Curses to long lines!
"Suteki Da Ne" (Final Fantasy X)

I went to the post office this morning, and ended up being #64 when they were working on servicing #41. _o_ It wouldn't have bothered me so much, except for the fact that I've NEVER seen all five lines at the post office manned - you'd think they'd at least try to have more than two out of five on hand at the busiest times of day. *shrugs* But, I managed to get out of there before the hour was over, went to the grocery store, had an "ohSHITwhydon'tyoulookwhereyou'refuckingGOING?!" moment, and got home in one pece. And for the record, the "oh shit" moment wasn't my fault - the lady across me on the other side of the aisle started backing out when I was already halfway out, never even looking behind her. _O_ How annoying.

Anyway, home now, obviously enough. >____> The counselor STILL hasn't called, though I left a message on her machine; I'm gonna try First Thing tomorrow, and hope she'll be there. I want my schedule, demmit, so I know if I've got ANY classes with my friends. X_X I'd love to gripe with everyone about how horrible it is, but I need a schedule first for that to happen. XD;;

I've been trying to translate some of the Ayatsuri Sakon manga; I don't think I'm doing too badly. ^_^v I started last night, and about two-and-a-half chapters done one the first story in volume three (with the sword "Byakko" and the flowers that are blood-red and the fox's curse). I super-want the anime now, as well as volume four, because I Greatly Like this series. XD And I want to hear what they sound like animated~~ (And hell, while I'm at it, I'd love to hear those other drama CDs released that have Hiyama Nobuyuki as Sakon and Kappei Yamaguchi as Ukon. XD XD XD)

I watched the last Bebop DVD this morning, My-chan. o_o Um. I like Ed, and Ein, and Faye and Jet, and I do like Spike, but he did a few things in that last volume that made me want to bash his fuzzy head in. XD;;;;; I felt vaguely sympathetic to Julia, but wasn't too crazy for her. XD; I could definitely see some Faye x Spike vibes, especially in the last two episodes. o_o

And ED. I like Ed. O_O How they handled that scene surprised me, but I really think I liked it, when the episode ended. o_o Nee, and who the heck was "Bull"? His seiyuu was Koyasu, but I don't recall hearing him at all when I was watching the series. o_o And Kappei Yamaguchi was in it too!? O_O I need to go back and rewatch these episodes! O_O

That was quite surprising. *piku* I'll have to listen more carefully when I show them to everyone else. o_o

Hmm. Back to translating now, I guess. ^_^v

"Ichi, ni, go, yon, kon-ni-chi-wa!"
"Cats on Mars" (Cowboy Bebop)

One more DVD to gooooooo~! XD XD XD I think either Ed or Spike is my favorite character, and they just might be tied, but where does Ein fit into that, given he's almost always associated with Ed? ^_^ So far, my favorite episodes are "Ballad of a Fallen Angel," "Bohemian Rhaphsody," and "Pierrot La Fou." I did like the mushroom one, though, My-chan, if just for Spike walking in place up the stairs. And Jet with lipstick. And Ein bunny-hopping while he squeaks. XD XD XD

And as much as Andy annoyed me and made me wish Spike would just kick him in the balls and be done with it, I cracked up at his episode preview. XD And the tag line, and I felt kind of bad for Teddy Bomber. XD;;; Plus, a line I'm sure clone-chan would love - "Love and peace da." XD XD XD

I almost want to go and watch the last DVD now, but I told Mom I'd leave it alone until tomorrow. ^^;;

Also, yesterday, I got my own copy of Good Omens, so I've not only got something new to read, but now I can understand when my twins start spazzing about it. XD I'm highly amused by the line about Earth being a Libra, 'coz ... well ... XD;;;; My real name means "Earth," and I'm a Libra. The irony of it amuses me to no end. ^_^

Oh, and P-chan, I forgot to thank you yesterday for the Noir OST track listings. ^_^ I've managed to grab a few others so far, and they're quite nice. XD I didn't really like the opening when I first listened to it, but it's kind of growing on me now. ^_^ I like the quasi-Oriental sound the chorus has. ^_^

Ahhhhhh, it's a lazy summer daaaaaay~~~

I feel vaguely proud of myself.
"Kanaete" (Ayatsuri Sakon)

I managed to take a (VERY simple) Japanese fanfic and translate it coherently. XD XD XD;;;; But I'm entirely serious when I say it's very, very, VERY basic; there was no complex grammar or anything, and it took maybe thirty to fourty-five minutes, tops. It's still something, though, and I'm proud of that. ^_^

But wow, it was a sad story. o_o;;;; And it fits SO scarily well with the song I'm listening to right now. O_O;;; It's called "Watashi ga Hito Dattara," and it's a Lost Universe fic from Canal's p.o.v., about Kane. *______* My friends know that I'm a very being Kane x Canal fan, so naturally I was most pleased with finding a Japanese 'Keikyana' fanfic (since there are NO ENGLISH ONES ;____;) simple enough for me to read. XD XD XD;;;;;; And it was rather good too, i.m.o.; my 'Keikyana' fangirlheart was satisfied by it. XD;;;

But it really fits very, very well with this song. O_O;; In the fic, Canal keeps repeating the line "I know this dream/wish can't come true ..." but she ends it saying that she wants to believe someday it will. And then this song, which is really wistful-sounding to me, especially when paired with the ending animation ... o_O;;;; I swear, this song could be that song's theme song, they dovetail so well. O_O

