Stuffings!

Oh geez.

Fri, 12 May 2006 07:14:31 GMT

Solike. The comments feature on my webcomic site has this automated junk filtering system, so that any junk/spam comments automatically gets moved into the junk folder. It doesn't, like, tell me when it does this or anything, so every once in a while I check the junk folder to make sure everything in there is actually junk (and not a real comment or whatever), and delete them.

And.

well.

This time.

Um. Yeah.

I WONDER WHY >_>()()()

::rolls around on the floor::

Sat, 06 May 2006 02:56:46 GMT

Hey guys, remind me not to go to a public medical clinic, ever?

After a week of PAIN and SUFFERING, I now only my TB skin test results to get back from the student health center and my financial aid award summary to receive and I'll be DONE with Japan forms! Except for the TB test results, since I'm getting it done separately from my physical, I'm supposed to bring my results to the clinic and have the doctor there approve it and put it down on the health form International Programs gave me, but uh. there's no way I'm going back to that clinic. :)() So! I'll just make a photocopy of the skin test certificate the health center will give me (given that I, you know, don't have tuberculosis ;o()()), or maybe I'll forge something onto the form. ¬_¬

Happy goddamn birthday omato >:O!!!

!!

Tue, 02 May 2006 03:40:36 GMT

I got a laptop!

...and I lost my Chococat pencil case with my shaky mechanical pencil, clicky eraser, and $15 worth of art pens. :<

Laptop decisions?

Sat, 22 Apr 2006 01:07:42 GMT

Constants: HP Pavilion, 2GB RAM, Intel(R) Core(TM) Duo processor T2300 (1.66 GHz), 40GB Hard drive (I plan on getting a 300MB External Hard drive to store media and crap), DVD+/-RW/R & CD-RW Combo w/Double Layer Support, Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG, $1300

Variables:

dv1000t series: 14" monitor, 1.18" thick, 5.3 lb., 6-cell battery 2:54 hrs, 12-cell battery 7:24 hrs

dv5000t series:15.4" monitor, 1.38" thick, and 6.5 lb., 6-cell battery: 2:53 hrs, 12-cell battery 5:55 hrs

A 12-cell battery costs only $39 more than the 6-cell, but it extends the thickness by about half an inch... :x People with laptop experience, are the size differences particularly significant...?

I almost want one of those Intel MacBook now that it can run Windows, but it's like $2000~$2500, and it's SILVER. D:< ...and I have an HP Pavilion desktop right now, (and HP monitors, and HP printer/scanner...) and matching things is cute. :)()() (...or is it "are cute"? Nowait, "matching" would be the subject in this case. If "things" was the subject then it'd be "are". Right! I know English. D:<)

...Granted my monitors, printer and GameCube are silver, so the MacBook wouldn't be that out of place... _-_ BUT $1000 more = NO.

Uhh. Help me decide?

(P.S. I got accepted to Japan :O)

(P.P.S. I like this song. :3)

_-_

Mon, 27 Mar 2006 07:26:09 GMT

Ugghh the past few days have been so distressing. It started Friday morning when a friend of mine who went on the Calstate International Program to Japan IMed me asking for permission to pour his heart out about how the program apparently sucked. He had a lot to say, but in short, he didn't enjoy himself because the dorms are crap? Basically, they live in, like, a frathouse, where everybody is dragged out of their rooms at 6AM to go jogging every morning, and all the Japanese guys avoid the few gaijin that end up tossed into the mix. The rent is 70,000 yen a month, and you don't even get your own bathroom or kitchen; instead there's a communal bath. =_= I mean, it's all partly expected I suppose, except oh wait, one of my friends stayed in a dorm in Tokyo last year for 12,000 a month, and had her own bathroom and kitchen. I can't help but think that somebody here is totally getting gipped.

So I've been spending most of my waking hours looking up dorms, apartments, guesthouses... anything that doesn't involve staying with a group of xenophobic jocks without even the luxury of a private shower? I've had Sakura House and Tohto recommended to me, but even their guesthouse rooms average 80,000 a month and don't include a private shower. I mean, I don't necessarily want to be all that picky, but come on, if there are people getting a completely self-sustaining room for a sixth of that, there has to be a better deal. T_T

I'm probably going to ask my grandma in Taiwan to help out since she's fluent in Japanese and has friends in the country, but umm...does anybody have suggestions? :<

Regrets and Non-regrets WOOOOOOO

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 15:57:24 GMT

Just a list of things I kind of regret doing! ;D (Surprisingly free of emo and angst, if you're afraid of that kind of stuff!)

Regrets:

Taking Greyhound and Amtrak on my road trip two summers back!! It was... horrible. I mean, yeah I saved money on travel expenses, but looking back I really think paying the extra fees for the airfare would've been far more worth my time. :x Stinky on-bus toilets, stops in the middle of the night, unpleasant passengers, LAY-OVERS UP THE WAZOO... I-It also seems like ever since sitting in 80-some hours of Greyhounds and Amtraks that were constantly delayed, my head has been perpetually...itchier...than before. OH GOD I HOPE I'M JUST MAKING THIS UP. Maybe one of these days I should get my scalp checked or something. :< (I don't think I've got lice >:O)

Joining WirePop last year, and subsequently indiscreetly ditching them a few months later. :X It was so unnecessary!! My original intent was to get noticed by a big publisher, except, like, a month after I joined I decided I'd rather not get published by a third party since it's waaaaaay less profitable that way. So that pretty much rendered my whole existence on their line-up kind of moot since I would never pay just to read a comic on the internet. _-_()

