Verbosity

Updates

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:54:07 GMT

So, apparently, my insurance got a $1200+ discount on my MRI. That cut the bill down to about $427, $200 of which they paid. I'm stuck with the rest of it, since I hadn't hit my $300 deductible for the year yet, so they won't pay the 70% they normally would. It's kind of a hard thing to expect me to hit that number considering how I barely got my insurance in about September. It would be nice if they'd prorate that or something . . . even $150 would be very, very nice.

Anyway, I also got an explanation of how much they paid my physical therapist, and how much I'm responsible for. I've been paying co-pays at every visit based off what the insurance lady there figured I'd end up paying in the end, so I'm wondering if they took that into account. Hopefully, the therapist sent them the entire bill rather than whatever was left over after my co-payments. Anyway, all the stuff the insurance company sent me said "This is not a bill," so I'm just going to sit tight until someone out there sends me an actual bill. Unless it's a bill for $1639, of course. ^^

Last Monday was the last of the 16 physical therapy sessions my insurance would cover for the calendar year. I'm feeling a lot, lot better now, and my therapist could tell. He said I didn't need any more sessions, but I should continue doing my stretches and exercises to make sure that I heal 100% and prevent future damage. I've been good about that so far. My back still aches a bit--actually, I'm noticing it a lot more than I did before my therapy started. But I think that might be because the intense pain in my leg took my mind off anything else. My back pain was always an afterthought when speaking with my doctor and therapist. So, it was rather frustrating at first when they were focusing so much on my back. But it definitely was the cause of my pain, so I've got to give my medical professionals some props.

My search for a good dog continues. When I chatted with a few of you a while back, there was a particular dog I had applied for through a rescue organization. It was a terrible experience! I suppose my first sign should have been when I sent in my application via email, and did not hear anything back for over a week. Thinking maybe I had failed to fill some vital line of the form in, I opened the application on my computer. Well, tried. It was corrupt! Okay, that's my fault for not checking the application, but seriously, a quick email telling me that it wouldn't open would have been nice. So, anyway, I send a general inquiry to the main office, and resent the email to the volunteer in charge of the dog I'm interested in. She replies within an hour, telling me she's sending the information on to the foster parents. Alright, now the ball's rolling! Only, not.

Another week passes. It's Thanksgiving week, so I'll cut them some slack. I send another inquiry to the main email address (the first one never got answered) giving them the dates I sent stuff in (and telling them that the volunteer I communicated with said she was going to pass the application on to the foster parents), and asking how long the adoption process usually takes. I just wanted to know if I should be contacting the volunteer in charge of my dog again. If it usually takes that long, fine. I'm willing to wait. I told them that. Never get an answer back from the main email. Instead, I get a very huffy answer back from the volunteer I had exchanged emails with before, who I had initially sent my application to. She said something like, "I did give your application to the foster parents. I'll forward your information again." Now, I'm a little sensitive to language and its nuances. She didn't say, "I passed your application on, let me look into it." She said "I did." That's defensive language. She obviously felt that I was accusing her of not doing it. I wasn't. I figured she had, which is why I contacted the main email address. I figured since she'd done her part, she probably didn't know how far along in the process the foster parents were. Since I had no way to contact the fosters, all I could really do is find out how long the process usually takes. I never did get an answer to that question, by the way.

I don't get any more contact for another week. Finally, I get an email on Monday (sent Sunday) from one of the fosters; it's titled "adoption." I get really excited, thinking things are finally moving along, and I'll be able to meet the dog to see if his energy is a good fit for me, and interview with the fosters to see if my lifestyle is a good fit for him. Not even close. I can't have the dog. They won't even consider me. Why? Because I have no other dogs, and I'm not home 24/7. He literally said that the dog had been around people or dogs 24/7, and he was afraid that the dog would get bored. Also, I don't have a doggie door, and the foster home does. So, he wouldn't be able to go in and out on his own all day. 0.0 I literally sat there and bawled my eyes out. Seriously, there is maybe a total of 9 hours a week when either my sister or I aren't at home. Most of those hours are early morning hours, meaning that the dog would probably be asleep, anyway. If they'd actually talked to me rather than relying on a stupid form, maybe they'd know that!!! And . . . why did it take them almost three and a half weeks to give me such a check-box rejection! It did not sound like more than a 5 minute decision! They didn't even suggest a better dog for me from their shelter!