Why am I going on about this? Because it's INSPIRED me, damnit, but I don't know for what! I just know I want to do SOMETHING to this theme, and I don't know WHAT! *bangs head* It's horribly frustrating, and I will probably end up chewing on a straw or something, because the drive is there but the ideas WON'T COME. ;_______; With the exception of The Monster Fic, this has been a very unproductive summer for me. X_X

Victory is fluffy, and tastes vaguely like cream.
"Fool's Paradse" (Trigun)

Eheh. ^_^;;; So, when I got home from Allie's party last night (which was Muchly Fun, and I introduced numerous people to the Amusement That Is Cowboy Bebop), my parents were at the grocery store. They come home with goodies, and I got sushi for lunch. XD XD XD This has been a NICE week for eats; I've managed to have one sushi meal for three days in a row now! XD I still haven't mailed my money order thing, but I'm doing that Monday, at the fastest I can afford. o_o;;;; I really don't want to be the reason a negative report is added to clone-chan's profile. o_o;;

But! The victory came when Mom broke out her ice cream maker! XD;;; Today was the day we decided to try using it for the first time. It went pretty well at first - I measured the egg suff, the heavy cream, the sugar and vanilla and rum flavoring, and we blended it and poured it into the chilled container. All was fine, and then Mom looked at it and said, "wait, wasn't there supposed to be some kind of plug?"

So of course, naturally, the first thing neko-chan does when her mommy says this is lift the container. *Sploosh*. And there's a puddle of cream-white stuff on the counter and dripping onto the floor. ^_^;; So, while I cleaned up and salvaged what hadn't spilled into a bowl, Mom searched for the plug. We were about to give up, and then ... "oh! It was here in this drawer all along!"

So, going on. A few more false tries, especially when we put the wrong plug on (I have no idea what the first one was for; it doesn't seem to go with anything o_o;), but we did get it started. Er, once we got the turny-thingy that churns the mix unclogged, because the cannister was so cold it was already making ice cream on its walls.

Okay, thirty minutes later. According to the booklet, we should've stopped it at twenty at the most. But! It's there, it's MESSY, and we try it, and It Is Good. XD;;; Dad insists it tastes like whipped cream more than anything else, so Mom ended up using it on her strawberries. ^_^

And then Dad tells neko-chan, Go put the garbage bag in the can because it's full. And neko-chan, the good obidient daughter, slings the bag over her shoulder and shuffles over to the door to the garage ... and promptly clocks herself in the face with its edge. -_-;;; And I was doing so well today, before that. ^^; Even when Allie's little fuzzbutt dog was trying to chew my hair, I managed to escape injury. ^_^;

There was another piece of glass on our driveway yesterday, Oneechan. But your neko-imouto does occasionally learn the first time, so she just passed it by. XD;;

*thlock* I've got this cream taste in my mouth. It kind of makes me want to go eat some more, even though I'm stuffed. XD;;;

What's with this lethargy? =_=
"Beat of the Shinma" (Vampire Princess Miyu)

I'm so friggin tired ... I dunno why, but I just don't seem to have much energy. I had lunch with my friends, but once we got back to school, I felt totally ... not blah, but TIRED. Like, I wanted to hang around them still, but I wanted to be quiet and lounge around and just be with them, and not really say anything. >____> It was an annoying feeling. They're going to have a sleepover party at Allie's tonight, and I want to go, but I don't at the same time. I really need to get this money order mailed off, because it's supposed to get to Japan by the 15th, and I don't want to risk getting a negative report added to clone-chan's eBay profile. *sigh* I called Yuri-sensei to ask her help, but she wasn't home. -_-;;; I guess I'll not spend the night tonight, and go to the grocery with Mom tomorrow, so I can check the post office in Albertson's.

And now I have a miniature scar on my arm to go with the slash on my side, because I was trying to play golf with this random wooden stake I found and a smushed coke can. It stings a bit, but I'll live. When you bang into things a lot, you get used to little bruises and scratches like these. ^_^;; It's not something to be proud of, but it's the definite truth. ^_^;

Maa, I hope you feel better soon. ^^; And for the record, I try to check the pitas of everyone in our group at least once a day, so I would've seen it sooner or later. I just hope whatever's frustrating you resolves itself soon. ^_^

Dude, I need another coke or something. I feel so tired ...

But! I did watch the second volume of Cowboy Bebop today, before leaving for the post office and for school. ^_^ Which means next comes the "Toys in the Attic" episode, and I'll be sure to let you know exactly what I thought of it. XD So far, I'm Greatly Amused by Ed, and I like everyone else. ^_^ I've got an hour before I really have to decide whether I'm going to Allie's tonight or not (I continue to waffle, sap that I am ^^;;), so maybe I'll go watch now. ^_^

But first! A coke, a pepsi, a 7-up, SOMETHING ... _o_

Oroooo?
"To Be" (Hamasaki Ayumi)

One last piece of Big Red! And it's! All! Mine! Mwaha!

