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Wednesday, May 2, 2001 // 08:38 p.m.
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"Belle," Notre-Dame de Paris
This is a gorgeous song ... in a stalkerish sort of way. >D It's from the French musical of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and has a few of the men singing about their love for Esmeralda. And wondering why the devil gave them these emotions if they can't act on them. O_o Or something like that. (Sorry if I mangled it, Lili-chan. >D)
I read back over an essay I wrote on Jacksonian Democracy in November, and it's really sad how little I now know about it. I remember the broad concepts and major events, such as the issues with the tariffs and the National Bank, but ... I doubt I could write another essay on it, if I was asked to do so on the AP exam. X_x
I had a good dinner, though, so I'm content. ^_^ Gailan with chili sauce is really good. :D~
I want to watch Felicity, but I should probably finish tonight's History review. >P (The sacrifices I make for my education. Che. XD)
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Wednesday, May 2, 2001 // 05:09 p.m.
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"Nandito Ako," Lea Salonga
I forgot to mention yesterday -- neechan has a loverly new Esca layout. ^_^ I saw it a week or so ago, though, since I've got inside connections. Muahahaha. XD
For some reason, Tin-san, your story about your cousin made me laugh uncontrollably. ^_^;
Argh. I'm signed up to go listen to the Dalai Lama speak two weeks from now, but first I need to turn in a permission slip I don't actually have by Friday. O_o And then there's something of a controversy going on about the whole thing, because it's in a way a religious presentation. It's an optional trip, but the thing is that our district is actually paying to provide transportation of the students, which I suppose is being viewed as an implicit endorsement of Buddhism. There are people saying that, if it were a Christian leader speaking, the media and everyone else would be quick to point out the breach in the wall between church and state. Logically, I would agree with that, but I just -- don't. I guess it's because he's speaking about conflict resolution, not his faith, and while I know it's an intrinsic part of his identity and experience, I'm comfortable with knowing that. I think I'd feel the same with a Christian speaker -- provided s/he was speaking about a "secular" issue such as conflict resolution, and not something divisive. I think that's why we wouldn't be as likely to do that -- because people would think of some sort of evangelical fanatic who'd speak against other beliefs. I know that's not necessarily true, but that's the automatic view that comes to my mind of a Christian public speaker who wants to come to a school. That's the kind of religious involvement that would worry me. I don't want anyone speaking against other religions, or homosexuality, or any other form of "immorality." Yeah, maybe that's being too PC, but it's what I believe.
Um ... right. Enough of that.
Ganbatte ne, Lili-chan. (Three more weeks -- you can make it! ^o^) And you, too, neko-chan. I'm always glad to have a friend like you around cheering me on, you know. ^_^
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Tuesday, May 1, 2001 // 10:51 p.m.
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Lea Salonga clips from CDNOW
Yes, I should probably be going to bed. ^_^; But I downloaded some songs by Lea Salonga while I was reviewing my History online (yes, I'm easily distracted >P) and I really like them. I want to find out where they're from, and maybe get some more of her stuff -- I've only heard her on Broadway musicals so far.
Strawberries. Yum. XD
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Tuesday, May 1, 2001 // 08:34 p.m.
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"The Real Folk Blues," Cowboy Bebop
I should be studying for the AP History exam. o_o But I've gotten to the point where I have an almost physically repulsive reaction whenever I try to do any reviewing. X_x
I got home a few hours late today because we were delivering stuff from the baby food drive to the Crisis Pregnancy Center, and most of it wasn't sorted. O_o So we spent a good amount of time doing that. I thought at first that the pureed "Vegetable Beef" and "Chicken and Apples" was bad, but ... we got to the Stage 3 jars, which included real food -- like these "Chicken Sticks" floating in oil that looked like fingers made of processed meat. *gags* I just hope these kids are too young to remember having to eat this foul stuff. >.<
This is a great page with photos from Sakura Con. It's got pictures from some panels with the featured guests, but most of them are of cosplayers. I was really impressed with the costumes I saw there; it'd really be worthwhile to take a look. There were tons of CCS cosplayers -- or, to be more precise, tons of Sakura and Kereberos, Tomoyo and Shaoran and even a Meilin, but NO Touya or Yukito or Yue. ;_; Two (female) Kenshin, a Kaoru, a Yahiko, and even a Saitou (Fujita) which I saw, but also a Sano and a Misao that I somehow managed to miss. But no Aoshi-sama. *pouts*
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Monday, April 30, 2001 // 05:51 p.m.
