Saturday, May 7, 2005

   a fun final and a Fullmetal fanfiction
Listening to: "Nostalgia" - Aikawa Nanase

Bwahaha, fear my alliteration! Shakespeare would be proud (he's a big fan of "f's").

A final exam, fun?! Well, I actually enjoyed doing my English 200 take-home test. Maybe it was b/c physics sucked that morning, but I really like the questions my teacher picked out over the American gothic. Anyway, I only have my chem take-home and math project now.

Last week's episode of Fullmetal Alchemist was so touching that I became inspired to embark on a bold creative endeavor: fanfiction! I felt a sudden urge to assume Roy Mustang's persona and write his reaction to what happened in Episode 25 (I'm purposely being vague for those of y'all who haven't seen it). It's a cliche topic, but I really want to get inside Roy's head. He's such a complex and compelling character; actually they all are. That's one of the reasons why I love FMA so much.
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Saturday, April 30, 2005

   karaoke fun!
Listening to: "No More Words" - Ayumi Hamasaki

Well, today--or I should say, yesterday--was naughty, gothic school girl day. I guess it was the closest thing I could get to Gothic Lolita. The fishnets were what got to people. I couldn't wear my outfit all day since I had lab, but I did go out of the dorm and into the Rice Village in it to have breakfast w/ Elizabeth, Kati, and Henry.

After a super long lab and some homework that I put off to the last minute, Amanda invited me over to the guys' room for "karaoke." I put it in quotes b/c all we did was play CDs or mp3s and searched for lyrics online. By we, I mean Rob, Parker, Fletcher, Jason, John, Amanda, and me. Later on, people would wander in and out: like Chris, Jared, Michelle, and Danielle. I think everyone loved my rendition of Koda Kumi's "Honey Flash." Such a catchy song; Chris walked in on me so it must have been interesting to see me dance around. We did everything from pop hits to rap to TV/movie songs to Rammstein to finally ending w/ Gackt's "Vanilla" (I just HAD to do it ^_^).
By then Parker and Jason had left, and Danielle stuck around. Rob showed us the Rammstein video: one music video and one live performance. The music video was cool, but the concert footage got bad, as in sexually explicit. At first, I only found it marginally worse than some J-rock performance stuff, but I think the Japanese are more subtle in general. We couldn't end w/ that so I showed everybody Psycho le Cemu's "Michi no Sora" PV, which Danielle described as "hot" (like she always does). I think the guys were a bit weirded out by the cross-dressing, but it was a nice, colorful conclusion to a fun night.
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Saturday, April 23, 2005

   PARRR-TAAY!!!
Listening to: "(Wake Up) Make a Move" - lostprophets...great band;t he members are good role models too, straight-edge w00t!

I just returned from the Baker party. The theme was 90s prom, and I thought, "Well, since Mom has been bugging me about trying on one of Sophia's dresses, I'll kill 2 birds w/ 1 stone." I needed a break from all my work, and sadly, anime wasn't cutting it (must have something to do w/ the papers on my desk). Anyway, I borrowed Sophia's gold, strapless ball gown. It looked like the one Belle (from Beauty and the Beast) wore. I had originally planned to do a goth look since I didn't get a chance to really do that w/ my own prom (even though my dress did come from Hot Topic). However, I didn't have a gothy looking top.
I think I made more of an effort to dress up for this than my actual prom. I know a lot of it has to do w/ me making up for the stuff that I did miss out in my high school prom, and I have to confess: this was 100 times more fun (even though I did enjoy shocking my high school buddies w/ my HOT prom date w/ his HOT car). I had more fun b/c there weren't a lot of people when I went to the commons and many of my friends were there. I can't believe I actually went out and danced, but I think being w/ people who were comfortable w/ looking silly helped a lot. Plus, Rob was the 1st person to ever ask me for a dance (even if he was half kidding since he IS going out w/ Amanda, who came later). It was nice being pretty tonight and having everyone look stunned and compliment me. ^_^ I did uploaded pics on my photo album so check them out!
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Friday, April 22, 2005

   hellish week over!
Listening to: "Broken" - Luna Sea

Finally, it's the weekend, and I'm almost done w/ all my big projects (minus finals). Well, I've got a chem take-home test this weekend and a math project that's due before we go home, but here's what I accomplished this week: 2 English papers (one long, one short), 1 chem poster/presentation, 1 really long math assignment, 1 lab report, and a 2-part physics assignment (that was actually shorter than usual). Okay, so I'm not off the hook b/c I also have to finish Absalom, Absalom! and The Good Soldier. However, Baker's hosting a party tonight, and I'm in need of a good time.

