MILES to GO || before I sleep

Legend has it that among us, there are those humans gifted with incredible ability. For some, it is the power to make a killer comeback after a lousy period of being slammed with hurricanes, floods, storms, and FEMA excuses. For others, it is the intangible spirit of hope and faith in one's home, that no matter how ravaged it may be, it is still the one place he or she wants to be at the end of the day. And there are those who are all this and more: able to see beauty in words, to craft emotion from mere letters, capable of penning the most incredible fanart on either side of the Mississippi!

guardian_kysra, by now you should know I'm talking about YOU!

I got my fanart donation from the Help Haiti fandom auction today, and HOT SAUCE is it awesome! Kysra has awesomesauce in her veins, among all those other wonderful things above. I'd show it to you, but it's up to her first and foremost, and even then, I'm kind of tired of her awesome stuff getting swiped without credit and plastered all over the 'Net, even though the 'Net IS about collaboration and sharing, especially where all things wonderfully Azureshipping are concerned. I'm a firm believer in "give credit where credit's due," so said fanart will be my personal Reason to Squee #465 for now.

In case you weren't somehow already aware, the fanart is of That Scene in "The Joke's On You," my first-ever multi-chapter Seto x Téa fic, and probably one of my first attempts at something akin to dirty humor. The fic itself is still on the backburner because I never could make up my mind about how to keep it funny or whether people would hate me if it got all dramatic (considering it DOES take place during the Battle City arc of "Yu-Gi-Oh!"), but I'm sure if I stare at this artwork long enough (and you know I will), I might just get inspired to write (it) again, or at least write something.

I am going to frame it, when I have the time and the money.

Speaking of money, later today (because officially it IS Wednesday) I have my live interview about video games from a research group. I managed to clean up the dining room pretty well (many boxes have been relocated to the living room/my room or hidden under the table), though there are still piles of book boxes on one side and empty boxes near the door on the other. I suppose I could break some of them down and put them in the living room or in the recycling.... Anyway, I'm kind of looking forward to this! I don't really know what they'll ask me or what my answers will be used for.

I actually got a lot done: first I went to the DeVry in Daly City, which, despite being very close to the Daly City BART, was annoyingly hard to find once I got there. I went around the building, up some stairs, past the park, around the building again...and then back the way I came, around the building the other way, where the entrance was small and only marked with a white sign. The bad news is, apparently they don't offer the Multimedia Design and Development program like the site (and TV commercials) advertise. Grr. But at least they can help me get set up with other classes, hopefully, even if they're online and I can finish this degree up sooner, maybe get some more units from CSUN transferred over. I have an appointment Friday since they were so slammed today.

Then came the fetching of the fanart at the post office (which smelled like oatmeal). That at least went quickly because about five minutes after I got in line, someone shouted for pickups and three people (including myself) skipped the line and got our stuff pretty quick. Yay!

I went to Japantown and met with staplerx, lilddrpinay2003, vermilionone, and pockyken. I'd gotten Subway near the DeVry campus so I didn't join them for actual food from Tommy's Joynt, but I did drool longingly at the delicious-looking meat and potato salad and desserts. We headed to the infamous GameStop on Powell, where oddly they were very helpful and even greeted me, but I'm still suspicious of the place and think I should try going on there on my own again, instead of with a group (which is half male) from the get-go. After that, we headed through Chinatown to meet ohsupervinchan at the very-cool Russian Hill Bookstore (which actually sells The Settler of Catan and other cool board games! DO WANT!) and snack on some rice pudding at the nearby Loving Cup. An actual cafe devoted to RICE PUDDING.

Even when I think about how much I wanted to leave S.F. after high school, it's little things like these that reminds me of how awesome it is to be here, and how privileged I am to call it my hometown.

Vince had to head back to work, so we took the 45 again to Lombard, where we went to this bar/restaurant called La Barca for a trivia night. We sucked (the questions were clearly not geared toward anyone from my generation, at least), but it was mostly fun. I'd like to go again after I've "studied" more of my random facts. Maybe I need to play more Trivial Pursuit and Jeopardy?

Final happy thought: I finished the Hi My Sweetheart fanlisting, Extravagant Sky. All I have to do is make some more codes before I'll officially announce its opening to the folks at TheFanlistings.org and the fans over at D-Addicts, but if you have a sec, check it out and tell me what you think! I designed the layout myself. :)

So, I'm chilling here at SFO (San Francisco International Airport, for those that don't speak airport code). I shelled out $7.99 for a T-Mobile Hotspot Day Pass, because even though I don't visit airports (or Starbucks, or even Borders) quite often enough to get a Hotspot account/shell out $40 a month, sitting here for 3 hours nursing a Coca-Cola and reading the August issue of Wired just doesn't cut it for me. I need to be connected, which is kind of sad. I sort of miss my childhood. :P

( Tech jargon )

( More win and OSM )

I'm actually somewhat looking forward to going home, if just to sleep on my own bed (though the AeroBed Mom got was pretty damn comfortable, no matter what Eva said about it being too soft) and have steady Wi-Fi in all my usual haunts. Also, MAIL! And money. And work for a week, until I have to get my butt to DC. And in-between all that, family visits and the Orange County Fair. Should be fun.

Meanwhile, Michael Jackson's "Beat It" is stuck in my head, along with a plotbunny for a multichapter Sailor Moon fic I meant to write for sm_monthly and never got around to. I mean really, ANOTHER multichapter? I wish I could churn stuff out as fast as moodwriter, with her "Hate, Prejudice and Secret Intentions" (I think I got that title right) Dramione fic that I've been reading lately. Good stuff! I've also got to catch up on Stargirl's "Tsuki no Namida," an AR of the Silver Millennium, since the latest chapter is up for critiquing on one of the_circlet communities. I'm not a big fan of walking into a long-ish multi-chapter fic blind, so I'll start with the beginning and go from there. So far, it's got an interesting premise but some grammar issues that irk me. But hey, SAILOR MOON FIC. I ought to get writing!

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY an_ardent_rain!!

Happy almost-birthday (and if I don't say something about it now I might forget), crpsaiyan!

And now back to your regularly-scheduled LiveJournal (or whatever).

Well, spring break has at last come to a close. It went fast, but at least it was fun and relaxing. It certainly was nice sleeping in till around 10:30 a.m. every day; tomorrow my "waking up at 6:30 a.m." routine begins anew. Oh, and also my habit of going to the Arbor Grill for occasional morning breakfasts; I'm looking forward to enjoying a breakfast burrito again after a week of waffles, cereal, and toast.

I didn't post during spring break even though I had the time; it was more like my thoughts were pretty scattered and I tried to be out as much as possible-- or at least doing stuff.

I went to Opening Night for the Giants at AT&T Park with Steph, Kathryn, Nora, and a guy named Melvin who was only there for a blip of time, it seemed. I shouted myself hoarse and then ended up sick as a result-- I've got awful congestion, a dry nose (ow) and an occasional cough, but I hope to be better by my birthday. I'm being smart about what I'm eating and drinking, and that, of course, includes medicines to help me get over this.

I also got to see Evie, Eva, Crystal, and (surprise surprise!) Louie (from high school) again at our Chevy's night. As is my luck, I got a certificate from Chevy's THE DAY AFTER for a free entree. Isn't that always how it works? Whatever "it" is? Well, maybe I'll go this weekend in San Diego: the closest Tex-Mex to the border when the border is more or less off-limits!

