Meilin's House of Rant

These words of wisdom remind me of my dad.

2012-02-09T13:16:00.000-05:00

When all you have is a hammer, every problem becomes a nail.

...mostly because when encountering technology of any time, I think my dad's only reaction to any problem he would have would just be to hit it until it works. Maybe while calling for me. Maybe not.

He's the only man I know who can start up mapquest and end up getting directions around England.

I need this.

2012-02-08T13:40:00.002-05:00

Spring 2012 Rundown

2012-02-06T14:27:00.000-05:00

...annnnnd we're back!

My next semester has begun, but that's not why I haven't updated in a while. I'm just a lazy bitch.

Onwards!

This semester is going to be a pain in the ass only because I decided to have all my classes on two days, so I get an amazing amount of work to do all at once.

"Literacy Development" is my first actual teaching class. Did I get into the program? No. Will I? Eventually. Does any of this matter? No. I'm taking the class and whoever doesn't like it can take their opinions and shove it. So far, it's an interesting class with an interesting professor. She makes us talk to *everyone* which kind of sucks because I really don't enjoy talking to my classmates normally. It's not bad, workload wise, though this does remind me I have to go post on the stupid blog for homework.

On a side note, "class blogs" are ridiculous and set up in a really crummy way. Nobody is going to read through 30+ blog entries. Perhaps setting up a forum-type environment would be better.

"African American Poetry" makes me miserable. I'm all for poetry, what I'm not for is rap being lumped in with poetry. We value these pieces of literature for the content and message they've carried through the years, even if it's the same message a few zillion times. Rap does not seem to convey any message other than who I fucked, where I fucked them, how much money I pretend I have, and how much of a "gangster" I think I am. Yeah, that's so bloody fucking important I can find the same shit on twitter.

"Literature and Movies from Non-West cultures: Crime and Catharsis" so far is interesting. The book we started is quite entertaining and I'm enjoying going though it, so that's nice. The professor is a little bit of a scatterbrain...

..erm, a lot a bit of a scatterbrain, so listening to her lecture is hard to follow. One minute were comparing "chi" to "karma", the next were drawing diagrams of her shooting fireballs and I really have no idea how we made that jump. I have nicknamed this woman Stormageddon, Dark Lord of Nonsense. Also, we don't have desks in this room, so taking notes is a pain in the ass as well.

The "friend" I have in the class also likes to lean over and read and comment on my notes. I may have to stab her with a pen. My handwriting is pretty close to Egyptian hieroglyphics at this point since I do more typing than anything else now, please take your own notes and stop asking me to write neater BECAUSE ITS MY DAMN NOTES.

and finally, a good ol' Shakespeare class. For my final project, I have to perform a 20+ line soliloquy. Were doing his historic plays and comidies, so if I don't do Richard III's opening (because he is a magnificent bastard), I'll do something from Much Ado About Nothing so I can copy some amazing work done by the DoctorDonna.

It's a nice little schedule and so far the workload hasn't been too terrible. Poetry I kind of read on the fly, and I'm going to find a way to get the tome of a textbook on my kindle if it kills me because it's beginning to kill my back. Shakespeare gets a lot of talk-to-myself time, which keeps people away from me in the lounge, and the other two are at least entertaining enough to keep going.

In other news, I watched the Puppy Bowl. It was cute.

Happy Tennant is Happy.

2012-01-12T21:35:00.003-05:00

I really like this .gif.

That's all.

Edit: Post 450!

A friend to all.

2012-01-12T12:20:00.000-05:00

I really like the fuzzy animal types, aside from 'prolly being allergic to most of them. My family even owns one of the stupidest, smartest mutts in existence. He's got all of three IQ points, one of which is labeled "food", the other two are "LOVEME" and "LOVEMELOVEME".

Yeah, hes really that stupid. He's also pretty bright. I can let him follow me to the car and back off his leash and he might go pee on our bushes, but he won't run away. He's really a smart mutt, somehow, but his "food" and "love me" traits just take over more often than not.

I am trapped, kind of literally until NYS Unemployment decides to start issuing me my check again, in my house at least til school starts up again with not much to do, and I do like taking walks...

Someone decided that the storm this morning was just wayyyy too much for him. Big mutt, barks at everything that moves past the house, whines at my door when the rain comes. I open the door, offer to let him out back, he comes willingly until he actually sees that it's raining. I wouldn't go potty in the rain either. So, and I'm sure I'll get hell for this later, me and mutt went back to bed to laze around for a while. He's kind of cute in a big, smelly, stupid dog way,

I figured, what the hell, we'll try the walking thing you big stupid mutt. I've got nothing better to do than to teach you how to walk on a leash without ripping my arm off. There's also ham and milkbones in the house.

Armed with a bag of ham, swiss, and milkbones, we made a really difficult lap around the block, but then he realized that... holy shit, she's holding ham! And not eating it! Is it my ham?

Laps two and three went much better. I even let him hang out with the fire hydrant, because, well, he is a dog.

He was really happy to get his ham too.

Yeah, I was holding ham in that direction.

Well, it's a start, I guess. I need something to get me out of the house every now and then or I'll go stir crazy, and since I lack money to put gas in my car, this will do.

I promise, no more dog posts. I'm just really bored right now, and I can't seem to get anything creative on paper.

Bringing in the New Year in... Canada?

2012-01-11T13:03:00.000-05:00

I preempt this entry with the fact that yes, I am dating again.

Two people.

Yes.
A guy, and a girl.

Alright, so, that's been cleared up. My boyfriend invited me and my girlfriend to celebrate the new years in Canada, so, we book nine hour train tickets and off we went to the frozen north for new years. I now need to take Naja and forcefully beat into my girlfriend's parents head that us driving will be better next time, only to save us in sanity.

Upon arrival in the cold north, and kidnapping by our boyfriend, our car breaks down thirty seconds over the boarder. Oops.

We arrive at his room several hours later, and exchange late Christmas gifts. I was greeted with a Zelda boss-key box.

Do you know how excited that made me? It's a Zelda boss key box. Holy balls I didn't care if it was just the box.

But no, it got better. Inside was an awesome collection of Zelda themed goodies. I got my very own Zelda-themed beer stein, Zelda bead goodies (Including a boss key!), a Zelda decal, a green Zelda hoodie and gloves...

AND THE FUCKING SPIRITUAL STONES, BISH.

Oh yeah. Who's the hero of time, now, huh?!

I also got the most amazing tea, I'm actually drinking some now. It's making my whole room smell of earl gray and I'm so freaking happy.

Oh, and I got a Blissey for my head.

We had originally planned on hitting up Niagara Falls for the New Years celebration, but I'm dating almost clones of myself. I don't want to be in a crowd, and neither do they. We instead visited another friend of ours where we were questioned mercilessly for being American, and got really drunk.

Actually, that was kind of a trend all weekend.

We did get to go see the falls later on though. We went a little late, since we were usually up til 3-4am drinking, and that takes a lot of sleep to be significantly not hung over the next morning.

We checked out the falls from a huge ass ferris wheel. Gotta do these things in style, you know.

Like normal date-types, we decided to see a movie as well on our little vacation. Being three giant manchildren, we decided on The Adventures of Tintin, which was surprisingly fantastic! I was really worried about it taking a nosedive into the uncanny valley from the trailers I had seen, but it did a great job of being so real, at times I doubted its animated qualities, but still retaining the beautiful, comic-esque details of an animated film. It was wrapped up really neatly and I really, really hope that if they franchise this that they do it with the same care this film was in, and they keep the same cast of wonderful voice acting talent.

We also met up with another one of my boyfriend's friends and played board games. Not the boring ones like Clue or Monopoly, but hardcore board games. Our gaming round that night was Seven Wonders, which was really, really fun, and we didn't even scratch the surface of it, Settlers of Catan, which I was really bad at and lost horribly, and Panic Station, which is a game I'm going to buy for myself and insist people play with me.

Panic Station is a Zombie Apocalypse game and everyone knows my feelings on those. The goal is simple, discover who is infected, destroy them, and then set the hive on fire to win the game... unless, you're the infected player, in which case, put on your poker face and infect the others!

The game starts with nobody knowing who is infected, and if you pass another player on the board, you HAVE to trade with them, or use an action to shoot/stab them (if possible). Infected players can trade you blood to infect you, but if they trade you a gas can they can negate the infection. It's a game of pointing fingers and shouting and survival.

Now, I have a pretty patented Zombie plan. Trust nobody but yourself. My boyfriend kept trying to make plans with me on how we'd win the game, and I looked him straight in the eye and told him that, even though I loved him dearly, I would take his head off at the first sign of him being infected if this was real, so he might want to just avoid me at all costs because I was prepared to shoot anyone who was near me. It wasn't much of a surprise, to me at least, that I 'won' the first two games.

On the third game, however, I drew the infected card. Teehee. I let the map get explored, I traded away my gas cans and played the good girl. They all suspected my girlfriend of being infected since she was being really suspicious about searching. Then I was set up. I had three rounds of ammo, the best gun and the scope item, along with some health kits and a vest to negate some damage. I'd point fingers and slowly infect everyone else. Someone with some good maneuvering rolls into my room and I sigh and look at him.
"Look, I've got one gascan, and I know you have at least one other of mine. Can you make it to the end and win this so we can move onto another game?"
"With yours, that would make three. I can search these last rooms and win."
"Good, lets trade."
...and I infect him...

Two turns later, I get my girlfriend. A turn later, I suspect she gets our boyfriend. I move, carefully, into the computer scan room and do a heat scan... all four players are infected. I think I did a happy dance, I win! I infected everyone! Bwahahahahahahaha!

We also binged on a LOT of tv time. We cleared Season 2 and most of 3 of Doctor Who, causing both of them...

...alright, all three of us....

to cry like babies when Rose left. We left off right after Blink, so I cannot WAIT for us to get back together and watch the Master bromance up the stage with the Doctor. and to see Jack's sexy ass again. LETS MAKE BABIES JACK.

*ahem*

JackandtheDoctor.

*ahem*

We also watched both Gurren Lagaan movies, 28 Days Later for some awesome 9th Doctor action, Needless, and Steins Gate. We also watched Fern Gulley and Aladdin at the worst possible times ever. Ma, just ignore the next line or so.

You can't have nerd sex with Disney movies/animated classics on. We'll abandon the naked time to sing along and watch the movie instead, just, trust me on this.

We did have some nice pokemon battles too, I really gotta rework my team to kick both their asses. I pulled out some sick moves with my newfound love, and I don't know why I gave him up in the first place. Charizard, you'll always be my first choice. My girlfriend had a Gastrodon that I set up a perfect, nay, beyond perfect, Sunny Day/Solar Beam on... from my Charizard. I think I'm gonna start breeding for a super Blissey as well, because she's my team runner and I could boost her HP a few extra notches to be an extra large pain in the ass. I might replace Scizor and Machamp as well, I dunno. All I know is that between Bliss and Charizard I'm a happy girl.

As our time dwindled, I got sad. I really didn't want to go. I liked Canada. I liked spending time with my lovvies, even though my last day there was absolutely hellish. I was so sick the night before I left, and the day I left, that I'd almost give up my awesome hat to feel better.

I still wish I was up there with the two of them. Mrrrmph. Well, all good things have to end, eh Doctor? So, I'm back at home, I just got in from an all morning job search, and I'm having a little bit of a mental moment. Uguu.

I might just download some new anime and vegitate for the rest of the day. I'm starting to run out of gas in my car and unemployment is being a dick with my checks.

Christmas Haul

2011-12-26T11:38:00.001-05:00

Yes, that time of year came and went and you've been waiting for this entry for over two weeks! You pathetic bastards, really? You came here to listen to me squawk on about the gifts I got.

Yes, it's the Obligatory Christmas 2011 Post.

First some fun Christmas stories. I went out, rather late, to get some last minute shopping done for my family, since I had ordered mom's gift early and I'm usually at a loss on what to get my siblings and my father. I managed to find something neat for dad, and I figured old standards for the boys never fail. Off to GameSlop!

The guy inside is quite friendly, but I think it's a requirement to be "quite friendly" when something with boobs, Final Fantasy emblembed boobs walks in. He asks me what I'm looking for, and I say games for my siblings.. he starts to say "You should get them Skyrim", when I interrupt and go, "no, the generic gray and brown shooter type. I'm the Skyrim fiend." Poor thing had limited advice for me from then, so I looked around for a bit and just went with gift cards. I also needed to find another gift for my lovely girlfriend, and I had picked up a Pokemon DS case... from the corner of my eye, I caught something pink and yellow, and soft, in one of the "used" baggies.

I scurried over and took a look. Cooking Mama was staring at me, and she was priced as a $2 used 360 extension cable. I carried her, the case, and two gift cards up to the counter. In my mind, I would have just enough to cover the bill, and ask if Mama was actually used or not, because I don't really want a used Mama.

Boob-deprived (the man had 90+hrs clocked in Skyrim.) counter clerk and I began chatting up about Skyrim, since it has been dominating the past few weeks of my life as well. Mama is brand new, and he puts the money on the gift cards for me as we continue chatting up about his brenton and my redguard. He puts Mama, the cards, and the case in a bag for me, smiles and tells me my total.. which is considerably less than expected, but I pay and leave with a hearty "FusRoDah on, my friend!"

Oh yeah, who didn't pay for the case. *groin thrust*.

Boobs + Skyrim, everyone. Boobs and Skyrim.

Anyway, on to Christmas. We all actually made it to a human time this year, which is nice because I hate being awake at fucking early oclock in the morning on Christmas now. I'm old and cranky and all I want to do is sleep.

My little brother wanted a snowboard, and my dad made him one instead. It was fun watching him avoid the snowboard shaped package until last.

But, you know, not getting him one would just be too cruel.

I like being cruel.

I really like this picture. Sorry, I'm actually sharing pictures of my family and being human for all of about .3 seconds. Like the rockin' half Santa beard on my dad there? I'm giving him another year or so to go all white so we can start up a Santa company. I'm small enough (in comparison) to be an elf and I need a fucking job.

Mom got a kindle, and I did spend a good few hours of my life loading the silly thing up before Christmas so she'd have some goodies, but that just wasn't enough. I have created an e-reading monster.

Anyway, on my Christmas haul, I got the usual standards I get now that I've broken the physical barrier of old, clothes and undies, and I really needed the undies. And the razors. I don't have to buy these things now until, hopefully, my birthday, when I can ask for them all over again! There really needs to be a holiday in June/July so I can restock on the necessary bits like soap and razors. I'll make it my life's work to invent a day like that for me. And again in September. I can call it "back to school" supplies though.

On top of that, I got some new manga, gleeee. I have to finish updating the list, but I also just finished cleaning the bookcase. I did well in the way of games too: Dark Souls, Nier, Star Fox 643D, and Super Mario 3Dness.

Oh.

I got a sonic screwdriver too.

Everything in my house has been sonic'd.
Me. The family. The dog. Food. Cookies. Sonic everything.

After pressy opening and a really off breakfast, we all kind of lazed about. I got the new router up and running and got a shelf installed for it, so it no longer dangles off my wall in a headwrap. Instead, it's been sonic'd to the wall and it hangs out with Kenny and some Tarutarus.

Later that evening, me and my screwdriver snuggled up in bed to watch the Doctor Who Christmas Special.. I cried.

It was a very nice Christmas

I think the best gift of all is that my ex finally came and got his shit so I can actually see my 40k workdesk again.

Santa is on the market, girls and boys!

2011-12-24T00:31:00.000-05:00

I've got Japanese lessons every Friday, and I love the shit out of them. I have the best teacher in the world. She's also REALLY funny.

