So I ain't gonna lie. I'm a big library geek. I think going to the library is fun. So it's rather blasphemous that I've yet to acquaint myself with the college's library or the librarian dude, who from what I hear, is a pretty hilarious/quirky dude. So I figured I'd go look at the online catalog of the public library here. And OMG. GUYS they have PS2 GAMES. Yeah, you heard me, PS2 GAMES FOR LOAN. SQUEE! Ok, so they don't have many good games, but they do have Disgaea, FFX, FFX-2, FFXII, and some Resident Evil games. One day, I will attempt Resident Evil. Preferably in broad daylight and with lots of company. And then I discovered that, holy crap, they also have some K-dramas; I couldn't read the titles of most of them since they were untranslated, but there was definitely Coffee Prince, which I've heard about. And they have anime like what looks like the Box Set of Witch Hunter Robin, and Cardcaptor Sakura DVDs (I think they have the one that I'm missing/my disc is pretty much broken), along with Darker Than Black vol.1 and Chevalier D'Eon livres 3 et 4 which I keep hearing about. I must get me a library card. THE JOYS OF LIVING WHERE THERE ARE ASIANS. I'm imagining what all the other libraries in this rea must be like.... inter-library loans.... mmmmm!

( results of my dance project )

( blathering on what the heck is clogging )

Step 1: Put your MP3 player or whatever music player you have on random.
Step 2: Post a line/stanza from the first 20 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing the song. [skipping instrumentals an]
Step 3: Post and let everyone you know guess what song and artist the lines come from.
Step 4: Bold the songs when someone guesses correctly. (No Cheating)


( meme )

AHAHAHAHAHA. SUCK IT BITCHES. I GOT THE WOMEN'S STUDIES CLASS I NEEDED. AND ELEMENTARY MODERN. AND ALL THE CLASSES I WANTED. WORDS DO NOT BEGIN TO EXPRESS MY RELIEF. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH. YOU CANNOT STOP ME MILLS, EVEN WITH YOUR SLOW CONNECTION AND MAKING ME WAKE UP AT 5:45 FOR 6AM REGISTRATION. >D

AND NOW THE QUESTION IF I WANT TO GO TO VOLUNTARY PRACTICE AT 7...

ETA: AND BECAUSE I'M SO FUCKING PLEASED, I wanted to update Crossroad, except I only have one completed one-shot, it's not happy either. So I spam here. I share my joy with you through angsty OOC Seth/Eirika nonsense.

AHAHAHAHA.  I HAVE FINALLY CAUGHT UP ON MY F-LIST.  SO LONG HIATUS AND FACEBOOK!

Although I only went as far as June because that seems to be where I stopped, and I didn't comment.  Which I find ironic because that's summer break; why would I get behind on my f-list while on summer break?  Anyways, I'm off to elaborate on some of my older posts, and probably blabber about this thing known as College Life.  Pfffft, LMAO.

Yeah, totally did that instead of my homework.


subject line from Vienna Teng's City Hall

...I fail at hiatuses.  Memes are rather seductive when trying to procrastinate, and this is book related so.....

Stolen from winged_requiem

☇ Take four books off your bookshelf.
☇ Write the first sentence
☇ Write the last sentence on page fifty
☇ Write the second sentence on page one hundred
☇ Write the next to the last sentence on page one hundred fifty
☇ Write the final sentence of the book
☇ Let your friends guess what book it is.

( meme! )

...ok, so I've been making a point of not posting until I catch up on my f-list, but sometimes I do check in, and I know if I don't do this meme I've been tagged on now, I won't remember until two months later.  Also, I'm avoiding necessary studying for my psych exam tomorrow.  f***

( meme )

"Never forget."



In memory of 9-11 and all that it means.

I am alive.  Posting will practically be non-existent for awhile until I adjust to college life.  And I am so horribly (months) behind on my f-list that it'll take awhile too.

More spewage to avoid dragging notebook with me.  Impressions of plays and a bit of background forthcoming.

