MILES to GO || before I sleep

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR ALL THE BIRTHDAY WISHES!!!!!! I was honestly astounded by how many of them I got across LJ, Facebook, and everything. I got calls and E-Cards and real cards and I was just so flabbergasted, so THANK YOU!

I didn't do anything yesterday specifically birthday-ish, especially since it was a regular class day. I did dress up a bit (which meant by 9pm when the meeting ended I was freezing cold), but of course I had to change for my Yoga class. Predictably, on my actual birthday time (1:17 p.m.), I was so relaxed in my class that I wasn't even paying attention to the time! After Yoga, I had to go to work (lunchless, because I'd tried to see my advisor about Fall semester's Journalism classes; she was in a meeting!). Finally, at 5pm, I got a break, so I went to Subway, where everyone very nicely wished me a happy birthday there. Turns out Nobbs Auditorium for the NSLS meeting was already open, so I set up in there. I got everything set up and got to talk to Scott on the phone, and then the meeting got underway!

For once, there were no technical glitches, let alone anything else! To top it off, Romina got me a HUGE cupcake with green and pink and orange frosting (I couldn't possibly finish it in one sitting, but it's not for my lack of trying), so I suppose you could say I had my cake and I ate it too! Sure, it wasn't red velvet, but that's okay-- a fancy cake like that is best served at schmancy settings or big parties, right?

In any case, while I wish I could relax and take it easy for the rest of the semester, it's only going to get busier from here on out. I thought today would be a day of lab time, with one big class project due, but it turns out I do have a wet lab for biology followed by a presentation in my Public Relations class. Good thing people are finally responding to the emails I've been sending about the project; I think we'll be able to get everything put together and ready for later. Plus, today is also Matador Dollar Day, and I wanted to go to check that out... I could probably use the financial advice!

Thursday involves more classes, hopefully advisement for Journalism, and then Friday I've got another dental appointment, work, and then a lifeskills institute course I want to check out. And then, and then.... San Diego this weekend! Huzzah. Hopefully sleeping on my aunt Joyce's couch won't be uncomfortable at all; I think I need the relaxation, even if it is a Big Family Get-Together and normally "relaxation" isn't part of that package. Plus, I should technically be working on all my projects during the weekend, like my sm_fanswap project and WDKY27 and such!

For some reason my left thumb hurts and I don't know why.

 Duel Monsters by Shinkichi Mitsumune from 遊☆戯☆王デュエルモンスターズ・Sound　Duel3 (Rating: 0)

Yay, the "big" 22! It was a surprisingly good day, though not surprising that it was good, just surprising in its own way. Eva and I woke up early to go to the mall and go to the Bath and Body Works event, which was pretty crowded, but we ended up getting a ton of stuff-- Eva got me the majority of the things there, as her birthday present to me. So I walked out with a new fuzzy robe, a bunch of makeup samples, 2 new lip glosses that are super-flavorful, and a wall plug-in that's supposed to smell like Cherry Blossoms (though I finally got it to plug in, I have yet to smell anything).

After that we trolled around the mall a bit more; I ended up returning my Express jeans that I'd bought back in February because despite trying on 6 pairs in various size, cut, and style variations, NONE of them fit "properly." The ones I had were the Curvy W31 in a 2 Regular cut, so I tried a 0 Short Cut, but they were too tight; I tried a 0 Regular; same thing. I tried other styles-- Slim and Regular, in both Flare Leg and Boot Cut, but they all had that "flare" in the back over my butt; it was just less pronounced with the low-rise than it had been with the Regular Rise pants. So I guess I know nothing about jean shopping, because I ended up getting the credit back on my card rather than getting a new pair of pants. *sniff!*

Mom called me right on my birthday, which was funny; after that, I grabbed some Used DVDs (Advent Children, 13 Going on 30 Fun and Flirty Edition, White Noise) from GameStop, a free pair of panties and a new bra from Victoria's Secret, and Bejeweled 2 Deluxe and a screen cleaner for my Mac from the Apple Store.

When we got back to the house, Baba and Grandpa were out, but I found a flower cake (as in, looks like a cake, but made out of flowers) present with balloons from my mom, the thing she'd had sent to me that she mentioned slyly on the phone. At first Eva and I thought it was a real cake, and we didn't know otherwise until we'd taken it out! Baba and Grandpa came home just after that, and I got my card from Baba ($100 present from them) and some nice treats-- a pair of mini-cakes and a super-rich chocolate truffle.

