Kazaam

Haunted Lunatic Asylum Documentary

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:56:07 GMT

Nope, this is not my account of the lunatic asylum I visited a few months ago. XD

But I did find out that another ghost hunter group's escapades in the very same lunatic asylum (the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum) is going to be aired on Halloween!

According to the commercial on it, they will be "locked in" for a whole seven hours.

Oooh. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Not. XD

I saw flyers for this group when I was there, and I can say that I was very much not impressed by the seven hours they were going to supposedly be locked in this place. You see, I was "locked in" for a whole nine+ hours. So there. XD In fact, they routinely have overnight ghost hunt tours for that length. I don't know if they locked the doors, but it wasn't like anyone was so horrified or terrified that they wanted to leave. No one was scrambling to get out. So even if the doors had been locked, everyone would have been perfectly comfortable.

In fact, the whole idea of claiming to be locked in is just absurd. If anyone's freaking out enough that they just have to "escape" then they are seriously overreacting. And besides, it's unlikely that they'd permanently lock them in anyway, because if some real emergency did happen, of course they wouldn't be left to fend for themselves until morning.

LOLOL, publicity. XD

But I can totally set the record straight, since I was really there! XD

Anyway, it's seven hours of this group going through the asylum. So go watch it! LOL. Especially if you're like me and have nothing better to do on Halloween. You'll get to see what the place was really like, learn about the creepy history and some of the ghosts, like Jack and Rosie and the little girl who likes candy. And then you'll get to laugh at the ghost hunters getting freaked out at stuff that I've probably seen. XD

And their photos will probably be better than mine, whenever I get around to posting them. ....Still have to go through the audio too... Maybe that would be a good, creepy activity for Halloween. XD

I have glanced through the photos, though, and my initial verdict is that I didn't capture anything. Some photos have orbs in them, but that is dust, I am quite sure.

Quick question, though: I have a lot of photos from this place. I'm thinking of only posting a few, since they get really repetitive. But I was kinda considering uploading all the rest of the photos to another site, either Photobucket or Google's Picasa, if anyone is interested in scouring them for ghostly evidence. I can always use another set of eyes to look at these.... And most likely anything you think you see will really be nothing at all, but it's fun to speculate anyway! So let me know if you're interested. ^^

Also, is anyone interested in either audio or video from this place? I might upload stuff to YouTube, if there's anything interesting.... Though it might just be several clips of the guide talking, too. So let me know what you guys are interested in seeing or hearing, and I'll see what I can do!

Anyway.... The show is called Ghost Adventures Live, and it's on the Travel Channel. It starts at 2 pm, Pacific, and runs for all seven hours. XD

Happy Halloween! ^^

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 05:11:47 GMT

I went to a pumpkin festival last weekend, mainly to try all the pumpkin foods they advertised. >3 Though I have to admit I was really quite disappointed. XD; I was expecting several booths, each with some kind of special pumpkin dish you could try.... But there wasn't anything like that. At the entrance, there were a few tables with pumpkin things you could buy, but they were mainly things to take home to fix, instead of trying right there, which was what I wanted. They did have food booths, but they were exactly the same kinds I've seen at other fairs, and at first glance didn't seem to have any pumpkin foods at all. We finally found out that there were some, but you really had to scour the menus for them... There was only maybe one item at each booth, if that, and they were all scattered around. The booths were apparently supposed to have a large pumpkin sign indicating the pumpkin dish, but only a few of them actually put one up. --.--

But anyway, I managed to try one of everything! >3 ....Except for the pumpkin pie, which I actually don't care for all that much. XD;

The pumpkin shakes and pumpkin gelatto were awesome. X3 There was also West Indian Pumpkin Gratin, which was very strange, but pretty good too... It was actually butternut squash with garlic, butter, black pepper, nutmeg, and coconut, along with grated parmesan. You could really taste the parmesan, which was kind of an odd combination with the squash. But not bad! >3 There was also fried pumpkin, which was so-so.... I think it would have been better with a sweeter crust than the tempura-like stuff it had. And they had ranch for dipping it in. O.o Not my first choice! The pumpkin beef curry was interesting, but also not that great.... It had a regular salty/spicy curry, but I think it would have been much better with a sweeter kind.

On the way out, I picked up some pumpkin seeds, pumpkin soup mix, pumpkin coffee mix, pumpkin hot sauce, and pumpkin spice pancake/muffin mix, all of which I still need to try! ....But I can't decide whether to make pancakes or muffins out of the mix. XD;

Anyway, here are some photos! I totally posted too many, as usual. XD More details about the fair are in the captions. ^^

And last, but not least, I sketched a quick Halloween-ish picture for you all! I know it's early, but if I waited any longer, I probably wouldn't have gotten around to it. XD;

Happy Halloween! ^^

Trick-or-Treat!

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 02:01:52 GMT

My LiveJournal Trick-or-Treat Haul
CSKazaam goes trick-or-treating, dressed up as a werewolf.
aeneagrace gives you 5 pink mint-flavoured gummy bats.
ikiyouyou gives you 10 yellow strawberry-flavoured wafers.
insaneladybug gives you 15 brown passionfruit-flavoured jawbreakers.
ladyborac15 gives you 16 dark blue mint-flavoured gummy worms.
pandora_ilona gives you 12 yellow blueberry-flavoured jawbreakers.
rose_of_pollux gives you 16 orange evil-flavoured pieces of bubblegum.
spectre_eric gives you 17 brown vanilla-flavoured gummy worms.
yaochi gives you 1 mottled green strawberry-flavoured pieces of taffy.
yokaisummoner gives you 7 tan cinnamon-flavoured jawbreakers.
z_fair gives you 11 tan lime-flavoured pieces of bubblegum.
CSKazaam ends up with 110 pieces of candy.
Go trick-or-treating! Username:
Another fun meme brought to you by rfreebern.

LOLOL. What the heck does evil-flavored bubblegum taste like anyway? XD

New Sketches! ^^

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 01:23:26 GMT

Who does this remind you of?

Oh my gosh, it's Barry!!!

No, really!?

No. Really. XD

It's actually Angeal. LOLOL.

But for a while there, he sure looked a lot like Barry! LOL. It just kinda happened that way too.... I only noticed it when I started to draw more of the hair. XD But I just love how he turned out in this pic! He looks so kind here. ♥

And Zack looks so adorable! This is totally my favorite pic of him so far. ♥

I think Genesis need a bit of work, though. Even with the hair, he doesn't seem to look quite right. XD; Though I think the hair turned out pretty good. >3 I totally fail at expressions, though. **totally needs to practice!** Genesis looks rather.... Not Happy. XD

And here's Seph! Not quite sure what seems to be off about him, but I think he needs some work too. XD; He looks distinctly unimpressed about something. Probably something President Shinra did. Or Heidegger. Or Scarlet. Or some ridiculous new policy they want to enact, and he's all like, "Yeah, well, we'll see if that gets through me." XD

And just for comparison, here are my older versions of the guys:

Zack:

Seph:

Angeal:

Genesis:

September 11th

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 04:41:21 GMT

I usually don't ponder over things like this too often.... And I'm sure there's enough talk about this already, or at least I know there was in years past, around this time. I kept forgetting what day it is today, though, so I ended up being suddenly reminded several times already that it's the anniversary of the day the terrorists crashed the planes into the World Trade Center.

I just saw a short video of it, which really reminded me of how horrific it all was when it happened. It's kind of easy to forget, actually, and just label the day as an anniversary, rather than really remembering what happened. They're doing some exercises here this week in honor of that day, and, although I knew of it and what it was for, I didn't really think too much of it until now.

The space shuttle landed today.... Quite the day to land on, being the anniversary! They'd planned on landing yesterday, actually, but bad weather in Florida had them cancel it. Anyway, I watched the landing.... It went perfectly, by the way, as far as I know, so no worries there.

I've been kinda wondering if there's anything I should start doing to commemorate the day. I mean, it's the first real major event that had a huge impact on our country in my lifetime.... Or at least that I was actually old enough to experience, remember, and understand and care about.

You always hear the question of what you were doing when the planes crashed and the towers fell, and I still remember it, eight years later. I wasn't doing anything special.... It was quite the ordinary day, same as always. I was in.... 11th grade, and it was the first class of the day - just a study hall. It was in the small library, and we were just sitting at tables, instead of desks. I don't remember if I was actually studying or doing homework, or reading or drawing.... Actually, I probably wasn't drawing, since I'd like to think I'd remember the picture especially, if there was one.

And then the librarian came in and turned on the TV in there, and it was on some news channel and was showing two towers. Smoke was already coming from one of them, and I didn't know what the heck was going on, or what the two towers were, or even what was so important about it. But we watched anyway, and then I think the second plane suddenly crashed into them. I was still confused over what was going on.... And I had no idea what the World Trade Center even was.

Of course, everything was eventually explained, and we all knew that some terrorists had hijacked two planes and deliberately crashed them into the towers. And let's not forget the plane that crashed into the Pentagon, or the fourth one that crashed in a field, after the people on board attempted to take control of it once they realized what was going to happen otherwise.

It was.... horrible. Actually, it was more than that, but I'm not sure there's a word for it. I don't even really remember what I did during the rest of the day, but I do remember seeing a lot of news stories about the crashes, and the aftermath, and all the horror stories of things that happened, even while trying to rescue people.

I'm not even really sure I remember how I felt, except kinda distant and numb from the horror that was going on. ....I did know what I'd really like to do to those terrorists, though. Every single last one of them.

But anyway.... I don't wanna go on a rant about that, since it's really not like me. Just wanted to post something in rememberance of that day, since I haven't done that before. So take a minute to remember the sacrifices.... And if nothing else, that day has changed this country so much, and we really live in a different world now.

Anyone care to say where they were on September 11, 2001?

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 01:15:50 GMT

Your LiveJournal Pirate Crew
LiveJournal Username
Fifteen men on a dead man's chest!
Cutlass or pistol?
What is the name of your pirate ship?
Where is your secret pirate base?
What kind of loot do you prefer?
What do you and your crew prefer to be called?
Parrot or monkey?
Argh!

Your capable first mate	ttiot
Your bumbling cabin boy with a heart of gold	ikiyouyou
The aloof, yet honorable, pirate with a mysterious past	ladyborac15
Is always the first one into the fray	spectre_eric
Is the naval officer who ruthlessly pursues your ship	insaneladybug
Is the comical pirate who is always drunk on grog	aeneagrace
Is currently in Davy Jones's locker	jenneses
The amount of money you make as a pirate	$75,491


This Fun Quiz created by Lynn at BlogQuiz.Net

Weight Loss Tips at WeightLossTips.TV

That's the Kitten of Doom, just so you know. LOL. ....I'd pick the T-rex, but I'd be worried he'd sink me ship. Arrrr!

LOLOL, look who I'm always on the run from. XD Hoist the Jolly Roger, mates, she won't catch us this time!

San Diego Trip!

