azurite | Entries tagged with san francisco

I just came home from Downtown. After an allergy test (which I "passed" by being allergic to lots of things, especially dust mites), I met Mom at the St. Francis and hung there for an hour before Mom and I headed homeward. Or at least I did; Mom had an appointment, so we parted ways at Fillmore.

I was reading "Eat, Pray, Love" because I'm not the type to get "carsick" (or "bus-sick," as it were) and because I feel a strange resonation with Elizabeth Gilbert, the book's author. She could be me in a few years, though I don't know whether that's a good thing or not. I'm not done with the book quite yet, but the interesting thoughts that have crossed my mind while reading the book are not the subject of this entry.

As the bus neared the avenues, an older man in the single seat in front of mine saw the back door across from us open at a stop. He chucked a Coke bottle out and then turned back to face the front.

I was disgusted. To the point of wanting to throw up disgusted, which is a pretty severe reaction for someone who's just witnessed littering. It shouldn't such a big deal, but I was mad. I shot a disgusted look at the guy, who didn't see me, of course, but the girl across from me, an African-American girl with a pretty headscarf, a hoodie that didn't match, and an ever-present yellow lighter, did. Neither of us said anything, not to the man, not to anyone.

I couldn't concentrate on the book anymore because I felt this rage, this fire in me. But I kept trying to temper it down with questions like "Why do you care?" and "Why is it a big deal?" Some people litter on the bus, and frankly trash could be a lot worse than a Coke bottle. The guy could have hung onto it, could have tossed it out when he got off the bus, or he could have dropped it on the bus and let it roll around hitting people's feet and get caught behind the doors.

I contemplated throwing trash on him, but I didn't have any. I somehow managed to lose my transfer between the allergist's and the hotel, and the other transfer I intend to keep until it's expired--just in case. Besides, a transfer isn't really "trashy" enough to teach a litterbug a lesson. I needed some expired chop suey or something, but that would be pushing it, right?

I thought about just calling him a pig as I walked out of the bus, but what if the guy was really some violent Mafia felon (I blame the Mafia train of thought on the book, because I had just finished reading the final portion about Italy and Sicily and the cheap concrete filled with bones of people who displeased the Mafia)? I thought about saying it in another language, but my stop was coming up and the word for "pig" in Japanese escaped me.

So I got off the bus without saying or doing anything, and I felt wretched as a result. What kind of world is it that we live in where we can just throw things away like they're nothing, like the Earth is nothing and we don't even expend a little bit of effort to do the right thing, like "recycle," as if we're really making SOME impact? I try and tell myself even a little bit helps, that even an individual can start something, but I bit my lip and kept my mouth shut because sometimes you can't make an example out of others without making an example of yourself first--and not in a good way.

Did I miss out on a chance to teach someone a lesson, or is it even my place? I did make eye contact with that guy as I got off the bus. Turns out he wasn't some ferocious Mafia guy, just an old Asian guy with flip-flops and crusty white feet. I wonder if he saw the exhaustion in my own eyes, the "sick of the world/sick of you" attitude I felt at that moment, because I'd already swallowed the disgust and anger and decided it wasn't worth it. He looked tired too, or maybe just ambivalent, uncaring, apart from the world. Not his problem.

Thinking about it makes me angry again, but like a wave, it recedes away into exhaustion. I can't change people: they have to want to change, they have to be provoked into desiring to change. Can I be a provocateur? Maybe, but only if I stop fearing the consequences. And maybe opening my big mouth, even if it's to reprimand someone "politely" ("Excuse me, but you could have thrown that in a trash can." / "So? What am I going to do about it now?") or to dare to insult a stranger, even if it's in a foreign language, or to just GLARE at someone, hoping that my anger is clear will get me in big trouble one day, but you don't know if you don't try, right? And I'll keep being angry at the world, at others, and most of all, myself, if I don't even TRY to make a difference, small as it is.

Is it weird, wanting to be an example, standing up for what I believe is right? Shouldn't it come naturally, for the things I care about most? It's not like recycling is my big champion cause, but I've just grown up with the habit that you don't toss Coke bottles out of the back doors of buses onto the street.

All I'm left with is a sigh. I don't know what to do with myself, let alone others who piss me off.

Current Mood: frustrated
Current Location: San Francisco, CA

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. :)

Current Mood: happy
Current Location: San Francisco, CA

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!

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: San Francisco International Airport

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)

Current Mood: sick
Current Location: Northridge, CA

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.

Current Mood: amused
Current Location: San Francisco, CA
Current Music: High School Musical Cast　★　Gotta Getcha Head In The Game (High School Musical Special Edition Sound

Greetings from... Santa Cruz, CA. Incidentally, the day I came to S.F., I completely spaced about having a Biology quiz, so I missed it. I'd already gotten one extension from when I got mugged and I knew the professor wouldn't give me another, so... argh. It's not as if it'll be a big dink to my grade provided I keep up with everything else, but it's not as if keeping up is EASY. We're well into the "tough stuff" of this "basic" biology class.

Anyway, I'm in Santa Cruz because, like forgetting my biology quiz, I also forgot that my cousin Brooke's baby shower was THIS WEEKEND rather than "the 7th," which is Tuesday. Because Brooke and Shaina are driving down to Fresno (where the shower is located, at their mom's house) on Friday morning, I had to meet Brooke here in SC *today.* So I took a bus downtown, a Muni train to the Embarcadero, the BART train from the Embarcadero to Fremont, a bus from Fremont to San Jose, and then another bus from San Jose to Santa Cruz. I stuffed myself with 3 horribly unhealthy tacos from taco bell and stared at all the pretty shiny books at the Borders I met Brooke's hubby, Honis (aka Mike) at.

And so here I've been at their place pretty much ever since, studying my geology (which I've been slacking on; I've already taken 2 quizzes but have 5 more due within the next 24 hours; 4 of those are probably fairly easy, but only if I do the reading and make an effort to concentrate and take notes). We did go out for a quick bite at this homey diner called Jeffrey's and talked family, jobs, and the evil brainwashing that is Disney.

We have to wake up at an ungodly hour of the morning tomorrow to head to Shaina's, but she's the one who's going to be driving, so Brooke and I can conk out while we drive to Fresno and do who-knows-what while we're there a full day before the actual shower. I know in my case I have to stay awake and STUDY, sucky as that is. Actually, what's truly sucky is I'm more or less relegated to sitting at some table near an outlet, because my MacBook Pro has been suspiciously sucking with keeping its charge. A few days ago, I noticed that, even after it was supposedly fully charged, it only had a life of 40-55 minutes, rather than a good hour and a half or more like it used to have. I got the iStat Pro widget, and it says that even though my battery's "fully charged," it's at 97%, not 100% (or even 99%), and the "battery health" is at a dismal 45% (it was at 38% at my mom's house). I don't really know what's going on or why; I tried the SMC reset, but it didn't seem to help. I'm really worried...

Staying at my mom's house is a bit awkward this time around; rather than staying in the "Tovstin," aka what used to be my room and is now Gary's study/bedroom (he never sleeps in there though), I stayed in my mom's room. Bigger bed, but... er, not as comfortable. Maybe it's me and my picky back (destroyed by Disney), but I couldn't lay flat on that bed. The only way I could sleep (and not even comfortably, because I kept tossing and turning all night, and woke up with the comforter all haphazard) was on my side. Staying in the Tovstin would mean "inconveniencing" Gary, because his closet is in there, and unlike my mom, who's on her leave, he still has to work everyday and access his clothes. And I've seen the closet in my mom's room, there's just no way Gary's stuff'll fit in there. -_-

So, it looks like when I go back on Sunday I'll be sleeping in the living room on the couch. Awwwwkward.

Speaking of awkward, did anyone catch the vice presidential debate tonight? Things I found amusing, somewhat sad (read: pathetic), and kind of weird:
* Joe Biden referring to himself by name, rather than with a proper pronoun such as "I" or "me" or derivatives thereof
* Sarah Palin being kind of "cutesy" and saying stuff like "you betcha" and "darn right" (don't get me wrong, some people think that her speaking to the "average American" and coming across like a "soccer mom" is a good thing, but I think it made her sound very unprofessional and most definitely un-vice presidential-like)
* Sarah Palin saying "um" a lot (no, really, she did. If you re-watch the debates, you'll notice she said it OFTEN. Speech coach, much?)
* Joe Biden looked like he had an eye lift
* Sarah Palin looked like she had Botox (cheeks!)

I guess what it boils down to is, are vice presidential debates supposed to be about the candidates selling their running mate, or about THEIR personal opinions, policies and actions should THEY get elected into the office of VP? Maybe I'm mistaken for having thought it should be the latter, but the bulk of the debate came off as "Obama this" and "McCain that," and I was like "Yeah, but what do YOU think?" I know that Biden wouldn't be Obama's running mate if they didn't agree on a lot and share the same policies, nor would McCain have Palin if they didn't agree on at least some fundamentals (they at least have some more clear-cut differences though, which is interesting... sadly, for other things, she's more or less his parrot, and can't talk about her opinions because she doesn't have the knowledge to have formed any substantive ones).

The thing that pisses me off about both candidates: they agree that gays should have the same rights as committed heterosexual couples (read: a man "married" to a woman), but they refuse to redefine the word "marriage" outside of the traditional "man" and "woman" sense. This is bullshit. It's a WORD, you nimrods, it has nothing to do with politics, ethics, the Constitution, etc. You don't OWN a word. You don't get to say who uses it and how. The more you say a group can't/shouldn't use a word, or the more you use a word in a derogatory sense, the more people will rise up and do just the opposite: they'll use the word, and they'll use it to empower themselves! (See: Nigga, Queer, Colored). It just sounds ridiculous, the thought of a governmental body saying "this word is going to mean THIS in our country" even if it has a different or more general meaning elsewhere. Of course, definitions in general are subject to societal standards and values, as I'm sure is apparent from other words throughout the centuries, but to get everyone's knickers in a knot over the use of the WORD "marriage" just seems a waste of energy.