Oh, oh, oh! I also got the real "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" (a.k.a. Furyo, which translates to "Prisoner of War") soundtrack, which I think is beautiful, so even though I don't like Utada's sophomore U.S. album (not counting her days as Cubic U, of course), I applaud her for indirectly introducing me to another composer and his music (Ryuichi Sakamoto). I actually like the title track of the movie (which is what Utada sampled from) a lot more than this song... sorry Utada! Although I am curious if the vocal version, "Forbidden Colours" is the same "Forbidden Colours" that is a special bonus on one of Sarah Brightman's Canadian albums. If it is, it'll be interesting to see how she redid it; I didn't like the vocal version too much, but maybe that has to do with the kind of "spacey" quality it had as a song.

( Read more... )

I'm really craving a red velvet cupcake for my birthday. I wonder if any bakeries around here have them?


 This One (Crying Like a Child) by Utada from This Is the One (Rating: 0)

*singsong voice* Oh an_ardent_rain....! Your fic is here!

Miss Scrooge
A Yu-Gi-Oh! HOLIDAY Fanfiction
By Azurite

"Prompt: "the joy of giving", Seto x Anzu

Summary: Domino High has modern-day Scrooge in it, but it's not Seto Kaiba.

Oneshot, complete.

...Even if you take out the blather I always put at the beginning and the end of the fic, it's still 10,232 words! WTF!? I think writing short stuff is impossible for me. Budget your time for reading accordingly, I say!

Anyway, it's hosted on FFnet (and will be up on the other places like MMorg, Dragonfayth, and FicWad soon), so please leave a review there if you read the story!

Thanks for this fun challenge, ILB-- I hope you like the story!

 Crossover Interlude by Utada from Exodus (Rating: 0)

I'm typing this on steph's iPhone. So not much to say now except I want one! Not on the AT&T network though. I'd rather wait for that partnership to end if it ever does. ILB, I'm still working on your fic. I'll try and get it (and Scrib's prologue to AoA, too) by new year's eve. It's all planned out but I don't like the prose I wrote so far. What is my "style" I wonder?

schmollieollie, you MUST READ THIS. And this too, though it might not make 100% sense if you don't know Supernatural. (I don't, but it was still LOL-worthy.)

Also, pictures from Alcatraz. Only a few with actual PEOPLE in it, but for people who've never been (which shockingly includes my mom, who's been in S.F. since 1982), it might be cool to take a look at the real "Rock," versus what you see in the movies. Since it only took me 24 hours to get the pics up, come on ladies (cutieme4u, schmollieollie, katiat325, get yer pics up)! Last time I was at Alcatraz... oh, several years ago, at least. I know I went when I was in elementary school, because one of my teachers also part-timed as a park ranger, and we got to go to all the closed-off areas. It's actually worth the cost of the cruise to check out the island-- it has an amazingly rich history.

You Are a Gingerbread House

A little spicy and a little sweet, anyone would like to be lost in the woods with you.

I want to participate in a holiday challenge. Is yuugiouxmasfic still around? If not, anyone want to do a holiday challenge of some kind? I'm up for almost anything...

( Three birthdays in one! )

Anyway, I've got school work that I've been procrastinating on to do, so... off I go!

So, continuing on my old school gaming trend, I found out about ScummVM (a Mac OSX program that lets you play certain old-school games natively with almost zero hassle) today and tried to play the ancient Windows CD-ROM "Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis." I actually got farther than I ever remember getting before, and it's quite fun. Even better, there are walkthroughs online for this antiquity of a game (because it has THAT much replay value!) so I can guide Indy to the treasure with no muss and no fuss! :P

I want to find the other games ScummVM supports, namely "Day of the Tentacle" (one of my favorite games when I was, oh, 8 or 9) and "Sam and Max Hit The Road" (you sunk my battleship!). I think those might be (for some bizarre reason) in Northridge rather than here in S.F.; I've gone through all of the old CD cases here that I can find and those two CDs are suspiciously absent from all the other old games and other Windows-era ilk.

What's tragic: I remember playing The Lemmings (little green-haired people jump off cliffs if you don't give them something "better" to do) and Spin Doctor (the one with the wand and the dots) on a really old Mac back at Claire Lillienthal (this was my old after school program AGES and AGES ago), and I loved those games! Is there any way to play THOSE on a Mac? Nooooo, not if you've got Leopard. Classic environment (aka OS 9) is not supported in any size, shape, or form. There's not even an emulator, like Doom95 has with PrBoom! What gives, Apple!? I want my old school games! Screw Chess and Minesweeper! (Not that those are on here either, but still.)

Anyway, a new, shiny idea (a.k.a. new school): going to the Macworld Expo. It just hit me last night that I'm actually going to be in town for it this year, unlike the past two years (when I've been a Mac user). So even though it's past Early Bird pricing, I think I'm going to go for it. Do I technically have the money? No, but I'm hoping to get a usable priority code that'll at least discount some money off the otherwise $290 pricetag (which is the Users Conference plus the Macworld BLAST! party. Sure, the party is totally optional, but why NOT schmooze and drink with fellow Mac users?). In the past two years, shoddy programming on the IDG Expo planners' parts had people scoring FREE $1695 Platinum passes (which includes EVERYTHING including Steve Jobs and daily lunch, though not simultaneously), but there's been no word on any such "holes" in this year's site. That's GREAT for the Expo, but sucky for those of us who are broke and would still love to attend. If it weren't for my experience with cons of this sort having BOATLOADS of awesome swag, I'd say the price (close to what I've paid for honor society cons, which are supposed to be all PRIVILEGED and stuff) is outrageous.

Of course, if anyone hears anything about passes with other organizations or free passes somehow, DO let me know... *wiggles eyebrows* My plan at this point is to earn entry via computer work for Gary. Somehow.

Oh, ONE MORE THING!

I have $2 in LiveJournal credit. Who wants a present? (Let it be known that I totally thought of obabscribbler and kitesareevil first, 'cause hey, your guys' birthdays are coming up, but unfortunately Scribbler, you don't have a paid account, and Stef, your paid account is expiring before the 2 months of userpics would. And much as I hate to say it, I can't tack on a paid account because I am desperately broke. Like, Desperate Housewives-level desperate, except I'm a Desperate College Student. So get yourselves paid account time and I'll give you userpics or something!) It is only $2, which I know is über-pathetic, but I didn't even know I had ANY until tonight when I randomly decided to investigate just why I suddenly have 195 userpics. I don't even LIKE 195 userpics enough to upload that many! So yeah, in need of some more icons, plz! (Apparently they come from the Loyalty Userpics program.)

Whoo-hoo! I finished my five quizzes for Environmental Geology (chapters 7, 8, 10, 11, 12 and 13) and my Exam (cumulative for all of those chapters) and I KICKED ASS! I got As or Bs on all of the quizzes, and an A or A- on my exam (I got a 96%, that's an A or A-, right?). Last exam, I missed 6 questions, this time, I only missed 3! :) :)

But the fun never ends, oh no. I still have a biology quiz due tomorrow morning at 10am, my flood insurance rate map assignment due for geology tomorrow night (but I want to get it in earlier so I'm not thinking about it when I'm out with the gals... STALKING RPATTZ! I am kidding. Sort of. More on that later.), and a paper on war (or something like that) for my gender and women's studies class.

So yeah, no shortage of school work here. But I seem to perform best under pressure, so, armed with some delicious Green Tea flavored with honey and ginseng (iced, of course) and some freshly made fudge walnut brownies I SHALL EMBARK UPON THE NOBLE QUEST OF EDUCATION!

And caps-lock of rage, too. Except it's not rage, it's something completely different and bizarre.

