RIP - Akao Jan 2006 - Dec 2008

So I come home this afternoon, and go to move the jar outta the furnace room into my area b/c it's finally warm enough, and he's dead. Poor little body's all puffed up and lying on the bottom of the jar. Poke his body a few times with the stick and he's nonresponsive. So after almost 3 yrs, the little guy couldn't recover anymore. Ever since this summer, he hasn't been the same. Eats only 1-2 pellets when he used to eat 4-5, would jump occasionally but then doesn't look for the food. And ever since it got cold, he just doesn't go for the food at all. I'll wait for him to wake up, make sure he sees the food, and then he spits it back out. I tried the 2 different pellets and the really dried out bloodworms. *sigh* Since I can't really remember when he did eat, it'd have to be at least a month, so I knew it was inevitable. And betta fish usually live about 3 years too. But it's still sad. The poor little dude had been through so much since I moved outta the apt, and he was pretty pissed at the changes.

I guess for Boxing Day I'll look at getting a new betta fish. And I'd seen an electric muscle heat pack for $15 the other day, and was debating on whether to get it or if it would boil Akao. It had a low setting, but I don't think it had a timer or thermostat so he'd undergo a lotta temperature fluctations or I'd have to leave it on all the time but keep it kinda away from the jar.

So I'm not sure what to do with the body. I could use a potted plant at work, and then I could bury his body among its roots. Fish and their poop are great fertilizers. Right now I have a "lucky bamboo" in the jar w/ him. So I'm not sure if I should just leave him there. That bamboo must be lucky, it's outlived both my fish, and botanical experiments.

So as I'm going thru my previous posts (b/c I forgot how old Akao was), it seems like I never explained his name. Aka is for red, and Ao is for blue. In Japanese of course. Yes, I'm aware that betta fish originated from Thailand, but at least it's a step up from naming him after a Pokemon. Which was Feebas, my first fish. So Akao was red-bodied, blue-finned and was able to jump for food, and was very responsive while in the Parksquare apt. He got to be about 2 inches. And then when I moved back to the house, he was pretty ticked off at the change, and not being able to see things. Before, he was in the living room so could watch TV, watch me cook, and watch D do his stuff on the keyboard. Now, at the house since my Dad wouldn't allow him to be in the living room (b/c what if the jar spilled?! Only if some idiot managed to knock it over. Oh wait, that's my Dad), he went in my room. Which I was in sometimes, but he didn't have a good view of my monitor and well, other than me sleeping or reading, there wasn't much else to see. And the sun only came in for about 4 hours, during the summer. But he started to get used to it, and began to come up to me for food and do his "feed me!" wiggle dance again... and then I went to LA. And I don't know what trauma he was subjected to in that week, but when I came home, the entire bottom of the jar was covered w/ a month's worth of rotting food. The water was this murky brown, and he was ensconced among the bamboo's roots. And even after I changed the water and apologized profusely to him and tried to find similar pellets, he just wouldn't come up to me for food anymore. It was like he couldn't trust humans again. The plant was his only friend, and that's where he usually stayed. *sigh* And I'd been thinking that I should do some drawings of him, b/c when he was among the roots, he was always posed so nicely. But tis not to be. I'm attempting to draw one from memory, but I'm much better at drawing things in front of me. And I don't wanna draw Akao as he is now.

Survivor Series 2008

So I watched Survivor Series, Cena's big return. Really, is there any doubt that Cena would win? While Jericho was walking down the ramp, I commented to D that he had a wierd look on his face, probably b/c he was trying to figure out how to make Cena's meager skills look good. And the fact that he had to job to that hack. Anyways, I didn't watch that match too closely, mostly I looked up from my crochetting when Jericho was doing well.

The other matches were much better. HBK's team vs. JBL's team was quite exciting. It was quite interesting seeing John Morrison trying to one-up HBK. Considering he's the Shaman of Sexy now, and Shawn Michaels' used to live up to his HBK moniker, it's a bit of passing of the torch. Although it's more fun when the amount of men left are a lot closer. Well I guess 3-2 isnt' too bad, but eh. Wish Morrison got to do more. I really quite like the Morrison-Miz teamup, they have some awesome tag moves. They're pretty much the reason why I watch ECW.

It was a totally retarded that Regal got pinned in the first minute. I completely missed it b/c I was looking down at my crotchet. Good shot by Layla w/ her shoe though. ...I'm trying to remember who won though. Well I mean it was Batista, but who'd he win against? Oh yeah, Randy Orton. Wait, no Orton won that. Whoops. Cody did pretty good too. Shelton didn't do too bad in the match. Got to show his wrestling and jobbing skills.

The women's match was good b/c it had heels and faces on both teams. Maryse is the best wrestlers for the new women. Not counting Natalya b/c she's 3rd generation so she's old-school. Awesome to see the Sharpshooter. Good to see Gillian get some shots in, she's really underutilized. And what's w/ having Victoria jobbing all the time? It's ridiculous! That's cool that it was down to heel vs. heel. Beth's awesome. And Michelle getting pinned early was a surprise. I'd have to say that I couldn't predict the Women's match, and that's awesome. It's kinda bad that the women were bickering, but also quite funny. And everyone got to come out, not just heel vs. heel or the faces being hesitant to wrestle each other.

Quite a shocker to see Edge come out. No, I don't have time to keep up w/ the insider wrestling news. Looking quite scruffy w/ that beard, and he's put some weight around his waist. I'm not sure why he was out, I'm guessing neck surgery but I could be wrong. I wonder what really happened w/ Jeff Hardy? I doubt he got beat up like they're saying. I'm just hoping it's not drugs w/ his history. I think it'll be a nice shakeup for Smackdown, b/c Vicky can do what she's been doing w/ getting the contenders for #1 do her dirty work. Since Big Show's out and all.

Casket match wasn't too bad. Could sort see the limitations of Big Show there, but it was still interesting enough.

Return of the Boogeyman. Eh, he's definitely go the revulsion thing going. When I was looking at his team, I couldn't help but think that the mud in his teeth, didn't look like dirt, but a different kind of fertilizer. Yeah. That didn't help. Good thing I was finished eating by then. Took a look on Wikipedia, seems he was out b/c of injury.

So overall, was it worth the $20 I paid for my share of the PPV? Hmm, yeah it was pretty satisfying, especially to see the women go all out.

I'm going to hate mornings!

Well, I did actually land the job I interviewed for. I learned about it when I was riding on the bus, so I stopped by my old work place to tell the news. My references told me that the interviewers said I was really prepared and wondered how long I'd worked there since I knew so much. And they still miss me at the old place b/c they still haven't been able to replace the amount of stuff I did. Yah, I was so happy, it was neat. And it's for the indeterminate position, so as long as I make it past probation, I'll be set for life.

Although since I'm a night-owl, and it's gotten worse since I only have to get up in time to watch Electric Playground (on at 12:30p), trying to get up at 6:00a to make sure I catch the bus at 7:00a is going to totally suck. It's mostly b/c of the bus schedule. The route that I could take which would only about 30 min, would get me there either 25 min early or 5 min late. Yeah. So I have to instead catch a different bus would is a 20 min bus ride itself, coupled with a 20 min train ride. And that would get me there about 5 min early. Yeah, it's super-stupid. If I had a car, well actually if my dad would let me drive his car, it's probably only take about 20 min. And I don't think I'd have to pay for parking either. And this is why people prefer to drive instead of using public transit. Oh and the Transit Trip planner thing isn't working either right now. Just peachy.

Anyways, so I've been catching up on my comics. It looks like I basically stopped reading my comics about 7 months. So for a lot of the events I missed the hype. And all the Colbert '08 election in the comics. *sigh* Some comics like Hellblazer was 28 issues unread. But I'm finding with all my reading material, I like to read more than 1 chapter at once. So I have Shojo Beat which is a bit behind (which sucks for missing some contests), and even tankoubons of various manga. Yes, I'm one of those people who just need to know what happens next. Which hilariously enough, means I'll leave stuff unread for months or years (Monster, Bastard, Law of Ueki, Cantarella, Trigun). The exception for this would be InuYasha b/c I saw the English-dub on YTV, and the anime follows the manga very closely. So for that, I just left it so that I'd forget the finer details of the story. Although with Trigun, I left that alone for a while b/c I was bitter at what Nightow-san was doing w/ Legato. Yes, I'm a Legato fan b/c Seki-sama played him in the anime. But Legato's back, and fully mobile and psychotic as ever. Though I'm very sad that Wolfwood is gone. Made me cry.

How much wood can I knock on?

So had the interview yesterday. And I still was not very centred either. Ever had a massive jag in your chest where you feel you could start bawling again at the drop of a penny? Well, that was me all yesterday. I'd woken up around 6, and my alarm wasn't set to go off until 9. Played some Pokemon to try and get back to sleep, but I could hear my Dad tromping around upstairs, so I put my headphones on and tried to block it out. It worked, but I have those big headphones which aren't much fun to sleep w/. Anyways, I nodded on-off until 9, and tried to wake up. Anyways, I dunno w/ the interview. It seemed to go okay. I believe I impressed them w/ some of my answers. I know there was one that I had a hard time thinking of a past experience. Which of course came to me as I was on the bus home. Dang, I hate that. Especially when I was constantly repeating to myself on what experiences to mention, and it could've applied. Argh! But here's hoping that they call my references, b/c I know my former colleagues miss me. *knocking on wood shelves*

Anyways, my brother talked to my Dad, and we'll try to be civil. However even today, my chest feels really tight at times. I guess that's the only way to describe it. Unless it's a chest cold. Been quite sniffly lately. Lots of mucus dripping and coughing. And my eyes are very tired.

