Saturday, March 5, 2005

   Eclecticism is such a cool word!

The end of Friday.

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What I just got done listening to on CDs:

• The Best of Dick Dale & His Del-Tones


• The Best of Punk Rock, Vol. 2


• The B-52's: Time Capsule


• Flogging Molly: within a mile of home

So I went from surf to punk to "dance" to Irish rock. Wow.

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Well... I must admit that I'm feeling better than last night. Of course, when I get in the mood like that, I can't sleep. I was up until 2 writing, watching TV & playing Golden Sun. I am also developing an attitude problem. I was really mad yesterday and my anger is turning into something else. It's not what I really would like it to do, but it's happening.

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I've got a long week ahead of me. I get to go back to Omaha for a week of class! Yay!!! It's my last class: Java programming fundamentals. I've only been waiting for this class for almost three months!!!

I also have a coupon for $10 of a purchase of $10 or more at either Waldenbooks or Borders. I've got three Waldenbooks & two Borders to choose from down there. I just hope one of them has Ruruoni Kenshin #9! That is the one I'm up to and it seems to be scarce in the stores.

I have to stay with my sister. If my tax refund had arrived, I would stay in a motel! My sister's house is not fun to stay in. I love her very much, but ....

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Well...tomorrow my bro-in-law starts the tattoo process! I can't wait to see what it looks like!

Laters!

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Friday, March 4, 2005

   Dangerous when cornered...

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Thursday is almost a memory. Good riddance.

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The bright spot of the day was getting the dragon done for my brother-in-law's tattoo. It's in my fanart now. He picked out the colors. The process starts on Saturday. I won't be going to the tattoo parlor with him, but will be taking pictures of it as it goes along. Saturday will be the outline, then there will be a two week period for it to heal up and then the color will be added. I can't wait to see how it comes out.

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I actually got to all the sites of the people that updated on Thursday. I also got online a little over an hour before I usually do.

Now, my aching head and soul are going to go to bed.

Laters!

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Thursday, March 3, 2005

   What do you get when you multiply six by nine?

42!!!!

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And so... Wednesday comes to a close. Tomorrow is Thursday... As Arthur Dent said, "I never could get the hang of Thursdays."

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And the latest installment of my exciting life included the following:

• Getting out of bed!


• Eating food three times throughout the day!


• Helping Mom with the layout of the quilt she's making for my sister!


• Drawing the body of the dragon tattoo!


• Searching for kanji versions of my other sister's name and my neice's name to go on the tattoo!


• Remembering how to do lists in HTML!

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If my life was any more thrilling, I think I'd drop over from all the excitement.

Laters!

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Wednesday, March 2, 2005

   Skip Softly, My Moonbeam....

Tuesday says "Buh-bye!" and slinks off into the distance, leaving the way open for Wednesday.

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Okay... that was odd.

Anyhoo... I started working on some preliminary sketches for my brother-in-law's tattoo. Tomorrow I will get really cracking on it. I think it would be fun to take pictures of the progress of the tattooing. He's got to have it done over the course of a month 'cause of being on blood thinners.

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Otherwise, not much else went on today. I did break 1900 hits sometime in the last 24 hours or so. Thank you all! Brownies for everyone!

And to answer a couple questions...

katocool: Where's the beginning of the story? If you look at the end of my introduction stuff up above, you'll see a link to the website that has the story posted. I've got the first two parts up there as of the time I posted this.

inuyasha311: Where do I get the names? Well...Takeda was with me for a while. I don't know where it exactly came from. It just sounded good for a man in his 40s that has been with the family for a long long time. Hikaru went through a few changes. He started out as Kohaku, but that name got stuck to a cute little fox. Then I switched to Kin, which means 'gold' but didn't like that. Then I found Hikaru in a Kanji learner's dictionary. It means 'light' and fit the character better. As for Hikaru's family name, Nakamura... I think it was the name of a challenger on Iron Chef one night. I liked the way it rolls off the tongue.

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Well... that takes care of this for Tuesday. See y'all tomorrow.

Laters!

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Tuesday, March 1, 2005

   Monday is almost a memory.

Again, my thrill-a-minute lifestyle is so incredibly amazing that I can hardly get my fingers to type what happened.

Here it is: I did laundry. I was watching my Trigun DVD while doing it, and had to pause it every few minutes because the washer is old and goes out of balance so easily. I also took a nap in the afternoon. I was watching something on TV and just fell asleep in the recliner for about a half-hour.