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 03:17:27 GMT

~~Sadly, I did not find Carmen in San Diego. XD~~

It was such an awesome trip! I went with a friend down there early Friday, and came back late Saturday. First time I let anyone else drive my car, too, which was interesting. XD I thought I'd be opposed to it, but I felt just fine about the idea of my friend driving Fenrir. ^^ I guess it depends on the person!

We went to Sea World one day and the San Diego Zoo the next, and oh my gosh, Sea World was so amazing! I thought it would be the less interesting of the two places, but it was the best by far. X3 The last time I went to Sea World was years and years ago, when I was a little kid, so I barely remembered it. I'm totally glad I got to go again!

We saw the first Shamu show, which was so amazing. *___* Killer whales are totally my new favorite animal! They are just so gorgeous and graceful, and have the most striking appearance with their black and white markings. And I managed to take a bunch of wonderful photos! X3

After that, I ran around the park, wanting to pet everything, like a little kid. XD I really wanted to pet a dolphin, but wasn't sure if they even had a place where you could.... But sure enough, they had a pool with a bunch of dolphins, and you could reach in to pet them if they came close enough. They only seemed to get that close very rarely, but it turned out that I was one of the lucky few in the right place at the right time to pet one! ^O^ So awesome! I was totally thrilled for the rest of the day. X3 Incidentally, they feel like wet human skin. XD Which makes sense, but it's really something different to actually touch one.

Then we found the petting pool with sting rays! And those are really awesome too. X3 They had a ton in there, and they usually swam around near the edge, so there was no problem with being able to pet them. But strangely enough, they feel slimy! So bizarre. LOL. I'm going to guess that they aren't really slimy, though, but are just so slick that they feel that way.

Sadly, the friend I was with doesn't like fish at all. She thinks they're really creepy for some reason. XD; And she thinks the sting rays are especially creepy because of the way they stare at you. ....I didn't think they seemed to stare at you, or look creepy, but I guess anything can look creepy if you stare at it long enough. XD ....Of course, that meant that I had to play a harmless prank on her about it, so at the next shop we stopped at, I snuck up on her with a sting ray plushie. She turned around only to find it right in front of her face, and freaked out a bit. LOL. It was all good fun, though, and she laughed about it, so no harm done. ^^ ....Not that I'll ever let her live it down, though. XD

Anyway.... I also got to pet a starfish (feels like a rock), and a sea urchin (feels like a spiny rock), and a sea anemone, which has tentacles that feel just a tiny bit sticky that pull away when you touch them. XD I really wanted to pet a sea cucumber, since I accidentally ate one once, but it was in the middle of the pond and couldn't be reached.

Oh! We also saw a sea lion show, which was really fun and cute. ^^ They did parodies of various TV shows, or types of TV shows, anyway, including short superhero/crime, detective, and cooking show skits. LOL. And they had a fifteen minute pre-show skit done by the "stagehand" who was cleaning the place and occasionally squirting water at people. XD He went over to turn on the TV prop, and used the remote to cycle through different TV shows that you could hear the theme songs to. Then he'd pretend to sing them, or pull out simple costumes from a box to act to them. The Batman one was particularly amusing. LOL.

Saturday was the day we went to the zoo. I was really hoping they'd have wolves there, but it turned out that they didn't have any on display. ;___; However, down one of the paths, we came to a completely enclosed area that was walled off so you couldn't see in, and we heard howling coming from it. o.o I thought at first that it was a recording, but nope, there was actually a wolf in there! There was a horizontal crack that let you see through to the inside, and it turned out it was an arctic wolf. *___* You couldn't see much of him, but I could see him howling, which was amazing. **has never seen an arctic wolf in person before.** And I've never heard wolves howl at a zoo, so it was so lucky to be able to hear him, and so close, too!

A short while later, we saw some handlers walking an arctic wolf down a different path, so I chased them down to get a photo. XD (They walk different animals through the park at times. I saw a cheetah earlier. X3) It turned out that they've got two arctic wolves at the park, who are brothers. I figured that this wolf must've been the brother of the one I saw earlier, and that maybe the one in the enclosure had been howling to him. They don't have them on display though, and I'm not sure why. You can only see them if you do the Behind-the-Scenes tour, which of course costs extra. --.-- I'm not impressed by that, since if they're at the zoo, they could at least let people see them normally! >< ....There's also one timber wolf, but of course, he's not available for normal viewing either - you can only see him at some show they have, but I'm not sure which show that was. --.--

But at least I got to see them, I suppose.... Most zoos I've been to don't even have wolves, which is always disappointing! Looks like I might have to take a trip back to Ely, Minnesota, where they have the Wolf Foundation, or some such thing.... **forgot what exactly it was called.** You can see the wolves there, and even go out on howling expeditions to see if there are any other wolves nearby in the mountains. >3 We did that once, and though we didn't hear any wolves during the trip, we came back and howled to the wolves in the enclosure, and it was so awesome to hear them all howl back! >3 ....I was really tempted to howl to the one at the zoo, but there were other people around, so I didn't. XD;

Anyway.... I ended up getting a red panda plushie and a bat-eared fox plushie at the zoo. X3 They were so cute! The red panda reminded me of Elliott for some reason, so that's what I named him. XD **also has a scruffy dog plushie with a bandana she named Scott.** I need help naming the fox, though! Nothing sounds right so far. XD;

So that's it for the highlights of the trip, as far as I can remember! Now you can check out my photos: http://pics.livejournal.com/cskazaam/gallery/0004pzfr. ^^ I once again fail at keeping the number of photos to fifteen, but I made a noble attempt!

Meme from Crystal Rose. ^^

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 05:09:21 GMT

Got this from Crystal Rose. ^^

First: If you've been tagged, you must write your answers in your own LJ. Replace any question that you dislike with a new, original question.

Man, I am so out of the loop that I don’t know if everyone’s done this already or not. XD; So I’ll take a chance and tag Faye. ^^ ….And if she’s already done this, then I tag Ikiyou, even though I know she’ll never read this. XD;

1. Lots of pillows or just one?
Just one. But there’s two on my bed! You know, just in case. XD

2. What kind of books do you read?
Used to read science fiction all the time, as long as it was Star Wars. XD Now I usually read fantasy/adventure, the occasional action or mystery…. I’ve got a ton of manga from Shonen Jump to catch up on (yeah, like that’s ever gonna happen. XD;), and then I read adventure, mystery, and friendship/family cuteness online (as long as it’s Final Fantasy VII, Rockapella, or whatever else my friends write. X3)

3. What are your strengths?
Um. Well, I like to think I’m pretty logical, easy going, and down to earth. I suppose those work for strengths….

4. What's your favorite hobby?
Ghost hunting! >3

5. What's really creepy?
Ghost hunting! XD

6. What's the last thing you ate?
Ghost hunting! WAIT. No, the last thing I ate was noodles and Swedish meatballs. XD

7. What's been making you smile lately?
Thinking of visiting Faye! X3

8. What websites do you regularly visit when you go online?
Email, DeviantArt, LJ, FF.net, Facebook (if I remember, and sometimes not even then), and…. Gaia Online (because some other friends roped me into it) XD

9. What was the last thing you bought?
A gorgeous, dark blue alpaca wool sweater from the local fair. X3

10. What's the cutest thing you've seen today?
Ummm…. A little girl riding on a carousel zebra. She had her front two teeth missing and was grinning like the carousel was the best thing in the world. X3

11. Favorite food?
Too many to choose from! Blackened fish in a tiny little back alley restaurant in China, crab and beef fried rice at the other end of the maglev train in Shanghai, the creamy lobster soup of Awesomeness in Montana, fried macaroni and cheese, homemade ice cream, sweet potato fries…. And that does it, for starters. XD

12. How many songs are in your music library?
Ahhh…. 1,703. …. Not all of those I listen to on a regular basis, though. XD

If you think that’s a lot, try asking me how many pictures I have in my picture library! XD

13. What's your zodiac sign?
Leo! **hugs it!**

14. Do you want to learn another language?
Yep! Took a semester of Japanese, and am planning to catch up and continue. >3

….I also starting learning Klingon, and could read Aurebesh, which is the Star Wars written language. LOL. NERD! XD

15. Can you do accents? If so, which?
Sure: é, û, á, ñ, ö – There’s a bunch of accents right there. XD

16. Favorite place you've ever been?
I would have to say….. I dunno, that’s a tough one. There’s so many amazing places! The one that comes to mind right now is a mountain meadow with wildflowers and lakes in Big Sky Resort, Montana. ♥

17. Shoes or barefoot?
Socks. >3

18. Say something to the person who tagged you.
….LOL, you have no idea how many completely random things totally ran through my head for this. XD The first one was gesundheit. XD For not particular reason other than it’s the first usual random word I think of…. Which makes it not so random, I guess. XD;

19. What are you reading right now?
Various Rockapella fics that I still need to finish! XD

20. What's your favorite animal?
Wolves. >3

21. What's your favorite travel destination?
Er…. That implies that I have one that I go to on a regular basis, which I really don’t. XD

22. What are you going to do next year?
Something AWESOME. XD

23. Does the weather affect your mood?
Not really…. Okay, sometimes it does. XD I love sunny, breezy days with fluffy clouds and not too much heat. Fog is awesome because it makes things so mysterious, and misty mornings are so calm and peaceful…. And I love early mornings after a snow, because the blue light coming in through the window reminds me of home, and things being so calm and peaceful and perfect. ♥ ….And rain makes me rather contemplative. XD Thunderstorms and lighting are awesome because of how much raw energy is in the air. >3 And dark, blizzard-y nights are so mysterious and wild, yet somehow really comforting. X3

24. What song is in your head right now? If the answer is none, what was the last song you had in your head?
None, but the last song was A Change in My Life. ♥ I totally sung it on the way home, like, three times in a row. XD

Meme from Crystal Rose. ^^

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 03:46:35 GMT

Got this from Crystal Rose about a week or so ago. ^^

Leave me a comment and I will give you a letter. Then, go to your journal and post ten things you love starting with that letter.

I was given the letter T. **ponders.** Gah, this is harder than I thought to think of things! XD So, in no particular order (as I think of them)....