So, I went to the pound on Monday with my sister. Saw two dogs that I like, maybe three. Though, the third was whining quite a bit to get attention, and I'm not sure how hard that habit would be to break. One was absolutely adorable, and when I got home, I figured out that he might be a Alopekis or a Meliteo Kinidio (Small Greek House Dog). He'd been brought in as a stray with no tags, which means he wasn't up for adoption. The shelter's policy is to hold the dog for four days, then put it up for adoption if he passes his behavioral tests. This dog probably will--he seemed very calm and curious. I also saw a dog that was marked as a mix between a Corgi and a German Shepard. He didn't look to be much bigger than a typical Corgi, though. He was black and tan, though Corgis come in those colors, too. My only worry with him would be that the German Shepard (if he truly has some in him) will make him a bit bigger. He was about as big as I wanted to get in a dog.

Yesterday, I went out and bought three food dishes (I happened to see some of the kind I was looking for earlier at Ross) for about $5. It would have cost me well over $20 to get the same kind at a pet store. Also bought a baby gate to block off our living room, since the Christmas tree is in there. I figure $27 is better than hundreds or thousands at the emergency vet when my dog eats a Christmas ornament. -_-

Anyway, I'm heading back in a little while to see the dogs again. I hope the little stray is still there.

I woke up early enough this morning to see the sunrise. It was slightly overcast, so it was very beautiful. That's one thing I miss about living down in Rio Rico. We always had the most beautiful sunsets down there, mostly because there were little groups of clouds more often. Also, we didn't have all the houses blocking our view, since we lived on a hill. I took a couple of pictures this morning--maybe I'll post them later.

I've got about five or six job applications to fill out, too. Busy, busy! ^_^

Applications

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:41:08 GMT

One down, three to go.

That fourth one is the most important--it's my special one that I'm not letting myself do until I get the other two in. I've got two others that I'm looking at that do not have a specific deadline, but I should get them done, too.

*sigh* I hate job searching, but I really need to get back into it.

The Diagnosis

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:04:52 GMT

So, I'm sure most of you know about my back problems, right? If not, long story short, for about three months now, I've had a dully, aching pain in my back and a sharp pain down my left leg. I've done pills, which only worked short term, and am currently doing physical therapy.

I had an MRI over a month ago, but apparently, they sent the results to the wrong doctor, and so mine never called me. He's cute, though, so I'll forgive him (the MRI technician was cute, too).

The diagnosis is . . . . Degenerative Disc Disease. It's also known as arthritis of the spine.

I. AM. TWENTY-THREE. YEARS. OLD.

And I have arthritis. -_-

WebMD has a description of the disease here. I'd like to highlight a couple of points:

"These changes are more likely to occur in people who smoke cigarettes and those who do heavy physical work (such as repeated heavy lifting). People who are obese are also more likely to have symptoms of degenerative disc disease."

Okay. I am overweight, I admit that (according to my BMI, I'm obese, but I'm a lot stronger than most people my height, so I say pooh to my BMI!). My job . . . certainly puts repetitive stress on my lower back. It did when I was a cashier, it still does as a bookkeeper. The problem? I highly doubt I can prove that my job caused this condition. I'm just stuck with my life-long debilitating condition. At age 23. -_-

Wow. Didn't realize that I was so bitter about this. ^^;;

Anyway, this condition tends to cause bulging discs, which I have right now in my lower back. It's pinching my sciatic nerve, causing the pain in my leg.

Also, I'm strongly considering getting a dog.

Anyway, I should probably go. I've got physical therapy soon.

Ouch!

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 05:05:44 GMT

I bit my tongue today. Broke the skin. No, really, I literally broke the skin. I can see the white pieces of skin hanging off . . .

So, my tongue feels swollen and icky. I swear, when I bit it, the entire left side of my face hurt. My left arm, did, too. I wonder what that has to say about all the nerves connecting there. ^^;;;

*coff* So! Beware cheap bubble gum from those quarter machines! Especially the ones with the fancy twirly dispensers!

It wasn't even very good gum . . .

Doh!

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:07:02 GMT

Seriously, how could I not know that Viz licensed Hunter x Hunter . . . a long time ago? See? They've already got a third of the series out on DVD. I'm a bad, bad fan.

But I'm a good One Piece fan! I actually preordered the POP Strong World editions of Luffy and Chopper. They don't come out until December, and I'm hoping to know by then whether the rest of the crew will be done. I hope so, but maybe not. ;_; After all, Luffy is the captain, and Chopper sells more merchandise than Pikachu (probably not really, but . . . it gives you an idea, right? XD). I don't know if I want just Luffy and Chopper. They're hardly my favorite characters in the crew. Heck, I'd probably take a Nami or a Robin before Luffy and Chopper, despite the fact that I know they'll be rather top-heavy. That, and the normal Robin POP has plumber's crack. Which seems to bother steffannee a lot more than it bothers me, if I recall correctly. I have a bad memory when we're not discussing Zoro. Or Law's bad hair.