My homework for today was to translate this paragraph of moon runes so I could answer questions:

わたしは、とても寒いところに住んでいます。
わたしは、赤い服が好きです。
赤い服はあたたかいです。
わたしは　１年に１日だけ働きます。
それは１２月２４日です。
２４日のよる　すてきなプレゼントをいろいろな国の子どもにあげます。
わたしは　独身ですから、子どもがいません。
でも世界の子どもは　みんな　わたしを　知っています。
そして１２月２４日の夜、私のプレゼントを待っています。
私はこの仕事がとても好きです。

To summarize the translation:
-I live where it is very cold.
-I wear warm, red clothes.
-I am single.
-I work one day a year, 12/24.
-I bring presents all around the world.

The first question was "Do you know who this is?"

Now, while I was doing my homework, I kind of thought it was Santa, but.. he said he was single, so I figured this is some strange Japanese present giver that was single and wore some kind of red kimono and danced with lolis and cats or something.

So I said, "No, I don't know."

My teacher went "What? Really?"

Yeah... I thought it was Santa but... Santa is married.

She laughed, I laughed, it was Santa.

I wonder if he ate the misses.

Follow the directions [Something Awesome]

2011-12-21T17:44:00.002-05:00

The BBC Top 100.

2011-12-21T17:35:00.000-05:00

From my short-lived writing blog, I had set out to read a list of something like 300 books that "everyone should read".

I got through a few of them before I just got bogged down with school, and then I came to the conclusion that Twilight was on that list and I'm not ready to commit literary suicide just yet.

I've found another reading list that I'm currently attempting to find copies of all the stories for my Kindle, and since I scrapped the writing blog, it's coming here to Meilin's House of Rant!

Because I'm on winter break and I have to try to keep my mind working. Otherwise, in a week I'll be grunting and scratching my ass, so I've decided I'm gonna go hunt down some books and read them. It's good to be well-read and I'm sure I'm missing a bunch.

So, here's a list from the BBC of top 100 books to read. After, if and when I finish, perhaps I'll work on the Time top 100.

I have a copy of all the following books in .pdf, which, for all the ereader savvy, know the Kindle can have some trouble with, and I really hate the mucked up spacing the calibre converter does sometimes. Sooo.. I'm hunting the books down in .mobi format while I'm sick as fuck from being a lady, while watching that chick from The Guild on House.

Found books are bolded, ones I've read for this list are underlined, ones I may have read before are italicized, but I'm gonna read them again for shits and giggles, it's just a mental note for me. I hope you look forward to me slogging though all this~!

1984, George Orwell
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
Animal Farm, George Orwell
Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
Don Quixote, Miguel De Cervantes
Dracula, Bram Stoker
Dubliners, James Joyce
Emma, Jane Austen
Eugenie Grandet, Honore de Balzac
Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
Grimm's Fairy Stories, The Grimm Brothers
Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift
Heidi, Johanna Spyri
Holes, Louis Sachar
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
Les Misérables, Victor Hugo
Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert (Oh goddamnit I hate this book)
Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
Memoirs of Fanny Hill, John Cleland
Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
Middlemarch, George Eliot
Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie
Moby Dick, Herman Melville
Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen
Nostromo, Joseph Conrad
Notes from the Underground, Fyodor Dostoevsky
Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
Paradise Lost, John Milton (...I'm fucking nuts to try and read this again...)
Persuasion, Jane Austen
Pinocchio, Carlo Collodi
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen (Does ...and Zombies count?)
Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
Siddhartha, Hermann Hesse
Tales of Terror and Mystery, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain
The Call of the Wild, Jack London
The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas père
The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
The Jungle Book, Rudyard Kipling
The Jungle, Upton Sinclair
The Last of the Mohicans, James Fenimore Cooper
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
The Lost World, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Moonstone, Wilkie Collins
The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
The Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan
The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
The Provost, John Galt
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Stand, Stephen King
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson
The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan
The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
The Turn of the Screw, Henry James
The War of the Worlds, H. G. Wells
The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum
To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, Jules Verne
Ulysses, James Joyce
Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray
War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
Watership Down, Richard Adams
Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë

Love?

2011-12-20T17:28:00.000-05:00

The pulse of the web.

2011-12-20T08:27:00.000-05:00

In all actuality, I pretty much live on one website. I've seen places rise and fall with popularity, but I don't really understand most places that aren't my home forums of a place that doesn't exist.

I just don't get how people can be trapped on a single website for hours and hours at a time either. Really, is 40 rage comics and 5000 cat pictures that entertaining?

I was linked to a Reddit post from a friend, and did laugh my ass off at this one though.

The comic
The thread

What made me laugh so hard?

See that's the difference between modern society and viking society.
In the world, we call these intrusive thoughts because we don't like to admit our brains are capable of analyzing situations and deciding how best to violently dismember people.
But if were Vikings, we'd call these good ideas.

First, I'm glad I'm not the only one who has these types of thoughts. I really thought I was becoming a serial murder up there some days. Secondly, it's still a good idea, and I'm not a viking!

I'm a redguard.

There's a difference.

I'm totally a serial murder.

My semester is now over.

2011-12-19T22:14:00.000-05:00

Whats the first thing I do?

Celebratory drink? No.

Celebratory anime binge? No.

Unfriend all the acquaintances I made this semester for the purpose of being able to miss class on Facebook? Yes.

Am I an asshole? Yes.

Do I care? No.

I really have to wonder about people who are so driven to have a relationship all the damn time. Seriously, are you that shallow that you are only defined by who you're dating and why? You were absolutely horrified that I said I had broken up with my boyfriend from last semester and asked how I was doing without one.

Uh, fine, thanks? I'm a functional human being who does not need constant companionship.

Please, Balor below, do not let me have a class with this one again. I might murder it this time around.

A Long Night.

2011-12-19T10:39:00.001-05:00

I’m not quite sure why I took the local bar patron up for his little drinking game this time. Perhaps it was because I was simply tired that night. It had been a rough day. My horse died and I had to walk back to town. Regardless, a few dozen mead bottles later, I ended up in Markarth, and did I mention my horse was dead? So, aside from some whiny priestess nagging me while I come to, now I have to walk back home.
    “Who’s going to clean up around here?!” She barks, putting her hands on her hips. Priestesses need to hang out with that sacrificial wine a little more. My head is throbbing. Thankfully my clothes are still on and my wallet is at my side, so, I pass the woman some money to shut her up, and ask how the hell I ended up here.
    “You mentioned something about a goat, and a giant, a wedding, and going to Rorikstead.” She sighed as she counted the coin I had handed her. Rorikstead? Wedding? I’m already married! How much mead did I drink?!
    It was right about then I noticed the smell of vomit all over my armor. Thankfully, there was a stream nearby I could clean up at, and it wasn’t too cold out to be sitting around in my skivvies while it dried out. I had to find the guy I was drinking with and demand to know what the hell happened and what the hell he put in my mead. There was still plenty of daylight once my armor dried out, so I started trudging along to get out to Rorikstead before nightfall.
    Being the dragonborn isn’t all fun and games.

    Rorikstead is pretty much five huts in the middle of nowhere. Rorik bought all the land during the last great war and claims it’s a thriving, wonderful place, for five huts and five under producing farms. Since it was getting close to nightfall, I decided to check out the local inn for dinner and see if there were any rumors of me drunkenly stumbling into town. A Redguard woman is an uncommon sight in this area. I’m subject to a lot of people looking down their noses at me as I rush about, but, not all of them are bad people. They just find it odd. I married a Nord. I don’t think he ever quite saw me as a Redguard. Just an adventurer trying to make a name for herself.
    The innkeeper sold me a room and food, though I passed on the mead. I took a seat at the long table off to one side, making conversation with a kid maybe a year or two my junior. Turns out, he was the innkeeper’s son, who wanted to get out and go exploring, go adventuring. It was that same dream that brought me here tonight, so I chatted up his old man and helped him get his wish. Erik the tableboy was now Erik the adventurer.
    I hope in my travels I do not find his corpse.
    Erik tried to buy me a drink, but I refused. He drank for me, and asked about my adventures. I told him how I had traveled to High Hrothgar, how I had combatted giants, dragons, witches, seen more of Skyrim than most people who lived here their whole lives! He seemed impressed, as much as a drunken man can be impressed. I was trying to go on, but a drunken farmer twice, maybe triple my age, decided it was time for him to talk.
    “Do you know what the worst thing is?!” He barked in my ear, almost spilling his vile swill all over my lap.
    “What, old man?” I grumbled. I didn’t want to start a bar brawl.
    “Not the war! Not the cold! My two useless daughters! They don’t do anything!” He kept rambling on about how useless his daughters were, and how his wife who had died giving birth to them was twice they women they are. I felt bad for him for a minute. Skyrim is a hard place to live and survive, it’s a family effort. Still, most ladies dream of towns and marriage. He was still going on about how useless his girls were and how much he wanted to run them out.
    I wasn’t in the mood for rambling, so I decided to check out some other locals while the sun was setting. About five steps out of the inn, a little girl ran face first into my lap.
    “I’m sorry!” She backtracks rapidly, her two brown eyes wide. She looks filthy, her blond hair in a matted clump that rests on a red rag of a dress. “I’m sorry I’m sorry!”
    I smiled at her and pet her head. “It’s alright sweetie.” She was so tiny, maybe eight or nine years old.
    “Sissel! I’m going to tell papa you’re not on the farm! He’ll beat you again!” A voice teased. Looking up, a second little girl wondered close. She wore a green dress, and her hair was a brown matted mess, but she was otherwise identical to the frightened little girl hovering near me. She too looked thin and filthy. They could only be twins.
    “Where do you live Sissel? I’ll walk you home.” I was carrying a good deal of gold on me, as I do usually, perhaps I could help these two little girls out. I was feeling nice right now.
    She looked up at me, her eyes filled with fear. “Me and Britte live with our father over there.” She pointed to a pathetic looking farm, and farmhouse, across the way. The other little girl, who I assumed was Britte, wondered closer now.
    “Hey, if you beat up my sister, I won’t tell. Papa hits her more than I do because she’s so slow!”
    “Am not!”
    “Are too!”
    “Are so! It’s because you were born four minutes after me! I’m better!”
    “Are not!”
    “Girls!” I put my hand between them both. “No fighting! You’re sisters. You should help each other. Come on now, let’s get you home.” I put my hands on their shoulders and they both flinched and pulled away.
    “Please don’t do that.” Sissel said, looking down at her feet. I got on my knees, a good height to see what was going on. Britte looked like she was ready to cry. I pulled on the collar of their dresses, revealing huge bruises on both of them. The poor things… I started noticing the scars on Sissel’s face, the burn marks on Britte’s hands.
    “Let’s… get you two home.”

    ‘Home’ was a one room shack with a draft. There was hardly any fresh food around, but plenty of empty bottles. Sissel crawled into a filthy bead and started playing a lute, while Britte started stitching a hole in her dress. They were civil now, giggling the way little girls do. I had the end of a sweet roll in my bag, so I left it on a plate for them, along with some gold. Hopefully that helps them a bit. I said my goodbyes and opened the door.
    “What are you doing in MY house?”
    It was the drunk from the inn.
    “Get your troublemaking Redguard face out of my house before I have to beat you!” I took a step back. These two, skinny little girls were the daughters he was complaining about? “Girls! Why isn’t dinner ready?! What in Talos’s name have you been doing all day!”
    “Papa, there wasn’t any meat left so I-!” Sissel started, but her father backhanded her across her bed.
    “Useless girls!” He kept beating her, harder, as she screamed for him to stop. Britte looked up at me, like this happened often, like she was telling me it was alright for me to leave now.
    These weren’t two rebellious teenage girls trying to leave home. These were two frightened little girls who were trying to make the best of their bad situation.
    I felt my world rumbling as the heavy sound of the beating continued.
    I tried to suppress it, to open the door and get away, but the thump of his fist in the thin little body echoed in my ears. My hands fumbled as they reached for the doorknob to get out, but it was too late. I watched both pairs of brown eyes as my head whipped back and I let loose a howl.
    Aela’s warning does ring true some times. Werewolves become feral. I can’t control the blood in my veins some nights. Most times, I do this on purpose. A gang of bandits are sometimes just asking to be eaten. Tonight is not one of those nights.
    He tried to fight back, but there really is no use. I tore his throat out in a matter of seconds. It’s no wonder the screaming attracted the guard. Both girls fled through the open door as two guards rushed in and tried to kill me. Again, there was no use. I slaughtered them in the single room.
    I tried everything I could to fight back the urge that came over me next. My body, my feet, they were moving to the door. The girls had seen me transform, and to this creature, they must die. Every fiber of me, the Redguard, tried to stop the wild animal that was hunting down two scared little girls, but nothing can stop a bloodthirsty beast when it’s on the hunt.

    That morning, before the town was even up, after wiping the blood off me, I carried the bodies of two little girls back to their home. The creature had been… kind to them. They had single claw marks up their backs, dying in each other’s arms. I put them both to bed, and tucked them in. The bodies of the two guards were still there, as well as their father. I took the helmets off the guards, and loaded them both into the third bed, leaving their weapons and helmets on the table nearby. Their father, who was a bloodied mess, I threw in the corner, with all his empty bottles. He didn’t deserve anything less.

    About a week later, after I had figured out this whole night of drunken debauchery, a letter came to me at my home in Whiterun. It wasn’t sealed, just hastily written and stuffed in a courier’s box. When I opened it, I could barely make out the childish scrawl.

    “Dear Meilin, Thank you for killing him. I won’t tell, you’re coming for us now. I know you don’t mean it. He deserved it, he won’t be missed. Thank you. Britte and Sissel.”

    My husband might never understand why I tucked that letter inside one of my favorite books, and slipped it back on the bookshelf, and I’ll never know when they had the time to write that with me hot on their heels, but I rest a little easier knowing Talos watches those two enjoying sweet rolls in a better place.

Alright, so that isn't what EXACTLY happened, but it was close enough. It broke my writers block at least. I was really surprised after I raped the asshole who was badtalking two cute little kids to get this from the random, still naked, courier.

Yes, I'm the asshole who has the child-killing mod on. Did you know kids have death sounds and inventories? My werewolf even kills them properly. They were designed to be maimed, sorry kiddies. So, I got a note from a dead kid thanking me for killing her asshole father. You're welcome, dead kid! I really did spend a good 45 minutes trying to get their little ragdoll bodies into the beds, and the guards I killed too. Sorry guards.

After I slaughtered the bounty hunter that was chasing me, my (new) horse decided we could go scale a vertical cliffside.

Maybe I should play less Skyrim.

Don't let a few bad apples ruin the batch.

2011-12-17T10:12:00.001-05:00

If you've been a functional member of society in the past twenty four hours, you know that author of the book God Is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens has died. This has caused huge, religious uproar on the internets.

I haven't had the pleasure to read his book, and I'm sure I'll get around to it one really bored day when I've ran out of anime and games to rot my brain on.

I lack a religion (call it atheism, whatever. If you ask my beliefs or anything I just say "non existent"), mostly because after creating my own for History of Calinth, I understand the delicate ins and outs of creating my own bullshit. Also science is wonderful. Would GLaDOS lie to me?

But Grand Queen of the Multiverse! It's about faith!
It's about faith? I'll take my faith in the form of my own self, thank you. To summon the ghost of Kamina: "Don't believe in the you who believes in me. Don't believe in the me who believes in you. Believe in the you who believes in yourself."

I also just can't alliance myself in the same group that spawns so. much. hate.

So, I'll remain blissfully religion-free. I know I shouldn't let a few bad apples ruin the batch, but I like my pie to be delicious and easily made, not hoping the worms jump out after I bite into it.

