MILES to GO || before I sleep

You Are a Red Crayon

Your world is colored with bright, vivid, wild colors. You have a deep, complex personality - and you are always expressing something about yourself. Bold and dominant, you are a natural leader. You have an energy that is intense... and sometimes overwhelming. Your reaction to everything tends to be strong. You are the master of love-hate relationships. Your color wheel opposite is green. Green people are way too mellow to understand what drives your energy.

Ah, let's see... I seem to be recovering from my surgery quite well, as I can eat things beyond mushy oatmeal. I'm not going to grab a Snickers right away or anything, but I'm not longer bleeding, I can move my jaw and tongue pretty normally, and I don't have this weird "stitches hanging out" feeling on the left side of my mouth anymore. I still had a killer headache earlier today during breakfast, so I ended up taking a Vicodin and then passing out.

My cousins (Shaina, Brooke, and Erin; Erin came just this morning for a quick stop with her new boyfriend) and I all hung out; yesterday Shaina, Brooke and I went shopping at Express and Old Navy, and I walked out with a good chunk of new wardrobe with Shaina's help. Better yet, I only spent about $160 on what was enough to make at least a week's worth of outfits-- all sorts of new jeans and tops, a new knit hoodie (in plum!), and a new jacket in sage green. Shopping with other people my age really helps me, I think- not to say my fashion sense sucks, but I think Brooke and Shaina both have a better eye for that sort of thing than I do-- I tend to hang onto clothes for years, even if they're worn out or even out-of-style. Well, no more! After we came back to the house from all our shopping, Shaina and Brooke helped me clean out my closet, so I got rid of two huge bags of clothes I won't wear anymore. cutieme4u, you'll be glad to know Shaina convinced me to ditch that shiny plaid top you never liked on me-- even though I wanted to make it into a pillow... Ah, it's hard to let go of the things you love!

Shaina and Brooke also gave me a mini-makeover-- my hair's a bit shorter now, about chin length, and I think it looks pretty good, depending on how I part it. Normally I'm anti-short hair (I've been trying to get my old, long, wavy hair back for a while now), but I had to get rid of all my split ends and the leftover miscolored hair from my perm in Japan. So while it seems a bit "young" for me, I think with the right clothes and makeup I can be very "young professional." Brooke thinks that to complete the look, I ought to get more square-shaped glasses, so I was looking at more on FramesDirect.com-- but they don't have a lot. Does anyone know of any eyeglasses websites where you can upload a picture to see what the glasses look like on you? Either that or really high quality, LARGE images of the glasses?

When I went to the optometrist last week, I didn't like anything in store, but back then, I was leaning toward more frame-top/rimless-bottom glasses that is a cross between my current egg-shaped glasses and what I consider "young professional"-- sort of cat-like corners with narrower ovals, or maybe slightly squared on top but round on the bottom. I had them order me a Nicole Miller catalog because at first I was pretty deadset on her Webstress glasses, but... maybe I shouldn't be. Brooke thought I looked good in her thick-framed rectangular (as in 3/4-stick-of-gum size) glasses, but I thought they seemed too heavy on my face. So I have to compromise. What would suck is if I found a good pair in a place like Sears or Lenscrafters-- I wonder if I'd be able to get glasses through them if my optometrist carries his own (does more than write prescriptions, that is).

Let's see... after I woke up from my "nap" earlier, everyone had already gone-- but I'll see them again soon, I'm sure, at least for Thanksgiving in Seattle. I invited Shawn over and we hung out for a bit at the mall-- I ended up giving him my $15 off card at Express because, bonehead I am, I forgot to use it yesterday when I bought my new jeans there. But at least he got some new shorts (kind of a grayish plaid) for only $15, because they were $10 off ANYWAY! :) I successfully resisted buying more clothes, going to Borders, etc., because my fin aid check hadn't cleared-- but it may tomorrow morning, which is what I'm hoping- I want to get my new laptop this week so I can try and finish WDKY25! But opening up any Adobe or even the Microsoft Office programs on 512 MB of memory has been next to impossible. Sometimes even Firefox with "too many tabs" causes the computer to putz out.

I finished watching "Into The Woods," a musical I've liked ever since I was young and I first saw it on PBS back when it came out, in the early 90s. Back then I didn't understand a lot of what happened, and now that I'm older, I still enjoy it, but it has a sad twinge to it that I never remembered.

