Trying to relax

This has felt like a rather long week. Maybe it's because last week I had spring break, which felt way too short. Since I have school Tuesday and Thursday (my other days off), I find myself looking forward to Sunday, when my only commitment is church and the rest of the day is mine to do as I please. Saturday is also technically the only day I can stay up really late and not have to worry because I can sleep in (especially since I go to a later church service now...my parents have to take me now since the off-site venue I was going to moved and isn't within walking distance anymore, and having me go to the later service works better for them because their service starts at 10 and mine at 10:50, so they can drop me off on the way to their church).

There's only about a month of school left before summer. I can hardly believe it. The time until spring break feels like it takes forever, and then after spring break is over, everything goes so fast. But then again, ever since I got the job at Stater Bros in January '07, it seems like time has been escaping me faster than usual. Maybe because I worked a lot at first. I can hardly believe I've been at Stater Bros. for 3 years already.

I tried to plan out my remaining classes the other day, again. It looks like I should be able to finish my B.A. by next spring as planned, unless I can't get a class for some reason. I also hope there isn't an issue with my French minor elective -- the class I took to substitute for the normal requirement -- which isn't showing up on my degree progress (the degree progress also says I didn't meet the requirement for French 101, but I should have from taking French in high school...I've e-mailed Dr. Anover about both of these issues). So the plan right now is to take my last two elective classes in fall (especially since one of them, my genre class in Fiction, is only offered in fall) along with the first half of the Lit Theory class and the first half of British Lit. Then next spring, I'll take the second halves of British Lit and American Lit, along with a 400-level Cultural Studies class that's part of the core but requires that you take both of the Lit Theory classes first before taking it (I've taken the second half already).

As for my web design certificate, since I just started it I have a ways to go. Assuming I pass my Graphic Design class and the school accepts that I've taken Web Design 1 already, I'll have two core classes and one emphasis class (my Internet Presence class) out of the way by the end of this semester. Then I have one core class, three more emphasis classes, one advanced course, and a portfolio development class left to take. I'm planning to save the portfolio class till the end (for obvious reasons). I think I may have to take a class in the summer if I want to get this certificate done at the same time as my B.A. I'd rather not take a summer class, but I don't see any other way, since realistically I can't take more than 2 classes for this per semester in addition to my CSUSM load (and even the 2 classes were hard to handle). I'm trying to figure out which class I'd be ok spending a shorter amount of time taking (since the summer semester's shorter than the regular semester). Definitely not the Photoshop or Flash classes, since those are program-based and I want as much time to learn those as possible. That leaves the two Web Design courses, Interactive Media Production, or Dynamic Web Development (my advanced class). It's advised that you take MAT 165 (Web Design 2) before taking the Dynamic Web Development class though so I may save that one for the end.

Ok I got the bright idea to actually see if MiraCosta's Summer schedule was up. It was. The only MAT classes offered this summer are the Photoshop class, Web Design 1, Web Design 2, and a class in Adobe Illustrator (the sequel to the Photoshop class). So unless I want to take Web Design 2 as a night class (the only way it's offered) that's out. So I might not be able to finish it at the same time, especially since my final semester at CSUSM I will probably be super busy - all the people I've met at CSUSM who are seniors seem to be really busy in their last year.

In other news, I put in an application to join Sigma Tau Delta, an international English honor society that has a chapter at my school. I'm still awaiting confirmation one way or another as to whether I've been accepted. At any rate, if I am, I won't be formally inducted until the induction ceremony later in the semester. If I get in, it provides lots of opportunities for scholarships, awards, and publication, as well as apparently volunteering. I already put my name down to read to preschoolers in a couple weeks, assuming my work schedule stays the same as it has been on Wednesdays.

Also, a big news thing I didn't have the time to share last time...I AM NOW A MISS DREAM STAFFER! Yes it's true. I have been added to their staff to do French to English translations and vice versa. My current project is scanning and translating the French Sailor V manga, which will then be Photoshopped (or "shooped") by Jen, another of the staff members. I've also been asked by Jen to translate the French words in the songs from the CD Sailor Moon SuperS in Paris, which contains all "Frenchified" songs. (Or I guess "Frenanese" or "Japrench" or some odd portmanteau like that works too). Since I love the songs on that CD, and since lyrics of them aren't available anywhere (even on sailormusic.net), I'm more than happy to help. The version of "Moon Revenge" on there is uber cool.

I feel slightly overwhelmed right now though...I have school and work, which should be more than enough to deal with for anybody. But then there is my writing - and the marketing that comes with it - to worry about, as well as my spiritual life. Plus trying to keep up with the song requests my friend AmyMizunoPGSM sends me for our YouTube singing group LAR Productions, trying to figure out stuff for my websites, writing my articles for The Pallet Tribune (my latest one still isn't up...what the heck, Ducky-von-Karma?), trying to keep up with my forums and social networks, and now doing this gig with Miss Dream. In a way, I can see why one of my YouTube friends said he was taking a break from YouTube and stuff. I feel like I need that too. I could pull it off too if not for Amy-chan, the 16-year-old leader and founder of LAR Productions. I said in my LAR vlog that she's "keeping us on task," and she is definitely doing that. I've had three song requests (one a re-do) just in the last week or so from her. The fact that I've been tired a lot this week, have had homework, and had my allergies flare up hasn't helped this. I think that Amy-chan forgets that some people have lives. Considering how often she posts on Facebook, posting mostly seemingly pointless, arbitrary status updates with the occasional dash of "I miss [insert boyfriend's name here], woe is me" sort of messages, I'm guessing she has a lot of free time on her hands. (Actually, she has some boyfriend right now, because he helped her write the lyrics to the LAR parody she did recently). She actually used to post a lot more of the second kind for a while, after her dad found out about her boyfriend and got angry. She kind of reminds me of Que a little bit, minus Que's sob story about being born out of wedlock as the 6th kid of her mother and being given up for adoption to people who later divorced and remarried. Que never had a relationship longer than 3 months long in the time I knew her. And based on the few things I've heard about her since she was expelled from Tri-City for her bad grades - that she became a teen mom herself and has taken up smoking - Amy-chan might be headed down a bad way. Now you may wonder why I would worry so much about a girl I've never met who lives in Puerto Rico and posts too much on Facebook. Technically, I have no reason to care. But she considers me her friend and oneesan (older sister), so I kind of feel obliged to care.

I admit being in LAR with Amy-chan is a tough thing. I like being in such a group, and have fully supported it by creating the group's website and trying to maintain our Facebook page. I also try to keep updating with videos on our YouTube channel - I was in fact the only one to post all five of the Christmas singles Amy-chan requested of us. But aside from the thing about the song requests, I almost can't stand to hear her sing. She may or may not know this, but she is a really bad singer. Everytime I listen to/watch one of her solos, I almost cringe because she sounds really bad in general (and also out of tune). It's too bad, because she's a great fandubber (as I learned because she's in one of mine). I don't think any of the three of us have had singing lessons though so I probably shouldn't be too hard on her. But I can't help it.

As for my spritual life, I do feel like God is speaking to me through the sermons at church, and I'm reading the Bible every day. But I haven't really taken time to reflect on it. I was just re-reading On My Own, the 4th of the Caitlin books in the Diary of a Teenage Girl series by Melody Carlson, today and it's amazing how Caitlin just talks to God about anything and trusts him a lot too. One of the sermons on prayer - I think the one on the Lord's Prayer - mentioned how nothing is too trivial to bring before God. But I have met really on-fire people who seem to bring up God no matter what they're talking about and involve God in every decision - probably even over whether to have cereal or toast for breakfast - and they bug me. I mean, yes, God should be my #1 and I am supposed to surrender everything to him. I understand this. But I have some issues. First, applying the Bible. Obviously, it's one thing to read it or even study it, but you have to put it into practice or reading it is useless (as James says "faith without works is dead"). I have difficulty doing this. I think this because of what I just mentioned - how much of our lives is ours and how much is God's? Well, I guess all of our lives ought to be God's, because he died for us and bought us for a price, as the Bible says. But he gave us free will, right? That's how we got into sin in the first place. There are some decisions I'd like to make without having to shoot a prayer up first - like what shirt I'm going to wear, what I'm going to have for breakfast, what time to go to bed, that sort of thing. Those sorts of things seem like stuff we shouldn't have to pray about, right?

Second is trust. Ever since high school, with family deaths and the whole Kyle debacle, I've found it hard to trust anybody, let alone God. I know I should trust him, and I want to, but I don't know how.

Third is uncertainty. I have had moments where I feel like I have spiritual insight, but since the insights don't result in change or action on my part, I've begun to doubt whether the insight moments even occurred, or they were just wishful thinking, figments of my imagination created to make myself feel better.

Fourth is fear. Well, fear and worry...they sort of go together. Just recently on American Idol when they talked about what a worrywart Lee Dewyze is, I could totally relate. I have intense fears of failure and rejection (well, and heights too - I actually get anxious in high places, but don't go so far as to suffer vertigo). This added to intense perfectionism (which may be because I'm the firstborn, or just a character trait) makes for not a very pleasant life. I dislike taking risks because I cannot control the outcome. I try to be everything to everyone, because I desperately want to be accepted rather than rejected by people. I have difficulties saying no and care a lot about what others think of me. My current job has been hampered quite a bit by worry that if I did one too many things wrong, I'd get fired (much the way I was let go from my previous job partly for behaviorial reasons). My clumsiness and social difficulties, both symptoms of my Asperger's Syndrome, don't help matters. Thus my fears and my tendency to worry are closely linked.

I think part of my problem is that I don't fully understand myself. I'm still in an identity crisis right now, which is why I think it is hard for me to brand myself as a writer as well. I'm still dealing with the more-or-less confirmation that I have Asperger's, a condition I don't understand very well. Plus, often times it is only the small measure of self-control I seem to possess that keeps me from lashing out when I get frustrated or angry -- like a typical Scorpio, I am intensity hidden behind a placid exterior (I don't regularly read horoscopes, but I have read about my own sign). I know I need some help if I'm ever going to live on my own. I definitely need help learning to budget my money and stuff and probably also help with social relations. Dr. Feder suggested cognitive behavioral therapy, which according to the Wikipedia article on Asperger's, is supposed to help "to improve stress management relating to anxiety or explosive emotions, and to cut back on obsessive interests and repetitive routines." And I know Dr. Feder thinks I have anxiety as well, as in an anxiety disorder (though which one I'm not sure; the term "anxiety disorder" is really a blanket term for many other conditions; in the summary he e-mailed us he is rather vague on the subject).

