me to Western Bagel (I had to pout and practically beg, which is pathetic for a 22-year-old college student, but their bagels are SOOOO good, much better than the Freudian Sip ones here on campus), which was actually kind of unexpected, since he pretty much said "No, don't have time, be mature about it," and I figured he was right, whatever, just get a bagel at school. But he didn't, so I got to have a soft, cream-cheese covered bagel (TWO! One for my late breakfast, one that I'll have in a bit for lunch) and a raspberry Snapple. JOYGASM!

And speaking of food, I've become a Food Network junkie. Compared to high school, I don't watch a lot of TV anymore-- I watch "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" on Sundays, "Raine" when it was on Thursdays/Fridays, and occasionally Food Network, if the show interests me. Two nights ago, I watched a marathon of Dinner: Impossible" and last night, I watched a marathon of "Ace of Cakes" and an episode of "Iron Chef America," which, compared to the crappy Shatner version, is fantastic and fun! I was really impressed with Chef Blais, who did all these crazy scientific things in the kitchen to make an amazing array of things with GARBANZO beans. As a supposed Garbanzo bean hater, I might actually like to try some of the things he made, because he proved that you can do a lot more with legumes than just stick them in a salad or dip.

But all the "Ace of Cakes" had me thinking: If your favorite [fictional] couple were getting married and wanted a 'unique' cake for their reception, what sort of cake might they have?

I'm thinking something along these lines or more "not-so-traditional."

I was originally considering Seto Kaiba and Anzu Mazaki, of course, and Anzu would undoubtedly say "No Duel Monsters," while Kaiba might say "No dancing anything." So what sort of cake might they have, if they don't want it to be all traditional (that is, multi-tiered and round with frills)? And what about Usagi and Mamoru, for that matter? I mean, we know Usagi's got her sweet tooth, but you can make a delicious cake in all sorts of shapes and sizes! So what sort of unique cake might she and Mamoru have? Give me size, shapes, colors, and if you can think more creatively, flavors!

Let me know!

But at last! The weekend! Have to clean my room (honest. With our without that damn bookcase!) and study for my finals-- on Monday there's my JOUR 330 final in Editing, and on Tuesday I have my JOUR 400 Media Law final and my JOUR 331 Graphics final, all of which I genuinely have to study for. Other than that, no other finals, just work. And I only work Wednesday and Friday, apparently. It'll be nice to have Thursday off. This weekend I also want to go to the mall to make sure Baba spends the Borders card my mom got her for Mother's Day (aww) and probably something else which I am forgetting. Maybe to look for CS3 books, since I might be getting it within the next two weeks thanks to my stellar soon-to-be-graduating-from-UCLA cousin **ERIN!** Apparently UCLA students get a much steeper discount on CS3 than CSUN students do, so I asked her if she could score it for me. She said yes, just call her on Saturday when she has time. :) Thrills!

And I guess I'm just going to keep thumbing through the Fall 2007 schedule to get some ideas for that "spare" class I have. I want to keep checking the online schedule throughout the summer so I know exactly what class times and professors are being offered. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a fun, mostly-stress-free Fall!

Uno - I have another mysterious mark on me that I don't know where it's from. This time it's a quarter-sized red welt on my left leg, just below my knee. WTF, mate?

Dos - Okay, so Adobe CS3 is out. Looks like I need the "Design Premium" package, which is $600 for InDesign, Photoshop Extended, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Acrobat Professional, Bridge, Version Cue, Connect, Stock Photos, and Flash. Considering that's a savings of $1200, I guess it's not too bad, but thankfully I'm not in a rush to get it. If it goes on sale this summer, all the better-- because it's not #1 on my list of priorities. It's just up there.

Tres - Speaking of "lists," I want to add Office 2007 for Mac on my list, even though it's so much weirder looking than Office 2003 or any of the previous versions of Office:MAC. I just want legit, up-to-date software. Thankfully it looks to only be about $80 with tax. But, like CS3, it can wait.

Quatre (I mean QUATTRO! Damn you, Gundam Senshi!) - Today there's a guy from the LA Times coming to speak after Media Law class... then Thursday there's the last NSCS meeting, where I'll find out if I got an officer position and what we're all going to do for the NSCS Convention airfare. Then from THERE I can figure out where my summer travel plans stand. I need more ideas for locations to visit. So far I've only got:
* New York, NY - visit family/be a dumb tourist/go crazy shopping/visit my favorite magazines?
* Washington, D.C. - It's the Capitol. Do I need to say more?
* New Orleans area - guardian_kysra and good food!
* Somewhere in the Mid-West - The place where Bobby Flay went to challenge the owner of the Paradise Cafe? They sound like they have good breakfasts! :D~~
* Somewhere in Canada - mklutz? (There's someone else, and I am ashamed to admit I think I have forgotten. escaperoot? Was it you?) Or the giant mall? Or the pretty park? Or, or, or...?
* Tuscon, AZ - atlantian_magic, possibly my cousin David if he's not off fraternizing like the frat boy he is, and maybe the Grand Canyon and that overpriced scary escalator?
* Portland, OR? - Heard it's pretty and they have good food.

Cinco - Got my bookcase yesterday. There's parts on the larger sideboards that have patches of holes-- like, pin-hole size, but a lot of them (and they're in no particular pattern or shape). Grandpa said it was probably from their lifting tools in the factory. It bothers me because the holes are pretty prominent (they're black on finished pine) and they're on the OUTSIDE of what is going to be my bookcase. I don't know, should I be bothered? I can always call Dad and ask what he thinks.

Seis - Went to Physical Therapy again today for my shoulder-- can't wait to get my wheeled leather bag now, because my backpack + purse (even though I don't feel like they're that heavy) are completely pwning me. The place was abandoned except for me and the woman, who it turns out is the Physical Therapy professor, and the students (including Jeff) that I saw last week are GRAD students, and they got excused from work today because they have their major exam this Thursday and Friday, and then they GRADUATE. >_< I have all the luck, don't I? Ah well. :P

Today I finally got the chance to go to Japantown (although not back downtown to H&M, where I wanted to get some more clothes... *le sigh!*) since Dad called this morning and said since he didn't have a place for me to stay in Alameda overnight, he could just pick me up. Yay to that, because it means I can take more things with me than I could have if I had just gone to meet him at the Ferry Station today... actually, I thought I'd be in LA again by now, so by leaving tomorrow morning, we are cutting it a little close, since the big Passover dinner's tomorrow, and I bet Dad'll be tired from the drive.

In any case, I'm glad I got to go shopping and enjoy a crepe at Sophie's. Truthfully, there wasn't much in the way of manga that I wanted. I almost bought all of the current releases of Skip Beat!, but a) I have many of those volumes in Japanese already and b) I can probably get a discount by buying them en masse at Borders in Northridge, rather than Kinokuniya. Still, I ended up buying a new "DIY: Design-It-Yourself" book that looks kind of interesting, and the two Sailor Moon S and SuperS DVD boxed sets from the Japantown Video Store.

...And, as the subject line says, they're faker than... well, the most fake thing you can think of. Sad thing is, I halfway knew it even before I put the money down for them, because I noticed several things:
(1) The wrong cover for both of them (which I knew from looking at the eBay guide to spotting fake SM DVDs)
(2) Bad spelling on the covers
(3) "MEPG-2" format listed on one box (though so far they play in my DVD player)
And then when I finally bought them and cracked open the plastic, it was "waxy cardboard" with glued-in (albeit not too sloppily) DVD holders, and the covers of the Uncut SMS DVDs (since that was the one I started with) inside, rather than individually-sleeved DVDs or anything like that. Then the back of the DVDs said the most incriminating thing of all: Made in Taiwan.

So they're fake, but I got so fed up of trying to find the legit things through legit channels (and I surfed a lot-- I went to all the DVD sites I knew of, anime stores, C&C Central here in S.F., Pioneer's own website, and countless other places), so when I saw the boxed sets for right there, I grabbed them. I paid $162 for them both, which is probably a rip-off, all things considered... and I *am* halfway tempted to tell Mom to try and return them for me (even though I know the store has a policy of no refunds on opened DVD boxes), but then I would not only NOT have the money (because again, I doubt the store would refund to my credit card, and what good would $162 in Jtown store credit do me in LA?), but I wouldn't have *ANY* Sailor Moon to get my hands on.

If someone could truly promise me a legit source of SMS and SMSS, I'd gladly fork over the money, because I believe in supporting the original creators of a series whenever and wherever possible. But sometimes distributors here on this coast make it awful hard. I'm not saying they should perpetually renew licenses, but I do think for things as big as SM, it would pay to do "anniversary editions" or something if they could. Who knows how relations are now between all the big companies, anyway...

