Friday, July 22, 2005

   Freedom isn't free
With all the media's negativity about the war, I feel that as an American citizen I have to show my support. Amist the many lives sacrificed and the prisoner abuses, we tend to forget about the brave men and women who have made a difference and are still w/ us today.
This Will Make You Proud

In my senior year of high school, I helped organize a ceremony honoring veterans from WWII up to Iraqi Freedom, and I've learned how much a simple "thank you" really means to them. Next time you see someone in uniform, be sure to show your appreciation.
Comments (1) | Permalink

Monday, July 18, 2005

   My cries swallowed up, lost in the ranging sea
Listening to: "The Cape of Storms" - Hyde

Okay, so my plan to get up an hour early failed. I hate being an insomniac.

I added another depressing poem to my Full Moon wo Sagashite fanfic anthology, "Past Regrets and Future Hopes" (check it out at fanfiction.net). Eventually I'll have to write something happy b/c the series isn't totally tragic. However, it's the sad stuff that touches me deeply.

Random quote of the day:
"Finally the girl said, in that same strange tone, 'I see deer--a great heard of deer, and a man among them with his body painted--they put the antlers on him--oh, he is down, they will kill him--'" - The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Comments (1) | Permalink

Saturday, July 16, 2005

   Harry Potter party
Listening to: "Taste of Ink" - The Used

The Harry Potter party was so much fun! I went w/ my friend from high school, Kira, and her relatives. I decided that my stuffed owl, 008 (his name is a play off of Watari's owl 002), should cosplay too. I just a tag that said "Hogwarts Ravenclaw" and put it over his Rice University shirt. At Barnes and Noble, I ran into Bethany and some former and current GHS students (but Bethany and Kira were the only ones I really knew). It was a good thing we got there early b/c they couldn't let people in after a while. I got sorted (wound up in Hufflepuff 0_o?), had my picture taken, and got some free stuff. It was great catching up w/ Kira and Bethany and checking out all the new manga they had. The magic show looked like fun, but there wasn't a place to sit. I walked around and take some pictures (didn't get the cool dragon though). The best costume belonged to a guy who went all out on his wizard outfit. He had a mask, beard, and staff and spoke w/ a British accent! A couple people recognized me as Cho, and one girl said that my costume was cute (this was probably one of the few times you could get away w/ saying that). The weirdest thing I saw was the Snape groupies. They were high school girls w/ black feather boas and green T-shirts that proclaimed their love for our favorites Potions teacher. I know that Alan Rickman isn't a bad lookin' guy for his age and that Snape seems to resemble Amon from Witch Hunter Robin and Trent Reznor of NIN, but those girls were creepy. There were a lot of high schoolers there, and many were being obnoxious. I think they were posers who just wanted to say that they got Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince at midnight. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to pre-order. (I know I'm an adult and should be more independent, but my parents are still my only source of income.) All and all, it was an awesome experience. Potter pics

Random quote of the day: (Since I don't have new book, I'll quote from my favorite)
"'Yeah,' said Malfoy, putting on a brave sort of grimace." - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
Comments (1) | Permalink

Friday, July 15, 2005

   Hogwarts here I come!
Listening to: "The Sword" - Medwyn Goodall (yay for New Age!)

I'm so excited! I know I'm not gonna be able to get a book tonight (since I'm not allowed to pre-order), but I'm there for the party. Yesterday, the newspaper had a feature on magicians and how Harry Potter has influenced their trade. It turns out that the Barnes and Noble in our area has hired one of them to perform.

As for my costume, I've been getting things ready. Made the snitch which wound up looking like a chocolate truffle w/ feathers sticking out of the ends. It was so hard finding feathers b/c my chickens were being mean and wouldn't let me near their coop. I also had to wash my skate pads. They've been sitting around for a year, and they're already really dirty!

I read in the paper today that the current pope thinks Harry Potter is corrupting the minds of kids b/c it blurs the line btwn good and evil. -_-;; Pardon me if I'm offending anyone, but I think that's a bunch of nonsense. The world isn't black and white, and good people do become evil (*cough* Anakin *cough*) and the reverse is true. Also, I don't think kids will all of a sudden want to become witches, not that there's anything wrong w/ being one since I'm a witch-in-training myself. Anyway, Harry Potter does teach you the consequences of using magic for evil.