This month is just non-stop. Aside from already having missed my deadline for my environmental lifestyle audit for my Recreation and Tourism Management class, I've also failed to update WDKY26 within one year. *hangdog face* I'm quite ashamed, but seriously, looking at all this school work and all the drama I've had in the past year, does it surprise anyone? I'll get that damn thing done... if it kills me. HA HA I MADE A FUNNY! -_-

Coming up: thinking about getting the new T-Mobile G1, since my contract with T-Mobile is just about up, I think, and I'm due for an upgrade. Plus, I wanna get my PSP. Of course, both of those involve spending money I DO NOT HAVE but... minor detail, seriously. Also: possible Bangra dancing on the 15th, Thanksgiving coming up (Dad is mysteriously and suddenly okay with me having a room of my own at the Hilton we're staying at in San Diego. I wonder what he did? He won't tell me), HOPEFULLY a new baby cousin (Brooke said last night there's no baby yet, which means she's kinda overdue at this point afaik) and Scott (and his twin brother Ryan)'s 29th birthday! Whew. Oh, and then Alcatraz in early December, because WHY NOT!? :D

Don't get me started on all those other personal projects I've got lined up, like getting my stuff on Fanworks Finder, working on Epiphany, changing the layout for BEA and the Secret Society Girl fanlistings, adding my stuff to AnimeXX, working on the RPGClassics Star Ocean 3 shrine, fixing my laptop iTunes library, working on all my fics, and, and, and...! I've probably forgotten a few. My brain feels like it might "asplode." But I guess that's better than FURSPLODE! Ha, ha.

Oh, I'm going to love it when this semester is over. Only two more to go. And then what? I have no freakin' clue, but I imagine at least a little bit of relief will be involved. Even if I love learning.

So I went shopping yesterday and today-- yesterday to pre-sale some lipstick and lipgloss before the big Clinique event TODAY, during which I got a new silver makeup bag, a cute green-srippy wristlet, some new lipstick, a compact with bronzer, eye shadow, and blush; a full-size High Impact mascara (though High Definition is my favorite, I will state here and now for the record: Clinique's mascara tops Chanel's ANY DAY OF THE WEEK), a clarifying "lotion" (aka toner), and a moisturizer lotion (that I gave to mom 'cause it's not for my skin type).

( Girly stuff )

I also pre-ordered (FINALLY!) Star Ocean: First Departure, aka the first ever Star Ocean game FINALLY translated and brought to Western shores-- huzzah! But I'll need to buy a PSP. Here's where you come in:
1. Are PSPs region-free?
2. Where's the best place to buy a PSP? (A new edition is coming out later this month, so I'd prefer a new one with the better screen than just a shiny, cool-color one from some random online store)
No commentary on why the PSP resembles a Beyblade shooter or something, okay? The re-released SO games aren't going to BE on any other system, and I'm an RPG/specific title fan anyway-- so it's for those dedicated titles that I will shell out my hard-earned cash. It's been my long-awaited present to myself, so no trying to convince me not to get it!

And more:
* Saw "Body of Lies" the other night with Steph and her friends, Katherine and... er, I forgot Katherine's sister's name (sorry!). The movie was okay, but I got awful heartburn maybe 3/4 of the way through. It's not the kind of movie where you can really walk out and expect to understand anything when you come back.

* Ran into Jimbo and Christal on the 38 last night on the way back from my spree; we went out for Japanese (THANKS, CHRISTAL!) and crepes (mmmm!) and I might have a winter job as a result-- hush-hush!

* Apparently the "complete" iTunes library I thought I've been using for months is not so complete. When I went to look for my holiday music, I was coming up blank. A search of music with Christmas as my keyword (for title, album, or genre, as those are usually the top ones to return results) came up with nothing-- until I located it oddly in my Laptop iTunes Music folder, but NOT on my external hard drive's folder. I was under the impression that while my external drive was connected, iTunes defaulted to the library whose files it contained. Now, the library itself is still located on the laptop (I think because that's a requirement of iTunes), but the music folders are what are on the external drive.

The way I wanted it to be was:
-external HD: contains ALLLLL music, all playlists, everything. The one in use whenever I'm at a desk and plugged in, and the one that new songs are added to. Also the one that my iPod is synched to.

-laptop: contains a select few playlists, none of the "biggies" like my OCRemix collection, holiday albums, etc. Just some of the good, addictive stuff. Used for when I'm on the go and don't have my iPod.

So now I'm all confused and trying to import everything in the hopes I'm somehow doing it right and not super-duper duplicating my whole library. I might need to go to the Apple Store again (I went yesterday and nearly went broke buying a new battery, a new case --which is SO stuck on the laptop it's amazing I popped it off this morning without breaking a nail-- and getting my ProCare account fixed) and have them help me with this mess. Of course, I'd have to bring my external HD to get it done... -_-; *sigh*

Then, the question is, does the iTunes library EVER open to a certain one by default? Or would I consistently have to hold down Option when clicking on the icon in order to choose the "right" library depending on my circumstances? Should I put the library file for the external ON the external? And is there a program that either automatically chooses the right library file, or one that pops up whenever I open iTunes, negating the need for me to remember to do a keystroke?

Also, since there's been absolute mayhem where connectivity at Mom's house is concerned, it's been very touch-and-go with all things Internet; first my Mac would connect to the 'Net sometimes, and then sometimes not. Today it's been pretty good so far, through a few restarts and shut-downs. But with one good thing come a few bad things: the iTunes mess mentioned above, along with a sudden lack of printing capability. I used to be able to print wirelessly to Gary's printer all the way in the sunroom (in fact, it worked just fine yesterday before we changed all the damn wireless settings), but now I can't.

Before I deleted the malfunctioning printer from my Printer & Fax pane, I noted the address started with mds:// NOT with lpd:// (Line Printer Daemon), ipp:// (Internet Printing Protocol), or anything else. I tried adding the printer manually by entering in the IP address using the HP AiO Fax and HP IP Printing, but nothing works. The printer also no longer shows up in the Defaults pane as "Bonjour" kind (I think that's where the mds:// address comes from), though it did before, however long ago that was. I don't think it's a matter of DISTANCE, since, like I said, I was able to print from here in the living room to there in the sunroom just fine yesterday. The printer's been updated with the new wireless settings too, so...

Well, it's not THAT important. It's just annoying, above all else, and I don't have much patience. That's something I need to work on-- finding patience without procrastinating.

So, weird dream this morning. I dreamed I was at some sort of (anime) con in a hotel, that, for some reason, I knew was in Anaheim, even though it never resembled any hotel I'd ever been in while in Anaheim, and was supposedly connected to the Anaheim Convention Center (which has no hotels directly attached to it, as far as I remember), and looked nothing LIKE the Anaheim Convention Center. For some reason, azhp and I were being chased by a dangerous guy with a bean-shaped head. I remember seeing Bean Guy carrying around a DDR Dance Pad (you know, one of the cheap foam ones that comes with the game when you buy it in the huge box). I think he was mad at us for some reason and thought we stole something, but we didn't, but explaining anything didn't work, because this guy was an ANGRY OTAKU! And we ended up running in this very weird segment of the hotel where it was all concrete and swinging doors with no handles, and some of the halls resembled the shape of hotel hallways, but none of the rooms were numbered and some of the "doors" were locked, even though they were all swinging doors, like I said. We just kept running and running up and down endless staircases. All the floors were gray concrete and all the swinging doors were painted this raspberry-maroon color.

...Very strange. I woke up before I found out if the guy caught us or if he got caught by someone else.

And then I watched a bit of CSI: Miami last night and part of a really bad episode of Season 5 of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (aka CSI: Las Vegas) and started thinking, what would the cast members of Yu-Gi-Oh! be, if they were part of a CSI team? Some of them fit obvious stereotypes: Weevil would be the bug guy-- the entomologist (a'la Grissom). I can see Rex Raptor being a paleontologist who drops by for one particular case involving dinosaur bones, and he and Weevil are still growling at each other, 20+ years later. Yugi could be similar, an archaeologist and professor at the local university who drops in when there's a mysterious mummy found....

