I figure if I'm trying to get the creative juices flowing for my paper, blogging is as good as any exercise. Right? ^_^;

So, last night was my first time out clubbing. I had fun, in the "Okay, but I don't think I'll be back anytime soon" kind of way. ^_^; It's such a production to get ready, and I spent half an hour curling my hair only to have it straightened by five minutes in the rain -- w00t Asian hair XD -- and then afterwards, there's all the washing and scrubbing to get the ashtray stench out of hair, clothes, and bedding (my poor pillow! T_T). I suppose that's the problem with taking someone as anal-retentive as me to a nightclub. XD Ignoring all of that, though, I did have fun. I enjoyed hanging out with the girls, and dancing -- in the same way I enjoyed dancing at school dances: it's dark and crowded, and people don't really see me. (If the dancing lacks established steps like that, I prefer that there are no witnesses. XD;;)

The place we went to, Aristocrats, was right around International District. (I've never seen that amount of young Asian people packed into such a small space, outside of family gatherings.) We were going to go to another club, but it turned out to be 21 and over. Not that it really mattered, because at Aristocrats we accidentally wandered into the 21+ level anyway. The guy checking my ID just squinted at it, looking as if he were thinking really hard, and let me through. ^_^; It was only when I looked around, and figured that there had to be an awful lot of people drinking juice and water for so many cups to be lying around, that I began to suspect. Because, you know, I'm quick about things that way.

*stares balefully at paper* I really want to get this written and done, and I know generally what I'm writing about, but ... I'm lacking that special something, you know, that twist in your argument that tells you you're writing something fascinating? And I can't bring myself to type anything when it feels so blah. I don't mean to whine, really; I know everyone else seems to be buried in papers and studying right now. I just need to tease out that special point that will give me that oomph ...

(Also worked on a new layout today. Will be up promptly, as soon as I get time to write out code. Be forewarned: it is girly.)

Saturday, February 7, 2004
01:58 a.m.

I really should be asleep now, but first -- meme time!

A is for - Age: 19
B is for - Boyfriend/Girlfriend: Well, I've got lots of boy friends and lots of girl friends. XD
C is for - Career in future: Writer -- even if that will mean doing something menial during the day in order to pay the bills and scribbling madly into the wee hours of the morning ...
D is for - Dad's name: Sai (in English).
E is for - Essential item to bring to a party: I think I'd have to go with Apples to Apples, even though I don't own the game myself. (And yes, this is a sign of how wild and crazy I am at parties. XD;;)
F is for - Favorite song at the moment: Sakamoto Maaya's "Alkaloid." It's a bit of an old song, off her Lucy album, which I've been listening to a lot lately.
G is for - Guy/Girls you've kissed: >_>
H is for - Hometown: Mesa, AZ is where I was born, but Austin is really where I hail from.
I is for - Instruments you play: Violin! Or, at least, I used to. ^_^; I'm quite charmed by the cello, though, and would like to learn it someday.
J is for - Job title: Student assistant.
K is for - Kids: ... *points* XD XD XD
L is for - Living arrangement: Dorming with my sister. And no, we haven't killed each other yet!
M is for - Mom's name: Julie (again, in English).
N is for - Nicest body part on you: Erm ... my hair? I rather like it, and can get protective of it. ^_^;
O is for - Overnight hospital stays: Nope.
P is for - Phobia[s]: Heights, mildly. Certain social situations, greatly.
Q is for - Quote you like: "THERE'S A GAY PIRATE LIVING UNDER MY BED!!"
R is for - Relationship that lasted the longest: I have some friendships that have lasted for many years. :D
S is for - Sexual position: .................................
T is for - Time you wake up everyday: 8:00 to 8:30 on weekdays; on weekends -- do I have to be somewhere before noon? ^_^;
U is for - Unique Trait(s): I can perform immunohistochemistry ... which is, admittedly, not particularly unique, but bear in mind that I'm an English major, here.
V is for - Vegetable you love: Gai lan (in oyster sauce :D~~).
W is for - Worst habit: Worrying about anything and everything!
X is for - X-rays you've had: Dentals and stomach stuff.
Y is for - Yummy food you make: Grass jelly! To say nothing of my delicious avocado concoction ...
Z is for - Zodiac sign: Capricorn -- power of the goat-fish! XD

And also -- I've caved, and decided to make one of the "How well do you know me?" quizzes. It's here, for the curious (and intrepid XD).

Thursday, February 5, 2004
12:49 p.m.

Linkage!

