Saturday, August 25, 2007

   Wootage.

Well, I am officially moved into my new apartment, right next to campus. Classes start Tuesday. I'm in the process of moving all my stuff in. I'll have three roommates, all good friends, two of which are moved in right now and one who will be arriving Saturday afternoon. My job at the animal hospital went well and ended well - well enough, at least, that they want me to come back to cover during winter vacation, which I'm happy to do. Having a steady job prospect for vacations makes me very, very happy. And now, to finish carrying my stuff in from the car. I hope everyone has been enjoying their summer, and that you're all happy and healthy.

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Tuesday, June 12, 2007

   Woo!

Hiii, guys! Okay, so it's been two months... Stuff has been going on in the land of aurus. Finished the school year - how can I be halfway done with college already? - and I jobhunted for quite a while after coming home... which is largely why I'm posting right now, because I finally got hired. I'll be working part-time at a small animal hospital about half an hour north of me, as a temporary vet assistant. I'm amazingly happy about this. I've got another interview this afternoon at four thirty, at Pet Pros, also for a part time position. The vet says he'll work out my schedule once we know whether or not I get the Pet Pros job, so if all goes well, I'll be holding two part-time jobs until I leave again at the end of August. Finally, it seems like things are paying off. I've been doing a lot of writing, and also planning for a D&D campaign I'll be running at school next year. Among other things, my grandmother died a week ago, and that's been rather difficult on the whole family, but things seem to be holding up, and there's a memorial service tomorrow afternoon. I think that covers all the important things. Hope that all of you are doing well, and that you have a good beginnng of the summer!

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Monday, April 2, 2007

   Cookies.

I made no-bake cookies last night, as a last-ditch "must use the kitchen before I go back to my dorm!" fling, as today is the last day of spring break and classes start up again tomorrow. Let's see, I was considering pulling some April Fool's prank, but I couldn't think of a good one. I still have some work to do before the morrow, so this will be a short and more or less pointless post... For now, allow me to say that SakuraCon is this coming weekend, and I'm very much looking forward to meeting those of you who are coming. A good night to all!

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Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Oof.

Ohisashiburi desu ne! Wow, I've been dead for a while. XD I hope everybody is doing well. Hm, aurus's life updates... taking four classes this semester; Japanese, Ethnomusicology, Nature in Asian/American Lit, and Survey of Anthropological Theory. I'm still catching up on my reading for the latter; it's hardcore. Still LARPing; I bought a great new sword that's light and looks very realistic. I'll post pictures soon - right now, it's residing at a friend's place because I thought taking it on the train to get home would be a bad idea. XD Been watching somew new-ish anime fansubs lately. Tenpou Ibun Ayakashi Ayashi is Edo-period demon hunting that has a lot of references to Shinto and Buddhist beliefs/legends/superstitions. It's very cool, the music is top-notch, and there are some interesting characters, too. Simoun is a stylish (if pretty weird) show on an alternate world. In said alternate world, children have no gender until they come of age and decide what sex they want to be (they appear female until they choose otherwise), and the genderless children are able to fly the divine spaceships that are used to defend the nation. There are some fanservice-y moments, but all in all, it is thought-provoking and emotional, the animation is beautiful, and there are some very talented voice actresses involved. Shounen Onmyouji is another historical demon-hunting show, but it takes place in the Heian period (think tall hats and Genji Monogatari). It's about onmyouji, which are essentially Buddhist-Daoist yin-yang diviners/priests, and there's lots of bishounen and subtext. Well, I do hope that keeps you busy for a time. I must be off to finish some homework and get a little writing in. Oyasuminasai!

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Tuesday, December 26, 2006

My goodness.

Another year has gone flying by, hasn't it. I won't lie, I'll be glad that the holiday season is coming to a close (if only because the traffic in my hometown during this time of year is absurd - I mean, where do all these people come from? Do they move in for the holidays and zip right out again come January? Seriously), but I'm enjoying being back home for winter break. We had a nasty windstorm a few days before I arrived, but most people have their power back on. I've been playing Shadow of the Colossus on my brother's PS2 (my friend and I beat it once at school at our gamer friend's apartment over several weeks) and I've only got three colossi left. I'm aiming to finish before I leave town on Wednesday (the family is taking a trip to the Oregon coast - it'll be cold and stormy, but very awesome), but that may be a losing battle. Let's see... the next LARP event (I know, that's all I talk about these days, isn't it?) is January nineteenth, and I'm excited to go back again. It'll be cold, but I've done some repairs to my costume and should be better prepared. I turned twenty a week ago. It's a little surreal - I'm starting to feel pretty old - but only one more year until I can get a concealed weapons permit. Heh heh. Whatever you celebrate, I hope it's gone well, and I wish you all a thoroughly rock-tastic new year!

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Saturday, December 2, 2006

   A photo.