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"Who," Hamasaki Ayumi
Okaeri. o_o The following is my journal from Sakura Con, starting with Friday afternoon. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a couple days' worth of blogs and email to catch up on. And I'd love to be able to write a little ... I want to update my site. And soon, dammit. >P
Friday, April 27, 2001 // 12:30 p.m.
Sitting in the train station. The ride was long and satisfyingly monotonous; I heard some rather interesting conversations around me. One woman got stuck in the bathroom, but luckily she had a healthy sense of humor, and she and her friends got a hearty laugh out of it.
Perhaps I should have taken the time to study my history. Well, no matter. XD
We meet neechan in an hour or two. We actually don't know where she'll be looking for us. It should be interesting. o.o
Saturday, April 28, 2001 // 3:46 p.m.
Last night was fun. XD We went to the karaoke contest -- I still may have permanent hearing damage from it. One guy did a Dir en grey song during Open Mic, complete with the requisite vocal cord-tearing screeching. O_o Other performances during the actual contest were entertaining while being less ... loud. Like Team Rocket cosplayers doing "Roketto Dan yo Eien ni!" or a Yukino cosplayer doing a commendable rendition of Sakamoto Maaya's "Yubiwa." I wish I'd had a video camera with me instead of just taking pictures.
Something like karaoke requires a certain loosening of inhibitions, and we definitely had some of that. Some images that shall be forever burned in my mind include a Ryouga dancing with a plush P-chan, Aya and Schuldich doing a slow dance, and Quatre performing "Komm Susser Tod." The thing lasted till something like 5 in the morning, but neechan and I left soon after the end of the contest at 10:00. There being nothing else to do -- none of the showings were particularly interesting, and merchandising had ended hours ago -- we meandered back to our room and got to bed by midnight. Sorry, no wild parties or crazy escapades to tell you about. ^_~
Today was Loot Day. The lines to get into the merchandising room were long, but moved quickly enough. While I didn't splurge quite as much as I'd've liked -- I'm way too Type A for that -- I did pick up some goodies. Most of the stuff they had there I could actually get at Kinokuniya (who had a booth there, too) or Suncoast. I found one import stand with a few boxes of doujinshi -- a fairly meager selection, but neechan found a nice SanoKen and I snapped up a Sannasubi Nishiguchi, "Kuroneko no Tango." XD
Short break for lunch, then we watched the second Cardcaptor Sakura movie. It was adorable, with the usual gorgeous animation, and the crowd loved it. I got to hear Touya and Yukito (Seki-sama and Ogata-sama! ^o^) and neechan heard her darling deep-voiced Eriol. Plus, I got to see Yue (WINGS! *_*). It was shamelessly shoujo, but we went with it and really enjoyed ourselves.
A bit more shopping, for people we promised to pick up some goodies for, and now I'm back here in the room. The major events, such as the cosplay contest and the dance, don't start for another few hours, so we've got some down time till then. Nothing interesting on the Sakura TV channels right now ... Perhaps we'll wander the halls and take pictures of cosplayers. We've finally gathered enough courage to be able to ask random people if we can photograph them. ^_^;;
Some good costumes we've seen so far are a Vash, the aforementioned Schuldich (too bad for neechan, the cosplayer's a girl >D), plus the most adorable little girl dressed as Kinomoto Sakura. Someone actually thought *I* was dressed up as Rinoa, even though all I wore was a blue shirt and shorts. O_o
Sunday, April 29, 2001 // 1:52 a.m.
I'm back in the room for the first time in -- what -- eight hours? I've seen enough music videos to last me a lifetime. But hell, seeing Gundam Wing set to "Bye Bye Bye" was worth the 45 minute wait in line. XD
Pause. Michael Ko's "Once in a Lifetime" video is on Sakura TV channel 3.