Concerning anime...we finished X this week. The ending was amazing; I was touched. I decided to watch Saiyuki this afternoon b/c I was in the mood for some action and humor. I love that series. It's got everything I want: action (fantasy and guns), humor/sarcasm, angst, a literary reference (albeit a perversion of a classic), and hot guys! Oh yeah, don't forget some gender-bending/ambiguity. The only thing it lacks that Jen would want is a kickass chick... *imagination runs a bit wild*.
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Friday, April 15, 2005

   the power of stream of consciousness
Listening to: "Mother" - Danzig (OMG, I haven't heard this song is so long! It rocks.)

Wow, I never knew that writing Faulkner-style could be such a catharsis. In my English 200 class, our prof gave us the class period to emulate Faulkner's writing style, writing on a topic that evoked lots of strong emotion). It was really intense b/c I got sucked into writing. Time flew by, and I felt this amazing rush afterwards. The only other times I get those "highs" are when I'm doing something thrilling (involving either action sports or high speeds) or when I'm performing. Dr. Levander said that it could be anonymous, but I'm trying to get past my obsession w/ hiding all my works until they're ready (or not so personal).

I was being bad yesterday and hanging w/ the guys and 2 of their Owls. We talking buying chemicals to make bombs or drugs (or to just have uranium ore sitting on our desk). Seriously, Parker has a site that sells that kind of stuff. Anyway, Gabe and Jared are so awesome! Gabe introduced me to the Owls as "one of the coolest girls around." ^_^ Elizabeth and I ran into Jared when we got our Owl, Connie, and we introduced him as "the nice one of the room" (they're all really nice; Jared is more polite). He was stoked about that; it was cute. Connie is a friendly girl, and she's excited about coming to Rice next year.
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Tuesday, April 12, 2005

   Shakespeare's masterpieces in one sonnet
Shakespearean Sonnet
by R. S. Gwynn

A man is haunted by his father's ghost.
Boy meets girl while feuding families fight.
A Scottish king is murdered by his host.
Two couples get lost on a summer night.
A hunchback murders all who block his way.
A ruler's rivals plot against his life.
A fat man and a prince make rebels pay.
A noble Moor has doubts about his wife.
An English king decides to conquer France.
A duke learns that his best friend is a she.
A forest sets the scene for this romance.
An old man and his daughters disagree.
A Roman leader makes a big mistake.
A sexy queen is bitten by a snake.

A line summarizes one of Will's plays. I can identify maybe about half of them. ^^
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Saturday, April 9, 2005

   where did my spring recess go?
I did it again. I returned home intent on working my butt off, but I didn't get half of my work done. However, I did catch up on my reading for chem and physics, and I discovered how much I suck at physics. I also read Midnight Predator by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. She's a cool young author who writes stories about vampires and shape-shifters. My favorite one of her books is still Demon in My View b/c I could totally relate to the heroine and Aubrey will always be the sexiest of her vampires. I wasn't as attached to the characters in Midnight Predator, but at least they weren't annoying like some of them in Shattered Mirror. Okay so this break didn't totally go to waste, as I also watched the 2 movies I got at Kamikaze Con: Tokyo Babylon and RG Veda. Both were good, but not quite what I expected in that they didn't develop a story (made me want to read the manga). Well, I gotta get back to work now--whether it's school stuff or the new manga I've been trying to draw, I'll leave that up to my mood. Here's an interesting thing: my mom wants me to look like Koda Kumi 'cuz she thinks she's cute. Okay....
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Friday, April 8, 2005

   I'm back on!
Listening to: "Helena" - My Chemical Romance

I'm totally stoked right now. After a day of being basically on the edge of the kick list, I have officially made it back on campus! Best wishes go out to Amanda though. Hopefully she gets on before she decides to volunteer off. Anyway, back to my favorite moments of "The Taming of the Shrew."

15) The scene where Katharina is starving - one night, we found Kristin finishing off the chicked (she was really starving).