Random quote of the day: "The hearing's on my floor, in Amelia Bones's office." - Mr. Weasley in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
Comments (1) | Permalink

Thursday, July 14, 2005

   unusual day
Listening to: "Rewrite" - Asian Kung-fu Generation

Today turned out to be very interesting. First I came up w/ a brilliant idea on how to make a Snitch for my Cho Chang costume. Actually I'm starting to call myself Cho's older sister (who was also a Seeker) b/c I don't quite look like her w/ my glasses and short hair. Anyway, my Snitch is going to be a golf ball w/ gold wrapping from a candy box. (See, it pays to be a pack rat. ^^) I'm not quite sure if I'm gonna make the feathers or use real ones yet. Secondly, I discover that one of my other friends is going to the Harry Potter party.

Then, some time late afternoon, the power went out. My family and I went out to eat, and we wound up spending some time at Grapevine Mills mall. I got Shojo Beat, which has some cool articles in addition to the manga. I also discovered how behind on my manga I am. Vol 6 of Yami no Matsuei (Descendants of Darkness) is coming out soon, and that's where I left off on the scans. Also, they've already released Vol 2 of Seimaden, which I've been dying to get my hands on. Sheesh, I'm gonna be poor since I also want Princess Ai Vol 2 and Shutterbox Vol 3(luckily the latter comes out in the fall so I can save up).

The power outage freaked me out b/c I had a scholarship application that I needed to send electronically. Serves me write for putting it off until the last minute.

Random quote of the day: "I'm impressed by how quickly you learn." - Madame Fleming in Godchild as printed in Issue 2 of Shojo Beat
Comments (1) | Permalink

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

   I should stop staying up late
Listening to: "Vanilla" - Gackt

I've discovered the later I stay up, the longer it takes me to fall asleep. It's strange b/c the opposite used to happen to me. My body must be telling me to go to bed earlier. Anyway, what could I be doing in the wee hours of the night? Well, that's usually when I feel inspired/productive, and I stayed up late posting up my Full Moon wo Sagashite fanfic. It's just a poem, but I plan on writing a lot more. Here's the link: My fanfictionThere's also my Fullmetal Alchemist fanfiction, on none other than the great (and totally hot) Roy Mustang.

On a different note, I cast my 1st spell yesterday. Well, it was more of an invocation, but I did an actual Wiccan ritual. It was really cool b/c when I was invoking the element of water, a fish jumped in my pond (I was doing this outside). Then, as I called upon the Southern quarter, a heron flew by from that direction.

I've decided that the next time I go to Taiwan, I'm going pop star stalking. It's a small country; it shouldn't be too difficult. I came up w/ the idea after discovering that one of my recent crushes, Darren from K-One, owns a cafe in Taipei.

Random quote of the day:
"Nerd violence." - Kurama (I forgot which episode # of YYH, but it's the one where he goes up against Kaitou. I just thought it was a funny thing to say.)
Comments (2) | Permalink

Monday, July 11, 2005

   how a college student operates
Listening to: "Zheng Fu Zi Ji" - Huang YiDA

I discovered last night that after you go to college, your biological clock is 2 hours later than everyone else. I used to be the type to wake up around 8 and go to bed by 11. Now I wake up at 9-10 and go to bed around midnight or even later. Not to mention I take showers much later, which drives my mom crazy (we only ever use 1 shower at home). The only thing that has stayed the same is the time I eat, even though breakfast is later. I also get hungry at night b/c at school, we'd have all these late-night study breaks. No wonder freshmen get fat; you're not supposed to eat anything (especially junk food) after 8 PM.

I shouldn't have stayed up so late Saturday night to catch Samurai Champloo. It wasn't that great of an episode. Okay, everybody got high. Big deal, I wanted some cool fight scenes. Yesterday I slept in big time and was still tired so I spent all day watching GTO. Not that there's anything wrong w/ that, but now I'm behind on my summer plans to re-set my biological clock, stay fit, and study bio.

Did anybody catch Surreal Life 5 last night? I watched b/c one of my favorite athletes, motocross rider Carey Hart, on. I felt bad for him b/c he was such a nice guy in a house full of divas and weirdos. He was doing the dishes while Janice (who I thought was funny on America's Next Top Model but totally rude here) had her meltdown. Pepa from Salt-n-Pepa was nice too. Anyway, it was pretty entertaining.

Random quote of the day: (Okay this one isn't quite random, but I like it a lot.)
"It is sometimes a mistake to climb; it is always a mistake never even to make the attempt. If you do not climb, you will not fall. This is true. But is it that bad to fail, that hard to fall?" - Dream/Morpheus from The Sandman
Comments (2) | Permalink

Sunday, July 10, 2005

   Beware of scorned women
Listening to: "I Love Rock'n'Roll" - Joan Jett (one of my favorite rocker chicks of all time)

My parents sure know how to ruin a good night. I was having fun at another one of their parties I got dragged to. This time, my friend (Brian, Rebecca, and Theresa) were there. We did stuff like play hide-and-seek w/ the 2 younger kids (my brother and a girl named Michelle). I didn't think I was great at hiding, but apparently people never check the most obvious places, like the other side of a bed or behind a door. They go straight for the closets. Anyway, Rebecca and Theresa (who are sisters) decided to show us the Korean dramas they rented. They're so obsessed w/ the actors, and I must admit that they were hot. There was one that I particularly liked; he had a scruffy look to him. When we got back home, my mom start talking about how I always go against everyone else and like guys who look "weird." I can't help it b/c clean-cut Asian guys remind me of my brother. I'm in a sour mood b/c my parents lecture me about how I can't fall for non-Asians or the "weird" looking guys (as if race or appearance has anything to do w/ behavior).