I also got my latest shipment from PCH (probably my dumbest purchase outside of those damn Hercules Hooks which never seem to want to go into my who-the-hell-knows-how-thick walls)-- mood-changing lipsticks. The catch is, after a certain point, they all look like the same color, which on my lips tends to be hot pink. Oh well, maybe for Halloween? I still don't know what I want to do, but I want to do SOMETHING.

Finally, I got my commitment books from the Literary Guild, so my new reading list is...
* The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova
* User I.D., by Jenefer Shute.

I also got a new craft book-- 101 Crafts for under $10, some of them very nice, like pressed-flower stationery. I think creativity with me has to have wider boundaries than just writing, or even graphic design and scrapbooks. I miss painting, beading, and things like that-- I wanted to do so much this summer, but it still felt like it went by so fast and I never had enough time. But I think if I get organized prior to school starting, when I do get the urge to pull myself away from my computer and MAKE stuff, I can.

Well, since Erin has Grandpa's car for an interview in Culver City tomorrow (I have no idea why she's not in S.F...), I'll have to get up early to walk to school-- I also have to swing by the post office to mail my Media Law book from last semester, which -huzzah!- sold on Half.com on Friday. I'm expecting my own shipments from there... hopefully soon! So, sleepy time!

Even though yesterday was the party and almost everyone took pictures, I was pretty saddened to find out that I was hardly in any of them. Apparently they took a big group shot after I left to bring my things downstairs after the party ended. I had asked someone to come get me if anything happened -if we went to karaoke or whatever- but no one ever came. I ended up going back up again 10 or so minutes later, but no one mentioned a group photo or anything.

So when Yuta gave me the photo card this afternoon, I was a bit bummed-- for a moment, I thought I had something I could send to Scott, but no; why would I send a postcard that has a bunch of people he doesn't know on it, and not the slightest trace that I was even there?

I already asked Yuta, John, Christine and Erica if they had any photos of me; none of them do, except for a few where I'm in the background or partially obscured. Not exactly the kind of photo I'd like to send others. I did ask Christine if she could get ahold of Kimchi, since she was the one who KEPT taking pictures of me (or rather, my chest, but it's better than nothing, right?).

Still, I feel kind of left out. Photos are supposed to be people's solid memories, but judging by the way so few people had me in their pictures, I guess I'm just not that memorable. *sigh*

( Come to my Halloween Party, f00s! )


DEFIANT BEAUTY - You are unique, original, and an
individual. You are also courageous and
ambitious. You are not afraid to take risks if
it means you will gain something. You thrive on
success and praise. You are a non-comformist
and prefer to do things your own way. You also
like to work by yourself rather than with a
group. Your ultimate goal is to reach true
success in whatever your chosen field is.


What type of beauty do you possess? (20 questions + 7 results + pretty pics)
brought to you by Quizilla


You are The Cat. Wise, swift, intelligent,
stealthy. You are very precise and make few
mistakes. You are a born hunter and very smart
and clever. You are athletic in some of the
sort and love riddles. Oh ho ho! YOu are also
romantic.


What Inner Animal Soul Do You Possess?(Guys and Gals, MANY RESULTS)
brought to you by Quizilla

Meow!

I think I may have solved a way out of my dilemma from earlier. But maybe not. I'm still waiting to hear back from Mamono, who may have some sneaky ideas. :) And staring at my icon of Kaiba stripping off his tie has given me a semi-kick of inspiration for TJOY (that fic is so hard to write!!), but I won't say why. :3

On a fics and reviewers note, I'd like to thank anyone and everyone that suggested songs to me-- I downloaded a few of them from iTunes, and some people are right about the sheer beauty of the songs... and sometimes, they match with fics, too! Maybe ones I've written, maybe ones I'm currently writing. It's rather neat! Thanks~!

Ladies, wouldn't it be nice if we could just splash some cold water on ourselves for that one week a month and become a guy? Sure, it would cause problems and weird our friends out, but it would mean the end of nausea, indigestion, that bloated feeling, cramps, and all that icky mess...

Wednesday evening sucked because my period was TEH EBIL. It's weird, because being on BC is supposed to make it easier to handle; that sort of implies that if I wasn't on the pill, it would have been worse. X_X I took a short nap in the library, wrote a quick story in WRP2 class, and went home by 8:30. Thank goddess for soup, saltines, and short classes.

