Distribution Frame

I blew through The Hunger Games last night into this morning. It was a dumb time to begin since I knew I wouldn't be putting it down once I started, but I couldn't resist.

Faye, you were right. I did love it. I wish I'd read it as soon as you told me to. And everything I've been hearing about it from what seems to be everywhere - it's all true. I had high expectations, and so far, they've been met. Hooray. I want to talk about it! But I should probably finish the trilogy first.

Now I need to find some way to get at Catching Fire and Mockingjay, hopefully without the mini-adventure through the backrooms of the library. We just went two days ago, and also a few days before that. Mom is going to make :| faces at me if I suggest another trip so soon, but I don't have a car.

Meanwhile, I've finished the YW books I borrowed (still missing on Holiday and Mars), but I still have The Book of Night with Moon and To Visit the Queen, which I will get to as soon as I get some proper work done.

I feel very caffinated. I am not. But my heart is pounding from a conversation with Chimno about our exams/papers/labs due next week, and that kind of physical reaction (unpleasant) (worrying) (distracting) doesn't usually happen unless I've had more than the unusual amount of coffee (but 0 <= 0) or less than the usual amount of sleep (but x >= x-bar).

Okay, new post, since the above is obsolete.

You may or may not know that I don't celebrate Halloween. It's one of those admissions I like getting over with as quickly as possible so we can get to talking about what you have done / plan to do / did.

HOWEVER. This year, there was a holiday related event: cyloncurry and I helped Helen with her costume via non-toxic markers.


Bethany watched over us and commentaried and disapproved.

The overall design and pattern is Helen's, as are the supplies, as is, ah, her body. Ela and I worked together on the flowers and the stems. The leaves were pretty much all Ela's. Don't they look all awesome and 3D? I did the buds and bud-shaped-things.

( Derp )

我走在每天必须面对的分岔路
我怀念过去单纯美好小幸福
爱总是让人哭
让人觉得不满足
天空很大却看不清楚
好孤独

天黑黑 (Cloudy Day?), Sun Yan Zi / Stefanie Sun

We sang this karaoke on the bus during the five day tour thing for my program, along with a ton of other songs. They were all pretty much Mandarin or English, with only a smattering of Taiwanese. It was rattling around in my head today so I decided to look it up. There are several others I need to search for as well.

Very appropriately, it is thunderstorming like mad over here now, warm and sticky and absolutely thrilling. If only I had any faith in the puddles of these streets (I don't), my walking commute would be much more pleasant.

( RL/Fandom/RP )

Lunch with Caitlin (of CC) for Monday

We poor souls who have long toiled
This waning weekend
And even now still into the ever-aging night
For Contemporary Civilizations (and other obligations)
Will soon bow our heads together
Over our text(books)
As we anxiously prepare for our physics examination
Past homeworks, notes,
Basic equations

Not tasting our dining hall food.

This Monday (today) I will turn in my short essay on Rachel Carson written in simplified Chinese and edited by my lovely roommate, take my first Physics midterm and hopefully not botch that so badly as the Bio one especially if the practice exam was anything to go by (it's a TRAP), and turn in my at-present nine page CC paper about the issues of lies as a foundation of the kallipolis of Plato's Republic that I started last night and finished an hour ago.

I haven't been outside of my dorm since Thursday evening.

I've made more headway in House Harkonnen than I can justify to myself.

I've eaten all of the instant!food I keep around my half of the room except my tasty vitamins because I'm not starving or anything (there are cup noodles for that) but I'm nervous and I eat when I'm nervous. I'm not especially stressed, although my paper could use editing - some time between the midterm and the class, I think.

On Thursday, I made that avocado-tofu dish I do with some really RANDOM ingredient substitutes and everyone liked it so that was a relief (and gratifying).

On Wednesday, I was a grumpy-pants. (But I'm not sorry - I'm just aware. My points were valid even if my attitude could have been... less grumpy. So bite me.)

On Tuesday, well, you know.

My Skype is hating on Lina's, and I have Caitlin-from-school up in the other window, still finishing up her essay which she started today at 7pm waaaaat?, and I think studying would probably just fail right around now so... crawling off to bed.