I checked out the first episode of S, and aside from a few lines of dialogue getting unsubtitled, they're not too bad. I even tested the English audio track, and sure enough, it's the annoying S-dub I remember getting glimpses of back when it was on Cartoon Network. I think the main menu is supposed to be animated and a bit crisper looking than it is, but aside from those few peeves, I guess everything's all right.

I've been feeling kind of ill off and on this whole week, which sucks (and is at least partially my excuse for not having caught up on my Japanese, bad girl that I am). Tonight after Mom, Gary, and I saw "Zodiac" at the 1000 (I think only ONE person from when I worked there is still there now, and he didn't see me), we went to Mel's near Parker (or whatever that street before the old Coronet is called), and I couldn't even finish a whole half of a grilled cheese. Admittedly, I had a Kid's Pack of popcorn and a soda at the theatre, but still, I was hungry after the fact... it's been like that for days, where I feel hungry, and I can even feel my mouth watering, but I just can't eat. The thought alone almost makes me nauseous. I don't know why though. It's not like I *want* to not eat, to lose weight (I'm already underweight or on the low-end scale of "normal" for my height), or anything. And I hate wasting food.

I felt so shitty yesterday, I thought for sure it was some form of hangover from my one lousy mango margarita (admittedly, I think it really *WAS* a whole pint), and Mom was saying something about how tequila isn't exactly a trustworthy liquor, but... who knows? My whole body's just on the fritz.

It's been nice being back here in S.F., in a way, and I do wish I could stay longer and help out more, see more people, and get more done (both doing stuff-wise and finishing things that should have already been done a while ago-wise). But I do sort of look forward to the big Sweet family gatherings. Shaina I know is going to want to trim my hair and probably pluck my eyebrows, but that's about as far as I'll let her go. I honestly think my time is better spent catching up on homework. Now that I don't have to worry about people butchering the computer (because the PC really isn't my problem anymore; I only use it for the rare PC games I have the random urge to play), they can park themselves on it and I won't care. Wireless is nice... :D

That said, I better try and sleep, since I will be waking up in less than 6 hours to shower. But I guess I can always sleep in the car ride back to LA.

Oh yes, and my birthday is in 7 days. :D :D :D :D :D

Get your own valentinr

I really detest Valentine's Day. It's all commercialism and chocolate, and heck knows there's no one able or deserving enough to receive any handmade chocolate from me this year (the Japanese tradition for girls to give them to the boys they like, or men that they feel "obligated" to give chocolate to, FYI). But if some people think of me --through email, one of these little memes, or something else, it's nice. I'm not very big on spending time making Valentines like I used to as a kid, since it ends up being so heartbreaking to go through all that effort and not have anything in return... plus I don't want to send any mixed messages (as I'm apt to doing now that I'm older and supposedly wiser). So if anybody, y parents and grandparents might get a Valentine, with a digi-one out to my friends (if you want one).

I'm sure someday I might like it, but it, like Mother's Day, seems like an excuse for doing something that the people you care about most should be doing ALL YEAR LONG (and by that, I don't mean showering you with presents or chocolate, I mean being grateful for having you in their lives, and showing their appreciation without a holiday as a reason).

That said, today generally kicked butt. It was nice not having to wake up super-early for work (which I won't HAVE to do for the rest of the semester, if my schedule stays the same), and I did well in most of my classes today. I even stayed after for a while after JOUR 331 and talked to the Prof. about careers and such, and it was a great conversation. So maybe Scott's not so crazy with focusing on his career the way he is-- I might still be in college, but I do have to start considering my options, regardless of when I end up graduating. And to do what I supposedly "love" then I have to be willing to take risks and push myself in ways that I've always "justified" not doing before.

And the thought of going out there and JUST DOING IT really makes me happy. I managed to clean up the rec room a bit, get rid of my entire stack of old magazines, clean up a bit of my room (many books to get rid of, and hopefully soon, Yu-Gi-Oh cards, Valuable Books -after I scan the artwork- and maybe my Hot Gimmick manga, which I no longer like), and do a load of laundry in about an hour or so. I still have more laundry to do and my room to clean (MUST FIND PS2 MEMORY CARD!!!), and plenty of other errands (post office for mailing presents to Mom and Dad; need Dad's new address; must lecture Dad about bitching and/or suing landlords that cheat you of money due; must also get a ¥6000 international money order for sending to the International Center for my Yahoo! BB bill which I forgot about- yipes!).

Busy, busy, busy... but now I have to try and sleep and read Ch. 3 of my Editing book.

First, I updated WDKY on Dragonfayth to the latest chapter. I guess because some chapters were longer than others and contained those 'ye old alphanumeric character codes' I had to c&p the HTML from Dreamweaver into the story text box (with the TinyMCE checkbox turned off). I know at least some of the slow, "unresponsive" script errors were because of the world "curl" in my stories, but I wonder if the script mangling the alphanumeric codes is something fixable...

I'm also considering including my logs and things up at Dragonfayth too, making it a fully-fledged series with notes and such. If not Dragonfayth, then definitely at Epiphany. But I think the Review Replies will stay here on LJ, just to make things easier (that's subject to change...) Speaking of RRs, I still have to post them for Chapters 23-24 of WDKY, so look for those soon-ish.

I say "ish" because I DID pack two of my bags today, leaving only one left, but I still have to cram a lot of clothes (the rest until Tuesday) and some other random things in there. I'm honestly hoping that crappy United will let me get away with my carry-on (backpack), my personal item (purse) and a shopping bag with just my blanket and Toro-kun (the stuffed cat). And yes, crappy United. Would you believe that for my ONE extra bag, it's $167 USD!? Because of that wholly unexpected amount (which is about 75% of my paycheck), I had to ask Mom for money *AGAIN*. I felt rotten doing it, but she was quick and okay with it. And as it turns out, I owe her less than I thought-- I found a copy of my super-expensive T-Mobile bill (luckily I printed it out; apparently T-Mobile only keeps your last 2 bill statements online) and calculated out what she paid and what I'd paid, and what I owe her for that is less than I thought. So that plus another $400... it's still a lot of money, but I have to do it.

What's left to pack:
-toiletries (stuff I use in the bathroom, though I might decide to leave the Dove Body Soap behind, much as I love the stuff... plus lotion, anti-bacterial, meds, brush)
-clothes
-some papers
-cat mug, cat plate, yellow bowl, striped glass (?), deco plate, forks, chopsticks, knife, spoon
-leftover oatmeal, cream of wheat, cocoa (make cookies with everything else)

? - Wish I could take my plastic cat trash can, but I don't know if it would fit... 'sides, it's smaller than my Purple one back in the states, so maybe I should just give it to my roommates? I'm doing that with many hangers and such. Should I even bother trying to take my lighter? I bought it for my incense, but my incense is almost gone... and short of the common kitchen downstairs, no one has a gas range here, which is the only thing I can think of using it for (since no one else is an incense queen like I am. Holly said it smelled like hippies in my room!). But I don't want everything in my bag catching on fire, either!

Scott was telling me that parents still want to feel needed and help out whenever they can, but I feel selfish for asking so much of my mom. This trip -for me, at least- was supposed to prove how I could survive being independent and on my own, even for just a little while (and still with perks-- a well-paying job and no rent, basically). It's not that I'm not going to pay my mom back in full, but I guess I shouldn't feel so guilty over it (and I do, to an extreme degree. I don't even wanna talk about it anymore).

But in the end, I can't go to the sleepover/party thing tomorrow, anyway. And I guess I don't really care, because that'll save me more money for mailing things back home, doing my hair (possibly) on Saturday at the Access Moon salon in Akatsuka, going food shopping, etc. And on Friday I'm supposed to go bowling with my tutors, so I want to save up a bit for that, too. I want to finish packing bit by bit though, as each day goes by, so I don't feel stressed the day before I leave. I still feel like I have so much stuff to pack, even though earlier today I was relieved that I'd have the money for my 3rd suitcase-- the biggest one, too. Now it feels like I'm back to not being able to decide what to keep and what to ditch, or how to pack, because it seems almost full and I still have so much to pack IMHO. But my backpack and purse still aren't so filled up yet, so maybe that'll help ease it up somewhat.