Just figured I had to share this with you guys, 'cause I've posted it on my LJ and my Facebook and even e-mailed it to my mother. XD Yeah, it's my LARP costume. My character is half-dragon, hence the blue. Last post, I was asked what kendo is. Essentially, it's the Japanese version of fencing - the elements all come from kenjutsu, or the martial art of the sword, and kendo is the "sport" version. It's done with bamboo practice swords called shinai, and the participants wear armor called bogu to cover legal targets (head, sides, wrists, throat). Wikipedia has a very nice article on it. Happy Saturday, guys! I only have a week until classes are over, and then one week of finals, and then I can go home and be lazy and get some proper costuming done.

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Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Further updates... yay.

Well, hey, everyone - it's been some time. Just wanting to drop by and wish those of you in the US a Happy Thanksgiving, and those of you elsewhere a happy nice autumn weekend. *grins* Hope life is going well for everyone. I'll either go back to kendo after this weekend or starting next semester. I'm planning on talking to my sensei this week and asking him which would be better - I'm thinking that jumping into things so quickly might make things difficult, but if he wants me back as soon as possible, I'll give it a try. Let's see, what has happened recently... I got one hundred percent on my latest essay for People and Cultures of Asia. And the professor is the Anthropology department chair and a really tough grader. So you can see why I'd be THRILLED. *grins* Anyway, that's about all that's noteworthy in the school department. Japanese is going well (I'm to the point where I can listen to people speaking in Japanese around me and get the gist of what they're discussing, which makes me very happy), Philosophy class is difficult and frustrating and I'm dreading the final exam, Japanese Religions is breaking my brain because we're studying Zen Buddhism, and I think that covers things. Anyway - LARP this weekend. I've done some extra work on my costume and I'm pretty excited to go and see folks again. With that, I must be off - I'm going home tomorrow, so I need to start packing and getting things in order. Have a good weekend, all!

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Monday, October 30, 2006

Another random update

Well, life has been interesting since the last post. LARPing was a blast as always (and this past Saturday involved a Halloween party and dodgeball with a bunch of folks from it, and crashing at the the leader-of-the-orc-war-band's place in lieu of trying to get a ride home at two in the morning; good times), my laptop's video card decided that life was no longer worth living, and it ended up that we had to replace the whole machine, so I'm typing now on a very sleek Lenovo R60 with an extended warranty, thank goodness. Let's see, what else - I had a scare with my elbows when WU's nurse practitioner and resident doctor thought it might be neuropathy or even a serious joint injury, but I saw an orthopedist last week who said that - thankfully - it's only a tendon injury, and though it's something that I'll probably be dealing with for a long time, it's not likely to degenerate into anything bad, and I can probably go back to kendo in four to six weeks. I just have to do some stretching and strength-building excersizes, and build up slowly. I'm thinking this means I won't compete this year, either, but I'll be able to go to regular practices again, and maybe I can hit the advanced practices sometime next semester. I'm happy about it. Last week, I wrote a ten page paper in eleven hours - and I feel reasonably confident about it. The subsequent presentation also went as well as I could've hoped. Am still awaiting my grade for that, and for the midterm for that class (for which my hopes aren't quite as high, but such is life). Anyway, I think that's been about it - I jammed a finger playing dodgeball, so I'll not type much more today. That and I've got two papers due this week that I've been neglecting. One last thing - bought a book at Powell's on Saturday. Game Birds at Home by Theodore van Dyke, from 1895. Score.

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Sunday, October 8, 2006

Hmmm.

Not much to report, really. The roommate and some of our friends went up to Portland with a big group of Japanese studies students, and we visited the Kwan Yin Buddhist Temple and the Japanese Gardens. On Thursday, I missed class to go to this big peace march, and we marched around town for over two hours, also going up to one of the big bridges in the city and holding up our signs and waving as cars went by. It's really kind of sad - the town I'm living in isn't all that liberal, but my university is, and I was one of about three students that went to the march, which is severely disappointing. Everyone's too apathetic. Really, for all that everyone bitches about the current administration and all, you'd think they'd take the time to do something. Anyway, what else... my tendonitis is acting up, so I've made an appointment with the health center to get a referral to a specialist in town. I've been doing a lot of photography with my digital camera, and I really do love it (yes, for those who don't already know, I do have a DeviantArt site). I'm off to another LARP session this coming Friday... very excited! ..... I do think that's about it. Hope your October is going well!

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Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Cosplay cosplay? Cosplay cosplay cosplay.

Hey guyyyys. My cosplay photos are finally up. Ridiculous amounts of love to my roommate for actually taking pictures of me, otherwise I wouldn't have much to share. XD Anyway, ah, yeah. I do hope you guys approve! I do plan on improving upon these costumes in the future, should I get the chance. But anyway, um, I have about two pages left to go on this essay of mine that is due in fourteen hours and twenty-six minutes. Wish me luck. Oh! Also, brief shout-out: does anybody have a recommendation as to a place I could buy a cheap cloak online? Almost anything will do, but preferrably something very simple (even a wrap-around type thing, as long as it's long enough to keep the torso and arms warm), preferrably hoodless and available in a warm fabric like wool or flannel. It does have to be period as to no later than 1600's, but I can make some modifications if need be. I'm looking for CHEAP, so even if the quality sucks, please help me out if you can. Thanks! Edit: Never mind, issue is taken care of. Now back to your regularly scheduled lurking. XD

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