But what about the others? I could probably class the others by character stereotype; Joey would be Nick, Téa would be Sara (but eew, Téa/Weevil!?)... Mai could be Sophia, Lady Heather, or even Catherine (but I don't see her with a daughter. Blood-splatter analyst, sure. Daughter, Mai? Not so much). Tristan could be Bobby, the ballistics guy.

...These are all CSI:LV characters, mind you. I don't even remember everyone else's specialties on the team. So, if the cast members of Yu-Gi-Oh! replaced the cast members of any given CSI show, who would they be? Or, if you did it by role (e.g. Weevil likes bugs, Grissom's an entomologist, Weevil'd be an entomologist), what would be their specialty? Maybe Téa'd be the staff psychologist? *grin*

Ugh, I have biology reading to do and I obviously can't concentrate.

I think I'm a day or two early, but it never hurts to be the early bird, right? But in this case, Sandy (aka guardian_kysra, assuming Real Life hasn't eaten your soul/time on LJ), the worm goes to you.

WORM:

A ficlet of your prompting
OR
An image of your description (icon, banner, etc.)

So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYSRA! May your day be a kick-ass one. :)

Me, I'm horny don't you know, my love I want you so...
At least, that's how "Rapture" by iio sounded to me, until I bothered to check the lyrics. :P My mom has this book of misheard lyrics called "'Scuse me while I kiss this guy" (the real lyrics are 'Scuse me while I kiss the sky"). Pretty funny read.

Anyway, I'd say right now, I'm about... oh, 98% done with my packing for Disney? If you don't know, I'm "moving to Disneyland" in two days-- on Monday morning (EARLY Monday morning). I'm actually moving to the dorms/apartments nearby, because I will be working there until about 3 January.

I won't be dressed up as a character; in fact, all I know about my role at the moment is that I'll be a "Store Operations Cast Member," which means I'll be selling something somewhere in the park.

Packing is a pain. On the one hand, I am moving my whole life for about 7 months. On the other hand, two humongous suitcases plus my wheeling bag seems a bit much... o_o Originally, I was going to try and cram all my clothes into my smaller suitcase, but that just can't happen. Clothes for 7 months do not fit in a weekend-sized suitcase. So I'm leaving that suitcase, packed and ready to go for Shaina's wedding on Memorial Day weekend. I'm going to try and come back here to Northridge from Anaheim via Amtrak on Friday night so I can take the shuttle to the airport with Baba and Grandpa.

The idea is that I'll visit them often enough so that when it starts to get cold, I can trade out my "summer" clothes for winter ones, thereby saving me the trouble of trying to cram three seasons' worth of clothes into one suitcase (no matter how large). The only problem is, Disney's got a "Look" which is essentially "winter" in feeling: all collared, short or long-sleeved blouses (and most of my collared blouses are long-sleeved), non-denim pants, no leggings/shorts, skirts or pantsuits, and NO t-shirts, tanktops, sundresses, etc. Goodbye, summer wardrobe!

Hopefully I'll be working indoors, where it's air conditioned, so things like jackets or long sleeves won't bother me so much. I get that I'm supposed to look professional, but it's tough when you're sweating like a stuck pig in the sort of heat we get here in SoCal. (And this is when someone from Arizona reads this line and rolls their eyes. Go on, do it.)

I went to the mall today to pick up a few things, since I had gift cards to all these stores... Plus, I got some gifts for the ChixFlix blog gals (one of them is Margeaux, who recently had her birthday, so I got her something a bit bigger), the latest Shojo Beat (I really should just subscribe already), and a bunch of hair accessories from Claire's. One of them is the Hairagami, which I cannot figure out for the life of me. It works like those old snap bracelets from elementary school. I managed to get it twisted in my hair somehow, but either my hair's too short, too layered, or I'm just too stupid to figure out how to get it to work. :P

It's hot and I'm hungry... and I already finished the last of the milk! AAAAH!

A short while ago, I posted an entry basically venting about how a get-together with my friend Rochelle hadn't gone as I intended, and, a few days after the fact, Rochelle called me and basically "put me in my place," as it were. I had acted immaturely, but hadn't wanted to acknowledge it, let alone apologize to all the people I was with (that had been so generous and, for the most part, courteous to me).

After being "lectured," I was so upset that I just got off the phone with Rochelle and went right to my laptop to write. I didn't hop on LJ with the intention of "smack-talking" one of my friends, because I'm not the sort of person that does that. I went on LJ with the same intent I always do (when it comes to posting on my own personal journal): venting, expressing MYSELF, and putting my thoughts into coherent sentences. As a writer, I often find it easier to think as I'm typing, because when I try to just think, or when I try to think and talk (and I don't mean always, just in difficult situations), the words come out wrong. At least with typing, I can go back and edit, go back and look later, or simply find a new way of saying something that wasn't "right" in my head.

What I hope happened was that Rochelle and her friends happened to be at a mutual friend (of Rochelle's and mine)'s house, went on her computer, and said mutual friend happened to be logged onto LJ. I don't know if the page was open already or what, but long-story short, Rochelle saw my Friends-Locked entry that had included me "venting" about all this. Said entry is going to STAY friends-locked, not because I want to exclude people, but because that's how it was meant to be originally, and that's how it's going to stay. Suffice it to say, I was both complaining about the situation and being self-deprecating, which I hate. I don't like knocking down my own self-esteem, but I do it, especially after a friend puts me in my place. I also don't like apologizing for things I don't genuinely feel sorry for, but sometimes it does take a good verbal smack-down before someone can realize they did something stupid to be sorry for. That was the case with Rochelle, so when I realized how much I'd upset her and her friends (and mom), I genuinely was sorry.

What I was not sorry for (at the time) was posting the entry after I got off the phone, because I've always felt that my LJ is my space-- a place where I can write about whatever I want (and WHOever), whenever I want. I don't write "for an audience," because this isn't a blog out to make money or become famous. It's just my personal journal. I don't always lock every entry or make every entry private because I do welcome feedback, whether it's advice, complaints, compliments, or whatever. It's another way of staying in contact with friends, too.

Now, I realize not everyone is computer-inclined, and assuming that LJ by itself is a good way of keeping in touch with my friends (venting on LJ the way I would vent to my friends, if I were still up in San Francisco) is not good. I plan on changing that, and if I have a problem with someone (friend or otherwise), I'm going to try and bring it up with them FIRST, before going on LJ about it. I'm going to try and call my friends more often, because if I can't see them in person, hearing their voice (intonations) is a heck of a lot better than trying to figure something out from someone's "current mood" or smiley faces.

I can't change the fact that I posted the entry, that I neglected to tell Rochelle these things right after she called me, days later, or even a week later. Fact was, I had no reason to think she'd see it-- I had LOCKED it, after all. I know she doesn't have an LJ, isn't on Facebook, and rarely uses the computer to begin with. My preferred mode of communication is not hers, but we've managed to ay friends otherwise. What I didn't realize was, we had mutual friends, who would, of course, have reason to be concerned about some of the things I had said in there, and want to get Rochelle's side. That's perfectly reasonable.

Part of me is having a hard time reconciling the fact that I have a Friends List for a reason. To paraphrase Yuna from Final Fantasy X, "I have only as many friends as people I can trust." I've always thought I could trust the people I genuinely call my friends, whether I know them just online or online and in "real life." Trust, for me, means not taking something I put up in a clearly-locked post and showing it to someone not on the friend's list, whether they're mentioned in said LJ post or not. The thing is, I don't know if that's what happened at all, and it's entirely possible that Rochelle and Co. just stumbled on the post by accident. I'd love to believe that, but while the possibility still exists of it being the other way, I feel like there are people I have called friends that I can't trust.

