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Monday, January 26th, 2009
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4:28 am - ３年ぶり・・・
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3 years... well, 2 1/2 anyway. When I came back from Japan, nothing really seemed worth writing about. I was at home all summer doing nothing, I was terrified of the dangerous, loud, rude foreigners all over the place, the trains didn't go anywhere worthwhile, and I couldn't find onigiri anywhere. The reverse culture shock was 10 times worse than the original culture shock.
It took me a good 6 months to recover and start doing things again... and by then I was neck-deep in trying to graduate. I figured, "I'll post when I have the time." Only I never felt like it was a good time. Then after a while I got completely out of the habit and never even thought of updating. I have my friends page on the list of links I check every time I open Firefox, but it never occurred to me to actually update myself. Now I'm searching for a job and in the meantime I have lots of time on my hands.
I stopped posting because I didn't feel like I had done anything interesting, but I guess that's not true. What have I done since the last entry in my LJ? I worked in the lab for 2 1/2 years. I have DMd half a dozen D&D campaigns, and they are all crazy. I founded a national fraternity for nerds, and expanded it to several chapters across the nation. I rediscovered my love of sports. I pitched for the MEK softball team, and played on the MEK volleyball team. I led the team to an actual, real victory. I took up racquetball.(but I still don't lose weight!) I was almost swept away by a flood. I earned a Bachelor's of Science (finally). I have been in the longest relationship of my life. I met new friends, welcomed back old ones, and watched some drift away. I watched all of Star Trek from start to finish. I moved into an actual real house with a yard and a creek and woods a stone's throw away. I made a garden and planted vegetables. I harvested the half that lived. I watched an entire foot of snow fall for the first time in my life. I sold my first paintings. I took my friends camping. I told them the fun adventures of my teen years. I taught my first art classes. I was introduced to Settlers of Catan. I threw my first real party. I missed having close female friends. I found a karaoke place in the US that I like. I met someone with the same religion as me, even though I made mine up myself. I learned a lot of new stuff.
I learned PHP and I learned that it's my favorite programming language. I learned to fix my car and I learned that sometimes you can't fix it, and I learned that sometimes it will still go even while broken. I learned that making chainmail rings goes through dremel cutting blades like crazy. I learned that you can make 50 larping swords in 3 days if you need to. I learned that you can get through physics at UNT, it just takes 2 tries. I learned that even bad books make good reading when you are bored, and that series of bad books will take up a lot of boredom. I learned that if you want to be a part of something, the easiest way is to do it yourself and others will follow. I learned that others WILL follow.
Maybe I will post again, maybe not. But I am bored at 4 in the morning on Sunday night, Britt's asleep, I'm feeling introspective, and it seemed like a thing to do.
current mood:  accomplished
current music: Rush - Subdivisions
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| Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006
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7:43 pm - 東京!
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I'm writing from the hotel lobby, so I don't have a lot of time, but here's a few Tokyo pictures from the first 2 days!
( Pictures! )
current mood:  excited
current music: crappy lobby music
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| Tuesday, April 11th, 2006
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10:29 pm - 花見、姫路、風韻、平和、微笑み
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The first week of April. That time of year when the 130,000,000 people of Japan
all go out and have a picnic. Why? Because it's sakura season, and the entire country goes out for Hanami.
( Hanami pictures... )
The only downside is that my right knee is killing me. Stupid stairs. I just hope it's better by the time of the Mt. Hiei hike next weekend.
current mood:  sore
current music: Taku Iwasaki - Theme of R.O.D ~Opening Version~
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| Wednesday, March 15th, 2006
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7:51 am - こわい
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"The legendary founder of male love in Japan is Kukai, also known as Kobo Daishi, the founder of the Shingon school of Buddhism, who is said to have brought over from China, together with the teachings of the Buddha, the teachings of male love. Mount Koya, where Kobo Daishi's monastery is still located, was a byword for male love up to the end of the pre-modern period."
Good job, Briana. :P
current mood:  amused
current music: Dane Cook - Legacy
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| Monday, March 13th, 2006
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7:25 am - ポーションだけじゃなくて・・・
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It's been slow around, but here's an update anyway! Suck it!