Eventually (after installing Bejeweled and checking some other things), I took a short nap, and then by 5:30, Eva and I left for the Pantages. We arrived by 6:30 or so, but we were hungry, so we walked up a few blocks until we settled on this place called Kung Pao Kitty's. Cheesy name, but a really good atmosphere, a nice staff (one girl looked like Pink!), and DELICIOUS food with very reasonable size portions. I liked it a lot.

After that, we headed to the theatre. Though small (in terms of stage size), the rest of the place was a literal palace. It was so beautiful; I wish I could have taken pictures (and I had my camera, it was just prohibited to take pictures). The show was fantastic-- I only had to step out at one point when I had to go the bathroom, but all in all, I really liked it. The cast was extremely talented, and I really liked the song "Defying Gravity." I was tempted to buy a shirt or the "Grimmerie" memorabilia/behind-the-scenes book, but I only got the soundtrack cast recording, and that makes me happy; that plus the free playbill are enough memories for me. I'm really glad I got to go; for some reason by the end scene, I was really tearing up and thinking how cool it was that I got to go with my best friend Eva. Though I wish Michelle were still around and could have gone to my first musical with me, I feel honored to have friends like Eva and Steph and Katia having stuck by me and being my friend as long as they have. It's really amazing. :)

And I have some pretty amazing online friends too, who are very thoughtful, talented, creative, and super-welcoming-- nekokilala, thank you so much for the birthday balloons on my LJ Profile! (Dorky fact: This year was the first year I got birthday balloons-- both real *AND* virtual. So I'm doubly pleased, because I can show them all off!).

I was especially surprised when Scott kept his promise to call, despite being in Japan (he left a message on my voicemail), and so did Shaina and Brooke, my cousins! I'd told them I was going to see Wicked, but I didn't think they'd call and remember the show, let alone my birthday... but they did, so I think I'll send them a a card or an email. It was super-nice of them. :) I do like being remembered every now and again. ^_~

Anyway, tomorrow Eva and I are going to get together at Jill's for lunch and a mini-birthday party, so I have to get to sleep to wake up on time. All in all, I'd say I had a very happy birthday, and I've had a lot of fun.

I'M GOING TO SEE WICKED ON MY BIRTHDAY!
Squee squee squee! I'm going with Eva. Her ticket is my birthday present to her.
April 14th, - 8pm show at the Pantages... ORCHESTRA seats! I don't know if they'll be left, right, or center, but I'm so thrilled I found tickets! I used TicketLiquidator, which looked reputable... printed out the receipt and all, so *crosses fingers* let's hope for the best. I'm looking forward to it. Yay, my first show! :D :D :D

I do not like Jim Cramer. I just felt like saying "Boo-yah" because there are only 18 days left till my 21st birthday! WHOO! And I'll be in Hawaii sipping Mai Tais~

At the behest of many people, I shall also be starting on "Kaiba the Virgin Sacrifice" soon. It'll start out kind of dark (because it has to), but trust me, it'll get steamy/sexy/sensual enough to "keep your attention." I hope. *impish smile* As I said in my last post, I did work on WDKY24. Alas, it's coming along slower than I intended, if only because I keep thinking I'm writing very dryly, "telling" and not "showing." There are parts when I honestly think it needs to be more emotionally-driven, perhaps with dialogue, and yet I can't think of the right words to say. This is a long chapter already, too: I haven't finished it, and it's already 114KB! Mostly, I have left to write the final duel scene, the conclusion of the chapter (with teasers for the Next Big Arc, coming in Ch. 26), and some bits of Anubis' past, which I hope won't be too confusing/historically inaccurate.

