Chicken Scratch

Wasting time on SA

Mon, 24 Jan 2005 18:58:53 GMT

For the Calvin and Hobbes fans (well, and also anyone else, because these are fun): a snowy tribute.

And now, to get back to my homework. Which I'm working hard on, really.

Thanks ...

Mon, 13 Dec 2004 23:43:40 GMT

... to Sean the Whitey Ninja, for using his sneaky powers for good and keeping me utterly clueless all afternoon.

... to Myra the masterful cook, for making delicious spaghetti and being all-around Host Mother.

... to the person at the grocery store who made the absolutely decadent chocolate fudge cake. (And the bum who bought the toys to decorate it.)

... to Jose, for bringing his games and helping to make the party a genuine geekfest.

... to Eric, for yelling "Shit! A Metro!" when I arrived and getting everyone to run and hide (or so I hear).

... to Michio and Charlie, for scaring the crap out of me (and the cats) because they are Big Loud Men who led the rush of people barrelling out of Ann's room.

... to Charlie also for unlocking his inner female pop star.

... to Meghan, for unlocking her inner female pop star too. And having the cleavage to go with. XD

... to Ann, for singing "Like a Virgin." Hot stuff.

... to Kari, for leaving me with the image of her birthing babies out of spite. It will haunt me for days.

... to Terra, for ... being Terra. XD

... to everyone, for the DVDs and books and manga and all sorts of good stuff, which I will be sure to read/watch/etc. on the day of my actual birthday.

... to the ones who worked the most behind the scenes, getting people and presents and food ready where they needed to be. Myra, Michio, Sean. You guys rock.

... to everyone, just for being there (or wanting to be). For surprising me and (once the terror faded) making me really really happy.

... to Myra, for making everything happen.

Best finals weekend ever. :D Thank you, everyone.

An Idea

Sat, 27 Nov 2004 09:07:14 GMT

How would people feel about doing a Secret Santa-type thing for Christmas? I realize that budgets are tight, and there are a lot of people to get gifts for, so perhaps we could do this within the DP group. That way we'd be able to go all out on one person without much worry.

Thoughts? Have people already started their Christmas shopping? Opposed for other reasons? Any suggestions?

Cora, Yunnie's, and sushi

Mon, 22 Nov 2004 23:49:09 GMT

For everyone who doesn't know/isn't sure of the plan tonight --

We'll be meeting at Yunnie's at 5:00, then hitting Sushi Express for dinner (not too late, because I know at least Ann needs to be back fairly early). I know people are crunched for time, so if you just want to drop by and say hi to Cora, you can find us in one of those two places.

*eyes clock and waaaiiits for time to pass*

Tonight

Sun, 07 Nov 2004 00:56:40 GMT

Okay, here's the final plan. (Er ... maybe. Ann's still asleep and may suddenly decide she needs more time to write or nap -- she's been up since 3:30. O_< But this should be okay. I think. Because, apparently, by 'final' I mean 'maybe-if-I-don't-change-it-again.' Yes.)

People can show up at our house tonight around 8 or 9. (The buses can get you here at around either 8:30 or 9:30, fyi. And no, I am not a control freak.) We'll be watching Ann's Escaflowne DVDs, maybe Terra's Nightmare Before Christmas, on Myra's kindly donated DVD player. We'll provide ice cream, oreos, and kahlua stuff. Other people can bring whatever else they want to eat.

So, sound good? I'll see you guys tonight!

Weekend plans

Fri, 05 Nov 2004 07:26:38 GMT

All right, my dears, I have a proposition for you. *waggles eyebrows* Since we have leftover goods from the party (read: ice cream and kahlua-stuff), I was thinking people could come over to our house to consume it. Maybe Terra could bring her Nightmare Before Christmas DVD, since we didn't get to watch it last week? Ann's Escaflowne may arrive by the weekend, so we could watch that as well. Whatever people want to do.

I'm thinking a late evening, after-dinner thing (because we have no real food to feed you, just booze and ice cream :P) around 8 or 9. That also gives time for some NaNo work in the afternoon and sleep time for poor overworked roommates with whacked out job schedules.

Thoughts?