I'm listening to samples at the moment of a CD by Ōe Hikari, a Japanese musician who was born with brain problems and is also autistic. He's never spoken more than a few words, but he has become able to express himself through music. The music is quite amazing. I might buy his CD's (he has two).

Ok, I think I'm going to take a shower. Good night!

Long time no update again

Happy Easter everyone! Wow I haven't updated in quite some time yet again. I guess because recently when anything worth blogging about comes up, I end up actually talking about it to real people rather than blogging. A good sign? I don't know.

First, to update on my last post, my domain issues got resolved finally, and the domains have been transferred. Myu Corner is up now and Sparkle Moon will be up in probably not too long - though with the home stretch of the semester starting this coming week (now that spring break's over...it ends today) I might put it off till summer.

I haven't bought the Sakura Wars game or the Tatsunoko vs Capcom game. I tried to pre-order the Sakura Wars one to get the artbook, but it wouldn't go through, and I'm not sure whether I still want the Tatsunoko vs Capcom game. I haven't worked on my writing site. I haven't played Tales of Symphonia, though I've had the time. Particularly during this spring break, I have been a lazy bum, sitting at home not doing very much. I have all this homework to do today and tomorrow because of how much of a slacker I was. On Tuesday and Thursday, my full days off, I sat at home all day, Monday afternoon and Friday afternoon and yesterday afternoon ditto. On Wednesday after work I went and saw How to Train Your Dragon in 3D - which was pretty cool - had lunch, and then came home. Actually, I had planned to try to go to the beach on Thursday, but the weather wasn't good that day.

Agenda for today: go to church (I actually have to leave in a few minutes for that), have a big Easter lunch/dinner, and then work on my Graphic Design class homework, which is due today by midnight. Then after that, probably work on more homework, like my story for Creative Writing class, my French assignment, or my document discussion for History. Or all three.

There was a bit in the paper today about how people lined up outside local Apple stores yesterday at 4 a.m. just to get an iPad. That is insane. I'm not sure I want one. I don't really need it, and it's expensive. I just Googled to see if it comes with a stylus (slate-style tablet PCs, which is what the iPad basically is, usually do) and apparently it does not. However, third-party company Pogo is releasing styluses for it. That just makes sense; there's no way you could write anything long using just the oversized iPhone keyboard the iPad has. One article I read said that Steve Jobs does not like styluses, so I don't see any ones coming out from Apple any time soon, but sooner or later they probably will release them because I bet you anything people will want them after a while. On the other hand, Apple seems perfectly fine with people buying third-party accessories for their products (like the PowerBlock thing I bought that lets you charge your iPod touch via an outlet, which can be very convenient). So they might just let the third-party people like Pogo cover that market. As for me getting an iPad, I will probably hold out to see what apps come out for it and whether it goes down in price (as the iPhone has done). That's the same way I feel about e-readers; they're so expensive and I don't know if I need one. Plus I'm not sure what the differences are between the Kindle, the Nook (Barnes and Noble's e-reader), and the Sony e-reader. If I could get my textbooks on it, that would be awesome; but then again there's something about having a real book in your hands that's just not the same with an e-reader.

Okay I should go. More later maybe.

Hosting issues for a couple sites, writing marketing, and other things

Last December, I bought two domains through Blogger - myucorner.net and sparkle-moon.net - with the intent of having Blogger-hosted sites akin to moonkitty.net. But this has not gone well. So I have decided to try other options. I called GoDaddy - since my domains are registered with them even though they were bought through Blogger - and was told the only way I could change hosts was to buy hosting and a domain transfer from them and then get an authorization code for the transfer from Blogger. I went ahead and bought the hosting and transfers just now, since I managed to find Google Inc.'s phone number on their site (though I never found a number specifically for Blogger, but Google owns Blogger, so if I call them I'm sure they can redirect me if need be). It cost about $106, with the savings I got on the transfers combined with the hosting and a 10% discount code from MuggleCast (who I heard about GoDaddy from in the first place). But that's for 1 year of hosting for both sites and domain transfers for both. I mainly just hope there isn't an issue authorizing the transfer, or I might have spent my money uselessly.

Fortunately, I should be able to make my sites look nice thanks to the coding tutorials I'm having to read for my Internet Presence for the Small and Medium Business class, along with our weekly website assignments. I learned today how to use a table to make a website layout. I'd used a table for a layout before, but it didn't work out super well. Plus, the reference I had for it didn't show how to make a navigation menu using table code, which the instructions for this assignment did. I'm surprised I didn't learn that earlier. It is actually not a bad way to make a navigation menu. I also figured out tonight that the same site I've been going to for those tutorials -- W3Schools Online Web Tutorials -- also has tutorials in CSS, which I've been wanting to learn more of, and PHP, which Elly from Miss Dream (with whom I've been carrying on an e-mail correspondence) was saying it would be good for me to learn -- but which I'd been intimidated by trying to work with Enthusiast for my fanlistings. There's also a tutorial on JavaScript, a useful script for webmasters that I never bothered to learn either. I started to go through that one tonight (since the PHP tutorial suggests you know HTML and JavaScript before learning PHP) but got a little tired doing it so I'm going to continue it later.

Speaking of sites, I have been thinking about my writing site lately, since I did my SWOT (Strengths-Weakness-Opportunities-Threats) analysis on it for my Internet Presence class. I don't usually write about my writing on this blog -- to keep my personal and writing personas separate -- but I'm going to make an exception this time. Basically, when I decided to try to create an online platform for myself as a writer, I read articles and such about what to do and tried pretty much everything. But then I got really stressed out about it. But the other day, when I was stressing out about what poem to write for Creative Writing class, I remembered I also had to do a Reading Response and chose to write a poem for that (since we can do a "creative" response if we choose). I ended up writing it about my difficulties marketing myself as a writer online, peppering it with Alice in Wonderland references because I was responding to a poem called "Alice in Wonderland." After writing this poem, I was surprised to discover I didn't feel super stressed about the issue anymore. I felt I could think clearer about it. Now this may be because I got more sleep that night because my French class was furloughed and I got to sleep in. Or it might be that somehow writing the poem was therapeutic -- or even a God-thing. I just know that when I was in history class taking notes on my laptop and surfing the net in between as I tend to do (I know, I'm bad), I actually really looked at the articles I had favorited about writing. That's something, since I'm usually tired every day, particularly by then.

I also gained some insight from comments people made on my SWOT analysis, which I proceeded to reply to. One fellow student said my site gave her the impression of someone trying to sell their writing rather than a product. It is true that my writing site isn't very product-oriented, but mainly that's because I don't have any published books that I could sell, and I don't know if I can sell other stuff - like the customized stuff people sell via Zazzle or Cafepress - without a book to base them on. The other student - a girl named Juliana who I actually was in a high school home Bible study group with but haven't talked to in years - encouraged me to determine a target audience and possibly seek out a service, if it exists, "that studies what type of books are popular with a particular age group and whether it breaks it down into more detail." These are good ideas. I also realized that I need to develop a brand (well, actually, I guess I knew that for a while, because I went to a branding workshop at the SDCWG conference last fall, but we never got fully through the worksheets they gave us), and also work on my MySpace and LiveJournal, my two writing-related social media connections that aren't doing so well (my Twitter, LinkedIn profile, and Scribd profile seem to be doing ok, though I don't have a lot of followers/connections on any of them yet...that will probably take quite a while). I also need to look at the site's WooRank report and investigate their suggestions. (WooRank is a very thorough website analysis tool; I heard about it from TechCrunch, a tech blog, via the NewsDesk app on my iPod touch). Hopefully I can find a organized way to go about this; I've never been good at goal-setting. At any rate, there's still my Internet Presence class, plus the "marketing for writers" forum-based class I registered for that starts in March and is taught by Karina Fabian, one of my connections on LinkedIn. Sooner or later, I want to finish my manuscript so I can take the "How to Revise Your Novel" class Holly Lisle offers, which I've heard about a few times from her Twitter (I follow her).

I'm trying to think of what else I was going to write about. My period just started, so I'm a little sluggish. Well, there is one thing. Gina, the bread clerk at my work, quit. I don't know what that will mean for me. It might mean I could end up as the bread clerk, because I work the bread more than any of the floor GMC's aside from Gina. But I don't know how to do the things Gina did, like order the bread. I know how to work the racks, pull stales, and mark down the stales, but that's it (I don't even know how to record the shrink from the markdown product).

I re-bought Tales of Symphonia for GameCube, along with its Wii sequel, Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, because when I rented Dawn of a New World I was prompted to load game clear data from the GameCube game when I started a new game, because I'd get something special if I did. Unfortunately, none of my GameCube memory cards had game data on them for Tales of Symphonia. But now that I know I can get something cool to start out with in Dawn of a New World if I beat the original game, I want to beat the original game again. I might have to get a new GameCube controller, because the spare used one I bought (which is the only one I have now, because I traded in the other one with my GameCube system) has a really beaten-up C-stick. One nice thing about Dawn of the New World is that even with Wiimote & nunchuk control, it's still a button-masher like the original game, so you don't have to learn how to use your Wiimote as a weapon (like in Dragon Quest Swords, another game I have).

There is also a Sakura Wars game coming out here, the first to be released in the U.S. (It's been around for 10 years in Japan and is a pretty major franchise). I tried to preorder it, because you could get a special artbook if you order it through rosenqueen.com, but every time I tried, it didn't go through - after going through PayPal I got a page saying my shopping cart was empty, even though the transaction wasn't finished. So I may have to pass on the artbook and get the game when it comes out (it comes out next month). I will get a special Lugia figurine though, because I pre-ordered Pokémon SoulSilver, one half of the remakes of Pokémon Gold and Silver that are coming out next month. Yay! I might get the new Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars game too, if only to have a game where I can play as Street Fighter characters (I don't know any of the Tatsunoko characters, except Viewtiful Joe). I traded in Soul Calibur II, so the only fighting game I have is Super Smash Bros. Melee, and I've played that game more times than I can count. (I still haven't unlocked all the secret characters, though).