Last night I got up to Cloister 30 in Via Infinitio, and all the Elder Drakes ramming themselves into the walls (migraine, much?) keep scaring me off. I just run past them, avoiding the fight... even though I need to fight one of them to get them into Shinra's Bestiary, and even if it means "fighting" them and running away X amount of times until they oversoul, I still have to face them. ;_; But they SCARE me! Isn't that stupid? I have a bunch of monsters I have yet to oversoul, and the sucky part is, I can't do it without getting all the way through Via Infinitio. That's the only way to get 100% in the game: beat Trema and Paragon. But the reward for doing so is The End garment grid, which lets you Break Damage Limit... which I totally need. Obviously, the problem is, I'd like to Break Damage Limit BEFORE I have to face those guys... otherwise it'll just be me going back and forth, saving and praying I don't get pwned by a Mega Tonberry or whatnot. I need to know what GGs and DSes to equip (plus accessories) so I can level up faster (they're all at 58-60 now) and be confident enough to take some more fiends on. It's been a while since I've played though, but being so close to the ending, I really want to beat the game at 100%! I hate how all the guides make it seem so easy to beat Via Infinitio, though! :P

Happy Birthday Mklutz!

( MK-mama, click here for your crack!wallpaper of conceptual loverliness )

While I'm addressing SMRFFers, kitesareevil (or anyone else for that matter), do you remember what Stormlight's alias for her non-SM works was? I want to say it's got 'Quill' or something in it,  but I can't be sure. HEEEEEEEEELP!

dqbunny, how's it going? ^_^ I just wanted to see if you were busy or whatnot, since there are some Memories that didn't make it in the system yet (some new ones, and some REALLY old ones). >_> I would do it myself, but I'm afraid of screwing up, since there are so many categories, and I wouldn't know what to do (100%) for sure. Help?

janimelee, winterwing3000, and any other interested parties... WDKY24 should be ready for beta'ing in about a week or so. guardian_kysra gave me the historical info I needed tonight, so hopefully I'll have time this weekend to work on the story. Give me about a week to polish everything up and run some things by Kysra (by email, if need be), and then I can have people beta'ing it before it goes live... sometime hopefully before I go on Spring Break, as I will be away from my computer THE ENTIRE TIME I'm in Hawaii. Now how's that for dedication to a cause?

In any case, WDKY24 signifies the end of the Anubis/Pyramid of Light/movie arc, and sets the stage for my FAVORITE upcoming act, plus lots more tension, drama, and of course, STEAM! I'll be dropping bombshells here and there, you just need to know where to look!

I had better go... I need to shower in the morning, deposit my paycheck (apparently Direct Deposit can take more than 2 mos. to process... -_-;) and finish reading "The Binding Vine" by noon. :P But other than that, nothing to do... life is good. :)

Yesterday a funny thing happened-- I was walking back from Subway, after getting a small lunch to eat before my Major American Writers class started. The University Student Union is under construction, so to get from the USU area (with Subway, the Pub, the Matador Involvement Center, the gym, the arcade, the graphic design center, Wells Fargo, and the Digital Photo place), you have to walk past the construction on your right, and the meeting halls on your left. You come out of this outdoor hallway/tunnel thing, facing the new clothing store (Sam's), and the Mercantile Exchange (convenience store). There are some tables with umbrellas out there on the raised patio so people can eat.

This girl and her guy friend/whoever were sitting on the corner table, right near the "hallway" exit, and as I came out, she turned and looked at me and said "Miss-- you're very pretty." I was so baffled and surprised ("was she talking to me?") that I stuttered out an "Oh! Thank you!" and walked into the Merc and bought my daily iced tea. o_o; I wasn't even dressed in anything remotely attractive yesterday; I was wearing my black track pants, my blue and white track jacket, and a long sleeved shirt with a beaded American flag on it. Nothing special. I get more compliments about my purple satin Converse than I do about me, overall as a person.

I guess the fact that someone complimented me out of the blue is what's baffling me, not the fact that said compliment came from a female. But it's nice to know there are OTHER bold girls out there who admire other girls... That is, maybe she was bi? Or hell, maybe she was lesbian (that's what my grandmother thought), but who cares? I appreciated the comment, even if it was startling. And who knows? She might have been playing silly joke, but whatever. It made my day all the more memorable.

(To be honest, I did wear the track pants for a reason-- they make my butt look nice! HAH!)

Oh, and thanks to jacksonslam, I now have a digital version of the picture they used in the Daily Sundial last Friday, of me working in the bookstore. It's in my Pics Gallery under 'school'. If you've never checked it out before, there's also all my delishidoodle icons, banners and assorted stuff for my other comms. (which I need to get working on!), photos from all sorts of events and places, and the occasional helpful thing (backgrounds for your journal/webpages, etc).