So finally catching up on my Hellblazer, and I noticed in Issue 240 (yes, it's dated for March 08) that everyone except for 1 person, had blue eyes. Including all the Chinese/Korean characters. Considering that blue eyes are a recessive trait, it seems statistically unlikely that the 2 Asian characters would have blue eyes. The only people with different coloured eyes was an old African shaman (brown) and the villain (demonic red but that's for dramatic effect, I believe). Therefore my conclusion is that the colourist Lee Loughridge, was very lazy and focused more on creating a mood than anything else. And it was very annoying b/c Leonardo Manco did an excellent job portraying all the different "races". Yes, that's right, it annoyed me so much that I had to blog about it. But isn't that what this is for?

I'm going to so bomb tomorrow!

So I have a job interview tomorrow, for a position that I really have a reasonable chance on getting. I've been studying their website, reviewing their SOMC and Work Description, writing how my experience qualifies me for the position...all the stuff that you do to prepare for it. I've even bought some blazers for the job (well I could use some anyways if I want to work in a business environment). Today I've been a bit burnt out from it all, and it's been a struggle to study. Having your computer on and Facebook loaded is an extremely bad idea. Oh, and a horde of comics that need to be read, games that need to be advanced on...yeah, it's not good to have that many distractions. And a sluggish betta fish that's probably that way b/c of the cold temps. Kinda hard to find a heating solution for a 2 L jar.

Anyways, I was on my way to taking a shower when my brother (who's staying the night w/ his wife), knocks on my door. Then he starts berating me about how I'm not taking care of our father. Our father, who's decrepit, crotchety and old. Who diminishes my self-esteem to zero (whether he does it deliberately or not could be up to debate, but irregardless) on a constant basis. And the one I live w/, mostly out of some poor (becoming very apparent, misguided) attempt of a child trying to gain the affection of a parent. Yeah, I moved back in w/ him to help him b/c he was old and decrepit. Only to have my attempts screamed at, dismissed, overlooked and belittled. So at this point, I've even stopped working on a crotchet blanket that I was making him. Which contained a colour I despised but he likes. B/c really, why should I try doing anything when there's no reward to it?

Anyways, after my brother berates me and I counter w/ what does he really want me to do w/ our father, well, it's not a good conversation to have when you're on the eve of an important interview. I'm crying b/c I'm so mad and he starts backing off. Then my sister-in-law comes down and tries to help mend things. Anyways, after about an hour of this, my brother says that he's going to try and talk to our dad, b/c the points I bring up about how crappily I've been treated are valid and maybe he doesn't realize that. Anyways, I'm not expecting much.

So I'm in a real foul mood, and I'm still crying as I write this. B/c I'm not feeling centred like I almost was before my brother talked to me. Actually I'm so off-centered that I can't seem to stop crying. Yeah, that's going to be great for the interview, puffy stressed out face. I'm sure I'll get a big zit somewhere. I already have a scab on my nose b/c I'm still recovering from the flu or something. Even blowing w/ Charmin Extra Soft still is hard on the nose when you do it so much. Oh, and after the upper body workout on the Eyetoy Kinetics, I can barely move my arms. And that was 2 days ago that I did that workout. When flicking your hair back becomes an attempt not to scream, you know you overdid it. Yeah, right after the workout, I couldn't lift my arms b/c my shoulders were numb. Next day, I couldn't lift it above my chest. Today, my triceps are killing me and I wish I could just leave them hanging down. Oh and my back hurts....Oddly enough, or perhaps not, whining about my body aches has stopped my tears. Maybe b/c it's discussing physical pain instead of emotional pain. If that's true, then does writing positively improve one's outlook? Actually I've heard of that. But can I write optimistically when I'm naturally a pessimist?

Hmm, what's going good right now? Uh, I bought a Turtwig pillow from Wal-Mart (evil evil corporation!) and I'm pretty sure it's life-size. Which isn't really too hard b/c starter Pokemon are small, but still. I gave it a wash w/ my lavendar bodywash, so he smells quite good. And he's so cute. Looks quite like the Pokemon should. Piplup was a bit flat, and there wasn't that much stuffing in his wings. And the fire pokemon...what's his name? Monferno? No, that's an evolution of it. Infernape? I'm pretty sure that's evolution type. Ashchimp?! LOL, well that's not it, and it'd be a bad name to say improperly. Lemme look ...*grabs list* Chimchar, that's the one. He was very flat all the way. Very obviously a pillow. Piplup, you'd be sleeping on his tummy, but w/ Turtwig, b/c he's got stout little legs, he'd be more like the ancient Japanese/Chinese head rests/pillows. He's sitting in front of my TV right now b/c there's no room on my bed. Yes, I want to buy a double bed solely so I can have room to sleep on more than 1/2 the bed. Maybe that's also my shoulders and back hurt, b/c I don't have room to toss and turn. Or it could be the mass of blankets that I like to be under. Well I am feeling a bit better now. Pokemon always saves the day. Guess I'll go take that shower now.

Misery

It's been pretty lousy for me lately. The latest incident is another screaming match w/ my dad. I was trying to use my EyeToy Kinetics, and he comes downstairs and asked me to email my brother about dinner plans b/c he wasn't picking up on the house phone, completely interfering in my session. So I said I could but then asked him if he tried calling my bro on the cell. Then he starts flipping out at me that I wouldn't do what he wanted me to do. Since I don't suffer fools, I start telling him that he needs to learn how to use his cellphone (I'd programmed mine and my brothers' numbers into it, but my dad still uses index cards to call them), so he starts yelling at me that he doesn't like using it. Well I point out that I've tried teaching him, but he just doesn't try to learn so what's he going to do when I'm not around? So he starts yelling at me that I should do what he tells me to do, and that if I'm not around, then I'm not going. Well, at this point I'm completely crushing my controller, and I tell him to leave me alone and to get out of my space. So he tells me that this isn't my house (well technically it's not his either, it's my other brother that's paying the mortgage), and that I can leave. And it's not the first time I've told him this, but again I yell at him that I don't wanna live w/ him. Anyways I yell at him that I'll call my bro and to get out of my face. Anyways, lo and behold, I get my bro on his cell b/c he's out Trick or Treating w/ the kids. Gee, like how much fun to be completely correct. Anyways, is there much point of me talking to my bro when I don't have a clue about any of the dinner plans except where we might be going? Nope.

So today, I was "man enough" to say that I'm sorry for yelling at him. Does he acknowledge it? No. Of course not. And would he ever apologize for anything he's done. Of course not. After all, he managed to screw up my mother's maiden name w/ the govt so that when I applied for EI, I had to get it corrected which wasted a 1/2 hr of my time sitting in the service centre. And if I listened to him, I'd be out almost $2000 from the govt for surviving child's benefits b/c he said that I didn't qualify and the letter that they sent me was bogus.

Out damn spot, out I say!

Yes, I finally got rid of an unwelcome tenant. It'd been w/ me for at least a month I'd say. And after about a week of force and high temperatures, I got rid of it. Yup, got rid of a sty on my eyelid. Well, I suppose I should've gone to the doctor, if I was still covered. But since I'd lost my job, I'm not sure who's paying the Health premiums. So anyways, it's not like I hadn't gotten rid of one by myself. Yes, I popped it like a pimple. And there was a lotta stuff that come out too. There was the top ball of hardened crud, and then the stuff underneath. Had to squeeze it a few times to get it all out. And since it was on my lower eyelid, right on the edge, it was kinda hard to get good leverage. So I had to flip my lower lid down, and then press it between my fingers to get pressure behind the sty. And I could see that it wanted to come out, but couldn't quite, so I stretched the pores (b/c there was one behind and in front of the problem area) open more. Yeah, the hole it left was larger than my tear drainage duct. Yes, it hurt a lot, but I think I've got a high tolerance for continuous pain. And hopefully the contact lenses solution, which is supposed to disinfect, will take care of it too. Normally I'd use iodine or rubbing alcohol for wounds, buuuuuut not a good idea.

And timely too, since I have a job interview tomorrow. Not sure how to really approach it since if I get offered, I'll only take it if I can't get anything else. It's part-time and erratic hours, but it's a position I want.

Anyways, I've gotten Internet back after about a month. However since I've been doing nothing but d/ling anime to my 500GB drive, I haven't posted my previous entries I'd been typing up while I was w/o internet. RAW is on, but meh. Some gauntlet match thingy. Can't wait for Heroes.