L-chan? It's not really a huge deal, but why the usage of my real name in your entry? o_o And to be fair, you also got me into Chicago, but it hasn't caught on in a huge way with everyone else. Plus, some of the things I get the others into have nothing to do with you - Ayatsuri Sakon, for example, or Inuyasha. On top of that, I at the very least see my twins more often than you do, as well as my clone; plus unlike you, I don't know when to shut up about something I like. So, eventually, people have to look into it just to humor me and make me stop. ^_^

P-chan, sankyuu for the recommendations! XD Someday, maybe I'll just hunt you down and get the entire tracklist from you. *niko* I'll set my computer to search for them while I'm watching Cowboy Bebop tomorrow. ^_^

"Good" does not even begin to describe. XD XD XD
"Hikari Naki Yoru o Yuke" (Ayatsuri Sakon)

Ahhhhhh, I'm content. *_______*

I got to see a lot of my friends today, when I dropped by to get my stuff for school. The thing with the schedule is annoying, but I'll certainly live. ^_^ Hopefully, it'll be sorted out by Monday, like my counselor projected. ^_^ And I got to hang out with a bunch of people at lunch, which was spiffy-keen, and I got home and WROTE. *____* It was so ... ah! Relaxing! *nikoniko*

And then, I got a phone call from my buddy, John, and was invited to go eat sushi for dinner. *____* I managed to contact youko-twin, and she came too. *___* We went to Musashi's, which was CHOU-busy, but we were eventually seated, and I got a sushi regular platter. Oh, YUM. *sparkles* There was one piece I didn't like (tako/octopus), but I traded with Carl for a piece of his salmon. *niko* I didn't get to play DDR, even though I wanted to, but still! Not only did I manage to find the place without any problems, and got a yummy dinner of it, I came home feeling happy. And I got to practice night-driving, a bonus! XD;;

Plus, I'm listening to this song again. *____* I love this song so much~ it's really pretty and poetic and sad. ^_^; I especially loveloveLOVE the opening, especially with its accompanying animation of sakura petals. *niko*

OH! And John's letting me borrow all of Cowboy Bebop, so I have something to occupy my time while waiting for school to start. Mwahaha. I'm definitely getting up early tomorrow; as soon as my parents are out the door, I'm going to start watching. And then, maybe at lunch, I'll go get my money order for the doujinshi and drop by the school to harrass my band-schmuck buddies again. ^_______^

And! Finally! (As if that weren't enough! XD;;) I finally got an e-mail from Yuri-sensei (you, take notice!), and our lessons start again on the 15th. PLUS!! SHE WAS ABLE TO GET ME ALL FIVE OF THE LOST UNIVERSE NOVEEEEEELS!!! XD XD XD AND! I! WILL! HAVE! THE MONEY! TO! PAY HER BACK! WHEN! I SEE HER! AGAAAAAAAIN! XD XD XD

Ii kanjiiiiiiiiii~! <3<3<3

I was productive! Go me! XD
"Canta Per Me" (Noir)

I was just randomly surfing, like I usually do when I have vacation, and I thought, you know, I want to be productive. But, I wanted to write something ORIGINAL, so I opened a new file and started typing. And typing. And typing! XD XD XD It's been about two hours since I got home from hanging out with my band-schmuck friends (I luf you all! XD), and I've gotten quite a chunk done. *niko* I think this will be easier for me, because unlike some of the other stories I have, this is a plot structure I have some vague idea of how to utilize. XD;; neko-chan ureshii! XD

I also kinda wanna write some Ayatsuri Sakon fanfiction. *niko* Because I felt strangely inspired by the ending theme with its accompanying animation. o_o;; It's really sad; the image it brought to my mind was that it was years and years into the future, after Sakon had died, and Ukon was just left there, waiting ... ;________; I want to write it, but I don't, at the same time. It seems almost too sad, and I want volume four of the manga before I try anything. _o_

My schedule next year is SO messed up, it doesn't even exist. -_-;;;; My counselor actually has to go and work with it alone, and hopefully she'll have something for me by Monday. *sighs* This sucks - I might have to drop Creative Writing, and that's something I DO NOT want to do. ;_____; Especially now that the chance has come that my youko-twin WILL be able to take it after all. *cries*

School is so peculiar. >___> I think I'll be glad when it starts again, but disappointed at the same time, and not just because I'll miss my vacation. What I'll miss the most, I think, is being able to stay up super-late and then sleep in 'til nine the next morning. XD;;;

(I can just hear all my lazy, late-late-LATE sleeping friends falling over at that. XD; Ten is about the very latest I can sleep in, and that's really stretching it, for me. ^_^;; Wheras SOME people don't get up until noon or one or thereabouts. XD;;)

... you know, I think I can really understand why so many people love Noir's music so much. *___* It's really gorgeous; I'd love to find more, if anyone can give me suggestions. ^^;; I'm not completely hopeless at looking things up, but I like having at least some clue of what I'm finding beforehand, y'know? ^_^

Damnit, I really gotta remember to get gas for the car tomorrow. >_______>

D'oh. _o_
"Seasons" (Hamasaki Ayumi)

I gotta curb my fascination for sparkly things. -_-;;; I picked up a piece of glass from the ground on the way to check the mail (one of our upstairs windows was cracked, and the guys came to replace it today; I heard a crashing sound outside and I guess they cleaned up all the pieces but that one). It was really pretty, and I thought maybe I'd polish it on my shirt and keep it.