ETA: Nov 7 2009, thoughts on plays

( the plays )

 

( friday )

 

( saturday )

( sunday )

 

 

I'm not supposed to be on the internet, I'm supposed to be packing/doing laundry, but I'm sleepy and going to bed soon.  In hopes of lugging one less item to college I'm typing up band tour and hopefully Ashland trip soon. 

Band tour - every year my high school band program goes somewhere during spring break.  Usually to compete in festivals (although we're not a competitive high school) or participate in clinics.  This year, I went as a bass clarinet player (in prior years, I've gone as a clarinet).

Band Tour 2009 - Disneyland and Universal Studios

( wednesday )

( Thursday )

 

( Friday )

( Saturday )
April 7, 2009 Friday and now to finish the Disneyland tour journal

( Sunday )
( rommate drama )

First of all I am terribly apologetic for being so far behind on my friends' list.  College starts next Wednesday for me, and I move onto campus this Saturday; needless to say, I'm a bit dazed.

And mostly this post is just me spewing about my required reading.  Possible spoilers ahead.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman

So it's non-fiction about a Hmong refugee family living in the states whose infant daughter is diagnosed with epilepsy.  As both the child's parents and American doctors attempt to treat the girl, shit happens.  (So it's not as eloquent as the back of the book, but uh, I think I summed it up)

I flipped through the book and a good 50 pages is supplemental info, which meant the book wasn't as long as it looked.  However, the reader's guide had spoilers in it.  I read the intro for it and it had spoilers, so my faulty assumption after reading the back of the book that the girl, Lia, died was proven wrong.

I approached the book rather wary.  The author's name and bio sounds like she's Caucasian, and as horrible as it sounds, I'm leery of white people passing faulty judgment.  So, I googled the book.  And Amazon.com had reviews of the book from both Lia's sister and one of her doctors (or at least, people who claim to be them) who both highly praised the book.  Another website said the book was great, but cautioned that Fadiman lumped all Hmong together (i.e. not all Hmong view epilepsy as a sign of potential shamanism).

I looked at the thread about this book on facebook, and someone compared it to Maxine Kingston Hong's The Woman Warrior and Chinese culture.  The person was going more towards similarities between Chinese and Laotian/Hmong culture.  Which I don't really feel.  I mean, sure, there's some similarities in Asian culture, but as I read Spirit, I wasn't particularly struck by, "Hey!  That's my culture!"  Moreover, I was a bit rankled at such radically different novels being compared; Woman Warrior is about a personal/identity struggle whereas Spirit is group catastrophe.

It's all about culture-clashing and about being accepting of other cultures.  Which is all well and good.  What really irked me is that Fadiman distinctly puts her own two cents in where I don't think it belongs.  It's fine when it involves her own personal meetings with the family, but at times it got rather preachy.  And I absolutely detest feeling like I'm being preached to.  I would've preferred for her to be completely objective or always giving her two-cents.  It was terribly distracting to read factual portions and find her own opinions there.

The book's chapters alternate between Lia's story and Hmong history.  The history parts were rather interesting, if only because my cousin married a Hmong woman, and observed some Hmong rites during their marriage.

ETA Nov 7 09: And Emo!Draco was so worth the movie.  The bathroom emo scene?  YESSSS.  My fangirl was pleased.  Even my friends are aware of my Draco fangirlness; they asked if I'd seen the poster with him on it, which I hadn't.  So then I ran off to see it.  XD

Finally saw Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince yesterday!  My friends and I headed out of town to see it in IMAX.  The first 13 minutes were in 3D, and the 3D was way better than the 3D in Up.  You could actually tell depth; it was neat! 

Now that I'm 2 chapters away from the end of Fire Emblem 8, and almost done with my Chocobo sidequesting in Final Fantasy IX (as of last Wednesday), I've returned to reading.

I FINALLY read Isobelle Carmody's The Stone Key (TSK).  Loved it! 

( premise )

( gushing )
( spoilers )


I then was going to read my book for book club, The Dead and The Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer, but since that was also an end of the world story, I didn't want to read it.  Instead, I read The Queen's Bastard by CE Murphy, which was just ok.