For me: marriage is the sealing of a lifetime commitment between two PEOPLE, regardless of gender. This allows them to be listed on each others' insurance, have visitation rights in hospitals, adopt a child (or children), have shared property rights, joint bank accounts, etc. Sure, politicians can say that a "civil union" between gays should have all these rights, but then why not just call it what it is: A MARRIAGE? Why is it "necessary" to create a different word, process, paperwork, etc. just because X couple is gay but Y couple isn't? That's hardly equal rights when there's a simple snit over WORD USAGE, of all things!

*sigh* I need to get to bed. My brain is fried.

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: Santa Cruz, CA

Permit me to have a completely Valley Girl moment, totally unworthy of my San Francisco roots or my current "O.C." status.

O RLY!?
Like, omg, I know that Ben Wildman Tobriner guy who is so hot and swimming in the Olympics and is all chummy with Michael Phelps! Like, I totally sat behind him (well, three seats behind him) in gym in middle school! OMG!

Fer sure. (YA, RLY.)

So, Ben W-T's gotten himself to the Olympics, eh? Good on him. Funny how you can think you (or other people) really change a lot from "the old days" (no portion of middle school was "good" for me, save meeting

schmollieollie), but he looks just like he did back then, except... more hair. And taller (damn him and his height *jealous*)!

NO WAI!
The guy's got himself on YouTube, has his own domain name (well... so do I! PEH!), and is talked about EVERYWHERE, now that the Olympics are the buzz. I wouldn't be surprised if he's got himself a fanclub too, the way Phelps does (and Phelps has a freakin' fangirl in an AT&T commercial. That's pretty amazing for a swimmer, I think. That's not saying anything bad about swimmers or swimming, it's just that it wasn't really until Phelps came along that people started paying attention to the players the way they have been doing for basketball, football, and baseball. Phelps is now a household name, and it'd be kind of funny if "Ben W-T" became one, too).

I just hope if Presidio Middle School (yes, PMS) ever has any kind of a reunion, he bothers to make an appearance and doesn't swagger in with all his medals hanging off (with his stethoscope as well-- the guy's going to become a doctor after he pursues his swimming career --wherever it may lead him--, and with his drive, I don't doubt he will, and probably break records doing that too). I hope he bothers to remember those of us ~~that he stepped on~~ that might not have our name in lights or engraved on medals or whatnot, but know him and think he rocks just the same. I did for much of middle school, and I respect him now.

...I wonder if he'd recognize me?

Current Mood: amused
Current Location: Home - Anaheim, CA

Blue Fairy Over San Francisco
Back in the day of 35 mm cameras, my mom took two photos: one of the original Disneyland Electrical Parade, with the Blue Fairy (from Pinocchio) "leading the charge," and one of the San Francisco skyline from our old apartment's balcony. The resulting double exposure was certainly a sight to behold!

Current Mood: nostalgic
Current Location: Home - Northridge, CA

( New desktop. Oh yeah. )

Man, I wish I were in S.F. right now. I read the Macworld Expo update, and... gawd, I am so stoked for 2008. Not like I'm going to dash out and buy an iPhone (not until it's no longer attached to AT&T without hacks involved) or a MacBook Air (...this laptop is new enough for me. Until it breaks, I'm using it. Plus, I happen to like having an optical drive and a huge hard drive...), but DAMN. Apple just... kicks ass. Have I mentioned lately? You really oughta switch.

I personally think if I could have gotten a single measly day there and been back here... it would have been worth it, just for Steve Jobs' keynote speech. Sure, he flubbed a few times, but it sounded SO fun. And a play-by-play just isn't quite the same as being there, in the flesh. (Yes, the play-by-play had to suffice; it made me jealous) So I have a goal for 2009 (besides graduating in the Spring, that is): Go to Macworld Expo 2009. Network, network! (Who knows, maybe I could impress someone important and get a job at Macworld? Tee-hee.)

What else I'm excited about: the Time Capsule, the companion hardware to Leopard's Time Machine. It basically acts as the AirPort Base Station I spent $179 on, but it comes with a hard drive, supports 802.11n Gigabit Ethernet. A 500 GB (the smallest version available) is $299. I think I paid $250 for my 120 GB MyBook Pro external hard drive, so in terms of pennies per GB, it's very much worth it, in my mind. For die-hard downloaders, there's a 1 TB (!!!!!) version for $200 more. It ships out in February... around the same time as the new student-licensed version of Office 2008:mac, which I've been wanting, because Office 2004 on the Mac is kind of a bitch. Plus, I want more templates than Pages can offer. I didn't realize until today, when I had to make a flyer, that Word is really better than Pages for that. I hate still being Microsoft's bitch in any respect... but with all the years gone by, they have made a powerhouse of a word processor.

What I'm dreaming of: it would kick ass if more companies (including the ones that make $9.99 cheap games for Best Buy, Target, and the like) got on board with Cider to make games Mac-compatible. With Cider, there's only one source tree to manage (from what I read), so it's not like there's a whole overhaul involved. Basically, you take your game and wrap it in something that's friendly to Macs. Nothing changes about the game, the interface, etc. Of course, Cider has its limitations, and since it's not for end-users, it's not like I can just download something and all of a sudden be playing Doom again (*sigh* I miss killing Imps! And NO, I don't want Doom 3! >_< I like my pixellated pigs, thank-you-very-much). But I'd love to be able to play Riddle of the Sphinx, Pharaoh/Cleopatra, and similar Egypt-puzzle games (my favorite) again without going into Parallels. In reality, Parallels has felt like a waste of money to me, because... well, what the hell was I using Windows for? I hardly ever go into it. Blah. I hope there's an update that gets my games working again (in the meantime).

What I should be doing: the

30kisses update. I've already got the T-Z stuff from

a_white_rain, though I have to sort through it all to put it in the right order-- by fandom. Today's the first day when my sleep schedule's semi-normal (and my computer hasn't been overheated), so I'm going to get it done-- especially since I said I would do it by yesterday. I'll also have to combine that with Phase Five of the Claims List Purge-- but as for the actual completion of the Tags Removal and putting the dead claims into the Memories, I'll need help. Mod Squad, you still around?

What I'm testing the waters with: Scrivener, a... humungo writing program JUST FOR MACS (eat that, Windows biznatches!).

dqbunny, you might like this one. If you try it too, we can compare notes. :D I'd also like to try MarsEdit2, a blog publisher. I use xJournal now, and have Phoenix as a backup, but frankly, one of them is always lacking SOMETHING. I wonder if MarsEdit would make a difference. I already know it's compatible with LJ; the question is if it supports all those tiny little features that aren't necessarily blog-platform-cross-compatible (e.g. stuff you'll only see on LJ and its off-shoots, not other blogging platforms like Blogger, etc.) For some reason, I'd get my panties in a wad if I couldn't change security settings or screen comments by default. I'm still kind of PO'd that xJournal doesn't support Location (okay, my location hasn't changed in the past two weeks, but still).

Anywho, to work, to work!

Current Mood: busy
Current Music: One Minute - Kelly Clarkson (My December Deluxe Edition)

Yay, two out of three finals done! Believe it or not, my JOUR 371 (Women, Men, and Media) final didn't really feel like a final so much as a normal class session where she was lecturing and asking for discussion. I asked her after class how I did, and if I was looking at the right line of her gradebook, I got two checks, and one check-plus, which translates into a B, I'd say-- that's just for this portion of our grade, 10%; more of it is made up by the media deconstruction, the media critique (50%), 30% by other tests, and 10% by participation/performance. Overall, I'd say I'll probably get a B, which makes me happy, especially since this was a particularly difficult class.

Moving on, I also got "conditionally approved" for a Chase loan, which means I can go to Washington if I get the money on time. If that works out and I get the appropriate academic credit (hopefully 12-15 units worth; at least 6 from Journalism; it's working out just how the other 6-9 will be applied), then YAY, WASHINGTON D.C. HO!

But if not, I'm going to try not to be disappointed. I think I might be biting off more than I can chew again, even if WII and ISLP are both great opportunities for a number of different things. The great thing is, it's not like if I don't go to WII, I'll be doing nothing here at CSUN-- I got accepted into Take XX, part of the New Student Orientation Leaders team, and I'd still be working with NSLS and NSCS. I definitely don't want to stop being involved with either of them, even if I do go to Washington.

Now, if I do, there's another choice to make: to go to Macworld Expo, or not? If I do, not only can I see my friends and/or parents (most likely the latter, since... to be honest, guys, would any of you want to want to go to a Macworld Expo with me? Dad I know would, MAYBE Mom --but not together, no way, no how) again, but it's just plain fun. Plus I could always cover it as a Special Contributor to the Sundial, maybe? I applied to be a Copy Editor there, too, but I didn't officially GET the position even though the new editor-in-chief asked me. Basically, everything hinges on WII.

If I do go to WII, I'd only have Jan 14-16 to be at the Expo, since I have to check in in Washington, D.C. between 9am -5pm and be at the informal mixer by 6pm. Two days at an Expo isn't bad... but again, it's about money. Then again, if I go to WII with a loan backing me, money won't be so much of an issue anymore. It'd be icing on the cake if I managed to get a paid internship.

Speaking of icing, I really want some cupcakes... Baba said we can buy cupcakes and/or cupcake mix on the way home. I think my holiday baking spirit is getting kicked in. And crafting, too. A certain someone shall be receiving a handmade card soon (hint hint: that person is on this FL!)...