Internet is essential

No internet right now, so I’ll be posting this when it’s back up. Since Sept 4, I’ve had no internet. It’d been sporadic for the first week of Sept, and I had to keep resetting the router. Then it crapped out in the middle of the night on Wednesday while I was trying to d/l a torrent. Called CIA tech, and they said they’d send a Shaw tech over on Tuesday. Then no one comes, and I call them again, and they said there was some issue w/ my brother’s old acct on Shaw, and that they just got that fixed and once another Shaw tech is free, they’ll call me to see what time is good. Now it’s Sept 20, my brother decided to cancel his CIA acct and go back to Shaw. And b/c he has digital phone also, he doesn’t want to try to move up the hookup date b/c he has to port the number back to Shaw. So I’ll be w/o internet for the whole freaking month. And I have to apply for jobs b/c my position at DOJ is up. So yesterday I stayed after work to use their Internet, but of course w/ the firewall, I couldn’t access my email accounts. And I ended up having to make a new profile b/c my old profile wouldn’t allow me to long in and the resetted password was sent to my inaccessible email account. Gawd, I’m pissed. Good thing I recently bought a USB flashdrive and the computer’s usb drives weren’t disabled.

The EB Games in the mall got a used NDS browser, so I’m like, “sweet! I can get some internet!” Well, the idiots at EB Games never checked to see if the seller set up a password, so when I plugged it in, it didn’t work. And there was no password written in the booklets. So I had to call Nintendo this morning (short hold time, yeah!!!) and ask how to reset it. It’s quite a finger feat. But it’s working now... if only our neighbours’ signal wasn’t so crappy. Do not try to use Facebook. It does work but takes forever to load. And I was just trying to update my status that I had no internet. But I don’t think it worked. And it kept running out of memory, even though I had the memory expansion pack. Right now, I’m waiting for my Darsh to recharge, b/c I was hoping to take it to somewhere that had Wi-Fi and use it there...but it’s getting late and I wanna see the Score street party which starts at 7 EST. I might have to leave w/o it. My brother and sister-in-law came over and she asked how I was. I was truthful. I told her “crappy”.

Speaking of hold time, and why it’s important to me. Not just b/c it’s annoying to be on hold, even if they are playing classical music (annoyingly interrupted by their ads), but b/c it eats up my cellphone minutes. I’d been on hold w/ CIA for over 45, and then when I was trying to call Standard Life, after waiting 15 mins they dropped my call b/c their centre was closed. And I’d already gotten the warning that I had less than 50 min left on my pkg. So I had to use my office phone to call Standard Life. Which is kinda awkward when your co-workers are leaving and saying bye, and you’re on a personal call. *sigh* Although I think most people know that I have no internet, and my workterm is ending soon, so I don’t think anyone really cares. At least I never did it during my workhours, unlike some other people. My stupid brother has the nerve to email me at work when it’s his fault I have no internet at home.

Bodyworks exhibit

Went to see the Bodyworks exhibit at the Telus Space and Science Centre. I went with a bunch of my friends. They were finished about 30 - 45 minutes before I was. But then again, they’ve never taken any biology courses. I had Human Osteology in University so it was loads of fun to see exactly how the flesh was attached (or detached) to the body. And yes, when I got to the exhibit w/ the horse and rider, there was a lotta gawking at the horse’s...member. Although these 2 women next to me remarked a lot more about it to each other and then compared it to their horses. Anyways, other than that part of the horse, I was wondering if I could actually see the horse’s 4-chamber stomach. It just looked like a big sac. Although the 2 ladies were oddly surprised that the horse’s lungs were so big, which made me wonder how much they knew about horses in the first place... other than that part. Quite surprised that most of the exhibits were out in the open, and had a bit of cobwebs on them. Had to keep my hands clasped behind my back to avoid touching them. Was allowed to touch a lung and some cross-sections of the ulna. D remarked how few female specimens there were. And he finished early and then started hovering around me. Which is really annoying since I was in the reproductive and lower bits section, and he’s a sex-fiend. It’s much better to see the full version of all the body parts instead of in a book. Easier to figure their relationships to each other. And w/ the specimens that had the layers of muscles revealed, I tried to figure out how to attach additional body parts to that area like wings and such. Easiest is really the tail b/c we used to have them.

When I told my co-workers about the exhibit, a few of them were squirmish, especially our acting manager. I dunno, it wasn’t that bad. But then again, I did eat lunch while watching a film about trephination on the skull. Just watching them drill and then saw away at the skull. Heh heh.

Then that night, I read the “if you should die” chapter in The Kurasagi Corpse Delivery Service Vol. 4 and it was pretty creepy. Not really the body parts, although the living daruma was scary. But more that it could be entirely possible to disguise torture and living dissections as exhibits...and maybe I went to one. A lot of the drawings were similar to the dissections of the bodies at the exhibit. Yeah, I was creeped out.

Summerslam 2008

It was last-minute on whether I wanted to see it or not. Really there weren't any huge matches except for Edge vs. Undertaker. HHH is going to try his best to pull something out of Khali. I played my NDS while the Batista vs. Cena match went on. It was a total crock for the Hardy vs. Henry match. They'd better put together the Hardys after that. ECW is a complete joke. Matt Striker and ...I forgot his name now. Anyways, not much of an announcer team is it? Taz is on Smackdown b/c Mick is resting. That football guy...whatizname is general manager of RAW. (wonder what fat deal they had to make up so that he landed that. He's definitely not qualified for either. Except for Taz to keep making fun of his mistakes. Jeff vs. MVP isn't bad, but it seems like the black guys (sorry but it's easier to say than Afro-American, which makes me think of their hair more than anything) are teaming up on him. Good match was Phoenix and Santino vs. James and Kingston. Good comedy. And Beth carrying him on his shoulders was very cool. She is sooooo awesome. It was okay, and much better that I don't have a bunch of screaming marks around me since we watched it at D's apt. I think the bento from Tokyo Express didn't sit well w/ me. Or it could be the sudden influx of fibre from Mini-wheats b/c my dad finally bought some milk.

Anyways,been trying to get the mascot cups from McDonald's. Keep on forgetting to get them b/c I don't buy Micky D's. Tend to avoid it like the plague. I have the orange and black, but I've hit about 5 other stores and they don't have the other ones. I'm trying to see online if there's any info on more being made. Some store offered to put me on a list for when they come in, but another one said that there weren't any more getting shipped to them. I even tried to get the ones in the case b/c their sign showed that they still had that one, and the cashier said they did. No luck. So I dunno. But they're quite nice, thick glass, decent size. And the mascots are so cute.

Hanging out w/ D is very tiring. I swear he saves all his practiced conversations on me. He tends to prattle on incessantly about things that I have only a slight interest in, or on tangents that are barely related.

Baggage Issues again

So United's delayed my bags again. And their website doesn't work. I checked on it all day, and was still the same "Our representatives are processing your file. At this time we do not have any new information to share. Most of our delayed bags are located and returned within the first 24 hours. We will contact you as soon as your baggage is available and ready to be returned. We thank you for your patience." Just peachy, and I know there were several flights from Denver today (since I had plenty of opportunity to look at the board). So I called them just now, and their IVR is so freaking annoying. I'm like yelling at it, b/c if you don't talk loud it ignores you. And it asks me to say my last name. Well not everyone's last name is Smith, so it seemd to think Jose Pedro was correct. Piece of sh!t. Agent said that the bag's in Edmonton, but they don't know when it'll be delivered, but I can put a note on the door for where they can safedrop it. Right, I'm going to tell them to put a hockey bag at my door for 8 hrs, or open the garage for them. What a bunch of retards. At least at the hotel, there's the bellhop. And my stupid dad's like "oh I have to go out." To where?! You do f\/ck all every day, and you can't plant your ass for my luggage?!?! Pisses me off so much. Wonder if I can call in late tomorrow to work. It'll be like "yeah, sorry, but I'm going to have to stay at home until my luggage is delivered b/c my retired dad who does nothing all day decided that he just needs to go out today."

Speaking of my dad, I'm surprised my fish is still alive. How hard is it to take the uneaten food out of the jar after 5 min? He used an entire month's supply of food in a week, and there's a layer of dissolving pellets at the bottom of the jar. I was wondering why Akao was resting near the top instead of the bottom. The water was soo freaking disgusting. And I gave him instructions and all the stuff that he'd need to change the water and get the pellets out. Apparently too hard for him to remember anything other than feed the fish. So usually I put half the jar water into the margarine tub, but really I can only put in 1/4 b/c it's so gross. And this was after I put in 200 mL of fresh water last night.

I hate airlines (Part 8 of LA Trip)

I can see why I didn't post all my LA ramblings at once. Gawd, my CTS is flaring up. Anyways, this would be my last entry of the trip. I'm surprised I can read most of my writing too. Funnily enough, by typing all this, it really does bring back the trip. Even adding some stuff I didn't originally write b/c it's coming back so vividly. It was amzingly fun. And next year ie. 2010, I'm going to SDCC. Whooo! BTW, how did I manage to misspell the hotel name in the previous entry when I was using their stationary to write my diary and I'm typing from that stationary right now?! Must be too tired.
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Had intermittant sleep again. Got up aro0und 8:30. We got everything packed up by 10:00, so I said we're going shopping. Picked up some salmon onigiri @ Famina's and a sandwich. Went to Jewelry District by bus and got 2 silver hoops for $30. Owner was really nice cause I would've willingly paid $20/each b/c they were so pretty. Ended up walking back to the hotel b/c now we kinda know where we're going. Which was great b/c we saw a lotta shops and went by the Central Library and the street market. P, H's friend, came to pick up H b/c she's is going to stay with her for a few days. P had some trouble getting onto Highway 10 b/c she lives in San Fernando.