Ok I'm getting pretty tired, so I'm going to stop here and go to bed. Good night!

Overwhelmed

Ok, long time no post again. I'm not sure I should even try to recap. Anyone reading this knows I haven't posted every day since the early days of this blog, and even that didn't last long. Really all it's been is work and school, with a few bright spots in the midst, like the fact that I appeared on Miss Dream's podcast this week to advertise my SeraMyu site Myu Corner, in a couple hours of Skype mayhem on Thursday night. The podcast is up now if you want to listen to it, it's #4. I haven't listened to it yet so I don't know what got edited out (we ended up on a lot of distracting tangents, so I'm sure some stuff got edited out). Oh and yesterday I got an e-mail from iTunes saying that because I had somehow gotten charged twice to upgrade a bunch of songs in my library to iTunes Plus format (probably cause I clicked it twice because the "iTunes Plus" thing was still showing up on my menu even though I already authorized it once, so I thought it didn't work the first time), they were sending me a code for a $100 credit as a way to apologize for the inconvenience. Having never had that much money to spend on iTunes without using my debit card, I'm not quite sure what to spend it on. All I've done with it so far is buy a couple songs recommended by Genius, buy a couple iCarly episodes, and rent (500) Days of Summer. I might check out those pricey "Productivity" apps that I never buy because they're like $10-$20.

In other news, it's Valentine's Day today. I didn't get any flowers or chocolates, but my dad did give me this cool 20-cassette set of old radio shows. By "old," I mean like Burns and Allen and Jack Benny sort of old. Both my dad and I love them. I actually have a cassette set already of old radio shows, but it's not as big as this one. Also, tonight I'm going to the 3rd annual Un-Valentine's Day Party put on by the Asperger's group. I bought mini blueberry muffins to take (since we can't take anything red or shaped like hearts). I hope it goes well.

It's also the beginning of Chinese New Year today. To anyone reading this who celebrates it, Xin nian yu kuai. (That's "Happy New Year" in Mandarin). Please enjoy this picture I drew of my character Jalin for Chinese New Year a couple years ago: http://bit.ly/aFyhnf

Ok I've stalled long enough. On to the reason I'm blogging.

I am overwhelmed. I have 5 classes at school, three at CSUSM and two at MiraCosta for my web design certificate. I have a job which generally requires me to get up really early (due to the bus on days I start at 9am, or just early the days I start at 6am). My spiritual life remains in a rut, or at least it feels that way. I have been trying to keep a weekly book review blog as a reason to give my personal site a raison d'être and not done well at all. Aside from that, I have four regular websites (my personal site; my writing site, my PotterCast Acting Troupe fansite; and my new SeraMyu site) as well as two subdomains (my LAR Productions site and my pretty much inactive Nalyd1996 Sailor Stars Fandub site) to manage. I would like to start a PGSM site, but am not sure how to make it unique from others currently in existence. I am at a loss on how to market my writing site and myself as a writer. My creative writing teacher is an avant-garde lover, though he knows his traditional poetry - he compared my writing on my first assignment to John Donne, which I don't know whether to take as high praise or not - which may spell doom for my writing acceptable poetry or fiction in my creative writing class. He said on my first poem, the only one I've gotten back, that my language was good but I should bring in more contemporary ideas, which makes me feel like now I have to write a contemporary poem, even though my friend Jessica, who's also in the class, has told me repeatedly that I don't have to write contemporary poetry just because the teacher says so. We'll see what he says about my sestina, which was also very traditional. (I also haven't gotten the poem back that I wrote for the in-class writing assignment. I'm pretty sure some people got those back already. It was to rewrite James Schuyler's "Salute." I wrote a fairly long poem about letting go of the past, based around one of Rei's lines from PGSM - "I've become tired of the words 'past life'").

I really don't know how to deal with all that. I wish I could just withdraw from these things, but I can't. The only possible ray of light I've had is while I was in church today I had the idea of putting craft and cooking ideas on my PGSM site, like directions to make a muffler like the girls do in the show or a cake with their favorite senshi's theme color on it in that swirl pattern my coworker Miyuki does on cakes (it's a pattern kind of like starlight mints have on them, except going over the middle as well as the sides). I even had an idea for doing a cake of Luna or Artemis that would be akin to the Cookie Monster and Elmo cakes and cupcakes the bakery at my work makes (another originally Miyuki idea), except that they wouldn't really look like how Luna and Artemis look, and there'd be the problem of how to add the ears (dollops could work, but it would be hard to make them the right shape). I thought of paper dolls too; there used to be some Sailor Moon  sites that had those, I think (not PGSM ones, of course, but Sailor Moon ones). I probably wouldn't add it right away, probably after I'd done the episode guides and culture guide I wanted to do so I have a better feeling for ideas that would relate to the series. But it's a thought.

I thought of some sites I could affiliate with. There is Miss Dream (which also does PGSM translations), The Oracle, Kirari-pgsm.net, sailordream.com, three-lights.net, Shingetsu if it gets back up, and Tsuki Mubi, a site for PGSM fan-made videos (the name means "Moon Movie" in Japanese) that affiliates with PGSM websites. Then there are the numerous fanlistings.

Well, it's almost 6 and I think I'm going to have some dinner so I don't pig out at the party. Good night!

School and other things

I started school last Thursday (I would've started on Tuesday but last Tuesday was an all-faculty furlough day, so there were no classes). So far, I'm not quite sure what to expect.

My French class is huge since they combined French 202 and French 311 - for money and other reasons. I'm not sure what we'll be learning in terms of grammar due to this. It's also the last class I need for my French minor. They don't have any higher-level language classes for French at my school, which I find a little frustrating because I feel like I haven't learned everything there is to learn. But I guess I've learned all the tenses I need for spoken French, since the more advanced tenses in French are primarily literary or are used only in written French. My reading and writing are excellent, but my speaking is a little rusty since I have no one to practice it with. If I studied abroad in France for some length of time, I think I'd acquire speaking fluency simply from having to use the language everyday (kind of like the eponymous heroine of the movie Sabrina). Today, Dr. Geiger, our teacher, showed a map of Provence, and I was surprised how close Aix-en-Provence (where one of my school's 2 France study abroad programs is) is to Marseille, a fairly major city in southern France. Yet one of my other French teachers said it's cheaper to live in than Paris (where my school's other France study abroad program is).

The last couple days we've been talking about questionnaires that help reveal things about people. In particular, we discussed Bernard Pivot's questionnaire, which he made popular through his TV show Bouillon de culture. This questionnaire is the basis for the 10-question questionnaire James Lipton uses on Inside the Actors' Studio. There is another similar questionnaire created by writer Marcel Proust. Anyway, we are supposed to come up with our own questionnaire based on both of these.

My history class, on Interwar Europe, is pretty interesting. I finally got the last book for it today, as it had finally come in at the school bookstore. I got behind on the reading because I didn't have my planner with me last Thursday and didn't write down the homework, so I had to do the reading today. One of the books for this class devotes an entire chapter to Lloyd George, the British Prime Minister at the time of the Treaty of Versailles. He seems like an interesting person.

My last class is Creative Writing Workshop, the only major-related class I was able to get into this semester. We finally got the other half of the syllabus today (which the teacher forgot last time) and found out about our assignments for the semester. We're covering poetry first and so we'll be writing poetry first. The first one is to focus on a single image -- basically like an imagist style. The second one is to write a sonnet or sestina. A sestina is a poetic form consisting of six 6-line stanzas followed by a tercet, or three-line stanza, for a total of 39 lines. I might try that, as interesting as sonnets are. I can't remember the other assignments off the top of my head. There are many classical poetic forms that interest me, including terza rima, the form first used by Dante in his Divine Comedy. It consists of a three-line stanza with a chain rhyme scheme (A-B-A, B-C-B, C-D-C), with the final stanza ending in a single line or a couplet rhyming with the middle line of the final tercet. Maybe I will save one of these for my Walden writings. I'm considering writing some of the tales in verse, even maybe the tale of Hirion and Estelle, though that too would be going too close to Tolkien (who also probably wrote Beren and Lúthien's story in verse at some point, since their story is referred to as the "Lay of Leithian," and "lays" are usually in verse form...though the most complete version of their story, in The Silmarillion, is in prose). I know I am no Dante, nor do I expect to succeed at my first attempt messing with terza rima.

My web design classes start this week. I found out I need to actually buy, or at least download, Adobe Fireworks. It's a vector-based image program, as opposed to Photoshop, which is raster-based. It's pretty expensive.

Ok it's getting late. More later.

Sci-fi anthology, cont'd

I said I'd post about the sci-fi anthology later tonight, so here goes.

The anthology I'm talking about is called The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Sixth Annual Collection. I bought it because I realized that it would be difficult to write science fiction (the novel I'm currently writing) without reading some myself. But the sci-fi selection at Barnes and Noble (small as it was compared to the fantasy offerings) was overwhelming, especially since I'm not familiar with the genre and didn't have the slightest idea where to start. I remembered that yearly fiction anthologies are usually published for different genres - books like Best American Short Stories, etc. I figured that would be enough to get my feet wet, and that if I liked stuff from it I'd at least have some leads. So I searched on the in-store search computer and found this book. I bought it.

The book is 628 pages (minus the introduction and the "honorable mention" list at the end), about as long as The Complete Tales and Stories of Hans Christian Andersen, which I read recently -- I read almost all of them except for some longer ones toward the end, which I skipped because the book was getting tedious. Unlike with that book, though, I actually managed to read all the stories in this anthology. The last couple stories were particularly tedious and I struggled to not skip them.

Out of the 628 pages of stories, I only really liked 10 stories. I don't know what that says about me. Maybe I only like a certain kind of story? Or am I just picky? Who knows?