So what do I do? I rub it on my side. And feel something sting. -_-;; Oh, I think, I must've cut myself a little. Okay. So I continue onto the mailbox, and as I'm unlocking it, I look down, and there's blood splattered across the front of my shirt. ^_^;;;;; It's really not that bad; literally it's just a scattering of darker red against my light blue shirt. ^_^; When I touched my hand to my side under the cloth, I was apparently still bleeding. -_-;;;;

So, first thing I do after putting the mail and key up is go to the bathroom. It looked a lot worse before I cleaned it up; it's just really a thin little slin horizontal on my side. It stings a little, but I feel really dumb for it; who'd've thought such a pretty piece of glass was so dangerous? o_o

And yes, I did throw it away when I got back inside. ^_^;;

At least I KNOW where this scratch came from, though. >___> I remember, about two-three years ago, I woke up one morning and was getting dressed, and I looked down, and there was this lo-o-ong scratch all the way down my stomach. o_o;;;;; And I have NO idea how I got it; it was just all scabbed over and really scratch-thin, but even now I have no recollection on how I could've gotten it. O_O;;;

Okay, check the "not hurting" comment. It stings like mad. >_________> I'm so dumb ... ^_^;;;;

"And I feel fiiiiiiiine~~~"
"Agehachou" (Porno Graffiti)

This song is so happy and upbeat and dance-y, it makes me feel good. ^_^ And it certainly fits my mood at the moment; HAPPY! is neko-chan. XD Even if she's feeling a little physically queasy, mentally, she's moving along juuuuuus' fine. XD

Even if it doesn't seem so, I had a good reason for freaking out in those two entries yesterday. ^______^ Because on a random doujinshi-search on eBay, I found a listing for an actual, honest-to-goodness Lost Universe doujinshi, and finagled my lovely talented clone into bidding for me. XD XD XD The auction is closed now, and we had no competition, so as soon as I can send the payment off, IT'S MINE! *cackles madly* And according to the description, it's mostly Kane-and-Canal, which makes me even happier. *dances* This SO makes my day, it's almost not funny! XD

Of course, I spent nearly all of ths morning playing in Photoshop. *niko* Last night (reeeeeeally late, as in, wow, neko-chan, so much for trying to get to bed EARLY for once ... >____>) I drew two pictures and got 'em inked-n-ready for CGing. ^______^ They turned out not-too-bad, though I've never drawn dragons before, I haven't drawn Shin-chan in forever, and it was my first non-practice piccie of Sakon. (Though on the last one, I copped out - I wanted to put Ukon in, but I kept messing up on his outfit, and eventually gave up. ^_^;;) I needa talk to m'twins about colors before I can finish the Shin-and-Pochi one, but I think it's off to a good start. ^_^

*piku* I just realized, I had one extra EMU MP3 sitting in my downloads folder, that Rb-san sent me weeks ago, and I STILL have not either listened to it or moved it to my regular MP3 folder. >______> I should remedy that soon - which means, naturally, it'll be put off until I forget it again. XD;; Maa, I meant it when I said summer had turned me lazy. I keep thinking today's Tuesday (just like I thought yesterday was Monday X_X), and then I think duuuuude, I've got a little less than two weeks of freedom yet. *meep* That's so terribly disheartening. ;__;

Ah, well. ^_^ At least it's not NEXT WEEK or anything. I still have time. ^_^

*dokidokidokidokidoki* part 2!
"Kanaete" (Ayatsuri Sakon)

I luuuuuuuuuuuuff my wonderful spiffy-keen fantabulous and Very Nice clone. She puts up with me even when I'm shrieking my head off in wide-eyed twitchy shock. XD XD XD

*thoughtful* You know, I think those bite marks are gonna bruise, from where I was gnawing on my fingers. ^^;; That's going to make typing painful, if that's the case.

*dokidokidokidokidokidoki*

CLONE-CHAAAAAAN!!! GET HOME AND CHECK YOUR E-MAIL NOOOOOOOW! O________O

*expires*

It's Tuesday? Really? Duuuuuude. o_o;;
"Two Wings" (Xenogears)

I keep seeing today's date, and it keeps thwapping me in the face. ^_^;; For some reason, I feel like it's still Monday - or maybe it's just semi-wishful thinking on my part, because if it were still Monday, I'd still have an extra day of vacation. x_x But no, it's Tuesday, and I keep floundering every time I find that out again. ^_^;;;

Mmmm. I want some caffeine, but I just drank a Pepsi about ... er ... three hours ago. Okay, maybe then it's okay, but I want to cut down on my sugar-laced caffeine sweetwater. Because I hate going to vending machines, and other than lunch, it'll be the only time I'll get a Coke or a Pepsi during the school day. >____> Curses to taking a full schedule! x_x But I'll live, because I think it's good to have those extra credits.

I don't play RPGs, but damn if some of them don't have absolutely gorgeous songs. *__* I'm half-tempted to nag my gamer friends and see if they've got Xenogears, so I can watch and listen to the pretty music. XD Hmmm, I think Aachan might, but I haven't actually mailed her in a while. Two-three weeks at least, I believe. Uhyooou. o_o;; Summer has made me so lazy! XD;;

And it took me maybe twenty or so false tries, but I think I've FINALLY got some grasp on how to draw Sakon's hair. >____> It looks simple enough, but it was HARD. o_o;; It still doesn't look quite right, because I don't think I could ever hope to draw as pretty as the manga artist (I forget his name, but I know it's a guy, which Highly Amuses me, in the light of how friggin PRITTY Sakon is XD XD XD). Blah. Mildly disappointing, but at least I'm better than I was last night. I hope. >___>

Eesh. First FF.net dies (though it's kinda-sorta back up, now >___>), and now it seems that Angelfire has completely disappeared from the face of the web. o_o;;; I'm so confused - did some kind of buyover or something happen when I wasn't paying attention? o_o You'd think more people would have noticed, if that were the case. Maybe it's just my connection? *thoughtful*

... I have come to the conclusion that we don't have any blank CD-RWs, despite the fact that we were supposed to not be using them. o_o;;; Dude, where'd they go? The only one I know I lent out, I got back, because Mister Boss Man burned a copy of PSP for me. >_____> Dokoooooooo~~~? CD-RW ...