What else? Well, I've gotten some of my Secret Stalker gifts from Aria's Ink-- I decided to participate this year on a whim, and it's got me not only working on Epiphany, trying to revive a better version of Mare Serenitatis, but also looking over my old SM fics (let's be honest, except for maybe "24," and the beginning of "Quicksilver," they ALL suck; my writing has come SUCH a long way). I also did some fanart, but ssh! No one can know my secret stalker identity until the event is over... I might even try to resurrect an old idea and work on the 2003 Aria's Ink holiday competition contest.

Well, what with my tablet semi out-of-commission, coloring anything in Photoshop's a real bitch now (doing it with a mouse is... ugh, it's like taping my fingers together and trying to paint), so the fanart might have to wait until I get a new one, or unless I take the marker-colored version I did AFTER the scan and fiddle with that... but personally, I'd rather Photoshop the color in, as my inking process... well, let's just say it didn't go as well as I wanted. I'm not too much of an artist... ;_;

I'm feeling a bit more hopeful today than I was yesterday, so I hope I can channel that into studying a bit for my last final and then working on some creative (and possibly cleaning) endeavors tonight, whatever form they may take... there's always a lot on my plate, frosting or no. :)

Current Mood: hopeful

Here's a story you may have heard before: I went to school in San Francisco. My elementary, middle, and high schools were all within 10 or so blocks of one another. I went to school with many of the same people, and was in many of the same classes with them. Over the years, very little changed, including the lack of funding for classrooms.

It wasn't just journalism, my favorite class, which cost a lot of money to run (after all, you need money to print a paper!)-- it was science, it was history, it was world lit. It didn't matter whether it was elementary school, when parents seemed to have more time, energy, and money to donate to classroom expenditures and events; it was middle school and high school, too.

I've been in classes where teachers had to pay for their own materials, in classes where the teachers had to ask parents for help with funding, and in classes where the students didn't GET to use modern technology, go on field trips, or even use basic, new equipment.

I've had to use books more than 20 years old, falling apart at the seams. I've had to pay out of pocket to keep my school supplies in shape, because I can't rely on the ones provided at school. Early on, I started to assume that I had to bring supplies that normally, people would figure students wouldn't HAVE to-- things like construction paper, scissors, glue, or markers. That's why I have so many art supplies NOW-- because I've kept them over the years, made sure they've stayed in good condition, and shared them with my fellow students.

It's a sad situation, when you think about it. Out of all the high schools I visited in San Francisco (mostly when I was at a JROTC event), only ONE really looked like it had everything it needed, and that all their students could really be happy, motivated, and productive in their classroom. San Francisco is a major metropolitan city. There are six
"big" high schools with thousands of students each, and lots more charter and alternative schools. That's not even going into the elementary and middle schools that need help.

Now, thanks to SixApart and DonorsChoose.org, I'm participating in the Bloggers Challenge to help raise money for a variety of projects (proposals started by teachers at San Francisco schools!) in San Francisco. Unfortunately, none of my alma maters are listed, but that doesn't mean I want to help any less.

Whether you're from San Francisco or not, once you read some of these teachers' proposals (and often impassioned pleas), you'll want to help to. Whether it's a dollar or ten, every donation can and DOES make a difference. Not only will you be recognized for your donation, but it's tax-deductible as well.

* This is a regional challenge, for San Francisco-based schools only. Why? Because San Francisco is my hometown, and when I go back for a visit, I would love to see my few dollars making a BIG difference for kids that were just like me five, ten, fifteen, or eighteen years ago.

* I'm adding several teacher proposals (as of 4:48pm on 9/28, there are 8 to choose from, ranging from PreK to high school) to my Bloggers Challenge, because there are a number of schools in need for a variety of different reasons. I don't think any one project has priority over another, so I want to include as many as I can. If you have a suggestion for a proposal to add to my challenge, send me the link to let me know! Some of the proposals I've added have a greater target goal than my challenge does; that's because I believe EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS.

Click on this link to see all the proposals I have currently added to my challenge. You can click on each individual proposal to read more about that teacher's particular situation, as well as see their target goal, how much they've already raised, and how many students are impacted by the efforts made so far. Then you can click to fund one proposal or all of them.

* SixApart has already graciously given me a $30 gift certificate to donate to one of the proposals on my challenge, and I've chosen the "Books That Add Spice" one. I'll match that $30 with money of my own for another one of the proposals on my challenge, and I hope you can, too!

Current Mood: hopeful

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.

Current Mood: aggravated
Current Location: Home - San Francisco, CA 94118
Current Music: Enya - Angeles (Shepherd Moons)

Even in San Francisco, the weird dreams find me. I know at least one dream had something to do with Sailor Moon, but that's unsurprising considering all the videos of that I was watching on YouTube last night.

But then for some reason I dreamed I looked at the Yu-Gi-Oh TCG instruction book, and because I hadn't stayed up to date with it, everything had changed-- WInd-element monsters became "Dust" type, for some weird reason, and the icon changed from a Japanese kanji to something that looked like a turtle shell. Also, the trap card icon changed to something that looked like a turtle-shell-shield, and it wasn't called "trap," it was called something (possibly a fake word) that looked like a cross between Briarary and Bestiary. And Ritual cards were called the same thing, even though their icon looked the same (sort of like fire, right?)

Anyway, today is INDEPENDENCE DAY (and man, I want to watch ID4. :D) and I'm going out to meet ... whoever (not sure who, lots of people! Friends!) at the Pier for dinner, fireworks, and who the hell knows what else. Yay for going out and freezing my tits off...!

What? I'm feeling vulgar this morning.

Current Mood: awake

The best things in life are free
da da da dah
But you can keep them for the birds and bees
Give me money!
That's what I want
That's what I want (That's what I want)
That's what I waaaaaaaant
That's what I want (That's what I want)

So today I went with Mom to the Semester at Sea Open Ship event aboard the MV (formerly Universe) Explorer docked at Pier 35, and WOW! That ship is AMAZING. Mom's been on cruises before on luxury liners (I haven't) and even she was saying the ship was impressive. Okay, so the dorm rooms are about the size of my closet and the beds aren't even a twin, but the rest of the ship is just AMAZING. The classrooms have glass tables and soft, round, rotating chairs. The whole ship is wireless for internet and satellite phone, and there are snack bars, entertainment centers, a small pool, fitness centers, a full SPA! It's really incredible. And to get to travel/see the world and learn at the same time, sometimes from incredibly renowned people? Chance of a lifetime.

The catch? It's about $21,000. I have about $5000 in scholarship and loan money at the moment (not counting my Presidential Scholarship... for reasons which should be obvious), which has always been enough to cover for CSUN. I think as a senior, I can take out more money from the loans, but that's really a last resort. I'd rather get more scholarships and grants. The Institute for Shipboard Education has scholarships up to $7000, and work-study, but the latter programs are only available to students with an Expected Family Contribution (on their FAFSA) of $0. And while I've never actually received any money from either my mom or my dad for college, that's NOT what it says on my FAFSA, which is calculated according to taxes and such. Things that I have no control over, basically, since I can't be an independent student until I'm 25, even if I don't live with either of my parents, and, as far as I know, neither of them claim me (and though my grandparents *CAN*, they don't).

I thought I could apply and be notified of my status on the spot, but they want EVERYTHING ready-- not just the transcripts and clearance form, but the application (which had to be done on paper, because the computers were being fixed) and the attached essay. But because I went to the event, I can at least get the application fee waived, which is nice. So I can write that essay and mail everything out soon.

...So Dad (whom I saw today after the event) lent me his giant Peterson's Guide to Grants, Scholarships and Prizes. It's several hundred pages, with millions of listings, so let's hope I can get at least a few of them if I get accepted into SAS so I can actually *GO.* That and maybe I'll stage a fundraiser. ^^;

That said, the suckiness of today was that I lost my 7-day bus pass. Where, I don't know. Maybe on the ship, maybe on the 47 on the way to the Pier... I don't know. I went back to the ship to look for it, but I couldn't find it in any of the places I remember going or sitting, and no one in any of those areas had found it. I even left my number with an alum, but no call back. :( I know I'm only here for 2 more days, but still! What a waste of $24. I didn't take nearly as many bus trips as the value of the card was worth, and I'm really disappointed in myself. And my pants, with their stupid shallow pockets.

But the F-train that I took to the Embarcadero Bart had a really amusing driver, plus the cash box was broken, so I didn't have to pay anyway. I got enough money for the BART, and I met Dad at the Crucible. We went out for supper at this cute hole-in-the-wall Mexican Wrap place in Alameda, where I had 2 delicious enchiladas, and a kindergartener that learned the Mexican Hat Dance performed for us. He got a flan for his trouble-- so cute! And before I left, I had two of the very friendly servers speaking Japanese! :D Haha~

I then went with Dad to his new house (this is the 3rd place he's lived in since moving to Alameda; the last one was the one that burnt down/got flooded), which is a very nice place with a nice backyard of sorts, pretty stained glass windows, and big polished wooden columns. Very "Dad." And Roy (the cat) likes me! He meowed at me a lot, and liked to let me pet him. :) But he's a very big and somewhat irritable cat-- his tail was always swooshing!

We all watched "Chronicles of Riddick" (which I didn't really get; I guess it would have helped to have watched "Pitch Black" first, eh? But Dad said it was pretty scary), and had some Kettle Korn and Mexican Coca-Cola from the wrap place we'd gone to. Mexican Coke is the best! :D None of that high fructose corn crap-- it's REAL SUGAR! (Real teeth rot! YAY!) and then Dad took me to the Fruitvale Bart.

So here I am back at home, mildly amused because I saw a restaurant named "Namu" (as in, Malik's alias during the beginning of Battle City) on my way back home on the 31. I guess it was a good day-- I hope I can do a bit of shopping tomorrow and maybe hang out with people some more.

Recent Acquisitions:
* "Chew on This" by Eric Schlosser, the author of "Fast Food Nation." It's more on fast food, but it's not as difficult a read as FFN. Very good! Makes me want to teach it! There are a lot of good ideas for using it in various subjects in classes.

* Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters for PS2. (It was $9, I couldn't resist)

* Enya: Shepherd Moons. Nice music to fall asleep to. I got it at Goodwill for only $3.49, and it was in perfect condition!

* "Diary of a Mad Bride" and "Mermaid Saga 1," also obtained at Goodwill-- both in brand-new condition, for only $1.49 each. The manga even had the original Borders barcode sticker still on the back! :D

* Do Not Disturb lavender-and-rice-filled warming relaxation wrap. It takes 1 minute and 20 seconds to heat in the microwave to a good temperature that totally relaxes my shoulders, soothes headaches, and helps me sleep or relax. It was only $25 at the Discovery Channel store, which is unfortunately going out of business (except online).

I've also been editing WDKY as of late-- Chs. 9-12 all have been fixed, but not uploaded anywhere as of yet. I figure I'll do everything in order to get a sense of the story up until now (Ch. 25) and then just re-upload everything everywhere, all at once. It'll also be nice to work on the various portions of the WDKY website, so I can remember all the things that inspire me for particular parts of the saga.

That said... I think I'll look at Ch. 13 and then go to bed.

Current Mood: chipper
Current Location: Home - San Francisco, CA 94118-3506

Ah, what a day. I met up with

staplerx and

ohsupervinchan at the latter's house (I was a surprise guest star! Hehe) and we hung around a bit before heading to the Asian Art Museum for the Osamu Tezuka exhibit. Admittedly, I learned a lot about him when I was in Japan (in my Pop Culture class), but you really get an appreciation for the contributions he made to Japanese anime and manga (and society as a whole, if you think about the stories behind his manga, and the ways he chose to animate them) by going to the exhibit. We easily spent more hours than I would have thought there, but it was fun. Viz even sponsored a Manga Lounge full of all kinds of manga and drawing materials-- though one girl caught my ire because not only did she hog up the two easels, but she seemed to miss the point behind "sharing your manga" and "contributing to the world of manga" by doing a crappy elf with mainly her pimped website/mySpace, etc. addresses filling up half the side. It wasn't even that good, and she didn't even bother to take the pictures off the easels when she was done, to give other people a chance. Hello, this isn't your museum! Plus she was writing ~Aishiteru <3~ all over her posters like it was some sort of signature phrase. HELLO, people, "Aishiteru" is not some cutesy little phrase that you just toss around. Japanese people take that very seriously, much like people at airports don't take jokes about bombs lightly.

Anyway. Since it was already 4pm by the time we got out, I decided to nix the Vivienne Westwood/de Young museum idea (seeing a fashion book of her stuff at J-town also helped me of that... of all the pics, only 2 were ones I recognized from Nana, and even though there might be more at the exhibit, maybe VW's clothes aren't as "all that" as I thought). Vince dropped Jimbo and I off at J-town; we went to the bookstore (managed to get the June issue of Shonen Jump-- teh yay! But can anyone REALLY explain to me why Priest Seto had the change of heart re: Kisara? In the first act when she appeared, he seemed to be pretty ruthless in getting her spirit, even if it would mean her death. Akunadin/Akhenaden was the one who (before Zork possessed him) seemed shocked by that. But when Zork possessed Akunadin, all of a sudden Seto's the one who wants her to run! WTF, mates?). We then went to a tasty corner sushi shop beginning with an S, across the street from the Peace Plaza. San... something or other? Sapp... I don't know. It wasn't Sanpopo and it wasn't Sapporo, though.

It was all surprisingly good (especially the beef!) and I even had myself some Kappa rolls! :D Mm, cucumbers. And avocado too, I think. After that, Jimbo and I (for lack of a better idea) headed downtown to check out the new mall; we stopped at this boutique-type eatery in the new mall segment called Cocola that had crappy crème brûlée (well, the crust was crappy and thick/harder than it should have been, and WAY too sweet), and Jimbo got a mango mousse that he said was nasty. So, word to the wise, whether you be S.F. natives, nearby-ers, or visitors-- don't go there! They suck.

We lounged around for a bit more; I tried up some overpriced hair clips at a kiosk in the middle somewhere, in a vain attempt to replace the nice green one I'd gotten at H&M ages ago (which I lost at Narita Airport when I was going from Japan to Hong Kong). Turns out the Discovery Store (all across the country) is closing, so I grabbed a lavender-and-rice aromatherapy massage pack, which I plan to use before I go to bed tonight. I think I was able to resist so many of the "nice" things I saw in that segment of the new mall (which I'd been looking forward to exploring for some time) because it's so snotty and overpriced. All those stores I love to hate, like on Santa Monica's 3rd St. Promenade-- places like Zara, Swarovski, jewelry retailers I've never heard of, etc. etc. Bleh! The only stores I like in there are Borders (duh) and H&M. :(

We finally left after 9pm, and I got back home here at 10ish... my dinner was Lucky Charms, because Mom and Gary have yet to go shopping, and Mom asked me to get milk. So Jimbo and I went to Walgreens before getting on the bus, and we saw a guy get nailed for shoplifting! Oooh, bad bad! And I think we saw the same guy a bit later waiting at the same bus stop as us! WTF?!

Maybe tomorrow I'll go to Stonestown with Jimbo again to see Christal... perhaps after I hit up Wash and the ROTC. *smirk* Thursday I might return to the AAM for a Hip Hop and manga event/lecture (I think?) and a late-night IHOP run, like the good ol' days. :D Jimbo owes me $7 anyway, might as well spend it on pancakes. At some point, I have to get together with the girls and hopefully Dad; on Saturday I'll be going to the Semester at Sea boat with mom... and Friday Mom took off, and she wants me to work on the computers all that day. Busy, busy, busy... but at least I have CS3! :D

ETA: Yesterday when I got here, I finally got a call back from the people at Kaiser Dermatology in Woodland Hills... results of the biopsy: negative. Benign mole. I should be relieved, but after all that drama, it was kind of anti-climactic. And with all the other odd spots on me, is it worth it getting them biopsied (read: carved off) just to have them tested and have to do all that call-tagging again? The weird one on my side (the results I got were from that one) now looks 5x bigger and uglier because of the scar... to have that on my back, my thigh, and who knows where else is not very appealing. But I guess it paid to at least be concerned.

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: Home - San Francisco, CA 94118-3506

( 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?

Current Mood: pleased
Current Location: Home - San Francisco, CA 94118-3506
Current Music: Classical WGBH 89.7 HD2 (Boston)

Weird dream. The brain is the greatest mystery, I think. Forget space and the oceans, brains are just weird. ( Not sure where I was~ )

Current Mood: confused

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Current Mood: cold
Current Location: Home - San Francisco, CA, 94118

Whoo-hoo, Giants beat the Padres 3-5! I wish we'd beat them 1-5, then I could have gone to the Levi's store at Union Square and gotten 10% or so off a purchase with a ticket stub, but alas... I suppose I don't need the new pants anyway (even though I really do, I think). But it was still nice having post-game bragging rights and text messaging Scott to tell him GIANTS WON HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA (among other things, which prompted the following reply: !...go Padres?)

So generally speaking, it's been a good Spring Break. I wish I'd gotten out more... hopefully if I get up at a semi-reasonable hour tomorrow (and Mom doesn't have me cleaning again *pray pray pray*) I can do some last-minute shopping at J-town and downtown, if I pack my other things in the morning. I hope the weather will be nice, because no matter what outfit I choose, it'll be a skirt. :P

Thankfully Dad wasn't PO'd at all when I called him earlier today to ask him about the plans for Friday... he still doesn't know if Kathleen is coming for Passover, though. o_O; And he refuses dead-on to come to S.F., so that means Mom'll be stuck shipping any leftover things of mine, rather than me taking it via car. :P Honestly, parents can be so immature at times...

But rather than rant and rail, I'm in a pretty good mood. I snagged YGO: Duelist #20 (yea for more errors by Viz so I can put them on WikiFic!) and The Prestige on DVD for only $19.99 (plus 30% off YGO!). And the game was pretty damn good, even if Bonds... well, he didn't do much. He caught one good hit somewhere in the last innings, but hitting-wise, he didn't do much. When he finally got to base, it was because he got a run. Everyone was booing. I think booing is tacky, but... whatever. It helped us score in the end, I think.

It's a shame I didn't get to see more of my friends and do more with my Mom, but that's the nature of Spring Break. I'll be back in summer, for sure.

Current Mood: chipper
Current Location: Home - San Francisco, CA, 94118

So, who watched the Academy Awards?
I used to make a big brou-ha-ha about all the awards shows (and I mean ALL of them), because I loved to obsess over the fashion. That was back when I wanted to be a fashion designer. But I'm not so into them anymore, but because Ellen DeGeneres was hosting this year's awards, I decided to watch it. I didn't care to watch for the first half, and I guess I missed out on some good stuff, but I did catch the part where Ellen was sitting near Clint Eastwood and she got Steven Spielberg to take a picture of Clint and her for her MySpace. I thought she was just saying it, but on a whim, I decided to check and lo! she totally wasn't kidding.

That's what makes Ellen so damn cool.

Baba and I both agreed that there used to be more stage time for the hosts AND the performances, but I still liked this year's show. Even though I'm not much into celebrity "news" I do think it'd be fun to cover the Oscars someday, if I worked at a fashion/entertainment magazine or something. (By "celebrity news," I mean tabloids and other gossip rags like People, Us Weekly, etc. I think it's rude of paparazzi to intrude on celebrity's every waking moment... but I also recognize that celebrities ARE public figures, and as such, they have fewer privacy rights than ordinary citizens-- this is fact, not me "defending journalism." If anything, I'd like to be involved with celebrities the way Barbara Walters is-- involving them as people, not the latest gossip or rumors.)