14:00
We ate at an Argentinean restaurant, and then I was dropped off at the Metro station @ Universal City to get back to the hotel. My Easton bag is too heavy. It was hell lugging it thru Union Station. However, the ticket was only $4, compared to the $42 taxi cab ride that the hotel bellhop offered. So I'm on the bus now. Thank God it's got A/C. So hot and muggy here. I'm sorry Earth! Saw the Hollywood sign while riding with P. I think I like the architecture of LA the best, b/c there's lots of historical buildings. Should've taken more shots of buildings. Didn't hae my camera w/ me on our walk this morning so no pic of the X-Files movie wall. Or the Tropic Thunder walls (yes the entire side of the building) on Hotel Figueroa. Saw a Batman logo on a wall too. There's a lotta palm trees in the outlying areas, but it's like they're spaced out every 20m. Looks ugly. And the Interchanges are 5 levels high. So crazy looking. Could never drivehere. Or only drive 1 set route. No wonder why P got lost.

16:00
Okay, I'm screwed. Just realized I have no idea which airline I'm supposed to go to despite what my ticket says. Go to the US Airlines and lady said to go to United b/c they're the only ones flying to Denver from here. Which is Terminal 7. I'm at Terminal 2. Take the free shuttle bus to there and this guy starts chatting me up. His job is helping people w/ their bags for $ but doesn't ask me if I want help but just grabs my bag. I tell him "I don't have enough $$ to tip you." And he goes "Whatever you have is fine." Well I'm not going to give him $20, and I dunno if he wants $0.45 in change. Anyways, he grabs a luggage cart and when we're waiting for the elevator, he says he has to go to the washroom. I'm like "uhhh..." and then the elevator comes and they're waiting so I just grab my bag. I know it's rude, but he didn't really give me a choice. I get into line for United but there's a queue for a paper ticket, and I have an E-ticket, so I go to another line. The computer screen's asking for info, but I've never used these before so I don't know. I use the phone to get an operator, and after a super-long hold, he goes "oh, you just missed checking in by 1 minute" and tells me to get a desk agent, who are wandering btwn kiosks, to rebook me for a fee. They tell me to go to the paper tickets line and the fellow working at the podium, manages to find an agent who checks me in but I have to book it. And my bag was over 50 lbs, but they just let it thru b/c it was so late. I peel down to where she tells me, only to be faced w/ a huge lineup for security. Argh!!! They throw away my nearly-full water bottle and I book it to Gate 75, which is at the end. Only to be told that they just closed the gate. So I have to go back to Gate 70 where the customer service is. Apparently my bag made it on the flight. So they manage to give me a flight to San Fran, then to home. Which wil get me there about 6 minutes before my actual scheduled flight. Go figure. So I scour the bookstore in San Fran and no yaoi. More specifically, no Kizuna or Finders. San Fran airport is much nicer than LAX.

20:10
Oh, I need to go to the washroom. The Coke just went thru me. They gave me a can on the San Fran flight, and w/ all the stress, that's bad. I hate going to an airplane washroom. Cramped, noisy, turbulence. But I needed to. I know my bladder won't last that long. Also, I don't like these types of planes. They're cramped and the overhead compartment is tiny. I lost my Genshiken pin, and I think it's up there somewhere. I had to take off my mini-bag to get my backpack up there, and some guy was moving the bags around. I hope my Turtwig mask is okay. Haha, my Turtwig mask's eyeholes don't fit my face. Haven't figured if they're too narrow or wide. Only covers 1/2 my face. Anyways, H used it to find me b/c I wore it like a hat at AX. So on all the flights, I've had a window seat by the wing. What's w/ that? Not that I really mind, but odd. No one wants to watch the flaps?
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And that's all I'd written on the Wilshire Grand stationary. And funnily enough, even though it's been over a year, I still remember getting off the flight around midnight, feeling really gross, only to find that I have no luggage. Again. So I wait by the doors where the Air Canada people tell me (at least they knew what I was talking about when I said I had a hockey bag). Nearly fell asleep waiting. Finally filed a claim form, and then it was taxi ride back. Stumble in, go to say "Hi" to Akao, only to find some weird sludge at the bottom. I think I took a shower, and then I called my manager to say that there's no way I'm going to be working that day since I just got back and need to sleep.

It's probably b/c it's not my heritage that I'm not interested (Part 7 of LA trip)

Okay, this entry still hadn't been typed in (when I was doing that last year during the time that Internet failed). It's probably b/c I was busy trying to get things together for when my casual with DOJ ended, and complete my submission for DOE. (Oooh, it's like fortune-telling! Should I reveal what happens to me? It's like a real fortune. At first it seems like the greatest thing, then you realize there' s a nasty punchline)
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Grand Wilshire 09:00
H says my snoring was super loud and kept her up to 3. Whoops. No wonder why I was tired this morning. That and the adrenaline's wearing off. Eating dango as I write this. It got all wet b/c the melted ice soaked thru the Saran Wrap. Dango's from Fugetsudo. It's sweet but not too sweet. We're supposed to get packing tape to mail our boxes off. Then it off to the Spanish area by Union Station and then to museums. Apparently H does museums in an hour and isn't interested in science. How is that not a surprise. But how ironic (am I using it right?) that she's a Science teacher in QC.

19:00
Well, we went to IHOP again for breakfast, and then went to Union Station for El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument. Took a few pics. Then we went down to the Natural Museum and Science Centre but it was already 16:30 b/c we spent too much time at the village. H kept going into every store and looking at the same stuff again and again. So we ran thru the museum, and didn't have that great pics. The way it's laid out, there are several museums right next to each other but everything is closed except for the Rose Gardens. I took a lot of pics there. But the annoying things that this being the last full day, I still didn't fill up one SD card. So I didn't need to have the video quality so low, which would've meant that I could've taped the entire show with Seki-sama. Afterwards we went to Chinatown, which was also closed except for restaurants. It's so dirty. Just like a typical Chinatown I guess. After dinner, we went back on the Metro and found out about the LAX shuttle from Union Square. So I'll be taking that instead (save on taxi fare!) since the hotel's right next to a station.

23:00
Finished packing. My hockey bag is soooo heavy but not 50lbs I think...hope. Took a few pics of the babies on the bed. I think Tropius is a girl. She seems to take a shine to P-chan. Or a boy. But P-chan doesn't seem fuffled. Or...well anyways, they were really cute. Only had SD-Fushigidane w/ me to sleep tonight. So tired. Hopefully we can cram in a bit of shopping tomorrow.

Exploration, Exhaustion, and Ewwww! (Part 6 of LA Trip)

A backdated entry. That's right, if I killed my hand every night to document my trip, I'm darn-well gonna post my thoughts, even if it's been over a year since I've had them. Hah!
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Today, we’re supposed to take the Metro and hit Little Tokyo, Chinatown, Toy District and some street H said. It’s 9:00 am, I’ve been up since 8:00 and H is still snoring away. And I think I’m getting sick. Nose dripping, throat sore and my left ear is aching. We were looking at using the laundry services at the hotel but it was sooo expensive. So I just washed my underoos every night and hung my clothes up to air out. And I do use different pair of underoos each day.

10:30
Okay, so we found the nearest Metro Rail station (which was right next to the hotel) but we’ve caught the Dash. Since the Dash only runs in downtown, it’s 25 cents for the fare, which is pretty cool. We’re going to Little Tokyo and Toy District.

13:00
Okay, we’re loaded with stuff from the Toy District. Man, should’ve hit this place first before going to AX. They have a lot of knockoffs but also a lotta discontinued stuff like Powerpuff Girls. Found the Barbie PSOne controller, but don’t know if it’ll work on the PS2 though, so I only bought 1. Pinkberry Shaved Ice Green Tea is awesome. Especially when it’s 29 degrees Celsius weather, and you’ve been walking outside for about 2 hrs. (Yes, we were given the weather in Fahrenheit, but who the hell understands that system anyways?) It was green tea syrup, mochi bits, kiwi, and maybe something else? Can’t really remember. Store decor was cute too. For some reason, you weren’t allowed to take pictures in the store.

17:00
Wandering around Little Tokyo. Ate mochi ice cream, and it was good. Lotta Hello Kitty and more importantly, Pokemon stuff. Bought a whole bunch of Pokemon stuff too. The guys working the cashier had trouble with English, which was pretty interesting. Guess it shows how strong of a community it is. Half the restaurants are sushi places. We ate at a place that offered ½ price salmon dishes that day. It was awesome b/c I looooove salmon. What’s surprising is how clean LA is. There’s not that much cigarette butts or coffee cups like in Edmonton. A woman even came into Fugetsu to throw away a slurpee cup she found on the street. However I have not really attempted to use their public washrooms. The only washrooms I’ve used outside the hotel were the airport, LACC, and some restaurant washrooms. IHOP’s was pretty good. But I have this horrible recurring nightmare where I need to go to washroom, and every toilet is filthy, missing doors, plugged, or graffitied. And the LAX washrooms weren’t completely filthy, but it had that vibe that felt like deja vu. H went to use the Union Station washroom, and she said that it was nasty and there was a woman in there changing her baby on the floor. The woman had another kid in a stroller, and had paper towels strewn all across the floor. Ewwwwww!