In other news, I went to take a nap around 4:30ish today. Woke up at midnight. Should probably sleep some more, as I have four more days of work this week. New job, where are you? Oh, right. I should probably start looking again. It won't come find me.

Happiness

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 03:58:20 GMT

Happiness is when a YJ seller not only says that I can bid on her auction, but when she goes on to say, "I have a Paypal account, so . . ." Hee. It's just so rare that it made me happy. ^_^

Going back to the doctor tomorrow, so I can get some x-rays. Been trying to contact his nurse for a week now to find out whether he wanted me to come back in before getting them or not. Turns out he needs to see me or the insurance won't cover them. Cool, that's all I needed to know. The annoying thing is, my mom found that out when she took my brother in to see a doctor in the same office (she made a point of asking, cuz that's what she's like). I mean, isn't that a simple enough answer that the nurse could have left it on my voice mail? Instead, all she said was, "This is ______ from ______. Please give me a call back at ________." -_- And I've been spending a week playing phone tag. Anyway! Maybe he'll give me more drugs to help with the constant pain in my legs/back until we can figure out what's causing the inflammation and pinching my nerve. Then I might be able to sleep. I think that would also be happiness.

You Will Have Bad Luck with Glass This Week . . .

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:42:00 GMT

For anyone out there who got this message in a fortune cookie last week, never fear! It was meant for me. ^______^

Seriously, I broke two glass cups last week. Two! I never break dishes. So, I'm feeling a little clumsy now. Aaaaaand . . . it was from a set of four cups. *nervous laughter*

Moving along . . . have you guys seen the new Yahoo! Japan International auctions yet? Frankly, they're useless. When you try to sign up for a premium membership, it just directs you to the Japanese language credit card form. They still don't accept non-Japanese credit cards, by the way. Which begs the question: what's the point?

I emailed the English speaking staff, asking if there was any other way to pay for premium membership if you have American credit cards and an American bank account. Because seriously, if you can't bid more than 4,999 yen, there's really no point in having an account. You might as well use a deputy for all of your transactions, because you won't come across enough you want below that to justify the pain in the butt it is to deal with begging to bid, mailing payment, etc. If you know enough Japanese and can bid whatever you want, then you can basically cut deputies completely out of your life. Most sellers are willing to ship internationally if you seem to know what you're doing, and can communicate acceptably in their language.

So, I ended up having to reactivate my account with my deputy this weekend. Blegh.

Tease!!!

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 02:22:19 GMT

Argh! Japanese website, why must you tease me so?! Why must you list the same product out of stock when I search one way, but in stock when I search another?! Why?! What madness is this?!!!

Ah, hope shines true. A bunch of other stuff I clicked that are marked not in stock don't have the option to put the item in your cart. So, maybe the "sales termination" (which is what I want actually, says, not "out of stock") is referring to pre-orders? Figure sites do that sometimes--cut off pre-orders when they think they won't be able to get any more from the manufacturers. Here's hoping!!!

Also, I was stupid on Friday and went to a public pool with my family. Came home with what I am pretty positive is a plantar wart on my foot. -_- Yay, me.

Also, I'm working six days this week. Nearly sixty hours. I'm gonna be dead. XO

On the bright side, I did get my One Piece DVDs in today. ^______^

I'm going to stop now before I overload you with smileys. I feel like such an adolescent sometimes. XP

Small acts of kindness

Tue, 26 May 2009 08:20:54 GMT

So, I went to McDonald's this morning (breakfast of champions right there) and when I came back, there was a car parked in front of our house. Now, that's not too incredibly odd, but I was wondering why the neighbors' visitors hadn't parked in front of their house. Then it hits me--there's some guy in our front yard! And . . . he's pulling our weeds! 0.o Wait, I know that guy . . .

Turns out, one of the guys from my church had seen that our yard was a little messy, and decided to stop by and help us out. So incredibly nice of him.

Of course, I'd have preferred it if he hadn't seen me with no make-up and in my pajamas, but what's done is done, right? :P

Been a while

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 03:45:40 GMT

Geez, I just looked at my journal, and it's been exactly a month since I posted. 0.0 Life's just been too crazy lately. I wish it was a good kind of crazy, but it really isn't. I just feel like a pack animal, and I feel like I'm getting stupider each minute I spend in this stupid job. *siiigh*

Hopefully, I'll get my fingerprint clearance card soon, so I can at least quit the grocery store thing and do the substitute teaching thing. At the very least, I'll be in a job that requieres a college degree. Maybe then I won't feel like my mind is slowly being drained of all intelligent thought.

