tralala

Jazzler is truly amazing, for many reasons; not the least of which being that she seems to have magically jumped forward in time whilst attempting to convince us that she's really just relocated to her parents' temporarily. nice try, but we know the truth! XD

...all the news that split the p1mps.

via carrier Rob, today we have for you an interesting article at Salon about Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law and The Great Big Meta. oooh.

and also, Fantagraphics is in big, bad financial trouble right now. just, er, so you know. in case you wanted to buy any of their books and help them out.

once again...

...i have nothing but love for The Onion.

renewal of faith: Terrifying Bill Passed During NBA Playoffs.

<3 <3 <3

perhaps more later.

janaki in toshokan DAISHOKKU! XD

keeping in mind that i work in a library, where of course would you think my favourite place to go for a weekend afternoon of fun would be?

XD

actually, it transpired that we needed to go get either the Chilton or the Haynes manuals for Spaz' brother's Maxima, since Stuff Is Being Done To It This Afternoon, and it'd be nice to know what the proper torques for various bits are before putting it back together and doing it all wrong. hence---'brary time!

only our library isn't so great. however, it's got connections to Kimmie's former place of employ, the STD Library.

(and needless to say, Kimmie absolutely looooooved telling people where she worked when she worked there. XD)

that place is HUGE. i'd been past it before several times, and knew it to be huge from the outside, but it's NUTS. and the inside is indeed really nice. bits of it remind me of DePaul though, which is weird. XD but it's got a DRIVE-THROUGH. O.O;;;

anyrate, i got out two DWJ books. (hey, i only had about 5 minutes to look around and get my bearings. XD) Deep Secret and A Sudden Wild Magic. and i thought it worth mentioning that Deep Secret was published by Fi's new employers, Tor Books. XDXDXD

and now, off to pop the oleang in the fridge and prolly go out bike riding. oooh.

(which reminds me; i got a really cool water bottle yesterday, in replacement for the one i left on the train. check it out---you can pop the little nozzle out and wash it! i know it's a simple thing, but it's something that ought to have been thought of a REALLY LONG TIME AGO. XD)

did i mention there's an STi in the garage?

heh, i stand corrected. whoopsy. instead of the photo i posted below, try looking here for a lovely photo gallery and specs and such on the actual US-Spec 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STi that's sitting downstairs in the garage. and which is about to go out for some break-in mile-burning a little drive.

it's GORGEOUS. and it sounds AMAZING. and it just wants to go. seriously, it pulls you---and it is SO AMAZINGLY FLAT THROUGH CORNERS.

did i mention this car is REALLYFUCKINGAMAZING?

just checking. ^^ go check it out and you'll see. ^^

(it's still not a MINI, but what can be? ^.-)

arbeitspapier

purely by chance last night, Spaz met up with a guy with a black LanEvo (VIII) while driving us around in the STi. and of course, mutual admiration took place for quite some time. which was highly entertaining, as Spaz has still got around 900 miles to go before it's broken in and it can be revved above 4000RPM, and the LanEvo dude had just gotten over his first 1000 miles.

as amusing as it was, it couldn't top the opening line spoken by LanEvo boy as he got out of his car and came over to talk to Spaz:

"Ah. You're supposed to be my archnemesis."

...and that's how you know any and every conversation is off to a good start. XD

oweeeee...

i need some of the "Bunny with Headphones" CDRs from here...but they're rather prohibitively expensive, unfortunately. SO CUTE, however. and SO VERY HSL. XD

...bastards. XD

just look straight ahead of you

guess what's here, as of last night?

and Spaz has got one of the first two that's out on US roads right now. it looks much like above, too; the other one that's out running around right now is black.

am exhausted, but this is a fucking amazing car. ^-^

in other news, get to go retrieve my glasses after work today; the MCA found them. left the water bottle that goes to my bike on the train this morning (not unlike a completely daft twit), but i'd much rather pay $5-$10 for a new bottle than a couple hundred dollars to replace lost glasses. so really, not so bad. XD

i did, however, find out we didn't record the show Friday as i'd thought we were going to. which is kinda irritating, but i can't do much about it now, can i? it was videotaped, at least---just hope i actually get to see it sometime in this century. ^^;;;

too bad about the recording, though---would've liked to share. especially off the board, without room effect interfering; we played really well, even if the sound was kinda shitty. d'oh.

all the tea internationally

and as more of a followup to Sabina's Teatalk, look what i found.