Supermarket prices are pretty cheap too. 89 cents for 1 L of Dasani water. We were thinking of picking up stuff for breakfast, but most of it involved having a kettle of hot water, bowls, utensils. And the other stuff needed to be refrigerated. Got lost trying to get back to the hotel because we didn’t know the Dash stopped at 7:50, so we had to find Union Station. I semi-packed my bags to see how much room I had left. I should be okay. But I have a lotta yaoi to ship. Damn censorship.

Last day of AnimeExpo (Part 5 of LA Trip)

This is a backdated entry...Um, I'm actually trying to clean up my desk, and I figured I should get this posted since this was all typed up from when I had no Internet access in September. Of 2008, which was over a year ago. Anyways, the joys of online diaries!
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10:00
It’s all shopping today! Breakfast at IHOP again. Order the Red, White and Blue this time. It’s pretty good. The waiter was there again but didn’t serve us. They must love us there. We’re non-disruptive, patient and give good tips. The manager remembered us just the 2nd time we went there. Today I’m wearing simple high ponytail with the angel wings barrettes on either side of it, and my jean shortalls w/ black rib T. Gotta be comfy to shop!

14:00
Okay, break for the Deux raffle. Man, am I obnoxious now. When I couldn’t hear the guy calling the numbers, I immediately yell that to him. Well at least we can now hear in the back. And the frontliners also repeated it for us too. Anyways, didn’t win anything. Also nothing won at the Vampire D panel. That’s okay. This other guy who had tons of tickets won 3 prizes, 2 which were the same. There was a bit of grumbling when that happened. Darn, they close the Dealers Hall at 3. Shop, shop, shop!!!!


15:00
Okay, well nothing to do now except head back to the hotel and grab food. Took some pics of the convention and with P-chan being there. It was hard finding a semi-clean area to place him on. I want to get my own digital camera. I just love posing P-chan and all my plush in different ways. They’re just too cute, and expression-able. But it’s sometimes a huge challenge to capture w/ the camera what I can see w/ my eyes for angles/closeups. So I guess I would need a higher-end camera maybe. Anyways, I should’ve taken pictures on the first day of the convention b/c it was completely packed.

Got some map info from the concierge. H gets money from the ATM. Head to Macy’s Plaza for shopping. Two Latinos checked us out and commented to each other in Spanish. Apparently, I’m the cute little Chinese girl and H needs more ass. LOL. Nothing for earrings at Macy’s. It’s kinda like the Bay of the USA. Go to this Mexican Grill place that’s nearby to check out authentic Mexican food but it’s actually a fast food place. Geez, and after all that work! We’d tried to enter it on Friday and Saturday, but they were closed all the time. Anyways, we get subs at Subway b/c they’re $5 for foot-longs. Man, food’s pretty cheap down here! But as we were walking back to the hotel, we see that Wokcano was open, so we went in. Guess it’s subs for breakfast! The restaurant people give us a light ribbing about the subs. I had the Double Chicken Kung Pao. It was pretty good, and $2 for a rice bowl, $1 for green tea. But they gave us a lotta food, that H had to doggy-bag hers. But it was a fancy place so we were quite out of place. But they still treated us well.

Midnight
Finished reading “A Foreign Love Affair.” It was romantic and explicit. Yamane-sensei is soooo awesome. And so having to be shipped up. I have a huge stack of books that have questionable covers. Customs suck. Also bought a purse b/c the Champs Elysee/Nina Ricci store was selling them at 90% off. But there’s no label on the bag, so I think that’s pretty weird to be selling that kind of stuff from a hotel store. But it’s still a good bag for only $19.99. They had some NKOTB T-shirts there, but only in small. Well it’s still a good joke gift. H used the phones in the lobby to yell at Air Canada b/c it was free to call toll-free numbers. So we didn’t need to use the cellphone. But she did say that b/c she was in a public place, she watched her language and tone more. They also had a computer that you could pay to use, so H had to do that to print off the claims form for her luggage. Kinda watched Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix. It’s okay, although H was going fan-freaky. Her and her Sirius Black. I’m like “whatever, the f/x are pretty cool”.

Shopping and scheduled events don't mix! Or Part 4 of the LA trip

Backdated entry, I'm checking my burned copies of Pokemon: Indigo League b/c I'd had been having so many problems burning DVDs that I think it's broken. However these ones are doing pretty well, so it must be the programs.

IHOP 9:00a
Well, breakfast @ IHOP. Yesterday we went there for dinner b/c it was one of the few places open. H was really protesting going there and now she likes it. And the waiter was flirting w/ me. Could it be b/c I had my low-cut tank top, my hair done up w/ the hairstick and 2 tendrils of hair framing my face? He said that he wanted to go to AX to, but couldn't. Oh well, it's a bit strange to be flirted w/ but I'm dressed up more than what I wear @ home.

LACC 11:15a
Went there to see panel about turning Anime into Videogames, and it's cancelled. Oh well, we'll go to the Robot Chicken panel at 12:00 then. Have to exchange a DS Pokemon bag b/c I wanted the Animal Crossing one but didn't notice they put in the wrong one b/c they're both blue and I was buying like 6 other things at the same time. Yah, they exchanged it...oh but the Pokemon bag was designed better. :( Do more shopping.

LACC 1:48p
Crud, missed Robot Chicken panel. Too busy shopping and there's soooo much yaoi. Paranormal Japan panel was @ 1:00 too. *sigh* Guess we're not going to Traditional Dance either. We've barely covered 1/3 the dealer's room.

LACC 4:00p
Okay, well it's time for food. John said Bus 4 should take us by Little Tokyo, so off we go. Oh yeah, John is this guy that I met when I was waiting for shuttle at the hotel last night. I wanted to go back to see the Anime in China panel, and H didn't want to go. So while we were waiting, he started chatting me up. On afterthought, I shouldn't have told him where I worked and such. Oh well. Anyways, while we were waiting for the shuttle last night, this African-American walked into the hotel area and was angrily shouting something about how he was getting f*cked around and things like that. But when a bunch of us started looking at him, he doubled back into the area, so we quickly turned around and ignored him.

LACC 4:15p
Where the heck are we? There's nothing Japanes looking around here, although we did see the Mayan Theatre. There didn't seem to be anything Japanese looking at the Kawada Hotel, so we got off @ the Omni Hotel. Argh!! And there bwas nothing to eat around at the Watercourt except Famima's. Great. Local tells us it's a 10 walk to Little Tokyo from the Watercourt. So we decided to go back to LACC to get a map. ...Okay, we it seems we shoulda stopped @ Kawada and walked 3 blocks down. Geez.

Little Tokyo 5:00p
Alright, in outskirts of Little Tokyo. We decide to eat at a sushi place but it's $26 for the chirashi!! So I have ochazuke w/ ume(shoulda chosen something else. Getting too salty), grilled mackeral and sashimi salad instead. It's so good though. Go to Kinnokuya in the same plaza, but they have no Kizuna or Finders. When we were in the dealer's room, one of the dealer told us that Yamane-sensei wasn't happy w/ how BeBeautiful treated the Finders series so another publisher may reprint it. I hope so, her stuff is pretty explicit and soooo hot. Anyways, back to Kinnokuya, they didn't have any Angelique or KOF. There were a bunch of Pokemon books, but I didn't get any. Bags are full enough. Darn supermarket's closed already. Head back to Kawada. Took a pic of the Disney Concert Hall where the bomb in Get Smart was planted.

LACC 8:30p
Miss the L movie. Oh well. Hung around until the Advanced Para Para and realize shoulda went to the the Beginners class first. Okay, go to arcade to show H was it is. Have to shush a pack of screaming girls who think it's easier to scream across a crowded noisy room than walk over to that person. Puzzle Fighter rules. A few people were playing KOF XI, but what's the point of dropping quarters when you have it at home? Eh, no anime worth staying up late to see.

Wilshire Grand 10:00p
H is still arguing w/ Air Canada. Still has no bag.

Fireworks? What Fireworks? Part 3 of LA trip

Another backdated entry. I'm checking my burned episodes of Japanese Pokemon b/c even though I have 4 burning progs on my computer (Media Player, Windows Explorer, NTI CD/DVD Maker, Acer DVDivine), they haven't produced a decent disc. I've have a few playable episodes but then the others will be just audio or nothing. The weird part is some files will show up w/ the preview image on Windows Explorer, but won't play on my DVD/Divx player.

Wilshire Grand (7:30a)
Uggh, so tired. Need sleep but the VA panel from the Japanese students is going at 10:00a. We go to the convenience store I saw yesterday, Famima's. Buy their onigiri. Unwrapping them was a pain! The nori ripped like crazy. However it's wasn't that bad tasting. It's too bad that I can't get cashback on my Visa card. Guess I shoulda brought debit card.