I saw S-CRY-ed tonight and enjoyed the episode. It's a shame I didn't see it from the start b/c I'm lost and I probably would've been hooked if I knew what was going on. The trash talking that occurred was kind of strange. "Son of a dog"? I've heard them use the actual term in other Adult Swim cartoons. The main character Kazuma sounded familiar, and it turns out that his VA is Stephen Blum, same dude that does Spike, Shishio, Roger, and Jamie (from Megas XLR).

Random quote of the day:
"The eye becomes dizzy from watching that beautiful funeral procession of butterflies." - Count Cain Godchild Vol. 7 by Kaori Yuki
Comments (1) | Permalink

Friday, July 8, 2005

   costume play
Listening to: "Rasen" - Janne Da Arc

I forgot to write about the interesting thing that happened to me at the movies. Matthew had already gotten his ticket so when I went up to get mine, something was wrong w/ the computer. The woman said that she couldn't get Revenge of the Sith to show up so she said that the podium would take care it. When we go there, the guy told me to go on ahead so basically, I got to see it for free! ^_^ I was going to pay since he had asked to see Matthew's ticket, but the guy said "Don't worry about it." I feel slightly guilty since Lucas deserves every penny for coming up w/ a brilliant sci-fi saga, but I'll take anything that's free.

I've been bad today. Instead of studying bio, I decided to do an impromptu Hyde cosplay. Actually I have been wanting to cosplay as him for a while since for whatever reason, I always have the same hairdo as him when my hair is short. I forgot how hot vinyl pants are. >_< Speaking of cosplay, I should improve the Quidditch Cho Chang costume I wore to the Prisoner of Azkaban premiere last year (it was basically my graduation robe w/ skate pads). I'm happy that my parents are letting me go to the Barnes and Noble release party, but it's on the condition that I find a ride. Hopefully Kira can take me.

Random quote of the day: "I suppose...it's okay." - Megan Amano in ShutterBox Vol. 1 (a great American manga series...I can't wait for Vol. 3 to come out).
Comments (0) | Permalink

Thursday, July 7, 2005

   Revenge of the Sith!!!
Listening to: "The Unerasable Sin" - Nana Kitade

Yay, I finally saw Revenge of the Sith!! Despite a couple things, I loved it. Was I the only person who was thinking: "Noooooo Anakin!!" throughout much of the film. I really sympathize w/ Ani, but maybe it's b/c I read some of the book which delves deeper into his character. We're a lot alike: arrogant but insecure, trying to do what's right, rash, moody, too trusting, over-emotional (though our fears are bottled inside), and bad news when our trust is broken. I know people didn't like Hayden's acting in Attack of the Clones, but he redeems himself here. Some of his lines are still awkward, but I think that's part of Anakin's character. He can't quite express what he feels. Yes, some of Hayden's delivery is flat, but he makes it up w/ his facial expressions. Especially his eyes; man, can he look scary.

My other criticism was that Anakin's transition to the Dark Side seemed quick. It was like going from "OMG I killed Mace Windu. What have I done?!" to "Yes, Lord Siddious." However, that can be forgiven since R2D2 and Yoda kicked so much butt (even though Yoda failed to kill Siddious). Oh yeah, Cheewy was in there! Yay for the Wookies. I actually liked Obi-wan in this b/c he was so uptight, and he himself was struggling to do the right thing. He really believed in Anakin.

Check out this cool Star Wars personality test. It's really accurate b/c it's based off of a test psychologists use. I got Wicket for openess, Han Solo for conscientiousness, Wampas for extraversion, Darth Vader for agreeableness, and Tusken warriors for neuroticism. Basically, I'm open-minded, reckless, introverted, neither good nor evil, and extremely temperamental.

Random quote of the day (from what else but Episode III):
"You have allowed this Dark Lord to twist your mind until now... until now you have become the very thing you swore to destroy." - Obi-wan Kenobi (a great Jedi master...he visited me once in a dream and provided some good advice...I'm not kidding)
Comments (1) | Permalink