Man, I'm so drained for some reason. Tuesday is my super busy day, so I guess it makes sense, but still. I also had an off-and-on headache all day today, but I finally buckled down and took something. And I think showering woke me up a little.

Anyway! Today in Japanese Pop Culture we watched from the middle to the end of Akira, and man, it is weird. I mean, I saw it once before in middle school, but sheesh. Though we were watching the dub and I kept thinking, "Wow, Kaneda really sounds like Guy" -- and I was right! WTF, Johnny Yong Bosch, why are you everywhere.

Oh, and I got an A- on my Narratives of War midterm. Whoo! Oh, and I did a Japanese presentation this morning that I think went pretty well. I turn in my study abroad application tomorrow.

Guess that's it. Still all fjdaoiej;fda over upcoming Supernatural finale.

My midterm has been taken! Yes, I only had one, but I've had lots of Japanese projects and I had a six-page paper due... last week? Something like that. (I have three finals, at least?) Anyway, I took the whole time for it, which is very rare for me, but I wrote a lot for each question. (It was all short answer.) Anyway, I feel pretty good about it, so I look forward to seeing my grade.

Anyway, as is probably obvious by now, I've been really busy with school. I've had to go and watch some movies on Monday nights for my Narratives of War class. The first was Apocalypse Now, and the second was No Man's Land. I had seen bits of Apocalypse Now before, but only the beginning and the end. Good movie, and the visuals in it are amazing -- not to mention the intense ending. It was also cool since I actually read Heart of Darkness in 12th grade, so I could make the connections. No Man's Land is about the war in the Balkans (Bosnia, Serbia, etc.) that took place in the '90's. It's a foreign film, and it was also really good. It did a good job of showing different aspects of the war while also focusing on individual people, I think. Anyway, we're also going to be watching West Beirut and Jarhead, the latter of which I've seen before.

Other than that, it's been normal schoolwork and studying and so on. I think I should have some more free time in the next few weeks, since midterms are done and I don't have papers for a bit. Oh, actually! Another thing that's been keeping me busy is my study abroad application. That's due this coming Wednesday, so I'll be glad to have that out of the way since it's been quite the process. (Still a little freaked out at the idea of possibly going to study in Japan for four months, but it's also really exciting -- and I know others who have done it, so I can do it, too! Right? Right!)

Anyway, I hope this "dry spell" in my schoolwork willl give me some time to actually play some games, since all I've been doing lately is Brawling. Last weekend I went downtown for a bit with my suitemates and I ended up buying The World Ends With You and Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations. Yes, I finally got PW3. :| TOOK ME LONG ENOUGH. Anyway, I used the Gamestop gift cards that I've had since Christmas to get those, so I only actually spent six dollars. I want more DS games, like Animal Crossing (yes, shut up, it's fun, if totally pointless), and Phantom Hourglass, and Apollo Justice (once I've beaten the third game, anyway). It's weird... At the moment I want DS games a lot more than Wii games. I guess there's more stuff out for it, though. I still kind of want the NiGHTS game for the Wii, but I'm not sure if it turned out to be any good? Granted, I'd probably enjoy it anyway just due to nostalgia. I heard that Mario Kart for the Wii didn't get very good reviews, so I'm not so sure about that one. Not to mention I'm attached to my Double Dash!! Oh, and that new Wii channel is pretty cool! Sure, it's just advertising, but I want to be advertised to! The fact that you can use it to download DS demos onto your DS is also the coolest thing ever.

Man, did I abuse italics in this entry or what? Anyway, Supernatural tonight! I am excited. Only two episodes left, oh man.

✖✔ POSITIVE+NEGATIVE MEME - RP EDITION ✔✖

Hopefully I don't regret this. 8D; Entry with substance comes when I have more time.

Two posts in one day? Inform the papers!

( Supernatural 313, 'Ghostfacers' )

Man, this brings back that urge I had to write Sam, but I have nowhere to do it. :( And I can't write fic since I don't really have any ideas and I already have two Heroes fics I need to be working on. SIGH.

Got tagged by vwl. ♥

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your LJ along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they're listening to.