Earlier than when I went to sleep yesterday, or the day before, or the day before that. Pffft loopy?

* Out of the country for the next five days. Back extremely late Monday night. This is the important bullet.
- The entire family is going for one of the first times ever. For once, there's no one left at home base to run transport. Little dog will be lonely.
- Tam, Lina, pictures!
- No internet? Also, likely, no phone.

* Ying is going to kill me. Coordination is difficult.
- Still yet to see TF II.

* I have been reading Fables. (library)
* I have also been reading Young Justice. (internet - Blue linked me once)
* I will eventually buy Huntress: YO. Probably once school starts again. Ela?

* Hospital thing finally went through. Visited the dietary office again and saw pretty much everyone, including first boss-man. I need to email K at some point. Or facebook.
- He says he's going into criminal justice.
- His brother is a Batman fan.
- I am awful with names; no wonder I used to nickname everyone. ... I still nickname a lot.
- Passed Tina on the way.

* Lerner, Journalism, Low, Admissions, PRESIDENT (actually his secretary - Paul), Secretary. This is the path I took today in order to attain one sodding stamp. Miffed. Just a tad. At the train people, not the school people
- I haven't dreamed about trains since I started riding them regular-like.

* Josh and Aaron violin dueted in the giant lecture hall today. Bach. After the duet, they showed each other tricks; a group of passerbys dubbed it a "violin off".

* Did I EVER make a Dre entry? I met Dre! We had fun! We walked a lot and texted Sai! This was last last Monday.

* Giant thunder and lightning storm outside.
* I've been having a lot of bug conversations lately.

AND NOW I am back. More on this when I'm... you might never have more on this, actually. Huh.

(http://xkcd.com/616/)

Nightmare about my computer getting a virus and crashing. Uh. That has nothing to do with the rest of the post.

Dear LiveJournal,
I had a truly wonderful day today. My dad and I had a good life-lessons chat on the drive up to Shyue’s place. He really is incredibly intelligent. I believe he is much smarter than I am, not even including the vast amounts of experience and practical cynicism that I decidedly lack. Also, he is right: both of us are quick to forgive ourselves (whether or not that has anything to do with blood type). And happy. That’s good.

Shyue and I went clothing shopping in a mall. We ate things first. Then we went shopping. It was fantastic; she is incredibly knowledgeable about fashion (which is many parts psychology and many parts art – it’s really not so bad, not when it's with her). I got to walk around with a pretty girl on my arm. Com’on, that’s pretty great. We walked into a kitchen appliance place and drank their coffee, used their sugar and milk, and then just left. Er. There were phone calls and baking... stuff? It was a very nice buildling. She helped me find a shirt and a pair of jeans that I like quite a lot. Nothing like what I wear now; apparently I generally dress like a 40-something year old? Bad yellow and white, no full length things. Learning. Expensive, but I really feel like the experience was worth it. This is probably the most fun I've ever had shopping for clothing. Ever. Shyue is incredibly reassuring to be around; I never not self-conscious, but she talks right through it with all mannner of patience and friendly insight.

This is starting to sound like a college essay. But with fragments.

Afterwords, we watched some semi-random youtube videos before heading out to Blockbuster (she drove) and eventually deciding on I Am Legend and Sunshine (skipping over things like Batman Begins, Cloverfield, ... TMNT?). Which we then proceeded to watch. And talk through/over/on. Zombie/vampire attacks are less scary with loud, cheerful piano overhead. Sunshine was an exercise in suspension of disbelief, but still entertaining. I like watching movies with her. I like discussing watched movies with her.

Dinner was dumplings that Shyue’s mother made by hand. They were very good dumplings. Director would have been jealous. We got a little bit of MacroEcon studying in there too, between movies. Only one question wrong, and it was a stupid question anyway (self-serving bias? No, it really was a stupid question. Or rather, their answers were stupid. Er, so there?) Studying is much more fun with a good friend. But, er, self? You really need to review your macro.

The car ride back was with D and Cordy. Cordy described Majora’s Mask, specifically the cow-stealing aliens (They). Then we almost ran out of gas, which was great fun and excitement after Sunshine’s omgeveryoneisgoingtodie (reestablished at regular intervals). Then Cordy described Twilight Princess, which sounds awesome and pretty and shiny.