1. Tonberry - The most evil, devious, and fearsome of all Final Fantasy monsters! And totally my favorite. X3 This little guy looks like a salamander walking around with a cloak and a lantern, and he seems pretty harmless.... But watch out for that kitchen knife! It packs a nasty punch.... And you just can't kill the guy either! You can sit and pound on him time after time, but he'll just inch closer and closer and closer.... until he's close enough to stick you with it, and then it's The End. XD; I actually laughed when I first saw the guy, but man, did I regret it. XD (And he cost me a whole tournament too. **glares.**) ....I've run from him ever since. XD Though I do have a mini-Tonberry on my cell phone charm. X3 And I've got the plush Tonberry too. ♥ **hugs him.**

2. Tea.... Green Tea ice cream, that is. XD Best deep fried or swirled with vanilla. X3 Plum tea from China is also pretty awesome. Probably the most amazing and refreshing drink I have ever had. >3

3. Toshiyuki Morikawa - Seph's Japanese voice actor! ^O^ Such an awesome person. X3 I got to meet him and get my copy of Advent Children signed at this year's Anime Expo. Oh my gosh, he has the most awesome voice.... The kind that just gives you chills to listen to. So amazing! It totally makes you understand all those other crazy fangirls. XD

4. Tetsuya Nomura - Director of Advent Children and character designer for FF7, my most favorite game and fandom of all time. X3

5. T-rex - Because dinosaurs are just awesome. >3 ....And I'm starting to run out of ideas. XD; I used to be really big into dinosaurs, though, when I was a kid. It's what got me interested in paleontology and archaeology. I had thought about actually making that a career a while ago, when I was still trying to figure things out. **loved all the Jurassic Park movies.** And there's an awesome book with amazing art called Dinotopia, that's about a shipwrecked family that ends up on a "secret" island where the people co-exist with dinosaurs. I need to buy myself a copy of it at some point, along with all the sequels. Such amazing locations and characters! *___*

6. Toons - The old stuff from the 80's or anime, for the most part (and occasional new ones). X3 ....Though I'm not sure if anime is really considered a cartoon. XD

7. Theatre - Both movie theatres and live theatres. XD And IMAX theatres! >3 **hopes to watch Harry Potter at the IMAX sometime next week!**

8. Travel - I love seeing new places! (And trying new food. >3) Some of my favorite places that I've been are China and Japan, though there are a ton of amazing places here, too! **remembers a hiking trip in Montana.** And there's a whole list of other places I want to go visit. I'm not even sure if there's another country that tops the list - I guess it depends on the way I feel at the time! XD I really wanna see Scotland/Ireland/England, though. And cruise around the Mediterranean, along with New Zealand and Egypt. >3 Oooh, and take an Alaskan cruise.... And spend the night in some haunted places. XD

9. Gah, I need to do a brainstorming session! What else starts with 'T' that I actually love.... Teaching? I like teaching Yu-Gi-Oh.... and swordfighting. XD

10. Ummm..... Tomato Soup? I'm seriously running out of ideas here. XD; But there was this really amazing tomato soup they served at the dining center at the university in Montana, where I did a summer research project. So, so good! *___* ....And incidentally, during the summer research project was also where I met Faye online for the first time. ^^ **though had been stalking her stores for a while before then! XD**

Anime Expo. X3 And a bit of a break....

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 03:51:43 GMT

I totally keep forgetting to post about this. XD;

I went to Anime Expo last Thursday! And it was totally amazing. X3

It was the first day of the convention, and I would rather have waited until Saturday to go, because things opened rather late on the first day. But I found out that Seph's voice actor, Toshiyuki Morikawa, would be there on Thursday, so I had to go and get something signed. >3

It was a pretty long drive down there, and I almost missed the exit for the convention center, because I got confused about which road I was supposed to be on (the signs at that point weren't all that clear). XD; I even got off on the wrong road, but luckily, part of it swung right back to where I was supposed to be, and I figured it out in time to make it. Just before I had to exit again on the right exit. XD

But I made it! And it turned out the line for everything was outside, which was all fine and good.... Until you ended up sitting out there in the sun for an hour and a half, and I'd deliberately chosen to leave my sunscreen at home too. -.- I think the wait even ran half an hour longer than the place was supposed to open, but I have no idea what their problem was.

We finally made it inside, though, and of course, there were tons of people! I think the convention was bigger than Sakuracon, actually. But sadly, there weren't nearly as many cosplayers as there were at Sakuracon, which is strange since I'd expected Anime Expo to be much more popular. I did see a few Clouds, Zacks, Tifas, and Aeriths, though! ^^ ....But no Sephs, which was really disappointing, especially since his VA was there. ;__;

Anyway, I ended up meeting some random guy who also happened to be an artist, and we hung out for a bit and went to the opening ceremonies together. He also apparently sang, and was hoping to try out for the anime singing contest. I was looking forward to seeing how he did, but it turned out that the tryouts for that were during the things I wanted to see, so I didn't have the chance. XD;

During the opening ceremony, they introduced all the major guests of honor, and had to save Seph's VA for last. XD **had worried that he wouldn't be there!** But oh my gosh, he's so awesome! **squees!** His voice is so amazing, and deep, and rich.... And when he finally came on, as part of his introduction, he gave one of his famous quotes from AC: "Cloud, shall I give you despair?" It was so amazing to hear it in person! ^O^ And of course, there were fangirls dying all over the place. XD

They had several other famous VAs and artists there, too.... Including the artists who worked on Trigun, Devil May Cry, and Hellsing. I'm not a fan of any of those anime, but it was still pretty awesome to have such a famous line-up. X3 I guess Anime Expo is better able to get all the celebrities than Sakuracon is! I'm looking forward to next year. >3

After the opening ceremonies, I just wandered around for a bit before heading off to Morikawa's panel. It turns out that he's such a great person, too! X3 He really enjoyed meeting and talking with all the fans, and he was a really good sport about all the things they asked him. He did every single voice impression they asked for, too.... And one lady even asked him to say, in Sephiroth's voice, "Daphne, will you marry me?" LOLOL! Just the question made me want to sink into the floor, but he actually said it! LOL. And wow. It just gave you the shivers to listen to. X3 So, so amazing! It totally made me want to ask him to just say my name. I'm surprised the lady didn't melt on the spot! XD

Morikawa also told a bit about himself, and he apparently has a dog (a labrador) that he enjoys walking. X3 It also turns out that it was just his second time being out of Japan, and only his first coming to the U.S.! So I'm really hoping he had a great time here, and will want to come back next year. >3

Oh! LOL, someone also asked him to act out how Seph would react to meeting a fangirl. XD I'm hoping someone recorded everything in YouTube, because the first part didn't quite make sense, so I'm not sure if I heard wrong or not. He said, "I'm not sure you'll remember me.... but I can give you despair." It was hilarious! LOL. And even just his tone of voice was so amusing. It totally made me think of an encounter between the insane Seph and a fangirl, or a normal Seph who was playing a bit of a joke on one. XD

After the panel, we had the opportunity to get a ticket that would allow us to get something autographed, which was a big reason why I was there. >3 But everyone had to file past the head table where Morikawa was, and a large group of people stopped there to get photos with him or of him. I really wanted a photo with him too, and thought it might be a good chance to get one.... But even trying to take a simple photo of him was impossible because every time I tried, someone else would get in the way. ><

So I finally decided to give up and grab a ticket, and head over to the room where he would be to give autographs. I figured it was better to get there sooner than wait for everyone to finish up in the crowd! And it turned out it was a good thing I left when I did.... I was only maybe 10-15 people from the end of the line where they cut it off!

So it was pretty lucky that I was able to get something signed, especially since I could really only be there for that one day. (Though he did have two other autograph sessions on other days.) I had my copy of Advent Children signed in silver ink. X3 He even personalized it, wrote AX09 to commemorate the occasion, and spelled Seph's name in Japanese. So awesome! I didn't think it was really such a big deal to get something signed, but I have to admit that I was totally pumped afterwards! I felt like jumping up and down in glee like a fangirl. LOL.

I had something else I really wanted to get signed for a friend, but they were really strict about only allowing you one thing. ;__; They wouldn't even let you pose with him for a photo, since he really wanted to see/sign things for as many fans as possible. You could take photos of him, or stand/pose next to him while he continued signing, if you wanted. But I felt it would be a bit strange/awkward to pose like that, so I didn't. XD Though I did take some photos of him signing other girl's prop sword, which he was really amazed about. X3 ....I also tried going back to the end of the line, since it seemed to have gotten a lot smaller, in the hopes of getting the second thing signed.... But it turned out it was only smaller because that was where they'd cut the line off. XD; So no luck there, either.

After that, I headed over to the Exhibit Hall, where they had the Artist's Alley, and all the other vendors. >3 And since it was about three in the afternoon, and I hadn't eaten a single thing since breakfast at five in the morning, I told myself I'd get the first edible thing I saw. ....Which happened to be at a soft-serve ice cream stand. LOL. So that was my lunch.

I had about three hours before the Exhibit Hall closed up for the day (they close early, while other things are still going on), so I thought I'd be able to make it through everything, since I can browse through things pretty quick.... But it totally didn't happen! XD; I started with Artist's Alley, since I really like looking for new fanart of FF7. I usually like looking through everyone's portfolios, as long as the artwork is half-way decent.... But I soon realized that I had to really pick up the pace, if I wanted to see anything else. XD So I ended up zipping through the rest of things, and, even then, only managed to get through about two thirds of the vendors before I had to leave. Man, that place was huge! So much bigger than the exhibit hall at Sakuracon.... Easily twice as big, at least. I'm totally going to have to allocate more time for it next year!

....And even though I was rushing, I still managed to end up with a bunch more artwork that I didn't really need, but had to have. XD And for the first time, I even decided to commission someone to draw a character (Zack). The results weren't as good as I'd hoped.... But then again, I did end up passing some other artists who were better just because I normally don't think of commissioning anyone. Next time, though, I'm seriously considering giving it another try. >3 Especially since the prices were actually really good (just $10 for a single character drawing), and I think I'm running out of new FF7 artwork to buy since I have so much. XD

I was also able to replace an image I'd gotten at Sakuracon last year, but had ended up slightly damaged, and I got some new figures! **hugs KH Seph, KH Cloud, and Red XIII.** I looked for another rubber ducky chocobo, but couldn't find one. XD

I didn't take as many photos this time, but that was mainly because I was hurrying around so much. XD But I have a few, so I'll post them when I get a chance!

Oh, and I might not be around for the next few weeks, since I've got a class in another state. I'm told we'll get laptops during the class, but I have no idea how well those will work, whether they'll connect to the Internet, or if they do, whether I'll have an Internet connection in my hotel room. XD; I'm hoping that I'll have library access at the very least, but I have no idea how that will work into my schedule, so pretty much nothing is guaranteed.

But I'll do my best! Even if I have to kidnap one of Carmen's stooges and get him to steal the Internet for me. XD

Rockapella and other random stuff

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:33:04 GMT

I went to a Rockapella concert on the 14th, and I was originally planning to post about it soon after.... But something really stupid happened, and I just didn't feel much like talking about it, until now.