Not finishing more pages of my comic last year >:o! For all the times I've patted myself on the back for finishing my scheduled 8/9 pages a week over the past month, I'm also punching myself in the stomach repeatedly for even having to BE in such a situation in the first place!! Ooohhhh somebody be my bitch-slave/assistant prease _-_

Avoiding my tablet for so long! O_O I've had one for several years now but it wasn't mid-way last year that I actually started to actively use it?? And now all these kids three years younger than me are kicking my ass at arting and I'm just all Durrrrrr. ::SHAKES FIST::

Car accidents! XD() The first one was four years ago, when phrotus, Devon and I decided to go to Rite Aid in the middle of the night for, like... cosplay supplies??? I forget! (It would've been more worth our time if we got ice cream instead if that were the case! >:O) But I did some crazy maneuvers backing out of my driveway which ultimately lead to backing up into this beat-up old brown truck that was parked outside our driveway. And it left a nasty bruise on the back of my '91 Integra. :< And it's the ONLY bruise on my poor car in its ENTIRE EXISTENCE. (Well, save for the one my mom and dad made when they kind of. drove into each other O_O()()(). (Yeah, we're Asian, shut up.) But that one was fixed.) So uhh. Good times. Oh, not to mention the time I backed into a NEW CAR at the car dealership. XD()()() It left a dent and we had to pay like $500 for it, but at least my car was okay that time?? Man, me and backing up. 6_6 Basically, car accidents = costly, and not very vital towards the development of my character!

Not getting a PS2 ;(

Non-regrets:

F-falling in love?? Or faux-love. :D() Granted, the whole experience was pretty laaaaame, especially considering I pretty much didn't draw at all during that period, and it's one of those things where if I time-traveled back to sophomore year of high school, I would gladly crack a baseball bat upside my own head. But at the same time I guess it was also kind of necessary for the sole purpose of just knowing that relationships do, in fact, suck, and being single and independent leads to a much more productive lifestyle. WHOAAAA I sound like a dyke.

On a somewhat similar but categorically different note, my illicit pubescent online relationship with omato back in middle school, lawl. I had a Pokemon website, she posted on my forums; it was magic. But then, like, a year later we were both all, "Uhh ha ha this is kind of lame. ...Let's just be friends?" And that was that! XD() Now Tina is my faaaavourite editor. Smooches <3~

Investing my time and money into applying to the UCs, GOING to one for two weeks, and then promptly making my withdrawal! ...Yeah, I'm sure my whole family would've preferred if that didn't happen (particularly for the financial disaster that caused), and while I would say the same, at the same time it's also an experience that was probably good to have just so I don't have to think "Man, how GREAT it would be if I had only gone to UC_______" or whatever.

Wooo that was fun! SHARE YOUR REGRETS WITH ME! ;D (But save the heavy stuff--I don't want to hear about your wangst >:o!!!)

Son-of-a...!!

Thu, 16 Mar 2006 23:19:36 GMT

Okay, so I just received this e-mail from the Office of International Programs:

Dear IP Applicants for Waseda University,

We have received the Waseda University Applications and the Certificate of Eligibility applications that you sent to OIP in Long Beach. We are checking over your applications now before we send them to Waseda.

One problem that I have noticed is with some of the photographs some of you sent us.

FOR THE MOST PART, MOST OF YOU SENT US OFFICIAL PASSPORT-SIZE PHOTOS AND THEY ARE FINE.
YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT IF YOU SENT US OFFICIAL PASSPORT PHOTOS THAT YOU HAD
TAKEN AT A SHOP. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND YOU CAN IGNORE THIS MESSAGE. HOWEVER..........

others of you got a little bit creative and tried to make your own "official" photos using your own camera at home
and this will not work. I'm sorry, but it is VERY LIKELY that Waseda University will reject your fake photos and will
require you to resubmit official photos. You know who you are...................... There's one of a student sitting on a couch
(not allowed), and another student even photocopied photos onto plain paper (also not allowed). You know who
you are and I am telling you that to please the Waseda board who will be selecting students soon, you need to
go get official passport-size photos taken NOW. Not only do you have to spend the money to get these photos, but you
now will have the extra expense of overnight mailing them to us by FED EX or some other overnight carrier....... Cutting
corners doesn't always pay off. I'm sorry about this. I know that getting these photos can be expensive, but
Waseda University is very strict and will not accept the substitutes that you tried to create. I applaud you for the effort, but it just won't work. Sorry.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Uh. Okay. Talk about snide and bitchy. Not only were there NO directions on the application itself that specified sending official passport-size photos (nor was this mentioned ANYWHERE else in the entire packet they sent us), it even said that the photos they wanted needed to be 1.2"x1.6" (the exact wording is "Attach Five identical signed photographs (1.2"x1.6" recently taken, full face) here."), which, you know, ISN'T PASSPORT-SIZE. (Passport-size is 2"x2". I would think that anybody who actually DID get passport-size photos would be the ones more liable to getting rejected than the ones who, you know, followed the directions that was given by the application.)

That being the case, I had taken the photo at home with a digital camera against a white background and printed their requested number of copies onto glossy photo paper. =_= I've been calling the lady's office a few times today asking if my photos would be okay, but I just keep getting the answering machine. And you know? At this point I don't really even think it's necessary to call them about my photos, because they are PERFECT and fit the EXACT specifications that the APPLICATION ITSELF--which is going to WASEDA and are NOT for OIP's use--stated, AND they even fit passport photo regulations as well, save for, you know, the 2"x2" requirement.