For those who haven't seen it yet, Once More With Hobbits has an mp3 up of "Rest in Peace." Not as good as "Standing," IMO, but I'm just glad they're getting more files up. I want to hear "Under Your Spell" ... *_*

Also, NYT has an article on yesterday's Massachusetts same-sex marriage ruling. Plus general reiteration of the conservative stance for kicks. (No, Mr. Bush, I *don't* feel as if the "arbitrary will" of the courts is being imposed on me. In fact, I feel more pushed around being told "Yes, you can get married, but just because you happen to like boys -- not these people over here." Funny, that.)

Interesting to note is this little bit from the court ruling: "In a footnote, the decision found that same-sex unions would not have to be called marriages if 'the Legislature were to jettison the term "marriage" altogether.'" Being something of a cynic when it comes to marriage (it's not the idea in general, just the wonderful and magical properties often ascribed to it), I think this would be a very good idea, if there were a practical way to implement it ... And I would expound more, but I have to go to class now. :p

Thursday, February 5, 2004
08:56 a.m.

... And my poor beleaguered anal-retentive heart is put at ease. XD;; I was freaking out last night because, while looking through the records of my homework submissions from logic, it looked like I had missed an entire assignment. Even though I knew I did it and knew I turned it in ... But all is well; I emailed my TA and my paranoia has been assuaged. :D

I really need to get out of this class as soon as possible, though. I think I've determined, from the ungodly number of hours I've spent wrestling with my homework, that logic is not my bitch. XD;; In contrast, however, the lectures are consistently and irresistably sleep-inducing. I've taken in other homework to keep me awake, but that doesn't seem to help; yesterday I attempted to concentrate on kanji practice, and only ended up nodding off and drawing some rather strange-looking characters. ^_^;;

Mrk ... I guess I should have known when I kept saying "It's just a 100-level class; it'll be easy! ｢ｾ" :p I really do want to learn logic, but it seems like my talents are best applied elsewhere. Next quarter I'm looking to get back to an honest-to-goodness philosophy course -- however, my sights are set on Philosophy of Crime and Punishment, and that overlaps with the Beginning Poetry class I *also* want to take. Decisions, decisions ...

(Hmm ... I wonder if it's time for a new layout.)

Friday, January 30, 2004
10:37 a.m.

What is it about foreign language poetry that allows the use of hyperbolic description with impunity? I refer, for example, to Pablo Neruda. ("Foreign language poetry" doesn't always mean Pablo Neruda. It just does quite a good bit of the time.) I don't even have to say how much I love the man -- but there are certain lines, which, had I read them as being written originally in English, I would have tossed aside pretty quickly. For example, taken on its own, "Because on nights like this I held her in my arms/My soul is lost without her" (from "Puedo escribir los versos mas tristes esta noche ...") sounds almost like something you'd find in an angsty teenage love poem. (That feels so ... sacrilegious to say.) But then, the original: "Porque en noches como esta la tuve entre mis brazos/mi alma no se contenta con haberla perdido." Knowing this is what's behind it -- mi alma no se contenta -- it's somehow better, then, and I give it more credit, or at least tolerate it better. :p

I don't know what it is, exactly -- do I assume that any translation must be inadequate, and the original must be somehow better, less overdone, more believable, whatever? Yet I find this happens more often with poetry in languages I can understand (at least marginally) -- Spanish, Japanese, etc. Perhaps it's simply the translator's special joy of reading and thinking hey, I can understand that -- a spurious sort of pleasure that has no bearing on the poet's abilities. Also, there's the fact that English just isn't as euphonious as many other languages, especially Spanish, and having the original lines in that language does give it a definite aesthetic advantage.

Or maybe it's just the fact that I've *heard* all these things in English already. Yes, your soul is lost/complete, your despair/joy crushes/uplifts you, etc. etc. If I'm writing and lines like that occur to me, I laugh them off as being either hackneyed or unevocative. But 涙があとからあふれだして/最後の笑顔がにじんで見えないの? That sounds beautiful, even though all it says is "My tears are overflowing/Your last smile is blurred and I can't see it." Not a bad lyric by any means ("Yubiwa"), but I wouldn't even think of starting a poem that way.

Am I making sense? Am I the only one who thinks this way? ^_^;; I realize I'm being a little culturally exclusive; I don't know how it is for native Spanish speakers, or others whose language actually is one of the pretty ones. I wonder if Neruda comes off as trite (impossible, I say!), or if English poems are utterly lacking in mystique. Or other languages ... Does anyone else feel that discrepancy between 'native' and translated poetry? (I would ask my parents about Burmese poems, but they're not poetry fans. And I can't read Burmese myself, and have no idea where I could hear a poem, so.)

... Yeah, this is one of those things I thought of while shredding paper. XD;;

Friday, January 30, 2004
08:54 a.m.