I'm still confused about where I put some of my CDs/DVDs though, if I put them anywhere... I thought I had NANA anime eps. 20-25 (that would be 2 CDs), but I couldn't find them amongst the box I intended to send (too expensive, so I crammed them into my 2nd suitcase), and they weren't in my CD case. I wonder if I deleted all those files to save HD space? I'd hate it if I did, but unless they're in the box that I've already taped up, I have no idea if I even burned them to CD. In any case, they're not on my HD anymore... though I do have the latest episode (33) and Yu-Gi-Oh! (Toei), eps 16-18. Yay for TV-Nihon getting down to the grind on that!

I should go to bed soon... we don't have class, really (well, I do for 3rd and 5th), but we do have a feedback session during 2nd period, from 10:30 to 11:30, and I have to wake up early enough to call the SF Office of JTB travel to get them to add my United Mileage Plus number to my account... and maybe then I can officially switch my seat on the plane. Kekekeke.

For the first time in probably two or three weeks, I can honestly say I feel relaxed. Not "pressure-free" (I still have papers for 3 classes to write; two are due next week, one is due Feb. 1... I also have my scholarship paper to work on and my Japanese test to prepare for), but I'm doing okay. I finished my Mass Media paper after some more edits (including a font size/face change to make it look shorter!), and with the help of Yuta, I actually got down to Level 11 in the Cave of Trials in Star Ocean and beat the boss Dragon! Every time we've tried to make that trek again, we always die somewhere in level 10 or 11, but I'm sure if I keep a good watch on Rena (you have to battle in a party of two for Level 12, so getting there is a pain in the ass), I can make it.

It's funny how a game can give me this great sense of accomplishment, even if I have yet to beat it... even if I was playing it in the cold... even if we died no less than 7 times... even if I should have been working on my Japanese homework while I was playing. I had fun. Yuta and I spoke in Japanese, and we talked about the differences between the game he remembers playing back when he was in high school, and this game (my favorite, even above FFX-2).

I also went out to Coco's with some of the gang-- even though I've been trying to save my money, I had a very delicious and filling dinner for only ¥700 or so, so it's okay. I've also got enough food and laundry money to last me until next Thursday when we get paid, so I should be okay. Next up on the list (besides all the studying, I mean) is packing.

I even finished the SDSU application today... I'm thrilled that I got that done, even if I a) don't get accepted or b) do get accepted and don't end up going. We'll see how that turns out. It was actually easier to fill out than I expected, but calculating my GPA was a bitch: the classes I'm taking here in Japan (5) are supposed to count for at least 16 units back home, 13 of which will be equivalent classes (that is a Japanese class counts for a class I could have taken at CSUN, had I not done the study abroad). Assuming all the paperwork goes through without a hitch (my only concern is the one I left with the G.E. department), all should be well-- I'm hoping I get 4 As and maybe 1 B, which would translate to 61-62 total grade points (apparently you get 4 points for each A IN ONE UNIT... So a 3-unit class where you earn an A is worth 12 grade points). Divide that by the total units I took this semester, and I've still got my 3.0+ GPA, so I'm glad. My cumulative GPA including all my CSUN semesters and such would be around 3.27, which is acceptable. There are some classes for G.E. and my Journalism major that I have yet to take, so I hope SDSU doesn't auto-reject me based o n the fact that I haven't taken those 3-4 classes (a science, a matching lab, a history course, and economics).

The past few days have been really hellish on my body-- many times I feel like I'm having a constant asthma attack with "an elephant sitting on my chest," while other times it feels like the elephant's marching on my back. Sleeping's been difficult, too, but I think if I can relax and genuinely "let go" of these pressures and really start taking the good along with the bad, and seeing all of this as an experience, then I can survive these last 12 days. That's not to say I plan on slacking off, but... well, I better get to bed soon anyway, since I have Japanese homework to do in about 6 and a half hours.

Tonight, I pray for no nightmares, creative stimulation that will not leave me in the morning, and a Muse who can hold her thoughts until I have time to type them, rather than waking me up by doomsaying that I'll forget The Next Great Idea if I don't type them out NOW.

Today sucks already. I don't want to be like "Oh, it started out terrible, so the rest of the day must be going to hell, too." I'm a realist, not a pessimist! But to begin with:

* My alarm clock didn't go off (stupid cell phone. I must have accidentally disabled it sometime last night, but the damn indicator icon was still on, so how the fuck was I supposed to know? I'm seriously considering seeing if T-Mobile will let me trade in my RAZR v3x for one of their new RAZRs that's actually supported. None of this European gibberish funktastic broken-but-not-really crap).

* Because of that, I woke up 5 minutes before I was supposed to be in class. Reeking, I decided to take a shower. Hungry, I decided to eat breakfast. Hopefully doing the somewhat-smart thing (even if it meant missing a vocab quiz, no matter what), I decided to ditch class in favor of working on my monstrous essay for Mass Media-- the class that won't count for anything at CSUN except 3 units.

* The essay which I've already written the bulk of... on Spider-Man alone! So I redid the outline, printed it out, and will start writing a more organized (hopefully) essay as soon as I'm done venting in this entry.

My sleep schedule over the course of the winter vacation and this past weekend has been horrible. So it's no surprise that when my back started hurting horribly yesterday (yay, sciatica), I also happened to run out of painkillers. So I decided to slam some Midol (hey, they have acetaminophen AKA Tylenol in it!) and sleep... and sleep I did, for several hours. And obviously while sleeping, I did not eat. Thus, when I woke up many hours later, I was a complete fruitcake.

And nobody likes a fruitcake.

Well, so I tried to get things done, tried to eat, blah blah... but then when it started getting late, even though I KNEW I should sleep, I wasn't tired. My mind just kept wandering back to all the things that I have yet to get done. And excuse after excuse poured into my brain about why it hasn't gotten done. I hate making excuses.

I also hate having to vent on my LJ because I have no one I can really tell all this to in person, get some honest, IRL feedback from. I hate sticking myself in my room all day and really porking out in front of my computer, because even when I'm at work (school; CSUN) doing it, when people come into the walk-in center for help, it's a breath of fresh air! It's not just mindless-Mer staring at a computer screen, clacking away, even if it is somehow productive.

And my chest has been hurting so much lately, I wonder if I'm setting myself up to have a heart attack. Shit, it runs in my family. It's not like I eat fried food all day long, but I'm not exactly Miss America, here. Oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, and the occasional veggie platter do not a healthy cardiovascular system make.

At the very least, I'm a ball of stress, and I'm worried that I won't get anything done, or I'll get everything done half-assed with people mad at me, or some mixture inbetween where I'll end up doing damage somehow. I had such a hard time sleeping last night.

I really hate complaining though, instead of making any changes, so I'm back to working on my essay... which, by the way, crashed about 5 minutes ago, but at least Word makes use of the Recovery feature. So I guess that's one LESS thing to be stressed about.

I'm sorry, but "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"...? What kind of title is that? I know JKR said she was juggling between two really GOOD titles, but this title... er, well... it's just not as catchy. Not as interesting. What the heck is a "deathly hallow" anyway?

I actually bothered to check out the JKR site last night (in both my browsers), but all the tricks I kept reading about -you know, stirring the teacup, or picking up these potion ingredients- I couldn't do them. I thought maybe it was my browser, since my Flash is up to date, but even when I had Safari imitate IE 6.0, it didn't work. Maybe the tricks are limited? But if that's so, why keep the same things (the teacup, the pen you can break, the picture of the lightning bolt that Peeves reveals when he blows through) in the room, if you can't do anything with them? That bums me out. I hate IE-only compliant pages, even if that wasn't the case.

Anyway, I *JUST* got back from the Intl. Center, where I spent the last SEVERAL hours making Nengajou, or New Year's Cards. I had to make 7 for my tutors and roommates, plus one for the Umegaoka Elementary school. Writing all that kanji, designing the card drawings, painting everything... it took a while. And earlier today, I ended up choosing between "shower" or "breakfast" (bad idea; I'd rather go to class smelly than starving), so now I'm hungry as hell, having not eaten anything today except some cookies Misato (one of my tutors) made and a small Hershey's cookies and cream thing Christine gave me.

So I'm going to try making a quick lunch, starting a load of laundry (including my current pair of pants...), and then head out to the post office to mail things. Then at Mito Eki, I'm going to buy the Disney Passports for Tokyo Disney and Disney Sea for baine and I... AND THEN when I get back I will pack, and finish planning the rest of the Tokyo time (figuring out how much I need for where, and so on).

Busy, busy, busy...

You can't spell "distressed" without "stressed." And I was just as equally tempted to pick "depressed" for my mood, because I'm not HAPPY, that's for damn sure.