International Tea Meetup Day is apparently in 27 days.

eheh. XD

more later.

electricity

this is the one and only thing i bought this weekend, and it is absolutely ace. Nyannyannyanko provides kittea, and enables individual servings of loose tea. perhaps this ought to be brought up at Sabina's Teatalk? XD me, i'm just excited cos this makes it much easier to drink loose tea at work. San-X, how i love thee. ^-^

as to the actual weekend, well---it was okay. i think last year was probably the most fun i'll ever have at Acen, and that was mostly cos we spent most of our time away from the actual con and going out with friends we hadn't seen in ages. while we did get to see John (or Ganymede, to some) for a bit, this weekend wasn't as full of that as previously. due to various circumstances, it was a bit more stressful than would have been optimal, but, well...whatever.

unfortunately, Dale dropped his 100 lb. cabinet on his ankle after tripping over some other loose stands that were lying on the floor when we were getting ready to do our sound check and were thusly hauling our gear around. it doesn't seem to be broken, but he was in a lot of pain, and of course couldn't put any weight on it at all. he went to sleep for awhile, and it got wrapped up and iced. he ended up playing the show in a wheelchair, but he was feeling quite a bit better by then, at least.

the show itself---the band played quite well; in fact, i think we're getting this whole "playing as a unit" thing down a little more than we'd had it before. however, gathering reports from people standing in various places around the room, i understand the sound was more than a bit crap---certainly muddier than it was last year. felt bad later when i found out that the guy who ran our sound ended up doing it at the last minute---the guy who was to have run our sound got violently ill shortly before the show and couldn't do it. so Duel Jewel's guy ended up doing our sound as well.

so people up front were quite happy and enjoying themselves, but anywhere towards the back wasn't doing so well. there was also a rather nasty bass feedback problem (resulting in an intermittent low buzzing humming thing) that was probably directly related to the fact that someone decided the bass needed to be in the floor monitors. er.

now, a few months prior to this, we'd been informed that one of the guests-of-honor at Acen, Gohda Hiroaki (director and chara designer for the Aa! Megami-sama OAVs and movie, chara designer for Onegai Teacher, amongst others), wanted to play with us very badly. and we learned from the guest relations people that he's really into metal. so of course, since we weren't going to get to meet up with him until just before the show, the solution was play a song that he knew and that the band knew. thusly, everyone (except me, since a keyboard just wouldn't fit at all XD) ended up playing "Fade to Black" with Gohda-san. a few people were confused about this---my sister being one of them. i'm told her reaction involved lots of head shaking and muttering, "I never thought I'd see the day when my sister would be involved in a Metallica cover." i should probably explain this to her, as well. XD Mommie, for her part, loved every second of it. but that's because she's The Mommie. XD

anyway, Gohda-san ended up becoming friends with Dale; he and Kya came up to our room a few times and were hanging out with us up there, since he wanted to get to know us (and particularly Dale) better. Kya and ShinJon also ended up taking Gohda-san out to see the Anthrax and Mötorhead show on Saturday night, since he reallyreallyreally wanted to go. apparently he had a really great time---and he even did a really nice full-colour sketch of The SWEK As Amalgam---all five of us as one. it's rather androgynous, has got bright pink hair, black sunglasses, is wearing all black and has a guitar. he also wrote that he had a really good time playing with us and called us his friends, and that he hopes to come back next year. *^^* we have yet to scan it, but once we do, it'll be up on our site.

as to other stuff, well---we survived. XD actually, once i get a copy of it from Dale, there's a great photo he took of Spaz and i that really sums the whole thing up quite well. i'll scan it up once i've got my copy. >D

the layout was a bit goofy this year, due to the dealer's room being conveniently situated approximately five miles away from where the rest of the con was being held. all through hamster tunnels, too. outside was quicker, we soon discovered---but we never did go back after the first time. XD Wizzywig once again had almost everything i was seriously interested in. damn them and all their San-X wrongness! XD they've also got some Mashimaro stuff in, but i can obtain that quite easily from places around here, so nyah. one booth had a bunch of LDs and some anime soundtracks on vinyl for sale. O.O;;; the LDs were nothing special, but the vinyl was---unfortunately, so special that it was also quite expensive. not really surprising. loads of Macross albums, some Megazone 23, Iczer One, Area 88, You're Under Arrest, and i forget what else. we also saw a t-shirt that made me think of both Puu and Elva-chan. XD more IniD stuff than we'd seen previously at a con. there were also some very wrong Hide Kubrick toys (well, the packaging moreso than the toys themselves). oho.