やっぱり、、、

At work yesterday, the database -- which is essentially what the bulk of our work revolves around -- was down. Having run out of things to do, I left early, asking my boss to email me today and tell me whether or not it was up again (i.e., if I had to come in). Since I received no message this morning, I dragged my half-conscious self out of bed at 8:00 (okay ... 8:20), shook off sleep, got myself ready to go -- and lo and behold, an email arrives, telling us student assistants not to come in today. >_> I don't blame my boss, since I'm the one who comes in earliest, and this is actually quite an ample amount of warning for the others. It's just ... I could have still been asleep right now. T_T

It's too bad, though, because I was looking forward to my daily task of marvelling at the unfathomable stupidity of some applicantsgoing through applications. (Honestly, though, what part of "Required Form" makes you think it'd be a good idea *not* to include it in your package? And, just FYI -- if you're required to fill out test scores or classes or grades, please don't write "see transcripts." Application review committees generally don't feel like sorting through the academic histories of each of their applicants; and even if they do, I doubt that it makes them very receptive to the idea of you joining their school to piss them off even more.) Yesterday, instead of doing that, I ended up shredding paper for two hours -- which, let me tell you, is quite the zen activity. There's something about the monotony -- or perhaps the licensed destruction -- which is quite soothing. The utter mindlessness of it opens up the mind to all kinds of interesting thoughts.

Or perhaps not. ^_^;; I think the fact that I'm rhapsodizing about paper shredders is a sign that this week needs to end as soon as possible. These past few days have not been kind, and I just want them to be over -- assuming, of course, that the weekend doesn't hold some horrific catastrophe in store. (It's doubtful, though -- I'm going dancing tonight, and tomorrow's our first game session. What could go wrong? Right? Right? ^_^;;)

Tuesday, January 27, 2004
08:50 a.m.

YES!! Return of the King was nominated for Best Picture and Directing! No acting noms, though -- and much as I wished something for Sean Astin, what really irks me is that Andy Serkis didn't get anything (though there is the Makeup nomination). It did, however, get into some important categories, like Score and Costume Design, which you really know it deserves. Hell, it really deserves every single nomination it got -- take a look at the list.

BUT ... what made clap and giggle and try really hard not to wake up my sister is that Johnny Depp is up for Pirates of the Caribbean. XD XD XD That one I wasn't expecting at all. This almost makes up for no Sean Astin, Ian McKellan, or Viggo Mortensen -- at least, it would if he won and did the swagger up onto the stage. XD

Sunday, January 25, 2004
09:28 p.m.

Excellent. I returned home from dinner just in time to watch all the Lord of the Rings bits of the Golden Globes: Elijah Wood introducing the RotK clip, and the announcement of all the categories in which the movie was nominated. (Results are here if you haven't/won't see them.)

Yesterday was the writing workshop, which was immensely fun. It somehow left my mind both spinning with inspiration and yet fully drained. By mutual agreement, however, we decided to forgo the communal writing and scurry away for utter mindlessness the rest of the night. (I did manage to get a little poetry written, though, it being my personal indulgence in which I can avoid such pesky bits as planning and structured plot. Besides, it's nearly impossible to listen to Onitsuka Chihiro without getting the urge to wallow about in wordplay.) Various forces kept everyone from coming along, but neko-chan and I and several others from the club managed to escape from responsibilities into bubble tea and bad movies. :D

Mary Louise-Parker just won for her role in "Angels in America" (she was wonderful), and thanked her newborn son for making her chest look so good in her dress. Beautiful. XD

And now for a quiz. A bit silly, but I thought some people would enjoy it ...

I'll Never Tell....

Which Buffy Musical Song Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Friday, January 23, 2004
06:24 p.m.

Blargh, I'm sick. >_< I managed to make it through work and Japanese section this morning, before I dragged myself back home for sleep and recuperation. Will continue to do so for the rest of the night as much as possible, so as not to miss our club's writing workshop tomorrow (or, alternately, make it and spend an entire day writing in a half-dead feverish state XD).

And now for the Friday Five. (Ever get the sense I'm attempting to substitute surveys for actual content? Nahh ...)

At this moment, what is your favorite...

1. ...song?
Sakamoto Maaya's Kingfisher Girl. I'm half-tempted to say "the entire Shounen Arisu album," but I suppose that's not altogether fair.

2. ...food?
Unagi nigiri. :D~~~

3. ...tv show?
I'll have to go with Scrubs (even though I fell asleep last night and missed it ^_^;;), because that show makes me laugh every time. Plus, I'm now friends with a bona fide med student. XD

4. ...scent?
... the interior of Yunnie's? ^_^; I've never done perfume, so I couldn't say ...

5. ...quote?
Auden's "Lullaby." I suppose it's cheating to use an entire poem, but as soon as I read it the thing clubbed me over the head and dragged me away before I could regain my senses. I can't help it!

Thursday, January 22, 2004
01:40 p.m.