Back. So the music video contest was long (just about 3 hours) but worth it. We missed about an hour of it to go up the Clark room party, where we pretty much sat around watching people play video games (like Chu Chu Rocket >D) and listened to anime music. Earlier in the evening was the cosplay contest, which was also of an ungodly length; but there were some really entertaining skits. In one, Quatre, Inuyasha, and someone I didn't recognize were trying to get Piccolo a date. In another, Schuldich sang "Spiritualized," and did the M-sama nasal pitch and everything. I really wish I could've gotten it on tape.
Since we're leaving tomorrow morning, and most of the meat of the con was today anyway, our Sakura Con experience is pretty much over. I must say I had a hell of a time. I only have a few regrets -- some, like not meeting Krista Perry, and the distinct lack of doujinshi selection, were beyond my control. But I do wish that I (we) had been more outgoing and aggressive. This is a convention entirely dedicated to anime, after all -- that's pretty much enough in common with people to strike up a conversation anywhere, ne? ^_^; I really wish I'd swallowed my shyness and met some people. Plus, I'd also have gotten more cosplay pictures that way. >P As it is, I only got about a dozen.
But, I can't change anything now. It's over. We did it. And I'd love to do it again next year. XD
Sunday, April 29, 2001 // 2:21 p.m.
On the train from Seattle and trying to avoid my history studying at all costs. I still can't really believe it's over. Even though this weekend flew by incredibly fast, it feels like forever since I was at *home* and at *school.* It's odd to think I was in the train station waiting impatiently for the connecting train to Everett just two days ago. Like I was talking about with neechan, it'll be rather strange to go back to the normal (non-otaku >D) world after the con. I mean, how cool is it to be able to open your room door in the morning and see Dejiko or Vash the Stampede in the hall? And where else can you see people get down to "Watashi no Tamagoyaki" and "Mr. Wonderful"? (that was at the dance last night, btw. But since neechan and I aren't really ones to be getting down in general, we didn't spend much time there.)
Next year Sakura Con will be moving from the Everett Holiday Inn to the SeaTac airport Hilton, which has a bigger and brand new convention center. I'd love to go -- Mommy dearest said she might even let me and neechan go alone. She wasn't even with us most of the time, though, since she didn't register for the con. It was just me and neechan -- even though I, being "a minor between the ages of 13 and 17," was technically supposed to be accompanied by someone 21 or older. And I wasn't supposed to be allowed around the con after 1 a.m. ... Oh well. XD
But if I do go next year, I might be able to catch some of the things I missed this time around, etiher because of time constraints or because I didn't know about them. Like the Kabuki presentation or the koto performance, sushi from Hospitality or the cosplay classes.
Thus ends Sakura Con 2001. *sniff* All I have to remember it by are my membership badge and some photos. Oh yeah, and a Sannasubi Nishiguchi doujinshi. XD
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Thursday, April 26, 2001 // 05:59 p.m.
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"In the Night," Key the Metal Idol
The file says this song is by Iwao Junko, but I don't believe them. >P It's just that it sounds much deeper than anything I've heard by her -- but I haven't been able to find the name of the actual artist, so I guess I'll have to go by that. And hell, if she can distort her voice to be unnaturally high for Tomoyo, why not go in the other direction?
I'M GOING TO SAKURA CON TOMORROW~! XD
I probably sound like a total newbie when I do that, but I'm excited and I don't care. XD Oh, to think -- this time tomorrow I will be drooling over all the loot I can get my greedy little paws on.
Anou ... I'm wondering why people on Napster feel the need to download songs from me that they probably don't even know. I use obscure file names for some of my songs, yet people invariably go for them nonetheless. O_o
You know, I think I'll take along my notebook tomorrow. I might keep a sort of con journal like neko-chan did for Akon.
Ara, I'm so happy~~ ^_^*
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Wednesday, April 25, 2001 // 07:51 p.m.