The first story I liked was "The Gambler" by Paolo Bacigalupi. It is the third story in the anthology. The first two I didn't care for, but I liked this one. It is a near-future story and explores the idea of the role of the media in our lives and how we often skip over the stories on important issues on the Net to read about less important things. The story utilized this theme well, without being super preachy about it. The main character, a Laotian refugee named Ong, writes stories about the government and the environment for a news website. However, Ong is in danger of losing his job for writing about these things (even though they are what he is assigned), since he gets almost no readers. Eventually, he tries to save his job by interviewing a famous Laotian actress, but even after she takes him on a date and creates buzz about it on purpose, he still decides to stick to his guns and write about the important stuff. I think that is a good ending; I would've been annoyed if he ended up as a sellout.

The second story I liked was "Boojum" by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette. This story is about space pirates who pilot a semi-sentient spaceship, and what happens to the crew when they are invaded while the protagonist, Black Alice, is repairing the ship's hull. The story was very intriguing. Not to mention that as soon as I saw in the premise that it was about space pirates, I was interested. I had never seen a story with space pirates in it outside of anime -- particularly Tenchi Muyo, in which one of the main characters, Ryoko, is a space pirate, and Outlaw Star. It was nice to see.

The third story I liked was "An Eligible Boy" by Ian McDonald (who also wrote one of those last two tedious stories). It is set in 22nd century India and basically turns their whole courtship system on its head by including artificial intelligence. The plot seemed very much like a Bollywood movie would be (and this was probably intentional), just with sci-fi elements and minus the musical numbers. It also featured two AIs directing the two lovers on what to say, à la Cyrano de Bergerac.

The fourth story I liked was "Shining Armour" by Dominic Green. It seemed almost more like a fantasy story than sci-fi, since it featured an old former warrior taking up arms again to save his hometown from invasion. Actually, some of the plot elements could easily have been used for a Star Wars story set during the Old Republic era, when the Jedi took their vow to help the helpless very seriously.

The fifth story I liked was "The Hero" by Karl Schroeder. It reminded me of Outlaw Star a little bit. The hero in this is a guy who's about to die but before he does he sets out on a mission to fix the mechanical "sun" of his home planet. The story is set in a universe Schroeder created for his other works, a universe he doesn't explain very much about in this story, so if I read more of his works in that universe I might get a better understanding.

The sixth story I liked was "The Egg Man" by Mary Rosenblum. This tells the story of a man who travels over Mexico on a dragon-like vehicle to deliver eggs to village people that have the ability to cure diseases. Unfortunately, the visit recorded in this story becomes perilous when local U.S. law enforcement realize the village is growing some illegal crops. The protagonist and the boy he realizes is his son manage to escape, however.

The seventh story I liked was "Balancing Accounts" by James L. Cambias. It reminds me a bit of the sci-fi novel I just read, A Star Curiously Singing by Kerry Nietz, which like Cambias's story is also told from the POV of a robot (or robot-like being in Nietz's case -- I make this disclaimer because this post might show up on Nietz's Google Alerts, as a post of mine elsewhere already did). Basically it involves a robot protagonist who is recruited for a mission to carry cargo to one of the moons of Saturn, only to have his route changed once the mission is underway. He also has to decide whether or not to try to save the human cargo inside his crate. (He does).

The eighth story I liked was "Special Economics" by Maureen F. McHugh. Set in a futuristic China, it follows a young woman named Jieling who goes to the city from the country in search of work. She finds work, but soon learns she and the other employees of New Life (a company that makes, among other things, bio-batteries to sell to Wal-Mart) are being exploited by the company higher-ups, who keep taking more and more of their pay under the pretense of it being needed to pay for various expenses and fees. Jieling and her roommate Baiyue decide to do something about it and start doing hip-hop dancing on the streets for money. Eventually, with this extra money and help from an official they encounter, they manage to get away from New Life and start a business to help others escape New Life as well.

The ninth story I liked was "The Ray Gun: A Love Story" by James Allen Gardner. It's kind of a silly story in a way, about a boy who finds a ray gun that fell from space and landed in a crater in the woods. The gun causes him misfortune -- tension in his relationships (due to his determination to keep the gun secret) and the suicide of one of his girlfriends. However, the ray gun manages to bring about a happy ending, reuniting Jack (the protagonist) and his first love Kirsten, who has become a famous writer after being inspired to write poetry about the ray-gun.

The last story I liked was "Butterfly, Falling at Dawn" by Aliette de Bodard. It is an alternate history story and a murder mystery rolled into one. An unusual mix to be sure, but it works rather well. The story is set in a world where the Chinese beat the Spaniards to Mexico and defeated Cortés at Tenochtitlan, taking over Mexico for themselves. Thus, the culture of the story is a mix of Aztec and Chinese, an unusual combination. The main character has become a magistrate after the Hue fashion (the Hue being the Chinese élite) and is called upon to investigate the apparent murder of a girl who makes holograms for a living. I won't reveal the ending there. Aside from the interesting cultural combination, I liked the idea of holograms being used as an art form. Also, it was nice to see an alternate history story that wasn't about the South winning the Civil War or the Nazis winning World War II (the topics of a large portion of alternate history stories today). It didn't take much suspense of disbelief to imagine either -- at the time explorers like Cortés were sailing, the Chinese were building their own empire. According to this article, they also built up a large navy and were active in trade with the West during the Ming Dynasty (the time period during which Bodard's fictional Chinese conquerors would have found Mexico, based on the Cortés reference). I think Bodard did research for this story (she would've had to anyway), because the history behind the changed history is solid. This would probably not be hard to do, since Bodard is currently living in France, where there are quite a few archived documents regarding China (as I learned from a book I read for history class called The Question of Hu; this is probably because of the French missionary presence in China in the Early Modern period, and their later colonial presence in French Indochina, which was made up of present-day Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, as well as Guangzhouwan, an enclave leased by France from China from 1898 to 1946, when it was given back to China).

So there you have it. Those are the ten stories I liked.

At least now I have some leads on sci-fi authors to read. One of the members of The Anomaly also suggested a long list of Star Wars novels for me to read. With that, the books that piqued my interests on GoodReads's "Best Books Ever" list, the Stephen King novels someone else on The Anomaly recommended, and the books I added today to my "Wanna Read" list on my weRead Facebook application, I'll probably be busy this winter break reading. At least I have a public library card, so I won't have to rely on my school's library for books (seeing as it may or may not be open during the break).

Well, it's late, and I have to get up early tomorrow. Good night!

Sci-Fi anthology & other catching up

Boy I haven't posted in a while. I don't think much happened since last post. (I'm writing this on my iPod with no wi-fi so I have no way of checking when my last post was). I did turn 25. That was big, I guess. I got presents from my parents -- a jean jacket among them. My brother is bringing his present when he comes home for Thanksgiving next week.

School is almost over. I don't have school next week because of the holiday and furloughs coinciding with it. The last few weeks of the semester are hard though, because that's when all the projects & papers are due or coming up. I have three papers -- one for Lit Theory due finals week, one for French due next week, and one for History, due December 7. I also have a French group presentation this week, a History group presentation due next weekend, and the all-class Press Publishing Project 4 to do. So much! (Plus our Press Publishing class might be further delayed, since Professor Doller just e-mailed us yesterday to say she'd caught swine flu!)

There are also myriad other tasks -- my Dark Mercury Arc Fandub Project, my solo fandubs, others' fandubs I have to send lines for, website stuff, keeping up with my social media and forums, and the novel I'm currently working on. Not to mention work. I've been moved back to Santa Fe after a couple days where I was late because of the bus. At least it's closer to my house, and I don't have to deal with that extra half hour I had to kill every time so I wouldn't be too early at the Escondido store.

Ok I have wi-fi now. Apparently, I last posted on October 25, almost a month ago. Sheesh.

I downloaded a bunch of new Pokemon music last night. This included some newer songs like the current Japanese opening, "High Touch!" (a remix of which, called "High Touch! 2009," was used as the opening song for the most recent Pokemon movie, similar to how "Together2007," a remix of "Together," the first Diamond and Pearl opening, was used in the Darkrai movie) and a Latino Spanish version of "Two Perfect Girls," Brock's song from Totally Pokemon. Both of them are pretty cool (the Brock one is particularly hilarious; you can hear a bit of it here).

"High Touch!" is a duet between Satoshi (Ash) and Hikari (Dawn). This is the first time we've heard Dawn's Japanese seiyuu sing, since unlike with "I Won't Lose! ~Haruka's Theme~" (which was sung by Haruka/May's seiyuu, KAORI), Dawn's theme ("By Your Side ~Hikari's Theme~") wasn't sung by her seiyuu (it was sung by Grin). It's odd to hear her newcomer voice along with the all-too-familiar voice of Rika Matsumoto, Satoshi's seiyuu (who has sung most of the opening songs for Pokemon to date), but they do work well together. The movie 13 version ("High Touch! 2009") is almost the same except it's even more upbeat and pop-like. You can hear the full version of "High Touch!" in this video, which even has English subtitles! Come to think of it, PearlShippers (those who favor the AshxDawn couple) will love this song; if you read the subs in that video, the lyrics sound very Pearlshippy.

Well I don't want to waste my iPod battery, so I'll stop here. I'll post about the anthology later tonight. Bye!


-- Posted from BlogPress

Thoughts and stuff

It's been a long time since I wrote here, hasn't it? Like a month? There really hasn't been much to write. It's just been school, work, and now working on my novel. But since I don't want to mix my personal persona and my writing persona, I haven't been writing about my writing here.

I have to admit, it's hard to write a novel. I haven't gotten into the groove of writing every day. I thought I would, but I haven't. I fear that I lack the discipline. Also, I'm afraid I'll finish too fast if I write every day (I figured out if I wrote a chapter a day, I'd be done in three weeks). If I finish, then it'll be over. True, there's revision. But the creative act itself of the first draft, the act of writing magic if you will, would be over. I'd switch my writer hat for a proofreader hat. And proofreading's not nearly as fun.