I've been restricting travel a lot as I try to get my finances in a safe area. This last week I restricted my travel even more (as in not even to school) cause I felt pretty sick. I came down with something around the 1st or 2nd, and figuring I'd get over it in a few days, I pretty much ignored it. I was feeling pretty good around Tuesday, and that's when I decided to get a ridiculously high fever. I can't be sure how high it was, but despite having the room temperature at 81 degrees and having a heavy futon and blanket on top of me, I was still shivering uncontrollably. After lying awake burning up and shivering harder than I can ever remember doing, I realized I probably had a high fever and that I should probably turn the thermostat down and take off the blankets. Unfortunately, I also felt so cold that I didn't do it, and when I finally fell asleep I slept for about 10 hours and woke up at 4pm drenched in sweat as the fever finally broke. For the next couple of days my muscles felt like jello, but I finally walked up to campus on Thursday to talk to my professors. The half-hour walk is normally an easy jaunt, but I felt like I had been beaten with a 2x4 by the time I got there. After a quick chat with my Japanese professor, I took the bus home (lazy!) and lay around some more. My friends were nice enough to take care of the cooking for me. The next day I decided that I couldn't put off any more school and walked up to campus again. I felt pretty crappy, but I managed to see all my professors and get the work that I missed, and spend some time in the Sumi-e studio painting horrible roses which I promptly threw away.
Friday night, I got sick of being cooped up in my room for a week and some, and went with my friends down to the station where we went to a little cafe and got the biggest parfaits I've ever seen or heard of.
I hadn't eaten anything all day, I had eaten light all week, I normally claim to have an extra stomach dedicated specifically to dessert, and at my 13th birthday party I won a pizza-eating contest among my friends by eating 119 slices of Cici's pizza... but I was defeated by this one dessert. It was amazing. And surprisingly inexpensive at ¥700, about $5.90. This thing is like the size of my head. I tried my best, but this is all I could manage.
School's been slow... routine and boring. The spring blossoms are starting though, and soon I'm hoping to fulfill the promise I made to myself last year and see Himeji Castle during cherry blossom season. Spring Break is next week, I'm still trying to decide whether or not I can make a trip (and where to go!) then. I'm thinking maybe Shimonoseki or Hiroshima. Anyway, pictures of cherry blossoms soon!
current mood:  sleepy
current music: Weird Al: Party At The Leper Colony
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| Wednesday, March 8th, 2006
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2:52 am - 薬毒！助けてくれ！
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So, those of us in Japan have been eagerly awaiting the debut of Square-Enix' first foray into the liquid refreshment business. As a promotional item for the upcoming release of Final Fantasy XII, a beverage cleverly entitled Potion was introduced in the fall, due for delivery the week before the game's release. For a limited time, even special fantasy-style vials of everyone's favorite HP-restoring liquid would be available to the magic-item impaired public of Japan!
As the date (March 7th) approached, we all found ourselves affected by the marketing blitz. TV commercials remind us of our chibi-gamer days, ressurecting memories of the days when we could adventure in our own world. Finally, the day arrived. We planned ahead to meet at lunchtime to go to our favorite Item Shop (7-11) and acquire our special limited premium fantasy-style Potion. Excitement!
We journeyed across the world map, dodged the dangers of the traffic, and entered the shop. Where could it be? In the drink coolers? No, nothing but the same old 99 Lemon beverages, melon sodas, delicious milk teas, mixed drinks, and sake. Disappointment! Perhaps they sold out? Perhaps this Item Shop isn't high enough level to carry Potion?
We take our lunch items to the register, glancing around helplessly as we pay for our substandard, not-Potion goods. With a last sigh, we turn toward the door to head back to our mundane world. Wait, Briana spots something by the door! Could it be!? Yes! It is Potion! But this is ordinary mundane bottle Potion. It looks like everything else on the rack. Damn! But wait again, there on the middle aisle, barely visible under hanging racks of squid jerky! Potion Premium Edition Boxes!
You receive Potion x2!
Flush with our success, we rush back to campus. The stress has been wearing. Who couldn't use a pick-me-up of a few extra HP? We target ourselves and use Potion. Victory!