LACC (10:00a)
The NECC panel was changed so it took place yesterday, so we missed it but we went to David Hayter's panel instead. It's so packed and the questions were stupid. The only stupid question that was asked of Seki-sama was whether he could be sent an item to be signed b/c the questioner wouldn't be able to make it to his autograph session. (of course the answer was No b/c that's not fair to everyone else. And I swear the questioner was the same guy who'd gotten a premium ticket and then headed back into the premium line to get another item signed. The volunteer spotted him and told him get to the back of the regular line.) Anyways, as for poor Mr. Hayter, people were asking to be his friend/drinking buddy/son or to give a shout-out to websites and crap like that. Mr. Hayter was very patient, funny and indulged their dumb requests. Really, for those stupid shout-outs, they should'a been paying him for it. Geez!! But we were too far back to get a decent picture.

LACC (3:10a)
Go to the Dealer's room. It's sooooo huge!!! We only manage to do about 1/3 of the room before my backpack is full. Accidentally let the wrong NDS bag be added to my pile. Hopefully I can exchange it. Got the blue Pikachu one when I wanted the blue Celeste one. H still hasn't gotten her luggage, so we hit Macy's b/c it's one of the few places that's open. It's like the Bay price-wise. And we harassed the clerk w/ our sarcasm and logic when she tried to push the Macy account on us. I think after working in customer service, and no longer having to keep smart aleck comments inside, any stupid questions are met w/ pent up answers. Dinner at IHOP. It's not bad, but definitely good prices. I had the Pot Roast w/ mashed potatoes and soup. They were inundated w/ con-goers. Mostly in cos play. I wore the angel clips I bought yesterday and regular clothes.

LACC (7:30p)
Back to the con. Go to the console gaming room while waiting for the June/801 panel to start. The Naruto game looks really cool. The Kyo Kusanagi cos player kicked ass w/ Kakashi. Still can't figure out how scoring works on Super Smash Brothers. Guilty Gear is sweet looking.

LACC (9:00p)
Woo hoo! I got picked in the panel raffle!! I chose the autographed postcard set. It has the autograph from Eiki Eiki (Art of Loving) and another mangaka that I don't recognize the art from. And of course a bunch of other postcards of bishonen. Awwww, so sweet! Got lots of yaoi today b/c of the Deux booth. *slobber*

Wilshire Grand (2:00a)
Okay, finished summary. Sleep. Hand dead. Oh, but we tried watching the news but hardly show anything about fireworks. So sad. Didn't hear anything either. And I was looking forward to seeing them b/c Americans are supposed to go insane w/ them on this day.

Seki-sama!!!! Or Part 2 of the trip

Have I ever mentioned how cute Seki-sama is?!! He really is. It's always hard to tell from pictures and video, and I just thought he was above-average, but wow, up close when you put it all together. *swoon* I mean his characters and voice are adorable, but he's a cutie too!!! Awwww *sigh* *blush* Yeah, he probably thought I was a freak, b/c I was well behaved up until I got about 15 ft away after getting his signature and then I couldn't contain myself and started squealing, skipping and giggling. I know I got a few looks from the other lineup. Anyways, back to what I'd written on the trip.

Wilshire Grand (7:30a)
Okay, figured it out, Floor lamp is only on when the foyer light is on. Great. Anyways, so w/ no luggage, it's wearing the same shortalls and T-shirt. Smell test okay. Head down to the hotels' gift shop to buy deodarant and painkillers. For some reason, my stomach has been killing me. H tells me that I shouldn't have drunk the tap water. Great. Or it was b/c the subs last night didn't agree w/ me. And I need to go to the washroom a lot. And I had about an hour of straight sleep and another hour of broken sleep. Augh!! And Seki-sama's going to be having his panel today!

Wilshire Grand (9:00a)
Well found out why my abdomen's been hurting. It's every female's least favourite visitor!! Gah!! And all my stuff's in the luggage! Good think I keep an emergency backup. Oh, I feel like puking and lying down at the same time.

LA Convention Center (10:30a)
Okay, registered and lined up for Seki-sama's panel... at 12:30. Some people said they wre there since 6:45a. Didn't even know the doors were open then. But the arcade's open 24 hrs, so I guess some people bring sleeping bags. We meet some locals and chat. Well more like H chatted, and I just stood there. I eat the sub from last night. Shoulda put it on ice. Stomach feeling worse. At first, there was no lineup needed, and now there is.

LACC (1:00p)
Managed to get 1st row. They said no video, but I can't help it. Put it on the lowest res to get the most out of Seki-sama's 1 hr panel. Only get 30 min of video still. He was sooooo awesome. He used his cute voice and the translator was pretty good. But the hall wasn't filled :(. Took lots of vid and pics, but shoulda taken more. Hopefuly they turned out ok. Had a lotta probs w/ the auto-focus. It was getting to the point that I'd have to shoot it at the floor then slooowly adjust it to focus on Seki-sama. Right after the panel, we headed to the hall where the signing would be. Seki-sama said that he'd be flying back next day after he saw the play "Wicked", so no open autograph session!! :(



LACC (3:30p)
Found out we were supposed to get a red ticket when we came out of the panel to get into the premier line. Those people get to go first, and they weren't finished before Seki-sama took a break. A revolt is planned in our line. It is met w/ resistance.

LACC (4:00p)
Seki-sama's back!! Didn't have to wait the hour break as expected. I have my Luva CD. Augh!! The anticipation!! Ask my new acquaintances to hold my spot while I run to the loo. Also found out some info from them about LA tourist spots.

LACC (4:30p)
It's my turn!!! OMG, I talked to him!! It was a dialogue, an exchange of words!! I said "Konnichiwa Seki-sama" and he replied w/ "Konnichiwa". I gave him the CD insert and he asked me if it was okay if he signed it in the corner. I said "Hai!" And then he reoriented it to face me when he gave it back! I was sooo freaked!!. I squeaked out "Domo arigatou!" before bowing and grabbing my camera from the volunteer. Oh squeal of moments!! He's sooo cute up front and to have the sweetest voice talk to me is a dream come true. Every time I think about it, I started to quiver. Unfortunately I forgot his present that I rewoke my CTS to make. I guess I'll just mail it to him after I complete the other characters. Yeah, and miraculously I feel much better. The curing power of Seki-sama's presence.


LACC (4:50-6:20p)
Okay, I've been searching the hall for H all this time, WTF?! Can't she stay in 1 area?!! LACC is huge w/ multiple floors. I should know, I'd been walking thru them looking for her! She left a VM on my Fido phone and it's going to cost me $1.45/min to retrieve it. The msg said that she was by this spot in the front, but I've passed by there 3 times, and she's not there. I've starving. Maybe she went back to the hotel.

Wilshire Grand (6:30p)
Nope, but my luggage arrived! Yeah!! Pulled out my pads and H called. She ran out of change. Geez!! She's like a 5yr old, wandering off when she's bored (which is like 5 minutes in 1 spot). I iron my shirt when she gets back. We go to the California Pizza Place for dinner. It's pretty nice and the waiter was good too. Nice price for food. H's fighting w/ Air Canada about her luggage. They still haven't located it.

Journal of Trip Pt 1

Well, I'm going to try and backdate my entries so that they correspond to the days I wrote them in longhand on hotel stationary. Yeah, so it should be interesting.

Morning of July 2
Was a madhouse. I was up at around 8, and did a visual check of my stuff I was taking compared to my list. Then I was trying to figure out which pages to print out for Alan's camera b/c he didn't give me the manual. Then the printer ran out of ink after 2 pages, so I was killing my hand trying to write/draw everything pertinant. The cabbie arrived at 11:00 when I was still trying to write things down, so I had to hastily shut down the computer.

Going thru Customs
It was wierd to take off my sandals. But no hand wanding even though I was wearing shortalls. The customs official asked me where I worked and what I did. Then she dinda asked how the Federal DOJ worked b/c the US DOJ has FBI and Immigration under it. I told her we didn't cover CSIS...not that I knew of.

Flight to Denver
Well I was assigned to the exit row, so I'm there w/ 3 other guys. The little Chinese girl was going to help open the emergency door. Ha ha, that must've been a sight b/c the guy next to me was huge. Anyways, he started snoring. I was also exhausted but I was waiting for the stewardess to come back to take the empty tea cup so I could put up the tray and get my music. Not to drown out his snoring, but to get me to lsleep too. And then we could be in concert with our snores. But I never got to sleep b/c the flight was getting ready to touch down. While we were waiting to get up, the aisle passenger in front of me thought the armrest moved up, so he wrenched it until it did go up, sending a metal piece flying and making a lot of noise. Then he looks around nervously and asks the other aisle passenger if that was supposed to happen. The other guy tried his and told him that he didn't think so. I helpfully ponted out the fallen metal pit, and so they picked it up and looked where it came from. I told snorer guy that maybe the airline will check to see who sat in there and charge him for it. I wonder if they would?

