Sunday, October 21, 2007

   My new haircut!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v161/TheBeckster/DSC01592.jpg

Please ignore the fact that I look really bizarre in pictures, haha.
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Friday, October 19, 2007

   Answers to questions!
Mimmi asks:

How many times a day do you get hit on? ~_^

Hahaha! Well, it depends on the circumstances, and where I am. I don't get hit on here at school too terribly often, but when I'm in Boston and not looking like a disgusting college student, I can usually count on some creepy comments! Also, I got drive-by ass slapped at a concert this summer, which was traumatic. XD

What's your favourite animal?

Kitty, no doubt! I love kitties.

What is sexy to you? :D

Hair. I love it, and gorgeous hair is such a turn-on for me. And a good attitude is sexier than anything else: a guy who's caring, self-reliant, and has a twisted sense of humor is sexy in my book. I can't stand guys who're needy and passive-aggressive.

Is there a phrase in Japanese that you love to say and take any chance saying? :o

Oh, tons! I find myself very often saying "Onaka suita" (I'm hungry) or "IYA DAAAA" (DO NOT WANT) or things very similar to that.

What do you prefer riding: bus, car, bike, train, flight, etc?

Buses, cars, and trains are the best. I like to look at scenery and think about scenes from various stories. There's not much to look at in planes, and bikes are too much work!

What don't you like to hear?

"I don't get it." For a writing major, it's one of the most infuriating things there is to hear. It's like, can you be a little more not-helpful?

Is there a word you're particularly fond of, either because of its sound or its meaning?

Too many to even think of off the top of my head, but I've always been fond of "reverie," for one. It has a very calm feeling to it.

Molly asks:

Do you make me jealous at every turn on purose?

Nooo! How could I possibly measure up to your total sexiness?

What is your opinion on tattoos and body art?

A beautiful tattoo is an awesome thing, but for God's sake, think about what you want first! Don't get something you'll get sick of in a few months.

Do you sleep on your side or your back or your stomache?

Back and stomach! Never side. It feels way too awkward to me.

James asks:

What inspired you to start writing?

Oh man. I don't know if there was ever a specific point. It was just always something that I wanted to do. From the time I was really little, I dictated stories to my mother and had her write them for me. And even when they didn't get written down, I'd love to make up stories... I'd arrange my toys in a certain position and stare at them, pretending that some sort of plot was playing out. And from the time I started reading, I knew that I wanted to be published, too... and it was all downhill from there! XD

And of course . . . little lady, I'm gonna hafta need to know what your favourite dirty joke is.

I'm a fan of the classics, myself.

What does Michael Jackson love about twenty five year olds?

There's twenty of them.
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Thursday, October 18, 2007

Disregard this post, it's a once-in-a-while thing and I'm stressed?
During weeks like these, when everything hits me at once, I tend to revert a little to how I was back when I didn't have any confidence. And then I get these nagging little notions in my head of things I used to be afraid of, and even though I know perfectly well that they aren't true, they stick around.

I get so much more sensitive about my relationships. I feel like my friends may like me, but there's always going to be someone else that they'd rather be with, who's more interesting and fun to them, and they care about more. Now, that's the way it was in grade school and high school (with RL friends, that is), but most definitely not the way it is now. So feeling like that makes me very frustrated with myself.

And there's other things. My writing isn't interesting, I'm an idiot, I'm not pretty, you name it, it goes through my head during these silly little mood-swings. And it feels so matter-of-fact when I write it out like this, because my head understands perfectly well what's going on, but somehow, my gut doesn't feel that way. I guess it's better than believing the above things are true, but it's so infuriating, not being able to do anything but ride this out.

It's just... I don't know. Most of the time, I really like the fact that people think I'm tough and can take care of myself. But when I talk about these things to people, they tend to think I can handle it, and I really somehow WANT to be reassured.

Then again, if I had let people do that two years ago, I'd probably still be insecure. So maybe it's for the best that they let me handle it myself.

YOUR QUESTIONS FROM BEFORE WILL BE ANSWERED NEXT TIME. I promise.
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Sunday, October 14, 2007

   I love you, Regina Spektor.
And I do. Oh, I do. <3

Regina Spektor came to Brandeis last night, and despite standing up for three and a half hours (about an hour and a half of that was just waiting) in an incredibly hot crowded gym with an ominously swinging light above our heads, it rocked. SHE'S SO CUTE, OH MY GOD. She said "thank you :D" every time people clapped, and just sort of grinned when people yelled "REGINA I LOVE YOU."