UGH. ::kicks a hole in the wall::

Lah dee dah~

Thu, 16 Mar 2006 06:03:53 GMT

So like, anybody got any stories of meeting online friends in real life and having them turn out to be complete weirdos?

P.S. Jamie, having fun in Washington??? ;DDD

PISS

Thu, 16 Mar 2006 03:36:19 GMT

jklfs;dfasdhfdj I stayed up late last night refreshing video game blogs and news sites to get live updates on the PS3 conference, and it turns out that it won't come out until freaking November. I'll be in Japan by then, in a three-tatami-mat dormitory room where there will barely be enough room for me and my futon, let alone a TV to play a PS3 on! >:o Not to mention the price of the freaking thing alone; they didn't specify it in the conference, but people are estimating the cost to be upwards of $500. _-_ And since LAURA's a stingy prat who won't let me borrow her PS2 for like a week over summer (even though she barely ever plays the freaking thing herself!!), it'll be another year and a half at least before I'll ever get to play FFX or Xenosaga or Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter!!!

::flips over a table::

Unnghgghgh I hate my life. ::goes back to slaving over comic pages, forever, until he dies and rots in a gutter, because he has no PS2/3:: :<

!!

Mon, 13 Mar 2006 12:06:43 GMT

Happy Birthday yunyun and birdcages! Smooooooch :D

Nyuk

Sun, 12 Mar 2006 08:45:25 GMT

When I get caught up with my 9-pages-a-week schedule (I'm, like, three days behind _-_), Laura and I are going to celebrate by eating at a semi-expensive restaurant, even though we won't be able to pay for it! (We've got many celebrations involving semi-expensive restaurants planned. None of which involve telling my mum about it. ;D)

I'll probably have to do a bit of shopping for some long-sleeved shirts (there's a surprisingly small number of them in my possesion...) and a warm heavy coat in the near future as well. (BTW thanks to everybody who gave me input on what to wear for Japan! :D) Mum doesn't want to go shopping for them yet though, because we won't know if I'm accepted until early-to-mid April. But too bad it's southern California where it's hard enough to come across a good coat even in winter, let alone halfway through spring, and if I don't manage to get coat with a fur-trimmed collar, I-. I just won't know what to do with myself XO!!!!!!!!

...Umm I agree with phrotus on the notion that the cast of Final Fantasy XII look like they all belong in gay porn. (The chicks would be the supporting lesbian characters.) Vaan makes me uncomfortable just looking at him (and I don't mean that in a good way), Balflear wears sandals?? and fruit-loop jewellery, Larsa is jailbait, period. And I can't tell whether Ashe or Penelo is the man in their illicit relationship because they're both pretty dykey; versatile?? On that note, why have Final Fantasy character designs lately been so...offensive? o_o() It started out with FF9 just being weird, but not so weird in the same way as FFX, where I wanted to stab my eye out when I first saw Tidus' costume; I'm told that the designs get more tolerable after you play through the game and either like the characters enough to forgive the, uh, unconventional outfits, or you just get used to it? _-_()

Speaking of which, on a whim I bought a new copy of Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter from eBay. Did I mention I used to have Breath of Fire III, but I gave it to phrotus and forgot about it and flipped out one day about not being able to find it, only to have her inform me that it was in her possession when I went to whine about it to her? Heehee, that was cool. So I ended up buying both III and IV off eBay. And now I've got V as well, yay! (I don't plan on getting I or II though, because they don't count. ;o) I don't know why I feel such loyalty to the series! Well, besides III being my first RPG, next to Super Mario RPG. And the series having some of the gorgeous art ever O_O!! (IV and after only; this includes the redone cover art for I, II and III. :3) Unngghgh I lurrrve it so muchhh >3<!

Oh, uh, anyway, Dragon Quarter is for Playstation 2. which I don't have. ;D()() So now that makes three PS2 games in my possession (the other two being FFX and Katamari Damacy), which I'll never be able to play because it's too late to get a PS2 but PS3 is going to cost 50 bajillion dollars!! :< (I actually have a pretty big list of PS2 games I plan to buy if I do get a PS3 though. Not that I'll have the money for any of it.)

I saved this entry as a draft in Semagic last night thinking I might have something more worthwhile to type today. It turns out I didn't.

ああ、忙しい、忙しい。。。

Another request!

Sun, 05 Mar 2006 05:39:56 GMT

Can anybody send me the (I think) fifth ending song from Bleach? For some reason it was in my head when I woke up this morning but I'm too lazy to look it up. :D() (It's the one after the Happy People one and before the current My Pace one or whatever. The girl who sings it pronounces her "ru"s weird so that it sounds like an English "L"; like, her "yukeru" sounds like "yukel"? That one.)

Oh, and you may as well send me the third opening song too, hmm? :)

(Gosh, I've only been asking favors from my friends list lately, huh? Whatever, I've no hesitation from using y'all! <3)

Hurray shilane hurray helltown!

Waseda essay: take two!

Sat, 04 Mar 2006 02:42:49 GMT

Thank you everybody who helped fix the first draft of my essay! :o (Smooches to raitherai and omato for extensive raping. ♥) It's...really amazing how much crack I must've been smoking when I wrote it. So anyway, now you get to read through my second draft!