The only trouble is... as Chad points out, it shouldn't be called Potion. Perhaps Poison would be more appropriate, because I fully believe that Square-Enix has attempted to do just that. This pale blue magical liquid, despite its delicate hue and beautiful packaging, is the most vile substance I have ever consumed. It is foul beyond comparison to any other drink of humankind. And every one of us that ingested that manifestation of the horrid betrayal of our youth became ill. Headaches, stomach cramps, shaking.
On the upside, the bottles are pretty; but as for the beverage, my only hope is that this is part of a clever scheme by Square-Enix in which they poison all their customers in order to create demand for their new beverage, Antidote. Though if they actually created such a thing, there's no telling what sort of carnage it would wreak on one's internal organs. I now go to sleep with the hope that I don't vomit on myself in the night, and that I can stop shaking by morning. Assuming I wake up in the morning.
Damn you Square-Enix. Damn you and your dream-shattering concoction.
current mood:  sick
current music: Powerpuff Girls - Love Makes the World Go 'Round (Japanese)
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| Monday, March 6th, 2006
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7:17 am - クイズ
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Fuck this stupid chart. It keeps stripping the div tag style information.
So here's a link to the results. Retarded LJ.
My Personal Dna Report
current mood:  tired
current music: Medwyn Goodall - Ansiedad
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| Saturday, February 11th, 2006
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2:01 am - それで、モッキングバードが攻撃した。
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Europe's The Final Countdown is pretty much the best song ever written by a person. Some have said it's the Timeless Classic of Growing Up and the Human Dignity That Unites Us All, and I would agree with them.
current mood: amused
current music: Europe - The Final Countdown
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| Friday, February 10th, 2006
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2:50 am - ただいま！
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For the first update in 9 weeks....
(I promise I will write something better soon.)
( a stolen quiz! )
[X] My answers are totally honest
current mood: sleepy
current music: Loreena McKennitt - La Serenissima
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| Friday, December 9th, 2005
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12:43 am - お疲れ様でした！
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Go to your Calendar and find the first entry for each month of 2005. Post the first line of it in your journal, and that's your "Year In Review".
January: "How... accurate. LJ outage = 4 levels in World of Warcraft and 1 in Dark Age of Camelot."
February: "So... the good news is that my fever has gone down, on average anyway."
March: "A couple days ago, I was thinking of stealing the 10 Things I've Done that You Haven't quiz-type thing from Jesse, so I typed up some answers in Notepad."
April: "Yesterday was busy busy, as usual."
May: "This quiz sucks, the questions are too specific."
June: "So... this week has pretty much sucked in the being-able-to-walk department."
July: "So, finally an update."
August: "It seems that you don't have to worry about the Xbox price tag being a shitty pun, Alex.
September: "So, the first week of classes has come to a close."
October: "I hate thinking about money."
November: "alteredmana dressed as a sleeve."
December: "Whee!"
Wow... useless.
current mood: sleepy
current music: George Lopez - My Uncle's Heart Attack
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| Thursday, December 1st, 2005
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7:56 pm - 何じゃこりゃ！？
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Whee! The adrenaline rush and narrowed vision of being extremely furious is exciting. It makes you able to do things like jump down a flight of stairs, or toss people around with one hand. God DAMN being lied to makes me angry.
It's okay though... I am gathering an interesting number of fans (and enemies) recently for telling people when they are doing incredibly stupid things.
For instance: this person: ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) alucard1750032 needs to be kicked in the fucking nuts. "Duh, I did a bunch of monumentally dumb shit and people got mad at me. I don't get it." Amazing. Why do people tolerate this kind of idiocy? There's a benefit though... it makes me feel a lot more justified in being a complete dick to people I don't like.
It is difficult to get sleep though... hopefully it will wear off soon enough.
Edit: to clarify, this entry is about the residents of Seminar House 4. Not the Chibi. v(^_^o)
current mood:  infuriated
current music: Tommy february6 - Is this feeling love?