A couple of young adults have started renting the house across the street and one over from my sister's (where I'm currently living). They have parties every single weekend. >.< Now, I don't really care, but when you can hear the bass line from their music in all of our front rooms . . . then it becomes a bit of a problem. Seriously, it's not like we share a wall or anything! *grumblegrumble* I've never met them before, though, and I don't want the first words out of my mouth to be "Hi, welcome to the neighborhood! Your music is too friggin' loud! ^_^" Blegh.

Sighs

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 07:06:54 GMT

Yesterday, my checking account got overdrawn because someone cashed a check I wrote over 3 weeks ago. I thought it'd been cashed already . . . yeah, I'm no good at keeping track of my own money. Other people's, yes; my own, no. I've usually got a general idea, but this time, that idea was off about $15. >.< The sad thing is that both checks that ended up cleaning me out were checks I'd written to my church (tithing). Heck, that's the only place I write checks to anymore. ^^;;; I pay what bills I have online.

Luckily, my bank waived the insufficient funds fee, but they only give you one of those. I set up something with them so that if my checking is low again, they'll automatically transfer money from my savings if I have enough to cover it. That program comes with a $5 charge each time you use it, and you can only use it three times a month, but $5 is a lot better than $28. Heck, this kind of thing has only happened twice in about 5 years, so I think I'm good. I just need to start keeping track of my money better.

On top of that, my car battery died. I'm still not 100% sure how that happened. I drove it home Wednesday night, and drove it a few places early Thursday afternoon. By late Thursday afternoon, my car wouldn't start. I found the headlight switch pulled out, so I can only figure that the headlights were on all night long and most of the day. At the same time, I can't imagine myself not noticing something like that. I mean, if I have something in front of me, I'm going to see the headlights shining on it. Anyway, I bought a new battery for about $70, and my dad put it in for me. The cheaper one was around $50. I have a feeling that the battery in the car probably had another year or so left on the warrenty, but since I had no proof there was little I could do (the people who owned the car before me replaced it right before selling it, and they hadn't included a warrenty receipt).

Anyway, those are my woes for the day. I'm thinking about trying out substitute teaching. After all, I have a bachlor's degree, so I might as well use it rather than get stuck in retail, right? It'll take at least a month to get started, plus a couple hundred dollars for fingerprinting and certification, but I think it would be a lot better than what I'm doing now. Thoughts?

Guilt Length

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 23:31:29 GMT

So, have you ever seen guilt length paper towels? I'm talking about the kind that come out of automatic motion-detection despensers in public restrooms. I've noticed lately that a lot of despensers give out a size that is too short to completely dry your hands, but long enough that you'd feel guilty if you take more than one.

Sorry, nothing much of substance to write about. My efforts to get out of my crappy job have so far been in vain. Had an interview on Monday, and I knew when I got out that it hadn't gone well. Yesterday, I got a generic email stating that they had chosen another candidate. Basically, that means that I didn't even make it to the second round of interviews. Shit. I can't even get a job doing basic office work. *siiiigh* I've been blaming this crap on the economy all summer, but I'm starting to think that there's something wrong with me. I need a better job, I really do. My current managers treat their employees like crap. I hate being forced to work Sundays, I hate being forced to work outside of my availability, I hate the stupid job. But I can't quit, becuase I'm not sure if I'd be able to find another one, and my parents have kicked me out of their house.

Sorry. I just meant to talk about paper towels. Sometimes, it just comes out. *siiigh*

TwitchTwitch

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 04:15:48 GMT

So, my parents bought my grandparents' house, and my sister bought theirs. I'm officially renting a room from her now, I guess. *sniff*

Anyway, if it seems like I haven't been online much recently, that's because my sister hasn't gotten internet yet. *twitchtwitch* Oh, yes, I am addicted. ^^;;;; I'm popping by my parents' every day to get my fix, but it's not really as much time as I had before.