I am an illustrator--a visual storyteller. I was probably only three years old when I first watched the Hayao Miyazaki film, Tenkuu no Shiro: Laputa, but even to this day I still marvel at the creativity and effort that was put into its production. It is through Miyazaki's work, along with the creations of many other brilliant minds from Japan, that I discovered my aspiration to become a comic artist. It is my hope that my work will also be able to impact my audience emotionally and philosophically. Keeping that goal in mind, my plan for college has three parts: to improve as an artist, to improve as a writer, and to find the means to deliver my stories. With the opportunity to study in Japan at the Waseda School of International Liberal Arts, I feel that I will be able to progress significantly in all three of these objectives.

I am currently majoring in both Fine Arts and Business Administration with a minor in Japanese. After I receive my Bachelor's degree in Business, I plan to start a publishing company, through which I will distribute my own comics and eventually expand into publishing the work of others as well. While it may be easier to publish through a third party, I consider myself to be very self-reliant and determined. Independently making my stories available to an audience without being bound by another company's contracts and restrictions is a challenge which I am more than willing to take. Taking into consideration Japan's status as the largest economic nation next to America and the availability of classes in business such as Advertising Management and Microeconomics, I feel that the Waseda program fits neatly with my academic objectives and interests.

However, I do not plan to restrict my studies to on-campus activities. As an artist, I hope to absorb the drawing methods that have developed from Japanese culture and adapt them to my own projects. Furthermore, I plan to obtain valuable knowledge of the comic industry in Japan, gain contact with professionals in that field, and perhaps even find an opportunity to intern with a Japanese publishing house. Regardless, the experience of submerging myself in an entirely new culture and environment will provide me with ample inspiration to further improve my art. I have lived in a quiet suburban area for most of my life, where each day is as predictable as the next and the surroundings never change. Spending a year in the center of one of the largest metropolitan societies in the world will give me the chance to observe a completely different atmosphere and a greater variety of people for me translate into my sketchbook. Ideally, by the time I return from Japan, my artistic abilities will span a wider spectrum of subjects, styles, and techniques.

While art is an integral part of storytelling, the most crucial aspect to consider in the process of creating sequential art is the writing. In my case, the stories I write tend to focus on the characters and their backgrounds; I need to be able to understand them inside and out--their personalities, their pasts, their families, their hometowns, their clothes, their jobs, and any other minute details. Therefore, the best thing I can do as a writer in order to have a firm grasp of my subject is to experience the different cultures I am trying to represent from a first-hand perspective. For example, despite the range of ethnicities and traditions America encompasses, the country on the whole is a very non-contextual society--most people do not hesitate to say what they mean. On the other hand, Japan is frequently said to be the complete opposite, having a much stronger emphasis on what is not said in their correspondence with one another. The two are perfect complements, and learning about both will give me a deeper insight to how different ways of communication affects the way people think and act. Naturally, the best way to become familiar with these aspects of a culture is to make friends; by talking and listening to the locals, I hope to steal a glimpse of Japanese day-to-day life and society. In addition to that, I also plan on enrolling in the classes offered in the area of cultural anthropology. I hope that going from one side of the spectrum to the other--from America to Japan--will give me a solid foundation in understanding different cultures, bringing me closer to my original purpose as a writer: to create more realistic, multi-dimensional characters and settings in my stories.

I believe that there is much for me to gain from Japan. As a prospective businessman, I will learn about the practices of Japanese publishing houses and take classes in the fields of business and economics on top of my general education requirements, cultural anthropology courses and Japanese language studies. As an artist, I will improve my skills by learning from artists within the backdrop of a nation that has produced endless amounts of films and graphic novels which continually inspire me all throughout my life. Finally, as a writer, I will benefit from the exposure to a different culture and environment by gaining the knowledge to develop an authentic, likable cast of personalities within a vibrant, imaginative environment. A year in a Japanese institution of higher education can provide me with so much more than a year spent at any American college, and I plan to take full advantage of an opportunity to study at Waseda University to ensure that the experience will contribute to my future success.

Again, suggestions and corrections would be very much appreciated. And if you had made a correction to the first draft which wasn't changed in this draft, but you really feel that said correction needs to be made, tell me so and give me an explanation! :D And again, thanks in advance!!

~~(...Even though I'm probably not going to get accepted ajfkldf;hsd;fljasdkfa T_T)~~

EDIT: Okay I'm sick of this essay so I printed it out and I'm mailing it and there's nothing you can do about it!!

Help? :X

Fri, 03 Mar 2006 10:36:46 GMT

So after having written an essay, filled out an application, and obtaining three letters of recommendation for my study abroad application, last week I was sent yet ANOTHER application, this time directed to Waseda University. Among other things I had to do, there was an essay in which I was to "Explain my academic objectives and the academic fields in which [I] wish to accomplish them at the One-Year Study Abroad Program at the School of International Liberal Studies." They wanted three pages. jsfdkff;akjsf.

Anyway, I wrote it. GRUDGINGLY. ...So if possible, would any of you proofread it and such? Suggestions and the like would be appreciated! :D

I am an illustrator--a visual storyteller. It is my hope that my work will somehow be able to impact my audience both emotionally and philosophically. I was probably only three years of age when I first watched the Hayao Miyazaki film, Tenkuu no Shiro: Laputa, but even to this day I still marvel at the creativity and effort that was put into the production; the film is still one of my favorites. It is through Miyazaki's work, along with the creations of the many other brilliant minds from Japan, that I discovered my aspiration to become a comic artist. With that goal in mind, my plan for college has three objectives: to improve as an artist, to improve as a writer, and to find the means to deliver my stories. With the opportunity to study in Japan at the Waseda School of International Liberal Arts, I feel that I will be able to progress significantly in all three of these objectives.