Blah. >____> I think I just might have that Pepsi after all ... _o_

Not bad, not bad ...
"Kokoro de Mitsumeteru" (Matsumoto Rika)

I saw two new (for me) movies today. Considering my general track record with seeing movies, that's not bad at all. ^_^ However, my head hurts something awful now; I feel almost dizzy, but yet not at the same time. ^_^;; I'm definitely going to try and go to bed earlier tonight than I have been ... >__>

There was a period of about half an hour today where I got a bit down again. But I've bounced back. ^_^ And then John called, so we went to see the Final Fantasy movie. (Doooode. I expected to just rent it from somewhere when it came out and leave it at that; instead, I see it on the bigscreen. Woowoo.) I don't think it was as bland as most of my friends seemed to have, and the explosions were ... extravagant. ^_^;; It's not generally a Comforting Thing when the floors and seats start shaking under you. *piku* And if the "villain" could have gotten any more slimy-cliche than he already was ... I don't want to see it. XD;;;

Just a random thought: I was over halfway through 'Perfect Blue' before I realized which character was voiced by Matsumoto Rika. ^^;; When she sings, I can really hear Satoshi in her, but as Rumi, it was only after I remembered "oh, yeah! she's in this movie!" and started listening for her that I noticed it. ^_^;; You can also hear Satoshi clearly in Kaite ...

Mwaaaah, it just seems so odd to hear a "Satoshi" voice singing with the "watashi" pronoun. ^^;

Hey, I think my headache went away! *knock on wood*

I hope Nicole-chan can get me the fourth volume of Ayatsuri Sakon soon. *niko* I did some preliminary searching of fansub sites today, but I found out that the Japanese DVDs of the series were just released a little over a year ago. ^^;; So, um, it might be a while, which is sad. I wonder if I could ask Mike or something; he's got tons of connections with anime-grubbing college students and all. XD;;;;; Because I REALLY want to see some of the anime now~ I love the opening theme, and I wanna see it animated. *_*

Mmm. Okay. Am I hungry enough to eat dinner, or can I cruise by on a bagel or something? Hmmmmm ...

But who dunnit? O_O
"Hikari Naki Yoru o Yuke" (Ayatsuri Sakon)

Ooooooooo. O____O I just finished watching "Perfect Blue." O_______O I LIKED IT. But it freaked me out in some scenes, and some of them were a bit too graphic for me, like the rape scene and murder scenes. O_O;;; But still, WOW. That was a COOL movie. O_O I'm going to regret giving it back to L-chan when I see her again. Whoa. O_O

L-chan, I understand your frustration at not having anyone to discuss this movie with. O_O Kyaaaa. I feel all twitchy and paranoid now. O_O Um. Yeah. O_O And DUDE, that fan creeped me OUT ... O_O

What is it with me these days? I keep getting into these bloody murder mystery type series. Well, okay, not REALLY, but after getting into Ayatsuri Sakon and watching the movie ... eeeek. O_O I would never have suspected the ending to happen like it did - then again, I'm really bad at figuring out mysteries and stuff. But when I think back on it, it does make a lot of sense ...

Whoooooooooa. O_____O Guys, I'm definitely one hundred percent with L-chan on this: you've GOT to see this movie. Whoa. O_O Um. My brain has been sufficiently fried, I think. I'm going to eat. Maybe. If I can get some of those last scenes out of my head. Whoa. O_O

*twitches* Whoa. O_O;;

Worrying does you no good, but ...
"Grace of God Go I" (Flogging Molly)

It's almost certain my mom is going to lose her job. *sighs* She told me her manager really heavily hinted she was going to be downsized (asking her if she'd found any other jobs x_x), but since everyone's firing, not hiring, at the moment ... it's been pretty rough for her. I'm scared for her; she promised to give me "continuity," but damnit, I don't really CARE about that. She's been with IBM for so long, and now it seems they're just going to fire her because she's too old, and with all the layoffs going on, it's better to have three college graduates you can pay smaller salaries than her, who's had years of experience and company loyalty. *sighs* It made her really dpressed for a while, and though she says she's better now, I'm not entirely sure how true that is. Objectively, I know that I can't expect things to be fair, but ... gods. I'm so friggin worried about her right now, I feel almost physically sick. -_-

Plus, my dad hasn't been feeling well. This could mean nothing, or it could mean everything; he treats himself so badly, in terms of his drinking, smoking, and eating habits ... jeeze. I feel so worthless, seeing my parents going through their own versions of living hell, and the most I can do is worry. Mom keeps telling me not to, and that we'll get by no matter what, but even so ... even so! I don't want to see these things happen to them!

I can't even get my normal cheerfulness up to get over this. The rumors say that August 6th is the day Mom's department will be hit, and that's so soon ... and all I'm doing is fretting over it. I'll probably have so many new white hairs by the time school starts, my hair will look snowy in the sunlight. -_-;;;

Ye gods. I'm really, really, really worried about this. I couldn't even smile that much for poor Nicole-chan when we finally met up today, and I was a bit short with her today when she kept getting lost. I feel really bad for that. *sighs* This just doesn't seem to have been my week. Anyone who has any good luck wishes to spare, please give them to my parents. -_-;;;;

Oh. And Saru? I don't hate you. There's only one person I reserve that emotion for, and he's in my grade. Lunch-table friends can probably guess who I'm talking about. -_- Frankly, I've been a bit annoyed by the soap opera nature of what's been going on, but I don't hate you. You've never done anything bad enough to make that happen, and I seriously doubt you ever will.

