MILES to GO || before I sleep

Yes, there was an earthquake.
No, it was not big. It was a 5.6, according to the USGS, and 5.4 according to CalTech.
Yes, a few things fell-- only my picture frame on my dresser and my collage on next to my bed (which is lightweight and made of plastic).
No, no fire alarms or door closures or other catastrophes happened in my apartment building (where everything else can and does tend to go wrong).

What made me smile was how freaked out the out-of-staters were getting. I heard one other girl even say how she thought the construction workers f*cked up and the whole building was about to come down. *grin* I don't know, I guess I'm just used to earthquakes, because all it is is a little jiggle, compared to something unpredictable and terrible that lasts a long-ass time, like what I imagine a hurricane must be like. But then again, I guess when you don't know, it can scare you, and people that HAVE been through some other event like a hurricane or a snowstorm or whatever would be freaked out by an earthquake.

Nothing rattled too badly except some nerves-- I guess it's good on the one hand that we've got a teeny bit of tension released from the plates down here, but a 5.4 isn't THAT big, and certainly not on the scale of Beijing that everyone thinks California is long overdue for.

But it's funny, because I'd take the tiny percent chance of an earthquake over floods, hurricanes/typhoons/monsoons, etc. any day of the week.

In about 5 weeks or so, I have to turn in a profile article for Journalism, so I have to consider a subject now. The general idea is finding someone that I find interesting, not just someone that has done something incredible, experienced or survived something amazing, or said something controversial.

Someone would be currently doing or acting a certain way based on their past experiences, to the point where others that are not in that same situation would wonder "Why would that person do that?"

Initially, I was leaning toward my Grandpa, with his WW2 Navy stories, but generally speaking, his past doesn't rule or define him so much these days. So then I thought of someone else -a good friend- and I hope she'll forgive me for being presumptous. guardian_kysra, if you have time and are willing to be a bit self-boasting, would you want to help me out?

If that doesn't pan out, I'm open to nominations-- I think people nominating themselves would be a bit arrogant, but I've read so many LJs and am part of so many people's lives, it'd be insanity to try and think of specific events or circumstances that have made my friends and acquaintances such interesting people. So if you know someone (hopefully that I already know as well) that has an interesting life/backstory, and is currently living or acting in an unusual fashion, let me know. I want to consider all my options. :)

In good news, I got a B- on my last feature story, about ACE Mentor, despite the sheer lack of live reporting (that's what lowered my grade) and Dad not really contributing to the story, even if I got the idea from him. I wish I could revise for a better grade, but as I can't, this is good enough for me.

I do have to think of a topic for my editorial, so I was leaning toward something recent, or perhaps controversial (or both... fandom_wank, anyone? Maybe the whole "fan-published" fanfiction, a.k.a. unauthorized novels?), since I do have "experience" in that area. Other ideas/opinions (I love a good debate) are welcomed! :D

I also updated my LJ with a completely cornball layout from Persnickety Layouts, using kitties a'la Lisa Frank. Do you remember the bright shininess of Lisa Frank, back in your elementary school days? I couldn't resist. I had to bump the header image down to get the nav bar to show, and now the sidebar is still a bit too high up, but it's still mostly readable. That doesn't mean I like the sheer explosion of cute and pink and such, so I'm still open to layout suggestions, pointers to sites or tutorials, or people interested in having me commission them.

And when I get home, I have to try a thing to get my 2wire router to work despite the VPN client. I also have to download a new version of Spybot S&D, because I'm apparently running an ancient version without an interface. It totally screwed up the computer last night, so I had to do a cold reboot this morning, and who knows what happened after that. :P

Ooh, ooh, and I kind of got an idea for WDKY-- but not for 24 (boo). It's for ch. 27-28 or thereabouts, and it involves (Char A) getting into a real fight with (Char B), quite possibly betraying the trust of (C) and (D), and causing (E) to unexpectedly defend both (B) and (D), and (D), who previously was mad at (E) would start to wonder who to trust or believe, what with all the insanity going on (caused by F and Co.)

Heh. Play the guessing game! (It's actually somewhat obvious, if you've been keeping track of my dastardly hints.)

Happy Birthday DQBunny!

Super-Mod. Super-Evil.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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