To be honest, finishing a novel in the state of seriousness I'm in about writing would mean writing it and sending it off to agents or publishers. I just don't feel ready for that. As it is, I've just got more or less confirmation that I have Asperger's Syndrome (Dr. Feder didn't say yea or nay, but given the options he's suggesting it sounds like I have it). I'm not sure how to deal with that. I mean, I'm the one who wanted to know for sure. But at the same time, it's another label. I'm a geek, a Christian, a bookworm, and an Aspie. Once you have a label, people expect things from you. They expect you to act a certain way because of whatever preconceived notions they have of whatever label they have put on you. So you do, because you don't know how to defy their expectations.

For example, I've begun to perceive I am becoming the sort of "teacher's pet" student - the student the teacher really likes because he/she does so well, the sort of student the teacher points to as an example. This is particularly true in French class, where it seems I can't choose not to excel; even when I don't study for a test I ace it. But in my Press Publishing class I had a moment with a group project where my partner far exceeded me in what she did for it, and I felt like I didn't do anything. Since I'm usually the one who has to step up and lead a group that's going nowhere (part of the reason I don't like group projects), it was a weird experience for me. I've noticed lately that I don't speak up in class much anymore. I guess I don't want to draw attention to myself. I don't like being the center of attention. I don't like being around a lot of people either. Even the Dome at its busy time is too much for me, which is probably why I've been eating my lunch earlier in the day.

I don't know why I'm so anxious right now...maybe because I'm sleep deprived (I haven't gotten much sleep the last couple weeks). Either that or I really do need those anxiety pills Dr. Feder was talking about. I've been sensitive at work lately, especially the last couple days. Even this afternoon, snuggled on the couch watching my recording of the "What's What" version of Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie, I don't think I was that happy.

I won't lie and say I enjoy work that much either. Having the long transit commute to read, do homework, or even work on my novel is nice, but after that, not so much. I'm in the deli, a department I'm not very experienced in. I drop fried chicken too slow. One of my coworkers is bossy. There are too many customers a lot of the time. I can't handle it.

It's not even the department. I don't like the job itself. I don't make that much, my hours change all the time, and they keep transferring me (this is my 5th store in only about 3 years). But I can't quit now. The economy is too bad right now for me to try to find another job. Besides, I've already been through the job hunt twice, I don't want to do that again, not now.

I feel old as well. I'm going to be 25 in three days. That's halfway to 30. I still don't have my bachelor's, I live at home, I don't have a car OR a driver's license, I've never dated, never even been kissed, AND I WORK AT A FREAKING GROCERY STORE. I WANT TO BE INDEPENDENT, DANGIT!!!!!!!!!

But I can't. I don't know how to live on my own. I'm horrible with money and I'm not street smart.

This is it. I'm going to die an old maid in my parents' house without having driven my own car or gone on a real date or kissed a boy. I'll never finish school and I'll never leave this freaking job.

*Later, at 7:54 PM*

I talked to Mom. I feel somewhat better now, though my allergies are really bad and I have a headache. I think The Amazing Race starts in a few minutes so I'm going to go watch it. Bye!

Apathy or tiredness?, vacation, conference

I've noticed something. I don't seem excited about school this semester. Well, maybe excited is the wrong word. What I mean to say is that normally when I'm in school, I focus more on it, staying on top of reading & such. But I don't seem to care as much. I don't know if this is apathy coming on or if I'm just tired from the stress of getting transferred to a new store and such. I'm not sure.

Hopefully my vacation this week will help, though I'm not getting that much rest, to tell you the truth. Like last night, I stayed up till 1am semi-aimlessly using the computer--I even forgot to eat dinner!

Tomorrow is another Dr. Feder appointment (hoping for results this time!), Thursday school, and Friday & Saturday I have the San Diego Christian Writers' Guild conference. Quite a week!

Well I'm using my iPod to write this (I finally found a Blogger app!) and I don't want to waste battery, so I'll end here. Bye!

--Posted using Blogpress

Transferred again, Comic-Con pics (finally), PotterCast Acting Troupe fansite, school

Well, after only about a month at the San Marcos store, I've been transferred again -- to the Escondido store. Yesterday was my first day there. It is a pretty big store. They had me do various GM stuff, though they didn't have many tasks to give me after I got back from my break shortly after 6pm. I spent a lot of time after my break rearranging the Shasta six-packs since many of them were in the wrong place. Not all of the kinds had a place, though, so eventually I had to leave it in the best condition I could. There were also a lot of some varieties and not of others. There was a lot of Diet Cola, Strawberry, and Grape, for instance (I don't think the Grape kind sells that well, honestly).

Yesterday, my mom FINALLY found the USB cord for her digital camera, so I was able to transfer my pics from Comic-Con to my laptop. The cord was in my brother's bedroom for some reason, and my mother was in there trying to put together an IKEA sleeper sofa. It took her a while to do, because IKEA furniture is notorious for being really hard to put together.

You can see the pics in this album: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v328/Dani17/Comic-Con%202009/. Some of the pics are from the PCLupinWillow live tour show I went to the same day, which featured a live PotterCast and a performance by The Remus Lupins (as well as an impromptu performance by Darren Criss of A Very Potter Musical).

In other news, I started a fansite for the PotterCast Acting Troupe. There wasn't a site about it, and I got rejected for a fanlisting of it, so I made a fansite. It's Wordpress blog-style. The URL is: http://pctroupe.net/. I also made a Facebook group for fans of the Troupe, as a way of promoting the site: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=128444025171&ref=nf. I put some info about it on MyLeaky (The Leaky Cauldron's social network) as well.

The site looks a little boring right now because I haven't found a good theme for it yet.

I've started school. In fact, I'm at school right now, on my break between my morning class and my afternoon classes. Classes are ok. Having literary theory first thing in the morning isn't ideal. There are points in class where the teacher is talking and no one is taking notes. Apparently, the stuff he's saying isn't worth writing down. I try to stick to his policy of only using my computer for taking notes, but I admit I do check my e-mail and stuff when there are no notes to take. I just switch to my OneNote window when he gets near my desk.

Frankly, I'm not really into theory. It's a little over my head. But I have to take this class for my major, so it can't be helped. It also would've helped if I'd taken the A section first, just like one of my friends told me. I would've if there was a section available at a good time.

My other Lit class, Small Press Publishing, isn't what I expected. There is a lot of independent work involved; basically almost every Tuesday we work independently on projects outside of class and Thursdays we meet for normal class. That seems to be the idea. I guess I expected something different, like we'd learn how the publishing process works and make our own journal or something. Not sure.

My online class, Society and Culture of Early Modern Europe, is interesting. The reading so far is not too bad as far as length and such goes. I think it'll be fun.

Lastly, French class. In a word, fun! I love Dr. Anover as a teacher, she's less by-the-book than my last French teacher, Dr. Geiger. Every Thursday we are going to have our "Global Simulation," where we all take on alternate identities and pretend to live in an apartment building together. I knew this was going to happen beforehand, and this is why I was looking forward to this class.

Well, I'd better go so I have time to eat lunch before French class starts. Bye!

Yet another appointment, Howl's Moving Castle audiobook, Ponyo, fanlistings, "My World, My Way", Wii Sports Resort

I had another appointment today with Dr. Feder, the guy I am seeing to try to get an Asperger's diagnosis. This is the third appointment and we haven't gotten a diagnosis yet, which kind of frustrates me, especially since I felt I met a lot of the diagnostic criteria I saw in a table in a book on Asperger's Syndrome that I consulted for my sociology project (which involved creating a center for youth with autistic spectrum disorders). He's going to e-mail my dad with some observations, so we'll see how that goes. The next appointment is for September 23, which is the same week as the writers' conference I want to go to. With that, school, and the appointment, I'm thinking I may just take my vacation time that week, rather than trying to get so many days off in that week.

Yesterday, I finished "reading" Howl's Moving Castle via the audiobook version of it I got with one of my "free book" Audible credits. It's an interesting book, much more detailed than the Miyazaki film based on it (which was my first encounter with the story, and the motivation for me wanting to read the book). The basic storyline is pretty much the same, but most of the details are different. Howl seems more heartless, Calcifer seems more like a demon ought to be (he seemed a little too lighthearted in the movie, especially in the English version where he was played by Billy Crystal), and even Sophie is a little more interesting. The novel also has more of a traditional fantasy novel feel to it, and it even utilizes the classic novel technique of naming chapters for what happens in them, like "In Which a Royal Wizard Catches a Cold" or "In Which Sophie Expresses Herself with Weed-Killer" or "In Which the Moving Castle Moves House." We read one such novel in my U.S. lit class last semester, and I found it somewhat annoying, because it felt like you were told what was going to happen before it happened, rather than finding out on your own. But when doing study guides and essays these chapter titles are rather useful, because it can be a pain in those situations to remember what chapters something happened in. It also utilizes some fairy-tale tropes, like the idea of setting out to seek one's fortune and Sophie believing that nothing interesting will happen to her because she's the eldest (invoking the common fairy tale trope of only the youngest son succeeding in seeking his fortune). The author also cleverly uses John Donne's poem "Song" as the words of the Witch of the Waste's curse on Howl.

Speaking of Hayao Miyazaki, I saw his most recent film, Ponyo (called Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea in Japan) at the theater last Friday. It was very well done. The English acting (since this was of course the English dub done by Disney) was very well done. Liam Neeson was the best in my opinion, though the film's two young stars -- Frankie Jonas, the Jonas Brothers' kid brother, and Noah Cyrus, Miley Cyrus's little sister -- did really well too. Disney does cast these films really well. The last Ghibli film I saw before this, My Neighbors the Yamadas, had John Belushi in it as well as Daryl Sabara (Juni in Spy Kids).