Yesterday I thought I'd gotten the whole SDSU application out of my way, but Scott (he did a good thing) went to SDSU and talked to a bunch of people, and they said that I might not even need to "transfer," per se, so much as "visit" SDSU, while still taking classes as if they were from/at CSUN. That means my degree would still say "CSUN" on it. Regardless though, I have to get access to and fill out the Supplementary Application re: my grades, even though my grades won't be official until several weeks into the Spring 2007 semester (at least), because I don't get back until A WEEK before that new semester starts. Plus, I would have to clear with various department chairs about whether the classes they offer at SDSU could be considered equivalent to the ones at CSUN for my major/minors, so as not having to take classes OVER again at SDSU, because SDSU doesn't "officially" consider them equivalent. They have ECON 161 and POLS 155 as pre-reqs for even ENTERING the journalism program at SDSU, but because they're lower div and I've taken so many other journalism classes at CSUN, Scott and I are hoping that I won't need to take those, and I can still get into SDSU's IMPACTED Journalism program with the classes I have.

Oh yea, and then there's the FAFSA. -_- Seriously, I'm beginning to HATE January.

I suppose my day's Tarot is kind of ironic, then... ( The Seven of Chalices )

My horoscope for today: You're in pursuit of excitement and fresh adventure. Try a different path to get your life going in a whole new direction. Daring sports and physical activities get your blood racing and stimulate your mind, too.

Then it makes sense that I went to the gym during 4th period. I even tried out some machines I thought I would never use, and even if I'm the only girl in the group that would be there (assuming I would ever go with the guys; since we have such different schedules, it's actually kind of unlikely; the gym also closes at 7pm), I think it would be good for me... I don't need to get into testosterone comparison contests like the boys. It's very different from an American gym, but it'll give me something to do, and I can "stay fit" and shape up... and if the endorphins really do perk me up and inspire me, all the better.

The main portion of today's concern was about the trip (to Hong Kong) that baine and I are taking on 23 Dec. ( The best things in life are free... but you can keep them for the birds and bees, give me MONEY! )

But that's okay, I don't eat much, anyway! It's better to cut back on my daily Coca-Cola, and spend more time here at the dorms getting things cleaned up and done. Like my scholarship paper. *sigh* Or my paper for Pop Culture. Or my Religious Studies test. (and before I leave, a Mass Media paper, a Modern Culture paper, and a Popular Culture/Image of the Japanese in American Media paper. Oy VEY!)

If it's not one thing, it's always another.

Like my new $121 phone bill. I'm going to wait to hear from T-Mobile about what the hell's up with that THIS time, to see if the charges are legit. Even if they are, I don't have to pay until December 10th, which gives me enough time to get paid (3x) and deposit said money by wire into my bank account, and pay that way. I refuse to have mom pay for my phone bill any more than she has already. But I'm probably going to cancel my $14.99 Unlimited Text Messages (I would have to send 150 text messages a month for that to pay for itself, anyway, and I haven't even sent 85 since I've been in Japan), my Web Access (useless, anyway), and whatever other useless things I might be paying for.

Money stresses me out quite easily, and my brain deals with it by having dreams about Christian Bale doing my dishes (the night before last) or going to strange reunions/graduations where friend's boyfriends are suddenly gay and dating angry, fat white guys and where conveyer belts look like they're made of stone and have water bubbling up from the cracks.

Yeah, I think I need to sleep now, too.

This morning I woke up at 7:21 precisely because I thought a spider had landed on my face, and I promptly smacked myself in the eye. After I sorta-kinda woke up and searched my bed and face to find no spider guts, I went back to sleep... and apparently slept right through my alarm (or something, because it was still enabled when my roommate woke me up at 8:55, 5 minutes before I was supposed to be in class!).

Well, needless to say, I didn't make it to class on time for the quiz, and if you miss it, you miss it, tough cookies. Worse, I had to leave early because Prof. Blumenkrantz back at CSUN said that I could call him during his office hours (Wednesday, 6-7pm; that translates to Thursday, 10-11am here). So I called him as I said I would... but a) he doesn't have my file, b) he has people waiting to be advised IN PERSON... so can I call back tomorrow? At first, he said call back at 5pm his time, which is 9am MY time-- which means I have to be in class. I said that probably wasn't possible, so was 10am again fine?

...What have I gotten myself into? Blumenkrantz just said "call as close to 6 on the dot as possible" (probably because he doesn't normally have office hours on Thursday at that time, so he wants to get the hell out of school), which means I have to ask my teacher AGAIN if he'll let me leave early to call my teacher. Actually, even earlier than before, because if I have to call at 10am on the dot, I have to be BACK in my dorm room, in front of my computer when that clock changes. Is it worth it to get up an hour early just to go to class for 40 minutes? I have to let Nakagawa-sensei know SOMEHOW, though... (This is bad because I still have to turn in homework no matter what, but it's especially bad if I miss the lectures; I won't understand a lot if I just base everything from the lesson on the textbook. Asking questions and actually seeing the way sentences are constructed are the best ways to learn-- for me.)

And I have to eat SOMETHING now, because I'm both exhausted and starving.

Last time I was in Japan, it took about 3 days before it really hit me that I was even IN Japan, because for all intents and purposes, it felt like home (San Francisco); it was cold, foggy, and rainy; it was crowded, it was busy. Sure, the cars went the other way, the driver's side was on the opposite side of the car, and vehicles mostly looked like they'd been through trash compactors, but generally, it didn't feel too different. That was a nice feeling, because if I followed through on my dream of working in some magazine's Tokyo office, or maybe translating manga, then I would be 'right at home' in Japan, right? Maybe.

I think I'm doing a decent job making my dorm 'homey' and everything- I have a bit more paperwork and phone calling to be done in regards to the phone and Internet, but I should be getting it dealt with soon.

Surprisingly enough, I got a message from Scott today- apparently he's given in and joined MySpace. Not that I think MySpace is all that -I think it's more of a phasal thing most of us went through in high school- but it IS good for keeping in touch and networking. Should I be a little hurt that a) his status is 'single' and b) he has no pictures of him and me together, but several of him with his brothers, mother, sisters, and friends? Ah... I know, 2 years, several thousand miles does not a relationship make. And as horribly Harlequin romance novel as it sounds, I'll wait. I'm just not interested in meeting anyone else. The possibility hasn't even crossed my mind. I'm keeping my MySpace status as 'In a Relationship' because I hate getting propositioned by weird people on an online site, and because I don't want to meet anyone right now, or even when I get back.

So I've officially been to all of my classes so far- Japanese isn't as bad as I thought it would be, and today's class was helpful for those situations at restaurants when you want to ask for things you really take for granted in English- paying separately, breaking a large bill, or getting a dish without such-and-such. Alas, I have to remember to ask Nakagawa-sensei 'Can I ask a question in English?'

Yesterday I was in Religious Studies and Pop Culture (two separate classes, though Religious Studies DOES have a modern culture element, taught by -oh, yes, I laughed too- Yoda-sensei). Religious Studies was a bit slow, but it sounds like it'll be interesting, and I think I might be able to get some GE credit for it. Plus I do want to learn more about Buddhism than I could understand from Scott, and more about Shintoism than I know from class and mythology. Pop Culture was downright fun- we watched a portion of Akira, and a scene from a movie called 'Dragon Head' -both apocalyptic movies. The latter I'd love to see the rest of, but truthfully, Akira doesn't compel me as much. Even better, my roommate Midori is in my Pop Culture class!

Right now I just feel kind of out of it -maybe it was the 'single' bit on Scott's MySpace (even though I tell myself it's not a big deal), or the fact that I had to practice writing out his new address in Cyrillic (not my forté). In any case, I think I should buy a Coke and then head back to the dorms for a PB&J, and find out what's up with my Internet from Midori and BBapply.com's Jimmie Jenkins.

I AM ALIVE!!!!!

Ah, yes, I made it to Japan okay, and while I'm currently without personal 'Net access, I'm making do with the computers in the International Center. The plan is to meet baine sometime this extended weekend (national holiday followed by school holiday for me). Problem is, she's all the way down south in Sasebo (think San Diego), while I'm in Mito (think San Francisco). And while the trains here are a lot more efficient than Amtrak, 9 hours and nearly $250 (26,630 yen) is pretty pricey. I have the money, but I need a way to get cash from my MasterCard, a way to get from the university to the Mito train station, and a way to get the tickets without ending up somewhere in Hokkaido.

So far, I've been getting accustomed to my new room (small), my new roommates (cute, fun), and my intimidating Japanese teacher (...) I have been calling some people, but at $2/minute, I'm trying to limit my time. Still, if you wanna give me a buzz, feel free. Text messages are better though, and you can text me via LiveJournal; just go to my User Info.

