Julian's LiveJournal Adventures...?

In which the author strays briefly into political territory.

2006-12-09T19:48:58Z

Because of this piece of work.

Hard to believe just how, ah... prescient they were, isn't it?

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go listen to The Right Brothers speak truth to power, in order to come down off of my euphoria gradually.

</snark>

Random thought

2006-10-16T14:43:51Z

I find it incredibly hilarious that there is a Pennsylvania German Wikipedia. I mean, who among its speakers actually uses a computer?

Obligatory "not dead" post...

2006-07-08T20:01:05Z

I figured it was about time to reassure those of you who have me on their friends list that I am not, in fact, deceased. This is especially in light of my previous post, which is depressing and melancholic, and which I finally decided deserves less than the top spot of my LJ. I'll leave the full extent of what I've been up to since then for some other post, but for the time being, suffice it to say that I'm happy again. It was a long time coming, and I certainly had my share of setbacks on the road to recovery, but I now find myself smiling without realizing it, and feeling excited about the future in a way that I have not since even before I met my ex. What can I say? Life is good to those who are willing to endure its sour moments.

When I look back over the course of my time in Japan, I am no longer plagued by the darkness that stalked me as I wallowed in despair and regret. The places I visited there now hold only the nostalgic awe of locales I had never seen before, whose breathtaking vistas and intimate spaces inspire only a yearning to go back and revisit the country. And, so it seems, I probably will.

The breakup itself, in my mind, continues to be a manifestation of pure, irrational chaos: it does not, and probably cannot ever make sense. But, though it caused me more than my fair share of suffering, whatever unfathomable demon took over my ex may well have given me the push I needed to take my own life by the horns. As they say, when one door closes, another opens; suddenly I find myriad opportunities laid out in front of me that I never would have discovered, had I remained with her. I fully intend to return to Japan at some point, and it may now be sooner rather than later, and maybe even for an extended period of time. But I will explain my thoughts in more detail once they have developed past the "inkling" stage.

At any rate, I should be making the most of my weekend at home before I head back up to campus tomorrow, so off I go~.

Requiem for a girlfriend...

2006-03-25T04:58:36Z

Here I stand, stranded alone in a foreign country, and the girl whose presence in my life over the last 3 years has brought me joy greater than any I had ever known... has turned her back on me.

It's been 5 weeks now. It came suddenly, without any warning. And while there may have been signs before that, I was too blinded by my love for her to see them. And so, in an instant, all my plans for the future, which were once ours, crumbled into nothing.

She has given me many reasons, none of them entirely satisfactory. I had been clingy during the past few months due to my imminent departure from her, and have sometimes had trouble with jealousy in the past... but that's not enough to explain it. I did everything in my power to be the best possible person for her, but in the end, it didn't matter. And though she expressed doubts about the future, the future is always uncertain... and we still had another year of me at Hamilton before there was anything to even remotely worry about. She told me she felt trapped, but I did everything I could to give her the freedom she'd never had back home... only to be abandoned myself. Perhaps I've been naïve to think we'd always be together, but I'm sure that we would be able to work things out, if only she were willing to give the relationship a chance. More than anything else, it feels like... she's given up. On me, on our dreams, and... on us.

She tells me she still wants us to be as close as friends as we'd always been as a couple, but she's either naïve herself, or has a horrible sense of humor. The last thing I want is to be "BFF" with a person who'd get to tell me all about why her current boyfriend sucks, when she already had her chance at a sure thing. I don't want to be stuck chasing after the one thing in my life that's out of reach. She might as well castrate me where I stand.

I have spent the last month learning to live for myself again, with mixed results. I have found a certain amount of satisfaction in doing things because I want to, and not being ruled by her opinion of me, but I feel her presence in everything I do, and everything I see seems to remind me of her in some way. My emotions have been, in turns, nonexistent and completely out of control. I want to get as far away from her as I possibly can, yet I want nothing more than for her to turn around and say it was all a mistake. Even now, I find myself waiting for some sign from her, when I could be trying (even if in vain) to enjoy myself on this bright, clear day. Though it's Spring outside, my heart is in late Autum, slipping into Winter.

After this... I don't know what to do. All of my plans for the future involved her in some way. And though I could lose myself in my interests and my school work, these things only bring satisfaction, not the happiness found in love. Perhaps someday, in a distant, brighter future, I can learn to love again, but that day will not come any time soon, if it ever does.