And there were a couple particularly notable moments:

Two girls in the audience: REGINA WE DROVE SIX HOURS TO SEE YOU!
Regina: :D Thank you! Drive home safely... drink lots of coffee...

Regina: There're so many of you... I think my math teacher's daughter is here?
Girl behind me: *FLIPS OUT, WAVES ARMS* THAT'S ME! THAT'S ME! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!
Regina: *waves* Hiiii :D

And my favorite:

Assholes in the back: *talking during her songs*
Regina: ... *stops* Hey, people who are talking? *as sweet as anything* There are other people who aren't talking. And trying to listen. So shut up. :D

I was a huge Regina fangirl before, but now I'm like. <33333 She sounds great in person, too... such an amazing voice! And she played all my favorite songs, too.

And now, I shall share the Regina love. These are from her two latest albums, Soviet Kitsch and Begin to Hope.

Apres Moi

Better

Fidelity

Hotel Song

On The Radio

Samson

Summer in the City

Us

I highly encourage you to see her in person if she tours near you! ♥

Man, my weekends are so full of stuff lately. New Hampshire last weekend, for one. And this Friday was being social, last night was the concert, and tonight I have to hit a midterm review session before I do the nightly online thing. Next weekend, I am going to stay in, yo.

... well, seeing as I have two essays due next Monday, that won't be hard.
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Wednesday, October 10, 2007

   I'm jumping on the bandwagon!
Ask any question ya want, and I'll answer next time.
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Wednesday, October 3, 2007

   Nihongo no koto, and music meme!
So yesterday, my new peer tutor, Masako-san, told me that I was very good at Japanese and she was impressed with me. :D

Unfortunately, I can never display these Japanese skills in front of a teacher. Especially when he is a Jedi Master and ninja.

Fraleigh-sensei is my Japanese Lit teacher... young American guy, very polite and mild-mannered, and also fluent in Japanese and Chinese, has degrees from Harvard and Stanford, and we often joke that behind the innocent facade, he could kill us with his brain. While my class with him is in English, he knows that I'm in the third level Japanese class.

I ran into him in Lower Usdan yesterday evening:
(Italics are in Japanese.)

Sensei: Ah, Becky-san, good evening.
Me: *TRYING TO SWITCH INTO NIHONGO MODE* Good evening, sensei! :D
Sensei: Getting dinner?
Me: Yes!
Sensei: Are you coming to the movie tonight? (A film viewing for the class.)
Me: Yes!
Sensei: Well, I'll see you then!
Me: *unable to say anything but 'Hai,' apparently*

So at length, I decided to try Upper Usdan instead. As I was going up there, I saw one of my Japanese Lit classmates, and kind of waved. Then I realized he was talking to someone behind me, and suddenly, Fraleigh's voice eminates from somewhere over my shoulder. XD

And I kind of squeaked and swiveled around. And went "I-I didn't know you were there" with great embarrassment while he looked very amused by me.

What did I tell you? JEDI MASTER AND NINJA. He's so going to take over the world someday. And everyone in the Japanese program would probably be okay with that, too.

In closing, I'd like to do something I did on my LJ and SheezyArt!

Since I am in need of good music (and who isn't), I propose a fun activity that will make everyone happy!

Upload something you've had on repeat lately, and I will do the same for you. :D
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Monday, September 24, 2007

   A trip to childhood, however short.
After we all expressed a desire to reread it (given Madeline L'Engle's death a few weeks ago D:) it has been decreed that I will read my roommates a few pages of A Wrinkle in Time every night before bed after I either pick up a new copy or get Mom to send ours.

It's probably silly to be a bit excited about this, but I am. ♥
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Friday, September 14, 2007

Who can say if I've been changed for the better...
I saw Wicked last night at the Boston Opera House... which was seriously a dream come true for me. I've read the book, I listen to the music all the time, and I've always wanted to see it. Well, last night, I was sitting one row away from the stage, and it. Was. Awesome. Everyone was fantastic, but I was particularly impressed by the Glinda. She was so adorable, and totally broke my heart at the end. ♥ And she performed "Popular" to perfection.