Today, I tried to update my virus scan. The update failed . . . then I remembered that I have no internet connection anymore. ^^;;;

giggle

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:17:31 GMT

Well, I always knew that Orson Scott Card practiced the same religion as me, but his Homcoming series really underscores that fact. ^^;;; I checked out the first volume, and was thumbing through the last couple of chapters while waiting for my computer to wake up, when a block of text drew my eye. Father who has visions, and a younger son who does as well? Father being commanded by a heavenly being (in this case, the Oversoul; in the religious one, God) to send his sons to collect a record from a wicked man who might kill them? The younger son having undying faith in this heavenly being and believing that if it commands them to do something, it will provide a way for them to accomplish it? Even Naphai's line about his faith is parallel to Nephi's. Heck, even their names look the same, though they're apparently pronounced slightly differently ( NAYH-fie and NEE-fie).

For those of your who don't practice the branch of Christianity as Card and I, all you really need to know is that Nephi was a prophet in some of our religious scriptures, and part of his story mirrors part of the first volume of Homecoming very closely.

It feels a bit like a cop-out, but then again, people stick Christ-figures into their stories all the time, with varying degrees of success. So, why not a Nephi figure? ^^;;; I'm wondering if the rest of this series mirrors the stories so closely. On the one hand, I find it amusing (kind of a shout-out, I guess), but on the other, it might turn out to be kind of boring if I already know what's going to happen. I suppose if the characterization is really good, I might still enjoy the series. Hopefully I'll feel for at least one character.

All this talk about reading a book that you already know the basic storyline to reminds me of Wicked. I recently read it as well as its sequel, Son of a Witch. Honestly, I wasn't overly impressed. It was interested how Maguire gave Oz a political backdrop, but I just couldn't bring myself to care about any of characters, even Elphie. I didn't really like Liir's personality in the first novel, and at the end of the second, he's still an indecisive, sniveling kind of man. At least the first novel had a few characters that I felt had potential. But, just as I grew to like those characters, see their ability to grow into decent human beings, and wish for their success, Maguire would shift the point of view away from them, and when you next saw them, they would have regressed back to their old ways--in fact, they were always worse off than when they started! While I understand that this kind of thing happens all the time in real life, and that Maguire was probably going for a more gritty, realistic view of life, it still didn't make for a statisfying story. At the end of the first novel, I was expecting to feel for Elphie's death. Unfortunately, I really found that I could care less. I don't like feeling that way when the main character dies. My hopes that some things would be cleared up in the second novel were dashed as well. It leaves just as many questions and ugly feelings behind as the first one. All in all, an okay read, but I'm glad I got them from the library.

'Cuz I promised Rei

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 07:08:58 GMT

Here's a nice little get-to-know you meme. Not that anyone will remember all of this stuff, but I'm sure you pick up a detail or two.

01) Are you currently in a serious relationship?
02) What was your dream growing up?
03) What talent do you wish you had?
04) If I bought you a drink what would it be?
05) Favorite vegetable?
06) What was the last book you read?
07) What zodiac sign are you?
08) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where.
09) Worst Habit?
10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride?
11) What is your favorite sport?
12) Do you have a Pessimistic or Optimistic attitude?
13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?
14) Worst thing to ever happen to you?
15) Tell me one weird fact about you.
16) Do you have any pets?
17) What if I showed up at your house unexpectedly?
18) What was your first impression of me?
19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary?
20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
21) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience?
22) What color eyes do you have?
23) Ever been arrested?
24) Bottle or can soda?
25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it?
27) What's your favorite place to hang out at?
28) Do you believe in ghosts?
29) Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
30) Do you swear a lot?
31) Biggest pet peeve?
32) In one word, how would you describe yourself?
33) Do you believe/appreciate romance?
34) Favorite and least favorite food?
35) Do you believe in God?
36) Will you re-post this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?
Also, I would like to comment that last night, my mom managed to make burnt raw chocolate chip cookies. Too brown on the bottom, white on the top. I don't know how she managed it. She's just kind of talented that way.

More Blond Moments . . .

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:29:42 GMT

So, my right calf has been hurting for a while now. Yesterday, the pain spread up to the back of my thigh. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what I'd done to it. Last night, I realized that every time I use my laptop at the kitchen table, I put my right foot up on the rungs of one of the chairs. I spent the rest of the night trying not to do so. ^^;;;

I also just tried to use a bot on mIRC. It was taking forever to start up, so I tried another one. After about ten or fifteen minutes, I realized that I had spelled both bots' names wrong. There's a "c" in Eclipse. ^^;;;

I think I need a nap. Anyone else?

I've never considered myself a feminist . . .

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 18:28:01 GMT

Episode 27 of Touch made me cry, too, even though it was mostly flashbacks.

But . . . did I say I wanted to see Minami doing the whole rhythmic gymnastics thing? That was a mistake.