I am currently majoring in both Fine Arts and Business Administration with a minor in Japanese. After I receive my Bachelor's degree in Business, I plan to start my own publishing company, through which I will distribute my own comics and hopefully expand into publishing the works of others as well. While it may be easier to simply have a third party publish my comics for me, I consider myself to be very independent and determined. Being able to make my stories available to its audience without being bound by another company's contract is just one example of a challenge which I am more than willing to take. With Japan being the largest economic nation next to America, and with the availability of classes in business such as Advertising Management and Microeconomics, I feel that the Waseda program neatly integrates with my academic objectives in this concentration.

However, I do not plan for my studies to be restricted to on-campus activities. Because it is from Japan where many of my most admired work originates, as an artist, I hope to absorb the drawing methods that have developed from the culture and adapt them to my own projects. Furthermore, I plan to obtain some valuable knowledge of the Japanese comics industry and possibly gain contact with the professionals in that field, perhaps even find an opportunity to intern with a Japanese publishing house. Regardless, the chance to submerse myself in an entirely new culture and environment will provide me with ample inspiration to further improve my art. I have lived in a quiet surburban area for most of my life, where each day is as predictable as the next and the surroundings never change; being able to place myself in the center of one of the largest metropolitan societies in the world will give me the chance to study a completely different atmosphere and a greater variety of people for me translate into my sketchbook. Ultimately, my goal for my artistic abilities is to have them span a wider spectrum in subjects, style, technique.

While the art presented in comics is necessary for drawing a reader in, what keeps them coming back for more is their attachment to its story. In other words, the most crucial aspect to consider in the process of creating sequential art is its writing. Does the audience relate to the characters? Do they feel immersed in the setting? And most important, can they get anything out of it? People read because they want to either be entertained or enlightened, or both; a writer needs to be able to provide these services to the reader. To do this, the writer needs to have a thorough understanding of what he is writing.

In my case, the stories I write tend to focus on the characters and their backgrounds; I need to be able to understand them inside and out--anything from their personality, their past, their family, their hometown, their clothes, their job, even their bathing habits. The best thing I could do as writer in order to have a firm grasp of my subject is to experience the different cultures I am trying to represent from a first-hand perspective. And despite the citizens of America representing a very broad range of ethnicities and their respective traditions, the country on the whole is a very non-contextual society. On the other hand, Japan is frequently said to be the complete opposite, where there is a very strong emphasis on context in communication; in my opinion, it is a perfect complement.

I intend to make many acquaintances with the natives during my stay in Japan, communicating with them and learning about their day-to-day lives, and maybe get a glimpse of their personality and psyche through their actions and words. In addition to that, I also plan on enrolling in the classes offered in the subjects of Cultural Anthropology. I believe that going from one side of the spectrum to the other--from America to Japan--will give me a solid foundation for my understanding different cultures, so that I will be able to write more realistic, multi-dimensional characters and settings in my stories.

Through studying abroad in Japan, all my academic and career goals would greatly benefit. As a writer, I hope to benefit from a different culture and environment by gaining the knowledge to develop an authentic, likable cast of personalities within a vibrant, imaginative environment. As an artist, I hope to improve my skills by learning from artists within the backdrop of the nation that produced the films and graphic novels that have continued to inspire me all throughout my life. And as a prospective entrepreneur, I hope to take classes in the fields of business and economics in addition to my general education requirements, cultural anthoropology courses and Japanese language studies during my stay in Waseda University.

Things to maybe look out for would be if I overuse any word or phrase, if there are any rough transitions between paragraphs or sentences, if I'm sounding too pretentious or what-have-you, etc. etc. And maybe suggestions on how to improve the concluding paragraph? Thaaank youuu to anyone who chooses to help! >3<

phrotus made me do it >O

Thu, 02 Mar 2006 06:43:06 GMT

If you agree with this statement, repost it in your journal!:

I wish I had fins
And maybe some cancer

ATTN: People who live in cold cold places!

Wed, 01 Mar 2006 08:31:21 GMT

So like, when I go study abroad in Japan next year, it will probably snow. And uh. I live in Southern California.

...WHAT SHOULD I WEAR. O_O()()()

RACHEL

Wed, 01 Mar 2006 08:00:33 GMT

LEAF BLOT??

Th-the logo would be the same as that of Chlorodrop, except more inkblot-looking??

...

Uh, if that sucks, then uh. Word list!

green
greens
celadon
viridian
chloro
phyto
leaf
tree
foliage
plant
maple
salad
drop
droplet
spot
dot
rain
bead
globule
sap
syrup
bean
pea
seed
bud
sprout
sproutling
mushroom
glade
splash
blot
greenhouse
mansion
storm
shower
thunder
mist
fog
torrent
sprinkle
drizzle
pebble
stone

:x

HTML HELP PREASE

Wed, 01 Mar 2006 00:32:48 GMT

I'm having (possibly??) CSS Issues >O

Okay.

This is how it looks in FireFox--how it's supposed to look like.

This is how it looks in Internet Explorer. WHAT.