There was a time in my life when I was convinced that I would always be alone. That was before I met her... but now, I'm beginning to wonder if maybe I was right, after all.

I can feel my nose running already.

2005-12-29T05:17:45Z

Something I learned not too long ago, and was reminded of when I ran out of my current stock today:

SUDAFED IS ILLEGAL IN JAPAN.

I hope the Zyrtec is enough to cover things... T_T

In which the diarist addresses his reader(s?) directly, rather than in mere apostrophe.

2005-11-28T03:56:29Z

I'm not going to bore those who read this entry with a blow-by-blow of my Thanksgiving break, but suffice to say that it was a well-needed rest from the stress of Junior year and continued filling-out of forms for Japan. Patricia: you still mean the world to me. Jay: you still rock. My family: thanks for not getting on my case too much while I was either being lazy or out of the house.

But now... I have a few more weeks of the grind, where I need to get a presentation and several papers done, as well as finish making arrangements for my visa to Japan and my housing and/or job situation when I come back. Stressful doesn't begin to describe it. At this point, the only things I'm really thankful for are (a) that it will be over soon, and (b) that I didn't continue the insane courseload that I started out with. I'd be a blubbering wreck of a human being by this point, if not for those two things.

On the brighter side, I will soon be in possession of this and this. Ah, consumerism. While I dislike spending large amounts of money all at once on principle, I am reassured in this case by the anticipated utility of said items while I am in Japan, as well as the sheer niftiness of them. I mean, seriously: who doesn't like holding a piece of freshly-minted technology in their hands? (That was a rhetorical question.) vegettoex and I have also started doing an internet radio show (a "podcast," to the initiated), which can be found here. It's got a feed and everything, and we're angling to get it listed on the iTunes Music store. And yes, I'm still a Dragon Ball dork. Thanks for asking. :-P

At any rate, my main point in writing this entry was that I have been thinking lately about starting up a blog to detail my various travels, observations, and general thoughts while I'm in Japan. I'd prefer not to use my LJ for this, because I want everybody (including relatives) to be able to read it, and not just my friends. (That, and LiveJournal has a reputation.) But at any rate, my tentative plan is to start a new site (hosted by either vegettoex or Blogger), to collect pictures, interesting anecdotes, and other random bits from my time abroad. In the meantime, I'll use the LJ account you see here for material of a more personal, off-topic, or inappropriate-for-mass-consumption nature (not to mention links to the public blog, from time to time). But on that note, I'd like to open this up to you guys. Is there anything in particular you'd like to see? Suggestions for layout? (How much freedom does Blogger give for site design, anyhow?) Something else? I'm up for some ideas.

A i u e oh man...

2005-11-14T07:04:41Z

Hey, blog. Long time no see. Rather than offer up an excuse, let's cut to the chase:

Jgjedi: Ah
KiriyamaBRX: I u e o
Jgjedi: Heh. kakikukeko
KiriyamaBRX: Verily. Let's sa shi su se stop there.
Jgjedi: Ta chi tsu te too late
KiriyamaBRX: Na ni nu ne no it isn't.
Jgjedi: ha hi fu he hope you don't have anywhere to be right now
KiriyamaBRX: Ma mi mu me more often than not I'm just here, bored.
Jgjedi: ya yu you're telling me.
KiriyamaBRX: Ra ri ru reNOUGH ALREADY.
Jgjedi: ro?
KiriyamaBRX: No ro.
Jgjedi: wa wi we won't stop until we're through.
Nn-hm.
There we go.
KiriyamaBRX: You're an ass.
Jgjedi: You're the one who started it, remember.
KiriyamaBRX: YOU SAID AH.
Jgjedi: And whose idea was it to make it into the Japanese syllabary?
KiriyamaBRX: ...yours!
Jgjedi: ...
KiriyamaBRX: :-P

That's all for now. Random AIM quote-posting is fun.

Three Days to go...