Today's been a bit better; even though I was late to Japanese class, everything went well, and surprisingly Scott was waiting for me outside of class. We went to the Collaboratory together, where I wrote a quick critique for my Creative Writing class, and then we walked to the Exchange to get me some breakfast. Scott again apologized for the other night when he was so rude, but he didn't go into detail as to what was on his mind. Truthfully, I figured I didn't want to know, so I didn't ask. But I did tell him, if the next time he finds himself with free time and a load on his mind and he DOESN'T want to talk to me about it (because he didn't seem to want to; not that night or today), then he certainly has no obligation to hang out with me when he doesn't want to be social. It's no crime.

Creative Writing class got cancelled, so I went up to the Photo Lab to find Scott again and hang out for a while; I got the mini-tour of the new, filled space there, and then I headed over to the Brown Center to meet Baba and Grandpa after their swim lesson. I hung out at home for a bit and checked my email; WDKY19 is getting mixed reactions, and no one's responded to the finished WDKY20 up at the betasquad forums just yet.

As for WDKY19, I'd like to establish my view on the whole steam scene: I wrote it because I felt like it was time, because it fits with the people I have established as characters (or advancements of Takahashi's characters), and it fits with the series as a whole (encompassing CO7 and ED, as well). As some readers pointed out, regardless of how long Seto and Téa have actually been going out, they have lived together and been through so much in a longer span of time (sexual tension!) and they've known each other for even longer. IMHO, real life relationships work that same way. Sometimes sexual attraction is apparent from the get-go, sometimes it's onesided, and sometimes, even when it is shared, it takes a while to develop. Factors contribute, and that's what I've tried to make clear in WDKY. It's not like they just suddenly decided to jump each other's bones; this is something I've been hinting at for a while now! I'm not trying to preach anything either, but I stand by my rating. I'd like to believe the people reading WDKY are mature, but sometimes the reviews I get seem to say otherwise. I really wish that the younger set reading WDKY would understand that I am not trying to condone anything that goes against one's personal beliefs, religion, etc. THIS IS A STORY!

Backtracking a bit, WDKY needs editing. It really does. Ch. 1 and 12 were the biggies, just because I glanced over them again today; most of it is tense and formatting, nothing big story-wise. Something in Ch. 12 references something in Ch. 20, so I need to edit the beta version I posted at betasquad to appropriately reflect that. People noticed that I like to leave loose ends hanging for an unspecified amount of time, to bring them back later with a surprising bang... well, the loose ends are about to start getting tied up! The story's almost done, ladies and gents! 20 chapters done out of 36 leaves only 16 left...!

In other news, I'm going to Knott's Scary Farm (read: Berry Farm done Halloween style) with Eva and one of her roommates tomorrow. I think we'll miss the special park's opening, but it's open till 1am, so we should still be able to get some good scares in. We can't dress up though, so whatever I choose to wear will have to be both comfy and eye-catching at the same time. (I told Scott I could wear my red plastique brassier and my leather pants and go as a skank; he told me to please, please promise him to be careful and not let weirdoes around me... I thought it was cute.) As for Halloween night, still no plans... I might stop by the photo lab and try to "scare" Scott, but other than that, MEH. What, am I supposed to go trick-or-treating? All the parties are 21 and up only, and I'm not in a sorority or co-ed fraternity... and the Halloween Haunts and such on the Night Of are either going to be crowded, expensive, or both. Either that or they're too far for me to reach on foot. :P If worse comes to worse, I can dress up and "have fun" at home by watching whatever scary things might be on TV (I can try to go to Blockbuster and rent Army of Darkness for laughs) and give the candy we have out to trick-or-treaters (not that we get many in this neighborhood...).

Ugh, my tummy still hurts, so I think I'll take a nap now...

Funny how I've only seen about two movies in the past month or so, but the previews I've seen of Tim Burton's next flick, The Corpse Bride are enough to want me to dress up as her for Halloween. It would be better than an Emmy Award, at any rate. :P That was my most under-appreciated costume ever. But, I also have angel wings, cat ears, fishnets, glow-in-the-dark lipstick, bright red lipstick, and a mom who still has everything else Halloween-y stashed away, neatly organized and ready to ship. :>

( A potential shiny new laptop for Fall 2005... Tell me what you think! )

I had a nightmare last night... sucks. I dreamed that I finally got myself this cute kitten-- it looked like Bloop, my dad's old cat (the one that passed away earlier this year). Bloop was this sleek, dark grey with bright blue eyes. I always wanted a cute cat like that. Well, I dreamed I took it home and everything, and then I went out again... and when I came home and went to "my room" (for some reason, my room was the larger one overlooking the backyard, the room I wanted originally. The catch is a) it's next to Baba and Grandpa's room and b) it's got all of Baba's creepy dolls in there) and went to my backpack on the floor.