Also, I like jubblies, gay porn, and condoms. Catholic church frowns on that.
I also like bacon. Lots of bacon. Also: Foods that aren't kosher, murder, mayhem, and general chaos. Global warming is caused by the lack of pirates in the world. All hail the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Reasons I'm not allowed near a TV anymore.

2011-12-16T08:40:00.000-05:00

Are you fat?

Tired of drinking chocolate flavored equivalents of dog food because you lack impulse control!?

Exercise is really super hard, mang. You know, that walking thing, it's fucking stressful. One foot in front of the other, then speed it up a touch?!

Just wear a 21st century corset! It's amazing! Nobody will know you're just lazy! Wooooooooooooooow. Now you don't have to try to change your lifestyle so you can live to see 50!

My general mood.

2011-12-13T13:32:00.002-05:00

Why the Unemployment System (NYS) is total bullshit.

2011-12-13T12:08:00.000-05:00

If the frequent "Why looking for work blows" posts haven't tipped you off, I'm one of the blissfully unemployed, yet again.

And trust me, I'm looking. I figured I might get seasonal help to tide me over for a bit, but nope, I can't even find freaking seasonal help.

Do you know how tempted I am to click those "Chubby Models Needed" links on Craigslist sometimes? I fit the chubby part! I will shamelessly let my jubblies be photoshopped for massive amounts of untaxed cash at this point. I am quite poor and I like being not poor.

There would be people who minded though, so, I don't.

It's not like it's easy finding work either. I live in NY, so the ratio of "mom and pop" stores to huge chains is pretty much 0:10000000000000. No matter where I go, they rarely want to speak to me or even take my (very nice) resume. I'm either handed some kind of bible-paper application or told to fill out an application online, where I have to take those stupid ARE YOU A DECENT HUMAN BEING exams. Which, I cheat on. You should too. It's a bullshit system. One in twenty places, online or off, do I actually submit my resume to, and the one place that did take my resume and called me for an interview had me fill out an application when I got there anyway, and then wasted my time. Like they fished my name out of a hat and called me up.

So, I live week to week draining money out of the NYS unemployment system to keep gas in my car. They've started nagging me to visit the actual unemployment office for "workshops", that the letters say may take "up to two hours". They tell me to bring my resume, which I do, since I have twenty copies printed in a folder I take with me nearly everywhere (just in case I might get lucky) and I write down all the places I've applied to, and some fake dates because I do them in huge batches when I'm not scrambling around for school.

I show up, they take all my info, hand me a form to fill out the same info I just handed them (like, whats on my resume...), and then sit me down to watch a fifteen minute video about how networking is a wonderful thing and it'll get me a job in a week!

Yeah, my network is just as unemployed and poor as me.

The "video" is a DVD they play on a PC from the stone age. I'm surprised it has a dvd drive in it. I may or may not have sneakily fast forwarded the video a touch because they must have hired the bottom of the barrel inspirational speaker for it. The man couldn't keep on track if he was wearing blinders and his feet replaced with train wheels. I don't need to know HOW to look for work, I need help finding people who are actually hiring.

Anyway, instead of helping me find a list of daycares that will work with a college student's really nice schedule (M/W/F/Sa/Su?! GASP, I CAN WORK CLOSE TO FULL TIME) or.. anyone that will work with my schedule, they shuffle me out of the office without another word.

Really?

I've wasted about a half hour of my time, and gas I really can't afford, to watch a video about how networking can be an awesome tool if I had friends who were employed?

You can't just put that shit online for me to watch and ask me to answer a few questions that I'll cheat on anyway?

This is the second time I've been there and all I've learned is that the secretary is much more interested in her Facebook and phone than actually answering my questions, and nobody there understands that I'd like some human interaction instead of watching videos with production values in the negatives.

Other people have been in there at the same time as me who seem as frustrated as I do. They dress nicely, look clean, and very annoyed for the eighth time they have to fill out a form that asks "What kind of work are you looking for?"

Hint: The answer is "ANYFUCKINGTHING".

They too sit and watch these videos and sigh heavily because it's useless garbage.

There are the people who show up looking like they rolled out of bed and could care less if they work or not, and that's well and good for them. I would like to be able to leave my house every once in a while and not frantically calculate how much gas I can afford to buy and use.

One of my emails to my professors this week stated with "I don't have a job, I live an hour away from campus, and it's not financially smart for me to drive for two hours or more to hand in a paper. It's attached to this email."

He took it, not that he had much of a choice. He's had me before and he KNOWS I'll raise hell. I'm really sorry I can't hand it in person but I really can't justify the trip because you don't want to print it out. The campus gives me over 80 pages of printing a week for free. Use some of my pages. I'm sorry.

I'll do pretty much anything. Someone hire me.

Something Awesome: OCD relief.

2011-12-11T13:13:00.000-05:00

I'm a Doctor Who fan.

I don't know if you could tell.

One of the things that turns me off from watching the very early Doctors is that a lot of episodes are missing. Fragments may have survived, or audio only, or nothing at all, and that kind of thing really kills me.

I like complete stories.

Little things like this make me hopeful that one day, the series will be complete, in it's entirety.

BBC - Missing Doctor Who Episodes Recovered!

It's only two episodes, but that's two more than we had prior!

Reveiw: I'd never thought I'd ask for Navi back.

2011-12-11T11:09:00.001-05:00

Seriously.

Please go find the fairy.

Spoilers abound, proceed with caution.

As a tiny human, I was brought up on Zelda. It's no surprise that the series continues to be my all time favorite. I own every game except for ONE right now, CD-I's aside because we just pretend those don't exist.

Skyward Sword, the "motion controlled" Zelda got my panties wet. REAL swordfighting. Ever since I saw this, poorly dubbed, Miyamoto explaining how it'd work at E3 2010.

During Skyrim downtime, I sunk my sixty hours in, and completed the first playthrough of Skyward Sword and I have to agree with it's 40/40 Famitsu score. It's just that good.

It's a twenty-five year old legend that does not get old. This time, Zelda isn't a princess, Link's her best friend, and Ganon is absent from the first... oh, fifty nine hours of the game(kinda). Instead, we get...

Erm. I take a minute here to have a small aside. In terms of fagzillaness, this guy rates over the flaming Mayakov from FFXI, and only a notch below Kuja in FFIX. Yes, this is the big baddie I'm fighting. He's also got some wicked tongue action that I'm sure Link could learn to appreciate if this game wasn't rated E.

So, our baddies is Ghirahim in his flaming, stunning features. He's trying to kidnap Zelda to feed her to the ancient baddie, to revive the demon king. Fighting him can be really difficult, but fun at the same time.

The game, for all the Wii's current generation shortcomings, looks amazing. From a distance, everything is as elegant as a watercolor painting, and up close, the details are crisp and colorful. The palette of colors goes far more vibrant than the cartoon-y Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, and Spirit Tracks and the dark and mottled Twilight Princess. Each area is uniquely different from the others, with it's own styles and vivid colors, making the games four "main" areas feel as vast as stepping into Hyrule Field from Ocarina of Time for the first time.

Musically, however, I find it a touch lacking. Most casual fans of the series can identify scores like the overworld themes from most of the games in a few notes, and classics such as the Zelda theme, and from OoT onward, Zelda's Lullaby. I'm pretty sure my mother can name at least two scores from Link to the Past and she hasn't played since I was two and I pretty much stole it from her. While there is a bit later on where the Zelda theme comes together in beautiful harmony, I find myself unable to really pick out a section where the music was even remarkable. Also, it's a damn shame that they didn't use "The Ballad of the Goddess" a little more. It was quite the epic theme.

Back to the story. It begins with you learning the controls in Skyloft, the eve of your Wing Ceremony. People here ride big-ass birds. Link's is red, a really rare color. He's also nameless, so I called him Red Lions the whole time since he didn't look like an Epona. You, of course, "win" the ceremony, and spend the afternoon with Zelda, who grants you a sailcloth so you don't splatter all over the concrete when you jump off your bird. I hope the losers got sailcloths too...

You and your lady go for a afternoon fly and she's whisked away by a tornado. Link, tormented in his dreams, follows the eerie voice leading him to a sword and a strange little lady named Fi. Fi tells us that Zelda is alive, and it's up to us to go find her.

You eventually land on the ground, something that was deemed impossible though the thick cloud cover (as birdies wont fly down there). You meet a old woman who imparts the knowledge of the ancient Goddes to you, and that the seals are breaking that kept the ancient baddie imprisoned and you and Zelda are the keys to locking him back up for good, saving the world. Zelda is already a step ahead of you, so get going slowpoke! You take two steps outside and the seal breaks, and you have to help push him back, but that seal isn't going to last long.

Now, remember how smooth and wonderful Miyamoto looks playing the game? My swordfighting looked more like...

The motion controls defiantly have a "sweet spot" where everything works really smoothly. Shooting your slingshot, bow, or clawshot is pretty easy and fun. Flying through the sky on birdback is amazingly smooth and really feels like you're flying between the watercolored scenery and the gentle tilt of the Wiimote that you almost want to lean into. Recalibration of the Wiimote was needed pretty often, but it was simple enough to do and thankfully built in to almost every item and menu.

While most of Link's default movements are done with the control stick, Swimming was navigated by Wiimote pointing, which made swimming a touch difficult. Crossing tightropes is also pretty damned hard, but otherwise, I can't complain much about the controls. The game totally has a slant on the swordfighting bit, and it's really enjoyable combat. My biggest peeve is that you can't move while swinging.

Shieldwork, until later on, is severely lacking since your shield can, and will, break. I often opted just not to use my shield after a while, finding it getting in the way more than it helped.

Variety of items is pretty neat. You have your standard projectiles (Slingshot, Bow), standard splodey (Bombs), standard means of chain based travel (Clawshot), and a bug net because every hero needs a hobby. Newcomers include the Beetle, a radio controlled bug, later improved into a radio controlled bomb dropping bug. It's controls are smooth and it's really great for scouting puzzles out a bit, as well as sending it off before you dive into a dark tunnel. Also, you get a Gust Bellows, which is pretty much a big leaf blower for all your... leaf... blowing... needs?

Erm.

Next!

These items CAN be upgraded by collecting bugs and other treasures, giving this game an RPG-y element that I wasn't too happy with, but I'm bias because my favorite Zelda is Link to the Past. Find a magic bitch, toss your shit in her fountain, get better shit. It's a nice way to pad the game a smidge and I hear the upgrades are pretty mandatory in Hero Mode. Upgrades are pretty much power or range bonuses. Shields can also be upgraded to make them last longer.

Link, in all of his adventures, has retired his magical bags of holding and opted for a REAL bag of holding, that only has eight slots for holding, and your shield eats up a slot even if you're wearing it. You can only have eighteen hearts unless you're holding two special heart token items, so that nixes three spots, and your quiver/bomb bag also eat up spots, so that's another two down. You can hold other tokens to help you obtain rupees, bugs, or treasure, or you can stuff the final three spots with bottles and feel like you're lacking for not having four bottles like a proper Zelda game... While you can fit the "necessary" nicely together, it's something I didn't like. I should have 20/20 hearts without having to "sacrifice" a bottle spot. Potions can be upgraded to two shots per bottle, so I could have six full restores with three bottles, but that took an extra hour of bug farming which is really, really boring work.

Onto Fi. She's as cold and loving as a robot, which is why I cried when she left, but she really got annoying. She had a 100% chance of speaking in a percentage and repeating everything that happened in the last cutscene. She also had this really annoying habit of reminding me, as I flee'd for my life from a boss and scouring for nearby pots, that I was low on health and that I should find some soon. YES FI, I KNOW, THAT'S WHAT THE BEEPING IS ABOUT. She also broke the third wall by reminding me the batteries were dying, which would be helpful if a big red battery-low symbol didn't start flashing me twenty minutes ago.She did have some helpful features, but she was pretty useless for the most part. Her full title is Caption Points Out The Obvious Fi. "Master! There is a 90% chance Zelda has been through this dungeon. You know, the dungeon you have to progress through to get to the next bit." Really Fi? How'd you come to that conclusion? "Master! There is a 80% chance you're being sarcastic."

The dungeons are amazing. I have to spend a minute to talk about the Ancient Cistern dungeon, a dungeon based on a Japanese short story about a Buddha watching a sinner traverse Hell. The dungeon focuses on water based puzzles for the most part, but also a fair amount of platforming in "hell". The colors are pale, the music almost hymn-like, and "Hell" ranks up there as Majora's Mask level creepy. The dungeon reaches a creepy moment where a single, silver rope is dangled right into Link's hands, as several zombie-minions climb up after you, trying to drag Link back into Hell. It's a dungeon that tells a story as well as flexes my mind, all while looking really really, really amazing. If you didn't know this was a video game, and stills of the dungeon were presented to you as pictures, you might never realize it was a video game.

Before I finish up, I'd like to share two moments of WTF.

First, Nintendo must not understand dick jokes. Their console is named Wii. I think that joke is all but played out by now.

My horse from Skyrim just started beating itself with a Wiimote.

Did nobody tap Miyamoto on the shoulder and go... "Uh, Mr. Miyamoto, sir, high king of Nintendo? The Kikwi look like ballsacks. Giant, talking, ballsacks."

Secondly, on a return trip to the forest, you're launched from a trebuchet into the flooded forest. It's pretty badly flooded, as in, the top of that giant tree now looks like a mighty fine shrubbery and it takes a good while to get to the forest floor again. I was looking for a water dragon(My quest was not to obtain a shrubbery, but to hunt down three magical dragons), so when I noticed and NPC that helped me find her before, I swam up to it hoping to get some important information about where Madame Dragon was hiding and why she was PMSing all over my forest.

Oh helpful NPC, what words of wisdom do you have for me!

"The forest has been flooded!"

You know, I don't think you've ever been this close to the top of a tree in your life, Mr. Aquatic NPC. Thanks for the info. I didn't know what was going on with all this wet stuff in the forest. Next NPC!

"The woods are a lake now!"

....Yeah, you know, I think Fi's case of the obvious is contagious.

"Master, there is a 90% probability the flooding has been caused by the Water Dragon."

GET. BACK. IN. THE. SWORD.

*ahem*

Back on topic. You eventually temper your sword into the blade to vanquish evil, the very first Master Sword, which gave me goosebumps. After hunting down the dragons for song bits, you complete the "Song of the Hero", which is, of course, the Zelda theme.

For the first time, you set off to actually hold the Triforce in your hands to vanquish the evil Imprisoned and seal him away for another millena. As all three pieces form the classic Triforce, Fi informs you that you should pray now. You actually make a wish on the Triforce, a wish to banish the evil back.

Do you know how goddamned chilling this is?

I'M MAKING A WISH ON THE FUCKING TRIFORCE.

Anyway, You go to get Zelda and go home, but Ghirahim will have none of this shit. He comes and kidnaps Zelda, the goddess in human guise, and rushes back in time to revive his master in the past, since you've done a great job sealing him up in the present. As you chase him down, he sends Dynasty Warrior sized waves of baddies to slow you up so he can cast the spell. You eventually reach him, and he says that he'll get rid of you once and for all by shoving you off the edge of his magical platform and laughing at your broken corpse. You pretty much do that to him, but, he's a good multitasker and summons his lord anyway.

Now, you fight "The Imprisoned" (a big, black scaly dude with cute widdle toes) three times before this. So, Mr. Scales pops up again, and absorbs Zelda's soul.

At one point, during my second duel with Mr. Toes, I said offhandly to my little brother that I'm pretty sure Ganon was Mr. Toes. He's the biggest baddest dude in town, but it'd be a real copout to have him show up like this.