1) The Decemberists, "The Engine Driver"
And I am a writer, writer of fictions
I am the heart that you call home
And I've written pages upon pages
Trying to rid you from my bones

Well, I originally found out about The Decemberists through noa when she uploaded "The Maringer's Revenge Song" (♥♥♥), and then got more of their music from nanceinsnow later. But that was on my old computer, so I lost it all when it died. However, then cacodaemonia, awesome as she is, emailed all of their stuff to me. I remembered really loving this song when I had their music before, so I've been listening to it a lot. They're a cool band if you like songs that tell stories.

2) Finger Eleven, "Paralyzer"
Well, I’m not paralyzed
But I seem to be struck by you
I want to make you move
Because you’re standing still
If your body matches
What your eyes can do
You’ll probably move right through
Me on my way to you

This was one of those songs I caught on the radio and liked the first time I heard it. It's got a good beat, and I have a few other Finger Eleven songs that I also like. It's just got a nice energy to it.

3) Fiona Apple, "Criminal"
Oh, help me but don't tell me to deny it
I've got to cleanse myself of all these lies 'till I'm good enough for him
I've got a lot to lose and I'm bettin' high so I'm begging you
Before it ends just tell me where to begin

I was re-introduced to this song when I watched a VH1 "100 Best Songs of the 90's" thing on TV, and this was one of them. It's... actually my second most played song on my iTunes right now, since I haven't been able to stop going back and listening to it. Good lyrics, and it's really fun to sing along with if you like doing that.

4) Foo Fighters, "Let It Die"
In too deep and lost in time
Why'd you have to go and let it die
Beautiful veins and bloodshot eyes
Why'd you have to go and let it die
Hearts gone cold and hands are tied
Why'd you have to go and let it die

Another one I heard on the radio and tracked down when I got the chance. I love the Foo Fighters, though, so this isn't a big surprise.

5) My Chemical Romance, "Sleep"
And through it all
How could you cry for me?
'Cause I don't feel bad about it.
So shut your eyes,
Kiss me goodbye,
And sleep.
Just sleep.

At that concert that I went to a few weeks back, My Chemical Romance was the big band that was playing there. (It was a festival thing, so there were a loooot of bands, but they played last on Sunday night.) They opened with this song, and it wasn't one that I had listened to as much as some of the others, but I was definitely in the mood to listen to it after hearing it live.

6) The Bravery, "Believe"
There's a smell of stale fear and it's reeking from our skins
The drinking never stops because the drinks absolve our sins
We sit and throw our roots into the floor
What are we waiting for
What are we waiting for

I don't really know many other people who like The Bravery, but I really enjoyed their first album and jumped on this song when I first heard it on the radio. The lyrics really remind me of the storyline stuff Erin and I have going, too, so that was a plus. And I got to hear them perform this at that concert, too, so yes. I need to get some more of their new stuff, come to think of it.

7) Youko Kanno, "Beauty Is Within Us"
And my mistake is much too late
But your mistake was trusting
That out of grief, a goodness comes
And love comes out of lusting

This was posted up by a player to damned_lounge after certain events in the game went down, and I downloaded it since I love Youko Kanno. This certainly didn't disappoint -- it's a really beautiful song. I remember I wasn't in a very good mood that day (which is rare enough in and of itself), and hearing it really cheered me up, even though it's not really a happy song. XD;

---

I don't have some of the download links up because I actually bought those songs off of iTunes. I know, GASP, legal obtaining of music. But I got a $25 iTunes gift card for my birthday back in October and I still haven't used up all of it, so I've been trying to buy some more songs... Partly because it's easier.

I tag bondofflame, cacodaemonia, continuing, green_and_warty, lacidiana, nest, and skyrend!

Wooow, haven't updated for a while and now I'm only doing so with news that isn't going to matter to most of you. But it's very exciting for me, so!