The border for all of the comments after the first like 100 pixels or whatever shows just fine, but just that area is problematic in that it shows a little bit if you highlight/scroll down, andyou know, that just ain't cutting it. T_T Somebody fix it for me, prease. ;_; (noodlesandbeef, I bet you have some solution to this that you're ready to pull out of your ass, right?? T_T)

OOHHHH ::kicks down a wall:: dfjlksd;fdhfa

S-somehow I managed to fix it. o_o()()() I guess, the stuff that was in .comments and #comments didn't quite agree with each other, or something, so IE must've gotten confused about what to do? 6_6. MovableType came with its own set of huge CSS files that I didn't feel like editting completely so I mostly just stuck in the parts that I wanted there without really going through everything that it already had. ;o

WHATEVER, that doesn't excuse the fact that IE had no common sense!!! >:(

kdfjkahfdhka

Mon, 27 Feb 2006 08:48:52 GMT

I'm trying to think of a name for my company!! XO

Hans: What should my company be called D:
Rachel: hmmmmm
Rachel: Too bad that twat took Alatus ;o (ed. note: some twat took alatus-studio.net, with the prior knowledge that "Alatus" is used in my comic! >O)
Hans: Right??
Hans: Well, whatever, I'd feel too flitty and shoujo for having my lifelong company be named "Winged" ;o()()
Rachel: Tee hee!
Rachel: And you might not want 'Slime' in the title either :/
Hans: Y-yeahh >_>()
Hans: And having something related to Cows doesn't sound like a good plan either 9_9
Hans: I was considering maybe something related to Green Rain, since that's the original basis for all this slime business...?
Rachel: Green Rain??
I thought the slime thing was from Dragon Quest.
Hans: There was also this Ricky the Raindrop from elementary school thing that figured into it somehow 9_9()()()()
Rachel: 'Green Raindrop' would be a cute name :3()
Hans: Aheheh
Hans: Greendrop Co. :D()()
Rachel: !! That sounds cute, it makes me think of gumdrops. Mmmmm, gumdrops.
Hans: Heeee
Hans: ...oh man I think I like Greendrop XD()()()
Rachel: DO IT
Hans: DAMMIT Rachel
Hans: http://www.greendrop.com
Hans: http://greendrop.chu.jp/
! Heeeeee
Rachel: 3:( distressed eyebrows
Rachel: let's see. hmm.
Rachel: gawd, I can't believe Greendrop is already taken twice
Hans: RIGHT? T_T
Hans: It's also a name of a lake in Canada so it probably wouldn't be a good idea to name it that anyway :[
Rachel: bwah
Rachel: Gweendwop
Rachel: ;D
Hans: >P
Rachel: Green rain makes me think of lime Jell-O.
Rachel: They used to make celery flavoured jell-o. That was before we were born. They also made tomato and vegetable.
Hans: :X()()
Rachel: I sort of want to taste it... even though it must have been disgusting...
Rachel: Lime Cloud would be a cute company. Green Bell would be nice. (I don't think those are seriously good ideas; I am brainstorming)
Hans: Ha ha ha ha, I thought of Green Bell once too, while thinking about Bluebell Icecream.
Rachel: :D!
Rachel: Rain Flavored
or Green Flavored
Rachel: Stone Cold Creamery
Hans: XP
Rachel: Raspberry Heaven
Hans: :<
Rachel: Teagreen
Rachel: Greencake
Rachel: Teamuffin
Rachel: You should choose a charming Engrish name like Green Baby.
Hans: :)()()()
Rachel: Color Hero
Rachel: Pith and Vinegar
Rachel: Green God
Rachel: Squishies
Rachel: Great Green
Rachel: Slimy Cow
Rachel: Lapis
Rachel: Lapras
Hans: Viridrop, Verdrop, Greenstorm (ha ha ha ha no), Greentear (lawl), Greenpellet, Greenlet, Verdelet,
Rachel: Greenpellet XD
Hans: greendroplet XO()
Rachel: Viridigay
Hans: Greendriblet
Hans: Shut up!!!
Hans: Greendrib
Rachel: Greendribble
Rachel: Viridrool
Rachel: Celadrop
Rachel: glasswing
Rachel: swampy
Rachel: Greentastic
Hans: XD()()()
Rachel: Waterleaf
Rachel: Lettuce
Hans: Celadot. Chlorodrop.
Rachel: Celadot sounds soooooo cute XD() Chlorodrop hmm? it's got potential.
Rachel: chlorofoam ;d
Rachel: Greendrops
(PLURAL MAKES BIG DIFFERENCE)
Hans: :D()()()
Hans: greendrops.com is taken too though :(
Rachel: WHAT
Rachel: Sweet Green
Rachel: Green Sugar
Rachel: when I was a little kid, we had some kind of green sprinkles or something that I was obsessed with eating (but I wasn't allowed to, because they were just basically sugar)