Thu, 21 Oct 2004 23:22:33 GMT

Chocolate cake with raspberry filling and vanilla icing. Yes ... this is why I come to work. :D~~~

Yunnie's

Sat, 16 Oct 2004 01:13:13 GMT

Hey all, I don't know what everyone's up to tonight, but how about congregating at Yunnie's at 10:00? I'll let Ann know so she can join us when she gets off work. House-hunting people, you can tell us how it went. :D

Tonight

Sun, 26 Sep 2004 23:45:15 GMT

Okay, so the plan so far is to meet at 5:45 on campus (I'm assuming in front of Hansee). From there, it's dinner at an undisclosed location, with further activities to be determined. Anyone who can't make it but wants to meet up with us later, feel free to call me at 310-0813.

Thought you guys would appreciate this

Mon, 13 Sep 2004 23:03:14 GMT

Sunday's Doonesbury on the color-coded "threat levels."

"Orange means a high risk of losing the election! Citizens are strongly urged to raise the subject of gay marriage!"

Because I love to talk about myself.

Tue, 27 Jul 2004 00:00:36 GMT

The good thing about having to man the phones at work is that, if I have no work that I can do while sitting at the front desk (which means anything that does not require me to get up, pull files, or talk to people), I can do whatever I want. So, naturally, I will waste my time with a meme.

Gacked from nekokoneko

Thirteen random things you like:
1. writing
2. Sufist poetry
3. grocery shopping
4. lilies
5. wolves
6. Adobe Photoshop
7. moral and religious philosophy (even though I'm not religious ... ^^;)
8. organizing stuff
9. B-flat (I just like the note *shrug*)
10. shounen manga
11. swing dancing
12. blue
13. late-night conversations

Twelve movies (not in any particular order):
1. Lord of the Rings
2. Harry Potter
3. X-Men
4. Chicago
5. Moulin Rouge
6. Tokyo Godfathers (at least, the last half, which is what I saw ^^;)
7. Courage Under Fire
8. Finding Nemo
9. Kiki's Delivery Service
10. Shrek 2
11. Lagaan (an Indian musical about cricket ... no really)
12. Van Helsing (XD XD XD)

Eleven good bands/artists:
1. Onitsuka Chihiro
2. Sakamoto Maaya
3. Kokia
4. L'Arc~en~Ciel
5. Kanno Yoko
6. Kajiura Yuki
7. Iwasaki Taku
8. Garnet Crow
9. Dido
10. A-mei
11. Porno Graffiti

Ten things about you ... physically:
1. I'm taller than just about all the females in my extended family (which isn't saying much ^^;).
2. People ph33r my fingernails. XD
3. I wear about six different sizes of clothing, depending on the store (though this is true of all females, I think).
4. I wear glasses, and am too lazy for contacts.
5. Um ... I have long hair.
6. It has a streak of brown on the right side (yes, I'm trying to stretch my answers ^^;).
7. I have elbows.
8. People have said I look old for my age. I am also younger than most of the people I hang out with. >_>
9. My palms sweat when I am on high things.
10. Apparently, I have pretty hands (glances at nekokoneko)

Nine good friends (not in order):
1. Myra
2. Hanne
3. Ann
4. Terra
5. Sean
6. ... the rest of Dragon's Pen (there are too many XD;;)
7. Bean
8. Eric
9. Michio, I guess :P

Eight favorite foods/drinks:
1. Yunnie's (yeah, everything there)
2. unagi nigiri :D~~~
3. caramel frapuccino
4. mocha almond fudge ice cream
5. yakisoba
6. gai lan
7. pretzels
8. anything my mom makes

Seven things you wear constantly:
1. glasses
2. my watch
3. earrings of some sort
4. khaki pants (which usually results in me spilling something on them :P)
5. sweats, when I'm at home
6. ... that's about it.
7. ... really, I promise.

Six things that annoy you:
1. narrow-mindedness
2. smugness
3. callousness and inconsideration
4. not feeling in control of myself, or my circumstances
5. manipulators
6. the nasty gunk that gets caught in the kitchen sink drain >_<

Five things you touch everyday:
1. my current book
2. the computer
3. my bed
4. my keys
5. Sebastian (I can only pet Madeline when I'm lucky XD)

Four shows you watch:
1. FMA
2. Samurai Champloo
3. late night TV, though not regularly
4. I don't watch many things nowadays ...