Meh, I guess I'm impatient... even though I never really used MySpace that much, I don't like not having access to it. I think it'd be cool to try and friend EllenDeG, even though she's got over 6000 requests pending. Hee. I've always liked Ellen bunches. Odd, too, considering Ellen's my middle name, and I've always been kind of ashamed of it. But not anymore. Hell, it's been part of my screen name for ages... so yes.

My middle name's ELLEN!

And I've been starting to think about visiting SF again. I mean, I already know I am (Mar 30-Apr 6! BE READY!), but I'm thinking about what I want to do and where I want to go. For sure I think I'll go back to Wash, especially if the ROTC is getting phased out of schools. It'd be nice to say goodbye to the place that had a big part in shaping who I am. I had a lot of memories --good and bad-- there.

...My friends can probably see where I'm going with this. Yeah, I started thinking Stupid Giggle-Worthy Thoughts again.

cutieme4u,

schmollieollie, you know what I mean, right? Smack me when you see me, I'm such a dork. Haha.

Current Mood: bored
Current Location: School - Manzanita Hall, 18111 Nordhoff St. Northridge, CA
Current Music: Thalía - Baby, I'm In Love

This gets a whole new post due to the insanity of it all.
On the return flight back to Burbank (SFO -> BUR), I found out 5 minutes before we were due to arrive at the airport (approximately 1 hour before our flight was scheduled to take off, the recommended time to come in to deal with security and whatnot) that our flight had been cancelled. The automated message didn't say why. But we didn't turn around; being so close to the airport, we all just decided to find out what was what and see what we would be compensated with. The message DID say we had been rescheduled for a flight to Burbank the next morning, but that would mean schlepping all the way back to SFO and imposing on my mom-- plus unpacking, after we'd spent so much time PACKING!

So Scott, Mom, and I all got out while Gary guarded the car; Mom and I (more Mom, since she is not fun to deal with when you piss her off) talked to a customer service person. Mom went a little over the top, but in the end, Scott and I got our flight changed to one that was supposed to leave at 9:30 (instead of 7:15, our original flight). So it was a few extra hours at the airport, but SFO had lots of food and stores, so why not?

We noticed that on our new boarding passes, the original time for the flight (SFO -> LAX) was actually 8:07, and it had gotten rescheduled. But we thought nothing of it, so we went to get some food at the food court nearest our gate. As I went to the bathroom, I noticed there were no outbound flights to Los Angeles leaving at 9:30. There was one at 9:40, and after I checked with Scott, I confirmed the flight number-- our flight had been delayed by 10 minutes. No big deal, right?

We'd already hung out at the bookstore and I'd had a Noah's bagel from earlier; now after dinner, we just decided to head to the gate, about a half hour before our boarding time. But when we got there, the flight got rescheduled to 10:00. Then 10:20. Then 10:30. Then finally, 11:20. Initially, it was because of monsoon/thunderstorms over the middle of the state, which the airline refused to fly over. So why not fly over the ocean? We ended up doing that anyway. Then it was because they had no pilot, and even when we finally got a pilot, we didn't have enough flight attendants. Then the flight attendants came-- three more than we needed. We finally got underway, after five hours.

The plane was nice, and I even got some shut-eye, but when we got to LAX, there was more confusion. The rep from SFO had told us to tell a United Representative at LAX that we'd initially been scheduled for Burbank, and we had a shuttle waiting there for us. Since everyone from our flight had either been directed toward this flight or the one for the following morning, we wouldn't be alone; we'd all take the shuttle from LAX to BUR, and just take a shuttle from there, right? Wrong. 41 people from the rescheduled flight cancelled, so we had no way of getting any sort of upgrade or compensation. We basically waited HOURS for nothing.

On top of that, Burbank closed at midnight or so, so there was no point in having United shuttle us there if Super Shuttle wouldn't pick us up. So after standing in plenty of lines, schlepping our luggage around (I got a SmartKart for $3, but it made my life easier for a few hours), and talking to plenty of people, another United rep gave us a $51 voucher for the shuttle. We paid $31 for the shuttle from Burbank; from LAX it would have been slightly more, so the $51 *was* generous, but it hardly made up for all the waiting and the lack of information. Matter of fact, it almost didn't help at all, because Super Shuttle apparently didn't have enough shuttles (3 7-person vans -_-) to take us back to Northridge-- they were all going elsewhere, like to Glendale, Pasadena, and Anaheim. We had to do some juggling with Primetime Shuttle (the company I hate, because I feel unsafe with them), and we got to Northridge-- I even slept in the car, while Scott directed a driver who had NO idea where the hell he was with where to go.

And we got home... at 3:30am. It was still blazing hot though, so we slept with no blankets, the fan on full blast, and the air conditioning on. Neither of us got much sleep; Scott woke up around 9:30 or 10 to start getting ready to leave, and though I was still dead tired and even more overheated, I woke up with him, because I wanted to say goodbye and everything. And so it went, and we said "goodbye" or at least, "I'll see you later."

Scott seems to have made up his mind about the Peace Corps; he doesn't want to wait until next year to MAYBE get an Asian assignment, so he'll settle for whatever he gets in Central Asia, i.e. Kazakhstan or Azerbaijan. If I had to do the picking, I'd pick the latter, but... well, I just wish Scott wouldn't feel like he HAS to pick the Peace Corps because he got all those medical tests for it, did all that paperwork, etc. Yes, it looks great on your resume, and yes, it's longer, possibly more rewarding... but I just don't want him to be unreachable, or in danger because of wars in that area (very close to the Middle East).

He also has the option of getting something guaranteed IN JAPAN from the Oxford TEFL seminars, but who knows when and where that will pan out? I just hope he lets me know soon, and everything will somehow work out.

But needless to say, neither of us are flying United again if we can help it. I think I'll have to, for Japan, but I hope international flights are the exception. :P Still, I want to write a complaint letter. I also want to make sure my mom doesn't get charged for a shuttle we couldn't arrive on time to take, considering we weren't even at the right airport. :P

Current Mood: bitchy
Current Location: Work

At last, the San Francisco recap post... assuming I can actually remember most of what happened.

Saturday, July 15th - Scott came over around noon, not long before our shuttle was supposed to have arrived. He was originally going to come over earlier, except his friend Brett got a job back down in San Diego, and since all of their other mutual friends were off partying, Scott decided to help him pack up, so he stayed the night in Burbank. It was weird for him to already be near the airport where WE needed to be, just to come 20 miles up north so he could take a shuttle BACK DOWN to Burbank, but oh well. :P

It was awkward at first, but the shuttle arrived soon enough and we were off. After wandering out the paltry selection of stores and restaurants (read: less than half of each) in the United/American Airlines terminal, we sat down and had some snacks, at which point it was silently "decided" that to hell with it, call us whatever you will, we are what we are and we feel the way we do, so screw it. So yes, I suppose we were acting like boyfriend and girlfriend, even if that "definition" hardly applied to us. He was very sweet and affectionate to me, and even though initially I was scared of that meaning I would have a harder time of saying goodbye to him when the time came (Peace Corps taking him to Central Asia, me going to Japan), I'm not stupid enough to deny affection and attention when it's offered and WANTED.

We managed to get to San Francisco just fine; the plane was horribly small and the drink selection terrible (Pepsi! EEEUCK!), but at least we made it on time. We took the BART (I got a little lost at the SFO station) to Daly City, and bought a 7-day passport at the airport for $24/each. Then we took the 28 to Fulton and met my mom at the house. :} We hung around for a while, got dressed, and then headed out to downtown, where we'd take another BART to West Oakland to go to the Fire Arts festival. Aside from the usual loonies hanging around at the BART station, there was no problem. We got off at our stop and, just as dad said, we knew immediately where to go-- right toward the pillar of fire.

*grin* The Fire Arts festival is something my dad raved about last year, hosted by The Crucible, a fire-arts school that focuses on things like metalwork, electric work, glass blowing, and the like. We had to work our way through a windy, twisty line, but at last we made it in -even though a group of snotty bitches cut us in line. I hate that! I really do! But anyway, we got in, met my dad at the bar, and then looked around. The first thing I noticed was DDR on a wide projection screen, so we headed over there-- and sure enough, they were doing something called "Dance Dance Immolation," a modified version of Stepmania with "fire" themes. The modes were renamed (Light was Burner, Standard was Raver, and Heavy became Asshole; the description of the latter was "Your arcade misses you") and the gauge became a danger thermometer-- you know, like you see on nuclear reactors, or on the modified DeLorean in Back to the Future part III?

We watched a few people in flame retardent suits attempt to DDR, but needless to say, they all sucked. No one seemed to know what DDR was or how to play it... so when the event coordinator walked around and asked for volunteers, I surprised myself by speaking up. I was wearing leather pants and a vinyl tube top and 3-4" Tommy Hilfiger leather boots, but I shimmied out of the tube top and into a red cotton sleeved shirt, and after much waiting and confusion about suit sizes, I was up there, an oxygen tube strapped to my back, a silver suit concealing my identity... and I DDRd while flames shot in my face.

I shit you not. FLAMES. IN MY FACE.

The guy I was playing with said he'd DDRd before, but we agreed to let each other pick songs. But they'd renamed all the submenus too, so I couldn't find the song I wanted, so I got stuck with Mobo*Moga or something for my first song. I aced it anyway. ;} I got Breakdown for the second song, and aced that, but by the third stage, I was so tired from the heaviness of the suit and my sore feet, I started to stumble while playing Butterfly. The guy controlling the game refused to let me do any speed or step modifiers, saying "This isn't DDR, this is Dance Dance IMMOLATION!" And immolation is right, because even though I still did okay on Butterfly, I got flames in my face plenty of times. It wasn't until the suit was off that I realized how grateful I was for the oxygen tube. I was sweating terribly but DAMN that felt good!

Not too many people can say they aced DDR while flames shot in their face. :D Boo yeah, baby.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: blah
Current Location: Work

I beat

winterwing3000 in a battle of Strength!