Sooooo when those black scales whipped back into a mane of fire red hair, I kind of sighed. There he was, Ganon in his evil glory. He reaches into Ghirahim and pulls out a huge sword, killing his loyal servant, and spurns Link on to come kick his ass if he dares.

Now, they call him "Demise". Look, if it oinks like a pig, smells like a pig, and looks like a pig, call it a chicken all you want. It's still a pig.

To your left is Occarina of Time Era Ganon(dorf)

Above you is Twilight Princess era Ganon.

This is Skyward Sword Era "Demise" also known as...

Ready for this?

Ganon.

Anyway, the final fight is really, really amazing. It's heavily focused on swordplay, in a really unique setting, and is as grand as you can get, second to Fierce Deity Link kicking the snot out of Majora's Wrath. With his dying breath, Ganon curses Link, dooming him to repeat this cycle of events over and over for all eternity.

The ending made me cry, as usual. Link settles the Master Sword into it's resting place, forever he, and Fi, hopes, and he and Zelda agree to live life on land, instead of in the skies.

It earns it's 40/40 score. Though it's got its flaws, the game is beautifully done. It's vibrant colored dungeons, smooth controls, and grand adventure makes a wonderful game, and an amazing addition to the Zelda franchise. I'm sad the adventure, for now, has ended, but I've got Hero Mode to play now!

....after Skyrim. Did you know Skyrim got fixed? Did you know it's finals week? I don't need sleep. My character in Skyrim doesn't sleep. Sleep is for the weak. I need to go dragonbashing.

Thanks again, Nintendo, Miyamoto, for giving me another wonderful adventure. Until next time, Link!

Someone please find me that goddamned fairy.

My Skyrim has been repaired.

2011-12-08T14:16:00.001-05:00

See you guys in... uh...

March? Does March sound good to everyone?

March.

I think this might be my new favorite thing.

2011-12-07T10:35:00.002-05:00

My uncle works at Nintendo!

2011-12-06T21:23:00.001-05:00

I don't understand why people make up such exaggerated lies, when anyone with more than three brain cells can tell they are full of shit.

Little white lies, alright, whatever, I guess. You really shouldn't, naughty boy/girl.

I was running off to class where the resident attention whore started talking to me. Yes, I like anime, video games, and far too much Doctor Who for my own good. This does not mean I want to hear all about your livejournal RP characters and how amazing of an rper you are. When I said "Oh, I don't do those things." then ignored you, that was a sign to get you to shut up.

So, there I am, in my trench and my Pwnies bag. I like it, it fits my laptop. She goes "Oh my god, I love the pwnies! I have a shirt like that!"

I smile and go "Oh, I've seen it. It's cute." She's smoking, I'm going to class. She puts her cigarette out and starts following me down the hall.
"Do you like My Little Pony?"

Yeah.

"Me too! Guess what?"

What.

"I created Rarity. Don't tell. I got paid a lot of money for her."

Sure you did... and this is about where I tuned her out in favor of starting at the floor tiles.

Let's do a little research on this one, shall we?

Rarity's MLPWiki page says...

Rarity's design evolved from that of Sparkler and Glory, ponies from the original line of My Little Pony characters. She looks like the unicorn Majesty, who came with the first-generation castle set, except her hair is purple instead of blue. Rarity uses Glory's color scheme and Sparkler's cutie mark and appearance, with the personality of third-generation Rainbow Dash, as they both speak with a dignified mid-Atlantic dialect, and have tendencies to flip their manes and say "darling". She shares her name with a G3 pony who was voiced by Cathy Weseluck, who currently voices Spike in the new series.

Woah.

Rarity was design was based on... the older generation ponies!

Not you!

My uncle totally works at Nintendo. He says you can get a Mew in Pokemon by battling 500 Ratattas in a row, then walking into the 9th tile from the top of Sabrina's gym for 8 hours. Then, talk to Sabrina and she'll say that she's seen you focusing real hard for the past eight hours and will give you a Mew!

People have tried to call me out at the "working at conventions" thing before. I just kinda go, "Ok? Don't believe me, whatever." and when I eventually cycle into my random staffer shirts they try to avoid me.

I just.. do not get it.

Review: Skyrim (Also, Why I got nothing done this month)

2011-12-06T21:08:00.000-05:00

Also: Keep calm and FUSRODAH.
Also: Wallpaper Creator 2012

I was lucky enough to obtain a (legal) copy of Skyrim on release.

Half my audience now knows where I've been for the past month.

The Elder Scrolls series is pretty much a game designed for me. Lots of high fantasy packed into one great series. Magic and swords and fighting and now, dragons. It's kind of a shock I didn't play much of Morrowind/Oblivion, isn't it? I did play them both, for all of maybe 20 hours. I just didn't click with them for some reason. So, when Skyrim was announced, I had mixed feelings. When I saw that someone bought Skyrim for me, well, I didn't have much of a choice to try it, now did I?

Holy sweet black baby raptor jesus. This one finally clicked.

Quickly rushed into a cold world of warring factions, towns populated by Haku from Spirited Away, and guards who used to be adventurers before they took arrows in the knees, I think I fell in love. You are dovahkiin - dragonborn, and can absorb dragon souls and shout with their powers, and your adventure is pretty much up to you.

The game is pretty beautiful. I'm not lying when I said it's Wallpaper Creator 2012. I tend to take a LOT of screenshots of really pretty things like...

This.

Or this.

Sorry. Back to the review!

I could sing it's praises for a while, and I will. The "story" is great, main and side alike. It even SOUNDS gorgeous. Details are at an all time high. If they could afford more than eight voice actors, it might be the best game ever. Instead, I have a Haku-clone in every town. It's creepy.

Of it's downsides, combat at times can be really stiff, and people don't blink often.

...there also isn't nearly enough dragons to sake my thirst of killing them.

And now, for the best parts!

The game is glitchy as fuck.

The entire town of Whiterun, right now, is naked. I don't know why, or how, but they decided that they wanted to have a No Clothes Tuesday and that Tuesday has lasted a loooong time. I'm actually leveling my pickpocketing so I can GIVE them clothes.

My horse likes to leap to it's death. And be superman. I spent a good 10 minutes cracking up as we floated, mid air, for a while.

Storytime

There I am with Lydia before I mauled her. I was trying to shove as much crap in our bags as possible and I THOUGHT I was dropping some mushrooms, ferns, eyeballs, toes, and other randomly collected items. Instead, I was eating them.

"Sorry, the dragon born is a bit retarded now. She ate a bunch of random poison plants and fried her brain."

ONTO HER DEATH.

Lydia, who is sworn to carry my burdens, is no more. One evening, while I was annoyed at her, I decided to take her out for a little walk. We went into the wilds and the moon rose full. She wasn't scared of the horrific transformation her thane was going through, but she was scared as her thane, now werewolf, started eating her. After a few minutes, her corpse had become dinner, and Meilin the redguard werewolf went to pick on some local wildlife. When I returned to human form, I carried her corpse to the river, and let it go.

It was some time later while I was out with my hubby that I noticed a pile up of bodies on some rocks in a river. I have this habit of tossing corpses into the waters of Skyrim... a proper burial of sorts. I don't wanna see their corpses littering up MY paths, you know? Besides, my horse would probably 'tard out and try to kill them again. Anyway, I realized this pile up of bodies was from all my corpse dumping. I took hubby and started to cross through, and a name crossed my screen.

"Lydia"

Well. She's still sworn to carrying my burdens. I'm working on a human bridge now. I try to keep her body on top.

Sadly, the game has been rendered completely unplayable for me with this recent patch, so I need to wait for someone to fix this so I can get back to the dragon slaying.

First person to buy me a "Keep calm and FUSRODAH" shirt/poster/bag wins a cookie.

NaNoWriMo 2011 Winnah.

2011-11-30T12:16:00.000-05:00

I really pushed through in these past few days too. I fell severely behind with Skyrim and Skyward Sword, on top of all my finals.

Oh well. I still have to finish the story too. Not all 50k words are going to be included in the main work. I did do a "Shameless what happened if" for 7k, and another two 5-6k tangents.

Finish story.
Edit.
Pray someone wants to read it.

Reasons I hate looking for work, Part 2

2011-11-30T12:13:00.000-05:00

Monday, I got a call back (finally!). It was for a daycare much closer than the one I was working at for a Teacher's Assistant.

This sounds PERFECT for me. I explain to the woman on the phone I'm in the dead middle of finals week, so my availability right now is extremely limited, but she has time to see me on Wednesday morning, and this is all perfect.

Now, filling out an application for them, I specified I was looking for PART TIME work, and that I was attending a college. When someone called me, it's also pretty fucking obvious I'M A STUDENT... because I'm taking finals.

Here we are, Wednesday. I've gotten up early, combated a headache with aspirin and hot tea, broke out the heels and even put on a little makeup. I even went out in my big, pink coat to look extra adorable and lovey. The daycare is ~5 minutes from my home, so I pop over.

I have to fill out a SECOND application first. I already filled one out for fucks sake, anyway, I fill it out best I can. I also hand the woman another copy of my resume and a nice list of references, since they seem to need all this information twice.

They sit me down for an interview and ask me all about working with kids. I spin the tales about how much I love working with the little snot monsters and how I think I'm pretty good at it. At one point I admitted, I fall right in with them because I'm pretty much a giant five year old with a drivers license. I like to get down to their level and let them direct the show, which is true. I spend a lot of time "in jail" in the playground because that's what they wanted to do. When they told me there was alligators around me while I was escaping, you damn well know one of my feet got chewed off and I had to hop to freedom.

People ask me why I'm becoming a high school teacher. Don't think I haven't considered a major change either. I need the stimulation.

Anyway, all goes well and good until they tell me my availability is bad. I explain if they give me the hours they need me, I can work classes around them as best as I can. I'm willing to be super flexable. Hey, you even asked how much I wanted to be paid and I said "Minimum would be nice."! I'm willing to bend over and lick my own ass for you, but the second you heard the words "I'll arrange classes", the interviewer went "Oh, well, we're looking for full time ladies, ones not in college." shook my hand, and showed me to the door.

Thanks.

Information that I had provided twice.

I was looking for part time work.
I am a student at PonyBrook.

You need a full time, non college person.

Your reading comprehension is quite in the negatives there.

I do have to admit though, I was the best looking interviewee though. Who the fuck shows up to an interview in dirty sneakers and jeans, or medical scrubs? I know it's a childcare position and I won't be wearing makeup and heels to work, but I want the appearance of being a high functioning human.

Ugh. I'm going to get some more aspirin and work on my finals. I can't even find the willpower to drive to class today. Neither of my classes today are attendance/participation based, so fuck it. I'll put the time in on my essays.

Laugh damn you.

2011-11-30T11:59:00.000-05:00

I should just stop listening to NPR...

2011-11-17T07:57:00.000-05:00

...and be blissfully ignorant about everything.

Meilin's current political outlook!

A driver was stuck in a traffic jam on the highway outside Washington DC. Nothing was moving. Suddenly, a man knocks on the window.
The driver rolls down the window and asks, “What’s going on?”
“Terrorists have kidnapped Congress, and they’re asking for a $100 million dollar ransom. Otherwise, they’re going to douse them all in gasoline and set them on fire. We’re going from car to car, collecting donations.”
“How much is everyone giving, on average?” the driver asks.
The man replies, “Roughly a gallon.”

Reasons I hate looking for work

2011-11-07T20:36:00.000-05:00

The online applications blow massive chunks, such as...

...and questions such as, and yes these really were the questions..

"What percentage of politicians do you believe lie?" (All of them.)

"What percentage do you think of Americans lie on their taxes?"

What the fuckkity fuck? What the hell does that have to do with me working for 7.50 an hour!?

I want to be a retail wage slave, Balor below! My name is going to be put into a pool of the hundreds of other applicants!

AND THEN, I got an email from my local unemployment office about a job I should look into... a wonderful service if the job they wanted me to go for an interview wasn't over an hour and a half away!

I really hope they don't take my benefits away because I can't afford a THREE HOUR commute every day, ON TOP of my two hour commute for school!

._. Help me.

It's that time again!

2011-11-05T13:27:00.002-04:00

It's November!

Time for NaNoWriMo!

Look for the word-count total on the sidebar whenever the on-site widget becomes live. I wish anyone participating this year the best of luck!

Operation Hassle-Off

2011-11-05T13:21:00.000-04:00

I really, really liked my job.

My boss, not so much. She'll burn for eternity in my Sims game.

My kids and coworkers were generally awesome though. Most of my coworkers, that is. The ones I didn't like will also burn with my boss in The Sims.

I hated my hours, I hated the retarded, roundabout ways we had to do things, but I really, really loved my job.

When we all got called into a meeting, I could almost smell the incoming disappointment.

I was fired while the whole staff watched. (So were a few others). Now, I understand times are tough but this was borderline retarded. First, I've worked there quite a long time. Of all the "part time" help, I've been there the second longest. There are also plenty of "full time" girls they were moving to "part time" who I've been there longer than. They laid me off though!

Maybe I'm just someone who is going into education or something, but familiar faces for children are good things. Instead of this revolving door of people who suck eggs, how about someone they know and are comfortable with?

Second, my boss had the balls to do this in front of the entire staff.

Did I mention how much I hate her? I think I'm on the 8th incarnation of murdering her. She's an unprofessional cow that I'm sure did not exhaust every option to keep as many people on board as possible. Instead of retaining a reliable, hard working Meilin, she tossed me aside for the bitch that makes doe eyes at any father that walks in the door, OH and let a kids hand get smashed in a window! She's been there less than 6 months. I was working on the end of my second year. She also paid me less, and with no benefits because I was "part time". Soooo... instead of keeping the two part time girls and working our schedules a bit, they keep the "full time" ones that she needs to pay more, and pay benefits for.

OH AND THE LAST HIRED PART TIMER GOT TO KEEP HER JOB.

Yes. I can work very similar hours, and I can plan my schedule around hours she gives me, but instead, she keeps someone she's JUST HIRED over people who have been there multiple years.

Oops! There goes the 8th incarnation. Death via fly plague.

So, for my last day of work, I spent it with my kids. I made sure the jacket they all love was washed and repaired and I was pretty much was a gigantic 5yr old. I gave them hugs and kisses and told them I loved them loads and I promised I'd come visit, though I'm sure the second I try my ex-boss will give me some excuse.

My pride and joy of my last day of work was this though:

Operation Hassle-Off.

My first month of work, I discovered this in the bathroom.

The website is dead, so don't bother going to look... but still, it was pretty funny, yet creepy.

My friends agreed.

I never stole the 'Hoff though. As much as I wanted to.

Well... that's a lie. For my last day, I was stealing the 'Hoff.

And I replaced it with something else!

Please sanitize your hands before handling the larva.

It was a pretty simple operation. I printed out my wonderful new sign and threw it in a folder.. I figured I could run into the bathroom with my bag at the end of the day and do a swap. Which is exactly what I did.

I even added a little hand written note with it!

Hey ladies! Stole David. Wonderful going-away present. No, you can't have him back. I will miss you all!

My coworkers will recognize the sign that hangs in the bathroom, and my new one.

What do I plan on doing with my stolen goods? I'm going to hang him in my bathroom! I'll try to use him to remember all the good times I had at the daycare... the many, many boogie hugs, the chasing and games in my trench coat, all the silly things those darn kids did. I'll remember the day the daycare almost burnt down, the day they tried to kill me, and the psycho rainbow lady...

...oh, and the reminder that I left more goodies about. Have fun finding them, ladies! (It's nothing harmful, I promise. I wouldn't want to hurt anyone.)

Anyone willing to hire an insane 22yr old? I come with references, their heads are in jars in my bag. Let me get them for you.