Summary: Belinda is the bastard daughter of the queen, and trained by her father (the queen's lover) to be an assassin.  She's sent to a neighboring country to weed out evil plans.  While there learns she has magic, and so does Prince Javier (romantic interest!)...

The text is in past tense when the narrative follows the main character, Belinda.  However, it goes into present tense whenever the narrative follows someone else.  That bugged me big time.  I almost stopped reading when I realized that's how the entire book would go.  But I kept reading.

Belinda's character was a bit unplausible; a girl under 12 with her silent assassin skillz.  I was ok with her mad skillz when she was older though.  When her witchbreed powers came out though, the personality change was abit abrupt and I didn't feel like it was fully developed.  Javier was an intersting guy, if only for being a tan red-head.  Lol.  I skimread the last 1/3 of the book; I lost interest with the aforementioned personality change.  No real desire to read the sequel.  I did enjoy the friendship of Javier, Marium, Some Other Guy, and Eliza.  I liked Eliza's character in particular, beggar girl who by serpendity became friends with the prince.  She's a rough and tumble girl.


After, I read The Dead and the Gone.  Good read.  Very depressing.  Not going to read the companion novel, Life As We Knew It, because I'm not up for depressing.

Summary: The moon's orbit has changed and the world's gone to hell in a handbasket.  Natural disasters, sickness, riots, etc.  In New York, 17 year old Alex must take care of his two younger sisters now that his parents have gone missing.

Depressing.  That's all I can really say.  The younger sister, Julie, got a bit annoying at times,  but eh.  Everyone copes with disaster differently.  The scens where Alex steals from the dead is rather unsettling.

Since it was such a downer, I picked up the latest Anita Blake book.  Although I only meant to read a little, I read half of it, and stayed up until 5 am to do so.  (Bad idea)


Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton, book 16 in the Anita Blake series.

( more gushing )

( spoilers )

Adam and Eve piece? Meh.

Mercy?  HECK YES!  Twitch was awesome as ever, although I was slightly disappointed that while Katee had the attitude, she didn't seem to have the usual power behind her moves.

Tango piece?  Ok, fine.  Didn't remember this piece at all, but good to see Chelsie again.

The entire time, I was going "MARK!  WHERE'S MARK???"

And then, Bleeding Love!  Marksie~!  Now THAT was just as good as it was the first time.

Although, I am sad that the Geveney Rhumba, Wishing on a Star wasn't done again.  Ok, so I know it wasn't nominated for an Emmy, but still.  And if we care to go further back, Season 3's Neil and Sara's disco, Knock on Wood, too.

And Jabbawockeez!  Why hello thar!  Not as hard hitting as I'd have liked it to be; I felt like it was one long intro, and I never got to the main part, but the memory of their PYT routine is enough to sustain me.

Would it be too hormonal to say Asher from Anita Blake? I mean, hey, I am a teenager after all.  In general, I like Anita Blake way better than Twilight.  And I'm going to have to say more than Vampire Knight as well.  Edward's a one-woman man, and I don't think there're any other vampires in Twilight I'd even think of biting me.  Vampire Knight: Zero's a messy eater, Kaname would turn me into a vampire, Aidou's a glutton, Takuma's too nice.  I think it's obvious I want a male vampire to bite me, not a girl. XD  And uh, in Anita Blake all the vampires are charismatic, hot male exotic dancers attractive, and uhhhh...  So anyone sounds good from AB.  XDD

I take it back.  Can I have Nathaniel bite me?  No matter he's a were-cat...  He's cute, cooks, and wears aprons and pearl necklaces~ Let us ignore his kinkiness though... 

After reading shimizu_hitomi ’s post a bit back (you should read her impressions; they’re much more insightful than mine), I decided to buy tickets to see Miyazaki. The event eventually sold out, but I was fortunate enough to get tickets in the mezzanine.

( some comments )

I apologize at this point because I still have stars in my eyes and might gush a bit.