I didn't think she could get more annoying. Seriously . . . if she were a fanfic character, she'd definitely qualify as a Mary Sue. Since she's an original character, the only labels I can give her are "extremely annoying" and "unrealistic."

The captain of the gymnastics team is injured, so she talks Minami into taking her place. After a month training, Minami goes to regionals and . . . gets third place. -_- And, and she had an almost perfect score until she screwed up with her ribbon routine! -_- At least there was a character on my side. Tatsuya made a comment like, "That made it look so easy. What the hell are the other girls doing?!" Indeed. If someone can come along and beat the majority of the competition (and almost win it all) with just a month of practice . . . well, there's something wrong with the competition. It's not like she's ever done this before, either. She played frickin' volleyball in junior high. But the minute she starts doing gymnastics, she's perfect.

I've also got a problem with the name "gymnastics." I first became familiar with the Japanese version in Ranma 1/2, where Takahashi poked fun at the sport by turning it into a battle. The English release translated it as "rhythmic gymnastics." Apparently, the real title is just plain "gymnastics." I'm sorry, but gymnastics involves flips and balance beams and high bars and stuff--not fluidly moving to music with a ball/juggling pins/hoop/ribbon and posing so that everyone can see every detail of your body. What they were doing was dancing. On top of all that, it was obvious that the entire point of the sport is to let men see women's bodies. Ugh. Sure, it takes great control of your body, but still . . .

Then there was the extreme media hype surrounding her results at regionals. At the first baseball game of the season, Minami (who is still a manager) gets held up at gymnastics practice, then because the newspaper wants to interview her for an article. The other team keeps asking about her and why she hasn't shown up yet, commenting that they'd been hoping to meet her. When she finally does arrive, a couple of batters from the other team get struck out, and they both turn to Minami and shyly say, "Doomo" (Hello). Ugh. Ugh, ugh, ugh. Of course, she smiles sweetly at them. Ugh. Why didn't she tell them to pay attention to the damn game? Ugh. At least Tatsuya was on my side again. He was disgusted at the guys and wondered out loud what they came for.

I've never really considered myself a feminist. At least, not by today's standards. Still--I cannot stand this character! I'm kind of sad, because you know that she's going to end up with Tatsuya at the end, and I'm only watching the series for him. I'd love it if they didn't end up together, but I know how impossible that is.

In other news, I'm starting training for my crap job on Monday. Hopefully, it's just a temporary job, because even if I get 40 hours a week, I'll be making about half of what I did each year when attending college. That's counting my scholarships, but still. Blegh. I'm so glad I graduated during the worst economic crisis the US has seen since The Great Depression. Lovely.

Doh!

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 20:14:35 GMT

There's nothing like leaving your computer on all day, only to discover that bittorrent wasn't running. Unless it's leaving it on all night, only to discover that the torrent you were trying to download was paused. >.< My poor, poor undownloaded anime.

Sad Anime

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:40:26 GMT

Watched episodes 25 and 26 of Touch the other day. First time in a long while that anime has made me cry (not since Robin's past in OP).

I loved the silent scenes. Something about the way the two characters looked at each other, and how Tatsuya knew, but couldn't find the words to tell his parents, let alone Minami--it all just mirrored how we deal with things in real life, and how sometimes, things seem so impossible that we can't even put them into words.

All in all, I'm having a kind of love-hate relationship with this anime. The hate is mostly directed at the main girl, Minami. I hate how her "dream" is for her childhood friend, Katusya, to make it to the Koushien (Japanese version of nationals for high school baseball). I hate how the one thing that she really wants in this world is something that she cannot do by herself. I hate how every single flashback to their childhood shows her encouraging the boys to do things, but never doing anything herself. The opening shows her participating in rhythmic gymnastics--but so far, she hasn't done it. She's one of the baseball team's managers, and her job seems to consist of telling the team "good luck" and making sure that Katsuya's mom packs him a balanced lunch. -_- I also hate how she likes Tatusya but still strings Katusya along, knowing full well that he likes her (it's frickin' obvious, and she's not stupid) just so that her "dream" can come true. So he can make her dream come true. Grrrr. I'm pretty sure that's not the impression that I'm supposed to get, but too bad.

Now, this anime came out in the 80s, before I was born, and I've been trying to consider that fact while watching it. Women didn't have as many rights in the US let alone in Japan. But, on the other hand, Minami's traits show up in many present-day anime. So, while time period might have something to do with her character, it does not excuse it completely. Grrr.