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"Evolution," Hamasaki Ayumi
TWO DAYS UNTIL SAKURA CON!! ^O^
I am being a total and utter fangirl about this, and I'm sure that most of the people I talk to at school about this think I'm a freak ... Demo daijoubu yo! XD
*koffkoff* What do you mean about being lazy, Lili-chan? *innocent look* I write emails. Perhaps not in the speediest manner ... but time is a relative thing. XD (And do that layout, please! You must share Masaki with the world! XD)
Neko-chan, should I ask what you got on your SATs? Is it another one of those cases of "anything less than perfect isn't good enough"? ^_^;; (BTW, a girl in my class who already took them got a 1420 -- without any studying or other preparation whatsoever. @_@ And a girl who transferred to another high school in the district got a 1590. X_x And is taking them again. X_@;; And got a perfect score on the ACTs. %_@>;;)
Ah, the weather was so nice today. ^___^ I actually wore a tank top. It was a turtleneck, but still. >D Sometimes I regret the fact that I've become "tempered" to Northwest weather -- I remember a time when it was alien to consider 80 degrees hot. (Do you remember that story from seventh grade, neko-chan? Lili-chan?) And now, at 70, I'm feeling that kind of heat-induced lethargy I get during the summer. ^_^;; Sometimes I'm glad there isn't much air circulation in the computer room. I'ts nice and cool in here. ^_^v
Sleep is good. ^_^ "Sleep, the innocent sleep, sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care ..." I had a headache this afternoon and was feeling generally icky and ... I don't know, plagued with a sort of malaise ... But I took a short nap, and now I feel better and genki-ed up for Sakura Con. >D
Oh, and here is what the previous layout was supposed to look like. Anyone using Netscape saw ... nothing. O_o
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Tuesday, April 24, 2001 // 05:33 p.m.
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"Scarlet (ver ii)," Iwao Junko
Ara, it's so amazingly gorgeous outside. *_* I think they said it hit the 70s today, and that's quite good for late April around here. ^_^;
Yes, Lili-chan, I am reminded. O_o We can't help it if we're procrastinators with even less ambition than we have free time, ne? ^_^;; (I can totally see you doing that thing with Orie and the Arashi dancing, btw. XD)
Speaking of Arashi, I got the picture. *_* Two words: Hot damn! XD Now, normally, I don't really like Asian guys (even though I'm Asian ... I just don't usually find them attractive ^_^;;;). Arashi on the whole are pretty good-looking, though, and this one picture of Masaki is just ... Pant pant. ^_~ I forgot how old he is, but he looks sort of boyish ... and sufficiently lanky ... with better hair than me ... Yep, ladies and gents, we've got ourselves a bishounen! >D
Rejoice and be glad! The major History test (three essays in two hours >P) I thought I'd have to make up because I'm going to Sakura Con has now been moved to Monday! ^o^ A lot of other people are going to be gone on Friday because of things like the visitors' day at UW and some choir concert. Yep, they're all academic and scholarly reasons ... I, on the other hand, will be slavering at the mouth in front of a doujinshi stand. XD
Hum. My friend has something of a dilemma. She's in the same drama class as her boyfriend, and they're performing a scene. Her character has to slap his character (because he unzips her dress O_o), but she's okay with that. She only found out today that they also kiss. The two of them haven't kissed yet, and she doesn't want their (and her) first kiss to be on stage in front of the entire class. ^_^;; Anyone out there have a solution? She doesn't want to demand a kiss from her boyfriend before they have to perform, nor does she think saying, "I don't want to kiss you in the scene!" would exactly give the best of impressions. ^_^;;
Sometimes I wish I had problems like that. _o_ But this little tori-chan has yet to be kissed. Or to acquire a boyfriend, for that matter. It doesn't really bother me, but, sometimes ... Yes, sometimes. June 2 is significant to me only because I'm going to take my SATs. *laughs* Nope, no Prom date for me. *snuggles Aoshi-plushie*
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Monday, April 23, 2001 // 10:21 p.m.