SaveJapantown.com

Anyone that has known me for a while or helped me with my essays for Study Abroad and the related financial aid/scholarships would know that the reason why I am so into Japan, Japanese culture/language, and anime and manga is because of my sister. She got me a prismatic Sailormoon SuperS sticker when I was about 9 years old. Though a few comic shops exist in the Richmond district of San Francisco, where I grew up, I would not have had HALF (or more!) the opportunities to experience Japanese culture, language, and lifestyle without Japantown existing in the central part of the city.

Now Kintetsu and AMC Theatres/Lowes Corp. are aiming to sell their property, which is almost 3/4 of Japantown! The only two other Japantowns in the United States are in San Jose and in Los Angeles, and I've been to both-- neither quite compare to San Francisco, where Asian culture has truly found a home. The sale of property in Japantown always ends up causing scandal and heartbreak- case in point: the former Japantown Bowling Alley. I spent years there bowling with my middle school and high school's leagues, building confidence, making friends, and having fun. When they sold it and demolished it to build a condominium complex with retail space, I was devastated. Now, the only bowling alleys in the city are practically inaccessible (Presidio Bowl), or are too overpriced and small (Yerba Buena Center).

Worse, the bowling alley was bought out by a company that did NOT have the neighborhood's best interests at heart; the retail space had yet to be filled when I was there, and the purchasing company's idea of "giving back" was to fill up almost the entire sidewalk, plant a few scrawny trees, and install a GATE to block people out! If they do the same to Japantown's malls, so much of the Japanese culture available there --whether to native San Franciscans, Japantown residents, or tourists-- will be gone forever.

Even if you've never been, please sign the petition. Don't let Japantown disappear! And please, pass this on. Tell everyone you know. Write to AMC/Lowes and the mayor of San Francisco (Gavin Newsom-- he's nice AND he's hot. Let's hope he's understanding, too).

Right now I'm busy polishing off my Presidential Scholars application with the Academic Plan (of courses I have left to take). I've had to edit the original PDF like crazy, because apparently no one knows how to make a PDF with editable form fields. Everyone says they PREFER typed forms, but how can you type in a form if you don't enable it!? Idiots. I'm just lucky I have Adobe Reader 6.0. It's older, but it works. I've already printed out my DARS and my CCSF unofficial transcript, finished off my statement of purpose... the only thing I'm confused on is whether Prof. Hirota just has to sign the thing, or whether she has to give a statement, too. All the forms say something different, and there's no space or form to refer to that I'm supposed to give her. I would hate to have all my work be for nothing, but there's just no time to scramble and get the rest of this stuff done tomorrow.

I can try and read Ch. 1 of my geography book in the morning before class. At 11am, I have to visit Prof. Hirota for her signature/statement (if I can get one), and then I have to grab a lunch. I have to get my Japanese/Situational Drills done (already did part of #1, it looks relatively easy). Then I have to meet the girls from Japanese to practice our skit, which we have to perform first, since I have my interview at 3:20. Then I have work at 4pm until 6:45, at which point I have to go to Journalism, armed with 3 story ideas... o_o; Story ideas for feature stories, but not "general topics"... story ideas that are plausible, and not how-to stories, and probably not profiles. HEEEEEEEEEEELP!

I need to sleep now (even if I feel wired and stressed), because if I walk into that interview with bags under my eyes, it will kill EVERYTHING.

Current Mood: crazy
Current Music: Yuki Kajiura - mimiru

For those of you that ever thought that Valley Girls talked like my subject line, you'd be wrong. They did in Clueless, but not down here where I live, and I am in The Valley. Not that I can speak for the air headed teenage population, but, just so you know, I am a Valley Girl now, and I still have relatively good diction, thankyouverymuch!

Anyway, I am back in the Valley; Dad and I split from Alameda around 11am this morning and got here around 7ish. The drive was amusing, if just because of the following:

A recollection of last night, in which I attempted to get friendly with my Dad's cat, Roy
I also signed my dad up for eHarmony.com, and we laughed loads over my dad's answers (he was honest, don't worry!)
We dined-and-dashed at the Apricot Tree, this horrible road-side restaurant. Service was extremely slow for both waiting, ordering, and serving, plus the usual "can I get you your water/check/ketchup/clean flatware" stuff. If we'd bothered to ask for the check and then get change, we would have been there for another hour. Do I feel bad? No. :P
I got to explain all about the tracks I put on last year's Turkey CD compilation. Basically, it's a CD of your favorite songs that you've found in the past year, and Dad had never heard of many of my choices, which went on the 6 "Ultimate" volumes (there were 2 "original" volumes, based off the original Turkey Tapes from the 80s). Dad especially liked the addition of Elvis' "A Little Less Conversation" and John Sykes/Blue Murder's "Cautionary Warning".

Of course, my Dad picked me up pretty early yesterday night (7:30ish), so I had to rush home from Classic Bowl in Pacifica, where I'd gone with Crystal, Maggie, Richard, Evie, Eva, and Harry. Stephanie and Katia had been with us earlier in the day, but they both had other obligations that took them away early. Crystal gave me a nifty new journal, and Katia gave me a new addition for my bookmark collection-- an Aslan (Chronicles of Narnia) bookmark! YAY!

I didn't get to see "Memoirs of a Geisha" like I originally planned; the 5:50 show at the Century 21 was sold out, so that's how we ended up going bowling. I hope I'll be able to see it (and go ice skating, another canceled plan that we'd made for SF) with Scott in San Diego when I go on the 29th; I'm staying through the 2nd! Mom even gave me a nice new outfit and 2 new sweaters to wear down there, plus some hair glitter, a necklace and earrings, and a jeweled barrette. I do think I'll look smashing... ^_~

I ended up forgetting my flash drive there... keeerap! But at least Mom bought my laptop (she already gave me $80; she owes me $920. I shaved about $500 off for her payment toward my Driver's Ed lessons and the bits of money she gave me over the course of two weeks. She'll probably pay in installments, so it'll keep me afloat until I get paid for working at the bookstore (gotta call tomorrow and go in on Thursday, before I leave for SD) and the ITR job (training starts on the 9th). Worse, Jimbo and Richie put Stepmaniamax on my laptop, and I tried to burn it onto a CD and DVD, but the software or somesuch shit wouldn't let me.

So... staplerx or richlikesmaids, where did you get Stepmaniamax from? And if I can't download it or get a CD/DVD of it from either of you two, could someone please help my mom burn the CD? ^^; That would be nice...

Long story short (as I'm never good with recalling many events after not updating for a while), I've finished and sent off my fic for the dmhgficexchange, and I've got my last entry for the yuugiouxmasfic ready as well (though both are late). I had a good time with my friends, and while I ended up mostly broke (of my own funds) I did leave NOT broke, which is a good thing. I plan on buying Katamari Damacy and We Love Katamari, because I got addicted to it at the party at Bob's house (while I played Jimbo and Marc). I ended up falling asleep at the aforementioned party, during Life of Brian. ;_; I couldn't help it! Mom waking up for work at 5:30am had ME waking up around then too, so I was exhausted by 8:30pm...

WDKY22 is also done, but I'm still waiting for someone to get back to me. LuvinAoshi has updated several chapters of an FMA fic in the meantime; I wonder if I've been forgotten about? ;_; Why can't there be a mass list of people willing to beta for certain pairings in certain fandoms? a_white_rain, doesn't that sound like a good idea for a community or something? (I ask you because you're in charge of weekly_ygo)

I would like to thank pockyken, schmollieollie, winterwing3000, and rhapsody_dragon for cheering me up when I was a bit low at first! Also, MANY, MANY, MANY huge thanks to guardian_kysra for the faboo present (I will be scanning the pic part of it soon-- can I color it in Photoshop CS, too?) and the New Years Wishes. For any last minute well-wishers, please donate to Kysra's Scanner Fund! Contact me for more info or sort back through my journal a few entries to find the donation post. If we don't get enough by New Year's, I'll donate the rest myself. :)

Mom and Dad really frustrate me at times... for various reasons which I suppose I can get into later. But how many people think that sometimes their parents are much more immature than they are?

To Do:

clean room, now that I've brought a ton of stuff with me from SF
scan pics, including the unfinished/uncolored WDKY 1000 review/2nd Anniversary pic (inc. icon for winterwing3000) and Kysra's Christmas pic for me ^^
free up disk space for the new Stepmania, Hana Yori Dango j-drama episodes, and Sims 2 again
Go to the mall to get Proactiv (anyone use it before? How were your results? Is it worth the $60 for the full package?) and Katamari Damacy set
Call the bookstore to let Mike know I'll come in for paperwork on Thursday
Free up enough disk space to torrent/seed the Full Moon Sagashite Episodes (probably in sets of 3 episodes a piece, for ricoddr)

And finally, some fantastic news... I'm published! I think I may have announced this before, but in the time I was away, I actually got the book "Authors of Tomorrow" in which my "Success Comes Second" essay was published. Now I'm competing against 250+ other people for a $1000 scholarship from Elder & Leemaur Publishers! ^^ Wish me luck! (It'd be nice to write a funny short story/1st person POV about my recent adventures, esp. those with dad. "The Journey South" or somesuch would make a good title.)

...I feel like I'm forgetting something... but whatever. Tomorrow: Palomar with Dad and Steve. TEH YAY!

Current Mood: happy
Current Music: Sarah Brightman - A Question of Honour

Yesterday I spent more money than I should have. And I still didn't buy all the manga I wanted. I read through Hot Gimmick #10-- and augh! Damn you, Miki Aihara! I haven't even touched Tokyo Boys and Girls, and who knows what happened with So Bad! and Teacher's Pet? And hasn't she released another one just recently?