It was hard not to compare the Elphaba to the incomparable Idina Menzel, but she did wonderfully, too. She had a great voice, great comic timing, and did an absolutely PERFECT Wicked Witch cackle. Also, Fiyero was hot. Really hot. And his pants were very tight. :D

As for the musical numbers, I loved seeing all those songs I always listen to on the stage. My favorite one to listen to was also my favorite on stage. I'm a "Defying Gravity" whore, yeah. BUT IT WAS SO COOL. I got chills from watching it, especially the end. What a great first act closer. "For Good," another favorite of mine, was a very close second in the chills department. I probably would put it on par with "Defying Gravity" if I wasn't DESPERATELY TRYING TO STOP CRYING. XD

There was a standing ovation at the end. Which I started. *is awesome*

... and maybe it was because the play was a dream come true that the events afterwards happened. XD

So I got out at 10:20, and rushed to the subway station to ride for a few stops to North Station, where there'd be a 10:40 train back to campus. Plenty of time, right?

Well. First I went into the wrong entrance. Then when I found the right one, my CharlieCard, which I just have to swipe to get through, didn't work, and there was no attendant to help me. A train started coming, and I got frantic, and dug around for some money. Finally, I grabbed a $10 and bought a ticket, but it was already too late. So I waited for the next train, and when I got on, I realized that my phone and $40 were gone, and had probably fallen out while I was hurrying to buy a ticket.

And on top of that, I missed the train.

A nice guy let me borrow his cell to call my mom (whose phone number was the only one I knew by heart), who gave me a cab number. Which didn't work. So I got out there and flagged one down. I had him drop me at an ATM so I could pay him, since the $40 I lost was my cab money. There was a homeless guy in the ATM who started talking to me about how he'd rather sleep on the street than a shelter, so I hurried up because he had really huge creepy eyes. XD

The cab ride was about $40, and I got back to campus ready to explain everything to my roommates... who had already spoken to a nice, Indian-accented man named Gustavo - who has both my phone and my money - when they tried to call me, and were prepared to go on a search and rescue mission to Boston because I hadn't come in on the train.

So I'm meeting Gustavo at his workplace in Boston today. THE END OF THE ODYSSEY IS NIGH.

But Wicked was worth it.
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Monday, September 10, 2007

Yay.
I know, I know, I suck at updating this. XD Sorry!

Thank you for the sweet, lovely comments on the bit of writing I posted here before. For those of you who are interested in continuing with it, I'm currently posting it on FictionPress, and I finished chapter four this weekend. You can find it here!
http://www.fictionpress.com/s/2402815/1/

Anyways. School is going well. Nihongo is doing its job getting me up in the morning, though coherency is optional.

Proof that one can get to third-level Japanese without really absorbing anything:
Matt: ああ、コチンさん、おはよう。(Oh, Kotin-san, good morning!)
The rest of us: おはよう. (Good morning!)
Kotin-san: おいしい。(Delicious.)
Me: え？何がおいしいの？ (Ehh? What's delicious?)
Kotin-san: ... *smile*

Yeah, I don't know either.

And, as always, proof that Matt is a loser. I mean that lovingly of course.

Matt: *sits where Lok, our classmate who's now in the other Japanese class, used to sit*
Melissa and me: ああ、リーさん！ (Oh, Li-san!)
Matt: はいはいはい！あたしKAT-TUNが大好き大好きなの～！ (*in an ultra-feminine way of speaking* Yes yes yes! I love KAT-TUN!)

... he sounded just like her. XD

Between that and our ever-eloquent discussions (trying to convince the guys to use "ore" outside of class XD), we are easily the intellectual giants of the Japanese language program.

Anyways! Yesterday was the performance of the 24-hour musical, where people get cast, rehearse, do costumes and tech, and put on the show in the same 24 hours. It's very hardcore. They did The Producers, and did it surprisingly well! Although Roger Debris missed a few easy lines in Keep it Gay. ("They win the war," Roger. "They win the war.") The casting was so great, though. The girl who played Ulla was especially good; when she forgot her line at one point, she said, without dropping the accent, "Oh, I forgot the vord!"

By the way, the Brandeis student body is more than half Jewish, which made Springtime for Hitler ten times better. And there were pink sparkly swastikas. That twirled. <3

Aaand I need to finish my reading for Japanese Lit! But before I run off, a quick question, por favor.

I have to write ten page-long story openings by the 20th for my Fiction class. I'm doing good for ideas right now, but in case I run short, anyone got any suggestions?

All right! Hope your Mondays are going well! I'll try to update more.
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Saturday, August 11, 2007

   Thank you for reading, John!
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