It was rainy here the past 2 days, and Bonnie was saying it might even be typhoon (Taifu) season coming up, but today the weather is very nice. I hope it stays that way for the weekend, because I wanted to go to the Phoenix Seagaia Ocean Dome resort-- an indoor beach. (Understatement of the year, actually. Go look it up.)

Anyway, there's lots to do, lunch to be had, and a few random necessities to be taken care of (more hangers, sticky pads, a folder/binder)... I'll try and update when I can; hopefully I'll get 'Net soon! In the meantime, I'm updating all of my pictures in iPhoto and making them shared in Parallels; I hope when I can finally update from my MBP I can show off some icons or pictures or something.]

Sore ja-- mata na!

Ugh... Just UGH! I just barely managed to get my profile on guardian_kysra finished and turned in at 1:30 (I wish I could have done better, because there were other things I wanted to focus on. Alas, stress and a bunch of customers prevented me from saying what I wanted or getting it done on time). It was due at 1, but luckily (or unluckily?) the professor was still there, and he took it. Whether he'll actually read it and grade it, or grade me down for it being 30 minutes late is beyond me. I just want to pass the class. :P A C or better is what I need.

Then came my Japanese final, which was harder than I expected- I forgot the kanji for hospital and family, and I wasn't sure if I got the past affirmative verb copula chart filled in correctly (we had noboru, shinu, wasureru, tsukau, and one other I can't remember). There was about 7 things I think I may have missed on which disappoints me. I can make excuses -and they are legit, and you'd know if you've read any of my past FO entries- but it doesn't justify not having all this stuff done BEFORE I got sick, or before Scott and I had our "talks."

Well, tomorrow is my last final in Women Writers of Asia, and we'll have some hopefully simple IDing to do, and then a potluck-type party. I'm planning on getting some Chinese food for everyone, so I hope someone brings enough plates. Maybe if I order early, I can get the lunchtime discount? I know I should get at least one chicken, one beef, and one vegetarian dish, so I need to go home and peruse the menu and see how much this'll damage me. I already made a reservation for my shuttle to the airport on Friday and back home on Monday, so Baba and Grandpa can just give me cash for that (because they said they'd pay for it), and I can also get money by selling my English and Women Writers of Asia books back to the bookstore... I hope.

My nose is horribly congested, I sound terrible, and I admit, I'm still incredibly sad about this whole Scott thing. It's not like we'll even be able to talk much for the next three weeks, because his TEFL class starts this weekend. I told him I'd call before going to Fanime, and I will, but... well, I'm worried it'll be awkward. To be honest, even if "nothing is changing, really" in terms of the relationship (or lack thereof, or what we call it, or whatever), it still FELT like a break-up to me. And having everything I want told to me, and then stuck with a BUT... "Deep in my heart, I know that's not the path for me, and it might never be" is sort of like sticking a beautiful dagger into me and just TWISTING it. Or something. My analogies suck lately.

Everything sucks lately.

Fanime better rock or else I'll have one more reason to get drunk with Rochelle and Stephanie on Friday.

schmollieollie, if you read this, tell Rochelle in advance so I don't have to explain all this BS to her. I just want to have fun with you guys, not keep you in the dark or recall all the pain I've been going through this week.

The Worst Weeks of Mer's Life
#5 - This week
#4 - The week where I thought I had TSS, and I couldn't eat anything but plain toasted bagels
#3 - The week Scott broke up with me the first time
#2 - The week when I got rejected from SFSU and I wasn't sure what would happen to me
#1 - The week following my sister's death

Also on the list:
-The week when Joe broke up with me
-The week when I got fired from the movie theatre
-The week when my mom was an angry, abusive bitch
-The week (and 2 years following) my dad becoming estranged the first time
-The week when Chris Garcia told Amy to tell me never to speak to him again
-The week when I found out my hard crush liked one of my best friends
And probably a few more I really don't want to think about. But just to let you know, this week RANKS.

1. I'll respond with something random I like about you.
2. I'll tell you what song/movie reminds me of you.
3. I'll name something we should do together.
4. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me (or just me).
5. I'll tell you my first/clearest memory of you.
6. I'll leave you a quote that is somehow appropriate to you.
7. I'll ask you something that I've always wondered about you.
8. If I do this for you, you must post this on your journal so you can do the same for other people

Okay, so who remembers eMode.com? I'm looking at you schmollieollie! You remember when we used to take all those random tests-- the infamously long IQ test, the stupid tests about dreams, your presidential match, etc.? Well, I know they became "Tickle" a while ago, but I just wanted to see if they still stored my old test results, because I must have taken at least a hundred tests there. No luck. I tried signing in with all 3 of my old emails (and I do have more, but I don't use them to sign up for sites), but it couldn't find any matching email. So I signed up under my new email, and I imagine I'll be taking all the goofy tests again. :D

( Boys, ends, and beginnings )

And everybody say WHEE! Blue Eyes and Apricots, the web's first, official, and ONLY (English) Azureshipping fanlisting now has -count 'em- 400 members! Congratulations to Rea-kun from Malta, who will probably not read this, but who is the kick-buttingest 400th member. I think I should do something special, but what, I do not know. (No, I will not change the layout. Dammit, that layout was hard enough to put together! :P If anything, I can change the colors and the picture but THAT IS IT!)

Spread the word, yo. We've been getting more members than EVER lately, and it makes me so happy! :D :D :D I have some new fanart to put up soon too (from... you guessed it, Rea-kun!) among other things, so at least there's always some new content to check out. I need some more recs and nominations for the Fanfics and Websites sections too, though, so drop me a line, ne?

This is my last week of school before finals. I have four finals, as far as I know:
* Japanese (duh)
* Women writers of Asia (identification... should be easy.)
* Geography (X_X)
* English (X_X;;;)

I finished my term paper for WWA, and I was quite pleased with it-- maybe because the intended length was 8-10 pages, and I ended up with 14. I had to shrink the font and change the font family to get it to fit. :P This is good news though, because I ended up cutting big chunks out, compared to my outline. This means when I actually get around to expanding it and editing it for my scholarship project (which is to write on contemporary writers of Japan, mainly female writers, and in contrast with male writers), I'll have lots of material to work with.

Today I just finished a paper for Geography on symbolic landscapes, and being the urbanite I am, I chose to write about a fourth landscape (this is in addition to D.W. Meinig's list if three from 1979: the New England village, the Middle-American Main street, and Californian Suburbia): the urban landscape. It was limited to 2 pages and a sketch map page, so I hope I did well on it. Prof. Davidson peered over to my paper while I was attempting to draw a lumpy model of San Francisco. :P

I have an idea for my editorial (that is, my second one, because damned if I can come up with another full-length feature piece in less than a day. Bad Mer, bad!) - California is behind the times. Hell, the whole United States is, but California is the worst off, especially here in So. Cal. Now, I haven't heard anyone vocally railing about it on *MY* FL, but that could be due to other reasons... but gas is at an all-time high here in CA. $3.37 is the cheapest you'll find here in Northridge; in San Diego, you were lucky if you saw below $3.54. I saw a $3.61 there, and Baba said she saw a $3.70-something. I realize gas prices as a whole are going up around the country, but CA's always had the higher prices, because we have so many damn people dependent on gas. We can get gas from the South and from Alaska, but somehow, that still doesn't help us. Then you look at countries like Japan, where their public transportation system is RELIABLE and EFFICIENT. I don't know a lot about their environmental policies (they still allow smoking in public restaurants, so...) or fuel usage, but Hummers wouldn't be popular there, and I saw more minivans than I did SUVs while I was there. It's sort of like telling someone they have to cut off their arm to save their life- people just don't want to do it, even if a part of them recognizes it's for the greater good. Are we stupid or just sick?

To do:
* See various departments about transferable credit from Tokiwa. Get them to sign the forms now so that when I come back, they can't double-cross me. I should do that tomorrow, since I need the course catalog.

* Finish up my online resume at meredithsweet.com :D (Go check it out. Tell me if I'm missing anything, if anything needs editing, etc. The front page only has a short intro right now, but so far, I like it.)

* FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICS. I'm already 2000+ words into atlantian_magic's Sousuke x Kaname piece, which mklutz, you will be pleased (I hope) to note that it's a continuation/sequel to the fic I did for you, "Counting." :) I never intended it to be so long, but... hey, it's just one of those universes. I've also got a good idea for the Ed x Winry piece geniusgirl wanted, so I'll get started on that as soon as I'm done with SxK. Oh yeah, and WDKY24. I want it OUT! OUT, I SAY!