Ceramics Update

2011-11-05T12:46:00.000-04:00

My final ceramics piece is going to be a TARDIS.

It's slow going. I need a LOT of clay, so I have to "wedge" a lot. It's kneading to get the air out.

I might be going crazy. I have JUST enough for the three main walls right now. I, hopefully, will get the rest done on Monday.

I am Batdaughter!

2011-11-05T12:37:00.000-04:00

It all started when mom asked me to go out to Jo-Ann's.

These are things you should never do, ask me to go somewhere where I could potentially run amok.

I found a Batman mask.. and of COURSE I had my mommy wear it. I then proceeded to chase her around the store going NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA BATMOM!

SHE was the one who told me to put it on facebook.

Now, my mother has the reputation to be quite loud, earning her the nickname of T-Rex. She doesn't like this very much, causing her to go I AM BATMOM.

It quickly spiraled out of control.

If you haven't noticed, her name on FB has been changed to Batmom. At one point, it was Zesty Batmom Wayne. She didn't know how to fix it. I'm not sure she knows now!

So, anyone have any lamb chops for Batmom? The saga of Batmom must continue!

Yes, all you Batman fans who are going YOU CANT DO THAT, BATMAN'S MOTHER IS DEAD... It's a joke. Laugh a little. BATMOM sounds fun, BATLADY does not.

I'd like to think I'm more of a Kiwi.

2011-10-22T09:32:00.003-04:00

Three heads of the King.

2011-10-18T13:06:00.000-04:00

My second ceramics project.

It was going to be a hydra, but someone squashed one of my legs and I really ran out of time with this one. Getting sick blows, it really does.

These "heads" really were going to be much longer/elegant looking, but since I didn't have time, I left them as heads.

The king in the back was going to "look over" the two up front.

....That idea went to hell.

To be honest, I really like the way it turned out. It got creepy, and fast. I might go back to the studio and deepen the grooves a bit. I was going to add a texture to the kitty head, but even then I like it smooth like that. Her two little eyes just barely indented on her surface... the king starting out at you, the little hood pushed aside to reveal another face... Eeee!

Even the base got super scary, super quick.

It's my creepy little sculpture and I like it.

I think I found my theme song.

2011-10-16T22:13:00.000-04:00

I can't decide
Whether you should live or die
Oh, you'll probably go to heaven
Please don't hang your head and cry
No wonder why
My heart feels dead inside
It's cold and hard and petrified
Lock the doors and close the blinds
We're going for a ride

Oh I could throw you in the lake
Or feed you poisoned birthday cake
I wont deny I'm gonna miss you when you're gone
Oh I could bury you alive
But you might crawl out with a knife
And kill me when I'm sleeping
That's why

....totally my theme song.

You Laugh, You Lose

2011-10-14T23:50:00.002-04:00

You fucking lost.

Things that make me happy.

2011-10-14T23:15:00.000-04:00

I take online Japanese lessons.

Last week, I totally forgot to call out when I hung out with the two best people in the universe.

I expected her to be quite disappointed when I went to class today.

My teacher picked up on how completely awful I sounded, completely forgave me for skipping, taught my whole lesson without making me say a word, told me to feel better, then advised me to make hot tea with honey and brandy to feel better.

Did I ever mention how much I love this woman? When I finally make it to Japan I'm going to buy this woman all the daifuku she can eat, and then some. And booze. Lots of booze. And whatever else she wants.

Also, this showed up in the mail today.

Did I ever mention how much I fucking love Pinkie Pie?

I FUCKING LOVE PINKIE PIE.

<3

Occupy Wall Street

2011-10-13T20:25:00.000-04:00

I don't really talk politics. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and I shouldn't force mine down everyone's throats.

Read on if you wish.

For those of you that don't know and are bad at using context clues, I'm a college student.

I'm also retardly passionate about literature. Reading, writing, the process of using words to convey meaning... what can I say? I have a passion.

A poorly paying one, but I have one.

The Occupy Wall Street movement does hit home a little for me. I'm someone who, every day of my public education, was told to "go to college" to be successful in life. Now I'm staring down massive debt to keep going to school and no guarantee of a job. A whole generation of children were told this, and now greed is the only way to be successful.

Everyone keeps telling me "it's going to get better", but I can't seem to believe them when all it does is get worse.

I'm not a religious person, so my thoughts and well wishes go to those who truly believe the Occupy Wall Street protests will wake someone up, especially tonight as they prepare to be "kicked out". I kind of wish I could be there, at the same time, I don't want to get maced. The police scare me. I saw the video of them rounding up four or five, PEACEFUL women, then macing them in the face for no reason.

Yeah, that's fucking scary.

You guys are supposed to protect me.

Greed is a scary thing. It turns people into monsters. It's not right that this has gone on for so long, that the common man should pay for the mistakes of the few. If you can support your local Occupy movement, go for it. Don't cause trouble, just peacefully protest. The media will never turn their attention to the right people, and you sure as hell aren't going to wake up anyone who is busy rolling in corporate greed. All you can do is make things difficult until something is changed. If it's Occupy Wall Street, more power to you. Winter is going to be tough but the strong, the passionate MUST prevail. Let the cold weed out the morons so the media has no choice to broadcast the right message.

My thoughts? The riots are coming... the educated, the passionate, the desperately hopeful few for a better tomorrow are slowly getting tired of this. You can only push a man so far. I should not be afraid to protest. I should not worry about my future. I should not carry a large debt to further my education.

Fear the children you told they could be anything.

Something Awesome: Men-Ups!

2011-10-13T12:56:00.000-04:00

I came home from Otakon with some sexy man meat to put on my walls.

They have a Cosplay Burlesque now... one of the guys is hawt, and he uses a whip.

....sorry, my mind started wondering there.

Anyway, I found these "men-ups" amazingly awesome. They are a little.. skinny.. for my tastes. Seriously, a lumberjack needs to be some kind of buff grizzly bear. (Then again, that reminds me of my father and I really don't want him to be in a "man-up"...) Same thing with the construction worker, but, it's fun none the less.

Far too many clothes for my tastes too.

Happy

2011-10-13T12:52:00.000-04:00

Being sick is never fun.

2011-10-13T12:37:00.000-04:00

I may enjoy being on my ass all day, but really, being sick is never fun.

I just feel like total poo right now, and shamelessly complaining to my blog is fun.

I spent most of my morning over my toilet... and I'm not going to save you the graphical details!

Blue cough syrup and sweet tea do actually taste the same both ways. Looks a little less blue and more green though, as much as I could see without my glasses because I was trying to sleep before my stomach went "bwahahaha, no."

I've managed to get some toast in me, and I'm gonna go try to make some toast and soup in a minute so I can recover from this stupid cold. I really wanted to be in class today too. I hate you, body.

This has been a shameless bout of complaining by Meilin.

Karma.

2011-10-12T20:06:00.000-04:00

For over a month now, this icon has lived on my desktop.

Inside is the pictures I'm happily deleting today!

I needed to get some supplies for my Ceramics class... so I went to the Target by my (shitty) job.

It was rainy and all around crappy out, and I didn't want to walk far, so I tried to pull into a parking spot relatively close to the entrance.

I'm an asshole, but I'm not a super asshole. Between the rain, the marshlands they build that area on, and the lady I so delicately bumped driving a fucking monster THAT SHE WAS PULLING OUT, I really didn't mean to hit her.

and I mean "delicately bumped." We connected via bumper. I stopped right away, her behemoth clit-extension barely moved. She, however, flew out of her car and began beating on the hood of my poor Reginald. I went to find a clear spot to park, with her chasing me. She called 911 and accused me of "running away", all while I was being.. well.. human.

Nice, per say.

I asked if she was alright, first off. Maybe she smacked her head or something. Nope, not even a single shred of human decency was in her. She flew into a rage about how I "ruined" her brand new car and "how dare I" and "I won't get away with this". Since the Target we were at has a Starfucks inside, I offered her her choice of overpriced overcaloried beverage so we could sit down, exchange information, and wait for the police not in the teeming rain, but that too was just too much for her.

...I went and got a hot chocolate and left cranky in the parking lot.

Teh po-po showed up ten minutes later and I smiled while I handed him my information, all the while the crazy cuntbag hurling insults at me. She was pretty fucking insane, but I kept on smiling and laughing. The cop sided with the crazy beeeeotch though. She swears she was parked, but your back lights aren't on when you're parked.

Anyway, Mr cranky cop leaves. I'm sure he wasn't too happy about answering a 911 ABOUT A FUCKING PARKING LOT ACCIDENT.

Crazy informs me I should "be prepared" to pay "8k or more" to fix the "damages"... and I really just laughed at her. I was really torn between fear AND fucking hysterics. She was SO angry for.. well..


Tepig for size comparison.

Wait, does that look bad? Should I let you know that that Tepig is a KEYCHAIN? Wait, let me get you a better picture.

Ladies and 'tards! THIS is the HORRIBLE damage I caused. I dismissed the crazy bitch after some reassurance from my dad that she was, indeed, a fucking crazy hobag.

Now this was about a month ago, remember.

It's with great pleasure I like to report that the hobag received NOTHING for wasting my time.

Karma is a wonderful lady.

....should I mention that when I bumped her, I was dressed like a Team Rocket grunt?

A strange and wonderful realization of the modern world.

2011-10-11T15:29:00.000-04:00

Because of SOME people who need a fan to sleep at night...

.....and ones who want to go to the beach for their birthday IN OCTOBER.

(Kidding, really, I love you both. <3)

I have a cold.

Here I am, sniffling away in the lounge. It's too much of a hassle to pack all my stuff up, walk to the bathroom, blow my nose for an hour, then pray I can still find a place to write when I return. People like to take over the lounge to make pork fried rice, seriously.

I felt a little guilty, so I kind of took a look around to find maybe a corner seat open I could sniffle in peace when I realized that nobody could hear me anyway.

Every single person in here has headphones on or and earbuds in.

Snort on, you sick bastards.

On another note, It's really fucking hard to walk with a stuffed up nose. I might just take the bus to my car today since using my nose to intake oxygen is just not working right now.

The Birth of Count Clayula

2011-10-11T15:20:00.000-04:00

Gosh, I didn't even make an overview of the classes I'm taking this semester post. Wow. So sorry.

I like playing in mud. I'm a filthy, dirty girl, don't you know?

Well, fine, I like playing in the mud and making pots and shit.

Yes, I signed up for a ceramics class.

First, I'd like to point out that there is an extra $200 tacked onto my tuition for taking three art credits. Then I have to pay for my supplies and clay. Where the fuck did that extra $200 go? I'd like to know because I've got bills to pay and I'd be really, really happy to find out that it went to some moron's pocket...

Very.

Very.

Happy.

*grins and grabs mace*

....Someone told me one of my redeeming qualities was my mace. I'm not sure if they were scared or not.

Onwards!

I actually really enjoy the ceramics lab. It's a boatload of fun and I can really get lost in the clay. I'm balls at using any medium that isn't words, I guess working directly with my hands works a bit for me. My poor hands have gone to shit though. It may be because I've given up manicures for a completely unrelated reason, but my poor hands feel like sandpaper. ; ;

A little pile of snakes later, I had something like this.

It kind of blows, but hey, IT'S MY POT. *pets it* There, there baby. It's alright.

Now, though I seem like a boatload of laughs, I tend to be very quiet at school.

Why?

People are fucking morons, that's why. I have limited interest in befriending any of these people unless it involves them giving me lots of money for nothing in return. Really. Their conversations tend to revolve around the "awesome party" they went to, or how horrible life is because they don't have insert-object-here.

The one time I actually tried to join the conversation, people looked at me like I had three heads. It was a perfectly sane and rational comment of "Oh god, that must have hurt..." When talking about something falling on them.

I don't know, maybe was the fact that I actually have working vocal cords that surprised them.

By the next class, my little bugger obtained eyes, securing my place as "that creepy fucker in the corner."


Don't blink.

Little by little he grew and little by little, people would stop by and watch him get taller. It got to a point where I had to stand up to work on him and that's where I knew I had to stop.

My idea was to create a vine-monster of some type. One who's "arms" reached out for you and stuff, and his eyes would be partially covered by a treetop of leaves.

He just looked too cool for that though, and cool gentlemen like himself need a dapper hat.

It was around this point he got the name "Count Clayula"

Hat!

Finally, after weeks of work, I added his handle, a relic from his first concept art, sliced his head off to make a lid (requirement for the project), and as of today, he's sitting in a kiln waiting to be fired. I'm not quite sure what I'd like to do, glaze/paint wise, but I'm sure I'll think of something.

Everyone will be happy to know I'm not dead.

2011-10-11T14:42:00.000-04:00

I just needed a brain hiatus.

See, look! Legs! Arms! Haaands! OOOOh, fingers, lots of fingers... Ears, eyes too, nose... chin... hair...

I'm a girl?

...yeah, I'm still a girl.

Andddd I'm not ginger. Nor will I ever be ginger. Sorry mom.

Anyway, welcome back everyone! Have you missed my semi-regular dose of insanity? I know someone has. She nags me on a constant basis.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, pot shots at my mother are still fun.

Well, onto the important topics at hand.

I've got some quasi-important announcements to make, but those are entries still in progress, that and I like tormenting my mother with the promise of an update.

I doubt I'll go back and make an Otakon 2011 post, but who knows. It was a freaking awesome show, butttt parts of it coincide with the semi-important announcements.

Onto the show!

Words of Wisdom

2011-10-04T20:39:00.003-04:00

Yeah, yeah, I'll make a real post in a minute.

Don't blink.

2011-09-12T22:44:00.000-04:00

Blink and you're dead.

Don't turn your back.

Don't look away.

And don't blink.

Good Luck.

One day, three autumns

2011-09-10T21:26:00.003-04:00

日三秋

Hrm.

Yes, I know, I have to update soon before people kill me. I promise I'll update.. eventually.

This brief update brought to you by my lawyer!

2011-08-17T19:41:00.000-04:00

I promise I'll update soon.

OH HEY I'M POSTING.

2011-07-21T22:01:00.002-04:00

Oh, wtf, it's just a Something Awesome.

Top Ten Myths About Introverts

Been writing like crazy, also, went to the beach. Not much to report. Otakon in a week though, that'll be fun.

Reasons I'm not allowed to leave the house

2011-07-14T18:24:00.000-04:00

Reasons Meilin is not allowed to leave the house:


Yes. It's the pope.


COULD. NOT. RESIST.

Helen Keller, in case you didn't recognize her.

4. (This was totally impromptu. I saw him, and told Lei I needed to go visit him. She thought I was going for a picture.)

Who knew Pooh could be so right?

2011-07-03T12:48:00.002-04:00

So, this is a lame post.

2011-06-28T18:25:00.001-04:00

"No regrets. Live your adventure with your heart to guide you! Never take no for an answer until you've exhausted every other option! Fly higher than you ever thought you could because falling will never hurt as much as never taking the chance," Merke smiled as she lifted her hands in the air. "Do you think I can fly Rahal? Because I'm going to fly. Even if it takes a hundred years. The sky is right there! It's content watching me, and most are content watching it... "

Rahal watched his angel dance in the sun for a while, mesmerized by her passionate speech. She climbed up the ruined remains of a column and reached into the sun. A snake of smoke slowly climbed into the sky around her.

"But I'm gonna soar right through the clear blue sky...and when I land, the sky will come down to find me and take me back again."

...but, I really don't have much else to say right now other than YAY 400 POSTS.

I think I might move my twitter feed onto here as well.

To 400 more. ^^

I have a joke!

2011-06-24T15:30:00.002-04:00

AND IT ISN'T ABOUT JESUS.