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"Butterfly," Dance Dance Revolution
So I finally decided to register for the SATs last night, something like five days before the deadline. O_o Now, normally, I'm one of those obsessive-compulsive types who completes everything at least an entire moon cycle in advance, but for some reason, this year I've been putting off a lot of things. Especially those that directly impact my (educational) future. Like sending back those little cards to request more information from colleges. I think I am (sub?)consciously attempting to sabatoge any chances for me to leave home and go to college and get into the real world, because I like life the way it is, dangit. ~.~
However, amidst the SAT-stressing and AP-stressing and general school-stressing, I just realized with a nearly euphoric sense of anticipation that I am actually going to my first con in three days. Fangirls' paradise! >o< (This was a random thought that occurred while I was in the shower. Imagine me freaking out in the middle of the shower stall and nearly slipping and breaking my neck. XD)
The sad thing is, I don't know anyone else who's going to Sakura Con. It's just neechan and me. The only friend I knew was going had to bail because of a promotion thing he has to do for his work (see, this is why I want to avoid to the adult world at all costs >P). I have a friend who told me that he knows someone in my school who's going, but I don't know the girl. My friend told me with a mixture of amusement and concern that this girl was going to "dye her hair purple to look like one of those characters." Heh. I feel sorry for non-fanboys like him. XD
Lili-chan, I do the same thing you do. Except for me, it's j-pop instead of X, and I'm usually busting out the song at the top of my lungs. XD It's so much fun to have a one-woman karaoke bar in the middle of my computer room. XD Singing j-pop is a great way to relieve stress, too -- I actually read that there was a study done on some choir singers, and those who had sung this three-hour long concert had more of a certain chemical in their brain that produced a sort of euphoria. It's like a natural high. >D I, for one, always feel better after a good bout of loud, off-key singing. Preferably when no one's around. ^_^;; Or perhaps it's just the act of letting loose without the constraints of others' expectations or judgement? ... Or perhaps I'm just overanalyzing things again? O_o
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Sunday, April 22, 2001 // 06:02 p.m.
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"Over the End," Okui Masami
And here's the new layout. Jaa~an. ^_^v It's ... bright, ne? ^_^; But I think it's a good change, especially since the last one never worked on Netscape. -_- Remind me to upload a screencap of what it should have looked like, someday.
I forgot to mention something interesting I found out about my Physics teacher (the woman is fascinating, I tell you). It turns out she's the daughter of Danny Kaye. o_o I hope this doesn't get me sued for libel or anything -- here's what she said. Her mother got married to her original husband, but, because of an excessively protective mother-in-law, had a divorce. She moved out east, became Danny Kaye's secretary, and ended up in a relationship with him. Hence, my Physics teacher. ^_^;; Her ex-husband, meanwhile, had come back from the service (I would assume WWII), and, still being in love with my teacher's mother, looked her up and wrote her a letter. Eventually, he convinced her to come to the northwest, where he was stationed, and get re-married. My teacher was 8 or 9 by this time; she assumed that this man was her father and, like many other men at the time, had just been gone at war. She didn't find out until she was nineteen, and her parents celebrated an anniversary that was -- erm, less than she was. ^_^; Her mother was very reluctant to tell her, and by the time she did, Danny Kaye had passed on and her mother was about to. She's never said anything publically, or tried to look up family on that side or anything; she considers the man who raised her to be her true father. But it is somewhat eerie how much she looks like her biological father. ^_^;;
Yesterday was quite fun. ^_^ I went to a friend's house around noon, to go to the rhododendron gardens in Portland. While waiting for her brother to finish up some work for the neighbors, the two of us went down to Farmer's Market. I'd never been, so it was really cool; they had some gorgeous crafts, as well as some yummy, fresh-baked donuts. ^_^v I got some matching handmade bracelets for me and my friend. After that, we went with her family to the gardens, which are down by Reed College. It's a really beautiful place, very tranquil.
After that, the two of us went to anime. Having missed Battle Angel, we went straight from rhododendron gardens to Kodomo no Omocha. ^_^;; That show is just odd. O_o They said in the translation notes that Hayama was played by Ogata Megumi, but that's only in the OAVs. In the TV series, which is what I believe we're watching, his seiyuu is someone named Nakazaki Tatsuya. Either way, it doesn't sound like Ogata-sama. They're wrong, I tell you! Wrong! XD
After Kodocha they showed the first Ura Buto Satsujin episodes of Recca (17-20). I don't know if my friend really liked the showing this time; she's only been there once before, but then they showed odd, but cute, girly stuff like Jubei-chan and Saber Marionette J (and the Lupin movie). This time it was odd, at times vaguely ecchi guy stuff (like the Fujimaru-Fuuko fight ^_^;;). Ah, well. I liked it. >D
Following anime, we went to another friend's house for a "study session." Riiight. ~_~;; After effectively wasting the first hour deciding on what kind of pizza to order where, we watched SNL episodes on Comedy Central (Ray Romano and Kelsey Grammer hosting). Highly edifying. Then we took IQ tests until it was time to leave so we could make my friend's curfew. ^_^;;
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