The concert itself was amazing, of course. X3 The guys were awesome, and so cheerful and amusing! At one point, when Kevin was talking about something or other, he brought up a recent fishing trip that he'd gone on with his daughter. They ended up catching a flounder, and he said that when they flipped it over and saw that there were no eyes on the other side, his daughter freaked out and said that "God had made a mistake in creating the fish." LOLOLOL. It was so priceless! So the flounder was a bit of a running joke through the concert. XD

They even apologized for not being able to make it for the Christmas concert. ^^ (And apparently, from all the hands raised, quite a few people had shown up at the concert hall, only to find out that it was cancelled. XD) It had been the awful weather, of course, but Scott said he couldn't even remember what had happened at the airport. XD So Kevin described how they'd been stuck there for.... I think he said either five or nine hours. And that they'd listened to their airplane engines start up and then sputter out several times. XD; So they figured someone was trying to tell them something, and decided to bail out. ....And then Scott stepped in to say that the other big part of the reason was a hangnail he had. XD

I can't remember the girl's name that they brought on stage (not me, unfortunately. XD), but that part was hilarious! They interviewed her a bit, and found out her boyfriend operated machinery. ....So Kevin called him a "smooth operator!" LOL. And when he tried to do his little "customized" song about her, he was able to get past her name and her "smooth operator" boyfriend.... But then cracked up and couldn't finish. LOLOL. Totally priceless! ....I'm not sure the girl appreciated it all that much, though, since she kept trying to walk off stage at any opportunity. XD; I kinda felt sorry for the guys that she didn't seem all that interested in playing along.

And then, at the end, since they weren't here for Christmas, they decided to sing a Christmas song for everyone. X3 In fact, there had been an entire list with song requests sitting onstage, which John had been wondering about the entire time. XD After polling the audience and debating for a while, they settled on Angels We Have Heard on High, which was just amazing. X3

The location of the concert was amazing too! And even though it was a two hour drive to get there, it was definitely worth it. The concert hall was in the middle of an old-fashioned-style shopping area.... There was a long, courtyard/park area in the back, with a stream running down it, and a fountain in the middle. And lining either side were tons of little shops and carts selling all sorts of things. The shops extended for a few streets on either side, too. I had arrived early, so I took the time to browse around.... They had two ice cream shops, and a candy shop, a pretzel shop, a coffee shop or two, and even a pet shop! X3 Such a fun place! And the weather was absolutely perfect, too.... Not too hot, with a wonderful breeze, tree-lined sidewalks, and fluffy clouds overhead. X3

And now for the part that I had really been kicking myself for....

While I was waiting around in the lobby, before many other people had arrived, I saw Scott. ....Only I didn't really recognize him at the time. It was one of those things where you kinda think it might be him, but aren't entirely sure.... I had looked over and saw a guy standing at one of the booths and idly looking over the brochures there, while munching on an apple. XD I only saw his profile at first, but I kinda wondered to myself if he might be Scott. So I watched for a bit, and told myself that No, it wasn't Scott at all. He was just wearing normal clothes, and I'd expected any of the guys to be wearing a suit, especially when the concert was barely half an hour away. Besides, what were the chances that some random guy that I spy in the lobby would be Scott? Anyway, he even came over to stand next to me at a stand with some more brochures, while I was debating with myself. He looked at me, and I looked at him.... And I was all like, "Naaah, it can't be Scott.... He's too short and scruffy-looking." XD; So neither of us said anything.

It finally dawned on me a minute later that it really had to be Scott, but by then he was talking with some attendant, and then presumably left to get ready for the concert. **repeated headdesk.**

So I felt really stupid by that point, but I figured it would all be okay, because I'd get to talk to the guys afterward, get my picture taken with them, and ask Scott if it really was him eating an apple in the lobby, and laugh about not recognizing him right away. .....But the idiots who ran the concert hall didn't want Rockapella to do their usual Meet and Greet after the concert, because their next concert was only an hour later! They totally cheated us! I had been so sure I'd get to meet them - even the lady at the box office window said they'd be out to meet everyone. I guess she didn't know anything. >< So only the people who were there for the late concert would get to meet them, unless we wanted to wait three hours longer, which I couldn't, because I had a long, two-hour drive to get back. So much for afternoon concerts. I guess it really wasn't as wonderful a deal as I thought it was. ><

Rockapella had informed us of that about half-way through the concert, and even though I really tried to not let it get to me, it kinda ruined my enjoyment of the rest of the concert. ;___; I had been really counting on seeing them.... And what's even worse is that the one opportunity I had had to talk with the guys and maybe get a photo taken, I didn't even recognize when it practically fell into my lap. ;____; So, so stupid!

I'm not sure I'll ever really want to go back to that concert hall because of what they did, even if it is such an amazing location. Such a long drive means that I can really only go to the earlier concerts, which means that there'd be no guarantee of getting to meet anyone after the concert.... And that was such a horrible disappointment, just when I'd gotten over being so disappointed over driving all the way down there for Christmas, only to find out that everything was cancelled. I just really hope that Rockapella goes somewhere else next time. They did mention that they'd be back in the state for Christmas, and I really want to go to that concert.... But I don't remember the name of the town they'd mentioned, so I don't know how far it is, or if it'll even be on a day that I can make yet.

**siiighs.** But I guess I'm okay with everything now (with a huge thanks to Faye! ^^).... I wish I'd been able to talk to Scott, but I still get a kick out of remembering him wandering around the lobby eating an apple. LOLOL. And I guess it's a little bit of a consolation that no one else who was there seemed to recognize him either - at least not that anyone indicated.

....Hmmm.... Oh yeah, and the other thing I wanted to say is that I'm going to Anime Expo this week! **dances.** Seph's Japanese voice actor is gonna be there!! **squees!** I'm really hoping to get my copy of Advent Children signed by him. X3 And there'll also be the Artist's Alley, and all the booths with all things anime-related for sale. >3 I totally don't need anything else, since I bought a bunch of stuff at Sakuracon, but ask me that afterwards and see how much I've picked up. XD

I just hope that I'm picking the right day to go to get stuff signed! It's the day that the schedule says Morikawa's panel will be, so I'm really hoping that's it! Wish me luck!

La Posada Photos. >3

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:59:23 GMT

The winning results from the poll about which photos I should post next were Hearst Castle and the aquarium.... But, since Faye is currently writing about Arizona, I decided to go with the La Posada photos first. ^^ The others will be next, followed by the Egyptian exhibit... And then I'll take another poll. XD

I had so many photos that I wanted to show, since I really wanted to give a good sense of what the place was like, instead of just posting the photos that looked the nicest. XD So I experimented with posting some of them in sets. And I'm really pleased with the results! X3 I might have to do more like them in the future. ....I would totally have made more sets and cut down on the number of individual photos here, but nothing really struck me as looking too artistic together, so I gave up. XD; And yeah, I know I could have just stuck a bunch on one image, like a photo album or something, but, after failing to get it to look fancy, I didn't really feel like it. XD

Anyway, hope you enjoy! Descriptions are with the photos, after clicking on them. ^^

New icon and quiz. ^^

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 03:54:25 GMT

First of all… **points.** New icon for Summer! X3 Yeah, I know there’s still about two weeks left, but I figured I should get it done now or I’ll forget. XD Besides, Summer’s already kinda arrived here, anyway. XD …But on the other hand, maybe I should put the winter icon back up, because it totally snowed back home. LOLOL. …Right onto two criminals escaping from Alabama, but that’s another story. XD

Anyway, I had a hard time finding a picture to use for Summer, so I figured I’d go with a nice, green, forest scene. X3 And curiously enough, the wolf in this photo is just about identical to what I imagine Kaze (in wolf form) to look like. Though I always say that she’s black, just for simplicity, she’s got some silver in her fur too. **hugs icon.** And I really like the border! **discovered a new method to use.**

And now for the quiz!

Comment to this entry and I'll pick three of your fandoms. You then update your journal and answer the following questions:

01: What got you into this fandom in the first place?
02: Do you think you'll stay in this fandom or eventually move on?
03: Favorite episodes/books/movies/etc.?
04: Do you participate in this fandom (fanfiction, graphics, discussions)?
05: Do you think that more people should get into this fandom?

I was given Yu-Gi-Oh!, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, and Lord of the Rings by Faye, with Star Wars as the bonus round. XD

Yu-Gi-Oh!

01: What got you into this fandom in the first place? It all started with Pokémon. LOL. My sister and I had gotten into watching that show back in high school, and we eventually saw the commercials for YGO. I think it came on before Pokémon too, so the ending of the show was always caught on tape when we recorded things. I thought it looked stupid. And weird. XD; I mean, there was this weirdo kid with the dumbest hairdo ever, and it looked like they had some weirdo monsters hanging around while they played cards. Like, what the heck? XD So, for a while, we just ignored it… And then I discovered that my sister was secretly watching parts of it! **gasp!** Because the monsters looked cool. XD So I did too, and we just started watching more and more, and finally picked up on the story. And it was awesome. >3 I can still remember the first scenes I saw of it… some duel on the rooftops during Battle City. **doesn’t know the episode name.** And then, during our first year of college, I think, we both agreed to get each other the Yugi starter deck for Christmas. ^^ LOL, I remember playing it from separate lofts in the dorm room, and reaching across the space to exchange cards, with the floor about eight feet below. XD Our first attempts at playing were so awful! And gosh, the Yugi starter deck was totally one of the worst decks ever, though we had no clue at the time. LOL. …I actually learned most of what I know about dueling from this awesome game that we found for free on the Internet. X3
02: Do you think you'll stay in this fandom or eventually move on? Sadly, I’m not nearly as into YGO as I once was. Dueling and cards and the show used to be my all-time favorite things, but in the last few years of college I kinda moved away from that. I think that was mainly because I’d discovered Final Fantasy VII, which became my favorite fandom, but it was also because my sister didn’t really want to spend the time to duel anymore, there was no one else who was interested, and we were busy with other things that kept us from keeping up with the show. ;__; I really do want to get back into things, though… I still have the rest of YGO to finish watching, not to mention the Duel Academy spin-off, and the racing spin-off (D3, is it? XD). I still collect the cards, and go out to buy some packs every so often, but there’s no one here to duel, so collecting is about all I do anymore. But even that’s not easy, since there’s so many new packs coming out all the time, and things have changed so much! I’ve completely lost all sense of what strategies/deck types/card types are effective anymore just because of all the new kinds of cards. I don’t even know what cards to try to shoot for in my collection, aside from old favorites that I still haven’t gotten.
03: Favorite episodes/books/movies/etc.? Can’t think of a favorite episode, but I think my favorite story arc was Battle City, since that’s when we really got into things, and the card battles started actually being correct most of the time. LOL. (Some of the things they did in Duelist Kingdom were totally bogus! XD;) Favorite cards: Magic Cylinder, Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon, Guardian Sphinx, Ordeal of a Traveler, the Gravekeeper cards, and Tsukuyomi, which is a special favorite. ♥
04: Do you participate in this fandom (fanfiction, graphics, discussions)? A little. XD; I occasionally read fanfiction, and still buy the cards just for the heck of it. Actually, I had started building a complete, searchable database of all the cards, which would allow you to search for anything on the card, as well as keep track of the cards you owned. …But the number of cards I had increased too rapidly for me to keep track that easily, and what with all these new sets that have come out since the last ones I was able to input… Not sure if it’ll happen. XD;
05: Do you think that more people should get into this fandom? Yes! I need someone to duel with. XD