also learnt butterscotch schnapps + Pepsi = something that shouldn't really work at all, but really does. quite well, in fact. grape schnapps + Pepsi, too. thanks, Adam & Jessica. XD

(oh, and lest i forget, there was also a Vash the Stampede and a Wolfwood running around together offering live-action yaoi for photographic purposes. XD)

omedetou!

must offer a slightly belated congratulations to Jazzler for GRADUATING FROM LAW SCHOOL on Friday! anyone and everyone should ph34r her even moreso now than they had previously. ^^

*stands up and leads round of clapping*

theme + variation

today's theme: O.O;;;

firstly, there's the first publicised instance of the RIAA fucking up. surely this will inspire The Grand Meta to create such pieces of fabulous casual apparel as "The RIAA Ceased And Desisted With Ceasing And Desisting Me And All I Got Was This Stupid T-Shirt." i can't wait.

and secondly, at least ONE lonely heart in London caught a plane and flew away to dance on Simon Cowell's lap, apparently. i'd pay money to see this incident if it involved "Rump Shaker" in any way, shape, or form. XD

both of these come via the always excellent XRRF, incidentally.

from love on the lawn to daggers at dawn in a day

for any not aware, this week is damn busy. mostly because Acen is at the end of the week. and of course, all of us are in preparation. and of course, life.

therefore, am v. intermittent and hope you'll forgive me. what do you say...i'll share my tea! ^^

*halos*

don't know how much/if i'll say much here from Thursday until at least Sunday. am not like ShinJon, who has been known to have the following conversation (or variants thereof) on IRC:

HSD_Shinji: brb
whoever: okay.
Shinji_car: back.
whoever: car? O.O;; you're on IRC in the car?!?!
Shinji_car: yep.
whoever: well, you aren't driving, are you?

XD oh, the Special, Special people i know...

damn you, Hamutarou! *shakes fist*

...also, quite randomly, i feel i must mention that the term "hipster" bothers me mightily.

not because of any connotations derived, mind.

mostly because every time i see it, my eyes convince me they're seeing "hamster."

i see it correctly shortly thereafter (well, usually), but i'm not making this up.

although it's potentially much funnier the way i read it. hamsters in emo glasses, indeed. XD

cow.

also should mention that the tornado warning & sighting of funnel cloud two towns over was v. scary Saturday night. it hauled ass northeast quite quickly and thankfully did not come any closer, but still.

we have no basement. the other house we'd looked at did, but this one needed less work, and was in all other ways well nigh upon perfect, so it's what we went with. we were contemplating grabbing Diesel and piling into the bathroom, though. normally i like falling asleep when it's storming, and the rain sound is usually rather comforting, but not when it's like that.

wanna find out where the sirens are in our town. Spaz knew where they were in Bartlett, but neither of us has any idea of where they are now that we've moved...certainly heard them, though.

eep. am not easily scared. but that was actually quite scary. >.<;;;

the world IS ending!

it appears Speedchannel is actually doing something right for a change! O.O;;;

as of yesterday evening, they've started airing F1 Decade, which is a 16-part series of 1-hour segments showing the entire 1993 Formula One season. O.O;;; yesterday was Kyalami, and it was really cool. and according to the end of the broadcast, they're going to be showing the next two years (at least) as well. O.O;;;; every other weekend---so next weekend will be an F1 race from the present season (eep, forget what's next...is it Austria? ^^;;;), and the weekend after will be 1993's Brazilian Grand Prix.

this rocks SO hardcore. ^____________^ is molto fun to watch Prost & Senna go head-to-head. although i wish they'd gone back a bit further so we could watch Nigel Mansell in action, but i am most definitely not complaining. ^^ thank you, Speedchannel---keep up the good work! ^^

ione skye in the retiring room with the firebrand!

saw Identity Saturday, which was actually pretty decent. the Cusack/Liotta thing was actually quite a good idea, and they played off of each other very nicely. was v. happy that the score (done by Alan Silvestri) knew when to pop up and when not to---i swear, as time goes on, i have less and less patience for overly intrusive, repetitive, obnoxious scoring. this was none of those things---and in fact, the coolest thing about it was that it not only wasn't repetitive, but it actually allowed large gaps for "natural" noises from the movie to occur. it wasn't constantly going in the background. 'twas very nice.