I ended up buying "Geisha, A Life", as per a recommendation ^^, Tarot Cafe 3 & 4, and DeathNote 1. So who was it on this FL that did

30_kisses for DeathNote? I didn't think I'd get so into it! ^^ It's a very cool series... and it prompted an interesting train of thought. It seems almost all the anime/manga I'm into have a protagonist with an Object/Item of Power. Think about it:
* Sailormoon - We've got the transforming lockets/pens/wands, the Ginzuishou, the power-wands/talismans, the dream mirrors, pure hearts, sailor crystals... so many Items of Power!
* Yu-Gi-Oh - Millennium Items, much? Even the cards could be construed as Items of Power.
* DeathNote - The DeathNote, duh.
Only the more realistic (albeit super-drama) ones that I like lack Items of Power. These series include Peach Girl, Hana Yori Dango, and Hot Gimmick.

I also splurged on a Christmas present for Scott, but with the way my funds look at the moment, I don't think I'll be able to send it to him on time for Christmas, unless Mom helps. >_> Ehe, I had plenty of money when I got here two days ago; I went crazy by myself (see, this is why I need to go shopping WITH FRIENDS! They stop me from buying stupid things!) and now with the iPod skin, PayPal Transfer, and a movie ticket from last night, I'm just about broke. Actually, the bus fare has been getting me; $1.50/ride really adds up, you know! I wish I had a Fast Pass... (no, I'm not going to/can't afford one!)

Oh yeah, I saw "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" last night. I finished reading The Magician's Nephew and TLTWATW the night before that, and I have to say, the movie did NOT disappoint. Spectacular special effects, decent acting, FANTASTIC music, and *drool* Liam Neeson makes such a wonderful Aslan. I hope they do the other movies...! Book --> Movie-wise, this was probably the best adaptation I've ever seen. Sure, they changed some things, but nothing drastically important like they tend to do in the Harry Potter movies. Nothing to make you go "Hey! WTF!?" And of course, it's one of those rare movies where if you've read The Magician's Newphew first, it makes SOOOO much more sense. :)

I'm gettng closer to being finished with one of my fics for this dramione (HP) fic exchange, and one of the requirements is that I get a beta. Any volunteers? Otherwise I'll have to go through the community itself, in which case it might take longer... and the deadline was yesterday. 'Net access is pretty lousy, and as you know, I hate 56K.

( I had to register for my classes yesterday too, )

And then there's New Years. Seems Scott would like it if I could find a way to San Diego, but I can't think of any way of convincing Dad to drive down there (what reason would he have to go?) so I'd basically have to find my own way down there somehow. I doubt I will have gotten my financial aid check, and I don't even start work until the 9th. All of that compounded with the fact that I can't ask Baba and Grandpa for money, and it's sadly unlikely that I'll be able to go down there, whether it's cheaply (by bus) or nicely (by train).

Ugggh. I hate money.

Couldn't sleep last night. Tried to read bad Christmas romance novels (historicals); didn't work. The cheese ate my brain.
Decided to watch PGSM instead, all the way through Special Act. Bawled my eyes out.
Realized that even in its new form, Sailormoon will always appeal to me, have special meaning for me, and send out important messages to anyone who cares to listen.
Decided to smash together all my websites at long last and create an Animanga Collision eFiction archive for all of my fics save the Seto x Anzu ones, which will remain hosted at Dragonfayth. I'll still post at other places (FFnet, MMorg, Aria's Ink ...if I can ever figure out their whacked upload system... DeviantArt ...same thing... and ASMR), but at least now I'll have a place for my rants and essays, as well. It'll take some time to set up, though. For most of the animes/mangas/games I'm into, it'll also include information pages, character profiles, etc.
Dropped my iPod mini on the sidewalk as I was running across the street on my way home from school (to sell a book) today. It's dinked up to the point where it irritated me, so I bought a purple protective skin from DecalGirl.comhttp://www.decalgirl.com.
Finished a transfer of funds (gas money for/from cutieme4u --> Kysra) from PayPal; as I said before, we're almost at our goal and we only need a few more donations to get the scanner! It's doubtful I'll be able to ship it by Christmas unless I get funds from other people SOON!
Scored a job at the ITR University Help Desk... $8.05/hr for 20 hrs/wk., +/- 4 hours, if I want. Starts Jan. 9! Yahoo!
Mom might buy my laptop. :)
WILL MAKE IT TO JTAF! Keep your eyes peeled, gentlemen (and ladies-- er, hikaru_jan, you're ~~not~~ going...~~? ;_;~~! :D).
Need to check/download classes that I need to take; I register on the 19th, and if any of my planned classes are full, I need alternatives. I don't want to be sitting on SOLAR (Student On-Line Access Registration or something) for an hour searching classes. I'll bring the hard copy schedule with me just in case, but I want the course numbers ready to go, with my knowledge that I need the class, that I can take the class in accordance with my schedule, and that I'll like the professor.
Am tired now... despite needing to pack and such, my eyes are so sore from all that crying I did last night that I just need to sleep. If I can actually fall asleep, it'll be a good thing.

Current Mood: exhausted

My body picked a lousy time to catch cold and have my period. I've been feeling like I'm walking on another planet all day long-- gravity must be sucking me into the center of the Earth. If that meant a free ride to Japan without worrying about molten magma, I'd be all for it, but somehow I don't think that's going to happen.

I've been so sleepy, I've actually done what I thought was unthinkable-- I not only fell asleep in mythology class (I missed the entire lecture about how Sigmund Freud connects to the Electra complex) but I went to the library afeter class and conked out on the 4th floor near my locker. It was only an hour nap, and I didn't really feel all that better afterward. But I was okay after visual communications; I went and grabbed some lunch with my requisite iced tea, and now all is well. I still feel a bit tingly and weird and out of it, but at least I'm not passing out and drooling all over my keyboard.

ATTENTION SAN FRANCISCO-ITES! Yeah, I'm talking to YOU, Stephanie, Eva, Lindsay, and everyone else whose names I can't remember or whose user SNs aren't accessible to me now! Go sign up for the schools feature here on LJ! It's so quick and easy, you just search for all the schools you've ever gone to/are attending, and it automatically sorts you by username. You can input the years you attended and all that fun stuff, and even see other LJ users associated with your schools. I've already added mine: CSUN, Lafayette (EVA!!!!!), Presidio (EVERYONE!!!) and Wash House (zOMGcleanlaundry!) so you hop to it! Besides, I wanna know who else I know here on LJ that went to any of my schools... *peers*

Also, I wanted to randomly show up in San Francisco from 10/7-10/9, since Scott's going to be there anyway for his NOVA or GEOS interview... not that he'd stay with me or even have time to spend with me, mind you, but if he's going, I could use it as an excuse to go to. I know that doesn't make sense, just trust me on this one. But of course, since it's only 2 wks. before that departure time, tickets are expensive! $214 min. on SWA, and $260 on JetBlue (which, for some stupid reason, only flies from Long Beach to Oakland, and not Burbank to Oakland, even though Oakland is its Northern California major way-station. Durrrr, DUMB!). Hm... wish I could go...

I'm having trouble finding a speech to go to for Story #2 for WRPII. The ones at CalTech already ended; besides, Pasadena's too inaccessible on the weekends. There are supposed to be some Executive Speakers coming here, but I'm not sure if they've already made their speeches in the past week (when they started) or not, and even if they didn't, would I be allowed/able to go? The speech I'm interested in going to is by CBS Studio Center president Michael Klausman, but he's speaking primarily to Cinema, Television and Arts students-- which is in my college, but it's not my department. There's also a speaker from NASA's Mars rover program this Friday at 7:30pm, but that would mean missing Anime Club and possibly my 2nd cousin Joey's (oops, call him JOE now, he is 20!) birthday party-- if he wants to have one. Grr! And the story is due Oct. 5th! What do I do?!

...Hmm, there was a thing downstairs about the opening of the Guitar Research Archives here at the Oviatt, but I don't think that's the kind of speech I'm looking for. Besides, it's rather impromptu and more about performances than information, so I think I'll pass (and spend another hour here on the comp! :P)

Someone on the eFiction board helped me look at a problem Dragonfayth was having on its new modded Authors page; I've been tinkering with some of the mods offered there, and one of the people is named 'Lazuli.' o_O No relation to OUR Laz, right,

smrff!? o_O Anyway, what the new mod does (or is supposed to do) is differentiate between Authors (people who have submitted stories) and Members (people who sign up to read fics and recommend fics, not write them).

I'm sure there are all sorts of other mods that I would like to implement; as they're a lot more feasible for eFiction than InkTank, I'd like people to check out the list over at http://efiction.wallflowergirl.com/forums, under Mod Releases. There are about 3 pages of mods, 2 or so individual mods of which I've implemented already. The full release list (not sure whether this includes all mods and requests, or just completed/tested mods) is located here: http://efiction.wallflowergirl.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=875.

Go check it out, mmk?

So apparently I can only study driver's ed at school (which I like doing, because I don't have the distraction of my MP3s, fanfiction, chatting, the television, my grandparents, food, or my bed) on the WHITE GST computers here in the Collaboratory. o_O I wonder why? Anyway, I'm almost done with Lesson 3 of... er, I think it's 10 or 11. Sure, that's not a whole lot, but I think I'm learning. I've done well on all my quizzes so far, and all the interactive lessons. Still, how do I memorize this stuff? Do I take notes? Print the pages out? ;_; Eeek! There seem to be many laws regarding feet estimates: signal 100 feet before turning, never enter a bike lane more than 200 feet from the turning corner or driveway, and stop at least 15 feet in front of a railroad crossing. How do you estimate that distance, anyway?

Also, if I'm still awake and somewhat coherent tonight, I have a short list of things to do:
(1) Reformat the damn laptop... again. Maybe the clean install will work better this time with more memory?
(2) Add a scene or two to WDKY19. I wanted to end it on a somewhat happy/teasing note, as I have been alternating between zOMG cliffhangers and "aww." moments lately. But I'm also neglecting other characters and relationships in the process, along with some teasers I need to work in, so I think the addition of this one scene I've been thinking about will do the fic good. I might even get doubly inspired.