* She is the one named Sailor Moon! I was messing with my Thunderbird settings yesterday (remember folks: compact your Inbox often!) and decided to haunt alt.fan.sailor-moon for a bit, and found a HI-larious post on the possibility of yet another live action SM movie. With Jennifer Garner as the main villain. Hahaha, yeah right. But still, funny. And then someone posted a YouTube link to the elusive Episode 67, wherein Chibiusa BEFRIENDS A DINOSAUR. That was a cute episode, even if the animation style degenerated by about 2 seasons. But yeah, Sailormoon. So totally into it again. :D

* AX? Who here is going to AnimeExpo 2006? I mean the one in Anaheim. Because (I think I mentioned this before) someone requested I go, and there *IS* a brand-new Sheraton there. Mom thinks she can get me the StarHot or whatever it's called rate, which is TEH UBER CHEAP! So why not? I'd just pay for the pre-reg and the shuttle there (if Mom wanted to erase the rest of her debt by paying for THAT hotel room too. She paid for all of Fanime, which surprised the crap out of me) and whatever I saw and wanted that I didn't get at Fanime. And hell, I'll even cosplay Anzu. :D I just want to do a lot of things before I go to Japan.

>_> I hope I got a decent grade on my English paper/Kate Chopin's 'The Storm,' even if it was late.

I had a weird dream last night/this morning. I get the feeling I've had the dream before, but I don't know from when or where. I should have written it down when I woke up, and it was more vivid, but I stupidly dismissed it as too weird. I remember there being a gang of people on motorcycles/scooters, but instead of the "leader" being in the front of the group, s/he was in the back (there might have been 2 leaders, one male, one female). They all had one intensely bright headlight on their motorcycles as they drove past -during what looked like overcast daylight- a rest stop of some sorts, like the kinds right off a highway.

For whatever reason, I (whoever "I" was) was coming out of the wooden building, and I got shot in the leg. I remember stumbling around and screaming profanities at the idiots, something like they'd ruined something and they didn't understand (or was that the female leader yelling that at ME?) and then I wasn't in a rural rest stop any more, but in a police station. o_o; There's something important that I'm forgetting too...

I tried to close my original PayPal account yesterday, which spells the end of a long time (3+ years, I think) of account history, my Verified status and good Buyer reputation... but it needs to be done. They can't change the name on the account from my mom's (I opened it under her name when I first bought something off eBay when I was 16-17) to mine. But I had both my anzu.kaiba email and my account/routing info already attached to that account, so before I can add that info to my NEW account (under my name), I have to wait for this measly $1 transaction (to AnimeMusicVideos.org) to go through from my bank account, and THEN close the original account. Then I can add my bank account to my NEW account, which so far has only my new gold MasterCard (WaMu switched from Visa. I guess if the cards DO the same thing, essentially, I have no reason to complain, except that I have to set up Auto-Pay for the new card number) and my anzu.kaiba email.

To Do List:
1 - WalMart. Yes, spawn of evil, seat of darkness... also a good place to get cheap home fixings, such as compressed air, electronic dusting spray, switch and socket faceplates, and possibly frames and nails for the pictures and mirror we need to re-hang in the rec room bathroom.

2 - Clean room. Ever since I moved the computer up there (Did I not mention it? I did it the other night! Aside from some insanity with the wireless adapter last night -which I hope does NOT continue- everything works out great) my room's been a mess, because I had to clear off my desk to make room for the Mega-Monitor. I'd save up to get a flat screen LCD monitor, but why? I'll be leaving in September anyway, and if Grandpa gets himself a laptop -or if *I* get one, what's the point?

3 - Custom air filter. I don't know what was wrong with the one we had, but Dad knows more about it than I do. Now I have to find a place that MAKES them!

4 - Papers! That is, English paper (on Kate Chopin's "The Storm"), Women Writers of Asia paper (on Banana Yoshimoto, Naoko Takeuchi, Kazuki Takahashi, and Novala Takemoto/some other male Japanese contemporary fiction writer), and a Journalism editorial... of which I have a few ideas, ranging from the rudeness/disgusting habits of students these days to complaints "from the other side of the desk," i.e. from the people like me that spend all day helping people fix THEIR computer problems. There's also the profile that's due by the end of May, which I hope to do on Kysra. I think I'll formulate some questions now and email them to her... er, if I can remember her email. o_o

What else? Ah, yes, I'd love to actually WRITE MY DAMN FICS, GET SOME ICONS MADE (need inspiration! Styles! Trends!), PLAY SOME VIDEO GAMES, take a bath surrounded by incense, candles, and pikake bath crystals, work on my webpages, and probably a ton of other things I'm forgetting. *brain massage*

Find your Celestial Choir

Go to Wikipedia. In the Search box, type your birth month and day (but not year). List three events that happened on your birthday. List two important birthdays, two interesting deaths, and one intriguing holiday or observance. Post this in your journal.

Events
1471 - In England, the Yorkists under Edward IV defeated the Lancastrians under Warwick at the battle of Barnet; the Earl of Warwick was killed and Edward IV resumed the throne.
I find this interesting because I've come to greatly enjoy this bit of history because of the Rose Chronicles fanfic that I've been languishing on.

1828 - Noah Webster copyrights the first edition of his dictionary.
And thank GOODNESS for that!

1915 - The Turks invaded Armenia.
Yes, it happened.

Births
1336 - Emperor Go-Kogon of Japan (d. 1374)
1977 - Sarah Michelle Gellar, American actress

Deaths
1995 - Burl Ives, American singer and actor (b. 1909)
2001 - Hiroshi Teshigahara, Japanese director (b. 1927)

Holiday
Black Day - informal celebration day for single people in South Korea

I'm back in black (read: I have money)! Thank goodness for generous grandparents and upcoming birthdays. I might even get to go to the first West Valley Witches Meetup tonight at the Denny's in Woodland Hills, but because Zack would have to go out of his way to take me there, he's being particularly devilish in coming up with a "fee." I wish my 'feminine wiles' (a pout, a certain stance, whatever) worked on him... or maybe not. That'd be bad.

I'm excited about Sunday~! I finished packing already, but I have to do a lot of homework, since I'm going to be gone the whole time. Unless I manage to do phone or email interviews, I don't know how I'm going to get my Feature #2 done. I hate stupid Prof. Brown. If I'd had this idea and resources a while ago, I might have had a head start on it, but there's nothing more than I hate than a teacher that doesn't understand the concept of a SPRING BREAK. We're not supposed to DO anything having ANYTHING to do with school! ;_; I'm going to try and finish my Japanese tonight. There's no Geography (thank god), but my biggest worry is, of course, for Journalism. There might also be a paper for English, so there's that to worry about, and I have to get my research paper started for WWA.

I'll most likely be focusing on Naoko Takeuchi as a contemporary female manga-ka, contrasting her with Kazuki Takahashi for the male. I'll write for Banana Yoshimoto as the female writer, and likely Novala Takemoto (author of Kamikaze Girls) for the male. I'm most definitely open to more suggestions for the expansion of the research paper -my "book" which I hope to write with Prof. Hirota as part of my Presidential Scholarship award stipulation. :D

Oh, and as a note to all the females out there - when some strange guy looking suspiciously like Napolean Dynamite asks you to sign a petition to END Women's Suffrage, JUST SAY NO. Otherwise you are a Dumb Female and do not deserve to have a Vagina. Go away, shoo, shoo.

Whee, Hawaii! Whee, birthday! Beaches and Mai Tais... and I hope it doesn't rain!

Weekend Birthdays That I Would Miss If I Didn't Post This:
Happy Birthday Katia and Will!


;_; I may have done badly on my Geography midterm. I had another Attack of the Killer Headache and was basically sleeping for 14+ hours. I don't know how I manage it and still wake up "normal" (ish). I should have studied during that time, but with the half-hour or so that I stayed awake long enough to study, plus the half-hour from this morning, it wasn't nearly enough. ;_; Remembering all this stuff about landforms and weather patterns is hard! I hope I at least get a B. ^^;

It's all been done before... - An excellent (if amusing and occasionally graphic) list of all the tropes, kinks, and clichés found in fanfiction. Just when you think it HASN'T been done before... oh, it has. And to great effect. So sorry. Pick another letter of the alphabet, please.