While I'm guilty of not going to Rochelle and Co. about how I felt, this person is guilty of not coming to me directly and voicing their concerns. Instead, it feels like this person went behind my back (all cloak and dagger-like? BTW, despite the whole anonymity, it didn't take me too long to figure out who it is. If you care to comment on this entry, feel free, or get ahold of me another way) and turned me into the villain of this whole scenario. There is no villain in this. Everyone messed up somehow, and everyone's a victim. I'm not trying to shunt the blame for the Stupid Thing I did, though, I'm just saying I didn't do anything with malicious intent, feel bad for what I did do that, now in retrospect, was pretty stupid, and want to move past it, and not keep dragging it out. I like to treat every experience as a chance to learn, and I'd say I've had a pretty hard lesson rammed into my head here.

I would sincerely hope that nothing like this ever happens again, with Rochelle and her friends or with any of my other friends. But if I have to vent and for whatever reason, I don't confront said person right then and there, or directly, I may elect to "vent" here on LJ. But none of you will see it. I'm resolving to take those kind of issues and make them Private entries. That way, I myself can go back and look at them a few days later, figure out if there's something more I can or should do, and do them. Then, after the fact, I can unlock the post, maybe get some feedback if others feel it's warranted, and move on with my life.

I honestly thought that THIS issue was over with, because I felt Rochelle had rightly put me in my place and, after the call, I would have to "grow up" and move on. I'm a reactive sort though, so of course it took a few days, but eventually I DID heed her advice and try and move on, while trying to be more aware of how I act around others, friends or otherwise. I had no way of knowing that I'd somehow "fouled up" by posting an entry to my LJ, let alone that she would see it and be upset and expecting a call from me. I try and move on with issues in my life silently-- it's my "how to deal" strategy. Maybe it's not the best one, but it is the easiest for me, because it's not relying on others.

Trust is a major issue with me, and I hate thinking that I'm being hypocritical when I say I expected better of my friends. Rochelle waited out of politeness for a few days, but she had no problem with telling me "to my face" (so to speak) how I'd fucked up. But then the situation got more convoluted with my locked-post getting out to people who are not on my LJ friends list (even if they are "real life" friends and are involved in said posting), and then me hearing from other mutual friends that Rochelle had heard about it-- but not from them, because she was the one that TOLD THEM! Quite the tangled web.

I wouldn't call anyone my friend if I couldn't trust them to give me their honest opinion (and that includes "I honestly think you fucked up royally, Meredith"), but that doesn't mean someone does that AFTER they've essentially betrayed my trust by taking what's meant to be something for a private audience and making it public. I'd rather someone have told me "Hey Mer, maybe you should make this entry Private," or maybe "I think you should call Rochelle and tell her what you're feeling" instead of letting this shitstorm hit me full in the face. I didn't appreciate that one bit, and now I'm very wary of what I say on here, which is unfortunate.

Anyway, I hope I've cleared the air enough and haven't offended anyone further. To Rochelle, Ryan, Adrian, and Rose: again, I do apologize for my behavior. I further apologize for not saying how I felt that night, or for calling a few days after my post. I apologize that you guys had to find out what I thought the way you did, and I hope none of you think any less of me for it. I do hope we can still be friends.

I'm off to Las Vegas. Catch you on the flip side.

H'okay. Sho.

With the help of everything_lj (because with a name like that, do you expect any less?) I managed to get my lovely corkboard LJ layout (designed by stellastars) functioning and looking the way I want to. I decided to tinker with it just to try and add a site meter, to see more about how many visits I get. But because LJ is annoying with its restrictions on embedded media (e.g. Flash, JavaScript), I couldn't use the usual tools, like the Izea Toolkit. But Sitemeter offered a JavaScript and regular HTML tracking image, which suits me just fine. I replaced the syndicated module (that'd be the one with the RSS/Atom icons) and made sure my title images were displaying, and viola! Lovely layout. :) I kinda miss the days when I used Greymatter and could design my own layout (I still have my old one featuring Emily Strange), so I might end up starting another blog (hopefully something a bit more streamlined than this... LJ is just sort of my "dump" repository, where I post about everything) on seventh-star.net.

( Read more... )

Then today, Juana, her sister, some of her friends, and Melina and I all went to L.A. Family Housing in North Hollywood, where we worked on Valentine's Day cards The original plan was to make Valentine's mail boxes, but they ended up too small... I think the cards were a much better idea, in the end, as more kids came and the cards offered more possibility for creativity. We stayed longer than we thought and made a HUGE mess, but we cleaned it all up in the end and had some very pleased kids. I think today was the first time in several years that I got so artistic that I actually had ink (from markers and stuff) all over my hands again. I used to be covered in colors in elementary school, so it was rather nostalgic for me.

And now, for some random lists:
Like

* The huge variety of applications on Facebook; I'm always finding more that are cool

* Sarah Brightman's new album "Symphony," but most especially the track "Fleurs du Mal," which (oh you're gonna hate me for this) has helped inspire a new arc for "Eternal Dimension," the third and final installment in the "What Doesn't Kill You" series. FYI: it starts with WDKY (36 chapters), continues with "Circle of Seven" (not sure of the exact chapter length yet), and ends with "Eternal Dimension." And that's all tentative at the moment, because there may very well be a new Yu-Gi-Oh series coming out, called Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 5D's, though I have no idea what the 5 D's are. -_-. But GX (though I haven't really seen more than a few episodes of it, due to the cringe-factor) is most likely going to have its role to play in the WDKY-verse, so why not this new series, assuming it's halfway good and gets picked up and dubbed like GX did?

guardian_kysra, it's all your fault, you know. I like SB so much now that I not only watched her on Martha Stewart's show the other day (she performed "Storia d'Amour"), but I actually sat through the crazy opening sequence of "Pasíon," the Spanish soap-opera that SB sang the opening theme for-- in a duet with a countertenor whose voice sounds... very feminine. Plus, I got the entire Charmed: Book of Shadows OST because it had "Free (Swiss American Federation Remix)," and then the Free EP, which includes the song I'm listening to... but I wonder, which version is the one SB performed in the music video on LAUNCH! Yahoo? Have I mentioned I love remixes?

* The 795 colors that Diana's going to be featuring in Sailor X v2.08. She's already done amazing work (and been updating like a fiend) with 2.07, having just added the skirt stripes and collar stripes again. The ideas are plentiful, the colors almost endless! It's an absolute joy to take every weird senshi idea I've ever had and plug it into Sailor X... while not every single option is available yet, they almost certainly will be soon. Going back into the nerdy realm of Sailor Moon (and Otaku Senshi) has never been so fun! BTW, if you haven't yet checked out the official Sailor Xv2 DeviantArt account (or mine, where I post some of my creations), then look-see: Sailor Xv2 - me!

Dislike
* Having to send invitations to ANY amount of friends just to see my results for a quiz on Facebook

* Crappily-written quizzes, e.g ones with predictable answers, a limited set of answers (e.g. only 3 or 5), or terrible spelling/grammar (this applies to any quiz, anywhere). Actually, this applies to everything. I don't "relate" to anyone who can't be bothered to capitalize properly, use complete words (FYI, "ur" is not a word, unless you're talking about the ancient Mesopotamian city), or put apostrophes where they belong.

* Having to still be updating 30kisses for the New Year's 2008 Purge. Even having another mod on the team doesn't seem to have helped... is everyone just always busy at the same time? I hate feeling like I'm doing everything on my own.

* Not feeling organized enough! Argh, too much paper! Too many files! Everything, too complicated! (I suppose I should consider it a blessing that I ran out of paper for my printer. At least... I think I did.)

* Still having not heard from anyone at RPGClassics about my application to make the Star Ocean 3 shrine there. Not even on the forums. Hmph.