I promptly started freaking out, because I'd forgotten to take the cat out of the top pouch of my backpack, and now it wasn't moving at all. (Bear in mind that I would never do something this stupid.) When I opened up the top pouch, I took the kitten out-- it was about the size of my hand, and completely deflated. Imagine a flattened cat-- no bones, no organs, just a FLAT CAT. I was devastated.

I woke up several times after that feeling downright rotten with myself, even though I told myself if something like that ever happened, a cat could easily claw its way through my puny backpack, and would be yowling and hissing in the meantime. Not to mention cats don't just deflate.

Well, I don't know what it means, and I don't particularly care to revisit the dream to find out. As we're finally getting closer and closer to school starting, I'm getting a lot done and a lot planned. I have work from 1:30-6:45 today, then I'll hang out with Jill and Co. plus Kara, my aunt who came all the way here from New York (she drove). Sometime eventually I want to finish cleaning up my desk, throwing out clothes that don't fit, working on WDKY18 (*sings* Mamono~!) and CO7-2+, getting Delishidoodle to go live, and posting my 100 SxA icons. *whew!*

AND on top of all that, I want to get WikiFic really going, even if (ALAS!) I am the only one posting articles there. -_- I don't get it, I pimped it here on LJ (various YGO communities) and now on FFnet... hardly any response. *scowl* Why does WikiPedia have such a large Yu-Gi-Oh section (wrong, mind you... Yugi was never the holder of the Millennium Ring...)

It's already 12:30, which gives me 1 hour before I have to be at work. Maybe I'll get some cleaning or something done before I go.

Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year. #1, love-love-love it. I think there should be a day off on Halloween and the day after.

But sadly, such is not true. In any case, I actually had a FAB Halloween party this year! YAY! Okay, so I wasn't actually prepared... I seem to have this thing against getting everything I need *when* I need it, or preparing what I need when I should. I guess it's that procrastinator gene in me.

Anyway-- so without a real pumpkin, I had to make do with what I had-- pumpkin pie mix, a few good cookbooks, and a whole load of "goodies" like crackers, cheese, cider, etc.

I wanted people to be there by 4:30, but I didn't hear from anyone until about 4:45. My friend called and said she'd bring Pizza and some sodas. YAY, considering my whole orange chicken idea pretty much clucked out. So I waited-- while preparing corn fritters, pumpkin pie, and macaroni. I had some standby "blood soup", but I didn't make it.

So my first friend, K, shows up. Then I decide to call my friend E, and she says she's working on her English paper. Gawd, I admire her. I just can't get myself to work when it's a holiday, even when I know there's school the next day... ;_; anyway...

So then is my friend T, from another school. I totally forgot she was coming until she called. She was going to leave early anyway, just to go to this huge street party a ways from my house with some other people I knew. Another one of my friends, S, called and said she was sorry she couldn't make it-- my fault entirely because I didn't send out invites and I relied on my other friends to tell each other.

So after K and T, then came B. He's relatively cool, for a year-younger, semi-perverted short dude. T thought that B was like one of my more... uhm, psychotic friends, H. O.o;;

Then, the party REALLY started. One of my better friends, Sh, showed up with EVERYONE. I mean, like everyone. People who I thought wouldn't come within fifteen feet of my house-- who barely spoke to me outside of JROTC if it wasn't *relating* to the damned class... were here! There was So, the psychotic H, Mi (K's ex boyfriend... oops) He, Wi (a guy from another school that Sh had met at a recent competiton) G, one of my best younger buds, Aa, a short, kinda perverted, but good-natured guy, Jo, this guy G introduced me to because we all like anime... and I, this nice younger guy with his gf, Am, and one of my other girl friends, Sy. Wow. I never had a party with so many people! Better yet, they LIKED my cooking! It's not bad or anything, but usually people are just "eh" about the stuff I slave over to make. While they were out egging houses, I was busy measuring allspice! But they loved it! I must have been beaming enough to rival a lighthouse!

I think I deserve a medal-- first successful Halloween party-- even with mom home! WAI WAI!

Let's do this again NEXT year! =)