On Saturday, I helped out with my grandparents' "estate sale." It wasn't too much of a sale, since the children had decided to divide up most of the furniture and other expensive things amongst themselves. But we certainly had a lot of people there. 0.0 We were only doing it for one day, so at the end, we packed up what was left and took it to Goodwill. The house looked a lot cleaner. It was rather sad seeing people pay next to nothing for all of my grandparents' things. I mean, sure, my grandma shopped at Ross, but they also had some pretty expensive stuff in their house. I guess that's just how things work, though.

Paper Cut!?

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 08:23:36 GMT

I noticed a paper cut on my right index finger when I was taking out my contacts today. Probably because the cleaning solution was stinging like a *&%^%$. But . . . I don't remember getting it.

I think it might have come from handling my grandpa's flies. When he was alive, he tied his own flies for fishing. Some of them are really, really tiny! I mean, so tiny that I could barely see the hook, and I can only imagine how he managed to string them on the line when he used them. They're all pretty intricate, and it's really cool how they mimic the look of flies/dragonflies/worms. I think my favorites are the dragonfly-shaped and the fly-in-motion-shaped ones. Really, one of my earliest memories of my grandpa was going into that room when he was tying flies. I'd also go in there when he wasn't around. Let's face it, the main materials were feathers, and I was about eight years old or so. I thought that room was frickin' neat. Of course, the fact that my mom told me not to play in there (hooks and all) probably made me want to go in more . . .

It's really sad, actually. Going through their house, I mean. There are so many memories there, and we're having to clear them all out and divide them between things that we want and things that we'll sell and things that no one in their right mind would want. I have so many memories of that house and some of the nick-knacky stuff in it. It kind of makes me want to keep it all. At the same time . . . where would I put it? My grandma and I definitely do not have similar taste. ^^;;; So far, I've gotten a small jewelry box, a ring, and a watch. I think I'll ask for some of my grandpa's flies, too. I'd kind of like the cuckoo clock in their room, but oddly enough, that desire's more about memories of my other grandparents' house.

Speaking of different tastes, does anyone know if porcelain salt and pepper shakers from Japan are worth much? I mean, the designs look fairly westernized, which probably means that they're at least 30-50 years old, if not older. My grandma apparently had a collection. Sad to break up, but no one really wants them all . . .

In happier news, I got my One Piece DVDs in the mail today. I am now officially supporting the series. $22 for 13 episodes isn't bad. It's just that . . . at around $2 an episode, I'm going to be spending about $738 for the series--and that's just for the 369 episodes that have been released so far. Supposedly, the series is now at its halfway point. At least, they're halfway across the Grand Line. So, maybe a cool $1500 total? 13 episodes every six months or so . . . I'm going to be dead before I own this series on DVD. I'll have to put a stipulation in my will that my children will not received one dime of my inheritance until they sign a contract stating that they will finish my One Piece DVD collection and lovingly care for it for the rest of their lives. In their old age, they can sell it as one of only 3 existing full English One Piece DVD collections.

Also got the next book in the series I'm reading. Book's called Traitor's Knot, by Janny Wurts. Really, really long, ongoing series, but it's refreshing to read a series with likable characters and engaging plots by an author who really knows her characters, her plots, and makes her readers think. That last part is the most important.

P.S. I emailed a representative about LJ eating my entries, and they pointed out an FAQ about auto-save. While I did get it to work, I've found that it does not save every 30 seconds, takes forever to load drafts, and wonks out my computer. According to the FAQ, you just need to have java script enabled on your browser for the auto-save to work. Well, I've checked multiple instructions, and they all told me that I already had it enabled. So, I enabled everything under "scripts" in my security, and that seemed to work. The only trouble now is that sometimes, when I go to post, I can't type in the body part of the blog. I'll click there, and it will square out the body, my cursor won't appear, and I won't be able to type. So . . . I don't know if it's worth it or not. We'll have to see if I actually am able to use it later on.

Hee!

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 03:40:53 GMT

This is great.

http://readatwork.com

Not sure if you need MS Office to access it or not, but I'd assume that you wouldn't.

I promise something more substantive later. I think.

Rain!

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 07:22:40 GMT

It's been pouring for a couple of hours now. I love summer time rains! Heck, I love any rainy weather. I bet that sounds insane to all of you guys living in colder climates, but hey, it probably doesn't get under 60 degrees even in the winter when it rains here. ^_^

I used to love to play in the rain as a child. Granted, we lived further south than we do now, but that actually made it colder. Central AZ is horrible when it comes to weather. Still, when it rained in the summer, the temperature was probably in the low 80s, maybe 70s. I remember the cool feel of the run off from the gutters, though. I used to play in the clayish dirt just down the hill a bit, then wash my feet off in the gutters. ^_^ We had a very small patch of non-rocky soil that felt good to the soles.