Three People you have a crush on:
1. Kaneshiro Takeshi
2. Hugh Jackman
3. Koyasu Takehito's voice (because he's too goofy to be sexy in real life XD;;)

Two things you hate:
1. personal failure
2. giving up

One thing you love:
1. potential

Housewarming party

Sun, 25 Jul 2004 20:14:34 GMT

Last night's housewarming party was really fun, and it was wonderful to see Meghan, Merry!Jen, and SJen again. We did, however, discover just how small our living room is, as well as how rapidly body heat accumulates in there on a 95-degree day. XD;; The living room is actually about the same size as Ann's room. ^_^; So, about half of us ended up there for the duration of the night.

As is natural whenever more than a couple of DP folks gather, there was a rather interesting collections of quotes from the conversation. However, I don't remember most of them. ^_^;; Here are a few:

Ann: "I don't want to put that between my legs."
(Admittedly, that was from Friday night, but still.)

Me: "I chased people around with a fire gun!"

Meghan: "Don't be worried if I start taking my shirt off."

Jose: "How do you spell 'pneumonia'?"
Meghan: "P .... fuck."

And then there were the various incoherent noises Terra and Jose were making to each other on AIM. XD And the 5/1 female-to-male ratio in Ann's room, because Neil was the lone guy. Somehow that felt familiar ... XD

All in all, highly entertaining. Made me feel warm and fuzzily happy to see you folks again, as well as miss all the rest of you guys. I look forward to having you all over as soon as you're back in Seattle.

FMA 35 & 36

Thu, 01 Jul 2004 06:01:53 GMT

So Ann and I just watched eps 35 and 36 of FMA. Um. o_o I have three thoughts about episode 35 (which hopefully aren't too spoilerific for people's tastes):

1) Whoa, Lust characterization. I am impressed.
2) The Fossil Disease is creepy as fuck. *shudder*
3) Oh look, Koyasu is ~~whoring himself out again~~making a guest appearance. This amuses me, though of course it meant I couldn't take his character seriously from the moment he appeared. XD

(In other seiyuu news, go take a look at who's going to be playing Armstrong's family in the next episode. They're at the bottom of the list. I will be SO entertained. XD)

Episode 36 felt, at least to us, as if continuity had just taken a screeching turn around a sudden corner, and made us realize that there's a lot of smaller details from previous episodes that we've forgotten. The 'problem' with FMA is that, despite the strength of its overarching plot, it still makes a very entertaining episodic series, and it's easy to get caught up by those individual episodes and forget what's been going on and building up before. I think, once this series is over, we have to watch it all over again to catch everything. :P

Also, Ann has an interesting theory of the Amestris/Ishbal people being, not Western/Muslim, as we'd been hypothesizing, but rather German/Jewish. I'll leave all the fun little parallels for her to share ...

And oh! I cooked dinner tonight, all by myself. Only fried rice, but hey -- I made a meal without getting anyone sick, and the kitchen was in decent shape when I was done. I am unduly pleased by this. ^_^ Only a matter of months before I inflict my cooking on the rest of you guys, hah.

We get signal

Thu, 24 Jun 2004 05:21:08 GMT

That is to say, yay cable connection! Now my roommates and I can sit in front of our computers and be anti-social, and this house can become even quieter in the evenings. :P

The living is good. :D I don't feel so much like it's a temporary place anymore; but there is still that bit of "GYEEE NEW STUFF" feeling whenever I do something domestic. XD;; We've managed to eat well so far, partially in thanks to the ungodly amounts of food given to us from various parental units. Also, Ann knows how to cook some. (As does Myra, but she's working full time and can't do it during the week -- so I guess that makes Ann the housewife and Myra the man of the house. ^_^;;) And, I've been getting tips on basic meat and veggie preparation from my mother. And, we've found some cheap little Asian groceries downtown, so we can get stir-fry ingredients and lychee and all sorts of good stuff. When the rest of y'all come back, we can have a big-ass Asian meal. :D (It'll give us a healthy channel for all our the Asian Mother energy being bottled up in here. XD)