2005-05-12T16:10:00Z

...Until I'm out of here for the summer, that is. I am... quite looking forward to it. The job situation is starting to look up, and I will hopefully be hearing back about a promising offer this weekend. And, of course, I'll be seeing my girlfriend on Sunday. So, all is well with the world. Assuming I can get this essay done and study for the next two days' worth of tests. ><

But actually, this post was really just an excuse to post a meme. In anticipation of Episode III of Star Wars (which I am dying to see, and praying that it won't be sucktastic), and taking the cue from tinamond, it's time... time to see what kind of Jedi I am.

I'm actually surprised that I scored so low on Dark Side potential... that, and I don't really like the color purple. Having my original Japanese mentor (now, sadly, deceased) as a master is more than fitting, however. At any rate, it's an amusing diversion from what I'm avoiding right now. In the meantime, go check out Darth Vader's personal blog. It's a rather... unique take of everyone's favorite Dark Lord of the Sith. And now, I'm off.

Yay for it being May (I guess)...

2005-05-06T21:15:54Z

Hey, I haven't forgotten about this thing, after all. Nice change of pace. :-)

I finished up all my classes for the semester today. Now there's just one more week to go, in which I will be studying for exams, but would much rather just be back home, already. Meh. At least I've got some time to sort out the contents of my room, and maybe update the site with a few things. Still too much time with nothing to do for my tastes, though. :-\

On the other hand, I'd kind of like to know what my summer job's going to be before I go home, but I haven't heard back from a bunch of the places I've applied to, and the ones where I did hear back, it hasn't been positive. It's more of an annoyance than anything else, since I'm sure I'll find a job somewhere (even if it's something I hate), but I just dislike not knowing. Especially since my girlfriend now knows what she'll be doing, and I still have no idea what my schedule will be like. Grah.

And on a completely random note, I've started translating the instructions to the Gundam model kit I bought at Anime Boston, only to discover that most of the text is either:
a) English scifi-type words rendered into katakana, or
b) Completely obvious from the illustrations.
So yay for easy-to-translate instructions, I guess. But they need some furigana with these things... I shouldn't have to spend all that time looking up kanji I've never seen before, only to find out that the sentence is telling me to do exactly what the picture next to it clearly illustrates. God, I hate having the literacy level of a Japanese elementary-school student. >_>

And with that, I return to learning all about how to assemble a Beam Rifle.

The Erstwhile Blogger Returns: Anime Boston '05 Report

2005-05-03T02:12:48Z

[Has a new date, now that it's finished (though it doesn't seem to have gotten bumped up any). Enjoy... if you DARE.]

I return once more to my LiveJournal, this time (more-or-less) in triumph. There is only one week of class (actually less, now) until the exam period begins, my girlfriend is nearly done with high school, I get to read about Doraemon for Japanese class tomorrow (ya' call that "homework"? :-P), and I spent the weekend at Anime Boston, which was quite a nice break. As I've promised several people that I'd do a con report when I got back, I suppose I ought to devote the rest of the entry to just that. So anyway...

FRIDAY

The Prologue
I didn't really sleep that well Thursday night, thanks to an impending paper deadline and Japanese skit revisions, as well as general nerves that I get before I travel (Boston is 5 hours away via the NY Thruway / Mass. Turnpike). I was packed by 2 a.m. or so, and finished my paper at 3. Set my head down on the pillow, blinked, and the next thing I knew, it was 7:00 and time to get going. Argh. So, fast-forwarding through my ordeal with trying to stay awake in Japanese class and getting everybody up to speed on the script, it was 12:30 and we were on the road to Boston. tinamond, topazera, other-Meg, Alex, Katherine, John, and two-people-not-going-to-the-con-whose-names-I-can't-remember.

The Journey to the Fabled "Beantown"
The trip went decently; we talked, noshed on the macaroons I'd brought (still Passover, mind you), and generally got along splendidly for a long car-ride. I also brought along my iPod and a 9-hour playlist of anime-related songs specifically for the trip. Overall reaction was positive, though I did get some ribbing for having so many DBZ songs on there. Whatever. :-P We had a slight difficulty making our exit, as for some reason, 21A is between 21B and 22 instead of 21B and 21, like in any sensible numbering system. So we went 20 miles out of our way, but the trip still went more or less smoothly, despite that (and the slight getting-lost once on the streets of Boston). The room at the Sheraton wasn't ready when we got there, so we checked our bags and I headed up (after giving up on waiting for tinamond, topazera, and Meg S., newly linked up with aidosaur, going as a Firefly cosplay group). Registration was at the far end of the convention center, on the third floor. I don't really like being made to walk so far out of my way just for a little badge and a bag I'll empty out to use for purchased things anyway, but whatever. There was no line, at least, and I was in and out of there in less time than it took to get there from the entrance. :-\