What's Forrest Gump's Password?

1forrest1

Tee-hee.

Friendship is Magic!

2011-06-23T23:15:00.001-04:00

[23:11] abhorsen585: I really can't stop watching MLP
[23:12] Meilin: You are offically a Brony.
[23:12] abhorsen585: am not
[23:12] abhorsen585: I'm just bored is all
[23:12] Meilin: Uh huh
[23:12] Meilin: thats what they all say
[23:12] abhorsen585: it's true
[23:12] abhorsen585: alright, a little brony
[23:12] abhorsen585: BUT DON'T TELL ANYONE
[23:12] Meilin: next thing you know you'll be thinking about what would be your cutie mark
[23:12] abhorsen585: ...
[23:12] Meilin: a beer bottle, perhaps?
[23:12] abhorsen585: beer mug full of beer
[23:13] Meilin: YOU ARE A FUCKING BRONY.
[23:13] abhorsen585: FUUUUCK
[23:13] abhorsen585: JUST A LITTLE THOUGH
[23:13] Meilin: YOU DECIDED ON A CUTIE MARK
[23:13] Meilin: YOU ARE A BRONY.
[23:13] abhorsen585: I couldn't help it!
23:13] abhorsen585: I couldn't help it!
[23:13] abhorsen585: engineer's curiosity
[23:13] abhorsen585: I HAD to think about it
[23:13] Meilin: BROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONY.
[23:13] abhorsen585: nope
[23:14] Meilin: you have a cutie mark picked out
[23:14] Meilin: you are a borny.
[23:14] abhorsen585: it's not picked out
[23:14] Meilin: there is no going back.
[23:14] abhorsen585: it's what I thought of
[23:14] abhorsen585: I drink a lot of scotch too, y'know
[23:14] Meilin: I'm sorry
[23:14] Meilin: you are a brony.
[23:14] abhorsen585: I could throw a dart in a liquor store and that could be a cutie mark
[23:15] Meilin: I'll make sure to save you any extra ponies i get next time i go through mcdonalds.
[23:15] abhorsen585: ...fluttershy please

Hell in a Handbasket 2.0: POWER OUTRAGE

2011-06-23T14:18:00.000-04:00

The first "Hell in a Handbasket" party was pretty wild.

Since starting IBWGoLI with some of the same 'tards that attended that party, we decided to title our official "meeting party" as such... and over a typo I made.

Thus began POWER OUTRAGE.

It began with the official approval of my new car from Felix.


Mustache Bros.

The idea was to eat lots of food, get retarded drunk, pretend to talk buisness, hit up Adventureland, Dave and Busters, drink more, then force Lei into playing Amnesia!

It went something like that...

We started by swordfighting. Felix knows fencing and I know kendo.. Lei and Walter knew how to lose. We went to the nearby beach/bay thing, found the band shell, and began to smack each other silly with nerf swords.

Then acted like giant man-children on the playground, and finished with ice cream.

Tuesday brought cool weather and cloudy skies..... We had a super-awesome lunch at CheeburgerCheeburger with Adventureland closed, and Laser Tag opening at 12:30, but no match til 4:30, we defaulted to Dave and Busters.

With 2k tickets in hand after being total children on racing games, trivia games, and all sorts of fun, we settled on some candy and shot glasses. They were used for a single, IBWGoLI shot, that poor Felix almost puked back up. Lei decided to become allergy ridden shortly afterwards, so we played Mario Party sober. There was a saddening lack of Birdo for me to play, but our friendship remained intact despite Mario Party having the reputation of being a friendship killer.


A Meilin in her natural setting...and Felix's big head.

Walter sadly had to leave Wednesday morning, leaving Lei, Felix and me all alone for Adventureland. I invited my brother Rocco to join since I like being a good sister sometimes.

We started with the classic "pirate ship" ride. Lei started SCREAMING the second we went vertical though. Felix and I tried desperately to calm her down as Rocco sat there... silent. It wasn't until Lei belted, eyes tightly shut... "SHUT THE FUCK UP ROCCO I CAN HEAR YOU LAUGHING" that he burst into laughter.

Now, I don't know if anyone remembers my snow-themed adventures with my gigantic brother, but the boy is a certifiable giant. Trying to squish his giant body onto the log flume along with three others was quite a challenge. It was fun though. I even went on my first roller coaster! (A tiny, barely qualifying as a roller coaster, roller coaster, but hey, I went on one.)

It was an enjoyable party all around. I hope I get to do it again soon.

Reminder! There is NO substitution for parental supervision.

...cause if you're left with me, we'll just run amok!

Meilin Goes to AnimeNEXT 2011

2011-06-16T14:35:00.000-04:00

Special Guests: Renuchaaaaaaaaaaan! <3

I somehow managed to fall into the whole "working at a convention" thing again... so most of the weekend I was on the job.

Friday I did a bunch of panel-seeing... along with stalking renu-chan on accident! She's such a sweetie, I can't wait til Otakon and hopefully a little more stalk-renu-time.

I took in a panel about wig-styling and care, which is something I desperately need to do. On a related note, I found a local place I can buy wig-heads so I'm pretty happy. If I can ever stop looking like a baby elephant I'd love to do more cosplay and wigs are a big part of it. I just need a much more successful way of flattening my mop. Something about hair that expands at an exponential rate does not make wig-wearing easy.

Next was a "Convention Horror Stories" panel. I've had my share of horror stories (See: Every Otakon ever.), but it's always a blast to hear other stories. The best was a "trap" story. A guy stands up, clearly in drag, and explains that he is a frequent cross-cosplayer. He was cosplaying Lady GaGa one day and walking down the street. From behind him, he hears: "Alex? Is that you?" It was his uncle. He identified him from his ass.

After that was a manga you've never read panel, and if there is one thing in this fandom I collect is manga. I even knew some of the titles! I did pick up some good suggestions, awesomely enough, even though they are from the now defunct TokyoPop... how I'll ever get more D is beyond me!

A warm, sticky Friday ended with an enjoyable Saturday working on the masquerade. I was manning the audio for the show and did a decent job for using a laptop that isn't my own. If I do this again though, ChibiNeoGilly all the way. I don't care how powerful anyone thinks their machine is.. if I'm running off a laptop from now on, its my own. Also, strange choices for music...

The masquerade otherwise went off well with what skits we did have. I think some of the best work was done by some of the novices, and as usual, I didn't agree with the best in show, but that's me. The half-time show was beyond retarded weird...

I crashed early Saturday so I could get a running start on Sunday to get home to prepare for my own party. Swag wise, I only came home with some new dice, two beautifully done skull prints, and a new plush beckoning kitty.

It was a mostly un-eventful convention, to be honest. I didn't take many pictures mostly because I was working and hiding from most of the cosplayer paths. My hotel-mates were neat, of what I saw of them.

Warning, this I'm gonna complain!

For some reason, AnimeNEXT has the stability of a cheap Chinese toy. Panels lacked the proper tech, the schedule was a grand mess, and Balor forbid people do their jobs.

This year, they had their schedule on an application program that folks could bring up via their phone, which was freaking awesome. It's much, much easier to do it that way and I really hope to see it used again. If its one thing I've learned with IBWGoLI is that more and more people are getting mobile tech and you either use it or lose it!

I was happy to go, and happy to work there, but as usual sometimes I think I'd be happier as an attendee then an employee, but then again, I couldn't bypass any lines.

and following the normal rules just is no fun.

Update/Something FREAKING AWESOME.

2011-06-15T16:44:00.000-04:00

So, I haven't updated in a while...

Mostly because I haven't been at my desk in a while. I worked AnimeNEXT this past weekend, then had Hell in a Handbasket 2.0: POWER OUTRAGE.

I promise to do a "Meilin Goes to AnimeNEXT2011" and a party overview... right now I just wanna sleep.

HERE IS A FUCKING ADORABLE COMMERCIAL TO HOLD YOU OVER TIL I POST AGAIN.

Something Awesome: Zelda music.

2011-06-03T14:54:00.000-04:00

It's just beautifully done...

Zelda music is just perfect.

You can always bet on Duke.

2011-06-03T14:52:00.000-04:00

Do you know how freaking surreal this is?

"When Duke Nukem Forever comes out" is the gamers way of saying "when pigs fly".

...and I'm installing the freaking demo right now.

Curse you, Doctor Who.

2011-06-01T18:27:00.000-04:00

I, in my many interests as an Alpha Nerd, have fallen for the new Doctor Who.

...specifically, the ninth doctor because he is DAMN FINE.

(I may also have a lady-crush on Rose... "I think you need a doctor", OH YES SHE DOES. andsodoI...)

Anyway, I was pretty behind mostly due to time constraints. It's hard to squish in all the shit I want to do in a day, on top of the "have to do" stuff like going to the bathroom. Watching TV from the potty is frowned upon, so is starting a game, and using my laptop... why was I never informed of these things?

In about a week, I caught up on all my Doctor Who. I fell in love with 10th, not as much as 9, and really hate 11. I want to paint my closet, IF IT EVER GETS DONE, HINT HINT MOTHER, like the TARDIS now. My raging lady crush is on Rose, forever, Donna can come for a weekend stay, Martha and Amy can find a pool to drown in.. and for the love of Musa, someone find me a hatchet because the only way I'll get rid of River Fucking Song is if I do it myself. She keeps coming back and ruins EVERYTHING. Arrrrgh!!! I can never watch Law and Order: SVU when shes in it now. I just get filled with unceasing rage.

....*ahem*

So, I'm ~~downloading~~ legally obtaining copies of Torchwood (Captain Jack, you can come visit anytime...) and Sarah Jane Adventures because I grew really fond of the cast before everything went to hell in Series 5.

It got me thinking about the "old Who"... as in, Doctors 1-8. I did my research and obtained sources where I could watch Doctor Who from the very beginning, as in, First Doctor, black and white, 1963 Doctor Who.

The First Doctor - William Hartnell (1963-66)

001 - An Unearthly Child (4 episodes)
002 - The Daleks (7 episodes)
003 - The Edge of Destruction (2 episodes)
004 - Marco Polo (7 episodes, all missing)
005 - The Keys of Marinus (6 episodes)

...wait, missing?

MISSING?!?!?!

HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO WATCH THIS NOW?!

and it gets worse. Far, far worse than my fragile, IT MUST BE IN ORDER mind can handle. A good chunk of the First Doctor's serials are missing, at least half, maybe more. I haven't counted.

The Second Doctor may as well not exist.

The Second Doctor - Patrick Troughton (1967-1969)

030 - The Power of the Daleks (6 episodes, all missing)
031 - The Highlanders (4 episodes, all missing)
032 - The Underwater Menace (4 episodes, 1, 2, & 4 missing)
033 - The Moonbase (4 episodes, 1 & 3 missing)
034 - The Macra Terror (4 episodes, all missing)
035 - The Faceless Ones (6 episodes, 2, 4-6 missing)
036 - The Evil of the Daleks (7 episodes, all missing but 2nd)
037 - The Tomb of the Cybermen (4 episodes)
038 - The Abominable Snowmen (6 episodes, all missing but 2nd)
039 - The Ice Warriors (6 episodes, 2 & 3 missing)
040 - The Enemy of the World (6 episodes, all missing but 3rd)
041 - The Web of Fear (6 episodes, all but 1st missing)
042 - Fury from the Deep (6 episodes, all missing)
043 - The Wheel in Space (6 episodes, 1, 2, 4 & 5 missing)
044 - The Dominators (5 episodes)
045 - The Mind Robber (5 episodes)
046 - The Invasion (8 episodes, 1 & 4 missing)
047 - The Krotons (4 episodes)
048 - The Seeds of Death (6 episodes)
049 - The Space Pirates (6 episodes, all missing but 2nd)
050 - The War Games (10 episodes)

Fortunately, there seems to be a force of sub-Alpha nerds out there who are frantically trying to piece together enough audio and stills to make "watchable" episodes, as well as searching high and low to find where actual copies of these episodes might be hiding.

I hate to admit it guys, but that shit is long gone. We might as well start working on our own TARDIS.

Curse you, Doctor Who. I have a problem when I don't get things in the right order. I won't read manga out of order, no matter how desperate I am to see the end.. and I go crazy if I accidentally see a TV show or anime episode out of turn.

I guess its a good thing that Doctors 3-8 are pretty intact... Still...

If I start updating my blog with "EXTERMINATE" over and over, someone might want to come check on me... I might have overdosed.

Last time I did that, it was with Sailor Moon. Every episode of Sailor Moon, from start to StarS, and every special in between. I had Sailor Moon's speech embedded in my head for all time (yes, I can still do it.).

Everything in moderation.

*grins* Oh look, my download has finished. Fantastic!

I'm not gonna lie.

2011-06-01T17:28:00.000-04:00

I'm a grandma driver.

Any shorter and I'd be an Asian grandma driver.

I hang out in the right lane going two miles below the speed limit mostly because I don't trust the douche muffins who are busy shaving their faces in the lane next to me while going 80mph.

So when I hit a school zone, the.. indicator? liney.. thing... on my gas starts to flail around the way I go from 40->20.

...am I the only person who does the speed limit? Mostly so I don't hit a baby and have to wash baby guts off my car, but also because getting home 2 minutes later than I could have is much, much more worth it than the $200+ ticket for getting caught speeding away in a school zone.

or anywhere, for that matter.

Somehow, just sitting in this several thousand pound piece of machinery turns people into impatient, roaring arse-holes. Come now, did you really need to crawl up my ass, pass me by getting into the turning lane, roll down the window to scream something at me, and speed off?

Though, I guess karma is my bitch because the look on your face while I rolled past at 20mph... while a cop was writing you a ticket... was just fantastic.

Please, think of the children. Do the speed limit in school zones.. and Balor help you if you pass a car with a mustache because I think there is a cop just waiting for the angry line of folks to zip past me lately.

Reasons I'm glad I'm usually (99% of the time) sober.

2011-06-01T17:23:00.000-04:00

...I can read the phrase:

"higher than a giraffe's asshole"

and crack. the. fuck. up.

Ohhh, is this what I'm reduced to? Reading a thread about "Weirdest things you've ever said to a teacher" and cracking up over that?

I can't stop laughing. Oh god. Someone help. I can't breathe.

My co-workers know more about me than I do, apparently.

2011-05-27T17:34:00.002-04:00

I have in my hair four hair feathers. They are really, really neat.

I think I've even talked about them before.

So, three are purple, one is pink, and I have kind of a glittery strand in there as well.

I'm in the kitchen at work doing some dishes where Dumbfuck T comes in. We exchange pleasantries and I go about washing yucca off a plate. She then goes "Oh, what pretty braids you have in your hair!"

The conversation is as follows..

Me: Oh, they are feathers. Not braids.
Dumbfuck T: No! It's braids!
Me: Feathers.. they are like hair extensions just... feathers. Mine are purple...
Dumbfuck T: No, look! braids!
*Dumbfuck T proceeds to pull the four feathers in my ponytail.*
Dumbfuck T: Oh, they are feather braids!
Me: GET. OUT. OF. MY. HAIR.
Dumbfuck T: Such pretty braids!

One day.

One day I will feed all of her children five hour energy and make sure to have a short shift.

I'm going to hell.

2011-05-27T13:19:00.000-04:00

Jesus walked into an Inn. He tossed three nails on the counter and said, "Can you put me up for the night?"

Yes folks, I am going to hell.

Something Awesome: That's all folks!

2011-05-24T20:40:00.000-04:00

That was just flippin awesome.

Something Awesome: Doctor Who edition

2011-05-23T21:40:00.001-04:00

Did I mention I've been on a Doctor Who binge?

You know who has the coolest car ever?