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

01: What got you into this fandom in the first place? Well, I would like to say that I’ve been a fan ever since childhood… But it’s not exactly true. XD; I remember watching some episodes, along with some other kids' game shows that I liked. But I don’t think I ever watched that many of them. It wasn’t until last year, actually, where I really got into it. A friend at work said he had an extra ticket to some Rockapella concert, and wanted to know if I was interested in going. I didn’t recognize the name at all, and questioned him at least two or three times on it to try to figure out what the heck he was saying, before giving up. XD; I told him I’d have to look up their music online to see if it was anything I was interested in… **wasn’t too seriously considering it.** And that’s when he mentioned that they’d done the music for WITWICS. I definitely knew that song, since I’d actually recorded it a few months before. So I decided to go, and oh my gosh, it was amazing! *___* I didn’t even know who the individual singers were, but I totally fell in love with them. **especially liked Scott and Kevin.** I bought their two Christmas albums and got them signed by everyone, and then I really got into the fandom after chatting with Faye and Crystal Rose. ^^ And LOL, my preference was originally for today’s Rockapella group, rather than the Carmen era group, but that totally got changed around. It’s gonna be kinda odd to see them perform again. XD (And I’m going to their concert next Sunday!! **squees.** I’m so excited!)
02: Do you think you'll stay in this fandom or eventually move on? I have a bad habit of moving from one fandom to another, whenever I discover something new that I really love. But I never really give up the old one. So I’m sure I’ll never move on, and I’m hoping this will be a big fandom for me for a long time!
03: Favorite episodes/books/movies/etc.? I’m horrible about remembering episode names, but I love the scenes with the Brainy Bunch and Everyone Knows it’s Windy parodies. X3
04: Do you participate in this fandom (fanfiction, graphics, discussions)? Umm… I read fanfiction, if that counts! Oh, and I’ve made an icon. ^^ **hopes to make more.**
05: Do you think that more people should get into this fandom? Yes! Especially if they can get more episodes uploaded for the rest of us to watch. XD

Lord of the Rings

01: What got you into this fandom in the first place? The Hobbit. X3 When we were kids, Dad gave us a graphic novel of the story, which was totally awesome, and remains one of my all-time favorite books. ♥ I still prefer it over the novel! Anyway, much later on, during, oh, 7^th or 8^th grade, some time after being given a bunch of Tolkien novels, I finally read the LOTR series. The only other Tolkien book I read afterwards was the Silmarillion, which is actually my favorite, aside from The Hobbit. X3 The movies came much later, and were totally awesome, of course!
02: Do you think you'll stay in this fandom or eventually move on? I’m totally staying. It’s one of those things that becomes an old favorite. ^^
03: Favorite episodes/books/movies/etc.? I think the first movie is my favorite. ^^ Can’t remember which book I liked the best, aside from the Silmarillion, which isn’t part of that series. XD
04: Do you participate in this fandom (fanfiction, graphics, discussions)? Umm… not really, I guess, aside from occasionally watching the movies or discussing some parts. XD
05: Do you think that more people should get into this fandom? Sure! It’s an awesome fandom. X3

Bonus Round!

Star Wars

01: What got you into this fandom in the first place? Watching the movies as a kid when they came on TV. **remembers seeing part of The Empire Strikes Back on the small TV in her parents’ room.** I’m not sure I ever actually watched any of the movies in its entirety, at first, until we rented them. I think I’ve always loved them, though, as soon as I saw them… It was almost like they were old favorites right from the beginning. ^^ And then there were the Ewok movies, and even the old Ewok cartoons, which I remember seeing part of. A while later, I found this huge book on my parents’ bookshelf, called Heir to the Empire, and read that. It was what introduced me to the novels, but I don’t think my real entry into the fandom occurred until Dad brought home a free promo CD for a Star Wars computer game called Dark Forces. >3 It only had three levels, and once we finished it, and another promo CD, Dad gave us the choice of which full version to buy… And we got that one! After that, things really took off… I started collecting the novels, and all our computer games were almost exclusively Star Wars games. X3 **hugs them all.**
02: Do you think you'll stay in this fandom or eventually move on? Totally here to stay. Even if I have kinda pushed it to the side a bit. XD;
03: Favorite episodes/books/movies/etc.? Movies: A New Hope and The Phantom Menace. I also like the original versions of the first trilogy better than the re-mastered ones. XD Books: Heir to the Empire (I still have the first one I read in my collection!), and the X-Wing series. Games: Dark Forces: Jedi Knight. Totally an all-time favorite! I also like Jedi Outcast and Tie Fighter. X3
04: Do you participate in this fandom (fanfiction, graphics, discussions)? Not too much, really. I drew a couple of the ships a long time ago, though.
05: Do you think that more people should get into this fandom? Sure! And they should totally campaign to get LucasArts to produce more computer games. XD

Spring photos! ^^

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 03:34:52 GMT

I've had these sitting around for a while, so I've finally decided to get them up! I actually have tons more of the sakura photos, but I was able to narrow everything down to just ten. I'm so proud of myself. XD

These were all taken in my backyard and around the neighborhood. It might be a desolate place sometimes, but it can be really pretty too! X3

I'm now trying to decide on the next batch of photos to upload. I'm doing everything all out of order, which is awful, but there's not much I can do about it now, since I'm always too lazy to upload anything as soon as I take the photos. XD;

What photos do you guys want to see next? Here's a list of what I've got:

- Trip to Las Vegas
- Poppy Festival
- Baltimore aquarium
- This year's Sakuracon
- Trip to Kennedy Space Center (including some photos of the ocean)
- Hearst Castle trip, including a Dutch town and the other ocean. XD
- Chinese New Year Festival
- Winter/ snow photos
- Huntington Gardens
- La Posada hotel from Arizona (amazing place, with gardens and such. ^^)
- Chico Hotsprings Resort (it's haunted! XD)
- Hiking at Big Sky Montana (we searched for werewolves there. LOL.), and other Montana photos, including an Egyptian exhibit. X3
- Renaissance Festival from a few years ago. XD
- Or I can start posting journal entries and photos from my trip to China and Japan. X3

I'll post the winning vote, or, if all the answers are different, the vote of whoever replies first. XD

I'm back! With new icons. X3

Sun, 31 May 2009 23:52:19 GMT

My new computer arrived on Thursday, and I've spent most of the weekend getting it up and running, installing software, transferring files, and tweaking things. XD And I've found additional things I need to transfer over (such as Photoshop fonts - I have less now than I did before, which wasn't much to begin with! XD;), so I'll have to open it up again. **sighs.** But at least I'm back! ^^

....However, my speakers ended up taking a tumble off a table, which busted one of them. So I had to go out and buy a new set of speakers to top things off. XD; **headdesk.** I'm sure a new printer will eventually follow.

And my wonderful software that I use to record things with is totally messed up. >< But that's a soap opera I don't wanna get into at the moment. XD; And I have managed to get together a more complicated method of recording things, so that's something, at least.

Anyway, my computer is much faster than the old one! It doesn't crash everyday, which is a plus. LOL. And it's really spiffy looking too.... All black with deep blue lights shining out the front. >3 I even got a new keyboard that has all the keys labled! (My old one is now missing some.) XD

So, to celebrate my new computer....

I've made a bunch of FF7 icons since the last time I posted a set, so here they are! I think I'm getting better at them. >3 And I've learned more about what I can do with Photoshop. I'm nowhere close to being an expert yet, but maybe someday!

There are a couple duplicates here, but that's because I can never decide which I like better. I do my best to keep things down to no more than two copies of an icon. Believe it or not, sometimes that can be really hard. XD

Hope you all like them! Feel free to use any you like, just please give credit. ^^

Oh yeah, and you can click on the icons for descriptions. ^^

I may not be around for a while...

Tue, 19 May 2009 00:54:45 GMT

Because my computer died. ><

I went on a short weekend trip, and when I came back, my computer wouldn't even turn on! I even tried replacing the power suppy (had an extra one handy) and cable, and nothing worked. So the only thing I can conclude is that it's the motherboard, which means I need to buy a new one.... And I might as well get a whole new computer, since mine's six years old anyway. In fact, I think this is just about the six-year anniversary. XD;

The whole situation was pretty weird, too.... The power apparently went out while I was gone, but that couldn't have affected the computer, since I unplugged it from everything, including the Internet cable. Yet it still died. And the little digital display on my home phone is now missing some of the character spaces in it. O.o What the heck? I'm guessing it was just the computer's time to go out (it's been crashing just about everyday, anyway XD;), but the phone malfunctioning is a bit bizzare. Not to mention annoying. --.--

~~Looks like Gunju had a party while I was away. XD~~

Anyway.... So I have no access of any kind to my files at the moment. No pictures, no scanner, no music.... And the only time I'll be able to get online is at the library after work, which I might or might not be able to make it to. --.--

The good news is that I have ordered a new computer, but now I need to wait for it to get here, and to load everything. Not sure how long that will take.

I think this was the fastest I've ever gotten around to buying new computer stuff. So much for procrastinating! XD

Showing off some art prints. X3

Sun, 10 May 2009 06:27:23 GMT

Just thought I'd show off some really awesome art prints I bought while in Seattle several weeks ago, in case anyone finds them as intriguing as I do. >3

Photo time! :D

Sun, 10 May 2009 03:13:37 GMT

Got some more photos to share! ^^ I took these.... the third weekend of April, I think. We have poppy fields near here, along with a Poppy Festival (which was the next weekend). I've been waiting to see the poppy fields ever since I moved here! And I really hoped to time it so that I could see them during the height of the season.... But the season came unusually early, so I missed out. ;__;

There's actually a Poppy Reserve that I was planning on going to, but when I finally got there, there was absolutely nothing on the hills! Not a single flower, anywhere! I was amazed, because I sure thought there'd be at least a few.

But, as luck would have it, the hills right across the road from the reserve had poppies all over them! Totally bizarre. LOL. So I completely skipped the reserve and found my own way into the hills. And even though I missed the height of the season, I got some totally awesome photos. X3

Animated Movie Quiz! X3

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 23:23:37 GMT

Got this from Crystal Rose. ^^

- X what you saw
- O what you haven't finished/saw sizable portions
- Bold what you loved
- Strike for what you disliked/hated
- Leave unchanged if neutral

Classic Disney
--------------
[x] 101 Dalmatians (1961) - I really loved this when I was a kid. ^^ It's not really an all-time favorite anymore, but I still like it. >3
[x] Alice in Wonderland (1951) - Remember the part where the Cheshire cat disappears and leaves Alice with a path that the dog sweeps away? Yeah, that scared me as a kid. XD;
[x] Bambi (1942)
[x] Cinderella (1950)
[O] Dumbo (1941) - I've only ever seen parts of this movie in picture books. XD
[x] Fantasia (1940) - Totally loved the sequence with the ponies! ♥ And the part with that "talking" string was always hilarious. LOL. I never liked the ending two sequences, though. XD; **shudders.** ....And actually, the part with Micky and the multiplying brooms that keep coming and coming scared me too. XD;
[x] Lady and the Tramp (1955) - Just about any movie with animals was a favorite as a kid. Still is! ♥
[x] Mary Poppins (1964)
[x] Peter Pan (1953) - The best part was Hook running away from the crocodile. LOL.
[O] Pinocchio (1940)
[x] Sleeping Beauty (1959) - ....I always rooted for the dragon, before I knew that the dragon was the evil witch. XD
[x] Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
[] Song of the South (1946) - What is this, anyway? I've never heard of it!