Disappointment and Hunger
Due to our delay, and my waiting, the dealers' room was already closed by the time I was registered. Not fun, since I had hoped to get some shopping out of the way, and since I also planned on stopping in to say hi to number18, working as staff there. No big deal, I thought, I'll just go over and sign up for the karaoke contest, and everything will be fine. No such luck. When I got there, the list for the contest was already filled, and even as an alternate, there was no way I'd be replacing anyone when I was that far down the page. Disappointed but willing to be entertained (and maybe hoping to wow people at open-mic afterwards), I sat through the entire contest and its mix of bad-to-very-bad-to-quite-good singers. All the while witnessing the poor planning of the event, with freeze-prone music (being run off a laptop), and puny speakers that would cut out if they got too much going at once... which was quite often. Combine that with a tiny, overcrowded room, and my empty stomach (I hadn't eaten in about 14 hours by that point), and I was not a very happy camper. I did run into number18 outside the room, though. Dressed as her eponym, she already had several DBZ fans rushing to take her picture. I hung back until they had gone, then said hi. Chatted a bit, then returned to the karaoke room for more ear-bleeding. Stayed past the end of the contest, even though it ran really late.

However, rather than trying to perform a song, only to pass out, I decided to set out in search of food. Unluckily for me, I found little in the way of anything that was still open. So, forsaking the rest of Passover, I ordered a pizza with Alex and savored the taste of non-Kosher. Mmm, meat and cheese. Katherine had gone to see the new Hitchhiker's Guide movie and returned with a positive review, so I considered the possibility of going to see it the next day (more on that later). Watched the second half of the original Back to the Future on TV, and set my mind on attending the FUNimation panel in the morning. With that thought running through my head, I slept.

SATURDAY

FUNimation Panel: Equal Parts Interesting and Uninformative
Managed to drag myself out of bed the next morning at 9:00 or so, soon after I'd regained consciousness. Got downstairs with enough time to make it to the panel, but not enough for breakfast. Thankfully, though, the FUNimation people had been nice enough to provide everyone with free Krispy Kreme donuts and coffee, just for making it at such an "early" hour (well, I guess it is early for an anime convention, but still...). I also received a complimentary Baka Hammer (as FUNi is putting out Kodomo no Omocha in the near future), and thus jazzed about multiple freebies at one panel, I made my way to a seat.

I've already written up a bunch on the panel over here, so I'll just use this area to jot down a few side thoughts.

So anyways, this one guy seemed to have little appreciation for being a member of the audience, and tried to cut in on the panel's spiel at several points, all the while speaking to them like they were his close personal friends and just generally being a (completely unbeknownst to him, I'm sure) moron. I'll call him "Creepy Fan~~boy~~man(?)". Another guy was polite, but nevertheless had to be related in some way to Milton from the movie Office Space. So, through no fault of his own, he is "Milton" to me. Other audience members were pretty much the normal crowd (such as "normal" is at anime conventions), and I found the experience decent overall, though fairly unenlightening when it came to their future plans regarding Dragon Ball. I think FUNi's plan to get Fruits Basket's Japanese producers to make another season (by sending 'em lots and lots of paper cranes) is an innovative one, though I can't really see it being a success. That, and it reminds me of the book about girl from Hiroshima who died of cancer before she could make it to 1,000. But if that's what they want, then more power to 'em. I understand it's a decent show, at least. But I just plain dislike ~~SunaBôzu~~ Desert Punk. Does nothing for me.

I apparently just missed a couple of folks from the Daizenshuu EX Forums while I was at the panel, though I did actually meet EvilGamerX from over at Arlong Park. Not bad. And so, off I went.

Dealers' Room Buying Spree, parts I & II
Not seeing anyone's name I recognized on the AMV contest ballot other than Scintilla's, I decided I'd skip it. Instead of the contest, I went over to the dealers' room to see what I could see. The place was definitely larger than the dealers' room at Anime Next last year, though sadly Sasuga was the only Japanese Bookstore in attendance (so no price wars with Kinokuniya). But, I did manage to snag a decent load of manga for a semi-okay price. From left to right, top to bottom, there's: One Piece vols. 10 & 11 and Dr. Slump vol. 1 (in English) for me; Neko Majin for vegettoex; the newest Naruto databook for another friend; and Codename: Sailor V for my girlfriend's stepsister as a high school graduation gift.