Well, lacidiana came up to see me this weekend (and evildrew and fanshiilala even came to see me on Saturday) -- I showed them the campus and we had good food and went down to the beach and played games and stuff, and with Erin I watched more Profit and just chilled and tried not to die from the sudden heat (still, excited about summer weather starting), but the arguably most exciting thing that happened was that I called the university's tech support and figured out how to get my Wii (and Nintendo DS) connected to the internet here! (Oh my god, that sentence was way too long but I don't feel like fixing it. Oh, and actually, I need to thank verie for this since her post made me realize that hey, maybe I could get my Wii connected here.) Anyway, YES YES YES. This means I can Brawl it up again!

And trade Pokemon, though I'm still not far enough in Pearl to have anything cool to trade.

In any case, I basically just wanted to make this announcement so that my Brawl buddies know I'm up for playing again. It'll be a little harder to schedule stuff, but still. OH, and I think some people have gotten the game since then, so throw your friend codes at me if you haven't yet.

I should probably update about the concert I went to at some point, but I'm lazy so who knows if that'll be happening. And I still have that fandom-related discussion thing I want to post about stewing in my head, so when I get the chance...

But for now, I'm out. There are posts to be done and apps to be read!

Happy April Fool's! I'm personally a fan, at least when I don't actually get fooled by anything. I didn't this time around, even though I did come across quite a few pranks thanks to my flist. (You guys are hilarious.) My university's newspaper was also a prank. One page had a cat macro on it, and the front page had an article about an octopus killing a student. (There was a pretty picture of an octopus, too.) Oh, and when I went to my Japanese class this morning there was a paper on the door that said that the class had been moved to another building which is waaaaay across campus. Glad I didn't fall for that. Anyway, there won't be any pranks to be had here, mainly because I've already had my hand in a few others. (ilu, damned.)

Anyway, I've been to all of my classes now (except for Literature Symposium, but that's not actually a class), so here are my thoughts so far:

Narratives of War: I'm pretty intrigued so far. I mentioned that I've had the professor before and really liked her, and it seems like she's going to be awesome in this class as well. It sounds like we'll be covering a wide array of media in the class, from literature to articles to movies, and the professor just really seems to know her stuff. It could be a lot of work, but it doesn't seem like the reading is ridiculously heavy, so I think it'll be all right. My TA seems cool enough, but his facial structure and hair reminds me a lot of Dennis from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It's really distracting, actually. DX

Modern US Short Stories: This class is taught by a professor I've had a bunch of times before, and his classes are always really laidback. They basically just consist of doing the reading and then coming to class and discussing it. (I don't even speak up that much.) There are four 3-page essays for this class, though we're also allowed to write a 3-page story if we want, so that's cool. We'll see if any of my creative juices are flowing for that. And I get to read Hemingway for the first time for this class -- I've already read a few of his stories, but I'm not quite sure what to think yet. (I know people tend to feel either one way or the other about him.)

Japanese 6: I'm actually kind of uncertain about this because we changed textbooks and so the whole format of the class is different. (Also, the new textbook has barely any English in it, which worries me.) I'm sure that I'll get used to it and it'll all be fine in the end, but I'm still going to be flailing about that for a while. We don't have a midterm, but we do have a few projects. The final is during a regular class period rather than during finals week, which hopefully means it'll be shorter... Though not necessarily easier. :|

Japanese Pop Culture: I have to admit I wasn't sure what to expect from this class. I'm minoring in Japanese because I was taking the language classes anyway and figured I might as well go ahead and make a minor out of it, so this is to fill one of the requirements. It seems like it's going to be pretty interesting, though. The professor did an overview of what the whole course is going to cover and there are some topics in there that I don't know much about, so I should learn a lot rather than hearing things I already know. Oh, and we get to read an article about Pokemon, so how can it go wrong?

And that's that. Kind of a packed schedule, and my classes tend to go late, but I think it'll be okay.

On another note completely, I wanted to thank everyone who Brawled with me over the break. It sucks that I can't get my Wii connected to the Wifi here at school, but I did manage to get a lot of play time in with a bunch of different people, so I'm glad about that. Hopefully some of you will still be up for it when I'm home for summer? But yeah, thanks to bondofflame, callie_chan, caim, elendraug, evangelic, kinneas, merelyaphase, and wyna_hiros for playing with me! (I think that's everyone, and I'm sorry if I forgot you. ;__;) It was fun to play with all of you, even if some of you beat me good. ♥ (And of course, it was awesome playing with endless_abyss, evildrew, and lacidiana locally!)