( P.S. Also, randomly: )

Can’t stop the signal!


Edit 4/26/08: Another nightmare about the computer, this time just going haywire, not actually spewing popups all over. I think my subconscious is a little preoccupied here. If it has to make me anxious, why not in a more productive direction, such as, I dunno, AP TESTING?

Shyue, Da' really likes the jeans. He says, 'take you back there [into your friend's capable hands] tomorrow? :)'. Lol.

Overcoming Vitalism in an Alive-biased Society!!!

3:45 Walked from the school to the EMT building in the afternoon to be an active participant in the community and an asset to our great town. I tap the code into the door and enter the ambulance garage. Ambulances use to remind me of the oldest location of my church which was half ambulance garage, half tiny random building at the opposite side of a four lane street. Now they just make me think of zombie-love, but whatever. No one else is there.

4:00 A guy shows up. Actually, we're suppose to start at 4, but I chose to go early because it's much easier to walk to the building than make my mother escort me to and eventually from a building 15 minutes away - for a rough total of an hour. Other volunteers are suppose to be coming at 7. Anyway, this guy. Let's call him John. He is deliciously ironic, without being sarcastic (Thank you APLA teacher today for that distinction). He actually paints for a living but he is volunteering in this case, so he brings not only a wealth of experience to compensate for my total lack (watercolors etc are not quite the same), but also a few brushes and the white we are to use to paint over the white wall. ...But the new color is lighter. John is 24 years old, apparently played video games through college, including RE, and can stand to listen to an immature highschooler chatter about fictional zombie plots with no evident sign of boredom. Has some suggestions along the lines of a character based off of himself. I take to him very quickly.

We cut the first room (line the edges in preparation for the rollers), him on bottom, I on... side. 'Tis great fun, and part way through, I pop into the second room in order to remove all the chairs and desks. No small feat and I am quite proud - I need these small reminders that I am not always a pudgy grey lump onna swivel chair. Resume cutting.

4:30:-ish. Company shows. I am tired, slightly paint splattered, exhilarated. The drive to create is upon me and I have permission from John to paint designs on the bricked walls, which will not appear lumpy after the rollers pass through. He himself was apparently making Bob Ross styled happy little lines in a corner. I am dreaming zombies (ugh, not new news by now) and have access to a pail of paint, a brush, and giant concrete canvases. Brief imitation of Reg Shoe with a paint can, in celebration of Discworld, RERP, and revolutionary speeches everywhere.

"Rise up!"

"Undead: NOT un-person!"

"Hahahahahahahah"

"Stand up and be counted!"

It's probably the closest thing I'll ever come to graffiti, but it was very amusing as more and more people began to arrive. Some went at them with rollers (I filled in unreached indentations with my faithful oversized brush) and they were starting on the second room by the time I left, at 7. Am still speckled white, in spite of shower. I had a pretty good time. ... And one day, I hope to make a John the Painter who paints over the world's blood (or coffee?!) splattered sets so they can be reused in the next scene.

Okay, so. I went ahead and bought a book from (one of) the local Seven (7-11s). It is horror, which I do not read. It is in Chinese, which I cannot read. It cost about $1.50 US moneyz, but still. Do you know why? Do you know the reason I bought this novel which is, in effect, totally useless to me as anything but an emergency lighter or buttwiper^*? The reason is. The cover. There was a cute guy on the cover. I went ahead and spent real money on a Chinese horror book because it has a cute guy on the cover. Anime-styled, glasses-sporting, blood-splattered hottie. (He looks a little like Ishida.) No, it is NOT a graphic novel. So there was NO POINT.

I think I have fallen into the abyss and I can't get out. No regrets.


*Seriously, though, limited toilet paper is strange. Thank goodness that was mostly at the Training Center and there are some at the school. We walk around with portable tissue packs that also serve as hankies (reusable), napkins, and bug-swatters-for-pansies. Culture shock right up there with the life-sized glass glow-in-the-dark sculpture of an interesting anatomical part no really trufax. I almost bought it.