* Figuring something out moments after you resigned yourself to having done the best job you could do and "to hell with it." I did that with my first homework assignment for RTM 330, my first online class. I missed the whole "APA requirements" for assignments (or is it only papers?). Oops! I wonder if the professor will cut some slack for the first assignment? Then again, she seemed to have mentioned somewhere that the discussion questions aren't even graded, but I can't find out what really is graded, besides projects (like a genealogy paper). It's harder than I thought, keeping up with WebCT... maybe I ought to set it as a homepage this semester?

I'm almost done with His Dark Materials, the trilogy by Philip Pullman including "The Golden Compass," "The Subtle Knife," and "The Amber Spyglass." I do think they read together better as an omnibus-- or at least 2 and 3 do, because the ending of 1 was "okay," while 2 just sort of... well, "cut off," pun not intended.

I've got a ton of other books to read at some point, many of them purchases from when I was in San Francisco, including Candace Bushnell's Lipstick Jungle, The Thirteenth Tale, the second In Death book, "Glory In Death," "The Historian," the rest of the "Book of the Dead," Susan Issac's "Long Time No See" (at Baba's recommendation), and "Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her," which I'm finding is a very fun, informative read on one of my favorite childhood heroines.

Today at Borders, I also picked up a bunch of manga (another one of those 5-for-4 sales), though I'm still holding off on Fullmetal Alchemist and its associated novels, since I want to wait for the whole series to be finished. Besides, I technically don't have enough bookshelf space for what I have... it's kind of embarrassing (but cool! Because who doesn't want to have their own personal library? Mine is killer! :D). I also picked up "Codebreaker," about -what else?- codes and ciphers and their history. That purchase was, of course, inspired by seeing "National Treasure: Book of Secrets." I actually love puzzles (logic puzzles are my favorite-- I'm not much one for crosswords, though I am a little good at Sudoku), and I think that's sort of come out in WDKY's Téa, because I've had her solve her father's riddles in order to unravel a family mystery (and save Seto on the side, of course). In thinking about the future of WDKY, I'm thinking, if Téa didn't become a dancer, what would she be? There could be any number of reasons why she might not dance, and I thought she might end up as a cryptanalyst or similar. It'd be a fun way of having her one-up Kaiba in many ways-- genius of one area vs. genius of... well, Kaiba's sort of an all-around guy, but hey! :D

Speaking of fanfiction, I've started revisions on an old Sailor Moon fic of mine, "Hogosha no Kokoro," or HnK for short. Originally, the title was SUPPOSED to translate to "Guardian of the Heart," but that was back before I fully understood Japanese and the function (and positioning) of noun modifiers. So technically, it translates to "Guardian's Heart," or "Heart of [the] Guardian," but I guess that's okay, too, even though the meaning is a bit different from what I intended. In any case, I explain the mixup in my Author's Notes, and add "Guardian of the Heart," as the story's subtitle. I figure I could change it to what it was meant to be (Kokoro no Hogosha), but that doesn't have quite the same ring to it, and besides, if I were to abbreviate it the way I do for my other fics (like WDKY), it would be GotH. o_o Yeah, I have a "Goth" story. Great.

Anyway, I'm not sure why I picked this one over any of my other SM fics-- heck knows they all need revising, but HnK has great possibilities as an AR Silver Millennium Fic. No, I'm not going to try and make it fit with the current theme of sm_monthly (which I've almost consistently had ideas for, but never gotten around to actually writing/posting).

( Read more... )

Another successful day in the city. This was another shopping day with "the gals," this time with Crystal, Eva, and Steph; yesterday was Steph and Mom; the day before that was Rochelle, and I've had a great time on all days. With Rochelle, we covered downtown and Stonestown; with Steph, downtown, and with the girls today, Stonestown and Serramonte. In all cases, I was pretty much out all day, except with Steph, because I supposedly had to be back home for an East Bay dinner with Gary's daughter and grandson... but that fell through due to traffic. In fact, we were supposed to make up for it today by going shopping in Berkeley, but THAT fell through, too. But I was glad to go shopping with the girls-- I got Mom's gift (technically a 2-part gift from Baba & Grandpa, because they have me money to buy her something with), had a nice shrimp primavera at Olive Garden (which my stomach is now apparently revolting against and GAWD I HATE MY ORGANS SOMETIMES), and got myself a cheap "Family Fun" DVD edition of "Anastasia," one of my favorite animated movies of all time. The weird thing is, there were two different kinds of box art, but there was NO REASON for it. One wasn't a special/limited edition, one wasn't widescreen vs. full screen... it was just two different box arts, one which was weird (Anastasia looked like Celine Dion) and one was normal (Anastasia looked like she did in the movie), so I got the second one.

As for other presents (for most people besides Mom, Gary, Dad, Scott, and Special Random Someone), by the looks of things, it'll be "time well spent" and "cookies." I bought M&Ms for my special Spritz cookies that have been a tradition for years now, though I'm sure there have been some years when it wasn't always done. Tomorrow's mini-golf in the evening, so if I get the last of "my" shopping (I kinda want this coat that's at H&M downtown) done, I can bake the cookies in time to meet the girls before we go to MGL.

I've already gotten a few gifts my way, too: Mom got me the iHome dock I wanted, which lets me charge my iPod, play music from it on a nice speaker system, listen to both AM and FM radio, and use any of the sources (radio, iPod, or line-in device like CD/Cassette player) as an alarm. Very nifty. But what ruined the fun is that she was genuinely serious that she had NO CLUE what to get me for Christmas, and she kept asking me and asking me and it was awkward! I never want to feel like I'm selfish and just WANT WANT WANT... I tried to think of something I need, so the first thing I named was that coat, but Mom was already super-stressed from work when she tried to go to H&M to find it, and she had no luck. :( I feel bad for having made her do that. She felt obligated to get me something, but hates shopping downtown in crowds, especially in the holiday season.

This season moreso than a lot of others, she seems like a real Grinch, and it makes me sad. I hate to say it, but she hasn't been much fun to be around. I know she's very stressed from work and a bit sick... so I hope she'll rest and think of this as a vacation and time to rest, not time to do things (even though there ARE things to do... like, oh, clean up the living room, which is packed with the dining room's furniture, countless boxes, bikes, etc. and therefore has no room for a stocking, let alone a Christmas tree).

Yeah, we're late in all we do-- at least when it comes to the holidays.

What else? Still haven't gotten my Chase check or any word from my school, according to Baba. Chase last contacted me and said that they were waiting for some sort of certification from my school before they could disburse the money. Well, they probably tried to contact the school as it closed, and my money is "on hold" until 1/2, at least. Technically not a big deal, since the WII representative I've been with isn't back in the office till then, either BUT that obviously presents a problem with:
a) tickets to SF for Macworld (which I can technically only go to if I go to Washington because I have the loan money from Chase)
b) getting tickets to D.C. in the first place, because it's SO LAST MINUTE!

Plus, Bowen didn't get back to me on Monday like she said I would, so I have NO idea about the academic credit! While technically stuff like that CAN be arranged after the semester, that's only what happened for study abroad-- I think for this to count, I NEED to do it beforehand, because I need it to count for an internship AND an independent study. I just hope Bowen's back on campus or at least checking her CSUN email starting 1/2...

I hate relying on just one person to get things done.

( And it made me think about manga )

The "Grissom's Gone" marathon on Spike was pretty damn good. Everything I'd heard about Keppler on the 'Net made him out to be some sort of nerdy-but-badass guy that had some sort of chemistry with Catherine... and while it's not on the level of Cath/Warrick, I DID see something there. Sucks that the way he had to go was... well, bloody.

Still haven't heard back from Chase, which can be a good or a bad thing. Good if I do, because Yay! that would mean I could go to Washington, D.C. and score this possibly-really-cool internship. Bad because, well, a loan is money you have to pay back, and that sucks no matter WHAT it's for. Also bad because I neglected to use the URL for Student Advantage cardholders, which means I might have gotten a better rate or different plan options. I wonder if I hear from them again, can I mention that after the fact?