Disney's Dark Age
-----------------
[x] The Aristocats (1970)
[] The Black Cauldron (1985) - ....I really don't know what this is about, either. XD;
[x] The Fox and the Hound (1981) - Totally loved it! ♥
[x] The Great Mouse Detective (1986) - Actually, parts of this really freaked me out as a kid, and I never liked it for a long time. XD;
[x] The Jungle Book (1967)
[x] The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
[x] Oliver and Company (1986)
[x] Pete's Dragon (1977) - Dragon! I loved dragons. Anything with a dragon was awesome. Still is. >3 And this story is so wonderful, too, though I haven't seen it in ages.
[x] Rescuers, The (1977) - Rescuers Down Under is better. >3
[x] Robin Hood (1973) - We had a babysitter that used to draw us images of the characters. ♥
[x] The Sword In The Stone (1963)

The Disney Renaissance
----------------------
[x] Aladdin (1992)
[x] Beauty and the Beast (1991)
[O] A Goofy Movie (1995)
~~[O] Hercules (1997)~~ - Striked for a few parts that were really distasteful, which actually kept me from watching the entire thing.
[] Hunchback of Notre Dame, The (1996) - I remember always loving the goat as a kid, even though I've never seen the movie. I want to, though! X3
[x] The Lion King (1994) - Awesome movie, awesome songs. ♥
[x] The Little Mermaid (1989)
[x] Mulan (1998)
[x] Pocahontas (1995) - I used to play some of these songs on the piano. ^^ Come to think of it, I also played some of The Lion King, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and probably some others....
[x] The Rescuers Down Under (1990)
[O] Tarzan (1999)

Disney's Modern Age
-------------------
[x] Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
[x] Bolt (2008)
[x] Brother Bear (2003)
[] Chicken Little (2005)
[x] Dinosaur (2000)
~~[O] Emperor's New Groove, The (2000)~~ - This also had several things I really didn't like. XD;
[] Fantasia 2000 (2000)
[] Home on the Range (2004)
[x] Lilo & Stitch (2002)
[] Meet the Robinsons (2007)
[x] Treasure Planet (2002)

Pixar
-----
~~[] A Bug's Life (1998)~~ - I've seen enough to know I don't want to see anymore. XD;
[x] Cars (2006)
[x] Finding Nemo (2003)
[x] The Incredibles (2004)
[x] Monsters Inc. (2001) - I remember this was surprisingly a pretty good movie.... Though I now forget most of the plot. XD;
~~[] Ratatouille (2007)~~ - I have no interest in seeing this. Rats in the kitchen? Disgusting! Even more so having them cook. XD;
[x] Toy Story (1995)
[x] Toy Story 2 (1999)
~~[x] Wall-E (2008)~~ - Did they really have to make the humans be so ridiculously fat and pathetic? Please! At least give them the benefit of the doubt, for Pete's sake. Loved the robots, hated what they did to the people. XD;

Don Bluth
---------
[x] All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)
[x] An American Tail (1986)
~~[x] Anastasia (1997)~~ - Ugh, the bad guy was someone I wanted to erase from my memory permanently. Not done in good taste at all.
[x] The Land Before Time (1988)
[???] The Pebble and the Penguin (1995) - This sounds very familiar.... But I can't say whether I've seen it. XD;
[x] Rock-a-Doodle (1991) - Totally one of my all-time favorites as a kid! Haven't seen it for ages.
[x] The Secret of NIMH (1982) - ....I have never decided whether I really like this one or not. Parts scared me as a kid, and I haven't watched it completely since.
[x] Thumbelina (1994)
[x] Titan AE (2000) - One guy actaully gets shot in this movie, and there's a bit of blood, which really shocked me when I first saw it. XD
[] A Troll in Central Park (1994)

Claymation **QUARANTINED** Even the ones I haven't seen plenty of in previews sound nasty. XD;
----------
[] The Adventures of Mark Twain (1986)
[] Chicken Run (2000)
[] Corpse Bride (2005)
[x] James and the Giant Peach (1996)
[] Nightmare Before Christmas, The (1993)
[] Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
[] Coraline (2009)

CGI
---------------------
~~[O] Antz (1998)~~ - Why was this even made???
[] Happy Feet (2006)
[x] Kung Fu Panda (2008)
[] Madagascar (2005)
[] Monster House (2006)
[] Over the Hedge (2006)
[x] Polar Express, The (2004)
[x] Shrek (2001) - First movie was the best of the three. Far from a favorite, though, and I'm hoping they don't make any others. XD
[x] Shrek 2 (2004)
[x] Shrek The Third

Imports
--------
[] Arabian Knight (aka The Thief and the Cobbler) (1995)
[x] The Last Unicorn (1982) – Awesome movie. ♥♥
[] Light Years
[] Triplets of Belleville, The (2003)
[] Persepolis (2007)
[] Waltz With Bashir (2008)
[] Watership Down (1978)
[] When the Wind Blows (1988)
[] Yellow Submarine (1968)

Studio Ghibli/Miyazaki
------------
[] Grave of the Fireflies
[x] Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
[x] Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
[] Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986)
[] Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)
[] My Neighbors The Yamadas
[] My Neighbor Totoro (1993)
[x] Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
[] Only Yesterday
[] Pom Poko (Tanuki War)
[] Porco Rosso (1992)
[x] Princess Mononoke (1999)
[x] Spirited Away (2002)
[] Whisper of the Heart

Satoshi Kon – No idea who this person is.
-----------
[] Millennium Actress (2001)
[] Paprika (2006)
[] Perfect Blue (1999)
[] Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
[] Memories - "Magnetic Rose" (1995)

Shinkai Makoto – ....Or this person. XD
------------
[] She and Her Cat (1999)
[] Voices of a Distant Star (2001)
[] The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004)
[] 5 Centimeters per Second (2007)

Other Anime Films
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[] Akira (1989)
[] Appleseed
[] Appleseed: Ex Machina
[] Arcadia of My Youth (U.S. Title - Vengeance of the Space Pirate)
[] Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2003)
[] The Dagger of Kamui (U.S. Title - Revenge of the Ninja Warrior)
[] Dirty Pair: Project Eden
[] End of Evangelion
[] Fist of the North Star
[] Galaxy Express 999
[] Ghost in the Shell (1996)
[x] The Girl Who Leapt Through Time – Saw it for the first time last weekend at Sakuracon! Pretty good movie, but there’s a plot hole I’m still trying to figure out. XD
[x] Lensman – Ha! I was wondering if this movie would be in here! Gosh, I’d seen this one AGES ago on TV, forgot what it was called in the years since, and spent a looong time searching on the Internet to find out what it was. This was the first anime I’d ever seen, and it was amazing. There was one part that I really disliked, but other than that, I totally loved it. ....Unfortunately, it influenced my first ideas of what anime was really like, which were horribly dashed the first time we rented other anime to watch. ><
[] Macross: Do You Remember Love (U.S. Title - Clash of the Bionoids)
[] Metropolis (2001)
[] Neo-Tokyo
[] Ninja Scroll
[] Patlabor the Movie
[] The Professional: Golgo 13
[] Project A-ko – This name and Akira give me a really bad feeling that they might have been the other anime I tried to watch as a kid. **shudders.** Never, never again. **quarantines in the deepest, darkest hole she can find.**
[] Robot Carnival
[] Robotech: The Shadow Chronicle
[] Silent Mobius
[] Space Adventure Cobra
[x] Steamboy (2004)
[x] Sword of the Stranger – Saw it recently. Very, unnecessarily bloody. -.-
[x] Unico and the Island of Magic – Unico! Oh my gosh, I love this show! ♥♥♥ There’s at least two movies, and they rarely ever played on TV, but they were awesome. ....Curiously, though, when I watched them recently, they turned out to be a whole heck of a lot stranger than I remembered. XD
[] Urotsukidoji: The Movie
[] Vampire Hunter D
[] Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust
[] Wings of Honneamise: Royal Space Force

Other Animated Movies
-------------------------------
[] Animal Farm
[] Animalympics
[] Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
[x] The Brave Little Toaster (1988)
[] Bravestarr: The Movie
[x] Care Bears: The Movie
[x] Charlotte's Web (1973)
[x] Fern Gully – Definitely a favorite as a kid. X3 ....But there are a few rather creepy parts. XD;
[x] Final Fantasy: Advent Children
[] G.I. Joe: The Movie
[] Gobots: Battle of the Rock Lords
[x] He-Man & She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword – Not sure if I saw the movie, actually, but I used to watch the series! I’ve got a She-Ra figure and her horse, and my sister’s got He-Man. **always wanted the tiger.**
[x] The Hobbit
[x] The Iron Giant (1999)
[] Justice League: The New Frontier
[x] Lord of the Rings
[x] Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1992) - ....I think I saw it.... **tries to remember.**
[x] My Little Pony: The Movie – There’s more than one, and I love them all. ♥♥
[] Pink Floyd's The Wall (1982)
[] The Prince of Egypt (1998) – I want to see it!
[] Powerpuff Girls: The Movie
[] Quest For Camelot (1999)
[] Ringing Bell
[] Road to El Dorado, The (2000)
[] Rock & Rule
[] Space Jam
[] Starchaser: The Legend of Orin
[] Superman: Doomsday
[] The Swan Princess
[] Transformers: The Movie (1986)
[] Wizards
~~[O] Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)~~ – Lesson learned: Just because it has cartoons, does not mean it’s for kids! XD;
[] Wonder Woman

You know, I’m sure there’s tons of other animated shows that aren’t mentioned here. Two that I can think of are The Reluctant Dragon and Flight of Dragons. Flight of Dragons is awesome. Definitely a favorite. X3

Japanese Fox Spirit Day!

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 01:38:06 GMT

Well, not really. XD But I'm declaring it Japanese Fox Day just for fun. >3 And because I found cherry blossoms scattered all around my front yard, which was a bit odd because the cherry trees are way in the backyard, so my theory is that the wind must've had some help. **nods.** And because I have two random Japanese fox pictures! XD

Besides, fox spirits are my favorite of the Japanese spirits. >3 Though they can be malevolent, they're mostly just mischievous and playful, and can be both messengers and guardians. Sometimes it's fun to imagine when you see leaves swirling around the ground in the fall that it might be a playful fox spirit dancing along. ^^

Anyway, before I show off the pics that I drew, I'm going to take the opportunity to finally post a few of my pictures from way back when I went to Japan! They're from the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. It's the head shrine of the god Inari, who has pure white foxes as her messengers. >3

And here are my sketches!