Flight to LA
So I'm waiting at the carousel and it's so bloody hot and muggy. I hear my name over the PA along with a few others, but it was just "mumble mumble xxx, xxx, xxx mumble mumble go to mumble". There was only 1 United person working there and she had a huge line up. I asked a security person and she directed me to the Baggage counter. Turns out that my bag is another flight & will arrive in at about 9:25. I sure didn't want to wait an hour, and I thought that it would take a while to get to my hotel and check in, so with great reservation, I decided to agree to let my bag be delivered. With the expectation that it would arrive that night. The guy at the service counter didn't know what a hockey bag was or how to spell it. Not that I thought he was dumb, just the typical American ignorance.

Getting to the hotel
Although they do give assistance with some prodding. I was going to take a cab, but I saw an airport guy sitting there by a sign about courtesy shuttles. Anways after I clarified w/ the airport guy, Now when I was inside the airport, they had a touch screen for Visitors. It was so confusing and really just about selling services, not information. And you had to rent a baggage cart! It's all about money with Americans, isn't it? Anyways, after I clarified w/ the airport guy, I headed to the red sign for shuttle buses. The first sign I saw was for "Prime Time" and it was $15 to get to the hotel and I really didn't feel like asking all the other shuttle operators their rates, so I went with them. There was already someone in there, a black-haired Asian guy. I was pretty darn sure it wasn't anyone from Japan (hint, hint on who I'm wishing it was) but I asked him if it was also his first time in LA. Turned out he'd lived in Vancouver, BC before. We started talking about why I was in LA b/c he saw my Genshiken pin. He told me how he used to watch Gatchaman when he was younger and saw Naruto a few times. He also didn't think Afro Samurai was that good. And told me to try the real Mexican food here. I'm just sad that I rushed out the shuttle and didn't have a chance to say goodbye.

Wilshire Grand (10:22 pm)
I'm exhausted. I've already called Housekeeping b/c the closet lightbulb died when I turned it on, and now the floor lamp doesn't work, even though it was working when I walked in. But I decided to turn off the floor lamp to save electricity. Ha. Anyways still waiting for front desk to tell me my bag arrived and for H to show up. My hand is dead from writing, and the knitting and crochetting from before. I so want to sleep. Can't take a shower b/c my face stuff is in the luggage!! And I thought of putting it in my backpack but I didn't want to deal w/ their stupid liquid policy. Couldn't even take my drinks w/ me b/c of it. Swear it's more so that you have ot pay the insane airport prices. $2 for Coke from the vending machine and the store was even more!!

Wilshire Grand (11:01 pm)
So I called United and after the IVR got me to some Intl agent who didn't know anything and was very rude, I got to the right dept who told me that it would be delivered tomorrow between 5:30a - 9:30am. Just freaking great!! I needed the clothes and razors (very important as I'm feeling fuzzy) Oh and the only clothes I brought w/ me on my carryon were shorts. Gaaaahh!! I have no pjs and there's no bathrobe to sleep in. All the restaurants are closed! And it turns out H's luggage is delayed too!! CauseI was hoping to borrow some clothes off her. And now the floor lamp is working again! WTF?! Looking on the back of the United claim form, says that United was supposed to provide me w/ a toiletries kit. Bastards!! Good thing the hotel was able to provide me a razor, toothbrush and toothpaste.

Ever wonder why comics are dying?

So I finished watching the online June 11, 2008 episode of the Colbert Report, and they had on David Hadju. This person had written a book about comics books called "The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America", which from the blurb on Amazon is an examination of ...geez, I was just going to copy and paste it, but really, there's no really good blurb I can pull out w/o doing the whole thing. Anyways, if anyone cares, they can go on Amazon or any other online bookstore website. Anyhoo, as I watched the episode, I was first thinking that this isn't one of the regular comic book historians b/c I'd never heard of him. Then I was shocked and horrified. Not at the attack on comic books in the 1950s, heck no. But how horribly Hadju presented the history of rise of the Comic Code Authority, and the demise of numerous comics and publishers. He couldn't even present his own thesis on the show! Colbert had to try and help him stay on his thesis about what the govt was doing! If I was a non-comic book reader, I'd be like "who cares?" *huff huff*
Yes, I was arguing w/ the guy as I watched the episode, and yelling facts and names at him. And I'm not upset only b/c of his horrible presentation, but b/c I know how much he left out, simplied and completely ignored in the interview. I wrote a paper on the persecution of comics in the 1950s, covering the USA and Canada. It was for my Level 400 History course, and yes, I got top marks for it. Yes, I know it's a 5 min interview, but if your argument is that videogames/death metal/TV shows are a scapegoat for society's ills just like comics were in the 1950s, state that! Don't go describing how parents held book-burnings w/o linking it to the brainwashing that occurs at Christian camps. I really don't think this guy has anything new to bring to the examination of comic book history, and his presentation certainly hasn't helped. And no, I never read his book. And I don't intend to.

Insurance Woes

No, it's not that I need to make a claim *knocks on wood*, just that I updated my address, and the rep takes over 10 min to "make changes" and had me on hold the entire time. When she comes back, she immediately tries to upsell me their inclusive package, and only bases her quotes on my current rate. Then at the call closing she slips in that my monthly deductible's going up by $4. You better believe I was mad, and quickly pointed out that she should've told me that after putting me on hold for over 10 min, and certainly before she tried selling me the other options. And then she tries to go w/ "oh I'm sorry, but that's the new rate." Like heck it is, I wanted an explanation. Supposedly it's merely b/c of my postal code, which is in a 5 yr old area, w/ a 5 yr old house which hardly hears any sirens in the area. I pointed out the illogic of a higher rate in a safe new suburban neighbourhood vs downtown only a few streets from the homeless shelter. She could only say that's what that statisticians come up with. Of course I ask for a manager and she offers me a 24 hr callback from an officer. Well I point out that since they close at 8pm EST, that leaves them 1/2 hr to call me at home. So I'll see if I get a callback. *sigh* I wonder if they'd be worried if I mentioned I worked for the federal Dept of Justice? And yeah, it's true, after you work in customer service, you really can't stand poor service.

And I don't know if anyone else gets this feeling, but everytime I talk to an insurance person, I always feel like they're going to put a curse on me if I don't take whatever they're pushing.

Wanting to move out already

Now, some people might consider this mean or rude or ungrateful, but I completely remember why I'd moved out in the first place. On the 2nd day that I got back. The Saturday was when I had less than 2 hrs of sleep, so of course I try to sleep in on Sunday after getting to bed around 1:30 am. Now, I'm one of those people who aren't comfortable sleeping in strange places, so I only get a light sleep (lighter than usual). I eventually get up around 11:30 am. My dad b!tches me out for sleeping in. Excuse me?!! I vacuum the flipping living room and basement the day before, move hundreds of kgs of furniture and I can't sleep in?!!? Anyways, yesterday my dad was talking to my brother on the phone and he just tells me to get changed (I schlup around in ratty old T-shirt and shorts around the house b/c it's more comfortable). Completely out of the blue. So of course I ask why. Then he starts screaming at me to put on my clothes and decide whether I want to go out for dinner or not. WTF?! So now everytime he pisses me off, I just tell me "No wonder why no one want to live with you." B/c really, who wants to live w/ that kind of abuse?

Anyways, work was interesting today. Had a big meeting. It's wonderful getting a mug for just getting employed by them, and not having to work 1 year for a keychain and then 5 yrs to pick something outta a catalog. Tomorrow will be running around a former-convent, if I can get any energy b/c it'll be a really early morning.

Still unpacking. My desk looked so clean before I opened boxes. Also planning on going down to Anime Expo to see Seki Toshihiko. *drool* Argh, but I'll probably panic and freeze and/or freak out. So expensive though. Have to renew my passport, get plane tickets, rent hotel, get spending money. And only a month to do it all. I did get days off work (which was much easier than I'm used to from my previous employer), but H wants to do other stuff and go to other cities also. I'm thinking "dude, you may be on summer vacation but I'm not." But on the other hand, it'll be totally cool to travel w/ her, and we haven't seen each other for a year. So I'm really hemming and hawing. I guess I'll ask my supervisor if I can get a few more days and see if it's okay. Only thing is that during that time period, tons of people will also be on vacation also.

Moves and Jobs, Oh my!

So it's been a hectic few weeks. I started my new job on May 13, and it's a steep learning curve. There's a lot of policies and procedures that I don't know about, since I don't have an HR or law background. However I've been asking questions and unless people tell me to sit and study up on stuff, I'm asking people if they have anything they want me to do. I figure even if I can't figure out the policy, I can still figure out the scanner/copier. So apparently I've been doing really well by being proactive on stuff. Still tons to learn, although it seems that the general Excel level around the office isn't too high, so I've been able to impress people with that. Of course now that the move is semi-complete, I guess I might have some time to brush up on Excel, learn how to do drop-downs, pull data from other worksheets, etc.