I also picked up a boxed sort of One Piece gashapon toy (at least "gashapon" in the sense that you don't know what you'll get until after you've bought it). I got Usopp. Check out the (unfortunately blurry; my webcam doesn't do short distances) piccage:

Following that, I chatted with number18 a bit about a potential other purchase (which I'll get to presently), as well as whether or not I should get either of the Ghost in the Shell manga. Eventually, I decided not to get GitS in either English or Japanese; I don't know enough Japanese yet to wade into such complex stories full of technological jargon, nor do I want to read the flipped English version. So, that was a no-go. The other idea seemed more promising. But first, lunch. One chicken platter and fruit smoothie later, I was back in action and pondering over just which Mobile Suit Gundam model kit I wanted to buy. I kinda wanted to get the GP01 from 0083, but nobody had it. So, it was a toss-up between two different versions of the original, the "version 1.5" and "ver.One year war." I eventually went with the latter, as it was cheaper (I'm guessing 'cause the Bandai table has less overhead, being the company that makes it and all). Only later did I find out that I had made a very good choice; it was a much more detailed sculpt than the "version 1.5" one, and had just come out at the beginning of April. So, not bad at all. Take a gander:

It was only later that I realized I might be getting in over my head with this whole "model-building" thing. Being a "master grade" model, it may take quite a bit of effort to get it looking like it does on the cover of the instructions. Just look at all them parts!

I might also need to do panel lines, etc. to get it looking good too, but my dad is an experienced model railroader, and my girlfriend offered - by phone - to help me with it too. So all is not lost. Guess I'll put it together with their help over the summer... after I've practiced on a few expendable plane models, or something.

Checkin' out "Da Tigah": Apple Store Cambridge
My drive for souvenirs sated for the day, I decided I'd venture outside the hotel. Specifically, I made it my duty to pay a visit to the local Apple Store, and mess around with the new features in Mac OS 10.4, a.k.a. "Tiger." Getting there was a bit annoying, however. Though the subway stop nearest the hotel was right on the premises, and the terminus near the Apple Store was on the same line, there were... complications. For one thing, the Boston subway (from this experience, at least) was crowded. And slooooooooooooow. I seriously contemplated getting out to push it along. Second, the Green Line isn't quite, er... done. So, I had to get off the subway before my desired stop, and ride a bus the rest of the way. In rush-hour traffic. Gee, just what I wanted to avoid by taking the subway. ><

Nevertheless, I finally made it to my destination, about an hour later than I'd hoped. The Apple Store in the Cambridgeside mall is smaller than I was expecting, but it was no less interesting. A veritable haven for Mac fans such as myself. And so, I spent the next hour checking e-mail, playing with Dashboard widgets, checking e-mail, finding random crap on the demo unit's hard drive, and writing up the FUNimation Panel report linked to earlier in this post. Overall, I think the new operating system is really neat (especially the powerful search function and the new capabilities of QuickTime), but I'll probably wait until I get a laptop with it preinstalled, rather than buying the upgrade. The trek back took less time than the way there, but still longer than I'd liked. Tried out Au Bon Pain, across from the convention center entrance, for dinner; pleasantly surprised by its mozzarella-chicken sandwich. I guess that made up for the crappy trip courtesy of the MTBA. :-)

Swimming Pool! Swimming Pool!
I almost didn't bother with the pool; I had thought about going to see the movie of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (like I mentioned before, Katherine went the previous evening and said it was great), and I almost tagged along with tinamond et al. when they went... but the subway. Dear god, the subway. Rather than torture myself with that twice in the same day (or actually, 4 times counting return trips), I said "screw it" and vowed to see it some other time. Maybe this Thursday after classes. We'll see.