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I found this picture in a shoebox a few weeks ago. I think it's really cool. It's part of the USS Constellation in Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

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And since you've all been such good Otaku, here's another short shot of my story:

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The sun was beginning to set on the day after Takeda found Hikaru’s spirit in the garden. He had spent much of the day going through papers in Master Yoshihiro’s quarters. Unfortunately he found himself too distracted to work on the business of the dojo.

The doctor has stopped by in the morning to check on Hikaru and was dismayed to find the boy still unconscious. Takeda never mentioned what he had discovered about Hikaru’s heritage. That was something he’d have to take care of on his own.

Takeda put away the last of the dojo’s account books. Although much of the day was spent in contemplation of Hikaru’s plight, he did discover that much money was owed to various merchants around Kamakura. Payment would have to be made, but he was unsure how it would be done. No decisions would be made until Hikaru was awake.

Outside in the garden, Hikaru was beginning to get restless. He followed Takeda as he moved from place to place around the garden during the day, and yet was unable to enter any rooms. He was getting bored waiting outside his father’s quarters and began to explore his confines. He wandered along the walkway around the garden trying each room again. The dojo’s main hall was blocked to him as well. The only place he had not tried was the guesthouse.

Cautiously, Hikaru approached the door to the guesthouse. He held out his hand as if to open in. His hand passed through as if nothing was there. This was the one place he could enter without encountering the barrier. He had found a place he could stay. He needed to tell Takeda, but had to wait until nightfall, as he could not be seen during daylight.

Hikaru spent the rest of the day resting in the guesthouse. He tried to come up with a way to communicate with Takeda. A plan to return to his body came to him in the late afternoon.

With the fall of night, Takeda went to the garden to look for Hikaru. He was not in his usual position on the bench. “Hikaru-kun,” Takeda called. “Are you still here?” A sudden fear that Hikaru’s spirit had gone gripped Takeda.

Hikaru came out of the guesthouse at Takeda’s call and went to the garden. He smiled at his teacher and pointed to the guesthouse. He moved toward it, gesturing for Takeda to follow.

“What is it? Something in the guest house?” Takeda asked as he followed. He watched Hikaru pass through the door and then opened it so he could also enter.

Hikaru was waiting inside pointing at the doorframe. He made a rectangular shape with his fingers and shook his head.

Takeda looked from the door to Hikaru. Slowly he realized what the boy was indicating. “Ah, I see. This place has no scroll to prevent you from entering.”

Hikaru nodded in agreement. He went to leave, again beckoning Takeda to follow. He led his teacher to his quarters. He pointed to his body and then at the guesthouse.

Takeda understood what Hikaru meant. “I see, if you body is moved to the guest house, you may be able to return to it. Are you sure of this?”

Hikaru shook his head and then shrugged. He was not sure if it would work, but it was worth the try. He pointed again.

“Yes, yes, I understand,” Takeda said. “It is the only thing that may work.” He went to Hikaru’s body and gently picked it up. The boy was lighter than he had expected. He placed the body on the floor in the guesthouse and waited.

Hikaru moved to his body and stood to the side. He stepped into the place where he lay and sat down. He could feel himself being pulled into his body as he lay down. One final pull told him he was whole. His eyes opened briefly and he whispered , “Thank you,” before falling asleep almost instantly.

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Laters!

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Monday, February 28, 2005

   My hovercraft is full of eels....

Well... Sunday was fairly uneventful.

Morning: got up, ate breakfast, took a bath, got dressed, watched Mom cut out pieces for my wallhanging.

Lunch: a tuna sandwich, some cheese and a couple carrots.

Afternoon: played a card game with the family and lost. Mom told me to fill the tanks for the humidifier. I went to the basement to do that but suddenly there was no water. Dad had turned off the water so he could fix the faucet in the bathtub. No one told me that the water was turned off. I left the tanks in the basement and said that someone else could finish filling them. Then I went upstairs and studied for a while. Then went back to the dining room and sewed some of the pieces of my wallhanging together.

Supper: a cheeseburger with ketchup, mustard & pickles! Yum!

Evening: watched Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order. Gave up on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit to come up here to play on computer.

Excitement beyond belief, eh?

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I may go and do some work on the dragon.... or play Gameboy again. I finished off Golden Sun: the Lost Age last night. Gotta dig through the games to see what else is there.

Laters!

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Sunday, February 27, 2005

   My eyes!!!

Man my eyes are dry tonight. Gotta find the Visine!

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Well... Saturday was nice. Really nice out. Ran around with my brother today in Sioux City. Such a nice day out that I wore my leather jacket instead of the winter coat. We hit various places to see about a new stereo for his car. The one in there has issues.