Rachel: I ate them one time and my teeth turned green.
Rachel: But they really weren't that good since the only ingredients were sugar and food colouring :(
Hans: :(
Rachel: Poison Publishing
Hans: Greenbrew
Rachel: Greenblew
Hans: Gleendlop
Hans: groblet
Rachel: larf!
Rachel: Happy Belly
Hans: Oh man Rachel I'm laughing really stupidly right now X(
Rachel: 8D!!
Rachel: Old Greenie
Rachel: Willowgreen
Hans: XD()()
Rachel: Gang Green
Hans: XO()()
Rachel: ;D!!
Hans: You should make a comic about Gang Green ;D
Rachel: Ha ha! I should. Totally gross.
Rachel: Would they fight Sanitation Avenger?!
Hans: Hee!!
Rachel: Cockloach Inc.
Hans: XD()()()()()
Rachel: Rain Emblem
Hans: Hur hur hur
Hans: Breath of Rain
Rachel: teehee!
Hans: Greenbreath XO
Rachel: Eeeewwww
Rachel: Green World
Rachel: spooky blue lights
Hans: :D()
Rachel: Drown in Green
Rachel: Viridine
Rachel: Celadine
Hans: Are there any other words for Green other than Celadon and Viridian?? o_o()
Rachel: http://thesaurus.reference.com/search?q=green
Rachel: not really ;o at least, no good ones.
Rachel: Celadon't
Hans: Ha ha ha ha ha XD()()()
Rachel: Greenlit
Hans: Greenlantern
Rachel: ;D
Hans: Greenlamp lawl
Rachel: Liquid Courage
Hans: Ellen: so have you thought of a name?
Ellen: i hope you say yes or i might have to actually show you aaron's suggestions out of pity for the time he's randomly put into thinking about it and the fact that they're crappy
Rachel: !!!! I must see them
Hans: Recap: Aaron was the guy who thought that girls scrape their uteruses with their hands
Rachel: Well??? What were his suggestions D:<
Hans: Ellen's taking her sweet-ass time copying and pasting, apparently >:O
Hans: [22:59:56] Aaron: o
[22:59:57] Aaron: how about
[23:00:13] Aaron: publishing
[23:00:39] Ellen: ::blinks::
[23:00:44] Ellen: yeah i'm never starting a company with you
[23:00:46] Ellen: sorry aaron
[23:02:12] Aaron: :)
[23:02:14] Aaron: publico
[23:02:15] Aaron: :)
[23:17:36] Aaron: he wants green blobs right?
[23:17:39] Aaron: greenblob
[23:17:44] Aaron: would kinda bee cool
[23:17:45] Aaron: limedrop
[23:24:00] Aaron: envydrops
[23:24:08] Aaron: clover drosp
[23:24:12] Aaron: clover drops
[23:24:25] Aaron: four leaf drops
[23:24:31] Aaron: four leaf envy drops
[23:24:37] Aaron: forest drops
[23:25:21] Aaron: Gdrop
[23:25:24] Aaron: G-drop
[23:25:29] Aaron: G-g-g-g-drop
[23:25:35] Aaron: Gee-drop
[23:25:39] Ellen: and then he can be like
[23:25:39] Aaron: Gene-drop
[23:25:44] Ellen: d-d-d-d-duel!
[23:25:54] Aaron: i was thinking gg-g-g-gunit
[23:25:57] Aaron: and u ruined it
[23:26:00] Aaron: with yu gi oh
[23:26:08] Aaron: that's like hxc gangsta
[23:26:09] Ellen: sorry :)
[23:26:18] Aaron: and u asianfied whitewashed, kidified it
[23:26:34] Aaron: well i liked limedrops
[23:26:34] Aaron: :P
[23:29:00] Aaron: nature's candy
[23:29:03] Aaron: green drops
[23:29:04] Aaron: get it
[23:29:07] Aaron: nature
[23:29:07] Aaron: green
[23:29:11] Aaron: lemon drops candy
[23:29:18] Aaron: nature's candy sound slike a porn site name though
[23:29:18] Aaron: :P
[23:29:35] Aaron: dude he should make his site one of those annoying sites
[23:29:41] Aaron: that are purposefully mispelled
[23:29:44] Aaron: off of real sites
[23:29:47] Aaron: make it liek
[23:29:49] Aaron: payboy.com
Rachel: HA HA HA HA
Rachel: omfg
Rachel: I love this kid!
Rachel: Can we pleae adopt him?
Hans: lawl k
Rachel: And the company has to be called 'four leaf envy drops'
Hans: XD()()()()()
Rachel: Deep Green
Rachel: Deep Green Bells
Rachel: Green Velvet
Rachel: Oh man, I really feel like drinking something with creme de menthe now.
Rachel: Green Gold
Rachel: dude, I feel totally sick.
Rachel: I think just imagining drinking alcohol made me drunk!!!
Hans: Ha ha!!
Rachel: I might go to sleep and try not to throw up.
Rachel: Supershine
Rachel: Superslime
Hans: Ultraslime
Rachel: Ultraviolent
Hans: Megalove
Rachel: Petasex
Hans: XO
Rachel: Infrarape
Rachel: okay I feel terrible.
Hans: :(
Rachel: I'ma take off.
Rachel: GOOD NIGHT
Rachel signed off at 11:44:03 PM.

So uh. Any thoughts, guys? :D()

TMITMITMITMI

Tue, 21 Feb 2006 05:10:33 GMT

Holysmokes I love my lil' cousin Ellen.