A five-tailed Japanese fox demon. Isn't he cute? >3 I have no plans to polish any of these sketches, since I rather like them the way they are.

Imagine this guy peering out from behind a bunch of leaves or blossoms. ^^ Since I can't draw them. XD I didn't use any references for either of these, so there might be something off, but I don't care! XD I like them anyway. **pets.**

Happy Fox Spirit Day! LOL. The official date of Fox Spirit Day is the weekend after the First Day of Spring. It commemorates the changing of the seasons in the most mischievous and playful way possible. **nods.** You can celebrate by doing something that somehow involves a fox. XD

Watchmen not worth watching. XD

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 02:19:04 GMT

Not in my opinion, anyway. XD

I was able to see the movie in a free pre-showing.... a week ago, I think. And I have to say, I'm glad it was free so that I didn't have to waste the money on a real ticket!

Oh, and there'll be some spoilers below, just to let you know. XD

I read through Wikipedia's description of the original comic story, and I have to say that it is almost identical to the movie, with the exception of who is framed for destroying New York at the end. Basically, the story has several flashbacks for each character, which appear throughout the main plot. That by itself wouldn't really be a problem, except that the beginning was packed with them and it was hard to figure out what was happening when, until you realized that a lot of what you were seeing was in the past. XD I'll admit that they do a great job of revealing the characters' backstories, and I really wouldn't have minded.... If it weren't for the fact that nearly every flashback was about something horrible happening in a character's life, or something horrible that the character himself had done.

And that's probably what really bugged me about the show. If you can overlook the quite explicit scenes they had at points, the fact that the blue guy only wore underwear on every second Tuesday of the month and otherwise wore absolutely nothing at all (and that they showed that he quite obviously wore nothing at all), and the way that the blue guy kills people by very violently exploding/splattering them.....

If you can overlook all that, then what really bothered me was that there were these good people, or people who were supposed to be good people (they're superheroes for Pete's sake!), doing absolutely horrible things.

For example, take the case of the the one guy who gets thrown out the window at the beginning. He's a superhero, though you totally wouldn't know it by the way he acts. And he totally deserved being thrown out the window, probably several times over. During one flashback you see that he fought in Vietnam, and got one Vietnamese lady pregnant. Only he's the type of scum who just doesn't care, so of course he had no intention of doing anything about it when she confronted him. She got mad, gave him a good scratch, and he turned around and shot her. >< Oh, and the blue guy, who has godlike powers and could have instantly turned the gun to sand, didn't do a thing to stop it, even though there was plenty of time to see it coming. --.--

At another point, this same guy is out with the Batman imitation wannabe to stop a riot/protest. Now this isn't a very violent protest, even though people are really angry, so I can't truthfully call it a riot. And what does this guy do? He jumps from their little hovercraft thing into the middle of everyone and starts shooting them. >< Which totally goes against everything that any cop or soldier, or anyone else for that matter, should ever do! And he's supposed to be a superhero?? They're supposed to watch out for innocent people, not kill them! Unless the protesters are very obviously violent and bent on injuring/killing people themselves, there is no excuse to do what he did.

I fully expected the Batman imitation to jump in and stop the guy. At this point in the movie, he was shown to be a truly good person. But did he do that? Nope. He jumps down from the hovercraft and starts lamenting over what's happened to them as a superhero group. "Oh, poor us, look at what we've become! How could this happen?" .....Excuse me? That is the most pathetic and disgusting thing I've ever heard, especially when you could be doing something right now about it. And while he's whining about that, the other guy nails some poor sap in the back with a gas canister. Gee, let's just stand by while our fellow superheroes do horrible things to people. WTH!??

So yeah, calling these people superheros is an insult to every other superhero ever created. Oh, and by the way, the only guy who actually seems to have any superpowers at all is the blue guy. So I don't even know why these other people are supposed to be superheroes, because they aren't. Except one guy, who has this weird random mask with continuously changing ink blot patterns. You'd think he was a superhero too, but he's really not, it's just his mask with the superpowers. And all it does is change its patterns. No idea where it came from, how it does that, or how the guy got it. It's totally random. And it totally bothered me throughout the movie too. XD

So, if you could overlook all that, and get on with the real plot of the movie.... Which was pretty interesting, I'll admit.... You still run into the horrible things that happened at the end. The smartest guy on the planet (another "superhero"), blows up New York, but frames the blue guy for it. So everyone goes to confront him, and it's revealed that he'd done it because it then caused the U.S. and Russia to unite against the blue guy, and quit threatening world nuclear destruction. So his actions are totally justified now, right? Well, that's what all the other "superheroes" agreed, except Mr. Ink Blot Guy....

Poor Mr. Ink Blot Guy.... I kinda liked his characterization.... He was like the down and dirty detective, working on the outside of the law, trying to find out what was really going on, even though the other "superheros" were ignoring him. He really got the short end of the stick in the show. And unlike all the other good, bad, and ugly superheros, he was the only one who actually stood up for what was right.

So he refused to stand for keeping what had really happend to New York a secret. It was inconceivable to him, and he was absolutely horrified at what had happened and that the rest of the superheroes would go along with it.

So he said that the only way to stop him was to kill him. .....And that's what they did. Technically, that's what the blue guy did, so it was quite a horrific death. And Mr. Batman Wannabe was properly horrified and devastated because they'd actually been friends and he didn't want him to die.

It was the kind of ending that really left a bad taste in your mouth.

I like dark stories occasionally, but I still like a happy ending. And this ending wasn't happy no matter how you looked at it.

Besides.... We all know that the Cold War blew over, and no matter how close everyone claimed that the U.S. and the Soviet Union were to nuclear annihilation, it didn't happen. So really, everything that happened in the movie was perfectly useless. Millions of people died for nothing. The superheroes didn't save anybody - quite the opposite.

Ugh, such an utterly depressing movie.

But in other news, the new Wolverine movie will be out soon! And it's got Gambit in it! **squees.** He's totally my favorite character in the X-Men, and I've been hoping for forever that one of the X-Men movies would have him! I was so disappointed in the last movie, both because of how it all ended, and that Gambit never appeared. But I'm so glad Marvel won't let me down! **dances.** I hope they do a good job with his character, and I can't wait to see how he and Wolverine interact. **is always amused by how they annoy the heck out of each other.**

And finally.... **points to icon.** I have a new Spring icon! Isn't it cute? X3 Now to figure out what I can do for Summer....

Hearst Castle & ocean trip

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 06:45:41 GMT

Yesterday, another friend and I took a small trip out to see Hearst Castle and explore along the coast towards a Dutch town. >3 It was so much fun!

The drive down there was so gorgeous. X3 It's a good thing I wasn't driving, because I ended up snapping photos every five minutes. XD There are tall, rolling hills that are so incredibly green! And there's groves of trees all over the place. A lot of the trees are these really craggy-looking things, that look like they've got moss hanging off the branches. >3 So cool! And they'd definitely be creepy at night. XD

We stopped for lunch in a small town near the Castle where we were spending the night. We ended up eating in a Mexican restaurant, and the food was so good! I now absolutely love trying new things, and they had a favorite of mine, which I just recently discovered. It was a chicken enchilada with an Aztec chocolate chili sauce. >3 Sounds weird, but I love it! ♥ So I had to get that. Unfortunately, my friend doesn't go for new things at all, which is disappointing. She is seriously missing out on SO much.

After that, we headed up toward the Castle. The weather had been pretty good until then, but once we got onto the buses that would take us from the Visitor Center up the hill to the mansion, it started raining. ;__; And I had gambled on leaving my wind-breaker and umbrella in the car.... But the weather apparently called that bet, and I lost. **headdesk.** So during the outside parts of the tour, it was really cold, and I had to hide under my friend's umbrella.

Aside from that, though, the place is amazing! There's a huge outside pool with Greek-type architecture around it. And there's pathways, and plazas, and stairs, and statues, and trees and flowers all over the place! And everything's so intricately detailed. There's so many separate buildings to the place, and the buildings are incredible! There's carvings and statues on the outside, and some parts just tower over you!

On the inside, there are some enourmous halls. They don't let you use the flash inside, so I did my best to take interesting photos, but I have yet to see how they turned out. **will post some of her favorites later.** There's so much artwork inside! Huge tapestries up high on the walls, large paintings, ornate doorways, gigantic stone fireplaces, gorgeous wooden furniture and plush chairs and couches.... Far too much to describe, and too big to take photos of! I did my best to get photos of the rooms, but then I tried to focus on some of the interesting details. I actually found several of the doors to be interesting and mysterious-looking. >3

It was a bit of a pain to get photos, though, because we had to stay on certain paths through the building, and you ended up getting left behind if you stayed to get photos. XD; But it wasn't too bad.

One of my favorite rooms was the huge indoor pool. >3 There were Greek statues around it, and the entire room was tiled deep blue, with golden designs. There were large arched windows on either end, and the pool perfectly mirrored everything, even the curved ceiling, so it looked deeper than it was. It was so amazing!

There was so much more to see in the place, but the tour only showed a small fraction. XD; By the end, it had cleared up outside, so it was gorgeous out. And there was a beautiful view down the steep, rolling hills to the ocean. X3

Oh, and the guy who owned the place also used to have a private zoo, with tons of animals. He let the non-carnivorous ones roam the grounds (which are expansive and included much of the hillsides along the coast), and even now there are a few kinds leftover that are roaming free, including an occasional zebra. LOL.

We found out about a lighthouse during the tour, so we skipped the optional IMAX movie about the mansion to head directly there while there was still sunlight. Unfortunately, the gate to the road going there was closed, and they offered only occasional tours, so we couldn't get one at the time.

We left, but found a spot to pull off and watch the groups of elephant seals on the beach. >3 There was even a path that meandered along the cliff above the beach where they were laying, and it went back toward the lighthouse, so we took that in the hopes of getting closer. It was such a beautiful walk! And the sun was starting to go down, so the atmosphere was just perfect, and everthing was kind of golden. X3 And there were parts of the cliff that jutted out further than others, so you could get a gorgeous panoramic view.

At one point the path went through a bit of a stream/marshy section, and my friend didn't want to try to cross. But I still wanted to see how close I could get to the lighthouse, and I figured I could totally pick a path through it. So I did.... And ended up soaking my shoes, but it was the second time that day (the first was from an unexpected surge of the surf that caught me off guard. XD;), so I didn't really care. XD Unfortunately, I discovered that the fence around the lighthouse property joined up with the cliff, so I couldn't get onto it without climbing the fence. XD; **and decided not to.**

When we got back to the hotel, I explored the beach for a while, taking photos of the sunset. X3 So pretty.... I could seriously spend an entire day just exploring one small part of the beach, looking for rocks and shells, and dodging the surf, and taking photos. It's surprising just how loud the ocean is, though! But it's so peaceful there. I wish I had time to just sit and watch the ocean and relax, but I didn't really get the chance, since I also really wanted to explore. XD; But I'm totally going back sometime!