Anyway, if I don't, I've set the deadline of the 21st. If I hear from them by then, huzzah, I can go. If I don't, tough nuggets; I let the people at the WII know and I stay here and stick to my nice job, wonderful honor societies and friends, and the schedule and courses I've already picked out. It would suck if all that planning and running around (and paperwork: egads, PAPERWORK!) was for nothing but at least not for want of TRYING. And unlike Yoda, I do think the effort counts for something. Every experience is a chance to learn, and that includes those experiences where you don't succeed or get exactly what you wanted.

My aunt Sally and uncle Dan think that I ought to write the CA Congress representatives and senators (or at least the ones in my "district," which could be either Los Angeles or San Francisco, I suppose) and see if I can get them to give me any money-- do you think I ought to write an old fashioned letter (more formal, seems more appropriate) or an email (assuming I can find one for the people in question; it stands to reason they probably get a lot of junk mail, yeah?)? I *am* on a deadline; if I go, I have to be in Washington by January 16th, which doesn't leave a lot of time for actually GETTING the money, paying WII, and of course, getting plane tickets to get out there-- which will be ridiculously expensive not just this time of year, but at such short notice.

So while I've gotten a bit more accepting of the possibility that WII won't work out, and ISLP won't happen this summer, it's not like I'm HAPPY about these great possibilities just passing me by for lame reasons. So then I get this email from someone in the Tokyo American Center-- a part of the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. They want to know if I'm interested in being a summer intern during the period for the G8 summit.

There's always a catch, ladies and gents: I have to respond by Tuesday, Japan time. Well, I responded already expressing my interest, and my question about housing if I come earlier than the expected start date (since apparently the G8 affects housing, so if I came "on time," which equals early July, then I'd be SOL for housing)... but I doubt this means they still have ACCEPTED me. It's more like they're pressed for time finding appropriate candidates and are weeding them down. It's great to be considered for something like that (and huzzah for Washington these days; someone out there must like me), but of course, money is an issue. Is it a paid internship? You can't really survive in Japan on a stipend. Hell, how would I get money for the plane ticket out there and back? It's not cheap!

So... we'll see who says what and what happens.

In the meantime, I've been busy with crafts (need more Fimo), fanfics (strange urge to read Nick/Sara, write "Speed of You," that Initial D/Yu-Gi-Oh crossover I thought up ages ago), reading (started on "His Dark Materials," which I got for cheap in a humungo paperback from Costco), and cleaning (finally got the rec room looking semi-passable, though there's still a huge pile of ancient bills to sort through). Also paid off my bills, which is always a refreshing feeling. It's better to get that stuff out of the way as soon as you get it, I think, so that you can always consider the amount of money you have "what you've got to work with," rather than an amount that is going to dwindle BECAUSE of bills.

Tomorrow I've got to finish cleaning and packing (and hopefully go to JoAnn's to get more Fimo and possibly to exchange my Amaco flattening machine, because the turn handle and table clamp are too loose and keep falling out), since I leave for S.F. on Tuesday afternoon, have yet to get my shuttle (I'm thinking from now on, it's better to leave by LAX, because the Van Nuys Flyaway is always cheaper to get to than the damn Super Shuttle), and when I come back, fountainthe is swinging by! squee!

I'm also working on clearing up 30kisses (apparently I need to hire a huge mod squad, because honestly? Keeping just one person on Claims List maintenance could probably considered a modern form of Internet torture... I'm so sorry, svelterose!).

And then there's my End-of-the-Year resolution: get Epiphany UP AND RUNNING by New Year's Day. That would be Super-Speshul-Awesome.

Actually, there are a lot of things that would be Super-Speshul-Awesome, but I can only handle so much good karma at once. I just hope it doesn't fail me anytime soon.

Hey, dqbunny and guardian_kysra? Keep your eyes on your mailboxes, ladies. ^_~ And I don't mean the virtual ones.

I'm not in prose mood at the moment (today was my "off" day, so to speak; I spent a lot of time working on "Ace of Hearts," the Sailor V x Kaitou Ace fanlisting (now live! check it out!), then reading old Sailor Moon fics and fic ideas, including one that I don't think I ever posted anywhere except maybe the SMRFF. There's also one I intended to write for an Aria's Ink contest but never got off the ground. So I really want to work on those, Epiphany, and of course, WDKY26. Priority 1, though, is my JOUR 371 project.

But look, I've gone and babbled again. This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for:

-The right to vote. Need I say more?

-The freedom to choose: my elected officials, the clothes I'll wear, the way I look, and whether or not I can have an abortion in my state, if the need ever arose and may the Powers That Be forbid that necessity for me in my lifetime.

-My family, no matter how over-dramatic they can get. Both sides, Mom's and Dad's. Mom AND Dad, even though between the two of them I think I might develop a mental instability some time before I turn 40.

-My health-- the worst medical problem I have right now is my finicky stomach. I am so glad to not have (diagnosed) breast or skin cancer, two things which I am VERY vulnerable for. I am grateful for never having broken a bone, and having healed quickly from all sprains. I am thankful that my back is not as f*cked up as my Dad's, nor my head as pounding-full-of-migraine as Mom's. I am thrilled that my asthma, allergies, and poor vision have not taken over my life.

-My job. It may not be Journalism and it may not pay as well as a job in San Francisco right now or even a Target Executive Internship, but I love the people I work with, and even on my worst days, it's still a great job that I'm confident in doing. I can always, always learn more there, meet more people, and help others-- three things I love doing no matter what.

-My education. I know that there are some people --men and women, people of all ages-- that don't have the privilege of going to high school, let alone university. I am thankful that I have gotten scholarships and loans to be able to pay for it, and that my university has a beautiful campus, professors that are really interested in their subjects (some of them, anyway), and great programs.

-My home. It's always a bit awkward to think, but it becomes really, genuinely honest when I say it aloud to someone else: yes, I live with my paternal grandparents. No, I've never really lived alone, though I did have my own dorm room in Japan for 5.5 months. But living with my grandparents has not only made me more aware of what it takes to get as far as they have, but also so many other things: taking care of yourself physically, taking care of others whenever you can, and enjoying life to the fullest, highest degree. I am so grateful to have not just a roof over my head, a room to call my own (with my own posters, even when they won't stick on the wall!), and food in the fridge to eat, but a family to come home to.

-My friends. Even though I feel sometimes I'm a lousy friend, and don't call/email/IM enough, my friends really do mean the world to me, up there in the ranks with my family (by the way, this list is by no means in any sort of ORDER). I've got friends who have stuck by me when the rest of the school thought I was a super-bitch or total nerd. I've got friends who can share in my geekery, revel in my nerdosity, and giggle with me about anything and everything. Whether I know these friends in real life or just online; whether it's been years or just a few months, THANK YOU. And I would attempt to name all the names and all the reasons why, but it'd get too long. THAT I am grateful for. I've gotten to the stage in my life where I couldn't count the friends I have on one hand, let alone two, even if I tried. Once upon a time, someone asked me to name all the friends I had and count them-- they laughed when I didn't even hit 5. Now, I have so many more than that-- not just on this "Friends List," maybe even reading this now, but beyond.

THANK YOU, EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE, EVERYWHEN.

Happy Thanksgiving, even if you don't celebrate and/or aren't in the U.S.A.

Love and best wishes,
Meredith Sweet, aka Azurite aka Andi aka whatever the heck you wanna call me, I really have too many nicknames

Hmm, some quick updates:

-Working steadfastly on WikiFic. Thanks to Platonides over at the wikimedia-l, I got the Infoboxes working, but I still need to grab a BOATLOAD of templates from Wikipedia to get everything looking nice-- for example, a lot of flag-related graphics and templates. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated-- it's really just a lot of C&Ping. You do need to have a WikiFic account though, but it takes all of 5 minutes to sign up and get started.