Once at the pool, I was less than thrilled to see that it was not nearly as big as the hotel's website made it out to be. Oh well. Still, I managed to get a few lap sets in, then headed for the sauna. It was a curious experience there, as I sweated it out in the stifling heat, explaining anime conventions in a nutshell to a couple of bewildered non-con-goers. Think I managed a good explanation, despite the steady dehydration. My favorite quote of the conversation:

SOME GUY: "So, are you one of those people who dress u--"
ME: "No."
[This isn't a slam against cosplayers -- it's just that if I were to cosplay, I would inevitably end up doing it badly. So I don't.]

Soaked in the hot tub for a good half hour, got out, got dressed again, and headed back downstairs to check out some of the evening video presentations. Caught the second episode of Gunslinger Girl, which I found to be rather disturbing (strangely, cuteness and ultraviolence don't mesh that well). Also, a random observation from walking down the hall, but: the line for the Hentai Dubbing panel was insanely long. That's a whoooole lotta pervs. O_o After that moment of weirdness, I returned to the room for some well-deserved rest.

SUNDAY

More Wandering, Return Trip
Sunday morning was pretty unexciting. Shower, pack, eat. Then, I wandered the dealers' room for a lot longer than I really needed to, just seeing if there was anything interesting I missed and/or wanted. Short answer: nope. I did chat with the Sasuga people for a little bit about upcoming releases, though. Funny how I can hold a conversation in Japanese with some of the dealers, but not really with any of the attendees. Just kind of ironic, I guess. But it kinda makes me feel like I'm looking for something more "authentic" while the people around me just want a little bit of prepackaged culture that they can stick on themselves feel as though they've become somehow more "Japanese" by doing so. It ain't something that's bought and sold, people. I know, I know... pot calling the kettle black, etc. But at least I go through the trouble to actually learn the language. Or something. At any rate, a foreign culture isn't a commodity that can be passed around and worn as a badge of "coolness." That's my take on things, anwyay. :-\

Once the wandering was finished, it was just about check-out time, so I collected my bags and headed down to the lobby. Took a while for everybody to gather in one spot, but once we were, it was departure time. The way back went much more smoothly than the way there, and before 7, I was back on College Hill and working on homework for Monday. >< Blech. At least this week's the end of classes for the semester.

And so ends my tale of the magical, mystical trip, which I shall tentatively title, To Boston and Back: an Otaku's Tale. At any rate, this narrative is finished (at least until the start of AnimeNEXT). Until then, who wants to bet that I'll forget about this blog again? :-)

Blergh.

2005-02-11T07:16:44Z

Oh, my late, lamented sleep cycle. If only I were to concentrate a little harder and get this damn paper done -- but no, I'm here goofing off again. Ah, well. Only 6 and a half hours until I absolutely must be up and getting ready for class. Perhaps I'll have found some sleep by then.

Yay for partisan hackery... NOT

2005-02-02T23:35:17Z

Well, I'd hoped to make my next LJ entry something a little brighter, but the fact is that when you're really, really busy, only the most salient points stick in your head. And those things are often bad. And so I present to you the winner of the Douchebag of the Day award for Febrary 1st, 2005: Bill O'Reilly.

The context in the article is pretty accurate, although I should add, for the sake of saying so, that I didn't intend to see the panel, anyway -- the Hamilton College Choir is deep into rehearsals for Gilbert-and-Sullivan's The Gondoliers, and I've got precious little time to spare. And besides, we have conservative speakers who are just as controversial as O'Reilly made this guy out to be, and there was barely anything in the way of protest. Fucking double-standards.

And of course, O'Reilly himself doesn't know jack shit about the school, or the people who work and study here -- all he's interested in is furthering his own crackpot agenda. The hack badmouthed both the school and the people I interact with every day, then went on to generalize the "problem" of campus Liberalism to all Liberal Arts schools (well, it's not a problem, but NO SHIT -- look at what they're called, dumbass! [NOTE: statement directed at O'Reilly, not other readers]). Just in case I'd forgotten, I was reminded, with a slap in the face, why I am really, really disgusted by partisan political pundits (alliteration unintended) like O'Reilly.

So rest assured, Bill O'Reilly (along with the moron who decided to protest "terrorism" by threatening some terrorism of his own) has been added to my "People-I'd-give-a-black-eye-or-worse-if-I-wasn't-a-man-of-principles" list.

sigh

2005-01-27T18:00:06Z

Not to resume my LJ entries on a downer note, but it's stuff like this that makes me fear for this country's future. While racism is technically no longer institutionalized in this country, it is a sad fact that it still exists (and has intensified since 2001). While I am neither Arab nor Muslim (and these are separate designations), such virulent racism is just reprehensible. Some might excuse it as a reaction to terrorism, but it is still no better than the same sentiments towards blacks, Jews, Asians, or anyone else. (And please, no comments about being limited to "hicks with pickup trucks" -- this stuff exists in all levels of society).