I SHOULD SHUT UP ABOUT REAL LIFE THINGS ALREADY. (Even though that last paragraph was about games. Shh.) I've had a fandom-related topic I've wanted to make an entry about for a while now, so hopefully I can write it up soon.

Okay, going back to six icons wasn't too painful this time for some reason. I won't question it. I'll just think back to those days of three icons and count my blessings.

I'm at school again, and not entirely happy about it. I don't mind being here, but the fact that I have to go to class tomorrow is what bugs me. (Also, one of my classes is in the building that is the absolute farthest from here that it can be, and I have to get there from another class in 10 minutes. Why.) Though I'm really excited about my Narratives of War class, since I'm interested in war from a psychological aspect, and enjoy reading and writing about it. (This is why MGS fandom was so fun. FMA too, for that matter.) It's one of those things that I like in fiction, but not in reality. We're reading The Things They Carried (among other things), which I'm looking forward to since two of my suitemates swear by it. And the professor is actually the same woman who taught my video game seminar last year, so that's cool.

I'm doing pretty well getting over my cold. My nose is still bugging me, but I can breathe so that's all that matters. Oh, and it turns out I'm going to this concert next week with all three of my suitemates. I wasn't planning to originally because of the cost, but my mom urged me to go, so yes!

I went ahead and downloaded the first episode of Profit because I'm curious. I'm not sure when I'll get the chance to watch it, though, since I want to do so with lacidiana and she's busy with schoolwork. I might give my thoughts when I do, though.

Man, I felt like I had a lot more to say, but I guess not. Hope everyone had a good Sunday!

I PASSED MY DRIVER'S TEST.

So happy right now. ♥ I had eight errors (you can have up to fifteen), and most of it was due to being overly cautious and such. I managed to keep my cool pretty well. I didn't get much sleep at all last night due to worry and my cold making it so that I couldn't breathe, and then I was all sweaty and gross when I woke up this morning, but I passed so none of that really matters. :D

Finally, right? Nineteen isn't too late to be getting it, though. I'm just so relieved that I was able to pass on the first try.

It's also my dad's birthday today, so we're going out to dinner later tonight. Until then, I'm going to take it easy and try to just vegetate here. Blegh, why did I have to get sick over break?

Home now for break.

M-man, it's so nice to sleep in and not immediately have something to do when I wake up, and to just chill out in my pajamas, and my brother made pasta -- though now I'm eating with him and he's watching WWE, augh. Though I do need to make sure I do some more work on my study abroad application, and I scheduled my behind-the-wheel test for next Thursday, so I'm a little freaked about that.

But still! Mmm, relaxation.

Oh, and I'm pretty sure I got my Brawl code to everyone, but if I missed you just comment and I'll send it on over.

My ouchies are doing better. I don't think I need band-aids anymore, so whee.

Well, that was an interesting way to start off my last day of classes!

I got into a bike accident. XD;; I've been in a few minor ones before, but this one was a little more serious. Basically, I was heading off to my 10:00 class, and in order to get from my dorm building onto the bike path, you have to make an immediate right onto it. This is hard to time when there are a lot of people around. Admittedly, I should have waited, but I knew I had time to turn in front of this one girl -- the problem was that this other guy was speeding past up the side, and he basically clipped me. He was fine, and he probably could have kept biking on if he wanted to, but I flew forward and ended up face-down right in the middle of the bike path. Luckily, no one behind me ran into/over me, but I got pretty scraped up.

The guy who hit me came back over and apologized, asked if I was okay, etc., and some other people who were around also made sure I was okay. I was able to get back up and would have kept going, but my pants on the left leg, upper thigh area were torn open, so I had to go back to my room and change, then go to class, so I was late. The TA understood when I showed him my scrapes, though.

My left hand and elbow are the most trashed at the moment. My right hand and knees hurt a little, but they aren't too bad. I thought the pain was pretty minimal after the initial fall, but the moment I sat down in class and could rest for a minute it all started to hurt like a bitch. D: The main problem is that it's really hard to write with my left hand so messed up, and I kind of need to write in order to do review for my final on Monday. So I'm hoping the pain goes away soon so I can get to that. Typing isn't quite as bad, at least. Not sure how holding a controller is going to work out.