( Ones that rang true for Yu-Gi-Oh as I skimmed the list )

^^ I want an LJ-hoodie for my birthday. :P

( Icon meme ganked from Stef )

I was starting to get worried about Takase-sensei never calling on me in class. I was wondering what I was doing wrong, or what she really thought of me. I recall now the fact that she seemed pretty reluctant to even give me another recommendation letter earlier in the semester, even though I impressed on her how important it was to me... if I get the NSEP scholarship, it will pretty much pay for my entire study abroad trip to Japan (if I get in).

Well, so the truth finally came out today... she asked me to stay a bit after class, and she wanted to know what my study methods were. I clammed up immediately. I thought I couldn't possibly tell her that I always do the homework the day that it's due, and I rarely have dialogues memorized until a few hours before we perform. I only try to do the listening comprehension days before class, and last week proved that I didn't even need to do that, because I managed to finish it in under an hour at the library.

She said she noticed how my binder is all highlighted and filled with notes, and I take notes. She said that I always have the answer when she asks questions, and I always get my dialogues and response drills correct. I was standing there in shock -flattered, but unsure of where this was going. I was under the impression that she'd found me out about my procrastinating-but-somehow-still-performing ways. I'd even been having troubles keeping up; 102 is significantly harder than 101, but I'm slowly remembering things from my high school Japanese days. I'm hoping that my translations of Gospel of Truth will help me get even better.

What it boiled down to was that she wants to encourage everyone else to study like me (uh-oh), and even though I "neglected" to mention the last-minute aspect that strangely works for me, she liked how I highlighted portions, wrote the answers down for the response drills, regardless of how many possibilities there are, and how I find the pattern in each of our drills. I also read the grammar patterns, in case I get confused during a situational drill or listening comprehension set, and I romanize all the vocabulary so I'm always sure of how to pronounce something and what it means. I've stopped trying to romanize everything in the listening and situational drills, or the questions in the reading and writing, but I'm always trying to speed up my reading of the kana.

And she wants me to stop participating so eagerly in class. Specifically, she said she wants me (and herself, of course) to be more "patient" with everyone else. She notices that if I volunteer the answers too readily, other people don't seem motivated to answer-- even when she singles people out, or asks the entire class to answer something loudly. She started asking everyone to write their answers for practice and dialogues, and to write their partner's name as well, so she knows everyone worked together, talked, rehearsed, etc.

I didn't even think I *was* participating eagerly -I have my troubles too, even if much of this is familiar to me. But we are starting on informal speech and more complex patterns than I ever learned in high school Japanese, especially considering I chickened out in my junior year of HS and essentially bombed in all my classes. I won't let that happen here, but if Takase-sensei's 'speech' is any indication, it won't happen.

I'm halfway between disappointed and pleased-- I'm glad she thinks I'm such a good student that's doing so well, and willing to help others, but I'm sad that I won't get called on, and will in fact be encouraged NOT to volunteer info. I don't think I was ever doing it excessively anyway, or interupting people when it was their turn, or helping them when someone didn't want me to. If I had been, I wouldn't have thought I was being singled out. My class isn't a "raise your hand to speak" class anyway; she just calls on people by name, and they have to be ready to answer. I was getting upset because she never seemed to call on me, or even look in my direction.

So... that's it.

And today we got our papers/stories back in Journalism. Today was a miracle day in that I felt like I got little sleep, but I'm still awake, not feeling all that tired, and I managed to get EVERYTHING done before it was due. I was a little late to Geography, but considering we were watching "Cadillac Desert" (on William Mulholland and the LA River) rather than getting lectured, it wasn't a horrible deal. I always seem to be late on "shower day." I insist on eating a good breakfast when it's manageable (manageable is 10 minutes or more before I have to leave), so often other things make me late.

In any case, I wasn't expecting a lot out of my article, because I can honestly say I could have tried harder. Once-a-week classes ask for procrastination, because there's not enough regular motivation to get things done. On the flip side, everything has a heavier weight, because you have "all this time" to get things done. Except, I'm a full-time student with 4 other classes and work. It was also a difficult assignment, with a difficult teacher, at the beginning of the semester-- in what was a very difficult time for me, worrying about Japan applications, scholarships, and everything else.

It's slowed down a bit, and it's true that our upcoming personal essay might be easier ('might' is the keyword), but... a C+?

Hm. I guess it's okay. I don't want to be one of those students who whines about something that's average or acceptable. I wouldn't have expected an A. A B- might have been nice, but you can't win them all. I genuinely DID B.S. a lot of the story; I researched where I should have reported, and I'm not proud of the fact. But I don't want to get USED to being okay with C+s, though.

Grr, argh. That's my common phrase for this mood, ne? So I decided to try and play some Katamari Damacy again, just because I've been working like crazy the past few weeks -school work and work-work- and I decided I needed a break. For once, I have no looming essays, applications, or anything to worry about (save my article due for Journalism, which I will get to work on tomorrow afternoon). Today, I was worried I wouldn't even finish my Japanese HW, but Takase-sensei was about 30 mins. late anyway, so I finished it up just in time as the TAs did this replacement for our response drills thing. We wrote all 16 answers down, instead of picking one out of the 16 (from either e, e/supplement, or f; we added g, so we don't have to do it on Monday). I think I did okay... I got some things wrong in my Situational Drills, I know that, but it's better than nothing at all. I have to get my Listening Comprehension done by Monday though, because now the website's back up. :P

Anywhoozle, so I'm trying to get the Camera in Make A Star 5. And after you get past the 45 cm hill, you hang a write, go around the corner for a bit, and head up this ramp-like green fencing. And then you go to the narrow part of the fence in the far right corner, and there's a crow hovering in the air, your Camera (Present) in its feet. All the guides I've read recommend you "dash" to get to it, but every time I do the Charge 'N Roll, NOTHING WORKS! Like, the ball will spin very fast for about 2 seconds, and then it's like slamming on the breaks. It stops right at the tip of the fence, and I can't "shoot out" to catch the present.

HELP!

I'm going to try and play again (between bites of the Chinese takeout I ordered... yum!) and see if being BIGGER helps at all. Maybe if I fall, but I'm at least 1 m, I can catch the present anyway. :P

In other news, looks like I'll be adding a Hall of Fame to 30kisses. What makes that job easy is that so few people have finished claims, so I'll be able to grab most of their finished claims pretty easily. One person already has a made banner; if the other person wants one, I can make it for them. And that'll be the Hall of Fame. :) Whenever more people get close to finishing, I'll probably need more help with the HoF, but that's not the case at the moment.

I've also been adding Memories to betasquad, even though it's not that active at the moment... but as I write more WDKY24 (still need to get some info from guardian_kysra before I'll feel comfortable with this one scene), more will go up. A new member has just joined from the Yu-Gi-Oh fandom, too, so yay to that!

Happy Birthday DQBunny!

Super-Mod. Super-Evil.

It's raining crazy here, and I hate it. Born and raised in NorCal, but I still don't like the rain. Yet, I still like winter more than summer (likely because I hate getting sunburned more than I hate getting wet, even if it hasn't happened in a while... or more obviously, summer is when my sister died, and I hate being reminded), but right now, isn't it Spring? Geez, and we had that heatwave not all that long ago...

So the other day the rec room toilet flooded over mysteriously (as in, no one flushed it or anything), and I didn't figure this out till I came home from somewhere and, on my way to the restroom, I noticed the carpet was awfully wet and spongy. Well, I told Grandpa, since he's the expert plunger-man (I still can't figure out how to work one. And other women think "tires and testicles" give them problems!), but nothing worked. We already had 2 inches of water on the floor. So we had to call a plumber. He went into the main line and got out a clog or somesuch (the upstairs toilets were forcing pressure on the downstairs ones, apparently), but the carpet people never got back to us. So we were stuck putting baking soda on the smelly wet spots, and keeping the windows open and the fan on.

It's still not dry, and Baba and Grandpa have decided to replace the carpet. Better than dealing with mildew in my preferred hang-out room, I suppose. So we'll be saying goodbye to our off-white carpet, and saying hello to something a lot more water-resistant and stain-proof, if that's possible. I wonder what color we'll get?

All the stress today sort of fizzled out 3/4 of the way through my afternoon/evening shift at the walk-in center; I got a reply back from the Snowflake Embryo Adoption Agency, and I can call them back at any time for a more detailed interview (they sent me a press pack). I used Lexis-Nexis for some article digging, and I found out that the couple on 60 Minutes last week or so have actually been in the media for a while, and were even on HGTV! Curiouser and curiouser! Class was important -we learned the structure he wants us to use for our stories- but I was so sleepy! Half the class didn't even show up because of the rain (this is commonplace in SoCal. A "drizzle" equates to a "raging storm" in these parts). I managed to catch the most important parts, and I even managed my "first act" (the first chunk of the story), which needs just a bit more information to be revised. I'm surprised at how easily it came to me! I need to get a new anecdote though, because I can't use a "fake" secondhand one compiled from other articles and interviews!