I'm so tired. I promised L-chan I would get on AIM today, but at the moment, I don't know if I feel up to it or not. Probably not. I want to write something stress-relieving, read Ayatsuri Sakon some more, and go to bed a bit earlier than I have been. Sigh.

FOUND IT~~~! XD XD XD
"Agehachou" (Porno Graffiti)

L-chan, go me! XD;; I found the happy song, and the kanji we couldn't read is apparently "chou." Now I must find lyrics, because damn if this song doesn't make me feel cheerful and somewhat bouncy. ^_^

Fun with friends is the best kind of fun. ^_^
"The Real Folk Blues" (Cowboy Beebop)

Ahhhhh, I'm pleasantly tired. ^_^ Youko-twin got me, Sharky-twin, and L-chan, and we got to the mall about fifteen minutes late (^^;;;;) to meet with Nicole-chan. ^_^ We wandered around the mall for maybe an hour or so (what does it say about me, that I was just fine in Hot Topic, but I was traumatized and couldn't stand being in a "fashionable" clothing store for over fifteen minutes? ^_^;;), then headed to Sharky's house. ^_^ She played some Crono Cross for us (I like Kid, from what little I've seen of her XD;;), as well as the opening from Crono Trigger. And I gotta see her fanart of Daisuke and With from D.N.Angel, which was muchly-cute. *niko*

Plus! Nicole-chan WAS able to get me the first three volumes of Karakuri Zoushi Ayatsuri Sakon, which makes me muchly happy. XD I only understand roughly half of what is going on, which kind of isn't good, given it's a mystery series, but ... I liiiiiike. XD But volume three ends on a cliffhanger, and I don't know when she can go and get the fourth one. ;______; I like Ukon, though; he's funny. XD Though I must admit, Sakon is DISTURBINGLY pretty; youko-twin is convinced that he's actually a girl crossdressing as a guy. XD;;;;

It really is a bit of a shame this series is so short. I'm really fond of it now, I think. *niko* This, of course, frustrates my fanstuff-loving heart, because I think I've only seen ONE fic period for the series, and maybe five pieces of fanart, tops. It's an old-ish series (first printing was in '95, according to the back of the book), but I wonder if I could find anything at Surfer's Paradise.

My nose itches, and it's probably because I've been hanging out around dogs all day. Nngh. x_x

I like Luuuuuute. ;____;
"Successful Mission" (Saber Marionette J)

I got the last Hameln volumes that have copious amounts of Lute-ouji in them. ;______; I mourn. Because Lute's so friggin cool, and he really is one of my favorite characters in the series, but it really sucks to be him. ;___; At least he got to hug Flute and speak to Clari one last time. *shikushiku* And Ocarina made a cameo in the table of contents/recaps - all sparkly and going "Sizer-sama, suteki~! <3" XD XD XD;;

Ruthanne-san, do you mean a remake of Cowboy Beebop? o_o;; There isn't one as far as I know of; it's not a RECENT-recent series, taking into consideration that it can take a while before a series gets released to the American public, but it's definitely within the last four or five years, isn't it? I've only seen the first DVD, so I don't have a firm grasp on the MAJOR plot of the series (and one must exist, given the amounts of Copious Angsty Flashbacks that were in the last episode I saw XD;), but so far, it's a lot of fun. And the music is Very Much a plus, because I luff Kanno Yoko's work. *_*

It's got stuff blowing up, space bounty hunters, hidden angsty pasts, and this adorable Corgi. I like Corgis, they amuse me. XD They're so small and squat and plain adorable, and they don't annoy me when yapping like, say, a Pekinese does. ^^;;

*thoughtful* Y'know, Oboe's pretty damn cool, too. He doesn't look a THING like he does in the anime, and I think it's better; he looks all thin-faced and annoyingly untrustworthy in the manga. ^_^;;; Really, when I first saw his human form in the anime, he looked almost exactly like I'd imagine the butler "who dunnit" would look like, from all those old-fashioned murder mystery stories. XD;;;

And is it just me, or has FF.net been acting screwy since last night? >____> It's taking a long time to load whenever it DOES decide to come up, and I can't access any of the fics themselves (which sorta defeats the purpose of going to the site in the first place, ne?), because I keep getting these *&%#*&(#! error messages. _o_ I don't think it's my connection, because I was fine earlier yesterday, and I can surf other sites easily. *frowns*

Lesse, in an hour, I head out to meet Nicole-chan. ^_^ She's here for the day, before her family continues on their merry journey to San Antonio. XD Let's just hope she can find the mall all right, with the directions my mom gave hers. o_o;;

Ossu! The shark is BACK!
"Moving On!" (AiM)

KYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! I'M SUCH A BAD IMOUTO!! *wails* Oneechaaaaaaaaan, manymanymanyMANY happyhappyHAPPY birthdays to both you and becki-oneechan!! I wanted to do somthing, but I couldn't think of what, and now it's already HERE and I'm left without a present. I'm so sorryyyyyyy~~~~~~ *cries*

Nnmouuuuu, how disappointing ... ;________; Oneechan-tachi, many apologies for not having anything for you twoooooooooo ...