But yeah, I'd say it was both of our faults. I'm just glad the other guy didn't get hurt, because I would have felt really guilty about that. Oh, and my bike's basket is all crooked now, poor thing. I hope these scrapes don't look quite as bad by Monday, since my mom will not be pleased to see me like this. XD;;

SO YEAH. PICTURES. ( Kinda gross, obviously. )

Okay, I should probably go clean myself up now that my roomie is out of the bathroom.

So, I beat the Subspace Emissary!

( Spoilers and such. )

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to famira and wyna_hiros! You guys are the coolest twins ever, and I'm so glad I got a chance to know both of you. Hope you both have awesome days!

In other news, my papers have all been written and my Japanese presentation is done with, so all I have to worry about now is my final on Monday, which isn't that big of a deal. I will have much more time to play now. 8D

Augh, and right after I got back from class today and locked up my bike, I felt something on my wrist. I figured it was a piece of hair so I went to go take it off but NO, IT'S A SPIDER. I flung my hand down and that got it off, but jrdioafje ;__;

I know people wanted a full report from me on this, so here's the first of many. 8D I've played up to 20% through the Subspace Emissary, and haven't done much other than that, except for staring at my trophies and playing the coin shooter game. Oh, and it looks like I can't even look to see what my friend code is until I have a proper connection, so I'll get that to people once I have it in a week or so.

( Brawl brawl brawl. )

So, I figure it's about time to pass out my Wii friend code:

8483 3844 1940 5661

Give me yours, and I'll add you. Then, when I'm home for break, I'll make sure to beat play with all of you. :D

I realized too late that I should have made this post earlier since you're on Japan time, but... HAPPY BIRTHDAY, nest!!! ♥

I really enjoy all the AIM conversations we have, and you know I appreciate the work you put into Damned (and threading with you is always a pleasure, of course). I hope you had a good day!

Also, it's way awesome that your birthday is the day before Brawl comes out. Man, do I have a one-track mind or what?

29%? Ouch, guys, we suck. XD;;

In other news, I feel the need to link to this video that wyna_hiros pimped. 10-year-old kid plays Carry On My Wayward Son on the... err, apparently it's an electric organ. Anyway, it's badass, so you should watch it if you know the song.

2 more days until Brawl, fdjaioejre. Unfortunately, I'm also buried in work and papers. Gonna go back to sleep for a bit, though.

From xpotion.

1. Reply to this post, and I will pick three of your icons.
2. Make a post (including the meme info) and talk about the icons I chose.
3. Other people can then comment to you and make their own posts.
4. This will create a never-ending cycle of icon squee. Whoo!



Well, it's newb!Sam (from What Is And What Should Never Be) being all, "What're you calling me a bitch for. >:[" The expression is just cute, and I wanted to join the cool club of people who have the icon keyword "excuse me wtf r u doin" or some variation thereof. Pretty helpful for when I get into not-serious arguments with people like bondofflame and dearly_beloved. (Icon credit goes to famira.)



Livio from Trigun Maximum. I mainly just have this one because I went on a hunt for TriMax icons after finishing it a few weeks back. Also because Livio looks much better with the short hair and the cowboy hat compared to his Double Fang (or whatever) version, and... I just love cowboys. C'mon! He looks cool. And he has a neat hat. (Icon credit goes to fiorite.)



Petrellis is what I've been about lately, but yeah, this icon just cracks me up. Because... yeah, they are Italian. I also love how the icon-maker took the time to make the little "N" and "P" on their hats. Oh, and it's also great that Nathan is Mario. ALWAYS STEALING THE SPOTLIGHT FROM YOUR BROTHER, HUH, NATHAN? And... yeah. It's just cute. :3 (Icon credit goes to lunacat.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, chisakki! Hope you have/had an awesome day. I know you already got some cool gifts and stuff. Sorry for taking so long to get to Kimbley. ;__; ROY WILL MAKE IT, I SWEAR.