I got my FAFSA done and filed, but I just remembered about this mysterious savings bond thing that WaMu mailed to me. I don't have a Savings Bond. But this number (a measly $57ish) would screw up my FAFSA and my taxes (if I file them), because it counts as Interest Income, which I reported as $0! It's not much, but I have to find out from Mom if it's worth it to file, and then I can correct the FAFSA once I find out where this money came from, and if it's even really mine. I need to get all that done ASAP so I can see a FinAid officer and get her siganture on the Freeman-ASIA scholarship, since I want to get all the big, important ones out of the way.

Speaking of big important ones, both guardian_kysra and Scott came through with recommendations for me-- Prof. Hirota told me she got the both of them. Takase-sensei was still reluctant when I asked her (as a LAST resort, because I would like to have a recommendation from a professor in the language of the country where I hope to study!), which kind of upset me-- she has 4 TAs correcting homework for her, so what's the big deal? I know she wrote two recs. for me in the past, but there's $20,000 riding on this! I wish Hirota-sensei would speak to her, but maybe that's just mean...

In any case, Scott forwarded me a copy of what he wrote, and MY GOD, it was so amazing. o_o I'm just bowled over by the kind of things he said about me (and Scott told me he spent over a week getting it all thought out and well-constructed; he did a fabulous job for a guy that likes art more than writing!). I really hope that what he and Kysra said will give me a leg-up.

I'm still waiting on the CCSF transcript-- I ordered it on the 2nd, but I don't think it got mailed out till the 3rd. Still, the postal service works on Saturday, so I'm hoping it got to SF by Saturday night, and to CCSF by Monday morning. They should have processed it within 2-3 days (assuming now isn't still 'peak period') and it would get here today... I hope. I asked my grandparents to call me if it comes in; if not, I will tell Prof. Hirota to hold off on mailing the package without the transcript, because tomorrow is the latest I can wait. It's true I only took one measley (rhymes with Weasley) class (that I aced, because it was elementary Japanese), but it WAS Japanese, not some weird, meaningless class. And when they ask for ALL college transcripts, I take it seriously. CCSF better come through, because I don't want to miss out on $20,000 because of their inefficiency!

Finally, I'm 90% going to go through with this Hawaii for Spring Break thing, even if Mom doesn't come with me. It looks like Passover will probably be in San Diego the week AFTER (unless Fred decides to be weird and change it around; I just hope we don't try to have it at his house again), since Joyce and Sally think that doing it in Northridge would be too stressful for Baba and Grandpa. I suppose they're right, and Joyce's new house IS big enough for everyone (from what I saw; it was under construction when I was there last). I can't think of any better ideas-- I don't want to stay here in Northridge for my birthday, doing nothing. I don't want to go to San Francisco and do what I've done, see what I've seen, even if I could *MAYBE* hang out with some of my friends. I still plan on being back by Friday night or Saturday night, so cutieme4u (even though you won't read this because you're swamped with 6 midterms), I'll still go clubbing with you if you want. Too bad you're going to be out of town for YOUR birthday though, otherwise we should totally do something for YOUR birthday together! ;)

So I'm waiting for mom to find out if we could stay at a Starwood Resort hotel (likely a Sheraton) for a cheaper rate than the travel agency is quoting me for a lower-star hotel. $66 for 4-star as opposed to $88 for a 2-star!? I'm all for it. But that would change the price that the lady at STA Travel quoted me, and I need to go back there soon to make reservations anyway! :O I hope Mom gets back to me soon.

Well, that's really it for now; I've memorized my dialogue for Japanese already (and Takase-sensei's new system leaves it up to chance whether you'll get the hard lines or the easy ones; so far I've got the easy ones, and the guy I was paired with was unprepared!) and am going to polish off the response drills; I've already done my Listening Comprehension, and that's it for the day until work starts at 4pm! I've got my fingers crossed for that transcript, though...

My friends still in the "badlands" of ROTC went to their spring encampment in Camp Parks this spring break. It's in Dublin, CA, which is even more notorious for rain and fog than San Francisco. Makes you wonder what the military was thinking when they put a base there, ne?
Anyway, so I'm all miserable before hand, thinking... man, all my friends are going to be gone for four days... I'm all alone...