... and, in happier news, my sharky-twin is home~~~ <3<3 That means, naturally, that she and youko-twin came over, and we spent the day goofing off. XD She somehow read my mind and managed to buy the first two volumes of D.N.Angel, so I was able to page through them, even if I couldn't convince her to let me steal them. ^_~ Plus, I have more Hameln now~~ I think I've only got four or five volumes left to go! *_______*

Oh, and I'm sure you two will be pleased with me; I've FINALLY gotten to see some Cowboy Beebop! XD XD XD And I liked it muchly; Sharky-twin bought the first DVD, so we watched all through it. She's now plotting to get more, so maybe I can see the whole thing soon! <3

Maa, people are still reading my Gundam Wing fics in the first place? XD;;;; I'm really shocked, considering how old they are. o_o Ruthanne-san, Katsu-san, I appreciate the encouragement. ^_^; It really is comforting to know they're still finding SOME sort of sympathetic audience. ^_^;;

Oh, and another congratulations to clone-chan! I knew you would do well on that final! ^_^ I'm very proud of you for pulling out like that! Being fatalistic isn't always necessary, ne? XD

But what's left to say?
"Kiseki no Hana" (Initial D)

Welcome home, Youko-twin! *niko* You've survived a family trip to Wisconsinn and back with your sister in a car, and I commend you for it! ^_^ We must certainly do something before band camp kidnaps you and spirits you away~

You know, I'm half-considering taking my Gundam Wing fiction down. I'm tired of the series and the convoluted politics of the fandom; the whole non-yaoi clique thing has just sort of made me tired (more than I am right now). It's hard to figure out what to think; just as you hear something that makes you think, Wow, there might be hope for humanity reaching a higher level of tolerance for others, something ELSE happens that slaps you in the face and says, Haha, sucker, keep dreaming.

It bothers me, but what can I do, really? One person can make a huge impact, but one person alone can't change the minds of everyone against him/her.

I don't really have much to say right now. I'm really tired still, and I feel sort of lethargic. I want to do something, but I just finished Photoshopping a picture that I'm halfway proud of. Maybe I'll tackle some writing later, if I can get myself to perk up a bit. I don't know. *yawns* I feel like I'm being such a drag to everyone right now; I'm sorry, guys. *weak grin* I'll try and get more sleep come this weekend ... =__=

It's no fun when you can't move ... >____>
"Suteki na Collection" (Pocket Monsters)

I can move about just fine, actually, I just feel really tired. I think it shows when I'm hanging out with my friends, because I can talk to them and laugh and joke, but part of me still feels really tired. I want to flop down and sleep and just ... not really do anything. ^_^;;; Clone-chan, Nexy-kun, I'm sorry if I wasn't my usual self today. >___>

We spent most of the time today before Nexy-kun showed up watching the Trigun dub. I have to say, I am seriously and very muchly impressed with whoever does Vash; anyone who can keep the screams and squawks so intact pleases me greatly. XD Plus, he wasn't half-bad when he was singing the genocide song. Not as much dramatic flair as Onosaka-san, but still pretty damn cool, i.m.o. ^_^ I'm a little more lukewarm to the other characters - but all in all, I think Trigun has a pretty damn high-quality dub. ^_^ Also, I decided that Dominique the Cyclops is indeed Very Cool, and it's too bad she was one of the first Gung-Ho Guns, and died so quickly after her appearence. >____> It's so refreshing to have an "evil" female character who's NOT obsessively in love with her superior. XP (No, in Trigun, it's the GUY who's fanatical about doing everything to please HIS master. XD;;)

Oh, and earlier today, the frog that clone-chan named "Rail-kero" had a new buddy! XD XD XD;;; Which she promptly named "Kerokane," for reasons that should be obvious if you know her, me, and think about it for a moment. XD Seriously, though, the fact that a second frog showed up the day after clone-chan was saying she hoped "Rail-kero" wouldn't be lonely ... *snrk* It's amusing. ^_^

Siiiiiiigh. Plus, there's that girl who follows me'n clone-chan around during our breaks ... I know I keep coming back to this, clone-chan, but she's seriously honestly MAJORLY friggin getting on my nerves. -_-;;; I wouldn't mind as much if she didn't keep interrupting and demanding we either explain or change the subject, or that she keeps offering to maul people for no reason. *sighs* I mean, I do feel bad for her, because she doesn't go to our school, knows NO ONE, and has all these other kids be horribly rude to her ... but I'm getting this close to simply snapping at her. >______> I was much shorter with her today than I was any other day, and I get the feeling I'll only be worse tomorrow. Uhyooooo. -_-

Neechan, I've also got "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" (from Mulan) as sung in Chinese by Jackie Chan, if you're so interested~ XD Your neko-imouto has some rather ODD MP3s she's scrounged up over the years. *snrk* I'm half-considering making the directory halfway public, so I can share them more broadly, but I don't want to kill my space available and use up my allotted bandwith less than a month after I renewed my account. _o_ So, perhaps I'll just keep it private, unless I'm mailed and asked nicely enough. ^_^;;;

On a random ending note, I still want to be Lina when I grow up. That's all. ^_^

A day well spent. ^_^
"Kazaranai Kokoro no Mama" (Midorikawa Hikaru)

I really need to set an actual curfew with my parents. ^_^;; It's a drag to have to leave early while everyone is still having fun. >____> Ah, well; at least I got to see and hang out with people today. ^_^ We watched mostly Trigun, though there was that random Fushigi Yuugi episode and snippet of Orphen that got thrown in inbetween showings. XD;;

I am a good dutiful neko-imouto. *nikoniko* When Oneechan says Give Me MP3s, I dutifully scramble to comply. XD Oneechan, I just got the song I'm listening to now today, and as it's an M-sama song, I'll upload it sometime tonight. >___> 'Fore I go to bed, definitely. XD Since I'm the only one who uses this computer ('cept for when Proxy dies, and Mom needs to hack in and find out what went wrong ^_^;;), I've accumulated a bleeding huge selection. *niko* I'll probably also put up "Love and Peace," by Tokio, because demmit, it's a FUN song, and I can so picture Vash singing it. XD It really is a shame Onosaka Masaya doesn't have more songs. ;______;