if you'd like to be spoiled (albeit in a rather vague sort of way), click below to continue...

what was established: everything we thought would happen did, but in a completely different way to how we had thought it. which was cool. perhaps not quite the grand headfuck they were intending, but it was still fairly interesting and not a waste of time or money, which is definitely more than i can say for a lot of things. XD the look of the film was really nice, too. ending felt a teensy bit rushed, and it's my understanding several different endings were shot in order to keep the actual ending secret. i also would bet this was the ending most positively responded to by test audiences. XD at any rate, i hope whatever alternate endings actually exist are put into an extras section when this gets released on home video & DVD.

overall, fairly decent. there was a trailer for Pirates of the Carribbean beforehand which made me start hearing bits of Leftfield's "Open Up" in my head, v. softly (O/~burn, Hollywood, burn...take down Tinseltown...) mostly cos there are some good people involved, but it really really looks like it's going to grate mightily. le sigh. i wish i wish Bruckheimer'd go away. >P thankfully Identity wasn't like that. it feels like it wasn't quite what was intended by the people who made it, but it wasn't bad, either.

(Cusack is beginning to show his age. is v. weird. he really kinda sorta has looked exactly the same for awhile now, hasn't he? it's not a bad thing, it's just kinda weird. XD)

grains of wisdom

box of honey nut cheerios in our house (well, till i finished it this morning) has got an ad on the back for "Spoonfuls of Stories," encouraging very young children to learn to read by utilising Cheerios-themed storybooks and a CD. loads of happy toddlers learning to read are also pictured.

just inside the back of the box, on the flip side of that advertisement is another one boldly proclaiming that you (yes, YOU) can obtain 4 pairs of high-quality scissors for free!

it's the three Ss! students, storybooks, and scissors! i feel enlightened already!

this moment brought to you by: honey nut cheerios. nyum. XD

windscreen of my soul

...so i, um, managed to lose my glasses last Friday.

i'm pretty sure i left them at the MCA when Spaz and i were there Friday night for the opening of Rob's exhibit. due to the state of uberbusy i've been in since (well, mostly), i still haven't gotten round to calling them yet. should really do so. ^^;;; i will probably be getting contacts (special ones, oh yes) in August or thereabouts, but i'll still want glasses.

for the time being, it's back to my old ones---can't see quite as well as out of the new ones, but that's sort of the point, isn't it? XD they're better than nothing. plus, my old glasses (which used to prompt Riki-chan to call me "Eriol-chan" and bat her eyelashes cutely XD) have that cool photosensitive Transitions coating that turns them to sunglasses when exposed to UV rays. new glasses just have magnetic sunglasses that attach over the normal ones.

i'm just surprised i hadn't lost them sooner. annoyed, too. but not too much so. that won't happen till i find out i've lost them for good and they aren't in the MCA anymore. >.<;;;

Monday night, had fun semi-practice with Dale. and discovered that although i thought i'd rescued the live video i've got of Shinohara Tomoe doing "Ultra Relax" with a full-on band before i wiped my hard drive, i apparently didn't. ;.; damn. but i did get to expose Dale to the wonder and joy that is DJ Assault. and also Voltaire. and also that one happy hardcore Tetris thing that Beeru-chan conferred upon me ages ago. and also "Closer to Mario," via Sabina. see? some people's lives are shoujo manga; mine is really just one long video game. XD

yesterday, had the day off to go do errandy stuff. woke up and watched a couple of really good episodes of BtVS. because am dork and have been Sucked In (noooo!). XD had plans to meeet up with Kimmie later in the afternoon, but had a bunch of time before that. wandered around in and out of Chicago Comics and various used CD shops. showed some restraint and only came out of it with a $6 used copy of the live Underworld disc Everything, Everything. which prompted discussion later between Kimmie and myself about how even though we've got the means, we generally tend to have these compulsory urges to go and buy the albums proper that we enjoy. Spaz, consummate UW fanboi that he is, has got Everything, Everything (and in fact, he pointed out last night that he's pretty sure i'm the one who bought it for him, so it's quite possible i've now bought two copies...XD). i have a CD burner. have i burned it? no. i can't bring myself to do so. have to go buy the real thing. used or otherwise. all three of us mentioned in this paragraph have in fact offered to buy things for friends when they've asked if they could get a copy of something we particularly enjoy. i find it amusing. XD (which reminds me that i need to go out and buy Think Tank. prolly the limited edition one, so i get the neat book. am curious to hear if it's the Phil Daniels version of "My White Noise," as well. XD) am not in any way opposed to hearing things before i buy, but i usually do buy. *shrugs* is just the way my mind works.