-Working on creating "Ultimate Armor" for my party in FFX, and I'm discovering few people think Break HP or MP limits are useful at all-- which means the armor I already created for Auron and I think Rikku is fairly useless. I've never gotten to the point where I actually fight SIN (I keep dying whenever I fight those Behemoth-type monsters inside Sin, as I recall from the last time I got this far, on my old memory card which is now lost to the ages), so I hope that by capturing more monsters and leveling up (to get the items I need for the Ultimate Armor), I'll be able to survive Sin.

-iWork and iLife have both been updated to '08! That better mean when I get my new laptop, those are installed... since I don't know what I'm going to do with my old laptop (this one), I'm not sure if I should get the family pack ($20 more) of either version yet. I know 5 Macs, but the question is, should I really give "free" iLife and iWorks '08 if I do spend the extra $40 on the two Family versions of the pack?
Here are the nominees:
(1) Mine
(2) Mine 2, possibly to be given to Grandpa, sold to Mom, or sold for parts
(3) Erin's
(4) the iMac at work in the Walk-In Center (which is a bit old)
(5) Shawn's

Speaking of the boyfriend, he's fabulous- complimentary, has a wonderful sense of humor, doesn't mind games (I got him to play both Bubble Bobble and Scrabble tonight-- hah!), and we both vented about work to each other without any awkwardness or hard feelings. He's also super-thoughtful, though I can't really say how. ^_~

I really ought to be getting to sleep now though... for one, my tooth has been hurting pretty bad since this morning or so (I somehow doubt it's mental, no matter how much I wish it were), and the Orajel I got at Rite Aid earlier is totally numbing the right side of my face. I also have to walk to school tomorrow since Baba & Grandpa have a doctor's appointment (I hope it's not too hot or too gloomy tomorrow morning). Two more weeks and three days till my first surgery... school starting, and who knows what other mayhem!

From sometime on Thursday night:

Why is it that the best-tasting food can be what gives you the worst stomachache? While almost everyone else is going out to South Street to meet with the CSUN chapter's former president Anne, I'm stuck here at the hotel with the stomachache that won't quit. My consolations: internet and chatting with Shawn. Thank god for small miracles.

Anyway:

You Are 29% Scary

You scare men off ocassionaly, but only very weak men. You're a normal woman. You're not perfect, but you're pretty darn close.

o_O Interesting. To be honest, I would have expected to get higher, but maybe the opinion of real men (and not a quiz) would be more accurate. :P

Well I just recently got back to the house from the Pier 39 fireworks show, which was pretty good-- the weather was nice, no fog, and I wasn't freezing. Plus I got to hang with a few of my friends-- psyjoe_dilandau, hikaru_jan, azhp, schmollieollie, Crystal, Nora, and Sean's girlfriend Anni. Plus on the way to the Pier, the girls and I ran into a semi-lost girl named Xocci whose friend ended up abandoning her before even coming to the pier, so she hung out with us. :)

The girls and I had supper (well, I had French Toast and eggs, so it was more like breakfast) at Mel's near the Metreon, where I saw a BUNCH of books I wanted at the Chronicle bookstore... ;_; Ah! Can't wait till I get paid. I should have written all the titles down, though. I should never go out without a pen and small notepad. What kind of a good journalist does that?

The only negative thing about tonight was how this one grumpy ol' blonde cow at the Pier made a not-so-subtle remark to our small group, saying (regarding our cheering and comments during the show) saying "I can understand [that behavior] when you're 11, but at this age?"

(1) How does she know how old we are? She doesn't-- she just thinks we have to act "our age"-- whatever that means in her book.
(2) It's a freakin' holiday, you old bag, I'm not supposed to be dressed to the nines with my ankles crossed just so. If I want to go "Ooh! Aah!" and "SMILEY FACE!" when fireworks blow up, I damn well can. Of course, I made some other (somewhat lewd) comments, too, but only once or twice. Anni and I had a tendency of saying how many of the fireworks (which exploded right next to one another) looked like breasts. So we said "BOOBS!" a lot.

...Big deal. When I'm around my friends, I can be immature. It's fun, because *I* have fun. I'm not always Miss Prim-and-proper like I have to be in CSUN (because I work, because I'm a senior, because this that and the other thing), and it makes my nights more memorable-- because I'm not some uptight stick-in-the-mud with a firecracker jammed up my ass.

People really shouldn't be so anal on a national holiday, for Pete's sake-- when I tried to go to the bathroom, some people did not move even when I said "excuse me," and some even told me to "go the other way" when I wanted to head down the small staircase to "the box" where everyone was sitting (Sean, Anni, Crystal, PsyJoe, Jen and I all sat on the railing above the box benches, and Crystal and I had the unfortunate pleasure of dangling just over some people's heads, so the guy kept giving us dirty looks. Look jackass, our friends saved those seats, you didn't have to sit there!).

I'll probably forget about it sooner or later, but I felt like ranting for now.

After the show, Steph, Nora, and Xocci parted ways with us, and the rest of us went to hang at RTA for a while-- nostalgic as I was, I controlled my temptation to play any games, so after a while, we left. We ended up walking all the way up to Van Ness and North Point, and then up to Chestnut, because the 47 wasn't running all the way down to Aquatic Park/Fort Mason, and then we walked FURTHER because there were no empty 47s to catch until we got to Filbert. Then, when we got off at Geary, there were no 38s, so we walked all the way up to Filmore, where Joe and Jen parted ways, and then Sean, Anni, Crystal and I rode home in Sean's car-- listening to Basshunter the whole way. :}

So, good holiday, even if I didn't have barbecue or tons of money to blow on books and/or video games. My throat is sore from all the happy yelling, and I had some delicious mini-donuts from Trish's that I didn't mind sharing. All in all, a successful night.

( Ganked from the Scribbler )

Tomollo: museum-hopping. de Young and Asian Art. Meet with staplerx and Onii-chan :D
Wednesday: Wash house!
Thursday (possibly thing with the guys + IHOP?), Friday (Mom-day), Saturday (Forgot, Semester at Sea! All day-ish), Sunday (see Dad? *shrug* Dunno. Need to call him.): no plans! Call me.

Should I still go to LJ's headquarters, or do you think they'll all be busy cleaning up after ST07 that they'll be running around like chickens goats with their heads cut off?

Also, got CS3 Design Premium from Erin yesterday-- I went to her classmate's house in Westwood and helped them with Sim City 4 (for an Urban Planning class, how crazy cool is that?) which was tougher than any of us thought. Fun, but tiring after 12 hours, sitting on wooden chairs with no cushions.

Anyway, CS3 is FABULOUS! I have had NO rendering problems with my longest chapters of WDKY, and there are TONS of great tutorials on the bonus disc that came with it. Plus, all kinds of plug-ins and stock photos on the content disc, and because I was a good girl and bought + registered it, I can get MORE goodies from Adobe. Like fonts. Ooh, fonts. Maybe even the elusive Myriad Pro that was SUPPOSED to come with CS2? Also, it looks like ImageReady has been combined into Photoshop... it looks that way even for the regular Photoshop, not just Photoshop Extended. Ah, ImageReady... RIP!

The only thing that's bothering me so far is how my old extensions aren't compatible; I had the Calendar Maker, Quick Link generator, and Quick Gallery maker for Dreamweaver. For Photoshop, I don't think I had many filters or whatnot (and if I did, they're gone now... I keep all my brushes, gradients, textures, and patterns in other folders, though). And because CS3 is so NEW, there aren't a ton of freeware extensions out yet. Blaaah. Anyone know where to find any, besides the good old Adobe Exchange?

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.