My comments are [bracketed].  And questions are in italics.

I stress that both questions and answers are paraphrases. This is in no way whatsoever what was said word for word. I’m writing it out in first person because it’s easier for me, and because I’ll get confused writing out “he said” a lot. Personal writing quirk.



( conversation )
[At this point Kelts began asking some of the questions from the audience]



( question and answer )


And damn, why did I write so small? because you were writing on the back of the program, a library receipt, and an enevelope silly!  It’s pretty hard to read close-up while typing, and it made for very slow typing.  It took me 1 hr and 45 minutes to get through my tiny notes.

I might go back and add any profound thoughts I have, if any.  I think shimizu_hitomi  covered about everything though.  XD

Ugh, typing this all up has sapped all my excitement and energy.  Will stalk fanfiction a little and then go to bed.  ZZzzzz

Happy birthday wonderful_words !

So I signed up for 4 dance classes.  2 jazz and 2 ballet.  Beginner ballet to improve technique.  Ballet was yesterday, and no one else showed up, so I got a private lesson for $10! 

Sadly, I slammed my thumb in the car door (I got my driver's license 2 weeks ago) when I got to class.  :/  My thumb is still throbbing, and hurts worse when I leave it at my side/ don't elevate it.  You'd be surprised all the things your thumbs are useful for.  Like typing, and writing, pulling hair back, and taking contacts out.  Acetimenophine (sp) is my new best friend.




and AP results are in!!!!  I will sparkle up this section later...


2 in French (sigh, i did not pass. which was expected.)
4 in Lit (I was really hoping fora 5, since English is my forte)
4 in Physics B (that was a surprise since I got a 3 in Chem last year, and I understood Chem way more than Physics.  I was expecting a 3)

And most surprising of all...

A 5 in Calculus AB  (which is ridiculous because I had a B in the class and I'm better at English.  I guess the teacher was right when he said if you do things my way the AP graders will know you're my student and give you a 5!   LOL, he was joking, but I guess it was true for me.  I'm still in shock I got a 5; all the people who were really good at Calc or smart got 5s, and I'm up there with them!!!)


I discovered my scores at 7:30 this morning when I went downstairs to take more pain killing medicine so I could sleep.  It was a very pleasant surprise.

So, I was totally ready to do some serious reading and reviewing of fanfiction and replying to review replies on fanfiction.net.  But, I was looking at an author's profile, clicked on their homepage link, and got Rick Roll'd.  Or I think that's the term.  My browser started doing weird things, and I freaked out thinking I had a virus.  So I ran virus scan for the last 2 hours, which totally killed any desire I had to review.  Meh.  Don't have a virus, and I would've known that if I'd checked this site to begin with.  :/  But I think I might've run virus scan anyway out of paranoia.

If you happen upon the above sight or one similar, ctrl + alt + delete it for PC users, otherwise you get a whole bunch of annoying pop ups.  

I wanted to draw, but I shut down the internet, so I couldn't get references for the fanart  I wanted to do.  So instead, I beat Valni Tower on FE8.  Except I was bummed out when I realized I'd forgotten to bring a Rogue/chest key to get the treasure on Floor 8.  *sigh*  On the bright side, I supported a lot of characters.  All the characters have A Supports (except for characters I don't like / have no one to suppor them with,  like Moulder and Garcia respectively), and quite a few have secondary supports so they maxed out on supports.

Edited 3 August 2009

Uhhh.  I felt like writing something new instead of reading The English Patient, and uh, this is what came out?  I almost wrote another Franz/Natasha and even contemplated trying Kent/Lyn  eeeeep .   This is related to the Water Dragon piece I did for story_lottery .

---

...the plot bunny is not leaving me alone...  I-I think there may be more where this came from, too.  (except minus the failed brother dialogue.  ...being an only child sucks for stuff like that)   I'm rather disappointed with the end though.  :/  And yeah, that end was a total set-up for another piece involving Natasha and Franz's mother's comb.

- - -

( sacred&faithful )