saw all three of Crispin Glover's books at ChiCom yesterday. (although i read somewhere that there are actually eight, i don't know how true that is...^^;;;) also saw Edward Gorey's Dracula Toy Theatre there. it distinctly falls under the category of "things i think are cool and would want if i had anywhere to really display them." eep, is practicality encroaching on my meager fannish existence? O.O;;; XD

there's this one storefront on Belmont that seems to be cursed. there seem to be really good, inexpensive restaurants that open in this particular storefront, stay open for awhile---and then close. probably cos the location is way too expensive and the fact that they aren't charging ridiculous amounts for their foods and beverages drives them out of business. ;.; the most recent of these was a really good place called Wrap N' Go; and despite the rather cheesy name, it was actually a really good place. specialised in donburimono, as well as various wraps and the omnipresent California rolls. also had a small Japanese grocery section wherein one could find various things (mostly snack foods and condiments) that couldn't be found elsewhere nearby, including some varieties of Pocky that i hadn't seen around before.

there wasn't something there for awhile, and then i spotted the new residents from across the street yesterday. it's now home to a Thai restaurant called Duck Walk. of course, i didn't know what sort of food it served by seeing it from across the street. however, its being called "Duck Walk" was enough to make me go across the street and look. XD

...and eventually eat there. lunchbox specials! whee! ^^ cheap and fairly tasty, and the two guys who were up front who worked there were really nice. and the way they've painted the place is really cool, too; i can't quite explain. muted burgundy and burnished (and very subtle) gold tones. a neat shadowy painting taking up an entire wall suggestive of figures off in the distance, but not v. clear on what they might be. bathroom (which is tiny) has a framed painting of a girl out walking. with ducks. XD

and it was weird, too---kept thinking about all the stuff i've been reading to do with Thai food lately. and finding corroboration for a lot of the stuff my mom told/showed me that my father had taught to her when they were still together---mildly amusing. and also being amused that most of the stuff that's made its way over here and become so popular amounts (mostly) to street food. which isn't a bad thing, but is interesting to note---also, a lot of it seems to be stuff that came from the Chinese immigrants in Thailand. granted, most of the Chinese population seems to be based around the central plains areas, which is where most of the food that's become popular over here has come from, but i did still find it kind of amusing---mostly because i've heard people talk about how "Thai food is the new Chinese" or some other similar statement that kinda makes me want to smack them. aieee. XD

met up with Kimmie later on, which was fun and entertaining. she informed me that there is apparently a single (which she's got) featuring DJ Assault remixing Peaches. O.O;;; MUST. FIND. XDXDXD even better than DJ Assault and Princess Superstar working together! XDXDXD oHO. she also told me of her friend who apparently was brilliant and got into med school, so as a congratulatory gift, her parents are presenting her with her very own MINI Cooper S. eeee. considering one of Spaz' brothers' friends was given a BMW 3-series for graduating high school, i s'pose it's not so shocking. XD

in other news, Mariam has now decided (partially against her will, due to circumstances FAR beyond her control) that she's going to actually learn to drive. despite decrying the idea for years. the world really is coming to an end. XD

[addendum: ooh! forgot to mention that i found out what was up with the case full of manga i posted about a week or so back. actually, i found out the very next day, and have thusly been Holding Out On You ever since, muahhhh! >D (ooh, caffeine!) since it was completely obvious, i of course managed to miss the gigantic banner next to the case announcing that it was the winner of the "T. Kimball Brooker prize for Undergraduate Book Collecting." which Rob amusedly pointed out to me the day after i posted this. --;;; coming in today, i see that a name has been given to this individual, as well as their collection; the winner is one Rukimini Singh, and the collection is referred to as "Manga (Japanese comics), Shoujo Manga (Girls' comics), and Boys' Love." XD now there's a title. 'Collector of Boys' Love.' i think that's what we need; more people with names like Dr. Fiona Lee, CBL. XDXD]

this was my beautiful dream

regarding this post from a few days ago and the sale at Crow's Nest---if it weren't for the fact that i bought items from that sale, i'd swear it was a figment of my imagination. some really gorgeous dream that came about somewhere in the confines of my (normally) fevered skull. know why?