Less-depresssing, more personal news to come later. Could it be that I'm actually getting closer to updating daily?
(Answer: Probably not.)

In lieu of an actual update...

2004-12-07T03:26:11Z

Well, stuff is still pretty hectic around here, so no big stories about what's going on around these parts. Instead, have a LJ meme (shamelessly borrowed from haveaday510):

You are a silly English Knnnnnniggit! Brave, loyal,
and (somewhat) chaste, you follow your leader
without question...even though you're not
really that smart.

Which Monty Python & the Holy Grail Character are you REALLY?
brought to you by Quizilla

Another November at Hamilton...

2004-11-15T03:46:44Z

Hello, blog. Long time, no see. Did you miss me? No? Aww, that's not very nice...

Er... *ahem*... anywho, it's been almost 10 months since my last post. My, how time flies. Rather than give you a 10-page summary of what went on while I wasn't posting here, I think I'm going to pretend instead that I just haven't posted since Hallowe'en or so, and go from there. So:

Lotsa stuff's been goin' on with the website, lately. Although vegettoex and I have had fewer "Ask VegettoEX" entries, we've been plowing ahead with new sections like the "Transformations Guide," "Dear Fanboys," and "Tidbits." In general, these sections have been really fun to work on, and while I still need to get started on my Manga Guide at some point, I'm having a lot of fun working on the site, again. Our latest stuffage involves a slew of Budokai 3 theme goodness, including the opening animation, and mp3s of the vocal short-version and instrumental long-version of the opening theme. Awesome stuff. And, while we're on the subject, I might as well plug the new LiveJournal account Mike and I created specifically for the site: daizex. We're using it just to keep people abreast of what's going on behind the scenes, even when it seems like we're not doing anything with the site (to be fair, that happens a lot too, but still...). For reference's sake, posts with Gendo Ikari from Evangelion are vegettoex's, while the ones with Sanji from One Piece are mine. *Informercial Announcer-y Voice* "Why not friend daizex today?"

Last weekend, I participated in the now-yearly tradition here of Hogwarts at Hamilton. Basically, a large group of us dressed up in costume as Harry Potter characters, and did tours through "Hogwarts" (a.k.a. the soon-to-become-a-student-center Emerson Literary Society building), having various classes, et cetera. I was Gregory Goyle, who (if you're not familiar with the books) is a blockheaded thug of Draco, Harry's chief nuisance at school. It was fun, although I kind of started to feel sorry for Michael (our Harry) after roughing him up, having him throw himself across the room, and making him sit in a 3-legged chair 4 times an hour, for 5 hours, on two days (and 4x2 on Sunday). Poor guy. It's hard to really describe the whole thing effectively if you weren't there, but it was great fun. Once there's pictures / video, I'll try and post up some of it and give you an idea. On top of the zaniness, I also feel like the group of us really bonded. I was especially surprised at the number of people that I didn't know in choir before I met them this way... guess I'll know who they are for choir tour, now. That is, of course, assuming I remember to learn their real names... *makes a mental note to do so* Special thanks to tinamond for making this all happen. Amazing, really.

Speaking of choir tour... the quadrennial Choir Tour Abroad year has finally arrived! That means that this spring break, we get to sing in such exciting locals as Leipzig (Germany), Prague (Czech Republic), Vienna (Austria), and Krakow (Poland)! Should be pretty damn fun, and we only have to do 5 official concerts, compared to the 10 of last year's Great Lakes tour! It'll also be the first time for me to be in the ancestral home of the Grybowski family (to be fair, the name was Gribe before it got changed to the name of a mushroom; don't ask me why); Eastern Europe is also where my mother's side of the family was from before they came to the US before the Holocaust, but I don't know as much about that side, so I'm less certain as to whether it was Poland or some other country I can't remember. But, irregardless... this is gonna be a blast. I only wish I could take my girlfriend along. ;_;