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| Wednesday, November 30th, 2005
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11:32 pm - パラキスを見なければいいかも・・・
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Everyone who knows me knows that my favorite anime and manga stories are romances. The heroine grows up a little, falls in love, makes good friends, and learns valuable lessons on the way. Nice, happy, packages, for the most part. But in every story, there always seems to be one character... never the main character, but usually an important character, who is basically sacrificed for the happiness of the main character. As the main character grows and finds happiness, this character is pushed aside, always supporting but never fulfilled, and usually when the story ends this character is still alone, ignored, and suffering.
Why are these always my favorite characters?
In Cardcaptor Sakura, my favorite character is Tomoyo.
In Read or Die, my favorite character is Hisami.
In Paradise Kiss, my favorite character is Miwako.
In Gokinjo Monogatari, my favorite character is P-chan.
In Love Hina, my favorite character is Shinobu.
In Onegai Teacher, my favorite character is Ichigo.
In Mai-HiME, my favorite character is Shizuru.
There are more examples, but these are the ones off the top of my head. Every one of these characters was a supporting character, every one was a good friend who lent lots of emotional support, and each one is essentially abandoned by both the author and the main character.
Does someone always have to be used up in order for someone else to be happy? That doesn't seem like the right way to go about things. There should be a better way. So thinking about this, I realize, my favorite romances usually have sad endings. (From my point of view, anyway.) What the fuck!? Someone needs to take care of these characters, dammit! T_T
Random: I registered the domain gokinjoworld.com last night. Chibi, I am relying on you to help me come up with something to do with it. ^_^
current mood:  sympathetic
current music: 幸田実果子 - Girls, Be Ambitious
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| Monday, November 28th, 2005
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10:44 pm - アンケート用紙
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I recoded this stupid survey to not include all the hidden forms.
| TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF - The Survey |
| Name | Jeremy Michael Smith |
| Birthday | July 14, 1981 |
| Birthplace | Dallas, TX |
| Current Location | Hirakata, Osaka, Japan |
| Eye Color | Green to Gold |
| Hair Color | golden red |
| Height | 191 cm |
| Right Handed or Left Handed | right |
| Your Heritage | American (mostly European mongrel) |
| The Shoes You Wore Today | black workboots |
| Your Weakness | affection |
| Your Fears | spiders |
| Your Perfect Pizza | pepperoni, jalapenos, and mushrooms |
| Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year | pass my various Japanese classes |
| Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant messenger | "Hehe. ^_^" |
| Thoughts First Waking Up: |
| Your Best Physical Feature | Hair |
| Your Bedtime | ~2-4 am |
| Your Most Missed Memory | Missed memory? WTF does that mean? |
| Pepsi or Coke | Dr Pepper |
| MacDonalds or Burger King | McDonalds (I prefer all of the cow to just lips and assholes) |
| Single or Group Dates | Group dates? What the hell? |
| Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea | I make my own tea. Fuck those guys. |
| Chocolate or Vanilla | Strawberry. |
| Cappuccino or Coffee | Hot Chocolate |
| Do you Smoke | Only if my bombs go off early, but usually my clothes stop smoldering fairly quickly. |
| Do you Swear | Fuck no! |
| Do you Sing | Not with a microphone. |
| Do you Shower Daily | Every other day at least. |
| Have you Been in Love | Yup. |
| Do you want to go to College | I dunno, lemme think about that some... |
| Do you want to get Married | Eventually. |
| Do you belive in yourself | No, but I believe in myself. |
| Do you get Motion Sickness | Nope. |
| Do you think you are Attractive | Nope. |
| Are you a Health Freak | Nope. |
| Do you get along with your Parents | Yup. |
| Do you like Thunderstorms | Yup. |
| Do you play an Instrument | Not unless you count a mixer. |
| In the past month have you Drank Alcohol | no, i Haven't. (yaY Weird capitalization!) |
| In the past month have you Smoked | Again, No i Haven'T |
| In the past month have you been on Drugs | nO |
| In the past month have you gone on a Date | No. -_- I miss the chibi! |
| In the past month have you gone to a Mall | Shotengai probably count, so yes. Oh wait, I went to various Keihan malls too. |
| In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos | There are no boxes of oreos here. |
| In the past month have you eaten Sushi | A bunch of times. |
| In the past month have you been on Stage | Yeah. |
| In the past month have you been Dumped | No. |
| In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping | No. |