Nee, Oneechan, how interested are you in hearing random Disney songs in Japanese? XD I'm planning on inflicting the Japanese "Hakuna Matata" on clone-chan someday soon. XD

Ahhhhh, the cool air of my fan feels so good~~

When you're determined, you can always pull through~!
"Love and Peace" (Tokio)

*sings* Love, love, love, love, love and peace!! XD XD XD This song amuses me so wonderfully, yes it does~~

It does, of course, help if you know what you're DOING. -_-;;; My only big problem with browsing Surfer's Paradise is that the Japanese tend to abbreviate their titles, so unless you know what you're looking for, or just catch it by luck, you're not gonna get anywhere. -_-;; For example, Lost Universe is listed there (and, on webrings/linklists and such) as "rosuyuni" - "Los Uni" - and it was just by sheer luck I noticed it the first time I was browsing.

(But it paid off, ohohoho, yes it did. *nikoniko* I found quite a bit of Kane x Canal stuff - more of the fans seem to be Kane x Millie-oriented, but there seems to be more Kane x Canal fanstuff. XD XD XD That makes me muchly happy. *niko*)

Trigun is listed in English there (though I remember the first time I went there looking for it, it was in its katakana spelling >_>), and Digimon isn't that difficult to find ... but when they decide to abbreviate without warning, that complicates things. >_> But I want to look up D.N.Angel there, and it's not there in English, as I'd hoped for. X_X If there's a Japanese slang-title for it, and someone can tell me what it is, I'd muchly appreciate it. *hopeful niko*

Here is to hoping the doorbell/intercom man doesn't come tomorrow ... otherwise, I won't be able to go to the Trigun-fest. That's so terribly sad. ;__________; But! If I can call him tomorrow, maybe I'll be lucky and he'll say he's got another Major Job tying him up, and we can reschedule. *niko*

"Doki doki shitai every day~"
"Nemurenai Yoru Wa ..." (Slayers)

I love this song. XD Though it's too bad they don't list the fact that both Hayashibara Megumi and Okui Masami sing it. >___> That's what threw me off with "Get Along;" I knew the whole thing didn't sound like just Hayashibara, but I couldn't place how. And then P-chan mentioned it was a DUET, and I went "ohhhhhh ... how silly of me." XD XD XD;;

I showed clone-chan the "Holiday at Appoloco" episode of Pokemon today. *niko* Anyone who's followed the series long enough might know it as The Episode Where Koujirou Crossdresses In A Bikini And Flaunts His Assets. XD;;;;; And the Mewtwo no Gyakushu movie, which is really nice in its original form, and I'm too chicken to even consider seeing the dub. XD;; Ditto with Pikachuu no Natsuyasumi - there's no WAY to make that thing any more sickeningly cute than it already is. *laughs*

Yaaaaaan, I want to get some D.N.Angel. ;______; Damn you, pretty picture and nice songs, for hooking me in. XD;; But much and many happy-glompy thanks to Nicole-chan~~ who is kind enough to agree to look for both Ayatsuri Sakon and D.N.Angel for me~~ *sparkles* I can't wait; I'm really looking forward to it~!

Tomorrow, they're scheduling another Trigun marathon. *niko* Wish me luck in A) trying to find the guy's house and B) trying to find my way home when it's all over! XD I'm really bad with directions, which is Not A Good Thing, especially if I'm to become my family's errand-runner. ^_^;

Speaking of driving, contratulations to Steffie for finally getting her permit~~! And congratulations to L-chan, too, because they were in the same class and I'm guessing that they would get them on the same day. ^_^ Law or not, at least you guys can drive now~ it's not fun (i.m.o.), but you get used to it after a while. ^_^;v

Once again, with feeling!
"Hearts" (DNAngel)

Ugh. Last night was Not A Good Night for me. X_____X I feel better today than I thought I would, but I'm still not really up-to-par on my normal good mood, and it annoys me. I don't LIKE to be mopey and doubtful and angsty; I want to be my usual bouncy spastic cheerful self. So, I'm in a semi-bad mood and annoyed at myself for it.

Still, everything I wrote about last night holds true, no matter how I'm feeling. It's really depressing to think about, and to know you're only one tiny voice shouting into the void of humanity. I'm probably young to be worrying so much about how to give my life "meaning," such as it is, but ... *shrugs* Eh. I'm bored, no one ever really wants to do anything - or else they're busy - and I need to do SOMETHING to occupy my time, right? I mean, other than playing mind-rotting computer games and writing.

When I'm like this, my theme song should be "Mister Cellophane," from Chicago. Because it's not a funny song, really, but damn if I don't really sympathize with the poor guy singing it. >___>

Ah, well. Life goes on, and you either pull yourself up to your feet, or go sliding back down to the bottom. And I think the fall down's more painful than the effort it takes to straighten yourself.

Oh, and b.t.w. ... can I call you a Love Angel Whore anyway? XD Since I would actually mean it in a less offensive way than it could be construed? XD I saw you petting and swooning over those pictures of yours, so there's nothing you can say to deny it~ XD

Sigh. I'm so worthless today. _o_ I can only summon halfway enthusiasm for finally getting "Hearts" and "Tatoeba" - no matter how much I luff Hoshi Souchirou and Seki Tomokazu's voices. *mmprhgle*