For dinner I had one of the mose amazing dishes ever.... Butternut squash ravioli. So good! X3 The ravioli actually had squash in it, with some kind of butter sauce and parmesan on top. I'm totally going back for more! I wasn't even able to eat half of it. XD;

Can't say I was impressed with the hotel at all, but it was comfortable. Their continental breakfast the next morning wasn't much to speak of, though, but I actually really enjoyed it. Instead of being inside, it was outside next to the pool, under an overhang. Really chilly in the morning, but they had a large firepit with a tiled counter surrounding it that you could eat at. And they had the fire going, which warmed things up a bit, and it was such fun to eat there! >3

After that, we headed along the coast to the Dutch town. We stopped at a few places on the beach to explore, and I found some tide pools in the rocks. >3 They had clams and those things with the shiny black shells **forgets what they're called** and sea anemones! And I had fun poking at the anemones with a shell to see what they'd do. XD Turns out they'll start to close up. And if you poke the tentacles, they'll actually stick a bit to whatever's poking them.

I would have loved to explore a lot longer, but we had to get to the town if we wanted enough time to look around. We did stop at another awesome town along the way, though. They had so many fun shops, and the houses were so pretty and interesting to look at! And you could actually get tours on sailing ships, or rent canoes, or go whale-watching. >3 We didn't have any time for that, of course, but that's totally the town I wanna go back to another weekend! I need to try one of the coastal seafood restaurants too, since I didn't get the chance this trip.

The Dutch town was so fun! All the buildings were gorgeous, and some were made to look like windmills. X3 You could explore for hours in the town, and still not see everything! So many fun shops and bakeries.... One of my favorites was this awesome antique shop, which seemed to specialize in clocks and music boxes. They had enormous grandfather clocks of all kinds, and giant, old music boxes that played the most incredible music. And man, were they expensive! I lived the lid of one to have a look at the inside, and found that it costs over $37,000! O.O I wasn't sure whether to immediately yank my hand away and pretend I hadn't touched it at all or what. XD; But then one of the attendants started talking about the music box, and played it for us, so I figured it wasn't a big deal. And he gave a mini-tour of the other music boxes. ^^

One thing that was a bit disappointing about the town was that it was really touristy, and though there were a lot of awesome stuff in the shops, they all seemed to have similar things. XD; I'm still happy to look around because it's all different from what I'm used to, but there doesn't seem to be much that's unique. The glass works shop sounded like it should be a place where they hand-make all their stuff to sell.... But it wasn't. The toyshop seemed like they should have authentic wooden toys, but it was all modern stuff. The candle shop no longer made their own candles, and there were no shops that seemed to have unique, hand-made, authentic items that they specialized in. Everything's been commercialized, so I really wasn't able to find any souvenirs that I really wanted to spend the money to have. ....Even though there were a thousand things I would have picked up if I had a bunch of money to spare. XD

I think the one thing I found that I really wanted was this amazing set of peacock-styled platters and cups. They were so elegant and gorgeous. They probably cost more than an arm and a leg, though.... A single cup from another beautiful set was $80. o.o I'd almost have to take out a loan to get it all! XD; But even so, I really do want to save up to buy it sometime before I move again. I'm just hoping it's still there when I do!

I've got another ton of pictures to go through before I post anything, so it might be a while. XD; And with my luck, I'll want to post a lot of them so I'm betting I won't be able to keep it under ten. **siiiigh.** But I'm sure gonna try!

The power of a smile. ^^

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 02:35:42 GMT

An interesting thing happened to me at work today....

I stopped by someone's office to ask about some paperwork, and we chatted for a bit, and then he thanked me.... for smiling at him last week.

There was another person in there with him, so he re-told how he was feeling really depressed one day last week, and had actually been considering about every hour just going home, but had kept putting it off.

And I had just happened by and encountered him in the hallway, and smiled as usual, and gave him my usual "Hi! How's it goin'?" And he said he wasn't doing too great, and told how he was considering going home. So I said that I hoped he started feeling better, and he said thanks, and we went our separate ways.

But apparently, that smile, and my cheerfulness, were all he needed to stick it out and make it through the rest of the day! And I wasn't any more cheerful than usual. I'm not even what I'd call an outgoing person, though I guess I tend to be more cheerful than not. XD But I like to smile a bit and say "Hi" when I pass someone in the hallway, though the smile will be bigger and I'll usually throw in a "How's it goin?" if I know the person, or if they're gonna be there for longer than the two seconds it takes to pass them.

Anyway, I was totally floored when he thanked me for that. And not only because of that, but because he remembered and it meant enough to him that he considered it important enough to thank me. Just.... Wow.

That totally made my day.

So next time you're just walking along, don't forget to smile and say Hi to people, and maybe ask how someone's doing.... Because you never know just how much it could mean to someone. It could be just what that person needs. ^__^

Random post and old pic. XD

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 08:04:57 GMT

It's sure been a while since I last posted! Or it seems that way, anyway. XD

Let's see.... I have some new photos to upload, but I've just been too lazy to resize them. XD; I've got some from waaaay back when I went to the Huntington Gardens, and I've got some from around here in the winter.... Or did I upload those already? Gah, I can't remember. XD; And then I have some from when I went down to Chinatown just recently to see the Golden Dragon Parade for the Chinese New Year. X3

Chinatown sure was fun! We went shopping and ate some snacks.... My favorite were these curry beef filled flaky pastries. Yummm. X3 It's been a while since I had curry quite like that! Not since I visited one of the temples in Japan, actually. They also had some kind of melon pastry thing, but it really wasn't as good as the stuff I had in China, so I'll just have to keep looking. XD Same with the watermelon juice.... **was actually surprised that they had it at all!** They made it differently, and it might have been better if they hadn't put the little rice flour ball things in it. **doesn't really care for those.**

They also sold these little Chinese meatballs on a stick, which look really good, but are kinda strange.... They taste more like an eggroll disguised as a meatball than a regular meatball. LOL. They aren't bad, but take a bit of getting used to.

Let's see.... We went shopping around in the main plaza area, since that was near the parade route. But we didn't even end up visiting a fraction of the shops! There were several other shopping centers we never made it to, with anywhere from 30 to 120 shops each! **really wants to go back and check them out.**

I was hoping to pick up a bunch of things from the shops, but I seem to be more picky now about buying Chinese souvenirs, simply because I've seen similar things all over, both here and in China. Honestly, if you see something in one store, you can probably find dozens of others similar to it in any number of other shops. XD So I didn't find too much that really interested me, because I was trying to find things that were unique and might have a spot in my collection of interesting stuff.

But I did find a few things that I really liked.... My favorite was a Precious Moments angel doll, dressed in an oriental gown. She is so adorable! X3 I also picked up a wallhanging of a peacock, which was really inexpensive, but the image was quite good. ^^ And I got a pair of Chinese dice, a zodiac rat (or mouse, depending on which country you're in) figure, since that's my sign, and a few Chinese New Year cards to send out for fun. X3

I also took a bunch of photos, of course! I'll really have to narrow down the ones I want to post, though, so I don't spend all day resizing them. XD **plans to limit them to 5-10 photos per event.**

But man, that parade was seriously the longest one I've ever seen! It took forever to get into it. And then it just kept going and going and going.... Honestly, I love the Chinese dragons and lions, but once you've seen two or three.... the rest don't really add anything new. XD;

LOL, I entertained myself by taking pictures of the confetti on the ground. XD They actually make for some nice, rather abstract/artistic images. >3

We just happened to watch the parade right across from a restaurant that was featured in Jackie Chan's Rush Hour. >3 So of course we had to go there for dinner! ....I wish I could say that it was an amazing place to eat.... But it really wasn't. XD; The inside was far from spectacular, and the service was awful, at least for us. (LOL, one of the plates of food they brought us was totally the wrong one, and I knew it, but ate some anyway before we told them, just because it was taking a long time to get anything. XD; And then it took forever to get the right dish, so it was hard for me to feel guilty about it. ....I just hope they didn't end up giving that plate to someone else! XD) The food was alright, but it got cold quickly. They did have a really interesting dish, though, which was called taro pudding. Only it was warm, and its consistency was a lot more like mashed potatoes than pudding. And it was this not-so-nice-looking grayish-purple color. LOL. But it was actually pretty good! X3 And I still don't know what taro is, but apparently it can also be made into smoothies. **has had one before.**

However, next time I won't be eating there again, simply because of the service. XD; But I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what else Chinatown might have! >3

And now for a picture that I've had sitting around for a loooong time, but never really felt like posting until now. XD

This is a different style that I saw in another picture a while ago and wanted to try out. There are some things I like about it, and others that I don't.... I think I really need to get a better handle on the style so that it comes more easily, before I'm really happy with how it looks. Usually I try to not copy another person's style, because I know that mine won't ever come out the same way, so I'll just be frustrated with it. XD; And I think that's what happened here, which is why I never bothered to post it until now.

Maybe I'll see if I can adapt some elements from it, rather than going for the exact style.... That usually works better for me.

Anyway, I like her expression, in general. ^^ It's quite different from how I've drawn Kaze before, and is probably a side of her that most people don't see. ....And I also really like the feather and her nose. LOL.

And that's it for now!

New FF.net account

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 21:41:14 GMT

I've been thinking of getting a FanFiction.net account for a while, ever since I discovered that there's actually a category that my stories could fit in. LOL. It's still so amusing! I certainly wouldn't call my stories fanfiction, but apparently someone does, because there are categories for World of Darkness, which is the basic guide/world that my old RPGs were from, and White Wolf, which is the publisher for World of Darkness and a whole host of other related RPG manuals.

So even though all the characters are completely original, the stories still qualify! **shakes head.** So strange. XD

Anyway, I finally got an account there, just to see how things work out, and I've posted one of my one-shots. X3 I would have posted much earlier in the week, only you have to wait three days after you create an account before they let you! **headdesk.**

I'll be posting all my older stories little by little, when I get the time. I figured I'd do maybe a chapter a day, or every few days. And maybe someday soon, I'll finally have a new story to post! It's been over a year since I started writing one. XD;

Here's the link, if you're interested. ^^ http://www.fanfiction.net/~cskazaam.

And in other news.... I'm gonna start taking down my Christmas tree today! ;__; Man, why can't we just have Christmas all the time? XD I'd seriously thought about leaving the tree up and removing the decorations, but then I realized I'd have to dust it. And I'm too lazy to do that, besides, dusting a plant, even a fake one, seems horribly ridiculous to me. XD

So everything's coming down. Don't know if I'll have the patience to finish everything today, but I hope to get a lot of it done!

And tomorrow, I'm gonna check out some archery shops, and see if there's a place that offers lessons. >3

And I might go see a movie.... I heard that Rise of the Lycans is out! LOL. Werewolves are awesome. >3