| In the past month have you Stolen Anything | No. |
| Ever been Drunk | No. |
| Ever been called a Tease | No. |
| Ever been Beaten up | No. |
| Ever Shoplifted | WHen I was 6 I stole some Nintendo trading cards from the local convenience store. |
| How do you want to Die | Suicide at the age of 800. |
| What do you want to be when you Grow Up | Teacher. |
| What country would you most like to Visit | America? |
| In a Boy/Girl |
| Favourite Eye Color | Anything pretty |
| Favourite Hair Color | Pink! Barring that, black, copper, and brown, in that order. |
| Short or Long Hair | Long |
| Height | Short |
| Weight | Low enough to pick them up. |
| Best Clothing Style | Lolita |
| Number of Drugs I have taken | Illegal ones? None. |
| Number of CDs I own | Like 10? |
| Number of Piercings | 0 |
| Number of Tattoos | 0 |
| Number of things in my Past I Regret | 3, but I have learned valuable lessons from them all, so I don't regret them so much. |
current mood: amused
current music: Tommy february6 - Lonely in Gorgeous
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| Tuesday, November 22nd, 2005
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2:12 am - あほことを言わないでくれない？
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Stupid People
Today was fun. ^_^ I had a nice long argument with Phil, and managed to find out what a complete fraud he is. It was fun provoking him for a while, but after a certain point I started to feel kind of bad for him. He has some issue with the former officers, and is determined to reshape the entire club into something new, with no place for "emotionally broken" "weaklings." Apparently it's supposed to be a place for the cool kids to hang out and watch violence and tits, because he wants to get away from the outcasts and socially unpopular people currently making up the majority of the club. It seems that someone forgot to tell con-going, World-of-Warcraft-playing moron that he too is a nerd, and that he's no less lame than anyone else in the club. He managed to make a complete jackass out of himself while insulting the members of the club, the current officers, and the former officers.
Anyway, it was pretty funny to watch a kid strut around like a bantam rooster and boast, but in the end he's hurting the club and its members. I told him that maybe he wouldn't feel like such a badass about making girls cry if he got a punch in the mouth for it. It might be interesting. I haven't been in a fight since high school. I don't feel like getting arrested though, and he seems like the type who would throw a punch, then go crying to the police when he got the shit beat out of him.
Anyway, this weekend was tons of fun. Since winter vacation is almost upon us, I decided to make it my last bash before buckling down for finals and holidays.
( Weekend Adventures With More Pictures Which May Or May Not Be Working At This Time )
current mood:  cheerful
current music: Anime Eurobeat Series - ParaPara MAX Volume 1
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| Sunday, November 20th, 2005
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3:12 am - おぼえてくれない？
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I've had some computer troubles lately, and fixing them changed my budget focus from "where should I travel this week" to "where will I find food for this week?" It's mostly sorted now, but I wasn't able to do much for a while. But in the last couple of weeks I have managed to do some fun things for free! So here's a bit about that.
Edit: ScrapBook is being lame with the data center move... so the pictures may or may not be working at random for a day or two.
( Adventures with several large pictures. )
current mood:  sad
current music: alex bj-in your life outwave ext mix
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| Sunday, November 13th, 2005
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3:47 pm - ク・イ・ズ
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current mood:  bored
current music: Pirates of the Caribbean - Barbossa is Hungry
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| Saturday, November 5th, 2005
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9:23 pm - ガッキのやつ
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It has been a disturbing trend lately for people to devolve back into the stupid clique-ish infighting of junior high days. I'm sick of it. I'm not interested in it, and as of now, I am extracting myself from it. There's drama in my dorm, there's drama at my school, there's drama among my friends, there's drama in MEK, and it's all pretty childish.
Seminar House 4 collectively: get over it. I don't give a shit who fucked who or who got drunk with who. Take that shit and go back to your own respective countries, you can do all this TV movie crap there for a lot cheaper.
Rich: get over it. I don't know the Japanese word for 'attention whore,' but that doesn't mean there isn't one or that it isn't appropriate anyway.