Having seen Ponyo, I have now seen 9 of the 18 Studio Ghibli films: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbors the Yamadas, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and Ponyo. The ones I haven't seen yet are: Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, Grave of the Fireflies, Only Yesterday, Porco Rosso, Ocean Waves, Pom Poko, Whisper of the Heart, The Cat Returns, and Tales from Earthsea. All of these have been released in the U.S. except Only Yesterday, Ocean Waves, and Tales from Earthsea. Only Yesterday and Ocean Waves have never been released in English, though Ocean Waves is set to be released as a subtitled DVD in the UK next year, with the theatrical release of Ponyo. Only Yesterday has been "shelved indefinitely" for dubbing by Disney due to some not-family-friendly content in it. Tales of Earthsea, Studio Ghibli's most recent film before Ponyo, is due to be released in the U.S. next spring. It's also the first film to be directed by Hayao's son Gorō.

I managed to get my first fanlisting up, a Hina fanlisting called Forgotten Girl, but the join form isn't working (you can enter data into it, but it doesn't go anywhere). I need to figure out how to fix that, and I hope to be able to do that with the fanlisting I'm working on at present, a Mamoru/Hina ship fanlisting called Earth and Sun (because Mamoru has the kanji for "earth" in his name and Hina has the kanji for "sun" in her name). The PHP stuff for fanlisting scripts, scripts that are supposed to help you manage your member list, I can't make any sense of.

I finally managed to get past the part I was stuck on in the DS game My World, My Way, which was to beat the Succubus Queen. She has, like all the bosses thus far, WAY too much HP compared to the player character (200 compared to the 85 HP I had at the time) and her attacks hit pretty hard. I figured out a strategy of not attacking her with my weapon (since that does very little damage) and cooperating with Pinky, the mimic slime that follows you, to alternately use damaging items like Holy Bombs and Ice Bombs and use magic spells like Ice Shards to whittle down her HP. So, to beat her, I recommend:

1. BUY POTIONS. This seems obvious, but it is really useful. Having Potions will allow you to heal so you don't have to waste your MP using the Heal spell. I bought 5 I think, which is generally enough for this dungeon since you also have a healing spell handy. If you're lucky enough to have some Magic Potions (which heal MP) handy, bring those too. They're rare because you can only buy them in some of the shops in the game, though monsters occasionally drop them. Plus, they cost a lot. If you need money for potions, fight a bunch of enemies with the "I hate being poor" pout in effect (which temporarily makes the monsters give you more money) or sell off those useless monster drop items like False Boar Fur and Venombug Down, as well as weapons you and the mimic slime don't need. You can also choose the cheaper meals at inns to save money.

2. Try to avoid other monster fights on the way, unless you need experience. You can do this by using a pout while walking in the dungeon that makes the monsters go away (I forget what the pout is called) or by using the "This is annoying!" pout at the beginning of battles. Before getting to the Queen, most of the monsters on the dungeon's bottom floor are hard-hitting regular Succubuses, so you will want to avoid those. This will allow you to keep your HP high and save your MP.

3. The Succubus Queen is rather weak to Ice-type spells, probably because her own spells are primarily fire-based (except for Reaper Slice). To exploit this weakness, buy some Ice Bombs from shops (or hold on to any that were dropped by monsters) and make sure Paro (the bird that casts all your spells for you) learns the spell Ice Shards from the snake-archer monster in the flower-filled room on the first floor of the dungeon. The Queen is also weak to Holy Bombs (as one might expect), so get some of those too. Unfortunately, unlike some other holy-magic-weak monsters, she's not affected much more if you use the Holy Sword spell (which imbues your weapons with holy power) than she'd be if you just used your weapon on her normally, so it's not worth it to waste MP using it.

4. Make sure to heal frequently, either by using the Heal spell or by using Potions. This will help you survive when the Queen uses Reaper Slice or Fire Curtain, spells that both hit for a lot. Also, have the mimic slime primarily cast spells, if it has the ability to do so, to save you from wasting your own MP (since it tends to have more MP than you).

5. Once the Queen's HP gets down to around 80 or so, you can probably risk using your weapon (although this won't do much damage) or other spells, such as Magic Arrow (which Paro can learn early on from Wizardrills). One benefit of using your weapon is the random chance that you will cause a status effect, preferably stunning (which makes the Queen temporarily unable to attack). If you got the Snake Bow from the snake-archer guy, use that as it has a chance of causing the Poison status, which takes 1 HP from its victim per turn. Another benefit of using your weapon is that most weapons have a 2-4% chance of landing a "critical," a hit that does a very high amount of damage (sometimes as high as 300). However, the chance of a "critical" happening is random, and you have no control over when or how often one happens.

Anyway, once you beat the queen, leave the dungeon via the shortcut near the lower floor entrance. Then return to town (you can do this instantly by pressing L, which lets you cast the Return spell) and speak to the innkeeper, who gives you the key to the next gate. Fortunately, you don't have to fight a boss at the next gate (like you did at the other gates) since Nero (the guy who's been shadowing you and setting up the gate monsters and the dungeon) decides to let you off easy. After going through the gate, you can return home.

I thought that would be the end of the game (even though the story up to this point only takes about 10 game hours), but the cutscene at the end has the adventurer guy Elise was trying to impress by going out on an adventure dump her YET AGAIN, stating that the Succubus Queen is only a minor enemy and that any amateur hero could take her down. So Elise decides to try again, and a whole new "adventure" begins! It's essentially the same as before, the same sort of stuff, except in new locations.

We'll have to see just how far this game goes, I guess. It's a good game, with classic RPG elements mixed in with a unique twist on character development and gameplay using the pouts and such. The monsters are not terribly creative, with many being variations of previous monsters (like the Firedrills I'm now fighting, which are essentially Wizarddrills with red outfits and firey bows, and the Firebug and Venombug, which are variations of a normal green bug monster). But it's still interesting.

Last but not least, I finally picked up Wii Sports Resort, which I had reserved at GameStop. I traded in a bunch of games the same day, adding up (with extra credit thanks to my Edge card) to $41.45 in store credit, meaning I only had to pay about $13 myself for the game. I've played it, it's pretty cool, though the Wii MotionPlus accessory (which comes included with this game) is still new to me. I've played Swordplay, Cycling, and Table Tennis so far.

Well, I'm going to go have some lunch (I requested the day off from work today for the appointment, so I am at home). Bye for now!

Major shock, new store, Twitter/Facebook much?, Tashica is gone, iFight Shelby Marx, fanlistings, projects, Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne

First, I have to write about a major shock I had today. After work, I decided I wanted some real food for lunch. So I went to this sit-down restaurant near my new store called The Money Pit (I know, doesn't sound like a restaurant...but then, neither did "The Max" from Saved by the Bell). I spent some time looking at the menu board to decide what to order (since, though it's sit-down, you order and pay first), because it was my first time there. Then, when I finally got in line, there was this couple in front of me. Then, out of nowhere, the guy in the couple started collapsing! I don't think he fainted, because after it happened he seemed conscious. He could've had a heart attack for all I know (though he didn't show signs of it). I was too in shock to do anything, and just stood there for some time because I thought I needed to stay in line (the line had moved though without my knowing it). Another patron had enough composure to yell to the employees to call 911. Eventually, even though I got in the right line, I didn't want to stay there, so I left and went to Taco Bell instead. I called my parents, but only reached my dad. I was really freaked out! The paramedics got there (I saw them from the window of Taco Bell) so hopefully the guy is ok.

I've just started my second week at the new store. Things seem to be going smoothly, although on days like today when I didn't get much sleep the night before, the day seems longer than it is. I'm working GMC stuff, specifically HABA (health and beauty) and doing pretty well at it. I was off yesterday, and today I helped Tom Green (a GMC who's sort of my supervisor) finish going through a pallet of tubs from Saturday. We managed to go through all that was left. Hooray! I have to do bake shop by myself a couple days this week, probably Friday and Sunday since I'm coming in at 6 a.m. those days. I don't know for sure yet, though; Tom said maybe I'd be working it on Wednesday since there's usually no one working the bread or bake shop on Wednesdays because there are no deliveries. We'll see.

My next topic is "Twitter/Facebook much?" (this is written in the fashion of a show I like called Totally Spies!, where they often said things like "Rude much?"). Granted, I am not against Facebook or Twitter; I've been on Facebook for a while now and I just recently gave in and joined Twitter, for the sake of promoting my writing (although I have a "personal" one as well, ostensibly for my personal site; I twittered to it using my iPod Touch about the collapsing incident as soon as I had wi-fi). But now it seems like EVERYONE has a Facebook and/or a Twitter (or both). Even TV news programs are getting them now. Just the other day, I saw a "find us on Facebook" logo on a copy of Do It Yourself magazine (a magazine that teaches you how to do DIY projects, supposedly) in the checkstands at work. It just seems like overkill. Now these networks have their advantages, look at the young Iranian Twitterers who twittered about the riots involving the elections there. But this is just TOO MUCH for me. I don't even know how to work the vast social network circuit. How will I ever use it to promote my writing? I'm in over my head.

Today I watched my DVR recording of the latest episode of HGTV Design Star, a reality show where designers compete for their own show on HGTV. I got into it last season, and now it's back for season 4. One of the designers on it is a girl named Tashica. She seems nice and all, but she keeps doing badly on the challenges and then somehow surviving to fight another week. [SPOILER] But this week she messed up again, and after some suspicious whispering between the judges and host Clive Pearce, she was eliminated (or, to use the show's terminology, her "show has been canceled") before they'd even gone through everyone else in the traditional elimination fashion (it was a double elimination this time). So at least we won't have to see her mess up everything anymore. [END SPOILER] She did seem a little annoying to me, though I haven't really picked a favorite designer yet. I like Antonio (the set designer) though; he takes the lead well and he does a good job at what he does.