Anyway, the one  of my day (aside from getting soaking wet, but that's trivial) was when a guy I was helping in the walk-in center pointed to the rather-inflamed zit on my chin and says "What's that, some sort of battle scar?" I think I was in shock for a minute before I tried to laugh it off and say "No, it's just girl problems." The guy persists, and says, "What, you got into a fight?" I wanted to smack him. Not only was he an idiot for putting the wrong MAC address for his wireless card into the system (he put his Bluetooth address, the ninny), but now he's talking to me about my face-- about an obvious zit as if it were some sort of scar, Kenshin-style? *rolls eyes* I think not! I told him "No, it's just a zit," and I promptly turned red and turned away. Jackass! Hence the sulfur-- I decided if it's that damn noticeable, I better up my Proactiv treatment, so I used the sulfur mask tonight. I might even do some dermabrasion before I go to bed. All the stress caused it, I tell you!

I'm going to try and relax more -meditate more, if I can remember. Right now I'm munching on macaroni and sipping a Watermelon Bacardi Silver, so I hope I'll go to bed relaxed. :)

The highlight of my day was when Scott responded to my doleful text message ("Sweet little wet kitty in need of cuddling!") by calling after my Japanese test (I think I did pretty well) and saying he needs to be in LA the weekend of the 10th (Peace Corps stuff), so can he come over? ^_^ Of course! Grandpa was baffled that I even asked permission! :D So I'm glad I'll be seeing him again so soon, and also before we both go on our Spring Breaks. Hopefully he can also come to Passover the weekend after we both get back.

I've finished my work for Women Writers of Asia tomorrow, though I have been putting off my reading for English. Much of what Walt Whitman wrote is just "too heavy" for me to handle! ;_; I keep getting gripped by this fear that I might actually fail a class this year -if not feature writing (JOUR 310), then Major American Writers (ENGL 275). If I fail just one, it'll screwball my plans for a summer 2008 graduation, and I'm pretty dead-set on being OUT of here by then. I don't know where I'll go or what I'll do afterward; much of it hinges on this coming year (Japan or no?) and my senior year (where I get my internship). But I don't want to be held back on account of one class and my fears/procrastinating habits/lack of understanding!

I have until the 15th to send off my 2nd Waseda application; I hope that Hirota-sensei will remember my recommendation tomorrow, and that Prof. Davidson will give me his on Wednesday like he said. I just have to fine-tune my essay (no copy-pasting) and fill out the 2nd (all in Japanese!) application. X_X I also have to get my photo copied at least four more times. -_-; Oh, and somewhere, somehow this week, I have to go back to Kaiser to have them say what I already know -I don't have TB! :P

Other than that, I really need to get on the bandwagon for communities (not a single entry for ygo_offtopicon!? *wails*), my icons, and revising my Ranma fics. Seriously, I was guilty of stuff that I rant about! Fangirl Japanese among the least of my crimes. Reading Neon-Ronin's "The Truth and the Tempest" has reminded me of how much I need to improve, even in the fics department. There is no cutoff! The good can go bad, the best can be forgotten, and you can ALWAYS revise!

So even though I don't plan on staying up late tonight working on any of that, it's on my to-do list. :)

And now I need to find me some Ranma icons. :D I think I need icons for all of my fandoms. I've got Sailormoon, xxxHolic, Star Ocean EX, Hana Yori Dango, Gundam Wing (not really a fandom of mine, but that damn icon always makes me laugh), Final Fantasy X/X-2, Harry Potter, Yu-Gi-Oh, Lois & Clark, and even Escaflowne represented here, but no Full Metal Panic, Ranma, Inuyasha, Full Moon o Sagashite, Fushigi Yuugi, Ayashi no Ceres, etc... so point me at 'em! And don't I still owe someone a mood set? I swear I'll get on that when I have a free second. :P

And now for a 2-question meme whose results are amazingly true:
( I do know how to LJ-CUT, I do, I do! )

I finally managed to clean some junk off the computer; I need to somehow scan my Waseda application to be able to type in it, but short of scanning it to Adobe Acrobat, I don't know what to do. What about Word? I could do it in Photoshop too, but I'd rather not, because it'd take up so much space. Does anyone else have any ideas on what to do when you have a paper copy of something that needs to be typewritten? I can't get a digital copy (as far as I know)...

I tried to scan it before, but I think my Scanner software is being all stupid on me, so I might need to uninstall and reinstall it, along with a security update. But to do that, I had to delete some things-- I think Meteor Garden episode 3 was part of that. So I burned Episodes 1 & 2, but 3's missing, and I have 4-27 now. I also have to burn the HYD J-drama, some leftover Red vs. Blue episodes, Yu-Gi-Oh! (though I might keep Capsule Monsters eps 3 & 4 on my HD so I can upload them to seventh-star.net for anyone that wants them), and... blah, other stuff. I burned some good AMVs-- "The Light You Bring" (Eizou, to the song by Fuel) for Yu-Gi-Oh, "Listen to your Heart" (unknown creator, to the song by DHT) for FFX-2, and Studebunker Studio's "1985" (to the fabulous song by I-can't-remember-who) to Azumanga Daioh. There's a bunch of others. Me loves AMVs. :)

It seems I can't get anything done unless these other things get done first. I have to get Meteor Garden 3 again... though finding the torrent (as I usually don't save them) will be a pain in the neck. ;_; Anyone that has that one episode subbed, I would be much obliged. Then I can download the scant few episodes of Star Ocean EX that I'm missing, because the DVD package is incomplete and ridiculously overpriced, and Soldats did a better job anyway...

I've got so many damn ideas for 30kisses that I started to post one, trashed it (sort of), and saved it as a Private entry so I can edit it later on without ya'll seeing it in its horrific-ness. But on the bright side, if I don't make these all horrendously long, I should actually be able to get most of them done... soonish? I still have to worry about all these scholarships and applications, plus letters of recommendation, work, school work (including getting interviews done for my first news-feature in a week), and everything else.

Just when I thought the stress was over...! This is what I get for having a relaxing weekend. Damn it, I hope I sleep well tonight.

Okay, so I'm downstairs at the ITR walkin right now, putting up with the unfortunately attractive annoyance that is... er, my co-worker. But I'm in a fantastic mood, because:
* I turned in my Presidential Scholarship packet with everything, most of which was done at the last minute
* I gave Dr. Lopez's secretary my Freeman-ASIA form, so she can endorse it by Friday
* I finished my Japanese homework on time
* I ate a decent lunch AND I still have cookies leftover
* My group performed our Japanese skit first, and though I got corrected on two lines, I think we did well-- and better than other groups (though they were funnier-- we had a Spiderman and a Doc Ock, and a NEKO MAN!)
* My interview was much easier than I thought. It was in a small, comfortable room in the involvement center, and I was talking to Prof. Hirota, Dr. Lopez, and one other woman from the CSUN faculty-- that was it. No chancellor, no board of stodgy old men...
* I might be applicable for a $10,000 scholarship from the Japanese government if I get into the SA/Waseda program!
* I took my passport-sized pictures for my Tokiwa application; I'll estimate the dates tonight and get that printed out and turned in tomorrow.

My new shiny, dry-clean only blouse/jacket got completely pwned by a sweat stain as I tromped all over campus (to all the department offices for English, Japanese, and Journalism) and to the post office (to mail my transcript my Priority mail) and then back to the building where my Japanese class was. But it's faded now, and I'll be sure to get it dry cleaned asap. In any case, I'm glad I got this nice new outfit from thar boutique, Cubby, yesterday. I even got a pair of brown corduoy's... o_o If I get an orange plaid shirt, I can be the female clone of Scott! (creeeeppyyy...)

But since I got everything done and I'm in a good mood, feeling accomplished and happy, I bought a pizza. At least this means I'm responsible for my own dinner, even if What's His Face doesn't appreciate it. No one has even noticed my haircut! No one asked why I'm happy! Aw, who cares!? If I can keep this mood up through tomorrow (and score some free chocolate and/or flowers while I'm at it), all the better! I don't need to be some Absolute Boyfriend villainness, trying to steal other girls' boyfriends!

Scott's coming on Thursday night! I'll have PLENTY TO DO! *lecherous grin* Things are looking up! I think I might even write more of WDKY later tonight if I'm in the mood, and if I get an email confirming my payment for my new premodded PS2, things will be EVEN BETTER! :D