it disappeared the very next day. and no one seemed to know where it went. O.O;;;

i went in the day after i posted that, looking to see if i might see things i'd missed. also because i distinctly remembered a Soulwax CD somewhere in the mix and wanted to double-check to see what it was. and probably buy it, actually. XD plus, i wasn't kidding when i said it was too overwhelming to take in all at once, and so i wanted to take a look again to see if i might have a better memory of what i'd seen to relay back to anyone interested.

but all the CD singles had gone. the 7"s, 12"s, and 10"s were all there---but no longer were the 7"s 4 for $10. all were back to $2.98 apiece. which still isn't bad, but.

the REALLY irksome thing about this was that no one was very sure where they'd gone. i asked some dude who worked there, and he was v. friendly and tried to be helpful, but no one had told him where they'd gone, and he seemed just as surprised as i was. i didn't have any problem with him---i've been on his end of things enough times (you know, when management doesn't see fit to inform their underlings of What's Going On and so they look like doofii to customers asking What's Going On, completely through no fault of their own? :P) he tried to get information for me, and i appreciated that.

what really DID suck, however, was the rude fucker behind the counter. he clearly wasn't listening to anything i or his coworker had to say, and decided to do the patronising-wow-what-a-dumbass-customer spiel. for y'see, in place of the bin of import CD singles from the day before was a bin full of full-length import CDs, with a big sign over them designating them as "buy 2, get 1 free." not a bad deal, but not nearly as nice as the one from before. so Asswipe decides to explain in v. patronising tones what the sign says. despite what the other worker had actually asked. at which point i cut him off short and said, "i can read, thanks; those are all full-lengths. he was asking on my behalf about singles."

he said he thought they might have been taken back to the warehouse, although he didn't seem too sure about it. i got some more 7"s (and the sign for them being 4/$10 was still up over them, i'll add) and went up to the counter to pay. this other guy was ringing people up and started to ring my stuff up, and Asshole takes him aside and informs him that the sale is over with. so all $2.98/ea. i was tempted at that point to either a) point out that the sign was still up (and they NEVER put dates on their signs, i'll mention---so you never know what the starting and ending dates for sales are), or b) leave. just leave. but it seemed really stupid, and i didn't want to create a scene (esp. with the giant line behind me, and the fact that in such situations, the other innocent people behind the counter would bear the brunt of the Customer Abuse and Asshole would weasel out of it somehow---have played this game on the other side of the counter too many times to count). $2.98 still not bad, after all. so i paid and left.

all this to say, is v. sad the CD singles disappeared. there was much goodness. can only hope they'll drag them out again sometime and i'll notice.

and that Asshole doesn't accidentally meet up with Post Moderne in a dark alley. XD

*halos and whistles innocently*

my life in pixels

the phenomenal amount of crap* handed out all over the downtown Chicago area never ceases to amaze me.

free stuff i remember: various kinds of gum, Listerine breathstripsthatBURNlikenothingelseifyouaccidentallyputthreeinyourmouthatonce, various cereal boxes (mmm, Smart Start!), various juices and smoothies, a travel coffee/tea insulated mug-thing (with lid) advertising some online auction thing, mousepads, mints, candies, waters (berry-flavoured Propel wasn't so bad, actually), and various other drinks.

and always, whenever i'm confronted with free stuff being handed out, i think of two things: either a) ooh, a power-up! does this mean i get to spit fireballs? or become invincible? goodie! or possibly b) it's all a plot set out by the Dark Kingdom to imbue all the unsuspecting with Dark Power. where are those Sailorsenshi when you need them?