On Friday (the day that started Spring Break and the day after they left for Dublin) I was dying my hair the first time around, and I was phenomenally late to the anime Screening. But when I got there, it was pouring rain, so I walked out with the guys (including his truly, the baka I seem to still like on some proto-cellular level) and went to Mickey D's... even though I'd been there myself earlier, and lost my appetite somehow and didn't even finish one of my two burgers or my super-bland fries (what have they done to my McD's fries!?). So I got a ride home, and the sense of humor was hovering above PATHETIC, so... yeah. But at least aforementioned guy seemed to like my dye-job, which was in two cute pigtails, courtesy of my soph friend who did the job in the first place... even though my roots were lighter than the rest of my hair >_<

But the friend from another high school that had thus showed up (even when I was mad at him) to the screenings was at camp, and when he finally IMs me a week later, it turns out he stood IN THE RAIN for an hour and a half and he got me a gift... ;_; Now he's got the flu. What's more, I was regretting not going (can you hear it coming? Here it is...) BUT a goose flew into the power generator, turned into roast goose, and blew the power to the entire base, so everyone spent all night taking attendance, rather than partying for the brigade dance! (Insert Nelson (r) Simpson laugh) Hah-hah! I felt kinda bad for my friend who was quarantined through this, and I'm still tripping about this gift he was so careful not to break... Aaah, I'm not sure if I'm looking forward to Friday or what.

Each culture has an age, a time when children pass from adolescence into adulthood, from children into those with more responsibility. Some cultures don't celebrate, others throw festive parties that last days and nights.

Two things: one, I don't really belong to a culture. I'm flat out white (as Casper) and don't have a set religion. I've long since passed my opportunity to be Bat Mitzvahed, because I consider myself slightly Jewish. However, I barely know any Hebrew, so even if I were to get Bat Mitzvahed, it'd be another few years. Hardly worth it. Plus, my mom's not Jewish, so technically, it wouldn't count.

In any case, by all "American" standards, 16 is THAT age. Hear me screaming at the top of my lungs: "Oh joy." As if I could care less. I don't plan on ever driving, and that's what 16 really does for people: they get their driver's license. So... ?

Here's the deal: my birthday is, for once, on a weekend. Yay! 16 is supposed to be somewhat of a big deal, right? I mean, even though you're officially a TEEN at age 13, once you're 16, you're THE age. The age where you are considered legal for marriage in several countries, the age when guys stop looking so... (no offense, guys) weird and dumb, and when freedom is only a year and a half away.

Here's my major dilemma: I'm turning 16, and all my birthdays have ended up bad. Bad, weird, spoiled, anything along those lines. I didn't want to have a party this year, so for a "celebration" I'm going to this convention (costs a pretty penny) a few weeks before the big day. The week before my birthday, I'm going to Camp Parks, which, for the sake of time and my lack of want to talk about it, is something like a boot camp. Then, if all goes well, on my birthday, I'm road-tripping to Los Angeles to see my grandparents. Now, what I'm worried about is that even though I'm older now, I'll still be treated like the baby ('scuse me for not being rich and raised in Southern California!!) and no matter what my family THINKS they know, they'll never actually THINK of me if and when they get me something.

So I figured it'd be easier if I just said, "Naw, I don't wanna go shopping, I'd rather get gift certificates or cash." Really, I would. Like flooz, borders bucks, amazon gift certificates, or just plain moola to help me pay of several debts I have. I hate having debts. I need more shirts (which is what my cousins always get me, if not Bath and Body stuff) like I need an seventh hole in my head (eyes, ears, nose, mouth), so you can see why I'm being so blunt. But then, is it really nice to tell someone that you'd rather NOT have them get you something? Especially if they have ANY excuse to go shopping?

I mean, if they did get me something, I'd like it to be something I needed (shock!) or something cool (namely Japanese anime). Unfortunately, my dad is pretty much anti-anime, and is unwilling to accept the fact that people over 12 like Japanese culture. He would do anything that would let me make money for him, but not anything to enjoy myself. Like videos, art books, or manga. *sigh* Well, I hope I can just grin and bear it, because my year is so plotted out for me...

"I can hardly wait."