Jumping back into blogging with a meme, the BBC's 200 books list. (I would talk about my weekend, but it was wonderful and entertaining and now it's over and I'm sad. I don't feel like talking yet. ^_^;)

Here's the entire list, with the ones I've read in bold -- you know the drill.

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien (a little late, but ... ^_^;)
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen (much love!)
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling (actually, I haven't read the British version)
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling (unsurprisingly, my favorite of the bunch XD)
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel Garc�a M疵quez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl (you know, I don't think I actually read this one -- gads of his other stuff, but not this)
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden (mmmm ...)
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens (and I think I'm one of the only people I know who actually liked it)
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick S�skind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl (my absolute favorite of his books)
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding (still need to read sequel >_>)
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel Garc�a M疵quez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie
101. Three Men In A Boat, Jerome K. Jerome
102. Small Gods, Terry Pratchett
103. The Beach, Alex Garland
104. Dracula, Bram Stoker
105. Point Blanc, Anthony Horowitz
106. The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens
107. Stormbreaker, Anthony Horowitz
108. The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks
109. The Day Of The Jackal, Frederick Forsyth
110. The Illustrated Mum, Jacqueline Wilson
111. Jude The Obscure, Thomas Hardy
112. The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13ｾ, Sue Townsend
113. The Cruel Sea, Nicholas Monsarrat
114. Les Mis駻ables, Victor Hugo (♥♥♥♥!!)
115. The Mayor Of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
116. The Dare Game, Jacqueline Wilson
117. Bad Girls, Jacqueline Wilson
118. The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
119. Shogun, James Clavell
120. The Day Of The Triffids, John Wyndham
121. Lola Rose, Jacqueline Wilson
122. Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray
123. The Forsyte Saga, John Galsworthy
124. House Of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
125. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
126. Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett
127. Angus, Thongs And Full-Frontal Snogging, Louise Rennison
128. The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
129. Possession, A. S. Byatt
130. The Master And Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov
131. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood
132. Danny The Champion Of The World, Roald Dahl
133. East Of Eden, John Steinbeck
134. George's Marvellous Medicine, Roald Dahl
135. Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett
136. The Color Purple, Alice Walker
137. Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
138. The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan
139. Girls In Tears, Jacqueline Wilson
140. Sleepovers, Jacqueline Wilson
141. All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
142. Behind The Scenes At The Museum, Kate Atkinson
143. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby
144. It, Stephen King
145. James And The Giant Peach, Roald Dahl
146. The Green Mile, Stephen King
147. Papillon, Henri Charriere
148. Men At Arms, Terry Pratchett
149. Master And Commander, Patrick O'Brian
150. Skeleton Key, Anthony Horowitz
151. Soul Music, Terry Pratchett
152. Thief Of Time, Terry Pratchett
153. The Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett
154. Atonement, Ian McEwan
155. Secrets, Jacqueline Wilson
156. The Silver Sword, Ian Serraillier
157. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey
158. Heart Of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
159. Kim, Rudyard Kipling
160. Cross Stitch, Diana Gabaldon
161. Moby Dick, Herman Melville
162. River God, Wilbur Smith
163. Sunset Song, Lewis Grassic Gibbon
164. The Shipping News, Annie Proulx
165. The World According To Garp, John Irving
166. Lorna Doone, R. D. Blackmore
167. Girls Out Late, Jacqueline Wilson
168. The Far Pavilions, M. M. Kaye
169. The Witches, Roald Dahl
170. Charlotte's Web, E. B. White
171. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
172. They Used To Play On Grass, Terry Venables and Gordon Williams
173. The Old Man And The Sea, Ernest Hemingway
174. The Name Of The Rose, Umberto Eco
175. Sophie's World, Jostein Gaarder (I love this one to death)
176. Dustbin Baby, Jacqueline Wilson
177. Fantastic Mr Fox, Roald Dahl
178. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
179. Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, Richard Bach
180. The Little Prince, Antoine De Saint-Exupery
181. The Suitcase Kid, Jacqueline Wilson
182. Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
183. The Power Of One, Bryce Courtenay
184. Silas Marner, George Eliot
185. American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
186. The Diary Of A Nobody, George and Weedon Grossmith
187. Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh
188. Goosebumps, R. L. Stine (only some of them, though)
189. Heidi, Johanna Spyri
190. Sons And Lovers, D. H. Lawrence
191. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
192. Man And Boy, Tony Parsons
193. The Truth, Terry Pratchett
194. The War Of The Worlds, H. G. Wells
195. The Horse Whisperer, Nicholas Evans
196. A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry
197. Witches Abroad, Terry Pratchett
198. The Once And Future King, T. H. White
199. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle
200. Flowers In The Attic, Virginia Andrews

Huh ... not many at all. :P