clearly, this says something about me. XD

anyrate, this morning, there was a girl handing out some silly $tarbucks espresso drink-in-a-can. while i'm generally anti-$tarbucks for several reasons, i did take one---'twas free, after all, and therefore costing them money. XD not really v. surprisingly, it tasted much like ass---that's my other problem with them; too spensive AND really kinda gross. what's the point? better kohi can be had via 7-11 and/or Dunkin' Donuts. not to mention various other independent places. yeesh. :P

but it reminded me of my power-up theory, because espresso is still espresso. and i'm thinking now my life is turning even more into a video game, given my recent conversion to biking to and from the train station now. and the fact that my quick-release bike seat & post which are currently stuffed in my backpack make a nice, handy weapon---stake-like, although metal stakes prolly wouldn't be so effective as wooden ones. (and the seat would make a nice bludgeon if it weren't so cushy, but i digress. XD)

walking from the train station to my house takes a good 30-45 minutes, depending on various things. a nice walk, sure---but to one who hasn't got much time as it is, it's more time than i can spend. which is sad, because i really do like getting out and moving around. i used to walk a whole lot more when living in the city, mostly cos either you rely on public trans to get around, or else you walk. and if relying on the CTA busses, you're usually better off walking (although they have gotten a bit better in recent time).

anyrate, biking takes between 10-15 minutes. definitely doable. and so, i have been and will continue to do so unless the weather is exceedingly crappy out. have no wish to bike in the pouring rain. XD but the thing is, i think of the bicycle music from Pocket Monsters. "Janaki GOT ON THE BICYCLE!" and then i get to the station, and hop off, and lock it in the bike bank---and when i get back, it's waiting for me to take it out again. and the music starts playing in my head. (and it's usually the bloopy Game Boy version, not the fully orchestrated anime version. and i have both, on CD. because am dork like that and was more amused than anything that the Pocket Monsters anime took the original game music and fleshed it out. that amused me more than the anime, actually. although Team Rocket is priceless. XD)

granted, i have yet to see a video game chara use a bike seat and post combo as a weapon, but there's a first time for everything, right? XD

also, the post in question has a big sticker on it declaring it to be a "Post Moderne." eheh. XD

more ramblage later. but all this is meant to say a) i'm a huge, huge dork, and b) there is nothing better than a nice breeze rushing past you while biking. well, almost nothing. fweeeeee!

* = and i use the term loosely and all-encompassingly; not really meant derogatively but more meant in terms of "ohmygod, there's crap EVERYWHERE" upon entering my room when still living with my mom. take that as you will. XD

let me just say you've got character

loads of people either say they themselves look like someone famous, or else that they know someone who looks (sortakindabutnotquiteexactly) like someone famous. but do you ever see people and think they look like various animated characters?

i mean, it's scary enough if you see someone who looks like Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force. and probably even scarier if you see someone who looks like Meatwad. although Carl is probably more common than i'd like to admit. XD

all this is by way of saying i just saw slightly grown-up Hiiragizawa on the way in this morning. 'cept he had dark blond/light brown hair. but everything else was dead on, including mode of dress. O.O;; and i was entirely too amused about this and the fact that he was walking v. slowly down the street because he was reading while doing it. no funky hat though, i'm sad to say. *sniffs*

weekend was strange and exhausting. you?

one

it is now official.

Mariam's grandfather really is dead this time.

a few days ago, i'd mentioned to some people who read this that Mariam had sent me a text message (which she never does, so therefore a strong indication it was serious) that said, quite simply, "they pulled the plug". therefore leading me to infer that he had died, and inform certain people as such.

we've actually managed to talk a bit since then, after playing phone tag for a pretty ridiculous amount of time. it turns out that she thought he was dead as well---it wasn't just me. which is actually kinda funny, if you think about it---i mean, what else can you do but laugh at such a ridiculous turn of events?

he hung around for a few days after being unplugged from the machines that had been doing all his breathing for him, and finally went yesterday sometime. Mariam's not entirely sure how, as she wasn't there.

for those unaware, Mariam's my sister. not really by blood (although we did once do that blood-sister thing as kids, where you papercut fingertips and rub them together and it's supposed to bond you for life XD), but her family all but adopted me and took care of me throughout my childhood, due to various circumstances within my own family. so her family is more like my own than most of my actual biofamily.

unsurprisingly, things are very, very weird in all quarters right now. although apparently Mariam and i had a practice death, so maybe we're better equipped to deal with this than they are? ^^;;;

eee. so, er. all this by way of saying you oughtn't be surprised if i'm not around so much. wake's tomorrow, and funeral's on Saturday. amongst other fun plans, so it'll be a rollercoaster ride of a weekend.

a friend's mom just died last week too. this is apparently the season.

take care and have good weekends, everyone.