16) "Thou liest, thou thread, thou thimble,/ Thou yard, three-quarters, half-yard, quarter, nail!/ Thou flea, thou nit, thou winter-cricket thou!" - Petruchio chewing out the smart-aleck tailor (Emrys), complete w/ hand gestures

17) "Young budding virgin" - Katharina addressing Vincentio (Phil)
There's a long story to this strange line, but it's funny b/c this is the opposite of Phil.

18) "Love wroght these miracles." - Lucentio
This has to be Shakespeare's corniest line.

19) "To her, Kate!" - Petruchio
"To her, widow!" - Hortensio
This is the almost catfight between Katharina and Hortensio's wife (Michelle)...or shall I say "lusty widow."

20) "Fie, fie, unknit that threatening unkind brow" - Katharina to the widow
The ending scene used to interpreted as Kate finally becoming summissive to Petruchio, but our version of the play makes them equals. She tells the other women to be obedient to their husbands so that they can win the bet and show how a real relationship works.

Oh and I'd like to say that I officially got invited to my 1st party here. I was eating dinner yesterday w/ Rob, Elyse, Joe, and Emrys. Before I left, Joe and Emrys asked if I was coming to the cast party (Elyse and Rob knew that I was going home). I probably would've gone too.
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Sunday, April 3, 2005

   the finale
Listening to: "Fake Renaissance Improv No. 1" - Jacob Barton, created specifically for Baker Shakespeare's production of The Taming of the Shrew

If all the world's a stage and men merely players (pardon if I totally misquoted that), then I have closed off an act of the play that is my college life. It's a bittersweet finale: I'm half glad that it's over and I can get some sleep, but there's the other half that wishes the fun would never end. I've become acquainted w/ a lot of great people, and I found my niche among the "theatre geeks." This play has helped me obtain a purpose/identity in the Baker/Rice community. Thus I thank everyone who has toiled along w/ me on this endeavor: actors, crew, director Chepe, producer Elyse, and my wonder co-props mistress Amanda.

In the tradition of last shows, we all decided to throw in a couple pranks. Most were subtle, almost unknown to the audience (I only caught them b/c I've seen the play thrice). The most obvious was when sex music came on when Bianca and Lucentio were making out. Amanda's and my contribution were taping pictures to the back of some props. Hortensio's gamut had "I *heart* boobs" on the back, which all of the actors loved. The Tailor's note had a cute picture of a bunny in a tea cup. Emrys and Jake were cracking up over that b/c they had expected something raunchy. No one expected those 2 pictures to have come from yours truly. ^_^ Haha, Jen wins again. Being the braggart I am, I wore the "I *heart* boobs" pic on my forehead while we cleaned up.
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Friday, April 1, 2005

   Koda Kumi's biggest fan and almost dying
Listening to: "Show Me" - Moya Brennan (I'm taking a break from my Koda Kumi binge to listen to a cool New Age radio station; that stuff is always so calming and beautiful)

Yesterday was my Koda Kumi day. My outfit was inspired by her "Real Emotion" PV: a black tank top and olive green pants stuffed into my J-rock boots. Of course I threw on some dangling jewelry and wore my vinyl jacket for kicks. The look didn't quite work as well as expected. Elizabeth said that I looked like a neo-Nazi w/ the way my pants were in my boots, and Joe asked me if I came out of The Matrix (the jacket does have a Trinity feel to it). The BakerShake peeps definitely dig the jacket. Phil kept say "Soooo shiny" (he reminds me of one of those birds that are attracted to shiny objects). Rey and Ava were big fans. It's kind of funny 'cuz nobody noticed the boots until yesterday b/c my pants usually cover them. Parker and Gabe said that I should wear the boots more often, and Joe and Rey said that they were a nice look to have while selling BakerShake shirts (I threw on the Taming of the Shrew T-shirt when I was helping out). Okay so I may not actually be Kumi's biggest fan, but my love for her has increased 1000-fold. If I have time this weekend, I'll elaborate on my con experience.

Oh yeah, I keep hurting myself (or coming close to it) this week. Last night while helping out w/ BakerShake, the 1/8th of my fingernail got ripped halfway off. I wound up cutting it off 'cuz it'd definitely get snagged on something. Today, I almost got ran over by a car. :0 I was in a hurry to ride to class, and there was a truck blocking the driver's view. Luckily she slammed her brakes in time and I swerved enough.
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