Yes, the move. It was horrid. It's not to say that I left all the packing to the last minute. I'd been packing manga/dvds/comics since before my last post, so for at least 2 weeks, I'd already been putting stuff away. However, I still was up to about 1:00 - 2:00 am every night for the last week (and this is when I have to be up at 7:30 for work), and then on Thursday, I think I was up until about 3:00. I go to work, and then I'm up to about 5:00 am still packing. In my severe tiredness, I made a scrambled egg concoction of carrots and honey mustard on honey-slathered toast. Needless to say, I woke up around 6:30 am with a stomach ache and couldn't really move until 7:00 am. Commence packing again. Haven't even gotten around to dismantling furniture when the movers arrive at 9:30am. Even with the movers and my bro and his fiance helping, we weren't out of there until about 11:30. The movers did not like the comic book boxes b/c they were so heavy. Anyways, after all things are unloaded, it was about 12:45-1:00. Instead of collapsing and napping (what any sane person would do), my dad harps at me to move some of the furniture back. So I end up vacuuming the living room and basement carpet, and moving yet more furniture around. Get down to the room, and start trying out to figure out where to put my furniture. Take a 30 minute doze and commence measuring again. Don't get to bed until about midnight and it was mostly b/c my legs were starting to fail.

I don't want it to be the same layout as my brother's (I'm moving into his old bedroom b/c it's in the basement so it's quieter and cooler). After much hemming-hawing, measuring, using place markers, I end up with something similar anyways b/c that's kinda the only way to have it quiet and fit everything. So freaking annoyed that a lot of my furniture was too big. No, actually that the room was several inches too small. Nothing really set up still, desk is on the floor and I'm typing there using my old computer. Bed is set up, and so are my IVARs. TV's plugged in. Still get some cable channels, but none of the free ones. Go figure. Haven't hooked up my PS2 or DVD player.

But that doesn't mean I was finished moving on Saturday! Heck no, for the last 3 days, I'd been at the apt picking stuff up like food, smaller furniture, dishes and cleaning supplies. Cleaned the bathroom already. D is moving out today, and then I think tomorrow we're supposed to clean more, then carpet cleaner's coming on Friday, and then it's move-out inspection on Saturday.

So yeah, the apt building wasn't so bad at first. I had a bathroom connected to the bedroom which allowed me lots of times of wandering around half-naked. Big bathroom with lots of counter space and floor space. Undersink cabinet was a bit small but that was b/c it had drawers. Shower/bath was big and had lots of shelving for bottles. I could have 2 body washes, 1 facial wash, 1 conditioner, 1 shampoo and razor in there w/o having to put them on the outside where I could hit them when I get out. Basement bathroom is small, 0 counder space, and just have enough room for 1 body wash and 1 shampoo. Everything else is on the outside. Now I remember why I had a 3 compartment dispenser; so I could put my shampoo/conditioner/body wash in there.

Back to apt, it was only in the last 2-3 months that I started using the workout room there. and all my furniture fitted comfortably. However after the pipe burst in February, they still haven't fixed the parkade elevator. And they also haven't fixed the A/C so it's always between 80-82 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) in the apt. Yeah, we have to go outdoors to cool down. And then they were jacking up our rent again. If we went month-to-month it would've been over $1400/month. And they got new building managers, and they're yelling at us for having boxes around when we're moving and showing the apt w/ their shoes on. A lot of people are moving out of there now.

Still Waiting

Well, a lot of changes in the past week. Went in for job interview on Thursday, got offered the position later that day. Handed in my resignation on Monday, and went home early on Tuesday b/c I really didn't want to take any more calls. Then find out on Thursday that my former workplace will be closing its doors at the end of June. The hilarious part is that 2 days earlier, my former Team Leader was telling me that the site was doing fine and they were overstaffed. Kinda annoyed that I'll be missing out on the severance pkg, which works out to about $2500. Still waiting for the feds to say my security clearance is fine and then I can start working.

New job is a temporary contract, but it pays much better and will be dealing with internal Canadian people, instead of annoying American customers. Quite annoyed that almost everyone is telling me that I'd better start buying new clothes, as if I didn't have business-appropriate clothes. Just b/c I don't wear them b/c I don't need to, doesn't mean I don't own them. Yes, I'm a t-shirt and jeans girl (well I'd prefer a tanktop, but then there's the issue w/ my skin condition that's not so pretty), but I can dress up. Even getting used to putting on daily makeup again. There was a time in high school when I was totally into makeup. Then I realized that I was getting into the experimental makeup and I was collecting shades that I couldn't wear in public and wasting a lot of money. So I quit cold turkey.


Also will be moving out of the apt soon. Back to the house with my Dad. Argh! Anyways, have been packing stuff up. Yesterday, it took me 8 hrs to sort and pack my comics. Taking a break from doing that, b/c I'm completely exhausted. Not just from standing and lifting, but also b/c my new job is days instead of nights, I'm trying to get up earlier. Unfortunately I still go to bed around the same time.

Anyways, figured out the Vista compatibility. So I can once again use Sonique. It's stable and keeps track of where I left off on my playlist. Not like stupid Windows Media Player. Anyways, awesome song from Jam Project(which includes Rika Matsumoto and Masumi Okui) "Forever and Ever"

Review: Iron Man Movie

Awesome. Wait, is that a little too short? Okay, well it was very funny, dealt a bit with the issue of the industrial-military complex, developed Tony's character very well, had lot of believable and not-obvious CGI special effects and didn't have any slow spots to make you fall asleep. Pepper Potts was undeveloped, doesn't seem like she'd be capable of reconnecting the device to his chest or figure out which switches to hit to blow up the reactor. Seems like they could've stuck anyone in other than Gwyneth Paltrow. Did not recognize Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane. It was a bit of weird timing for Stane to tip his hand so completely at the benefit. You'd think he'd want to keep his dealings hidden for longer. I liked Yinsen's character. Shaun Toub played him extremely well. Jim Rhodes character was sorta important to be there, pretty forgettable. Not sure how they'd have met. Quite annoyed at the end of the movie that Tony was missing his hankercheif from his suit jacket when Pepper had been fussing with it for quite a bit.

But it was quite the geek movie, and with Stan Lee there of course. I liked the suit testing scenes. Yes, it was cheap comedy, but it also shows that genius isn't just instantaneous. There were a lot of product placement shots, not just for Stark Industries. Heh. I spotted Verizon, Burger King, various car brands especially Audi, and Dell. I wonder if that Malibu house if for real. I'd love to live at something like that. I'd say the storyline was quite believable, that someone like Tony would be completely distanced from the day-to-day business and focussed on the fast living (obvious adrenaline-junkie with the total disregard of safety on his first flight) and tech-building. Finding out that his weapons are sold to anyone, being injunctioned by the Board of Directors, being exposed to war as more than just numbers. It was all done very well. Robert Downey Jr did a great job.

Migraine just keeps getting worse...

So really for all intents and purposes, today was going to be the day that I start applying myself on building and polishing my resume. I spent Saturday doing my usual stuff of going to Warp 1, grocery shopping for the week, listening to Quirks and Quarks and DNTO. Basically relaxing. Sunday was somewhat different from my usual stuff since I cleared out my 2 months of charity requests, didn't go onto Facebook, and worked out much later than usual. Played a lot of Rune Factory, a bit of Professor Layton, almost up to date on Animal Crossing.

So today begins, I somehow still manage to wake up at the same bloody time. Must be neighbour's alarm clock. And flipping D's too. Do some reading and Rune Factory in bed, eat brekky. Make cucumber and daikon pickles. Open up my resume, and use another of the tries on Microsoft Office. I figure I'd better get Wordperfect working instead, so try to see if any of Corel's patches will work. Realize I don't have much room on my HDD so it'd be a good idea to burn off my Pokemon episodes. Start on the 2nd disc, and decide to preview the 1st one since the computer came w/ 3 or 4 programs that can burn discs. Find out that all the previous 10 discs I burnt won't show all the files on my DVD player. Haul out my old monitor, hook up my old computer and find out that the files are corrupt. Toss them all away. Decide to try and use Windows Explorer/Computer to attempt burn. Find it causes my computer to crash.

By this time, I'm under the desk disconnecting my plugins for when I hooked up the old computer, and my cellphone rings. It's my supervisor telling me my 3 week LOA was denied and I have to go in on Wednesday. Well, I'm somewhat less than thrilled, and she tells me to ask the OM or SOM to find out why. Although I could probably guess, most of which comes to the fact that they have fired/lost so many agents that they can't afford to let any others take a break. Now I'm thinking if I should see if they'll approve a shorter LOA, or play my trump card that I'll quit if they don't give me 3 weeks. I have to decide if they do decide to call on my hand, whether or not I'm bluffing. (I'm not so good w/ card analogies, since I don't play much cards). There's really no point in staying, I won't get another raise, and it's not going to do anything more for my "career". However, like most places, it's really so you can keep in touch w/ your friends. And yes, I'm one of those people where it's outta sight, outta mind.

So after I rebooted the computer, I'm trying to find the patch for Corel, and now ALL of Corel's sites are down. Get error 500 which is very strange for a multi-national company. It tells me to save my resume in ASCII or html format, but I've never done that before. And of course w/ Corel's websites down, I don't know how. Which is precisely why I'm blogging to vent. Already taken 4 Tylenol Extra Strength. After using T3s, I need 2 extra strength pills all the time. Argh!!!!