Also good is the fact that Ann's cats have not established vendettas against us -- I had a slight fear that, if they resented the move and/or the intruders on their owner, Myra and I would find 'presents' in our beds or something. ^_^;; But Sebastian, like all male cats I know, is an absolute attention whore (and I indulge him because I am weak -_-;;). Madeline Pryor, however, is a *lady*, and does not indulge in undignified demonstrations of affection ... but she doesn't hate me, for which I am glad (though the irony *would* have been amusing). I am getting cat hair all over my clothes, though, because I can't resist Sebastian wanting to cuddle on my lap. :P Also, Elizabeth Wales, the owner of the (obviously enough) Wales Literary Agency where I'm interning, has a big fluffy manx named Leo who both makes friends and sheds indiscriminately. (Unfortunately, I wasn't thinking and wore dark jeans to work today, so of course Leo decided he had to say "HIIII I LOVE YOOOOUUUU" by hugging my leg. ^_^;;) So, basically -- lots of cats, lots of cuddling, *lots* of fur everywhere.

Speaking of the internship -- so far, I love it. I spend one day a week (five hours) just reading -- reading queries and evaluating submissions. Of course, since I get the unsolicited stuff, it's not always great; but by the time you reach the stage of actually submitting writing for professional publication, you can be sure that the writers actually care about their work, so at least it won't be that bad. I wish I had amazing and profound insights for all of you as to how to win a literary agency's attention and get published, but I'm afraid a lot of it is what we've all heard before: research what the agency is looking for (i.e., do they even take genre fiction), make sure your query/submission is formatted correctly (SASEs!!), and remember that a literary agency only takes on so many projects a year. Elizabeth said she takes on 10 to 12 new projects annually, and I believe Wales is one of the largest, or at least more well-known, agencies in Seattle/Washington in general. And Seattle, from what I know, is second only to L.A. and New York for publishers, so ...

Oh -- there is this one piece of advice I wasn't aware of: if you're sending a large manila envelope, tape over the brads. They tend to tear up mailmen's fingers when they reach into the mail piles, so it's a helpful little thing to do. ^_^

bounce

Wed, 16 Jun 2004 23:49:00 GMT

Hello all. ^_^

I ... have not much to say. I've blabbed about general goings-on in my life here; I just wanted to spam your friends pages. XD I'm glad to hear you're all doing (more or less) well.

How to make a sigelphoenix

Ingredients:

1 part mercy

5 parts brilliance

5 parts energy

Method:
Add to a cocktail shaker and mix vigorously. Top it off with a sprinkle of lovability and enjoy!

Personality cocktail
From Go-Quiz.com

How to make a Dora

Ingredients:

5 parts anger

1 part self-sufficiency

1 part ego

Method:
Add to a cocktail shaker and mix vigorously. Add sadness to taste! Do not overindulge!

Personality cocktail
From Go-Quiz.com

I guess it depends on my mood or something. ^_^;

Mon, 07 Jun 2004 06:33:37 GMT

*gacks meme from mahokiwi*

Taking a break from my paper, because I have written exactly nothing and, uh, deserve it. :P It doesn't help that it's not due until Wednesday and I don't *really* have to do it tonight ... I curse the fact that I have conditioned myself to do work only upon pain of either death or looming deadline.

Your Homicidal Rampage! by crash_and_burn

Your name:

Weapon of Choice:

Katana

Your Favorite Target:

Goths

Your Kill Count:

834,644,075

Your Battle Cry:

"Allow me to molest your face with this rod!"

Years You Spend in Jail:

How Much Money In Damages You Cause:

$94,609,329,860,152

Your Homocidal Insanity Level:: 18%

Created with the ORIGINAL MemeGen!

I am won over by this battle cry. I need to find an opportunity to use it. XD

Your Homicidal Rampage! by crash_and_burn

Your name:

Weapon of Choice:

Agent Orange

Your Favorite Target:

School-children

Your Kill Count:

140,851,203

Your Battle Cry:

"Touch me, I'm happy!"

Years You Spend in Jail:

How Much Money In Damages You Cause:

$118,868,840,161,372

Your Homocidal Insanity Level:: 61%

Created with the ORIGINAL MemeGen!

However, this is also amusing. Decisions, decisions ...

Prisoner of Azkaban

Sun, 06 Jun 2004 09:29:46 GMT

Hee!

I want to talk about the movie with everyone who's seen it. And for those of you who haven't (and want to), I want you to see it as soon as possible so I can talk about it with you, too.