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I worked on putting my story up on another site last night. I didn't like the way it looked, so I did some major tweaking of it tonight, and it looks good! The link is up in the introduction area. So far only the first part is up. I just didn't have the ambition to get the second part up yet.

EDIT: *smacks self in forehead* Sorry 'bout the error in the link up there. It's amazing what an extra character can do!

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I don't know how long I'm gonna hang out tonight. The eyes are really bugging me and I want to do some work on the dragon for my brother-in-law. Oh, heck... I may end up playing Gameboy until my eyes really give out!

Laters!

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Saturday, February 26, 2005

   Stand on your own head for a change....

Friday has almost ended. I actually did something today!!!!

Last night my oldest sister asked me if I wanted to run around with her & her husband. So I did! We went to Orange City, Le Mars and Remsen. The place we wanted to go to in Orange City was closed, so we drove around looking at the buildings and houses. Then we went to Le Mars and had lunch and hit an antique store to look around. There's lots of cool stuff in there!!! I just wish I had money to buy some of it. Then in Remsen we looked for a friend of theirs and my brother-in-law talked to him for a bit.

I know... It doesn't sound like much of a day, but it was fun!

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Okay... as promised. The next part of my story. And to Pyroprincess: Kenshin & Vash will return soon. I think they've been hiding from me. And to those that asked about the dragon: yes, I will post it when I have it done.

Now... the story:

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San Francisco was an unusual place in Samantha's mind. She felt it was too busy compared to Boston. She had just arrived after about two weeks on a train across the country with her grandmother. Esther was out at the moment, so Samantha was left at the hotel by herself.

In the next few days, Sam O'Riley would be setting off to sea on a long trip to the other side of the world. She was scared and was not sure if she really wanted to go, but she was still having dreams of the boy. She wasn't frightened by the dreams anymore, but concern for his well-being seemed to be taking root in her mind.

The door to the room opened and Esther came in followed by a tall young man that looked somewhat familiar. "Hello, Sam, dear," Esther said. "Did you have a good lunch?"

Samantha nodded. "Yes, Grandma," she said, eying the young man.

Esther noticed Samantha's interest in her companion. "Ah, you're wondering about my friend here, aren't you?" she said with a laugh. "Well, I don't know if you remember him or not, but this is your older brother Anthony. He's been to sea for many years now, but he's been to see us in Boston."

"Hello, Samantha, or should I say 'Sam'?" Anthony said with a smile. "You've grown up quite a bit since I saw you in Boston." There was genuine warmth in his eyes as he smiled at Samantha.

Samantha smiled shyly back at her brother.

"Anthony is an officer on a ship bound for Japan," Esther said, "and he's agreed to take you on as a cabin boy. You'll have to work hard on the voyage, but you'll earn some money."

"Yes, ma'am."

Anthony added, "But I pulled a few strings, and you'll be my cabin boy. Captain Harding is a tough man and definitely would not be happy to find you're a girl, so we'll have to be very careful."

"I understand," Samantha said. "I've been watching boys my age to see how to act. I think I'll be all right."

"Good, I'll be there to help out as well. But now, tell me of Boston. It's been so long since I've been home."

So the afternoon was spent talking of many things - Boston, life at sea, and expectations Samantha would need to meet. Anthony stayed until dinnertime and then returned to the ship. Samantha was to be there the next morning at 8:00 for departure.

Samantha's evening was spent quietly. Neither she nor Esther seemed to find it necessary to speak. Night passed without incident as well, and morning was there before Samantha knew it. They walked to the pier quietly. San Francisco was coming to life as the day dawned. On a hill overlooking the bay, Sam got her first view of the ships. "There, the one at the left," Esther said as she pointed. "That's the one you'll be sailing on - the Athene."

Samantha turned and hugged her grandmother tightly before starting down the hill to the pier.
* * *
Hikaru could see Takeda-sensei sitting by his side in his room. Night had fallen and clouds were chasing each other across the moon. During the daylight Hikaru rested as best as he could, but when night fell, he became restless. Three nights had passed since he had found himself in the garden, separated from his body.

Earlier in the evening, Hikaru had watched Takeda as he went through some papers in his father's quarters. He tried to speak to Takeda as he ran to his side, but he was not heard. He followed Takeda to his room, but was unable to enter. Some barrier kept him from entering his room. He sank to the floor outside the door, watching, wanting to go inside.