I had another recording to watch after Design Star. I don't know if I've mentioned this, but I've gotten into the Nickelodeon show iCarly. For those of you who haven't seen it, it's about a girl named Carly who does her own comedy webshow with her friends Sam (who is a girl, btw) and Freddie. The starring cast is rounded off by Carly's crazy sculptor brother Spencer. Anyway, they had a special hour-long iCarly movie the other night, and that's what I watched today. It was called iFight Shelby Marx. [WARNING: spoilers here]. Guest starring Victoria Justice (from Nickleodeon's Spectacular! and Zoey 101) as teen martial-arts fighter Shelby Marx, the movie has Carly and Shelby agreeing to a charity exhibition fight after Carly teasingly challenges Shelby to a fight. But chaos ensues when Carly trash talks Shelby at the conference thanks to Sam's coaching, and Carly accidentially falls on Shelby's grandmother and is accused of tackling her. Carly chickens out of the fight and gets avoided at school for it, so she goes and explains the situation to Shelby and agrees to fight. But then Nevel (the iCarly trio's archnemesis and owner of a website review site called Nevelocity) shows Shelby a clip he faked from the press conference showing that Carly meant to push Shelby's grandmother. This infuriates Shelby, and she fights Carly for real, to Carly's surprise. Carly barely wins, and later Nevel's plan is revealed. Carly and Shelby make up, and Shelby appears on iCarly (not the TV show, but Carly's webshow, which also has the same name). The B-plot of this movie involves Spencer being so frustrated over his allergies he agrees to take an experimental allergy medication from a doctor in his and Carly's apartment building. While it does seem to cure his allergies, it has some strange side effects: first intense itching, then severe sweating, then uncontrollable thirst, then short-term memory loss, and finally involuntary muscle spasms. It's all majorly exaggerated, but funny. I sure would never take that medication, no matter how annoying my allergies are.
[end spoilers]

The four-week deadline for both of my fanlistings is approaching. My Hina one is pretty much done, I just need to do a final detail check and test the join form to see if it works. Right now, I'm just going to add people manually, until I figure out how to use a fanlisting script like Enthusiast or phpFanlist that can do it for me. I need to work on my Mamoru/Hina relationship one. It's going to be called "Earth and Sun," because Mamoru has the kanji for "earth" in his last name (Chiba) and Hina has the kanji for "sun" in her first name (Hina). Combining the earth and the sun also shows a sense of compatability, which is how I feel about their relationship.

As for my school projects, my Sacred Texts paper is done...halleujah. I have been prepping for it for a while, but I finally wrote and finished it yesterday in many long hours of work. I'm so glad it's done. As for my sociology project, I have taken notes from some books about autism, now I need to put everything together in terms of the website I'm making for the project itself. It's going to be hard, but I think I can do it.

Oh one last thing. I started watching the anime series Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne (Divine Wind Thief Jeanne), which is based on a manga by Arina Tanemura, who also created Full Moon wo Sagashite. When I first heard about this anime ages ago, I was somewhat offended by it because the heroine is the reincarnation of Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc in French, hence the "Jeanne" in the show title), who is my hero. I thought it awful that she was being trivialized like that. Now I realize that idea was silly. I've seen the first three episodes, and it looks pretty good.

Well, that's all for now. As Jeanne would say, Adieu!

New store...again, Wizards of Waverly Place, fanlistings, projects

As of today I have been transferred to yet another Stater Bros., this time the one in San Marcos. The nice thing is it is smaller, this week I am working mornings and get off at noon, and it's a short walk from the nearest Sprinter station (and one Sprinter stop away from school, should I have to go to school and work on the same day, as I have to tomorrow because of the way things were scheduled).

The drag is that if I should choose to get myself to work, I shall have to catch the bus around 5:30am, meaning I'll have to get up rather early. I can't just get up at 5, it will have to be earlier. I am thinking of trying this tomorrow so I can figure out how to get there. I'm not sure which way to take though, because either of the two ways I could take will get me there rather close to my start time, with little margin for error. I might be able to get there about 6:40 taking the 305 from Palomar College, and I think it stops fairly near to the store (based on what the lady from 511 told me). If I take a bus and then the Sprinter, I'll have to walk half a mile from the station, which is fine going home but not great for when I have a time constraint as I would if I were going to work (although tomorrow I will have a time constraint going to the station because I am going to school after work, but I think I can still make it).

Today was my first day. I assumed I'd be working bakery, but I wasn't sure so I brought my floor GMC apron as well as my bakery apron and visor. It's just as well, since it does appear I'll be doing mostly floor GMC stuff, helping bakery as needed. I did work bakery for a while today though. The bakery manager, Cassie, had not been told of my coming and was thus rather surprised. I found out later I'd been switched for a girl named "Mo," who I worked with before at Encinitas (her real name is Maureen, but she prefers to be called "Mo"), who had done most of the HABA (health and beauty) ordering there.

Anyway, Cassie had me help her out. San Marcos is slightly different in that they have only a bake shop, not a full bakery (as I've worked in previously). Most of the same rules apply, and the product is pretty much all the same, except that most of it comes in frozen and pre-made (even the cakes!). The workspace is also very small, squeezed into some space along the same hallway as the breakroom, janitors' room, bathrooms, and office. It was somewhat difficult for Cassie and I to work together in this small space, but we managed. I learned mostly the basics of how things are run in that bakery, as well as how to input an order (since I may be doing this next week when Cassie is on vacation), that we have to cover the store's very small service deli as well, and how to make Mountain High Strawberry Pies (the pièce de resistance of Stater Bros. bakeries great and small during the strawberry season). I showed her how I packaged gourmet cookies, my scale trick for finding hard-to-calculate code-out dates (some items are good for like a month, and that can be hard to calcuate in your head), what Vegi-Wash looks like (since I thought we were supposed to use it to wash the strawberries), and how to test the sanitizer concentration. Cassie was pretty happy that I already had bakery experience, and that I mostly needed to learn how to use those skills in her smaller bake shop setting.

When Cassie no longer needed me, I changed aprons and went out on the floor, where I stocked HABA items. This was hard to do since I didn't know where things go (this being a new store), but I used the aisle signs as a guide and so I managed all right. I wasn't able to finish before I was off though, but I got pretty far. I also think I accidentially inhaled some gas from the broken lightbulbs I found in the first box I opened, because the box smelled funny, and something in my mouth and stomach didn't feel quite right the rest of the morning. I'm ok, though.

Things look like they shall go well. I don't know how long I'll be there, though. We'll see.

I have been working on finishing a website for a YouTube singing group I'm a part of, LaraAmyReilia Productions. AmyMizunoPGSM, a.k.a. Amy-chan, was telling me we were going to sing special solos, and hers was going to be a song by Selena Gomez that is from the Disney show Wizards of Waverly Place. I heard of this show when it first came out, but never watched it (I haven't been watching Disney Channel at all lately since Kim Possible hasn't been on). But the last couple days I watched it. They are currently in a 4-part series about the Russos, the wizard family that stars in the show, having a feud against a family of vampires, the Van Heusens, who open a sandwich store (called Late Nite Bite) just down the road from their sandwich shop, Waverly Sub Station. The problem is Justin from the wizard family falls in love with Juliet from the vampire family, and so chaos ensues. Alex (played by Selena Gomez) is sort of in the background of this saga. Anyway, the show seems interesting. It's currently part of the "Summer of Stars" lineup, which includes (besides Wizards) an animated show called Phineas and Ferb and the live-action shows Hannah Montana, Sonny with a Chance, Jonas (starring the Jonas Brothers), The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, and its sister/sequel series The Suite Life on Deck.

I have little time to make my fanlistings that were approved a short while ago. But I am at a loss when it comes to fanlisting scripts. I tried phpFanlist, but I've never worked with PHP so I was really confused. I switched to Enthusiast, and I'm still confused. I'm just going to try to take it slow on that corner, but after that's over with, I can focus on the design and text (the easier part).

I have a paper due soon for Sacred Texts and my sociology project to do, which won't take too long to actually execute (I think), but is really hard to plan. The class I'm taking is clearly for sociology majors, which I am not. But sociology was all I could get at short notice, so I'm stuck. My teacher hasn't answered my WebCT e-mail asking about the project, or she has and I haven't gotten the message (I had some problems with that before). I may have to consult her during her virtual office hour tomorrow, even if it means doing it during my Sacred Texts class (since her virtual office hour is between 12-1pm).

My Sacred Texts paper is going to be comparing and contrasting the consequences of the fall of man in Islam and Christianity. I have books marked up with little flag markers, I just have to take notes from them, which I failed to do this last weekend. (I had to get up early to get myself to work while my parents were gone this weekend, and even on the days I got home early, the heat didn't make me want to do much). I might be able to get some of them done tonight though, with enough motivation. I can take some of the books with me tomorrow perhaps, and take notes on the bus (which I do sometimes to speed things up) if I have to.

I am also still doing pre-writing for my sci-fi novel Darkly Bound. I finally figured out how to do the one-page synopsis today. I was doing it all wrong before.

Ok I'm going to go so I can get through my e-mail and stuff and work on those notes. Bye!

Financial aid update, Comic-Con, first live PotterCast and wizard rock show, and other things

Okay, first things first. I added another class, and so far things seem to be going ok with financial aid since I haven't been dropped from any of those classes yet. I don't know if the financial aid will pay out or not because the financial info you need to look at to ascertain this is a little confusing.

That out of the way...yesterday I went to COMIC-CON. Yay! Aside from the San Diego County Fair, Comic-Con is the big event of the summer in San Diego (and the salvation of local hotels and businesses, my dad says).

It wasn't nearly as crowded as I'd expected from the rumors I heard and also based on last year's experience, where it seemed like we were in a mob constantly. There were parts that were crowded, but some parts you could walk through rather easily, and there wasn't much of a line to get badges either. I made it to the first panel I wanted to go to with time to spare!

I managed to get to two of the five events I'd planned to attend. The first was a rather crowded panel on "How to Get a Job in the Video Game Industry" and was sponsored by Capcom. I took notes, but they didn't say much worth noting. After that panel, I went around (since you have to exit the panel rooms from the back) to the room next door for a panel on "Spirituality in Comics." It was less packed and a little more intimate. I got to ask a question!

The other two panels I'd planned on going to were one on voice-acting and the big Mythbusters event. I missed the voice-acting one because I went to the live PotterCast/The Remus Lupins show in town (more on that in a minute) and by the time it finished, it was too late to make the voice-acting panel. The Mythbusters one I couldn't make because I rushed to stand in a line, got to the front of it, and found out it was the handicapped line (it was NOT labeled as such). I took a look at the regular line, and decided I didn't want to wait. I also was going to go to a Steampunk Meetup, but decided to pass so I'd have more time to explore the exhibit hall.