I will say nothing about my impressions so as not to spoil anyone, but -- Jeeeen! Jeeeeeeeeeen! I want to talk to you about Luuuuupiiiiiiin!!! o_o

ETA: I will not, however, refrain from sharing spoilers in the comments. XD

Dinner plans

Sun, 30 May 2004 00:47:42 GMT

I called the restaurant, and was too late to make a reservation. Since there's so many of us (8 so far, maybe 10 if Meggie and Sean come), do you guys want to meet earlier in order to get a table? Are people free to meet right now? Reply and let me know.

Tonight

Fri, 28 May 2004 21:44:14 GMT

Yunnie's run tonight, 10-ish? I'm bringing a Bean. :D

Shrek 2

Sat, 22 May 2004 20:16:25 GMT

Okay, here's the plan: Shrek 2 is playing at the Metro at 7:20, so we're meeting for dinner at Dragonfly at 6:00 and going from there. Cora and Jen (and Ann, if you're back), we're meeting in front of Hansee at 5:45. We love you~~~

Dinner?

Fri, 14 May 2004 23:34:45 GMT

Are people meeting for dinner tonight as per usual? I don't come often enough, so I'm not sure what the custom is for Fridays. :P Anyway, I'm going to be there (McMahon at 6:30), and I'd love to see some friendly faces.

Weekend stuff

Thu, 13 May 2004 18:00:55 GMT

I thought I'd attempt to generate some localized discussion about what we're doing for the weekend (because "localized discussion" isn't a pretentious term to use when talking about weekend activities or anything :P). ~~Are people wanting to do OHS in group form?~~ There's also the street fair -- Myra and Ann and I are doing an early lunch on Saturday and then going to look at a house, but afterwards we're planning to hit the fair, and welcome anyone who wants to join (for lunch and the street fair, not necessarily the house).

So: thoughts?

Edit: Right, so, uh, forget what I said about OHS. Apparently I have no sense of time anymore, and when people talk about next weekend I naturally assume it is one and the same with *this* weekend. :P But still -- street fair. We should all go out and fill ourselves up with unhealthy crap-food. (But such sweet, sweet crap-food it is.)

Heh.

Fri, 07 May 2004 23:39:27 GMT

I'm gayer than everyone else!

... except for Ann. So she out-seme's *and* out-gay's me? *pouts*

Um. O_O

Thu, 06 May 2004 00:06:24 GMT

So, uh, who's going to be here in August? Because RENT is coming to the Paramount Theatre and I really really really really really want to go ... And I'd love to go with one of my fellow RENT junkies, but I believe you're all heading back south/east come summer. T_T

(Not that this would stop me from going to see the show, by any means. I went to Les Mis by myself last year when I couldn't get anyone to go with me. But at least with someone else there I could have a partner in squeeing. XD And probably someone to prop me up once I step into the theater and commence swooning.)

Hm ... I'm checking TicketMaster and they say there's going to be a production later this month. However, it's only two weeks away, and it's in Tacoma, so. ^_^;

Also, Miss Saigon at 5th Avenue. It's a year away, but I'm definitely going, because I have much love for that musical. :D

Kill Bill

Tue, 27 Apr 2004 07:28:31 GMT

Because I haven't seen Volume 2 (*pouts*) and shouldn't be taking the spoilerific quiz, here's a different one:

You're O-Ren Ishii (a.k.a Cottonmouth). You are
elegant and poised, and often silent. Yet, your
silence commands you much respect, and when you
speak you are often heard more than any other.
Your devotion to the people around you makes
them, in turn, fiercely devoted to you. Your
grace is so admired, that those around you
would do anything, if you were to only ask.
Yet, you are a wise enough friend and associate
to know that your favors are only used when
needed most. You, more than any, are deserving
of respect, if only because you are smart
enough to give it.

What Member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Chicken Scratch

Wasting time on SA

Thanks ...

An Idea

Cora, Yunnie's, and sushi

Tonight

Weekend plans

Yunnie's

Tonight

Thought you guys would appreciate this

Because I love to talk about myself.

Housewarming party

FMA 35 & 36

We get signal

*bounce*

Prisoner of Azkaban

Dinner plans

Tonight

Shrek 2

Dinner?

Weekend stuff

Heh.

Um. O_O

Kill Bill

bounce