Hikaru sat outside his room as the sky became dark. The clouds chased over the moon and found somewhere else to play, and the moon shone brightly. Shadows lengthened and shapes moved within them. The shadows moved, and Hikaru went to the stone bench. He could watch the shadows there.
Hikaru was not sure how long he watched the shadows, but the fear within him grew. He wanted the shadows to go away. A movement caught from the corner of his eye made him turn quickly. Instinctively, he held out his hand and a strange green fire glowed from his fingertips. There was a hiss and a yowl as a cat ran off frightened by the flash.

Takeda noticed a green flash in the garden and got up to investigate. He went toward the bench and stopped somewhat in fear. He could see the ghostly silver form of the boy whose side he had just left. The green light was fading from his hand. "Hi… Hikaru-kun?" Takeda whispered. "Hikaru-kun, is it you?"

Hikaru turned to Takeda. He tried to speak, but no words could be heard. He nodded.

"Oh, Hikaru-kun, can you ever forgive the wrong that has been done? A great wrong has been done here and I realized it only too late." There were tears in Takeda's eyes.

Hikaru looked up at his teacher. Their eyes met briefly and Takeda turned away. Hikaru's eyes appeared to be green flames.

"A letter arrived three days ago, after you were injured. Your father was killed in battle. My condolences at your loss. I only wish I could have told you then." Takeda's voice trailed off as he gave Hikaru time to take in the news.

Hikaru looked away for a moment before turning back to his teacher. He reached out to touch Takeda's arm, but his hand went through it.

Takeda shivered at Hikaru's touch, but continued, "I was going through some papers and found a letter your father wrote to you before he left. I know I should not have read it, but I found it to be worth the indisgression. Your father spoke of your mother in this letter. She may not be dead. She was taken away by her family." Takeda paused. "Her family is a clan of demons that live in the cliffs near your grandfather's estate. That means you are part demon. Forgive me. If I had but known, I would not have allowed the monk to perform the exorcism that caused you to be like this. I am sorry this happened, Hikaru-kun."

Hikaru looked up at the moon as he thought about what Takeda had just said. A few moments later he looked down at his hands. Again, a motion at the edge of his vision caught his attention. He turned to look and saw a shape step out of the shadows. He looked to Takeda, but it seemed the teacher had not seen it. He looked back again and saw that the shape was that of a strangely dressed girl. She was walking toward the bench and stopped as she caught sight of Hikaru's eyes. Wait, he said, reaching out his hand. The girl screamed and vanished.

Hikaru stared at the place the girl had been. She had seen him and was terrified.

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Laters!

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Friday, February 25, 2005

   Greetings from the Twine Ball....

Hey! Thursday has started to wind down seriously here.

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Again...nothing out of the ordinary happened. Mom & I decided we were bored and decided to go to Sioux City just to do something. As we drove past the place where my sister works, we waved at her. Of course, she would not have seen us because the building is up on a hill above the highway, there are no windows, and we were flying by at 65 mph. We went to Walmart and found some fabric for my wall hanging. I wanted pink and blue, but ended up with pink and purple. It should be interesting when I get it done. Lots of bright colors in it.

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I didn't find that book I was looking for last night. I think it's in a box over at my sister's house! Arrrgh!

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I may wander off here pretty soon. My music has finished playing.

Laters!

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Additional: I have had a request for artwork! My brother-in-law wants me to draw a dragon for him. He's gonna get it done as a tattoo! How wild is that?

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Thursday, February 24, 2005

   Billy: Why do the good die young?

Grim: Usually because I get confused.

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Well...Wednesday has passed me by and I didn't do much again. I figured out how to use the little flash drive my brother bought so I could get a bunch of stuff off the laptop quicker than if I'd used a bazillion floppy disks. It's a way cool thingy. I want one that holds around 4 GB of stuff so I can get my stuff of this desktop whenever I get my own computer that has a big memory and way cool graphics capability. I also got a little studying done this afternoon... very little. *rolls eyes*

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Last night I did get some writing done. I have some more to post on my story. I may do that tomorrow or Friday. But then I figured out why I was so bored last night... I was not feeling good. I had a fever and felt generally icky. I woke up this morning with my sinuses hurting and my ear trying to hurt again. It didn't stay hurting like the other night, but it is still a little clogged.

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Arsh... I'm not on vacation. I'm unemployed and my mom is trying to find ways to keep me occupied so I don't go stark, raving mad and take a few people with me when I go. And I enjoy making stuff like that. Which reminds me....I should see if that one costuming book is hiding in the box behind me. It's got patterns for Japanese clothing in it!

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Well, the Blues Brothers have stopped singing and playing, 'tis about time I sashay across the hall to that soft thing called my bed. Or the soft thing called my cat, 'cause she's constantly taking up space on my bed!

Laters!

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