Because she has stupid retarded friends (look guys, you got an LJ-cut this time!):

[20:53:59] Aaron: htis is going to soundstupid
[20:54:04] Aaron: but what's the point of having periods?
[20:59:34] Ellen: it's 'cause every month the uterus gets all lined with stuff incase the egg that comes from the ovaries once a month gets fertilized. and when it doesn't all the lining has to get expelled somehow. :D
[20:59:57] Ellen: which is why you don't have your peroid when you're pregnant!
[21:00:06] Ellen: and when i say you i mean women.
[21:00:15] Aaron: why not?
[21:00:20] Aaron: o
[21:00:21] Aaron: cuz u need the lining
[21:00:21] Ellen: ...
[21:00:23] Ellen: good job
[21:01:04] Aaron: wait
[21:01:06] Aaron: so dude
[21:01:09] Aaron: is it like
[21:01:09] Aaron: blood
[21:01:12] Aaron: that come sout
[21:01:15] Aaron: and lining!
[21:01:15] Aaron: O.o?
[21:01:15] Ellen: not really
[21:01:17] Aaron: so just like
[21:01:17] Ellen: well
[21:01:18] Aaron: peeling
[21:01:20] Aaron: dead skin away
[21:01:23] Ellen: ...
[21:01:24] Aaron: ew
[21:01:25] Ellen: yeah kinda
[21:01:28] Ellen: yeah it's gross
[21:01:28] Ellen: :D
[21:01:45] Aaron: so u have to peeeeel it away?
[21:01:46] Aaron: like with ur hand?
[21:01:50] Ellen: ...........
[21:01:52] Ellen: WHAT
[21:01:54] Ellen: that's gross
[21:02:25] Aaron: ionno u said it was gross
[21:02:28] Aaron: :P
[21:03:28] Ellen: wtf though
[21:03:48] Ellen: [21:03:07] Hans: YES ALL GIRLS SHOVE THEIR HANDS UP INTO THEIR UTERUS TO PEEL DEAD SKIN AWAY ONCE A MONTH
[21:04:04] Ellen: copying/pasting what he said because that's all i would've been able to say too.
[21:04:37] Aaron: really?!
[21:04:40] Aaron: was he sarcastic?
[21:04:48] Ellen: dude aaron.
[21:04:53] Aaron: O.o
[21:04:53] Aaron: o
[21:04:54] Aaron: heh
[21:04:59] Ellen: ....
[21:05:02] Aaron: wow hans must think i'm a complete idiot by now

Yeah, she was relaying the conversation to me. ;D()()()

:O?

Mon, 20 Feb 2006 23:53:25 GMT

Does anybody happen to have an old LJ username with an underscore in front of it (e.g. "_blahblah") that I could have? :D()() I want to get a username that has been deleted and purged but the only way I can get it is if I rename an existing screenname to it, and rename tokens cost MONEY unless you have a username that starts with an underscore. :x

EDIT: Nevermind! <3

Questions?

Sun, 19 Feb 2006 01:27:41 GMT

A) What's the deal with the line "You spoony bard" from FF4 sticking around for so long? What's so great about it? Is there some double entendre I'm missing out on? o_o I mean, I once read somewhere that "You spoony bard" was a line attributed to the bad translation quality of the first localization effort, except, uh, the line makes perfect sense.

B) Why did the opera scene in FF6 make that big of an impact? When I played through it it seemed like just a diversion, but I keep hearing from people who are all "OMG BEST SCENE IN VIDEO GAME HISTORYYYY!!1" and uh. I just. don't see it. I mean, the opera itself doesn't parallel anything in the FF6 story, and the fact that Celes is supposedly not a great singer (unless she was just very modestly hacking and weezing before the performance) and playing opposite of some random actor kind of made it even more impersonal and irrelevant. o_o. Is it just one of those "Well, it had never been done before and was ahead of its time so that's why it's awesome" sort of deals, or am I missing out on something here too?

C) Why do people hate FF8 >:O! (It is my faaaavourite. :x) Is it just because the gameplay was so drastically different from other Final Fantasy games? Were people just squicked by the game's emphasis on Squall's and Rinoa's relationship with one another? Was the game too EMO or something in comparison to other games?? GOSH, what's wrong with you people!!

lololol

Wed, 15 Feb 2006 03:39:39 GMT

omato: you are full of it
omato: and never masturbated to my voice

!!

Sun, 12 Feb 2006 02:59:58 GMT

Oh man, you guys, I stayed up 'til 6AM scanning pictures, and then woke up and scanned MORE pictures, and finally I've completed my massive art dump over at my art journal (slimu!) with two sketchbooks worth of CRAP. Whhhhhyyyyy did I dooo thaat???? Whatever, y'all should look at it if you're bored and feel like killing your modem or whatever. :D

And just for fun, here are some random other things I did while I was bored:

CatsinSinks.com is one of my faavourite websites! I saw these two kitties and I knew what had to be done. :D()

I spent. SO LONG. doing this. @_@()()() It's Hector's critical hit animation with the Armads axe in Fire Emblem. I took a movie clip it of from the emulator, editted out the background and the random archer he was attacking, and made it a GIF. TOO BAD IT'S TOO BIG FOR AN LJ-ICON. UGGGHHHHH!!!!!! Oh well, my subscription runs out in 10 days anyway. :'(

Okay I should do something productive now. Bye!!!

O_O()()

Tue, 07 Feb 2006 23:46:23 GMT

Ohhh man. Read this and this. Artist experiences with this small manga publishing company, "eigoManga", which I was considering having publish my comic a while back. 9_9()()() Basically, I'm preeetty glad that never went through! :D()

Highlights:

The CEO's blog is on MYSPACE.

"I totally HATE HATE HATE dealing with just plain artists because they so stupid...." ~from said CEO's blog entry

"One Sakura Pakk artist's submission, which he had promised would be placed in the first issue, was pulled after she refused to date him." ~a comment made by ldragoon under her entry in regards to the CEO

Umm I'm going to start my own company after I graduate!! Anybody who works for me gets free sexual harrassment! ♥