On a different note, it won't be long, now (a week and change, in fact), until I'm headed back to Clayton for 5 days' worth of rest, relaxation, and stuffing as much turkey as humanly possible in my stomach. Although Thanksgiving vacation's not much of a break from school (two of those days would have been the weekend, anyway!), I think it's well-deserved. I've got two papers due in between now and the start of break (should be working on one right now, heh), plus a crapload of other stuff, and I'll be muchly relieved when that time comes. And, of course, I'll get to see my girlfriend for the first time in nearly two months, which'll make it just that much sweeter. Even dealing with the usual family bickering and the cold weather, I can't wait. :-)

And so, that's what's new with me. Maybe I'll get to updating this journal more often, maybe not; I guess it just comes down to how much effort I want to put into it (or rather, how much effort I don't want to put into other things :-D ). We'll see. But that's it for now~

... I have a blog?!

2004-01-18T19:23:39Z

Hehe... it's been so long since I posted anything on this, I kinda forgot about it. But... since I'm back at school, and there's nothing else really to do at the moment... here I am!

Things have been going smoothly since I arrived back on campus this Wednesday. Had the dorm set up with my stuff by the evening, and have been making rehearsals for the Choir Musical (for the title, see my music selection) with no problems. Don't have a huge part in it, but I suppose it's for the better, this being my first year (I don't want crazy-insane levels of stress just yet!!).

I've also been contributing a slew of stuff over at the site, although I haven't (as of yet) begun to fashion any sort of Manga Guide that I'll be happy with. I'll get there, eventually... it's just a lot of work, what with 42 volumes for the original Japanese version, not counting the Japanese re-release or the English editions. So... yeah. I'll take my time on that. No hurry. :-)

Well, I suppose I'll get back to doing nothing. Last free day before classes! Uh... w00t?

Meh. :-/

Gah...snow...

2003-11-14T23:56:58Z

Well, I knew it was coming, but I didn't want it to be here just yet. Nevertheless, campus is now covered in a good 6 inches or more of snow, and it's still coming down. I suppose I'd feel a little better if I had some boots with me at the moment (I'll bring them back with me after Thanksgiving break), but still... grr. And brr.

Otherwise, I'm doing pretty good. Just found out a way to scan things into Photoshop on campus, so it's possible I'll have some new images for the site this weekend. I'm sure that'll please Mike, as well.

And now...homework.

"Omae-tachi o koroshi ni kita."

2003-11-13T06:44:53Z

Well...as you can probably tell by my avatar, I got some new manga this week! DragonBall "Kanzenban" vols. 23 and 24, to be precise, which bring us (almost) all the way to the introduction of Cell. Actually having the manga in Japanese is pretty neat, plus the color pages (and new cover art) are nifty (I like 23's cover better than 24, though).

Schoolwork, though, is...ugh. I've got a French paper that's...er...presque fini, but I'm grasping at straws for a suitable conclusion. I also have a quiz tomorrow on Molière's l'Avare that I need to review for, and it's... *checks clock* 1:30 in the morning. Oh well, I guess there's always coffee.

And to top that off, I broke the glass on my watch when I dropped it, which means that, even though it still runs fine, I can't really tell what time it is without staring at the face for a minute or two and squinting really hard. I guess I'll see if I can get it fixed...might be cheaper just to get a new watch though. Bleh.

On the bright side, there's a little less than 2 weeks now until I get to see my girlfriend again, so that's a plus. It's hard being so far apart for so long, but we stay in touch, and we're looking forward to being able to actually *go out* again, instead of just talking on the phone. Only one week, five days, seventeen hours, and 20 minutes...but who's counting?

Well...je reviens à mon travail. À la prochaine.

It is teh r0x0rz~

2003-11-12T06:23:24Z

Woohoo~!

After getting signed on by Mike (thanks again, by the way), and spending way too much time neglecting my schoolwork to do it, my LiveJournal is finally set up and ready for action!
...which means, I need stuff to write about.

Crap.

Anywho, I suppose I'll be using this to keep track of the various interesting (?) things that go on in my life, as well as accomplishments, annoyances, etc. Dunno how often I'll update, but I guess that depends on how busy I am and how much effort I wanna put into it. Maybe tomorrow will be suitable for testing my skills in keeping track of the day's events.

But, in any case, I really ought to be getting some sleep now, so~