Amy: get over it. So you have a problem with me, we all fucking get it already. I haven't done anything to you, and I haven't done anything to your friends. If you want to tell me what I did to make me the target for all your aggression, perhaps I can address your concerns. In the meantime, stop hurting Britt.
Phil: get over it. Fangirls are everywhere, you're free to not like them. But that doesn't mean you can be a jackass to them.
Society: mind your own business. Backbiting and rumormongering were funny and cool in 6th grade maybe. This isn't 6th grade.
I am normally fairly laid back, even if I get particularly worked up about something, I am over it in an hour or so. But once it starts to affect Britt and me, I begin to get angry. I don't know if any of you (except Shae) have seen me actually angry, but it is not fun. I am a vindictive motherfucker.
current mood:  angry
current music: The Mamas & The Papas - California Dreamin'
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| Wednesday, November 2nd, 2005
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11:10 am - 大米党
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tallasse's Halloween party:
alteredmana dressed as a sleeve.
amused_intp dressed as a spiked mummy.
chibibritt dressed as a new superhero: Ring A.
cosettecryst dressed as a experiment.
draconity dressed as your mother.
faerychild8 dressed as a local nucleus.
far_flung gets drunk, strips naked, and somehow emerges dressed as Bono.
inner_sakura dressed as Gena Lee Nolin's father.
lordnequam dressed as a giraffe.
madamerhed dressed as Captain Picard from "Star Trek".
nokochaoli didn't dress up, spoilsport.
quotethis dressed as the love child of Kofi Annan and Angelina Jolie.
raiko42 dressed as a 1980's yuppie child.
shaecw dressed as the Governor of Wisconsin.
tastelesssoda dressed as something busy, but what, specifically, you can't tell.
tf0009 dressed as a skeleton.
thelonebamf dressed as Anna Nicole Smith.
Throw your own party at the Hallomeme!
Created with phpNonsense
Edit:
Knife of Dreams was GOOD. 7 hours for one reading, now I can start reading #2.
current mood: sleepy
current music: Eddie Izzard - Glorious
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| Friday, October 28th, 2005
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8:09 am - アホクイズ
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Another stupid quiz!
| You Passed 8th Grade Math | 
Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct! |
I've been busy lately. Couple of tests a week sucks.
current mood: sleepy
current music: Eddie Izzard - Circle
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| Monday, October 17th, 2005
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6:51 pm - パラキスレビュウ
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Thanks to Chibi, I didn't have to stay up til 2:30am to watch the first episode of Paradise Kiss. Overall, I thought it was incredibly well done, and I want to punch the shit out of some people on the internet, specifically for these points:
1) "They ruined Arashi." How the fuck can you ruin a socially inept rapist? It's pretty fucked up to begin with. That doesn't even start on the "he just sounds like a punk, I wanted him to be different" (perhaps the fucking SAFETY PIN PIERCINGS are a sign?) comments, or my favorite, "Arashi is supposed to sound English, Like Johnny Rotten." These characters, as someone evidently needs to point out to this idiot, are in Japan, being Japanese and all, and therefore do not speak English with British accents. They speak, *gasp* Japanese.
2) "I didn't like the chibis." Read some Yazawa Ai manga. See all the scenes with the silly characters? Look at Parakiss. See the manga-ka's name? Yazawa Ai. No fucking shit there are chibis, it's one of the hallmarks of her style, the same as Mikako and Miwako's donut lips. Take it out, and you've fucked up the style.
3) "Miwako's voice is too high pitched, she sounds like a little kid." These people need to be stabbed in the neck with a pencil. The whole point of her character is that she is like a little kid, thanks to ol' Mr. Not-Fucking-British Rapist mentioned previously.
The only complaint I would expect after watching it is the bizarre out-of-place ending with that crappy Franz Ferdinand song... it doesn't fit anything else in the show. But no, people have only retarded complaints, like about how the characters' nationality was wrong.
However, I do have to thank the members of various Paradise Kiss fan communities for reminding me why I don't socialize on the internet, and why I hate those who do.
In conclusion, I thought the show was fairly well done, and I am looking forward to seeing if they can keep it up throughout the entire series.
current mood:  happy
current music: Tommy February6 - Lonely In Gorgeous
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