2011-05-23T21:21:00.000-04:00

I fucking do.

Oh yeah, that's my car. He's got a fucking mustache.

My car is SO much cooler than your car.

Moving on!

2011-05-23T21:08:00.000-04:00

Alrighty then! Hiatus over!

To summarize the lack of posting, and yes, this is being cross posted throughout the blogs...

School is hell, and I'm not talking the easy first or second levels, I'm talking about those nasty, deeper levels. I've busted my ass this semester for a dickwad who I hope has a world of shit to crawl through after the scathing review I've left him.

Lets get one thing straight, shall we?

Writing is an expression of feeling in written form. That feeling can EASILY be lost as it is read and interpreted by other folks. Analyzing that feeling depends on the reader, and as long as that reader can back it up, they can't be "wrong"... because it is THEIR feelings. YOUR feelings and THEIR feelings do not have to match.

Understood?

Good!

So, after a mental break of sanity because I thought I was losing my gift, I managed to churn out my two English final exam papers. I submitted them without doing much reviewing on my end, nor do I care if they are shit or not at this point. I'm going to pass, and nothing can be worse than the D- I have in a Statistics class... oh, and the dual C's in Italian. At worst, I get a B. Oh boy! I still maintain a 3.7 gpa somehow. I'm magic, I tell you.

Oh! and I dumped my boyfriend of almost three years.

I think we all got that though. See the below posts.

That just couldn't be an easy process, could it? Next time, I'm just poisoning people. It's easier.

I've also just finished, what I consider, the most hellish art class one could ever take. My best friend, who is an art major, and her professor who I had the pleasure of meeting, both have considered this class to be completely awful. Completing my final projects was close to ripping out my teeth with pliers without an aspirin to a help.

I've ALSO bought a car and managed to navigate a NY death highway... I'm human, sorry. I have fears, just, ones filled with big metal boxes smashing into my itty bitty car.

Of course, the usual "I'm going into a dead field, I'll never find a job, I'm going to live at home forever working a crappy job for the rest of my days" is always around. As the days pass and NOTHING gets better.. you know, the dilemma all recent college grads are facing...

Add all these up into a wonderful slurry and serve it up to me with a cherry on top and boba at the bottom!

It killed my creativity and my focus. I couldn't sit and write a blog entry without deleting it, I couldn't read a book without quitting after a page or so, I couldn't even get through treasured video game. My reading challenge stagnated, my writing ceased...

Thankfully, that has all cleared up. I took a sickday (because I truly felt like shit) and watched over ten hours of Doctor Who and My Little Pony. That is a lot of space travel and ponies, let me tell you...

Happy endings cannot happen all the time. I know this. I'm still a sucker for them though. So, my ponies go on, the Doctor travels on, and I'm picking my shit up again. I've returned to XI, which feels fucking amazing. You have no idea. Just dressing my Mei up make me smile. I sat and wrote again, I read again, and here I am, blogging again.

Ahh, a functioning brain, such a brilliant thing.

I'll call it a summer of Mei-provements. Meilin-themed-improvements. I have a lot of work to do. My website, my guild, needs much more work, I have writing to work on, a Japanese challenge exam to pass, and who knows what else!

In summary..

...and I have.

So there.

Busy Bee

2011-05-16T22:26:00.001-04:00

I have been

RETARDED

busy.

I'm sorry for the lack of updates. I will explain shortly.

<3Mei

Plants.

2011-05-06T20:52:00.000-04:00

I have a plant and I do love him so.

It's strange how I fall for for non-human and non-animal things... I name them, love them..

Moving on!

My plant, his name is Lucas. Of what kind, I have little idea. He's got two stems that stand tall, with leaves that marble, and a wind~y stem that likes to stare at the sun.

I've grown my little Lucas from a tiny cutting into a nice little plant, and I shoved my little plant in the corner. His leaves all fell off even though I made sure to water him. The little vine drooped around my maneki neko collection quite pathetically.

I moved him back into the sunlight on Tuesday and to my surprise, four little leaves have sprouted, all marbled and fresh. His vine turned right to the sun.

I think Lucas is trying to tell me something. No matter how long you are stuck in the dark, you'll always find your way back to the sun and grow again.

Yes, I know, he's a plant. He's MY plant, and in MY world, things are magical and awesome.

I should just make a section of the blog titled "Dear Mom...

2011-05-05T20:35:00.001-04:00

...make this, kthxlove your daughter."

So, ma.

Make this.

Obligatory Osama Death Post

2011-05-03T16:08:00.000-04:00

Packing for hell, bbl.

Finale.

2011-05-03T14:07:00.000-04:00

I will remember the good times and always regret what could have been.

I'm going to live my life now. Look ahead, not behind.

The End.

2011-05-02T21:32:00.000-04:00

Even if you do let me know, I'm done.

Thinking with Portals...2 [Review!]

2011-04-30T12:51:00.001-04:00

Portal 2: A review

Will there be spoilers?

Prolly.

Yes.

Read on, brave soul.


Are you still there?

Portal was captivating. The dark, black humor, the crafty puzzles, and who can forget your one true love? The Weighted Companion Cube.

Portal 2 takes that and magnifies it by a good hundred or so. Perhaps more.

Now, I did not participate in the ARG "Potato Sack", but it was a neat intro from what I can gather.

Back to Aperture we go! GLaDOS is back and quite pissed, reconstructing Aperture while you bumble around with Wheatley, your newest bumbling 'tardo friend, after waking her. Wheatley cracks under pressure after you defeat GLaDOS for the second time, stuffs her in a potato, and tosses you both into a pit. POTaOS is stolen and you navigate the ruins of Aperture, find POTaOS, and cast your revenge on Wheatley. During all this, you discover a little bit about yourself and your newest companion, POTaOS, as well as the Aperture facility!

Gameplay is fundamentally the same. Think with portals! All the old favorites are back, the cubes and turrets, slanted walls and ledges to get height... Introduced in the second part of the game is a whole slew of new elements to amuse and increase the difficulty of puzzles. Three "gels" (Repulsion, Propulsion, and insta-portal-surface!), new laser directing cubes, and my favorite, the "Aerial Faith Plate". With all this, think with motherfucking portals!!! On some bits, I did over think my problems far, far too much, forgetting that I had a portal device strapped to my arm. Once I remembered that, I was in pretty good shape! Puzzles ranged from... "portal here, portal there, leap and... done!" to "Shit balls cock motherfucking how do I god damn POTaOS help me." hard, in a pretty nice curve.

There is actually music, ambient, fantastic music this time around! It really helps put the sheer size of Aperture in perspective for you.

...Ok, fun stuff time...

The. Story. Is. FANTASTIC. THE VOICES ARE BETTER. Sure, the build up to GLaDOS is nifty, but once she is POTaOS and you are crawling around old Apetrue, the story grows forty fold. The downright hysterical, tenacious, Cave Johnson leads you through the run down facility with his prerecorded messages that I would stop and listen to every. single. one.

Before replacing GLaDOS with a retard, I was busy running through the underground Aperture, trying to destroy the turrets and neurotoxin generators. While running past a pile of soon-to-be-incarcerated turrets, one cried out to me!
"I'm different!"

I'LL SAVE YOU LITTLE ONE!!!!

"Thank you. :3"

I WOULD TAKE YOU WITH ME BUT YOU'LL DIE IF I PASS THROUGH THIS, SO YOU JUST STAY HERE AND I PROMISE I'LL COME BACK FOR YOU.

I even felt bad for GLaDOS after she was POTaOS. She learns she WAS human, and she does even have a human heart in her, somewhere...

I felt really, really bad for the Wheatley-cubes too. They were so desperate to crawl off a cliff to kill themselves.

Though I got stuck a few times, pressing E to shake my gun, mostly to shake POTaOS, was just hysterical.

The final battle was hysterical, in a frustrating way. I wanted to hear everything they were saying, solve the puzzles, AND still beat the game without reloading 50 times. Didn't work that way.

As POTaOS tosses you corrupted spheres to help defeat Wheatley, you think you know how it ends. You think you're in the clear. You picture Chell stomping on Wheatley.

Nope. Explosion. You curse and get ready for the reload, but the ceiling falls out instead revealing the moon in the sky.

"Turns out moon rocks are pure poison. Still, it turns out there a good portal conductor!"

Shot a portal at the fucking moon.

GLaDOS, back in her body, saves you from an untimely space-death, deletes the last bit of her humanity, AND LETS YOU GO. Why? You are too much trouble to even kill. Go away.

You even get your Weighted Companion Cube back.

Like Portal, Portal 2 is loaded with fantastic dialogue, story, puzzles, and entertainment. It's mildly short if you simply rush through, but secret rooms and goodies exist game wide.

Think with portals, bitch. Play Portal 2.

On a last note, "Want You Gone", the ending song to Portal 2, pales in comparison to "Still Alive". It's still an amazing song though.

A bit passive.

2011-04-30T11:21:00.001-04:00

Here, I'm even going to get passive aggressive. You know who you are. This is my final, giant, neon and smoke signal sign for you.

I gave up more than my fair share of my life for you. I invited you in, gave up space in my room, tossed out a whole closet worth of things, thinned out my wardrobe, paid for our meals, and supported you though your search for a new life here. I gave up listening to music while I shower and doing homework. I gave up rolling around in my bed and snuggling with my puppy.

I gave up all this, and much, much more, to give you a better life. One with people who love you, friends who adore you, and an adventure with me.

Unfortunately, this didn't happen.

The job market blows, this I can understand. It took me a while to find something as well, though...

As much as it sucks. McDonalds just hired 50k+ people. There was at least three places with help wanted signs you didn't even try - in the past two months! A job for 3 months is more money in your pocket that you have now. So what if you get fired?

Fine, you can't find a job? Go back to school then. At this point I'm 90% sure you qualify for a grant now. I'll help if you need help with classwork, study with you...

But you never did.

AND while I'm not one to leave the house every waking spare free minute, I do like going out to do pretty dorky things. You never wanted to do anything with me outside of the house. I know it sucks, but could you have given it a try?

Instead, alone I went.

You complained about lack of friends... you could have spent the weekend with me and Lei. I didn't know anyone but her, and I had a great, fantastic time.

Your computer sucks? Well, go apply for the debt collection place I worked at, work there for six months at $250/week and build a new one.

There was a life here for you but you never reached out and grabbed it.

So now, I've sent you away. I hope you see how great our adventure could have been.

Hey, here is the fantastic bit to this whole thing:

I'm. Still. Waiting.

I must be a moron, but maybe this shock will wake you up a bit. Our adventure could have been great. We could have seen the world - made it to Japan! Bought a house far too close to my mother, had our own gaggle of animals, children included, played games together, watched bad movies and ate great food.

All I ever asked for was you to have a life. A spark. Something that drives you. A dream, a goal, a future you want to reach out and grab!

...and to read some of the things I wrote, but that never happened either...

Maybe you'll wake up now. Maybe you'll try and reach for the future now.

I can't, and won't, wait forever.

I'm leaving you a big, BRIGHT, NEON FLASHING FUCKING SIGN ON HOW TO DO IT.

Your turn.

Comments disabled because I said so.

Character Flaws

2011-04-19T12:44:00.000-04:00

If I had a character sheet for myself, under "Flaws" it would read...

CANNOT HANDLE THE SIGHT OF BLOOD. WILL FAINT ON SPOT.

And I'm not joking!

There is a kindred spirit of mine out there though.

Dear sister-in-fainting, I feel your pain.

Many Potato

2011-04-12T21:51:00.002-04:00

Ketsen: They added more potatoes to those steam games!
Ketsen: Except I think Amnesia's comes from some new harder/scarier campaign mode
[LUE]Bugged MeiMei: awesome!
Ketsen: *cries*
Ketsen: http://steamcommunity.com/id/ketsen look at all the potatoes I got though!
[LUE]Bugged MeiMei: you king of latvia
[LUE]Bugged MeiMei: many potato
[LUE]Bugged MeiMei: has salt?
Ketsen: much salt !
[LUE]Bugged MeiMei: you solder, rape many women, get many potato.

I love Latvia jokes almost as much as I love Jebus ones.
--
How many Latvian is take screw in light bulb?

Only one. Obtain light bulb is hard part.

--

Knock knock
Who’s there?
Latvian.
Latvian who?
Please open door. Is cold.

--
What are one potato say other potato?

Premise ridiculous. Who have two potato?

--
Three Latvian are brag about sons. “My son is soldier. He have rape as many women as want,” say first Latvian. “Zo?” second say, “My son is farmer. He have all potato he want!” Third Latvian wait long time, then say, “My son is die at birth. For him, struggle is over.” “Wow! You are win us,” say others. But all are feel sad.
--
Latvian girl is say, "I want go America one day."
Father say, "I send you America."
Daughter is thank father. Make tears of happy. Father use for salty potato.
Father think moment, say, "Daughter, I no send you America."
Potato is more salt.

Mei and Manthing convos!

2011-04-12T21:24:00.001-04:00

Manthing: Please, just don't crash my car...
Mei: Have I crashed your car yet?
Manthing: ...Yes.
Mei: ...have I crashed it beyond repair yet?

I always feel like shit right before Japanese class.

2011-04-06T22:12:00.000-04:00

...but I have to admit, my teacher is the coolest woman close to ever.

She makes our 45minute classes really enjoyable and then I feel on top of the world because she's helping me accomplish a goal of mine that I've had forever.

Random shout-out to someone who will prolly never see this. Numano-sensei, you rule. Thank you for teaching me and putting up with my silly mistakes.

(Like tonight, I said I was going to "go drinking" as in booze after class... I meant I was going to drink some tea... ahhh languages.)

Since I did my good deed of the day...

2011-04-06T14:54:00.000-04:00

...I can be a horrible person now.

Since my mother is busy embracing jebus, I have to be twice the heathen I normally am.

Why did all the ladies love Jesus?

Because he was hung LIKE THIS *stretches out arms*

Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all.. ever.

Something Awesome: My mommie does not look like this.

2011-04-04T19:55:00.001-04:00

But, it made me think of her anyway.

First Something Awesome in a while.. Gaaaaaaaaaaassssp.

Also!

2011-04-04T18:58:00.002-04:00

I took the side mirror off the car today.

I hit my dad's truck.

Oops.

he fixed it though, because my dad is awesome.

Grandma Goes Wii

2011-04-04T18:57:00.000-04:00

Like many bored house people, my grandmother is addicted to Netflix.

~~I laugh and continue pirating movies.~~ I just don't get it. I really don't watch that many movies anyway.

So, when she asked me about streaming Netflix movies, I didn't realize answering with "Any of the current gaming consoles can do it..." "Oh, the wii? "Yeah..." would land me in so much blargh.

First she needs a router... I figure we can find a cheap Linksys easy.

Or not.

Next we need a Wii. Trip to the local Gamestop and she beelines right to the shovelware. Siiiigh. Forty minutes of head bashingly frustrating explanations of how I don't know if this game has Mahjong or not, we actually walk away with a new, black Wii and some Vegas shovelware game.

Come home, prepare to set it all up... and the damn router needs SP3 to function. Balor strike me, updating Windows XP can be a pain. So, after doing over 100 "critical" updates and trying to show Grandma the basics of her new Wii, I finally get Netflix to load up.

I figure out how to use it instantly. It was pretty self explanatory, to be honest.