After all the excitement, I waited a really long time for a trolley, waited about an hour for an Amtrak train that was delayed because someone pulled the emergency break (I hope it wasn't a prank or I'd be mad), and long story short, I didn't get home till around 10:30pm. Since I'd had to leave super early (6:45am) because my dad, who'd offered to take me to the con, had to do a live interview at 7:30 at his work (he works at a Christian radio station), it was a LONG day.

After the "Spirituality" panel, I found a spot on the floor, put down my stuff, and went and bought a soda to have with the lunch I'd packed (since Comic-Con food vendors are usually rather expensive and often only take cash, bringing a lunch is a good idea). I also tried to tweet about not going to the Steampunk meetup (which I'd said I was going to on my writer site blog and my MySpace blog) using my iPod touch and the supposed glorious free Comic-Con wifi (provided by iGoogle), but even though I had a signal, Twitterific couldn't connect.

After eating my lunch, I headed to the exhibit hall, which I explored until 2pm, when I had to leave to go to the live PotterCast. The door I first walked in through led to an area mostly populated by booths selling anime stuff, including one for Media Blasters (a fairly well-known anime dubbing company). There were also booths selling some fairly indecent figurines and some for-18-and-up-only yaoi and hentai manga (I'm NOT kidding). I started making a list on my iPod's "Notes" thing of stuff I saw that I wanted so I could come back for it later. I spent some time at a booth for GameRave, a store that sells video games, trading cards, and action figures. They had a ton of Pokémon stuff, including a whole table's worth of cases with little figures that you could get a charm made with, or for $3 more, a keychain made with. In true Pokémon Ranger spirit, I got a keychain made with Plusule (the girl character's partner Pokémon in the first Ranger game).

I managed to make my way about halfway down the hall before I left. The last thing I did was play a demo game of the Pokémon TCG with a kid named Alex (after taking pictures of the booth there in hopes of posting them on The Pallet Tribune). It was fairly easy since the guy showing you how to play was giving you advice all the time. So with that advice, Alex and I played, and I WON! YAAAY! This is the first time I've ever won a Pokémon TCG match in my entire life. I took a picture of the kid (with his permission) for the record. I also got a free promo Riolu card, a free inflatable Ultra Ball, and a free Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky poster from this booth.

Using directions I'd gotten from the NCTD trip planner, I found my way to the downtown branch of the San Diego County Library, where the live PotterLupinWillow tour show (so named because the shows consisted of PotterCast and the wizard rock bands The Remus Lupins and The Whomping Willows) was to take place. I got there about 20 minutes early. When I got there, I saw the three PotterCast hosts who were on the tour (one of the hosts, Sue Upton, was unable to come on tour this year) - Melissa Anelli, John Noe, and Frankie "Frak" Franco - and nearly freaked out. I recognized them from watching the PotterCast vlogs, but to see them in person was a whole different experience entirely.

I had intended to get their autographs at the show, but was initially too nervous to do so, even though I had time before the show started and they were in the same room. Finally, I worked up enough courage to approach Frak, who was at the front of the auditorium, and ask him to autograph the page in my composition book that I'd reserved for that purpose. I acted totally starstruck, saying something about getting there and thinking, "Oh my gosh it's Frak," at which point I think Frak actually laughed. He took a while actually autographing, and I found out later why: he'd signed his name in a word bubble coming from his trademark Pellegrino bottle! Cool! Then, after some more nervousness, I approached Melissa in the back of the room and asked her to sign my copy of her book Harry, a History. I had to tell her how to spell my name since Comic-Con messed it up on my badge. I got John's autograph after the show, as well as that of Darren Criss, a.k.a. StarKidPotter or the star of "A Very Potter Musical", who happened to be there (he lives in L.A.).

The PotterCast portion of the show was very short but fun. I made two comments about Half-Blood Prince, one about there not being enough Luna Lovegood and one about the first Slughorn party scene where Slughorn asks Hermione about what her parents do. I wished they did Canon Conclundrums, because then I would've asked the question I wanted to ask about what character they thought got its name from a church guestbook (in the documentary J.K. Rowling: A Year in Her Life that aired here recently, when they show JKR at the church she and her sister used to clean as kids, she's looking at the guestbook and then shuts it suddenly, saying "I stole that name for Harry Potter" - but she doesn't say the name itself).

The rest of the show was a show by The Remus Lupins, led by L.A.-born Alex Carpenter. I was kind of bummed that The Whomping Willows (a.k.a. Matt Maggiacomo) weren't there, as I've heard more of that band's songs than I've heard of The Remus Lupins. I stayed for the show anyway, though I couldn't get myself to dance with everyone else (apparently wizard rock shows are expected to be big dance shows). I was happy when they had Darren sing a couple songs from "A Very Potter Musical." He sang "Harry" (Ginny's song) and "Granger Danger" (Ron and Draco's song from the Yule Ball scene, and also the song they sang when Darren and a couple other Very Potter Musical people were interviewed on PotterCast). I recorded Darren singing "Granger Danger" on my cell phone, though it took 6 videos because my cell can only record 35-second video clips. I actually sang along to "Granger Danger," but not loud enough for anyone to really hear.

After the show, I headed back to the con (though I had trouble at first finding the trolley station I got off at to get to the library). I spent the time between getting back and going to the Mythbusters thing getting some dinner (which I ate out on the convention center's bayside terrace, which was a refreshingly quiet place compared to inside), exploring the other half of the exhibit hall, trying to find out where Shannon Hale was set up (I never found out), pre-registering for Comic-Con 2010 so I could get a 4-day ticket, and buying the things I wanted to buy. Then, as I said, I wasn't able to make the Mythbusters panel, so I left.

Once again, I managed to be pretty good about not buying a lot. I think I still spent close to $100 on stuff though. Here's what I bought:

- Plusule keychain - $9
- Amazing Agent Luna volumes 1-3 omnibus -$10
- PotterCast Tour 3 Poster - $5
- My Neighbor Totoro mascot small plushie with suction cup - $9
- Shaymin plushie - $20.81 ($19 + tax)
- Master Ball toy w/Squirtle ($15) , Lapras model kit ($5) , & 3-pack of Southern Islands cards ($1) - $22
- Two artbooks - Tales of Symphonia Illustrations: Kosuke Fujishima's Character Works (Japanese; $32) and The Art of Kiki's Delivery Service (English; $30) - $62

Oy! I just did the math, and that was $137.81! Maybe I did spend too much...*sweatdrop* Still, that's fairly modest considering how much I could've spent had I not controlled myself by making a list as I went along and going back for stuff later. I also paid for the Plusle keychain, Amazing Agent Luna volume, and My Neighbor Totoro plushie with cash, using my debit card for the others. Also, the fact that I got TWO artbooks for $62 is pretty good, seeing how high artbooks usually run.

This $137.81 total does not count food and travel expenses - the soda I bought at lunchtime (about $2 or $3), a trolley Day Pass ($5), a dinner of a drink and a hot dog (about $8), my Amtrak ticket ($16) and a can of soda and a bag of Cheetos on the train ($3.75) - which were all paid in cash except for my Amtrak ticket, which I used my debit card for. That comes to around $34.75.

This doesn't even count the $100 I spent to pre-register for next year! Agh!

*Sigh* I really must watch my money better. Although, I guess things like this add up, even if you don't spend much on things.

It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have a bunch of important things to get right now. I have to pay my parents rent, I need to buy my bus pass for August, and I put $5 on Wii Sports Resort. I'm going to call GameStop tomorrow and see if I can cancel my hold on the game. That's the only one of those three things I can give up.

I also need to call Gary, the guy who taught my spiritual gifts class. I need to call him during the day, and I haven't been able to do that this week with my crazy working hours (they switched departments on me so it got all weird, but this coming week it's back to normal). I get off at 2pm tomorrow though, so I can call him then. It's just that since we might be talking about some private stuff, I want to talk to him in private.

I also need to save money because I want to go to the San Diego Christian Writers' Guild conference in September. I just double-checked the dates - it's September 26 and 27 according to one site (I had to check a site other than SDCWG's site, because when I go to SDCWG's site, I get a page saying "this account has been suspended"). I have some time to recoup my losses and make the $165 needed for the conference.

Well that's pretty much it. Oh, one more thing. I had two happy surprises today. I found out this morning that my second TCG Feature article on The Pallet Tribune was up, which I did not know. I thought for sure the new features editor, Ducky-von-Karma, would send it back for me to edit (as KC did the first time), but he didn't. You can read that article here.

The second surprise came when I checked my e-mail after getting off work today. I got an e-mail saying my request to do a fanlisting on the Mamoru/Hina relationship had been approved! Hooray!

I have a month for each site to make it, so I need to start playing with phpFanlist (the script I'm using for my fanlistings) so I can get that site and my fanlisting for Hina herself done on time.

Ok I'm really going now. I'll post pics from Comic-Con as soon as my mom finds her camera USB cord, since I can't get the pictures off the camera and onto my computer without it. Bye!

Financial aid dilemma, summer class, mom hit by lightning video

I have a financial aid dilemma. I just found out that because I'm not enrolled in 6 units, my financial aid didn't pay out. That means I will probably have to pay it myself, and I don't have the money. I suppose I could enroll in another class to make my enrollment 6 units, but I checked and it doesn't look like there are classes that would fit my schedule.

My summer class started today. It looks like it will be interesting. It's about how sacred texts (primarily Muslim texts in this class) affect peoples' daily lives, about the development of our beliefs about Islam, and how Islam compares to Judaism and Christianity.

I had some other mishaps today. I got to the school Sprinter station only to remember that the school shuttle from the station doesn't run between 10:30-11:00 because the driver goes to lunch then, and had to wait for it. I went to the on-campus Starbucks to get a pastry, and all they had were everything bagels with cream cheese, so I got a small pack of shortbread cookies that for some reason weren't in their system (so they had to charge me for a banana). Then my soda exploded on me in class, getting all over my jeans.

On a less selfish note, check out this news video about a son who saved his mother from being struck by lightning -- in her kitchen!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHgNQHlocWk

Bye for now.