Oh, and for all you people living near large trees, don't worry. Mesquites never naturally grow high enough to gunk up gutters. They were perfectly clean. We lived in a natural mesquite bosque.

Anyway, we still have forecasts for 106 degrees tomorrow, though. Heck, it's probably still in the 90s now, despite the rain and the fact that it's midnight.

Just feeling a little nostalgic tonight.

In other, more depressing news . . .

My grandpa's funeral is set for Friday. There will be a private family viewing on Thursday night. I suppose that's a good thing. Death never really hits me until I see the body. I don't mean to be morbid here, but . . . yeah. I mean, since the way my aunt died last September means that there had to be a closed casket funeral, I still haven't really come to terms with her death.

It's been hard on the family for reasons besides his death, too. The man was only 67, and he didn't even have a will. Since my grandma is still alive and "legally" competent, there's been all sorts of difficulties. She has very advanced alzheimer's, and she's gotten to the stage where she just can't take care of herself. She can't wash herself, make her own food, or really anything besides sit and watch TV. Sometimes, you have to feed her for a while to get her to eat. So, the family is trying to deal with the legalities of the remaining property and debt on top of deciding how to take care of her. Unfortunately, it seems as if she will have to live in a home. Luckily, there's one really close by our house (within walking distance), and I think they have decided on that one. Hopefully it will work out. My grandpa had been taking care of her 24-7 for the past few years, and honestly, I think the stress shaved at least an extra 10 years off his life.

Anyway, I'm hoping I'll get out of this funk sometime soon.

Boom

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 23:56:13 GMT

My grandpa died today. He had a heart attack while at the beach, and passed away before reaching the hospital. So . . . yeah. I'm feeling really fuzzy right about now.

In slightly more positive news, I think my interview went alright. I'll find out Monday.

Good luck continues?

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:49:15 GMT

Yes! I just got an email about a paid, 40 hour a week internship! I'm going to an interview tomorrow!!!! Wish me luck!!!!

Okay. Now I've got to go do research on interviews and the company I'll be interviewing for. I probably should put together my portfolio, too. ^_^

Whoo-hoo!

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 05:30:48 GMT

So, my neighbor came by today to take another look at my car. Ten minutes later, he came back to have me test drive it. All fixed!!! ^_^

Apparently, my dad hadn't removed some part of the computer, which was causing the engine to idle too fast. It was also messing with my air conditioning. So, now I have cold air blowing in my car again! Yay! ^_^

Also, I downloaded some fixer thing from Windows that cleared up my DVD/CD drive problem on my laptop. It deleted the upper and lower registries associated with it, I guess. Anyway, that little problem is fixed. Now I just need to find my sister's old computer so I can try switching the AC adapters out, and my stuff will be fixed! I'm sooooo relieved.

I still had to put out about $100 to buy the new part, but that's better than $500 or even $150, so I'm happy.

p.s. RE: The title of this entry

Did you know that "Whoo-hoo!" isn't really trademarked or anything by The Simpsons? That's why WaMu can get away with using the phrase in their commercials. The writers for The Simpsons simply put describing phrases like "shout of joy" and "grunt." The words D'oh and Whoo-hoo! never appear in their scripts. Still, whenever I hear the WaMu commercials, I feel like they're trying to capitalize on someone else's fame. Kind of like how I feel about a certain HP fanfic writer who apparently landed a contract for a trilogy after her fame from her fanfiction (I've heard that the published books are basically the same as the fanfic trilogy that made her famous in HP fandom). It feels kind of . . . wrong. Like, she's riding on the curtails of Rowling's fame. Frankly, I'd pick a better writer if I wanted to doing any riding. But, anyway . . .

Wow. I have no idea where that last bit came from. Well, there you go. I already wrote about how easily distracted I am today.

Verbosity

Updates

Applications

The Diagnosis

Ouch!

Doh!

Happiness

You Will Have Bad Luck with Glass This Week . . .

Tease!!!

Small acts of kindness

Been a while

Sighs

Guilt Length

*TwitchTwitch*

*giggle*

'Cuz I promised Rei

More Blond Moments . . .

I've never considered myself a feminist . . .

Doh!

Sad Anime

Paper Cut!?

Hee!

Rain!

Boom

Good luck continues?

Whoo-hoo!

TwitchTwitch

giggle