Here is the conversation that transpired:

Mei: Ok, now, you select the movie you want to watch and press A...
*demonstrates, then backs out, and hands the remote to Grandma, who proceeds to click and drag the movie around*
Mei: No no, just press A, tap it, don't press and hold.
*Grandma continues to drag the movies around*
Mei: LIKE THIS. POINT AND PRESS.
*redemonstrates, she fails, again, this time starting to press B and opening up another menu*
Mei: NO. A. NOT B.
Grandma: I'M TRYING.
Mei: A TO ADVANCE. B FOR BACKWARDS. A. PRESS A.
*both of us are cracking up as she keeps clicking and dragging... for almost ten full minutes, finally, she gets it.*
Mei: Ok... if you need to pause press +, and then click the arrow to play again...
*she click-drags the arrow instead*
*head+desk*

I'm gonna bring my Wiimote down someday and just kick her ass in boxing.

Friendly Reminder

2011-04-03T12:27:00.001-04:00

April 1st was back yer shit up day.

I forgot. So I'm doing it today. Perhaps you should back your shit up as well.

Don't forget important documents like resumes.

I would also take this time to go through (and back up after) bookmarks. You'd be surprised how cluttered that little menu can get!

Also, a nifty little tool for those of you who are comfortable storing things online, or have multiple machines that need similar files.

Dropbox! It will store and sync up to 2gb of files for free. I use it to send story bits and homework assignments to myself from myself. (Laptop <-> Desktop)

Firefox 4 also has a "Sync bookmarks" feature you should check out as well. Nothing like traveling bookmarks to make life simple.

Do it now so you don't lose them if something should happen! It's easier to replace a month's worth of work then to replace ALL of it.

On top of backing up all your important goodies, take the time to clear out inboxes, friend lists on IM clients and social networking sites, and check for important updates to programs and your OS.

If you feel really cleany, you can even dust out your PC fans!

Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy

2011-04-03T07:57:00.003-04:00

It finally came. The night of my concert! Since I didn't really have much in the way of wearable Final Fantasy swag, and WHMBoco was staying home, I tossed on my San d'Oria dog tag and headed into the city. I did make a quick detour to Nintendo World and picked up two new plushies (Munna and Tepig) and a new Zelda wallet. I stumbled over to the opera house for my show, and oh god, was it fantastic.

First off, the seats were REALLY TINY. My fat ass had trouble getting comfortable at first... but then we opened up with the Bombing Mission from VII, and shit just got real.

Our playlist looked like this:

• FF VII: Aerith's Theme

• FF V: Dear Friends

• FF IX: Vamo' alla Flamenco (Squee.)

• FF VI: Opera "Maria and Draco" (YES.)

• FF IX: A Place to Call Home – Melodies of Life, featuring Susan Calloway (BEST SONG EVER)

• FFX: To Zanarkand

• FFVI: Terra's Theme

• FFXII: Kiss Me Goodbye with Susan Calloway

• FFV: Clash on the Big Bridge

• FFVII: Opening - Bombing Mission

• FFVIII: Don’t Be Afraid

Along with such favorites as, of course, the victory theme, and Swing de Chocobo! AND RONFAURE. Squeeee! The screen you see up there had wonderful little gameplay clips to go with each song. Watching clips of X while To Zanarkand played gave me chills. Of course, listening to Melodies of Life with IX in the background practically made me cry. We got the love theme/battle theme from XIII which was nice, two of my favorite songs. We also got music from XIV, one of which reminded me of Bastok, and it still doesn't look any more interesting then when I quit after the open beta.

I was really impressed we got Ronfaure too. If anything, it made me miss my home more than ever before. They really only showed the opening movie and little panning shots of Ronfaure, but that's enough.. Nothing like the lush green forests of San d'Oria to make me homesick.

Sometimes they were funny, othertimes serious, but all Final Fantasy. During Swing de Chocobo, they had a fantastic medley of Chocobos on the screen, ending with a big 'ole CHOCOBO! Kweh!!!

You know what happens when you get 2k+ FF fans in one area and play Swing de Chocobo? The whole fucking audience starts to bop their head and tap their feet. It's instinctual to us.

We all had this horrible habit of humming most of the songs, oops.

The best piece of the night? The Opera of Maria and Draco, WITH LYRICS. YESSSSS. I'm a hardcore IX fan, I really am. Vamo' alla Flamenco was great. Melodies of Life was FANTASTIC, I want to play IX more than ever... The Opera of Maria and Draco? Chills, tears, memories. Fourteen minutes of story!

All things were winding down, the show was unfortunately ending. Uematsu was on stage giving his bows when someone behind me starts chanting ONE WING ANGEL. ONE WING ANGEL.

...and Altana be damned, We got our One Wing Angel. We SUNG One Wing Angel.

VII was not one of my favorites. Not by a long shot. I don't get the hype either.

That being said, I belted out every single word to One Wing Angel, two thousand voices calling for the silver-haired mama's boy with surprising accuracy. We also had the lyrics on screen so maybe that helped.

Estuans interius

ira vehementi

Estuans interius

ira vehementi

Sephiroth!

Sephiroth!

(Or maybe not...)

I clapped until I couldn't clap anymore. I walked to the train humming Swing de Chocobo, I woke up singing Vamo' alla Flamenco. I've got Maria and Draco on now.

It was a fantastic show.

You know what...

2011-03-27T11:06:00.000-04:00

Fuck it. WHM Survival Guide stays open.

I'm playing XI with myself and my mule this morning and I'm having a gay fucking time, so whatever. If it turns out to be a story blog about me and my mule, so be it.

Announcements! Part 1

2011-03-23T19:56:00.000-04:00

...BECAUSE I'M HORRIBLE AND DIDN'T FINISH THEM BOTH.

Well, technically there is three announcements. Part 2 will come later!

First, the "bad news" announcement.... I'm closing my FFXI blog - The White Mage Survival Guide.

I love FFXI. I always will. Maintaining a blog soley about FFXI has become difficult between my limited gameplay around school and work though. I'm also spending more time in solo play working on my own two characters. I will incorporate my FFXI-themed entries here though.

Now, the good news!

As I've bragged about for a while now, I've opened my own writing community. With lofty goals, and a head in the clouds, this has prompted me to open up my "professional blog". It's a literary blog that I hope many of you check out. It'll have the same Meilin charm you are all familiar with, trust me. It's about time I kicked myself into gear regarding all this nonsense. I need to read more, I need to take my interpretations and share them, and most of all, I need to start getting my own stories out there!

So, I hope you all support me in my endeavors, insanity, and check out Kidnapped By A Story, A Blog of Literary Exploration.

A morning in the life of Meilin

2011-03-16T19:29:00.000-04:00

I swear, this is word for word.

Mei: Hi grandma, good morning, you have raisin bread and I want toast.
Grandma: Let me finish watching this movie and I'll make it.
Mei: Fine, I'll just say good morning to nana.
Grandma: Well, shes sleeping...
Mei: Its 10 fucking am...
Grandma: To her, its still 9. Or she could be dead. Go check on her.
Mei: I don't want to check on her if shes dead...

A little music, please.

2011-03-16T19:08:00.000-04:00

It is with a smile that I sit at my desk tonight.

Not because the world is in fantastic order, or because my recent complaints have been resolved.

No, I sit here tonight singing (quite badly, I might add.), slowly dissolving peanut butter chocolate in my mouth between songs because...

...heh, you figure it out.

One more to go.

I know I've been really lazy about updating, but hey, a girls busy.

I'll have two big announcements for this weekend... if I can finish them on time.

<3

Things I Have Accomplished: Age 21

2011-03-10T06:33:00.000-05:00

Started my own online community.

Got my Associates in Liberal Arts.

Made fun of my mother. A lot.

Held a job for over a year. Kind of a miracle for me, honestly.

Transferred to the school I've wanted to get in since 6th grade.

Had an epic drama war on my blog.

Built my new computer with three of the best people in the world.

Made my best friend in the whole universe a costume.

Became an Alpha Nerd.

Had really interesting conversations. Usually with Lei or Walter.

Completed NaNoWriMo.

Threw my first party with booze. Proceeded to get very drunk and not hung over.

Cooked a meal that had more than two steps.

..and as of March 9th, 2011... I can write my full name in Japanese.

I did a lot between March 10th 2010 and March 9th 2011, a year of really awesome stuff, looking back on it all. Starting my own community must be my biggest accomplishment this year though. With the help of three of the best people ever, Itty Bitty Writers Guild of Literary Intent took off with shaky legs, but has grown ever since.

Yes, my own community is more exciting than my Associates. You can see where my priories lie.

Who knows what I'll accomplish at 22.

Happy birthday to Mei, happy birthday to Mei, happy birthday meiiii faaaaaaaaaaace, happy birthday to Mei.

Also Chuck Norris
Happy Birthday Chuck Norris.

Also, March 10th is the International Day of Awesome. Coincidence? I THINK NOT.

A just a little last thing to go out with... I have really gone far with my writing at 21. This quote really hits home for me:

"In the deepest hour of the night, confess to yourself that you would die if you were forbidden to write. And look deep into your heart where it spreads its roots, the answer, and ask yourself: ‘Must I write?’" - Rainer Maria Rilke

Here we go!

Bad Piggy!

2011-03-09T12:47:00.001-05:00

I know, I really haven't posted anything... contentful in the past few days. I'm sorry. School. Work. That whole thing.

Forgive me~

Someone should read this!

2011-03-07T14:15:00.002-05:00

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."
— Albert Einstein

Good Morning Monday!

2011-03-07T06:37:00.001-05:00

Something Awesome, Follow up! and Music!

2011-03-02T15:05:00.000-05:00

I've been in a musical mood.

My secret crush, Lady GaGa (yes, lady fucking gaga. don't ask. I don't understand it either.), put out her new music video that is just strange enough to entertain me for hours on end.

Also, a touch of a follow up to the home made cream egg post:

Cream Egg Stuffed Cookies.

Someone in the comments mentioned fried cream eggs too.. I am SO going to try some. The place they mentioned has an awesome name. A Salt & Battery. *snortgiggle*

A 2011 College Student's Dilemma

2011-02-28T11:07:00.000-05:00

For all intent and purposes, My name is Meilin Mekere Kikkano.

You won't find me enrolled in any college. You won't find me employed at any business. A Google search will turn up this blog and ownership of a closed community.

Meilin Mekere Kikkano is the pen name of an almost 22-year old college student, part time day-care worker, and very stressed out blogger.

Why?

You see, everything is going to shit...

When I was in 8th grade, perhaps 7th, the memories are a touch fuzzy, Touch fuzzy get dizzy! I visited Stony Brook University in my Honors Science class. Ever since then, I wanted to go to school there.

I was rejected the first time. I had a bad 10th/11th grade due to illness. Fine. So I went to a different school. I applied again. Rejected, too full. Third time's a charm I guess.

I have a 3.7 GPA. I'm able to go to school on grants. I have applied for scholarships but since my only talent is storytelling, the market is pretty small. I try. I even have health insurance now! School is wonderful.

I have a job. My boss gives me thirteen hours a week. After taxes, that's barely $100 a week. It's not that I can't work more hours - I would love to! She would rather let the work-study student she pays $6/hr work, or hire non-English speaking, non experienced women to do the job. I'm free 3/5 days we are open! I even work morning hours of the two days I have all day classes. Please give me more hours.... I'm trying to find more work but I keep failing the "assessment exams" for the online applications. I don't think you can even pass them. Nobody will bother to interview me or even talk to me. Despite my rough bloggyness, I'm actually a nice person. I work hard, I'm rarely late or out sick, but because 40 multiple choice questions deemed me outside their parameters my application doesn't even get in. Not that anyone is even hiring.

I live at home, it was cost efficient. I'm also one of those people who hate most other people. If I have to live with a retard party girl, I might kill her. What's that officer? She ate rat poison? I have no idea how that could have happened... I don't mind it, honestly. I love my room, my privacy, and my family. I don't need to worry about who's throwing a party while I'm trying to study or who clogged the bathroom. I'll clean my own bathroom if it means I can avoid the general population of folks.

Now?

Now I don't know any more.

I've always wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to teach high school students. I wanted to give future generations the ability to use their own words for their own gain. To realize that books, novels, stories are not torture devices. Perhaps I even want to undo some of this damage "text speak" is doing.

Now I don't know any more.

I love working with children. They can be downright colon-three worthy. I almost considered changing my major to elementary education. Then one pukes on me. Another butts their head into a wall because they don't want to nap. Parents drop off their sick children and run away leaving me to deal with them. I immediately dismiss any ideas I had about changing my major. I can handle teenage attitude with a simple "There's the door, enjoy.". A temper tantrum throwing two year old? I'll let them scream and bang their head against the floor until they give themselves a concussion. I think that's frowned upon in most places.

Now I don't know any more.

I'm hemorrhaging money. My pathetic paycheck soon will no longer cover gas to go to and from school and work. I have ONE expense at the moment - private Japanese lessons. $80/month. That is almost an entire week's paycheck. Soon I will buy my own car. I will need to pay car insurance on top of gas. My wonderful boyfriend currently drives me back and forth. He's really a great guy as much as we bicker sometimes, but paying for gas is killing me. Right now, I have $2.12 in my checking account. I do not get paid for another two weeks. Dip into my savings? My car money? My book money? My money to pay off what the grants don't?

I bought us tickets to see Final Fantasy: Distant Worlds. It wasn't cheap but I doubt I'll ever get a chance to see them again. Should I have gone without it? Should I give up my wonderful sensei and her poor English and learn Japanese at another time? I have a preorder down on the Duke Nukem Balls of Steel bundle. It's a part of gaming history. I'm beginning to think I will have to cancel it. The game does not come out until May, but at this rate, I will not have the money for it.

I've given up my monthly manga binges. I haven't bought my own manga since Otakon. I got a few more as gifts on Christmas. Thats all. New games? I haven't bought a new game in forever. I want them, but I guess I'll wait til I can find them cheaper. Little Big Planet 2 will have to wait, so will Pokemon. I've even given up eating out at my favorite restaurant because lunch for two is expensive.

You have no idea how badly I want to go out and chow down on some sushi too.

I just don't know anymore.

I can't buy charcoal for my drawing class tomorrow without counting out change from my piggy bank. That was supposed to be my savings for a trip to Japan. Oh well. I guess I can go without that for now as well.

Should I transfer back? It would be cheaper on my tuition, gas, and I'd even have a little grant money left over for books. Should I keep going and take out another loan just to stop trying to budget out every cent of my pathetic paycheck? Cling to the hope that I can find a second job?

I just don't know.

Simple Pleasures [Something Awesome]

2011-02-26T11:13:00.000-05:00

I have simple pleasures in life.

Reading.

Writing.

Cadbury Cream Eggs.

I don't need cars or boats or giant TVs... A book and someplace to write makes me pretty content. Around Easter, also known as "Zombie Jesus Day", I usually stea...erm... purchase... a lot of cream eggs.

Alright, I steal 2-3, and let Zombie Bunny bring me a dozen.

I can usually make that dozen stretch til early June.

The rest of the year, I go cream-egg-less. That makes me sad.

No longer!

Reading a novel at my desk, munching on a homemade cream egg... ahh, what could be better.

My friends are awesome.

2011-02-23T11:20:00.000-05:00

Mei, you are so wonderful, I knew from our first conversation that you would become someone important to me. And you have. you're beautiful and intelligent, I feel like I can go to you for anything, and I hope you feel that way about me too. Of all the connections I've formed because of Lei, yours is the one that is most
important to me.

---
Meilin Kikkano:
I don't think I'm cut out for this drawing thing anymore. My hands can't draw what my eyes can't see... and I don't see anything.

Reply:
I smell a load of crap. Can this be coming from one of the most creative, inspiring, imaginative people I know? Its not about seeing and copying. Its about looking and interpreting. What do your eyes see? Not what is factually in front of you. What you want to put on that paper. Drawing is not black and white. ♥

---
Thanks guys. <3

Today is better.