I'm hoping that if all goes well and I can make it to the CTVA Exec. Speaker, then on Friday I can go to anime club as usual and FINALLY get a DVD from Phil of Adam & Joe Go Tokyo. Various specific Google and BitTorrent searches have turned up bupkis in the way of actual episodes, so it really *is* as rare as Phil said. A right shame, but he better keep his promise this time around and get me the episodes. In the meantime, I'm downloading episodes 3-9 of Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid, Chibi and I are arranging an exchange of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon and Trick, and I need to see Last Order and probably read "The Complete Story of FFVII" or something like that on GameFAQs. Unless one of you l33t gamer guys (*stares at

staplerx,

zigx,

psyjoe_dilandau etc. etc.*) wants to inform me... MMM?

Only 15 minutes till I have to leave for class, so I might as well update this and catch up on my reading for class. The good thing about WRPII is we don't have any pop quizzes or tests based on the reading-- whether or not you read shows in how fast you can get in-class exercises done and in the stories you turn in. So far, so good. I'm glad I made the decision to stay in Salido's class, even if the rest of my body is protesting today. Oy!

Current Mood: awake

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

staplerx,

winterwing3000 and

baine!

Yes, hi, I am back. It was a rather interesting, if short, week in San Francisco-- and my self-imposed deprecation of 'Net has now officially been ended. And I come home with stash, too:
* Wacom 4 x 5 tablet with PS Elements 2, Corel Painter, and nik Color Efex
* The Devil Wears Prada
* The Undomestic Goddess (new book by Sophie Kinsella, author of the Shopaholic books!)
* Hardboiled and Hard Luck (new book by Banana Yoshimoto, my fav author!)
* New Thalia CD (El Sexto Sentido: fav song is "Seduccion")
* Full Moon o Sagashite 4 (J) COLLECTION IS COMPLETE!
* Peach Girl Fan Book (because Tokyopop will never translate it)
* Sailor Moon (v. 2) #11 (Chibichibi cover)
* New pens (purty colors!)
* Bad Cat
* Kokology vol. 2
* St. Ives Apricot Scrub + Witch Hazel + New hair clips
* New mini-notebook (I was tempted to get an Engrish one, but resisted)
* Neutrogena At-Home Micro-dermabrasion kit
* A bunch of things I left at home before, like fic notes and sketches

21st -- Rochelle was super-kind enough to come over and make me pancakes (okay, they were flat and tasted a little funny, but she covered them with blueberries and bananas, so they were all good in the end), and later, her mom came over and we discussed the finer points of tigertail vs. elastic for my broken-for-6-months bracelet (the tri-purple one I got from Scott). I ended up getting together with Steph later on, and we went bowling at Classic Bowl (*wails* They replaced their DDR with In The Groove! You could barely hear the music, it looked almost EXACTLY like DDR --I saw no hand plants or mines-- and I only got 2 stages!) and bowled ourselves silly. I also got a Krispy Kreme. ^_~ Weird thing is, it's only after I eat Krispy Kreme (or Mediterranean food, apparently) that I get car-sick. Last time I remember getting seriously car-sick was when I was like 8, and had a bad hot dog before going down a VERY windy street (possibly Lombard).

Funny thing about when Rochelle came over-- on the 20th, Mom and I went hiking up near Land's End (more on that later) and then had our facials... I went shopping at J-town and picked up Kokology v.2. I asked Rochelle one of the questions, which deals with octopi (octopuses?) floating near coral. It was quite cute when Rochelle described how one of them was just kind of "glub-glubing along" in the water above the coral. Hee. I think we brought it up again when Steph was with us at Classic Bowl, and I was imitating this octopus while I waited for my ball. It was quite funny.

Going back to when I arrived on the 19th, Mom and I met up at the hotel, at which point I went shopping around downtown (well, sort of: I didn't exactly buy much, save for some things at Virgin). We went home and had a nice dinner (I was anti-pizza the whole week) and I believe I passed out pretty early, having been up at 6:40am that same day (I don't even remember if I posted anything before I left... if people were wondering where I was, I'm sorry!). Next day was the big plan I'd staged-- go with Mom to Land's End, because I'd never been there with her before, maybe have some lunch, and then enjoy some nice facials and a time at the Kabuki Springs and Spa.

Well, turns out Mom said the place *I* thought was Land's End for a good three or more years was... not. She said it was past this place called Painted Rock (painted as in, "covered in bird shit") which was roped off. I had every intention of climbing over said rope (had one leg over it and all), but Mom begged me not to go even LOOK, even though I told her I really needed that sense of closure. I don't know why she didn't, considering last year was supposedly the first time she'd ever been to LE. Well, of course I respected her wishes, and we left out this path I never knew about, on 32nd Ave and Camino del Mar. We grabbed the 38 to the springs-- no Japanese people in sight, though the place was obviously made up to imitate Japanese bath houses and resort places. It was Women's Only day, but that didn't stop me from being shy-- I wore my black bikini while other women of all shapes and sizes (almost all of them with tattoos, strangely enough) strutted about buck naked. My facial was scheduled first, so Mom could enjoy the baths, dry sauna, and steam room by herself while I was getting scrubbed down. It was rather relaxing, up until the "extraction," aka zit popping. ^^; I didn't look freakishly different after that (maybe a bit shinier?) but hey, the hour was over and I figured it was a $75 well spent.

Mom got her turn next, while I followed the prescribed regimen and went from the showers to the dry sauna, then to the steam room, then the cold showers, then the hot pool. It was rather nice and relaxing-- free lemon water and sea salts. The area was a bit smaller than I imagined, but still, it was very pleasant. Since the aesthtician was so nice, I gave her a full tip, which sucked up a good $172.50 total.

After that, Mom and I went to Mifune, where I discovered that my tolerance for fish is even lower-- now even shrimp is causing a gag reaction in me. And I LIKE shrimp! Well, at least I finished enough to please Mom, who paid for lunch. I went shopping for pens and school supplies at Kinokuniya, grabbed some manga at the bookstore, and grabbed my first Nutella and fruit crepe at Sophie's. (I still need to get that spreader thing!)

Flash forward... er, there's a big jumble of days. I did meet up with Katia and Steph (22nd?), and we walked around the Richmond (whoops, I left my leftover Napoleon cake, Mediterranean food, Doritos and sour cream in San Francisco... >_>). Steph wasn't feeling too hot, and departed from us later; I went with frugal shopper extraordinaire Katia and got the collected works of "Fathom" the Michael Turner comic series (and what turned me on to that comic book style-- he's my favorite artist!) and 2 new pairs of pants at Mervyn's. I hate being a size 0-3, mind you. So many cute things I couldn't have because they were too big!

Then there was a bonfire (23rd), which was a smashing success-- lots of people, everyone paid for something, and the fire burned till well after midnight. God/Anthony even made the most perfect roasted marshmallows-- mine was so perfect, the skin of the marshmallow separated from the fluff inside! It was delish! I was glad I had nothing to do with the organization, and I got to see and talk to lots of people... though toward the end when we were trying to get rides, I had a bit of a tiff with Jimbo, who thought I was more than capable of taking the bus with some others, and walking those blocks from Geary and Park Presidio ALL BY MYSELF after 1:30am. Thankfully, the guys in the backseat were nice enough to cram aside and let me sit there with them for a measly 15 minutes, so I got home and promptly passed out-- from tiredness! It was a totally alcohol-free bonfire, which was good, because the cops DID come by and check!

Sunday (24th) I went shopping with Steph and Eva, which is when I got most of my stuff-- I went to Forever 21 and talked to Tobey, got 2 new tanktops, also got my tablet at CompUSA (the first guy I talked to was a complete idiot and said the store didn't have tablets anymore; he was also a jerk about giving help!). The bagel I got downstairs at the mall (Segafredo) sucked, mainly because they GRILLED it, plus their cream cheese wasn't Philly. And the lemonade was "old." Oh well-- I got a whole bunch of things, snagged some new books at Border's, and though I had dinner alone, it was delicious.

And so here I am, back in broiling San Fernando Valley. School's about to start in three weeks, things are... er, "questionable" with Scott, though he's been undeniably affectionate today. I have lots of catching up to do with friend's pages and communities, but I'll try and get as much done as possible. No one has gotten back to me with WDKY17 (

guardian_kysra? You okay? No prob if you can't/don't wanna do it, I was just wondering) aside from Mamono, so I might just post her edited version up tomorrow. Armed with my new tablet, I'll try and get more fanart and icons (for

iconfiend100) up.

What is the DDR song from the Extreme Nonstop Megamix that plays about 10:21 into the mix? It's instrumental, and I don't know which one it is! (It's not A or V)

FO post coming soon (not NOW). I've got a LOT of emails to catch up on.

Current Mood: hot
Current Music: Various Artists - Dance Dance Revolution EXTREME NONSTOP MEGAMIX

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January 2016

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Page Summary

Page generated Jun. 9th, 2025 03:58 pm

MILES to GO || before I sleep

lovely // dark // deep

Entries tagged with san francisco

Trash

The few, the proud, the awesome

OSM!

Ah, spring|break

What's an outside J?

The Cat Returns

Like, OMG

Photo share!

Lady Ballz!

Well, then...

Help San Francisco schools!

Boom Boom Fire

There they go again...

Give me money (that's all I want)

Then again, maybe not

Greetings from San Francisco... again!

A street named after poison

Faker than Brit's "hair"

The padres can * my ***!

Haha.

The conclusion I didn't include

Beware of stupid people in large numbers

Eep! Ugh! Yipe!

Like, oh my god, I'm like, back in the Valley! Ugh, whatever!

More Blurbs.

Blurbs.

Oops, gravity works.

The devil wears Prada and Octopi go "glub-glub"

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